[hr][i][h1][color=Blueviolet]Malik Jakane[/color], & [color=#ffe0bd]Rhea Harlow[/color].[/h1][sub]Written in collaboration with [@Estylwen][/sub][/i][hr]
[i][u]Strongriver Plaza, Hedgemount[/u][/i]

Strange. The rooftops were scarse of eyes, despite the time of day. Not a single pair of binoculars to break line-of-sight with. Rhea brushed it off as coincidence. As she neared the meet-up point, however, the air had an odd quality. Like it was charged, or thick. Rhea narrowed her eyes, making her approach more subtle than normal. 

"... Hey, Rhea." Malik said, floating above the woman in his storm form. He was in a position that he would be gracefully lounging... except, he was upside down. He had a cheeky grin on his face. He leaned in, and put a flat hand to the side of his mouth. "Between you and me... I think there's someone after us. We should be really stealthy..."

Rhea realised she'd held her breath, and sighed. "Damn, man. Says the ghost storm that just took ten years off my life."

He chuckled.

Before he reverted back to his human form, and landed next to Rhea. "Sorry, got bored of sitting, and then I saw you."

"I don't blame you. Sitting's boring in general." Rhea said, peering over the roof's ledge. "You're just in time anyway, the next deadrop should be just over a few more buildings. If we're being followed, we'll need to be quick, quiet, and hopefully stay ahead of them."

Malik nodded his head... then realized his storm form - while quick - was not quiet at all. He just remained silent as he let Rhea lead the way.

Waiting for a dog-walker to pass by, she paused at the edge of the roof. The moment there was a break in people, she took the leap, landing as muffled as she could on the other side. This particular building had a convenient connection across a busy street to their target — perhaps a walkway. The only problem was the steady traffic flow. If they stayed low, they could sneak along the top mostly unnoticed.

Rhea glanced at Malik, stooping to a near-crouch. "How's your ninja run?"

"I'd say it's quite ex-" Before Malik could finish, Rhea was already running. He shrugged as he was quick to follow behind her after rolling.

Dashing across the walkway together, the passing cars saw only an edge of fast-moving blurs. They found themselves on an empty rooftop that extended a ways. Skylights domed up through the cement, letting light into what looked to be a strip mall.

"The drop should be somewhere here. We're looking for more stacked rocks again, aren't we?" Rhea winked, giving the skylights a wide bearth as her eyes scanned the roof.

Malik threw his hands behind his head, and let out a casual huff as he prepared to search around. "Yeah, but be prepared to look around a little bit," Malik started off as he crouched. "She hid one in an air conditioner - and another inside an abandoned building."

Those were not fun to find, but, hey, it's slowly building a trail that ends with Marcelle. He shrugged. "If you really can't find it, I can conjure a little storm and knock it loose." He said.

"A 'little' storm [i]may[/i] look out of place on such a gorgeous day." Rhea said, raising an eyebrow as she moved further down the roof's length.

[i]So it could literally be anywhere, hm?[/i] Rhea thought, frowning as she wandered past a whirling air vent. Peering inside did not reveal a drop, to Rhea's dismay. She circled the maintenance door, and started making her way back to where Malik was searching. A rusted, graying electrical box came into view, which Rhea was just dismissing when the door hinge creaked.

Curiously, Rhea pulled at the box's lock, where it fell into her hand. Upon swinging the door open, Rhea spied a sleek tube buried at the back behind a mass of wires. With a wry grin, Rhea stood and waved Malik over. 

[hr][hider==Phantom Power Music - Fate's End][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSRXUqsHh88[/youtube][/hider][hr]

"It's here." She pointed. "But some of these wires are exposed. This thing may have a, well, electrifying quality..."

Malik laughed. "Well, so do I." He said as he walked up to it. He quickly turned into his storm form - accompanied by raging winds, he turned into a mass of clouds that was vaguely shaped like himself. His hands hovered over the wires, before he turned his head back towards Rhea and said, "Just keep an eye out... this just ain't gonna be quiet." 

Shaking his head from left to right... he just hoped he wasn't screwing anyone over here too much when he did this. The clouds around his hands were surrounded with electricity as the air pressured thickened. With that out of the way, he reached for the dead drop, unbothered by the wires... but, the only problem was that he was flooding the wires with electricity as he did this. The crackling of electricity intensified as he reached for the dead drop.

[i]Something popped[/i], followed by the power shutting off in the building below.

"Oh," Malik said. "... We should go now."

He snatched the dead drop, and quickly put it in his pocket. "We gotta move!"

Rhea watched a stream of smoke waft up from the box. "Agreed."

Throwing caution to the wind, they ran back in the direction they came, leaping over the ledge to land on the walkway. Reaching the halfway point, Rhea noticed two masked faces pop up from cover at the connecting building's roof. In sync, they crossed the ledge and landed at the other end of the walkway, armed to the teeth. Their marks and outfits were a dead giveaway: the Family's Intimidation Unit.

[i]Shit. They caught up. And it [/i]had[i] to be here.[/i] Rhea said, noting that traffic was slowing down. People were pointing their phones up to the walkway, others were dialing numbers.

[i]... Awww crap.[/i] Malik thought to himself as he saw the masked men. They were bold enough to go around in broad daylight like this? Well, they [i]do[/i] have Intimidation in their name. But, that wasn't the point, they had guns, and Malik didn't. His wind powers could throw the bullets off course, but could he really risk that?

Rhea spoke quickly to Malik. "If we can knock them down to the street, we'll have a chance to outrun all this."

"Yeah, yeah, can pull it off," Malik said, fortunately, he was already in his storm form. It would be [i]easy[/i]. Malik threw both hands forward towards the Intimidators, and his hands were charged with electricity as a solid bolt came out of his hands, and crashed into the ground the IU agents were standing on. It made them stagger, and would have been an [i]impressive[/i] attack...

... If Malik could aim worth shit in his storm form.

That was just a distraction. "Rhea, hold on!" Malik spun around assisted by his storm manipulation, and kicked up one hell of a storm. He focused on the stunned Agents, and bore his teeth. Whipping his body around one last time, and sending out a powerful gust of wind that knocked both of them off the building.

He would have sighed in relief... but, Malik knew that saying; [i]there's more where that came from[/i].

The wind threatened to tear Rhea from her handholds as she clung to the roof, keeping a cool eye on the Unit as they lost their footing. Bystanders and gathering media crew on the street scrambled to move out of the way as the goons met the cement.

"Run!" Malik said as he began leviating, quickly moving at a brisk pace so he could keep up with Rhea.

Rhea gave Malik a nod, sparks lighting up her skin as she activated her empowerment. Within seconds, they fled the walkway, meeting the edge of the next rooftop, leaping, and landing with a roll on the other side.

Sirens pierced the air as police closed in a few streets away. And… was that a chopper she heard biting the air? Rhea glanced behind them briefly. No sign of anyone following. Funny, she thought the Unit would have been prepared to take on the Lightning Duet - [i]Mm, that has a nice ring.[/i]

She yelled to Malik as they sped over the next rooftop. “We have a two second head start, at best. With luck, we can escape all this [i]attention[/i].”

Malik pondered if he should simply grab Rhea and haul ass... but, with that chopper above them, it would be nigh impossible to lose it unless they fly up into the clouds. "If we're gonna escape attention... it's best we get off the roof." He urged. They had zero cover up here, and if Malik was going to pull the same trick that he used to escape from the Family trick, they would have to be quick.

What urged Malik was a bright blue light flying towards them. On reflex, he flew over towards Rhea, grabbing her midsection, and dove to the ground. The "light" whirled past them. Malik thought it was like a blue fireball, but it was way too pure, it was almost like a plasma....

... The orb hit the air conditioning unit and exploded violently. Just blew the whole thing to pieces!

Looking over his shoulder, he saw an armored man in a mask... with fist that was radiating with a glowing blue energy. Malik was no detective, but that guy looks like the fireball hurler! And he wasn't alone. Jeez, the IU sure are fast.

Rhea gaped at what remained of the air conditioner - rubble and dying sparks from broken wires. Looking back, the one responible was coiling their arm back to throw another one. Instinctively, Rhea's Empowerment moved to encompass Malik, and she pulled his hand toward the nearest ledge. Even on top speed, Rhea felt the fireball singe the air above her head as they dove into the alleyway. The landing was rough - no time for finesse when the Unit was almost literally above them.

"This way!" Rhea charged down the alley, keeping a firm grip on Malik's hand. At this speed, it would be easy to lose one another. The pavement was a blur underneath their shoes.

A fireball exploded the dumpter to their left, spilling its contents like a cloud. Thankfully, it was mainly shredded paper. Rhea turned them toward a side street, wracking her brain on what maps of the city she'd memorized. Maybe if they found an access to the sewer, they could hide underground. [i]Ew, but the smell...[/i] Rhea wrinkled her nose.

The chopper was briefly visible as it passed over a house. At that distance, Rhea had to cross her fingers tight that it didn't spot them.

"We might lose them underground, unless you've got a better idea?" Rhea said, eyes peeled for their next turn.

"Well... I've watched enough movies to know..." Malik started off, before he glanced at the helicopter. "Yeah, we ain't losin' that up here... hope ya' got a strong stomach, yeah."

Malik reached down, and pulled the sewer grate off with his bare hands... as he slowly transformed out of his storm form. He pulled it off, and suddenly, the sewer smelled [i]so[/i] much worse. But, hey, it didn't smell any worse than the streets of Paris.

"... Ladies first," Malik started off. "Just start screamin' if you get attacked by a sewer monster. I'll come help you!" And by "help you" Malik means, "leave you to her fate while I gets my ass out of here."

"Rats ain't so bad." Rhea teased, tucking her nose under the collar of her hoodie. With a precise grip, she firepoled down the short ladder, landing in foot-deep sludge. Her eyes blinked in an effort to adjust to the dark as her hand reached for the wall. Something scuttled to her right. [i]A rat, I hope.[/i] Rhea squinted. With their fastest Empowerment speed, Rhea figured they had maybe 10 to 15 seconds to make themselves scarse. And she really, really hoped none of them brought infrared vision.

"No sewer monsters," Rhea called up. "We should keep moving."

Malik dropped down, and almost [i]died[/i] when he fell one foot into a putrid mixture of human (and animal) bodily waste combined into a slimy sludge that burned Malik to his very soul. He tilted his head, eyes barely open, and mouth agape. "... I don't think my stomach is strong enough for this." He really meant his mind. His mind's not strong enough for this.

"Mm, hold your breath for a bit." Rhea suggested, still firmly pressing the cloth of her hoodie to her face.

He took a step out of the waste, and started walking through the sewers. Every step crushed sewer waste underneath his feet....

"... Y'know, Tanya's not going to let us into the apartment like this," Malik said. "She might just strip us naked and hose us all down behind the building... if he's feeling merciful."

He shuddered.

"But, I hope you know where we're going, because I don't."

In the stenchful darkness it was difficult to see one foot in front of the other, never mind the branching tunnels. Rhea squeezed the near-dead battery in her hoodie pocket, grimacing. There was a long ways to go, and light would be preferred until they safely left the sewers. Raising her hand, Rhea caused enough sparks to gather in her palm to create a fluctuating, white orb that pushed back the shadows.

In the light, Rhea turned toward Malik. His face didn't look so good - probably the smell. "I've actually been down here a few times. There is some pattern to the maze, if you can see where you're going. We'll be at Tanya's in a half hour, naked or not."

"Right, then," Malik said, throwing his arms behind his head. "Doubt anyone will find us down here... lead the way."

Rats scuttled back into the darkness as they progressed through the tunnels under the city. Rhea could tell when they reached a busy street from the constant roll of tires above them. These cues, and the maps she had memorized moved them down branch after branch. At one point Rhea had to persuade Malik down a sludge waterfall. But eventually, and without real harm - besides the crime to their noses - Rhea and Malik exited a manhole just a building down from the apartment.

"My God, fresh air..." Rhea groaned, breathing deeply.

"Good lord," Malik said as he hopped out - almost doing a flip out of joy. "I thought we'd die down there!"

Malik looked around for a moment, before asking. "... Think they followed us back?"

Rhea shook her head. "I'm sure they would have ambushed us in the sewers if they knew where we were."

"Eh, guess so," Malik said, as he reached into his pocket and held the dead drop high and mighty... He was proud to actually recover something in all of that. "Glad we didn't encounter the dog-guy or something, that would have been a headache."

He stopped himself as a thought occured.

"... Speaking of headaches, we gotta deal with Tanya now."

[hr][i][u]Courtbridge, Prince Ed-field.[/u][/i]

"... Oh my God, ya' two smell like ya' bathed in shit!" Tanya loudly shouted - her Jamacian accent being more pronounced here than ever before - and her voice was carried through the halls of her apartment complex. "I don't know what freaky-ass drugs you've been hittin' up on, but ya' ain't comin' anywhere near my apartment smellin' like a literal bumbaclot!"

"C'mon, Tanya, we just want your shower," Malik tried to plead with her.

"Ya' got money - all da' money in the world - go fuckin' pay someone," Tanya seethed. "There's a hose out back if ya' need it."

"Can we at least borrow your laptop?" Malik said.

Oddly enough, Tanya smiled as she skipped back inside - slamming the door in their face in case they attempt to sneak in - and came back with the laptop. Playfully handing it to Malik with a smile on her face. Before he could take it, Tanya snatched back the laptop, and asked.

"... Ya' gonna buy me another one, right?" Tanya asked, and Malik winced. "[i]Right?[/i]"

"... Right Tanya." Malik said.

"Yay!" Tanya handed them the laptop. "Now get outta here. Ya' stinkin' up the whole damn place."

Nodding his head, Malik turned off with the laptop in hand.

[hr]

Malik had placed himself on the rooftop where he had watched Marcelle's log earlier in the day. Adjacent from Tanya's apartment, it was risky being up here, but he should be fine long as no helicopters or ninjas scroll on past. Plus, he needed to air himself out (He was wondering if they [i]should[/i] use the hose Tanya suggested).

Rhea was a little late to join Malik as she had, in fact, gone to use the hose. The shoes and socks couldn't be saved, and were left in the garbage bin. Rhea decided to tear her sweats into ragged shorts - the bottoms were literally stained in shit. When she did reach the roof, she was using her hoodie as a towel.

"I'm hoping she has some juicy secrets — we fought hard for this drop." Rhea said, peering over Malik's shoulder at the laptop.

Having his [i]brand[/i] new laptop on his lap, Malik turned on Marcelle's log, and watched....

[quote][i]"Marcelle's Log Eleven: It's been a little while since my last log, yes? I've been gathering information on the Family from the shadows, and I'm ready to make a report on something curious I've found. The so called Secretaries that the Blessed Three cart around. They have to be the most disturbing aspect of the Family's resources... someone that devout... it's horrifying. I didn't know what makes a Secretary a Secretary, until I asked around."

"A few rumors bounced around the Intimidation Unit about the Secretaries. The one that caught my eye being that the Secretaries are men and women kidnapped and brainwashed to be the perfect servants for the Family. A did a little research... and took a risk and got close to one of them. A young brown-haired woman with green eyes... she was Ezekiel's Secretary, and the man almost had a fit before the Secretary calmed him down.

"After doing some research, I learned that her name is Lauren Miller... a Canadian university student that just mysteriously disappeared a few years ago. After doing some more research, I found more missing people among the Secretaries' ranks."

"I have come to the conclusion that, somehow, the Family has a way of brainwashing a human being and completely placing them under the Family's control. It's the only way... I've seen the Secretaries take hits for the Blessed Three, and die smiling. It's impossible for any other option."

"What's most disturbing is that I dug deep, and found that these Secretaries have been kidnapped men and women from all over the world. From America, to Africa, to Asia... it's disturbing."

"But, my question is; can they apply this brainwashing to just anyone? And who else has been effectively mind controlled by the Family? I know they can't just be making servants."

"I ponder these questions, but, for now, Marcelle out."[/i][/quote]


Okay, now [i]mind control[/i] is coming into the mix? Malik knew he was getting deeper and deeper, but no matter how many logs he finds, how many people Malik fights... he still isn't closer to finding Marcelle. All he's closer to is the Family, and the insanity that surrounds them.

"... This is really messed up, but..." Malik trailed off. "I still don't know where Marcelle is... I hope she's okay."

“Malik, we’re going to find her. I’m here to back you up 100% of the way.” Rhea said, jaw firm.

[i]What does she mean by brainwash, though?[/i] Rhea narrowed her eyes in thought. Brainwashing sounded like a superpower; she wasn’t aware of any technology that could accomplish such a feat. This ‘transformation’ also sounded permanent, and subtle. Could it be true that the Family gained their dominion through mild brainwashing, on top of good old assassinations? She also noticed the log number.

“Did you find any other logs while I was away? Or… is someone else taking them?” She asked.

"Found two while you were away," Malik immediately produced them from his pockets... they never left his side. "We can watch them really fast, then... I don't know. Find some more until we find Marcelle. One of 'em has to have a clue."

He then shrugged. "I go far and wide searchin' for them, but most of them are already gone."

"Two, eh? Throw 'em on." Rhea said, hunkering down beside Malik. 

She hesitated, brows knitted. "Mm... Between you and me, there's [i]something[/i] going on here. I just wish I knew what..."