[center][h2]Healer Team: Halvost
- Victims -[/h2][h3][color=palevioletred]『ℤ𝕠𝕖』 [/color] [color=8493ca]『ℂ𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕞𝕒𝕤』[/color] [color=00a99d]『𝔼𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕥』 [/color][/h3][/center]
[center] [img]http://i.imgur.com/28qjKqU.png[/img] [img]http://i63.tinypic.com/2h84geb.jpg[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/FJt85Te.png[/img] [/center]
[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/3R5vYYi.png?2[/img][/center][hr][center][color=silver]𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟜, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘   / /   𝕎𝕚𝕤𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕕, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕   / /   𝕋𝕠𝕨𝕟   / /  ~𝟙𝟟𝟛𝟘[/color][/center][hr][center][sub]Collab with [@Lasrever] [@A Filthy Yet Glamorous Slug With Nubs] and [@banjoanjo][/sub][/center]

Ernie was already on edge. He didn't need a sudden scream from Christmas to fuck him up even more. His grip on the pistol was too tight for him to fumble with it as he whirled around, aiming the weapon at... nothing? The scene before him looked as dishevelled as when they had arrived, tables slightly knocked and half-empty teacups, yet Christmas looked like he was about to implode from fear. Instinctively, Ernie summoned his rope in his left hand but his shaking pistol was lowered from the sight of the empty room. Thank god for safeties, or else he probably would have shot himself in the foot. The rope was thrown in a loose coil around Ernie's shoulder, freeing his hand for a two-handed grip on the firearm.

[color=00a99d]"What's the matter?"[/color] Ernie hissed, only briefly glancing at the healer. He needed to keep his eyes open for whatever was out there, if there was anything at all.

Zoe had abandoned her search as soon as she heard the scream, mentally cussing herself out for leaving the others alone. She paid little attention to her surroundings, fear and anger overriding practical concern. It was a matter of seconds before she reached the room, coming to a stop near the door as she scanned the area for any sign of an attacker and found nothing. Seemed like the only thing of note was the panicking Christmas. For now, she stayed silent, deciding to see what the kid had to say.

[color 8493ca]"The--wh-what--"[/color] A small cry of pain cut off Christmas's words as he lifted the bloody hand to reveal the inexplicable cut on the side of his throat. [color 8493ca]"I d-don't--"[/color] His trembling surpassed communication, but he didn't have much to say anyway. The sudden slide of cold metal against the unprotected section of skin had scared him witless, especially when he couldn't understand what had happened.

[color=00a99d]"Keep some pressure on that cut. Zoe, get the first aid kit out of my backpack."[/color]

Useless. Looked like Christmas wouldn't help them much if they wanted to find this enemy. Ernie glared at the cut on the Arbiter's throat. Something had definitely attacked them. The location of the wound was too deliberate to have been a random, accidental fall. It was just dumb luck that Christmas hadn't gotten his entire throat slashed under the watch of two Aberrations. Ernie had been an idiot.

His heart pounded as he slowly came to terms with the situation they were in. They had no idea what they were dealing with. And he had no idea what to do. The only absolute he had in this scenario was the invulnerability that came with his rope, so he threw an arm around Christmas' shoulders and pulled the boy closer, tentatively raising the pistol at the empty room. His arm would defend against any knife that came close to the blond's neck again. First thing, they needed more information before they could act.

[color=00a99d]"Let's try some 'yes or no' questions, yeah? Maybe that'll be easier,"[/color] Ernie struggled to keep his voice level, [color=00a99d]"Did you see what hurt you?"[/color]

Christmas was about to shake his head, but the sting of the cut reminded him why that was a bad idea. Through the soft whimpers he managed a [color 8493ca]"N-no?"[/color]

[color=00a99d]"Do you know if it was a monster? Or a mage?"[/color]

[color 8493ca]"...N-no."[/color]

Ernie sighed and looked hopelessly to Zoe. Maybe she would have a plan.

Cain glanced between the three subnaturals nearby, eyeing the golden rope closely. The smart thing to do here would be retreat and wait for them to lower their guard again, but he didn't know if he would get as easy an opportunity as this one. Aside from the larger group that had spearheaded the assault, another set of three had a girl with a monstrous leg and arm and the last set of subnaturals he thought he could take on had piled into a vehicle.

The injured blond kid didn't seem ready to retaliate with anything, so Cain wrote him off as a lower threat. The two X's had to go first and the girl who had come running seemed less prepared.

While the two other boys talked--or tried to--Cain stepped softly towards the red-haired girl.

Zoe had listened to the conversation with growing concern. Something had definitely attacked Christmas - The wound was too deliberate to be an accident, but the constructs weren't exactly subtle going by the laser from earlier. It seemed likely that she would've heard if one of them got in, unless it was abnormally quiet. So, a subnatural? Maybe, she couldn't be sure. At least there wasn't anything here.

Was there?

Her eyes widened in sudden realisation. Nothing had left the room. She'd gotten there too quickly, she was too on edge not to have noticed any movement, and the others were covering the window. Whatever had attacked them, it could still be--

[color=palevioletred]"Christmas, mist!"[/color] Her concentration shifted away from her surroundings as she turned to the healer, enough urgency in her tone to be verging on panic as black spiralled across her skin.

The healer obeyed instinctively, Zoe's tone of voice rushing adrenaline through his shaking frame as the blood from his neck vaporized into shimmering white and enveloped the space around the three.

At that moment, Cain dashed for the girl's throat just as white light wrapped around his torso.

Frantic energy surged through Ernie as his gaze flickered around the room. Zoe must've seen something he didnt, something he didn't catch. Of course it was a subnatural. Any wound like that was too precise to be a monster. The Aberration whirled about, hoping to catch a glimpse of any clue. Then a form by Zoe, a body of light that was just a bit too solid to be like the rest of the mist, appeared and Ernie blanked out. Fear and trepidation seized his body and he quickly fired two shots at unknown's torso.

The knife barely nicked Zoe's neck and the stocky boy with a buzz cut was on the ground, visible in his dirty jeans and brown sweatshirt as he clutched at the bleeding, but healing wounds on his chest. Gasps came out wet and bloody in the meanwhile, however, and his large kitchen knife lay forgotten beside him.

Zoe brought her hand to her neck, glancing at the blood for a second before nodding, satisfied that the injury wasn't major. Seemed she seriously owed Ernie one. She was slightly surprised that she'd been right, but as her gaze locked on to the boy on the ground, she felt something settle over her. Kicking away the knife to the other side of the room, she knelt down and grabbed him by the throat with a smile. No powers, yet. She was going to enjoy this.

[color=palevioletred]"Tell us what you're doing here, and I [i]might[/i] kill you quickly."[/color]

Cain was still coughing up blood from the two puncture wounds to his lungs, but as the healing progressed he found the gall to scowl at the Amazonian redhead. Big girls had never been his strong point.

[color f7976a]"No,"[/color] he finally answered.

Ernie shot the boy once again in response to the insolence, knowing that the mist would heal it. The unfortunate target screamed satisfactorily from the new injury. A waste of ammunition, for sure. But he was pissed, as reasonably as anyone would be when suddenly attacked. Plus, making that prick scream felt really good. Ernie noted the white streak on his face, though it only drew up more questions.

[color=00a99d]"Don't be an ass,"[/color] Ernie spat coldly at the stranger before addressing Zoe. They both knew what was going to happen here, didn't they? This was probably the reason they got teamed up. He nodded, [color=00a99d]"I need to tell the others and fix up Christmas. I...Take your time, I guess."[/color]

[color=palevioletred]"I was hoping you'd say that."[/color] Zoe looked at Ernie with a slightly disturbing smile, before turning her attention back to the guy on the ground. [color=palevioletred]"Slowly it is."[/color]

Ernie turned away, trying to ignore the excitement his Stigma had brought at the sound of the screams. That was a moral problem for after the battle. There were more important things to deal with, like the condition of their healer and the presence of subnaturals. Easy one first. Ernie pulled the phone from his belt, holding the push-to-talk button. [color=00a99d]"Team Christmas just got attacked by a rogue mage. Situation's been handled but please stay alert. I'm sure there are more of them around."[/color]

Very sure. No solo mage would be nuts enough to attack USARILN personnel in the middle of a monster attack. 

Now came the more annoying part. Ernie looked over to the blond boy who was watching the proceedings with both terror and morbid fascination. Not wanting to deal with whatever anxiety that would come from a nervous wreck like Christmas watching a torture session, he took the smaller teen by the shoulders and turned him away. Ernie faced both Christmas and the scene with a deliberately blank face as he reached into his backpack.

[color=00a99d]"How's your neck?"[/color] he asked, unfurling the first aid kit.

[color 8493ca]"Um..."[/color] the reminder of the pain made Christmas wince, but he didn't pause too long, still harried by the fraying nerves of what had almost become a disastrous situation. [color 8493ca]"...'m o-okay."[/color]

Behind them now, Zoe placed her hand almost gently on the side of the guy's head. Still hadn't done anything, but making contact meant she could affect him whenever she wanted. Convenient, really. Just to make clear what she was capable of, she drew her thumb down the boy's cheek, melting a single strip of flesh as she locked eyes with him. [color=palevioletred]"I can break down any part of your body I want, fast or slow. Every time you piss me off, I'm going to make it worse. So let's start simple. What's your name?"[/color]

Cain had screamed as his flesh felt like a thousand needles had pierced it along the path of the girl's touch, before the subsequent horror of realizing a part of his face had peeled off set in. The pain quickly subsided under what he realized was some kind of healing effect that had already taken care of his bullet wounds by now.

He gnashed his teeth, both from the residual agony and the dilemma in front of him. Crazy X here or the crazy X's over there? God, were they all this fucking insane?

[color f7976a]"David,"[/color] he offered instead, because unless someone in their group was a lie detector there was no damn way they'd tell between one lie and the next.

[color=palevioletred]"Okay then, David. Truth is, I don't give half a shit what your name is, but I'm getting a bit of hesitation here. So we're gonna go rapid fire with these answers, right? If I think you're hesitating... Well, I'll be pretty upset."[/color] Zoe's tone was almost conversational as she looked down at the arbiter. Maybe he was telling the truth, maybe he wasn't, but it was more difficult to lie without time to think.

With a smile, she focused her power on the sole of David's right foot. The effect was slightly slower, since she wasn't in direct contact, but fast enough. Supposedly being hurt there wasn't fun, and she needed to make a point. [color=palevioletred]"Next question. Who sent you here?"[/color]

He felt an itch in his foot and he had wisened up enough to realize he shouldn't be dismissing any sort of sensation on his body at this point, including the healing effect that seemed to counteract the girl's powers.

[color f7976a]"No one,"[/color] he answered too quickly.

[color=palevioletred]"No-one? Huh. You know David..."[/color] Zoe nodded, smiling pleasantly as though accepting the answer, before placing her hand at the top of his ear and locking eyes with him. [color=palevioletred]"I really don't like liars."[/color]

Without giving him time to register the words, she dug her fingers into his ear and pulled down. Melting it clean off. He still had another one to hear her with, and she had no intention of giving him time to recover. She was far past resisting her Stigma - This was the most fun she'd had in ages. [color=palevioletred]"Let's try this again - Who sent you?"[/color]

He howled with the sudden pain of it, tears stinging his eyes and the blur of his vision didn't even matter because all he was seeing now were flashes across his sightline. Cain wasn't even aware how loud he was screaming until the healing mist finally mended the wound, regrowing an ear in the process over several minutes. His blubbering only subsided when he finally processed the giantess's question.

Between heaving breaths he finally admitted, [color f7976a]"They'll--they'll kill me."[/color]

Zoe looked at him disbelievingly, before laughing and shaking her head. [color=palevioletred]"You think I won't?"[/color]

Ernie eyed the interrogation session over Christmas's shoulder as Zoe continued her handiwork, ignoring how the healer visibly flinched at the latest, visceral scream. [color=00a99d]"We're probably gonna have to make a break for it soon, if that guy has friends who know our location. Not speaking from experience or anything here, but it's probably not a good idea to run around with an open neck wound."[/color]

Christmas put his hand over the wound again, as if assuring Ernie that was enough of a measure. The Aberration frowned.

[color=00a99d]"You don't want me to help you?"[/color]

[color 8493ca]"I'm...uh...o-okay."[/color]

What was the kid playing at now? [color=00a99d]"So you can fix yourself up?"[/color] Ernie raised an eyebrow and offered the first aid kit.

[color 8493ca]"Oh..."[/color] Christmas took the first aid kit tentatively. [color 8493ca]"O-okay."[/color]

Ernie rolled his eyes and took a step back. He'd let this slide for now, even if he'd probably have to redo it for the kid later.

[color f7976a]"I don't think it's going to matter [i]who[/i] kills me if I tell you."[/color] Cain groaned at last as the odd feeling of healing and regrowth faded once the injury was gone. [color f7976a]"Crossing them's just as bad as crossing the USARILNs."[/color]

That caught Ernie's attention. Not even the Senators had that sort of reputation. The Aberration looked up from his spot across the room and called out. [color=00a99d]"These people. They were all Aber-- X-marks, right?"[/color]

[color f7976a]"...You know them,"[/color] came the quiet response.

[color=00a99d]"Maybe. Did they mention their names or anything? Their motives? 'Big, scary gang of X-marks' covers a lot of groups these days."[/color]

[color f7976a]"Not Cat's Cradle, I'll tell you that much. But you...you know."[/color]

Zoe looked between the two in confusion, deciding her interrogation was done with for now at least. [color=palevioletred]"One of you mind telling me what the hell is going on?"[/color]