[center][h2]Healer Team: Halvost
- Aggressor -[/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   / /  ~𝟙𝟟𝟛𝟝[/color][/center][hr][center][sub]Collab with [@Lasrever] [@A Filthy Yet Glamorous Slug With Nubs] and [@banjoanjo][/sub][/center]

Ernie shrugged at Zoe's question. It wasn't like he had much information to work off either. [color=00a99d]"There are a lotta big factions out there. Mostly made up of Aberrations since... well, I shouldn't have to explain it to you. But who these Abes are probably won't help us much. What we need to know is how many are still gonna be after us and anything about their powers so we can tell the others."[/color] He looked to their captive. [color=00a99d]"Right, David?"[/color]

The thought that other mages would be after them froze Christmas's hands for a moment as he clumsily wound the gauze around his throat, fumbling uselessly with the bulges and bumps across the uneven wrapping and leaving the end dangling from one side of his neck when he couldn't find any tape to hold it together. How was he supposed to avoid both the machines and the enemies? The Commander had suspected another organization but the reality hadn't hit him until now.

Every movement of his head pulled on the light gash and the shoddy bandaging only irritated the wound further, so Christmas held his head as still as possible as he turned to look, dissipating the healing mist when everyone seemed all right. There was a steady panic building in the back of his head, held back only by the rush of fear and adrenaline and the light scent of cologne on the large, blue jacket draped around him. Sander had promised to finish the fight quickly. He just had to hold out until then--whenever "then" was.

Zoe sighed, doubt crossing her expression. The torture session had more than dealt with everything, meaning she didn't particularly want to hurt the kid. Part of her already knew her actions could be seen as despicable. It wasn't normal to be so ready to hurt someone else, to revel in it like she had. Ernie had let her, and he'd fired the first shot, but she'd been the one to really carry it out. That probably made her morally reprehensible in one way or another.

But if the information would help the others, then what did David matter to her? It was necessary, like it or not, and once she got started, she'd enjoy it either way. They didn't need to find out. Irritated by her moment of uncertainty, she shook her head, face set into a resolved scowl. Whatever it took, she had to be willing. [color=palevioletred]"You heard him. Start talking, or we start round two, and you are [i]really[/i] not gonna like round two."[/color]

[color f7976a]"You may as well kill me then. I don't know any more than he does. They didn't tell me anything they didn't have to--and that's almost everything,"[/color] Cain replied, fresh ear still ringing with the memory of pain. He winced reflexively at the mention of another torture session, blinking as the white, sparkling mist around him disappeared. [color f7976a]"You have a healer,"[/color] he commented almost nonchalantly. [color f7976a]"Pretty effective one, too, if he can heal back an entire ear."[/color]

Zoe gave David a blank look, clearly bemused at the obviousness of the statement. [color=palevioletred]"I wouldn't be surprised if you were lying to me at this point, so don't push your luck. No way to tell, though..."[/color] An idea sprung into her head. It was true, after all. They had no way of verifying information, but if these people were a threat, well, there had to be others that did.

She looked at Ernie, standing abruptly. [color=palevioletred]"I need a second to think. See if he has a phone on him or something in the meantime, I guess."[/color]

[color=00a99d]"Tagging out? Sure,"[/color] Ernie replied, sparing a look at Christmas' terrible patch-up job. Urgh, he should've just insisted on doing it for him. The long-haired boy fiddled with the roll of medical tape he'd taken from the kit and walked over. If he lived long enough for a next mission, he'd need to bring along some actual duct tape. Or handcuffs. Maybe those Brent-style tech goggles too, or just a small pair of binoculars.

He gave the captive a hearty squeeze of pepper spray as he approached. Sprayed some into the Arbiter's mouth and nose too, in case the effects would last longer that way. The captive immediately cried out, curling up and clutching his eyes and coughing violently. While the stocky boy was indisposed, Ernie rolled him onto his stomach and sat a knee onto his back. Arms behind the back, sleeves rolled up. The tape was deftly wrapped around the entirety of David's joined forearms, fingers taped up along with them to keep him from grasping any other sneaky weapons. Like straitjacket arms, Ernie noted, only behind his back. He'd have to reinforce these impromptu handcuffs with duct tape if the house had any.

[color=00a99d]"It's important to check the seams and stuff. Shoes too,"[/color] Ernie commented as he searched and patted, [color=00a99d]"You wouldn't believe how many assholes try to sneak tiny knives in that way. It's really..."[/color]

And there it was. Ernie's features contorted into something between fear and rage and he held the microphone aloft for Zoe to see. How much had they heard? Enough to know that they had a healer. Enough for the healer team to be in serious danger. Fuck, he really was an idiot.

It was almost disappointing. He'd tried so hard to keep it together when Zoe was melting this guy down bit by bit. He'd reined his Stigma in line so that Christmas wouldn't have anything to fear. He wanted to believe that he could overcome that pure glee he felt from someone getting tortured physically and emotionally. Resisting it was supposed to be the first step to becoming better. But David here was so fucking adamant on testing them, wasn't he! As much as he didn't want it, Ernie felt his grimace morph into a grin. At the sight of that smile and the microphone, Christmas blanched and turned back around, shaking visibly.

David thought he was going to die? Ernie would make sure he received so much worse before that.

[color=00a99d]"It's really such a pain in the ass, isn't it?"[/color] he laughed that same giddy laugh from that day in the alley and launched a heavy steel-toed boot right into David's teeth. Brutal stomps and kicks rained down on the boy with no resistance. Ernie only stopped when he realised that he'd gotten blood on his shoes.

As Ernie lifted the microphone, Zoe's eyes widened. Shit. She thought back over their conversation. How much had they given away? Christmas' abilities, her own as well. Nothing about their location, but there was still every chance they were in danger. They'd been careless. She glanced at the healer briefly, hoping they hadn't just completely fucked him over. As the beating commenced she watched with a grim smile, deciding she didn't much care to step in until Ernie stopped. Once he did, she walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

[color=palevioletred]"I'm with you on this, but try not to kill him yet."[/color] She looked at their battered victim, before shaking her head. [color=palevioletred]"Mind if I take over? I might have an idea, but I'll need to properly disable him. Contact--"[/color] She remembered the microphone, stopping suddenly and gesturing for Ernie to get rid of it. He nodded and went to the next room, the kitchen. The bug was placed in the fridge for the time being.

[color=00a99d]"What's the plan? Does involve getting away from this location?"[/color] Ernie asked once he returned.

[color=palevioletred]"Yeah, we're gonna have to move anyway. But I'm thinking we should bring this guy with us."[/color] She poked David with her foot. [color=palevioletred]"He's not a threat anymore, but he might know more than he's telling us. We don't have any way to verify his info, but USARILN might. If we can get him to the trucks, or maybe hand him over to the evacuation team so they can take him back... There's a chance we find out more about them."[/color]

Normally she wouldn't even consider it, but now that they had him tied, his power didn't mean shit. On a personal level, just killing him felt unsatisfying, and more importantly, thinking about everything that had happened up until now gave her a bad feeling about all this. It made sense to take whatever advantages they could. She shrugged, trying to gauge whether her teammates had any questions. [color=palevioletred]"That make sense?"[/color]

A nod. [color=00a99d]"Yeah, sounds good,"[/color] Ernie smiled, [color=00a99d]"So what were you saying before about disabling?"[/color]

[color=palevioletred]"Well... As it is, he could pull a disappearing act as soon as he's out of my range. I can snap his tendons or blind him or both, then he's not going anywhere without help."[/color] She spoke matter-of-factly, barely sparing David a glance. Just had to focus on the plan. [color=palevioletred]"Could do it now or just before we hand him over. Ideally I'd wait to make transport easier for us, but it'd freak out whoever we're handing him over to."[/color]

[color=00a99d]"I wouldn't snap anything that'd make it hard to walk him around..."[/color] Ernie scratched his head. Wasn't tendon the tough, muscley stuff you were supposed to cut from beef? He didn't pursue the matter further, [color=00a99d]"Blinding is something we could definitely do though. Wait here."[/color]

He headed to the kitchen again, re-emerging with a bottle of drain cleaner. The chemical was liberally poured onto some dressing from the first-aid kit, which was taken back from Christmas, now adamantly turned away from the horrifying scene behind him. With another generous drizzle of cleaner onto David's forcibly opened eyes, some bandages, and medical tape, the caustic dressing was turned into an impromptu blindfold and wrapped around David's head. With his hands secured behind his back, there was no way he could remove it and avoid irreversible damage to his vision. It was more subtle and a lot less messier than whatever Zoe would have done.

[color=00a99d]"Does that work?"[/color] Ernie turned back to Zoe, looking a bit too proud for the nature of the work he'd just done.

[color=palevioletred]"Can't fault your efficiency, at least."[/color] Zoe grinned approvingly, before it occurred to her that their classmates probably wouldn't take the same view of things. Leaning down to pull David to his feet, she spoke a touch more seriously. [color=palevioletred]"If any of the others blow up at us, I'll say the torture was my idea. I doubt they'll blame either of you for not arguing with me, considering my track record."[/color]

[color=00a99d]"Your...track record,"[/color] his brow furrowed as he repeated it. He helped get David to his feet, wiping the cleaner from his hands onto their captive's shirt. Once his invulnerability vanished, he'd feel the chemical sting. He was going to have to wash his hands. After a pause, Ernie used the shirt again to wipe the excess off of David's face.

Truth be told, he hadn't been thinking too hard about what would come after this. But if they were going to hand this tortured victim to the Evac Team and Marcus, who already knew about Ernie's dark side and would inevitably think worse of him...

The Aberration frowned. He didn't like how tempting Zoe's offer was.

[color=00a99d]"Let's just think about that later,"[/color] Ernie replied hastily, [color=00a99d]"I need to wash my hands now. You call the Evac Team."[/color]

Zoe nodded, grabbing the radio from her belt as Ernie walked away. [color=palevioletred]"Fair enough. Transmit."[/color] She kept one eye on David as she spoke, her expression unreadable.

[color=palevioletred]"Evac? It's Zoe, Halvost team. We're gonna need you to pick up a rogue subnatural. The threat's been contained, but we can't afford to keep him with us. Over."[/color] Putting the radio back, she glanced towards the fridge. Wasn't sure if she should just leave the mic there, but bringing it with them seemed like a bad idea. They could retrieve it after the fight was done, maybe.

For now, they had more important concerns. She grabbed David by the arm and called out to her teammates. [color=palevioletred]"You two ready to go?"[/color]

Thanks to half a bottle of soap and some furious scrubbing, there only remained a slight tingling from the chemical once Ernie dissipated his invulnerability. There wasn't much reason to keep it up now that the threat had been blinded and beaten and bound. He wanted to have the full twenty minutes for later, if needed. The remainder of the first aid kit was shoved back into his backpack and zipped up. His half-used magazine was switched out for a full one. He grabbed his puffer jacket from where it had fallen to the floor beside the couch and handed it back to the healer. Now he was ready.

[color=00a99d]"Let's move quickly. I don't want to find out if that mic had GPS on it. Christmas, keep your hand on that neck. When we get to the next location, I'm gonna fix that up [i]properly[/i]."[/color]

The healer just responded with a barely perceptible nod, wincing again at the movement before following Ernie. His mind was still parsing the recent events and with each passing second where the rush of action faded, he felt the oppressive danger of fear. But he couldn't panic now, because who knew what would happen? Ernie and Zoe were terrifying, even if it had been a necessity, and he avoided looking at the battered prisoner they had just obtained.

The pulsing pain from his neck reminded him to ignore the inevitable guilt from the knowledge that they'd maimed a fellow mage, but David didn't look any older than the rest of them, and he was still making those horrible, pained noises as they dragged him along. He shivered from both the cold and the freshly renewed anxiety, doubled in force and almost debilitating in effect. White knuckles gripped Ernie's jacket while they walked and Christmas told himself it would be over soon. A lie or a truth, he didn't dare guess.