[h2][center][b][i]Meanwhile in Pacific Point...[/i][/b][/center][/h2]

It was a disquieting scene, to say the least. The Neo-Ronin standing guard shuffled uncomfortably as sirens passed below them, headed towards the burning beacon of the apartment building across the street, filling the darkened room with an eerie dancing orange light. Arson was an unusual way to attract the attention of a meta, and it was all planned by the man standing quietly in front of the window, silhouetted against the burning light of the fire outside. He hadn’t done anything since the xeno was spotted except stand there, the sound of his strained, artificial breathing echoing cleanly over the sound of fire and sirens.

“You know, I get the Shogun wanting to make an example out of the alien chick,” one of the Neo-Ronin murmured to his compatriot. “But I don’t get why we had to set a building on fire to do it.”

“Why are you complaining? It’s not like you have to go in there and cap that meta,” his friend said, lifting the visor of his helmet to check his M1 over again.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t make much sense when you get down to thinking about it…” the Neo-Ronin remarked curiously.

“We’re trying to kill an alien who shoots purple shit out of her hands, regularly fights a four armed tarantula woman the size of a truck and helped take down that freak in a bathrobe that sent Pac Man after your kid brother last week, and THIS is what doesn’t make sense to you?”

“...I’ll just shut up now.”

“Good move, [i]baka[/i]. Fucking hell, sometimes you just-”

“There.”

The pair of them jumped at the sudden sound of the man’s voice, sounding just as mechanical and strained as his breathing. Quickly rushing to the window alongside him, they easily spotted the purple-suited alien darting from one of the firemen to the door of the burning apartment.

“Nothing like a flame to draw out the moth,” the assassin said cooly. “Tell the others to get into position. Make sure no one interferes, and your ‘Shogun’ will have his prize.”

Before either of the Neo-Ronin could answer, there was a loud pounding against the door. The man turned his head sharply towards the intrusion, clenching his fist.

“I thought you said this building was abandoned.”

“I-it was! It should have been!” one of the Neo-Ronin said in his defense as he rushed to the door and tugged it open. “Hey who the fuck do you think-”

The intruder pushed past him into the room, crying out in shock at the sight of the firelight glinting off the assassin’s helmet. He backed against the now closed door in terror, eyes wide in terror, clutching at the red stain blossoming at the shoulder of his Neo-Ronin jacket.

“Don’t worry, he’s one of ours! Dude, what the hell hap-”

“We didn’t start that fire!” the wounded Neo-Ronin blurted out. The silence was palpable as everyone took in what was just announced to the room before one of them spoke again.

“...if this is a fucking Billy Joel reference or something-”

“No!” the man cried out again, wincing at the effort of moving his wounded arm. “We couldn’t start it! I tried to light it like you said but someone started shooting at us! Jem didn’t make it, I only barely got out before-”

There was a flash of movement and a scream of terror as the man was suddenly lifted on his feet. The other Neo-Ronin backed away in shock as the assassin’s fist clenched around the man’s throat.

“Who shot at you?” he demanded icily, his helmeted face inches away from the Neo-Ronin’s.

“I don’t know, man, just some guys…” he started to say before he was slammed into the heavy wooden door with enough force to splinter it. Tears came to his eyes as the vice like grip tightened. He felt something sharp pressing against the bottom of his chin, burning his skin to the bone where it touched.

“Do not make me ask you again. Who. Shot. St. You?”

“Don’t...know...” the man strained to speak. “Soldier types...black...armor…”

The assassin swore violently and threw the man aside like a rag doll, ignoring his whimpering as he turned back to the burning building, his head twitching as his mind worked furiously.

“Uh, boss, what do we-”

“We have a problem,” the assassin interrupted. “The Hounds.”

“Who the hell are-”

“Doesn’t matter. Tell the Neo-Ronin to get out of here, they’ll just be getting in the way.” The assassin roughly shoved him out of the way as he reached for a case against the wall and started unpacking as the Neo-Ronin stared cluelessly.

“What? But what about the hit?”

“Leave the alien to me.”

[center][b]---[/b][/center]

"Here [i]Fullbright-san[/i], have this. It's [i]hojicha[/i], good for your ailment."

Kira Sitko grimaced as the cup of hot tea was shoved into her hands. Her face flushed from the exertion of sitting up, she slunk back down onto the sofa gently and took a sip. To her surprise, her head did clear up a bit from the rich, toasty flavor, though the throbbing was still there, and she still felt like a bus had backed over her. Flu season sucked.

"Thanks Typhoon," Kira mumbled through her congestion, barely making out her own words as she spoke. The security robot dressed like a cyberpunk ninja gave a curt nod of his head and deposited the teapot back on its perch on the table.

"I made some for you as well, [i]Monsutāneko-san[/i], though the adornment upon your brow might impede it." There was an electronic series of beeps as the young man in a tracksuit shrugged his shoulders, the eyes of the robotic cat mask blinking in time to the tones.

"So about the credit union job," Kira continued, setting the mug of tea down next to an assortment of blueprints. "I think our best bet is to go on Thursday two weeks from now, when the new security checkpoints are cycled in. If we're lucky we'll only have to deal with the ground crew that day."

"And surely my nemesis will be there, ready to lock blades once again!" Typhoon exclaimed, drawing his ninja-to and posing dramatically. Monsterk4t electronically whirred in response, pointing at him with one hand and making a 'cuckoo' gesture with the other. Kira opened her mouth to speak again but broke into a coughing fit, prompting concerned looks from the two other villains. Monsterk4t beeped once and stuck his thumb over his shoulder, pointing out the window.

"[i]Monsutāneko-san[/i] is right, we can do this some other night if you are not feeling well," Typhoon clarified.

"N-no, I'm getting better, really," Kira insisted, not entirely being truthful. "Besides, those robbers aren't going to wait to stash that money away while I get over a little bug. Those fat cats will regret the day they -urk-" She clasped a hand over her mouth, her dramatic monologue broken up by a wave of nausea. Monsterk4t squeaked and hid the eyes of his helmet behind his mask as Kira swallowed painfully, her stomach lurching in protest. She reached for the tea again but was cut short by a knock on the door.

"Helloooo, cutey! Still alive in there?"

"Oh! Uh, hold on a moment, I'm not decent!" In a panic, Kira tumbled to her feet and scrambled to collect the blueprints sprawled across the table. With another low whine, Monsterk4t leaned backwards and fell through the window and out of site with a crash as Typhoon, who was nowhere near a convenient escape route, struck a ninja pose and activated his camouflage systems, blending into the background and nearly vanishing from sight. Chucking the blueprints in the closet with her Fullbright armor, Kira managed to get back to the couch and flip the television on as the door creaked open. "Ugh, not so loud, please," she moaned, hoping her flushed features would be passed off as the flu.

"I thought you said you were feeling better," Jordan Fletcher said with joking indignation, slipping inside the apartment with a paper bag in her arms and pushing the door shut again with her foot. "Besides, guess what I got."

"Earmuffs?" Kira said grumpily, pulling the sheets tighter around her ears. Acting sick or not, her head did ache from the racket that Jordan caused when she barged in.

"Even better, subs!" the feisty Irishwoman said happily, pulling a foot long wrapped package out of the bag and holding it tantalizingly above Jane's face. "And it's Tiny Pete's! You know... Homemade Italian, provolone, extra ham..."

"...olive oil, fresh lettuce, extra peppers..." Kira continued, her eyes following the wrapped sub, her mouth watering at the thought of the succulent sandwich. "Oh my God I'm going to regret it but gimme!"

"There's a coooost..."

"Jordan, come on, I'm sick..."

"Don't care!" and before Kira could do anything Jordan had yanked the blanket down from her mouth and planted a quick kiss on her ailing girlfriend's cheek. Sputtering, Kira flailed her arms to get Jordan off of her, nearly knocking her precious sub aside as Jordan tossed it at her.

"You...You're impossible..." Kira grumbled, turning red for an entirely different reason as she angrily unwrapped her sandwich.

"And you love me for it!" Jordan reminded her, a point that Kira really couldn't argue with. Retrieving her own foot-long sub from the sack, the Irishwoman took a big bite and turned her attention to the television. "Anyfing goo' on?" Jordan asked through a mouthful of pepperoni.

"Nah, just some news reports and mediocre sitcoms," Kira grumbled. "Hey, you didn't get us anything to drink did you?"

Jordan paused mid-chew. "Aww...left it on the bike."

"So busy trying to be cutesy and adorable you forget the soda. Aces, Jordan, aces."

"Oh shut up," Jordan retorted, sticking a tongue out at her. "Fine, if you can bear to be apart from me, I'll go get them."

"Forsooth, the blessings of her absence!" Kira announced dramatically before collapsing into another coughing fit.

"Haha, you sound like that knightly villain that shoots light beams at Voyager," Jordan teased. "Lucky for you," she continued, booping Kira on the nose with one finger. "...you're much cuter then she is!"

"H-how can you tell, she wears a helmet," Kira asked defensively.

"It's my razor sharp instinct," Jordan declared, walking slowly backwards towards the door. "You need that in my line of work you know!"

"You and me both, Fletchy," Kira said, hoping she sounded casual with that blatant double meaning statement.

"Right, we need sodas! Hold everything, I'll return in a moment!" Spinning on her heel, she gave Kira a nice view as she reached for the door handle before the TV screen flickered, drawing Kira's attention.

"People of America," a heavily modified voice announced, "We find ourselves at the precipice..."

There was a metallic click as the door opened, and something rolled into the room next to Jordan. A can painted solid black with a metal knob on one end.

"What the...FUCK!"

Both girls recognized the device as Jordan ran and ducked behind the sofa as Kira rose to her feet. A split second later the flashbang went off, but as the room filled with blinding light, in an instant it was sucked in towards Kira's hands, rendering her eyes a solid white color before returning to their usual blue.

"KIRA, GET-"

There was a crash as the door burst open and a man in black armor charged in, wielding a deadly looking shotgun. Shots rang out as Kira dashed aside, and the man cried out in pain as the bullets from Jordan's sidearm struck him in the shoulder. Jordan took cover behind the couch and held her gun professionally astwo more men charged in during the chaos, one taking aim at Kira. Jordan fired again and the black armored invader collapsed instantly, blood spraying from the opposite side of his head. "Ha, get the fuck out, you bloody-!"

But what exactly they were that was bloody Kira never found out. There was an explosion of glass as an armored figure swung in from the window right behind the two of them. Jordan spun around but was met with a sickening crack as the intruder swung the end of his gun into her face. Kira felt the warm sensation of blood splatter on her cheek as the black armored man wrapped an arm around a stunned Jordan and retreated out the window with his prisoner.

"NO, JORDAN!" Kira made to run after him but felt something hard slam into her diaphragm. Collapsing in a wheezing heap, the man in armor painfully pulled back her hair and pressed the barrel of his gun to her face. Underneath his tactical headgear, a twisted smile crossed his face.

"Looks like we caught a Meta tonight after all," he said vindictively. "I've been looking forward to this a long time..."

"Sorry to disappoint you,"

The man gasped and released Kira, just as a blade erupted from the dead center of his chest. The air next to his face shimmered as Typhoon's camouflage switched off, his robotic eyes meeting those of his victim.

"You reek of cowardice, [i]koshinuke[/i]," the ninja robot said as Kira stumbled to her feet, still trying to take it all in. "I do not have a sense of smell, but I assure you that from a metaphorical standpoint-"

A series of beeps sounded from the doorway.

"Ah, yes. Don't explain the metaphor. Thank you, [i]Monsutāneko-san[/i]." Kira looked over to see MonsterK4t giving the two of them a thumbs up. With his other hand he tweaked the control pad on his wrist, and the remaining two soldiers dropped to their knees, their faces contorted in pain as they tried to move. Paralytic audio waves, courtesy of the DJ supervillain.

"Guys...they took her...they took Jordan..." Kira said, her voice dead of any emotion. It had all happened so fast, she didn't know what to feel. There was another flurry of movement as Typhoon, in a single movement, pulled his sword out, drew it across the man's neck, and sheathed it again, letting the dead body fall to the ground with a thump.

"They did, [i]Fullbright-san[/i]. But, who are these demons..."

"We are the last line of defense against these monsters," the TV announced, oblivious to the carnage of the scene that just took place. "We are here, we are everywhere. We are the Hounds of Humanity!”