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[sub][@Surtr], [@Zombiedude101], [@tsukune], [@FernStone], and [@Dioxide][/sub]
[/center][b][code]Stonecliff, Silverhills_[/code][/b][hr][hr]


It felt like everything that could've went wrong... went wrong.

Oh, so wrong. Case in point, the inhabitants of the house, and owners of the second book came home at literally the [i]worst[/i] moment. Now they're more than a [i]little[/i] pissed. Okay, okay, Wendy knew how to handle these situations. Run like hell. She quickly lunged over to Rowan, and grabbed onto him. She turned them both into paper in the blink of an eye, and thought it'd be smooth sailing. The two flew directly upwards into the night sky, and thought they got away. However, they were quickly brought back down to Earth as if something was [i]pulling[/i] them down. Wendy, out of surprise, turned back into flesh and blood. The problem was that the two of them were falling, so Wendy, still latched onto Rowan, turned the two of them weightless.

They softly hit the ground, and Wendy was able to figure out that they were wrapped up in... something. Upon inspection, it was... web? She looked at the girl, and saw that there was a thick trail of web coming from her hand. Wendy tried to pull it apart, but the webbing was far too damn strong. She had her eyebrows furrowed, and she was extremely focused on them.

"Alright, cocksuckers," Penny said. "I got a question for ya', and I better get some fuckin' answers or somebody's gonna be leaving here with a broken nose." She hissed, before she raised a finger up into the air. The boy she was with had stepped outside, and activated his powers. His right hand was engulfed in flames, while his left arm had frozen over. He pointed the frozen hand at them, and Wendy picked up that he [i]probably[/i] didn't want to hurt them.

"One, which member of the Founding Fags sent you here?" Penny asked, and narrowed her eyebrows. "And don't give me any bullshit. You went for the books, and nothing else - you [i]have[/i] to be in bed with them."

"I wouldn't recommend lying, either," Daniel was standing over the two with his fist balled, and he had created an ice spike that rested on the tip of his fist. Though, he stopped, took a step back, and raised an eyebrow. "Hm... they don't look like the Family."

Before either of them could come to a conclusion, however, there came the sound of brickwood fracturing. "Back off!" Rowan near enough snarled, curling his fingers into a clenched fist and wrenched it downwards, as far as his arm could before the webbing restrained him any further. Levitating in mid-air, held in place by magnetic force, were two of the metal studs which had previously been embedded in the posts of the brick fence mere moments before, chunks of concrete and stone still stick to the end of the studs, both pointed towards Penny and Daniel.

"Hol-lee fuck!" Penny said, not out of shock or surprise... but out of anger. Her eyes shot wide open, as she stared at Rowan. "Not only did you break into my house, steal my stuff, and threaten me when I ask what the fuck are you [i]even[/i] doing... you have the audacity to fuck up my house some more!"

She pointed at the brick wall, before she put her fists on her sides.

A sneer of sorts formed across Rowan's face, the studs remaining a threat aimed at the two, "You heard me. [i]Back off.[/i] Tell your friend to drop the fire-and-ice crap before I drop the both of you." In hindsight, it was probably the edgiest he'd ever sounded, but in his head there was no taking chances.

Penny's eyes narrowed as she stepped to the challenge. "...If that thing comes anywhere near me, it's going to become [i]very[/i] good friends with your asshole."

Oh God, everything was spiraling out of control. Wendy was the only person who could fix it. She frantically went through her satchel, and touched a piece of concrete. The concrete traveled up her hand, before it disappeared. Just in case. "Okay, okay! We're not [i]with[/i] the Family," Wendy shouted, "They'd be the [i]last[/i] people we'd work for. We're just trying to figure out what happened to Sean Rosier, okay?!"

"What she said," Rowan affirmed, "So, I'll ask again, back off."

"Think I'll believe [i]that?[/i]" Penny sneered. "What? Do you [i]really[/i] think I'm as gullible as a Springtown skank?"

"Something doesn't seem right here..." Daniel thought out loud, as his attention remained on the fencepost with the business end pointing right at him. He remained on guard, but kept his ears open to the conversation. If he recalled correctly, they had the [i]first[/i] book. The one that Penny affirmed was lost, and never found... Which lead him to his point. "Wait, Penny, if they're [i]really[/i] with the Family, then why would they bring [i]that[/i] book?" He pointed at it.

"I... don't know," Penny shrugged, "Like you said, suicidal arrogance."

"Are you fucking stupid?" Rowan asked with seething irritation, "We're not with those assholes."

"No more stupid than you are," Penny hissed back. "Since you're still pointing [i]that[/i] at me."

"Look, we need to calm down, and talk this out." Daniel said, as he put both hands up, his gaze shifting from left to right. Even though he was worried, he took the initiative and disarmed first. The fire in his right hand faded, and the ice in his left melted. It was a silent gesture of diplomacy... something that Penny was lacking in. "There's a [i]lot[/i] of questions here that aren't going to answered if we kill each other."

After a moment's hesitation, Rowan reciprocated and relinquished his hold over the studs, allowing them to drop with a great metallic clatter. But after that, well... Wendy was usually better at this kind of thing 

Penny crossed her arms, as Wendy used the concrete to break free of the web that had bound them together. She sighed in relief... this could have gotten really ugly, but in the end, level-heads prevail. She stood straight up... and realized the web had gotten into her hair. "Ugh!" Wendy pulled out the web with no success. "How do you get this out?"

"Cold water, and shampoo, sweetheart," Penny answered, surprisingly less angry, but had a coy grin on her face. "But, I can't say this is the [i]first[/i] you got something like this in your hair. Heh." She shrugged, as Wendy quickly caught on.

"Oh, you!" Wendy hissed, as she looked at Penny, and she shrugged.

"Now that Daniel preached peace, and settled this shitshow," Penny said, as she reached into her pocket, and pulled out... a lollipop, and slid it in between her lips. "Hows about we forget that this dumb bullshit ever happened?"

She looked at Wendy.

"Start at the fucking beginning?" Penny, as she clapped both of her hands together.

Wendy smiled... awkwardly. She had to force it, because part of her wanted to punch this girl in the face. Though, if she had to honest, she probably had good reason to hate Wendy and Rowan. "Yeah..." Wendy extended a hand. "...The fucking beginning." Penny shook her hand, and gave Wendy a wide, forced, and creepy smile.

"Let's talk inside, right?" Penny said, trying to contain her anger, as she pointed at the door. 

"Alright," Wendy nodded her head. "I have some friends, can they come inside?"

Then that was when it all made sense to Penny. "Oh let me guess... a bird girl, and two other brats?" She raised an eyebrow as she put her hands on her hips.

"Yeah...?" Wendy raised an eyebrow.

"They were your little distractions..." Penny shrugged. "Makes total fucking sense now." She rolled her eyes.

Without a word, since Wendy was confused, she hopped over the fence.

[hr]

The second it popped off, Kumiko was right over to the wall to give her daughter (and her friend) support. The rest of the group came around, too. Kumiko got on her tip toes, and peeked over the fence. Fortunately, the fence was high enough to hide from them, [i]and[/i] overhear the conversation. Unfortunately, she recognized a certain boy, and figured that it'd be best if she came up with a plan. Because this could have gotten ugly really fast.

"Okay," Kumiko said in a hushed tone, as she knelt down. "This doesn't look good - in fact it's literally the worse case scenario - but we can still turn this around."

She was tempted to take another peek, but the last thing she wanted to be was spotted.

"Negotiations is still an option. Diplomacy is [i]still[/i] an option," Kumiko started off. "We just need to play our cards right, and maybe nobody ends up in the hospital."

"...Or I could just leave, and take the last night bus," voiced Kannix, one literal valid option for someone who actually wanted to leave. "From our conversation back at the cafe, and by the looks of things, the couple can handle themselves."

"Look girl, I'm going to be blunt here," Kumiko looked at Kannix, and shrugged. "You clearly don't care that much about the mystery of Sean Rosier, so if you're gonna go; go. I'm not going to beg you to stay." And instead, Kumiko was going to work with the people who were going to stay behind. Wendy probably would've said the same thing to Kannix.

[i]God I could leave and I should leave.[/i] But she wanted to stay. Why wasn't she leaving? She could break the van door right now, sending it flying across the street, and she dashing away into the moonlight, credits rolling in behind her, as the background faded to black, maybe a laugh track and some upbeat music. Kannix didn't have to stand for this shit, to be reprimanded and talked down to. Was it really all just for Rein, the one person who Kannix might have a chance of having a lasting.... something. [b]Something![/b] Something that would fill in the dark void in her already dark life. A purpose of some kind? Or was it because of a sense of obligation? Wen-bitch was a bitch but she didn't do anything wrong - nothing worse than what Kannix would have done on any other day. Or was it... out of pure lunacy?

"Sean Rosier? I'd sure like to get to know him more now," followed by a short burst of cackling laughter, high-pitched and erratic with breaths and thigh-slapping. She inhaled through her teeth to collect herself. "I might just be interested after all." [i]I'm losing my fucking mind.[/i] "Oh, and I'm here for Rein." Kannix followed that one up with her head now rested on his shoulder. So bony, so hard. No meat at all. Her plump cheeks made a comfortable pillow.

After all, what else could Kannix expect from Rein after such an act? The boy wasn't ready for her to get this comfortable with him. Too intimidate for someone he met only yesterday. He couldn't help going rigid when she put her head on his shoulder, and the stares from Kumiko and Rori only made him more determined for the ground beneath his feet to swallow him this instant. He couldn't even form the words on his lips and simply shook his head, denying whatever misunderstandings the other two ladies might have about his relationship with Kannix.

While Kannix was undergoing a slight mental breakdown, Kumiko had already reached for the pistol in her purse. She had it halfway out, but when Kannix calmed down, she pushed it back down. With a smile. "Ahhhhh... young love." Kumiko said underneath her breath. But, she understood that things like thinking, and words... were probably not this girl's specialty. And that was a problem when she needed an even head like ehhh... her eyes drifted from one member of the group to the other. This boy Rein! Or bird-girl! Not Kannix. No offense to her, but she was literally cackling like the Joker a few minutes ago. "Okay, you should stick with me then over here, in case it gets ugly." Kumiko said to Kannix, then turned her attention to the other kids.

"...You're gonna have to do this yourself, though," Kumiko started off. "If that boy sees me, this isn't going to end well. Trust me."

"Sure thing!" Rori turned to look at Rein. "Any plans? Should we just hop over there and start talking to them?" Rori knew that they had to do something, but them turning up could just make things turn from bad to worse. "I'm prepared to jump over the wall without a plan, but having one seems like a better idea."

Rein was quick to turn down Rori's suggestion. "Jumping over the wall and dashing to their aid without a plan is a [i]bad[/i] idea indeed. They would recognize us from just now when Kumiko ordered us to stall their time, remember? It will only make this even more complicated."

He thought back about his impressions of Wendy and Rowan so far. If his deductions were right... there wasn't really a need to act so rashly. Even if they continued to be secretive about their connection with the Founding Family incident, Rein could still tell that those two were probably used to this kind of sticky situations. Permitting himself a shadow of a smile at the thought, he spoke again, "I don't think we need to worry too much about them, but I don't mind using my ability to keep an eye on them just in case."

Wendy suddenly hopped over the fence, and sighed. "Well... that could have gone better," She shrugged, "But I managed to talk things down with Rowan... perhaps we should all head inside and talk to her?" She paused for a moment. "She knows you guys are with me, so might as well go... because she might know something."

"Think I'll stay in the van," Kumiko said, before she leaned close to her daughter, and whispered something in her ear. Something that made her eyes go wide, as she looked back. Kumiko hunched forward, and put a hand on her hip like an old woman. "My old hips can't take this anymore! Just tell me what [i]she[/i] knows in the van."

Wendy nodded her head as she looked at everyone else.

"Yeah, sure, I'll come," Rori replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of their head. "Though I may have to apologise for trying to push a religion I don't believe onto them..."

"I think it's alright," Rein tried to reassure Rori, but pulled back his hand instead of giving the bird girl a pat on her shoulder (that was blocked by her wings). "Since Wendy is here, we can assume that things have calmed down for now... and they would've probably figured out that we're just distractions."

[hr]

Well, even though these bastards had broken into Penny's house, at the behest of Daniel she was making peace with them. Even though she should have been shoving fence posts up each and every one of their assholes, they knew something.

That something had better been useful, or these fuckwits were gone. Out of here. Somewhere else they could jerk each other off.

"Okay, make yourselves at home," Penny said, as she gestured at the sofas, in the most polite tone she could muster. Well, that was what Daniel would do, right? He was the most polite motherfucker in the world. But, as Wendy sat down, Penny walked over to her, knelt over with her hands on her knees, and said,

"...Give me back my book please."

"Oh..." Wendy awkwardly scratched the back of her neck, and reached into her satchel, and handed her the "second edition" of the book. "Sorry about breaking into your house; we just had absolutely no lead-"

"Don't care," Penny answered as she snatched the book back, and quickly shifted through the pages. "We started at the beginning, so I don't give a shit." She shrugged.

Wendy just shrugged, "So, I guess you have a lot of questions, so where do we start?"

"Where did you get that book from?" Penny asked, pointing at the "first edition" Wendy owned, "Last I checked, that was property of Founding Faggots, so..."

"My thoughts exactly," Kannix chimed in, but under her breath, having squeezed herself into the tiniest crevice in the sofa, before crawling up instead to sit on its arm. Rori, from where they were on a sofa with their wings loosely circled around to the front of their body so that they could actually sit somewhat normally, just about heard what Kannix said under her breath. They chose to ignore it with just a glance and just listen in silently, with their head turning to switch their gaze from the three who were talking.

"We took it from them." Rowan bluntly said, folding his arms. The others had, for the most part, taken their seats, but he'd instead chosen to remain standing beside Wendy's couch, still keeping a suspicious eye on Penny. The other one, Daniel, seemed okay, but he had his reservations about her, even though they [i]had[/i] been the ones breaking into her place.

"Well, no shit, it's not like they would give it to [i]you[/i]," Penny rolled her eyes at Rowan. "The question is how in the hell you managed to get it from one of the biggest circlejerks ever to face the Earth...?"

Daniel chose to stand up near Penny, and crossed his arms, for a moment as he listened to the conversation. He was curious as to how they got their hands on it, too. Even though, he knew it was [i]probably[/i] a bad idea to press them on it. As far as Daniel could tell, they couldn't have been working for the Family - far too young to be useful to the likes of Blake and the others. Nor could they have been Cultivators... he would know.

Of course, Wendy was getting pressed on her business with the Founding Family. Ugh. Why can't everyone take a hint, and fuck off. Rowan's answer should have covered it, but... as it turned out, it may have been causing some animosity among her group. Kannix was the most obvious, but what about Reinald? Even if he didn't vocalize it, he could still have his doubts and they could never know! Then, for a moment, Rowan shot a look towards her, as though he was waiting for her approval to go ahead and share some of the finer details of what had happened.

"...Go ahead, Rowan." Wendy sighed, "We have nothing to hide, but a lot to show."

Nodding, Rowan began, "Remember all that shit that happened down here a few years ago? Shootings, murder sprees, riots?"

"Who doesn't?" Penny asked.

"Yeah, well we were in that. Some friends of ours were taken by those assholes, kidnapped - except us," he gestured towards Wendy, then himself, "So went to get them back. Met a few of those assholes in the process, like that psycho, Ezekiel and the other dickhead who was in charge, Blake."

Hearing Blake's name made Daniel cringe, before he took a moment to sigh. He kept his mouth shut only because he was unsure of how they would react to him.

"Well..." Wendy wondered if she should speak up. "One of those 'friends' was my older sister."

Rowan shot her another look at Diana's mention, a little unsure of how to proceed, before eventually continuing. "We broke into their place under Silver Hills, found all kinds of screwed up stuff - bodies, organs, other things and some kind of lab, like out of one of those stupid horror movies. I mean, they had the fucking [i]head[/i] of that crazy Devil bitch who went and trashed Verthaven on ice, it was fuckin' messed up. And they had some kind of fucked up mind-control going on. That's how they got...." He trailed off for a moment, stopping himself - it seemed wrong to mention the truth about Diana without Wendy's approval.

Wendy raised her hand, figuring that it'd be best if she explained this herself. 'My sister was put under their mind control, and... enslaved by that bastard, Blake." She shook her head, as she had to try to contain herself. "We... did everything we could to save her, but in the end... I couldn't."

"It wasn't your fault, Wen'... those assholes fed her to their machine. Not you." Yet again, Rowan was blunt and to the point.

The room was silent for a few moments.

Kannix was the first to the break the silence. Her punches to Rowan and Wendy's shoulders were a bit too hard, but they are in good intention. Their annoyed expressions met Kannix's big, watery eyes.

"I'm sorry," a sincerity in her tone she seldom uses. It was hard for her too. Fuck the bad dudes.

Rein didn't react, nor gave his condolences to Wendy - he was too occupied fighting down his own emotions. Wendy's tale reminded him a little of his own past.

The time when he wasn't 'Reinald Young'... when he was still Naoki Yagami.

He could understand why Wendy and Rowan wanted to keep mum about their history with the Founding Family. Even now, those two probably still found it difficult to recount the tragedies they had encountered when crossing paths with those madmen.

"...That's rough, buddy." Penny said, probably unsure of what to say.

"When we were escaping, we took these books," Wendy answered, before she looked at everyone. "Now, does that clear everything up for you all?" She near-hissed, but stopped herself when she realized her passive aggression. She turned her head towards Penny, and raised an eyebrow.

"Now that's out of the way, I have a question for [i]you.[/i]"

Penny just crossed her legs, and folded hands, and shrugged as she leaned back.

"Shoot."

"[i]Just who are you?[/i]" Wendy asked.

That was when Penny burst into laughter, and slowly came to a stop, before she looked at Wendy with a wide grin, and said, "C'mon now, you haven't even [i]guessed[/i] yet?" She shrugged as she gave Wendy a dumb look. "God, babies can piece things together faster than you..."

Wendy narrowed her eyes, as Penny continued.

"Penny-"

"[i]Penelope.[/i]" Daniel chimed in, half-smirking.

"[i]Nobody[/i] calls me that... except for my mom - but that's besides the point," Penny sneered at Daniel for a moment, before she did the same to Wendy. "Penny. Fuckin' [i]Rosier.[/i]"

"Wait, you're his-"

"Yes," Penny said. "[i]Daughter...[/i] Want me to fuckin' spell it out for you?"

"Wait..." Wendy thought out loud, utterly caught off guard that Sean Rosier had a [i]daughter.[/i] "The notes [i]never[/i] mentioned that he had a [i]daughter[/i]?"

Penny rolled her eyes up into her head. "That's [i]because[/i] the notes were meant for me, dipshit." She groaned.

"Hey, you better watch who you're talking to like that." Wendy answered, clenching the side of the sofa.

"Well, [i]maybe[/i] if you learned to catch onto things, I wouldn't hurt your wittl-"

"Apologies for Penelope's behavior," Daniel cut off this exchange before it got out of hand. "She normally isn't like this."

"... Now you sound like my fuckin' butler." Penny said to herself. Maybe she should follow Daniel's advice and try to be "nice." She sighed as she looked over to them. "Okay, sorry, but do you guys want anything to drink?" Then she turned to Daniel with a devilish grin. "[i]Daniel[/i] will get it for you." 

He rolled his eyes at her, and sighed. "Alright..."

"But, as I was saying..." Penny answered, "Yeah, he's my dad, and wrote these books for [i]me[/i]... so technically, they're my property, so I'll be taking them back..."

"Not so fast," Rowan interjected, containing his irritation towards the girl and her attitude, "We spilt blood getting our half of the notes and we're not just handing them over without anything to show for it."

Penny raised an eyebrow, and crossed her arms, as she looked at the boy. How could a human being have been this arrogant? "And I appreciate that, I really [i]fuckin'[/i] do," Penny started off, "But, I don't know what rules you were taught in your dirty ass trailer park."

Penny snarled at Rowan, and nearly hopped up, but stayed down. She jabbed a thumb to her chest, "But, they're [i]my[/i] property. How many times do I have to repeat that?" 

"Well, if it wasn't for us, it'd be buried under a ton of rubble!" Wendy retorted. "So you have to pay credit where it's due, Penny."

Penny almost gave Daniel a migraine. Her inability to work with people is... astonishing. At this rate she would only push away help that was standing right in front of her. It seemed that Daniel had to be the voice of reason yet again. "Actually, far as I can tell, they were never written for you, Penelope," Daniel answered with a shrug, as he sat down next to Penny. "They were written by Sean, for him to keep track of. Trust me, I read it thoroughly as you did."

"Sssshut up, Daniel," Penny said, as Daniel was unraveling her bluff. She leaned in, and whispered to him, "Whose side are you on, Daniel? Do you want these [i]mongoloids[/i] having the book?" That last remark earned her a sharp look from Rowan.

"What I'm trying to say is, you keep putting up walls unnecessarily," Daniel told her, before he faced the entire group "But if trust is an issue; I have a solution." Daniel raised a finger up into the air, as he caught everyone's attention.

"... What if we merely trade books with each other?" Daniel answered. "Penny gets your book, and you get Penny's book."

"Um... " Wendy was reluctant... but she already came up with a perfect solution to the problem! "Okay." She nodded her head.

"Besides, do you seriously think we'd be here if we were fucking stupid?" Rowan asked, shoulders raised, "Whatever history you've got with those assholes, we dealt with the same shit."

"Either way," Wendy started off, giving Penny a similar sharp look, "I'm [i]not[/i] going to stop anytime soon. Even if you take the book from us, I'll find a way."

She crossed her arms, and narrowed her eyes behind those glasses. "And [i]when[/i] I find a way, I don't think it's even possible to avoid running into you again."

"Which means, [i]maybe[/i] we should end these stupid hostilities," Daniel rolled his eyes up into his head. "If we all put our minds together, we can all accomplish great things... and remember Penny..." He leaned in close to her.

"You're in the same boat as them."

That was true... while she didn't really understand Wendy's weird hard on for her father's research notes, but maybe, [i]maybe[/i], this wouldn't have ended horribly. A band of misfits and freaks of varying levels of usefulness had literally appeared right at her door! "Alright, guys... I'm [i]sorry[/i]," She said, almost sounding a bit sarcastic, but it was genuine in her heart. "I've just been a little stressed myself looking for him... and I guess we can do a partnership."

"... Well, what does everyone else think?" Wendy quickly asked the group... but mainly directed her question at Rowan.

"Alright," he began, scratching at his chin, "Sure, that works. But have we got any real plans on what to do next?"

"No problems here," Rori chimed in from where they'd been sitting silently listening. "As long as I'm not called a freak again." They weren't being particularly serious then - they knew they'd been called that under a different circumstance. 

Kannix jabbed Rein's side. His response was her response. She maintained her look of cool - let them decide.

"I am fine with this." Reinald said.

Well, the wack pack was going to be working with her... she could barely contain all of her fucking excitement. First thing's first, she might as well agree to this gay trade, even both are her property (a concept these chucklefucks barely understand). Either way, she got the book delivered right to her doorstep! Trading one book she had since the dawn of fucking time for a new one seemed like an acceptable compromise. First, Penny laid the book on the table, and Wendy took the hint and put the other book on the table. One girl took the first edition that was lost to her, and the other took the second edition that was brand new.

"Alright, put em' there," Penny said, as she extended her hand... with a forced smile that creeped Wendy out a bit. But, she took Penny's hand and shook.

"... Now, get out my house."


[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/HU03DwK.png[/img][/center]
[b][code]Oakdell Harbor, White Coast_[/code][/b][hr][hr]


How annoying.

Sovereign cut his losses during the firefight with Quentin because he got a tad... sidetracked. He wanted that damn arm, and the bastards escaped without it. The main problem was that those damn Russians killed his tech somehow. If they hadn't, he could had just called some grunts to jump on top of him while he dealt with the Russians.

The black armored man went back to the main cargo deck... they had only a few options to escape, but how come he couldn't track them? They were crafty, taking advantage of the lack of radio communication. Or else ZODIAC would had been right on top of them. They timed it well, because they were able to escape long before his tech came back online.

He groaned, as he pressed the button on the side of his head. The way he saw it, it was better to cut his losses. The longer he stay here, the heavier the RAVEN presence became, and... it was just stupid to overstay his welcome.

"ZODIAC, withdraw from the area," Sovereign ordered his army. "Foundation Woman... activate the clean up protocol."

At that moment, every member of ZODIAC suddenly stopped fighting as swirling blue portals appeared behind them, and the masked combatants escaped into them. However, there were many that were left behind... and with one press of a button, the soldiers dissolved into a strange green liquid as an acid that was implanted into their bodies activated. Rendering any evidence as to who the ZODIAC soldiers were completely useless.

A portal appeared for Sovereign, and he groaned, stepping in the portal. He meant what he said to Quentin. There [i]was[/i] a threat out there that made this confrontation look like a petty squabble. While the world may see ZODIAC as monsters... they were the best bet when it came to humanity's survival. He looked through the portal as it closed. 

Let the world fear them all... it was all means to an end.

[hr][b][code]???[/code][/b]

When Sovereign stepped through the portal, he appeared in the secret base that operated as the ZODIAC base of operations. Along with the rest of the ZODIAC soldiers, whom retreated into the darkness of the base as Sovereign went through the base straight to the command center. A massive room with several computer screens all around, and the Foundation Woman sitting in the center of all these terminals... watching a movie with some icecream.

Sovereign rolled his eyes as he reached up for his helmet, and pulled a few locks, and pulled off his helmet. Revealing his hellish face. Sovereign, underneath all that armor, was vaguely human at best. The man had many tiny eyes covering the left side of his face, while he had a large, freakish, red eye on the other. His mouth was full of sharp teeth, and the skin around his cheeks had eroded to reveal even more of the monstrous man's teeth.

He held his helmet underneath his arm as he walked over to the Foundation Woman, and she turned around in her ear. "Oh, Abel, back so soon?" She said in a coy tone as she ate some icecream. "You took so long, I thought I'd get to watching this."

She laughed.

"Did you get that errand done...?"

"We were unable to recover the arm," Abel answered, shaking his head.

"Hmmm... there was a fifty-percent chance of success," The Foundation Woman answered as she stopped, holding her spoon in the air. "Which was high enough for us to be worth investing in, but low enough that I wasn't counting on it"

"Then just [i]why[/i] did we do it?" Abel narrowed his 'primary' eyes, as he spoke in irritation. "Weren't you the one who said we were running low on resources?" He clenched his fist.

"I did, if we play our cards right, by next year we'll be out of guns, money, and means to produce new models," The Foundation Woman shrugged as she nonchalantly said, "But, if we play our cards really right, there will be no need for ZODIAC."

Then she pivoted in the chair yet again, as she continued in her nonchalant tone.

"Find the Sui generis code, and all our problems will stop before it even starts."

Abel knew that was a foolish line of thought. If she was so confident that they would find it, then why risk getting the Devil's arm? Even though the odds were 'so low she wasn't counting on it.' He walked over to the Foundation Woman, and put his massive mitt of a hand on her shoulder.

"... You fear what is going happen, Tabitha." Abel said.

Tabitha sighed, as she said, "I don't have much choice but to be afraid when..." She shook her head. "... When the chance of finding the Sui generis code is around ten percent, so we need some other options here."

Abel understood. "The other option being producing a model with the Devil's arm?" He looked at her, and asked. "That would be... risky. And we'd be held accountable if it goes out of control..."

"With a ninety-five percent chance that all life on Earth will [i]perish[/i] by [i]the end of the year,[/i]" Tabitha started off. "[i]Everything[/i] is a valid option."

Abel grinned, as he took a step back from Tabitha.

"So, you have a plan?" Abel crossed his arms.

"Well, the odds of us recovering the arm have just gone up by thirty percent... so let's keep an eye on Baybridge, shall we?" Tabitha went back to typing away at the computer. "Far as we can tell, the sale is still ongoing. Just pushed back."

Tabitha looked at Abel coyly.

"Only problem is that they'll be making more concealed movements, but they're thugs at the end of the day," Tabitha added. "They're still only interested in chasing a penny, so it doesn't matter how sneaky they are..."

She narrowed her eyes as she pushed a button, and a map of Baybridge appeared on screen.

"... We'll have that arm in the end."


[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/CGfuTsW.png[/img]
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[sub][@Surtr], [@Fernstone], [@Altered Tundra], [@Spoopy Scary], & [@Zombiedude101][/sub][/center]
[b][code]Oakdell Harbor, White Coast_[/code][/b][hr][hr]


Meifeng hated leaving it to Quentin, but they were pinned down from all directions by ZODIAC. God, at this point, someone appearing out of nowhere was standard procedure. She rolled her eyes up into her head, as she hit cover. Part of Meifeng wanted the good old days when she was only fighting the Allegiance, or the Pure. Those days were long gone. 

She slammed her back against a shipping crate, as she peeked around it for a moment. A lot of ZODIAC soldiers with their guns aimed at her team. Great. She returned fire, as her eyes laid upon Francis whom had activated his psychic-shell, and was tanking for another downed Agent. Every bullet that hit him either bounced off, or merely scraped his armor. Once the agent was out of harm's way, Francis dove back behind cover. Maybe Meifeng should change her opinion of the Agent.

... The blue swirling portals appeared out of nowhere, and Meifeng knew what was going on; ZODIAC was pulling out. The question was why. Either got the arm, or they suffered far too many loses. Hopefully, it wasn't the former, because who knows what in the hell those ZODIAC bastards are even after. 

But, like hell she was going to let them leave without a fight. She dove out, and sprayed the portal with as many bullets this damn gun had left... only killing one of them before the portal closed. She slammed her foot onto the ground, and grit her teeth.

[quote=Quentin]"Counterpoint here, the package is gone, Sovereign escaped without it."[/quote]

Thankfully... Sovereign didn't get away with the Devil's arm, but that meant the Russians escaped with it. She shook her head. They banked so much.

"Rogue Wave here," Meifeng spoke into comms. "How is the situation looking?"

"ZODIAC pulled out of the area," One of the mission control stated, "And the mobsters we were after have escaped in the panic as well. Maximilian is ordering a full search of the area with all agents."

"Good grief..." Meifeng shook her head, as she spoke to herself. "Copy that, I'll get started." 

Well, the situation could had gotten a lot worse. Good thing it didn't!

[hr][b][code]RAVEN/DOVE Joint West Coast Headquarters, White Coast_[/code][/b]

It was awkwardly silent in the meeting room, as Maximilian Cornell sat at the end of table with his hands folded over the table. He stared at the table, and sighed. "Okay, ZODIAC's interest complicates things...." He trailed off. "However, this changes nothing, we have to keep ZODIAC from getting the arm."

"Only problem is that they're going to be far more careful, far more deliberate," Dana said, compounding his point, as she rolled forward. "They may go off the grid and never come off, if they haven't discarded the arm." She shrugged.

"Well, there's an enormous price on the Devil's arm..." Francis spoke slowly in contrast to his usual quick, spastic, manner of speech. "So much, I doubt they would pass up on the cash."

When he spoke, he caught the attention of everyone. He knew it would be silly to just forget about the arm, when it had so much potential destructive power. They based the beast off the Devil, after all. He nodded his head.

"This just means the stakes have been raised by a wide margin," Maximilian said. "And [i]that[/i] means we have to put a lot more effort into this."

"You don't say," Quentin remarked, perhaps wearied at having heard this before, "We're not oblivious to the fact, Max."

"All we can do is keep searching," Francis answered. "This is a top priority for my team."

Maximilian nodded his head. "I have the utmost faith in you Agent Jean-Pierre," Maximilian started off. "I have one last thing to note."

He started off, catching the attention of everyone in the room.

"This mission? Top secret. Far as the press is concerned; we were assisting the BPD in dispatching the Russian mafia, and ZODIAC got into the mix. Are we clear?"

"Understood, sir." Francis replied.

"Yes, sir..." Meifeng said, dragging out that last R out of exhaustion. 

"Crystal." Quentin spoke last, equally tired by the experience.

"Good, then you are all dismissed."

[hr]

Goooood grief, Meifeng could use a nice long hot shower, and some ice cream after that operation. Probably a good twenty Agents died in one operation... and that was the sad reality of RAVEN. The mortality rate of qualified RAVENS far outpaced recruitment. Even if they funneled agents from other cities, it only meant that the new recruits had to soldier a lot more. The sad reality of being a RAVEN for so long, the problems become more and more apparent until you can't ignore it anymore. Part of Meifeng wanted it all to end, but she can't give it up at this point... she just wished she had Cindy around to make things easier. Meifeng walked down the hallway.

"... Oh, Meifeng," She heard the voice of Dana Alcott behind her, she turned around to face the woman in a wheelchair, and raised an eyebrow. She rolled forward, and stopped, putting her hands on her laps. "There was something I wanted to investigate, can you um... push me?" 

Well, while Meifeng wasn't on good terms with Maximilian at the moment, she definitely didn't have anything against his partner. She shrugged, saying, "Sure." Before she got behind Dana and proceeded to push her. "Where do you need to go?"

"Oh, the observation cell..." Dana said, and with a shrug, Meifeng pushed Dana all the way to the elevator. Meifeng been to the observation cells plenty of times. It was around the bottom-floor, in the research wing. [i]Usually[/i] they don't use them unless...

... Ooooh boy.

When they made it to the observation cells... Meifeng rolled Dana into a small observation deck that overlooked a white room with a hideous beast inside of it. Comprised of horrible tumors... he was just running at the walls, enraged, ramming them. Meifeng could hear it's yells, and could only shudder. That had to be a Metahuman. Dana quickly scrolled over to a small terminal and pressed a few buttons, and a hologram projection appeared.

"Damien Shackelford," Dana first read his name out loud, as she read the rest of the file... and Meifeng looked over her shoulder at it.

"Shit," Meifeng said, "He tore up the Golden Throne?" [i]Me and Cindy used to go there...[/i]

"It appears so... a few people got hurt," Dana answered, "He was distracted by some Metahumans... but, honestly..." She trailed off.

"Honestleeee...?" Meifeng repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"They should have just evacuated the area and let him take his rage out on the club." Dana sighed. "This looks like another manifestation event gone wrong... the press is going to [i]love[/i] this one." She said, defeated.

"Well, these things happen," Meifeng shrugged as she leaned up against the wall. "We have no choice but to deal with it."

"There was a few things I wanted you to do since you're here," Dana turned towards Meifeng. "Can you go talk to a few people for me? We're a little short staffed, and... a big name like yourself might help ease things up."

"And who are these people, and where are they?"

"Jackson Drake, and Lihn Phan, they're in the questioning room," Dana trailed off, before exploding with energy when another thought came to mind. "Oh! And a DOVE intern reported the whole thing to RAVEN, Andrea Pasternack. I'll invite her into the room now so she can give her side of the story."

With a quick press of a button, Dana looked to the door - a little green light should've glowed on the other side - and on cue, the door was opened by a geared-up RAVEN agent escorting the young blonde woman through. Her hair was slightly disheveled and although she stepped inside the room with purpose, greeting the pair of agents with a humbled nod, her face betrayed with the weary expression of a woman who might rather be sleeping. Only a short while ago did she answer a call from work just as she got home from dropping off Aaron. Still, Andrea entered the room bracing herself for whatever waited for her. Whatever she might have been feeling before, they had since been waylaid as the lump that was sitting at the base of her throat leaped up at the sight of the abomination behind the glass. There was no presence of mind in that thing, its thoughts an emptied void. There was only feeling; it emanated a suffocating presence of craving, blind rage, and burning pain. Andrea's hand clasped over her mouth, drawing back slightly just to comment, "my God."

This was the girl who delivered the notes about the fair during the meeting yesterday. Huh? Seemed like she got around alright. Andrea seemed to be shocked by something. Meifeng took a few steps forward, but kept her arms crossed. "Yeah, sad ain't it?" Meifeng asked, "But, you just gotta be prepared for this kind of stuff."

"So?" Dana turned towards Andrea. "What exactly happened at the Golden Throne?"

"To be perfectly candid, miss... I haven't the faintest clue." Andrea admitted. She could feel the doubt and speculation coming from them, but before they could interject, Andrea was sure to give her what little she had from her side of the story. "I was studying at the White Elephant just down the road when I felt something was wrong --" she started, then raised a finger pointing toward her head and the luminosity of her eyes, "cerebral -- and I had found a young man having a panic attack so bad he could barely breathe. I calmed him down, but..."

Andrea looked past the glass to steal another gaze at the grotesque-looking creature. That longer she looked, however, the stronger of an itch she had that was telling her something wasn't right about this. "He had only just run away, so the memory was fresh in his mind."

Dana nodded her head, "You did the right thing, Andrea." She commended the DOVE, even though she didn't get an answer from her. She'd definitely get an answer from the two "heroes" that dove into the fray. Andrea dipped her head in modest thanks.

"It's probably a better idea that you didn't charge in head first and try to play hero," Meifeng added, putting her hands on her hips, "Unlike two certain individuals." She said with a roll of her eyes.

While they were talking, Dana received word that they had finished the DNA analysis on Damien. She quickly went back over to the terminal, and typed on the keyboard for a moment. Before a complex diagram of a chemical formula appeared before her - popping off the screen like a hologram - before Dana rolled back a second to analyze it herself. It was stated to be [i]heavily[/i] in the victim's blood.

"Yeah, well... all I could do is bring the man home safely. We can't all be like you, Ms. Captain Zhao." Andrea mused in response. She felt rather humbled speaking before a breathing legend - though a penchant for trouble the RAVEN might have. In the midst of of the conversation, whatever Dana was doing in the background had caught her eye. Moments after the diagram had appeared, after Andrea finally realized what it was, chills shot up her spine and her tired eyes widened as though she were staring into headlights. Her mouth fell slightly agape. "Oh no... no, you've got to be kidding me..."

"What is it?" Meifeng asked, with a raised eyebrow.

Andrea hurried up to the panel next to where Dana was sitting in her chair, simultaneously pulling out her phone. With a few swipes of her screen she searched through the files on her phone, and when she finally found what she was looking for, she held the phone up beside the hologram image of the chemical formula. While the image conjured by RAVEN's technology displayed a far more complicated sequence, the image on Andrea's phone displayed a formula that was identical to a repeating pattern the hologram had displayed. She nearly dropped her phone, but now she keep a keen eye trained on the abomination below. "It's... it's Happiness." Andrea muttered. "I never imagined it would... do anything like [i]this.[/i]"

Meifeng just looked at Andrea. Wait, she thinks Happiness did this? That was something that Meifeng found hard to swallow. "There's no way a drug kids take to go clubbing could do [i]this,[/i]" Meifeng started off. "In case you haven't realized it, his metahuman energy is [i]active.[/i]"

"I trust you came to that conclusion after months of research?" Andrea asked, sounding just as skeptical of Meifeng as she did of her. She sighed as she did some more things on her phone, trying to find the right documents in her Dropbox - she felt so tired of people doubting her all the time. It wouldn't be so bad if the people doubting her had done their studying. As it was, she had compiled the most comprehensive collection of notes on Happiness that she was aware of. She continued, "I don't know all the details. There's still some stuff about the drug no one knows about, but look: their tissue is saturated with it. Then look at the formula: lots of glucose to feed these common cancer proteins - TP53, HER2... and there, a missing block in the formula. So there's obviously something in Happiness that we've never seen before."

"Months of research?" Meifeng asked, narrowing her eyes at Andrea as she took a step forward at the intern. She certainly knew her stuff, but Meifeng still wasn't convinced. Even if Happiness caused cancer, or tumor growth, as she said, there was just no way it could cause a mutation this extreme, and in such a short period of time. "Many Metahumans have manifested while tweaking. And, I find it hard to believe that a little pink pill turned a college kid into [i]that[/i] in the span of five minutes, and we haven't gotten on it yet."

Then she took a step forward, until she was face to face with Andrea, "And I'm sorry to pull this card, but I find it hard to believe an [i]intern[/i] when I've been seeing this happen for years now."

Andrea closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to keep her composure. Meifeng had clearly hit a nerve in her, but she looked back at the captain with both of her hands gripping her phone in front of her legs. She could tell what she was thinking and feeling right now, and the captain wasn't meaning to offend her, but being blown off still bothered her. "Captain," she began softly, "as I understand it, you've been through a lot. Verthaven, Prague, even here in Baybridge... why is this so hard to believe? Is a chemical weapon harder to believe than, I don't know, the Devil? Overloading?"

"Because of those same incidents," Meifeng hissed, as Andrea comparing this to the Devil struck a nerve, too, "I can't say I haven't seen shit like this before, or met people who would do it."

She sighed, before she suddenly pointed at Damien, "But, things that do [i]that[/i] come in a glowing vial, [i]not[/i] a pill."

Andrea was looked down at her feet for a moment, looking upset for a moment, but instead began playing with her lip a little bit. She glanced back up looking thoughtful and curious. "...Maybe it's both."

The problem presented here was [i]experience.[/i] Meifeng knew this upstart never fought on the frontlines against the likes of the Hands of Science, or the Founding Family, but understood that. She wouldn't recommend that for [i]anybody[/i]. But, the difference was that Meifeng had a [i]good[/i] idea of the kind of things those madmen would create. In the end, she still found it hard to say this whole incident was anything more than a manifestation event gone wrong.

"I just find it hard to believe a drug made in some dealer's bas-"

"Meifeng, Andrea..." Dana interrupted the discussion. "I think this has gone on long enough... Meifeng, the people I wanted you to talk to are in the questioning room." 

Both of them looked at Dana for a moment, and Meifeng realized that she should leave this alone. Andrea, however, was looking antsy and impatient. The former sighed, as she realized she got a bit too passionate over an intern's silly conspiracy theory. "Alright." Meifeng left the room, as Dana turned towards Andrea.

"I will have a talk with Maximilian and Deborah, then we'll look into this," Dana said, "I can't say anyone is wrong until we prove it."

"Ms. Alcott," Andrea urged, "the pill has a shell of raffinose in the center. It can only be broken down by α-GAL enzymes. Obviously the glowing vial argument is inherently flawed, but..."

But, even wheelchair bound, Dana stood her ground. "[i]We'll look into it,[/i]" Dana repeated.

The disappointed intern turned around and put away her phone back into her pocket and started walking out the door. As she opened it, however, she paused. Looking back at Dana, she pulled out piece of pocket lint and dropped it, watching it flutter down to the floor. "I [i]could[/i] explain how gravity caused it to fall, but what do I know? I'm just an intern."

With that, she closed the door behind her... just to open it up again real quick and pick up the lint she had deliberately dropped and closed the door once more to finally leave for good this time. Hopefully she wouldn't get anymore calls tonight and finally get a chance to go to bed once she gets home.

[hr]

In the questioning room sat Jackson Drake, and Lihn Phan. It was hard to make it a welcome environment since they [i]weren't[/i] in trouble (a rare case these days, yeah). They were placed side by side at a table, as Meifeng opened the door with a clipboard and pencil. She quickly sat down, and twirled the pencil with her fingers. She put her feet up on the table.

"Heey, I'm Meifeng Zhao, captain in RAVEN," She first introduced herself. "I'm not going to beat around the bush here, can you two tell me what happened at the Golden Throne?"

As Jackson scratched his head, he didn't know what to tell Captain Zhao because he didn't know how to describe it himself. After taking a few moments to think about it, Jackson simply shrugged. "Okay, so there I was feeling the groove and getting jiggy with it, right? And I was about [i]this[/i] close —" Jackson brought his right index finger and thumb up, and they were an inch apart "— from scoring from this hot latina, but nooo!" Jackson flailed dramatically. "Instead of that, Lady Fate threw some guy undergoing a rather unfortunate transformation, and turning into some abomination-looking freak. I swear to all that is holy, Meifeng Zhao, he looked like some kind of Tumor Man." A light bulb went off in Jackson's head. "That's what you should call..whatever form he took: [u]Tumor Man[/u]. I'm telling you that you won't regret it." Jackson was so sure that he nodded to himself.

"He's an actual human being, you know," Meifeng raised an eyebrow at the man. "His name is Damien Shackelford, not some stupid Ninja turtle named." She hissed at how disrespectful the man was with his blight. He clearly wasn't taking this seriously. Or had been hitting the drinks (or LSD) a little too hard. She questioned how useful his testimony was, so she merely shrugged and said, "Understood." Before she turned to Lihn... someone she recognized as one of her mother's friends.

Lihn smiled slightly at Meifeng, who she recognized from having met a few years ago. However she wasn't going to bring that up - even they weren't here to be questioning she doubted mentioning the RAVEN agent's [i]mother[/i] would be a sensible or nice thing to do. "I didn't actually see the transformation," Lihn added when Jackson was done with his rather theatrical explanation of the beginning of what had happened. "But I felt it's anger. I'm an empath, though I'm sure you've already got that information. It's anger is quite obvious to most people anyway, but it was overwhelming for me and a reason why I didn't leave straight away." She paused, glancing at Jackson. "It seemed to be fuelled by it's anger, and I figured I could help prevent him from dying by calming it down." 

Meifeng was very familiar with Lihn's empath ability. It seemed she did the right thing trying to keep this other idiot alive while he played hero - speaking of which, she had to question something.

"So, uh, why exactly did you stay behind and fight him?" Meifeng asked.

"Ya know, I never thought to ask myself that, Captain." Jackson would actually take a moment or so to think about it. Why had he stayed behind? Well, apart from he being the only person that would be able to hold him off until the others got to safety, he couldn't think of another reason. Confirming it mentally, Jackson looked to the Captain. "I didn't really think about it. In my gut, I knew that I was the only one standing between the clubbers and...[i]Damien[/i]. I felt like it was my job to do something so they could get to safety." Jackson paused briefly, letting out a small breath. "I normally act without thinking. Sometimes it gets me into trouble with the wrong people, sometimes it puts my body on the line. But, ya know, since we're sitting here and not dead, I think what I did was the right choice. Of course," Jackson placed a hand on Lihn shoulder, "without this girl right here, I'd probably be dead and there would be an enraged guy tearing apart the town, possibly even killing us all." Jackson said, looking to both of the females. "But hey, that didn't happen, so all is kosher."

[i]Acting like thinking will get you killed some day.[/i] Meifeng thought to herself. It was heroic yeah, but Jackson here should have left while he had the chance. However, she didn't feel the need to shoot him down, and repeat the same thing over and over again. "I don't think it was [i]that[/i] serious," She said in response to Damien tearing up the town. "But, next time, leave it to the professionals..."

Lihn raised an eyebrow at Jackson when he put a hand on her shoulder, but otherwise her expression was neutral. "I only stayed because I couldn't just stand by and let someone die. If no one had stayed behind to fight it I would have left with everyone else and let RAVEN take care of it." Though she was sure that was a bit of a given. Lihn had a conscience but she wasn't a hero. "Is there anything else you need to know from us?" 

It was obvious that there wasn't much more to get out of the two. Once RAVEN went over the security cameras, they'd probably figure out a lot more from them than Jackson's and Lihn's accounts. She shook her head. "Nothing more is needed from you, you are free to go home," Meifeng said to them both, before she turned to Jackson. "Stay off that leg, and more importantly; stay out of trouble."

But, there was something she wanted from Lihn, "Oh, uh, but can you stick around for a moment? I'd like to have a word with you.. in private."

"I can do that," Lihn responded somewhat curiously. "I don't have anywhere to be." That she added with a slight smile. 

Jackson knew when he wasn't wanted, so he shrugged. "You ladies have fun doing...whatever it is y'all gonna do." Jackson would say, making his way out of the room - limping, mind you - as he ventured forth home. Or at least hailing a taxi so he could start the journey back to his crappy apartment.

"Come with me, then." Meifeng said, as she hopped up, and gestured for Lihn to follow her.

[hr]

Meifeng stopped in a hallway out of sight, and leaned up against the wall. She sighed as she wondered how to start this conversation. "So, uh, aside from that," She awkwardly started off, and looked at Lihn, "I know we probably aren't the closest, but I remember you from a few years ago." She explained, "How have you been? How is your little girl?" Who's name Meifeng forgot!

"I've been doing well," Lihn smiled, rubbing the back of her neck thoughtfully. It had been a while since she last met, and talked to Meifeng, but she didn't have any bad impressions of her. "Busy, juggling work and Thanh. And she's also doing well... though she's grown up to be a lot more boisterous than I expected would happen in the space of a few years." Not to mention how her daughter's powers had developed. "How have you been doing? Very busy as a RAVEN captain, I imagine." 

It was great hearing about Thanh (That's her name!), and how Lihn was doing good. She probably was doing easier than Meifeng at the moment. She crossed her arms, as she said, "I've been, well, rough lately." Meifeng started off. "RAVEN... I hate to say it, but RAVEN just isn't what it used to be."

She stepped off the wall, and put a hand on her hip, "After it turned out a lot more RAVENS were taking checks from the Family than we thought, I find it hard to trust anyone these days... and the amount of competent agents we have outweighs the threats," She shrugged.

Lihn nodded slightly, understanding what Meifeng was saying - and how difficult that would be for someone who had been a member of RAVEN for a long time.

"Maybe I'm just disillusioned after my best friend disappeared, and she di-" Meifeng quickly caught her tongue, as she was unsure whether or not Lihua's fate was a subject she wanted to touch on. But, either way, there was no way Lihn [i]couldn't[/i] have known what happened. "Do you... you know what happened to Lihua, right?" 

"I don't know the specifics but yes, I know what happened," Lihn replied calmly, though there was definitely something of a sad look in her dark eyes. "I'm very for sorry your, and your family's, loss. She was a great woman- though you've probably been told that plenty of times." Though as Lihua's therapist Lihn had certainly had give advice on some not great things. "We weren't the closest, but I definitely miss her presence." Lihn paused. "I'm sure you don't want to hear me talking about this, however." Between her empathy, both normal and power related, it was obvious to Lihn that Meifeng was hesitant to talk about Lihua; though who wouldn't be in that situation?

"It's... fine," Meifeng scratched the back of her neck. "I just miss her too, so does Lijuan..." She grit her teeth lightly just by thinking about Lijuan. That girl had seen some shit, but Meifeng turned back towards Lihn... with a request that was hard for her. 

"Hey... I know we're not the closest in the world," Meifeng started off, "But... RAVEN's therapists are really shitty, and I have a lot on my mind..."

"If you want me to be your therapist, I'm happy to take the job," Lihn responded with a nod. It wasn't quite were she'd expected the conversation to then, but it made sense. "While I'm  busy, most of it is actually research based - people are still wary of a meta therapist. I'm assuming that won't be a problem for you." She hesitated thoughtfully. "I would be happy to help, if you think I can."

"Sure, I, uh, have a lot of money if you want to get paid," Meifeng scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. "And... if you need any help yourself, I'll be there." She nodded her head.

"Just my normal rate will be fine, if anything," Lihn shook her head slightly. She definitely didn't need to be paid more than that. "I appreciate that, thank you. I'll keep it in mind." She smiled slightly. "We'll just need to compare schedules at some point, assuming you have something like that, and fit something in." 

"Sure, sure," Meifeng added. "We should discuss this later, I... I should probably sign off and crash." She said, "Before they give me more stupid assignments."

"That's understandable," Lihn nodded. "I'm exhausted enough myself, and I only calmed down one... [i]person[/i]." Not that she was sure she could call that creature a person anymore. She rummaged in the pockets of her jeans, before pulling out a slightly bent card and holding it out to Meifeng. It was essentially a business card, but the kind that Lihn would give out to people who were either currently clients or interested. "That's got my contact details, and is quicker than figuring out any other way to get in touch."

"Yeah..." Meifeng said as Lihn stepped off. She stared at the card for a few moments, before somberly saying, "... We'll be in touch."

[hr]

[i]A cold beer and an icepack,[/i] Quentin mused as he left the meeting room, moments before he felt a surge of pain rippling outward from his ribs. The point of impact from where Sovereign had took a shot with that unnecessarily oversized S&W .500 had turned dark with bruising, but there had been no internal damage, luckily enough. 

It still hurt like hell, though.

He had little right to complain. at least he was better off than Crown, who had suffered an even more extensive degree of bruising and a cracked rib. Not to mention Parker who, last he heard, was still undergoing surgery for his shrapnel and gunshot wounds.

Still, this night had been a shitshow. The arm was in the hands of some slav mobsters who would most likely sell it off to the highest bidder and a number of RAVENs, some of whom he'd known for years, had been wounded, or even killed by those ZODIAC bastards. [i]On second thoughts,[/i] he changed his mind, [i]whiskey.[/i] The last few years had taken their toll on RAVEN and, to a lesser extent, Quentin. Despite their best efforts, the name and cause of the organisation that he'd devoted this last decade to had been dragged through the dirt, beaten and bloodied - and in the same manner he'd refused to give up on on it, if only because there was no alternative.

First, however, he decided he would make another call before retiring for the night, assuming they were still in office. Making a hasty descent down the stairwell and passing through corridors, past half a dozen offices, conference rooms and other administrative rooms, he came to a door with a caption printed across it in bold.

[i]Director's Office.[/i]

Strictly speaking, it was good etiquette for one to give some forewarning if they were going to pay an unscheduled visit to such a place, but Quentin had stopped caring at this point - instead, he simply buzzed his keycard through and stepped inside, unannounced. True to form, the Director was working late tonight, presumably involving himself in the shitshow and inevitable clean-up of the night's events. 

"You could've tried [i]knocking[/i] first." Reed grunted, as he sifted through an array of reports and other information which had been sent over to his desk, which felt like a mile if he'd ever known one.  uentin on the other hand found his attention drawn to the Terminator statuette that had been hastily positioned as a paperweight. "My arm was tired," he groaned, laying it on a little thick.

"C'mon, you're getting old but you're not at [i]Cass'[/i] level just yet," The ex-cop quickly shot back, "But seriously, is this a work or a personal call?"

"Personal," Quentin answered, "Not like you need to listen to another account, I take it you've already been over the reports?" 

"Still reading through some of it, but... I know what happened." Reed said, almost sounding as winded by the experience as Quentin, though this apparrent lethargy quickly shifted towards concern. "How're you feeling?"

The veteran RAVEN shrugged, dismissively. "I'm fine, nothing to worry about."

"I meant, how are you [i]feeling?[/i]"

"Answer hasn't changed, I'm fine."

"You sure? Nothing on your mind? Look, I know with this... attack from ZODIAC, well... it's hard not to want to check in."

"Look, Reed - I know we've spoke about this stuff before. Trust me, I'm fine - I hate those bastards, but that doesn't mean there's something wrong. I can do my job like anyone else, now... can we get past this? I'm too fucking tired to argue this shit out and besides, you've got your own shit to worry about, [i]Director[/i]." Quentin's last note came off sharper than he'd intended, if the look on his brother's face had been anything to go by, but as he'd said before, he was wearied of it at this point.

"Alright," Director Taylor said, after a moment's pause, "But before you're off the hook on this, I'm still going to say this again - all it takes is a few excuses and they'll crucify us, DOVE and RAVEN, piss all over everything that we've worked for. Lot of folks don't trust us, and you can bet I'm doing everything I can to try and fix that but it's taking time. I know you're looking at things from a fighting perspective but, hell, don't let it throw you off."

[i]More sagely advice,[/i] Quentin mused, [i]he's starting to sound more like Cass.[/i] "I hear you. [i]Now,[/i] can we drop this?"

"Yeah, sure. Though," Reed added, "I did have one other question.

"What is it?" Quent's brow arched.

"I wanted your opinion on Agent Marshall, just a few thoughts."

"I don't know the guy, yet - but he seemed competent enough in the field. Man didn't tangle with ZODIAC though, so that's yet be seen." Quentin said, initially reserved in his response, "But, as I said, I don't [i]know[/i] him. All I know is the kind of shit the MISW were up to, in deep with the Family - obviously he wouldn't be here if he actually [i]knew[/i] about it, but that doesn't mean there isn't shit on his boots."

"Hmh." Director Taylor answered, surprisingly reclusive in his response. "Alright. Anyway, what was it you wanted to ask?"

"Huh," Quentin muttered, "I was wondering if you wanted to drop by for a beer or something, some time - I get that this line of work of ours doesn't exactly leave us with time to spare, but... shit, I could use a drink. With you, least of all."

"Yeah... I feel you there." Reed affirmed, a certain hint of yearning briefly washing over his face, "Look, we'll figure it out some time - won't be possible for a while, obviously, but I'll see what I can do. Yeah?"

"Sure." Quentin nodded. "I see you're a busy man these days, anyway, so I'll leave you to it. Until next time, Director."

"Yeah, take care, Agent Taylor." Reed cracked a warm smile and bobbed his head as his brother departed.

[hr]

Luckily for Quentin, home was close enough to the HQ building that the journey didn't take too long, even in heavy traffic. 

The condo he shared with Mei was, in many respects, similar to the one he'd owned back in Verthaven - same comforts, same degree of space, etcetera, the main difference here being that it had been paid for with money that had been legitimately earned. Each of them had their space and, in truth, it was an easier arrangement than it sounded. After all, neither of them had ever really given a shit about the occasional remark that was pointed that way - anyone who'd actually known them for years had known that the bond he shared with Mei was fraternal, if anything.

By the time he'd got back, however, it was without a doubt pitch-black inside, save for the dim glow of street lighting seeping in from the outside through the window shutters. Of course, he knew the place off by heart and made his first stop by the refigerator, where the lighting from inside briefly illuminated its half of the building. After filling a ziploc bag with ice cubes from the dispenser, he hastily poured himself a glass of whiskey and headed over to the lounge area where, after switching on the TV and letting its light fill the room, he slumped back into the couch and slapped the ice pack on his bruised ribs. [i]A glass of whiskey and an icepack,[/i] he mused.


[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/skTh6iG.png[/img][/center]
[b][code]Strongriver Plaza, Hedgemount_[/code][/b][hr][hr]


Jesus Christ it was hard to keep track of Linda with all these people running and hiding.

And who wouldn't? Tumor-man was next level ugly. 

But, Johnny couldn't help but grimace when he realized it'd be the perfect girlfriend for that fag he met last night! Probably the only kind of girl- Okay, Johnny was getting a little off-track here. He glanced to his side and his one-eyed sister was by his side! Good! Gabe could always keep up. Eventually, they ended up in some alleyway far out of the way of the Piss Throne, and they turned a corner.

"... Linda!" Lin said as Linda came to a stop as she had to catch her breath. "Come with us, we'll get you to safety!" She wrapped her hands around Linda's shoulder, and lead her to the hummer.

Johnny grinned like a hyena. Oh, that Lin! She was a genius! Good thing she was on the side of the Valos, or else they'd be in trouble! He grabbed onto Gabe's arm, and moved back to the hummer. He needed to get in a good position....

Lin made it back to the hummer after Johnny and Gabe did... they just remained hidden all the way in the back as Jake took the wheel, and Lin lead Linda to the backseat. When he heard the doors open, and the hummer start moving, Johnny knew that it was showtime! 

"Thank you, Lin," Linda said. "I... I don't have any idea what in the fuck that thing was...."

"That was crazy," Lin said from the passenger seat. "But, y'know..."

"But, I have one question..." Linda asked. "... Why were you open with me? I'm just a scientist that met you one time. Are you th-"

"... Because it was all bullshit." Johnny said, when he sprung from behind cover, and pressed his revolver against the back of Linda's head. "We know you've been sucking the dicks of the Founding Family! I mean just [i]what[/i] is wrong with you!?"

"L-Lin!" Linda pleaded, confused.

"Sorry, but it's nothing personal," Lin said, before backtracking. "Well, actually, it really [i]is[/i] personal, but that's besides the point."

Johnny grinned like a maniac, as he said, "Yeah, real personal, as your bosses are holding onto some people that are very important to us," Johnny started off. "Whom we want back. Hence why we're here."

"But, why me!? I don't know who you're talking about!" Linda answered.

"You know someone that could," Johnny answered, "So, tell me, where are the Founding Family remnants hiding?"

"I don't know!" Linda said. 

Johnny pulled the trigger halfway, and Linda caught the message very well.

"Okay!" Linda said. "I don't know where they are exactly, they've been hiding their movements even from their members, but..."

This was awkward for her, but she swallowed her pride for the sake of her own life.

"... In my bra is a list of hideouts they've been using!"

Johnny gestured for Gabe to do it... and she looked less than thrilled to be reaching in some woman's bra, but she did it, and pulled out a... very sweaty piece of paper, and handed to Johnny. Who dropped it.

"Ew," Johnny said, "I'm not touching that. She might of lactated on it!"

Gabe opened it up, and revealed quite a long list of locations.

"And..." Linda trailed. "The leader of the remnants of called [i]Father,[/i] nobody has seen or knows who he is."

"... She's telling the truth." Lin confirmed, after reading her mind. 

"Good, now we just have to decide what to do with yo' white ass," Johnny said... he knew that Linda was useless, but not only that, but a giant loose end. And loose ends lead to your enemies killing you in your sleep, so he wasn't going to take any chances. "Decisions, decisions... Jake, drive us back to Roseview, please?"

"Uh, sure."

[hr][b][code]Faircrest Woods, Roseview_[/code][/b]

So, since Roseview wasn't that far away, it was a fairly short ride as Johnny made Jake drive straight into the bushes. When the car came to a stop, Johnny lead Linda out with his revolver pressed against the back of her head, as the rest of the group got out. The lights from Johnny's hummer being the only thing giving them sight. 

"Wait, hold on a second," Johnny said, and went to the back of the hummer with his gun aimed at Linda. He opened the trunk, and pulled out two things. He walked around the hummer as he threw Linda a shovel, and deployed a folding chair. He sat down on it, and kept his gun primed on Linda.

"Okay sweetheart, get started." Johnny said.

"... W-what?!" Linda raised an eyebrow.

"What? Are you stupid?" Johnny asked, "Dig your own grave already. At least six feet, chop-chop, or I'll let you bleed out when I cap you."

"Johnny?!" Gabe turned towards her older brother.

"What? We can't have a giant loose end running around," Johnny shrugged. "If she gets away, she'll just tattle on us, and make our job harder."

"Johnny, she has a family," Jake pleaded. "We... we can't just kill her like this!"

"Oh, look, here comes the unnecessary moral compass," Johnny got up off the chair, and got in Jake's face. "Did you forget the shit they did to you, or Gabe...? No, what they did to all of us!"

"No, I haven't," Jake replied, "But, there's a line, Johnny! We aren't animals!"

"A line that they fucking danced over on a daily fuckin' basis!" Johnny shouted as he got into Jake's face, gritting his teeth. "They came into our home, burned it down, kidnapped us, killed us, [i]raped[/i] us, and you wanna forgive them?"

"It wasn't like she did it," Gabe answered with her arms crossed. "It was the Blessed Three... and she's far from it."

"... And here comes the cosigner!" Johnny answered.

"I'm just against senseless violence, okay!" Gabe answered with her arms crossed.

"Well, Gabriela," Johnny shouted, "You knew what was gonna happen when you tagged along with me!"

"Um..." Lin pointed. "She's getting away."

The entire Valos family turned towards her, and Linda was hauling ass through the field.

"Don't let her get away!" Johnny shouted as he aimed his revolver at her, and fired, baby! His aim was so good, that he managed to hit a moving target with ease... all too well. The bullet went in from one end of her skull, and out the other. Blowing her head to bits in the process. Her lifeless body hit the floor, as the Valos were all wordless.

"... I'll get the shovel." Was all Johnny could say.


[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/7kWFOr0.png[/img][/center]
[b][code]???[/code][/b][hr][hr]


"... Andrea Pasternack, DOVE intern, our sources say she's up in arms about Happiness."

In a dark room, hidden somewhere in the darkest, more secluded parts of Baybridge. A man sat in a chair, obscured by shadows, as he sat staring at a series of screens. In front of the computer screen was a woman dressed sharply. Her figure was curvy, and the lights from the screen behind her illuminated some of her features. Mainly her suit, and her fair skin, and relatively young age (around twenty). The computer displayed a series of relevant images. From their basic information, to acquired information on their past, skills, and et cetera. To several photo images of them, with the center (and largest) screen displaying the clearest image. Each of them were relevant to Andrea.

However, the figure in the chair, large and muscular, was slumped in the back of the chair. Eyes were probably more on the well-dressed woman than the screen. He asked, in a bored tone implying that he asked this question several times before,

"... And what threat does she pose to our mission?" He said, bored. As he leaned his head on his hand.

"Despite her power, very minimal," The woman said, "She's only after Happiness, after all, and is more likely to chase her tail than stumble upon us."

The man sighed. "... Continue."

With the press of a button, the images changed to a teenaged looking blonde-hair girl with blue eyes. The man in the chair recognized this woman, and then looked to the side to the information on her power. Enhanced Regenerative factor, and Body Manipulation. Oh boy...

"Jennifer Caspin," The woman started off. "She should be familiar to you as one of Mistress Julia's test subjects?"

"Am." The man said, as he rapped his fingers on the chair, bored.

"While she could be an asset to us... she's been unfortunately cleared of Mechanized Memories," The woman started off. "Which means she is no usage to us... but, at the same time, of no threat to us. I caught word she's after a previous associate of ours... thus, she is of zero threat."

"I wish she was still a Secretary," Father said, "She is quite... beautiful." He laughed.

With another push of a button, the screens displayed a image of Johnny Valos. Specifically his mugshot. Father immediately recognized the name and the face of the boy... Ooooh, does this mean?

"A Valos, eh?" The man said, "And here I was thinking that they found themselves a hole, and stayed there!" 

"He, and his family, recently made his way to Baybridge, and is making zero attempt to be subtle," The woman started off. "We have no idea what exactly he's after, but he teamed up with two of the Liu sisters for some mission." 

"Hmmm... I have an idea as to just what he wants..." The man put a hand on his chin, as he focused on the woman in front of him. 

"Either way, he, too, is oblivious to our plans, and is probably not going to find anything useful," The woman said, "But... he could be an asset. Think about it, he's oblivious to our plans. Plus his past as a hitman... we could easily use him to eliminate a key target."

The man smiled, before another button press revealed images of Haruka Takashiro, and brought up his file... and the man slumped back down into his chair. Rolling his eyes.

"Let me guess..." The man leaned forward, and put his fingertips together in a tent. "Knows nothing, and we shouldn't care about him?" He guessed.

"That's another way to put it," The woman said, "But, yes."

"I don't have time for this," The man said, "When I said 'assessment of threats,' I meant [i]actual[/i] threats." He rolled his eyes up into his head.

"With all due respect, [i]Father,[/i]" The woman said to him, "You wanted to know about all the threats to our mission... and these people can easily become higher if we aren't careful."

"And we are careful," Father said, "Nobody has a clue we even exist!"

"But, with our [i]other[/i] operation, we have a high risk of blowing our cover if it gets out..."

At this moments, the loud footsteps of heels pierced through the air. A person slowly walked up to them, another woman wearing a similar outfit. But, standing just out of light that were given off by the computer screens. She was holding files, and they looked at her.

"Sorry to interrupt your session, Father, but I have very urgent for you," The woman put a hand on her hip, and then looked at them.

"Well, then, out with it."

"Wendy Lucker, and Rowan Campbell have returned to Baybridge."

The mere mention of their names made Father's blood boil. He tightly clenched the sides of his chair, nearly breaking it with his raw strength. He had to hold in all the swears he had for the [i]murders[/i] of Ezekiel... He had nothing but contempt for them. 

"And what's more is..." The other woman trailed off for a moment. "They made contact with Penny Rosier, and Daniel Forsythe, along with a few other friends."

"Of [i]course[/i] they would make nice with that [i]traitor[/i]." Father leaned in, and folded his hands. "Which means they, collectively..." He looked at each of his women, before resting on the screen that changed to images of Wendy and Rowan. "... Are the biggest threats to our mission."

"May I have someone assassinate the-"

"No," Father said as he put a hand up. "When the time comes... I will personally handle them. No assassin should have the honor of ending their lives..."

He put a hand on his chin, and rubbed it.

"Besides... we need more information!" Father raised a hand in the air. "We can't just go about killing everyone who looks at us funny... besides..."

He looked at the screen, and smiled.

"... We both may both be after the same thing!" Father started off. "So, let's double surveillance on Penny Rosier shall we? Also keep an eye on Wendy."

Father said, 

"... They may lead us straight to our end goal."


 


[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/6fDvZSG.png[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/UF2ShpR.png[/img]
[/center][hr][hr]
[sub][sub][sub][sub]Why am I even posting this? None of you are going to read it.[/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub]

Three days after the incident in the Golden Throne, there was a bit of an uproar against Metahumans. As anti-Metahuman politicians have been using the incident for fuel for tighter laws against Metahumans. Along with usual fear mongering. At this point, it was nothing new, and the city of Baybridge moves on regardless. But, what had the city in fear was the multiple sightings of the ZODIAC terrorist group... and drastic measures are being put in place.

As a sharp contrast to the weather on Saturday and Sunday, a dark cloud was cast over Baybridge. Rain was over the horizon.


[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/U5iaTPQ.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/4L1Q9Qu.png[/img]
[/center]
[b][code]Rosalyn Street, Silver Hills_[/code][/b][hr][hr]


After a long day at the Academy, Daniel thought that, today, he would just take the long trip from Roseview to Silverhills. The Academy was... just too crowded for him. Long as he didn't leave the city itself, and was ready to take classes in the morning, it didn't matter. He rode his bicycle outside the gates of the Academy, and hopped on it, and scrolled all the way there. It took an hour to get home... but, he arrived at Rosalyn Street in no time. He was sweaty, as usual, and slid off his leather jacket, and put it on the coat rack. Before he scrolled to the shower, and got naked. The water in his apartment was [i]really[/i] hot, but he could withstand it easily.

When he got out the shower, he dried himself off, and wrapped a towel around his waist. His mother was going to be home soon! He scrolled over to his room in this three room apartment, and quickly-

"... Daniel!" The harsh voice of Penny Rosier shouting from the window, loudly knocking on the window. Daniel jumped, and instinctively activated his power. His right side burst into flame, while his left was covered in frost. 

"P-Penny?" Daniel asked with a raised eyebrow, as he turned off his power. He quickly went over to the window while holding his towel, and unlocked it. Penny did the rest. She climbed through the window, with her spider legs protruding from her back. They retracted back inside her body as her power deactivated. "I told you to [i]never[/i] to come up here like that."

"Yeah, yeah, fuckin' [i]sorry,[/i]" Penny dismissed him, but it was clear from that wide grin on her face that she had something amazing to tell him. "But, after giving the first book a good hard look, I figured out something!"

"... And that can't wait five minutes for me to get dressed?"

Penny pouted as she responded, "You should've answered fucking the phone!" She shouted, she covered her eyes, and turned away. "Quick, put some fuckin' pants on."

That was when Daniel, quick as lightning reached into his drawer, and put some boxers one. Along with some jeans... unaware that Penny peaked.

"But, [i]listen,[/i] my dad's been putting code phrases in the books all along! I just didn't pay attention to them until I got to read the first one."

"And these are?" Daniel asked.

"Something leading us to a location, I don't fuckin' know!" Penny answered. "Look I need to give the other books a look, which means, I hate to say it..."

Penny turned around, and sighed.

"... We have to work with Wendy and her mongoloids." She rolled her eyes in irritation.

"Well, they aren't [i]that[/i] ba-" Daniel tried to reason with her.

"Of course they're [i]'that'[/i] fucking bad," Penny damn near-snarled at Daniel. "I'm trying to [i]save[/i] the last traces of my father, and she's acting like this is some fucking scavenger hunt."

While Daniel was all for peace between Wendy and Penny (at least before it got [i]really[/i] ugly). He had to concede with that point. They didn't quite understand the personal stake Wendy and her friends had in all this. But, nonetheless, Daniel wasn't going to crucify them because they were [i]curious[/i]. They were valuable allies in this mission, and it'd be stupid to push them away for stupid reasons such as pride. He stepped over to Penny, and put his hand on her shoulder, and smiled.

"I understand why you would be weary about them, why you wouldn't trust them," Daniel explained, "But... we can't orchachize people for simple... [i]curiosity.[/i]"

Penny pouted as she crossed her arms, determined to ignore Daniel's advice.

"Great things have been accomplished because people asked the question, and looked for the answer," Daniel took a step away from her, as he continued. "You're not any different, so I wouldn't push away people who are."

Penny sighed.

"Fiiiiine," Penny answered, with a grin on her face. "I'll give Mong-squad a chance."

She walked around to the door, and opened it, "Buuuuuut... they can wait," Penny started off. "How about you and I have some fun..." She cringed, as she realized what she said. "No, not [i]that[/i] kind of fun. Let's hit a fuckin' mall or something, I feel bad about making you go to that shitty fair without a [i]date[/i]..."

"Date?" Daniel teased, with a grin on his face.

"You know what I mean," Penny rolled her eyes, trying to play off the embarrassment while blushing. "Sending you there a-fucking-lone."

She crossed her arms, and Daniel smiled.

"Sure thing," He said. He was glad that she was willing to do other things than obsess over her father's notes, and he had some extra money on him. The mall sounded like a great idea.


[hr][center][img]http://i.imgur.com/EBhKBX1.png[/img][/center]
[b][code]Eastgriffen Ruins, Roseview_[/code][/b][hr][hr]


The trio of Coven members marched through the Faircrest Woods.

Their tour through Baybridge brought them to many different places... Megan was the one leading them after all. She felt like there was something deep within these woods that Ada needed to see. So, here they are, Ada scrolling with her black cloak on, and hat obscuring her face, Megan cheerfully skipping like she was five years old, and Adora nervously tailing behind them. Eventually, they ended up in a desolate ghost town... ruined years ago by an unknown source. Now it was largely in pieces, with some buildings completely fallen over. A thriving community gone in an instant.

Ada lead the group as she looked around. "... This place is a scar on the world," She said in a low tone. "A great tragedy has taken place here... I can feel the rage of the fallen..." She took a few steps, before she touched a wall, but shook her head. She took a few more steps, and stopped at the rubble. Her focused for a moment, where the destroyed matter was coated in a red aura. It floated into the air, and separated, until Ada found what she wanted.

A teddy bear.

She pulled it out of the wreckage with her bear hands, before cancelling her telekinesis. Making the rest of it fall to the ground. Even though her eyes were covered, she faced the bear as if carefully examining something. She pet the head of the bear, wiping some of the rubble off, but this bear was beyond repair. Well, conventional repair.

While she was petting it, a red pulse traveled from the bottom to the top. Repairing it back to brand new quality in an instant. Then Ada focused...

... Then she felt the wave of memories.

[hr][b][code]... Several years ago.[/code][/b]

[i]A girl was running for her life while everything [/i]burned[i].

Where was mommy? Where was daddy?

She slammed her back against a wall, as she panted. She didn't know what was going on. She just wanted to go home. She didn't like Eastgriffin anymore. Tears ran down her face, brightly illuminated by the flames around herself. All she could hear was screams... she slump down until she hit the ground. Nothing but tears were running down her face, as her only comfort was a teddy bear.

"Gather up all the kids, kill the adults!" She heard a male voice loudly shout. "Have fun, boys! Nobody is going to interrupt us for awhile."

These words hurt her soul to the core. Were they going to kill mommy? Kill daddy? She couldn't take it anymore, she curled up into a ball, and closed her eyes. Praying that this would be over soon. She heard some footsteps approach her, and stop right at her body.

Then she felt the sharp pain hit her in the gut. She loudly gasped for air, as she saw a woman stand overtop of her. With strange blue skin... dressed like a cowboy. She was spinning some massive revolvers, so fast that she could barely tell they were guns. 

"Heeeeeeey, sweetie," The woman said with a frightening smile as she leaned in close to the girl. "You're cute! I bet they'll pay top dollar for you!"

She suddenly stopped spinning her guns, and aimed them at the girl. The little girl was petrified, she couldn't even [/i]cry[i].

"Come with me, sweetheart," The woman said. "Make it easier for you, easier for everyone!"

The girl didn't know what to even do...

"I'll take that from you!" The woman grabbed the teddy bear, looked at it, and threw it over her shoulder.

Before carrying the girl off into a blue light...[/i]

[hr]
 
... Then the memory ended. Brief as an echo, Ada absorbed the memory from the teddy. She clenched her fist.

"... It happened so long ago, but the [i]rage[/i] is still fresh..." Ada muttered to herself, as she placed the teddybear back down where she found it. "... [i]Luis[/i] was behind this."

"What was that, mum?" Megan asked, curious.

Ada took a few steps forward, before she said, "Luis and his Changeling Unit is responsible for this... They kidnapped all the children, killed all the adults."

"Oh, well..." Megan said, as she bit her fingers.

"Well...?" Ada raised an eyebrow as she looked over her shoulder.

"... Back when this place was destroyed, the Changelings[i] were[/i] the biggest supplier of new Cultivators and Secretaries for the Family," Megan explained. "Who knows why they destroyed it... maybe..."

"Luis was a mere child with too much power in his hands." Ada sharply replied.

"Well, if you think about it, [i]you[/i] were the one made him crazy," Megan grinned, as she pushed Ada's buttons. "So, everything he did is your fault!" She smiled. 

Ada paused for a moment, as she was awestruck.

"... I am [i]not[/i] responsible for [i]anyone's[/i] actions," Ada sharply said, almost snarling at Megan. "If that was the way Luis chose to deal with his grief, so be it."

"So," Megan chuckled, "For being a servant of the world, you callously brush off the atrocities of one person?"

"[i]Enough.[/i]" Ada growled, a red aura surrounded her.

"Okay, okay!" Megan said, not wanting to get blown to pieces!

"But... I concede," Ada said as she turned around, and walked past Megan. "You have a point... I could have stopped Luis long before he became a threat, long before he could have done [i]this[/i] to people."

Ada explained, sighed.

"I feel the scars left behind, the unresolved anger of dead men and women calling for justice..." Ada said, before she looked behind her at the ruins. "Even though Luis is long dead, they are still... still unsatisfied."

"And what does that mean, Ada?" Adora finally spoke up, curious.

"There is still an injustice that must be corrected," Ada simply answered. "We must find it."

"Annd ho-" Megan tried to ask, before Ada interrupted her.

"Come with me."

[hr]

The trio left the Eastgriffin ruins, and found themselves in a massive field that had Baybridge in the far distance. It was tranquil, not a vehicle in sight. Ada sat down with her legs crossed, and both Adora and Megan did the same thing. But, they lacked the power that Ada had. Ada focused for a moment, raising a finger to her lips as if she was shushing someone. Instead, as she meditating... drawing upon the world's essence.

"Oh, world... guide me to the next point in our journey," Ada said. For a few moments, she felt nothing, until the red aura around her grew brighter and brighter. As she became one with the world, and the world became one with her. She felt where the world was guiding her, and stopped. She hopped to her feet, and said with determination.

"We must go this way." Ada pointed towards the city.

"... That's very descriptive," Megan answered, with a cheeky grin.

"Just follow me into the city!" Ada said as she began to run forward. 

"Wait, wait, wait!" Megan's right arm turned into a silvery amorous goo, that stretched out and grabbed Ada's shoulder. She stopped her, as she caught up. "You are[i] not[/i] going into the city dressed as the Wicked Witch of the East!"

"I don't understand what that means." 

"What it means is that you need to dress like you're blending in," Megan said, chuckling.

"Hmmmmmm..." Ada thought about it for a moment, then her body turned into a similar amorphous goo as Megan. Except fleshy, and porous. Her clothing changed from her dark and dreary outfit, to a long flowing, regal, dress. One that clung to her body... and looked very expensive.

"... Close enough!" Megan said, as the trio ran towards Baybridge. Ready to follow whatever the hell was guiding Ada. Nobody knew. 

But they were going to find out really soon, weren't they?