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[h2]𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫[/h2][sub]Finale collab betwen [@Star Lord], [@baraquiel], and [@Skittlez][/sub][/center]
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"No... no fucking way." Frankie Gomez responded while dropping the cell phone and knife in terror. Soon enough, he realized that the thing was the one who caused and most likely killed his pursuers. He had thought that officers had entered the building until he heard the dying screams and cries for help. But he never thought something as appalling as the dark figure staring at him. It wanted to ask a few questions and expected them to be answered. Of course, Gomez nodded while processing the whole thing. It started with a simple question: [color=#696969]"Who are you?"[/color]

"Frankie Gomez." Gomez answered.

Inque went the bathroom and saw a man in it, hugging his knees in fear. Then, it closed the door and turned to Gomez, who was sweating and trying to explain the situation. Before he could finish, the creature grabbed and threw him out of the room and into the hallway. He quickly got up and slowly walked away from it. The figure walked out of the room as it shut the door slowly instead of slamming it close. Now, it was getting tired and asked another question in a demanding tone: [color=#696969]"Why were you being chased?"[/color]

Gomez didn't know if he should lie or tell it the truth to... whatever it was. With nowhere to go, what options does he have left to play? Make a run for it in the hopes that it doesn't catch up to him? Or tell him and see if it had sympathy? He felt the window and realized that he had reached the end of the hallway. With time slowly running out, Gomez sighed, looked at the figure, and began speaking, "I am a part of the Juárez Locos until I fucked up tonight. All because of fucking Jorge. I told them that he was unstable because of the drugs but nobody cared. We almost had him and he fucked everything up. And now, I am paying for it."

[color=#696969]"'We almost had' who?"[/color]

"Hernando de la Cruz, the head of the Aztecas. Even if I manage to survive tonight, the Azteca Cartel will never forgive nor forget my actions." Gomez paused and collapsed to the ground with tears in his eyes, realizing that he's a dead man walking. "Oh god, I am a goner."

Ember gasped as the monster swiftly ended the man's life. She watched as the life in his eyes slowly faded away, his last tears dropping down to the floor. Then she turned to the thing. "But you didn't have to kill them!" Ember insisted. [color=peachpuff]"And thanking you? Yeah thanks to your bloody mess, the police will now be aware that you're here, that something is brutally killing all these people. Don't you think it will make it harder for you to move freely along the city after tonight?"[/color]

Her eyes continued to follow the monster, then her eyes grew wider when it approached her and said his speeches. It's like something directly out of a horror movie, only this time it's completely real. She decided to stay silent. After all, the lives of these people would be in great danger if it weren't for this... she'll just call it a man. But still, the killings...

Then she was surprised to see a woman standing between her and him. [color=peachpuff]"How-"[/color], she tried to say something but her voice got caught when she noticed the lady's fingertips caught in flames. Seconds upon seeing them that Ember realized that she also has superpowers, just like her and him.

[color=peachpuff]"No, I'm not-"[/color] She cleared her throat. [color=peachpuff]"Well, since you're here, you're already caught in this mess. Let's just end this quickly so we can all go home."[/color] Ember said to Fire Lady and Monster Man.

She walked by them downstairs, helping him check out every room to find the one person who's the cause of all this. She jumped when Monster Man kicked open a door to find two men in there, one of them was the man they were looking for.

Ember watched Monster Man ask and scare the criminal, still trying to take everything that has happened so far in the night. All this trouble because of one single guy? Seriously? Her eyes followed the dark figure in the bathroom as she saw another guy crying in fear with his knees up to his chest. Then she managed to move out of the way just in time as Monster Man threw Gomez out of the hallway. She was about to say something but decided against it. She knew no amount of words was going to persuade Monster Man. 

She looked at the man, now on the floor and completely bawling his eyes out. The sight was almost enough to make Ember laugh until she remembered she was with an individual who has no sympathy for human life. She stood between Monster Man and Gomez and looked sternly at him. [color=peachpuff]"We need him alive. You've got your fair share of blood lust. Now let the lady handle the talking."[/color] She said to him before turning to Gomez. 

Gomez looked up to Ember as tears continuously dripped down his face. He even swiped some of his snot off. "P-Please, help me. I'll be a better man now, I promise! I now realize what I did was completely wrong by going in this apartment and putting the lives of everyone who lived here in danger. Ple-"

Ember held up her hand to stop Gomez from speaking. She crossed her arms, trying to think of something for the situation. Let Monster Man kill Gomez? They will lose their only asset and source to stop these gangs and their violent ways once and for all, thus making Santa Elena a safer place for the people. On the other hand, Ember was not that dumb and she knew an infamous gang like the one Gomez was talking about was huge and specially has their own people in the police department. Which was why they couldn't even get their hands on this gang for the longest time. 

She stretched out her arm, opened the bathroom door, and dragged the man crying out of there to join Gomez in the hallway. She looked at the two of them, contemplating on her next move, before finally saying, [color=peachpuff]"We will surrender you to the authorities."[/color]

Both of them had their eyes wide open in fear. "Wha-"

[color=peachpuff]"I know, your lives are in danger even when in the custody of the police. I will do my best to keep you safe under one condition: you will tell the police everything you know about the Azteca Cartel. Every person part of this group, their bases of operation, and more. If you uphold the end of our bargain, I will make sure no harm will come to you. You have my word on that. However..."[/color]

She walked nearer to them. [color=peachpuff]"If we find out you lied to us or kept your mouth shut when we want you to talk, I'll arrange a meeting for you with this guy."[/color] She pointed behind her towards Monster Man and the men gulped and cowered in fear. [color=peachpuff]"Now, do we have a deal?"[/color]

The men both looked at each other and nodded to Ember, now that they feared the creature more than anything else.

Inque turned to the woman from earlier while she was trying to defend Gomez. It was the same woman that called him out on the top floor from killing the criminals. Even with the earlier conversation, she still didn't get why they decided to come here and killed almost all of the criminal scum. Then, she suggested that Gomez surrender to the authorities and have him tell everything he knew. Of course, it was a dumb idea. It was easy enough for Gomez to escape if he wanted to. Hell, they won't be surprised if the cops were corrupt enough to let him walk. They were getting to stand their ground on the matter. Before Inque could respond to her request, they heard noise outside and stared at the window nearby. The SWAT team had arrived and planning on breaching the apartment to ensure the madness ends for good. And the power was slowly coming back on despite them destroying the nearby generator. 

There wasn't a change of standing their ground unless they wanted to get shot; but, he wanted to leave behind a gift from Gomez. They turned towards Gomez and grabbed his neck. He was pleading for his life while crying out for the woman's aid because he thought that he was going to die. Sadly for Inque, he was going to live another day, but with a reminder. They scratched at Gomez's right cheek and gave him a good scar so that he was easier to spot. Inque was satisfied enough and dropped Gomez to the ground, who was crying with pain from his new scar. Before they leave the building, he had one last thing to say to the brave woman.

Inque walked closer towards the woman and said, [color=#696969]"You are a brave young naive woman who thinks that this scum will turn himself in. But, the real world is filled with corruption and injustice that I hope you and everyone else realizes. Regardless, I hope that Gomez does tell the truth and remain in jail for a long time because if he escapes or walks out of jail a free man... We will kill him personally."[/color]

And with that last word, they started to run as an explosion could be heard below them. They got to the stairs and noticed that SWAT was getting ready to search the entire building. Inque decided to go to the rooftop in the hopes of escaping by running along the roofs and started climbing the stairs.

Nikita focused on keeping her flames strong and consistent as the woman made a deal with the pleading man. She realized that this man was not just some pawn or helpless apartment resident. Rather, he was a member of one of the most notorious gangs in Santa Celia. She'd tried so hard not to run into people like this in Winters and here she was actively inserting herself because she her guilt told her that no one was looking out for these citizens and she had an obligation to with her abilities. How naive. No wonder Poncho was always so frustrated with her.

The man seemed so afraid of the figure she hadn't paid much attention to previously. More threatened by him than her, with the flames licking towards her elbows. She cast her gaze to him now that the flames gave her some light. Still somewhat hard to make out, it was clear she had mistaken the figure for human when he in fact was not. Her heart skipped a beat. She recalled her mother calling her a demon and praying for her salvation. If only she could see what Nikita was now getting a glimpse of. She did her best to remain calm but kept her eyes trained on him rather than the gang member. She watched as he carved a massive scar into the whole of the gang members cheek. Her body tensed. The power was returning and she could hear commotion outside. She couldn't be caught up in this. No way. No one would be looking for her in this city; and as successful as Poncho was becoming, she doubted his ability to get her out of any hot water with how corrupt the police force here was.

The creature had the right idea and started climbing right away. She looked to the girl. [COLOR=F26522]"I can't be caught up int this. I know you want him to turn himself in but we can't stay, are you coming with me?"[/color] she demanded. She wasn't upset, just rushed. She paused for a moment. [COLOR=F26522]"And if you aren't, are you going to be okay?"[/color] Nikita added, more cautiously. She didn't know the young woman, but she wasn't comfortable leaving her there alone. She had already stepped back into the hall. Nikita was prepared to slip out and if caught, pretend they were terrified residents and slip away before they could be questioned for witness statements.

It was unusual from someone to be concerned about them especially Nathan. So, he didn't say anything until they got to the rooftop. And naturally, they didn't know what to say next. They didn't want her to know their location after all of this. And he was definitely not going to follow her. But, they barely know anything about Santa Celia besides its location and some history. Information regarding the town would be nice especially right now. After a moment of thinking about what to say next, Inque turned towards the woman and said, [color=#696969]"We will be fine. But... we.. would like locations of shelter or safe haven... if you know any."[/color]

Ember could hear the faint buzzing of electricity from somewhere. It looked like the authorities were doing something about the destroyed generator first. She could also hear the growing sound of commotion from the outside, the public becoming more agitated and the police more uneasy on the long amount of silence since the shoutings and gunfires were gone. 

Before the three of them could do anything, she saw as the monster approached Gomez and, to her horror, carved a prominent scar on his cheek. She glared at the monster and was about to say something before he caught her, saying that he does intend to kill Gomez when he fails to keep the end of his bargain. There was a sound of an explosion below them and it was enough to keep Ember's mouth shut as they all ran to the rooftop, leaving a goon and Gomez at the hallway, with tears and blood dripping from his face.

After they made it to the rooftop, Ember felt the cold gusts of wind slapping her on the face. Feeling the wind was like dousing herself in ice cold water, and it made her more alert and awake than ever. She could hear the SWAT team infiltrating the building from below and the loud commotion happening on the outside. She still couldn't believe what her night turned into. She was supposed to be buying gifts for his little brother's birthday, and now she's on a rooftop with a homicidal monster with a... unique viewpoint of justice, and a girl who's literally on fire. Ember thought on her next move, the cold winds blowing her ponytail as she listened to Fire Lady's concern about Ember's well-being and Monster Man's question about a safe haven.

[color=peachpuff]"Thank you for your concern but I'm fine really"[/color], she said to Fire Girl. [color=peachpuff]"I have a place I can crash into. I'll be safe. You should go back to your home or whatever so your folks won't be worried about you either."[/color] She breathed and turned to both of them. [color=peachpuff]"Also, thank you both for your help about tonight. Our missions, which are to save innocent civilians and to learn the truth about whoever's behind all this mess, were both completed. I'd say we've done a kinda pretty good job if it weren't for the bloody mess we left"[/color], she glared at Monster Man.

Ember then turned to Monster Man. She was confused a bit from his statement: 'we'? Is he some sort of symbiote-situation like in that Marvel movie? She mentally added that to her inventory on what she wanted to ask him since the second she laid eyes on his monstrous face.

[color=peachpuff]"Most people will be quite confused and more cautious about a grown man, teenager, whatever you are, suddenly showing up to their shelters in the middle of the night. Worst case scenario, they would not let you in and you'll sleep in the streets. You can't blame them, Santa Celia does have a growing problem regarding criminals lately. Fortunately, I know a friend who'll surely let you stay in for the night. Don't kill her, and you'll probably end up with a friend for life, whether you like it or not."[/color]

Nikita didn't bother to look to the intimidating and mysterious pair as she watched SWAT swarm into the building like wasps, coating all the entrances and exits. She heard the request from the duo and the offer from the seemingly unfazed young woman. She hesitated. [COLOR=F26522]"I got a two bedroom one bath apartment. My brother comes to visit sometimes. You can stay with the friend, you can stay with me but we all have to get the fuck out of here. Discreetly."[/color] Her body was rigid just thinking about being in police custody. Her older brother had gone this entire time evading police and she could see each scenario in custody, few of them favorable. She finally looked to the figure that she still wasn't quite certain of how to describe. [COLOR=F26522]"I'm not sure how great you'd be at slipping unnoticed into my complex,"[/color] she added. She looked at the strangers, suddenly more serious, [COLOR=F26522]"But no, honestly, fire's all I got. So if someone can get us all out, now is the time."[/color]

Inque wished that they would have pointed him towards directions to a homeless shelter. Instead, they directed them to their friends’ places. Inque wasn’t unappreciated for their offers but they were a monster after all. Plus, they didn’t want Nathan’s identity to be revealed to strangers. Regardless, all of them needed to leave this rooftop before it was too late. They looked towards the edge of the building and saw a fire escape. 

[color=#696969]“Follow us.”[/color] Inque ordered while climbing down. When he saw that another fire escape that belonged to the nearby building was touching. Maybe it was a chance for the strangers to blend in with the people living in that building. So, they broke open the window, looked at them, and said, [color=#696969]“Go in and blend in with the crowd.”[/color]

Inque watched them entering the building while they were thinking a way of showing appreciation for their suggestions of haven. Once they were in the clear, Inque heard the SWAT team on the rooftop and waited until they went back inside before they spoke. [color=#696969]“We want to thank you both for your offers, but we need to hide. We will be fine. Be worried about your safety now. But, don’t forget about the deal. Good luck with the both of you.”[/color]

Afterwards, Inque jumped off the fire escape and landed on the ground. They looked around to see if anybody was able to see them before running off into the dark alleyway. For their first night in Santa Celia, it was actually good.

Ember listened to the two of them, eyebrows furrowed as she tried to make a reply about her friend being a trustworthy person, but it seemed to her that they already made up their minds. [color=peachpuff]"I-I see. Right now our priority is to get out of here undetected."[/color] She said as she followed the two of them in escaping from the building. She marveled at the way they move as if they're already experts in it as they manage to go out right as the police entered the infrastructure. And here she thought Ember knew her stuff. 

The kind of life they're living must be worse than what she originally imagined. She has always been seeing herself as a normal, average girl and not just some rich, privileged daughter of a city mayor. She thought about those movie lines like 'Choose your own destiny' or 'You write your own story' which she thought were super cheesy, but not anymore for her. She underestimated the power those simple words can give to an individual and she realized that she's not trapped to the legacy of her own bloodline. From that point on, Ember made a promise to herself that she will be the captain of her own boat.

She just has to escape here first. 

She followed them throughout the process, mimicking their every move to avoid detection and suspicion from anyone that might see them. When they're finally in the clear, she let out a breath of relief. She nodded in response. [color=peachpuff]"Good luck with your endeavors as well. And... thank you for believing in me, despite our differences. You be safe"[/color] She said to the man as he jumped from the fire escape and disappeared through the night. 

Then she turned to the woman. [color=peachpuff]"Thank you also in assisting us, miss. You're a breath of fresh air from all the hostility I've been getting from that guy"[/color] Ember jokingly said as she pointed a finger down where he jumped off. [color=peachpuff]"Good luck with your endeavors as well. And if you're a newcomer, then welcome to Santa Celia, where stuff like these happen all the time. Not all of us are bad here, and I hope you enjoy your stay in our city. I'll see you around then."[/color] Ember said before elongating her legs and leaping out from one building to the next under the cover of night. As the wind blew against her and despite everything that has happened to her this past hour, she still couldn't get a single horrifying truth about tonight:

Her mom was going to be hella pissed.

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