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As if Radvi had come at the perfect moment, Eli felt a wave of relief as she heard what sounded like two pairs of feet crashing through the woods. Lynn began to move forwards, towards Arianna, and Eli felt her body tense in a sudden rush of adrenaline. This was it. This was the moment she was waiting for. The bitch was caught. Radvi would jump in and distract her, and Eli would aid in her capture by giving the killer all she could. Lynn was there to [i]burn[/i].

[b]"GET AWAY FROM HER!"[/b]

Eli prepared to reach out for Arianna again, but for a moment she was confused by the what looked to be a taser in Radvi's hand. She didn't have enough time to process the thought completely. Eli scrambled to claw her way out of the thicket as Arianna booked it, followed closely by Agent Radvi. She wasn't going to let Arianna out of her sight. She couldn't. Not until Radvi had her in nullifying handcuffs. All thoughts of safety or however Amelia would react to his appearance disappeared the moment she felt she lost sight of Radvi.

When Eli finally managed to catch up to the pair, she was able to catch the instant that Radvi hit Arianna with the taser. Except... it didn't shock her. It [i]liquified her.[/i] As if her body had morphed into the blue goo, but couldn't quite keep itself together. Eli stood still in shock, her blood running cold as she realized exactly what kind of taser it was. [i]It's... a nullifier?[/i] She'd seen a wide range of ways to nullify a parahuman's ability while she was aboard The Promise. To have technology that was capable of this was unheard of. The sight of this taser and witnessing its affects firsthand sent chills down Eli's spine. It was a [b]huge red flag[/b] and it left Eli with a nauseous feeling in her stomach. She found it difficult to move forwards, even if Radvi may need her help.

If The Promise was capable of producing nullifying tasers, they were capable of producing much more dangerous nullifiers. The images of nullifying firearms flashed through Eli's mind, and she felt genuine fear for her people. If nullifying weapons like that got into the wrong hands, it would mean that not even The Promise was a "safe" space for parahumans to coexist. Although it felt good to know that parahumans like Arianna could be stopped, it still made Eli wonder if it would ever be turned against the peaceful parahumans as well.

Radvi looked surprised. He didn't expect it to work? Or he was just in awe of its effects? Eli watched him move towards the blue puddle in the dirt, reloading the taser with another cartridge. Eli cautiously moved forwards, and for a moment she saw the flicker of Lynn's light on the other side of the action. What did Lynn think of the taser? She was probably disgusted. She wouldn't trust Radvi after tonight. Eli was certain. D was close behind Radvi, and Eli wondered how long the pair had been together that evening. Or if they'd met up on the way over?

These were the thoughts that ran through Eli's mind as it seemed that the action was over. Still, Eli looked at the surrounding forest. The gut feeling that Arianna was playing them still lingered, and Eli felt herself lurch forwards as she spotted a figure rapidly makings its way towards Radvi. [i]It's a trap![/i] She took a step towards the scene and opened her mouth to shout, but it was too late.

Arianna, the [b]real[/b] Arianna was fast. Faster than Eli could have ever expected her to be. Eli watched in shock as she crashed into the electronic bobble head and sent him tumbling down a hill of fallen trees. Arianna's body was morphing like a wave, but instead of being mesmerized by her fluidity it only reminded Eli of how astonishingly powerful Arianna was in real life. Even if this was what Eli expected [i]the real[/i] Arianna to be like, it still instilled sheer terror to see it in action. Arianna was headed towards Radvi now, and instead of stepping in to save him Eli was frozen in terror. She could only stand and watch as Radvi was quickly disarmed and thrown. Eli felt fear for her friend and stepped forwards to finally jump in. She could distract Arianna, and then he could get the taser back. As long as her focus wasn't on hurting the only security guard that gave a shit.

She kept her eyes on the woman as she made her way towards Radvi, watching as she broke the taser like it was made of plastic. [i]Oh, fuck. Fuck-what now?[/i] Sound. D showed them that sound could dismantle her figure. But D was still in the mass of broken trees below them. There was no way he could produce enough sound, and even if he could would Eli be able to handle affecting Arianna? Earlier it had just been a separate piece of her and it felt wrong. This was the real deal now. Would affecting just a small part of her be enough? Did she even have a center mind, like a queen bee in a honey hive?

Radvi suddenly began to fire at the woman, unexpectedly frightening Eli with the loud noise. She grabbed a nearby tree, taking cover in case any bullets ricocheted off of the trees behind Arianna. The bullets were going straight into her, but they didn't do anything but slow her down. Eli peeked around the tree just in time to see Arianna lunge for Radvi. In a matter of seconds, Arianna tossed Radvi into the mass of fallen trees with D.

There was no sound but the crashing of dead tree limbs and Radvi's body for a few moments, but it was quickly silenced after one last round from Radvi's pistol. Eli felt her heart pounding in her chest, and she watched as Arianna rejoined bodies with the doppelganger. [i]Now, Eli! Get her now![/i] She thought, but her body didn't budge. She was still clutching the tree, her eyes staring straight at Arianna but her mind trying to comprehend what may or may not have happened to Radvi during his fall. It was denial that kept her in her place. It was hope that the gun had fired off into the air. That it landed five inches into dirt instead of the person holding the gun.

Arianna slowly dissolved into the dirt and Eli stared at the spot for a few moments. How had such a hope driven capture gone so wrong? The only thing they'd done wrong was underestimate Arianna. They'd been fooled by the doppelganger. All of them had been so foolish. Lynn came into the clearing, but Eli made no attempt to go to her. Lynn hadn't stepped in either. Was she scared, too? Or was it the taser that scared her? Eli watched her pick up the broken pieces and stash them by a tree nearby. Why?

Lynn quickly made her way in Radvi and D's direction. Eli slowly followed, stopping in the same spot that Arianna had gone into the ground. She knelt into the dirt and grabbed a handful, squeezing it tightly. Her eyes shut tight, and she began to reach her mind into the dirt as if Arianna was still hidden in it's crevices. For a moment, it felt like she'd connected with a few pieces of Arianna's consciousness. Or maybe what her drunk mind assumed it was. She held onto the connection for as long as she could, wishing whatever pieces of Arianna's mind she was fucking with would imagine itself on fire. That's how this should have ended.

The connection slipped out of reach as easily as the dirt slipped through Eli's fingers. She remained in place for another moment, her body shaking from the adrenaline that was still pumping through her veins. When she felt calm enough to move again, the frustration of losing Arianna was instantly replaced by worry. Her body carried itself to the edge of the deadfall, and without a second thought about it she began to climb her way down until she could see Lynn and D leaning over Radvi.

[color=E5D0FF]"Radvi!"[/color] She shouted, ignoring the scrapes and bruises she was getting as she ran towards the huddle. She was going to ask Lynn and D if he was okay, but the moment she saw Radvi clearly she was fixed in terror. [color=E5D0FF][b]"Radvi!?"[/b][/color] Her voice was tight with anguish. Her hands shook as she crashed into a kneeling position beside Lynn, reaching for Radvi's neck to check for a pulse. It was there: faint, but there. Eli released a shaky sob of relief, but there were tears gathering in her eyes and they made Lynn and D and Radvi's bloody face and torso blur. [color=E5D0FF]"I-is Cara getting h-help?"[/color] Eli asked, her voice strained as she attempted not to sob any further. The tears were flowing freely, but as long as she felt a pulse in Radvi's neck she knew that there was hope. There had to be hope. Eli had been too scared to help Radvi, and she couldn't be too scared to help him now. She shut her eyes tightly, doing the only thing that she could think to do.

It was difficult after her earlier failed attempts, but Eli was relieved to feel how easy it was to connect with Radvi's singular mind. It was going to be [i]extremely[/i] difficult to rid Radvi completely of the pain he was experiencing, but she was going to try her damn best to do so. All she could do was sit tight and concentrate all of her focus and energy on convincing Radvi's mind that all of the nerve endings in his face weren't on fire. The level of strain that Eli felt already let her know that the pain must have been excruciating. She bent her head, fresh tears flowing down her cheeks and landing on Radvi's barely moving chest. Her shoulders shook every now and then and Eli felt like it was hard to breathe, but the outside world was distant as she kept her focus on Radvi. All she could do was hope that help would come soon, and that she could keep him from the pain for as long as it took.