[i]CanAm Highway Albuquerque, New Mexico[/i] [hr] Cassey had absolutely no intention of making this stupid trip. Especially not on a damn motorcycle, but here she was, despite her better judgment. The news of Hex's death was especially hard on her, yet she found a way to numb her feelings enough to not only [i]want[/i] to get out of bed in the morning, but to do it successfully. [i]Damn goodie two shoes. What happened to you? Why didn't you ask for help? I was right here, you dumbass![/i] Perhaps that was all a big lie, as Cassey hadn't been [i]here[/i] in a long time. Technically speaking, she hadn't been in contact with Hex since her fiancee was murdered. Though she'd often stop by his apartment to drop off lunch. Sometimes, he would return the favour and leave a note. Cassey never replied. She used to wish he'd stop trying to contact her, and now, it was the only thing she wished for. The Special Agent's transmission threw a wrench in Cassey's plan to nonchalantly wait for her death. If Hex's demise truly was a cover-up for something else, then she had at least one thing to live for (two if you count Harley). She was going to find the bastard who killed the man who saved her life, and she was going to rip their fucking head off. The night of the meeting in Cedar Fort, Cassey never made her presence known. She managed to sneak close enough undetected to listen in on their conversation. It wasn't hard to be unseen when you can disappear in darkness. One of them she recognized by reputation alone, the rest were all strangers. Hex was the only other super she was ever in contact with and besides, Cassey was never big into the team up crap. Not then, and certainly not now. If she was going to have to watch their whole operation from a distance and race to find the culprits before they did, then that's what she was going to do. Cut to right now, Cassey had tailed on of them, Starfire or something. The grouchy one she got a kick out of listening insult others. So far, the older woman hadn't spotted Cassey. Or if she did, she didn't try to make a rash move to lose her. This never-ending valley of sand and humidity was definitely not the type of climate she enjoyed. All this sand was going to wear out the leather on her jacket faster and clog up her bike's engine. [i]This place fucking sucks.[/i] The only other time she was forced to spend time in this hell hole was when Hex had brought Cassey here. She knew where they were headed, and she knew that from the moment they hopped on Highway 6. Cassey managed to follow without being seen. Knowing there was no trail leading to the bunker, she would have to pull away from Stardust and wait. She stopped on the side of the road, pretending to fix something on her bike. After some time passed, Cassey drove away in the direction she remembered all too well. Once she closed in on the bunker, the woman parked her bike in the dust, removed her helmet, and activated the motorcycle's camouflage function to be on the safe side. Just as she started approaching the entrance, a gigantic missile crashed into the bunker. The blast radius was large enough to send pieces of metal and other debris flying in her direction. In an instant, Cassey dropped into a dark puddle that pooled at her feet and easily escaped the flying shrapnel from the explosion. A few minutes later, she reappeared out of the puddle of dark matter as if she was pulling herself up from it. [i]You better not be dead, Special Agent.[/i] Without Addison, she had no lead and no idea where to start her search. But there was no way in [i]hell[/i] that anyone survived that. [i]Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.[/i] Without any other choice, Cassey moved through the rubble that was clear of flames and searched for the detective's body. Perhaps she could find something useful on her body, if it hadn't been completely blown to pieces.