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[/center][color=Palevioletred]“Stop…”[/color]
Her tone lacked the usual confidence. Viktor seemed to have some sort of heightened resistance to her powers. This was getting very annoying. First there was the fake prince, now this. [color=Palevioletred][I]What was the deal with these guys?[/I][/color]

She kept her guard up and stepped back to Riley, waiting to see if her new thrall would obey her commands. And surprisingly, he stopped. Sure he kept that bored expression on his face but his submission to her is all she really desired. She could always change that look of his with a few more doses of her pheromones. To make him happy to see her would be satisfying after the distasteful comments he made. It would be-

[Color=silver]“Embarrassing.”[/color] Viktor quickly grabbed and threw down a smoke bomb from his belt, engulfing the immediate area in a thick white smokescreen. The girl distanced herself from the immediate explosion of smoke, waving her hands to get it away from her face while wearing a look of displeasure. All that was heard next were Viktor's rapid footsteps as he attempted a temporary retreat. [Color=silver][I]I just need to heal… but I can't leave her. I need her… No, I need to go.[/I][/color] The girl was about to order Riley to give chase, but the hulking teen was already on Viktor’s tail. He could hear Riley's heavy breathing as he chased him down one of the halls of the sublevels. 

Viktor couldn't hide away from the pair, and running around the sublevel wasn't going to work either as it would only be a matter of time before he would succumb to the pheromones. There was no way to stop it from spreading and he could feel himself slipping. A thought kept him on the straight and narrow. One that usually led to his toxic nature whenever the team was operational… [color=silver][I]The mission.[/color] But something else also remained at the forefront of his mind. Something different. [Color=silver][I]The team.[/I][/color]

The girl continued to hang back but determined to see things through. Her initial plan had been to escape once there was an opportunity, preferably one of her making. But now, even with the odds being back in her favor, she was curious to see how this would turn out. Enthralling this guy had actually proved a challenge. It wasn’t often that someone was resistant to her charms. In this one night she was proven wrong twice. She wanted to know how they did it. 

Her eyes went around the trashed room. The scientists took most of their equipment and data with them. She stepped over some rubble and moved it out of the way. The girl spent some time searching. Kobra didn’t share what they were up to, not that she particularly cared. But information was always valuable to the right buyer. She opened a drawer of an upturned desk and uncovered a container of sorts. With a light tap on the front switch she revealed its contents, some sort of organic sample. She held it up to get a better look. 

Glowing……. hidden in a desk drawer and created by a criminal organization known for creating neo-steroids. She was definitely taking this to one of her contacts who dabbled in pharmaceuticals.

After acquiring the yet to be determined sample, the girl moved in pursuit of Riley and Viktor. She ended up walking through an empty hallway, following the sounds she was hearing. They were coming from a larger main room, with multiple doors to enter through. It looked like one of the doors suffered from Riley’s severe lack of restraint. It was barely a door, the last piece of it hanging onto the wall. 

She entered. Riley and Viktor were inside where a faint smokescreen faded as it spread. [Color=palevioletred][I]He used another.[/I][/color] She almost instinctively looked for the easiest escape route. It was unavoidable to pass through this part of the complex on your way to the exit. Annoyingly, she couldn’t just make a run for it. Riley was picking himself up from off the ground while her new thrall was looking worse for wear. He was also in an odd position, doubled over on a large desk. 

Discarded at his feet was an empty syringe. The girl narrowed her eyes, trying to piece together what happened.[Color=Palevioletred][I]He couldn't have done what I think he did… Why would he do that?[/I][/color]
She stepped forth and called out to him. 

[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uMNnZtIS6s]Blood in the water[/url]

[color=Palevioletred]“What are you doing?!”[/color] She was testing if she could force him to answer but she also wanted to confirm her suspicion. 

[color=82ca9d]“I got this, babe.”[/color] Riley was approaching Viktor who released an audible exhale. His suit was now tearing at the seams from the unnatural bulk taking the drug.

[Color=silver]“What… am I… doing?”[/color] He almost sounded pained. [Color=silver]“You… You are rather extraordinary… supple body… perfect proportions…  someone worth following… Yes.”[/color] Viktor raised his head, his eyes looking past Riley and to [I]her[/I]. Direct eye contact, emeralds locked on emeralds. There was a hint of a smile on his lips as a soft uncharacteristic chuckle escaped him before his face shifted back to dull and unamused. [color=silver]“But I must not indulge. I will not falter. You asked ‘what am I doing?’ Simple. I'm ensuring success.”[/Color]

The compliment might have had a better reception if not for the way his tone shifted. He didn’t sound desperate to please her. He sounded…….defiant. She was no longer in control. 
[color=Palevioletred][i]Impossible…..[/i][/color]

Seeing Riley position himself between Viktor made something in her uncaring exterior crack. 
[color=Palevioletred]“Stop..”[/color] Her voice came out in a whisper. 

However, Riley didn’t stop, he kept walking towards Viktor. And so, she ran to him, pulling at his arm.
[color=Palevioletred]“Riley, stop! He took the formula! Let's get out of here or he’ll ki…”[/color]

The girl got cut off when Viktor suddenly rammed into her. She was sent sprawling across the room, almost hitting the wall. She landed on her back with a loud thud. Her head fell limply to the side, with her eyes open and lips slightly parted. Her body was completely motionless. 

Riley snapped!

The intense rage that coursed through him made it feel like he was going to implode. His anger released into a terrifying roar. A tearing sound could be heard as a dorsal fin protruded from his back. It was covered in blood and strips of skin as it surfaced.

[color=82ca9d]“WHAT DID YOU DO???!!!”[/color] Viktor hardly turned to face Riley, only turning his head slightly in his direction.

[Color=silver]“If I kill her, you won't have anyone to serve, yes?”[/color] He pulled his combat knife from his waist.

[color=82ca9d]“Not if I kill you FIRST!”[/color] Riley reached for Viktor who turned and caught him by the wrist. He made it seem frighteningly easy. Riley's wrist was then swiftly twisted before Viktor addressed him again.

[Color=silver]“[b]Or I can break you.[/b]”[/color] Riley groaned as he tried to reach for Viktor with his free arm but felt the sharp pain of the combat knife jutt into his bicep. Before he could even scream his kneecap felt as if it had been crushed as Viktor viciously kicked it. Riley's scream was more like a howl as the pain Viktor inflicted came in waves. Dropping down to his good knee with Viktor still controlling one arm by the wrist as the other was trickling with blood. Unlike their previous exchanges of blows, there lacked a single shred of sympathy for the teenager that had challenged him. That challenged his objective! [Color=silver]“Break your ability to fight!”[/color] A snap echoed through the room as he slammed his elbow down into Riley's twisted elbow. Through the screams, Viktor continued. [Color=silver]“As well as your desire! I will completely cripple you for getting in the way of my mission!”[/color] Viktor dropped Riley's wrist, letting him collapse as he cried in pain. Riley was finished, but Viktor had hardly started. 

Unlike the pheromones that were less compatible with his mind, the drug pumping through him had a potent effect on his aggression. 

[Color=silver]“You are exactly what I hate. A failure. A clutz. A dependent fool!”[/color] Viktor rounded Riley just so he could deliver a swift kick to his ribs and send him sliding across the floor before his body rolled onto its side. [Color=silver]“You couldn't even pick out the right sunscreen! What is even your ability? To be a fish?!”[/color] Riley suddenly felt one of Viktor's hands dig into the left gill and raise him up off the floor. The sensitive organ threatened to tear from the boy's neck [Color=silver]“Worthless!”[/color] Riley's screams paused as Viktor's fist slammed deep into his gut. [Color=silver]“Weak!”[/color] Viktor's second punch struck Riley's jaw before he was subsequently dropped onto the floor again. [Color=silver]“To even imagine you could kill me… TO EVEN IMAGINE IT IS AS FAR AS YOU COULD EVER COME!”[/color] Viktor reached down, grabbing Riley by one of his belt loops and what remained of his shirt. It was much like the way he grabbed him at the convenience store to save the young man from falling. 

[color=82ca9d]“P-pl-please! I-”[/color]

[Color=silver]“You've made a grave mistake. You provoked this because you believed you could defeat me? Kill me? Yes? IS THAT NOT CORRECT RILEY?!”[/color] 

[color=82ca9d]“P-please… I ca- I can't-”[/color]

[Color=silver]“You can't what?”[/color] Riley was beginning to hyperventilate which only made Viktor grit his teeth angrily before hurling the oversized teen across the room and into a counter that was crushed beneath the impact. [Color=silver]“A waste…”[/color] Viktor's eyes finally darted toward the girl who he would go for next…. but she was gone. [Color=silver]“A complete and utter WASTE!”[/color] With the mysterious girl gone and Riley thoroughly beaten, the only thing for Viktor to do now was reunite with the others… But what did that mean for them?

[hr]
[h3][i]Back at the hangar[/I][/h3]

The group of teens facing off against the Team were starting to lose the will to fight. Thiago was taken down by Alisa’s hand blaster. Warp was at his side and checked for a pulse with trembling hands. His eyes darted around the room nervously. 

Brightheart had managed to knock out the teen who went up against her. She’d gathered up all of her remaining strength for a finishing blow, using the element of surprise to her benefit. Thinking he’d taken her down, the sudden burst of energy caught him off guard, earning him an upper cut from the Tamarenean. Unfortunately she collapsed to the ground.

Elio dodged some of the magical energy fists Zach kept firing at him. When he got hit it actually felt like a true punch. He’d tried to hit some with his tail but the stinger went right through them, as if they weren’t there. Instead he changed tactics and used his tail to get to higher ground, a safer distance away from Zach’s spells. He looked down at his allies and saw the remaining Kobra agents being taken down almost single handedly by one of the heroes, who had returned from the underbelly of the facility. 

He spotted Thiago and Warp next to each other on the floor, neither of them fighting back. They were losing…..

Elio slammed his stinger into the bridge. 

[color=Darksalmon][I]Fuck!![/I][/color]

There were only three of them left. He could have been the hero! The last man standing and winning the prize she promised him. But she wasn't even here! With no more options and his motivation waning he was forced to give up and surrender. 

Realizing he had no other choice left he jumped down and joined Warp at Thiago’s side. He kept a wary eye on the rest of the Team, his tail hovered over Thiago and Warp protectively, ready to sting anyone who approached. 

[color=Darksalmon]“He’s not dead right…?”[/color]