Ultimate Justice (IC, Open)

[The Republic of Atria]

OOC: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=361899&p=26835144#p26835144

Otis watched as his forces systematically dismantled yet another alien world. It was starting to get on his nerves. Simply because there wasn't a challenge to anything anymore. Usurping Darkseid was hard, and the payout was amazing for the first few years. Now it just seemed like routine. Go to planet, demand a champion worth his time. If said champion was actually capable of combating him and doing more damage than what could be considered smaller than a paper cut, he left the planet alone. Otherwise, he blew it up and had done so to at least a solid one hundred and some change planets. Only one planet actually had a champion that did any damage to him. Which he refused to speak about, but nevertheless, enjoyed because he was being challenged. "Desaad. Have you found some place that might be worth my time?" He asked his assistant.

"Yes, master. A tiny little blue speck called Earth. The files that we took from the Kree before your... Intervention, explain that there are a large number of champions on that world. Many of whom are considered by them to be quite dangerous. They even have a list of the ones they deem a threat." He said and showed him the list, and Otis looked over for a few moments.

"Hmm. Monsters and mutations do not champions make." Otis said. "But they do have Kryptonians." He smirked to himself and sat down on his throne, slouching of course. "I love killing Kryptonians. One of the few species worth a damn in this crapsack universe. Set a course for Earth. We're going to see how up to date these files are. Worse comes to worst, we blow up the planet and all we've lost is time. And maybe some patience. Which reminds me, have I brought Kalibak back to life yet? I don't remember. Or care. But I'll be damned if he isn't a great punching bag."

"No, Master." Desaad replied and one bright red flash later, Kalibak was standing in the center of the room.

"Great. Kalibak. I need you to do what you do best. Get the shit kicked out of you. Maybe. I'm going to see of a planet is worth my time. This one actually seems to have potential. And that means you're leading the charge into the meat grinder. Let's make this interesting for you. If you can take a single city, I'll upgrade your powers. If I'm feeling up to it, I might even give you a new one." Otis said. "Take the parademons. Our invasion begins shortly." That sounded fair to Otis. If nothing else, he was a man of his word. He smiled as his massive warship entered Earth's orbit.

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

"There's something you people don't really understand." The man called Earth stood above the fallen GUARDIAN agent, his large foot pressed against the agent's chest. "When it comes to Superpowers, there are two sources of all of them." He motioned for his siblings to walk forward. On his right was Wind, the Assassin. On his left, Fire, the First Soldier.

"Magic." Wind's eyes began to glow and gusts of her namesake began to lift her into the air. She formed daggers out of it in her hands, then dispelled it all and landed with ease.

"And Science." Fire raised an oversized gun and pulled the trigger- From the barrel, a particle wave disintegrated a nearby GUARDIAN corpse.

"Which of these do you think is more powerful?" Earth keeled down towards the frightened agent. "GUARDIAN would say magic. Most humans would say magic."

"That's what sets Cerberus apart from you. That's why Cerberus always wins." Plates of metal began to slide down Earth's arms and legs from the chestplate he wore. "Magic is powerful because it changes the laws of nature. It changes how things interact- It alters the very fundamental rules that everything follows." The armour finally reached his hands and feet, encasing them in metal. A neck brace rose from the plate and a helmet rose over Earth's head. The face had no eyes nor mouth, and the suit had no obvious way to combat- But the GUARDIAN agent knew firsthand how dangerous it could be. The agent trembled with fear.

Earth rose, sighing. "At least say something. We put this whole show on for your benefit. Before we destroyed your reconnaissance plane, your team was the closest GUARDIAN had ever come to taking out a Cerberus Head. You're some of the best they have to offer." He raised his fist and a metal strap launched from it, keeping the agent tied to the ground. He stepped back. "Wind, dearest sister, if you will-?"

Wind smiled, raising one hand and clearing out a circle around the three Elements and the agent, blowing away GUARDIAN corpses and several trucks. "There." She smirked.

Earth smiled. "Wonderful." He raised an arm towards one of the corpses and breathed in deeply. "Protocol 37-Beta, auth. code 78193-Necro." From his palm, a capsule appeared, launching itself into the corpse's eye. He pointed at another. "37-Gamma. Auth code 78193-Attack."

Unseen from the outside, the bottom of the capsule opened inside the corpse's immobile bloodstream, injecting countless nanites. They slowly reactivated the body's physical system, with many bunching up at the base of the spine and intercepting any neurological signals the newly re-activated corpse began exhibiting. They took control of the corpse, causing it to rise. When it heard the 'Attack' code, it slowly turned towards its former ally and leapt at it, using its fingernails and teeth to rip apart the dead man's flesh.

"Magic alters the laws. Science is the laws."

Earth's helm lowered, and the agent could see the mad glint in his eyes. "So tell me, former Agent of GUARDIAN. Do you want to join the winning side? Cerberus has a very nice position open for you."

---

"That was stupid, brother." Wind scowled as the three of them walked down a corridor half an hour later. "What would you have done if GUARDIAN reinforcements had shown up just then? You used every last drop of your suits energy for that trick, and for what? He never cracked. Your big investment is at the bottom of the ocean, with the rest of his team."

"Oh silence, sister." He rolled his eyes. "Such actions have paid off in the past. Manifest, for example."

"It doesn't matter now. You're sure you wiped the scene clear?" Wind changed the subject.

"Yes, of course. GUARDIAN's tech won't even be able to find the bodies." He nodded. "And you?"

"No magic on Earth will be able to see how, or by whom, they were killed." She replied. "Why was Wave not with us, by the way?" She asked Fire.

He shrugged. "She was absorbed in her latest research."

"As always." Wind rolled her eyes.

The three of them reached the end of the corridor. The door opened into a vast chamber, where a hundred Cerberus agents were busying themselves with various tasks. "Now." Wind said aloud, half to herself and half to her siblings. "Do we have any interesting contracts?" She smirked.

[Altito Asmoro]

"You see that vast ocean in front of you?" as General Len spoke to his second-in-command, Colonel Ser-El. Both had promoted themselves once they managed to secured a group of Kryptonian soldiers, built a ship, and then landed safely in...Bludhaven? Yes, that's the name of the city. Well, they landed on the outskirts anyway.

"That's not ocean, general. It's more like...small ocean."

"But the principle is the same, colonel."

"Are we talking about principle, or about size?"

Len sighed to himself, before walked to the planning table inside the ship. Since the ship possessed the stealth capability, it is able to stay under the radar for awhile, but for how long? Eventually they have to went underground, the ship possessed the capability to dig underground, sure, maybe they will do that later. But for now, it is suffice.

"Alright, we are planning to capture Metropolis and all, but we need troops. Sure, we have enough Kryptonian to beat him senseless, but what about...the friends? His heroic friends? They also good. So, what we need is manpower. I'm not sure recruiting them without incentive's going to work, but we have to try first."

"Bludhaven is a nest of criminals, I'm sure we can rob one of the banks there, and use the money to pay for thugs to be our troops. Then we arm them, send them to Bludhaven, and then we help. I'm sure we can take Bludhaven down in weeks, or maybe months at most." said Len, at the end.

"Good plan, I'll have the men working out on it." said Ser.

[Tomia]

Mars, Code Name: "Michael"
A young man stands in the middle of an underground facility, where grunting noises and the slamming of fists and wood could be heard in the vacuous space. He stood in the center of a slightly risen platform, his shirt off revealing toned muscles, two scars across his chest and one across his back. Sweat dripped down his also scarred face as he smashed his fists into moving wooden platforms that were propelled at high speeds by their own moment. Wooden sticks swung towards him and dodged them seamlessly, at the same time that a nearby machine was firing non lethal beanbags at him. He used to train with live ammunition, but his superiors had called that "reckless" and ordered him to stop. He agreed to, as long as they stopped forcing him to go to that crack pot psychiatrist. He didn't therapy or to cry about his feelings, he needed revenge, he needed closure.

Mars finally took a break breathing heavily as he stepped off the platform while wiping the sweat off of his face. He was in one half of a very large basement. Besides the training area there was also a massive work shop, filled with self automated robots all wheeling around preforming various tasks. The whole place was filled with technology that most of the world didn't know existed. Medical machines, high tech surveillance systems, and advanced weaponry filled the workshop as well as five large containers that served as the resting chambers of Mars' mechanical teammates, the closest things that Mars had to friends.

The young super genius was the leader of a black ops strike team known as the Heartless, working for a secret organization that only a hand full of politicians know about. He had been recruited when one day he found his best friend murdered in his bedroom. He tried not to think about it, but the thoughts consumed him, and he knew he wouldn't rest until he found out who did it and why.

Mars made his way up the long stairs and opened the door that lead him out of the basement. He stepped into the living room of a beautiful California beach house that sat only a solitary cliff on the coast. Mars had never wanted this place, but the agency said he needed to keep up appearances and it wouldn't do for him to be living in some whole in Siberia. Darius, code name "Metatron" was sitting and the long tan couch in the living room, his feet on the coffee table as he read a news paper.

"Have you eaten today?" The android asked his creator. He was almost like Mars caretaker and by far the closet thing he had to family. The young boy sighed, "You're lucky you don't have to." He replied dodging the question. Mars was annoyed by things that reminded him he was human and vulnerable.

"What are you reading a newspaper for anyway? Since when do you care about trivial human news?" Mars asked his robotic teammate.

Darius merely shrugged, "It's amusing to pretend to be human sometimes, and try to understand what it is your kind gets so excited about."

Darius was not human, but his appearance made it nearly impossible to tell that from the outside. Mars had built him that way so that he could blend in, and accompany him on missions that required subtly, although that isn't exactly Mars strong suit.

Mars suddenly got a call on his cell phone, and he raised the phone to his ear and spoke. "This Michael" He said, using the code name he had chosen for himself. He listened for about 3 minutes before speaking "Alright, on my way." Mars told the voice in the phone before hanging up and turning to Darius. "Come on, we have a mission in Los Angeles."

Darius frowned, "I thought you were taking time off?" He asked, not moving from his seat.

"That was there idea, not mine. Come on, let's go. That's an order." Mars said seriously and Darius merely headed downstairs to ready the others for combat. Mars needed to get ready himself, but paused before heading downstairs. Michael, I wish you were here brother. I miss you. He thought sadly before steeling his emotions and heading to the workshop to ready Avenger for battle.

[Altito Asmoro]

"Alright. So since the location of our space ship being discovered higher on Earth, I figured out we will reside on the Moon, on the dark side of the Moon, to be precise. First we have prepare to halved our troops. Colonel Ser and his group will be on Earth, in Bludhaven, residing underground with equipment and technologies needed to enact their plan, which is recruiting human troops." said General Len to his troops and Colonel Ser, sitting on the chair inside the ship. The plan to rob the bank is in withhold for now, to organize the troops into two parts.

"Me and my group will reside in the Moon, and the first ship had been sent to the Moon. We will reside on the dark side of the Moon, the undiscovered side of the Moon. Once the plan on Bludhaven is done, we will go back here. In there, we will prepare for the assault of the satellite that covers Metropolis and Bludhaven so as to avoid attentions. Well, kind of."

"Everyone understood?"

"Understood, sir!"

And then all of them enacted their own plans. Colonel Ser had positioned his men to rob banks in Bludhaven, while General Len prepared for the other batches of him and his troops to the Moon.

---

The first ship landed on the Moon, and the terraforming device attached to the Moon was planted, to form a small-sized Krypton-like environment, very small. But they know the satellite will at least picks attentions.

[Charmera]

"Cerberus..." Masami muttered as she leaned back in her chair.

"We don't know for sure if they killed squad Zero. But honestly they're the only ones who would be able to take them out." Concluded Agent Mario Hill. "They've gone dark too long for this to be intentional. They're dead."

Masami frowned, walking towards her office's window. She looked outwards at the clouds around her. The Hellicarrier was a feat of magic and science, working in concert. Under the engines was a cloaking spell, keeping the whole massive structure completely undetectable from almost all sensors or magic. The Carrier itself had an arsenal of magical and scientific weaponry and defences, not the least of which were the blessings of several Shinto gods.

"This is far from a public execution... Normally their deaths would be broadcast back to us to send a message or we'd find their heads on our doorstep. This is surprisingly subtle. Almost as if they wished to cover up the deaths..."

Mario paused. "Perhaps they didn't want us to know?"

"They know we would know by now. No. Maybe they are sending a message..." Remarked Masami. She shook her head. She walked towards the door. "Whatever the case, we can't let them get away with this. If Cerberus wants to stay in the dark, then we'll just have to drag them into the light."

"How Ma'am?"

"Bring me the Hercules Class files. All the people we approved for the program."

Mario raised an eyebrow. "Program? You don't mean-"

"Yes. I do mean. if we're going to strike back at Cerberus, we're going to need people who can do that."

"We're going to need the Striker initiative."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

In the dream, there were whispers on unrest, whispers which conveyed a single word that was the death sentence of everything: war. The dreamer could not discern what those around her were talking about, her senses numbed to the point where she could only see colorful silhouettes and sense the strongest of tremors, but the word at the core of all the unease surrounding her was clear as day to her. War had suddenly appeared in the horizon, and though she knew not where she was or why this war was so ominous, she could not shake off the feeling of intense dread that permeated her every thought, or at least, the few thoughts that she was able to produce in her dazed state. Suddenly, she felt herself be drawn away from the surrounding silhouettes, and then, everything grew more and more distant, while she floated away, weightless. The figures in the distance grew smaller and smaller and eventually coalesced in a large ball which shrank with the distance just like everything else. Then, there was a tremor that rocked the dreamer's very being, and a large burst of red in front of her. When the vermilion stain faded away, there was nothing but darkness, and for some reason she could not discern, she felt a gaping abyss opening up inside her, tears rolling down her cheeks.

The girl awoke to the sound of her own sobbing, opening her wet pink eyes and staring through them at the outside, which was separated from her by the thin transparent membrane of the padded pod in which she had been sleeping. Her tears muddled her sight, but even then she could tell, from the drops falling on the capsule, that it was raining outside. Still drowsy from having just awakened, the girl stared out her abode's sole window for several moments before reacting and bringing her hands up to her eyes, wiping away the tears that stained her eyes and marred her confused face. She was deeply puzzled about the fact that she was crying, more so by the emptiness that she felt within, and the profound sadness.

"What... what was that?" She asked softly to no one, for she was alone within her enclosure, the sound of her own voice surprising her momentarily. "Why... am I crying?" She wondered, gazing at her hands, wet with the tears that she had shed for unknown reasons. With some difficulty, she recalled the dream, but, what was it supposed to mean? Why did it affect her so much? She knew for a fact that she had never experienced something like that. After all, she was an Earthling, just a stray mutant teenage called Kristina, a simple orphan girl. Convincing herself of this as she had many times before, she stopped thinking about the mystery of her tears and reached forward, touching the glass-like membrane that separated her from the rest of the world. The capsule opened up and allowed her to exit, also confirming that, indeed, it was raining outside, drops pelting her checkered teal shirt and dampening her hair, which seemed to match her eyes perfectly. Looking around, the girl saw the abandoned construction site that she had picked as a shelter for the day, knowing that she only needed to find an isolated location, as the capsule would take care of the rest.

The day was, she decided, nice enough. The rain and the cool wind made her feel refreshed after her sorrowful slumber, and she quickly forgot about her dream. It hurt to think about it, it really did, and so, she simply ignored it, enjoying her life. The capsule satisfied all her needs, and so, the girl merely needed to keep herself safe while she was awake. For that purpose, she had her two gauntlets, large gray metal claws covered in mysterious symbols which she was convinced were simply pretty drawings she had made. They were enchanted with her mutant power, or so she thought, and had served to keep her from all harm during her life on Earth. She recalled very little of her past, but she did not let it bother her. Whenever she tried to remember, wondering for instance where she had received the capsule, her head hurt terribly. Remembering was bad, this was something she had decided long ago.

Suddenly, her musings were interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching. They were quite numerous, it seemed, and threatening as well. Kristina was scared; she knew that she had plenty of things to protect herself, but too many people were approaching. Unnerved, she decided to leave her hideout. Walking back to her capsule, she retrieved her gauntlets and put them on, the strange symbols that adorned them coming to life and glowing softly with white light. With them on, she felt much safer, but she knew that she was not to expose herself if she could help it, and so, she waved her hand in front of the capsule. Immediately, it glowed and then shrank, becoming about twice the size of a large pill. Easily catching it in mid-air as it fell, the young mutant placed it in her shirt's breast pocket and then began heading away from the footsteps, hoping to avoid trouble.

[Tomia]

The leader of the Heartless had made no time assembling his team and making his way toward Los Angeles. However, Mars and Darius were the only two to descend to the ground. For now this was a recon mission until they found their target, and a team of giant robots was pretty much a dead give away. Instead he left Avenger and the others on the jet that was now flying laps over the city of Los Angeles under the cloak of invisibility, waiting to be called in by their leader when the time was right.

Darius' and Mars were dressed as a normal humans, much to Mar's chagrin who much preferred the feel of combat armor to the jeans and dress shirt he currently wore. At least these clothes covered up his scars, the last thing he needed was random people staring at him. The pair was walking through the city, tracing a magical presence that Darius' scanners had picked up. The signal was erratic, but Darius was able top track it towards an old construction site. Mars still didn't know much about who he was chasing. His superiors were frustratingly vague about that. All he was told was there was a group of armed combatants in the area and he was to locate and apprehend them. They made it very clear that they wanted the targets alive. Mars had a habit of shooting first and asking questions later.

Suddenly Darius paused turning to his commander. "My scanners read numerous hostiles in the area. They are heavily armed and moving in groups."

Mars nodded, pressing a button on his wrist watch that suddenly activated his armor that had been disguised as a backpack. He kept his helmet off however, to prevent lose of visibility in case of an ambush.

"Good, finally some action."

"Be warned, there is another life form nearby as well, also well armed. They are hiding, this could be ambush."

Mars nodded, "Come on then, let's take the single one out first before they can warn the others." Mars said before moving quietly with Darius to find the enemy waiting near by. They moved toward an abandoned building, Mars kept the guns on his wrist ready as they moved towards the target finally coming to the room where they were hiding. Mars was quite surprised to see that it was a young girl, about his age. She had bright pink hair and was quite pretty, but Mars made no reaction to that fact and recognized it in an objective way more than a personal one. Those kinds of attachments only brought trouble to someone like him.

The girl didn't seem like a threat, but neither Darius or Mars let their guard down. This could easily be a trap set by the others in the area. Mars looked at her with suspicion as he questioned her, "Who are you? Are you with the others? Don't lie to me, we'll know if you do." Mars said sternly, never taking his eyes off of her as he spoke.

[Togeria]

Brave New World, Scared Old Man

Alley of New York City

In the streets of New York City behind a bakery a light had flashed in the night. The dust picked up, trashcans and papers blown away as for one moment the intensity of the light was strong enough to blind any who had been there. When it subsided a portal stood red and blue in color a man would fall out of it, unconscious he would soon wake up.

"What, what h-happened?" He questioned before violently coughing, the air rushing back into his lungs he breathed it in deeply. He was dizzy, nauseous, and his head was throbbing as a cacophony of voices from his memories had flashed and flooded deep into his brain. "No!" He said looking down before making a sigh of temporary relief. His suit was still there and from the looks of it operational, the deep red spandex hugging to his figure with the signature white diamonds decorating it. Touching his face he breathed again another sigh of relief on feeling his helmet was there, standing up vertigo would grasp him as his vision would grow hazy and dark causing him to stumble. Falling back and grasping a wall he held on to it as he clenched his helmet a headache overtaking him, pictured flashed through his mind as began to recollect what happened.

"God....no."

"Ashley..."

"Dick...."

"B-Blake...."

He said as the pain rushed through his mind, falling to one knee he slammed his fist on the hard ground, cursing to himself.

"No...."

"Damn it all no....."

---

Earlier
It was just another day in Angelcrest. Zumo had hatched a plan to take the over the city and like always him and his team were there to stop it. He smiled as they ran to action looking over them, he found it funny as they ran over to beat Zumo's latest creation their clothes always matched with their uniform Ashley wore yellow, Blake wore Black, Dick Blue, and well he wore red. Looking over at the creation this one seemed different it appeared almost like a crab and it had a giant hole in its chest he didn't know what it was for but he wouldn't sit there and wait to see. Taking out his morpher he looked over at his team,"Alright guys, it's morphin' time!" He yelled out before they morphed into their ranger uniforms. Running to the action they looked over at the number of Meegos that had assembled creatures that were amphibious in their origin, their skin was red with yellow dots scattered over them. Their biggest trait was speed and to the normal person appeared faster then anything they had seen, but to the trained power rangers they were nothing more then punching bags, though even now the number of Meegos seen was surprising just looking around he saw more then fifty of the things.

"Look how many there are, what are they planning?" Blake commented.

"I don't know, but take them out and take out the big guy." Rick said giving the order as they all ran to confront the Meegos.

Two would rush him clenching their hands together to form a clothesline before charging at him, ducking down they stopped to turn around, turning into a spin kick that would knock the two down. Looking over he saw Ashley taking on six on the creature running over he jumped in the air kicking on in the back as he looked over at her. "It's alright I got you." He would say before one of the Meegos grabbed him from behind pinning his arms behind his back as another one came to punch him in the stomach. Putting his leg up he would the Meego in the face before jumping up to push of its chest causing him to fall ontop of the Meego holding him, now free he turned into a incoming charging Meego, readying himself he blocked an incoming punch before kicking the creature in the stomach delivering two more spin kicks to the creatures stomach before delivering a final spinning kick to the face of the creature. Looking over he saw an opening to attack the crab creature, running over he jumped in the air and came down with a kick trying to break the shell of the crab creature with the force of his kick. To his surprise the creature turned around grabbing his foot before it pulled him down to ground, slamming him into the ground, still holding his foot the creature would spin briefly before letting him go sending him flying into the nearest car.

"Fool! You think you can stop me the mighty Por-Ta?"

"P-por-ta?" He said in a groan as he slowly got up. "Y-you're gonna pay for hurting these people!" He said getting up to his feet before he looked up and saw the center of the creatures chest was glowing. What is he planning? He thought looking at the creature.

"No!" Por-Ta said,"You'll pay for interfering in my mission!" The creature said before a beam of light emitted from his chest blasting dead into Richard. "What is this!!!???" He said as he heard the screams of Ashley in the background, it was the most painful experience of his life it was like the atoms in his body were being ripped apart one by one, like his skin was being pulled out, like lightning was piercing through the fibers of his muscles to reach his bones attaching small claws into his membrane that ripped away proteins and seared his bone to dust. "AHHHHHH!!!!" He cried out before he could notice it he was moving closer to the creatures chest before he would fly into it. Soon no trace of Richard the Red Power Ranger would be left as his being would fall victim to Por-Ta.

---

Present
Getting back up he knew what had happened. The memory was as clear as water,"God no..." He said as it hit him what happened. Whatever that thing did it had sent him somewhere, this place was like something he hadn't known the security of Angelcrest was gone.....NO! NO! Angelcrest where was it? What had happened to it? Blake, Dick.....Ashely.....No! He had to go back he had to find a way, getting up he heard a scream so loud and piecing it reverberated through his body. Turning around he walked to it, slowly picking up a small jog. He saw it a man was holding a woman at gunpoint, he was going to pull the trigger,"No!!!" Rick shouted momentarily stopping the man.

The man looked back at him before pointing the gun at Rick.

"Look here! I've had enough of you freaks in costumes so just go!"

What? Freaks in costumes?

"What are you talking about?" He said taking a step forward. It was a mistake as it caused the man to fire the gun, the bulled pieced through the air like a blade flows swiftly through butter, luckily it had missed just grazing his arm. Cursing he looked down in horror, the bullet hurt him.....it cut through his uniform......there....was..blood! Gripping his arm he looked back at the man he appeared to be holding a Colt.45 and was pulling the pin down for another shot, he had little time to react. Gripping the trash lid he through it like a Frisbee as it flew through the air the metal making a clicking noise as it crashed against the man's nose, Rick had thrown it with more force then intended it the man let go of the gun dropping it as he held his nose, blooding pouring from it. What it this? What kind of world is this!? He questioned himself.

"You B-bastard!!!!" The man cried out in rage before he charged at Rick. Reeling back a punch he shot forward at the power rangers mask, Rick moved on instinct maybe from the adrenaline from seeing his own blood but he reacted grabbing the man's hand and throwing him over his shoulder. Again with more force then intended the man flew into the brickwall a loud thud being heard as the man helplessly dropped to the floor. Stepping back he gripped his arm, before he heard sirens, turning around he saw the woman had called the cops. No! This wasn't happening, it couldn't be. He ran, he didn't know where, but if he was able to still maintain his strength then maybe his speed as well, he ran he didn't know where he was going he just needed to leave.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

After leaving her resting spot, Kristina had been looking for a place where she could hide from the strange men whose footsteps she could still hear on the abandoned building, marching in unison, going deeper and deeper, and therefore closer to where she was. Luckily, she soon found a room where she suspected she could hide. It was dark inside, and there was a stack of crates at the back that she could hide behind if she was quiet. Within, the sound of the strangers' footsteps barely reached her, muffled by the walls, the sound seeming far more distant than it did before, but the girl ignored that. For the time being, staying out of sight was a priority, and this room provided the perfect cover. In addition to the crates, there were small holes in the wall which she could use to spy on anyone who was walking outside nearby, which would help her get a head start in case someone did approach her. The angle of the light made it pretty much impossible to look inside, but, from within, Kristina could easily observe anyone outside. Hoping that the muffled footsteps wouldn't be an issue, she knelt next to the hole and looked outside, waiting, holding her breath. Her heart began to beat faster as she wondered who these strangers were, and if they might want anything with her.

Much to her misfortune, however, it seemed that her hopes were in vain, since two men soon found their way to her small hideout. By the time she realized it was too late, and she turned around just in time to see the two of them walking into the small room. One of them was tall, dark-skinned and imposing, while the other was slightly shorter, with medium-length messy black hair and piercing blue eyes. She did not have the opportunity to inspect them further, though, as she also saw that they were well armed and that scared her. Letting out a silent gasp, the pink-haired girl stepped back, accidentally tripping and knocking down the stack of crates before falling on her butt, causing quite the ruckus. She crawled away from the two men until her back hit the wall, and then covered her body with her gauntlets, not wanting the strangers to attack her, or worse.

"I-I'm not with a-anyone, I d-don't know what's going on, p-please don't hurt me..." The bright-haired girl pleaded quietly. Tears were beginning to well up in her pink eyes--she was clearly quite scared of the two. "I... M-my name is Kristina Valant, I'm a mutant..." She explained, partially to once more convince herself of it, and partially to convince the two men that she was being honest and that they did not need to hurt her. Alarmed as she was, she had pretty much forgotten about the other strangers by now, no longer listening to their footsteps, which grew closer and closer.

---

It was early in the day and already there were several men and women filing into the old roadside cafe, some of them chuckling at the large sign outside, a bald eagle with a strawberry donut on its beak. The inside of the locale was by no means luxurious, but it did seem rather cozy: several wooden tables were laid out along the windows, chairs with slightly worn cushions present for the customers to sit on, the tables covered by Christmas-themed tablecloths that nobody had bothered to remove in a few months, as if they belonged to a regular (if lazy) family rather than a small cafe, though if one was observant, one could still notice that they were remarkably clean, debunking the theory that they had been there for months. There was a jukebox in the back playing oldies, giving some atmosphere and personality to the place. Next to the counter, several cushioned stools were available for customers to sit on, and behind it, there was a coffee machine and many of the food items on the menu were on display.

Many men and women from different backgrounds were sitting there and enjoying a good meal and some hot coffee, but even in such a melting pot, a pair of young adults stood out from among the crowd. The two of them were dressed in crisp black suits, and both of them were in their twenties. They sat by the counter, seemingly waiting, their order soon being delivered by the owner of the place, a kind man with grey hair in his fifties.

"Here you go." The man said with a smile, before heading off to continue working. One of the two, a tall man with striking red hair and piercing gray eyes, nodded at him and thanked him. The other, however, did not seem to even take notice of the man, simply staring at the plate before her with something ressembling disappointment and confusion. She was a young woman, far shorter than her partner, with bright green eyes and blonde hair neatly tied up in a ponytail.

"Asgrim... Why'd you order this for me?" She asked her partner, a blank stare on her face as she raised the plate, which had some toast on it.

"It's your favorite, Eliza-" The young man called Asgrim began, before noticing the dirty look that the blonde was giving him. He interrupted himself and sighed. "Sorry, Etla. French toast has always been your favorite." He explained with a small shrug. Etla frowned.

"...But... I don't... I don't like this thing! I mean, maybe I did, but..." The young woman complained, but before she could say anymore, Asgrim snatched the toast from her plate and placed his donut in its stead. Looking up at him, Etla was about to protest, when she saw her partner bite into the toast without a second thought. This made her pause, and Asgrim took the opportunity to speak up.

"I know it's hard. I haven't gotten used to it either. But I can at least make it a little easier on you." He stated, before patting her on the head like an older brother would a younger sister, and then resuming his meal. After a moment of confusion, Etla frowned once again.

"Fine... But I don't owe you a damn, understood?" She said before biting her donut, her eyes lighting up as she tasted it. Asgrim simply chuckled. However, as they ate, the redheaded man received a phone call. Swiftly swallowing his bite, he put his cellphone to his ear, having a silent conversation with someone. Observing him intently, Etla could see his countenance grow grim with each moment, and when he finished the call, the meaningful look that he gave her told her everything she needed to know.

"Douglas, here's your money. Keep the change." He said as he slammed a bill into the counter and then dug his keys from his pocket. Suddenly, Etla snatched said keys from him and ran out of the locale.

"I'll drive!" She said playfully, as Asgrim cursed under his breath and chased after her, following outside as the two of them headed to where their car was parked. As members of the Domestic Incidents Unit of A.E.G.I.S., they were given their own vehicle in order to get around easily, and that day, like many others, proved that this was important, as they had been called by their superior to tend to an incident occuring some distance from Douglas' Cafe. Asgrim cared for that car almost as much as he cared for his own life, and he absolutely hated it when Etla got to drive.

"No you won't!" He shouted at her.

[Tomia]

After leaving her resting spot, Kristina had been looking for a place where she could hide from the strange men whose footsteps she could still hear on the abandoned building, marching in unison, going deeper and deeper, and therefore closer to where she was. Luckily, she soon found a room where she suspected she could hide. It was dark inside, and there was a stack of crates at the back that she could hide behind if she was quiet. Within, the sound of the strangers' footsteps barely reached her, muffled by the walls, the sound seeming far more distant than it did before, but the girl ignored that. For the time being, staying out of sight was a priority, and this room provided the perfect cover. In addition to the crates, there were small holes in the wall which she could use to spy on anyone who was walking outside nearby, which would help her get a head start in case someone did approach her. The angle of the light made it pretty much impossible to look inside, but, from within, Kristina could easily observe anyone outside. Hoping that the muffled footsteps wouldn't be an issue, she knelt next to the hole and looked outside, waiting, holding her breath. Her heart began to beat faster as she wondered who these strangers were, and if they might want anything with her.

Much to her misfortune, however, it seemed that her hopes were in vain, since two men soon found their way to her small hideout. By the time she realized it was too late, and she turned around just in time to see the two of them walking into the small room. One of them was tall, dark-skinned and imposing, while the other was slightly shorter, with medium-length messy black hair and piercing blue eyes. She did not have the opportunity to inspect them further, though, as she also saw that they were well armed and that scared her. Letting out a silent gasp, the pink-haired girl stepped back, accidentally tripping and knocking down the stack of crates before falling on her butt, causing quite the ruckus. She crawled away from the two men until her back hit the wall, and then covered her body with her gauntlets, not wanting the strangers to attack her, or worse.

"I-I'm not with a-anyone, I d-don't know what's going on, p-please don't hurt me..." The bright-haired girl pleaded quietly. Tears were beginning to well up in her pink eyes--she was clearly quite scared of the two. "I... M-my name is Kristina Valant, I'm a mutant..." She explained, partially to once more convince herself of it, and partially to convince the two men that she was being honest and that they did not need to hurt her. Alarmed as she was, she had pretty much forgotten about the other strangers by now, no longer listening to their footsteps, which grew closer and closer.

Both Mars and Darius were surprised when the girl broke down in tears and begged them not to hurt her. Mars thought she might being, lying but Darius nodded to him, indicating that she was telling the truth about being alone and not knowing what's going on. He kept quite about the fact that she was lying about being a mutant however. It just didn't seem necessary at the moment and might compromise the situation.

Mars looked quite uncomfortable at the situation. He didn't know what to do about a crying civilian. That was incredibly far from his expertise. "Look, stop crying. We're not here to hurt you." He told her plainly but sincerely. "There are other people in this area that we're after. So get somewhere safe and hi..."

He was suddenly cut off by Darius who tensed up. "People are coming, heavily armed by my estimate." And before Mars could even respond, men in high tech armor came storming into the room, firing advanced weaponary. Mars quickly reacted, firing the machine gun from his wrist as he dodged the attacks from the enemy, taking cover next to Kristina. Darius drew his rifle and fired as well, also taking cover behind the nearby wall. Mars turned to Kristina, looking surprising confident in this situation. "Don't panic, stay still and keep under cover, and you'll be fine alright? We'll take care of this." He told her, firing his machine gun past their cover at the advancing enemy.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Kristina's transparent tears continued to flow as she watched the two men in fear, and though she tried to stop crying, she was unable to do so. She tried to back further away when she saw one of them moving closer, though she was already with her back against the wall and could only stay in her place. However, when the man told her that they were not going to do anything to her, and that she was not what they were after, she was incredibly relieved, opening up a little as she looked up at him. That very same moment, however, all hell seemed to break loose as armored people broke into the room and began firing weapons, with the two men who had arrived first quickly retaliating. Kristina was terrified at all of this, even more so than before, and so, she simply froze in place, looking on helplessly as a battle erupted around her, with nothing she could do about it.

Her shocked mind was dragged back to reality as she heard the voice of the man who had addressed her earlier. Looking at him once again, the closer distance between them allowed her to notice far more details than before. Perhaps it was simply a strange effect produced by her scared and lonely mind, or perhaps it was because he seemed to be protecting her, but... Kristina couldn't help thinking that the young man in front of her was incredibly handsome. There was something about his look, about how confident he seemed to be in the face of danger, that attracted her a lot, and as she stared into his icy blue eyes, she felt her cheeks heat up and turn a shade very similar to her hair. Perhaps she might've even forgotten about the battle all around her, had it been any quieter, but the constant gunfire was impossible to ignore.

Looking away, embarrassed at the emotional train wreck that was her mind, Kristina's thoughts took a darker turn. What if the bad guys proved to be too much for him? What if they beat him, and... The mere thought filled her with dread. She couldn't afford to let that happen. Her determination manifested in the form of a steadily growing golden glow on the palm of one of her gauntlets, and she let the energy build up for several moments as she inspected the outside through the holes in the wall. It seemed that the enemies were coming from elsewhere, and so, the girl made up her mind. Suddenly standing up, she threw one of the crates at the enemies to disorient them, and then thrust her glowing gauntlet forward, a spear of pure magic shooting out from its palm and landing in the center of the enemy formation. In the same instant, she used her other gauntlet to smash through the wall.

"Follow me." The pink-haired girl told the handsome man, determination in her eyes despite the still wet tears at their corners. Then, she ran. She knew the abandoned building well, and she hoped that they would be able to escape from it and leave the enemies behind.

[Tomia]

---

Mars was busy fighting off the attackers in front of him, his focus on the battle preventing him from noticing the way that Kristina was staring at him. If he had seen her, he might have felt a little uncomfortable if he had seen it. He wasn't used to people giving him so much attention like that. He wasn't used to interacting with other people, especially people his own age. Still luckily for him this was not a social call. It was a battlefield, which he was much more comfortable with. He and Darius both however were surprised when she suddenly punched through the walls in front of them with her glowing gauntlets, knocking numerous enemies down in the process. The terrified little girl was gone, and was replaced by a confident looking warrior who told them to follow her. Mars still didn't trust Kristina, but he didn't really have a chose at the moment so both he and Darius followed behind her as they ran away from the attackers.

They managed to get out of the building, heading toward the open construction sight, but soon they were surrounded by another group of armed soldiers, their weapons aimed at Mars and the others as their leader stepped forward and spoke, his voice mechanical under the mask of his suit. "You're surrounded, surrender."

Mars starred at him before sighing as he lifted his hands in the air, as Darius did the same. Their weapons were taken from them, and handcuffs were placed on them as their arms were forced behind their backs. Mars was furious, his eyes nearly glowing with rage. However the commander ignored him and turned to Kristina. "We've been looking for you for quite some time dear. You've got quite a role to play." He said to her before walking off as the three prisoners were lead forward as a giant airship landed in front of them. A large door opened up from the base of the ship and they were lead inside, followed by the soldier who then lead them to a large room that held a jail cell that had bench like seats across all four walls. The jail was empty and the three prisons were lead inside before the cell door was locked behind them and they were left along in the large room with each other.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Kristina desperately ran through the abandoned building, leading the handsome man and his taller companion through the hallways of the building in order to lose their pursuers and hopefully reach the open area of the construction site. However, as they were about to reach it, another group of soldiers blocked their path, their weapons aimed at them. Her ephemeral courage dissipating, Kristina looked left and right, hoping to find some sort of exit, but, having begun to panic again, she couldn't think of anything, and soon the soldiers they had been fleeing from caught up with them. They were surrounded from all sides, and there was clearly no way to escape anymore. Frozen in place, she could only watch helplessly as the soldiers approached them. One of them ordered to remove her hands from the gauntlets, and she did so without a word, only opening her mouth to yelp in pain as they abruptly twisted her arms behind her back to put handcuffs on her.

Tears were forming at the corners of her eyes once again, and as the leader of the troops walked up to her and spoke, she simply stared on, terrified, before being led to the giant ship that had landed in front of them. Had she been any more lucid, she might've questioned how exactly a giant airship had managed to land there, but as it was, her panicked mind merely allowed her body to be led into the jail cell. Once there, she simply sat down, no longer with either the safety of her gauntlets or the freedom she enjoyed prior to that morning. Still in shock, she stared ahead blankly for several moments, before glancing at her two companions, and the handsome man in particular. For the longest time, she couldn't bring herself to say anything, ashamed both at her pathetic behavior, and at the fact that she had failed to help him escape the danger. But at last, she said something.

"I... I'm s-sorry..." She spoke with a broken, terrified voice.

[Tomia]

---

Kristina desperately ran through the abandoned building, leading the handsome man and his taller companion through the hallways of the building in order to lose their pursuers and hopefully reach the open area of the construction site. However, as they were about to reach it, another group of soldiers blocked their path, their weapons aimed at them. Her ephemeral courage dissipating, Kristina looked left and right, hoping to find some sort of exit, but, having begun to panic again, she couldn't think of anything, and soon the soldiers they had been fleeing from caught up with them. They were surrounded from all sides, and there was clearly no way to escape anymore. Frozen in place, she could only watch helplessly as the soldiers approached them. One of them ordered to remove her hands from the gauntlets, and she did so without a word, only opening her mouth to yelp in pain as they abruptly twisted her arms behind her back to put handcuffs on her.

Tears were forming at the corners of her eyes once again, and as the leader of the troops walked up to her and spoke, she simply stared on, terrified, before being led to the giant ship that had landed in front of them. Had she been any more lucid, she might've questioned how exactly a giant airship had managed to land there, but as it was, her panicked mind merely allowed her body to be led into the jail cell. Once there, she simply sat down, no longer with either the safety of her gauntlets or the freedom she enjoyed prior to that morning. Still in shock, she stared ahead blankly for several moments, before glancing at her two companions, and the handsome man in particular. For the longest time, she couldn't bring herself to say anything, ashamed both at her pathetic behavior, and at the fact that she had failed to help him escape the danger. But at last, she said something.

"I... I'm s-sorry..." She spoke with a broken, terrified voice.

Darius and Mars sat in the cell in relative silence, they both scanned the room, looking for avenues of escape. Darius was already working on picking the lock of his handcuffs, his hands changing shifting and becoming mechanical looking, his fingers turning into lock picks as he worked. Mars was sitting quietly himself, not looking particularly shaken by being captured, this was by no means the first time for him. He then heard Kristina next to him apologize in a very scared voice, Mars looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "What are you sorry for? Not your fault these thugs captured us." He told her, before sighing and softening his tone. "Look, it's going to be alright, okay? This isn't the first time I've been held prisoner and it won't be the last." He told her, doing his best impersonation of a comforting tone. "So what were you doing in that abandoned construction site, since its pretty obvious that you weren't with the people who captured us." He asked, turning to face her for the first time.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Kristina jumped slightly as she heard the man's voice, frightened not by his words but by his tone, and at the same time somehow elated that he still saw it fit to speak to her, even after everything that had happened, which was, in her eyes, her fault and no one else's. His words did little to release her from the guilt she felt at the moment, which had a tight grip on her. However, what he said to her next was enough to soothe her terror. The way he spoke to her in an attempt to comfort her, coupled with her own frightened mind, which had its grip on reality loosened, caused her to perceive in the man a kindness that was not quite there. His words, too, made him appear as someone who had complete control of the situation, and much like before, the confidence he displayed caused her to feel drawn towards him once again.

As she raised her head to look at him once again, she saw him looking at her. The moment their gazes crossed, she turned to the side, her cheeks tinged with the same color as her hair. For several moments she fumbled with her words, before managing to speak out her answer. "I-I was... I was staying there. I'm an orphan, I don't have a home... A-and the abandoned building was a nice place. Dark, quiet, safe..." She murmured, still somewhat nervous, but now far calmer thanks to the man's comforting words and the soothing effect his presence had on her; her emotions were still all over the place, and her heart had started beating faster when their eyes met, but she was no longer terrified like she had been before.

Of course, this relative calmness was not destined to last her long. Soon enough came echoes of the footsteps of the soldiers that had captured her and the two men she shared her cell with, and the instant they reached her ears, Kristina tensed up, visibly shaking in fear at those people who had deprived her of her freedom and taken away her gauntlets. In no time, they reached the cell, staying outside with their weapons ready while one of them walked inside and roughly grabbed Kristina by her shoulder, forcing her to stand up. "Come on sweetheart. We haven't got all day." The guard said, before dragging her outside, the others flanking them as they walked away from the cell.

"W-where are you taking me?" The girl asked meekly, terrified once again. There was no answer.

[Tomia]

Kristina jumped slightly as she heard the man's voice, frightened not by his words but by his tone, and at the same time somehow elated that he still saw it fit to speak to her, even after everything that had happened, which was, in her eyes, her fault and no one else's. His words did little to release her from the guilt she felt at the moment, which had a tight grip on him. However, what he said to her next was enough to soothe her terror. The way he spoke to her in an attempt to comfort her, coupled with her own frightened mind, which had its grip on reality loosened, caused her to perceive in the man a kindness that was not quite there. His words, too, made him appear as someone who had complete control of the situation, and much like before, the confidence he displayed caused her to feel drawn towards him once again.

As she raised her head to look at him once again, she saw him looking at her. The moment their gazes crossed, she turned to the side, her cheeks tinged with the same color as her hair. For several moments she fumbled with her words, before managing to speak out her answer. "I-I was... I was staying there. I'm an orphan, I don't have a home... A-and the abandoned building was a nice place. Dark, quiet, safe..." She murmured, still somewhat nervous, but now far calmer thanks to the man's comforting words and the soothing effect his presence had on her; her emotions were still all over the place, and her heart had started beating faster when their eyes met, but she was no longer terrified like she had been before.

Of course, this relative calmness was not destined to last her long. Soon enough came echoes of the footsteps of the soldiers that had captured her and the two men she shared her cell with, and the instant they reached her ears, Kristina tensed up, visibly shaking in fear at those people who had deprived her of her freedom and taken away her gauntlets. In no time, they reached the cell, staying outside with their weapons ready while one of them walked inside and roughly grabbed Kristina by her shoulder, forcing her to stand up. "Come on sweetheart. We haven't got all day." The guard said, before dragging her outside, the others flanking them as they walked away from the cell.

"W-where are you taking me?" The girl asked meekly, terrified once again. There was no answer.

Mars nodded when Kristina said she was an orphana. An average person might tell her they were sorry for her experiences or try to show sympathy, but that just wasn't Mars. He didn't think like that. He did speak up though. "I was an orphanage too. Never really knew my parents." He told her simply, and then suddenly a bunch of guards came into the room, grabbing Kristina and pulling her out of the room screaming. Mars pulled at his chains, getting angry for a reason that he couldn't explain. "Leave her alone!" He shouted as they dragged her away. He sat down when she was gone, wondering what that outburst was. It was very unlike him.

"You got your chains cut yet?" He asked Darius, who nodded showing his free hands. "Good, cut me free." Darius used the small saw attached to cut Mars free and in a few minutes he was free of the handcuffs and chains that kept him to the bench. "Set up communication with the rest of the team. I want a drop ship here as soon as possible with them on it. Send them our coordinates. After that, we need to figure out a way to get this door open." Mars finished dictating orders, and then the two set out to work. They would get out of here, and Mars would make the people who captured him pay.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Kristina could do nothing but meekly follow as she was led away from the jail cell and towards an unknown location, occasionally letting out a frightened whimper as the guards that surrounded her pushed her along or shouted at her to hurry up. The walk was not too long, but to the girl's terrified mind, it felt eternal and awful, and only when she finally realized that it was better to walk eternally than to face whatever they might have in tore for her at their destination, did they arrive. One of the guards slid a keycard on a reader next to the door, which promptly slid open, revealing a large room with a strange chair at the center and lots of computers to the sides, operated by a variety of people. The guards led her inside and to a man in a lab coat who seemed to be the one in charge of whatever was going on in the room. The man turned to the girl and looked her up an down, frowning.

"She doesn't look very tough. Are you certain this is the one, soldier?" The man asked.

"Yes, sir. This is the one. She's not very tough at all without her equipment, and she was easy to capture, but we're one-hundred percent certain that this is the target." The soldier said, much to Kristina's chagrin. She didn't know why they were after her or why the doctor person was interested in her at all, but what he said was true, she wasn't worth much without her gauntlets, and had done a pitiful job at staying away from danger and protecting herself and the handsome man from the soldiers, which led to their capture. Already the effect of the man's reassuring words was dissipating, and she was once more convinced that the entire situation was her fault.

But she didn't have to wallow in self-pity for long, as the man in the lab coat soon turned to her, his gaze harsh and cold. "Very well then. You. Show us how it is that you do your magic." The man demanded, leaving Kristina not only scared, but now confused.

"M-magic...?" She repeated, uncertain. The man sighed, clearly impatient already.

"Yes, magic. Like how you enchanted your gauntlets and made them blast away our soldiers. Like that. Show us how it's done if you don't want things to get ugly." He said, further frightening her.

"B-but I don't know how I do that! That's just my mutant power!" The girl cried out, almost as if her statement was simultaneously a plea for mercy. However, it fell on deaf ears, as the scientist merely laughed at her and shook his head.

"Mutant power. Yes, of course, of course." He said, chuckling, before turning to the guards. "Put her in the chair. If she won't speak then perhaps we can get her to trigger it on reflex. Then with some luck, we can use whatever data we earn to study and replicate the phenomenon." He continued, waving at the guards to do their jobs. Promptly complying, they grabbed Kristina by the shoulders, and the girl was too panicked to even attempt to resist. They dragged her towards the chair at the center of the room. There was an object that, to her, appeared to be a dull grey circlet attached to the chair, and they placed it on her head and secured it before retreating towards the door. The girl looked at the scientist.

"W-what are you going to do to me...?" She asked weakly. The scientist shrugged.

"You'll find out soon enough." He said to her, before addressing his team instead. "Alright, capture every single piece of information, I don't want us to miss anything that might help us. Time to begin the experiment." He spoke, and then headed to one of the many computers around the chair.

She was unable to study her surroundings any longer. Suddenly, she found herself overtaken by an unbearable pain, worse than anything she had ever felt before. Having lived relatively safe and sheltered despite being an orphan in an unknown land, there was simply nothing that she could use as a comparison to better understand the agony that was now filling her. She didn't manage to resist one second before screaming out, tears soon rolling down her cheeks, but none of the people around her seemed to care, simply keeping to their duties with calculated coldness. Soon, Kristina was unable to even appreciate that, the agony only growing stronger and stronger as time passed, the machine on her head directly interfering with her nerves in such way that it would inflict such pain without damaging them.

Alas, it was all in vain. The pleading, the screams, and the experiment itself, which yielded no results. It was all in vain.

---

Much later, Kristina, now speaking not a word and barely even walking, was led back to her prison cell while the experiments were turned towards her enchanted gauntlets instead. Though she had yielded no information, she was far too valuable to dispose of or let go, and so, they decided to send her back to the holding cell with the other two prisoners, to keep an eye on her.

[Tomia]

Mars and Darius stayed sitting on the bench when Kristina was brought back into the cell to keep up the appearance that they were still restrained. It was clear that they had hurt Kristina severely, seeing as she wasn't even able to walk as they dragged her inside. Right now though, Mars was focused on the opportunity they had to escape. He whistled a short series of notes, it was code that he had programmed his machines to recognize. Darius' eyes narrowed when he heard the notes, and it was clear the program was taking over. Suddenly Darius opened his mouth and unleashed a immobilizing screech that sent the two guards falling to the ground in pain. Mar's had a chip implanted in his brain that made the frequency not register with his ears, so he was not effected.

Mars and Darius quickly sprang from the bench, attacking the two guards who were just starting recover from the noise. Mars dodged one of the guards punches with ease, slamming his fist into the mans stomach, before getting behind him and wrapping his arms around the man's neck, applying enough pressure to snap it. Darius however didn't kill his victim, merely knocking him unconscious instead.

"Come on, we're going to disguise ourselves as these guards. That's the only way we'll be able to move around freely enough to escape." Mars told Darius, who nodded as his eyes glowed and light flashed from it. He scanned the unconscious man and soon Darius own body was covered in the armor and the uniform of the man.

Meanwhile Mars grabbed the dead man, taking off the man's clothes off for him to use himself. Mars then took of his own armor to change, and once he was done he turned to Kristina, eyeing her before speaking to Darius. "Analysis her vitals." He ordered, and Darius turned to Kristina and his eyes flashed a bright light over her as they had done before with the guard.

"All of her vitals are stable. She is physically unharmed, though her peripheral nervous system is overstimulated which is causing her great distress."

"Fix it"

Darius approached Kristina slowly, "This may hurt, but only slightly." He told her, before grabbing a small vial from his bag and attaching it to his arm which revealed a small needle. He pressed the needle into a vein in Kristina's arm as the chemical entered her body and would work to de-stimulate her nerve endings.

When that was done, Mars spoke to her. "Alright, we're getting out of here. In order to do that, you are going to need to act like our prisoner. You think you can handle that?"