We Were Never Heroes (A Superhero RP) IC

[Altito Asmoro]

Leonid Chernikov
Syndicate Warehouse, Downtown, Seattle, WA

"Alright, have it your way."

Leonid moved carefully as he positioned himself to the direction of the warehouse. He took a deep breath and walking down to the direction of the two men in the auxiliary building. Despite having the ability of quick dash, it's more likely for him to get inside the auxiliary building. There may be no one inside but those two men. After circling around the building, he found the door that leading to the location of the two men. Once he's able to pried off the door with as minimal as possible in terms of power, he decided to do some quick dash throwing by throwing an empty bottle to the direction of the men as he hid himself behind boxes of crates.

It did caused some attentions, perhaps.

[Shark isle]

"Tell me you bastard, where did you get those drugs?!" The short, Hispanic man whimpered as the tall, thin man in riot gear loomed over him. The short man then said to the tall man in a voice that had a mixture of fear and anger," Alright you bastard, I'll talk. I got the drugs at a warehouse. The addrss is 303 S. River street! Leave me alone." The tall man grinned and whacked the short man across the head with a baton, knocking him out. As the tall man walked away from the alleyway where he interrogated the drug dealer he tought to himself," Something tells me that whoever owns this warehouse is going to be heavily armed. I have to go in stealthily to avoid detection". The tall man then walked into a abandoned apartment building and went into a room that wasn't boarded up. Inside, was a variety of police surplus equipment. He walked up to this armory and chose his bean-bag gun, a stun gun, some tear gas canisters, a flash grenade and his desert eagle. He then walked out of the apartment and towards the warehouse.
Later
"Hmm, it seems like they have two sentrys guarding the outside of the warehouse. It also appears that they are both huddled inside an auxiliary building, a well placed flash granade will take take care of them." The tall man then walked up to the building and looked into a window while crouching. He saw the two heavily-armored men sitting down at a table playing cards. The tall man grinned and walked around to the auxiliary building's door and slightly opened it. He then pulled out his flash grenade and threw it in and shielded his eyes. The next moment, he saw a bright light and heard the two men sreaming in pain and the sound of their guns dropping to the ground. The tall man then ran in and immediately hit the first man with his baton, knocking him out. The second man tried to pick up his gun but was awarded with a bean-bag to the chest, which knocked the air out of him, and a whack across the head with a baton. After taking care of the two men, the tall man walked out of the auxiliary building and started to look for a side entrance.

[Ubaria]

Lucio Martelli
Lucio's Apartment

5:39 am.

Lucio scowled at the red numbers displayed on the alarm clock, disgusted that he would stir awake at such a time in the morning under his own devices, in all honesty he hadn't had that much sleep anyway, recent events were playing havoc with his conscience and in turn, kept him awake most of the night. It took a few more minutes of staring at the ceiling in contemplation before he could gather enough energy to haul himself from the soft nest of sheets and into the chilly air of the en-suite bathroom, the cold water from the shower stung his skin before the rush turned warm enough to stand underneath comfortably. The sun was just beginning to rise when Lucio emerged from the bathroom, its orange glow shone through the grey Seattle skyine and cast blocky shadows across the lay of the land, already morning traffic could be seen filling up the roads, another day beginning.

A mug of piping hot coffee in one hand and his phone in the other, Lucio perched himself in the one spot on the couch that wasn't occupied by mounds of files and paper and began scrolling through the early morning social media and emails, the one from the Benefactor was still lingering in his inbox and would probably remain there as he had no way to rid of it, like it was latched to his phone, he paid no mind and proceeded with his intake of caffeine and vacation pictures from college buddies until a sharp crack from the kitchen split the air inside the apartment, followed by an intense fizzing noise.

"Crap!"

The experiment that had been set up the day prior had just taken an unexpected turn, a beaker of green liquid had violently reacted and sent a jet of noxious steam upwards into the surrounding area, quickly filling up the small space in a haze of vapor, probably toxic. Thankfully the extractor over the oven provided a source of outwards ventilation and quickly sucked up the fog and returned visibility to the apartment, half of the green liquid had vaporized quickly leaving only a small trace lingering in the bottom, the experiment was a failure, something that Lucio made a point to note down in a jotting pad placed not too far away. When the Benefactor eventually got hold of the equipment Lucio has requested, it would make experiments a significant degree easier to set up, it would take at least another several hours to reset everything and that was something that could wait as far as the Italian was concerned, he was considering heading right on back to bed until a heavy knock at the door stopped him.

"Who in the hell-"

Lucio muttered as he paced back across the room to the door, visitors were a rarity in Lucios household, it was probably Miranda again. Without thinking he unbolted the door and swung it open, but instead of Miranda, he was greeted with what was probably the polar opposite. Two large burly men, clad in black and balaclavas stood either side of the door were the ones to greet Lucio, but before he could even register the two figures they had already moved with a deadly intent, one bought his fist up and sent it crashing down into Lucio's right temple, it hit with the force of a hammer and sent him sprawling backwards across the room. Lucio barely had time to recuperate and was quickly thrown yet again when the large figure clutched him by the scruff of his shirt and threw him through the glass coffee table/writing board with a loud crash. With all breath knocked swiftly from his lungs, Lucio couldn't even cry out in pain and simply wheezed heavily on the floor.

"Найти то, что вы можете. Я буду заботиться о нем ."
[Find what you can. I'll take care of him.]

The next sound to be heard was more terrifying that the physical beatings he had just sustained, the unmistakable click of a pistol cocking. Through bleary eyes, Lucio could make out the large cylinder of a suprressor being leveled with his forehead. Lucio wasn't going to go out like this, not today. With all his remaining strength, Lucio outstretched his right arm and thrust his open palm forward with his fingers splayed out, a brilliant burst of blue-white light simply materialised forth from the surface of his skin and with that light, the force of perhaps a thousand fists were carried and transferred straight into the assailants face, throwing the man like a ragdoll against the far wall, the intense heat melted the balaclava to the guys face and a horrific gurgling scream could be heard as he desperately tried to pull the thing off, to no avail. The other assassin turned with his own pistol raised but wasn't quick enough, with his other palm Lucio let forth another destructive energy lance that impacted the attackers arm, partially melting the gun and also, ignited a small fire on the pile of scientific papers.

"Ебена мать!."
[Holy shit!]

With the attacker cradling his injured hand, Lucio sprang forth and let loose yet another beam, this one more powerful than the last but threw him off balance, again the beam missed and smashed into the drywall, a circular hole burned all the way through and out of the exterior of the building. Another motion was made and another beam emerged from his hand, this one a weaker and cast off in the complete opposite direction through the glass window, melting a considerable portion of it away. All energy had been sapped from his body and it made Lucio almost physically sick, coupled with the head trauma and the smoke starting to fill the apartment, it forced him back down onto his knees, something the Russian attacker took full advantage of, vaulting over the sofa, he bought a booted foot into Lucio's sternum which caused him to fall onto his back once more. There was nothing he could do as the mercenary straddled him and bought his unburned fist straight into his jaw, but before the man could lay another punch, the fire had ignited a cache of volatile chemicals erronously stored in Lucio's sink cupboard, with the force of a small bomb it sent a fireball ploughing through the room, knocking over all in its wake and shattering every window out at once.

Lucio was shielded from the blast by the body of the man trying to attack him, now slumped over pinning Lucio to the floor. Biting through the intense pain that rattled through his muscles, Lucio shifted the smoldering body off his chest and onto the floor to one side. By now the alarms had tripped for the whole building and panicked shouting could be heard from the rooms and hallway outside, but the room was clogged with so much smoke and debris that nobody could see in. It stung his eyes and clawed his throat no matter how much he tried to not breathe the mixture in, using his sense of touch and direction alone he made it to the front door and rolled into the corridor which was now fully evacuated and also filled with smoke. The stress was all to much and nasuea took over, Lucio doubled over and expelled the contents of his stomach over the floor, twice.

Heat and smoke soon forced Lucio to stagger down the corridor towards the emergency stairwell which was only a few feet away, but over the roar of flames and the shrill alarm , more russian shouting could be heard accompanied by the clanking of boots on metal floor. 3 figures emerged from the fire door and fought their way into the smoke, one managed to spot Lucio stumbling the other way in a bid to escape and the trio started firing their weapons wildly into the smoke, the bullets would hit frighteningly close but none hit their mark.

Yet another explosion rocked the building, a plume of hot air followed by flames emerged from the wall where Lucio's kitchen once was, the blast engulfed the hall including the three gunman who were stood in it, needless to say they were quickly dispatched of. Reaching the opposite stairwell, Lucio wasn't out of the woods just yet, fire had spread not only up, but falling debris had set fire to the floors below. Blood streamed from his head and mixed with the water welling on his eyes making it almost impossible to see, repeatedly he blinked out the mixture for it to be replaced moments later, several shards of wood and glass shrapnel had embedded themselves in his hip and back and his chest stung from what was possibly multiple cracked ribs and smoke inhalation, things were looking like they couldn't get any worse. They could.

"На лестнице! Стреляй!"
[On the stairs! Shoot!]
Two black figures emerged from a fire door several floors above and spotted the limping man quickly, one of them wildly fired a silenced SMG over the handrail, bullets clanged and whizzed off the metal stais and rails, Lucio yelped in pain as one round ricocheted off the step below him and glanced off his shin, tripping Lucio down several stairs. An explosion from somewhere above caused the man to drop his SMG, giving some room for Lucio to dart out the next emergency door onto the ground floor. People were still flooding out the front doors of the lobby, however two men were wading the opposite way to the tide of panicking residents, black clad and barking in Russian. They didn't spot Lucio trying to slip through the back doors at first, but one noticed the door swinging shut and decided to pursue.

"Это только один парень ! Не дай ему уйти!"
[It's only one guy! Don't let him get away!]

There was no point trying to run, Lucio could only manage a swerving stumble, occasionly thumping into a wall or collapsing in a pile of trash bags but against all odds, he made it to the back door. The exit led into a back alleyway with only two exits, one blockaded by a black van and the other end, occupied by several more men, who spotted the bleeding, hunched figure staggering out the door. A firing squad.. There was no way he could take them all down, he was just about ready to give up, he couldn't fight any more, but he wouldn't have to. The fire above had weakened several sections of the building, including an exterior scaffold which just so happened to be hurtling down at that very moment, the mess of metal poles and concrete panels crashed into the floor between Lucio and his would be killers, perhaps it had landed directly on them, perhaps not, importantly it had provided the opportunity of escape, foolishly they had left their van unguarded and idling. Lucio slipped into the drivers seat and fumbled with the gear stick, the gearbox crunched as he sloppily lurched the van forward out of the alleyway and into the road beyond, sirens began to wail in the not to far distance, the first of the emergency responders arriving on scene.

---

Some time later
Lucio had almost passed out at the wheel twice whilst trying to search for the warehouse, eventually he recognized the building nestled away in the maze of industrial buildings and pulled the van up outside on the sidewalk and stumbled through a side door into the main warehouse, behind a stack of crates sat the 'secret' doorway to the Benefactors bunker. With no strength left and just about ready to call it quits, Lucio pressed a blooded hand against the keypad, hammering it several times in frustrated pain.

"Fucking. Open..."

He managed to whisper several curses in Italian before collapsing next to the lift doors in a bloody, sooted heap.

[Beiarusia]

Maria Gonzalez (Bloody Mary)
the Bunker, SoDo, Seattle, WA

---

Things were just starting to go as planned when bad news struck like it was apt to do. Sarah had jumped on ahead to a nice spot for overwatch and not a minute after had reported that the police had just stormed the auxiliary building. Actually, it was one officer, in riot gear, and like some cheesy action flick the man seemed armed and ready to take on a warehouse of thugs single handedly. For once Maria wished that things would go as intended.

Pinching at the bridge of her nose, Maria said, with irritation staining her words, “Change of plans. Get to the warehouse, now, and find a way in that doesn’t draw too much attention. We need to move fast before any more surprises come our way. I’ll catch up with you guys when I can. And keep your heads down.”

A quick glance to make sure that no cars were coming and Bloody Mary sprinted the distance across the road and to the auxiliary building, offering only a passing glance to the unconscious men inside. Sarah reported where the lone officer had gone and was quickly told to join the others (who by now should have crossed the street). They would find several side doors leading into the building, and even some windows and vents on the upper walls that could be used for a quiet entrance. Bloody Mary, on her end, snuck around to find the riot officer looking for his own way inside. Raising her handgun she took aim at the man’s center of mass and called out to him in a voice that was loud enough to be heard but not enough to alert anyone that didn’t need alerting.

“Stop right there.” The man, whether in shock or compliance, did as told and Maria took several steps closer. “I’m not letting you get in our way, so you better leave while you still can. Try anything and this gun will be the least of your worries. Now, turn around.”


Miranda “Network” Tallow
the Bunker, SoDo, Seattle, WA

---

Miranda had taken notice of the news reports as soon as they had come in. An explosion at a certain apartment block. Maybe it was nothing, but Miranda could only assume that whatever chemistry set Lucia had in his kitchen had finally gotten the best of him. Police would likely write it off as a chem lab gone bad. No need to get involved. At least, that was until Lucio himself had stumbled into the warehouse above, the cameras picking up that he was indeed injured. He made it all the way to the elevator before collapsing.

Said elevator opened a few moments later, an apathetic Miranda staring down at the unconscious Lucio with a mixed look of curiosity and disbelief, though the emotion was subtle enough to be unnoticeable. Sighing, she did her best to drag the man into the Bunker without getting blood onto her good clothes, managing to get the man into the rotunda with only minimum stainage. She then went to find a spare chair that could be used to wheel the injured man further in, ignoring the cries of Mike Cross as he asked for a bathroom break from where he was still tied up – Maria and the others would figure out what to do with him later. A few minutes later and Lucia was rolled into a room that was slightly larger than the bedrooms, this one having a cot and a closet of medical supplies. Not that Miranda was a nursing major but she was able to stop the bleeding well enough. While this was happening the girl had sent the Benefactor a message (using her phone without having to touch it) and was waiting for a reply. Going to the hospital was maybe not the best of choices, and while a private doctor could be brought in it would create an unneeded security risk. Then again outside sources had been worked with when getting the Bunker up and functioning.

With nothing else to do the girl sat in a nearby chair to the cot Lucio was on and wasted her time with her phone. Hopefully the injured man would wake up soon or the Benefactor would get ahold of her.

[Ubaria]

Lucio Martelli
The Bunker

"They'll have your head. Listen you can't..."

"This is bigger than we imagined, Joseph listen to me! You've seen it first hand, the formula works."

"You think that makes you invincible? You know as well as i do that these people are not to be trifled with..."

"What's that saying, Evil will triumph if good men like us do nothing"

"Luca, listen to yourself. This isn't some comic book action film, you're risking not only your own life, but everyone around you!"

"If this gets into the wrong hands, there will be more than our lives at risk..." *CRASH* "What was that?"

"It's already too late, run....no what are you doing!?"

Disembodied voices, screaming and shouting filled Lucio's subconsciousness, a swirling vortex of eerie sounds that seeped inwards from seemingly all directions, they were almost demonic and tormented him in his sleep, as if fighting some unseen force, Lucio tossed and thrashed in the medical bed he had been placed into and eventually, he was forced to awaken in a fit of coughing and labored breathing. Lucio bolted upright in the cot and moved his fist as if to block an attack from an imaginary opponent, only when did he realize where he was did he lower his guard. Miranda sat in the corner of the room, her eyes away from the phone with a look of indifference and mock intrigue.

"Where am i?" He first mumbled to himself, wiping off a trickle of cold sweat that rolled down his eyebrow. The last thing he remembered was taking a fist to the face and the rest was a painful blur, it even hurt to try and recall the events that had transpired, looking down he also noticed various bandages and sutures across his hip, legs and arms.

"My head feels like it's been hit with a hammer" Lucio groaned, bringing his hand up to feel the pulsating spot on his temple, it was painfully swollen, it was best left alone. As fragmented memories managed to peice themselves together, Lucio was then quickly occupied with other concerns.

"Did they follow me here? Oh god did i hurt anybody?" Lucio questioned Miranda, who would probably know more details than he did as this point, all he could recall was explosions, gunfire and Russian hitmen.

[Shark isle]

Maria Gonzalez (Bloody Mary)
the Bunker, SoDo, Seattle, WA

---

Things were just starting to go as planned when bad news struck like it was apt to do. Sarah had jumped on ahead to a nice spot for overwatch and not a minute after had reported that the police had just stormed the auxiliary building. Actually, it was one officer, in riot gear, and like some cheesy action flick the man seemed armed and ready to take on a warehouse of thugs single handedly. For once Maria wished that things would go as intended.

Pinching at the bridge of her nose, Maria said, with irritation staining her words, “Change of plans. Get to the warehouse, now, and find a way in that doesn’t draw too much attention. We need to move fast before any more surprises come our way. I’ll catch up with you guys when I can. And keep your heads down.”

A quick glance to make sure that no cars were coming and Bloody Mary sprinted the distance across the road and to the auxiliary building, offering only a passing glance to the unconscious men inside. Sarah reported where the lone officer had gone and was quickly told to join the others (who by now should have crossed the street). They would find several side doors leading into the building, and even some windows and vents on the upper walls that could be used for a quiet entrance. Bloody Mary, on her end, snuck around to find the riot officer looking for his own way inside. Raising her handgun she took aim at the man’s center of mass and called out to him in a voice that was loud enough to be heard but not enough to alert anyone that didn’t need alerting.

“Stop right there.” The man, whether in shock or compliance, did as told and Maria took several steps closer. “I’m not letting you get in our way, so you better leave while you still can. Try anything and this gun will be the least of your worries. Now, turn around.”


Miranda “Network” Tallow
the Bunker, SoDo, Seattle, WA

---

Miranda had taken notice of the news reports as soon as they had come in. An explosion at a certain apartment block. Maybe it was nothing, but Miranda could only assume that whatever chemistry set Lucia had in his kitchen had finally gotten the best of him. Police would likely write it off as a chem lab gone bad. No need to get involved. At least, that was until Lucio himself had stumbled into the warehouse above, the cameras picking up that he was indeed injured. He made it all the way to the elevator before collapsing.

Said elevator opened a few moments later, an apathetic Miranda staring down at the unconscious Lucio with a mixed look of curiosity and disbelief, though the emotion was subtle enough to be unnoticeable. Sighing, she did her best to drag the man into the Bunker without getting blood onto her good clothes, managing to get the man into the rotunda with only minimum stainage. She then went to find a spare chair that could be used to wheel the injured man further in, ignoring the cries of Mike Cross as he asked for a bathroom break from where he was still tied up – Maria and the others would figure out what to do with him later. A few minutes later and Lucia was rolled into a room that was slightly larger than the bedrooms, this one having a cot and a closet of medical supplies. Not that Miranda was a nursing major but she was able to stop the bleeding well enough. While this was happening the girl had sent the Benefactor a message (using her phone without having to touch it) and was waiting for a reply. Going to the hospital was maybe not the best of choices, and while a private doctor could be brought in it would create an unneeded security risk. Then again outside sources had been worked with when getting the Bunker up and functioning.

With nothing else to do the girl sat in a nearby chair to the cot Lucio was on and wasted her time with her phone. Hopefully the injured man would wake up soon or the Benefactor would get ahold of her.

The tall man let out a noise that sounded like a growl and started to turn around to look at the woman. As he turned around one could easily see that the riot gear he wore had been heavily modified. The SPD logo had been completely wiped out of the outfit and had been dyed black. The man was also wearing a black ski mask and had black, leather boots on. The man then said to Maria in a uncaring voice," I don't know who you are lady, but you won't stop me. This warehouse is distributing drugs and I am going to break it up whether you like it or not."

[Beiarusia]

Maria Gonzalez (Bloody Mary)
Syndicate Warehouse, Downtown, Seattle, WA

---

The tall man let out a noise that sounded like a growl and started to turn around to look at the woman. As he turned around one could easily see that the riot gear he wore had been heavily modified. The SPD logo had been completely wiped out of the outfit and had been dyed black. The man was also wearing a black ski mask and had black, leather boots on. The man then said to Maria in a uncaring voice," I don't know who you are lady, but you won't stop me. This warehouse is distributing drugs and I am going to break it up whether you like it or not."

To say that Maria was taken aback would be a slight understatement. The man, whoever he was, which was to say he most definitely was not SPD, seemed intent on breaking up some illegal drug ring and was staging a one man assault on the Syndicate warehouse. Either he was extremely brave or extremely stupid, but likely he was full of himself and would end up killed. The Syndicate, from what little Maria knew of them, didn’t take well to whack jobs interfering with their business. Even if the man somehow managed to take down this particular warehouse he would likely be dead by the week. Klein was only alive because he had information. The man in the riot gear most likely had nothing of use to the Syndicate and once he had crossed them would simply be put down. Maria was almost tempted to do the job for them. His antics could have ruined everything, and if they lost Klein because of this bastard then Maria would take great pleasure in turning his arteries inside out starting from the feet and working her way up. He’d wish the Syndicate had been the one to catch him.

But that was what if, and until they knew for sure they had to go on as if nothing had changed. As for the man, well, Maria just couldn’t allow him to run off and make trouble.

“I could have stopped you a hundred times by now,” Bloody Mary spat, her sour mood reflected on her painted face. Unlike the man and his gear she was very casual in appearance with only a hoodie and some cargo pants. Her boots were leather, like his, but had seen a lifetime’s worth of chaos if the scuffs were anything to go off on. “And I don’t care what you think you’re doing, which is stupid by the way, but if you don’t do as I tell you then you’re gonna regret it. Now, drop everything you’ve got and we can go from there, but try anything or so much as look at me wrong and the Syndicate will be the least of your worries.”

Having the man scream in whatever agony she caused would be very bad for their stealthy approach. Maria would need to do this quietly. Bursting a random artery was easy enough, but being specific took some concentration, but given a few more moments and she’d be in a position to cause a coronary. Heart attacks were quiet, right?



HOA “BLAKE” NZUYEN
Syndicate Warehouse, Downtown, Seattle, WA

---

Blake had practically led the others to the warehouse, sprinting across the street and the rusted train tracks running parallel before throwing her back against the white painted wall in a spot that would make her difficult to see should any cars pass by. She was breathing hard, having put maybe too much effort into her run, but the adrenaline was starting to kick in and, against what would be the better judgement, the young woman was ready to tackle head on whatever physical exertion would be demanded of her. Someone with more skill in this sort of affair led them along the tracks to where the loading bays were. A train car sitting on the tracks offered some behind them but they would be exposed entirely to anyone driving the opposite direction. Luckily there was no traffic to be seen.

The door was locked, which was to be expected, and by the slight rattle there was a chain on the other side. Zedekiah couldn’t help this time around. The solution came after a moment of deliberation when Blake took it upon herself to find a way in. Having seen this before in a TV show, she made her way to the roof – using her powers again to seemingly float up – and found that there was an open vent of sorts leading into the building. Prying it open, the woman managed to squeeze through and dropped down on the other side of the door. There was no one in sight, but screams of pain could be heard deeper inside. Wasting no time she undid the door and allowed the others inside.

They were in the back bay. The floor was open and quite likely they could be seen by whoever was inside had several crates not been stacked high so as to form an artificial wall. It was a good thing as Blake hadn’t checked her surroundings before dropping in.

“Do we have a plan?” Blake asked to anyone who could hear her. A simple charge ahead could catch whoever was inside by surprise, but depending on how many and if they were armed, which they most likely were, there was a high chance that such a plan would end with them being shot, and Blake wasn’t immune to bullets. No one was for that matter.



Miranda “Network” Tallow
the Bunker, SoDo, Seattle, WA

---

...

Miranda glanced up from her cell phone as the man went through some kind of fit. Maybe he was expiring? Not much she could do if he was. Then, rather comically, Lucio bolted upright with his fists raised to fight, as if he expected someone other than the fragile looking girl sitting in the corner of the room. After a moment he managed to take stock of the situation and lowered his guard. “Where am I?” he asked more to himself than to her before rambling on about his head and hammers.

“Was it?” Miranda asked rather dully in regards to the hammers. “And no, no one followed you here. I would know.” She checked the security cameras again just to be sure, though to Lucio it would look as if she had done nothing but blink a few times.

The cameras were clear.

As for the other question, Miranda quickly pulled up the news reports trickling in on her phone, showing them to Lucio before realizing that she was too far away and moving closer. An explosion had very nearly leveled the entire apartment block. The police weren’t saying much else but had confirmed that at least five bodies had been found and many more were being taken to the nearest hospital for injuries ranging from mild to basically dead.

“I take it this is your doing? And I’ll be needing a new shirt.” Hers was covered in splotches of blood.

[Altito Asmoro]

Leonid Chernikov
Syndicate Warehouse, Downtown, Seattle, WA

...What?

All of a sudden, this guy entered the building and did things to those two men in the process. Great, now his plan was ruined. Again. Is that really hard to make his plan go as smooth as possible? Apparently yes. In any case, he picked up one of the men's weapon, an assault rifle. Well, for threaten people, sure. He made his way outside anyway, with a huge sigh on himself, only to found the man in the sort of protective suit and Bloody Mary.

With enough move that is trying to be as silent as possible, he made his way behind crates and into the warehouse. Despite what it looks like, Bloody Mary is more than capable to stop him by herself and no point for him to helps even when he can. Although perhaps more aid is necessary. With that, he stepped forward from behind the crates.

"Alright, you heard the lady. Drop off your guns and we can finish this the easy way, sir," as he aimed the assault rifle on the man, who's now facing with two sides of enemies.

[Glaswegistan]

The plan was changing fast. Sarah had thought, going in, that there would be some changes and that some details of the day would have to be improvised, but the introduction of an entirely new variable, the cop, was changing things too much, too fast. Sarah kept moving. A short series of pinpoint jumps around the warehouse gave her a good overview of the possible entrances and exits. Sarah felt a twinge in her gut.

Flickering around the exterior of the building from a safe distance for a few more seconds, occasionally making closer jumps where a safe and inconspicuous opening could be found, Sarah felt she had the site well reconnoitred.

‘Where the hell are the others?’ she leapt from spot to spot, trying to ascertain Leonid’s position. Bloody Mary would be dealing with the interloper, but Leonid was nowhere to be found.

‘I need to find out what that guy’s deal is’ Sarah thought, realizing she still didn’t know what most of her team mates powers were.

Sarah leapt back to Bloody Mary’s position, appearing just out of the Cops sight. In her head, Sarah congratulated herself on the landing; ‘Nice, very ominous.’

“I can’t find Le-…Mr. Shadow-” she reported, just as she saw Leonid; “Never mind, didn’t you hear the boss lady? I can’t crack this place on my own.”

[Altito Asmoro]

The plan was changing fast. Sarah had thought, going in, that there would be some changes and that some details of the day would have to be improvised, but the introduction of an entirely new variable, the cop, was changing things too much, too fast. Sarah kept moving. A short series of pinpoint jumps around the warehouse gave her a good overview of the possible entrances and exits. Sarah felt a twinge in her gut.

Flickering around the exterior of the building from a safe distance for a few more seconds, occasionally making closer jumps where a safe and inconspicuous opening could be found, Sarah felt she had the site well reconnoitred.

‘Where the hell are the others?’ she leapt from spot to spot, trying to ascertain Leonid’s position. Bloody Mary would be dealing with the interloper, but Leonid was nowhere to be found.

‘I need to find out what that guy’s deal is’ Sarah thought, realizing she still didn’t know what most of her team mates powers were.

Sarah leapt back to Bloody Mary’s position, appearing just out of the Cops sight. In her head, Sarah congratulated herself on the landing; ‘Nice, very ominous.’

“I can’t find Le-…Mr. Shadow-” she reported, just as she saw Leonid; “Never mind, didn’t you hear the boss lady? I can’t crack this place on my own.”

Leonid Chernikov

Sarah contacted him, apparently. Safe to say, he didn't recognized her previous order. As his target is still in front of him, he kind of whispered to Sarah as the means to report. Though they have the communication intact, he never really working on using it. It's too advanced for his old, old mindset and brain full of authentic knowledge, not some technologically advanced tools.

"Alright, I'm sorry, Sarah. What do you want me to do? My powers only work on close-range, not on long-range. So...I can throw myself to the Syndicate thugs to fight them off...while the rest of you, including you Sarah, rescue or target."

[Ubaria]

Lucio Martelli
The Bunker

"Oh christ"

Lucio whimpered slightly, it took a couple of blinks to adjust his eyes to the glare of the phone and pick out the image of what once was his apartment, now a smoldering hole in the building from which a pillar of smoke billowed into the air, helicopters and fire crews visible among the carnage. It seemed at least half the building had been gutted by the fire and compromised the entire structure of the apartment block. At least several bodies had been found among the fire and several more people had been taken to hospital with life threatening injuries, all directly attributable to Lucio's actions.

“I take it this is your doing? And I’ll be needing a new shirt.”

"I...I did this..." He dragged his fingers through his black hair in a claw like fashion, shakily exhaling, the pain had quickly been replaced by a shocked numb sensation, he had potentially killed innocent people and condemned countless more to homelessness, something that disturbed the man deeply.

"They tried to kill me...It was their fault!" Lucio shouted, not directly at Miranda but at the nearby wall, trying to rationalize his actions to some degree, it did little to comfort him however and only served to agitate him more. For the first time he noticed bandages covering both his palms, peeling them back revealed red and blistered skin, the uncontrolled heat that had originated from his hand had given serious second degree burns, Lucio quickly returned the bandages to their original coverage.

"This is all some bad dream right? I'm going to wake up tomorrow back in my Apartment, everything will be fine..." Lucio paced around the room with a limp, it would almost appear as if he was slowly turning insane, his disheveled appearance and inane rambling certainly gave off that effect.

[Vacif]

Lin Kai Soe
303 River Street

Lin Kai remained silent up until this point, letting everyone do their job as he waited patiently. Believing that they were safe from any sort of exterior intrusion, he was quickly proven wrong when Bloody Mary spoke up in a more than irritated tone. “Change of plans. Get to the warehouse, now, and find a way in that doesn’t draw too much attention. We need to move fast before any more surprises come our way. I’ll catch up with you guys when I can. And keep your heads down.” Not wanting to incur her wrath, Lin Kai silently nodded, and sprinted for the warehouse. There were no cars in the area, and there didn't appear to be any functional cameras in the area.

Lin Kai skipped across the train tracks, and quickly pressed his back against the wall as he peered over the corner. There were multiple entrances, two loading dock doors,and a service door. Opening the loading dock doors was out of the question, and Lin Kai didn't logically have any other way to enter the warehouse. The building had no reachable windows, so he, and by extension the others would need to go through the metal service door. As he jogged towards the service door, and quietly tip toed up the metal stairs, he took out his telescopic baton, and extended it with a flick of the wrist. His steps made minimal noise, which wouldn't get past the metal door of the warehouse. Holding his breath, he gently pulled on the handle, and pushed. The sounds of the door opening were masked by the screams of pain from who he'd assume to be Mr. Klein. He peaked into the room, and found about nine people inside. One man tied down, bloody. Probably Klein. One more, some kind of doctor, fixing up Klein. The other seven were dressed casually, but the way they carried themselves told him they were enforcers. Lin Kai held his breath as he gently made his way across open space towards some shipping containers, allowing for the others to get in. Cement flooring was not his friend today, and he didn't want to get there attention before the rest of the team made it inside.

The Burmese national slowly exhaled as he took cover behind a large green cargo container. He was glad that he was wearing dark colours as the light from the inside did not travel to his location, obscuring him in darkness. He stood no chance against seven enforcers, he was strong, and he had incredible reflexes, but that would only get him so far, and if he survived, Bloody Mary would probably kill him for causing trouble with out her say so. So now he waited for the others.

[Shark isle]

Maria Gonzalez (Bloody Mary)
Syndicate Warehouse, Downtown, Seattle, WA

---

The tall man let out a noise that sounded like a growl and started to turn around to look at the woman. As he turned around one could easily see that the riot gear he wore had been heavily modified. The SPD logo had been completely wiped out of the outfit and had been dyed black. The man was also wearing a black ski mask and had black, leather boots on. The man then said to Maria in a uncaring voice," I don't know who you are lady, but you won't stop me. This warehouse is distributing drugs and I am going to break it up whether you like it or not."

To say that Maria was taken aback would be a slight understatement. The man, whoever he was, which was to say he most definitely was not SPD, seemed intent on breaking up some illegal drug ring and was staging a one man assault on the Syndicate warehouse. Either he was extremely brave or extremely stupid, but likely he was full of himself and would end up killed. The Syndicate, from what little Maria knew of them, didn’t take well to whack jobs interfering with their business. Even if the man somehow managed to take down this particular warehouse he would likely be dead by the week. Klein was only alive because he had information. The man in the riot gear most likely had nothing of use to the Syndicate and once he had crossed them would simply be put down. Maria was almost tempted to do the job for them. His antics could have ruined everything, and if they lost Klein because of this bastard then Maria would take great pleasure in turning his arteries inside out starting from the feet and working her way up. He’d wish the Syndicate had been the one to catch him.

But that was what if, and until they knew for sure they had to go on as if nothing had changed. As for the man, well, Maria just couldn’t allow him to run off and make trouble.

“I could have stopped you a hundred times by now,” Bloody Mary spat, her sour mood reflected on her painted face. Unlike the man and his gear she was very casual in appearance with only a hoodie and some cargo pants. Her boots were leather, like his, but had seen a lifetime’s worth of chaos if the scuffs were anything to go off on. “And I don’t care what you think you’re doing, which is stupid by the way, but if you don’t do as I tell you then you’re gonna regret it. Now, drop everything you’ve got and we can go from there, but try anything or so much as look at me wrong and the Syndicate will be the least of your worries.”

Having the man scream in whatever agony she caused would be very bad for their stealthy approach. Maria would need to do this quietly. Bursting a random artery was easy enough, but being specific took some concentration, but given a few more moments and she’d be in a position to cause a coronary. Heart attacks were quiet, right?



HOA “BLAKE” NZUYEN
Syndicate Warehouse, Downtown, Seattle, WA

---

Blake had practically led the others to the warehouse, sprinting across the street and the rusted train tracks running parallel before throwing her back against the white painted wall in a spot that would make her difficult to see should any cars pass by. She was breathing hard, having put maybe too much effort into her run, but the adrenaline was starting to kick in and, against what would be the better judgement, the young woman was ready to tackle head on whatever physical exertion would be demanded of her. Someone with more skill in this sort of affair led them along the tracks to where the loading bays were. A train car sitting on the tracks offered some behind them but they would be exposed entirely to anyone driving the opposite direction. Luckily there was no traffic to be seen.

The door was locked, which was to be expected, and by the slight rattle there was a chain on the other side. Zedekiah couldn’t help this time around. The solution came after a moment of deliberation when Blake took it upon herself to find a way in. Having seen this before in a TV show, she made her way to the roof – using her powers again to seemingly float up – and found that there was an open vent of sorts leading into the building. Prying it open, the woman managed to squeeze through and dropped down on the other side of the door. There was no one in sight, but screams of pain could be heard deeper inside. Wasting no time she undid the door and allowed the others inside.

They were in the back bay. The floor was open and quite likely they could be seen by whoever was inside had several crates not been stacked high so as to form an artificial wall. It was a good thing as Blake hadn’t checked her surroundings before dropping in.

“Do we have a plan?” Blake asked to anyone who could hear her. A simple charge ahead could catch whoever was inside by surprise, but depending on how many and if they were armed, which they most likely were, there was a high chance that such a plan would end with them being shot, and Blake wasn’t immune to bullets. No one was for that matter.



Miranda “Network” Tallow
the Bunker, SoDo, Seattle, WA

---

...

Miranda glanced up from her cell phone as the man went through some kind of fit. Maybe he was expiring? Not much she could do if he was. Then, rather comically, Lucio bolted upright with his fists raised to fight, as if he expected someone other than the fragile looking girl sitting in the corner of the room. After a moment he managed to take stock of the situation and lowered his guard. “Where am I?” he asked more to himself than to her before rambling on about his head and hammers.

“Was it?” Miranda asked rather dully in regards to the hammers. “And no, no one followed you here. I would know.” She checked the security cameras again just to be sure, though to Lucio it would look as if she had done nothing but blink a few times.

The cameras were clear.

As for the other question, Miranda quickly pulled up the news reports trickling in on her phone, showing them to Lucio before realizing that she was too far away and moving closer. An explosion had very nearly leveled the entire apartment block. The police weren’t saying much else but had confirmed that at least five bodies had been found and many more were being taken to the nearest hospital for injuries ranging from mild to basically dead.

“I take it this is your doing? And I’ll be needing a new shirt.” Hers was covered in splotches of blood.

The tall man started to growl even more as he started to place down his weapons. As he placed his weapons down he thought to himself," I should look for a way to disarm her." He then turned around when he saw a second person show up with an AK and point it at him.The tall man then said to Maria with a hint of anger in his voice," Listen lady, I used to be a SWAT officer, I have been outnumbered before. Theses thugs are nothing compared to what i have faced."

[Glaswegistan]

“Boss gave us an order. We need to move.” Sarah paced, just barely into the cops view “The Boss can take care of Hardboiled here. Sha-”

Her eyes darted to the cop and back. “The others ought to be making a move about now; we need all hands on deck. Are you coming?”

The Policeman began posturing. His words, Sarah thought, were bold for someone laying down his gun, but then it had been a strange couple of days. A little counter-posturing might not be a bad idea.

Looking directly at him, Sarah flickered, deliberately making a series of pinpoint jumps only an inch or two apart from where she stood. It was a trick she had practiced in front of her camera at home. Sarah thought it looked cool, maybe a little menacing, like television static in person.

“I’ll see you up there.” She said, before jumping away and radioing Shaden, asking for a sitrep.

[Vacif]

Lin Kai Soe
303 River Street

Lin Kai had his back pressed against a large green cargo container as he watched the brutal interrogation being executed by the Syndicate. His eyes slimming to near slits as he watched silently from the shadows. He knew Klein wasn’t a saint by any standard, but the Syndicate was really rubbing him the wrong way. It vaguely reminded him of the past, the running, hiding, it made him wonder. Just how long could he keep it up? How much longer did he have until the chase started again? Until he was in the chair? He would keep running for as long as he could, but something inside of him knew that deep down, he would break. He would stop running eventually. For better or for worse. A pair of footsteps echoed out of nowhere from the other side of the container, bringing Lin Kai out of his brooding. He turned the direction of the foot steps, his jaw clenched, and eyebrows scrunched together as he waited for the source to pass. The steps got louder, they were heavy, each step resonating through the chamber, almost lost to the screams of Klein.

The man advanced at a brisk pace, it was mere seconds before he was basically beside Shayden. Shayden silently swallowed as he waited for him to pass. The human eye was attracted to movement, and Shayden was still as a statue, hidden in the shadows of the green cargo container. He was confident that the man would walk right past him, but a pit was quickly growing within him. An increasingly unpleasant feeling of dread grew within as every second ticked by. He was almost clear when his radio sparked to life, ”Shayden, give me a sitrep.” and that was when his heart sank, and his blood ran cold. His eyes widened as he activated his bullet time.

The world slowed to a crawl as the adrenaline surged through his body. Dust particles froze in the air, the yells slowing to a snail’s pace. The enforcer, or at least man who was walking by him seemed to be moving at an incredibly hindered pace, as if he was moving through incredibly thick gelatin. His face was still transitioning from confusion, to shock as he realized there was a helmeted man standing beside him who didn’t belong inside the building. Baton already in hand, he swung the metal rod. The blow connecting with the man’s throat, he could see the skin ripple, and the flesh contort as it absorbed the force of the blow. Exiting bullet time, the world quickly went back to normal. The man collapsed to his knees, clutching his throat as he was dragged behind the green cargo container. The man attempted to struggle, but his trachea had been crushed in the blow, cutting off his air supply. He reached out in desperation, but it was a wasted effort. He’d like to say he quickly, and quietly keeled over, but the truth was that suffocating to death was not a quick, or pleasant process. A deep frown formed onto his face, but he didn’t have time to feel bad for the man. His struggle did not go unnoticed.

For the first moment since he’d entered the room, Klein had stopped screaming, and the Enforcers stopped beating him. He could hear just faintly the sound of guns being withdrawn from their holster, safeties being clicked off. He heard no words, instead, additional footsteps approached. One pair for each side of the container. Lin Kai pushed over the still choking man, and used him as a stool. Pushing off of his back, he silently jumped up onto the top of the cargo container. The upper part of the container was bathed in shade, making him very obscure. The container was loaded as well, making his life just a little easier as sound didn’t travel nearly as far because of it. Lin Kai lay on the top of the cargo container, and waited for the foot steps to get closer. He could practically hear the air swoosh as the thugs turned the corner, and could practically feel their confusion as they only saw a now likely dead man on the ground. Naturally they approached the body, as it was the only thing there. Both men scanned the area in confusion as they checked the body. He could hear their alarm when they found their friend unresponsive, and attempted to resuscitate him. Lin Kai closed his eyes as he took a deep breath.

Shayden rolled over the edge, when he opened his eyes, the world was in slow motion. He looked down, and saw his first target. The man standing guard over the body as his fellow Enforcer tried to bring life back to their deceased friend. He bent his knees as he slowly exhaled. The surprise weight of the 167 lbs man brought his target to his knees as Shayden landed on his shoulder blades. As he slowly collapsed, Shayden was preparing to unleash his second attack. His baton sailed through the air slowly, connecting with the parietal bone of the second man as the first man collided with the ground. By the time Shayden finished exhaling, the second man was reeling from the first hit, and was about to be hit by a follow up blow by Shayden. He watched in slow motion as the second man’s face contorted in further pain as the baton connected with his right cheek bone, slowly sending him sprawling. Just then, he could feel the first man, who he was standing on trying to get up, deftly, he spun off of him as he rose. The first man, who was more than a bit pissed rose only to be kicked down once again. Shayden shut down his bullet time, not wanting to worsen tomorrow’s migraine, and not wanting to expend the energy on this single fight. As the first enforcer recoiled, Shayden delivered a powerful sidekick into his face, sending him back first into the green metal container. Not stopping there, he attempted to roundhouse kick the man, bringing his body down, as his leg went up, but surprisingly in the man’s daze, he blocked the blow with his left forearm. Shayden quickly brought his leg back down as the enforcer rose to his feet, standing slightly taller than Shayden. Shaking off the daze that Shayden inflicted, he threw punch with his right hand. Shayden in turn extended his left arm, and pushed the punch away, and closed the distance, bringing his metal baton into the Enforcer’s gut with his right hand. He grunted, and grit his teeth as he tried to throw another punch, but Shayden brought down the baton on the man’s lower leg, causing him to kneel, allowing Shayden to grasp the back of his head, and knee him in the face. Just then, his senses screamed at him to move. Lin Kai threw himself to the ground, but he was too slow. A piercing pain tore through his left arm he hit the ground. He’d taken too much time with the first man.

As Lin Kai picked himself up from the ground, he reactivated his bullet time. He’d deal with the horrible migraine tomorrow when it was a problem, because a migraine was considerably more preferable than death. As it came into effect, he could hear the very sound of the gun report slow down to a crawl. He could see a trail of bullets slowly arching towards him. Lin Kai chucked the telescopic baton at the gunman, and quickly started to run towards him. He deftly avoided the bullets that were crawling through the air, and the follow up bullets. The shock on the man’s face was evident as the baton collided with him, and and he was kicked across the face by Shayden. The gunman’s arm flew upwards, the pistol slowly sailing out of his hands. Shayden stepped onto the gunman as he clasped his own hands onto the gun. Not wanting make the same mistake twice, Shayden turned around, and fired three rounds into the first enforcer’s chest. Shayden deactivated his power, not wanting to waste his energy watching a man crumple to the floor dead in slow motion. His face was pale already, shocked at what had just transpired. The body soon joined the face as he went into shock, his body going rigid, and his skin growing paled by the second. Shayden looked down at the man he was stepping on, his face was badly bruised, and he was knocked out cold. Shayden debated internally whether or not to execute him, but before he could make his decision, he heard more footsteps, rapidly advancing.

Lin Kai jogged over to the green container, and peered over the side, where he was quickly greeted by a hail of bullets from what sounded like a TEC-9. Grimacing, he tried to steal another peak over the edge, he was greeted by more bullets. Out of the briefest of glimpses he got, he could see an additional two thugs making their way to the adjacent end of his container. He let out a heavy sigh as he pondered what he could possibly do next. Sure he could use his bullet time to buy more time to create a plan, but overuse would lead to his death, and he really did not want that. So he stood there, back against the container as the enforcers got close. He needed an opening. Something to distract them. Or…. a shield, and he had three.

Shayden strode over to one of the bodies, and hoisted it up. He grit his teeth as his left arm burned, but he’d have to deal with it later. Taking in a deep breath, the world started to slow as he turned the corner. Human shield in hand, the sight of one of their men made the enemy pause, which was all he needed. He could see them starting to raise their guns again, but they were just too slow. Shayden winced as his arm shot up, and he fired. The first man jerked backwards as the bullet entered his skull, while the second, third, and fourth started firing on Shayden. The bullets arced towards him, and impacted his shield, Shayden continued to move forward, shield in his left hand, and Glock in his right. Firing as he moved, he could see them run for cover as he returned fire. He managed to down the second thug before he ran out of ammo. He’d arrived at the first thug he’d shot, and dropped his glock, and shield. No longer able to carry the heavy man, and switching it out for the TEC-9. The last two gunmen turned out of their cover, and traded fire with Lin Kai, who was now in the open with no cover. Bullets pinged off of various objects behind him, and it helped that he could see the bullets before they got to him. TEC-9’s didn’t have fantastic range, or accuracy afterall. Deactivating his bullet time, he strode forwards, spraying the general area where the last two thugs were each. It struck him as odd though when they weren’t returning fire. He quickly stole a glance behind him, and found out why. Klein, and the doctor who’d been tending to him were behind him. He smirked at the thought that they were watching their aim, but didn’t get to enjoy it as his instincts screamed at him to dive, and all too late. He collapsed onto the floor as bullets ripped into his legs, and side as he collapsed onto the ground. The last two thugs got out of their covers, and prepared to finish off Shayden when the service door flew open. He didn’t see who, or what had opened the door, but he didn’t care. They were distracted, and that was all he needed. Shayden, while on the floor unloaded the rest of his magazine into the third thug that he’d saw earlier, and deftly grabbed his Glock that he’d taken from the night before before the fourth, and final thug could respond properly, and fired several rounds into his chest, and head. Both men noisily fell to the ground dead, while Lin Kai laid there panting heavily. He grimaced as he forced himself into an upright position to face Klein, who had an odd smirk to go with his bloodied, and beaten appearance.

“Hate to burst your bubble hero, but you missed one.”

[Altito Asmoro]

“Boss gave us an order. We need to move.” Sarah paced, just barely into the cops view “The Boss can take care of Hardboiled here. Sha-”

Her eyes darted to the cop and back. “The others ought to be making a move about now; we need all hands on deck. Are you coming?”

The Policeman began posturing. His words, Sarah thought, were bold for someone laying down his gun, but then it had been a strange couple of days. A little counter-posturing might not be a bad idea.

Looking directly at him, Sarah flickered, deliberately making a series of pinpoint jumps only an inch or two apart from where she stood. It was a trick she had practiced in front of her camera at home. Sarah thought it looked cool, maybe a little menacing, like television static in person.

“I’ll see you up there.” She said, before jumping away and radioing Shaden, asking for a sitrep.

Leonid Chernikov

Leonid sighed to himself, as he nodded to Sarah's order. Well, to be fair perhaps she is the right one here. He followed her right away but she jumped too quickly. With his assault rifle intact as a weapon, it will be an easier job to dispatch the ones inside.

"Fine, fine Sarah. Alright, I'll jump too," as he made his way to followed Sarah.

[Beiarusia]

HOA “BLAKE” NZUYEN
the Home of Robert Klein, Ames Lake, Seattle, WA

---

“You missed one.” Klein’s pain stricken words hung in the air for only a brief moment before the others could realize that he was not referring to Howell. Another man had taken cover during the shootout, and now he made himself known with a powerful swing of his aluminium baseball bat straight into the back of Lin Kai. The blow was a hard one that the Variant did not see coming. Sprawling, Lin Kai was quickly incapacitated and left to the mercy of Hansen, Howell’s trusted rapid dog, who now raised his bat high up for the kill. One swing to the skull would be all that it would take to end a life.

But the final blow never came, or more accurately it was thrown off target by the sudden intervention of Blake who, without thinking, had run out and had pushed Hansen with all her weight, which admittedly wasn’t much. The enforcer stood and looked to Blake with angry, psychotic eyes that caused the woman to freeze where she was, only now realizing that she hadn’t thought her plan through completely. With little warning he threw the bat over his shoulder and swung for her head. On instinct Blake increased her density to as high as was possible for her. The bat connected with the side of her head but she had since become an immovable object. A loud crack rung out from the hit, the metal bending from the force of the blow. It was Hansen’s turn to look dumbfounded as he raised his ruined baseball bat, the formerly straight line having bent almost ninety degrees in the thickest part. Blake, for her part, had not escaped entirely unscathed. Though the increased density made her near impervious to blunt force trauma she could still feel pain and could even be knocked unconscious with enough force. Her eyes were blank and unfocused and it was clear that the only reason she was still standing was because her body had locked up with the density change. A few moments later and her body released itself back to its normal state and finally she collapsed like a log, out cold.

The other heroes were making their move now, and though Hansen stepped back Howell was already with a plan. He had his handgun drawn and raised it towards Klein, and as expected the intruders stopped where they were. Howell, Hansen, and the doctor stood on one side of Klein with everyone else on the other.

“You’re not human,” Howell said more so to himself than to the others. It was quite clear, what with one man taking out most of his enforcers and Blake surviving with her brain still inside her skull. Quite the problem now. Outnumbered and outgunned (probably) but Howell still had one card left up his sleeve. A bargaining chip. “So what did the bastard offer you? Money? You already gone and pissed me off, but having seen me a good show has left me in a good mood, so let’s not kill each other just yet.” Howell adjusted his aim for Klein’s head. “After all, he’s the one you’re here for, right?”

It was a standoff with Klein’s life being on the line. As Lin Kai had shown the Variants were more than a match for the two Syndicate enforcers, but any sudden movements now and Klein would be killed, making this all for naught.

Footsteps. Howell glanced over to see a painted woman, Bloody Mary, coming in through a side door, a look of disbelief and anger on her face, and while she was ready to throttle the nearest person she paused in her tracks the moment she saw the current predicament. “What the fuck is going on,” she growled, looking first to Howell, then Klein, and finally the others. She had left the armored officer the moment she had heard gunshots, not having the time for his special brand of idiocy.

“We’re having a nice chat,” Howell deadpanned. “I’m expecting a call soon, and if I don’t answer then I’ll be the least of your worries. I answer and I don’t like what I see, well, same situation.”

Hansen was doing his best to look intimidating with his busted bat, and somehow accomplished just that.

Just when the day couldn’t get much worse it did.

“It’s like some cowboy standoff,” came a young sounding voice from the catwalks above where a second floor could be found. Glancing up two forms could be seen, both likely having just entered through the window behind them that led to the building’s roof. The taller of the two was a young teen with short, blond hair and a feisty look in her eyes. The other was younger still and looked pensive. Both wore hoodies with the hood up.

Two of the three Variants working for Ambrose: 18 and 44.

Bloody Mary seemed even more upset with this turn of events but Howell was unimpressed. He was already outnumbered and, as it were, he held the biggest hand what with Klein being at his mercy. Still, what was a good day had quickly gone bad with this stunt.

Howell took charge before he could lose his tenuous grasp on the situation. “Alright. Enough fooling around or else Klein loses his head.” He looked to the would-be heroes, somewhat more irritated than he had been before. “I don’t know what you expected but y’all aren’t walking away from this if you do anything stupid. I’m not the big boss man but I can’t tell you exactly what’s gonna happen if you don’t turn around and leave right now. And trust me, what we did to Klein will look like paradise once the Syndicate gets ahold of you.”

“Big talk for a thug,” 18 said with a shrug. “But we’re not leaving without our friend here.”

“Then I guess you aren’t leaving.”

“Wrong.” Before anyone could make a move the blond teen had swung herself over the railing and down to the warehouse floor, landing as if she had fallen no more than a few feet. Howell didn’t even had time to understand what was happening when she raised her hand, fingers splayed, and within the blink of an eye the head enforcer of the Syndicate had been skewered. 18’s fingers had extended into vine-like appendages, piercing the man’s arm and shoulder. The gun hadn’t even hit the ground before the girl’s hand had returned to normal, the artificial vines seeming to disintegrate after snapping from where her fingers should end. “We’re in a rush so we’ll be going now.”

It was Bloody Mary’s turn to act. She raised the gun and managed one shot – which missed – before she too was hit by the Variant’s vines, though unlike Howell (grimacing in pain on the ground) she was ensnared and tossed with some force into a nearby container. The vines then encircled Klein, chair and all, and pulled him along as 18 generated more from her other arm to push herself up and towards the catwalk where 44 was waiting.

In all this entire scene took maybe 10 seconds.

“You’re showing off,” the younger 44 said to the other as Klein was freed from his restraints.

18 grinned mischievously.

Klein offered one last glance to his captures. “I take it my brother-”

“I don’t want to hear it,” 18 interrupted. “It’s your fault that we had to come here anyway, what with pissing off some crime family. For someone so smart you really are stupid.”

Klein didn’t had much to say to that and the three were soon gone through the window.

Bloody Mary was pushing herself up from where she had landed – Howell had likewise been dragged to safety by Hansen. Looking to the others she yelled for them all to get after Klein. It would be a few moments before she was up and running, by which point they would be gone if no one did anything. It was there time to play the part of heroes.