[Take The Initiative]

[AxelYoYo]

As she pushed past people and screaming onlookers, Chris finally reached the doors, pushing them open and in the process, hitting several people as well as a person carrying someone else's luggage. "Hey, watch it kid!" a man in a suit shouted, wiping off some yellow substance off his shirt which Chris registered as mustard. She narrowed her eyes coldly at him and the redness in his face dissapated.

She wouldn't hurt him, since too much attention had been brought upon her already. Chris merely took a harsh left contuining down the sidewalk. It was so hot! She was panting as she fumbled with a couple buttons on her shirt. Small beads of salty sweat trickled down her neck, sticking to her stiff collar, forcing it against her neck.

Chris glanced back and wasn't surprised to see several security guards after her. At least they weren't CEADS or anything. These losers would be easy to outrun.

She skidded to a stop in front of a bus-station, panting gently as a small hand glided up to her waist. She glared at the incoming guards, who had their weapons weilded. One of them, a slim woman with rather large breasts and curly red hair, had a gun pointed at her. No doubt she would shoot it, regardless of weather the young Negative would follow. "Come here now! Do not use your power! Come quickly, or we shall shoot," the woman's voice was loud and people listened, realized what kind of danger Chris was, and stepped away. Far away.

Behind the woman, the three other uniforms, held their guns up in front of their faces, ready to shoot at the woman's command. They did not know exactly who they were messing with. Did they think that little feat inside was some kind of silly little trick?! Chris tightened her grip on her hip, leaning backwards a little.

"I repeat, come here now, little girl, or we will shoot you down!" to prove this, she aimed her gun and shot it, the bullet landed an inch away from Chris's neck. A little too close. Chris took a deep breath, exhaling and closing her eyes at the same time. This woman was going to be her first victim, her voice was growing quite tiresome.

"Little girl! Are you li--"

"Sever," she said loudly, removing her hand to stand tall. The security guard raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Christina, or "Sever" as her beloved nickname, whipped back her hair and removed it from its bands. It now flowed free in the light summer wind as it tangled in her messy locks. A true, killer look was in her eyes as she raised her head up. "Sever!"

With that one name said, she let go of her power, allowing it to slice through the guards with barely any effort. The woman, she sliced her straight across the chest and Chris smiled at the shocked O on the woman's red lips. Behind her, the men gave a scream of pain and agony. Music to Chris's ears. Crimson spots were scattered across the floor. The girl came up to the woman, who was grasping her sliced chest as it heaved weakly. "You...you...monster...."

"I say it again!" Chris raised her foot back slowly, that demented smile growing wider. "Sever!" And she kicked the woman hard, allowing no remorse in the tip of her Chucks.

 

[ThePromise]

"If you're done discussing how a CEAD's body works Shiori, I'll need to borrow Pepper for just a moment." Calipher always had a very strange ability to just enter a place unnoticed if he chose, and ironic as it was, Ichigo could manage to do the same thing as well. Shiori couldn't even pick up on it quick enough, but she was probably aware a moment before the two were just behind Pepper. They seemed to have heard everything. Stepping around Pepper, he raised a hand to Shiori, knowing exactly what she intended but needed her to wait a moment first. "I've got an assignment for you and Arios, if you happen to know where he is, would you mind retrieving him for me? It's important and I need to deploy you both as soon as possible."

...

"..Okay Shiori, go ahead."

 

[King Wolfe]

Shiori happily complied. She took one final, and rather big, bite of her newest meal - a chicken wing - and gave Calipher a clever smile. With a huge leap she jumped forward and fell comfortably into Calipher's arm in a great big hug. "What's up teach?" Shiori asked as her face was cutely buried in Calipher's chest. She did this to mostly annoy Ichigo and to mostly get the comfortable feeling of a hug in.

It was standard procedure, Shiori would normally do this about four times a day. Five if she were in a particularly good mood. If you asked her if she liked Calipher like that she would give you a big smile and say, "Of course you stupid idiot!" And laugh right in your face. But if you asked her what she thought of Calipher she would casually respond in such an indifferent manner it is nerve-wrecking, "He seems like a scary person ne?"

Her true feelings for Calipher have never surfaced and they probably never would. She finds things like that frivolous and unnecessary.

"If you're looking for that cry-baby Arios he is right over there." She dead-panned and pointed about five feet away from them. "I think he is going through some emotional stuff right now because he seems more sensitive than the usual bitchy CEAD."

 

[Orion]

Light in the dark.
Heat amongst the cold.
Noise where there was silence.

BANG

The plasterboard door buckled from the force of the impact, cut in half from the combination of explosive heat and searing shrapnel. Tiny splinters flared out along the line where the door broke in half, before they were caught by a convection current - warm air flowing to cold. Not that it was strictly warm, only by comparison.

Aiden's breath left his lips as a visible fog, his feet crunching over the cheap, tiled floor as his thick-soled boots pushed off from the fine layer of frost that clung to all surfaces. He didn't feel the biting cold that would bring about frostbite in minutes to anyone else exposed to it. His movements were flawless and smooth as he moved without a shiver out of the cold, intriguing shotgun held at the read, barrel still smoking.

As he crossed the threshold from corridor to apartment, the spent shell fell to the ground, tracing a web of fine cracks in the frost layer from the point of impact. The residual heat from it melted the web before it had existed for five seconds, a small puddle that would slowly be consumed by the ice that encompassed it on every side.

Not that Aiden would remain in the building long enough for that to happen. A steady sweep from bottom floor to top, through every west- and north-facing room had brought him to the tenth floor, two from the uppermost level. For the last half hour, he assured the emptiness of the building, due to be demolished by week's end - an ideal place to hide or hide the evidence of a violent act, all to be buried.

Progress was relatively slow, the building being so old it didn't have a trace of polycrete anywhere in its structure, and thus not worth being 'recycled' like any modern building could. Aiden's movements had to rely on old-fashioned and attention-grabbing door-smashing, whereas any ventures through a modern piece of architecture would just be a matter of melting a path through a wall.

Aiden pivoted on his feet as he inched into the room, holding the barrel of his shotgun on an open doorway. When another one came into sight to his right, he switched the shotgun to his right hand and pulled from the hip his hybrid sidearm. Both entrances covered with potential gunfire, he shifted towards the left, crouching and peering around the doorway at a low level - where any hidden shooter would not expect an assailant's head to be found.

Not a sound left or entered that small, dilapidated room and seconds passed and Aiden confirmed its emptiness. Both guns now concentrated on the only other doorway, Aiden stepped quietly across to it, again moving in low, but with both guns at the ready. Empty again, Aiden strode to the window that overlooked the aged warehouse situated by the Hudson River - the rendezvous point for Minoru's Negatives, surrounded on three sides by medium-height apartments and buildings, with hundreds of windows facing it.

A hell of a place to call a meeting of such dangerous people - any sniper so inclined would be impossible to find while making a literal killing of those that had arrived. Aiden respected Minoru for his position and his power - and for what he needed to get out of the man with All Fiction - but at the same time thought him stupid for not explicitly having more people scout out these buildings, confirm the security of the warehouse before some of the most wanted people in the world showed up.

As Aiden turned and recalled how to approach the central stairwell - stairs! And only stairs! Not a sign of an elevator nor anything else - a change of the air set him on edge. A gentle flow of air from this room back into the stairwell, something mild and gentle and relatively meaningless, had it not been accompanied by a distant whistling. One of Aiden's traps on the lower floors had been triggered.

When being cooled, water will only turn to ice in a dynamic environment of appropriate air pressure at the related freezing point for said air pressure. Though the difference in air pressure between ten stories' altitude and ground level was slight, it still allowed for the super-cooling of water to result in a gas: The moisture in the air, rather than freezing and turning to liquid, maintained its state as a gas and remained as such until disturbed - until something moved through it - at which time the supercooled water would turn to ice, immediately enveloping human trespassers in a deadly layer of ice that would quickly bring about hypothermia or frostbite. Anything mechanical would have its joints frozen beyond the possibility of movement.

Which, of course, meant the building was far from empty. Aiden, acting as a soldier, decided the trespasser was hostile, and was running down the corridor - ice crunching under foot - before he had particularly decided what to do about him. He would wait and see, but Aiden was a good thinker on his feet.

 

[LongLiveLife]

The Hudson River was a sight and a wonder. Never before had Kalden seen so large a body of water, churning the riverbed beneath with invisible turbulence. Though the Kunlun Mountain range that formed the northeastern border of Tibet had streams that tumbled down its rocky slopes, they were but rivulets in comparison. Moving at an average speed of four knots, the uncaring currents of the Hudson River had carried many casual, alcohol-intoxicated swimmers to the sea and to their deaths. There was a grave beauty in something so majestic and so cruel. Kalden closed his eyes, arms rested on a barrier at the edge of a pier, and bathed his senses in the aural and olfactory symphony of the riverside.

Beneath his feet tongues of water licked the concrete, falling back, only to be consumed by another wave that would go on to crash into pier. The gentle hum of engines emanated from somewhere in the distance—maritime transportation carrying busy people on busy waters. Kalden expected the familiar odor of petrol or gasoline to lace the air but found nothing: whatever fuel propelled these ships, it too evidently held the beauty of the river in high respect.

Modern New York was perfection in technological and ecological matrimony. Kalden wondered how much of it he would remember. Though he had not fully understood many of the terms in Doctor Xi’s prolix exposition of his disease, one thing had rung clear: Parkinson’s would take his memories, his capacity to think, and eventually his self. The tremors in his right hand stirred at the thought. He pushed away from the edge of the pier and pushed his hands into the pockets of his sweaters. The tremors on their own were bad enough; he did not need the constant vigil of passersby to remind him of it.

His right hand wrapped around the cold touch of gunmetal, smooth and solid against his shaking fingers. It had been a gift—or, more accurately, a loan—from Madam Chan, leader of triad gang 88K, restaurant owner, and childhood friend of Doctor Xi. Less than an hour earlier Kalden’s taxi had delivered him through the sharp corners of Chinatown, on roads with more pedestrians than air, around buildings painted red with gilt corners, to Jade Restaurant, 82 Canal Street, and into the dragon’s den. Few outside the triad who knew the Dragon Empress’ identity lived, but Madam Chan did not consider Kalden a threat: he had problems with the law of his own, and no illegal immigrant would risk deportation by walking within a hundred meter radius of a police station.



‘Anyway,’ she had added, wrapped in the opulence that was her silk cheongsam, her velvet chair, her crimson carpeted walls, ‘even if this fantasy of yours, of breaking into the headquarters of Luculent Science—the most valuable asset in the Western world, and guarded with measures twice as draconian—doesn’t get you killed; your memories will fade, one by one. I would titter myself silly if you remembered even one face you see today.’
Before she motioned for her suited assistants standing on either side to hand Kalden the gun, strip him of his luggage, and show him to a tiny room which may once have been a storage closet; she laid bare her terms (though in Kalden’s desperation, they may as well have been orders).

‘Since you’re already going on this suicide mission and you stand a chance at success, however minuscule it may be—all alive know of the fervor of the dying—you’re going to run me a personal errand. Seek whatever cure you need, but on your way out, obtain a sample of 005-MI-Z’s DNA. Doctor Xi may think me under his ruse, but I am well aware of the REv process and that he keeps unshared copies of the DNA from me yet.’

Kalden had simply stared blankly ahead.

‘What? You look unhappy.’ One bodyguard had begun to take a step forward but froze midstep at a wave of her hand. ‘Recognize that in aiding you and extending the hospitality of the Dragon Empress I am only returning Xi a favor; you I owe nothing.’ She paused to sip her liquor. ‘Be gone.’



She’s right, Kalden thought; I was deluded by an idiot’s idyll. Breaking into Luculent Science and expecting to come out of it alive? There’s not even the promise of a cure to warrant it! His tremoring fingers were inching closer and closer to the trigger. Maybe… Maybe flying back to Orma and letting illness run its course and being surrounded by family and friends… Maybe that’s better. Even if I forget everything, they won’t. But if I die here…

A sudden explosion from the right shattered the silence.

Kalden was suddenly sharply aware of the desolateness of the road. The only person here was him. How long had he been walking? How long had the road been empty? Had it been as deserted when he arrived? Had the disease progressed so far that he was losing awareness of what was right in front of him? His stomach lurched, but he forced composure.

Through the tremors he wrapped his hand around the gun’s grip and pulled it out of his pocket. Hovering in front of his face the weapon wobbled as he moved closer to the large building from which the sound came. It was rundown, and the paint had peeled from its stark concrete surface. He passed through iron gates. They might once have been locked, but whatever locking mechanism they had had been completely and utterly destroyed by a gun much larger and more powerful than his. The ground between the gate and the building was equally destitute: not a blade of grass in sight and covered with dust that puffed angry orange mushrooms at each step.

Kalden reached the first entrance he saw and found the door was locked. Whatever was inside the building evidently had not used this entrance. Too hesitant to find the one that was open and risk being sighted, Kalden took aim at the handle with both hands. Time to get familiar with the Excelsior, I suppose. He pulled the trigger.

The resulting pressure wave of the bullet’s ejection from the barrel, faster than the speed of sound, assaulted Kalden’s ears, temporarily deafening him. Again and again he fired, until the door handle disintegrated. The final bullet succeeded in penetrating the door entirely, sending flakes of wood and iron flying through the airspace immediately behind it. Although Kalden was deaf to it, the distinctive crack of rapidly forming ice suddenly expanding was sharp behind the door and no doubt to anyone inside the building. All around him was a high-pitched whine that leeched away the sounds he had heard earlier, the sounds of the river.

Kalden pushed open the door, surprised by the amount of effort it required, and soon identified its cause: a thin layer of frost on the floor. Unknown to him, the turbulence had roused the supercooled humidity that laid in wait behind the door, ready to encase any unwanted trespasser in shackles of ice, and all at once it had crystallized. No more than a meter ahead, stuck to the ground, was a frosted bullet—from his gun—that became too heavy and accumulated too much air resistance to stay in flight. Kalden was too enthralled by the ice carpet to notice.

He also did not notice the loudening pitter-patter of footfall from the central stairway, ten floors above, coming toward him with every passing second.

 

[Mistearea]

The sudden appearance of Calipher was almost as shocking as the reaction that Shiori had when she noticed him. Sure it's a common sight to behold to some, but it never gets old watching someone like Shiori pretty much tackle a guy like Calipher. It was almost enough to make him forget his frustration towards the small girl, but then she says that he's a crybaby and is being a lot more bitchy than normal. He sighs at the comment and tries to keep his anger in check. He fails at that royally. "I am NOT being bitchy about that! You just happen to be one of the few people that get under my skin. I mean, what's the point of asking if a CEAD can reproduce? If you want to know if we can, look into the files of other CEADs. You'll find that a good number of us still maintain that ability."

He sighs as he finally lets out all of his frustration before finally looking at Calipher. He tries to guess what it is that they are being asked to do, but nothing seems to give it away. At a time like this, Arios decides to just take a shot in the dark. "Are we going after one of the 'special' targets, or is it just another person that got onto the bad side of Section III? If it's the former, just tell me the name and where to go. I'll try to bring it back alive if you want me to." He leans against one of the walls only to notice several stares from the other people in the room. At this point he looks to them an barks an order for them to mind their own business and do what they came to do. He knows that there's always the good chance that one of them outranks him, but he honestly doesn't care at the moment.

 

[Piercing Light]

Pepper never did get an answer to her lingering question, Shiori's complete attention was drawn towards Calipher as he popped up the room. She was able to tell the instant he was in the room, however how he got in was an enigma. Pepper often wondered what Calipher and Shiori were trying to do by constantly making such a dynamic entry, maybe they found it amusing, surly they were not just 'showing off.'

Pepper greeted her boss with a simple salute, and then listened to what he had to say. She was to be sent on an assignment with Arios. "Yes sir, what are the details of this assignment, am I right in assuming it has to do with Minoru?" She wasn't questioning his orders, however she was curious about their target. Out of all the people she's encountered or heard about since her accident, he was the one she found the most 'illogical.' She wanted to know what it took to cause someone to become as twisted as him.

 

[ThePromise]

"It was more entertaining to ask you than check some files Arios ..I suggest you get over it, since you're only proving her point." Calipher would casually pat Shiori's back as he addressed Arios, who was taking the actions of a fourteen year old a little too seriously than most. She could've found out by other means but opted to ask a CEAD to know personally, and that wasn't wrong. "If the idea of your genitals being missing is that much of an insult, we can make sure you don't worry about them anymore. I need you to keep a cool head.." he didn't ask too much, but with his hostility towards Shiori and others in the social center, he'd need to send Pepper alone. If his testicles were going to affect his emotions so much, well, there was as simple procedure they could make to end that for good. Calipher kept it a suggestion though, as threatening to remove someone's own genitals was beyond him.

Pepper was already on the ball in assuming without any given hint that it was about Minoru, which irked him but for what reasons he couldn't properly describe. Looking back towards Pepbot, he would give her a small nod of the head. "You're close. I've released agents to track several Negatives we have on file, and they've located a target I thought suitable for a CEAD or two to deal with. A fourteen year old girl who has taken sudden enjoyment in killing anyone she comes across, I'd want her alive but due to her crimes, I'll permit you to break a leg or two ..kill her if your patience runs out." Despite not even being from this realm, Calipher hated senseless murder, and that teenage girl had no excuse. If it was a cry for attention, she was about to get one.

"Christina Folkson, otherwise known as "Sever" ..she stands at about 5'5 ...one moment." Rather than stand around explaining her features, he would pull out his mobile device and open it up, running his fingers along the pad, entering a password and scrolling down a very long list before ending up at the one in question. A hologram projecting Sever was displayed before them, and below that the last known measurements they had of her, down to shoe size. And then, a description of her known abilities. "I chose you two because I had hoped you'd be a little more machine than human for this assignment, and as cruel as it sounds, it would be necessary so you two don't turn on each other. Sending two is a gamble, but I wanted her in custody, or taken out immediately for the safety of others."

An alert made Calipher withdraw the profile and place the mobile device back into his pocket, withdrawing out the thin communication device instead and unfolded it, listening to a very silent message given to him by the one currently leading that small team of ghosts.

"..." Folding it shut, he pocketed it again and withdrew the mobile device once more, projecting precise directions from Section III to Sever's location. His eyes were shut, clearly not liking what he had just heard.

"She's just killed a few men that tried to apprehend her, and is kicking a woman while she's down. At this point I don't want you to talk her down, either of you. I want you to hit her hard, and fast, and don't let her have a moment to even breath. If you bring her here alive, I want her half-dead by the time she gets in here. If you kill her, it just leaves less of a mess, but I want a body if you do that. Do not show any mercy for this killer. If that's understood, I want you to head to this location and take care of her. Don't fail." giving them a further chance to memorize the location, Calipher would shut it and look to Shiori who was still under his arm. "Let's go see Sasha, shall we?" Giving her shoulder a light squeeze, he moved for the exit, knowing Ichigo was to follow with him, as well as Shiori.

"Oh and Arios ..if this mission were to be a critical failure, we'll remove your genitals." He didn't even stop to look him in the eye. This mission would be a lot more important to him now.

 

[King Wolfe]

Ichigo chuckled as they stepped outside and continued to walk down the hallways. Shiori looked over curiously and gave her a wicked smile.

"What's so funny Princess?" Despite the easy-going question her tone was dark and baleful, as if Princess was the worst insult she could think of, or rather say, to Ichigo.

Ichigo looked over at Shiori with a small smile. Shiori liked to be intimidating but she was like a predator, if she smelled fear she would hop all over that and exploit that fear. But it was fine, Ichigo wasn't afraid of this child, she was a little unnerved though. Ichigo often did wonder why Shiori hated her so much.

"I was just thinking about those CEADs, you know for genetically engineered supersoldiers they are awfully sensitive." She explained humorlessly.

"Well, you know, apparently it is really hard taking the emotions out of someon-"

"But," Ichigo interrupted rather rudely, "I was just thinking how pathetic you must be to try to exploit that sensitivity." That little quip, while seemingly severe, wasn't as bad as it sounded. The two often traded little blows like this but, to Ichigo's knowledge, it was all in jest. And besides, Shiori isn't the type to blow up so fast over a few words.

Shiori grinned wickedly and with an evil glint she bared her teeth playfully. "Harsh words Princess, but it is expected from a masochistic freak like you. What is it that you always say? 'Misery creates fortune'? I mean... Leaving home to devote a life of misfortune and even erasing your memories? I have to say. I am impressed, but if you think about it.. You're more of a negative in this world than Minoru-kun!"

 

[AxelYoYo]

She knew that the woman was already dead by the sixth hard kick. Yet Chris wanted to continue. She wanted to prove to the lowly humans around her that she could do anything she wanted. She had the power to kill them with a single bad feeling. Whatever she felt, she expressed through a clean slice or what she peferred, a messy one.

Chris took a small step back, taking in the mangled, bloody mess below her. Her Chucks were such a mess...too bad. Earlier she had saw a water fountain where it'd be easy to wash the shoes off. A samll scoff escaped her lips as she turned, wiping some blood off her hands. The black rubber bands went back into her tangled mass of hair as she walked down the sidewalk, heading towards said water fountain. No one dared get in her way, already witnessing what had happened.

And even if they didn't know...well, they would see sooner or later. There couldn't be any more killing today...Christina knew the outcome: CEAD would come after her. A sickening thought crossed her mind: What if they were to catch her?

The water fountain came into sight, located on the far side of the parking building. She placed her foot on the rim of the dingy gray sink, pressed the cool button, and let water clean the sticky blood off her shoe. A cool feeling touched her socks, sinking through to touch her toes.

What if they caught her? It hadn't happened before. Never had they gone for Christina herself. They had gone after others, even Minoru whom they were going after at the moment, yet that kind of chase had always stayed away from Christina until now. Maybe it was because she started killing in a public area? After all, her killing choices tended to be lame hustlers or random people who just pissed her off on the block.

After taking a couple more silent minutes to cleanse the top of her shoes, Christina took off, heading in a no where direction. Just anywhere but there.

 

[Piercing Light]

Pepper exited the Section III building in a hurry. She had left right as soon as Calipher finished giving his orders, she hardly cared for anything else that was said. Her target, the negative with the ability 'sever.' The young girl had never done something this drastic and just plain foolish before. Pepper couldn't help but wonder what caused the change in behavior. At the same time however she didn't want to dwell on it for too long. This girl, regardless of how old she was or her circumstances... She had to be stopped. How she got this way didn't matter. Pepper was sprinting down the streets at an impossible speed, People barely had time to snap photos or stare in awe.

Pepper wondered if Arios was close behind, he was capable of it for sure however she wasn't sure if he shared her tenacity for apprehending targets as soon as possible. It didn't really matter, she could most likely take the target down herself anyway. After four minutes she arrived at the scene of the crime, which was only five blocks away thankfully. It was a gruesome scene, particularly the beaten woman who appeared to have sustained multiple post-mortem blows. Clearly this was an act of blind rage. There was a trail of bloody foot prints heading away from the scene. "Might as well have posted signs..." Pepper ran off following the trial, it wasn't long before it stopped at a water fountain. Seems she had the common sense to wash off her bloody shoe, however she wouldn't get away that easily.

Pepper's eyes flashed, changing to give off a dark blue light. The trail showed it's self once again, in the form of trace blood and water reside. Pepper slowed her pace, following the trail until she spotted the target. The girl seemed a bit panicked, most likely she was a bit paranoid. The whole of her situation might have been setting in, the consequences of her actions. Well, here comes the karma train with Pepper as the head conductor. Charging electric engergy in her body it began to spark loudly, the sound may have tipped her target off, but by that time Pepper's right leg was already flying at her torso at seventy five MPH, the sound of lightning going off as moved.

 

[nightmarezeroX9]

Edward King sat atop the Section III building, casually relaxing and enjoying the nice cool air that was blessed upon the people that day. The breeze was nice, as well as the view, and up here he considered to be a place where he could just relax away all of his troubles. Whenever he came up here, oddly he would bring a lawn chair since sitting on the ground wasn't very appealing to him, and most of the time he would bring a cigar. Really a thing of is, most of the time smoking would ease him a lot, something that never really came to him naturally. Carrying a lawn chair up to the roof though would usually get him awkward looks, but it's not like he could be doing anything odd or socially inept, right?

Ed was slumped back into his chair, and despite it being made of a thin material, and not meant to be super comfortable, he was very well super comfortable. He felt the need to just take a long nap, but he knew well enough slacking off was not part of his job, and there was that chance he could get a stern talking to about 'slacking off when there is work to be done.' Quite frankly to him, he had finished anything that he had to do, and now there really wasn't much to do at all. Everybody else he talks to on a regular basis is either busy, or out in the field, and field didn't seem to be on his mental agenda today. Though knowing the people he works for, they'll probably end up sending him out today anyway. If he was to be sent out at all, he would rather get something quite simple and easy, like patrol. Though boring to most, Eddie didn't really mind it as much. Taking out a perfectly new and untouched, but already cut cigar, he placed the strawberry smelling log shaped item in between his lips, and pulled out a silver colored zippo lighter, and lit it up. Taking the first puff of smoke, he blew it out, but not before it left a strong, yet sweet taste of strawberry in his mouth. The simple things like this, he thought, are what people have to enjoy.

Continuing to smoke on his cigar, he further slumped back into the small lawn chair, listening to the loud crick it made. That was really the only annoying thing he could find about the chair, but other than that, it was quite reliable. As he slumped further and further into the small chair, he became closer to closing his eyes and dosing off for a nap. He fought it all he could, and was successful with it, and lazily sat there. From afar, it would look like he was asleep, or almost dead, but up close you could easily tell he was awake, though not completely. Taking the cigar from his mouth, he moved it over to his right, so it hover over the ground. He tapped it with his middle finger twice, watching the burned tobacco, now turned into grayish blackish ash, fall to the ground and break apart, scattering as it was then swept up by the gentle wind. He then proceeded to place the cigar back into his mouth, and took a few more puffs before letting it sit there for a while. Nothing to do.. Nothing at all.. The thought of that kept ringing in his head like a church bell, over and over until he let out a large sigh, Smoke flew out from in between his lips and right out from his nostrils, and almost immediately dispersed into nothing, not a trace if it ever being there. Tilting his head up, he then stared at the clouds, watching them slowly creep across the sky. Maybe I'll volunteer for patrol. That couldn't hurt too much, right?

 

[AxelYoYo]

She never even saw the woman's foot coming, not even being to prepare herself for the gruesome pain appearing so abruptly in her small torso. Chris flew back into a collumn that was located on the end of the parking lot. There was no chance of escaping now, since she was now caught.

But it didn't mean she was done. It was only over when they gave her a choice to die or give in: something Christina would fight for. Immeditely, the overwhelming pain resided like a wave. The girl stood, proud and tall. No way would this woman take her down. She'd over-power her. She would.
Or so she kept telling herself.

Silently, she took a step forwarded, cocking her head. "I kill ya easily. Don't try," she remarked teasingly, as well as a taunt. But for some reason, Chris felt the sharp pang of regret. Maybe she shouldn't have said that....

Oh, well. It was too late to turn back.

Chris let her eyes become half-lidded, never removing her eyes from the staring woman, who was very close and would attack at a moment's notice. Strong surges of bad memories flowed through her, giving her an angry strength. Her father...her father...that bastard would pay!

Snapping her eyes open, Chris focused on the woman;s own torso, inflicting a strong, clean slice.Afterwards, she jumped back, ready for anything.

 

[Piercing Light]

Pepper eyed the girl with a slightly confused glare. She had just taken a kick strong enough to move a tank, and yet here she was standing to her feet as if it wasn't such a big deal. She should have at least a few broken ribs and a massive headache from the electricity that ran through her. There was nothing in her file that suggested high endurance, but then again these were the genes of Minoru at work here. Christina focused her eyes on Pepper's torso, a strange behavior that she took note of. She felt a sharp pain across her torso, looking down she saw that there was a small gash there. A colorless liquid poured from the wound, an artificial creation known as 'white blood.' It quickly sealed the wound, and Pepper stared at the girl with a vacant stare.

"So this is the power of sever... How weak." She said with an empty tone. It seemed her power relied on direct eye contact, and a few moments to strike. Easily exploitable. Pepper shifted from right to left, and then dashed towards the side of Christina. With how fast she was moving keeping her eyes on her would prove almost impossible.

She was within striking distance, however instead of simply grabbing her Pepper let loose an arc of electric current into her body. Anyone with a normal body wouldn't even be able to control the blinks of their eyes from such an attack. Stopping the current she quickly followed up by sweeping at her legs with a strong kick from her right leg. If this set up was successful, she could potentially end this fight with a single blow. An attack that earned the nickname 'Thor's hammer' in the Section III offices. Raising both her hands Pepper cupped them together and swung them downward towards Christina. Sparks exploded violently as the attack made contact with a solid.

 

[ThePromise]

"....."Calipher remained silent but while leading the ladies on, was smiling at how they interacted with one another. The rivalry they shared wasn't violently hostile and it was mostly a matter of intellect and wit, with small quips at one another every now and then, but that was how Ichigo and Shiori worked. He never chose a side between them unless it was a subject that might've crept under his skin, but those moments were few to none. The best part about it was, they didn't take it personally and it caused him a lot less trouble. Now if he were a party girl, Sasha would be anywhere but her office, so if she happened to be gone, he'd just have to fall back on someone who could be called 'equally capable'.

Luck shining down upon him, Sasha was actually in her workspace and ..my god, actually doing work? There was hope for her yet. Tapping on her desk in the effort to catch her attention while the two behind him chose to bicker or remain silent, Calipher would smile at her, and not a 'howdy!' smile ..more like a 'all your plans just got canceled' smile.

"Sasha, I know actually sitting down and not flexing your body is difficult for you, so I'm hoping you'll find some time to go after a target I've picked out for you. Are you prepared or ..is there a nightclub with your name on it tonight?" As if handling her paycheck was bad enough, he could fire her if she even looked at him wrong. Luckily, he wasn't that sort of person, and could find value in almost anyone, even a party girl. Sasha wasn't useless ..she could deal damage.

 

[Mistearea]

One way or another, there is a high chance that Arios will get his balls cut off. In the end, he decides to go with the method that he gets paid to do and it would only be some unforseen accident. But sadly his partner for this mission is not very talkative, which suits him just fine at the moment as he tries to cool his head. It's when he sees the body of a woman that had obviously gotten onto the bad side of this little kid, but he'd be sure not to make that mistake. Granted the child wouldn't have a chance to make any actions. It's then that he notices Pepper following a trail of bloody footprints until they vanish as a water fountain. At first dismay at losing the target fills him, but then the mechanized woman next to him starts to follow an invisible path to a girl matching the hologram they were showed earlier.

For the moment Arios hangs back only to let Pepper get in a little fun before he moves in himself. This results in the girl taking a kick that would even hurt him and somehow remain standing. This makes the fight all the more interesting, almost as much as Pepper getting her top cut open, but a little too deep for his tastes. He listens as Pepper tears the power's mechanics apart with that computer of a brain of hers only to watch as the woman begins a second assault, this time with an attack that none of the other CEADs want to be a target of. Still, things were a little sad at this point seeing as how it looks like he won't get to fight the girl any. Arios mentally shrugs at this and moves at full speed to roughly ten feet behind the girl. There he charges the electricity in his fists and prepares himself for a strike, just in case the girl finds a way to jump out of the danger zone.

 

[King Sora X]

Sasha Barington
New York City; Section III HQ​

Boring ass paperwork was boring.

The only thought running through Sasha’s mind as she continued to actually do work. It had been a full hour since she had been doing it, and already she’s tired of this. As the forms came, the more bored she found herself. It had reached a point where Sasha would begin making paper airplanes to keep her occupied. She was just about to ditch the place until Calipher came along.

“What do you want?” Sasha asked without a care in the world. As she carelessly listened to Calipher’s words, she then had a short twitch going on around her left eye area. This was obviously caused by his comments about her ’wild’ lifestyle, but there wasn’t any need for him to pretty much call her a slut. Like, of course she likes to party, but no need to label her out loud.

After listening to what he had to say, Sasha knew that if going after some target meant getting out of the HQ for a while, and actually have some fun(not “fun”), then she was all for it. “Just tell me where to go, sweetcheeks!” Sasha said in a flirtatious tone with a sexy wink to follow.

 

[AxelYoYo]

"Ngh!" Christina grits her teeth together hard, almost to the point of cracking them, when electricity replaces all her senses and nerves, sending her over an unstable edge. A soundless shriek escapes her lips as she crumpled, painfully hot, to the asphalt. Her breath came in short puffs and gasps as she writhed on the ground like a dying fish, eyes wider then the sun.

Breathe...breathe..breathe! Her heart was pounding painfully so against her tiny chest as she clutched with a shuddering hand. This woman-whom she tossed a half glare at- was powerful. In some part of the Negative, she knew she had to give up, no use in pushing her body any farther. In the corner of her eye, she saw another figure jump behind her. The woman's partner. Of course she didn't come alone. At least they had the sense to send two people...they knew she was dangerous, but compared to her, she was just a small fry on the pan.

Yet that merciless, pain-loving part of her made her stumble to a crawl-position, gasping and gasping for more air to relieve her lungs. Get up...get up! If only her feet would move...if only she was just a bit more powerful...but no, it wouldn't work here. She fell back, eyes closing in silent defeat as she tumbled into dark unconciousness.

 

[Mistearea]

Arios sighs mentally as the girl fights to stand up only to fall to the ground. He lowers his fists and looks to Pepper before walking over to the new luggage. He kicks the limp body a few times just to see if the girl is really out only to get no reaction. He finally shrugs as he grabs the girl by the collar of her shirt and lifts her up to be eye level with him. He quickly examines the damage done to the body and notes how a few bones have got to be broken. He finally sets the girl on his shoulder and keeps the electricity charged in his fists, but to a lower degree so as to only stun her. He quickly motions for Pepper to leave and says, "I think our Chief called this one. There's no way in hell you didn't break a few ribs." With that he makes a run back to where the two of them originally were.

He knows that it's dangerous to transport someone as dangerous as the kid out in the public, but he figures that it's best to lose a few civilian lives than to lose a few Section III and Civilian lives along with an expensive transport truck. Of course, that's assuming the girl manages to get away from his fists set and ready to stun. But at least the run to the base isn't very long so that doesn't give the girl long regain her senses enough to wake up, realize where she's going, and find a way to escape the giant of metal and flesh.

It takes only a few short minutes of shocked gasps for him to arrive at the base with the girl still in tow. Personally he's happy because he gets to keep his balls. He makes a mental note to thank Pepper later, granted he's sure that she won't fully understand why he thanks her. He mentally shrugs at the thought and quickly takes the girl to one of the holding cells equiped to hold someone like this girl and tells the guard not to hesitate to shoot should she decide to act up. With that he begins his second hunt. The hunt for Calipher and Pepper. After-all, he needs the woman there to give the report. Protocol, what a bitch.

 

[Klom89]

He was wrong.

Zero-Nine had thought that he had sensed a Negative by the fountain. It was just a small toddler wading in the water.

"I'm probably overexcited." Zero-Nine thought to himself.

He was looking forward to the meeting for three reasons: To get his claw weapon back from repairs; To see who was a traitor and who wasn't, and finally to see what MI-Z had planned for the city. Soon the Humans would see who their real masters were.

Zero-Nine continued to look around as he sat on one of the wooden chairs parallel from the Fountain. He saw the children with their parents. Happy. Unaware of the secret war being waged. Unaware of people with powers and the soldiers hunting them down......And said soldiers' inevitable doom. A part of him longed for those old days with his parents; the times where the only superoowers one could find was in issues of Superman and Captain America. Where all he had to do every night was come home on time.

But he was still happy now, just doing his duties to MI-Z as his second-in-command, (well, that's how he saw himself, anyway) and getting revenge on Humanity. It was a sham. The people with their smiles.....They hid the evil in their Hearts.....Just like Maddox.......Besides, it deserved all the punishment it was getting. This was his life now. And he was perfectly content.

After another hour, Zero-Nine decided to head to the next rendevous point......A bus-station about two miles from here. He hoped the others weren't being idiots and drawing attention to themselves. Not only would the REVs get on their cases, but press blackout would only last so long.......And the absolutely LAST THING the Negatives needed was their faces plastered on newspapers, magazines and televisions eveywhere.

With that last thought on his mind making him nervous as all hell, Zero-Nine decided to run to the next point. He couldn't waste anymor time.