Living in Fear: Fallout (Superhuman RP) [Closed]

[Little Rose Leigh]

Leigh Denell:

Member of Hero.

I'm not your knight in shining armor. . .

This was bad, this was really bad! Salem was highly trained, been working for the TNT for YEARS which meant he never or barely got a chance to slack off in life where Leigh hadn't had any form of training her entire life! A person highly trained against a person who wings everything...This wasn't good. Even though Leigh managed to tackle Salem as she planned to do but when he finally spoke and told her to 'find Kaito' she was rather bewildered to hear him say something so...Weird, at least Leigh found it weird. As she was caught off guard by his sudden 'out burst' so to speak he managed to get the upper hand by not only keeping her occupied with thoughts but not he was getting up and...Leigh felt screwed! Salem not only took to the skies but he brought her with him and Leigh couldn't fly without copying another supers powers like Rion but he wasn't around for her to use his powers...FOR THE SECOND TIME. Grunting as she held onto him tightly she couldn't believe how high he was taking her...He knew she couldn't fly! She knew he was angry but he seriously wanted to kill her?! Now Leigh was sold on the idea that Salem was no longer himself at all..What had happened? No, that didn't matter right now..What mattered was her not falling to her death right now! Leigh had kept her eyes tightly shut, normally she didn't have much fear of heights but things were completely different now...If she fell she was seriously done for...The thought terrified her as much as it did seeing Salem the way he was now.

When he spoke his voice was far from his own, he wasn't kind, sweet, caring, or anything like he use to be...She was so thrown off from his sudden change in voice she nearly hadn't caught what he had said...Wait...Skydive? When she felt his hands try to remove her hands from him her emerald eyes shot wide...He wouldn't---No, he would! Leigh clung against him tightly as fear ran through her, "Salem! Please, don't do this! You aren't well!" No matter how hard or much she'd plead with him he wouldn't change..Salem had a greater upper hand in the situation, not only was Leigh trying to keep her grip on him but she also had to deal with his hands trying to get her to let go! Leigh's heart was racing against her chest, glancing down she nearly cringed at how high they were and if she was to fall...No, there would be no surviving that fall...Biting her lower lip she tried her best to remain calm but it's kind of hard when your own lover is trying to kill you! Leigh was starting to slip and lose her grip on him, he was really trying to get her to let go of him! The more she struggled to keep her grasp on Salem the more panic she became, "Stop it, Salem!" He didn't listen, she was his enemy and Salem knew over a thousand ways to deal with his enemy and this time he wanted her to fall to her death and leave a disgusting mess on the road below.

Try as she might Salem was clearly winning this battle now and she was closer and closer to losing it the more she was losing her grip on him, "Don't! Please! Salem! I'm going to fall!!" Salem had succeeded in removing her hands from around him and now having nothing to hold onto Leigh was now free falling to the ground. This was a horrid way for things to end, at least Leigh thought so...Not only was Salem not himself what about Kara? Or Lilly? Leigh was no where near ready to die, while falling Leigh could see Salem so clearly...He was growing further and further away from her, reaching out with her right arm her hand looked like it could so easily grasp onto Salem but she couldn't..He was far from her, how could something like this happen?

So I just leave you with this KISS.

[Salem Wolf]

Salem Wolf
HERO Leader

Indestructible. Determination that is incorruptible...

This battle would be over quickly, no matter how it ended, it would end fast. Either Leigh would surprise him with some kind of move and he would end up being knocked out, or he would knock her out...or kill her. They continued to gain altitude, rising higher, and higher, and Salem realized his body was acting out of PURE instinct, there was nothing there but instinct, a desire to kill, that was all he was utilizing right now. There was no common sense to help him, no kind of conscious that could bring him back, not right now. Something drastic had to be done. Maybe that was what he was doing. Maybe he knew what he was doing all along and directing his cruel, heartless, bastardly, instinctual self into taking her to the skies, so high where she would fall, and he could catch her. But how long could he stop the anger, the instinct, he needed to survive, to win, and right now she was someone who needed to die to protect himself. But why? She wasn't going to hurt him, he was the one who started this mess, she had only tried defending herself, really, and now he was thinking she was going to try and kill him! It was preposterous to think Leigh would really be able to kill him. But Salem killing Leigh? It was not just possible, but it was happening.

Leigh practically begged Salem to stop, pleading, he could swear she was on the verge of tears, and while she begged him to stop, he continued to try, and try, to free her hands from around his waist, all the while looking down at her, a sly, evil grin over his face.
"There are things that...you won't understand...but given time, you will. I can explain in hell, how's that?" He grinned, she fell. Salem screamed, mentally, wanting to reach out to her, save her, but his instincts...until she was gone he couldn't let his instinct to survive disappear. He could do nothing but slowly float to the ground, harmlessly, while Leigh fell helplessly to the hard cement below. Was she going to die? Salem was truthfully afraid he had killed her, and it hurt him so much he actually ended up losing a few tears.

Leigh fell, and, in an almost unbelievable twist, a ponytailed redhead man stood underneath where Leigh fell, until finally...splat! Cruelly, Troy Winter couldn't actually catch her, she ended up landing on his body, likely breaking every single rib he had. Using his strength to push her off of his body, he stole Leigh's power of healing which she stole from Salem, so within moments he was back to normal.
"Ah, ******** Christ, you aren't Lilly." He coughed, standing up, and looking up to Salem.
"...those nanites worked a lot better than I thought." He grinned, looking back to Leigh as Salem floated down, his feet touching the ground.
"YOU!"
"Aw, don't get your panties in a bunch, baby boy, I was patrolling the city when I heard sounds of energy exploding, I figured the treatment took effect and I came to see you kill Rion. Looks like you took it out on Leigh instead though. A win for me, regardless." Troy backed away from the two, Salem's instincts now trying to decide to kill Troy, likely a bigger threat than Leigh due to his power and training, or finish what he tried to start.

...My dedication to all that I've sworn to protect.

[Little Rose Leigh]

Leigh Denell:

Member of Hero.

I'm not your knight in shining armor. . .

Was this the end? Was this actually how it was all going to end for Leigh? It was far too ironic to actually happen...Salem, the one person she actually loved and respected? Heh, life sure was messed up...Salem's remark before she had lost her final grip pained her deeply in her chest...How could he be so cruel? So cold? Sure, she was far from being a perfect woman or super but she thought Salem out of everyone understood her best - even more so than Lilly. A part of Leigh couldn't help but feel she deserved this - karma? Perhaps. Leigh was falling at a faster rate, it'd be over soon and Leigh could taste the bitterness of all this in her mouth. Tightly shutting her eyes Leigh actually was preparing herself for her final moment in becoming a disgusting splat on the ground below where she would die by the hands of Salem. This was it, she couldn't help Kara now, she couldn't even help herself! Leigh felt disappointed with herself, how could she let something like this happen? Well it's quite easy as this fight was against Salem and she of all people never wanted to hurt him...She got sloppy by trying to hold back so much, she wasn't even handling the situation properly but then again she doubt she ever handled a single situation properly.

Inhaling a long and slow breath she believed it to be her last but what was to happen no one would see coming, her landing was still very hard...How could she tell? By the amount of pain she was in, not only had she landed on something--wait, someone?! Leigh had issues breathing as she could taste her own metallic blood in her mouth as her body took a harsh fall and bones were broken, her own insides stabbed by her broken bones but THANK GOD she still had Salem's healing ability. That voice...Leigh could hear that familiar voice but right now she couldn't speak as she was too busy healing her own body as she was fully unaware of the damage Troy had taken by...Wait, did he catch her or did she just have dumb luck landing on him? Hell, it didn't matter...She was alive! Spitting out the disgusting tasting saliva in her mouth from the taste of her blood she was going to need a bit more time to heal fully, Troy had pushed her off of him and healed himself as it wouldn't make sense on any level if he had been okay from a person falling on him from such a high level. Troy was talking but Leigh couldn't register what he was saying, nanites? Augh, she felt she was getting too old for this...There was so much science involved with the TNT which wasn't a subject Leigh was good at. At least the good news? Salem was fixed on Troy rather than her, right now she didn't know what to do as she was still in shock from falling and surviving such a deadly fall...Damn she must have done something right to still be alive right now and having Troy or all people save her...Intentional or not.

So I just leave you with this KISS.

[Salem Wolf]

Salem Wolf
HERO Leader

Indestructible. Determination that is incorruptible...

Salem was torn, he couldn't believe that he not only tried to kill Leigh, an act he'd never in his life believe he could be possible of doing, but that he wasn't the one that was able to find the strength within himself to save her. He felt so weak, Leigh was going to die because of him and he could do nothing but fall to the ground slowly and watch the action unfold. He wanted to save her, to stop her from falling, apologize so profusely and hold her in his arms. Seeing Troy, that redheaded ponytailed b*****d, the TNT ******** that, while not directly responsible, was still the very bane of their existence, always causing some kind of trouble or harm lately. It pissed him off to see Troy saving his girlfriend...would they even be a couple after all this? He just tried to kill her, would she ever forgive him, be able to feel safe around him again? He didn't know, he just wanted this nightmare to end. And as his feet touched the ground, he knew, very clearly, Troy had insight on what was going on.
Attack Troy, make him tell me what's going on...I need to know... Mentally trying to push himself away from attacking Leigh, who seemed disoriented after the entire ordeal, he argued his instincts that she was no threat to him...he was arguing the nanomachines, and winning.

Troy smiled, backing away from Salem each step Salem took closer. It was spectacular, he didn't have to find Kaito - possibly the only inside help HERO would get - and could beat the answers out of Troy while leaving Leigh alone. Troy smirked, a portal opening on the wall behind him.
"Sad what you'll do when there's no one else to distract you, but oh well, you'll get over it."
"TELL ME WHAT THEY DID!" Salem yelled in rage, rushing at Troy quickly. Salem, using his power over portal teleportation, closed the portal Troy had opened so when Troy was rushed and tackled, his back slammed into the brick wall.
"Oh you'd love that, wouldn't you?" Troy kicked Salem off of him, sending him flying and rolling to the ground. Salem picked himself up, livid, angry, he wanted to find out what Troy did to him but Troy was being silent on the issue, and he believed that no amount of fighting would actually get him to talk. Troy knew something, he had to, there was no way a guy like that could be out of the loop. Troy just smiled, staring at Salem while he dusted himself off.
"I'd like to tell you, but I can't, I'm really not even supposed to be here." Troy smiled, though, that was all he did, was smile. The situation was so amusing to the b*****d that he couldn't end the fun. He knew, he could tell, he wasn't on a short leash, as long as either HERO defeated him in combat or they escaped from him, he wouldn't get in trouble, as long as he tried to destroy them.
"TELL ME OR I'LL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!"
"Well, I suppose if you really wanted to know, Leigh could copy my Essence Thievery, kill me, and take the memories straight out of my head but that would take too much work, and you two are too pathetic to work together. Hell, I'll give your relationship another 4 hours before you call it off...of course that's assuming you don't kill each other before then." Salem rushed at Troy, tired of his voice, punching and kicking with intensity and anger, but Troy was fast, he dodged each and every attack Salem brought, which was fueled with anger and unfocused. Troy grabbed Salem's arm, kicking him repeatedly in the gut, using his elbow to smash into the back of Salem's neck, knocking him down and kicking him until the other fighter stopped struggling and trying to stand. Troy sighed, shaking his head, taking out his pistol, aiming for the back of Salem's head, Troy's boot pressed down on the back of Salem's neck.
"That sucks. Looks like the experiment was a failure after all. Ah well, mission failed, just try it again." Looking down to Salem, who clawed at the ground just to try and stand, felt his anger boiling to the point he was unable to control himself, he didn't know what to do. Troy sighed, softly.
"Complete failure." Troy fired his weapon.

...My dedication to all that I've sworn to protect.

[Adorkable Monster]

K E E V A XX R O W A N


«ЃЋёў ӓґҾӣ'τ ӃҼαӀ, Ϊ Ҕέӑґð ȳӫú ϛαӰ,»

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»Something was troubling her. She scowled as she followed Kaito's path, her socked feet padding softly on the cold tile flooring. Kaito hadn't said anything was wrong. He mentioned something that came to attention, like something he had forgotten. He said he'd be back. So why couldn't she help but bite her lip? It had to have been his facial expression as he looked behind him down the hall and then immediately cut off the conversation, leaving. Like how somebody once said she acts when she sees sometimes sees something and flits away. But what was he seeing that she could not perceive? It made her feel agitated.

She near reached the lobby when Tami entered it, grabbing her arm almost roughly. A stiff smile was on her face as she stopped with Keeva. "What?" She asked, looking confused. Tami smiled so sweetly it was almost disarming. "Hey, I need help hanging the linens up on the roof. With so many new patients Mai and and I don't have enough hands. You're free, right?" Keeva hesitated finding herself beginning to nod before pausing, tilting her head. "Sure, I'll help, but do you know where Kaito went? He looked troubled. I want to make sure he's fine first." Her eyebrows pulled towards the center of her face as she frowned.

"He's busy, apparently. You shouldn't bother him." Tami shrugged, the faintest bit of irritation showing on her voice, but not on her face. Keeva frowned. She had gotten the impression that Tami hadn't Taken well to Kaito, but she wouldn't have any reason to hide anything from her. And she had to be, She knew Tami for over a month and already knew she said her mind. What was she hiding? Her mouthed open slightly as she processed this, letting Tami quickly hurry her across the lobby, towards the service stair that led up to the room. "Tami... I really think--" Tami held her hand, And Keeva pouted, Her eyes turned away and out of the corner she saw the dark clothing that Kaito wore outside. It caught her attention and she stopped walking to turn her head, Ignoring when Tami grabbed her arm again to guide her.

Kaito! She shook off Tami's grip and her firm voice telling her to leave him be. She pushed open the doors, stepping outside where the frosty air bit into her skin, the thin fabric of the scrubs doing little to strop the breeze that had picked up. She didn't shiver, even if her legs had only just warmed back up. She hadn't had enough time to register the cold, as the enraged words of a second man, addressing Kaito, made her stiffen. "--practically ruined my life, Kaito! I can't change what I've done! You belong in the TNT, you're just as much of an a*****e as the whole group!" She froze, one hand still on the side of the door, holding it partly open as she blinked, Her mind scrambling for meaning through her denial that it was really Kaito the boy was talking about.

Kaito's back was turned to her so he could face the other man. Brown hair, an enraged expression on his face, a crackling noise like repeated static shocks in her ear, the thin gossamer threads of electricity whipping from finger to finger. Kaito seemed to be trying to diffuse him, but the man was almost to eager, practically cutting off his words with his accusing tone. He spit out the word TNT again and Keeva cringed back into the doorway. Leading the local TNT branch. Leading. The group of people that killed everything. Her mouth felt dry, her face pained.

She hardly heard as Kaito warned him of talking about something he didn't understand. She flinched as the man Kaito had called Seth flipped and yelled angrily at Kaito, the crackling noise in his palm shot to Knock Kaito back wards, sliding to a brutal stop. Keeva backed up, and slid partly behind the door she held partly open. She bumped into Tami, who placed her arms on her shoulder watching the same scene, Giving a sympathetic look. She knew all along. Who else knew? She glanced around at other faces around her, and wondered. No one gave any hints.

Kaito was already back on his feet when she glanced back at him. He spoke of moving areas and Keeva felt a few tears roll down her cheek as Seth agreed. She bit her lip as he began to look around. Thinking of where would be a good place...no any place was good, Every place was deserted or near so, few large population groups. She knew what, no who, he was looking for. "You're so Ironic, Kaito. Everyone blasted to hell and you care about the few stragglers." She would watch him turn to face her, let him see the pain on her face. "Do you know how many people we buried here? You said yourself TNT would never help the city." You knew every one here would die on these barren rocks eventually. The look on her face was not hateful, but despairing and mistrustful. Pained. She blinked, trying to keep her face cleared. She waved him good bye.

[Adorkable Monster]

╔══════════════╗
Alik Toddson
╚══════════════╝

〖Malware〗

Alik arrived to the damaged house that he'd been sheltering in and working on anything he thought could contribute to his own survival. His eyes were kept downward, meekly watching
the ground in front of where he walked. Ryx was mad. He could see that, and know he deserved it. But already his confidence was shot, knowing that Ryx was no sense of safety. Nothing like the Consuming Inkiness of nightfall. On top of that, Alik threw his Guilt and sudden frustration into his face. Ryx was mad, and he wasn't sure how he would act because of it. A stupid move. He apologized meekly, but Ryx didn't acknowledge it. Or maybe his mumbled apology hadn't been heard.

Rhey arrived at the house and Alik quickly went inside. Ryx took a spot at the wall and finally spoke. The boy looked up at him solemnly and his shoulders shrugged upwards slightly or rather his head dipped just slightly lower. "Sorry." His steely eyes met Ryx's red hues ones and nodded as he mentioned heading back soon. He set to work. First he moved his scooter outside, already fully charged from the solar panels that powered his hide out. A modified wagon was hitched to the back securly. Alik hurriedly began to fill it with what he needed. The most vital computer parts and the main components of his satellite link, super compute, as well as a few other devices. A couple of thick books shoved back into the now emptied backpack with labels like, mechanics and engineering and the like. he handed this to Ryx to carry and after only having spent ten minutes since arriving, was ready to go. It hadn't been hard for him to pack up, as he had his assets in a way that he could run away easily in case he had to.

"The scooter goes about thirtyfive miles an hour. Less now though... " He looked around. he had got everything he wanted at the moment right? no matter the small wagon was already full. He could always come back later. He licked his chapped lips and wiggled his numbed toes inside his sandal, trying to get the blood flow back into them. He stepped on the scooter and it began to hum, it rolled forward slowly away from the house, through the gate in the fence and onto the street. He looked at Ryx, feeling some relief that even when he was angry he had no temper. But Ryx wasn't good at subduing his annoyance at 'wastes' as he saw them and Alik, still new, had little experience in subduing his own fears. They all had their flaws.

“I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.”

[Salem Wolf]

Kaito Kojima
TNT Special Operative

Kajitsu ga tsugeta mirai, risei wo wasureta machi...

Unfortunately for Kaito, things were really going downhill faster than a wagon of rocks on a speed decline. Seth was yelling at him, and he wasn't yelling particularly soft, either, he was being very loud, very vocal, and very truthful. Kaito could have saved this situation, or at least partially save the situation had he been able to come up with something a little more original than "let's talk about this elsewhere", or played off Seth as someone he didn't know, or even better, some crazy a** friend of his who liked to cause trouble. Of course, neither would have particularly been effective in helping the situation, Keeva would probably still be behind him, listening. Seth was far from getting on Kaito's pleasant side, and very rarely was someone on his bad side, then again, who would dare try to? He controlled the timeline, if someone pissed him off that bad he could just erase their existence, kill them off before they became a pest, and lived life without them around. Of course, no one had been particularly aware that Kaito just wasn't that kind of douchebag, after all, changing the timeline had serious consequences. Of course, anyone could ask why he didn't just time-travel and ensure the TNT never existed, but that screwed up a lot of timelines, people who died because of them wouldn't, powerful, dangerous superhumans would have survived, and no one would know how the world would have turned out. For that, Kaito wouldn't take the chance.

As things became worse, Seth becoming louder, more irate, Kaito had to quell the fires of fury somehow, and turning around to see Keeva, staring at him, hearing the words between the two, it only fueled his own fires of anger. Kaito did not become angry often, but when he did, it was a force to be reckoned with. While he turned to look at her, her face pained, on the verge of tears of sorrow or hate, he heard her speak, "You're so Ironic, Kaito. Everyone blasted to hell and you care about the few stragglers. Do you know how many people we buried here? You said yourself TNT would never help the city." It pained him, he felt sorry for the citizens of the city. Their only hope, their only form of superheroes were the TNT, and they had abandoned them. Hope died, people cried, children were suffering and no one cared, no one helped them. Kaito couldn't help but feel partially responsible for the suffering, the uneasiness of the citizens. Kaito was far from a bad person, he only did what he had to to survive, and it made him wonder if he wasn't doing the wrong thing for it. Maybe he would die from trying to be a hero, but at least he could die easy. Knowing those lives ordered kill by his voice and written signature, it would eat away at him, he had to fix that. Seth made a true point, he ruined a lot of lives, but Kaito was still angry at him for not waiting to bring this up like he asked. And now it was too late. Try as he might, when Keeva waved him goodbye, Kaito couldn't think of anything to say or do to stop her. He let her walk away.

Seth, watching this, decided he would get an attack on Kaito while Keeva walked off. A bolt of high voltage lightning shot out, though Kaito vanished from his spot, the area around his distorting, warping slightly, the lightning striking and searing the ground in front of him as time and space reverted back to normal. Behind Seth the area of Kaito's body again warped and distorted, Kaito reappearing and grabbing Seth's light jacket.
"I've never been angry at an individual before, Seth, but you've crossed a dire line." The two vanished from the hospital's front entrance, the area, as normal, warping slightly before bouncing back to normal. That was how Kaito teleported, by warping time and space to reposition himself somewhere else. It was unlike freezing time and moving to another spot, the teleportation worked on a level where Kaito literally teleported through time and space without physically having to move himself. Distorting time and space, that was what he called it.

Kaito and Seth reappeared on top of the hotel HERO formerly used as their hideout, prior to the raids. Dropping Seth onto the helicopter's platform, Kaito was quick to show Seth just how pissed off he really was. Kicking Seth in the legs, which sent the electric-wielder down onto his stomach, he circled around him like a hawk.
"You've ruined a good thing, Seth." He muttered, kicking him in the back, pushing him back down.
"You see, I actually had a friend, I was happy, now I'm not, because my friend has found out my occupation and decided I'm not a good person. So I must say thank you, Seth, for ruining a good friendship. I suppose it is my fault, really, for believing I could keep my secret but...you have shown me a good side to this whole thing. Unfortunately, I'm pretty pissed...and when a man can control the fabric of time he's the last person you want to piss off." Kaito bent over, grabbing Seth by the back of his jacket, pulling him to his feet. A time blast, a physical sphere made of weaving psychic energies manifested from the timeline without actually affecting time, formed in Kaito's hands, throwing it at Seth, distorting the area around him and sending him flying several feet backwards, and Kaito, not done yet, only pummeled Seth more and more. Kaito vanished, appearing behind Seth with his knee raised, hitting Seth in the back of the spine, grabbing the back of his collar and throwing him over his shoulder, stepping on Seth afterwards, using his full weight. Seth grunted loudly, pushing him off his back and standing up. Kaito rushed at the electric-wielder, only to find the Half-Asian's knee hit his stomach from a flying knee attack, which sent Seth stumbling backwards, but with Kaito's outstretched hand he stopped Seth from falling over and pushed him away from him, sending out another time blast, striking the younger in the chest. Shaking his head, Kaito approached Seth, kneeling down to him.
"I'm angry, Seth, for this..."
"Oh go b***h about it on a blog." Seth replied, channeling lightning around his hands, released it in an impressive tree-like appearance, coupling it with the physical force of sound which was heard as thunder, and that sent Kaito flying many impressive feet backwards, sliding to a stop.
"I suppose I wasn't taken seriously." Kaito sighed, standing himself up, seeing Seth already had done the same.

The two ran towards one another, Seth firing off sound blasts and lightning bolts, dodged by teleports, and when Kaito was close enough, grabbed Seth by the collar, punched him a few times in the stomach, and tossed him aside like a ragdoll. Teleporting, Kaito appeared near where Seth landed, using two hands to pick him up and then throw him, face first, into the cement landing pad. As Seth tried to stand, Kaito sent out another time blast which forced Seth's body to impact the cement again, and again, and again, until Seth stopped trying to stand. Seth, though, also had the ability to teleport, and did so. Kaito sighed, sitting down, focusing in on Seth's timeline, now that he was no longer technically "part" of Kaito's own timeline, he could easily watch what he was doing. When Seth teleported, and the timeline went blank, Kaito stood up and pushed himself into a roll to avoid a pissed off Seth appearing and throwing off a massive discharge of lightning. Kaito, landing away from the lightning blast which, when striking the cement caused a massive crack and few chunks to fly off, rushed once more towards Seth, who gathered sound, lots of it, to the point Kaito's footsteps no longer made a sound. With that much sound, Seth was going to not only hurt Kaito, but completely obliterate him.

The sound exploded in a large arc, dust and debris flying along with it in a huge thunderous crack, like the heavens itself split apart and the entire world could hear it. Though it was eardrum shattering to those nearby, the sound itself would only reach a few circular miles in each direction. With the dust cleared, the entire helipad busted up into large chunks of concrete, Seth could find no indication of Kaito, at all. He vanished. Of course, Kaito would appear behind Seth and smack him in the back of the head with a large chunk of concrete. Kaito, dirty and dusty, spit out some dirt from Seth's attack and dropped the concrete chunk.
"You're lucky I didn't want to kill you. b*****d." Kaito walked away from Seth, who would likely lay there for a few hours before waking up with a terrible headache. Kaito vanished from the top of the hotel and went off to find Keeva and apologize, hoping he could make her understand everything before she decided to completely cut off their friendship.

...Kuroku yuganda ima wo, yume, risou ni kaeru.

[Adorkable Monster]

K E E V A XX R O W A N


«ЃЋёў ӓґҾӣ'τ ӃҼαӀ, Ϊ Ҕέӑґð ȳӫú ϛαӰ,»

«βυτ їη Ѫψ ҔҾӑґϯ ίς ϖңϑชӭ ϯӴεϔ'Іλ ϩϯαϓ.»

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«ϯЋёϓ ϖїІλ їח Ѫψ Μίñð ҒѲЯҼΛΕӃ έxїšϯ.»

»Keeva turned away from the hospital entrance and past Tami, into the lobby. Her face was contorted in a despaired pain her eyes dull as she gripped her arms. She was shivering, but not from the frigid temperatures she stood in outside. She shivered from the cold knot growing in her gut twinging with a different feel to it than the soreness of that earlier punch. Tami followed behind her and put her arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "Keeva," She spoke soothingly. Keeva shook her head, a sob choked between tightly closed teeth. With some difficulty she spoke, reciting the words she had heard from Kaito and disregarded as pessimism. Her voice held his in echo, her memory putting his voice over the words she spoke like a shadow. "In time, this city will be like a pebble: a broken piece of a larger puzzle, discarded and left alone. After enough passing, time will forget about the stories, and like Atlantis, we'll sink away." Her eyes raised slightly to meet Tami's. "We're all doing to waste away and die."

Tami recognized kaito's voice in the words and a look of annoyance crossed her face as she grabbed Keeva's arms and turned her to face her. "Keeva, do you really think that? That's not like y--" "But he LEADS them! He knows for sure no one will help us because he's with the people stopping it from happening. Everyone is going to die starved and suffering, and you're going to die with them!" She yelled, upset. No sooner then the words left her mouth than Tami's gloved hand lashed out slapping her, not hard but with enough force to startle her. She stopped her choking breaths and stared at the woman for a second. "Keeva, think rationally. I don't think anyone in this city is just going to wait around to die. No one is giving up, and yet what are you doing? I took you for the person who never gave up even when bad things happened. Always you--" "But I know better now!"

Tami held her anger in check. "For one goddamned time, stop cutting off what I say and listen!" She spoke sternly. Keeva stopped for a moment to process a appropriate response for the unexpected reprimand. "Keeva, just calm down a moment, you're taking it too harshly." She hadn't cut her off, but the moment she was done she had her last words to say. "You knew. Right from the start you knew who and what he was." She sniveled. Her accusation was placed in a weakened voice, but the meaning behind it was harsh. Tami lowered her head guiltily, acknowledging her fault at the secret. "I saw your friendship and assumed he would do nothing to hurt you. I was wrong." Truly it would drop Keeva's trust in her, but she would be at far better position to earn it back than the man ever would be.

Keeva shook her head at Tami, almost in disbelief. Tami was tougher than she would ever be, and far more hard. But she had let someone in TNT someone at the very top right into the hospital she herself ran. How was she to know that no one would be hurt or taken away. If you let even one man in then they would all assume their people could enter. It would cause nothing but more pain to those inside. Her lips parted as if she had a retort, but she only shook her head again and turned to run down the hall to where her room was. Tami took a step then stopped with a sigh, knowing she wanted to be alone for a while.

Keeva slowed down when she reached the corner of her hospital, nearby in the maternity wing. It was a small room as large as a hospital cot, and a few feet on each side, to allow a place for visitors to sleep, and nurses to get around, or pulled the cot out. Of course Keeva had taken the cot out, long ago. In the corner was her bed, a thin foam mattress with a sleeping bag lay on top of it. To the side was.a folded blanket, an extra for when the nights were colder than usual, or the generator went out. All this lay under the window over looking a view which wasn't really a view at all. It showed the back end of the hospital where a little hill came down towards her window, meeting the foundation before leveling off. It normally was covered in green vines, but now the vines were brown and shriveled, showing the hard ground below. Above stood a pine tree, blocking off the remaining half of the view and beyond that all that could be seen was the bleak sky at the top of the hill. Naturally, the blinds were kept shut.

Her room was small and had few of the necessary amenities, but it was filled to the brim with Keeva's art. On the walls pencil sketches, paints of all types, even detailed crayon drawings were created directly onto the white paint walls and ceiling of the hospital many overlapping the depicted scenes and charactors fillign every available space. On top of that was taped, and stapled a whole other array of art, like a messy scrap book, stuck to every surface, the gaps between being the only hint of wht lay underneath. On the linoleum floor was piled of yet more art. Heaped up messily next to a scattering of several mediums of art supplies, even charcoal smearing on the floor.

She ignored all this an sat down on her makeshift bed to cry a while, her thoughts shifting from despair to anxiety. After a good while she calmed some and thought with mild rationality, the hiccups jerking her frame ever slightly as she folded herself over her knees. She was tired, and wanted to sleep, but would not allow herself. Instead, she stood up again and decided to wander the more abandoned wings of the hospital. She would have gone on a walk, but even if she wanted to see the death ridden city in it's dark reality, she couldn't remember where she put her coat. Slipping on her shoes she left and found her rut, circling around the unused Xray's and chemo sections. Often she would come close to where other people were, and veer away, back where no generator was hooked up, supplying light to the halls. She paced, and she thought mourning over the loss of the city for the first true time.

She had been close to the main used areas when she heard a gunshot. Instantly she stopped in shock. Guns weren't allowed in the hospital under any circumstances. The rule stayed even after the death of the city, so that no one would ever be hurt by one. If there was gun fire, then that meant soldiers. Why!? With a wild, possessed look in her eye she broke out in a dead run moving faster than she knew she had ability to. She arrived in the lobby to see Tami standing in the way of the soldiers yelling that she would not let a single one inside, and she didn't give a damn about Kaito. She said she sent him off like she sent everyone off. Behind her was a hole in wall. A warning shot that still had the plaster dust floating in the air.

She didn't even think. In a moment she was in front of Tami, not protectively, but purposefully. "Who do you think you are that you had a gun and thing you can take the lives of millions of people!" Already the tears she thought she had run out begin to flow. She stood there ignorant of the guns pointed so close and of Tami's pleading for her not to do whats he knew was her madness. She continued to shout. "Are you monsters? Anyone who isn't what you want, you destroy, anyone who defies you, you beat down, Every hope, every dream, and every future is just torn away and you leave us hear to starve! " He voice was shrill in her angered lamenting. "Look at me! I dispise everything you do. I am every person who you hate. Look at me! I'm a mutant! Go hIfreann leat!"

Keeva changed the color of their surrounding and threw half their men off balance by showing them dead vines that would pull them to the ground before disappearing. She was provoking them, Tami knew. She was angry and finally done with everything that was going on. It was shocking to anyone who saw her even many of the soldiers were alarmed their fingers quivering over the triggers of their guns. She mentally pleaded she stop before she got herself killed, and knew she could make no move to stop it.

A few subtle orders and in a few seconds Keeva was held back by two soldiers, though she made no move to pull away or protest against the way her arms twisted painfully in her hold. She continued to yell in her tears, quickly degrading into irish. Téigh i dtigh diabhail! Loscadh is dó ort! Along with every other curse or accusation that came to her mind. A third soldier was ordered to knock her out and while many averted their eyes, fearing they would be tricked, if they hadn't been already, the one man quickly plunged the needle into her neck and pushed the plunger. It took mere seconds, and midway through her accusing them of working under the hand of devils she slumped in their grasp.

A few soldiers were ordered to take her back and she was slung like a rag doll over a shoulder and carried off. Tami yelled and made to chase after but the nose of a gun shoved into her stomach stopped her. She put her hands up and told them once again not to enter this wasn't their place and their traitor wasn't there. They guided her to a wall and made her stand there with a group of others. The large group searched the hospital, removing any person particularly dangerous to them and looked for Kaito. When they did not find them they took much of their supplies and left with those few they captured.

Even after they left the hospital was in a shocked silence, everyone looking around forlornly. Everyone was at a loss how to deal with the tragedy. So long they could stand there and easily refuse any noncivilian entrance, They could force term out. but never had a large group come, and so well armed. Their goal had been Kaito, but the others who used the hospital as a sanctuary were taken as well. Everyone had lost.

Eventually Tami disheartenedly ordered others to check for any wounded, care for the sick. Not every volunteer followed this and many simply left, losing faith in the safety. Others went, but the hurried bustle of helping the sick was gone. So many had heard the shouting of keeva. The thought of despair was planted deeply by the trauma, and the though of eminent starvation high on their minds after the raid toom much of the remaining food storage. Tami herself steeled to stay outside waiting for Kaito, a dark expression on her face. The way he had reacted to Keeva when he found she was listening. If he was alive, he'd come back hopeful in his rejection to see if anything was fixable. But Keeva wouldn't be waiting for him, And it was his goddamned fault. She wished she hadn't quit smoking. She could've used a pack on a day like this.

[Salem Wolf]

Kaito Kojima
TNT Special Operative

Kajitsu ga tsugeta mirai, risei wo wasureta machi...

For too long Kaito had just been the nice, quiet, little order-following b*****d everyone expected him to be. He took no particular interest in what was happening, signed orders without care on who would die, who might suffer, the families of the people. He followed ordered, killed who needed to die, and when people pissed him off he maintained his silence, didn't say a word. Seth had finally made Kaito feel like he'd never felt before: boiled with anger that couldn't be kept him, and for the first time, Kaito was actually somewhat vocal about his anger, and kicked Seth's sorry a** for it. Kaito wouldn't change into a needlessly violent person, but it felt nice to finally get his emotions out, instead of being the quiet nice guy everyone had assumed he was. Kaito still feared dying, he still feared that he would never see it coming, but he could get angry, do stupid things, and live, as long as he was careful about it and never tried to do something incredibly idiotic without some sort of help. Right now, he would go back to the hospital, pissed off, and go find Keeva, settle down, and try to explain things rationally, at least he would try.

Leaving the hotel's rooftop, Kaito appeared near the hospital, a cross look overcoming his face. It felt off, felt dead, something had happened, but Kaito couldn't tell what. He approached the front entrance, stopping completely, looking down at the ground. Bending over, Kaito shook his head as he picked up a bullet casing.
"TNT...they must've been looking for me." Checking his phone, Kaito checked to see he had several messages, which he immediately began looking at. The first was Jetstream commenting on his hospital activities, they'd been following him with a UAV, the second was an e-mail about Seth, and the third was that they were sending soldiers to escort him back to the building, along with Keeva. It seemed Keeva was useful to the TNT, as per the message, Kaito was going to help in Keeva's capturing, bring her bad, and help them make her a soldier. She trusted him, he would do his duty. That infuriated Kaito, he wasn't going to turn his new friend into a collar-wearing soldier with no personality. As though he'd hit his limit, the final straw, he sent back one last message to Jetstream.

-----

From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
CC: [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: [No Subject]
Body: I quit. Your only link to the events of the future has now been severed, your entire lives are known by me, but now the timeline is a mystery to you, only I shall know what has yet to become. The events of the TNT can no longer go without reprimand. Chaos Theory, the smallest act in America can cause a tidal wave in Fiji. Now you have caused your only chaos theory, but as a last act of goodwill, you will get my last prediction. In it, I see the TNT fall, and humanity will reunite as one...and sooner or later, Earth will be better off than ever. Goodbye.

- Kaito Kojima
TNT Special Operative Commander of Empire City Facility #119B
HERO Member

-----

Crushing the cursed phone in his hand, Kaito dropped the pieces and, for a brief moment, had a level of regret that he let out in a scream. The timeline rippled, reality distorting, a UAV hovering above him knocked off balance, crashing several feet away from him. When Kaito finished his yell of anger, displeasure, and partial regret, the timeline's distortion reverted to normal. He sighed, shaking his head, the UAV's camera still watching him. Kaito, still displeased, angry, flipped off the camera and kicked it, destroying the only thing the TNT was using to watch him.
"Woo! That...that was a rush, right there. Felt good." He chuckled lightly, shaking his head, catching his breath, he saw Tami...this was not going to go well. He wondered how long she had seen his little outburst, the broken phone, the willingness to destroy TNT property, which was rendered completely unrepairable when the time stream surrounding it aged centuries in a matter of seconds, reducing the UAV into nothing more than severely crumbled, rusted pieces of broken metal. Approaching Tami, he took in a deep breath, holding it, then letting it out slowly.
"You weren't supposed to see that...then again I'm only human...I suppose in some small ways." He mumbled softly.
"Where is Keeva? The TNT were here, what did they do to her? Where is she?!" Kaito was quickly losing his composure, and try as he might, he couldn't hone in on her timeline. Perhaps he was too upset, angry, or perhaps she were already dead...or there was a third possibility: His and her timeline hadn't quite finished intersecting. If she were going to be in the TNT building just outside the city, then he'd be there too...he wasn't going to let her die, suffer, or become some sort of experiment because of his actions or lack of action. But...if that were true, he would need help, it was suicide alone, though not much better with help. HERO would be the only one he could get to help him...but he needed to know what they did with her before he ran off on a wild goose chase, Tami would be that informer...even if he had to resort to drastic measures. Then again, she would likely be glad to rub it in his face.

...Kuroku yuganda ima wo, yume, risou ni kaeru.

[Salem Wolf]

Ryx Network
Simple Civilian...?

For far too long these voices, muffled by distances...

Ryx liked to believe he wasn't a completely insensitive jerk, no matter how he tried to become nothing but a robotic personality, no matter how distant he tried to be, he was human, and he too were fallible. For that reason alone, he knew he should be able to forgive anyone who made a mistake, they were human as he were. It irked Ryx though to be insulted in such a way, regardless of how much of a mistake it was or how much Alik didn't mean it, but in either case it still irked him, and it bothered him, and he was trying not to let it bother him. Inside the house, nothing amazing or spectacularly revolutionary came to be, as after Alik's simple apology for a second time left the two in silence, Ryx didn't have anything to respond to that. He'd said what he had to say and he let it go. Now they could work on getting out of here.

Alik worked on getting the scooter and the wagon fixed up, filling it with items that hopefully came in handy later, and all the while, Ryx stood there like a dumbass holding the backpack he was handed. Slinging it over his shoulder, Ryx waited on Alik to be finished. Alik's simple comment on the speed brought him not nod, smiling lightly. Despite the relatively slow speed, likely around 28-32 miles per hour with the wagon stuffed with supplies and the two bodies on them, it would be much faster than walking or running, which could only be sustained for so long before they tired out. And with Alik's smaller frame, shorter legs, it was undoubtedly impossible for Alik to keep up with the older man.
"The scooter will do well enough to get us back to the house. We'll focus on the computer equipment afterwards, alright?" Getting onto the scooter, Ryx placed his hands on the back of the scooter and let Alik drive. He was hoping nothing would happen on the way back, paranoia was still prevalent in his mind, but easing as they were getting closer to leave.

...It's time to come to our senses, up from the dirt!

[Little Rose Leigh]

Leigh Denell:

Member of Hero.

I'm not your knight in shining armor. . .

Leigh was finally snapping out of the fact she had nearly fallen to her death by Salem's hand and that the only way she had actually survived was by the crazy amount of luck that Troy had thought she was Lilly...Everyone knew Troy couldn't say no to ever helping Lilly...Thank God for his high level of obsession for her. Shaking her head she was listening to the somewhat conversation Salem and Troy were having but there was more physical attacking than talking; Leigh picked herself up now fully healed, "Go figure Troy was apart of this mess..." Leigh muttered to herself as she cracked her neck, Salem was being sloppy with his attacks and Leigh could see that which meant Troy had no problems dodging his attacks all the while feeling superior having an upper hand in the situation, for now Leigh had remained out of the fight but when Troy mouthed off about their relationship but what got Leigh to snap the most was seeing Troy beating on Salem...Seeing him pull out that pistol Leigh would rudely be interrupting this special moment for Troy, "No one points a gun at my man when I'm around!" Leigh muttered to herself, her tone of voice was full of anger and cold..No more would she stand for this and she'd make Troy for ever putting a finger on Salem! When Leigh was fueled with such a high level of anger she found herself much more stronger than she was in just fighting normal TNT men who were mere pawns to the TNT. Troy aimed the gun at the back of Salem's head but in that last second Leigh had fired a large and powerful energy blast at Troy who was too busy being excited about waiting to see Salem's brains be blown straight out of his head and onto the street he laid against.

Leigh had managed to save Salem in a nick of time but she wasn't done...She was far from it! Rushing at Troy who'd take a moment to pick himself up from such a strong blast Leigh wasted no time in thrusting her right knee straight into his gut as her hands harshly grasped his shoulders which forced his upper body to lean forward as her knee slammed hard against his stomach, "I'm going to tear you inside out, Troy...And I'm going to enjoy every second in doing so..." A sadistic smirk appeared on her lips as her emerald eyes burned with mischief, Leigh's hands glowed with energy as she fired another two powerful blasts against his shoulders which sent him flying back just like he had several minutes ago, "I'm going to make sure that you're never going to get another chance to even SEE Lilly." Licking her lips as if they dripped with a sweet taste of revenge she felt her nerves tingle with utter delight from this fight, she wanted this...She wanted to see his blood splattered everywhere! Laughing as she rushed at Troy she could feel her adrenaline pulsing through her body which made her feel so alive! The thrill of this fight was so deliciously sinful she was sure she'd be going to hell because of it, "Come on, Troy! Let me hear your screams!" Leigh wasn't holding back, every motion, every energy blast were powerful...Leigh didn't care if she was getting reckless when it came to making sure she wasn't going crazy in using a large amount of power so quickly.

Several powerful energy blasts were fired in the direction of Troy where Leigh was also rushing towards, her face radiated life as she copied Troy's teleportation which she used last minute to only appear right behind Troy; she was facing his back...The urge to see his blood was so powerful she actually sent her right hand to burn with energy and to pierce him through his back where she'd then be able to feel that sickening yet delicious feel of his warm insides...Leigh had been so close to death and because of it she never felt so alive.

So I just leave you with this KISS.

[Adorkable Monster]

K E E V A XX R O W A N


«ЃЋёў ӓґҾӣ'τ ӃҼαӀ, Ϊ Ҕέӑґð ȳӫú ϛαӰ,»

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«ϯЋёϓ ϖїІλ їח Ѫψ Μίñð ҒѲЯҼΛΕӃ έxїšϯ.»

»The men who had captured her loaded her into the back of the truck, still halfway unsure if they actually had the real Keeva. It wasn't unheard of that soldiers would show up with a bag of rock and seem baffled that it wasn't her. Still they strapped her down on a flat transport bed in the back and checked her pulse before setting a drip in her and using a specialize blinder to cover her eyes. They weren't taking any chances if they had the real deal on their hands. One man sat guarding her as the other drove back to the base. There they quickly unloaded her and brought her inside.

When she came to, she couldn't see. There was something hard over her eyes that blocked out all the light. Something metal held her hands loosely, a chain draped across her arm. She shifted, feeling dazed. She couldn't remember where she was. She felt calm, and sleepy, or rather her eyes drooped and her limbs felt heavy as lead while her head felt light. "I see you're awake, Keeva." An unfamiliar voice spoke. She looked upward and saw only darkness. Her expression was blank, unsurprised.

"Get up. There's a chair if you like one. I'm Mat Daniels. I want to ask you some questions. About your friend Kaito." The name echoed in her ears, bringing his face into her mind.She wimpered as it brought back memories, one by one. Kaito talking to the young man, Seth. And the soldiers that had come looking for him and for her. Came to ruin more of what they touched. Watching her cringe the man let out his breath and hoisted her up by her arm. He had no time to wait until she was fully lucid. He had a busy schedule. As did the girl even if she didn't yet know it. He led her to the chair, her eight foot allowance of movement jingling with her movements. Her hands felt a table in front of her and she clung to it as the man let go, feeling like she was about to tip over.

She heard the man sit down across from her and push a tray of what smelled like food, better food than she'd had in a long while. She ignored it, despite a twist in her stomach. The man scolded her for it, saying her tests showed she was suffering from malnutrition as well as dehydration. She felt him press a cold glass into her hand. She recoiled, stating she shouldn't. When asked why, she didn't know. Sighing, the man began asking her several question's related to Kaito but never revealed why they wanted to know. She had nothing to lie about, and told him what she know, but kept her answers short, her voice choking slightly on the harder questions, though whatever was left in her system kept her fairly calm. She wasn't upset, just fuzzy and maybe just a little saddened that Kaito could not be her friend. The man quickly got from the easy questions, on her and into the ones she knew he was really looking for.

How did you meet Kaito? He found me. What was spoken about between you? Skittles, and eyes. Anything about the city? The city is doomed. What about TNT? No relief will be sent How did he say it? he lead them himself! He killed everyone! How did he say it? I don't know. Think about it. I know you can remember. I don't remember. Where am I? I'll ask the questions. Why did you bring him to the hospital? I don't want to be here. Just answer the question and we can get this over with. ...'cause I liked him. I thought he had beautiful eyes. He looked kind. Is this an interrogation room? Like in the movies? Yes. Now will you cooperate and answer my questions?

No sooner than he said it then the room began to shift in the man's view. Nothing of himself changed, non of his perception abilities changed, but he was part of the story, the imagination. The room became drastically dimmer, the quiet fluorescent lights above disappearing, A single dim bulb replacing it, buzzing and flickering occasionally on the wire it hung down from. A thin ball chain used to turn it on or off. The room seemed to grow larger, not just in visual size, but in how the sounds bounce off, but how? He turned from staring at the darkened eerie shadows of the empty room, to the visor on the girl's face. He swore. "Ted, You see this?" He asked, his voice shaking slightly. The other man knew something was wrong and spoke up. "No, what? Is she...?" He trailed off as Keeva jerked her head up realizing he was there and suddenly he was included in the delusion. [********]

Both got up from their spots and Keeva listened as the door opened and closed after them. The room was silent and she lay her head on the table. it would be nice if she could sleep more, get this sick feeling out of her. Her fingers traced the visor that blinded her and she frowned as she felt what locked it in place. She couldn't see what the room really looked like. She wasn't bothered by the fact. She could see her own version of it, and the rest was trivial. It didn't even bother her that whatever was making her body feel so strange, heavy, light, and calm, was also effecting her power. A passing thought or question wouldn't normally change anything for others near her.

Several long minutes passed as those outside the room evaluated what had happened. It seemed she had changed nothing of the mental state of the people in the room, so the blindfold at least appeared to be helping with that, but from what they knew of her they had expected her ability to be unusable without being able to see where she was or who she was talking to. No eye contact. That theory was mostly down. This was a newer side of her ability. They hypothesized how it might look, and if they could continue the questioning. In the end the questioning for evidence that Kaito might be a traitor was called off directly by higher rank. It seemed they had found other, more reliable evidence.

When they reentered the room it still appeared to the too men as the imagined interrogation setting their captive has designed. Keeva herself was more lucid no longer feeling like her world was on a tip. She was up standing, testing the length of the chain linked to the table. She reached outwards where the walls should be and opened her hands trying to find the walls; to see how large the room was. Only two walls she could touch, which put the room as a rectangle or some flat edged oval shape since she couldn't find any corners, but she doubted that. Definitely rectangle. The people who came in told her to hold still and sit down, but she shook her head and said she wouldn't listen to murderers and they should go away. Still, she didn't struggle when they held her still and sedated her so they could move her to another part of the base. It was the only way to be safe until she was collared.

Tami's eyes were swollen, with darkened rings underneath them. She leaded against a support column of the long ago collapsed and cleared away entrance way outside the lobby. Her hands were clenched around her long braid twisting it over and over again as if a meditation practice. Her face looked calm, even stony, but even she was upset, defeated and even angry. Her hands felt like they were crawling and occasionally her skin would ripple above the line of her gloves and she'd flex her arm, more like a twitch, and it would leave. The scene played over in her head. The biggest group of soldiers the hospital had faced yet, looking for Kaito. Taking Keeva as well. Crippling them by taking others in sanctuary from the TnT, and raiding much of their supplies. She knew she had to remain collected, but it felt like Keeva prophecy of starving was becoming more plausible.

She stare out in the open, gray streets watching as the sky tried to decide whether it wanted to snow or not letting go of a few dozen flakes here and there but never committing to blanketing the world and covering some of it's pain. And there as if he had been standing there the entire time, was Kaito. He was scuffed up from the fight, his business class clothing tattered on the edges, where he had likely been thrown about. But he was in one piece, no visible bruises, and no telltale flowers of blood blooming on his person. So he had beaten his enemy and here he was, looking around as if baffled at his lack of reception.

He paused a moment considering the hospital before walking past her to the entrance. Did he have any idea of what was here for him? She didn't think he did. He picked up a small object as she watched and immediately checked his cell. He looked upset then, she could see as he glared down at the screen. His fingers quickly typed a reply of only a few words, then wrapped around the phone like a boa, crushing the life out of the object, which could be seen as representing something or someone he hated. Was it a reaction to the fight? No, not delayed like that. Definitely not. He would have arrived angry. She knew at the very second he had performed the act that he knew about Keeva.

The yell she hadn't expected nor the power that came with it. His face contorted with it in pain, fury or something else, she didn't know. Nearby one of the TnT robot spies fell from the sky from where she had yet to notice it. In crashed down loudly, though it did not explode as Tami might have wished. She wondered to herself as he kicked the last remains of life from the machine, what he might do if the person who disobeyed his order was present at that moment, and wondering again if the boy that he had fought before was still breathing.

Finally after talking to himself he looked over and saw her. Instantly her anger bubbled again and the skin of her arm began to writhe in response. She usually was so impeccable at leashing in emotions like that. Before he could notice she casually placed her hands behind her back. Or rather unusually. It was cold out, and she was expected to be in a confrontation position. Instead she keeps herself unprotected from both Kaito and the near winter weather. Her face was a mask, showing no more scorn for him than when she had first met him.

"We're all human, whether we act like it or not." She said in reply, almost stiffly. He got closer, asking almost frantically where Keeva was and she lifted one hand and hit him in the face, a blow halfway between a slap and a punch, having not been able to decide which she wanted to inflict. Surely he wouldn't give her chance to give both. She knew he was as upset as she was about what happened, but god, if she could just tear into him. As the hard blow pushed him back she grabbed onto his shirt collar and let her hand hang there. He could see it now, the boiling of her skin. It was poison, in the form of little stinging tendrils thin as threads. They reacted to her emotions and the touch of other lives. Right now they moves from deeper in, visible just under the skin.

"Your guess is better than mine. They took her, and she let them. Gave up." Her face tensed at the emotion of her words and her eyes watered even as she tried to blink them away. She let go of his shirt and took a step back, folding her gloved hands under her arms. "God, I ******** hate you right now. Can't you see how your 'survival' kills everything else? Damnit, How was I supposed to know they considered you a big enough traitor to send in so many men? And I couldn't even stop her from acting stupid and hurting herself." She leaned back against the support column and laughed contemptuously as she ranted. Keeva was as close as family after the city fell into hell. "I ******** hate you. Go away, you can't do anything either and I can't kill you so stop being a burden on us."

[Salem Wolf]

Salem Wolf

Kaito Kojima
Kajitsu ga tsugeta mirai, risei wo wasureta machi...

Salem's anger level had been rising drastically since Troy's arrival, and that, stemmed with the fact that he had a level of information that he wasn't spilling added to it. Anger could sometimes be an aid in power, and sometimes it could hinder a battle. Salem had been used to fighting with anger, made him strong, reckless, and he stopped caring about the combatant's life, allowing him to go all out without his conscience kicking in. Though sometimes he would get blinded by rage, literally, unable to see or detect something that a calmer state of mind would allow him to see, or sometimes he would be too focused on power and anger he couldn't utilize fast, but lesser powerful, attacks. In that case, it was what Troy took advantage of to gain the upper hand, and put Salem down. A few punches and kicks later, Troy had not only dodged them all but managed to put Salem onto his hands and knees, a pistol pointed right at the back of his head. It was all a big-reveal, Salem obviously had something unnatural wrong with him, but poor Salem would seemingly never know. Salem had finally, only briefly, calmed himself down but no portal would open, no muscle would move, no flight could be achieved, he was screwed, at the mercy of Troy who, as far as Salem could tell, wanted to do him harm - wanted to kill him. Troy took pride in this kill, finally could kill the traitor to the organization that Troy no longer wanted to do without, and be recognized a hero, could raise a few ranks and hopefully negotiate Kaito's former position or himself a new position. This was what it was all for, anyway, the gaining of a new position, proving himself worthy.

The gun's trigger pulled, the bullet ejected itself from the barrel, but it struck the ground, not the back of Salem's skull. The bullet's trajectory changed significantly from what Troy had expected, which had all been thanks to Salem's girlfriend. The energy blast, sent by Leigh, had knocked the gun off-course and Troy stumbled backwards several steps, which allowed Leigh to plant her knee into his gut, her hands had grasped his shoulders and two energy blasts fired from immediate range sent him flying onto his back away from the b***h Troy had always believed her to be, and damn if he didn't think it would feel good to kick her a**. She had gotten him by surprise, and it was surprise that kept him from being completely able to counter her attacks. She copied his teleport, having sent off several blasts just moments earlier, appearing behind him, but Troy wasn't ready to die yet.
"C'mon, Rosabella, you couldn't kill me if you tried." He mocked, teleporting behind her as she had done, grabbing her by the back of her shirt, pulling her into his knee, throwing her into the ground.
"First I'll kill you, shave that goddamn red hair off your head, send it to Lilly as a Christmas gift and pray they don't clone you again!"

Salem, angry, but wanting answers, rushed towards Troy now, his target moved from Leigh to him, mentally thankful that his target was no longer Leigh, but still clouded by anger. Troy kicked at Leigh in the stomach, focusing on Salem afterwards, dodging the oncoming energy blasts that accompanied his run. Salem leaped into the air, raining energy attacks, while Troy teleported relentlessly to avoid each blast. As Salem fell, trying to kick Troy in the face, he teleported behind Salem and grabbed him by the back of his jacket and thrust him into the cement, being just as ruthless with the energy attacks as they pummeled Salem deeper into the already broken cement. Deciding not to waste his time with only Salem, he rushed for Leigh, only to be stopped with a portal, which in comedic fashion, opened in front of him and near a wall, which - yes - forced Troy to run into a wall before the portals vanished. Troy, angry and rubbing his nose, turned back to Salem who stood up and wobbled slightly, only to see Troy vanish completely from the scene.

Kaito had calmed down, his little outburst or moment of anger didn't cause overall sense of regret for his sense of actions. His e-mail, his destruction of the UAV, no, he was still glad to have done that. For so long Kaito felt confined, and trapped, for a man who could see events before they happened, explore the timeline with only very few restrictions and could completely change everything that history has already written, he felt confined and trapped by his own fears. No more. The first straw had been how easily he was cast aside, almost branded as a traitor for nothing more than an angry comment by Nemesis, who would get what was coming to him. The second straw came from Keeva, who showed him, rather clearly, the consequences of his own safety and the costs of the lives it took. The final straw came from Seth, who showed him that no secret could forever be hidden. The bonus came from their capture of Keeva, how he had become friends with her and how they had showed him that the TNT higher ups held no friends, and were loyal only to their corporation. Well, Kaito had no loyalty to the corporation, and it was time to cut the ties, and now he would be a wanted man, no doubt soldiers inside the city already gearing up to tackle him, take him, kill him, mount his head on their wall. For a man who could see everything, he couldn't see his own future, now he needed to rely on sharp wits, agility, and his own spectacular TNT-based training and remember: he could manipulate the timeline.

Tami was upset, he didn't expect anything less, without peeking at time, he could see how angry she was, upset, trying to hide it. Tough girl, no doubt. Kaito and she approached one another, both of them in their own extreme version of mental emotion. After his outburst, she mentioned them being human, which, at their core, they were genetically similar to humans, so she was half-right, anyway. Some were genetically alike, some identical, some so different that they barely qualified as human. Kaito, at the genetic level, was human-like, he assumed his genetic differences gave him the enhancement of attributes, like speed, strength, agility, so on and so forth, he figured time manipulation was simply nothing unlike a new, very distant version of telekinesis and all its vast siblings: cryokinesis, pyrokinesis, and so on. Chronokinesis, the technical term for his powers, but some thought it wasn't even a -kinesis power at all. Kaito, of course, spent long hours debating this for no other reason than pure boredom.

Kaito's question, "where is Keeva", was straightly answered along with an added accessory of guilt and an attack, of course, he didn't expect such kindness after what he assumed had happened. His face stung slightly, he nearly lost his balance, he didn't even see it coming, he predicted an attack much much lower than that, but whatever made her feel better. Kaito let his hands dangle, she grabbed his shirt and kept his balance for him; some men would put their hand up to feel the stinging, warm flesh or make an attempt to balance, but not him, he deserved it all. And, as fate would have it, she too were superhuman in her own little way. Her skin boiled, like her blood was literally bubbling, it was interesting, but right now she was the least of his cares. Kaito looked her in the eyes as she said perhaps the cruelest thing he'd ever heard: "I ******** hate you. Go away, you can't do anything either and I can't kill you so stop being a burden on us." He didn't say much, there was nothing to say. No amount of apologizes would make it right, no amount of agreeing would make him feel better, or her, so he left it with six words, six very simple words, and if she didn't believe him, she didn't have to, but he said them, and he meant them.
"I'll be bringing her back, alive." Kaito vanished.

"Target's name is Kaito Kojima, 23, Asian-American male, about 5'10"-5'11" weighing about 148 pounds. Hair: White. Eyes: Green. He sounds like a lightweight but he reportedly has the ability to control the flow of time, so we're utilizing double-tap protocol: if he's down, make sure he doesn't stand up. He's the former Special Ops Commander for the local facility, he's Priority Omega, top of the list, and they want pictures, DNA, and his body back at HQ, blow him up, just get enough to identify. I'm not joking when I say we're going all out. You want to die, you do it on your own terms." The masked soldier stood in the back of the swat van, speaking to a group of soldiers armed to the teeth to take on Kaito. Just 10 minutes after Kaito's e-mail and the visually confirmation by destruction of the UAV, available Empire City soldiers outfitted themselves and hopped in a van, heading towards the hospital.
"His last known location is the unnamed hospital by the old TNT complex, if we don't run into him, we'll be sending off a message."
"What message is that, sir?" One of the soldiers piped up.
"You don't abandon the TNT and expect no one to get hurt. The hospital, think of it as our own personal shooting range. No one left alive, clear the whole thing out, Team 2, set detonation charges on key points, we'll kill 'em and bury 'em, we'll wipe out the last message of hope the city has, and show them harboring fugitives is a bad idea."

"I'm Mat Daniels. I want to ask you some questions. About your friend Kaito. -- Ted, You see this? -- No, what? Is she...? -- ********] Kaito dashed through the streets of Empire City, all the while he was watching what Keeva was going through, though it was far from clear, and far from precise, he could watch her through the timeline, bits and pieces coming in like a broken TV and poor reception, but he saw enough, heard enough, and his heart could sink no lower. Blinking, his hazy, cloudy eyes clearing, a mean smirk coming over his face while he watched the black TNT van turn the corner. Focusing in on them, he could see them talking, hear some of their words, his eyes returning to the hazy, cloudy appearance as before. Hearing them talk about destroying the last symbol of hope, all those innocent people without so much and a tinge of guilt, it ate at him, made him wish he'd never been in their damned organization. He needed to stop them - no one could survive, lest they finish what they've been ordered.

The van saw Kaito approaching, but could do nothing about it, Kaito had already frozen time, the truck stopped entirely. Kaito approached the non-moving truck, leaping onto the hood and onto the back of the van, time moved forward. Kaito planted his hands on the van's top, time swirling around it but only in specific places: the front tires and the axle. With time moving forward at such a speed, independent of the current moving timeline. Kaito leaped off the back of the van as his work took place. The wheels popped, the axle snapped, the front end of the van dug into the ground and caught itself, using the momentum and heaviness of the rear of the van to spring it into a forward flip, landing on its back. Kaito, landing, reversed direction and rushed at the overturned van, the driver getting out, groaning loudly, reaching for his gun. Kaito leaped into the air, flipping over the driver as he fired a shot, missing. This, though, allowed the other soldiers to crawl out the back of the van while Kaito landed, kicked the driver in the back of the neck, grabbed his head and twisted sharply, snapping his spine, killing him. The other soldiers began firing their weapons, missing while Kaito pushed into the sky, flipping, and landing on the underside of the overturned van, using the height difference to push off the end of the van and use that momentum to travel over the soldiers, getting behind them and tossing out time spheres, pushing them off-balance. Rushing into the battle, Kaito used the close proximity to knock out a few soldiers, only to get hit in the back of the skull with a rifle, falling. He groaned lightly, holding the back of his head. Vanishing from the spot just before a shot rang out, Kaito began to look for another solution. Which came quickly.

Appearing in an alleyway, he whistled for them, grabbing at their grenades and tossing three of them into the alley. Luck was on his side. Surrounding the three grenades in an invisible bubble of time, he ceased the further ticking of the second hand, keeping all three grenades from exploding until time moved forward, and by speeding it along, could get the remaining 2 second fuses to explode instantly. Grabbing them, the soldiers finding something odd with the lack of loud boom, they found their grenades landing at their feet, and them scrambling for cover. They never made it, but Kaito was pleased with triple explosions, leaving most of the soldiers dead. Kaito, safe to resume his walk, approached the soldiers, all but three had managed to bypass the suffering of the explosions, three wiggled and writhed in agony. Kaito was all too happy to let them end their suffering. Kaito had come to the city unarmed, but not anymore. He released a pistol from its holster and fired three shots into the eyes of the nameless soldiers who had been ordered, and were happy with following them, to take out a hospital full of innocent people and bury them in the rubble. Taking two thigh holsters and strapping them on his black pants, then putting three yet-to-be fired pistols in them, Kaito continued his journey towards the only people he could possibly ask for for help.

Salem glared, looking everywhere for Troy, he'd just upped and vanished.
"COME OUT HERE YOU COWARD!!!" Salem growled, his emotions going haywire the more angry he became. Hands shaking, heart racing, head spinning, he couldn't breathe properly, he was so angry. Troy laughed, appearing behind Salem, his knee striking his spine, then throwing him into the nearest wall. He vanished again, only to reappear in the air, throwing an energy sphere into the back of Salem's head, smashing his face into the brick wall. Another teleport and he was back on the ground, rushing by Salem, grabbing him in the head and spinning them both around, once again smashing Salem's face into the wall. And with Salem groaning in pain, Troy vanished once again. Salem panted, bleeding heavily, so angry he couldn't tell if the blood was hot or if he was just heated from emotion. Salem's blood pooled on the cement, mixing with gravel and rock, sweat mixing to dilute the blood. Salem wiped away the blood on his face, trying to find Troy, he was somewhere, but he was moving so fast, teleporting so often, he was being a cowardly ******** p***k, and it pissed off Salem to know he would appear, attack, only to disappear once again.

Troy reappeared, holding the gun rather cockily, 20 feet from Salem with a smirk on his face, chuckling in triumph.
"You two are losers, the b***h got a lucky shot and rolled that into a series of shots, and Salem is too blinded to fight properly, I end up winning. I kill you both, and I'm a hero to the TNT. What a day for me." He chuckled, raising the gun towards Salem's head, like before, only further away. Try as he might, the gun wouldn't fire, like the trigger was suddenly stuck, immovable.
"Cockiness gets you killed, Troy." Turning swiftly, Troy stared at Kaito, then smiled.
"Another former TNT member! How terrific. I kill the recently quit TNT Special Ops Commander, the former Special Operative Soldier and his pathetic girlfriend, and I'm a goddamn savior." Kaito continued to approach, smiling as per his usual self.
"Except you forgot something."
"Oh no, I didn't forget anything. I wouldn't try anything of that time s**t on me, I can counter it."
"Heh, okay." Kaito dashed forward, yet Troy decided he wasn't content with being cocky to Salem and Leigh, he wanted to be cocky to Kaito, too. That backfired.

Time warped as Troy tried to slow it down, then freeze it completely, but it backfired so horribly Troy felt himself knocked backwards from the failure. Kaito, not wasting time, rushed Troy, pushing himself up the uniform of Troy and kick him down, the force of the kick to the face meant that when the back of Troy's head struck the ground, his long ponytail still had a bit of air time, with which Kaito utilized to grab it.
"No one succeeds their first time. If you had my journal, you'd know." With Kaito holding firmly onto Troy's ponytail, he yanked hard to pull him up, only to kick him in the throat to cause him to cough and sputter when he smacked back into the ground. Kaito, kneeling down to Troy, pressed one of the guns to his throat as he still coughed.
"Let's see what your future holds, Troy." His eyes, once more, became cloudy and murky, trying to find Troy's future, then looking down to the redheaded man.
"Your future takes a terrible turn, killing you now only saves you the terrible fate, Troy. I wouldn't want to do that." Standing up, Troy knew he was outmatched by a man who controlled time, and vanished, heading back to the TNT's underground complex.

The gun went back into the holster, Kaito approaching Salem.
[******** are you doing here?" He asked in anger, as per the usual. Kaito, approaching Salem, placed a hand on the top of his head.
"You've been infected with emotion affecting nanites. They're small, but powerful. They've been directly influencing your angry emotions, which is why you can't do but what they say. They're made to withstand centuries of time passage, but give it a few hundred, they'll dissolve and absorb into your bloodstream, your liver will filter them out the next time you take a pee. Harmless, really...and gone." Kaito stood back from Salem, the explanation was...brief, but effective, and Salem quickly calmed down afterwards.
"T...The hell? That's it? Nanites? Why?"
"Who better to kill HERO than one of their own? With you blinded by rage, everyone became your foe, and the closer to you, the bigger they'd register a threat. TNT plan all along." Salem, now clear-headed and able to finally think for himself and do what he thought, ran to Leigh and embraced her in a tight hug.
"Then why the hell did you stop it?"
"Didn't you hear Troy? I quit my job. I'm no longer affiliated with the TNT and, in that regard, I need your help to get back into the TNT complex."
"Heh...you can ******** off. This is all your fault, Kaito, for all I know, it's a trap." Kaito sighed, looking down to the cement.
"Yes, you would think that, wouldn't you? But I need your help, not for my benefit, but for a friend. Her name is Keeva, for the past day I've been hanging out with her and she's the closest thing I've ever had to a friend since being in the TNT...for the first time in my life I actually felt there was something worth protecting other than my own life. They captured her, though, probably torturing her right now. I need to rescue her...please." Kaito looked up, staring at Salem, he spoke truth and honesty, he spoke calmly and soft. He wanted Salem to help, he was the only one he could really count on. Salem, sighing, looked to Leigh.
"I'm sorry...about everything I did, and...if you're still mad at me then I deserve it." Kaito sighed, figuring this would happen.
"Then I'll go it alone."
"It depends on what Leigh thinks..." Salem wanted her input, her opinion, Kaito was the man who made their lives incredibly difficult for a long time, but he sounded like he genuinely needed help, and he sounded sincere. Kaito didn't want to go this alone, but he would if he needed to.

...My dedication to all that I've sworn to protect.

[Adorkable Monster]

╔══════════════╗
Alik Toddson
╚══════════════╝

〖Malware〗

Alik nodded to Ryx as he got on. He couldn't help but stiffen a little bit, feelign his presence behind him as he could see his huge shadow completely engulf his. His confidence was shaking and he realized being out in the daylight was proabably a horrible mistake, even with someone as impressive as he had believed Ryx was. In fact, once the idea came to mind it had been worse to come in the daylight with more than just himself. Wouldn't the people potentially posing as enemies be more inclined to bother an adult, as it was obvious they thought of adults as less helpless in survival matters and with purposes in mind? He was pretty sure that when they saw him or other kids they saw a scampering mouse, trying and failing to survive. Daylight, Ryx and a wagon of belongings made for a pugnacious person with thoughts of an auspicious meal.

Not only that, but he could feel Ryx's eyes burrowing into his skull, or at least he imagined he could. Slowly he shifted his weight on the scooter and they started of, moving around the larger rubble and quickly picking up speed. This time Alik found the fastest possible route to the bridge, having used his own cognitive map of what he'd seen to deduce it. Over the bridge he gripped the handles of the scooter with white knuckles, staring off past the edge and into the murky waters, glinting in the sunlight. He had reasons to now be wary of bridges; very very concrete reasons. He listened carefully to the noises.

As soon as they had passed safely over he loosened his shoulders, his scapuli expanding away from his spine. He still wasn't in a relaxed stance, and would often glance up at Ryx, before quickly looking back forward where his scooter zoomed, watching where he was going. They were getting closer to his home. He slowed down a bit and assured that the area was fine, not even a few bedraggled people peering out from the alleys they always inhabit, before looking up at Ryx, this time making sure he could get eye contact.

"Hey." He said then paused a bit, looking uncomfortable. How does one go asking favors of the offended? He pinked at the cheeks. "Do you think I could have the attic as my room? It's got a good lookout vantage, and unless you know where the pull rope is, you can't get in. You wouldn't have to see me so much even. I'd be like a mouse." He glanced back at the road and turned the corner, getting onto Ryx's street. Looking back up, he tilted his head to the side, getting a better vantage at looking up at him. The question had been burning him since he had stood up there waiting for James to return. Watching out the window, and pacing off the size of the single, low roofed room made him convinced he liked it, thick dust and everythign. Sure, the process of making it livable would be much more strenuous than taking the already guest ready room james had offered, but that room didn't have even a simple lock, a walk in for anyone, even wheels. The window was large and easy to get to on the main floor and the bed higher than he ever could be used to. He had nearly fallen out in the morning. If the could set up something simpler, in a smaller room, with a smaller, more vantageful window, he'd be that much more content to live there.

“I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.”

[floofwolfe]

when the roof caved in
and the truth came out
i just didn't know what to do

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Don't react. Don't even twitch. Non-expression. He's insubstantial. Irrelevant. Impotent. Faith pushed her growl back and kept her expression bland when Jin got in her face, masking her irritation and jagged edges with smooth disinterest. She hadn't had jagged edges to mask until very recently. She used to be made of disinterest. Hadn't needed a mask to be composed. The loss of simplicity just added to her irritation; her emotions were gnawing at her instead of being automatically swept aside by the collar. The collar. Did she hate it or love it? Why did she even need to ask herself that question? The obedience was less than stellar, but being above the clutter of emotions had been... cleansing.

Gabe was gone for nearly half a minute before Faith realized that his stay here probably meant just stay in the room, not stay exactly where she was on the bed.

Only a couple seconds after that did she remember that she didn't have to obey him at all.

The redhead forced herself up and staggered off the bed without bothering to suppress her snarl. Then she growled at herself, for letting the irritation get to her. Okay. Calm. She needed to calm down. Be calm. Ignore her splitting head, aching back, uneasy stomach. Sweep aside the irritation and unsettled anger. So she was physically vulnerable. That was a fact. Inescapable. She was becoming emotionally vulnerable. That was unacceptable. It was also making her more vulnerable than she needed to be. The fact that her physical weakness was causing her unbalanced emotional state was a testimony to how badly she was unraveling.

Faith inhaled slowly and forced herself to stop pacing. Pacing. When had she started pacing? Why did she feel the need to--

Because pacing was a physical attempt at venting emotional distress.

Emotional distress.

Unacceptable.

Faith strangled her emotional turmoil and circled back to the bed, squirming her way onto the center of the duvet. The teen knelt with her feet tucked under her seiza-style, facing the open door, and half-closed her eyes. Found her center.

The collar was gone, but that didn't mean she didn't remember the initial sensation of the two rows of black-metal oppression. No, not oppression; void. Nothingness. Not suppressing emotion, but dissipating it. Disturbingly enough, that initial force of void-vortex was her best center.

Cold. No, not cold; cold was something. Just the absence of heat. Absence of cold. Absence of... anything, everything. Not even calm. Not-feeling. Non-emotion.

Unfortunately, with that sensation-recall came the rest of the memory. Tall, blond, striking. Doctor Korolov. 'Obedience, to the full extent of your ability. Truthfulness, to the full extent of your knowledge. Logic, to the full extent of your intelligence.'

Faith tried to close her voice out, separate it from what she wanted from the memory, but they were intertwined. Sensation-recall said void and brain-memory said obedience. The teen's legs seized in a cramp and she shifted, stretching it out as much as she could without breaking her position. Think void. Blank slate. Nothingness. Logic. Void. Blank slate. Nothingness. Logic. Obedience. No. No obedience. Just void. Blank slate. Nothingness. Logic. Void. Blank slate. Nothingness. Logic. Void. Blank slate. Nothingness. Logic. Obedience.

Faith held her breath for a minute until she could feel the pressure behind her eyes. Inhale. Exhale. No obedience. Void. Logic. Void. Logic. Obedience. No!

"Void, logic," the redhead murmured under another inhale, trying to concrete it more by saying aloud. "Void, logic. Void. Logic." Faith opened her eyes a little more, looking at the doorframe without seeing it. Looking at it dispassionately. The empty door reminded her faintly about Gabe.

"Void. Logic. Obedience. No," she hissed, just barely managing to keep the frustration from her voice. Obviously, that memory was the wrong center to choose, even if it was the best. Faith cast her thoughts around for a different core. Well, if she couldn't go with nothingness, maybe cool and calm would have to do.

Closing her eyes again, Faith laid her forearms down her thighs, insides up, so she could see the needle tracks through a half-lidded gaze. Silence. Numbness. Painkiller. Morphine.