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"I know what you mean, as if anyone saw that s**t coming... Maybe if Cryptic was mayor right." Victor laughed and shook his head. "So much has happened that I'm not even sure in the wake of all of this that Gold is even alive." He rubbed his forehead with his off hand and stared at the ground the weight of not being able to keep track of all of his friends both citizens and vigilantes alike was beginning to cause him stress, "If it wasn't for Gold... I mean he helped to keep me afloat in this city, no one else would have overlooked my shitty work and disappearances it's as if he knew who i was Rick."

Liz stared into the fire from her position leaned against a dead log, Rei took up the position opposite to her.

"We were so close," Rei said rather distraught, breaking the silence. "I saw her, I could had her on the ground in half a second but she had him cut into pieces. We can't know if it's reversible without her to put him back together."

"Don't" worry, she can't keep this up forever, or for much longer. We just have to wait for the right opportunity," Liz responded as she tossed a small stick into the fire. "But she's getting more careful and cleaning up her tracks; and it's not just us, I think they're someone else she's watching out for. I'm getting this feeling that every time we're close it's because she's being herded away from where she wants to go.

"Either way she's getting too hard for me to follow with what I've learned from my Orion, Feral and my mother. Without a experienced tracker we're going to start losing her trail."

"So what are we going to do?" Rei asked, with concern in her eyes.

"Don't worry, I've got Alex getting an old friend that should be... adequate."

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Phantom sulked around the darkness of the surrounding area soundlessly, invisible to the spectrum visible by the human eye. He watched calmly and tirelessly as he had for the past few months, watched the woman who had abducted Zack Ryder going on 6 months now. At first he had gone completely unnoticed; for at least the first two months the woman had not been more suspicious of his or any other presence that any other criminal with a hostage might be, which was 'very'.

However the first time she had tried to turn Zack over to whomever it was that was paying her he had gotten there first and by the time she arrived they were dead by his hand. Unfortunately they were all intermediary payed goons that were useless as far as information went; but from that point on he was sure she knew that someone besides the Hunters were on her trail, his kills were a just as clean and efficient as theirs might be but a fair deal more brutal and detached. He had watched her look over the scene and she had definitely noticed the subtle signatures in his method that told her he was a new threat entirely.
Ever since then she had become increasingly wary of whoever she might think Phantom was that it was getting to the point that it he set something up to even feel like a trap she went the other way; which was in turn useful for keeping her away from the people she was meant to hand Zack over to, but also made it nearly impossible for him to find a perfect time to liberate Zack from her.

It seemed that they were in sort of a stalemate in that she was to careful to leave a opportunity open for Phantom but also more interested in living than walking into a trap just to get the money for turning Zack in. Phantom was hoping that eventually she would just have to deem the reward not worth the risk and move on, but he didn't know how long that would take if it was going to happen at all.

(I should have one more soonish, but it will be somewhat time delayed)

Stifle's scarves wove in and out in a hypnotic dance like dozens of snakes. She roared once more and slammed the huge knot she created with the force of a wrecking ball at the glass enclosure. It bounced off with as much effectiveness of the last hundred or so times she tried it. She screeched once more. Like a swarm of bees the tips of her scarves darted about and attacked every inch of her prison to no avail.

"I doubt he's transcended to another state of being, he has a lot of unfinished business." Victor chuckled a bit, " Well I guess I don't really know what keeps someone tethered to this world other than the information we get from stories and myths, I truly hope that we find them both. I can't think of the last time the fallout has caused this kind of damage to everyone. If we could do it again I think I would most likely gone with like hasta la vista bitches! You know something timeless." Victor who at the time was serious realized that he had said the last part out loud.

Melody rolled her eyes at Zack and forced him to his feet. "I'm sure. Yur hot merchandise boyo. Aye can't put you down without risk ta me. Aye'd prefer to hand ya over and git me money and git as far away from ya as I can before ya blokes show up." She gave him a light shove. "Come on. We're movin again."

"Well I hope this is what you really want," Zack said as he shuffled in front of her, "because the only way this ends is messy. Do you even know what these people are going to do with me? Do you care what they'll use me to do?

"Either my friends find you at the right time and they don't hold back or you get what you want and hand me off and they use me as a weapon of destruction to vilify mutants. Either way it ends bad for you."

It seemed he was more bitter than usual because of his situation and this question had been eating at him. He wasn't able to keep it in any longer.

Zack winced slightly at the kick but wouldn't be silenced.
"You may know you aren't a mutant, but how many people do you expect to care to make that distinction once hysteria and mob mentality sets in? Once the fire is lit we're all 'freaks'."

He paused before he muttered, "I've seen peaceful people driven to murder by blind fear and pure malice." Then, almost inaudibly, "And I've seen it in myself more than once. I don't want to be a weapon."

After that he fell silent on moved in the direction Melody continued to prod him in.

Victor eyed Nix for a moment before he opened the letter. His eyes skimmed through it and back up to him, noticing his expression he read it for real. Her voice rang through his head with every letter of each word. The memory was still one he went over again and again, for some reason to him the short time he spent with her was one he couldn't shake.

"Well look at that Rick some people still need me unlike this damn place." he elbowed Ricky a little bit harder than he probably should have. And mumbled something vulgar about JJ, Capital, and a zebra. He stared at the letter for a bit more taking in all the information he could. One of his many skills as a detective was a mild grasp on graphology, and it's incites in to the psychological portion of the writer. Why does she write like a robot, those words have little feeling so analytical It's like- hello there He smiled when he noticed the work behind the finishing of the letter.

"I think we might be able to help with this, what do you say Rick, wanna go on a road trip?" Victor smiled with glee. How hard can it be to find two people really... although I'm not sure I wanna help with that attitude, maybe she just doesn't get enough hugs... not often when we get do a 'manhunt' he thought to himself Son of a b***h I said we again, god I need help, wonder if this is just something I have to stop doing or if it's deep seated in my core from my childhood...we should look into that when I get back.... damnit. the smile faded from his face but he still seemed intent on going.