☼ รץภςє๔ ☾

​

Kassandra stiffened when Joshua said the k word, knowing exactly very well that was a trigger word for Tobias. She had time to analyze everyone within the immediate networks of Raven Sun, memorizing what each member was capable of and every tick about them. She pulled out her own gun, aiming it at Tobias. “Listen to Joshua, Tobias, for once. We have the situation with Cynthia under control at this point. You know my father Benjamin Landen doesn’t jump to conclusions hastily. Have a clear head about this. Turn around, walk away.” Her eyes darkened as she kept a steady hand still aimed at the younger male. “If you take a step forward, I will not hesitate to shoot. I never miss.”

​

She heard another name she recognized. Walter knew Errol Ingrao too. Not only was Jex in danger, but Errol was too. Rose kept a steady gaze on Walter, letting his words sink into her brain. She swallowed the lump in her throat, tightening her grip on the arms of the chair. She was just sixteen, moving from a junior in high school to a senior. She was in honor band, got on the honor roll recently, but she hadn’t lived the life she thought was possible just last year. Sluggishly, she smirked, shaking her head. “No… I’m not afraid of death. Jex was the one that saved me from killing myself when nothing seemed to be going right when I was fifteen...” She laid her head back on the chair, staring at nothing. “He’s going to be mad at me… But at least he’ll live to save someone else.”

​

Benjamin stayed silent, not showing any emotions as Jason explained his plight. The old man had always had his suspicions, but kept them mostly to himself. The Watch List was just a reflection of what went on in the man’s mind. He wanted what was best for each of his members, wanted them to feel safe and protected within the walls of Raven Sun. He knew what it was like to be an outcast and the feeling of always having to look over his shoulder. “I believe she had already awaken her powers. I have summoned my daughter from the main tech room to investigate a noise from the cell. Apparently Cynthia already had tried to escape… You know I am not the mercenary my family once were when it comes to those with powers… Yes, it is our duty to keep the balance in the world, but that doesn’t mean we kill everything that moves or acts differently…”

The old man straightened in his chair, looking long and hard at his best agent. He was beaten, worn down, and torn. His grandpa side began to kick in and he wanted to do anything possible to help. “Why don’t we consider this…? We cannot keep her in the organization that will cause an uproar. However, we can give her a private business of sorts. She can act as her own mercenary under the careful eye of Raven Sun, but she will be her own agent. Her blood lust will be fulfilled in a healthy way, we can still keep a positive relationship with her, and you will still be able to see her as often as you like. What do you think? ”

​

Carter’s eyes widened when Colton mentioned his mom’s real name, and his little sister. So this older guy was really telling the truth. He looked up at the black haired male, finally giving him a little smile.

Lyle only blinked when Lucas was done telling him what he needed to do and what kind of information the government official needed. Well joy, his observation with the subjects would have to wait longer than he anticipated. “You should have been more careful of who you captured. However, since you are of higher authority than I am, I have no choice but to help you.”

A high piercing, deafening sound suddenly came from the collar Colton was trying to mess with. “Ah!” Carter grabbed his ears, trying to block the painful jolt of noise while Kytheria stood there, her right eye twitching slightly. Immediately, a jolt of electricity would soon shoot through Colton’s body, warning him to back off. As soon as Colton stopped messing with the collar, the alarm would shut off.

Lyle only glanced at him before looking at the boy. If this annoying teen cared so much about this child… Lyle suddenly pulled out a tiny blue chip and then walked to Carter, inserting it in his own black collar. “You might want to reconsider your fetal attempts to escape, boy,” Lyle warned. “Whenever the collar shocks you, it’ll shock your new friend too.” A jolt of electricity ran down Carter’s body, causing him to yell and grab at his neck as he doubled over in pain.

​

“That’s not a bad idea, Jean… How do we get in there without being detected though?” Errol wrote down more notes and then glanced at the folder of the profiles of subjects and scientists. He suddenly recognized a face of a female scientists and his blood went cold. “This… She’s… She’s the one that kidnapped Colton.” He picked up Isabella’s profile and stared long and hard at it. “The telepathists… kidnapping someone of her own kind.” Errol felt his stomach churn and then he fought down his anger. No, he needed to focus. “Can you get a visual on the scientists in the facility right now?”

 

“ah…now I see…you truly are an empty being” Walter said calmly finishing up with the last of the wounds. “that day you chose to commit suicide…you truly killed your sense of self…that is the only answer I can give to this selflessness I see before me” Walter said as he placed his hand on his chin. “At this point death would only be the best option here…” Walter said closing his eyes as he let out a sigh. “Your lucky that I was sent here for now…this will be the only rest you shall ever get from here on out. You will endure this pain each and every day, kept alive to continue to endure…” Walter said grimly “Eventually if this boy does care about you, you’ll be a perfect bait and a trap shall be sprung for your dear friend Jex.” Walter said

“As such your life holds no value my dear…either die or suffer and be a burden…” Walter said closing his eyes with a smirk “but of course there is a third option…tell us were Jex is an you shall be set free…” Walter said crossing his arms with a smile “Quite the difficult choice right? however we truly have no qualm with those of peace…truly if your precious Jex is as such a kind guy as you believe we of the Raven Suns will not have any reason to harm him…or Eroll…” Walter said nonchalant

 

​

Rose realized what she had said and backtracked a bit in her mind. She would die, Jex would be upset. She would live, be used as bait to draw Jex out. She bit her lower lip, trying to figure out what to do. No, she needed to live. Jex showed her so. When they were trapped in her mind facing the most awful monsters she had deep inside of her, there were beautiful things as well. She had a light, still shining, still hanging on. Jex helped her to see that she could get through this darkness, to battle the demons. If she died now, and Jex found out it was because she said she didn’t fear death… What would he think of her then? Would he feel like all he did for her was nothing? Walter was right. She would die. That would cause more problems than what she could comprehend. Jex would want her to get out of this alive. He would want her home safe and sound.

“He’s not bad,” Rose said softly, feeling herself gradually caving in bit by bit. “He's very helpful and kind… His uncle… He’s teaching him and-“ She stopped herself, momentarily realizing they were just only asking for Jex and Errol. “-and showing him how to use his powers for good. They can’t help who they are… They want to be normal, but they can’t. So they’re trying to do with what they have and make it right.” She looked at Walter, mustering as much strength as she could to sit up, her body shaking and burning as she did so. She gritted her teeth, resting her body once more as she clutched her side where it was extremely painful. She wanted Walter to know that she needed to be taken as seriously as she could right now and forced herself to look at him with her good eye. “What he did to me was a complete accident… But he saved me. He helped me. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt anyone. Errol is the same way… He made Jex promise to train with his abilities more, gain more experience before trying to help people like me…”

She felt her heart racing, wondering if she was actually doing the right thing. Would this prevent anything other than her death? She breathed out, clutching her side tighter as she licked her chapped lips. “He’s… He’s in the same city I’m from… Reno, Nevada.” She closed her eyes tightly, feeling a deep regret grow inside of her. “Please… Just leave them alone... Don’t hurt them, or kill them… Please…”

 

As Mai called out for him to stop messing around with her mind, Shane ignored it. He didn't even acknowledge Isabella's illusion; he was much too busy with his little project. However, as she screamed it the second time, his darkside view trance wore off. Immediately the urge to hurt her was suppressed once more, and immediately the voice inside his head screaming at him to mess with her mind became little more than a whisper. He stood there, eyes open wide in horror as he realized what he'd just done. He knew that he could have gotten past the shields that Mai had created, because despite there actually being shields she didn't seem too practiced in them.

He wouldn't do it though. He'd caused enough pain, he wasn't going to cause any more. If he kept going there was a good chance Mai could wind up like the last group of people he had used his powers on, and he wasn't going to allow that to happen. Turning to Isabella as she shoved the coffee towards him, he simply stared at it. A short time ago he would've done just about anything to get it, but now...now he wanted nothing to do with it. He turned to look at Mai, a pained and exceptionally guilty look in his eyes. "I'm...I'm so sorry.." was all he could manage to say, his voice barely audible. He then turned and sprinted out of the room. He ran back to his cell and sat down inside of it. These people could help him get rid of his powers, but he would have to hurt people to do it, and he wasn't sure he wanted to do that.

These people didn't want to help him, they didn't care whether or not his powers would be stopped, they just wanted a weapon...and he'd voluntarily given them one.


Tobias visibly flinched when Joshua called him a kid. Seriously, what was it with people and always calling him that? Were they stupid? He eyed Joshua carefully. Sure as hell looked stupid. Both Kassandra and Joshua were pointing guns at him, but from the way Joshua was speaking Tobias didn't think he had the balls to shoot him. Kassandra was related to Benjamin though, meaning that she probably had bigger balls than any other person in the building. There was no way she wouldn't shoot him. "Fine, fine. You got me, man you guys are persistent" Tobias said, slouching slightly and putting his hands in his pockets like the typical teenager.

Moments later, a wicked grin appeared on his face as his hands emerged from his pockets, one hand holding two throwing knives and the other simply holding one. Knives, his prefferred weapon. This was where he shined. He tossed one of the knives at Kassandra's hand, aiming for the gun, and another at Joshua's hand, both trying to disarm. He'd barely leapt off of the ground before he felt the bullet hit him. One of the bullets had missed, of that he was sure, but one of them had hit him square in the right kneecap. He landed on the ground clumsily, taking every ounce of willpower to have his leg not collapse on itself. Damn it was painful though, he loved it.

He hoped that the knives had hit home, and the chances of them not were fairly slim due to his aim. However, he threw the third one straight at Joshua's eyes as he broke into a frantic dash for Cynthia's cell. Either it would take out his eyesight or the glasses would stop it, either way it would help. He dashed like a madman as fast as his feet could carry him, and damn despite his injured knee he moved fast. Only a few seconds had passed and he'd already made great distance. Just a little more and he'd be able to actually attack Kassandra and Joshua at melee range, where he could take them out pretty easily if everything went to plan. He just had to hope they didn't recover and shoot him before he got to them.


"Well, Lyle, I'm not sure if you're aware but I didn't run a background check on every single person in the area at the time. We needed a telepath or a telekinetic, not someone of specific descent or anything like that. As long as the person had powers, that's all that mattered, and we got what we wanted. I never fail, and I'm not going to let them get the better of me. You're right, you don't have as much authority as me, so don't question my decisions. This isn't the first kidnapping I've been a part of, this isn't the first operation I've run, and it won't be the last either, I'm sure" Lucas stated. However, Colton just had to pipe up then.

"You surprised me by surviving this long. Given your responses though, I'd say it's only a matter of time before you kick the bucket" he responded coolly. The investigator rolled his eyes at Colton's comment of "do your worst". He shot a quick glance at Colton, before turning his attention towards Lyle. "Well, as long as he's asking for it I don't see any reason not to. Should get interesting results. Just how powerful can that electric shock get? I'd like to see" he said, just the hint of a smile on his lips. This would be fun. ​

 

After eating his breakfast, stomach full...perhaps too much...he reached inside his pocket and looked at the envelope that had the information about Tomas Mullone. He wanted to tackle this task as he himself had a troubled childhood, and as Tomas was missing for a year, something must be done. Errol instructed him to visit the family first. It was a logical place to start. Perhaps Tomas had powers and like Alex might have run away from his family. The smile on his face trembled into a frown.
"Last call. If you want to help find the missing person, Tomas Mullone, speak up to me," he messaged to everyone in the mansion. "I'm in the kitchen for the next 10 minutes."
Alex lounged back in the plastic chair sat beside the dinner table and sighed. People didn't like him much in the mansion. He has recently whined too much about the noise everyone created. He thought that perhaps it was childish, knowing the recent circumstances, but he really needed the sleep. He thought that Colton was tough and there wasn't much to be worried about, but he might have been wrong about that.

Ryan re-entered Jex's room, still ticked off with the conversation he had with Tyson. He has offered his assistance, but at the same time, was this a trap? Has he used his daughter as a way to offer a human side to why he was killing powered people? His daughter would have been alone if Ryan continued, but at the same time he was wary of him. As he walked back to the seat next to Jex, he stared at the damage Tyson caused. His body was covered in bandages, and he couldn't even see his face anymore. He ever-so-wanted to see Jex open those violet eyes. He's missed them. As he sat down, Ryan held his hand.
"I'm back, Jex. I'm here," he said to him, yawning afterwards. He wasn't expecting an answer, but he knew he could hear him from Jex's tighter grip from before. He was really tired. His eyes began to shut every so often, but Ryan tried to stay awake. He needed to keep watch over Jex, but Ryan was unsure in his abilities still. He hasn't been trained at all due to his chest injury. He then realized in the corner of his eye that Danni was watching over Jex, not Christie. They must have switched. He glanced over to her and tried to give a smile. He felt so terrible for ignoring her all this time.
"So Danni...tell me about yourself," he said, wanting to get to know her more.

 

When Tobias had moved and thrown the knives, Joshua had shot at his knee and had hoped that would have kept him down. Of course it didn't. Joshua had managed to move his arm in time so it wouldn't get sliced, but he had not anticipated a second knife going straight for his glasses. He missed it.

It broke through, and went in at an angle, at the lower lid of his right eye, his worse eye at least. He tried his best not to audibly react. It really ****ing hurt, but he didn't have time to complain. He could tell based on the amount of time he had left he wouldn't react in time to shoot. Joshua waited for Tobias to get closer before he put all of his weight into a kick straight into the knee he had shot.​

 

• At Raven Sun of WAR! HUH! WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
• At Ariel Labs of Doom
• At the Academy of Delayed Planning
• At the Hospital of Drama

• 
  
  
  ​
  
  “I will have to speak to Joshua on the matter as well first, but we can work out the details as we go along-“Benjamin stopped short when he heard gun shots from within his office. Immediately the man stood to his feet, grabbing his cane as the chair toppled behind him. “Let’s move,” Benjamin said in a gruff tone, making his way to the door. Whatever was going on by Cynthia’s holding place, he had sent his precious and only daughter to see what was happening. He hoped for whoever sake it was that his daughter was not hurt.
  
  
  ​
  
  Kassandra became even more tensed when Tobias had stuck his hands in his pockets. She was about to bark at him to keep his hands where she could see them, but it was too late. A movement, and one knife was thrown at Kassandra’s hand. Barely seeing it, she only had time to move to block the attack with her forearm. Adrenalin had kicked in, pain was temporarily erased as she aimed her gun again. Tobias moved, and Kassandra and Joshua shot. She wasn’t sure whose bullet had hit his kneecap, but he was hit. That didn’t stop him from moving though. Firing more shots at Tobias, she aimed at his shoulders. Realizing he wasn’t slowing down and wondering if he was on some sort of drug to keep moving on a horrible leg like that, Kassandra quickly released the magazine of her gun, letting some bullets fall to the ground. In the back of her head, she didn’t want Tobias to get ahold of her gun and start shooting people. He would have an empty gun if he had Kassandra’s. In the corner of her eye, she saw that Joshua was still standing, getting ready to stop Tobias with hand to hand combat. With the other hand, Kassandra wiped out a Taser from her gun belt, aiming right at Tobias and fired, hoping to slow him down at least for a few moments.
• 
  
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  Carter had recovered from the shock and was now looking up at the older teen as he spoke. For the first time in a while since he had been here, he was beginning to feel fear creep up inside of him. He wished he could be stronger for his little sister and his momma, but he was starting to waver. Hesitantly, Carter scooted closer over to Colton and grabbed for his good arm not in a cast. Colton’s skin felt cold, but the little boy didn’t care at all. It had been a while since he had human contact like this and felt safer, like Colton was going to protect him. The older teen told him that he had seen his mom and sister, and now he was here to get him out. Carter didn’t know how, but he didn’t care. He had someone else who knew him and was going to be here for him. The little eight year old wanted to show he was going to be there too for the older male as much as possible.
  
  
  ​
  Strain stared at Lucas, and then back to Colton. The bantering was kind of amusing, but it didn’t last that long. While the two were talking back and forth briefly, Strain had pulled up the sleeve on his robotic arm and pressed a few buttons, creating a small holographic screen to pop up. He entered in some commands with a tiny keyboard, just finishing up when Lucas asked him about how strong the electricity could go. “High enough to kill a cow,” he dryly declared, closing out of the holographic screen and let the sleeve go over his arm again. “I have sent my automatons to begin strengthening the security. Should they hack into our computer systems or anything electronic, we will know. Entry ways, air vents, sewers, plumbing, everything will be ready for the expected invasion.” He then looked up at one of the security cameras, his optic whirling and focusing in on it for a moment. Yes, everything should be in order soon.
  
  He then looked at his two subjects, and then back to Lucas. “I’m afraid I will bore you. I am not one to ‘torture’ on whim, merely to push one to their limits and perhaps beyond if at all possible.” He then made his way passed Lucas and Kye, expecting the two boys to follow. “You may come and see if you like, no one is stopping you.” The scientist then led the way to his indoor fighting arena which had a dirt floor, an abandoned house halfway built with many scorch marks on it, bushes, some small trees, and crates stacked around the area. It looked like a Ghost Town scene from a Western film. He ushered Colton and Carter to step inside the arena, not offering them a word of explanation.
• 
  
  
  
  ​
  Errol’s eyes landed on the camera image where Colton was now with a small group of people with a young boy standing by his side.
  
  “Carter!” Nicole placed a hand over her mouth, seeing her little boy standing by Colton. He indeed was very much alive, the list did not lie. She felt an ache within her chest, but at the same time felt a sense of relief that her son was alright for the most part. All this time, even though it seemed like a short amount of time, she thought deep dowh he was dead and no one would ever find him again.
  
  The man suddenly winced in sympathy when he saw Colton and Carter were getting electrocuted, Nicole gasping behind him. The torture had soon stopped though, and he could see Colton’s shoulders shake as he coughed while the little boy stayed double over before gradually standing up and rubbing at his neck. “Tomorrow,” he said as his eyes narrowed at the three adults standing idly by, watching the scene unfold before them. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on them. He then noticed one of the male’s lips moving and began to try to read what he was saying. The man went rigid, putting a hand on Brendan’s shoulder. “Time to wrap up what you can gather for us. They’re going to up their security system which means they’ll find us snooping in their hardware…” He then noticed the other labs, seeing a young, frail girl in a hospital bed. He could see her shoulders shaking, and figured from the body language he could see that she was crying. Another glance, and he saw another young person in a cell, curling up in a fetal position. There would be no more tears, no more fear after this.
• 
  
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  Danni had two drum sticks out, gently tapping at a pillow on her lap as softly as she could to not annoy or disturb anyone. When Ryan came back in the room, the ginger watched him soundlessly, letting the drumsticks hit the air instead of the pillow as she played the beat to a silent song. She watched the teen’s body language, how he seemed to act around her cousin and how he seemed to be holding up. He was brand new to this whole some-people-have-powers thing and felt sort of sorry for the kid. She knew that Jex opened himself up a little too much to those in need and always got in over his head. It wasn’t the kid’s fault that Jex ended up like this though. It was her cousin’s own fault. She stopped moving her drumsticks when Ryan suddenly addressed her, asking her a question. She rested her hands on the pillow, debating what she should share to someone she barely knew. “I’m the She-Hulk of the Academy,” she warned, keeping a straight face. “Not much else to know about me.” She picked up her drumsticks, tapping away at the pillow on her lap to keep her nerves down. “How about you? What do you like about my cousin...? Looks, personality, sexuality…?” Danni kept a steady gaze on the guy, waiting patiently for his answer.

 

Walter patiently listened to her words, taking in the information she was giving him, but the immediate pause she had mid-sentence made the man’s eyebrow raise a bit. She was hiding something, this was what Walter believed, but what exactly was it that she felt was so important that she had to omit it from her explanation.

“Interesting…” Walter said calmly as he unfolded his arms and begun to pack back his suitcase. “I cannot make such a promise…after all if he does wrong then we will have no choice, but if he is as tame as you state then there should be no problem….” Walter said closing the suitcase with a smile, the object closing with a click. He could care less about these psychic’s lives, but he did prefer them to be alive. The decision to kill and harm them was not his, but the decision of the other Raven Suns. “You’ve done good, but note that I’ve interrogated numerous people…so what is it that you omitted from your statement?” Walter said narrowing his eyes with a smirk. He had been generous with the girl, by now he would have broken her mind, but it was always good to spice things up. “So tell me, what ar-” Walter began to say but stopped the moment there was the sound of gunshot

Walter closed his eyes and let out a sigh “well I just can’t ignore that now can I?” Walter said with a soft smile. “Rest here for now” Walter said before running off from the cell holding Rose. With his eyes opened and narrowed, the male smirked as he noticed a pair before him. There was already blood but by the looks of it, it seemed that the child of the group was causing mischief. He was a bit surprised to see both Kassandra here and for him it was a very delightful surprise, but at the moment there wasn’t time to chat with the woman. His heels sliding to a stop as he stopped a bit behind the two and brought out a gun and pointed it out at the target, ready to shoot at any time. In the case of the gun not working out he had his other hand in his jacket, holding a dagger. “ah kid drama…how lovely” Walter said with a smirk ready to attack if the taser didn't work.

 

Ryan laid back in his chair, and at first smiled at Danni's She-Hulk comment, but when Jex's sexuality came up, his smile faded slightly. Is that what was in Danni's mind? Was she bothered by it? She did give him a weird look earlier. How does sexuality play into it? His smile returned as he spoke.
"When Jex met me, he seemed so kind, calm and caring. I used to be quite the shy guy, and when he looked after me three weeks ago with so much care, I just felt so nervous, and I didn't know why. I was blushing."
Ryan was blushing at that point, just thinking about how embarrassing it was.
"I knew how I felt, and it just felt natural towards him. He is so funny, and we instantly made a connection. It's not a matter of sexuality, it just happened, and I should have accepted that back then. Maybe this all wouldn't have happened if I did," he spoke looking at Jex's bandaged face. "I just want to see him smile and see his eyes shine at me again," he said, clasping Jex's hand. "I've only known him for a little, I know, but I care for him and I know he feels the same way." He felt so embarrassed to say something like this to someone, but he wanted to let Danni know how he felt. She was his cousin.

 

​

Compared to how long that he had to wait in line at the cafe, waiting for a bus to show up was much easier in comparison. The bus ran on a set schedule at least, so as long as nothing wrong wrong, then it should arrive without too much waiting for it. Well depends on when you arrived at the bus stop. Fortunately Ken had arrived about 5 minutes before the bus was due to arrive. Plus he still had some of his drink that he ordered at the cafe, so he was good in that regard.

Once the five minutes had expired, the bus had arrived right on schedule. Once it had come to a complete stop, the doors opened and anyone who either wanted to get on or off the bus was allowed to do so. Ken was part of the boarding group and upon getting into the bus, he dug into his pockets for the appropriate amount of money to cover for the ride, to a from. In other words he got an all day pass just so he wouldn't have to by another pass when his business was finished. After paying for said pass, he was able to find an empty seat with relative ease. It was a window seat so that he could rest his elbow on the glass as well as his head on his hand as the bus left the station and begun its route.

 

Tobias let out a yelp as the kick connected with his knee, forcing it to give way. The pain felt good, his lips curled into a grin as he began standing up, but immediately he was on the ground again, writhing and wriggling around as he was hit by the taser. Oh it hurt, it hurt so much, but eventually to his disappointment it stopped. He found himself unable to focus at all, but he wasn't going to allow himself to stop. He'd made himself a promise, and though she didn't know it he'd made a promise to Cynthia, too. No amount of guns pointed at him would stop him, and this thought didn't change when Walter pointed a gun at him. This was how he'd always felt, this is where he belonged. He'd never been a part of Raven Sun, not really, just an enemy waiting to strike from within, that was how he was sure the others saw him. As some kid, pretending to be something he wasn't.

And then Jason walked in. He called Tobias stupid, he told him how he was outmatched, about how he was in no mood for his games. Well, that was lucky, Tobias wasn't in the mood for games either. "You know Jason, I piss people off on a daily basis, and I kill people without thinking twice. I gamble, I only recently stopped doing drugs, and nobody trusts me as far as they could throw me. But you know what? At least I don't throw those I care about in prison. So she attacked you, big whoop. Look around, we're all killers here, one little fight isn't going to screw you over. How is locking her up like some dog going to teach her to play nice? It'll make her want to kill more. I think it's clear who is the idiot here" he stated, before the grin widened slightly on his face, looking almost like a large smirk at that point. Oh, he was pushing it, but he wasn't done yet. No, he was going to make Jason realize the truth, make him suffer internally.

"Go ahead and kill me, it'll only prove my point. You could kill me a thousand times over, but it isn't going to bring her dead mother back. You act like you care for her so much, but just think about this for a moment; the ******* that is here laying on the ground is the one trying to help her, the one trying to do what's best for her. The guy you seem to think is the worst guy ever for her is going to get her out, and her loving, caring father? He'd sooner kill her rescuer before he allows someone to make her happy. You are a coward, Jason, and you always will be" Tobias hissed, before crying out in pain as he stood up. It took everything he had to even get up, and then slowly, he took a step forward. He saw the alertness in people's eyes, and began running forward.

He hadn't made it even two steps forward before he felt Jason grab him. He pulled away from him desperately, not out of fear but because he wanted to keep his promise, but Jason was far stronger than he and he found himself slammed into the wall. He looked into Jason's eyes, and they flashed to a world of hurt, a world of anger, before returning to a neutral, unreadable expression. Still, it surprised him that he wasn't dead. The slam had taken it out of him though, it had removed the last will to fight from Tobias. "Ha, look at you...what are you going to do when Cynthia's out, Jason? When she next snaps, will you kill her...just because Benjy asked you to? Fucking...coward" were the last words Tobias Greipr uttered, before the depths of unconsciousness welcomed him at least.

Shane was still sitting in his cell, in the fetal position actually, as he heard Isabella telling him to come back. Tell me what tasks I have to do, and maybe I'll consider it, he sent back to Isabella. He knew she could probably make him go back there, but he had to put up some sort of resistance, for he was not sure what he was to do. What could he do? If he went back, he would have to hurt Mai again, and if he didn't then he would be hurt; he wasn't sure which one was worse. He was scared; no, not scared...he was terrified. Terrified because once again he was in a situation he didn't have much control over, terrified because he had to use his powers to hurt someone.

But the most terrifying thing of all was the fact that on some level, he craved to do it again.


Lucas nodded simply. He followed behind Lyle, satisfied with the security for the moment and intrigued as to where the man was going. He wasn't disappointed. There was an arena, of sorts, and it seemed as though Colton was there to fight Carter. He would have enjoyed watching it, he would have found it both entertaining and informative, but he wouldn't...no, he couldn't watch it. Carter had powers, and this made him Lucas' enemy, but he was still just a child. The kid didn't know what he was in for, he wasn't an immediate threat yet. He cleared his throat. "Lyle, Carter is too young for any fighting. Look at him, it's not even a fair fight, his body can't do anything to protect him. Not from Colton, not from anything. If you want to see their powers in action, let me take Carter's place. I've had experience with powers, I can handle them. Besides, if there's anybody here that would prompt Colton to not hold back, it would be me" the investigator said. He'd already stepped forward and was ready to enter.​

 

• At Raven Sun of WAR! HUH! WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
• At Ariel Labs of Doom
• At the Academy of Delayed Planning
• At the Hospital of Drama

• 
  
  
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  Kassandra hardly flinched when more Raven Sun members rushed to her and Joshua’s aid. Soon after a dramatic banter that reminded her of some ridiculous anime scene, Tobias was subdued and finally collapsed on the floor. “Kid has no idea what he’s talking about,” Kassandra muttered as she stared at Tobias. She scoffed at him, finally lowering her Taser. She then looked to Joshua and instantly felt sorry for the man. While Kassandra was lucky, Joshua was not so much. The knife embedded in his eye looked extremely painful; that, and there was probably a possibility that the man could go blind. He was just a member supposed to be handling internal affairs, not to deal with brutality like this.
  
  
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  Benjamin stood silently by, his jaw set rigidly as he observed the scene before him. “Walter, tend to Joshua and Kassandra’s wounds. Jason, lock Tobias up. I can’t have a maniac on the lose while we discuss your daughter’s fate.” He gripped the handle of his cane, staring long and hard at his fallen, young member. The boy was nuts, practically obsessed with Cynthia. It was as if she put some kind of spell on him that could not be easily broken. With the way Tobias had acted out, he knew that serious consequences would soon follow.
  
  “Take care of Joshua first,” Kassandra frankly specified. She looked at the knife embedded in her arm and felt the adrenalin in her body beginning to wear off. Boy was this painful. Holding a strong will, she bent down to the ground, using her good arm to pick up the unused bullets and magazine from the gun, placing them back in a pouch attached to her utility belt. She then placed her gun back in the holster, making a note to clean it later. Next she cleaned out the Taser, yanking the barbs out of Tobias’s unconscious form. This member was just as much trouble as those with powers. She then threw the used barbs to the side, standing up as blood dripped from her arm to the floor. Kassandra would be fine though, she had to deal with worse before in all her years of training.
  
• 
  
  
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  Mai winced when Isabella kissed her on the forehead, wishing that she would stop being touched by her or anyone else for that matter. This lady was crazier than Lyle was. She moved her head to wipe her tears on the pillow, her arms being too weak to move to brush them away. She heard him ask about Shane and kept silent, looking at the poster that Isabella had on hand. She could see a brain with a colorful spot on it, something about that part of the brain unlocking new powers.
  
  Mai looked to the ceiling in dread. She just had given the scientists another secret to unlock, something they could use against her kind, and she was the one to give up the information. Guilt overwhelmed her for a moment, and then she pushed it away, quietly watching Isabella. Mai had fought down her “bad memories” that Shane had implanted in her brain, telling herself over and over again they were not real. Shane wasn’t really sorry for what he’d done. She saw him influence himself to lose his mind for a moment before he began his work, and she actually swore she saw him… Enjoying it. She wished she could have a break now, go back to her cell and try to actually eat something instead of spewing blood all over the place.
  
  
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  Carter followed after Colton, still holding onto the boy’s cold hand. He heard Colton and even the weird older guy talk about him fighting Colton and him being too young to be even fighting. He squeezed Colton’s hand tighter, swallowing nervously as he watched Strain and Lucas speak to one another.
  
  
  
  
  
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  “Carter is just fine for the job. The only thing he truly lacks is height. He has wits and even brawn about him. I need to see how my robots fair against telekinetic of his type as well as Colton’s type. Unless you have telekinetic abilities, I don’t believe you are the candidate I’m looking for.” He then closed the arena doors, locking Colton and Carter inside the place before he walked over to an observation window of sorts where all this fancy gear was set up and ready to use. “The robots will be set up to a level one,” he said as he put on his headphones, his voice echoing through the microphone in the arena “just as a warm up.”
  
  
  Kye had stood back quietly, just listening and watching with her yellow eyes. She watched as Lyle seemed to ignore Lucas’s offer and made an “Ooooo” noise, covering her mouth. She then grinned from ear to ear, leaning close to Lucas to speak with him. “Baby rattlesnakes are more deadly than momma is,” she commented, looking to Carter holding on Colton’s hand like a little brother would. “Demon inside of kid’s body. Enemy to all, doesn’t manner how pintsize he is. Power is power.”
  
  “You two will not be fighting against each other, but rather the opposite. Your job is to fight the robots coming for you, to defend yourself and each other. I will gradually increase the level of difficulty as I see fit.”
  
  Carter looked up at Colton, and then looked at the cast on his arm. It seemed like this older teen was already so weak and sick, more so than what Carter was. “I’ll protect you too,” he said quietly, trying to keep a brave face on as much as possible. He had protected his sister and mother, and even some school friends, before from monsters of all sorts and shapes. He was pretty sure he would be able to protect Colton and well. It would be scary, but he could do it.
• 
  
  
  
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  Errol nodded his head as Brendan explained his theories, stroking his chin in deep thought. Nicole was silent, standing back as she watched the map layout before her eyes. Errol then cleared his throat, looking over to Jean. “We might have to physically infiltrate their security system, compromise it as you suggested before Jean. To do that successfully… We may have to play a game of undercover spy. One of us needs to pose as a government agent of sorts, bring another psychic with them as someone troublesome they captured. And then find a way to implant a virus into their computer system that will override the security somehow… There are a few problems though… We’ll have no idea where to put the other psychic, and there’s a telepathist walking around on the loose. One slip of thought, and she would know we’re on to something.”
  
  Errol looked at his watch, seeing what time it was. He received some kind of telepathic thought that Christie was going to stop for the night somewhere and sighed. “Christie will be joining us tomorrow. We’ll iron out the details tomorrow morning. For now, let’s take a break and get some much needed rest. We need all the energy we can for tomorrow if we’re going to pull this off.” He then gathered up his papers and folders, nodding at Brendan he could shut off the map. “Good night everyone, get some rest.” He then exited from the room, heading down the hallways back to his office to wrap things up.
  
  Nicole walked to Brendan, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you,” she said with a smile as tears came to her eyes. “You are doing so much for me and my family, all of you. I can’t thank you enough.” After that, Nicole pulled away from Brendan and looked to Jean, nodding her head and then excused herself from Brendan’s room to give the tech man some space.
• 
  
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  Danni listened as she softly tapped away a rhythm on the pillow on her lap. “I just didn’t picture my cousin being like that. Guess I don’t know him as well as I thought.” She finished her beat and then rested her drumsticks again, wanting to make sure she didn’t have anything to distract her anymore. “It just seems a little fast to me… Jex connects with people on a deep emotional level though. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” She looked to her cousin who was laying on the bed, all battered and broken. It always seemed like he was the one getting hurt and she never had a scratch on her. She was going to train him as hard as she could when he got better, him and Ryan both. She didn’t need any weaklings in the academy, not with kidnappers and crazy psycho killers out to get them. “I hope it works out well between you two,” she said softly, gradually accepting that someone of the same sex liked her cousin and he sounded like he liked him back. “You better take care of him as much as he’ll take care of you, you hear?” She pointed her drumstick to Ryan, trying to make a point. “He’s a softy in his heart. Not an ounce of malice or blackness.”
  
  
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  The boy in the bed suddenly squeezed Ryan’s hand, groaning as he was being brought out of unconsciousness. He could sense that Danni and Ryan were there, he heard their voices, but all was quiet in his head. There were no thoughts from other people, no connections he could feel… Nothing. He tried to open his eyes, only to feel something over his eyelashes and felt a dull ache in his skull. He winced and squeezed Ryan’s hand again, turning his head gradually to the direction he thought he was at. “Hey,” he whispered hoarsely, giving the best weak smile he could through the swollen face. "I can't... see you..."
  
  Danni sat up when she heard her cousin speak, but stayed back. If this guy loved her cousin so much, she needed to give them some space and not intrude. The nurses and doctors told them it could be another day or more before Jex actually woke up. He was a tough bugger that was for sure.
  

 

Ryan looking red in the face listened to Danni. She was tapping on the pillow before speaking to him. She must have been nervous about them.
"I just didn’t picture my cousin being like that. Guess I don’t know him as well as I thought. It just seems a little fast to me… Jex connects with people on a deep emotional level though. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised."
Ryan smiled and chucked.
"Well, to be honest, I didn't know I was like that either before meeting him. It just happened and I got really anxious at the end of the day. It was really new to me. Now I know I feel this way," he said back. He looked over at Jex with his golden eyes, happy that he was still alive. He turned back when Danni said the most sincere thing he's heard her say.
“I hope it works out well between you two. You better take care of him as much as he’ll take care of you, you hear? He’s a softy in his heart. Not an ounce of malice or blackness," she said pointing a drumstick at him. Ryan laughed at the drumstick. It was as if she was raising a sword towards him. He then looked more seriously at her in the eyes.
"I will take care of him. Don't worry," he told her in a plain voice, taking what she said more seriously.

Then his heart raced as his hand was squeezed. He turned around quickly to Jex facing towards him. He saw his eyes try to flicker up, but he was unable to do so, and Jex once again squeezed his hand. He was okay.
"Hey,” he whispered. "I can't... see you..."
He saw his smile once again and a tear began to crawl down Ryan's cheek. Eventually it dropped and hit Jex's hand. Ryan came up to him and began to stroke his black hair.
"Hey Jex. I'm here. Everything's fine," he told him. He was relieved that Jex still knew him. "You scared me back there, but you're here now...safe..."
He continued to look at his smile as that was the only way he was able to communicate non-verbally. "Do you remember everything?"

 

When all was said and done, despite the mention of Walter helping out with the medical situation, Joshua brought his hands up to the knife and he slowly pulled it out of his eye. As he did, he let out a couple grunts in pain as he spoke, "First, Cynthia gets telekinesis, then Tobias stabs me in the eye... normally I'd be worrying about the paperwork but- ah." As Joshua pulled the knife fully from his eye he felt the pain in full force and he covered up his eye with his hand, "Tobias has great aim... anyway, I'm not sure if Tobias' outlook on the situation would have changed if we had explained the Cynthia situation... but I didn't think that was- shit."

Joshua felt the blood coming through his hand and he quickly pulled a pocket first aid kit out of his jacket and he grabbed some gauze and placed it on his eye and held it there, "Anyway, I can confirm for a fact Cynthia does have telekinesis. The cell over there that's blown up is the indicator, I don't know what she did exactly,

but I ended up tranquilizing her because she tried to leave. She called Tobias and you can tell the rest from there."

Joshua turned to Jason and Benjamin and questioned, "What was your verdict?"​

​

 

• At Raven Sun of WAR! HUH! WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
• At the Hospital of Drama

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  "Don't-" but it was already too late; Joshua pulled the blade from his eye. Luckily the Raven Sun member had some gauze on him to stop the bleeding, but it must've hurt like the dickens. Kassandra kept a straight face as she looked away from the gruesome scene, listening to Joshua commentary about the situation at hand, all in the meantime cursing because of the pain he was in. Cynthia had powers after all... Kassandra figured that was why she was summoned in the first place. She glanced back at Cynthia, still unconscious it seemed in the cell she was placed in. "Tobias was not going to listen to us," the tech stated, glancing back at the reckless teen. "He was on destroy mode the moment he walked in through the doors. If Cynthia hadn't called him, things might have gone smoother than this. But what's done is done." She held her arm with the knife still embedded in it, resisting the urge to pull it out. She would rather leave it up to the medic on hand to fix things than to try to do it herself. Although she knew she would be just fine if she was out on the field on her own, away from her father's careful watch.
  
  
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  "The verdict originally was to have Cynthia be blotted out from Raven Sun, but to have her own agency and live according to her own rules whilst still allied with us. She could choose whether or not to accept our requests for her services. Details are still in order to iron out, however... This made things a tad complicated." Not only did they had to deal with Cynthia, but also Tobias who had seemed to have gone rogue. "Tobias will probably choose not stay after this incident," Benjamin predicted, thudding his cane into the floor. "Both of them know our secrets, weaknesses, and strengths. That information in the wrong hands could prove to be deadly. But if we were to kill them, that would probably cause more conflicts than create a solution. We must figure something out for Tobias as well."
  
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  Jex felt his heart flutter when he felt familiar hands run through his hair that was not covered by bandages. Gradually, he raised his hand up, feeling the air. He then felt his fingers collide gently with warm flesh and let his fingers glide over Ryan's face. He then touched wet cheeks and frowned. "Hey, Ryan, don't cry," Jex croaked, caressing Ryan's cheek with his thumb. "I'll be okay... Really." He then heard Ryan's question and faltered a bit. Did he remember everything? "Something... happened," Jex guessed, trying to put the pieces together but it was fuzzy. "You were going to meet me, something happened... I kept getting hit the head..." Hand suddenly faltering from feeling so weak, Jex trailed off as a dull headache started to rupture from the fracture in his skull. "Nn... It's really... cloudy."
  
  
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  Danni stood up when she heard Jex's words, going over to the other side of her cousin's bed. "You're telling me you don't remember what happened to you?" she asked. This wasn't good. "Why you went up against a psycho moron after Ryan was safe from harm's way?"
  
  "You were in trouble, Ryan...?" Jex was genuinely confused. "Are you okay? What happened?"
  

 

When Jex touched his cheek, his breathing stopped and his eyes widened. It was still weird that someone cared about him in that way.
"Hey, Ryan, don't cry,"
Ryan stayed silent, clutching his hand a little tighter, but when Jex struggled with his words, he tried to calm him down as he saw Jex's hand weaken.
"Don't worry if you can't remember everything. Just relax, ok?" he hushed, still stroking his hair. When Danni questioned further, Ryan was a little annoyed at her for making him worry.
"It's fine, Jex. I'm OK. After what happened, I was able to take him down. He's with his daughter now. He's on our side after what you said to him. He wanted to protect his daughter from us, but now they're under the run by a group called the Raven Suns because he didn't-"
Thoughts flashed through his mind. The gun on his back, Jex's terrified response, the anger that almost took him over. He shook them off.
"kill me."
He took a deep breath with more tears flowing down his face. Everything that just occurred just sunk in as he was explaining it to Jex. There were people after them. More than the two who attacked him before those weeks ago. There was an entire group. He cleared his throat.
"I'm just glad you're here. I've missed you," he said.

 

​

Jex was very confused with the explanation that RYAN was giving. He remembered that when he first met Ryan, he was shot by some crazy guy. They got in a fight, or some kind of disagreement, didn't talk for a few weeks, were going to meet up, Jex was helping someone out... Ryan got in trouble... Everything was blank after that, save for the blows to the head. They were so painful, they just wouldn't stop. He then felt more tears coming down Ryan's face and did what he could to comfort him, brushing his thumb across his skin. "Everything will be alright..." Jex whispered. Those words were not only to Ryan but to himself as well. Whatever was happening to him, he would be able to pick up the pieces eventually. He just needed to be patient with himself.

​

The red head watched the scene unfold before her, realizing how not only emotionally strained Ryan was but how she was too. Her way of coping was to get answers right away, but that didn't seem it would work. Jex was hurt, obviously having memory loss of what happened, and something else felt off. Jex, can you hear me? Danni tried, reaching out to her cousin as he tried to comfort his friend. Jex? Hello? Jex did not falter, or even acknowledge what she was saying. Realization suddenly struck her like a ton of bricks came crashing down. She stepped back, overcome with emotion. No, Jex, don't do this to me. You can't... You just can't...

She clenched her fists and then turned away, going to the hospital window to look out. Now was a bad time to panic or bring up her worries. There were too many things going on right this second. She took in a deep breath, forcing herself to turn back to Ryan. "Why don't you get some rest. I'll take first watch. Take your time going to sleep, but just get some shut eye." Danni pointed to an empty bed that was there for family or visitors to rest or sleep on. "Use that, I'll be watching the door and windows." She then paced across the room, finding a quiet corner where she could sit in a chair and pull a hospital blanket around her shoulders. She then stared at the hospital door, keeping alert. She needed to talk to someone though. Brendan, are you there? If you need some sleep, it's okay. Just tell me if so. I'm... fine. Danni couldn't lie completely though. She was shook up. What ever monster Jex had faced, the monster somehow shut off his powers, she was sure of it. Jex woke up, he's talking right now. Doesn't remember what happened to him though...

 

“well…that was quite the cheesy drama…” Walter said quietly as he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with a small chuckle as the fight came to an end. He was honestly quite disappointed that he really didn’t get to knock around the kid a bit, but it was to be expected with all these members all ready to calm the situation. There really was no point in him joining, but nonetheless he did witness and learn some new interesting facts.

Crossing his arms as he listened to their words Walter glanced over at Benjamin and gave him a nod upon the order to tend to Joshua and Kassandra’s wounds. Kassandra’s wounds wouldn’t be a problem to deal with and watching her move about with the wound showed there was no real rush, but Joshua on the other hand was quite serious. Before he could really act, Joshua had already ripped off the knife from his face, taking care of trying to block the blood from the wound. The discussion of what to do with Tobias and Cynthia begun and though it was an important one he had to interfere.

“Well this is all an important conversation and all, but if you still have more to discuss then shall we move to my office? It would not do to have two of our members getting woozy from blood loss now would it” Walter said. His office always was once of the biggest in the room, mostly because it acted as both an infirmary and a place to work on his inventions.