WAL: Reclamation (RPG)

GeNext Mobile Command Center, the Francisco Ward

"Tell me, men, what is the single most important quality in a soldier?"

Vasyl Kapeniak stands with his hands folded behind his back, unable to wrest his eyes away from the scene before him.

Separated by a thick layer of tempered glass the fighting pit in front of the meeting room hosts a gory exhibition, as a beastly man, infected with a perfect cocktail of Freak Formula and Necodexa Virus does battle with a group of brave survivors.

“Is it speed?”

Five of the survivors surround the colossus and attempt to stab at him with sword and spear but, in a flash, the infected sidesteps, dodging each strike with inhuman ease.

"Is it strength?"

Three of the larger men in the group decide to attack in-stereo, jumping on the freakishly large walker. For a second, the infected staggers but quickly regains footing and tosses two of the men aside as if they were mere rag-dolls, their bodies hitting opposite walls with a sickening crunch. The beast grips the last man in his colossal hands and in a show of brute strength literally rips him in half at the waist.

"Perhaps it is intelligence."

The oldest man among the survivors wisely keeps his distance, pulling a rifle from a rack on the wall. A veteran of two wars, he calms his shaking hand as his finger falls on the trigger. The beast, previously acting as if he was unaware of the man's presence, now smiles and in the last possible second, steps out of the old man's cross-hairs, the rain of bullets meant for it instead hitting two of the other survivors.

"Or...killer instinct?"

Leaping towards the shooter in the span of two gigantic strides, the infected tackles the elderly male to the ground. "Mijo, no," the old man pleads as the beast begins pummeling him until all that's left is a shattered skull and a pool of blood.

The infected man, now drenched in the blood of his family, turns to one last individual; a young girl, clutching a small teddy bear as if her life depends on it. She shivers, a lump forming in her throat as she eeks out a single word. "Daddy..."

The Freak's sadistic grin immediately fades, a glimmer of the man he once was sparkling in his eyes. Inner-turmoil apparent in its pale green face, he looks up towards the observation room, towards the man in black who made him the way he is.

Kapeniak regards the living weapon, a small preview of what's to come. He pauses, remembering how this very man had resisted capture so vigorously, even landing a punch on the genius geneticist's face, a claim that not many can make.

"No, gentlemen," although his tone is cool and collected, his voice seems to echo from every corner of the room. "These days, any soldier can be strong as Hercules, as fast as as a supersonic jet. We've seen them in action in Venezuela, Colombia, Iceland, the United States, Spain. Yet, all of those traits mean nothing if the soldier lack one important thing: compliance."

Dark-tinted glasses obscuring his expressionless face, the GeNext head scientist looks back at the girl, watching as she takes a cautious step forward. What could be going through her mind as she looks into the eyes of her infected father? Perhaps she remembers their trip to Madrid a few years back where she was lucky enough to spot one of the beautiful Liafadors from afar. Maybe she remembers the Saturday mornings when this same man would serve her a bowl of Lucky Charms and together they'd watch the animated adventures of Thee Champion on cable T.V. Or maybe her mind is blank, already resigned to the painful fate of dying by her father's hands..

With a subtle nod, the Man in Black delivers the kill command, wailing screams filling the room in a matter of seconds. When the deed is done all that remains is a bloodied white dress and a teddy bear to bear witness to it all.

"Compliance is the single most important trait of a perfect soldier. Before this quarter is over, GeNext will deliver to you an army. Fast, strong, intelligent, merciless, and above all compliant. Thank you for your time."

The men in the room, typically a stoic bunch, can't help but stand up and applaud the gruesome presentation, images of a broken world and golden thrones, dancing in their insidious heads.

Satisfied, Vasyl Kapeniak ambles out of the room, a wide smile forming on his lips. Soon.

@zaniel @sylver@feral_nova@izaiah@thunderbolt@catalina_liafador@cellphonegirl@meison_calidus

Emerald City - The Outskirts of the Francisco Ward

Team Justice

Darkness fills the city, the sun having set just under an hour ago. Jacob Grayson, the Last Guardian, stands at the ready, the rest of Team Justice, Zaniel and Sylver, waiting at his side, each flanked by a trio of elite soldiers provided by Gwen Lopez' Emerald City Project. Bringing his WAL ring up to his mouth, he glances at the fencing, the faint outline of walkers hinting at the hordes that await within.

"Remember team," his voice transmits through the communicators, "we each have our objectives, let's keep coms chatter to a minimum. Are you in position?"

"We're here."Noah's voice responds first on behalf of Team Salvation.

"Yup,"Zoe's voice confirms. "Team Hope is ready."

"Roger that,"the galactic knight acknowledges. "Don't forget, most of these people can still be cured. Use lethal force only when you absolutely have to. Take care of yourselves and let's 'Light up the darkness.'" Jacob smiles at how cheesy the We Are Legend catchphrase sounds over the coms. He still remembers how he so vehemently fought making that the official team motto.

As is the case with his squad, Hope and Salvation are also being accompanied by six elite soldiers that will act as backup and extra support. In addition, ECP has surrounded the city with anti-aircraft weapons, hoping to prevent the leaders of GeNext from escaping the sovereign state.

"Engage stealth mode," the American Alpha whispers as he force jumps over the city barrier, his suit immediately beginning a transformation from its usual bright red, white and blue, to a less gaudy silver and navy blue. The mighty Shield of Alarnos also changes to match his new attire,

Waiting for his squad to join him, he senses the presence of several infected already surrounding their entry point. With a speed much greater than what he expected from something colloquially referred to as a "walker," one of the infected immediately leaps out of the shadows, attempting to tackle Jacob to the ground. The Last Guardian responds by deploying his blue lightsaber, set for stun, and striking at his diseased assailant. With the light from the saber illuminating the surrounding area, it quickly becomes clear that the first attacker, now laying prone on the ground, was only the first of many more to come. Dozens of infected stand huddled together mere feet away, their mouths salivating as they ready for their turn to strike.

A sideways smirk forms on the Guardian's lips as he glances back, hoping to see Zaniel, Sylver, and their squadron readying for battle."Let's rock and roll, guys" he directs before diving shield-first into the horde.

"They expect me to leave my little sister here on this island, with people who have already shown they don't care for me or my family. Not to mention I'm on a squad with a woman who for sure wants to kill me" Talking to herself was common, especially when she was irritated. Moving toward her computer on the far side of the room, Cat downloaded the Emerald City schematics from the Liafador International data base, and begin to upload them into her new uniform.

The success of this mission weigh heavy on her mind, for nearly a year Emerald City had been a bad netflix movie, plagued by walking super zombies, and a whole host of other problems; this was the first step in fixing the damage her mother created just a little over a year ago. The schematics were pretty recent, though they wouldn't account for any structure that'd been destroyed since the battle of Emerald City.

"Cat leave!?" Tassi's voice caused the tekenetic skull queen to piroette back in the child's direction. Dropping to eye-level with her beautiful little sister Cat removed a necklace that Cherish gave her a lifetime ago. "Here honey, I have to go help the world. But listen to me, I promise I am coming back to you. For now stay here with the mut...I mean dogs and Troy. Before you know it...I'll be back. I promise"

Lower Emerald City

She didn't trust them, not yet; and knowing that she had to leave her little sister in the care of almost complete strangers did nothing to build any form of trust. For now, she'd atleast have to act like she could trust them, after all they were heading into unknown territory with each other providing protection.

She made it a point not to speak to Noah, which she quickly realized was stupid. He was really the only person that made her feel comfortable on Luna Island, and the fact that she was with the vengeful Zoe, and a guy she previously thought was mute...didn't exactly boost her confidence. "We can enter the underground from here, looks to be about 8 and a Half blocks North." Catalina reported, looking at a rudimentary run-down of the Emerald City underground. "There's an empty spot here on my map, but it looks as if something has been built" She informed, pointing in the general direction of the smog bellowing out over the city. "But whatever we're going to do, we better make it quick" She said, turning in the direction of the walkers moving quickly on their locale. Throwing her hands forward, Cat construct a puddle of darkness on the ground, hoping to slow them down.

“I’m fine Jacob.” Zoe spoke, her tone with a hint of annoyance as she began wiggling her torso, getting dressed not in her iconic red, blue and yellow uniform, but a black, grey and white version, a stealth suit. Her blue eyes looked up at her love, who was rightfully concerned about her. “I’m fine”

“You don’t seem like you’re fine.” He was holding onto his helmet with one hand and his shield with his other, all ready to go.

Her eyes looked down upon her still bare left arm, and right in the middle of her forearm, was a scar left behind of when she was bitten a year ago. “Look, it’s not like I can get infected again, right?”

“I’m not talking about the infected…” He paused for a moment, giving her that look. That You know what I’m talking about look.

Oh… he was talking about that. Letting out a forcefully sigh she sat on her bed, grasping her boots and slipping them on. “Ok, yeah, working with a Liafador isn’t even on my list of things I want to do before I die, but you’re the one who set the teams up.”

“Catalina is just trying to start over, just like a lot of people are in We Are Legend, just like you. She’s trying to raise little Tassi on her own, just… go easy on her.”

“I know Jacob.” Zoe’s voice became stern. “But that doesn’t make it any easier for me. You don’t know her family like I do.” Her voice soften on the last part as she paused for a moment, her eyes resting on the ground. “You saw what her mom was like at the tournament Jacob… that’s not just how the mom is… that’s how all Liafadors are.”

“Zoe… just promise me you’re not going to hold a grudge during the mission.”

Standing up from the bed she stretched her arms a little, making sure the stealth suit fit just as well as her normal one. And it did, it felt just like a glove. “I'm not going to fail Emerald City again. If I need to put my thoughts on the Liafadors aside to save it, then I will.”

With his charming smile he too a step forward, leaning down as he kissed her cheek. “That’s my Sparky.”

Lower Emerald City

The air was thick with the stench of rotting corps that littered the ground. Infected who had gone too long without eating or drinking died. Basic survival needs not met by the sickened residents of Emerald City. No one was taking control, no one had become their Alpha like she had for eight months. Zoe had resided in the Lower Emerald City, she not only lived among the infected, but controlled them, lead them. With a single command she could have an army of Necodexa filled humans come to her side and attack her enemies, willingly sacrifice themselves for their Fire Goddess. How many lives she did ruin? How many people were infected because of her? She could still hear her Ferals chant her name, ALL HAIL FERAL NOVA! SHE IS LOVE! SHE IS MERCY! SHE IS-

"Remember team, we each have our objectives, let's keep coms chatter to a minimum. Are you in position?"

Jacob's voice ripped Zoe away from her tainted memories as she let out a light sigh, blinking her eyes back to reality.

"We're here." Noah's voice responds first on behalf of Team Salvation.

Clearing her throat for a moment she spoke up, looking over at her two teammates. "Yup,Team Hope is ready."

"Roger that. Don't forget, most of these people can still be cured. Use lethal force only when you absolutely have to. Take care of yourselves and let's 'Light up the darkness.'"

The coms went silent as Zoe sighed, was she wrong? Was she not actually ready for this? Her attention turned to her teammates; Izaiah, who she had known since her first days of We Are Legend, and Catalina, the daughter of Ziccarra Liafador and destroyer of Malaga and now teammate. No... she couldn't think of Catalina like that right now, she needed put her thoughts of her aside. She had to. Adjusting the backpack she was currently wearing, filled with canisters that held the green antidote of the Necodexa, Zoe could feel her heart begin to race, not from adrenaline on what they were about to do, but the memories that were beginning to trickle back in her mind.

They needed to get underground, they needed to push forward and get this cure where it needed to go. Her attention was pulled to Catalina who was standing at her side. It seemed she had gone over schematics of the city on her own, just as Zoe had with Jacob the night before.

But her eyes then darted over to a hoard of infection staggering their way. Their bodies were wasted, their skin sunk in and dry, they looked like death itself. Zoe could be seen clenching her jaw, that was her just a month or two ago before Asad cured her. Catalina wasted no time, taking command of the shadows as she covered the street in darkness, the hoard now moving at a crawling speed.

“You're right, the sooner we get underground, the better. Let's go.” Her voice was dry, no emotion, afraid that if she did show emotion, it was going to be anxiety and fear. Zoe began marching forward, leading the way, down the next eight blocks. Walking down the streets she had roamed oh so many times before, an entire lifetime ago. She could have just channeled her Speed Force and race this cure where it needed to go herself… well.. In theory. But her eyes caught sight, of where it all began for her. She physically stopped walking, her eyes widen for a moment at the medical center that she and Maya both raided, where Zoe was bitten. Her right hand unconsciously grabbed a hold of her left forearm as her throat became as dry as the desert before she began pushing forward again. "We need to get this cure to the distribution center as soon as we can."

"Dad, you got this!" Troy exclaimed, his uninhibited enthusiasm knowing no end had its' benefits. The first of which being its' natural ability to alleviate the stress pressing on Noah's head. It was ability the young father admired in his son, which made leaving Luna Island a little bit easier. "You're going to kick some butt!"

"I'm gonna do just fine, Troy. Like you're gonna be just fine with the WAL staff, am I right?" The boy crossed his arms and scrunched his nose, he hated it when his dad reversed conversations into these rhetorically questioned demands. With a scowl, Troy watched his father point his finger in his direction whilst the other hand was firmly pressed on his hip. If he knew what a killjoy was, Troy would be thinking that thought as he gave his father a look of resignation.

"Yes, dad! You're always right." His voice was laced in sarcasm, but the young Addams fledgling understood his dad's way of being. The constant state of smothering protection and heavily accented discipline was the byproduct of single parenting. Troy may not have worded that explanation in that way, but he more or less had the gist of why his dad acted the way he did. So, he wouldn't complain. At least he had Starr and Tassi, company that could appreciate his life style choices.

"And don't you forget it, young man. I'm watching you!" Their eyes locked for an intense stare down. Two generations of Addams men together was a sight to see. The thought wasn't lost on Noah, who held a deep appreciation for Jacob bringing the family together. He owed so much to his cousin. A debt he'd repay by putting on his costume once again and focusing on the task at hand-----

Emerald City

"We're here." Noah is the first one to alert Jacob of his position. Partly because he wants to prove his effectiveness in this leadership role, but mostly for the peace of mind. The sense of unity, though strained by time and separation, between the three team leaders is savored on his end. Hearing Jacob and Zoe's voices is almost soothing. It's a simple action that reassures him that they're all in this together.

"Time to light up the darkness...?" He covers his mouth, trying to conceal his goofy expression. This isn't the time nor the place, he knows it. The team slogan, however, was something he wasn't prepared to hear in this kind of setting. It reminds him of his childhood, when he used to lay up on the couch while Jacob was glued to television screen watching some corny Saturday morning cartoon.

"Are you guys, ready?" Noah stands at about 5'10" with a stature reminiscent of an Olympian gymnast. His costume accentuates features that'd catch the eye of anyone interested in his build, but the colors were muted enough to avoid the sight of anyone scouting the area they were about to traverse. It's dated and kind of snug, because hasn't worn in for some years. Nonetheless, it'll get job done. It has good grip, durability and the nimbleness needed to evade what would most likely be ravenous beasts.

"We're under two miles from the prison. A ten minute cakewalk if you ask me, but reports have lines of infected banging at the doors of this refuge. No doubt they see the Oasis as being their Last Supper. A buffet of sorts, I guess." He scratches his head, whilst looking at his disposable phone with a picture of the Valencia Brothers.

"Skull and Bones have hostages. They refuse pickup or assistance from Maya's people. So, either they're stupid or their backs are against the wall. I'm betting on both and that's why we've gotta be quick. We've gotta play smart. They're no doubt on high alert." He looks up and smiles, even winking at Blair before tossing a piece of gum into his mouth.

"I believe if Blair and I can cause a distraction on this end of Emerald City, the hordes will have something to hunt for." His eyes flicker yellow as he speaks. "We have three snipers adjacent to our position. One to my right, another to my left and the third a couple of feet behind a us. I think if we box these things in...we can cause a stir." His faith in himself increases by the minute.

"Meanwhile, if you'd allow me to telepathically mask your presence Meison...I can get you close enough to the prison with three guards flanking you while you sift through the madness. As long as you stay focused and linked with me, you should be able to get there unharmed. Just focus on me, big boy. You cool with that?" Noah stands more upright, walking closer to his team and smirking at the Atlantean King before turning his head and lending out his hand to Blair.

"Blair, I'm about to ask a lot out of you. Are you ready?" He's far more charming than the way he acted during his WAL induction speech. Unbeknownst to his squad mates, he's starting to channel the charisma of an alternate version of himself. A power he's still getting a handle on.

"I'm gonna need you to scream. A lone survivor in Emerald City, panicking as death looms in the distance." He can't let the Valencia Brothers know a bunch of supers are on the warpath. They'd have to use some foreplay if this is going to work. So, Leader Noah begins the game by spitting out his gum. Afterwards, he clouds Meison and his ground support while telepathically alerting Blair and their snipers about what he hopes to accomplish by doing this charade.

"Take the lead Blair and be careful Meison. Shit's about to get wild."

@last_guardian: :@sylver

There was the Angel of Luck did not speak during the WAL meeting. A reason, that had not caused him annoyance in over a thousand years. For the first time in memory, the Eternal Warrior felt... Guilty?

Too many times had Zaniel discarded mortal life as petty and fickle. Why should he give a care in the world for a mere mortal which would live for... 60, 70, maybe 80 years? And know him for even less. In the time it took for a human to live and die, Zaniel didn't even celebrate a birthday (which happened every decade due to his prolonged life).

Usually, the Angel of Luck could toy with and do whatever he pleased with a mortal... But the last few years had been different. He had been the unlikely leader of the Champions of Peace and somehow... Perhaps... Fallen, at least platonically out of friendship, for the strangest mortal. She had never known, but during a raid upon their headquarters, Zaniel had heard her cries as she was injured and felt... Saddened. A terrifying feeling. Zaniel, the Angel of Luck and Olympic Champion who had lived long before Christ's name was muttered upon the earth, was growing attached to these humans...

...And then Zoe reappeared.

He had seen the anguish and pain within her young eyes. The suffering which an angel of the heavens had bought upon a mortal whom he should never have intertwined himself with. Least of all, cast her aside so callously.

Zaniel had been making amends in the recent years and assisting We Are Legend was perhaps the final hurdle.

Emerald City - The Outskirts of the Francisco Ward

"Non lethal force," Zaniel scoffed, withdrawing his ancient blade and looking at Jacob as the man bound into the city, his suit changing color.

"Fools will get themselves killed."

Following suit the last Spartan momentarily turned himself intangible enough for the light to pass through his body and render him totally invisible, swiftly switching his power off and becoming visible again.

Without waiting the Pankration Prodigy hurtled forward and engaged the foes, he sliced, diced, and wove a web of metal. Blood splattered and limbs were hacked, although no mortal lives were slain. Thankfully the angel had a single ability to thank for the lack of death. After all, he was the angel of luck... And miracles happened and people did not die, even to the most injured of foe..

Sweat cascades from Blair’s forehead as she arches her back against the cold floor. A green and blue haze freely pours from her fingertips to reach the computers above her. Wiping her head she looks across to see her sidekick Cellular Dog tilting his head as he examines his favorite human. "Zachie poo! Allllllll finished!" Blair pushes herself up underneath a bone shaped desk.

She checks over the main security screen built into the table. She can see multiple corridors inside the HQ of the screen and glancing over to another screen to see the picture flicking through different locations of the island. "In case the power for some mysterious reason ever goes out in our HQ i've installed a back up battery of power for you so you could keep an extra snout on security." Petting her puppy on the head she rubs behind his floppy ears resulting in his right leg kicking in relaxation.

His eyes then glow blue as his ears pull back behind his head. "I know, Zachie. This will be our first mission away from each other in so long. It's your duty to watch over our island and take care of the kids while we are gone. I love you, baby" Laying a kiss on his forehead she leaves.

The two shed a tear as they begin the first steps of their separate missions.

Emerald City

With one step closer she inches herself forward to press her lips close to Noah’s left ear. “Making me sweat and yell already on the first date, huh?” Biting her lip she walks away to complete her delicate portion of the mission.

Strutting towards her destination Blair unleashes particles of pink light from the pores of her skin. The flux of colored fragments altering her stealth costume and trademark wings to masquerade it with the illusion of a wounded woman in bloodied pink lingerie. Smirking knowing that Meison and Noah could witness her scandalous costume change. Though she could feel Zoe probably popping an eye vessel wherever she is.

“Help!” A piercing cry is delivered from the masked survivor’s lips. Alone in the middle of the barren street the hero finds herself hoping to draw the attention of those predators nearby. “HEEEEEEEELP!” Another devastating yell unleashing an echo to bring more upon her direction.

Walking with an over exaggerated limp she found herself to the planned location to draw their enemies in. “Oh! No! I am lost and scared!” Her eyes nervously shift back and forth until she begins to spot a group of figures slowly marches in her direction. Shit. “HELP!” she begins to show an expression of panic.

Falling down to her red knees she can feel the wavelength of footsteps. The distance between the fast paced steps decreasing per second. A sonic pitch emits from her vocal chords unleashing a call to pinpoint her exact area to those willing to feast. A disruption in the matrix of her being glitches making her see through for a split second. Unnoticeable to the zombies approaching they continue follow the pink haired victim as she continues to leave her dying call. A horde of at first a dozen surround the helpless singing hero. As the first group begins to swipe and tear they miss as their hits and bites don't touch her. Two more dozen join in as the call still emits from her throat.

Each menacing movement phasing through the revealed digital hologram. Like a Ventriloquist Blair sits on a fire escape not too far away in the distance. Her mouth closes shutting the illusion puppet's voice off. Lifting her wrist she forces her copy to begin to levitate as the mindless beings still continue to swipe relentlessly. At this point there are now about 35 walkers surrounding the holographic doll.

Clasping her hands together she holds the hologram hostage in the air as it glows bright. Along with the volume of brightness rising the body emits a wave of beating sound to attract more zombies to join the horde. Pulling her hands away from the grip the body of the hologram splits apart into hundreds of tiny little shards of burning light. The explosion sending them sporadically around the horde. The legion of walkers begin dropping one after another as the shards either catapult a shard paralyzing their vision or immobilizing them by hitting different limbs.

Feeling the a wavelength of footsteps radiating from below she can sense her ally Noah below her. Blair watches Noah’s reaction to the distraction. Blair smiles at the enjoyment of his expression as if he is about to send a telepathic call for her whereabouts. Levitating down slowly from the ladder she floats a few inches from behind him. “Let's keep moving so we can give Meison more time to get through.” Placing her fingertips onto his firm shoulder she winks as she walks pass him. Still in her bloodied lingerie disguise she awaits for a telepathic command.

Two Days Ago...

"Blair, you don't have to stay. I'm sure this looks disgusting."

"Not nearly as disgusting as the dresses they're wearing to the Oscar's this year. Gag me."

Sylver pursed her lips and playfully stared Blair down, but her bubblegum-haired friend was already engrossed in another phone app, cheerfully ignoring Sylver's attempts to have her leave. Sylver, on the other hand, had more tubes and wires tapped into her body than a super computer. She sat on a workbench in the WAL mechanics lab, both her legs missing sections of flesh to reveal cybernetic cores and her left arm opened up where Sylver was feeding wiring into her system. Tubes, with a slow drip of blood, connected her her heart, spine, and left wrist.

"It's not that I don't want you here. I just prefer to be--"

"--by yourself. I know. But you've been by yourself the whole time we've been here. I want to hang out with you. And so does your team!"

Sylver raised an eyebrow and continued to feed the wire into her arm. As expected, slowly, it began to fuse into her system, like hot metals mixing. She'd learned from her last fight; she needed to improve her core's strength and ward off electrical attacks. The wires should feed any electricity out, as opposed to driving it further in. As Nyte had designed her, Sylver's cybernetics were the perfect fusion of machine and biology. They grew and changed with her body. And since every growth and change and healing needed energy, Sylver could "power up" her body with the raw energy of life, which in its purest form was blood. Her arm sealed back up, and she began working on her legs. CPG and her fight against the Nyte operative had taught her what it would be like to fight against superhumans for the rest of her life. They were stronger now...smarter, more adaptable. And she had to adapt to keep up.

She shook her head. She was still thinking like an assassin: how to outwit, how to overpower, how to find that weakness. And maybe that's why Sylver had such a hard time bonding with her team. People weren't people to her...not yet. People had always been assignments, jobs. They were predictable, until now. She had never been surrounded with so many different people, yet each of them could probably understand her better than most. And, deep inside, that frightened her, to be so exposed.

Sylver set down her pliers. "I do want to get to know them. I want to care. If I'm going to be risking my life for them...for other people... if I'm going to be watching their backs, I want to..." She paused, "But I'm not sure how...to make myself. It doesn't come naturally for me."

Blair hopped down from the bench and took Sylver's hands in hers. "Nokias are indestructible."

Sylver frowned, "What?"

"Nokias are indestructible, on the outside. But that only matters if what's on the inside works. You can have an indestructible Nokia shell and not have a working battery. You need both, but it takes time to charge a worthwhile battery." She smiled, let go of Sylver's hands, and then casually walked out of the double glass doors.

Sylver cracked a goofy smirk, "Damn...that actually made sense."

Two Days Later...

While LG and Zaniel blazed ahead, Sylver remained atop the wall, sniper rifle trained on the oncoming blurs of motion that would've escaped the average eye. She kept her suit dark, like her training had taught her: black, body-forming armor, black knee-high boots, black hooded coat that fitted around her arms and chest and flared around her legs. Even her rifle was a solid ebony. In one chamber, she had loaded a bullet of her own concoction--mini tasers that latched to the skin upon impact. In the other, she had armor-piercing rounds.

She itched to use the second chamber but hesitated when she remembered that at one point in her life, she had been these people: a high-class pawn, canon-fodder. They deserved a chance to recover.

In rapid succession, she nailed three infected, all in the chest. They hit the ground, thrashing but paralyzed. Her scanners began ringing in her head and Sylver looked up through the scope. Two squads of at least ten infected each were flanking them. She threw the rifle onto her back holder and launched herself off the wall. Landing in between LG and Zaniel, she whipped out her energy katana and yelled, "They're flanking! Someone stay on point; the other, go right." She bolted for the left. An infected was barreling straight for her, and Sylver's strategy module kicked in.

5'5''. Approximately 140lbs. Female. Slight limb, right leg. Sylver dropped, sliding a kick right into the girl's right leg. As she fell, Sylver turned her back and smashed her elbow into the infected's belly. Two ribs broken. Bruised lungs. She fell, passed out. Before the body fell, Sylver had picked up the next infected: 300 lbs. Fast, muscular. 6'6''. Heavy boots. Left-handed weapon. She barreled to her left, back still facing the hoarde, just missing the blow of a thick, meat-cleaver shaped hammer. The infected swung the weapon madly, barely keeping his grip. Sylver timed her jump and landed on his hammer head when it hit the ground. In the blink of an eye, her sword sliced up his arm, severing tendons, and she landed a roundhouse kick to his temple, dropping the giant. The rest were directly behind him, seemingly running in a pattern-less pack, but Sylver saw a path directly between their ranks. She veered to the right, sword outstretched, and booked it. She sliced through a row of legs, and five bodies toppled behind her.

No! She'd sensed it, but too late. A large, female infected grabbed her from behind, massive hands pinning her neck and sword arm to the ground. Foam and drool hit the back of her neck, and Sylver flailed her other arm behind her, grabbing whatever flesh was there, vice-gripping, and ripping forward. A splatter of blood coated her hair, but Sylver threw the woman off of her, hesitating only for a second before clocking her upside the head. Sylver pulled back, stunned. She'd ripped out the woman's eyes and part of her nose. She used to be impressed at her ability to decimate people, to leave bodies broken; now, she wondered--if they saved these people--would this woman even thank her?

The howls of the infected from the right flank snapped her back. Well...we'd better save them first to find out. Sylver held her sword upright and lunged at the next group.

The waves crash over the King's head as he sits just beneath the shore of Luna island in the milky powdered sand, staring up at them, rolling clouds of ocean atop one another like a mosaic of water. A patch work quilt of liquid cotton combing the sand and receding to reveal his face, only to flow over him again. Meison cuffs his wrist, his elbows over his pointed knees as he stares for a moment at the orangish pink sunset before the water cascades back onto him.

This was such an alien sensation, working with surfacers. It was always the goal, but to actually be in the world, overlooking the differences of divisive racism for a shared common goal against threats to all people of one world...The waves receded again, a drop of water falling from his face, saltier than the rest. Despite all the naysayers, all the groups that said it was impossible, the dream was becoming a reality.

____________________________________________________________________

"Focus wont be an issue." Meison says spinning his trident, each rotation shortening the forked spear until it became the size of a hatchet and slid into it's holster on his back. Pulling a thick overcoat onto his shoulders he looks into the eyes of the men, nods, then jerks his neck left, leading the pack.

a mile and a half later

The sounds of wretching teeth and snarls of aggravation linger in the air like still heat. The coast was clear and the nigh dead are gone. Sucking his teeth and jerking his head forward Meison walks out of a near by bush with the swagger of a rough rider, channeling his warrior days on the lawless battlefields of the ocean floor. He hoped the telepath Noah was strong in his ability, for he wasn't sure how society would react to seeing the King of Atlantis attacking a city with an elite group of self-proclaimed heroes, even worse if Atlantis saw that he was taking orders from a surfacer.

Approaching the gates with two men under his arms and a smile on his face Meison does his best impression of a surface thug, "So I had her leg up on my shoulder, and she's about one ten, soaking wet, so it was easy to just prop her back up on my arm, and I'm railing her- open the gate- and she's all over the place, knows she loves it but can't handle it-"

"Who the funk are you?" A guy at the gate asks, a piercing like an aztec in his nose with a red and black mohawk draped ungelled across his face, looking at the group and gripping the barrel of his gun in confusion.

"Quit messing around and let us back in the dogs are around- So I say 'what you don't like it?' She goes 'I would if you'd get it out of my stomach!'" The WAL men laugh, punching the king in the chest and wiping their noses.

"I never seen you before in my life. Sit tight." He says aiming his gun at Meison's cloaked form and backing up slowly, "Wait!" He yells and the guard starts to step forward, "Calm down it's me. Longitude 67 latitude 48. upwind two miles."

"...What?" The guard asks, over the sound of whistling air, as a bullet pierces his right eye. Before he even fell a team member was already dragging him into a nearby shaded area behind the guards booth, clicking his comm and signaling his team leader, "Mr.Pierce I need a cloak reassignment. Sending a mental photo now." He says taking quick snapshot like blinks of the dead man and sending them telepathically to Noah before setting foot into the booth and opening the gates to a post-apocalyptic mess of mayhem and debauchery.

Now one man short Meison and the other two step inside, His eyes straight as he swagger in, the thought in his mind traveling on the ether channel to Noah, "We're in."

@feral_nova:

"Charlie" Cat called, through a headset in her costume. "Catalina! It's been a while dear, what can I help you with?" He responded in his usual cheery way. Charlie was a long time friend of the Liafador Family, he served under Ricardo Liafador with Zeon's right hand Gianvilli back in the day. He was the eldest member of the Red Cardinal Faction, and current COO of Liafador International. It was his vision that crafted Emerald City, and Solace City before it.

"Can you send me an aerial image of the area around the distrubution center?" Catalina wasn't native to Emerald City like Zoe and Maya had become over the years; this was one of the Spanish Cities she couldn't care about visiting, but she knew there had to be specific changes in the infastructure of Emerald City since the revolution.

"I'm sending up a drone now, will have those images for you shortly just hand tight" Cat's eyes turned back toward Zoe, she could tell there was something bothering her, though she wasn't exactly sure what. Cat missed the events of the Spanish Revolution, because she died during the Cataclysm, upon her ressurection she learned of a few things, but she could see with clarity now that Zoe played a big part in them.

Feinging ignorance to Zoe's plight Catalina opened a grate leading to the Emerald City underworld. "This looks like a good entry point" She said, slidng down the ladder as she called out to Zoe. Cat's eyes easily adapt to Emerald City's underbelly, it smelled of death and backed up waste; she saw this as an oppertunity to release the much needed fart, she'd been holding in since the plane ride.

"Careful...there's movement ahead" Cat warned with her eyes wincing. In absolute darkness, Cat was able to see better than with light. She could master the shadows in various ways, making her somewhat omnipresent. Turning around to inform Zoe about what was currently ahead, something happen. Zoe begin to change, transform into the slender frame Matriarch of the Machine Empire.

Even amongst all the sewage, she could still smell the fabricated perfume. "ZEDORA!" Cat screamed with darkness seeping from her palms. Just as Nova transformed into Zedora, she quickly shift into Maya, but not the current Goddess of Apokolips; This was Maya from before, the one who loved and cared about her.

Through the darkness, The Cardinal of Reality was light filtering through the darkness, and she kept Cat's Capgras syndrome from forcing a impulsive destructive deceison.

"Hang in there babe, You haven't had an episode in a while. Stay strong, Mommy, Selene and Tassi...they need you. They need you to be strong.

As Maya's voice faded away, Cat was finally able to see Zoe for who she was, a teammate. Reeling from the headache that came with such episodes Cat opened a bottle of Tylenol and begin to consume 3 or 4. Pressing her back against a mushy WAL for a moment's reprieve, her eyes finally met with Zoe. She knew that Zoe didn't trust her, and she might've just given her a good reason not to. She couldn't help them, the Episodes. It was a bad side-effect from being an abomination, from being a soul that was never meant to exist. Cat harnessed the natrual warrior instincts of Ziccarra through genetics, but she also recieved Kane's insanity; two things being with Tassi generally kept in check. Was that it? Did she take Tassi for her own selfish needs? Was Tassi generally the only person who could reach the good of even the most evil person?

"They messed up our lives too." Cat finally said breaking the personal silence between her and Zoe sounding physically exhausted. She was reffering to her own family, and how everything they'd kept hidden for centuries was finally starting to affect this generation.

"Hey, Hey baby girl. I got those schematics you wanted, uploading them to your HUD now." Charlie chimed in turning Cat's attention to the faint noises now growing louder. But these noises were behind them.

"Zoe...RUN!" Cat screamed, hearing the piercing growls get closer and closer. Pushing her hands into the ground, Darkness Tendrills rose from the saturated concrete beneath them impaling many of the infected humans, but these seemed as if someone had modifyed them. They didn't look human at all.

"If I read the files correctly those things are going to adapt to our attacks. We need to save our complex stuff." Now the hissing could be heard all over, This small 8 blocks the once had to travel, just got a little harder.

"She can do that?" A blitz of brutality from the raunchy Blair has the Team Salvation leader taken aback. Noah pauses, appearing sixty seconds shy of hesitant to support his teammate. Why, because the influential nature of the quick witted hero's mutant power has him distracted by a strange sense of jealousy gnawing at his brain.

"Watch me work, Blair." He focuses his energy inward and taps into the nexus of the multiverse. Within seconds the iris' of his eyes spark like lightning, the yellowish color being the prime indication of the alternate self he's most likely channeling.

Soon enough, it's game on for the former retiree when he charges forward with his chest pushed out like he's Thee Champion. However, unlike that true blue super the strikingly fast Noah Addams speeds up his pace by using his telekinesis to propel himself toward the oncoming group of infected.

As he nears the leading infected, Noah leaps upward and hooks his left forearm around the man's neck. Noah then pivots around, releases his grip, and hooks his right arm around the base of his neck. With enough momentum the infected crashes down onto the concrete head first and falls right out.

Noah, on the other hand, lands perfectly on a single knee and extends his arms outwards to push waves of telekinetic material from the palm of his hands. The yellow energy blowback sends the infected flying, but his reckless nature will bite him in the ass if he doesn't do his mission right. Noah realizes this when he sees a woman crash through the window of nearby home. It's only then that he comes to his senses, but it's too late.

A painting of bruises, bones and broken promises colors the beaten road of Emerald City.

"What have you done?" Jacob wants zero casualties! No, no...this had to be done. They're monsters, he thinks to himself. He's in the right, he has to be. Isn't he?

"DAMMIT!" Noah smacks his head, frustration by his actions already weighing him down. His first mission and he's already screwing up. Maybe this is a mistake, returning to the field, but whatever contemplation he might have began is cut short when the previously believed unconscious infected scratches at his telekinetic armor.

"Mr. Addams, I need a cloak reassignment." A flash of a dead man's face stuns the already frazzled Salvation leader. In a moment's confusion, Noah's telekinetic defenses drop and the infected grapples his ankle.

"HOLY SHIT!" Noah hollers and hurls himself forward, frantically trying his best to crawl away from consumption whilst the infected pulls at him.

"DON'T SHOOT!" He telepathically orders his snipers. "PLEASE, DON'T SHOOT!" He screams disorient them as his pleas play on an infinite loop between their thoughts.

"SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!" While all of this is happening, Noah attempts to telepathically cloak Meison's team. The only problem is the fact that his cloaking isn't steady, because he can't think right. So, if Blair doesn't step up and help him in time, not only will his telepathic facade fall apart and endanger his team...he'll be torn apart by the ravenous mouth of a hungry infected.

Luckily for him, his teammate's know how to salvage a shitty situation, because Blair manages to create a light show to blind his attacker. With seconds to spare the supposed team leader's entrapment loosens and he's able to escape. Afterwards, the anxious WAL newbie finds himself in a bit of trance like state before he notices Blair's fingers snapping to gather his attention.

"Blair...thank you." He steps forward and quickly embraces Blair with a tight hug. His biceps bulge around her sides while he nests his head on her shoulder.

"As for you, Meison. I'm sorry and I hope the telepathic outage wasn't compromising." If it did the rest of his conversation with Meison would happen in a more rushed tone. "We're about to make your life easier. So, keep it tight and get inside before we make our next move." Noah releases his grip around Blair and punches her arm. His return to form is seemingly imminent as he begins to talk up a good game.

"It's about time we got the second act of this plan going." He then telepathically explains his intentions for phase two through carefully imagined scenarios involving the roof of the prison. On the outside, however, Noah's sweaty appearance is a complicated depiction of aggravation and motivation.

"Don't you think?" Noah zips down his gear, exposing his chest briefly so that he might breath better. All the while he's hoping that she's willing to listen after all that chaos. If she does he'll smirk, because not only will it alleviate his bubbling anxiety...it'll also be hilarious to see someone actually have faith in him after that kind of shit show.

@catalina_liafador

She tried to stay focused, her hands gripping tightly onto the straps of the backpack she was currently carrying that seemed to be getting heavier every minute. But her mind continued to waver back to memories. The only thing currently keeping her grounded, was the voice of Cat speaking to someone named Charlie.

She followed Catalina, going down into the darkness, her sense of direction obscured as the stink of something rotting made Zoe cover her scrunched nose. She could have sworn she heard something… or was that the sound of her heart beating in her ears?

"Careful...there's movement ahead"

Zoe’s eyes shift through the darkness, she couldn’t see anything, but the Shadow Cardinal… she could. “R-right.” Her voice was slightly shaken and hushed, trying to listen out to anything out of the ordinary as she outstretched her left hand, a soft glow escaping from it to light the immediate area around the two.

"ZEDORA!"

“Cat, shh!” Zoe tried to hush her teammate at first until she turned to Cat only to see the fear and confusion in her eyes. Was this the sickness that Cat was speaking about when she spoke about herself during the meeting? “Cat, snap out of it, it’s Zoe, look at me.” Zoe grasped a hold of the Liafador’s shoulders, trying to get her to snap out of it. She was just standing there, looking at Zoe, but… seeing something else… someone else.

But as quickly as the episode came, it seemed to vanish, and Zoe let go of the young Cardinal Goddess as she watched her shake off what had just happened, coming back to their reality and pressed forward. She didn’t know what to say, what was there to say? Zoe didn’t say a single word as the two walked side by side, until Cat broke the silence. "They messed up our lives too."

Zoe knew she was right. She had seen it with her own eyes, how the elders of the Liafador family again and again messed up, leaving a domino effect that harmed their children as well. She knew what happened in Emerald City wasn’t Cat’s fault, or Maya’s, or Tassi’s, or Selene or any of the children of the Liafadors. She knew that her grudge was truly with Ziccarra and Zeon and not the rest of the family. She had even seen good in some of the Liafadors at one point. But… it was so hard for her to hear the Liafador name and not instantly think of chaos. But then… something else caught her attention, the noises, a hissing growl that seemed to be growing louder behind the two warriors. “D-do you-” She turned around, her left hand glowing with light as a creature hanging upside down was seen, it’s tongue slithering out of it’s mouth as Nova took in a sharp breath of shock. “SHIT!” Zoe screamed, the two WALlies running, their footsteps echoing through the underground tunnels.

Wait, waitwaitwaitwaitwait, these things lived in darkness, which meant- Zoe stopped running. “Funk it!” Raising her hands into the air she unleashed a blinding flash of white fire that lit up the area, hoping to disorient some of the monsters.The creatures screamed, some of them falling off the ceiling while others continued to push ahead. Before Zoe could prepare herself, something wrapped around Zoe’s neck. “ACK!” she grasped a hold of it, it was wet, slimy as the hissing suddenly came back. Well… that attack didn’t give them long enough time to come up with a plan. Her hands gave off of a glow as a sizzling was heard, burning the creature as it screamed in pain before another one came pouncing towards Zoe. It tackled her towards the ground, it’s teeth snapping downward at her.

“Maya, get out NOW, the other guards are probably going to be here soon!” Zoe shouted as a walker managed to grab onto her arm while she was distracted and sink it's teeth into her flesh.

“NO! NOT AGAIN!” Zoe screamed, tears of fear collecting in her eyes as the creature was suddenly snatched off of her, a vine of darkness ripping the monster away and slamming it against the wall as Zoe was snatched up by the strap of the backpack.

“Zoe, come on!” Catalina forced her to stand. “I can’t do this alone!”

The Fire Goddess nod her head over and over, she was right, she was right, she had to help. Zoe balled her right hand into a fist as she began shifting her thermal energy into thermal strength. Her fist flew forward, slamming into one of the creatures as it’s body flew backwards into the darkness. Another one jumped upon her back, it’s teeth digging into the backpack as Zoe reached behind her, wrapping her arms around it’s neck as she pulled up and over her, slamming it into the ground. “These things won't stop!” The two WALlies stood back to back, fighting off these creatures that seemed to multiply like roaches. Sweat began running along her temples, her body not having time to rest.

"We don't have time for this!" Catalina grunted, the amount of frustration in her voice was the same that Zoe was feeling. She knew Jacob said not to kill them, she knew they were people, trapped inside these bodies they couldn't control. She knew, she was one of them, the sickness, the virus was making them do this, and she had the cure sitting in this backpack. But... they wouldn't make it out of here, they couldn't, not without risking Catalina becoming infected at this rate. She couldn't let that happen, she couldn't let someone else become infected.

"Cat!" Zoe grasped Cat by her shoulder, pulling her close to her in a tight embrace, one arm around her waist, the other pressing down on the back of her head, forcing her head down, shielding her eyes from what was about to happen.

Her eyes gave an ember glow as her body unleashed an eruption of golden flames, roaring to life like a dragon as it rushed down all sides of the underground tunnels, the creatures screamed in agony. Some were able to escape, others shriveled up from the power of her fire. Zoe held onto Cat, to shield her teammate from her power. The moment she was done, she released the Shadow Goddess, taking a step back as sizzling of some of the more unfortunate creatures were heard as a stink filled the air around them. Zoe took a few steps to the side, her back leaning against the wall as she lowered her head for a moment, her hand resting upon her forehead. She killed them, knowing they were people, knowing they needed help just like she did and she killed them. She didn't have a choice, she had to do that, she had to get them to stop, she had to protect them. She didn't have a choice... right?

Lowering her hand a bloody stain was seen upon her face from the battle that just finished. Zoe pushed herself from the wall, taking in a sharp breath as she adjusted the backpack. “I know…” Zoe finally spoke up, her eyes looking over to Cat for a moment. Finally responding to the comment that Cat said earlier. “Your sister, Maya... I was there when-" She stopped herself, remembering when Ziccarra infected her own daughter with the darkness. "She… she didn’t deserve what happened to her. Or little Tassiana. None of you did.” Her eyes broke away as she began pressing forward once more.

The two continued to walk down the path, hopefully they were close, but what they didn't know, was the next creature that was ahead, closing in on them. It's large frame walking slowly as it's weapon scraped along the cemented ground. It was only a matter of time...

@zaniel@sylver

Team Justice

The Last Guardian watches as the Angel of Luck slashes his way through the multitude of walkers and grimaces each time the Eternal Warrior’s blade splits another limb. This wasn't exactly what he meant when he said “nonlethal” but now was not the time for lectures.

As he withdraws his sapphire lightsaber, the shield of Alarnos materializes on his forearm just in time to block a lunge from another walker, the infected's own momentum slamming it into the unbreakable orichalum surface. Gracefully flipping away from the knocked-out walker, the American Alpha is surrounded by a small group of walkers to which he responds with a Force repulsion that sends them faltering backwards. Having earned himself some much needed space to work with, the Paragon of Los Angeles, tosses his shield, subtly guiding it with a series of telekinetic pulls. The Shield bounces across the heads of several of the infected, knocking all of them unconscious. Soon Jacob is left in the center of a heap of downed bodies, his shield safely back in his hands.

To his right, another three infected fall, having been shot down by the supremely skilled Sylver.“Good shit,”he whispers as the cybernetic vampire lands between himself and Zaniel.

"They're flanking! Someone stay on point; the other, go right."

"Copy that,"the Last Guardian replies, grinning at her willingness to take charge as he decides to take point. With arms outstretched, he sends a stream of bluish-green lightning towards the oncoming wave of walkers, guiding the thin strands of electricity deep into each enemy's body just enough to stun them into complete submission.

Rolling away from the pile of bodies--and the sour smell of burnt flesh wafting off of them--, the Galactic Knight gets back to his feet. A new horde of walkers is steadily closing in on the trio but the Ace of Awareness' hawk-like vision locks onto the dim lights shining in the distance and the clear, straight-line path leading towards those lights.

"Finish off those walkers. Now’s our chance!”he directs telepathically, taking off in a full sprint towards the military base while falling into a state of Force stealth.

@feral_nova:

For a moment there was nothing that needed to be said, The American Alpha managed to put two of the most mentally effed up members on the same team; coincidentally both of them had Cat's family to blame. "It's ok you know, I know Jacob told us to use restraint, but he's not in a walker-infested close quarter sewer system, trying not to get bit."

She finally said, speaking on Zoe's decesion to kill the walkers. Inherently, Cat was going to kill them anyways, sure these things were people, but what happens once their brains are functioning again? Are they doomed to live a life of traumatic episodes like Zoe?

That's no life to live, and we both knew it. "My Grandmother was a horrible parent, so in turn so was my mother. I truly believes she means the best for us. I also truly believe the only child she was meant to have was Isadora, but she's gone too." Cat explained, feeling the dark coating on her skin writhing in agony in response to Zoe's flames. "I actually wish Maya got bit, and not you. Because that means we'd be curing an otherwise irrational version of her, instead of having a dark rational version of her to deal with." Cat explained with her eyes wincing through the darkness as if; she spotted something ahead.

"I know we're having this sweet little bonding moment, so I have to be honest with you. I've got more gas than exxon right now" she admitted whilst creating a bit of distance between herself and Zoe. "I thought I was going to split my uniform when I created those tendrills."

"Aha, if you're going to be farting, atleast throw me the alleyoop next time" Zoe said with a faint grin. Cat's grin faded on the sight of another one of those crawling monsters, but it wasn't alive; as a matter of fact it was cut cleanly in-half.

"...We didn't do that" Cat said, with a bit of hesistation. "No...we didn't" Zoe said, using her flames to illuminate the area, there were dozens of those little creatures cut off; almost a trail leading into a clearing with only one exit.

The destruction from above caused the street to cave in, which meant they now had too options. Head back the way they came, or head across the clearing to the exit.

Judging from the damage, this path was deliberatly made, why? Cat couldn't currently gather; but judging from the placement of debris over the other two exits...someone wanted trespassers hearded down this exit.

The two teammates began across the clearing, it seemed with each step the smell of rotten corpses became increasingly putrid. "I feel something below" Zoe said, running her feet along the groves off the concrete. "Imma see what it is..."

"NO ZOE!" Cat screamed, "Those are Gaslines... you'll send this place to Cardinal Hell"

Both of the women's head jerk toward the entrance, something was coming. It's feet clap like thunder against the stone underneath it's feet. It's sword sparked behind him, which instantly drew the attention of the Skull Queen.

"What. Is. That?"

These GenNEXT people, they turned the walkers into these ungodly abominations. The beast emerged from the darkness with a woman flailing around closely in it's arms.

"We have to save her!" Zoe screamed, before being held back by Cat. "This room...it's rigged to stop us." She said, pointing to the light that'd undeniably burn through her darkness, and the gaslines that'd destroy just about everything. Dropping the woman in the middle of the floor, these new walker almost dared them to come save the woman.

"Careful Zoe..." Cat said knowing the speed force was a part of her personal "armory" "These things can adapt."

@sylver: @last_guardian:

"Finish off those walkers. Now’s our chance!” he directs telepathically, taking off in a full sprint towards the military base while falling into a state of Force stealth.

With a nod Zaniel responded, looking away from Jacob as he pelted off in a full sprint towards the military base. "Go, I'll take care of the rest." He said to the two heroic team mates, throwing his sword into the distance as he had done multiple times his hammer, the sword non-lethally colliding with the flat of it's surface, walker-to-walker, as they fell flat onto the floor or were catapulted in all directions, the sword acting like a ghost was frantically running around and swatting people around as though it was a metal baseball bat.

"Hm," he muttered to himself, glad with how the distracted had gone as the ancient sword flew back into his grasp, and then... He vanished. Not through invisibility, but sheer speed, like a racing bullet the Angel of Luck outpaced sound itself and sprinted for the military base, close being Jacob as he grinned as he caught up. "You have a mighty sword arm my friend," he admitted, "but I'm sure you won't mind a few tips once this is done."

With an arrogant wink the angel sheathed his sword, looking around and listening, in case any unexpected foes appeared.

Meanwhile, within the prison...

What was needed Meison replies through the mental link, a confident criminal adopted swagger covering his real form. His allies walk along either side scoping the area with scar-faced scowls. Like every warrior the thought nagged in his mind more than any telepath could. He knew killing the thug was what was necessary, he knew the gangster has probably taken countless lives and the world was better without him. But there, in the back of his thoughts was the unbiased truth- he killed a surfacer.

His mission as King of the Sea was to unite the worlds, and he couldn't shake the idea he was undermining his own life's work. But a scale, that was more felt than visualized, told him that the murder outweighed his desires. Lives were on the line. The politician was gone as soon as the King's skin touched humid African air. Since he joined WAL, the warrior was in play. He would continue to be until the ocean called him home. This was about the world, not the worlds.

Near the center of the rec yard the scene of carnage that had played out within the confines was written like map of carnage on the walls and floors. Blood splatters, the cuffs of fisted bloody hands leaving a crusted imprint in the basketball court followed by a drag of dried blood where someone had crawled for their life.

It stops among a still wet puddle.

"Yooooo!" A monster with a 3 foot beard and a mohawk yells as he walks up to Meison, pointing at his forearm where nothing actually existed "You uptown riser bro?!" He asks holding a bottle of tequila rolling up his sleeve to show a tattoo of a flaming apartment complex with a skeleton looking over it.

"...You know it motherfunker!" Meison exclaims throwing a brawny hand out to grab the man's and pulling him in for a firm gripped chest bump, rolling with the moment. "Let me get some of that? It's dry out there. Couldn't find shit on the other side."

"Oh yeah man, course, course." He hands Meison the bottle and watches him take a swig, "So whats it look like out there anyway?"

"In a word, Hell. You know where the bosses are? Gotta give'em a sitrep." He says wiping the stinging hot tequila from his beard

"Ah come on man, you know how it goes. Chaina command. Tell Ricky and he'll tell them. Bosses don't like coming out of the tower." He says pointing skyward, the night sky blinded by an array of flood lights atop a giant cement pillar of a tower with windows at the top. Inside two shadows can be scene pacing the small floor.

"Right right. Where is-?"

Just then he could feel the interruption in the link between himself, the men, and Noah. It wasn't even a second, but that was all it took. The biker shakes his head and rubs his dry red eyes, opening them again to see the same three guys who he walked up to. "This shit is strong man...keep the bottle. Ricky's over there with the chicks. Go head and talk to him...wooh..."

Dodging that bullet, Meison raises the bottle, smacks the biker's shoulder, and trots over to the one named Ricky. He was sitting on a relocated couch likely from the warden's office with two women under either arm, neither looking happy to have their shoulders pressed into his thickly matted sweating armpits as he laughs with a foot on the back of a guard. "Thanks"

Just a few more minutes and he'd have an in to the sanctum of the brothers Valencia. From here on out it was about finesse. Ironically that required portraying himself as having none.

@zaniel@last_guardian

Team Justice booked it across the body-strewn loading dock. Just ahead, the complex's door, a 30x40 wall of metal, was lowering, and between the ground the door, several canisters were thrown their way. Sylver saw the canisters fly through the air, almost in slow motion, and without hesitation, she sped ahead. Almost like a dance, as she grabbed each container, she spun around and chucked it right back through the door's diminishing opening. The scurry of feet and shouts of "shit!" lit up her audio sensors like a Christmas tree. The door's materials were blurring parts of her visual and heat scanners, but there were too many of them to hide from her.

"Fifteen men. Thick body-armor. Three squads--two on ground level, 10 yards in; one above on a balcony. Assault rifles!" She shouted, rambling off the information as it passed through her sensors. The door was almost closed.

Sylver slid, like a baseball player going for home, right between the ground and the door and braced the door open. Alerts scrawled through her digital brain: increased weight to upper region, engaging joint-locking and pressure-lift. Her knees locked in place, and the more pressure the door put on her body, the more power was pumped into her shoulder and arm systems. She pushed the door up another foot as her teammates crawled through.

Sping!"Dammit!" Sylver spat. Right as she dropped the door, two bullets hit her: one into her left shoulder, the other her lower neck. Immediately, the pain sensors in those regions shut off. Sylver rolled behind a shipping crate with LG and Zaniel. The injuries would hardly kill her; the bullets were stuck between her synthetic flesh and layers of cybernetic-infused muscle and plating. But leaving them might cause issues later, especially in the shoulder.

The soldiers were shifting positions. The ground squads were trying to go around them, cutting off the exit; the balcony squad had their sights trained on the crates.

And Sylver started laughing--chuckling--and she pulled the energy katana from her belt. She shrugged at her perplexed teammates. "It's not funny at all really. It's just been so damn long since I've wanted to fight this much. And here I am, breaking into a superhuman lab, when I spent most of my life trying to break out of one." She squatted, infrared scanners now trained on the squad to their left, behind an army-style Jeep. Still smiling, she muttered much more darkly, "I effing hate these kinds of assholes...the ones who take peoples' lives, their bodies, and use them like toys. I'm just glad to be the one to mess their shit up."

Without turning, she said, "LG, I need you to boost me, probably with your shield, right for that Jeep," The soldiers were just behind it now, weapons reloaded," NOW!" She vaulted backwards, hands connecting with the shield's center, her body folding up like a spring--

PHOOM! The force launching her forward echoed, like wind cracking or the sound barrier breaking. Like a bullet, she shot forward, feet first, into the Jeep.

THWACK-BAM! Sylver somersaulted backwards, but the impact launched the Jeep forward, like it had been punched with a garbage-truck-sized fist. The impact crushed two of the guards; two were struggling to get up to her right, the other--to her left--was cursing loudly, grappling for his gun. Sylver smirked, holding her arm out, "SHIELD!" Whatever he'd been doing, LG's shield shot across the room and she grabbed it with her left hand. With her right, she brought her blade down on the Jeep's gas tank.

A blur, of speed and fire--Sylver jumped, hid behind the shield, and was launched backwards by the explosion. She landed, digging up some of the cement with her heels, and--already sensing it--spun, sliced up with her sword and smashed down with the shield, taking out a merc.

"Catch!" She threw the shield towards LG, who then blocked a spray of gun gunfire from his front. Sylver ran, homerun-slid past LG and right up to his current attacker, and brought her sword up and through his extended arms. Everything past the elbows fell to the ground--the man roared from behind his riot-gear helmet. Without skipping a beat, Sylver grabbed the front of his helmet with one hand--cracking the visor with her vice-grip--and sunk her mechanical fangs into his throat. The bloodflow immediately hit her system--extracting energy from the liquid--and fused her damaged flesh and joint from the bullets.

Sylver dropped the soldier--who had already passed out from pain--and, in a heartbeat, switched out her sword for her sniper rifle.

"Go ahead! I've got you covered!" She shouted to her teammates, who were both making quick work of their opponents. This is too easy. If Kapeniak knows what we're capable of, he should be more prepared. What's his play...? "Be careful though. I sense an ambush."

@catalina_liafador:

"Careful Zoe… These things can adapt."

“I can’t let her die.” Zoe hissed, her eyes never wavering from the grotesque creature that stood before them. The woman crying, whimpering on the ground, her matted hair covering her face. Garbled speech coming from between her raw lips, unable for either WALlie to make out. “If I don’t… she’ll die.”

“And then we’ll both die and this entire city will die.” Cat said very bluntly, the grasp on her forearm still there as Zoe’s jaw began to clench. She knew she was right. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t try. “We can’t save them all.”

Shrugging Cat’s grasp off of her, taking the backpack off and tossing it to the side, determination filling the heroes eyes. “Funk how it turns out.” She took off, sprinting towards the creature and leaving Cat silently cursing to herself. “Funking heroes.”

The monster roared, reaching behind itself as it grabbed a hold of it’s weapon, a splice between a hammer and ax, large and rusted with ridged edges. The metallic weapon scraped against the cemented ground as the creature stepped forward and used it’s entire body to swing it at Zoe as she began to close in on him. The WALlie gasped, skidding to a stop before quickly ducking under the mighty weapon, it slicing through the air above her head as the gust of wind that came after the swing pushed against her short blond hair. Zoe was forced to take a step back as the hammer side of the weapon came smashing downward into the cement, causing the entire foundation of the sewers to tremble under their feet. “I could use some help!”

“Got you!” Cat responded with a flick of her wrist, creating a swirling portal of darkness on the ground next to Zoe.

The hero gave a questioning looking over at her for a moment. “You want me to jump in there?”

With a smirk the Cardinal Goddess of darkness shrugged her shoulders. “What? You don’t trust me?”

“No I don’t.” Zoe hesitated for a moment, which quickly ended as the creature came bringing the hammer down once more towards her. Jumping in the portal suddenly closed as Catalina’s eyes laced over with darkness.

The creature began making its way towards the Queen of Shadows. It’s feet thumping on the ground as it grunted, raising the bladed portion of his weapon downward at her. The two stood, lock on each other, ready to face off when-

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrttttttssssss

The creature tilted its head to the side, slightly lowering it’s arms, making a grunting sound. “Oh stop, you have a horde of corpses rotting down here, I know you can’t smell that!” Cat spat out as she extended her hands upward and with a flick of her wrists a shadow portal appeared above the monster as Zoe came falling downward out of the portal, landing on the monsters shoulders as she instantly wrapped her arms locked around the monster's head and her legs around it’s neck. The creature began swinging around his weapon frantically. Zoe pulled back forcefully on the monster's head, forcing it to stumble to the side and slam it’s body into the wall, causing the tunnel to tremble.

Using this time Catalina quickly made her way towards the woman who was still sobbing on the ground, her matted hair covering her face as the Liafador placed her hands upon her bony shoulders. “Come on, lets g-” Before she could finish the woman's frail looking arms grasped a hold of Cat’s own shoulders as she lift her head, showing that this wasn’t any woman, this woman was infected.

The infected gargled as it’s lips parted, its teeth snapping as it leaned forward, trying to sink it’s rotting teeth into the Cardinal Goddess flesh. “UGH!” Her face scrunched, trying to push the sicken woman off of her. Using her Cardinal training she managed to get the upper hand in the hold, getting behind the infected woman as her right arm wrapping itself around the neck like a serpent as she used her other hand to stable her hold and with a swift, rigid push of her right arm, an audible crack was heard as the creature's body went limp, falling to the ground.

At the same time a monstrous hand grasped at Zoes waist, plucking her off of him and throwing her forcefully against the ground. Scrambling to her feet the monstrosity attempted to swing it’s weapon at Zoe. Acting quickly she managed to grasp a hold of the handle of the weapon as well. Her eyes gave an amber glow as she began heating up the rusted weapon, causing the beast’s hands to literally sizzle under her power as he roared in pain. Pushing forward it caused Zoe to take a misstep as he then quickly leaned back, jerking the weapon out of her own hands as he rose his right let up, kicking the Fire Goddess in the abdomen and causing her back to hit against the wall only to have the hammer part slam itself into the in the center of her chest, the wall forming fissures upon contact as the Fire Goddess let out a cry of pain, now pinned against the wall.

@feral_nova:

"I really hate you lawful good types" Cat hissed with her eyes locked intently on the limp body of the infected woman. The uniform was dirty, but as it concerned Emerald City it seemed fairly new. The uniform didn't match any company in the Emerald City Commerce codex. "That's weird..." as she begin to put her genetically altered mind to work, the sound of Zoe's grunting forced her back to the situation at hand. "Oh come on, I can't do everything for you! Kick it! Kick it!...oh for Sabella's sake" Opening her palm ventral side upwards, The Catalan Countess altered her own genetic code so that she could match that of Zoe's. It took only a moment for the massive fireball swirling in The young Goddess' hands to become massive enough to do subtantial damage. "Come and Get me!" She screamed, hurling the fireball toward the back of the gigantic walker. Upon impact the Fireball seemingly dissipated without to much recoil. "Huh, that's right...these things can adapt. Whoever thought of that was a fricken idiot"

The massive walker turned in Cat's direction, or atleast thats what she thought, given it's head she had no real way of telling what the hell it was looking at. It's massive weapon came swinging towards her at an angle; but Cat was so nimble and agile on her feet she managed to execute a backflip to evade the strike. "No Seriously, making these things able to adapt is like asking for them to turn on you!" She continued, manuvering around the beast again she managed to place herself and Zoe on the same side of the hall.

"Stop talking and just kill the thing!" Zoe screamed, Cat could hear the pain in her voice, this thing damaged her bad; but for someone who just got rescued she was awfully demanding. "Fine" Extending her hands outward, making minimal contact with the mammoth Cat's biokenesis caused the innards, The DNA, whatever was powering the beast to deteriorate. As it begin melting in front of them, Cat used the excessive noise it was making to release another fart.

"According to my HUD, we should be about four blocks away. I'm not feeling any vibrations in the hall so we might be good." Cat said, realizing she was at an advantage to Zoe, How? Catalina's ability to alter herself at a biological level allowed her to expunge any virus from her system, If her suscpions were right, then whoever created these beast were in the process of creating a much stronger strand of Nexcodessa. Something Zoe's body wasn't prepared to deal with.

"I'm going to do you a favor, I'm going to alter your cells so you can heal. But it's only going to be temporary, just incase you decide down the line that you want to kick my ass" Touching Zoe on the shoulders, The Tenekentic Queen began to completly recode Zoe's genetic make up, "awakening" her ability to heal.

"Listen, I know the last person you want advice from is me, but you need to chill with all the blind heroism. The last thing you wanna do is make a mistake that'll cost you." She said, turning on an axis quick enough to deliver a powerful punch to a walker that had somehow snuck up on them.

"Charlie, what's the deal with the Aerial Image." Cat asked, as she continued to navigate through the sewers/mass grave with Zoe in tow.

"Well, I have the images, but you're not going to like it; there are literally hundreds of walkers surrounding the opening that you two will emerge from. Furthermore, there are guards on literally every floor of the distrubution center."

"What he say?" Zoe asked, trying to listen in. "Nothing, he said we're all good!" Cat said with a deceptive smile and a thumbs up. If this were anyone else she would've told Zoe what was up ahead, but given Zoe's state of mind; it wouldn't do much good. Besides Cat had a plan, the Walkers outside would be child's play...if she only had a moment to tap into the darkest parts of her abilities.

"This looks like the entry point right here" Cat said, offering Zoe to go up first. The two women push through the opening and just as Charlie predicted were surrounded by walkers, and crawlers and more of those massive creatures from the underground.

"LIAR!" Zoe screamed turning to Cat with her face swelling red. "What, I said we're good to proceed to the Distrubution center, I never said there weren't any walkers around. Besides you won't have to lift a finger." Extending her hands to the only free space between them and the Walkers, the Catalina countess crafted a portal of darkness.

The Darkness begin to swell, building on it's self until it crafted a mammoth of a monster that stood nearly taller than the distrubution center. "Good News, He will take care of them."

"Bad news" Zoe asked not amused in the slightest.

"We're being targeted duck!"

Cat screamed, knocking Zoe to the ground a sniper fire rang out all around them.