Chapter 1: Welcome to the New World

Bella left as well, he smelt a little off but she didn't mind, she also had to keep a mental note to avoid or at least try and contain this animals stupid attacks. "I don't mind the ears." She said to herself as she turned into her street. Ready to go home.

"Now hat you have proof she's alive, here's what I want," Sanders said. In your R&D department, there's an item in there. ID#346290, it will be in an easily transportable crate, so you can get it into your car. From there, you are to follow my directions on where to deliver it."

"Revenant!" Amy blurted, nearly shouting out James' name instead by mistake. "I found her phone. Sanders is using it to call her dad so I'm running a trace." From where he stood, James smiled. "Excellent. Gestalt, help her out. We need to rescue Chris before the exchange happens."

Doing so now.

Marcus hadn't found anything, he got the scent again but lost it almost 20 minutes after. He punched a wall in his frustration and watched it crack. He felt like punching it again but decided not too, looking into a camera he thought about his conversation with Rev. "These things are everywhere." he said the the capture device. He didn't know if there was anyone on the other side or not. "I'm sure if he needs help he will call."

It wasn't a tough choice really for Michael: he was a father first, a Nexus employee second if not dead last. "Okay, you'll get your....whatever it is." Sanders smiled on his end of the phone and said "Excellent. Send me a picture of the item in your car when you acquire it, and I will text you the address you are to drive to. Alone." Then the call was ended, and it left Michael to do the task that was required. Leaving his office, he headed down for the Research and Development sector, storage wing. Storage was where they kept all the finished projects safely locked away until approved for demonstrations, and he had access to it. The wing was empty, just a large, warehouse-esque room with large, towering rows of metal with boxes of various sizes kept on each shelf. Finding the item wasn't difficult, the new user interface they set up letting him select the item through its ID and have a drone go out and bring it to him. He was surprised to see that the item, was a suitcase. It even had the wheels and handle, but was made of the same stuff as the company briefcases.

Carbon-nanotube alloy plating, temperature protection layer on the inside. No lock though, aside from the latches. Never expected anyone to get to it here he guessed, but he didn't care what was in the box. Dragging it out of there, he had to be careful as he headed for the parking garage, to avoid anyone and suspicion. His security clearance and authority helped, but still, he could feel his heart hammering.

Marcus leaned on the wall he punched eariler and dropped to his butt. He looked at his phone and waited for a text or a call, but then he remembered something. "Hey dark, I don't think I was meant to see the kidnapping."

What do you mean? His friend said as the demonic voice boomed in Marcus's head.

"I mean I think I took a wrong turn in the sewers." Marcus said with a small grin.

You mean we could have avoided all this if you were smart! Dark yelled into Marcus's head almost giving his host a headache.

Back in the sewers The demon that had called The Scythe was waiting. She had a few dead bodies here that were called down thanks to her and yet he wasn't here yet. "He should have been here hours ago." She said in an angry voice that would have made men cower. Don't tell me he's lost, Scythe isn't stupid?

After Michael got the case loaded into his car and called Sanders for an address, he was on his way, driving through the streets of Brooklyn. James was also on his way, Amy tracking down the caller location, but there was a snag: he had no plan. Martin Sanders was former Seals, and that meant he would have a very, very good plan. At least something in mind, though he wasn't sure if it included people like him. So that left him one option.....and he wasn't going to like it. Gestalt, take control of Michael's car. Steer it into an alley, safely

Understood.

As Michael drove through the streets of Brooklyn, he felt like he was back on tour, driving through a warzone. He did his best to keep his cool and he may very well have kept it, had the car wheel not all of a sudden locked, along with the gas and brake pedals. "What the fuck?" he yelled, staring dumbstruck at the dashboard, the electronic screen flickering.

Forgive me, but we need to talk, came a voice from the dashboard, and Michael blanched a little. The car was driven perfectly through the traffic, making a turn into an empty alley. His headlights illuminated the darkened alley, shining over litter, trash bins.....and the armor clad figured, of the vigilante from the news.

"Alright, need to get my game on." As Marcus said this he looked into the camera, He didn't know if anyone was watching but he knew Rev had some access to these things from previous encounters. He walked a little closer and looked at it, he knew some cameras had Mics and some didn't, so he was hoping it had an Mic.

"Ok, I may be talking into a camera for no reason, but if you can hear me then good. Bit sorry about the Vtol crushing a few people but hey, it was annoying and next time don't hit me with a block of harden whatever, my chest almost caved in and you were lucky I have some regenerative properties. Back to the point, if you need little old me to help with some serious kicking of those kidnappers butts then call." Marcus said to the camera but he most likely made a fool of himself.

I have never seen you open your heart like that, it was... sweet.

"Oh Shut up ok, I don't need to answer to you."

Where are we by the way?

"In a alley of course with a camera on the wall right above a dumpster."

Something smells familiar.

"Will you shut up and let me think." Marcus said to dark with an annoyed tone

"Please step out of the car," Gestalt's voice said through the speakers. Hesitantly, Michael did so. He was more angry than afraid though, growling at the vigilante as he said "My daughter was kidnapped and I'm going to hep her. You're getting in the way of that." James stared back at Michael and did his best not to flinch at the glare the man gave him, a habit he picked up since Michael was always intimidating when angry. Still, he kept his cool, and thankful that the nanotes distorted his voice, said "I know that Chris was kidnapped, and that she's being held by a former Navy Seal named Martin Sanders. But I need your help to save her."

"And why should I?" Michael asked. "I trade the item for her, I get my daughter back end of story. I work with you, you might fuck things up and get her killed." That had occurred to James, but there was a problem Michael didn't know about. "Martin Sanders has a reputation," James said. "He's never been connected to any of the kidnappings he gets suspected for, because there's never any survivors. Not the kidnapped, or the person paying the ransom."

That made Michael blink, his jaw drop slightly. If that was the case......his options were either call the police, which was a death sentence for his daughter, or work with the vigilante Revenant. Neither one was good......but grudgingly, he had to admit that the vigilante would be more effective. "Alright.....what did you have in mind?"

"We could find Rev." Marcus said as he moved about in a circle.

But does he want to see us is the question?

"Hmm, we could just anny him until he agrees."

Yea thats my idea sorry.

"I wondered why I said that."

Left hand had waited long enough, she started to move through the sewer system until she found a collapsed path, following a scent, she found earth slowly crumbling to fill a small hole, she had followed this until she came apon a path where deaths Scythe had made from his energy. "This is intesting." was all she could say at the sight of a large flying machine broken and on the gound. "Few deaths, has Darky gone soft or his he not in control of that human." after this she continued to follow what she could.

Zeru eventually made it back to his place and walked in before sealing the new and improved blast doors while talking to himself outloud"hopefully these can take a bigger beating then last ones"

After the two of them made a rough idea of a plan, Michael got back in the car and drove for the exchange site. He just hoped that their rough plan would work.....and more importantly that no matter what, Chris got out okay. The building was an old warehouse by the waterfront in Red Hook, still a bad part of Brooklyn. Small by the standards of others, it still worked as the hideout for Sanders and his men. While they were busy setting up to leave as soon as they got what they were hired for.....Chris was busy trying to get out.

After they had taken the picture, they had turned off the light and kept her blindfold off, so she could see them......which was bad for her, since it meant they planned on killing her. It was kind of rule number one: never let them see your face. And she saw all of theirs. So with that in mind, she began focusing on her own bindings. The cuffs she had on were linked by a long chain looped around a piece of wood that ran down the back of the chair. That same chair felt a bit old, like it was worn and even on the verge of collapse. It just needed the right amount of force.

Parking his car across the street and getting the suitcase out of the trunk, Michael called Sanders again. "I'm here." Sanders smirked behind the phone and said "Excellent. Head for the warehouse, and knock on the door." He wasn't worried about the police, his sniper on the roof keeping him appraised of any suspicious cars.

But not of a cloaked, invisible Revenant moving in behind said sniper, waiting to knock them out.

"You know I might as well... what is that smell." Marcus started to sniff the air as he caught a scent. "Good old Rev."

Human, think this though first. Dark warned him.

"Right, thanks pal." Marcus began to act on a plan, he was going to go to where he smelt Rev with no mask on, he still had the clothes that Rev would recognize hopefully. He began to walk, he wasn't very far so he removed his mask and walked like he was lost, which he kinda was. coming into a street he saw 2 things. A warehouse and a man with a suitcase. Be what Rev said, silent and human for now. He thought to himself as he pulled out his phone.

"I LOST HIM!" The demon was quite cranky now. he wasn't using his powers anymore and she found a broken wall, that was it. "Death will not be happy."

Revenant hit the sniper hard behind the head, and sent them down to the floor of the roof. Then he got into position at one of the skylights for the warehouse.

Michael crossed the street to the door, knocking and being let in. As he crossed the threshold, he cast a glance down and saw a pair of claymore mines rigged in front of the door. They had been remotely deactivated, and once he and the guy that opened the door were safely away, they reactivated. "Mr. Martinez," Sanders said with a clap of his hands, looking like a man greeting a friend. "Welcome to my little abode, hope you like it." Michael was about to lunge forward and cave Sanders head in, but was stopped by two of his goons. "Uh uh, none of that. First thing's first: pat him down." One of his men came over, patting Michael down for any weapons, but found none. Sanders "Before we get to business, why don't I reunite you with your daughter." He snapped his fingers and the spotlight turned on, shining on Chris, chained to her chair. When she saw her father she struggled against her chains and Michael did his best to not run for her, and try and get her out. "Now before I let you go with your daughter, let's confirm I got what I kidnapped for," Sanders said. He opened the case, exposing the contents. "Your bosses have been busy. This is a next-hgeneration muscle suit to replace those clunky exoskeletons," Sanders said. "Carbon-nanotube muscle fibers, increases strength and speed above what the exos can do, plus it hardens on contact with ballistics." He looked up at Michael, closing the case as he said "Right now you're probably wondering 'Why is he telling me this?' Well, the answer is simple." From the waistband of his pants, he pulled out a pistol and aimed it between Michael's eyes. Through her gag, Chris screamed while Sanders spoke over her, saying "I figured you deserved to know what you died transporting. And don't worry, your daughter will be joining you soon."

He expected to see fear, anger, pleading in Michael's eyes. Instead....he saw mirth, and realized something was wrong. "What's so funny?" he asked. Michael stared at him, and said "I brought backup." And on cue, Revenant came crashing through the skylight of the warehouse in a show of glass shards not ten feet from where Michael and Sanders stood. Sanders acted on instinct, back-peddling from the glass and gun aimed at Revenant, who landed on the ground. And he was holding Michael's pistol, normally stashed in the glovebox of Michael's car. He threw it to Michael, who in turn caught it and rounded on Sanders, already moving for cover. One of his goons moved for Chris to secure the hostage. They were surprised though, when she picked that moment to show how much of a helpless damsel she was not. When they move in front of her, she kicked out and hit them hard in the knee, bending it to an awkward angle and making them scream before she headbutted them in the face. Leaning forward, she managed to get to her feet with the chair still bound to her, before one of the other kidnappers drew a gun on her. It looked like it was it......until a sledgehammer crashed into them from the side, attached to a silvery tendril. She followed it back its owner, Revenant, who said "Nobody pints a gun at my friend."

"MY DAUGHTER!" Michael roared as he fired a shot to keep Sanders suppressed, advancing with each step. "MY LITTLE GIRL!"

He began to walk closer to the warehouse until he heard some loud shouts. "Seems like a party is going on."

Remember human, blades and bombs

"Nice try buddy." Marcus said as the mask formed along his face and his amour wrapped around him.

He was about to walk in through the front door when he thought of a better idea. he made a tendril of darkness form and though it to the roof before allowing it to carry him, reaching the top he moved to a broken skylight and looked down onto the sight. He looked through the area before his sights came to a man with a auto rifle heading to Rev. Marcus didn't say anything, he just jumped down and landed right next to the man surprising him, the amour took the shock of the landing and he punched the guy out cold. "Sorry for before, just don't send me into a wall this time."

The four goons turned to aim, but a resounding quadruple crack resounded. The goons were torn in half by the sheer force, and then the roof was caved in. Four mid sized railgun UAVs descended, side mounted chain guns ready. No biosigns could be detacted, which was unsual - all four bore the HERCULES insignia.
"Sorry I'm late. Brought the rain." A distorted voice came over all four's external megaphones, the hum of their jets echoing. "Revenant. HERCULES task force convoy inbound from the East. ETA thirty minutes. Exfil at the docks, ten minutes." Three UAVs powered up and headed skyward while the foruth stayed. "Finish him and head outside, I wiml cover you to the docks. Will buy time. Aether Rain out."

"Not like I didn't see him already," Revenant said. "And this was a private party."

Sanders peeked out from cover to fire at Michael, missing but making him flinch and giving him a chance to rush him. He was about to fire a round before Michael recovered and squeezed off his own shot. The shot went wide and Sanders ditched the gun as he got in close, and trained Seal went toe-to-toe with trained Force Recon Marine, exchanging blows and kicks.

Then the roof exploded in and a bunch of drones swooped into the building. They were those tiny patrol drones, and fired railgun rounds at the kidnappers, killing them with single shots. The sudden entrance of the drones coupled with how they killed her kidnappers, made Chris stare wide-eyed in sudden shock and fear, before Revenant moved to her and shook her back to reality. "Come on, we have to go now," Revenant snapped.

The explosion distracted both Michael and Sanders, and nearly gave the latter the upper hand as they drew a knife. But Michael, steering the fight where he wanted, gave Sanders one final kick and sent him staggering back.....into the claymore mines. They were aimed more at the door so when they exploded it reduced the door to splinters. As for Sanders.....it wasn't pretty.

"Good one old man." Marcus said in his demonic while knocking another guard out that had fallen into his hands, after finishing he moved to Rev. "Sorry I lost you young lady or else I could have helped sooner. If you guys want to get out of here I can hold off the Annoying bastards that are coming if I heard correctly." Marcus said as his amour unwrapped and his snakes appeared.

Kill!

No.

"Chris!" Michael shouted, and she immediately ran for her dad. He held her close, one arm wrapped over her shoulder as he kept her close. "Go!" Revenant said. "I'll distract HERCULES, they'll just arrest you for helping me." Nodding, Michael left with Chris for his car. That left James alone with the UAV, Shadow....and the case with the muscle suit. Gestalt, options?

I would not suggest leaving the suit here. It would be best if we move it somewhere safe.

Got it. I'll transport it, as for you......put up a firewall around Michael's car. Stella may try having him stick to whatever plan she has set up. Oh and send her a message for me.

Code:

Ms. Stella........if you have a plan while working with people, please share it and not surprise everyone involved next time. Hugs and kisses, Revenant.

Stella smacked the table. "Fucking hell you fucking idiot revenant! They have fucking satellites! You're gonna get them arrested!" She screamed, leaving Amy bewildered.

Code:

JACKASS. HERCULES HAS SATELLITE CAMERAS TRAINED HERE. THEY KNOW THAT CAR WAS NEAR THE BUILDING. YOU'RE GONNA GET THEM ARRESTED!

As for my plan, it boils down to a hovercraft at the docks I have waiting. Now be a dear and put down your firewall so I can save the girl I like and her father.

Stella glared at Amy. "Dont fucking say anything. Just dont." Stella was very unhappy.

"Why say when I can help?" Amy said, fingers typing in commands and making sounds like staccato gunfire. Through the connection, she began hacking into Hercules system, not quite getting control of their satellites, just their feed. She began feeding them false images of what the satellites were seeing, hoping to fool them.

Code:

Yeah still no, I've already had one guy try to help and look how that ended for the civilians in the area.

"Shadow, you're with me," Revenant barked, securing the case to his back like it was a backpack. "We're gonna play follow the leader with Hercules, but you are not to send them crashing to the ground or kill anyone, got it?"

"Yes sir." Marcus said as his amour re wrapped around him. "Lead the way." He said

"Stay close, and make sure you're seen," James said before rushing out the door. Michael got in the car and began driving, intent on heading home. Somewhere safe, where he could lockdown and make sure his daughter was alright. In the mirror he spotted Revenant come out, and grapple their way to the roof of a building.

She set the hovercraft to autopilot into the atlantic. "Thanks Amy. Revenant is being a little bitch and doing everything his way. I can't get Chris out of the area fast - buy me five minutes. I need to hack something more than...there...three F-42 Warwolves on combat exercises down the coast...nevermind their encryption is nothing compared to the Pentagon. Ejecting...okay, buy me two minutes for transit to the area Amy...excellent, Hellflurry air to surface. Pan the satellite Amy, I need a killzone to minimize or eliminate civilian casualties while halting HERCULES. If you can direct Chris to the alleyways and get her to the backstreet here..." she high lighted the screen. "I can get them to the freeway in four minutes."

Code:

Avoid Convoy. Imminent US F-42 Hellflurry ASM strike at following coordinates. Draw full convoy in if you decide to be a stubborn arrogant prick. Also dont demand me to clue you into a plan if you dont care about my plan.
Kisses.

Code:

It seems unfair to have a dick measuring contest when you have none.

So he went in loud, Revenant, with Shadow in tow. He made sure to be seen as he moved for the group of gunships moving over the buildings, intending to get their attention.

Code:

 Actually, the clitoris could be considered a girl dick. Which means I still have more then you.

The Warwolves roarednover the water, heading for the location. "Amy. Shunt the convoy to the spot you found. Any way possible."

"Make myself seen." Marcus said and started to run through the street. He allowed his snakes out and started to form black mist around him and created a circle of tendrils of darkness around him. "Come out, Come out, wherever you are." He started to yell while running though the street trying to stay close to Rev.

Code:

Wow, you should see a doctor about that. That can't be healthy.

GirlWithSkillz wrote:

Alright you two that's enough. Can we focus on getting my girlfriend safely out of harms way please?

"You mean aside from letting Revenant bait them into it?" Amy asked Stella.

The lead gunship spotted them, and fired a stun-net first to try and restrain them. James sliced his in half while the other went for Shadow.

Marcus moved his tendrils into a wall in front of him and harden them, the net hitting wall before harmlessly falling in front of him, he jumped over and continued to run.

Code:

The clitoris extends one inch out during urination. Unextended I still out length you babe. Nice try - lrn2anatomy.

"This idiot is worse then Spiderman. And Deadpool." She typed a bit more. "Half a minute to maximum firing range. Am I clear Amy?"

"That idiot is also my friend and doing their best to save my girlfriend," Amy said coolly. "And they're not showing off while doing it either.....and you're clear."

Revenant decided to ignore Stella and her comments. What was the point in arguing with her anyway? Chris was more or less safe with the distraction in place, and Michael was getting her out of the area and back home. Stella had helped big time.....but he wondered how big the repercussions of her actions would be. Hacking into government property and then diverting jets to fire on targets in a city airspace? If this didn't make things worse, he wasn't sure what would.

"Oh. That explains who the man in the iron mask is. Tell Revy he needs to be nicer - I actually was thinking of hacking his grades after the incident."

With Hercules in the killzone, the missiles launched. Some vehicles turned to run, others just ditched and booked it for cover. She had fired with plenty of time for them to see and detect - and in the end HERCULES casualites were minimum. Diverting the planes seaward, she shot down two then ditched the third into the ocean before setting off two of it's missiles.
"Jets ditched and destroyed Amy. Did Chris and her dad escape?"

Amy didn't even bother glaring at Stella. She just sighed and said "Do I even need to tell you to keep your trap shut, or do I need to get a stapler?"

"Jesus!" James shouted as the missiles detonated.

Marcus was avoiding cars and bullets and couldn't lie, he was enjoying it. He was quite frankly enjoying it too much. "Rev, any plans yet." Marcus yelled out while looking around. He was scanning the street they were on when he noticed a face, one face that slowed him down. quietly he said "Ca.. Caity." As he said this, missles stuck surrounding Vehicles.

"Run like hell," James growled. "And this time, we avoid being seen."

"Rig... right." Marcus said back as he started to run. "Just call me if you need something mate." He said as he ran through an alleyway or two and removed his mask and armor, he started to sprint until he was a far bit away.

Caity, who is Caity?

"My dead sister." Marcus said back to him and continued

Bella was scared right now. She saw what had happened. Revanent and a shadowy figure running about about avoiding Bullets and nets, then the explosions. She woke to a car right on top of her, well not really but it was angled on the wall that was behide her. She crawled out but had a a big pain in her leg. Looking around she saw a bit of metal poking out. "Crap" was all she could say as she continued to crawl out. "Help." was all she could say again. As she tried to sit up.

"What the hell did you just do?" Amy said with disbelief. "You just.....you just killed those people!"

Forced to run, James began moving home, since that was where he was needed now. Mainly for Chris, but also because he just knew that Michael was expecting to see him there, and if he wasn't there.....it would be bad.

"I have to go back." Marcus said as he turned around. Back the way he came.

Why, she could have been a hallucination. A woman who you thought looked like her.

"No, the hallucinations ended long ago." He shot right back at him. He started to jog. He couldn't run at his normal speed without attracting attention.

Bella couldn't see anyone. Only dead where around. "Help!" Was all she could call out. There was smoke everywhere and groaning and fire. Bella was really scared now.

Amazingly, James got home ahead of Michael, but there was a wrinkle: he still had the case attached to his back. Uh....where do we hide it? he asked Gestalt.

Hmm...your closet was, last I saw, rather unkempt with a lot of clothes strewn about. Hide it under your clothes.

Huh....well, that should work, just need to start doing my own laundry now, James thought. He arrived in the backyard, changing out of the nanites and grabbing the case from his back. Getting in wasn't a problem since he still had his keys, and he rushed up the stairs to his room. Once inside, he pulled his closet open, moved some clothes aside and placed the case down in the back corner before he covered it up in a bunch of fallen clothing. That oughta do it....

Then he heard the door open downstairs.

Marcus could smell the smoke that covered the street right before he entered it. He could smell the fire, the burnt meat and iron, the singed hair. Looking around he saw her again, she was unconscious and had a metal object in her leg. He flipped her over and looked at her face. She wasn't his sister Caity but she was close to. Like a almost perfect copy. "Stay with me." Was all he said to Bella and he ran at top speeds to zeru's.

Stella looked at the explosion.
"Approach was well warned. Missiles fired at maximum distance and set to detonate within fifteen seconds of impact. Casualties set to a minimum. All other options were eliminated the moment Revenant decided to firewall Michael's car and derail my plan to get them far away without anyone the wiser." She was shaking a little. "Anyone who died...if anyone did..." She gripped her mouse. "I had no other choice. I had no way to stall HERCULES long enough for everyone to get away. If there were any deaths..." She pushed away from the hacking desk. She stood and headed to the cot. "Just go to Chris. Leave me alone - you all have shown that you don't need me or my plans. So just leave." She sat down, removing her glasses. She actually was tearing up.

"Goddamn it Stella," Amy said, standing up from her seat. "It's not that we don't appreciate the help. Trust me, we do. But it's mostly the lack of communication that's got under our skin, and how far you took things. I mean.....even if no one is dead, you took control of a group of jets and had them perform a missile strike on a group of government forces. That......that's going to bring, all kinds of hell down on this place now. More Hercules, or something else worse than Hercules."

There was a mirror on the back of his door, and he took a moment to make sure he looked the part. Worried expression, check. Shaken, check. Granted, he was already those things when she had been taken, but knowing she was rescued would have changed his appearance a bit. "Michael!?" he called down the stairs before coming to a stop at the summit, looking down to see both Michael, and Chris. "Chris!" he shouted, descending the steps rapidly before pulling her into a hug.

Yeah, he knew she was safe.....but in the whole process of saving her, he never had a chance to show how happy he was that she had been saved.

"Someone is about to shoot you. Tell me a nonviolent way to stop them."
"Well first -"
"Bang, you're dead." Stella looked up. "I have to hack a hovercraft, four UAVs, and plot an optimal course in the timeframe of mere minutes. I have to do that, and somehow manage to divert HERCULES long enough to get it done, and waste my time and focus telling you. I don't have the luxury of time. Go ahead, decry me and say I don't communicate. But when I have to hack and control more things then half the people in this city, I can't stop, get a cup of tea, and tell you my entire plan like a Bond villain. This isn't a game - and if you had any sense, you'd know I only go nuclear when needed. And since your friend decided that his way was better, with a full military convoy heading in with a full assault wing for air support and satellite coverage, who know to rely on sight when the sky eyes are down, I had to do what I could to save Chris. I just probably got Icarus to cut my funding and soon my containers will be gone and my money will be dry. So don't tell me what the fuck the consequences are - I just ruined my life for a girl who wanted to rip my head off. So kindly stop thinking of my lack of communication and realize that maybe, just fucking maybe, I'm alone, I barely know how to interact, and I'm not used to arrogant pricks with an alien exosuit that can put up a firewall I can't break and can hack the world in minutes. So I'm fucking sorry I get under your skin. But maybe, just fucking maybe, you got under mine first. Think of that?"

"You think I don't know this isn't a game?" Amy said, scarlet in the face. "Sounds like you put yourself on a pretty high horse yourself, Aether Rain. Look I get that you love Chris but you acted like you were the only one that did. I love her! She and I are dating and I love her so much, but I would never do what you did. Never endanger people, because I know she would never forgive me for that."

She hugged him tightly, whispering into his ear "Thank you," then following up in a louder tone "James! Oh thank god." Michael watched them for a moment before placing a hand on Chris' shoulder, and then hugging her from behind, sandwiching her in an affectionate hug between himself and James. "Are you alright?" James asked. "Yeah I'm fine," she said.

"I never was going to endanger anyone. But no. I was cut out because I don't communicate. You don't trust the girl who has control of the fucking city. And when I do, I get treated like some child in the most disrespectful and sarcastic way possible. So I'm done. Go to Chris. Leave me alone, where I belong." She threw her shoes to the side. "I know I'm not the one Chris loves. I'll never be. Even if I wasn't capable of hurting people, I never would be." She leaned back against the cool metal wall of the container. "Go to your girlfriend and your friend and your home. Leave me in my little container terrified to even go to school because of the fucking military."

"Well why the hell are you scared of them?" Amy said with the barest hint of sarcasm. "You could shut them down with the push of a button, couldn't you? So what does Aether Rain have to fear?"

They let go after a bit, James already looking teary. Even tough girl Chris looked it. "I tried to stop them, but they.....they held a gun on me," James said. Chris could only shake her head and say "Stop James, I'm not upset at you. You did what you could, but at the end of the day I'm okay." There was something deeper though, in his concern. Besides Amy, she was the closest person he had left in his life. He just couldn't go through the pain of losing someone again.

"I can't find them. I can't fucking find them. They have my DNA, they can hunt me down. I can't go home, I can't do anything. I barely was sure I was safe enough to talk to you all. And now they'll find me. So I'm fucking terrified of what Aether Rain can't find." She looked at Amy. "If you're gonna sit there and just act sarcastic and think I suck, go ahead. Then leave and never see me again. Because at this rate, I'm dead."

There wasn't a lot Amy could say to that. She was still angry, no doubt......but she wasn't blind to the terror in Stella's eyes. "Dammit.....okay, who has your DNA? And how could that let them track you, not like there's DNA bombs or anything."

You're saving a nobody.

"I don't care."

She will kill you.

"No she won't." Marcus said back in an annoyed tone as he ran through the streets with his sisters look alike. She on the other hand felt like a ton of bricks had crashed on her chest. Bella was coping and she didn't know who carried her but he was moving fast enough for the wind like a car.

Marcus made it to the entice to Zeru's and started to call out. "Hey I brought a guest to the party." No mask just his normal voice, so he guessed they may think hes someone else.

"UNESD. I tried hacking in...hardwired...they got me...they stabbed me with a big needle, and they said they could track me. I...I couldn't find them. I couldn't find them through the Pentagon, the White House, Norad...Amy they could find me at any time and I don't know how. So go ahead, decry me - I just killed myself to save Chris because all other avenues of escape were destroyed the moment Revenant firewalled that car."

"Oh don't give me that," Amy said. "If that was the only way, you would have said it when you dropped those drones in and said 'get to the hoverboat.' You could have jammed communications, blinded the sats, or even taken over their convoy and ground it to a halt. Hell, ask for help and Revenant and I would have helped."