She couldn’t have been more bored if she was turned into wood. Lying on her back, literally burning up in a small enclosed cell was not Zara’s idea of a good time. The red drapes that clung to her body were suffocating. It was either this, or run around in the nude. Zara was not exactly opposed to the idea but, it was a pretty bad distraction to both the guards and her male inmates. She had more than one guard outside her cell at all times, mostly because any where there was shadow she could do some damage, and the bright light they used to get rid of the shadows only gave her fire more power. She was a hard one to cage and was famous amongst the prisoners for multiple failed escape attempts. It was the same every time. Zara would wait, do some crazy complicated move, drain herself and then be basically dead until the scientists forced human blood down her throat.
Not the best of feelings to be honest. It was going to be different this time. She had a plan that was going to take all of Area 0 by storm. She was not sure what she planned on doing once she escaped but, that was a bridge she would cross when she came to it. For now she just lay in her cell, being a good girl and waited for her time to strike.
The guard with the food cart came wheeling by. She lazily stood up, leaned herself against the bars and gave him one of her seductive smirks.
“Whatcha’ got for me big guy?” she asked. Her swirling red and orange eyes almost hypnotizing for the guard. They swirled like the earth’s core, a hint to the molten heat that lay underneath her porcelain skin.
“Same as I do every day Zara,” the guard replied, unable to keep his smiles under wraps. This guard was always a decent human being. He called her by her name instead of the terrible nick names the rest of them had come up with for them. He handed her a custom-made tray that wouldn’t melt in her hands, and a bottle of water that was coated in NASA grade insulation so that she wouldn’t evaporate the water before she had a chance to drink it. The tests Area 0 did were terrible, painful, torturous, but the scientists never meant to kill their subjects. A dead subject is hardly anything to test on. The only thing they are good for is the autopsy table.
“Thanks love,” She blew the guard a kiss. He just laughed and shook his head, his cheeks turning bright pink. She drank her water and ate her rare meat, it was mostly cooked by the time she digested it anyway. She took a good look at herself, mentally preparing for what she was about to do. Her curse was down to nothing, the scientists had been feeding her human blood for days, attempting to get her curse down so they could test the full potential of her powers. This was their mistake, because she had more juice now than she had in days. The only catch was that she had to make her move before they decided to test her. She had to make her move tonight.
Zara turned to the cell next to her and gave a wink. She leaned against the bars so that they could hear her hushed whisper.
“Prepare yourself, things in here are about to heat up.”

Dessa sat in the corner of her cell flicking the light on and of. She had her knees tucked in with her head resting in them. She heard a shuffle and a clang as one of the guard dropped a food tray into her cell. She didn't look up she just kept flicking the light on and off. You dont deserve food. Rang the hateful voice in her head. She turned the light on and of again. Off. On. Off, she held it inside of her till a burn appeared on her hand. On. Off. Second burn. On...
You deserve that. You sick bitch. You deserve to be locked in this cell. You deserve to die. Off, she held it in slightly longer this time and at least three burns appeared on her arm. She heard a voice but didn't say anything. Maybe if the ignored the speaker they would go away.
After sitting in her corner for at least a half hour she finally got up and grabbed the tray. She grabbed a slice of bread, pulled off a tiny piece and stuck it into her mouth. Her eyes flicked to the woman in the cell next her and then back down at her bread. She hadn't eaten in a while and it felt good to finally get something in her stomach.
Once she was done eating and drinking she harshly shoved the tray back to the entrance of the cell and went back to her balled posision in the corner. Off. On. Off. On....

Raven opened her eyes, her almost black irises searching her cell yet again. She smoothed out her long, now tattered black skirt and re-adjusted the black corset. She pulled her long hair from underneath and swept it across her shoulder. She chewed her lip thoughtfully, glancing over the cell once more before stretching out her back.
One day she would be out and justice would be served. She chuckled mirthlessly, she drummed her blood red fingernails across the floor. The soft chinking sound resounded around the room, and Raven allowed her lips to curve in a rare one of her grim smiles. Soon…
She had been here too long she thought rather smugly, soon...she would rebel, but not yet. For now she would brood, her mood visibly dampened as she remembered that once again she would have to put up with another mind test. She tugged gently at the large metal clasp around her wrist, hearing the rattle of the chain that was attached to the wall. Raven frowned slightly, delicately wrinkling the skin on her forehead. She did not like being stuck. Herself and the man next door had been here for ages and quite frankly she was sick of it.
"If I ever get out of here " Raven claimed out loud "I suggest justice" She smirked at the thought. She enjoyed being next to his cell. Both were rather cold to others, and he seemed to attract her own dark side. Both had shared each others screams and both were ready to rebel. She let her tongue roam over her straight teeth, attempting to remember the last meal she'd had. Not that it would be that appetizing, she sighed slightly as she got up, half returning to the girl she used to be before slamming in place her sarcastic, indifferent mask.
Bored, Raven slowly let her mind out to the boy next door.
<You know we're going to have to get out at some point. What do you suggest?> Just as she did so she felt two other consciousness brush against her own sensitive one.
<We have company> She rubbed her slender fingers over her temples as she prepared herself for what was to come, before pulling herself together and drawing in a shuddering breath.
She pulled on some long black lace gloves, enjoying the gothic style immensely, time to make sure the guards feared her slightly. She pulled all her strength together and gently sent out a probe. She wormed it through the door and up and down the hallway slightly, searching for a mind to play with. She finally made contact with one guard coming towards her. She slowly shuffled through some of the guards more recent memories.
This one was an old favourite. Raven's mouth twisted in disgust. Damn! This one was used to her little mind games, none the less, she would try again. Through the man's memories Raven could tell it would be a hard session. Obviously her last episode with her demands that the black corset remain in the cell didn't go down so well. Then again, that actually may not be the reason. Raven smirked. One of the younger/newer guards had forgotten the psychic band which tired Raven out more. Raven hadn't been bad...not too bad. She had only added a little bit of terror and insanity. Unfortunately Raven was mad at the time and this had only infuriated and swelled her powers until she had let out a harsh burst of pain, fear and madness towards the guard. From the guards memory the younger one had apparently gone a little bit strange. Twasn't Raven's fault. The girl had been stupid and hadn't worn the band. It was almost an invitation wasn't it?
Raven frowned. According to this guard that had been unforgivable, and he had a psychic band firmly up his arm. She let out a low growl. Damn! This meant the illusion must be strong and quick. The band activated and drained her strength quickly if she attempted to mess with his emotions or his vision.
She re-adjusted herself on the floor, purposefully spreading out the black volumes of her skirt around her. She pulled her ebony hair from over shoulder straight down her back. She faced the back wall, so that when the guard entered, they would see the back of her head, seemingly unconcerned and with a thick black skirt surrounding herself. On second thoughts Raven put her gloved hands behind her supporting her posture making her perfectly straight. It always seemed to disconcert her guards when she prepared for their entrance. She liked to make a good show of her powers.
"Well, it looks like someone remembered me" Raven chuckled slyly, as the guard entered without turning around. She enjoyed knowing when people came into her presence.
He slowly locked the door and turned to her with a vicious grin.
Ruthlessly Raven sent out a clawed probe, sinking it's claws into the guards mind weaving up a more impressive illusion of herself. She made herself more filled out and also more stunning, running over the jagged cut on her left arm and making it seem perfect. She also made her shadows lengthen and gave an added emotion of fear and respect. She kept the hold on the guard as sweat started to seep from the pores on her forehead. Slowly she felt the claws of her own mind scramble in an attempt to keep control of the guards mind. The more she tried, the more slippery the surface of his conscious was. It was like trying to sink metal barbs into a perfect ice surface. Raven felt her body shake with the effort of keeping the illusion in place, her exhaustion growing every second. Soon the fatigue would consume her.
She laughed grimly as she lost control and her probe rebounded back into her head with a dull throb. She was drained of energy and now slumped slightly on the floor. She panted a little, but tried to retain her un-breakable stance.
The guard gritted his teeth.
"Nice try Raven"
"Twas wasn’t it?" Raven laughed as her voice cracked, her exhaustion becoming more apparent.
Without warning the guard stuck her across the face, as Raven let out a sharp gasp of pain. Her face felt like it was on fire. That guard had one hefty slap. Still she managed to look back up at him with a crooked smile.
"Oi, I need that face later"
"You drove that girl mad" the guard growled through gritted teeth.
"Oh...you cared for her?" Raven said cheekily, she already knew that from his memories.
"Don't play with me witch!"
"Witch…" Raven said rolling the word on her tongue as though it was foreign "No...I don't suppose that is what I am."
That was when the strange helmet was placed over head, and the small cord was plugged into the wall.
"You will regret it"

"When do I ever regret things?" she attempted to pure, though her mask slipped slightly and started revealing slightly the brokenness of her true self. Then the switch was pulled, and she let out a scream as the volts of electricity went through her mind. She grabbed her head with both hands as her shrieks continued, now both mental and physical. The rods of pain refused falter, keeping up a steady stream of agony. Finally the pain stopped as blackness surrounded the edges of her vision and she gladly succumbed.

What a headache. The agents had been pushing Jonah extra hard this week, and he had been treating them with an extra dose of apathy. Nothing they did made his powers any more effective, so, in the grand spirit of science, they had begun to test what made him less effective. Extreme temperatures, chemicals, radiation--he didn't like to think of his chances of surviving past 30 without some kind of unique cancer at this point.

If he made it to 30.

The agents would talk with each other openly in his presence during tests. They were starting to think a more direct approach to figuring him out would be better, y'know, a poke or two at his brain under a surgeon's knife. Medicine being a major he had pursued for a couple of years in college, he knew the chances of coming out from that unchanged weren't great, even if the doctor did have his well-being in mind.

Jonah sat on his cot, staring at the bars of his cell, wishing intently that the strength he had to lift things could be used to break things. The agents had sussed out his limitations fairly well, and just from experience he knew he could not bend those metal bars. Even if he could lift several thousand pounds. The discrepancy was more of a bother to the people who experimented on him than it was to himself--he had been perfectly happy back in the day when he had just been a normal college-goer with the ability to benchpress refrigerators as a great parlor trick.

There was a section of the lights a couple cells down that kept flicking on and off erratically. It had been like that for a while, and he wondered why, with their seemingly infinite budget for torture devices, the agency couldn't spring for an electrician. He couldn't be the only one annoyed by it. It was making his headache worse. Besides which, he hadn't been fed yet today, so his stomach hurt, too. He knew there was a priority inmate--priority here meaning babe--somewhere down the hall, because the guards who brought the food would talk about her, and often walk right past him, forgetting to bring him any food at all. He was pretty sure it was the same half-naked woman who he had seen one time dashing past his cell in a blaze of glory. He hadn't gotten a good look but he had been pretty sure she had been on fire.

"Hey," he shouted through the bars. "Hey, can I get some food here? Guys?"

Of course, his was the padded cell. And by 'padded', Ethan didn't mean walls lined with soft white cushions. He meant walls bolstered with several layers of hard titanium and other shiny metals. Stuff that'd be a breeze to slip through were he not drugged. But, as luck would have it, he was.

The first few weeks were the best, no contest. The experimentation wasn't so bad back then. Ethan had enough juice left to phase through his cell walls and turn invisible for a few minutes. It was never long enough to escape the place, but long enough to make his stay bearable. Abilities like Ethan's meant he could be gone and back before guards could so much as wipe the snot from their faces. He used to enjoy a good nighttime stroll, visiting other inmates, nicking food from the more innocuous ones. The poor fellow in Cell 31 -- the one with telekinesis, or something or other -- was a particular favorite of Ethan's to prey on. He never seemed to realize that it wasn't the guards who were forgetting his meals, but Ethan who made off with them before anyone could notice. The guards were too busy ogling Zara several cells down, in any case. Ethan couldn't really blame them.

Unfortunately for Ethan, his invisible escapades were soon brought to an end by the higher ups. While the guards might be dumber than a sack of potatoes, the agents were not. They began incorporating various drugs into his daily torture regimen. Anything to keep Ethan from melting into thin air. Anything to keep him in one solid piece.

Lo and behold, it worked. Ethan could barely phase a pinky finger through the wall, let alone his entire body. It was a... disheartening feeling. Claustrophobic, almost.

Ethan carded shaky fingers through his hair. He jiggled his knee absentmindedly. God. Drugs like these made him feel so tired. They made him feel like more of a ghost than he did sober.

Sleep sounded awfully tempting right about now. But he'd wait.

Something was up. There was a certain restlessness clinging to the air. It settled in Ethan's bones like a warning, a spark to action. He'd wait. I'll sleep when I'm dead, he thought, a wry smile turning up the corners of his mouth. Like hell he'd miss this.

It was as if all of Area 0 could feel Zarganna's restlessness. The air buzzed with anticipation, or maybe she was imagining things, projecting her own excitement. She lazily sat up in bed, letting her hair fall around her thick, curvy frame. She stretched her toes, she popped her neck, carefully taking time to prepare everything in her body. She was going to succeed this time. Nothing was going to get in her way. She took a moment to get her head in the right place. Seduction took some work. She leaned her body against the cold bars, her breasts peaking from underneath the red bonds that clung to her form.
"Hey there," her voice was sweet and sultry, almost a leash, pulling the male into her grasp. As he neared, his body created a shadow against the floor. She could have laughed. If this was any easier she could have cried. Her eyes started to change colors, the deep red magnum going white with the heat. Her smile slowly morphed from seductive to sadistic. The shadows beckoned to her call, like a loyal pet longing to be with its master once more.
Before the man could flee, it was already happening. His eyes held so much terror that it almost broke Zara's concentration. He would remained unharmed, she reassured herself. It was just his shadows she needed. She thrust her mind into the shadows, calling for aid. She was welcomed with an excited roar. She grabbed the creatures with her mind, willing for the creature to follow her into the light. When she opened her eyes the beast was before her.
Molten and terrifying the monster screeched into existence. With a nod of her head he busted the bars to pieces, including those of the cell next to her. The creature resembled that of a man, only he was the size of three, and made of nothing but fire, shadow, and rage. She climbed onto his broad shoulders and urged him forward. She had to let them all free, she didn't care if they all escaped, but the chaos would be enough for her to finally be free of the terrible Area 0.
It wasn't long before Zara found her way to the safety switch. Bizarre really that they would have switch that shut down the power to everything, including the cells. They didn't much care for them to live outside of them. Zara didn't question. Only flipped the switch so it could no longer be flipped back. An alarm sounded, that would make things more difficult. Zara tried to keep a steady mind. Nothing could stop her from leaving. It was going to happen this time.
Many of the prisoners looked around in terror, unsure of what was happening. Zara rolled her eyes.
"Fight for your freedom or be doomed to these depths forever!" With that she urged her beast forward. The ashes on her body were slowly encasing her. She could not keep this monster in the mortal world for long. She had to conserve. She wasn't out of the woods yet.

-------

Angel was looking over the case files when the alarm sounded. She cursed. It was most likely that mutant fire girl again. She looked at her agent, helping her with paper work in the corner. He was looking at her awaiting her orders.
"Johnson, go see to that will you?" She looked back down at her paper work. Unfazed and unconcerned. No freak had ever escaped from her grasp before, and this Zaraganna was no different.

Raven awoke, curled up on the floor, both hands clutching her head. She was breathing heavily, and her head pounded reminding her of her guards method. She opened her now even darker eyes to see her guard still standing over her.
"Great, obviously wasn’t out for long enough, because now I have to see your ugly face again"
She was rewarded for her comment with a harsh kick to the ribs. She let out a strangled gasp as his boot collided with her chest. That would certainly leave a nice bruise.
"You deserve everything you get" the guard hissed "You know, the agents might even be interested...driving a guard to insanity is not a petty crime"
Raven was taken back, yet quickly recovered.
"Yeah, whatever. It wasn't as though she was the sharpest mind in the place"
Again she managed to get a hefty quick. The wind was driven out of her body, probably saving her from her next remark's consequence.
The guard bought out a cigarette lighter, and took his time lighting his cigarette. Raven rolled her eyes. Looks like he really wanted to get her back, rather old trick though.
"You know what? I don't particularly like being used as someone's ashtray" Raven scoffed.
"Need some softer punishment" the guard spat, jamming the butt into Ravens upper arm. Raven let out a soft moan, as she struggled to bite back a shriek. The soft odour of burning flesh wafted into the room.
"Yeah, wouldn't be too bad an idea" Raven snarled sarcastically, her face contorted with pain.
"They say drowning is the second most peaceful way to die" the guard replied wickedly.
Raven froze. Not water. Her skin whitened, which was rather remarkable considering it's already pale quality. An icy silence filled the room.
"We don't like that idea" the guard stated his voice low and dangerous.
"Like it could get any worse" Raven retorted, though her voice shook and for the first time she seemed to show real fear.
The guard simply brought out a pair of silver handcuffs. After forcing Raven's hands behind her back, he undid the black shackle from her wrist. The cuff dropped off with soft clank, and despite her fear, Raven found herself rubbing her raw wrist.
"I could get used to this" she said shortly, before the guard pressed a knife to her throat.
"I suggest we walk outside nice and slowly"
Raven slowly got to her feet, seething with anger and shaking slightly. She slowly crossed the cell, before the guard opened the barred door. They passed Connor's prison and Raven attempted to get a glimpse of him before she was swept into another room next to his.
There was a small barred window that would possibly show into Connor's cell, though by the way it was angled, Raven couldn't be sure. Most of the cells had a small slit at the top of the walls, barred of course, in order to keep the air ventilated. In the centre of the room was a barrel full of water. Raven swayed on her feet. Raw terror flowed through her. In all her years they had only done this once when she was only sixteen. They hadn't dared do it again after through fear she had almost killed the person responsible, but that was before the psychic bands.
Glancing at the window, Raven sent a sharp message to Connor.
<Don't you dare watch...if you can. And if you can do anything do it now...maybe freeze the water?> She said the last bit with a tinge of desperation.
"Time to pay for the girls mind" the guard muttered through gritted teeth before striking her in the back of the head, driving Raven to her knees. He yanked her over the side of the barrel by her hair forcing her head under the water.
Raven couldn't scream or struggle, and she was lost in the depth's of the inky blackness of the water. It wasn't long in her panicked state when she began to need air. She desperately tried t o pull her head up, yet the guards beefy hand kept her under. She tried to kick him, but only succeeded in hammering her feet into the ground. Her lungs burnt and head was feeling cloudy. She briefly realised that her head was starting to get cold, and that the temperature of the water was dropping rather rapidly.
Connor not now! She thought, exasperated, but her mind was in a state of delusion, and she was not in the right frame of mind to use her power, much less send a message to Connor. She could just imagine how pitiful she would look, her head frozen in a bucket of water. If she wasn't feeling like she was going to drown, it would have been half comical. It would be interesting...her thought cut short.
She couldn't think properly, and in one last desperate attempt to breath, Raven sucked the water straight into her lungs.
Just as she did so, the guard pulled her out, dumping her on the ground. Raven started to cough up water, and the male bent down giving a few quick compressions forcing the water out of Raven's lungs. Soon the water failed to come up, and Raven lay gasping on the stone floor.
"Shame I'm not allowed to kill you...one day though. You know you've been here about four years, isn't that about the time when people start to fail to be interesting...and when they disappear" He bent down and whispered the last part in Ravens ear.
Raven's left arm whipped out and slapped him heavily across the face, before letting her hand flop down beside her. The guard grunted in surprise before smashing his own fist into her face. He then hauled her bodily to her feet and forced her to walk back out, striking her in the back a few times. Finally he threw her back in her cell.
"Mark my words, you'll get it if the agents ever get word of what you did"
Then the door was slammed shut, and Raven was stuck shivering on the floor of her cell. Her soaking hair was plastered to her head, and she was starting to freeze. Cautiously she managed to half crawl half drag herself to the wall dividing herself and Connor's cell. Connor's cell was heated and the warmth seeped through the walls. She gently rested her head against the stone allowing the warmth to go through her pounding head.
<Connor? I have to get out of here…>
At that moment the alarms went off. Even in her rather unenergetic state Raven smirked.
<Looks like I got my wish>
The power had unlocked the door, and Raven stalked out. The long black hair dripping wet, and her face an unhealthy white pallor, but her dark eyes glowed with excitement. She made her first stop to Connor's cell.
"Time to come out I should think, man you are slow" she joked, her normal ironic humour colouring her voice once more. She gave him a quick embrace before, getting into business.
"Are you cold enough?" she asked, her eyebrows knitting together, forming a plan. Slowly she reached out her mind to Connors, and dug in. In her freezing state it wasn't long before she had knitted together a rather convincing illusion of being cold, and she wrapped her mind even tighter against Connor's. She wasn't sure if an illusive cold would be any use, but it had to be worth a shot.
She had to release it soon, as she was getting tired, even without a psychic band to leech her strength.
"Did that help somewhat?" she smirked.

Conner sighed, he was sitting there with nothing to do, again. Everything was the same these last few days. He has been ignored for the better part of two weeks since his last escape attempt. He had managed to short circuit most of the heat lights in his cell, enough so that the heat wasn’t radiating so forcefully down to him. He hated the heat, it always made his skin crawl to be so warm. It made him feel like his body was melting and that he would just become a puddle of water. After getting the lights to stop projecting heat and still be on he had focused on the lock on the cell door and the cuff he had on his wrist, making them freeze over. He swiftly shattered both of them and froze the guard solid. He bolted down the hallway looking for the exit, but the heat in the hallways was steadily rising, making him slow down and his temperature rise. It was almost eighty degrees in the hallway and he collapsed, gasping, trying to make his temperature go back down. The guards came and dragged him back to his cell, replacing the lock and the wrist cuff. While he was out running they had defrosted the lights and they were hotter than before.
Now all he could do was sit there in the heat, feeling like he was slowly turning to mush. The heat was the only thing he couldn’t stand, it was his opposite, and he couldn’t stand against it for very long. Although if he were in a better condition than he was currently, he would be able to drop the temperature easily and keep himself from feeling like he was dying.

He flicked at the metal cuff around his wrist that kept him chained firmly to the back wall. It was annoying him, the stupid thing wouldn’t come off, and his hand wasn’t skinny enough to slip through it like he had done a few times before. He thumped his head against the wall in pure boredom.
He felt a presence brush against his mind. He could tell by feel that it was Raven, in the cell next to his. <You know we're going to have to get out at some point. What do you suggest?> He looked up at the ceiling, honestly, at the moment he had nothing. He was still drained from his last escape and he was going to need something to get him back to his normal strength. Just a little cold, even some ice would help. But he knew they would never give him anything cold. They always made sure everything they gave him was room temperature or warm.
<We have company> He felt Ravens mind again, and he smirked. He knew she always put on a show for the guards who came to her room. He sat back and watched through the bars of his cell as the men passed in front of him. He was watching them from beneath his white hair, one guard glanced his way and shivered. He smiled darkly, he liked that he could still get a chill to people with just his gaze. Another dropped a tray into his cell and he looked down at it. He frowned, it was all cooked, which he didn’t mind but he could see that it was purposely over done and it was still hot from where ever they cooked the meals. He pushed it off to the side and thumped his head against the wall again. He would refuse this meal like he had done the last couple days. He was going strong this time, usually he would give in after a few days, but he didn’t plan to this time. If he died he knew he would be no use to the people here.
He lifted his head slightly as he heard shrieking, it was Raven, he could tell by the sound of her voice. He cursed the chain around his wrist once again and clenched his hands into fists. He hated to be so weak that he couldn’t even get a light frost over his hand, much less the objects around him. He was going to get out somehow, he knew he was. It wasn’t an option to stay. He would find his way out and kill those who had brought him here, had tested on him, had tortured him. He would torture them back.

He could fell Raven coming to and hear faintly through the thick wall, the guard going off on her again. He obviously wanted her to pay for her last trick she had done a foolish girl who didn’t wear the band on her arm.
He watched through the bars as the guard shoved Raven passed his cell and into the one next to his. He could feel by instinct that there was a large amount of water in there. Probably a bucket or a tank full of the stuff, depending on what they wanted to do with her. He felt her mind reach for his, <Don't you dare watch...if you can. And if you can do anything do it now...maybe freeze the water?>
Freezing the water was a good idea, if he could manage it. He focused on the water that he could feel in the room and pushed all his energy into making it cold, then freezing, but he couldn’t get it passed that. He was panting for breath and the heat lights above him seemed to be rising in temperature and bearing down on him. He faintly heard raven, close like she was right against the wall he was leaning on. <Connor? I have to get out of here…Looks like I got my wish>

At that moment the alarm sounded and the lights above him went out. He stood up quickly to see what was going on, his lights were never supposed to turn off so he couldn’t gain enough strength to escape. He went over to the bars and looked out, he could see a glowing down the hall, like there was fire, and he instinctively shuddered. He glanced down at the cuff on his wrist, it froze over and shattered. At that moment Raven opened the door to his cell. “Time to come out I should think, man you are slow" He knew she was joking with him and didn’t take it seriously. “Of course I’m going to be slow, have to savour the moment.” She gave him a hug, her cold wet hair brushing against his cheek.
He could feel her mind digging into his, making him feel like he was getting colder and colder. It was great, even though he knew it was an illusion he could feel the cold. He nodded to her when she asked if that helped. Even though she has let go, he had the reminiscing feeling of the cold he wanted to get. “Much better, let’s finally get out of this place.” He took her hand and headed down the hallway, away from the glowing down the hall he wanted to avoid.

Another night in an Area 0 cell. Another prison-standard meal. Ana did not mean to criticise the political prison chefs, but, their current chef’s position was a clear representation of their aptitude in their occupation of choice. She ran pale and slender fingers through her fiery locks and sighed; the cell was as modern as they come. 6 by 8 foot in size, with facilities such as a basin and a toilet. Her cell, however, also entertained a book-case, filled with beautifully bound books, barely-bound books and those barely together. Of course, said facilities were anchored to the floor and to the steel walls. Over her fifteen year stay, the bed had become as comfortable as any she had remembered. She chuckled bitterly. Her memories of childhood faded faster with every passing year and she was not one for nostalgia. Her eight years not spent imprisoned were the worst ones of her life and, yet, she wanted nothing more than to be free of prying eyes and prodding fingers. She no longer wanted to be free of incarceration; she needed it.

Her bitterness had spread throughout her during the years and every new doctor that tried to ‘understand’ her ‘condition’ was just another reason for her to grasp their throats until they could no longer breath. Ana was a clever woman, however and she knew that escape from high-security prison was something that needed to be well-thought out. Fifteen years in the facility gave her the advantage of knowing everything about it and everyone in it. A golden light flickered on and off. It had started about twenty minutes beforehand and it was not stopping any time soon, Ana presumed. She shut her eyes, breathing in as she shut out the noise. She knew she could not escape alone and, though she spent her fifteen years imprisoned in almost complete solitude by choice, she prepared for a time of ‘recruitment’ now.

When she opened her eyes, she could hear a shuffling outside of her cell bars; her meal was to be collected. She glanced down at the barely-eaten plate of potatoes, peas and pie before preparing her ‘friendly’ face.
“Not hungry again tonight, Ana?”
Nick was a kind-hearted, albeit gullible officer, whose bright eyes and rosy cheeks were a joy to the inmates. Truly, Ana could not stand his constant happiness, but, she would never give that away. Taking her plate into her hands, the tall necromancer stood up. The paleness to her skin had become almost incandescent over the years and, were it not for her denim shorts and pale yellow t-shirt, Ana would look like a ghost.
“My appetite is rather odd these days, sweetheart. Give my apologies to the chefs, won’t you, though?”
Ana smiled, her green eyes managing to catch the little amount of yellowish light that spread throughout the cell blocks. Keeping the entire prison staff on-side had been her intention since she was first brought to Area 0 and she had every single staff member’s personality recorded in her memory.

“Sure thing, Ana.”
Nick’s wandering gaze was always difficult to ignore and Ana wanted so much to cringe every time his brown deep-set eyes looked her up and down. However, it was always best to give a flirtatious smile and a wave instead; he loved that. Ana stayed by the bars of her cell, leaning against them and staring out at the same scene. She had spent so long gathering as much information as she could about everything and everyone Area 0; now, she had to act on that knowledge. She knew that the cells on either side of her were occupied by somewhat impressionable prisoners, so, garnering trust in both would be relatively easy. With a shift to her right, Ana leaned her head against the right cell wall and poked her nose slightly outside of the cell bars.
“Jonah, yes?”
She needed to start small. The history of her kind was unknown to many, but, she had gained quite a vast knowledge of them since being imprisoned; doctors often wrote off the magical explanations, but, Ana knew there was no real medical explanation for her ability. Their ignorance was her gain.

She had garnered most of the officer’s and staff’s trust up to this point, being classed as a Category D prisoner at this point, but one still alluded her; Angel Jones was a top-class, high-ranking Area 0 agent and, though Ana generally did not require much time with a person to be able to manipulate her personality to fit perfectly with their’s, Angel was an enigma. What little Ana could learn about her was her involvement in the Marines and, at that, Ana could not even figure for how long or under what ranking. Ana knew that the only real threat to escaping Area 0 was Angel. Ana needed man power and she intended to group together only the best to try and free herself, even if it required that she take the back seat. After all, her personality was easily altered. She knelt down now, her now rather nimble knees taking to the cold, hard floor as they would have a pit of fire. With a huff, she awaited a response from the neighbouring cell.
Jonah Deckard: ‘super strength‘, she thought to herself.
Seems too simple to me. Too… comic book. There has to be something underlying there.

Immediately after shouting to the guards, Jonah heard a response, though it didn't come from where he had expected.

"Jonah, yes?" a woman's voice said, and after a moment he realized it was coming from the cell next to his.

He hesitated before answering. He'd always been aware of a presence next door. Heck, he even knew her name, and the guards certainly said hers with more respect than anyone else's here. Which was exactly what made him wary. Was she a prisoner? Or one of them?

"Uh," he said. "What?" He cleared his throat. "I mean, yes? Ana, right?"

He had no sooner uttered the words than all the lights went out and the cells were plunged into darkness. Joe let out a startled swear, then ran to the bars to try to see something. There was a red glow somewhere off to the right that looked an awful lot like fire. He immediately jumped to the conclusion that the building was on fire. Adrenalin pumped through his veins, and he jostled the latch on his gate, as though this time, of all the times he'd tried, it would budge.

It budged. With all electricity turned off, whatever had been holding the latch in place was released, and the gate swung open in front of him. From down the hallway echoed a voice, fierce and desperate: "Fight for your freedom or be doomed to these depths forever!"

Fight for your freedom; his adrenalin-stimulated brain latched on to the words and he groped in the darkness for the heaviest object in his cell--the cot--lifted it, and ran out into the hall.

It wasn't long before Zara could feel the fatigue pulling at her body. As much as she hated to loose her power house, she had to loose the beast. She used a small burst of energy to send him back to the depths. Loosing all strength while he was summoned would be a terrible mistake. Not only would she loose control of the monster, but without sending him back to the shadows he would be free to run amok and cause destruction in this realm. She continued to flee down the corridor. In her previous endeavors she had found a way that she was hoping would lead to some sort of exit. She cursed herself for not thinking of this sooner. She would need help fending off the guards, she couldn't fight alone, and she needed strength to buy her time to find the exit. Angel would be making an appearance soon enough, and as tough as Zara was, Angel was one bitch she did not want to cross with a heavy dose of curse.
She heard the two in the cells talking as she ran upon them.

"Jonah, yes?" the girl asked.

"Uh, what?" He seemed to be taken off guard. "I mean, yes? Ana, right?" Zara watched as he threw his cot into the door and fled into the hall. Super strength was right up her ally. As she neared the man to recruit him, she lay eyes on the girl. Her mind whirred for a moment, as if something was looking it over, and there was an unmistakeable need to help this girl out of her cell as well.

'Three's company' Zara thought dryly. She stopped in front of the boy, putting her fire out. Her skin still burned like coals, ready to light up at any moment.

"Woah there hot stuff," She paused him. She quickly formed a blade from the shadows. The lack of electricity was a perfect medium for weapon crafting. She quickly let "Ana" out of her cage. Zara was wary, she was unsure of where her need to help this girl came, but any prisoner of Area 0 was a comrade of hers. She turned to both of them and flashed her dazzling smile.

"I say three heads are better than one to get out of this place, what do you say?" she pretended the idea was there all along, not allowing anyone to think that this was a last minute decision to pair up. Despite what their relationships would come to after escaping, they would be the best of friends until fresh air was in their grasps. She awaited their answer.

Ethan's eyes were just beginning to fall shut when the alarms went off.

What a lovely sound. The grin that lit up his face was positively wicked.

Within seconds, the entire compound was shrouded in heavy darkness. Ethan's padded cell felt more like a coffin than ever. It set his teeth on edge. Goosebumps prickled his arms.

"Right," he muttered. "Time to go."

The commotion outside his cell was certainly loud enough. Underneath the wailing alarms, there were voices, screams, and the muted sound of metal crashing against more metal. And then beneath all that there was something much more subtle: a heady thrum of magic, low and sinuous. Molten, almost. The rebellion had begun.

Lucky for him, the feeling was coming back into his body. Ethan strode purposefully over to the door and laid his palm flat against it. It was locked from the outside. Fortunately, someone seemed to have shut off the central power unit. All electric locks must've been disengaged. It certainly helped his cause.

Give it a few more minutes and he'd be able to phase completely through the walls, but for now the most he could do was pass a limb through them. It was enough. Seconds later, Ethan yanked the door open from the reverse side and catapulted himself out into the hall. A surge of heat blasted over him as he raised an arm to shield his eyes. The flames licking up the walls had to be Zara's doing. Or rather, her roaring flame-beast's. Ethan grinned and flew past a group of huddled prisoners, some who had yet to register the chaos unfolding around them.

Some guards were slower than others to react. Still others were already firing rounds at any prisoner in range. Ethan very nearly avoided being riddled with holes by a group of them; he rounded the corner at the last minute...

...and nearly bowled over the three inmates standing in the corridor behind it.

Ethan managed to catch himself in the nick of time. Almost instantly he recognized Zarganna and Ana -- he had a knack for memorizing the ladies' names -- and the poor guy he was always stealing food from. Seemed as though they were in the middle of a negotiations of sorts. Strength in numbers.

"Pardon me, but I'd like in on this ménage à trois," interjected Ethan. He watched as Zara drew a blade from the shadows and quirked an eyebrow, impressed. Clearly this woman was a force to be reckoned with. "If we make a break towards the southern entrance, I can phase two of us through the gates, attack the sentries posted there, force said gates open, and then we're home free." He cracked his knuckles and shifted from one leg to the other. Well, all those midnight strolls weren't for nothing; Ethan had as detailed a knowledge of the prison's layout as the guards.

He glanced around at them, gauging their expressions. "Well? What do you say?"

A low-toned, somewhat tense response managed to make it’s way between cells and, just as Ana’s brain began turning faster and faster with ways to retort, a composition of loud sounds began to ring out throughout Area 0. Ana knew what was happening and whom instigated the riot before alarm bells started to chime; Zarganna was a powerful, almost uncontrollable ‘ball of energy,’ for want of a better phrase and Ana had kept a particularly watchful eye upon the girl since her arrival into the facility. The high pitch of the alarms, coupled with the sound of metal upon concrete and a certain air of molten energy had Ana’s head ringing and her eyes squinting slightly, attempting to focus her thoughts. She shut her eyes tight, aware of a mass of heat standing by her cell bars. The heat was strange; it did not threaten to burn, despite the fragility and pallor of Ana’s skin. It was a heat that seemed to make Ana’s skin tremble with vigour. Ana, eyes still shut, thwarted a smirk that threatened to cross her rosy lips; this was it. This was the time.

Eyes snapping open just in time to see her cell door be ripped from it’s hinges, Ana stepped out into the block. Her green eye were immediately drawn to Zara’s and, with a hand out-stretched, she nodded her head ever-so-slightly. Fiery locks swept about her face as she managed to feign a smile of thanks.
“I’m in. Ana Dvali.”
As the two exchanged a glance and a hand-shake, another seemed to join the circle soon after. Seconds had passed and, yet, the action was nothing like anything she had seen in Area 0 within her 15 years. Banding together with people would make for a difficult task, but Ana lived for pretence and this was perfect. She needed man-power and she felt sure now, more than ever, that it was falling onto her lap. Ana turned her head to take in the newest arrival. She swept through her figurative mental filing system and found a match. Ethan - phasing and invisibility. Ana could already tell that he was an enthusiastic, arrogant happy sort and, though her true feelings would have permitted her to gouge his eyes right there and then, she managed a nod.

Feeding a man’s ego was a no-go. She turned away from the phaser just as quickly as she had given him the time of day and focused her attention on the one prisoner whom she had overlooked. Jonah’s ’super strength’ would come in handy, but, if years in Area 0 taught Ana anything, it was that nothing was as straight as it seemed and some notch in her brain was fixed on saying exactly that for Jonah Deckard. Seconds were passing by swifter now and Ana was not one for all talk and no action. Her brain and experience was her ‘gift’ in this situation.
“Time is our enemy here; Angel will soon realize the severity of this escape attempt and be on us. Now - I don’t doubt any of your prowess, stamina or abilities, but, we have been prisoners and subject to prison food, so… strength and endurance is not on our side any longer. We need man-power. I’ve been in Area 0 for 15 years of my life and I’ve spent every year watching and learning from your mistakes.”
Sensitivity was not something Ana was going to feign just yet; she needed to think and speak fast here. Emerald-hued orbs pierced into whitening one’s as Ana store down Zara.
“You know more than anyone that ‘going it alone’ or even with a few others is useless.”

"Johnson, go see to that will you?" Angel said to him and he simply nodded and walked out the door. To anyone that looked it would appear as if his face was calm and collected, but inside he was raging at the mutants.

Maybe I'll get to kill one or two, He thought to himself and the corner of his lip upturned slightly, the closest he ever came to a smile. He pushed open one door and proceeded down the hallway to the door outside where the cells were located. He reached down and pulled his gloves tighter over his wrists and slid two of his many knives from their sheaths. The other agents made fun of him because he preferred the feeling of a blade in his hand rather than the grip of a pistol, but they didn't laugh for long once they saw how well he could throw them. Of course they didn't know that he was controlling the air around the knives to make them go precisely where he wanted and at speeds far greater than even the worlds best 'normal' human could throw a knife.

He eased the door open quietly and stepped into the holding area, blocking the door. He had put some of these people into Area 0 initially, so he knew exactly how to handle them, if he had his say no one would escape this holding area. "Well what do we have here? Are you planning on going somewhere?" He asked, his voice dripping with venom.

Raven allowed Connor to lead her into a new corridor until she saw a small group of people clustered around the cells. They were obviously not guards, though as Raven walked in she saw a couple appear. A sly grin swept over her features as, after a quick probe, she realised none appeared to have the psychic bands. No doubt they thought that she was further down, and not used the bands thinking of them as unnecessary.
Time to make a big entrance.
She immediately weaved an extensive and flattering illusion of herself ensnaring mutants and guards alike. For effect she added black smoke, that rippled around her ankles that started to drift towards the people in the area. In the mind illusion Raven made her black hair sweep across her face, her dark, luminous eyes shining through made even darker and more piercing with her mind. Her lips were bright red and curved in a dark, sadistic smile. With a little more manipulation Raven got every head turned in her direction. She enjoyed creating a scene, especially a flattering one and she couldn't help but add Connor so he too could see what she wanted, she liked to look her best.
The black volumes of her skirt swirled around her ankles and her black corset showed off a perfect figure (slightly more filled out than in real life). She slowly moved her hand to brush away at stray lock of ebony hair, purposefully drawing attention to her blood red fingernails.
<Oh dear! Did I interrupt something?> she sent rather smugly to everyone before privately sending to Connor. <Sorry, but I couldn't help myself. Showing off is...stimulating, for want of a better word>
She gave him wink before sauntering forward. In truth she was exhausted, and running on pure adrenalin, but she was enjoying herself too much to stop.
That was when she finally took in who those people really were. There was a half-naked girl who seemed to be in charge, and a quick look through the more recent memories confirmed the girl as Zarganna, the one who had started the rebellion. Next to her was a rather attractive man who didn't seem to important to Raven and she moved on to the two people near the cells. One was a rather good-natured looking man and a fiery headed girl. The girl drew Raven's attention and she clawed into her memories. Raven distinctly disliked the girl already. She was pampered in comparison to Raven in Area 0, and in Raven's irrational mind that was reason enough not to like her. Ana- that was her name as it appeared the guards liked using her first name. Raven almost growled, her name was barely used without some sort of insulting prefix attached. Over all, Raven was jealous. After all, this girl used other people to perform, Raven used her own mind, was she not more worthy of attention?
Deciding that simply because she didn't like Ana, Raven started to pull Connor away from the group when she caught sight of the agent. He held two throwing knives and thanks to her little entrance maneuverer was staring directly at her.
"Okay maybe not the smartest thing I've ever done" Raven muttered. Ending up as some practise dummy with a couple of fancy blades sticking out of her was not appealing. Beside, the fact that this agent had been in the process of apprehending the annoying group of mutants made Raven want to help them just to spite them.
Drawing on the remaining reserves of her strength, Raven quickly broke into his mind and inserted a nice image of large black buboes covering his hands. She didn't have time for anything too elaborate, but just managed to add an extreme itching feeling for effect.
"Your hands aren't looking too attractive luv" Raven chuckled as she sent a clear message to the remaining group.
<I suggest we move. He thinks he's got the Bubonic plague, but he probably knows my talent and it won't faze him for long!>
Even if he knew it was an illusion, Raven hoped the man's need for self preservation and the fear she had planted would at least stun him. Plus the itching would be a nice effect. Raven grinned.
That was when she started to sweat, and the colour started to drain from her face. This would not last for long.
<Connor I need to leave…> she started to sway slightly, she had to get out of here before the agent got control, or she grew unconscious, whichever came first.
Perhaps the showing off had not been the time, but Raven was still slightly exhilarated from being out and the attention was nice.

(you forget he is wearing gloves so he can't see his skin on his hands, soooooo that won't work, all he will feel is the itching.)

Clay looked down at his gloved hands, they had started to itch. It didn't faze him though, he was a trained agent and he would remain calm under all conditions. He took another step towards the group of mutants. "Your tricks won't work on me Raven," Clay said looking directly at the mutant as he spoke, "That wasn't a very smart move on your part at all." He lifted his right hand and brought it down in one fluid motion, letting the knife fly from his grasp straight at Raven. He was aiming for her Achilles tendon, trying to maim her so that she couldn't leave the facility.

(I really wanted to say that he set his knives to stun XD)

It was just another average day for Zane. He woke up at his usual time of 5:00am to start his training, it somehow made him remember of a time when there would be a reason for putting his body through this much pain. 1000 push-ups, 600 sit-ups and then 800 chin-ups on his bunk bed for a warm-up. Zane always wondered what cruel mental game was being played giving him a bunk bed, nobody else shared the room with him, as a matter of fact the guards don't even speak to him anymore after that little incident they had a few months back. The meals always come through a slot in the door, water from a dispenser. The only contact he ever receives is when they decide to do some more 'testing' on him.

Despite the circumstances, Zane, instead of giving up on life, had decided to continue pushing the limits of his body and discovering more about what he could achieve with his power. The driving factor being that once he gets out of this place he would have his sweet revenge. His goal was no longer to be the greatest athlete ever seen, it is now something slightly more malicious.

It was during his deep thought, and 800 chin-ups that he noticed a faint ringing in the distance. Zane brought himself back to reality and realized that the alarms had been triggered and power had been switched off. A smile forced itself onto his face, he walked over to the door and opened it, absorbing in the moment as if he had just won a gold medal. This was his chance, time to put the years of planning into action. Zane's first instinct was to run, and to run far, it was only when he heard the scream of a girl in the distance that he changed his mind. Zane sprinted as fast as he could to see who it was in trouble, a girl with long pitch black hair was on the floor with what appeared to be a knife sticking out of her leg. A bald man in a black suit was standing over her, Zane had recognized him as Clay..... the sick bastard who was in charge of bringing Zane in for his weekly testing. "I think maybe you should move away from the girl Clay" Zane said while scanning the room for something, anything that he could use as a weapon. It was at this moment that he saw the work bench attached to the wall, good enough Zane thought as he ripped it clean out with one swift movement.

Conner lead Raven down the hallway, looking everywhere for an exit. He paused slightly as he saw others in the hallway, but they weren’t dressed as guards so he figured they were prisoners like him. He glanced at raven when he felt her latch onto his mind. She was weaving an elaborate image of herself. He smirked, he knew she liked putting on a show for everyone; she was making herself look more beautiful. Her long black hair was sweeping across her face and the dress flowing around her, he smiled, knowing that the others were probably stunned or frightened, at least a little, of her. He didn’t find it frightening, he saw her as more impressive, and gorgeous.
<Sorry, but I couldn't help myself. Showing off is...stimulating, for want of a better word> He smiled, <It’s ok; I know how you like to make a show for the others.> He knew he couldn’t project mentally like she could. But if his thoughts were directed at her he knew she would hear them and he could talk with her. She winked at him and he smiled, letting her take the lead and stroll up to the others that were there.
He looked at the others there, they seemed to have been talking with each other as him and raven walked up. There was a girl there that he could raven immediately didn’t like. He didn’t know why but he could tell that she didn’t like her and so he didn’t like her either. It wasn’t uncommon, he was cold to everyone, and he tended not to like many people.
There were two other guys there. He didn’t pay them much notice as the other girl caught his eyes. She was draped in nothing but a red cloth. Immediately he didn’t like her. He could feel that she was warmer than the others, and there was a left over heat coming off of her. The air around him continued to get colder as his anger increased. He knew he wasn’t going to like this girl that was obviously closely interconnected with fire, his exact opposite.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as the door near them opened and an agent walked in. He narrowed his eyes, getting ready to freeze him. He glanced at Raven as she commented on the grand entrance not being one of her best ideas. He agreed on that one, it may have been a good idea but he knew she was out of strength and that they would need energy to get past this person in order to get out. "Your hands aren't looking too attractive luv" He sighed a little, she was putting an image in the agents head. She was wearing herself out even more.
<I suggest we move. He thinks he's got the Bubonic plague, but he probably knows my talent and it won't faze him for long!> He grabbed Ravens hand right as she sent him another message. <Connor I need to leave…> He noticed as she started to sway and he put his hand on her shoulder instead so he could keep her steady. She had used too much energy and he could tell that she going to end up passing out soon.
The agent didn’t seem fazed by raven’s illusion and looked completely unemotional as he addressed her. "Your tricks won't work on me Raven, that wasn't a very smart move on your part at all." He glared at the agent, and making the air around them all drop several degrees. The agent tossed a knife straight at Raven and he pulled her behind him. He was a little late and the knife slammed into her leg, but since he pulled her it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
He caught her as she fell and pulled her close to him, putting a layer of ice over her leg to stop the bleeding and to numb the pain. He glowered at the agent and froze his feet to the floor, the knives to his hands so he couldn’t throw them at anyone.

"I think maybe you should move away from the girl Clay." Zane said before grabbing a work bench and ripping it out of the wall where it was attached. Clay was about to do just that to avoid being crushed and find a more strategic angle when he noticed his feet freeze to the floor and a moment later his remaining knife froze in his left hand.
"Sorry Zane," Clay said with a shrug, "Your buddy there made it so I can't move." Clay blinked once and looked around the room differently, not at the people within it, but at the air in the room itself. "Get back in your cells quietly and I won't hurt you...much" As he said the last word the air in the room began to move faster and pick up intense speed, quickly escalating into a wind strong enough to push a human.

<It’s ok; I know how you like to make a show for the others.> Raven smiled at Connor. He was one of the few to understand her. She almost laughed at the thought. No, correction: He was the only one that understood her.
After she concocted her little illusion, Raven noticed the gloves and a scowl contorted her features. She had hoped the itching would be enough to bring him to take off the gloves, but apparently not. He was obviously more disciplined than that.
"Your tricks won't work on me Raven, that wasn't a very smart move on your part at all."
Raven glared at the agent, not enjoying the underlying message of her stupidity. The room immediately got colder, and Raven noted that Connor was getting mad. That suited her just fine, anger often gave you strength. And then the knife was thrown.
She had one brief thought before the knife collided with her thigh and that was of how it looked like she was going to end up with a fancy knife in her anyhow, then Connor pulled her behind him. The knife went in, not too deep, but deep enough to make her let out a cry of pain. Soon after she felt the wound go numb.
<Good thinking> Raven sent Connor. It was as close as she was going to get to a thank you. Raven wasn't known for her generous words. That was when a muscular man charged in with a bench.
"I think maybe you should move away from the girl Clay."
Hmm. Perhaps her little illusion wasn't so bad. After all it seemed to be getting her attention, and in the case of this particular one, help. Then again, he was not their originally and hadn't been part of the group. This made Raven a little happier. If he wasn't close to the little witch, as Raven had nicknamed the necromancer, then that was all good with her. One thing that didn't please her was the "girl". It made her feel a lot weaker, and did not pleaser her in the slightest.
Clay, as the man had called him, was now frozen in place by Connor, the knives stuck in his hands. She let out a harsh laugh at the sight of the disciplined agent frozen to the floor. Realising that she was in a not so flattering position on the floor, Raven forced herself to stand, wincing slightly as the wound reminded her of it's existence, though the bleeding had stopped. She ignored it for the moment, and picked up the knife which was now died crimson with her blood. Suddenly the air started to move, and evidently was getting stronger. The only one seeming unconcerned was Clay.
"Get back in your cells quietly and I won't hurt you...much"
Raven figured out pretty quickly who was responsible, but the wind started to blow her off her feet. Angry that she wasn't in control, Raven quickly lashed out and gripped Clay's shoulder in an iron grip before setting the blade of his own knife at his throat. Even as her feet started to leave the ground, Raven held on, pressing the blade deeper, enough to draw blood.
"That wasn't a very smart move on your part at all" Raven said sweetly, mimicking his tone. Then her eyes hardened. "Let your pretty little wind go" she pressed the knife deeper to make her point.

Zarganna

“You know more than anyone that ‘going it alone’ or even with a few others is useless.” The girl was right. Zarganna would be useless and caught just like the last time with out help. She glanced at the group, they awaited their decision.

“I agree with you Ana.” Zara said carefully. This girl had an uncanny ability to lead, and Zara was not the type to follow. She didn’t want to say anything that would trap her following Ana. However she could be a great asset and comrade, she had to play her cards carefully.

“Doing this alone will not only get you re-captured, but quite possibly killed. The only way out of this is together. Angel has still not made an appearance and once she gets involved she will not save lives, she will take them. Our only way out of this is together. As I said before you are all invited to join with me. I need you just as much as you need me.” She did not tell them how her powers would quite possibly fail her before she could get out, and by befriending them they might be able to finally get her out alive.

Zara could hear the commotion getting loud within the prison. It was time to move.

“We need to get out of here. Things are getting bad. Who is coming with me?”

Angel

It had been to long. The alarms continued to blare, the screams continued, and chaos reigned supreme. Not under her watch. Angel quickly checked her weaponry and stashed an extra gun on her upper inner thigh just in case. It was easily hidden underneath her skirt, and if it came to it, she would be able to have five extra shots. She charged the halls full of confidence and rage. These monsters would either obey, or die by her hand. She had no one to answer to down here, no one to tell her she was blood thirsty and insane. Down here she was supreme. Down here she was law. And no one could stop her.

“We need to get out of here," said the fiery woman. There were noises everwhere, people running and shouting, metal clashing, and the alarm blaring above it all. "Things are getting bad. Who is coming with me?”

"Me," Jonah said quickly, and they turned to Ana.

"I'm in," she said and stuck her hand out to the other woman. "Ana Dvali."

"Zarganna Dawn," said the other woman. They shook hands, and at that moment a fourth person rounded the corner at full speed and nearly ran into her. Ana took a defensive step back, Jonah jumped in surprise, and Zarganna drew a weapon out of thin air and aimed it at the newcomer.

It was a black-haired boy. His eyes took in the three of them standing together, and after assessing the situation, he said, "Pardon me, but I'd like in on this ménage à trois." Ana's eyes narrowed on the boy, she gave him a short nod and turned away. He laid out a plan to exit, but the two women were in a stare-down and Ana was making a particular point not to notice him.

"Time is our enemy here," she said, mostly to Zarganna.

"Then, shall we...?" Jonah cocked his head toward the door nearest them.

A noise from the other end of the corridor caused them all to turn and strike defensive positions. Two people were nearing them, but they weren't guards. One was a white-haired kid, but Jonah hardly noticed him next to the woman beside him. She was a beautiful witch straight out of a fairy tale, surrounded by mysterious smoke and moving gracefully toward them. Her face scared him, perfect features twisted into a villainous smile. She threw a smug look at the boy walking with her, and he looked back with a laugh in his eyes. Jonah got the distinct feeling they were sharing a good joke.

They stopped before they got close, the witch's eyes locked on Ana and her sadistic smile turned into a grimace. For a moment nobody said anything, and then she grabbed her companion and began pulling him away.

Jonah didn't even hear the door behind him open, but a man stepped into the hallway just a few yards away and closed it politely behind him. "Well what do we have here?" he said, his voice calm and venomous. Jonah whipped around to see an agent, his hands in his pockets, standing in front of the door. "Are you planning on going somewhere?" The agent's eyes traveled over the group and locked on the witch. When Jonah looked back at her, the smoke was gone, she was about three inches shorter, scrawnier, and instead of pulling on her companion she was clinging to him as though barely able to stand. Her face was ghostly white but still beautiful, just much less striking. She muttered something to the boy, who pulled her behind him quickly, but not before a knife sunk into her leg and she let out a scream of pain and surprise.

"I think maybe you should move away from the girl Clay," boomed a voice from the other end of the hall. It was a muscular man, not too much younger than Jonah but in much better shape. He ripped a workbench from the bolts that held it to the concrete floor--a feat unbelievable even considering his muscles. Jonah was immediately jealous; the bolts would have made it impossible for Jonah to lift that thing, though now that it was free he would be able to easily.

"Sorry Zane," the agent, Clay, said with a shrug, and glanced down at his feet. There was frost on the floor around his feet. "Your buddy there made it so I can't move." His eyes lost focus on anything tangible, and he stared into space at nothing in particular. The next moment, Jonah felt himself thrown off his feet by a gust of wind. He grabbed on to the nearest thing to him, Zarganna's arm, but let go in surprise when her flesh burned him. He slammed into the wall but then the wind changed direction and he slid across the floor away from the action.

The hallway bent and then led into a room full of lab equipment, and in here the wind was calm enough that Jonah was able to get to his feet. He briefly considered running far away from that scary man, but his only hope of escape and survival were behind him. So instead he lifted a bookcase full of heavy books and ran back around the bend to see what had happened in the seconds since he had left.

~ 68 hours before the Area 0 security breach ~

Landon stood in the center of his hospital room. Cold beads of sweat ran down his face and damp strands of hair clung to his forehead. Large watery eyes flickered wildly across the room. The hospital room. Though now it looked like anything but; bits of glass were scattered about the floor as a cold breeze blew in from the shattered window, the curtains billowing about lifelessly. On the floor lay the boy's doctor and two nurses. The man was lying face down in a pool of cooling blood. The women were sprawled out on the floor in unearthly positions and shallow, pained breaths could still be heard from one of them. Dressed in aqua-colored scrubs, the young man's mind was both overwhelmed and blank. Frozen in horror, he struggled to make sense of what had just transpired. He stood there for what felt like a brief eternity, welcoming the silence. And then the men in the dark suits entered the room...

~ 53 hours before the Area 0 security breach ~

They told him he was dead. That Landon Lockstead had died in the car crash and now a new life was about to begin for him. They threw around words like "freak," "mutant," and "abomination" to name a few. The men had attempted to take him in a civil fashion initially. They explained to him that there were those in this world who are dangerous. That they are cursed with abilities that pose a threat to the balance of life itself. And then they promised him a cure. It was then that one of the more foolish suit-clad men asked the boy a question. Without thinking, Landon responded in a whisper, and blood began to drip from the man's eyes, nose, and mouth. The other men pounced upon the boy. He caught sight of what looked to be a police taser and then a white flash, followed by darkness.

~ 47 seconds before the Area 0 security breach ~

"I don't like this one, man," a middle-aged, burly security guard spoke aloud to his partner, another older but skinnier officer. "Makes me think of those sonic weapons the military's s'posed to have been develpin'. How the hell you figure one kid's voice is enough to make your eyeballs rattle?" The man laughed as if he'd just cracked a funny joke. An undertone of fear could just barely be heard in his ignorant guffaw.

"He's not as bad as some of the other ones," the thinner guard retorted, "That damn witch girl scares the piss outta me. Y'ever see the way she looks at you when you walk by the cell? It's like she knows what you're thinking..."

The bigger guard spoke again. "Plenty of freaks in this place, and yet we only get one microwave in the breakroom. Bastards don't pay us enough for this." He laughed again, like he were the most witty man on the planet. "I guess there really ain't much to be afraid of with him. Can't do anythin' with that mask on anyway."

He slapped a meaty paw on the back of Landon's head. A dark, metallic mask covered the boy's nose and mouth, connected by a strip that bolted together behind his head. Keeping his eyes on the floor, he continued to walk along, escorted by the two guards as they contined to talk about the boy as if he weren't there. It had been two days since he'd arrived at the facility. Area 0, he believed they called it. During that short time, he'd been exposed to numerous "tests" as the doctor called them, many of which sent jolts through his body and chills down his spine. Today's results being inconclusive, the frustrated doctor dismissed Landon with a brisk wave of his hand, and the guards led him out of the laboratory.

Shuffling down the long, dismal-looking corridor, their footsteps were soon drowned out by the blaring of sirens. Red and blue lights flashed about the facility as Landon watched, wide-eyed.

"Damn it!" The thin guard cursed. "I'll bet it's that fire woman again! You take him back to his cell! I'll go report to Agent Jones!"

With that, he ran off and out of sight as Landon's was wrenched by his arm the remaining distance to his cell. Throwing him in, the guard slammed the door shut and left to rejoin his partner. Heart pounding, Landon gripped the bars as he struggled to see what was going on down the far end of the hallway. Was it a jailbreak? Did someone really try escaping this place? If so...did that mean there was a chance for him to escape as well? Landon somehow didn't think so, but he still preferred to believe there was a way out of here. It made life easier, if just a little...

Jonah was the first to side with her, things seemed to be going her way. Introductions were made, and then like someone flipped a switch everything went to chaos. Illusions filled the room and Zara felt as if someone had grabbed her molten core and froze it. She defiantly didn’t like the way this fair faced demon made her feel. She didn’t seem hazardous on the outside, but something told Zara to stay as far away as humanly possible. She had never been one to deny her gut feelings, this girl was trouble. She wouldn’t judge her, she would give her the benefit of the doubt, but she would approach with caution.
Before Zara could try to introduce herself to the girl, she was stabbed in the leg with a knife. Zara could have cursed. Angel had already sent Clay out. She was hopping to be exit bound before he got here. His presence meant that Angel herself wasn’t far behind. Zara mentally pondered her situation. If she wasted the last of her powers on Clay she would be a liability when Angel found them. This break out was so massive, she wouldn’t be trying to get them back into their cells this time. This time it would be death. She would be responsible for all these people’s death.
The confrontation between the newcomer “Zane” and Clay happened while she was lost in thought. She was brought to her senses by a giant gust of wind and Jonah grabbing her arm. To no surprise he quickly released, her skin was hot to the touch. The wind carried him away. Zara stood her ground, her heat quickly cutting through the air. She stood at a stand still.
Jonah had been quick to choose her side. Should she go help him? Or leave these others all alone. She bit her lip, and before a choice could be made…Jonah appeared with a giant bookcase above his head. Things were about to get interesting. Zara let a sadistic smile creep across her lips. Clay may be a formidable opponent, but he would be nothing against the small army of super humans.
Zara laughed, and it was a wicked sound. Darkness seemed to swarm around her, her eyes going entirely white, her skin growing paler by the second. The ashen curse surged up around her. She hoped after all she had done for these people that if she had lost power, they would help her. It was a long shot, but the glee that took hold of her heart was intoxicating. She had to use it to her advantage. Clay would not be putting her back in her cell today.
Her hair fluttered in the dark powers that she called to her, whipping about mildly, as if she were in her very own whirl wind. Her skin, normally hot with potential, now caught flame, her wrappings fluttered wildly. She let the demons in, the dark beasts from the dark realm that were constantly gnawing at her for release. They filled her with power, with rage, with murderous intent.
“You picked the wrong day to mess with us Clay Johnson,” Her voice still held its sultry seductive power, but it was met with a dark growl, and a sound like that of a crackling fire. She hoped the others would back her up. She raised her arm to send a blast of her power toward Clay, but was stopped cold in her tracks.

“Zarganna Dawn, it is you who have picked the wrong day to mess with us.”

Angel had arrived.

Zarganna turned, her blood threatening to run cold with the fear of this woman. The barrel of her gun was pointed right at Zara. She had to think quickly. Her powers would not last forever.

They were in the middle of introductions when two more inmates joined their ranks. The first -- a white-haired boy who emanated a general air of coldness -- appeared to be leading the second -- a dazzling gothic seductress who, unless Ethan was mistaken, had all eyes on her -- down the already packed hallway. Well, the more the merrier, mused Ethan. But before any more names could be exchanged, Clay, one of those irritatingly competent agents, stepped into the hallway and brandished several throwing knives. They gleamed sinisterly in his hands as he drawled, "Well what do we have here? Are you planning on going somewhere?"

The next series of events were one giant blur: one of Clay's knives sliced into the raven-haired woman's leg; her white-haired companion reacted by encasing the wound in ice and freezing Clay's hands and legs; another inmate accosted them as he hoisted a work bench over his shoulder and threatened in a booming voice, "I think maybe you should move away from the girl Clay,"; and a monstrous gust of wind whipped up and down the hallway as everyone was pushed back several yards, struggling to stay upright.

Ethan's arms windmilled as he slid backwards, eyes screwed shut against the wind. No wonder Clay is so freakishly efficient, he thought, lips curling into a snarl, he's one of us in the first place! Clay's preternatural gale sent Ethan back to the end of the hall, where he slammed unceremoniously into a closed door. The breath temporarily knocked out of him, he took a second to recollect himself. Right. Now would be the time to use this little ability of mine.

With a sharp intake of breath, Ethan willed himself intangible. The wind immediately ceased to push him backwards. In fact, Ethan felt nothing at all. No air on his skin, no floor beneath his feet, and no firm, solid walls. The reassuring beat of his heart was his sole anchor to the present. Naturally, his entire being was still intact, but phasing always left Ethan feeling a little... nonexistent. The sensation of nonsensation was quite the conundrum, really. It drove the mind in circles to think about it.

Zarganna was firing up her powers as Ethan made his way back down the hall, invisible. Seconds later, the telekinetic fellow came sprinting with a bookcase. The raven-haired woman had managed to soldier her way through Clay's gale to press one of his own knives against his throat.

Everything was coming to a head. Ethan could feel the adrenaline spiking in his veins. If they could just bring down Clay before anyone else showed up, they'd be home free.

Yet seconds after that small hope burgeoned in his chest, a cool, eerily familiar voice rang out. “Zarganna Dawn, it is you who have picked the wrong day to mess with us.” Ah. Angel. Timely as always.

She aimed her gun right at Zarganna. Ethan didn't need to think twice about it: he lunged, still invisible, for Angel and wrenched the gun from her grasp. "Sorry 'bout this my dear," he said, grinning apologetically in spite of himself. He struck her in the head with the butt of the gun and then aimed straight at Clay.

"Everyone, make a break for the southern gates, now," he shouted, glaring over his shoulder at no one in particular. Grandiose heroics like these weren't typical of Ethan, but now wasn't the time to fuss about such things.