Cedric Valentine's Story

"Guuuuuys. We may or may not have a missing T-Rex...yeah, I am not equipped to hunt this thing".

"Maybe we should save that one for another day. I'm not up for a Dino Hunt right now. And who knows, Maybe the T-Rex is a Buddhist seeking enlightenment or something."

"Pfft - Maybe it ran through the Gate looking for Buddha," Aldred suggested jokingly, stifling a snort of laughter. "It's gonna be disappointed - its God is nowhere near on Earth. It could be fun though," Aldred said thoughtfully, a wistful look crossing his face as if he'd remembered that fighting dangerous rampaging carnivorous dinosaurs was on his bucket list. "There's only one of it, and it can't be that huge, otherwise the whole building would have collapsed. I've always wondered what dino-meat tasted like..."

But he'd promised Sillo a sparring session. Damn. Ah well, a T-rex could turn up again someday. The other Gatewatchers were already handling the situation, too - had practically told them to leave it to them, in fact. With a sigh, Aldred gave a slight nod and said "The other Gatewatchers are handling it. Take care of yourself, Damion. If you need us, we're at the Training Facilities. See ya."

A thoughtful look crossed Aldred's face as Cedric bemoaned how he was going to be killed by Selena. He'd overheard rumours on how deadly she was during battle, but... I think it's a joke, Aldred decided. Probably. Or maybe not... barrier techniques could work.

Aldred's thoughts were interrupted as Sillo's offered to take him to the museum. "Like I said at the museum, I need to be a bit more physical...I guess. Although I don't necessarily know where it is. Mind telling me a landmark close by that I actually know so we can get there in a jiff?"

"Well..."

"It's that really old-looking lot at the edge of town that looks like a business construction building!" Nathan answered before Aldred could admit that no, he didn't really recall any landmarks. Saved! Good job kid. "The one a few minutes away from the bus stop beside the rundown restaurant with the rundown sign saying 'WH O RT N H Q' with the picture of a crab at the bottom! They showed us during Orientation," Nathan added cheerfully, smiling brightly at Sillo, ready to repeat until the route was memorised.

"The guy showing us around said it's because 'people don't break into executive workplaces like they do abandoned buildings, and they won't be suspicious about the loads of materials going through since they'll just think its for construction instead of repairs. And if the contingency spells on the building fails, allowing collapses to happen or making sounds that don't fit the image of a regular company, nobody will hear or care since its close enough to the edge to remain obscure." Nathan quoted, pulling on a serious face as he tried to emulate how the Orientation guy had said it. He looked more like he was having constipation than bored seriousness, although he got the tone right. The expression crumbled as Nathan beamed up at Sillo, all sunshine and smiles.

"Oh yeah, my name's Nathan de Vries! You can call me Nate though. Nice to meet you guys and bye!" And with a wave and a flash of color, Nathan was gone, leaving nothing but the feeling of being hit by a bouncy little hurricane of joy behind.

Aldred blinked and promptly decided to turn his attention back to Minori.

"Aldred, text me when you get out of training and I'll let you know if we're still at the bar when you're done. Try not to rough each other up too much. Magical healing, if abused, is hell on a person's mental health."

Aldred blinked with surprise as Minori ruffled his hair, as if he wasn't sure how to react to such a gesture. Even if Minori's hands were smaller the gesture felt nostalgically nice, and for a moment Aldred felt as if he were six again with his dad towering over him, ruffling his hair affectionately as he presented up fried sausages for breakfast with a large smile.

That had been a very long time ago. Dwelling over the past helps no one.

The moment passed. Shaking off the memory, Aldred playfully batted at Minori's hand and ran a hand through his mussed locks, messing it up even more. "Hey, watch the hair," Aldred said reproachfully, grinning at her to show that he was joking. This was what people normally did, right? Combing a hand through his hair (now it looked more like bedhead, but somewhat neater), Aldred's smile widened as he acknowledged her worries with a nod. "Yes mom, I will. I'll try not to damage him too much, although I can't promise anything. And thanks! I'll keep it in mind."

Despite his tone having no deflection and therefore making it hard to guess if he was being serious or joking, Aldred's voice slipped into gratitude and promise at the last two sentences. He knew first-hand what extended magical healing could do to a person - even now he was still wondering whether or not some of those near-deaths were dreams. "Well, we're off! See you later, Minori." Minori turned and left with Cedric, and Aldred grabbed Sillo's waiting hand with a smile, closing his eyes as he braced himself for the teleportation.

"It's that really old-looking lot at the edge of town that looks like a business construction building!" Nathan answered, "The one a few minutes away from the bus stop beside the rundown restaurant with the rundown sign saying 'WH O RT N H Q' with the picture of a crab at the bottom! They showed us during Orientation."

Sillo inclined his head to the young lad, "Thanks...uh...what's your name, by the way?"

"Oh yeah, my name's Nathan de Vries! You can call me Nate though. Nice to meet you guys and bye!"

He watched as Nate vanished in front of him. Another teleporter...cool.

"Yes, sparing, that's a good choice. Do that."

Sillo raised a quizzical brow at Cedric, noticing the sarcasm in his voice as he spoke, "Well, considering I'm not old enough to do anything with alcohol as of yet, what other option is there? Besides, I don't think a drink will do you much good anyway. Doesn't seem to be working for you. Also, picturing you with a beer belly is just weird."

"If these terrorists are as powerful as you say, Minori, then we have more important things to do than unwind at a pub. Waste your time and money if you wish, I have work to do. You know how to contact me." Selena said patronizingly as she turned to leave them. For once, he agreed with her.

"See, Ceddy," Sillo turned back, "Your girlfriend seems to get the idea." He suddenly stopped, realizing what he'd just implied with that word and quickly accepted Aldred's hand.

"Oh, dear! It seems like we are OUT OF TIME for this episode of 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'! Catch us tomorrow for the exciting conclusion!" he quickly remembered Nate's words and recalled the rundown sign as he pictured himself there right at this moment. He disappeared before Cedric could respond in any way, shape, or form.

Cedric reactively caught the keys as they sailed towards him. He really didn't mind either way, he enjoyed driving, it felt normal. Between hunting down rouge gateways and the creatures that came out of them, and being part of one of the wealthiest families on the planet, there really weren't all that many "everyday" things that were just normal for him. Minori offered to take the keys back when they got to her old Mazda, but Cedric dangled them for a moment "Oh no, I'm going to enjoy ruining your seat position." He smiled as he got in and did what he was sure was just that, he was almost a head taller than his colleague, after all.

They drove in silence for a few moments as the two got settled, and then Minori finally said what Cedric had expected to hear at some point long prior from someone. "...or they were already familiar." It hadn't taken long once the life threatening events came to a close that he realized there was probably a mole, it took him even less time to realize that many people would instantly suspect him. There were few people in the organization that really trusted the black mana user. He knew for a fact that a number of the regional council wouldn't be opposed to his death, or at the very least his not being associated with the organization. He was quiet for a long moment, his first instinct was to defend himself, but he thought if Minori really suspected him of any involvement she certainly wouldn't have put her self in this situation. Finally he cast a sidelong glance across the car.

"Well, they asked me to do it, but I told them when I over throw the organization I'm going solo, I want all that glory for myself." He chuckled shortly as he turned down an avenue towards the east end. Despite his sarcastic humor he did turn to the seriousness of the issue. "You're right though, as powerful as the concealment on the bomb was, I have a hard time believing either of our suspects could have just walked into HQ and nobody would notice. Oh, that place has great bagels." He pointed to a little tiny corner shop with a blue awning as they went by. "I wouldn't even know were to start looking, it's not like I get to the office all that often. It's the object that they took that intrigues me, who ever these people are, they went to a lot of trouble to get it. Council rarely sees fit to tell me what they are keeping locked up at HQ, other than what I bring in myself." He cast another glance at the woman, this time with a questioning eyebrow. He wasn't sure if she knew any more about what they may have taken than he did, but between the two of them he figured the one who researches everything would be the one to ask.

They drove on for a while more before Cedric guided the car into a small alley between two old brick buildings and pulling into a small reserved parking area. He got out and walked around to open Minori's door, always on his best behavior, and lead her to an entrance tucked just off the street, the sign hanging over the door simply said "Michael's". Upon entering the were greeted by soft light and hard wood. The dark mahogany bar extended down one wall. The bar tender looked up from serving a patron to give Cedric an acknowledging nod before returning to his task. opposite the bar were tables tucked into small arched alcoves, one of which Cedric made his way to, offering Minori her choice of seat before taking the other. The place seemed both welcoming and high class, which it was.

"Needless to say, there is a lot to worry about right now, not the least of which being one of these kids going and getting themselves killed trying to mess with things that are over their heads." Cedric sighed as he rubbed his temples, he wasn't ready to admit that he was just as worried about himself doing just that.

Sneaking in had been relatively easy for Zane. He had examined building security before, so it was a breeze to get through the first few levels undisturbed. Using the mimicry kits, the sensor disruptors, and everything else, he had made it to the top floor, where only the CEO and the top employees got. And he understood why it was only the top employees. He stood there, wide eyed, with his red and white jacket with his hood up, looking at what appeared to be saw blades, lasers, and spikes that shot in and out of walls in the hallway in front of him.

"This guy has insane security" Zane mentioned, as fire erupted in the middle of it all and then dissipated. "Okay, that's just overkill".

Still, Zane could manage it. He examined every moving piece, analyzing it all, memorizing its placement, and then he timed it just right. He dodged the saw blades, jumped through the lasers, during the time the spikes were shooting back in, and right as the fire erupted behind him, got through before the spikes shot out. "Whew, that was interesting".

He walked into the next room, and there it was. The treasure room. However, his Oracle ability let him know something bad was about to happen. He ducked as a giant broadsword swung where his neck used to be, and he jumped back to gain distance. As he did, he spotted the two red gems he had come here for. And on the other side of the room, the Crime Boss Emerian Jones.

"Well well, if it isn't the so called 'Crimson Mage', Zane Bell. The only one to learn Blitz style within two years" he mentioned, as he braced his Broadsword. "I have to admit, I was thinking of eliminating you for awhile now. You and your 'Helping' has caused a lot of damage to my businesses!"

"You mean your crime spree! I know you used Mana to manipulate people to work for you for less then they should, and use hypnosis spells in your commercials to get people to come to you! Truth is, I wanted to hit you for awhile now, but now I have a great excuse" Zane said with a half smile, touching the ground with his index and middle finger before raising back up and facing his opponent, pointing both fingers at him. "Hope you are ready to lose!".

"I don't think so!" he said, swinging his blade around and causing a supersonic slash attack. Two. He used two focuses for the attack, movement and item. Zane barely was able to dodge the attack, and then launched one of his own. He employed fire into both his fists, and then smashed them together, creating a tidal wave of fire. Unfortunately, he used his broadsword to slash through the fire, but this gave Zane an opening to launch a lighting attack that hit him directly. However, he remained standing. "A simple electrical attack? My magical defense is too strong for those kinds of things! Give up now!"

"NEVER!" Zane yelled, unleashing a wave of fire at him, which he just cut through again. However, Zane then appeared behind the slash, taking advantage of a moment of weakness for him to strike with. He managed to get Static Burnfist to hit, but suddenly, the sword came back around and sent him flying. As it did, he appeared over him, smashing Zane down into the ground and inflicting severe damage. Zane sent a massive electric attack at him, but again his magical defense blocked it. It became clear to Zane that he practiced a defense type magic, likely Sho Rho or Battleguard Style.

Alright, alright. So I will need more advanced spells then my lighting bolt. Projectile attacks mean nothing with his broadsword's defensive capabilities, which means I need to score direct hits with lightning fast attacks. His broadsword is also strong enough to break through Dragons Fang...but...I might be able to use...yeah, that's it! Zane summoned a large amount of fire in both hands.

"Don't you know? My wind will blow out your fi-" the man started, then fire and lightning suddenly started to blaze all around Zane. He put both his hands together and intense mana built around him. "What the! What are you doing?"

"Ultimate Spell Technique! The Ultimate Sword of Fire and Lightning, Blazestorm Zero!" he shouted, before slashing with it. "Burning Lightningslash!"

The boss blocked with his broadsword, but he still got hit with some of the attack and was injured. "The fuck? A runt like you can summon Blazestorm Zero? Fine then, guess I will have to fight at full power!"

Good, that's what I wanted. After all, your full power is nothing like her full power. Even knowing her tricks, her power level is immense. I would die if I fought her as I am now. By fighting you, I will grow more powerful. By gaining the gems after that, it will boost my power even more. And then, I will fight on her level. I will beat her! I will! The sheer power of his thoughts combined with his mana, causing a shockwave to emit from the top of the building.

"What the fuck, who are you? Where is all this power coming from?!"

"Its because there is someone in this world stronger then you, and she killed my mother and father. And I intend to end her, one way or another! So there is no fucking way I am losing to a guy like you!"

"No one talks to me like that! I will show you true power! I am more then just a businessman, I am a hunter! I have captured many spirits and creatures, and can draw on their strength!" he shouted, as he pulled out a bracelet. Zane recognized the gem in the center as a Demon Capture Charm. To draw power from a Demon Class Entity was dangerous, not to mention stupid. But somehow, Zane had really pissed the guy off. Zane hoped it wouldn't weaken his battle skills. Zane needed a strong opponent to train him. However, while he was busy charging up on Demon Juice, Zane grabbed the gems and stuffed them into his pants pocket.

"No one steals from me!" he shouted, shattering all the windows. Clearly, Zane might have pushed him a little too far. But, he did want to battle this guy. He was the boss because he was tougher then everyone else. If he beat him, it would prove Zane was ready to take on Rose. Rose was even stronger, so he had to beat this asshole. He had no other choice!

He had to do it for his father.

Suddenly, the man moved at unrealistic speed towards Zane, and his blade was at his neck. He nearly landed a lethal blow, when a burst of red light appeared from his pocket. Suddenly, a phoenix appeared in front of him and deflected the attack. "What the....who are you?"

"I am the Phoenix, Aurell. I was sealed away inside those gemstones, but your mana awoken me from my slumber. Your mana, your emotions, your thoughts. I have heard your pleas, your quest, your heart, and I have decided to join with you on your noble cause!"

Zane wasn't sure what, or how, but he did know why. Phoenixes are known as the Noble Magic Bird. They are known as healers and warriors, defenders of the just by the Mana User society. They exist to help keep the peace. And, they are hopeless romantics and are almost always prey to a bleeding heart story. But, you know, no one is perfect.

Still, Zane had his doubts this wasn't all planned. A staff that works perfectly for him, leading him to gemstones that led to a perfect ally for him? Someone was pulling the strings in the shadows. Someone had carefully managed to manipulate his moves, and that was not easy to do without him noticing for so long. The issue is, whoever was doing it was an ally since they were helping him. So, who is it, and why are they being so elusive?

Still, Zane had to focus on the matter at hand. It was just so annoying, who was this ally who was keeping to the shadows? Who set this all up?

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"Everything going as planned?" Loki asked his mysterious accomplice on the phone. "Good. Continue the operation".

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Artemis would soon be approaching Minori who was with Cedric, to ask her about Rose, and about learning spells the Gatewatchers had kept secret due to their danger....and their strength. All the while, being watched by a stranger in the distance on the phone.

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Rose looked out into the stormclouds, with a phone to her head. "I don't care what anyone says, he must die".

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A man with a cigar looked out towards Zane, watching him while holding a magically infused Revolver in his hand. "Understood. Just keep up your end".

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A mysterious young boy wearing a brown cloak with a hood walks into the outskirts of town, looking at the sunset. He couldn't be very old, but his mana signature was enormous. He was on the phone with someone. "Don't worry, I got everything under control. After all, dead men tell no tales. Just remember your end of the bargain".

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A man with a magically infused Sniper Rifle took aim at Selena, while on the phone. "I am about to complete the job now, just one or two shots and I will disappear. Target locked. Taking aim. Firing in three, two, one...."

Click.

(I bet I got all your attentions now!)

As Cedric drove on, the duo in relative silence after Minori finished speaking, she could almost feel him flinch at her suggesting there was a mole in the organization. It probably took him a second to register that she wasn't accusing him, and if anything was verifying that he was the only one she could trust with this hunch. He was safe because Minori had sensed him drive up after the bomb had went off, and his mana had shifted slightly from his emotions at seeing the chaos. If he were its cause, given his black mana, it should not have changed in the slightest at the chaos.

"Well, they asked me to do it, but I told them when I over throw the organization I'm going solo, I want all that glory for myself." He said, chuckling to himself as he turned down an avenue towards the east end. "You're right though, as powerful as the concealment on the bomb was, I have a hard time believing either of our suspects could have just walked into HQ and nobody would notice. Oh, that place has great bagels."

He punctuated the statement by pointing out a quaint looking cafe with a blue awning on the corner. It seemed like the last place one would find Cedric, but the thought of him sipping coffee with a platter of pastries sitting on a platter at his table made Minori smile. She'd always liked Cedric, even if they had different ideas about how to accomplish things sometimes. She was objective, so the stigma of his mana color had never bothered her, and both tended to operate in more morally grey areas in their work. Minori, for example, knew several of the creatures she had held captive for years were sentient. This knowledge had done nothing to secure their release, but simply drew her interest to them in more intense bouts. Her lab was sound proofed for a reason.

"I wouldn't even know were to start looking, it's not like I get to the office all that often. It's the object that they took that intrigues me, who ever these people are, they went to a lot of trouble to get it. Council rarely sees fit to tell me what they are keeping locked up at HQ, other than what I bring in myself."

Cedric side-eyed Minori after that, giving her an invitation to speculate.

"I see what you're driving at, but unfortunately I'm a biophysicist. Science Division is riddled with orange mana users, as I'm sure you can imagine, so to keep specimens preserved our clearance is not universal. I only have inventories on organics and notes pertaining to my field. We have, for example, the actual Shroud of Turin in the vault at Northern HQ. I can't just pop by and study it because I lack the archaeological and history backgrounds to do anything but get in the way. Similarly, no one can treat my captured specimens like a zoo without my permission," Minori countered with a shrug, though after a moment's thought looked back at Cedric. "You didn't hear about the Shroud from me."

It wasn't long after Minori put her foot in her mouth that they pulled into an alley close to the bar Cedric wanted to go to, and it was definitely a Cedric sort of bar. Minori took a step inside and nearly waited for Hemingway to begin narrating its description. Low lit, hardwood floor and a mahogany bar, as welcoming as it was exclusive. There were three other patrons besides themselves, two wearing business formal attire, while the third had a laptop out, trying desperately to let everyone know he was writing something without actually speaking. 'Michael's' was quiet, though, which is just what Minori needed after today.

Cedric offered her a seat at what she assumed was his regular table, and took the one which allowed her to see the door. She didn't want more surprises after the museum thing, and keeping tabs on who was coming and going would calm her nerves a bit.

"Needless to say, there is a lot to worry about right now, not the least of which being one of these kids going and getting themselves killed trying to mess with things that are over their heads."

Cedric sighed and rubbed his temples, prompting a soft chuckle from Minori.

"You don't get an appreciation for how strong they can be until you see them take on someone with the power of a god. I wasn't the one to run her off, believe it or not. Stopped time and nearly carved her kidney out, but she didn't even slow down. It is not fun being on the receiving end of a beating when it happens in a nanosecond, by the by," Minori mused, though froze as she quickly realized her phone was not, in fact, on silent. Cutesy techno played as a girl happlily sang out:

'Doki Doki Morning!'

Just before heavyily distorted guitars began blaring from her phone. Minori scrambled to retrieve it from her pocket, blushing furiously as the song continued to play, before finally answering it. She smiled apologetically at Cedric before turning around in her seat to take the call. There was a long pause as Minori listened, only replying with a simple, "Yes, that should work. I was planning on looking into a magic square tattoo myself after a bit of research. Something by Abramelin the Mage. Even if it doesn't work out, it's something I've always kind of wanted to do. Try not to get into any more trouble and I'll call you back when I've gotten some things lined up. Take care," She said, smiling as she hung up and turned back to look at Cedric.

"Sorry, that was rude of me. Where were we.... Oh! Getting killed while messing with things we don't understand. What dangerous thing do you have in mind to go poking around with? I'm sure the sudden need to get stronger has provided some inspiration," She asked cheerily, as though what they were talking about was completely normal.

Cedric nodded his understanding, while he had never fought a mana user that was that powerful, some of the creatures he had encountered were capable of bending time and space to mind numbing degrees. He didn't doubt that many of the younger members were powerful mana users, mana seemed to be no respecter of age, but from his experience delving into some of the more powerful arcane arts could have unforeseen consequences. There was knowledge that could be learned and knowledge that only came with experience, there were things out there in the abyss that would put these new mana users to shame, singularities and anomalies that defied not only the laws of space and time but also what they had come to know as the basic nature of mana.

His thoughts had wandered as Minori answered her phone, clearly embarrassed at the situation as she scrambled to answer the phone in order to stop it from ringing. It wasn't until she asked him "What dangerous thing do you have in mind to go poking around with?" that his focus returned.

"Unfortunately the first thing on my list is to stare down my own mana and see just how far I can take it without completely breaking my own mind. You know I have negative reactions to my mana use." his thumb instinctively rubbed the ring on his finger before he slipped it off and held it up. It was black, impossibly so, in so much as it didn't just not reflect light, but radiated blackness out into the light. "This little gem has been dutifully regulating just how much mana I use at a time, keeping the reactions to a pleasant 'migraine from hell and the feeling that your muscles are trying to tear off of your bones.' as opposed to having my soul and consciousness forcibly ripped into two and fighting to the death. Pro tip, if you ever want to experience something similar, ask Selena to heal you with wild mana. It'll give you a new appreciation life... and death." he slipped the ring back on his finger. "Don't actually." he sighed. He knew that experience was never going to go away, it sent a chill down his spine just thinking of it, and he was sure it was going to add to his already troubled nights. "After that, I really don't know, maybe a familiar. I've experienced minor power gains while controlling certain gateway inhabitants that didn't seem to increase my reactions at the same rate, almost like I could use there mana by proxy. Something that gave a sizable power boost would require a lot of initial mana to bring under control though." He realized he had never thought to discuss this with Minori, and considering her field of study he silently berated himself for the oversight. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know anyone who has a small collection of magical creatures locked up in a secret room somewhere do you?" he smiled.

As they spoke the bartender approached, just far enough away as to not be impolite as he waited for a break in the conversation to ask Minori what she would have, then address Cedric, "The usual?" to which Cedric nodded. "Also, your car has arrived, and your clothes are in the office if you would like to change." the man nodded quickly and then went to fill the orders.

Cedric was still wearing his overcoat over the blood stained and torn suit, which he very much wanted to get out of. "If you'll excuse me, blood stained clothes aren't the most comfortable thing in the world. I'll just be a second." he stood, finishing with "Andy's the bartender, he'll jump if you so much as bat an eye for something." before he went to a small office tucked away on the other side of the bar.

The office was much the same, though simpler than the bar area. A wooden desk, a number of chairs, various pictures adorned the walls, a coat rack and a book shelf. All in all it looked to be well kept but little used. Cedric's new clothes lay neatly across the top of the desk, and that is where he went.

He pulled off the bloody jacket and shirt, taking a look at where there had been a hole in his side. Gruesome or not, Selena did a good job. He could still feel the wound when he touched it, the area was sore and tender, but outside of that it was as though it never happened. Cedric had been through his fair share of such healings, not to the same extent, but magical none the less. He was well aware of what Minori had been referring to when she told the others to be careful about wantonly causing damage just because it could be fixed magically. The mind does not forget trauma.

Slipping his new clothes on, which were much the same as his old clothes for all appearances, sans various tears, holes, and bloody patches, he felt much better. He tucked the old ruined suit into a bag and set it next to the door where the staff would make no second thought about picking it up and tossing it, this certainly wasn't the first time Cedric had used Michael's as a place to clear away the minor messes from work.

As he reached for the door his phone buzzed unexpectedly. Pulling it out he saw a number that wasn't saved, but that he recognized immediately.

“Arkangel, long time no chat. I take it you've heard about Valentine Inc's recent partnership with Atlas Electronics? I'm thinking the new and improved eastern headquarters should have a nice big corner office with my name on it. And maybe a bowling alley, and a pool.”

He shouldered the door open and flipped the light off as he left.

“Of course you don't think so. Yes, first things first though, no use in me trying to find this guy if he's just going to crush me when I do, no matter how much Loki would appreciate that happening. But you might have to be a little more forthcoming with your closely guarded secrets, he tooksomething, eventually we're going to need to know what it was. Yeah, you do that. I'll be in touch.”

He hung up and slipped the phone back into a pocket. “Might need to just bring another round off the top Andy.” he quipped as he passed the bartender on his way back towards Minori.

(So, iv been working on this post for awhile now! Hope you guys enjoy! This makes 4/4 on Battles I instigated that contain plot development or are at least plot relevant! >:O) (Sidenote: Artemis is female. Remember this)

Zeus smiled as he watched Artemis approach Midori and Cedric. He looked back at his orders from the boss, and then across the street, where other then the kid playing outside everyone else was inside the building. He had to eliminate that specific person, but attacking all of them should hide who his true target was. He just smiled, as he stroke one of the lightning bolt tatoos on his arm. "Oh, how the plot thickens".

He then sent a storm of lightning at the whole building they were in. Except, before it hit, the lightning was suddenly reflected back at Zeus. He only barely managed to dodge it, but now he was pissed. This was supposed to be a simple sneak attack, yet something reflected his attack? It should have been too fast, and none of them were aware of his presence, so none of them could have known he was there attacking. The only one who could actually see him was the boy on the street.

Suddenly, that is when Zeus noticed it. It was only he and that boy on the street, no one else. So how did...

Zeus suddenly jumped back when he felt a mana spike emerge in the boy, even though before he had no mana presence at all.

Meanwhile, Artemis was temporarily caught off guard by the mana spike. This mana....could it be....? She shook it off though, he could investigate that later. She looked back towards Minori and Cedric. "I trust you know who I am? Gatewatcher Fukutawa, or if you would prefer Minori, I recived some...disturbing...reports reguarding an incident at the museum. Due to the attack on the Eastern HQ on the same day, and the fact our Gatewatchers nearly got massacered in that Museum, the Local Gatewatcher Council has decided to investigate, as well as to investigate a breach in Gatewatcher security reguarding the apparent leakage of Gatewatcher intelligence, at least around the Infinity Spells. I want to know everything about the museum, as well as what you know about this Red Mana User, Zane Bell".

Meanwhile on the outside, Zeus faced off against the kid, who was now the only one on the street with him. Not even a single car or pedestrian passed by. And this kid eminated an aura that was insane. How did he not sense it before?

"Alright, kid, who the fuck are you and what the fuck did you do here?"

The boy simple smiled. "The name is Maric Boone. And what we are standing in right now is a Super Super Happy Happy Fun Fun Zone. Its a Spatial Zone that phases Mana and Mana users out of sync with the normal world, so you can't go and hurt other people or expose magic. Its difficult to even sense one's mana when your not in the same phase. And, it lets me be able to fight at full power".

"That won't change anything, except now I have a name for your tomb stone!" Zeus yelled. "Lightning Spear!"

Maric pulled out his small dagger, named Zu-Zu. "Infinity Counter!"

Infinity Counter. The fourth Infinity Spell. Uses a bit of mana, but it will reflect an enemies attack back at them with increased strength. It can only be used on a single attack though, so a spell that fires multiple projectiles would get through it. Zeus was hit by the lightning, but he managed to block most of the damage. It was his own attack, after all. However, before he could get a word in, Maric pointed his dagger at Zeus. "Zu Zu Special Swarm Attack Go!"

Suddenly, hundreds of Zu-Zus appeared out of thin air and attacked Zeus. The swarm clones were not as strong, but they still hurt Zeus despite his lightning shield. Zeus then fired lightning back at Maric, but he threw down the dagger, which acted like a lightning rod. "Alright, Zu-Zu Super Expansive Growth Activate!"

Suddenly, the small, tiny dagger known as Zu-Zu turned into a giant blade that was three times the size of Maric. Maric picked it up like it was nothing. In response, Zeus created a lightning sword, and clashed blades with him. The first attack caused them to repel each other, but the next sent Maric backwards a little, but Zeus with a cut on his arm. His blade bent the very space around it to ensure a cut, even if it was a minor one. Maric was no normal Gatewatcher, or even a normal person. As he charged up his blade, glowing stars appeared all over his skin. Invisible Magic Tatoos, that only become visible when in use and only to those with mana or are otherworldly. The same kind Rose, Newton, Dreamy, and Zeus have. Just like the terrorists.

"Thats it! You might be able to stop one attack, but can you stop me from attacking every single innocent person around and yourself at the same time?! Ultimate Storm! Raging Thunder Hurricane!"

Several bolts of lightning came at him, but instead of using mana to block, he jumped up over the lightning, made a one handed landing, jumped off that hand again, and then kicked Zeus square in the face, knocking him back against the wall. Zeus however let loose a powerful lightning attack before Maric had a chance to counter. It was clear to Maric based on what he said earlier he wasn't the smartest one of them, but he found it strange. According to the reports he got, Rose was capable of defeating five of the strongest Gatewatchers herself, and Newton brought down a whole building solo. So how is it this one wasn't anywhere near as fun? Was he just an underling, or was there some conditions other then the tattoos and specialized magic that made them more powerful?

Suddenly, that energy charged up into his sword.

"Zu-Zu Star Slash!"

As he swung Zu-Zu, a large amount of energy stars came at Zeus with precision and force. It knocked him back, but in response, several lightning bolts came at Maric from different directions. He tried to establish a null void barrier, basically removing all matter to create an empty vacume which would cause the lightning to fizzle, but no such luck. The lightning hit him directly. His magical defense took most of the damage, but it pushed him back towards the building the others were in. He was pushed through the window. It was then, in that instant, he cast three different spells. The first one expanded the phase zone so that he couldn't hurt anyone inside. The second one created an illusion around the broken window to make it seemed like it was in perfect condition. And the third stopped him from ramming into a wall, but instead into Minori.

Artemis scowled. "Oh great, its him. One of the most elite Gatewatchers, the White Star, Maric Boone. Known for being a master of Celestial and Star magic. However, he is known for one other thing..."

Maric winked at Midori as he pushed off of her chest to get back on his feet. "Hey, sorry about landing on you beautiful. I will make it up to you, maybe take you back to my place afterwards".

"...he is also known for being the youngest 26 year old, and a complete and total flirt, and partial perv".

"Sorry about interrupting, please return to whatever you were talking about" he said with a face full of childish innocence. "I will make sure he doesn't make more of a mess, so no one gets disturbed. Afterwards, we need to have a calm, friendly conversation. For some reason, I was called in because of some ruckus about a mole? So, here I come to find you guys, and this meanie gets in my way!".

"Did you just fucking call me a meanie? Now I am going to fucking use lightning to rip your head...." he started, but then in the blink of an eye, Maric was right next to him, and got a full, critical hit on Zeus knocking him backwards. When Zeus got up, Artemis charged up her own power, Gravity Crush, and began crushing Zeus with overwhelming gravity. Enough that he turned into lightning and ran off. "Don't think this is over, shrimp!"

Maric then used his spatial magic to remake the window he broke by having all the pieces return to their original spatial configuration, and then used mana to fuse them together, before looking back at the other three. "Maric Boone, Elite Gatewatcher, here from New York City to sniff out our mole, at your service! Now, can you also tell me about this mana user named Rose, and this other one named Newton, as well as all current suspects please?"

Artemis shook her head. "The number of suspects right now is endless, because we have no idea who or what total information has been leaked. But we think its someone high up on the command structure, which eliminates all of you as suspects. It could be someone who works closely with the intelligence department though, they would also have access. Personally though, I am suspicious of Loki's actions".

"Really?" Maric asked. "Cause he is the one who contacted Regional Command about the mole. Who I am suspicious of is Arkangel, actually. He always wears that Arkangel armor, so no one even knows if its the same guy, and no one has confirmed his mana color even for the past eight. Though I am kinda distracted by being sad right now. I heard that this Rose fought five Gatewatchers and won, only to run away on a technicality. And her brother, Newton, brought down Eastern HQ. This guy I just fought, Zeus, must be an underling, or conditions were not met to fully charge his power. Though, if he is an underling, and they have more underlings like him, that could be big trouble for a lot of innocent people".

Artemis looked at him, half puzzled and half shocked. He was disappointed his opponent was not strong enough? Was it because he didn't get to use his favorite Ultimate Move? Or because he did not find it hard enough? Artemis could usually figure people out, but Maric? Other then his obvious womanizing nature, nothing about Maric made sense to her, because of his unique situation and personality. It made reading Maric, the true Maric, much more difficult then anyone else. She looked back towards Minori and Cedric. "I should point out, both of you are not suspects. Cedric, simply put, everyone knows your mana color, so you attract far too much attention to be the spy. And Minori, Rose would have killed you, and your position also attracts too much attention to be the mole. As a result, both of you are cleared. And, Maric can't be the mole, because he only arrived today, which means he simply doesn't have the timeframe. And with the attempt on my life, I am cleared as well. But seriously, are you sure we can trust Loki? Even for a councilor, he seems secretive, and always jumps to eliminating anything unknown, or learing everything about it via whatever means he can use".

"Hold on, by that logic, wouldn't Councilors be exempt too?" Maric asked.

"Considering how much power we have, no. Any of the other four could be the spy" Artemis replied, before looking back at Minori and Cedric. "Thats part of the reason why I am here. I need to know, if you have any theories on who the spy could be?"

Deep down though, Maric had a suspicion. Zeus was clearly trying to wipe these three out, probably because none of them could be the mole. But how did they know all three would be together? That is what troubled Maric. That is what didn't make sense.

Minori could tell as soon as the question left her lips that Cedric had been thinking about this a good deal, watching with curiosity as he slipped off his ring.

"Unfortunately the first thing on my list is to stare down my own mana and see just how far I can take it without completely breaking my own mind. You know I have negative reactions to my mana use."

A fact Minori knew well, though Cedric wasn't as keen on the idea of figuring that out as she was. Or he was afraid of needles after the last time... It was hard to tell since most of her specimens couldn't exactly complain. So far the closest she could tell was either Cedric had an allergic reaction to his own mana, or he somehow was rejecting his own mana color. He certainly didn't behave like most black mana users. Hell, she'd peg Selena as one before Cedric.

"This little gem has been dutifully regulating just how much mana I use at a time, keeping the reactions to a pleasant 'migraine from hell and the feeling that your muscles are trying to tear off of your bones.' as opposed to having my soul and consciousness forcibly ripped into two and fighting to the death. Pro tip, if you ever want to experience something similar, ask Selena to heal you with wild mana. It'll give you a new appreciation life... and death."

'I can imagine," she said, focusing more on the ring now than the conversation, though his next words took a hold of her interest again. It was no offense to Cedric, but the scientist had a one track mind, and putting any mana related weirdness in front of her was a guaranteed victor for her attention. She nearly lost her arm once because a specimen howled in a way she'd never heard before as she was in the middle of feeding another.

"After that, I really don't know, maybe a familiar. I've experienced minor power gains while controlling certain gateway inhabitants that didn't seem to increase my reactions at the same rate, almost like I could use there mana by proxy. Something that gave a sizable power boost would require a lot of initial mana to bring under control though."

Minori smiled. "Oh dear, now that would be a challenge..." She said playfully, grinning when Cedric realized who he was talking to.

"You want to come to my lab, then? I've plenty of suitable specimens... though I'll sick Selena on you f you don't return them in a good of health as when you took them. I think you might like Gertrude or Sebastian... Cecil is off limits though," She mused, not bothering to explain the creatures that bore those names.

As Cedric mulled that information over, the bartender came to take their drink orders, Cedric getting his usual and Minori politely asking for a glass of bourbon and a plate of chicken tenders if they had them. It was a safe option for bar food, she believed, and she had yet to have lunch.

Cedric excused himself after that, in order to change clothes, which Minori didn't mind in the least. It was weird seeing Cedric in rags like that, though she couldn't help but imagine what entity they encountered to do that to him in the first place. Chances were pretty good she might fight that member of Rose's group rather than Rose herself, assuming she wasn't near Zane when Rose struck again.

'Mana? Outside...' Minori thought, her mana sense kicking in as she felt several signatures closing in on them. Three notable signatures, one quickly closing in on another, and the third was coming from the opposite direction at a casual pace.

By the time Cedric returned from his business and made his quip to the bartender, The casually paced mana source entered the bar and revealed itself to be Artemis, who Minori stood briefly to salute before enthusiastically accepting her food and drink from the bartender.

"I trust you know who I am? Gatewatcher Fukutawa, or if you would prefer Minori, I recived some...disturbing...reports reguarding an incident at the museum. Due to the attack on the Eastern HQ on the same day, and the fact our Gatewatchers nearly got massacered in that Museum, the Local Gatewatcher Council has decided to investigate, as well as to investigate a breach in Gatewatcher security reguarding the apparent leakage of Gatewatcher intelligence, at least around the Infinity Spells. I want to know everything about the museum, as well as what you know about this Red Mana User, Zane Bell"

"I would prefer Minori," the scientist started, taking a drink from her bourbon and a bite from her food before she continued, "and I'll tart with the incident at the museum, if its of no consequence to you, mam. For starters, it was a trap. The woman known as Rose planned that location very carefully for that showdown, and I believe has a precognitive in her employ. She knew how to pick each of us apart, which would be impossible without knowing who would respond to the Museum call ahead of time. She also used a gateway to revive a mana user from his sarcophagus in the museum," Minori said, glaring just a moment at Artemis before continuing.

"As for Zane..." She started, but instinctively ducked before she could continue, though was unable to avoid having the small child ram into her as he was flung through the window from outside. The force of it knocked her to the ground, landing on her back as glass fell on the kid who had landed on top of her.

Artemis begrudgingly introduced him as Maric Boone, though the placement of his hands as he pushed himself off of her said all Minori cared to know about the gatewatcher.

"Hey, sorry about landing on you beautiful. I will make it up to you, maybe take you back to my place afterwards", Maric said, electricity instinctively crackling to life on her skin as if to dare the boy to touch her again.

"Where? A McDonald's Playplace?" Minori growled as she got to her feet and swept herself off, ignoring Zeus as she looked back to Artemis, who seemed almost as annoyed at Maric as Minori was.

"...He's also the youngest looking twenty six year old, and a complete and total flirt," Artemis explained, practically cringing at the indignity of having the explain that to one of the Gatewatchers in her employ.

"Unfortunate. Back to Zane..." Minori started, though Zeus began yelling obscenities and made it impossible for the young woman to think. She was about to deep freeze him herself when Maric finally finished the fight he had insisted on taking into the bar. Minori couldn't help but cast a forlorn glance at the chicken tenders that lay on the floor now, covered in the broken glass and bourbon from her drink.

She decided then to take her bad day out on Maric should he so much as look at her in a way she disliked.

"Maric Boone, Elite Gatewatcher, here from New York City to sniff out our mole, at your service! Now, can you also tell me about this mana user named Rose, and this other one named Newton, as well as all current suspects please?" He said in a chipper tone, and Minori began to immediately tune out the conversation as a result. She could care less about this mole unless they had intentions of stealing her notes or specimens. Internal Investigations existed purely for this purpose, and she wasn't in that department for a very good reason.

"Thats part of the reason why I am here. I need to know, if you have any theories on who the spy could be?"

Minori let out a soft sigh and rubbed her temples in annoyance. "Well, if I had to guess, it would be someone with access to the same method of locating us you would have, mam, as the only people who knew we would be here were Cedric and myself. Sillo teleported us from the museum back to what used to be HQ, and I only mentioned going to a bar to Aldred. I never said which one..." Minori said, crossing her arms and looking back to Artemis.

"So we're going to need to drop the secrecy act if you're earnest about this mole. Tell us how you found us, we destroy the thing telling you, and we hold this conversation elsewhere. Otherwise, no information can be said without it immediately being compromised and assumed to be known by the enemy. Furthermore... If space and time are absolute, then the speed of light must be relative, depending upon the speed of the observer. The speed of light is absolute and does not depend upon the speed of the observer, therefore, either space or time must be relative," she said, her incantation to slow time activating just as Minori reared back her hand, slapping Maric across the face as hard as she could manage before dropping the spell, only using it long enough for the strike.

"...I don't like being touched, and I couldn't care less about the cause for the contact. You being thrown through a window had no bearing on where you chose to put your hands when you got off of me," She spat, walking back over to Cedric and effectively turned her back to the conversation for the time being. She wouldn't consider Cedric a close friend, but she felt more comfortable with him acting as a barrier between herself and Maric, or just being near him in general.

"I want to drink in peace, but we can't always get what we want..." Cedric mumbled as Artemis launched strait into business, basically ignoring the fact that Cedric had returned. Minori gave a run down of the events at the museum, which Cedric didn't pay much attention to since he'd been filled in. Instead he looked out the window, which lead to a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, and the realization that there was a black mana user nearby.

He didn't have time to say anything about it though, as the window exploded, a small body flying through it and landing atop Minori. "Fucking Boone?" Cedric moaned as Artemis began an introduction, which was made all the more awkward by Maric himself, being the perv that he was. "First impressions never cease to amaze." another sigh. Cedric hadn't exactly known Maric, but he had seen him around on occasion, and was decidedly not a fan.

Minori didn't seem to be a fan either. "Where? A McDonalds Playplace?" she shot back at his oh so smooth pick up line. The thought of the elite gatewatcher fumbling around in a ball pit put a grin on Cedric's face as he let out a chuckle. Before he could even turn his attention to the other mana user Maric was already set about mopping up. Cedric didn't like him, but he couldn't deny that the kid was good at what he did.

He caught Minori's glance at the ruined food, and sent a wave to Andy that clearly meant "We're gonna need another one of those."

The few other patrons hadn't seen anything, but Andy had dealt with Cedric enough to not ask questions. The man wasn't a mana user, but he was one of the few people outside of the organization Cedric trusted enough to have filled in on his occupation. Andy also had a small arsenal of weapons with magic bullets and mana scopes, he may have been much more than a barkeep in his former life. So the man simply nodded and set to work on getting another plate.

The conversation turned to who the mole could be, and Rose and Newton. "Well, Newton tried to kill me by flattening a large building. So all I know about him is that I'm gonna have to flatten a slightly larger building on top of him." Cedric shrugged. "I was a little busy at the time for much else. Oh, he's got a black mana signature the size of Ireland. As for the mole, it's not Minori, she likes the labs to much to let people go around crushing gatewatcher buildings. I'd guess Selena would have let me die if she was a mole. So, basically every one else." Cedric shrugged again. "That's not what they pay me for, but if I was going to think about it, I'd look at people who mysteriously show up places to speak to people that made no record of where they were going." he probably could have veiled that a little better, or at all, but he wasn't really excited about the fact that a casual 'normal' drink had been interrupted. He also wasn't entirely happy about Maric crashing through his window, even if the man had mended the damage.

He let out another completely unveiled laugh as Minori slowed time to slap Maric square across the face before she moved to stand near him, clearly not interested in continuing any further with the man. "Well, now that we've got that out of the way. How about you two hurry of to internal investigations and do what ever snooping needs done? I intend to have a drink before I cast myself into the oh so entertaining task of preparing for this mission."

As the Phoenix deflected the shot, some strange markings appeared on Zane's skin. Zane recognized the symbol on his right arm, it was the symbol of the Phoenix, bonding the two of them. But the other symbols were written in an Eldrich language he didn't understand. It wasn't Arcanic, it was something stranger, older. But somehow, he could tell, it was fueled by his desire to become stronger. To defeat Rose, his parent's murderer. Aurell looked back at him. "Zane, control your emotions and focus! Those symbols are not something you should use!"

Zane snapped out of it, and withheld the symbols he didn't understand. He clashed blades with Emerian Jones, who was now part demon and whose broadsword burned him with demonic energy. As they clashed though, the demonized man smiled at him. "Those symbols...I see now, so thats who you are...valuable indeed, I guess I should leave you alive after all....once I break every bone in your body!"

"Not...going to...happen!" Zane shouted while under strain, repelling the attack with Blazestorm Zero. Still, he couldn't run. If he didn't win here, he would never beat Rose. But would one battle really give him enough strength to allow him to fight Rose? The jewels alone would strengthen his power, and the Phoenix now moreso, and with his knowledge of Rose's tricks, he would be able to ensure she wouldn't weaken him again. But even then, would it be enough? What if he failed?

Zane quickly realized he got distracted for a second, and tried to react to an attack but was too late. However, before the broadsword struck him, someone else had appeared from nowhere and blocked it...with a revolver. Zane stood in awe as he looked at his mana levels. A spell seemed to have temporarily paralyzed the enemy as well that came from him. "Who...are you?"

"A friend. However, I won't be helping you again. I only stopped that attack because you got distracted with worry you would not get strong enough to fight your real enemy, right? That if you couldn't beat him, you couldn't beat that woman either?"

"How do you know so much?" Zane asked.

The man smiled. "Sorry, secret. But, you have to remember one thing". He took out something and handed it to Zane. Zane looked down at it, and it was a Gatewatcher's ID, Emeregency Beacon, and Enchanted Phone and earpiece. "You are not alone. You might not like all the things they do, but everyone has differences of opinion. You have friends there, so you know this. So stop acting like you will be fighting Rose alone. Even if they are not there physically, their mana, their skills, their friendships, their techniques are always there, helping you get stronger. Because they are the people who you fight for when you cannot fight for your family".

Suddenly, the man disappeared, and the man unfroze. All this time, Zane fought for two things. The truth, and for vengeance. As an orphan, he grew up alone. He was used to being alone. He expected to be alone. He was used to the turmoil inside of him. So never once did he consider this. This man, he hurt a lot of people in Alleytown. He considered that it would help them, but it was never a reason he was here to fight, or he would have shown up sooner. That was different now. Now, it was a reason. Now, it was a part of him.

So when Jones attacked again at full force, he blocked the attack with Blazestorm Zero...using one hand. He wasn't alone. "Aurell. We are not going to be allies. We are going to be friends".

"I have no complaints about that" Aurell mentioned, flying out from Zane's arm and attacking the demon man.

Meanwhile, Jones looked in anger. "How? Blazestorm Zero takes two hands to use at full power! You cannot use it with just one!"

"I can" Zane said. "I can because my friends need me to".

Aurell smiled a little inside. Actually, that is sort of true, but not completely. Your mind is so focused now. Before, you were too distracted by another opponent. By another fight. It was weakening your magical power. But now, you are focused and sharp. There is more then one way to strengthen yourself, just like there is more then one way to weaken an opponent. One's conviction affects their mana strength. And now that Zane is focused, he can use his teachings to their fullest...

Zane meanwhile flashed back to what he learned from his master, about the truth of magical fighting styles. While it certainly helps to learn one, in the end mana is different to each and every person, and so their fighting style differs.

"Something always bothered you about learning Blitz Style. Tell me, what is it Zane?" "Its just, some of what you teach, it seems a little contradictory. And what if I cannot keep up a steady pace of attacks because someone's defense would counter it? What if I have to wait and take time?" "To be honest, Blitz Style does have a secondary method. People hear Blitz and assume a flurry of attacks. But in truth, Blitz style is all about the Blitz of the enemies movements. Figuring out how to keep them on the defense or the retreat, finding the weaknesses in their defense, and then exploiting them. Blitz isn't just about speed. It's about timing. Choosing the right time to attack, and the right time to strike". "Hold on, aren't they the same thing?" "When you are in a battle against a difficult opponent, you will realize what I mean".

I understand now what you mean, Master. And this is my plan of attack for this battle... Suddenly, a large amount of magical energy focused into his free hand, and smashed it into the stomach of Emerian Jones, sending him flying. However, he suddenly sprouted wings, and turned around midair and charged back towards him. The broadsword was going to be a pain, but Zane had no intention of losing. Last time, technically he and the other Gatewatchers lost against Rose. Sure, they left the battle alive, but only barely, and it was certainly a defeat more then a victory. After all, it had been five vs. one. Zane brought his full strength to his next attack, and charged forward. Before the two clashed though, the phoenix flew in front of him. "Phoenix Feather Portal!"

Suddenly, Zane went through a portal and appeared behind Jones. He slashed one of the wings, sending him crashing into the ground, before Zane landed on him again, and stabbed his right arm, causing him to lose grip of his broadsword and drop it to the ground, sliding across the floor to the far wall. Zane stepped back. "Alright, now together! Burning Phoenix Fire Wave!"

"This again, I will just..." Jones started, when he realized he had dropped his broadsword. Was that his intention the whole time? All the sword clashes, had that all been to measure his grip strength? Were all of his attacks simply to prepare for this final strike? After all, Jones' main hand was his right. Furthermore, the wing he hit was the left, which ended up making the right easier to hit. And that was when Jones saw it. There was another mana color underneath the red. There was...white mana. "Just who the fuck is this kid? Is he even human?"

And then the fire wave hit him, full force, with Phoenix energy to increase power. He looked at the Phoenix, and he could see it in its face. "So, thats why it was so easy..."

Jones fell to the ground. Although Zane knew he should have survived the attack, he started to crumble into dust. Zane looked confused. "What is going on? That wasn't a lethal hit, not for a mana user".

"Its the demon's energy. He needed to drain you of your energy so that he could live without the demon class entity. He did this to himself though, your mana would probably have poisoned him anyways. No matter what he did, he was dead the moment he used the demonic power" Aurell told Zane. "His blood is not on your hands".

"His might not, but hers? Hers soon will" Zane told Aurell, as he fit the gemstones into the slots of the scepter. He felt his mana level increase on the spot. "So this is the power of an item focuser infused with mana? It still won't be enough for me to take her on, but....I won't be alone either".

As Zane began to head through the doors, Jones got up with his broadsword recalled towards him and charged towards Zane. Zane made a handsign. "Eight Trigram Seal! Explosive trap!"

Suddenly, the floor Zane had touched earlier at the very beginning of the battle revealed trigrams, and an explosion occured right as Jones went over it, finishing him off.

"You are stronger, and you know Rose's secrets" Aurell commented. "So why are you not happy?"

"Because of two things. One, that man isn't the one behind all this. He wouldn't have revealed himself if he was, he would have been more subtle. And two, there is no way they could prepare this unless one of the Local Council had authorized it. Which means, there is at least two people hiding things from me that I should know" Zane told Aurell. "I don't know what is going on, but its possible I am just a pawn for a bigger scheme. And I don't know if this scheme is something to support, or stop".

"You shouldn't let this distract you" Aurell warned.

"I won't. But before the rematch with Rose, I need answers".

Suddenly, a large influx of power emerged from the center of the room. Music Zane turned around, only to see a Rose stuck in the ground, and a Gateway opening right in front of him. As it did, a strange bubble invisible to those without mana emerged from it, surrounding the whole top of the building. "What the...?"

"Its a Null Zone! Beings from other worlds take exponentially longer to manifest in the real world depending on their power and size, and so the Gateway will project a bubble, known as a Null Zone due to the fact it nullifies the disruptive affects of entering a new world until it is completed, to allow it to stabilize in our world. It means, we have company. Alright, its time to get to work!"

Suddenly, Zane's power spiked even greater. He was focused now, and his focus gave him strength. And he would need it, because his opponent was strong. Dark energy came through the Gateway, and flowed into the remains of Jones, causing a new, monsterous form to be created. It was a demonic figure of untold scariness and power. "Well well, if it isn't a runt".

Zane twitched, and his power spiked further. "Did you just call me a runt!?!? Time you got a taste of Blazestorm Zero!"

"Lets go, runt!" it yelled, as the two charged towards each other. The demon summoned a blade of darkness, and countered the attacks from Bladestorm Zero. All of the attacks. Whatever this demon was, it was even more powerful. The blades clashed, and huge amounts of power vented out, practically putting a mana flare on the building. The power was so intense, the glass completely shattered. They fianlly disengaged the clash, and Zane's power kept increasing. The demon sent various boomerang shaped blades made of shadows at Zane, to tear him to shreds. Zane managed to dodge them all, but then was attacked as they returned from behind. They tore through his chest and arms, ripping his shirt to shreds. "Did you really think that you could face me, boy?"

Zane looked back up with a pissed off expression on his face. The demon scoffed, as his wounds healed themselves. Is this.....could he be.....is this boy even human?! I better kill him quickly! Zane moved up right to his face, and gave a full roundhouse kick to it. Magic was floating through his body. This was one of his Special Arts: Total Boost! The ability to temporarily boost every attribute, though it meant he was spending mana even faster. Still, his supply of mana seemed boundless. The demon was sure of it now, he knew who this boy was. It was him! The Demon launched another powerful blast at Zane. Zane then used another Special Art: Countless Clones. By creating copies using illusion magic, and then projecting energy within them, he could create clones that could do actual damage.

"Lightning Pierce!" they all shouted, as they all used Lightning Pierce on the demon. The demon, in term, took up the broadsword and destroyed a whole swathe of clones. It was now wielding two large blades, which it brought down on Zane. Zane created an neergy barrier, stopping the attack, but only for a few seconds. The demon charged forward, and tried to obliterate Zane with its fist. However, Zane focused all the mana in his body into his right hand, and caught the fist bare handed. He then crushed the demon's hand, shattering every bone in its body.

"Now, explain to me...." Zane started. "Why have I fought two demons today? One I can understand, but two? ANd then an ancient mana user earlier. And then before that, on the train, there was another dark presence I could sense. Tell me, who is following me other then that man?"

"You think I am going to tell you anything? Obliteration..." he shouted as he charged up energy in its mouth. "....Cannon!"

Suddenly, a large amount of dark energy hit Zane full force, but Zane caught it in both hands. "First comes Suppression!" Suddenly, the energy was suppressed, no longer able to cause any harm or influence on other mana. "Then comes Compression!" Then, the energy shrunk into the size of a basketball, with Zane holding it with two hands. "Next comes alteration!" Suddenly, the energy changed color and other powerful energies were mixed in and started radiating out of it. "And now...RETALIATION!" He then threw it with one hand right back at the demon.

The demon took the full brunt of the attack. This Zane was different from before. In fact, Zane's entire mana presence changed. Before, he was just fighting a demonized human. But once he encountered the demon itself, his power level skyrocketed, as well as his magical capabilities. Zane did an uppercut kick, sending the demon sprawling backwards.

The demon then moved behind Zane at lightning speed, and smashed him into the ceiling. Zane's magical defense remained strong enough for him to take the blow. Thankfully, Mana Users had magical defense, or else they would end up flattened, smooshed, or completely totaled, like what should happen to most anime characters.

As the two forces clashed, suddenly the Gateway began to get bigger, and the Null Zone started to fade. Zane could not let this demon escape into the world, it was too dangerous. He pointed out his hand, and suddenly, Blazestorm Zero and his scepter appeared next to each other. He clashed blades with the demon, and the force of their collision did permenant damage to the building. Suddenly, the demon shifted behind Zane, and stabbed him in the back. However, Zane's sword shifted behind the demon, and stabbed it in the back as well. "Special Art: Perfect Mimicry".

"The fuck, how do you know so many Special Arts? You are only a kid!"

"I am not just a kid! I....am....a damn Gatewatcher now!" Zane yelled, as he used a firefist uppercut on the demon. That wound is serious, but I am still in the game. I can use my mana to heal myself once I take down this demon. "Aurell, its time!"

"Fire..."

"Phoenix..."

"Nova..."

"Feather..."

"Storm!"

Suddenly, a barrage of fire and lightning charged feathers errupted towards the demon. It got injured in the attack, and when the smoke cleared, Zane was standing with his blade at its neck. "Now, tell me why you are here! Why are these dark energies following me?!"

"You really don't know? Heh, how hillarious. You don't know a thing about your own bloodline...about your own father".

Zane's anger and curiosity sparked. "What do you know about my father!?"

"I know what he meddled in....I know why he died".

"Tell me everything you know! Tell me right now!"

"Why should I, when I can watch you suffer instead!" he shouted, slashing Zane's back with his claws. Zane quickly dodged the rest of the attack, avoiding a lethal blow, but the scratch still hurt. Suddenly, waves of shadow energy was sent at Zane with such tremendous power that even with a full block, he was injured. Suddenly, the demon was right up in his face, but then he vanished from sight, reappearing behind the demon. Its a fire based technique, where you heat up every cell in your body to bring forth more energy at once, allowing near lightning fast movements. Its called Flashfire.

Zane then brought down a full power magical kick onto the demon's head. Zane then switched to a long range position, and drew a ring of fire in the air. He then pressed the palms of his hands together in front of him, and then directed them outward. "Circle of Flame! Resolute Destruction!"

The demon took several massive hits. Even when he tried to dodge some of the attacks, the tracked him, and when they hit, they exploded in a fire that could burn through steel. Zane then used his mana alone to push the rubble out of the way, and face the demon. "Now, tell me what you know!"

"Never!" the demon raged. "I will never tell you, you brat!"

Suddenly, a large explosion occured behind the demon, sending him flying right into another one of Zane's kicks.

"Okay brat, just what is..." he started, when he saw it. Zane's shoes were covered with impact trigrams. That was why Zane's physical attacks often included kicks. "I see, so thats it. You must have several surprises prepared ahead of time".

"I actually have trigrams set up in most public places I frequent, if not all of them" Zane mentioned. "Now, tell me what you know".

"Not in your life, bloodscum!" it shouted, launching a full power attack at Zane. He managed to dodge it, but as the demon clashed blades again he only barley had time to block. Suddenly, it was in that moment his scepter became a sword".

"What the....oh, I see now. So the Sceptor has various configurations, huh? Well then, lets try configuration three!"

Suddenly, it became a spear that could float on its own in front of Zane. Zane moved his fingers around, and it seemed to respond to that. The demon charged forward, but Zane struck it in the face before it got close, and then knocked it back. The spear floated back to him, and he jumped on it. As he did, the null zone finally broke. "Ha! Now I am at full power!"

"About time" Zane mentioned. "This is training after all, how am I supposed to get stronger without strong opponents? I just had to do enough damage to you so you couldn't run away when you reached full power".

The Demon just looked confused and bewildered. "Hold on, did you just say you let me get to full power?"

"Oh yeah, but I had to wound you enough so things wouldn't go out of hand. You see, I couldn't risk the possibility of you winning, so you kept you just weak enough to prevent that. My calculations are quite adament" Zane said with a smile. "Weak enough for an assured victory, strong enough to be full of experience. Sounds like its time to go full force! Lightning Spear, only this time with a real magical spear!"

Suddenly, an electrified spear stabbed through the demon. "Oh yeah, since its a really cool shape altering weapon, I should give it a name. It shall be known as...Aetherion!"

"SERIOUSLY?!?! THATS THE NAME YOU CHOSE?!?!" the demon yelled. "And you claim to know nothing. I see now, boy. You are the biggest liar of all times, even if you don't realize it. Why don't you look down?"

Zane looked down, and saw he was floating off the ground without realizing. Flight magic, but he never learned flight magic. So how....

Zane just barely dodged the attack done by the demon. THe demon must have caused him to float without him realizing it, to distract him so he could land an attack. Zane was back on the ground now, with his spear spinning between them. "Aetherion, lets try out your fourth configuration!"

Suddenly, Aetherion turned into a powerful Manabow. Zane fired off an arrow from it, which then split into eight arrows, which all exploded with magical energy when they hit their target. Zane also notied seveal other applications for this weapon, he would have to try out later.

"Back to Third Configuration Aetherion, and lets go with a Lightning Joust!"

"Unholy Damnation!" it shouted, laucning a massive shadow attack of unknown levels at them. The shadows ripped through the floor, through the building, through everything. Aurell let loose a barrier, and Zane tried to use his mana to suppress the attack. It was then, at that moment, that symbols in a spiral pattern appeared on Zane's back, and various other symbols appeared on his chest. What trasnspired next was insane. Zane appeared on the other side of of the demon, his eyes empty. Aurell was flying up above. The demon turned to face him, when he saw it. He saw Zane's face. "To think, that is the kind of man his father is....to have used this level of caution and safety",

And then, Aetherion emerged from where the demon's heart would be, returned to Zane, and went back to configuration one. At the same time, the head itself fell off the demon. "Shit. I wanted to question him some more, try and get more information out of him".

Suddenly, the ground exploded underneath Zane. It was a different demon this time, with ice shards sticking out of its body. Zane looked back towards the Gateway. "What the hell? I never saw anything else pass through".

"It must have been when you temporarily lost control" Aurell mentioned.

"That was only for a second though" Zane mentioned, though he was wrong. In fact, he lost control for ten minutes. The fighting during those ten minutes was insane. Zane didn't even register the wounds he got. There was clearly something wrong with him, but something stopped Zane from seeing it. Still, now he had a new demon to deal with. He looked back to the Gateway. "Okay, this thing needs to be...."

Zane lost it again, as another presense became known to him. He quickly jabbed his hand into the Gateway, and began draining it dry faster then normal. Most of the time, Gatewatchers never (for lack of a better word) physically touch the Gateway directly to close it, due to obvious dangers. But Zane had to bypass that, because deep down fear and anger had taken over his body. Something horrible existed inside this Gateway, lurking. Waiting. Hunting. It was after someone. Maybe multiple someones. But its Mana levels....it surpassed Rose by far. If it were to get out...

He ripped out the mana from the Gateway, absorbing it into himself and causing the Gateway to close. It also restored his own magical power. He then turned towards the demon. "Well well, look at what we have here..."

Zane quickly held the demon by the throat, the symbols spreading throughout his body. They started to flow into the demon, and it triggered one of Zane's visions. He saw people entering a Gateway, about a place called Lab 51, and something about blood. And then he saw it. Beyond the Gateways, there was something. A temple. "Why do you demons know so much?! What happened to my father?! Why was he killed!?"

The demon stabbed him through the chest, but not the heart. Even at the distance, Zane had managed to dodge the lethal blow from the ice spike the emerged from its body. Still though, it ran right through him. His hand then crushed the demon's shoulder, and his other broke the ice crystal itself. Zane shouldn't be this strong, but it wasn't him in control right now. Something was wrong with Zane. Something was broken, and its been broken for a long time.

Zane unleashed Static Force on the demon, causing Zane's body to become electrified and zap the demon. He then used Flamefist to uppercut the demon, before kicking it right in the stomach. He was getting really pissed off. All he had were questions, but he had no answer. As a result, by the time he came to, the demon was already smashed, and Aurell had manifested into the Phoenix marking on his arm. "Are you okay? What just happened here?"

"I am not sure. But all I have are more questions" Zane replied. "But right now, I think its time we left".

The room was in fact beyond recognition. As in, most of it was charred, zapped, crushed, or beaten. And lets not bring up a few priceless artifacts in the room. Zane quickly disguised himself and left before anyone could arrive.

"I think its time we started looking for answers...." he said, as the symbols retracted from sight, including the spiral on his back. "But who delivered that rose?"

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Meanwhile, on a different rooftop, a man spied on Zane with binoculars. "Yeah, well I have no opening right now, but I have good news Rose. You can have you rematch with this boy. Once of the pieces we need? Its sealed inside his body. Clever bastard, his father is. Tomorrow, you can kill him, and still be on mission".

"Good" Rose said over the phone, clearly pleased. "I will rip it out of his body, as well as his heart. If he has one to rip out, that is. If it is there, I may crush it while he is alive first".

"Then I shall make my leave, so he does not notice my presence. Him, or that other man..." he said, quickly disappearing into the night.

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Maric got a little bit steamed, embarressed, and defensive all at once. "Hey, hey, I was more focused on the fight then anything else! And I am not a perv! That is a vicious lie spread by Harmony in communications after I tried to hit on her! I am just really eager to find someone who can love me, okay? You try that with this body!"

Artemis nodded. "Uh huh..."

"Now, can we stop beating around the bush. AKA, Stop lying Artemis. I know why you are really here" Maric told her.

Artemis looked stunned. "What do you mean?"

"No offence to either of you, Minori and Cedric, but neither of you are the type to ask about a mole. Minori is too focused on her research, and Cedric people find too suspicious. Which means, you are here to ask them about Project Icarus, which I know you are planning Council knowing or not".

Artemis scowled. "How the hell did you find out about Icarus?"

Maric suddenly teleported to the counter between Minori and Cedric. No one seemed to notice anything, so it was safe to guess Maric coated them with an illusion spell, to prevent eavesdropping and what not. "It was easy. Besides, you know my Spatial Magic will help build the bridge when its time, so you should bring me on anyways, just like how you want to bring Minori and Cedric here". He then looked at the two of them. "Project Icarus is fairly simple. Artemis plans to send a team through a Gateway to the other side. She has been planning it for some time now. Likely using the research from Lab 51, she plans to open a Gateway to the Other Side and send a team there. Not just any Gateway either, but I suspect the very same Gateway as in Lab 51. Its the only logical conclusion".

Artemis was a little bit concerned. How did Maric figure this all out? He has been in town for less then a day, yet he knows secrets that are highly classified. Could he have learned some of this before he transfered. As Artemis considered options, Maric teleported a beer into his hand, and continued drinking. Technically, he was above the legal age, and its not like it could affect him anyways. "Fine Maric, you are on the team. But, there is one other I want to recruit. Zane Bell. GIven the reports I saw, I am convinced he may hold the key to building the Perfect Bridge, a Gateway Link with no danger or ill effects at all, that will allow us to travel to the other side of the Lab 51 Gateway and learn what happened. You see, this is not the first time we attempted this. The first time was at Lab 51, 20 years ago, when Gateway activity suddenly went out of control, and people with no previous connections to mana began to develop mana abilities and what not. To discover this, we connected the Gateway to a place known only as The Hub. Based on accounts from some Visitors, many Gateways lead to this Hub, from all worlds, and it is common to pass through it. Apparently, it takes the shape of a subway terminal. We will open the Gateway to it, create a stable, or maybe even a Perfect Bridge, and cross into it. The research and data we can collect is one goal, but another....we also want to learn the truth about what happened twenty years ago to cause the spike in activity, and Cedric, your power makes you a clear choice for the team. Additionally, we will see things no human has ever seen before. So, you two, what do you say?"

Maric looked at Artemis questioningly. Why the hell did he try to hide the existence of Project Icarus from me?

Suddenly, Artemis punched Maric straight in the face. "And I told you this would happen if you ever followed me. You don't care about hte mole either, at least not as much as you claimed to. Thats not your style. You wanted to question me about Project Icarus, you little perv!"

"I am not a perv!" Maric exclaimed. "And seriously, this body isnt that physically endurant! You gave me a nose bleed, jerk!"

It was clear these two did not get along.

Shortly after Minori walked off to stand back with Cedric, Maric resumed talking. It probably said something in regards to Gatewatchers hiring policy that hearing a nine year old voice talking about espionage didn't sound out of place to her, but she didn't take an active interest in paying attention until Project Icarus was mentioned. A project to go through a gateway and explore the other side. A project that practically had Minori drooling at the mere thought.

The only downside so far was that Maric might be involved. She pondered for a moment how difficult learning spatial magic might be considering her grasp on phyics was probably far stronger than hat of the twenty six year old toddler. When the question came up for whether or not Minori was in, she nodded, but pointed a finger at Maric.

"I'm in, but only under the conditions that he stays on the other side of the gateway, or is placed with a seperate exploration team than myself. I refuse to have such a monumental moment spent babysitting, or feeling someone's gaze on my ass the whole time. I actually have a few candidates in mind for an exploration team from the science division, if you'd like me to send a list for your approval. One of which being Aldred... we could use someone who's magic is inwardly focused since we have no idea how mana will be affected by being inside of a gateway..." Minori mused, though snapped her fingers and smiled as an idea hit her.

"I'd also like for Sillo to be at the testing grounds. Not for the exploration team, but to teleport nearby. I have a suspicion this hub may be the dimension he teleports through when he uses his powers. Anyone else I'll trust to your discretion, mam" Minori said, looking over her shoulder as she noticed the bartender arriving with a replacement of her order. She smiled contently as she sat at a booth that wasn't covered in glass, and happily resumed her meal. It was clear that she could care less now about what happened unless more information about the project was provided.

"There are plenty of RaMESSES agents that will be just as good for the job." Cedric piped up, "I'm not working with him. No offense Maric, but you offend me just by being near me." it was clear he wasn't interested in being convinced as he turned his back to the conversation and leaned on the bar with his drink. "Besides, there's no such thing as a perfect bridge. Come talk to me if you actually get Zane, I won't hold my breath."

His phone began to vibrate as a message came through. Pulling it out he read through the details quickly, recognizing the origin point as the museum the others had encountered Rose in. "Minori, did they let a Tyrannosaurus Rex lose at the museum?" he cast a raised eyebrow at her, "You don't already have one of those in your personal petting zoo do you?"

Minori raised her head as she thought, chicken tender hanging unceremoniously from her teeth.

"I went through the Japanese exhibit so I can't say for sure, but that does sound like something we'd do. We barely made it out alive, no way in hell we were doing a perimeter sweep before going back to base," she said, punctuating her sentence by tilting her head back and devouring the tender.

"Well, as much fun as it has been having my private life interrupted, duty calls." he wagged his phone in the air before slipping it back in his pocket, "Want to tag along Minori? I'll even do my best not to annihilate it so you can add it to your collection." He nodded at Artemis as he passed, ignoring Maric completely as he pushed the front door open. Next to Minori's car now sat a low, sleak, black AMG GT, which only served to highlight the fact that not that long ago Minori had had one of the richest people in the world driving her around in her little car. "So your car or mine?" Cedric asked with a hint of a grin crossing his face, walking out on a regional council member had put him in a good mood. "We'll need to head to Alleytown, someone there should be able to give us a lead on where to start looking."

"Alright... though I do have a bit of business to attend to if you wouldn't mind. I'm a bit nervous about it and could use a friend... though you'll do," she joked, though the humor was to hide the nerves shaking her voice. Whatever it was she needed to do in Alleytown, it definitely had her worked up.

Looking from her own humble Mazda to the vehicle beside it that was worth a decade's salary for her, she couldn't hide a slight grin.

"Well, you did drive my car here. Only fair..." She said, holding out her hand to accept the keys, to which Cedric shrugged and opened the drivers door, which unlocked as his hand touched it. "This one doesn't use that kind of key." He smiled and motioned for her to take a seat. "You also can't ruin the seating, it remembers."

-=-

The hustle and bustle of Alleytown was both foreign and welcome to Minori. On every corner was a different aspect of mana, either being studied, taught, or sold outright. Minori giddily pointed out the different spells and disciplines to Cedric as they traveled through the neighborhood,

"Oh! Cedric look!" Minori cried, slapping Cedric's shoulder as she pointed off to a woman dancing on a street corner, water gracefully snaking through the air around her in time to the music playing from the guitarist off to the side. During a particularly dramatic sting, the water exploded into mist arund her, concealing her form in the mana laced vapor, only to shift just so and produce a rainbow around the dancer as she bowed.

"Do you have any idea the technicality of those spells?! The physics she is managing to calculate and manipulate at will, and in time to music no less. Why just the feat of producing that rainbow would take umerous calculations... and exact knowledge of the vapor density required to reflect the light, the positioning of the sun, the shape of the vapor... and did you see the control of those spells? I just... ugh! No one in Gatewatchers thinks of mana being used like this. It's all about combat application and secrecy..." Minori said, voice shifting from that of a giddy schoolgirl to an uncharacteristic melancholy in a matter of seconds.

"Without culture such as this, mana is merely a weapon, and Gatewatchers is filled with child soldiers. If not for the budget for my research... Cedric, why do you stay with the organization?"

"Convenience I suppose. Certainly not the paycheck. I suppose it's got some perks, access to some good mana researchers for one thing. I only came on because I hoped someone could help with the mana reaction, I guess I stay because it's something to do. Cedric Valentine, action hero..." He smiled, "Or overly qualified animal control officer, which ever way you want to look at it." Minori was right though, the organization was all business, all about efficiency and execution. They didn't take time to step back and marvel at what could be done. "You know she's probably not doing any of those calculations." he commented as he nodded towards the dancer, "She's on the opposite end of that spectrum, if anything she just knows, deep down, how to do it. She might know it if you asked, but she's not thinking about it. That's what the organization is missing, they think to much." He cast a glance at the researcher, adding "But in a bad way, not in a productive way."

Minori gave a thoughtful nod, but smiled as she returned her gaze back to the road.

"True, she's probably not, but that's what makes it an art and not a science. A healthy appreciation of the one is necessary to do the other, I think, but I have to come here to see any art. I sneak here on lunch breaks to just watch, sometimes. I've frozen time to study feats like her dance on more than one occassion. The performers being cute certainly helps," Minori said, her grin shifting to a smirk.

The wonder of Alleytown could be captivating, but it also came with dark shadowy bits. The black market dealers, the less than trustworthy magical 'problem solvers', the types of people that normal people generally avoided. "What was it that you had to get? I've got to find some folks who tend to dislike being questioned, so it might get a little hairy, if you're looking to shop around we should do that first."

Finding an empty parking spot outside of an Irish pub boasting 'Magically Delicious' food, Minori took great care to park Cedric's ride before considering his query.

"Well, it's actually to get a tattoo. A magic square made of mana infused ink, like the old runes you find in museums. It should streamline my mana a bit for when the enemy comes around for round two... but I've never gotten a tattoo before. I don't suppose you'd be willing to pencil that in to your investigation time?" she asked innocently, though if Cedric looked past her, he would notice the bright neon lights advertising the tattoo parlor the researcher apparently had in mind.

"By all means, the black market won't be going anywhere any time soon. They don't know I'm coming yet." Cedric nodded as he saw the lights, "Don't ask for advice though, never got a tattoo. Who knows, might see something I like."

Cedric's response was a sigh of relief to Minori as she opened the door to the car and stepped outside, inhaling deeply as she felt the air of the mana around her. Not ten feet from where she had parked, a man was using mana to hold a bucket of molding clay in the air beside him, dabbing globs of the stuff into the space before him, starting his sculpture from the top. Behind him, a group of teenagers were using mana to recreate a scene from a tv show.

"I AM MELON LORD!" one cried, throwing flaming canteloues at her friends as they laughed and dodged the hostile produce. A nine year old near by was playing hopskotch, her set of hopskotch squares snaking along the sidewalk and up the side of a building.

"There's a beauty and simplicity to this place. I think after Project Icarus I might take a leave of absence for a month or so and just hang out here. I could learn so much... I could open a pet shop," Minori said, smiling as she looked back over at Cedric, but quickly regained her focus. She could play tourist once they had finished with their business here. Work to be done, and all.

The tattoo parlor lacked a creative name, the sign merely reading 'Tattoos', but examples of the artwork the artist within had done were moving, the animals acting like animals within the confines of their pages, the faces of people watching with a smile as people walked by, some even giving people directions after being asked. The only sign that didn't move or have a living entity within it was one that hung on the door, which simply read, 'No tribal tattoos. Violators will be prosecuted'

Minori regarded the sign for a moment, and nearly jumped when one of the faces lining the wall beside her looked over and began to speak.

"Vera got tired of drunk frat boys coming in wanting barbed wire and random designs they could get out of a gumball machine," The face, an elderly woman's face, politely explained. "First time, dear?"

"Yes... a little nervous, but I brought a friend so I think I'll be fine," Minori said, patting Cedric once on the shoulder. The old woman's face smiled warmly at the duo before the door gently swung open for them. Minori bowed her head and returned the smile in thanks before pressing inside.

"She's not going to be happy to see you boy." the warm smile turned into what could only be explained as an old ladies polite scowl, the kind that only old ladies were truly capable of that showed a particular level of distaste no other single look could show. "It was one time." Cedric said waving off the comment as he followed Minori into the parlor.

A bell overhead rang out, a gentle ring in the otherwise quiet parlor. A woman stood behind the counter, drawing on a sketchpad before looking up to see who her new client might be.

"Welcome! Be forewarned, if you get a dolphin on your ankle, it WILL need water every day," she started, though stopped and looked Cedric over, recognition taking over her facial features. She didn't seem particularly enthused to see him.

"Cedric Valentine... Of course you'd walk in today. This isn't a Watcher shake-down, is it?" Vera asked, crossing her arms and scowling at the man. "Because my permits are air tight, and so is Felix's, so you can shove whatever warrant right back up your ass."

"Nice to see you too Vera. Calm down, unless you've tattooed a large extinct reptile recently I'm not interested in your permits. And for the record, that suspects 'pet' killed a kid." Cedric responded with a mix of his general polite nature over a much darker tone, like an animal who isn't interested in a fight but still needs to send a reminder of who's who, just enough to ruffle feathers.

"Actually... I'm here to get a tattoo..." Minori interjected, timidly stepping between Vera and Cedric, the former reluctantly taking her eyes off of the man. Vera studied her customer for a moment as Minori dug out her phone, moving to stand beside of Vera to show her the picture of the artwork she wanted. Vera looked down at the screen but occassionally looked up to scowl at Cedric, though once she realized what it was Minori was wanting her eyes lit up.

"Magic square, huh? That's, what, one of Abramelins?" Vera asked, snapping her fingers three times as her sketchpad lazily lifted off of the counter and floated to her waiting hand, the artist immediately sketching out the design.

"So where we putting this bad boy? Shoulder? Thigh? Lower back? I love making tramp stamps out of ancient mystical runes. Highlights of my fucking day," Vera said, slapping Minori on the back and nearly causing the researcher to drop her phone.

"I was thinking of putting it on my back, actually. About the size of your sketch, but I need you to use your best ink for it. I plan to use it as a focus."

"Understood. I take half up front, and half when the job is done. For simple line work like this, I usually only charge about fifty bucks, seventy five for the scale. For the ink you're wanting, it's going to cost 275 for the whole thing. I only accept cash, and I only accept cash from hat ATM in the corner over there," Vera said, pointing to the machine positioned off in the corner behind the duo, in a place where Vera could see it from her counter at all times. "You wouldn't believe the problems with counterfeiting we have here. Not that some dick holes need an excuse to barge in and demand shit," Vera added, scowling at Cedric again, who waved a couple of fingers at her and shot a raised eyebrow across the room "Who, me?"

Minori withdrew the full sum of the estimate from the atm, wincing at the dip in her balance, but decided that living would be quite worth the cost, and handed Vera te first payment, which the artist took with a wide grin.

"Alright, chair is over here," Vera began, sweeping her arm off to the side room where her actual tattooing set up was located. "Going to need your bra out of the way, and your shirt off of your back so I can work. I'm not sacrificing quality just because a strap kept getting in the way, and for almost three hundred bucks I doubt you want that either."

Without a second thought, Minori reached up the back of her loose fitting white shirt, fidgeting for a moment before she began to follow Vera to the chair, which the artist was repositioning so that Minori could sit comfortably on her stomach while she worked. By the time Minori got to the chair, her bra was in her hand and her shirt was pulled over her head, though she kept her arms in her sleeves, using the shirt itself to cover her chest, and Cedric had found himself interested in a number of sketches on the counter. He had been caught off guard by the general lack of concern for his presence, though Minori didn't actually look at him until she knelt into the seat and crossed her arms on the headrest. Even then, the look was not one of modesty but one of anxiety, the researcher's gaze shifting between her friend and that of the needle Vera was preparing.

Once everything was set up, Vera excused herself just long enough to dig in what Minori assumed was her supply closet before returning with a dark blue ink, though the ink glowed so long as Vera made physical contact with it.

"This color fine with you?" Vera asked, and Minori gave a solemn nod as Vera grabbed her needle and made the final preperations. The researcher cast a nervous glance at Cedric as Vera rubbed a cleaning solution on Minori's back, squeezing the headrest tightly.

"Now this is going to sting, but the line work isn't the bit that really hurts, okay? I'm not going to be staying in one spot for very long so t won't have much time to make the skin raw. That said, if you need me to stop just speak up, okay? I'm just going to make the square, and then the letters, and at most I might go over everything twice to make sure enough of this ink gets in to get the job done. We're talking forty five minutes if I take my time, okay?" Vera said softly, her rough voice actually quite soothing when she wanted it to be. Minori nodded, body gently shaking as she glanced back over at Cedric, holding out a hand expectently for him to hold.

Cedric paused for a moment, smiled at the irony, and walked over to extend a hand. "See Vera, I'm a big ole teddy bear once you get to know me." the artist gave an indignant snort in reply.

"I'm scared of needles..." She said softly in explanation, though Vera only waited a few seconds for Cedric to move before she got to work. The pain made Minori jump at first, but she settled once the initial shock was over, squeezing the headrest tight enough that it might have bruised a person, her grip on Cedric's hand a similar vice. Vera hummed quietly to herself as she worked, carefully making the initial square which would encompass the rest of the tattoo, making sure to go over each line two or three times to enforce the mana being stabbed into the girl's skin, as well as make sure the lines were nice and solid. After that came the lines for the grid, which weren't as thick but still required an additional pass before Vera was satisfied.

"Okay... I'm ready to start the lettering. Halfway there, kid. Going over them twice each to make sure they're nice and bold and powerful, okay? You're doing fine," Vera said, her voice almost warm as she looked back to her sketch for reference. This would be the part where the actual spell would come in, and a mistake from Vera would undo everything her client wanted.

As Vera resumed her work, Minori looked back over at Cedric, obviously trying really hard to keep her tears internal, but was only mostly succeeding.

"You said you were interested in a familiar? What sort of creature did you have in mind?" She asked, wanting something to take her mind off of the pain on her back.

"Oh, I hadn't really thought that much about it. Obviously something that has a natural mana tendency, probably something brooding and spiky, like Vera," he shot a glance at Vera whos eyes narrowed, though she never skipped a beat in her work. "So you get to do what you want with gateway creatures while you hassle everyone else over them?" she growled.

"Yeah, pretty much. Perks of the job. I suppose that's another reason I stick around." he turned his attention back to Minori, referencing her question from before, "Anyway, there are any number of possible creatures, like I said, it's really a matter of getting one powerful enough to be worth it but not so powerful that I couldn't subdue it fully."

"Alright.. last pass and then we're done. The ink should react to your will when you focus with it, and if it doesn't I know some tricks to fix it up, which I can do free of charge if youcome back in the next week, okay? I also sell the stuff to clean this, but you don't need anything mana specific if you aren't local and can't mae the trip back whenever. Got a few touch ups to make, but ou'll be all done in about five minutes, alright?" Vera said, the warmth in her voice replaced with some pep as the worst of the ordeal was over for her client.

When all was said in done, Minori stood at the counter, properly dressed once again, but was still shaking like a leaf from the experence. Vera seemed t be amused, albeit sympathetic, as she accepted the rest of the payment for her work.

With the transaction complete, Vera put the money in her till before glancing over at Cedric, her scowl prominent once again.

"I don't suppose you came in here to do anything besdes loiter," she spat, punctuating her sentence by slamming her register drawer closed, never breaking eye contact with the man.

"Like I said, perks of the job." Cedric tipped his hat slightly and flashed a sarcastically polite grin, "You stay out of trouble now Vera, wouldn't want that old lady out front to have to remember any more unpleasant visits."

"You leave my grandma out of this you piece of shit," Vera snarled, electricity crackling in the air around her head. Minori, sensing conflict was inevitable, thanked Vera for her work, and grabbed Cedric by the arm as she made a run for the door.

She was now as ready as she was probably ever going to be for her next fight with Rose.

Maric got really peeved at that babysitting comment. "You realize I am older then you right? I would be babysitting you. Well, not sure about Cedric, his file is surprisingly well classified, but yeah. Anyways, you know, all I did was try to be nice, and this is the thanks I got! Jeesh!"

Artemis looked at him with a look of half disbelief, half confused. Did you not just...uhg, nevermind "Seriously Maric, just let it go. What would your family think..."

By the time Artemis had said those words, it was already too late. It radiated so strongly, everyone could feel it nearby. Feelings of sadness, anger, and regret. Artemis knew she shouldn't have brought that up. Maric was many things. Some of those deserved a slap on the wrist. But the last thing one should ever bring up was his family. Maric's negative emotions were so strong, even non-mana users could sense something was wrong. He glared right at Artemis, with a cold look. "What? I think you were about to say something, damnit!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to drudge up those memories" she mentioned, as Maric got up and started to leave. "That was uncalled for".

"Fuck yes it was uncalled for" he swore in a disgruntled voice, his entire mood having shifted. Artemis looked towards the two of them.

"Sorry about that, Maric deserves to be scolded every so often, but bringing up his family, at least like that, wasn't something anyone should do. You see, his Unique trait was actually something else before, but he was suffering from this rare affliction that was believed to have been put on him as a baby. Mana poisoning. His family tried to use a dangerous spell to cure him, and as a result, it killed both of his adoptive parents and his sister. They brought him into their family, and then they sacrificed themselves so he would live. I think the real reason he is like...well, him, is cause he lives with the guilt of it every day, because in his mind, he thinks he murdered them".

"Anyways, with that over, let me explain. When we finally begin the operation, it may be important to spread out among different paths to collect as much information as possible, but you should all stay in one general area. You shouldn't risk getting split up, because there are dangers beyond the Gateway you can't even imagine. Avoid pitch black caves, ice caverns, volcanic areas, and anything that either looks extremely threatening...or nowhere near threatening....as much as you can without impeding progress. Anyways, we won't force anyone to go, but you can invite anyone you like as long as they have the experience for it. Though, Damion is a recommendation mostly because of his ability to control nature. You run into hostile plantlife, and he may be your only lifeline".

With that, Artemis left....hoping she had not set Maric over the edge again. On occasion, Maric had episodes, where after he was reminded of his family, he wouldn't be seen for weeks, or once months. It affected him that badly. Still, what did always bother Artemis...is that he always seemed to hold something back.

(Time skip to Morning)

Maric woke up to the sound of his alarm clock. it was early in the morning, but he had someone he had to visit early in the morning. He got dressed, opened his door, and made his way to the door across the hall. As he opened it, a woman who appeared to be incredibly old was lying in bed. "Oneechan?"

"Hello, Mari-Chan. How are you doing today? And please, don't reply by asking me how I am doing, little brother" the 50+ year old woman told Maric. This woman was Maric's sister, and they were born only a few years apart. The reason for the suffixes was a little inside joke they had together. Something special that was for between the two of them.

"Fine. Yesterday, I got closer to my goal. Of entering the Lab 51 Gateway, and making it towards the Star Fragment that resides within. Our goal is finally within reach, Oneechan".

"You really should stop calling me that" she mentioned with a bit of laughter. "But I am so glad. After everything thats happened, we are close to our goal. But, what of the others? What if they try to stop you?"

Maric gave her a cold stare that was uncharacteristic for him. "If anyone tries to stop me when I am so close, I will slaughter them. Nothing will stand in my way".

"I just hope you find happiness, once you can finally be yourself Mari-Chan. You were always the unique one of us all, after all, so you can find a way. After all, Frozen State....as well as the Sword of Judgement...are still affecting your personality. And Frozen State isn't even your real Unique trait".

Maric picked up a picture of their parents. "It will be over soon, and all the damage done will be wiped clean".

"Do your best, Mari-Chan".

"Always, Oneechan".

After making sure she had plenty of food and water, Maric went out to do his job. Granted, any job he did do was only a cover, so he could obtain his true prize. A Star Fragment. It was so filled with mana, it would be just what he needed to save people. But he couldn't let the other Gatewatcher's get it. No, they would want to lock it up and use it for themselves. Maric could not allow that, ever, to happen. He had to be the one to use it, no one else.

He would no longer let anyone else die because of him. No more.

No more!

Suddenly, he was alerted to an active Gateway. It was opening way too close to home for his liking, as well. What was even more strange is that Gateway activity in this area was rare at best. So, he went to investigate. As he turned the corner, he came face to face with a Gateway, only something was off about it. It was open, yet also closed. Suddenly, a dark impulse emerged from it, and presented itself in front of Maric. What happened next took place in the span of miliseconds. The shadowy figure plunged a shadowblade at Maric, which he just barely deflected with Zu-Zu before directing it down, and kicking the figure in the face. It was pushed back, but then Maric saw it. Black flame. Maric then put up a barrier around himself, before the black flame launched at him.

After all that happened, Maric did not dare make the first move. After all, his magic was great for defense. He had good offensive magic too, but between Infinity Counter, Null Zone, and Condensed Space, his defense was through the roof. However, Maric did not anticipate the sheer speed of his ene....

"Hold on, where did he go?!" Maric asked as he realized the entity was gone. Furthermore, the Gateway closed on its own. "Oh, you have got to be....what the hell? Who is that guy?! Well, its too close to home for me, and all the evidence is gone, so no point in reporting it".

Maric did a quick sensor sweep for the pressence before, but nothing was around. It just vanished. How the hell could it vanish?

As he made his way through the city, he had a cloak spell around him and was jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He could just fly, using his Spatial Manipulation magic, but this had a bit more thrill to it. He looked back at Central HQ. About all the secrets that lay within. And about the Vault of Relics, a place where they held all acquired magical items they deemed too powerful to risk being out in the open. He considered the possibility a Star Fragment could already be in there....it might reveal he was up to something with the others, but it was a risk that he had to take.

Suddenly, he felt her presence behind him, and stopped. "Oneechan, why are you here? You should be resting, with your weakened state. I have too many things to look into to find out, and with us being so close, we shouldn't take risks now".

"Don't worry, I am not asking you to train right now. Besides, we both know who would win anyways" she said with a smile. "There is one thing. Just now, did I sense...."

"Listen, it was some sort of fluke or something. It was open for less then a minute. Something did get through, but it disappeared too. Just, please rest".

"Okay, but be safe Mari-Chan".

And suddenly, she had disappeared completely. Maric let loose a tear, before heading towards the Vault. She was another reminder of his own situation. A reminder about how he was responsible for their parents deaths. How he murdered them. How they died so he could live.

It burned him up inside. Still, he dropped it once he got to the vault...only to see the door was wide open, and investigators were already there. He quickly flew in to examine the situation. There were a bunch of guards in the vault. Some of them tried to stop Maric, but he just outright ignored them, examining the crime scene. He then showed them his ID. "So, what was stolen?"

"Oh, sorry sir. It looks like just a few things. Some highly magically infused piece of wood, a crypt containing a specter, and a Star Fragment piece" the guard told him. Maric cringed at that. He had been so close to getting his Star Fragment Piece, and it was stolen? He managed to suppress his rage. Which was a good thing, because Loki appeared behind him.

"We suspect the terrorists are involved with this" Loki mentioned. "They stole something from Eastern HQ, and now here? But why are you here?"

Because I want a damn Star Fragment, no matter what gets in my way I will deal with it ruthlessly and relentlessly. "Saw a commotion while passing by. Got curious. This situation is getting worse",

"I hear you met with Artemis yesterday".

Don't tell me he had me and/or Artemis followed as well. "Stop snooping and focus Loki" Maric told him as he put a hand onhis dagger. So help me, if you even know about my sister being here, I will hut you right here and now. "Did the security cameras or Crystal Guardians record anything?"

"Just this figure, but it doesn't match any of the terrorist's build profiles" Loki told him. "Which likely means they have more members".

"More members? Shit" Maric mentioned. "Guess that means we have to hurry up operations..."

And more importantly, I have to retrieve that Star Fragment... Maric thought to himself. He decided to start investigating leads by heading to Alleytown. But first....

He went up to a female guard. "Hey, when does your shift end? Maybe we can go out sometime, cause whatever time that is, I will make it good".

He was still Maric, after all.

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Zane walked through the halls of the library, yawning. A perk of living inside an abandoned library? No one to wake you up, and no noisy neighbors. He had reconfigured several rooms recently, to be more spacious. He went around in just some PJs and slippers to the main library. To think, all of this was just left alone for years, all these books. Well, to be fair, Zane now owned the building, even if the means he used to get the deed were not quite fair. Still, it was the way he preferred things. Honestly, given the state of things, it was better for him here then in a foster family or a group home.

As he entered a makeshift living room, he turned on the TV as he put up his feet on a footrest. He checked the diviners next to him, which he had setup as a slightly more accurate weather forecast...only slightly though. As he listened to the news, there was a report of strange large footprints heading towards the sewers. Given the size of the footprints, many believe it to be a prank, though some believe it to be a T-Rex. Still, no witnesses have come fort to confirm this.

"Wait, wait, hold on. How the hell did not a single security camera get a visual on the T-Rex? What the fuck, is this T-Rex supernatural or something?"

After all, mana has in fact existed for more then twenty years...

"Wait, could it be.....naaah, that would just be silly...right?" he asked Aurell, who spoke to him through the Phoenix Mark.

"Well, it would be strange...but not impossible".

"A T-Rex with mana? That would be interesting, especially if it really does have a cloak ability. Maybe it can also summon magical armor, too" Zane mentioned. "Anyways, we only have part of this day till Rose returns. I hope she comes for me first, I will take pleasure in crushing her",

"Didn't she totally crush you and four others last time?" Aurell asked.

"Shush. It will be different this time".

Zane looked around the room, and looked around at some of the books. It was shocking, just how many of these books were disguised as normal books, when in fact they contained magical research, terminology, species logs of what has been seen coming through the Gateway, and power ratings of notable power levels. He even found one of a Legendary Gatewatcher, known as Liza the Holy Knight. She disappeared quite some time ago, but some say her Holy and Knight based magic was incredibly strong, especially against those with dark intentions, but still strong against anyone in general. No one knows why she disappeared, but they say it was because of a treacherous fiend.

There were other legends too, those about temples that appeared and disappeared, some about parallel dimensions and time fragments, a few about the possibility of hybridization of races, and one about considering the possibilities legends such as Pandora's Box and Excalibur are actually true. It was a lot of information, and Zane was soaking up all of it. With all that said and done, he went to the kitchen and made himself breakfast.

Today, he would not lose. At least, not so easily.

(Coauthored by Chuckles and Bravo_Zver)

The moon was hanging over head by the time Cedric and Minori left the tattoo parlor, the old lady's face scowling at the former, but casting an approving smile towards the later, "I do hope you'll be back now young lady. Maybe with out the boy next time though."

Cedric ignored the artwork and continued back towards his car, "Got to grab something before we make our next stop." He explained, but stopped mid step as he noticed the car, which was very much black when it arrived, was now covered in a sea of moving colors, not dissimilar to the effect of the artwork adorning the tattoo parlor. Almost immediately a younger boy came running up to him.

"I tried to tell em sir, he didn't know no better though. I tried to warn him not to." Cedric knew the kids face, he was one of the many pranksters who enjoyed taking advantage of visitors to Alleytown. Most of them had gotten the idea that pranking Cedric Valentine was not in their best interests, but every now and again a new kid thought that just presented them an opportunity to prove they were more mischievous than the rest. Cedric saw the kid immediately, standing off in the corner, trying to look disinterested but too proud of his work to achieve that. "Don't hurt him." the young boy pleaded before giving up on the cause and backing away.

Cedric's finger ran across his ring, an annoyed look crossed his face, and he blinked. Suddenly the boy who had been trying to covertly admire his work was admiring the second button of Cedric's vest.

"It seems my car has had a case of color change fever." Cedric spoke softly. "We wouldn't happen to know anything about that would we?" Mischievous eyes glanced up at him, "Nope, wouldn't know a thing EEEK!" the boy squealed as he was suddenly lifted to eye level with Cedric who's eyes stared, dead white, into the boys. "You can't prove nothin!"

"I don't need to prove nothin. I know it, you know it." Cedric's face was cold and deadpan, his eyes seemed to flash like a projector filing through images, the people around them seemed to fade away, the street below them fell so far below and there was only Cedric and the boy, the people around them wouldn't notice any of this, only the boy peering out from the corner, though if they were astute the would notice that Cedric was no longer standing next to Minori.

"Your friends, you didn't notice that they avoid my car?" The boy began to squirm a bit while still attempting an air of defiance, "This ain't real, you can't trick a trickster!" Cedric smiled an unfriendly smile, "How sure are you? There's a reason nobody else touched that car." The look of defiance slowly began to fade into fear, was this guy for real? It certainly felt real, he wouldn't would he? His friends had warned him, they had never warned him not to mess with anyone before. He started to realize he might be in over his head. "I can fix it! Honest! It was just a little joke! No harm done!"

Suddenly the people were back, the street was where it was supposed to be, the boy was back on his feet, and Cedric was brushing his shoulders off, with no visual explanation of how he got there. "There we are, seems you had a little fall there. Now then, what were you saying about my car?" he turned back around as the boy undid his spell, returning the car to it's intended state. "Yes, yes it is very nice. I'm glad you like the color. Now, off you go, turn your tricks somewhere else." Cedric tucked a five dollar bill in the boys pocket and patted him off, the menacing look all but gone as he made his way back to Minori. "The new ones need a good scare sometimes to get the idea. It's just to much hassle dealing with them every time I come here. Though there was one kid, he turned a Ferrari into an actual prancing horse, that one was impressive."

Knowing Cedric as she did, it was a little hard to take the man seriously as she watched him intimidate the kid. She knew a scare was all he'd be in for, but the look on the prankster's face as whatever illusion Cedric had cooked up played out nearly got a laugh out of her. Had the boy done something besides change the color, she might have felt some worry, but Cedric was no monster.

When Cedric came back and made his quip about the horse, Minori grinned as she looked back at the car. "I wonder if it retained the horsepower once transformed..." She mused, finger gently tapping the hood. "So I'm shit with this whole detective thing. Where are we going first? Need me to do anything or just stay out of the way?" she asked, looking back to Cedric now. "Also, don't think I didn't see you slip that kid a five dollar bill. Cheapskate," she joked.

"They get enough, trust me." He smiled, "I don't only use fear to keep them away from my stuff. Reward and punishment in equal measure make the best of informants, and the most well behaved of pranksters." He popped the hatch of the GT and pulled out a dark leather satchel before closing the car up again. "There's a, pet shop, down just a bit. The owner has some black market connections. We'll start there." He slung the bag over his shoulder as he started off, "I'm going to warn you now, this could get messy." a cautious look crossed his face, but he didn't go into detail. Vera wasn't the only one in Alleytown that wouldn't be happy to see him walk though the door. He had a reputation of getting what he wanted, and not being afraid to play rough to do so. Not every shop knew him like that, there were quite a few that just knew Cedric as a customer, the polite generous man he was when he wasn't on a mission. It was just those unfortunate shop owners and citizens who had connections to the seedier side of the community, they didn't necessarily hate him, but they preferred when he passed them by. Some, like Vera, hated him, but not enough to commit a crime against him.

Others would very much like the chance to get at him, the actual criminals. Most of them weren't foolish enough to actually do it, though there were always exceptions.

The warning weighed on Minori for a moment, nodding once in a show of seriousness, though followed it up with a pat on Cedric's shoulder. "I have stood inside of the lower intestine of a creature that had ammonia for blood. I fear no mess, Cedric," she said, preemptively undoing the strap on the police baton that hung from her waist. "I'd also like to be on the winning side of a fight in the past twenty four hours. I'm ready when you are, Teddy Bear" She said, referencing his quip to Vera earlier.

The two set off down the street, the air had changed ever so slightly, Alleytown was a spectacle during the day, but it was something special at night. It was like stepping into a movie where the color palette was just a couple of shades away from normal. It was the neon lights of main street, the dark paths of an alley, the busy subway, and vaudeville all rolled into one scene. Certain colors seemed to pop as if they had been painted over a monotone image, invading the dull scene in a surreal way before giving way to the next strange sight. The performers were still out, turning their trade, a man sat in one door way playing a quintet of various wind instruments, each floating in the air as if an invisible man was standing there, they moved in rhythm and took turns leading the tune with solos. The whole thing had the air of a noir film, complete with the fedora wearing hard ass detective and a lovely lady with a less lovely streak.

"This is us." Cedric spoke softly as they came to an unassuming store front with a sign reading 'Pets and other oddities.' over the awning and a plaque hanging on the door that assured the passerby that they were opened. Cedric opened the heavy wooden door and ushered Minori into the shop before following her in, flipping the sign to 'sorry we're closed' as he did.

There were only a few customers browsing, a family with a child, and an older boy, mid teens. Nothing out of the ordinary, dogs and cats, rodents, lizards, snakes. The bats were probably the strangest creatures on prominent display in the front show room, certainly nothing that would raise an eyebrow, nothing illegal.

"Sorry folks, shop's closed." Cedric announced, more of that dark tone and much less politeness this time. The parents were quick enough to begin ushering their child, protesting that he did in fact want a puppy, to the door. The husband cast an annoyed look at Cedric as he passed. "Go get yourself some dinner. They'll be opened later. Maybe." Cedric said dryly before walking over to the teen who was doing his best anti-authority impression by keeping his focus on some exotic snake. "Beat it kid."

The boy took a moment before giving an exasperated sigh and turning towards the door, trying to leave in the most defiant way possible, but unable to keep himself from speeding up the closer he got the door, the unnerving feeling Cedric was sending down his back propelling him from annoyance toward fear until he was safely out in the street. With that Cedric pointed at the deadbolt and made a small circular motion with his outstretched finger, the lock flipped with a heavy satisfying slide and clunk.

"Now you might like this one, it's from our special collection, can't find these just anywhere you know." a portly man made his way from the back of the shop, his focus on a glass case he was holding tightly as he made his way around various crates and boxes, "And you remember, if someone official asks you didn't get it here." he set the case down in front of Cedric and looked up, his satisfied expression melting away in an instant. "Uh oh..."

"Ricard." Cedric made the name sound like a threat, the man had always liked his name, except for now he found himself wishing his was any other name in the world. "He-hello Cedric... I, uh, found this the other day. I was just going to have it turned over." the man laughed a nervous laugh "But you're here now so, look at that. Well, there you are, here that is, uhm, yes. Glad to be rid of it."

The case groaned in protest at being sat down, which immediately got Minori's attention. She knew what it sounded like, but she doubted that Ricard could keep one contained.

"I'm sure." Cedric slid the crate aside with out so much as looking into it. "Let's talk." the shop owner found himself being drug over the counter as Cedric marched toward the clerks door at the end. As he hauled the portly fellow along like an overweight toy, Minori lifted the case and was surprised to hear a growl, albeit a weak one. If it was what Minori thought it was, it was malnourished. Not wasting any more time, she froze the lock on the case and yanked it off, opening the door to the cage.

"My friend here wants to see the exotic merchandise. All those other oddities you advertise. Isn't that right Minori?" Cedric asked as he shoved the man back though the door he had appeared from unceremoniously.

Minori's only response was to approach the two men while holding what looked to be a puppy, though it's fur was a coarse black and it already looked to have the jaws of a pitbull at about 4 weeks old. She cradled it in one arm, while the other brandished a knife made of ice.

"She's got a keen interest in oddities. Likes to stick them with the pointy end of stuff and see what they do." Cedric smiled a most unhappy smile, "Always thought you were a bit of an oddity myself Ricard." the mans eyes widened as he flashed concerned glances at Cedric and Minori in turn, had this lunatic gotten a partner? Wasn't there supposed to be a nice cop too? Suddenly Cedric had a tight hold of his arm again, the man's heart beat started racing, eyes wide.

Without ever saying a word, Minori made a quick cut on the back of the man's hand before dropping her knife, taking the man's injured wrist in her own grip and yanking it towards her. Ricard merely winced from the pain but any of his struggles were in vain. The pup in her arms sniffed the air, tail weakly wagging as it struggled to make it's way to the bleeding hand now in it's reach. It lapped up the blood enthusiastically, though Minori gently poked it in the side of the head when it attempted to nibble at the wound to open it further.

"You don't even know what creatures you have, do you? This little guy is a barghest, and although it looks like a cute little pup, it feeds on blood, not meat. I doubt you even gave it that, you monster. What else are you mistreating in here?" Minori asked, now the one yanking Ricard into the back as she looked around. 

Her heart sank at the sounds of groaning and howling, looking from cage to cage with a sour look on her face. 

"Cedric, hold him. I might need more of him to fix this mess," She said, handing Cedric the barghest and the man's wrist, who's owner was inconsequential to Minori at the moment, as she wandered further into the back on her own. 

Cedric set the creature down on a table before jerking Ricard's arm down, causing the man to double over. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a metallic ring, about four inches thick the same diameter. Manipulating it swiftly one side unlatched and he slapped it down over the man's arm, at which point it conformed to the size, tightened ever so slightly, and a number of legs shot out into the table top to resemble roots. The barghest took a step back for a moment as the artifact latched on to the table, cocked it's head curiously, then went back to happily lapping up the blood trickling from the now captured hand. 

"Well, looks like you've been busy." Cedric commented as he propped himself up on the table. "You know, I'm guessing there's about six violations just for this little guy alone. Couple dozen more that I can see from here." he looked around casually, "Not to mention what she's going to do to you."

"Cedric! He has two Haetae in the same cage! They are territorial, you ass! Look at the bruises they've given each other!" Minori called out from around the corner. "Their horns will start growing in in a few weeks, what did you plan to do about that? Sell the slightly less impaled one?"

"Doesn't sound happy." Cedric mused. "So where is it?"

Ricard was whimpering now, "Where is what? I don't know what you even want!" he started to squirm, but felt Cedric lean his elbow onto the back of his shoulder heavily. "Oh, you know. Come on, where is it." he put more weight into Ricard's shoulder.

The man hesitated for a moment before protesting again, "I don't know what you're talking about!" which resulted in Cedric quickly standing up and pulling the man over by his hair, twisting his arm back painfully, causing him to yelp. "You mean to tell me a live Tyrannosaurus Rex broke out of a museum not twelve hours ago in this city and you haven't heard a single. Damn. Word?" Cedric's face came closer with each accented word until Ricard could feel his breath heavy on his cheeks.

"Ahh! Ahh! Okay okay! Maybe I've heard some things." Cedric eased up slightly at the response, allowing the man's arm to go back where it was supposed to be. "Now, I just know that it's been seen around the south end, down by the park, but it's sneaky, nobody can get a good trail on it." mostly true, but something perked Cedric's ear.

"Nobody?" he asked, tightening his grip slightly on the man's hair. "Nobody you know, or nobody you're willing to tell me about?" the man remained stubbornly silent, "Minori, anything back there looking to eat a freshly cut off hand?"

"Okay, okay okay! There's a couple of guys in town from Boston, I've heard they have been tracking it since it came up." the man was sweating now, clearly uncomfortable with his situation, but he finally decided to protect himself from the threat that was offering to cut off his hands at the moment and deal with what ever else may come later. "I don't know them, their names, but, I've heard they have a set up off of Blanton street."

Cedric smiled and finally released the man's head. "You see, that wasn't so hard." placing a hand on the artifact it released from the table abruptly, causing the barghest to jump again, and rolled back into a ring with a snap. "Don't make it a thing next time Ricard." he patted the man on the cheek before calling back to Minori, "We should probably pack it up, got to head across town."

It was around then that Minori rounded the corner, gently holding a hairless and shivering creature, her face still twisted in disgust, though with a hint of disappointment. 

"We're not cutting his hand off anymore?" She asked, huffing in annoyance as she looked around and found another cage. She reached out and froze the lock once again, yanking it away n a swift jerk. 

"It's not what you wanted but I hope it helps," She said gently, quickly opening the cage door and ushered in the hairless creature before slamming the cage shut once again, freezing the door shut just as the sounds of growling began. Minori had only taken one step away again before a loud thud shook the wall of cages, blood leaking down the cage floor before another thud saw a splatter splash the cages across from it. After that, all that could be heard was the loud crunching of bones. 

"I'll be ready in just a second,' She said, eying Ricard as he nervously began to make his way back to his counter, and presumably the front door. 

Minori shot forward and grabbed him by the back of his collar, frost instantly spreading along his shirt once physical contact occurred, the collar frozen solid almost immediately. 

"I will be back, Ricard, at an unforeseeable time in the near future, and we are going to ensure a healthy understanding of the creatures in your care and their proper diets and living conditions. After that, if I ever hear that you're mistreating one of these creatures, I will feed you to them. I'll start with the fingers and toes, cutting off your circulation as I move in to your torso to slow the bleeding process, and you won't be allowed to die until the little chupacabra that I just fed is ripping out your entrails," Minori spat, the man's shirt frozen solid, as was the ground around her. She let go just as suddenly as she'd grabbed him, leaving him a whimpering mess on the floor as she stepped forward towards the door leading to the legitimate half of Ricard's business. 

"Oh, I almost forgot... how much do I owe you for that Jackalope?" she asked, but after looking back up at the bloodied floor near the chupacabra's new cage, she shrugged and turned back. 

"Invoice me. You also might want to put up some new locks before they melt," she said coldly, and made her way back to the traditional pet shop, still obviously fuming but waited patiently for Cedric to follow. 

Cedric whistled a long slow note, gazing down at the man. "Yup." was all he said as he stepped over him and pushed through the door. Wheeling around towards one side of the shop he took a slow path in front of the more mundane creatures that Ricard had for sale, a hand hovering out at his side, pausing every so often over one or two animals. He had almost made it to the end of the aisle when he stopped, took a step back, and lifted a puppy up. It was all white and tan and black, with floppy ears and big eyes, maybe a couple of months old. It's long sinewy legs dangled carelessly below. Cedric turned his head slightly as he examined the dogs face before he finally said "and don't pee on the carpet." as if he was finishing a thought. The dog seemed to nod it's head with an emphatic yes.

With out any more hesitation Cedric tucked the dog under his arm, legs still dangling lazily, and made his way out into the street. As the now trio made their way back to Cedric's car they passed a restaurant with tables strewn out on the street, which would move as traffic needed to pass, whisking the dinners around in a slow carousel of constant motion. Cedric stopped as a particular table came up in front of him, the family they had kicked out of the shop just in the middle of a meal. Cedric set the dog down in the empty seat, "Sits at the table, doesn't eat dog food." Cedric said simply and patted the boy, who's face had lit up, on the head as he walked off. The parents weren't unhappy, having seemingly just saved a decent amount of money on a dog they were going to buy anyway. Cedric could hear the question, "Well what should we call him?" from the mother, to which the reply "You could try Charlie." was uttered in a voice that was long and full and happy, like someone stretching out the words just a little to long because the enjoyed saying them so much, "it's my name after all. Pleasure to meet you." 

The scene played out like something from a cheesy kid's show, though it was a good note for her day to end on. Minori waited off to the side while the adoption took place, reminiscing about the last talking dog she'd encountered. Oddly enough, the speech centers of their brain weren't particularly larger than any other dog's, nor were their mouths any better suited for talking. Much like the flight of a bumble bee, the lack of understanding on the physics didn't prevent the phenomena from occurring. 

When Cedric returned, Minori was smiling as she watched the pup lick the kid's face.

"Ricard must be a good informant," she said flatly, her tone not matching her expression as she continued watching the family. 

"He's just bad at being a criminal."


___Time__Skip___


The sun wasn't quite peaking over the roofs, Cedric and Minori sat in the GT tucked in a side alley, a small warehouse door visible across the street. From the outside the car looked like a dumpster, covered by a illusion spell Cedric was projecting over it. They had taken turns napping through out the night, waiting for their prey to arrive. 

Finally, after a long night waiting, the door began to open. Cedric watched as a black SUV drove slowly into the warehouse, but couldn't see much inside before the door closed again. "Looks like our new friends are home."

"Five more minutes..." Minori grumbled, still half asleep.

There were a number of ways into the building; the roll up door the SUV had used which had a regular door next to it, a loading dock about fifty feet down from that, and a few other doors on the other side that they had seen when they first arrived. Cedric had placed small monitors at the few entrances that they wouldn't be able to see from the alley but hadn't expected them to be used since there was no way to get a vehicle through them. Some people would try to use a covert option for the next step, but Cedric had other things in mind. 

"Ready for the fun part?" he looked at Minori, adjusting his hat down over his forehead, and opening the car door. 

Minori stretched and let out a slight yawn in response, a little worse for wear at having not gotten a proper night's sleep since her run in with Rose. She wasn't used to sleeping in short segments like Cedric seemed to be. She followed his lead regardless, opening the car door and stepping out, stretching her legs to get the blood flowing in them again. 

It was quiet, most of the city was still asleep, and this neighborhood was full of empty buildings and storage units, not a hub of activity, the perfect place for an illegal operation, and the perfect place for a raid. Cedric scaled the few steps to the door quickly and kicked the door with his heel just below the door knob. He had boosted his strength enough to be sure the door would open, and it did, in violent fashion. The door handle practically exploded off the frame, bits of it scattered across the floor, and the door swung back against its hinges.

"Gatewatchers, everybody freeze!" Cedric yelled. There were two men standing by the SUV, both caught completely off guard by the sudden intrusion. One turned towards Cedric and raised a hand, shooting a fireball across the room. Cedric yelled "Minori, get the other one!" as he blinked through it, appearing in front of the man and countering with a mana buffed punch to the gut. "That means you pretty boy." he growled before pointing at the ground where ice crept up suddenly around the man's feet. "I don't have time to play."

The other man jerked his head around at the other Gatewatcher running towards him, a strong wind suddenly blowing through the warehouse as he lifted into the air, his hands and feet generating wind to create the necessary lift. 

"Very impressive, but you'd do better on the ground..." Minori said, reaching for the baton at her hip. 

The man screeched, the frequency and volume of his voice shattering the windows of the warehouse in unison, but even as her ears bled, Minori just rolled her eyes. 

"Last chance! I prefer captured to killed and you're altitude only gives me the one choice!" Minori shouted, only hearing the last bit of her own words as she used a bit of mana to heal her recently ruptured eardrums. 

A strong gust of wind snatched Minori off of her feet, slinging her backwards until she slammed into the far wall, her body pinned by a continuous jet of air, the mana user controlling it floating before her with his arms crossed, smirking at her. 

"You have no power here, bitch," He spat, unfolding his arms and pointing his palms at her face, a grin on his face filled with malicious intent. 

Once again, Minori rolled her eyes, her grip on her baton firm as she angled it skyward. She turned her head and closed her eyes, a bolt of electricity shooting up into the metal beams supporting the roof. The electricity surged strongly between two beams directly over the man's head, the sight catching his attention just before the electricity surged down and struck him like a bolt of lightning. 

Had he kept to the floor, he might have been grounded and had a chance at survival. Minori rarely used this school of magic on people, but the man would have had no strain using his wind to blow away any fire she might have thrown, and he was too fast for any ice. 

The lightning strike hit his head and followed his veins down to his feet, the intense heat of the strike cooking the meat around them as it traveled. When the energy got to his feet, there was nowhere for it to travel to make a circuit, and so it kept searching for one in the man's body. The man had lost consciousness as soon as the strike had hit him, his wind dying and his body falling to the ground, and by the time he hit, he was steaming from his insides having cooked, thunder rattling the building to signify his death. 

Minori fell as well, but she whispered an incantation and was greeted by a snowdrift to catch her. She looked at the man she had killed and sighed. Cedric would be cross with her. 

Cedric had bound his opponent with the magical cuff that he had used on Ricard, and a hand gagged the man to keep him from speaking while Minori fried the other suspect. He shook his head slightly at the unexpected turn of events. "I guess I should have been more clear on how this kind of raid works." a hint of annoyance in his voice, but he turned to the living partner, "She's new to this whole field interrogation thing. As you can see, she can be overly excited." he nodded towards the still smoking corps. "So, where is it?" 

The man wasn't anything like Ricard. There wasn't fear in his eyes, he had clearly been in this type of predicament before. Dead eyes stared back at Cedric, for a moment they seemed to fade, then the pupils vibrated strangely before returning to normal. A smile could be seen despite Cedrics hand clasped firmly around the man's mouth.

"Sir, my concern is not whether god is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on god's side, for god is always right." a voice echoed from somewhere inside the warehouse. Cedric heard footsteps, then saw a man step out of the shadows. He was tall and skinny, with a crisp suit, a square set jaw and full beard, with bushy eyebrows under a tall top hat. Cedric blinked, it was Abraham Lincoln. "And who might that be?" he asked loudly.

The man he held shook out of his grip and smiled, a flash crossing his eyes. "Me." a sudden force hit Cedric square in the chest, sending him to the floor where he slid backwards into a wall. The man quickly burnt off the ice clamping his feet to the ground but his hands were still tightly clamped together with Cedrics artifact. 

He watched as Lincoln strode over and with a swift swing of his hand snapped the cuff in two. Cedrics jaw dropped, the thing was made from some of the strongest material on the planet, not to mention it had multiple enchantments on it. "That might be a problem." he stood quickly and shot a barrage if dark energy blasts across the room at the two. He was beginning to think they weren't going to get many questions answered from this guy either.

The dust cleared and Abe was standing there, a mana shield around him and the suspect. "You see, gatewatcher, this is my little pet project. The muscle as is were. I've spent years adjusting him, increasing his mana potential, his abilities. He's just about autonomous now." Cedric's eyes narrowed, "You turned honest Abe into a golem?"

Abe flashed across the room with blinding speed. Cedric barely had time to blink out of the way to see the puppets fist go through the wall. Cedric crouched and shot his palm up at the elbow, cracking it and causing the arm to bend at an unnatural angle. Abe simply pulled his hand out if the wall though, turning with that same speed and grabbing Cedric with his other arm, lifting him easily off the ground. The gatewatcher attempted to break out by physical means first, which failed miserably, then reached out towards Abes face and shot it with a fireball. This also didn't serve to accomplish much in the way of getting lose, though it clearly did at least some damage.

"Would love to hang out," Cedric quipped before blinking out of the predicament and appearing behind the tall man, "but I've really got other things to deal with." he raised both hands, lifting the man up in the air with telekinesis, and slammed them towards the wall, then the ceiling, the floor, SUV, floor, ceiling. Finally he let go, watching the body fall. There were small craters where he had smashed his opponent around, the SUV in particular was trashed, he had put a little extra on that hit so it couldn't be used to escape. Despite the pummeling Abe stood back up in short order, dusting off his coat and turning slowly towards Cedric. A hand rose, the long fingers stretched out from the coat sleeve, twitching slightly. Suddenly electricity shot out at Cedric who quickly cast a ward insulating himself from the shock. "Shit, he's not just physically enhanced, this thing is a walking talking mana turret. Hey Minori! Remember what I said about questioning them? Nix that. Kill that son of a bitch. He ruined my favorite president."

Watching things unfold had left Minori with a strange and surreal state of mind, her eyes seeing Cedric telekinetically flinging about a former US president, but her brain unable to accept it as reality. Was this an illusion meant to punish her for her performance in the raid?

It was about the time that Lincoln began shooting electricity at Cedric that she noticed the man Cedric had been trying to question jogging away from the chaos. As Cedric yelled for her to nix the whole raid thing and get to killing, Minori grinned. She was called a field researcher despite mainly working in labs, but when she did do field work, it wasn't for capture cases. It was usually because something big that only Minori had a proper understanding of had gotten loose, and it needed to be taken care of. It was why she was having a harder time dialing herself back compared to Cedric. 

But now Cedric had given her the all clear to cut loose. 

As the man continued to flee, Minori put away her baton, not wanting a repeat of the other guy she was supposed to have questioned, and instead raised her hand, causing a wall of ice to spring up a foot in front of the man and resulted in him running straight into it. 

As soon as his butt hit the floor, ice crept up and covered his legs and derrier, keeping him from moving further. 

"I'm impressed by your golem, sir, but I did want to ask you... why does it also act like Abe? It's not a part of the spell, yet you made the conscious choice to include that... why?" She asked, but was only answered by a blast of fire streaming from the man's mouth, first at her to create some distance, and then at his legs in order to melt the ice around them. His pants were singed, but it did the trick, and he was on his feet by the time Minori got close again. 

"It was an innocent question!" Minori shouted, ducking under a fireball the man threw before they both took off into a run. 

Cedric ripped a shelving unit off the wall and slammed it into Lincoln, who was still sending electricity through the air. The man faltered for a moment, just long enough to let up the attack, and give Cedric a chance to counter. He had already started buffing his physical abilities, reactions and senses, just to keep up, now it was time to start figuring this thing out.

He fired another volley of dark energy at Abe, this time reaching out with his mimicking sense to try and see exactly how the golem was reacting. But he couldn't find Abe, the dust cleared and there was nothing there.

Looking around frantically he expected a blow to the back, but found Abe running towards Minori and the other user. "Guard dog instincts." Cedric mused and took off in pursuit, casting a series of ice walls to slow Abe down. The result was watching honest Abe crash through rather thick sheets of ice while not slowing down all that much. "Okay, really strong guard dog."

Not wanting Abe to be able to get an attack at Minori while she was occupied he blinked directly behind and tackled him, latching onto his back and using his momentum to flip the golem onto the ground, holding a full nelson tightly. He had seen Abe's strength in action but it still surprised him. Even with a full physical buff Cedric struggled to hold the golem down. "Really strong guard dog!" he repeated in astonishment.

The man was serpentining as he fled, like a little field mouse running from a cat. The analogy amused Minori as she whispered an incantation under her breath and another wall of ice sprang up in front of the man, the moment of hesitation as he reacted to it's appearance being all Minori needed to close the gap between them. She had her forearm on the back of the guy's neck and a fist full of his hair before he could resume fleeing, his face getting slammed into the ice wall as punishment for being too slow. She let go of his hair and raised her free hand just long enough to form a blade of ice along the edge, preparing to end things nice and quick. 

It was dumb luck, really, that prompted her to glance down in time to notice the glyph forming on the ground below her, one that would burn her alive if she didn't let go now. She barely had time to let go and leap out of harm's way before a vortex of flame shot straight up, scorching the ground on which it was summoned and raised the temperature inside the warehouse a good fifteen degrees just from the short burst. 

When the flames subsided, the ice wall was gone, and the man was running again, but this time towards Minori. He'd realized she wasn't going to be shaken that easily, though the grin on his face unnerved her. Was his eye twitching?

Cedric knew he wouldn't be able to grapple Abe for long, so as the golem began to gain leverage and  stand he had to think of a new strategy. As he thought he saw the remnants of the fire column, and the user rushing towards Minori. It was a sudden change of tactics, one that worried Cedric. There was a twitch in the man's eye, and as he got closer Cedric could feel his mana level ramping up. Clearly the switch had flipped from flight to fight, and the man had a rage buff.

"Alright, time for some trickery." Cedric thought out loud before releasing his grip on the golem. Abe was surprised by the sudden freedom, turning to face Cedric quickly. There was a flicker in Cedrics eyes, like a projection, "Have a nice trip."

The golem saw itself being thrown clear across the room, spinning wildly. When it came to it saw Cedric, Minori, and its master, seemingly right where they had been, and set off to come to the aid of its master. The problem was Cedric had cast a illusion and projection, mirroring what was actually happening but flipping it on its axis so that by running towards what was seen, Abe was running away from the actual fighting. The scene would constantly move away from him to keep him occupied, but it would only last so long with out a lot of focus from Cedric, focus he wouldn't be able to give it. 

"Alright Alastar, let's brawl." Cedric called to the man, who's attention turned quickly when he heard his name.

"So you know me?" He hissed, "and you still thought this was a good idea?" he shot a fireball at Cedric almost casually, though this one was much more powerful than the others had been. 

Cedric blinked away from the fire with little effort, "Wouldn't be a very good Ramesses agent if I didn't. Wanted on two hundred and thirty seven counts ranging from illegal capture, sale, smuggling, reckless endangerment... Murder. That last one is kind of a big deal."

"I know you too, Cedric Valentine. Billionaire, business man, playboy, not things that strike fear into a man like me don't you think?" Alastar spat, both words and fire. "Soon we can add dead to that list."

Cedric cast constant ice shield until the fire subsided, "Come on now, you left out the best part." he blinked right in front of the man, his fedora was gone though, replaced with a hard black mask that covered down to his nose, with pointed ears on the sides. His suit had turned into a long black cape, with armor underneath, various pointy bits in various places, and a bright yellow belt. He spoke in an overly gravely and deep voice, "I'm batman." as he delivered a mana buffed punch right to the man's throat which caused Alastar to cough violently and reel back. Clearly he had not been expecting that turn of events. 

There was yet another roll of the eyes on Minori's part as the two men exchanged macho banter back and forth, knowing Cedric enjoyed it was all that kept her from reprimanding him like Selena might. After Alastar took that punch to the throat, Minori moved in with her baton out, the metal already charged with electricity. She aimed a swing at the man's head but he quickly ducked, shoving Minori away before she could follow up. 

"You think this is some kind of comic book bullshit?" he snarled, a stream of fire roaring from his hand at Cedric to keep him at bay. "Well you're not the only one with a sidekick tonight!"

"Yeah, but yours is an old ugly guy." Cedric quipped as he blinked around the room while Alastar's fire followed him, "Mine's not." The batman get up disappeared as he said it, returning to his normal suit and hat, if fighting in a suit and hat could be considered normal

Minori could sense the surge of mana Alastar put out to signal his pet, and after having seen Abe and Alastar moved, knew they couldn't afford a tag team match. 

"Cedric... I don't suppose you could take Abe one on one after this, could you?" Minori asked, muttering an incantation under her breath. The length would tip Cedric off as to what she was planning, and also what it would entail. 

As she finished the last word, everything stopped in it's tracks for Minori. Alastar was forming a fireball in his free hand, Abe was starting to double back, and she could see the fatigue hinting in Cedric's face. They couldn't afford to play around much longer. Minori darted in and moved around the frozen Alastar, elbowing him in the back and undoing her spell. 

When Minori suddenly appeared on the other side of Alastar he was sent flying forward towards Cedric, who realzed exactly what she had done and nodded his approval of the plan. He rubbed his ring, muttering a simialr incantation, one of the few spells he had to speak to use, and time slowed. It wasn't the same level of slowdown, as he stepped to the side it created a streaking effect in real time, but Cedric was still physically buffed from his encounter with Abe which helped to increase the perceived speed. He ignited a fire around his hand and through a right hook just below Alastar's center of gravity before releasing the spell.

Reactivating her time stop, Minori began running forward and jumped, landing on top of Cedric's shoulders to get a boost in her height, and came crashing down hard with her baton still in hand, the metal bar catching Alastar in the back of the head and painted the ground in red, liquifying everything in the area of impact. 

Minori ended her spell just as the blood hit the ground, having to take a knee from the strain on her mana. She wasn't used to slowing down time more than once at a time, especially in such rapid succession, but if Alastar was controlling the golem, it should fall over once the connection to its master was severed.

"Glad that's over," Minori said between heavy breaths, winded from the effort. Cedric looked up at her from the ground, where he had tumbled after Minori's use of him as a stepping stool. Luckily the physical buffs had kept any real damage from occurring, but his reaction was starting to kick into high gear. "Oh yeah, thanks for that." He smiled as he rose.

"I guess we should load up honest Abe, might be an interesting speci-" Turning to where the golem had been approaching them Cedric trailed off. It wasn't there. "Uhm. There's supposed to be a body on the ground over there too correct?"

"There should, yes. Curious thing, isn't it?" Minori replied, still panting. 

Cedric put both hands on his knees, his head and muscles aching, partially from the fight and partially from his reaction. When he closed his eyes he could see dark spots staring back at him, so he kept them open. "How the hell," he took a breath, "does a golem just walk off after the controllers head has been painted on the floor?"

Stumbling over to where Abe should have been lying on the ground Cedric found his way to the smashed SUV. The back door had been ripped off, and a number of heavy duty cases were open on the floor. "This looks like a gun case." he mused.
Suddenly there was a shake, a quick low tremor. They could feel it in the ground. Another, then another, closer and closer. Cedric got a knot in the pit of his stomach, but it wasn't from his mana reaction, it was an instinctual feeling, something that came with having fought so many powerful animals over the years. 

"I got a bad feeling about this." Cedric sighed.

Suddenly there was a crash and a roar. The roll down door of the warehouse tore up and in as something massive pushed at it. In a moment it was hanging awkwardly from one end, mangled and twisted. Staring down at them was a massive set of teeth, attached to a massive head, attached to a massive Tyrannosaurus Rex. On it's back was a carbon copy of Abraham Lincoln, with an M16 in one hand and a chainsaw in the other.

Selena stood in front of a mirror, wearing nothing but her underclothes. It was the morning of her eighteenth birthday, and she frowned at what she saw.

"Ugly."

"You have no friends."

"People like you for your money."

She posed herself differently in the mirror, trying to find an angle in which she found herself pretty while cruel words echoed in her imagination. No matter the angle, Selena found herself consistently disappointing. She was envious of many of the girls with which she went to school, and although she was among the most popular of people at her school, she often felt like an outsider.

"Miss Stone, may I enter?" The voice belonged to Katelyn, one of the Stone family's hired help and Selena's personal maid. She was only a year older than Selena herself.

"I...Yes. Come in Kate."

The girl came in, closed the door behind her, and averted her eyes out of politeness.

"Kate, am I pretty?" Selena asked the older girl with more than a hint of nervousness in her tone. Although Kate was employed by her parents, Selena was close friends with her and would often spend time with her while she was not working.

"Of course you are, Miss Stone. You're one of the most beautiful girls I know." Kate kept her professionalism while she worked, and still kept her gaze averted politely.

"Kate stop. You can call me Sel when my parents aren't around, and I don't want the opinion of my maid, I want the opinion of my friend." She stepped away from the mirror and made an exasperated motion with her hands. "And damnit, look at me. You've seen me undressed before, it's alright!"

Kate sighed. "Sel, yes, you're gorgeous, how often do I need to tell you?" She made sure to lock eyes with Selena to let her know she was being serious, and handed her a selection of outfits Selena had approved the night before.

"Ugh I wish I looked like you. You make looking flawless look easy. And not to mention your boobs are bigger." Selena's sly smile hid a hint of playful jealousy, but not well, and she cupped her own breasts together to make them appear larger.

Kate laughed despite herself, and playfully tapped Selena's arm. "What can I say boss, some of us are just born perfect!"

---

Selena now stood in front of her mirror, examining her torso. Symbols branded into her flesh, from her wrists to her shoulders and down her chest to her navel, a pattern of disturbing, non-euclidean shapes and eldritch runes woven across her upper body like a spider's web. Like the symbol branded into her palm, each of these new runes pulsed with an unseen power. Despite the damage she had inflicted upon herself the night before, she had never felt more magically empowered. While her bones ached, and her skin burned, and a migraine pounded within her skull, she smiled at the artwork she had carved and burned into the canvas that was her flesh.

"Ma'am, may I enter?" Selena knew Dorian had reached the door even before he had spoken, despite not probing for him using magic. Had her natural senses increased?

"Yes." At her command, Dorian entered the room, and averted his eyes. Selena hadn't bother to cover, but she didn't seem to care.

"Look at them Dorian! Nothing in all of my research says anything about any of these symbols, save the one on my palm, naturally. Even that one has no history besides being present during my family's murder."

"They are certainly unique, ma'am." Dorian didn't look up, but rather continued to stare at his hands.

"Unique is an understatement. None of these symbols appear anywhere. Ever. And yet their composition is too precise to be random. The evoke something beyond this world. How did I know how to carve them?" Dorian cringed at the mention of carving flesh. Despite being former special forces, he didn't like to imagine gruesome violence, especially when it concerned his employer. Selena turned to face and stepped towards him.

"Forgive me ma'am, but you say you cut these symbols into your skin and then cauterized them, without knowing anything about them? Is that very wise?

"Dorian, I appreciate your concern, but it is unwarranted. I needed to do this." Selena began to dress as she spoke, somewhat easing Dorian's awkwardness. The pair of them stood in the master bedroom of Selena's apartment in downtown Sanctum City, which they had arrived at several hours earlier. It was still morning, although noon would be upon them sooner or later, and Selena wished to be out before then. "Now, to business. I trust you have already begun the repair process for the estate?" He nodded, allowing her to continue. "Good. Now I need you to contact Cedric. I have business to attend to regarding the gatewatchers and I trust only him to assist." Dorian gave a playful glance towards Selena, indicating that her niceness towards Cedric was out of character. She quickly amended that. "Unfortunately."

With that, Dorian took his leave. Selena finished dressing herself, choosing a long sleeved, black trench coat and black gloves to ensure her new markings were all covered. It was a little much, but it served it's purpose and was still technically fashionable. When she was satisfied, she found her own phone and dialed a number she had memorized. A voice answered after precisely one ring.

"I was worried you might not call me back. I trust you solved your problem yesterday?" Loki's voice on the other end of the phone was somehow crisp and oily. He was the only Councillor that Selena trusted, and she was one of the few that he trusted.

"I learned a few interesting things, concerning the terrorists who bombed HQ as well as your suspected leak. I will forward the relevant information. Also, I'm now free to pursue your other target. The red mana user, Zane. Did you want me to kill him, or interrogate him first?"

"Look at you, so eager to commit violence. No. For now, just watch him. Artemis thinks he could be a valuable ally. I disagree. Just stay close and be ready to take him out when I give the order."

"Fine. As long as I don't have to be his friend."

"I'd never make you stoop so low! And another thing, Artemis thinks she can keep secrets from me. Secrets like Project Icarus. Going through a Gateway is foolish, but she's going to do it with or without council approval. I need you to be my eyes and ears when she does, so get on the team. She's going to ask Cedric to join her, so speak to him."

"Through a gateway?"

"Yes. I imagine you in particular find the prospect fascinating. Imagine what...or who you'll run into. Might find time for some long overdue vengeance?"

"I'll get on the team."

"I knew you'd say yes! Alright, that's it, you're free to go. Don't kill too many people mole hunting! Oh, and one last thing, Maric Boone is in town. You've been warned." With that, Loki terminated the call. Selena sighed. Boone had a reputation. Thankfully, so did she. She wondered if his flirtatiousness was strong enough to tempt him to dare her wrath?

Cedric stared up at the massive jaws above him as the t-rex sniffed the air, deep rumble emanating from it's throat. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, he could feel the aggression from the animal in the air. His muscles ached, his head ached, and he knew Minori was running low on energy as well after multiple time stops.

"Oh, yeah. Sure, you couldn't show up a couple of hours ago and make it easy." He breathed heavily before blinking to the side as the creature tried to snap off his upper half. "Minori! Research time!" He appeared next to her and stuffed his bag into her arms, "Datalogger in the bag, tracker in the car!" He explained quickly as he pulled a small tracking dart out of the strap of the back and twisted it to on. "Never thought I'd be using one of these on myself." he muttered and turned back to their foe.

"Alright you big ole iguana, fetch." He shot a fireball at the rex's face before breaking out into a sprint across the warehouse. It didn't take a look back to know that it was a good thing he still had a speed buff on, the rex was having no trouble keeping up with him. He ran as fast as he could towards the opposite wall, towards the same small door that Alastar had been attempting to exit. Turning his shoulder forward he lowered so he would hit the panic bar rather than blinking through it or simply smashing it open. He had a feeling he was going to need to conserve as much energy as possible. The T-rex wasn't prone to such worries though, it simply smashed into the warehouse wall full force.

Minori merely blinked a few times as Cedric spoke, fatigue slowing her reaction time and making her feel sluggish. She accepted Cedric's gizmos as he got the monstrous duo's attention before sprinting off. The T-rex roared and gave chase, Abe clearing the way for the beast's charge. The ground shook as half the warehouse got blown away by the golem's magic and the dino's strength, all the while Minori stood in stunned silence and watched, the only noise she produced being her own desperate draws of breath. Stopping time was a powerful spell, and one she used when alternative means would not get the job done. If she had known that Alastar's death would not have taken his golem with him, she would have saved her strength. As it stood now, she'd need either a power nap to get back into the fight, or she'd have to think of a way to bring their opponents back down to their level. 

Seperating them might be a good start. 

She made a dash for the car, flinging the door open and leaping inside as quickly as she could, thankful that Cedric had left his keys in the cup holder rather than keeping them in his pocket like a normal person. 

For a moment Cedric thought the building might contain the creature, but as he risked a glance back he saw that Abe had super heated the metal and as the creature smashed into it glowing slag exploded into the street, more that a few pieces nearly landing on Cedric as he dodged them hastily. "Holy shit, that's a lot of mana energy. How big of a battery does this guy have?" he thought out loud as he hurried down the street. "Alright Minori, heading north, ask the car to show tracking and the GPS will pop up on a HUD on the windshield. Then kindly come rescue me!"

Pausing for a moment in incredulity, Minori looked about the car before clearing her throat. 

"Show tracking?" she asked timidly, jumping slightly in her seat when a miniature GPS map popped up in the lower left hand side of the windshield. 

"Fucking rich kids..." she muttered, igniting the engine and slamming her foot down on the gas pedal, traffic laws be damned. 

The car guided her true, and before long she was only a half mile behind the chase going on between Cedric and the T-rex. Cedric was trying to keep from getting too close to residential areas, opting for the commercial district instead. 

Cedric cast a few spells back at the T-rex as he ran in an attempt to keep the massive creature from gaining too much ground on him. More of his focus was on removing obstacles ahead of them though. He had to telekinetically move a number of cars aside as he ran, awestruck drivers left in shock as the scene passed them by.

"You know, we could probably label this as a movie promotion. Lincoln has already been a vampire hunter..." Minori mused as she put on cruise control, humming to herself as she formed a bar of ice between the door and latched it to the steering wheel to keep it steady as she leaned out of the now open window. 

The data logger was an artifact, similar in make to the shackles Cedric had previously owned, looking like a monocle but was infused with mana. As Minori put it to her eye, she could see mana trails, as well as concentratons therein. Lincoln was white hot, filled with Alastar's black mana, but with other objects inside the mannequin that seemed to generate the stuff. For all the spells he'd been using, he didn't seem wanting for energy. One thing had her curious, however. 

"Cedric... there's a huge concentration of mana in the back of Abe's head, but it seems separate from his energy source. I think it's important. You doing okay up there?" Minori asked, smirking to herself as she leaned back in to the driver's seat and snapped her fingers to evaporate the ice that had held the wheel during that straightaway. Thankfully, Cedric and the dino were very efficient at clearing any traffic. 

"Oh, just dandy, morning jog!" his voice was clearly strained from the effort. He was having to start rebuffing his stamina and speed, as well as keep up a kinetic barrier behind him to ward off the rounds Lincoln was firing at him. It all added up to start straining his reaction, the longer this kept up the less he would be able to do when it was time to turn and fight. "Any minute now would be great!"

"So... does this thing have an autopilot?" Minori asked, a feminine voice interrupting whatever response Cedric might have given. 'Autopilot engaged," The car said, causing Minori to grumble about the wealthy once more. The car corrected itself to the center of the lane, still following the tracker as Cedric turned a corner. Soon they would be in downtown. 

Leaning back out of the driver's side window again, Minori took a deep breath before focusing her mana and freezing a patch of the road in front of the T-rex. It would either trip the beast or get it's attention on Minori, who had a very fast car with which to flee should she be chased. 

The ice sprung up at Cedric's heels. He didn't bother to slow down or turn until he heard the crash, at which point he blinked into a side alley. The wall had been enough to break the beasts focus on Cedric, and it turned wildly as it regained it's composure and tried to find it's footing. Lincoln still firmly attached up top was firing rounds in various directions, knowing Cedric was around some corner but unsure which one. The animal found it's new target, it was like it could sense that Minori had cast the ice spell, it wheeled around finally and let out a loud challenge at the black car coming towards it.

Watching the T-rex fall was definitely a sight to behold, stopping the car and watching as the beast fell onto it's side and slid several feet, before snarling and rolling to it's knees, using it's massive snout to hoist it's weight back to it's feet again. The way it's head swirled around to glare at Minori implied intelligence she didn't believe the creature could reasonably possess, but as it roared it's challenge directly at Minori, she realized the beast didn't give two shits about what it could and could not do. The autopilot disengaged as she slammed onto the brakes to come to a stop, not wanting to get within biting range just yet. 

Sensing Cedric was probably up to something, Minori began honking the horn and turning the headlights on and off to keep the dino good and focused on her, ready to test how good the warranty on this car was as soon as it charged. 

"Hope this thing is still running on natural instinct." Cedric leaned against the wall of the alley, his head throbbing, muscles starting to feel like they were tearing. His eyes began to flash as he reached out with his mind to try and find the rex, it would be much easier if he could at least connect with the creature using his ability rather than mana alone. Eventually he found the mind, a ball of rage and instincts, he could tell right away that he wasn't going to be able to directly control it, either because it wasn't actually from a gateway, or because whatever Lincoln was using to guide the thing was blocking him out. "Have to rely on instincts then."

He started to project a scene around the animal, the city faded away, over run by nature in moments. The buildings gave way to dense stands of trees and massive rock formations. All around other creatures suddenly appeared, all issuing challenges to the T-rex. This caused the animals previously single minded rage to become divided, confirming Cedrics suspicion that Lincoln had merely been pointing the animals rage. "Alright Min, this should keep rex distracted, but it's still dangerous, and we still have to get Lincoln off." as he said this the corner of the building he was hiding behind exploded above him. Lincoln had switched to magically enhanced bullets, he had turned his rifle into a miniature howitzer for all intents and purposes. "Shit these guys were well prepared."

Cedric's words came through at about the same time the T-rex started jerking it's head to the right and the left, as if seeing more threats. It took a few steps back and let out another roar before charging forward to take a massive bite into a billboard, sinking it's teeth in and delivering a massive kick to the two story building it was perched on. Even without seeing the illusion, Minori could tell what the T-rex was seeing but her crytpozoology lesson was put off when she saw Lincoln starting to take aim at the car. 

"We're not exactly flush with long range firepower. Abe has been shrugging everything off, right?" Minori asked, studying the symbiotic pair as she slammed the car into Reverse and got out of the way of the burst of fire Abe sent her way. Fotunately, the T-rex bucked to the right towards another imaginary foe as Abe readjusted his aim, ruining his shot. 

Minori took a deep breath, summoning as much mana as she dared before leaning out the window and thrust her hand at the dino, causing ice to form on the ground in front of the T-rex again, resulting in it slipping and slamming down hard onto it's side, this time in the intersection. Minori hadn't even so much as cast the spell before she slammed her foot onto the accelerator and made a beeline for the monster, swerving to aim for Abe as soon as the dino became parallel with the ground. Abe barely had time to react before the edge of the car's bumper caught him in the side, throwing him from the beast's back and skipping him across the pavement. The impact was enough force to deploy the airbags, hitting Minori in the face hard enough to knock her out briefly, ensuring the car rolled to a gentle stop in the middle of the intersection as the T-rex once again started to get on it's feet. 

Cedric winced as he watched the scene unfold, the second car in as many days to be damaged. "At least that's fixable." He sighed. Despite what amounted to a minor loss, the gambit had worked. Abe was sprawled on the floor across the street and the T-Rex was rising to it's feet. Cedric reached out with his mind and found the creature had drastically calmed in comparison to when Abe was atop it. As much as he hated it, he tried to nudge the animal away as he removed a number of the illusions he was conjuring, except for a few smaller ones that would seem to wander off. Abe was more of a problem right now than the T-Rex was.

The nudging and leading on seemed to work as the animal began to lumber off, though it did cast a glance back towards Cedric, it's huge head turning intentionally towards him. It didn't give Cedric the most pleasant of feelings, something about the way the animal looked at him, but regardless it seemed like they had finally managed to get down to one foe. Two drained mana users against a golum with a mana charge that seemed to be the equivalent of a small nuclear power plant.

He made his way to the car, attempting to ignore the damage to the front end from where it had impacted Abe. "No telling what this thing will do with out a direct controller, we can't even count on it to run out of power." Minori was slouched forward and practically cocooned in airbags, he opened the door and cut the side airbag away with a knife he retrieved from his jacket. "Nice work getting him off the Rex though." He tried to smile, but his face betrayed just how tired he was from trying to stave off the mana reaction, and just how dire he thought their situation was becoming.

The world was hazy right after the airbags deployed. She was concussed from the impact, drowsy and sluggish, but the healing spell she'd started prior to impact had kept anything permanent happening to her brain. She couldn't afford to be out of the game. Not with Abe still running around and Cedric already pushing himself too hard. 

She was thankful for Cedric speaking, giving her mind something to focus on as her consciousness clawed its way from the foggy corners of her mind. She nearly let out a laugh as Cedric called her reckless move 'nice work' but swallowed the sentiment. She needed to focus on getting out of the car. 

"You've got triple A, right?" She quipped, though her tone was still slow, focusing on each word as she shifted to the left to exit the vehicle. Her mind was screaming for her to hurry, not knowing how long until Abe would be back on his feet. 

"It's last command was to kill us, and it will follow that command so long as it has power. Just... now it can't be told how to go about it so it's going to get creative," Minori added, nearly falling out of the car as she slid out, standing and putting an elbow on the top of the car to steady herself until the world stopped shaking. One last ounce of magic went into a healing spell to clear her mind, but she was nearly running on fumes. 

"We need to buy time until one of us gets some mana back to hit this thing. Or call for back-up. I am perfectly fine with tagging someone else in. Maybe Selena would come running if you called," Minori suggested, grinning slightly as she looked at Cedric, hoping the joke would keep his mind from going to darker places. 

"We can also steal someone else's car and just keep hitting it till it stops moving..."

Cedric looked toward the golum, already rising to its feet, "Some how I don't think that's going to work." he helped pull Minori up from the car, "Let's get a head start."

Setting off down the nearest alley, he was hoping at this point that they could keep moving long enough to regain at least some mana, enough to hold up until someone could come and bail them out, he reached up and hit the button on his com that would open a channel to the main gatewatchers network, "This is Cedric Valentine, requesting emergency backup, west bound off of Blanton and, shit..." he couldn't recall the last cross street they had been at, "35th I think." He risked a glance back to see Abe entering the alley, "Fucker." his attempt to detail the situation was derailed by the sound of rifle fire and mana infused rounds ripping past his head. "I'm gonna shove that damn rifle up his-" a round exploded next to Cedric, throwing him hard against the opposite wall, which he was surprised to feel give way.

As he regained his bearings he realized the wall had been a door. He was in a dark hallway that looked like it was part of a receiving warehouse or something similar, he cursed not having paid more attention to where he was. His vision blurred and his ears rang loudly as he stood, giving himself a severe case of vertigo. As he got hold of his senses he noticed the sign next to the door that read 'stage hands only! no loading this door!' He pressed the open com button again, "Ford Redux Theater! Make it snappy or send a hearse." releasing the button he started trying to figure out an endgame. "You go that way!" He motioned for Minori to head down one end of the corridor, "Keep going until you circle around to the front. I'll try to lead him around the other way. Maybe you can get enough mana built up to catch him off guard."

He didn't wait long for a reply as he moved back into the other side of the hall. The shots had stopped in the alley. It wasn't until he heard the familiar growl of a chainsaw motor spoiling up that Cedric knew just how close Lincoln was. He couldn't help but wonder why this was turning into a campy horror flick. "Is that how I'm supposed to die, B movie in real life?" He muttered as the silhouette entered the hallway. It turned away from him, towards Minori. Cedric summoned up a decent spell and shot a blast of dark energy at the back of Lincolns head, but the golum turned with that inhuman speed, catching the blast square in the face. 

When the spell cleared Cedric was already running, breathing heavily, down the corridor.

The reprieve from the golem's onslaught gave the researcher very mixed emotions as she hesitated, looking back over her shoulder as Lincoln began to double back. She'd never seen the ring Cedric wore under such strain, and though she wasn't authorized, she'd thumbed through some of his medical records. Idle curiosity during some downtime in her lab, wanting to learn more about the agent who was usually tasked with acquiring new specimens for her. His reaction to his own mana would have begun kicking in a while ago. Now Cedric was essentially taking this thing on solo in the hopes that maybe Minori could finish it off. 

Minori was more worried she'd watch a co-worker die.

She ran down the corridor Cedric had shoved her towards, keeping her head down and trying to ignore the sound of the revving engine as she stuck to the plan. Kill it, or keep it occupied till back-up arrived. Coming to the end of the hallway, the only options she found were an emergency exit and stairs leading up to the balcony sitting. She would be lying if the exit hadn't looked tempting, but she shook the thoughts from her head and began a hard run up the steps. She could still save Cedric if she hurried. 

"Mother fucker!" Cedric grabbed a chair and threw it at the saw blade as it came down, knocking it off it's path and avoiding a nasty hole in the head, but he was unable to counter the blast from a rouge rifle round. The force sent him flying backwards like a rag doll, smashing through a set of double doors and out onto the main stage of the theater. Lincoln strode confidently onto the stage.

“War at it's best, is terrible, and this war of ours, in it's magnatude and in its duration, is one of the most terrible.” Abe quipped, the first words he's said in a long time, before his face resumed its stoic expression and he brought the rifle to bare

Cedric rolled wildly as Lincoln fired another round at him, blowing a hole in the stage where his prey had been. Sweat was pouring from Cedrics brow now, he had been using mana in chunks just to stay ahead of the golum, he was well beyond what he usually considered safe operating with his reaction. His ring was casting a dark halo out around him, it made the darkest parts of the room look bright. His muscles felt like they were going to tear off his bones, the nerves in his back were firing constantly, shooting pains to any and every ligament at random intervals. He had already been fighting voices in his head, fighting to keep his vision. It felt like his entire body was trying to tear itself apart and beat itself to death with the pieces, it felt like Selena's wild magic healing. He wished he was dead.

At this point it was a burning hatred of this thing, this lifeless golum standing over him, that kept him going. That and a vain hope that at least Minori would be able to get out of this alive. Next to him was a peice of steal, from some project going on at the theater no doubt, what ever the case he reached a shakey hand out and grabbed it, using it to help himself stand slowly. "Alright, warmup time is over you son of a bitch." He spat the sarcastic jab, knowing it meant nothing, but he poured mana into the bar anyway, buffing its strength in much the same way he would himself, but also heating it until it seemed to glow with a dark reflection, giving off a glow that was eerily similar to Cedrics ring.

He raised the bar and slammed it against the side of the oncoming saw blade, dodging to the side to avoid the chain as it swung wildly. The sudden return of strength caught Lincoln off guard for just a moment, long enough for Cedric to wind up and deliver a massive blow to the arm holding the rifle. At the moment of contact Cedric felt as if time was moving slowly, not because of mana, but because his thoughts were racing. What if he wasn't strong enough? What if this glanced off like so many other attacks seem to have done? There's no plan b.

He heard the bone crack, the hand clenched, a round fired right at Cedrics feet, the explosion launched him away, tearing through skin and muscle and bone. He slammed into the stage floor, his head smashing against the wood hard. He thought for a moment the chances of finding himself in this kind of predicament twice in as many days, but he watched the rifle fall to the ground, at least that worked.

Lincoln's face was expressionless as he looked down at his rifle, chainsaw idly yet ominously rumbling in his good hand. The golem would have smirked if its face was capable, looking back to Cedric as it raised it's chainsaw up and revved the motor. 

"The ballot is stronger than the bullet," it said, preparing to bring the weapon down into Cedric's back, but the faint sensation of a shoe hitting the back of his head made the golem freeze in place, head swirling around to glare at the woman standing in the balcony. 

"What kills a skunk is its own publicity!" The golem said, tone conveying a hint of annoyance as it relaxed its grip on the chainsaw, turning and crouching before leaping into the air, landing with a heavy thud in the balcony.

"I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end," it said as it began to raise its arms, hesitating only slightly as Minori mirrored the action, quickly thrusting her arms up and shouted. 

"As temperature approaches absolute zero, the entropy of a system approaches a constant minimum!" 

the water vapor in the air around them spontaneously froze, first covering Lincoln in a layer of frost, but as Minori kept pushing, the ice built up rapidly until everything below the golem's neck was contained in a block of ice three feet thick. The chainsaw was worthless, and not even Lincoln's strength could budge from his confines without momentum or inertia.

Now!... Cedric!..." Minori shouted, the last ounce of her strength having gone into that attack. Without any energy left to keep her going, and her body crying for rest, the woman collapsed where she stood, falling on her back as the consciousness left her body. Lincoln was unable to move, his neck angled back just enough for the back of his head to be an excellent target from the main stage. 

Cedric could hear voices, see shapes, but he couldn't understand them, and he couldn't distinguish between real and imagined. 

There was a man, darkness, smiling. Cedric knew this man, this thing, was causing all of his pain, all of his agony. The man stared at him, crumpled on the floor, helpless. ".ʞɒɘW .mυloϱ ɒ lliʞ nɘvɘ Ɉ'nɒƆ"
the voice dripped with disgust and disdain. ".ʞɒɘW".υoγ loɿɈnoɔ I ʕɘm loɿɈnoɔ blυoɔ υoγ ɈʜϱυoʜɈ υoY"

There was a rage in the pit of Cedrics stomach, he would find this man. He would kill this man. But first he had to live.

Reality reformed through a haze of blood and vomit. He could see Lincoln, frozen solid in the balcony, Minori falling backwards on the balcony. He summoned all the hate and anger and fear and rage in his being and forced his muscles to move. The pain was excruciating, he could feel the bones in his leg moving in places they shouldn't, he could hear something hard scraping against the wooden stage. But he pushed through.

Abe was already beginning to heat himself in an attempt to thaw the ice, Cedric knew he wouldn't have much time once the golum started ramping up the heat, if it got free it was game over. He crawled towards the rifle, just a few more feet.

Heat was building up rapidly around Lincolns body, creating a layer of pressurized water against the ice. Still restraining movement, but showing progress.

Cedrics hand wrapped around the grip of the rifle, rolling over in a effort of sheer will, he lifted the weapon off the ground. Black spots swam in his vision as he looked down the sights. "Sic semper tyrannis you son of a bitch." his finger squeezed slowly.

In his state the concussion from the shot was enough to knock Cedric unconscious, so no one saw the bullet enter the back of the golums head where it shattered the artifact that had been providing a state of autonomous life. Without the hexes and spells to hold everything together the mana powering the construct began to dissipate quickly. The ice reformed around its body as it was no longer able to maintain the heat spell.

The theater fell eerily silent. 

As Zane left his own home, and brought out his Magi-Skates. As he was zooming along, he considered a few things. Some of them included the upcoming battle. Rose was going to come for him, he knew that much. Her reactions confirmed it. Which meant he would need to be ready. So the first thing he did was go to Alleytown, passing through various streets, people shouting about...hold on, Abe Lincoln and T-Rexes?

He walked into a theater just to confirm, and saw Minori, Cedric, and what appeared to be an Abe Lincoln Golem being shattered. He just sort of stared for a moment, blinking, before shrugging. "You know what? Just no! Just no! It is too early in the morning to deal with this! I am going off to Alleytown to do my own thing!"

As he walked off, he took a back alley, and after turning, came face to face with the T-Rex. The mana the thing had was enourmous. And it seemed to be....synchronizing with this world. Not only was it not from a Gateway, it was adjusting to their world biologically. That, or he just imagined T-Rexes were bigger. Even if he was synchronizing, this was probably the case, since this was the first T-Rex Zane ever found. Still...he wasn't sure what to do about this.

"Now listen, Mr. T-Rex, we don't have to fight, okay?"

The T-Rex just yawned, and walked off. Zane blinked. "Maybe it was so tired it didn't think I was real? That, or maybe its just been seeing a lot of strange stuff today. I feel like I should report this in...but, I think all my gear doesn't have GPS for a reason...and..." He looked around, and it was like it turned invisible. "...yeah, that's going to make it tough to track down..."

Zane had learned everything the man gave him had its locators, both magical and technical, disabled. Which he approved of. Still, as he continued walking, he noticed several well disguised Gatewatcher Vehicles going into the building that Cedric and Minori was in. As he entered Alleytown, news was already bustling.

"Extra Extra Read all about it! Playboy and Researcher Gatewatchers go up against Abe Lincoln riding a T-Rex! Some reports indicate Abe Lincoln was wielding a chainsaw and an automated mana infused weapon! Rumor has it the playboy likes to play dressup as Batman as well!" a newsboy shouted as Newspapers flew into the hands of anyone who reached out to get one. He had to focus on what was important though, getting items ready for battle. The first thing he needed was some Mana-Infused Shielding Mechanisms. Once he got those, he picked up some Boosters, items that are used to enhance one's mana supply in battle.

"I cant count on everyone being there this time. It is do or die. At least I know her secret now" Zane said with a smile. Yes, her secret of how she totally outmatched them all. She was far too cunning for his liking though. She might have more tricks up her sleeves. To think though, every action she made was so they would all play into her hands.

After he was done getting everything he would need to tip the scales in his favor, now he needed a place to battle her in. Someplace where she couldn't sense the mana everywhere. Somewhere like....that's it!

About two years ago, a freak event happened at Orion Station. Three Gateways opened there at the same time, and caused a bunch of panic. Three subway cars were sucked into a Gateway and never seen again. The Subway was still abandoned since then, believed to be haunted, and coated with enough mana to make everyones mana senses skewed. It was the perfect place to set traps for her.

He only had a few hours left, so he decided to get all of his business in order, including to contact a certain someone about his plan.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The medical teams treated Cedric and Minori. A few people, who waited for them to become conscious, approached them. As the group of Gatewatchers approached Cedric and Minori, one of them was the Director of Science and Research Division, Bolan Vale, and the Director of Resources Management, Billy Gonzalez. Why one of them was here was strange, but them both being here?

Bolan Vale walked up to Minori. "Sorry if my arrival is a surprise, our surveillance system reported you and Cedric were fighting some sort of strange and unique golem capable of independent thought, and I just had to rush down here to see for myself".

"Fat chance, you just wanted it for yourself" Gonzalez told him. Well, I think resource management should get him. Imagine what we could do if we adapted the design of this golem into our own security forces! As I am sure Cedric can appreciate, we need better security, as made clear by the latest incident, and I cant wait for Research to run its five million tests it will want to do before we get a crack at it!"

"Its going to science!"

"Resource Management!"

This did not look like it would go well. But it was strange both sides would fight for something like this with such strength, especially resource management.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Maric watched the red haired boy leave. And it unnerved him, what he felt inside the boy. A different mana signature. But what made it extra strange....is that he also had several objects, such as his glasses, with a completely different mana signature as well.

"Just....who is this kid?"

Maric was not one hundred percent certain, but he was fairly certain....that Zane was not human.

*Pop*

Nothing but an empty building.

*pop*

Another empty building, although this one was filled with more boxes than the last.

*pop*

"COO!"

"Aaah!" Nathan flinched with a yelp of surprise as a flock of startled pigeons flew towards his face. Flailing a bit, Nathan hurriedly brought up an arm to cover his head as the pigeons flew past his face with a lot of cooing, disturbed from their resting place by a boy who had suddenly appeared right in the middle of them. Cringing, Nathan turned around to face the rapidly receding flock, giving a wave to them sheepishly. "Sorry..!"

Heart settling from the shock, Nathan turned to look through the window to see if the person who'd sent the distress call was there. He'd been teleporting from place to place ever since he'd heard the roar, curious to find out what it was. It hadn't occurred to him that it could have been dangerous and way out of his league to handle - Nathan was too busy trying to find out what had made such a noise in the first place. Having created a map of the area inside his mind, Nathan had quickly made segments of each area and teleported to them to search, going through sector by sector methodically until he reached the one that contained whatever made the roar, ugency enhanced by the call someone had placed through the coms. It was something he'd never heard before - it was too primal to be a gorilla, too low and deep to be a bird. What was it?! Maybe he could find out now? Nathan looked through the window, hope rising inside his chest as he did so.

Nothing but boxes to be seen.

Nathan's heart dropped. ... ok, not here. But maybe the next one! Rallying himself together, Nathan teleported to the next place with another *pop*.

Moments later, a pigeon flying in midair disappeared with a sqwuak and a fluff of feathers as something invisible chomped on it.

-----------------

Another building, a theatre this time. Glad that there were no pigeons this time, Nathan peered through the window... only to see people inside. Squinting, he looked down to see two people who... well, Nathan wasn't really sure since he couldn't see them properly, but they seemed like the people he had met yesterday? They were beside a shattered golem. Looking down to the ground, Nathan blinked in surprise as he noticed a kid with red hair look inside... and shrug to himself and leave.

What?! Nathan blinked and rubbed at his eyes, just to make sure that he wasn't seeing things wrong. No, the kid was definitely leaving instead of helping the people inside. His jaw dropped a little as a mixture of emotions ran through him, shock being the most prevalent. Why?! Why's he doing something like that? Doesn't he care that people might be injured?! Or is he someone behind the attack - wow, if he is that's actually pretty impressive because he's like my age and they're like adults - wait, nows not the time for this! Wh-What if they're dead or something?! Or just badly injured? I've gotta go down and help them!

Nathan made to teleport down to the ground, only to stop himself at the last second. If the redhead was the one who'd attacked the two unconscious people, then wouldn't it be better to wait until he left? If he could take down two Gatewatchers than he'd probably be able to take Nathan out without much trouble too! Looking around from his perch on top of the warehouse, Nathan looked around, hoping against hope that he'd find assistance.

Much to his surprise, he found some.

There were some people approaching the place he was on, although they were a few buildings away. Another group from the opposite direction, too! They must have gotten the message on the coms! Thinking quickly, Nathan glanced back to the ground - the boy was gone! Where'd he go? - and came to a decision.

He teleported to the group on the right first. They were the ones closest to the theatre, and could provide professional help faster than he could. Upon closer look Nathan noticed that they were medical squad, accompanied by someone who was probably their leader. Appearing a few meters in front of them, Nathan ignored the shocked looks on their faces and squeezed out, almost too fast to make out "The theatre, two people injured and unconscious - one man with his leg shattered and another lady unconscious and someone that looks like Abraham Lincoln shattered -"

"Wait, slow down! One man and one lady unconscious and injured in the theatre?" The person who seemed to be leader of the medical squad asked, as if trying to make sense of what Nathan was saying. "And a shattered Abraham Lincoln?" She raised an eyebrow at Nathan, who nodded frantically. "You were there at the scene? Is anyone still there? Did you see anybody?"

"N-No, nobody was there - just the two. Minori and a man." Nathan didn't think of telling them about the redheaded boy, that could wait until later. He'd left the scene too, so it wasn't really important right? "They're in a bad way! But there's another group heading your way, they looked like medical personnel too. Should I inform them about this too?"

"Hmm. Sir?" The leader looked at the person on the right, A man of science. Belatedly, Nathan realised that it was Bolin Vale, head of the science division. What was he doing here?

"... We should go on first. Now that we know there are no hostiles, we can move without hesitation of being attacked. We're likely to reach there by the time the others get there, anyway, and they're of no help to us dead. You, boy." Nathan yelped as Director Vale turned to face him, spine going straight as an arrow. Ignoring the jitters Nathan showed, Vale asked, "You go and inform the others while we head there. Understood?"

"Y-Yes!" Nathan nodded. Wheeling around, he took a couple of steps as if to run before disappearing from sight with a pop.

---------------------

The other side was manned by Billy Gonzalez, as it turned out. Things turned out much the same - ask what's going on, find out that there was a director in charge, head to the theatre without further ado. The only thing changed was that Director Gonzalez muttered a few somethings under his breath that Nathan couldn't quite make out (and wasn't sure he wanted to make out, judging the irritated expression on his face) and ordered his team to move faster. Then he asked if Nathan could teleport them to the site, seeing as he knew where it was and had proven his ability to teleport.

Nathan nodded, feeling embarrassed that he hadn't thought of doing so before. Ugh, he was such an idiot! Within seconds everyone in Director Gonzalez's squad had teleported to the theatre, reaching it at about the same time as Director Vale's squad.

As the two squads checked up on Minori and Cedric, Nathan wobbled back and took a seat away from all the hubbub, leaning against the wall. What with the last teleport involving multiple people and the single yet multiple teleports before, Nathan was starting to feel the effects of using magic continuously. Exhausted, Nathan took the moment to close his eyes and rest, although he kept a listening ear out, still curious as to what was going on.

He'd completely forgotten about meeting his brother for lunch.

Pain was not something that was foreign to Minori. She felt it, and more often than not she caused it, but today it seemed like pain was the first thing her consciousness could hold onto as the neurons in her brain began firing again. Her body ached and she felt exhausted, but it seemed like as soon as her brain could process the fatigue, it was ebbing away. She instinctively waved her hand, dismissing the healers looming over her without so much as opening her eyes before bringing her hand up to cradle her pounding head. She used too much mana with her body being exhausted, but she wanted to keep the pain. Something for her mind to latch onto and a punishment for being so reckless. She could only guess how Cedric was-

"Cedric!" Minori shouted as she shot up, head darting around as she tried to get her surroundings. She was on the stage now, men and women from the medical teams trying to work on her as well as crowding around a gurney to her left. She didn't need her mana sense to tell who was on it.

"Cedric!" she called again as a healer tried to gently push on Minori's shoulders to urge her to lie back down. The suggestion was rebuked with a glare, Minori churning the mana in her body while daring any of the healers to touch her as she put her feet to the floor and stood. Her sense of balance hadn't come back completely yet, gripping the side of her gurney tightly as she willed herself to stay standing.

"If you're trying to heal anything besides physical injuries you're wasting your time. Cedric is... allergic, for lack of a better term, to his own mana and overuse causes an intense reaction. Can't be healed, just endured. Let the poor bastard breathe!" Minori said, legs still shaking beneath her as she watched the medical team surrounding Cedric thin just enough for her to see him. She focused briefly on his chest and held her own breath until she saw his chest rise and fall, albeit weakly, but he was still alive. Her view was quickly blocked again, her glare now fixed on the two figures as they began to speak.

"Sorry if my arrival is a surprise, our surveillance system reported you and Cedric were fighting some sort of strange and unique golem capable of independent thought, and I just had to rush down here to see for myself".

The first man was Bolan Vale, head of the Science Division and Minori's boss, though the term was used loosely. He paid her, and she sent him reports. So long as she got results, which she did, Bolan was content not to enforce much oversight, though she knew some of her peers reported more than their findings to him. She was neutral about him as a person, but she was content with his division management, she supposed.

"Fat chance, you just wanted it for yourself" Gonzalez told him. Well, I think resource management should get him. Imagine what we could do if we adapted the design of this golem into our own security forces! As I am sure Cedric can appreciate, we need better security, as made clear by the latest incident, and I cant wait for Research to run its five million tests it will want to do before we get a crack at it!"

The second was Billy Gonzalez, ever the pragmatist and opportunist, though Minori could appreciate his work. He was a problem solver, and having to apply practical applications to such a dynamic thing as magic was nothing but problems. It was his job to make sure Gatewatchers stayed one step ahead of people like Alastair, which Alleytown certainly did not help. It held many wonders and miracles, a bastion of magical freedom, but what better place for those that wanted to use magic for malicious ends to conspire? To learn? To trade? She did not envy the man's job by any mean.

"Its going to science!"

"Resource Management!"

Minori snapped her fingers a few times to get the men's attention, knowing they could bicker endlessly if they were left unchecked.

"I can understand the excitement of this prize that has fallen into your laps, but you're bickering like children" Minori started, cradling her head again as the thumping just below her temples picked up its tempo. A concerned young girl attempted to help with a healing spell but Minori dismissed her with a wave of her hand. She was just tired and needed sleep. She didn't like healing magic, especially when it wasn't for emergencies.

"That golem was the product of highly illegal modification including virtual intelligence bordering on artificial intelligence. Now Billy, do you really want drones smart enough to start asking why they are dying in place of something else? Because that golem was responding to verbiage with contextual accuracy and adapting to situations in real time. That was after the host it was linked to and was giving it direction, died. You are an intelligent man, Billy, and I'm sure you know how dangerous putting that sort of thing on an assembly line could be before we understand it, if it gets there at all," Minori said, the strength in her legs returning as she let go of her gurney and stood on her own power.

"Science should get the golem. Downtown couldn't handle one of those things going rogue, and it would be madness to try rushing it to the frontlines," she added, and then shot a glare at Billy, "and don't put words in Cedric's mouth about that thing when he still hasn't woken up from putting it down," she spat, turning towards stage left and began to storm off, hesitating only long enough to register the fact that there was a child sitting by his lonesome off to the side. She leaned against the wall beside of him and slid down, sitting down and leaning her head back against the wall to try and relax her neck.

"You were at headquarters, if I recall. You seem less enthused now, comparatively," Minori said plainly, fatigue still heavy in her voice as her eyes drifted towards Cedric, then to Vale and Gonzalez, eyes narrowing in annoyance. They probably didn't walk up to her for the purpose of her ending their argument, but she'd barely gotten away from the medics before they ambushed her. They could piss off for the moment while she waited to see if her friend was okay.

"Don't tell me you had to fight Alexander Hamilton in a Gundam," she joked, though one could barely tell. Her voice didn't have the strength to coney much emotion at the moment. Looking back towards Nathan, she studied him briefly, scanning his aura and his face. He should be in grade school, worrying about cooties or who to ask to the next dance, not sitting here watching a man get put back together again.

"How long you been a Gatewatcher, kid?"

"Huh? Oh! U-Um, no, I've never had to fight a founding father in a Gundam," Nathan opened his eyes and craned his head to the side, shooting a brief look at the woman from earlier. It seemed as if she'd woken up, cool. She looks tired... Smiling at her, Nathan injected a little more cheer into it, grinning a bit broader. It seemed that they were both tired, but she seemed more exhausted than he was, probably from the fight with the Golem. Worried about her friend too, what happened to him? Nathan could see the medics standing back out of the corner of his eye, giving the unconscious man space.

Well, even if he didn't really feel that cheerful right now, that didn't matter. Smiling tend to help make people feel better, so Nathan could smile for the both of them then! And talking would help distract her too, and everyone kept telling him he talked a lot! He could do that!

"I've only been a Gatewatcher for a few days," He said lightly, if a bit sheepishly. He raised a hand to the back of his neck in a sheepish gesture as he continued to speak, a bit of his normal cheer coming back to his tone. "My whole family is one! I'm so glad I joined - now I can see what its like and join them and know what they're talking about! And I can use my magic for once!" He smiled excitedly at her like a puppy who had just discovered a companion to play with. "A lot of the stuff they said went over my head and I'm not sure where I'm suppose to belong to - I think intelligence maybe? - But I'm suppose to remember where everything is and where everything goes and stuff! Like a curator I guess? Um..." he trailed off, looking up at the ceiling for inspiration.

Nah, Curator meant keeper of a museum or other collection of items, and his job was different from that. Furrowing his brows in thought, Nathan casted his mind around for another word. Caretaker, Guardian, nope that's too actiony and old time - aha! Nathan brightened up as he came upon the word.

"Historian!" Swinging around to face her side, Nathan shot a wide grin at Minori and looking exactly like a kid who was really pleased with himself. "Like a Historian! Although I don't have a beard or anything. People say that I'll be ok since my UA (unique ability) is really helpful with that but everytime I ask them what else I can do they just smile and pat my head and tell me not to worry!" He pouted at Minori, puffing out his cheeks in indignation and crossing his arms. He looked a little like a chipmunk. "That makes no sense! I want to help. And what if I get something wrong? What if I have to fight something too powerful and fail? Although Rowan tells me to deal with that when it comes - but what if?" Tirade done, Nathan leant back against the wall with a huff, partially failing to remember that the conversation was suppose to cheer her up, not talk about himself. "So of course I'll worry!"

Leaning back against the wall, arms crossed and legs sprawled loosely in front of him, Nathan looked his age - a kid, not a new agent in the ranks. He also looked a bit cross, but there was worry in the furrow of his brows and curiosity in his eyes, glancing at Cedric and the rest of the directors as if he wanted to know what was going on.