MISSION: burn your kingdom down

[Nihilo]

ALICE

Firewalls were exactly what Alice hoped he would do. She was prepared for it. The copy of her that was tracing this hack with a power surge was stymied and started working on breaking through.

At least, one of her was.

One last final split, one last instance, stealthily done. If this hacker and whoever was out there were going to use a chess fork to attack Aegis, she was going to use a technique called a pin. A piece played in such a way to ensure an opponent’s piece couldn’t move, or risk capture of itself or a more valuable piece.

Either way a piece was being captured. Either way, Alice was getting through. Either this new stealth attack would go unnoticed, or the diversion to block both would allow the original through. Either way, she was going to make it.

What felt like an eternity for the digital combatants was only a few moments in real time. Alice’s stealth attack slipped by and made it in, all the way, through the VPNs and dummy systems, all the way back to the source.

“Hey. Nice place. Weird architecture. Wish I could stay and chat, but I gotta grab all the location data I can and get going. I did promise a party, after all.”

Alice jumped back into the connection after copying as much relevant data as she felt was prudent, and let the power surge hit. That should knock out his system and let her help everyone else out.

“Checkmate.”
———————————————————————

SURGE

Tim got a grip on the nuclear man again, and almost immediately realized something was wrong. That was way too much radiation. He didn’t need his enhanced vision to be able to tell that it was hurting the guy too. Tim felt bad for him. He seemed like not much more than a kid, and he had a power this dangerous and destructive, not just to everyone around him, but to himself too.

He began pulling as much energy as he could from him, and then started to talk to him, his voice calm and reassuring.

“Okay, listen. I need you to focus up. Your powers are tied into your limbic system— wait that’s too science. Your emotions. Your powers are tied to your emotions, buddy. A lot of peoples’ are. But you need to focus and take a deep breath and calm down. You’re hurting yourself, and no matter what you’re here for I don’t want that. I’m pulling as much as I can from you but only you can bring yourself back under control. Breathe. Think of something that makes you happy. You can do this. These are your powers. You control them. They’re your gifts, and you can do amazing things, so I know you can get this under control.”

Tim really hoped that he could. He firmly believed that everyone had the ability to control their powers, they just needed to find it. The question was whether this guy would be able to do it in time. Tim only had so much energy he could hold, and he was already near his limit before the fight started. He put his hands forcefully, but hopefully gently enough to let Fallout know that his intentions were good, on Fallout’s torso, where it seemed the radiation was originating from, and pulled as much as he could as fast as he could. Electricity arced off his back as he struggled to keep it all in.

“These are your powers. You can do it. Just take a deep—OOF!”

And he was tackled off by the energy vampire and knocked to the side. Tim couldn’t reengage. He was having his own trouble keeping all the power in himself in. He was going to overload soon if he pulled much more.

And still he pulled. He had to. For everyone’s sake.

“H-hurry! Please! You‘ve got to go. All of you! He needs help, and I’m almost at my limit!”

—————————————————————————————————————

COLONEL

Colonel winced in pain as he felt the venom burn in his veins. Yeah, Viper had gotten him. His transparency flickered for a moment, and sound came back briefly, dull and muffled, but he regained his composure quickly and changed position. This was a losing battle on his own. He was going to have to cut his losses and get help.

Two more paperweights would do for improvised weapons. One was a reverse retirement gift presented to the Pillars by Knightheart, the current mayor of Astaria and former Aegis agent, a small decorative Roman pillar. The other was a crystal cube that had “5th largest contributor to the Collateral Defense Fund” engraved on it. Each weapon went flying at a different attacker as Colonel made for the back exit. Colonel helped design this building. Every room had at minimum two exits, specifically for situations like this.

Once outside of the room, he dropped his sound field and tried the comms. “This is Colonel. I’ve been injured and poisoned. I’m going to need Nitro. Two attackers in the Pillar meeting room.”

————————————————————————————

KRACKSHOT

Bradley snatched up the charges as they were slid over to him and checked to make sure none of them were active. They seemed not to be, but he threw them back into Tim’s lab just to be safe. If any room in Aegis headquarters was blast-proof, it was that one.

“Now. Let’s all calm down, and this can end without anyone getting hurt. Place any other weapons you have on the ground and slide them over, and we’ll get the processing started. If you cooperate and are honest, things will go smoothly, and you’ll get an easier sentence.”

He breathed a sigh of relief knowing that it was all over and tried the comms. “This is Krackshot. Thorn and I have apprehended two intruders in R & D, attempting to plant explosives. Preparing to bring them down for temporary holding and questioning, pending charges.”

—————————————————————————

NIHILO

Avery and Astraica sure had a lot to say to their phasing friend here. Nihilo though, was nursing a growing bruise, which was an interesting sensation for him, and was feeling like having a fight. He clenched his fists and began to step in front of Ryan and the rest, but as he passed Ryan he whispered to him.

“You said punching was okay. Do me one solid. Drop your null field for just a second when I go at him, then bring it right back up. I need the speed.”

Nihilo put his hands together and popped his knuckles, then his neck from side to side. “You heard the ladies. We’re leaving. Through you, if we have to. So GET OUT OF OUR WAY!”

He dashed forward, hoping Ryan would let him do this. He knew he wouldn’t be fast enough to hit this guy in this state, but if he had his powers, well, he was just as fast as Surge was, and The Phantom wouldn’t necessarily expect it. A feint to the left, and then a punch to the back of the head after zipping back there in antimatter form. Quick and easy. Hopefully.

He hated himself for thinking this, but he really just wanted to impress everyone that was breaking him out. He’d ended up being a real butt monkey for everyone’s jokes lately.

Ryan Amador

[Ryan Amador]

ASSET: AMRIT RAO, MAINFRAME -

This was her retaliation. It was effective, of course, but the problem was neither of them knew how effective it would be until she struck. There was nothing worth noting on the computers so he had no problem with her getting to there. In fact, he fully expected her to at least try. He would have been disappointed if all she did was try to get him out of Aegis' systems. He wanted more - He wanted a challenge. Honestly, he wanted to have some fun.

But he didn't sense her in the computers. He frowned, eyes flickering pale green. There was something he was missing, something he wasn't sensing. What was she doing? He moved to check the firewalls. Where was she--?

Amrit gasped, head jerking back as pain suddenly pierced his skull. Blood trickled from his nose. His whole body flashed the pale green of his technopathy. What was happening? Why did his head hurt-- God, it hurt so much. He stumbled, head hanging low, hands grasping at his temples. His concentration was severed from the computers, which all flashed blue screens.

Then suddenly something snapped. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body, limp, collapsed to the floor. The last thing he saw was Perses glancing down at him, uncaring as ever, before his world turned dark.

---

ASSET: SARA AMADOR, TEMPEST -

There was an audible gasp from the crowd that the police were trying to push back when Icarus fell. Sara even thought she heard someone cry out for him specifically. Her stomach twisted, she felt sick. How far had Aegis gone to convince the public they were the good guys, that they were the heroes? She wondered if they even went so far as to full members of their team as well. She couldn't help wondering if someone as young as Icarus knew the truth or if he genuinely thought he was a hero.

Shadows started to form around her, telling her she'd done her job. She smiled under her mask. This was what heroes did. They fought the bad guys even when everyone thought the roles were reversed. She thought her mom would have been proud of her. She also couldn't wait to swap stories with her brothers. She thought this called for a family dinner to celebrate their first successful mission - She had no doubt that her brothers, at least, had been successful.

She watched as Star Woman dove with great speed, catching Icarus in her arms before he could slam into the ground. Her feet touched the ground with enough force to make the iced over concrete crack, her concern taking any previous grace away. She looked from the young man in her arms to a police officer, who was already calling an ambulance. Aegis had a healer, yes, but there was no telling who else had been injured in this attack - She prayed their healer wasn't among those numbers.

Star Woman's gaze then moved up, prepared to gently set Icarus down and fly up to take care of who was clearly more than an ice manipulator. There was a swirl of shadows on the roof now. She gently placed Icarus down and bolted back into the air. But by the time she got to the roof, the shadows and Sara were both gone.

---

ASSET: JOAN AMADOR, TEMPEST -

It hurt. It hurt. It hurt.

Everything about him felt like it was tearing him apart. His skin felt like it was burning. He couldn't concentrate, he couldn't regain control. He could feel his radiation being pulled, absorbed by two different people, in two different directions - one familiar, one foreign. It made his skin crawl. Under the glow he emitted, his ears and nose bled. He felt like he was drowning but in acid. His back arched, his body trembled. His throat was sore, torn apart by his cries. Tears of fear and pain rushed from his eyes.

He'd never lost control like this before - not that he could remember at least. He hadn't even known he was capable of being in such pain.

He felt hands on him, heard words but could barely focus on them, the world a blur of pain. He knew he needed to regain control but for that he needed to concentrate and that was nearly impossible right now. The weight on him was then suddenly gone and his instincts told him he needed to leave, he needed to get far away. He felt himself pulled into an embrace and his fear spiked again. He weakly clawed at the arms, at the body they belonged to, fearing he was still in danger. But it hurt to move and he soon crumpled into that very embrace, a ragged sob escaping and shaking him.

Joan was able to register more voices - familiar this time, one he thought was almost Dorian's, close enough that he clung to those same arms around him. His own cowl was pushed up just enough to expose his mouth and nose, also exposing the trickle of blood that ran there - the blood on his ears was still hidden by the fabric. His mouth was opened and he whimpered, his vision a blur, unable to focus on just who was there, but the voice was still familiar - His mind tried to form the thought that it must have been Aleksandr.

He was fairly certain his powers were starting to do internal damage to his body - if they hadn't already done so. That must have explained the pain he was in, he was certain. It was too much radiation for even his immunity. Then something was put in his mouth. If it wasn't for the pain consuming majority of his coherent thoughts, he would have coughed at the taste. Shadows started swirling around them as the pain started to lessen, but not enough that he could regain control. His grip on arms he thought belonged to Dorian was loosening. His cries had become sobs.

The shadows encased all three of them and deposited them into one of the infirmary rooms at the Institute. A medic was already standing there, clad in a hazmat suit. He didn't notice, too preoccupied, too exhausted, the way that the medic didn't seem concerned at all. They simply strolled over, knelt down, roughly pulled one of his hands off of Dorian's arm, and jabbed a sedative straight into his veins.

His vision focused enough that the last thing he saw before losing consciousness were the two men hovering around him, both clearly concerned for him.

---

ASSET: XANDER AMADOR, FREQUENCY + ARIEL AMADOR, READER -

Apparently this guy had a sonic scream. By the time they found this out, Xander barely had enough time to react, manipulating as much of the scream's sound as he could. It wasn't enough. His ears were still left ringing - he was fairly certain the pain he felt also meant they were bleeding. His first instinct was to check on his brother, though. Judging by the hand that grabbed at his arm, Ariel had the same instinct. He reached out and steadied his older brother. They were both aware that their attack had still managed to connect, Harmony lying unconscious on the floor was proof of that.

Xander's eyes glowed a burnt gold under his mask as he tried to focus his powers past the ringing in his ears. Their were footsteps approaching - the ringing made it hard for him to figure out how many feet. Clearly backup was on its way. But shadows were starting to swirl around the two of them. He grinned, knowing it meant the mission was over. He made a soft startled noise - one even he couldn't hear over the ringing - as he was pulled closer and embraced in a hug by his older brother. Normally he would have protested - even if Harmony was unconscious, how dare Ariel embarrass him in front of Aegis - but he was growing tired from the fight, from using his powers, from the adrenaline fading.

So instead, he rested his head down on his brother's shoulder as the shadows consumed them.

---

ASSET: SAMUEL JENNINGS, VIPER -

Ah yes - the venom had made it in. He didn't need to see to know that. He could feel it, a sense of euphoria almost. But he did see when the older man's transparency flickered. He grinned wickedly, savagely. He was going to kill this man and he was going to enjoy it thoroughly. He dodged the paperweight and only then did he notice Colonel was gone. The venom felt farther way. Fucking bastard.

He moved to give chase but shadows wrapped around him and Savage, transporting them back to the Cabal room they'd started at. He cursed and kicked at the wall. There was no way in hell he wasn't going to let Perses hear about this. He'd been so close to killing Colonel, he was certain of it! He punched the wall as well, venom dripping off his fingers. Next time he was going to kill him, he had no doubt about that.

---

ASSET: CALEB VOCLAIN, QUICKSHOT -

Caleb's mind was working as fast as it could, trying to think of a way out of this situation. Even if they put cuffs on them, they couldn't nullify their powers - He had their nullification technology. And he knew neither himself nor Kieran needed their powers to put up a fight. He also knew there was no way Aegis was going to let them walk out of here. More than likely Krackshot would attack Kieran if he didn't surrender - or perhaps Thorn would. His pulse spiked briefly. He was a field leader. It was his job to make sure Kieran made it through this mission. It was his job to keep him safe, to take the brunt of the attacks.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the shadows start to shift.

Thorn and Krackshot's attention were clearly on Kieran. That was something he could use to his advantage. He reached for his combat knife and lashed out behind him. Thorn cursed, his concentration on the rope gone, and jerked himself back to avoid the blade. Without wasting a second, Caleb threw the knife, aimed right for Krackshot's shoulder, taking advantage of the man's distraction. He wouldn't get that knife back, he knew that much, but he had other knives back at the Institute and at his own apartment.

He bolted forward once the knife was out of his grasp, moving to Kieran and gently but firmly grabbing him by the arm. He pulled him toward the shadows which engulfed them. He stumbled but managed to regain his footing once they were safely back at the Institute - in the same room they'd been first transported from, he noticed. He released his grip on Kieran's arm and pulled his own mask off. He checked his bag to make sure the nullification technology was still there - It was. He grinned and lightly bumped his knuckles against Kieran's own hand, letting him know that despite the fact that the charges hadn't been set, their part of the mission was still technically a success.

---

ASSET: RYAN AMADOR, NULL -

Ryan's body was tense, his focus on The Phantom. He noted how Avery called him Abraham - He noted the way the man's head moved as if he was glaring behind that cowl at her. That must have been his real name. He didn't know how she knew that, but he filed that information away for later use. He'd have to mention it to Perses later, of course.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Abraham replied to Astraica's words. His voice sounded genuinely confused but Ryan didn't believe that for a second. He thought the older man must have just been confused as to how someone would have the guts to call Aegis out.

Before he could do anything, though, Nihilo was moving, exiting his nullification field. But Abraham had read Tim's file on Nihilo - in fact, he'd insisted on reading it after he'd been captured. That and it wasn't the man's first rodeo, so-to-speak. He managed to dodge the hit to the back of his head enough to not be torn apart by the antimatter but pain flared up and told him the hit had still grazed. His full attention was on Nihilo now, though.

He moved to phase through the wall to attack from another side when he noticed he couldn't. He also noticed Nihilo was looking more human again. His eyes swiveled to see who in the group was responsible - It couldn't have been Avery but he didn't know the other two - but it was too late. He'd grown so used to having his powers that feeling them suddenly gone threw him off far too much. And Ryan had fully expected that.

Ryan's feet had moved mere seconds after Nihilo, his attack thus coming in sequence with the other man's. He grabbed Abraham by the shoulders, using the surprise, the shock, to slam him back against the door. He then brought his knee up, expertly hit it against the man's stomach and causing him to double over. He released his shoulders just in time bring his elbow crack his elbow down against the back of the Phantom's head, already injured from Nihilo's attack. Abraham crumpled down, groaning.

Shadows pooled out from the walls around them, grasping and wrapping around them. When the shadows vanished, he was standing in a hallway he recognized as from the Institute with Astraica, Avery, and Nihilo by his side.

---

Everything about this had been a show, a series of tests. No one had stopped to ask a question - Had this mission even been necessary? Aegis hadn't had nullification technology set up in Tim's lab or Nihilo's cell. It would have been easy for a man like Perses to manipulate the shadows and snatch both that technology and Nihilo out of Aegis' grasp before they could even react.

But he loved a good show. Everything had gone according to plan as well - or at least the major stuff. He'd taken specific risks, those had been part of the tests. He'd fully expected Joan to lose control of his powers. He'd even suspected Caleb and Kieran wouldn't get all the charges set. He'd expected Ryan to run into Avery and bring her out as well. And he'd fully expected Aegis' little artificial intelligence to get through Amrit's walls this time.

Everything had gone according to plan.

He appeared out of the shadows in front of Ryan and the three he'd brought with him. Ryan had taken his mask off and he did the same, regarding Astraica, Avery, and Nihilo with a calm smile, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Welcome to the Cabal."

---

Tag: N/A
Words: 2,463
Notes: Sorry about the wait!

END