Gabriel whirled, hearing John's yell, then cast his eyes quickly toward the officers using that large plasma gun. He cursed under his breath, and, in a snap decision, took off toward his large ally. He lowered his shoulder, clenching his teeth tightly, and steadied himself for the jolt as he threw a body check into John, hoping to knock him out of the beams path. The current surged through his body as soon as he struck the bulky mechanic, and Gabriel felt all of his muscles lock painfully, before he bounced back, landing onto the pavement on his back.

He groaned, his back arching upward momentarily, body shuddering, as the current passed through him, agonizing, even in that brief moment. He rolled onto his stomach as soon as he was able, and quickly re-made that large white energy shield of his. He staggered to his feet, holding the shield in front of his body, and made his way over to try and cover John, if possible.

"Bug! The alleyway! Heads up!"

MacManus was clear of the beam, all of it's energy was now flowing through Gabriel. Gabriel's unique talents involved energy and heat, the attack on the powerful hero was not as effective as it had been on John. Gabriel was able to get on his hands and knees and to create one of his energy shields, the crackling energy attached to the glowing shield seemed to just be absorbed harmlessly. Gabriel moved nearer to John, the mechanic was now within the protective shield.

The RAID men were moving closer as the moments ticked by, ever the trained professionals they stayed low and moved quickly as they watched Gabriel create the blinding shield.

Gabriel's shield seemed to make the plasma gun's attack useless, but how about more than one plasma attack? The Raid men trained the two other weapons on the glowing wall of light and fired. The beams struck the shield, Gabriel could feel the difference now, the weapons were putting the hero's power to the test.

The RAID troopers were using this attack as suppressing fire, they rushed closer to the heroes, they were only 20 or 30 feet away now. They spread out , the men with the plasma phase guns stayed up front as the other 5 troopers moved a few yards to left and right of the guns.

Macmanus was moving again, he rolled slowly to his side, he was clutching his chest as he opened his eyes.



John opened his eyes, there was a very bright light all around him. Gabriel was close by John could see the man gritting his teeth, his eyes fixed as he concentrated on the protective shield. Beyond the shield were explosive white flashes, the RAID men were turning up the heat, John could sense that they were closer now.

The mechanic struggled to get to his feet, his mech limbs were shut down, just dead weight now.

Nothins over 'til i say so!... John grunted as he slammed his mech hand onto the asphalt, it clicked back to life, the motors and gears turning again, the big man flexed the fingers as he made a fist. Next he stomped his enormous leg onto the street, it took a second or so but it vibrated back to life as well, the hydraulics whining as pressure returned to the limb.

John walked to Gabriel and helped the man get to his feet, the two men were almost back to back now. Sweat was dripping down John's face as Gabriel's shield burned all around them.

Damn Gabe, it's like late July in here! John wiped the sweat from his face. It seemed that the RAID goons had the upper hand.

Faint trails of static electricity cut through the darkness, minute tendrils of light generated by the magnetic field that supported the floating form of Jasper Flash. Smoothly, silently he landed a top the building, surveying the fray below with pent up rage. O'Mally's words kept on running through his head until he found himself, literally pulled into the action as he used his ability to generate magnetic fields pull him into the sky at great speed, hurling his body to the top of a nearby building. A power he wished he could use on others, but he had long since given up trying and accepted that he could only use the ability to lift himself or magnetize other metallic objects.

Standing on the edge of the rooftop, he leaned over not worrying if he was seen and studied the battle. He wanted to make sure he was needed before throwing his life into the shitter. Since he came to America he had managed to keep a low enough profile to pass under the radar of RAID, keeping his arse out of harms way but now he teetered on the edge of a whole new life. He could feel the fear burning a hole in his gut and he suppressed it as best he could. One just didn't up and pick a fight with RAID, they were highly trained and motivated, armed to the teeth bad asses. If the others went down, he knew he wouldn't last long, but O'Mally was right, THEY were his kind and they didn't deserve to die at the hands of corrupt government bent on genocide.

Gripping his copper cored aluminum cane, Jasper channeled all the static electricity around into it, until the rod began to dance with white lightening. He could feel the power surging within his body, flowing in and out into the air and he focused on holding that charge enabling him to form fields, draw arcs, and release it when necessary.

He could see that two of them were in trouble as the RAID officers laid into the white shield with their plasma beams on continuous flow. The electricity in the area was incredible, and though one might think it beneficial to an electrical mutant, like most things, too much tended to cause a loss of control. Still he, felt that even the fast man with the pseudo-pod hair wouldn't be able to take them all so Jasper took his leap of faith.

Using his magnetic fields to slow his descent, Jasper sped to earth and landed behind one of the troopers laying down a suppressing fire with his plasma rifle and gave him a taste of his own medicine. Pointing his energized cane at the amoured man he focused on drawing on arc, and just as he became aware of the feeling of static electricity playing along his skin. BOOM! A blinding white bolt of lightning sought him out like a homing missile.

The bolt struck the RAID trooper full force, but Jasper hadn't counted on their armour having dampeners. Fortunately his first strike had power enough to burn them out and at least render the man unconscious instead being fried alive, but he wouldn't be able to produce another burst of that magnitude for a while. Now he was a target and Jasper realized that he would have no choice but to engage the officers in close combat, so he prepared himself for the fight of his life.

Gabriel could feel the pressure, that was for sure. He grunted and clenched his teeth together tightly, eyes narrowed to slits with the exertion. The sweat, both a result of the effort and the heat, dropped from his brow and stung his eyes. He shot John a glance and offered a tight, strained smile.

"Well, too much longer, and Summer'll be over and we'll both be on the ground, twitching."

He snapped his eyes back to the shield and forced it to burn even brighter for a moment, the corded muscle standing out in his arms and neck. The white energy was just transparent enough that he took note of the man who jumped down and disrupted the suppressing fire. Another grin crossed his face, only this one seemed quite more lively. He shot another glance back at John.

"Dropping the shield. I'm going hard, you come right after in case they zap me out of the air."

With that, he offered a brief nod, facing the shield once more. He hesitated for a split-second, before he simply cut the white energy flow, which resulted in a wall of blessedly shrouding smoke. Before the haze cleared, Gabriel was in motion, taking two bounding steps, before diving forward and giving a powerful flap of his wings, sending him surging in a low, blurry streak at the plasma gunners.

John pushed more sweat out of his eyes with the back of his left hand and nodded at Gabe.

Let's do this. The mechanic said as he eyed the RAID troopers through the energy shield. John also took note of the stranger as he picked a fight with RAID. Through the white energy John could only see the man's outline but he did notice that this person wore a fine hat.

I like this guy all ready.. John said as he watched.

Gabriel nodded and brought his shield down, a smoky haze enveloped the heroes and RAID agents instantly as the shield vanished. Gabriel launched into the air, his great wings flashing in the gloomy smoke, the winged man came straight at the two remaining agents that were firing the plasma phase guns. The RAID men were off their guard for a second, as the bright shield disappeared and the smoke surrounded them, they were unprepared for Gabriel's assault.

The winged man crashed into the men, they fell onto their backs, firing the weapons wildly into the air, they adjusted quickly attempting to get to their feet and hit any targets. The smoke made it difficult to see anything for RAID and the wanted heroes alike, things seemed to be moving in slow motion with the smoke everywhere.

McManus sprang into the air a half second after Gabriel, his powerful mech leg pushing him like a freight train. John landed just to the left of one of the RAID men who was on his back, firing the plasma gun wildly into the sky. John slapped the gun from his hands, it went flying, lost in the smoky gloom for now. John slugged the unarmed man square in the front of his riot helmet, the man slid back many feet on his back, his body armor squealed as it scraped along the asphalt. The trooper was dazed, he laid still for a moment as John turned to face Gabriel. The winged hero was virtually on top of the the man with the remaining plasma gun. The trooper was walking on his feet and elbows like a crab as he fired randomly into the smoke and dust. The trooper was good, he had not dropped the gun when Gabriel got the jump on him but he was not nearly as fast as the winged man.

Jasper watched the fight as he stood near the unconscious agent in the smoldering armor, the Irishman could see Gabriel's glow in the smoke, the hero seemed supernatural in the smoky gloom. The agent that John had punched came sliding at Jasper's feet, the man's visor looked like it had been hit by a car.

The other RAID men were not just cowering in the smoke, the five men shouldered their weapons, automatic gun fire erupted in the gray haze, the muzzle flashes looked like lightning in a storm cloud as bullets whizzed all around Jasper, John, Gabriel and Bug.

Jasper felt like he was back in Dublin, hiding out from the coppers under the Ha'penny foot bridge, taking advantage of an evening fog over the Liffey. Only these troopers were more determined and far better trained than the Gardaí and there'd be no sneaking away in the mist this night.

Standing over the unconscious RAID enforcer, Jasper took what precious time he had to catch his breath after unleashing his bolt, then another came sliding along the pavement toward the newcomer losing enough momentum that he was able to stop the man with his boot. His visor had been crushed and the agent was limp as a noodle. A barrage of gun fire immediately ensued and Jasper fell to the ground in a crouching position.

"You're in thick of it now, m'boy.", he muttered to himself as he quickly scanned the foggy field of battle, pinpointing the firing squad and the glowing man, but the other two were obscured. He knew there was no turning back now and he bolted toward the gunmen like a sprinter out of the blocks, spinning his metallic cane before him like a majorette on speed.

It was an impressive display. As he moved into the path of the gunfire, the cane struck and deflected the bullets as if the man were lightening fast with inhuman precision, but in fact Jasper had neither. Though he was faster than normal, he certainly couldn't bat a bullet out of the air, but what he could do was generate a magnetic field around his metallic cane causing the bullets to be drawn to it. It was a skill that, Jasper was confident using when he knew roughly where all the gunmen were, but he had to avoid getting caught in a cross fire. He, however had no intention of attempting to fend off a concentration of gun fire once the smoke cleared and decided that their best chance for survival was to separate the humans from their guns. To do that, however, he had to get close. A lot closer than he had initially intended.

Running through the smoke, Jasper suddenly found himself beside a mountain of a man and tried to stay before him so that the bullets wouldn't be pulled into his path as they curved into his spinning cane. The magnetic field generated by the twirling piece of metal had become a powerful vortex, drawing in the bullets and almost consistently deflecting them to the side. A good defense for one man, but a little hazardous for others, so Jasper knew he had to reach the gunmen as quick as possible before he inadvertently deflected a bullet into a friendly. A few times as well, he felt a bullet whiz past him and knew that even if he had to, he didn't think he be able to fend off the automatic fire for much longer than his straight away run allowed. He just hoped he could make it through in time.

The melee on the street was absolute chaos, Bug had nearly been baked by plasma fire, he had a large cut on his right arm that was oozing a thick purple blood and in the confusion he had somehow become separated from his friends. He watched as the plasma gunners were taken out and now a firing squad was laying a wall of death towards his friends.

This new comer, though he was a stranger, and Bug wasn’t much for strangers, was protecting the two men he loved and as such Bug trusted him, for now. Bug bounded from the side, having been sneaking around to flank the authorities and hit them from behind. The man on the end, his M-4 wailing into the night as the officer fired as fast as he could, never knew what hit him. Bug collided with the man so hard that his weapon went flying, partly from the brunt of the impact, partly from the fact that his shoulder bone was now protruding from his skin. The Officer tumbled into the man next to him and in turn that Officer dropped his firearm. Bug whirled and kicked the second M-4 right out of the air, bending it in half and sending it flying off into the night.

The megaphone he still held in his hair came whipping around he brought it to his mouth. The stranger was now among them and three more Officers quite capable of fighting. In his strange, tinny accent Bug clicked the trigger on the megaphone and screamed… “CEASE FIRE!” hoping it would cause the three Officers who were left to pause at least for the briefest of moments and give the others a chance to cross the distance and finish this fight.

John drew his mech hand back, winding up for one hell of a punch, someone was coming at him through the smoke. John was pleasantly surprised to see the stranger in the stylish hat and not one of RAID's goons.

The dapper man was clutching a walking stick of sorts, he held it out like a weapon. John could feel the electricity surge all around him and the stranger. John looked down at his arms, the short black hairs were standing on end.

As the RAID agents fired their weapons Jasper focused on his cane, a storm bullets came flying at John, Jasper and Gabriel (who was close by). John held his metal hand up in hopes of deflecting some of them, but he soon discovered that for now there was no need.

The deadly projectiles whizzed at the three men but were quickly pulled to Jasper's cane. The Irishman pulled the bullets from the air with grace and ease. John dropped his hand to his side as he watched the stranger work.

Shit, I hope yer on my side.... The big man thought to himself as he watched Jasper bob and weave.

A few seconds later the gunfire ceased as Bug shouted to the RAID agents. Jasper, John and Gabe could hear Bug tussling with the men, one agent cried out in pain as Bug crushed his shoulder. Another second passed, the gunfire started again as the troopers opened up on Bug. The RAID men were facing away from Gabriel, Jasper and John as they drew down on Bug. Their muzzle flashes could be seen in the dissipating smoke.

Three on one, it's just about a fair fight... John snorted as he spoke to Jasper.

These RAID mutts sure are slow learners... John grinned, chomping down on his cigar as he walked quickly nearer to the RAID men and Bug.

They think they got Bug dead bang, that's what they get fer thinkin'. Let's walk over there and see what's what... The mechanic said smiling at the Irishman.

As Jasper sprinted past the big stranger toward the five shooters the strange little rasta-skateboarder came out of no where and made short work of two of the troopers. He moved like he was made out of rubber, or more like a super-ball, the electrical mutant figured and as he pulled his little trick with the mega-phone it gave him the perfect opportunity.

His aluminum cane spinning before him, it wasn't even contacting his hand anymore but rather orbiting around it. Electrical arcs formed as a powerful charge grew, licking his body with minute tendrils of energy as he neared the three remaining troopers. His timing had to be perfect.

Jasper leaped in mid-stride, propelling his body high into the air; his powerful legs launching him over the closest man and as he rotated over the second, swung his electrified cane at him. He wasn't aiming for the man though, instead he aimed for his automatic rifle and as his cane made contact, the RAID weapon became a super magnet, fusing the bullets within and attracting anything else metallic within a short range toward it. He, however, only noticed at the last second that the big man had metal limbs, but as far as he could figure he'd most likely win any tug-o-war with the agents if it came to that.

Jasper alone was immune to the magnetic field, having the ability himself to repel the attraction and so he continued to fly through the air naturally, unfortunately his path took him directly into the awaiting strike of the third RAID agent. Well trained and strong the man threw a kick into Jasper's chest as he landed, winding him and knocking him backwards into the air.

Bug whirled through the air towards the agents as the megaphone flung backwards. He was hoping for a quick strike on the remaining three agents, but instead he himself was the victim of their incredible training. The tactical lights hit him in the eyes, and direct light was something he was always sensitive to. He dropped his punching arm and all three machine gun streams hit him directly. John would hear a howl of pain come from Bug that he had never heard before. It was obvious that the point blank attack by three sub machine guns was a little more than even Bug’s skin could handle. True, none of the bullets penetrated, but the pain which he still felt was enough to drop him to the pavement.

He hit the ground with a crunch and clutched his chest as he coughed, attempting to recover. His sweatshirt and tee shirt were shredded from the bullets and he got to his knees as quickly as he could, and was fully expecting a kick or fist or v-baton to hit him in the shoulder, but instead he felt static electricity build, and the screams of human voices in response to a flank attack. He looked up and saw the daper new comer whirling his cane, then the smashed weapons, and a swift kick to the mid section which also sent him flying. Bug grit his teeth, the RAID agent had struck but his back was to Bug, a critical mistake.

Bug leapt and hit the RAID agent so hard in the back there was a distinct, but muffled crunch as his spine snapped just under the shoulder blades. The man howled through his mask and hit the ground twitching from the impact, his lower body now a useless attachment.

Bug flipped him over, a small trickle of purple blood oozing form his lip and started smashing the man’s helmet with blow after blow from his fists. There was no sound coming from Bug’s mouth, nothing but a look of sheer anger and hatred. The first two shots smashed the mask, the third caved in the right side of the man’s face, the fourth shattered the orbital bone on the left side, the fifth cracked the skull, the sixth split his head in half, the seventh simply hit goo and cracked the asphalt behind the man’s head. Bug stopped, he stared down at the mush which was only seconds ago a man’s skull. He brought up his bloody fists and then the intensity in his face left as he turned to look at John.

John, who knew Bug better than anyone, could see it in the young alien’s face, he was instantly full of regret. Though Bug had always been a fighter, and always done what he needed to do, he had never taken a life. John was the only one that would know this, and he could see in Bug immediately that he was feeling repentant.

As the agent fired that plasma rifle, Gabriel's eyes widened, and, in a purely reactionary move, the tall man sprung backward and twisted his body to the right sharply. The beam did hit him, though, luckily, it caught his right shoulder, instead of hitting him full in the chest. The force of the beam threw off his trajectory, however, and sent him down to the pavement with a heavy thud. He groaned, his left hand rising to the offended shoulder. The fabric of his shirt had burned away, and the flesh beneath was an angry red, the muscle beneath spasming uncontrollably.

Hearing the RAID agent shifting his body, however, Gabriel knew he had to move. He grunted with pain and effort as he flipped onto his stomach, favoring his right arm, and, as he levelled his eyes to the agent, he noted another thing levelling, the plasma rifle. Gabriel knew he only had the barest of moments, staring into that dark, empty circle that would fire up with a blinding light not unlike his own. So, he burst forward again, roaring, and, conjured a sword of that blazing energy of his into his left hand. Taking a stumbling step toward the RAID agent, he swung the blade of light in a wide arc, cleaving the rifle's barrel in two.

He let his forward momentum carry him, allowing himself to fall on top of the agent. He drove his right elbow into the man's chest, pinning him, and brought his blade up to the his face, his eyes sparking up in that familiar vivid blue glow as he sneered downward. Unlike Bug, there was much death in Gabriel's background, a nice handful of it having come from his own hand while under the influence of his own father's cruel guidance.

"I've killed men since I was a teen, and though I'd greatly regret having to do it again, if it means getting my friends out of here safely, I assure you I'll do it... Can't you just leave us the Hell alone?"

John watched as Jasper moved ahead of him, the Irishman moved like a cat, his cane spinning out in front of him. The whole area was charged with electromagnetic energy.

Just as Jasper attacked the RAID men shooting at Bug, Bug was fighting for his life, he was down but not out as the bullets struck him tearing through his hooded sweatshirt. John could hear the small heroes howls of pain as the RAID guns found their marks. Bug got back to his feet and wiping some purple blood from his mouth he let loose on one off the RAID troopers, Bug pummeled the man with his bare hands. Wounded and enraged Bug had killed the agent, crushing his skull to a pulp.

Oh no... John could see the lost look in Bug's glittering pink eyes. The mechanic was rushing to his friends side when movement became somewhat difficult.

John could feel Jasper's power pulling him to the agents that the Irish meta had just zapped. The useless gun that the trooper held was now charged with a good amount of Jasper's magnetic power, it pulled at John's metal limbs. The mechanic shifted on his feet, putting his large mech leg forward, there was a loud 'kuh-chung!' as John engaged the large heavy duty anchor spike in his foot. The spike pierced deep into the concrete holding the mechanic in one spot.

John had only just brought his head up from looking down at his leg when he noticed the RAID trooper flying at him. The man was helplessly holding his weapon out in front of him as he rode the wave of magnetism right into John's metal limbs.

There was an obnoxious 'clank' as the agent collided with John. The mechanic looked down at his side, the man hung there like a ragdoll, he was still clutching the rifle.

LET GO DUMBASS! John barked as he eyed the man. The agent was still trying to pull the trigger of the trashed weapon as he dangled from John's large metal hand. John shook his arm violently trying to separate from the agent.

I SAID LET GO! The mechanic was tired of scrapping with these men and wanted to see to Bug, John brought his other hand down onto the man's head. John continued to bash the man until he released the rifle and rolled onto the ground. John's knuckles were oozing blood as he pounded at the man's helmet. As the man slid to the street John made an effort to pull the magnetized weapon from his arm, he could not do so yet but he was able to work the weapon into his metal hand and swinging it like a bat he struck the prone agent.

The RAID goon went flying, spinning head over heels as he whizzed overhead crashing onto a sidewalk breaking many bones in the process. John released the spike in his leg and was free to move again, he walked quickly to where Bug was, the long haired hero's hands were slick with the dead man's blood.

John was still a few paces from Bug but he attempted to ease his friend's mind. John knew that things would be different now, Bug had never killed before it was surely a dark day.

Take it easy buddy, it's over now. John said to Bug as he walked closer. Bug was staring straight ahead with a look of pure regret.

He woulda done the same to you Bug... The mechanic said knowing that there would be little comfort in these words.

It's what they do Bug, they hunt and kill people like us. John knelt down next to Bug and put his hand on his shoulder.

We gotta keep moving buddy, there still plenty of a$$holes with guns around here.
John gave a gentle tug on Bug's arm in an attempt to get his friend to move.

Jasper foolishly had not accounted for the third RAID agent and left himself prone. His feet had just touched down when the trooper laid into him with a full force rib cracking kick catching him just below the sternum. It was a paralyzing blow and as the man's heel dug into his chest, Jasper's vision tunneled and he flew helplessly backward like a rag doll, glancing off of a nearby wall and landing on the pavement in a crumpled heap.

The sound of his aluminum cane tumbling along the street reverberated in his ears as Jasper choked for air. Through his sandy mop of hair spilling before his eyes, he could see the agent mercilessly descending upon him with v-baton in hand and the young Irishman could only feebly raise his arm to protect himself from the first strike. A strike that never descended as the quick little man appeared behind the agent, followed by the sickening sound of snapping bones.

Clutching his chest while struggling to catch his breath, Jasper could only watch the brutal slaying of the RAID enforcer that occurred right before his eyes. He had witnessed such violent acts on the streets of Dublin before but it was something that he had never gotten used to and as a spray of blood wet his face he finally tore his eyes from the scene and looked away. Anger, rage even a sense of duty could release the beast in any man, Jasper had learned that much, but when a man wiped away the brain of a fallen foe with apathy, there was no more humanity left in them which was why Jasper was relieved to see remorse in the strange rosy eyes of his savior. How horrible what RAID had reduced them to and forced them to become and it had never been more apparent to the young man than in that moment why he remained in the shadows.

By the time the big man came over, Jasper's breath was returning and he was able to pull himself to a knee. He coughed hoarsely a few times as he placed his hat back on his head with his left hand and outstretched his right toward his cane, which bobbled and bounced along the pavement, pulled to it by an unseen force.

"Thank you. That'd be me right now if ya hadn't a stepped in. I'm in yer debt." He said to the odd looking man while gesturing to the dead RAID agent. Then seeing how distraught the man was for what he done added, "Dun wallow over that piece o'shit, lad. He forced your hand and couldn't back it up. St. Peter's probably tellin' him he was damn fool right now, if'n the bastard's not roastin' in hell."

Jasper then forced himself to his feet and responded to the large man. "I'm with ya. Lead the way."