As Greyson Pyre infiltrated the Zion III reactor, an old blue Cordoba with darkened headlights rumbled to halt on a dirt road near the shore line. The driver slipped off his night vision goggles and stared our across the water at the nuclear power plant, then over at his passenger.

"So what's the plan?" Asked Sigma, which is was sort of rhetorical since he always had a plan.

Wraith twisted his mouth in thought. "Well, we have to remain as covert as possible. There'll be a team of RAID enforcers present." he surmised.

Sigma wasn't impressed. "Wow. You planned all that in the time it took to drive here. Impressive." the masked crime fighter snickered.

Wraith glanced over at his partner and gave him a slight half smile. He then returned his gaze to Zion III and remained silent. If he knew what was actually going on he would formulated some kind of strategy but the truth was he didn't have the foggiest idea. All he knew was that RAID was sending a team to secure the reactor, possibly due to a terrorist threat that somehow involves meta activity.

"Tell ya what." Said Sigma, "You have the PDA you're able to carry, so you head over there and we'll keep in touch. I'll find a way to get over there."

"No killing." Said Wraith just to make sure Sigma wouldn't go rogue.

"Scout's honour." Replied Sigma holding up his right hand.



"Check point seven. Do you copy?" Relayed Jameson from a base set up nearest to the core of reactor.

"Seven, here." Responded one of two enforcers that were stationed in one of the many access points one would need to take to gain access to the more sensitive areas of the plant. "All clear."

Jameson looked over at the two RAID enforcers that were with him, noticeably agitated. He had expected at least one of the paired groups to discover something, but maybe it was just as well. As much as he wanted to bust some meta-human heads, he was thankful that the threat was probably just a false alarm.



"Wait a minute." Announced team seven, "We've got a malfunctioning elevator here."

The two enforcers repeatedly pressed the button then forced open the doors and found that the elevator car was between floors. Deftly they one by one leapt into the shaft, caught the cables and quickly slid down to the roof of the elevator. They popped off the maintenance and safety hatch then thrust their lighted rifles into the car. It was empty, but they caught site of the blood all over the floor and immediately went on red alert.

"Sir! Sir! We have blood! We have a breech. I repeat, we have a breech!"

"Shit!" Exclaimed Agent Jameson then he quickly made a call to RAID agent Garret, "Unit seven has just found evidence that we have at least one terrorist. They have discovered blood in an elevator in sector five. Be on alert!"



Agent Garret, put out a call to all units informing that they had an murderous intruder present. "If necessary shoot to kill." he told them then advised those wearing heavy armoured battle suits to proceed toward the core area since they would be able to survive in radioactive areas if necessary.

Morgan, Allie and Mikayla had made it to the Rosebud reservation in South Dakota safely and with no more mishaps with Sasha/Frank. Mikayla was now on a flight back to Chicago while Allie stayed with Morgan for a while longer.

Morgan was stronger than she'd been when she first arrived and kept growing stronger day by day under the ministrations of her Aunt Jackie, the shaman and wise woman of their tribe. Morgan had shown Allie around, even taking her horseback riding over the reservation acreage. She knew Sasha was nearby...she could feel her and her father within the woman. She was simply waiting for the confrontation that would make or break her, as was Allie.

Morgan also thought a lot about Tim, missing him horribly and finally realizing where she'd gone wrong. Thanks to Tim, she had more confidence in herself now than she did before and she wished she could see him again. Maybe, in time, they would meet up again and things would be different. Until then, she needed to concentrate on herself, on getting stronger so that she could face Sasha/Frank and end this once and for all.

Allie had been getting reports from Jessica aka SnapDragon on what had been going on around the city and was chomping at the bit to get back but refused to leave Morgan to face Sasha alone even though Morgan had repeatedly told her to go.

Allie had mentioned though, that maybe it would be best if the confrontation took place back in Chicago, where Wraith was. She knew that he was the only one who could probably make sure that Morgan survived and had said as much to the girl. Luckily, Morgan had agreed and soon, the two would be headed back to the windy city. Allie would be calling Wraith soon, to let him know what was going on and find out if he was still willing to help.

Jackie had been keeping a close eye on her niece since her return, clearly worried about her. When Morgan had first arrived with her two friends she'd been pale, withdrawn and weak. Jackie had cleansed the girl spiritually and mentally allowing her to heal from the inside out. She'd watched as her niece had gone from the withdrawn, insecure girl that had first arrived to a girl that was strong inside and confident. It hadn't taken long, Morgan simply had to find herself starting with the inside of her spiritual self. Once she'd done that, her strength....mental, emotional, spiritual and physical quickly followed. Her abilities had grown by leaps and bounds and she could now control multiple animals at one time easily, manipulating them to do as she bid them. She walked taller, her head held up now instead of hunched in on herself. Jackie knew about Sasha/Frank and knew that Morgan would have to face this entity in order to be free of her evil father once and for all. This was what worried Jackie the most and she wished that Tim were here with Morgan, but she understood why he wasn't as did Morgan.

On this sunny day, Morgan was walking around the village, smiling to the children who were running about heading for the community corral to saddle her favorite gelding and take a ride. Upon reaching the corral, she opened her mind and called to the large bay named Zeus who whinnied to her as he came running up to the fence. Morgan smiled at the horse, walking around to the gate to let him out, not needing a lead rope, saddle or bridle. Closing the gate back, she grabbed a handful of mane and swung herself up onto his back. Using her mind, she directed him to head up to the northwestern part of the reservation, up by the hills and boulders and the small pond where she liked to go to think.

Grey wasn't surprised to hear the talking below him about a breech in security. This was pretty normal timing for security to realize people were dead. His mind drifted over to the destroyed vent where he had entered in from the elevator shaft and knew his minutes were numbered from here. Laying his head on the floor for a moment to get a feel for the number of agents milling around the core, Grey reloaded his sniper rifle and rolled onto his side to give himself access to the handgun in the waist of his pants. The pressure was building within him and the increased need for silence as he hovered right above RAID's head only made it harder to keep quiet and still.

Motioning to Scavenger he spoke in an almost inaudible voice, backing away from the vent and setting his hand over it to keep any sound from leaking into it.

"Act like you're just a bird that got stuck in here," he said, then his face screwed up as something else leapt up from within him wanting to burst out. He paused, forcing it away before he continued in a strained voice. "Like you're . . . tryin' to . . . get through the vent. When I break it, fly around the . . . room and . . . distract 'em and shit. Get it?"

Scavenger who seemed to be quite comfortable contorted in the vent scowled disapprovingly at Grey as he whispered his order. "The bird thing again." he replied then seeing the seriousness in his partner's eyes complied and instantly transformed into a large raven.



The large bird then flapped about in a panic, squawking and scratching at the vent so that the RAID enforcers would be able to easily tell what and where he was.



"Wait a minute." Said one of the enforcers as he activated a tracer in his visor that allowed him to zero in on the sound. Before his eyes then, the computer in his visor created a grid system based on the noise and the agent was able to determine that some kind of large bird was trapped in a vent within the elevator shaft.

"There's some kind of bird stuck in the shaft. Sound recognition says its a corvid. A crow or a raven." The enforcer relayed back to his commanding officer.



"A bird?" Repeated agent Garret, but he was not one to throw caution to the wind. He opened up his built in PDA with the forearm of his armored suit and quickly cross-referenced crows and ravens will all meta's suspected to be associated with Apex Fusion. Within a few seconds, a reference to a meta named Scavenger with the unique ability to form into a raven came up, and then his closest known associate, known as Grey Pyre also appeared.

"Holy shit!" Exclaimed Garret, "Code red! I repeat, code red! Reinforcements to sector 5!"

The two enforcers quickly responded by vacating the area and running for a highly defensive area where two hallways crossed ten meters from the elevator. Training and experience told them to retreat until back up and Garret arrived. As long as the Reg-met troop leader got close enough to a meta he would negate any special abilities not ingrained in their physiology. Often the only thing Garret couldn't nullify was increased physical attributes, but such things hardly worried the enforcers. They could take on just about anything, so long as they didn't have to worry about elemental ranged attacks or other freaky abilities effecting them.

Elsewhere in the complex, the next nearest team of RAID enforcers scrambled to the area designated as sector five. "We're on our way." alerted one of the men as they sprinted down the hallway. As the opened up a set of security doors with their overriding security badges, a large familiar figure appeared in a side hall as they slammed shut.



Wraith peeked around the corner then pulled back into the corridor. He took out his specially designed PDA and called Sigma. It rang several times but eventually the crime fighter answered with a rather agitated and quiet, "What!"

Wraith guessed that he had caught his partner at a bad moment. "This place is crawling with RAID and they have a security a breech. In sector five, where ever the hell that is? Where are you?"



Sigma had crammed himself into small compartment and surrounded by life jackets, floatation devices and other nautical equipment. "On my way." He texted back, then tucked his phone back into his pocket and remained perfectly still while listening to a tapping sound above him.



Special agent Henkel anxiously tapped his foot on the deck of the boat as it drew nearer to Zion III. He just finished talking with his partner and was trying to surmise what was going on. Greyson Pyre was an assassin, a suspected meta but aside from enhanced physical attributes they had no other data on what his abilities might be. Henkel was thinking worst scenario and had already put in a call in the plant technicians and engineers preparing them to take all the necessary precautions and actions necessary to prevent a disaster, if possible.

The agent tucked his hands in his pockets and sighed, wishing he was relaxing with a beer in hand at the barbecue he had to cancel. He stared out over the dark waters wondering what else would transpire and little did he suspect that a meta currently lurked just beneath his feet in the storage locker of the boat while a mutant that could move near the speed of light, skipped across the water toward the far side of the island.

Lance Strauss otherwise known as the Highwayman, sped across the water from a ship anchored three miles north east of Zion island. Moving fast enough to glide across the lake, the powerful wake of his warp parted the water into two fans of mist that went unnoticed in the dark of night.

On the rocky shore, he became visible as he reduced speed, requiring several steps to slow down and finally skidded to a stop at the far end of the island. There were no trees, only a rocky beach and several spots lights making it difficult for anyone to approach without being seen, but the speedy mutant and managed to slow his run at a recessed doorway to which he had the access code to. Hiding in the shadows of the alcove, Lance's tight fitting silver suit would go unnoticed, a rather garish costume but it was necessary. Lance wasn't one for masks and flashy outfits, but the areas where he had to secure the transmitting devices were radioactive and the costume had been specially designed so as not to impede his super speed and also offer suitable protection.

Lance entered his code and slipped in through the security door and before him stretched a long hallway more than ample enough for him to build up his speed enough to warp time. With his freakish quickness he then placed a cap like device over the security camera that looped back a continuous image then checked the pack he had slung over his shoulder. He made sure the transmitters were functioning properly then also procured from it a PDA which was the sister unit to the one that Grey carried.

The Highwayman casually looked around him checking the side corridors for any movement then nonchalantly sent a text message to Grey that read, "I'm here. Move your ass."

Amused by his message, the corners of his mouth rose ever so slightly, then returned to his usual stone face while he awaited his partner's reply.



Wraith dematerialized and pursued the RAID enforcers, keeping his distance to ensure that they would not take notice of the occasional glow of his otherwise invisible form produced by the extra speed required to keep up with the running men. It seemed quite apparent that they were the backup and would most likely lead him to whoever was threatening the nuclear facility. Hopefully the enforcers would be able to handle whatever they came up against and Wraith could head home and get a good nights sleep knowing that the threat was nullified, but somehow he had a feeling that things weren't destined to go that smoothly. If Apex Fusion was behind all of this, Wraith didn't doubt that the man had invested a lot of time and planning, and his goals would hardly be transparent.

Hearing the reaction to Scavenger's squawking, Grey swore silently and shifted himself away from the vent. Unfortunately, his frustration on top of the pressure building within him caused his suppression to crack and a few other swears burst from him a little less quietly. Now there was no question as to where he was. As the last of his tics tumbled from him, Greyson raised a foot and pounded on the weak metal that was the vent until it dropped out. Within a second, Grey stuck the end of his gun through it and fired at the closest guard he could detect only to quickly retreat back into the vent, shifting away from the barrage of bullets that followed. As his face twitched and his head jerked against the air shaft with an echoing clang, a thought briefly passed through him about how badly he could use a Vicodin and a cigarette right about now.

Finally getting control of himself, Grey paused, falling silent and listening with his unnatural hearing to the tiniest shifts in steps, the click of ammunition. He knew they were just regular human guards by the heavier breathing only barely kept even and the spike in their heartbeats. No problem. It was then that he checked the PDA and rolled his eyes in annoyance at the Highwayman's message. Shifting his gun to rest against him, Grey quickly typed a curt response "Workin onit" before stowing the PDA back in his pocket. Slowly, silently, Grey shifted himself again so that he was wedged in an uncomfortable-looking position in which he could aim his gun, listen, and then move if he had to. After another moment's pause to create a kind of mental map of their positions, Grey fired through the vent again based on what he could hear. He was no more than two shots in, however, when the movement began to blur together and the sound of bullets made it impossible for him to aim.

In a second, Grey dropped down into the room and fired at the first two people he saw before dodging quickly to the side and diving behind the first large object he saw. The sound of grunts and one body falling told him that only one of his bullets had found its mark. Crouched behind whatever this was, Grey pushed back against the mounting pressure within him and finally got his muscles to settle. He didn't know what he was using for cover, and he didn't care. All he knew was that it was big and plastic and plastic didn't do very well when it came to stopping bullets. Checking his ammo, Grey leaped up without warning, kicking off of the big plastic thing and fired at every head he saw as he literally bounced around the room. Moving with inhuman speed, Grey dodged bullet after bullet as he zig-zagged his way towards the core only to stop short when a bullet nearly grazed his cheek.

There was a split second in which Grey quickly spun around, putting a bullet in one guard's head while bringing his foot around to the back of another's. It was when he was aiming to put a bullet in roughly the same spot his foot had hit that he heard the words he'd been dreading.

"We gotta meta! We need backup!" Grey raised his gun to shoot the one calling for RAID but there were still at least four guys left and the three not shouting into a radio fired at him. Dodging, Grey darted away from the two bodies at his feet and ducked behind the core where he paused listening to bullets thudding against it and the equipment around him.

"Stop! Stop, you moron! That thing could kill us all!" shouted one of the humans quickly ceasing the barrage. It was there that Grey paused, turning to the core, breathing hard as he tried to listen to the guard's movements. There wasn't much time before RAID came running in. Suddenly, the distant echo of his old bosses' voice, warbled in his then half-conscious mind, drifted back into his ears. The words RAID and meta floated within his own name and he grit his teeth as a renewed surge of hate for that asshole back in New York flowed into him. This was the first time Grey had been anywhere near engaging RAID since that fat bastard had given them his name and now he had no real idea what they knew and what they didn't. The anger almost made him lose control again and he felt an almost overwhelming urge in his neck wanting to jerk his head back. Managing to suppress it, he reared back up and curled around the core before he could think about his own actions and quickly popped a hole through one of the guard's heads before whipping back around behind it. The sound of a body dropping and whispered, frantic messages rose up behind him as he turned his focus back to the core.

For the entire time he'd been aware of his meta ability with machines, Grey had only ever used it to completely destroy. He'd never taken the time to slow down his ability and consider how exactly he did it, he'd always just kind of connected with a machine and just broken it down. Trying to keep one ear on the guards, Grey very slowly, very carefully focused on the core, settling his mind as best he could until he only just barely felt that little connection with it. The assassin couldn't be quite sure what exactly he was doing, but there was no time to sit around trying to figure it out. As the core began to destabilize, Grey could feel his concentration doing the same and he tried to break his focus before he broke the machine. It was only then that he suddenly picked up on the heartbeat behind him and instinctively turned towards it, firing quickly and dropping the guy.

Now the assassin's heart began to pick up speed as he realized how his focus had deafened him to the approaching guards nevermind the distant, heavy footsteps that were getting steadily closer. There was no time to worry about these guys, he needed every second he could get. As the others rushed around the sides of the core, Grey took out one and kicked off from the core itself, bounding back into the room. The last one was a fighter and managed to keep his aim even when Grey all but climbed the walls, moving with inhuman speed and agility. It was only when those tell-tale black uniforms appeared that he finally managed to drop the guard. The flash of a plasma gun rushed past him and Grey could have sworn he felt some stray hairs get singed away as he dove back behind the plastic whatever.

Glancing back toward the vent, he wondered if he could somehow get Scav's attention. If nothing else, he guy could be a distraction while Grey somehow took out the armored pigs and messed with the core again. Quickly peeking up over his cover, Grey fired a round aimed for one of their necks before dropping back behind it. A clanging sound rang out but sadly was not followed by the tell-tale sound of a body dropping to the floor. Grey grit his teeth, listening again to their heartbeats, muffled almost into silence by their armor. He could only really rely on the quick glance he'd gotten to determine their positions and that was not how he liked to operate. Now, things were going to get interesting. At least they seemed reluctant to destroy whatever it was he was hiding behind.

Pushing back against the pressure that now threatened to boil over, Grey jumped out from behind his cover, rolling across the floor and firing as best he could at the RAID agents as he darted across the room moving as erratically as he could. His path became unpredictable even to himself as he had to stop and redirect himself more than once to avoid getting his head taken off and it was only when he finally settled again in the little nook behind the core that he felt the burning that now throbbed from his left shoulder down to his elbow. There was no time to inspect it and he tried to ignore the searing pain and focus on the core which had apparently gone right back to its normal, stable state in the time it took him to kill the human guards. He tried to reach to it again but the sudden appearance of a gun drew him out of his hiding place where he finally managed to put a bullet into the armored man's neck. Without waiting to watch him drop, Grey turned back to the core and tried to be careful.

Again, he felt the strange little connection with it and tried to focus more and more without going too far. The core teetered on the breaking point and more than once Grey found himself back to reality, sounds of chaos echoing around him. He glanced around and heard the telltale sound of flapping wings and squawks as well as some aggravated shouts from the RAID agents. Grateful for the distraction though he doubted it would be effective for much longer, Grey turned back to the core and tried to hold it where it was. It was like trying to keep a refrigerator from toppling over a cliff. The core seemed to be barely teetering between functional and completely dead and it took what felt like every fiber of Grey's concentration to keep it from dropping off completely.

The battle had now moved within the concrete shielding, the building around the containment structure of the reactor. At it's center was a large cylindrical object; the core which housed the superheated fuel rods, nestled within a web of grated metal walkways and platforms. The exposed labyrinth of gangways and ladders reaching as high as ten stories allowed access to the heat exchanger, pumps, pressurizer and all the other pipes and components necessary to regulate the reactor. The repercussions of a stray bullet or plasma-electricity burst would now have serious consequences and so the R.A.I.D. enforcers were forced to fire only when necessary.

As core temperatures began to rise due to the 'glitching' power of Grey Pyre the agents and enforcer fighters of R.A.I.D. fanned out through the massive structure. They scanned the area with the visors, utilizing infra-red, thermal, night and even electro-magnetic vision to locate their quarry. Trained and equipped to locate even invisible meta's, they were like wolves seeking their prey. Their very presence struck terror in the hearts of most meta-humans, a fear they used to control their quarry, but not all reacted to them in such a manner. Some did not respect their authority and then their were those that fought back and it was they that R.A.I.D. had to break.



The large platform adjacent to the core housing was littered with the bodies of security guards, their blood raining down to the floor several stories below. On a connected walkway, safely hidden away from the last known position of the meta-human gunman was Agent Garret. The RAID agent was standing before one of the many temperature and radiation monitors which was beginning to climb out of the green coloured 'safe zone'.



"Something's going on over here." Reported Garret into his communicator.



Outside of the concrete shielding in another section of the facility was the main control room. Technicians in white coats and yellow coloured jump suits were scrambling about checking monitors and re-calibrating systems but one man in a dark suit was still.



"All hell is breaking loose over here, Garret." Added Henkel as an anxious man in a white lab coat pushed passed him, "Ya get that bastard yet?"

Garret looked up above him where he could see two of his men in pursuit of the large raven that darted about the area. "We've got the one know as Scavenger in our sights and we're closing in on who we suspect in Greyson Pyre."

"Good." Said Henkel and at that moment there was a shared sigh of relief across the room, "What's happening over there?" asked the special agent curiously.

Garret glanced back at the monitor and smiled. "Back in the green, sir. Look's like they fixed the problem."

"Maybe." Said Henkel doubtfully, "Concentrate on Pyre, for some reason I have feeling he's behind this malfunction."

"How?"

"Use your imagination, kid." Snapped back Henkel, surprised that the meta didn't make the intuitive leap based on the series of events, "Just find him and use that ability of yours to cork his powers."

"I'm on it."

Garret looked over his shoulder and signaled to two of his men who were lurking in the shadows. They had to flush the meta out and try and take him down without minimal fire power which was going to be difficult. Looking around him, the registered meta-human saw a virtual jungle gym, an advantageous environment for a physically enhanced meta. It would be like wrestling an ape in a tree, and the cybernetically enhanced RAID enforcers would be too slow to assist until they slowed him down. That's where Garret came in. An enhanced meta-human himself it would be up to him to give chase, but first they had to find him.

Grey Pyre could suddenly feel the mechanisms about him flowing in a positive direction. Whatever his ability had been causing to go awry had been somehow repaired by the technicians of the plant for the moment. It was difficult to say how they remedied the problems caused by Pyre's ability. They could have initiated a back-up or perhaps re-routed control? Whatever they did, Pyre could break it again but he would once more have to strain his will and return the core to the brink of malfunction without causing a meltdown. He would have to do this while highly trained RAID agents closed in on him.



Wraith observed as the monitor he stood beside normalized. He was no nuclear physicist but he knew enough that whatever had caused the reactor to de-stabilize was unnatural. From his high perch above the reactor core he watched the RAID agents surround and close in a specific area. Two others, which were closer to his level pursued the large raven which he assumed was most likely more than it appeared. Seemed that RAID had everything under control for the time being, so the big meta-human decided to stay hidden for the moment. He had tangled with RAID before, and knew well the extent of their scanning devices. Their electromagnetic scanners could detect his wind form when he moved so he didn't want to make his presence known unless it was absolutely necessary. He actually kind of liked just hanging back and observing for a change even if the team he was rooting for at the moment was RAID. He wondered where Henkel was. The guy didn't seem the sort to throw on a black uniform and he hadn't spotted him yet but then he spied someone in a suit. This guy, however, seemed to moved more fluidly and had full head of dark hair.



Agent Jameson moved quietly across the gangway. He moved along with two other RAID enforcers who had worked their way completely around the last position they had confirmed seeing the gunman. The one wearing the heavy mech-suit stayed behind at a crossroad and then Jameson and the other lighter armoured enforcer crept closer. They had no idea whether or not the gunman had held his position so they were extremely cautious on their approach. The RAID agent signaled Jameson to hold his position and scanned ahead of them using the thermal capabilities of his visor. Most of the piping and metal around was cooler than body temperature so heat sources within his line of sight would be very apparent. Still, if a body was well hidden enough, he wouldn't see through the metal so they still had to be very cautious.

The gangway intersected another and two split up. The RAID agent heading one way and Jameson the other. The walkways went around a large pump and then apparently met up again, so for a brief moment the two men would not be able to see one another. Jameson nodded to the enforcer as he disappeared round the large piece of machinery and carefully moved along the dimly lit grating, suspended high above the ground.

Jameson was alerted by a noise behind him and only as he spun around did he recognize the sound to be that of flapping wings. He was too late to react and from above him one of Scavenger's heavy boot's descended hard onto his head. The FBI agent's knee's buckled and crumbled to the hard metal grating. Feebly he raised his gun, but Scavenger easily kicked it out his hand. The weapon skipped along gangway and over the edge.



"Com'on FBI man. That all you got?" Snickered Scavenger his quick black eyes darting about, watching for the other RAID agent and trying to spot Grey who he figured was very close.

Jameson saw stars and he struggled to pull himself into a crouched position only to have Scavenger savagely kick him back down. "Grey." called Scavenger in a low voice, "Where the hell are ya, man?"

As Scavenger scanned his surroundings, he failed to notice that the RAID enforcer that had accompanied he FBI agent had back tracked and was coming up behind him, his plasma rifle trained on Scav's back. Jameson could see the enforcer though and made one last ditch effort to ensure that his partner would not be discovered but already Scav's hyper-sensitive nose detected the man's scent. All he had to do was quickly transform and fly around behind him but as he began his change, Jameson leapt and locked his arms around Scavenger's legs. With another living being touching him, Scav couldn't transform nor could he move with the agent holding his legs. The RAID enforcer aimed. Scavenger was as good as caught.



On the other side of the facility, the Highwayman impatiently awaited Grey to give him the 'go ahead'. His PDA had access to the core monitors and was fully aware that it had normalized again.

"work harder!" he texted back to Grey.

Grey wanted to scream when the core was somehow fixed. This was starting to get old and now he had RAID to deal with. The text from Highwayman only made him even more annoyed but he didn't have time to text back everything he wanted to say to him right about then. Slowly coming up behind Scavenger, he didn't bother to respond when he heard his partner mutter a question as to his whereabouts, just raised his gun and took aim at the RAID agent who was coming up between himself and Scav. Staring at the tiny window of opportunity in the man's armor, Grey quickly pulled the trigger and sent a bullet into the agent's neck. The sound of the dropping body made Scavenger whirl around and lay eyes on Greyson just long enough for the hitman to take aim at another, shoot, and then disappear again taking off into the shadows.

Shouldering the weapon, Grey jumped onto a narrow metal pipe and pulled himself up onto one of the platforms where he instinctively dodged the anticipated gunfire. Rolling across the surface of a bridge, Grey ran at full speed across the narrow platform headed for the core. When he reached the end of it, he jumped into the air straight off the edge of the platform and swung himself into a dark little nook. Bullets tinked off of the metal around him and a burning sensation that shot across the arch of his foot let him know how closely he'd cut it. Here, he managed to perch behind a metallic tangle of instruments and whatnot with just enough of a view of the core. His first instinct was to pour his powers full force into it out of sheer annoyance and growing fatigue at holding back what he knew would be an awful explosion when this was over with. He managed to control himself however just before destroying the core completely but this time pushed it just slightly past where he was comfortable. The thing didn't completely shut down but for a split second, the meta hitman wasn't so sure.

A loud clanging crash startled him and Grey nearly fell off of his perch when a bullet whizzed by his leg and then by his face. Maybe it was the focus he needed to use his powers this way or maybe just sheer stupidity, but somehow a RAID agent had managed to at least find his hiding place. Thankfully the man seemed hesitant about using the plasma so close to the equipment. Nonetheless, being startled was never a good thing when it came to holding back his Tourette's and Grey lost the delicate hold he had on himself. At first the swears almost felt voluntary as they certainly ran through his head when he was nearly killed but he quickly realized he couldn't stop. At the same time, the jerking that took over his head nearly took over his sense of balance and he nearly threw himself over the edge.

"Son of a bitch!" he shouted when his head hit the pole and another bullet grazed his shoulder. With no other options he could see through the facial and head tics, Grey grabbed the pipe and swung down a few feet before he simply let go and landed easily where he literally hit the ground running. Finding the lucky RAID agent and the friends he'd summoned over, Grey tried to focus through his tics and aim at the joints in the armor. One found its mark the other two were thrown off course by involuntary movements. He struggled to push them back but now the dam was broken. In one more desperate move, Grey kicked off of walls and equipment and ran with all the speed of an olympic runner straight for the core. There, he dove behind it and fired three rounds at a RAID agent who had rushed over there. One missed completely, one hit armor, the other went straight through the man's neck. Taking the split second to check on the core's progress, Grey destroyed any progress that would have been made to try to re-stabilize it.

Pressed against the equipment surrounding the core, Grey took a deep breath and tried to relax, knowing the situation itself would just make things worse. Childhood memories crept into his head, his heart flaring with anger as he remembered being shoved in an uncomfortable suit sitting with his siblings in the fancy dining room. Angry glares seemed to close in on him as he struggled to control the horrible things that tumbled from his mouth, each more insulting than the next even when he avoided their eyes. Wanting to stop always seemed to make it all but triple.

"F#^@ it," Grey muttered to himself only to set himself off with the very comment and shout it three more times at progressively louder volumes before he popped up from behind the core and shot at the first sign of life. Kicking off from the floor, Grey stomped indifferently over computers and equipment using them as launching points to move erratically around the room. He focused on aiming anywhere he was sure the armor would be weak which finally helped bring the ticking back into his control. A few dared to shoot their plasma guns at him, forcing him into a spray of bullets from the others. Grey found himself spread out over the floor, legs spread, arms bent, holding his balance as the rifle slipped from his shoulder and clattered against the floor. There was a split second in which Grey actually paused, shocked that he could get into such a ninja position and even more shocked that the only hit he took had merely created a deep gash in his side. Though the blood was soaking through his shirt, it was hardly enough to slow him down. When time seemed to pick back up, the hitman snatched the gun up again as he easily pushed back from the floor and backed himself into another little corner between some equipment. There, hunched over but still well balanced he took aim at a RAID agents hand and gave him a little sting to throw off his gun before he finished the job with the man's throat.

Grey was back in the game. Nestled between some expensive-looking machines, he removed his handgun and using both hands, his sharp eyes flicked from one agent to the other firing with the true aim he was used to. When he had taken out the ones closest, he checked on the core again and kicked it back to death's door before finally slipping out of the corner and firing on either side of himself as he ran across the room. He then shouldered the bigger gun, jumped, kicked off of something to the side and grabbed hold of another one of the platforms. Pulling himself up, he fired the handgun at the RAID agents in pursuit before scrambling back into the shadows and disappearing.

"F&%# me!" Exclaimed Scavenger as a spray of blood erupted into the air and the RAID enforcer that was about to finish him off fell to the ground in a writhing heap. For a split second he saw Grey, then tore off into the shadows as his gun fire alerted the other enforcers to his presence.

Scavenger figured he better do the same but before he could do that he had to deal with FBI man wrapped around his legs. "Get the f*#$& off already, man!", shouted Stefan as he cracked his fist into Jameson's face several times.

Agent Jameson, blacked out for a moment allowing Scavenger to break free of his grip and back away.

Shaking his head, Jameson focused and saw his opponent. "Hold it right there!", he growled and reached for his back up gun kept in an ankle holster.

"Jeezuz, man!" Groaned Scavenger, "Why don't you f#$%ing lie down!"

As Jameson rose with his spare weapon, Scavenger moved with surprising speed and lashed out with his heavy boot, catching the agent under his chin. Jameson staggered backward. The room spun, and the next thing he knew he was falling.

"Another for the bad guys!" Jeered Scavenger, striking a goofy martial art pose before transforming into a raven and following Grey as best he could.



Seconds ticked by as Jameson fell and he knew that he was dead. All he could do was await the impact and perhaps miraculously he might live for a few days at best. Another long second elapsed, it would not be much longer then he felt his hand strike something. He could feel a cold sensation on his arm. Oh, God! It was severed! No, he could feel something gripping it. He was slowing down!

Jameson looked up and saw a large, muscular man in a dark blue costume and flowing blonde hair above him. He had caught the agent's arm in mid-fall and through the power of flight had slowed his descent. The agent was not fully aware of how it was done, the meta-flight ability varied, but it seemed that his saviour was using gusts of wind to levitate. Wraith, could not carry too much weight while flying but he could glide and slowly descend while carrying heavier objects, and he had just managed to slow the agent's fall enough to gently set him down on the floor.

As Jameson looked down into the darkness he could see the floor approaching from below him. He was only ten feet away from the ground and he realized then that he still had his back-up gun in his other hand. Even though the mutant had saved him, he recognized him to be Wraith, the meta wanted for destroying several blocks of Chicago's warehouse district with one of his tornados. His first and foremost duty was to the law, and regardless of the heroic act, Wraith was a criminal and had to be taken in.

"Wraith, you are under arrest for destruction of private property and infringement of the Riggs Act." Announced Jameson as he whipped the gun toward Wraith, "Set me down and keep your hands where I can see them!"



Wraith couldn't believe it. He had exposed himself and risked his life to save the agent and this was the thanks he received. He considered just letting the man go and dematerializing but then he realized that he was touching the metal wrist watch of the arm he gripped. This made assuming his wind form impossible to achieve and so he had little choice but to comply for the time being.

Wraith set the agent down on the ground then lightly landed before him with his hands raised. Free of the metal inhibitor, Wraith was no longer worried and new he could escape at any time. He looked up above him and scanned the walkways for any sign of the gunman. Whoever he was he was fast and stealthy but betrayed by his companion who flew over head in the same direction he figured.

"Who is that man?" Inquired Wraith.

"That's none of your concern." Snapped Jameson as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs, "Now turn around and place your hands behind your back," he ordered, "and no funny stuff or I'll put a hole through you. Got that!"

Wraith turned around shaking his head. In the blink of an eye he faded from sight and all Jameson could see was a ghostly glowing image quickly ascend into the air.

"Son of bitch!" Cursed Jameson as he reached for his communication device and placed a call to Henkel. "It's Jameson, we got a man down here and I just had an encounter with Wraith."

"Wraith? What the hell is he doing here?" Questioned Henkel, "Christ! If he goes all cataclysmic here, we're looking at a major disaster. I'm ordering an evacuation."

"What? Sir, we can get these guys."

"Sorry, Jameson. Protocol states that we evacuate the personal then we'll tackle the terrorists."

With little hesitation, Henkel looked over at a technician who was awaiting his orders and gave him a nod. He hit a series of buttons and an automated voice alerted all personal in the facility to evacuate. "Doors will permanently seal in thirty minutes." Said the voice, and the countdown began.



Sigma quickly skulked away from the body of the RAID agent and slid his stolen security card through the key pad and slipped through the doorway. Arriving moments before Wraith had saved Agent Jameson's life, the masked crime fighter had watched the meta-human gunman from his hidden location, studying his moves, searching for a weakness.

When the gunman's partner kicked the FBI agent over the side of one of the high platforms, Sigma watched the man plummet to his death with little emotion. Unhindered by morbid curiousity, Sigma lashed out with his black retractable whip and caught hold of a railing high above him, then with a flick of his wrist it recoiled pulling him upward.

Sigma landed silently like a cat as he flipped his body over the railing and onto the gangway while the automated voice counted down until the plant was locked tight. He headed in the direction he had seen the gunman run and approached cautiously ready strike out with his whip.

Doors will permanently seal in 30 minutes? Grey wasn't sure if that was irritating or interesting. Just then, he was beginning to get tired, the fight getting old, and he wasn't sure if he wanted a race just then. Turning to the familiar crow hanging over him, Grey swiped at the air and hissed at Scavenger.

"Get the f$#% away from me, dumbass, you're giving me away!" Shifting into a corner where he could see the core, Grey tried to tune into its inner workings and see if it needed another kick towards the edge. So far, so good. He then turned his attention toward the vent which would lead back into the air vents. People were already filing out the door looking haggard and Grey wondered if people would be there to fix the core much longer. Was it worth it to just go for the escape?

The burn on his arm seared, the gash in his side throbbed and stung. Sweat began to bead and trickle down his face, matting stray hairs to his forehead and cheeks. He looked back at the vent again and shouldered his gun. Peeking out at the remaining agents milling around the room, Grey launched himself silently from the platform up onto the one above. An agent caught sight of him and fired prompting others to do the same. Grey quickly pulled himself to his feet and took off across the platform towards the vent. He then leapt up to the highest level platform and zagged away from it leading their attention that way until he ducked once more into a dark entanglement of metal. While agents still fired in the direction they'd last seen him, Grey slowly moved back down to the lower level and pressed himself flat against the wall, keeping every bit of himself in shadow as he could.

The vent was in sight but it was smack in the middle of the top of the wall above the core. The only way he could get to it was by moving into the open. Luckily, moving silently was ironically easy for the meta, so long as the RAID agents weren't too sharp and didn't start looking in the right direction. Without making a sound, Grey started on his way along the platform, ears pricked, eyes on the agents below him, headed for his escape.

"Twenty five minutes to lock down." Announced the automated voice. The two RAID agents quickened their pace, they didn't want to get trapped in the shielded area if the core had a melt down. It meant certain death.

"Shit! Look at this!" Exclaimed one.

The other agent wandered over and took a look at one of the reactor monitors. The temperature was steadily rising.

"Let's sweep this area quickly and get the hell outta here!" Said the other.

The two agents had been drawn to a flapping sound, but could find no sign of the giant raven. They quickly scanned the corridor and finding nothing, hastened down the corridor toward one of the caged elevators. They closed the grated metal doors and road it down the ground floor.

After the agents had left, a small black head poked out of an open vent just above the floor. The raven's eyes darted about, inspecting it's surroundings and when it was satisfied that the coast was clear skipped out and immediately morphed into the semblance Scavenger.

Scavenger leaned against a grated wall, flipped a smoke into his mouth and lit it with his 'death's head' zippo lighter. Inhaling deep he threw his head back and spewed a great cloud of blue smoke into the air.

"Figured you'd a cleared out already." Said a deep voice to his right.

Scavenger turned his head slowly without surprise. His hyper-sensitive olfactory organs could smelled the meta before he entered the corridor. "Thought I smelled shit but I never pictured an asshole like you, Sigma. What the hell are you doing here anyway? This doesn't seem to be your scene."



Sigma's black mask stretched into a smile. "Shut your beak, kid. You ain't the smart." he snapped then his eye looked up and all around the young punk, "Nice bird cage."

Scavenger's confident smile suddenly dropped as he became aware of his surroundings. He was completely surrounded by caged walls and the only way out was opening the elevator doors or through Sigma Seventeen. Stepping away from the wall, he took one last drag on his cigarette, glanced at Sigma and flicked the butt into the air. The orange ember flashed across the dim corridor and before it ricocheted off a piece of metal, Scavenger was on the move. He bolted toward the doors, his heavy boots clanging hard against the expanded metal walkway.

Sigma's whip was quicker. With a flick of the heavy black rod in his right hand, the dark glistening tentacle lashed out, slashing Scavenger across the back. It was just a scrape, but the punk fell forward and sprawled along the gangway as if he was shot. "F&$%#!" he screamed.

Already the noise had alerted several RAID operatives and Sigma knew that it was a matter of minutes before he would have to deal with them. He had to work to fast.

"Where's your friend?" Sigma demanded as the black whip retracted back into it's casing.

"Go $%#@ yourself!" Roared Scavenger.

"Wrong answer."

Sigma readied his whip once again, but this time it was Scavenger that attacked. He sprang to his feet a chromed brass knuckle blade on each hand, the knife in his left hand was turned up, while his power hand had a stabbing grip. His lead hand slashed away with quick jabs and swings while his right hung back waiting for a opening, but Sigma wasn't about to give his opponent the opportunity.


High above the fray, Wraith closed in on the terrorist. He had been correct in assumption that the agile man was using the air ducts to travel through the complex unimpeded. Not a good move when one was being pursued by a wind mutant. If he retreated into one of the tight shafts, Wraith could compress the air generating enough force to shoot the man through one like a canon ball. Chances are he'd die from tumbling and the impact, but Wraith would not go easy on a terrorist threatening to generate an explosion that could wipe out a quarter or more of Chicago.

Hovering silently. Invisibly. Wraith awaited his unsuspecting prey. He would strike hard and a only apprehend if possible. He wanted to keep the man alive to learn how he was sabotaging the reactor but if worst came to worst, he'd figure out it out later.

As the man, quickly made for the air vent along a narrow gangway he was met by a man in black armour, a plasma rifle pointed directly at him. There was no where to run, it was just Grey and the RAID agent.


"Drop your weapons!" Ordered Garret, "You are in direct violation of the Riggs Act and wanted for murder! Lay down your arms and lie on the ground or I will be forced to kill you!"

Wraith slowly floated away from the scene. The RAID agent had come out of no where. Evidently they thought the same, but he questioned the man for approaching the terrorist without back-up. There was, however, something strange about this agent. The moment he appeared Wraith felt weak and as he slowly moved away felt himself turn solid and fall for a moment. Fortunately he was able to regain control of his powers and regained his wind-form just as it went awry. Instinct told him to stay clear of this man and Wraith decided he'd hang back and lend a hand only if it was needed but until then he would stay out of sight in case other RAID agent were on the way.

"Twenty minutes to lock down." Relayed the automated voice.

Standing before the RAID agent, their eyes locked, Greyson felt strange. It was as if someone turned a switch off inside of him. He couldn't quite explain how he knew it, but he became quickly aware that his meta-abilities, aside from his physical attributes were no longer working.

Garret stood his ground. He had the infamous Grey Pyre in his sights, but he knew not to under-estimate him. Even though he nullified this mutant's special powers, he was still faster and stronger than a normal human. He, possessed the enhanced meta traits that set his kind apart from most, but then Garret possessed those same attributes as well. Far stronger than a normal man, he was ready to tangle with the meta-human assassin if it came to that.

"Twenty minutes." Repeated Garret, "That's all we have. Why don't you drop those guns and we get out of here."


The Highwayman checked his monitor and smiled. "At last." he said to himself. The reactor had at last been destabilized and was holding.

"Good work. Initiating plan. Create distraction." he texted to Grey.

The Highwayman then sprinted down the long corridor. In three strides he accelerated to inhuman speed. In five, he was a blur and the sound barrier boomed as he broke through it. In ten strides he was moving well beyond the speed of sound and he was running out of corridor fast. Fifteen strides and he reached and surpassed the speed of light. Time slowed down as the Highwayman generated a warp, allowing him to defy inertia and turn corners at incredible speeds but such movement took its toll on his body. Already he could feel his muscles burning but he had to maintain the warp for at least minute while he planted the transmitters without being detected.

Sneaking across the platform, Grey felt the little vibration from his PDA and saw the text from Highwayman. Distractions... distractions he could do. He was quite talented in that area, in fact, often whether he liked it or not. Mid-stride, he hesitated considering how close he was to the vent when the figure appeared in front of him. Grey's eyes widened for a moment but it was hardly enough for him to lose his wits. In a split second, he had his gun raised and was being ordered to drop it immediately.

Then that strange feeling started... as though he'd been drained of something. He didn't feel weak or any more tired than he did before, but he found himself hoping the core didn't fix itself because somehow he knew there'd be nothing he could do about it. When the RAID agent recited his little script about dropping his weapons and laying down or else be killed, Grey's lip imperceptibly curled. Keeping the handgun raised, he reached his other hand to the rifle over his shoulder and moved very slowly. For all the RAID agent could see, he was simply trying to stretch out his "giving up" as long as he could.

Then he dropped his "guards." The pressure that had built inside of him burst forth abruptly and without hesitation.

"ASSHOLE!!" he screamed, his voice echoing over the core. The moment he felt the floodgates open, he aimed at the agent's neck and fired, luckily just before his head decided to jerk to back and to the side. "F#^%er!" he shouted again with the same lack of warning as before. It had been a while since he'd been able to reap any advantage from his tics but it was still just a tad amusing.

As soon as he'd fired, Grey darted forward, ready to plow through or around the agent if he had to to get to the open vent just behind him. He had less than 20 minutes before he'd have to find a really good hiding place.

Garret's visor recorded everything he saw, and while the members of his unit were not currently watching his feed would be able to play back the video.

Garret's instincts read the meta-terrorist's body language and just before Grey squeezed the trigger he crouched down low and fired a wide burst of plasma energy. He felt Grey's round ricochet off of his neck plate, the sting of the impact stunning him for a brief moment and in that second the hit-man had reacted. Bright blueish white tendrils of electricity danced before the RAID agent's eyes and out of it's center emerged Grey Pyre. Even before Garret and bathed the gangway in plasma energy the meta had lunged into the air crossing the distance between them in the blink of an eye. It was a moment that the registered-meta had secretly hoped for, a chance to meet the assassin in hand-to-hand for in his world the test of man had nothing to do with his marksmanship but with his fists.

Grey came in high and Garret low. The RAID agent threw his armoured shoulder forward with a force equal to a four hundred pound line-backer meeting Pyre's charge head on. The impact was jarring. Were his opponent a regular man, Garret would have stopped him cold but Grey Pyre was a meta, gifted with enhanced physical abilities much like his own. It felt like he just tackled car. Garret's entire body vibrated and for a moment he was weightless with only the sound of blood rushing through ears as he tumbled in the air. He had accurately predicted the meta's strength but Garret had under estimated the man's determination and Grey had hit with such vehemency that he dislodged his helmut.

As Garret landed hard on the metal grating he could hear his high tech helmet tumble along the gangway followed by the skid of his rifle. His armour and protected him from any further damage from the fall but Garret had actually been winded by the blow! Forcing himself to his feet, Garret's heart sunk when he quickly discovered that both his helmet and weapon had tumbled over the edge and he had given his side arm to one of his men when their own had malfunctioned. Unarmed and with out his visor, Garret could not communicate with his team. Grey Pyre had ended only a mere three strides away, but the registered meta knew he would never make it to the man before he put a bullet in his exposed head.



It was time to act.

Wraith had been observing the battle at a safe distance. He found the strange noxious feeling radiating from the RAID agent rather disconcerting and it triggered a memory from his extensive studies of meta-abilities. He thought it best to keep away from the man, but when the tables suddenly turned in favour of the wrong side, he had no choice.

Wraith swooped in as Grey flipped through the air and as he neared the fray could feel the control of his abilities slip away. He had been preparing to materialize but when he did it was not by his own choice, rather because his ability ceased to work .In that moment he knew what the RAID agent was. It was difficult to determine his origins by the man's strength alone, but as Wraith's meta-abilities ceased to function he knew without a doubt he was a meta-human. Worse yet, he was a 'negator', one gifted with the ability to suppress mutant powers.

As Wraith sailed over Grey in mid-flight, he grabbed hold of the hit-man's weapon. Even the highly skilled meta would not be expecting his weapon to ripped away by someone as strong as a bear while he tumbled in the air.

Wraith landed well despite the fact that his power of flight had been stripped away. He shoulder rolled along the gangway and before rising to his feet managed to grab the agent's weapon with his other hand before it slipped over the edge. In one smooth motion he spun around and pointed the plasma rifle at Grey Pyre. Before the super-villain stood a the tall powerful form of classic super-hero just like in the days before they were outlawed. He would have been just a kid when costumed crusaders like Wraith were being hunted long before the passing of the Riggs Act in 2004. Now of all times, one stood before Grey and his freedom, holding his rifle and leveling a plasma gun directly at him.

"Freeze!" The costumed crime fighter ordered. "Not one sudden move or I'll light you up!"

Two levels below, alerted by the sound of Garret's falling helmut, two RAID agents could be heard scrambling for a stairway to assist their commander.

"Shit." Thought Wraith. This wasn't at all what he had planned.

The RAID agents would just as soon shoot him as they would the meta-human terrorist. Perhaps even more so since he was in costume. All he wanted to ensure, however, is that the fight at least stay balanced. Right, now this was RAID's show and he was content to let it stay that way, so long as they were able to apprehend the suspect. It was risky but he had to keep the fight even until the two other RAID agents arrived. About five minutes he figured, based on their position in relation to theirs. All he had to do was keep the plasma rifle on the terrorist and let the meta-human RAID agent do the rest.

On the other side of the gangway from Grey Pyre stood agent Garret shaking the cob webs from his head, his body poised to react to whatever this new meta-human was about to do. At first he considered him to be an ally but then it quickly became apparent that he was on his side. A fortuitous turn of events for Garret, unfortunately it wouldn't end well for the costumed meta he recognized to be Wraith. Even though his assistance would help bring a notorious criminal to justice he was still violating the Riggs Act and had to be brought to justice.

Garret did not hesitate. He seized the opportunity and darted toward Grey Pyre knowing that he had to take him down while Wraith ensured that the hit man did not draw any other weapons that he had on his person. All he had to was keep the assassin engaged until his other men arrived then they would take him and Wraith down.

Moving quickly toward Grey, Garret stood square on the narrow gangway in a classic boxer's stance. He lead with his left, snapping out a quick and powerful jab toward Grey's face his heavy right hand waiting for an opening.

Grey involuntarily reacted to Wraith before he was completely aware of him.

"FAGGOT!" he screamed at the costumed meta. He didn't know who this clown was but he was in his way. Reaching for the handgun, Grey prepared to blow a hole through the idiot's gay-looking mask when he suddenly saw a fist flying his way out of his peripheral vision. Turning instinctively to block the punch, the gun fumbled out of Grey's fingers and slid a few feet away on the gangway. He saw the right punch coming just a split second too late and though he managed to knock it slightly off-course, he still took a painful hit to the ribs. Grey winced and returned with a quick uppercut aimed for Garrett's chin. He wasn't interested in fighting these guys. All he wanted now was to get the hell out of this place. Reaching a knee for the RAID freak's groin, Grey quickly pivoted away and darted out towards his gun.

Keeping his balance, Grey slid with inhuman speed and agility on his feet across the gangway and lowered his body to snatch up the gun. He then quickly straightened and fired at Wraith's head first. He knew the rifle would only fire for himself which would give the superhero geek a nice little surprise should he try to use it but somehow Grey had a feeling it wouldn't be the man's weapon of choice. He then would turn towards Garrett, keeping one eye on Wraith just in case, and aim for the RAID agent's forehead next.

Wraith had kept the plasma weapon trained on the terrorist-meta the entire time and when it seemed that he had gotten the upper hand didn't hesitate. Already having set the weapon to 'pulse', he squeezed the trigger and an intensely bright blue stream of electrical energy arched through the air as Grey Pyre reached his gun. The super-hero rarely used fire arms, but he could shoot, although he was hardly a marksman and he also had to compensate by the weapon's kick caused by the instantaneous super-heating of the air by the plasma burst.

His powers nullified by the negating ability of the registered meta-human RAID officer, Wraith had never felt more vulnerable and held the trigger. The pulse rounds of the plasma rifle licked out like micro lightning strikes, so quickly that it appeared as steady stream of energy pouring out. At such a close range hitting his target was as easy as watering the garden but flowers didn't move. Still, there wasn't any place to go on the narrow gangway, so Wraith just made sure the terrorist didn't get a chance to use his weapon, simply blasting away where ever the meta moved to. Unfortunately the man managed to squeeze off a shot and there was little that Wraith could do. Damn, he hated guns. They either hit or missed, there was nothing elegant about them. His last thoughts as the large man tumbled over the edge of the gangway, the bright electrical stream trailing behind as he held on to the guns.



Garret watched the old super-hero fall to his death. His long career ended by a cheap shot fired by some lowly minion. He didn't ever want it to end like that. As a meta-human he had always respected, Wraith. He wanted him to register, maybe even join the ranks of RAID as he did, but now this fidgeting freak had put an end to all that.

"You goddam, freak!" Roared Garret, his eyes red with rage.

Years of training kicked in and as Grey raise his gun, Garret instinctively protected the only vulnerable part of his body with his armoured arm as he tore head long toward his opponent. The hit man's new weapon had a greater velocity than normal and the RAID officer could feel the bullet penetrate his plating but it didn't slow him down. Garret then drove his front leg toward Grey Pyre's mid-section all the while concentrating on the gun, ready to position his plated fist in front of it, if not grab it or his wrist while they were in close combat.

Garret had a jaw of granite. He was one of those guys who ate pain like candy and he was hungry. The burning his arm, only added fuel to his fire and he was looking to crack some bones. The time for taking Grey Pyre alive had passed, now he was out for blood. Every kick, every punch he through was meant to disable and even kill. With his enhanced strength and his fist's encased it high grade kevlar the meta-human was lethal in melee.

"I'm going to kill you." Promised Garret in a low, growling voice and if ever Grey was fighting an officer of the law before, he was gone now. All that remained was a meta-human fueled by hate and vengeance.



As gun fire echoed through the large chamber, Sigma smoothly dodged Scavenger's acrobatic attacks. The smaller man was quick, and could fight when he had to, which wasn't very often. He twirled, slashed and kicked at the larger man who easily defended himself. Sigma dodged the razor sharp blades, moving just before they contacted his flesh and he blocked the kicks with his arms, unmoved by the force of the blows.

"I'm going to f$%^ing cut my initial's into you, Sigma." Taunted Scavenger.

The bird man, leapt high into the air, his hair grazing he cage above him and descended in a spiraling attack, his blades and feet spinning in an impressive aerial display.

'CRACK!'

Sigma stood for a moment in a classic boxer's stance, left hand to his face, right arm extended, drawing power from his legs. His opponent was out before he hit floor. Scavenger's head bounced like a rubber ball as he fell and sprawled out, blood flowing from his busted lips.

The crime-fighter, bent down low and hovered over the knocked punker, his masked face drawing nearer. He stared at him coldly for a few seconds, staring into the kid's face as if we was looking for something.

"Shut up." he told him, then Sigma stood quickly and followed the sound of the gun shots coming from high above him, near the ceiling. As he made his way up a ladder, a strange noise drew his attention below him. For a second he thought he something streak across the floor but he didn't have time to investigate. He had to find Wraith and this terrorist.