Remmy settled into a seat beside Hiroko, foot tapping restlessly as he stared out at the empty stage. It looked like a theatre for a play owned by some rich man, but he knew better then to believe that. The man that had escorted them into the room had vanished into the shadows in the very back and in his place a man with a well-groomed beard stepped up to a podium on the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen I'm sure you're all excited to see what we have for sale." He paused, licked his lips and continued.

"Now shall we begin?"

There was a gentle round of applause, a rare whistle or two scattered about the place that earned quite a few glares from the more 'proper' people in the audience.
The man on the stage nodded at this, then raised one arm out to gesture at the child that had been led onto the stage. She was small, bare feet dirty from the floor, her hair long and black and surprisingly clean. Her whole body radiated terror, from the quivering she tried to conceal, to the pure emotion he could see in her eyes. It killed him inside to have to sit there and watch as the man rang off prices with the voice of an auctioneer. Took every effort to not leap up and punch someone as the numbers went up and up and up until a hulk of a man was proclaimed the buyer.

Hiroko was better at it. There was only the faintest tightening of her grip from time to time to hint at her anger at the place. She seemed to be a master at concealing her emotions from the outside view and while
you couldn't really tell just by looking at Remmy he wasn't good at it like her. There were so many many children that went onto the stage, most of them under the age of thirteen. He'd seen a few of them before on missing posters and he was far too familiar with that. He knew what made people search endlessly and ask strangers on the street if they'd seen their loved ones.

These children here were almost certainly seen as useless for anything but making money in the eyes of Roxanne. They were the kids who couldn't afford to go to school, or who chose not to. There was never any choice in the schooling system; alternate schools were illegal. You either had your child taught to become a soldier or had them be uneducated. The people who disagreed with that couldn't complain about it and it was no secret that they were the kids who were stolen away from their families, snatched right off the streets by Roxanne's subordinates.

Remmy was vaguely aware that maybe if things had been different he might have been one of the kids on that stage, or that he wouldn't be fighting a war that seemed impossible to win.
He was here though, and he would do everything in his power to win this fight. He'd do a damn good job of it too.
This was where it all started; where he would start to make history. For the moment that meant sitting and watching and not letting themselves get too caught up in their emotions.

If he was being honest he was more worried about Trish out of all of them. He shared the same tendency to leap into things without thinking and get caught up in his anger. Even if he was the more rational of the two it took him a hell of a lot of effort to keep calm In the face of injustice.
Every time a child was brought out a press of bodies rose, their rising voices blending with each other and that of the man on the stage to make one piercing noise. It only made things worse.

Remmy wasn't sure how much time had passed before the last child was shuffled onto the stage, sold to some women in the back and escorted away like all the others. The bearded man hadn't stopped talking but he wasn't really listening-Trish would do that for him. He always listened even when he didn't want to.
There was a low chatter as people begin to rise and Hiroko nudged him with her elbow, giving him a look he had no clue how to decipher.

"Did he fall asleep?"

Remmy glanced up confused for a moment before spotting a very tall woman obviously conversing with Hiroko. He quickly glanced away before she caught him looking.

"He's not really one for public events like this."

"Ah I know what you mean. My husband, he goes to sleep any chance he gets. Takes a mighty big effort to get him to places like this." The woman sighed sadly, fingers twirling one of her blonde curls.

"If you don't mind me saying, you got yourself one handsome catch there. His hair's a bit odd but he looks like a keeper."

"He is a little bit of a strange man." Hiroko grinned a little, her head nodding in agreement at the blonde's statement.

"Well we'd both best be off. I'm sure mine's going to find some trouble if I leave him alone." With that the woman walked off into the crowd leaving behind a very bewildered Remmy.

Hiroko seemed to be struggling a bit to keep a pleasant look on her face as she practically wrenched Remmy out of his seat. He was still confused as to what had just happened back there. (And really who the hell was that lady, coming up out of the blue and saying things like that?)
Nonetheless he had a job to do, so he allowed Hiroko to lead him into the crowd that was being ushered out through a pair of doors into a hallway. It wasn't as fancy as the rest of the building, the carpeting and wood and decorations all cheaper versions of the real things.

The crowd wasn't paying any attention to the two when they drifted away from the group at a split in the hallway. A very real turn towards a better future or their own deaths. Once they were out of sight Hiroko dropped his arm and her mask, her face so furious he felt as if she could stab him with her eyes. As it was he was mildly worried for his own safety let alone any unfortunate soul who happened to cross paths with the beedrill. (His poor wrist was already suffering from her wrath.)

"Open up that map thing on your watch. I'll keep an eye out for Trish."

For a moment, he stood there confused before remembering that Digit had indeed put a layout of the place on the fancy thing Devon corp had given him. He promptly pulled it up giving Hiroko a little signal when he was done. The next few minutes were spent studying the map in silence, pausing when he'd memorized it enough to unbutton the collar of his suit. He hadn't even realized quite how suffocating it had been until he'd unbuttoned it, but it was like he'd been washed over by a fresh wave of air. Hiroko was still standing in the same spot, unmoving and staring out for signs of their now late member, her red dress matching the color of the carpet.

"Ya think all rich people are like that?" He muttered, looking at the confused-and very irritated-look Hiroko was giving him.

"The lady, I mean. Y'know she was talkin' to you back there?"

"Not all rich people are like that, no. I've met a few decent ones. Don't think you'd find that sort here though." Hiroko grinned a little, turning her head back to look at him.

"I see him."

A few seconds after she said this Trish joined them in their little secluded hallway, grumbling to himself. His baby blue suit was half unbuttoned, and his hair seemed to have suffered as well from whatever he'd run into.

"I hate this place."

Remmy nodded in silent agreement, and Hiroko looked about ready to throw a toast in honor of those words.
Instead she chose to ask the dreaded question.

"What happened?"

"Some crazy chick came up to me, started up a conversation and tried to get it on with me." Trish huffed, running one hand through his hair in an attempt to tame it.

"Did she happen to have curly blonde hair?" Hiroko mumbled, a strange look In her eyes.

"How the hell did you know that? Did you send her after me or something?"

"Of course not. No, it's just that I think she's the same woman who called Remmy a handsome catch." She paused, rubbing a hand over her face.

"If she Is then we might be in trouble. The same woman flirting with two guys who are both trying to bring this place down? Can't be a coincidence."

"She said she liked my freckles. Isn't that a strange thing to say about someone?" Trish said with a sigh.

"Well she said my hair was weird."

"It kind of is." Hiroko smiled at him, mischievous intent plastered all over her face.

"You're wrong."

"It's a Mohawk, and not a Mohawk at the same time. Like a floppy Mohawk. A flophawk. Of course it's weird."

Trish couldn't help but snort a little, which only earned a very furious glare from Remmy who seemed to be at a loss for what to say. After a few moments he stood up, pointed at the map displayed on the device and begin walking down the hallway silently. There was a unspoken agreement then and there that the three of them remain silent while they headed towards where Roxanne would likely be.

This part of the hallway was a little bit darker, less of the lights on the walls being the source of this. It obviously wasn't meant for any guests to walk along. Multiple locked doors lined the walls, metal labels identifying their purpose nailed to the top. There were a few that hadn't been locked, or that weren't labeled but for the most part these were empty. (The two guards they'd ran into in an unlocked supply closet had been promptly knocked out.)

All too soon they found themselves before Roxanne's office, where she either was or would be eventually. The door was the nicest one in the hallway, big and grand and at the very center of the dead end. Hiroko gave Remmy a confidence filled look, then opened up the door to Roxanne's lair.

She obviously had money which was evident by the fact that her office looked grand enough to live in. It was large and roomy and well-decorated and right in the middle was Roxanne, sitting at her desk and staring calmly at the intruders. Her face split into a eerie grin that sent a shiver down Remmy's spine, as she stood to face them.

"Well now whatever do we have here?" She laughed once, stared down at her fingernails then turned back to look at them, her voice turning dangerously cold.

"You should all leave unless you want any accidents to happen. My men don't take kindly to wandering guests."

"You can tell your men to fuck off. We aren't about to play any games with you." Hiroko was practically snarling at the other younger woman, her body radiating that she was ready for a fight.

Remmy gave Trish a glance, readying himself into a fighting stance as Roxanne sneered down at them, her fingers snapping together loudly. At her command, five bulky figures stepped out from behind a pair of large red curtains, stopping when they reached Roxanne's side. A sixth person entered, familiar blonde curls bouncing as she whispered something in the other's ear before walking back to where she'd come from.

"I knew she was suspicious."

They were all silent for a moment, Remmy and Trish completely ignoring Hiroko's comment, Roxanne's men waiting for a command. And a command she did give, a wordless hand motion setting them into action.

All too soon, Remmy found himself sliding across the floor in an attempt to dodge the tall grey-haired man who had come at him.
He was slower then Remmy had initially thought, but he still managed to catch the edge of Remmy's hip with a hard kick while he was getting up, sending him sprawling back to the ground. Remmy barely managed to roll away from the next kick that had been aimed directly for his head, before he lunged for the older man's legs, tugging him to the ground. A fist collided with his face, causing Remmy to loosen his grip with one hand, quickly retaliating by elbowing the rock type in the crotch.

He quickly dragged himself away from kicking range, ignoring the throbbing pain in his face and hip.
He almost didn't see the rock.
It took him a moment to realize he was lying on his back, his jaw exploding with pain so intense he could see spots. He could only just feel the blood trickling down his neck and face. There was a grunt, and loud dragging footsteps and then the man was leaning over him, hunched over from the injury he'd received earlier, lifting up one hand to finish Remmy off. He didn't get the chance.

A familiar black haired blur sent the man crashing to the ground, his head making a sickening crack as it met with the floor. There was a moment of silence, before voices started up far away and Hiroko leaned down beside him, a concerned look on her face. She was, for the most part, unharmed. Only a few bruises or scratches where an attack had met visible on her body. It was a far cry from how he felt, and apparently looked judging by the expression on her face.

He was too tired and hurt to comprehend her words at first, a confused expression trying to plant itself on his face painfully. Slowly slowly her words began to make sense, and he almost wished they hadn't because that knowledge terrified him.
Trish was fighting Roxanne alone. That wasn't how this was supposed to happen.

O

Roxanne seemed a little surprised, like she hadn't expected them to be so powerful. Not scared or concerned, just surprised. Her face quickly melded back into a malicious grin, as she studied Trish.

"You think you can best me?" she snorted like somebody had made a joke.

"You're just some wanna-be 'hero.' That's what you call yourself after all isn't it? Heroes. Going to save the world from big bad Roxanne like you actually have the power to do that."

She shook her head and stepped closer, Trish becoming more alert, and wary.

"No. I'm afraid you're just another one of those weaklings. You're just another useless person who doesn't have the power to back up your threats. See I've fought plenty of your kind and they never have any realpower."

"You're wrong."

"I suppose we'll see about that."

There was something in her grin that seemed almost feral. Hungry eyes sizing up her opponent, fingers clicking away on the wood of her desk as she leaned up against the edge of it. She made the first move, her hand coating itself in rocks as she lunged for his throat, grazing his skin when he dodged out of the way.
Roxanne stopped only long enough to steady herself, then lunged at him again, this time aiming for his stomach with a now dangerously spiky hand, again falling short.

She wasn't playing games anymore. She had every intent to kill him right there, and Trish didn't think she was going to play nice. Still, she was slower then him, her speed common among rock types such as herself. She hadn't moved for the past few seconds, and neither had he. She might be slow but if he rushed in that would be giving a much better chance at getting a hit in.

Her eyes narrowed, and she lunged once more, cutting into his arm with the spiked rocky mess covering her fist. He hissed, grabbed at the other very bare arm before she get out of range and began to drain the energy right out of her. Her veins pulsated in protest and for a moment she was incapable of moving from the sudden shock of it but she quickly snapped back digging her stone covered fingers into his cheek.

With an enraged yell Trish dropped her arm like it was on fire and pushed her away violently, his hand instinctively reaching up to cover the wounded side of his face. He was pretty sure some of the scratches went all the way through. For awhile neither of them moved, too hurt and exhausted to hit back. Both just panting heavily and staring at each other with fury in their eyes.

He made the next move, surprising Roxanne momentarily before she lashed out, catching his shoulder with her claws though he ignored the new pain. And then he was behind her, one arm wrapped around her neck, the other grabbing onto the bare skin of her arm to finish draining her energy away. He didn't stop until she was unconscious, her struggling and scratching at his arm finally ceased when he let her fall to the floor.

They'd won. They'd actually god damn won and nobody was dead so far as he knew. Despite the fact that neither he or Remmy were in good shape from the looks of it, he felt like celebrating. It took him a moment to remember he needed to tie the woman up. Hiroko had taken care of that though, given him a worried glance as she passed by. All the blood that was oozing from the gashes on his face had made him start to feel faint and when he looked up there was Remmy leaned up against the desk his face twisted in agony and all bruised up.

He would be okay, Hiroko had told him. Both of them, and they'd be leaving soon once Chris and some backup arrived to get them out. He just let her pet his hair like she used to do back when they were together. Didn't even mind because it wasn't romantic, it was just soothing and he was far too hurt to care about it. Remmy let out a little whimper and her attention turned to him and Trish almost missed her touch. Almost.