Sunday, June 25th, 2017

00:46 GMT-7 (07:46 GMT June 25th)

Los Angeles
D-JAK:LA

The box was all but identical to the previous one and it bore Cara's initials.

An almost identical locking mechanism was also fitted, four wheels each engraved with the numbers zero to nine, as before. Maddie hefted the box – it was heavier than the previous one. The two girls retreated to the parking lot behind D-JAK and they both sat down on the ground beneath a light. Maddie studied the code wheels for a moment before she then spun in the same code as before – four zero zero two.

"Is that good?" Cara asked as the box buzzed and a yellow LED illuminated beside the lock.

"I don't think so," Maddie groaned. In her mind, she could see a failsafe protecting the box – could it be an explosive failsafe? "Oh, crap!" she muttered – what had she gotten herself into now? Should she continue? Should she call for assistance?

Maddie chose to continue as she turned to Cara.

"Day and month of birth."

"Ninth July . . . shit, no! Tenth."

"Fuck, Cara!" Maddie exploded as the yellow LED turned red and began to flash to the sound of a buzzer. "Are you absolutely sure, this time!?"

"Yeah, sorry."

Maddie dialled in zero-seven-one-zero and then she closed her eyes.

..._...

Cara laughed at her friend who had closed her eyes, but then she frowned as Maddie held the box open in her direction.

"What is that?" Cara asked as she laid her eyes upon a rectangular block of something which looked like modelling clay and which was secured to the side of the box with duct tape. Sticking out of the substance was a thin cylindrical device much like a very thin ballpoint pen but with two small wires sticking out the stop which led to an electronic device attached to the locking mechanism.

"That is C4 explosive intended to kill anyone who opened that box without the right code and incinerate whatever is in there – this is some serious shit you've found for us, Cara."

Cara's face went slightly pale as she struggled to comprehend what her friend was telling her. At first she thought Maddie was just overreacting, but then she saw the serious expression and the evidence. That was when Cara's smile vanished and her face turned a deathly shade of pale as she realised how close they had come to...

"Well, we have another sodding clue!" Maddie growled as she slowly eased the detonator out of the C4 explosive before she pulled a small white envelope from a plastic folder secured to the back of the fake electrical box.

Cara took the envelope which also bore her initials and she broke a wax seal on the closure. Her hands began to tremble as she wondered what might be inside the envelope. Whatever it was, it was something worth killing to protect, she reasoned. But how could she be involved in something which somebody would kill for, she thought. The girl took a deep breath as she pulled out a small white card which bore some typescript.

Seven East. Code 6642.

"That's it?" Maddie queried and Cara turned the card over to reveal a blank reverse. "Hang on..."

Maddie ran out of the parking lot with Cara in pursuit. Cara then crashed into her friend as Maddie stopped on the sidewalk of the next street to the north: Main Street.

"Hey!" Maddie growled as she then began to jog in an easterly direction.

"Where are we going?" Cara asked.

"To find the answer to this clue," Maddie responded somewhat cryptically.

After about 180-yards, Maddie stopped and she pointed across the street at a grey two-storey building which was empty but had once been owned by a company called..."

"Seven East!" Cara exclaimed as she saw a large numeral '7' situated above the word 'East'.

Maddie held her friend firmly by the arm as Cara made to dash across the street.

"Wait – this doesn't feel right."

"What do ya mean?"

"Look, Cara, it's almost one in the morning and we're alone..."

"Don't get it."

"Fuck!" Maddie growled as she looked up and down the street trying to make out anything out of the ordinary – she saw nothing, but then a voice came out of the darkness.

"Well, hello, little girls . . . do you have time to play?"

Both girls spun around as a shape emerged from the darkness. The combat suit was black but there appeared to be some subtle dark grey and dark red highlighting around the seams. Compact Beretta pistols were visible in holsters on each hip along with a brace of throwing knives on each thigh. She bore a single sword, the hilt of which was visible over her left shoulder and her utility belt bore a pouch for her chain whip.

"Tornado," Maddie growled as she pulled her pistol.

..._...

Cara was stunned to see the pistol – an FN Five-seveN Mk2 – appear in her friend's hands.

Neither girl had the slightest idea that they had been watched by two sets of eyes for over an hour, nor that they had fallen into a trap. However, Maddie knew that they were facing certain death and that she was well and truly out of her depth. Maddie stood as she had been taught, her feet apart and her pistol held out at arm's length, both hands clasped around the pistol grip. The girl could feel her hands shaking as she aimed the muzzle at Tornado. But just as the girl was squeezing the trigger, a dark shape clad in a deep blue combat suit with deep red flashes and trim leapt out of the shadows and smashed his left fist which held his bow into the side of Tornado's head. Tornado staggered backward under the intensity of the blow, and she shook her head to ward off the effects of the strike as she turned to take on her attacker. However, as she turned, Tornado kicked out at Cara, sending the girl flying backwards into the street.

Maddie lowered her pistol as she found Paradox in her line of fire. Never had she been so pleased to see the boy, although part of her mind was concerned with how he knew where to find her. How long might he have been following her? Then her mind snapped back to the moment and she knew that she had to take advantage of the distraction and run. She grabbed Cara as she ran, dragging the unfortunate girl back to her feet and both sprinted across the empty street.

"Move!" Maddie yelled as she encouraged Cara to move faster.

The two girls dived down an alley to the left of the building the very moment they were across the street.

"What the hell was that?" Cara demanded as they paused down the side of the building to gather their wits and take a breath.

"That was a vigilante known as Tornado," Maddie growled. "She's bad news."

"And since when did you know how to use a gun?" Cara went on in an accusatory tone.

"November last year," Maddie admitted.

"You shot anybody?"

"I shot Sky a few weeks back."

"You did what!?"

"We need to move," Maddie pointed out.

The two girls moved around the back of the building and Cara was the first to notice a doorway.

"There!" she called out.

Maddie ran at the door and she yanked at the circular door handle, but the door did not budge.

"It's locked!"

"Maddie!" Cara groaned as she pointed to the keypad beside the door.

"Oh!" Maddie said as she grinned foolishly.

Cara punched in six-six-four-two. There was a pause and a green LED illuminated above the keypad. Then the door clicked. Maddie yanked the door open and she ran inside the building. Cara followed behind, yanking at the door to close it before running after Maddie.

"Woah!" Maddie exclaimed as she stopped in the centre of a large open area which extended up two storeys. "What is this place?"

"No idea...," Cara responded as she turned on the spot.

The open area was illuminated dimly by emergency lighting arranged around the walls. There was enough light to move about, but not enough light to see any detail.

"What's that over there?" Cara asked as she saw a big steel door set into the wall a few yards away and enshrouded in shadows.

The two girls stepped over to the door – it was large and made of metal; it reminded Maddie of the doors fitted to the Fusion safehouse. There was another keypad located beside the door. Maddie shrugged as she punched in the same digits as before: six-six-four-two. There was a pause and a green LED illuminated above the keypad. Then the door clicked, just as before. The two girls passed through.

Neither girl had noticed that the exterior security door which they had passed through earlier had not closed fully, nor that a gauntleted hand had stealthily pulled the door open to allow a shadowy shape to slip through.

00:58 GMT-7 (07:58 GMT June 25th)

Main Street

Paradox lay dazed on the sidewalk for a moment.

Tornado was an expert fighter, and had put the boy down, relatively swiftly. However, he had managed to give the two girls time to make their escape. He had no idea why Maddie had gone off on her own in the dead of night, nor why she was with Cara Müller of all people. Knowing her relationship with Dieter Mannheim, the boy did not trust the young girl. He had left the house, soon after Maddie, having caught sight of her leaving the garage with her scooter while he had been out of bed taking a piss. He had quickly dressed and mounted his own motorcycle – a dark blue 2017 Triumph Tiger Sport – and he had made directly for Safehouse C and his combat suit. Then, he had easily tracked Maddie's movements via a tracker located in her scooter. His motorcycle had easily been fast enough to intercept Maddie and Cara as they had left the beach and made for D-JAK. That had been when Paradox had identified Tornado who had been following the two girls. Swiftly, he had regained his feet and he had bolted across the street in pursuit of Tornado who in turn was in pursuit of the girls.

The boy got as far as the security door, only to find it locked. In a growing panic, the boy looked around, trying to figure out another way to get inside, but just as he was on the verge of calling Erika for help, he caught sight of something white on the ground. He reached down and he picked up a small card with something typed on one side:

Seven East. Code 6642.

"In for a penny, in for a pound...," the boy mused as he punched the numbers into the keypad beside the door and then heaved it open once the electronic lock was released.

He entered the building with his bow raised and an arrow nocked. He had to find Maddie – if only to knock some sense into the stupid cow. As far as he was concerned she had really taken the biscuit and he was beyond miffed with her. He did not want to consider what Erika might say about Maddie, let alone himself, when she found out – which he was sure she would before the night was out. He concentrated on his surroundings and he was sure that he could hear voices but the acoustics inside the building caused an echo which prevented him from identifying which direction the voices were coming from.

Paradox moved slowly and silently as he sought out Tornado who had to be inside the building – she was nowhere else.

01:03 GMT-7 (08:03 GMT June 25th)

Seven East

The two girls found themselves in an empty space which might have been an office, once upon a time.

They continued on and passed into a modern kitchen fitted with all the usual modern appliances, none of which were old. Indeed, there were clean dishes stacked beside the sink and there was fresh rubbish in the kitchen bin. Someone was using the place as a bolthole, Maddie reasoned. Then they passed through into a pleasant-looking living room which was pleasantly lit as had been the kitchen. However, it was not the living room, nor the large screen television or the comfortable chairs and couch which had drawn their attention. Actually, it was the couch, but more what lay on the couch.

"Who is that?" Cara whispered to Maddie.

Maddie scowled as she brandished her pistol before her and she stepped towards the supine form. The combat suit was dark green and black overall. The dark green created a mottled effect which allowed the suit to blend into dark surroundings where it would be all but invisible at night. The full-face mask featured a diagonal blood-red stripe running from above the left eye downward across the face. Maddie had instantly recognised the creature who had killed dozens over the past forty-eight hours.

"She's called Carnivora."

"Carnivora?"

"She kills people – like Tornado," Maddie explained.

"Is this her lair?"

"I suppose – a safehouse."

"Is she dead?"

"Must be," Maddie reasoned. "Or we would both be very dead."

Part of Maddie wanted to be sure by putting two bullets into the creature's head – especially after what it had done to Bane and Lilim.

..._...

Tentatively, Maddie stepped closer and she prodded the creature with the muzzle of her pistol.

The creature did not move, much to Maddie's relief, but Cara had noticed something worrying about the masked killer who lay on the couch.

"It's breathing," she pointed out.

"It's wounded," Maddie said as she noticed a medical dressing held loosely against the creature's left abdomen. "It must have passed out due to loss of blood."

"Are we going to help it?" Cara wanted to know – there was something about the creature which tugged at her and seemed familiar.

"I need to call this in – this has gone way too far," Maddie stated.

"Who're gonna call – the police?"

"Cara, there's something you don't know about me, but I trust you. Will you promise not to speak a word of what you learn tonight?"

"Huh?"

"Will you promise?"

"I swear I will never reveal anything I learn tonight to a living soul."

Maddie pulled out her cell phone and she activated a special feature.

01:07 GMT-7 (08:07 GMT June 25th)

Oak Pass Road

Erika awoke with a start.

Then she realised that her cell phone was shrilling. She grabbed the device and then frowned as she recognised the emergency alert from a member of Fusion – but nobody was out... Maddie! Erika stabbed the button on the cell and she listened for a full minute before she spoke, her anger building by the second. At first she could not say a word, she was so incensed by Maddie's total disregard for . . . everything!

"I am beyond disappointed, Madeline," was all she could bring herself to say as she bolted from her bedroom and she kicked open two bedroom doors. "Chrissy, Kieran! Move your sorry butts; we're rolling!"

"What the hell!?" Chrissy exclaimed.

"That stupid bitch has gone off on her own and to make things better, she's in a fucking room with Carnivora, all while Tornado is outside looking to kill her," Erika raged.

"Where's James?" Kieran asked.

"The fucking wanker went after his bitch and he has already engaged Tornado on his own," Erika added. "Sky, scramble Team San Diego while we make for Safehouse C to gear up. If we're lucky, Maddie will still be alive, so I can fucking rip her apart myself!"

Sky winced as she exchanged a glance with her sister.

01:10 GMT-7 (08:10 GMT June 25th)

Seven East

Maddie was almost in tears as she returned her cell to a pocket.

"Who are you, Maddie?" Cara asked.

"I am Crypto and I am part of Fusion."

"You're a fucking vigilante!" Cara exclaimed before she paused and went on in a calmer voice. "That explains so much you know."

"Let's see what's under the mask," Maddie ventured.

Cara reached for the base of the mask but Maddie stopped her as her eyes noticed the buttons on the mask.

"Press that one," Maddie suggested.

Cara did and then she began to peel off the mask. For a moment, she thought that her eyes were deceiving her as more and more of the face was revealed. Then Cara screamed as the mask fell to the floor beside the couch, her hands covering her mouth at the sight of what had been revealed.

"Oh, hell!" Maddie exclaimed as she realised who Carnivora was underneath the mask.

"Mom," Cara muttered.

Rosa Müller was unconscious and looking very pale as she lay on the couch.

"Well, well, isn't this a turn out for the books," Tornado chuckled as she jumped down from where she had been crouched in the suspended ceiling. "Oh, I am going to be rewarded for this."

Maddie squeezed off two rounds, neither of which struck her intended target, before the gun was ripped from her hands by Tornado.

"Control, this is Tornado. Get me the boss, right the fuck now!" Tornado radioed, her voice full of triumph.

Maddie had no idea what to do.

..._...

Before Tornado had received a response from over her radio, she came under attack as the suspended ceiling collapsed around her and Paradox made his appearance.

"Hello, boy!" Tornado growled.

"Hello, bitch."

Maddie grabbed Cara and they both crouched down beside the unconscious Rosa – there was nothing else either one of them could do but watch the fight unfold. Paradox began to fire off arrows at Tornado who expertly deflected the evil devices with her armour and her chain whip which she had swiftly deployed. Paradox knew that he had to give his team time to gear up and arrive – he had been contacted by a severely pissed off Mist, just before he had dropped in on Tornado. Mist's anger had galvanised the boy into action and he would do everything he could to keep the two girls alive for the next twenty minutes or so – a tough task he knew, to say the least. Tornado was of medium height with a few inches on Paradox – and she had curves to die for – but she was also lethally armed. But so was Paradox who made use of his varied weapons with professional dexterity. The boy had judged his opponent well and he swiftly stowed his bow on his back and then drew his dragon katana even as Tornado drew her own katana blade.

The pair circled one another for a few moments before the blades began to clash and they both moved swiftly to dodge and block the incoming katana strikes. In between the slashes came the kicks and the punches. The pair whirled and fought, the steel clashing against steel as their blades came together. Tornado took the first point as she took her blade across the armour on Paradox's left thigh, infuriating the boy no end. Tornado would strike several times with her blade and then strike with a kick before reengaging with the her blade. Paradox was fairly quick in figuring out her moves as he then figured out a way to turn those same moves against his enemy. Then he had her as he grasped her foot when she kicked and shoved her backwards. Tornado crashed through the partition into the kitchen, sending glass and plywood flying in all directions. The woman landed on the floor and she rolled back to her feet, brandishing her katana as Paradox jumped through the same hole in the plywood partition to strike at her.

The two blades clashed, the sound echoing around the safehouse. Tornado was outraged and she showed it as she fought back harder and harder, her blade whirling and slashing. Paradox noticed that her style of fighting had changed and she no longer kicked out at semi-regular intervals – she was smart, he realised, very smart. All of a sudden, she switched out her katana for her chain whip and Paradox narrowly missed the whirling device as he ducked below the lethal tip. One thing the boy had going for him was the fact that Mist also favoured the very same weapon and he had learnt to fight against such a thing during his early weeks in Los Angeles. He was forced to back off as the whip extended out further than his blade and he needed to keep a distance from Tornado to remain out of the chain whip's deadly reach.

Carefully, Paradox circled his opponent, gauging where the chain might strike next.

01:30 GMT-7 (08:30 GMT June 25th)

Safehouse C

It had been the fastest drive into the city Erika had ever accomplished, but right at that moment, she was becoming Mist as she completed pulling on her combat suit.

Just a minute later, she slipped behind the wheel of Sideswipe. Beside her, Domitor slipped into the passenger seat. Across the vehicle garage, Venom was astride her motorcycle. With a roar, the 6.2-litre V8 engine roared to life and the rear wheels spun as almost 500-horsepower was put through the 8-speed automatic transmission. As the smoke from the spinning tyres faded, Venom accelerated after the Chevrolet Camaro SS. Mist took off up the I-110 northbound, accelerating past sixty in less than four seconds. The Camaro took the I-10 junction at eighty-five, the massive tyres screaming as they gripped the black top. Then Mist stomped the pedal to the floor and the thoroughbred automobile easily accelerated through one hundred miles-per-hour and onward to over one hundred and thirty miles-per-hour.

Mist was determined to get to Maddie in the fastest time possible.

01:38 GMT-7 (08:38 GMT June 25th)

Seven East

Paradox was thrown violently against the kitchen side, his flailing left arm wiping out the crockery and glasses arranged neatly beside the sink and sending the majority crashing to the ceramic tiles which formed the floor of the kitchen.

It appeared that Tornado was going on a wrecking spree with Paradox being utilised as the wrecking ball, but the boy had other ideas. With a remarkable display of dexterity, he twisted around and he rammed the sole of his boot into the faceless bitch's chest, sending her flying backwards, crashing into a table and chairs as she hit the floor.

"I get the feeling you don't like me," Paradox offered conversationally.

Tornado did not respond. She was nowhere near finished playing with Paradox. She enjoyed the sparring and it made good foreplay before the main act where she would gut the two girls and make them both suffer extraordinary pain. But before then, Paradox would have to die. Tornado sprang to her feet and she flew at Paradox, kicking and punching the youth in a fury. She was not about to let some young whelp get the better of her – not again. The swords were back out and Paradox was wielding his blade like his life depended on it – which indeed it did.

"I do have a girlfriend, you know. You and me; it would never work out," Paradox went on conversationally, simply infuriating Tornado even further.

Just a few feet away, Maddie and Cara were cowering together close to Rosa/Carnivora. Both had arrived at the 'scared shitless' stage and passed straight through, heading on up the scale. But Maddie knew that she had to help Paradox – he alone could not fight off Tornado – so she decided to scramble over to where her pistol had been thrown.

"Where are you going?" Cara hissed, a hand on Maddie's arm.

"For my FN; Paradox needs help," Maddie hissed back as she shrugged off Cara's hand and she began to crawl over to where the pistol lay.

As far as she could tell, Tornado's attention was on Paradox, and the pistol lay only about eighteen feet away. Maddie moved carefully, not wanting to draw any attention to herself, but with her eyes focussed on the gun, she had barely made it six feet before Cara screamed out.

"Maddie!"

Maddie turned to find Tornado staring at her from just six feet away. Maddie felt like the proverbial rabbit in the car headlights on a dark road and just like that proverbial rabbit, she froze. Cara could hear Paradox yelling at Maddie, but Maddie heard none of it as Tornado sent Paradox flying and then turned to advance on Maddie.

To her credit, Maddie snapped out of her trance and she lunged for the pistol.

01:49 GMT-7 (08:49 GMT June 25th)

Not too far away
Main Street

"This is not good."

"Ya think!" Mist growled at Domitor.

The street was flooded with Panther Brigade mercenaries and the way ahead was blocked. The closest soldiers had turned as Mist had slammed on the carbon-fibre brakes and the vehicle had stopped some one hundred yards back from the men. Four of them had advanced on the nightfall grey metallic Camaro to see what was going on. They had made it just twenty yards when the rear tyres began to spin and then the sports coupe accelerated hard, hitting sixty four seconds later and the four men just half a second after that. The four bodies were smashed to the side and Mist was not stopping as mercenaries ran for safety as she hurtled through with Venom just a few yards behind. Mist finally stomped on the brakes outside their destination, the Camaro spinning a full one-eighty as it stopped. Venom was close behind as she stopped and she leapt off her motorcycle, ripping off her helmet and unstowing her bō-staff. Understandably, the Panther Brigade mercenaries who numbered around eighteen were not amused and they soon reformed their ranks and advanced on the three Fusion vigilantes.

"Take the bastards!" Mist growled as she and Venom broke into a run towards the nearest mercenaries with Domitor close behind.

The distance was too short for firearms so the mercenaries drew a varied array of combat machetes and ko-katana blades.

..._...

The fighting was harsh and at six-to-one the odds were not all that good, but they had faced worse.

Venom was very angry and she knew that every second wasted on the mercenaries meant another second where Maddie could die. Her twin blades flashed in the street lights and clouds of blood exploded out as they came in contact with flesh. Most of the men wore body armour which just meant a few extra strikes were needed for her blades to get through to the soft and tender fleshy parts. The sixteen-year-old terror happily sliced and diced like she was preparing vegetables for a stew. At the back of her mind, though, she was planning how to gut Maddie and James; they had both let everyone down.

Domitor was also able to hold his own as he too waded into the mass of mercenaries, enjoying the blood letting which he had not managed a great deal of to that point in time. But, it seemed, he was not alone in his task of hacking down the Panther Brigade.

"Yo!" a voice called out and Domitor found Trauma hacking his way through to say hello.

"Fancy meeting you here," Domitor responded.

"Just out for an evening stroll and came across this little party – mind if we join in?"

"We?" Domitor inquired.

"I bought along the old ball and chain," Trauma chuckled as he slashed at a mercenary with his combat machete.

"I heard that!" Lilith yelled out from behind a wounded man.

Domitor laughed as he saw Lilim and Riptide fighting just a few feet away.

"We got this, Mist – go get our girl," Lilith called out to Mist.

Mist nodded gratefully as she ran down the side of the building and around the back.

..._...

Inside Seven East, things were not going all that well.

Maddie's lunge for the pistol had resulted in pain, a lot of pain. Tornado's left boot had kicked Maddie in the left side, sending the youngster rolling off to the side with a large scream, but not before she had grasped hold of the FN Five-seveN Mk2 pistol. Maddie sat up, holding the pistol in both hands and levelled at Tornado who threw a small blade at Maddie just as Maddie squeezed the trigger once, twice, thrice. Tornado had been diving for safety the moment she had thrown her blade so the first bullet had missed, but the second took her in the left upper arm, a spray of blood marking the exit of the 5.7-millimetre bullet which spun the killer around and caused the third bullet to miss completely. Maddie collapsed as the pain from a broken rib overtook her and she sobbed loudly as she cradled her rib cage.

Paradox had dived out of the way of Maddie's not-very-well-aimed bullets and thus he was in the perfect position to reengage with the apparently wounded Tornado. The bitch had her chain whip deployed and the tip lanced out towards Paradox, sending him rolling off to the side to avoid major injury. Tornado then used her chain whip to haul down the remnants of the partition wall between the kitchen and the living room. Those remnants crashed down upon Paradox, pinning the youth to the floor. Tornado then proceeded to take the chain whip across his exposed upper back, eliciting a yell of pain as the combat suit absorbed the majority of the blow but not all. Paradox tried to regain his feet, but he was mercilessly kicked in the left shoulder by Tornado who was very pleased with the unfolding situation – at least she was until she heard a dull explosion from some distance away. For the moment, she chose to ignore the sound as she knew that the building was protected by a hoard of Dieter's Panther Brigade.

However, as she turned back to Paradox, she found the youth unearthing himself from the collapsed aluminium supports and plywood.

..._...

Mist had resorted to an explosive charge on the door to destroy the locking mechanism.

That had gained her entry inside what appeared to be a warehouse of sorts. Then she had heard the sounds of fighting. Just before she had blasted open the door to the warehouse, she was certain that she had heard a trio of gunshots which had hastened her resolve to get to Maddie at all costs. Inside, she raced towards the sounds of fighting and as she came upon what had to have been some form of safehouse, she caught sight of Paradox endeavouring to haul himself out from underneath a pile of wreckage all while...

"Tornado!" Mist hissed as she recognised the combat suit.

Tornado raised her chain whip for a decisive strike at the injured vigilante and she brought the weapon down towards his head, but then something lashed out and intercepted her strike, her whip being jerked out of her hand. The enraged assassin turned to find herself facing...

"Mist!"

"Hello, you old windbag."

Tornado drew her katana blade and lunged at Mist who drew her twin sais and easily dodged the first thrust which had been taken in anger and then watched out for the next thrust which would be calculated. Mist had also been able to catch sight of Maddie and Cara which gave her a concrete purpose to destroy Tornado once and for all. The katana came in again, but Mist was able to parry the lethal blade to one side, even as she twisted and stabbed at Tornado, catching the assassin in her left side and eliciting a yelp of pain as the tip of the sai pierced the combat suit and sank half an inch into the flesh beneath. The bloody sai was brought around and the tip plunged down into Tornado again, but Tornado fell backwards to the floor and the sai missed by just half an inch. Tornado rolled as she endeavoured to bring her katana around to defend herself, only Mist was too fast, and the next strike from the sais struck hard, the precision machined points passing clean through the body armour Tornado wore and into her chest. Her right lung was punctured and the organ rapidly filled with blood.

Tornado was stunned as she felt the intense pain on the right side of her chest, and she sagged to the floor, going down on one knee. She brought up her katana blade to fend off the next strike. Mist beat down on the katana blade with her sais, not allowing the assassin a chance to recover and strike back. Tornado found herself weakening as she fell backwards onto her backside. She was stunned that she found herself being defeated. She had suffered some setbacks in her career, but in general she had been successful, so it was totally unexpected to find herself to be dying. While her body was failing, her mind was as sharp as ever. She knew that if she was to make her escape, it would have to soon, or she would be far too weak. Her mind was refusing to allow for her to die at the hands of a Fusion vigilante – that was never going to happen.

However, Mist had other ideas as she struck again and again, pounding on the assassin. Mist wanted the bitch dead and she was going to keep at Tornado until the assassin was just a corpse. She had seen that Maddie was in a lot of pain, and that could only be because Tornado had hurt her, and that meant a death sentence without question. Tornado was weakening – that was obvious – so Mist knew that it would not be long until she was dead. Indeed, Tornado was suffering badly and she was struggling to breath properly with one collapsed lung. Finally, she sagged onto her back and she dropped her katana to the floor with a clatter – she was completely wiped out. The defeated assassin glared up at her vanquisher, willing Mist to carry out the execution and end it. The pain was increasing and she was struggling to breathe. She coughed and she found her mouth filling with blood and she scrambled to remove her mask so she could allow the aerated pink blood to flood down the side of her face to pool on the floor around her neck.

Mist got her first look at the woman who was Tornado. She had blonde hair tied up in a ponytail and pale blue eyes. Mist dropped to one knee and she studied the woman at close range. Apart from the blood she was coughing up, the woman was quite stunning, Mist thought as she considered saying something. Only, nothing came to mind as she watched the woman dying before her eyes. The pain was evident in the assassin's eyes as was her inability to breathe properly. But Mist was not about to put the bitch out of her misery; Mist wanted her to suffer until the very end which did not take long as the pain increased and the choking increased. Then, as Mist stood, Tornado braced up and she tried to speak, but no words came out amidst the frothy blood. Then the woman died, her eyes staring into nothing. Mist turned away, uninterested in the corpse. She made straight for Maddie. The girl was frightened and shaking with fear.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes," Maddie responded.

"Cara?"

"I'm okay," Cara responded.

"So, this is Carnivo...," Mist growled and then her voice tailed off as she laid eyes on the face of Rosa Müller. "Shit."

"We need to get her out of here," Paradox stated. "We need to keep her secret."

"Why?" Mist challenged.

"Because it is the right thing to do," Paradox persisted.

"Please," Maddie said.

"I don't want to hear another word from you, young lady, do you understand me?"

"Yes, ma'am," Maddie responded as she looked down at the floor.

"With the help of Trauma, I can get her to safety," Paradox suggested.

"You're in almost as much shit as she is," Mist growled.

"I know," Paradox responded. "I also know that you will do the right thing."

Mist thought about it for almost a full minute before she came to a decision.