With an overwhelming sense of urgency, the Vigilant quickly made their way to their destination, a warehouse at the edge of the city, after Infiltrator intercepted a communication amongst KnightCorps' security that they were rounding up a large number of individuals for experimentation.

"This makes no sense. Why, after all this time, since we saved those people a while ago, are they kidnapping people again?" Responder asked in concern, feeling as though there was more going on then met the eye.

"I have no clue, but one way or another Knight is going down." Cosmic Knockout said in reply, determined to bring Knight and his lackeys to justice.

"And with our team back and hyped, there's no way we can lose." Frequency added as he flashed a grin to Cosmic Knockout, who smiled back, both feeling more comfortable around the other again.

"Just keep your guards up. This smells like it could be a trap." Razor Wolf then said with a growl, sensing something wasn't right either, earning small and serious nods from his teammates as they continued towards the warehouse.

Eventually, the group saw the building in question, but were slightly confused to see that there were no guards present outside.

"Yeah... something's not right here." Frequency then said as Responder opened the door and the Vigilant entered, becoming even more confused to see that the lights were out.

"This is starting to creep me out." Cosmic Knockout confessed, feeling a growing confusion and worry to the lack of KnightCorps employees and the off set mood to their current situation, to the point she subconsciously moved her hand out and took Frequency's, finding comfort at his hold.

However, at the next moment, much to their shock, the lights flashed on, where the Vigilant saw Black Wyvern, Helix, Jester, Lady Beauty and nearly a dozen security guards around them, all smirking wickedly.

"Ok. This is much more like it." Frequency commented as he scanned the area, not too sure if the position they were now in was better or worse than beforehand.

"Just like moths to flame, you couldn't resist our little trap. There are no hostages, only four new lab rats for us to play with." Helix said with a laugh, while Black Wyvern rolled his eyes and said. "Enough horsing around, let's kill them already."

"Sounds good to me." Lady Beauty said, drawing her weapon as she leapt at Cosmic Knockout and declared. "I'll handle little miss pretty, you three find your own fights."

Wasting no time, Lady Beauty showed her hostility toward the pink haired heroine, her sword drawn as she tried to pierce it through the heroine's body, but found Cosmic Knockout was in full swing as she ducked under the initial slash attack, before trying to counterattack with a powerful right hook.

"This time, you won't get away, and we'll make sure everyone knows the evil you've done!" Cosmic Knockout declared as she tried to hit her opponent, who did her best to dodge as she growled in anger.

"Better to be evil and beautiful, than to be a brat like you." Lady Beauty spat back, picking up the pace in her swings and forcing Cosmic Knockout to move all around as to avoid Lady Beauty's blade cutting her down.

As the heroine and the villainess were locked in their fight, while Frequency wanted to help, having his arms drawn out and ready to release a sonic blast at Lady Beauty, Jester jumped down right before him, blocking his path and causing the sound based hero to back up a little.

"Don't you know it's rude to hit a lady?" Jester asked with a small giggle, bringing down his arms, where a set of daggers rolled down his sleeves and into his hands, before he began to try his hand at eliminating Frequency.

"I suppose it's also rude to try and kill someone without asking, but why start now?" The maniac then let out with a crazed chuckle as he continued his attack on Frequency, continuing to change up his speed and movements as to throw off the blond, making it harder for the sound based hero to anticipate Jester's precise moves.

While Cosmic Knockout and Frequency had been forced into their fights with their respective foes, Razor Wolf chose his opponent, where he gave off a snarl as he made chase after Helix.

"I don't care if they have to carry you out of here, piece by piece. One way or another, you're going down." Razor Wolf snarled as he rushed at Helix, who dodged his opponent's claws and blades as he extended his needle-like weapons from his hands.

"I think not. I have tons of experiments left to perform." Helix said back, keeping his needles drawn as he asked with a continued chilling voice. "Now why don't you be a good boy and play dead?"

The mad scientist and his former experiment continued to trade blows with one another, while above them, both Responder and Black Wyvern had taken to the air, with the mercenary using his missiles to try and take the tech hero out, while Responder retaliated with blasts of blue energy that that collided with the tech villain's shield.

"Not bad." Black Wyvern confessed as he deactivated his shield, only to then say. "But thanks to the Boss, my suit's gotten an upgrade to deal with you and your pain in the neck buddies."

"Plus, now that I noticed it more, If I didn't know better, though, I'd say you're mimicking V-Force with your suit and fighting style." The merc then mocked, but Responder didn't respond and just continued to look for weaknesses in his opponent's suit.

There was no need for Haru to let his enemy know that V-Force was his idol as a hero, just like Davis was someone he looked up to as a person, leaving Responder to focus on taking down Black Wyvern, knowing that if V-Force was in his position, he would stop at nothing to take down his foe.

Meanwhile, as the fighting raged on in the warehouse, none of the Vigilant noticed the silver haired young man in the suit watching the entire battle from the rafters above, where a calm but smug smirk appeared on his face as he looked between the members of the Vigilant.

"Now then, which one... Which one?" Knight asked himself as he looked at each of the Vigilant, before his eyes landed on Cosmic Knockout, taking in not only her fighting style and strength, but from what he could see of her beauty, causing him to smirk wickedly.

"Yes, you'll do very nicely." Knight said as his eyes began to glow red as he added with a continued dark smirk graced his face."Beauty, brains and brawn, they will serve me well."

At the next moment, just before her fist was about to slam into Lady Beauty's mask, freaking her out at the thought of her gaining a blackeye or a bruise, Cosmic Knockout suddenly stopped, causing her opponent to smirk, while the other Vigilant looked on at her with confusion.

"Cosmic, what's wrong?" Responder called in worry as he saw the female member of his team relax and look as though she moved to stand at attention.

"Hey, what are you...?" Razor Wolf started to ask before, much to his shock and that of the others, Cosmic quickly turned and rushed at him, ready to deliver a powerful punch to the cybernetically enhanced wolfman's face, where they all noticed the now blank look and distant eyes their teammate now had on her face.

While Razor Wolf found himself holding back, unable to harm another member of the Vigilant, within her current state of mind, the pink haired heroine showed she didn't share the same thoughts, let alone any, as she continued to attack, horrifying Responder and Frequency, while Lady Beauty and the others siding with Knight moved back to enjoy the conflict.

"Now this is much better." Lady Beauty commented at the sight of the pink haired heroine fighting against her team, before adding with a continued shallowness. "But as much as I enjoy this improved Cosmic, there can only be one leading lady on our team."

"Wait. Did Helix build himself a girlfriend?" Jester teased, which only caused Lady Beauty and Helix to glare at the insane clown, causing him to run his fingers along his mask's lips, mimicking silence.

"Cosmic, stop! You're...!" Frequency yelled as he rushed to help his teammates, only for the pink haired heroine to quickly turn and deliver a swift kick to the blond's chest, sending him flying back several feet, before leaping into the air to deliver a punch to Responder, who quickly moved out of the way.

Running his hand along his mask in the opposite direction, Jester then let out with a continued enjoyment at the suffering and conflict before them. "This is better than cable. Did anybody bring popcorn?"

"What's... wrong with her..?." Frequency asked through his pain as he slowly got up, where Responder, who was analysing the situation through his helmet, quickly let out in shock. "I can see a telepathic signal cutting between Cosmic's brainwaves."

"Something or someone's controlling her!" Responder then informed, shocking Razor Wolf and Frequency, only the blond felt a sinking feeling in his gut to know the girl he cared for was being manipulated like a puppet.

"We need to get out of here and regroup, now!" Responder then called as the security guards began to try and fire at them as he added. "As much as I hate to say it, we're no match against Knight's troops and Cosmic."

However, while he stood in place, his fists trembling, Frequency lost his cool as he and let out. "No! I refuse to abandon her, that's not the way I roll!"

"I... I know Cosmic wouldn't abandon me... I can't... I won't..." He then began to yell, to the point he was near tearing up behind his visor, before giving out a great cry of anger as Razor Wolf quickly grabbed him, hoisting his damaged being over his shoulder and ran out behind Responder, leaving Frequency yelling to let him go.

All the while, Knight smirked at the scene, already planning his next move as he looked upon Cosmic Knockout and smiled as she froze up and stood at attention, awaiting her next commands.

-Moments later-

Not too far away, landing in an alleyway between some buildings near the warehouse, Razor Wolf put Frequency done, only to quickly grab the boy as he tried to run back towards the warehouse, where he turned and glared at him and Responder.

"Why!? Why did you abandon her? I told you I didn't want to leave her, so why...?" Frequency let out, expressing a great rage and frustration, before he sunk to his knees, hating how powerless he now felt.

"Frequency, calm down, we'll..." Responder tried to say, before the blond cried out and yelled in anger. "Damn you! Damn you and all this secrecy! You knew she was Eri and you kept it from me, what's more, you kept the truth away from her!"

"I don't care about the 'Secrecy' of this team, I won't leave her behind!" Frequency added as he remained in his angered state, standing and was about to run back to the warehouse, not caring if he had to face all of KnightCorps and Eri on his own, but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, looking to see it was Responder's, where he turned to yell at the tech hero more, only for his eyes to widen to see his helmet off.

"I know, Tora. We're not abandoning Eri, we just need to figure out a plan." Haru said with a caring sincerity in his voice, as both Tora and Yujin were shocked to see the normally quite green haired boy from their school as their leader, the sight causing Yujin to let out with astonishment. "Haru?"

"Yeah, Yujin, it's me. Sorry I never said anything. I thought it would be easier if anything would happen to one of us, the others would be safe. I realize I was wrong about that." Haru said to his best friend, expressing a small smile, before looking back at Tora.

"And Tora, we're not leaving Eri behind." Haru then added with a continued understanding towards the blond's emotional state, where Tora felt his anger die down a little.

"If you are all done with the mushy stuff, I think I know how to help out." Infiltrator then cut in through their comms system, annoyed that the Vigilant broke protocol, but was willing to let it slide due to the circumstances as he added. "Haru, I think your suit can make this."

Haru then put his helmet back on and saw the information Infiltrator sent him, where he held out his left hand as energy began to flow towards it and it began to construct a small device in his hands, the key to saving Eri.

-Moments later-

Sending his followers and most of the guards back to KnightCorps' HQ, Knight remained in the warehouse as he stood before Eri, having taken her visor off as gently caressing her cheek, where she remained standing mindlessly at attention before him, allowing Knight to take in the sight of her now empty blue eyes.

"I have lots of plans for you, if you survive the night, my beauty." Knight commented as he slid his hand off of Eri's cheek and began to circle around the pink haired girl. "Such a woman isn't suited for combat, she is more suited to a more subservient role in lifestyle, at least in the world that will arise after tonight."

"Now then, I sense your former friends are coming back for you. When they do, you will kill them, then come to me when you are done. We all have a long night ahead of us, and a new world order to follow." Knight said with a dark smirk, where Eri replied with a mindless. "Yes, Sir... as you command... I will obey..."

With the orders set in her head, Eri then put her visor on as she turned and faced the entrance, while Knight and his guards left, the corrupt CEO laughing quickly the whole time.

A moment later, Responder, Razor Wolf and Frequency came in to see only Cosmic Knockout standing in the warehouse, where the mind controlled heroine took a fighting stance, ready to strike at her former allies.

The sight of the pink haired heroine standing in place caused Frequency to bite his lower lip, wanting to rush down to the girl he cared so much for, but trusting Responder, the sound based hero remained in place and in silence, knowing when the time came, Eri would be saved.

"Why did they just leave her?" Razor Wolf asked in concern, where Responder replied. "Knight is toying with us. He wants to use Cosmic against us because he thinks we won't fight her."

"But why now? Why go through all this now?" The wolf hero then asked, where Responder then realized why and let out with a fair worry in his tone. "Whatever he's planning, it must be tonight and this is a distraction! We need to save Cosmic, quickly!"

"On it!" Frequency said back, where he slowly walked up to Cosmic Knockout, his presence causing the brainwashed heroine to bring up her arms and her fists, looking ready to attack at any second.

"Eri, if you can hear me, I don't want to fight you." Frequency stated, only to then bring up his arms, charging both with sonic energy as he added with a small smile. "But I know you would do the same for me, so apologies in advance."

Finished in what he had to say, Frequency then gave a mighty yell as he ran toward Cosmic Knockout, concentrating the sonic energies to form around his fists, before closing the distance and took a swing at the pink haired heroine, managing to strike Cosmic Knockout with his right fist and knock her back, but found the manipulated heroine had brought up her arms, crossing them along her chest to absorb most of the damage, leaving her skidding back a little, before lowering her arms and moving back into her attack stance.

Cosmic then quickly turned to deliver a punch as Razor Wolf came at her from the side, only to jump back as Responder came down to strike at her with his energy blade.

"Man, Cosmic, you are putting up one serious fight." Frequency commented, continuing to express his more upbeat side as he joked. "Remind me not to get you angry after this is all over."

Unsure if she was ignoring him or unable to reply due to the mind control, Cosmic Knockout kept an expressionless face as she continued to fight, where she ducked under a slash attack from Razor Wolf, before grabbing at his upper body and threw him at Responder, catching the tech hero off guard and causing both to fall and crash hard into the wall of the warehouse.

"I will kill my friend..." Cosmic Knockout said, her tone lacking any emotion as she charged toward the fallen forms of Responder and Razor Wolf, ready to end them without a second of hesitation.

But as she rushed toward the fallen heroes, Responder yelled out. "Frequency, now!"

Before Cosmic Knockout could react, she stopped in her tracks as she was restrained, feeling Frequency was behind her and had an arm wrapped tightly around her body, groaning as he refused to break his grasp over the struggling heroine.

"Eri!" Frequency yelled, acting on his gut as he set his arm around her tighter, knowing she could break free and then break him, but he refused to abandon the girl he loved again.

"Eri, I know you are still in there. I know that the real you would never allow some creep like Knight to control you. I know the Eri I fell in love with is still there." The blond said, not as Frequency, but as Tora.

And despite the powerful hold over her, something within Cosmic seemed to react to the voice behind her, causing the mind controlled heroine to slowly turn her head and let out with a small confusion within her voice. "T... Tora..."

Unsure what the exact outcome would be, but certain Cosmic Knockout would rather anything than to be stuck as a mindless puppet, looking in his left hand, Frequency looked upon the metallic, square microchip device in hand.

"Here we go!" Frequency let out as he slapped the chip onto the back of the pink haired heroine's neck as it powered on and activated, causing Cosmic Knockout's eyes to widen, before she continued thrashing against Frequency's grasp, only now she was expressing a great cry of pain.

Shaking the sound based hero off of her, Cosmic Knockout then gripped her head tightly, her screams intensifying, before her arms lowered, she fell silent and she dropped to her knees, leaving her panting heavily.

And before she could fall completely, Frequency caught her, where he guided her down and into his lap, holding her closely and smiling at seeing the life returning back in her eyes.

"Eri, how are you feeling?" Frequency asked as he kept his arms around Cosmic, loosening his hold a little to allow the pink haired girl to move on her own, but found the pink haired girl then move in, wrapping her arms tightly around Frequency's neck, surprising Frequency at first, but at all she had been through, the blond did what he could to comfort her as he slowly set his own arms around her.

"Tora, I... I'm so sorry..." The pink haired heroine teared up, knowing that though she was brainwashed during the attack, she was still aware of her actions, leaving her in a self loathing state.

But feeling Tora slide his left hand behind her head, removing her visor and setting it on the ground beside them, Eri's solemn mood began to lift as she saw the gentle and caring smile Tora would often express.

"It's alright, Eri. We know it wasn't your fault." Frequency assured, before removing his own visor, allowing Eri to not only see Tora's shining green eyes, but also gave her a Frequency-like grin.

"Besides, how could I ever stay mad at the girl I love?" He asked, leaving Eri blushing deeply at the position she was in, as well as hearing the four letter word from Tora's own lips, a sight Responder and Razor Wolf noticed as they approached the pair, not only glad to have Cosmic Knockout back to normal, but both were glad to see the two expressing such feelings they had been hiding for a long time.

Meanwhile, within his limo, Knight frowned as he felt his hold over Cosmic Knockout disappear, where he took out his phone, dialed a number and said into it. "Yes, double security tonight. We're going to have company."

-Moments later-

"Wait, you're saying it was Knight himself that was controlling you?!" Haru asked in shock, the question causing Eri to nod in reply, finding that though she had control over herself and could walk, staying in Tora's embrace felt more comforting at the time.

"So he's a psionic, great." Yujin, who was still in wolf form, growled, not understanding how the silver haired individual gained so much power and influence.

"That explains what I found..." Infiltrator then said on the comms as the vigilant listened, where he added in concern. "The Towers, they aren't for communication, they're Psionic Amplifiers, and all linked to a central control at KnightCorps' headquarters!"

The young heroes' eyes widened as this, where Haru realized Knight's plan as he said. "If those towers come online, then Knight will be able to control everyone in Odaiba!"

"He's planning to enslave us all?" Tora let out with a matching shock, before stating with some of his Frequency confidence/persona. "So Not Groovy!"

"You need to get to KnightCorps and stop Knight, now! These devices you made should protect you from the effects of his mind control for a while, but you need to shut him down!" Infiltrator said in urgency.

"Trust me. It's no picnic having that slime inside your head." Eri said, shivering a little as she could still recall Knight's hypnotic tone in her mind, causing her to pick up her visor and set it back on, getting back to her Cosmic Knockout persona and slamming her fist into her left palm, wanting payback for what Knight had done and what he was up to.

"We're going to need help." Haru then added, knowing that the four of them weren't enough, where Infiltrator said in reply. "Leave that to me, just get going, now!"

Looking at each other and nodding, the Vigilant rushed towards KnightCorps' tower, ready for what could be their final battle.

Meanwhile, within the Protectors' base, as the team of heroes met in their lounge area and talked, while StarCorps sat in a debriefing room with the commissioner, all their screens turned on, showing the hooded vigilante, where Rei said to them all, expressing a great seriousness. "I know none of you trust me, but you need to listen. Time is short, and if we fail, all of Odaiba will be lost!"