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Mark and Omega stood before a large, reinforced glass window, gazing out into the dark waters that surrounded Rapture, neon signs and brightly lit windows beaming out into the darkness, defiant against the imminent death of the city. Bubbles gently floated up through the water from the sea floor and danced through the limbs of glowing choral as they gazed outside. Some of Rapture's buildings were bright, as if you could travel to them and still see people living their day to day, drinking expensive wines, eating delectable foods, and enjoying all the pleasures Andrew Ryan's 'Eden' had to offer, granted you had the money to do so. Other parts of the city were dark and empty, as if their doom had already come, and to a certain extent it had. The two young Men knew that even the well-lit areas of the city were hardly better off though. As bright and shining as they may be, it couldn't hide the rotting innards of the buildings that broadcasted such a resplendent sight. Omega had removed his helmet as the two of them stood side by side looking out the massive window, his illuminated eyes casting a yellow reflection off of the dirty glass that even cast a dim glow on to Mark's own face.

Mark looked over to the Big Brother standing next to him, he had to look up in order to see the Protector's face. Omega was stoic, and strong. He was a Titan of unbreakable will, unshakable fortitude, and unstoppable might. Whenever the two were close, Mark always felt so small in his shadow, so weak, but he also felt unbelievably safe, and he was sure the others felt the same. All of the Protectors gave off such a feeling of strength and power, as if they were invincible, and for all intents and purposes... they practically were. As Mark stared at the brother, he saw something he had noticed before a few times when looking at the Protectors. For all of their strength, and might, they all held a look of sadness in their eyes, it was faint, almost unnoticeable, but it was there. Omega's was the hardest to see, hidden by the stone mask he always wore, but in moments of peace, when his mind was left to drift, however rare those moments were, you could see the slightest hint of something other than strength, power, confidence, or anger. Mark didn't know if it was actually sadness, maybe it was regret, maybe it was simply him staring off into space, imagining what life would be like had he been born into different circumstances, or maybe he was thinking about his former family, who knows.

Just as quickly as the barely noticeable emotion had come, it had vanished, and the stone mask was up once more. Across from the window they were standing at, a large neon sign had finally had enough, it's rusted bolts finally giving in to the weight of the colorful ad piece it was holding aloft. Mark turned his head when he heard the groan of metal support struts giving out. The two young Men watched as the sign flickered, and finally went dark as it detached from the building that held it, a spiderweb of electricity sparked in the water as the powerlines were pulled taught and finally snapped. The sign fell slowly downwards into the dark of the City's base, a dull Cluuunng echoed to them through the water as a large dust cloud of sediment rose from the Sea floor below. Mark looked behind him at the dimly lit street they had come down, it was dead silent, matching a dead City, it was calm, peaceful even. The crumbling buildings, torn streets, and rusting pipes made for an eerie atmosphere, and any other time he would feel a certain sense of fear or dread, but with the brother in his company, he only felt ease. He looked back out the window at the Cityscape beyond, noting at just how beautiful the dying gasps of an entire City could be when danger wasn't present.

"Imagine if Rapture had succeeded... Imagine what it would look like." Mark whispered, a hint of regret in his own voice. Omega didn't respond, not that he could if he wanted to anyway, he simply had nothing to contribute to the musings of a Human. He himself barely knew why Rapture was created in the first place, Andrew Ryan's philosophies were lost on him, and as far as he'd ever seen, those philosophies had only plunged the city into chaos, madness, and war. It was one of the many things the brother didn't understand about Humans. He didn't understand the ideas or emotions revolving around those ideas that Andrew Ryan so adamantly preached about in audio logs or City-wide broadcasts. He didn't understand what a "Parasite" was, or what the "Great Chain" was, nor did he care in all honesty. The ideas of greed, ambition, and the lust for power were as foreign to him as another language. He couldn't understand why Humans wanted more than they needed in order to survive, why they hungered so deeply for power over each other, or why they wanted to be the best at something. For all of Andrew Ryan, Frank Fontaine, and Sofia Lamb's talk of superiority, it was far easier for him to view them as lesser beings, giving in to worthless emotions, and seeking to rule over others. For all of the talk of the Surface he had heard within their Group, he couldn't help but wonder if Humans up there were as selfish, greedy, and power hungry as the ones down in Rapture. If they were, he couldn't imagine life would be much different than what it was like now.

"As if, this place was doomed from the start, before the start actually. Andrew Ryan was a selfish, greedy Bastard that wanted Eden, but only for himself." Mark scoffed, earning a raised eyebrow from the Protector. Perhaps not all Humans were power hungry after all. Could the brother speak, he might have asked the little Man what he would've done in Andrew Ryan's place, though it was a moot point thinking about such things. He still couldn't speak, and even if he could, he likely wouldn't like the answer Mark would give, or wouldn't understand it all together.

Omega placed his helmet back on his head and locked it into place on his suit, the lights of his visor slits flickering back to their all too familiar yellow cautionary high alert status. Mark watched him do so, wondering what it felt like to be incased in such a suit, it was no wonder the Protectors felt, and even acted like they were invincible, though he knew only second-generation Protectors appreciated their suits. The Big Daddies had their skin and organs grafted into them from what Tenenbaum had told him.

"You're right, we should probably keep moving, if there are Splicers or NeoSplicers in the area, we won't find them just sitting around." The young Man remarked. Omega nodded in agreement, though with the Adam he carried in his deadly weapon, it was actually more likely that the Vermin would find them first.

. . .

Tenenbaum looked over the map of Rapture, and their current district once again, studying it, memorizing it, taking note of collapsed tunnels the Protectors had marked with red crosses or circles, and wondering just where the NeoSplicer hive might be, if it even existed at all. She tried to think of likely places, things that the NeoSplicer population would need to not only survive but thrive. Narrowing the locations down was no easy feat, however. With a city as large as Rapture, and with just as many dark buildings as rats, it would be nearly impossible to locate them, let alone exterminate them. She went through possible ideas for the extermination when her frustration with the map would boil up, choosing to fixate on something else and yet still be useful.

The older Doctor looked to the side of the map, in an area around the border that was blank. Small flowers, butterflies, and stick people were drawn around the edge in crayon, the colors mismatching and unbalanced. The sight would have made Sander Cohen vomit she was sure, but it made her smile. She looked up toward the culprit. Lizzy was play wrestling with Iota and Anna in the boxing ring Archer and Tokerev had built. Rolling over each other and pinning one another down. She listened to Lizzy scream happily as Iota picked her up by the leg, holding her upside down as Anna tickled her sides with thick gloved fingers, the two Protector's glowing yellow eyes shining on the girl's pale skin as she laughed. She could hear Anna laughing with her, and Iota's broken chuckles that sent shivers down the Doctor's spine. She knew she could never atone for her past sins, but she had to try for them. It was all because of her that they were in this situation in the first place. Iota and Anna who she failed to save when she left the City with Jack, and Lizzy, who she still needed to save after returning to stop Sofia Lamb.

Archer left Tokerev's side as he worked at one of the many work benches around the base, likely building more explosives or some other type of trap. The younger Man approached Tenenbaum and glanced at the three Sisters playing in the boxing ring, rolling around in the dried blood from Iota and Omega's training session. They were unfazed by it completely, even the little girl, Lizzy. That worried him more than it should have he realized, that a child could be so desensitized to gore and violence like she was.

"So, tell me Doctor." Archer started, his voice low, though he knew the two Sisters could probably hear him even if he whispered.

"How exactly did you break Sofia Lamb's brainwashing? How did you get four Protectors to not kill you on sight in that Hotel, let alone fight for you?" He asked.

"Honestly, I am not completely sure myself." She replied.

"Sigma, who came to us first, had already been freed from his mental conditioning, I cannot speak for them. I assume they found answers to some of their questions, unraveled part of the mystery behind their 'Family' that managed to sow doubt or break their brainwashing completely." She spoke.

"And Anna?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Anna was a special case as far as a Big Sister is concerned. We found her back when we had far more Human members in our Group. Her mental conditioning had begun wearing off when she hit maturity, and she had started seeing Rapture for what it really was, rather than the gilded and golden halls that the mental conditioning made the Little Sisters see. She killed three of us in a blind, insane rage before we managed to subdue her, and save Lizzy. She had never undergone the second mental conditioning trial that all Big Sisters go through to bring them back from their insanity. She has Iota to thank for that instead of Sofia Lamb, and her loyalty shows. " She explained.

"So that's why those little girls are so happy all the time. That's horrific... it's sick." He stated, disgust clear on his face.

"Yes... it is. It is why I came back to this City, why I chose to save as many people as I can. Now, we have found you two, and I would like to get you out of here as well." She explained.

"We're flattered, but realistically the chances of us getting out of here are low. Tokerev and I never believed we would be able to leave, though that hasn't stopped us from trying mind you. We're realists, something both of our training taught us. We want to get out of this Hell more than anything, but we had never really planned on it. We had planned to just blow the whole city to Hell, take out all of the NeoSplicers and Splicers alike. Bury this dark part of Human History so the world could never make the same mistakes you and the others did." He stated.

"If I'm being honest, I still think that's the best choice." He added with a tired sigh.

"I must disagree." The Doctor said quietly.

"I have seen the absolute worst of Humanity inside the concentration camps of the Third Reich. I have seen Humanity at its lowest, but I also saw acts of kindness, Prisoners giving what meager rations they had to others in far worse conditions just so they could hold onto life a little longer. For some, it bought them only days, maybe less, others it bought them salvation. I know Humanity is capable of Evil, this place is evidence of that, but it is also capable of salvation, of good... of hope. They are evidence of that." Tenenbaum explained, giving a small smile as she pointed toward the Siblings all playing together. Archer looked to them and his jaw clenched.

"You may be right, Doctor. Just remember, they aren't everyone. They aren't even Human anymore; you and your Scientists saw to that. How do you think the world, especially the scientific, governmental, or military minds of the great powers above will treat them? What do you think they'll do when you bring four highly lethal super soldiers full of a miracle drug to the surface? Do you think they'll treat them with hospitality? With kindness? Come on, Doctor, you aren't that naïve. We've both been around long enough, and seen enough that we both know that's not, that's never the case." Archer said.

"And what happens when one of them goes berserk and decides to pull someone's arms off because they looked at them the wrong way, or made the wrong comment to them? What happens when, even if you manage to hide them, some agency or another finds them, and takes one of them, or all of them?" He asked.

"If." She replied.

"If one of them goes berserk, and if an Agency finds them." She stated.

"Those are massive 'ifs'."

"And what would you have me do? Bury them down here? take away their chance at a normal life before they even get one?" She asked, her temper rising enough to put a threat in her tone. It caused Anna and Iota to look toward them, they had been listening, and he was making valid points, and he knew it because they didn't intervene. He had to give them credit where it was do, they were far smarter than he and Tokerev had initially believed. If they weren't, and they acted only on emotion, they might have been angry with him when he spoke of such things, or Anna might have had an outburst of childish defiance, but she didn't. They simply watched, their heads tilting, also wondering what the Doctor's plan was. It was a testament to the logical mind of a Protector, a mind that wasn't burdened by insanity like so many others.

Archer thought for a moment, the muscles in his jaw clenching as he did so, something Tenenbaum picked up on whenever he had a deep thought, a moment of contemplation, or troubled situation.

"No." He spoke.

"I don't know. I don't know what to do that would help them, or us. Hell, I don't even know what tomorrow holds. I just know that you need to have a plan when we get to the surface, and a damn good one at that. Because both the Americans and Russians have ships patrolling the Ocean surrounding Rapture, and neither Uncle Sam or the USSR view secrets, experimental weapons, or mad science with much favor." He stated as he looked around the room.

"And you've got a mix of all three in this room." He added as he looked back to her. She gave him a small smile and nodded knowingly.

"Believe me, I fully understand what is at stake, and I fully understand the risk. I have done nothing but think about what we'll do when we reach the surface since I came back to rescue as many people as I could. I still think about it every single idle second. For the sake of security, and trust. I can only say that I have Contacts on the surface, Contacts that I think will be able to protect them and help us assimilate back into the world above." She explained.

Archer scoffed and smirked as he raised his eyebrow. "Trust and security huh? You sound like my old Boss. Well since you don't trust us yet, and we're a security risk, I won't pry... I just hope you know what you're doing." He stated.

She nodded again, thankful that he understood. "Both of you did work for separate intelligence gathering Agencies with mountains of secrets and plans. I think it would be reckless of me to offer information for nothing in return, at least until I know you really aren't Spooks anymore." She stated with a small chuckle.

This made Archer smile. "You would've made one hell of an Agent, Doctor.

Tokerev made his way over to the table, slamming some sort of rifle down onto it as he grinned. "Maybe you can answer something for me as well, Doctor. What is the appeal Americans find in drinking that rat piss they call beer?" He asked as he continued to grin, his eyes glancing over to Archer who just rolled his own and sighed.

"I am afraid that mystery may never be solved." She smiled back to him.

He laughed when Archer held up his middle finger.

"Yes, a good point, but I have something that may help us solve another mystery!" He stated as he leaned back, his oil-stained hands gesturing to the rifle on the table.

"What is this?" She asked, as Iota and Anna approached behind the two Men, looking over them to get a view of the weapon.

"This? This is nothing, a rifle I modified to fire air from an old oxygen container." He stated as he put his finger on the trigger and pulled it back, a loud SWISH of air blowing a few loose pieces of paper off of the table in front of the barrel.

"This, on the other hand." He stated holding up a small, pronged dart with a little glass tube on the end.

"This, is a tracking dart, something I've been working on that will help us find those bitches in their Nest and burn them out." He stated with a chuckle, more akin to a mad laugh than anything else.

"You crazy Russian bastard, how did you come up with that?" Archer asked. Tokerev opened his mouth and pulled his cheek aside with a dirty finger, revealing a missing tooth in the back of his mouth.

"The KGB wanted to know my location at all times, and since it no longer works, or is out of range, I decided to make it useful to us." He stated.

"It took a while to figure out, but I managed to find the right tracking signal and tune it to the security monitor over there." He pointed.

"If we can manage to hit one of those Whores with this, and it doesn't shatter on impact, it should be able to lead us back to its Nest." He explained as he laid the tracking dart on the table next to the gun.

"Tokerev you crazy fucking Red I could kiss you!" Archer exclaimed as he patted his friend on the shoulder, Tokerev simply laughing as he waved him off. Joe walked over and wiped his eyes, still crusty from sleep.

"What's going on?" He asked with a yawn.

"We might have a way to find the NeoSplicer Nest without us having to send the Protectors on a wild goose hunt." Archer explained earning tilted heads from both Iota and Anna. Iota issued a questioning screech and held her arm up so everyone could see it, she then clenched her fist and her harvester shot out to its full length. Everyone took on a confused look as they turned to Anna.

"She wants to know where the wild goose is. Is it that dangerous, would we need all four Protectors to take it down?" She asked as she looked toward the map. Archer and Tokerev looked to each other in confusion, but Tenenbaum and Joe began chuckling.

"It's a term of speech, it means we won't need to send the four of you on some wild and dangerous hunt for the NeoSplicer nest if we can just track one of them back to it." Joe explained, earning him another confused look from the sisters.

"So, the Goose doesn't exist?" Anna asked.

"Well, Geese exist, but not this particular Goose, no." He answered.

"Geese?" She asked as she looked to Iota, who shrugged in return.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter how many Gooses and Geese are down there, we'll kill them along with the NeoSplicers." She said as she clenched her fist, earning either sighs or chuckles from their human companions.

. . .

"They want help killing all of the NeoSplicers first, rather than Reed Wahl, I feel like he's the bigger threat..." Mark spoke as he and Omega walked down the cracked marble street. "He's a Madman, a Monster. Who's to say when we kill the NeoSplicers... If, we kill the NeoSplicers, he won't be waiting with some sort of trap?" He asked aloud as he looked toward Omega's right side. The Brother shrugged slightly, his helmet turning to shower Mark in a yellow glow. "I mean, the NeoSplicers are bad enough, and we can't let them get to the surface, but I don't know... I just have a bad feeling about this whole situation. It was bad enough fighting one enemy that we couldn't reach, now we have two, one that doesn't think, and another that thinks too much!" Mark grunted in frustration. Omega nodded slightly, he was right after all, they now had two massively different enemies to contend with, and they would need to contend with both of them if they wanted to see the surface. For all intents and purposes Reed Wahl had full control of Rapture from Minerva's Den, and the parts he didn't have control over were either firmly in the hands of the NeoSplicers, or were dead like the district they were now in. Archer and Tokerev had certainly done a good job of playing dead that was for sure, but the more Allies they gained, the more attention they would draw, he knew that from experience.

Mark began to speak again but was cut off when gunfire rang in his ears, Omega immediately turning to step in front of the young man as bullets pinged and sparked off of his black armor, trails of gray left behind where the paint had been stripped away from the force. It only took him a fraction of a second to scan the battlefield and relay to Iota through their shared bond that the situation was under control, and he wouldn't need backup, he felt a flash of acknowledgment, and set about his deadly work. Almost immediately they were moving to cover, Omega's side blocking the gunfire as they sprinted toward a nearby alleyway, the Brother practically carrying Mark as he moved, shielding him from the onslaught. Just as they reached the small refuge Omega tossed Mark into the space between the buildings, he slid earning him some scrapes and bruises, but that was nothing compared to what the Protector had saved him from. Mark growled as he stood, his hands scraped and burning against the steel and wooden parts of his submachine gun. He raised it as Omega darted away into the hail of bullets, howling like a Demon as he tore into the first Splicer with his Harvester, almost cutting the man in half from the crook of his neck to his left side, a massive gash that spilled entrails and fresh crimson onto the floor. As the Brother turned his red gaze to the next attacker, Mark opened fire, a burst of well-placed shots hitting a Woman on the balcony above the Protector.

Omega back stepped and dodged the pipe aimed at the face of his helmet and then stepped in to catch the man's arm on the return swing, with a sickening pop, and resounding squelch, he removed the pipe from the man, along with his arm at the shoulder. He screamed for a moment, but Omega's armored fist silenced him as it landed in the middle of his face with the force of a car crash, his head caving in like a rotten pumpkin as red flecks of gore splattered the Protector's suit. Mark fired again hitting another Splicer that stepped out from the same doorway his previous target had come from. It took only a second for the man to fall, his limp body slamming to the ground next to Omega. The Brother looked in Mark's direction and nodded before another burst of gunfire hit him from the side. The last attacker firing at him as he held the trigger of his submachine gun down. Omega turned, his arm coming up to shield him from the bullets as they ricochet off his armor. He stomped toward the man, growling in anger. He reached the man and swept the offending weapon out of the man's hands with a fierce backhand, breaking one, or possibly more than one finger as it flew away, clattering off of the street. He grabbed the wide-eyed rat by his neck and held him up in the air above him with the other hand and prepared to jam his harvester through his mouth... slowly.

"Wait! We need him alive!" He heard Mark yell over to him now that the street was silent. Omega paused as the man choked in his grasp, even the sounds of his struggled breathing were nails on a chalk board to his ears. Omega turned back and nodded once more, looked at the Splicer in his grasp and hissed as he tightened his grip, the man's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and his arms fell limp at his sides before the Protector released him. He hit the floor with a thud as Mark came to stand beside him, his weapon sweeping the area for anymore threats. He was no Protector, but the Brother had to admit he could hold his own, and keep his nerve in a fight, even if he did talk too much.

"I don't have the key for these but... that won't really matter, he's not going to be taking them off, not with a pulse anyway." Mark said as he pulled a pair of rust spotted handcuffs from a pouch on his belt, clicking them around the man's boil ridden wrists tight. Omega heard clear and undiluted anger in Mark's voice, that was good. Anger was a powerful motivator, it made men dangerous, and they needed dangerous. It was far superior to fear.

"I'll police their weapons and ammo; think you can hide the bodies?" Mark asked as he stood, kicked the unconscious man in the gut, and looked up to Omega. He nodded, and they set to work. Mark gathered the guns and ammo in a duffelbag and scrounged through the Splicer's pockets for money, food, or any other supplies he could find, just before Omega would pick them up and carry them to nearby trashcans. If the Protector pushed, and he did, he could fit two, almost three of the bodies inside one can, mangled and broken bones contorting as he stuffed them inside and replaced the lids. He used Incinerate to flash dry the blood stains, and soon, the street looked like it had carried the scars from their battle for decades. When they had finished, they stood over their prisoner, and mark spat.

"Let's get this piece of shit back to base, I have some questions for him." He growled, looking to Omega. "Think you'll be able to get some truth out of him?" He asked with a scoff, knowing full well that he would. The Brother nodded with a far more sinister growl that still managed to send a chill down Mark's spine, instinct telling him the creature standing next to him was a hyper lethal Predator.

. . .

The door flew open, and everyone saw Mark walk in first, covered in dirt, his hands bloody from scavenging loot that the dead Splicers no longer needed. He tossed a dark blue duffel bag onto the floor with a grunt and stretched, all of the weapons and ammo they had gathered weighed a considerable amount, and it wasn't exactly a short walk. His shoulders and back ached from the strain, but he didn't show it, not in front of Omega anyway. The Big Brother entered next, a bound and gagged Splicer slung over his shoulder as if he were a toy. Unlike Mark, Omega had barely exerted himself on the walk back, the weight of the Splicer was as much a hindrance for him to carry as Lizzy's was. Iota smiled when she saw her Mate carrying one of the Vermin that had attacked them, the sight of him covered in blood and fresh bullet scaring on his armor was enough to make her knees shake from both excitement at the success of his hunt, and joy that he had returned safe and strong.

"We were ambushed by a Group of Splicers, likely a patrol sent out by Reed Wahl, no sign that they had been in the district for long." Mark said.

"Oh great! They're bringing them back here now." Archer said sarcastically as his hands flew up in surprise and exclamation.

"Hey, you're a CIA Spook, you should know the value of intelligence gathering." Mark replied with a small but predatory smile.

"Yeah, but I don't do Target acquisition or interrogation. I'm usually the one relaying information, well... I was usually the one to do that." He corrected himself.

"What, Archer? You don't want to torture a bound Man for the greater good?" Tokerev asked with a questioning look.

"I'm sure our large Friend here is more than capable and willing to do that in my stead." He replied, gesturing to Omega, who gave a deep screech of affirmation.

"A 'Parasite' with a sense of morals, Andrew Ryan is probably spitting in his grave." Tokerev laughed.

"It's 'rolling over in his grave' not spitting." Mark added, causing Tokerev to shrug.

"Either way, I am not interested in that filth, as Archer stated, Omega is more than capable of prying information from a dead man, and if he doesn't want to, I'm sure either his lovely Woman, or younger Sister would be happy to take turns." Tokerev stated as he knelt down to the duffel bag Mark hauled in.

"This on the other hand, this I like." He said with a grin, pulling one of the submachine guns from the back and checking the magazine for ammo. "Oh yes, this will do nicely." He stated, lifting the bag and carrying it off to some dark part of the fire station.

"Where can we put this piece of shit?" Mark asked, turning to Archer. The man pointed down the hallway with a nod. "There's an old shower room we don't use next to the bunkroom, down the hall to the left, keep him in there, and clean up after yourselves when you're done." Archer demanded. Mark nodded and gestured Omega in the same direction. He gave one look toward Seline as she sat on the couch in front of the fireplace, her head low, starring into space. He took on a sad expression and sighed before following Omega deeper into the station. Iota and Anna practically ran after them, eager to watch them work and learn what the Splicer knew.

They reached the abandoned shower room and Omega tossed the Splicer onto the floor with a loud thud, his head smacking against the deep blue tile that lined the floor and walls. Anna pulled an old wooden chair in through the door and sat it under one of the five rusted showerheads that lined the back wall. Iota picked the unconscious man up by his throat and sat him in the chair before finding some rope and tying him to it. Once they were ready, they turned one of the brass shower knobs and ice-cold water sprayed from the overhead nozzle, showering over the Man. He jumped awake and began moaning with panic as he took in the sights around him, the sight of three protectors looking down on him causing his survival instincts to scream at him to flee, fighting wasn't even a flicker of a thought in his mind. He screamed into the gag in his mouth and thrashed against the ropes that held him firmly in place, the handcuffs still attached to his wrists rattling. He was so panicked he didn't even see Mark standing in front of him, pure hatred and rage clear on his features. Mark snapped his fingers at the man, but it was no use, he simply screamed, muffled by his gag, wide-eyed and full of terror as he looked between the three helmeted Protectors in the dimly lit room.

Mark threw his fist out and slammed it into the man's face, earning him three approving nods from the Protectors behind him.

"Hey!" The young man yelled at the Splicer, finally getting his attention.

"Shut the fuck up!" He added. The Splicer's eyes were wide as he shook from either the cold of the water, or the fear that engulfed him.

"What's your name?" Mark asked more calmly, anger was still heavy in his tone, but he didn't scream the question. The Man continued to shake, trying to process what exactly was going on, and why he was here. Omega gave a deep, sharp screech that jerked the man back to the present and he began stammering.

"M-m-my name is B-Benjamin!" Benjamin spat out the answer quickly, hoping it would satisfy the large growling Protector.

"Well Ben, it's alright if I call you Ben, right?" Mark asked, before he had even finished asking the question Benjamin started nodding hurriedly.

"Good." Mark added, when the sound of the shower room door opening drew all of their attention. Doctor Tenenbaum entered and looked them all over, no hint of judgement in her gaze, though they knew she likely was judging them. Mark gave her a look that said, "Stay out of the way and keep quiet." a challenging glance that she wouldn't oppose, at least not yet. She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall beside the door, her head looking toward the ground, she had only come to observe and learn, not partake in the interrogation. They turned their attention back to Benjamin and Anna scoffed.

"We haven't even started yet and this Worm's already pissed himself." She stated, nodding to his soaked oil, dirt, and bloodstained coveralls. They couldn't see the urine for how soaked he was from the frigid waters of the shower, but they could smell it. Omega crossed his arms as he stood behind Mark, the movement both intimidating and confident. Benjamin watched the slow action closely, taking in the sight of the large Protector, not as large as a Big Daddy, but just as terrifying, perhaps more so, because he knew how deadly the creature was now that all of his Friends were dead.

"Here's how this is going to go you sack of shit." Mark said, drawing his attention back to him with a few snaps of his fingers. "You're going to answer all of our questions, truthfully, quickly, and clearly. I don't want you to get the wrong idea. You aren't leaving this room alive, Benjamin... but how you cooperate with me will determine the quickness of your death... and the amount of pain you feel before you die. Do you understand me?" Mark asked ominously, the tone in his voice was something Tenenbaum and the Protectors had never heard before, a threatening tone that held all of the hate and malice in the world, and they knew it was likely because of Seline's current state. The Splicer nodded quickly.

"Okay! Okay! I'll tell you whatever you want to know, just please keep those Freaks away from me!" Benjamin screamed. Tenenbaum took on a pained expression and slowly shook her head in disappointment and regret.

"Mark." She said softly.

"Shut up, Doctor." Mark responded darkly; his gaze locked on to Benjamin's wide eyes. Tenenbaum pursed her lips and sighed heavily. Omega gave a small approving smirk beneath the crimson glow of his helmet's visor slits. He found himself agreeing with Mark's actions yet again. Tenenbaum was letting her human emotions cloud her judgement. The Protector glanced over at her through his peripheral vision, he respected the older woman, but sometimes she could be as much of a liability as an asset. He much preferred the cold, calculating, uncaring Tenenbaum he had heard about in stories and audio logs. The one willing to do whatever it took to get results.

"Why are you in this District?" Mark asked.

"We were on patrol, looking for you and your Friends!" Benjamin practically shouted.

"Mr. Wahl sent us out after you butchered the others he sent into the last District." He added.

"Will he know where we are now that your patrol won't be reporting back to him?" Mark asked.

"No! I mean... I don't know... We've been losing contact with a lot of patrols lately in different Districts... some kind of Monsters have been getting them, something worse than you and your Protectors." He said in a hushed tone, almost as if he were scared the Monsters would hear him speaking of them. Mark scoffed as he leaned in close to the man.

"There is nothing in this City worse than our Protectors..." Mark said firmly, enough so that it sent a fresh wave of fear through Benjamin's body. He had seen the video message they had sent to Minerva's Den; they had broadcast it out over every screen they could possibly reach, and he hadn't even been in Minerva's Den when he watched the message. Benjamin chose not to respond to this.

"How many Splicers does Reed Wahl have at his disposal?" Mark asked.

"I-I'm not sure, how many Splicers are in Rapture?" He asked. Mark thought for a moment and looked back toward Anna.

"We can't be sure your trap, as effective and brilliant as it was... did all that much." He stated, his lips drawing tight.

"It doesn't matter, the message was the important part. We'll kill every last one of them if we have to." She said sternly, the mechanical tone her helmets speakers gave her voice making her that much more intimidating, earning her a nod from Mark as he turned back to the Splicer he knelt in front of.

"Where is Wahl getting all of his ADAM from, assuming he doesn't just shit it out." He asked. Benjamin looked confused at the question before glancing up at the Protectors behind the man.

"He gets the ADAM from the Little Sisters of course." He answered, still confused. At this, the three Protectors perked up and stood straight, even Tenenbaum pushed herself up from her leaning position on the wall, shock on her face. Omega pushed Mark aside, almost knocking him down as he got close to the Splicer, he put his large, gloved hand on the man's shoulder tight enough to hurt and gave a deep screech, terrifying the man in front of him. Anna sensed what the Brother wanted to ask, even though he couldn't ask it himself, it was the same thing she and Iota wanted answered as well.

"How many Little Sisters are there?! Where are they?!" Anna shouted at the man through her helmet's speakers.

"I- They-" Before Benjamin could answer, Omega's iron grip tightened on his shoulder and collarbone as he screeched again. The hesitation to answer treated as a refusal, seconds were minutes, and minutes were hours, if there were Little Sisters, the needed to be found immediately, saved, protected. He couldn't wait for a thing like fear or pain to get in his way, especially not this filth's fear or pain. He would flay him alive like so many others to get the answers he needed, and his Siblings would help.

"Omega wait for a moment!" Tenenbaum shouted, Mark also chiming in to try and calm them down, their Protector instincts driving them to act. a sickening pop could be heard as the Brother's grip tightened yet again and began shattering bones. Benjamin screamed in agony before Iota leapt forward and punched the man hard enough for some of his teeth to launch from his mouth, clattering to the tiled floor below. They had no idea that there were still Little Sisters in Rapture, and if there were Little Sisters in Rapture... it meant there were Big Sisters in Rapture, more of their Family may still be alive and still Protecting their Charges. This one piece of information, this one fact changed everything.

Omega's grip tightened again, his fingers digging into Benjamin's flesh as more cracking muffled through his shoulder, he continued to scream as the Brother growled. Iota slammed her fist into the Splicer's face again, more teeth and blood hit the floor as he coughed in pain and terror. He would tell them what they needed to know. They would stop at nothing to protect their Siblings, to save them. This man, this rat would not stand in their way. Iota's fist smashed against his face again as she howled with rage, Benjamin sobbed and screamed against the assault.

"Where are they, Worm?!" Anna yelled as her siblings beat the helpless man.

Mark jumped up and used both of his arms and full body weight to push Omega's arm off of the man's shoulder.

"Stop!" He yelled at the Protectors. Tenenbaum felt her heart stop when she saw Omega rise and move toward Mark. The young man stood his ground, fists clenched as the Brother jumped to his feet, his fists clenched as well, growling as he looked down at Mark and his look of defiance. Omega gave a challenging screech to the man as he stomped his foot, a spiderweb of cracks forming under his armored boot as the room shook from the impact.

"We need him alive if we're going to learn more about the Little Sisters, Big Sisters, and everything else Reed Wahl has in Minerva's Den, you big idiot!" Mark yelled back at the Protector; rage clear on his voice. The Brother let out a deafening roar as his fist slammed into the tiled wall beside them, still looking at Mark as he did so. A large hole formed in the sturdy construct as chunks of tile and concrete flew onto the ground. Benjamin whimpered and urine snaked it's way down his leg yet again. Iota and Anna moved to Omega's side, Iota ready to fight with him if he chose that option, but Anna saw the reasoning behind Mark's defiance, and she had to take his side on this one.

She grabbed Omega's arm and shook him a little.

"Brother!" She whispered desperately, before he ripped Mark's arms off and beat him to death with them.

"Brother, he's right! We need to learn more, and plan! Calm down... save your rage." She spoke softly to him as he breathed heavily with anger. Mark was sweating, every bone, muscle, tendon, and nerve in his body telling him to run, to get as far away from the Demon in front of him as he could, but this was more important than fear, he would get Seline out of this Godless City, and if he had to fight a Protector to do it he would. He was shaking as he clenched his jaw, pure adrenaline flooding his system and overloading his senses. When Omega saw how scared he really was, and smelled the scent of fear that perforated the room, he un-tensed slightly. It was admirable that Mark would stand up to him of all people, but he respected him for it, even if he did piss him off considerably.

Omega clenched his right arm and his Harvester shot out to it's full length, a loud clank locking it into place as Iota's immediately followed suit. causing Mark, Tenenbaum, Benjamin, and even Anna to jump in surprise and fear at what they were going to do. Anna glanced back and forth between her siblings, ready for war, and the two humans that stood directly in their warpath, unsure of what she should do if they attacked. Omega pushed Anna off of him, but instead of attacking Mark and Tenenbaum, he stepped aside, turned, and pointed his deadly weapon at the bound Splicer behind them, issuing a clear and unquestionable screech that everyone understood as 'Do it now.'

Mark nodded and shakily stepped past the three Protectors, his legs suddenly feeling like jelly. Tenenbaum let out a breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding and fell back against the wall, her own adrenaline causing her to shake unsteadily as she held her hand against her chest, her racing heard beating heavily inside of her so fast and loud she could hear her heartbeat in her ears.

Mark crouched down in front of Benjamin once more and took a few deep breaths to calm his shattered nerves, once he had composed himself enough to speak without shaking, he looked the man in the eyes again as tears streaked down his boil covered face, over his sagging skin, and fell from his grotesque chin.

"Tell me everything, Benjamin. Tell me everything you know about Minerva's Den, about the Splicers there, the Little Sisters, Big Sisters if there are any, Big Daddies... Tell me everything... Tell me before they-" He pointed to the three Protectors, drawing Benjamin's wide, fearful eyes to them. "Get tired of waiting for information... and decide to get it their way..." He finished, earning a growl from all three of them.

Benjamin gulped down mucus filled saliva and took in a deep, shaking breath, his shattered shoulder and collarbone acting as proof that he didn't want any questions from them. Suddenly the payment of ADAM meant very little to him, if anything. He would give all of the ADAM in the world to be free from this Hell, to be free from the Monsters that were mere feet away from him. He would betray Reed Wahl, betray his friends, betray everything if it meant keeping these Demons away from him, even if it were a few feet.