After ten minutes of talking about the philosophy of life with this very intriguing character whilst hearing death echo in her left ear, Alias excused herself to the bathroom. One of the many that were here, anyway, but it was bigger than she thought; big enough to throw a party. She put her empty glass down on the marble counter, she wasn't sure why she brought it in here to begin with, and sighed. It was very uncomfortable not being able to read people's heat signatures and just feel cold in general, it made her feel...thirsty. Out of suspicion from others she flushed the toilet in one of the cubicles and turned the tap on. "Alias...you okay?" came Jason's voice from her earpiece. "You've gone quiet. I can't even hear you breathe."
"I'm on edge. I don't think I've ever had my powers bound like this before. I mean it's been suppressed, but not to the point where I can't feel it anymore."
"Feels weird?"
"That's one way to describe it. Have you found it?"
"Apparently. It's literally an amber quartz, it was floating in some contraption."
"Let's hope that you taking it doesn't trigger anything."
"Yeah, I'm at least 90% sure that's not the case." Her eyes quickly peered at the door just as she switched the tap off and she fell into her role almost instantly, leaning her body closer to the mirror to find any errors in her hairstyle. As predicted, the door opened and two women walked in laughing and chatting away, taking their places next to Alias. One had put their purse down to fix their makeup while the other readjusted the strapless number she had on. They honestly thought she never saw, and smashing the champagne glass and ramming the spiked stem into one of the women's necks was quite shocking.
"So it's not just the guards, huh?" she questioned as she took a couple steps back and glared at the growing puddle of crimson on the tiled floor. "Posing as guests to throw me off. Can't say I'm not impressed."
The woman smirked, "I didn't think you were intelligent enough to realise. Our master won't be happy you're here."
"Don't speak too soon," Alias huffed and blocked a couple strikes before moving to the offensive, going for a step-up enziguri that blasted her attacker into the cubicles. Her combat heels shone a fierce red during the attack and let out a cloud of smoke when she regained her footing, almost falling over her dress. "I'll kill you before you get to her...at least the shotgun boots work fine. So much for subtlety." She pushed aside the fallen dividers with the side of her foot and stomped on the woman's chest, the force triggering the mechanism to discharge another round, and stomped on her chest one more time just in case. Alias couldn't tell if she was being lazy or just didn't want to die, and did it a third time to wipe the bloody grin off her face. "I don't like these."
"What?" Jason's voice was heard again; oh, so now he's talking? "But they're so cool."
"Not my style, but you heard right? They're posing in the vessels of guests, but the marks they have aren't on their necks. It's on their tongues."
"That's...actually disgusting. I'm guessing we have minutes at best."
"Probably less. Meet you in the hall?"
"Unless there's any place bigger." She removed herself from the bathroom and called Rex's name when she reached the midpoint of the spacious hallway, and the Meta appeared out of thin air with her original outfit draped over one forearm and the matching footwear hooked on his middle and index fingers. He was back in his bomber jacket and quarter lengths combo, his sheath strapped to his back.
"You seriously don't like the boots?" Rex had to question her as he helped her out of the dress and boots before handing her the suit. It was completely different to the one she had on previously, as this was more her style; a legless catsuit in a black-dark blue colour scheme with quarter-length sleeves, matching stockings, silver gauntlets that spanned her entire forearms, one with technology software, and a thigh utility belt attached to a sagging belt. The boots that came with it were more practical, more practical than the heels she was usually accustomed to, but had a dark red sole and a metal section protecting the front of her foot. Then again, you could never beat an original. "I think it gives you the edge you need in combat."
"It's alright but…" she eased on the suit over her legs and was about to slip into the torso. "It doesn't feel like me. But, if I had to admit, they are pretty cool." Just as she was finally wearing the suit, Rex handed her belt and boots. "All-Blades?" she questioned as the blonde man handed her the mystic weapons, and hooked them on her belt.
"Think you'd have more use of it than Jason in this current situation," Rex replied as she pulled her hair out of her suit, removed the pins keeping her hair swept back and fastened the gauntlets on her person. "Ready?"
"Always been." She grinned and took his open hand before she felt the world disappear and reappear in a flash of colour and sound, and they found themselves in the middle of an incredibly-dressed crowd as people fled to the stairs in order to escape. When Alias turned to see what they were fleeing from, her shoulders sagged slightly as Tina was sitting on an elevated throne that wasn't there before with a blizzard circling her lower body and her arms casually draped on the armrests. Around the throne were a group of incredibly-dressed people and the bodyguards they marked out, their eyes the same daunting yellow as their master's, and creepy smiles on their faces.
"And just like that, the lone wolf comes to me," Tina spoke once the room had cleared entirely; only Rex, Alias, the host and her...whatevers were the ones left. "To think I was going to look for you but instead I find you here, in my kingdom, with nothing else but your vessel to dispose of. You can't even use the cold that surrounds your soul. How pitiful."
"Not even ten seconds and I seriously want to kill you," Alias frowned and curled her palms around the hilts of the All Blades, its magic violently singing in silence. "God, I've never been so quickly annoyed in my life."
"So who have you brought along with you to join you in death, my dear? Another Meta and a mistake. What a team. You should be very proud." Alias tensed at Jason's derogatory term and moved without a thought with Rex too late to catch her arm, the host waving at her minions to react accordingly, and she brought out the energy blades just as she cover-rolled from a lazy swing and sliced them through her thighs. She hissed at the pain but recovered as she felt the weapons hum in return. Fully charged.
She stabbed a waiter in the leg before she got up and swung for a suited man's neck, ducking from her left and spun around for a three-strike combo. Rex was occupied with other things when she caught a glance of him and felt this weight on her back, spinning an All Blade into the reverse grip and stabbing her attacker in the stomach. It was the only one that screamed as it stumbled back and Alias turned to watch symbols rise up on every inch of her skin, her yellow eyes combusting into flames as the waitress collapsed on her knees and clawed at her collar. "The vessel," the Meta Mercenary mumbled and threw the sword at her head, and just like that the cold spark ignited in her body in waves of violet whispers, sheathing the All Blade in her possession and collecting the other. "Rex!"
"On it." Alias blasted shots of ice as she sprinted flat out towards Tina whilst avoiding the fighting and grabbing around her, leapt up to the stairs and ascended towards the throne. The host didn't have to stand up, in fact she was indifferent at this point, and mocked a yawn before flicking her arm. Alias didn't expect it. The sudden gust of freezing winds crashed into her and threw her off the stairs, and sent her sprawling back down to ground level. Rex, who witnessed what happened, gritted his teeth in anger and snapped his head up to glare at Tina before raising his hand.
The air cracked as he unleashed a lightning strike on her, and Alias was recovering when she heard Tina scream. She winced and clutched her ribs, two were probably broken, and felt Jason's heat signature on the balcony behind her. "One of the...lieutenants. I'm guessing the...Stormcaller."
"Right off the bat. Syndicate aren't letting up, are they?"
"I wouldn't either…" She frowned as she looked down. "That's weird."
"What?"
"Would you look at that. Seems like I restored my regenerative factor."
"The more you know." She cocked a brow and brought her hands up to let Jason hop down via ice towers, rounds splitting the air and shells and bodies impacting the glossy floor. As he landed she rolled across his back and drew the All Blades again, slicing a bodyguard in two before the air cracked again. Alias gasped and used her element to shove Jason away from the enemy's line of fire, a lightning bolt striking where he once stood and leaving a charred crater. "Thanks," he said as he cover-rolled to his feet. His aim moved as he took down several more with ease before using his guns as makeshift knuckle-dusters once Alias launched another attacker into the air for him; he drop-kicked them into another realm and rolled to the few brainwashed idiots that were rushing him from all sides. He almost laughed, they obviously didn't know who he was.
"Rex, I need you to distract her." Alias called out as she stomped her foot hard and violet ground-spikes erupted out of the glassy floor, skewering the minions around her before flash-stepping out of Tina's line of fire and relayed the attack back. "I think I got a plan."
"Does it involve you freezing something?" he hollered behind her as he sent a wave of flames outwards from his centre, and she blinked in surprise as the bodies that surrounded him shifted into piles of ash. His control over plasma didn't only let him manipulate lightning, but also fire and light. She just kept forgetting.
"It always does, doesn't it? I need that crystal." Alias moved her head out of the way as the Red Hood aimed his gun at her, and barely flinched when the bullet flew past her face. "If you don't mind."
"At least you know what to do with it," the masked vigilante shrugged as he reached into his jacket, whipped out the amber crystal and tossed it towards her, only for it to shoot upwards and the twosome shot their sights at Tina, who was now standing from her throne with violent winds cycloning her frame. If she didn't look pissed before, she definitely did now.
"You want the Shard of Arcadius?" she growled. "The only way you're gonna get it is off my dead body."
"Okay," the Meta shrugged. "If you so dearly insist." Jason was too slow to follow her movements as she blurred into violet whispers and took down the attackers that were in her path with single strikes, the shockwave forcing both him and Rex back a step and a frame struck the floor. Alias got up from one knee, on the throne, with the mist burning brightly against her face as frozen flames and her fists clenched tight around the All Blade and the Shard of Arcadius that was reacting to her touch: glowing and emanating. Tina slid onto her knees and glared up at the Meta with a shocked expression and forcefully threw her arms out, Alias raising a shield to block the incoming hailstorm attack with ease.
"Wait a second," Rex realised as he took care of the remaining enemies and joined Jason's side, who was reloading his firearms for the third time and cocked the slides. "How did she manage to..."
"Remember? She feeds off her anger."
"Wait, she's angry?"
"Confusing, ain't it?" The host staggered off the floor and brought a hand up and balled it, torrents of lightning slamming down on Alias with enough destruction that Rex's face warped in worry. But at that exact moment, she let out a ripple of golden light that deflected the trajectory of lightning strikes around her, devastating the room they were in. The building trembled and whined in fear as chunks of the ceiling began to splinter and make way, the pillars that kept it up collapsing into bulky fragments and the foundation that created the stairs fell apart at the few steps at the top. "Okay…" Jason commented as he tried to steady himself on the commotion. "She's angry. Maybe too angry―"
"Boss, look!" He turned his head and could only stare; the smoke had cleared around Tina and Alias and a few of the lightning strikes and the falling debris were stuck in eternity by ice, her frosty aura powerful enough to stop time entirely. Even Tina was frightened at what she was witnessing that she turned her back on her enemy and attempted to flee, but before she could get her feet off the ground a sunny blade flew straight through her chest.
Alias let out a sharp "Tsk," as she materialised behind a falling Tina and gave herself enough time to pull out the All Blade before her corpse hit the floor, and carefully sheathed it as the fiery mist vanished. "Sinclair better send more than you next time."
"Earth to Alias?" Red Hood waved his arm. "Not sure if you noticed, but collapsing building as we speak. I'd rather we leave than stay here but I mean, hey, it's your call."
"Oh, I noticed. I'm just wondering―hey!" Rex popped in front of Alias, held her arm, popped back next to his leader, held his arm and teleported to a vantage point that overlooked their target vicinity and watched with heartless expressions as the grand mansion folded in on itself. Time had moved once again. Everything Tina worked for, used to work for, completely gone in a matter of moments.
Rex sheathed his energy blade while Alias strolled behind the Red Hood, the three of them wondering what they were. A team? No, something more. Yet something they didn't want to be.
"So, where to next?" Rex piped up and she peered off her shoulder before moving her attention to the glassy helmet, feeling it smile with the mouth it didn't have. Maybe they were meant to be together. Maybe they were meant to be a team, I mean they did work so well together, and it was only the first target.
Maybe they were just meant to be. A team.
