Six Months Later
"I've got eyes on the target," TJ spoke over a comms device.
"Good, everyone in position?" Bentley asked.
"I don't understand why this secrecy is necessary," Fetch replied, "We have more than enough firepower to take these guys down."
"Every attack that goes public forces the government one step closer to calling us bio-terrorists again," Bentley explained, "We have to be quiet about this."
"Don't worry Fetch, just as long as everyone sticks to the plan we'll be fine," TJ assured.
"You're one to talk," she quipped.
"It's a wonder we get anything done," Delsin spoke.
"I don't remember asking for your opinion," she snapped quietly.
"The target's moving," TJ announced over the comms.
For the past six months, after Ashton and Sebastian were kidnapped, Delsin, Fetch, and TJ have been chasing down clues as to their whereabouts. They were finally able to track them down to a warehouse in the middle of the Montana wilderness. However, it was hard for Delsin to concentrate on the task at hand, as something else was always on his mind.
"Think we'll find Celia?" he asked Fetch, as the two stood next to each other against a tree.
"I hope so. I'd love to give that bitch a piece a piece of my mind," Fetch responded.
"Hey, what's with you tonight?" he asked.
"How long are we gonna' keep doing this D? This isn't our fight anymore."
"Isn't our fight?" Delsin repeated questioningly.
"We already won our fight. Augustine's gone."
"Yeah, she's gone… killed by a conduit who managed to infiltrate a secret government prison. Celia's giving conduits a bad name. It's up to us to fix that," Delsin argued.
"I'm just tired of doing this. I need some time off… we need some time off."
"Oh?" Delsin asked with a smile.
"Every time we see each other it's when we're on a mission or doing some other crap."
"Well… when we're done with this, I'll think of something we can do," Delsin promised.
"Oh, I know exactly what we're gonna' do," Fetch said sensually while leaning in for a kiss.
"Uh… you do know we can hear you guys, right?" TJ spoke through Delsin's earpiece, causing Fetch to halt her advance.
"Way to kill the moment TJ," Delsin spoke, annoyed.
"You're welcome, the target's heading towards you," TJ informed. Sighing, Delsin looked at Fetch who rolled her eyes at him. Seconds later, five vehicles could be heard driving down the road they stood beside: one small semi-truck with a trailer was led and followed by an armored jeep and an APC. The two conduits spaced themselves out according to their plan and waited for the convoy to get into position.
However, ignoring the plan, Fetch shot two missiles at the front APC, causing it to explode. The resulting wreckage blocked the rest of the convoy from advancing. Men started piling out of the remaining APC as the turret started firing in her direction. She dashed out of the way of its fire and Delsin began blasting the armored vehicle to get its attention. Fetch then jumped into the air towards the APC and shot a neon blast at the turret, destroying it. She then landed on top of the vehicle. She cringed as a bullet clipped her shoulder. She turned and was faced with a small group of mercenaries. She released a blast of neon energy that pushed the men back. Behind her, Delsin destroyed both jeeps while also incapacitating the drivers. As the mercenaries got back up, they were greeted by a barrage of glass shards that impaled their back. They all slumped to the ground, dead.
"You were supposed to stick to the plan!" TJ snapped.
"Me?! What about you? We're supposed to keep casualties to a minimum," she snapped back.
"Says the one who went trigger-happy," he retaliated.
"Guys, let's just open her up," Delsin pleaded.
They both sighed and TJ approached the truck.
"I hope this is it," Fetch muttered.
"Ashton?" TJ called as he opened the back of the truck. As soon as the door was opened, TJ was greeted by a large object hitting him in the chest and pushing him back. The object then retracted, and two figures dressed in sleek black armor jumped out. Behind them, two large crates stood vibrating. The two figures held out their hands and the crates burst open, revealing an equally large pile of small black beads flying around and attaching themselves to the two figures.
"That's new!" Delsin called out as he shot a cinder missile at the left-most mercenary. He held his arm out as if holding a shield and the beads flew out to form a barrier in front of him. When the missile impacted the barrier, it shattered and the beads scattered about them. However, seconds later, they reformed around the man's body, adding to the armor that was already present. They then charged at the conduits and Fetched quickly dashed forward to release a neon blast. However, they both pushed their hands towards the ground and the small beads gathered under their feet and propelled them into the air, dodging her blast.
"Bentley? You seeing this?" TJ asked as he stood back up to join the battle.
"I don't get it; our intel was solid. Ashton and Sebastian should've been in there," he tried reasoning.
"Well, clearly they were expecting us," Fetch added while swinging at one of the conduits with a neon cloaked fist, only to have it be blocked by his shield, which he then pushed back, knocking her off balance.
"Not gonna' lie," Delsin butted in, "An orbital strike could finish this."
"We can't, we'll be found!"
"If we haven't been already," TJ suggested while throwing glass shards at their opponents, each one bouncing off their armor. Similar to before, one held his fist in the air and the small beads formed a large fist that swung towards TJ. He managed to bring up a glass shield just before the impact, causing both forces to shatter. In that brief second, Delsin whaled the attacker with his chain, the impact causing him to lose his balance.
Just a few feet away, Fetch was alone in attacking the other. He cloaked both of his fists in the mysterious beads and swung for Fetch. The mobility showed that the beads were relatively light, and yet, they still managed to hit with force. Each swing was met by Fetch's cloaked hands. Each swing broke off some of the beads and they fell to the ground, singed. Fetch noticed this and came up with an idea.
"D! Follow my lead!" she called out. He nodded in understanding. Fetch then shifted the battle back towards the opening in the truck. Delsin and TJ did the same, forcing their attacker right next to Fetch's. Once they were close enough, she launched another neon blast, forcing all the remaining beads into the truck.
"Shoot the truck!" she shouted. Delsin released a cinder missile into the back of the truck, destroying both the vehicle and the attackers' weapons. The force blew everyone back. The three conduits were able to shake it off easily enough, but the two attacker's weren't as lucky. Fetch went over to look at them, their pitch-black armor seemed almost blacker from the explosion.
"Are they dead?" Delsin asked. No sooner had he said that, then the sound of a helicopter echoed from above.
"Let's not stick around to find out," TJ said just before running off into the wilderness. Delsin quickly followed him. Fetch turned to do the same but stopped when she noticed some intact beads lying next to them. She leaned down to pick them up and noticed something even more interesting, there was writing on the shoulder: "Firestorm" could be read on one and "Bertrand" could be read on the other. The name "Bertrand" wasn't familiar to her, but "Firestorm" she had heard before, though she didn't remember where. She ran to catch up with the others. A few meters away, they arrived at a mobile command center.
"What happened out there Fetch? You're usually more collected than this," Bentley noticed.
"They were waiting for us. Why were they waiting for us?" she asked as a response.
"I don't know, but we need to get out of here," he said before motioning towards the driver, "Let's go!" Hooked up to a truck, the command center fled the scene and headed back towards their new base of operations. Fetch also gave the beads she found the Bentley.
"These are what they used." Bentley looked at them intrinsically.
"I'll see what I can find."