White Tiger quickly recovered from her initial shock, and she put up a fighting stance as she eyed their uninvited guests. She recognized the first intruder because he was the one who had attacked the Academy a few hours ago. She did not, however, recognize his friend: a bald, unnaturally pale girl with a fierce glint in her eyes. "You're not welcomed here!" Andrew snarled as he quickly activated his armor and stepped inside of it. When he next spoke, the Predator armor added a mechanical snarl of its own. "Leave, or I will kill you!" Predator snarled with a clenched fist.
That comment made Ava's eyes widen underneath her mask. This was a very serious thing for a S.H.I.E.L.D. super hero to say, for Predator to say that he would kill the two intruders if they did not leave. This was something she never thought he would say. "Kill us?" the first intruder laughed with a slight British accent. "You're going to kill us like you did Aegis, mate?" He mocked Andrew, a mock that was not left unpunished. Andrew's response was to fire his suit's plasma cannon, and if it wasn't for the intruder's friend having lightning fast reflexes and pulling him to this side, his head would have left his neck. "You shoot like a Stormtrooper!" The first intruder mocked. "Come on. Come at me," he goaded. Andrew charged at him, granting his wish.
White Tiger turned to see the pale woman staring at her. "How do you know And- Predator?" She asked, trying to sound menacing.
The woman shrugged. "I know many people," she said in an emotionless deadpan, a slight Japanese accent to her words. "Andrew does, too."
"You didn't answer my question," White Tiger growled, extending her claws. "Tell me, or I'll-"
"You'll what?" The woman interrupted. "You'll stab me in the heart with those claws?" She turned around and began walking away. "If you can defeat me, I will tell you, if you can," the woman added, taunting White Tiger.
"Tell me," White Tiger ordered, charging forward with her claws extended. The woman reacted, but not in the way White Tiger expected. A long, black blade appeared in her hand as if she had willed it, and she raised the sword, blocking White Tiger's strike without looking. "What?" She asked.
"You like it?" The woman asked, a smug tone sneaking its way into her voice. "Pure meteoric iron blade. Care to see how your claws take a direct hit from Tashomono?"
"Let's find out," White Tiger replied, charging in.
Meanwhile, Predator and the other intruder started circling each other. "Good to see you again, old friend," the intruder said.
"What do you want?" Andrew asked cautiously, faking to his right.
The intruder didn't follow him. "You know me, Andrew," the man replied. "We were buddies together. Partners. Until you killed Aegis, that is," he added, his voice growing darker at the end.
"That was not me, Blaine!" Andrew snapped, slugging at his opponent's head.
"You know these people?" White Tiger asked Andrew while dodging a well-aimed slash from the pale woman.
"Knew," Andrew answered through clenched teeth. "Past tense."
"Funny. I could say the same about you," Blaine replied, firing an icy blast at White Tiger, causing the heroine to jump into the air to dodge the blast. A section of the floor pulled away, causing White Tiger to fall into a small hole. "I thought all cats landed on their feet," Blaine mocked.
White Tiger snarled as she tried to lift herself out. "Let me out," she growled, "and I'll show you just how cat-"
Her threat was ended by the flat side of a black blade hitting her in the face. "She was done," the pale woman said. She moved her hand up and closed her fingers gently. In response, wires came up and wrapped themselves around White Tiger's wrists and neck, holding her in place. "Now, where were we?" She asked flatly.
The door to the dorm room flew inward. "Right now, you two are on my bad side," Power Man said, walking into the room. "So," he said, recognizing Blaine. "You broke into the Academy! I was waiting for a rematch."
"That will have to wait," Blaine rebutted, walking forward. He clapped his hands together, and the entire room was almost completely covered in ice. "Right now, it's time I settled an old score with Andrew."
"Whoa… Friends of yours?" Power Man asked as he slipped and fell on the ice.
"Long story," Andrew growled as he activated his suit's submachine gun. "About as long as this fresh clip I put in," he added as he began firing at the intruders. Chill dodged out of the way, and his friend simply deflected the bullets with her sword.
"We've got to … beat these people, and quick," Power Man said as he tried to get back on his feet. "Any ideas?"
"Shoot," Andrew replied.
Not knowing what his friend meant, Power Man punched the floor to break the ice a bit. He ran forward and swung. The punch missed Chill, who dodged out of the way, exposing his friend. "Aw, crud," Power Man muttered as he realized that he missed.
The pale woman looked in his direction and raised a section of the flooring to defend herself. It didn't work. Power Man's punch shattered the cold metal, and after barely a moment, it shattered the woman's shoulder. "AUGH!" She screamed as she collapsed to the floor, holding her right shoulder.
Seeing her collapse, Blaine quickly exited the room through the hole he'd entered through. Predator moved to intercept the woman. "Give it up, Omeran," he told her. "You're not getting out of here."
The pale woman, Omeran, stood there, holding her right shoulder as her right arm dangled. "It would appear that … I have no choice," she said, wincing in pain. With her left hand, she sent a clandestine message before collapsing to the ground, passing out from the pain in her shoulder and collarbone.
Meanwhile, in a hidden area, the message was received. "Agent Omeran has been captured, Tony," Chill said.
"Hmm… That's not good," Tony replied. "How badly was she injured?"
"Her right shoulder's broken," Chill replied, "and I'm willing to bet her collarbone broke, too. Still, despite the fact that she was captured, the mission was a success."
"Excellent," Tony replied. "Excellent…"
Edited by Darkest Nightmare's Dread
Editor's note: Tashomono means 'outsider'
