Chapter 8: Jail Break

It had taken Chris and Rocket Raccoon all day to track down the government agents. By the time night had fallen the pair had tramped their way across the city occasionally forced to meander a bit when Rocket Raccoon lost the scent. As the moon began its ascent into the pitch black sky Rocket Raccoon suddenly perked upright from his position sniffing around on the ground "It got a whole lot stronger" he commented "We're getting close." Chris frowned, looking around at the buildings, they had left downtown proper and were currently standing around in a rundown neighborhood that existed on the fringes of the city. It wasn't quite a ghetto yet but it had certainly seen better days, perhaps it had been lively in the eighties. The street itself was fairly deserted of pedestrians which factored heavily in favor of their rescue mission, the less people the better as far as Chris was concerned.

While the man ruminated on what kind of resistance they would be going up against Rocket Raccoon was currently circling around the high rises around them trying to pinpoint which one the agents had entered. After a few minutes he stood back up crossing his arms "Bugger, the sodders must be concentrated here, their scent's all over this place." He gestured to the five apartments on the block "I think one of these rises is their base of operations." Chris nodded "Guess there's nothing left to do except search each of them one by one." He took a step forward only to have the Raccoon block his path "Whoa there mate, ya ain't got a weapon, do ya? I don't imagine these blokes will send for fish and chips when they spot us bustin in their base, eh?" He cocked his pistol with a cocky smile "I'll lead this dance for now mate. I'll just take the ole look around and be back before you can say hooroo."

Rocket Raccoon skittered over to a nearby window trying to take a peek inside. If it weren't for his nose he never would have guessed any kind of government would have stashed someone here. Most of the window was grimy with a mixture of dirt and cobwebs while what little could be seen didn't fare much better. Even with his fantastic eyesight Rocket Raccoon could barely see anything in the room save for a cement floor strewn with trash, rat shit, and assorted dirt. Waiting for a few minutes to see if there was anyone in the room he used his laser knife to cut a hole in the glass large enough for him to climb through. Summoning Chris with a silent hand wave he gestured for him to boost him though as carefully as he could. Without cutting his sides on the glass the anthropomorphic animal dropped into the room as silent as a cat. He gestured for Chris to return to his spot on the street before heading in deeper.

Every step he took kicked up dust which was hell on earth for his nose 'Sodding planet' he thought crossly as he picked his way over the rubble. After examining every inch of the building he was frustrated to find nothing to prove that anyone had been there recently. The next building also proved to be as derelict as the first leading Rocket Raccoon to begin to doubt his senses, it didn't help that he was sneezing every five seconds from the dusty atmosphere. Luckily he struck gold in the third house which was situated in the center of the street. While it too was as run down as the previous ones the Guardian of the Galaxy member found a large trail of disturbed dust that led into the kitchen. 'Bingo' he thought with a grin before sneezing again 'I swear if there's more any more dust in these blokes base I'll blow this hellhole down, angel or no.' Carefully he tiptoed into the kitchen catching sight of a lone figure hunched over a surprisingly clean table.

The goon in a nice suit was playing solitaire on the table a small lamp lighting the area around him. His back was turned to Rocket Raccoon making him a sitting duck to a stun shot which would leave him splayed on the table for eighteen hours at least. Furtively the creature searched about the room positive the man was guarding a secret of some kind. 'Bingo' he thought smirking; behind the fridge was some kind of button that looked extremely out of place in comparison with the rest of the building. Grabbing the gun from the unconscious guard's holster he ran back to the street where Chris was waiting. "This way" he called "Found something weird." When Chris stepped into the building the creature tossed him the gun "Hope you know how to use that big guy, don't make me think less of you." Ignoring the jab Chris examined the weapon; it was a full loaded Red9. While he preferred the heavy stuff Chris was more than happy to be rearmed again.

As he followed Rocket Raccoon into the kitchen he swiped another box of pistol ammo from the guard before taking notice of the fridge. It was a hulking old piece straight from the seventies; neither Rocket Raccoon nor Chris wanted to see what might be inside. "There's a button of some sort tucked back behind this behemoth" the raccoon explained "Use those freakish muscles of yours to good effect." The B.S.A.A member merely rolled his eyes before pushing the fridge aside effortlessly revealing the black button. It looked like an elevator of some kind prompting Rocket Raccoon to push it curiously. The floor rocked slightly before the area around the pair began to mechanically sink into the floor. "A hidden elevator" Rocket Raccoon commented as they descended "classy and clichéd." The shaft they descended was built entirely out of metal with blinking light lining the four corners. "They have a base here" Chris asked aloud "Is this where all our tax dollars go to?"

The elevator stopped in small room with a door to the north that led into a literal labyrinth of tunnels lit only by the fluorescent lights that ran the length of the ceiling. "This way and try to be as quiet as you can, I hear quite a few blokes creeping about the corridor." They took about two steps before Rocket Raccoon whipped around putting a claw to his lips "What part of quiet don't you sodding understand?" "I am being quiet" Chris insisted "No you're bloody not" Rocket Raccoon snapped back "For the love of the stars do you work in construction or some job where you stomp around like an ogre?" Chris frowned "I fight zombies and I've managed to sneak up on the majority of them." "Must have been bloody deaf zombies then" Rocket Raccoon snapped back "If you're coming along you'll be taking off your shoes. The floor's clean as a whistle and your socks might be able to muffle those Godzilla steps of yours."

Grudgingly Chris followed orders shedding his shoes tucking them under one arm then following Rocket Raccoon in his white socks. If the creature's ignorance was any sign his steps had reached a tolerable level of noise which would soon turn out to be invaluable. Taking the right most path the pair turned around several corners before sighting the first few guards patrolling the base. The men were awake but not terribly alert, their fire arms lay limply at their sides a sure sign they were not expecting trouble that night. Unfortunately for Rocket Raccoon and Chris the men were situated in a big room that connected the hallway they were in to an eastern and northern hallway with no way to maneuver around them. Retreating back into their tunnel the pair hustled for a moment "Damn, this will be messy if we attack head on" Chris muttered looking at his gun "I don't want to take lives if I don't have to." Rocket Raccoon looked at him critically for a second before looking away "I don't care much for murdering either mate, let's head back and look for another way."

They retraced their steps to the elevator before ducking into the rightmost tunnel. They got lucky this time; a single guard was sitting in the room symmetrical to the other one with tunnels heading west and north. Effortlessly Rocket Raccoon shot off a second stun bolt nailing him in the center of his chest. The guard fell down without a noise save for his body smacking the floor below him. Chris relieved him of his weapon, an M16, as well as two boxes of ammo before putting the guard into a corner of the dimly lit southern tunnel. "West or North" Chris asked returning to the room only to get a 'hrrrmph' from Rocket Raccoon. "They must have transported her around the base; I can smell a trail from both ends. Logically the western tunnel leads back to those chuckleheads from back there so I recommend we head north." The pair progressed further more as the northern tunnel lead into a very open corridor that was crammed with corridors.

Rocket Raccoon paused before pointing to three of the corridors, clueing Chris in. Apparently she had been led or carried through a multitude of rooms for some unknown reason; the three the creature was pointing at were the three that contained her scent. The B.S.A.A member shrugged his shoulders offering the decision to Rocket Raccoon who crept down the farthest one. It was a very short one that led to a door, after putting his ear up to the door crack Rocket Raccoon gave Chris a thumb up. Behind the door was a fully equipped surgeon's table causing Chris' eyes to narrow suspiciously. "You don't think they…" he trailed off letting the raccoon sniff around the legs of the table praying he was wrong. "No skullduggery here mate" the animal said standing back up onto his feet "She was on here but they didn't carve her open, can't smell no blood and there were no chemicals used to clean it up if there was." Sighing in relief the pair searched the room for clues; the cabinets lining the walls of the room were of particular interest to Chris.

'It's possible it could be here but…aha' he thought pulling out some first aid sprays, perfect for anything from an infected scratch to a laceration but no more than that. He pocketed them in his combat vest before turning to Rocket Raccoon "Find anything?" Pulling himself out from under one of the cabinets the creature revealed a small black feather clenched in his grasp. "I ain't the most knowledgeable of blokes when it comes to Earthling lore" he admitted twirling it between two of his claws "But if I ain't mistaken your precious angels typically have white wings, no?" Chris shrugged "I guess but I've never seen an angel before, who's to say they have black wings?" Rocket Raccoon handed it to Chris who pocketed it idly as the pair headed back down the corridor. The next one also held a door and also some minions inside "I think there are two of them in there" Rocket Raccoon reported looking at Chris "What do you want to do?"

"Let's ambush them" he replied "Finally, a chance for a punch up" his partner replied cracking his knuckles "The old one-two then?" Chris nodded squatting near the door "On my mark." Holding up a hand Chris silently counted down from five using his fingers then smashed the door in with one powerful kick. The guards beyond the door were taken completely by surprise, the nearest one went down with a stun bolt from Rocket Raccoon's gun while Chris floored the nearest one down with a shoulder charge. Before the guard could call out Chris clamped his hand over the man's mouth "Where is the angel" he growled menacingly. The guard just glared at him before attempting to toss the agent off of him only to fail miserably, Chris was just too heavy even for someone as strong as the agent. "Just knock him out mate" Rocket Raccoon advised "I think we can figure out where she is now."

Surrounding the duo was a bevy of computer monitors that revealed whatever the security cameras in the base were looking at. Jumping off the guy Chris gave Rocket Raccoon a perfect shot to stun the agent allowing them to peruse the screens. "Bloody hell, of course this would cover every inch of this blasted place save for where our distressed damsel is." Rocket Raccoon commented as he tapped on the keyboard. "Can we bring up a map of the building" Chris asked examining one of the monitors "We can use the monitors to eliminate which rooms the angel isn't in." A flurry of taps later brought up some blue prints "And there it is" The animal said pointing to the plans "This complex extends at least four blocks in either direction, that's how all those apartments smelled like agents, there are exits that lead into each of them."

While Rocket Raccoon began to mark off which rooms weren't the angel's Chris took the liberty of relieving the two knocked out guards of their ammo, more pistol bullets but one of them had shot gun ammo which worried him. They could hold their own in a moderate gun fight but if someone decided to bring some serious fire power to the party they were in the shitter. As he stored he found an electronic card, most likely used to unlock an important door. 'Maybe this can get us into the angel's room' Chris thought placing it into his pocket. Faint footsteps caused the pair to perk up "Dammit, I'm not done yet" Rocket Raccoon cursed banging on the keyboard "If I let this idle it might shut down." "I've got this" Chris said stalking over to the door. Peeking through it he saw a single guard wandering toward them his two hands preoccupied steaming hot coffee mugs.

'Sorry" he thought apologetically as the man neared 'This is really gonna hurt." Just as the man was about to open the door Chris burst out sending the agent down covered in scalding hot coffee forcing Chris to hustle if he didn't want the entire building to be aware of their presence. With one fluid motion he pistol whipped the guy into unconsciousness straining to hear if he had any comrades lurking further back. No one else came in allowing Chris to rifle through the guard's belongings gaining some more shotgun ammo. After fifteen more minutes Rocket Raccoon gave a victory fist pump "I think I know where their stowing the gal, there's a room just beyond the camera's range and I'll bet you a sodding super nova that's where their keeping her." The pair quickly headed into the hallway taking the last corridor that had her scent in it. At its end was another large door but this time with a window on it. A quick peek through revealed at least fifteen agents lounging inside with their weapon's within reaching distance.

"I guess we could see if those guards in the east wing have left yet" Chris offered causing the creature to shake his head "Ain't no time mate, the longer we wander around here the greater the possibility they'll notice us." He looked around before pointing at the wall; a grated air vent was installed toward the middle of the corridor. "Boost me up ya ogre" he ordered "I'll get past these blokes and find some way to distract them, just stay frosty and wait for me." Chris lifted Rocket Raccoon up to the air vent. He used the small laser blade to cut through the metal like butter allowing access into the small tunnel. It was spacious enough to allow Rocket Raccoon to grab a small penlight from his belt while placing the laser knife back onto his belt. He crawled forward with ease into the ventilation system navigating the twists and turns until he found the other side.

Cutting his way out he hopped into the empty corridor 'I should check to make sure I'm in the right corridor' he thought looking up at the door's window. Frantically he hopped up and down trying to get a glimpse into the window but failed miserably each time. 'Bugger, why do these sodding humans have to be so damn tall' he thought snarling. Rocket Raccoon decided to scout a bit farther down the hall, perhaps something he could use to get the guards out of that room. The hallway emptied into another lounge where a guard paced restlessly around the room while a second one leaned up against the far wall staring into space. 'Crap, I can't take out one without the other seeing me' he thought scanning the area 'with those goons in the back room raising any sort of alarm will be deadly. I gotta take these blokes out one at a time without them noticing me.'

His eyes fell on a nearby cardboard in the left corner of the room 'Well, Earthlings aren't known for their observational skills.' Waiting till the roaming guards back was turned the animal dashed over to the box disappearing under it without a sound. Amused at his antics he carved a small hole to see through before tiptoeing his way up to the roaming guard. Just like he predicted the blooming idiot passed him without a second look not even registering that the box had moved five feet towards him. Once the guard was at the point farthest away from the idle one Rocket Raccoon doffed the box briefly and stunned him in the back. The roaming guard fell with a thud alerting the first one "Ed, Ed, are you ok?" he asked stepping around the random cardboard box "What the hell happened to you?" He bent down to take care of his comrade only to have something hard shoved into his back "Nighty night sodder "

His attacker watched him fall with a cocky little grin before running up to the door at the far end. He pushed it as hard as he could to no avail cursing the Earthlings once more for their penchant for heavy tall doors. Then he spotted the card reader glowing red just above him, the door was locked. Ruffling around in the guards' pockets he came up empty save for some antique ammo which the ogre seemed fond of collecting. Pissed off he stalked over to the second door leading east trying to restrain himself from blasting it open subtlety be damned. Lucky for Chris and the angel the door opened automatically causing Rocket Raccoon to drool at the contents inside. He had stumbled on a small armory filled with a variety Earthling weapons, they were inferior for sure but they got his creative juices flowing. 'Time for a little of the ole RR refashioning' he thought smugly pulling out a small bevy of tools from his belt.

It took about a half hour but eventually Rocket Raccoon was ready with his distraction. With a huff he leapt into the air duct making his way back to a nervous Chris. "What the hell, I thought you might've been captured" Chris accused him but Rocket Raccoon merely waved a paw dismissively. "Keep your bonnet on Betty; I've got the perfect distraction ready and waiting to get us out of this jam." Pulling out a detonator he pressed it without lead up causing a small beeping to emanate from the room he was in previously. "What the hell" one of the guards said as they rushed into the adjacent room guns drawn. Once they all cleared out Rocket Raccoon pushed his way into the room with Chris hot on his heels. "I was under the impression your distraction was more than a simple-"A huge thump accompanied by a chorus of shocked cries came from the next room before a second thump silenced them all together. "Don't you ever doubt the mechanical prowess of Rocket Raccoon, mate" His companion gaped as they stepped into the room, it looked like something from Raccoon City. A multitude of bodies lay strewn about while a large pendulum made of gun paraphernalia the size of Chris swung lightly from the ceiling of the roof. "Good ole log trap, it never fails" Rocket Raccoon remarked cockily.

"We've got a problem thought, mate. That door over there is locked with a card reader." Rocket Raccoon groused pointing at the far door "Guess we're going to have to search the base." Chris plucked the electronic card he had found from his pocket "Maybe this one will work?" He slid the card through the reader which rewarded his effort by turning blue and unlocking the door. "Lucky punk" his furry companion said crossing his arms. "What can I say; my job requires me to be paranoid when it comes to searching bodies for important keys. Can't tell you how many times I've been screwed over because I didn't pick up some obscure piece of paraphernalia." "Your job sounds like shit" Rocket Raccoon commented as they stepped through the threshold. Chris was about to respond when he saw the room they were in, it was a large semi-circle room with a wraparound waist high window allowing for a peek at the occupants inside.

Chris took a sharp gasp when he saw her; the angel was in the room strapped to a surgery table. She was unconscious and naked head to foot while a bevy of machinery kept log of her vital signs via a crap ton of wires inserted into her body. Her wings drooped pitifully behind her due to the heavy leather straps ensuring that any attempt to move them would be futile. She was sweating profusely giving her body a shiny sheen which made Chris dangerously hot under the collar. Beside him Rocket Raccoon gave a wolf whistle "Damn, that lady's all kinds of naked." He said appreciating the view. Trying not to think about how much he concurred with that statement Chris tore his eyes away from the heavenly beauty to check out the other occupants in the room. Four surgeons bustled about her taking DNA samples, placing them in containers, and labeling said containers for later reference.

"I bet you aces to asses if we break that window we'll be setting off some sodding alarm and be up to elbows in guards before we can blink twice" Rocket Raccoon commented "Let's try to find the door into that room." Crawling under the windows the pair entered a door to the right of the observatory room expecting to find a way inside, what they got were more computers. "Dammit all, haven't you bloody Earthlings ever heard of restraint?" Rocket Raccoon cursed running up to one of them "Let's just hope they left these on." A few taps of the keyboard ensured him they were "Easy as pie" but a few keystrokes later all hell broke loose. A siren began to wail causing the pair of them to flinch "What the hell did you do" Chris yelled over the cacophony. "I must have tripped some kind of alarm or something" his companion yelled back "I've stopped the computer from locking up but it's going to take me a few ticks to crack this. Bet you anything some blokes are on their way, keep them busy, if I let this thing idle too long it'll lock me out." Without looking away from the computer he grabbed his weapon and tossed it to Chris who caught it easily enough. Reentering the observatory room he knelt down just left of the door, out of the immediate eyesight of anyone who would come barging in.

Trying to be pragmatic Chris shot the window hoping to vaporize it or something but the laser didn't even go through the glass. Chalking it up to some alien thing he shot the window with his gun only to have the bullets bounce off leaving it cracked. Apparently these guys had the foresight to install Plexiglas meaning that even if he wasted all his ammo on the window he wouldn't shatter it Behind the window the scientists were scurrying about the room grabbing specimens in a frenetic dash to evacuate the area. A few tense minutes later Chris could hear a flurry of footsteps barreling down the hall causing him to reflexively take a deep breath and block out everything except their arrival. The door opened allowing two to rush into the room missing Chris' form hunkering behind them. He downed the first guy in the back without any hassle but by doing so he alerted the second one to his presence. Pushing himself forward he managed to dodge the first bullet the guard fired which embedded itself in the concrete wall behind him. Time slowed for a second as the agent's spent shell casing flew out the back of his piece while the pair readied their weapons. Chris was fighting the inertia as he moved forward towards the glass observatory trying to keep his aim steady while the guard fought the recoil of his weapon as he brought it around for a second shot. Chris hit the Plexiglas windows rebounding off of them just as the guard fired; his bullet smashed the glass inches away from Chris' chest splintering it like a spider web.

As he fell to the floor the former STARS member shot the guard right in the chest sending him down for a dirt nap. Picking himself off the ground he doubled back to Rocket Raccoon's room "How much longer?" "A bit longer, this bloody code's giving me a hell of a time" the creature replied "Get back in there, I hear more on the way." As Chris returned the door began to vibrate fiercely and some muffled curses could be heard behind it. Resuming his position just out of sight he checked his weird alien weapon, there was nothing on it he could identify as a clip, if this thing needed a clip, so he just prayed it wouldn't run out at an inopportune time. A multitude of guards broke in this time guns at the ready, this was going to hairy. Rushing forward he bowled them over with a shoulder charge disabling two with stun shots. The rest managed to get back on their feet, there were at least four in all, each one built like him and pissed to boot.

With nasty grins all four aimed their barrels at him ready to blow the poor intruder away but Chris was faster and more experienced. With one fluid flick he shot a laser at the floor kicking up enough dust to veil him moderately well and, more importantly, irritate their eyes. Several shots rang out sporadically as the crowd degenerated into a full blown confusion with weapons discharging while arms flailed desperately. These agents had been trained to be the ones in control, to attack their enemies with every single advantage factored heavily in their favor. Instead they had rushed in because their base had been broken into unaware of the number of infiltrators, guessing at how heavily armed their opponents were, and having been ambushed their reliance on their senses had been pushed to the max leaving them especially vulnerable to the dust cloud. Their eyes were blinded, their ears shattered by the close range shots zipping around them, they gagged on dirt in their mouth and nose while their sense of touch triggered their reflex to fire wildly pushing their entire dilemma into a vicious cycle of escalating pain.

Through it all was Chris who was not phased in the slightest, worse had happened to him in his long career as a zombie eradicator. His mind was as sharp as a knife in the heat of battle, calculating the best place for him to stand in order to diminish the likelihood of getting shot while his hands moved as slowly and methodically as a surgeon's. One, two, three, they went down like tall oaks before the ax of a lumberjack screaming in rage as they realized they had failed their mission shaming both themselves and the government they worked for. The fourth one actually had the good sense to click the safety back on his weapon then holster it recognizing the uselessness of trying to shoot blind. Instead he charged forward just as Chris shot the third guard tackling the B.S.A.A member to the ground. The two men grappled like wrestlers, on a lucky jab the guard knocked the laser gun out of Chris' hands forcing him to rely solely on melee.

It could have been a scene out of an old timey, black and white film, the ones where men fought like gentleman, as each slugged the other blow for blow. When Chris slammed the guard in the jaw with his forehead he got a knee to the stomach in return. A belly blow from the guard sent Chris' gut bouncing back and forth between the thoracic cavity walls like a rubber ball, in return another shot to the jaw made blood flow from the guard's mouth forcing him to pause for a second to spit Chiclets. Anyone watching this primal event unfold before them would be hard pressed as to whom to bet on to win, the men were evenly matched in strength, mass, and fighting skill. Ultimately it was experience that won the brawl; Chris had aiming for the jaw all along while his opponent threw punches with no clear cut strategy on how he wanted to end it. The blood flowing from the agent's mouth eventually rolled backward into the throat causing the guard to reflexively gag weakening his grasp for one vital moment. With a yell Chris tossed the man clear across the room with his legs granting him enough time to scramble for the laser pistol.

With enviable reflex the man jumped back onto his feet but no matter how quick he was simple physics had doomed him the moment he had been tossed. He was unable to dodge the stun shot, as quickly as he was back on his feet he was just as fast to return to the ground with a dull thud. Relaxing his guard Chris took a moment to regain his breath, he was smarting all over from the blows but it was better than a bullet to the brain. Around him lay the divots of bullet holes placed in a random manner, some had even impacted the Plexiglas behind him. Chris' gaze was drawn to the occupants within who were quickly disconnecting the angel from the battery of machines she was hooked up to. Panicked that they were about to flee with her he returned to the computer room "They're going to take them with her, are you done yet?" "I'm bloody close ya blighter" Rocket Raccoon screeched back "Just give me a-"

He paused, ears swiveling hard "You got one more bloke to contend with mate. I don't need to be Sherlock bleeding Holmes to tell you this but if my ears aren't going daft you'll be dealing with a monster sized one." He gave Chris a cursory once over "Clean yourself up a tad, you look like hell warmed over." Grabbing one of the first aid sprays he had swiped from the other surgical room Chris carefully applied it to his face and his abs, the Neosporin would stop the small cuts he had sustained from the guys blows while also relieving his aches with the pain killers that would seep into his skin. Angrily he shot a few rounds at the window adding more splinters to the Plexiglas and giving the medics a good scare but accomplishing little else. Anxiously he hid behind the door again planning to end this fight the same as the previous ones, a stun shock to the exposed back. Unfortunately for him either his opponent had gotten wise to his tactics or simply Leeroy Jenkinsed his approach, the blob of exaggerated muscle chose to make a dynamic entrance by busting down the area around the door.

Chris landed hard on his ass, his laser pistol firing wildly missing the hulking behemoth standing in front of them. The giant turned around, his bulk mirrored the size of an El Gigante his fellow agent Leon had encountered during his slog through a backwater European village. In his hand was a massive mace and chain while the other held a giant slab of steel that was probably a humongous sword. "When I heard we had been invaded I was expecting someone…bigger" the creep remarked smiling broadly "Why is it always cockroaches?" Chris stood back rolling his right shoulders "I think all those steroids you've been popping like candy has been depriving the ole noggin of precious oxygen if you think for a second I'm some damned cockroach." The man just smiled showing off his yellow teeth "The name's Vidarr punk and Imma about to squash you like the insect you are."

On that note Chris shot the guy with the stun bolt fully expecting this guy to drop like the others, he was sorely disappointed. The muscle freak seized up for a sec before shaking it off like if it was a coat. "That tickled, bug" Vidarr commented before backhanding Chris sending him slamming up against the Plexiglas. Then he swung the ball and chain above his head letting it fly at Chris who managed to roll out of the way but not without a jolt of pain slamming up and down his spine. Two more shots later confirmed it; the bolt pistol was not powerful enough to overcome the guy forcing Chris to choose. He could either use conventional weaponry or he could try melee, it was a no brainer really but ethical issues had to be addressed. Drawing the Red9 he shot three non-lethal bullets into the guy's leg relying on the tried and true method of the B.S.A.A, if your opponent survived the head shot go for his knee cap instead. Sadly Vidarr's knee was encased in slabs of steroid stimulated muscle which protected the guy from a shattered knee cap.

Stumping forward the hulking figure drew his sword rending the air with inaccurate slashes fueled by power not skill. One managed to score a small laceration on Chris' leg which was clotted with another first aid spray before he rolled away from incoming slices. Sticking to his guns he shot more bullets into the giant's leg finally scoring a small victory. The elite guard toppled to the side like a tree screaming like a baby as the blood ran down his leg like the mighty Mississippi giving Chris a free shot at the guy's back. Holstering his weapon Chris rushed forward jumping on the man's massive back clenching his fists around Vidarr's neck. The pair grappled for a second as Vidarr fought the chokehold by staggering back as quickly as he could till he felt his back hit the Plexiglas wall. He fought as best as he could but the steroid user had just enough air to stay conscious, a few more back slams against the wall forced Chris to jump off.

There was a brief lull in the battle as the two fought to regain their breath, thanks to the wounds Chris had sustained in his fights beforehand Vidarr managed to recover first. With a mighty jab he sent Chris rolling along the floor like a ball. Gathering his weaponry he stalked towards the downed agent whipping his ball and chain about the air with the ferocity of a whirlwind, a wicked grin plastered itself on his face. "At least you put up more of a fight than a most bugs" he consoled his opponent in a voice dripping with sickly sweet sarcasm "I'll even tell the janitors to mop you up with care, whatever's left of you that is." Struggling to get up Chris weakly grasped the gun that had fallen to the side closest to the wall out of his foe's sight. Drawing on the luck of a hundred similiar events he angled it as best he could from his position. He hesitated for a second wondering who best to pray to, after all if he landed this shot it could be debated as a miracle under the circumstances. Invoking irony Chris decided to say a little prayer the angel lying unconscious a few yards away from him separated by cement and glass.

The shot blasted out of the barrel with a small bang and hit money, Vidarr's left eye exploded into a gelatinous mess of white, red, and pink. The steroid junkie screamed like a little kid clutching at the mess streaming from his eye as if he wanted to gather it up again to try to rebuild it. As he staggered about blindly it gave Chris more than enough time to regain his breath and stand back on his feet. Once he regained his footing Vidarr had been reduced to pitiful sap lying on the ground about to go unconscious from the shock. Mercifully Chris slammed him in the back of the head with his pistol's butt knocking the guy out. He was sore all over from that last attack but this was no time for wound licking, his target was in sight. "Please, please tell me that…you've got access." Chris groaned as he entered the computer room gingerly. The Guardian of the Galaxy turned to him giving him a mega cocky grin "Don't get your knickers in a twist" he pressed a button on the computer and the door to the angel's room opened with a light machine whirl.

The technicians had abandoned their posts a while ago bringing as many DNA samples on their exodus as they could carry under their arms. With the alarm still screaming in their ears the two quickly ripped out the wires embedded in and on her body pausing only momentarily to ensure that whatever they were pulling out wouldn't have a harmful effect on her. Eventually the wires fell away releasing her from the medical bonds prompting Chris to turn to Rocket Raccoon. "Can I borrow your knife for a moment" he asked getting a quizzical look in response. Silently he handed over his knife which Chris placed on the table momentarily allowing him to doff his vest and pull off his shirt. "I like rhumpy-pumpy as much as the next chap but is this really the time mate?" Chris glowered at his companion "She's unconscious" Rocket Raccoon shrugged "So?" Exasperated Chris didn't reply choosing to show not tell, he grabbed the knife he borrowed slashing two large slits in the back of it.

Carefully he lifted the angel off the table dressing her in his shirt which was several sizes too big on her which covered her nakedness fairly well. The wings proved to be quite a hassle though; it took painstaking work on both Chris and Rocket Raccoon's part to thread her wingspan through the short slits. Satisfied he wouldn't be molesting her in her sleep the former STARS member picked her up into his arms bridal style surprised at how light she was. If he had to make a scientific guess he would assume her feather weight came from the fact she was a flier, hollowed out bone marrow and all that medical jazz. "Let's mosey" he said nodding over to the door the medics had escaped through. Quickly the pair exited unaware that their movements were being tracked via the cameras stationed at angles about the rooms and corridors of the base.

From one of the media rooms a fat cat bureaucrat watched them aghast at what they had on their possession. "Who are they, what the hell is that thing next to him, how the hell did they find us" he asked the bevy of men surrounding him, his subordinates. These men were clearly agents or at least had been agents; their much more lean physique coupled with their analytical eyes betrayed their true positions within the organization. These were the supervisors of the base; a few of them even held high positions within the CIA proper and right now they were seeing their pink slips begin to form in front of their eyes. "We've rallied the rest of the men here on base but our opponents have done a good job at thinning our ranks, especially the one who took down Vidarr" one of them spoke up "We'll head them off at the elevators before they can escape to the surface." If this little stratagem was designed to calm their boss it failed miserably, he launched into a frenzy of swinging arms in tandem with his girth.

"Dammit, I ain't going to sit here watching you chuckleheads sit on your asses throwing using the same bullshit tactics" he screamed composing himself for a split second to slam a button on one of the computer monitors lying in front of them. The sirens died for a split second before switching a lower pitch accompanied by a robotic female voice. "Attention" she called "hideout lockdown protocol had been initiated. Please swap to an encrypted radio channel in order to receive your orders. Repeat, hideout lockdown…" In the monitor room the bureaucrat's entourage balked at his actions "Sir, this is unwise. We have men wounded in the corridors; the lockdown will greatly delay medical attention from getting to them." Their boss whipped around his fat finger jabbing into the chest of one of his dissenters "This is why I hate you agent types, you ain't like the army. Those boys in the service know when to keep their damn lips shut when their superior gives them an order. Your careers, each and every one of ya's, as well as mine is in the shitter if we lose them. This angel thing is the biggest scientific finds of the century, the potential atomic bomb of the 21st century if ya get my drift. The minute we lose her all our jobs are lost and whatever overtime we sweated through in order to get our pensions will vanish into thin air. Now, you boys can worry over some brain damage or blood loss or you can say screw em, put medals of honor or whatever you shit heads give out for getting injured on the job, and help me keep our bacon safe." His subordinates silently nodded embracing his logic "What shall we do" they asked obediently.

Meanwhile Chris and Rocket Raccoon were bumbling about one of the corridors trying to find an exit after heavy steel bulkheads came crashing down around them cutting off every conceivable path. "Don't suppose you've got something in that tool belt of yours that'll get us out of here?" Chris asked clutching the angel closer to his chest as he whirled about agitatedly. His furry companion didn't reply choosing instead to switch the setting of his pistol from stun to melt aiming at the wall. A small white laser emanating such a heat that even Chris who was several yards away from Rocket Raccoon could feel the temperature rise notably. The laser dug into the metal turning the dull grey color into rosy red that dripped away slowly until a large enough hole for Chris to squeeze through after a moment to let the metal cool.

Their second attempt at melting a bulkhead was met with much more disappointing results, the laser pistol suddenly gave a high whine as it dug through before shutting off entirely. "Damn" Rocket Raccoon muttered fiddling with his weapon "Tis nature for machinery to fail the moment the need for it is greatest." "Can you fix it" Chris asked anxious to get out of this rat trap as fast as possible. "Hate to say it mate but this little bugger is out of commission for the duration. We'll have to wriggle our way out of this one some other way." Uselessly the pair glanced about the corridor hoping to find something that might prove to be useful in their escape. With roving eyes Rocket Raccoon landed his gaze on Chris, more specifically his hands and what they were gripping. Usually when one describes a grin they compare witty ones to a fox or a weasel, those poor animals had nothing to the perverted, knowing grin of a raccoon.

"I see we're having a grand old time" he noted twirling his bum weapon about lazily "Although if you squeeze those delicious buns any harder I daresay they'll bruise." Poor Chris was caught red handed, their movement about the corridor had slowly maneuvered Chris' shirt up the angel's waist. While the altered garment did cover her up decently it was far from perfect and soon Chris found his hands filled with her bare ass, the rest of his shirt pooled around her thighs hiding her lady parts. Nobody, ever, could in their right mind accuse Chris of being easily distracted. From merciless weather, to untold biological horrors, to the rambunctious female companions he was constantly partnered with, nothing and no one could seem to distract Chris from his mission. But the man was also mortal, a living, breathing, flesh being fully invested with all the supposed biological urges carved via evolution or, alternatively, all the lusts of a man's heart as proven by literature immemorial. Fully aware of the grip of his hand Chris bowed to an urge that he had rarely felt since Raccoon City.

Her ass was truly a wonder, as firm as a peach, as soft as a tulip petal. It was the sort of ass great men of literature, way before the internet came along cheapening sexuality with its flood of nudity, attempted to describe using woefully inadequate words to describe one of life's greatest sensual pleasure, the grasping of a perfect ass. Slowly his thumb trailed down one of the cheeks making small circles in its journey in a highly whimsical manner. At times he would palm the whole of hand admiring it completely with every nerve in his fingers, at other times he would explore the edge with his index fingers making occasional journey's to her ass crack which lingered for a moment before retreating back to the ridges like a frightened animal, fearful but curious. One particular expedition was particularly bold, the index finger wiggled into the crack frenetically snuggled in between the two cheeks allowing Chris to rim her asshole with his index finger once before wiggling back out to resume its patrol like a thief in the night having stolen away a wonderful treasure.

While not necessarily an ass man, Chris would have touted he preferred women who had a little of everything over a specific body part, he found this little feel up to be particularly titillating so he hadn't realized Rocket Raccoon had picked up it. Turning red from embarrassment and shame Chris looked away mutely full convicted of his sins through observation opening him up to a few verbal broadsides. "I trust you know how pressed for time we are mate" Rocket Raccoon commented with artificial nonchalance "But if you must you can head down the corridor and take care of business, better to do it now than in the midst of a fire fight." Pawing his shirt till it covered the angel's ass once again Chris tried to save what little face he had left "Don't we have bigger priorities to deal with right now?" he asked stiffly trying in vain to deflect attention from his moral failings. "I seriously doubt mate," Rocket Raccoon commented lowering his gaze from Chris' hand to his crotch where something was obvious "Priorities we do have, aye, but bigger? Not likely."

It was one of those phrases that hid a certain truth alongside the sarcasm; Chris truly was a large man in every definition of the word, which made the statement all the more awkwardly hilarious. Sadly it wasn't given much time to stew as a powerful force began to cut away at the door behind them with a terrific racket. The force of agents composed of those still conscious and in good health as gathered by the CIA subordinates, was cutting their way through the bulkhead in an attempt to finish off the intruders hoping to use their larger force to quash the pair like a penny under the wheels of a train. With the mentalities of trained warriors both Chris and Rocket Raccoon switched flawlessly from tormentor and victim to battle partners whose bond was strengthened in blood and pain. Wordlessly Rocket Raccoon gestured for Chris to get behind him, suitably enough of a distance away so that the ensuing cross fire would not strike the angel. In return Chris tossed his companion his hand gun seeing as how his pal was currently weaponless.

Pulling out his M16 Chris placed the angel at the farthest corner of the hall making her a small target before kneeling in front of her to shield her. He sighted down his weapon watching carefully as the door was cut in a large circle, in their haste the agents had decided not to cut away the entire bulkhead meaning only a few of their force at a time could come crashing through. After a few minutes their heat torch completed its circle then it was switched off before one of the agents hammered it down with his foot. A small barrage of shots zoomed down the corridor, too high to hit Rocket Raccoon but too haphazard to come anywhere near Chris. The pair answered with two precise bullets of their own sending two agents down screaming as their legs were reduced to bloody flesh bits. Their comrades didn't hesitate for a second; several of them stepped over the writhing bodies of their downed comrades advancing towards the pair.

The choice to have Rocket Raccoon up front with Chris in back proved to be surprisingly advantageous. The light footed Rocket Raccoon's size meant that the hours of shooting at human sized targets the agents had invested in suddenly turned against them as they sighted down the barrel at the pintsized powerhouse. With amazing agility the animal danced around a storm of bullet death drawing the attention of the agents allowing Chris to continue to pop out knee shots disabling each one that stepped over the threshold. After a while of this the agents wised up a bit, half of them shot at Chris to provide cover fire for the advancing ones who were dealing with Rocket Raccoon. Realizing his partner was in danger the Guardian of the Galaxy abandoned his attempts at distraction choosing instead to engage in melee via jumping on to one of the agent's faces. With a yowl he clawed at the eyes eliciting shrieks from all of his enemies nearby, some sort of primal fear was triggered and soon everyone became involved with trying to pry the rabid Rocket Raccoon off the poor agent's face.

Coinciding with his partner's facial assaults Chris continued to disable guards; the pair moved from one to the other obliterating many of the agents in short order. Suddenly one with nerves of iron shot forward grabbing the furry, little ankle biter by the scruff of the neck "Hey guys, I got him" he shouted waving the poor critter about in the air. Coincidently it was at this particular moment Chris had run out of bullets forcing him reload as fast as he could before his ally got shot. "Caught ya, little bastard" one of the guards sneered leveling his gun at Rocket Raccoon's head "Go to hell." "You first mate" the apprehended animal snarled back, a flick of his wrist netted the poor sap with a knife through the hand he was holding his gun with. Surprised the agent dropped his weapon which went off blasting away the man who was holding him up right in the thigh.

By this time Chris had managed to reload and his next three shots cleared the area around Rocket Raccoon allowing him to spring onto yet another poor unfortunate soul's face. Soon the entire hallway was filled with the bodies of agents bleeding out of an arm or leg which were quickly pistol whipped into unconsciousness ensuring they wouldn't suddenly gather up the courage needed to shoot the pair in the back. Chris filled up on all the ammo the agents had on them scoring a backup Red9 which he offered to Rocket Raccoon "Thanks lad but the minute we're out of this bloody base I'll be handing this back to you quicker than a photon, these primitive Earth weapons make me feel like a barbarian." As they trekked onward it seemed their luck finally turned sweet, when the lockdown had happened the unit that had attacked them had been stuck in another room forcing them to carve their way through the corridor from the east branch of the base. The path before them was straightforward garnering a whoop from Rocket Raccoon "Good on ya, let's get out of here!"

Chris took a step towards the lift before the angel in his arms suddenly sprung to life. Her actions were chaotic and frenetic; she tried to wriggle out of his grasp as her wings beat the space about his head with short angry flaps. From out of her mouth came a guttural chant "Skadi…Skadi…Skadi…" she moaned grasping at the air behind Chris' head. "What the hell" was all he got out before his vision blackened for a knee wobbling second as his senses swapped about like a sniper switching a target. It was a brief second but the vision had more clarity than most of Chris' memories, it was a large box gilded in gold with a blue stick poking out of the top of it. As suddeny it had appeared reality reasserted itself bringing Rocket Raccoon's worried muzzle into his eyesight. He was speaking words, probably laced in a colorful tapestry of curses, but Chris was soon standing once again at the box looking at its contents. This switch between realities occurred several times until Chris was on the edge of vomiting everything he had ever eaten onto the floor of the hallway.

Just as he was about spew, a memory wiggled its way into his head, it was on the roof of the hospital last night. The angel had battled back the demon trying to kill him with a weapon that was blue and glowed with an otherworldly light. 'Her weapon' he thought fighting to stay in control of his body 'these asshole agents must have taken it from her. She's calling to it or something.' He paused for a second 'Do you want me to get it back?' His thought must have been heard by her or something, he was shown one last vision with a painfully clear hallucination before reality returned completely. His body was kneeling on the ground in all fours, the equilibrium had been shot thanks to those highly disorienting visions, and the angel's body was a few inches away from his face lying limply on the ground.

"Bugger, this is just peachy" Rocket Raccoon snarled from somewhere beside him "All I want to do is get the hell out of here and there you go swooning all over the damn place." The nausea dropped off sharply allowing the B.S.A.A member to stand without too much vertigo "I'll be right back" he ordered "Watch her for me." He rushed off to the east wing while his furry companion shouted after him "Where the hell are you going, the lift is right blooming here!" Ignoring him Chris navigated the tunnels which like the west wing had also been melted through thanks to the thermal lance the agents had used. The road led back to that first intersection room that had forced the pair back before thanks to the number of agents lounging about inside. Now his path was clear of any and all interference letting him head straight to the north into a nest of corridors.

Some kind of sixth sense must have been guiding him, the angel probably, because each time he stepped up to a corner the vision of the weapon would flash causing him to stagger back. The central corridor did not activate this weird sense and after some experimenting Chris reasoned that the visions were some kind of confirmation that the weapon did not lay beyond those doors. Pushing his way forward Chris stumbled into a room filled almost completely with a large glass cube that contained the box the weapon was in. The whole atmosphere was reminiscent of the old Indiana Jones movies Chris had watched during his childhood, a great treasure of unimaginable wealth lay before him which was not meant to be sullied by human hands. Nonetheless he took out his gun firing a few bullets to shatter the glass that surrounded the weapon. Another damned alarm shrieked into life but Chris ignored it choosing to head over to the box.

Without so much as a thought he gripped the handle of the weapon his intent solely to get out here as fast as possible. In less of a rush he might have carefully pawed at the weapon one or two times, after all it had been wielded by an angel while exuding weird and supernatural powers. As it was he picked it up like someone would grab a piece of bread as they sped down the aisle their sights set on the checkout counter which was miraculously empty. With one swipe he hoisted it up onto his shoulder pivoting to head back out the door when a chill crept its way down his arm diffusing to every part of his body in an instant. It was like a blizzard had entered his very soul and once again Chris was down on the ground hostage to powers he could never had imagined in his wildest dreams. Eventually the chill made its way riotously up into his brain where it spoke to him, if that's what one could call it. Upon reflecting on this phenomenon later on in his life Chris would be tongue tied as he described how the weapon spoke to him, it was sentient but not eloquent. There were no words only raw feelings that were crammed into his head with the unbridled fury of a legendary snowstorm.

The first few minutes were pure hell as Chris' entire mental fortitude was completely spent to try and prevent his psyche to be shattered by the storm. Like all senses however it adapted and soon Chris could begin to make out the feelings the weapon was crushing him with, it was comparable to standing it pitch darkness as a large neon sign blinked on and off in a repetitive pattern. The first feeling was fury; the weapon was shrieking in rage that it was him gripping it and not its exalted master. The second feeling was one of arrogance; it wanted to drive home the fact that the man wielding it was a bug compared to it. The third feeling was one of defeat, its master had given her consent for him to pick it up and if there was one thing the weapon had been transmitting throughout the entire mental link it was complete devotion to its master.

The fourth and final feeling was a complete surprise; Chris suspected the weapon didn't want to translate it but apparently mental links had a funny way of dredging up stuff that both participants didn't want revealed. It was helpless and it hated feeling like that. Pitifully it pined for its master who was mere yards away from it but those yards might have been light years for it had no way of returning to the hands of its master by its own power. This mighty weapon, borne from the hands of the gods, was asking, nay pleading, with this nobody from Raccoon City to find some kind of generosity from the depths of his little mortal soul and return it to where it belonged. And this mortal, this man who had suffered horrific events that had rocked his world forever, fought with a man who had had the delusions of a god with the heart of a devil, and who was struggling to free his partner who had stood through it all from the grips of chest parasite; this man accepted. Thus the weapon, at its master's request, yielded to him.

Reality realigned itself once again leaving Chris kneeling in front of the back holding the weapon horizontally with both hands as if he had accepted it from some ancient king of legend. Calmly he arose, hoisted the weapon on one shoulder before exiting the room to return to his friends. Despite his outer exterior which shone with a sort of peaceful detachment his senses were fine tuned thanks to the weapon. Chris paused as he entered the east wings final intersection room, the hallway to the elevator was to the south. Shifting into a guard stance he swiveled to the left, a massive blow had shattered the wall sending huge chunks of concrete wall barreling straight at him. Luckily they bounced harmlessly off the hilt of his weapon scattering about the far corners of the room. Emerging from the hole was a thread of bright red which slammed into the hilt of the weapon as well launching several strikes trying to get around the guard.

Grunting painfully Chris was forced on the back step his footwork clumsily trying to keep up with his attacker's agility. Eventually his guard proved too much to get through; using a very large piece of rock he steadied his footwork allowing him to push the attacker off of him. It sailed several feet away from him in the air twisting and turning with Olympic grace before landing in an open space on the floor revealing its identity to him. "For some reason I didn't peg you as the nosy type" remarked pushing her sunglasses farther up the bridge of her nose "I wish I had put you temporarily out of commission while I had the chance." She glanced about the base analyzing it "I must admit, you're stubborn as a mule with more skill than I gave you credit for. Breaking into this base was no small feat." She brought her fists up to her face "Don't think of the beating I'm about to subject you to as a loss, the sheer fact you forced me to react is something you should celebrate."

Chris didn't respond at first choosing to swirl the heavenly weapon about watching it hum with energy. The heft and weight were incredible; he had never once picked up anything like it. This thing in his hands was made to kill, crafted specifically to wage war on anything foolish enough to stand in the bearer's way. "Look, there are two easy ways to do this" he explained to her hunkering down with the weapon pointed at her "You can give up now or in a few moments you can be taking a ride in the ambulance, your choice." Her reply was a fist in his face which he returned with a blow to the waist and their battle began. Strategically it would prove to be a very interesting battle, both opponents were using up the last reserves of strength they had to try and land blows. struggled to stay on her feet ducking and weaving the sloppily aimed blows from Chris who was panting like a dog.

Annoyed at the resistance he was putting up, even more so with herself from being unable to power through it, back flipped over a blow striking the ground with her gloved hand. The pent up kinetic energy resonated through the earth's crust till it struck a portion of the tectonic plate underneath them. It returned as a seismic tremor that ripped through the building uprooting the sewage system, sending the foundation into a tiny sinkhole while causing debris from the roof down upon everyone's heads. Reflexively knelt on the ground covering her arms with her head; her tech suit would protect her from anything really dangerous. Rocket Raccoon in the meantime scrambled to protect his charge using his laser knife to slice through any cement chunks that threatened to harm them. Once the quake had subsided the entire room where had been in was filled with mounds of cement chunks while the dust lingered heavily in the air.

With a grunt the CIA pushed her way out of a mound of rubble tired but completely unharmed. The tech suit's best attack was the Seismo attack which was a miracle of modern technology based on cutting edge physics. Summarizing it as best as one could it by was a wave of energy stimulating the unstable parts of the tectonic plates in order to produce quakes that could register a point five reading on the Richter scale at its worse. Naturally the bevy of problems associated with the attack enforced explained why used it rarely. It was completely uncontrollable when launched while affecting a big area, everyone in the vicinity of roughly a mile would be effected in some way. There had been a few times that the attack proved to hinder rather than help , at best she used it to try and turn the favor of battle when she was losing badly. As she glanced about the room it seemed her choice to use it would pay dividends, Chris was nowhere to be seen presumably crushed under the debris.

Her exhale of relief became a sigh of disbelief as she watched him push his way up from out of the ground like a stubborn weed. He too had been unaffected by the earthquake, he had knelt down on the floor raising the weapon he had stolen from the base to block the rubble. Exasperated took a few breaths before re-launching herself at her opponent knuckles crackling with electricity. He parried her blow, the electricity unable to conduct its way through the weapon, forcing her back slightly before hitting her in the side with the blunt edge. stumbled back a few inches grunting with pain before aiming a kick at him. She hit the weapon which is exactly what she wanted. Activating the jets she braced against the recoil turning her single kick into a barrage of quick jerky blows which consumed Chris in an inferno. Yelling in pain he could feel the searing heat drawing closer to his fingers and face threatening to burn him to a crisp.

The weapon merely laughed at the fire before turning on the frost. While it could never summon a chill without the innate power of its master the soul of its current owner was strong enough to allow it to draw forth a fragment of its power. The smirk painted on 's face degraded into a frown as the flame her boots produced suddenly began to dwindle, slowly but consistently. Soon she could see the man she was trying to barbeque, the heat had caused his bare chest to gleam from the amount of sweat he was producing in regards to the heat and his skin was a bit pink but not the faintest of scorch marks had been inflicted on him. With a roar he channeled all of his focus into the weapon's attempt to subdue her flames and before long her flame had gone out while a decent chunk of frost had frozen her foot to the handle of the weapon. Chris drew upon the last remnants of his strength to raise the weapon as well as his foe with it over his head before slamming her back on the floor eliciting a shriek of pain from her. The ice encasing her foot shattered on the ground allowing her to retreat a few feet away with a light limp.

The pair didn't move for a second drawing deep, heaving breaths from the dust shrouded air around them. "Why are you doing this for her" asked trying to ignore the dull pain in her calves as she hobbled up onto her feet. "Cause…Cause we're similar" Chris replied mopping the sweat from his brow and his chest. She quirked an eyebrow at his response "Similar are you? I fail to see how you could possibly relate to each other at all." Chris thought it over for a second doubting if she would believe him but he supposed at this point of the battle negotiating was possible. So he revealed everything to her, the battle in the park, those first few words that had alerted them to the fact that not everything was as it seemed, and finally how they had been trying to find each other to figure out how the hell they had gotten to this world.

For a while said nothing choosing to chew upon this fantastic story for a spell which was more progress than Chris thought he would get with his tale. He had been expecting her to laugh in his face before punching him again; instead she did just the opposite. "Let's go" she muttered gesturing to the door "We need to get out of here, reinforcements are on their way." Lowering his weapon he stared at her in disbelief "You're buying this" he asked incredulously. Sniffing crossed her arms "I don't believe you completely but there are…consistencies." Chris looked at her puzzled but she merely shook her head "I've still got to figure it out myself; I'll need some hard evidence until I'm completely on board but for now I'll help you guys out." The weapon was screaming at him to finish her off but Chris ignored it choosing instead to trust in the agent. Hoisting the weapon once again over his shoulder he climbed over the piles of rubble leading over to the door. Mounds of dirt blocked the entrance but one quick kick from blew open a path for them.

Rocket Raccoon was in fits when they got back "Dammit you bloody sodder here I am keeping you and your little angel safe from cement chunks the size of my cranium and you run off with another stunner." He rushed over to kissing her hand with all the flair of a gentleman "Name's Rocket Raccoon mademoiselle, the pleasure is all yours I trust." "Touch me again and I'll skin you alive" she replied icily gazing banefully at Chris "You seem to attract all sorts of freaks don't you?" Chris didn't reply, he was too busy picking up the angel using the crook of his right arm to carry her while balancing the weapon on his shoulder with his left hand. "How the hell are you touching that" asked as they boarded the elevator "When I tried that it nearly froze my hand off." Chris nodded at the unconscious angel in his arms "She let me pick it up" he explained with a growl "It was a major hassle to get consent too." This answer left the CIA agent puzzled but she didn't ask any more questions, she was tired both physically and mentally plus since they were banding together there would be plenty of time for Q&A later. The elevator groaned as its gears fought to lift everyone but slowly they made their way up to the apartment.

The poor CIA sap they had stunned earlier was still unconscious, blissfully unaware of the utter destruction of the base he was supposed to be guarding. The morning sun, only about three hours old, felt incredible on everyone's faces as they exited the building. "So what now" asked stifling a yawn "Do we have any leads?" "Forget leads girlie let's focus on accommodations for the next few days" Rocket Raccoon snapped back "I'm tookered out, anymore of this run about is liable to off me for sure." "I think that's a good idea" Chris noted turning to his two companions "Let's regain our strength and compare notes, maybe something will pop up too. A lead or something we can look into." nodded pulling out a bright gold card out of her pocket "They'll freeze my accounts within an hour but for now I'll be able to draw enough money from the CIA's account to cover us for a bit. I suggest a cheap motel and takeout pizza." "That sounds divine" Chris commented with a heaving sigh "Got some place in mind?"