A/N: So. Close.

musicluvr - I have so many spider webs in my universe, even the core cast doesn't realize. And they will continue growing...I hope Leo doesn't tell Nia as well.

DuckiePray - Eh, my guys are pretty upfront with their enemies. LOL

Sciencegal - Ay Larry?

CHAPTER 31: STRIKE (PART 3)

Xander had to act faster than Agent Rook could call for backup. Otherwise, his whole plan would go to pot.

"Head for the exit!" he screamed at the Amazonians.

His powers targeted the containment field's weak point—a junction box where the platform's curved arm met the wall—and braced himself when sparks flew from it. Crackling, the electrified fence flickered out of existence, leaving the warriors free to drop to the ground below. How they managed without breaking limbs was beyond the Mexican's understanding, but he dared not question them with bigger issues at hand.

"Where is the exit?" the turtle mutant asked.

Xander leaned over the platform edge then pointed towards the west tunnel. "Stay left at the first fork then—"

The training room shuddered. Its clear ceiling vibrated, drawing attention to the immense pressure it endured, and harsh claps echoed as the escape routes sealed shut.

"Mierda," Xander hissed.

"Now what?"

With another curse, the agent leaped over the platform ledge. A psychic cushion protected his legs, although he stumbled when he tried to walk before his feet met solid ground. "Leonardo, was it?" he questioned. The turtle mutant nodded, so Xander continued, "How much experience do you have with robots?"

"Robots? Why?"

Automated EPF defenses, that's why. Laser guns lowered from hidden places, melting spots around the group with hot, red blasts. They were the first wave. Soon, attack drones would invade, and cover would be near impossible to find.

"This whole place is underwater!" Leonardo cried. "Don't they care if it's compromised?"

"You think we'd build a room that can't withstand its own weapons?" Xander shot back.

"Fine." The turtle mutant leaped back to avoid a blast then, amazingly, repelled another with his sword. "If we don't drown, we'll end up like swiss cheese. Either way, we're dead unless there's another exit."

"The only emergency pod sector is beyond the west door."

"For this whole place?"

"The tower, yeah."

"Isn't one sector an oversight?"

"The designs weren't my idea! Take that up with Agent Mahoney!"

Xander and Leonardo shared a growl, but their glaring contest was broken by an onslaught of secondary blasts—first fire from the drones. The Mexican swiped his arms ahead, imagined a wave that hit half the machines like a Mac truck. They popped, sizzled, and then burst into sparks, metal bits scattering over the group's feet.

"You sure adapted to a power you tried to hide for so long," the turtle mutant muttered.

Xan met his gaze with no defense. The Mexican was just as surprised at by how natural it felt to smash objects with his mind as if an inner part of himself had been liberated. Fear, shame, and denial no longer shackled his conscience, and he anticipated unleashing all his frustration.

"Hyde!" Rook roared over the PA system. The anger in his tone seemed to shake the walls; they rumbled, though didn't crack. "You ungrateful pig! What are you doing?"

Xander caught the senior agent's figure in a high observation room then held up his middle finger.

"Xander!" Coyolxauhqui drew the Mexican's attention to where the Amazons cloistered behind overturned treadmills for cover.

They heaved shallow breathes, one holding their arm as they ducked blasts. Leonardo did what he could to counter-attack; however, drones kept swarming, and not all repelled blasts met their mark. Brows knit, Xander skid to a halt at their center then imagined a protective bubble around them. It was the second largest he had ever summoned, and pulsing pain in his temples reminded him of that.

"I—I can't keep this up much longer," he said. More blood ran from his nose, matched in heat only by his inflamed nerves. "I'll get you out, but beyond that door..."

"We trust Yaoqui?" a male Amazonian spat. His square featured wrinkled with disgust, and he hissed when he shifted beside his Chief. "You betray other Yaoqui. Can betray K'ekchi."

"Coyo trust Xander," the leader said.

"Why?"

"He's keeping us shielded, isn't he, Tlaloc?" Leonardo interjected.

"He kill my father," Tlaloc added.

"That was an accident," Xander said. He cringed with every dispelled blast. "The Disrupter, it...I'm sorry; I never meant to kill anyone."

Coyolxauhqui smiled up at the Mexican, which proved her belief. Tlaloc soured yet kept quiet, glancing over the treadmill towards the west exit.

"Ready?" Xander asked.

"What happen to Xander?" Coyo countered. Funny; she sounded concerned.

"The tower has reinforced under structures and contingency plans to keep it stable. But it was never meant to handle a psychic attack. I fracture the ceiling?"

"The whole place floods," Leonardo finished.

"Not just it. This training room is the tower's top. I compromise it—"

"Everything goes under."

"Precisely."

"What happen to Xander?" Coyo repeated, more forceful.

Xander sucked in oil-scented air. It lingered in his bloody nose, brought him back to the hours he spent as a mechanic before joining the EPF. Back then, life had been so simple. Wake, work, return to Lizbeth, repeat. Then a positive test changed everything and drove the Mexican to an organization he failed to understand until it was too late.

"No matter what happens," he said, " honor your promise. Find Liz. Heal her. Tell her..." Xander trailed off with a chuckle. No; he wouldn't give any last words. He'd live. Or if anything, Liz would live, and there was nothing he could say that she didn't already know. "I'll drown this God-forsaken place," he added. "You just get the hell out. Comprende'?"

He turned his back without awaiting replies. The burn that thumped beside his eyes had a heartbeat, and if his force field persisted much longer, he'd pass out. Feet shuffled behind him in his haze, slow while the group crossed the battle-scorn room. They neared the west door, where Xander cursed when two android sentries blocked their path.

"There're the robots," Leonardo said. Xander had half a mind to dish out a snappy comment. It died in his throat, though, as the turtle mutant left the shield's sanctuary. "Keep them safe!"

'Easier said than done,' Xander thought with a snarl. His vision whitened and he shook his head to focus on how efficiently Leonardo chopped the androids into sections. What the hell were his swords made from anyway?

"And open!" Leonardo yelled. His blades cut through the door's control panel, but it only sparked. "Huh? This usually works."

"New safety feature," Xander explained. "Get behind me."

"Now, now, Mano, you don't think you can leave, do you?" Rook spoke through the PA system again, even though his body was nowhere in sight. "Please, don't make me do something I'll regret."

"I've given enough to you assholes!" Xander screamed. He raised a hand towards the door, willing it to bend. The metal creaked then stilled when the pulse in Xander's head whitened his vision completely.

"I own you!" Rook continued. "Bishop owns me. I own you. You own nothing. Got it?"

Xander rolled his eyes as his vision returned. He concentrated on the door once more, and it creaked louder under Rook's taunts.

"I wonder who'd reach Lizbeth faster: that Jincho or our boys back in New York. Bishop detests wagering human lives, but if you're gonna act like this, well."

Focus on the door, Xan. That bastard's not worth—

"Maybe we should bring your girl here, Mano. A pretty, fresh face could boost morale. But if you're dead, who on earth will she turn to for comfort, I wonder?"

Xander spun. He pinpointed Rook's figure in another clear room, lower to the floor. Did he think distance could save him? That Xander's powers had such limits? Bullshit! The senior agent would never meet Lizbeth; the Mexican would make sure of it.

"Xander, what're you doing?"

Leonardo's question became white noise. Xander was fixated on a single thought: his love tainted by any other's touch. Snarling, he raised a hand towards the observation rooms then formed a fist. His fingers curled against an invisible resistance and like a crushed soda can, the rooms folded in on themselves. He roared, felt blood pour down his lower face, and droplets slung against his hot cheeks as grinding metal and shattered Lexan rained down. It crushed a trio of androids and several drones and landed with a foreboding crack. Xander looked up through sweat and vertigo. Dark lines ran through the blue sea, spider-webbing to dangerous lengths before water began to spray into the room.

"Idiot!" Leonardo cried. "Why'd you do that?"

Xander had no chance to answer; the ceiling caved and with it came billions of gallons of water in a long sweep. The Mexican spared a split second to give Coyolxauhqui a thankful smile before he used what power he could muster to ram the west door open. Xan ensured the Amazonians crossed it and once the last bit of blue left the room, he corked the hole with a sheet of half-folded metal.

'Meirda,' he thought. The frigid ocean contrasted his overheated body, made him shiver as it rapidly stole oxygen and tossed him against jagged debris.

"Hijo de puta!"

Dear, Lord. Was that Rook? Xander caught a platform ledge that the current slammed him against and watched the senior agent mount the fallen rooms. Red coated half his face, yet he was lucid, as evident by his pointed stare.

"You," he added.

"What?" Xan yelled. Though his voice shook from cold, it retained its edge, cut through roaring waters. "Game's over, Rook! Checkmate!"

"You think Bishop will accept defeat, Mano? Others will come!"

"Not before he loses his leads!" The Mexican chuckled, teeth chattering and grip slipping from the ledge. "Including me," he added softer.

Was it strange that the thought of death neither scared nor angered him? He considered how the water would wipe out more than half the station, how it would cripple the EPF's progress, and smiled. The Ke'kchi could disappear. With any luck, more efficiently than before and the war would end.

That was comforting—almost as comforting as recalling Liz's smile when his head dipped below the water line and his body numbed.