A/N: Sorry for no chapter yesterday. Cousin got married. Family was too fun not to get lost in. LOL. Now, we're having a party. But here's this before I take off. XD

D - Stupid system errors. I hate 'em. Anyways. No roof? Already? Well then. It'll be interesting to see just HOW high the crap will pile up, then. ;D

Sciencegal - You already know what that review makes me want to doodle.

WOLF - Prepare for more. ;)

Chapter 40: Bus 290 (Part 2)

Kaiya was falling.

It hadn't been her plan, but there was no choice. Pierce had sent her downwards, so her body curled through the wind, prepared to meet either a road or a car.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt as much as she feared it would?

"Not today, sweetie!"

Kaiya knew that voice. She knew it well, in fact, and it rang in her ear just as she started falling sideways. Wait; not falling, flying.

"Miss Tabi!" Kaiya cheered.

The yellow-eyed cyborg flashed a smirk, spiraling up before swooping towards the lower road like a falcon. She looked beautiful against the early-morning sky. Sunlight glistened off her metallic wings and she sent the teetering bus a serious glance that reminded the girl of Leonardo.

Her presence alone squashed Kaiya's fear and made her realize just how badly she wanted to be a hero. 'Which I failed at. Would Mister Leonardo be disappointed?'

Kai had no time to consider an answer; the thought was pushed from her mind as the bus slipped from the bridge. She found herself shoved in someone's arms and glanced up to find the smoky trail left from the cyborg's rocket boots. It led her to Tabi's struggle with the bus's back end, where the teen pushed against it with all her might.

"My fuel won't last forever!" Tabitha shouted, chin on the emergency exit's lip. "Get the kids out, Blaine!"

When had she picked up Daddy? Kai could only wonder as the older blonde entered the bus and started gathering children.

"You okay, Kaiya?"

Gasping, Kai faced the man holding her. "Oh, Damien."

"Learning to drop the 'mister', eh?" The dark-skinned grown-up smiled then placed the girl on her feet. He nudged her sideways, yet she leaned against him, unwilling to let go of her only comfort. "Are you hurt?"

"N—no. Y—yes? I—I-I don't—"

"Let me see." Damien knelt in a clearing Kaiya hadn't noticed before.

There was a circle of cars around the duo, not all of which were upright. Some smoked from their bent hoods while others were simply dented on the doors, and they formed piles on both sides of the road.

Had they crashed because of the door that fell? Did that make it her fault?

"I see blood, but no cuts. Kaiya, what happened?"

Kaiya's eyes found Damien again. She met his confused look with a straight face then fiddled with the holes in her dirty jeans. "That guy, h—he…he stole the bus, killed the teachers. I—I had to help."

"What guy?"

"The one with claw hands."

"Claw?" Damien's brown eyes widened. "Pierce? Did he say his name was Pierce?"

"Y—yeah."

"You fought Pierce?"

Kaiya was unsure if she should answer since it could give away her secret. So she tugged her jeans, ripping them further, and glanced away.

"He stabbed you, didn't he?" Damien asked, but he sounded like he already knew the truth. With a sigh, he placed a hand again Kai's leg, whose tender skin twitched. "It's healed already…Hey"—Damien pulled the girl closer when she stepped back—"no need to worry about me knowing. I'm already involved in more than I bargained for."

"Y—you're okay with it?"

"If I'm fine with mutants, I'm fine with anything," the grown-up grumbled. "It makes sense considering last December. You know what you did was reckless, though, right? If you didn't heal—"

"But I do."

"Not everyone is like that, Kaiya. Your classmates up there? They aren't like you."

Kai looked up at Daddy and Tabitha, still hard at work in the sky. "I only meant to stop the bus…I—I'm sorry."

"You were in a war zone, and you did the best you could. Guess I wouldn't have been able to sit still either."

"Because you aren't a bad guy anymore?"

The grown-up looked struck. His mouth hung open for a good few seconds then snapped shut. He didn't reply. Maybe that was because something else caught his attention.

Sirens. They almost drowned out the hum from Tabitha's rocket boots and brought attention to Unfinished Bridge.

"EPF," Damien whispered. He stood with a hand on Kaiya, glaring at the orange lights approaching the bus.

"Wh—why are they here?" Kaiya asked, gulping. She looked up for an answer; however, Damien was too busy cursing, mumbling something about Daddy.

Blaine fell on his knee with a colorful curse.

"A—are you okay, Mister Williams?"

"I'm fine, Terry," the officer grumbled. He situated the young Chinese boy higher on his hip then tried again to grab hold of a bus seat.

"Will you move up already?" Tabitha's shrill voice cut through the rocket noises behind Blaine and caused him to blanch.

"Hey, it's not easy using these things as steps!" he cried.

"Easy? You wanna see something that ain't easy? Look down here!"

The man had no intention of complying—since Kaiya would only distract him below—but a sudden shift convinced him otherwise. He met Tabitha's wide eyes as the bus groaned then hissed when it sent him sliding down the ceiling towards the straining cyborg.

The momentum was fierce, yet rolling sideways gave Blaine the chance to grip a window frame. He did so, regardless of the stabbing glass, and ensured Terry remained with him.

"You good?" Tabitha yelled.

Blaine glared up at the bus's mangled hood, deliberately ignoring her. "Great; now we're holding on by a wheel."

"Then may I suggest you get your ass moving, Officer!"

Any other day the blonde would scold the teen. Now was the worst day of all, however.

With a huff, he abandoned the seats in favor of the windows, using them to overcome the slippery incline to its peak—the broken entrance door. He had no need to pry it open for Terry to exit; the folding glass door was now permanently wedged inward. Not a good sign for an adult needing to escape, but Blaine had already prepared himself to jump through the shattered windshield.

"Your sister's outside," Blaine said, pointing at a still figure along the bridge's fractured end. "You'll need to be brave and jump to her, okay? Like I couldn't. Make sure you get her away from the ledge."

"Okay, but"—the battered boy sniffed—"where's Kaiya? I—I—I haven't seen her. She tried to help us and I was…I was too scared to—"

"It's alright, Terry. She's fine."

"No; she wasn't! He hurt her; I saw the blood!"

"Terry," Blaine spoke calmly, brushing a finger over a cut on the Asian's chin, "You did fine."

"But I—I'm the oldest. I should've helped, and I let her…I—I'm sorry, Mister Williams."

"Don't be. Bravery takes years to build."

"Not for Kaiya…"

Blaine pursed his lips at the unavoidable truth then sighed at Terry's downcast look. "Come on, get going."

Urging the boy towards the upside-down entrance, he watched Terry slip through the narrow space, land on the bridge, and then pick up Jasmine. Once the Wangs joined the remaining students along the high wall behind them, Blaine twisted on the stairwell and cursed again.

'I was hoping my mind overreacted when I heard their sirens,' he thought. But of course, things like that only worked out in Hugh's case. 'They should be sending rescue vehicles, not the EPF. Damn idiots.'

Worse still, it was a single responder in an armored vehicle no bigger than a delivery truck. A stoic woman stood by its open back, her hands tucked behind her while a fog seeped from its dark insides. Two men in EPF uniforms flanked on either side, although they were of little interest when compared with the metallic mammoth before her.

"Oliver James LeBeau," the woman said. "This is Agent Barrett with the Earth Protection Force. Surrender now or face lethal force."

"Fat chance, vampire lady," her opponent replied, sour.

Debris shifted before Blaine spotted the ex-hijacker. The lean cyborg stood with a hunch on Unfinished Bridge, gripping his handless arm against his ribs. It sputtered sparks still, so Blaine hoped it stung as badly as it looked.

"The Commissioner has sent us to detain you and retrieve the hostages," continued Barrett. "If you surrender now, we could—"

"Take me in and turn me into a puppet, like Hunt?" The gangster snorted then kicked rubber from a blown tire at the larger cyborg. "Forget it. I'm Pierce and I only have one boss."

Barrett flashed a blank stare. Blaine had no idea if she felt annoyed or excited when Pierce readied his stance, but she was quick to nod when the gangster glanced over his shoulder at the kids. Bastard. He headed straight for Terry until Blaine blinked.

In that moment, Hunt gripped Pierce's ankle, tossing him towards bus two-ninety. The bus shuddered at the impact against its grill and Blaine fell against the stairwell, his top half swinging over its edge.

"Blaine, get the redhead and move already!"

"Right!" he cried back at Tabitha, breathless.

Jakob was the last kid who needed saving. If anything, Blaine owed it to Sven to rescue him since the cyborg was off with Michelangelo and Raphael, doing the same for Hugh. He could only hope they were faring better than him as he slid down the ceiling, reaching for the boy spread out on the bus's back window.

"Will ya hurry up?" Raphael grumbled. He glared at the tuft of orange hair before him, fingering the sais he had kept despite changing into his Nightwatcher outfit. "I thought ya were a super lock picker or somethin', Nass."

"I am," Sven countered, dull. "But this is EPF technology we're dealing with. Doctor"—the cyborg paused while tensing—"Stephens had no means of reverse engineering their safety protocols and—"

"Dun't talk me ta death. Just…hurry up."

With a sigh, Raph leaned against the white-stone wall that divided his group from the EPF's latest headquarters. Several Purple Dragons had tried stopping them along the way. However, those punks were dealt with quickly and decorated the secluded parking lot meant for Bishop's core soldiers.

"What are ya doin', Titan Doofus?" Raph asked Michelangelo.

The green and black hero scoffed in return, seated Indian style on an obese gangster the younger Hamato had knocked out with his nunchaku.

"Ya still tryin' ta call Pink?"

Mikey snapped his Shell Cell shut then groaned. "Figured it wouldn't hurt before we go inside. Since you didn't let me visit."

The hothead growled at his brother's pointed look. "We got more pressin' matters, Mike. Blaine confirmed Hugh was here—"

"No, Kyle confirmed it."

"Like it matters. He's their mole, right? An' he's wit' Donna 'n Noah at the front, fightin' alongside EPF grunts. They can keep focus there while we go through here."

"Who's to say that guy from the Pit is even right? What if Bishop didn't use his blue prints? What if there isn't an escape route?"

"Ya think Bishop would build anythin' wit'out an escape in mind?"

"Well, not really."

"I get ya, Bro. But it's the only lead we got an'," the mutant's deep voice lowered like his gaze, "Hugh's been here long enough. On our behalf."

"What happens after we break him out though?" Mikey asked. "He…he'll be a fugitive until his name's cleared."

"We'll conquer that hurdle when it comes…"

"Guys, I got it!"

"About time, Nass." Pushing off the wall, Raphael watched Sven. The orange-eyed cyborg grinned then stepped back as a once-hidden door swung outwards. The hope it stirred was short-lived, though.

"How nice of you to get the door for us."

'Thanks, Turtle Luck.' Raph thought. His sais twirled in his hands, his expression grim when he faced the sun-lit parking lot. Hun—dressed in amour unlike any before—strolled towards them with a grin on his square face and a glint in his eye.

"Hold it, Hunny," Michelangelo interjected with his arms spread. "This is our secret entrance. Go find your own."

"Now why would I do that when it would be so much easier to just go through you?" Hun countered, cracking his golf-ball-sized knuckles. He sniggered then his gaze landed on Sven behind the mutants. "I see you brought yours. Well, I brought mine too."

"Hey, Cyborgs are people, not dogs," Mikey spat. He eyed Switchblade when the blonde appeared from God-knows where, but then lightened his tone. "I'll make exceptions for yours, though."

"If I take the big guy, can you handle Switchblade?" questioned Raph under his breath.

Sven rounded the hero, towards the blonde. "I spent years fighting my father, a drunk fallen boxer. I think I can keep him busy."

"Sometimes, that's all we can ask."

"And others?"

"We pray for a miracle. Now go; we've gotta get Hugh out before the EPF wraps things up."

Sven wasted no time in darting after Switchblade. He body slammed the gangster into a parked van, and its crash brought a roar to Hun's throat. 'Man, I hope Blaine's found bus two-ninety' Raph thought, prepping for attack. 'Someone in our group needs good news.'

Tabitha Fall found it impossible to believe humans made a sport out of pulling buses and rigs. How could anyone find it thrilling? The task was beyond stressful, and she knew the only way the forty-five foot child carrier remained hooked on Unfinished Bridge was thanks to her rocket boots.

Boots, mind you, which would soon eat all their fuel.

"Dammit!"

There goes Blaine again, like an anchor. Tabi braced herself for his third fall from the bus's front by remaining focused on her rockets. A crack sounded in her ear as he collided with the glass—a horrible noise that caused the cyborg to grimace when she faced the man. Jakob whimpered in his hold, a sniffling mess Sven would hate to see, and was too scared to pull away from Blaine's chest.

'Shit!'

With a low creak, the wide bumper dug deeper into Tabitha's arms. Her limbs protested their ten ton load with tingling pains through her shoulder blades and neck, and her eyes felt incredibly heavy. However, the Nubian knew not to give into fatigue—not until Jakob was safe.

'Sometimes, I wish Stephens had changed my arms like the others. Least then I'd have extra leverage...like Mel.'

"Seriously, Damien!" Blaine's sudden voice startled Tabitha. "Take Kaiya away!"

Geez; hadn't the cop screamed at Damien, like, five times already? If Kaiya wouldn't move, what kept Damien from—oh, right. Super strength. Given that Blaine promptly hit his head against the metal frame between him and Tabi, the teen could safely assume the stubborn child brushed off the ex-gangster's hand with every attempt he made.

Sad, but Kai wasn't a current concern.

"H—how's it lookin', Blaine?" Tabitha asked through labored breaths.

Blaine lifted his chin, nostrils flaring against the fractured glass that supported him. "Everyone's cleared, except for my persistent little girl and Damien. Think you could fly us out instead?"

"Would—wouldn't move fast enough," Tabi replied, huffing. She blinked, but then her eyelids refused to open again. "Sleep sounds…really good."

"Hey!" Blaine ran his fingers down the Nubian's flush cheek until her sight refocused on his stern stare. "You can do this, Tabitha."

"D—don't talk like I'm a kid."

"To me, you are. So take a breath and—"

"Mister LeBeau, you leave us no choice."

Why was Agent Barrett still talking? Throughout the fight between Hunt and Pierce—a battle Tabi could only follow through grunts and insults—she had made few comments here and there. They were always hollow, though; as if they'd been pre-written. Considering she worked for Bishop, maybe they had been.

However, those words weren't as disconcerting as the high-power whirl that echoed over Unfinished Bridge.

"What's that?" Tabitha raised her cheek from the smooth ceiling, unsure of when she had laid her head down.

Above, she saw only white metal shadowed by leather seats. Bus two-ninety's busted windshield provided some insight beyond an orange sky, yet the harder Tabi tried to spot movement through the sunrays, the tighter her muscles grew.

It was like a Charlie Horse throughout her whole body—severe and without relief. Soon, stiffness set in to the point where she could hardly breathe, let alone lift a finger. As she grew hot, an invisible force tugged her metal parts and she shivered at the tension it put on her skin—like it could rip her face, wings, and feet off her body if its power increased.

Maybe it could…

"Tabitha, we need to—"

"Leave."

"What?"

"B—Blaine"—Tabitha's voice shook as she fought for control over her sputtering rockets—"I—I can't move."

"You said that before."

"No. I mean, I really can't move." Facing the blonde was out of the question, but she could send him a sidelong glance.

Blaine furrowed his brows in her peripheral vision, asking, "What do you mean?"

"Uh—um, Mister Blaine?" Jakob dared unbury his face from his protector's chest. "A—are we floating?"

That would explain why Tabitha felt like she was keeping a boogey board underwater. She scowled as her boots fought against her, well aware of how light the bus became and how distant Kaiya's cries grew. The girl's voice was instead replaced by Pierce's curses, and before the teen even spotted the gangster, she addressed Blaine,

"G—get out."

"Are you kidding?" Blaine retorted. "I don't even know what the fu—" He paused. "Hell is going on."

"The cy—cyborgs stopped," Jakob noted.

Following the carrot-top's pointed finger, Tabitha peered through the window frame many yards ahead. Not that she had much choice since her face was cemented that direction, but at least she had a good view of Unfinished Bridge when the bus two-ninety leveled out. In mid air.

Beyond a few craters and debris, Hunt stood with his arms transformed—both of which looked like sleek cannons accentuated by glowing blue lines. Their dark metal vibrated with a hum, which convinced Tabitha it had been the source of the high-pitched whirl from earlier and the anomaly that lifted all metal in its path.

'A magnet or sorts? Would explain why I'm not the only cyborg who can't move.'

Pierce was stuck as well, although his position looked less comfortable. Above the marred road, his back arched with his feet seeking to meet what little remained of the cyborg's robotic hands. They neared closer together with the passing seconds and he cursed hysterically through each one.

"Bishop hoped it wouldn't come to this," said Barrett. She sounded bored, wherever she stood. "The Commissioner, however, has granted us permission. Agent Zero, activate code 'Offline'."

Time froze with a single sound.

The high-pitched whirl returned—this time so loud Tabitha was left senseless. It lasted a second then eased into a low tone that fell silent on the teen's ears before it popped. The pop was the worst part; it ended with a cold discomfort in Tabi's chest and a gasp in her throat as she watched Pierce convulse.

Her body then shook. It was a soft tremble, which raced from her heart to her neck, jaw, back, and stomach in pulses. Had she the energy, she would've heaved at the lightheaded nausea it roused. But the brightness filling her vision stole her breath and spun her world.

"Tabitha!"

Blaine's voice sounded muddled. Had he always been so far away?

"Tabitha!"

The coldness increased, burying the teen's chest under an iceberg. She no longer struggled with her load; she couldn't. So she brought her attention to Blaine, arms still wrapped around the bus' back bumper.

"Jump," she whispered.

"I—" Blaine swallowed hard then shook his head.

"M—my boots are cutting out. Pl—please…jump."

Did reason not matter anymore? Tabi no longer had control—neither over the bus nor her body—and her eyes begged for rest.

"We can all jump," the cop added. "I'll grab you and we'll run straight out, onto the bridge."

'He doesn't understand. Or maybe he does. Even if he can't hear…heart…slowing.'

"You know I—I can't.," Tabitha managed. Who knew talking without air would be so difficult?

"You sure?"

The teen met Blaine's gaze. She had to spot him through a wonky haze of blurred shapes, but flashed a smile anyway. Whatever was happening to her body, she knew it was coming to an end, and she needed Jakob off the bus before then.

"M—Miss Tabi?"

Tabi's smile strengthened. "Be good fo—for your brother, Ja."

"Are you going somewhere?"

The teen had no answer. The sun's rays had encased her in a cocoon, although she felt frigid at the center of its light. Maybe that meant something?

'When did my heart become so loud? Bet I could ask Mel…but she and Sven are busy. They have others…to save.'

"C—can you do something for me?" Tabitha whispered.

Blaine stayed quiet, which the cyborg prayed meant he would.

"Tell Mel…I found it. It…was with helping others, like hers. That makes me…ha…happy…"

A long sigh left Tabitha's body relaxed. In an instant, all her strain dried up. Her rockets cut out, her wings lowered, and silence reigned as numbness crept through her veins. She watched Blaine force himself up then dart for the horizon beyond bus two-ninety. Then, she heard her heart beat for the last time.