Kihonne: Alright guys, we're finally nearing the climax of the story! Today, the heroes infiltrate Dr. Wrath's lair. Let's see how that goes, shall we? But first, it's shoutout time!
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LabGirl2001: I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I like using Alan when I can, but truth be told, he's hard to write. His character is just so focused on a couple of key traits (his anger issues and his ego), that it's hard to add depth without feeling like he's OOC, so I'm glad that everyone enjoyed the way I've been writing him. And yes, Liam and Rani are finally getting along. That should make things interesting going on out. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
AlienGhostWizard14: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, and the Rani/Liam scenes. I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much.
EliteForce12: I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Spotlight and Rani are going to have some interesting scenes from now on, since they're getting closer and the story is in the final half. They're such an interesting couple to write, so I love writing their scenes. As for if they'll get together, you're going to have to read to find out. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
MayLeaf2001: I'm so glad you liked it, especially the Rani/Liam scene. They're going to have some interesting scenes coming up, so that should be fun to write. Yeah, I think we're all hoping Rani is going to make the right choices, but you're going to have to keep reading to find out. I'm afraid I can't answer that question about Gulliver without spoiling, but I think you'll know the answer either next chapter or the chapter after that, depending on how I split things up. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
SzymonS: I'm glad you enjoyed it. And yes, they're finally going after Dr. Wrath. This is going to be a fun few chapters to write, so I hope you enjoy the chapter.
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Kihonne: Anyway, on with the chapter!
Liam: Kihonne doesn't own Mighty Med, or Elite Force. She only owns this story, her OCs, and anything else you don't recognize.
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Alivia's POV
You ever just get that really bad feeling that something's going to go wrong? Yeah, I had that feeling deep in the pit of my stomach as I looked at my team.
We'd been in New York for a few hours now, and already tensions were high. I could tell Alan still wasn't happy with me being in charge, though I shouldn't be so surprised. He'd always been a bit of a hot head, not to mention egotistical, and a combination like that was always dangerous in a group setting. He felt he was better suited to be in charge, and while I wasn't going to delude myself into thinking I was the most capable person in the world to lead this team, I knew I could handle things better than Alan.
Rani wasn't much better. Though things were looking up with her and Liam (I don't know what happened, but so long as they weren't lunging at each other's throats every time the other spoke, I didn't care), she was more than a little tense, unable to sit still for much longer than 30 seconds. I'd been concerned that it meant she was up to something – as much as I wanted to trust her, she was still a villain – but Lily believed that she was just worried about her brother. Still, I kept my eye on her throughout the day as we narrowed in on Dr. Wrath's position.
As for the others, everyone was a bit on edge, likely from the anticipation of going after Dr. Wrath. He himself had never been overly powerful, but his knowledge of the dark arts, combined with his influence as a leader, had made him into quite the formidable foe over the years. And now, finally, we were going to take him out. It made sense that everyone was a little hyped on adrenaline right about now.
"So, you're sure they're in there?" Angela questioned as we looked down at the hideout from the hotel room we'd managed to get. It was a few blocks away, so we could really only see the top of the building, but one look at the name on the building, coupled with my theories about Dr. Wrath's second partner, confirmed that it was the location.
"AG Inc." Barry hummed. He glanced at me. "Didn't Bridget Short own that company?"
"Yep." I pursed my lips in a tight line.
"You think she's involved?" Liam guessed. I nodded slowly. "Have you told Oliver and Dani?"
"One problem at a time. Let's deal with Dr. Wrath before we worry ourselves about a villain that hasn't been seen in over a year." Clearing my throat, I turned to the others. "Alright, Lily and I went over the building's schematics last night on the train ride here."
"The building has three floors, but judging by the power surges on the third floor, that's probably where Dr. Wrath does most of his work." Lily went over the details. "I've been able to detect about twenty or so people in the building. We know at least one of them is Dr. Wrath, and presumably another is Gulliver Shore. The rest are likely the shapeshifters, Rune and Riker, along with minions of Dr. Wrath and his mysterious third partner."
"Right, so here's the plan: Alan, Melody, and Barry, you guys are going to go in through the back entrance. It's most likely to be guarded, so try and take out the guards as quietly as you can, then work your way over to the western stairwell. Use that to make it to the third floor." I ordered. "Liam, Rani, and Angela, there's a fire escape on the eastern wall. According to the information we got on the building, it's supposedly broken, which means it's not likely to be that guarded. You guys find a way to break in, then get to the third floor using the northern stairwell. Lily and I are going to climb in a window on the second floor, since I doubt they're going to expect that. We all get to the third floor, then go after our targets. Rani and Liam, you guys work well together when you're not fighting, so you take Riker. Alan and Melody, you guys get Rune. Lily, Angela, Barry and I will take out Dr. Wrath and anyone who tries to get in our way."
"Why do you get to take out the biggest villain?" Alan protested.
"You mean why don't you get to fight him?" I corrected. "Because you're not so bad when it comes to fighting the shapeshifters; you've proven that. It's not like I'll be fighting him alone, anyway."
"What about Gully?" Rani questioned. I shrugged.
"Look, if we go try and find him before we've taken out Dr. Wrath, we could alert him and his minions to our presence in the building. Not to mention, if he's hurt or…" I stopped myself from adding has been tortured when I saw her face, "if he's hurt, we can't stop to protect him without putting our lives at risk."
"So, what? You're going back on our deal?" Rani challenged. I shook my head.
"No, of course not." Lily answered for me. "All Alivia's saying is that we can't go looking for him until afterwards. But we will go looking for him."
"Yes. Our deal still stands – we take out Dr. Wrath, find you brother, and then you two go on your merry way." I assured her. She nodded stiffly. "If you guys see Gulliver, just try and keep him out of everything. God knows what's been happening to him, and he may not want to fight anyway. Fair enough?"
Everyone agreed, though I could see the reluctance in a couple of sets of eyes. I sighed, wishing that feeling in the pit of my stomach would just go away.
Liam's POV
"This isn't working." Angela muttered under her breath as I shoved myself against the broken door once more. To my growing frustration, it wouldn't budge. Damn, Liv wasn't kidding when she said it was busted. Something in the door frame must have cracked, forcing it closed. "Dude, it's not going to work."
"Well, I don't see you doing anything." I snapped back. Angela looked over her shoulder, making sure no one was coming.
"Move." Rani spoke up suddenly. I looked at her, and she smirked. "Move."
"Fine. Let's see what you've got." I stepped out of the way.
"Stultus conteram ianuam." She declared, raising her hand. She spread her fingers in emphasis on the last word, and the door immediately disintegrated, breaking into flecks of woods until a pile sat where the door had been. Angela looked at Rani, surprised. "I spent the night memorizing spells."
"After you." I grinned, happy to know that giving her that book had worked out in our favor. Rani smirked, and went to step inside, but Angela pushed her aside, whipping out her plasma crossbow and shooting an arrow past me. I spun around, confused, just in time to see it bury itself in the shoulder of one of Dr. Wrath's minions. Another quick shot went through his leg, incapacitating the man. Pulling out a pair of power dampening handcuffs (a gift for the New League of Heroes from Davenport Industries), I restrained the man.
"Seriously, you're wasting your time on that?" Rani questioned, annoyed.
"What do you expect us to do, kill him?" Angela challenged.
"Well, it would be quicker." The darkness manipulator mumbled. Angela gave her a disapproving look. "He's the enemy, why do you care?"
"Because it's not right." She insisted, pushing past her and walking down the hall. Rani rolled her eyes, then followed after her. I raced after the two girls after making sure the minion was secure. Surprisingly, we managed to make it to the stairwell without a problem. Even when we found guards on the second floor, close to the stairwell, we were able to handle them pretty easily. After all, three against two put the odds in our favor.
"Ha!" I laughed, blasting a guard through a nearby door using my solid light ability. Suddenly, an alarm began blaring throughout the entire facility, and I realized my mistake. "Oops."
"What happened to avoiding being caught?" Angela shot back.
"We should go before more guards-" Rani stopped short, when the sound of shouting came from somewhere on the floor. But it wasn't guards or minions or even the big shots like Riker, Rune or Dr. Wrath.
"Help! Hey, help!" A slightly familiar voice shout. Rani's face paled upon hearing it.
"Gully." She realized. She started down the hallway, towards the sound of shouting, but Angela caught her arm.
"Where do you think you're going?" She questioned. "You heard Geminus; we focus on the main enemies first."
"But he needs our help." Rani insisted. Angela took a deep breath.
"Listen." She advised calmly. Rani frowned, but paused, listening as Gulliver continued to shout. "You hear that? His voice is loud, but not strained. If he was seriously hurt, you'd either hear it in his voice, or he wouldn't be able to shout that loudly. So, chances are, he's not hurt. He's probably locked up somewhere. We can come back for him."
"Rani!" This time, when he shouted, he sounded just a bit more desperate. "Help!"
Rani ripped her arm away from Angela, her eyes wide. "I'm sorry." She looked between us, almost as if she was begging us to understand. "He's my brother."
"Rani!" I tried to stop her, but she tore off down the hallway, in search of her brother.
"Don't! Let her go." Angela told me. "We can't afford to go after her."
I sighed, not liking this. Either, she was going to get herself into some serious trouble with the guards, or she'd get her brother and disappear from our lives altogether. And though we weren't all that close, I kinda enjoyed partnering up with her to fight.
"Damn it. Fine." I agreed. We both turned around to head for the stairs, only to see two sets of minions running up the stairs towards us. "Here we go."
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Kihonne: Well, next chapter is going to be interesting. We'll get to see what's going on with Alan's team and Alivia and Lily during all this, and maybe, we might just get to see Gulliver. Oh, and before I forget to mention, because my schedule's gotten a lot crazier during the week, I'm moving the update days to Mondays, along with the Power of Seven, so I'll have the whole weekend to work on the chapter. So, just to make sure it's clear, the next update will be on Monday, June 12th. I'll see you all then for a really awesome chapter!