Volume CRBN!

by Dancesnapple

Four individuals. Four different people of different walks of life resulting in an adventure. Hopefully, a bond that can last. Team CRBN (carbon). Features: OC Main character, main team has two OCs alongside a lovable crime duo, and some family drama on all sides. Features a 'soundtrack' element for the fic. ENJOY! Story begins on third listed chapter. Very slow start.

33. 31 Hallowed Heart

Chapter Thirty One: Hallowed Heart

Many years ago...

The dark room rumbles, half a dozen forms sitting silent as the floor and seats under them shake and shiver. The rumble of engines sounds out as the shadowed forms sway to the side. The screeching sound of breaks rings out as the forms dip forward. Muffled doors opening and shutting, shouts of obscured voices ring.

The back door of the truck cabin opens up, allowing piercing light into the room. The children in their seats mildly flinch, clenching eyes away from the blinding light. Men in combat armor and tinted visors on their helmets reveal themselves. "Series Blacks, stand and exit." The authoritative voice shouts.

Five forms stand, moving to exit. They all wear identical gray cloth coverings. One of the fight, the shortest, exits with orange hair swept to the side with an off center part. Cut short, the boy's full face, disturbingly critical green eyes gaze about.

"Line up!" The voice shouts as the five children step forward. They're in the woods. A forest? The exotic colors of lime green, pink, and orange blossoming plants surprises them. A touch too colorful to be Mistral. "Stand at the ready!" The children stand straighter, the young ginger haired boy grimacing.

The lead guard grunts. "Ready for you, sir!"

"Heh! Oh, please, calm down, Marshall. You act as if they will bite me at first chance." The chipper, slightly accented voice calls. The ginger haired boy's gaze scowls ahead as the white suited man steps forward. Aline Zandril steps before the line of children. "Ah, each crop looks just as promising as the last. Although..." The blonde's attention homes on the ginger. "Some shine above the others. How are you today, my boy?"

His eyes twitch before lips curling up in a sarcastic look. "Oh, I'm wonderful. I feel as high as your blood sugar."

"1075!" An armored man slams the butt of a gun into the boy's head, knocking him onto his face in the dirt. "You will learn your place!"

"Ah ah! It's quite okay!" Zandril chuckles happily, his violet eyes twinkling in mischief. "I enjoy some playful cattiness in my men." He adjusts his glasses before sweeping the short hair atop his head, his three black stripes remaining perfectly in line. He watches as the boy wipes the dirt from his face and glares up. "Oh, and I do so love a good strong will. What else have you got, dear 1075?"

Roman Torchwick

Age - 8

The little boy manages a snide grin. "Sorry, I don't think you can handle much more of anything. You might pop! Or get tired of this wimp's weak love taps- ACK!" The butt of the gun strikes his head back into the dirt.

Zandril chuckles, his grin unaffected as he glances at the other four kids. "Now, children. Today, we have quite the special mission before you." He looks each of the children in the eye. The oldest was perhaps 13. "Today, you five shall be defending against a particularly terrifying opponent in the woods."

The five children straighten, Roman gritting his teeth as he picks himself up off the ground. The group is at attention as the guards open a case before them. The case reveals five weapons... Roman's homing in on a familiar one. "Hey, that's mine!"

Zandril chuckles as he reaches into the case... and pulls out a pristine red cane with black trim, a reflective platinum silver white grip on the end. Velvet Valentine. "And with all things in AZRL, our work is for all. For this, we must learn to share, wouldn't you say, 1075?"

A biting comment is on the tip of the boy's tongue until a gun barrel presses into the back of his head. Seeing the silence, Zandril hands the weapon to the eldest of the five kids, a burning well deepening inside...

"Now, in these woods is a man. A dangerous man, who is seeking out an operative of ours..." Zandril smirks, not selling the threat at all... unless you understood that a chuckle from him foretells of life soon lost. "An associate of ours is at an outpost, North by Northwest one mile. This man, your... opposition, shall we say, is targeting out associate."

His eyes hollow, zero feeling as the line shimmers through a crack in the tree line to reflect off the glasses. He continues. "Our associate holds much valuable information of our organization, so your mission is to ensure security of our organization via any means necessary." His lips curl up. "Enjoy yourself, children. We await your results."

That day he was tested. A test given to all series blacks in AZRL. Five assigned to find their associate. The associate in question is a series blue... someone being trained to be sold for administrative positions in their future owner's workings...

Roman recalls the Blue they found in the woods as a young girl, older than him, but not by more than a year or two. She had blonde hair, brown eyes large and frightful. Her yellow clean uniform bunched as she had cowered. On her back, center and above the small were the block like blue '3226'... Roman pitied her. He understood it, but that did little for his straightforward attitude. He was always one to act more than wallow.

Their opponent was a series black, number 706. Trained too much for them to defeat straight up, as they learned on their first encounter with him... Wearing dark armor and a hood, using only daggers. No, a straight fight was never the answer. He'd learned the point of the exercise. Any means necessary... They had three answers expected of them.

First, they could opt to simply face their opponent... and die. Thus was the lesson. What do you do when outclassed by an opponent? What can you do when you cannot keep them from what they want? Well, you take it away from them, leading to...

Second option...

"NO!" The girl stumbles back into a wooden cottage wall. Her arms flail up before curling around her head, shielding herself.

"Is there really no other way?" A girl among the blacks asks. "I don't know about this..." All fight of the fighters were battered, cut up, beaten.

The eldest, the teen with Velvet Valentine, scoffs. "There's nothing else to do! We can't beat the guy, and she can't be captured! Do you want us ALL to die?!" The boy shakes his head, grinding his teeth. "I won't die! So, sorry! It's you or all of us!" He takes a step forward, the girl tearing up and crouching away, crying out loud without any way out.

Second option... Take away that the enemy wants. They kill the asset. AZRL will cut its loss and move on. That may have been an acceptable answer, perhaps, but even as Roman watched the girl cower, at the young age of seven, he had a feeling inside. His fists clenched as he had no acceptance of it at the time.

No, only fools are left with only two options.

Option three...

"Wait!" Roman yells, stopping the teen. The group looks at him, mixed looks of disdain and curiosity. Roman steps forward. "I got an idea, actually!"

The teen scoffs, scowling his way. "Not interested in anything from you." He emphasizes the you as he waves Velvet Valentine threatening at the ginger. Roman momentarily glares at his weapon held out, but covers it up. "I don't need anything from someone with special treatment! None of us are allowed to 'own' a damn thing!" The teen brandishes Velvet again to prove a point.

Roman's scowl remains a moment before he slowly inches forward and smiles. "Now, now! We're both in trouble here, so why don't you just close your eyes and think of the possibilities." He smiles wider having the group's attention, including the cowering girl. "We can kill the girl. But that man is still out there."

The group seems to ease up from their aggression. The teen scoffs. "So? We finish out mission and live, brat. That's it."

Roman smirks, not quite nailing the charisma, but boy is he trying. "You know that fat guy wouldn't care if he did to us what you wanna do to her! Doing just what your told isn't gonna get you any rewards! Did your parents only want you to do one chore, or all of em'?"

At the mention of parents, the group flinches, various reactions simultaneous. The teen ground his teeth, balling his hand to a fist and striking it into Roman's smirking face! Before Roman can hit the floor, the teen drags him off his feet by the collar. "You wanna try that again?"

Despite wincing in pain, the taste of blood coming to his mouth, Roman manages to smirk again. "I'm just saying... We have what he wants, so let's give him that and then some! It's perfect!"

A girl to the side shares a glance with the others. "We use her as bait? Lay a trap?"

A tan boy looks around, rubbing his arm. "There's so gas cans around here. We can rig up an explosive trap."

At the word 'explosive', the cowering Blue shivers, flinching. "W-what?" She weakly croaks out, tears flowing freely now.

The teen growls as he glares Roman head on, yet the ginger continued to simply smirk back. "Fine! We'll do it, but if it fails, I'm killing you!" He roughly throws Roman back. The teen barks orders to the others. "We'll rig her up over the trap in here. Set the trap up with a gas line we can ignite!"

The cowering girl continues to cry as the group sets about their trap... tying her to a chair. However, she meets eyes with Roman for a moment, communicating something...

Option three, use the object of the enemy's goal to guarantee their fall.

Except Roman had one tweak for it.

"Hey!" Roman calls to the girl low. "You wanna live?" The sniffling girl's head hung low, before she flinches her face up. For a second, she can't speak, so Roman sighs dramatically and repeats. "You wanna live, Blue?" Numbly, her head starts to nod before the movement is rapid, desperate.

So, he went to the others. The teen boy griping. "You want to WHAT?"

The little devil Roman keeps speaking condescendingly, perhaps completely unable to communicate any other way. "I want to unlock her aura! If we off the guy out there AND bring her back alive, we could get twice the reward!"

The kids give various skeptical looks. "I don't know how to unlock someone's aura..." One boy admits. "Do you?" The next two shake their heads.

The teen then looms over Roman, crossing his arms. "Well? Can YOU do it?"

For the first time, Roman's confidence nearly evaporates... "Uh... I-" the Teen looks ready to snap. "-I cam! At least I know what to do for it?" He ends in a question tone. Looking at Velvet Valentine, he smirks. "I just need that for it real quick."

The teen is skeptical, looking over Velvet a moment before growling out. "Fine, here-"

Roman snatches his cane,over half as tall as he is, as he instantly cracks the instrument into the teen's crotch! The teen boy crumbles to his knees in a pained yell as Roman does a slow, deliberate, simple twirl of the can. "This! Is! Mine! Got it!"

He gives a cocky smirk, leaving the teen on the ground in pain as he approaches the tied up girl. His confidence seems to disappear as he approaches. Seeming confused, he holds his hand out on the girl's shoulder. The crying girl shivers lightly as she looks up fearfully.

Roman offers an unsure smile. "Uh... I'll need a minute to sort this out, but I got it." The smile then washes away, thinking hard. "Geez... what did Sis say? Think..." He closes his eyes and concentrates. He peaks his eyes open to see the teary eyed girl staring at him blankly. "Hey, stop staring. I need to remember the stupid chant."

The girl blinks and looks away before Roman closes his eyes, deep breath. He remembered the words of a chant, long since used upon himself. He recalls a voice, a feminine figure speaking the same to him. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality... Uh, through this we become a... par. A. Gon of virtue and glory to rise above all."

A dull yellow hum of aura flashes around the girl before stuttering... Roman's eyes clench closed. He pictures a woman, stating these exact words upon him once before. "I-Infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul and by my shoulder protect thee."

A soft golden glow shines around the Blue, her eyes widening as she looks in shock. Roman then scowls as he pulls back. He jabs a finger at her. "Don't read into the mushy words! I was told what to say for it! That's all!" He turns around. "Don't call this protection. You still gotta survive getting a literal crater face!"

And thus, the trap was laid... the man came... and the cottage was blown up. The man survived... as did the girl. The five ambushed the man after the blast... and they won.

And thus, it was Zandril whose eyes were wide, showing awe and surprise as he saw the five children return, all alive, with the Blue intact... albeit with scorched clothes and mild burns. His grin was never wider.

The test of every Black. A test meant to sacrifice morality to defeat the enemy. Option Three was the correct choice as far as AZRL was concerned. When one cannot protect an asset, one must destroy it. Yet, Roman worked around it.

Zandril's absolute favorite child.

. . .

And Roman should have seen the tactic coming...

Miguel... the warehouse... Sanctuary...

It was the test in application. They were searching for Miguel, and Miguel was the trap.

They walked right into it... and now they're weakened and vulnerable. "NEO!" Carmine slides to a stop, ignoring the burning pain in his limbs. "Neo, can you hear me?!" He cradles her up, her body going limp with the red dripping from her mouth. His heart pounds, panic building. "NEO! FUCK!" He looks around rapidly, seeing Blair stagger to her feet. "Blair!" He stops, leaning his head down to Neo's chest.

Roman jerks him for the attention. "Calm down! Freaking out won't help her!" He looks to Blair in a grimace. "Barbie, what got you?"

Blair grinds out. "Grimm venom! I- AH!" She staggers, forcing herself to walk before Roman rushes over. He hikes her arm over his shoulder.

"We gotta get to the hospital now!" Carmine is already moving for the door.

"Carmine!" Roman shouts him down, using his name for once. The boy flinches. "AZRL controls the hospital. This is the trap. We're injured, and they're waiting for us to come to the hospital where they can finish us easily!" The boy looks panicked at Neo as he continues. "Think for just a second. We go in there and sign her in, we sign her death warrant. We gotta play smart to save her!"

Carmine's wide eyes flick between the man and Blair, his body shivering. Blair weakly nods, one eye shut in pain. "Call JD. We'll need his help. Now!"

. . .

In the hospital, JD clocks out, the sunset sky in the window getting a tired glare from him. Jeez. Such a busy day. He stretches, popping his back as he yawns wide, showing off slightly sharper than human teeth. His bear ears twitch as he moves for a backpack on a chair. Pulling it on, he prepares to leave-

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Instinct kicks him to look at his pager, only to sigh and pull out his scroll. Answering the call, he puts the phone up. "Yello!" He freezes posture, eyes slowly widening as he straightens after. "Whoa wait. What do you need?" He looks down the halls, unsure for a moment and looking alert. "Okay... let me send you an address."

. . .

Parking his car, Sasha, JD leaps from the car, looking alert through the parking lot of an apartment complex. Glancing about, he doesn't see the CRBN members... He rushes into the lobby, giving the working maintenance man a strange look. He continues on up a stair well to the fourth floor. Rushing on through, he finds his apartment door.

Hastily, he unlocks the door to enter his home- "AH!" He screams, flinching his hands up at the double barrel revolver shoved in his face. Carmine aims Heulin Noon directly at the man before realizing it's the doctor. JD sees the blood on his shirt...

Carmine's panicked eyes flick off and he jerks to the left, allowing JD through. In his living room, a kitchenette near a gray carpeted room with yellow walls, a couch and TV setup, and a dining table.

Blair sits at the head of the table, sat weakly with an IV drip stuck in her left arm. She weakly looks at him, skin significantly paler. However, more to his attention was the unconscious unfamiliar girl on the table, head and body tilted on her side as Roman uses a bucket and cups of water to cycle and rinse water from her mouth.

JD enters wide eyed. "That's a lot worse than you made it sound..." He chucks his backpack off, searching it for the aid kit brought from the hospital. "How's heart rate and breathing?" He immediately starts setting up on the table, gingerly checking the pulse.

Voice rasping, Blair answers weakly. "Erratic and we need to keep her throat clear or she'll drown." Flicking his gaze to her IV drip, she sees the unspoken question. "Stuck with Grimm venom. The IV drip contains dissolved white dust."

JD nods, paying further attention to Neo. He bobs his head to Roman. "Hey, I need you to keep her held upright." Roman's normal verbal quips are gone as he actually follows the order, angling Neo's head. JD opens her mouth and shines a light down her throat. His eyes narrow before hardening, concerned. "What the hell happened to her throat? Where did you find this girl?"

"Can you help her or not?!" Carmine shouts, momentarily stopping his pacing at the door. JD flinches, feeling the tense air from the kid. "You met her at the cafe. Her semblance is illusion. There, done! Help her!"

"Carmine!" Blair snaps, earning a wide eyed anger filled gaze matching her own. Thankfully, he looks away in a growl. The blonde looks tiredly at the doctor. "She was rendered mute via throat mutilation done by the organization we're tracking. The damage has always had issues, but we faced an opponent today that used a final sound based vibration attack that ruptured her throat... I can't fix this..." Blair looks down at the admission.

JD takes quick looks between them, before nodding. "She needs surgery."

"We know your nursing staff at the least is infiltrated." Roman interjects. "She goes in there in any official manner, she's dead."

The doctor stares into space and nods. "I know who to call." He looks between them. "First thing's first, I already called some people on the way here. We have help."

Carmine tenses, setting a glare as his grip on Heulin Noon tightens. "How do we know they aren't working for AZRL like Maddox? Or these nurses?" Blair sets a hard glare at the boy, initiating a short stare down. Again, Carmine backs down.

Giving a slightly more sympathetic look to JD, the doctor answers. "Kris and Dr Knox. Dr Knox can organize hospital staff and give us a way and place to sneak her in... I'm not a surgeon, but Kris is." A couple knocks sound at the door. "And he might already be here." He adds in a guilty tone.

Blair shares a look with the others. "I know Kris as well. He's fine. Dr Knox I've no opinion on, but this sounds like our best plan."

JD nods appreciatively as the knocks at the door sounds yet again. He moves to the door and opens it, revealing a man in a gray jacket over green scrubs. He had black skin and olive eyes... and he was also a bear faunus... with a shaved head. His head and bear ears seemed to have hair or fur poking back through, the bald ears having prickly fur peaking up.

The man walks in, patting JD's chest in greeting as he walks in. "Alright, what do we got-" He freezes upon seeing Blair. The two glare at one another as the bear man, Kris, whispers to JD. "What the hell is the witch woman doing here?" Blair hears and opens her mouth. Kris jerks a hand forward raising one finger in pause. "I didn't ask you, woman!"

"Kris! Girl dying, come on." JD pleads.

Kris maintains a glare at Blair for just a moment before moving to Neo. JD and him gently manipulate Neo out of Roman's hands, checking her over. As Roman backs from them, he sends a raised brow to Blair. "He taught me how to draw blood from a patient. I may have taken a touch too much." Even exhausted, the blonde maintains an attempt at keeping authority.

Broken as Kris snaps a glare at her, over the top. "A 100 Milligram tube is a LOT less than two quarts, woman!" Carmine and Roman both stop as they give the blonde a cross gaze.

Said blonde has the honor to look away abashedly. "I wished to test Faunus blood traits vs Human blood traits. It helped me create Fluorescent Finish."

Kris purses his lips, eyes wide, as he returns his attention to the girl. Shaking his head, he mutters to JD. "Surgery's gonna be invasive through the mouth. Very delicate. She's a huntress?" JD nods in the affirmative. "That complicates everything. Even now, see that spot there." He points into her mouth as JD squints. "It's already trying to heal with her aura."

"If it heals wrong, it stifles bleeding somewhat and slows the bleed out and buys time." JD states.

"But it'll keep ripping in this state. This can't heal. We need to operate to fix it, but without aura suppressants, the aura will keep interfering with us."

"What's the problem?" Carmine speaks up.

JD grimaces. "Good news. The bleeding is slowed and we got time to sneak her in. We'll wait for Knox to show up before we start getting ready to head out." He visibly sees the boy loosen up... just a touch, still alert. His grip too tight on his gun for JD's liking. "But the bad news." Instantly, the edge is back in the boy's posture. "With Hunters, there's a large problem with aura healing. It's instinctual, subconscious. So, even anesthetics don't stop them from automatically healing as surgeons operate."

"Nomaura." Blair states. "Surgeons use aura suppressants on Hunters to allow for safe operations."

JD continues. "So with the scandal with Maddox... we don't keep any that's not under lock and key." He bobs his head back and forth. "You know... beyond what we do with narcotics and stuff. So... once we get this underway, people will know about it. Are you... sure that these people have infiltrated our staff?"

He freezes like a deer in headlights at the simultaneous glare from Blair, Roman, and Carmine. Roman scoffs. "Should we tell him about it or let it be a surprise?"

Wide eyed, JD does a double take between the conman and Blair. The blonde blinks tiredly. "We found Miguel... in the outdated machinery storehouse where they literally replaced 80% of his body with cybernetics. On top of knowing he was given to your nurses."

Kris's head snaps up. "Say what now?"

Blair ignores him. "Yes. We're sure." Instantly, JD moves towards Roman, who removes his scroll and shows a picture.

"AHHHHH!" He screams, leaping back from the man, hand slapping over his mouth. Kris pops up and looks as well before matching the scream and high pitch. "Who taco'd his head?"

Instantly, the CRBN members point to Neo's unconscious form. The doctors both slowly nod with a simultaneous "Oh!". Kris then adds with a nod. "I see the order of events now." The small levity melts away as the doctors take a second to think. "How far off is Knox?"

"Still a while out."

Kris nods. "I still got access to the ambulance keys from that EMT shift coverage last month. I can go get one that we can use. Call me when Knox calls ahead for the permission, and I'll bring it."

"Good. Go on." JD pats his back, prompting Kris to exit the room.

At his leave, Carmine sits at the table. His fingers begin rapidly tapping onto the table, each rapt sounding through the wood with agitated force. This goes for half a minute before Roman sets a glare at him. "You know, I don't give much of a rat's ass about your issues, brat, but you need to calm down." Carmine's eye twitches as he sets a glare up at Roman. "Seriously. We're up against a multi kingdom organization specializing in kidnapping, training slaves of all skill sets, and, as we just learned, turning people into super soldiers."

Carmine huffs indignant. "Do you not even care that Neo's hurt? Like, at all?! Or are you really that selfish?"

It's Roman's turn to huff up, eyes widening in focused rage. "Unlike you, I expect it to happen! Unlike you, I understand that there's a freaking risk and don't piss myself at every bad thing that happens!" He waits a second glaring Carmine down before adding forcefully. "People die, and life is scary... Get used to it or do me the favor of killing yourself."

Before Carmine can retort, Blair slowly reaches over, gently pressing her hand onto his shoulder. She feels his muscles tighten, refusal to rest. He turns to her, anger heated. "Carmine." She isn't quite able to soften her voice as much and she'd like. "We have help for her. Neo is going to be okay" No change, save for a mere moment his eyes flick downward. "But you are not helping her like this."

That gets through... he flinches, as if gut punched by the phrase. Hands constantly clench and release. "I..."

Blair thinks for a moment, wondering. Try to relate... "You know, I used to be my team's medic." She starts, waiting for him to look at her. "Rowa used to ramble and rant on anytime I had to patch up Cella or Glynda... or myself. The girl could not simply sit still when one of us was injured. About how useless she felt once things had gotten to that point."

As she speaks to Carmine, Roman rolls his eyes, moving to the kitchenette. JD sends a wary glance at the conman in his kitchen, but chooses to continue monitoring Neo.

"It's hard, not being able to do anything about something you can't fight yourself. Do you want to know the advice Professor Oobleck used to give her? I... heard it helped." Sure that she had his attention she tries to smile. Horrendous coming from her, but... one must try. "'Do what you can. For you never know the effect it will have until the future comes.'" She sighs, the exhaustion from the venom treatment setting in. "Anger won't help Neo. Guilt won't help Neo. Only remaining calm... and strong will help her right now."

Roman and Blair watch as the boy finally just... collapses back into the seat at the table. "... Are you okay?" Carmine asks after some hesitation.

There he is. Considerate Carmine. Blair smiles. "I should be good as new by the end of the night, despite the amount of venom I was afflicted with."

Carmine sighs and smiles lightly. With a glance at Neo, he shifts uncomfortably. "I, uh... Can I wash the blood off?" He looks at JD, including the bear in the permission.

JD just looks wide eyed before nodding. "Course. Get cleaned up." Carmine moves to the bathroom.

Roman snickers at Blair. "That was a real roundabout way of agreeing with me."

Blair groans exhausted, giving the tired glare his way. "Oh, it would be so much easier to agree with you if you'd just stop being an insufferable ass."

That brings a smirk to the conman. "Now, now. I'm beginning to like exhausted Barbie. She's so much more free in her words and insults." He chuckles to himself, ready to continue before being cut off by a sound. A wet wheeze sucking air in before stifling.

"Neo?" Blair calls softly. Instantly, Carmine's bolting from the bathroom, JD moving closer. Neo's form shakes as she tries to shut her mouth. The girl's one eye opens, face mired in pain. Blair lurches forward, hand firmly, but not forcefully directing the girl's face to her. "Breath. Don't try to swallow. Your throat is bleeding too badly. Using the muscles to swallow will only strain further."

Ever slightly, the open pink eye widens at the information. Carmine steps into view. Taking a deep breath, he forces a smile. "H-hey there. uh... How you feeling?" The pink eye narrows on the boy, her open jaw working slightly annoyed as a drop of blood drips out. Her jaw works, almost shutting out if instinct, but she forces herself to keep it open.

JD leans in, using a cloth to wipe much of the red away. The girl weakly raises her arms to push him away, her breathing choking in mild panic. Blair speaks up. "We're at JD's. He and another doctor will be prepping to take care of your injury. Don't worry." She watches as Neo's panicked eyed glance at JD, who studiously nods as he cleans the blood away. Her shoulders heave with the panicked look taking its time to leave. Blair slowly adds. "These doctors truly wish to help. You have my word."

Neo eyes them skeptically, but her final look lands on Carmine. The boy's own distress was clear, the two meeting their gazes for a moment. Slowly, he nods. At that, she settles sideways along the table and closes her eyes, nodding.

Minutes pass, the apartment occupants silently tending to the girl, cleaning up. Carmine grimaces. "You think maybe we can use the cops to help? I know the hospital is messed up, but maybe having police there will make it easier?"

Roman snorts in obvious protest. Blair narrows a glare at him, failing to notice Neo start at the suggestion. "Perhaps that isn't the worst idea... more protection would be appreciate-" She stops as Neo weakly waves her hand up.

It catches Carmine's attention. "What is it?" Struggling, she attempts to reach behind her. Her left leg hikes up, the girl wincing painfully. Carmine grabs her boot and steadies her. "Hey, what do you need?" She pauses in thought, stubborn before giving in. She points to the boot with her hand as Carmine slides his fingers inside.

There, he feels an object. Leather? He picks it into his hand and pulls out... a wallet. Not her wallet. Instantly, a scowl comes to the boy. His grip tightens as he glares down. "Much as I could chew you out for stealing, now's not the time. Just focus on recovering." Neo shakes her head silently, nodding to it as subtly as can be.

"What is it?" Blair asks. "She steal again?" She states unimpressed. JD double takes, but isn't quite willing to interject.

"It's Lieutenant Bangle's wallet. She took it when we visited the station, but I told you to put it back." Carmine growls out changing the recipient of his words mid sentence to the girl. He groans as he face palms. "Why didn't you just put it-"

He pauses as Neo frowns... She never frowns at stealing... She never regrets it. He looks to her hand as she flicks her thumb... a flipping motion? He looks to the wallet, a flip wallet. Those are specifically for officers to flip open and show their badge, right? In movies anyway.

Carmine scoffs and flips the wallet open. Sure enough, a badge and ID for a Lieutenant Bangle. Nothing out of the ordinary. He raises a brow at Neo. The girl silently sighs and begins making a wiping motion... wipe what? Wipe... away? Unsure, Carmine removes the badge from its slot.

He sucks a breath in, wide eyed... On the leather, stitched into the wallet, is the skull. That accursed, damned, three eyed skull... In Lieutenant Bangle's... He thinks back...

. . .

Earlier, at the station

Lee nods, looking to Bangle. "Right. Give em what we got. I have a meeting with the main chief and the city mayor about last week's budget change."

Bangle huffs a laugh. "Ha! That's gonna be a fun conversation for ya. Give them hell. I like having the good coffee!" He hounds the inspector before being left alone with the kids. His smile seems to vanish as he looks at them weirdly. "So... any missing persons reports? A lot of messed up stuff happens to kidnapped kids."

Carmine shakes his head. "Specifically if they were never found, or if there were any unanswered questions leftover even if they were." He grimaces, mind following the cop's thinking. "We... don't need those kinds of details. I like eating."

Bangle continues giving an off look, Neo slowly raising a brow at it...

However, the man suddenly sighs. "Well, you're in luck then." He starts unhappily. "All the ones in the last four months for those under 18 were found safe and sound. However, one was weird."

The boy nods. "Sounds easy if it's just the one."

Bangle pauses a moment before going on. "Boy by the name of Miguel Milano Murphy..."

. . .

He set them up...

He set them up!

Carmine's grip tightens on the badge. The star spikes dig into his palm painfully as the thin metal starts to bend and give... HE SET THEM UP! His father's partner set them up! The boy's hard wide eyes glare furiously at the wallet. Teeth clenched, threatening to crack at as his muscles tense.

Tap tap... Neo's hand weakly jabs slowly into him. Carmine's attention pulls to her, taking her injury in once more. In an instantly, the burning twist inside calms. His muscles are forced to relax as he sits down beside the girl. She's more important right now... His voice strains as it comes out. "Why didn't you tell me?"

At that, the girl side glances away from him. She gives a weak shrug of the shoulders. Her hand rolls as she wills her semblance to form a card. Carmine gently grasps it and reads. 'Low level workers hardly matter at this point... and you were so happy at the station, I figured we could work around it.'

That... Hurt. Like a blow to think this happened just so he could revel happily just a few moments longer... That his short term smile could take Neo's... His hand clenches to shatter the note. He slowly grasps Neo's hand. "You're going to be okay. I'll make sure of it."

"What did she say?" Blair inquires, not given the chance to read Neo's message.

"Police are completely compromised by AZRL. We can't let them know." Carmine's voice growls out, lower than normal. Roman and Blair exchange a quick look at that, JD feeling like he suddenly shouldn't be there. And this is HIS PLACE. Carmine sends a look much too dark for a fourteen year old. "How much longer for your boss?"

JD looks at the time, wide eyed. "Uh... I'll go wait for him outside." And he flees the rooms, not missing the eye roll from Roman.

. . .

Sunset. Downtown, back at the hospital, Kris arrives, parking a red car. He makes his way through the parking complex before looking out curious. He watches a police cruiser rove through the streets before veering off and stopping across the street from the hospital entrance. That's... odd.

Bugged by it, Kris quickly scales down the stair well of the complex, walking out onto the streets. Crossing the road, he quick steps the last distance and approaches the car, hands in pockets. The driver side window lowers as Kris walks around the car and peeks in to find the blonde mustachio man. "Sup, Bang man! What do you have going on?"

In the car, Lieutenant Bangle looks up at Kris as the bear faunus leans in. "Hey, Kris! Just got some patrols to work through."

The lacking detail gets a frown from the surgeon. Kris double takes around them before leaning in with no subtlety. "You guys barely come around here." He speaks quieter. "Do I gotta worry bout something nasty?"

Bangle waves him off with a lighthearted smirk. "Just some gang members had a bad fight, so we're hoping the injured ones come here for us to catch. You know the song and dance."

Kris smirks and pats the car before leaning away. "Got it! I patch em up! You take em away! Take it easy, man!" He waves as he crosses the street again, leaving the cop at the street side.

Bangle leans back in his seat, smile leaving his face fully. A moment passes as he looks over the streets. Some stragglers leaving work shifts to go home. A few people heading into the hospital, likely visitors or with nagging problems. Nothing out of the ordinary. He grimaces before feeling a buzz followed by a ringtone.

The tone plays. "BAD BOYS, Whatcha want- Whatcha want- Whatcha gonna do~"

He answers his ringing scroll. "Bangle."

"Update." The curt female tone is unmistakable. "What is the current situation?"

Once upon a time, he might suck in a tense breath, but after years of dealing with it... "Yes, Miss Mary Anne." He looks around once more. "I am positioned at the hospital, on the lookout. The rest of the department is on their typical routes. I'm alone."

"Good. We have confirmation that this group, Team CRBN, defeated our prototype warrior. Not without injury. We will await your confirmation of their arrival at the hospital before we proceed to phase 3."

Bangle blinks, surprised. Little Carmine and that girl managed to bring down one of AZRL's creations?! He swallows... Little Carmine. Jared's kid. He shakes the thought and responds. "Understood."

"After your notification, we will instigate incidents across the city to clear police presence from the down town area. After that, we will cut power to the block and local CCT tower. Our operatives inside will allow us through, and this threat will be dealt with. Any witnesses shall be dealt with."

Bangle looks off, a brief thought to Kris. Nice guy... He doesn't deserve that, but... "Understood, Ma'am. I will remain vigilant." With no response, Mary Anne hangs up on him. He sets the scroll aside, looking out the window.

His thoughts trail off... so he turns on some music. Flipping through several channels, he eventually settles on a slow country tune. A low grumble comes out as he glances up. He hesitates a moment, but eventually pulls the sun barrier down from above, flipping it down to reveal a photo in the cop car.

The photo was worn, old, showcasing a birthday party of sorts. Going off the party hats... Bangle is center, but not in the foreground, Carter and Lee hounding him with smiles. The photo was taken at a strip club of all places. The mustached man's brow was raised in the picture above his sunglasses. In the foreground, taking the picture, was Jared Uhlric, winking and smiling for the picture.

Bangle's stare goes off into space as he sighs, pushing the barrier back up to hide the photo. He returns his glance to the streets, but brows furrowed together...

. . .

The knock at the door catches the group's attention. Finally, could it be this Dr Knox? Carmine and Neo's hands still gripped, both glance annoyed at JD. The bear faunus nods, moving around Roman who gives him an annoyed glare, flinching him. He gets to the door and slides out the door, looking up to be faced with... his boss.

The human matching his height, glaring at him with wide blue eyes and a worn weathered face. His short dark brown hair was permed. He has a black clean overcoat over a green shirt, but stands tall, straight, and with authority. Angry authority. Authority that makes the bear faunus' ears pin back in fright. "Dr Knox, hey..."

"What's the emergency, Fido? I have a very... VERY angry ex wife that's given me enough hell today. So, this had better be good."

JD looks away a second before starting his explanation. "I need you to help sneak in a patient without ever being officially checked in and organize immediate surgery with Kris to save her life without anyone knowing..."

The only response is a twitch of the brow in confusion before further rage builds. At least, until the processing of information finishes. "What the hell kind of stupid, brain dead issue have you gotten yourself into? Because that MIGHT just rank up there with the ten most stupid things you've ever asked. Right behind 'Don't you think my hair looks good?'"

"It's all related to Dr Maddox." JD admits quietly, eyeing around the hallway. Knox's brow furrows just a bit more, but he looks to the door. "The person who needs help is in- Wait!" Knox doesn't listen as he pushes his way into the apartment. The Chief of Medicine enters the apartment and looks upon the members of team CRBN, taking their general tattered look in. JD inches to his side and points to Neo. "That's who we need-"

"IIIII have eyes, Scrappy. Shut the door." Knox condescendingly cuts in. "Take it from the top."

JD leans in. "Dr Maddox was a member of an organization that kidnaps children for slave trade."

Knox doesn't miss a beat. "Barely surprising. I always figured she feasted on them to sustain herself. She was the closest thing in this world to a demon that drinks goat blood."

The instant disrespect to the dead gets a dumbfounded reaction from Carmine, Blair, and Neo. Roman, on the other hand, grins at it. JD seems to nod along, not surprised. "These four discovered that one of the children taken in the last few months was actually held and operated on at the warehouse by Ahkan Boulevard."

Knox sends a stormy gaze his way, earning another flinch. Roman pulls his scroll up. "Wanna take a look at what they did to the kid?" He holds the scroll up for Knox, who freezes a hard stare at the screen. "The gunshot was courtesy of the lass there defending herself. The rest was people who have infiltrated at least your nursing staff who accepted possession of the kid from the guy who kidnapped him."

Knox looks from the picture to Neo. "So, you're telling me a wannabe mobster, two snotty children, and an emo Barbie stumbled across this conspiracy and need all of this last minute from myself going off your word, minor evidence, and faith? Who the hell are you people?"

Anger comes over Carmine. "We don't have time for this. She's hurt and needs help." He glares at Knox. "We're Team CRBN of Vale."

Knox locks his hard eyes, giving Carmine pause. "Oh, Hunters! The ultimate authority? I should cower and believe everything you say. That's not a fallacy at all." He drones on sarcastically.

"She can die if we don't get your help!" Carmine yells back.

"Then check her in, soulless child. That's what the hospital is for." Knox adds forcefully.

JD steps between Knox and the group, speaking lowly. "Listen, I already got Kris in on this-"

"Oh, thank the nonexistent lord. You and your wife are both in on this." Knox snidely cuts in.

JD pushes through the hateful wording. "Kris is ready to have an ambulance ready. We can sneak her in through the south end entrance since no one uses that. Most everyone is going home, and we can label her operation under one of the dead patient's insurances. We cover it up and lose nothing, and we can look into this warehouse crap and try to verify this after."

Knox's look of stern curiosity gives way to a furrowed brow glare. "Care Bear, you realize that we save this girl and get caught, we say goodbye to saving anyone else, right?"

"And if we leave it, and they're right, the people who are doing these things just continue to do them!" JD pleads before hamming up the speech. "Come on! The hospital is Fort Knox! You can do it, Knoxxy." Knox's eyes widen ever slightly in barely contained irritated. JD immediately panics. "Who's Knoxxy? I didn't say Knoxxy. No one said-"

Knox cuts him off with a whistle, warning the doctor's flinch and faunus ears pinning back. Silencing the faunus, Knox turns back to the group. "Proof? Anything at all to tell me who the hell you are?"

Carmine huffs up, eyes twitching each and every time the condescending chief called JD anything other than his name. "Team CRBN, Identification 930809." Instantly, Knox draws a scroll from his pocket, sliding several taps on the screen before pulling up a database.

Knox stares hard at the scroll... Then looks at Carmine hard for a moment. "... You're the leader?" Carmine recoils lightly, blinking blank. Slowly, he nods. Knox's jaw works for a moment, scrutinizing the group before looking at JD. Neck popping as he turns his head.

JD weakly smiles before pulling his own scroll out and starts up a call. Slowly grinning, he lights up as the scroll screen reveals Kris on the other end. "Fire up the engine, Kris! We got the go ahead!"

Kris's energetic voice sounds through. "Copy that, Vanilla Bear! Make sure witch sits in the back!" Blair twitches lightly at the call out, irritation showing.

JD purses his lips. "No promises, Chocolate Bear. See you soon!"

The turn in the conversation brought a hopeful smile out of the boy, turning it to Neo for a second. The tired mute looked uncomfortable, but nods back. Carmine returns his gaze to Knox, who bores a glare into him. "Uh... Thank you."

Knox doesn't appear fazed by the appreciation, instead snidely adding. "You better be genuine... cause keep in mind that I hold power over life in my hospital." He shifts his gaze over each of the CRBN members. "For the best... I'll head down and prepare the wing on the fifteenth floor." Without another word, he turns and leaves the room.

As the door shuts, Blair moves to stand, removing the white dust iv drip from her arm. "We should prepare to move Neo." She grimaces as she brings the attention back to the girl. "It's going to hurt."

Neo rolls her eyes. A way of saying that it already hurts, idiot. Roman scoffs. "So, placing our faith in the good Samaritans? What can go wrong?"

. . .

As Kris pulls out from the hospital property within the ambulance, his vehicle roars by the parked cruiser. Inside, Lieutenant Bangle is broken from his thoughts. He raises his hand in a polite wave, catching sight of Kris inside the vehicle. The two exchange nods before the ambulance disappears off into town. The sunset begins to give way to night as Bangle continues to sit watch.

. . .

The ambulance doors popped open as the gurney is rolled right into the vehicle cabin. Neo winces painfully, feeling the liquid in her throat. She turns her head and gags out a clot of blood. JD moves into the cabin, looking through tools along the sides. Quickly finding a thin cabled tube, he turns on a device hooked to it, activating a suction.

"Here. Put this in your mouth." Neo's eyes bug out, the girl waking just enough to glare confused. "It'll take in the blood building in your mouth." … Much better. The girl drifts tiredly and places the tube in. Like a dentist office... she thinks. Not that she's been to a dentist in five years.

From the front of the ambulance, Kris shouts out. "Loaded up on items we might need just for you. Including EMS jackets for all! Gotta go in style."

Roman scoffs, entering the passenger seat of the ambulance with a sneer. Kris sucks in a breath before breathing in relief. Despite his relief, Roman still opens with an insult. "Anyone who calls these garbage bits of apparel 'style' is brain dead."

Thanking God that it wasn't Blair, Kris snickers and boasts. "Then it's a good thing I'm so great a surgeon! I can do what I do without ANY thought. Hands d-" He sucks in his breath, locking his gaze forward and hands on the wheel... as Blair leans her head into the front.

"Jostling and heavy movement are really bad for Neo right now. Please take a route with little road damage." Her exasperated tone bites condescendingly.

Kris jerks his head as Blair retreats into the back. "Witch Woman! I am certified to drive this thing!" He groans as he slouches angrily in the seat. "Critical about everything!"

Roman chuckles and crosses his legs in the seat. "Oh, I'm well aware."

In the back, Blair and Carmine settle across from JD, Neo locked in place, blinking tiredly, in the middle. The boy sends a focused look, only on the girl. As the ambulance begins to move, Neo winces and allows her eyes to drift closed. Blair momentarily eyes the boy before helping JD distribute the jackets for disguise...

. . .

The ambulance pulls around the turn, driving around the Hospital. The emergency vehicle's lights remain off as it pulls past the emergency entrance, heading towards the Southern end of the building complex. Turning another corner, the transport rumbles by the parked police cruiser.

Bangle's eye catches the vehicle passing. Hmm. It returned. No lights either time.

A furrowed brow comes as Bangle reaches for his radio. "Uh, 29 to dispatch." A second passes before a toneless female voice buzzes over the speaker. "Dispatch. Go ahead."

"Can you run a check and see how many calls have requested Emergency Medical Services in the last two hours?" A short pause answers before the radio buzzes. "Standby, 29."

. . .

The ambulance backs up to the Southern doors of Hallowed Heart Hospital. Locking into park, JD opens the back doors. Kris rushes around from the front as the two pull Neo's gurney from the vehicle. The girl's eyes remained closed, face pulled in pain as JD removes the suction tube from her mouth. Drawing her from the truck, Roman, Carmine, and Blair follow along wearing the medical jackets.

Careful to hide their weapons, all were stuffed under the gurney as the group rolls Neo into the building. Carmine squints his eyes as the harsh, bright hospital lighting already nauseating. The hall is eerily quiet. Almost unnaturally so.

Standing before them is once again, Knox. The man now stood in black scrubs and a long white doctor coat open. His crossed arms and tapping fingers show irritation on the clipboard in hand. His wide eyed angry glare bites into the two faunus. The two freeze under his glare. With a nod to the side, he gruffly speaks. "Get in your scrubs. I'll escort them to the ninth floor, West." The two glance at one another, prompting Knox's glare to impossibly widen just slightly more. "... Go." He grinds out.

Instantly, the two bolt from the area. Knox watches them go before glaring at the group. He eyes Neo for a second before switching the look to Roman and Carmine. "Stooges. Push her along and follow me." He then tosses the board to Blair. "Fill out any patient history. I want to know if she so much as takes a Tylenol."

Abruptly, he turns and begins walking down a hall. Roman scoffs as he takes the back of Neo's gurney. Carmine stands confused until flinching to pull from the front. Blair follows behind and begins studiously filling out the paper.

In front, Carmine looks back on Neo, the girl's eyes still closed. "Neo?"

"Eyes forward, Carmine." Blair urgently. Carmine looks forward, frantically jerking to dodge a cart left in the hallway before following Knox around the corner.

"Listen to her. She's obviously the brains between you." Knox comments snidely, earning a glare from Carmine. "We're using the West Wing, which is out of use due to renovations of the patient rooms. It has access to an operating room."

Blair nods at the clipboard. "Here you go, Dr."

The woman tosses the clipboard to the man. Back still turned, Knox's left hand raises out and snatches the board out of the air before he begins to look it over. "Thaaaank you."

. . .

Bangle eyes the emergency entrance to the side of the main entrance. Another ambulance, lights on, comes in and stops by the entrance, nursing staff coming out to rush an old man inside. Bangle watches the situation with hollow eyes. His lips curled down under his stache. Every so often, his gaze flicks up to the sun barrier folding into the ceiling inside the car.

His radio clicks on, the female dispatch voice ringing out. "Dispatch to 29." He brings the radio up, clicking on. "29, go ahead."

"To answer your question from earlier, there have been four ambulance dispatches in the last two hours. Is there a situation requiring one?" Bangle stares off, not focused on any particular object in view. Looking through, not seeing. Slowly, he glances down. "29, did you copy last traffic?"

His eyes close. "Damn it." He grumbles before bringing the radio up. "No issues, Dispatch. I copy." Placing the radio down, the man pauses...

Five.

Counting Kris driving that inactive ambulance... that made five... Not four.

Still. Dispatch could be mistaken. He draws out his scroll and enters a contact number.

. . .

Inside the bustling halls of the North hospital wing, a raven haired nurse in white scrubs pulls out a scroll, buzzing with a call. Chipper, the woman brightly answers. "Hello! Who is this?"

"10362." Bangle's voice comes out stern. The woman's body freezes, tense, her smile tensely frozen on her face. Her eyes widen in shock. "I have a question on behalf of Miss Anne. How many ambulances have been sent out in the last two hours? Are any being test driven right now?"

The woman's tense muscles force relax as the woman breathes out.

. . .

"Four. Test driving and maintenance is done only on Sundays. No others are out."

The response earns a tightening of Bangle's hold on the device. "I see... Miss Anne will appreciate the assistance." He hangs up... swallowing the lump in his throat. Once again, his eye looks to the folded up barrier.

A moment passes before he taps again onto his scroll... putting it to his head, he braces himself. "Report." Mary Anne's voice comes in answer.

. . .

The beep of the elevator rings, opening up to a significantly darker floor. Every other light was off, each bulb over patient beds inside rooms off. The elevator opened up to a work area with a semi circle counter with shut off computers. Parts of the floor were stripped, the old tile chipped away. Ladders, ceiling tiles, toolboxes, and paint cans litter about sparsely.

Knox walks ahead of them, the boys pushing Neo along with Blair trailing behind. The blonde peeks around. True to their word, they'd managed to get about with zero detection. Who knew the dork would pull through for her?

The group continues on with Carmine sparing glances back to Neo. The girl was... paler still. Like paper. Her breathing was slow, her head tilted to the side as red stained the gurney bed. Carmine grimaces as they enter through a set of double doors into a room with a viewing window, a sink, and lockers. A prep room... which means.

"We're here." Knox announces as they round a bend through an open door into a dark room. He turns the low lights on, illuminating the room darker at the edges and a set of lights in the center. In the middle of the room sits several wheeled carts, currently empty. They wheel Neo into the center, under the lights as Knox takes the time to look her over. He quickly whistles, jolting Carmine and earning a wince from the girl. "Hey, you still with us, pinkie?"

The words were much softer than his hateful tones. Slowly, Neo opens her eyes at him, lifting her head a touch. She lurches and coughs, a spurt of red coloring her chest. "Neo!" Carmine is at her side, hand on her back. Not entirely sure what to do, he tries rubbing circles. Did... Did that help? God, he felt so useless!

Thankfully, the girl ceases the cough, nodding in Knox's way before turning to Carmine. He breathes in relief as she offers a small smile. However, his breath sucks in when she opens her eyes.

White. Like... he sees her pupils, but her eye color itself was white. Not the usual pink and brown mismatch... Just like when she'd been back in Vale. When she had been shocked and stomped literally into submission.

Recalling the state brought new worries... Carmine looks to Knox. "How soon can we..?"

"Soon as I go get back with the Nomaura. Idiots 1 and 2 should be gathering everything else and heading this way as soon as they change." He holds a gaze with the girl. "Insult them I may, but they're both fantastic doctors. You'll be fine." He gives the group a nod. "For the best."

At that, he turns and marches from the room. Leaving them, Blair makes herself at home, moving into the viewing room and checking any equipment left in the area. Roman and Carmine glance at one another briefly. "Sitting in the middle of a building with gods know how many enemy agents. I'm positively swarming with enthusiasm."

The boy glares back. "Could you at least TRY to act like you care?"

The man scoffs. "Oh, sorry. I should have known worrying about the killer trafficking organization all around us was insensitive. Allow me to stand frustrated and useless instead." He gives a smarmy grin, though his narrowed eyes show his annoyance.

Rather than engage the ginger, Carmine turns to Neo. "Scale of 1 to 10. How's the pain?" The girl's dull white eyes side glance at him, her movement sluggish. A wet, wheezing breath comes in effort with her face contorting in pain. Carmine looks down to see her hands raising eight fingers. Grimacing back, he looks to Blair. "You don't have any other tricks to help her? You can make people feel pain, right? Can you do the opposite?"

Blair returns from the viewing room. "I could, but I was hoping to hold off until the surgery if needed... and my aura hasn't recovered well." Grimacing, her hand comes to her left collar. "That stunt at the shack and the Grimm venom have both taken a toll."

Cursing silently, Carmine turns away. "Right... Keep your aura until it's needed..."

A sound echoes on the silent floor, the three active members tense at the echoes of footsteps, but relax upon hearing Kris and JD's back and forth. "-m telling you. The chance to save a life through good graces and exposing the truth around you! This van only lead to good things!"

"Man, I agree with you, but you're gonna have to be on your A-game if it's just me and you doing this." Kris answers hesitantly with his voice getting closer. "It's gonna be me and you tackling this together! Got it?"

"I got your back. The boy wonder to your caped crusader!" The two push through with carts now wearing scrubs and surgical garments over them. Kris stops, setting a strange look on the fellow bear faunus.

"Man, how low is your self esteem that you're the sidekick in your own narrative?"

The 'Vanilla' bear puts a hand in the other's face. "Not the point, Kris! We have work to do." He looks forward, stern, meeting the unimpressed gazes of the CRBN crew.

Neo's half lidded white eyes stare before sending a worrying glance to Blair. He conjured a sign in hand weakly. "Am I really going to die today?"

Blair gives a weak smile. "No. I'll be helping them."

Kris whips his head to her so fast his neck pops. "Say what now?" She sends a critical hawk eye his way, but he only sputters. "Last thing I need in my operating room is spectators!"

"Kris..." JD speaks out tiredly.

He holds his ground before breaking under the gaze of his best friend and the devil witch incarnate. "Damn! Go get cleaned. I control this." Kris whines out. Wordlessly, Blair follows the order into the viewing room, starting to prepare. Kris keeps a glare on her, pouting.

"You know you only have control cause she's letting you." JD states at his side.

Kris sucks in his lips, glaring at the wall. "Helping or hurting, JD? Which is it?" He turns to his friend before patting his back. "Go get cleaned up." JD marches off to the viewing room to prepare as well. Kris walks to Neo, examining the girl. "Alright, short stuff. Here's what's happening."

The girl looks up, unsure if she even wants to hear the breakdown.

Kris gestures to his own throat. "The sounds for your voice come from vibrations in vocal folds in the back of your throat. I understand that yours were mangled, either by the wrong person with the right tools or the right person with the wrong tools." The guess earns narrowing eyes before she nods. "The damage has been reopened, so first things first, before I can fix it, I gotta get everything apart to work with."

Neo's brow furrows in a sneer.

He continues. "After the cutting will I be able to get in there and, hopefully, put everything back together as it should be. Get what I'm saying?"

She takes that in for a second, staring on... then looked up. She makes a small sign, shocking the surgeon. It reads. "Will I be able to talk again?"

The silence in the room spikes, the boys looking at Kris who appears somehow both shocked on the spot and expecting. Like he knew the question was coming. He resists the urge to look at the viewing room, knowing JD and the witch are likely keen on looking his way as well. "... I can't guarantee it, but if I am able, I will absolutely restore your ability to speak... Okay?"

The only show of hesitation within the girl was gathering the strength to grip the gurney side tightly. She struggles to look forward and nods.

. . .

Knox enters the East wing of the hospital, bustling with activity. Storming through the hall, he spares a nod to some of his employees smiling back at him. A nagging thought in his mind that some of these people orchestrate horrid acts does come to mind. He moves into a stairwell, moving down to a basement sub floor.

Exiting into a hallway, he looks about several storage rooms. He eventually comes to a pass through window at the end of the hall. On the other side of the window is a nurse in white scrubs. She smiles. "Sir! What's got you down here?"

"Got no tine for the chit chat today, Sunny. I need in the vault for an emergency supply." With that, he moves to a door off the side. He buzzes in with a key card, barging into the area.

"Oh!" The happy disposition of the woman fades. "What's wrong?"

Without missing a beat, Knox is shouting out as he moves to the large metal lock box in the end of the room. All about are rows upon rows of collected monitored medicines and substances. "Stubborn old bastard four floors up is resisting medicine thanks to aura healing he decided to leave out." He sends a scathing glare at the nurse. "At this point, I'll brain the man over the head and call his time of death if I have to deal with him a second longer."

The girl is suddenly smiling at the explanation. "Oh, I get that!"

Seeming satisfied with his off the cuff fib, Knox reaches for the safe to enter the secure code-

Black.

The darkness was instant. His posture froze in the black, eyes widening. He turns in the darkness before a secondary line of dull red lights turn on. Illuminated in a dark red, he glares at electronic safe... the light display only black.

He cocks his head to the door, the previously bright nurse looking confused. Knox moves to the electronic door and jerks it... doesn't move. No power to the door locks? "We're on emergency power..." Emergency power generator for use only when the backups have no power. "Where's the backup generator?!"

. . .

Outside, every building in view, lights shimmering through windows illuminating the city, all go dark. Like a switch flipped, the sounds of the city run mute. Cars screech from the streets below, horns sounding. The only loud sound remaining is the revving hum of an engine starting up. Atop the North wing of the hospital sits a large, massive generator.

Off. The large machine is off.

It's the smaller generator beside it, substantially smaller, running. Cables connect to the generators... the lines leading to the larger sliced in the middle. Standing over the sliced cable is the raven haired nurse, a fire emergency ax in hand.

. . .

Knox jerks at the door. He growls frustrated before looking at the nurse. He answers her confused face. "By itself, the emergency power is only able to run to keep life support and monitoring systems on for about an fifteen minutes." His glare turns to the door. "It doesn't affect the electronic locks, fire safety systems, phones... It's not supposed to run alone."

At phones, he jerks out his scroll. He stops for just a second, looking narrowly at the nurse. "How long have you worked here?"

Her worried voice comes out more confused. "I've... known you here for seven years."

Knox recoils his head. "Oh." His voice lifted half an octave before nodding. "Good." He inputs a number and hits call.

. . .

The room red, Team CRBN looks about, alert. The doctors are confused before JD's scroll lights and rings out. He answers. "Dr Knox? What's happening?"

"As if I know! Me and nurse Sunny are trapped in the basement without power to the doors!" JD snaps a worried glance at Neo. As if sensing the thought train, Knox adds. "I can't access the Nomaura OR leave until this issue is dealt with."

Sparing a glance at Neo, the girl's disoriented look answers. "The girl needs surgery now. We can't do anything with her aura active."

"The janitor and maintenance workers should be on their way to check the gen-" The voice cut.

JD pulls the scroll down, eyes widen in horror. No signal... The scroll signal cut. "Uh... do any of you have signals on your scrolls?" Immediately, every person present removes the cellular devices, each greeted by no signal.

"The CCT tower is out... too convenient of timing." The blonde answers dark.

Unhappily, it's Roman that voices their thoughts. "They know we're here." As if in answer, they feel a rumble in their feet...

. . .

The lobby blows inward in a blaze of orange. The explosion shatters the glass doors and windows, showering debris all over the civilians inside the lobby. Screams of pain and fright fill the air. The red lights are drown out by the new shine of orange flame of the carpets and walls. In walk dozens of armed men.

Each and every man bore the emblem. A three eyed skull painted onto their helmets. They charge the room, shouts and threats sounding out to each man, woman, and even a child. Two of the masked men glance at one another before steadying their aim. "Like the boss said... No witnesses."

. . .

Away from the operating room, back in the halls and to the windows, Carmine gasps at the muffle sounds of gunshots... Quiet, but he hears them. He jerks to look at Roman. The ginger sighs, a grim look to his eye. "You wanted something to do? Guess we got something to do."

"We HAVE to save them!" Carmine announces.

Roman's eyes snap wide and glare at him. "We NEED to hunker down and prepare a defense, you moron!"

"All those people? Dozens or hundreds are going to die while they look for us!"

"And Tricolor is going to die of they find her and we aren't here!" Roman fires back in anger. Carmine flinches back from him at that, but the two are interrupted by JD.

"It doesn't matter." He says walking up. "She's still losing blood. She'll bleed out if we don't operate now, and we don't have the Nomaura." Both the man and boy snap a look at one another before bursting back to the operating room.

True to his word, Neo is pale, eyes barely open. Her breathing is slow, shallow. Blair shares a worried glance with the other two. "We must operate now."

"We can't! Her aura-" Kris starts, only for Blair to fiercely glare him down.

"I will suppress her aura with my semblance! You will operate. End of story!" She snaps, a frantic anger breaking into her voice. She looks at JD. "Get the anesthesia ready. We're doing this now!" Before Kris can even start again, she rips Fluorescent Finish from the gurney, spooking him. She opens the hilt and inserts a vial of white dust. Drawing the blade, she activates the dust as Fluorescent shifts from a dull yellow glow to a bright white shine.

She spears the blade into the ceiling, shining the red dim room in bright white. Kris eyes the newfound light source. "... O... kay." He clears his throat, looking at JD. "We can try this. We have to or it's too late..."

JD nods before looking at the other two. "We'll start, but there's people who will be locked in areas of the building without power. Some people on life support won't last long without power either." He thinks for a moment. "The generators are on top of the North wing..."

The teen boy and conman snap glares back at one another. Carmine's determination is made, however, as Roman narrows his eye. "I get your share on the next job."

Carmine's eyes light just slightly in rage. "Fu-... FINE!" He shouts, snarling angry into a sigh. "Blair, you're the last line of defense!" The blonde meets his eyes. A curt nod answers. The boy's eyes trail to Neo, blue meeting a hazy white. An unease fills him for just a moment, but... have faith. In Blair. In the doctors. Carmine smiles. "I'll see you soon, Neo."

The girl manages a slight smirk. She takes a shaky breath, lifting one hand to tilt her thumb up for him. Immediately, Carmine turns and breaks into a sprint from the room, Roman running alongside him.

Left in the room, JD prepares the anesthetic as Kris pulls Neo directly under the shining sword above. Kris checks their tools. "Alright tiny girl! I'll be eager to properly introduce myself once you wake up... Let's do this."

Neo's eyes burn under the light before closing her eyes...

. . .

The boy and man burst into the stair well, sprinting down and down. Carmine calls out. "You go to the North wing and repair the generators. I'm gonna head down and fight on the ground floor. You work down, I'll work up!"

Scoffing, Roman bites back. "And WHEN we run into their power players? Then what?"

Gulping down... He gives a shaky breath. "Hold our own until Blair gets there?" At Roman's dull look, the leader sighs. "We take out frustration then. Just do it!" He leaps over the stair well guard rail, dropping down the open center of the stairs... down and down, leaving Roman behind.

Roman rolls his eyes. If he recalls, there's a sky bridge on the fifth floor connecting the west wing to the North. He stops at the fifth floor, bursting out of the stairwell.

Down and down below, Carmine closes in on the ground. "Jager!" His armor flashes to his feet, calling from the operating room gurney where it was hidden. "Recall!" And Heulin Noon flashes to his empty holster. The boost of the armor slows his drop as he hits feet first on the bottom floor. "Zero!" Armor flashing to normal, he breaks out into the halls, eyes flashing back and forth.

He hears gun fire.

Breaking into a sprint, he hustles through the halls, right turn down to the South wing. More gun fire. Screams sound now. Faintly. They had entered through the South hall. Not many people. He bursts through the South floor halls, the gun fire sounding louder and louder.

In the hall connecting the East and South wings, a woman cries out with a gunshot clipping her arm. Startled cries escape as more shots sound behind her. The sounds of others cowering dying out and silencing more with each shot. Four combat armored men in the hall walk along, checking the corners and different rooms... two other bodies show in the hall alone. The lead man steps over the woman taking aim.

The man's gaze then trails up from the woman. He flinches back. "TARGET FOU-" Carmine speeds over, slamming through the man into the next with his armored arm clothesline!

Sliding to the third, Carmine kicks his leg out and grabs him in. He uses the third man as a meat shield as the fourth fires and hits. The boy draws Heulin Noon, aiming around the third to shoot the fourth. The fourth goes down, so he drops and kicks the third, spinning around and firing a top shot at the second and a bottom shot at the first!

All men down.

Carmine looks at the terrified woman, among the bodies, as anger fills him. He points to the South wing. "Exit the entrance that way and leave now!" The woman weakly stands, clutching her injured arm as she runs.

He turns, evaluating his ammo. At this rate, he might actually run out of ammo. Damn... Well, time to conserve. "Schneider!" Heulin Noon flashes to its holster as the armor and blades form on his arms. Seething rage contained and expressed solely through wide furious eyes, he charges.

Time for a rampage.

. . .

Outside the hospital, on the blackened streets, the police cruiser sits. Officer Bangle sits, alone in the darkness, listening. Hearing. Experiencing the shouts and screams. A short breath comes out as he prepares to leave, turning the engine on and leaving the lights off. Can't let people see him leave.

And yet... he fails to move. To put his foot on the gas. To take it off the brake.

He sighs, hearing another gunshot... His grip on the wheel tightens. His eyes look up in the dark... to the folded sun barrier.

. . .

"ACK!" The armored man is thrown back by the hit, out cold. Twin slashes through his chest armor show, scaring two more AZRL soldiers back. The two open fire as Carmine charges forward. Several shots scrape his limbs, but he pushes through and slashes both the men down. Wincing in pain, he quickly recalls back down the hall, wounds healing.

Appearing fully healed, he sucks in a sharp breath. His aura around the phantom wounds grays out his skin and clothes. Slowly, color returns, but he still feels off. Jeez, phantom pains never get easy. He continues on, checking the rooms in the hall, he moves on.

Nine. Ten. Eleven.

He checks the next two rooms, recoiling from one. Teeth clenched, he seethes in anger, the images burning into him. Sixteen. Sixteen dead hospital staff and civilians so far. Boiling anger remains as he charges down the halls. An intersection and counters ahead, it's a connecting hall on the bottom floor of the East Wing.

As he speeds on, a figure steps out ahead. An Kevlar suited man with light metal armor plating throughout the suit. His mask, unlike the others, was silver in the visor, the three eyed skull black on the visor.

The captain from Vaterra...

Carmine slides to a stop, instantly aware that this was one of said 'power players'. Well... "Shit." The captain, what did Roman say his number was again? 13... something something. With a harsh glare, Carmine inches back. "Hey! Didn't get your name last time."

"1372. And you..." He begins slowly walking forward. "Are Carmine Uhlric."

The boy flinches before composing himself. "Yeah... but I asked what your NAME was!" He continues walking backward, matching pace with the advancing man. "A damned number isn't a name! You're a human. Not what AZRL makes of you."

The man stops.

Carmine stands ready, muttering under his breath. "Zero..." His armor flashes to his chest and arm, letting him draw Heulin Noon, ready. He takes another step back, the man standing perfectly still.

"... You're quite the naive one." The Captain states. "You need to learn your place." He says as he reaches back slowly, pulling out a retractable electric baton.

The snark comes out... mostly to cope. "Heh. I did leave school."

The man takes a single step forward, baton sparking with arcs of artificial lightning. Lightning dust charge. "Well then..." He lightly runs the baton along the wall... the heated arcs of electricity start to scorch the wall before it begins to sizzle, burn, and light. He cocks his helmeted head. "Ding Ding, kid... Class is in session."

Carmine takes a spooked step back. Nervous sweat builds as the wall fully lights on fire, bathing the hall in brighter orange and yellow as a fire begins to spread.

And he charges.

The boy snaps his gun up, firing a double shot! The Captain halts, punching down as his Lock semblance coats around him. The shot strikes him head on, but he fails to flinch. He lowers the semblance and slowly looks up at the boy's wide stunned eyes.

He bolts back the way he came, the Captain charging after him. New battlefield needed! New battlefield needed! THIS IS NOT THE PLACE! The boy screams this in his mind as his feet carry him.

. . .

In the North Wing, Roman reaches the stairs... the entire Intensive Care Unit behind him smoldered and ruined with crumpled AZRL guards strewn about. One even dangles from the ceiling, head embedded in the upper tile as his body is limp.

Entering the stair well, Roman remains alert. No more? He ascends up the stairs, the only sound being his own footsteps. Up to the sixth floor. Then the seventh. On and on until he sees light coming from above... The very top of the stair well shines, steps crumpled and burning. Roman continues up the flights, finding that the way is blocked just before the roof.

He scoffs. "Of course. Gotta make it difficult." Unable to exit the tenth floor exit for the roof, he enters the ninth floor of the North wing-Immediately entering another ICU, two AZRL soldiers whip around the corner, aiming guns point blank!

Roman strikes both guns up with Velvet Valentine, the guns firing into the ceiling. In a split second, Roman cracks the right one with the hammer side of the cane head, then twists to pull the left in. He kicks out the left's leg, letting him fall behind the conman.

The right throws a punch, only for Roman to catch and twist around, slamming him head first into the wall. He palm strikes the back of the helmet, further crunching it into the wall. The left soldier stands to recover, only for Roman to use Velvet's pick side to pierce into the helmet.

The man still moves, the helmet possibly thicker than expected. So, Roman wrenches him down and in to knee the helmet, cracking in on impact and sending the guard sprawled unconscious on the ICU floor. A nice attempt... Oh, who was he kidding. These morons are nothing, earning a smirk.

"As impressive as always." Roman jerks around at the female voice, familiar. Down the ICU, by the counter twenty yards off, is a dirty blonde. Clad in yellow form fitted off shoulder top with black Kevlar sleeves and chest. The top merged into a black form fitted pants. Her right hand had her tech device, linked to a sort of scope over her left eye. The other brown eye seemed delighted to see Roman.

Roman appears miffed at the confrontation, but as always, he rolls with life's punches, smiling snidely. "Oh, it's been far too long. Apologies for wrecking your place in Vaterra. What was your name again? I meet so many people who want to kill me these days."

She grins. "Hmm... You really forgot me." She sighs as she stands tall. "Granted, it took me a while to remember you, Black 1075."

Curiosity enters the man as he takes a cautious step forward. "That so? Well, don't leave me unawares. Jog my memory for me." He thinks for a moment. She DOES seem familiar, but he doesn't remember any of the Series Blacks he'd served with during his three years in AZRL. "Nearly everyone I served with in my time was quite older than me in the Black program."

That only brings a smile to the girl. "Oh, when did I say I was a Black myself?" She turns away, looking over the nearby windows into the dark city. Her turn allowed Roman a sight of her back... His eyes narrow on the digits...

Black bordering... with a blue center. 3226.

Shock hits him as, for once, he speaks out his immediate thought. "You're the blue from..."

She snaps her hard, critical gaze on him, a small smirk on. "There! I knew you were smarter than most. That brain of yours saved my life after all." She watches the shock on his face give way to a skeptical glare. "I wanted to speak with you one to one. The moment I recalled just who you were... I owe you everything after all."

Roman recovers, returning a smarmy grin. "Wow. And here I thought AZRL was all black holes for hearts and power hungry animals for brains." He cocks his head. "So, the aura gave you Black status?" He begins to slowly pace closer, more to the left, but the woman goes right. The two smirking opponents circling one another as the speak.

"One could say, it opened the way to another use... one thing led to another... and I found my calling." Her smile widens, despite the slight unhinged twitch in one eye. "I live because of you... and I wish to return the favor."

Roman smirks. "Negotiations are open! Leave me alone for the day, call off the dogs, and I'll consider things square."

She chuckles. "Oh, some things are off the table." Her wide smirk mixed with hard eyes unsettles him, though he doesn't show it. "But, I will offer you this... I spare your life, and you join AZRL once more. You would instantly become one of our top figures easily."

Roman halts his pace, the woman doing the same. His smarmy grin remains as he twirls Velvet Valentine. "Sorry, but some things are off the table." He parrots back at her.

She actually laughs, a tone of adoration in her. "Oh... As expected." She chuckles a few more times, the mirth slowly dying away for a cold look. "As rebellious as back then... and quite the handsome man, now." The complement gets a smirk from the ginger. "Let's not use numbers. I'm Mary Anne now."

He smirks. "I'm Roman Torchwick, and by the by, complements won't get you anywhere." His smirk grows to a grin. "I won't be swayed by bigger psychos than myself."

The chuckle continues from the woman as her right hand brandishes the enclosed weapon. Not a gun like in Vaterra. She flicks the device as a bladed burning hot whip extends out, cracking onto the ground. The whip line extends more before a locking sound clicks. "Oh, we'll see about that... I'm quite persuasive these days."

Her wrist flicks, cracking the burning blades along the ground and leaving a scorch mark. In a split second, Mary zips the burning orange whip around at the man. Roman answers, twirling Velvet and charging. Their weapons parry off each other in a burning spark. . .

The fight is on.

My oh my. Neo getting operated on. Solving her throat issue (Don't make that joke) for good? Lieutenant Bangle was a spy the whole time! Roman is the reason Mary Anne is alive?

A lot was covered today...

References:

Kristopher Keyes is based off Christopher Turk from Scrubs, same as Doctor Daren being based off JD. Both are bear faunus... because their nicknames for each other were Chocolate and Vanilla Bear. There. And obviously, Dr Knox based loosely on Dr Cox.

Join next time in Chapter Thirty Two: Back to the Pack.