The room was dark, its only source of light that illuminated it was from the phone placed on the table. The record player sat idly in the corner of the room, no music came about as its tonearm was lifted from the spinning vinyl.

Not that the absence of light or sound bothered the burly man sitting in front of the laptop that enter screensaver, the user's mind too preoccupied to notice the silly wallpaper on display

Grey eyes instead remained glued on the smartphone. Its screen was starting to dim, a result of not being used for a while. The voicemail it played had ended more than five minutes ago, but Liam could still hear Sabine's words echo loudly within the walls of his office and into his ears.

The Protocol was involved in a war on two fronts. One with a known enemy, another unknown. Thankfully, there have been no recent sightings of Omega making a move, though the sudden quiet atmosphere was beginning to put Liam and the rest of his team on edge. But that wasn't the main issue. Not at the moment.

The real problem is the second adversary. A shadow. A blackmailer. Not much is known about this new case aside from an ominous designed eye attached to an equally ominous email threatening to expose the existence of the Protocol.

The agent dossiers that each of his agents received and another foreboding email proved the threat was very, very genuine.

Sova and Cypher both agreed that the work of this blackmailer is too impressive, but it wasn't reason enough for Brimstone to halt the Omega project despite Sova's staunch protests. Instead, he kept those in the know to the only ones with the skillset to help the search, and Sabine.

Thus began another pursuit. One that seems to bear no fruit as each day passes by. And now, his stubbornness is beginning to bite him in the ass.

Sova was getting exhausted from the wild goose chase across the world, so much so that even Brimstone could tell from the last status report just from the Russian's laboured breaths.

Cypher's surveillance network had been of no help, but the man was also trying to decrypt the two emails and might have a breakthrough. Might was a very strong word.

Which brings him to Viper's voicemail. Though Sabine possessed no suitable expertise for a manhunt, the knowledge of a blackmailer is well within her paygrade. That and she can be a calm, albeit cold, voice for reason if ever needed.

"We're losing, Brim. You know that, right?"

She was right. He knew it.

Didn't necessarily mean he needed to admit it.

The Protocol needs another pair of eyes on the ground to assist Sova, and they need to –

A ping from his laptop jolted Liam out of his thoughts, and the man gestured over the touchpad as he silently reminded himself to not let Killjoy customize his computer during one of her upgrades. His eyes immediately darted towards the blinking notification button before he clicked it. A new window popped up, and he read the new email.

Then he read it again.

Brimstone wasted no time reaching for his phone, tapped on a number and called.

"Commander?" Sova's distorted voice could be heard as he picked up the call. "Any new orders?"

"Cypher just had a breakthrough," Liam cut to the chase. "I'll send you the details, but first I need a list of names. They'll form the strike team you'll be part of. Hostile extraction. Non-lethal."

There was a pause as Sova considered, then he spoke. Liam grabbed a pen and began jotting down names as the Russian provided his recommendations.

"Right, they'll meet you in…" he flicked his wristwatch, "36 hours."

"Commander, if I may," Sova started just as Brimstone was about to end the call. "Considering we are not fully aware of the strengths of this blackmailer and the nature of the subsequent Omega missions, perhaps," the man sighed, a sign he was hesitating. "Perhaps we should bring him back into the fold."

Brimstone felt himself stop. Sova took the silence as an opportunity to push further.

"With all due respect, commander, you are most aware of the lack of cohesiveness within the team during our last few missions. Everyone's individual skills have certainly improved, no thanks to your training, and the team is starting to understand the value and importance of teamwork. But it is clear that everyone needs more time to – what is the word… ah – gel than anticipated. I fear that with the Omega Project getting closer we may not have that luxury."

Brimstone's lips tightened into a thin line. "I'll send you the details." With that, he placed the phone back on the table before looking at the list of names again.

A solid, well-rounded team, no doubt. One that would give any opposition a hard time. But Sova was spot on, the team looked out for each other, but they've butted heads more often than not. Besides, there was no harm in bringing an extra man, especially one as reliable as the one Sova refers to.

Someone who has more to offer than just a one-off extraction mission.

"Call me when the fate of the world is on the line, yeah?"

Liam considered his options, let out a sigh and started tapping on his phone again. Looks like he's making that phone call after all.

But first, he needs to remind KAY/O to be more careful when piloting the VLT/R.

BREAK

It is said that Istanbul's a beautiful city, and anyone visiting would find it hard to disagree. The sumptuous palaces, domes and minarets, the cobble-stoned streets, along with decrepit old wooden houses and squalid concrete towers form a mesmerizing painting that is turned into a hypnotizing schizoid medley when mixed with the city lights at night.

The district of Sarıyer bustled with life thanks to the army of men packing the streets to the brim. They chanted and lit flares as they marched their way towards the large oval stadium located in the southwestern side of the district.

The ocean of people didn't seem to faze the figure, even as most members of the mob were brandishing a collection of flares, knives and bricks. On any other normal day, standing in an alleyway in a black tracksuit would catch suspicious glances from authorities, but not today. Instead, he blended in seamlessly with the mass, many of which were either clad in red, yellow or black.

Green orbs scanned the crowd, keeping watch for any signs of trouble that may arise if these ultras decide to go wild before the kick-off of their team's game.

Based on the mission brief he received, things were bound to get messy. Every interested party would prefer that it didn't get messier.

Though if he was to guess, every party except for one.

The figure wasn't sure how long he remained in the alleyway, just that his body was growing restless. Two team buses had reached the stadium and the last of the fans were filing into the stadium and his fingers were fidgeting like a mini riot when his earpiece buzzed to life.

"Birdseye, this is Breach," the pitch accent of a gruff sounding man spoke. "How's the view?"

"Birdseye to ground, the VLT/R owns the sky," came the reply from a distorted and synthetic voice. "What's your status?"

"It's another quiet night in Istanbul," a third person chimed in.

"Not anymore," interrupted another. "Cypher to all stations, I have a signal. Our blackmailer is headed east, entering Sector-4."

"Neon, this is Sova. Confirm you have target visual."

"Yup, got'em" the sixth speaker – Neon – confirmed, "They're entering–" a pause "–looks like a warehouse."

"I see it," Sova affirmed. "Ground team, collapse and converge on Sector 4."

"Birdseye enroute. I'm descending to surveillance altitude."

"Let's do this."

"Closing the net."

The figure remained silent throughout the exchange. He had no intention of disclosing his presence.

No.

Not yet.

Green eyes narrowed. He was further away from the rest than he anticipated. The man placed a hand on his waist to get a feel of his weapon as he walked towards the motorcycle parked underneath the shadows.

He twisted the key, and the engine roared to life. The stadium erupted in cheers, drowning out the sound of a motorcycle revving down the street into the darkness.

BREAK

KAY/O may be a robot, but it doesn't mean he's devoid of emotions. It would explain the times his core suddenly felt heavy and empty whenever he remembered the war he was in, or the sudden sense of wanting to just tape Phoenix's mouth whenever the radiant makes a terrible joke.

That also helps to explain the sudden annoyance surging within his core as he tried to reestablish contact with Sova.

The team found their blackmailer entering a warehouse and had surrounded the perimeter. Sova had entered the building through a skylight in an attempt to get as much surveillance as possible. At first the Russian scout dropped off KAY/O's visual, and for the past minute he did not seem to be listening to orders to hold his position.

"Birdseye to Sova, you are to hold your current position and wait for backup," he repeated for the umpteenth time, injecting as much urgency as possible. "Confirm order."

Sova did neither, instead reporting through the comms that he was "entering office…"

"Jävlar"

"He can't hear us."

"Birdseye to Sova, do you read me?" KAY/O ignored his two teammates, focusing instead on trying to reach Sova. "Sova, come in! Respond!"

A steady static buzz greeted him in response.

"That is less than ideal."

KAY/O agreed with Chamber's observation, as little help as it provided. Immediately he started formulating a plan and took point.

"Neon, Cypher," he radioed, "Advance to reestablish connection with Sova. Maintain stealth protocol."

There was zap over the radio as Cypher and Neon broke the electric locks and infiltrated the warehouse. Then Neon let out a curse in Tagalog.

"What was that?!" She whispered. The vital signs monitors began beeping frantically, and KAY/O glanced at the screen.

"You are both showing elevated vitals," he said. "I need a sit-rep."

"There's something in here, trailing us," Cypher revealed. "... What is that?"

"Cypher, watch out!" Neon yelled in alarm. A loud screech could be heard, followed by more Tagalog cursing. "I can't see!"

"Neon? Where are you?"

That didn't sound good. "Cypher, Neon, report!"

"KAY/O, we're blind in here!" It was Cypher, the Moroccan spy sounding more panicked than usual.

"Danger close! Danger close!" Neon began calling out. Gunshots followed.

"Hang on! I'm coming!" Breach rushed in, abandoning stealth for sheer force as he used his mechanical arms to smash the eastern walls of the building.

KAY/O tried calling out to the rest of the team, comms connection seemingly reestablished yet glitchy. Not that it mattered. They couldn't hear him through the cacophony of chaos of shouts and gunfire. "Birdseye to Chamber, do you have any visual?!"

"Merde," the Frenchman cursed under his breath. "Negative, adjusting angle."

He got up from his position with practiced grace and began running, summoning his custom gold sniper rifle as he reached the other end of the neighboring rooftop.

"Chamber's loaded, call out my targets!"

"Breach's eight o'clock!" It was from Sova. "Ten meters!"

Chamber saw his target, a dark nighmarish creature trying to sink its huge teeth into Breach's neck.

He didn't hesitate to pull the trigger.

"Hah! Direct hit" Breach cheered as the creature dissipated. His joy was short-lived, however, as another monster lunged at him. "Aw- helvete!"

Hearing the Swede curse, Chamber swapped his sniper for his submachine gun and with pinpoint accuracy, threw a card onto the ground right outside the hole that Breach had created. "Moving up to reinforce!" He snapped his fingers, teleporting himself onto the precise location his card landed just as Breach announced that he was providing cover fire.

"Chamber! It's on you!"

Chamber heard Sova's warning just in time to see the nightmarish creature decide that he was a more delicious meal.

"Get out of there!" Breach ordered as he punched the creature with all his might.

"Wait!" Neon called out, and everyone stopped firing. Her eyes narrowed before widening and she pointed at the entrance. "There they are!"

"Where?!"

"The target's on the run!" Cypher warned. "They're outside!"

"Setting VLT/R to auto!" KAY/O began hitting a series of buttons and got up. "I'm going in!"

"That won't be necessary, Birdseye." An unidentified voice chimed in. "Target's in my sights."

KAY/O stopped in his tracks. "Who is this? How did you find this channel?"

"Glad to meet you, angry JARVIS," the new speaker greeted cheerily, as if it answered anything and everything. It did not. "Thought I'd stand back and watch you guys operate at first."

"I'm gonna gonna say this once–

"How did I have access to the secure VP-Channel?" the voice completed KAY/O's question, and the robot swore he could practically hear whoever this was smiling at the other end. "Because it have it, duh. Ugh, could they make it any easier?!"

"That's it," KAY/O heard enough. He pressed – slammed – the button that opened the hatch and leapt down despite Sova's protest loudly in his earpiece.

The wind whistled into his audio sensors as he brought both his fists together before pulling them apart. His core surged to critical levels.

"You. Are. Powerless!" A wave of red energy emitted from him in a huge circular wave the moment he landed onto the ground below.

"Freeze! Hands in the–" KAY/O drew his rifle up in time only for it to be slammed right off his fingers. Immediately he grabbed reach for his holster and found himself staring down the barrel of a custom painted Phantom just as he aimed his sidearm at his assailant.

There was the sound of numerous footsteps getting louder, and KAY/O didn't need to look around to know that the rest of his team had caught up with him and encircled the mini-standoff.

"Put the gun down, now!" Breach ordered.

"Smooth moves, Terminator," the voice belonged to the same person who had hacked into the strike team's channel. KAY/O's visual sensors switched to Night Mode, allowing him to have a better look of the figure standing across him.

The unknown was clad in standard tactical armor, though he appeared to have disregarded a helmet which allowed his wavy raven black hair to be blown by the night breeze. There was a smug smile on his face, as if the threat of being shot point-blank in the face from multiple directions did not faze him the slightest.

"Who are you?" questioned Neon, but the stranger kept his mouth shut, opting instead to stare KAY/O down with his unnatural sea-green eyes.

"Everyone stand down!" Sova's commanding tone broke the tension that was building at an uneasy rate. "He's with us."

They lowered their guns as ordered. Except KAY/O. The robot kept his gun raised, the action not going unnoticed by the man standing across him

"You heard the owl, Robocop," the man snarked, his smug smile remaining on his Mediterranean features. "Put the gun down."

"You first," KAY/O shot back. ""Unless you want that smile shot off your face."

He suppressed the feeling of petty self-satisfaction that rose when the man's smile was replaced with a look of affront. "Excuse you. I'm not the one who came down all dramatic with the whole 'YOU ARE POW–"

"Manta!" KAY/O glance at Sova to see the Russian pinching the bridge of his nose. "Can you not antagonize people on your first day back?"

KAY/O thought he heard the man – 'Manta' – mumble something along the lines of "do robots even count as people?" with an eye-roll, but the man lowered his gun and stood to attention nonetheless. The robot decided to pretend he heard nothing.

"You can put your gun down, KAY/O," Sova prompted again. KAY/O lowered his pistol.

"VP-Eight, Manta, reporting for duty," the smug smile was back as Manta introduced himself. He turned towards Sova. "Always wanted to say that." Then, a look of realization dawned on him "Oh, by the way," his head jerked towards the back of the group. "Target's secured. Already did it before T-800 here made his superhero landing."

The rest turned their heads around to see a lady with shoulder length hair with frosted tips glaring at them defiantly. Though she may have looked more threatening if she wasn't bound to a wall.

And encased in ice from the neck down.

"Wait, wait, wait," Neon started shaking her head in disbelief. "She was alone?"

"She's a radiant," KAY/O observed. His processors were trying to formulate the possibilities of how the ice appeared in the first place.

Perhaps from Manta, indicating that Manta's a radiant. But if that was the case–

"My scanner's picking up chatter," Cypher interrupted, urgency lacing his voice. "Police incoming."

"Then it is time to go," Sova surmised. "We'll meet back up at the rendezvous point. That includes you, Manta." The Russian let a small smile grace his lips. "It's good to have you back, brother."

Manta nodded as he melted the ice that cocooned the blackmailer. He handed her over to KAY/O, who briefly handcuffed their captive. Before he left, he turned towards the Russian scout.

Percy Jackson felt the corner of his lips crawl upwards, and his sea green eyes glimmered under the night sky.

"Feels good to be back."


Just wanted to get this out of my head while I'm at it. As usual, feedback is always appreciated