Leaves in a Windy Mind

by Shadow Master

(Drabbles, multiple crossovers) Decided to resurrect my old habit of putting any new crossover plot ideas into Drabble form rather than jump right into a full fledged story. Hope it'll help me focus on my in progress works and not get distracted. Please vote for the ones you want to see continued either as a Drabble or a true story.

20. What can a man do with a dying dream?

"What can a man do with a dying dream?" By Shadow Master

(BtVS/Elements of Marvel/Elements of DC/Elements of Pixar)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted materials contained herein. They are the rightful property of their creators and/or associated companies. I make no profit from this whatsoever and I have no intention of changing that in the future. I write because it's fun and because there are those who enjoy reading my stories. Therefore it would be greatly appreciated if no legal action was taken against me. I can promise you that even if you drain me dry of all possible sources of money it won't cover even half of your legal fees.

Note : Got this idea after watching the third and (so they claim) final season of the Disney Plus Show 'Marvel's What If'. I also wanted to take this Drabble in a different, darker and hopefully not too angsty direction to set it apart from the others. Some parts are likely derivative I'll admit but what I'm trying to do is evoke an emotional response in the reader that you'd expect for scenes like the one you'll be reading. Probably fail but if so I'd appreciate suggestions on how I could've succeeded. Maybe point out fan fiction stories that wrote similar scenes so I can take a look.

Note 2: As usual positive reviews will be greatly appreciated, constructive criticism will be considered but not necessarily acted on and of course negative/bashing/venomous/trolling/hateful/hurtful/hateful reviews will be ignored or burned as fuel to keep my ideas going. I am aware that I cannot please everyone. No one can. That being said I refuse to let others control what I write or if I write at all. You don't like my stories? No one is forcing you to read them. If it's not for you then please feel free to turn around and find another story that you like more. Just don't think for a second that ANY trash talking or bullying reviews of ANY sort will be enough to make me change my vision or give up writing fan fiction.

Note 3: This is the last Drabble for awhile. I'll likely never stop writing them but I want to focus on updating some of the stories that haven't been updated in a good while. More specifically I plan on working on 'The Legacy of the Four', 'The Lost Reasons to Live' and maybe one more. I'll also be reducing my goal from four chapters before posting to two chapters in order to reduce the delay between updates. Hopefully this'll help maintain reader interest and possibly get some of these stories completed sooner. C YA!

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What can a man do with a dying dream?

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Time…

…Space…

…Reality…

…It's more than a linear path.

It's a prism…of endless possibility…where a single choice can branch out into infinite realities creating alternate worlds from the ones you know.

I am a Watcher.

I am your guide through these vast new realities.

Follow me and find the answer to the question…

What if…?

This is the story of how a dream died…

…and like many great changes it began with the best of intentions.

In this corner of the multiverse on a certain Halloween night in the quaint town of Sunnydale, California fantasy was made real. On any other Halloween previous it would be seen as a night of costumes and candy by the humans while being a reason to stay indoors for the supernatural citizens. In this instance though a devotee of chaos and the Roman god janus took it as an opportunity for some amusement. Opening a costume store Ethan Rayne sold specially enchanted costumes to the people of Sunnydale for the purpose of showing them another side to the phrase 'be careful what you wish for'.

With the performing of a ritual everyone who'd bought anything from the store was magically transformed into whoever or whatever they were pretending to be. Monsters of fiction, icons of history and just about every resident of pop culture imaginable for one special night became real if only in a limited capacity. In other realities a young man became a soldier for the night, a blonde Slayer found out that being a noblewoman wasn't all it was cracked up to be and many other interesting transformations. In the majority of those realities the lingering effects of the chaos spell were few and often limited to just a few people.

In this reality however one choice, one act of chance and a defiance of probability changed everything.

In most realities Elizabeth 'Buffy' Summers took up the cause of trying to bring her friend Willow out of her shell in order to attract the romantic affections of one Xander Harris. While hindered by standard ghost costume the night would proceed with the young academic walking around Sunnydale a ghost clad in some of the most alluring clothes Buffy had. By the end of the night in those realities the only lingering effect young Miss Rosenberg needed to worry about was an enhanced spiritual aspect beyond what she normally had.

In this reality however the trip to Ethan's Costume Shop yielded different results and all because Mister Rayne chanced upon a shipment of costumes that otherwise would've never crossed his path. As a result of this some costumes that his store would've had went elsewhere and new options were made available to the trick or treaters of Sunnydale. Instead of the ghost costume she would've chosen she spied something more likely to tap into her best friend's inner geek.

She chose the costume of one Wanda Maximoff the Scarlet Witch.

Buffy Summers had been reluctant until the store owner had shown them a 'concept drawing' he had acquired from a 'friend' in the 'business. It showed a variation of the costume that hung on the mannequin possessing some gypsy accessories in key spots and Rayne pointed out that parts of the costume they'd chosen could be removed for customization purposes. Intrigued by this possibility Buffy was won over and so things began to diverge for in choosing the costume of a fictional superhero others chose to follow this example.

However it was this variation of the Scarlet Witch that would prove to leave the most lasting of mark's on this universe's Earth. For instead of placing the mind and powers of just any Scarlet Witch into Miss Rosenberg's body a very specific one took up residence. This Wanda Maximoff belonged to the core reality referred to by some as Earth-616 and had returned from a bubble reality created by the son of Reed Richards. Wielding formidable new powers that seemed capable of manipulating reality around her both consciously as well as subconsciously leading to events that would shake how she saw the world.

Awakening in Miss Rosenberg's body Wanda found herself in a world quite different from the one she knew and the more she sought answers the more her compassion pulled at her. This was a world where the heroes were few, the threats many and the end of the world came almost every year. She wanted to return home much like the other beings who'd been brought here by the chaos spell but she was also an Avenger. As such how could she leave without trying to make this universe better than how she'd found it.

If she had been in her native universe there would've been a limit to what she could do and her efforts would have reached no further than the edges of Sunnydale. However due to the fact that she had been brought here by chaos to create chaos and the spell itself defied conventional probability her efforts were magnified beyond what she'd intended. By acting at that precise moment and tapping into a power that Wanda did not know she possessed the changes meant to remain local instead went…

…GLOBAL.

A wave of probability and chaos was unleashed from the Wanda possessing Willow Rosenberg that washed over the world but its effects were more than skin deep. With every sentient being it came into contact with a seed was planted with them and every child they sired would gain a seed of their own. By the time the plug was pulled on the chaos spell the change had been done and could not be undone even by those charged with maintaining a cosmic balance.

The ones known to others as The Powers That Be were dumbfounded by what had just happened but more than that they could perceive the danger that could rise in the years to come. While it had been the intention of of Wanda Maximoff to birth a legion of heroes to beat back the darkness the energy wave was not nearly so selective. The wave did nothing to evaluate the character or soul of the sentient being it placed a seed into but rather it merely judged if the mind was evolved enough to control what would come from the seed. More than that the human race was not the only sentient species to call Earth home leading to the possibility of the manifestation of villains as well as heroes.

In response to this the Powers assembled a team of heroes to act as first responders whenever a sentient first manifested their new abilities. This was possible due to the fact that for reasons unknown those closer to the epicentre of the wave developed their abilities sooner than those who were further away. More than that the ones they chose were gifted with abilities nearly identical to those belonging to whoever they had dressed up as. This granted the Powers some control over who would receive their backing and by using their limited ability to perceive the multiverse they were able to bring together the ideal combination of heroes.

This proved prudent for in the years to come people with powers and strength from all points of the spectrum of gifts began to manifest one after another. The world was shaken by the emergence of beings and abilities that had thus far remained restricted to the realm of fiction but for a time awe as well as fascination dominated the thoughts of many.

But it did not last.

For every person with a power who simply went about their lives as usual or tried to better the world three or more saw an opportunity to claim all that they desired…by force.

People motivated by greed, hate, anger or simply the love of destruction began to emerge and it was against these people that the team assembled by the Powers were dispatched. It was a smoother transition than one might expect but that was likely due to the lingering memories of those whose powers they had inherited. With every mission though the team honed their talents as well as their ability to use them in combination when a solo effort proved insufficient. Had it continued this way it would've given the people of the world hope and a belief that the changes occurring need not be feared.

Sadly an organization with a knack for playing the long game and manipulating things from behind the scenes chose to shift their position from observation to action. With the emergence of powered beings across the planet new possibilities opened up for the law firm known as Wolfram & Hart. Up until then it had been their way to stay behind the veil of obscurity that kept most humans from realizing that the supernatural actually existed. Using their occupations as lawyers and their connections to various unholy individuals they worked to control the beginning, middle and end of a coming apocalypse to favour them in the end. The proliferation of powers had come as a surprise to them but instead of taking immediate action they had observed, evaluated and when possible experimented on those who wouldn't be missed. It was through this work that a plan did form and when the time was right they put it into motion.

For if there was one thing that could poison hope and darken the belief in a better future it was fear, prejudice and hatred.

Using those under their control and manipulating those not directly affiliated with the law firm W launched separated but secretly connected attacks worldwide. Targets as well as the ones who carried out the attacks were chosen to inspire terror in the general populace, the lives lost meant to plant the torch of hatred within the survivors and through the media prejudice against powered beings was fostered. Even the team that had been assembled to counter the malicious power wielders came under fire either for not doing more than they had or being accused of secretly working with the attackers in order to 'play at being the hero'.

It all came to a head when one group of malicious power users thought it would be a good idea to raid a nuclear missile silo for the purpose of blackmailing the world. Their demands as well as their threats were fairly typical: give us everything on our shopping list or we nuke as many places as we have missiles. It threw the world into chaos with some nations advocating firing their own nukes at the silo occupied by the 'villains' while others took this as a sign that stronger legislated restrictions needed to be placed on the powered population.

In an effort to head this off at the pass the team assembled by the Powers chose to act on their own intent on infiltrating the missile silo and taking down the bad guys. With the skills and memories of their metaphorical predecessors they hammered together a plan while equipping themselves with everything they thought they would need. It was a good plan that took full advantage of each members strengths while covering for the weaknesses that all the heroes had. Thus once they were ready they left their base of operations full of determination and courage like the fictional heroes they'd grown up watching.

It should've worked.

No tactician or strategist on the planet would've been able to find fault with the plan the team had conjured up.

Yet…even when it seems like the good guys will win…they can still wind up losing.

Horribly.

For Wolfram & Hart had not only planned the blackmailing scheme they had also used the data gathered on the team to anticipate their every move. Some of the elite of their think tank of data crunchers had analyzed, extrapolated and deduced how the 'heroes' would handle the situation months before it actually occurred. That was how beneath the cliche veneer of the malicious power users trope was a plan to ensure that not only would the heroes fail while dying in the process but it would enable the final phase of their plans to emerge.

Against all common sense and unbeknownst to the team of heroes the events around and within the silo suddenly became televised the world over. A hacker by the alias Eye C Yu claimed responsibility declaring a need for transparency as well as public scrutiny of so-called heroes in the interests of accountability. As a result the world got to see the arrival of the heroes, witnessed them work their way into the silo knocking out villains as they went…

…and then it all went to hell.

Somehow the leader of the blackmail group learned of the heroes before they could get to him and in a fit of manic fury retaliated. While he was unable to launch the missiles at specific targets an option was programmed into the silo's computers that was almost as good. As a defense against an enemy force trying to seize the silo a program was available to be activated to launch the missiles only to detonate them at a specific altitude. It would be an explosion that would release a potent EMP that was intended to disable the electronic equipment of the enemy force throwing them into confusion and allowing outside forces to take them down.

In this case though the leader of the blackmailers chose to launch ALL the missiles and have them detonate so as to unleash an EMP that blacked out a large portion of the country's coastal cities. Without power hospitals could not tend to their patients as well as they had before resulting in hundreds of deaths. Computers not shielded against the effects of an EMP fried causing companies, the government and countless citizens to lose everything not also present on hard copies like books. Food and medicine that needed to be kept at certain temperatures in order to remain safe for the people to use spoiled.

The damage was catastrophic.

It was then that the pawns of W pounced immediately seizing control of the media and influencing world governments into believing the 'heroes' were to blame. From a purely factual standpoint and examining the footage this was obviously not the case but no one was thinking rationally after the nukes detonated. People were afraid and angry thus when someone was presented to them to blame their misfortune on they latched onto the idea with barely a thought.

Almost overnight government task forces were born to hunt the heroes down either to eliminate them or apprehend them to 'face justice'. Some members of the upper class and nobility even put their money where their mouths were by offering a VERY tempting bounty for whoever could do the most to bring the heroes down. Needless to say the number of safe havens for the team to hide and rest shrank substantially with forged papers as well as other methods of concealing themselves becoming necessary. The team did the best they could to stick to the path they had chosen and still appeared from time to time to counter the acts of those who chose to abuse their abilities.

However each time they did so their window for escaping became narrower and narrower.

Until finally they were lured out into the open using bait they couldn't bring themselves to ignore even if it was obvious the whole thing was a trap. Thriving in the face of adversity and coming out on top in spite of the odds was a staple of being a hero though. They fought, they protected, they rescued and did what they could to watch each others backs as best they could.

Sadly by the end of the day every news feed on the planet reported the same thing.

All the heroes had been killed resisting arrest.

What followed was a movement with branches across the globe insisting that all people exhibiting a superhuman ability be registered both with their government as well as with the United Nations. The registration files would be as comprehensive as possible in order to leave nothing to chance and should the person possess a power with the potential to aid in the committing of a crime they would have a chip implanted to monitor them. At any time anywhere on the planet they could be found and some later models of the chips even let the monitoring services know when the person was using their special ability. Even those without a hint of criminal thinking were affected since they soon found themselves shuffled away from places vulnerable to their gift. Oh an effort was made to find them alternative employment if they lost their job or a new home if they could no longer live in a specific area but the system was hardly perfect.

As for those that tried to protest or worse use their ability to fight back they quickly found themselves suppressed, arrested and all too often imprisoned. For some it was simply 'relocation camps' in the case of those who broke no law but still went against government policy or tried to stir up dissent. For those that did break the laws or tried to fight back they were quickly sent to newly christened ultra max prisons where all measures would be taken to ensure they would never leave unless permitted to by the attached government.

On the surface these actions restored peace to the world despite the sacrifices needing to be made by the powered few.

People began to feel safe agin.

If they only knew the truth.

---

Sonoita, Arizona, America

Relocation District Fifteen

Ten Years After the Death of Heroes

"Attention: All G class residents are reminded to report to the scanning chamber before leaving work. Failure to comply with federal safety regulations will result in stiff penalties."

"And so ends another day…" sighed a young dark haired young woman as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

To be honest one day was like many that'd come before it and her feelings remained unchanged. Thus she began cleaning up her work station before taking her equipment to the quartermaster to be cleaned and stored for the next day. From there she made her way to the building with the scanning chamber just as she had been doing for years not interested in getting a visit from the Inspector Corps. While only a minor amount of them were complete jerks none of them treated those within the relocation district with much respect. Most of the time they just did their jobs and left not wanting to spend any more time than necessary in the district but if you broke serious rules they got seriously unpleasant.

She hadn't witnessed anyone being taken by them but everyone had heard the stories of those who had and how they'd never been seen again.

By the time she got to the building there was already a decent lineup of workers waiting for their turn so that they could return to their homes. The purpose of the scans according to press conference held the day before they were officially put to use was to measure a person's C-Wave emissions. Measuring them allowed the auditors to determine if your 'condition' had worsened to the point where you needed to be relocated to a different district with higher security. Most places had twenty relocation districts where the higher the number the less security was in place and the fewer restrictions were placed on the residents. Depending on the severity of your 'condition' and how it manifested you were either placed in the lightest security district or if your luck was VERY bad you were sent to districts one through five. Only those with the most severe 'conditions' or with very dangerous manifestations were sent one of those five relocation districts where the emphasis was more on containing those people.

She didn't know what went on inside those districts nor did she want to know.

No one did.

"Resident 11504 step forward." The auditor said in an only somewhat bored tone of voice.

With only the usual hesitation she entered the chamber and winced as the door shut and sealed behind her. Bracing herself for the unpleasant feeling that always came with the scan she did her best not to let her discomfort show. It was a small thing but these sorts of things were the only way a resident of a relocation district could stand up to the administration without incurring penalties. As the blue light flowed over her body she could feel the energy reaction to that which flowed within her veins and it was not a pleasing sensation. The closest she could come to describing it would be something plucking every inch of her nervous system like it was like a string based musical instrument. It started out as though someone was lightly strumming a few chords but eventually built up to heavy metal guitarist enthusiastically performing for a crowd.

She never quite felt as though she would pass out from the sensation and it was low enough that she could force herself not to show her discomfort but she was stubborn.

All in all the scan only took three minutes to complete and just as before the indicator lit up green indicating no anomalous changes since the last scan. If the indicator lit up yellow that indicated some discrepancies that bore further evaluation but didn't often lead to anything troublesome. It was only when the indicator went red that whoever was in the chamber was sealed inside before being subjected scan energy of an intensity strong enough to render them unconscious.

She counted herself lucky that she'd never once caused the indicator to turn any colour other than green.

When the door opened she didn't hesitate to leave it and began to head for the door when a thump sound caused her to turn around. Turning around to see what it was she expression tightened when she saw Anthony Hendrick down on one knee looking to be quite exhausted. This was not a new thing because of all the residents of District Fifteen Anthony was considered the weakest and barely able to meet his quota of work. No one knew the specifics but most figured the man had some sort of medical condition along with his special 'condition' that made him so thin and lacking in strength. More than that though no one really knew since Hendrick never talked to anyone and ignored anyone trying to start up a casual conversation with him. The only people he seemed to respond to were the people in charge of the district but that was only smart since ignoring them would get you in a world of trouble.

"Get up Hendrick!" The auditor snapped showing some irritation, "I've got places to be and I'm not gonna get held up by you AGAIN."

"Yes…sir…" Anthony said managing to get back to his feet with only a little sway before entering the chamber.

Seeing some of the looks of those who'd been behind Hendrick in the line she could see the derisive and dismissive look on their faces. No doubt they thought of Anthony as the poster boy for the system successfully grinding those with the 'condition' underfoot. He never spoke up whenever the district personnel did something mean to him, never questioned any of the decisions they made even if those choices made things harder for him and always had a look of surrender on his face. She'd often wondered what could have happened to turn a normal person with inner strength and self-respect into someone with so little will of their own. There were some in the district work areas that lent the man a hand when they could especially if it looked like he might not meet his daily quota but most just ignored him.

For a moment she thought about staying and watching to see if the tired man would be able to get out of the chamber and leave but in the end dismissed the idea. If she stuck around too long she'd just get shooed out by the staff and draw some attention to herself. Things tended to go much better for a person with the 'condition' if they got overlooked by those who called the shots. People who got noticed or drew too much attention to themselves tended to get smacked with bullshit infractions and punished.

The whole 'the nail that sticks out gets hammered down' sort of thing.

Walking out of the building she began to make her way to the exit of the work area of the district hoping that Sam at least tried to clean the place up. They might not get in trouble for having a messy apartment but that didn't mean she wanted to live in one.

---

District Security Building

A Few Hours Later

"Don't know why they let that wimpy freak stick around." Faraday said with irritation walking to the exit beyond which was the parking lot, "Should just put him out of his misery."

"That's not our job Farady." She said looking forward to a warm meal and a warmer bed, "We're here to keep an eye on them and make sure they don't try anything."

"Do you know how many freaks are in this district? Over fifteen hundred." He said derisively as they entered an open air, "You really think anybody'll notice if one of them doesn't show up for work one day? You think they'll care?"

"Doesn't matter if they do or not. It's not in our job description to decide which one of these people has an 'accident' because we feel like it." She said seeing her Chevrolet Corvette parked a short distance away, "You might not care but do you really want to roll the dice and see if someone higher up the ladder cares?"

"You worry too much Rushman." He replied dismissively, "If anything they'd probably give you a bonus on the next pay check for lowering the food budget for this place. Do it enough times and you'd be looking for a sweet payday."

"And you're all about the money aren't you Faraday?" She asked rolling her eyes at the man.

"Of course! I'm not here 'cause I care about these freaks." Faraday replied as though it was common sense, "I'm here to make some serious bank and retire to Santa Monica. If that can happen sooner rather than later cause a couple of these freaks accidentally fall down some stairs then I'm all for it."

"See you tomorrow Faraday." She said as they split up to head to their respective cars.

"Later Rushman." He said heading over to his jeep.

With that she threw her bag into the passenger seat of her car before getting in, starting the engine and driving off out of the parking lot. Setting aside Faraday's prejudice towards the residents of the district he wasn't that bad a man but a day almost never passed without him making some sort of crass comment about the people they were assigned to watch. How many he made tended to depend on how eventful a day he'd had and how much trouble the residents made for him. She'd been dealing with him for the last year and a half and had developed a system for dealing with his rougher days.

She knew the route home almost like the back of her hand so she didn't need much focus to drive the car and so she used the rest of her mind to take in the passing scenery. Outside of the district things looked almost normal with nothing really standing out but that was only if you didn't know your history. If you didn't know your history all you'd see were the various billboards decorating either side of the hallway advertising businesses along with the movers and shakers in the area. To someone who knew history however you could see beneath the surface to see the subtle lessons they were each trying to impart.

What lessons?

C-Subjects were a threat and needed to be reported to the authorities.

C-Subjects were dangerous to both you and the world.

Obey the laws and the government who makes them.

You are being watched so behave yourself.

Naturally they didn't say this bluntly but rather each lesson was phrased using less alarming words and twisted to make it sound like a good idea.

It was the same with newspapers, magazines, TV shows and even movies so there was little chance of getting away from the bombardment of messages. You could always read a book written before C-Day as they called the initial event but about five years ago talk began to make the rounds of congress and the house about confiscating certain books. The reason many of the supporters gave was that pre-C-Day books could potentially confuse readers and cause them to underestimate the danger of C-subjects. This might result in the death of an individual or a large number of people depending on what the C-subject could do. Thus any book of any kind that was found to send a message that put existing policies, laws and accepted thinking in a bad light would be confiscated then destroyed save for one copy. Those unique copies would then be stored in a secure vault at the national archives for posterity's sake.

It was much the same in other countries across the world with the only difference being to what degree the country was willing to go to protect its citizens. Some did try at peaceful coexistence between the C-Subjects and ordinary humans with only mild protective policies put into place to deal with troublemakers. Other more extreme regimes made it law that upon positive identification as a C-Subject they were to be captured then executed with the ones doing the capturing being permitted to use lethal force.

America while considered moderate in its views on C-subjects many believed all it'd take would be one event of significance for the government to make the leap to aggressive.

It was this possibility that served as one of many deterrents to C-subjects across the country making them back down even if provoked. As bad as life in America was for those with the 'condition' there were real life examples in world that it could get a great deal worse if those in power were sufficiently motivated to make it worse. Even in the case of the few hotheads they were surrounded by enough people who weren't so bold or reckless that they'd be stopped in their tracks before getting too far. Either they'd be stopped by those afraid of a turn for the worse or the fearful would alert the authorities who would then cut off the troublemakers at the knees before arresting them.

Pulling into the parking lot of her apartment complex she beeped her car's security system before entering her building and heading to the elevator. It wasn't as fancy as some of the apartment buildings in the city but it was the most she could afford on her salary and still pay the other bills a civilian had to pay during the course of a month. Taking a moment to check her mailbox, tossing the junk mail into the trash bin, she soon entered the elevator before hitting the button for her floor. From what she could see she had a few letters from the departments responsible for the running of the district, one from her bank and another from her grandmother down in Florida.

Nothing immediately important but she'd deal with it over the next few days.

With a practiced movement she unlocked the door to her apartment, opened the door, entered, closed the door behind her and locked it again. She was all of three steps into her apartment before her instincts told her that something was off but she didn't stop moving or change how she moved following her usual routine save for one alteration. Once in the kitchen she set down her reusable lunch bag, put her water bottle next to it and then casually pulled a Remington 700 from the bread box. Judging where in the apartment an intruder might be hiding she whirled around taking aim as she did so…

…only to find someone sitting on her couch that wasn't a threat.

"Nice to see that being undercover hasn't dulled your edge Miss 'Rushman'." Stated a man she knew all too well.

"Did you pull this surprise visit just to test that?" She asked putting the safety back on her gun before tucking it into the back of her pants.

"No. I pulled this surprise visit to tel you that your assignment is almost over." The man replied with a face that was as usual completely unreadable.

However knowing the man like she did after years of working together her mind was able to put together what he most likely meant by that.

"When?" She asked knowing she'd have some work to do if she was right.

"Day after tomorrow." The man replied promptly, "It'll take that long for Mister Costello and his team to make it here."

"And if they're late?" She asked given that such a development was always a possibility in their line of work.

"Then it'll be me and you going in to accomplish the mission." He replied eye narrowing a bit to indicate how hard this Plan B would be.

"Are you sure about this?" She asked just wanting verification rather than showing doubt, "Is it really THAT important that this mission succeeds?"

"The single biggest advantage the politicians have is that they've convinced the public that their narrative is the truth. Most people don't have access or enough understanding of the data to see that they're being lied to." He replied not showing even a slight reduction in resolve, "So we need to let actions and spectacle do the talking for us."

She couldn't disagree with that.

As much as some might say that the right move would be to find the truth, lay it out for everyone to see and then expect them to do the right thing reality was not that easy. There was a reason why those who put forth their truth first had an easier time of it than those who came later and tried to convince people of a new truth that contradicts the first truth. Unless you provided the public with dramatic and undeniable proof you were often written off by your listeners especially if your truth was less than pleasant to hear.

Still it was their hope that the truth would set a lot of people free or at least get the ball rolling in the desired direction.

~I just hope that 'Mister Costello' does manage to get here in two days.~ She thought before sitting down in her favourite chair to catch up with her friend, ~There's a reason why there hadn't been a district break out in over five years.~

---

District Residential Building Ninety-Seven

"NO!" Exclaimed a grief stricken voice breaking the silence of the night.

Panting breath followed even as frantic eyes darted about the room for awhile before reality set in. Little by little the breathing came under control and the eyes settled into the appearance of something barely lit with the light of the soul. With movements more akin to what one would expect of a smoothly tuned piece of animatronics the covers were thrown off before the occupant got out of the bed. Walking at a sedate pace to the bathroom it was only by scrutinizing the flesh that one could be convinced that what they were looking at was a living human being. However just as the man was close enough to look at himself in the bathroom mirror both he as well as others could tell that this guy was not well.

If it wasn't the muscles which were smaller than someone his apparent age and size possessed it was the unhealthy pallor of the skin that at the moment was coated in sweat.

However what best showed that the man was not well was the look in his eyes.

Anyone who looked this man in the eye and truly tried to ponder what might be going on behind them would be shocked to find the sheer desolation within. Indeed were they to see something identical to it in another they would be put on suicide watch for sure but this state had existed within the man for years. Some would deem this to be impossible but they did not know of the one thing that kept the man from taking his own life and insisted that he continue to endure.

Splashing his face with cold water he then stripped out of his sweat soaked pyjamas before entering the shower to cleanse himself. This was done less out of a desire to be sweat free and more because he remembered someone once telling him that it would be bad for his health. As he went through the motions of cleaning himself no real thoughts passed through his mind like other people usually did. All that existed in his mind was a sea of darkness where at most one might pick up on something moving beneath the surface like mysterious sea serpent.

After the shower was done and the man clad himself in new pyjamas he mechanically changed the sheets on his bed. However when the time came to get back into it the man paused for a full five minutes before the hesitation left him. Climbing into bed he pulled the covers up and attempted to return to slumberland but sadly while his heart rate had returned to normal the memory of the nightmare was not so quick to leave his mind. Even as hours passed sleep only came when fatigue outweighed the ominous fear of the imagery that'd woken him up in the first place did he finally fall asleep.

As such he never saw the wavering form standing in the shadows of the room with a gaze firmly locked on the man in the bed.

---

C.R.C.D Headquarters

Phoenix, Arizona

The Next Day

"Well I'm here Waller so what's this meeting all about?" The man with the greying hair asked as the door closed behind him.

"I apologize for interrupting your re-election campaign Senator but recent discoveries have led us to believe that an attack by 'them' is imminent." Waller replied with polite but not necessarily honest regret.

"Them?" Kelly asked not quite catching on.

"The group that President Ellis made it illegal to specifically name or voice their agenda." Waller clarified causing the light of recognition to show up in the Senator's eyes.

"I would've thought that 'they' would be still recovering from the beating they got at Geffen-Meyer in Manhattan." The senator said with a bit of smugness.

"We might've managed to arrest some of them and send the rest packing but they're a stubborn bunch." Waller said with mild respect, "As long as they've got the means and the motive they'll never give up. Then of course there's the 'anomaly' that helped them get away."

"Yes…THAT. Has there been any news from our 'specialists' on what that was?" The senator asked his smugness turning into a frown, "It'd be one thing if the phenomena was something they could only use sparingly for emergencies. If it turns out to be something they can use whenever they want it could be a serious turning point in this conflict."

"The 'specialists' are still testing for some possibilities but so far the anomaly doesn't match anything they have on file." Waller replied frowning as well, "There are some partial matches but I don't think we want to act based on a handful of 'maybes'."

"Definitely not. The I.C.O is already working hard to explain away the incident at Geffen-Meyer as an industrial accident." The senator said remembering the email he'd received from the director of the I.C.O, "If we're going to keep the narrative going the way we want it we can't let them get too many wins on us or our supremacy will be doubted."

While it was true that the I.C.O was well funded and staffed to do their job to eliminate things that contradicted the desired narrative while also fabricating feasible cover stories they weren't perfect. Not all of 'them' had been around since the narrative had been firmly snapped in place and if the I.C.O was perfect no new recruits would've joined 'them' save loose ends from various assignments. If 'they' had somehow gained the ability to induce the 'anomaly' whenever 'they' needed to it would be almost impossible to control what the public viewed as 'the truth'.

"Don't worry senator. The same specialists that're trying to figure out what the anomaly is are also listing ways to block it or make it hazardous to use." Waller said not sounding worried, "With every possibility they cross off as wrong they can refine the list even more until we can effectively make this anomaly useless to 'them'."

"And until it's useless?" The senator asked not willing to just blindly accept the reassurances.

"Until then we'll be assigning extra Hunters to the top fifty targets that 'they' will likely target across the country with transportation on standby to relocate them swiftly as needed. There's even talk of revising Prime Hunter protocols to let them step onto the battlefield." Waller replied showing the first flicker of concern.

"And the attack you're worried about?" The senator asked moving the discussion away from talk of the Prime Hunters.

"According to the intel we've discovered all signs point the attack happening in your backyard which is why I'm giving you the heads up." Waller replied making the shift all too easily, "The intel doesn't give us a complete list of assets 'they' will plan on using in the attack but we do know they'll be using some of their more valuable assets to succeed. That's why I'm handling this personally."

"How flashy do you expect this to be? Do you have a location or are you just pencilling in 'Arizona' until the attack actually happens?" The senator asked with concern since depending on the answers he could be in for quite a bit of work for him.

"There are only three locations in the state of Arizona that would be of interest to them. The manufacturing facility in Scottsdale, the re-education school in Glendale and relocation district fifteen in Sonoita." Waller replied taking three pieces of paper out of a folder before placing them in front of the senator, "We need your signature to authorize deployment of Hunters and triple S teams to each location."

"Won't that be a tad obvious?" The senator asked while he read the documents line by line, "Hunters and Triple S teams aren't exactly subtle. Even if I issue the evacuation order for the surrounding areas 'they' will be able to spot them from a ways off. Might be enough to scare them off."

"All of them will be equipped with thermoptic camouflage units that will render them invisible to 'them' especially if the attack happens at sundown as we expect it to." Waller replied not sounding worried, "So long as no one jumps the gun before 'they' are in the kill box it should be one helluva surprise."

"Okay but this better pay off Waller." The senator said using a pen to sign the papers, "It costs money to deploy Hunters and Triple S teams to say nothing of how an unscheduled evacuation is going to agitate the public. If all this goes down without some dead bodies or some live ones in chains we're both going to have to do some fast talking to the Oversight Committee."

"It will senator." Waller said picking up the signed pieces of paper, "The day I let a group of 'them' get the better of me is the day I turn in my resignation."

With that Waller left with purpose in her stride while the senator heading back to his office to begin preparing for the evacuation for the areas around the potential targets. If both of them did their job well the American public would never know of the conflict fought tomorrow at sundown and the American government would have new prisoners.

Prisoners or…something far less lively.

---

Relocation District Fifteen

"Attention: All G class residents are reminded to report to the scanning chamber before leaving work. Failure to comply with federal safety regulations will result in stiff penalties."

She sighed at the usual announcement but it was more habit than anything with real feeling behind it. She'd been here for most of her life after she'd been outed as a C-Subject along with other members of her family and once she was old enough to work she'd spent forty hours a week doing a job over and over again. It was way repetitive and there were hardly any differences from one day to the next save perhaps for some new piece of equipment or a slight variation in the design of what she'd been asked to make.

Still it wasn't like there was anything she could do about it that'd improve things.

Now if she wanted to make things worse all she needed to do was do a lousy job, mouth off to the district staff and try to start a revolt.

Fortunately she had a higher IQ than her brother and a very healthy survival instinct.

Heading for the building with the scanning chamber like everyone else she wondered if Sam had managed to impress his supervisor. While she'd never tell him outright she honestly thought her brother was pretty smart and in a perfect world would've been able to make a good life for himself. In reality though the most she or her brother would ever accomplish would be becoming the top workers in the district and convincing the people running it to send a few perks their way. It was more or less just the crumbs from the man or woman's table as well as incentive to keep making them look good but it was better than what most C-Subjects had.

Entering the room she was mildly surprised to see that Mister Hendrick had actually gotten to the building sooner than her and thus was ahead of her in the line. She just chalked it up to luck or chance though since depending on the list of tasks each of them had and the distance they'd been from the scanning chamber building who arrived first could change from time to time. Stepping into line with the rest of them she waited as the line so she could be scanned and get home in time to cook supper for her and her brother.

It was technically Sam's turn but after his last disaster of a meal she wasn't willing to suffer through another attempt until Holly got further in the cooking lessons.

Thankfully this time Hendrick didn't have trouble getting into the chamber for the scan so things went smoothly for a change. About ten minutes later it was her turn and so she entered the chamber before bracing herself for the unpleasant sensations and feelings the scan always gave her while keeping her expression stone faced. It was always unpleasant but when the scanning field manifested she noticed something that had her puzzled.

In every scan she'd ever been in the colour of the scanning beam had always been lime green reminding her of the videos she'd seen involving laser light shows at a concert.

However the pane of light rising towards her feet was closer to four leaf clover green in colour.

Sadly she didn't have time to logic out what the difference could mean because the second it made contact with her feet she found herself to be woefully unprepared. After so many previous scans she'd gained an accurate understanding how undergoing a scan felt and had felt her way through to creating a valid way of enduring it. She had been ready the second the door to the chamber had been shut but this…

…was like going from a hot shower to having a bottomless bucket of scalding water introduced to her skin at a rate of an inch every two seconds.

The pain didn't fade after the light was no longer in contact with that part of her or at least it didn't feel like it but she was noticeably distracted so she could've been wrong. She could feel her arms braced against the glass of the chamber, she knew that her efforts to conceal her pain were circling the drain. There was no doubt that everyone in the room could see from the expression on her face that she was in agony and only her sheer stubbornness was keeping her from emitting more than grunts at the moment.

She could do this.

She COULD do this!

This belief only lasted until the scanning light reached her chest and when it did she could hold in the agony no longer.

"AAGGGHHHH!" She screamed and using instinct more than conscious choice she tried to expel the pain from her body with every fibre of her being.

KKRRSSHH!

SSLLAAMM!

She wasn't sure how quickly she came back to herself and recovered enough from the agony to become aware of her surroundings again but when she did comprehension kinda became a problem.

Why?

Well for one thing there was this unstable looking curved wall of energy floating a few feet in front of her looking whole for a second or three before a hole would appear before sealing itself back up. For another she could see clear as day that something that should've been impossible was happening right before her: growing parts of her arms were vanishing from sight. They weren't being destroyed because she'd seen a similar effect before but not anywhere near this level. The reason why she was even in the district in the first place: her 'condition' had been for the last two decades had been the ability to turn one foot of her body invisible.

JUST one foot.

No matter how hard she'd tried on her own, no matter what help her family had given her and no matter what tests people affiliated with the districts performed she'd never been able to turn more than a foot of herself invisible. It'd been enough for them to fear her becoming a pickpocket or an untraceable killer resulting in her becoming a resident of District Fifteen.

So…how…HOW had this happened?!

"Lockdown team to the scanning chamber!" The operator exclaimed into the intercom built into his console, "We have a blossom! Repeat! We have a blossom event! Level three! Maybe level four!"

Blossom event? What was that? She'd never heard of or seen something like this happening so she had no idea what it was. However if something called a 'Lockdown Team' was being called in she was pretty sure she was in serious trouble.

~Am I…am I going to get…relocated?~ She thought recalling stories of how district residents sometimes were picked up out of nowhere by district personnel.

No reasons were given according to the stories but most believed it was because somehow the 'conditions' of the residents had gotten worse. If so then the 'threat' they posed had also increased substantially and thus it'd been 'logical' to send them to a higher security district 'for the good of the many'. It wasn't something that happened every year and it hadn't happened the entire time she'd been at District Fifteen but even with super regulated control and monitoring stories still got around one way or another.

If…if her…her powers had changed and become more powerful then she had every reason to expect relocation.

~I…I can't let that happen!~ She thought with a will that threw her fear to the side, ~I CAN'T!~

With nothing driving her but a frantic purpose she bolted from the remains of the chamber heading for the exit with a clear destination in mind. The guards stationed there began to raise their weapons to stop her but with emotion as well as resolve she threw her arms towards them trying to replicate that which destroyed the chamber. It was chaotic, it was half-assed, but when the guards were knocked into the wall she considered it a success forcing the door open and exiting into the open air. It took only a few seconds for her to orient herself before she began to run as fast as she could for the apartment she and her brother called home.

She HAD to get there!

THEY had to get out of there!

SOMEHOW!

They…they were all they had…ever since…that night…

She never wanted to go through something like that again!

---

District Fifteen Security Barracks

Rushman's POV

"ALL OFFICERS ON DECK! SCRAMBLE! SCRAMBLE! WE HAVE A BLOSSOM EVENT SUBJECT LOOSE IN THE DISTRICT! GEAR UP, PURSUE AND CONTAIN IF POSSIBLE! TERMINATE IF NECESSARY!"

"Looks like we're gonna get some action Rushman!" Faraday declared quickly moving for his equipment locker to gear up, "Let's move before someone else steals all the glory!"

She didn't say anything but still moved as was expected of someone in her position getting to her equipment locker before clicking on the gear just as she had many times before. She'd been trained so that in the event of a major emergency she would be able to put on all her gear, sign out a rifle with two types of ammo and begin pursuit in under eight minutes. Thus nine minutes later they were running at a decent pace while listening to the comm-chatter to know where to go as well as give them info they could use to get ahead of the Blossom Subject. Officers from other parts of the District were doing the same making it likely that the pursuit and capture of the subject wouldn't take long. According to the files she'd read most Blossom Subjects got an increase in strength as well as the introduction of a new facet of their power but the control was far from precise. Regardless of the nature of the power it essentially forced the subject to relearn what control they had just above scratch.

In some cases the subject was able to do quite a bit of damage but most of the records she had access to recorded a swift subduing of the person followed by immediate restraining. After that every file listed the Blossom subject as being relocated to a higher security district but no specific location was given. She'd found ways to casually bring the matter up with her supervisor as well as the more senior officers but she either got a tall tale or was politely told 'do not ask'.

No one outside of the job knew much more than that but what they had been able to dig up implied the destination was far from lawful.

She had her suspicions but only her 'visitor' two nights ago probably knew the truth.

Hearing the sounds of combat began to fill the air and considering how long it was lasting she could only presume that the subject was either good at evasion or had a power somewhat effective at defending against the weapons of the officers attacking. They were each armed with weapons that were two to three generations beyond what was available to prison guards prior to the C-Wave. They weren't high tech because such things were expensive and so only elite response teams were given such special weapons but they'd been assured their firearms would be up to the job of subduing District subjects.

She got the feeling that honesty wasn't in the budget for those people.

When she turned the corner she got her first look at the subject and saw a young woman in her mid-twenties with short black hair and oddly bluish-purple eyes. Clad in the usual work clothes for a district resident the girls powers were quickly evident as she moved about employing partial or full invisibility for a time before reappearing. What really explained the trouble the officers already on the scene were having was the semi-visible bubble shaped barrier that sparked on from time to time. Though unstable she saw with her own eyes that it was strong enough to deflect the shots from the rifles and in a few rare cases stop the shot in its tracks seemingly mid-air. It was clear that the young lady wasn't in full control of her enhanced powers and it would likely be this that would eventually lead to her being subdued. Sooner or later a shot would make it past the barrier or the young lady would lose her grip on her invisibility.

With that kept in mind she would do what she could to ensure that this was a successful capture and not allow the other officers to 'accidentally' employ lethal force.

"Distract her while I line up a shot." She said sliding a magazine with tranq rounds into her rifle.

"Better hurry Rushman." Faraday said sounding eager to start shooting, "Don't want one of the others doing your job for you do ya?"

She didn't answer instead choosing to get to a good vantage point before lining up for a shot to the young woman's neck. While it was true that there was no standard amount of tranquilizer that would work on everyone the same way the experts behind her weapon's creation had ensured that anyone hit with a round would either be unconscious or unable to stand.

Or kneel.

Or do much of anything other than breath and drool.

In such a state it wouldn't be hard for them to put restraints on the girl or to administer a sedative to put her asleep.

Spotting a four story building close by she did not hesitate to enter it before making her way to the emergency stairs and climbing all the way to the roof. With no ceasing in the rifle fire she took that as reassuring since it meant that the young woman wasn't dead yet and that she still had a chance to avoid a lethal conclusion. Going down to her stomach near the edge of the roof she raised the scope out of the body of the rifle before looking through it to zero in the best shot. It took some time to adjust the settings on the scope in order to provide the best possible lock on the young woman's neck but once she had everything right she waited for her opening. The openings that were appearing then disappearing manifested seemingly completely at random but she'd been trained to achieve difficult objectives. With every opening she evaluated what she saw, what the young woman was doing and how she was most likely feeling to form theories as to how such factors might affect the force field.

It was one minute later that she had a theory about when an opening would manifest where she needed it to and waited to see if she was right.

Needless to say her years of experience served her well and soon enough her instincts steered her towards the right moment to shoot. Thus when the moment finally arrived she squeezed the trigger and…

BANG!

At a speed too great to be seen by the human eye the tranq round flew from her barrel, crossed the distance, slipped through a hole in the barrier and succeeded in hitting the exposed neck. The drug in the round was quick to take action and the girl dropped to the ground almost instantly but through the scope she could still see signs of consciousness afterwards. It was sluggish and weak but proof that either the dosage had been wrong or the young woman was simply that stubborn. Whatever the case one of the officers closer to the Blossom subject chose to act and slam the butt of his rifle into the young woman's head forcing the young woman into unconsciousness.

~Better get down there before they get any more ideas.~ She thought sliding her rifle onto her back before heading back to the emergency stairs, ~Some of those guys get some pretty sick ideas when they believe no one'll care if it happens to a district resident.~

Ten minutes later she arrived next to the rest of the group and fortunately nothing had happened allowing her to put custom handcuffs and leg shackles onto the young woman. Both were designed to limit the subject's ability to move around and suppress the energy that gave district residents their abilities. She imagined though that the effectiveness of the equipment to do either depended on the subject as well as the potency of their powers.

Once the restraints were on she took a minute to assess the girl's vitals and was internally relieved to find both a strong pulse as well as zero signs of excessive injury.

"Text book pursuit and capture." She said slinging the girl's arm over her shoulder before standing up, "Let's get her to a containment cell and wait for the brass to decide what to do with her."

"What's to decide?" One of the officers asked with some incredulity, "She's a Blossom, she ran and she resisted capture. She's obviously going to get relocated or even better thrown into the Pitt."

The Pitt was a term used to refer to a top of the line prison designed to hold C-Subjects who'd committed crimes severe enough that placement in a district was out of the question. Criminals were kept isolated in their cells with tech custom fitted to each specially designed to nullify any advantages the person's abilities might've normally given them. With reinforced concrete walls and doors a foot thick if not more in the case of prisoners with superhuman strength centred powers escape was deemed impossible. However the men and women in power took things a step further and ensured that even if a prisoner escaped their cell they would face no less than five formidable obstacles before they'd even see the sky never mind anything else.

"Whatever. Let's get going." She said not willing to discuss the matter further.

With that the other officers took up escort positions around her and they all proceeded towards where the containment cells were located. While not as durable, advanced or inescapable as those in The Pitt they would suffice until a decision was made.

Unless something else happened first.

Though it was not the objective of what'd be happening in a few hours she made the decision to see if the girl could be extracted by Mister Costello and his team. Force fields and the ability to turn invisible would be very useful on future missions assuming the young woman could be trained to master her new abilities.

She'd just need to figure out a way to pass this idea onto Costello without giving away her identity as an infiltrator in the process. The boss' plans for her were to work her way up the chain of command until she reached a position that'd have access to top tier information. Once she had that they could begin phase two of the plan which consisted of undermining the entire state of things in the world in various spots until it collapsed in on itself. She'd provide the info and teams like Mister Costello's would carry out the missions ranging from assassinations to sabotage to prison breaks.

Though one thing did puzzle her.

The boss being here in person for tonight's operation was a bit of an oddity.

He was definitely a high value target as far as the current regime was concerned with enough knowledge of the network to allow the enemy to inflict devastating damage.

What could be so important about tonight's mission to bring him here in person?

---

The Central Area of District Fifteen

He didn't know why he chose to stick around instead of going back to his apartment.

He'd been doing it for so long that the could scarcely remember doing anything other than the routine he'd fallen into since arriving at district fifteen. Yet somehow some part of him refused to leave the area until he learned what had happened to the dark haired woman who'd broken out of the building containing the scanning chamber. Though he'd never spoken of it or anything else really to anyone he'd overheard plenty of talk from the other residents about the system they were now trapped in.

In all likelihood the young woman would be relocated to one of the higher security districts and placed under focused observation until it was concluded she wouldn't try to escape. Such places had fewer freedoms, increased restrictions, heightened surveillance of every resident and a lower standard for when the guards were permitted to use lethal force. Likely how swiftly and how easily the young woman was recaptured would be a major factor in deciding which higher security district she wound up being sent too.

~I hope…it's not too bad.~ He thought before a flicker of memory crushed such sentiments within his mind.

He didn't deserve to think such things. Say such things either out loud or in his mind.

All he deserved was to be alone and overlooked.

Forever.

Alone with memories he could not and would not EVER forget.

It was a few minutes later when he spotted movement in the direction that the young woman had escaped in and when he focused his gaze his heart spasmed with phantom pain. The young woman had indeed been captured and restrained but once the group was close enough he could see that the injuries were relatively minor all things considered. It was no secret that many of the officers and guards in the district took liberties with how much force they used to resolve a problem that was presented before them. Some showed restraint while others slipped in a little extra when the chance for such things appeared and some pushed the limits of what the administration would permit even if they shared similar points of view.

From what he could see aside from a few stitches and an ice pack the young woman would be fine.

For now at least.

It was then though that something happened that almost never did without a sizeable amount of reporters or visiting VIPs being present.

District Fifteen Administrator Daniel Wolfe arrived in an expensive looking car and was let out by his driver.

"Director Wolfe!" The guard carrying the young woman exclaimed before coming to attention and saluting, "This is an unexpected honour."

The rest of the guard did likewise knowing the wisdom in showing such a powerful man respect either both earned and desired.

"I'm sure it is. I am here to tell you that there's been a change in plans." Director Wolfe said barely concealing his condescension, "You are to take your prisoner to cell alpha immediately, secure her there and then aid in preparations for tonight."

~Cell alpha!?~ He thought with a stronger ghost of shock managing to hit him than usual.

"Sir…is that…necessary?" The carrying guard asked surprise in her voice, "There hasn't been anyone placed in cell alpha in years. Does she really warrant such action?"

"I realize that cell alpha is normally reserved for the most heinous and dangerous of district residents that cannot safely be relocated but I believe an exception should be made." Director Wolfe replied trying to sound understanding and almost managing, "This young woman destroyed the scanning chamber, fled and resisted being escorted back. The fact that it took so many of you to subdue her is also troubling. If we are to prevent future incidents like this we must make it perfectly clear to the other residents that this sort of behaviour will NOT be permitted without incurring severe penalties. VERY severe penalties.

"As such once preparations are completed I will administer the harshest penalty that is within my power to hand down." Director Wolfe said trying to sound like a wrathful god, "In full view of the other residents as well as sent to every television in the district. By this time tomorrow not a single one of these…people…will ever consider following the young woman's example!"

He cringed at this news and it was not just the result of the disgust he felt at what would be happening tonight but also because at that precise moment a spasm of pain echoed throughout his body. Like a metaphorical cherry bomb going off within him pain spread outwards from a central core setting every one of his nerves on fire. It'd happened before and would almost certainly happen again but he would be ready for it so as to keep others from noticing too much. Stripped of so much the one thing he did his best to ensure no matter what was that he was overlooked by all and dismissed as unimportant.

He could never allow them to take a closer look.

He could never let them discover his secret.

It would imperil the path he had chosen to walk until his dying day.

He REFUSED to let that happen.

---

The Barn of an Abandoned Farm

Several Miles Due North of District Fifteen

"You're late 'Costello'." He said looking at the man wearing shades even though night had fallen.

"Sorry boss but getting around unseen isn't the same here as it is back home." Costello apologized even as the rest of his six man team filed into the barn, "Lot fewer resources and somehow I don't think my credentials'll mean much to the local goose stepping, boot licking thugs in uniform. Plus…I think we might have to consider calling off tonight's op."

"What do you mean?" He asked a little surprised at the recommendation.

He'd known the man before him for years and while not foolishly so the term 'reckless' could be used to describe a few of the brunette's escapades. For him to be recommending retreat implied a development that not even this marksman would consider facing even with his trusted team by his side.

"Spotted Jones in town and he was part of a convoy." Costello replied grimly for reasons that were perfectly understandable.

The only Jones that would have Costello acting like this was Doctor Arthur Jones and that name was attached to quite a few unsavoury projects and operations. Considered to be one of the current regime's top scientists it was a given that wherever Jones went crimes were being committed against humanity or something required on site scientific monitoring. Given the operation that would be moving ahead tonight and the good doctor's proximity his mind was drawing some rather unhappy conclusions.

When the plan for tonight's operation was drawn up he'd done his best alongside Mary Huell to anticipate everything they might come up against. From the number of guards and officers at District Fifteen to the automated defences to nearby enemy resources that might be called in. They'd played with the variables, bounced scenario and counter scenario off of each other, until they were certain that they'd planned for everything.

Before now he'd had every confidence that they could get in, acquire the asset and then get out before the opposition could slam the door on them. It'd be close and there'd be some injuries but both of them came with the job that every member of the network had signed up for. The asset was important enough that all their pain and effort would be worth it and bring them one step closer to achieving their overall objective.

Now? Now he had to consider whether or not the assembled forces could handle one or more teams of Primes being brought to the fight.

The fact that Costello wasn't saying it made him believe that the marksman hadn't seen any evidence to imply, suggest or confirm that Primes were in Arizona. However those abominations would definitely require Jones' presence in order to operate at peak efficiency and not slip their cybernetic leashes. The fact that they could be here instead of just a few Hunters that he'd been anticipating had him worried about just what the enemy knew that would justify deploying a few Primes.

Too many questions and not nearly enough answers.

Reason enough to call off the op.

Still…

"No. The operation will proceed as planned." He said firming up his resolve, "The gains make the risk worth it."

"What do you mean? This is just our usual break out and recruitment op right?" Costello asked looking a little confused before taking on a discerning expression, "Right?"

"It is a breakout and recruitment mission but it's not routine by any stretch." He replied deciding to divulge a bit more in order to get Costello fully on board, "Intel I've been piecing together myself points to a high value asset being inside District Fifteen. Delphi sector also believes the asset is there."

"Who?" Costello asked looking more focused and serious.

Reaching into his jacket pocket he took out a single photograph of the asset and that had been hard enough to acquire given how the current regime was controlling information. Setting it on the table facing Costello he watched as understanding popped onto the man's face in less than a second followed by shock.

"But…they're all dead." Costello said in a tone that was a mix of hope and disbelief.

"Or so the world was led to believe." He said putting his own opinion forth, "Back then every government and agency was still trying to understand how he and his team could do what they did. Whatever they did the night of the ambush might've been their best effort but that doesn't mean it was completely successful."

"So…what? He's been in District Fifteen all this time?" Costello asked warming up to the new possibility and probably running ideas through his head, "If he survived the ambush wouldn't he have kept on fighting and joined up with us later?"

"We don't know all the details of what happened that night Costello." He replied a grim expression falling on his face, "All I know for sure is that after combing through every byte of data we've managed to dig up since we joined the fight I only ever got a lead on him. If the rest of his team did die and he saw it happen…that's a fuckin' lot of trauma and grief to get over."

Costello didn't say anything but the look on the man's face made it clear he could sympathize with their target somewhat.

They'd all lost people in the past and had the misfortune of some of those people being quite close as far as relationships went. If the rest of the asset's team died and he was the only one to survive it…he had a feeling survivor's guilt didn't even begin to cover the problem.

Still…they needed him.

Now more than ever.

Like usual he compartmentalized what he told the others keeping the truly volatile stuff on a need to know basis with him holding the big book of secrets himself. True there were a lot of blanks that needed to be filled still but based on what he could make out through deductive reasoning and collected evidence all pointed to them approaching a point of no return.

Either they retrieved the asset and convinced him to suit up one more time or they spent the next five years fighting a losing battle until they just couldn't fight anymore.

What happened tonight would decide the future of an entire world and he'd be damned if he didn't do everything he could to make sure it was a future he could accept.

"I'll make sure my people are prepped and ready to go." Costello said looking all business in a way that explained the level of trust placed in him, "We'll get him sir."

"Yes we will." He said showing his own resolve, "Primes or no primes we're getting him out of there along with anyone else who wants to sign up."

Primes might be the strongest card the current regime could field without mass destruction but they weren't invincible. As long as they played their cards right they could do this with a minimum of losses with all objectives achieved.

Looking down at the coat pocket that had a slight bulge to it he also recalled that he had a trump card he could play if things got desperate. Only if their backs were to the wall and not just defeat but also destruction was imminent would he use it though. The current regime might have an idea of some of what his group could do but they didn't know everything. He used what was in his pocket and yeah they'd win the battle but it'd also expose a very important truth he wanted to keep under wraps for as long as possible.

There was a reason why you didn't play your trump card too early in a game.

You had to wait for just the right moment…when it would do you the most good…and leave your opponent without any room to turn the tables on you.

Good thing he was used to games with these sort of stakes.

---

Mid-Evening

The Central Area of District Fifteen

Her head hurt.

Her wrists hurt.

Her ankles hurt and she felt like her entire body wasn't all there but that last bit she knew was because of the needle that'd injected her with something before she was escorted out of her cell. It wasn't enough to keep her from walking but she knew that if she tried to run right now she'd probably trip over her own feet one way or another. Even if she didn't have restraints on her wrists and ankles she doubted she'd be able to do more than a pathetic shuffle before her feet got all tangled up sending her to the ground. All she could do was what they no doubted wanted her to do: the dead woman walking routine straight to her executioner.

She'd only woken up from whatever they'd used to capture her with a little over two hours ago but it was time enough to grasp her current situation.

She'd failed. Failed to get away. Failed to get to her brother in time to warn him and at least make sure he went into hiding. Now all that waited for her was that asshole Wolfe's high profile execution where she'd be probably killed in some horrible way meant to scare every other District resident into submission.

It almost made her want to find some way to die on HER terms if only to deny that bastard his grand spectacle but even as much as she hated him she didn't want to die. She wanted to continue living alongside her brother and hold onto the dream that one day the world would see that every resident of every district was just as human as they were. They weren't monsters, they weren't freaks and they weren't ABOMINATIONS! They were human beings with dreams and desires along with flaws and fears just like anyone else.

Even if it was true that some people with powers would use them for evil that didn't justify imprisoning all of them.

That's what the districts were really.

Prisons decorated to look more civilized and paint a picture that fit with the explanation the governments of the world passed on to their citizens.

Prisons for people whose only crime was to gain an ability that others feared might be used against them.

"Hear me residents of Relocation District Fifteen!" Director Wolfe said into the microphone in front of him, "Tonight is a night none of you will ever forget and would do well to remember until your last breath. For tonight is the night in which a sad but necessary action must be carried out for the greater good of all! Tonight one of your own, Violet Helen Parr, will be executed not just due to the threat she poses with her mutated powers but also for her attempt to flee this district to wreak havoc on the country if not the world!

"I know that your lives since coming to District Fifteen have been difficult. I strive every day to bargain with my superiors to grant you more freedoms and comforts to lighten your burdens if only a little." Director Wolfe said hamming it up as the sympathetic overseer, "But every time one of you acts as Miss Parr has acted you give my superiors one more reason to deny my requests. One more reason no to provide our clinics and infirmaries with both the tools as well as the medicine we need to treat you! One more reason to cut our food budget and force each of you to accept either smaller portions or meals that are barely palatable!

"Therefore tonight she will pay for the harm she has done to this District with her life." Director Wolfe said finally lowering his gaze to look at her, "Bring her up here!"

With a shove that only barely failed to send her to the ground she was forced to walk towards the stairs leading up to the platform atop which Wolfe stood. She wanted to run…she wanted to FIGHT…but she couldn't find the strength to do either thanks to whatever they shot her up with. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs a strange sort of tranquility passed over her as the last avenue of choice went past her leaving only one path.

~At least…at least this way…I'll get to see Mom and Dad and Uncle Lucius.~ She thought as she began to ascend the steps, ~I just hope that Sam…Dash doesn't take this hard and do something stupid. One of us should live to maybe see the end of this nightmare.~

Upon reaching the top of the platform she found a chair in the centre with straps no doubt meant to restrain her as well as other add ons to connect to her current restraints. When she got to within three feet of it two fully uniformed District guards came up on either side of her and hastened her sitting down into the chair before strapping her into it. Naturally they were exceedingly rough about it and made sure the synthetic straps were tight to the point of almost cutting off circulation.

Small perk of being so drugged up was she barely felt it.

"Now traditionally an execution would take the form of lethal injection as it is seen my many as the most humane method." Director Wolfe said strolling across the stage before the gathered residents as well as the cameras, "However due to the unique biology of a C-subject that has Blossomed we cannot be sure that it will have the same effect on her as it would normal humans. Therefore we will be employing a more effective if somewhat barbaric form of execution."

With those words people who looked like technicians approached the chair she was trapped in and began to attach cables to her metal restraints followed by a metal helmet of some kind with wires coming out of it.

"Namely electrocution." Director Wolfe stated malicious glee clearly in his eyes.

She could only sit and look ahead as she imagined what it would feel like as well as what it would look like to others. While the various forms of entertainment that the residents of a District got access to was limited she'd seen enough movies since being brought here to know how Hollywood depicted electric chair executions. Lots of spasms and convulsions with smoke rising up off of the body for minutes before finally the power was cut leaving a limp body in the chair. However she also knew that Hollywood often dramatized things and exaggerated them for the purpose of entertainment or emotional impact.

Would that be her?

She didn't know.

Maybe it was better that way.

"Now, by the powers vested in me by the state of Arizona and the United States of America, I condemn you Violet Helen Parr to death." Director Wolfe stated cameras showing him on the monitors arrayed throughout the room as well as likely throughout the District, "May God have mercy on your soul."

With that the horrible man nodded to someone off to the side and in anticipation of what was about to happen she closed her eyes bracing herself for what was to come.

TWANG!

THUMP!

"Sorry Director Wolfe but this execution has just been cancelled." A voice she didn't recognize said from outside her field of vision, "Hey Buddy? You take so much as one step towards that switch and the next arrow's going through your arm, then your shoulder and if you're really supremely stupid your head. They really paying you enough for that?"

Fortunately for her the people operating the cameras were so shocked they only reacted by directing them towards the speaker allowing her to see who had intervened. Standing atop a two story building close by was a man in his mid-to-late thirties with brown hair clad in a black and purple outfit of some kind wielding…a bow?

With an arrow in place ready to be shot?

"Well, well, well…what an unexpected pleasure! The infamous Mister Costello or perhaps you'd prefer I call you Clint?" Director Wolfe asked rhetorically with smug tone of voice, "I was beginning to think you wouldn't make it in time for the execution but then you and your group of malcontents do have a habit of popping up at the oddest moments. I presume the rest of your team is around here somewhere?"

"Maybe they are or maybe I thought I could handle this solo." Clint replied not sounding too worried, "After all it can't be all that hard to take down a bunch of glorified mall cops. Here's hoping the people in District bureaucracy didn't skip on their health and dental coverage."

"The guards and officers of every District are trained well to carry out their respective duties but perhaps you're right. Maybe we do need a little something more." Director Wolfe said with mock consideration.

With that the man took out what looked to be a small remote control before pressing the single button on it. Almost immediately loud hums could be heard from several places all about the area making it difficult to talk without yelling. Terribly the people didn't have to wait long to learn what was causing it for one by one large forms rose from deep within the alleyways between District buildings until they stood twenty feet tall. Pea green tarps could be seen falling off of some of them but that detail was set aside when one by one eerie crimson lights lit up in the eye sockets illuminating only vaguely human looking metal faces. A distant part of her mind saw the faces as being decidedly more monstrous looking than they should've been and thought that perhaps the purpose was to inspire fear in their targets.

"SURRENDER CRIMINAL. YOU ARE UNDER ARREST." The six robots declared in perfect mechanical sync with each other, "RESISTANCE WILL BE MET WITH LETHAL FORCE."

"Funny I was about to say the same thing to you guys." Clint said before quickly raising his bow and firing off a shot at the closest metal giant.

Instead of an ineffectual attack what everyone gathered here witnessed was an explosion of fiery light the second the arrow impacted on the face of mechanical giant. Regrettably when the smoke from the blast cleared only minor damage could be seen in the metal plating that made up the monolithic machine's face.

Something of a let down if she was being honest.

"Is that the best you can do? I was expecting something more based on the reports I've read about you." Director Wolfe scoffed clearly seeing explosive arrows as an exercise in futility.

"Nah that was just the opener." Clint replied before taking another arrow from one of the two quivers on his back, "Besides I just needed something to soften him up."

It was then that the damaged robot raised its right hand as though to aim some manner of weapon but before it could finish the archer fired off his second arrow. Amazingly it managed to land right in the small gap his explosive arrow had created going a full halfway into the machine. That was when things really got interesting when suddenly the machine began to jerk and spark with its eyes beginning to lose their mechanical consistency. Then with one final internal detonation that released a burst of smoke the titanium titan dropped onto the building in front of it before sliding off to the side alleyway to be buried under falling debris.

"How's that? You impressed yet?" Clint asked sounding quite pleased with himself.

"KILL HIM!" Director Wolfe ordered clearly unhappy with the crack that had been made in the unassailability of his institution's power and authority.

"ORDER ACKNOWLEDGED. ARREST MODE CANCELLED." The machines said before they began raising their arms up, "TERMINATION OF TARGET COMMENCING."

"Yeah…good luck with that." Clint said not looking too worried.

The reason came a moment later when out of nowhere three of the six robots were struck by what looked to be energy blasts albeit each one being distinctive and unique in appearance. One looked to be neon blue in colour with a white core and it had arcing rings running the entire length that bore a resemblance to electricity. Another was a narrow pane of crimson energy that was more focused than the last and when it struck the metal giant it looked to push the behemoth back a bit before succeeding in piercing it through completely. The third could only be described as an orange flame that one would think had come from a flame thrower from fifty years in the future that was superior to current day ones by a large degree.

"You're futile efforts are meaningless." Director Wolfe said only sounding slightly less confident than he'd been before, "Even if you defeat these Hunters more are on their way! You can't beat them all!"

"I don't need to beat them all." Clint said with a grin, "Right Jesse?"

"Right you are chief." Replied a young woman from nearby.

And yet she hadn't heard any footsteps warning of her approach or anything resembling a landing if the young lady could fly.

"And I'll take that thank you very much." Jesse said before Wolfe squawked in shock, "Take a nap Director. You look like you could use one."

THWACK!

THUMP!

Of all the times for something to happen outside of her field of view it had to be when someone finally punched that asshole in the jaw.

"Get that remote to Vic." Clint ordered before something thunked into the platform followed by a sound that got louder as it got closer before stopping, "If he can tap into the signal that activated the Hunters he might be able to cross a few of their wires."

" Consider it done." Jesse said with confidence, "Back in a flash!"

"Sigh…that never stops being corny." Clint said before the man came into her field of vision and began to undo her restraints, "Just give me a minute Miss Parr and I'll have you free. How bad'd they drug you up?"

"Walking's fine but running, even without the cuffs, not gonna happen." She replied honestly figuring even with the adrenaline rush she was getting the clumsiness would remain.

"Figured. Don't worry." Clint said finishing with one set of leg restraints before moving onto the other, "We'll have you free and clear in no time."

"But my brother…" she said not wanting to leave Dash here on his own.

This made Clint pause but only for a few moments.

"Give me his address in the district." Clint said continuing his work to free her, "I have one more teammate that could help."

Immediately she provided the address while also mentioning how her brother might have been motivated to do something rash thanks to Wolfe broadcasting her execution all over the District. Clint looked worried but she got the feeling he'd dealt with such people in the past so it was nothing new for him just irritating.

Watching him take a moment to retrieve what looked to be a uniquely designed smartphone and type a quick yet concise text to someone.

She hoped they received it and were able to act in time.

---

Several Blocks Away From the Action

Rushman's POV

"This is a GREAT idea! What better way to turn things around than by nabbing the freak girl's freaky brother." Faraday said like this was the move that would put him on the fast track to a promotion, "We take him back there and put a gun to his head and that idiot archer will fold like a house of cards."

She didn't say anything to that but rather focused on the mental map she had of the area, the location of Parr's apartment that she shared with her brother and possible alternate locations where Dash Parr could be found. Unlike Faraday she did diligent work regardless of whether it was for her cover or for her real job. As soon as she was high enough in rank that she could do so without being looked upon with suspicion she'd started going over the files of the District residents. Officially as far as anyone else knew she was simply an 'all work and no play' employee who believed in being thorough and covering as many angles as possible.

Unofficially she was evaluating District residents for powers or skills that could be of use to the boss in fighting back against the current regime. Granted none of the residents had very potent abilities otherwise they'd be at a higher security District but the boss was a master of making the most of what he had. Then of course there was the theory that exercising your power could make it grow stronger and she'd seen evidence that it could very well be valid. Even if only half of them grew stronger she wasn't evaluating them purely on their powers but the entirely package skills and all.

It was pretty much the assignment of her and countless other agents with the right skill set to infiltrate Districts, assess potential recruits and based on the results a mission to liberate them may or may not take place.

They had to weigh their options because as soon as they started showing a pattern the current regime would begin upping efforts to stop them cutting them off from new recruits. At the moment only those capable of seeing past the propaganda to the truth and residents of Districts were viable to bring into the group. Even then they had to be careful and make sure that their potential recruit wasn't in fact an enemy agent on orders to infiltrate their ranks to undermine it from within.

In this case, if the boss was to be believed, the risk was definitely worth going in if for no other reason than for the boost it'd give those resisting the regime in their own way. It might even give some the courage to come to them and take their opposition of the current governments to the next level. Normally she'd be the one splitting off from the real District security forces, finding the target and approaching them with an offer. However with the likely presence of Prime Hunters it was all hands on deck so she'd be doing Clint a favour finding Dash Parr while the boss sought out the target himself.

With the show that Clint's team was putting on the majority of the counterattack would be focused on them and once she broke her cover she'd also be a target.

This would give the boss the opening he needed to have a private chat with the target without having to worry about killing machines crashing the conversation.

It took a few more minutes to reach the apartment building where Violet and Dash Parr lived. From what she could see of the people loitering about in the area it didn't look like someone had just sprinted out of the building anytime recently. Either Dash snuck out quietly which didn't quite fit the personality profile in his file or he was still inside.

"You go in the front." She said pulling out her handgun, "I'll use the fire escape to get to the roof and come down from above. We'll pin him between us."

"Sounds good to me." Faraday said with a cocky smirk, "Don't drag your feet though or I'll be snagging the freak all on my own and get all the credit."

Without giving her a chance to say anything the blonde man moved for the front door clearly intending to make his warning a reality.

Good thing he didn't know her very well.

Moving for the fire escape she began her ascent using a combination of Parkour and acrobatics she displayed athletic prowess that could be matched only by the best of the best. Thankfully no one was looking in her direction and in less time than it would've taken using the stairs to get to the roof she got to the halfway point to her objective. However it was from here on out that things would diverge from what Faraday was expecting would happen.

Pulling open the roof access door she began to descend into the building being careful at every corner and keeping an ear out for surprise guests. She already knew what floor the right apartment was in and where the stairs were in relation to that apartment so it was easy to move at a speed that would have her arrive precisely when she meant to. This was proven when a few minutes later she heard the sounds of gunfire and when she got somewhat closer she could hear the sounds of various items breaking. Clearly while not at the level of dodging bullets Dash Parr's superhuman speed was still good enough to make taking him down difficult. Indeed it was likely that the only reason why the confrontation hadn't already come to an end was the fact that inside of an apartment a speedster would have trouble reaching their top velocity. Add to that the fact that there'd be periods of deceleration every time a big enough turn needed to be made and it gave Faraday a fighting chance.

He'd still lose but at least it wouldn't be a completely embarrassing defeat.

Creeping closer and closer to the open door of the Parr apartment she chose to wait until the right moment before taking action. She had to play this just right in order to ensure that Dash saw her as an ally instead of another enemy. However she could not risk the worst possible outcome happening so if it sounded like Parr was in trouble she'd move in. She already had a scenario in mind and even a few offshoots depending on how things developed.

While there would always be that percentage of chance or unforeseen circumstances her years of training had helped her to minimize the threat that small percentage posed. She wasn't perfect but she was as close to it as a human being could come in her field of expertise so she was sure this situation was well under control.

"AAAHHHH!" Cried a male voice in pain but given that there was no preceding gunshot she concluded whatever injury might've been received it wasn't serious.

What came next though very well could be so she moved forward and when she stood in the doorway she saw Dash Parr on the ground gripping his right leg. She didn't see any blood or, thank god, protruding broken bones so she concluded that at worst there might be some bruising to contend with.

"Not so quick on your feet now are ya FREAK?!" Faraday asked rhetorically sounding rather irritated, "Now while it's tempting to put you out of your misery you're my ticket to a promotion so I think it's time for you to take a nap. You're way past your bedtime."

Now was the time to intervene and so with a smoothly executed aiming and firing of her handgun that had been loaded with tranq rounds. She'd swapped out the District issued ones for something formulated by the boss' top eggheads just as a precaution. While she doubted that her cover as Rushman would remain intact past today on the off chance it did the fewer reasons they had to suspect their 'comrade' the better. Two quick shots at Faraday and the blonde dropped to the ground inside of three seconds making it doubtful that the man had time to formulate a question never mind deduce who might've shot him.

Approaching slowly she kept her aim steady on Faraday just in case he had a little surprise lined up for her. It wouldn't be the first time that the regime had hidden agent's in one of their Districts who had powers that should've made them residents as well. If that was the case then she had a full clip of tranq rounds she'd be more than willing to empty into Faraday. Even if it failed to knock him out it'd at least leave him incapable of pursuit allowing her to get young Mister Parr to safety.

After placing one foot within arm's reach of Faraday and getting no reaction she decided that the man had to be unconscious so she holstered her handgun and turned to Mister Parr.

"You want to live to see tomorrow?" She asked trying to appear less threatening, "Come with me."

She didn't mind the look he gave her because while she might've saved him from Faraday she was still clad in the uniform of a District security officer. While she'd like to take the time to persuade him to trust her they were running down a clock at the moment so she went with something that'd override his wariness.

"I'm with he group that's attacking the District." She said hoping Faraday wasn't in reality conscious enough to hear that, "We're getting you and your sister out."

That did it.

She could tell that Dash Parr still didn't fully trust her but his love for his sister was enough to motivate him into taking a chance. Moving to his side to help him up she could tell that while moderately bruised the young man's right leg wasn't broken. Still he wouldn't be able to walk on his own and definitely running would be out of the question. Throwing an arm over her shoulders she began to help him get through the door before they both moved to the stairs to get to street level.

The boss has already told her where the rendezvous would take place for her, Clint's team and him. With her knowledge of District Fifteen she knew where the best places to slip out were located especially since most of the security forces would be moving to take down Clint's group. There might be a few strays but she had enough clips for her handgun to take them down without trouble. She'd just need to make sure they didn't get the chance to radio in what was going on or there'd be more trouble than she could handle sent her way.

~Here's hoping the boss is making one helluva recruitment speech right now.~ She thought her mind focusing on the path ahead and the obstacles they'd face, ~I'd really like this NOT to be for nothing.~

No.

She'd much rather this world gain a source of hope to lead them out of the darkness.

She knew from her own experience what that felt like.

---

One of Many Streets in District Fifteen

~H-have to…get…AWAY!~ He thought fighting to put one foot in front of another amidst the pain spreading outwards from his chest.

It'd been painful enough to deal with when the televised execution of Violet Parr began but as things had developed it'd only gotten worse. In the end he'd done his best to get as far away from the commotion as possible before even standing became a daydream. Sadly he didn't know if it was because he was moving too slowly or the chaos behind him was intensifying but the pain he was experiencing seemed to be decreasing awfully slowly. Still given that he was no fan of the pain he was feeling he still did all he could to get as far away from the pain causing source and closer to relief.

No matter how long it took.

He only made it a further three blocks though before he had to find a place to take a quick breather for while his will to move was strong his body wasn't quite the same. Seeing a restaurant off to the side that was free of people he made his way inside before plopping down on the first available chair. Doing his best to rest and gather his strength despite the pain he was experiencing a part of him couldn't help but curse whoever it was that'd chosen to attack the District. Life here was far from what most people wanted out of life but it wasn't as bad as it could've been for him. An honest days work gets him a place to live, food to eat and occasionally a bit of fun. If it hadn't been for the crapshoot dice toss that marked him for residency in a District he'd have been forced to earn a living the old fashioned way.

That would've led to whole slew of problems for him and his luck was nowhere near good enough for everything to work out somehow.

There'd been precious few hiccups along the way for him leading to a relatively peaceful life and anytime things got unpleasant the District was big enough to find someplace else to be. During the times when he couldn't relocate he did the best he could to endure until circumstances gave him the opening he needed to leave or the unpleasantness ended. All in all he'd been content to simply live out the rest of his days in the District until the day he died.

Now…who knew how long it'd take for things to get back to normal once the attackers either fled or were killed.

Never in all the time that he'd been in the District had he EVER seen or heard of anything else happening. Not that he expected the people in power to let anyone know if another outcome happened like the terrorists utterly defeated District security or there was a mass breakout of District residents.

~All I have to do…is…keep moving and…wait for it to all blow over…~ he thought trying to making the gains in strength outweigh what was being sapped away by the pain, ~…then it's…back to business as usual.~

"Are you running from something pal?" A voice asked startling him since he hadn't heard any footsteps approaching or seen anyone when he'd come in.

Turning his head to see who it was he was surprised to see a man in his mid-to-late forties who was only just beginning to show the signs of becoming an old man. Dressed in dark clothes and sporting an eyepatch over one eye the man had the image of someone who played outside of the rules that everyone else did. The question he couldn't come up with an answer regarding was who this guy was with and why the man was speaking with him. He was a nobody here who only just managed to meet his work quota every day and hadn't done a single thing of note never mind something worthy of a spotlight.

"Tryin' to get…away from what's happening." He replied seeing no reason to lie but also no reason to be overly specific, "Not safe back there."

"I know about that but I'm thinking you're running away from something a little different." The man said walking over to the next chair over, "If all you were worried about was getting caught up in the fighting then I'd say you've already gotten far enough away not to get hit with anything. Nah…I think you're running from something a lot harder to get away from. Maybe even impossible."

"And that'd be…what…exactly?" He asked willfully keeping a spike of pain from showing on his face.

"Yourself." The man replied with a look that implied he had some experience doing the same, "From what you really are. From who you're meant to be."

A brief passing surge of shock and wariness passed through him before reason brushed it aside as impossible. It'd been years since anyone had known his birth name never mind his past and no one in the District had even tried to look past the name 'Hendrick' to see what might lay beneath. There was no way some stranger he'd never seen before knew the truth. If the truth was so easily come by District management and the regime would've realized the truth years ago. He would've been paraded in front of everyone a defeated 'enemy of mankind' before being executed for his 'crimes'. The fact that no one had said a peep to him or done anything but treat him like any other resident was proof that his alias remained accepted and unremarked upon.

"I'm Anthony Hendrick. Just another hapless soul living in District Fifteen." He said with a 'whatever' shrug, "Nothing more."

"Oh really? I suppose that could be true." The man said with light consideration, "But here's another possibility. You were born in Sunnydale, California back in nineteen eighty-one. You had two friends growing up one of which got turned into a vampire and the other was pretty much on the road to becoming either a Watcher or scientific genius. Then in the second year of high school you gained another friend, a certain fake blonde cheerleader from L.A, who showed you how deep the shadows of this world really are."

No brief spike this time but rather half the arsenal of Vlad the Impaler burst into existence within him and along for the ride was a matching increase in the pain he was feeling. In all the years since he'd first experienced it he'd never been able to perfectly figure out what caused the pain to manifest, increase or decrease. The best he'd been able to deduce was that any situation wherein an average person might be prompted to act to help others or protect them spurred the pain into manifesting. Only when the opportunity passed or he put some distance between himself and the source did the pain recede leaving him feeling drained of strength.

So why was this recounting of facts causing him to hurt so badly?

"Losing your friend, your brother in all but blood, you swore to fight by the blonde's side as she carried out the Calling she'd been given like countless others before her." The man said continuing his little explanation, "Some of it was revenge, some of it was noble purpose and because you were in high school was just to get closer to a pretty girl you wanted to date. You saw some freaky shit, experienced some freaky shit and it only got worse on one special night: October Thirty-First, nineteen ninety-seven. C-Day as some people would later call it."

Instinctively he knew what this man was likely trying to do with this big exposition of facts. The man was either stating that he knew the truth or was trying to force confirmation of his words to be the truth. However he hadn't lived as a resident for as long as he had by letting his assumed identity fall at the slightest hint of exposure.

"Nice story. Too bad…nngh…it's got nothing to do…ungh…with me." He said having to fight to get the words out partially submerged as he was in pain.

"Really? How about this one?" The man asked before a far more serious expression manifested on his face, "On C-Day the world changed like no one had ever thought it could. A wave of red energy washed over the planet infecting people with different amounts of crimson energy that manifested itself in different ways. Two thirds of the human population received so little of it that it could be barely detected using scientific hardware but others weren't so lucky. They developed powers that looked like they came straight out of the comic books while others could be mistaken for descendants of mythological heroes. Chaos was all anybody could expect from that kind of mish-mash and it was global causing governments to scramble to try to maintain order."

"Didn't quite…work out for them…huh?" He asked remembering how things had gone.

"No. None of the methods they'd had at their disposal were designed to handle super powers and anything they threw together either worked partially or failed spectacularly." The man replied with an eye that indicated he knew what the latter was like, "Fortunately for the world there existed a group of people, a team unlike any other, willing to step up and do what they could to keep the world spinning. They'd appear out of nowhere, put out the fire no matter what it was and then disappear before anyone could question them or arrest them. If C-Day had given the world villains than it'd also given it heroes and once the team earned a big enough rep others started to follow their example to varying degrees of success. The world was on the cusp of an age of heroes…too bad a lot of the wrong people didn't want that."

Propaganda.

Politics.

Mass media.

More and more back then it'd become hard to find a source of news or opinion that wasn't being influenced by those 'wrong people' into seeing things their way.

Not that such things had mattered.

Doing the right thing took priority.

Even if it got hard as hell at times.

"Long story short people and…other things…who wanted them gone and their own agenda carried went to work scheming ways to bring about the team's end. It wasn't hard since they'd been doing it themselves for a long time just not quite on so large a scale." The man said not sounding like he'd been mixed up with it even though he was the right age for it, "I gotta admit from what I've read it was a masterpiece of half-truths, misdirection and taking facts out of context to tell the world the story they wanted it to hear."

"You're forgetting…the…nngh…best part." He said wanting to bring this all to a close, "They killed this 'team' of yours in the end. All of them. Set them up and then took them down."

"That's the official story but I don't trust official stories. I trust what I find out on my own with facts I've verified myself." The man said clearly rejecting what the world currently believed, "Take the Districts for example. What is their purpose?"

"They're here to keep C-subjects contained and separate from the normies." He replied repeating the words that were thrown around TV regularly, "Thought…ugh…everyone knew that."

"That's the official story. Here's the truth." The man said in a hard tone, "They're weapon manufacturing and refinement plants."

"Huh?!" Was all he could say in response.

"Think about it. A lot of the powers people gained on C-Day put guns and bombs to shame while opening up a shit ton of possibilities. You really think no one was going to try to take advantage of that? You think other people wouldn't realize this and feel forced to do the same?" The man asked with each question possessing the force of a sledge hammer to the chest, "Thing is the public would never back forced conscription or human experimentation right out of the gate because they'd see it as a violation of human rights. If that perception could be changed though, say through a few dozen carefully choreographed incidents, with fear causing people to prioritize security and safety over human rights…well than it's a whole new ballgame."

A pit began to form in his stomach that had nothing to do with the pain ravaging his form.

"Officially the districts numbers are meant to indicate the power each resident has under the hood and what sort of security measures are needed to keep them locked up." The man said riding his previous momentum, "The truth is that they're more of a countdown than anything else. Every time you enter the scanning chamber to 'determine the state of your condition' you are actually being exposed to different wavelengths of energy and radiation. This is done because each person's pool of C-Day energy is as different and as unique as their DNA so it takes trial and error to find the right trigger to make a C-Subject 'blossom'. Once that happens though they're relocated to the next District and the process happens all over again until they hit the top five highest security Districts in the world."

"What happens there?" He asked unable to keep from voicing his curiosity.

"There the people in power no longer have to worry about public scrutiny or some employees not being on the same page as them. They can drop the act about it all being for the safety of the planet and the rights of the imprisoned being dutifully upheld." The man replied a flicker of a haunted look manifesting in the one visible eye before vanishing, "I don't know the specifics of what goes on in there but I've seen the results. Crimes against humanity doesn't even begin to cover it."

His experiences…his knowledge…only served to fuel his imagination allowing it to produce some truly horrific possibilities.

Before he could ask the man for details something knew got his attention in the form of a crinkling noise that he hadn't heard in years. Looking about to try and see where it was coming from he was surprised to see what looked to be…ice…rapidly forming on the ceiling of the restaurant. Seeing as how they were in Arizona there was no way that this could be natural and if it was unnatural then it was probably dangerous. He began to move to get clear but a spike of pain caused his limbs to seize up but thankfully his conversation partner had no such problems tackling him clear just before something came through the frozen ceiling. Property was destroyed, the temperature dropped an easy fifteen degrees and standing atop a pile of ice was something he'd only ever seen in memory.

A cyborg.

Not something half-assed like it'd been cobbled together by a cosplayer or a TV show on a seriously limited budget.

A real one or at least the look of one made by people with a Hollywood blockbuster amount of money to throw at the creation of the outfit.

Whoever had been in charge of the upgrade hadn't cared about appearances since from an aesthetic point of view it was severely lacking. Instead it was all about one component connected to another part with all of them meant to support or enhance one another to achieve maximum results. The fleshy bits were little more than pale components being kept alive by chemicals and nano machines and something far outside the box of science. Whoever the man had been it was obvious that he was either dead or was barely being kept alive in what was probably a tortuous existence. When the cyborg turned to him he saw that it wore a visor of sorts that pinged a part of his memories but he couldn't quite bring it to the surface. However it was the electric crimson eyes piercing through the visor's neon blue lens that made it clear how different reality was from the memory.

Then survival became a priority when two human looking arms and four mechanical looking ones were brought to bear on both him as well as the man he'd been talking to.

"Move!" The patch wearing man bellowed before putting action to words.

He wasn't far behind because even if it had been more than a few years instincts long forgotten sprung forth pushing past the pain he was still feeling to get him moving. Sure he only made it as far as the corner of the cash counter but it was still enough to get him outside of the line of sight of the cyborg. Almost got a serious of frostbite just the same though when a cryo-blast struck the corner he'd gotten around causing ice to manifest almost enough to touch him. Crab walking away from the ice he knew he was seriously at a disadvantage with his mobility being hampered by the pain wracking his body.

"Um…don't suppose…you got something that'll take care…of this?" He asked loudly enough for his friend to hear him.

"One thing but I need an opening." The eyepatch man replied from elsewhere in the restaurant, "Think you can give it?"

"Sure…whatever…I gotcha…" he replied figuring that he was probably screwed either way.

Either he'd pull it off and the pain that opposed such action would give him a literal heart attack or the cyborg would turn him into a corpsicle when he proved two steps too slow.

Time to roll the dice.

"Yo! Mister AC DC!" He yelled moving as quickly as the pain would allow him, "Let's see if you can beat that stuffed pink bunny!"

Proving that the mesh of machine and flesh was programmed to attack anything alive rather than someone specific in the restaurant the abomination didn't hesitate to send the chill his way. Pushing himself to the max to move between sources of cover but never staying in one place for too long he eventually found himself in the kitchen where he misjudged the spread of the ice. Slipping on the edge of the patch on the floor he fell to the ground hard stunning himself and making the darkness creep a bit from the edges of his vision before withdrawing. Precise steps of metal against stone got louder and louder before the cyborg appeared before him ready to finish him off. Desperation and chance moved him to grab the nearest decent sized thing within reach and throw it at the head of his attacker with everything he had.

With the speed of a machine the arms took position to intercept the incoming projectile but when it fired something happened that no machine could've seen coming. If it had just been a metal pot the blast would've been enough to knock it off course or back the way it'd come but there was more to it than that. Inside the pot had been the family recipe for chicken curry that'd just about finished when the chaos had started forcing the staff to clear out. As a result what was liquid became solid increasing the force with which the improvised projectile increased succeeding in knocking the unnatural fusion to take a few steps back.

Then, before systems could reboot or recalibrate, the opening provided was taken advantage of by a professional.

BANG!

ZZZAAKKK!

"AAARRRGGGHHH!

A cascade of energy, a series of mini-explosions up and down the fused body and wisps of smoke from damaged circuitry. That was what happened to the cyborg before it collapsed to its hands and knees mimicking breathing though it no longer needed to breath or even had the organs for the act. Digital groans escaped its mouth broken only by random audio glitch noises and as impossible as it sounded he almost believed that the man was once more in the driver's seat.

"Welcome back to the world Lucius." His conversation partner said walking out from his sniper nest, "Sorry to say it'll only last a little over six minutes. Sorry."

"What do you mean? What'll only last half past six minutes?" He asked feeling he was a step or three behind.

"A bit of programming my eggheads have been working on since the first Prime Hunter was deployed. Once the C-Subject finishes going through the enhancement procedures they're leashed using whatever method was most effective and desirable." The eye patch man replied even as the cyborg worked to process everything, "Cyberisation has been the most common so far with the variations depending on mission specs being unfriendly to machines or requiring passing for human. Complex adaptive AI programming keeps the mind of the person suppressed while another program controls the body to do whatever the people in charge want.

"We've been working on our own program to free the people trapped within the Prime Hunters but…it's still a work in progress." The man said with a somber tone, "Every iteration of the program buys anywhere from another thirty seconds to another minute of freedom for the person. Problem is that just like we're working to free the person the people on their side of things are working to make sure we can't. It's a see-saw conflict with neither side gaining enough momentum to decide things."

"Then why bother using it here? On him?" He asked not seeing the point of temporary freedom.

"To give him something that was taken away from him." The spy man replied before reaching into his coat and taking out another gun, "A choice."

With care the weapon was placed next to the mechanical hand of the nearly recovered cyborg who noticed this before turning to face the one who'd put it in his reach.

"It's your choice Lucius. That gun carries a clip full of custom Neo-thermite bullets capable of reducing the head of any Prime Hunter to molten slag in seconds. It'll end the nightmare for good." The eye patch guy explained with no sugarcoating but a smidge of empathy, "Or you get as far from here as you can. Buy me and mine enough time to get away. Let the programming cage you again and hope our side gets the breakthrough it needs to free you for good."

Comprehension came, contemplation and then a grim choice.

"When I got my powers I thought it was the greatest day ever. I finally had a way to make the world a better place and be somebody. To be a hero like in the comics." Lucius said before picking up the offered gun, "If I wait they'll have me hurt people, kill people and keep the shitheads in power. Even if you wind up freeing me later it won't change what they had me do."

"But it won't be you. It'll be like you're in a coma and someone else's running your body by remote control. It won't be your fault." He said a part of him not liking what he predicted might happen next.

"Maybe that'd be the case if I never got this chance and stayed ignorant but it isn't." Lucius said working the action on the gun to chamber a round, "I'm in control and I know what'll happen if I let myself get put back into the cage. I can't let that happen or every death that follows'll be my fault."

Raising the gun up and pointing the barrel so that the shot would go right through the brain Lucius seemed to hesitate for a moment before looking at the man dressed in black.

"Thanks for giving me the ability to choose again." Lucius said with the best smile possible even with all the mechanical upgrades, "Give'em hell."

BANG!

And with that a brain was destroyed, a head melted into molten goo and a life was extinguished.

The life of a hero made to commit acts of terrible villainy as a salve to a great evil.

"How many have you given this choice to?" He asked the emotional pain he was feeling allowing him somewhat to ignore the physical pain.

"Too many. Whenever we go into a mission where Prime Hunters are a possibility we make sure to equip our best shooters with the means of opening the cage. After that…the person is given the choice." The eye patch guy replied picking up the gun with one spent bullet, "Some do what Lucius did. Others choose to roll the dice, hold on and hope that the next time they're let out of the cage it'll be for good. Like I said though…neither side's been able to gain ground and keep it for long. It'll be awhile."

He couldn't stop his mind from imagining how many people, how many men and women who wanted to be heroes, were trapped like Lucius had been. Carrying out whatever missions they were given whether they wanted to or not while trapped inside a body twisted by doc Frankenstein alterations. Almost immediately an old instinct surged forth within him but this only provoked the pain to answer in kind causing him to drop to his knees hand to his chest where it burned the most. For a few seconds conscious thought was beyond him and so instinct and pain warred with each other within his body for a time before he forced instinct to withdraw as conscious thought returned. As a result the pain reluctantly receded but it didn't disappear entirely but rather prowled around him in the metaphorical bushes waiting to see what'd happen next.

"Sonuvagun! Looks like the old hag was right." The man in black muttered striding forward before lowering to one knee, "Always wondered what it'd take to keep you out of the fight. Never thought it'd be something like this though. Who did this to you?"

For a few seconds he considered saying nothing worried that his pain would only wind up being worse but after everything that'd happened he really didn't care.

"I did." He replied letting out a truth that only a very small number of people knew about.

It took the man with the eye patch five seconds before asking the predictable question.

"What?" The man asked not quite able to piece together a extrapolation based on two words.

"Things had been going bad and were on track to get worse. The number of close calls we'd had up until then had everyone on edge. Then…we got word. Something new was in the works. Something that would change everything." He replied the horror, regret and sorrow seemingly pacifying the prowling predator called pain, "Thing was it had 'trap' written all over it with a Hollywood sized neon sign over it. The way we learned of it, how our sources were able to confirm the facts and the timetable…it all clicked into place too easily. A lot of them wanted to just ignore it and play it safe."

"But that didn't happen." The man said knowing how things tended to go.

"No. I…ever since I got my powers I wanted to follow in my hero's footsteps. Be good like he was, brave like he was and inspire people like he did." He said recalling those days with painful clarity, "Anything other than what I was. So I gave a rousing speech, like he would've, to convince them that while it might be a trap there was a chance it wasn't and even if it was a trap ignoring it would only cause out enemies to do something bigger next time. Sooner or later it'd become so big that we wouldn't be able to handle it and hundreds if not thousands would die. In the end they listened and we went determined to be heroes. I have spent every day since then wishing someone had told be to shut the fuck up."

Too bad he never had dreams or nightmares where they did precisely that. Instead all that happened was the same sequence of events over and over again with the intensity happening at different points. He rarely got a full night's sleep anymore and when he was forced to waken getting back to sleep came only with exhaustion.

"We went like they'd planned. Helped people like they'd planned. Then when things almost seemed like it was over…they dropped it on us." He said voice almost cracking with his final words, "We never saw it coming. We'd thought it'd be magic, demons, curses and maybe a plane dropped bombing run. We never considered biological weaponry. A bio-bomb that released a plague so virulent that it tore its victims apart at the cellular level. There was no time to plan, to strategize, only to act on instincts and hope for the best. Only one of us though had the powers and the mind to act fast enough though…the rest…died before my very eyes…

"Willow…she used what few seconds she had left to send me to safety. I woke up in the middle of a park…alive…but alone. Seeing the the press releases afterwards…turning everyone I loved into monsters to be hated and their deaths the starting line for all of this shit!" He yelled anger billowing up out of him before it vanished as guilt put it out, "There was only one conclusion I could come to after all that…I screwed up. I WAS a screw up. The idea that I could be anything other than Xander Harris class clown and second rate side-kick…such bullshit. Complete and utter BULLSHIT! If I'd just stayed in my box and let someone better call the shots…they'd be alive. A LOT of people would still be alive.

"I knew though that all it'd take would be one thing, one crisis, to make me forget that. I threw away everything to do with me being a hero and had a magic user with serious chops seal away my powers completely. Even had her put some add-ons into place where I'd experience pain proportional to any 'heroic feelings' that popped up." He said bringing his story to a close, "Bet that if things went far enough that I might actually do something I'd be in enough agony to stop my heart. From there it was easy to start a new life as 'Anthony Hendricks' and eventually that landed in District Fifteen. The rest you probably know."

"Yeah…not a lot of security on random District residents." The man said sounding like he understood the feelings involved in the tale, "You've been through a lot Harris. More than a lot of people I know. But at the end of the day it doesn't change anything. The world needs you now more than ever. We're reaching the point of no return and if someone doesn't turn things around THEY win. The politicians, the CEOs and…the demons. The freedom that humanity won for itself when it exiled or entombed the Old Ones countless years ago will come to an end. They need to be stopped but humanity needs something to rally around, someone to make them believe in a better tomorrow and bring out the best in them."

"Find someone else." He said without a moment's hesitation, "ANYone else. Only an idiot would bet the fate of the world on a loser like me."

Silence followed and he came to believe that he'd succeeded in shutting down the man's recruitment efforts.

CLANG!

Dumbstruck.

Completely and UTTERLY dumbstruck!

"How did you-?" He asked looking at what'd been thrown at his feet the moonlight from the restaurant's skylight framing the object nicely.

"Same way I managed to track you down. A precog on the payroll pointed me in the right direction and the rest was all fact checking along with footwork." The man interrupted in order to keep up his momentum, "Just a lucky break that the place was already slated for demolition. Made digging this thing out a lot easier.

"Look…I've been in this game a long time Harris. This isn't the first time I've taken someone who just wanted to be left alone and convinced them to be something more." The spy guy said reaching with words past the walls, "You say you're unfit because you failed? Because you're the only one that made it out alive? No. If you failed it means you're human just like me and just like every other citizen on the planet. You know what else is human? Fresh starts! Starting over! Some of the best people in history failed their first time up at bat but they dusted themselves off and kept on trying. You wanted to be something more than who you were? Not many people get a second shot at the brass ring Harris. You really gonna let it sail on by?"

On that note the man walked out of the restaurant leaving him by his lonesome with only the object at his feet to draw his attention. So many memories were tied to it both good and bad. Buffy, Willow, Oz, Cordelia and Dawn. The chaos born of Halloween gave all of them a chance to break free from what life had planned for them and become something…more.

It'd been one helluva ride.

Question was…did he have it in him to take it for another spin?

The agony that minutes ago had been pacified by his guilt returned with a vengeance in response to his question the seal he'd had placed on him triggering completely. The muscles locked up by the pain only managed to keep him upright for a short time before he toppled to the floor spasming in agony. Old wounds ripped open as it felt like every single nerve in his body was being treated to a steel wool massage. Breathing quickly became an issue and muscles began to fray one inch at a time with all the unnatural ways they were being stretched and twisted. Some would say that the magic user he'd hired all those years ago had done her work a little too well when it came to meeting the needs of her client.

However no matter how thorough one plans and prepares it is impossible to eliminate the seemingly insignificant x-factor called chance.

Thus when a random spasm of pain caused him to slam into the counter in the restaurant it wound up jarring loose something that up until then had been held within a purse left behind by a customer. Chance alone caused it to fall to the floor in the centre of his sight allowing him to see it all too clearly.

A charm bracelet attached to which were five metal objects a little bigger than a dime.

A white pig.

An amber crayon.

An electric guitar.

A black clapperboard.

An ornate key.

Each object resonated with a piece of his soul and registered with him in spite of the agony the seal was putting him through.

He'd had it all wrong.

They hadn't followed him because he given a rousing speech or made with a charismatic pose at the end. They'd followed him because they'd believed in him and by proxy the path they wanted them to walk down. Even knowing that she could've spirited herself away Willow had instead chosen save him because even then she'd believed that he would do the right thing. Yet instead of doing that he'd chosen to wallow in his misery and let the world they'd died protecting fall deeper into darkness.

Fool was too weak a word to describe what he'd been these past years.

No MORE!

With a stubbornness that refused to accept the words of prophecy and swore to end every vampire he came across he willed the power of the seal to begone. The chains dug into his spirit and flesh held firm though speaking well of the magic users work but they had no true will of their own. They could not think, could not plan and could not truly anticipate. They could only react to the stimuli they'd been programmed to respond to using responses that had been set before it by its creator.

And it was these limitations that led to its defeat.

For humans could be quite unpredictable at times and Xander Harris was one who'd managed to deny prophecy thus being a locus of chaos of great power.

With a mighty bellow to announce his intention to once more reach for a future that should've been beyond his reach the tattooed lines on his chest flaked away like dead skin. They did not reach the floor of the restaurant but rather disintegrated into dust before vanishing entirely from sight leaving one Xander Harris gasping from the ordeal. It was when the sound of an explosion reached his ears though that he knew he did not have the time to bask in his newfound resolve.

Ignoring the soreness and lingering pain in his body he forced himself onto his hands and knees before crawling over to the one thing he could not afford to leave behind. Lifting it up off of the floor there was an odd nostalgia in its weight and when he slid his arm through the straps the feel of the leather brought a small smile to his lips.

"Been a long time old buddy." He said rubbing the surface of the tool…no…PARTNER…that'd been by his side through some difficult times, "I know I've been an idiot but…think you can give this partnership one more go?"

He knew it was silly to expect any sort of response from an inanimate object but that was what made it all the more surprising when the lines on it began to glow with energy. Before he could even gasp the usual 'wha' he felt a strength flow into him burning away all his aches and pains like fog at dawn. More than that the clothes he'd been wearing up until then began to flow like water defying the laws of matter to change size, shape and colour. A few seconds later the unnatural illumination faded away leaving only the light born of electricity to hold back the darkness.

It was enough though to let him see his new outfit and it was enough to cause a single tear to trickle down his cheek.

"Thank you Willow." He said recognizing his best bud's handiwork, "I swear I won't let you down again."

With the fires of determination rekindled in his eyes he set his destination for the centre of the battle ready to let everyone know that some things never truly died.

---

Back at the Former Execution Platform

Clint's POV

"We pulling out boss?" Vic asked popping up from behind cover to fire off another blast to the side of a Hunter's head staggering it a little more than before, "'Cause I'm running low on the sonic and you've got about five booms left in your quiver."

"Not until we get the high sign from the pirate. What he's after is big enough that we can tough things out a bit longer." He replied pulling one of the five 'boom arrows' from the quiver before shooting it at the exposed throat of the staggered Hunter, "Jesse? Bobby? Summer? What's your sit-rep?"

"Still going strong but I'm gonna need to pit stop at the next all you can eat when this is over." Jesse replied sounding only slightly winded.

"Things're getting a little hot even for me." Bobby replied the crackling of his flames coming over the com-link, "I think they've upgraded the targeting program on these things."

"Definitely upgraded!" Summer declared before she grunted with exertion, "And they're starting to predict my trick shots. I give it another ten minutes before I'm going to have open my visor all the way."

~O-kay! Not great but not bad.~ He thought seeing two palms being aimed at the source of cover, ~We can do this!~

Grabbing Vic by the arm they both bolted managing to get just far enough away so that when the blasts hit they only got a LITTLE knocked silly. This being old hat for him he rolled with it, got his feet back under him and sent an arrow into the point the energy blast had come from before destroying the inner workings with a boom. Vic handled the other Hunter's extended arm with sonic cannon blasts but neither of them bothered to celebrate the damage done.

Why?

Because of the six Hunters they'd originally been up against they'd scrapped four only for ten to arrive as backup.

And he was still waiting for the Primes to show up.

There was no way that they'd get out of this without at least a handful showing up to put them all in discount graves. With the Doc Frankenstein in charge of the Prime Hunter program in the area there was no way it was for something normal like going on a vacation or something. The only reason the freak shows hadn't shown up yet probably was because the ones at the controls wanted the Hunters to soften his team up first. Once everyone was on their last legs THAT would be when Vic's distant cousins would show up to curb stomp them into a gooey paste.

So basically it all came down to timing and who'd make their final move first.

Fortunately for him the boss was good at those so all he needed was to keep him and his people alive until the super spy showed people why it was smart to bet on him.

"Shift to game plan Rogue people!" He ordered scooping up one of the rifles the District guards had thought would take him down, "Shoot and scoot! Team up as needed! Go!"

Bringing up the rifle he used his near perfect aim to continue to mess with the Hunters targeting every chink in their armour that he could see. Sometimes the shots barely triggered a spark while other times he was rewarded by mechanical spasming that took a few minutes to work itself out. Odds were high that he'd have to borrow every rifle in the area to take two or three of them down but if all he wanted was to buy time he'd use whatever he had at hand.

Time blurred as he and Vic watched each others back fighting back against the Hunters whenever as well as wherever they could. They were mindful not to go anyplace where there might be non-combatants hiding but sometimes they stumbled onto them just the same forcing them to distract the Hunters long enough for the District residents to get away. Too bad limited ammo and waning stamina eventually took their toll leaving him only with the stubbornness within to keep him on his feet. His arrows were all spent, none of the guns close by had any ammo left in them and Vic was beginning to show visible signs of needing repairs.

"We fought the good fight Clint but if we don't bolt now we're done." Vic said tapping a few controls in his right arm.

He said nothing in response but at the same time he agreed with his friend. He didn't know what the hold up was with that eyepatch wearing bastard but no one guy was so valuable that he was going to get his team killed over him.

"Regroup at point zero team!" He yelled into his com-link, "Time for the big finale! Bring me my emergency kit Jesse!"

Grabbing a distraction from his belt he threw it at the approaching Hunters but only lingered long enough to be sure that it would hit its mark before sprinting for point zero. He didn't need to look back to know that Vic was following and judging by the sounds he was hearing there was more than one bolt that could use tightening. As soon as they got back to base he'd have Natasha give the man some TLC in more ways than one.

His second in command had earned that much with the effort he'd been putting into this fight.

A few near misses nearly took his breath away, permanently, but his luck held true allowing him to arrive at point zero just as the others did. Without needing to say a thing each member of his team took up their position of strength with each perfectly placed to support those next to them in order to form the ultimate defensive formation. It was a layout that'd saved their bacon in the past when they were facing from pretty stiff odds locking horns with some pretty nasty bad guys.

"I think that is quite enough exercise for the lot of you." Came a familiar voice just before multiple sources of thrusters reached his ears.

Then, one by one, a lot of other shoes dropped around his team.

The Prime Hunters had arrived.

One for every member of his team.

Plus one that was both fancier in appearance as if to imply a special purpose.

When its eyes lit up and cast a spot of light four meters ahead of it he knew what was coming and just barely withheld a groan of annoyance.

"Doctor Jones! How ya been?" He asked with mock cheer, "How's the leg?"

"Quite good thank you for asking. You're arrow proved quite effective but unfortunately for you I'm a genius so replacing it with something better wasn't difficult." Doctor Jones said even as his holographic form hovered in the air, "Now where is your boss Nicholas? Intel pointed to him being here for this little…scuffle."

"Well it's not the first time your spies and pencil pushers got something wrong." He said dismissively, "The boss man doesn't handle milk runs like this himself. I'm more than capable of handling this show myself."

"You are certainly capable of Mister Barton but I doubt Nicholas would assign both you and Miss Romanoff to the same operation unless he deemed it important." Doctor Jones said not buying the act, "Important enough perhaps to become involved as well."

~He knows Nat's here too? Did she blow her cover?~ He thought no liking this little surprise, ~Or is he just guessing? Best not to confirm or deny.~

"Please! It'd take a literal end of the world scenario to get the big guy to suit up and grab a gun." He scoffed before making it look like he was getting bored, "Now are you going to make the with usual villain monologue or are we just gonna jump straight to final battle."

"As gratifying as I would find showing you the gap in our intellects I'm afraid my employer is proving rather impatient." Doctor Jones said with a put upon expression, "Now will you and your team surrender or will you choose to answer the question of whether or not there is an afterlife?"

His answer came in the form of a rapid fire arrow shot through the holographic image and into the Prime's head before the arrowhead detonated.

"That answer your question?" He asked with a smirk of satisfaction.

"Indeed it did." Doctor Jones replied through the external speakers of one of the remaining Prime Hunters, "Say hello to Elvis when you see him."

The only good thing about the present situation was that while the conversion process allowed the Primes to use the powers of the people they used to be they had NO imagination. Everything was artificial intelligence logic and calculations with no room for improvisation or gaining insight enough into a target to anticipate where they'd be three seconds later. Once you realized that you could anticipate when they'd strike and to a degree trick them to shoot to the right when you're going to the left.

The problem was with the potency of the powers especially if they had area of effect applications since that made evasion a lot trickier. Fortunately with Jesse's abilities they'd have a bit of wiggle room to work with even if it wasn't as much. Pushing himself as hard as he could he did what he could to use his remaining arrows to maximum strategic effect but once they were all used up the risk level went up. With a practiced jerk of his bow hand the bow straightened out with an extension of length before internal mechanisms locked in place providing him with what amounted to a bow staff.

Waiting for a combined blast from Bobby and Vic he then sprinted forward towards the nearest Prime before using every technique he'd been taught that required a bow staff. Fortunately for him the person who the Prime used to be didn't have a power that made getting up close suicide but he did have to stay aware of which direction the arms were pointing.

All SIX of them.

Fun.

It was definitely a mixed blessing that in order to take advantage of the powers of the original the conversion process couldn't do away with all of the bio-matter. The mad scientists weren't stupid because they did put protective metal bits where it made sense to but no matter the design there were always weaknesses. Hinges, gaps and other things in order to allow for range of motion couldn't be scienced out of the design and it was these things that he targeted. With the length of the bow staff he could strike just about anywhere he wanted to either with the ends or the sides. It was a mountain of work and took quite a number of hits to the same location but fortunately for him the bean counters in charge of the Prime Hunter program didn't like the bill that'd come with making the abominations indestructible. Thus if he hit the same spot often enough the weaker metals and materials involved in the construction of the artificial components broke or at least got bent out of shape.

He fought well because this wasn't the first time he'd gotten in close with a Prime but then came the same hiccup that never failed to crop up.

He started getting tired while the Prime remained as fast and strong as it'd been at the start of the fight.

Normally this wouldn't be a problem because they usually went into the fight knowing what they'd be up against and came up with a plan for getting out of it. In his case he'd make sure to pack an extra quiver or three of arrows allowing him to stay out of reach of the Prime's weapons and powers. However when he'd brought his team to Arizona the most he'd been expecting was double the usual deployment of Hunters when a district came under attack. Doctor Jones' presence and the Primes coming hadn't been in the original mission briefing.

WHAM!

That was why he was just a step too slow in dodging a mechanical bitch slap and went a solid six feet through the air before landing roughly on the ground. He hurt, no way of getting around that, but somehow he didn't think that anything was broken so he took solace from that and he needed as much of that stuff as possible.

Especially since the blow had caused him to drop his bow staff.

"You did well considering you have no enhancements Mister Barton." Doctor Jones said through the approaching Prime, "However the outcome was never in doubt. All your prowess did was delay the inevitable and now it ends."

"Sometimes delaying the inevitable is the first step to beating it."

Before he could even think about who had spoken something shot through the air fast enough to be nothing more than a blur even to his sharp eyes. With the force of a speeding truck the object hit the Prime Hunter burying itself into the abdomen even as the killing machine staggered backwards a few steps. Then before the cybernetic organism could do more than steady itself someone leapt onto the part of the object still sticking out of the chest before grabbing the head and PULLING.

HARD!

KR-RK!

Needless to say the Prime lost its head and with two major sources of damage it could no longer remain upright causing it to fall to the ground.

With the immediate threat dealt with he was able to focus on identifying both the object that'd saved him from death and the man that'd finished the job. The first to his surprise turned out to be a circular curved metal shield oddly enough painted the colours of the American flag and despite what it'd done it showed almost no damage. The outer metal casings of the Primes were deliberately engineered to be bulletproof, blast proof and have a high resistance to heat in order to make them effective against all kinds of opposition. Naturally the joints and other areas that require flexibility in order to keep the Prime from being just a statue were weaker but that was only relative to the parts that didn't have to do with range of motion. So the fact that the shield managed to bury itself halfway into the abdomen was impressive.

As for the second thing he couldn't help but smile when he beheld a man clad in a costume that would be right out of the comic books. Like the shield the colours were those you'd find on the American flag and had definitely been designed by someone who had an undying love for the United States of America. As for the man wearing the outfit the costume was form fitting enough to make it clear that the body within had been honed to physical perfection or close enough to make no real difference.

Without a doubt this was the person Nick had wanted recruited enough to assault this district even with the threat of Primes getting involved.

There was just one thing he felt like saying at the moment.

"Took you long enough Cap." He said casually as he got to his feet, "I was beginning to think you weren't coming."

"Sorry but I'm a few years out of practice." Cap said just as casually before pulling the shield out of the destroyed Prime's chest, "But I think this'll be a good chance to shake off the ring rust."

"A little hardcore but given the rep of Captain America I'm not surprised." He said retrieving his bow staff, "With you on board we're pretty much done here. You ready to leave District Fifteen behind?"

"I think I've done enough obsessing over the past." Cap replied hefting the shield as Primes began to advance on them, "It's time to start making plans for the future and I know just where to start."

"Where's that?" He ask honestly curious about the answer.

"Showing the mad scientist responsible for these atrocities that he's not nearly as smart as he thinks he is." Cap replied and with that the shield went flying.

However it didn't bury itself in the chest of the Prime it'd gone flying to choosing instead to ricochet off of the cyborg before hitting another one and then another one before returning to the star spangled man's waiting hand. While the damage done to the Primes wasn't as impressive as the one now missing a head it still left him smiling. Not once during the attack did the spinning shield lose any momentum and while not deep the edges still did damage enough to cause sparks to fly and plating to be cut open.

"Oh this is gonna be fun!" He said now harbouring no doubts whatsoever about them getting out of this alive.

The tide had turned just like the boss man predicted and he was a witness to how it'd all start.

There was just one thing he'd like to say to the assholes in their dark room silhouetted by light shining from just the right dramatic angle.

'You guys are SO screwed now!'

---

The Space Between Realities

The Realm of the Watchers

Hope.

Faith.

Courage.

These are the things that can change the course of the world whether it began with someone amongst the mighty or a seemingly unremarkable person overlooked by all. For it was these things that pushed back the darkness within the human soul and give them the strength to face odds that would cow lesser people.

With words and a seeming message from the beyond the grave Xander Harris found new hope in the future, both his as well as the world's, and with the faith of his friends in the afterlife he found the courage to once again take up the shield he'd cast aside after a past tragedy. Joining forces with Clint Barton, his team and the man with the eyepatch they would go on to start an avalanche of change the world over. What the forces behind the regime would dismiss as nothing in the beginning would gain strength with every victory Xander Harris brought to the resistance either through his actions or his words.

Men like Brian Braddock of the United Kingdom. A man who fled the Darkmoor Energy Research Center to get help for his mentor Doctor Travis who was looked to be under siege by terrorists but in fact were men hired by physicist Christopher Thorn. Thorn saw great profits to be had in Doctor Travis' research and sought to make them his own. Being forced from the road by the terrorists Brian Braddock should have bled out but was saved from death by the arrival of a legend and his daughter. Given the choice between an amulet and a sword Brian chose the former and became a champion of of the realm taking on the name Captain Britain.

Sadly despite the newfound gifts Brian received he was unable to save his mentor but with them at his disposal he vowed to seek out all those responsible and bring them to justice. It would be this promise that would lead him to cross paths with his American counterpart leading to an alliance that would last a lifetime.

Then there were women like Renee Montoya who despite doing her best to live up to the spirit of being a police officer found her efforts undermined by the policies of those in power. She believed it was the purpose, the duty, of a police officer to serve and protect ALL of the citizens of her country regardless of whether or not they were classified as C-Subjects or not. While not blind to the limitations of the system and what she could do as an experienced detective that never stopped her from doing what was right.

It was only when she became involved in a case centred on one Victor Sage, an investigative journalist for a major city newspaper, that she learned that the most important cases could only be solved by asking the right questions of the right people. Not quite willing to abandon her career she put on a mask that would conceal all identifying features and took on the identity of The Question to do the things that were usually barred from her by the law. Never forgetting her honour Renee's nighttime activities eventually brought her to the attention of the resistance who'd discovered a regime plot centred on The Question's city.

Together they would expose the truth to the world and in doing so create the first crack in the illusion that had been created following C-Day to fool the world.

However most telling perhaps would be the meeting that would occur when a distortion in space spat out a small one man ship. Coloured blue and white with 'XL-15' on the wings it soared through space with visible damage on its right wing apparently forcing it to make an emergency landing on Earth. The pilot, a man from another time, had thought that he would find safety and aid in a place all too like the world he came from. Instead he was met with deception and manipulation as forces in the regime sought to harness the advanced technology contained both within the ship as well as the space suit the man wore to further their agenda.

Fortunately for the former crew member of the she SC-01 exploration vessel his knack for making a showy entrance drew the attention of the resistance as well. With their help and Captain America leading the charge much of the advanced technology was recovered with the rest being rendered useless by a few well placed explosives. Though stranded on Earth Buzz Lightyear gained new friends and a promise that they would do all they could to return him to his proper place in time.

Rallying around a hero of the past that'd lost everything the door was opening to the day when all the lies would come crumbling down at the sound of a single rallying cry.

'Avengers Assemble'

I am a Watcher. From a place beyond mortal understanding I observe this world and many others like it. Places where different choices were made or a difference in probability led to failure instead of victory. I have made a vow to never to unduly interfere in the affairs of the realities within my sight or ignore the right of the individual to choose their own future.

While it is true that I have the power to do more I have seen what happens to those with great power who use their abilities too freely or selfishly. It is a heavy burden I bear but for those who I watch over it is one I carry gladly.

For me there is no other path.

"How was that Uatu?" He asked turning to the one who'd been observing him since he first began looking into the reality before him.

"A good first effort Rupert but it goes without saying that you must be careful to adhere to your vow." Uatau replied with his eyes speaking of power and vast experience, "My years of experience and knowledge might afford me a measure of protection from my seniors but the same cannot be said of you. You're an anomaly Rupert, a Watcher who was neither recruited nor went through the same steps as the others, and yet you possess a strength that is nearly equal to my own."

"You think they're taking a 'wait and see' approach?" He asked a discerning look on his face.

"Undoubtably. This has never happened in the entire history of our order." Uatu replied with his own expression, "Anomalies in an order so as steeped in tradition as ours are often frowned upon if not declared threats. No doubt they're watching even now attempting to learn how you came to be and…how to make sure it never happens again."

Understandable.

The power that the Order of the Watchers possessed put them at the level of deities if not higher than even that. With access to the vast reaches of the multiverse that sort of power could end worlds or carve out empires depending on how it was used. With the potential for calamity it made sense that the Order would want to control who joined their order and gained access to the power. For him to come out of nowhere and essentially become one of them without warning would've put the people in charge in an uproar.

"Essentially so long as I do not shake the boat too much they are unlikely to change their stance towards me." He said considering how best to handle the matter, "However if I put more than a finger on the scales of possibility in any reality I observe they will take action. Best to think before I act and stay within the lines…for now."

"For now?" Uatu asked with some concern.

"It may be the way of your Order to be detached from the realities you observe and not involve yourselves in unnecessary activities but it is not mine." He replied with resolve in his tone, "In my previous life I served as a mentor and guide to one who Calling it was to stand against the darkness. I am aware that my circumstances have changed greatly since then however I have no intention of turning my back on the oath I took as a member of the Council. That said my inexperience would make provoking the seniors of your Order foolish at the very least and fatal at the very worst. So until I feel I have grown to the point where I can withstand conventional Order repercussions I will be careful not to provoke your seniors into acting."

"I suppose I cannot expect anything more than that. I will aid you as best I can but there will be a line that I cannot and will not cross." Uatu said with acceptance, "I hope you understand that."

"Of course. Your path is yours just as mine belongs to me. I would never ask you to put yourself at risk with the other members of your Order." He said knowing that while they were becoming friends they were not close enough to stick out their necks for one another, "The help you've given thus far has been more than enough. Thank you."

"You're quite welcome. It has been refreshing to meet someone who possesses a point of view than the other members of my Order." Uatu said with a smile of satisfaction, "Do you intend to do any more viewing for the time being?"

"No. With how things have progressed thus far in my native reality I can leave the matter to Xander to handle." He replied with a negative shake of his head, "I think I shall take a break for the time being. I still have much to do and a long road ahead of me."

Indeed it was nothing less than divine intervention that he was able to shift Buffy and the others out of harms way in a manner that would fool even the senior members of the Order of Watchers. He'd known from the beginning that the odds were against him but for the teenagers that he'd come to think of his own children he hadn't hesitated to act. For each of the Scoobies he'd rescued he'd sent them to a reality best suited to not only tending their injuries but also helping them to develop the powers they'd gained Halloween night. With enough time they'd be both strong enough as well as healthy enough to return home to finish what they started years ago.

~And this time neither demon lord or holy overseer will stand in their way.~ He thought allowing a small mysterious grin to show up on his face, ~They will blaze a trail for others to follow and allow the mortal races to finally stand on their own two feet.~

As good a goal as any to wager one's life on.

As a side benefit since he wasn't officially a member of the Order of Watchers he didn't need to shave his head so that he cold be as bald as the rest of them.

A silver lining if there ever was one.