Director Prescott switched off the PA intercom. She stood over the console for a moment, registering what she had just done. An evacuation. She had told everyone they had lost and to flee for their lives. Never, ever, had she expected to say those words. But life, it seemed, loved to throw curveballs at her. She'd been good about controlling those curveballs but not this time. This time, the twist off the beaten path was too big even for her.
She had seen the chaos continue to unfold. Security guards, employees, even goddamn janitors being ruthlessly gunned down by the invading forces. The metahuman team entering the fray should've turned the tide but the Director could see they were outmatched. With Audrey missing and the team barely surviving their several brawls throughout the base, even they couldn't turn the tide of this invasion.
So she had made a decision. There would be no more deaths fighting a losing battle. She had made the annoucement, ordering everyone to evacuate the base. The decision must have sounded easy coming from her lips. She sounded so stoic, so remarkably calm when giving the order. But it wasn't. Far from it.
All she had worked for was being torn down around her eyes. People she had known for years, people who had helped her build this base, supported the Agency from its inception were being snuffed out, murdered by the enemy. It was like living inside a nightmare, a hellish one from which there was no escape. The Director stared at the mass of monitors and her lips trembled.
She had done all this. The bitch...the Director had underestimated her. How far she would go. Never had she suspected she could amass this, an army, an army willing to attack a major military base on American soil. Never had she imagined her sister would recruit metahumans and set them loose to tear through her own facility.
The Director clutched her fists tight. She should have imagined it. She should have prepared for this. But...but she hadn't. She had been focusing on what she thought had been the real threats, the rogue metahumans popping up. Now she was paying for her incompetence and seeing all she had the built torn down. And dozens of innocent people being slaughtered because of her ignorance. This was on her. Their deaths were on her hands. They had trusted her and in this moment, she had failed them. She only prayed they would listen to the order and be able to escape.
"Ma'am?" A technician said, cutting through her thoughts. The Director looked at her, shaking herself out of her delirium. The technician hurridely waved his hand at one of the monitors. "Mercenaries have penentrated the floor directly below us. They'll likely be here soon."
"Yes..." The Director sucked in her breath. "Get to your evacuation routes."
The technicians looked at each other. Another one spoke up. "Not without you, ma'am."
The Director looked at her. No. Don't do this. Don't be loyal to me now, not over your damn lives. "That wasn't a request," She said, raising her voice. "Go. Now. I'm staying to make sure everyone gets out."
"Alone?" Another technician shook his head. "Ma'am, this is a multi-person job. You'll never oversee the evacuation process by yourself."
"We're staying," A third technician say adamantly. The rest nodded. "We're not abandoing you, Director. Not until you leave as well."
Director Prescott looked at all of them, narrowing her eyes. She was touched but this was blind stupidity on their parts. "That was an order. If you all stay-"
"-We could be killed," The first technician finished the sentence. He smirked. "You don't sign up for this sort of work without risk. All due respect, ma'am, we're staying. Whether you like it or not."
The technicians turned back to their stations, continuing their duties. The Director was tempted to yell at them, to scream at them to run. But she knew that wouldn't work. For better or worse, they weren't going to abandon her. She sighed and muttered, "...Thank you. All of you. If by some miracle we survive, you're all getting promotions and raises."
She walked back to the monitors and began to survey them. She hoped the metahuman team wouldn't be as stubborn as her staff. They needed to survive. She had created all to support them, to mold them into the heroes America needed. They wouldn't go down with the ship, they couldn't.
"Run, you idiots," She whispered to the monitors. "Get out of here." She smiled and fished for a cigarette. "I'm the captain. The captain always goes down with the ship."
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Jason stared up at the ceiling, his mind spinning. Evacuate...?! The Director couldn't be serious! No, it had to be...some sort...trick? No...no. He frowned, clenching his teeth tight. No. She sounded totally serious, as usual. Unless that was a damn good bluff, she had to be...serious. She wanted them to evacuate the base.
"Was that the Director did she just say what I think she said she can't be serious right right?!" James sputtered, sounding on the verge of panic. Laureen stared at the ceiling, mouth hanging open, while Max crossed his arms, his eye narrowing into a slit.
"I...think she did," Jason muttered to James. James shook his head, his curly hair flopping, and grabbed Jason's arm, shaking it.
"But...but why why would she have us run I don't to run we can't just abandon base Audrey and Hiroshi and the Director and Alice and so many others are still here true they're supposed to evacuate too I think maybe yes but what if they don't get out what if they stay then we'll be fleeing like cowards from this mess from all of this we've never run from a fight before right right we can't just do this!"
"I..." Jason tried to think of a response. He looked helplessly at Laureen. She was still staring at the ceiling, seemingly dumbfounded. He looked back at James, into the young man's wide, panicked eyes. "I'm sorry, James, I don't know! I don't know why she said that!"
James let him go and began rubbing his temples, mumbling to himself. Jason turned to Laureen and said, "She...she said evacuate."
"I heard her," Laureen muttered. She slowly looked at him. "But...why?"
"I..." Jason struggled to think. He was having trouble processing his thoughts. He was so damn confused. He didn't know what to do, what to say. But Max's harsh voice broke through his jumbled mind
Max snorted. "Isn't it obvious?" He grunted. "We're outmatched." He pulled himself off Jason, gesturing with his non-paralyzed arm, his other arm hanging at his side like a limp noodle. "This is a tactical retreat. The Director knows the base is going to be overwhelmed and we're all going to die if we stay here. So. We run."
"But but but but!" James sputtered out, spinning around. "We can't just run I mean we could well yes it would quite easy to just leave but we can't abandon everyone can we can we no no not at all we need to beat the invaders we've beaten worse odds haven't we haven't we?!"
Laureen slapped him upside the time. James yelped, his glasses falling off. Laureen immediately gasped and leaned down, grabbing them and handing them back to him. James took them, hurridely wiping one lens with his tie while she spoke.
"I'm sorry dude! But we need to calm down. We need...to think."
"Think?" Max snapped. "There's no time to think. We got an order. Let's follow it."
Jason snarled at that. He grabbed Max by the collar and shook him rougly, nearly yanking him off the floor. "You fucking bastard!" It took all his willpower to resist decking Max right then and there. "We just run because the Director said so?! And abandon her and who knows how many innocent people to die?! Yeah, really heroic right there, you asshole!"
Max barely reacted to being manhandled. He glared back at Jason and poked him in the chest with his working arm. "Everyone else is running too. That order was for the whole base. There's nothing here to defend. We stay, we die. Simple. We can't stop these guys. Sure, we've been winning small skirmishes but not forever! We're been taking some bad hits and its only a matter of time until we slip up and they overwhelm us. We run! It's the only thing to do!"
Jason pressed Max against the wall, now lifting him off the floor. "Bullshit!" Jason barked, spraying spittle onto Max's face. "We just abandon Hiroshi and Audrey then too?! We can win this! We've faced worse odds! You're just not confident in yourself and you think we can't win just because you're useless!"
Max's eye widened. Jason clutched the man's collar tighter. Good. I'm tired of you and your goddamn cynical attitude. Just because you got hurt gives you the right to act like a bastard and condemn all these people to die? I hope that stung. I hope it did, you son of a bitch!
"Enough!" Laureen yelled, moving between them. "Jason, drop him!" Jason looked at her. He looked at Max. He then released the guy, dropping Max to the floor with a loud thump. Max tried to get up, but with his one arm, he couldn't. Jason didn't move to help him. But Laureen hauled him to his feet.
"Enough fighting!" She barked, shoving Max back. "We need to work together right now more than ever. Okay?! So both of you shut the fuck and act like goddamn adults!"
Jason folded his arms. Max didn't say anything. There was an awkward silence before Jason spoke up. "So now what? We keep fighting, right? Find every single bad guy in the base and take them down?"
Laureen breathed out. She turned away from him and rubbed her arms together. Jason watched her, itching for an answer. Come on! You know we have to stay. Running is NOT an option! We...we have to stay! You know we do!
Laureen turned back. She looked at the three of them. Jason tensed as she opened her mouth.
"No," She said, her voice firm but cracking slightly. "We...we got to get out of here. Max is-"
"What?!" Jason screamed, cutting her mouth. Laureen tried to speak again but he cut her off, exploding with rage. "That's insanity! Laureen, are you serious?! I am the only person with a heart in here?! The only person who gives a shit about human lives, people who have SUPPORTED us, helped us, and we're letting them DIE in return?! That's FUCKED UP!" He roared and spun, smashing his hand into the wall, denting the spot.
"Jason!" Laureen barked. Jason whirled back to her, feeling rage inside of him. He was pissed off. He could feel his heart race, could feel the sweat oozing down his body, and he wanted to hurt something. Somebody. But Laureen bared her teeth and stalked right up to him, jabbing her finger into the spider emblem in the middle of his chest. "Listen you moron-"
"Oh so I'm a moron for wanting save people, huh?!" Jason snarled, interrupting her. "When did you suddenly become so damn heartless?! Being a leader doesn't mean throwing away your soul, you know!"
"You think I don't fucking know that?!" Laureen screamed. Her hands balled into fists. "You think I don't want to stay?! You think I don't want to kick the asses of every son of a bitch bastard invading my home?! If you actually think I want that, then yeah! You are a moron!"
Jason clenched his teeth. He tried to interject but Laureen kept yelling, talking over him. "But Max is right! We have to make a choice here! Stay and die, because yeah, I think we're outmatched."
"We've faced-" Jason started to say but Laureen kept him off.
"We've faced worse? Bullshit! Yeah, we've faced tough metahumans in the past but this? This is an attack, not just random destruction or some half-baked scheme carried out by people with inexperience in real fights. This is an attack and our side is getting slaughtered! We've never faced a whole army of dudes with guns and shit, who are actual professionals and backed up by who knows how many powerful metahumans! We're going to be overwhelmed and if we want to live, if we wanna get out of this, we have to evacuate! The Director would have never given that order unless she knew that too! So..." Laueen sucked in her breath. Her face was turning red and she took a moment. Jason chose that moment to interject.
"So what?" He cried. "We know who's behind this! The Director's insane sister or something! We find her, we beat her ass, and that's that!"
Max snorted. Jason glared at him again. But Laureen spoke up. "Its not that easy! If she was dumb enough to come here herself, you think they'd just stop when we take her out?" She shook her head. "Jason. I'm sorry. But we're leaving. It's..." She hesitated then swallowed and said, "We don't have a choice."
Jason clenched his fists angrily. Laureen turned to the others. "James. We can get out on The Panther or The Behemoth, right?"
James nodded. "Yes yes certainly I have a backup key on my person very similar in design to the controls for The Bullet elegant in its simplicity really none of us are actual pilots but a simple command and The Panther I'm sorry to say I didn't build one for the other plane apologies but that was built without much of my input you know yes but The Panther can get us out."
Laureen nodded. "Okay. Then we make a run for it. Hopefully...we'll run into Audrey or Hiroshi on the way. But we have to think of ourselves right now."
Jason shook his head angrily. "This is a mistake!" He hissed.
"Yeah, well, nothing we can fucking do about it," Laureen muttered. She sighed, rubbing her forehead, before pointing down the stairs. "Hanger is two floors down. Don't engage enemy troops on the way down if we can fucking help it. Now let's get there." Without another word, she began limping down the stairs. James hurried after her, adjusting his glasses as he darted down the stairs.
Max looked at Jason. They exchanged a silent glare between each other before Max went ahead, not even asking for Jason's support, as he gripped his paralyzed arm tight and moved after the others.
Jason watched them moving off. He looked back. Bastards. Just leaving everyone to die! Leaving the Director, Alice, and all those other people who worked here! Fucking hell!
Jason kicked the wall angrily. But now...ugh! Could he take this all on alone? No. No he couldn't. He could try! Yes I could try! But I...I don't know. Alone I always get my goddamn ass kicked! Jason punctuated each thought with another kick to the wall. Fuck, fuck, fuck!
He finally stopped kicking the wall. He sighed and looked back down the hallway. Then he looked forward. If he stayed...
Shit.
He felt like kicking himself. Hard. But...fuck. There really was no choice at all.
Letting loose several violent curses, Jason charged after the others.