Jason flexed his shoulders as the elevator began to move downward. The horrible grinding noise he had heard in the factory now echoed inside the enclosed space. He frowned uncomfortably, rubbing a hand over his ears.
"Geez," He said to the guard. "This elevator sounds like its about to die."
The guard laughed. "Honestly, that's the first time I've thought about in ages. You'd be amazed what you can get used to." The guard tapped the wall. "This baby came with the facility and although she may sound weak, she's a tough old girl. Our budget goes toward data and networks, not routine maintenance. We patch her up enough to keep her working and that's enough."
Jason shrugged. "If you say so."
"It does sound like a piece of crap elevator," Laureen muttered, folding her arms behind her head. "At least it ain't like some the crapfests in my old neighborhood. Woof. Those looked like fucking crap on the inside and out, lemme tell you."
"Yeah," The guard said, raising an eyebrow. "Okay." He sounded really disinterested, his head turning back to the changing numbers. Jason frowned but smirked and nudged Laureen.
"Guess he hates small talk." He whispered.
"That makes fucking two of us," Laureen said with a rueful grin.
"What are you talking about? You run your mouth off like you've been filled hot air pretty much all the time!"
Laureen elbowed him back. "Hey. You shut up."
Audrey put her massive hand between them and gently pushed them apart. "I don't think it's the time to be messing around, guys," She whispered. Jason opened his mouth then closed it. She was right.
"Right. Sorry."
He leaned against the wall and Audrey lowered her hand. Laureen sighed but also shut up. The guard didn't acknowledge the exchange, continuing to watch the numbers change. The group rode downward in silence, listening to the horrible grinding of the elevator until, mercifully, it stopped with a loud clanging noise. The doors slid open, revealing a long, dark hallway before them. Lights flickered on automatically, revealing the walls were made of glass. There was no furniture and at the end of the hall was a pair of doors that looked newly polished. Two more guards flanked the doorway, each holding a submachine gun.
Hiroshi stepped through the doors first, clutching his helmet tight as he looked around. "Man..." He whispered as he swiveled about, looking at his own reflection in the glass walls. "This place is a lot smaller than the Agency was. A lot...creepier too."
The guard furrowed his lips at that but simply said, "Keep moving please." Hiroshi nodded quickly and moved forward down the hallway. He then saw the two armed guard and quickly took a few steps back.
"Uh..." He looked back. "Someone else mind going first...please?"
"Oh don't be a weanie," Laureen huffed. She paused then said, "But I suppose as team leader I should go first. Yeah, I guess that makes fucking sense. Alright, make way." She limped out of the elevator and Hiroshi moved aside. She also took in her surroundings as she hobbled forward down the hall. Hiroshi followed after her, glancing carefully at the guards.
Jason glanced at James, Audrey, and Max. James was practically bouncing on his heels with excitement but Jason noted his eyes were straying to the elevator walls. Suddenly, as if he was unable to help himself, he charged over to the wall and slapped his hands against it.
"I'm sorry forgive me but I couldn't restrain myself supposed to be moving forward yes I remember I remember only a few seconds ago you said that yes yes yes but this elevator ooh I can't stand the noises its making it needs a tune up heavy maintenance," James rambled, rubbing his hands against the wall. "I estimate the pit roller bearings you know what those are well I assume you do we can get into the explanation later perhaps a lecture maybe is require but perhaps not I won't assume that'd be rude wouldn't it yes yes I think so anyway those are perhaps out of date and when they are out of date they go bad and when they go bad the sound resonates through your mounting arms making that horrible grinding sound could I please have a look at them I don't mean to brag not quite well not entirely true perhaps but still I am a bit of technical genius I could certainly try my hand at repairing I don't need to even be paid!"
The guard blinked. He then blinked again. "W-what?" He said.
Jason grabbed James's arm and hauled him out of the elevator. "Come on dude..." He said with a sigh. "Let's not bother people, okay?"
James nodded vigorously, practically vibrating in Jason's grasp. "Yes yes of course naturally yes so sorry but you know that noise could be fixed with a few simple tweaks if they would allow me access which is perhaps overzealous of me to think that they would but you know there is a chance and a chance often leads to great things not to say being given an opportunity to fix something is especially great well it is for me I simply loved to tinker as you know of course not saying you don't but-"
Jason flicked James in the head. James jumped and blinked, coming out of his rant. He coughed, his cheeks flushing, and sputtered, "But ah that can wait for another time I shall file it away and lock it up the thought shall be buried disposed of there all done I'll turn my mind to other matters apologies greatly sorry yes."
Audrey squeezed herself out of the elevator and Max slowly followed after him, looking like a hunchback for how much he was slumping. Jason let James go, satisfied his friend had gotten control of himself, and surveyed their surroundings as he approached the doors. Not much to see, save for his own reflection. He noted he looked a bit less shitty than when he had examined himself in Madeline's house. Still, he didn't look good either. His hair was messy, sticking out everything, dark circles had formed under his eyes, and his costume had clearly been put through the ringer. Jason traced a hand over the long cut across his spider emblem. Hopefully, he'd find a way to get the suit fixed. He didn't like seeing it damaged...it struck him as wrong, somehow.
They reached the doors. The guards eyed them all. Laureen grinned at them and said, "So, do you guys like standing in the dark all day until someone shows up? Must be a real shitty job."
The guards didn't answer her, continuing to stare at them stone faced. Laureen sighed and rolled her eyes. "No sense of fucking humor. Sue me for trying to lighten the mood..." She pointed at the doors. "Can we go in?"
One guard nodded. He took out a card from his belt and flashed it in front of the doors. There was a loud click and the doors opened automatically. Jason watched as they opened, curious as to what was on the other side. He wondered if the GHOST site would look like the Metahuman Agency. He didn't know...didn't know if he could deal with that. Seeing a replica so soon after watching the place get torn apart, piece by piece? That...that seemed even more wrong. He felt his throat constrict, tightening in anticipation.
Thankfully, when the doors opened, the room beyond was considerably different. The floor slanted downward and desks were arranged at the sides. More people in black uniform were working away at computers. Jason could see what looked like bits of data and code on the computer screens, which he couldn't make heads or tails of. Others were speaking quietly into receievers or speaking with their fellow workers. A slight few desks even had mattresses arranged behind them, which were currently occupied by a few snoring people. At the bottom of the room was a huge digital map of the United States. Standing in front of the map was Beckett Axel, his hands clutching behind his back.
He turned around and looked up. "Ah," He said, adjusting his tie and beginning to walk up the slanted floor. "You've all finally arrived. Apologies for the late pickup but I'm sure one of our guards explained why that was the case."
A couple of workers glanced at the metahumans but barely showed any reaction and quickly returned to what they were doing. Laureen was first to move into the room and James scurried after her. Jason followed, the others not too far behind.
"Wow..." Hiroshi said in a hushed voice, his youthful face splitting into a wide grin as he surveyed the room. "It's not as big as the Agency was but it's still pretty cool! Reminds me a bit of the bridge on Star Trek."
"I've never seen that show," Jason admitted flatly as he strode into the room, moving down toward Axel. "But you're...this place is smaller than I expected."
"And what were you expecting, Mr. MacQuil?" Axel said, stopping before them. He gestured at the ceiling. "People hooked into computers, processing trillions of terabytes of information every second? A grand headquarters, rivaling the Agency in size? Perhaps an artificial intelligence, a computer so sophisticated it can think for itself!" He smiled and shook his head. "If so, well, I can understand you're disappointment."
Jason coughed awkwardly. "Sorry. It's just..after the Agency...I thought..."
"The Agency was an anomaly," Axel said, lowering his hand. "The Director poured her very soul into that place. Do you know how many legal loopholes she had to hop, skip, and jump through just to get that monstrosity approved. I'll give you a hint: it took decades. It was a once in a lifetime creation. GHOST, in comparison, was developed quite recently and our budget is positively miniscule. We're good at what we do but half our resources came from the Agency. And other half was practically developed on site. Not all government bases are state of the art, futuristic powerhouses, despite what science fiction and the Agency would have you believe."
Jason nodded. He felt a bit heavy at that. So the Agency was one of a kind then, He thought sadly. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck! He wanted to kick something, to smash something, but he managed to restrain himself. He contented himself with imaging himself smashing his way through a bunch of Skeleton Crew mercenaries. He smiled. Yeah...that was nice.
Axel paused for a moment. Laureen quickly broke the silence.
"Alright, we made it," She said to the GHOST leader. "Wasn't fucking easy...but we made it."
Axel's expression turned more serious. He sighed and nodded. "...I can see. You all look like you've been through hell."
"It..." Audrey bit her lip, swallowing hard. "...It was a bad..." Her voice cracked. "..b-bad few d-days." Now she sounded on the verge of tears.
Jason instinctively put his hand on her arm. She stiffened but didn't pull away. She looked down at him and smiled. Jason's heart skipped a beat. He stared stupidly back her before smiling back, his hand trembling slightly.
"Perhaps an understatement," Axel said. Jason quickly looked away from Audrey, although he didn't take his hand off her. "But yeah. Its been a bad few days." He sighed. "...I can't help but blame myself. I'm an information gatherer, for pete's sake! Its my job to monitor this sort of thing! And..." He rubbed his temples. "And...now the Agency is gone. We're..." He shook his head and his knees buckled. For a moment, Jason thought the man might fall over. But Axel gripped the edge of a desk, steadying himself.
"...We're all that's left." He muttered.
The group all looked at each, once again the mood turning sour. Jason felt the white hot rage coming back but thankfully, Laureen spoke up again before he could be overcome by it. He admired that about her, able to keep a relatively cool head. Despite her rough and tumble exterior, her videogame obsession, and her love of swearing, she rarely cracked under pressure. Even in this madness, she was able to think logically. Jason admired that about her. No wonder the Director had selected her as Max's replacement.
"Have you heard anything more?" Laureen demanded. "I know the assholes are keeping you out of the loop but they're combing through the Agency ruins. Have they shared anything?" She paused. "Did they find...the Director's..." Laureen stopped. Jason grimaced. Even she couldn't finish that sentence.
Axel shook his head. "Like I said, no." He sighed deeply. "I've been fighting it but what little leeway I had is gone now. They can jerk me around all they want now and if I do get information, its only because they were feeling nice."
He made a disgusted noise. "...I've been tempted to hack into them. See if I can't find the information, keep myself informed, but..." Axel gave them a wry smile. "...That wouldn't be a smart decision at all. Its only a matter of time until we're shut down and I'd like to delay that as long as possible."
Jason folded his arms, leaning against a desk. The desk's occupant glanced up at him but he ignored the guy. "So what do we do then?" He asked. He punched his hands together. "I'd like to find these assholes. What they did to us, to the Director, to Audrey..." He gritted his teeth. "They need to pay."
"Fucking agreed," Laureen grunted. She rubbed at her injured leg, twisting his lips uncomfortably. Axel immediately snapped his fingers and one GHOST worker rose, pushing his chair behind Laureen. She nodded at him before sitting down. "Thanks. I think I've been putting too much weight on this fucker lately." She stretched out her leg as she talked. "But yeah, what Jason said."
Axel looked at the others. "I assume the rest of you are on board with this?"
Hiroshi was quiet for a moment before he said, "Y-yes. I...those people are monsters. We..." He took a breath and clutched his helmet tighter. "...We need to stop them."
James grinned broadly, running one hand through his hair while absently adjusting with his jacket buttons with the other. "Yes naturally these people as Hiroshi so quaintly put it well done Hiroshi are monsters they are terrorists on America soil made worse by the astounding well horrific not astounding excuse me I'm not praising them you understand you got that right of course I should have more faith in others to believe me yes quite anyway yes I am on board Mr. Axel I wish to stop them and make them pay for what they did what they're doing and what they're no doubt going to do."
Audrey just nodded.
Everyone's heads went to Max. He was slouching a few feet back from them, looking for all the world like he'd rather be somewhere else. Jason wondered what'd he'd say. He'd never known Max to turn his head away from something like this but now...he didn't know.
Axel folded his arms. "Mr. Delgado, what's your answer?" His voice was stern, creeping towards harsh.
Max sniffed. He flexed his shoulders. "Then he mumbled, "I guess I'm in, huh."
Axel narrowed his eyes. "That sounds extremely non-committal. Is your heart really is this? There's no shame in benching yourself, you know. Especially considering your condition."
Max's eye narrowed and his mouth curled into a snarl. He stepped forward, shoving his way through the others. Jason looked at Laureen, silently wondering if he should do something. She just shook her head and mouthed 'Let him go off.'
Okay then. Max's funeral I guess.
Max jabbed a finger at Axel, practically foaming at the mouth. He looked pissed. Like, scarily pissed. "Condition?" He hissed. Hiroshi backed away from him, as did Audrey. "I don't have a condition! My only condition is a low tolerance for assholes like you!" He barked the last few words. Every single worker in the room stopped what they were doing, heads turning in Max's direction.
Axel sniffed, looking more annoyed than scared or equally angry. "Mr. Degaldo..."
"Shut up!" Max snarled, spewing spittle. "Just shut up!" He twisted around, his angry gaze scanning the group. Jason could swear he saw the guy's eye twitching. "All of you...just shut up! Everyday you treat me like this!" He slashed an arm through the air. "All this condescending crap!"
Audrey raised a hand and said quietly, "Max...we're not treating you badly. That's not what any of us would think! We're just concerned."
"Yeah, concerned," Max spat. He threw up his hands. "I'm sick of this shit! I am done with this crap! Stop bothering me! Stop trying to FIX me! I'm broken!" He pointed at his eyepatch."This is me now! Like it or not! I don't need this right now! I don't need anything! I just want to be left alone, without anyone jabbing and poking at me like I'm a goddamn lab experiment!"
Max sang in a high, mocking sing-song tone. "Oh Max you just have to think positive and get back up on your feet and then you can stop being a brooding jerk!" He kicked at the floor. "I'm sick of that word, you know? You're always mocking me or trying to fix me! It's either I'm an asshole or I'm some poor, dumb mental patient who just needs a hug and everything will be fine!" He spat on the floor. "Fuck you!" He whirled and shouted at Axel, "Fuck all of you! Just leave me alone! That's my only condition! I don't need your fucking shit! Not now, not ever, okay?!"
Everyone was silent. Max took a breath, sweating spilling off his head. Audrey's lips trembled and she said, "I-I'm s-s-sorry."
Jason nearly exploded. He was about to lunge forward and grab Max by his stupid neck and wring him and smash him into the desk over and over, screaming at the top of his lungs what an asshole, a dick, what a piece of shit he was, and how dare he yell at them, how dare he yell at Audrey, we're just trying to help-!
But thankfully, Laureen spoke and her voice cut through Jason's cloud of rage. He stopped in mid-step and quickly moved back, reeling himself in.
"Jesus..." She grunted with a soft laugh. "Tell us how you really feel."
Max glared at her. He finally seemed to notice everyone was staring at him and deflated slightly. He mumbled something and was about move away when Axel grabbed his arm.
Max twisted around, their faces inches apart. Max stood several inches taller than the GHOST leader but even so, Axel seemed to dwarf him. Max looked down at his hand in Axel's own and growled, "Let go of me."
"I don't think so," Axel jabbed a finger into Max's chest. "I don't care if you lost an eye." Max's sucked in his breath at that but Axel kept going, speaking louder. "You have an attitude problem and you're lashing out at the wrong goddamn people! If you yell at her..." Axel pointed at Audrey. "...One of the sweetest girls I've ever met in my long and illustrious career, then something is very wrong with you. Take a step back and look at yourself. If you can't handle this, then maybe you should be off the team."
Max bit his lip. He then hissed, "There's no team anymore. Our base is wrecked. We're no the Agency anymore!" He leaned in close to Axel and growled, "Now get off of me."
Axel glared at him. But he released Max. Max yanked his wrist away and sniffed, before moving back behind the others. He shot Axel a murderous glare before leaning against a desk and turning his gaze to the ceiling.
Axel sighed. Laureen looked at him and said, apologetically, "...Sorry."
"Mmm," Axel shook his head. "Well...I know what you lot need to do next."
Jason stepped forward. "I can help you out there. You gotta direct us to where the Skeleton Crew is and we can lay down some fucking payback. Take them out before they come for us or wreck something else. So, where do we start? I bet you've got leads, sources, all that good shit. Right?"
Axel smiled broadly before it immediately vanished. "You're right about all of that, Jason. I'm flattered. But I'm not just a pretty face..." He patted his broad chest. "Which is why I'm making a call. You all look like crap." He surveyed them all. "You've been through hell, each one of you, but you haven't even entered the friyng pan yet. Now...I've got a plan. But it'll take sometime to put together." He jerked a thumb at the giant map. "Even GHOST's resources have limits, especially now, and putting together a strategy to strike back is barely in the planning stages. So..."
"Aha I know I put together a hypothesis of what you're going to say not to say you're predictable Mr. Axel of course not but I happened to see where your conversation your ultimate point was headed much like a car slowly trekking down a road or perhaps a soccer ball in momentum towards a goal completely different aspects of course you're not truly in physical motion but the metaphor works nicely doesn't it hm perhaps perhaps not oh well not important," James said in one breath. All of a sudden. He paused briefly, Axel staring at him. A few of the workers began to mutter amongst themselves. James took a large gulp of air, his curly hair bouncing, and then blurted out, "Sorry apologies for the pause I hate pausing mid-thought it throws me off interrupts my own momentum again no physically but mental impediments are sometimes more annoying quite bothersome yes anyway my point coming to the point of this sorry for stalling accursed breath of air most annoying did I say that yes I did oops wasting more time now then you Mr. Axel Beckett Axel you want us to have a rest recuperate reenergize and return fresh faced am I correct?"
A long moment of silence passed. Then Axel coughed. "Well..." He adjusted his tie, running a hand over his head. "It's a damn miracle I understood a word of that. But yes, you're correct, Mr. Fisher." James beamed proudly. "I want you all to head to our common space. Again, not as nice as the Agency was. But it'll do for you all to get cleaned up, get some R&R, and probably some much needed food."
"Ooh..." Hiroshi moaned slightly. He rubbed at his stomach. "Food...I think that burger is starting to wear off..."
Jason frowned deeply. "Sir," He said. "I don't think-"
Axel gave him a hard look. He stood up straight and grunted, "You maybe mistook that for a request, Mr. MacQuil. It wasn't. It was an order. You want to stay in this? You want to function at one hundred percent so you don't succumb to fatigue or make a stupid ass, sleep deprived decision? Then go get some rest. You all need it." He pointed at the elevator. "Now."
Jason nearly balled his hands into fists. He wanted to argue. He wanted to desperately argue that Axel was wrong. They need to go after Jacqueline and her pack of freaks now! But...but...a small, more rational voice whispered in his mind that Axel was right. He was tired. He was hungry. And he really, really smelled. A hot shower, some actual food, and a nap were simply too tempting to pass up, no matter how much he wanted to.
He sighed and deflated "...Yeah. Okay."
Laureen nodded, rising off her chair. "Sounds good to me. What floor?"
"The guard will escort you," Axel turned and began walking back to the digital map, waving to them. "See you all in a few hours. I'll have you brought down when I'm ready. And you all better look good."
Laureen laughed at that. "Will do. Will fucking do. Come on guys, let's go fucking catch some zs. Don't know about you guys but that sounds like a damn good time right now." She hobbled toward the elevator. The others followed, Jason pausing momentarily to take in the room again before he followed.
He passed by Max as they talked. The guy was moving slowly, practically kicking up his heels as he plodded behind the others. Jason looked at him. Max didn't look back. Jason opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he closed it. Why bother? Max was just gonna blow up on him again and after his meltdown a few minutes ago, that was the last thing they needed.
So he moved ahead of Max, deliberately, yet subtly putting himself next to Audrey and together, the group walked to the elevator to head for the longue.