Neo
"That's every single detail. Anything else you wanna know?" Neo was sat alone with Hector in his living room, both drinking tea and sitting propped up in their seats as though partaking in a philosophical debate. Which of course, it felt like they were. Neo had explained practically every element of Zuro's memories in as much detail as possible to Hector, who merely sat and listened intently to it all until he was finished. It was a lot to take in, but Hector's questions had formed relatively quickly in his mind "The Sage. What did he look like?" "Well uh...he wore sort of royal clothing. Garbs, a cloak, dark purple stroked with blue. And he was old; grey hair, donned in jewellery. Looked like he hadn't seen the light of day in a long while." Neo gave as good a description as he could of the man. Thinking back to Zuro's memories was like trying to grasp an event from years prior in his own past, albeit with far more disconnect from the actual thought itself. It was a struggle, despite how recently he'd learned everything, but he was doing his best to try and answer all of Hector's questions. "It may be as I thought...which does not bode well for any of us." Hector grumbled, sipping his tea vigorously as though to vent his anger. "Why not? Who was he?" Neo asked curiously. From what Dolion had told Charon he had almost no idea who the Sage was or what his link to their world was, other than the fact he held the ability to drop the spell. "The Sage was around back when Heimskor first took all the powers from the Dohlkai. Although whether this one is the exact man or a descendant is...unknown. Heimskor trusted him enough to leave him with the only means of accessing the artefact. Whatever Dolion did to get him to drop the concealment, it can't have been pleasant, and the chances are he was disposed of immediately after. You said Dolion got him to drop the spell right before Charon left, yes?" "Pretty much. Maybe an hour or two before he travelled to Earth, but close enough." Neo said with a small nod, trying to figure out what Hector was getting at. "Tell me Neo, when exactly did the artefact spell drop here on Earth?" Hector said, attempting to prompt Neo into figuring the secret out for himself. "I um...I'm not sure." "Yes you are, I've told you myself." Hector locked eyes with Neo, waiting, until suddenly realisation flooded his gaze and Hector nodded slowly. "Twenty years ago." Neo muttered, glancing down, then shaking his head and looking at Hector in confusion "How's that possible? It took Zuro an instant to get to Earth. You're trying to tell me the Sage dropped the spell twenty years before he arrived here?" "Yes. That's exactly what I'm trying to tell you. It took Zuro that length of time to get from his planet to here. Whether that's due to his means of travel or other variables is unknown, but believe it or not its likely this mishap saved our lives." Hector said, as Neo narrowed his eyes slightly "How?" "Well, if Zuro had come here right after the Sage dropped the spell, he simply would've found the artefact and gone back home. Which would've bode ill for every Dohlkai and human alike. It's better that he arrived when the spell had been put up again, and failed his mission entirely." Neo perked up slightly at Hector's words. It was something he'd been sceptical about, but hearing the old man confirm it brought the query to the forefront of his mind. "So...was the spell put back up then?" Neo questioned as Hector glanced at him, his mouth curling into the slightest hint of a smile "By you?" Neo raised his eyebrows and Hector gave a small nod, his smile appearing in full for a second before disappearing once again. "Yes. After I gained my powers I put it back up. I suspected others would be after it, and after what I learned I knew other humans couldn't find it, so I kept it hidden." "And you never went back?" Neo asked curiously, only for a flash of emotion to cross Hector's face. He lifted his cup back to his mouth, though seemed not to drink, instead letting a strange, low growl rumble in his throat. "Once." He murmured into his teacup, as Neo watched incredulously at his actions "And not by choice." Almost as quick as the grim atmosphere fell upon the room it was lifted again, and Hector sipped his tea before looking back at Neo "But that's hardly worth getting into at this time. Let's talk about something more prominent." "How did we all get our powers?" "That is not prominent in the slightest." Hector grumbled and crossed his arms, but Neo refused to be deterred. "Why can't you tell me?" "Because it's nothing you need to know right now! All things will be revealed in time, but if I just tell you everything right to your face how will you ever learn anything?!" Neo paused as he looked at Hector, who tried to drink his tea again only to find it empty - and immediately standing to get more. "That doesn't make the least bit of sense. What can you tell me about our powers? And about the artefact? And about those two men who discovered it with you?" Neo stood up as well and moved beside Hector as the man poured himself another cup of tea, refusing to meet the boy's gaze. "Alright Neo." He muttered, strangely almost to himself despite the mention of the boy's name "I released the powers from the artefact the second time I encountered it." The old man turned away from the counter, moving back to his seat as Neo hesitantly but intently followed "I don't know what has become of the two who discovered it with me." He took a large gulp of tea - Neo was surprised he didn't choke on it - before inhaling deeply and looking straight at the boy "And the artefact will never be touched by anyone else so long as I have something to say about it." There was a moment of quiet as Neo watched Hector with surprise, until the tension in the room evaporated and the old man let out a sigh "Do you understand? I do not keep things from you to spare the bother of telling you, these are things that would only serve to complicate an already stressful situation." Neo didn't say anything, but gave a firm nod of his head before placing his tea cup on the table. "Alright. Now, shall we return to the topic at hand?" "Actually, there's something else I um...well..." Neo scratched the back of his neck. A slightly guilty expression crossed his face at whatever he was going to say, but with a strong resolve he looked back up to meet Hector's eyes. "Axel. You won't train him, why? And don't sell me what you did last time. You know something; his powers being the same as Zuro's. Tell me." Neo didn't break eye contact as he spoke, and Hector merely seemed to be soaking up his words as he thought rather than trying to out-gaze him. "Noah. He told me all of your group members' powers. I recognised them, considering I freed them from the artefact but-...his I didn't. Them being Zuro's I...didn't know. But that makes things a lot more interesting..." He stared blankly in thought, but Neo was quick to snap him back to the conversation "Is he trustworthy?" "You tell me. You know him far better than I do." "I thought he was. Zuro ripped his arm off for God's sake, and then Axel nearly killed him in one of his blasts. It didn't seem the least bit likely they'd be working together." Neo shook his head. Even as he spoke he was convincing himself that Axel wasn't against them, but still. That small nagging at the back of his head remained. "And what of Zuro's memories? If they were working together wouldn't those have revealed it?" Hector asked, more considerate than sceptical as he watched Neo's internal struggle. "Exactly. Zuro realised he lost a section of his powers, but he didn't know how. And he'd never even met Axel before he encountered the group." Neo shook his head, seemingly set on a final conclusion "There's no way. I'm thinking too into it, Axel would give his life for-" "You're seemingly set on the idea that everything in Zuro's memories was fact." Hector stated wisely and cryptically, though his face was particularly serious as he watched Neo "We don't know everything about how this memory link works, remember. It's entirely possible he altered some of them. In order to protect his inside man." Neo's face seemed to widen in realisation, and his fist was quick to tighten by his side "But!" Hector began quickly, before the boy's own imagination pushed him towards doing something rash "There could also be an entirely logical explanation that doesn't involve your close friend being a traitor. Don't jump to conclusions. Everything so far is mere scepticism, so don't dare act on anything that pops into your head, you here me?" Neo remained stiff for a minute, before slowly exhaling and unclenching his fist "Yeah, whatever. I'll keep an eye on him though." "Fine by me." Hector said, flashing a smile before leaning back happily in his chair. Neo followed suit, only to feel a vibration in his pocket and pull out his phone. He stood up quickly, staring at the screen before glancing at the door, then Hector. "What it is?" "It's Axel and Kelsie, they're worried sick. Apparently Synthia never made it home. Sorry, but I really need to-" "Just get going kiddo. We've discussed almost everything there is to discuss." Hector said with a wave of his hand, just as Neo gave him a grateful nod before heading out the living room, rapidly messaging back to his friends "We'll get started on the training soon. I'll bring the others once I've filled them in. Bye!" Neo shouted before leaving the house and entering the alleyway, leaving Hector to drink his tea alone in his living room.
Nexus
A bucket load of water splashed Nexus in the face as he suddenly spluttered and jolted awake, eyes immediately darting around in shock. His head throbbed, and the bullet wound in his shoulder wasn't exactly pleasant, but he barely even had time to register this before a fist socked him square in the jaw. A particularly large fist. Bostro stood towering over him, a shit-eating, victorious grin on his face as he flexed his fingers, wiping a fleck of Nexus' blood off his knuckles. "Always wanted to do that." He mused, laughing as Nexus did his best to stop his vision from spinning. If nothing else Bostro had one thing going for him - the man could punch like hell. Too bad Nexus was going to rip his arms clean off the second he got free from the chair he was tied to. His hands were bound behind his back, and the second he tried to move them he realised that they were encased in some kind of metal brace. In a futile attempt he turned to try and get a look behind him to see what it was but was rendered unable to, cursing under his breath as he tried once more, and failed once more, to make even the slightest of movements with his fingers. "Ah, now this little thing I'm proud of." Bostro said, moving to the side of Nexus to peer behind his back, giving him a view of the girl in front of him; and the rest of the room. Quinn was still bound to her chair, in no better or worse condition than when Nexus had been knocked out, meaning not a lot of time must've passed between then and now. Behind her numerous thugs once again stood, guns pointed at her in a similar fashion to earlier, and Nexus could only guess that a similar number were standing patient and quiet right behind him. They were in a warehouse again, the smaller one, where four dangling, bare lamps provided the only light. Odd boxes, crates, shelves, and building materials were all that were held within, nothing that seemed remotely useful in getting Nexus out of the situation. "Had this especially built for you Nex." Bostro said, examining his hands from behind as Nexus attempted to block out the man's words "Fit your hand like a glove, only metal. And they constrict once activated too, meaning you can't move your fingers no matter how hard you try once they're on." Just to test his theory Nexus tried once again, straining his fingers as hard against the metal brace as he could. Again, not the slightest budge. The encasement held his hands apart, like there were metal poles attached between both gloves, and they stopped just after his wrists. Bostro must've paid a lot of money to whoever the fuck he got those from, and they were doing a damn good job at stopping Nexus from activating his powers. "Now, let's talk business." Bostro said, clapping his hands as he walked back around to face Nexus. He punched him again, so hard he knocked a tooth clean out of Nexus' mouth. It wasn't a big deal to him; Quinn would be able to heal it once they both made it out. "You're gonna give me the passwords to your bank accounts - all three of them - and in return I'll cripple you and leave you be." Bostro put on a cheery tone as he said this, though the sinister nature of his words bled through. "Wouldn't be the first time." Nexus quipped, causing the large man in front of him to let out a snort of laughter as though he'd understood the joke. He spoke again, trying to make a joke from the sounds of it, but Nexus' mind was elsewhere. He made sure to catch Quinn's gaze, giving her his best look of reassurance, however her expression slumped and she merely looked defeated, her hopeless eyes staring back at his. That filled him with the fire he needed, and his mind began working overdrive to try and find a way out. Any attacks from his powers would be in vain, but that didn't mean they were entirely unusable. Still, even if he used them to get free from his bindings, he wouldn't be able to protect Quinn if Bostro or his men began shooting so that was out of the picture. His teleportation likely still worked, though he had to be touching Quinn in order to get her free. And if he left alone, it's likely Bostro would take his anger out on Quinn and execute her there and then. Too risky once again. God fucking dammit. She was the reason they were in that position. If she hadn't gotten herself captured - if she hadn't insisted on breaking down his barriers - none of this would've happened. He looked at her once more and his expression softened. She was paying as much of a price as him. And he'd put as much into their relationship as her. They had to be in this together, otherwise nothing would work. That's when it hit him. Quinn has her own powers, she would likely have a way to get them out of there. All she needed was to be able to speak. "Quinn, it'll be alright, I'll get us out of here." Nexus said, catching Bostro's attention by interrupting him mid-sentence. His eyes watched Quinn's, and then Bostro let out a laugh "Yeah that's right. By giving me your damn password." The man held up a phone to Nexus' face, the screen showing a banking app with an email already entered in. Nexus pretending to examine the email for a second, though he knew exactly which one it was. The smallest of the three, though still a hefty amount, and right away the password came to him. "Bostro gobbles cock." He stated simply, being met with Bostro's suddenly infuriated gaze as the man slipped his shotgun off his shoulder and proceeded to smash Nexus' face in with it. His nose broke almost immediately, feeling like it'd been crushed straight into his face, then began bleeding profusely as Nexus' head fell limply back against the back of his chair. He exaggerated the effect the hit had had on him greatly, though that wasn't to say it didn't hurt like hell. "I'm gonna ask again." Bostro said firmly, now much more calm as he held the gun tightly in his grasp. "I-...I don't-...don't have it." Nexus muttered, spluttering slightly on his own blood for effect "Quinn...s-she knows." "Oh does she now." Bostro said, turning around to look at Quinn. He slowly walked over, examining her face for a second, before grabbing her hair and dragging her across the ground, the chair coming with her. She cried out but quickly bit down on her gag, not wanting to give Bostro he satisfaction of hearing her obvious pain. He threw her roughly towards the wall, her back and bound hands facing it, then cocked the shotgun and pressed the barrel right against her forehead, pushing her back against the concrete wall. "Well you better hope she fucking MIMES it to you real quick cause that gag ain't fucking coming off no matter what!" Bostro shouted at Nexus, his finger inching closer and closer to the trigger. "Alright!" Nexus said, his facade soon falling as he sat up, looking straight at Bostro with both a rage filled but pleading expression "The password is Xb5V0aqR8NnG22" He spelled out the entirety of it from memory, telling Bostro where any capitals or lower cased letters as the man quickly typed it in to the phone. A smile fell across his face as he turned and walked over to Nexus, who let out a sigh of relief at the gun no longer being pointed at Quinn. "Thanks for your cooperation." Bostro said happily, before pointing the gun straight at Nexus' kneecap and pulling the trigger. His leg exploded in a firework of blood, skin and bone, causing him to shout out a single time before slamming his mouth shut and grinding his teeth against one another. Quinn let out a muffled scream, but was drowned out by Bostro's sickening laughter "How amusing. If only you screamed a little more." "I've experienced more pain than anything you can possible muster. Sorry to disappoint." Nexus flashed the man a signature cocky smirk, but his mind was rolling with thoughts of all the ways he could torture Bostro when he got out. Speaking of, he was starting to conjure up new ways of doing so at the same time, however his thoughts were interrupted by the barrel being cocked and placed against his head this time. "Second password. Now." Bostro demanded. Now that gave Nexus a hint of satisfaction; his last comment had pissed him off. He told him the second - another random string of letters and numbers - as Bostro typed it into the phone and grinned again in satisfaction as he likely emptied out Nexus' second largest account. Both paled slightly in comparison to the last one - the one Nexus was most reluctant to part with. A thought suddenly entered his mind in how he could escape. It was an extremely risky move, and next to impossible to pull off, but he was particularly desperate at that moment, and he could feel his mild dizziness start to come on a lot stronger as a few good pints of blood left his body. He focused with his powers, feeling out the room, searching for something in specific and hoping to God that someone in the room had it. Luckily, the low life thugs pulled through, and he felt a knife that was concealed down in their sock. His powers felt it out, feeling out the atoms on the outside and inside of it. He had to be quick but he had to be careful - it was his one shot and it was something he'd never been able to do before. Focusing intently he started transporting the knife atom by atom across the room, not needed any movement in his fingers to do so, which was the same trick that he used to teleport himself and others, albeit much, much more difficult without the catalyst of physical touch. He almost faltered when Bostro turned on him, but tried his very best to focus on both him and the knife at once. "Alright Nexus, last one. Don't make this difficult now." He said nonchalantly, but Nexus looked up at him and grinned a one-less-tooth-y smile. "Fuck you." He stated simply, as Bostro cocked the shotgun and shot his foot mercilessly. Nexus tried his very best not to shout out, but the pain was so unbearable he had to stop moving the knife and bite down on his tongue so hard he drew blood. Don't pass out. Don't pass out. Through sheer willpower he stopped himself from doing so, every muscle bar his toes tensing in agony as he went for the final stretch with the knife. The last of it moved, appearing right above Quinn's hands, and Nexus let it drop hoping to God she managed to catch it. He breathed heavily, spitting out a large clump of blood before looking up at Bostro with his gun pointed back at him. "Fucking shoot me. Pointing a gun...at me...means fucking nothing..." He could hear his words slurring slightly as his drowsiness increased, but his words had the intended effect as Bostro scowled, then marched over the Quinn and pointed the gun straight at her chest. "I'll fuck-...fuggen kill you Bostro. You'll fucking wish you'd shot me!" Nexus shouted, forcing himself to sit up straighter and speak clearer despite the extremely prominent dizziness now in his head. His eyes felt like they were rolling all over the place, but he tried to focus on Bostro as every inch of his body screamed in agony. He wished for numbness. But it wouldn't come. "Maybe I fucking will." Bostro seemed to consider for a second, then set his jaw and grinned, pushing the gun closer to Quinn "Password." Now was Quinn's chance. If she had the knife and had cut herself free, she could do something now - Nexus even gave her a look to tell her to do so. Or at least he tried to. How it came across was a different story altogether. He suddenly thought something had gone wrong. It seemed likely; there was a high chance his transporting of the knife had gone wrong and it had fallen apart in her hands. The thought made him slump in his seat, or maybe it was just the lack of blood in his body. Bostro began counting down, staring straight at Nexus as he did so, yet his voice sounded miles away "Three. Two. One." "Fine!" Nexus shouted, followed by a loud curse before he rhymed off the password despite his state. Bostro typed into the phone once again, then after a few more seconds pocketed it and pulled the gun away from Quinn "Aaaand now you have no money. But I promise that won't really matter much after this. I just hope-" Bostro words were cut off by a spluttering, gargled cry, which seemed to come more from his throat than his mouth, before his shotgun fell to the floor. A knife was pierced straight through his windpipe, then wasn't, then was, as Quinn actively mounted his back and made sure to stab his neck repeatedly. She left it embedded in as Bostro started to choke on his own blood, then pulled down the gag from her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs. "REJY!" Suddenly a huge invisible blast seemed to emit straight from her and throw back everything surrounding her in a full 360 degree angle. Every shelf fell, every box flew backwards, and all the armed thugs were knocked clean back to the ground, similar to Nexus who's chair toppled to the floor with him still attached. Quinn, still of Bostro's back, pointed her hand in Nexus direction, aiming straight at the metal casing covering his hands as he faced away from her and shouting "Ikaj!" A beam of purple light shot from her palm and hit the device, immediately causing it to loosen and slip off Nexus' hands. He quickly freed himself from his chair, though his legs were still out of commission, and spun around to face Quinn right as Bostro's bloody hand reached for his waist. "QUINN LOOK OUT!" It was too late. Bostro lifted up his handgun and pressed it to her chin before she even knew what was happening, then squeezed the trigger. Blood spewed from the top of her head as her eyes widened in shock, before the life faded from them entirely and she slid off the man's back, hitting the floor with a thud. Nexus stared blankly, lips tight together and shaking very slightly, as Bostro's lifeless body fell forward as well, obscuring his view of her with his enormous girth. Nexus uncaringly sent the man skidding to the side of the warehouse with his powers, only his arms didn't move at all. He was vaguely aware of the thugs around him gathering their senses and raising their guns. They all fired on Nexus, however not a single bullet reached him and instead bounced harmlessly off an invisible barrier around him. Nexus used his powers to raise his damaged foot up, allowing him to stand with his hands by his sides while his other leg dragged limply beside him. He half limped, half floated down the warehouse towards Quinn while the thugs kept firing, until suddenly all shots were ceased as beams of air struck every single one of them through the heart simultaneously. Nexus' gaze didn't leave Quinn's body however, even when he made it to her and lowered himself to the ground, holding her silently against his chest without looking at her pale face. Strangely, he felt nothing. He was aware of his movement, and his vision, but in terms of sadness or anger there was nothing there. It was like he was lost. Hollow. His finger absently lifted up from her hand and pressed against her neck, until Nexus felt a very, very faint thump. She was alive. His trance shattered immediately as hope filled his entire essence, however he knew that her life was fading rapidly, and hung by the shortest thread imaginable. She needed help, he had to get her help through any means possible. Panic started to fill him as he went through all of his options, before any relatively useful ideas ran out. Then a thought hit him. He didn't think twice, just pulled Quinn tighter to him and rapidly teleported both of them away from the warehouse. It wasn't until they had arrived in the hallway of the apartment building that Nexus was reminded of how life threatening his injuries were, crying out as Quinn's limp body fell against his obliterated knee. He reached out over her, gritting his teeth as he nearly passed out from the sheer pain, then pounded hurriedly and desperately on the door in front of him before collapsing back, still cradling Quinn tightly to him. The door swung open, with Nexus exhaling in relief before grunting in pain as he looked up at the utterly mortified face of Neo's brunette girl-pal "Help me."
Synthia
Synthia's vision came back to her slowly and meticulously. Firstly there were mere flickers of light that shone through her closed eyelids, then she managed to open one bleary eye and look up at a hazy blank apartment ceiling. Instinctively she thought she was at Kelsie's - the apartment had the same ceiling lamp as her friend's - but as she turned her head she realised this wasn't the case. She was on a couch, up against a wall, and there was a large round coffee table directly in front of her. It had built in drawers underneath, some jammed open by crushed magazines or CD cases that didn't fit. The table had multiple ring marks where drinks had obvious been placed down without the assistance of coasters, and numerous magazines - or maybe comics - were littered across it. The first one Synthia spotted was a playboy one, however, so she simply scoffed in disgust and looked somewhere else. An impressive flat screen television sat on a shelf, and there were two other couches sat around the table - one obviously more used than the others judging by the stains and tears in it. There wasn't much else in the room, other than lamps and a lone shelf in the corner, so Synthia pulled herself to a sitting position in an attempt to go and find out who's apartment she was in. Her memory felt boggled, she could remember the scuffle in the alleyway but whatever happened after the one caught her in the back of the head she couldn't recall. Almost straight away her head throbbed at her movement, specifically the back of it, causing her to wince and place a hand against it as she tried to suppress the pain. She felt a slightly damp bandage that had been wrapped around it, pulling her fingers away to find blood, and also noticed that her nose had been stuffed with bits of tissue. Pulling the tissues out she carefully moved to stand up, biting her lip to prevent a cry escaping her as her left arm and ribs reminded her of their own share of the injuries. At least one rib was definitely broken, and her arm was likely fractured, but she knew she could manage. Zuro hit harder than any thugs could, after all. Still, she took things slow. She moved towards the hallway in front of her, spotting the edge of a table in the next room, then, as she entered, saw the man sitting at it typing away on his phone. They were in what was assumedly the dining room, judging by the numerous chairs around the table, as well as the doorway into the seemingly spacious kitchen which also had a large, novelty opening through the wall that looked almost like a serving window. There were three other door, which led to the outside of the apartment, the bedroom, and the bathroom, however Synthia never knew this of course. She focused on the man's features, trying to either recall his face from the alleyway or figure out if she knew him. Both options fell through, but he didn't look particularly threatening, and if the bandages were anything to go by there was a high chance he helped her. He looked to be the same age as her, maybe seventeen or eighteen, with sleek, well kept dirty blonde hair, and straight away Synthia was struck at how good-looking he was. She thought the others in their group, Neo and Noah, and even Axel in a more sisterly fashion, were handsome enough, but this guy was something else. Her own reprimanding quickly quelled these thoughts however, and she cleared her throat in order to get his attention, judging by how engrossed in his phone he was. The man looked up quickly, then opened his mouth as though to say something, only to shut it again and stand up. "You shouldn't be moving." His voice was ridden with concern as he moved towards Synthia, but she immediately pointed a finger threateningly and stopped him in his tracks. "I can move if I damn well please. Now you better start explaining why the hell I'm waking up in a completely random stranger's house." She stared him down as he stood still, like he was waiting for her to back down instead of him, before sighing. "Okay. I'll tell you everything, but will you please sit down? I can get ice or something for the stuff I didn't know how to help." He spoke calmly, almost pleadingly, as Synthia debated it in her head. It wasn't much of a debate however - he was being nice, and she was in a lot of pain. She worried that if she stayed standing for much longer she would pass out again. With a small nod of her head the man stepped towards her, only for her to stood him a stern look "What are you doing?" "Hel-" "I don't need help. Get me an ice pack though...please?" She lowered her hostility very slightly, as he merely sighed once more in exasperation before moving towards the kitchen, motioning courteously towards one of the wooden chairs for her before swiftly entering. Synthia made her way towards it, shuffling carefully across the floor with gritted teeth before finally sliding onto the chair and letting out a deep exhale of relief. She took the time to examine her injuries, peering down at her arm and spotting a large, sickly yellowed purple bruise that had formed right below her elbow. The sight made her tense instinctively, which only served to hurt her more as she let out a small groan of pain. She decided to have a look at her ribs too, grabbing the hem of her shirt before carefully rolling it upwards. Her rib cage didn't look as bad as her arm, but it sure didn't hurt a lot more. A deep red splotch covered her skin, accompanied by a few smaller splotches, and despite knowing the outcome she tapped a finger against it and hissed in pain. Movement in front of her caught her attention, causing her to look up and see the man in the kitchen doorway, ice pack in hand, and watch as his gaze instinctively lowered straight down to her exposed skin. "Hey!" She shouted, yanking her shirt back down and glaring balefully at him as he spun his head to look anywhere but her face. Infuriated, she refused to drop her angry expression, causing a light blush to hit the man's cheeks; more out of awkwardness than anything. "You're the one who pulled your shirt up, not me." He muttered, still not meeting her irritated gaze. "That doesn't mean you look, dipshit!" She said, though her anger was quickly ceasing as she crossed her arms and looked away slightly. That seemed to free him from his frozen stance, and he quickly turned to flash her an innocent smile before handing over the ice pack. "Thank you." She mumbled, slightly begrudgingly, placing the ice against her ribs as the man waved off her niceties before sitting down on the next seat over and turning to face her. "I'm Milo. I rescued you from the alleyway, in case you don't remember." Synthia scoffed at the word 'rescued', although on a second evaluation she realised that's exactly what happened. It really killed the macho badass persona she'd been going for up until that point. "Thank you. Again." She stated simply, expecting to see a smug smile on the man's face only to be met with an entirely genuine one instead. "You're welcome. Now, what exactly do you want me to tell you?" He asked, perfectly willing to explain whatever she wanted him to. "Exactly what happened after I got hit. And why you took me here instead of a hospital." Synthia said, as Milo gave a simple nod of his head. "Well, when I spotted you you were getting the shit beaten out of you by those guys, so I stepped in to help. They'd already been injured, courtesy of you I'm assuming, so it wasn't exactly difficult. And then, like I said, you passed out. As for why I took you here, well...you must know what's been going on in this city. Ever since the main hospital got demolished the other one's been bursting at the seams with all the people; some are still recovering from that very attack you know. If I'd taken you there we'd still be sat in the waiting room now. Plus, my place was a lot closer." Synthia digested this information for a second, then gave a nod of what seemed like approval "That's a valid reason I suppose. Though why'd you put me on the couch?" Her words came across a little more arrogant than she'd meant, and she would've said something if it weren't for her noticing Milo's sudden shift in attitude as he let out a small laugh, resting an elbow on the back of his chair as he looked the slightest bit embarrassed. "That's cause there's only one bed, and it's kinda...occupied." He scratched the side of his temple, almost like he was anticipating something, but Synthia failed to catch on. "By who?" She asked, causing Milo to snort at her apparent naivety "No one. Unimportant. Let's move on." Synthia eyed him for a second, but feeling slightly in out of her depth she went along with his topic change. "You're missing something out." She said accusingly, though perfectly calm as she narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you talking abou-" "I know you are so you might as well tell me. I can't remember exactly what happened but I remember...something. Something important, and about you. So what is it?" She looked at him patiently, secretly enjoying the stunned expression on his face, before he caved in and slumped his shoulders defeatedly. "Yeah, fine. Here, watch." He placed his elbow on the table, flexing his fingertips, before he spread his palm wide and conjured a large chunk of ice right above it. Synthia examined it closely. Her first impression was that it was in fact ice, but on closer inspection she saw that the light didn't seem to pass through it the same way it did ice, and also reflected in a bright flash across the rough edges. It was more crystalline, just like Hector had eluded to, and was hued white in a majestic yet unnatural fashion. "Not bad." She said, touching the ice with her finger to see how fragile it was. It was more solid than she expected, somehow she had a feeling it was stronger than steel. "I saw the state those guys were in. And the discarded pieces of metal laying around. I can only guess you're like me to an extent?" Milo said with a curious expression, as Synthia smiled slightly at him. "Yeah." She quickly conjured a ball of metal as Milo dismissed his own demonstration of his powers, showing it off just like she'd done for Neo when they first met before it ceased to be entirely. "Cool." He said with a small nod of his head, really not knowing what else to say about the whole ordeal. "Listen. This could sound strange but, we've been looking for you. Or at least, we were about to start looking for you. We need your help." Synthia said, looking Milo straight in the eye as he furrowed his brow and frowned slightly. "And by we you mean you and the guys I've seen in the news a whole bunch. Fighting the mass murderer who seemingly can't be killed?" Synthia knew where he was going with his words, but quickly shook her head, her desperation increasing "He can be killed, that's why we need you. There's a weapon we can make with our powers. We've got the powers we need, you're the missing piece." "How many of you is there?" Milo asked, puzzled, as Synthia actually took a second to count "Six. Kinda. There's someone helping us, and also an enemy who might join us but...we need everything we can get. You can fight, can't you? Please, I know you don't want what happened at the hospital to happen anywhere else." Milo shook his head, crossing his arms as though to solidify his decision "Sorry, no. I can't get myself involved in this." "Why not? Cause you're afraid?" Synthia's voice suddenly took on a far more accusing tone as she raised her voice, but Milo was quick to counter "Cause I'm selfish! I have a sister, and a mother, and I'd risk this entire city to keep them alive!" Synthia was slightly taken aback by this, only to be filled with anger once more and slam her fist on the table. It ended up being her injured arm however, and she suddenly cursed loudly as pain shot up it. Milo's defences seem to lower in that moment, and he quickly stood up to move back to the kitchen "Stay there." Synthia had no choice but to listen to him, clutching the ice pack in her hand as tight as she could as she waited for the pain in her arm to cease. By the time it had Milo had returned, holding what looked like a sort of cast. He sat back down, moving his chair closer to hers as he began to fit the cast on. At first she tried to move away, but soon enough she accepted his kindness and simply let him work, as he cautiously but efficiently tied her arm up in a sling. She looked away the entire time, but then he spoke and drew her attention towards his concentration filled face "They live far away, but I send them money to help pay for food and rent. My Mom has no income, but she has to pay medical bills for my sister. And staying with me isn't an option anymore, especially with this guy running around the place. If I run off to face him and something happens to me, they'd have no way to stay alive." Synthia watched him for a second, before letting out a small sigh "I get that. But things are desperate. We're lucky Zuro's contained within this city, cause the damage he could do if he went anywhere else would be catastrophic. My brother is in the exact same position as you, except me and his Mom are here in this city, but he's still choosing to fight for the greater good. If you help us we'll all make it out alive, I promise." "You can't promise that." Milo said quickly, finishing with Synthia's cast which she inspect quickly before returning to meet his gaze "I can promise that if we lose, whether with you or without, the rest of the world is doomed too. So help us up our chances." Milo chewed the inside of his cheek, shaking his head, but Synthia knew she was getting to him. He would turn with another small push, and she had an idea of what to do for that. "Come meet the others with me." "What?" He said, slightly perplexed, as she repeated her statement nonchalantly "Come meet the others. You're crafting this fucking weapon with us, that's not debatable, so you'll meet them eventually. Why not now? You can see who we are, why we're fighting, and whether you want to join us or not." Milo rubbed the back of his neck, thinking for a second, before opening his mouth in what looked like an objection. Synthia cut him off however "Nope. It's settled. We're meeting them, come on. I should be getting back anyway, and you're not exactly busy." "Actually..." Milo half motioned to his bedroom door, before dropping his hand and shaking his head "Yeah, fine." Synthia grinned and stood up, moving towards what she assumed was the front door judging from the peephole on it. "We're walking?" "What else are we gonna do?" Synthia asked, an amused smile on her face as she watched Milo stand up "I've got another way." He walked towards her as she watched him curiously, before suddenly taking her right hand and pulling her forward, his other hand pressing against her back to hold her to his chest. "What the fuck!" She shouted, quickly knocking his hand away and backing up, glaring daggers at him "I've got a boyfriend. Meaning, try that again and I'll impale you." "That's not what I was doing!" He said defensively, though she was far from convinced "It's a teleportation thing, but we need to get close. Trust me." She scowled at him, then started to walk around him "Fine. We'll go back to back." He mumbled something under his breath so she quickly kicked his ankle, causing him to yelp before muttering a halfhearted "Sorry." followed by him asking for the address of where they needed to go. Synthia told him, then placed her back against his, being careful with her head wound, and watched as a large dome of crystal began to form around the pair of them from the ground up. Soon enough it had engulfed them from head to toe in a thin yet uneven landscape of ice, before it suddenly shone so bright she was forced to cover her eyes. The next thing she knew the ice was cracking away around her and the light had ceased, opening her eyes to find that she was stood in the very centre of Kelsie's living room, still back to back with Milo. Axel and Kelsie were on the couch, both quickly shouting out with Axel jumping to his feet at the sudden noise and appearance of Synthia. "Hi." She said with a slightly cheeky smile, one that quickly fell as Axel spun on her with both anger and worry worn plain on his face. "Where the hell have you been?!" He barked, causing her to jump slightly before letting a more measly but apologetic smile appear on her face "About that...I sort of got jumped by thugs. But Milo saved me so I'm okay!" She said the last bit quickly in seeing Axel's concern increase tenfold, nudging Milo as though signalling for him to approve it. "Yep. That's true. I saved her." He said awkwardly, giving a small nod despite Axel hardly glancing at him, then flashing a quick smile to Kelsie. The girl blushed and looked away from him, meeting Synthia's pleading gaze but only flashing back a look of worry that matched Axel's. "We hadn't heard from you or Neo for hours! Do you even know what time it is? He just told me that he had no clue you were missing, and that he was heading straight back here." Axel was rapidly venting his anxiety and irritation, until Kelsie placed a hand on his shoulder and caused him to relax slightly. "At least we know you're safe." She said softly, coming to Synthia's rescue as she always did whenever the girl did something Axel didn't like "But you're injured, come here and let me-" She was cut off however by a hurried banging on the front door, which caused all four heads to snap towards it in surprise. Synthia glanced between Axel and Kelsie, but neither seemed to know who might be causing such a ruckus. Kelsie stood up, hastily moving towards the door, and quickly pulling it open to find the person they all least expected to see laying in a pool of blood in the hallway outside.