Department of Investigative Services

Bloom had her taken to a warehouse on the edge of the city, bound. Carrying her inside, one of his subordinates unceremoniously threw her on a metal slab. Ryliee groaned, but did not stir. Bloom walked over to a mini fridge in the corner and pulled out two syringes. One would temporarily turn her into a human, while the other would make her combustible the second her abilities came back.

Unfortunately, the second had to be room temperature to work, and it would take an hour before he could give it to her. That didn't mean he couldn't give her the first one. As he injected the serum into her arm, her eyes fluttered open, startling the agent. "You can't be.. Awake."

Ryliee turned her burning gaze to him. "I was a drug addict for years, you twat. Wasn't that in my file? You really think a mild sedative is going to keep me out?" Her voice was hoarse, and dry. She hoped that her phone connection had failed; if Ezra knew her extended history he wouldn't let her be his partner anymore. If she was being honest, he'd grown on her, even if he was boring.

Bloom lost his composure for a brief moment, and backhanded the Meta, sending her tumbling off the slab and onto the floor. "Keep your mouth shut when you're speaking to your superiors."

"You're not superior to me." Ryliee growled.

"Oh, no?" Bloom motioned for one of his men to untie her arms. "Why don't you show me just how superior you are?"

With speed bordering on the triple digits and sometimes beyond, Ezra all but flew toward the destination marked on the map on his phone. For a while he thought he would never catch up, especially when he lost GPS signal, which happened a few relatively frequently. Finally however, her signal quit moving, giving Ezra hope that he may find her yet.

The location service took him to the industrial district outside of the city, along the outskirts. It was an alright area for homes and growth. As soon as he found himself close enough, Ezra abandoned the vehicle and began his approach on foot. He pulled a cap lover over his eyes to hide his identity while he checked everything out. Getting in seemed to be relatively straight forward. Finding Ryliee and getting out was a completely different subject.

Nothing happened. Ryliee just stared at him, her eyes narrowing. "What have you done to me?" She snarled.

"You, freak, are a human." Bloom laughed at the look of horror that fell across the girls face. "Ah, but only temporarily. Unfortunately."

"Bastard!" Ryliee screamed, launching herself at Bloom. One of his subordinates grabbed her, but she whirled around and slammed her first in his face. He crumpled, clutching his broken nose and cheekbone.

"Grab her!" Bloom ordered. The second man went after her, but didn't manage to get a hold on her. Ryliee flipped over him, grabbing the nearest thing she could, which was a small metal sheet, and thwacked him in the back of his head as hard as she could. The man dropped to the floor, and she rounded on Bloom.

"How..?" Bloom stared.

"I was a street rat. You honestly think I need to rely solely on my abilities? You... Fucking idiot."

Bloom narrowed his eyes and approached her, grabbing her around the throat. He lifted her and slammed her against the wall. "You think you're better than me, but you're not. You're weak, and pathetic and I'm going to pop your head like a grape."

"Go ahead and try." Ryliee choked, clawing at his hand. Much more pressure and he'd crush her windpipe.

"Let's see.. I'll be saving the world from a psychopath. Refresh my memory.. How many humans have you killed?"

"One hundred and seventy nine. It's going to be one eighty soon if you don't get your hands off me." Ryliee spit in his face.

The warehouse wasn't particularly large, but it was fairly well guarded. Ezra skulked the premises carefully, trying to get an idea of how many agents covered each entrance and exit, how they were equipped, and whether or not they were on alert. Much to his relief, no one seemed to be looking actively for an intruder, so surprise was still on his side. That did not mean that infiltration would be simple. He could not call for backup or word would reach Bloom that he was discovered. Use of his mutation would also have to be kept to a minimum for the same reason.

Quietly Ezra moved toward the entrance with the lightest guard. Two men with assault rifles stood by the door, watching and waiting for something to catch their attention. The Meta watched carefully for a moment until an idea came to mind. Throwing his voice with his ability, Ezra conjured an eerie sound from around the corner, something unrecognizable to anyone else. One of the guards peeled off to investigate, disappearing from sight while the other stood by the door. Another sound was created from the opposite side, and soon the door had been left temporary out of sight, allowing Ezra to move in.

Inside the corridors were relatively quiet, though he could hear some disturbing noises ahead. Ezra rounded the next corner, taking him east, deeper into the structure when he met his first resistance. A single patrol making rounds spotted him and pressed cold iron against Ezra's head. "Move and you're dead. On your knees, now," the agent commanded. After a moment of complete stillness, Ezra spun while throwing up a bubble of sound negation, nullifying any and all noise inside the field. He deflected the barrel away from his temple, though the flash from the shot sent a hot burn streaking across the side of his face. Slamming the hilt of his hand against the agent's jaw, he followed up with a powerful knee to the gut, forcing the air out of his lungs. The final strike was a chop to the neck, collapsing the agent's windpipe and preventing him from taking in any breath. Death came quickly.

The agent slammed her against the wall again, her skull making a sickening crack against it. He dropped her and wiped the saliva from his face, as she choked and gasped on the floor. "You bitch."

He moved to kick her, but she grabbed his ankle and twisted, causing him to lose balance. He fell to the floor with a thud, and Ryliee pushed herself to her feet. Bruises began to form around her throat, causing immense discomfort when she breathed, even worse when she talked. "Is that the best you got, flesh bag? I can crush you without trying. Meta or no."

Bloom pulled a gun from his belt, aiming it at her head. "I don't need to kill you the way I killed the others. No one will find your body here."

Ryliee stood, tall and proud. "I'm not afraid of your guns." Just before he fired, she kicked up the metal sheet she had previously used, and deflected the bullet. The metal had barely made it in time. Kicking the gun from his hand, Ryliee leapt onto Bloom, her tiny hands clamping around his throat. "Usually, I end my human targets quickly, but you... I want you to suffer." Her voice was low, and dark. Almost inhuman. "I will watch the life leave your eyes, and I will gladly add your name to my list."

No other agents died during Ezra's stealthy assault. None, of course, except Bloom, whom he discovered on the ground with a pair of hands wrapped tightly around his neck. For a moment, the Meta stood conflicted. Ending Bloom's life would not put an end to any of the anti-Meta propaganda. In fact, it would probably make it worse. If the media caught hold of the situation it would be a never-ending shit storm. On the other hand, it would be unless less bigoted piece of shit on the streets, and that was never a bad thing.

It was strange to Ezra why Ryliee did not simply end him using her abilities. She could kill him so many different ways, it would be impossible to count, yet there she was, bleeding from an open wound on her head, strangling the life out of the man.

Stepping into the light, Ezra walked closer, but made no sound, and no move to stop her. If she wanted to kill him, he would not stop her, nor would he judge her. Still, plans were forming in his head for the aftermath. He had an oath to uphold, after all.

When the life finally left Blooms eyes, Ryliee released her hold on him, sitting back on his chest, his heart no longer beating beneath her. She closed her eyes and sighed, not yet noticing the second presence in the room. He had said the effects were only temporary but there was no way for her to know when her abilities would return. Pushing herself to her feet, she stepped over the dead agent and turned to the door, her gaze falling on Ezra.

"So, you found me.." She said, her voice raspy and coarse.

Ryliee made no move to explain what had happened in that room, nor why she did not use her abilities to kill the three men in the room, two of which, were only unconscious. She opened her mouth to tell him about the two serums, when a loud BOOM! shook the building. Explosives.

Rushing to Blooms side, Ryliee knelt next to him and saw he had a smart watch, and that the second his heart stopped beating it sent a signal for the building to self destruct, destroying all evidence inside. She turned her eyes back to Ezra, frowning.

"Run.."

She didn't need to tell him twice, or even once. The building was coming down around them, giving them only seconds to respond. Immediately Ezra took off in a sprint, looking behind him only to make sure that Ryliee was keeping up. She was a tough bird, but everyone had their limits. Sonic concussive waves blasted apart the first door, but neither of them had time to reach it.

With no time to prepare, the floor and ceiling both began to fall apart, sending both Metas down to the basement level, over twelve feet down. Ezra tried to counter his rotation but over compensated, sending him into a loop before he hit the ground below. Pain shot through his entire body, especially his head. Seeing Ryliee collapse into the hole with him was not even the worst part. He watched in horror as rubble began to fall toward them.

Summoning the last of his strength, Ezra breathed a deep bellow, collapsing the hole above them and preventing the rubble from burying them completely, but in doing so, trapping them inside.

Darkness followed, though he would not be out for long.

As they fell into the basement Ryliee tried to put them in a protective bubble, but her powers refused to respond. Unfortunately, she'd been too focused on trying to protect them instead of trying to right herself, and she fell at an awkward angle onto her leg. She heard the break before she felt it, a wave of immense dizziness slamming into her, followed closely by pain. Excruciating, mind-numbing pain.

She rolled to her side, seeing Ezra collapsed next to her out cold. "Ezra.." She choked, but he did not stir. "Fuck. Fuck!" She stifled cries of pain and began to search for something to splint her broken leg with. She had to move quickly, and keep calm, before shock set in. She'd been through hell and back again, she was not going to let this stop her.

It only took a few moments to find lumber long enough to steady her leg, and a few minutes more to splint it. Though, she was biting down pretty hard on her belt, so she didn't cry out. She tore up her shirt and used it to hold the wood to her leg, then collapsed back against a piece of rubble, propping her leg up on another piece. Closing her eyes, Ryliee focused on anything other than her pain, a thin sheen of sweat covering her.

Slowly the world began to brighten once again. It was an agonizing process, full of disorientation and brief blackouts. But as his eyes began to focus, Ezra's comprehension of the situation came with it. It was hard to breath, and each breath brought with it a sharp pain, making it impossible to breath deeply. The back of his head felt sticky and matted, telling him he'd sustained some head trauma. But before he could even attempt to move, his stomach sank.

"Ryliee!" Ezra called out, jolting his entire body, which was a giant mistake. The pain alone almost caused him to pass out again, but he managed to hang on to consciousness long enough to lay back again. Turning to the side, he caught sight of Ryliee, her leg bound up with a piece of 2x4 and her shirt in torn strips holding it to her body.

"Ryliee... are you alright? What's our situation?"

For a long moment, Ryliee did not move, nor respond to Ezra. She just lay there, silent, with her eyes closed. Then, with a sigh, she forced her eyes open and turned to look at him. "The situation?" She exhaled, hard. "While you were out, I looked you over. Looks like you've got... A few broken ribs... Massive bruising.. And a concussion." She was wheezing, pain evident in her voice. "My leg is broken, in at least one place. We are trapped. I could get us out... But not until my abilities return."

It took a massive amount of effort to keep herself conscious, and even though talking hurt her bruised throat, it was helping her remain awake. Her skin was whiter than usual, almost sickly, her body covered in sweat. Not one to usually show pain, Ryliee was having a hard time keeping herself from crying out. "I had to kill him," she said, focusing on the rubble in front of her. "He was never going to stop. I had to kill him."

"If I try I might bring the whole thing down on us." Ezra began sending signals out like a beacon, waves of sound far above the normal range of human hearing. The sounds bounced off the walls in all directions, coming back to him all at once. That told him one very important fact: They were completely trapped. It was possible that there was something behind a weak spot in a wall that they could possibly unearth, but there was no guarantee. "Sounds like we're pretty lucky, all things considered."

Ezra sighed shallowly, for it hurt too much to breath deeply. Lucky was a loose term, of course. They were still probably going to die in that hole, either from another collapse, or from their injuries, or from dehydration or suffocation. Ezra wasn't afraid though. He never feared death. Not anymore, anyway.

Turning his head slightly, Ezra brought his gaze to Ryliee, noting the look in her eye and the way she held her mouth shut when she wasn't speaking. It was clear that she was in immense pain. "He deserved it. He was a piece of shit and he got what was coming to him. I would have done the same thing." Except he would have likely just turned his brain into a gooey mess inside his skull.

"Well," he continued, trying to shift so he could see her better. "Since we're about to die, we might as well clear some things up... tell me about them. The other one hundred seventy nine."

Ryliee chuckled darkly, "Of course you heard that." Shaking her head, she looked at Ezra. "I know all of their names. All humans. Every single one died by my hand. They deserved it. Well, the first fifty did. The rest were for fun." Her gaze darkened. "You are in the room with a serial killer. Since we're going to die anyway I suppose it doesn't matter anymore."

Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back, forcing a laugh. "Former drug addict, too. And prostitute!" That made her laugh a bit more, but not in a 'this is funny' way. "You want to know what's in my file? Why I killed so many meat sacks? Fine." Her laughter stopped, and she shifted to look at him, wincing as pain sliced through her.

"My parents abandoned me when they found out what I was. I was five. I was taken in by drug dealers when I was eight, to pull my weight I had to transport the goods. Did it for four years, never got caught. Not once." Her voice got more cynical, hatred dripping from her words the more she talked. "When I was twelve , my particular dealer got a better idea on how to use me. He put me on the corner. Picked up cocaine and heroine to get me through it a little over a year later. Did that until I was almost nineteen. Then guess what? They tried to fucking kill me."

Ryliee shifted again, lifting the tattered corner of her shirt, where an ugly scar stuck out against her skin. "Buckshot. I almost died. I was in a coma for six months. When I woke up, I wasn't in a very good place so I joined a radical Meta gang. The first thing I did was slaughter every single person who hurt me. Including my parents. The rest were because I got bored. Killed one hundred and seventy nine, injured two hundred and fifty four." She paused, and turned from Ezra with a shake of her head. "You know the rest. Prison. Out on good behavior. Taken in by the D.I.S."

Ezra listened without speaking a word, or even moving. He listened carefully to everything Ryliee said, absorbing it completely before he did anything. While he knew that his partner had a past and had come to him from prison, he had never been fully informed of the situation. Of course they wouldn't tell him everything. Why would they? If she ended up snapping and killing him, they'd lose absolutely nothing. By the time she had finished, Ezra was almost lost for words.

Turning his head back to the ceiling, he stared up at literally nothing but darkness, the only light filtering in from an overturned lamp with a cord still connected to the mangled electrical outlet. Without it, they would be in complete darkness. "I had heard that you had quite a record but... I didn't know it was that... extensive." The words Ezra chose were chosen carefully.

"You must not like their kind much. I always knew that but I didn't know how deeply that hatred had rooted. Now I understand why the others were afraid to take you."

"Everyone is afraid to take me. My files were sealed. Without knowing why I did what I did everyone thinks I'm just some loose cannon psychopath." Ryliee scoffed, her anger forcing the pain back for a brief moment. "I'm a high functions sociopath, a recovering drug addict, and I have absolutely no problem with murder. Who would t be afraid of me?"

That's when a thought struck her, and she turned to look back at her partner. "You. You're not afraid. Why?" She bit back a cry of pain and gritted her teeth. "What sort of hell have you been through, that you were not afraid to take a murderer as your partner?" The pain was growing nearly unbearable.

Forcing himself to sit up, very slowly, Ezra groaned out loud and clenched his jaw. His entire body felt like it was broken, and the searing pain in his upper torso made the task nearly impossible. Still, he managed to get to a seated position. Turning toward Ryliee, his eyes dark from the shadows cast over them, he lowered his voice and began to speak.

"I fear almost nothing, Ryliee. I'm not afraid of you, or Bloom, or anyone else. I'm not afraid to die, nor am I afraid to live." The last bit of his admission wasn't entirely true. He was afraid to live, to truly live as others did. He'd been fighting alone for so long, it was scary to think of doing anything else.

A long pause preceded his story. "I was just a teenager back then. There was a place for Metas, where we could learn about our powers and develop them safely without prejudice. But the world just kept becoming more intolerant. I made a couple of friends there, and excelled because of my upbringing. They put me in a task force... we'd go out and rescue Metas who needed help getting out of their areas and bringing them back to the Academy."

"I met a girl there.. she was the first one to ever treat me like an equal. But life at the Academy was too much for her so she left to go back home. I was sent to bring her back, but when I got there, she...." Ezra paused, his voice beginning to break up. He swore never to shed a tear in front of another person, but he was quickly losing control of himself, and could only hope that the shadows would conceal them.

"She'd been crucified by some religious zealots and burned as a witch. I managed to get her down before she was burned too badly, but she was already dead. So, with the crowd around me, I went berserk and pulverized them. All of them. I don't know how many, but there was no discrimination. Men, women, even children died that day. The next day I assassinated the leader of the anti-Meta movement. Government picked me up after that, told me that I could either be publicly executed, or they could put me in a position to help other Metas, as long as I played by the rules... their rules."

Ezra's face was as hard as the stone that encapsulated them. There was the ugly truth. Both had aired out their filthy pasts and laid bare for the other to see. There was no longer anything to hide. "I'm not afraid of you because we're not that different. Instead of drugs and gangs, I grew up in boot camp from hell and with responsibilities and lives counting on my every decision."

Ryliee turned her face away from him. She could hear that he was remembering something painful and she wanted nothing to do with it. The sadness. The pain of loss. She'd never felt it, never had someone to care for, or cared for her.

A place safe for Metas. No. There was nowhere safe. His story made her sick to her stomach, but that's what had been there for. Then... Why couldn't he have saved me? Ryliee shook that thought from her head, almost laughing, but she did not, just staring into the dark.

"I imagine that losing someone you care for is painful. A terrible experience that would drive any one person insane. The bonds we make can either make, or break, us." She smirked. "Lucky for me, no one will be pained by my death. No one but me."

"That's a hell of a thing to say," Ezra said, with a little pain in his voice, though it didn't come from his injuries. Sighing again, he turned his attention elsewhere. Eventually he pushed himself to his feet and slowly straightened out. The pain was excruciating, but he forced himself to deal with it. Being the only person that could walk, albeit slowly, he took it upon himself to explore their surroundings more carefully. Occasionally he would put his hand on a rock or a piece of wall and listen. Using sound he was testing solidity and depth, trying to find a weak spot in the rubble.

As much as he wanted to rattle them out of there, it was far too dangerous. "What happened to your powers? How did he neutralize them?"

Ryliee watched him for a moment, her vision blurring every now and again. Her body was almost numb now, the pain in her leg throbbing with every beat of her heart. "Something in a syringe. He had two. I figured out how he did it. Neutralize the abilities with one, then inject the second and when the abilities come back.. Poof. Up in smoke. Walking time bombs."

She shifted her body, very slowly, carefully, but even the slightest movement caused pain. Ryliee was unable to stifle her cry of pain, blacking out momentarily. When she came back to, she slammed her fist into the ground cursing. "Fucking leg!" The motion made a few bits of rubble fall from the ceiling, but it did not hit her. A shield threw itself up around her, instinctively protecting her.

A serum to neutralize Meta abilities? That certainly would not stand. "I hope this was the only source." Ezra moved to Ryliee's side when she screamed, piercing the quiet of the hole with her pain. Her leg was certainly broken, bulging against her skin a bit as it continued to darken and become inflamed. Without medical attention, she could suffer a severe situation. The deflection of the rubble, however, gave Ezra a glimmer of hope.

"Looks like it doesn't last very long though. If you can create a shield around us, I should be able to blast us out of here. We're going to have to move quickly though, so i'll have to carry you."

"Nope. I'm not fucking moving. I will shield you, but if you touch me, Ezra, you better pray to your God. I will fucking gut you." If possible, Ryliee was even paler than before, looking almost green. She was going to be sick. "Besides, I'm not the only one injured. You can't carry me. It'll kill you. Never have I hurt a Meta, let alone killed one, that didn't deserve it. I'm not having your death on my head."

As serious as she was, Ryliee was unsure if she could make good on her promise to kill him if he touched her. The pain was getting so bad it nearly knocked her unconscious.

"Put the shield up and quit bitching," he said as he started to scoop her up. His right arm supported her upper body while his left hooked her uninjured leg, letting her role toward him slightly, which was a mistake. Ezra's vision disappeared completely, and for a moment he stumbled, almost losing consciousness completely. He growled with pain, but refused to fall. His ribs burned, forcing most of the air out of his lungs. Sweat began to bead across his body, but still he pushed on. "Do it! Now!"

Ryliee nearly passed out, gasping as pain washed over her. She managed to keep her consciousness, if just barely, and raised a hand. A barrier formed around them, and the girl closed her eyes using all of her remaining effort to keep the carrier up.

Grunting loudly, Ezra forced himself to move forward. Wave after wave of agony washed over him, but if Ryliee was able to stay conscious long enough to keep the barrier up, he would not fail her by giving into the pain and collapsing back into darkness. From his mouth he projected a narrow cone of sound and slowly raised the frequency until he found that resonating harmonic that would free them from their concrete prison. It would have been loud to Ryliee, but not damaging.

Within second a hole blasted through, causing the entire room to become unstable. Ezra summoned the last of his strength to take them through the gap just as large chunks of cement and lumber began to crash down around them. Ryliee's shield held true, deflecting projectiles that would have crushed both of them in a heart beat.

The corridor they entered was not long. Most of it was still standing, despite the collapse. But there was hope, and it came in the form of a narrow beam of light at the end of the hall. Ezra stumbled forward, trying to reach the door before the rest of the building came crashing down upon them.

The only thing keeping the Meta conscious was her curses at Ezra, through gritted teeth. Every step, every breath, every passing second caused more agony to rush through her. He either needed to slow down or speed up and get it over with. But there was light, and that meant an exit. A way out. Ryliee managed to keep conscious until they passed through the door and exited the building completely. Once they were safely out of the building, her barrier flickered before it diminished completely.

Fortunately her phone had not been damaged in the fall, and she pulled in from her pocket, dialing 9-1-1. "Help us.." She managed to gasp, her vision fading.