[  g e n e s i s ]

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[ c h a p t e r   2 ]

Jeannine looked on in stunned disbelief.  She leaned back, raising one
eyebrow, arms crossed across her chest.  "How can you eat that much?"
she asked Stryker at last, still not believing the food he shoveled into
his mouth.

"Give him a rest," replied Arcturus, sitting down on the side of the
table opposite Stryker.  "He pretty well burnt himself out before, and
now he's trying to rejuvinate himself.  So it's understandable he'd be
kind of hungry." Arcturus took a bite of his sandwich, leaning back
himself and crossing one arm across his chest, the other still holding
the sandwich.  "Once he stops eating, he'll be asking questions
anyways."

Stryker swallowed and looked across at Arcturus.  "I think I'll start
now, thank you," he snapped.  "For starters, you never finished telling
me what was going on with Sebulax.  We were attacked just as you began
talking about why you left -"

"Shh!" snapped Jeannine.  "Look around you."  She gestured to the rest
of the diner, the flourescent lighting reflecting off the smooth white
walls. Serving droids wheeled around to the various tables while people
sat and ate, not stopping until they had been hailed over by one of the
customers.  "This is not the sort of place you want to talk very loudly
in, especially about these topics."

"He's right, though.  I never did finish explaining to him.  Now's as
good a time as any, truth be told."  Arcturus took another bite, nodding
at Stryker.  "As I was saying, I couldn't let Sebulax kill me if I was
going to stop him.  So I left Admin in hopes that it would more
effectively keep me out of Sebulax's gaze. I knew that I couldn't really
hope to avoid him completely, but if I stayed out of his sight for a
while, I might have a chance."

"At destroying him?  You were just going to wait around for people to
get thrown around by him and into your lap, until enough people wanted
revenge?"  Stryker shook his head.  "That's a pretty lame story,
Arcturus.  It's no way to go about a revolution."

"Who said I was just waiting?  I -"  Arcturus glanced around, as if he
expected someone to come around the corner any second.  "I just needed
you, Stryker."

"Me?"  Now Stryker was positively mystified.  "Um... you're making less
and less sense here, Arcturus."

"Jeannine can sense the flow of ki in others, Stryker," replied
Arcturus, putting down his sandwich and leaning forward.  "She sensed
you a while back.  You have more ki flowing through you than anyone
else we've ever seen.  That's probably why you were able to blow away
those GAs like that. For some reason, you have a very high amount of ki
in your body.  If we can just piece together a few other people of
comprable power, we can bring down Sebulax.  I'm sure of it."

"Hold it," snapped Stryker.  "I have no idea how to focus this... ki, as
you call it.  I can't possibly -"

"You did pretty well against those GAs," interjected Jeannine, smiling
and putting her hand on his shoulder.  "With that much ki, it seems to
come pretty naturally to you."

"After I pushed some extra ki into him," mused Arcturus.  "Maybe all he
needs is the stimulation."  He looked up, staring at Stryker, brow
furrowed.  "Do you speak Japanese?"

Stryker shook his head.  "Not a word."

"But each ki-ai you shouted... that was Japanese, and you spoke it
flawlessly."  Arcturus shook his head as well.  "I don't know why you
were able to do that, but I don't have the time to figure it out either.
We've got to find the others, and quickly.  Sebulax gains power even as
we speak."

Stryker stood, pushing out his chair.  "Then let's get going."

[-]

The train thundered along its tracks, magnetically suspended centimeters
above the ground.  Outside, scenery flew past like lightning as it sped
towards its destination - the western coast of the United States.
Inside, Stryker was simply glued to the window.  "I love trains," he
muttered, watching the scenery with an almost childlike air.

"Pay attention," snapped Arcturus.  He snapped his fingers, and Stryker
turned his attention back to the matter at hand.  Arcturus had the map
in front of him, and was tracing lines across it.  "Before I left Admin,
I was able to pull up several files on registered mutations and psions.
Though most of my files were destroyed, I do remember this kid - a young
man who tested through the roof for psionic potential."

"Potential?" asked Jeannine.  "I thought you said he was a psion!"

"He is," replied Arcturus.  Then, after a pause, he added, "Probably."

"PROBABLY?" responded Stryker and Jeannine in unison.

Arcturus slammed his fist down on the table.  "If he hasn't triggered
yet, we'll figure something out, all right?  The point is, this kid will
be able to amplify Jeannine's ability to locate individuals with a high
concentration of ki energy within them.  It'll speed our search a great
deal."  He stood, adjusting his jacket.  "I need a drink.  I'll be back
shortly."

Jeannine leaned back, staring out the window.  "Wonderful," she
muttered. "More fighting..."

"What's the matter?" asked Stryker.  "I mean, aside from the fact that
Arcturus misled us and all that... what's wrong?"

Jeannine sighed, then put her hand against the window.  "Just... I'm a
doctor, Stryker.  My job is to heal people.  But Arcturus trained me to
be a fighter, to hurt people.  And the more I use my ability to sense
the ki flow in others, the more battles we'll have to fight along the
way."  She sighed, crossing her arms across her chest.  "I'm not saying
I don't agree with the idea.  Sebulax is evil, no argument there.  But I
just wish that I didn't need to fight."

Stryker said nothing for a moment.  "I know what you mean," he said at
length.

The change in his tone jolted Jeannine out of her reverie.  "Why?  You
seem to love fighting.  You're good enough at it."  She leaned closer to
him.  "Plus, since you're a former Aegis Brigade officer... fighting was
your job.  Why would you understand?"

"Because I don't like fighting," replied Stryker, leaning back.  "I grew
up on the streets, Jeannine.  I had to fight to survive.  Every day, my
choice was between hurting others or myself."  He sank his head lower.
"And when I tried to help others, when I tried fighting for something, I
just got it thrown back in my face.  Others got the benefits, and I
became nothing more than a weapon."  He looked away.  "I thought that
had all changed when I joined the Brigade.  Now, I find out that I was a
weapon for them, too.  And Arcturus..."

"But you know that Sebulax is evil.  You're doing this for that reason,
right?"

"Maybe," replied Stryker.  "Or maybe it's just revenge."

Jeannine leaned back again, looking out the window.  "Well... if that
keeps you going, Stryker, then good for you.  But I'd rather think that
I'm doing this because it's what's right."

"And how would I know that?  Circumstancial evidence?"  Stryker laughed
bitterly.  "We don't really know if Sebulax is connected with any of
this.  How much do you know about Arcturus?"

Without warning, Jeannine snapped to attention.  "You're not accusing
Arcturus of -"

"I don't trust that man, Jeannine, and if you do, you're being awfully
naive. He's awfully cryptic for someone who's supposed to be our ally."

"And you're awfully distrustful," came Arcturus's voice.  Both Jeannine
and Stryker snapped up to see Arcturus standing in the doorway, leaning
against the frame with a bemused smile on his face.  "You've only been
in this situation for a few hours, and you're already questioning my
motives? I'm not sure I like that idea."

"Just nervous, I guess," muttered Stryker in reply.  "Who is this guy
we're going after, anyways?"

"Nathan Johnson," replied Arcturus.  "He's in his early twenties, and at
the last report I had, was working in a bookstore in San Francisco.
With any luck, this will pick him up before we reach him."  Arcturus held
up a small, flat, black device, with little more than a switch and a
circular screen on it.  A few buttons rested below the screen, but that
was it.  "This is a little piece of technology I was able to rip off from
the Brigade before I left for good.  It's designed to register psions and
mutations, and help guide you in their general direction.  You can also
search for a specific power frequency - which is what we'll be doing."

"Wonderful," replied Stryker.  "Peachy, even."

Jeannine said nothing, only looked out onto the scenery.  "Let's just get
this over with," she said at length.

[-]

"Wow."

"Not what you're used to, eh?"  Arcturus smirked at Stryker.  The city
was certainly different from the curving, tightly-gridded metropolis
that Stryker had lived most of his life in.  The crisp sea air blew
through the wide streets, the boxy, tall buildings dominating the
skyline.  Here and there, a brick building remained, an oddity amongst
the metal and glass titans around it.  Hovercars zipped around as
scooters crowded the streets.  "But I'll admit - San Fran is pretty
impressive, even with all the renovations."

Stryker looked at Arcturus as if he'd grown a second head.  "I've never
seen the ocean before, Arcturus.  This is the first time I've really
been around this sort of atmosphere.  It's..."  Stryker sighed and
breathed deeply.  "It's like another world.  Hartford doesn't even hold
a candle to it."

Jeannine laughed - the first time Stryker had ever heard her laugh.  It
was a light, airy sound, like light coalesced into noise.  "I think the
city slicker is finally being exposed to the real world, Arcturus,"
joked Jeannine, obviously pleased by Stryker's amazement.  She put her
hand on his shoulder - a gesture Stryker had gotten accustomed to.
"Now, do you think we can pull you back down to the real world for now?
Your assistance would be appreciated in finding Mr. Johnson."

Arcturus nodded.  "The gauge is pointing him out clearly, guys."  He
gestured in a vaguely western direction.  "Towards the sea.  If you're
finished joking around, we can get a move on."

With a smirk, Stryker began walking in the direction Arcturus had
indicated.  Arcturus quickly took the lead, however, so Stryker settled
for simply enjoying the view.  The crowds he was used to... but the
sight of the cars zipping around the upper floors of the buildings was
a little unnerving.  Hovercars were rare in Hartford, and most buildings
weren't really designed for them, to boot. Here, though... they almost
seemed commonplace.  It was, as he had said, another world.

Something to consider, really.  Stryker turned his thoughts back to the
present.  He'd been pretty much in constant motion since that night...
and it had been two days.  This was the first real chance he had gotten
to think about what was happening.  He knew that he was going up against
Sebulax... but that basically meant that he was also going up against
the entire Aegis Brigade.  Not a happy proposition.  For all intents and
purposes, he was now in a completely different world than he had been
two short days ago.  Every connection he had was severed.  All that was
left was a burning desire to take out Sebulax... but why?  Was he doing
it because it was the right thing, like Jeannine?  Was he doing it
simply for revenge?  Or was he just being pointed along by Arcturus,
letting someone else control his life once again?  He had no idea.  All
he could do was just go along, and hope maybe, something would come
along, give him some meaning.

"You look dejected," noted Jeannine, falling into step with Stryker.  He
didn't respond - mainly because he wasn't sure what he should tell her.
She didn't seem to mind.  "Mind if I ask why?"

"Not like I could stop you."  He sighed.  "Just... thinking about what
we were talking about on the train.  My lack of direction.  I don't seem
to have much of anything to go on right now.  I'm following you, helping
you - but I don't know why.  I'm just making everything up as I go
along."

Jeannine laughed again.  "Welcome to life, Stryker.  You have enough of
it bottled up inside you.  It's about time you start living it."  She
leaned against him.  "None of us have certainties, Stryker.  You learn to
deal with it.  I mean, I never expected that I would be fighting the
Aegis Brigade, or searching for a man who may or may not be our only
salvation."  She stood again, looking into his eyes.  "The world's not
that bad of a place, really.  Not once you get used to it."

"Do I have to put a leash on you two?" shouted Arcturus, snapping both of
them out of their reverie.  He had hailed a taxi, which was hovering
expectantly by the curb.  They looked at each other, then jogged down to
meet him as he tapped his foot impatiently.  "I swear, every second
you're alone..."

"Sorry," replied Jeannine, jumping into the taxi.  "I was just
introducing Stryker to life.  I figured it couldn't hurt."

Arcturus sighed as Stryker jumped in after Jeannine.  He wasn't so sure
this was a very good idea anymore... but it was too late to turn away now.
"Downtown district, driver," he said, stepping calmly into his seat.
"And make it quick."

[-]

Richard Donner considered himself a prudent man.  A skilled man.  The
perfect man for his job.  But the one quality he was proudest of was that
he was very aware of his capabilities and his limitations.  That was most
useful. It meant he knew when he required no assistance whatsoever, and
when he needed help from outside sources, he knew to take it graciously.
As he did now.  "Your tracking skills are admirable," he said to his
visitor.  "I can see why you were chosen for such a position."

The visitor shrugged.  "Some people need to be watched.  Arcturus was a
low-level threat before, but now... well, suffice to say that Marx and
Marlowe are viable enough resources to be a serious crimp in our plans if
they continue to consort with Cole."  He drummed his fingers as he leaned
on the oak desk, glancing out the window to the San Francisco skyline.
"They're searching for Johnson, definitely.  We can use that to our
advantage."

"I can have Johnson arrested, but what good will that do?  They're
certainly willing to break the law.  It would be much easier if I simply
killed them." Donner looked back at the visitor.  "But our superior doesn't
want that, I'm assuming?"

"Marlowe's ability is quite useful," replied the visitor.  "And Marx...
suffice to say we had plans for Marx that Cole threw completely out of
order."  The visitor stood and walked back towards the display.  "But
you're right - arresting Johnson won't do any good.  Not until they get
there, anyways."

Donner thought for a moment, then nodded.  "Aha.  Arrest Johnson just as
they show up.  They'll fight their way out, and make themselves out as
villains.  Open themselves up to full media coverage.  Terrorists."  He
chuckled.  "Not too shabby.  Should we be careful not to kill those two?"

The visitor shrugged.  "Marx and Marlowe would be best off if preserved...
but their deaths will not hamper us significantly."

"They don't know about Johnson, do they?"  Donner tapped the viewscreen.
"The inhibitors we planted in him?"

"Not a clue.  Cole always was a fool.  He has no idea that we would even
consider such a thing.  Johnson is still assumed to be fully active as a
psion." The visitor turned to walk towards the door, then suddenly
thought better of it and turned back towards Donner.  "You will, of
course, see to it that they do not leave this city?"

"With my life," replied Donner.  "To the ascension."

The visitor nodded.  "To the ascension."  He turned back towards the door
and stalked out, obviously satisfied with Donner's attitude.

Donner turned back to watch.  Certainly a threat, this Marx.  But nothing
that he wasn't capable of dealing with.  Soon, he would be wiped away,
and all that would remain would be Donner's master.  It was his job,
after all.

[-]

"This had better be the right store," sighed Jeannine.  "We've been to
three others already."  She glanced around the store, at the various
people mulling about.  "Of course, it would be the one where we'd have
lots of witnesses around..."

"Nothing to witness," replied Arcturus, heading in the direction the
gauge indicated, finally looking up at a slightly built man with long,
brown hair tied back in a ponytail.  "Gauge is going off the chart here."
He tapped the man on the shoulder.  "Excuse me... Mr. Nathan Johnson?"

The man looked at the trio, raising an eyebrow at their attire.  He wore
blue jeans and a blue jean jacket over a black t-shirt - far less 
ttention-grabbing than the clothes worn by the trio.  "Um... yes.
What's the deal?  Did I run afoul of the circus police force now?"  He
chuckled slightly.  "Now, I don't mean to be rude, but I really have to
be getting back to my job before -"

Arcturus opened his mouth to say something, but he never got the chance.
A crash at the doorway interrupted any hopes of such.  Stryker's first
instinct was to calm the panicking crowd before the Brigade had to take
more severe measures, but he immediately recognized that he was no longer
part of the Brigade.  Glancing backwards, however, he could see exactly
what was going on.

"Nathan Johnson!" shouted the Brigade officer at the head of the group,
sweeping the area with his gaze in hopes of finding his quarry.  "You
are hereby under arrest for violation of the laws of the Aegis Brigade!
Submit immediately or you will be taken by force!"

Johnson's jaw dropped to the floor.  "What the heck do they want with
me -?"

"Diversion!" snapped Arcturus, grabbing the frozen Johnson before he
could protest.  "They tracked us.  Don't know how, though.  Come on."
Weaving into the bookstands, he maneuvered the group away from the
officers now searching the area, towards the first window he could find.
"This'll do.  Johnson, you're a telekinetic, right?"

Nathan raised an eyebrow, as if Arcturus had asked him to give birth to
a cow.  "No..."

"Crap.  Telepath, then?"

"Um... I don't know who you THINK I am, but I'm not a psion.  Latent
potential, according to the tests."  He looked at the dumbfounded trio.
"What, you didn't know that?"

"Arcturus?" hissed Stryker.  "Have you ever heard of the term 'set-up'?"

"This is the kid, I know it," snarled Arcturus, fiddling with the gauge
and running it around Nathan's frame.  "It must be... there!"  He tapped
Nathan's forehead.  "You are a latent, kid - because they implanted you
with some serious psi-inhibitors."

"And that solves our problems?  Where are we going to get those removed,
Arcturus?"  Stryker's words dripped with sarcasm.  "I'm sure the nearest
hospital would gladly help a bunch of fugitives -"

"Stop it!" snapped Jeannine.  "You're acting like children.  Stop arguing
and just get your act together."  She glanced across the crowd.  "I could
be wrong, but it looks like we could blast our way out the front door.
If we hit them hard and fast with a ki assault, they wouldn't know what
they were up against."

"Wouldn't matter.  The Brigade already has the street under control,"
replied Stryker.  "Standard operating procedure."  He thought for a
second.  "But they probably aren't patrolling the whole building, not yet.
If we could get out through a different route -"

"Hold on!  You guys are actually trying to get the Brigade ticked off at
you? Are you insane or just stupid?"  Johnson broke free from Arcturus's
grip, shoving the older man backwards.  He looked at each of the three in
turn, trying to get some sense of who they were.  "I don't even know you
people, and you expect me to let you get the Aegis Brigade after me in
full force?"

Stryker sighed, then grabbed Nathan by the collar.  "Listen, pal, I used
to work for the Brigade.  They get to you now, you are gone, simple as
that. We're trying to save your life.  And it would really be appreciated
if -"

The click of BOAs arming their weaponry came from the end of the aisle of
books.  All four individuals looked up to see two officers approaching
them, laser gauntlets charging visibly.  "Stay where you are, fugitives.
Nathan Johnson is a wanted man, and Arcturus Cole is under suspicion of
selling Brigade secrets.  That makes you two accessories regardless.  I'm
hauling the lot of you in for -"

At first, Stryker couldn't tell why the officer had stopped.  Then he saw
it - something had taken over his armor.  The BOA was turning towards its
fellow, laser gauntlet pointed towards the other officer's head.  The
other officer saw it to.  "Frank?  What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm not!" he replied vehemently, now visibly struggling.  "It's moving
under its own power!"  He looked at the trio.  "Kill them, Mack, before
I fire this thing!"

Mack looked ready to fire, but his armor started to turn as well.  "Whoa,"
gasped Nathan, watching the officers strain against their armors.  "What
the hell is doing that to them?"

Stryker had released Nathan's collar, and was staring at the BOAs.  He
couldn't fathom why they were malfunctioning, but his thoughts were pulled
away from them almost instantly as he felt a hand on his shoulder.  Before
he knew it, he was facing a woman as tall as himself, with flaming red
hair and bright green eyes, staring at him intensely.  "Go out the window.
Johnson's psionics are too powerful for the inhibitors to hold them in
crisis."

He blinked.  "Um... I don't mean to sound rude, but who -"

"You'll find out soon enough," she replied, and was gone in a whirl of
motion. Behind him, Stryker heard the BOAs begin to respond once more to
the will of the operators.  He looked towards the window, and decided to
take the chance.  Grabbing the scruff of Nathan's shirt, Stryker began
to run towards the nearest window, his cpative struggling and Arcturus
and Jeannine following his lead.  The BOAs spit laser fire down the
aisle after them, and it exploded harmlessly in a nova of charged energy
against the wall.  There were shouts from the officers behind them as
Stryker reached the window.

Nathan looked at Stryker, visisbly shaken.  "Are you absolutely insane?
That's resisting arrest!"  He shoved Stryker away, eyes burning with
anger.  He was scared, angry, and confused - something that Stryker
could definitely identify with at the moment.  Unfortunately, there was
no time to try and reconcile the doubts in Nathan's head, not without
being apprehended.  Stryker once more grabbed the young man, then, as
he struggled, hurled him through the window with a burst of strength.
As his cohorts gaped, Stryker knelt in the wreckage of the glass, then
sprang out after Nathan, hearing Arcturus and Jeannine jump behind him.

Arcturus, understandably, was beside himself with rage.  "Stryker!  We
are all going to die now!  What the hell are you thinking?"  Stryker did
not respond to the shout, simply looked down as Johnson began to spark
with energy.  As they hurtled closer to the ground, the energy expanded
around in a sheath, and Johnson cried out in pain and rage as spikes of
force formed on his forehead.  The crackling sheath pulsed hard, then
contracted back into the psion, who shot skyward, pulling all three of
his fellows along with him.

Jeannine gaped, looked at both Stryker and Arcturus.  "He broke them.
That man destroyed Aegis Brigade psi-inhibitors.  That's not even
supposed to be possible, according to what we know about the science of
those inhibitors."  They stared up at Nathan, who was now flying past
the hovercars at a breakneck speed.  Yellow energy trailed behind him,
his body rigid and head held high.  "But he's newly-awakened... I don't
know how long these powers can hold out before he -"

Nathan swayed for a moment, then dove towards the sea, his body going
completely limp.  Stryker saw what was coming as the force holding the
three to Nathan evaporated, and he tucked himself into a ball.  "Get
ready, guys!" he shouted.  "Looks like we're going to get a little wet
here..."

[-]

It was falling apart, and Donner knew it.  The original plan had been
compromised beyond repair with the unforeseen emergence of Johnson's
psionics.  That pushed the issue to a critical level.  A lesser man
might have tried to handle the situation without notifying their other
superiors, hoping to cover up the crisis and prevent any marks against
them on their records.  But that was not the sort of man that Richard
Donner was.  As he called up his previous visitor's commlink, he knew to
expect something of a reprimand, but he knew it was deserved, and he
knew that his new plan of action would ease the blow somewhat.  "I am
afraid I bear bad news," he said as the light blinked to acknowledge a
successful connection.

There was the sound of a sigh and a snarl rolled into one noise.  "Let
me guess.  Cole, Marx, Marlowe, and Johnson all escaped the plot, likely
with no damage to their reputations."  A moment of silence, then an
impatient, "Well?  Is that it?"

"To an extent," replied Donner, looking at the report before him.  "But
there's a bigger problem than that.  Something has seriously altered the
face of this situation."  He sighed.  Donner knew that this altered the
entire conflict, but he wanted to downplay the situation just a little.
Even he was not above a small bit of ego.  "In the course of their
escape, Johnson was triggered."

"That is impossible!"  The rage, disbelief, and confusion from the other
end of the line was fully understandable.  It was a serious problem, one
that merited immediate attention by the Brigade, but could also not be
overtly handled without rising suspicions.  "Johnson was surgically
implanted with the most powerful inhibitors that the Brigade is able to
produce.  Even someone of his power level..."

"I am baffled by the turn of events as well," interjected Donner, making
a small breach of etiquette by interrupting the other.  The situation
called for calm and control, however, and his previous visitor was in no
state to be making such decisions.  It would take a bit of calm to help
his companion just to think clearly once again.  "However, I do not see
as how examining them will afford us any advantage at the moment.  I
have thought briefly upon this, and believe I can cut the enemy off
before they can make any use of Johnson."

Pause.  "I'm listening, Donner.  You had better make this good."

Donner swallowed.  If this proposal failed, he knew it could very well
be he end of his career.  "Johnson could not have shattered the
inhibitors completely, or he would be registering off the charts on all
of our psi-monitors.  They will have to be removed.  It is the advantage
of our foes that Marlowe is a trained doctor and therefore able to
perform the extraction, but that knowledge does her no good unless she
has access to the requisite equipment."  He turned, smiling now.  It
seemed to be going well so far.  "There is only one facility within the
city that could possibly house what she requires without any pretense
required - the abandoned Red Cross outpost.  It is worth assuming that
they have headed for the building.  We can subsequently cut them off and
destroy them."

There was a pause from the other end of the line.  "I cannot say that
our superior would approve of this, nor can I say he would approve of
you still breathing after such a failure."  Another pause, and Donners's
worries grew more intense.  "However, considering that it is your own
fault we are in such a situation due to your failure, it is best to
allow you a chance to rectify it."

With a sigh of relief and a nod, Donner leaned back in his chair, more
certain now that his position was secure.  "Thank you, my ally.  I will
have my units make absolutely certain -"

An angry laugh came from the other end.  "After your units have already
failed once?  Killing the lot of them and forcing us to save face would
have been far prefrable.  Instead, you have brought us here."  Donner
sank his head, acknowledging his failure.   "No, Donner, this is going
to be a far more controlled situation.  You will take them on yourself."

Lesser men would have shrank from the task, yet Donner knew that such a
command was well within his abilities.  "Of course."  A thought occurred
to him as he prepared to terminate the connection.  "Am I authorized to
use -?"

"Need I make this any more clear?  If you do not handle the situation
right now, then we are going to be in a great deal of trouble, and I do
not look forward to that."  Once again, the other party sighed.  "Yes,
you are authorized to use the serum if it becomes necessary.  Either you
destroy them, or you are destroyed yourself.  There is no middle ground
now."

Donner terminated the connection with a nod.  He leaned back again, then
opened another commlink with the main munitions division.  "This is
Richard Donner.  I need my personal BOA prepped and ready for deployment
in ten minutes."

[-]

Hacking and coughing, Stryker crawled over to the still-intert forms of
his companions, checking to make sure that they were all still breathing
and had a stable pulse.  Satisfied, he picked himself up off the ground
and walked over to Arcturus, pushing his now-wet hair out of his face
and ignoring the passerby that glanced over to the strange sight.
Leaning over to Arcturus, he grabbed the older man by the hair and
yanked him hard off the ground, provoking a quick and definite reaction
as Arcturus's eyes snapped open like he had been shot.  "You're awake,"
noted Stryker with biting cynicism.  "We need to talk."

"You're right, we do," replied Arcturus just as grimly, planting his
feet firmly and hitting Stryker in the gut.  Unprepared, the young man
doubled over as Arcturus stood over him, straightening his hair as well
and waving away the passerby gathering.  "What were you thinking with
that little stunt, Marx?  You could very well have killed all of us by
doing that!"

"What was I thinking?" snarled Stryker, staggering backwards from the
pain as he gulped air.  "I was thinking of getting out of a fine mess
you had gotten us into, Arcturus!  If you had bothered to check out the
situation beforehand, maybe we wouldn't have had to go out the window in
the first place."  He stood, breath slowly returning to normal as
Jeannine began to wake up.  "If Nathan hadn't been able to overload the
inhibitors, your bad planning would have gotten us all killed.  I'm not
so sure I like working with that."

Arcturus sneered.  "So I made a mistake.  Big deal.  We got out, didn't
we?  My move was a calculated risk, not a mad hope.  Everything we do at
this point could get us killed, remember?  We're fugitives on the run
from the most powerful organization in the world, and no amount of human
evolution changes the danger inherent in that."  He turned his back to
Stryker.  "If you want to leave, Stryker, you're welcome to."

Stryker paused.  He wished that a fight really had started between him
and Arcturus, because he could have dealt with that.  The doctors had
called it something along the lines of "stress reconciliation disorder",
but he hadn't bothered to remember the exact diagnosis.  Simple fact, he
knew, was that he had spent so much time dealing with problems that
threatened his life that he couldn't cope with anything outside of that
stress level.  "I'm not leaving, Arcturus.  I'm just concerned about the
entire operation, that's all."

"Don't.  That's my job."  Arcturus kneeled next to Nathan, who was
already being examined by Jeannine.  Stryker sighed, then turned to
kneel by Nathan as well.  "You're the person who would know, Jeannine -
how was Nathan able to do that?"  Arcturus gestured skyward, although
his reference was painfully obvious.  "Brigade inhibitors are supposed
to be the absolute strongest out there.  How could this kid override
them without any psionic training whatsoever?"

"He's a lot more than an alpha, that's why," replied Jeannine.  The
scanner Arcturus had demonstrated to them was in her hand, slightly
cracked but otherwise unaffected by their ocean plunge.  "When you said
he was off the charts, you weren't kidding.  Nathan's psionic potential
is the absolute peak that this scanner can register - the sort that only
is supposed to exist in theoretical fields.  It's probable that Nathan
would have been a psion even without the aid of the Zearney Effect."  A
slight pause, then Jeannine appended her previous statement.  "'Aid' is,
of course, used only in lieu of a better term..."

Arcturus waved a hand.  "Ms. Marlowe, we're all well aware that Dr.
Zearney screwed the entire world over, and you need not explicate that
for us.  Let's focus on problems we can actually do something about."
Stryker scowled - Arcturus was getting a lot more autocratic the more
time Stryker spent around him.  "Is Nathan still going to be able to use
his powers with the inhibitors in?"

That extracted a small smirk from Stryker.  "For a former member of
Admin, you don't know much about inhibitors," he offered, standing as
Nathan began to blink and awaken.  "Inhibitors can be overcome by spikes
in power level - although until just now, I don't think there has ever
been a spike big enough to break through Brigade inhibitors - but that
doesn't disable them.  We'll need to either get the inhibitors out of
Nathan, or be prepared for him to go berserk and then nod off every time
he uses his powers."

"Thank you, Stryker," muttered Arcturus.  He stood, helping Nathan to
his feet.  "But I don't think that most hospitals will be willing to
remove Aegis Brigade inhibitors.  That's a crime for tampering with
Brigade property and for violating a specific Brigade mandate.  Enough
to haul the whole staff into prison for life with no smokescreen."  He
looked to Jeannine.  "There wouldn't happen to be another Red Cross
facility around here, would there?"

Nathan coughed, drawing attention to himself.  "There's... an old one...
not too far from here.  Abandoned... like most of the others... once the
Brigade... took control."  Arcturus gave Nathan a small whack on the
back, and the young man coughed up a bit of water.  "Thanks."

Jeannine nodded as everyone looked towards her.  "The San Francisco
clinic was one of the first officially closed down, pretty soon after
the city adopted the Brigade's policy of witholding medical treatment
from certain individuals.  Equipment will be a couple years old, but it
should be fully operational, and my access codes can get us in."  She
sighed.  "And with any luck, the Brigade won't find us in the interim."

[-]

Power surged through the lighting fixtures for the first time since the
facility was closed as the four fugitives entered the main operating
room.  Jeannine went first, examining the equipment that lay in perfect
state, waiting for usage.  "It's all in working order.  Still sterile,
even.  I'm impressed."  She helped Nathan onto the operating table as
she activated one of the machines, which hummed to life as if it were a
new model.  "So far, this has gone perfectly."

The click of metal on metal came from outside the room, and all four
turned their heads to see what happening.  Donner walked into the room,
his black hair still slicked back perfectly, brown eyes fixed on the lot
in front of him.  He wore the white-black BOA of the Aegis Brigade, but
it was visibly modified.  The right arm had a black rifle firmly mounted
against the white gauntlet, Donner's hand closed comfortably around it.
The white chest gaurd was extended out to the shoulders, and a small
sight was hooked around Donner's ear and his eye.  Laser sights danced
around the room, with visible red dots tracing paths over Arcturus and
his allies.  "Arcturus Cole.  It is good to see you again."

Arcturus recognized Donner with a scowl, and he drew his hand back.
Stryker could see energy gathering in his palm - he was prepared for a
fight here.  "Richard Donner.  You're the last person that I expected to
be working here."  He smirked.  "I would have though that by now, you'd
be lucky to be working traffic duty."

Donner laughed.  "I've got friend in high places, Cole.  Something that
you ought to know about, I would suppose."  He armed his rifle, waving
it around almost lazily.  "I'll give you all a chance to surrender with
no struggle, and I promise your execution will be quick and relatively
painless.  Or, you can make me destroy you myself.  It's completely up
to you."  He smirked, and with his free hand he tapped the frame of his
BOA.  "It's a new model, this.  The Sn-BOA.  I can be riding the roof of
a train and still shoot the wings off a fly with this thing."

"Very nice," replied Arcturus, thrusting his first forward to blast the
man.  "Unfortunately, your reflexes are as dull as ever.  Ryuuhazan!"
The blue energy lanced out and struck Donner's armor hard, but he was
moving before Arcturus could fire another blast.  The laser sights all
converged on Arcturus, and the older man barely dodged a bullet to the
heart, instead having it tear through his arm with a ribbon of blood.
Jeannine went towards him immediately, worried about her fallen ally, as
Stryker heard Donner's armor whine with the activation of the
maneuvering system.

Stryker would have had trouble with a debate with Donner, but this he
could handle.  He sprang towards his rival, trying to focus his ki like
he had before.  "Tenryuuzan!" he shouted, diving towards the armored man
as green energy coalesced around him.  Donner went down hard, BOA still
whining from the activated system, and Stryker found himself atop his
opponent.  Slamming his fist into Donner's face, he tried to rip off the
sight on the side of his head, but felt the rifle press into his side.
Rolling sideways, he avoided the shot with nothing more than a scrape,
but Donner was on his feet again, using the micromaneuvering jets of the
armor and the frictionless surfaces on the boots to move through the
room with blinding speed.  "Dammit!  Ryuushindan!"  The blast lanced out
towards Donner, but it went wide as the officer simply skidded to one
side.  "There's no way we can catch him now."

"Quite true," replied Donner, letting the four specks of red light dance
around the room.  "You should have taken your out while you had the
chance, fools."  The sights converged on Arcturus's head with lightning
speed, and Jeannine yanked the heavily-bleeding man out of the way,
letting the bullet slam into the wall harmlessly.  Stryker lept at where
he guessed Donner would be, only to see a laser sight before his eyes.
Launching into a Tenryuuzan, he felt the bullet bounce off the wave of
ki energy as he slammed uselessly into the floor.  Glancing to his side,
he saw Nathan rising to a sitting poisition as Jeannine barely avoided
another shot from Donner.  The laser sights danced a moment longer, then
rested on Nathan, even as a slight wisp of yellow energy traced around
him.  "I've waited for this for a while."  He fired.

The bullet stopped dead in the air a few inches in front of Nathan, as
the energy built around the young psion.  Donner raised an eyebrow, then
fired again and again, moving the sight only imperceptible distances.
He gaped as Nathan held all of the bullets suspended before him, yellow
energy crackling around them.  A sound of crackling electricity filled
the air as Nathan hovered into the sky, eyes glowing brightly with the
force of his psionics.  "No," he whispered, and the bullets turned and
raced back towards Donner.  Metal crumpled and shattered as the clump of
bullets smashed into Donner's chest, and blood showered outward from the
center of his body.  Donner clenched his free fist tightly as he fell
forward onto his knees, eyes wide as blood poured down from the hole in
his armor.  He fell forward, the injury clearly a fatal one.

Nathan was not finished, not by any means.  As Jeannine gaped at
Donner's dying body, Nathan rose higher into the air, energy crackling
around him once more.  "Have... to... be... free..."  The force flowing
around the young man pooled around his forehead, and a horrible grinding
noise filled the air as his energy flared to a fever pitch.  With one
last electric hum and sharp twist of metal, he collapsed to the floor.
Jeannine checked Arcturus's arm, then took out the scanner and ran it
over Nathan, trying to push the image of Donner out of her mind.

"The inhibitors aren't registering!" she exclaimed.  "Nathan mentally
broke them!  He burnt some of his powers out in the process, but managed
to save himself an operation."  She looked over to Donner inadvertantly.
"After he... my God..."

Arcturus staggered to his feet, gripping his wounded arm and grabbing a
nearby rag.  "Not time to worry about it, Jeannine," he barked, tying
the rag to help stop the bleeding arm.  "Donner's dead, obviously, and
there were too many witnesses outside not to connect us to that once the
Brigade sees that his vitals have flatlined.  We need to move, and now."
He helped Stryker to his feet, and Stryker grabbed Nathan as Jeannine
stumbled to her feet again.  They headed for the door.

Jeannine lingered, and Stryker looked back at her.  "Are you all right?"
he asked, feeling compassion well up for her.  She paused, then nodded.
"I've seen this sort of thing before.  He had it coming.  Don't feel too
bad."  She shook her head, and the two ran after Arcturus.

Nobody looked back in to check on what should have been Donner's corpse.
There was nobody to look at the slowing blood, and the small device in
his left hand that ran a tube in through his white gauntlet.  And nobody
would see that his eyes were still open, and now filled with a raging
red mist.

  /
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