Raphael stared out the cockpit window in front of him, his foot tapping the ground impatiently. He watched the endless ocean, a mass of tenebrous black water, stretch out into the horizon to meet the gloomy gray clouds of the crepuscular night sky. Just like the cloudy midnight, his mind was nebulous and befuddled; during his overseas trip on a covert co-op mission with the British SFSG, he had received troubling news from Junco.

I don't understand, Raphael thought with a frown. I told Watson about Alice. We know Jason is somehow connected to that assassin and that Alice is possibly her daughter. Yet why hasn't she acted on this intel? Is it because of Michelle?

Raphael's scowl deepened as he thought about Michelle and Jason.

We - I - do owe him a lot for what happened to him, for Michelle . . . but not like this. Not when it could threaten the lives of thousands, possibly millions.

"That eager to get back, Raphy?" a voice beside Raphael asked and the latter roused himself from his thoughts and turned to the pilot next to him.

The helmet the pilot was wearing obscured most of her face, but Raphael could see her bright brown eyes glowing with her holo-lenses as she turned to look at him. With a sigh of content, she reached and pulled her helmet off. The warm umber color of her face was tinged with a few sun-kissed freckles and she smiled brightly, her full lips making dimples on her face as she fixed her helmet hair.

"It's Raphael but I'd prefer Angel, Airman Amahle," Raphael replied, slightly annoyed.

He disliked that nickname and knew very well where Amahle, the pilot, got that habit from. Worse, despite being higher ranked than her, Amahle barely followed protocols and almost never called him by his rank, Major. Regardless of how he felt, however, there was no better pilot he was willing to trust.

"Man, wish I could get a cute codename like you and the boys," Amahle said wistfully while setting the D-22 on autopilot.

She leaned back and stretched luxuriously while hoisting her legs up onto the dashboard, much to Raphael's dismay. Noticing his disapproval, Amahle snorted while saying, "Hey, I don't tell you how to shoot, so don't tell me how to fly. 'Sides, it's all smooth sailing from here on out."

"Fair enough. Though I have to ask. You talk like that to all your superior officers?" Raphael asked curiously after begrudgingly agreeing with her.

"Nope," Amahle replied with a teasing grin etched across her face. "Just you, Maajoor."

The two exchanged glances before chuckling loudly. The life-threatening mission they carried out over three months ago had brought them close to the point where their ranks meant nothing. After all, Amahle also went through a disciplinary hearing along with him that resulted in a severe demotion, unlike a certain mercenary. [1]

"Speaking of which, you've met Jason recently, right? During the carnival attack? How is he?" Amahle asked casually, yet Raphael noticed how she cleared her throat before asking.

"He's good, very good in fact," Raphael sighed before replying; he could see the longing in Amahle's eyes. "Got himself surrounded by a few girls."

Including my sister it seems, Raphael finished in his mind, his teeth clenched together unknowingly.

"I'm not surprised," Amahle said after remaining silent for a while. She gave a small laugh as she replied, "Good for him."

Raphael turned to look at her, his eyes furrowed as he noticed how she was acting.

"If you don't mind me asking, what did you see in him?" Raphael asked.

Amahle smiled, a knowing look in her eyes as she turned to look at Raphael.

"Nothing," she answered.

"Nothing?" Raphael repeated, his eyebrows furrowed. He opened his mouth but Amahle cut him off.

"Yeah. We're both adults that were simply looking to relax without all the baggage," Amahle rolled her eyes as she explained. "I know it's hard for someone as . . . inexperienced as you to understand but, sometimes, people - adults - just like to have casual sex with no strings attached."

"C'est de la foutaise," Raphael replied with a snort. "If that was the case, then why ask about him?"

"Just checking to see if I can get into his pants again," Amahle answered shamelessly. "There's really no one better than -"

"Okay, d'accord, that's enough. I've heard enough," Raphael cut in with a shake of his head as he tried to remove the picture in his mind. "We're almost to Sanctuary. Put your boots down and take over the controls."

"Sure thing, sir," Amahle replied with a snicker and Raphael shook his head wryly when she stretched the syllables for 'sir'.

The anti-radar stealth features of the D-22, a new prototype variation of the Dragonfly, deactivated as it approached the sprawling city of Atlantis. The refractive plating on the topside of the VTOL aircraft changed from its opaque state back to a gunmetal gray color as the D-22 became visible once more to the satellites roaming in the sky above.

"Command, this is Kilo two-two-five-niner, on approach. Requesting clearance to land. Over," Amahle radioed.

"Roger, Kilo two-two-five-niner, we read you. Maintain heading and standby for authentication," a static voice radioed back. Amahle nodded and activated the IFF transponder before leaning back and maintaining a distance from the air base. A few seconds passed before the voice radioed back. "Kilo two-two-five-niner, you are cleared to land, runway one-sixer. Welcome back."

"Roger, command, it's great to be back. Landing on runway one-sixer. Kilo two-two-five-niner, out."

As the aircraft landed on the outskirts of AEM's air base, Raphael got up from the copilot's chair and placed his helmet back on. He moved to the entrance at the back of the fuselage when Amahle called out from behind him.

"Hey, Raph?" Amahle had her helmet also back on, preventing Raphael from seeing her red cheeks. "You see Jason, tell him I said hi?"

The visor of Raphael's helmet gleamed a silver hue as the reflective glass stopped the gaze of pity he sent to Amahle from being seen. Finally, he reluctantly nodded before replying, his voice steady and even. [2]

"Alright."

"Thanks, I'll buy you a round sometime."

"No, you won't."

"Nope," Amahle replied brightly.

Raphael exited after the playful banter, a smile behind his helmet and Amahle also grinned before opting to remain behind and run a system diagnostics, checking on the D-22's systems carefully. Raphael walked down the ramp and nodded his head to a soldier who was saluting him while awaiting his arrival.

"Major, sir!" the soldier called out clearly and Raphael nodded.

"At ease, soldier," Raphael replied before entering the GMV that the soldier had brought to escort him. "Take me back to headquarters." [3]

"Sir, yes, sir!"

***

Watson sat at the desk in her office, meticulously going through a stack of documents whilst rumpling her eyebrows together in a knit. There was a grimace on her pink lips as she read the paper documents that were too sensitive to be digitized when a knock interrupted her. Looking up, she saw Raphael at the half-open door, one hand still raised as he nodded at her.

Unlike before, Raphael was now dressed in the loose standard military outfit. The khaki green shirt was unbuttoned, revealing the black t-shirt underneath while the sleeves of the shirt were rolled up. His bright golden hair was slightly damp and stuck to his forehead; he had removed his armor and freshened up by taking a shower before approaching Watson.

"Permission to enter, Colonel?" Raphael asked candidly.

"Granted," Watson answered with a curt nod. As Raphael entered her office, Watson used her credentials to close the door before returning to her papers. "Mission report?"

"A success, ma'am. I'll have it written down and submitted by o'ten-hundred," Raphael stated.

Watson nodded at Raphael's answer but knew there was something else he wanted to ask. She stopped writing and gazed at Raphael seriously. "Is there anything else, major?"

"Why aren't we doing anything about Jason?" Raphael asked bluntly and Watson sighed.

Here we go again, Watson thought.

"I showed you the footage of the assassin. We also identified her as a former Sage employee, Katelyn, who had no surname, birth, or any other significant information in our files," Raphael insisted. "And I had Suni run an algorithm on both Jason's daughter and Katelynn which verified my suspicions. And yet you haven't done anything."

"You're suggesting that we arrest a Phantom's daughter," Watson answered exasperatedly. "And what? Set the whole city on fire?"

"I'm not saying we go in guns blazing," Raphael retorted. "But we can't possibly leave this situation alone without some oversight."

"No," Watson stated firmly. "End of discussion."

Raphael remained silent, his eyes glaring at hers before scoffing, "This is about Michelle."

"It is not -"

"You feel we owe him for Michelle and that's why you're not pursuing this matter," Raphael interrupted and Watson glared at him sharply.

"Is that what you think, Major Raphael?" Watson asked, her voice dangerously low.

Raphael didn't reply but his stance betrayed his thoughts and it caused Watson to chuckle quietly. Pulling a file from a drawer of her desk, Watson tossed it to Raphael who caught it with some bemusement. After reading it thoroughly, his face changed while Watson sneered.

"General Sato, the Council, they all disagree with your stance, Major," Watson said coldly. "If there's nothing else, then you're dismissed."

"Watson … I -"

Watson glared at him sharply, her voice leaving him no choice as she commanded, "Dismissed, Major."

Raphael hesitated before getting up reluctantly. He wanted to apologize to Watson for his assumption but before he could open his mouth, the alarms all over the AEM base began blaring. Both Raphael and Watson looked up as red alarm lights began flashing.

"Warning Code Black emergency. Warning, Code Black emergency. All hands prepare for deployment."

Raphael and Watson exchanged glances, both grimacing when they heard the PA system. Both ran out of the office and made their way to the command center.

"Report," Watson ordered as soon as she entered the command center.

"Lieutenant Colonel!" a lieutenant saluted Watson before falling silent, hesitating to answer Watson's question for a moment. "It's a Code Black SOS transmission from . . . from honorary member C-09a . . . Michelle Leblanc."

Without even waiting for Watson's approval, Raphael dashed out of the command center.

"This is Angel calling Fireteam Salvation, I want everyone armed and ready for deployment! DOUBLE TIME, PEOPLE!"

Back in the command center, Watson's grip on the tablet handed to her by the lieutenant, tightened as her head felt light.

"Lockdown the entire city," she directed at an operator as the personnel around work frantically. "And send a company to aid Fireteam Salvation. Nothing gets in or out, is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" the operator responded before radioing her orders.

Michelle . . . she thought. Nothing had better happen to you. Or, I swear, I'll burn this city down.

The grip on her tablet became too much and the tablet broke under the pressure, bending a complete 180°, frightening the lieutenant beside her. After tossing aside the broken tablet, Watson's eyes landed on the lieutenant who was clearly intimidated.

"Get me General Sato, now."

"Yes, ma'am!"

***

"Fireteam Salvation, descend!"

Atop a flying D-20, Raphael ordered his team as soon as he reached Michelle's beacon location. He, Suni, and Dhole jumped down from the aircraft instead of rappelling down from over twenty-five feet above the ground. The sound of air rushing past their ears deafened them as the lights of multiple stories of buildings flashed past their eyes. At the last second, strategically placed thrusters erupted from their exo-armors, slowing their descent to almost a standstill before abruptly cutting off. All three of them landed with a thud, their knees braced as the hydraulics of the exo-armors absorbed the impact of their fall.

Almost at the same time, several APCs arrived, and hundreds of soldiers filed out in teams of four or five.

"I want a twelve block radius parameter set now!" Raphael, as the most senior officer on site, ordered the First Sergeant of the company.

"You heard'em lads, LET'S GO!"

Raphael jogged forward with his team and the First Sergeant till he found Michelle sitting on the ground on her knees. Markus's head was on her lap as he laid unconscious, completely knocked out.

"Michelle!" Raphael hurried over quickly, ignoring the possible dangers as Suni and Dhole covered his back, their weapons unlocked and ready to shoot, especially after they saw the bisected body of Salamander.

"Frère!" Michelle who seemed to be shocked and dazed woke up from her stupor and called out to Raphael in surprise. Raphael lowered himself and placed a hand on her cheek, raising her head to look her in the eyes.

"Est-ce que ça va? Qu'est-il arrivé?" Raphael asked as the First Sergeant called in for a medical team.

"Frère," Michelle said shakily, her voice quiet and disturbed as she almost sobbed, "C'était le Reaper."

A chill ran down Raphael's back as he stood up and eyed the surroundings. Suni and Dhole, who overheard Michelle, also raised their weapons and each observed a different side, quickly positioning themselves into a triangle formation with Michelle and Markus at the center.

"Junco," Raphael called out through his radio as the soldiers around him moved around busily, forming a parameter before spreading out to hunt in small fireteams.

"All clear up here," Junco replied.

Unlike the rest of her team, Junco used her armor's thrusters to propel herself atop the tallest building. She then lowered the enhanced binocular from the top of her helmet. The single-eye goggle was switched to infrared, allowing her to see everything occurring below her.

Despite that advantage, she found nothing, even failing to notice a faint outline behind her moving away slowly.

"Il est parti," Michelle said softly and Raphael narrowed his eyes.

That doesn't make sense, Raphael thought but didn't pursue any further. Currently, the medical team arrived and they busied themselves with Michelle and Markus. He - it - only killed Salamander and left these two alone? That's never happened before. I'll have to ask Michelle later.

Perched above the ledge of a rooftop, Fenrir narrowed his eyes as he watched Raphael and Michelle. His bright blue eyes were dull and lifeless, the optics were in dark mode which prevented it from glowing its usual bright blue color. His body was also translucent, preventing anyone from seeing him thanks to light bending technology. Coupled with his ESPer powers, Fenrir was able to turn almost invisible; there was only a slight outline but the optical illusion was enhanced with a slight mental input that subtly convinced any sightseers that there was nothing there.

Hmm, looks like I'm too late, Fenrir thought as he soundlessly jumped down from the building.

Despite crashing into the ground from such a height, there was barely a ripple or sound. Very casually, he weaved past the soldiers, walking past them unnoticed, until he passed Raphael and Michelle, the latter who was now sitting on a stretcher with a mug of hot chocolate in her hands. He finally made his way to Salamander's corpse, a grimace behind his helmet as he studied the crashed ambulance and the body that was being taken away.

Cockroach, Fenrir sneered. Should've beheaded him instead of blowing him up. But this scene . . .

Fenrir moved to observe the tracks of the ambulance, his eyes narrowed. Looks like there was a scuffle inside the ambulance which resulted in a crash.

Then Salamander exited the crash and attacked Michelle, Fenrir continued narrating to himself as he bent down to observe the bullet casings on the ground.

But something stopped him in place before easily cutting him in half . . . the strength to do that so effortlessly . . .

Fenrir narrowed his eyes as he remained crouching. It's him alright. The Reaper.

Suddenly, Jason paused feeling a pair of eyes staring at him from behind. His gaze changed, moving to observe the direction of the gaze from the corner of his eyes with a raised eyebrow.

Clever girl. Her ESPer ability is quite impressive but her frightening intuition is even more of a threat, Fenrir thought as he got up and moved instantaneously to a nearby alleyway with a single step. There's nothing more to learn here. Need to check on the corpse now . . . which should be headed to the morgue.

Michelle narrowed her eyes, blinking in slight surprise as she watched a certain location intently.

Quelle . . . qui était? Michelle thought as a slight scowl formed on her pink lips. My imagination? Non . . .

Something was there, she knew it in her heart but the fact that no one else sensed it frightened her to no ends. Yet, undeterred by the pounding of her heart, Michelle clenched her fist and decided to act on her impulse.

"Frère," Michelle called out. "I want to go to the poste de police."

"Pourquoi?" Raphael asked though he began to slowly piece things together in his mind.

"Je . . . Je dois vérifier . . . quelque chose," Michelle answered evasively, her eyes darting away from his. "About ce lézard."

". . . Alright," Raphael finally said after gazing at her seriously for a moment.

"Merci frère," Michelle said before dashing to a nearby police vehicle that was called in for backup.

Though she didn't tell anyone about what she saw, she deduced that whatever she saw was there for Salamander, maybe it could even be his associate. Yet, the fact that it remained hidden meant that it wasn't as powerful as Salamander and that it could - would move to intercept his body.

Ce qui veut dire que ce sera à la morgue la plus proche, Michelle concluded, accurately guessing Fenrir's next move as she showed her AEM badge to the police and directed him to drive her to the morgue.

Raphael watched her leave with narrowed eyes before radioing Junco.

"Junco, tag that police car," he ordered. "Fireteam, prepare to move out."

"You're planning to follow her, boss?" Dhole asked.

"Yes. I have a feeling that she knows something," Raphael replied before turning back to the First Sergeant. "Stay here and make sure everything is checked thoroughly."

***

In a room within the basement of the morgue, the coroner examined the remains of Salamander with great interest. Even though he was supposed to determine the time and cause of death, the coroner's eyes gleamed with excitement as he hurriedly recorded his thoughts on the body.

"Subject appears to have a fully functional vomeronasal organ and has both lungs and gills. The former is like that of a regular human's yet the latter is reminiscent to that of a lizard's physiology . . ."

A clattering sound interrupted the coroner's fervent speech and the latter looked up with bewilderment.

"Hello?" he called out to a silent and empty room. The dead corpses answered him with silence, leaving the coroner befuddled and wondering if he was only hearing things.

Strange, I'm the only one on the clock tonight, he thought with a frown. Is it just my imagination?

A rustling sound like that of someone moving around, searching for something, echoed through his ears and the coroner frowned as he realized that he wasn't alone.

"Is someone there? Hello?" he asked again impatiently as footsteps neared him, unaware of the looming shadow that appeared behind him.

"Just you and me," a voice from behind him rasped. The voice cold and grating sent shivers down the coroner's spine as a drop of cold sweat fell down his forehead. He didn't want to turn around, but his body betrayed him and moved on its own as he spun to look at the intruder.

Flaming blue irises, the size of a human's eyeball gazed back at him. Sharp teeth, white and lustrous, seemed to open up to swallow him whole as he felt dizzy and darkness overtook him.

Fenrir chuckled at the sight of the coroner fainting, amusement shimmering through his blue holo-optics as he grabbed the coroner's limp body to prevent him from falling and hurting himself. Feeling a bit more mischievous, he decided to open an empty cabinet shelf and place the coroner's body atop the table. He grinned at the thought of the coroner waking up on the same table upon which corpses usually slept on.

Now, moving on . . . Fenrir thought as he turned to observe Salamander's remains. He grimaced when he saw the condition of the body.

My, someone is impatient. It hasn't even been fifteen minutes and the coroner already started an autopsy, he thought as he attentively studied the wound that killed Salamander. Hmm, slight discoloration at the edges, much like a plasma wound but . . .

Fenrir took a knife out and briefly touched it on the blackened edges before lifting the knife. The blade darkened and corroded, melting like butter.

Much more corrosive, Fenrir concluded.

He took another throwing knife out and used his ability to create a white aura around the blade before performing the same action. This time, there was a sizzling sound as the blackened skin slightly returned to its former state.

Well, that confirms it, Fenrir thought. Deathly aura, no doubt about that judging from its reaction to Life Aura. That coroner is lucky. Had he touched it, losing a few fingers would've been the least of his concerns.

The creaking sound of a door opening interrupted Fenrir's musings and he quickly moved to position himself beside the entrance of the room. He saw a gun as the figure slowly walked in but before the newcomer could check the corner of her sight, Fenrir jumped on her. He pulled the slide of her gun rearward, preventing her from shooting before twisting her arm and pulling her into his arms. Michelle struggled, trying her best to headbutt him with the back of her head before Fenrir hugged her.

"Michelle . . . it's me."

Hearing Fenrir's voice, Michelle stopped struggling. It sounded very foreign to her, cold and merciless, yet the familiarity behind his words gave her the hint to discover his identity.

". . . Jason?" she asked with uncertainty, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Jason, underneath his helmet, smiled bitterly, knowing full well that Michelle would've figured it out eventually. Even though he was aware of this fact, he felt a slight sense of remorse at having to reveal himself to her.

". . . I'm going to let you go now," Fenrir said quietly before releasing the hold he had on Michelle. The latter merely nodded and barely moved even after Fenrir let her go. Instead, she merely turned her body to look at the figure behind her.

". . . Très intimidant," Michelle raised an eyebrow and commented as she looked up and down his body before frowning as her eyes settled on his face. The teeth shaped breather was reminding her of a canine's, and she recalled the Reaper's words.

Le Loup.

"Jason," Michelle called out gently. She couldn't recognize a hint of him while he was wearing this armor. "Pourquoi?"

". . . To protect those near me without retaliation," Fenrir answered. At the same time, his breather split from the middle and moved to the side of his face, revealing his mouth and chin to her. Michelle's eyes were drawn to his lips and she immediately realized that Fenrir was telling the truth: it was Jason underneath the mask. "You can't let anyone else know, not even your mother or brother."

Especially your brother, Jason added in his mind.

". . . Bien," Michelle struggled for a while before accepting Jason's request and the latter sighed in relief. Had she not agreed, he would have to erase her memories but that was a final resort due to the complications surrounding that ability; he could irreparably damage her brain in the process.

"Thank you," Jason said softly, his voice filled with appreciation and Michelle slightly turned away to prevent him from seeing her pink-tinged cheeks.

"What were you doing ici?" Michelle asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Looking into this case," Jason stated. "I - it's my fault Salamander attacked you."

"Que voulez-vous dire?" Michelle asked.

"I thought I killed him but it turns out he was still alive," Jason answered as he gestured at the corpse before the two walked towards it. "Turns out he survived and almost killed you."

Michelle nodded but stumbled halfway when she saw the coroner lying on the stretcher atop an open cabinet.

"Is he . . . ?" she asked rather hesitantly to Jason who turned to look at the direction of her gesture.

"Hm? Oh, no, he's just, uh, resting," Jason denied with a shake of his head while avoiding Michelle's eyes. "Uh, I might've sneaked up on him . . ."

Michelle raised her eyebrows, feeling a tinge of sympathy for the coroner before turning to Jason who handed her the autopsy report.

"J'avais raison," Michelle said after skimming through the report. "He's not human."

"No, he isn't," Jason agreed. "Neither was the one that killed him."

"Le Reaper," Michelle whispered, her voice barely audible and Jason nodded.

Michelle hesitated for a moment before asking, "Are you Loup?"

"Fenrir," Jason corrected. "The Wolf."

"Then you saved my life," Michelle said after sending Jason a complicated gaze full of mixed emotions.

"How do you mean?" Jason asked with a frown.

"It left me alive, pour vous envoyer un message," Michelle said.

"What's the message?"

"He's . . . he's coming. Pour vous."

Coming for me? Damnitall means he's gonna start hunting soon, Jason thought with a frown.

Before he could ask Michelle anything else, he paused as he heard a slight noise from within the building.

"Qu'Est-ce que c'est?" Michelle asked but Jason didn't respond.

Instead, he closed the breather again, covering his entire face before pulling Michelle closer. At the same time, he flung a throwing knife at a wall near the entrance before spinning around, the nozzle on his gauntlet freezing the wall behind him.

The door to the room was kicked aside, sending it flying off its hinges as four armored individuals entered quickly and aimed their rifles at Fenrir. The latter responded by holding Michelle hostage, a knife to her throat as he held her in front of him to prevent the newcomers from shooting him.

"Fucking let her go," Raphael snarled as their weapons' laser pointers aimed itself at Fenrir's head.

"Jesus . . ." Suni murmured in a short gasp as they finally saw Fenrir. His features were intimidating enough but those eyes and teeth were beyond frightening. Regardless, the entire team realized that it was nothing but a suit and they became more confident in confronting the target in front of them.

"Sorry," Fenrir lowered his head and muttered to Michelle's ear.

The timer on the knife he threw stopped and the wall behind Raphael and his team exploded. Their exo-armors absorbed the shockwave but the impact still staggered them giving Fenrir the chance he needed. He flung Michelle towards Raphael and smashed straight into the frozen wall, smashing through it and exiting the room. Finding himself in the hallway leading to the rooms of the morgue, Fenrir began running towards the staircase.

"Imbécile," Michelle muttered under her breath as she massaged her throat. While she knew that Jason wouldn't kill her, she did not appreciate being held against her will with a knife so close to her throat. She decided to complain to Alina first thing in the morning.

"After him!" Raphael shouted and Junco responded before he even finished, running to the hole in the wall with her sniper rifle ready. Dhole threw aside his Gatling gun, which was too heavy, and pursued Junco while Suni used his computer gauntlet to call for backup.

"You ok?" Raphael asked Michelle who nodded. For the second time tonight, he checked her for wounds before anger settled in. "What were you thinking?"

"Il n'est pas dangereux," Michelle protested.

"He's not dang - we'll discuss this later," Raphael repeated her words with disbelief before cutting himself short. "Stay here, restez en sécurité."

With that, Raphael moved to join his team in tracking Fenrir.

In the hallway, Junco saw Fenrir running away and realized that the distance was only increasing between them. She took a knee, moving to a crouching position, before aiming and firing her sniper rifle at Fenrir. Almost simultaneously, Fenrir spun around and threw a knife at the oncoming bullet. At impact, the knife exploded, changing the trajectory of the bullet which flew past Fenrir's helmet, grazing it ever so slightly and sending a wave of sparks into the air. Junco blinked in surprise, confounded by how quick and accurate Fenrir was. Worse, he improvised his tactics at a frightening pace, indicating just how battle-hardened and quick-witted he was.

Before Junco could come up with a response, Fenrir moved to the staircase and activated one of his grappling pivots on the shoulder. With a faint zip, the grapple reached the roof of the building before abruptly pulling him up.

"Trakhni menya," Dhole swore as he watched Fenrir zip up and disappear from their sight. Immediately after, he began pursuing Fenrir, running up the stairs one flight at a time with the help of his thrusters.

"Uh, you could've just - nevermind," Suni wanted to call out to Dhole but the latter was already gone. With a sigh, he went up to the elevator and pushed the button for the topmost floor. Junco joined him silently, not wanting to admit that she almost took off after Dhole too. Raphael considered joining them for a second before deciding to run up the stairs as well. However, instead of going up the building, Raphael went up to the ground floor and exited the building, his eyes looking up at the building's roof.

On the rooftop, Fenrir shoulder-bashed the door to the roof. He stumbled to a pause and turned around with the handheld railgun in his hand. He aimed at the door and fired a spell, covering the entrance to the roof with a thick wall of ice. Dhole, on the side of the ice along with Suni and Junco, began pounding at the thick ice sheet. After glancing briefly at Dhole, Fenrir took a running jump to leap to the roof of another building. Down on the ground, Raphael saw Fenrir leap and began pursuing him with his fastest speed.

"Prosto slomaysya!" Dhole shouted as he pummeled the ice, shattering a chunk of the wall with only his strength.

"Alright, this is taking too long. Back off, buddy," Suni lost his patience and pulled Dhole aside before taking out a container from his backpack.

"Is that - ?" Junco asked and Suni nodded.

"Explosive nanites in an adhesive gel," Suni said before noticing Dhole's confusion and adding, "Explosive gel?"

"Ah."

After liberally spraying the ice, Suni gestured at the others to move back before he detonated the gel. With a roar and a shake of the building, the ice shattered into fragments, freeing the entrance. Suni nodded in satisfaction, his nose up in the air as he waited to hear praise in heaps but Junco and Dhole ignored him and ran out to pursue Fenrir.

"Really guys?" Suni muttered under his breath before following them. "Not even a 'Good job, Suni!'? Ungh, I need a raise."

As the three hounded Fenrir from above, Raphael continued running on the ground, using his skills to predict where Fenrir would go next and managing to keep up with him.

He's making a beehive for the building that's still under construction, Raphael concluded and decided to break off and run ahead. I'll intercept him before then.

He used his thrusters to continuously jump up a fire exit staircase, reaching the roof of an apartment building just two roofs away from Fenrir. The latter paused and turned to look at Raphael for a second, sparks flying between their eyes as they both realized the inevitable fight that was coming. Fenrir turned to continue running but Junco caught up and fired at him again, forcing him to dodge. Even though he was certain that the bullet couldn't pierce his armor, he didn't want to be staggered, pushed back, delayed, and surrounded. Unfortunately, the bullet brought Raphael enough time to catch up to Fenrir.

"Going somewhere?" Raphael asked as he aimed his DMR at Fenrir. Junco was perched atop another building with a higher roof, giving her the advantage while Dhole landed behind Fenrir. Suni, breathless and panting, also arrived but almost sat down on the ground exhausted.

"Oh good, you guys - all caught up, whew," he wheezed. "You're all - huff - really great - huh - at running. Should try running a charity marathon, whoa."

"Suni," Raphael called out in warning.

"Right, right," Suni used his gauntlet to release a swarm of drones from his backpack, each hand-sized drone ready to fire at Fenrir.

"You're surrounded and outnumbered four-to-one," Raphael said to Fenrir. The latter turned and gazed at each of them slowly, resulting in all of them being uncomfortable. Especially Suni who flinched a little before avoiding eye contact; he wasn't afraid to admit that the Predator in front of him was dead scary.

"I like those odds," Fenrir finally growled and everyone could hear the combative smile behind the mask.

A chill ran down Junco's spine as she realized that Fenrir was unwilling to surrender. She quickly aimed her sniper rifle to shoot but it was too late; Fenrir threw a capsule at the ground which released a pulse of EM, temporarily disabling their equipment, including their helmets, weapons, and exo-armors. The drones also fell down lifelessly and Suni swore under his breath as he frantically tried to restore their systems and reconnect them to his armor. Unfortunately, Fenrir didn't give him any time.

Using the delay in their reflexes, Fenrir fired a grappling pivot at Suni, dragging him to his location and sending an uppercut to his head that sent him reeling backwards. Before Suni could fully fly away, however, Fenrir grabbed him by the ankle and smashed him back down onto the ground, leaving the poor tech specialist squeaking in pain. As he loaded another pivot onto his shoulder mount, Dhole lumbered to Fenrir, intending to shoulder-bash him. But the latter vaulted over him at the last second before throwing a device at Dhole's exposed back.

"Wha - ? Gekgekgek!" Dhole turned his head to see what Fenrir attached to him but the device emitted a large amount of electrical current, stunning him into submission as his body twitched sporadically.

Fucker is playing with us, Junco realized as her weapon came back online.

With impressive speed, she fired continually, each shot having a half-second delay between them. Raphael collaborated with her, firing his DMR nonstop, but Fenrir ignored his firing and proceeded to dodge Junco's bullets. He barely dodged the bullets, moving his body, shoulder, and head at the last second letting each bullet fly by him mere millimeters from his body.

Barely looking up at her, Fenrir performed a quick draw shot, pulling his railgun pistol from his magnetic holster and firing a spell at Junco from his hip before holstering the gun again. Junco looked down at the magick formation that appeared under her feet.

"Shit!" she swore before lunging to her side, barely dodging the earthen spikes that threatened to skewer her. Before she knew it, the spikes followed her and she quickly had to dodge again.

A tracking spell?! Junco realized before deciding to abandon the rooftop she was on; the spell would follow her within a short radius but not if she moved to another roof.

Left with no choice, Junco leapt off the rooftop and fell down into the one where Fenrir and Raphael were currently fighting on. Dhole, who had managed to rouse himself, saw Junco falling and quickly jumped to grab and cushion her fall, though both still felt the impact as they crashed down.

During this entire exchange, Raphael didn't pause or hesitate; he emptied an entire clip, over fifty rounds into Fenrir. At first, the rounds did nothing to the latter, but Raphael used his marksmanship to repeatedly shoot at a single location on Fenrir's chest. This resulted in Fenrir being pushed back by the force of the impact and he growled before taking a step forward. Again, he was pushed back by the bullets, until Raphael needed to reload. Using this opportunity, Fenrir rushed forward and smashed the rifle down and away from Raphael's hands. Raphael responded by punching Fenrir but the latter barely flinched and the two began exchanging blows. The fight was mostly one-sided as Fenrir almost effortlessly bested Raphael; for each blow Raphael gave, he received one with twice the strength. Finally, seeing a flaw in Raphael's fighting stance, Fenrir broke the former's defense and grabbed him by the throat before slamming him into the ground. Before he could get his bearings, however, Fenrir was tackled by Dhole who threw them both off the building's roof.

"DHOLE!" Suni shouted as Junco dashed forward to the ledge.

In midair Fenrir spun around and positioned himself behind Dhole, grabbing the latter into a chokehold as they fell several stories down. His reloaded grappling pivot activated and swung them both to the building he was aiming at, the one that was barely constructed. When he almost reached the building, at the last second, Fenrir let go of Dhole sending him flying into an unfinished wall while he performed a forward roll to ease his swing.

Lucky Lizzy is your sister or I'd have let you become street pizza, dumbass, Fenrir thought with a sneer. He turned to look at Raphael who, with the support of Junco, was standing and glaring back. Knowing that they couldn't possibly make it in time to catch him, Fenrir left at ease.

See you later, Raphy. Maybe next time you can give me a better workout.

[1] Yep, we're talking about Jason here. Basically, this was his first mission, and initiation, as a Phantom and he needed to complete it with Raphael, hence how the two knew each other previously.

[2] Basically, the exo-armor that AEM uses is very similar to the MJOLNIR armor from Halo (heck they even have implants like the SPARTANS) or the N7 armor of Mass Effect. (Not gonna post any link, Google it if you're interested)

[3] GMV - Ground Mobility Vehicle. Usually a modified Humvee that's used by the US Special Operation Forces.

(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_Mobility_Vehicle_%E2%80%93_(US)SOCOM_program)

Basically, it's a warthog. No wait, a puma, it's a puma (RvB is back, baby!)