(M) SCAR: The Beginning The End(IC) (H)

[John]

A lot had changed in the seven months following the mission to Arkham. Claire had changed. Her powers had evolved, for lack of a better word. She was now able to pick up thoughts as emotional echoes. A handy ability, but one she was having trouble controlling at times. However, the other aspects of her ability had evolved as well. She found herself less likely to succumb to the emotions of others.

Claire had also fallen in love. At first, the idea of this frightened her immensely, but it didn’t change the feelings she had for Malcolm. She spent most of her free time with him and felt comfortable in his arms. There were days that she didn’t want to leave his side. But she did have a job to do and a friend to take care of.

Claire had spent a lot of time with Kristy, whom she considered to be her best friend. Even though she was in charge of Kristy’s training, it didn’t change the feelings Claire had. She was amazed at how far Kristy had progressed in the last seven months. In fact, Kristy had exceeded all expectations and was well on her way to becoming a fine operative. Claire was happy for the most part. It seemed like some things in her life were finally starting to go right.

But despite all the good, Claire still had an uneasy feeling. Six months ago, Homeland Security had created The Omega Sector and they were placed in charge of worldwide SCAR operations. This caused quite an uproar in England and they summarily withdrew from the SCAR treaty. In the months following the change of power, paranormal activity began to rise sharply and an unprecedented amount of operatives had been killed in action during missions. It was actually becoming commonplace for missions to fail. Something which had never happened before. And now there was a new mission, and Claire was to lead it.

Claire stood in front of the desk in the office of one of the higher ups, holding the mission briefing in her hands and glaring at the man behind the desk.

“I won’t do it Adam!!” Claire was shouting. “I won’t go anywhere with that insane little bastard!!” Claire slammed the file on the desk.

“Claire,” the spectral figure behind the desk spoke calmly. “I understand your reservations, but this order has come from the highest level.”

“I don’t give a fuck if these orders were handed down by God himself!!” Claire glared at Adam. “I refuse!!”

“Would you throw your life away so quickly,” Adam rose from the desk and floated over to Claire. “If you refuse you will spend the rest of your life in a very small cell. Things have changed. The Omega Sector runs things differently, you know that. Please Claire, don’t turn this into the biggest mistake of your life.”

“Fine,” Claire exhaled and a smile appeared on her face. “I will do it, but I want something.”

“Name it,” Adam appeared to be smiling, though it was hard to tell.

“As we are taking the Deathstrike, I want Kristy Masterson to be allowed to come on the mission.” Claire raised her eyebrows and stared.

“Out of the question,” Adam’s voice became more stern. “She hasn’t completed her training, and you know regulations.”

“She is more advanced than most of the active operatives we have,” Claire’s tone was clinical. “Not to mention that she knows the operation of the Deathstrike better than anyone else on the base. We can call it an advanced training op.” Claire looked down at the floor. “Please Adam.”

“Fine,” Adam’s voice sounded concerned. “Assemble your team Claire. But Kristy is your responsibility. If anything happens to her, it’s your ass on the line.”

“Thank you Adam,” Claire smiled, picked up the folder, and left the room.

Claire made her way down the long corridors of the base to briefing room three. Once there, she booted the computer and called up the mission briefing. Pressing a button on the microphone on the side of the computer, she began to speak as red lights came to life throughout the base.

“May I have your attention please. The following operatives are to proceed immediately to briefing room three in full battle gear: Veronica Valez, Aaron Young, Shannon Adaire, Chase Holdsfield, Lyrico, Ethan Blake, Samantha Bonachoi, Malcolm Maverick, Yakim Kozlof and Kristy Masterson. That is all.” Claire sat down and waited. She took a moment to look over the file again, paying special attention to the dossier of Samantha. Claire was quite interested in her. Healers were a rarity in SCAR, and due to the nature of their ability, were always good. There was no such thing as an evil healer. This thought gave Claire a small amount of comfort.

[StormWolf]

Chaplain Malcolm Maverick was sitting on his bed, his hands rubbing circles into his temples as he muttered a small prayer. Ever since he had been possessed by Sammael, his powers seemed to be more acute. He could sense evil from a further distance and he could Purge much stronger beings and not suffer temporary blindness or severe nosebleeds. It was like the Archangel left a fraction of a splinter of his power in Malcolm. The only downside was the migraines..... and Sammael's voice constantly in his head.

“May I have your attention please. The following operatives are to proceed immediately to briefing room three in full battle gear: Veronica Valez, Aaron Young, Shannon Adaire, Chase Holdsfield, Lyrico, Ethan Blake, Samantha Bonachoi, Maloclm Maverick, Yakim Kozlof and Kristy Masterson. That is all.”

Malcolm gave a small smile up at the loudspeakers for once, hearing that voice sweet as honey. He wasted no time in pulling out his duffle bag and loaded it with all of his gear, the newest addition being the sanctified Kukri that Claire's close friend in the Vatican gave him; the blade was made in the Vatican forge and was blessed by the Pope himself with holy water from the River Jordan. Carefully putting the blade in his duffle bag last, the Chaplain zipped it up and slung it over his shoulder. Malcolm wore his common garb when not in uniform or his chapel blacks: his "Marines" t-shirt, sturdy levi jeans, his combat boots, and his favorite leather jacket. His M4X combat knife was strapped to his hip and his beretta was slung covertly under his armpit just in case.

Walking out of his bunk, Malcolm made his way towards the briefing room. It was amusing how many people avoided the stone-faced Chaplain even though they knew he was on their side. Malcolm would not doubt that rumors about what he did got out, even if the higher-ups ordered it classified. Rumors where rumors.

Malcolm entered the briefing room and saluted Claire, thought he smiled at her and his eyes held that special spark that he only had when looking at her.

"Malcolm Maverick, reporting for duty, ma'am." he said with a smile.

[Security of Mem]

Lyrico spent his time getting ready. Others would just shove a shirt on and tried to look top grade military. But Lyrico had a process. Which generally took its time like Lyrico. He was straightening his hair. But as through the months he had felt quite unbalanced. Maybe it was the lost of Trish. Or maybe it was the lost of control he had over exerted. He placed the straightener on the little counter he had built. He liked doing this in his "room". It made it more comfortable and much more welcoming this way.

He began to comb his hair, but was feeling very angry as doing so. His combing strokes were becoming more and more harsh. Till he realized he as beginning to rip at his hair. He put the comb down at least he hadn't ripped so hard he'd be starting the day with no hair. He picked up the eyeliner to give him is iconic doodle. But that too he felt himself going to hard. All though he hadn't cut himself that would have been ridiculous he felt himself pressing to hard. He completed his look and stared at himself in the mirror for a moment.

He stroked his hands through his hair. And he took a moment to digest. He had been trying new ways and better ways to control his anger. Anger that exploded from nowhere. Anger that he couldn't seem to know the origins. Claire and Malcom's smore relationship pissed him off. And he hadn't known why. Because he was sure he had felt that some time ago. Some time long ago.

Elf

No response. Lyrico glared at his mirror for a moment.

Elf

I keep telling you I'm not an elf

You remind me of one, how you holding up?

Nice for you to ask, fine. I'm fine.

Good elf

You could clean your head a bit of organization.....

Shutting you off now

Lyrico made a deep sigh and almost had forgotten to unplug the straightener and he stared at it for a moment. He placed his finger on one of the hot sides to burn it. It hurt.

You really need some new hobbies

Shut up elf

“May I have your attention please. The following operatives are to proceed immediately to briefing room three in full battle gear: Veronica Valez, Aaron Young, Shannon Adaire, Chase Holdsfield, Lyrico, Ethan Blake, Samantha Bonachoi, Maloclm Maverick, Yakim Kozlof and Kristy Masterson. That is all.”

"Ehhhh fuck, a mission," Lyrico said, "All right let's head out."

As Lyrico walked out of the room he walked down the halls. People gave him looks of horror as if all that he had done had escaped their secret lips. They were either afraid or reverted their gaze from him. As if he were some secret. An impossible secret no one should speak of. As Lyrico walked where he needed to be he saw the first one there was Malcolm and Claire.

"Ehhhhh don't start doing it doggy style in front of me," Lyrico told them.

Lyrico saluted and took a moment.

You could be more respectful to your commanders

What do you do frolic around naked?

I uh...sometimes...

You're not a very good soldier yourself then

I at least...I was more respectful then you are right now

You're not my mom, shut up

Well I was simply stating...

Shut the fuck up elf

Lyrico gave a Claire a smile.

"I know Malcolm wants to touch your boobies right now," Lyrico said.

[Mysteria]

Shannon Adaire sat at her desk in half a daze. So much had changed in the past several months since her last mission. She'd been working hard to master her powers at scar headquarters. In that time she had gotten to know all of the other operatives from the Arkham mission, some better than others. She could be found talking to both Vee and Chase at any given time. While Shane had not worked with Aaron Young on the Arkham mission she had grown to know him on a more personal level than some of the others while working at headquarters on a day to day basis. The attraction that she had felt for him upon meeting him was immediate. The attraction must have been mutual because it hadn’t taken them long to begin dating and become close.

Through her friendship with Aaron he had helped her to work on her powers and she tried the best that she could to help him expand his own. Of course it was up to each operative to learn to control these things better, but it never hurt to have someone there to offer assistance while working on them and especially for Shane, because her power could be at times dangerous if she had tried to push it too far. Hopefully having the new operative Samantha on board in Scar would be a huge help to them all. Shane could only hope at this point that she’d be lucky enough to be sent on the new missions with her. Samantha definitely could be handy to have around, and she was nice enough. Shane had liked her upon meeting her.

Even though she had become friendly with all of the operatives and her past team mates, she'd not yet told anyone other than Aaron about the letter that she had received regarding her sister. Kara was all that she had left in this world and now she was ill. Shannon still couldn't believe the letter was true. She remembered receiving it and sinking down to her knees as she read it with tears streaming down her face. Shane wasn't normally one to cry easily but finding out that her sister was terminally ill had brought forth a flood of tears. Everyone that Shane had ever cared about or loved was dead or possibly dying. She had needed to tell someone and having arrived at Aaron’s door that night with tear stains streaking her face she had told him the entire story of her parents being taken from her and now how the thought of losing her sister was almost too much of a burden for her to bear. That night she had found solace in Aaron’s arms and it only drove them to becoming closer than they had already been getting.

The truth was that Shane would give anything to help her sister but there was little that she could do. The most that she could do was keep working hard to help pay for her sisters medical bills. She couldn’t even be there to console her.

With all of her powers, she still felt totally helpless.

Shane was awakened from her thoughts by the sound of hearing her name along with the other operatives being spoken by Claire over the intercom system. A mission. Now? Talk about shitty timing. The last thing that she needed was to be sent far away from Kari but it was her job and Shane had always prided herself on being good at her job. At least Shane could take some relief in knowing that Aaron too was being called for the mission.

Grabbing her leather coat and making sure her honeycomb was inside, Shane gathered the rest of her gear and made her way to the room where the others had already begun assembling. Shane acknowledged each one of the operatives before taking a seat to wait on the others to arrive.

[DB.]

Aaron lay on his cot, looking up at the roof. He was remembering what had happened in the last few months. Shane had arrived from her mission and by some stroke of luck talked to him, something he might not have had the guts to do, which sparked their relationship.

Back then he would have never thought he would be this close to her, never, but he was, and he was intoxicated with her.

He spent more time with her than anyone else in the compound. They even tried to helped each other control their powers, and it helped, immensely. Working with someone he trusted, someone he truly loved, was exhilarating.

But one thing that was still fresh in his mind was that night. The night Shannon had come into his room, tears streaming down her face. Breaking down in front of him, telling him all the sorrowful things from her past. He felt as if his heart broke, right then and there, feeling helpless, unable to do anything to do to comfort her, anything but hold her and listen and he still felt angry at himself for not being able to do more. He'd never felt the death of a loved one; never had a loved one truly hurt bad, not until that moment.

Then a voice sounded out, interrupting his thoughts.

“May I have your attention please. The following operatives are to proceed immediately to briefing room three in full battle gear: Veronica Valez, Aaron Young, Shannon Adaire, Chase Holdsfield, Lyrico, Ethan Blake, Samantha Bonachoi, Maloclm Maverick, Yakim Kozlof and Kristy Masterson. That is all.”

Aaron smiled and sat on his bed. It was going to be his first mission, and he was going on it with Shannon. Nothing could be better than that, or worse, considering all the recent death's in SCAR. He wouldn't bear to hear news of her death, let alone watch her die.

Reaching under his bed he pulled out his duffel bag, with all his equipment in it ready, well all of it except the most important piece of the equipment, his PDA. Aaron stood up, slung the bag over his shoulder and walked over to the desk, where he retrieved it after shuffling through the mess in his first drawer.

Walking out he stuffed it into his pocket and headed towards the briefing room; looking around to see if he would run into Shannon along the way. He didn't

As he reached the briefing room's door he stopped and, taking in a deep breath, stepped in. He saw Shannon already sitting down and smiled. He saluted and said, “Aaron Young, reporting for duty, ma'am.” and then proceeded to sit down, next to Shannon.

[Kirra]

Blood filled the room. Giant demons dropped to the ground. It was utter choas as the man stood before his blood soaked enemies. The blades of exile in his hands, their chains wrapped around his arms. And as the man was about to deliver the final blow, Chase paused the video game. "This is easy enough. I suppose I should play it on a harder level this time."

But instead, Chase simply laid on his bed. He picked up the case to his new game, God Of War 3. Doctor Crusher had picked it up at the midnight release for him. He had already beat the game on the three lower settings, even though he had only got it 12 hours ago. He found the senseless brutality of the game soothing, it kept his thoughts away from the thousands possible demons that could truly get to him.

Suddenly a knock came to the door. It was to early for the doctor. She had to be across town for a few hours. Chase had read her mind enough times to know exactly where she always was. So who could it be. His game had distracted him from hearing the person walk up. He sat up on his bed and grabbed the controller. "Come in." He called out the door and turned his game back on.

Vee cracked the door open and poked her head through, blinking at Chase curiously. Noting he was playing a video game, she jumped through the door and draped herself over his back.

"Hi. Whatca playing?"

Chase froze when Vee was on top of him. He saw every step she took, even at her increased speed. But he couldn't help but get nervous when she touched him. It had been a seven months since Chase had met Vee. And their mission together had brought them close. Well close by Chase's standards. He was still a little uncomfortable with the touching. But he didn't dislike it.

"It's umm... God of War 3. Doctor Crusher picked it up for me this morning. The savage carnage helps me drown out the reality of the world. Would you like to play?"

Vee leaned over Chase's shoulder, examining the controller curiously. She could feel his heart rate picking up beneath her chest and frowned lightly. She had a lot of trouble knowing what was okay touching and what wasn't.

" Um... I break controllers when I play... it's too slow..."

Chase tried to calm him self with little result. He knew the more they had contact, that the easier it would become. He just hopped it would become easier quickly. Chase always felt like he was pushing Vee away, and hated to see her upset by it. He tried to make her feel better but had no clue if he was successful.

"Well, I think... I think I have some board games in my closet. Do you want to play one of them." They had tried before, normally with Vee getting upset. It was hard to loose a game when you know every possible move anyone can make, and twenty ways to counter it.

Vee giggled, leaning her head on Chase's shoulder as she looked at the screen, frozen on a half naked man with crazy swords killing strange creatures.

Her giggle suddenly faded from lips as suddenly it wasn't pixels on a screen but Unnameables, slimy tentacles and guys all over her... Her breath hitched in her throat.

Chase spun around and placed his gloved hands on Vee's shoulders. He looked in her eyes. He turned back to the screen and then back to her.

"There is nothing there Vee. Umm... do you need to leave the room? Is my room bothering you?"

Vee blinked and smiled up at Chase.

" No, I'm okay. Just... haven't been sleeping..." Vee suddenly leaned forward, hanging off of Chase's shoulder. " Let's go outside though."

Chase froze slightly. What should he do. He didn't go outside. But he didn't want Vee to be away from him. Chase stewed over his thoughts for a few moments. "Outside." He wasn't sure what to say. Chase didn't even have a window in his room, by his choice. Outside was so, overwhelming.

"I... I guess that's ok. Um... how far outside?"

Vee lithely flipped herself over Chase's shoulder to curl up in his lap, frowning. She often forgot that Chase's power sometimes made things difficult for him. But she liked him. He didn't seem bothered by her inane babble and what others had called her idiocy, and he was the perfect height. Not too tall, just the right size for her to climb on and cuddle with.

She had missed having someone to cuddle with.

" Only as far as you wanna go." she said quietly, leaning her head back against his chest to look up at him.

Chase jumped up, bringing Vee to her feet with him. He loved being around her, but still had trouble being this close. He turned off his game and TV and walked to the door.

"Yeah... well yeah. Um... whenever you're ready, we can go."

Vee blinked, slightly confused to find herself on her feet. She hadn't bothered to stop him, because she figured it was just one of those things about personal bubbles and invasion. She never had understood those.

" Yeah okay." she said, taking the lead.

Vee led the way down the hall and into an elevator, where she spent the long ride up convincing herself why it was inappropriate to hang off Chase. But when the doors slid open and she could smell fresh air, she forgot all that and shot out of the elevator and through the door and into the sun with a gleeful grin.

It was difficult to follow the cheerful girl, but Chase refused to let her get away. He wasn't the running type, so he walked swiftly out of the elevator and through the door. The rays of the sun hit him with heat and light. It wasn't terrible, but he was excited about it either. Chase tried to tune out all the things that appeared around him. But it was impossible. He simply tried to focus his thoughts on Vee, so he wouldn't feel overwhelmed.

"The doctor is going to be surprised by this. She swears it would take an army to get me out." His voice was almost monotone. Only a sliver of his normal depression showed.

Vee took a quick sprint in a circle, stretching her muscles and grinning happily. She returned to chase after a moment, everything she'd been telling herself about personal space long gone, and leapt into his arms, kicking her feet happily as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

" I know, it's great, right?" she asked, grinning. " It's a beautiful day!"

Chase was unsure of what to do with his hands. Normally people would embrace each other in moments like this. But Chase didn't think they where that close, so his arms only hung there. His breath got a little heavy. He tried to calm him self again. He shook his head a bit.

"Yeah... I guess you're right. So um... what do we do out here? Is there something you like to do out here?" Chase tried to keep a level head about this. "We can do what ever you want."

Vee lowered herself to the ground slowly and grabbed his hand in hers, pulling him along for a few steps. " Let's just walk a bit."

Chase gladly followed his friend as she pulled him along. He scanned the area as the walked, noticing all the life that flowed through the area around Three Mile Island. In the months that have passed, many things had changed. Life had started to slow down and die off. The winter months where coming fast. The cool breeze crossing his face.

"I guess I can see the reason for your enjoyment of the outside. The changes are interesting."

Vee smiled, leaned her head back to feel the sun on her face. SCAR had it's perks but the underground base was not among them.

" When I was kid, my dad used to make big piles of leaves and I would jump at them." she smiled up at Chase. " Good times."

Chase smiled at Vee. He was truly joyed by her happiness. Chase looked around at the trees. The colors where spectacular. But it all had little avail for him. He would have much rather Googled leaf changing than see. But if Vee liked it, he would stay out.

"Jumping in leaves? Why?" It didn't makes sense. Why would your pile the leaves up just to jump in them?"

Vee stopped walking leaning her head back to look upward.

" Cause it's fun." she answered absently.

"Oh" Chase had no clue how to respond to that. He had fun with other things. God of War 3 being his current enjoyment. He looked over at a big tree with hundreds of colors on it. He gazed at it and saw death. He could only imagine what Vee saw.

Vee stood on her tip toes and reached upwards silently, then rolled back onto her heels with a frown. She hopped up, reaching upward still, and frowned at her empty hand.

Chase watched Vee with some confusion. He saw what she was grabbing at. A red leaf. There where hundred of them on the ground. Some that could be difficult do tell the differences even with his eyes. But she seemed to want that one. Chase walked over to the tree and reached up. He grabbed the leaf and held it out for her.

"Is this what you wanted?"

A smile blossomed on Vee's face as she took the leaf, grinning up at Chase.

" Thanks!" she chirped happily, leaning forward to touch her forehead to his chest... she never knew any other way to express affection but to touch.

Chase tried to keep him self calm as Vee's pressed against him. His heart felt as if it would leap from his chest. She was the only one who broke his bubble freely, and for some reason, he didn't mind that much.

"So you like red?"

Vee nodded against Chase's chest, watching his arms as they stayed motionless at his side. Finally, she smiled up at him and picked up his hands and placed them on her hips.

" This is okay, you know." she said quietly, still smiling at him.

Chase was almost frozen. Her skin that close to his was almost to much to handle. The thin fabric of his gloves and her pants was all that kept him from touching her. He had to take in a number of deep breaths before he could speak again.

"I... um... I um... ok. If it makes you comfortable." Chase held his hands on her hips for a moment before sliding his arms around her back and compressing her.

(Co-op with gypsy)

[The Gypsy Queen]

Vee shivered suddenly. It was chilly in November on Three Mile Island, and she hadn't brought a jacket, and her small frame provided little warmth. She didn't say anything, however... she was enjoying being close to Chase. She'd missed being close to someone.

Chase slid out of his jacket. The cold didn't really bother him. He wrapped it around his friend. He didn't like to see her upset, even if it was a slight chill.

" Is that better?"

Vee nodded a bit, snuggling close against Chase's chest.

" We should go in though." she added quietly. She didn't want it to end but she didn't want to push it either...

Her words where a releif to Chase. He had almost his limit with this outdoors stuff. The smells, the sights, the sounds. It was all a bit much. Even doing it for Vee was tough for him.

"So where shall we go?"

" Let's go back to your room. I wanna watch you play that game. It looked like fun." Vee said, pulling out of his arms reluctantly. She replaced the contact for holding his hand, pulling him gently along and back through the door. She breathed deeply, smelling machines and oil and sweat and the small strange scent of Chase from his jacket, hanging loosely from her small shoulders and nearly down to her knees.

Vee froze as a PA system clicked to life, and her happy smile soured to a scowl at the voice that resounded from it.

" May I have your attention please. The following operatives are to proceed immediately to briefing room three in full battle gear: Veronica Valez, Aaron Young, Shannon Adaire, Chase Holdsfield, Lyrico, Ethan Blake, Samantha Bonachoi, Maloclm Maverick, Yakim Kozlof and Kristy Masterson. That is all.”

Vee growled, scowling at the floor. She'd been having such a good day.

Chase smiled at Vee softly. It appeared their day was ending quickly. But they would still spend it together, and that made him happy. Chase placed her hand in his and started down to the elevator.

"I think we have a mission. Sorry our evening was cut short."

Vee sighed and shook her head. " It's okay. I just... haven't slept in a while and that bastard is gonna be there..." she paused to bite her lip. " Um... I guess if I try to kill him you should probably stop me..."

Chase knew instantly who she was talking about. Lyrico. Since the last mission, Vee had been out for his blood. And it wasn't like Chase disagreed with the idea. The man had killed children in cold blood. There were other ways to handle the situation, but he attacked without thinking. Chase disliked him as well, but didn't want his blood on Vee's hands.

"I will hold you back if it comes to that. And I will kill him first if I can't."

Vee kept gnawing on her lip, the adrenaline pumping hard in her veins preventing her from knowing she had drawn blood. As the elevator doors slid closed, encasing them in cold steel, she glanced up at Chase. She knew he'd seen her memories, and knew her for what she really was.

" I've done worse... than killing him..." she muttered quietly. " It doesn't matter if I do it again."

Unsure of really what to do, Chase wrapped his arms around her. He compressed her in his arms. He wanted her to smile, wanted her to be happy.

"I've seen things much worse than what you have done. Don't think anything you've done would upset me. But you wont have to spill more blood as long as I'm around."

Vee sighed, leaning her head against Chase's chest. His heart beat at a normal pace while hers pounded unsteadily in her ears. It was a bad time for a mission. She hadn't slept in too long. She was seeing things. She gnawed on her lip more, noticing belatedly that her blood was getting on Chase's shirt.

" I'm a soldier. Soldiers kill. It's my job. And yours." it was quiet, ugly truth.

Vee was right, and Chase knew it. They both would be forced to kill. It was the sad truth of the job. And it wasn't that killing bothered Chase. He found it to be a necasity of life. Some people had to die. If someone had killed the necromancer from all those months ago, the demon Yog-Sothoth wouldn't have had a chance to arise.

" But not here. Can we agree to that?" Chase listened to her heart, it was off. But he enjoyed it. " You won't kill him."

Vee leaned back to look up at him. Every instinct in her screamed to destroy that child-killing psychopath, and she wasn't entirely sure she could stop herself.

" I promise I'll try."

Chase knew that was the best he could get from her. "It's all I can ask." His voice was as calm as he could make it. He wanted to sooth her the best he could before letting her see that foolish creature. "Is there anything I can do to help you stay calm?"

Vee nuzzled her nose against Chase's chest, offering him a little smile. " I like it when you touch me." she purred.

It was almost to much to take. Vee was begging for Chase's touch. He wasn't completely sure how to react to this. "If it makes you happy." Chase wrapped his arms tightly around her.

The elevator doors slid open and Vee glared at them. Her room was on a different floor than Chase's, and the elevator had the worst timing. " Okay, I'll meet you in your room." she said, darting off the elevator and down the hall.

She spent thirty seconds in her room, grabbing her gear and putting it all on as she darted down the stairs. She was still pulling her shirt on as she jogged up to Chase's room, where he was just arriving.

Chase smiled as Vee arrived at his room. She was always quicker than anyone he had ever met. He opened his door and walked in. He waited for Vee to enter before moving from the door. "Let me gather my stuff and we will be on our way." Chase walked over to his closet and changed into his battle gear. He didn't even think about the fact she was probably watching as he changed. Chase grabbed his gear and walked back to Vee. "Ready."

Vee smiled in response, using her hand to hold her shirt tight over her breasts as she zipped up her combat vest. Finally, she tucked her bright red leaf into the vest so that it rested against her heart. " Okay then." A part of her wondered if he looked when she did that, but the rest of her was gearing up. " Let's go." she grabbed Chase's hand and held it for the entire walk to the briefing room, letting go only as they were about to enter.

She wasn't ashamed... it was just no one's business but her's and Chase's.

Her smile changed from cheerful to cold and plastic as she entered the room, saluting to Claire mostly from ingrained habit. She forcefully ignored the psychopath, but his mere presence agitated her. The whispers were starting, and she resisted the urge to bat at her ear. She blinked repeatedly, struggling to focus on anything but the hallucinations.

Chase squeezed Vee's hand was they passed by the others. He really felt no shame in the act, mainly because he knew the things the others had done. Things much worse than hold hands.

When the reached Claire, Chase nodded slightly to her after saluting. They still had their animosity towards eachother. But they where civil. He wondered if she had forgiven him for the past they had shared. For the one they had both lost. He wanted to touch her skin, just for an instant, just to know the answer.

Vee felt better with Chase's touch but she was still unnerved and agitated. It would be an interesting mission, she was sure.

" Vee Valez, reporting for duty."

"Chase Holdsfeild, um... reporting in." He glanced around the room noticing the firmilar faces. "Is this a reunion?"

Vee giggled a bit, then covered her mouth, wondering if he'd really said that or if she'd just been hearing things.

(co-op with Kirra)

[The Comedian]

Ethan replaced the dirty gauze surrounding his body with new, clean gauze. As he peeled it away, his skin seemed to stick to it; and bits would still come off every now and then. Ethan got a dirty look on his face, as he peeled his new skin off his chest.

After completely removing the bandages, he looked at his chest and arms in the mirror. Parts of his lower stomach still had alive skin. The doctors at SCAR were slowly progressing up Ethan's body, and he was supposed to be back to normal in a year. Maybe more.

He really was a lucky son of a bitch. Ethan thought back on his last mission; like he always did in his morning rituals. He should be dead, or he should have a face that wouldn't even look human. He should be burned to a crisp.

He didn't really know how he got out of the situation. All he remembers is waking up in a familiar place, with paramedics all around him. Eventually, someone told him they were saved by Malcolm, saved by an act of God. Ethan couldn't help but to believe, and his faith doubled the day he learned

Everyday, Ethan would throw some money into a jar. And, when it reached a certain point, he'd donate everything to any kind of burn charity, ward, research... Whatever it was. He did what he could to help people like him, but just more unlucky.

He wrapped his body, and felt back to normal. He was comfortable again. He knew he had a mission coming soon. Well, he didn't know it officially. It was more of a hunch, and he knew he was correct as soon as he heard his name called over speaker.

Ethan thought about all the names on the list, and had a serious moment of deja vu. It sounded like they were trying to get everyone from the last mission into the same room. Ethan mentally laughed, I bet they're gonna kill us all.

He laughed, and shook his head. He spoke aloud, "Here we go again."

Ethan threw on a shirt, then his lightweight metal armor. It was easy to put on, which Ethan liked. It was nice on the skin. As we walked to the door, he pulled a wadded up dollar bill from his pocket, and threw it in his Jar.

With one last look on his room, which was colored with the brightest colors possibly imaginable, he flicked the light off, and left. Ever since he could see like a normal person, Ethan could never get enough colors. He became obsessed, and watched television two weeks straight.

Eventually, Ethan came up to the door leading into the Briefing Room. He clicked it open, and walked through. He blew out smoke, as he looked around the room. It somewhat familiar.

He walked to the nearest table, and put out his cigar in an ash tray. He licked his lips, and said "Don't want to be rude. Claire, Malcolm, Lyrico... I hope you're all doing well?" Ethan sat down, but not right next to anyone. He smiled his white smile, and nodded to Vee, Chase, and Shane.

[Merry]

If you didn’t know any better, you would have thought the room was unoccupied. The only sound, the soft intake and exhale of breath coming from the lone figure seated in the center of the floor, cross legged, eyes closed, meditating. Dressed in comfortable clothing, a dark green t-shirt and faded jeans, a pair of black sneakers. Her long dark hair pulled back into a braid that reached down almost to the middle of her back. Her breathing so quiet in its perfectly timed rhythm. So soft as to go almost unnoticed in the stillness. Her only jewelry a small silver cross necklace on a long chain, midway to her chest. A bright contrast to the dark tattoo’s that covered the left side of her face and neck, continuing down onto her shoulder and arm.

The room was plain, barren almost. The walls, the same stark walls as a brand new room would have. Nothing had changed since she had arrived a few weeks ago. No paintings, no books, no pictures, no comforts of home. Nothing to indicate anyone even lived in the room. Her name on the door the only indication that she did in fact occupy this space.

Unpacking hadn’t been a chore, as there was really nothing to unpack. After receiving the news about her parents she had left pretty much everything at school in her dorm. Just throwing some clothes in a duffle bag and going home. As if there was a home to go to. Quickly coming to the realization that all she had left was herself and a large bank account in her name. Left by the research facility that her parents had worked for. Hush money to keep her from suing them over the disaster at their lab. She sold their home without even bothering to see it again, just instructing the lawyers to deposit the money with the rest. Just inform her when it was done. There were no memories there for her to collect.

The few things she did have, she just didn’t bother to unpack. During all the interviewing and testing she had been through in the past few weeks upon arrival at SCAR, she had been told that she would be in demand, and shortly. That suited her just fine. Seeing no reason not to believe the teams of people that had examined her, and questioned her, it seemed a waste of time to unpack anything at all. It was better this way. She was anxious to be moving and soon.

Coming back here had made her change, made her grow up as if overnight. She was a different person now. That girl that wanted to be a doctor was gone. Erased as if she never existed at all, or had been some innocent dream to look back on and wonder if it was even real. Besides she had the knowledge of how to fix skin, grow tissue, repair bones flowing inside her mind like lazy river, waiting to be needed. There would be need for some practical medicine to help it, but the skills to do more were inside her, waiting to be tested in a real way. Like a current winding its way throughout her thoughts that she just had to tap into, or focus on to see it, to use it. She was better than any surgeon, any doctor any one with medical knowledge already. It hadn’t been practical to test her skills, other than a few small situations. She was waiting until there was real need to see what she could actually do. She knew the ability was there, waiting. It would be interesting to see what she could do, and at what cost.

She felt no guilt about hiding her other “skill” from the SCAR management. Keeping the fact that she could speak to those that had passed on, hidden quite effectively. People didn’t usually believe her at first anyway. Not with any seriousness. She got the “oh, that’s nice smile” the slightly condescending looks and glances. It wasn’t usually until she proved her skill, showing them that it was real. It was factual that she could speak and hear and sometimes see the dead. That’s usually when the troubles would start. People would look at her strange, getting nervous, or start to wonder what she knew about them, through their deceased relatives or victims. Then they would want to say goodbye, or ask questions about money, or what it felt like to die.

The hardest to contend with was when she was asked to look for someone in specific. The dead didn’t like to be disturbed by the living, most preferred to just move on. The few times she had “looked” for someone, she was then subject to their anger and their emotional outrage for weeks afterwards. It was like once she found them, they wanted to stay with her, tell her things, horrible things, good things, all of it, and didn’t care if she didn’t want to listen anymore. She knew what it was like to be truly “haunted”. It was better to just let them be. Let them come to her if they had something to say. Opening herself up to find someone usually ended badly, for her. The ones she truly wanted to find, to talk to she just couldn't bring herself to do. Not yet, not now. It was still too raw, too painful.

Through meditation and focus she had learned that it was possible to block them, for awhile. It never stopped completely, but it would prevent them from harassing her on a constant basis. It had a calming, soothing effect of helping her keep them at bay, for a period of time. Giving her a sense of peace, even if it was short lived.

“May I have your attention please. The following operatives are to proceed immediately to briefing room three in full battle gear: Veronica Valez, Aaron Young, Shannon Adaire, Chase Holdsfield, Lyrico, Ethan Blake, Samantha Bonachoi, Malcolm Maverick, Yakim Kozlof and Kristy Masterson. That is all.”

Finishing her meditation at the announcement, she stood up slowly, and began to stretch her sluggish muscles. She was a little stiff at having been in one position for so long. The acceptance that she had been in that position for over three hours barely a passing thought. She grabbed her duffle bag from under the bed, closing the door softly as she left. Not bothering to check the bags contents confident that they were the same as when she had placed it there a few weeks ago.

She followed the signs to briefing room three. Opened the door and stepped inside. Giving a small wave to the group, as she slid into a vacant seat near the door “I’m Samantha, but I prefer to be called Baket, if you don’t mind.” she looked at them each in turn, her gaze settling on the woman sitting at the end of the room, having noticed that as she had introduced herself that most of the other occupants in the room had cast a glance at her, a clear indication that she was the one that had called them here. She must be in charge. Baket settled her emerald green eyes on her and waited.

[Cookies Ahoy]

Kristy was still in bed trying to sleep. She had been up very late the night prior, and Claire had given her permission to start her daily routine late. She rolled in her covers, trying to go back to sleep. Something was bothering her though, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She rolled again, this time feeling the sensation of her body leaving the bed. Kristy hit the ground with a thud and let out a grunt, but didn't get up. She stayed on the floor in her covers for a few more minutes, too lazy to get up. She noticed what was bothering her, she'd left her laptop on the ground, and she had just smashed it. Kristy drew out a long sigh, then began to dress for the gym.

Kristy put on some grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt. She walked out of her quarters, carrying a small duffel bag over her shoulder. She wasn't very excited for the exercises she was supposed to do that day. She entered the gym quietly, the person she was supposed to spar with waved at her. She sighed, she wasn't extremely good at Krav Maga, the martial arts style that Claire had suggested to Kristy. The intercom came to life, the sound echoing throughout the facility. She was putting her bag down when she jumped up in surprise.

“May I have your attention please. The following operatives are to proceed immediately to briefing room three in full battle gear: Veronica Valez, Aaron Young, Shannon Adaire, Chase Holdsfield, Lyrico, Ethan Blake, Samantha Bonachoi, Malcolm Maverick, Yakim Kozlof and Kristy Masterson. That is all.”

"Did she just say Kristy Masterson?" Kristy said outloud.

She didn't need an answer, but someone next to her said, "Yes."

Kristy shook her head, she was too tired for sarcasm. She packed up her bag that she had just unpacked, and left the gym. She needed to get her field gear which was back in her quarters. She made her way back to her room, noticing that she had indeed broken her laptop. It lay in two pieces on the floor. She would have to fill out a requisition form later. Now she needed to get to the briefing room. She lifted the heavier field bag over her shoulder, struggling to carry it. She pushed with her mind to lift the bag, lifting the weight off her shoulders.

Kristy entered the briefing room. It was obvious she was one of the last ones into the room. She took a seat quietly and waited for the briefing, she began to drum her fingers on the desk and spinning the pen in front of her telekinetically.