a great black wave in the middle of the sea

[Rush]

Having nearly traveled in a complete circle with nothing accomplished was one of the most frustrating conclusions that Cassidy had come to as she watched the sun fade over the waters in the distance. There was something ironic about being here; not to say that she would want to be compared to Napoleon, but this island off the coast of Italy seemed to be a popular spot for exiles. "Able was I ere I saw Elba," the petite blonde murmured to herself, a small smile crossing her lips for the first time in what felt like weeks. It likely was the first genuine smile she'd had in a long time, seeing as there wasn't much to be happy about these days. If there was one good thing about being chased out of that arid Arizona desert, it was that she now had the time to go sight seeing. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly the kind of vacation she had been looking for.

Her right arm still ached and itched from where the stitches were still embedded -- her venture into the wilds of Africa in search of a place to safely connect with some sort of resistance forces, or maybe even the other Guardians, had ended quite poorly. The only thing she'd gotten out of her efforts was a swift betrayal in Libya and a chase across the Sahara and savannah. She didn't make it far enough to reach Cape Town, her original destination from the northern end of the continent. But after getting shot at by a pack of mechs and wounded with a grazing bullet, it didn't seem worth it to keep going down. Instead, she'd fled back up into known territory. At least she had friends in Algiers; the city was old and had enough hiding places in its labyrinthine lanes and houses to keep her out of public eye. It was a few days of rest in the care of a local doctor before taking off for Italy.

It seemed a better idea to go east than west; she had managed to cross the ocean (by boat, of course; she couldn't travel in the blink of an eye like Shutter, and attempting to fly over such a wide body of water would've resulted in a crash landing and quick drowning) and arrived in Spain unnoticed. But it was unwise to go back the way she'd come and word had it that France was a center of conflict. Another fight was the last thing she needed right now. So the islands of the Mediterranean it was, at least until she felt up to tackling more dangerous territories again. A younger Rush would've kept on going, relentlessly scouring the globe for ways to get back at the NINE, no matter the risk or the cost. But she was a different person now. Older, wiser, and more exhausted.

And now here she was, licking her wounds on a sandy strip of land. Instead of taking a moment to relax, she was already contemplating her failures and her next move. Although she'd never really had a problem with being on her own, Cassidy felt suddenly small and even lonely. Her erratic travel plans after the fall of their base played a large part in things, but she hadn't heard from the other Guardians since that day and had no idea what their status was aside from what she'd learned via word of mouth. She'd come closest to encountering Shutter, but he was a hard man to keep up with and they would always just miss each other. But she knew needed to find them, if not just for the purposes of saving the world, then just to reassure herself that the people she'd come to care for and trust were still alive.

She was tired, and facing so much uncertainty was admittedly a little frightening. The last rays of light were dancing on the waves of the sea before her. It would be dark soon, and she would have to take off again, this time heading to the mainland to see if there was still a safe house she could use as a base. If she was lucky, she might even run into a familiar face. Cassidy rose from her perch on one of the sun warmed rocks dotting the coastline and headed back to the abandoned villa home. The bustling tourist destination of Elba had quieted as the regime of the NINE settled in, leaving many of its structures uninhabited and slowly crumbling. But with such a low populous and limited resources, it was classified as low risk territory. The isolated locale should've made her seem safe, but she knew better than to let her guard down. In fact, it was almost ominous that she'd managed to get a good day's sleep without any signs of trouble.

Cassidy tried to brush off her feelings as paranoia as she gathered the few belongings she had -- her old costume, a spare change of clothes, some toiletries -- small living necessities she'd picked up while in Algiers. It wasn't much, as she always had to pack lightly, but she hurried anyway, a looming sense of worry clouding her thoughts. And as it turned out, she was right to be concerned. She barely had a moment to think as she felt the ground shake beneath her feet and heard a loud crashing sound from several yards away. Someone, or something, rather, had found her. But how was that even possible? There shouldn't have been many mechs, if any at all, on this island, and Cass hadn't told anyone where she'd been planning to go. In fact, the last person she spoke to was the doctor, and he'd reassured her that she was safe to travel. She looked at the bandage that was still wrapped around her arm.

"Son of a..." But she didn't even have time to finish cursing as she heard the march of mechanized legs surrounding the building. Even if she ran now, they would be able to find her again, if her suspicions about her treatment were right. There was a tracking device somewhere in her body, possibly even floating in her bloodstream. But it didn't do any good to stay put, either. No matter which way she looked at it, she was screwed. Quickly stripping and redressing into her old costume once more, he stepped out into the courtyard and drew the winds around her to form a protective barrier of air as she took off into the darkening sky. Lines of bullets followed her as she tried to put some distance between herself and the mechs; she counted at least five around the compound, way too many to take down on her own.

But Rush had to at least try to hold them of for a little while, if only to find another temporary hiding place. Summoning up the gales that blew in from the sea, she directed them toward the villa below her, creating a small tornado that pulled the mechs into the vortex. With little room for hesitation, she allowed it to run free as she sped toward the closest town in search of its hospital. More buildings meant more coverage, and maybe even a way to disable the device that was in her. The only downside was the potential for putting innocent people at risk. But if there was even the slimmest chance of getting out of this situation alive, she had to take it.

[Shutter]

Living in the post-attack time period that evolved from NINE's conquering of the world was quite a bit more complex despite the simplicities that they had tried to put in place. Of course, it was only such for those members of the world community that had deemed The NINE's rule of the world to be unacceptable. Mainly this affected those that had once been a part of the Valor Guard and those that had risen up to fight a guerrilla warfare style battle from the shadows. Of these there were quite a few, but not too many. A lot of the VG heroes had been hunted and killed, and the hope amongst civilians was dwindling. As a result, so were the numbers of those still willing to fight.

But there were still a lot of people fighting in France and he had to have some pride in the French's ability to form a resistance. They could fight like none other. It was almost like watching a reenactment of the Revolutionary War, except more combined with World War II. They fought harder than the American people did, even, and he was quite amazed. Perhaps that, then, was why Divenera had ended up in France. Aside from the fact that she was very fluent in French and could probably pass for a French citizen. Anyways, all he knew was that he'd had to go and save her. Again.

He didn't mind saving her. In fact, he felt better that he could do that and make sure that she was indeed safe. He knew his abilities and he knew how to make sure that someone didn't get hurt. So, when he'd had to come to France from Africa it hadn't bothered him much outside of the fact that she was in trouble. Needless to say, he accomplished the job and gotten her back to the resistance where she could recuperate from the entirety of the ordeal. She was safe now and he'd made sure that Alfred was fine before he'd left.

Word said that Rush was now somewhere in Italy, word passed from one resistance fighter to the next until it made its way to him in France. Naturally he'd moved quickly, starting his teleport process under the cover of night, one spot to the next, avoiding staying anywhere too long that would get him in trouble and sticking mostly to towns so that his heat signature didn't stand out too much for the satellites in space. He'd made his way to Italy in a matter of an hour, much faster than anyone other than Rush and any speedsters could do. It was quite impressive.

By the time he made his final teleport it was daytime and people were out and about. He nearly got spotted when he landed in the alley, but he was quick. Of course, it didn't take him long to be ducking behind cover. Explosions started to ring out from somewhere on the Island that he'd been going to start his search on. Small places, better hiding. Thus he knew something was up, and when he saw someone flying and mechs go running past he knew that he'd found the person that he was looking for. He sprang into actions quickly.

Grabbing his M4 off his back he darted out into the street and got a bead on the nearest mech. Teleporting, he wound up behind the thing, jumped on top of it, and put armor piercing bullets into the engine, killing the machine instantly. He'd gotten good at this over the years; lots of experience had made getting good a necessity. He jumped to the next one and proceeded to put bullets into it before he got grabbed by the hand of another and chucked down the street. He rolled to his feet and teleported to the top of a building, narrowly avoiding getting killed.

[Rush]

The skirmish with the mechs had escalated quickly. Instead of just using bullets, they were now attempting to use heat-seeking missiles. To her advantage, her suit had been designed to mask her thermal signature, but that still didn't mean she wasn't facing some seriously close calls. It was hard to multi-task, but she managed to turn around and redirect the pursuing explosives while still flying, albeit backwards. The colliding missiles lit up the sky like fireworks, but the resultant smoke was starting to cloud her vision. Rush had hesitated to take cover beneath and behind buildings, which were possibly occupied, but it was getting too dangerous to stay up in the air anymore.

As it turned out, the streets of the small resort town were nearly deserted, though whether this fact was a positive or negative was debatable. On the one hand, Rush wasn't putting anyone at risk as she sped her way between narrow alleyways, but on the other, it left her a very easy target to spot. What few people were still milling about in the brief time before curfew set in were quickly taking cover inside the weathered buildings as the sound of gunfire and explosions drew near. She knew she wouldn't find any help here, at least not among the civilians. Cassidy couldn't blame them, either -- after all, she was disrupting was little peace they could still hold onto by making their home into a warzone.

But it wasn't as though there were any other options left. She wished she had brushed up on more of her Italian -- between flying by too fast to read carefully to avoid getting shot and not being well-versed in the language, trying to identify the nearest hospital was harder than it should've been. Although flight was an incredibly useful power, it was also limiting, as she couldn't carry much with her and always had to find what she needed as she went along. What Rush needed most now was to find a way to get rid of that tracking chip. Ideally, she'd be able to find some kind of electromagnetic device that could turn it off first, but if it came down to having to cut it out of her body, she was willing to do what it took. Of course she would've preferred having some help instead of attempting self-surgery, but she wasn't going to force any of these innocent people to risk themselves for her, especially when she couldn't protect them in return.

In spite of being able to harness the strength of one of the elements, Cassidy felt all too powerless in this situation. It would've been a funnier thought if she wasn't presently running (technically, flying) for her life. The mechs were slower than her, but the range of their weapons wasn't -- even if their bodies were still a good deal behind her, their projectiles were still incredibly accurate and the streets were getting narrower. A cloud of dust and debris showered her as a building to her left exploded; nothing hit her, but the force of the blast had knocked her off course into the opposite side of the street, slamming her into a solid brick wall. Not only had the harsh impact cause her to cry out in pain from her old wound, but she was temporarily blinded by the smoke and the soot. Nevertheless, it wasn't enough to knock her to the ground, as she quickly stabilized herself and continued to fly forward and upward.

Surveying the damage that her presence had caused, she hoped that the burning structure below her had been unoccupied. The sound of shots ringing out elsewhere caught her attention as she entered the clearer air. This time, it wasn't from gunfire directed at her, but at some other target she couldn't visually identify from her position. What she wanted the least was a repeat of the Tripoli incident -- VG supporters who were trying to fight back, if not for her sake, than simply because her actions had stirred up their resistance. Logic said not to head toward the sounds of a weapons discharge, but her guilt-filled heart overruled as she went to investigate. No matter how hard Justice, Solara, and Equinox had tried to instill the idea of the survival of the Guardians being greater to the cause than any others, Cassidy was tired of allowing others to suffer for her decisions. She had joined the Valor Guard to protect people, not put them in further risk. She hadn't been able to take that responsibility while she kept running, and now she'd had enough of playing the coward.

As she slowed her approach, she almost couldn't believe what she saw. His back was to her, but the man standing on top of that roof was unmistakable. It was Shutter. If it wasn't completely out of character, Cassidy felt that she could almost cry at the sight. But this was no time to get emotional. Even if he was here, they were still in deep trouble, perhaps even worse now if NINE realized that they had a chance to kill two birds with one stone. Without realizing it, a wide grin had broken out across her face as she called out to him, "SHUTTER!"

But within seconds of the name escaping her mouth, a rocket came barreling toward her. Caught off guard, Rush barely had enough time to fly out of its path and push it away from her before it detonated. Although she'd managed to shield herself from the blast, the resultant force was strong enough to send her spiraling downward into a presumed crash landing on the nearest roof below her.

[Shutter]

The roof was the safest place that he could have teleported to for the moment. It provided him with a bit of a vantage point and allowed him to duck out of sight long enough that he was able to reload his gun without being shot at while doing so. Although it was easy to put a new clip in, the effect of bullets flying by you often made you frantic enough that you bumbled the clip around in your hand and weren't able to complete the task. It had something to do with too much adrenaline and not enough focus. But he didn't have to worry about that for the moment.

Having reloaded, he stepped to the edge of the roof, took aim, and opened fire on the mechs. The depleted uranium bullets were strong enough to cut through the armor of the machines like it was butter, shredding the inside of it with ease and causing them to shut down. With no mech units to use, the pilots were nothing more than men sitting quietly, waiting. They wouldn't come out because they were cowards and didn't want to face a superhero without their machines. Thus, they could end the fight by just shooting out the mechanisms of enough of the mechs.

What he hadn't counted on, though, was having his name yelled by Rush when she spotted him. Naturally, he turned to look at her and then nearly got blown to pieces when a missile hit the side of the building. He climbed to his feet just in time to look over at Rush once again. What he saw made his heart plummet. There was a missile bearing straight for her and she was fighting to deter it. When she successfully did so he breathed a sigh of relief and then watched as it exploded too close to her and sent her plummeting down towards the ground.

There was no choice but to act and that's what he did. He focused on her falling form, teleported to her in mid-air and grabbed her. Then, focusing on one of the other rooftops, he teleported there before they crashed to the ground. Landing safely on his feet, he had her in his arms and he offered her a smile from beneath his mask before he set her down on the building, gently, and grabbed up his gun again. Walking to the edge of the building, he brought the gun up and proceeded to shoot at the remaining mechs. He wanted this over.

[Rush]

Instead of the harsh contact of her back against stone that she had been anticipating, Cassidy instead felt the much softer (but still jarring) collision of her body against another as she was grabbed and caught. Her suit had luckily protected her from any bodily harm the missile could've done; her pride was still just a little bit damaged instead. Although she was entirely grateful that Shutter hadn't let her hit the roof, the role of damsel-in-distress just wasn't typically hers. But it was a stupid thought that quickly passed; they were comrades and she would've done the exact same for him. Getting back to her feet, she stopped close to Cole and watched him take down the ground units. Greetings would have to be done later.

Guns had never been a particular favorite of hers; after all, like Gleam Master, Rush was one of the VG whose abilities could be used both offensively and defensively. She didn't need to carry any extra ammunition, and could limit the amount of damage she wanted to do just with a thought. But there was no compromising with bullets. Her powers were the most effective and accurate weapon that she could wield. Nevertheless, there was some satisfaction in watching the mechs get cut down with the pull of a trigger, even if the relief was only temporary.

"It's not going to do much to hold them off here," she practically shouted, trying to speak over the noise from the firefight. As much as she didn't want to break his focus, what he was doing seemed to be a waste of ammo. Remaining in their fixed position seemed unwise; then again, Rush had always been of the mindset that staying put was a bad thing. A moving target was, in her experience, harder to hit than a stationary one. Even if he managed to take down all of their present combatants down now, there were always more mechs ready to come off the assembly line. No doubt they had managed to draw more attention to themselves than was necessary. "We need to get the hell out of here before we're swarmed."

Even then, where would they go? Cassidy grimaced; her arm was still throbbing from being thrown into that building. "There's a tracking chip in me," she admitted, suddenly regretting that he'd found her. She was putting them both at risk if she couldn't deactivate the signal somehow. At least without her, he could get away on his own and only one Guardian would have to face the will of the NINE. But it was too early to think of making herself into a martyr. He was here now, and she had to take advantage of his ability to help her. "Not sure if it's just under my skin, by the wound on my arm, or if the doc injected it somewhere else and it's just floating in my bloodstream. Either way, I have to turn it off or get it out and I can't do that here," she continued to explain the situation, hoping he had some clue of a solution.

[Shutter]

"It will slow them down for a while. Buy us some time."

It didn't take him long to finish off this group, which was good because he'd almost run out of ammo. Shouldering the gun once again, he stood and looked back at her. Honestly he would say she looked like hell, but then a lot of people did these days so that wasn't really saying all that much. In fact, he looked like hell himself as he hadn't slept in a few days now. He was running on fumes and no-dose. It was quite normal for him, being a marine and whatnot, but people were still surprised when he'd told them he hadn't slept in three days.

What she said about a tracking chip he found particularly disturbing and he had no idea whatsoever how to come about figuring out where it was. They would have to get to a hospital and hope that they could get some help without any questions. There were sympathetics in just about every hospital in the world so it shouldn't be too hard to do that, but there was still the off chance. For now, though, it was just finding a hospital that would be a problem. He didn't know this area so if she didn't know it they'd be wandering around.

"That's a problem. So... let's solve it."

Reaching out a hand, he put it on her shoulder, looked to the ground in an alley across the street, and teleported the both of them there. As soon as they reappeared he released her and staggered over to lean against a wall. He was getting tired now. Too much teleporting, not enough sleep. No-dose could only go so far and really only kept one awake. He'd not replenished his body with sleep. He stood there for a moment, leaning against the wall.

"I should probably sleep tonight if we can get somewhere safe after the hospital."

[Rush]

"Wasn't going to say anything, but by the looks of it, you need it," Cassidy replied with a half-smile, attempting to leaven their presently dire looking situation. They were both a mess -- after all, it was hard to stay pretty while covered in blood, sweat and ash. Although she'd managed at least one night's sleep -- a whole 5 or 6 hours out of the last 48 -- it was hard not to feel equally exhausted after being shot, battered and tossed around like a ragdoll. Still, she was in slightly better spirits than before she'd found him, or was it vice versa? That she wasn't completely grinning at this moment was only because the pain shooting up and down her arm was stronger than her joy over their recent reunion.

But Cass had always been good at hiding her feelings, and made little indication that she was anything less than ready to keep going. Her tone remained light as she continued to speak, "Lost my bearings somewhere between finding town and nearly getting my head blown off. Wish I had a map, but I've been flying blind for weeks. I don't suppose you have a better idea of where to go than I do?"

She didn't want to wait for him to answer. Every second they stopped moving, even if it was in the wrong direction, they were closer to getting caught. Cassidy had never been good at staying patient. Although everything seemed quiet and still, she didn't trust that there wasn't some back up being dispatched by the NINE already. From the corner of her eye, she could see something moving in the window of one of the buildings overlooking them. Someone was watching them, but as soon as they'd locked eyes, whoever was there had ducked behind the curtains and out of sight. She turned back to Cole, "How's your Italian? I know guys hate having to ask for directions, but..."

[Shutter]

"I was Marine Recon, not a linguist."

He said it teasingly, a hint of a smile on his face as he did so. The simple truth was that he knew absolutely nothing of any language other than his own except for a few simple phrases in Arabic. Speaking with the native Italians to get directions was just about out of the question, but fortunately there should be signs enough somewhere around to show them where they needed to go. If not, he could symbolize to someone what it was that they wanted. The language of making signs was a universal one, so that shouldn't be too hard.

She wanted to move and he could see that so he tore himself away from the wall and started walking. He'd have energy enough in the next morning after a nights rest to actually do something. But right now they had pressing needs and he was more out for looking after her than he was for looking after himself. He'd crash some other time. For now he led her out into the next street and started walking down it, looking for signs anywhere and everywhere.

"You know I've been looking for you for months, right? I was just in Africa to look for you. Didn't find you and wound up in France saving Madeline."

He didn't see any signs so he snagged the first person that he could and made motions to symbolize that they needed medical attention, mostly by motioning to Cassidy. The woman gave them directions, and a smile to show that she was sympathetic, and then they started walking again. The sooner he got her there the sooner she could get the attention that she needed and he could take a breather, albeit a quick one.

[Rush]

"That's funny, I just came from Africa. Algiers, actually. Probably where I picked up this little bug," she shrugged, meaning the chip that was somewhere in her body. "Must've just missed each other by a few days or hours... I hadn't heard a word about anyone else, though. Then again, I haven't had much luck in the friends department." It was the second time she'd had her trust betrayed. But considering the situation on the continent as a whole, Cassidy realized she probably shouldn't have expected so much from former allies. Even if the NINE acted like they had a solid victory in their hands, they were still at war, and she'd found that more people would do anything to ensure their own survival than do what was right. As cynical as that conclusion was, that the majority of the people they'd seen as they walked through the streets of the town turned to hide or scowl at them instead of provide the help they so obviously needed seemed proof enough of how true it was.

Finally, there was one face that was willing to meet their stares. It was an older woman, who seemed incredibly anxious about standing with them, but compassionate enough to actually provide some assistance. Her English was poor, and if they weren't in imminent danger, the whole exchange of wild gestures and slow talking (as if that made it clearer what he meant, though she still didn't understand his words) would've been humorous. It didn't take more than a few minutes to gather the right information, thank her, and be back on their way. She shouted something to the effect of "good luck" as the pair headed in the direction she'd indicated.

"You said you found Maddie." Well, he'd actually said he'd saved her, but somehow that didn't need to be pointed out. No disrespect meant to the woman, but Madeline had never been a fighter like the other Guardians. Cassidy found this short amount of downtime before they reached their destination as good as any to catch up on things, "How is she? Beyond having you come to the rescue. Which...thanks, by the way. If you hadn't shown up..." She trailed off, not wanting to think about that. Nor did she want to get into any mushy moments of gratitude.

"I guess she's been keeping busy over there. From what I heard, France is a hot spot. Vive la Révolution, oui?" The front facade of the hospital was soon within sight, a large red cross hanging above the door serving as good as any sign that it was what they'd been looking for. It was actually one of the better kept structures she'd seen around here, likely because it was the only medical facility still fully operating on the small island. But that kind of status made her wary of simply waltzing in the front door without finding some kind of hostility or NINE-related watchdogs within. If they could just get in there and find help without being detected... Looking at Cole, it seemed like it was too much to ask of him in his present state. But she had to at least see if it was an option, "Think you have it in you to get us inside? I can try to take us in for an aerial landing, but that might be riskier."

[Shutter]

"She's well enough I suppose. Quite a bit frustrated and still her normal self. She nearly got herself killed, standing up to Jolt like that. One of these days we'll lose her if she doesn't learn when it's smart to back down."

Cole was overly critical of Madeline. He always had been. She was essentially his sister and he cared for her very deeply on a familial level. She wasn't into those with abilities so it would always remain a brother sister relationship which he was quite fine with. They needed each other to survive. She kept him sane, he kept her alive. But they wouldn't always be together and he wouldn't always be able to save her though he could try. Anyways, it didn't much matter at the moment. She was resting and healing, he was in Italy.

Right now he was focused on getting his other friend the attention that she needed. They drew nearer to the hospital, as he could see from the giant red cross and things became increasingly more nervous. She questioned whether he could get her in and he nodded. Yes, he could get her admitted to end the ordeal. He could make this all go away. Cole had always been rather persuasive. It was a gift that wasn't a gift. Just something that he was exceptionally good at. For now, he would use that to her advantage.

Making their way to the hospital, he peered inside to see if he could spot any soldiers. Seeing none, he motioned for her to follow and then entered, grabbed her hand, and teleported them down the hall. No one even had time to see them. He found the nearest doctor, fortunately one that knew English quite well, he'd studied in the states, and explained the situation. The doctor was sympathetic, also fortunate, and moved to take Cassidy away.

"I'm going to find somewhere to sit and rest. Go with him and let him take care of you. Find me when you're done."

[Rush]

Cole might've been critical of Madeline, but what he'd had to say wasn't anything Cassidy could disagree with. She had a great deal of respect for Divenera -- not solely as someone hand-picked by Solara and the others to carry the same rank and responsibility in the VG that she had, but also as a person she'd come to work closely with and care for. That didn't mean she wasn't capable of making mistakes. In the end, no matter how much power any of the Guardians had, they were still essentially human. People had a tendency to forget that sometimes, and that was the kind of pressure that made their flaws even harder to deal with.

"She's stubborn. But not any worse than I am," Cass shrugged, making a feeble attempt at defending her. The only difference was that she generally had the force to back up her words, and didn't try to bite off more than she could chew. But it was unfair to judge Maddie like that; her intentions were always sincere, and she was the best in her field of skills. Maybe she wasn't the one Cassidy would've taken into battle, but in the long run, the VG certainly wouldn't have been as effective without her knowledge. "Good to know she's still fighting the good fight, though..."

Soon enough, they were inside, and almost immediately found someone who was actually eager to help without them hardly even having to ask. The balding man had heard the explosions from across town. He'd seen enough harm caused by the NINE's initial take over to know what the sounds meant. They weren't the first members of the underground resistance to walk through his doors. Cassidy would've figured that her odd costume was a big tip off to their importance, but he didn't seem to recognize either of them by their public identities, and she didn't bother mentioning that they were superheroes with warrants on their heads.

"Come this way, miss," he gestured down another hall from where they stood.

But before they parted ways with Cole, Cassidy took a few steps forward and threw her arms around the much taller man, giving him a tight squeeze. "I missed you," she said quietly, not holding back her honest affection for once. Truth be told, there had been very few days when she didn't think about him and the others since the base had been destroyed, and worried for their safety. Not as defenders of freedom and justice, but as the best friends she'd ever had in her entire life. Losing them would've been just as devastating as losing a family member. After a beat longer than was necessary, she let go, and went back to the doctor's side. She grinned brightly up at Cole, "Stay out of trouble while I'm gone, okay?"

With that, the doctor and his patient walked down another set of corridors to an exam room, where he left her to change into a hospital gown. When she was finished, he returned to look over the wound on her arm; it had reopened at some point in their battle with the mechs, was possibly even worse than before, and needed to be fixed up again. At the same time, he also needed to see if the chip wasn't just beneath the skin near the open flesh. Their supply of anesthetics was running low, he explained; he could give her some, but they hadn't seen shipments of anything, medications and devices included, that the hospital needed in weeks. Cassidy knew what he meant without him having to ask. She decided to forgo the injections, but asked for some kind of mild pain-killer -- a strong whiskey was preferred, but she got a few extra strength aspirin and a glass of water, instead. He was stating the obvious when he said it was going to hurt, and then proceeded to take out the remaining (and now completely ineffective) stitches.

[Shutter]

There was definitely some surprise in her throwing her arms around him, but there was also a sense of comfort that he hadn't felt for a very long time. In fact he hadn't felt it since the last time he'd been close to Alex. She was the only person that had ever really been able to comfort him. Madeline had been a close second, making him feel better by joking around or poking fun at him to get his mind off the problems. But now he felt that same sense of comfort coming from someone else and it confused him enough that he returned the hug and held it just a half second longer than she did. He smiled at her too.

"Don't worry. I'll probably just sleep."

He watched her as she departed with the doctor, not taking his eyes off of her until she left his sight. He'd worried about her before, but this latest series of events was really bringing things into perspective for him. As best he could tell, the reasoning behind making him a Guardian was to be the gel. He was the one that held the group together because he cared for them all at such high levels that he was willing to risk himself for the betterment of the group and thus he created a sort of cohesive glue between the four of them.

But anyways, he made his way down the hall to a sitting room where he put a couple of benches together and stretched himself out. It didn't take him long to fall asleep either. The lack of sleep, having lain down... It was pure invitation to falling asleep. He did so with his sidearm tucked into his hand, ready should he find a sudden need for the gun. His dreams were torment, but it was sleep that he needed while Cassidy was getting worked on. Still, he was trained to sleep light. At the slightest sound he'd wake.

[Rush]

It felt hours had passed before the doctor was finished poking around and came to the conclusion that the chip wasn't located in her arm. "Of course not. It's never that easy," Cass muttered under her breath as he continued to sew her up, wincing as the needle passed in and out of her skin. Her grip was so tight that the nails of her other hand were practically breaking holes in the worn material that covered the exam table she was sitting on. The doctor continued to explain that he needed to take some scans before he could pinpoint the location of the device, and then he would have to get her into surgery. This was taking far too long, and she was getting antsy.

"Isn't there anything you can do that's faster? I don't have to have it out, I just need it shut off," she said sharply, not meaning to be as short as she was with him, but he seemed to let her attitude slide, as her frustration was understandable. He didn't answer her immediately, taking a moment to think of the options.

He sighed exasperatedly, "There is some form of alternative to surgery, but it's incredibly dangerous and I do not recommend it." Clearly, those weren't the words she wanted to hear, as her expressive face was very easy to read. "Their microchip technology relies on radio signals. Luckily, the hospital has some shielding. They," he pointed to the ceiling, though it was clear he wasn't referring to the tiles overhead, "cannot see you in here now. That should give you some relief."

And it did, but not enough. Though the destruction of the mechs that had been in pursuit had definitely slowed things down for the NINE, who obviously hadn't anticipated encountering more than one of the VG, every minute that the enemy forces knew they were in the vicinity was a minute closer to the chance of facing death, or worse. Even if the hospital was a haven, it was only a temporary one for the two Guardians. If their nemeses were smart and had done their homework, they would've been able to figure out that destroying the island as a whole by bombing the hell out of it was a guaranteed way of getting rid of the both of them. After all, Rush was confirmed as wounded, and Shutter had significant limits to his power -- there was no way they could escape quickly or easily.

The good doctor was stalling, and Cassidy wanted a clear answer. He was just looking out for her and she knew it, but her tone remained stern, "Listen, you know we can't stay here. You're putting more than just yourself at risk by harboring fugitives here. But I can't run, and hiding can only go on for so long. What other options do I have?"

Again, there was a reluctance to answer, but he gave in quickly to her intense stare. He continued his explanation, "Exposure to an MRI machine, which uses magnetic and radio frequency fields, will effectively destroy the chip. But should something go wrong, this could cause severe internal injury -- not just from chip burnout, but possibly from any metal shrapnel that could've gotten under your skin. I would rather not put you through those risks."

"I'll do it," she responded without any hesitation. She didn't even bat an eyelash. He didn't say as much, but she knew he thought she was being irrational, reckless, absolutely insane. But her thought process was perfectly lucid: she was as good as dead, anyway, if she didn't undergo the procedure.

"Are you certai--"

"Yes," she cut him off firmly, resolute in her decision. Noting the sadness in his expression, she added more softly, "Don't feel guilty about it. It has to be done." He nodded, and made a phone call. Shortly thereafter, he led the way out to another set of halls and doors. She'd never been fond of hospitals. They were sterile and cold, and the ugly fluorescent lighting certainly didn't help set the mood.

Once the prep work was done (which had included the fastest shower she'd ever taken while the machine was warming up, to make sure her skin was free of visible metal debris), the doctor led her inside of the room. The large machine in front of her was more intimidating than she'd imagined, although she had intentionally been trying to play down her fears in anticipation of freaking out at the last minute. But she wasn't a coward, and she wasn't going to go back on her choice. Still, she had a greater sense of her own mortality now than she'd had when she was getting shot at. At least out there, she could go down in a blaze of blood and glory. Cassidy shivered at the thought of dying here, although it might have just been the general chill of the air circulation system.

As she laid down on the scanner bed, she glanced up at the doctor. "If I don't make it out of this...thing, tell my friend..." she'd started to say, but couldn't think of a good message to give. There was no profound revelation to be passed on to Cole. And beyond that, she didn't even really want to validate her fears by making a final statement. Amused at her own moment of melodramatic stupidity, Cass gave a half-hearted smile and shook her head, "Nevermind. Just make sure he gets out of here." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling as her body moved into the scanner.

[Shutter]

His dreams were torture and it had been horribly hard to sleep the entire time that he was trying to. Needless to say he had one particularly nasty dream that involved him being chased by the entirety of The NINE, and watching them torture his friends when they did capture him. It woke him up with a start that nearly sent the other people in the room reeling away. That could have had something to do with the fact that he was holding a gun in his right hand and his finger was tightened on the trigger finger. He loosened his grip before he really frightened someone.

Lifting his hands to his head, he rubbed them over the top of his head, still holding his gun. It was going to be a long next few days, he could feel that already. He'd be watching out for Rush while she had a bum arm, but he'd also be trying to rest which was something that he hadn't really done much of until just then and he'd only gotten in about an hour of sleep while they were working on Cassidy. That wasn't enough to get anything from and he could already tell that. His grogginess was inherent. Reaching for a pocket, he grabbed some more no-doze and popped them. The things were getting to the point where they were like candy.

It had been quite a while and he was starting to get a bit antsy. They should have been done by then. He stood from his seat and secreted the gun away while keeping his hand on it. The hallway was busy, lots of nurses moving around, a few doctors here and there. He didn't see the doctor that was working on Cassidy; nor did he see Cassidy. Curious, he started walking down the hall towards where she'd gone. As he passed the main hallway he took a glance down it and cursed at what he saw. Two NINE agents, who's names he didn't know but powers he did, were talking to someone at the main desk.

He hurried past the main hall so they wouldn't see him and walked along towards the room that Cassidy and the doctor had previously disappeared into. Sticking his head in he found the room empty so he stepped inside to think for a moment. She wasn't here, the doctor wasn't here, and she wouldn't let herself be taken so where could they have gone. He got to thinking about the problem and devised a probably solution. They'd likely gone to the MRI machine. It could disable the device without killing her. Hopefully. Thus he left the room and quickly hurried down the hall, looking for the right room. All the while he was checking behind him.

[Rush]

A sedative might've eased the tension that she felt in all of her muscles as her entire body entered the device. Cassidy had never experienced any intense feelings of claustrophobia before entering the MRI, but she definitely preferred being in open spaces, if the fact that she took full advantage of her ability to fly was any indication. Naturally, it didn't help that the doctor had given her serious warning that she might experience severe discomfort -- or worse, given the procedure involve the manipulation of magnetic fields -- if the chip or any other metal-based shrapnel remained beneath the surface of her skin, should they be moved or heated up in the process. Although they weren't using the device for its typical purpose, she laid as still as possible as the man had indicated, while the machine hummed, thumped and clanked around her.

It was half-tempting to fall asleep lying on that bed between each imaging sequence, but the tapping sound that the coils made as they started up again shook her awake each time she'd started to doze off. But her body was intensely sore from exhaustion, and as the magnetic field passed over her torso, she could feel an intensely hot pinpoint of pain between the stitches in her upper arm and her elbow. Her jaw clenched tightly as she attempted to stifle any sounds of pain and kept herself from writhing, though she had inhaled sharply and was on the brink of tears.

"There, I can see it," the doctor's voice came in booming over the intercom, though it was less of a distraction than she could've used. "It must have moved from the injection site. Are you feeling any pain?"

"No. Well, not too much," Cass lied through her grit teeth, though she hadn't been completely dishonest. She was half-ready to rip her arm off completely and be done with it. But not wanting him to stop because her tone of voice had betrayed her, she added on quickly and stubbornly, "It's nothing I can't handle."

Although there was a delay in his response, he seemed to believe her enough to say, "You should be finished soon. I'm going to continue running the machine, though, just to be sure that was it." Within the next ten minutes, the scanner bed was pulling out of the chamber and she was already on her feet as soon as she was clear of the device. The spot where the chip was located still felt hot, but not as burning as it was when the coils were on it. She swiftly exited the exam room and stepped into a side room where her clothing had been left, swapping the gown for the form-fitting Rush costume, which fit so tightly that it made her bandaged arm sting from the pressure. It wasn't something worth complaining about, though, as it was unavoidable.

The doctor was waiting outside for her in the observation room. "There should have been enough interference for the chip to cease functioning. But I recommend that you get it removed as soon as possible, to prevent it from being absorbed into your tissue and affecting any future MRI scans."

"Yes, sir," she responded with a hint of annoyance, though she didn't mean to seem ungrateful. She just didn't feel he needed to state the obvious, since her tertiary concern past what he'd said was that there was a slim possibility for the chip to be somehow reactivated by the NINE, even if it seemed unlikely. There were always agents out there who could do things beyond normal expectations (after all, she, herself, was an example of extraordinarily gifted person), including in the field of electronics. But she didn't mean to be rude, and softened the edge in her voice, "Thank you. You saved my life, and my friend's. I don't know how to repay my debt."

He, in turn, smiled back at her, "I am just doing my job. As for repayment... I know who you are. Both of you." Cassidy froze for a moment, but his tone was not threatening, just calmly stating a fact. "And all I can ask is that you continue to combat the NINE. I believed in the Valor Guard once, and I still do. As long as you are fighting them... You are saving us all. That is all I want."

Cassidy was touched by his complete sincerity; without her realizing it, her own mouth had curved into a smile to match his. His words were providing her with a sense of hope she'd almost begun to forget in the last few months of struggle that seemed wasteful, endless, and full of despair. "I will," she said firmly, "I promise, we are never giving up. Not if we can help it."