The Reality Vortex: Red Reputations

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"And have him get in the way of our fun-filled and merry rapport we've established?... Very funny. Who knows, maybe he'll decide to come down himself if he catches wind of any more unfortunate 'slip ups' from an incompetent subordinate?" Bernkastel deadpanned jokingly before frowning with crossed arms. "You heard Spina; don't get in our way needlessly." While her tone remained aloof as usual, it held a hint of contempt since what little patience she had was worn down overtime from Goku twisting her arm and forcing the Breakers to cooperate. Bern was troubled by what scale of threats they could face in the forseeable future and what effect that could have in itself.

Berserk glanced up as Lucifer and Avalon dismissed himself for the night. "Leaving already? But we're still spitballin' strategies here ya know!"

"You can fill them in by the morning, I'm sure. It seems Avalon already has ideas of his own." Bern said. "Lucifer too. Besides, at his current form it might be a pain to maneuver around." She gave a small grimace when Cayde pointed towards their direction. Initially she wanted to protest but stopped when she gave Cayde's reasoning more thought. "I... suppose that's true. I've never had to deal with being on the other side of high-security before... much less one with such restrictive space."

"None taken, Mister TinMan! I might get mighty claustrophobic down there, and it's no good flying if I can't move jet-fast. It'd turn into a nasty game of pinball real quick." Berserk tugged on her ribbons bashfully. "Being quiet and sneaky just isn't my forte at all."

"Even if I were to send in a kitty or two, I'm afraid we are priority targets. The Xy'phers Spina and I faced were exceedingly ruthless. Since they've seen my familiars before it'd be too obvious now and the jig would be up," Bernkastel conceded. "Making grandiose spectacles is something I've been trained in however. I also have a very good point of reference to work off of so I suppose I don't mind."

"Team Distraction it is!" Berserk cheered after hooking an arm around Bern's neck, causing her to dangle like a ragdoll while she wiggled her arms to get free. "Can we, Grandpa!?!? Can we can we can we? I can make a few explosives as early as right now!" she asked Spina excitedly. 

"Please say yes so she can let go..." Bern strained out.
 
May thinks "I gest being a contractor." May asks "I can but I like to know, how many ways do the Xy'phers have detect others? How good are those methods? Can the stealth team trick these methods? Do we have a map of the location so we can plan out?" May is trying to maximize the results of the mission.

May orders 07 to make food. May says "I trust we all are going keep at this for some time." 07 starts to make food.
 
Rogue City Command Center Ruins

“Understood, Boss.” Detective Spawn spoke without much resistance.

Spina crossed his arms. “Hmph. Splitting into two teams is ideal and solves our problem.” He agreed with both Bage and Cayde. It wasn’t lost on him that this plan is practically similar to that of the Reflection City plan: splitting into two teams to lure large portions of Xy’phers out, while the other team takes advantage of the situation. “No need to convince me, playing to our strengths is the best option. I’m the type that like to get my hands dirty.”

He turns to May, whom has some concerns about the Xy’phers awareness. “As far as I’m aware, they rely on sight, so that put this to our favor. And we can use Nia’s map to scope the area before committing to our plan.” He looks at May with a determined stare. “I’m sure you and others have a method to hide our sight.” He glances at Detective Spawn’s ability to hide one’s energy signature, and they didn’t pick up on that during Reflection City—they only attack based upon seeing the actual Breakers.

“I’ll lead team distraction.” Spina stated, smirking when Berserk expressed excitement of distracting the Xy’phers. “Berserk, Bage, Bernkastel, Cayde and Zenta will be with me. The rest will follow under May’s watch.” He turns to Nia. “Since you can detect these rock bastards, you’ll be far more useful if you hang with team stealth.”



The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

Clark stood there in silence upon Vegetto’s harangue. His eyes, gleaming with red, never once waver away from the potara fusion, even after Gogeta appeared at the scene. His eyebrows hang low, his face held an indifferent expression. Standing under the moonlight, it was like time itself had stopped around him; everyone froze in place from his perspective.

Only when Vegetto asked the Kryptonian, seeking validation, did Clark move, albeit slightly. Both fusions stared on, waiting to see Clark’s reply in regard to their morphing ideology and mindset. When the clouds block out the Vortex Moon, darkness descend upon the Snowy Mountains; only his glistering red eyes being the source of light.

A single amputated arm and both legs from Gogeta flung in the air; burns marks clear at the site. It was a mere flash, less than a nanosecond barely passed. Clark appeared in front of Vegetto, staring him down as residue from the heat vision seared from his eyes, after dispatching Gogeta instantaneously; cracks spreading throughout the fusion’s body. His face held no fury nor disappointment; instead, it was a face of man with an obligation. No need for words; for only actions, Clark displayed, would they have value.
 
Rogue City Command Center Ruins

Cayde perked his head up at Berserk's enthusiasm at making explosives, proudly perking up his head with a confident tone.

"Explosives, huh? You know, I'm something of an explosive enthusiast myself."

He pushed himself off the ruins of a table he rested against, his head turning slightly towards Bara and shrugging her shoulders.

"Hey, whatever floats your boat. Just work with the other people, while we make great booms will ya?"

The android then yawned loudly, stretching his mechanical arms as he walked towards the exit.

"But sleep is good too...man I'm tired!"



The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

In the split second of the devastating attacks, Vegetto gasped in pure shock in being caught offguard from the sudden move. Gogeta crashed into the snow after having lost most of his limbs, yelling out in a pained agony as he laid in the snow.

Vegetto rushed over to Clark, but avoided reaching out and gripping the man while his wide eyed narrowed in confusion.

"What the hell was that?! Why did you do that?!"
 
"Oh, don't worry 'bout me! We gotta get up fresh and ready for tomorrow, so I'll get some shut eye first. At least I can count on you to make a big scene, right Berserk?" Avalon gave Berserk a thumbs up before walking backwards into the hallway then turning on his heel. "Make sure to make lots of boom! It's kinda cool when you do it." Avalon said before waling off into the shadows where, true to his ninja roots, promptly disappeared.

Nia flew upside down, staring at the Breakers individually. A smile formed on her face as the group pondered about what should be done to destroy her people.

"I agree that two teams work best. I can lead the distraction group towards the hive, then, when things get crazy, I can merge in with the stealth group." Nia nodded to herself. "I can provide the smaller stealth group some backup as well as predict when and where the Xy'phers might come. Yes! This is the most fun!" Nia then turned May and began to ponder slightly. "The Xy'phers I have encountered have little ways of sensing you, useless they outright see you. Being sneaky is the best approach since the Xy'phers cannot sense energy like you can unless are Elites or specifically made to do so. Even then, those are rare, so it's safe to assume no common Xy'pher will sense your presence. The one you should worry about is the Dark Xy'pher. Don't worry though, I will be by your side to guide you. But we should certainly rest, I will be sure to take you to the area I suspect the hive to be, but we must be well rested. I will protect you from any foreign Xy'phers that may slip by, I do not need sleep, after all."

Nia gave the Breakers a friendly thumbs up, awkwardly giving them another disturbing smile in her attempt to get on their good side. Unable to properly stop a conversation, she simply stopped talking and kept her eyes glued on them, not blinking once.

"Very well, I will follow your lead, Mr. Spina." Zenta spoke out before rising to his feet. "I will be on my best behavior."

As Zenta left the room, he stopped by Spawn for only a brief moment. The air around the two got heavy and thick, his presence looming down over Spawn. However, nothing came out of it and the heavy aura left the room. Zenta simply turned away from Spawn and walked away, past Bernkastel and Berserk, and into the shadows.

"I hope he can recover. I sense hostility from him..." Nia said. "But regardless of what he feels, we must gain our rest."


As the morning sun shined between the battered buildings, Nia was the first to poke her head out one of the shattered windows. She was outside the entire night, and, true to her word, she protected them. The fact that she did not attack them in their sleep was proof that she could be trusted, at least for the most part. She noticed that none of the Breakers were awake yet as she carefully floated through the hallway. Using her psychic powers, she slowly opened the doors of each room the Breakers were staying in and peered inside. Each sleeping Breakers would slowly lift out of bed and float towards the main room where they constructed their plan. Of course, she did not ask for permission, but it seems she was trying to help them out by getting thm out of bed.

"Hey, the sun has peaked over the horizon. This is the first indication of morning!"
 
Rogue City Command Center Ruins

At the conclusion of the meeting, after everyone had their filled, it was time for rest. After the events of Reflection City, it was understandable for everyone to be on some kind of edge. Detective Spawn’s plan failed on all points; there existed someone connected with Doctor Doom; the Breakers is undoubtedly fractured because of the actions taken by Spina, Vegetto and Zenta.

Not even counting that majority of events captured on camera and televised across the world by the dangerously daring duo, Stacey, and Chad. They made strides, yes, but they also experienced unruly failures. Their reputation, red with egos, pride, and rejection of bonds, continued to diminish somewhat. Their deaths, if it ever occurred, is now set and stone to be a dubiously long time until the world erased them from their memories.

To say that morale is at a all time low is an understatement. Spina understood this greatly. Recalling briefly when he led a small band of Saiyans in his youth, morale can greatly contribute to whether a mission is a success or a failure. He kicked out Gogeta for being too much of a liability; he kicked out Brachi for abandoning comrades in the middle of battle; and he rejected including Vegetto back to the Breakers. Add that Cuki and Cross left for various reasons, the former speculated to be killed by the Xy’phers, and the Detective Agency seems to be compromised, the old Saiyan sought the way to pulled through.

Making his way through the hallway, Spina spotted Lucifer standing by the window. The angel held a cackling smile as he looked through the glass, taking several sips of wine sporadically. Lucifer noticed Spina and held up his glass.

“Greetings, Spina. I taken the meeting concluded with the appropriate plan in mind, yes?”

Spina sharpened his eyes and nodded once. “Yeah, I’d assumed that you already know the gist of the plans.”

“Indeed,” Lucifer smiled, taking another sip. “I’ll be confident that you will lead them into a successful mission; even at the worst-case scenario.”

On the contrary, Spina always held great suspicion towards at Lucifer. Connection with Demi-Fiend aside, Lucifer seemingly operates on a different level compared to the others. He’s mysterious, and his powers seems to fluctuate depended on the scenario. As Zenta and Bernkastel allured briefly back then: Lucifer is a wild card, but so far, he saved the Breakers from imminent demise when needed. More importantly, Lucifer seemingly has become a vehicle for information regarding the state of this world.

“Lucifer,” Spina glanced towards the devilish angel. “When Vegetto erupted with anger, I sensed a unique energy that flourished around him. I cannot describe it, but it felt that it could influence one’s way of thinking.” The old Saiyan recalled his encounter with Null Knight earlier. “Is that the same presence that I sometimes exert whenever I’m in battle?”

“It seems that he is aware of it…” Lucifer thought to himself; it greatly amused him. “What Vegetto is expelling isn’t something to take note of, really. Only those with weak minds or constantly under stress would be influenced by his toxicity. It actually quite commonly for those that obtain divine status: their arrogance, whatever that shapes it, elevates to the point that their mere presence can shape one’s thinking. Some are more prominent than others, but this is one the low side.” Lucifer furrowed his eyebrows. “Hence its was rather unbecoming to see Bernkastel of all people get roped into this.”

The angel glanced at the window once more as he continued. “Yours is different. I would even say, it quite unique in its regard—it cannot be sensed by any means. I’ve tried numerous times to pinpoint what I’m exactly sensing here, but even then, I could only speculate based on current information.” Lucifer eyed on Spina with a smirk. “And fortunately for you, it doesn’t have any impact on the others; so far, it seems to affect you only. For better or worse.”

“Hmph,” Spina was relieved that, at the very least, the ominous warning Null Knight doesn’t seem to impact the others too much. “That makes it easy then.” His left arm started to move briefly, flinging to life.

Lucifer raised a brow. “Hmm?”

“Nothing.” Spina ended his thoughts, which cause his life arm to go numb once more. Before leaving, Spina glanced through the window, seeing brief red lights in the vast snowy mountains. “I’m heading off.”

The angel narrowed his eyes when Spina walked past him, he noticed small dark spots on his left arm. It was erecting on his skin, mainly his fingertips and his scars. Whatever he decided, the dark spots had grown in response. It had greatly amused him.
“Spina.” Lucifer called out to him. Spina stopped but didn’t turn to face the angel.

“Gods never experienced the grace of choice; it leaves them fearful of consequences.” Lucifer sneer as his blue eyes shined. “Struggling to take the first step leaves them vulnerable of what’s to come. A second step allows one to truly become accustomed to the world. But the third step is truly what defines someone.” He smiles. “I wonder what your third step will be, Spina.”

Spina turned his head slightly but didn’t respond. Instead, Spina smirked before heading off. Arriving at a room that was not occupied, the old Saiyan glanced over to the rest of the rooms; they were all ranging from minimal to extreme damage from the Xy’phers. Suddenly, the old Saiyan spotted a young woman across from him. At first, he assumed it was either Bernkastel or Berserk or perhaps Lilith returning to her normal form. However, when woman turned her head, it was a completely different person altogether: something that he never seen before. She had a sinister smile as she waved at him as she stood by the room where Bernkastel resided in for the night.

Spina blinked once, doing a double take to confirmed what he was seeing; however, she disappeared. “…. I need to really sleep.” He concluded that the person he saw was nothing more than a figment of his imagination.



The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

Clark offered no response for his actions taken against Gogeta. Rather, when Vegetto demanded an answer, the potara fusion was immediately backhanded by the Kryptonian. It was an insignificant slap; barely just enough to swat away mere insects. To Vegetto, it was a devastating power that forced him back at a distance.

As the moonlight ceased, the burning light of the sun leaks before the horizon. As dawn came slowly, particles of energy accumulated around Clark’s eyes. When he fired another round of heat vision, it lined perfectly with the dawn at the horizon. Colliding against Vegetto, it drove the fusion deep into the icy plate, melting it to the point of boiling.

As the heat vision subsided, Clark turned away from Vegetto, shifting his attention towards Gogeta. “Another petty attachment. Had you been focused, Gogeta wouldn’t been in a state like this. Stay there. I’ll take care of it.” Ignoring the agonizing screams from Gogeta, Clark placed his foot firmly on the fusion’s chest. “I’ve stunned any attempts to regenerate your body.” He tilted his head, observing the state Gogeta is in. “A single blow from me is enough.” His eyes glow bright red, ready to fire at Gogeta.



Rogue City Command Center Ruins - Next Morning

“That’s one way to wake up.” Detective Spawn said, floating upside down. “This is why I hate psionics. They’re the annoying type.”

Lucifer, who never went to sleep, was floating rather elegantly. “It’s rather amusing. We don’t get a lot of people with psychic abilities back in my world. They’re usually killed for being the “invaders of minds”.” The angel left out a light cackle, generating a cup of hot tea.

Spina opened his eyes, wearing nothing but his pants; completely ripped apart due to the battle in Reflection City. “Hmm?! Put. Me. Down.” He commanded Nia.

"Do you ever wear clothes?" Detective Spawn grunted in annoyance. "I ain't going to the battlefield to stare his butt-naked ass."
 
Rogue City Command Center Ruins

As Cayde floated in air, he suddenly started to flail and spaz out at the sensation of being lifted in the air by the strange telekinetic powers.

"Gah!! What the hell?! Let me down!! PLEASE!!""



The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

Gogeta howled in pain, his eyes tightly shut as he hacked up and barely moved without usage of his limbs. Despite Clark's threat, the fusion was in too much pain to simply respond; unable to resist the impending doom from Superman's eye beam.

The stunned expression on Vegetto's face remained in place despite Clark's backhand smashing his cheek in, the Potara fusion bouncing along the ground from the impact and barely responding to the intense damage of crashing into the mountain side. His shocked stare remained; the determination on Superman's face told the entire story. Vegetto blasted downwards into the cold icy tundra from the intense beam slamming into his chest, stunned into silence in realizing that he had failed to understand the Kryptonian and now, Clark was out to kill them both.

Am I not supposed to have what I want?

The distracted and racing mind of the Potara fusion took away from his defenses; the intense beam beginning to burn away at his blue gi. Vegetto felt the skin on his chest begin to sear, twinging a bit in pain as he tensed his muscles in frustration with himself. The words themselves ate away at his confidence, and even he could feel the selfish and evil nature that radiated from those words in his mind. Yet his pain flourished once more, lost again as he looked around desperately for a way out.

What am I..supposed...to...do...

The intense crushing of rock and snow, the tumultuous roar of the wind as he descended back and the devastating energy behind the eye beam blocked out the thoughts within his mind. Yet naturally, Vegetto began to block out the noise to focus on protecting his body against the beam; holding the energy at bay from piercing him. He looked on with a perplexed stare; a sense of disconnect from the world around him. The sight of the crushing rock melted to nothing in his eyes, and he found himself in a silent void despite the devastating scene of what was occuring. Vegetto blinked to himself, thinking back to the final lesson he received when he faced Whis in similar confusion.

"Damnit Whis, I was emotionless!! I killed every petty attachment; I was the perfect warrior! Why isn't the power coming back?"
"Because Ultra Instinct isn't about being emotionless. Pride, anger...even love sometimes...all of it can be a distraction, yes. And to block it out, gets your closer...but it's not the full teaching. You have to give your entirety to the flame."

"But where is that?! It's not in me, I don't feel anything!"

"Because it isn't within you, Vegetto...and it won't be. Ultra Instinct is never about you; it's about adapting to the world around you."


Vegetto gasped, his eyes turning down at the subconscious memory of Whis gently poking his chest where the eye beam threatened to tear into him.

"And it starts...with the impulse of the spirit."

Vegetto glanced down, struggling to fight against the beam nearly cutting into him as cracks along his chest began to form. The immense weight of thoughts that ran through the Potara fusion's mind were racing at speeds too fast to decipher, the black energy mounting again at the impulsive idiocy to blame everyone else for his situation. Yet it all cleared at the piercing scream of his own counterpart; not one from the actual agonizing Gogeta, but one that Vegetto imagined for himself.

"VEGETTO!"

Vegetto blinked hard, the voices washing away other than the few memories he called on. Cayde in trouble, screaming for the same person...the crowds of Reality Metropolis cheering when he defeated the last crime lord of the town, and finally Clark's own happy tone in helping Vegetto through his rough time alone in the world.

"Everybody loves a hero! People line up for them, cheer them, scream their names...and then tell stories of how they stood in the rain for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who taught them to hold on a second longer. It's an amazing feeling...to be that light of hope for those people...but sometimes you have to be steady, and give up the thing you want the most. Even your dreams..."

Vegetto's eyebrows sharpened, his mind absolving the doubts and ego within as he began to focus on the clear issue at hand: Gogeta needed him. The Potara fusion roared not in rage or emotion, but to quell the toxic distractions even further in his mind. The cracks along his torso began to recede slowly as he felt his own life force surge at the call; to push himself beyond the limits to save his only family truly left spurring the development forth. What was important to Vegetto and what he wanted no longer mattered; if he did not rise to the challenge, Gogeta would perish. 

From the depths of the snow shot out a massive cylinder of silver energy spiraling upwards into the sky. Storm force winds blasted the snow in every direction, and within the blink of an eye, a daunting silhouette shot forward through the air at speeds that only Clark could somewhat detect. In the blink of an eye, Clark was tackled off of Gogeta's torso and sent plummeting into the snow; a pair of arms having wrapped around his ribcage while the two tossed and collided across the ground. Eventually sliding to a halt without the unseen force barreling into Clark further, the Kryptonian could see the transformed Vegetto looming in his fluid posture. The familiar silver fire swirled around his body in an ominous heat and pressure; the cascading particles of light flowing upwards around his body.

Yet his hair itself was mangled and still its normal shade of brownish black, flowing in the silver fire. Vegetto's narrowed eyes focused solely on Clark in an intense, determined glare. The pupils glowing a distinct silver hue. Not a word was spoken further by the Potara fusion; there was no need as Clark had indicated.

Vegetto stood on in his incomplete Ultra Instinct form, ready to move in anticipation for Clark's next attack.
 
May starts to make and revue the maps. She starts to make plans on how to get to the center. 

----- 
Next morning 

May says being up before even Nia "so it's about time the others are getting up or it's time to gather." May simply lets Nia drag her out of room. 07 says hands her a cup of coffee "it seems so mistress." May starts to drink her cup of coffee. 

May says "You should really give people a chance to get dressed Nia." 07 thinks "good thing mistress is an early riser."
 
"Nooooo... five more minuuuuutes..." Berserk groaned from under the pillow covering her face. Sitting up best she could manage while being essentially weightless, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Hey, why's everybody in my room...?"

"That's because we aren't... even though we've got perfectly good legs to walk with," came Bernkastel's sour response, clearly not taking kindly to being 'helpfully' woken up by Nia the way she had chosen. Clutching her pillow in midair, Bern's legs were tucked in like a cat curled in a ball. Unamused, she stared down Nia dismissively. "With those screaming birds, it's impossible to sleep in anyway. I dislike being maneuvered like a puppet, so if you could un-float me this instant..."

"Huh?" Berserk caught sight of Spina lacking clothing once again and she started to thrash her arms. "Ewww! Go put some pants on, dude! That's gross! And I can float by myself without problem, you lemme down!" To top off her rambunctious protesting she chucked her pillow at Spina out of disgust from the sight.

"Indeed, at least make an effort to cover your indecency." Averting her eyes, Bernkastel turned her floating body away to stare out one of the windows. Her demeanor today was colder than usual but mostly out of how serious she wanted to take the day's mission.

Gogeta's still out... his presence is too far away. she thought. So is Vegetto's. Seems they don't intend to go against Spina's plans and decided to do something else. Fine by me; I don't feel like dealing with that guy (Vegetto).

"What a mess, this place is... I'd find it hard to concentrate with all the rubbish crumbling around."

"Not for me! I got my stuff all ready last night just before I hit the hay-- you wouldn't believe how easy it was to assemble things when all you need is just in one big pile." Berserk announced cheerfully. "They'll definitely get our end of the job done and then some!"

"Good-- I would like nothing more than to turn our unsuspecting victims into piles of glitter dust." Bern nodded smugly. "We'll make sure of that. Right, Zenta?" she asked, remembering the way he pulverized their captive Xy'pher with such ease. "There's no reason not to crush them now."
 
As everyone was gently gathered together by Nia, it seemed by the senior detective's undeterred snoring, he had no trouble getting his eight hours of rest. The Saiyan detective began to squirm in the air as the commotion of the Breakers began to wake him.

"Hmmm...? Oh!" Bage opened his eyes and shot awake when he noticed that he was spinning in the middle of the air, confused as to why he wasn't in his bed. Seeing the annoyance in most of the breakers faces he decided to speak up to hopefully ease their irritation. But not before turning his eyes from Spina in his birthday suit. "Uh.. thank you Nia for waking us up but Bern is right, we can all walk from here."​

With a small yawn followed by a smile, Bage began going over the details of the plan in his head. Despite the stressful end to the previous day, the senior detective looked as prepared as usual.​

"Okay. Good morning everyone! Hope you're all well rested. I'll just get right into it.To recap yesterday's meeting, Spina, Berserk, Bernkastel, Cayde, Zenta and I are team distraction. The rest of you will follow May as team stealth." Paying no mind to himself floating and spinning in mid air, the detective continued, "teams will do exactly as they are instructed to do. Team distraction will lead most of the hive on a chase while stealth gets in and destroys the core. Sounds simple enough when you put it that way... But this team is full of surprises so we'll see. Anything I'm missing?"
 
Bara was roused from her slumber the moment she was picked up, but alerted right away as she listened to what Bage said, nodding as she turned to May to see what her instructions were. 

It should be noted that Bara was now back in her normal form and that neither Brachi or Jize were to be found within her at least, but it appeared there was still some kind of personality shift within the Majin.
 
Avalon floated in the air, still half asleep before he realized that he wasn't in bed anymore. With a sudden yelp, he quickly wiggled and flailed in the air, trying his best to grab something to keep himself from 'falling.' In the process, he tangled himself in the sheets before looking towards Nia.

"H-Hey! You shouldn't pick up people without permission, y'know!" Avalon then turned to Berserk and gave her a friendly wave. Something was a bit different about him, but it was hard to tell exactly. "Heya Berserk! Man, if this is how you folks feel like when you fly, you can count me out! It makes my stomach all woozy and jumpy… Anyway, I hope you're ready to blow some stuff up, we're gonna need your best explosives for today."

Zenta, in the meanwhile, was seen trying his best to cling on to the wall by digging his claws into the concrete. As Nia pulled him, the beast left behind a trail of claw marks on the wall, clearly not liking being picked up by Nia's psychic powers. From the looks of it, his mood was much better than yesterday and he was not as grumpy or sour anymore. When Nia realized that most of the people she helped were either upset or uncomfortable, she frowned and released her psychic hold on them. Avalon fell face first to the ground while Zenta elegantly landed on all fours.

"I'm sorry. I should've just knocked." Nia then turned to Spina and stared at him for several awkward seconds before turning away and covering her eyes. It took her a moment to realize what she saw and how awkward it was for everyone. "A-Ahh... Anyway, we should be heading out quickly. The girl with the ribbons [Berserk] seems eager to unleash chaos and mayhem." Nia blushed slightly as she turned back to the Breakers. "I know it's weird for me to say this, but let's wipe out some Xy'phers."

"Ooow ow ow!" Avalon groaned as he rubbed his face. Walking by Berserk's side, he sniffled slightly and shook his head free of the pain. "Right... give us a warnin' before you just drop us face first... Some of us don't got cat-like reflexes."

Zenta rose to his feet and dusted himself off as he walked towards Bernkastel's side. He dug the dirt out from between his nails and gave the Witch a gentle smile, almost a complete 180 from yesterday. He did not feel as hostile or deranged as yesterday, so it was safe to assume he got the worst of it out of his system. Just like his usual self, he gave the Witch a very humble bow at the waist followed by a nod to her statement.

"Yes, my Lady. I made a vow to behave myself and keep a much better control." There was a slight pause before he cleared his throat and spoke a little softer. "Perhaps we can destroy the Xy'phers together? Errm, for Cuki, that is..."

"Ahhh! My map!" Nia shouted as she floated above a table. "I left my map here for you guys so we can use it."

"Aw crap... don't tell me we can't go after all this time?" Avalon frowned. "We got to stop this mess and you lost the map!"

"Oh, I know the way, Purple Man. I assumed that the others need a map to travel, like pirates. Sorta like gasoline and a car."

"...What?"

"Never mind, it's an Earth metaphor." Nia turned to the other Breakers. "Alright, I can lead everyone to the area in question. The Small-Cat-Child can create portals at will, so her powers will be useful to travel long distances. It is north of Reflection City, so it isn't that far off." There was a small pause in her voice. "Please be careful, Breakers, even if it's just a small hive, it's still extremely dangerous. I will try to move swiftly with Team Stealth. Although we never sleep, the hive should be least active around dawn, so take advantage of it! Beware of the Recon Xy'pher and try not to spill out information."

"Right-O! We should get goin' before the sun rises anymore." Avalon yawned slightly. He turned to look at Zenta who was watching him silently. The beast seemed a little distracted, more preoccupied by destroying the Xy'phers and heeding Bernkastel's words. "Uhh, you okay, Zenta?"

There was a long pause before Zenta shook his head. "Oh! Yes, yes. Please pay no attention to me, I still have my mind in the clouds. Rest assured, I meditated long and hard to rid myself of the impulses I had."

"So you feelin' better?"

"Oh yes, absolutely. Personally, I wish to have gone on my own and take the hive on myself, but I doubt Lady Bernkastel allows such reckless behavior, especially after yesterday's display." Zenta turned away from Avalon and cleared his throat. "Now then, we should hurry, as Nia said. My Lady, if you will be so kind to grace us with a portal."
 
May takes out an orb and floats down once Nia replaces the group. May says looking at Nia "Got it, you Nia got point of team stealth." May thinks "I have a feeling that Nia can be a bit air heeded."

07 lands on her feet and looks slightly annoyed.
 
Quietly sighing in relief of Nia's psionic weight fading away from around her body, Bernkastel outstretched her feet to land nimbly. Berserk landed on her butt, quietly yelping before rubbing her lower back.

"Heh, I guess you're better off flying on your paper bird huh?" the Powerpunk quipped at Avalon before standing from the floor. "Usually I'm floating 'cause I wanted to. Only time it's ever happened outside of that was when I was a kid and couldn't control my powers yet. Let's just be happy we didn't get pranked and wake up with drawings all over our faces." Laughing it off to keep the atmosphere lighthearted, Berserk made her way to her own work spot and began picking up the gear she spent all night assembling.

She couldn't quite tell if his slightly different behavior was the nerves or he seemed impatient about the mission. "If it weren't for working on all this, I'd have been way too fired up to get any sleep. But I learned my lesson from the unicorn granny (Roya)-- no going without sleep!" Hooking the belt around her hips, Berserk carefully stowed away most of her supplies and detonators. "Too bad we won't get to team up like yesterday right off the bat. Wouldn't want to accidentally set your paper stuff on fire! But don't get all worked up about Nia losin' the map, she's got it memorized! I wouldn't blame her, we were working between giant junk piles from the mess the Xyphers made."

Berserk was joking with her typical energetic disposition but her expression got a bit more serious. "...Just be careful, Avalon. I got your back, but yesterday was a close call."

Bernkastel stared up at her reflection in Zenta's visor as he approached her, brows slightly raised upon noticing his demeanor was much closer to his usual self. It seemed he stayed true to his word and reflected on what happened. A small smile graced her lips and she gave an amused chuckle at his suggestion.

"Of course; we'll make sure you have Cuki returned to you by the end of this. I don't doubt she fought to her last breath valiantly even in the cracked state her body was in," Bern replied. "So it's only right we honor her tenacity by matching our own. Besides, once we make our way into the hive, I think destroying the core of that Dark Xy'pher will be quite cathartic for you. It will boost our morale enough to continue pressuring the Xy'phers at least," she smirked.

"Yeah! Then when we go up to the King, you give 'im the ultimate ass-kickin!" Berserk chimed in. "That's what I'd do. And you don't even gotta feel bad, Nia's even gonna join in on the head-smashing with us!"

"That's right, there will be no room to get careless. We want to be smart about how we do this mission. If you went alone, who's to say the Recon Xy'pher takes my form and catches you off guard?" Bern stated rhetorically. She paused to listen intently to Nia's instructions. Nodding, she held an arm outstretched as the portal began materializing.

"Speaking of which... since we're splitting off early into groups, should we have a way to tell ourselves apart from an impostor for sure? Especially if the Recon decides to take on Nia's appearance." Bernkastel turned to Spina.
 
Rogue City Command Center Ruins

“What a strange comment, Zenta.” Lucifer descended towards the ground once Nia lightened her psionic abilities. “While its absolutely detestable that you’re tossing aside your will for another, shouldn’t your reasonings be more inline of not contributing to the continuous interference of the Breakers as a whole? Perhaps that’s a quirk from your universe—zeroing in on a singular person.” Lucifer smirked. “But don’t worry, I’ll personally keep a watchful eye on any possible reckless behaviors, young man. Otherwise, vengeance for Cuki might be for naught.”

The angel joked, turning his attention to Spina’s wardrobe issues. “It is problematic. A proper attire is needed.” Raising his right arm; blue lights flash around his fingertips of his hand. In a sudden flash that blinded everyone, once its died down, Spina had a new attire.

In a similar aesthetics to his previous clothes, Spina wore a black-tight shirt with white fur around the collar, baggy navy pants, white fur belt, white boots, and black armbands with fur at the bottom. Although his hair was still greyed out after returning from ‘death’, his hair had shifted back to his original style. On the back of his shirt, there exist a symbol; Lucifer did not create it, rather, it suddenly appeared on its own: 苛

iboC8dw.png

The old Saiyan examined his new look. “Feels comfortable…” Although he prefers to fight with light clothes, these clothes feel like it won’t be in the way in the battle. He moved his shoulders around to see if the fur would bother him; he was relived that it didn’t; rather, it was rather refreshing to have something to warm on the back of his neck. Especially in a cold environment they were in right now.

Spina glanced towards the Breakers; his eyes filled with determination. “You heard the senior Detective. You got your objectives. Team Distraction will cause a scene and lure them away from the hive, while stealth will use the opportunity to sneak in and take out the core.” He clenched his right fist, smirking as he was getting excited for battle. “There’s a strong possibility that things won’t go as plan, though. We could be walking into a trap as this rock bastard intends to, and if that were to happen, don’t freaked out. Follow our lead, don’t abandoned your teammates, and adapt to any changes in situation.”

When Bernkastel asked a question regarding identity, Spina nodded once. “That’s ideal.” The old Saiyan turned his sights towards Detective Spawn. “You placed a tracker on Zenta and found us here in this city, hmm? You can easily do that again, but this time, for all of us. That way we can identify each other through that in case someone tries to infiltrate us.”

Detective Spawn glanced towards Zenta, feeling disgusted that the beast would make a causal suggestion of going off on his own. “Yes... that’s an easy task to do. I’m recovered enough to be more prominent in battle.” Raising his left arm, he simply swipes forward and tiny horde of green particles spread across, landed on the Breakers. “It’ll appeared once I maintain focus on it, but they will be inactive. Should you get suspicious on anyone, you can just ask me.”

“Hmph,” Spina glanced towards Bernkastel, remembering their conversation from yesterday. “This is the chance to give it our all out there. I’ll be looking forward to see your improvement against those rock bastards.” Although Spina seemingly accepted “friendship” with the Witch of Miracles, there was still some distance between the old Saiyan and the rest of the Breakers. The lack of bonds was undoubtedly still present within Spina, although Bernkastel managed to push him on the path to form “bonds”.

Turning towards the portal, Spina tightened his fist even more. “Let’s not waste anymore time, Breakers.” He grabbed Nia by the collar; although she claims that she knows the location well, her losing the map was seen suspicious by him. So, he’ll keep her with him for now until they arrived at their destination. Just as the old Saiyan jumped through the portal with Nia, once again, his left arm flair into life briefly, with the dark spots grew just slightly.



The Snowy Mountains of Rogue City

Clark’s body tensed, readying himself to fire his eye beams towards the fusion. None had distracted him, even as Vegetto made a thunderous spectacle and shot upwards to skies. Not even the wave of snow flinging to all direction daunted the Kryptonian to glanced away from Gogeta.

Only until Vegetto projectile himself into Clark prevented him from firing at Gogeta. Burrowing against the snowy landscape, his eye beams fired off in a random direction, striking a nearby mountain and completely obliterating it.

Smoke searing from his eyes after the heat vision fired, Clark simply rose to his feet to meet Vegetto directly. The Kryptonian, wiping off the snow from his clothes, looked into Vegetto’s determined stare and that incomplete state of Ultra Instinct. “Minds change quickly.” Clark said. “But only in the heat of the moment.” Clark’s eyes sharpened intensely, as his tone darkens. “Your heart isn’t in it, Vegetto. For that, I am not interested. Stay down.” Clark began walking, moving in the direction to Gogeta’s location. He fired a powerful blue eye beam, Neutron Beam, towards Vegetto to forced him out of the way of his goal.
 
Zenta listened silently to Lucifer and felt his fur bristle slightly. Normally, he would playfully lash out towards Lucifer but he decided to go against it, given how he acted yesterday. Oddly enough, his demeanor around Lucifer was a little different; more cautious to be exact.

"I know the errors of my ways, Lucifer. Because of that, I want to be more useful to the group..." Zenta paused slightly and smiled. "With no other purpose in my life, the least I can do is help the Breakers." The beast then bowed his head to Lucifer. "No need to keep an eye on me, there will be nothing of importance to note. After all, I am but a beast with no purpose, yes? I handled my qualms with Cuki's well-being on my own. When the time comes, I will have to accept Cuki's fate and put her out of her misery. Though... that is the difficult part for me, truth be told..."

"Don'cha worry Zenta, I'm sure thing will be fine. We'll spot Cuki, bring her back, and everythin' will be cool." Avalon quipped. He then smiled. "We'll bring 'er back no problem!"

"Yes... I suppose so." Zenta smiled weakly before turning to the portal Bernkastel made.

Besides, once we make our way into the hive, I think destroying the core of that Dark Xy'pher will be quite cathartic for you. It will boost our morale enough to continue pressuring the Xy'phers at least...

He stared at it intently, letting it reflect off his cracked visor. There was a moment of silence from the Beast as he thought silently of his actions and what he should do once he spots Cuki and the Xy'phers. Even now, despite how calm and collected he was, the thought of hurting Cuki was something even he could not handle.

"Yes, we must do the head-smashing of the Xy'phers!" Nia cheered after Berserk. "If we lower the numbers of the Xy'phers, then you will leave a large dent in the King's army, thus, weakening him. I have fate in you guys!" Before she could say more, she felt herself yanked by Spina through the portal.

"Whelp, there they go. We should follow them before Boss does things on his own." Avalon nodded to Berserk. "Make sure to bring those explosives! Just try not to blow up the whole city."

As Avalon jumped through the portal, Zenta continued to stand still, like a dog sensing danger. Suddenly, he lowered his head and let out a breath of air as he turned to Bernkastel with a warm and innocent smile, almost as if all his worries lifted from his shoulders. As per usual, he stepped to the side, allowing Bernkastel and everyone else to enter the portal before him. With a bow at the waist and a hand behind his back, he made his humble bow to the Witch, showing his usual more tranquil side of him.

"Please, after you, my Lady." Zenta said.


Once on the other side of the portal, the group would see a small town. It appeared to be a traders market and everything looked normal. People were trading with one another, travels came and went, and not a single Xy'pher in sight. No panic or chaos, nothing odd or suspicious. The homes that were nearby were manors that rich merchants lived in and everything look relatively calm and relaxed. One in particular was bigger than all the rest and looked much more elegant compared to the others. The people were friendly to the newcomers that came by and the richer merchants were quite generous to those less fortunate. Could Nia be wrong, or was she leading them to disaster?

As Nia wiggled herself free from Spina's grip, she shivered slightly upon looking at the town.

"This place... it reeks of Xy'pher."
 
Rogue City Command Center Ruins

After Zenta step away to let the Breakers, especially Bernkastel, to go through the portal first, Lilith suddenly wrapped around the beast. “But you do have a purpose, Zenta. And I’ll see to it that you’re capable of doing the act.” Lucifer retort Zenta’s self-loathing comments; his eyes squinted in conjunction with his fiendish smile. The angel let out a light cackle as Lilith dragged Zenta through the portal before everyone else, barring Spina and Nia.

“Lilith seems weary of your body language, my boy. You’ll just have to tolerate being in the front row until you ceased being a threat in her eyes.” Lucifer’s smile continued on. “Now, let’s depart, shall we? Your first successful mission awaits on the other side.” He eyed at Berserk. “From there, I’ll explain the fruitions of what I have in mind for you, my dear. Then, I’ll present you with a choice.”

Traders Market

Emerging first from the portal, Spina inspected his surroundings. No Xy’phers in plain view—just a bunch of people around in this relatively small town. Only thing that stood out was the impressively large manors, especially the largest one.

“This is the place? This is just a bunch of punks wandering around.” Spina questioned. Even though Nia mentioned that this place reeks of Xy’phers, the old Saiyan didn’t feel a sense of present danger. “Hmph, trap is it then. The map suddenly going missing was a clear indicator of such.” His eyes sharpened towards Nia. “Don’t think for a second that you have any leverage of sucker-punching us. Take us to the location to this hive.”

Lucifer and Lilith were the next ones to emerged from the portal, the latter dragging Zenta with her. Upon arrival, Lilith immediately released the beast and returned within the angel’s attire. “Now, now.” Lucifer, paying no mind to Zenta as it amused him, responded to Spina. “She did say she only knows the general vicinity of the hive. Perhaps we need to find its exact location. Though, she may be very well taking us to a place for us to get ambush.” The angel cackled. “Admittedly, will be delightful.”

Detective Spawn emerged from the portal. Seeing that this was just a regular town, Spawn grew suspicious of its relaxed scenery. “If I recall, those Xy’phers were able to replicate human form quite well and hide among us, and we wouldn’t know until they attack.” He never been to this town before despite being on the Detective Agency for roughly two years. “At any rate, we need to get these folks out of here—on the safe side that they are just regular people here.”
 
May grabs Nia by the collar and says, "do keep in mind that you're a map." May says "At this point I willing to trust that Nia is just an air head. With that in mind." May puts a tracking device on Nia mostly as a way to keep track of Nia.

May says in a matter of fact "Worst case we play to your group's strengths. If the doom fight was any indication of your group's power, then if things go tits up, we should be able to kill our way in or to the core." May thinks "worst case we just hunt down Nia if she did lead us into a trap." As May starts to drag Nia tords the stealth team.
 
"Oh... right. Yes, I'll make sure of no slip-ups." Bernkastel nodded, unsure whether to take Spina's words as an encouragement or a direct order. Either way, it sounded like he had expectations for her and she was anticipating to do well, oddly enough.

Bern turned as Zenta addressed her and the Breakers, but frowned with disapproval at the way he disparaged himself while doing so. "You really shouldn't say things like that. Troublesome people gravitate towards those sorts--" she cut herself off upon seeing Lilith suddenly constrict around Zenta. Glancing to observe the interaction between Lucifer and Zenta, Bern lowered her eyelids in slight suspicion. Oddly, Lilith was acting strangely cautious towards Zenta. Lucifer didn't exhibit that demeanor, but he clearly was scheming at something. He and Zenta always seemed to have a strange dynamic but lately, Zenta was putting a lot of effort into maintaining his composure around him.

Bern wondered if Lucifer was implying Zenta could be a threat to the mission or something else. Despite being known as the more level-headed in the group, the beast-man had been slipping up little by little recently. She didn't harbor unkind thoughts about Zenta, but she was starting to catch on that he wasn't as inconsequential as he claimed. It was hard not to be curious after the previous day's altercation. Regardless, I ought to keep him in my sights for a while. It won't be any good if I get high-strung in a risky situation again, Bern reminded herself before stepping through the portal.
====

"We should think carefully about what to do first... Them hiding in plain sight is exactly how they got the jump on us yesterday," Berserk stated while she took a look around after passing through the portal. "Maybe we can make the distraction phase jumpstart evacuating the normal people from the Xy'phers? But it'd be bad if I accidentally blow up some civilians right? Decisions, decisions..." she turned to Lucifer. "Oh yeah! You said you had somethin' for me didn't you! It sounded important."

Bern held a finger to her cheek upon stepping out to join the others as she paused to listen in on their observations. "If Nia's being truthful, then those Xy'phers might be passing through here quite often indeed. The hive could be right under the ground we're stepping on; after what I've seen with that tunnel system, we shouldn't rule anything out based on appearance." Her gaze trailing over to find Zenta, she casually took her spot next to him. Lilith already had let go, but she probably would do it again just to make sure Zenta wasn't the one watching their backs. 

"Since we lack a map, is it wise to split up here? Not that we need it for our end of the mission, but we would be left searching rather blindly." she asked.
 
With Team Stealth, Bara remained silent again, but her expression was that of concentration...

...in secrets, she was releasing hundreds of thousands of tiny, microscopic parts of herself and was scattering about everywhere... each piece was so small that neither friend nor foe would be able to see or sense them, yet each piece was filling Bara with information about the area, the people and using the intel gained from her comrades to act accordingly... it was as if she was going to prepare herself for practically anything at this point, using her Body Manipulation as an excellent tool.
 
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