FSE

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Korban made certain multiple times that he wasn't being followed before racing back to the R.V. There, he found Kieran waiting for him, the gray cat already in the process of tending to his wounds. The gray cat looked up when Korban rode his bike into the back of their mobile base, watching him dismount his vehicle before walking over and kicking one of the counters with an angered growl, making Kieran wince a little before he spoke up again.

"...Well, _that_could have gone way better." He commented slightly as he continued treating his wounds.

"We fucking _had_that!" Korban growled angrily, slamming his fist on the counter before turning and running his paws through his hair irritably. "I almost had _both_those phoenixes dead to rights, and then suddenly the fucking _Lightnings_show up?? HOW??" He demanded as he once again slammed his fist against the counter. "How did they catch on to us being there??"

"Well I mean... It _is_the Lightnings, man." Kieran pointed out. "They got some really fancy tech that outclasses anything we have currently. Maybe you triggered one of their silent alarms without even realizing it during the ride over to their place."

"Be that as it may, something else doesn't add up!" Korban exclaimed, pushing himself off of the counter and crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Those phoenixes _knew_I was on their trail! The way the blue one jumped me, it's like he knew I was tailing him and his bro ever since they left the city!"

"Boss, calm down!" Kieran finally exclaimed, putting down the swab he was using to disinfect his wounds and walking over to the enraged husky. "Look, there's no point in mulling about it. We can't change the past anymore than we can change who we are. We botched up this time, so we're just gonna have to be even more careful next time."

Korban scoffed angrily, pinching the bridge of his snout with his thumb and pointer finger as he sucked in a few deep breaths. "Fucking damnit..." He muttered softly, then looked to his partner and nodded once. "You got a point. No sense in getting all worked up about it... Let's just review what we know and come up with a new plan of attack." He said, lifting up his arm and activating his wrist terminal, pulling up the files on their targets for them both to study up once more.

"Alright... From what we gathered so far, it seems the phoenixes are getting some support from the Lightnings, so we can assume they're at least working together, if not allied with each other." Korban began. "As to how they knew they were in danger, let's assume they had the place rigged with silent alarms to warn them that they needed help or that an intruder was approaching, which means catching them on their own won't be as easy as we assumed."

"Right. If they got _one_place rigged, it's a safe bet to assume they all have their homes rigged with the Lightnings' early warning tech." Kieran concurred. "We're gonna have to try and bag these marks with even more discretion from now on, and in places where no one would think to look for them."

"Impossible. They know we're onto them now, and they're gonna change up their patterns to make it harder for us to catch them off guard." Korban pointed out. "We're gonna need to be even more creative with our antics..." He added, trailing off as he looked over Obsidian's profile in particular. "As crazy as it sounds, we're gonna have to go for the cop lady next."

"Dude, you know that's impossible. She'll sense us coming from a mile away." Kieran pointed out. "You forget, she's Psionic. She can read other people's minds without them even realizing it."

"Which is precisely why she needs to go." Korban remarked, looking back at his partner. "Those two phoenix brothers _knew_I was on their trail. She must've contacted them; tipped them off that we were following them to their place. It's the only way they could have prepared for my arrival the way they did."

"But... She was nowhere_near_ the area we scoped out." Kieran piped up, making Korban's ears twitch as he looked at him curiously. "Before I got to that Lighris dude's place, I took a stop at the dragon gal's home. She was just leaving her home when I arrived, and she was in uniform too. She was just starting her shift." Kieran explained.

"Well then, if _she_didn't tip them off, then how did they know I'd be at their place?" Korban asked irritably.

"Again. Maybe you tripped some sort of alarm system that the Lightnings had installed somewhere along the way." Kieran offered with a shrug. "We already kind of mentioned that."

"Okay fine." Korban remarked dismissively. "Regardless of the fact, we have to act faster than the Lightnings, or any more of their friends can react." He stated, then rubbed his chin in thought for a moment as an idea started to form in his head. "...That place we scoped out..." Korban remarked. "We know they use it as their base of operations, but in the end, it's still a bar for people to kick back and unwind after a long day..."

Kieran's ears perked up, then he started shaking his head quickly. "Oooh no. No no no, if you're scheming what I think you're scheming, then forget it. It'd be a suicide run to storm the place."

"No, I'm not saying we storm the place." Korban assured his partner, shooting him a smug grin. "Remember when I said we need to get more creative in our approach? Well..." He pointed at Kieran. "We're gonna use your portal magic to catch them off guard."

"Uh..." Kieran tilted his head in confusion. "How?"

"I'm gonna grab a sniper and lay low on a rooftop a block or two away from the bar." Korban explained. "When happy hour starts winding down, all I need you to do is open up a portal to somewhere that I can see into, line up my shots, then BAM!" Korban makes a finger gun gesture with his hand. "We pick off whoever's inside and thin their numbers at least, which will make targeting the rest of them easier down the road."

Kieran hummed a little in thought. "...It _could_work..." He mused. "But why during happy hour? Wouldn't that increase the risk of hurting innocent bystanders too?"

"That's why I'm saying we wait until it's near the end, when people start clearing out." Korban stated. "As the patrons are clearing out, the marks will move in and likely start discussing about the attack we started on them. We can catch 'em with their feet flat on the ground if we interrupt their little get together if we go through with this idea."

"I guess it's something..." Kieran relented with a shrug. "Alright then... Tomorrow evening we'll make our move. First, let's grab some grub and lick our wounds. I'm famished after a fight that intense."

"Hey, you barely got a scratch on you compared to me, _and_you arrived late to the party." Korban pointed out. "You ain't got no right to complain about that sorta shit."

"Well sorry, but not all_of us have superhuman durability and a healing factor that rivals fucking_Deadpool." Kieran retorted as the two of them headed back to the cabin of their RV to rest and refuel for their next attempt the following day.

~~~~~

Ordagova sensed Volcan and Vinge approaching before either of them entered the bar. Customers had cleared out long ago, leaving the place to the three of them. Volcan looked tired, and Vinge was supporting him as they stepped into the bar, the Fire Phoenix's arm draped over the slightly shorter Ice Phoenix's shoulder. Never had Ordagova seen Volcan look so exhausted; he barely seemed to be able to stay awake, and he seemed to be in some pain.

Ordagova quickly ran around to the other side of the bar to embrace the fire bird, wrapping his arms around him back below his wings and holding him close; making sure to avoid any sore spots with his telepathy. The snake rested his head over Volcan's shoulder and pulled the bird's over his. He knew he had almost lost him. A second later and he knew he wouldn't have been able to feel Volcan's head rest against his own scalie neck and shoulder.

"Orda..." Volcan said quietly, returning the embrace.

Vinge left the two alone, walking over to the window to peer out at the street. Even knowing Ordagova would sense any danger coming, the Ice Phoenix was being cautious.

Hearing his name, the snake pulled back to take another look at Volcan's golden face for just a moment before diving back in to connect with Volcan's beak, his eyes were clenched shut but the phoenix could see small streams roll between his scales, emanating from the corner of his eyes. Volcan might have been taken aback at another time, but it was not his first kiss with the snake, and he returns it, holding the snake a little tighter until his fatigue starts to get the better of him.

Forced to surrender to his fatigue, Volcan breaks the kiss and moves over to sit in a chair. He winced as he lowers himself into it, and when Ordagova moves to his side, he sees the injury on Volcan's back. He didn't need to ask how he received it, having already seen the cause in Volcan's memories, but Volcan didn't know how grotesque the wound appeared, unable to see it himself. Some of his fiery feathers had reformed, but the wound remained a twist of flesh resembling something akin to an acid burn.

He had flown all the way to Ayane's house, carrying his brother with that wound agitating him at every turn, exhausting himself and enduring terrible pain for the sake of his sibling.

Ordagova looked into Volcan's eyes, reading him before quickly leaving the two birds alone as he disappeared off behind the bar where the two could hear heavy footsteps upstairs before a clanging of metal.

After a few moments the footsteps came again, this time descending. The snake reared his head through the doorway as he placed a metal oven shelf, baking tray and a heavy ceramic pot on the bar counter, before he disappeared again, this time descending down into the basement. Vinge looked back from his spot by the window, and shared a curious glance with Volcan who only shrugged in reply, not sure what the snake was doing.

Remerging for a second time with two large bottles of rum he settled them down by Volcan before climbing on top of his bar to reach for the smoke detector, taking it off the ceiling and taking the batteries out.

Ordagova then laid out the wireframe of his oven's shelf on the table next to Volcan, placing the baking tray on top and then the ceramic pot on top of that. Unbottling one of the rums, he poured it into the ceramic so it filled half of it, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a matchbox, lighting a match and flicking it into the pot of overproof rum, quickly catching alight and producing a nice large flame.

"There... try feeding off that" the snake finally spoke, turning his attention back to Volcan.

Volcan, understanding Ordagova's actions now, complied. He held his hands over the flames as if to warm his fingers, but as he stared into the fire, it changed shape. The flames seem to grow, becoming taller, and flowing into his fingertips like they were drawn to something; drawn to him. He shut his eyes, letting out a relieved sigh as he absorbed the energy of the fire, letting it flow into him.

On his back, his skin lost its twisted deformity, and his feathers began to regrow rapidly, lighting up with their signature red colour. Volcan sat more at ease now, continuing to absorb the energy produced by the fire as it burned. He looked at Ordagova, nodding to him.

"Thank you. Just what I needed after that fight," he said.

"It doesn't appear they followed us," Vinge remarked, backing away from the window. "But I suspect they will come before long. I must contact the others if we're to put together our battle plan."

"You think they'll come tonight?" Volcan asked.

"I am not sure. They know we're on guard now, but that husky in particular seemed quite sure of himself," the Ice Phoenix answered.

"With good reason. He beat me without even trying," Volcan replied, shaking his head. "I thought the guns and sword would be enough to worry about - I didn't expect ice powers too. Some kind of metagene, probably."

"But thossse Lighningsss were easssily a match for them" Ordagova interrupted, "from what I can recall from both of you, neither ssseem to go down in your fight."

"They still owe us an explanation though as to how they knew you were in danger," Vinge added, crossing his arms. "But hopefully that will come with time."

Ordagova then looked over at Volcan with curiosity, having replayed the bird's memories in his own mind, "...you've ssseen her"

Volcan perked up at that. "Yes, I did. Blue Lightning - I didn't hear her actual name. She stepped out of her suit to treat Lighris."

"I know her name. I can now take a guessssss at who Red isss too." Ordagova hissed in realization, "it makesss ssso much sssenssse now."

Volcan put up his hand. "Don't tell me. Not yet anyway. I promised them I'd never reveal their identity to anyone, and I can't do that if I myself don't know it," he said. Then, he added guiltily. "But... I did let something else slip, and I owe you a deep apology, Ordagova."

He looked sorrowful at the snake, knowing he likely already knew about Volcan letting slip the fact the snake was telepathic in a moment of morale conflict. In his mind, the phoenix had thought it the only way to keep his own promise to the Lightnings, as he couldn't stop Ordagova from discovering their identity if they had accompanied him and Vinge to the Temple of Tikal.

"It isss ok." Ordagova reached down to place a hand on Volcan's shoulder, caressing it through the warm feathers, "They are perhapsss our greatessst ally right now, ssso you didn't want to betray their trussst."

Volcan's face lit up with relief, grateful that Ordagova wasn't upset with him. He grasped the snake's hand, holding it gently and meshing his fingers with Ordagova's.

Vinge spoke up then as he went to sit at the counter. "I have a plan as to how we might battle those Bounty Hunters, but we'll need Obsidian and Rikyuu here as well."

"Why them specifically?" Volcan asked.

"They will be ready for the Lightnings if they come after you, or us, again," Vinge explained. "We cannot rely on the same assets for the second engagement. You saw what that cat did to Blue Lightning's armour."

Volcan nodded. "I did," he admitted. "And I know how too. He was using magic. Never seen it myself but there's no mistake about that spell tome he was carrying. That cat was a mage."

"It is rare to see anyone using magic in this day and age," Vinge remarked. "But that is why I want Obsidian to be present. She can affect his ability to recite magic, and Rikyuu is more than a match for the husky. Though I suspect you will want to deal with that one yourself," he added, eyeing Volcan knowingly.

"Damn right. The fur ball shot my brother," Volcan returned spitefully. "If I could get those weapons out of his hands maybe I could even the playing field."

"You bessst not kill him." the snake withdrew his hands from Volcan to cross his arms, "you need all the leadsss you can get."

"I know... I won't kill him, but I'm definitely going to make him regret hurting Lighris," Volcan stated. "But bluster aside, we need to be sure we're ready when they make their move."

"Agreed," said Vinge. "Obsidian is likely on shift tonight, but we can get Rikyuu here in short order." He looked at Volcan first. "It's better you go to rest. I will stay up and keep watch tonight." He offered, and looked at Ordagova to see if he had anything to add.

"Asss much asss I don't want my bar to become the battleground, it ssseemsss it will be unavoidable." Ordagova sighed, "I jussst hope asss little asss possssssible getsss damaged."

"I'll try to bait them outside," offered Volcan. "If I can lure them out to the back alley, damage should be minimal."

"It'sss not that big out there" Ordagova reminded, turning to look at Volcan again "But yes, we ssshould get sssome ressst."

"Yeah... Yeah, that sounds good," said Volcan, nodding as he stood up. "You sure you'll be okay down here, Vinge?"

"I will be fine," the Ice Phoenix assured him as he took a seat by the window, keeping the curtains closed but the center open so that only he could see through them, but no one could see inside.

"You know where the locksss are." Ordagova reminded Vinge before he reached out for Volcan's hand, his long black fingers intertwining with Volcan's warm orange ones, and gently guiding him.

Volcan felt the snake gently tugging him to follow, and he went along, looking back once at Vinge before following Ordagova up the stairs to the upper apartment.

Upstairs they were alone again. Closing the door behind them in the dark apartment, Ordagova turned around to wrap his arms around Volcan again to embrace him, kissing his beak deeply and prying it open, having been lost without him, and would have been even more so if the night's events played out differently. Volcan accepted the kiss, putting his arms around the snake and holding him tightly as they kissed.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," Volcan whispered gently between kisses.

Ordagova became more forceful, kissing Volcan harder, showing his need for him, but not without his own words between the kissing, walking them both past the kitchenette and towards the bed. "I almost lossst you... I don't know what I would've done if I lossst you..."

"The danger isn't over yet," said Volcan, sighing. "But for the moment..." He said as he eased them both onto the bed. "Let's just enjoy the moment."

Volcan felt himself being pushed backwards by the snake on top of him needily. The snakes' eyes glow a little in the dark.

"I love you, Volcan."

Volcan had to swallow briefly to find his strength. "I love you too, Ordagova," he said as they neared again, parting their lips and meeting in the middle for another deep and passionate kiss. Volcan parted his wings and wrapped them around his lover, blanketing him in warmth and holding him close as they lay back on the bed.

~~~~~

The following evening...

Korban had arrived at his and Kieran's previous scoping spot along the roof across from the Temple of Tikal, the bounty hunter already unpacking the Steyr Scout sniper rifle he brought along from the trailer and putting it together piece by piece, while Kieran kept himself hidden in a separate alleyway that had a decent view of the interior, just enough to pick out their targets should they come into view.

"How's it looking in there?" Korban asked after he finished assembling his rifle, then began loading the magazine and sliding it into the mag slot, pulling the bolt back to chamber the first round.

"So far it's still fairly busy. Plenty of patrons are still lingering inside, but I've got a good view of the interior from where I'm stationed." Kieran answered. "Boss, you sure this is gonna work? They know we're onto them. What if they don't show up?"

"They will." Korban answered confidently. "It's only been a day since we last tangoed with 'em, and both the bros are likely still out of commission from the damage I put onto 'em. They'll converge in order to put together a plan to protect them while they're recovering, and in doing so will be ripe for the picking."

"I dunno man... Something tells me otherwise. What if this doesn't go according to plan?" Kieran asked cautiously.

"Then we'll go with Plan B." The husky answered, resting the rifle on a bipod along the ledge of the roof. "Just stay focused on Plan A for now. I'm already in position."

The message appeared across Red Lightning's display inside his helmet. _"Eyes on target. Confirm."_Coming from Volcan's cell phone number. It was sent out to multiple contacts, not directly intended for Red Lightning but he intercepted the message. Volcan of course probably already knew he was watching, as the mech-suited avian had revealed he'd tapped into their phones the night before.

A message marked 'Obsidian' came back shortly. "Confirmed. We're in position."

"Red Lightning. I know you're watching," a message came from Volcan. "Standby for now. Come down if it looks like we need you, but Vinge suspects these guys will be ready for you this time."

Volcan then received a text message back from an unknown foeign number. "In position. Ready when they engage. They will lose communication with each other. RL"

Volcan typed back a reply to the unknown number. "Understood."

Time passed, and the day slowly became night, with the sun setting behind the mountains to cast the city in shadow. One by one the patrons cleared out from the inside of the bar. Down below, from where he sat, Kieran could see inside the open windows of the bar, seeing the phoenix tucked away in the corner strumming an acoustic guitar. Aside from the few remaining patrons the only other one in the bar seemed to be the black scaled snakeman serving drinks at the counter, greeting patrons with a warm smile throughout the night.

Eventually, the last of the patrons left the bar. But, the plan was unable to proceed, for as soon as the last patron left, Volcan stood up from his seat and stepped out of sight. Kieran lost sight of him.

"Shit..." The cat growled irritably as he reached for his ear to raise his partner. "Boss, target's moved out of sight. I have no visual." He stated.

"Damnit. I guess we...wait a minute." Korban stated, pausing for a moment. "Something stinks... Is there anyone else there?"

"That's a negatory. Just the bartender saying his farewells to the last patron." Kieran answered.

After a brief pause Korban spoke up once more. "The plan's a bust. Portal back to the trailer. They know we're here."

"Wha-how do you know?" Kieran asked.

"I just know! Now move yer kiester!" Korban practically shouted back through the earpiece, sounds of him standing up and running to the nearest fire escape being heard from his end.

"Dammit all...!" Kieran muttered, turning around and waving his arms in a circle to create a portal back to the trailer. "Twice in a row... what are the odds?"

He then felt his head suddenly throb, as if he just suffered a massive migraine. Such pain in his head caused his focus to falter and the portal he was making fizzled out of existence. "_Gaaaahahahoww!!"_He exclaimed as he grasped his head in both paws.

"Kitty?" Korban's voice spoke, though it was crackly and full of white noise. "Kit... what's...??" Was all that was heard before the feed was completely cut off, no white noise or anything.

"They're not coming in," Volcan remarked from his hiding spot, looking at Ordagova. The snake knew what he was thinking; going out to meet them instead. He did not want them getting away.

"They were going to retreat. They believe it to be a trap." Ordagova said, reading Korban's mind up the street.

Volcan hastily typed a message. "Engage,"_he wrote. _"They're onto us - move to assigned targets."

"Moving in."

As Korban returned to ground level, he hurried to get to Kieran, hopefully before they were found. The backup plan was for them to rendezvous in the alley if anything went awry, and Korban was certain their targets were onto them...

He was nearly to the T-section of the alley where they were to meet, but just as he reached the corner, a figure leapt out and swung. Stars danced across Korban's vision and he fell back as a blue scaled fist struck him square between the eyes. He grunted and recoiled from the strike, falling onto his back before he popped back to his feet and drew both his pistols in his hands, taking aim and firing the second he had eyes on whoever nailed him in the schnoz.

The Dragon already had his other hand out, a wall of pink-coloured light shaped like a kite shield forming between him and Korban. The bullets struck the wall, harmlessly ricocheting off the barrier. Then, the light began to change form. "Nope, and nope!" The dragon stated as two constructs, shaped like massive pairs of tongs, seized the guns in Korban's hands and pulled them from his grasp, dropping them to the ground behind him and well out of Korban's reach. "None of that, pal."

Scoffing, he quickly jumped back and swung his shoulder so the rifle he had slung around his back swung along his arm, grasping it in his paw, taking aim just as he crouched and fired the chambered round all in a matter of a few seconds. The dragon hastily made another shield, once more deflecting the bullet and grinning when he saw Korban scowl.

"What's wrong? Not so tough without your toys, are ya?" He asked before he brought the energy around himself, making a suit of armour. With that, he ran at Korban, unhindered by the hard light encasing him.

Korban fired several times, but the dragon managed to close in, unharmed, and seized the rifle. The two of them struggled for control of the weapon, but the dragon was bigger and stronger, eventually wrenching the rifle from his grasp and casting it aside. As expected, Korban was halfway drawing his sword, when the armour flew off the dragon, and formed around his large blade, encasing it in hard light which yanked it from Korban's grasp, where it then floated in the air.

"Playing field's level now," said the dragon, grinning.

"Son of a bitch...!" Korban growled, quickly glancing at each of his sealed off weapons, then back at the dragon that disarmed him. "Well, at least you saved me the trouble of looking for you, ya blue shitstain..." He retorted spitefully.

"Oh I didn't mean level for me," the dragon returned, looking up. "All yours, big guy!"

From above, another winged form dropped toward Korban. Cast in shadow he couldn't immediately see who it was... But the yellow glow around their eyes and the flame coating their right fist gave him a pretty good clue.

"Fuck MEEE!!" He hollered as he quickly dove to the side, avoiding the falling phoenix by the skin of his teeth. He tumbled into a roll and jumped into the air, quickly flipping twice before landing a fair distance away from the fire phoenix.

"Well shite... so you're all healed up already, eh?" He asked as Volcan stood tall again. "Out of all the things mentioned in yer log, accelerated healing wasn't one of 'em..."

"It isn't, but my kind has their ways," Volcan retorted as he adjusted his posture. "And this time, the fight is even!" He said before he thrust his palm forward, unleashing a gout of fire from his outstretched hand, aimed for the husky.

Korban quickly jumped over to the nearby wall, running along its surface to avoid the flames before he kicked off, spinning artfully as he did. He swung his arms as he spun, launching a few ice blasts of his own back at Volcan in retaliation before he landed, holding one hand out and firing another ice blast from his palm immediately afterward. Volcan threw out his arm, and a wall of fire formed between him and the flying ice projectiles, melting and evaporating them from the intense heat.

Up the alley, Kieran stepped out into view, looking for his partner. The glow of the fire caught his attention, and he saw the ensuing fight between them. He started to run toward them, but he barely made it three steps before he heard a crackle, and an ice spice fell into his path, making him recoil in fright. The spike then shattered, and the many spikes seemed to expand as more ice formed around them, creating a wall and blocking his path.

"What the... What the hell boss??" Kieran exclaimed as he jumped back from the ice wall before him, confused as to why his partner would bar him from the fight. "Dammit man, this ain't the time to get greedy!"

But as Kieran stared at the ice, he heard a sound that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. The unmistakable sound of a sword being drawn from its scabbard. He spun around, and there stood the white phoenix from before, and beside him the amethyst scaled dragoness he'd seen the other day, as well as read about in the files.

"Your fight will be with_me_, cat," the ice phoenix said in a tone as cold as his element, holding up the sword in a salute as his eyes glowed, looking past either side of the blade and with a glare that could have stopped a lesser man's heart.

"...Aw jeez." Kieran muttered, feeling his spine tingle in discomfort, quickly reaching behind him to draw his own sword in his right hand, and his revolver in his left, flicking the safety off and clicking the hammer back. He then glanced at Obsidian next to Vinge and sneered slightly. "I take it you're the one that gave me that splitting headache earlier."

The dragoness didn't reply, one hand on her own pistol holstered at her side but the other raised in a defensive posture. Kieran looked between them, wondering who to aim at first, but the moment he leveled his revolver and tried to fire, a blurry object dropped in front of him, and the revolver jammed. Looking at it, he saw a chunked of ice, cracked, wedged between the hammer and the bullet.

Even as his mind reeled at the seemingly impossible action, the ice phoenix lunged at him, forcing him to drop his revolver as the avian's sword thrust at him and parried with his sword. His parry was clumsy at best, stumbling back from the first of the thrust, and retaliating with a wide swing to the ice phoenix's left. Their blades met and Kieran held him in a deadlock, quickly reaching into his jacket with his offhand to pull out a tome in order to cast a spell and even the playing field.

But as soon as he tried to think of a spell, his head throbbed, disrupting his focus and throwing him off balance as the ice phoenix pushed him back, nearly sending him falling onto his backside. He saw Obsidian's hand was raised, and her eyes were focused on him, making his mind foggy when he tried to think of magic.

"No guns," the ice phoenix said. "No magic, no powers hence. Just you, me, and cold steel." He flourished the sword, and returned to his combat stance. "You face me as one warrior to another."

"Tch... can't face me one on one, so you had to resort to bringing a second, eh?" Kieran spat back as he got back to his feet, tossing his tome to the side and gripping his sword in both hands.

"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win," Vinge stated, before he lunged again and struck with his fencer's blade.

This time, Kieran's parry was more precise than before, now fully expecting the attack and countering by pushing the blade upward, then twisting the sword for a pommel strike for his forehead. The ice phoenix sharply pirouetted away, avoiding the pommel strike before lacking out with his foot to kick at Kieran's head.

The cat's head snapped back from the kick, grunting and staggering backward a few steps before recovering. "Dammit..." He growled as he held his sword at the ready again. In terms of swordsmanship, his own skills were lacking compared to his partner's, and with such lousy skills up against someone who quite literally mastered his own art, his chances of winning this fight were practically nonexistent without the aid of his other weapons.

"...You played us like fiddles." He suddenly stated, unable to hide the smirk crossing his features. "Guess you really are a living, breathing frozen Batman, as my boss calls ya."

"I am merely a student of the art of war," the ice phoenix returned, saying nothing else as he and the cat returned to their duel.

~~~~~

Above the alley, Red Lightning watched the ongoing fight from afar. Volcan seemed to be evenly matched with the husky now, with the hunter deprived of his weapons and forced to face Volcan on his own terms. Meanwhile, the cat was hopelessly outmatched against Vinge - one who had dedicated his life to the art of combat, while his opponent was a student of both magic and martial skill. He felt somewhat disappointed that he couldn't see the spellwork himself, unable to deny he was curious...

But something else caught his attention. As luck would have it, Red Lightning was not the only spectator to the ongoing fight. On a rooftop overlooking the alley, he spotted a lone figure, dressed in a hooded trench coat standing alone, simply watching the ongoing battle.

"Avelyn. Someone is on the roof above the husky's fight. I don't recognise them." Avory relayed to his sister.

"Whose side do they seem to be on?" She asked back.

Avory paused, adjusting his position high up in the sky, shifting to his front to get a better look, "I can't tell... they are in a cloak, and are just watching"

"A civilian?" Avelyn asked.

"If it wasn't for the 'mysterious figure' cloak he's wearing, I would assume so." Avory said as he began his descent behind the figure, landing as quietly as possible at the other end of the rooftop, before walking up behind him.

"Wow!~ Birds, cats, dogs and dragons. They are amazing, am I right?" Avory called out to the figure, using his Red Lightning suit's synthetic voice.

The man whirled around. Avory barely saw the weapon in his hand before it fired, and a bullet ricocheted off his helmet, echoing loudly inside. The displays indicated the armour had been damaged severely by that single bullet - an armour piercing round, most likely. Furthermore, the caliber matched a .44 magnum revolver.

The figure backed away, firing again, this time the bullet striking Avory in the chestplate, throwing him somewhat off balance as the figure retreated.

"Fuck! I HATE FUCKING GUNS!" Avory screamed to himself regaining his balance and looking where his attacker disappeared to, "You've gone and ruined my new suit!"

Without a moment longer, Red Lightning charged in the direction he saw the figure disappear in pursuit. He saw the coat trails of the figure going over the side of the roof, but as he approached the spot where they went over, a metallic cylinder flew up over the edge, landing on the rooftop. Too late, Avory's armour analyzed the object, but he had no time to react; there was no explosion, only a dull electronic warble, followed by his displays flickering and his suit malfunctioning.

Fortunately the shield around the internal circuitry had done its job and his suit didn't shut down but for a few seconds he was vulnerable. The man appeared over the edge of the roof again, and fired his weapon a third time, this bullet striking his chest again and sending the off-balance Red Lightning falling over.

"I said I hate guns!" Avory screamed through his suits' comms, trying to get back up and drawing his katana.

"Don't take another bullet! Your chest plate can't hold it!" Avelyn called over as a blue armour rushed up behind the figure from the distance, silently, going faster than sound.

The man made no reply to Red Lightning's remark. His expression remained stoic, and his eyes fixed on his opponent. He held his revolver in position to fire at him again but seemed to be considering his options at that moment, possibly doubting his weapon's capability to finish the job. His face was visible - he was human, caucasian male with black hair and blue eyes. He had the look of a hardened killer, regarding Red Lightning with no remorse evident on his rather pale features.

Avory grinned under his Red Lightning helmet, "See you in hell, skinbag."

With no time for the figure to react he was collected from behind by an almighty force as Blue Lightning barrages into him at sonic speed, taking him across rooftops, only to find a brick wall of a slightly taller building in their path that they break through and into.

A couple screamed as their evening had been interrupted by a large blue metal figure standing over the huge hole in the wall they came though, and a black cloaked figure pressed flush against the wall on the other side. Before hitting the wall, the cloaked man had put up his left arm to take the impact, and somehow the arm had not broken. He then snapped back with that same arm with an elbow strike, which Blue Lightning hadn't expected to do anything until it hit with an unmistakable sound of metal hitting metal, slightly dulled by the sleeve of his coat.

"Wow, the old man has had an elbow replacement" Blue Lightning commented as she parried his hit with one arm and then discharged her blaster on the other, not wanting to miss a beat as discovered by her brother.

A huge burst of electricity arched from her hand toward the figure and engulfed him in high voltage sparks. The figure grunted and staggered, gritting his teeth, but he didn't fall, much to her surprise. This time, when he struck with his arm, he landed a punch that felt like she had just taken a hit from a sledgehammer in full swing; even through her armour, she felt the hit, and it sent her flying off her feet.

In her place, and emerging from the hole behind her the bullet riddled suit of the Red Lightning reappeared, landing between his partner and target, only to go immediately into a lunge and a punch, using the momentum from his flight, connecting with the head. The man recoiled and fell into the wall, his jaw hanging slack, yet despite that he turned on the armoured avian again to fire another shot from his magnum, this shot striking his chest again, but with his other hand, he reached into his cloak and took out another metal cylinder - another grenade.

Red lightning winced as another shot struck his chest at close range, but was ready for it, quickly seeing the grenade and grabbing his arm with a titanic grip holding the weapon between them. The man tried to wrench his arm free of Red Lightning's grip, the mechanical strength of the limb nearly pulling him off his feet.

Blue Lightning quickly got up and lunged towards the two screaming beavers watching the fight unfold in their apartment, pushing them onto the floor and covering them with her armoured wings. In the midst of their struggle, the grenade fell to the floor, but didn't detonate - the pin was still lodged in place.

The human put his revolver point blank to Red Lightning's helmet this time, but his shot was thrown off by another sharp turn - though the gunshot still rang out by the left side of his head.

In a fit of rage, Red Lightning grabbed the fleshy human arm with his free hand and held it with an iron grip with each pressure to snap the bones in arm and wrist, twisting them back and in ways a human body shouldn't move causing the assailant to lose all feeling in his hand, dropping the gun to the floor. The human's face contorted with pain, biting back the scream he was holding, before he seized Red Lightning's head with his other hand, and began to squeeze.

In the act of grabbing him, the sleeve of the man's coat had slid back, revealing his arm. The arm was a completely cybernetic limb, lacking any sign of the original arm it had likely replaced. With the strength of a machine in his hand, the assassin kept squeezing, attempting to crush the helmet and the head inside of it.

"Suit integrity failing. Warning. Suit integrity failing. Warning. Suit-" Avory could hear in his ears over the sound of contorting metal bending around his head, getting close enough to begin to pinch his skull.

With only one thing on his mind he let go of his arms to grapple onto his sides and thrusted up and around in a single motion towards the large gaping hole in side of the building, thrusting harder downward and continuing his body onto his side in a suplex motion, sending the figure over the edge and down into the alleyway below, ripping away part of Red Lightning's mask and helmet with him.

The man tumbled out, his bionic arm and two legs flailing as he fell. He threw away the chunk of Red Lightning's helmet he held, looking at the street rushing up to meet him. He landed with his arm first, causing the asphalt to crack as his fist drove into it, but the act had successfully absorbed the impact of his fall. Shaking off the jolt, he turned and ran up the street, his broken right arm held tight to his chest as he disappeared into the nearest alley.

~~~~~

The fight between Volcan and Korban carried on. Volcan proved a more formidable opponent than he had when he and Korban had first met; Korban had caught him off guard with his powers before, but now Volcan knew he had them and was on his guard this time. Deprived of his weapons, it was raw fighting skill against brute strength, with Korban's only remaining advantage being his apparently better combat experience.

Despite that though, the phoenix was pissed, his flames seeming to grow hotter the angrier he became. Distance combat was no longer an option for him, as any ice attack he launched just melted long before it would reach him, and getting in close put him at risk of getting burned to a crisp or socked heavily by the phoenix's superhuman strength. He was quickly getting backed into a corner, and without his weapons or his partner to back him up, he had all but run out of options against his opponent.

As Korban backed off, Volcan began speaking. "Who sent you after us?" He demanded. "You said before it was business - Was it P.A.C.E who sent you?!"

At that, the husky shrugged. "Even if I did know, I'm not exactly at liberty to tell you who my client is. Client Confidentiality and all that." He responded with a smartass smirk. "You want that info, yer gonna have to pry it out of my cold, dead carcass... assuming you even _can_kill me."

"Don't_tempt me!"_ The phoenix hollered as he lunged at him again, swinging his fist mightily.

Korban quickly ducked under the attack, then weaved to the side and gave a left hook to the phoenix's flank, followed by a right uppercut to his jaw, then jumped back and ended with a spinning roundhouse kick aimed right at the phoenix's face. All three strikes landed. Both of his fists and the tip of his foot were hot from touching the phoenix, but the strikes had caused clear damage. Fortunately he wasn't burning from making contact with him.

Volcan rubbed his chin where he'd been punched, then shook his head to clear it before rounding on the husky again. "They'll betray you," he stated firmly. "P.A.C.E hunts people like us - like you _and_me, and your partner. Do you think for a moment they intend to pay you even if you succeed? They don't care if we kill each other here - either way will suit them just fine."

At that, Korban's ear flicked a couple of times and his smirk faded somewhat, staring intently at Volcan for a few short moments before shaking his head. "I mean, they gave me a pretty sizable downpayment to take you and your pals out. Besides, anyone who's done business with me knows not to fuckin' double cross me..." He replied as he covered his fists in a layer of ice, adopting his fighting stance again. "Now, we gonna just stand around and talk, or we gonna keep on dancing? Throw anything you want at me bud, I can do this shit all day."

"Think for a moment, dammit!" Volcan cursed, but lifted his fists. "You don't know the kind of people you're getting yourself involved with! They have hunted our kind for years, studying them, dissecting like frogs in a high school lab! The technology they've developed will nullify even your powers, and then you'll be as helpless as a puppy before them, when they come to add you to their research subjects!"

Something seemed to trigger Korban the second Volcan finished his statement. His snarky attitude suddenly became more aggressive as he threw his arms out and fired three ice shots from his paws, then jumped and slammed his fist into the ground to create a wave of ice spikes that rushed toward his opponent quickly. Volcan threw his arms up and created another wall of fire to counter the attack, vaporizing the ice before it could become a threat to him, however, the husky suddenly shot through the flames regardless of the damage he would have suffered, spinning once and delivering another heavy roundhouse kick right for Volcan's head.

Volcan went down, stars dancing across his eyes as he fell. He scrambled to get up, managing to roll into an upright posture, when Korban fell upon him again. In that split second, the phoenix could see the desperate rage in his eyes, almost as if he were fighting someone else entirely at that moment...

But then something else caught Korban's eye as he stood poised over Volcan. Before them, a wall of ice separated Korban from the rest of the alley, having melted somewhat in the heat of his fight with Volcan. Through the ice, he saw Kieran, engaged by the ice phoenix in a sword duel. The cat's revolver lay on the ground, useless. One of his spell tomes lay discarded not far from it - he had been robbed of his advantages, and forced to fight on another's terms as Korban had; a fight that the cat was visibly losing, his every attempt at a counter attack foiled by the ice phoenix was clearly better trained and more experienced fighting with a blade, deftly partrying and stepping around Kieran. By now, the cat had multiple cuts in his coat, some visibly stained with blood.

"...God fucking damnit, I can't leave you alone for five minutes..." Korban growled, quickly looking back and forth between Volcan and his partner. He could end him right then and there, but by the time he finished off his target, his partner would most likely be dead, or close to death. He let out an audible groan before he glared back down at the fire phoenix. "...Once again, you got fucking lucky." He stated before he socked Volcan square in the face with his hand, leaving behind quite the shiner on his face and stunning him long enough so that he could rush off to assist his partner.

He leapt over the wall, and made a dash toward the ice phoenix. But just as his feet left the ground in his sprint, an unseen force suddenly seized him, and he stopped dead in his tracks so abruptly his brain was jostled in his skull, making him dizzy for a second.

'Luck had nothing to do with it,' a feminine voice spoke in his mind as the purple dragoness stepped into view. "They were ready for you this time," she spoke aloud before he was suddenly sent hurtling into the wall, pinned against it by her psionic power.

Korban grunted as he was slammed against the wall, trying to will his body to wrench free from the invisible grasp Obsidian had on him, but nothing he did bore any fruit. He was trapped. Slowly he peeked his eyes open to glare back at the purple dragoness holding him in place, scoffing angrily down at her.

"...That all you got, bitch?" He growled spitefully. "You hit like a little girl."

"If I actually wanted to hurt you, I could, but right now you have answers we want," she then hardened her gaze, and Korban felt a tingle running through his brain. "Now sleep."

Those were the last words he heard before he began to lose consciousness, unable to keep his eyes open.

Kieran saw the dragoness put his partner to sleep, and in an act of desperation, he broke from the deadlock he had with Vinge and swung his leg out to make him retreat, granting the cat precious seconds to turn and make a grab for his revolver. But as soon as he grasped the handle, a blue clawed foot pressed down on the gun, stopping him from drawing it.

"Oh no ya don't," the blue dragon said casually before his fist connected with Kieran's jaw in a swift, sharp uppercut. He recoiled from the strike, actually dropping his sword as he was sent onto his back, groaning and rubbing his chin as he lay there in a daze.

"It is over," came the cold voice of the ice phoenix, looking over the barely conscious cat, sheathing his own sword as he spoke. "You will tell us everything, whether you want to or not."

Then came the dragoness. With a wave of her hand, Kieran felt the same tingle buzz through his mind before his vision darkened, and he joined his employer in unconsciousness...

~~~~~

The group made sure the street was empty before carrying the two unconscious bounty hunters over to the bar. They put the two into chairs, and Obsidian stayed behind to keep an eye on them while Volcan, Rikyuu and Vinge flew up to the rooftops to check on their metal-clad allies who had yet to make an appearance. It took a while, but they did eventually emerge from the sky.

Blue Lightning appeared to be perfectly fine aside from a mile dent in the chestplate, whilst Red Lightning was riddled with bullet holes across his chest and half of his helmet missing. Below, the occupant wore a long veil of black fabric over his head and beak to hide his identity, with only the yellow irises on display and a bridge of black feathers between them and an outline of red could be seen between the eyes. The two partners landed on the building facing the three males.

Volcan saw the damage to Red Lightning's helmet, shocked by the carnage. "Geez! What the hell happened to you?" He asked.

Red Lightning's voice was dull and unamused. With half of his helmet gone he couldn't mask his voice fully so the team heard a British accent coming from the individual.

"There was a third. He had a bionic arm which ripped my helmet off before he got away."

Volcan, Rikyuu and Vinge exchanged glances, surprised by the news. Vinge seemed especially bothered for some reason, his brow furrowing to express his displeasure. Rikyuu stepped forward, looking at the helmet with a grimace.

"Yikes... It's like he went after you with a can opener," he said. "Is your head okay?"

"I'm sore. But he was gone before it came off" the avian stated. "Did any of you know of a third individual?"

"Not a thing. Nobody jumped in on the fight, and we didn't see anyone else when those two first attacked us," Volcan replied. "We'll have to add it to our list of questions for them. We managed to subdue them both, and now they're down there." He pointed back toward the bar. "In the care of some friends."

"Then let's not waste time chit-chatting up here like a bunch of tossers, when someone could be watching us" Red Lightning hurried.

"Agreed," said Vinge. "We need answers."

With that, Vinge led the way back down to the bar, followed by Volcan, Rikyuu and the Lightnings. They approached the front door, the ice phoenix looking both ways up the street to make sure they were not being watched. Inside, they find Obsidian and Ordagova standing on either side of the pair of bounty hunters, watching them and only looking up when the five walk in.

"They still out?" Volcan asked.

"They will be, as long as I keep them that way," replied Obsidian.

"So you're Ordagova?" Red Lightning asked the snake man, trying to determine who he was warned about.

The snake nodded, "You are right. And yesss; I know who you are."

"Right. Keep it to yourself, please." he pleaded as he and Blue Lightning moved behind the two psychics to view their two captives.

"Do we have anything to restrain them with?" Vinge asked. "A rope, or...?"

"You didn't think of that?" Red Lightning then spoke up, already pissed off and now wondering the competence of the team he had partnered up with.

The two Lightnings then reached for their reinforced ties and went back around to restrain the two mammals's wrists behind their chair, tying them to the chair, and restraining their ankles. Red Lightning removed the canine's wrist device in this process to inspect.

"The idea is a little _new_to us," said Volcan, defensively.

"And I didn't bring my police gear, like my cuffs," Obsidian added. Then, she gestured to the table beside her. "We have all of their stuff here."

They had gathered and assembled all of the equipment carried by the two. For the belongings of the husky, two custom-made pistols with designs similar to Desert Eagle handguns, with painted frames - one was black and red, the other black and blue. Somewhat resonating to the twins inside the armours. There was also the large sword, which was lying on the floor instead of the table as there was no room for it.

For the cat, a collection of books, each one with runic writing filling the pages - nothing which any of them could read. For his weapons, a short sword - fresh with new notches in the steel from his duel with Vinge, and a revolver that, like the Husky's guns, appeared to be custom built. Their coats hung over the backs of the chairs, neither of the two wearing shirts.

"They have some weird stuff here," said Rikyuu.

"I had to carry the sword telekinetically," said Obsidian.

"Why?" Volcan asked. "Too heavy?"

"Extremely. It weighed as much as a whole trunk of gold - I couldn't even move it," she said. "It almost felt like... Like it was resisting me. I can't explain it."

"What's this thing?" Rikyuu asked, picking up a strange, cylindrical device from within the collection. It had a single button on the side, with a light on top. It somewhat resembled a flashlight.

Without really considering it, Blue Lightning had scanned the object, fairly sure it was just a flashlight... Until a warning flashed in her heads up display. _"Explosive detected,"_it read.

"Err... Red?" Blue Lightning said nervously, taking the device carefully from Rikyuu's hand and signaling her partner.

"What?" Red Lightning asked, walking over, feeling his phone receive a message inside his suit, so undoes it to reach inside his chest plate to pull it out and read. It was a secret message from Blue detailing the scan. His eyes went wide for a second, before he took stock of the situation, and quietly unscrewed the device, taking note of the content and disconnecting the wiring very precisely with full concentration. "That was a close one... there's an emitter and receiver here, but seem inactive until the button is pressed... but why?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Blue Lightning responded, an audible sigh in their synthetic voice.

"Uh... What're you two talking about?" Volcan asked, not sure what the pair had been doing. "What was that thing?"

"Some sort of multiple-input bomb" Red Lightning announced, "a very basic transmitter-reciver system attached to some semtex."

"A bomb?!" Volcan and Obsidian asked in unison, both of them and Rikyuu taking a step back out of reflex.

"Semtex... That's a military-grade pliable explosive, is it not?" Vinge asked.

"It is. Very lightweight, very high explosive yield. As soon as it receives the right electrical charge, it will detonate." he confirmed, "I've disabled it now, so it won't go off. I can only imagine this would be for some sort of last resort to take you guys out."

"Or," said Vinge, looking at the husky and cat, still asleep. "To take_them_out when the job was done."

Volcan scoffed. "I told him so... This has P.A.C.E written all over it."

"If this is to take them out when the job is done, why would it require the user to press the button to activate the transmitter and receiver?" Red Lightning asks

"You just said so," replied Vinge. "When the task was finished, he would press the button to transmit the signal. Then, once it's received, the computer monitoring sends the signal back, commanding the Semtex to detonate, eliminating whoever is holding the device," he pantomimed the action, pretending to be holding the cylinder and pressing an imaginary button. "It explodes in their hand, killing them and anyone else standing nearby."

Red Lightning cocked his eyebrow under his wrap at Vinge's somewhat-wild guess, "So you're saying they are willingly going to blow themselves up at the end of the mission, or they are misinformed of what this device actually does?"

"The latter," replied Vinge. "It stands to reason they didn't know the Semtex was actually inside the device. It was probably given to them by whoever hired them, so that it would send the location to P.A.C.E, then detonate to kill the bounty hunters."

"Exactly as I figured they would," Volcan put in. "P.A.C.E hunts down and captures or murders people like us, and like these two." He gestured to the hunters. "I doubt they'd make an exception just because they hired them."

Vinge looked at Volcan. "Should we call the others here?"

"If we brought Lighris here now, he'd probably fry both of these guys before any of us could stop him," Volcan replied. "And we still need answers." He looked at Obsidian. "Wake them up."

She nodded, and looked at the two, her eyes narrowing as she focused on them intently...

Suddenly both the cat and husky jerked awake, their restraints immediately going tight when they tried to move. They struggled and pulled at their restraints for a small moment, though when they saw the other beings surrounding them, they stopped and looked at each one quickly, only just now remembering what had happened earlier on.

"...Oh fuck me twice on a barbed pole..." Korban groaned, rolling his eyes a bit.

Obsidian arched an eyebrow at the choice of words, casting a look at Volcan, but the phoenix didn't react either. He was straight to the point.

"Alright," he began. "You two owe us some answers."

"You're gonna have to work for 'em, flamebrain..." the husky retorted, giving him a bit of a snarl afterward. "Like I told you, Client Confidentiality. Even if I knew anything, I'm not at liberty to tell you schmucks anything. So just smoke us and save us the trouble." He added defiantly.

"Perhaps this will change your mind," said Volcan, looking at Red Lightning. "Show him."

With that, the mech-suited avian stepped forward - who Korban saw immediately how mangled his helmet was, part of it missing to reveal one amber eye staring back at him. But it was what was in the mech-suited individual's hand that caught his attention, knowing it from his own pocket.

The husky growled angrily. "So you went and pilfered through my shit huh?" He spat. "Didn't yer mommy tell you it's not nice to steal what isn't yours?"

"I need to have some words with you about that..." Red Lightning scowled as he opened up the side of the device to show a white, plastic-like substance, "either you were gonna use this as a last resort, or your clients didn't tell you exactly what this was?"

Korban and Kieran both looked closely at the plastic within the device, only taking a second for either of them to realize what it was, their eyes widening in shock. "...Semtex?" Korban asked suddenly.

"I fucking _knew_it!" Kieran shouted angrily. "I _told_you there was more to this than we were told about! That fuckwad never intended to pay us in the first place!"

Korban's shock started to turn into a deep seated anger as he lowered his head slightly, his paws clenching tightly and shaking so hard that the chair itself was rattling. Seeing the outraged expression on the husky's face, Volcan bit back the words he wanted to say aloud - that he had warned Korban about it before... But he decided that would be rubbing salt in an already open wound now.

But Red Lightning didn't miss a beat, commenting, "Sounds like you should have listened to your boyfriend."

At that, the deep seated rage Volcan saw within Korban from their earlier fight returned. He shot a hateful glare at Red Lightning and started violently struggling against his zip ties.

"Whoa hey!! Boss chill, he's provoking you!" Kieran shouted, trying to steady himself so that they didn't topple over. "Calm down and hear them out for a second!"

"Genuinely thought you were with your matching outfits." Red Lightning dismissed Korban's mini fit.

Korban kept up his struggles a little while longer before he eventually stopped, taking a moment to calm down, then shot a leer back at Red Lightning. "Big talk for someone dressed in a tin can suit of armour..." He retorted spitefully. "Why don't you strip down and we'll take this outside. See how tough you really are without all that protection..."

"Pffft... I know I am not tough. But I know I'm tough up here" he gestured to his head, "And it's tougher than yours. Otherwise I would be living out of a caravan like you."

"...Yea, remember when I said it's not nice to steal what doesn't belong to you...?" Korban seethed, leaning forward as far as he could toward the red armoured individual. "Cmon. Outta the suit. Let's go a few rounds, Mano e mano..."

"Look, just pack it in. You know we're not letting you go." Red insisted, finding a stool by the bar counter to sit on as it looked like it was going to be a long night.

"That's fine. I got _plenty_of time to kill." Korban retorted, leaning back in his seat once more. "Besides, if you know so much about me, then you already have the files on hand. Work your techno magic and find out for yourselves who my client is. I don't care either way." He added, glancing at the phoenixes. "I've got no reason to keep hunting you guys, now that I've been double crossed."

"If we're _quite_finished," Obsidian stated, looking at Red Lightning in particular with disapproval for his provocative words. She then turned her attention to Korban. "First question. Did you two have another partner waiting to back you up?" She asked.

At that, it was Kieran who answered in Korban's stead, looking at his partner first beforehand. "It was just the two of us." He answered. "Why, who else did you see?"

She looked at Blue Lightning, waiting for her to recount since she hadn't told Obsidian any details about the third assailant yet.

"A human with a robotic hand," Blue Lightning recounted through her synthetic voice, "He was watching your fights before we approached him. He proceeded to shoot us and use explosives."

Korban's brow furrowed angrily at that description. "Of course... Devilshade." He muttered. "Just the kind of tactic he'd use."

Obsidian's eyes seemed to light up at the name. "Wait... Devilshade? The assassin?" She asked.

"Do you know of him?" Volcan asked.

"Not a cop in North America doesn't - he's been on law enforcement's most wanted list for years," she said. "He's a killer for hire, notorious for using explosives. There's never been a clear picture of him, and it's the first time I've heard of him having a bionic arm. Honestly, case files on him are... Sparse. We don't even have suspects as to his true identity."

"I can get you a clear picture after this. He got very close to me, he'll show up well on my suit cameras." Red Lightning promised.

"So he was not working with you two then?" Vinge asked.

"Hah! Far from it." Korban remarked. "He was our competition; our 'motivation' to get to you guys first, as my client put it." He added before sneering slightly. "He knew what he was doing... he wasn't in any rush to beat us to it. He waited until either one of us kicked it first, then he'd finish off whoever was left..."

Volcan scoffed. "No honour anywhere here," he said. "Well, since it seems they did intend to kill you after all, you may as well tell us." He leaned closer. "Who hired you? Give us a name."

Korban sighed, realizing there was no point in hiding what they knew any longer - especially knowing they could pry the information from him with a telepath present. They were giving him the chance to cooperate of his own volition, and as luck would have it, he no longer had a client he cared to protect. He looked at Volcan square in the eyes before he spoke.

"Gabriel Rex."

The seven anthros exchanged looks. No one showed any recognition of the name - beyond the surname of 'Rex'. Korban caught on to their quizzical looks, but said nothing until he was spoken to.

"Gabriel?" Rikyuu echoed. "Not _Jacob_Rex?" He asked.

"That's the name the Fuck Witt told me when I went to meet him." Korban answered casually. "I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and guess that this Jacob guy is a relative of sorts?"

"News to us if he is," said Volcan, arching a brow.

"And still the plot thickens," said Obsidian, crossing her arms.

"If it gets much thicker we'll be able to cut it with a knife," Rikyuu added, rubbing the back of his neck.

Volcan considered the news they were given for a time, then looked at Vinge. "Cut their bonds," he said.

Everyone looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "What?!" Rikyuu demanded.

"You're letting them go?!" Obsidian added.

"We have no reason to hold them," said Volcan.

"They tried to kill you!" Obsidian argued. "They nearly _did_kill you!"

"And I do not exist," Volcan pointedly reminded her. "If you brought them in, what would happen? You'd have to explain they attempted to assault someone, right? But I can't set foot in the police station to give a statement, without which, they'd be released anyway, wouldn't they?"

Obsidian opened her mouth to answer, but paused. She stood in silence for a moment before letting out a groan. "Here we go again... So, you want me to erase their memories then?"

That suggestion made both Korban and Kieran tense. The cat opened his mouth to protest, but Korban quickly interjected before he could get a single word out. "You don't gotta do that." He said quickly. "I don't stand to gain anything from revealing who you guys are to the world."

He then smirked slightly. "Besides... I've got something in common with all of you myself."

"Boss, don't..." Kieran hissed.

"And what would that be?" Vinge asked instead of Volcan, eyeing the husky with some skepticism.

"Like you two." He gestured to Vinge and Volcan with his head. "I'm technically not supposed to exist."

"You're a metagene - we already figured that out," said Vinge.

But Korban only chuckled at that. "Oh I'm _more_than just a metagene, Frosty." He added with a smug grin. "Like I always tell my clients... I ain't exactly what you'd call 'Mortal.'"

Again the seven stood in silence, considering the husky's words. Vinge remained ever stoic, not having any reaction to the statement. "Regardless," he began. "Volcan. I do not believe it is your decision alone to release them."

"Why not?" Volcan asked.

"Because it was likely not just you they were after," replied Vinge, looking at Ordagova this time. He knew the snake had certainly already searched their minds and pried the information regarding not just Volcan's bounty, but everyone else the two might have been after.

"They were after everyone here, apart from myssself. They were alssso after our friendsss not presssent. The lissst isss long." he then turned his attention to the two Lightnings, "Gabriel Rex even put a bounty on your two headsss."

"Seriously? He must be harbouring Achtbeinig if a hit was put out on us. We were so close to finding him before." Red Lightning spoke to himself.

"Whatever the reason," said Vinge. "This is a decision all of us must make, whether or not to let these bounty hunters go." He looked at Korban as he spoke. "To decide whether or not they might be a threat to us again."

"They said they wouldn't come after us again," Volcan offered.

"Unless another client approaches them, perhaps," replied Vinge, not taking his eyes off the two.

Volcan looked at the Lightnings, wondering what they thought.

"Until a few moments ago, I didn't even know mind wiping was an option. That could be handy," Red Lightning commented before turning to Blue Lightning, "Give us a moment..."

He said before the two discussed their choices between themselves, moving aside and reverting to close circuit communications while the others made their own decisions.

"I think they could be of help to us," Rikyuu offered. "They know what P.A.C.E is about now. Maybe they could fight on our side."

"I don't like the idea of letting them go," said Obsidian. "Not after what they were planning to do." She then looked at Korban in particular, holding onto his confident expression even as she glared at him.

"Well it's just as Flamie said. You wouldn't have any solid proof on you without exposing who he is, so either way I'd walk free." He commented. "Sorry toots. Dem's the breaks."

Her expression turned to a glare as Korban felt a painful throb in his head. "You don't get to call me'toots', understand?" She growled, reminding Korban that she could easily cause damage even _he_couldn't heal from.

He grunted from the throbbing, though he still held his smirk despite the threat she presented. "Wow, _that_was your trigger? Not being called a Copper bitch? Thought _that_woulda ruffled your scales more than just toots."

"Boss, stop antagonizing her." Kieran protested. "We're already beat up enough as it is, don't have to add salt to the wound."

"I'd listen to your friend," said Rikyuu. "She can give you a migraine you'll _never_get rid of."

"Trust me, kid, I've been through a lot worse..." Korban replied.

"I still think we should wipe both their minds," said Obsidian. "Maybe I ought to make the mouthy one spend the rest of his life thinking he's a four-year old girl."

Volcan looked at her. "You can do that?"

"I'll even have Tsume braid his hair," she added with a light smirk.

Red Lightning called over, "I'll vote for that option!"

"Yea not gonna happen. If anything, I'd be the one braiding _her_feathers." The husky remarked, then his tone turned serious after that statement. "Let's get one thing straight here. Like I said before, I have nothing against you all. What I do is merely business. With that being said, say you do give me the option to fight on your side." He suggested before his brow furrowed even harder. "Give me one reason why I should trust the lot of you..."

They eyed him incredulously. "Seriously?' Volcan asked. "You ask_that_of all things, when we had you dead to rights not ten minutes ago?" He gestured at Obsidian. "At this moment, we're discussing whether or not to wipe your memories - you're not giving yourself much of a leg to stand on here."

"That right there is plenty of reason for me to doubt you." Korban answered. "And after being double crossed for pretty much my whole career, plus the latest stunt that Rex fucker pulled, you can understand why I have some _really_serious trust issues right now." He said, then gestured to the lot of them. "Like you said, you were considering wiping mine and my partner's minds just to protect your identity. I clearly stand to gain nothing out of blowing the whistle on you, and I have no reason to keep hunting your asses."

He looked at Volcan. "You're too trusting, which makes you naive and prone to be swayed into another way of thinking." He looked at Vinge. "You don't trust anyone." He looked at Sid. "And you're a cop, who I bet would find every reason in the book to turn me in if the opportunity presented itself." He listed off. "So I ask you all again... why should I trust you if I feel you're gonna stab me in the back after all this is over?"

The Lightnings look between each other before looking back at the loud dog. "I think you've lost your marbles, mate. Why are you asking for reasons for you to trust us?"

"If you want me on your side, I'm gonna need some _serious_convincing that none of you will turn on us after this... P.A.C.E thing is taken out, and like I said, it's because of stunts like that that I've developed a sort of lone wolf approach to life. Simply put, I don't trust anyone as far as I can shoot 'em, and I never miss my mark..." the husky explained.

"Then consider this," stated Vinge. "What would we_have to gain from turning on you? Our concern with P.A.C.E is strictly a matter of self-preservation. Until _you_attacked _us," he emphasized the statement. "We did not even know you existed. Your money and weapons mean nothing to us either. There is no motive for us to betray you, but _your_loyalty is determined by personal gain. You _are_a hired gun after all."

"That I am, and as of this moment, that Rex fucker owes me my pay _with_interest." Korban answered. "Once I get what's mine, we'll be on our way and you'll never see us again."

Vinge considered his words for a moment, seemingly trying to determine whether or not the husky was being honest. He lifted his head. "Then on that, we are mutually beneficial," he said. "When P.A.C.E is dealt with, we would simply part ways." He looked at Volcan. "I agree with Volcan, then."

Three were of the opinion to free the hunters, and three were not. Volcan looked between both sides, and then looked at Ordagova. "Stalemate," he said. "We're in your place, Orda. What do _you_think?"

"He'sss telling the truth from what I can sssee." The snake commented. "He will not betray usss. He wants Gabriel Rexsss dead."

"And we want all of P.A.C.E dead," said Vinge. "Or at least, no longer of concern to us." He looked back at Korban. "Well, is that satisfactory for you?"

"For now." Korban answered with a nod. "So long as we keep our sights on the same enemy, then I'll go along with you for the time being."

"If you can truly vouch that this guy isn't going to kill us the moment he's let go and actually help us, then he will be a worthy ally in the flight." Red Lightning agreed, "Even if his mouth isn't always onside."

"Then we have an accord." Korban remarked with a smirk, followed by Kieran heaving a heavy sigh of relief soon afterward.

Vinge drew his sword then, and for a moment the two hunters tensed, thinking he might have changed his mind. But after the very brief moment of panic, he slid the blade behind the chairs, severing the zip ties securing their wrists, before doing the same for the ones on their feet, one after the other. With that, he returned the blade to its scabbard, and stepped away to let the two rub their wrists.

"Ugh, thought for a second I was gonna lose my hands from how tight those bands were." Korban remarked as he stood up, rubbing his wrists and shaking his legs a bit before walking over to the table and retrieving his effects, starting with his coat. "So, with all that said and done, what's the game plan here?" He asked as he checked his pistols before sliding them back in their holsters, then snapping his fingers next to his sword. The massive hunk of metal suddenly spun up as if it was launched off a trampoline right into Korban's hand, before he rested it along his back.

"Show off..." Kieran muttered as he retrieved his coat and weapons.

"That will be a discussion for another time," said Volcan, slightly taken aback by how the sword flew into its owner's hand as if by its own power. "But for when that time comes, how do we contact you?"

"One sec." Korban remarked, lifting his left arm and activating his wrist terminal. He then punched a few keys into the holopad, then within seconds, they all received texts that held Korban's contact information. "There. That's my business number. Just say the passcode so that I'll know it's you. It's in the text."

"I don't appreciate you using my tech," Red Lightning comments with his arms crossed, glaring at Korban.

"I don't appreciate you hacking into my servers." Korban retorted. "Turnabout is fair play, Iron wannabe."

"I don't care when you are using my code. I wrote that code to crack servers and devices myself!" Red Lightning thumped the bar counter, "So if you store anything in my code; it's mine by default!"

Obsidian cast Red Lightning a wary look. "You did _what_now?" She asked.

"Prooobably shouldn't have said that in front of a cop, chum," Volcan remarked.

"If I didn't then you all would be dead now." Red Lightning stated, "at P.A.C.E's hand, or his" the pointed at Korban. "You copied my code and didn't even take out the easter eggs that it's mine!"

"Alright, alright! Let's not start another argument," Volcan cut in. "I think we've all made plenty of ruckus for one night. Let's just go cool our jets at home... Or wherever home is for some of us."

"Fine by me." Korban remarked casually, shrugging his shoulders. "C'mon Kitty. Let's am-scray fer now."

"Just_once_I'd like for you to call me by my real name..." Kieran groaned, rolling his eyes as he followed after his partner.

Obsidian moved over beside Red Lightning as the two bounty hunters departed, and whispered something to him. "I don't think he made that tech himself," she said. "Does he really seem smart enough to design a compact, portable operating system, even if he derived it from something _you_made?"

"I downloaded the firmware of his tech, here and back in his campervan. He's using my code, whether he knows it or not. Someone must have cracked my backdoor protocol... I need to rectify that with a new definition tonight. I can't risk anyone having that access." Red Lightning sighed, glancing at the dragon, thinking through everything aloud going through his head.

"When you mentioned it, a name popped into his mind - Brent Tetherson," she said. "He's got his own tech guru designing technology for him. Maybe start there."

"Right..." the Lightning acknowledged before looking at her curiously, "so... if you're psychic too... you know who we are?"

"I haven't looked," she assured him. "But, you kind of already gave it away when you talked about that technology and how you designed it." She smirked at him knowingly, but respectfully didn't say his name aloud. "I do read the newspaper," she added.

He turned and looked back at Blue Lightning. There were no words spoken but she knew what he was asking and then nodded.

Before the three scalies and two phoenixes, Red Lightning began unwrapping his head from his shroud. Blue Lightning's helmet wheezed and whirred as it came undone until they looked back at the group with their true selves.

Both were young black ravens with tall mohawk-like crowns, each tipped with a red or blue colouration, matching their suits. Their eyes were an alluring amber, with their eyelids once again carrying their respective colours.

"Trust is a two way street," the female twin suggested, looking over at Volcan and nodding.

"...It's like looking into a mirror," Volcan said, looking between the two.

"Identical twins?" Rikyuu asked, blinking in equal astonishment at how similar the two were. "Dang, Vinge was right when he guessed you two were siblings - wait." His eyes fixed on Avory. "...I've seen you. You were on the cover of a magazine I saw at the store once."

"He's Avogadro Lo'Raven," Obsidian said, now that the two were coming out. "And the other is his twin sister, Avelyn Lo'Raven."

"Lo'Raven... As in, the CEO of that huge corporate conglomerate? Christopher Lo'Raven?" Rikyuu asked, his surprise growing. "_That_Lo'Raven?!"

"...Now that it's out, it kind of makes sense," muttered Volcan. "Who else could build technology like that? ...Well, besides Ayane."

"Ayane?" Avogadro asked, "I think I heard her name in some of your conversations. It might be beneficial to finally meet her", he suggested curiously.

Obsidian chuckled. "I bet you will have _lots_to talk about," she said.

"But yes. We've been keeping an eye on all of you" Avogadro announced, "if we did not, Tsumé would be in a lab right now, and Lighris and Volcan would have been dead last night. So I would hope you appreciate the compromise."

Obsidian lost her smile, her expression turning to surprise. "Wait, that was you? You're the one who saved Tsumé?"

"Yeah?" Avogadro confirmed, seeming surprised.

"Ah... Well, on her behalf, I thank you," she said. "She'll probably want to thank you herself as well."

"We'll arrange a meeting," Volcan offered. "Anyway, I think we've all filled Ordagova's place for long enough."

"Agreed. I'm ready to go home and go to bed," said Obsidian.

"You all know it'sss no problem," the snake hissed, looking over at the twins. "You two don't be ssstrangersss. You're both welcome here any time."

Avogadro was about to say something before Avelyn cut in, "We would love to! We get rather bored not having anyone around us at home every day and night." she spoke as she glared at her brother, "And Avory here; he needs a social life!"

The others shared a laugh at Avory's expense. Volcan stepped over and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Sounds like we'll see you around then," he said before he started toward the door with Obsidian and Rikyuu, casting a glance at Ordagova and smiling at him. "Goodnight, Orda. See you tomorrow."

"Sssleep well, Volc," The snake smiled back, wisping his tongue between his lips.