BlueBattler

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I didn’t know that someday I would lose them all.

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...

I have nothing to say to this... but I'm going to heavily imply that your back might run into my stabbing knife many, many times if you shaft this little girl.

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Thank you.

I consider that a compliment.

And it wasn’t bad.

Mostly.

In a City of Heroes, even the story of a newly reformed Archvillain’s daughter attending kindergarten doesn’t make the news for long. After a month or so, the reporters went away and I was able to live my life in something like anonymity. More or less.

After about a month, I knew that I would never be accepted by most of my classmates. Most of them talked to me, and no one really picked on me. No one called me names or tried to get me in trouble with Mrs. Robinson or any of the other teachers.

But they didn’t ask me to come home and play with them. I didn’t get invited to birthday parties or weekend outings. They always picked me last for teams. I never had trouble finding a table to sit at for lunch because they would all get up and move away when I sat down …

Except Colin.

No matter what Jill or the others said, he would still sit by me at lunch and was my buddy when we went on field trips. He told me jokes. He invited me to his house to play video games with him. He would come home with me after school and would eat an ice cream cone at Grandpa Yin’s store while I “ate” AAA batteries.

He even met Daddy.

By the end of first grade, I knew just how special that Colin was to me.

I didn’t tell him, of course.

It all came down to the fact that I was my Daddy’s little girl.

Mama and Auntie ‘Nette could work their fingers to the bones modifying the prettiest little girl dresses they could find, but that still wouldn’t make me look anything like Jill. I wasn’t human. Nothing could change that, and nothing could disguise that.

My eyes didn’t blink. My facial features never changed expression. My mouth didn’t move when I talked. My body was hard metal, not flesh and blood.

But I didn’t move like a Clockwork. I didn’t sound like a Clockwork. I ran and played and laughed like all the other little girls on the playground.

I wasn’t human, but I wasn’t a Clockwork either.

I was my Daddy’s girl, but I was my Mama’s too. I was born of two different worlds, and I was equally at home in both.

But I didn’t belong to either.

It hurt, at times. But I was loved. As long as I had my family and Colin, I was happy.

I didn’t know that someday I would lose them all.

Maybe it would, but I'd actually prefer to find that out in-game.

Heh.

Time for a serious reply. 8-)

The reason I used King for her last name is because we don't really know CK's true human name-- its not impossible that it was king.

I thought about just having her use the last name of Yin, but it didn't feel right to not have part of CK's name as hers as well...

No, no no.

"Clockwork" is his middle name.

"The" is his first.

I think it's been asked before, but I'll try again.

Just how are your duties different from Hero 1's?

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Hey Bruce! You'd better pick a character name, or we'll be forced to assign you one. I vote "The Can Man."

Will the new Mission Architect feature make mission writing easier for you guys?

What was your favorite mission/story arc that you made/worked on?

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Ack! Not the Can Man!

The poor guy would have to post in rhyme!

“Hope Shalice Yin-King! Get your metallic butt out from under that bed this minute! We are not going to be late for your first day of school!”

It’s really tough to hide from your mother when she can read your mind. It’d been worth a try, though. I really didn’t want to start kindergarten.

I crawled out from under the bed and looked up at her. “Do I have to go, Mama?”

“Yes. Yes you do. I know it’s scary, Hope, but you’ll have fun. You’ll make lots of new friends.”

“I don’t need new friends. I have you and Daddy and Grandpa and Uncle ‘Line and Auntie ‘Nette. I don’t want to go. People are going to look at me.”

“Hope.” Mom knelt beside me and looked into my eyes. “You’re not going to be a little girl forever. You’re only a year old and you’re already as big and smart as a five year old. Yes, people are going to look at you. They’re going to stare. Some of them may even say mean things to you. But you can’t hide away all your life.”

“Daddy does.”

Mama paused then. “Your father … your father was sick for a very long time, Hope. He did a lot of things that he regrets. Someday … someday he’ll do something that will make him feel that he’s finally paid the price for the things he did.” She straightened up. “But that’s still not going to get you out of going to kindergarten.”

“I’m afraid, Mama.”

“I know, baby.” She picked me up and hugged me. “But you know that your father and I love you very much, don’t you?”

“Yes.” That was the one thing I had always known. I never doubted my parents’ love.

“Then trust me when I say that this is what’s best for you.”

“Okay.” I wasn’t convinced, but like my mother said, I was pretty smart for my age. I knew that I wasn’t going to win this fight. Daddy I could wrap around my little finger; Mama never gave in once she made up her mind no matter how much I begged and pleaded.

“All right, then. Let’s go say goodbye to Grandpa.”

Mama and I stayed with Grandpa Yin in Faultline. During the day when Mama was at work—she taught at Paragon University—I spent the day with Daddy and his Clockwork. I loved Grandpa Yin a lot, but I hated staying with him in the store when Mama was running late. Everybody looked at me when they came into the store … sometimes they came in just to look at me.

I hated it.

“Be good at school, little one,” Grandpa said as he gave me a goodbye hug and slipped a package of AAA batteries into my coat pocket. I didn’t eat food; I absorbed energy. Mama insisted on giving me rechargeable ones, but for some reason they didn’t “taste” as good as the one use ones. “Don’t let your mother see those.”

“I won’t.” I hugged him back. He knew why I was so afraid. He had been with me that day at the park when all the children had run away from me …

Mama took my hand and walked with me towards the Leonard P. Conway Elementary School. Our neighbors knew me and waved at me as we walked, and that made me feel better. As we got closer to the school, I braced myself for the stares. I could see a news van parked outside the school with a reporter waiting for us.

Mama didn’t stop and the reporter didn’t try to talk to us. I knew she was waiting for us; I could hear her speaking into microphone about waiting for the “Clockwork Princess” to show up for her first day of school. Why didn’t she even look at us?

“Mama, why didn’t the lady talk to us?” I was wearing my school outfit, but even with the necessary modifications for it to fit my metal body it wasn’t hard to see the large gears that made up part of my shoulders. How could she miss us?

“I didn’t let her see us, Hope.” Mama smiled at me brightly.

I knew that Mama wasn’t as powerful as she used to be before I was born. I had heard her and Auntie ‘Nette talking about it. I was too young to understand it then, but I never forget anything. It made me feel a little happier knowing that Mama still had some power.

When we walked into the school, my teacher, Mrs. Robinson, was waiting for me. She wasn’t much older than Mama, but not nearly as pretty. She was nice, though. Her husband was one of the Recovered Lost and the picture of her son on the desk showed that he had taken after his father’s side of the family.

“I’ll be back to pick you up at lunch, Hope,” Mama said as she handed me over to Mrs. Robinson. She hugged me. Walked away. Waved, then ran back and hugged me again. “It’ll be all right, baby.”

I didn’t know if she was trying to convince me or herself. I knew I had to be brave for her. “I’m fine, Mama. You go to work. I’ll see you at lunch.”

Mama waved, dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, and walked away.

“Come on, Hope. I’ve told the class all about you. We’re coloring now, but later on I’m going to read the class a story.” Mrs. Robinson took my hand without flinching and led me towards her classroom.

“I can read.” And I could. I could already read and write. I had been talking within two days of my birth. Like Mama said, I was smart for my age.

When we entered the classroom, all the children stopped what they were doing and looked up at me. There were five boys and eight girls. One of the boys had the facial features that marked him as being related to a Recovered Lost and one of the girls had blue skin, white feathers instead of hair, and little white wings on her back.

“Class, this is Hope Yin-King. Say hello to everyone, Hope.”

“Hello.”

“You don’t sound like a robot,” the Lost Boy said.

“I’m not a robot! I’m a girl.” My voice sounds utterly human. Grandpa said that I sounded just like Mama did at her age.

“You look like a robot,” the Lost Boy pointed out.

“I’m not. I’m—“ I thought about the answer that Mama had given me when I asked her why I was so different from everyone else. “I’m my Daddy’s little girl.”

“Who’s your daddy?” The girl who asked this was the prettiest girl that I had ever seen. Her hair was a soft golden blonde that seemed to shine with its own light.

I was bitterly jealous of that hair. I didn’t have any of my own.

“My Daddy’s the Clockwork King.”

The class gasped then. The girl laughed. “Your Daddy’s just a brain in a bottle! How can you be his daughter?”

“Don’t you talk about my Daddy!” I balled my hand into a fist—and stared at it in surprise.

It was glowing, crackling with energy.

“Jill, don’t be such a doofus.” One of the boys got up from his table and walked over to me. He held out his hand and offered me a jumbo-sized blue crayon. “My name’s Colin. Want to color?”

The energy faded from my hand as I took the crayon. “Sure!”

His hair was curly and brown. His eyes were bluer than the crayon. He was shorter than me. His smile was warm and friendly, and he had no fear at all as he took my hand and led me back to his table.

Maybe Mama was right. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Maybe.

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What the...

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Heh. This is somewhat of a gamble, but I don't plan on it being nearly as long as my Mynx story was...

The time: a future that may or may not happen. The place: the Throne Room of the Mighty Clockwork King. The people: The Mighty Clockwork King himself, his beloved Penelope Yin, and the great Sister Psyche.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Sister Psyche knows the answer before she asks, but she feels like she has to give them the option one more time.

“Penny, are you sure?” To a casual observer, the electronic monotone of the King would reveal nothing, but the love behind the words burns in Sister Psyche’s mind like a torch. “The risk—“

“I can live with the risk, CK.” The voice of Penelope Yin is calm, certain. She reaches out and grabs one of his mighty metal hands. “But I need this. You need this.”

You think that this will heal his madness, don’t you? Sister Psyche asks with a thought.

Yes, Penny replies. Nothing else has worked. He doesn’t mean to do bad things, but sometimes he can’t help himself. This union—this joining—will cleanse him of his madness or at least beat it back so he’ll be able to control himself. I’ve got it all figured out, Shalice. But we can’t do this without your help. Help me. Help him. Please.

You know that it will cost you most of your power to do this, Penelope. Why are you doing this?

Because I love him, Shalice.

Reason enough then. “Ck. Penelope, hold onto each other and give me your free hands.”

Without hesitation, they do so.

“Concentrate, Penny, CK. Concentrate on each other.”

The human woman and the inhuman monstrosity stare deeply at each other. Psionic energy crackles around their heads.

With the precision born of decades of practice, Sister Psyche weaves the threads of power provided by two of the most powerful minds the world has ever known. Deftly, she shapes it, letting it build to the point where it can shape itself.

What will It be? Sister Psyche wonders. Is she helping to midwife a miracle … or a monster?

The energy pulses brighter and brighter.

The Clockwork King and Penelope Yin collapse to their knees. The energy continues to pulse around the King’s head, but the aura around Penny is much fainter than it was before.

Sister Psyche knows that she only has seconds left before the strain takes its toll on her as well. “Live, little one! Live!”

The energy crackles and sinks into a pile of metal. The metal shakes and shivers … and something crawls out of it. It looks around and begins to cry.

Sister Psyche picks it up and looks into its eyes. She laughs and turns to her companions. “Congratulations, you two. It’s a girl.”

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As usual, *applaud*.

I had my doubts when Manx showed up, but those were dispelled soon enough. And, like they say in the KFC commercials, "I didn't see that coming!"

I'm looking forward to see what you can do with the mission editor, Battler.

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Thanks.

I have a lowbie arc planned out so far.

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Simply sublime. Thanks, Blue. I enjoyed this read very much.

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Thanks.

Glad you liked it.

Thanks, Cuddles.


I didn't want to leave Synapse out of the finale.

Kat Scratched Fever (Mynx's Story) is FINALLY done!

*Does the happy dance*

It’s not the first time that Synapse has held an urn containing the ashes of a super human being. It’s not even the first time he’s held the urn containing the ashes of a super human who’s tried to kill him. It is, however, the first time that he’s done so on the top of the highest skyscraper in Skyway.

I wish I could have been here when Mynx had her fight. Maybe I could have helped her take Manx alive. He shudders slightly as he remembers the gut-twisting fear of finding Manx’s uniform on top of the bodies of three Trolls. He had spent hours looking for them, only to find Mynx and the Can Man at LaGrange Medical Center. She could have died …

The severity of his reaction to that fear surprises him. In fact, it rather scares him. So he decides to avoid thinking about it.

“Sorry I’m late!” Mynx says as she leaps agilely onto the roof beside him. “I had to make sure a friend was okay.”

“I understand.” He notes again how well her new uniform fits her. “So, are we going to do this now?”

“I think we had better. We’re supposed to meet the Phalanx in Atlas Park, aren’t we?”

“Yes.” He pauses. He’s no good at this. “Do you want to say a prayer or something?” He’s never been big on religion, not since the days when he called to whatever power was listening to help save him from the Crey … and no one listened.

“No.” Mynx takes the urn and opens it. “I didn’t want her body to be left for the Crey to tear into like a pack of jackals. She deserves better than that. She deserves peace.”

“I know how you feel.” Diego.

“I’m sorry that you didn’t have a chance to truly live, Manx. I’m sorry that you suffered so much in your life. I wish I could have saved you. I’m sorry that I didn’t. I hope you’re resting in peace, Manx. You’re free now. You’re finally free.”

She tosses the ashes out a handful at a time. When they’re finally gone, she lays the urn down and sits down on the edge of the building.

Synapse sits down beside her and puts an arm around her shoulder. For a moment, they simply sit and look at the city.

“Steven?”

“Yes?”

“You remember the hotel room?”

“Yes.” He turns and looks at her face. She looks … amazing.

“I asked you if you wanted to kiss me, remember?” She looks at him.

“Yes.” He leans towards her.

And she places her fingers on his lips. “Someday, we really have to finish that conversation.”

She laughs and slips out of his embrace. Diving off the ledge she lands on a streetlight. “Come on, slowpoke! Race you to Atlas!”

Synapse stares at her dumbfounded for a moment as she leaps towards the Yellow.

“She did not just call me slowpoke!” Grinning in spite of himself, Synapse races down the fire escape and onto the street. One thing’s for sure, I don’t think I’m going to be bored with her anytime soon!

And they lived adventurously ever after.

She found him standing on a street corner, muttering to himself.

“Can Man. It’s me. Kat. Mynx.” She’s wearing the new uniform that Synapse had gotten her at Icon. It fits her like a second skin. She’s also carrying a paper bag filled with food and a cup of coffee. “I brought you something to eat and drink.”

“Little Cat, Little Cat, you came back. Has the pain you once knew finally left you?”

She knows that he’s not just talking about the wound she got in her fight with Manx. “I’m healing, Can Man. Are you well? She cut you pretty bad …”

“The Lost Cat did not seek to cause me lasting pain; she took great care with her aim.” He takes the food and begins to eat greedily.

“I wish you would let me take you to a shelter. There are people who can help you. I can help you. It’s too dangerous to stay on the streets. I’m afraid you’re going to get hurt.”

“Do not fear for me. I am the broken bird that no one can see.” He smiles crookedly at her, and then turns serious. “I must remain on the streets of Skyway. There shall come another hero one day. I will show him the way. And Countess Crey for her sins will finally pay.”

“You promise me that if you ever need my help you’ll ask?”

“If ever I have need, your help I will seek indeed.” He finishes the meal and stuffs the bag into his pants pocket. “Now that you have become a hero true what will you do?”

“Steve—Synapse is going to help me.” She smiles fondly. “There’s still a lot that I have to learn about what I can do. I have to learn how to control myself. He’s going to teach me.”

“Teach you he might, but from you he’ll also gain insight. Well matched are you two. I see there is much for you to do.”

“I think you’re right.” She steps on tiptoe and kisses his dirty cheek. “I’ll check on you again tomorrow, okay? Synapse and I have something to do before we meet with the Freedom Phalanx.”

“Then on your way go, Little Cat. We’ll see each other again, I know.”

Mynx waves to him and makes a giant leap to the top of a nearby building. Soon, she’s nothing more than a dot in the distance.

The Can Man watches her go. “Time and fate be on your side. May you never have to learn the secrets that I hide.” He shuffles down the street, pausing only long enough to look at his reflection in a store window.

“You would not know it to look at me, but I too was a hero, you see.” He touches his hand to the glass. “I had no wings, but I could fly. I was the Invisible Falc—Can Man. I am I am the Can Man.”

“Hey, you bum! Get away from my store before I call a cop!”

For a moment longer, he stares at the reflection, seeing not what he is, but rather who he had been. A tear falls.

“Go now! Get! This is your last warning!”

Muttering to himself, the Can Man picks up his meager belongings and shuffles down the street once more.

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Damn. I thought it would end something like this, but I was hoping it wouldn't.

At least Manx finally got release.

Damn that doc.

If Manx had a little life experiance, maybe it could have been different. That was NOT to be.

Now which story arc is that doc in? red or blue? I have several toons I'm itching to show to him.

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Blueside. Philipa Meraux. Level 30-35. You can find her in Founder's Falls.

“Amadeo … Amadeo, wake up.”

His head hurts. Curiously, it’s the only thing that hurts.

“Amadeo …” The voice is gentle, but insistent. It will not be denied. Cannot be denied.

Amadeo Giacomo opens his eyes and finds himself staring straight into the face of the Countess Crey. She smiles at him. “Ah, it’s good to see you’re awake. Do you remember what happened, Amadeo?”

“Mynx … Manx … Claws …” There’s something wrong with his voice. It sounds … mechanical.

“No, Amadeo. I’m afraid that’s just a dream spawned by the delirium of your condition.” The Countess lays a gentle hand on his forehead, stroking it gently. “Don’t you remember? The radical heroes who broke into your lab as you were working on your experiments? The explosion … how can you not remember the explosion?”

Of course. How could he not remember the explosion? “I … I remember now, Countess.” Manx and Mynx … even now, the dream is fading. His thoughts are sinking into quicksand. “But what’s wrong with me? Why can’t I feel my arms or legs? What’s wrong with my voice?”

“Amadeo, you should rest.” The Countess seems reluctant to say more.

“What’s wrong with me?! Countess, tell me please!” He can’t believe he’s shouting at the Countess. She’s always been so kind and gentle with him …

“I suppose you’ll have to see for yourself. Doctors, bring the mirror.”

A couple of doctors bring a rolling mirror over to Amadeo … he stares into it for a full moment before he reacts.

Then he screams. Again and again, in his strange new voice, he screams.

Finally, the Countess rushes to his side and gently strokes his forehead again. “It’s all right, Amadeo. It’s all right.”

“I’ll kill them! I’ll kill them all!”

“It’s too late for that, Amadeo. The heroes who caused your injuries died in the explosion. It’s taken weeks, but the greatest minds of Crey have managed to save your life … if not your body.”

“You call this living, Countess?”

He knows now why his voice sounds so odd to him. It’s an electronic reproduction of a human voice. Lifelike, but not his own. The only thing that’s still his own is his head … for everything else is gone.

His head is mounted on a pedestal attached to a bank of life support machinery. His voice box is gone along with most of his neck. His trained eye can see the equipment that breathes for him, supplies his brain with oxygen, blood, and nutrients.

“I am sorry, Amadeo.” He can hear the regret in the Countess’ voice. “But I could not let you die while I had the power to prevent it. You know how sacred life is to me.”

“Countess, of what use am I to you?” He hates the thought of being useless.

“You can still help me make this world a better place, Amadeo. You know about the experimental armor division? We will adapt a Crey Protector suit into life support machinery for you. You will have hands again, Amadeo. Your genius will be able to continue to work to make the world a better place. I promise you, you will still be of use to Crey.”

“Thank you, Countess. If you don’t mind, I would like to be alone now.” He wants to cry. That’s the only human thing left to him, and he wants to do it in private.

“Of course, Amadeo. Of course. Rest now. We will speak later.” She kisses his cheek and then gestures for the doctors to leave with her.

Amadeo watches her go gratefully. He had lost everything else; now he exists solely to work for the greater glory of the Crey Corporation.


“It worked,” Hopkins notes when the Countess walks back into her office.

“Of course it worked.” The Countess wipes her mouth with a wet cloth and applies a fresh coat of lipstick. “Do you doubt my abilities?”

“Never, Countess.” He is proud of the fact that he no longer uses her real name, even in private. One never knew when someone might be listening. “Your psychic powers are obviously growing ever stronger.”

“Thank you, Hopkins.” He can’t remember the last time she used his first name. “But obviously I will have to step up the program. If I had just been a little stronger then I could have showed Sister Psyche who the real master psi of Paragon City is.”

It was the first time since it happened that the Countess had referred to her humiliation at the hands of Sister Psyche. Hopkins himself could scarcely stifle his own rage when he thought of it. To have seen her stricken down and not be able to defender her--!

Sister Psyche would pay for that. He would see to it. “Manticore,” he whispers to himself.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing, Countess. Nothing.” Sister Psyche might think her powers made her immune to anything that Hopkins could do, but there were other ways to hurt her. He had seen the way she looked at Manticore. When the time was right, he would strike back—not at the Psi herself, but at the man she so obviously cared for. Then she would know what it was like to see someone hurt the one she—No, best not to think about that, especially not around the Countess. “I am curious as to why you put such effort into saving Giacomo’s life.”

“After giving Mynx the opportunity to kill him in the first place, you mean?” The Countess leans back in her chair and looks out the window. “Amadeo has his uses, but I am still a woman. Mynx deserved the chance to repay him for her torture. It was also a test.”

“A test?”

“Yes. We won’t waste any further resources pursuing Mynx. If she was not willing to kill Amadeo after everything he has done to her, then she will never make a useful assassin. Still, the experiment was not a total loss, was it?”

“No,” Hopkins agrees. “We still have the DNA samples that Giacomo used to create his Manx and the data her uniform recorded. Amadeo himself made an admirable scapegoat, and his ‘death’ means that we can still make use of his genius without having to lose him to the authorities.”

“And without his raging hormones, he should be much more predictable,” the Countess observes with a smile. “We’ll reassign him to the Mind Control project, though. I think that young Paul Summerfield has demonstrated sufficient cool under fire to be given full authority to run the Revenant Hero Project. His work with Dr. Friedkin won’t last much longer anyway.” The Countess absentmindedly licks her lips. “In fact, I think I’ll tell him about his promotion over dinner … tonight. You can have the night off, Hopkins.”

“Thank you, Countess,” Hopkins says stiffly. “Is there anything else?”

“No, I think that’s all I need for you at the moment. I’ll see you at lunch.”

“Very well, Countess. Until then.” Hopkins turns and walks out as though nothing in the world touches him at all ...

She thought the pain would end with the Maker, but it hasn’t. It has changed, but it has not gone away.

She no longer hurts. The constant thread of agony that had been with her since she first came into being ended when the one called Synapse freed her with a burst of electricity. That pain is gone, but another has taken its place.

It began with the kiss.

She had known the name of the thing as soon as she had done it. It had been a brief contact, lasting scarcely more than an instant in time. His lips had been soft and warm. It had been … pleasant.

She keeps thinking about it. About him.

She isn’t meant to know pleasure … or to give it. She isn’t supposed to know what it’s like to kiss someone. That isn’t who she is.

But it hurts to know this.

Giving pain to the Maker had felt good, felt right. That was her purpose, after all. He was not Mynx, but he had deserved pain.

Her only regret is that it ended so soon.

She wants to be free of pain. She does not want to hurt. She does not want to cause pain any longer. She wants to be free.

But her first moments of freedom showed that she could not escape her destiny.

She had barely had a chance to taste the night air when the green men found her. They had leered at her, made mocking comments in their crude manner. Her silence and lack of fear had enraged them.

They wanted something from her that she could not give them. She gave them the only thing she could.

She left her uniform with their bodies.

She is Manx. She exists to cause pain. There is nothing else for her.

The man who had met her near the bodies of the Trolls had not judged her. He had given her new clothing to wear. Dirty, but it wasn’t what the Maker had given her.

He followed her when she left. When she had chosen to climb to the top of the highest building she could find, he had been waiting for her.

“Little cat that cannot speak. I know what you seek. No matter how high you go, peace you will never know.”

He had not been happy to say it. She could see the sympathy in his eyes. He did not create the truth; he just spoke it.

She is Manx. There is nothing else.

He does not speak again. He simply stands beside her and watches as the sun rises.

The warmth feels good on her face. She closes her eyes and when she opens them, Mynx is there before her.

Her claws pop out. Mynx’s do the same.

“It doesn’t have to be this way. I don’t want to hurt you.”

She does not want to hurt Mynx. She has no choice. She is Manx. She exists to cause pain to Mynx. There is no other way.

“Can Man, get away from her. She’ll kill you!”

“It is not I who will die this day. I am simply here to see the play.”

She leaps at Mynx, but Mynx moves just as quickly and she misses her charge. She skids, but does not fly off the roof. She stares at Mynx in silent anger.

They must fight. One of them must die. Can’t she see that? There can’t be two of them.

“I can help you!” Mynx cries. “You don’t have to be what Amadeo made you! You’re free now! You don’t have to be a killer!”

There is no freedom for her. She is Manx. She exists to cause pain. That is all she is; all she can be.

She leaps and Mynx does the same.

“I won’t fight you. I won’t kill you. There’s got to be another way. We don’t have to do this. Please. Let me help you, Manx.”

Her eyes narrow. Mynx will not fight her, and she is too fast for Manx to catch her. She must make Mynx come to her.

Now she knows why the Can Man is here.

She leaps again—but not at Mynx. She knocks the Can Man down to the roof and draws her claws. She cuts him. Once. Twice.

Mynx tackles her before she can strike a third time.

The two of them wrestle on the roof, clawing, snapping at each other with their teeth.

This is the way it is supposed to be. This is the way she is supposed to be. Kisses and sunlight are not for her; this is the only destiny she has or will ever have.

Mynx manages to kick free and they stare at each other. Mynx is bleeding from a long gash on her stomach. The gown she is still wearing is turning red with her blood. She glares at Manx defiantly. “You want me, come and get me!”

Manx leaps.

Mynx dodges.

And Manx goes sailing off the roof.

“No!” Mynx cries.

Manx has just enough time to look at Mynx one final time. She smiles at her.

She is Manx. She has brought pain to Mynx. She can rest now.

For the first time in her life, she is free.

She smiles all the way down.

Mynx stares. “That’s Statesman!”

“Yeah, I know.” Steve smirks.

“I thought he’d be taller.”

“Synapse.” Statesman nods in his direction. He turns to Mynx and smiles at her. “Young lady, I don’t believe we’ve met. My name is Marcus Cole, but most people call me Statesman.”

“Hello, sir.” Mynx’s awestruck voice is little more than a whisper.

“What are you doing here, Statesman?” For the first time, Hopkins loses his composure. To say that he looked nervous would have been an understatement.

“Hello, Hopkins. I’ll be with you in a minute. Positron, it looks like Synapse has been injured. Can you take a look at it?”

Positron hasn’t waited for permission, however. He kneels beside Steve, spamming radiant aura. “You idiot. You could have been killed.”

“It’s good to see you again too, Posi. Mynx, this is Positron.”

“Will he be all right?” Mynx kneels beside Steve, squeezing his free hand.

“He’ll be fine.” Positron rises to his feet, easily helping Synapse stand once more. “I’ve healed the wound. The blood he’ll have to make on his own. But he’s out of danger.”

“I’m glad to hear it, Positron.” Statesman turns to Hopkins once more. “Now where were we?”

“You—how did you find this place?”

“A broken bird told me, Hopkins,” Sister Psyche strides angrily up to the big man. “The Countess. Where is she? I want to talk to her. Now.”

“What’s she talking about, Posi?” Steve gets up. He’s rather enjoying the way that Hopkins is flinching from Sister Psyche. Maybe Mynx and I don’t scare him, but States and Shalice sure do!

“I’m not sure. We got worried when you missed your checkin time and started looking for you. Some crazy homeless guy in Skyway came up to Sister Psyche and babbled to her. She led us straight here after that.”

“She’s away at a business conference,” Hopkins sputters in reply to Sister Psyche.

“I think you had better call her here, Hopkins.” Statesman turns and looks at the assembled Agents and Riot Guards who are milling about uncertainly, holding their weapons in the general direction of the Freedom Phalanx. “I’d feel a lot better if you boys would lay those guns down.” He smacks his right fist into the open palm of his left hand. The impact is like thunder. “Now.”

The guns clatter to the floor.

“I love when he does that,” Steve whispers to Mynx.

“I’m not going to ask you again, Hopkins. Get Countess Crey here now or we start taking this place apart!” Sister Psyche’s eyes are filled with tears; her beautiful face is twisted in anger.

“Shalice?” Manticore lays a hand on her shoulder, but she brushes him off and walks away, hugging herself.

Hopkins turns from them and pulls out a cell phone. “She’ll be here in a minute. I really do suggest that you leave as soon as possible, though. We would have to have to press trespassing charges on the city’s greatest heroes.”

“Trespassing charges! You kidnapped us!” Mynx pops her claws. “You tortured me! You made me into a freak!”

“I wouldn’t toss unsubstantiated accusations around like that, Ms. Stevens.” Hopkins smiles at her. “Unless, of course, you have proof.”

Manticore walks over to Mynx. “Let him talk. Eventually, he’ll give us enough rope to hang him with. I promise you that he’ll go down—and so will Crey.”

Hopkins and Manticore match stares for a long moment, but Hopkins is the one who looks away.

“So they’re just going to get away with it?” Mynx asks in frustration. “Everything they’ve done—and we can’t do anything to stop them from doing it again?”

“I’m deeply sorry for your pain and suffering, Ms. Stevens.” A woman walks out of the same door that Hopkins had used to enter the lab. “But Crey Corporation is not to blame.”

“Countess Crey.” Statesman nods in her direction, but his eyes are cold as steel.

“Statesman. I want to thank you all for uncovering this horrible tragedy.” The Countess’s face is the perfect picture of sincerity. “I had no idea that Amadeo Giacomo was performing such terrible experiments.”

“Yeah, right. I believe that’s what you said when Bein got through with me.” Steve’s hands are crackling with electricity.

Hopkins moves to the Countess’ side, staring straight into Steve’s eyes.

“I assure you that all records and files will show that Ms. Steven’s … condition is the sole responsibility of Amadeo Giacomo. He gave all the orders. His assistants had no idea that he was acting on his own.”

“Then where is he?” Mynx asks. “I left him—I left him to help Steve! If he’s the only one responsible, then let him take the blame!”

“Where is Dr. Giacomo, Countess?” Statesman’s face is impassive, but his eyes still remain fixed on the Countess’ face with laser intensity.

“I’m afraid that there’s not much left of Dr. Giacomo,” the Countess says with a small smirk on her face. “We just found him … what was left of him, anyway.”

Steve looks at Mynx.

“I didn’t! I wanted to, but I didn’t! I left him to help you! I swear he was fine when I left!” She looks desperately into Steve’s eyes. “You believe me, don’t you?”

“Yeah, yeah I do.” Steve looks at Statesman. “If Mynx says she didn’t kill him, then she didn’t do it.”

“He was torn up quite thoroughly,” the Countess tells them.

“Manx,” Mynx whispers.

“That’s my guess, too.” Steve looks at Statesman. “Giacomo claimed to have cloned Mynx here. I fought something--- someone that could have passed for her sister. She’s probably the one who got to Giacomo. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”

“But your men found no trace of her, Countess?” Statesman asks.

“There was no one there but Giacomo. But he was found in an emergency exit. If this Manx person does exist, she could have used it to leave the complex. She could be in the city at this very moment. Perhaps you heroes have more important things to do than badger me for information.”

“We have to find her,” Mynx whispers. “I have to find her.”

“We’ll find her,” Steve promises. “Hopkins, she was wearing a uniform of some kind. Knowing you, there’s bound to be some kind of tracking device in it. We need the tracker.”

“Cloning being illegal, Crey obviously has nothing to do with this Manx creature,” the Countess says innocently. “But anything like that in Dr. Giacomo’s lab I will gladly turn over to the authorities in the interest of public safety.”

“I don’t need a tracking device,” Mynx says. “She found me. I can find her. I have to.” She looks at them all one final time, then turns and runs out of the lab.

“Countess, if you don’t get that tracker to me right now I’m going to trash this lab myself!” Steve threatens.

“Steve, you can barely stand, let alone fight. Let us handle this,” Positron cautions.

“Stuff it, Posi. Mynx’s no killer, but Manx is. There’s no way that I’m going to let her go out there by herself!”

“Countess.” Sister Psyche has said nothing while the others spoke. She simply watched. Now she walks over to join them. Her eyes are red from crying, but there are no more tears.

“Sister Psyche. It’s good to see you again, dear. You’re looking well … all things considered.”

Sister Psyche stares deeply into the eyes of Countess Crey.

Suddenly, the Countess drops to her knees, screaming.

Hopkins screams a curse and aims a punch at Sister Psyche, but his fist goes through her.

“Detention field, Hopkins. You can’t touch anyone or anything until I let you. This is between the Countess and myself.”

“Shalice …” Statesman begins.

“Don’t try to stop me, Marcus. I’m not going to kill her. I don’t do that. But I am going to have a talk with her. Countess, you can hear me, can’t you?”

The Countess screams.

“Until you say something, the pain will continue, Countess.”

“I—hear you!” the Countess gasps.

“I know what you did to him, Countess. I’m not going to speak his name, but you know who I’m talking about, don’t you?”

“I didn’t! It wasn’t me!”

“Please. Spare me. You know who I’m talking about, Countess. I found him. Rather, he found me. He’s done quite a good job of staying hidden from you until now, but I know that it’d only be a matter of time before you found him if you made a real effort to do so. I have one word of advice for you: don’t.”

The Countess screams again.

“You’ve done enough to him. If anything happens to him—if he disappears or dies under mysterious circumstances, then I’m coming for you, Countess. Your little parlor tricks are nothing compared to what I can do. You understand me, don’t you, Countess?”

“I—“ She screams again, but forces the words out. “I understand!”

“Good. I don’t want to have this conversation again. Now get Synapse the tracking device he asked for before I get really angry.”

What in response to what Cuddles wrote or the latest chapter?

Hopkins is a big man. Tall, broad, and possessed of a glacial temperament. He wears a finely tailored suit, but the fine lines can’t disguise the muscles and power of the man.

Steve groans and tries to get to his feet. “So how have you been, Hopkins? Can I call you Hoppy? I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“Call me what you wish, Steven.” More Crey begin filing through the room behind Hopkins. The big man pays no more attention to them than he would a gnat. “It looks like you’ve got yourself in quite the pickle. Injured, alone, your power drained from your fight with Giacomo’s creation. I don’t imagine you’ve been this weak for ages. A prime opportunity.”

A Medic kneels beside Steven and waves his medical scanner at him. “I don’t like the looks of that wound, Mr. Hopkins. We should take care of it immediately. If he doesn’t receive care soon he’s going to need a transfusion.”

“I’ll let you know when Mr. Berry will receive assistance, Simmons. Check on our employees. Pay particular attention to young Summerfield. Without his constant reports, this situation could have gotten quite out of hand.”

“Yes, sir.” The Medic looks at Synapse one more time and then walks over to the scientist that Steve had originally stunned.

“So, Hoppy. What was going on here? Was Mynx part of some kind of super soldier plan of the Countess’s?”

“The Countess is always looking for a way to improve the world, Steven.” The sunglasses make it impossible to read Hopkins’ expression. “The Countess will be glad to make your acquaintance once more. In all the years since, we have not been able to duplicate Bein’s experiments. There is much we can learn from you.”

Steve coughs and grins impudently. “The Countess could have just asked me over for dinner. I would have been willing to tell her anything I could—a woman who fills a dress like she does could get me to do just about anything for her.”

An almost imperceptible frown crosses Hopkins’ face. “You never do know when to be quiet do you, Steven? As I recall, that’s how it all began for you in the first place.”

Steve forces himself to his feet, holding one hand to his wounded side and leaning heavily on the wall in order to stand. “I won’t let you get me back on another one of those tables, Hoppy. I’ll die first.”

“I don’t recall asking your permission, Steven.”

Steve’s right hand starts to spark. “I’m warning you, Hoppy!”

Hopkins’ hands begin to glow with energy. “Oh do be serious, Steven. Do you think that I would get this close to you if you had anything like a chance against me?”

“Ah, doing a little augmentation on yourself, Hoppy? I guess you weren’t man enough for the Countess before, eh?”

Hopkins frowns again. “You really are very annoying, Steven.”

“So I’ve been told, Hoppy.” I don’t think I can run half a dozen feet, but I’m going to have to try it. If he gets his hands on me—

“Leave him alone!”

Claws extended, Mynx runs and jumps into the lab, landing in front of Steve like a mother tiger protecting her cub. “Touch him and die!”

“Mynx—“

“Hello, Ms. Stevens. We have not been properly introduced. I am Mr. Hopkins. I hold a number of positions under the Countess.” He pauses and glares at Steve’s impudent laughter. “I must say that you have far exceeded our initial expectations. To elude capture for as long as you did is a most impressive feat.”

“Did you order this?” Mynx’s voice is soft, dangerous. “Did you tell Giacomo to make me into what I am?”

“Of course he didn’t,” Steve says. Don’t do it, Mynx. I know what you’re thinking, but don’t do it. You haven’t got a prayer. And even if you win, you’ll lose. “Hoppy is the Countess’s toady and chief flunky. He just cleans up the messes she makes.”

“Crey exists to make the world a better place, Ms. Stevens. Countless lives have been saved through our research and development projects. Unfortunately, sometimes science has … casualties. You may take comfort in the fact that the suffering you have experienced is not in vain. It will serve a greater good.”

Mynx growls. Her legs tense. “You’re worse than Amadeo.”

“Dr. Giacomo craves power, wealth, and fame. I do what is necessary because it is necessary. I do not take any pleasure in what was done to you, Ms. Stevens. If it had not been you it would have been someone else. I regret your pain, but I acknowledge its necessity.”

“Well, there’s also the fact that you’d do anything the Countess would ask you too because you have the spine of a jellyfish, Hoppy.” Steve grits his teeth. I have to back her up. She’s going to do something stupid. I can just tell.

Hopkins frowns. “You know, Steven, I am going to enjoy watching them cut you open like a Christmas turkey …”

Mynx jumps.

She slams into Hopkins with all the force that her legs and tiny body can generate. Perhaps if he had been expecting her attack, if he had been braced, it wouldn’t have done anything. But he wasn’t, and momentum sends him toppling onto his back with such force that Steve’s knocked off his feet.

“Mynx! No!”

Mynx doesn’t seem to hear him. Her hands are almost a blur as she claws at Hopkins’ chest. The air is suddenly filled with torn bits of cloth.

The only thing that saves her from instant annihilation is that the Crey are reluctant to fire on her for fear of hitting their boss.

“Are you quite finished, Ms. Stevens?” Hopkins looks at her with an annoyed expression on his face. “That was my favorite shirt and tie.”

Mynx stares down at Hopkins chest, shaking her head in amazement at what she’s seeing:

There’s not a scratch on him. Her claws have not even left so much as a mark on him.

Hopkins’ fist blurs with energy and the resulting blow is enough to send Mynx flying.

“Steven is bleeding to death as we speak, Ms. Stevens. I have almost a hundred men with me, and more are coming along all the time. Even if you could defeat me by some miracle, what makes you think you’d leave this lab alive?”

Mynx growls in her throat. “You deserve to die!”

“There are those who’d say that,” Hopkins acknowledges, ripping the remains of his shirt and jacket off. “But are you willing to die yourself?”

“I wouldn’t ask her that if I were you, Hoppy,” Steve says. He painfully climbs to his feet once more. “But there’s one thing for sure—you aren’t taking either of us back under the knife again. Not while we’re breathing.”

Hopkins sighs. “Very well, Steven. If that’s the way it must be—“ He makes a gesture with his hands and the lab doors begin to close.

“Run, Mynx.” Steve’s free hand begins to glow with electricity once more. “I’ll hold them off while you get away.”

“I’m not the one with super speed, Steve. You run. I’ll hold them off.”

“You’re an awfully stubborn woman.”

“And you’re a pretty sneaky guy. Don’t think I’ve forgotten the trick you played on me!”

“Can we have this discussion sometime when we’re not fighting for our lives?”

Hopkins clears his throat. “As I was saying … this really doesn’t have to be such an unpleasant experience. If the two of you simply surrender I promise to make the procedure as painless as possible.”

“Hoppy? Go suck an egg.” Steve tosses a ball of lightning at him that knocks the big man down to his knees.

Mynx grins and a jump kick to the chin knocks Hopkins flat on his back again.

“Kill them.” Hopkins does not sound angry or particularly upset. At best, he’s just annoyed.

You’d think we could at least get a rise out of him before he kills us, Steve thinks wryly as he turns to face his would-be assassins.

As one, the Crey Riot Guards and Agents raise and arm their weapons.

And then the lab door which was just closed is ripped open like a piece of cellophane.

Manticore dives through the door and rolls to his feet, with his bow drawn.

Positron rockets through the door. “Synapse!”

Sister Psyche serenely floats into the lab.

Finally, brushing his hands together, Statesman walks into the lab like he owns it. “They just don’t make doors like they used to.”

Mynx is hunting.

Katherine Steven’s fear is gone. Her concern for Steven Berry is gone. Nothing remains to her now except the hatred, and the hunt.

Amadeo Giacomo is running.

He is running for his life. Anger is gone. The desire for revenge is gone. All that remains now is the white hot terror of a man that knows that something terrible is after him.

“Stop her!” He orders to every Riot Guard or Agent that he finds in the hallways. “Stop her! Kill her!”

But they don’t stop her. They can’t stop her. Nothing can stop her now.

She slams heads into walls. She claws weapons into pieces with a blow of her mighty claws. She slaps, slams, punches, kicks, and claws her way through his men as though they don’t exist.

And then they stop listening to him. They stop fighting for him. They see her coming, and they turn and run before her. They run for their lives as he is running.

But she doesn’t want them. She only wants him.

If I can just make it out of the complex I’ll be safe! She’ll never find me once I’m in the city! I’ll be safe! I’ll be safe and I’ll hunt her down again—and the next time I’ll kill her where she stands! Yes, next time I’ll just kill her—

When he reaches the elevators, he realizes there will be no “next time.”

“Locked!” He frantically punches the button, but the elevators stubbornly refuse to open. “No! No! Open, damn you! Open!”

But they don’t open. He’s been locked out.

“Hopkins! You son of a—you locked me out!”

“Looks like you’ve run out of friends, Amadeo.” Her claws extend and retract rhythmically as she steps closer to him. Her eyes are narrow slits. Her face is a mask. “It looks like you’ve run out of time!”

“Katherine, don’t do this. You know that you don’t want to do this.” He presses his back against the elevator, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “This isn’t who you are.”

“It’s not? Isn’t this what you built me to be, Amadeo? A monster? A killer?” She reaches him and rips his shirt open with one hand. “Katherine Stevens wouldn’t have done anything like this, I agree. But I’m not Kat Stevens anymore. I’m Mynx. A freak. A monster. And you made me that way.”

“Katherine---“

Her claws slide down the front of his chest, just breaking the skin. Blood immediately begins to flow from the slight wounds.

“Don’t call me that, Amadeo. Call me Mynx.”

“Katherine—“

The claws dig deeper this time. “Mynx!”

“Mynx! Mynx! Don’t do this! Don’t kill me! Please don’t kill me!”

“I like the way you beg, Amadeo. Do it some more. This time, on your knees. Beg me not to kill you on your knees and maybe I’ll let you live. Maybe.”

He drops to his knees. “Please don’t kill me!”

“I begged too, Amadeo. Do you remember? I begged you not to hurt me. I begged you to let me go. You didn’t listen. Why should I listen to you now?”

He starts to cry. “Please--!”

She draws her claws back. “At least I’ll be quick, Amadeo. I promise you that.”

“Synapse!” The word comes to him like a prayer. “Synapse!”

“He can’t hear you now, Amadeo. He’s not here.”

“You left him. With Manx. She’s you, Mynx. Everything you are with no humanity at all left in her. She’ll kill him, Mynx. She’ll kill him unless you stop her.”

“He’s a hero. He can take care of himself.”

“Can you be sure of that? Maybe she’s killing him right now. Maybe she’s got him on his knees like you have me right at this moment. Maybe he’s begging—“

She slaps him with a backhanded blow. “Shut up!”

But he doesn’t shut up. It’s his only chance. “What’s it going to be, Mynx? Kill me or save him? Take a life or save one?” He smiles then despite his terror. “Are you the monster I made you or something else?”

She stares at him long enough to leave him wondering if he’s going to die after all. Then—

“This isn’t over, Amadeo! You’re going to pay for what you did to me! I swear you’re going to pay for what you did!” She turns and runs back the way they had come.

Amadeo almost sobs with relief as she leaves. “Next time, Mynx. It’ll be different next time.” He forces himself to his feet and begins walking towards a side hallway. “Emergency exit. I’ll get out. I’ll be safe. And the next time, you’ll pay for all of this. Oh how you’ll pay—“

And then he hears the sound again; the sound of claws extending and retracting.

“I thought we had this conversation, Mynx—“ He turns. “Oh, Manx. Did you kill Synapse already?”

She doesn’t answer him. She can’t, of course. She just walks towards him, extending and retracting her claws.

“Where’s your mask, Manx? I didn’t give you permission to take it off!”

She’s smiling now. He’s never seen her smile before. “Stop, Manx! Don’t come any closer!”

She doesn’t stop.

“I told you to stop!” He yanks the remote out of his belt and savagely thumbs the activation button. “Stop!”

She doesn’t stop.

He glances down at the remote and his eyes widen in horror at what he sees on the tiny screen: Pain Implant Deactivated.

“No. Oh no.” He turns to run.

He doesn’t get far.

“No, Manx! No! Please—“ And he starts screaming.

Eventually—a very long time later—the screaming stops.

Steven Berry has awakened to find himself in hell once more.

“Hell” for him has long been a Crey laboratory. It’s his nightmares come to life. For a minute, panic threatens to overwhelm him.

But then a voice brings him back to himself. A voice pleading for mercy on his behalf. A voice that seems terrified … for him.

Mynx’s voice.

He’s drugged, but his metabolism has already kicked into high gear. Fear turns to anger and anger turns to power. He can feel his eyes burning with electricity.

“Amadeo, you fool! That’s Synapse! That’s Synapse!” The Crey scientist has a hypo in hand and he’s rushing at Steve like a man whose house is on fire.

But he’s already too late.

He’s bound hand and foot, but that’s not a real problem for him. Lightning flashes from his fingertips and stops the scientist dead in his tracks. He does the herky-jerky dance and then falls flat on his face.

“Steve!” Mynx cries, astounded. “You’re Synapse! You lied to me!”

With a mental shrug he short circuits the restraints holding them to the operating tables. “Now is probably not the best time for us to be talking about this, Mynx.”

“Manx!” Amadeo screams. “Kill him! Kill him now!”

Mynx stretches and stares at her double as she advances on Steve … no, on Synapse. She tenses her muscles, readying herself to leap into combat …

And then she sees Amadeo.

Mynx growls.

Amadeo pales and spits out an epithet. “Stop her! For God’s sake, stop her!” And he bolts out of the lab.

Mynx growls and leaps after him, popping her claws.

“Mynx!” Synapse readies himself to run after her, but he’s suddenly struck by a black and gold clad freight train in female form.

She’s small, but she bowls him over and he finds himself flat on his back with her hidden face staring at him once more. “Hi there. I’m Synapse. My friends call me Syn. You know, there are a lot more interesting things we can do—“

She pops her claws and strikes.

Only Synapse’s super fast reflexes enable him to turn his head enough to dodge the blow. Her claws strike deep into the metal of the floor, denting it.

“Let me guess. You’re the strong silent homicidal type of girl.” He spins himself around like a whirlwind, tossing her off and jumping back to his feet. “An electric fence should keep you out of trouble—“

She leaps out of it as nimbly as Mynx had done weeks ago.

“Well, fudge.” He dodges again, but she comes close enough this time to rip his shirt right off his body.

Oh, well. It was a birthday gift from Ray. Straight off the rack of “Nerds R Us.” Small loss.

“I don’t want to hurt you … Manx or whatever your name is. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to give yourself up?”

She leaps again.

He dodges, but this time his left arm is clipped by a freeze ray fired by a Cryo Scientist. “Hey, do you mind? Super powered battle going on here! Wait your turn!”

He dashes forward and clotheslines the Scientist with his frozen arm, shattering the ice in the process.
Manx jumps forward again, this time scoring on his side.

Synapse spits out a curse and claps his hands together with a burst of lightning that knocks her flat on her back. “You’re really starting to annoy me!”

The Riot Guards and black suited Agents begin firing at him.

“Oh fine. You all just have to get your licks in too, eh?”

Hurling ball lightning at the Riot Guards takes almost all of them out at once. He races to the Agents. Leaping up, he smashes his hands down on one of them in a thunder strike attack that knocks them off their feet and temporarily out of this world.

“Who says a blaster can’t pick butt?” He stops and puts a hand to his side to check the wound that Manx had given him ….

And then she collides with him and smashes him into the wall. Her claws rake his chest, digging deeply into the flesh.

Synapse screams. I’ve only got one chance! If I don’t take her out I’m dead! The only thing that might save me now is thunderous blast!

Going past the pain, he focuses on the power inside him and unleashes it once more.

Manx’s body twists and writhes in the full fury of the blast and falls to her knees.

Synapse slides to the floor. “Thank God that worked—“

She looks at him. She puts her hands to her head and shakes it gently.

“Or not.”

She brings her claws to his throat.

Synapse looks at her, waiting.

And she retracts the claws. Reaching up, she takes hold of the gold and black mask that covers her face and takes it off.

The face that looks back at him is completely hairless, lacking even eyebrows, but it’s a face that he knows well. Mynx’s face.

She takes hold of his face and kisses him on the lips. Smiling, she gets up, and runs out of the room.

“Well, that was unexpected.” Synapse groans. “I have to get up and stop Mynx before she does something she’ll regret.”

A door slides open that he hadn’t noticed before. In the doorway stands a man. A very large man.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that, Steven. I’m quite sure that we can put a stop to young Ms. Steven’s actions before she causes too much harm.”

Synapse shuts his eyes and sighs. “Hello, Hopkins. Long time no see…”

I've actually grown somewhat fond of Synapse over the course of this story.

I hope he can think of something!