Blake nodded, saying "It's a deal" with a smile. He walked with Alex towards Pizza Port with the money still in his hand. He did this because after several times being pick pocketed, he took all the precautions he could, including a pair of brass knuckles in his pocket.
As they walked, Blake asked "So, hows your mom been doing?"
Her face briefly lost its normally open and welcoming expression, losing some of its tenderness. Truth was that she wouldnt know how her mother has been lately; she has not seen her in person literally for about a month. Ever since her dad disappeared, mom has been working non-stop, doing her best to keep the two of them afloat. Since she lacked any formal college education, and since dad used to take care of the family, her mom normally stayed at home or volunteered to staff local events part-time. Everything changed, and all that was left of their mother-daughter bond is a shell.
Alex knew her mom loved and cared about her, thats why she worked so hard with double shifts; but she has lost her spirit and warmth. In order to receive the human connection Alex desired, she did what she could to help the locals and, more closely, her fellow apartment tenants. She briefly mulled over her response.
Shes doing well, I guess. Work has been keeping her away and drained, so shes usually tired and sticks to her room, She attempted to brighten her statement, Well, she is still with me, right?
Alex tried to ease out of the subject and her expression lightened with sarcasm, But hey! I still have Mabel to play Mother Hen, and shes persistent enough keep my day both action-packed and filled with unwanted attention. Did you know that she coincidentally has begun taking her overgrown rat on walks every time I head to school in the morning? I wouldnt put it past her that shes been nosing around the high school to see if Im still going there.
In his room Ramon took off his trench coat and hat and put on some more relaxing clothes. When he was done changing he was wearing a pair of black pant with a tribal design going down the pant leg black boots and a red T-shirt wth a black skull on it. "Better much Better." he said as he looked at he gear. "looks like i got 12 tear gas, some field medic material, a revolver and some Holy shot gun shells. Wow i havent seen those in a long long time." he quickly checks all his gear and lays them on the bed after he is done checking. After he opens the bag which has his new Vanguard uniform in it "Black and Red nice and room for my tail." as he continued to look at his uniform he notice they was no helment so he checked in his bag and found a hood and an enforcer mask "Just like my current costume." he said as he walked toward his closet and looks at his current costume he has been using. It was a black stealth suit with a black tail piece and red slash marks on it and a hood and mask just like the one his new vanguard uniform has. He uses that costume when been a P.I. or working with the PPD as a forensic investigator doesnt cut it. When he puts on his costume he is simily Ferocitas. After he hunged up his uniform and placed all his new gear in a ready to go areas in his room he desided to order some pizza. "Hello this is pizza port how can i help you?" "Yes i would like to order two Pepperoni pizzas two meaty meat pizza one hawaian pizza and two combnation pizzas and ... some hot wings 3 orders all of them larges." "Sir I hope this isnt a joke." the man said on the other end of the phone. "Does it sound like im joking." "No sir its just that we get alot of pank calls." "Dont worry about it." "Sir your total is 79.65" "Ok" as he hung up the phone he placed 85 darllors on the cabnit before he went to take a shower.
As Blake saw Alex looking down when he asked her about her mom, he felt immediatly bad. He had spent half of his life without his mom, so he had gotten used to the fact, but usually forgot others had, or used to have, special connections with their moms. That's why he smiled a little when she said her mom was still with her, saying "Yeah, that's true"
He was more comfortable when they switched the subject to Mabel. No matter what happened, he could always count on Mabel to laugh at. "She's gonna be arrested for spying in on the classes one day" Blake said, half wishing it was true. He shook his head and smiled, saying "I don't even know how I'm still in that stupid school. My report cards haven't been terrific, lately"
"I don't know," Hunter answered Nyte in a light tone. "It's a novel feeling for me. I suppose I'll have to let you know."
His steps slowed slightly as he saw imposing buildings rising on the horizon. He knew one of them contained the offices they were heading toward. He didn't know exactly what to expect when they got there, but he was sure he wasn't going to like it.
Nyte glanced at him for a few moments before responding.
"hmm..yes I suppose it would be wouldn't it?"
As his steps slowed she adjusted to match glancing over to see what had caught his attention, her gaze settled on nothing more extravegant then thier destination, arching her brow slightly at the imposing buildings...which truth be told she was never completely comfortable in herself.
"Not so sure you really want to go in there? Can't blame you"
After the delivery guy delivered the pizzas Ramon teleport to a few rooms that he knew had money problems or had no time to get food for themselves. Ramon desided to relax call his girl friend.
"I don't have much of a choice," Hunter muttered, mostly to himself. He found himself wishing, again, that he could disappear and find a normal life somewhere. But he had done that once already and they had made sure he couldn't disappear on them again. If he tried, they would find him, and then he would find himself back in prison. Likely for the rest of his life.
Alex laughed a bit and joked, Your grades cant be that bad. As long as you have a high-D average, youre still passing.
Within a few moments, the entrance to the Pizza Port was upon them with a bright orange-red neon sign hanging above the glass doors. The doors were automatic, so they opened when the two got close enough and the dull bass from the stereo boomed out. The place was packed with teens, usually between 14 to 19 years old or so
though this place was still home to several college students as well. The lighting in the place was slightly dark, creating the atmosphere of a club; however, there was no DJ booth or a dance floor. Instead the place was built like a giant pizza, arcade machines lined the walls of the circular main room and formed the crust, the linoleum floor mimicked this appearance before transitioning into a red sauce; this is where the table games were placed in a ring around the room, though there were several concrete pillars as well. The pizza floor became cheese and supreme toppings at the center, and the bulk of the room was placed on top of it. Several metal tables, some able to seat up to ten people, created the dining area, and at the very center of the room was the bar-island.
The island was converted from its original purpose to serve as the order booth, where a variety of meals, mainly pizzas obviously, could be ordered as well as drinks. A cleverly hidden trapdoor with a spiral staircase led to the kitchen down below; rumor was that the kitchen was where the Tite Rod stored their contraband for local drug lords and gangs, though another rumor said that it used to house a blood altar to Leghebu, a dark god of the Banished Pantheon, and countless victims were murdered below to bid for his favor. Maybe both urban legends were true.
The crowd appeared to be mainly high school students, though a gang of Hellion wanna-bes were hanging out at a pool table on the far side of the room. Gil, the Pizza Port clerk, was working the counter; poor guy was likely to be a kid forever, but, hey, whatever floats his boat and he was cool anyway. Paul and Maria Summerfield, the friendly owners, were nowhere to be seen; perhaps they were in the kitchen or took the day off
So do ya wanna eat? Alex asked Blake, Or should I shamelessly beat you in versus mode in Freedom Phalanx? Alex was referring to the combat game that allowed you play as a member of the Freedom Phalanx in either single or versus. Ill even let you pick your hero first.
Blake smirked, resisting the urge to mutter 'Exactly' under his breath. School didn't matter much to him anyways, but to his sister's discontent, he always made her go.
Blake had been in Pizza Port a couple of times before, although not recently. He always thought the set-up was kind of clever, even if it was a little used. He looked around and saw the teens, from eating pizza to making bets on pool tables. He saw the clerk, Gim or Gib or something, working at the counter. The owners weren't there, Springfield he thought their name was, but he shrugged it off. Everyone needed a vacation once in a while, he thought.
Blake laughed at Alex's challenge. "I don't need your pity. You can choose your hero and you can choose my hero. Five bucks says I'll still win" He put out his hand, saying "Deal?" with a devilish grin. He wouldn't actually take money from her if he won, but he was confident enough that he wouldn't be paying her.
Alex met Blake with a laugh of her own, "Ha! I accept your challenge and raise the bid to ten bucks," She was tempted by the idea of making him play Statesman, who ironically was the weakest member of the Phalanx in the game, but decided against it, "And who's pitying who now? I'll choose Posi, but you can pick your own corpse." She grabbed Blake's hand in a sturdy handshake before heading to the game.
Nyte considered his answer for a few moments, gaze roaming over the buildings imposing silouette before dropping her gaze to apparantly study her fingernails for a few moments before glancing sideways at Hunter.
"Oh..there are always choices,sometimes thier just not apparant for a while"
Smiling she started foreward again.
"So chin-up, whatever they've got you into you might eventually find a way out of."
Hunter sighed.
"I suppose in a way I've already made my choice," he stated, mostly to himself. "There's no going back now, even if I wanted to." He walked toward the buildings a bit more purposefully. This really was his best chance to get free from under the shadow he'd been living with his whole life. He entered the DSPA office building and the receptionist looked up at him.
"Can I help you, sir?" he questioned, eyeing Hunter suspiciously. Hunter reached into a pocket and handed him a sealed letter.
"I'm expected," he stated.
Blake returned the handshake and smiled. It wasn't just about money now, it was about dignity. "Choose the nerd," Blake said, cracking his knuckles "I got Synapse" He walked with her over to the game, hopping from foot to foot and circling his shoulders like a boxer getting ready for a match. He smiled and got ready to mash buttons like no tomorrow.
Erik left the police station disappointed. Gregor had provided some information, but not much. He had been sleeping in a tree when the attack started, and he had divulged the nature of the attackers: They had apparently been wolves. Not dogs. Not hyenas. Wolves. When asked how he was so sure, he responded, Dogs aint bigger than tanks. And these were not Council freaks, mind you, these almost looked like normal animals. Cept they were biggern tanks. Thereafter, he claimed the wolves had suddenly been distracted by something near the War wall halfway through the frenzy, and he had taken the opportunity and bolted. He had then sought out the nearest PPD officer and begged to be arrested. Shortly after his testimony, he had gone into Shift withdrawl and became useless.
In any case, there was nothing Erik could do except go back to his apartment and write up the follow-up report Vanessa couldnt have bothered to do herself.
Nyte followed Hunter into the DSPA building, she considered his words thoughtfully more pieces to the Hunter puzzle it seemed although not enough to truly make heads or tails of it quite yet. She had barely stepped through the doors when she felt the approach of a familiar person - how lovely.
The receptionist visably winced when she took notice of Nyte, Nyte ignored her but she could sympathise - typically her visits caused a bit of grief.
"No worries...I'm here unoffcially at the moment, no nasty damage reports or requests for collateral damage funding"
She assured the receptionist before handing Hunter a card.
'You need help getting anywhere else you can reach me there, I'm about to be accoosted by Agent Haine, he's a lovely angry little man who just dosen't appreciate my partner's good side"
She stated turning at the exact second said agent - a short stern looking and almost portly fellow with a cranky look on his face. "Your partner dosen't have a good side" the man stated with near venom.
"You see...I'm always right. Take care of yourself"
Nyte quiped to Huner before pushing off from the counter and flashing the Agent a smile.
"Agent Haine..how lovely to see you again"
Could be heard floating on the air back to Hunter as Nyte joined Haine who practucally threw a packet of papers at her, Nyte caught them deftly in the air opening the folder to glance at the picture's..which she admited didn't look good on first glance. Oh Grifter...What trouble have you gotten into while I was moving? It wasn't the man's fault really he did what he did for good reasons he was mostly just...misunderstood, Nyte played the go between acting as a buffer between Grifter and any agency,person or group that required one. ?Nyte was a far better people person - it was just easier this way.
"Yes well I'll speak to him but I'm sure there was a very good reason that the building caught fire, I mean there were criminals attempting to take it over..."
Nyte nodded a few times flipping through the papers before pulling a pair of sunglasses out of her pocket and with a cheery smile at Agent Haine and a wave to Hunter she breezed back out the front doors settling the suglasses over her eyes before unfulring her wings and hurtling away into the sky.
The game token machine was only a few paces down from the Freedom Phalanx game, she purchased enough for eleven games of three rounds each
just in case they got really drawn into it. The idle game machine was cycling through pre-recorded fights, displaying the various Phalanxers fighting styles. Occasionally in versus mode, an archvillain would randomly spawn and would attack either player. The current scoreboard cycled through, with ALM at the top
Alex Lee Monroe.
Alex activated the controls and began setting the stage, they were going to be fighting outside of Grandville; she always enjoyed fighting a Lord Recluse spawn, but it was also the hardest map.
Will Grandville be too hard for you, Blake? Alex toyed with her friend.
After the loading screen finished, Alex immediately threw the combo for Lingering Radiation to slow Synapses speed and attack rate then was flying in the air in no time. Try defying gravity, you speeder. Alex quipped, adrenaline bringing her mind to focus.
When the names of the top ten players came rolling down the screen, Blake recognized ALM immediately and got a little scared. I'm lucky if I make half the score of the last person on that list... he thought, then shrugged it off as the loading screen came up, showing a picture of Grandville and Lord Recluse. "You wish. I could beat you with one arm tied behind my back" he said and smiled.
He wouldn't really do that because, well, he was already doubtful he was going to win anyways. As the loading bar filled and the in-game announced Round One had started, Blake was stunned by how fast Alex pushed the buttons. Well, he could push them that fast, but she did a combo, he just smashed on them.
"Geez, I shoulda stayed with five bucks" Blake said as she shot a radiation thing at his character then took to the air, leaving him in the dust. He jammed on Synapse's little electrical throw, although that was the character's weakest move and did practically nothing. Blake could make Synapse double jump and then he could reach Positron, but that's a one-shot blow.
"Come on you stupid speeder" Blake muttered angrily, slapping the side of the machine lightly before going back to button mashing. He double-jumped with Synapse and did an overhand smash with some electricity thrown in, hoping it would knock the flier to the ground.
As Blake was performing his double-jump, Alex managed to send three little neutron bolts that caused minor damage before his overhand slam sent Positron crashing into the ground. As the falling animation continued, she was setting up another combo but held off on the activation button until Posi got back on his feet. As soon as she clicked the button, she activated Neutron Bomb and hurled a large orb of green radiation at Synapse.
Alex did not wait to see what the effect was before she was already rushing forward and starting the close-range Cosmic Burst combo. Alex was half-tempted to casually hold her arm behind her back, but she didnt want to seem cocky
just skilled. We can knock the bid down to five bucks if you want, Blake.
Hunter smiled slightly before glancing at the card. It was a visitor badge.
"Agent Black is here," the receptionist said into an intercom. "Yes, I have it. Mmhmm. Yes. Alright, I'll let him know." Hunter clipped the badge to the lapel of his suit as the receptionist looked up at him.
"Agent Smith is waiting in his office," she told him. "Down the hall, third door on the left."
"Thank you, ma'am," Hunter said. He turned to go.
"Just a minute, young man," she stated. "He told me to check your weapons." Hunter sighed.
"This could take a while," he muttered. He began removing throwing knives from his sleeves, around his belt, and his shoes. The pile wasn't small. Then he added a boot knife and dagger from his left leg. Then he took of his jacket and removed the tanto from its sheath.
"Is that all?" the receptionist asked wryly.
Nyte had headed back to the apartments after leaving Hunter, she still had alot of unpacking to do - and now what promised to be an exciting conversation with Grif about some burnt down warehouse. The warehouses in her opinion were so frought with crime that burning them all to the ground would probably do the city some good. the city however did not share her opinion.
She avoided running into Mabel by landing on the fire escape and with a bit of prying entering her new apartment via window, which she left open because well the air was a bit stale inside - apparantly the apartment had been empty for quite some time.
Throwing the packet of paper Agent Haine had given her on a nearby chair, not caring overly much when half the papers slipped out to scatter across the floor. She was proccupied with attempting to get Grifter to answer his phone - she'd already checked in with her supergroup..and he was as normal off-com there as well.
"Why the hell won't you answer your phone..if your off by yourself again I swear!"
She ranted into his voice messages before snapping the phone shut in irritation.
"you swear what"
Came a gruff voice from behind her, whirling she glared at him - Grifter was one of the few people quite adept at sneaking up on her, his emotions held so tightly in check sometimes that he was but a muted presence in an otherwise busy world - at least when he wasn't loosing his temper.
"You kno I hate it when you do that"
She huffed in refrence to his sneaking up on her to which he replied with a look clearly ment to state she should have been paying more attention, He ignored her after that glancing around the tiny apartment with an appraising look.
"Nice.."
His tone was clearly sarcastic and she rolled her eyes.
"Yes well we can't all live in penthouse apartments"
"you could if you'd take some of the profits from our work"
"I take enough to keep my gear up to date..and we've had this discussion before I don't much care about where I live....besides the people here seem fairly nice."
"Did you run background checks"
"No"
He fixed her with a look to to which she stubbornly glared right back - Grifter was far to suspicious for his own good, she wasn't about to pry into her neighbors lives simply to appease his over-protective sense of responsability, which she knew he had even if he refused to aknowledge that fact..or even that they were even friends he stated quite frequently that he had to put with her because she just wouldn't go away and knew how to find him. Which had been true...in the beginning, he needed her weather he wanted to admit it or not, now they made a good team - and no one else seemed capable of putting up with him long enough to get things done.
He grunted and let his gaze flicker to the door.
"No peephole"
"I'm an empath Grif I'm fairly certain I'll know if someone's trying to bust my door down"
"I got in without you noticing"
"Your differant, you want to tell me about the warehouse fire"
She asked kicking the pictures on the floor to send them skittering towards him. He glanced down at them with a shrug.
"There were three bombs I only found two, the third was some new model and neither intelligence nor any of the equipment picked it up"
Nyte considered that for a few moments before replying.
"Well at least there's a legitimete reason"
He nodded glancing around the apartment once more before heading to the door, opening it he glanced back at her.
"Be at the base by 7, the boss has given us a few marchign orders"
Without another word he strolled out letting the door close loudly behind him, shaking her head Nyte went on with unpacking.
Hunter walked down the hall toward the office of Agent Smith after having been relieved of his weapons. Even without them he was quite capable of taking on anyone with normal abilities and even a few extra-normals. He paused at the door before knocking.
"It's open," came the a reply in a a deep, hard voice.
"Hunter Black reporting as ordered, sir," Hunter stated as he opened the door and entered the office.
The man behind the desk was big. He had a few inches on Hunter and at lease fifty pounds of solid muscle. He was older too, probably by about ten years Hunter guessed. The man stood when he entered and motioned him toward a low chair in front of the desk.
"Have a seat," he stated. Hunter closed the door behind him and moved to the chair. He didn't like having his back to the door, but if anyone came in he would hear them enter.
"Formalities first," the man said. "Wrist." Hunter held out his left arm. The man pulled a small device from a desk drawer and waved it over his wrist. It beeped. The man glanced at it, nodded, then put it back.
"You don't know the kind of man I am, so I'll lay it out straight," he said, looking Hunter square in the eye. "You walked through that door of your own accord. That makes you part of my crew. I don't care what you've done or who you've done it for, the past stays in the past. In this office, we're about the future. You can expect me to deal with you fairly, truthfully, and with dignity. I expect the same from you in return. Integrity; that's my moto. I'm not going to watching you or spying on you. I trust my crew. I would like you to trust me in return, but I understand it that's a bit much to ask for right now. We'll take this a day at a time. Deal?"
"Yes, sir," Hunter said, wondering if he could take this man at his word. Agent Smith nodded.
"Let's see your phone," he stated. Hunter handed it to him. Agent Smith typed in some numbers, and then did something else with it.
"When it rings, answer it," he said. "That's how I'll get in touch with you. There is a bug in the phone, but you have control over it. Hit star and pound to activate or deactivate it." He demonstrated turning it on and off. Hunter frowned slightly. He had the feeling his handler had bugged it.
"You need to report here every Monday at 1400 hours for the sake of the higher-ups," Agent Smith continued. "Since today's Saturday, it'll count for next week. If I need you for something before then, I'll call." He tossed the phone back to him. "Any questions?"
"No, sir," Hunter replied. It had gone much smoother than he had anticipated. Agent Smith nodded.
"See you in a week then," he said, standing. Hunter stood, shook hands with the man, and left. He retrieved his weapons from the receptionist and decided to wander the city a bit before returning to the apartment complex.
Blake smiled when Synapse knocked down Positron, but as soon as the speeder hit the ground, Alex threw a huge ball of Cosmic stuff at him, sending Blake's character to the ground. He jammed up and Synapse jumped, shooting off another small electricity shot. Synapse landed and Alex hit him with a melee combo, Blake jamming on the block button halfway through. He snapped a look at Synapse's health bar and swore under his breath as it was only a quarter full.
"Nah," Blake said, smiling "I still got a couple tricks up my sleeve" He didn't really, but saying that made him feel better. Since Posi was in melee range, Blake pressed a quick combo that shot electricity out in a circle, then went to button mashing with quick shots and combos, trying to keep Positron from flying again.
While after his long phone call with his girlfriend of four years he desides to head back out side and go for a walk. So he put back on his trench coat and hat and headed to the door. As he walked out side he saw a young women getting mugged by a member of the Hellions. As the mugger demanded her money and her purse Ramon walked up to him "Leave here alone." he said with a growl in his voice as he placed down his bags. As the Hellion turned around with his knife in his hand "What trying to be a hero. I fear no one we Hellions are to be feared." As Ramon walked up closer "Hellions huh. More like babies trying to be demons." As the Hellion rushed Ramon and slashed at him Ramon easily dodged the attack and grabbed the Hellion. "Here let me show you what demons really look like." he said with a smile as he let go of the Hellion. The Hellion quickly dropped to the ground shaking in fear. "Miss he wont be bothering you or anyone else for a long time." As he walked away he tipped his hat towards her picked up his bags and left. As soon as he left the young women called the medics and police for the unlucky Hellion. "What 25 mins intil pick up........ the nerve." Futher down he saw a few new heroes running past him fighting crime and even stopped to watch a few fights. Reminds me of when i first started he thought to himself. At Vanguards front door the man asked for some ID Ramon handed him both his personal and Hero ID becuase he didnt know which one he was under. The guard laugh Ramon your "other ID wont be nessary we still have both on recorded and welcome back sir." "Thank you" he replied as he walked in. As soon as he teleported to vanguard he went straight to the briefing room and sat down.
Erik had arrived at Freedom Court and gone around to the back where there wasn't as much bustle. He settled onto one of the benches and waited.
Very soon a young lady wearing a red vest over a red shirt with a long red skirt and red hair with red-rimmed glasses came walking toward him. Erik rolled his eyes just slightly. It was Vanessa, the most annoying personal assistant in the world, who had been assigned to him. It wasn't that she was a generally unlikable person-She was just incompatible with Erik. She rubbed him the wrong way, so to speak, with her high and whiny voice and her vanity and her total lack of focus...
That, and she was always confused by his umbrella. She did not know why he used it. This was the polite way of insinuating that Vanessa was...
"Hello Erik darling!" She cried out to him from thirty feet away, drawing lots of glances and looks from the surrounding crowd. "You wanted to meet with me?"
'Please just sit down already.' Vanessa yelped as Erik's voice spoke to her in her head-The albino was a telepath. She quickly rushed over to his bench and made a slight fuss about how dirty it was before sitting down.
"So is this about that super secret thing we're working on?" She asked him immediately.
'Of all the people in that room, it had to be you. Lovely.' Erik thought, struggling not to become immensely pissed off at the woman sitting next to him. Whenever he heard her voice, he had to strangle his subconscious to prevent mental feed-back from his own emotions. His face did not reveal his internal struggle, still very passively blank with set lips and relaxed eyes that always stared straight ahead.
"Please talk a little more quietly, Vanessa." He said in his calm voice. "I called you here for your follow-up report on the Gemini Park incident."
She blinked vapidly at him. "Follow-up report?" She asked.
"Never mind." Erik said. 'I'll probably wind up making it eventually.' "Can you tell me anything about the couple involved in the incident?"
"Oh!" Vanessa exclaimed excitedly. "CAN I?" Their names were Paul and Maria Summerfield, and they owned Pizza Port just a couple of blocks away and-"
"Focus, Vanessa. Please relate to me only things which would connect them with our target." Erik said.
"Oh." She said, and suddenly went silent. "Um. They donated to the Humane society every now and then...?"
'Their names were all I needed. Since you didn't write up the report I'll have to do my own research, and all I needed to get more information on them was their names.' But just to be polite, Erik asked, "I see. Is there anything else?"
"Um. Ah! There was a witness! That's how we even know about it in the first place! His name is Joseph Gregor, he's a member of the Lost who was incarcerated this morning! He apparently turned himself in and gave a full testimony of the event to the chief."
'Much better. Not entirely useless.' "I see. Thank you. I apologize for calling you out here for th-"
"I think we should go out." Vanessa suddenly declared. "But do get rid of that silly umbrella, Erik darling, its really weird..." She grabbed onto its handle...
Erik instantly passed through his carefully maintained inner-balance and shot right past the earlier stages of fury and was now in that calm lagoon of rage where the voice is steady, the manner is measured and polite, and only a faint trace of spittle at the corner of the mouth betrays the inner inferno. Vanessa suddenly felt an invisible force shoving her hand away roughly and then shoving her entire person almost off the bench.
"Do not. Touch me." Erik said, still gazing straight ahead with a blank look. But even Vanessa recognized the cold rage that was seething in his eyes. She took that as her cue to leave, got up, and hastened away.
Erik lowered his head and stayed on the bench for another five minutes, gritting his teeth as his own rage was amplified by his empathy to the point where it began to physically hurt. He concentrated, focused...And slowly the rage faded away. He lifted his head and stared into empty space for a few moments before fully collecting himself and rising. He then started heading for the PPD station...