Inférieur

[Sophie_Simone]

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

"Shut up!", Sophie groaned as she rolled over to shut off her alarm clock, which was flashing 5:00 a.m. in bright, red numbers.

'Why on Earth are you making so much noise?', Sophie thought as she hit the alarm clock unnecessarily hard. However, after glancing at her calender, she knew why, and immediately perked up. 'Friday!', she thought as she pulled out some clothes from her dresser. She stuffed a change of clothes into her duffel bag before making her way towards the bathroom.

------------------------

Dressed in her normal training clothes (a black t-shirt, gym shorts, sneakers), Sophie made her way passed several officers as she crossed the lobby of the Longbow HQ. She was met at the check-in desk by the usual secretary.

"Good morning, Rebecca.", Sophie said, beaming. Coming here every Friday always put her in a good mode, but for some odd reason, she was particularly happy today.

"Good morning, Sophie. How has your week been? You seem happier than usual."

"Oh, same old, same old. I think I'm just in a good mood today, Becca"

After signing the check-in sheet and presenting her Trainee I.D., Sophie took an elevator down to level 4, as she did every visit. When she stepped off, she made her way down the hallway to the right, stopping at the door at the end of the hallway. She smiled at the sign next to the door, which contained what had to be her favorite words on the planet: Office of Agent Kristina Lynch, Dept. Head.

As she walked in the door, she was greeted by the sight of her friend, mentor, and parent-figure, who appeared to be having an argument with a stack of paperwork.... and she was losing.

Kristina Lynch was a 29 year old woman who had quickly risen through the ranks of Longbow, due to her dedication and knack for thwarting evil plans. She was a very attractive woman, with long, light brown hair, and dark, green eyes. The only noticeable detriment to her appearance was a scar that ran just under her right eye. According to Kris, she'd had the scar since a car accident she was in when she was 12. She was also in great physical shape, due to her extensive personal exercises and the work-out she got through training with the future Longbow, as well as Sophie. Kris, though a member of Longbow, was also a meta-human. Her reflexes were second to none, allowing her to dodge most physical attacks. More importantly, though, Kris was what the meta-human society called a 'Copy-Cat'; she copied other meta-humans' powers, demonstrating the same level of control over the abilities as the meta-human who's powers they really were. However, if no meta-human was within range of her, Kris was, for all intents and purposes, powerless, causing many to wonder why she would choose to lead the life that she had when her powers could be ignored.

"What?! You say the same thing as that blue packet I read last night!", she exclaimed at the piece of paper she currently had placed in front of her. The paper, of course, was not in a position to respond, but Kris acted as if it had, nonetheless.

"Fine, have it your way, but if another one of your buddies repeats this same useless bit of info, I'm going to throw all of you in the fireplace."

Sophie entered quietly, sitting in the seat opposite of Kris. She didn't make a noise, but was biting her tongue to the point she drew blood, in order to prevent herself from cracking up. Eventually, Sophie lost it, much to the surprise of Kris.

"Wha-? Sophie! Jesus, you scared me!.... How much of that did you see?"

"Enough to adamantly believe that you should be seeing a shrink more than just once a week.", Sophie replied, still laughing.

After briefly glaring at Sophie, Kris chuckled, "Yeah, well, you're probably right about that. Are you ready to head down to the gym? I'm thinking today would be a good day to do a run-through of all your training, just to make sure you're on track."

"Ready as always, Kris."

------------------------

"You suck."

Sophie heard Kris say this as she went flying across the room into a padded wall. Sophie smirked, quickly getting back on her feet, deflecting the incoming arrows before firing some of her own right back at Kris. They didn't land, but they did briefly grab Kris' attention, which is exactly what Sophie wanted. She'd managed to activate her stealth abilities before Kris could attack again.

"Good move, Soph. Now come out of hiding so we can see what you can really do.", Kris said, smirking as she cautiously scanned the room for any trace of movement.

"Gladly."

Sophie dropped down from the ceiling with the intent of landing right on Kris and pinning her to the ground, to win the match. However, Kris dodged the attack, rolling forward. She was quick to turn around and pounce on the momentarily vulnerable Sophie, but Sophie was quick, as she caught Kris in between her legs, before quickly doing a back-hand spring and throwing Kris over her head and into the wall behind them.

"Ok, that's enough.", Kris said as she stood upright again, rubbing her neck a little. "That was a pretty awesome move, Soph. You learn that yourself?"

"Yup. Got the idea from a few Carnie freaks I took down a while back."

"Hmph. I'll have to bring some in and let you train with them every once in a while.", Kris said, smirking.

"Would that be before or after they blinded every Longbow in the building?"

"Hopefully before, but I'd hope that everyone here is skilled enough to adapt to that kind of situation."

"To being blind? Could you adapt to being blind?"

Kris chuckled. "No, probably not. But that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to expect more of everyone else here, right?"

"If you say so, Kris.", said Sophie, laughing.

"Come on, let's head down to the cafeteria and get something to eat before I test your archery skills. That should be the last thing we need to do today...", said Kris, as she checked 'Sparring w/ Powers' off her to-do list.

"That sounds good-", but, before Sophie could finish, her cellphone began ringing.

"Oh, just a sec, Kris; I'll meet you down there, k?"

"Sounds good.", said Kris, as she stepped inside the elevator.

As soon as her phone told her who was calling, Sophie knew that that day had taken a turn for the worse.

"Hello, Dad."

"Sophie! How are you? You haven't called your mother and I in weeks."

"Huh. Guess I haven't."

There was a long pause after she said this. The less she talked to her parents, the happier Sophie was, and her parents knew that. But, they desperately wanted to connect with their daughter, so they continued to try and make frequent contact.

"Soooo... it's Friday morning. Are you down at Longbow Headquarters?"

"Yup. In fact, before you interrupted, Kris and I were just about to head down to the cafeteria to get some lunch."

"Well, your mother and I were thinking about swinging by to say hello to a few old friends and such. Maybe we can meet you and Kris for lunch there?"

"I'd prefer you didn't."

Another long pause. Sophie hated when her parents pretended to actually want to spend time with her. They didn't care about how she was doing mentally, emotionally, what her grades were like, or if she'd made any friends; nope, they just wanted to make sure she was excelling at her training.

"....Oh, ok then. Then maybe we could go somewhere for lunch, just you, your mother, and I? I'm sure Kris would understand..."

Odd. Usually they'd want to pester Kris about Sophie's training, but now, it seemed as though they didn't want her to come for some reason.

Sophie sighed. "Fine. I'll meet you at Bianco's in fifteen minutes, then?"

"That'd be great. Vous vois bientôt, chéri."

"Vous vois bientôt, papa."

She hung up the phone, throwing it back into her duffel bag before taking out a pill-box. Taking out two small green pills, she took them with her water.

'Lord knows I'm going to be needing these....', she thought, wincing at the thought of the migraine that she knew was on it's way.

[Sophie_Simone]

'1:35, damnit...', Sophie thought as she looked at her watch and walked through Overbrook, making her way towards Bruno's.

She'd taken a little detour through Talos on her way, figuring she'd take out all her frustration on a few thugs, rather than her parents... even if they were the ones who brought about said frustration. Unfortunately, the 'detour'' took much longer than Sophie had planned, and she winced as she rubbed the spot where the Axe had skimmed her shoulder. But, in Sophie's opinion, her parents were lucky she was showing up at all, even if she was late.

Sophie was mulling over such thoughts when she stepped up to the hostess' stand at Bruno's, not even noticing the smiling girl standing behind it.

"Ciao Sophie!"

Sophie jumped, looking up. The scowl that had formed on her face quickly changed into a relieved smile.

"Mieri! Jeez, you scared me!"

Mieri laughed. "You are here to meet your parents, si?"

Sophie eyed Mieri cautiously. "How do you know that?"

"Well, a man and woman just came in together a few minutes ago. The man looked just like you, had a French accent, and said they were here to meet up with their daughter. Then you came in, so I only assumed they were referring to you.... plus, you were kinda talking to yourself as you came in, something about your parents' patience..."

Sophie blushed and chuckled nervously. "Yeah, sorry about that.... but you're right, I am here to meet them. So, where are they?"

"Just follow me."

Cassandra and Leonard Simone were seated in a booth near the far end of the restaurant. After leading Sophie to the booth, Mieri left, allowing Sophie to briefly look over her parents. It'd been several months since she'd seen them, but they looked no different. Cass Simone was a fairly attractive, 38 year old woman, though years of stress, be it physical, mental, or emotional, had taken it's toll on her appearance. She still had the cute short blond hair, but in the right light, one could see strands of gray starting to show. Her eyes were big and brown, as they'd always been, but if one looked closely, they could see the crows feet that had slowly formed at the corner of her eyes. And if you ever watched her walk, you might be able to notice that she favored her left leg, perhaps from an injury earlier in her career. But, the part of her mother's appearance that stood out most to Sophie was...

'That smile, that huge, stupid, lying smile...', Sophie thought. Never one to openly admit to being sad (only Sophie and Leo were aware of Cass' problems with depression), Cass always wore a big, fake smile, which, in Sophie's mind, was more telling than if Cass were to openly admit to how she was feeling. In that smile, Sophie saw every worry Cass ever had, every bit of pain she experienced, every dark thought that ever went through her mind. Of course, Sophie could have also known all this stuff by reading her mother's mind, but she couldn't remember which it was at this point.

Turning, Sophie scanned her father. Mieri was right, Sophie did look just like her father. They had the same smooth, jet black hair, the same deep blue eyes, the same creamy complexion. Their glares were even the same, though Sophie was the only one glaring as her eyes met her father's. Though he was two years older than his wife, Leo had aged slightly better, except for his eyesight, which seemed to get worse every time Sophie saw him. Cass had told Sophie in privacy that Leo had once failed to diffuse a bomb while on a mission. Luckily, Leo wasn't hunched over the bomb when it detonated, but he was still close enough for it to have permanently damaged his eyesight.

When they saw Sophie, both Cass and Leo smiled (well, Cass' smile grew bigger), and moved to get up out of the booth and hug their daughter.

"Sophie!"

"Sweetie!"

But, before they could do so, Sophie had sat down in the seat opposite them. Sighing, Leo and Cass resumed their positions, trying to do so in the least awkward manner possible.

Cass spoke first. "Sweetheart, how have you been? How's school? Have you made any friends? That hostess seemed to know you..."

Sophie nodded as she sipped her water. "That would be Mieri, my roommate. She's sweet, you guys would love her..."

"Your roommate? So she's a meta-human?"

Sophie sighed. She'd known the conversation would get to this eventually, as her parents had an almost sick obsession with the meta-human gene.

"Yes, she is, but it's not my place to talk about it, and I don't intend to any longer.", Sophie said, sternly.

Leo shifted nervously under his daughter's glare. "Ok.... so, uhhh... how's Kris been lately? You still on track with your training?"

'Jeez, bastard is on a roll today, isn't he?', Sophie thought, as she felt her headache begin to form.

"She's fine. My training is progressing as planned. Drop it."

Cass glared at her husband, elbowing him under the table. "Damnit, you promised to not bring that up!", she whispered under her breathe. Before Leo could respond, their waiter came, taking their orders.

Once the waiter had left, there was a long silence, as Sophie stared out the window, and Cass and Leo had a quiet, yet heated conversation. Eventually, Leo, who was visibly frustrated, through his hands up, and spoke, addressing Sophie.

"Sweetie, why won't you talk to us? Or call us? We want to see you more so we can be a family again. Why won't you let us?"

Sophie chuckled as her eyes flashed purple, and she rubbed her temples before she replied.

"Why? This is why."

Without lifting a finger, Sophie shattered Leo's glass, yet the water stayed in place, keeping it's form as if it were still in the glass.

"This isn't normal. I shouldn't be able to do that. But, you two were so desperate to show off your own daughter to your friends, that you allowed me to undergo a procedure that could have killed me! Why the hell should I ever care about you, or want to be a family with you again?"

Cass' eyes began to tear up, and she was virtually pleading to Sophie. "Sophie, we're sorry! We'd wish none of this had ever happened. We know how it hurts-"

"No, you don't, and don't pretend to, because trust me, you think that leg of yours hurts? I'd welcome that if it would get rid of my migraines, especially since they can kill people, and your leg pain can't!"

Sophie's eyes were now a bright purple. She stormed out of Bruno's, leaving her parents feeling awful, and Cass on the verge of tears.

Sophie sat against the wall of a building near Bruno's, head in her knees, trying to calm herself down. She still heard the soft footsteps behind her, though, and conjured up her bow and a couple of arrows, and pointed them all at the unwelcome stranger.

"Woah, take it easy!"

Mieri had put her hands defensively. Sophie sighed, dissipating the bow and arrows.

"I'm sorry about that, Mieri. I'm just not in the best mood."

Mieri chuckled and sighed in relief, "Si, clearly. Want to talk about it?"

Sophie looked Mieri in the eyes as she sat down next to her. "Did you hear what went on in there?"

"Everyone did.", Mieri said, chuckling.

"....Right, sorry about that. And the broken glass."

"I'm not so worried about that, but what are we supposed to do with that water shaped like a glass?"

Sophie smiled. "Use a straw, it's still perfectly good water."

After a brief silence, Mieri spoke again. "I think you need to forgive them, Soph."

Sophie quirked an eyebrow. "Would you forgive someone who basically took the risk of getting you killed?"

"If they were my parents, si."

"Why should I?"

"Do you not believe them when they say they are sorry?"

Sophie paused at the question. "No, I-I do, but.... I'm not so sure that's enough...."

Mieri smiled and put a hand on Sophie's back. "Sophie, you can't hold grudges forever. Sometimes you just need to forgive people, even if they don't deserve it."

"Why is that?"

"Because, if you hold grudges forever like this, you'll eventually find it hard to trust anyone at all, to prevent yourself from getting hurt. It's a slippery slope, Soph..."

"You make it sound like protecting yourself like that is a bad thing."

Mieri shook her head. "There is no point in protecting yourself like that if, in order to do so, you give up on ever trusting anyone. It's a lonely life without people around you that you trust, Sophie..."

Before she could respond, Sophie's phone chimed in. After reading the message, Sophie stood up.

"Mieri... I've got to go, Longbow just gave me a job to do involving the spider freaks. Maybe we can continue this later?"

Mieri smiled, getting up. "Si, that would be nice. I'll tell your parents that you had to leave in a hurry... maybe I can tell them to meet you here same time next Friday?"

Sophie hesitated before nodding. "Sure.... thanks Mieri."

"No problem, stay safe!"

Smiling, Sophie crouched before bursting up into the sky, flying off in the direction of the Overbrook dam.

[Sophie_Simone]

"And what are you here for, little girl?"

The two Longbow security guards smiled down at her condescendingly, chuckling as they did so. They were guarding the doors that led to the other side of Overbrook, which was infested with Arachnos and Sky Raider scum. Sophie just glared in response to the comment, and briefly considered throwing the jerks a few feet into the air, before she managed to calm herself down and respond.

"I'm here on official Longbow business. Let me through."

The one who had mocked her before spoke again, chuckling. "Oh? And what is that business, exactly? Were you sent to bring us cookies?"

Sophie quirked an eyebrow and smirked. While they laughed at her, she pulled the pins out of the smoke grenades in their utility belts quietly, so that they would not notice. Without the hard impact they usually get when they're thrown, they wouldn't detonate immediately, leaving Sophie just enough time to get on her way.

"I don't have time to explain. Call Agent Lynch if you have a problem with it."

And with that, Sophie walked past the two guards. She was no more than 20 feet behind them when she heard the smoke release form the grenades, and, after a few expletives, loud coughing, as well as some shouting and more expletives from people she could only assume were their superiors. She smirked to herself as she activated her stealth suit and made her way into Arachnos territory.

------------------------------------

Sneaking into the actual building was easy enough, as Arachnos had a bad habit of stationing their least competent operatives at the door. They also had the bad habit of using very little light in their bases, which just made it easier for Sophie to sneak around. She slipped on her goggles and turned them on, peering down the halls of the base...

Finding a brief second to herself, Sophie took out her phone, rereading Kris' job for her.

'Southeast corner of Overbrook, in Arachnos territory. Infiltrate the Armory of the Arachnos base; we have information that they're working on a new armor for Tarantulas. Photograph, examine, and destroy their new Exoskeleton prototype, in that order. This is to test your stealthing and Information retrieval skills.'

-Agent Lynch

Sophie smirked, slipping the phone back into a pocket on her stealth suit.

------------------------------------

Sophie watched as several low-level spider thugs talked amongst themselves in what appeared to be the Security Room. Ironically, no, the Security Room was not very secure; Sophie easily hacked the security panel to break into the room.

She was currently perched on the rafter above the main computer. She was getting tired of waiting for the thugs to move, so she took a more aggressive approach...

Sophie telekinetically pushed the three unconscious Arachnos goons into the nearest supply closet, locking the door. She then focused all her attention on the task at hand. She went right to the schematics and map of the base.

"There we go...", Sophie said under her breath as she scanned the base, level after level, looking for the armory...

'No.....no....no.....no.....n-wait, what the hell?', Sophie thought, as she went through the levels, and, on the sixth sub-basement level, found a high level of activity. Intrigued, she activated the sound on the security cameras, listening in...

--------------------------------------

Over fifty Fortunata, Mu, Bane Spider Executioners, Night Widows, and Wolf Spider Huntsmen were gathered in a meeting room in one of the lower levels of the base. Each faction was bickering and fighting with the other, until one Huntsman slammed his fist down on the table, creating a noise that resonated throughout the room and shut everyone up.

"Quiet! Do you want her to arrive and see you fighting like this? She will have all our heads. Now quiet down or I'll personally make sure whoever doesn't is on the top of her list...."

The room stayed quiet, and the Huntsman resumed his seat. However, a few started to get anxious again, and began asking the man questions.

"So, how long are we supposed to wait?", one Executioner asked with scorn.

"For however long it takes for her to arrive. But, if you have a problem with that and would like to take the issue up with her when she arrives, be my guest. I do love watching her use her techniques on others..."

The Executioner gulped and backed up into a corner, clearly afraid of whoever 'she' was...

"Aren't we still missing Ronan and her crew?", one Fortunata asked.

"Yes, but she contacted me a few minutes ago, she said something came up and she'd be coming by way of the base above, instead of by submarine...."

-----------------------------------

After hearing this, Sophie, still listening in, scanned the base map again, looking for... the.... elevator....

'Shit!', Sophie thought when she saw that the elevator was in the Security Room. Turning, she saw the elevator to the right of the main computer, mentally punching herself for being so stupid. She watched as 4 red blips on the screen made their way for the room. Activating her stealth, she hid behind the main computer, bow summoned, ready for a fight...

The Fortunata and her crew entered the room quietly, making their way for the elevator. However, the Fortunata paused for a moment, glancing around.

"Where the hell is security?! Isn't it Daemon's, Verno's, and Dobson's shift?"

One of her underlings shrugged, saying, "You know how those guys can be; they probably took an early break."

The Fortunata growled, "They'll pay for this lapse.... of all days for them to slack off, when she is coming!"

Sophie, still invisible, made her way up next to the other side of the elevator as they waited for it to come. When it did, and the door finally opened, Sophie slipped into the elevator before they stepped in, bracing herself against the wall. She'd completely forgotten about her original mission, figuring this would prove more worthwhile...

Once they were all in, one of the underlings hit the button to take them to the sixth floor, and Sophie wondered and worried about what was about to happen....

[Sophie_Simone]

Once the elevator came to a stop, the four Arachnos operatives stepped out, and made there way down a dark, damp hallway towards a room at the end of it. Sophie too exited the elevator, following the operatives as closely and as quietly as possible.

As the Fortunata put in her code on the keypad and the door opened, Sophie saw what she had seen earlier on the security camera. A room filled with Arachnos Operatives of every group, all sitting and talking quietly amongst themselves. As the Fortunata and her thugs entered the room, there were several insults and rude comments thrown her way. She ignored them, and simply sat in a seat to the right of the Huntsman from before, leaving one chair empty in between them.

Sophie put herself in an empty corner of the room, so as to not risk bumping anyone and blowing her cover. She waited for about 15 minutes, listening to all the mindless chatter and bickering going on, before the door on the other side of the room opened.All Operatives in the room stood as one, some bowing their heads just a little as a tall Night Widow stepped into the room. Her armor was different than that of other Night Widows; it was metallic, with several spikes protruding from it's shoulders, hands, waist, and calves. Her entire head was covered except for her mouth, which was curled into a sadistic smile. Her presence in the room alone chilled Sophie, and apparently she wasn't the only one, as she saw several other thugs shiver a bit.

"Operative Cardemone.", said both Fortunata Ronan and who she had learned to be Huntsman Baxter as they bowed their heads at her.

The sadistic smile got even bigger. "Cecilia, Arthur, nice to see you both." She nodded her head in the general direction of the other thugs in the room.
"Minions, you may sit."

Many stumbled as they tried to sit back down. Many had looks of fear and awe in their eyes as they watched her.

'Who is this broad?', Sophie thought. She'd never seen anyone who just caused fear in others like this woman.... it was unsettling.

She spoke again, all eyes on her as she did so. "So, I hope you all have something for me?"

Baxter and Ronan nodded. Two Executioners brought forward a large crate, and set it on the table in front of Operative Cardemone. And then Sophie saw something she'd never thought she'd see...

Operative Cardemone had summoned claws on her hands. All Widows could do this, it was nothing new. But, these claws weren't normal claws; Sophie could sense it. They were made out of telekinetic energy; Sophie had never seen anyone able to summon telekinetic weapons like that, other than herself.

Sophie sat, surprised as hell, and watched as Cardemone used her claws to open the crate. Once it was opened, Cardemone gently reached her hands into the crate, and took out a small black box. She then opened the box, and smirked.

"Well done, ladies and gentlemen. Well done.", said Operative Cardemone, as she opened the box and showed it to the room. Sophie's quirked an eyebrow as she saw what was in the box. Three vials of a deep red liquid; it almost looked like blood, but it was more translucent. The Widow closed the box and put it back into the crate.

"Now, the program can go to the next step. Though, I've been told, that this latest serum does not come without it's downside?"

Ronan spoke up. "This serum, when used on somebody who received a previous version of the serum, will have various negative effects; irrational thinking, destructive tendencies, complete insanity, and in the most extreme cases, death. However, if contained in the appropriate amounts, it could freeze someone in the destructive tendencies phase, giving us the killing machine we've been searching for."

"Ahh, but then what do we do with the others who are already in the program?", one Mu said.

"We try to keep them in the destructive tendencies phase; if that fails, we eliminate them.", responded Huntsman Baxter.

Everyone nodded, like such a thing was common practice. Sophie was thinking about how much she'd like to hurt everyone one of them when Baxter's communicator went off.

"There's been a break-in at the Armory. Everyone up there, now!"

And in a second, a siren had sounded within the building, and the room was empty. Sophie took her chance. She rushed over to the crate with the intent of destroying all the vials, raising her bow, but then...

"Hey! Who the hell are you!?"

A few Mu stood in the doorway. Ducking under the table as several bolts of lightning came at her, Sophie flipped on her goggles, summoned a few arrows, and took out the Mu with ease. She knew more would be coming back, though, so she grabbed what she could. Taking one black box, Sophie made a dash out of the room. She couldn't risk taking the elevator, but she didn't not what else she could-...

"Take the ladder."

Sophie turned around to see Operative Cardemone standing against a wall, smirking as always. She drew her bow, prepared to fight, but instead, the woman put her hands up in defense.

"Hey, I'm not here to fight you sweetie. I'm giving you a chance to get away. There's a ladder down the hallway that leads to a manhole cover on the surface. Take it and run. If more come down here to stop you, I'll let them."

Sophie hesitated before running in the direction Cardemone indicated, but she suddenly stopped, turning to face the Widow, who waved at her as she turned.

"You're wasting your time girly. Go."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because it serves both of our best interests. Go!"

Operative Cardemone seemed to be losing control; she began stumbling and saying incoherent sentences before completely passing out on the floor. Not sure as to what the hell she had just seen, Sophie turned to the ladder she had been directed to, and began climbing up.

--------------------------------------

When she finally felt she was far enough away from the base, Sophie pulled out her phone, still panting from flying a maximum speed.

"Hello?"

"Hey, is Agent Lynch there?"

"Oh, Sophie, she went out looking for you a while ago. Said she was gonna join you on an Information Retrieval mission for some on the job training. You haven't seen her?"

Sophie felt her stomach drop. She knew what had set that alarm off....

"Becca, send Officers to the Arachnos Base in Overbrook NOW!"

"Sophie, what's wrong?!"

"I think they've got Kris..."

"Oh dear god..."

---------------------------

Lacking the energy to fly, Sophie had set off at a full sprint back in the direction of the base. She felt it coming, that rush of anguish and frustration, but she wouldn't stop, couldn't stop. She had to save Kris. It was her fault she was there, and she needed to make sure Kris was ok. Sophie could see the two guards she had confronted earlier in the distance. She was getting closer.... but she didn't have it in her. She was still nearly 50 yards away from the doors when she collapsed. She fought to keep going, but couldn't, and she knew what happened when she overexerted herself like that.

Her last thought was what they were doing to Kris at the moment. The last thing she heard was her own shouts and screams. The last thing she saw was everything near her slowly turn to dust. Then her thoughts went blank, her ears went deaf, and her eyes went dark.

[Sophie_Simone]

Sophie groaned as she felt a few more needles inject her with some weakening substance. She could barely move, and definitely did not have enough power in her to break out of the straps that were holding her gown to the gurney. She could only watch as she was rolled down a long hallway by several Freedom Corps. nurses. Her eyes scanned the walls, desperate for some means of salvation. Then, in a doorway to Sophie's left, she sees her mother and father smiling and waving. Then she notices it; they're all smiling. Why are they doing this to her?!

"Oh, don't worry, sweetie; everything will be much better after this, we promise. We'll all be much happier."

Sophie's eyes met her mother's. Cass was still smiling as she said all this. Sophie's jaw and lips were too numb to be moved, so all she could do was whimper and cry.

'Why are you doing this!?!', she wanted to say, but couldn't.

"Stay strong, Sophie; it'll be ok.", Leo said as he put his arm around Cass and watched them push Sophie down the hall.

Right before she was turned into the OR, Sophie's eyes met those of a tall, brunette woman. Unlike everyone else there, she looked worried, and was biting her lip. There was also a bit of anticipation in her eyes...

'What's her name? Carla, Katie...Kristina? Kristina! Please, stop this!', Sophie pleaded in her head, and tried to convey in her eyes. Kristina just apologetically shook her head, seeming to understand what Sophie wanted to say.

'I'm sorry; it's already been decided what's to become of you...'

Sophie's eyes grew wide.

'H-how... what was that?! Did she... just...?'

Sophie struggled with what had just happened as she was pushed into the OR. She tried to understand it all, and she wanted to break out of her constraints, but she couldn't. She wept as the anesthesia mask was lowered over her nose. Her vision then started to become a little blurry, and things in the room began to change form. The Freedom Corps. agents were no longer dressed in their usual red and white colors, but instead, she imagined black, red, and purple uniforms on them all. Sophie panicked as she went unconscious....

---------------------------

Sophie sat up abruptly, panting and clutching her chest. She'd had the dream several times before, but this time, there was something different. Sophie didn't remember Kris ever forcing a thought on her before...

Pushing the dream out of her thoughts, Sophie looked around the room she was in. This was certainly /not/ where she remembered...

Sophie clutched her head, remembering what had happened. Where was Kris?! She had to go back to save her! Sophie tried to get up and dash out of the room, but her body was sore all over, and she could barely move. Not only that, but her head was reeling from the intense migraine she was enduring, slightly disorienting Sophie. Then she remembered how she had fallen asleep. She'd passed out again. She clenched her eyes shut, praying that nobody had been near her when she went unconscious...

'But we'll never be able to tell, will we? They're just dust now...'

Sophie shuddered at her own thought, looking around the room yet again. It was too dark to make out anything in particular, but she could tell it was an apartment. She looked down at the couch she'd been sleeping on, wondering how she'd gotten here...

Sophie turned as she heard someone walking behind her. She drew her bow with little confidence, knowing she didn't have enough energy to fight her way out of here.

"You're up! It's early yet, I thought you were going to sleep s'more..."

[Sophie_Simone]

Sophie breathed a sigh of relief as Kris beamed at her from the kitchen doorway, holding a large mug of coffee. She both laughed awkwardly and sighed a breath of relief as she dissipated her bow and fell back on the couch, still exhausted. Kris laughed, picking up a pillow off the floor and throwing it at Sophie. "Jeez, aren't we a little antsy this morning?", Kris said, giggling. Sophie pulled the pillow off of her face and mock glared at her, tossing the pillow back. Kris hit the pillow across the room as she sat down cross-legged in an armchair across from Sophie, heaving a big sigh.

"So, what the hell happened yesterday? I went to look for you at the mission location, but you weren't in the Armory. You didn't even disable the alarm in there....", Kris paused as she chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head, "...which means I may or may not have been why the alarm went off, but whatever."

Sophie sat up, flinching a bit as she was reminded of just how sore her muscles were. "I'd found something a little more interesting; I thought I'd check it out and get us a new lead before heading back to the Armory, but then the Alarm went off...", she paused to glare at Kris, who shrugged.

"Hey, it wouldn't have gone off if you had done your job in the first place and taken care of the security system for that room. And what the hell were you doing overexerting yourself like that? You know what happens -"

Sophie cut Kris off as the mood of the conversation quickly became much more accusatory and serious. "Yes, Kris, I'm well aware of what happens when I overexert myself, thanks." Sophie replied bitterly. "I wouldn't have done so if I didn't think my mentor and best friend had gotten herself caught by Arachnos. How the hell did you escape anyway?"

Kris rolled her eyes. "Sophie, please. Just because I'm not psychic like you doesn't mean I can't fight; now I know its not the first time I've told you that, and yet you still don't seem to get it..."

Sophie turned her head and glared at the window. Sighing, Kris got up and sat next to Sophie, putting her hand on her back. "Look, Soph... I'm still grateful that you even tried to come back and get me. But what two things am I always telling you that you continuously choose to forget?"

Sophie sighed and turned to the smirking Kris, relenting as she answered in a monotone voice. "Always remember my limitations."

"Annnd?" Kris asked, still smirking.

Sophie sighed, looking down, speaking in a softer voice as she was reminded of one of her greater flaws. "Annnd.... I've got to learn to trust others." Sophie finished, looking up at Kris, who was still smirking expectantly. "Especially you."

Kris nodded, chuckling. "Right; now, why is that so hard to remember? I'm gonna end up being the only person you're close to Sophie if you don't open up even a little bit; and trust me, I can get really annoying, really fast." Kris smirked and stuck her tongue out as she smacked the back of Sophie's head and hopped off the couch, heading for the kitchen. "C'mon, I'll make us an early breakfast."

------------------------------

Sophie sat eating her French toast at Kris' kitchen table, carrying on a lighthearted conversation with her best friend, mentor, role model, and parent figure. However, she knew something was wrong. Every time she mentioned training, Kris would flinch, or pause, and would usually try to change the subject. Sophie knew Kris well enough to know something wasn't right. So, the next time training came up, Sophie wasn't going to let Kris pull a fast one on her.

"By the way Kris, next time we train, remind me to show you that telekinetic push thing I told you about; I think it could be kinda useful in a fight, and it's actually kinda cool." Sophie examined Kris' reaction; upon hearing Sophie, Kris stopped eating and paused for just a moment, wincing a bit before chiming in.

"Oh, Sophie! Don't you need to get some gifts for some friends or something for the holidays? We should definitely go shopping sometime soon; we both know you're helpless when it comes to picking out good gifts." Kris forced out a giggle as she spoke, obviously trying to provoke Sophie enough to divert her from the topic at hand. But Sophie wasn't having it, and she stared at Kris until her mentor broke. "Jeez, Soph, what do you want from me?"

"Why are you avoiding talking about training?" Sophie asked. Kris glanced at Sophie before getting up and pacing nervously. "Sophie, I'm not sure you're going to like this..."

Sophie felt her stomach drop. What was wrong? "What is it?"

Kris stopped moving and turned to face Sophie, wringing her hands. Her face was both pained and apologetic as she spoke. "The board has scheduled a hearing that will decide whether or not you should be allowed to continue your training with Longbow. They're worried you are too much of a liability."

Sophie stopped breathing for a moment. When she began to breathe again, the panic set in. "They... t-they can't do that can they? They had this done to me so I could join Longbow! Now they're just going to kick me out?! What the hell am I supposed to do now!"

Sophie was both angry and terrified. Her life centered around her work at Longbow; what was she going to do if they kicked her out? How would she learn to control her abilities? Where would she get enough release so that she wouldn't accidentally destroy things when she overexerted herself anymore?.... Would she still be allowed to train with Kris? Would she still be allowed to see Kris?!

Kris walked behind Sophie and gripped her shoulders, trying to comfort her. "It's okay, Soph. I'm going to do my best to make sure you stay with Longbow. We've come too far to just give up on all your training now..."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner? What were you waiting for exactly? Did you ever intend to tell me?" Sophie became angry at Kris, as she was all she had to take out all her frustration on.

"They just decided after you passed out yesterday; They sent me the email last night. I didn't want to worry you, so I was hoping that I could just make the case for you and have you stay in Longbow without you ever knowing that your position within the organization was in jeopardy." Kris said, her voice obviously pained and regretful. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner..."

Sophie rested her head on her hands. She couldn't stop seeing Kris and training, not after all the progress they'd made. "So, am I just another failed experiment to them now?", Sophie asked bitterly. Kris sighed. "Sophie, don't be so pessimistic; we - your parents and I - we'll get you through this, I promise."

Sophie relented, forcing herself to calm down just a bit. "So, when is the hearing?"

"Next Friday. Be ready to put all you've got on the line, Soph."