Lake Night Terrors

Yang would shuffle through several more drawers, but her efforts would be futile. It seemed that these people were thorough as they made sure to leave no aid for the would-be trespassers. Yang couldn’t even use the computers to check for information. There was a small room just behind the counter that Yang would slip into as Melody continued to investigate the lobby. Inside the small room, Yang found more of the same. An inoperable computer, empty desk drawers, an empty trashcan, and even an empty weapons locker. There were only two ways for them to go, the side door Melody had opened, and a large sliding door that required a key card to open.

“Let’s see where this leads first” Yang would say, pointing to the fancy hallway just beyond the door Melody opened. “We can level that door after.” Yang would take point this time, moving past Melody and into the hallway. Yang moved cautiously down the long corridor, her hand clenched tightly into a fist with a small stream of energy flowing into it. If something tried to surprise her, she would be ready for it.

The notion of being attacked felt highly likely. The statues gave off an uneasy feeling about them. Marble statues depicting humans oddly mangled or twisted in agony. Each one posed differently from the last. The painting didn’t do anything to help either. They all seemed to be paintings of catastrophe in some way. “Whoever asked for this stuff to be put here really needs to see a shrink.” Upon reaching the end of the hallway, the two woman were forced to make a right turn. When they rounded the corner, they were met by two large fancy looking doors. On both sides were walls made of frosted glass, making it difficult to peer inside. That being said, Yang would swear she saw movement.

Yang would press her shoulder to the door, her gaze shifting back to Melody. “I’ll lead. Stay close.” Without much warning, Yang would bash the door with her shoulder causing them to fly open. Her hand would immediately shoot up, an orb of energy forming in her hand. “HANDS UP!” she’d shout, upon noticing a figure behind a large oak desk near the back of the room.

The figure, jumped with a small scare, but drew a gun almost as soon as Yang had burst through the door. They were clad in what appeared to be a security officers uniform. Heavy body armor and plenty of fire power adorned their body, while their head remained obscured by a baclava and ballistic helmet. “Don’t shoot!” the figure spook, raising their hands. “Please give me a second.” they would plead as they lowered their gun onto the desk. The security officer would proceed to remove their helmet, revealing a slender woman’s face. Her skin was nearly as pale as snow, her hair though messy was jet black and fashioned in a bob cut. From here it was hard to tell, but her eyes seemed an unusual color. “You must be the two who caused all the fuss.”

Yang arched a brow in confusion, lowering her arm and allowing the orb to fade. “Us? Yeah were like super fans, had to see the place with our own eyes and all that jazz.”

“Well super fans, you might have just ruined my chances of bringing this whole operation down!” the woman retorted while undoing some of the heavy gear she was wearing. “Im sorry, what?” Yang said, her confusion only growing as the slender woman stripped down in front of her and Melody.

The woman would eventually wiggle her way out of the uniform to reveal a tight silk red dress that clung to her form. She would then attach a shoulder harness and gun belt from the uniform to her before briefly flashing a badge at the two young women. “Aden Li. Im with the FBI.” she’d say hastily while making sure she had everything she needed from the uniform she was wearing. “Im with a special task force that has been looking into the mysterious disturbances reported from the town. I worked my way in as a rookie security officer. I was making some progress in finding out what was going on, until you two showed up….Now you’re going to help me” she’d say with a stern look before walking towards and eventually past Yang and Melody. “Come with me.”

Melody was quick to follow Yang’s lead, keeping a good distance, but close enough that she could hop into action if needed. She wasn’t one to just leave a partner hanging after all. When Yang barged in and yelled for the new woman to put up her hands Melody’s fists were raised and charged with energy, reading to burst down anything this woman might pull. But…no…no. She was part of the FBI or some nonsense like that? It was far from what Melody expected to find behind this door, though, then again…this entire trip had been strange. She was supposed to be on vacation and yet…here she was. Biting some ungodly forces in an underground lab that on top of an abandoned summer camp. Nothing about this had been normal and she stop trying to expect things and just roll with the punches.

“Oi! You’re not behind this right?! If you are, we’re here to clobber you!” She said punching a fist into an open palm, obviously ready to go. She wanted to be done with this entire thing, tired of the whole ordeal, though Melody’s ears dropped some, “O-oh…not behind this. Gotcha…” She'd give a nod to the woman, "The name's Rabbit Punch. Professional Hero."

As the woman spoke Melody slowly eased from her combative stance; lowering her fists to her side and straightening up. She’d still be ready to strike and it wasn’t like bullets could hurt her all that much given the energy she had charged, but still…it was better to be ready in case this woman was actually a foe. She gave Yang a sideways glance, followed by a confused shrug. She mouthed the word “FBI?” as if Yang might have an answer as to why a government group would be here.

Of course, the woman was offering to lead them on and regardless of whether or not Melody trusted this woman it would lead somewhere. Some lead would be better than none so…Melody gave a nod to the woman, then to Yang. She Yang a confident smirk, as if she was saying to trust her on following this woman. Though, as they walked Melody’s ears would perk up. She’d look behind them just in time to notice a strange shadow move quickly out of sight. They were being followed or watched by something. Maybe an ambush waiting to be strike? Again…it would have to be a wait and see kind of thing. Melody had a feeling that if she waited and was ready the answers would come to her.

Still though, as they walked Melody casually bumped into Yang, leaning over to quickly whisper in her ear; quiet in the hopes that Li person wouldn’t pick up on. “Being followed, waiting to see what it is. Lets follow her and see where it leads.” She’d pull away giving Yang another nod, hoping that her partner would comply. But, of course, the choice would be hers. Regardless of what happened, Melody would be ready.

She kept her ears perked up and focused on the thing behind them. It was skittering around. Quadrupedal. Claws. Faint panting. And then there was…dripping? Drool? Maybe blood on fangs dripping down and hitting the floor? It wasn’t easy to tell that last part, but it was a predator of sorts. A damn quiet one at that. Fast too. And it knew to wait to strike so there was some semblance of intelligence in it. It wasn’t just a random animal that got locked in here, though she’d be surprised if that was the case. She’d be surprised at this point if anything was normal in this place.

She balled her hands into fists, giving them a light charge of energy. She would be ready to strike given anything that might come to strike them.

Yang would give a shrug to Melody as agent Li moved past them and beckoned for the two to follow her. As they were lead back out into the hallway, Yang would feel a nudge on her arm and a warning from Melody that they were being followed. Yang might not have been born with a great sense of hearing like her fellow hero, but she could feel something moving through the latent energy in the air behind them. Its movements while skiddish and hurried, were also cautious. It was like they were being followed by a predator of some kind.

Agent Li would eventually lead the two, to the large bulkhead door that sat at the back of the lobby area where they had first arrived. With a simple swipe of her wrist against a touch pad, Agent Li would unlock the door. Heavy machinery could be hear whirling and moving as the massive door opened up to reveal a massive cylindrical room. Smack dab in the center was another cylinder that seemed to be an elevator. Yang tried to follow it all the way up to see where it led, but it disappeared into the shadows far above their heads. “Thing’s gotta go on for at least another ten stories or so based on the elevator ride we took.” she’d comment.

“Try another thirty. Were far below the surface here. And that’s just going up. There’s another fifty floors below us.” Li would say, keeping a stern expression as she’d motion for them to follow her across the walkway to the center cylinder. From here it was possible to see two other walkways that extended to the left and right of the main elevator. Both led to doors similar to the one they had just came through. “So uh, Agent…”
“Li” The woman would answer back, to the obvious bait Yang was trying to set up. She’d give the young Aeteran and her companion a sharp glance over the shoulder before turning her attention forward.
“Right, Li! So uh Agent Li what exactly are we supposed to be helping you with?” Yang would ask, her glance wandering around, picking up any and all details she saw.

“In order to bring this organization to ground, we’ll need to find any hard evidence that links them to the mysterious cases plaguing the nearby town. We’ll also need samples of the bio weapons they’ve been making here and any notes they might have left behind about them.”

“Hold up….You mean to tell me, you want us to help you acquire highly dangerous bio samples and just turn them over to the government? That aint happening.”

“You really want these people to get away with what they’re doing here? If we don’t stop them, then they’ll just move on to another backwoods American town and continue their research, Hurting much more innocent people in the process.”

When Aden put it that way, it made Yang and Melody almost seem as bad as whoever these people were. If they hadn’t let their curiosity get the better of them, then its possible Agent Li could have gotten what she needed without any issues. Now there was a chance that these people had erased any and all incriminating evidence. And if that was the case and what Li said was true, then more innocent people could be hurt due to the two young women’s naivete. “Come on, one of the labs is this way.” Aden would say, pointing to the door at the end of the left walkway.

Melody let out a long sharp whistle as she looked at the towering shaft at which the elevator could ascend and descend. Part of her wanted to spit off the edge, but she was with pleasant company and she’d resist such an urge. At least for now. Maybe on their way back up. This did, however, seem rather dire. The thought of taking something like this organization down sounded promising and in the realm of what Melody would usually find herself doing. Not that she did this often, but…well, she had taken on big bads before and these guys seemed pretty bad. At least an eight out of ten on a badness scale.

She’d listen to the two talk, Yang asking questions and Li replying with…less than preferable answers. It didn’t sit right turning this into the government. Sure they could take such an organization down, probably…but, Melody knew that the government weren’t the best group of people either and turning in anything that could be harmful to the company’s reputation could also be used by the government against enemy foreign nations and if it was a bio weapon…Melody’s ears flicked. She didn’t like that, and she also didn’t like the sound of the thing behind them.

The thing was big. Bigger than she first thought. Or maybe it was getting bigger. It was still far off and as she looked over her shoulder the creature was still nowhere to be seen. She lazily turned her gaze back to Agent Li, giving her an unimpressed look. She’d follow along, though Yang might be able to see the disapproval in her eyes, that maybe Mel wasn’t go along with Li’s plan or goal.

As they walked Mel casted a glance to the side, chewing the inside of her mouth. “So…Agent Li.” She cleared her throat, shoving her hands into her jacket pocket. It was pretty dirty now, something she had failed to realize until now. That was a bummer. It was a gift from Sam for her last birthday. The poor guy’s heart would be hurt if he saw the state of it. “This evidence…this sample you’re after.” She’d looked forward to her now, “You sure they’d go to the right people? People who wouldn’t replicate it? The government is full of people who could misuse that info, ya know?”

She’d sigh as Agent Li proceeded to open up a large glass door with a sign over it clearly labelling the following room as a lab. Melody would go on, though, “I’d feel better just smashing this place up and personally going after the organization’s heads, bringing them down. Plus, destroying this place would set them back some. I imagine. I’m all for hiding evidence to bring ‘em down, but a sample? Now that just sounds sketchy to me. I’m sure there’s other evidence we could find that’s not as…you know, deadly? Capable of being replicated and sold or reused and repurposed for military use. I’m a hero and this entire thing seems like a morally grey situation. I can’t speak for my friend here, but none of this is sitting right with me.”

As the trio made their way towards the lab, Melody voiced her concerns. Which were pretty much in line with what Yang was thinking. The government couldn’t be trusted with a sample of some experimental biological weapon. No good could come of that. Yang had half a mind to destroy this sample if they ever found it. Surly if they could find research notes or some other incriminating evidence it would be enough to drag this organization through the mud. And with that logic in mind she was content with not letting agent Li have the sample should they find one.

By the time the three woman had reached the door, Yang had felt a growing presence nearby. Much like before she couldn’t pinpoint where it was, but she could tell it was moving, based on how the flow of energy around them was being affected. No sooner did the door to the lab wing open, Yang felt a sudden twinge and with last minute thinking, she’d push both Melody and agent Li forward. A large massive figure would land on the walkway where the two woman had been standing. Its enormous weight caused the walkway to shift, nearly throwing Yang off balance.

“I was wondering when we’d run into you again.” she’d say glancing up at the massive figure. Now that she was face to face with the creature she could see that it really shouldn’t have been able to move, let along be alive. Tubes ran all over its body connecting various attachments to one another. Quickly looking past the large beast Yang would call out to Melody and Li. “Get out of here! Go find that evidence. I’ll keep ugly here busy.”

Agent Li didn’t need to hear that twice. She’d quickly tug on Melody’s arm in an attempt to drag her along towards the lab. “Come on! We wont get another opportunity like this. Who knows what else they’re gonna send after us. We need to hurry.”

Knowing the idea wasn’t going to sit well with Melody based on the short time they had been together, Yang made sure to reassure the young hero that everything would be ok. “Just go! I’ll join up with you guys in no time at all. Wont even know Im gone!” she said with a sly smirk before firing a tiny little energy beam at the large creature. “This way big guy. We got a fight to finish!”

The moment the monster seemed to turn its back, agent Li would close the door behind it. “This way lets go, while your friend is buying us time.”

There was so much going and honestly Melody wasn’t sure if the big hulking figure who dropped down to face off against Yang was the thing following them. Though, now that it was here and causing a ruckus she couldn’t hear the subtle sounds of that other creature now. If whatever stalked them decided to strike at Yang while she fought…she was strong but would she be able to handle both? Mel gritted her teeth. She didn’t like this situation, yet she was being goaded to move on. Pressed to. And Yang asserted that she should. She would have to trust her teammate for now and if trouble did come up then Mel would hop back in a jiffy.

She looked to the lab door and ran it, but not before looking over her shoulder and yelling over to Yang, “Oi! Fuck that thing up! If ya don’t I’m gonna whoop your ass when I get back!” And then the door closed behind her, leaving the Agent and her alone in a dimly lit lab.

The ceiling lights flicked on with life, but then kept flickering like a broken strobe light. Honestly, it bothered Mel’s eyes, but at the end of the lab there was a glass room filled with vials and a large monitor. The room’s light had not flickered out and remained on, it was like a beacon of hope in an otherwise creepy room. Li proceeded forward, but Mel just looked at her with a raised brow. Did this woman know no fear? This was obvious a trap of some sort, or something would pop up and attack. But yet, she proceeded and nothing happened.

Melody was surprised by that. She was sure that something would’ve happened, but…huh. Oh well. She proceeded forward, keeping her ears perked up and listening to the fight outside. It sounded rough, but still, she trusted her companion to get through it. Yang may have even been able to give her a hard time if they were to fight. She was still confident she’d win, but…well, she was usually confident on such matters. Regardless, she decided to trudge forward after the agent. She didn’t speak much, just quietly keeping an eye out for anything dangerous. Sure enough, though, they managed to reach the glass room with no trouble at all.

Melody looked at her as the agent worked on the door, sighing some, “So…this where you’re gonna get the sample, yeah?” She asked lazily, turning to look around. Of course, the agent didn’t answer at first, shushing Mel so she could focus on the door. It took a few moments for the door to open, the agent having successfully hacked into it. Melody once again followed the agent forward, though as soon as they were in the door behind them closed again, trapping them.

Mel had known it was too good to be true.

As they both stood back to back in the glass room the lights around the outside room stopped flickering, going completely black, but only for a moment. The lights would flicker back on and stay that way. On the far wall, opposite of where they came Mel spotted it, the beast that she had heard. It was huge. It was a dog-like thing the size of a car, fleshy tendrils of red and a pinkish color stretching from its bag and wavering in the air. Its mouth was filled with uneven, jagged teeth, drool dripping down and sizzling against the floor.

This was gonna be fun…

Yang grinned from ear to ear as the large cloaked figure turned its attention to her. “Finally a chance for me to get a proper work out!” She’d say before quickly flexing. A raging aura of energy would burst to life around her as she was getting fired up. “Try not to disappoint me now!” Almost as if answering Yang’s taunt, the large monster lunged at her with heavy and wild swings of its fists. The best was sluggish and it would take Yang standing absolutely still to get hit.

That obviously wasn’t the case. The young Aeteran could see every move coming from a mile away and simple skirted around them with little issue. She allowed the creature to get closer with his flurry of punches before cocking back her fist and delivering a heavy blow of her own onto what she could only assumed was the things jaw. The impact caused a small shock wave to ripple throughout the large empty room. It was strong enough to cause the lock on the lab door that Melody and Agent Li had gone through, to fail and break.

More surprising was the fact that the creature didn’t even budge from the blow it had received. Showing some signs of intelligence, the creature tried to capitalize on Yang’s surprise by throwing out a heavy uppercut. Yang would lean back quickly to avoid the attack and would then kick off the ground beneath her to put several feet of distance between herself and the beast. No sooner did she plant her feet on the walkway, a tentacle was being launched right at her. Yang would sidestep the tendril and in the same motion, she’d bathe her arm in energy and bring it crashing down on the tentacle, severing it in the process.

The creature would stagger and let out an unnatural groan of pain. It was time for Yang to go on the offensive now. As much fun as it would be to get some “training” in, She had people depending on her, or at least waiting for her. She couldn’t just leave them worrying. Bringing her arm back, all the energy surrounding it, focused into her fist. Almost in the blink of an eye, Yang’s fist was colliding with the center mass of the beast. The massive figure flew back, crashing into the massive bulkhead like door leading to the lab.

Meanwhile, back in the lab, Agent Li seemed less concerned with the death trab she and Melody found themselves in, and more so with finding a particular vial. With the lights out, flashing, or dimmed all around them, she was finding it slightly difficult to discern which vial she was specifically looking for.

Well, this was great. She much preferred Yang to this agent. At least Yang would’ve offered some sort of reaction to the massive freaking monster that just appeared. Though, she supposed this was more her element after all. Heroes kicking the asses of abominations, saving people who really didn’t care about the immediate dangers around them. As bothersome as it was, such was the life of a hero. Mel looked over to the agent, frowning deeply and letting out an obviously annoyed breath.

“Oi, ya just hang here, I guess. Don’t leave until I deal with this. Don’t what it can do and if I can manage it and you at the same time.” She raised a hand, pointing a finger at the agent, ears perked up to full, “And don’t give me some shit that you can handle yourself. If I find out that you left I’m gonna find you myself and pound you into the dirt. You stay put. I promise I’m much worse than anything else you’ll find here, ya hear?” To add some more gusto to her statement she’d slam her foot down into the floor, causing a massive dent and crack into it, shaking everything in the little glass room, knocking over a few things.

Mel wouldn’t wait for the agent to reply. She gave her message and meant every word of it. She went to the door and stepped out, slamming a fist into an open palm, looking at the monster she had to face. The doggish creation let out a terrible roar which echoed through the entire room, sending out a powerful gust of wind which blew over a few things in the room, causing Mel’s ears to flop back. The tendril’s on the beast’s back tensed and pointed their jagged extensions at her. The two, pitch black eyes which stuck out amongst the fleshy exterior never strayed from Mel. It was a predator for sure.

Before Mel could even make a motion the tendrils lashed out like a whip, though still it was too far to hit her. Instead, it had sent out some of those boney spikes towards her. Mel quickly ducked and rolled out of the way, the spikes slamming into the glassy walls of the room, not breaking it, but piercing it. The beast then charged forward, heading straight towards Melody, its maw hanging unnaturally wide open, its bloodied teeth all jagged and of different sizes. The motion caused a tinge of fear to touch Mel’s core, though she wouldn’t show, keeping a wild grin on her face. Despite the fear, this was exciting.

As the beast lunged forward so would she, hopping up and into a leaping kick. Her foot collided with the beast’s forehead. It was charged with immense energy, a crackle of orange and red light emitting off of her leg. The collision caused a small shockwave causing nearby lab equipment to fall over. As the two massive forces crashed together the beast was sent flying back and into the far wall. Mel landed, skidding back, still grinning wide at the successful hit. Though, much to her surprise, the beast slowly staggered back up, growling with anger. The blast she had just emitted was almost on par with the energy that she used to counter Yang’s blast before. How tough was this thing?

Agent Li rolled her eyes at Melodies words. Did the so called hero forget that she and her partner were the reason why this place was in mass panic and why she had to rush her very important job? She’d show some emotion when the young hero stopped her foot, causing several of the vials to hop a little bit in their cradle. “Are you insane? Be more careful. Each one of these vials contains some unknown pathogen. If a vial breaks and who knows what we’ll have to deal with.” As the events unfolded behind her, the agent continued looking through at each of the vial labels.

If it wasn’t obvious, the agent was up to something. As she had just stated, these vials contained pathogens of different varieties. Any one of them would be enough to use as leverage or evidence against this company. So why was she looking for a specific one. Her head would quickly snap around as two large bone spikes slammed into the protective glass behind her. With a quick shake of her head she’d go back to examining the vials. It had to be here, it just had to. She had been working undercover here for months. According to her intel the vials she was looking for should have been here, but it was being rather difficult to identify.

Back out on the walk way, Yang looked on as the massive lumbering beast began to rise after being struck by her. “Damn. A lot tougher than I gave you credit for.” Yang mumbled as the creature made its way to its feet, not looking the least bit dazed as it began to stomp its way towards her. “Look, I might have said this was a good opportunity to get some training in, but we gotta wrap this up. People waiting on me and all that, you understand right?” Yang said with a slight head tilt. The response she got was one she expected. The creature let out a loud roar before picking up its pace.

With a light sigh, Yang would fly off the platform to the side of the creature. “Look, we’re done here!” she’d say, extending both arms to her sides and charging up energy in both her hands. *Gonna have to put a lil extra into this, if that early encounter was anything to go by* The young overseer would thrust both her arms forward, both orbs of energy fusing into a single massive one before exploding forward in a radiant torrent. The entire room would light up from the glow of Yang’s attack. It would collide with the massive creature, coming to a complete stop. This thing was tough, and resilient.

Yang would furrow her brow, noticing the beast was holding back her attack. Letting out a shout Yang would focus more energy through her body. This caused the beam to suddenly expand, becoming wider and stronger. Unfortunately the beast still seemed to withstand this even if Yang couldn’t see through the glare of her own attack. Eventually the heat from the torrent would become too much for the walkway to handle and it would collapse out from beneath the beasts feet. This prompted it to lash out with a tentacle to grab the young woman, dragging her down along with it.

The sudden jolt of being pulled out of the air was a massive surprise to Yang. Enough so, that she let out a small yelp as she was pulled from the sky. Her gaze would quickly find the culprit and in one clean motion she’d form a blade of energy around her hand and sever the tentacle. This sent her tumbling through the air for a moment before she landed with a hard thud on another walkway several stories below the one she had been fighting on. “It’s a good thing I can fly.” she said with a little chuckle. That slight happiness would fade as she heard a low growl come from just a few feet before her. “You’re joking right?”

Mel's ears flicked at the sound of conflict outside. Things were sounding rough out there, but there was so much going on that she’d still just have to rely on her teammate to be able to handle whatever was going on out there. She seemed tough enough after all. Besides, Mel’s current situation wasn’t all that easy either. She had this abomination trying to cleave at her and then she had the special little operative from the government acting behind her back. She still gave a few glances over while she dodged, making sure that Li hadn’t run off. Mel trusted her as far as she could throw her.

Of course, Li was more so of a second priority compared to the hound like monster in front of her. It had just staggered back up and was lowering itself slightly, baring all of its hideous, misshapen teeth. The tendrils on its back stiffened and pointed their jagged, spear-like ends at her. It didn’t blink and all of its eyes were locked onto Mel. It was kind of beast she couldn’t just stare down and hope it’d get the message. If she wanted to get out to help her ally she’d have to bury this thing in the ground. Of course, that wouldn’t be easy. As she stared at the beast her swift eyes caught notice of steam rising from the open wounds her last punch had dealt. They steaming, like smoke from a train. She could hear the flesh sizzling and mending over itself.

The bastard could heal itself. This fight was getting trickier by the moment.

Further, she could feel her own body begin to heat up, she could feel her hearth thrumming against her chest. Thumper was getting to her. She was far from passing out, but the signs were starting to show. Now…she either needed to go on with the fight, however long it would take, or…she could take a risk and try get this fight over quickly. If this thing and beast outside weren’t the strongest things in the facility then…well, it’d be a tough road or she’d have to find some way to cool down. She’d at least need a breather after the fight if she wanted to avoid the risk of passing out. Though, with that thinking she already knew what she was going to do. Right on time too. The beast was beginning to charge…

Mel rested her fist to the ground, closing her eyes. She could hear the hammering of the beast’s legs as it charged, getting closer and closer. But she stayed calm, regulating her breathing. Then…sparks of red crackled around her body. She could feel hear heart beat thrum with greater beats. She felt warm, but…energized, incredibly invigorated. She loved the feeling, there was greater high than being overcharged. Her entire body was reverberating with that energy. It had been awhile since she had actually done something like this.

When she flicked her eyes open the beast was close, only a few feet and still charging, but…with how fast she felt, with how strong she was, it seemed like it was going in slow motion. She felt faster now, while everything around her was slow she felt like she was moving normally. She slowly stood to her fighting stance, reeled back a fist and then jabbed her arm forward, a small shockwave cascading off her fists as it collided with the beast and sent its nose into its heads. The beast soared through the air and collided with the back wall, causing a massive dent in it. The devices and equipment around the room went flying in every direction from the shockwave of the blast. Even the protective glass around the room Agent Li had been shattered into pieces and went every which way. If the Agent wasn’t careful she may end up with a few cuts here and there. Thankfully, the glass had offered some resistance for the test tubes and vials inside the room and they were mostly uninterrupted.

Melody’s form still crackled with that red energy, but as she let out a breath everything returned to its normal speed. The beast at the far side of the room stirred. Still alive apparently…that thing could really take a punch, though to be honest Mel had still pulled the punch a bit. She had plenty of strength left to give it. So, with a small crouch and then lunge, she hopped over to it, fist raised and ready for impact. This would be, hopefully, the last hit she needed.

Agent Li’s eyes widened in fear as the wouldbe hero that was stuck baby sitting her, let off a powerful attack. The protective glass behind her shattered. The kind of force needed for that to happen, only made Li slightly happy the heroes were on her side for the moment. That being said, the shock wave shook the racks of vials viciously. This caused agent Li to panic as she reached out to catch a few vials that had been knocked loose from their cradles. She stared at her hand that was now holding several vials. If any one of those had hit the floor, she shuddered just thinking about it.

While she had been focused on finding a very specific vial, the situation was getting a bit more dire. There was no telling what other sort of horrors these people had unleashed in the labs. Rather than sticking to her goal, agent Li took the several vials she had caught, and decided that would be good enough. She’d slip them into a special pouch on her shoulder harness before attempting to squeeze out of the tiny containment room.

Several floors below the lab, Yang found herself face to face with the beast she had been fighting. It’s form had mutated, it no longer looked human. The creatures arms had elongated, as well as its fingers which were now sporting razor sharp claws. The cloth it had been wearing now hung from its body like shredded skin. It was several feet taller and hunched over a bit. Steam emanated from its body, most likely from having just been roasted by Yang’s attack. “Look, I thought I already told you that we had to cut this short. You cant just got changing your looks and getting me all intrigued like this!”

As Yang stared down the beast, a nearby camera focused in on them. On the other end, a mysterious figure watched on with intrigue. “Sir, the site is nearly clear. Are you sure we should still contin….” The voice was cut off by a simple wave of the hand from the figure watching the monitor. “We will proceed as planned.”
“But sir!”
“It’s just another backwoods American city anyway. We’ve got all the proof we need to pin the tragedy on these two “heroes”. It perfect. And we’ll garner more sympathy for our cause.” The man would say with a sickening smile. “Though I must admit, its a shame to have to kill such exemplary specimens such as those two. They intrigue me.”

Back in the lab, the beast would let out a loud roar. The shrill cry was so strong you could see it effecting the air around it. This caused Yang to cover her ears in pain. Something the creature would take advantage of as it quickly rushed her down and drove her through a thick concrete wall behind her. “Alright! We’re doing this I guess!” Yang said with a slight bit of excitement in her voice. She’d hunker down, both arms at her sides, fists clenches. There was a gust of air that cause the beast to stagger and the room began to heat up rapidly. A few flashes of electricity would arch around Yang’s body as her energy began to flare up around her. That energy would suddenly erupt into a raging inferno of fire before disappearing, revealing a transformed Yang. Her body was covered in a from fitting white looking armor. Her face was concealed by a helmet that only allowed for a pair of burning eyes to be seen. Fire erupted from the back of the helmet, mimicking hair, while spouts of fire raged from gaps in the armor where Yang’s wrists and ankles were. The beast would let out another roar, as if it were challenged by Yang taking on this new form. It would rush at her with inhuman speed, but it didn’t matter. As it drew close to attack, Yang would easily brush aside it’s attack with her left hand. And with her right, she’d deliver a crushing blow to the beasts body, causing its chest to cave in and its entire body to tumble end over end back out onto the walkway beyond the walk it had knocked Yang through.

The lunge connected with great tenacity. A fist immediately flew into the beast’s stomach causing it to roar out in pain. The orange energy crackled off of Melody’s fists and sent minor shockwaves through the entire lab. Blow after blow after a blow after blow! It was straight up pummel party. A barrage of punches that seemed ceaseless! She kept the beast right where it was, refusing to let up in the flurry of blows as she savagely beat down the creation. She could hear it roar and hiss with protest, but it wouldn’t stop her. A monster like this needed to be put down, she could never let something like this reach the surface.

The beast’s tail then whipped around and sent Melody skidding back on her feet, though the energy continuously being built up in her had provided enough shielding that it only left a minor scratch on her arm. Still, the pain singed a bit, though the determined and fierce gaze in her eyes never faltered. That wild, unwavering smirk still remained. This was tough, life-threatening, and Melody loved every moment of it. It was so rare that she could let loose like this. It was almost therapeutic. She understood how terrible and messed up the situation was, but beating down monsters and making sure they didn’t harm anymore innocents? That really made her feel like a hero.

The beast’s head turned and bared its fangs towards Melody, slowly standing back up on shaky legs. Its ribs were most certainly broken and there was a noticeable indent on its gut. Still, it moved with surprising speed as it leapt towards her, mouth open. It was going for a final strike, a bite down, it wanted to take her head. Years of boxing finally paid off as she twisted her body ever so slightly and then threw a fist forward it a slight curving motion as her body, putting weight behind that hit. Another massive release of energy in this hit, a bright flash emanating from it. Over it, Melody could hear crack, snapping, and a low whine from the creature.

When she pulled her fist back from the beast’s mouth and the orange crackle of energy faded the beast laid there, dead on its side, its mouth pressed into its head. She gave a slight shake of her hand, wincing a bit as the connected punch did slightly sting. She rolled her fingers, cracking the knuckles, and then slowly…slowly, rabid rabbit faded, and her body stopped the surge of orange energy. She was covered in a thick sweat, using that ability always left her like that. She wasn’t down for the count, but she had to be careful. At this rate she just might overheat and pass out.

There was still work to be done, though, and she couldn’t rest now. She quickly turned her head back to where Agent Li had been and just caught her trying to make a mistake. Her eyes narrowed, a look of intense annoyance growing on her face. She stomped a foot down and surged forward, using energy to bolster her leap. She landed besides the agent, skidding a few feet so that she ended up in front of Li. She straightened and crossed her arms. “So, you find what you’re looking forward and decide to leave when I told you to stay put?” She gave a firm shake of her head, “No. You’re not getting’ out of here without me and my friend, ya hear? I should knock ya out for that. And don’t think I give a shit about whatever government you work for.” She extended a hand out, glaring at the agent, “I want what you found. Now.”

Agent Li looked at the bunny eared hero with narrowed eyes. It was so tempting just to shoot the troublesome hero, but that would just incite more problems. Li was smarter than that, more cunning than that. Allowing her anger to subside almost instantaneously, Li looked to Melody with a slightly annoyed expression. “You honestly think I was going to just stand around in that glass coffin with dozens of vials of deadly viruses, with you shaking the entire building? No thanks.” She said, shaking her head and waving her hands. Her annoyed expression returned when the ‘hero’ asked for her to hand over what she took from the small room.

There was no way Melody could have know how many vials Li had taken, so the sly agent could use this to her advantage. The situation wasn’t ideal, as she couldn’t get what she was specifically after, but what she had acquired would be more than enough. With a quick slight of hand, Li would open the pouch on her shoulder harness and draw out one vial, doing so in such a way that it appeared to be the only thing she took. She held it out for the hero to take. “Here. Try not to break it please.”

No sooner did she say that, the building would rumble slightly as a loud monstrous roar filled the room outside the lab. The large beast Yang had been fighting, was quite agitated by having its chest nearly caved in by its prey. This did nothing but make Yang smirk. “Guess I hit you a little to hard huh? I hope you’ve got some more tricks up your sleeve or this fight is over.” she’d confidently say as she began to approach the beast out on the walkway. The ground beneath her feet sizzled and let off steam with each step she took.

The mysterious figure watching the monitors leaned back in his chair after seeing the canine-like creature so easily defeated. “Pathetic. What batch was that one from?” He’d ask, to which a worried female voice would respond. “I…I don’t know sir. I’ll look into it right away” The male would wave his hand as if it would wave away the woman’s worry. “When you do, make sure to issue an order to discontinue the line, and ‘deal’ with the existing specimens” He’d clasp both his hands and lean forward as he focused in on the fight between the larger creature and the other hero.

The beast would let out another roar before charging at Yang. The young overseer would respond by placing both her fists together in front of her and unleashing a torrent of flames. This initially seemed to slow down the beasts advance, but it would eventually power through and lung on top of Yang, pinning her to the ground. Despite being pinned to the floor, Yang didn’t seem to worried, as a matter of fact, this was pretty perfect for her. After avoiding several attempts by the creature to bite her face off, Yang would wrestle her right arm free and with a quick thrust, she’d drive her hand into the beasts chest. Her palm would fill with energy and it would suddenly be released into the beasts body causing it to give out one final cry in pain before falling limp. After shoving the limp body into the abyss, Yang would stand up, brush herself off, and then power down and return to her normal state. “Right! Now to get back to the other two.”

Melody watched the vial fall into her hand, a slight narrowing of the eyes as she inspected it. With everything that had happened, in all their interactions and all the circumstances that had lead to this point…Li had barely been someone she’d call honest or willing to comply. She was a slithery sort of person, she had her own agenda. So, why would she comply so quickly with her demands? Maybe Li saw what she could do and didn’t want to try and piss her off? That didn’t seem to be the case, but for the moment Melody would let it go. She’d do a more through questioning when they got out of here.

Besides, there were more important things on her plate right now. Like Yang. It sounded like a riot out there. Something was getting its ass handed to it and Mel doubted that it was Yang. Still, she worried that on the off chance there was something here big enough to give Yang some trouble. So, with a quick nod of her head she motioned for Li to follow. “Don’t you dare try and sneak away.” She pointed up to her ears, “I can hear a pin drop at a metal concert so don’t think you can get away from me that easily.” That was a bit of an exaggeration, but Li couldn’t have known that for sure. Another bluff to get her to stay with her.

With all said and done, Melody began towards the door the entered through, a bit of a pep to her step. She eager to see how her friend had held up, to see if she was still standing after that nightmare had engaged with her. She quickly made her way through the door and looked around the scene of the battle and…damn. Damn…DAMN!

After a quick moment of taking in the battlefield her eyes were drawn to Yang and Melody managed to stop looking impressed long enough to give a smile and a wave. Couldn’t let her get too full of herself now. She gave another small roll of her shoulder, grinning wide. “Ey, you’re not dead. That’s the best news I got today.” She let out a brazen laugh, a confident sounding thing. “How’d your fight turn out? Guessin’ good considerin’ you’re still standing, yeah?” She pointed a thumb over her shoulder to whatever remained of the lab (it was mess, in short), “Had a weight dog thing with tendrils or something on its back. It was huge. But me and Agent Bitch got out just fine. She gave me what she found, but…” Her eyes fell over her shoulder to the agent again, giving her an angry sort of glare before looking back to Li, “Don’t much trust her. Figured you and I could have a long ‘talk’ with he when we’re done here.” She looked around, “Speaking of…what’s the plan from here? We gonna destroy this place or…” Her canted to the side as she asked this, seeming to be rather…relaxed given their current circumstances.

The mysterious figure let out a sigh as he watched the large creature’s body go limp on the camera feed. “So much for that one as well. I had such high hopes for that line to.” Taking a moment to reflect on what he had seen, his head would turn slightly towards his nervous assistant. “Cancel that line as well. And recover what ever combat data you can from this encounter.” He didn’t even wait for a response from the young lady and instead he reached into her inner breast pocket and drew out a sleek looking phone. After tapping just one button with his thumb he placed the device to his hear. “Commence the run immediately.” With that he hung up the phone, rose from his chair and left the dimly lit office. He had no reason to stay and watched what came next. The order had been given to bomb the place and that was the end of that.

Yang would gently glide back up to the ruined walkway to meet Melody and agent Li just in front of the lab. “Looks like you guys are still in one piece.” she’d say while focusing her crystal blue eyes on the shady agent. While Melody explained the events that transpired in the lab, Yang studied the agent from head to toe. The young woman kept her gaze pointed upwards, annoyed by the whole situation. “As much as I’d love to smash this place to pieces, I really don’t want to bring the whole place down on our heads. And if I were to hit this place from the outside, the blast I’d need to use to level this place would destroy the nearby town as well.” The young overseer would shrug at her partner. “I’d hate to say it, but I think our hands are tied. We’ll just have to leave and hope that our friend over here can deal the real blow.” The expression on Yang’s face showed she didn’t trust the agent one bit.

There would be plenty of time for debate later, for now they had to find a way out. And who better to ask than the one person who had been working here? “So agent. Got a way out of here for us?” Li’s eyes would narrow at the young blonde ever so slightly. With a nod of her head, she’d motion to the large cylinder like structure in the middle of the massive room. “Over there. Its an elevator that leads down to a set of train tracks that these guys use to move freight in and out of the building.”

“Well then lets not waist any more time.” Yang would quickly swoop in behind the agent, gripping her under the arms. With no warning she’d lift the woman of the ground and fly her to the other side of the gap in the walkway. She’d then do the same for Melody. Once they were all on the right side, Li would lead them to the elevator and with a swipe of a stolen ID badge, the doors would open. “Going down?” she’d say with a smirk before stepping into the elevator.

The descent felt like it lasted minutes, but when it finally did end, the trio were dumped out into a wide open room. To their left was a massive platform with a single console placed in the front center. This was no doubt what they used to bring their larger cargo up and down the building. “Quickly now, on the platform. It’ll take us the rest of the way.”

As Yang stepped off the elevator, she couldn’t help but be slightly impressed with the size of this place. If only they weren’t in such a rush to leave, she would have loved to explore a bit more and find out what sort of secrets these people were hiding. Alas, it was not to be. Following the agent, Yang stepped onto the large platform. Once Melody was on board, Li would flip the switch. The room would fill with the sound of heavy machinery whirling to life as the platform gave a small jerk before smoothly beginning its descent.

Just as the platform began to move, another loud noise could be hear filling the massive elevator shaft. It wasn’t machine, and it wasn’t human. “I swear to god that better not be who I think it is.” Yang mumbled to herself.

Melody looked up at the returning fiend and only looked mildly annoyed by its sudden presence. She was over it all. The fake haunted cabin that turned out to be bullshit scientist, the big bulky dudes which were annoying to fight, the down ass Agent who was totally evil and deserved a severe beating, every goddamn monster they had to fight, and then fact, the goddamn fact, that none of them knew how to stay down. This was getting ridiculous and she was through with it. As her ears draped downward, a telltale sign of her growing annoyance, she looked over to Yang and lifted a finger, pointing to the foe that was thought to be beat.

“Your guy, huh?” She didn’t sound upset at Yang, just done with the situation overall, “Ya know in zombie movies and other bullshit like this its traditional to take off their head. That’s how all the movie stars do it at least.” She grumbled a bit, slowly looking back to the behemoth of a monster blocking their way forward. After its fight with Yang it certainly looked beat up, but…it only looked tougher that way? Ironic almost. Mel could see the flesh around it regrowing over its wounds, the muscles tightening, strengthening as if all the pain and beatdown that it had received made it stronger, and she could hear the internal workings, the guts and bones, slushing and cracking back into place.

What a disgusting monster.

Though, on a second thought (one that made her ear twitch with excitement), beating up monsters…putting them down, that was essentially the essence of being a hero. One of the oldest definitions in fact, and deep down, part of her was reveling in this. The fact that she, a hero, could put down so many inhuman monsters. She wanted to take down who was responsible for this, because she also knew that these monsters were probably human at some point and she was essentially putting them to rest at this point, but she also knew that doing this made her feel even more like a hero. As messed up as that may seem.

Slowly, that look of annoyance shifted into her usual expression, that determined gaze, the smug smirk, and the perking of her ears as she patted her fist into an open palm. She still had plenty of fight left in her to take on whatever this place was going to throw at her. Her energy was low and her body was warm, her limit nearing. But she still could manage a bit more and take on Rabid Rabbit once or twice more before she’d be totally out of commission.

Her gaze cautiously returned to Yang, “Alright, I got a plan. We’re gonna both aim for its head, we let out everything we can in one single combo strike, yeah? Try and take this down with everything we got. Not sure what else we could do to this other than try to completely obliterate it like we did with the one outside.” She rose a fist to Yang before popping up a thumb, “What do you say, huh? Not the worst idea. Might be nice to actually let loose on this thing. If you’re down for the plan, I’ll follow your lead, yeah? Leap when you do, and don’t worry…” She crouched down, placing her fist on the metal flooring, glaring up at the monster, “I’ll be able to keep up with whatever it is you decide to do.” Her voice was full of that same confidence, same sureness as always. She actually believed that this plan would work.