Jason stood outside in the rain, his eyes watched Alice from the other side of the road. She was in a KFC restaurant with Alina and Ava. He watched her cheerfully eat a drumstick while making a face at Alina who tried convincing her to try some coleslaw salad. Rain swept down his hair and slid down his face like tears while he blankly watched her without blinking his eyes.

Alice … Blood dripped from Jason's clenched fists and his knuckles whitened as he tried to steady his breathing. He gritted his teeth and bit his lips till they bleed. It's all my fault … if only …

He wanted to walk into the restaurant, cradle her in his arms, beg her for forgiveness, and give her everything in his entire world. But he didn't take a step, he couldn't take a step. Because he agreed with Katelyn: he didn't deserve Alice.

He closed his eyes even as Katelyn's words echoed in his ears. He could imagine what happened, how Alice was created as a Homunculus from the remains of the fetus after Katelyn's miscarriage. How after she was created, Katelyn devoted herself to this mysterious organization while Alice's growth was accelerated and she lived for years in a laboratory.

Wait, Jason paused and opened his eyes, confusion etched on his face. Why would she tell me all this? Why would she tell me that she's taking Alice away?

Jason closed his eyes and thought about what happened. He shut the tumultuous feelings he had and observed the earlier events apathetically as a third person would. The choice of Katelyn's words, the sniper that shot at him when he was distracted …

She wasn't just stating that she's taking Alice away … Jason realized.

"She's warning me," Jason whispered, finishing his thoughts out loud with narrowed eyes.

Katelyn helped Alice escape and the latter went to Jason due to her instructions, meaning the organization was worse than even him. From this, Jason was able to deduce that Katelyn was warning him that the organization wanted Alice back. However, she couldn't tell him openly, most likely because she was being monitored. So, the only way to inform him was to become emotional and pretend to blurt it out with spite. Of course, this was only Jason's speculation, but he believed it sincerely. He had to.

So that means they'll take Alice tomorrow, Jason grimaced. What concerns me more is that I don't know who 'they' are. I need more information … but from who?

Jason furrowed his brows together and crossed his arms while leaning against a wall. He started organizing all the information he had so far.

So far, my only two direct leads are the mercenaries and the Asāsiyyūn, but I can't travel halfway across the earth to interrogate the latter. I'd be leaving Alice and Alina vulnerable and there's no way I'd take them with me to the middle east, that place is too volatile, Jason thought while his fingers tapped his crossed arms. AEM is after Katelyn for being an assassin and Practitioner. Melanie came after her as Viperess since the Council sanctioned a bounty mission to capture her … meaning other Phantoms will probably join the manhunt.

But why? What does the Council want from Katelyn? It can't be because of her being a Practitioner, they'd just set AEM after her. So that means they're after bigger fish … they're after the organization that controls her, Jason frowned and grimaced again. I could ask Silvy to look into it, but that could alert the Council instead. And considering that they sent the bounty mission to another Phantom, it's clearly apparent that they don't trust me. Damn, wish Lizzy was here. I sure could use her advice.

Suddenly Jason paused and straightened himself with a jolt as he recalled what Elizabeth said to Melanie.

"I need to ask her about the … weather. So I'll be taking her first."

Of course, Jason thought. Lizzy would know about this organization … why didn't I think of her earlier?

Jason now needed to choose which would be best from the three leads he had: Find and interrogate the cells of mercenaries the infiltrated Atlantis, try and convince Silvia to help him as a Council member, or visit Elizabeth and see what she knew about this mysterious organization.

Hnuh, can't visit Elizabeth after leaving her like that previously, Jason thought as he groaned and crossed out the third option. She would shoot me on sight, especially since I told her how I've been using my powers to amplify her body's ... during our … lovemaking.

I also won't rely on Silvy just yet, Jason thought while rubbing his chin. That should be a last resort.

" … Then that just leaves the mercenaries," Jason muttered.

Right now, they were hiding from any and all prying eyes. However, Jason was a mercenary himself, and he knew how they thought. The grunt level mercenaries would do exactly what the bad guys on TV would do: use abandoned warehouses and buildings that were distant from drones and satellite scans. The more prudent ones would blend in with the Sumps. They would rent out a place for cheap and hunker down for a while, keeping a low profile so no one would suspect a thing. And the top-notch mercenaries would be relaxing in five-star hotels, waiting for a signal from their employers while studying the city.

I can't aim for those staying in hotels, that's too high profile, Jason thought. And that's probably what they're counting on. The ones staying in the Sumps would also be hard to flush out, it's a completely controlled by criminals there so I won't be able to identify the mercenaries so easily.

So that just leaves the c class mercenaries, Jason nodded as a plan began forming in his head.

"A.V.A," Jason said. His voice was hoarse from not speaking for a long time and he cleared his throat as he called out to A.V.A.

His four-wheeled motorcycle raced down the road and stopped in front of him.

"Won't you say goodbye first?" A.V.A asked as Jason sat down on the bike.

Jason hesitated and looked back at the restaurant. Alina was using a tissue to wipe Alice's grease coated face while Ava looked straight at Jason. A hollow feeling of emptiness filled Jason's chest and he drove away without replying.

"A.V.A, give me a list of abandoned and unused warehouses that are using utilities and water for the past two weeks," Jason finally said after two whole minutes of silence as he drove through a partially empty highway. "Also, cross-reference them with areas that are patrolled and observed less by drones and satellites."

"Again?" A.V.A asked blithely. "I don't understand why they would choose such an obvious choice as their base of operations."

"Well, you know us bad guys and our warehouses," Jason joked. "We just can't stay away from abandoned places."

***

Jason stood on the ledge of a highway and looked down at a decommissioned warehouse that was below him. This warehouse was used to prepare and package canned sardines until it was shut down due to health reasons; the sardines were found to contain an unhealthy amount of mutagens from exposure to Aether that was harmful to humans. The warehouse was decommissioned, meaning the utilities such as electricity and water were disconnected and switched off. However, starting from last week, there was a spike of activity from this area and A.V.A managed to track it to this warehouse. Meaning someone was siphoning power from the grid within this warehouse.

“A.V.A,” Jason muttered as his eyes glowed blue when he activated his holo-lenses. A.V.A controlled his lenses and zoomed into the warehouse while activating several different visions including infrared night vision and thermal imaging. At the same time, she connected his lenses to a satellite, giving him more precise data.

“Thermal scan of the area reveals thirty-six sources of heat,” A.V.A stated calmly. “It appears they have activated the warehouse's heating as there’s an area that I’m unable to scan.”

Jason nodded and didn’t blame A.V.A. He understood that using thermal scanning would reveal all heat sources, and a heater or boiler would cover nearby smaller sources of heat signatures.

“Don’t worry about the inside,” Jason answered. “Just give me a lock on the signatures that are patrolling.”

“You don’t intend to enter quietly,” A.V.A said when she heard Jason and he nodded.

“That’s right,” Jason said quietly. “I need to burn off some steam. And what better way than to crush heads?”

A.V.A was quiet for a moment while Jason summoned his pocket dimension below his feet. Plates of his Fenrir armor flew out and began covering his body while he withdrew his under-armor directly onto his body.

“Alice and Alina are worried about you,” A.V.A said when Jason was finished dressing up. Jason who was holding his helmet and preparing to put it on froze. “They decided to stay in the Loft. I believe the mansion is too large and quiet for them.”

Jason was silent. He knew what A.V.A was implying but he pushed it out of his head and focused on the task at hand. He placed his helmet on and there was a hissing noise as the helmet tightened around his neck and closed all seals. His large blue eyes glowed, illuminating his shiny teeth breather while he clenched his fist.

“It’s time to hunt,” Fenrir growled before leaping off the highway. His shoulder mounted Pivoting Grapple activated and shot at the chimney of the warehouse, which was the tallest point of entry. He swung like a pendulum to the roof of the warehouse without anyone below realizing and he crouched down to observe the entrance of the warehouse.

Hmm. Doesn’t seem like there’s any missing.

At a closer range, Fenrir used the built-in sensors of the helmet alongside his holo-lenses to monitor the patrolling guards. He noted that A.V.A’s previous assessment was accurate enough and began planning on how to take the enemies down.

He retrieved a Sniper gun from his pendant and slipped a silencer on it before positioning himself to shoot the mercenaries that were standing on guard outside the warehouse. A slight whistling sound came out each time he fired and the mercenaries fell down like flies before they could realize what was happening. In less than a minute, Fenrir took out half a dozen mercenaries.

Mmm, too fast, Fenrir grimaced as he placed the sniper rifle back into his pendant. Not satisfying at all.

He noticed the two guards at the entrance moving as they realized something was wrong and grinned viciously underneath his helmet.

Now, this, this will be fun, Fenrir thought as he fell, pummeling towards the two guarding mercenaries.

He landed next to one who jumped in response and he used his elbow blades to stab the mercenary in the throat. The second mercenary turned at the sound but froze in fear for a moment before releasing the safety of his gun. Before he could aim, Fenrir threw a knife at him, striking his gun and disarming him. Right after, Fenrir lunged at him and sent a barrage of punches at him. In a second he launched six punches at the mercenary’s chest and head. As the mercenary fell back from the force of the blows, Fenrir pulled his leg back like a scorpion and kicked downwards at the mercenary’s leg, breaking the kneecap instantly. Before the mercenary could scream, Fenrir grabbed him by the throat and slammed him down to the ground.

“What was that?!” A voice from inside shouted; Fenrir slamming the mercenary onto the ground alarmed someone that was inside. “I’m gonna check it out!”

“I’ll go with you!” a second voice said and Fenrir heard footsteps approaching from inside the warehouse.

He threw a dozen knives into the large doorway before dashing and taking cover behind a vehicle. Before the mercenaries could open the door, the knives let out a beeping noise before exploding. The door, which was made from metal, shattered inwards and sent shrapnel flying everywhere and killing the two mercenaries that were preparing to exit the warehouse.

“We’re under attack!” a voice shouted and the remaining mercenaries that were relaxing or resting prepared themselves by arming and armoring up.

Fenrir took this moment to roll over the hood of the vehicle and run towards the warehouse. From amongst the flames, a handful of mercenaries saw him running towards him but were stunned when they saw his appearance; his body was covered in armor and his large teeth and glowing blue eyes looked inhuman to them.

“OPEN FIRE!” the leading mercenary bellowed and bullets rained down on Fenrir like a hailstorm. Bullets from SMG’s, Assault Rifles, and Shotguns pelted him and Fenrir’s movement was slowed as more mercenaries joined in shooting at him. A shotgun pellet hit him on the shoulder and forced him half a step backward while a few of the mercenaries began changing their ammo.

“Switch to HE rounds!” the lead mercenary shouted and a quarter of the shooters, who emptied their clips, proceeded to use High Explosive Rounds. The bullets fired from their guns hit Fenrir’s armor and exploded on impact sending Fenrir reeling back even further. Soon smoke covered the area as the mercenaries continued shooting for a whole three minutes.

“HOLD!” the leading mercenary raised a clenched fist and the mercenaries stopped firing. They waited for the smoke to clear but noticed that nothing was moving and slowly they began to cheer. “The fuck you cheering for? This area’s been compromised, we need to -”

Before the leader could continue, a whirring noise interrupted him and from the smoke, six blades came flying out towards him and his lieutenants. Despite dodging the curved blades, a sickening sound came out as he and the three lieutenants behind him were sliced clean into multiple pieces.

Splat!

The sound of flesh and severed bones hitting the ground echoed out as the mercenaries turned to the direction of Fenrir with fear and disbelief.

Hmm. Combining my launched elbow blades with psychokinetic energy increases the lethality, Fenrir thought as the mercenaries stood still in horror.

What Fenrir did was coat his curved elbow blades with invisible telekinetic blades. That increased the range of the physical blades to any length he wished and he used it to make each blade two meters long before launching them at the leader.

Now, for the remaining mercenaries, Fenrir thought. He activated his second shoulder Pivot and shoot at a mercenary. The cable tore through the mercenary and the hooks locked onto his back before reeling him down to Fenrir, who used his body as a shield.

Grabbing a grenade from the corpse he was now holding, Fenrir pulled the pin and threw it at a concentrated crowd of the mercenaries, who exploded into bits of human flesh as the grenade imploded.

Slightly bucking his knees, Fenrir jumped up onto the scaffold that the remaining mercenaries were and smashed his way through them. He threw some off the scaffold after severely crippling them before stopping as two mercenaries stepped up while the others fell back.

Narrowing his eyes, Fenrir studied them and noticed that these two were more experienced and dangerous than even the mercenary that was leading the others previously. One was a muscular man who was only a few inches shorter and smaller than Fenrir, while the other was a slim but flexible woman who appeared to be skilled in martial arts.

“Who are you? Why are you coming after us?” the female said but shuddered when Fenrir turned his eyes to look at her.

“Don’t bother with him. Help the others escape, I’ll buy you time!” the big man said as he charged at Fenrir.

“Like hell I will!” the female chuckled before joining him and the two engaged in a close combat fight with Fenrir.

As the man lumbered to Fenrir, the woman used a hanging chain to swing to the other side of the scaffold and behind Fenrir’s back, intent on flanking him. Fenrir grabbed the man’s incoming punch and began crushing his fist while twisting it. The man was forced to his knees when the woman pulled a knife and stabbed at Fenrir. Releasing his grip on the man’s fist, Fenrir kicked the former aside before turning and stopping the knife by smashing his elbowing her in the chest and pushing her backward. Fortunately for her, Fenrir had used his elbow blades so the elbow strike he used was not lethal. The man attacked Fenrir again after regaining his footing and Fenrir was forced to block attacks from both sides of the scaffold.

Fenrir alternated between the two opponents, using his arms to block the attacks from the man while turning and defending himself from the woman’s attack with both his legs and arms. After a few minutes, Fenrir began controlling the momentum of the fight and switched to the offensive. He kicked the man back before backhanding the woman. As she spun from the force, he aimed his arm at her leg and used his freezesprayer. The woman’s leg froze solid and she was unable to move as she cried out in pain. However, the pain in her leg slowly numbed as it froze entirely.

“No!” the man shouted but Fenrir backflipped and used the momentum to kick at the former’s head. Fenrir’s boot connected with the man’s lower mouth, dislocating his jaw as he was flung back.

As he landed, Fenrir spun around and raised a fist, punching at the woman’s frozen leg.

“AAHH!” the woman screamed as her frozen leg shattered into chunks of ice and she collapsed while fainting. Fenrir picked her up and threw her off the scaffolding. There was a crunching sound as the woman landed headfirst, indicating that her skull or neck was shattered by the fall.

“Hew buztart!” the man howled through his dislocated jaw as he tried getting up. Fenrir didn’t give him a chance and began pummeling him with a flurry of fists. As the man fell down, Fenrir picked him up by the throat and activated his wrist-mounted flamethrower. Like a dragon breathing out, the flamethrower unleashed a steady wave of flames which hit the man’s face at point-blank. His screaming slowly died as his face melted and he stopped twitching after a minute of being roasted.

Fenrir released his grip on the man whose corpse fell down and looked around at the mayhem he created.

Crap, He thought as he noticed that the remaining mercenaries managed to escape. I forgot to leave one alive for interrogating. Oh well, there’s always next time.

Fenrir exited the burning warehouse and noticed sirens approaching his location. Immediately, he summoned his bike and activated hover mode. The bike flew up into the sky and left without leaving a trace behind.