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"You did what?!" Avory squarked at the three males, agitated. "Why did you go alone? Surely you didn't think you could take him on alone without the smallest_consideration that he could get away _again?"

"There were three of us and one of him," Volcan returned, shrugging. "Kyle and Lighris were on standby as our backup, but he sped off before they could get there."

"We thought we had this one in the bag, but..." Kieran trailed off slightly, averting his gaze to the right. "He was more than ready for us it seemed. Even had a way to completely nullify Korban's healing factor too, from what big red told me."

"If me and Ave couldn't take him on together, what made you think that just you guys could?" Avory asked before closing his eyes and looking down, massaging his brow with his finger and thumb, "We should have at least been there in case he got away, for Pete's sake. And guess what? He got away." He remarked looking back up at Volcan who appeared to be the ring leader in this. "And because he got away, he's probably gone and told P.A.C.E that they've defected," he pointed two fingers at the black long coat clad bounty hunters, "you and Obsidian are still alive, and we've lost what little an element of surprise we had!"

"Oh cry me a _fucking_river, Stark." Korban retorted in an annoyed tone. "You were too far away to assist us anyway. We had a lead, we went for it, thought we were prepared, but Devilshade was two steps ahead of us. Yea, we blew our element of surprise, but we also took him out of the game for the time being. He won't be bothering us fer a while." He stated. "Shit like this happens even to the most well laid out plans, so stop whining like a fucking baby and let's focus on what should happen next."

"...'Too far away'?" Avory echoed at the husky in amazement, "I fly mach fucking_two. I was not even on the other side of town! It took me less than a minute to suit up and tackle you when you were gonna chop his head off!" He exclaimed, pointing at Volcan before pausing and taking a deep breath to calm down, "Yes... _shit happens,_which is why you make backup plans, and then backup plans for those. ...What's that quote? '_No plan ever survives first contact'? Probably another one of Vinge's Art of War quotes, but regardless... you could have got more people involved."

"Sure; I may have only done this for two years now," Avory went on. "But I've put more people behind bars than you've put a bullet to the head. And if you actually want us to work together - and trust me, we need to - then you gotta start talking to me and keep me in the loop."

"...Ya done?" Korban asked, arching an eyebrow at the young avian while crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Got all that off yer chest? Good. Now let's move the fuck on and start planning for the next step."

"Look, Avory," Volcan began, keeping a level tone. "He knew Obsidian was onto him and he was looking for Korban and Kieran too. Yes, we should have tried contacting you - we made a mistake, but even _you_barely survived fighting him the first time, need I remind you. Thanks to the information Obsidian managed to pull from his mind we've taken out his weapons cache. He's not a threat anymore, for now, and hopefully he has no immediate way to contact P.A.C.E. We can't ask for any better outcome than what we received - it's done."

"I may have failed against him the first time; but the second time is always easier knowing their weaknesses." Avory commented, "but still, what's done is done. Are you sure he's out of the game? Now do you know he can't contact P.A.C.E?"

"Gonna have to ask the Marine Man to confirm." Kieran answered with a shrug. "I was incapacitated for the most part of that fight, but for all we know, he's not gonna be a problem for the time being."

"Well then perhaps we should act sooner rather than later... Anyone spoken to Vinge to see if we might be ready? I've almost sorted out our_mana inverter_issue," revealed Avogadro.

"We're still working on our coordination, and I'm still making myself some armaments," Volcan replied. "Ayane also needs to finish synthesizing fuel for the VTOL we'll be taking - it's part of the attack plan Vinge is working out with Kyle, based on his memory of the base. We're almost ready but we need a bit more time."

"On the topic of armaments..." Korban piped up. "I might have something that's more yer speed, if you think you can handle it."

Volcan looked at him. "Like what?" He asked.

"Well, you said you fiddled about with a stick when you were a kid, right?" Korban asked. "I might have a little sumthin' sumthin' that could fit that bill."

"A stick? You're gonna give him a spear or something? Like some sort of caveman?" Avory interjected

"I was working on making myself a sort of club, but, what'd you have in mind?" Volcan asked.

"How bout suthim that crosses the boundary between a quarterstaff and an axe?" Korban asked with a smug grin. "Like sayyyy... a halberd."

Volcan's eyebrows lifted. "A halberd? Where would I even find a functional one in this day and age?" He asked. "They haven't been in use for hundreds of years."

"Uhm.." Kieran piped up, arching an eyebrow at Volcan. "They also said the mystical arts were obsolete, and look at what my tools of the trade are."

"...Touché ," said Volcan.

"Maybe you should come with me to the back." Korban remarked with a smirk. "I got a little sumthin' to show ya."

Avory looked over at Korban with piqued interest but tried to hide it as best he could. The husky shot a look back at Avory for the briefest of moments before he gestured for Volcan to follow him to the RV, taking him inside the garage area and rummaging along the shelves until he pulled out a small remote.

"Fer yer eyes only." He said before hitting the switch. The wall behind Korban started to shake slightly before it started to slide upward, revealing behind him a wall of close to medium range weapons, all of them looking more exotic than practical. He reached up and pulled the one Halberd he had on the hidden wall and handed it over to the phoenix, nodding for him to take it.

Volcan gingerly took the hefty weapon in hand, studying it carefully and running his hand gently over the axe blade and spearhead as if to test the edges. He moved to find some room before laying it across both his hands, continuing to examine it before he faced the exit and made a few safe thrusts with the weapon. He nodded in approval at it, and then glanced at Korban.

"Feels... Right," he said. "Avians historically have always used spears to great effect, and this feels like it was made for me."

"Yer welcome." Korban replied with a nod. "Call it a down payment for when I finally pay you back."

Volcan nodded back at him. "Thank you. I'll be sure to get as much practice with it as I can before we launch our attack on P.A.C.E."

"You better." Korban remarked. "I tried killing you twice, then you went and saved my ass. I better not have to pull your ass out of the water if you get in too deep."

"Only time will tell there," Volcan returned, and stepped out of the RV to give the halberd a few more test swings, getting a better feel for it.

"Well I'll leave you two be. I need to get an early night as me and Obsidian are flying out to run a few errands..." Avory said looking between the three of them as he stepped out behind Volcan, "Don't do anything stupid while I'm away."

"Yea yea, we'll be suuuure to give you a ring next time, oh wise and mighty leader." Korban remarked sarcastically. "Just get goin' before I make you dance."

Avory gave the husky a confused look, before he walked over to his car, getting in and driving off before the sun began to set.

~~~~~

Just before midnight, the orange McLaren pulled up in front of Obsidian's house, ready for the dragoness to emerge. She was ready, coming out of the house with only a small bag in hand, and locked her door before walking down the sidewalk to join him. She looked tired as she approached what she instinctively thought was the passenger side, only to remember it was the driver's side when she saw Avory through the window.

She rounded the car, climbing in on the left side instead. "Sorry. I keep forgetting this one's imported," she said as she set her bag down on her lap and shut the door before buckling her seat belt.

"All good." Avory said, pulling away quickly once she was seatbelted in, "I would buy one over here, but I would be concerned they would muck it up"

"The cars from my home country still hold up pretty well so I'm told," she remarked. "The only reason that European cars are unpopular here is because they're overpriced, at least so Lighris says. Mostly because the parts aren't manufactured here."

"They are only expensive because of all of the American car manufacturers' lobbying of the government," Avory comments. Driving on the speed limit, making extra sure not to exceed it with a police lady beside him.

"That would be easy to explain if Japanese cars weren't still affordable even here in Canada," she remarked, laying back in her seat and sighing. "Most police forces have started switching to them full time, rather than rely on local manufacturers, with them having become so notoriously unreliable."

"Well I've hardly ever seen a Japanese car broken down by the side of the road. ...It's mainly American or German ones from what I recall" he remarked, driving through the city towards the airport. "British ones? Well I can't say they are the most reliable either, but then again, most of them are owned by Americans and Germans. This? This one is all British."

Obsidian chuckled. "I actually asked Lighris about that once," she said. "He said he actually loves British cars because their designs make them pretty fun to work on. But he hates working on them because he never makes much of a profit. You'd have to talk to him about it."

"Well I would find it amusing if he ever got his hands on an Aston; they are all handmade so good luck to him finding parts for that."

"Then for the sake of anyone who owns one I hope they are solid," she remarked. "But, I'm not a mechanic so." She shrugged.

The two talked for a bit before Avory pulled off the main road nearing the Unity Falls airport, pulling up to a chain link fence on the perimeter where a security guard walked up to the left side of the car. Avory rolled the window down with his controls and lent down so he could look at the guard on the other side, who was a bit bemused by the purple dragon in the seat before him, with no steering wheel in front of her.

"Here for a chartered flight on Charlie Foxtrot Tango Alpha Delta to Teterboro" Avory relayed, "Avogadro Lo'Raven"

The guard dog lifts his radio to his muzzle and speaks into it, relaying the information he's been told. "One moment..." he gruffly said as he waited for a response. "...taking your girlfriend clothes shopping are we, eh?"

Obsidian snorted a laugh, looking at Avory and arching an eye ridge. 'Well we can't tell him the truth so how do you want to explain this?' She asks, mentally.

'_Oh this will be fun,'_Avory responded teasingly in his mind back to her as he reached his hand across to hers, caressing her soft purple scalie hand, "Of course. I thought I would treat my lovely girl here with a spot of shopping and lunch in the big apple."

'Don't make a habit of this - I'm old enough to be your big sister,' she remarked, and flashed a smile to the guard. "Always wanted to see the sights on the east coast. Seemed like a good way to do both."

The Border Collie smiled back just before his radio echoed out, "He's clear for entry. Apron Four."

"Ok, you two can go through," he agreed, gesturing to his colleague in the booth who opened the gate, "Have a nice time you two."

"Thanks, you too," Avory called back with a small wave before rolling the window back up.

"I know I shouldn't ask a girl, but pardon me; how old are you?" Avory asked curiously, waiting for the gate to open before driving through it, "You look like... nineteen, twenty? ...then again I suppose you could be my older sister if that were the case."

"Twenty four, to be exact," she replied. "Although my hatchday isn't too far away so I'll be twenty five pretty soon."

"Only six years, that's nothing. I'm sure however old you are, you still look gorgeous." Avory commented casually, "besides, I don't mind age. Volcan probably less so; I think he said there's like... twenty two years between him and Ordagova?"

Obsidian pressed her lips together, clearly trying not to say something aloud as she rolled her eyes to look across the apron.

They eventually pulled up next to a private jet already spinning up its engines ready to go. The two climb out of the car with a bag each and Avory tossed the keys of his car to an attendant waiting for them.

"Good morning, Mister Lo'Raven and Miss...?" the caucasion human greeted them, smiling at the dragoness, reaching out for her hand to kiss it.

She hesitated briefly, not immediately recognizing the gesture, but eventually lifted her hand to let him kiss it and nodded in appreciation. "Kimoyama," she said, seeing no reason not to use her real name.

"Master Lo'Raven, if you please; mister makes me sound like my dad," Avory commented, walking up to the flight attendant, projecting his voice over the loud engines.

"Apologies, We are almost ready for you," he replied, gesturing to the stairs into the aircraft, "If you would like to take your seat, I will check your passports and other documentation before we taxi."

"Thank you," Avory replied, before looking over at Obsidian, and gesturing for her to take the first steps into the craft.

She nodded to him, climbing the stairs and entering the cabin. She had to keep her head low so as not to bump the ceiling as entered, taking the closest seat and dropping into it while Avory came aboard, sitting opposite her with a table in the middle.

"You ok there, Obsidian?" Avory asks, a little concerned, "You're rather quiet. And I'm not detecting anything up here," he comments, pointing to his head when no one is around.

"I'm just tired," she replied. "And, honestly... A little out of my element. I've never been on a private plane before." She looked around the cabin. "Feels weird not having a stewardess doing a routine demonstration with emergency masks, or a crying baby making it so nobody can actually relax."

"You'll still get all of that in a bit. Well... not the screaming baby" he chuckles, "Besides... surely you can make it fall asleep if it was crying?"

"I can block memories, but stimulating nerve centers to induce sleep or the like is a little different," she said. "You have to be close, and precise. It's not something I've practiced much and I certainly wouldn't feel safe trying it on a baby from a distance. If I make a mistake, I could do serious harm."

"But you did that on Kieran and Korban?" Avory cocked his brow at her.

"I was barely three feet away from them - that is close," she replied. "And when I gave Korban a mild headache, causing pain without actually doing any real harm is also easy. Just put a little pressure on just about any spot of the brain, instant headache."

"So what el-" Avory started before seeing their flight attendant climb aboard the aircraft, pulling up the stairs and closing the door behind him.

"Not too long now, we should be leaving on schedule." He remarked, coming around to the two passengers looking up at him, "please may I have your passports and documentation?"

Avory reached into his jacket and produced a burgundy and gold passport and a paper visa, handing them over to the human. Obsidian picked up her bag, digging through it for a moment before presenting both her passport and proof of US citizenship, just in case she needed both.

"Thank you," He replied, looking through the documents briefly before handing them back to his passengers with an attentive smile, "Glad to have you onboard. Now, we should be taxing momentarily; when you do, we ask that _you_take a seat over here for take off and landing" he gestured to Avory and then the seat on the other side of aircraft, facing forwards, "but when we're up in the air, you can sit wherever you like and move about the cabin."

The human then went over the emergency procedures and the inflight drinks and dining before smiling and leaving the two to go and speak to the two pilots in the cockpit.

'So... what else can you do?' Avory asked mentally, as he changed seats to the one pointed out to him, ready to taxi.

He saw her let out a sigh. 'Most of what you'll probably have seen in movies. I can do some of that. I can't control someone's mind - not someone intelligent anyway, though some very rare psionics can develop that level. I can levitate, I can read minds, and I can lift objects with my mind. General stuff.'

'Wow... can you... make me levitate?' He asks curiously. 'What about implementing thoughts? Can you implement thoughts into other people's mind other than just erasing them?'

'Well... I've never done it, but yes, in theory I could,' she replied. 'But that's something I'd rather not do, not unless it was with a good reason. I'm only doing what we're heading to New York for because White presents a real danger to you and by extension, the rest of us.'

'Right. Of course...' Avory agreed, but then continued to think to himself of possible things he could possibly like to have implemented into his own mind, to try and focus on some things and try to phase out other things he doesn't like. _'...Can you make guys straight?'_he then asks randomly as the plane starts to move, though he noticed Obsidian shifting in a way that suggested it was not the plane's movement that jolted her.

The flight attendant popped his head out of the door and noded to them both, "We've just started to taxi, please remain seated and I will let you know when it's safe to move about the cabin." he commented, before stepping back inside the cockpit, leaving the two on their own again.

Obsidian, after waiting for the flight attendant to leave, gave Avory a puzzled expression, 'Makeguys straight, as in alter someone's sexual preference?' She asked. 'No, I cannot do that. Not without completely rewriting their personality all the way back to the day they were their sexuality was developing. That's just plain wrong. I'm not God, and there's a reason we all have free will.'

'Even if it was my own will to decide that?' He asks with a sigh, his thoughts on full display to her of his attraction to the exotic 'magical' males he's met recently who he was ashamed of, as well as a couple of images of the girls, including herself, muddled in which he feels he should try and focus on to appease his father.

As the plane's engines began to spin up, and Obsidian considered what she was hearing in Avory's thoughts, she spoke aloud. "You're concerned about your father's judgment," she said. "You know he'd never approve of you seeing other men."

'Exactly... so wondered if there was a way to stop the temptation?' Avory replied again in thought.

"In theory, yes," she replied. _'But doing so would require me to effectively rewrite your personality. You wouldn't be 'you' anymore.'_She added telepathically.

Avory let out a sigh, audible over the engines as the plane taxied to the runway. 'I'm sorry' he replied as they waited on the taxiway, in the queue of aircraft.

'_It's okay,'_she assured him. _'Still, Avory... What you asked...'_She trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

'It's fine. I just hope I find the right girl to convince me,' Avory concluded as their small plane pulled onto the runway, accelerating quickly and taking off into the air, turning east and heading to New York City. The plane eventually eventually leveled out and their attendant announced that the two of them can now move around the cabin.

'_I'm sure you will,'_she says before her mouth stretched open in a yawn. "Mm... Sorry. I think I'm going to need a nap while we fly to New York," she said aloud. "Is there a way to put this chair back, or a cot somewhere I can lie down?"

"There is a full double bed in the back. I'll stay up here; I'm sure you don't want me sleeping with you." Avory replies, "We've got about four and a half hours of airtime; should be long enough for a kip."

"Thank you," she said, getting to her feet. "See you in a little while," she added as she headed to the back of the plane, stifling a second yawn.

Not so easy to fall asleep on planes, Avory took out his laptop from his bag and placed it on the table in front of him, working on it meticulously, accepting a cup of coffee from the human whilst he worked.

Hours passed before Obsidian heard a knock on the bedroom door. She reluctantly opened her eyes and lifted her head, shaking it and looking toward the door. "Yeah?" She called, sleepily.

"We are about fifteen minutes from landing, ma'am," a voice spoke back through the door, "You will need to retake your seat."

She stifled a yawn as she sat up, managing to keep her groan quiet. "I'll be right there," she called back, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and walking over to a mirror on the wall, trying to fix her hair - with minimal success using only the brush she had brought with her - before she exited the room, returning to the main cabin.

"I miss anything?" Obsidian asked Avory as she took her seat, seeing the raven still lounging in his own seat with his eyes on his laptop.

"No, but I..." Avory started, looking around at the dragon sitting down across the cabin from him, noticing her hair. He chuckled and smiled at her, "I like your new hairstyle; it's wild."

"Hardy har, Avory - just because you feathered types don't get bedhead," she remarked, once again trying to level out her mane. "Guh... Gonna need to run it under some water or something."

"No, genuinely, I think it looks cute," he smiled. "But maybe when we land you can hop back into the bathroom and run it under the water in there; there should also be a brush and blow dryer too."

"Yeah, I'll try to do _something_with it," she said. "At least to make myself presentable."

"Yeah, to your 'Lord and savior'," he reminded the dragoness.

"...I'm not looking forward to mingling with this cult following of his," she muttered under her breath.

"Well let's hope we're the only ones there... Although it's probably best that I don't go up, just in case he wakes up," Avory suggested.

"You can stay outside the room. But I'll need you there so that I know what memories to go over," she said. "I won't know what to block without some frame of reference - I'm not going to erase who he was, only his knowledge of you."

"Well... He is in a coma; he could come out like a vegetable anyway" Avory remarked with a shrug, before that gave him an idea, "...Are you able to detect if that will be the case if he were to wake up?"

"I won't know until I'm in the room with him. It'll depend on his level of brain activity," she replied. "If he's not even dreaming it will mean he is effectively brain dead."

"Ok. Well if there's nothing there to erase, that's good, we say our prayers and get out of there. If not, sure, use me for reference; but he needs to forget about me and my sister at least, about the Lightnings or that he even was one; even better."

"How long did you work together with him?" Obsidian asked.

"...Just over a month?" the raven-hoopoe replied meekly.

"A_month_? That's it?" She asked, incredulously. She turned her head up to look at the ceiling briefly before she spoke again. "Okay, let me ask another way; how long did he know you were the Lightnings then?"

"About... three or four weeks? Closer to four..."

"You only knew him for that short of time and you gave him a suit of-" She trailed off, then shook her head. "Nevermind. That actually makes things much easier. If you had history with him going back a full _year_this would take quite a while."

"Hey, before he knew who we actually were, we decided to test and train him, then he gained our trust... or at least Avelyn's... who was watching him. ...but then again Avelyn was also dating him..."

"How long was she dating him?" She asked. "If he remembers being involved with her he might start looking for her, even if he doesn't know she's Blue Lightning."

"Well it's not like she's harboring his child," Avory remarked jokingly before pausing, "...or at least I hope not."

"Focus, Avogadro," Obsidian stated, in the type of tone a mother might use when disciplining her child.

"Err... three weeks? It was pretty soon after she revealed who she was to him, they started dating... so maybe four too."

"Alright. So, I'll have to look into his mind to see if there's anything sensitive he might've known before, or block any lingering feelings he'll have that might drive him to seek her out," she said. "It'll be tedious, but I can do it."

"He did try to kill her, in the end. After she refused to betray me," he revealed.

"Whoa, what?" She asked, sitting up in her seat. "He tried to turn Avelyn against you?"

"Yeah, that night everything happened." he commented, looking away, turning his gaze out of the window.

"...Okay, any moral questions I had about this are officially gone," Obsidian remarked.

Avory quickly looked back at the dragoness, blinking, "...It was seriously that now that convinces you that he's evil?"

"I question the morality of using my telepathy for things like this even if the person deserves it," she answered. "But he tried to make your own sister turn against you. I may be an only child, but I've seen siblings interact. The way Volcan and Lighris protect each other especially - to imagine them turning on one another... It's unthinkable. So yes, that is more than enough to feel what we're doing here is justified."

It wasn't long until they felt their bodies lighten as the plane began to descend and circle the busy New York airspace before slipping into Teterboro airport.

Following the taxiways the aircraft finally made it to its stand, the door swung down into stairs for the two passengers to step out. Obsidian made another attempt to fix her hair in the washroom, having more success this time, and followed Avory off the plane, her bag in hand as they disembarked. Before them stood a handsome wolf in a suit with his arms behind his back, standing in front of a black SUV.

"Good morning, Mister Lo'Raven. Welcome to the United States of America, it is a pleasure to meet you." He smiled and greeted, stepping forth with a paw outstretched, which Avory took and shook.

"Master Lo'Raven. I'm not my father," Avory insisted, looking back at the wolf, but taking a couple of glances at the car behind him.

"My apologies. But it's always a pleasure to have the Lo'Ravens stateside" he smile, noticing the bird's gaze and following it to the car behind him, "Ah, you like the car we choose for you?" he asked confidently with a grin.

Avory paused, stepping to the side to get a better look at the large and bulky SUV with a huge chrome grill. "The car you choose to transport us to the car I've rented?" he asked seriously.

"No, this one is all yours for your stay. Brand new Cadillac Escalade, just arr-"

"_Hell_no," Avory interrupted the wolf, who was taken back a bit in surprise. "I requested something sporty. If I wanted a London bus, I would have stayed back in London," the bird squawked.

"...but sir, this is a free upgrade." The wolf insisted.

Avory then turned back to the wolf incredulously, "If Mercedes turned up in China this weekend and presented Lewis Hamilton with _this,_do you think he would be a happy dino?"

"...Sorry, I don't quite follow," the wolf responded.

"He's the formula one world champion," Avory rolled his eyes dismissively, "but of course you guys over here only know how to turn left and go around in circles."

The wolf simply looked stunned at the eighteen year old's attitude, before speaking up again, "I'm not quite sure what you want me to do."

"I paid to rent a sports car. So give me a sports car."

'Is this really necessary?' Obsidian asked him mentally while keeping a straight face, although her disdain was evident in her mental voice. 'He's only doing his job - it's not his fault if his superiors screwed up. Besides, with the kind of traffic New York has, you won't get to enjoy that much horsepower anyway.'

'Can you tell if it was him or his superiors then who chose to give me the largest thing in the world in one of the most dense places in the world?' Avory asked, "If you don't have anything smaller, I'll take a cab. But the fact I had to pay extra for a 'sports car' and then I get neither that or my money back, what do you expect me to say?"

"I-I'll speak to my manager." The wolf then stuttered, taking his phone out of his suit and dialing.

Avory then turned back to Obsidian and let out a sigh, "See, I would be fine if I didn't pay more for a sports car. Otherwise clearly they just want to take my money and run."

"I suppose. Just don't need to take it out on him," she said, cocking her head in the direction of the wolf.

Eventually the wolf lowered his phone and looked back at Avogadro. "We have a Ford GT?"

"Perfect. That's more like it," Avory agreed.

Obsidian's expression fell flat. "What kind of outfit rents out a Ford GT?" She asked, stunned.

The wolf then held the phone up to his ear one more time to speak before hanging up. "If you would like to get in here, I can drive you to your car." The wolf announced, walking over to the Cadillac and opening one of the rear doors for them.

"Thank you." Avory said as he walked over and climbed into the SUV, shuffling across to the other seat so Obsidian could follow him in. She did so, and settled into her seat before reaching for her seat belt to buckle it up.

They were driven off the airfield and to some other buildings within the airport complex, stopping in front of a lot of high end cars. Peering through the window Avory could spot a red Ford GT with white racing stripes.

"If you will allow me to get the keys and the paperwork..." The wolf asked, stepping out of the car and walking towards the building.

"I'm not normally this fussy, but I paid for it, so they're not gonna fob me off and take my money," Avory reminded Obsidian beside her as they sat in the car.

"I get it," she assured him. "Time's not on our side either way."

"We've got ten hours. Our flight is scheduled for four. It takes about three-quarters of an hour to get between here and the hospital. So if we say two hours travel time; we've got eight hours to do what we need to do, and then treat you to some shopping as a thank you for putting up with me?" Avory suggested, looking over at her wearing an apologetic look.

Obsidian chuckled. "I can pass on the shopping," she said. "Although with all the bragging I hear about New York pizza I wouldn't say no to some lunch once we're finished."

"New York pizza? Is that a thing? I've heard of New York cheesecake," the bird commented as the wolf emerged from the building and headed towards the car.

"We'll try both then!" Obsidian said, chipper.

"If you would like to follow me." He called out, gesturing them out of the car and down one of the aisles of cars.

Hopping out either side with their bags, the two followed, following the wolf's direction towards the red and sporty Ford GT.

"I hope this one is to your liking." The wolf bade, stopping in front of the red sports car. "We will waive the fuel fee once you've returned it, due to the mixup."

"Oh, don't worry about it." He commented checking the car over, walking around it and scanning every inch and panel meticulously. "Anything I need to know about this car?"

"No faults or scratches. It's as good as new. Full tank of gas to go."

"Is it petrol or diesel?" Avory then asked.

"Err... it's gas," the wolf stated confused.

"Yeah, but is that unleaded petrol or is it diesel? I don't quite understand the whole 'gas' thing." Avory commented, turning to Obsidian to see if she could help.

"Gas_is_ Petroleum, Avogadro," Obsidian could cut in before the conversation could become awkward. "Cars don't use diesel - we only use that in heavy vehicles like big trucks."

"Right. Ok." Avory nodded, "Well, do I need to sign, I assume?"

"Yes, please sign here if you're happy with the car." He replied, handing the bird a clipboard and pen.

Avory quickly read over the terms and conditions at the top of the page and other parts of the contract before signing at the bottom. "Brilliant." He remarked, handing the clipboard back to the wolf who handed him the keys.

"Thank you. That's it from me, enjoy your day and I may see you later when you return the car." The wolf replied, walking away.

"Thank you!" Avory called back as he unlocked the car and pulled the door open, looking at the dragoness.

"Ford GT," Obsidian said as she slipped in on the passenger side. "Last time I saw one of these was in a high speed pursuit - these things are rockets. Complete overkill if you ask me."

"Eh... it's only rhetorically best America has to offer," The bird remarked in the driver's seat, "You should see what I can do in my P1 around Silverstone."

"Yet they always seem to wind up in the hands of hotshots who think they're above the laws of the road," she remarked, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, I may drive on the speed limit, but never over," Avory smirks, looking over at the beautiful dragoness beside him, trying to act all cool.

"I didn't say you," she remarked, chuckling. "But believe me, my little patrol cruiser gets a workout."

As they pulled away from the lot, the wolf looked down at the paperwork, unclasping the papers from the clipboard, but finding something else clipped behind it. A hundred dollar bill, a thank you for his patience.

It was a forty-five minute drive into New York City and down towards lower Manhattan, passing through New Jersey and Jersey City, descending into the Holland Tunnel and emerging between the towering buildings of the Big Apple.

"Right... It shouldn't be far from here," Avory muttered to himself, following the road from what he could remember from maps, looking out for road signs to spot his next turn. "...Why must everything be so complicated here? Why is it all just one way grids?" he asks himself, mumbling.

"To reduce traffic congestion," Obsidian replied. "Albeit with mixed results."

"Yeah... I'm not sure about that," Avory remarked, not really expecting an answer.

Eventually they rounded a corner and up the street, finding a square beige building with darkened windows. On each side hung a large red banner denoting that it was the NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital. Its only other clue would be the large boxy red ambulances parked in a covered bay out the front.

"There it is..."

Obsidian, hearing the tone of voice, cast a concerned look at the raven. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"I didn't think I would be back in this city, let alone be this close to him."

She reached over to rest her hand on his shoulder, in an effort to offer some comfort. "We'll make this quick," she said. "Hopefully, it'll be the last time you ever have to be concerned with him."

"Let's hope so," he agrees, trying to find a space to park, luckily someone ahead was just pulling out of one. Avory stopped and flashed his lights at the driver ahead, signaling that they could pull out, before pulling into the space himself by the side of the road.

They stepped out of the car and locked it, standing on the other side of the road, looking up at the hospital before them. It may have only been six or seven stories tall, but it still daunted the bird. Obsidian stayed by his side, trying to offer a comforting presence as they approached the hospital and keeping her eyes around them for signs of this strange 'cult' they were here to pose as, imagining they were not likely far away.

Walking up to the building and inside they were greeted with a reception area. Avory lead Obsidian up to the counter and waited for the receptionist to look up.

"Hello, how can I help you?" She asked looking up, failing to recognise him.

"Good morning," Avory began with a smile, "I hoping to meet Sam White, if at all possible."

The receptionist let out a short sigh, "Please wait here, I will call someone down for you..." she said before picking up the telephone on the desk she waited for a moment for someone to pick up on the other end before speaking again, "We have two people to visit Mr White." She stated, pausing for a moment then putting down the phone. "Please wait here, someone is on their way down."

"Thank you." Avory smiled back before looking towards Obsidian. She could tell he was trying to put on a brave face.

'You can do this, Avogadro,'_she said mentally to him. _'Stay strong.'

'Yeah, yeah... Let's just get though this.'

Moments later, the doors opened and another came through. He looked over at the two by the counter and walked up to them.

"Are you two part of the Children?" He asked.

"Err, no." Avory shook his head. "I knew Sam prior to... the incident. I know you guys don't normally allow visits from non relations but I also heard that he was getting visits from _the Children_so I thought you would allow me to visit my mate?" He suggested.

The assistant pondered a little longer, looking at Avory curiously. He then finally spoke, "You're Christopher Lo'Raven's kid?"

"Yeah" Avory nodded, reaching behind the back of his head to rub it, "It's not often I _don't_get recognised."

"Right. Well your wings are very recognisable. It was... Avocado, or something?"

Avory blinked a little, unamused but did not show it just in case it was genuine. "Avogadro." He then corrected.

"Riiight. Apologies, Mister Lo'Raven." He then replied, looking over at the dragoness behind him, "And you must be Miss Lo'Raven?"

'_What should I say?'_Obsidian asked mentally, while also saying. "Oh, no. We're not together. I'm a friend," she replied.

"Yeah, she's my best friend. In fact it was through Obsidian here that me and Sam met. You were dating him, or was that Susan?" Avory asked her.

'_Dating?! I've never laid eyes on the guy!'_She mentally screamed at him. "Oh, that must have been Susan. I only saw Sam once or twice myself," she lied, surprisingly convincing. "I'm just here for morale support, for Avogadro."

Avory let out an audible sigh. "Is there any news on him?" He then asks the assistant pleadingly.

"He is not out of the coma yet, but signs are showing improvement." He replied before gesturing to both of them, "Come with me."

_'Yes!'_Avory thought to Obsidian as they followed the assistant through the doors and into the hospital.

"Do you know when he might wake up? Will he remember me?" Avory asked sounding hopeful.

"We don't know, these things are out of control. He did appear to have suffered serious concussion from Red Lightning but it could have been worse."

The trio arrived at a lift which the assistant called, and waited for it to arrive.

"Do we know what happened out there? I keep hearing conflicting information about that night," Avory asked.

"No, just what the press is saying. Some believe Sam was going to expose the Lightnings as being corrupt, whilst others believe your friend was trying to steal from the Lightnings and take them over."

Avory then asked curiously as the two metal doors opened. "What do you believe?"

"I would rather keep my opinion to myself." He replied as they stepped into the lift together, joined by two other members of staff who pushed their respective floor buttons.

They arrived at their floor and stepped, out following the corridor to a room which the assistant peered though the window, before taking the door handle and entering, bringing the two visitors in tow.

Avory took a deep breath before rounding the door, pausing before he entered and then freezing again as he laid eyes on the white headed bald Eagle laying in the hospital bed before him, eyes closed and arms either side of his body outside of the bed sheets.

'_That's him?'_Obsidian asked. The raven-hoopoe didn't answer.

Before Avory could answer, the assistant looked over at him, noticing his freeze and shock, but allowed him to take his time. "He's not moved since he's been here... I imagine it must hurt you to see him like this."

'Yeah..." Avory replied, before rounding the door again and backing out into the corridor, pushing past Obsidian. He leant up against the wall breathing heavily, looking down at the floor.

'_Avory?'_Obsidian asked, moving to his side. "Hey, you okay?" She asked.

'Its him. ...I want to fucking kill that son of a bitch.' He replied back to Obsidian mentally. 'Just wrap my hands around his neck and just...'

'Stop it,'_she chided him. _'Vengeful thoughts won't help you here. Take a few deep breaths - try to relax.'

Eventually Avogadro calmed down enough, taking another deep breath and rounding the corner, entering the room again, and looking over at Sam White. Slowly walking up to his side. "It's been a long time, old friend..." he began, fighting back emotion, feigning sadness. "What happened there?"

Obsidian got into position, moving to stand beside Avory with her hands resting on the edge of the bed as she studied the comatose eagle. His feathers were matted from the time he'd spent in the bed, and his muscles showed visible signs of atrophy. Whatever state he was in when he awoke, physical therapy was going to be needed.

"I will leave you two be. You can leave in your own time the same way you came in."

Avory looked over at the assistant, sniffling a little and giving him a little nod before he left.

'Brain activity is strong,'_said Obsidian, mentally. _'He's in an endless dream... Urgh, though you probably don't want to know what he's dreaming of.'_She couldn't hide her grimace at whatever she was seeing inside Sam's mind. _'Keep talking. I'll get to work.'

'No, no. I want to know.' Avory insisted, gazing down at Sam White, inspecting him. "You've seen better days now, haven't you, mate?" Avory talks to his comatose foe, endearingly, but in spite in the back of his mind.

'Well... He's standing on the lawn of the White House, wearing the armour you built for him,' explainedObsidian. 'Avelyn is beside him, and he's making some sort of speech to the American people. If I didn't know better I'd say he had become president...'

'Yeah... keep dreaming you son of a bitch...' Avory thought in his mind, 'Right... what do you need me to do to get this to work?' He then looked up at Obsidian, "I remember when you and Susan were at that bar in LA. Susan was trying to hook you up with him, I remember now. I remember you coming over to the bar where I was and we got talking." He commented, making up the cover story as time went on. "You brought me back to the tablet to meet Sue and Sam."

Avory then turned back to Sam with a grin, "Man, I thought you were a nut case back then..." 'And I still fucking do.'

'For the moment, I'm just reaching into his memories to sort out his time with you and Avelyn,'_she explained. _'I'll only need you to confirm the events that really happened, in case some of these might be his dreams or delusions of grandeur as this one seems to be prone to.'"Yeah, that was one heck of a night," Obsidian commented, playing the role as she did her work. "Hoo boy, was he disappointed when he found out I was already spoken for, huh?"

"Yeah, you didn't tell Susan who was trying to hook you two up," he chuckles, "but now you're open again, aren't you?" Avory smiles sweetly at her and grins.

"Well, I am single but, not looking yet," she replied, shrugging, while also feeding a few memories taken from Sam into Avory's mind, waiting for his confirmation regarding them - whether they were real or not.

'That's real... that's real... that was... exaggerated, but happened... Fuck, did you really have to show me him in bed with my sister?!'

'If he remembers it but can't remember Avelyn herself it'll raise questions,'_Obsidian replied. _'You think I_enjoy seeing that either?'_

'Well, it's natural, but I don't want to see him banging my sis.' Avory commented back, 'So wait... you can't make him forget about the sex with her?'

'I can, but only if he can't recall the whole night - gaps in his memory can be explained away easily but being unable to recall someone's face, especially with an attachment to them, is something he'll find suspicious and he'll likely try to find out,'_said Obsidian. _'I'm not removing the memories - I can't do that without causing permanent brain damage. I'm only blocking them so that he can't access them, like securing a document with a password. That's about the closest comparison I can make.'

At that, an uncomfortable question filled Avory's mind... Was there a risk that Sam could regain his memories somehow? At that, Obsidian spoke in his mind again. 'There's no risk of him regaining the memories naturally - he can't remove the blocks himself,'_she said. _'That said, though, if he were to encounter another telepath, they could.'

'...And how common are you guys?' Avory asked before the door opened again.

'Well I've certainly met more than I expected recently, between Ordagova and his cousin, but-' She was interrupted as the door opened.

In walked a small party of different species, five in total entered the room, most adorned in mostly white outfits, combined with red and blue other other apparel.

They looked over at the two already in the room, looking over at Avory, noticing the white jacket, red shirt and blue denim jeans, nodding at him approvingly, then over to Obsidian dressed in similar denim jeans and a gray tank top.

"Good morning, fellow children." The tall horse spoke with a heavy southern accent, wearing a smart all white suit and tie, "I do not recall seeing you before."

'Fuck... how much more time do you need?' Avory blinked, "Oh? Me?" He asked, a bit confused, his British accent showing, "Sorry, we must have never bumped into each other before. Are you also friends, or relatives to Sam?"

'_I'm almost done, but it'll be harder to focus with them here,'_she replied.

"Indeed I am, son." The horse replied, "Me and Sam here go way back. Name's Jeremiah," he introduced himself, reaching out with a hand to the bird.

"Avory." He replied, accepting the hand and shaking it. "Huh... Sam never mentioned you before... do you go by another name?"

"I've gone by Jeremiah Shelby my entire life." He replied, bringing his hand back to join his other in holding his walking stick, "He never spoke about an Avory either. Where are you from, kid? Your accent tells me you're a long way from home."

"Yeah, other side of the pond. But Sam and I hung out a lot. Cool guy." He commented before looking down at the bald eagle beside him, "I just hope he pulls through. I hope we can remember us all too..."

"Oh, I am sure God will answer all our prayers and our beloved Saint will rise again." The horse spoke. "He was gifted by the Lord all mighty the divine suit of armour to protect his country and all his children to bring hope and propriety to this Earth, and spread the American Dream. He will rise stronger with the power of our Lord, and smite down the devil of that communist Red Lightning and his fellow sinners."

'I hope you are almost done, I'm biting my tongue here.' Avory thought to Obsidian, listening to the horse.

'_I'm trying... Geez, this guy is a windbag. He thinks you're a Communist? Does anybody watch the news anymore?'_Obsidian wondered with disgust.

Then, she did something Avory didn't expect, stepping back from the bed without looking away from Sam. She held her hands apart at shoulder width, bowed twice, clapped her hands twice, bowed again but only once this time, and uttered something under her breath all the while. It took Avory a second to recognize that she was speaking Japanese, though he didn't know precisely what she was saying.

The horse and his followers appeared confused and somewhat disgusted by the dragoness' actions, letting out a small gasp and muttering between them.

"I thought she was a Chinese communist," the faintest whisper could be heard from one of them to another.

'Can you erase these guys' immediate memory too?' Avory pleeded mentally, pretending not to hear the comments made under breath.

'Just a second,'_she said. _'I'm only stalling right now, before they think we're up to something.'_Then, just as her prayer stopped, she sent another telepathic message to Avory. _'Done.'

She then turned to face the other followers, smiling. "I hope for a quick recovery for him," she said, sounding genuine. "And that he continues to uphold the principles you all hold dear."

"Really now? Is that what you did just now, miss?" The horse then asked her accusingly.

"I was brought up as a follower of Shintoism - I was born in Japan, you see," Obsidian explained. "I was offering a prayer of protection for him."

"Japan? So you're a fascist piece of shit then?" The horse then accused her, then looking back between her and Avory, "What did you do to my boy? What are you two really here for?"

"Hey, Mister. I don't know who you are but we are here seeing a close friend that has been in a coma for months now, standing up to that Lightning piece of shit. I don't know how we've never met before if you claim to be his friend but I am surprised he hung around people like you!" The bird then blurted out, before Obsidian could speak.

The horse scoffed. "Go back to your fascist countries, go back to your fascist queen of England and get out, before I call the cops."

'This just got out of hand,' Obsidian spoke in thought to Avory. With that, Obsidian extracted something from her pocket and flipped it open, flashing her badge. "The cops are already here," she said sternly, losing all pretense of courtesy. "To clarify, I said I was_born_Japanese, but I was raised here in the US of A, same as the rest of you. Now I suggest you take a few deep breaths before someone says something else they'll regret."

She was far enough enough from the horse that he couldn't see where she was actually from, but the shock of seeing the badge was enough that he didn't look too closely - else he would have seen it was not a New York police badge. _'Drat... they are letting anyone into the police these days... Dragons, girls, fascists, I bet this woman is a fucking disabled lesbian prick too.'_Jeremiah then thought to himself, before turning around to the avian again.

"Wait... I know you..." the preacher then looked over at Avory pointing, "You are that rich British businessman's spoilt brat."

"What is it to you?" Avory snapped back.

"Your father lost me millions. Put me and my friends out of business... And if your girlfriend wasn't here, I would make sure _he_lost something too."

"Was that a threat?" Obsidian asked, glowering at the horse as he picked up on the tone of her voice. "I hope you aren't about to make me make an arrest in a hospital, in the presence of a national hero who you _claim_to be a supporter of."

That set the horse back on his hooves.

'Can you make these forget about our encounter too?' Avory asked, glaring at the horse.

'Not without them noticing, no. If they can't pull up the memories, it'll raise questions. I can_somewhat scramble their recollection of us, maybe...'_she replied.

'Anything at this point. We shouldn't risk him knowing we were here and telling Sam.' Avory insisted.

'That shouldn't be an issue,' she said. 'Even if he tells them, I've ensured Sam's memories of you will be cloudy at best. He'll remember your alias, but everything before his first encounter with Red Lightning will be clouded. He won't remember you or your sister.'

"Right. Well I think I will be taking our leave, before you decide to do something stupid." Avogadro said before looking over at Obsidian, "Come on, let's get moving." He commented walking up to the door and past Jeremiah, taking one last look at him, "And when Sam eventually wakes up, I'll be telling him all about you."

"As will I... As will I..." the horse looked down at the bird in a very defensive stance.

When they were up the hall and out of earshot of the cultists, Obsidian let out a breath. "That could have gone better," she muttered. "That guy really wanted to hit you, and he thought some very derisive stuff about me too."

"He called you a fascist, how could he think of anything worse?" He asked as they walked to the lift, "I am sure one of them assumed you were Chinese communist at first too."

"Yeah, they did. I heard one of them say so," she replied. "Dummies can't tell Chinese from Japanese anymore - if they ever could. But that horse also called me a 'disabled lesbian prick'." She reiterated.

"...Why?" Avory looked at her confused, "There is nothing wrong with being a lesbian, but... just why? Just another small minded Am..." he caught himself, "Sorry."

"It's fine," she said. "People like that deserve that designation, and there seems to be more of them every year."

"Right..." he looked away as they arrived at the elevator, pressing the button to call it down.

"He'll barely remember we're here at least," she said. "I scrambled his recollection of our faces and your name so even if he wants to bring it up it'll be difficult. The others too. Like they're just having a... 'blond moment' let's call it."

They didn't have to wait too long foe the lift. The doors opened to see a pair of staff already inside on the way down. The two visitors stepped in and joined them on the way down.

'If he wouldn't of remembered who I was, maybe I should have given him a bloody nose after all after what he said to us...' Avory suggested.

'That wouldn't have solved anything,'_Obsidian returned. _'Let's just get out of here before they decide to follow us and raise more trouble. You might consider calling your pilot to be on the lookout too.'

'Why my pilot?' Avory asked.

'Because that horse hopes to find some dirt to bring up about you and destroy your public image,'_she replied. _'He's already sent one of his groupies to follow us.'

'No surprise there.' Avory admitted, 'Good thing we only planned to-' "So, grab some lunch then?" Avory asked Obsidian, turning around to her. "It's just gone 11. But I am famished."

"Neither of us have eaten since before we left town, so, I'm not surprised," she replied. "Let's see if we can find anywhere good on the way back to the airport."

"Well our flight doesn't depart until four. We've got plenty of time." Avory commented, "and it's not so simple to change the time we depart, it's rather costly."

"I wasn't going to suggest leaving early," said Obsidian. 'I'd just rather not get back to find our ride home's fuel line has been cut or something like that.'

'I will let them know that someone suspicious is following us.' Avory agreed as the lift opened on the ground floor for them to step out, as well as the other occupants, making their way to the front door, and eventually out onto the street.

"Do you know who is following us?" Avory asked lowly as they crossed the street back over to their car.

"Just one of the ones who was with him. A male canid - wolf I think," replied Obsidian.

The bird unlocked and opened the door to the car, climbing in and turning his head to try and find his seatbelt, using the opportunity to look towards the front of the hospital again to see if he could spot the canine. "I don't think I saw one get into the lift with us, but I image he won't be far alo-" he stopped mid sentence as a grey wolf male came out of the front of the hospital in a red shirt and white waistcoat. "There he is..."

"Should we try to lose him?"

"Well what is he going to find out? That we like pizza and cheesecake? Let's just get on and act normal, we've got nothing to hide what he can see," Avory insisted, waiting until the dragon was settled and belted in, before indicating out of the space and pulling away, heading towards central Manhattan.

The two parked up and found a pizzeria for lunch, chatting over a large margarita and then sampling a delicious baked cheesecake with raspberries, not minding their onlooker from the distance, who Obsidian informed Avory was getting bored of watching them, having nothing of value to report to Jeremiah. Finishing up their meal, Avory brought the dragon to Times Square just around the corner, before heading over to the Rockefeller centre to head up the tower and look over the downtown New York skyline to the south and Central Park to the north.

"I should bring Tsumé out here to see Central Park," Avory thought out aloud to Obsidian as they looked out over it.

"Oh she'd love it," agreed Obsidian. "Plenty of nature around for her to enjoy."

"Maybe some inspiration for my garden too for her to work with," he suggested.

"Maybe. Certainly plenty of options here that might give her some inspiration," agreed Obsidian.

They soaked up the views for a little longer before heading back down to the ground, making their way to the car to drive back to Teterboro Airport.

They pulled up to the gate to the airport, were questioned rogueriously by the American security before driving onto the airfield, pulling up to their parked jet where a new valet waited for them to return the car.

"Welcome back Mist- Master Avogadro Lo'Raven" the new feline greeted as the two stepped out of the Ford GT, "Did you enjoy your stay?"

"Yes, thank you. And the car was great too, once we got the kerfuffle sorted earlier," Avory commented, walking up to him with the keys.

"Yes, my boss would like for me to pass on his apologies. But it's great that you enjoyed the car."

Avory smiled at him, before taking another look back at the sports car. "You know... I've never been particularly fond of American cars, but I do like this one... might even try and get one for myself."

"Oh? Well if you would like, I can speak to my boss and see if you can buy the car from us if you would like."

"That would be a good idea." The raven-hoopoe smiled at the cat, "He should have my contact details, if he's interested, name his price and we can see what we can do."

"Will do." He nodded before stepping aside. "I wish you a pleasant flight."

"Thank you," Avory smiled, handing him an American bill before looking over at the dragoness beside him and guesting her towards the stairs of the plane and then following on after her.

"Good afternoon Master Lo'Raven," their human flight attendant greeted them again onboard. "Did you enjoy your visit?"

"Yes, it was very productive, and we had enough time to have a nice lunch and do a little sight seeing."

"Very nice." The human commented, watching the two take their seats from earlier, "Although, it was very concerning when you called. Do you really believe you were being followed?"

"Yeah. I am not sure what it was all about, but this guy was wearing a bright white suit and stood out like a sore thumb. Must of been paparazzi or something," Avory dismissed. "But I thought I should let you know just in case they found their way back here to ambush us or cause you guys any hassle."

"No, we were quite ok here. I am glad to hear and see that you are both safe though. You never know what to expect these days. They say crime is growing because of these Lightnings showing up; I believe these Lightnings have showed up because the crime is getting out of hand," their attendant suggested.

"You know what. I think you might be right," the bird nodded, looking over at Obsidian.

"Crime was on the rise even before the Lightnings first appeared," Obsidian agreed. "I should know - I'm a cop. The presence of the Lightnings didn't increase crime - it was brought on as a result _of_increasing crime."

"Oh? Well I must thank you for your services. We can never take your role with in our society for granted." He spoke kindly to the dragoness.

"I appreciate it," she said, smiling back to the human.

"I know I saw you both this morning, but as a formality, please can I see your passports, visas and other documentation to return to Canada." The human asked, before being handed exactly what he was after, checking them over briefly an then handing them back, making sure he passed them onto the correct person. "We are a little early, so we have to wait on the ramp for a little while longer, but if traffic control give us clearance, we may be allowed to depart a few minutes early."

"Thank you," Avory smiled.

"Sounds good," added Obsidian, getting settled in her seat.

It indeed didn't take long before they were able to taxi and take off ahead of schedule, taking to the air and reaching a cruising altitude, allowing for Avory to pull out the laptop from his bag once again.

Obsidian reached into her bag and produced a book, but before she opened it she looked over at Avory. "So, what're you working on?" She asked. "You were glued to that laptop when I went to sleep too."

"I believe I might have finally solved how to make spherum, and a device to use it in to protect, or at least resist the disruptors." Avory revealed.

Obsidian perked up, setting aside her book. "Okay, you had me at Disruptor. But, what's Spherum?" She asked.

"The combined state of all five elements of mana equally balanced. I call it 'spherum' because it can only retain its form in a sphere." Avory explained. "When combined it appears to emit a psionic frequency. It can be used to amplify elemental energy, and likely psionic energy. Of which the disruptor actually inverts this with a platinum-tungsten cage around it and instead saps away the power. Larger ones won't need to discharge, but small ones, like what it seems they used on Tsumé, would need to discharge, imploding into dark matter."

"You're talking a bit out of my range, but..." Obsidian considered what he was saying. "I think that kind of puts into perspective why even my powers are affected. If the frequency is akin to Psionic energy, it could cause a disruption in the use of my powers. Certainly explains why I got such a headache at that time." Absently she lifted a hand to rub the side of her head, remembering the agonizing pain the Disruptor field had caused her.

"Well, I should be able to make smaller versions that can mitigate some of the disruptor's power. It probably won't stop all of the Disruptor completely but will perhaps allow our guys to move and react instead of standing around screaming."

"That'd be a start. It'll be handy for the breach team too - Kieran, Korban and I will be able to access our powers - even if it's with a bit more difficulty," she said, nodding in approval. "Every advantage helps."

"Exactly. As an added bonus, it should also boost their powers once they stop using the spherum to mitigate the Disruptors. That energy would need to be balanced back out to an equilibrium, otherwise it might blow up like in my experiments."

"Er... Will that be a problem for us? We already know the base has a self-destruct we'll need to bypass."

"It shouldn't, no." Avory said looking back at his laptop. "I will need to run some more tests on that though once I've actually made it. I will get started first thing tomorrow on that. After Devilshade, I want to be ready at a moments notice, we might have scuppered our only surprise advantage we had."

"P.A.C.E still doesn't know we intend to attack their base. They still don't even know for sure Kyle is with us," Obsidian offered. "I don't think Devilshade has an immediate way to contact them - not after we took his stockpile. But I agree that could change sooner or later."

"And you have no way of knowing if he has or still could contact them?"

"As far as I know all of his communications equipment was at his safehouse," said Obsidian. "I couldn't really dig into his mind - I was too far away. If he has an alternative means to contact them, then he'll have gone to it by now, or he's still in hiding. Either way it's out of our hands."

"Yeah... So we need to be prepared..." Avory concluded.

"Hopefully they won't expect us to attack from two directions at once," said Obsidian. "That's part of Vinge's plan, to hit both their hangar in the peaks - the least likely point of entry, and their garage in the valley which Vinge, Kyle and Tsume scouted already."

At that, a thought occurred to Obsidian. "Which reminds me. We're going to need Avelyn's help on this too," she said.

"Yes, she's already been clued in." He says leaning back in his seat, "I am wondering about bringing in the other Lightnings too."

"Those others I've heard of in Hong Kong and... Australia, was it?" Obsidian asked. "Could they really help?"

"Red Emperor and Outback could. But it depends on if you guys want them to know who you are. ...I've been withholding details on you and your friends' existence." Avory commented, "In fact, before actually meeting you all, I was planning to bring them together for the four of us to raid P.A.C.E on our own to try and find more details on Achtbeinig."

"By yourselves?" Obsidian asked with disapproval, crossing her arms. "Against an enemy rival to - if not equal to you, in terms of technology, in a base only one of us knows how to get to or navigate? You haven't even encountered one of their cyber soldiers yet besides the inert one in Ayane's shop."

"Again, this was before they set those Bounty Hunters on you, before we met." Avory said looking over at her. "But then that night, you seemed to prove yourselves capable against those two at the very least."

"And P.A.C.E themselves before that," she added, nodding. "Our chances are better if we work together regardless. Before Kyle showed up neither of us would've had any way to actually locate them." She grimaced. "In hindsight I should've pulled the location of their base from one of the minds of their operatives when they first went after Volcan and Lighris," she chided herself. "I'm so used to doing things by the book I sometimes forget I can get unconventional thanks to my telepathy."

"True, but given time I would be able to find out where their communication frequencies end up. It may be a closed system, but given time I would of found out on my own."

"My point still stands. You're better off with having some allies at your back and we certainly are glad to have you," she said, nodding to him.

With a grateful nod from Avory, the two settled into their respective activities, and waiting until they touched back down in Unity Falls...