Elijah's groin burned like he dropped his balls in a hive of hornets. His cigarette provided minimal relief as he sat in the backseat alongside Dezerea. The car rattled as it turned down a dirt and gravel road. His eyebrows furrowed as he stared at Dezerea. Her brown eyes faded to a sickly eggshell white for a few seconds before the back seat window cracked.
"How does it feel to be kicked in the nuts by a teenager who can manipulate time?" Dezerea flatly asked as she glanced over at Elijah as he rubbed his groin.
Elijah scoffed and exhaled. "Awful," he replied, flicking his cigarette out of the car.
Dezerea hand balled into a fist as she glared out the window. "She acted like we were a nuisance," she growled. "That arrogance will be her downfall. If conventional weapons fail, then I will bring out the heavy weaponry."
"You brought anomalies?"Elijah asked.
Dezerea nodded. "A wide variety from my collection and some P.I.A. issued ones as well."
"How long have you been working with the P.I.A.?"
"Ever since I manufactured Gloom."
"Did you create Gloom just because of what you saw while bonded to the mirror anomaly?"
Dezerea shook her head. "That was a side project; your government contracted the production of Gloom for military purposes. They, of course, expanded it just like they did with flux and cocaine. The goal was to create super soldiers to compete with the other countries' growing Binder and Conduit populations."
"At the expense of innocent lives, creating exclusion zones and forcing Conduits and Binders to be a part of the P.I.A."
"Your moral compass of what is good and evil will get you killed, Agent Carter. We are mutants living in a morally gray world."
"You say that, but you would be dead right now if it weren't for Rachel's moral compass."
Dezerea's eyebrows furrowed. "Don't patronize me, Agent Carter," she replied, clutching the pendant around her neck. "If you've seen what I've seen."
Elijah didn't reply as the SUV pulled up to an abandoned warehouse. Vines climbed the brick exterior as if trying to enter through the broken windows. As they parked, dust, gasoline, and rust lingered in the air. A janky Corwood minerals sign hung on a flimsy steel fence. Ravens perched on powerlines, gazing down at Dezerea and Elijah as they exited the vehicle.
Dust and rocks kicked underneath Elijah's boots as he followed Dezerea into the warehouse. His temples throbbed, and a hum rung in his ears. Fractured static lingered around suitcases on cheap wooden tables, his Ether trace picking up the distorted auras.
"Apologies, you must be more sensitive than the others when surrounded by anomalies?" Dezerea asked as she approached a wooden table. She fiddled with the combination, opening up the suitcase before taking off her pendant and placing it inside. "You can step outside if you need to."
Elijah rubbed his forehead and pulled out his cigarettes. "I'll be fine so long as you didn't bring an anomaly that will go haywire around fire?" He asked as he pulled out a lighter.
Dezerea nodded and closed the suitcase before opening another one. Within sat a superhero VHS tape. The space around it was distorted, glitching with static energy. Her eyes narrowed as she reached out towards the tape. The distorted energy reacted to her hands, bouncing and pulsating while Dezerea's arm trembled. Seconds later, the VHS vanished in a chaotic spark of light as Dezerea assimilated it into her being and lifted the suitcase with her mind before launching it towards the wall.
"No, this one won't work. I need more distance," Dezerea muttered as a trickle of blood dripped from her nose as she lifted a steel pipe with her mind. It fell with a loud clank as she focused on wiping the blood with her finger.
Elijah's eyebrows raised as he heard tires rolling over cracked asphalt outside.
"Ah, that must be your team," Dezerea muttered as she glanced at the patrol car approaching the warehouse.
"Wait, you talked with Ashley and Bruce?" Elijah asked as his heart started to race.
"I did, I figured we could do a group think and coordinate a plan if I was unsuccessful in neutralizing the target," Dezerea explained as she started to walk towards the entrance.
"Was there a girl with Ashley?"
"You mean your recruit? A Conduit or Binder, right?"
Elijah's eyes widened as he reached for his cigarettes. His hand trembled as he looked up and sighed. "Yeah, that one," he groaned and shook his head.
"This is bad....this is really bad," he whispered as he stared at the patrol car.
Ashley, Bruce, and Emily exited the vehicle. Elijah's eyes fixed on Emily as she threw on the P.I.A. jacket he had given her earlier in the day. His eyes drifted towards the ground as Emily met his gaze. He then looked at the frown etched on Ashley's face as she cautiously approached the warehouse. Bruce sipped on a milkshake, side eyeing Emily as he looked up at Elijah.
"Why the fuck did you bring her here!?" Elijah yelled in his mind as he tried to force a stoic expression while avoiding Emily's death stare.
"Thank you all for coming. I don't think I have been properly introduced to your new teammate," Dezerea replied. Glancing at Elijah, she stretched her hand out towards Emily.
"I uh-thats-" Elijah replied as he rubbed his neck, then lit his cigarette.
"I can do my own introductions, sourpuss," Emily interjected as she shook Dezerea's hand with a stoic expression. "Emily Voss, it's a pleasure."
"Are you a Binder or Conduit?" Dezerea asked as she escorted Emily into the warehouse.
"Conduit," Emily replied as she gazed around at the suitcases.
"How unfortunate, well, at least Ashley is a Binder," Dezerea replied. "So what's your gift, little one?"
"If you have Gloom on you, can I show you?"
Elijah's eyes widened as a slow, creeping dread crawled up his spine.
"Why is she here?" Eli asked Ashley as he walked over towards her.
Ashley leaned on the wall and crossed her arms. "What am I supposed to do? We recruited her, then you ran off with that Rachel girl," she explained.
Elijah groaned as he turned his head towards Dezerea and Emily.
"How curious? I keep a small batch on hand for various purposes," Dezerea replied as she fished a small bag of Gloom pills from her pockets.
"Thanks," Emily replied, taking the bag from Dezerea with a smile. She popped the pill in her mouth and then paced around the warehouse.
Elijah's eyes narrowed as he stared at the mulberry aura surrounding Emily, which started to grow. It was charged with volatile static that caused the Ravens' outside to scatter. His eyes widened as Emily's eyes began to flicker the same mulberry glow as Rachel's.
Dezerea stepped back briefly with a raised eyebrow. The suitcases shook and rattled as if disturbed by Emily's presence. She instinctively reached for her pistol as the suitcases began to levitate.
"That is some impressive power," Dezerea said as she gazed at the suitcases in awe. "You might be just what I need to take down this time, manipulating girl."
"ØⱧ, ł ₳₥ ₦Ø₮ ⱧɆⱤɆ ₮Ø ⱧɆⱠ₱ ɎØɄ ₩ł₮Ⱨ ₮Ⱨ₳₮ ฿Ɇ₵₳Ʉ₴Ɇ ɎØɄ ₵₳₦'₮."
Dezerea's awe slowly withered from her face, replaced with a stoic expression. Her eyes narrowed as she gazed at Emily's mulberry eyes. She glanced at the steel pipe on the ground, then back at Emily.
"Then die," Dezerea flatly said as she lifted the steel pipe with her mind and then launched it towards Emily. The steel pipe glitched out of existence as it got inches from Emily's face.
"гРɎØɄ ⱤɆ₳ⱠⱠɎ ₮Ⱨł₦₭ ₮Ⱨ₳₮ ₩₳₴ ₲Øł₦₲ ₮Ø ₩ØⱤ₭?"
Dezerea scoffed as her heart started to race. She grabbed her pistol and began to fire at Emily. The bullets phased out while some clanked to the ground as Emily stood with a stoic expression.
"₳ⱤɆ ɎØɄ ĐØ₦Ɇ?"
"What the hell are you?"
Emily laughed, her voice echoed in the warehouse. "₩ⱧɎ ₮ⱧɆ ⱧɆⱠⱠ ₩ØɄⱠĐ ł ₮ɆⱠⱠ ɎØɄ. ɎØɄ'ⱤɆ JɄ₴₮ ₳ ₱Ʉ₱₱Ɇ₮," she mocked. "₳ ₱Ʉ₱₱Ɇ₮ ₩ⱧØ Ⱨ₳₴ ฿ɆɆ₦ ₮ⱤɎł₦₲ ₮Ø ⱧɄⱤ₮ ₥Ɏ ₣ⱤłɆ₦Đ. ₮Ⱨ₳₮ ₩Ø₦'₮ ĐØ."
Emily's eyes flickered with volatile intensity as she slowly walked towards Dezerea. Elijah's heart began to race as he watched the air around her distort. Rocks and bullets disintegrated into molecules underneath her shoes while suitcases glitched from existence as she touched them.
Dezerea's eyes flickered and blinked like a deer trapped in headlights. She then growled and launched the patrol car at Emily. Elijah ducked as glass, brick, and debris exploded and scattered across the warehouse as the patrol car rushed through the brick wall. A sharp burning sensation cut through his arm as shards of glass pierced his skin.
"ɎØɄⱤ ₩ØⱤⱠĐ ₳Ⱡ₩₳Ɏ₴ ₵Ø₦₣Ʉ₴ɆĐ ₥Ɇ. ₱ⱤɆ₮Ɇ₦Đł₦₲ ₱ɆØ₱ⱠɆ Ⱨ₳VɆ ₦Ø ₴Ʉ₱ɆⱤ₦₳₮ɄⱤ₳Ⱡ ₱Ø₩ɆⱤ₴ ₮Ø ₴ɆⱠⱠ ₮ⱧɆ łⱠⱠɄ₴łØ₦ Ø₣ ₦ØⱤ₥₳Ⱡ₵Ɏ ₣ØⱤ ₳ ₣₳Ⱡ₴Ɇ ₲ØĐ ₳₦Đ ฿ɄⱤɆ₳Ʉ₵Ɽ₳₵Ɏ."
The patrol car disintegrated as it approached Emily at high speed.
"ł₮ ĐØɆ₴₦'₮ ₥₳₮₮ɆⱤ, ł ₴Ʉ₱₱Ø₴Ɇ. ł ₩łⱠⱠ ₣ⱤɆɆ ɎØɄ ₳ⱠⱠ ₣ⱤØ₥ ɎØɄⱤ ₴₮Ɽł₦₲₴,"Emily said as she slowly approached a nervous Dezerea.
"Please don't-" Dezerea begged as she slowly stepped back, eyes widening as her heart throbbed in her chest.
"₮Ⱨ₳₮'₴ ₩Ⱨ₳₮ ł ₴₳łĐ, ฿Ʉ₮ ₲ɄɆ₴₴ ₩Ⱨ₳₮, ₴ⱧɆ ĐłĐ₦'₮ ₲łVɆ ₥Ɇ ₳₦ Ø₱₮łØ₦!"
"Who!?"
Emily didn't reply as Dezerea emptied her pistol magazine at her.
"₮Ⱨł₴ ł₴₦'₮ ₳₦ ₳₵₮ Ø₣ ₵ⱤɄɆⱠ₮Ɏ, ĐɆⱫɆⱤɆ₳. ł₮'₴ ₳ ₥ɆⱤ₵Ɏ," Emily said as her finger touched her forehead.
Dezerea's eyes widened as her body began to disintegrate into static snow. The snow swirled in the air like leaves in a gust of wind. Emily frowned as she gazed at the snow funneling out the windows. She then glanced at Elijah, Ashley, and Bruce, who were creeping towards the entrance. The door slammed shut as Emily flicked her hand.
"ĐØ₦'₮ ₩ØⱤⱤɎ, ł₮'₴ ₦Ø₮ Ɏ'₳ⱠⱠ'₴ ₮ɄⱤ₦ ɎɆ₮. ł ₦ɆɆĐ ɎØɄ ₮Ø ₴Ɇ₦Đ Ɽ₳₵ⱧɆⱠ ₳ ₥Ɇ₴₴₳₲Ɇ."
"What is it?" Elijah nervously asked, his eyes glancing back where Dezerea once was.
"₮ɆⱠⱠ ⱧɆⱤ ł ₳₥ ₴ØⱤⱤɎ ₳₦Đ ł ₩łⱠⱠ ₣łӾ ɆVɆⱤɎ₮Ⱨł₦₲," Emily instructed with a weary eyes. Her eyes flickered like a glitchy screen before returning to her normal green eyes.
Emily gazed around the warehouse, staring at the debris and hole in the wall from which the patrol car had been launched. She rubbed her neck and then glanced in confusion at Elijah. Her eyes widened as a smile stretched on her face, realizing the person who was destined to kill her had vanished.