This is kind of a !!!CRACKISH!!! Fanfiction. I don't own Marvel and DC, nor am I some sort of loremaster.

---

Chapter 14: Extraction.

DC Universe.

Omega Earth AKA Terra Indomitus.

The USA.

The State of Virginia.

Cadmus Alpha.

The medical center.

Christmas of 2006.

Avery Gallahan POV.

“H̴͔͛̿U̶͈̪̥̇̈́Ȕ̸̻̪͖̿̽U̵͍̅̍̅Ų̶̥͍̓Ü̶̮͛”

…

…

…

“Shit! We are running out of time!” I exclaimed as I turned back to look at Cheshire who now had both of her hands on her weapon. “We need to move now or else they overwhelm us!”

The Raven-hair woman nodded as her visage became serious. “Go get Deathstroke, I'm going to get our blonde clone here into something less… revealing…”

I nodded back at the assassin but before I could turn and go back to the mercenary's side. I was suddenly stopped by the femme fatale.“What is it?”

“Here, have this first before you go anywhere, it might not be a shirt but it is better than nothing,” Cheshire responded before reaching into her duffel bag and pulling out what seemed to be… a modern standard CAG Delta Force Kit, and tossing it to me. “There is also a rifle and a pistol in the bag, Doctor gift.”

"Huh… Thank you." I caught the tactical vest, giving it a quick once-over, there were many pouches containing what seemed to be 40-round magazines of… plastic casing ammunition and other tactical equipment on the vest. The kit was jet black in color, and it looked a lot more streamlined and lightweight compared to the regular tactical vests used by the military and law enforcement agencies.

I wasted no time in putting the vest on and tightening it so that it was secure, I was glad for the extra protection the vest would provide and I wasn't exactly keen on wandering around with my torso completely exposed. After securing the tactical vest, I began to look through the duffel bag and pull out what looked like a very modern-looking Bullpup rifle, even for the 2005 standard of this world, with a holographic sight, a foregrip, and a suppressor but that wasn't the main attraction. No… The main attraction was the strange Camo skin on it.

Like… how do I explain this… this assault rifle has Animated skin on it? You know like in the Call of Duty Zombie game there was this one machine in the game that allowed you to upgrade your gun and give them different very unique animated Camo. Well, this was similar to that except these guns didn't look like they came out of a videogame or something, no, the guns in front of me looked real like I could use them right now and not some kind of video game model.

The Camo on the bullpup rifle was definitely a Dark matter design and it was moving, the animated design was mesmerizing to look at. It was the skin of black and purple color that was moving like waves and flowing through the weapon. The black was like a deep and dark void that was swirling and shifting, while the purple was like a river of goo, overall, it was like looking at a lava lamp. 

I have so many questions but not enough time to ask, and I have a feeling the Doctor is behind all of this. Either way, I took the RM-277R, because it was definitely what the rifle was, and strapped the sling onto my body. I was surprised at how light the assault rifle was before taking out what seemed to be a Glock with a red dot and an extended magazine that had the same animated camo pattern and attached it to the holster of my vest.

After arming myself, I ran over to the mercenary, knelt down, pulled him up then threw the man's arm over my shoulders, and began to drag the unconscious man to his feet. Luckily, the mercenary was not too heavy for me to carry despite his height and armor.

"How's he holding up, Captain?" The Raven-hair woman inquired as she had some sort of quiver strapped behind her before taking what seemed to be some kind of very advanced-looking compound bow that sort of looked like the bow from Black Ops 3 from the duffle bag before throwing it over her shoulder again along with the quiver.

“He is stable for now… but where is Powergirl junior?” I wondered out loud as I rested the super-mercenary against a wall for a moment.

“Powergirl junior?” Cheshire looked at me questioningly with a raised brow but before she could ask what I meant, I was all of a sudden tackled from behind and almost lost my footing as a very beautiful and supple body pressed itself against me.

"Hi, Daddy." A voice chimed behind me with a sweet and cute tone.

I looked down and realized that the blonde clone was hugging me with a surprisingly strong grip despite wearing the power-negate collar with her large fleshy melons pushing against me, and her face was nuzzling into the crook of my neck. She was wearing a black t-shirt, and her curvaceous frame was wrapped in a pair of form-fitting combat pants and boots.

"Uh... hey," I replied awkwardly, not knowing how else to react.

Meanwhile, Cheshire is looking at the whole situation with an amused smirk. “Alright, I have to admit that is cute.”

I looked at the assassin with an annoyed expression and rolled my eyes as I put my hand on the clone's shoulder and gently but forcefully pushed her off. "Okay, settle down, we are out of time. So Let's get out of here ASAP!" 

"Aww... Okay, Daddy.” The blonde-hair bombshell pouted cutely as she let go of me, the Kryptonian Clone just stood there and watched as I began to go back to picking up the merc then she suddenly had an idea and blurted out. “Can I help?”

I raised an eyebrow and looked at the black-hair assassin who just gave me a shrug. I sighed and turned to the Kryptonian clone. "Can you?”

“I'm a strong girl, Daddy." Galatea chirped, her eyes were sparkling.

“H̴͔͛̿U̶͈̪̥̇̈́Ȕ̸̻̪͖̿̽U̵͍̅̍̅Ų̶̥͍̓Ü̶̮͛”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Shit,” Cheshire muttered a curse as she drew her bow and aimed towards the door as the cacophony became louder by the second. “Let's go, our window is closing!”

“You know what… screw it, why not? We desperately needed the extra hand. But you have to hold him steady, don't let him fall." I sternly advised the supergirl clone with a serious expression.

"I promise, Daddy." Galatea saluted me enthusiastically and the smile on her face was a bit infectious.

“I am not your… you know what… we literally don't have time for this… just follow us and try to keep up won't you?” I groaned as I gestured for the Kryptonian clone to get a move on. “Get him up and stay close.”

I was a little surprised by her eagerness and energy. From what Quintero was able to tell me, the clone had some “problems” Supposedly… What is that problem? I have no idea but it was enough of a concern for Waller to step in with Doctor Ianite's help. She didn't look like any sort of problematic experiment, instead, the beautiful blonde-haired woman looked docile, submissive, and a little naive, and the fact that the clone was behaving like a teenage girl made me wonder if the good doctor had a hand in her to be like that, but anyway, now is not the time. With that settled, I helped the Kryptonian clone carry the unconscious mercenary to his feet, the young woman despite her delicate-looking figure was much stronger than she looked. After that was taken care of, Cheshire walked past us and made her way to the door.

“Alright! Cheshire, take point, you guide us out of here towards wherever you want to take us, while I take the rear and cover us, Galatea takes the middle, and makes sure that the mercenary does not fall, and whatever happens, we stick together. Is everyone clear on that?" I declared firmly, and the raven-hair assassin and the Kryptonian clone nodded. “Let's move out, now."

Cheshire nodded and moved towards the door and opened it carefully, peeking her head out of the room, looking left and right. When the coast was clear, she signaled for us to follow her. Galatea was a bit apprehensive but after I assured her everything was okay, the beautiful blonde-haired woman began to move.

"Where are we going, Daddy?"

"Out of here hopefully," I whispered softly, trying not to draw any attention to ourselves as I held the rifle close to my body, my eyes peeled and vigilant while seemingly ignoring the way the blonde-hair clone's generous curve and asset bounced slightly as she moved.

We had made our way out of the medical lab and were now walking down the corridors of Cadmus Alpha. This wasn't the first time that I had seen the halls of the facility since my arrival, but it was the first time that I had to worry about being attacked. Everything was eerily quiet, the only sounds that I could hear were the creaking sound of the pipes above and the occasional groans and roars from the monsters.

Cheshire was leading the way, and Galatea was keeping pace with her while I kept my eyes peeled. I was keeping my distance from the assassin, somewhat, I still didn't know how to feel about her, to be honest, on one hand, she was sort of a notorious villain in the DC comic lore to the point that the Black Canary once called Cheshire the second most deadly female assassin in the world after Lady Shiva. On the other hand, the good doctor did send her to get me out of here and the raven-hair assassin hadn't given me a reason to not trust her…yet.

The silence between us was deafening, but we didn't have time to chat. We needed to focus on getting out of here alive and finding somewhere safe. As we made our way down the hall, the only sounds that could be heard were the soft footsteps of the four of us. But that wasn't until…

BANG!

“Contact!” Cheshire called out as she suddenly shot an arrow in the direction of a door that suddenly opened, allowing a squad of COC soldiers to come bursting into the hallway and begin to open fire at us.

The first arrow hit one of the troopers in the chest before suddenly exploding and sending the poor guy flying with his severed limb everywhere and causing a bloody mess on the walls and the ground. The rest of the team was immediately sent into a frenzy, and laser beams started to fly everywhere.

"Get to cover!" I yelled at the clone and pointed to a nearby wall as I let out a few bursts of fire at the COC soldiers, striking one of the troopers multiple times in the chest and quickly killing him surprisingly without any signs of an energy shield being there. 

Galatea grabbed the merc and carried him behind a piece of debris while I and Cheshire moved swiftly into the firefight. The clone had her hands on the unconscious merc's shoulders, her eyes were wide, and her breathing was rapid as the raven-hair femme fatale and I engaged the COC forces.

A few laser beams hit me in the shoulder but surprisingly my vest didn't seem to be affected, and the beams seemed to fizzle out after hitting the vest which made me briefly wonder what exactly was the vest made of before I shook the thought away and focused on the fight.

The COC forces were not prepared for the amount of firepower we were bringing As we continued to cut them down easily. I fired a couple more bursts at the troopers, hitting another one in the chest and causing him to drop to the ground in a heap. Meanwhile, the black-hair assassin was busy firing her arrows, dropping the enemy forces left and right, and in some cases knocking them back and impaling them on the wall with her arrows. The fighting was intense, but it didn't last long. Within a few minutes, we managed to eliminate the entire squad of COC troopers, and the hallway was filled with the bodies of the fallen and a sea of blood.

"You good?" I asked as I checked on the assassin who nodded before moving on. “Huh… that was much easier than the last time I fought them.”

“Looks like the EMP weapons were more effective than we thought and took out all of their energy shields, Captain,” Cheshire stated as she picked up a dead trooper's gun and inspected it.

“Was that the damn fucking thing that rolled out of the pod earlier?” I questioned as I began to make my way back to the clone to make sure that she and the merc were both okay.

“Yes, Now Come on! this way, we need to get to the rooftop.” The Assassin called out after dropping the gun.

“Hold on the second, Cheshire, we need a moment," I replied as I approached the blonde-haired clone and the unconscious merc.

“Make it quick captain,” Cheshire called out and I nodded as she began to scan for any adversary that dared to interrupt us.

"Tea? are you alright?" I asked worriedly, seeing the Kryptonian clone in a fetal position with the merc lying unconsciously beside the blonde on the floor and Galatea looked… scared and traumatized.

"Daddy." Galatea whimpered, her voice was quivering and she was trembling slightly with the clone's vibrant blue eyes shining with tears. 

"What is wrong? Are you hurt? Where are you injured?"

"I-it was scary." The Kryptonian clone stammered as she suddenly bolted forward and hugged me tightly. She began to cry as she buried her face into my shoulder. "Those people... They tried to hurt us…"

"Oh."

I was completely taken aback by the Kryptonians’ sudden behavior, and I had no idea what to do. I looked back toward the assassin but she looked to be completely on guard and not paying attention. For the second time in my life, I was not sure how to deal with the situation about… how to console a crying woman, the first time that happened was back in San… 

“I will protect you.” I blurted out of nowhere, not knowing what to say or do. “Don't worry.”

"You promise?" Galatea asked as she pulled away, her eyes were full of hope.

"Yeah, I promise," I answered, trying my best not to cringe as the words left my mouth.

The blonde-haired woman smiled, her eyes were shining brightly. "Thank you, Daddy. I knew you would never let me down."

"Sure, uh..." I hesitated, unsure of how to continue. "So... are you feeling better now?"

"I'm fine, Daddy." The Kryptonian clone giggled sweetly, her demeanor instantly changed as she suddenly gave me a peck on the cheek, surprising me, before it was lessened again as a concerned expression appeared on her face. “But I still worry, Daddy, what if those people come back?"

"They won't, Tea," I said reassuringly after a moment's pause.

"Are you sure, Daddy?" Galatea questioned, her gaze was intense, and she was staring at me intensely.

"Hmm… you know what? how about I give you a weapon to defend yourself with so you can feel safe, does that sound like a plan?" I offered, trying to lighten the mood and help ease the clone's anxiety.

"Okay, Daddy." The blonde-haired bombshell agreed.

"Good…” I nodded before taking out my Glock from the vest holster and offering it to the Kryptonian clone. "Here, take this. It's a weapon, a pistol called a Glock-17. All you have to do is pull the trigger when someone tries to hurt you, and you'll be able to stop them. Just point and shoot, and you'll be able to protect yourself and anyone around you. Do you think you can do that, Galatea?"

“Ohhhhhh!!” Galatea's eyes lit up with excitement and I could sense a headache coming if I didn't immediately intervene and as she reached out to take the Glock I stopped her before she could grab the pistol.

"Hey hey, wait a second there, missy, this is not a toy, this is a gun, and a very dangerous one. So treat it with respect and don't touch anything unless I tell you to, Okay?"

"Yes, Daddy." The Kryptonian clone responded.

"Promise me that," I said sternly. 

"I promise, Daddy," Galatea answered seriously.

“Good… now let me show you how to use the pistol, the safety is on so you can't accidentally discharge it, but you need to know the basics, okay?" I sighed as I began to explain. "This is the slide, this is the barrel, and this is the trigger, do not touch any of them until I tell you to. Understand?"

"Yes, Daddy." the Supergirl's clone repeated herself, nodding.

After a few minutes, I was satisfied with her knowledge of basic weapon handling, and I felt like she had a basic understanding of how to operate the Glock. "Okay, you ready to use the weapon, Tea?"

"I'm ready, Daddy." The blonde-haired bombshell nodded.

"Great! Good girl," I complimented. “And remember to only shoot when you feel like you're in danger.”

"Thank you, Dad- LOOK OUT!”

“Huh?” I turned around with my Draupnir spear suddenly appeared in my hand but before I took care of the monster that was about to pound on me, an arrow suddenly flew towards the ugly-looking humanoid thing and blew the creature back towards what looked like the same damn horde of monster.

“Â̵̱͉̋͒A̴̼͐A̷̢̦̿A̵̩̝͒̚R̴̲͖̬̓̓R̸̩̂͜Ŗ̸̐̈́͌G̸̲͊͛̏G̸͚͝G̷̼̀Ǧ̴͉̃H̶̡̥̿ͅH̶͉̋H̸̡̞̪͠H̶̢͑̈́̓!!!!” The terrible creature roars in pain as a bit of its body parts are blown off and blood spattered all over the walls.

"GO! Get the merc out of here!” I roar as I let out a hail of fire and send multiple 6.8 TVCM rounds toward the group of monsters, dropping a few that rush toward the blonde-haired clone and the mercenaries. “I will cover you!”

Cheshire quickly shot another arrow and impaled a couple more before beginning to assist and escort the clone and the super-merc toward the direction of what looked like the stairwell entrance with me following close behind them and letting loose with my RM-277R Bullpup Rifle, and clearing the path with my firepower, making the raven-hair femme fatale job of protecting and guiding the duo much easier, and allowing them to move faster and with little difficulty.

 "Almost there and up those stairs," the femme fatale shouted. "Keep running, Captain, don't look back."

I didn't need to be told twice and kept running, following the black-haired woman's lead with Galatea behind her. We emerged from the stairwell and into the cool night air outside and surprisingly there was barely any snow around here despite supposedly the season being between winter and spring. The assassin then lobbed some kind of bomb the size of a lighter down the flight of stairs. A series of loud booms followed, along with an awful shriek.

BOOOOMMMM!!!!!!*

“S̵͙͉͙̆K̶̝̕E̴̛͚̥̬͐̂̀͗Ė̵̦̽T̷͖͈͑̊T̴͇͚̩͉͇͑̓̏͑̅T̶̡̨͇͗̓̑͗̀T̵̬̭̃̑!!!!!!”

“OH SHIT!” I yelled and moved out of the way just in time as a fiery explosion engulfed the entrance and caused a huge section of the roof to collapse, effectively cutting the monsters off and stopping the creatures from chasing us. Yet we kept running until we reached a helipad where the wreckage of what looked like a helicopter was waiting for us.

"Damn, that was a close one, Captain." Cheshire whistled, looking impressed as she examined her explosive device, and pocketed the lighter-size grenade. “Thank Doc.”

“Umm… what now?” I asked as the Galatea quickly set the still-unconscious mercenary down against the wrecked chopper after I watched as the raven-hair women took out multiple of what looked like a harness…? Out of the bag Before handing them to me and Galatea.

"Put this on and buckle it tight," She instructed, and I did as I was told, helping Galatea put on the harness before strapping myself in. “This is going to take a minute so I need you to cover me!”

“What are we doing mommy?” Galatea questioned, looking around worriedly.

Cheshire looks strangely at the bombshell for a moment before the assassin shrugs and pats the clone's head affectionately with a smirk on her face. "Don't worry, kitten, mama got us."

"Eh… Cheshire you better tell me what the hell is going on. And why do we need to put this on or I swear to god I… Oh… wait…” I question with a scowl on my face but then pause when I realize something as I put together the pieces of what is about to happen. “Don't tell me that-…”

“Oh, you already figured out what is about to happen.” The black hair woman smiled widely and winked at me as she also strapped in the mercenary. “Just trust me, good-looking, and hang on tight.”

The Black-hair assassin then took out what looked like some sort of pad-like box the size of an iPad from her duffle bag before putting it down on the ground and opening it up, inside was what looked like a miniature air canister before she turned it on. It began to inflate before it expanded into what looked like a balloon which started to rise off the ground with what looked like a lengthy steel cable and wire following after it.

Whirrrrrrrrrr!*

Unexpectedly as the balloon kept floating up and up until it reached its intended height, the unmistakable sound of a whirring reached our ears, causing us to turn our heads toward the direction of what seemed to be some sort of flying aircraft that… to me sort of resembled a V-22 Osprey but it looked more advanced in a way than what I am used to when I was still in the Navy.

“Is that our?” I questioned as I turned to look at Cheshire, who had a doubtful look as she continued to watch as the V-22 continued its approach toward our destination.

“No… that… OH SHIT! GET TO COVER!” 

Suddenly the V-22 began to pepper our position with what looked like Multiple heavy and sizzling laser fire. The black-hair femme fatale quickly dragged the Kryptonian clone behind the cover of the destroy chopper as the V-22 kept firing down on us, the lasers struck the ground and the metal frame of the aircraft, making the entire structure shake and vibrate as the two women hunkered down with Cheshire using her own armor form to shield Galatea from the hail of laser.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" I cursed as I dove for cover and tried to find somewhere to hide while returning fire and moving out of the way with a few of the laser fire from the V-22 hitting and scorching me a bit but I paused in my return fire when I saw a familiar energy encompassing the turboprop as the bullet collided with the aircraft. “GODDAMMIT! They have energy shields on their aircraft! And they have us pinned down!”

BRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!*

“They are going to break our lifeline here if we don't do something about it!” Cheshire shouted back as she continued to press herself against the frame of the destroyed helicopter with Galatea clinging onto her desperately, the femme fatale was using her armored form as a shield to protect the blonde-haired woman from the relentless rain of lasers.

The V-22 had us pinned and the black-haired femme fatale and I were struggling to stay standing as we were being bombarded with the energy lasers, I was barely able to get a couple of shots off at the COC aircraft before it turned its laser turret once again towards where I was taking cover and began firing.

Shit… this is… a complete nightmare and yet… things were just beginning to go from bad to worse as suddenly a purple beam struck through the roof and opened a large hole in front of us, the metal and concrete were melted away by the intense heat, and the sight that greeted us was… it was… that when all hope was lost at least for me… The giant disturbing-looking thing that devastated both the Doomsday and the Annihilator was back when it suddenly crawled out of the hole with its form and shadow looming over our dread-ridden face.

“H̴͔͛̿U̶͈̪̥̇̈́Ȕ̸̻̪͖̿̽U̵͍̅̍̅Ų̶̥͍̓Ü̶̮͛!!!!!” The giant… tentacles-looking monsters shriek menacingly causing me to pale even further somehow despite my ash-color skin tone as it begins to amble its way toward us after the V-22 has stopped its firing and began to circle us and the giant monster.

"Shit! I don't think any of my weapons can fucking kill this thing!" Cheshire exclaimed, looking terrified and fearful for the first time since we met as the monstrosity began to lumber forward, its body beginning to glow red with a purple aura, and its numerous tentacle-like appendages were wriggling and moving all over the place. “Dear god… I don't want to end up like a hentai girl getting violated by some tentacles!!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Hehe…” Despite the frankly hopeless situation, I could not help but laugh hysterically after the assassin said that. "Heh… haha... HAHAHA HAHAHA, that was the most ridiculous thing I ever-…Huh?”

*Whoosh!!!!!*

“Oh wait… CAP! INCOMING! HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!” The Raven-hair femme fatale yelled out in alarm suddenly while the raven-hair woman grabbed onto the surprised blonde-haired clone tightly as what seemed to be some sort of missile streaked across the sky, a metallic comet on a deadly trajectory. Its engines roared, a guttural symphony of propulsion. The air crackled around it as if protesting the intrusion as the explosive payload made contact with the COC aircraft.

*BOOOOMMMM!!!!”

“OH! MOTHER FUCKER!”

There was what seemed to be a tremendous fireball in the sky followed by an earth-shaking shockwave that I was sure would have shattered my bones if I was still a human, and I would have been sent flying off the rooftop of the facility if it weren't for the fact that I have quickly put my fist into the ground to hold on with dear life thank to my enhance strength.

*Whoosh!!!!!*

*BOOOOMMMM!!!!”

“H̴͔͛̿U̶͈̪̥̇̈́Ȕ̸̻̪͖̿̽U̵͍̅̍̅Ų̶̥͍̓Ü̶̮͛!!!!!”

Then another ear-piercing explosion followed by the monster roaring in pain as it was sent flying off the roof of Cadmus Alpha and into the distance by what seemed to be another missile from out of nowhere. The creature disappeared in a massive explosion, leaving behind a cloud of smoke and dust. I was dumbstruck, I had no idea what was going on and I had no idea what just happened. One minute, I was preparing myself for death, the next minute, the two enemies had seemingly vanished. It was like a scene straight out of a movie or a…comic book… 

Huh… is this considered ironic in a way?

"Fuck me," Cheshire muttered under her breath as the giant creature vanished into the sky, leaving nothing but a trail of smoke and a shower of debris and concrete dust falling around us.

After a moment of silence, the assassin looked at the blonde-haired clone. "You okay, Tea?"

"Yes, Mama." Galatea nodded with a shy smile.

“What the hell was that?” I exclaim looking at the raven-haired woman with an inquiring look but then stop when I hear another sound and turn wearily to see something else suddenly appear out of the sky and towards our approach. It looked like a jet black Lockheed MC-130 but on its nose was a strange V-shaped yoke painted a dull green, and on its wings was a strange stylized compact symbol.

“That, my dear captain, is our ride out of here.” Cheshire declared with a grin on her face as she connected the steel wire to the blonde-haired clone harness. “Now hook up and everyone hold onto each other, and do NOT let go no matter what, We are almost home free baby- AH!”

‘BANG!’

"NO!" Galatea cried out in dismay. 

My perception of time suddenly slowed as The raven-haired woman was suddenly hit in the shoulder by a powerful laser blast and the impact sent her tumbling backward toward the edge of the helicopter pad. I began to sprint with all of my strengths and before she could fall off and into the ground below, I was able to catch her just in the nick of time. I turned and saw another disfigured woman at another entrance to the rooftop with this time an advanced-looking sniper rifle in one of her hands and with the other hand clutching the burn wound on the side of her head but before she could fire another shot from her gun.

‘BANG!’

‘BANG!’

‘BANG!’

I then heard the distinct sound of a Glock firing and I saw the masked woman pull back and ducked a couple of the shots. I turned expecting to see Galatea holding the Glock I gave her but to my surprise, I saw Slade Wilson fire round after round of 9mm Parabellum at the definitely COC soldier. The shots were erratic and wild, and a few went wide but the rest struck home, causing the disfigured woman to retreat.

“I am still alive you fucking amature…” Slade Wilson muttered, his one uninjured eye narrowed as he fired another three rounds at the woman before suddenly snapping his harness into the steel cable and then collapsing, unconscious, again.

“…”

“…”

“Huh?”

“Hook up you idiot!” Cheshire hissed out in pain as I continued to look dumbfounded at the scene, and that was when she suddenly got up and connected both of our harnesses to the steel cable just as the MC-130 flew past us with the steel cable attached to the balloon caught in its V-shaped yoke.

“Oh shit, hang on!" I exclaimed, with my hand clutching the Raven-hair woman's wound as the plane jerked upward, and the sudden movement sent us flying as the Skyhook pulled the four of us into the atmosphere.

"We're moving, we're moving, we're moving," Galatea chanted as the plane began to pull us away from what was left of the Cadmus facility into the new beginning, the wind howled past us, and the cold air biting into our exposed skin.

I caught sight of the woman looking at our escape as the plane continued to rise, and the distance between us grew. The disfigured woman stared at us silently while the remaining soldier and other disfigured women suddenly appeared with her and were also looking at us. As she stared at our retreating forms, I couldn't help but shiver at the cold and calculating gaze of the disfigured COC soldier.

"You okay?" I asked, turning to look at the raven-haired woman still holding onto her bleeding wound.

"I'm fine, just a graze," she replied, shaking her head and wincing slightly. "I'll live."

"Are you sure?" I questioned, concerned. “Because it looks like…”

“YES! I'm Good. This ain't my first rodeo you know?.” 

I signed in exasperation at the assassin before shaking my head. “Alright… Fine, I will drop the topic for now but… where exactly is this plane headed anyway, Cheshire, and more importantly, where in the hell is Doctor Ianite?”

“Hmm… Philadelphia, and as far as the Doc is concerned, she is waiting for you there and will explain everything to you when you are ready to talk to her. But for now… enjoy your newfound freedom… Captain Gallahan…”

(END OF EPISODE ONE: Iter nostrum ad victoriam coepit.)

---

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey everyone! Thanks for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoy it. As always, please remember to leave a review and tell me what you think.