The day of the military event came and the girls are already preparing to leave the mansion. Zythandra and the boys accompanied them to the gate as they go. Medusa couldn't hide her excitement as carries with her the she claims she'll be needing which mostly are some pampering stuff. Unlike Pandora, she just brought with her the dress she'll wear. Right before they reach the gate, they saw Blast seemingly talking to someone from the outside.
"Hey, Blast. What are you doing there this early in the day?" Glass asked then the person from the outside casually walked away.
"Oh. I just felt like talking a morning walk." Blast answered cheerfully.
"Well, you seem very happy. Who was that you're talking to?" Medusa asked.
"Really? Maybe I just had a good sleep. That's just somebody asking for directions so I told him the way." Blast explained.
"I see. How courteous." Medusa responded.
"We better get going! My agency is probably waiting. Our ride is already waiting outside. We must head out." Kitty said.
The group finally said their farewells. The boys went back to do their normal morning routines while they wait for their departure. Zythandra on the other hand, ran through their sequence of their plan once again to make sure that there are no error or anything of the sorts along the way. She also consulted the Professor for additional inputs if he has any just to make sure that their plan is airtight . The professor assured her that the plan everyone devised is crystal clear it will only take an extreme tragedy to ruin it.
Night time finally arrived. Zythandra's group is already done with the preparation and ready to head out but before they leave, Calcipher checked on them and wished them good luck. The team did a touch base of their roles in the mission. Glass will stay and guard the van as soon as they arrived at the event, Zythandra will look for the general, Reaper will engage Raf discreetly and Surge to serve as look out just incase something happens.
Few moments after they took off from the mansion to head the Infinity Lounge, they immediately saw a huge cluster of crowd from the outside of the establish which blocks some major roads around it so the parking was hard but they eventually got one even though it's quiet far from the building. However, they also realized that even though those who are not invited aren't allowed to enter the premises, a free mini concert has been set up on the outside so the crowd can still be entertained though out the night.
"Congrats, Glass. It appears that you won't die in boredom from out here." Surge commented.
"Thank goodness they've thought about this." Glass responded.
"Look. The local news is covering the event. Make sure too avoid unnecessary attention." Zythandra reminded.
"So how do we get in?" Reaper asked.
At that time, Pandora was successful in connecting to their thoughts as Zythandra and the boys heard her voice. But, she confirmed that they can't hear each other unless it's her who is talking and she hears everyone's thoughts as long as they're connected to her. She also confirmed that they just arrived also and just entered the event. They were able to get as Kitty's guests. Zythandra then asked her if they noticed any other entrances aside from the main one.
"Our first obstacle is coming inside the event. I can't roam around and scan the place for potential entry point. There are too many eyes. Have seen anything that might help us, Pandora?" Zythandra asked as she still thinks for some other alternatives.
"Medusa actually saw the entrance for the employees earlier but that's tightly guarded as well so we're still looking some other way." Pandora answered.
"Well, that complicates things." Zythandra responded.
"A message just came from Kitty. She's asking if you're willing to consider entering via the sewage system. She's positive that the canals are connected from outside to inside."
"That won't be a problem."
"Great. Now focus. I'll transfer the information to from Kitty's thoughts. It appears that she has the information with her."
"What did Pandora said? She's cutting in and out. You're having a conversation with her right?" Glass asked Zythandra.
"Pandora! I've missed you. I've missed Medusa and Kitty too. Kindly relay the message. I can't wait to see you three in person." Surge screamed inside the van so she was scolded by Zythandra.
"Do have any means now in coming inside?" Reaper asked.
Zythandra confirmed that she received the map from Pandora. She then explained to Reaper and Surge the plan on how to get in but even though Reaper agreed right away of this plan, Surge is somewhat reluctant. Glass already knew his reason why he doesn't want to go in the sewage system even before Surge comes up with an excuse. He doesn't want to smell off since he'll most likely hit on someone tonight. But eventually, Surge gave in and agreed with the plan.
"Wait. I just realized. We're supposed to blend in right? How come we haven't brought anything fancy to wear?" Surge asked.
"Oh, yeah. Come to think it. We're expected to roam around the event but we're dressed casually?" Reaper commented.
"Well, it's good to be a look out. Anything I wear is fine." Glass responded.
"Don't stress yourself about that too much. I've asked Kitty to bring spare suits for you two from Kitty's. Those suits are already with Medusa including my dress that I handed to them earlier this morning before they leave the mansion. Once we're inside, Medusa will come fetch us then we'll have our outfits changed. Understood?" Zythandra explained.
"How come this is not on the original plan? I mean, it's a fine plan it should just be agreed upon earlier for us not be surprised or anything." Reaper said.
"I'm kind of agreeing with that." Surge seconded.
"It does though. Your heads are just around the place that's why you can't concentrate. Let's just get a move on. Medusa is probably on her way to the entry point." Zythandra said then she lead the Surge and Reaper to their path in the sewage system leaving Glass behind.
The three of them ventured the sewage system to get into the venue. Pandora confirmed that Medusa is waiting already waiting for them. The stench in the sewage system is tolerable but they've thought that it would be best if they can take a quick shower right after just to appear fresh again besides, they'll be engaging a crowd. Smelling even slightly off is not a good impression. Surge is the one most concerned because he'll most likely make an effort to hit on a random woman who'll catch his interest.
"You're finally! Here are your clothes and I also brought your masks. This is a masquerade party after all." Medusa said as Zythandra's group entered the building. They saw themselves inside one of the building's basements and lucky for them, no one seemed to bother guarding the area.
"Thank you. Here are your suits. Change right away." Zythandra said as she handed the clothes to Surge and Reaper.
"Wow! Medusa you look so stunning. I think I've fallen in love all over again." Surge commented after seeing Medusa's outfit. Medusa decided to wear her favorite sparkling violet dress matching with an elegant violet mask. Her hair is fixed as well to highlight her backless dress.
"I know right. Get a move on already. The event will start any minute now." Medusa responded. "I saw a shower room just around that corner if you want to rinse of that mild stench you got.
Zythandra hurriedly went to the women's shower as well as Surge and Reaper to the men's shower to tidy up and wear their outfits. Zythandra was the first one to came out of the shower area and Medusa was shocked of what she saw. Zythandra is wearing a simple yet stunning high-slit red dress. Medusa helped hair fix her hair to look more presentable and for the make up, she suddenly pulled out some make up from within her hair and helped Zythandra put it on.
"Don't be shocked. Yes, I can store some stuff in my hair." Medusa confirmed.
The boys went out from the shower room as well right after Zythandra was finished with her look. The both of them wear in awe seeing how feminine and elegant she looks because most of the time, she looks strict and ready to kill any time. They both look fine as well with their smart attire and their masks. Surge has a gray suit and a black mask while Reaper has a white suit and white mask to match it.
"We look fine, man. I'm so ready to work out this charm." Surge commented.
"We do look fine but remember why we came here for." Reaper responded.
"Can you guys hear me?" Pandora seemingly talking to the entire team. Even though it's slightly muffled, everyone confirmed that she's being heard by everyone even Glass responded. "Good. Just keep your thoughts straight or else I'll lose your connection."
"Pandora, make sure to stay connected at all times. I'll take the lead on this." Zythandra declared with utmost conviction. She's very determined to complete the mission. "I'm counting on you to rely my instructions to everyone."
"Understood." Pandora responded.
"Before we commence. Pandora, please confirm your location and Kitty's as well." Zythandra asked.
Pandora confirmed that she's somewhere at 10th which is the highest floor of the building to maximize the coverage of her Anomaly. On the other hand, Kitty is in the 2nd floor which serves as the performers studios wherein their dressing rooms are set. At that moment, Zythandra, Surge, Reaper and Medusa are at the basement and Glass is outside still guarding the van while enjoying the outdoor mini-concert.
"Guys, listen here." Zythandra gathered everyone in the basement and Pandora to later share the information to those who are not with them. "I will locate the General and extract information about that Eve lady. Kitty will be our eyes from the inside as she can notify us the real-time updates of what's happening there. Reaper, you do what you need to do but do not engage if it's dangerous. I trust that you can handle that. Surge, go with Reaper just incase he acts out of the line. Medusa, go where Pandora is just to make sure she's safe. Pandora, I want you to keep tabs of everything that's happening. If anyone of us reports something, let me know right away. This is where are first mission will start. Do not mess this up." She strategically thought it through. Everyone eventually agreed with that action plan. "One more thing. If I tell you to abort the mission, everyone will stop what they're and prioritize to leave the vicinity."
"Oh, man. I don't think we don't get to enjoy ourselves tonight." Surge commented.
"At least I wore this magnificent gown. Boys from earlier are already mesmerized from my beauty." Medusa boasted.
At that time, the host is being heard starting the event with the greetings which means their mission has commenced as we. The music is being heard in the entire Infinity Lounge which is great to hype up the crowd. The host started to greet the military officials who were able to attend the event then the performers, next are the guests who are probably related to on of the rookie military men or one of the performers and finally the rookies who are supposed to be the star of this event.
Zythandra's group left the basement then Medusa headed back to where Pandora is. Zythandra, Surge and Reaper decided to go to the main stage since they've heard that the General will give a speech to the rookies. This made Zythandra fired up because their first target was easily found. Along the way, they saw dozens of civilians who are dressed for the occasion as well. They didn't realize that there will still be a lot of people inside. They are all related to either the rookies or the performers.
"Kitty said that she confirmed that dozens of senior ranked officers are invited as well and they can bring guests with them too." Pandora confirmed.
"That's why there still a lot of people here." Zythandra commented.
"Look. I see a lot soldiers roaming around. This will get troublesome if we get caught." Surge said already sounding worried.
"So don't get caught." Zythandra said.
Not just the rookies are invited to the event. Their seniors were invited as well to spectate. Though they're required to wear they're uniform, they're still allowed to wear a mask all throughout the event. Zythandra and the guys finally reached the area where the and as they expected it's more packed than other areas of the venue. In Zythandra's order, Reaper and Surge started to look around for their target but they are highly reminded to blend in and don't engage right away. The General finally went up the stage and prepped for his speech. This immediately made everyone silent as they wait for the highest ranking military official in the nation to speak.
"I, General Gregory Arnold Kim, greets you all good evening!" The General started his speech.
He went ahead on thanking the rookies on the fact that they have joined the army protect the nation from all sorts of dangers highlighting the threat from Anomalies. He explained why Anomalies are danger to the masses and shown sample disasters which were caused by an Anomaly. He reiterated their cause of why fight the Anomaly that is to keep the human genes pure or so he says which all the military men present shown there agreement by cheering on the General.
The General went on to share his lose because of an Anomaly attack. He confirmed that his one and only daughter was killed by an Anomaly. Everyone was shocked since this is the first time the General shared this unfortunate news. The lights went dim and the previously upbeat music was changed to a more melancholic one. But, the General was quick to change it back up by declaring a more comprehensive battle against all Anomaly users. Then, the rest of the military men cheered him on once again.
All this time, Zythandra is just eyeing her target and looking for an opportunity to take action. She once again reconfirmed to herself that the main objective of this mission is to acquire any information about Eve who seems to be running an organization against the Professor and something went off, they'll call of their mission. Zythandra realized that making contact with her target will be a challenge because the General is in a table with his Lieutenants and some other high ranking military officials.
At one point during the General and the other men's shenanigans, he stood up and seemed to going to the comfort room. Zythandra noticed that he will be going alone as he refused to be chaperoned by his lackeys. She immediately took the chance to make contact and continue on with their mission. She confirmed to the rest of the team that she' going for it while the others' are glued to their own assignments.
"I already have visual with my target. I'm going in." Zythandra noted the team through Pandora's Anomaly.
"Understood. They have been notified." Pandora responded.
"Any updates on the others?" Zythandra asked though sounding serious, she can't hide the fact that she's worried that someone might mess up.
"Reaper and Surge are still looking for Raf, Medusa is still with me, Kitty is now preparing for her number and Glass seemed to be enjoying himself outside." Pandora responded.
"Copy that."
Zythandra then waited for the General to leave the comfort room and do her thing. She already thought of top three option as to how she'll engage her target. First, she'll take on the General by herself and render him unconscious then lock him up somewhere to question. Second, lock him in and proceed with the questioning inside the comfort room. Lastly, act extremely and ask assistance with the General.
She's confident enough to take on the General himself but it's too dangerous since they're in a public area. It can definitely cause commotion so that's out of her options. Like the reasoning of the first option, the second one is too risky as well since someone else might need to use the comfort room. So, she ultimately decided to go for her last option. Acting is second nature for her after given her former role as an assassin.
The General finally came out of the comfort room and without any hesitations, Zythandra approached then acted as drunk as possible. She acted to slip so she fell towards him and as she predicted, he caught her. She begun talking about random stuffs and trying to engage the General to a conversation. It appears that her target is a ladies man so he took the bait without any second thoughts. He engaged with the nonsense conversation that Zythandra randomly making up.
"Miss, are you good? You seemed to have drunk too many of whatever that is." The General asked while attempting to hold Zythandra to avoid her falling to the ground. Her acting is indisputable that her target is buying it without any doubts.
"I-I-I think I've seen you somewhere." Zythandra said nailing her drunk lady acting.
"Sorry. I think we haven't met before."
"Aren't you t-t-the E-E-Emperor? What's Y-Y-Your Highness doing here?"
"Oh, no. The Emperor is my boss. I'm the General"
"A-a-are you sure? You sure look like the Emperor. I would probably do anything for the Emperor if I see him right now. I'm so ready to be a servant."
"Zythandra. Do you really mean that?" Pandora asked as she started to be taken by Zythandra's acting as well.
"Are you seriously asking me that? I'm just acting to lure this pervert. Focus!" Zythandra exclaimed through her thoughts.
"If you don't mind I can escort you to my temporary room here to help you sober up. I'll check if the Emperor is with us so I can ask him to meet you." The General offered now obviously taking Zythandra's bait.
"Pervert." Zythandra said under her breathe.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. I'm just so excited to see the Emperor for the first time."
The General who seemingly assisted Zythandra to his room while holding her hip or waist to avoid her from accidents or so he says. As they came in the room, the General placed her in a couch and instructed some personnel who are inside to leave for awhile and do not disturb them. Zythandra, is satisfied with the situation since everything is going as she planned it to be. Since she's alone with her target, she can move to the next stage of her mission.
Meanwhile, Reaper and Surge sure are taking some time in looking for Raf. Even though Reaper is not sure how he will react once they met after so long, he's looking forward of them seeing each other again. Both of them continued to roam the area to find their target while discretely cheering Kitty as she's currently the one performing one of her pieces at the stage.
"Man, I'm feeling bummed out looking for that Raf guy. Will it be fine if I just take a quick break and have a little action while I'm at it? You know what I mean." Surge asked.
"Are you serious? We're currently on a mission here. Don't you bail out on me." Reaper responded.
"I'm not bailing out. I'll just take a breather then I'll dive back in the hunt."
"Fine. Just go wherever I can see you easily."
"Thanks, man. You're the best!"
A little while longer, Reaper set his gaze to someone he thinks looks familiar. He didn't approached yet because he's still not sure if the one he sees is the one they're looking for but this guy strongly resembles Raf from behind. Reaper confirmed that it's highly like that he's his target because the guy is wearing a uniform for rookies and seemed to be surrounded by other rookies. The challenge now will be confirming of he really is the they're looking for, separating him from the bunch then having a conversation with him.
Surge didn't waste a second as he already upped his game and approached the first lady that caught his attention. Since this is a masquerade party everybody is wearing a mask so he just based on to the ladies physique. It didn't take him long as he approached someone wearing ocean colored dress with a matching mask. The lady was easy to approach as she's alone in the bar and seemed to be unoccupied.
"I wasn't informed that models were invited to this event." Surge unleashed his flirtatious nature.
"Sorry. Are you talking to me?" The lady responded, looking a little confused from what she heard.
Even though the turn of events didn't favor Surge's intentions, the lady was nice enough to keep him as company. He was able to catch her name which is Vivian and she said that she works as a secretary. As for Surge, he's smart enough to come up a name and the reason why he's there in the event. Surge considered her as a challenge because he feels that Vivian has interest in younger men but just don't want to say it upright so he continues having a conversation with her.
"Team, I sensing an unusual bloodlust amongst the crowd. Be vigilant." Pandora communicated, sounding worried but trying her best to sound firm. "I can hear familiar thoughts but I can't confirm who they are."
"Pandora, let them know to stick with their tasks. There's imminent danger yet." Zythandra responded and Pandora was quick to rely the information to the rest of the team.
Phasing back to the where Zythandra and the General are located, the unsuspecting target tried to approach her but little did he know, she is up to something horrific towards him. She immediately cut her drunk act then sprinted towards the General. In his surprise, he wasn't able to react as quick as Zythandra's actions and just stood there seemingly frozen in place. Zythandra did an arm lock to ensure that he's mobility is cut then did a devastating blow to his head making him unconscious.
Zythandra took the liberty to tie him up, remove his communication devices that he may use to call for back up, locked the door so no one can enter and finally taped his mouth so he can only respond to her whenever she permitted to. As expected, the General was in shock of what he's end up in. He tried to untie himself but Zythandra is confident enough that it won't help so she just watched him struggle.
"Mr. General, sir. If I were you, I will take it easy. We have all night to this. I can't have worn out on me so early in the evening. The night is still young. We should make the best out of it." Zythandra tries to provoke the General. She then partially took the tape that is hindering him to speak.
"What in the world is this?" The General reacted in anger. "Who sent you? Is it the Russians?"
"It doesn't matter who sent me. I just need to ask some questions then I'll leave you be. That's all."
"Whatever that is I will not cooperate. Kill me if you must!"
"Now, now. We shouldn't get to that moment. Are you that willing to leave your family behind?"
"That's 100% fine by me. I don't have a family to go back to anyway. My daughter was killed by a group of Anomalies and my wife left me not too long after that so if you have plans to kill me, do it already!."
"Well, that escalated quickly. I don't actually care what your sob story is so let us begin shall we?"
Zythandra actually got impress how solid the General's will is. He is willing to die even though he's not sure what she's goals are. She remembers from his previous assignments that the target saw this kind of predicament they're in, it will be easy for them to break their character and spill all the information she asked of them. But on the General's case, Zythandra will have fun extracting the information from him.
"Who is Eve?" Zythandra started her line of questioning. It's obvious that the General knew someone Eve due to his facial expressions but he's trying his best to hide it eventually not responding to the question.
"What's their goal?" She continued.
"Is she working for the government?" She asked again.
"What's her deal with the Anomalies?" She added.
At this point, the General seemed to be triggered with the word 'Anomaly' so he finally responded to her. "What's in it for you? Wait, are you an Anomaly? That's surprising. I should be the one locking you up but the roles are reversed tonight, aren't they?"
The General started to belittle Zythandra with everything he got. She started to mock her being an Anomaly and it's a nuisance to humanity even though he hasn't confirmed if she's an Anomaly or not, he emphasizes that Anomalies are loose canons who will kill the 'pure humans' as they refer to non-anomalies, he then proceeded to mock her family telling her that she was most likely kicked out from her family and left to die after knowing she's an Anomaly. This is not a good move from the General because it hit Zythandra hard.
Zythandra remembered that her parents were killed while she's still young. Before the death of her parents, their family is the typical happy family that even though they're a small bunch, they are still full of love. It just so happens that one day, her parents while assassinated while the three of them are on a picnic. This pushed her to be an assassin her self and avenge her parents untimely passing. Eventually, she was able to get revenge to whoever killed her parents and continue on to become one of the sought after killer in her generation.
Zythandra couldn't keep herself collected as she rushed towards the General and strike him several times all while still asking about Eve. It appears that she doesn't if she kills him on the spot but just before she swings her last punch, the General seemed to finally give in and about to say something. Zythandra snapped out of her frenzy cooled down to hear what he has to say before he probably pass out again.
"I know Eve, I know what their goals are. I'm not the only one here that knows her though but I don't trust any officials under me so if you don't mind, just kill me already. That's what you lot are good at, right?" The General struggles to say as blood is coming out of his mouth from Zythandra consecutive strikes earlier. She intended to hit him again but before she land a hit, he already passed out.
"V. Ian." The General muttered under his breath before completely being decommissioned.
Zythandra noticed it but she couldn't catch the whole thing. She was left with some clue instead of her getting the answer from the man already. She thought it through given the statements from the General. He said that he's not the only who knew about Eve and their shenanigans but he also said that he doesn't trust his men so who could the other person be. Regardless of the clues, Zythandra had check the names of the military officials present in the event.
"Pandora, is it possible for you to know the names of the military officials who are here in the event? Check anyone that has initials of V. Ian." Zythandra asked.
"I can't with my Anomaly. I'll go get with Kitty. She probably can handle that." Pandora responded.
"Noted on that. I'll see what I can do." Kitty said and went on with the task after her stage performance as discreetly as possible. She snoops into the organizer's office looking for the attendees list. However, it doesn't seem like a military officer has a V. Ian as their initials.
"Kitty, how's it going?" Pandora asked.
"I got nothing. No one from the officials seemed to have V. Ian as their initials." Kitty confirmed then got out of the office to avoid any suspicions.
Zythandra, Pandora and Kitty took their time thinking who might V. Ian is. Base on the General's statements, someone who is close to him knows about Eve. If it's not the officials, who might that be. Kitty confirmed that the General didn't brought any of his relative to the event since she just confirmed that from the list she found in the organizer's office. Pandora suddenly realized something that might help them with their dilemma.
"Guys, wait. If V. Ian isn't a military official who might be attending the event and no relative of his attended as well, who can he trust the most but his secretary!" Pandora shared her thoughts.
"The General has a secretary?" Zythandra has her doubts.
"Right! I noticed that the General came in venue with someone as his date. It's probably the secretary. Let me double check the name." Kitty said and went back to the office where the attendees list is. "I found it. Listen to this. V. Ian is not an initial it's the General's secretary' first name. It's Vivian."
"So that's what it is." Zythandra responded. "Nice work. All we need to do now is find where that Vivian chic is. The General passed out on me."
"What did you do?" Kitty asked, sounding worried.
"We'll talk about that later. Let's focus on the task." Zythandra said. "Do you know what this Vivian looks like?"
"Unfortunately, I don't. No photos are attached in this list." Kitty confirmed.
"I think I know where to find her." Pandora claimed.
"Well, that's fast. Spill it." Zythandra said.
Pandora confirmed that Surge met someone named Vivian in the crowd and this Vivian lady confirmed that she works as a secretary. Though she didn't specify who she works for, it's a great lead. Pandora tried to connect to her thoughts from she currently is but she failed. She still not used to connecting to random minds from afar. But, Zythandra went ahead and look for their next target.
"Surge, where are you?" Pandora asked.
"Whoa, you shocked me there. I'm just here where Reaper is. We're still looking for that Raf dude." Surge confirmed, trying to play safe and not caught flirting while on the job.
"Save your lies for later. I know you're not with him." Pandora responded. "You're still with that Vivian girl, right? Keep her with you. Zythandra is coming your way."
"How did you know and why?" Surge asked. Pandora then confirmed the status of their mission so he has to keep their new target occupied. This made Surge slightly nervous.
"Everything ok?" Vivian asked.
"Yeah. Everything is great!" Surge responded and tried to open up more topics so they can talk more and stall time until Zythandra comes.
Surge finally saw Zythandra approaching as she went down from the upper floor but something unusual happened it's as if the time stopped. The formerly full of life venue is now as quiet as graveyard. The music suddenly stopped making the all the attendees confused and it also made them stop whatever it is they're doing. Everyone faced the stage as the one of the military officials went up and grabbed the mic. It's obvious that there's some kind of announcement will be shared.
"We have been breached." A military official confirmed.
Zythandra and her entire team went in shock and in borderline panic. Have the military caught on with them already? Is one of them got discovered already? Is anyone actually got caught? The entire team immediately talked to Pandora simultaneously confirming what's happening but they can't hear any response coming from her so everyone's at the edge of their seats. Due to this, there's no way they can know the status of each other so they stood frozen wherever they currently are.