The Heaven's Hand pulled into the hangar at EarthGov HQ.
"Another successful mission, eh guys? Drinks are on me!" Snipe celebrated. "Yeah!"'s erupted. "Wait a minute... Isn't that part of the the non-psychic part of the enhanced team down there waving their arms around at us?" Sure enough, Vaxoin and Shell X were in the hangar, waving their arms around to get the shuttle's attention. The squirrel piloted the shuttle into the hangar near the two and opened the shuttle.
"What's up, guys?" Matsuoka greeted.
"You're not gonna believe this..." Shell X explained. "The enhanced were captured while they were driving the mind control out of their friends' minds!"
"What!?" everyone yelled.
"Where are Spirit, Maestro, and Dakota?" Snipe asked.
"They stayed behind to play recon..." Vaxoin explained. "We left and came here to get backup."
"Well, you heard 'em!" Paladin exclaimed. "To the weapons facility!"
"The hell!?"
"How'd we get in here!?"
The five enhanced, having just returned from the collective, looked around at their new surroundings: a jail cell.
"We just left here, dammit!" Skyrider cracked.
"And you'll be out again soon, so shut up," a voice, presumably a Maverick's, said from outside. The six enhanced cursed in various ways - some harsher than others.
"Great. We're screwed. It's all over," Ripple telepathically said to the enhanced.
"Good old pessimistic Andrew," Diamondback said with a smirk. Outside, sounds of footsteps were heard.
"Hey, good, our shift's over," the Maverick guard said. "Let's hit the bar!" Sounds of footsteps were heard again, and then all was silent. Until a key found it's way into the lock and opened the cell. A Maverick shaped like a humanoid leopard in heavy armor stared gruffly at the inmates.
"Need some help?" a familiar voice said, coming from the Maverick.
"Spirit!" the five blurted telepathically.
"Yeah, yeah, it's me. Dak and Maestro are here too. Now, let's hightail it out of here before we get caught..."
"I can help with that," Spectre added. Concentrating, her eyes flashed purple. The same shade of energy surrounded the other four enhanced, along with herself, and as the energy faded, the enhanced were replaced with six perfect facsimiles of Mavericks.
"Since when could you do that?" Diamondback blurted. Spectre gave a look that said, "I'll explain later," and grinned. Shaking his head, Diamondback led the enhanced out of the cell. A dragon Maverick and a heavily armored humanoid Maverick - Dakota and Maestro - greeted them by tossing the EarthGovian enhanced their weapons. Silently, the nine began to walk nonchalantly down the hallway, leaving the unguarded cell behind.
Spirit pointed right as the group of "Mavericks" reached an intersection.
"I thought to memorize this place as we looked for your holding cell," she explained. "We go this way to reach an elevator." Everyone moaned. "It's a way out, and it worked earlier, so I'm not worried." Turning the corner, the group continued forward.
"So then I said, 'That's not the commander, that's your mother!'" a voice said from another intersection nearby. Wild laughing was heard coming from one source, followed by the sound of metal against metal and a loud, "OW!"
"Uh oh, trouble..." Ripple warned. "I recognize that voice - he was one of our guards..."
"Act casual..." Dakota suggested. The other seven shrugged and walked forward. The guards turned the corner and walked straight towards them. "Uh oh..." the dragon muttered.
"Hey guys, head for the bar, one of the girls is drunk off her ass and giving the guys a good show!" one of the Mavericks joked. "Say, wait a minute... aren't you those three guards who took over for us?"
"Um, us?" Spirit stuttered. "Uh... n-no... we're..."
"Wait a minute! You!" the other Maverick yelled, pointing at Maestro. "You're one of those guys that was with the enhanced!"
"This is the part where we RUN!" Avatar yelled telepathically, and ran forward, trampling the Mavericks and running for the elevator. The other ten followed suit, running over the downed Mavericks.
"Owowow! GET 'EM!" one of the squashed Mavericks yelled. A small group of Mavericks appeared from the opposite direction than the EarthGovians were running and blazed down the hallway... running over the trampled Mavericks in the process. "AAAAAH!"
Spectre reverted the enhanced to their normal forms as they sprinted for the elevator. Behind them, the group of Mavericks opened fire, nailing Diamondback in the ankle. Wincing, the teenager barely missed a beat as he shapeshifted into a falcon and flew threw the air, his foot dripping blood. Avatar and Ripple tried to slow down the Mavericks by running backwards and throwing some objects in their way telekinetically. Diamondback and Skyrider, who had shapeshifted into a hawk, darted ahead, looking for the elevator. The others simply ran, watching for a frontal assault. This process continued for a couple of minutes, until Diamondback and Skyrider returned. Skyrider telepathically explained that Spirit had been wrong, and they would have to make another right turn up ahead, prompting Spirit to stick her tongue out at the bird. The group blazed ahead, taking the right where Skyrider had directed. Sure enough, ahead was an elevator.
Just as they reached the elevator and Maestro had reached forward to beat the down button through the wall, the elevator beeped as is reached their floor. Everyone that could readied their close range weapons. As the elevator doors opened, the nine leaped into the elevator and attacked...
"Is this the thanks we get for coming to save you!?" Snipe said angrily. Behind him were Paladin, Shell X, Vaxoin, and Gravedigger.
"Ah, damn, Snipe, sorry!" Diamondback telepathically apologized while reverting. "But we've got other problems... Everybody in!" The "rescued" party piled onto the elevator, and the doors slid closed just as the first few shots flew at them.
"Phew... that was close," Spirit said, wiping sweat off of her brow. Everyone nodded in agreement as the elevator climbed up the levels.
"It's good to be finally getting out of this place..." Shatterstar telepathically said quietly. Spectre and Skyrider nodded, remaining silent. The elevator rose in silence, finally stopping at the first floor. Everyone readied their weapons as the doors slid open. As expected, there was a group of Mavericks waiting on them. Avatar telepathically sent a message to, rather than kill all of them, just make their way to the door, only killing those who got in their way. Everyone looked at him strangely, but nodded and ran towards the front exit. The Mavericks rushed the small group, but were easily kept at bay by the enhanced's telekinesis. The EarthGovians easily made it outside.
"Sunlight! I thought I'd never see it again!" Skyrider joked.
"The Heaven's Hand is right over there," Shell X said, pointing. "Let's go home."
Chris, Andrew, Ryan, Andrea, Jennifer (Spectre), Charlie (Skyrider), and Erica (Shatterstar) - the "Vesperton Gang," as they called themselves - sat around a pizza.
"It's weird," Chris said aloud. "This is where this whole mess started..." Andrew, Ryan, and Andrea nodded.
"And this is where it ends," Charlie added. "I'm looking forward to getting back to life."
"Yeah..." Spectre said, her eyes on Chris.
"So where are you three going now?" Andrew asked after a couple minutes of silence, his eyes fixed on Erica.
"Well..." Skyrider started. "I was thinking about trying the Special Unit. Maybe I've got what it takes, eh?"
"So was I," Shatterstar added. "I've got some fighting experience...
"Yeah, with your little brother!" Chris said with a laugh. An empty styrofoam cup found its way through the air and into his face. "I'm kidding, Erica!" Erica tried to hold a frown, but found it impossible and joined everyone else's laughter.
"Yeah, I'm in too," Spectre finished. "Besides..." she added privately to Chris, "There's some extra incentive." Chris smiled, as the music in the pizza joint died down from its normal blasting volume as a slow song vibrated from the speakers.
"Shall we dance, 'Star?" Andrew asked the teenager.
"Of course, Andrew," she replied, and the two hit the dance floor. Chris and Jennifer looked at each other. Without saying a word, either aloud or telepathically, the two smiled and nodded to each other, and stood, walking to the dance floor. Ryan and Charlie watched the foor enamored enhanced.
"They're the lucky ones, eh Ryan?" Charlie said with a telepathic snicker.
"Yeah... We'll find love someday, though," Ryan replied, his eyes on the dance floor.
Life can deal you a bad hand sometimes. This time, the EarthGovians were dealt nine high while the dealer had a royal flush... But it is the nature of those who would change destinies to beat the odds.
The enhanced simply danced...