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Winn Schott

" I can certainly try to fight back with violence if it's necessary. I did train with other heroes in the past and if I have to use a gun, I will do it. Hopefully, we don't have to resort to that."
There seemed to be little opposition between them and it confused him greatly. Why wouldn't Carver have better security? Or for that matter, why did this feel too easy.

He was a little surprised that they weren't going to enter to hack, but it did make sense to do this. He would start the process of hacking. " This hopefully shouldn't take too long and I will let you know if I find any files of note."

@Yun Lee @Takumi @Jeremi @Ver
 
View attachment 7890

"I'm just a normal human, but I can pull my own weight, and I'll be expecting you to do the same to earn your pay," Ginoza flatly said, Double Trouble's attempts at playful banter seeming to bounce off the man like a brick wall. He didn't seem in the mood for humor, but then, Akane could attest that he never was.

To Winn and Toboe, he gave a nod of acknowledgement. "Good to know. Let's just hope you'll be willing to answer aggression with aggression if needed. These will be normal people we'll be up against, if we do run into trouble," he warned sternly.

To Umi, Akane meanwhile attempted to give a comforting smile.

View attachment 7893

"It's okay to be nervous, Umi, but I won't let any harm come to you!" Akane assured her.

"Since she's the greenest one here, maybe she needs this more than me," Ginoza uttered, beginning to hold out his revolver to her suddenly, only to be met with a pointed glare from the shorter woman.

"Ginoza!" She exclaimed in a hushed manner.

"That was a joke," the man only said with his usual stern tone, pulling his arm back, before looking to the building now. "In any case... Let's get a move on then."

With that, Ginoza began to lead the group behind the back of the building. It was easy enough to remain undetected; there were no guards outside, and there only seemed to be one or two cameras that were easily bypassed in the shadows of the night. As they reached the back of the building and approached the back door, GInoza swiftly pulled out what looked like a small, sophisticated looking device that fit comfortably in the palm of his hand. He held it up against the keypad on the door, and as the device let out a mechanical whirring sound, the keypad suddenly beeped softly and the back door opened by itself, unlocked by Ginoza's device.

Pocketing the device again, Ginoza gestured for everyone to keep following him and with that, they had managed to get inside the warehouse once more. As one might have expected, the interior was much darker than it was before. Since it was supposed to be closed, the lights were all off save for some dim backup lights on the walls that only barely illuminated the way, just enough to show a short stairway to a platform.

Silently gesturing everyone to keep close like a soldier commanding his squad, Ginoza led everyone up the stairs to the platform, which in turn led only to another door. Ginoza carefully and slowly opened it, and as he and everyone dashed inside, they would be led into a small office room. The room was a bit cramped and even claustrophobic; file cabinets littered the sides of the walls, while in the center of the room was a desk with an computer, presumably belonging to Carver himself.

Turning to Winn, Ginoza held up the device he'd used earlier to unlock the back door and handed it to the other man suddenly. "Here. Use this to hack into the computer and see if you can find any files of note, Schott. I'll keep watch in the meantime for any patrols," he instructed, standing at the door and twirling his revolver. It almost seemed too easy that they'd managed to reach the main office this easily, and Ginoza didn't believe in silver linings himself, after all.

@Lucky @Takumi @Jeremi @Yun Lee

"I guess I have no real problem with meeting aggression with aggression, if I have to." Toboe shrugged. He hoped it wouldn't come to that, deep down.

Toboe kept an ear out for trouble once they made it to the warehouse, hoping his wolf form could help him see better in the dark for any threats. He stuck close to Akane and Umi, ears up at attention and ready to spring into action towards any threats.

@Ver @Lucky @Yun Lee @Jeremi
 
View attachment 7890

"I'm just a normal human, but I can pull my own weight, and I'll be expecting you to do the same to earn your pay," Ginoza flatly said, Double Trouble's attempts at playful banter seeming to bounce off the man like a brick wall. He didn't seem in the mood for humor, but then, Akane could attest that he never was.

To Winn and Toboe, he gave a nod of acknowledgement. "Good to know. Let's just hope you'll be willing to answer aggression with aggression if needed. These will be normal people we'll be up against, if we do run into trouble," he warned sternly.

To Umi, Akane meanwhile attempted to give a comforting smile.

View attachment 7893

"It's okay to be nervous, Umi, but I won't let any harm come to you!" Akane assured her.

"Since she's the greenest one here, maybe she needs this more than me," Ginoza uttered, beginning to hold out his revolver to her suddenly, only to be met with a pointed glare from the shorter woman.

"Ginoza!" She exclaimed in a hushed manner.

"That was a joke," the man only said with his usual stern tone, pulling his arm back, before looking to the building now. "In any case... Let's get a move on then."

With that, Ginoza began to lead the group behind the back of the building. It was easy enough to remain undetected; there were no guards outside, and there only seemed to be one or two cameras that were easily bypassed in the shadows of the night. As they reached the back of the building and approached the back door, GInoza swiftly pulled out what looked like a small, sophisticated looking device that fit comfortably in the palm of his hand. He held it up against the keypad on the door, and as the device let out a mechanical whirring sound, the keypad suddenly beeped softly and the back door opened by itself, unlocked by Ginoza's device.

Pocketing the device again, Ginoza gestured for everyone to keep following him and with that, they had managed to get inside the warehouse once more. As one might have expected, the interior was much darker than it was before. Since it was supposed to be closed, the lights were all off save for some dim backup lights on the walls that only barely illuminated the way, just enough to show a short stairway to a platform.

Silently gesturing everyone to keep close like a soldier commanding his squad, Ginoza led everyone up the stairs to the platform, which in turn led only to another door. Ginoza carefully and slowly opened it, and as he and everyone dashed inside, they would be led into a small office room. The room was a bit cramped and even claustrophobic; file cabinets littered the sides of the walls, while in the center of the room was a desk with an computer, presumably belonging to Carver himself.

Turning to Winn, Ginoza held up the device he'd used earlier to unlock the back door and handed it to the other man suddenly. "Here. Use this to hack into the computer and see if you can find any files of note, Schott. I'll keep watch in the meantime for any patrols," he instructed, standing at the door and twirling his revolver. It almost seemed too easy that they'd managed to reach the main office this easily, and Ginoza didn't believe in silver linings himself, after all.


Their face soured a bit at Ginoza's brusque reply. "I didn't realize you were such a stick in the mud. Don't worry honey. When you pay for my services you pay for the entire show and then some!"

"And I thought I was the greenest one of the bunch!"
The sour was replaced with a playful wink at Ginoza again. The joke certainly wasted on this rabble Double Trouble followed the others back to the warehouse, changing shape to one of the many guards patrolling the area. That way they could buy some time if they needed to bluff their way through a situation. As the others worked they decided to stand guard with Ginoza. To keep in character they just had a very strict dull look on their face staring off into the distance.

...This was really, really boring.

@Ver @Lucky @Takumi @Jeremi @Yun Lee
 
"Th-thank you..." It wasn't clear who exactly Umi was thanking in this situation, as Ginoza offering his gun kind of ruined her entire train of thought. Thank goodness it was just a joke...for one thing, she didn't even have firearm experience, and another, a UN official arming a teen intern would write Carver's next front page for him! Though if she had a bow handy, then maybe she could be of some use...but when you take a UN internship, you don't exactly anticipate the need for weapons.

Either way, Umi stuck by Toboe as Winn did his thing, taking the former up on his offer of protection. Hopefully it would just remain an offer and never get any bigger than that...

@Ver @Lucky @Takumi @Jeremi @Yun Lee
 
After a few short minutes, the hack was successful and the computer unlocked itself to Winn, fully whirring to life as the monitor displayed the home screen. It was a dull look, featuring the default background of a grassy hill, mostly empty save for a few desktop shortcuts for folders. One was labeled "Tomorrow," and if clicked on would only open the folder to show a number of newspapers they'd previously published in the past, a myriad of files in the folder consisting of rough drafts, distinctive articles, and final copies.

Another folder however proved to be more distinctive, titled only "V" strangely enough. Opening this folder quickly proved to be the more interesting find, as inside the folder were more interestingly titled files, each titled with the word "report" and a corresponding number.

Looking over Winn's shoulder, Akane pointed toward the latest report. "Let's look at that one!" She suggested, guessing that the latest report would be the most relevant to their investigation.

Upon opening the latest "report" file, the document inside turned out to rather incriminating, to say the least. Finally, the piece of the puzzle they were looking for... even as it might have been more unnerving to Akane than even she'd expected.

One such passage of the report was as followed:

The master seemed pleased today with my work. I'm not entirely content with being a mere distraction, but it is almost an honor to hold the sole attention of those fools at the UN while he relocates to consolidate his further plans. Meanwhile, the Coalition need not even paying any mind to, not while its reputation and membership are in shambles.

As expected, the increasing pressure on the United Universes has been drawing attention to my publication. Though I know I'm protected by interuniversal laws of freedom of press, I have little doubt that those bureaucrats and bootlickers will find some loophole to try and shut me down. Perhaps I can use this to my advantage, show Master that I am worth having by his side, over those pigheaded muscle brains. Once the UN inevitably tries to take me down, it'll be easy to play the victim, even after I dispose of their top players. Deputy Secretary-General Tsunemori, a few bodies from the Security Council, the Peacekeepers, the whole nine yards.

Even if they try to play moral high ground and peg me as the aggressor... Well, it won't matter. History is written by the victors, especially when the victor is a writer in of himself. Everyone likes an underdog, after all. The little guy standing up against the tyrannical government! In one fell swoop, maybe I'll even take control of the world as a whole, once the generous people elect me in place of course. I just need to get the muscle for the job, which will be hard when they're keeping a closer and closer eye on me, but I'll make do.


Akane paled visibly as she read through the report, furrowing her brow in a deeply troubled manner.

View attachment 8640

"I knew he was a bad guy, but... Carver really intends to take us out? In the name of this... master guy?! This is much more trouble than I honestly expected," Akane breathed in a cold sweat, before gesturing toward Winn. "L-Let's see if we can download the reports and bring it back to Robin! Or at least, a more objective news outlet than Tomorrow..."

Curiously, Ginoza walked over and read the report for himself as well, his expression remaining stone cold as ever. "Master, huh?" He murmured, before looking over to Double Trouble. "Must be connected with the pictures you took earlier. Of the symbol of the Revanchist..."

@Yun Lee @Lucky @Jeremi @Takumi
 
All of this was kind of going over Umi's head, but one thing stood out: Carver wanted to dispose of Miss Tsunemori. No way...no way! "This is so wrong..." she said, feeling herself grow angry at the unfairness of this all. "He just wants to treat us like dirt for nothing more than his own gain!"

Though the mention of downloading gave her pause. "Wait...with everyone on Carver's side, he could easily say that we fabricated this. Let me..." Taking her cell phone out of her pocket, Umi turned the camera on. "Excuse me? Double Trouble? Do you think you'd be able to transform into some anonymous hacker? If we can film ourselves finding this place, and use someone who could be considered a third party...maybe public opinion won't be so harsh once this breaks out."

@Ver @Jeremi @Lucky @Takumi
 
After a few short minutes, the hack was successful and the computer unlocked itself to Winn, fully whirring to life as the monitor displayed the home screen. It was a dull look, featuring the default background of a grassy hill, mostly empty save for a few desktop shortcuts for folders. One was labeled "Tomorrow," and if clicked on would only open the folder to show a number of newspapers they'd previously published in the past, a myriad of files in the folder consisting of rough drafts, distinctive articles, and final copies.

Another folder however proved to be more distinctive, titled only "V" strangely enough. Opening this folder quickly proved to be the more interesting find, as inside the folder were more interestingly titled files, each titled with the word "report" and a corresponding number.

Looking over Winn's shoulder, Akane pointed toward the latest report. "Let's look at that one!" She suggested, guessing that the latest report would be the most relevant to their investigation.

Upon opening the latest "report" file, the document inside turned out to rather incriminating, to say the least. Finally, the piece of the puzzle they were looking for... even as it might have been more unnerving to Akane than even she'd expected.

One such passage of the report was as followed:

The master seemed pleased today with my work. I'm not entirely content with being a mere distraction, but it is almost an honor to hold the sole attention of those fools at the UN while he relocates to consolidate his further plans. Meanwhile, the Coalition need not even paying any mind to, not while its reputation and membership are in shambles.

As expected, the increasing pressure on the United Universes has been drawing attention to my publication. Though I know I'm protected by interuniversal laws of freedom of press, I have little doubt that those bureaucrats and bootlickers will find some loophole to try and shut me down. Perhaps I can use this to my advantage, show Master that I am worth having by his side, over those pigheaded muscle brains. Once the UN inevitably tries to take me down, it'll be easy to play the victim, even after I dispose of their top players. Deputy Secretary-General Tsunemori, a few bodies from the Security Council, the Peacekeepers, the whole nine yards.

Even if they try to play moral high ground and peg me as the aggressor... Well, it won't matter. History is written by the victors, especially when the victor is a writer in of himself. Everyone likes an underdog, after all. The little guy standing up against the tyrannical government! In one fell swoop, maybe I'll even take control of the world as a whole, once the generous people elect me in place of course. I just need to get the muscle for the job, which will be hard when they're keeping a closer and closer eye on me, but I'll make do.


Akane paled visibly as she read through the report, furrowing her brow in a deeply troubled manner.

View attachment 8640

"I knew he was a bad guy, but... Carver really intends to take us out? In the name of this... master guy?! This is much more trouble than I honestly expected," Akane breathed in a cold sweat, before gesturing toward Winn. "L-Let's see if we can download the reports and bring it back to Robin! Or at least, a more objective news outlet than Tomorrow..."

Curiously, Ginoza walked over and read the report for himself as well, his expression remaining stone cold as ever. "Master, huh?" He murmured, before looking over to Double Trouble. "Must be connected with the pictures you took earlier. Of the symbol of the Revanchist..."

@Yun Lee @Lucky @Jeremi @Takumi

All of this was kind of going over Umi's head, but one thing stood out: Carver wanted to dispose of Miss Tsunemori. No way...no way! "This is so wrong..." she said, feeling herself grow angry at the unfairness of this all. "He just wants to treat us like dirt for nothing more than his own gain!"

Though the mention of downloading gave her pause. "Wait...with everyone on Carver's side, he could easily say that we fabricated this. Let me..." Taking her cell phone out of her pocket, Umi turned the camera on. "Excuse me? Double Trouble? Do you think you'd be able to transform into some anonymous hacker? If we can film ourselves finding this place, and use someone who could be considered a third party...maybe public opinion won't be so harsh once this breaks out."

@Ver @Jeremi @Lucky @Takumi

While the others gathered around the computer and spoke to each other, Toboe kept an eye and ear out for anyone that may come their way, standing guard for the time being.

He turned his head to glance over his shoulder a moment when Umi suggested Double Trouble change forms. It was a pretty good idea. Hopefully it'd work in their favor.

@Ver @Yun Lee @Jeremi @Lucky
 
All of this was kind of going over Umi's head, but one thing stood out: Carver wanted to dispose of Miss Tsunemori. No way...no way! "This is so wrong..." she said, feeling herself grow angry at the unfairness of this all. "He just wants to treat us like dirt for nothing more than his own gain!"

Though the mention of downloading gave her pause. "Wait...with everyone on Carver's side, he could easily say that we fabricated this. Let me..." Taking her cell phone out of her pocket, Umi turned the camera on. "Excuse me? Double Trouble? Do you think you'd be able to transform into some anonymous hacker? If we can film ourselves finding this place, and use someone who could be considered a third party...maybe public opinion won't be so harsh once this breaks out."

@Ver @Jeremi @Lucky @Takumi

"But of course!" They remarked with a smirk. "I mean I'm a third party already. No offense honey but, the money's good. Anyway," Double Trouble started to shift into different forms. "What do you want? I feel like the neckbeard look screams lone wolf personally. Though with me the sky's the limit!"

@Yun Lee @Ver @Jeremi @Lucky @Takumi
 
"Whatever works, as long as it won't be traced back to the UN." She handed Double Trouble her phone. "And if we are going lone wolf," she said, "I think it's best to look like you're filming yourself as you do this." This wasn't sinking to Carver's level, was it? Umi hoped not. But maybe sometimes fire needed to be fought with fire.

@Ver @Jeremi @Lucky @Takumi
 
Winn Schott

Winn would take a second to process everything that he had just read in the hack. Not only was it true that Carver was a bad guy, he was a bad journalist from everything that he read. But he could also read something else. There was an air of confidence in his piece. " I have to check something.... now." Winn would look around the room for any security cameras and even if he didn't see any, would start hacking on his own laptop looking for any possible recording devices Carver could use against them.

@Ver @Jeremi @Yun Lee @Takumi
 
"Good thinking, Umi, Double Trouble! If the politics of navigating through media are anywhere near as complicated as our kind of politics, I'm sure Carver didn't get to where he is with strictly moral methods," Akane breathed as they gathered proof of the apparent plan to dispose of the UN members.

"Or legal," Ginoza added, though one might say that was a redundant addendum considering the whole assassination plot. "That said, we'll make sure he doesn't get to carry out his plan. Even if he might be able to talk over independent investigators, he'll be hard-pressed to call representatives of the government a pack of liars if we can get involved."

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"I wonder..." Akane cleared her throat, though Ginoza seemed rather oblivious to her implication. Before long, she turned again to Double Trouble. "Either way, let's just record this evidence and get out before we're here too long."

With that, once the data was recorded, it was high time to get out of the warehouse as Akane said. Meanwhile, as Toboe stood guard, he wouldn't be able to hear anything out of place, but there definitely seemed to be a very faint, but present, scent of someone -- or more than one person -- nearby...

As everyone left the office, with Ginoza trying to make sure to leave everything as they'd found the spot, he led the party downstairs to ground floor, but they were only able to take a few more steps forward until suddenly, the warehouse's interior lit up, the LED lights almost threatening to blindside those who didn't see it coming.

Flash!

As the warehouse lit up, there stood Elliot Carver himself, accompanied by a small group of armed men, noticeable among them a tall, muscular blonde man, likely his head of security.

View attachment 9888

"Looking for me, are you? You could have just waited until we opened up again," the older man chuckled as his guards maintained a tight aim of their guns at the group. "I take it you've found exactly what you were looking for?"

@Jeremi @Yun Lee @Lucky @Takumi
 
As the flash hit Double Trouble instinctively changed shape into one of the guards with a fitting uniform. If this operation was going to pear-shaped, they wanted possible deniability when they got out of this place. After all, there’s not much work for infiltrators that end up caught on the job. “Oh no! My employer!” They lamented in their disguise. “How can I…Charles Charleston survive this indignity!”

@Ver @Yun Lee @Lucky @Takumi
 
Winn Schott

Winn had known that something was wrong when everything had come so easily. It was why he had checked for cameras, but he had somehow missed something. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was important. He needed to think fast, but also, he needed to be smart. They had some of the pieces, but not enough to take Carver. "I mean, yes, almost like you planted it exactly for us to find." Denying it seemed pointless and being vague helped a lot more with credibility. He ignored Carver's first question.

@Ver @Yun Lee @Takumi @Jeremi
 
"Good thinking, Umi, Double Trouble! If the politics of navigating through media are anywhere near as complicated as our kind of politics, I'm sure Carver didn't get to where he is with strictly moral methods," Akane breathed as they gathered proof of the apparent plan to dispose of the UN members.

"Or legal," Ginoza added, though one might say that was a redundant addendum considering the whole assassination plot. "That said, we'll make sure he doesn't get to carry out his plan. Even if he might be able to talk over independent investigators, he'll be hard-pressed to call representatives of the government a pack of liars if we can get involved."

View attachment 9889

"I wonder..." Akane cleared her throat, though Ginoza seemed rather oblivious to her implication. Before long, she turned again to Double Trouble. "Either way, let's just record this evidence and get out before we're here too long."

With that, once the data was recorded, it was high time to get out of the warehouse as Akane said. Meanwhile, as Toboe stood guard, he wouldn't be able to hear anything out of place, but there definitely seemed to be a very faint, but present, scent of someone -- or more than one person -- nearby...

As everyone left the office, with Ginoza trying to make sure to leave everything as they'd found the spot, he led the party downstairs to ground floor, but they were only able to take a few more steps forward until suddenly, the warehouse's interior lit up, the LED lights almost threatening to blindside those who didn't see it coming.

Flash!

As the warehouse lit up, there stood Elliot Carver himself, accompanied by a small group of armed men, noticeable among them a tall, muscular blonde man, likely his head of security.

View attachment 9888

"Looking for me, are you? You could have just waited until we opened up again," the older man chuckled as his guards maintained a tight aim of their guns at the group. "I take it you've found exactly what you were looking for?"

@Jeremi @Yun Lee @Lucky @Takumi

Returning to his human form as the group prepared to leave, Toboe was tense the whole time.

a541b83eccd6ca223d799e38242f26b6d7d52e96.jpg


"Something's really wrong here, smells like someone's somewhere in this place wai-"

There was a flash, and Toboe tried to count how many of them were present, standing between the armed men and Umi once the lights were on, flashing almost bright enough to blind him temporarily.

54dcefdbb77c68447387ded372cf8af26361b83a.jpg


He didn't think Carver would have his security guards shoot them, even if they were trespassers it wouldn't look good for anyone if news got out he shot a young man or woman without a weapon. For the group as a whole, though, that was another story.

@Ver @Lucky @Yun Lee @Jeremi
 
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Grateful to Toboe for trying to keep her safe, Umi was still deeply concerned for his, and everyone else's, wellbeing at the hands of Carver. Of course. Of course this had been a trap! She felt so stupid...but wait. What if...

Using Toboe as cover, Umi cowered, trying to play up the part of a frightened schoolgirl as best as ahe could. She was no actress, but she was pulling from actual, genuine fear she felt. But as she did so, she tried to very carefully angle her phone so that she could film this encounter, too. Just in case Carver tried anything that could be used against him...

@Ver @Takumi @Jeremi @Lucky
 
Carver only chuckled confidently at Winn's accusation. "Oh, come now. What a ridiculous thing to say," he merely replied, shaking his head in an exaggerated show of denial. "No... That's not entirely the case. Your evidence there wasn't planted, but rather, I realized that it would be such good bait. Besides, when it comes to people working in the UN, I couldn't imagine there'd be any place I'd be able to hide it anyway. You know how what they say, the government's always trying to spy on your private affairs," he said casually.

"Cute," Ginoza said, the only thing he could muster to spit out.

Continuing from there, Carver spoke again as though he could read Toboe's mind. "I suppose it would be a bit overdramatic to just kill you and leave you somewhere for someone else to discover... Not even I can deny that it'd be bad for optics if we had to report your untimely deaths, but I simply can't have you continuing to interfere in my plans. Especially when Master Revan is reaching such a critical state in his own plan," the old man monologued. "I suppose the compromise is that we'll simply have to make you... disappear. You understand, right? There is such a thing as bad publicity, you've made me realize."

"Now, then. Men, why don't you--"
Carver began, before a strange sound rang out throughout the warehouse.

Clack clack.

"Huh?"

Out of seemingly nowhere, a small, metallic orb suddenly rolled toward Carver and his group of underlings, and in just a few seconds, Carver's eyes widened as he realized what it was meant to be. The proper name for it was "thermal detonator," but the others in the room would probably better recognize what it was meant to be if it was called...

"GRENADE! Get out of my way, you buffoons!" Carver suddenly cried out, stepping back and even pushing one of his own soldiers toward the thermal detonator to make room for himself.

"Wha--" The masked guard in question could only utter out before the orb exploded in a fiery blaze, a thick smoke forming followed by the sounds of blaster fire. Red bursts of energy as though from a laser gun.

Backup had arrived.

Pew! Pew!

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Ginoza swiftly drew a revolver and aimed toward the dispersed group, shooting at each of the armed men that he could spot through the mist!

View attachment 10146

"Everyone, get back, especially those who can't fight!" He called out, shooting at the disarrayed men alongside the unfamiliar presence who seemed to have a laser gun.

Though Akane was technically armed, she elected to stay back in front of Toboe and Umi. She'd never forgive herself if she let people as young as them get hurt, even if Toboe did have powers.

Eventually, as the mist cleared up, it was clear that Carver himself was the last man standing, as both Ginoza and whoever had just saved them elected to leave him well enough alone. As the old man found himself alone, the tables suddenly flipped out of his favor, the mysterious helping hand finally stepped out from the side, his blaster still smoking.

View attachment 10148

"I just can't leave some of you people alone, can I?" Carth Onasi, senior officer of the United Universes, said with a wry chuckle.

"O-Oh, Mr. Onasi! How did you...?" Akane gasped out in amazement.

"Honestly, I realized how easy it could be for this to become a PR disaster, more than it already is, so I decided I'd... check in on you all to make sure you handled this delicately. Looks like I made the right call," he said.

"We had it under control," Ginoza said gruffly, both men having their guns pointed at Carver who was still recovering from the shock of what had just happened.

"You're welcome, all the same."

"What...! T-This doesn't change anything!" Carver exclaimed, unable to admit defeat even as there was no one left on his side. "If you touch me at all, the rest of the media landscape will have your heads for this!"

"Save it for the courts," Carth shot back, using his free hand to reveal a recording device that he evidently had been making good use of just now. Looking back toward the rest of the group, he smiled wryly. "You folks alright though?"

@Jeremi @Yun Lee @Takumi @Lucky
 
"Never been better!" Double Trouble had shifted back into their main form as the dust had settled. "Aren't you one for theatrics? Coming to our rescue at the last minute? I was expecting this to be another boring job but this finale...amazing!"

@Ver @Yun Lee @Lucky @Takumi
 
Winn Schott

" Yeah, I'm doing okay considering that we at least got Carver in his own compromising position, even if he won't admit it. First rule of journalism, know when a story does more harm than good and be careful about which you publish,"
he replied,happy that this was mostly over with.

@Ver @Yun Lee @Jeremi @Takumi
 
Carver only chuckled confidently at Winn's accusation. "Oh, come now. What a ridiculous thing to say," he merely replied, shaking his head in an exaggerated show of denial. "No... That's not entirely the case. Your evidence there wasn't planted, but rather, I realized that it would be such good bait. Besides, when it comes to people working in the UN, I couldn't imagine there'd be any place I'd be able to hide it anyway. You know how what they say, the government's always trying to spy on your private affairs," he said casually.

"Cute," Ginoza said, the only thing he could muster to spit out.

Continuing from there, Carver spoke again as though he could read Toboe's mind. "I suppose it would be a bit overdramatic to just kill you and leave you somewhere for someone else to discover... Not even I can deny that it'd be bad for optics if we had to report your untimely deaths, but I simply can't have you continuing to interfere in my plans. Especially when Master Revan is reaching such a critical state in his own plan," the old man monologued. "I suppose the compromise is that we'll simply have to make you... disappear. You understand, right? There is such a thing as bad publicity, you've made me realize."

"Now, then. Men, why don't you--"
Carver began, before a strange sound rang out throughout the warehouse.

Clack clack.

"Huh?"

Out of seemingly nowhere, a small, metallic orb suddenly rolled toward Carver and his group of underlings, and in just a few seconds, Carver's eyes widened as he realized what it was meant to be. The proper name for it was "thermal detonator," but the others in the room would probably better recognize what it was meant to be if it was called...

"GRENADE! Get out of my way, you buffoons!" Carver suddenly cried out, stepping back and even pushing one of his own soldiers toward the thermal detonator to make room for himself.

"Wha--" The masked guard in question could only utter out before the orb exploded in a fiery blaze, a thick smoke forming followed by the sounds of blaster fire. Red bursts of energy as though from a laser gun.

Backup had arrived.

Pew! Pew!

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Ginoza swiftly drew a revolver and aimed toward the dispersed group, shooting at each of the armed men that he could spot through the mist!

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"Everyone, get back, especially those who can't fight!" He called out, shooting at the disarrayed men alongside the unfamiliar presence who seemed to have a laser gun.

Though Akane was technically armed, she elected to stay back in front of Toboe and Umi. She'd never forgive herself if she let people as young as them get hurt, even if Toboe did have powers.

Eventually, as the mist cleared up, it was clear that Carver himself was the last man standing, as both Ginoza and whoever had just saved them elected to leave him well enough alone. As the old man found himself alone, the tables suddenly flipped out of his favor, the mysterious helping hand finally stepped out from the side, his blaster still smoking.

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"I just can't leave some of you people alone, can I?" Carth Onasi, senior officer of the United Universes, said with a wry chuckle.

"O-Oh, Mr. Onasi! How did you...?" Akane gasped out in amazement.

"Honestly, I realized how easy it could be for this to become a PR disaster, more than it already is, so I decided I'd... check in on you all to make sure you handled this delicately. Looks like I made the right call," he said.

"We had it under control," Ginoza said gruffly, both men having their guns pointed at Carver who was still recovering from the shock of what had just happened.

"You're welcome, all the same."

"What...! T-This doesn't change anything!" Carver exclaimed, unable to admit defeat even as there was no one left on his side. "If you touch me at all, the rest of the media landscape will have your heads for this!"

"Save it for the courts," Carth shot back, using his free hand to reveal a recording device that he evidently had been making good use of just now. Looking back toward the rest of the group, he smiled wryly. "You folks alright though?"

@Jeremi @Yun Lee @Takumi @Lucky

"No one seems harmed, thankfully." Toboe sighed, though he wasn't so sure about those on Carver's side compared to the group from the UN. Speaking of...

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"Miss Akane, Umi, are you guys alright?" He asked the two. Akane had protected them both, but he wanted to be sure that no one on their group had actually been injured by any stray projectiles.

@Ver @Jeremi @Yun Lee @Lucky
 
"Uh..." It was likely going to take Umi a few days to fully comprehend what she'd just witnessed. All she could do was turn her own phone's recording off, though she wouldn't delete it just yet. Everything she filmed could be useful to the UN...hopefully. "I'm okay. Er, I'm not hurt." She looked at Carver, then to the backup. "Will this really be enough to stop his press releases...?"

@Ver @Jeremi @Lucky @Takumi
 
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