Catalysts: IC 2.0 Announcement in OP!

Lieo cheered and chanted as bees were made, and buzzed towards random areas of the building. Sure this was possibly a waste of time, especially when his initial plan was to control the city, but they were far too boring, oh yes, it was time for some fun as he would watch them struggle when they looked for a way out, a way in, a way up, a way left, right, down, over and under! It was all in good, silly old fun. Mazes often behaved that way. He watched as the police tried to enter prematurely, banging against the doors as hard as they could. The wooden doors busted open, and a swarm of bees rushed out to greet them, pushing the would-be intruders far back, before retreated back into the building. A thick wall of bees blocked the entrance, and any person that would attempt to get in would either get severely stung all over, or the bees would extrude them. Either way, it seemed to be a thick impenetrable wall. For now. Lieo laughed at their feeble attempts as he stuck his head out a window.

"Really now? How silly of you! The maze is almost done, it's almost finished! Can you really not wait for another five minutes, you--" Lieo was cut off as a gunshot rung through the air and a bullet hole was place on his left shoulder. Lieo grimaced.

"I suppose not. Very well, you may enter... Good luck! Oh, and avoid the elevators that's cheating. And try not to cut holes through the walls, that's also cheating."

Lieo closed shut the window without another word and sat down in a chair place in the middle of the room that was on the top floor. How sad, how the hive's objective would result in so many dead family members... it really was saddening. But he had to reassure himself that it was necessary. Some part of him; possibly a lost Damon; didn't believe it though. It was either this or...

Lieo shuddered.

...to be exterminated. That wasn't going to happen to his family. He would make sure of it.

Nox left the hotel and went back to the subway station. He retrieved his remaining spray paint. He found a suitable wall. It was a large concrete wall, clean and grey. He sprayed a large stylized heart in the wall. He sprayed "Pandora" inside it. Beneath it, he wrote "I'll miss you."

"They're just trying to keep everyone safe. If some of them had powers, then they wouldn't need us to help with problems like this. But yeah, maybe it would have been easier if everyone were normal. Like Nox, for instance. He walked in with a sword and demanded spray paint from me. Whatever he actually does, he shouldn't be on the streets."

Then the bee-man announced his readiness; Rodney was going to wait to see what the police did first, then follow them in apace.

"I'm not so sure. I've heard stories about how they torture convicts in those prisons... some part of me is glad that Nox's crew is taking them down. Or at least attempting to."

Winter jerked her head up suddenly. "Hey... I think the police just went in. How long should we wait until we follow?"

"I don't think we should wait too terribly long; if there's another way in, though, we should find it. If they see us going in, they'll probably try to stop us. Maybe he didn't block off the back door?"

Rodney motioned over in the proper general direction.

Nox returned to the hotel. He went quickly up to his room, where he shit the door a bit loudly, locked it and moved a table in front of it. He began to write.
To whom it may concern:
I am leaving this note knowing full well it's contents may only be realized after my death. By tomorrow, the Catalyst Resistane shall have a martyr. This may seem foolish, but we are many. They are well armed. Numbers win. I will go to the main square and kill as many police as I can. I will subsequently commit suicide. Word will spread. The revolution will grow.

Near it he enclosed two more notes.
Dear Pandora: I will miss you, for sure. I cannot even begin to describe wht perfect matches I thought we were. But all that is irrelevant now. When I die, take my sword. As a memento.
Love, Nox.
Ragnarok.
I'll miss you, brother. It was fun being friends, and I hope we meet in our next lives, whatever they may be. Keep my knives. Try and protect Pandora for me.
Signed, David L. Cady, Alias Nox.

"It's worth a shot, I suppose." Winter appeared uneasy. "We're playing with a lot of power here - my main figuring was that the police would immediately attempt to break the bloke's 'rules,' but if we played by them then we might survive long enough to get a fair chance at talking the man down."

She shuffled from foot to foot. "Unless this guy is completely over the deep end - but regardless of that, he's got uncountable swarms in there. But yes, we might as well try the back door while the police are busy dying."

Nox unblocked the door and hunted for Steph. He finally found her watching a movie. He handed the three envelopes. He looked her in the eye and said "Open the first if you wish. The other two let none see but their intended recipients." He smiled a little and strode out an into the main lobby. He sat in a chair and held his temples. Tears began to slowly leave his eyes.

She watched as he left with a confused expression. It took a few moments for her to open the letter. As her eyes ran across it, she leapt to her feet with urgency. Hurrying down to the lobby in her bare feet and pyjamas, she caught up with Nox. "Please, don't do this. Martyrdom means nothing to most humans these days, they're so caught up in their own affairs that they won't care. We need you to plan attacks, not make suicidal ones." Sitting down beside him, she paused to catch her breath. "I'm pregnant with Ragnarok's twins, and I don't know where he is. Please don't leave until he comes back."

He looked up angrily. "We're stagnating! We're dragging or feet in the fucking dirt, getting nowhere! Meanwhile, the military is experimenting on humans and catalysts alike, and we stand by idly!" He blinked back tears. "Either I die or the movement does!"

"Right. That makes sense. If he doesn't let us in back, we can play along with him and go in the front."

Rodney crept off for the back door. Once there, he tried to turn the handle and gave it an experimental tug to see if it opened. If not, he had a crowbar to bypass the lock (or rather, he would summon one from a tattoo).

She stood up and paced around. "You're one of the best leaders I've seen, don't spoil it by throwing yourself out there." She continued to pace, thinking of how to do it. "Find a catalyst who can make a rough copy of you, then go into the plaza with a bomb, leave the duplicate to provide material to prove it's you. You're still alive, but anyone but me and Ragnarok will see you as a martyr. I'm sure you know an explosives expert, shouldn't be too long before we get the other half."

"I see no reason why not other than your objections. My affairs are settled, and I have vendettas growling for satisfaction. I want this. I need this." He sighed and leaned back, closing his eyes. He began to ponder whether or not to go through with this.

She closed her eyes for a deep breath. "What effect would this have on whoever you have a fancy for? You could damage the will of the catalysts with less confidence, we need everyone motivated." She continued to walk around in a circle. "Under the circumstances I don't think it's appropriate if I tried to give you, satisfaction. I still think leaving us leaderless in Ragnarok's absence is a very bad tactical move. If you really believe this is the correct course of action, either wait for his return or appoint a new leader, one who can hopefully reach your standards."

"Good thinking."

Winter followed Dali to the news station's rear, and observed as he attempted to open it. The door did not seem to budge. "Stuck, huh? Any way we can crack it open?"

"I'm no leader. I never have been. And there is no ono who would be too affected. Ragnarok is a sensible man. He'll get over it. I believe this organization is in need of a new leadership form, anyway. So do you accept?" He needed to go. Soon. The night grew old.

She paused to think, running the choice through her mind. Finally, she sat down next to Nox, hugging him tightly. "Take care of yourself, I'll make sure we hold out. At the very least we can remove the humans from the island, so we have our own place to live. Once that's settled, I'll make sure that we continue on." She released him, resting her hand on his. "Will you be the kids godfather, post-mortem admitted, but I think it would comfort Ragnarok somewhat."

"I will. I have to go now. Wish me luck." He stood up, mind reeling. "Give Ragnarok my best." He walked out. It was growing cold. That was good. It was about 9:00 PM. He strode through the forest. He came upon the city outskirts. It was time. Kill all the fags who don't agree.

"Yeah, I think we got it."

Rodney held out his hand, and a crowbar appeared in it. He jammed the crowbar between the door and the frame, trying to break the door free, perhaps by... wait, no, what the hell was he thinking? Why was he beating things with sticks like a simple-minded gorilla? They were metas, dammit. They had ways around these things.

"Can you make the door open itself?" Rodney asked. "Seems like that would be so much easier than this."

She watched him leave, hand across her waist. Once again she was alone in the hotel. Returning to the stairs, she made her way back to her room and lay down on the lounge once more, in time to catch the end of the movie. The hero sacrificing himself to save the other survivors... A tear escaped her eye, quickly wiped away.

He snuck uneventfully to the main square. He managed to steal a megaphone, then stood an began to speak. "Dër fuehrer, Il Duce, Your president!" That got their attention. He had compared the president to hitler. "Yes my dear people, we live in a fascist state, one running its own holocaust. You see, the government isn't fond of meta humans like me. They hate us. Why hate? It's because of fear." There was a crowd forming. "Those who don't comply, die. Or worse, they become walking experiments." At this he held out his arm, sleeve pulled back. "I am 3A. What are you?" The crowd was split between haters and those who agreed with him. It began to break into an unruly mob. The haters were soon run off. He raised his arm, gloved hand in a fist. A hundred fists were raised in solidarity. Then, the police intervened. Cars rolled up, sirens blaring. Nox unsheathed his sword. "Now we fight! First the island, then the world!"

As the next one blared on, she drifted off to sleep again. There she was, guiding the confused catalysts rescued from testing facilities on the island. The choice, the terrible choice to be made. Fight the world, knowing defeat is definitely certain, to satisfy the pride of her mate and his friend's memory, or take control of the island as a separate country, a safe-haven for their kind. She was already the mother of the second generation of catalysts, it wouldn't be difficult to become self sufficient, surely there would be some who knew how to keep industry and agriculture going. Just survive along, long enough for a real settlement to be made, to establish themselves as no more or less than humans with a difference.

She wanted blood. Blood for all those years she had been neglected, put down, shunned. She could breed snakes quite easily if she wanted to, let them slip behind enemy lines, incapacitate all the police and the soldiers. But she needed human males for that, enough to put that plan out of her mind.

"Let Nox do his work, let Ragnarok return, let the other's gather. I've got babies to worry about..." She removed her pants, returning to her gorgon form. Getting up with care, she began to wander around the hotel. There were plants everywhere, in seemingly good condition. Touching them, she closed her eyes. Her waist began to warm slightly as her twins began to use the power given to them from their father on the plant. By the time she opened her eyes, it had already begun to crawl up the walls. The bombings had probably wiped out all the pests, and they wouldn't dare enter once she was finished.

"Let there be life, in the form of green. Let the plants match my skin, so that I may return to the life my ancestor lived. Let there be snakes to protect, a beast to serve and befriend. Let my mate and others like me enter. Let those we were created from turn back. Let my children have a home they can love." She proceeded down to the basement, adjusting the power consumption so that the lights would dim, but not turn off. It would increase power consumption, but the solar panels were quite powerful to last if the main supply was cut. Snakes, a human male. Where could she get one...

Returning to the main lobby, she pondered on her options. The children could absorb lives and transfer them into her as a sort of battery. Then that energy could be put towards growing the plants. Her room would remain intact of course, but eventually the rest of the hotel would develop into her paradise. Cave like, overgrown, dimly lit, and very safe from attack. One male she would need to keep, in order to begin producing snakes. Keeping her energy up as she casually encouraged plants to grow on her way back down, she went out onto the street into the dark. Time to begin searching...

The cops attempted to arrest the rioters. It didn't work. When you make somone angry and give them a cause, there is hell to pay. They grabbed any weapons available; they outnumbered the cops two to one. That was just the mob. Nox drew his sword. The police had opened fire on the crowd. He jumped into the fray, slashing with the new blade. It was very effective. He finished the last of the first wave of cops with a little slide on the ground leading to bisection.

Hearing the sounds of a massive riot in the distance, she slipped through the night to the home of a boy she knew well, one that had teased her to no end. But he was still no match for her, and the perfect stock for fathering large clutches of snakes at once. He wanted to get into a girl's pants, he was going to have the time of his life, whether he liked it or not.

Typical, he was so annoying he had been given a tiny apartment by his parents just to get him out of the house. Slithering into his room, she slipped the tip of her tail into his mouth, wrapping around his head to prevent any sound. He struggled unsuccessfully as her coils came up around him. Returning to the ground once more, she delicately lifted him out and returned to the hotel at speed.

Finding a suitable room, she proceeded to chain him to the bedpost, leaving him enough slack to wander around his new quarters at will, without letting him into the hall or onto the balcony. Releasing her grip on him, she stood some distance away to allow him to recover. It was minutes before he finally spoke.

"Steph! Oh my... what are you doing this for? What is this place... Is this revenge for all those innocent jokes we..." She motioned her head towards a plate of food, as well as a well stocked fridge and a kitchen. "Out there people are dying every second. In here you'll be safe. I may even rescue that girlfriend of yours, but first..."

She slithered over to him and undid his pants, pulling them down around his ankles. Her tail came up onto the bed, curling around until it was pressed tightly around his waist and thighs. Steph's head rolled back as she began the process, as her secondary mate writhed on the bed. These snakes would be open to her influence, but generally free to roam the hotel.

Like a whipping wind he was there, in the crowd. He was wearing a large leather duster, a cigarette in his mouth and his hair having overgrown. Ragnarok "Fate of Gods" had returned to the battle, and was prepared to win the war. Sliding through the crowd he drew his Kusorigama; he had time to practice being sneaky in the woods before giving himself a new look. He'd never thought about extending his folicles before this point. He placed a hand on Nox's shoulder, and his voice came out in a deep baritone.

"You fight well. But you are no Martyr. I say we arm these people and attack Aurum. It will be better than what we did with Ferrum and I guarantee you neither of us will die." He smirked. He had always wanted to be a heroic badass to pop into a field as a wise warrior. And now was his chance, chained-sickles prepared for bloodletting of the military base. Sure, this was probably only a small army, but he would be the Generalissimo.

"How is my Stephanie? Good I hope. We'll have to see after we kill those fuckers at the base. This time let's leave it mostly in tact so we can start a revolution with the humans as well, having a decent weapons cache would help with that." Ah Steph; his lover. He had left her with twinsi and simply walked out that evening. He heard the rilings from the forest and decided it was time. No damn G-man would be spared; no MIB left unkilled, no grunt remaining breathing.