damned_institute | Night 58: Mission #4 [Edward Cullen, Bella Swan and Venom]

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Night 58: Mission #4 [Edward Cullen, Bella Swan and Venom]

Edward was a little disappointed there was no gun-toting escort awaiting him outside the door. It was lucky he had had so much experience with spontaneous teleportation -

- except his experience didn't mean very much if his senses were able to readjust themselves at the speed they always should. Though the change in environment was immediate and surprising, he - landed? Was that a sufficient term? - without nary a stumble. For a moment, he was strangely overtaken by all of his senses returning: the smell of the mask on his face (a mask? The air in the entire place, then, was polluted?), the starch of his uniform, the way the terrain was open to him, unhindered by the darkness.

Immediately he was taking in the environment directly around them, his eyes already darting around for the potentially "hostile" rebels. Edward moved by Bella's side - moved like a vampire at a speed he felt was blurred to himself - momentarily distracted by staring at his hands in the darkness. Just like when he had returned to Forks, he had become himself again. Fast, strong, inhuman.

It was shocking to realize he was now uncomfortable in his own skin.

Where they had been taken to was the very opposite of Forks. While the small town in Washington could not be accurately be described with any word pertaining to vitality, this place was run-down, half-standing buildings and empty streets stretched out before them.

He looked to the smaller man that had landed beside him, his voice misshapen by the mask. "Do you feel different, Venom? Like from when we first teleported?"

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Well, that was uneventful. Other than his hand through the hair nervous tick, Edward appeared to be keeping his emotions to himself. That was ... good. Especially considering Venom had seen them squabble enough in front of him. Not that she cared, of course, but still.

As the vampire moved towards the door, the teenager quickly moved towards the files, reading them over quicly so she could get an idea of exactly what was going to happen. Air samples ... don't breathe ... hostile rebels. Excellent. She swallowed down her fear and moved quickly after Edward as he moved out the door, her expression instantly becoming surprise when she realized they were ... outside, and she now had something covering her face.

Bella's hand lifted to place against the mask, frowning underneath it, suddenly realizing that she had something else in her hand as Edward moved over to her with - whoa, his normal speed?

However, the brunette didn't even bat an eyelash at his sudden change in speed. Like slipping her hand into an old glove, she instantly grew accustomed to how things used to be, looking up at him for a moment before holding up the hand that was now holding ... a large knife. Oh, that was wonderful.

While Edward spoke to Venom, she moved a few feet away, peering around their surroundings for a moment before sighing. It was going to be hard to get used to the mask, but she really didn't ... want her lungs to deteriorate, so she would gladly keep it on.

The sudden transportation failed to be something new to the assassin, but he could admit to still being blindsided by the short wave of nausea that always came with it. That and the added sensation of something bound to his face, something with straps that forcefully held his hair back and away from his eyes, was already leading this to be a very uncomfortable journey. His fingers itched to remove it the instant he felt his eyes were uncovered, but logic weighed more than his pride. This wasn't going to turn to a morality tale about man's inability to choose their life over their reputation or something ridiculous like that.

The darkness of this place was somewhat different from the darkness of the institute, leaving his vision attempting to adjust. There were no stars out in the sky, or they remained unseen past the strange white fog rising off the ground, and therefore there was little light to illuminate their surroundings. He could barely make out the outlines of the dilapidated buildings before them, which in a way was fine by him. Growing up during a war and living in its wake had showed him far too many ruined cities. Even still...

"Yes," the assassin answered, voice more distant than usual with the added muffle. He outstretched his hand and, like the night before, the energy around his palm solidified into a ball. It stayed in the air even when he moved his hand away, letting off a soft hum as it dimly glowed in the darkness.

There. It wasn't bright, only about as light-giving as a firefly, but it was enough to illuminate the area somewhat without a flashlight.

"We should find where were are on the map," he began without a moment's hesitation, "then go to the first location that's been marked. We can look for clues on where this city is and collect our bearings on the way."

Edited 2011-09-13 10:06 (UTC)

So it wasn't just him.

Edward curled his fingers around the edge of the mask, the rubber sucking at his face as he peeled it off, stupidly breathing in. There was definitely something in the air, but it was not anything he recognized. To say this was strange was to make a grievous understatement; it was just best to take in everything at once.

He was a true vampire again. Bella was wielding a very large, very sharp knife. Venom could create balls of light with his hands. He was being very nonchalant about all of the above.

The vampire felt immediately better that the mask was no longer interfering with his senses. His peripheral was in full effect; his nose detecting everything, scents and tastes like bombshells exploding against his senses. It was nice not to have to rely, even in part, on a light to see. The ruined rock and brick, the ivy growing through cracks in asphalt and tar, the coldness of the town itself - none of it was hindered by the darkness or human perception.

"I'd recommend keeping the masks on the whole way. Something is definitely in the air." He unrolled the map, dragging a finger slowly through the drawn terrain. There seemed some system to the roads, though there was no street signs to give them their first clue. However, they did appear to on the very edge of the town itself; the buildings began like some giant had taken a knife and cut away the landscape, the town starting immediately after the cut, blooming up in the dirt and the overwhelming foliage. A little down the road was the telling rectangle of a street sign, bent almost at a ninety degree angle.

"There's a street name about a block away. We could try that."

So, she was the only one who had no sort of special ability, it seemed. Frowning and narrowing her eyes at the two men, Bella pouted underneath her mask, glad that Edward couldn't see her and potentially laugh. Well, better go put in my application for the boring club. Again.

However, when Edward took off said mask, the teenager was instantly back at his side, hissing up to him. "Listen, I know you're all super hero again, but that doesn't mean you should just take off your mask! What do you think will happen when morning comes, huh? We'll probably just be back in the institute and everything will be back to normal like it usually is! What if something is happening to you and you don't even know?" If Edward was allowed to be worried over her well-being, than she was allowed to be worried over his. She refused to let that double standard go.

That annoying feeling bubbled in her stomach again as she knew that Edward was going to just push aside her concern, and as he continued to talk about where to try, the teenager tried her hardest not to scream. Instead, at his idea, she looked through the darkness at the street name he had spoken, and began to move towards it, huffing under her breath.

She almost wanted something to attack them, just so she could try and stab them with the knife she got. Sometimes she got so frustrated she had to release it - the last time she had done it, however, she had punched a werewolf in the face and nearly broken her hand, so ... needless to say, she had learned from that experience.

And god knew she could never punch Edward. He'd probably break her hand if she tried (in his true shape, anyway,) and then there was the whole guilt thing, and she just didn't want that.

When the vampire decided to confirm the deadliness of the air around them, the assassin only managed to raise an eyebrow under his mask, offering a short stare. There was something in the air? Really? He'd assumed the intimidating white gas surrounding them was just the military's new air-fresheners and the masks were only to keep them from spoiling the surprise of which delightful fragrant it was.

His hand went to the back of his neck and his eyes went to the ground, turning his thoughts away as Bella spoke up. Not the time, Venom.

Of course, the moment he tried not to pay attention to their arguments, Bella took the moment to run off. He could have scolded her for that (armed or not, he'd seen her attempt at fighting before. Unless she'd taken to training since then, storming off alone was not her brightest decision), but instead he only followed as quickly as possible. As of last night, the teenager had every right to hate him and barking orders at her on top of that would only complicate things even more. They didn't need an in-fight on their hands. Not on top of the one these two were already having.

Still. Pain continued to spark into his side with every step, though he made no complaints or even noise as he hurried behind the girl. The shattered pavement he needed to consistently maneuver over did not make the task any easier, but he maintained his pace behind her.

Once he'd caught up with the girl, it was easy enough to catch a glimpse of the sign Edward had mentioned. As before, the assassin raised his hand to form another billiard ball, casting enough light to properly see the word engraved on the metal before them. "Bachman..."

He turned his head back to the taller male. "Where is that on the map?"

"I'm already dead, Bella," Edward said offhandedly, knowing he couldn't really pointedly ignore Bella's concerns. To be honest, she had a point. Which he... hadn't thought of. But it was a bit too late to worry about it now, considering he was taking more than a few breaths just to speak. Regardless, it was going to help him in the long run. The gas mask restricted both his sense of smell and his peripheral vision, neither of which he was willing to give up if there were potential foes lying in wait in the darkness.

There was no running off for Bella now. Automatically he was by her side, close enough that occasionally his arm would brush against her. No chances. None. Not when he could finally, adequately protect her. All his senses were on high alert, waiting for the first smell of humans that weren't as familiar to him as the two he was with were.

Good. The sign wasn't too weathered to read. Now they could really get started.

"It's to the north, running down the center of town." He tracked the path he had seen only once, remembering that an area had been marked with an orange circle rather close to their current location. There was a crossroad sign that marked the perpendicular road as Finney. Excellent.

"We go right. There was a marked area, near the crossroads of Levin and Matheson. It's the nearest location." At least all three of them could agree to get moving. If Venom proved to be too much of a hindrance to their speed, Edward could always provide assistance.

Only if they truly needed to come to that, of course.

Well, it wasn't like she had intended on getting away from the two of them anyway, so even when Edward's arm bumped into hers, she wasn't all that surprised. Still. Just to play, every now and then, the teenager would reach out and bump her her hand playfully at his own before quickly withdrawing it back to her side, doing it again moments later. Repeat.

Had to keep herself to not think about the annoyance.

As the two men spoke, she listened, especially since she really was relying on their abilities alone. At least Edward could see in the dark, so that was helpful. Not to mention Venom could create those glowing orbs, so there was that. Sighing, she looked down at the knife in her hand, spinning it around in her hands once before looking back up as Edward continued to mention a marked area.

"Is there anyone around us?" Bella asked Edward in a hushed voice, not wanting to draw attention to themselves if there really was anyone lurking in the shadows. Then again, she had a feeling if there actually was, Edward would be anything but calm and simply walking by her side. Edward and the ability overreacting were essentially best friends, after all.

He shook his head despite the darkness. "Not that I can see. I'm skeptical at best, just in case my senses have their..." It was hard to explain how paranoid he was, and it probably made no sense to anyone else. He wasn't supposed to be able to flip back and forth biologically. Not that anyone was, of course, but he was a vampire. He was supposed to never change.

"Holes," he decided. He kept a private smile to himself, weaseling his arm under Bella's to gently trap hers in his elbow. Not to keep her by his side, but just to have the freedom to touch her as he wished.

He could have his priorities and his cake, too.

"I'm being optimistic and hoping these rebels would rather convert us than shoot us. It's not a very viable hope."

Venom kept quiet as the two conversed to themselves, his right hand having gone to tug the strap on the back of his head as he thought on their plans of action.

There were three different locations and three of them. If he had been with his Guild, it would have been so simple to declare the three of them split up and each take a vial on their own. If it weren't for the danger of the rebels, he might of suggested that even now. But with Bella's... limited battle capabilities and his own injuries, it was an unfortunate thing to say that Edward remained the only one capable of handling that task without backup. Perhaps if the three of them went together to the first mark (which wasn't far, according to the vampire's information), they could feasibly split to reach the last locations with one team of two.

...Briefly, his eyes flickered to the two standing before him. If they decided on that, he would be fine by himself.

Hm.

"We should hurry." He didn't need to wait for their responses before moving on.

Edited 2011-09-22 05:44 (UTC)

Bella's eyebrows lifted at Edward's admittance of his senses having blank spots in them, a small smile causing the corner of her lip to quirk up. "Yes, I am fully aware of those holes," she practically sang, almost tempted to ask him what she was thinking just for old time's sake. But there was always another time for that.

When he looped his arm around her own, making her now locked by his side, the teenager couldn't help but let out a contented sigh, moving close to the vampire so they were side by side, her hip bumping his own every now and then. And to think, earlier that morning he had promised her alone time that night -

Don't think about that now. Business time, Bella.

As Venom mentioned hurrying, Bella nodded her head, continuing to walk with Edward for what felt like a few more minutes before turning right and continuing on their way. They had to be close now.

"Okay," she said out loud, turning her head to look around. She hated having the stupid mask on. What if her faced itched? Then what? "Now what? ... and I hate this stupid mask, by the way. A lot. Have I mentioned that, yet? Because I do. I am well aware of what it is for, but it's so uncomfortable, auuuuuuuugh."

"Suffer through it, please." He sighed, though it wasn't quite the sigh of a long-sufferer. "You're going to need your lungs." He had his own looped around his free arm, just in case one should break. If these rebels were armed and one happened to hit the masks -

He wasn't going to think about it. He could smell them before that happened, right? He would hear their thoughts (admittedly, this was the sense he was not entirely counting on) or smell their sweat and blood - the blood, really; he was quite hungry, as Stefan would put it, at this point in time - and he would have no qualms about murdering anyone who turned a weapon on Bella or Venom.

He couldn't afford to think twice about it. It wasn't their faults, of course. Not at all. But he could risk no further injuries to either of his companions. Venom was already hurt as it was. It was much harder to protect two people than it was one.

Edward continued to lead the way, staying mostly silent beyond that and the soft bumps he gave Bella with his own hip, perhaps in a sort of Morse code she couldn't understand. I love you. I'll protect you. Their traveling speed was relatively fast, even if he was bogged down by two humans. Being accustomed to moving that speed most of the time as well, Edward had to admit he was a lot less annoyed by it than he used to be. A mile in someone else's shoes and all that.

A row of crumbling, disintegrating brick houses stood at the best attention they could offer along the length Leven Street, and soon enough the crossroad between it and Matheson was reached. The sign was barely standing in by the road, hanging at a fourty-five degree angle over weedy, overgrown lawns that had long since began their slow creep into the tar of the road.

"Give me one of the test tubes. I can fetch this one."

It was so quiet here. Edward and Bella's occasional bouts of chatter and the shuffling of debris underneath all of their feet was the only thing to break the long lull. Coupled with the darkness and clouds of white obscuring their vision, it was almost like they were walking through the snow-covered plains of the institute. They weren't, of course. The most he could see piling on the surfaces of the buildings were thin layers of frost and dust, meaning they must have been a long ways away from the asylum. With most of the architecture having crumbled in on itself, it was difficult to pin-point even a vague estimation as to where they were.

He had to keep looking closer. There had to be something they could use to their advantage or at least to gain a bit of knowledge, but the only thing in sight was a broken-down city and white fog.

Kch. He really did not like being here. Again, seeing a place in such desolation and disarray was nothing new to him, not on his world, but it still felt like a bomb had gone off. It probably had, really. It must have been entertaining to someone else that as a child, Venom never imagined living to see the end of the war Earth had been entrapped in and just after it ended he was stuck in another.

Edward's words broke through the assassin's thoughts and he idly pulled one of the vials from the pocket of the small bag he'd been given to case them, but fell short of actually holding it out. There wasn't any reason one should "fetch" one thing or the other right now when they were all in such close range to both the location and each other. But... "Can you tell what any of this is? Or how much is in the air?" Edward had said it before: he was dead. Testing the air shouldn't harm him.

Edited 2011-09-24 14:55 (UTC)

With every bump of Edward's hip, Bella bumped back, smiling despite herself and despite the fact she had been annoyed with him only moments ago. She vaguely remembered the vampire telling her she was difficult to remain upset at - it was the same with him.

"Stupid boy," she grumbled to herself as the continued to move, and she watched as they finally reached the destination of where they were supposed to go to get the first sample. Untangling herself from his side, the teenager took a few steps back, allowing him enough space to do whatever it was he had to do to get it.

.... However, at the word fetch, Bella couldn't help but snicker to herself. Really? That was the wording he picked, despite every other word he knew? It reminded her of a dog -

And that thought process was instantly smothered.

Venom's question about the air was a good one - she wanted to know what exactly they were protecting themselves from, after all. If she had to "suffer through it", as Edward had put it, she wanted to know exactly what she was suffering for.

He'd meant to lift an arm to take the tube, but he stilled in his completely unnatural way once he had turned to face Venom, tilting his head with thought. "I can't tell you the scientific composition of this gas if that's what you're looking for," he said, breaking his stillness to inhale. "But there is something here. I can feel it settling in my mouth like dust. It's tangible. Not like air. Thicker." Obviously. If they could see it, it was thicker. He was stating the obvious, but he wanted to make sure neither of them were planning on attempting to breathe this in themselves.

"You're planning something?" Normally it would be a statement, not a question, but he wasn't completely sure. There were only the beginnings of an idea in Venom's mind, not a completed equation.

He took in another breath of the gas. He had not been consciously thinking of doing it, but Edward was relatively sure he would be able to figure out where the more concentrated spots of the gas were, despite the vents dotted around so far they had seen which spewed white gusts of the stuff.

"What are you thinking?"

Hn. An unhelpful answer in regards to the chemical make-up of the toxins, but he wasn't sure what else to expect. Edward was a vampire, not a hound-dog. Perhaps it was too out of line to imagine he could tell what this was. In regards to the second answer, however...

This was an idiotic idea. There was bound to be consequences, either due to being caught immediately after this plan or days later (the punishment for the latter was bound to be worse), and no amount of talking would lessen that. And they would be caught. There was no getting around that.

But after last night, he couldn't care less. If there was an opening for ruin, Venom wasn't beyond exploiting it, no matter what it did.

So he crossed his right arm over his chest and raised his left, the glass container spinning between his fingers as he began to speak. "If the military is concerned with the air-quality in these locations, it stands to reason that they wish to use them at a later date. They're putting their trust in us to scout the area for them, saving them the trouble of collecting samples themselves. When they are done examining said samples, I can only assume they'll assess whether or not this city is on the road to recovery and therefore of use to their soldiers." He tilted his head after that, as if mentally picturing the scenario for himself. "And if they do find it of use, it's only logical that they'll examine this city for themselves."

In the middle of his speech, the assassin paused. He moved forward and toward the middle of their mark, then promptly placed the vial back into the bag. He never opened the vial. "But what if they underestimate the level of pollution in these areas? What if they send in their soldiers without being fully prepared of the dangers here?"

It didn't matter that most of those soldiers were brainwashed goons, as innocent as the rest of them. That woman didn't matter, the one with a hint of kindness despite her allegiance. Landel and Aguilar had picked a fight with every single person they brought here. If it was a war they wanted, then there was just going to have to be some causalities, now wasn't there?

They weren't going to get away with what they did to Claire.

When he spoke again, it was with an eerie calmness that should have only been reserved for something pleasant. "I suppose I should get straight to the point. Edward, Bella." He turned to look toward both of them, the lenses of his mask failing to betray the quiet loathing in his eyes. "What are your thoughts on sabotage?"

Bella watched the way Edward had apparently caught onto some small idea in Venom's mind, frowning as she looked down at the blade in her hand. She spun it around in her fingers, listening to the two of them talk, listened to Edward continue to breathe in the gas even though he knew how worried she was -

Venom was talking about something, getting at some kind of idea, and Bella tried her hardest to listen, but she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. But then again, being in the institute period made her feel sick to her stomach, so she supposed the feeling itself was completely moot. However, this time, she couldn't swallow it down and push it away, so she simply stood there, carefully crossing her arms around herself (and careful not to ... you know, stab herself in the process.)

When the word sabotage finally came up, the teenager's eyes widened, and she looked down, unsure of what to say. She knew it was the institute's fault for everything that was happening, so she didn't truly see a problem with it. It ... it would prove that even if everyone was forced to do the mission, they wouldn't do exactly as they had been asked. A little lie, a big lie.

She had to mentally guard herself from the onslaught of thoughts that began to make their way into her head. We're going to get caught, she thought to herself, looking towards the floor. Something is going to happen. We're going to get found out. What are they going to do to us? To everyone?

Despite all that, Bella nodded her head. "Just do it. It's only fair, since they've royally screwed up our lives anyway. I'll ... be prepared to deal with the consequences."

"You know we're going to get caught," Edward said automatically, echoing the thoughts he could not hear in Bella's mind. They all had to be thinking it. (Well, he knew two of them were.) But even to Edward, knowing what would happen, knowing somehow they would take this out on him, the idea was enticing. So very enticing. Perhaps it was the rebellious teenager in him, or the very large, very angry part of them that hated everyone involved with this bloody institute. The one that wanted to tear both Aguilar and Landel apart.

First and foremost, however, he looked from the assassin to Bella. Her opinion, ultimately, was what would decide his own. Her safety was far, far more important than any misguided attempts at revenge, no matter how satisfying they may be.

Her answer did not surprise him like it would have before. He knew she hated this place as much as he did, if not more so. As much as it tore at him to do it, he watched her quietly, absorbing her decision in complete silence. He had to respect her wishes. He could not keep trying to control her like some sort of twisted, sociopathic guardian. He would not.

"If you are sure," he said to her, then nodded.

"I can take you to the less polluted areas. As it is, this area is rather thick with the smell. If we move back a few blocks towards where we began, the air is cleaner."

When Edward said his piece about being caught, the Guild Head simply returned his own. "I'd rather be caught for betrayal than rewarded for following anything they say." It was a childish sentiment, one very much not in-keeping with his usual sentiment of staying alive, but it was a sentiment that lingered with him none the less.

Revenge was a hell of a motivation.

And although the assassin was partially surprised he had just managed to get Bella to agree with anything he said (another childish sentiment, though only partially. He used to be perfectly annoyed with her constant bouts of failed self-reliance, but after what had happened to her friend he couldn't blame her for ignoring his entire existence), he wasn't going to open his mouth to make sure she truly agreed. Her word right now was enough and if she understood the consequences...

"If we're all in agreement, I suggest we move out." That overgrown, weedy grass crunched under his feet as he slid away from the crumbling brick houses, and the hand that used to be holding a vial quickly went to work on forming another billiard ball. "If we hurry, we can still make it to the given marks, if only for show. I suggest at least one of our samples be of lesser quality than the others if we want to keep them off our scent longer."

Edited 2011-09-25 23:07 (UTC)

Bella could practically feel the worry rolling off of Edward in waves, no matter how he tried to mask it as indifference. He was nervous, and so was she - and Venom seemed like he didn't care (but at that point, Bella didn't care about what he thought, because ... well, she was still upset, even though she wasn't showing it.) so that was that. They were going to sabotage the mission, and see what happened in the end.

Watching as Venom began to move, Bella turned to look at Edward, reaching out her free hand to gently grasp onto his own, entwining her fingers with his as she looked ahead, towards Venom's direction. "It's going to be fine," she told him in a whisper, her expression softening. "The only thing they could really do to ... hurt me is take you away from me. No matter what happens, there is nothing that will ever be more painful than that."

She lingered by his side for a moment before untangling her hand from his and following after the other man, keeping a few feet behind him. Besides, it wasn't like Edward wasn't going to practically teleport to her side within moments, so it didn't matter if she was walking around on her own for a few seconds.

And to think, we could have been alone in my room if things had turned out different, she thought with a sigh, her shoulders slumping. Was it bad she was thinking about making out with her fiance instead of focusing on the mission at hand? Yes. Did she care? No.

Oh, the joys of being a teenage girl.

For the zillionth time in just a few months, Bella was glad that Edward couldn't read her mind.

Her whisper brought a cold chill to his heart, one that had nothing to do with being dead. "How is that going to help me feel better about this?" he answered, also in a whisper, but it was entirely to himself as she walked away. Besides, she was not completely right. He knew - he was accepting - that the military could very well hurt him. Severely. They could give him his body back and they could certainly taking it back. If he turned back into that human-like thing again, the body that he felt detached from as he became more accustomed to his real biology, they could do so many things. Break his bones. Cut his skin. Dismember him.

Unfortunate. He could not reattach his limbs in that other body.

As Bella expected, he moved by her side to an instant, Venom taking the lead. As long as he could keep his concentration on the gas, they may get away with this. May. For a while. Not forever. If Aguilar's anger was anything to go by, it was clear to this group when patients failed their little tests. Here was to hope.

They traveled back in the direction they had come from, a little more angled so as to not end up in the exact same place. Edward took repetitive breaths, testing the air, testing the way he could see the individual motes in the air. Something about Bella's sigh made him uncomfortable, afraid to ask what it was for. How could he blame her for anything? She was most likely mad at him - for making her come with them, forcing her to be near Venom who she likely hated, for defending a murderer -

She must forget he was one himself. That was all he could imagine.

As he was testing the air, something was added to it. Something that was not gas or Venom's skin or Bella's blood. It was sweat, bloated with a human scent he did not recognize.

Right as Edward moved in front of Bella he heard the tell-tale shuffle of clothing, of boots on crunchy, ice-frosted grass, and the metallic rattle of guns.

"They're here," he hissed, his head snapping in all directions to pin down the location of the rebels. He heard nothing besides their movements - no thoughts. He was not surprised. "Stay behind me, Bella. Don't argue. They have weapons - guns."

If he could have heard the teenager's thoughts, wrong as they were, he cold have corrected them. It was false to assume he didn't care. Caring was the one thing he never managed to avoid doing, regardless of how much he told himself otherwise. He did care that he was dragging these two into something they were very obviously going to be punished for. He didn't need to watch their nervous gestures to hear the shuffling of their feet and quiet whispers behind him. However, for the betterment of this mission, he needed to stay calm. One of them needed to stay calm.

The trek back was almost as silent and morose as it had been to the first mark, at least until Edward broke the silence. The very instant the vampire's words entered the air, the assassin stopped in his tracks.

Damn it. "We need to get out of the open." No matter how fogged their surroundings were, they needed to get out--this wasn't just a matter of hiding behind someone. Once they could find a way to take care of these aggressors they could continue, but until then they needed to be away. And those sounds, that of incoming movement, were closing in too fast to run without being spotted--at least not in his current condition. Wherever they were going, they needed to go fast.

His actions were quick, practiced and automatic. Like so many times before, Venom extended his hand to form a ball, but, instead of letting it stay in place, he wrapped his fingers around the object and threw it through the broken window of a nearby building (half-collapsed in on itself, with a portion of its roof missing, but most of its walls remained free of holes and there was just enough room to hide). The second the ball had made its way into the structure, his arms were wrapping Bella's shoulders while his mind was trying very hard to ignore the knife she was carrying.

"Don't panic," was all he managed to whisper to the girl before the energy around them began to ripple and suddenly they were falling onto ruined tile.

The next few moments happened far too quickly. One moment, everything was silent - the three of them walking towards their next destination with a plan in mind, and then suddenly Edward was standing in front of her, telling her to stay behind him, to not move, that they were about to be ambushed -

The next thing the teenager knew, an unfamiliar arm was wrapped around her shoulders, and instantly Bella's entire body ... well, did the exact opposite of what Venom had whispered to her. Don't panic. Understatement of the century. It didn't take long for her to realize what was going on, and instantly she cried out, trying to break away from the other man, reaching for Edward as she sobbed out his name.

But it didn't matter in the end.

When she fell into the hard floor, Bella let out a hiss of pain, her mind going blank as her head cracked against the ground. She lay unmoving for a few moments, seeing stars dance in front of her vision.

Moments later, Bella regained herself, and she shoved roughly away from Venom, crawling away from the man as a mixture of emotions raced through her veins. Anger. Hate. Terror. Pain. Worry. Fear. She felt like she was going to be sick.

"Don't touch me," she spat, her vision beginning to blur from the tears that were starting to pool up in her eyes from the anger she was currently feeling. "Go and help Edward! Please!"

Edward didn't turn to make sure the intent he heard in Venom's mind was actually what he thought was going to happen. He stayed where he was just in case some residue was left behind - hell if hew knew how this sort of thing worked - because as they disappeared, a stream of bullets scattered bits of the street in front of him, jumping up like crickets around him. Another stream scattered by his foot, catching Edward in the shoulder and chipping his skin like rock, leaving his shirt torn and open. It didn't hurt.

Teleportation. Good to know the assassin could do that now.

He bolted. Edward didn't know where Venom had gone, but once they had - landed? - he heard the concern in Bella's voice leaking into the air, her heartbeat scattered and rapid. That combined with her smell made it a simple task to find them again, finding that where the ball had been thrown was the general direction his companions had landed.

Edward skipped the front door, climbing the outer wall of the crumbling building directly and hopping right into the room from the window in a way that may have made Peter Parker envious. (He'd have to ask.)

"I'm here," he said, by her side in an instant, helping Bella to her feet. "They're to the west. Another building, I think. Can you do something to take them out from here, Venom?"

Honestly, he hadn't anticipated Bella to land that way. They'd only fallen a single foot from the air, but with the girl's excessive flailing in his arms and from the pressure that exerted onto the wound in his abdomen, the assassin's grip lost itself and Bella fell straight onto her face. Venom's immediate reaction was to check on her, to make sure her mask hadn't cracked or the fragmented tiles hadn't cut into her scalp, but she was soon pushing him away.

It was her tone of voice that made him back up more than her shove had. She never would stop seeing him as a monster...

Edward's sudden and fully expected appearance was a thankful distraction and the Guild Head rejoined the other two on their feet, then turned toward the window and watched the outside as closely as the fog would allow him. Could he do something from here...? "I don't have my cue," he answered quietly, mind attempting to calculate the amount of force and precision he'd need to gain with his own hands in order to physically harm someone without his weapon. With his poor condition on top of it... "I don't think--"

An idea stopped his tongue. Without a second thought, he outstretched his hands and let the energy above them solidify, forming two more spheres. When they were complete, he moved to the side, his eyes on the vampire.

"Do you think you can hit these at them?"

Needless to say, relief washed through Bella like a wave when she heard Edward's voice, and for a moment, she felt bad about snapping at Venom. This wasn't the time to act out, especially considering they were all stuck together for the time being. However, it made her wonder; if the tables were turned, how would things go? If she killed one of his friends, how would he be? Edward as well.

Oh, she the teenager didn't even bother mentioning the fact she hit her head to Edward. No need to worry him over nothing but a bump.

Now standing on her feet, wobbling slightly, Bella listened to the two of them talk, and she admitted she didn't exactly understand how Edward would be able to get rid of them with the glowing orbs. Would they teleport like they had just done, or ... what? She didn't ask, however, because she didn't want to seem like the only one not understand (when in reality she was), so she kept quiet, allowing her heart to calm before she spoke again.

"What are we going to do now with them out there?" the teenager asked in a hushed voice, almost afraid that they would come after them now that they had been seen.

"I can do it." Once Bella was on her feet - unsteady, but she seemed fine - he moved to the orbs, whatever they were made of, and examined the closest one to his face.

Magic. He could accept that, being the simplest answer.

"We're going to get rid of them from here if we can." He looked back at Bella meaningfully. By what means we have. Rebels or not, the same side or not, Edward was not going to allow anyone to harm her. Obviously these humans were not terribly concerned with who they were attacking, anyway. That meant they received no mercy from him.

He would regret it, yes. But for now, his conscience had to remain on the back burner.

"If not, I can find them myself." He hoped these spheres happened to be small explosives or something, or else his aim would have to be far better than it probably was. Projectiles were not his forte.

With a tentative hand, Edward gently pressed two fingers to a sphere to move it into position. He curled his fingers around it once he confirmed it would bring no pain to himself, moving closer to the broken section of wall, giving him a clear shot to the structure across from them. Without any celebration, Edward launched the ball from his hand like it was another baseball game with his family.

He lied. Some projectiles were his forte.

Venom pushed himself even farther against the wall at the window's side, putting enough distance between himself and Edward to watch the man throw the ball in the rebels' direction. He could hear it strike the other building with a resounding smash, shattering glass and angered voices filling the air in its wake. The rattling of moving boots and guns began anew.

Briefly, the assassin turned back to the vampire, not bothering to hide the impressed gleam in his eyes. That would do.

Soon he was back to kneeling by the window. His hands went to the bottom of the frame, his eyes on the bodies wandering out of their shelter. The strands of blue in his hair turned bright as he worked on forming as many spheres as he could manage. "Hit them quickly and aim for the crowns of their heads," he instructed, half wondering if he even needed to while the other half decided it was better safe than sorry. Despite the vampire's skill with throwing them, he couldn't be certain he'd done as such to kill another person before. "If you throw them against walls or one another they will ricochet, so use that to your advantage." If they worked fast enough and Edward used enough strength, it would work to knock out their opposition if not kill them outright. But there still needed to be a backup.

It was with the slightest hesitance that he turned his attention back to the girl. They had to do what they had to do. "Bella, stay back by the door. If anything comes through, don't hesitate to use your weapon. If you stay back far enough, they'll notice us before they notice you."

Watching as Edward hurled the ball into the other building, Bella couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness. She missed the Cullen family. She missed Esme, who was essentially her second mother. She missed Carlisle, who had helped her more times than she could count. She missed Emmett, hoping he was finally home safe with Rosalie. She missed Jasper, despite how she always seemed to just hurt him. She missed Alice ... after all, she was her best friend. Hell, she even missed Rosalie, even though she wasn't her biggest fan. She wondered if they were still out there playing baseball together -

Venom's voice broke through her reverie, and she nodded her head, moving towards where he had instructed her to go. The mention of her weapon caused her to look down at it, and she nodded her head, lifting the blade up so she could ever so gently touch the tip of it, testing the sharpness.

She could do this. ... Right?

However, a realization struck her. They were rebels. Rebelling against them. Did they think they were a part of the military?

... And if so, didn't that mean they were really on the same side?

Bella's shoulders fell as she deflated after having prepped herself for what was potentially going to happen. However, she quickly perked herself back up, having not wanting Edward or Venom to see her mind getting the best of her. She could do this. If she didn't she would be dead. If she didn't, Edward would step in, and he would get hurt, and that was the last thing she wanted.

"Are they coming this way?" she asked in a hushed voice, glad the mask covered move of her face so Edward couldn't see her worried frown.

If only he had the time to appreciate Venom's thoughts.

There had to be some sort of cosmic irony that was forcing Edward to use his century of baseball experience to kill humans who didn't deserve it. It was all very grossly distant. While drinking their blood, his kills had all been extremely personal. The bad side of being a vampire. He hadn't killed for fun; he would never know if these rebels deserved it, hearing no thoughts from their minds. They might as well have been machines to him.

Edward took each sphere as they appeared solid, rubbing his thumb over the strange there-not-there feel of each as he took his time aiming, pelting each rebel that escaped from their nest in a desperate run for the bottom level of their own.

"They're trying to come in here," he muttered after clocking two more, sending their unconscious - possibly dead - bodies to the crisp green coating the city. "I can't tell how close. There's a lot to keep track of. They have no organization. They scatter.

Just watch the door. I'll make sure none come in by this way."

Maybe it more simple for the assassin to thoughtlessly act against the people around them than it was for Edward and Bella, if only because he had more practice doing it. No matter what it was he had thought of Claire, he couldn't afford to think the same of these strangers. Causing her death succeeded to tear him apart--even now it was hard enough to push the guilt away--but being responsible for the deaths of the rebels? Even if they were technically on their side?

The very fact they had fired their weapons at them, two unarmed men and a teenage girl with a knife, without any hesitation showed their intent well enough. If they couldn't care to stop and ask what it was they were doing, Venom couldn't afford to care about offering them that courtesy either.

As Edward kept throwing the billiard balls, Venom kept creating them, his head lowered. It wasn't until the sound of something shuffling around the wall behind them that he raised his head again.

Someone was getting smart and trying to go around.

He briefly turned his eyes back to Bella, the only warning he could afford to give without giving away her location.

Bella remained behind the two men while Edward continued to chuck the glowing orbs that Venom kept producing at the rebels, her ears locked on everything around them as she tried to pinpoint where they were -

The shuffling sound of feet behind her came too soon, and before the teenager could do anything to prevent it (the look Venom gave her had been unnoticed in her concentration, sadly.) the door behind her was kicked open, and the teenager spun around, eyes wide and mouth agape as she watched the masked man lift up the gun he had been holding and point it right at her.

She couldn't move fast enough.

Bella jumped to the right just as the sound of the gun rang through the air, the sound of it ricocheting around the room covering up the sound of the mask cracking as the bullet skimmed against it, rendering the thing useless.

Falling to her knees, Bella lifted her hands up quickly to rip the destroyed mask off of her face, pressing her palms against her mouth and nose so she wouldn't even accidentally breathe in any of the gas, her mind a flurry with panic. She knew Edward still had his extra mask, thankfully, but she had no means of calling out for him. Sure, she could try and accidentally let the gas into her lungs. However, obviously that was not something she wanted to attempt.

Despite everything, she released her face with one hand, moving to grab for the knife she had dropped in favor of pulling the broken mask off, holding it in her hand tightly, watching the lone rebel move further into the room.

Edward was fast, but without anyone but Venom's thoughts to guide him he couldn't concentrate on everything. The front of the building was the most obvious entrance, and despite their fellows falling at a rapid pace, the rebels seemed intent on pushing on through sheer force of numbers. Of course they would try to move to the back, but the vampire was hoping he would have been able to pick up on it before it happened. Even now he relied too much on telepathy; it was a dependence that had almost a century behind it.

The crack of the mask echoed against his ears. He dropped the newest sphere he was holding and turned. When he turned, it took only one second for his face to change from pure worry into something that was very much not human at all.

Edward snarled, his lip rising high over his teeth, curling back. He hit the man who had entered the door like the cougars he was known for hunting, throwing him back against his back and ripping his mask off his face. The man struggled, but Edward could hardly tell. There was no restraint left in his body - he had put so much effort into being human and controlling his thirst. Once someone attempted to harm Bella, he lost all rationality. He went to that deeper, predatory place, and he was not Edward anymore.

The struggling heightened the excitement, sending the man's heart being a rapid run, trying to get away from him. He hit Edward in the face with a wayward fist, so Edward caught his arm the second time he tried, pulling right under where arm met shoulder. Skin tore like wet paper, bones cracked and screamed, though not as loud as the rebel. Soon the arm was only a hunk of meat, disconnected from the body.

To silence him - or in his desperation to feed - the vampire tore the man's throat out with his naked, sharpened teeth. Blood splashed hotly on the rotting floor of the building, trickling in the grooves well-worn into the wood. The air was still cold and crisp, chilling the blood in only moments. What still pumped into Edward's mouth was blisteringly hot to his cold, undernourished skin.

In the midst of his attack, he could not remember why he hated this dying slab of meat. There was only the kill and the thirst.

Somehow, he knew that wayward glance wouldn't be enough. It never was.

What happened in the next few seconds was almost too fast to comprehend. The teenager failed to do her job, a bullet rang out, and Edward ceased to be at his side. Bella's mask was gone and Venom pushed away from the window, his fingers snatching the mask Edward had left behind and legs forcing him to move toward the girl. There was a snarl behind his back, but his attention was more on quickly pressing the new mask against the girl's face. He moved his left hand to her right, trying to get her to put it on herself while he worked with the straps in the back. "Don't panic," he said again. Don't panic, Bella.

He shouldn't have told her to attack. He knew he couldn't count on her, not some untrained walking disaster. He knew she would only get herself hurt. He knew that.

He kept his eyes on Bella, trying to ignore the screams and breaking bone loudly echoing behind him and the violent twisting in his stomach that came with it. From what he had seen before, Edward could handle that.

Don't panic. Oh, she had heard that before. Of course, like an anti-luck charm, the moment Venom said it, panic did, indeed, flow through Bella's veins - but not for herself.

With the mask now on her face (she had lifted her hand like Venom had tried to get her to do, securing the hideous thing on her face.) the teenager took in a deep breath, coughing as the oxygen set into her lungs once again, that burning feeling escaping her chest as the sounds of screaming and bones cracking filled the air. Instantly, Bella looked up, eyes widening as she watched Edward completely ... well, murder the masked rebel that had tried to shoot her in the head.

She had seen him like that previously - when he had been stabbed by that unknown man, and she had tackled him to the ground. Edward had always told her she would never see him like that, but what he refused to remember was that sooner than later? She would be the same. Did he forget that once she turned, she'd have to hunt?

She wasn't afraid. It prepared her.

Her mental process was stopped when suddenly another rebel entered the room, instantly turning to see Edward destroying the man, and he lifted his gun, aiming it towards Edward's head -

Bella's body moved on her own accord. One minute she was kneeling on the floor next to Venom, and the next she was up, running across the room, the knife still in her hand. Even though she knew the gun couldn't actually hurt him (in the form he was currently in, anyway.), she still moved, reaching out to stab the knife into the man's ribcage.

The blade slid into him like butter, and when he suddenly let out a cry, the teenager's eyes widened, and she pulled the blade out of the rebel's body, hearing it clang to the floor moments later.

Bella looked down at the blood on her hands as the rebel fell to the floor in front of her, her mind lost.

With the body he was on top of already well past the dying stage, a new, fresher body was what he wanted. Despite the fact his body could only take in so much blood at once, there was no way to ever be sated. Edward had not exaggerated when he had described the smell of blood in the air turning them into sharks. It was the best predatory analogy he had at the time, and it rang true.

He moved off of the dead man onto the dying one, tearing his throat open as well. He placed a palm over the man's chest and pushed him down with enough force to crack ribs. There was too much blood - in his mouth, on his face, in the air. He rolled under the heady waves of it and scrambled away from both bodies, forcing himself to remember there were two other beating hearts in the room and he could not hurt either of them.

Except when he looked up at them, he saw two more meals, waiting for him to move onto them next. They were so incredibly slow to his senses, it would hardly take effort. Edward was self-indulgent by nature; pulling away from them back into himself, back away from feeding, was what was so hard. He shied away from difficulty if he could. Not now.

Bella. He hung onto the word in the man's mind. The man. Venom. He was not an animal. He was not.

He couldn't be here anymore or he wasn't going to have enough self-control to let them live. Edward was by the vials they had dropped in an instance, picking up two. While he didn't lift his gaze from the delicate glass in his hands, his words were obviously for Venom. They were wet with a mouth still dripping blood, but he needed to say them. Important. They were important.

"Keep her safe."

And he was out, falling from the cracked hole in the front of the building, following trails of gas, not blood.

Bella had moved too fast for the assassin to latch onto her, every single part of his brain too busy screaming along with the dying man behind him to tell his hand to pull her back. As selfish as it was, he let her go--he didn't want to turn around and chase after her. He didn't have to turn around to know what was behind his back. He didn't need to see it to picture the vampire literally ripping the rebel into pieces like he had with Venom the night they met. It wasn't until a second cry hit the air that Venom's body reacted against the better wishes of his mind. He bolted upright and stood, turning toward--

...

Oh my god.

Repulsion hit him like a sledgehammer to his chest and it felt like the air had been sucked from his lungs if only for the reason that, for a split-second, they'd simply forgotten how to breathe. The tinge in his stomach, the one he'd tried to ignore, kicked back harder and it took all of his strength not to vomit at what was in front of him. Blood was everywhere. Sprayed onto the decayed walls, smeared onto the broken tiles, drenched onto the vampi--

Oh god. oh god oh god oh god

Instantly, his mind flashed to the events of last night and it was only the smallest of comforts that while Ms. Littleton's blood was on his hands, he hadn't ripped her arm off-- oh god the way the muscle had been stretched from the bone, like the skin had exploded--

I'm going to be sick. Oh god I'm going to be sick.

Edward's words managed to break the assassin out of the shock he hadn't meant to go into, just in time to watch the other man take off. When Venom finally moved, it was toward the remaining empty vial. Yes. Their mission. They had to complete this. They had to get this done and that was all there was to it. Ignore this mess. For the sake of the mission, ignore it. This is only a job. After the glass was plucked from the ground, the assassin removed the lid, let the air seep into it, then placed it back into the given bag. He then stepped toward the teenager--not the mess, don't look at it.

And stopped. Without a word or a glance at the floor below, he reached down and pried a fallen weapon out of one of the corpses' fingers. He wasn't sure how much he needed the gun. "Are you alright?" he asked as he stood. It appeared the rest of the rebels had fled once they saw what became of their comrades, but for the sake of their own protection he would take it.

Venom's revulsion followed him from the building, the mental disgust behind him slowly getting softer and softer until it faded completely, like the dial of a radio gradually being turned down.

Edward ran. Running was a release; there was no enjoyment here for it, but it was an escape. He could put distance between himself and the bodies and Bella and Venom, everything that had turned into meat to him instead of people. He ran like the vampire he was, heedless of speed and space, dodging and skirting buildings and cracked pavement and potholes punched into the uneven street. The cool air dried the blood on his face and his clothing, turning the collar of his shirt stiff and uncomfortable. He ripped it off, letting the slice of cloth float to the crisp grass behind him.

The only thing he was gentle with were the two glass vials in his hand. He hit the ground like an animal running for its life, breathing deep, tuning his senses to the gas, letting all of his focus drift on following trails where it came through the weakest. Occasionally he would skirt too close to a building - some outpost or another - and bullets would ring out, slamming themselves into the road behind him. Far too slow. Humans had reflexes that could never compare to his own. Sometimes he smelled them while they never saw him.

Just as well. He wasn't going near any of the rebels. He was not killing anyone else today.

His throat felt like it was beating out of mere want, but he did not break. Edward followed the closest trail, standing stone-still for one short, cold moment to fill the vial with clean air. The map still memorized in his head, he could easily stalk through the roads, following street names all curiously familiar, pinpointing the two locations that had been specifically marked. The goal was to fill the vials with the opposite gas content of what the location contained, if only to create mere confusion. Anything to keep the military from getting exactly what they wanted.

Gaseous, the second marked spot. Good.

Edward ran again. He concentrated on the movements of his long-dead muscles, putting no effort into breathing until he was well on his way to the third. He could count on Venom to keep Bella safe, especially with the power he had now. He had to rely on him. Edward had no other choice, and Venom had more than adequately kept her safe. Better a job than he did himself -

The third marked area was dead, grass turned a mushy, bark-brown. There was no gas here from what he could tell, though he had passed a few expansive grates where the white clouds puffed out intermittently. He backtracked, returning to one to fill the third vial.

Why would Aguilar want to test the air quality of this dilapidated place? It was in such poor condition that it would make an inadequate base. Too much work would have to be put into repairing, to create a working environment for an army. Was it a strategic location, this town? Why was it completely devoid of everything?

Ultimately, the answers didn't matter to the vampire. As long as he could sabotage the results the military desired, he felt his job was done. With the third vial filled, Edward sat to rest. He didn't need it, but he couldn't return to his companions. Not now. Not ever, his mind added.

He would wait until he awoke. That's all he could do.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Night 58: Mission #4 [Edward Cullen, Bella Swan and Venom]

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