Slice of Life

The next thing Jackie knew she was on the ground with Kayley on top of her and that made her blush a deep red, she wasn't sure why she was so nervous but her mind was quickly pulled back when Gem flew up and fired at another guy. Jackie rolled over and stood up on her own and stood next to Kayley. She nodded in agreement as the two walked off to find the boy who was in all of her classes. She heard the voice of the men over the intercom and she started to shake. The ice took over her body once more but it was just a protective layer of ice.

"I'm scared. I'm so scared Kayley." The girl spoke quietly as they walked. "I don't want to die. I don't want you to die. I don't want to be alone again. I never want to be without you." She spoke as tears fell from her eyes. She knew it wasn't time to do that but Jackie was emotional when it came to personal feelings. Her powers were connected to her emotions and her emotions to her powers, both a curse and a gift.

The two then came up to see the two boys fighting. Jackie wiped away her ice cold tears and watched them.

Shaking his head slightly, the boy replied to Kayley's question. "I do not believe so. We should move forward, though. Neither one of you will die tonight but I do not wish to drag you further into the mess I have caused. Kayley, Jackie, Brad.... I request that you retreat." Giving a flick to the blades, the blood made a splattered line on the ground as it was flung from the weapons. Waiting for their reply, Blake gave a quick search of the guards. However, on one of them, he found a grenade. While not his favorite form of bomb, knowing the situation they were now facing, it might come in handy. Taking it off the fallen soldier, the teen attached it to his belt before standing back up. Giving a slight nod to the trio, he spoke in a calm, yet confident tone, "You will survive this. None of you will die tonight. Right now, they do not know our exact location. The announcement must have come from the office." pointing up at the ceiling, he continued, "I can sneak in through the vents." Sprinting at the wall, the boy jumped and kicked off, phasing through the roof tiles before disappearing into the air ducts.

Staring for a few seconds, half expecting the ninja to return, the sports jockey finally mumbled, "If I had that power, I'd totally sneak into the girl's locker room." Poking his head back through the roof, Blake scowled at the larger boy, "Perhaps it is best you do not have it then." The comment of using powers for evil never settled well with Phantom. Those that abused their abilities for personal gain over grief of others irked him.

Having been used to using the ducts as inserts for buildings, he was used to crawling and tight spaces, that didn't, however, mean he enjoyed it, especially since his civilian clothes were not as practical. Nearing a vent opening, he peered down below to find several of the soldiers planning an attack. Studying the plan, he tried to find out where his target was. Throughout his several missions, his commander would always post himself in the location with the lowest threat. There was supposedly a team stationed out near the flag pole. It was in the open and away from any immediate obstacles, which meant that Blake wouldn't be able to dodge the bullets as easily.

Continuing his army crawl without making any noise, Phantom knew his target and his destination. His biggest concern now, was the others remained alive.

Frost Flower
Gemstone

Gemstone shook her head. "They're after her, I promised I'd do all I can to keep her safe. I'm in this whether I like it or not," Kayley explained.

She might as well be talking to the air, as Blake gave them no time to answer as he was clearly not listening when he climbed up to the vents, and Brad made some comment that caused the teen superhero to look over at him and sigh a bit after Blake popped back in and made his own retort before disappearing again.

"It was a joke. Sorry. Bad time," the athlete muttered with an eyeroll as he complied and took up the fallen gun, causing Gemstone's eyes to widen.

"Dude... a gun?" she asked.

"What? Dad's a cop and he takes me to the shooting range all the time after practice," Brad replied like it was the obvious answer, causing Kayley to raise an eyebrow... some people, you just never suspected. "So what's the plan?" he asked her.

"We keep Jackie safe. Any of those guys show up again, no holding back, 'cause they're not gonna hold back on us. We just ran into a mess of them earlier," Gemstone explained, hovering in the air, now.

"Damn, now I get why the guys on the team who don't think I know they're total Gensokyo Girl fanboys also have the biggest crush on you, Gemstone!" Brad replied, causing Kayley to blush hard behind her shades and look away.

"Ugh! Just... let's just deal with this! Do what I ask and I'll do an autograph session if we make it through this alright?!" she asked, red-faced and her ion aura flaring up as they took cover in case anyone busted through the door.

TAG Phantom Frost Flower

Millions of thoughts rushed through Jackie's head, this was all because of her. But she had to take a deep breath. She had to stay level if she was going to be of any help to anyone. "Um, we should probably go after um... Him." She spoke towards Gemstone and Brad. She was nervous that perhaps that wasn't the right idea but it was at least something. She then heard what she believed was a grenade and she gasped and started running that way without thinking. The boy was in trouble and it was Jackie's fault so she had to help him out. As Jackie made it to the place where the boy was she could see that he was hurt, She then saw the man pointing a gun at him.

"NO! IF YOU WANT SOMEONE YOU TAKE ME INSTEAD." She took a deep breath and took a good fighting stance. "But... I won't go easy on you." She spoke in a more calmer tone. "I am Jaqulyn Winters. I will not let you hurt my friends. I will be the hero I know I can be and you will stop fighting." Jackie then threw out an arm and an ice shard flew from her hand and the ice shard pierced the mans hand.

Gemstone and Phantom

Everything seemed to stand still for a few moments. He wasn't afraid of the bullet, nor the gun he was staring down. Rather, it was the scream of his commander that caught his attention. Then a drop landed on his cheek. It was warm and sticky, yet just a hint of cold as if it trickled down some ice. With his vision refocusing, he was able to make out a shard piercing the man's hand and locking up his finger, preventing the soldier from pulling the trigger. As if to send the message home, plasma blasts began raining down like a shower, cutting off any form of attack and taking out several of the grunts.

Although his muscles were tense and his stamina was drained, the ninja pulled himself back to his knee, then to his feet. His breath was ragged. Each movement made his muscles scream out of pain from the taze still affecting them. Telks was good at taking out the enemy and planning ahead. But, one of his biggest downfalls was failure to adapt to unforeseen circumstances. They knew the other two were in the building, but to assume that the trio would not only be together, but working together caught the platoon by surprise.

Finally up on his feet, the ninja took a few steps, then a jog, finally a sprint, aiming straight for his commander. Raising a knife, he flung it at the man, aiming directly between his eyes. However, right before it hit, there was a chiming ring, as if metal struck metal. The blade was gone and over the horizon, a helicopter could be seen. Blake would know that chopper from anywhere, he's ran into it multiple times.

"Captain Telks, by the order of the Black Mists, stand down!" a voice boomed through a megaphone. That voice, it was one that Blake heard only a few times before. When the aircraft landed, a woman stepped out. Just by her dress and poster, it was obvious she was not only someone with a lifetime experience in the military, but was someone that was very high up in the rankings.

"Captain Telks, from my understanding, you were to make this mission silent, hence the purpose of Agent Phantom going incognito."

"General, ma'am, we were going to plan until he decided to go rogue and join their side."

The woman gave an eye to Blake before looking towards the girls, giving them a harsh scowl. "Agent Phantom, report."

Blake instantly took an upright position. "Ma'am, with all due respect. My mission was to exterminate a hostile neo." Giving a slight look towards Jackie, he returned his gaze to the woman of authority. "The intel I was given does not match the situation I have experienced."

Glaring back at the two, General Swift approached them. "So, our assassin claims that the intel was wrong. Tell me, what are your names? and care to explain the situation from your view?"

Blake knew this tactic. It was a ruse, an attempt to gather any inconsistencies with the data from the source. She might've seen harsh at first, but once the boy really got to know her, the general was far more kind-hearted than one would expect.

Frost Flower
Gemstone