It's Raining Men! Wait...

[doctorzero]

"Has he said anything yet?"

Evan grunted as he looked through the one way window into the room. The young man from earlier was lying on the cot inside. "Not a thing. No name, where he's from, he hasn't said a single word since we brought him in. As if we needed something else to worry about..."

It had been a couple of hours since the stranger had entered the building. After Evan had disarmed him he was brought into the clinic to see if he needed any treatment for his injuries. While he was fine on arrival...

"According to the nurse he shows signs of medical treatment. Recent, too," Miranda added.

"Lemme, guess, magical?"

"Looks like it. And it's not for a scratch--this kid's gone through enough physical trauma to kill a normal man several times over." Miranda shook her head. "You said he didn't give a name?"

"Well, it might be a name, but it sounds more like an alias. He said he was 'Doc Zero' or something."

Miranda looked at him sharply. "Zero?"

"I know what you're thinking, Miranda," Evan said to her, "but let's not jump to conclusions. We need to make sure what we're dealing with first. For all we know he probably has nothing to do with Ralsis."

Miranda snorted, but said nothing else. A few moments passed.

"I saw his eyes," Evan said softly. "This kid...he's broken."

[ryocker]

"Alternate reality duplicate?"

"I've been aware of her existence for a few dozen decades by now."

"And you came to the scene of that crime because...?"

"Her aura is ridiculously easy to track. It's like telling a dog to track down a dumpster in a floral garden. But a lot more rank."

"Alright, this one's been on my mind since that transmission earlier." One of the soldiers said, raising his hand toward the pint sized sorceress before him.

The tiny red-head raised an eyebrow. "And that would beee...?"

"Her boobs. There's no way those things are-"

His question was interupted by a buzz and a smack, being executed by a materialized hand crafted by Namia. "Fortunately for your curiousity, they are real," she answered, waving her hair back. "And I'm very proud of my figure, thank you." Without warning, her arms were above her head and she was winking at them, getting a light chuckle from the crowd.

"Kinda hard to believe this kid's actually ancient," another of the soldiers whispered, his friend nodding.

"Alright, I think I'm done with the more important questions," the mini magician yawned, stretching a little. "Are there any other questions you'd prefer to ask?"

All of this was going on just outside the medical bay, with Victor keeping a close eye on his sister as she slept. "She'll be fine, Mr. Victor," the doctor assured him, rubbing one of his massive fore-arms. "She just needs rest, then she'll be good to go." Although she couldn't understand Victor's growls, she did have an idea of what he said. "You're welcome. Now try not to get in any more trouble, alright?"

With a firm nod, he watched the woman exit the doors, leaving him alone with his sleeping, and sparking adoptive sister. Strangely, this pleased him enough.

[doctorzero]

"Broken?"

Evan nodded. "Soon as I saw his eyes. I've seen it a million times--whatever this kid's been through, he's shattered, mentally speaking. Might explain why he's barely said anything."

There was no response.

"Miranda, are you even listening to--" As soon as Evan turned to look at her, the problem was made apparent.

She wasn't there.

---

Doc made no move to react as Miranda entered the room. Nor did he when she walked over, took the chair that was next to the bedside table, and sat down.

"Hey there," she said.

No response whatsoever, unless a blink counted.

"I thought I'd come and talk to you, see how you were doing," Miranda continued. "I don't suppose you'd mind if I asked a few questions?"

Still nothing. This was becoming uncomfortable. Miranda was no psychologist--this was going to be difficult.

"Can you tell me what your name is?"

Blink. But still no response. Miranda leaned in to see if he was breathing, only for him to shift onto his side away from her.

Well, at least he did SOMETHING, even if he doesn't seem to want to talk to me, Miranda thought. "Listen, I'm sorry, but I'd like to help you."

"That's what he said."

FINALLY, words. Miranda latched onto the sentence like a fish on a hook. "That's what who said?"

Doc didn't respond. "Can you give me a name, at least?" Miranda pressed.

"Mortalitas," he said quietly.

"Sounds Latin."

"I know."

There was a few seconds of silence as Miranda considered her next words. "What brought you to this place?"

"Solum told me."

"And who's that?"

"He helped me."

"How?"

"He healed me. Said that I was injuried. To the point where I should've died several times over."

Well, THAT was a mood whiplash.

Doc pointed at a clipboard on the bedside table without turning to face her. "The doctor wrote down what they were on that."

"You talked to her?" Miranda asked, reaching for the clipboard.

"No. Think she scanned me with something. She noticed that someone healed me. Dunno how."

Figures she'd use that old device-- Miranda's thoughts ground to a halt as she saw the list.


2 shattered femurs (Mended)
1 broken arm (Mended)
Several ruptured organs (Mended)
Heart failure (Mended--treatment unknown)
Cracked skull (Mended)
7 broken ribs (Replaced)
Catastrophic blood loss (Replaced)
Countless lacerations (Mended)
3rd degree burns (Mended)
Several torn muscles in the arms, abdomen, legs and various other places (Mended)
8 broken fingerbones, 1 ground into powder (Mended/Replaced)
Several missing teeth (regrown or replaced)

Miranda slowly looked away from the clipboard to look at Doc. "...that's quite impressive," she admitted.

How the HECK is this kid not dead?! she thought. Either he's immortal or even more resilient than Evan is. More importantly, though--who or what in creation did this to him?

---

One hand was raised. "I've got a question, kid."

Wilhelm, much to some of the agent's ire, had decided not to leave yet for whatever reason and had been leaning against the wall listening to them chat with Namia. So far he hadn't said a word until that moment.

"First time I saw that Aiman broad, she looked like your age. Well, comparat--you know what I mean. Anyway, now she's apparently Jessica Rabbit all of a sudden. Care to explain that one? And DON'T say it was--"

"One of our experts said it was magic," said Cathy, CRL Agent.

Wilhelm threw up his hands in annoyance. "Well, to hell with your experts!"

"Been there, it was boring," said The Amazing Rando, the expert in question.

"I didn't mea--I'm asking HER, not you!"

[ryocker]

"Not always the case." she answered, wiggling a finger.

"And just why would you say that?" Another of the group asked.

Namia adjusted her hair again. "Neither me nor Aiman can shapeshift of our own will- we need help from an aging formula- a liquid, a cell generator, a potion, if you will."

Bits of chatter went on as Namia continued her explanation. "We've come close to death once before- We've altered our paths and rearanged our destinies on one fateful night," she continued, a small tear welling up in her eye. "I'd rather... not go into the finer details."

A tap on the medical glass got everyone's attention- it was Victor. "I take it you have a question too?" she asked, surprised he could hear them from behind the glass. Almost amazingly, he signed to her again. A careful glare at his hands gave her- and a few of the CRL operatives an idea of his question. "...No, I haven't noticed anything odd, why?" she asked, watching him stare upward- no at the ceiling, but somewhere else.

Namia's gaze eased upwards. "...what could he be looking at...?" she asked herself.

[doctorzero]

Nearly everyone looked up at the ceiling. "Something going on upstairs?"

"If it was an emergency, the guys up there would've called. Or we would be hearing mayhem, you know how that happens."

"Maybe he's actually pointing at the Orbital Lab?"

"In which case I suggest we go see if it's raining men agai--"

The Amazing Rando didn't finish his sentence before the loudspeakers came to life.



IT'S RAINING MEN~!

HALLELUJAH

IT'S RAINING MEN--

Sudden gunfire promptly put an end to the impromptu gospel number. Wilhelm lowered the rifle. "I'd ask why that happened, but the response would probably raise more questions than answers."

"Well, would you look at that, lads, he's learning," Malory proclaimed.

Wilhelm ignored the jab. At that moment, Evan came in, disgruntled. "Any reason why I just heard that song we only play during air raids?"

Everyone pointed at Victor.

"Tells me NOTHING, but fine. What's the problem?" The question was directed at Victor.

"He thinks something's up, Captain," Cathy explained. "Pun unintended, by the way, so zip it." Several agents preparing to reprimand her promptly sat back down.

[ryocker]

A deep, pulsing Snarl could be heard by anyone listening. Taking his enourmous hands back up, he began to sign again, Namia translating: "It's probably my senses acting up, being designed as a guard dog, but i'm certain there's someone falling directly overhead- someone battered, I think he has wings and smells..." Namia hesitated on that last one.

Acting like a kid, she smooshed her head against the glass. "How can something smell like it's 'dark?!'" she asked.

Well how can magic have a smell in the first place? he signed to her, making her pout for a second. "I'm NOT translating that." Turning around, the thought suddenly came to her. "Wait- Beaten, wings, darkness..."

The image of Ralsis's prisoner suddenly came into her mind. Someone who looked like pit, but was darker.

"Ralsis's prisoner! Evan, he's falling right above us! Falling straight from-" she froze. "...my stars- He'll be killed!" Not wasting another moment, she hustled toward the door, Victor watching her. The big lug eyed his sister a moment, before blowing her a light kiss, getting up and squeezing through the door, charging after Namia.

He didn't know why, but he felt he needed to be there when he landed.

[doctorzero]

Time was not wasted.

“Cathy, tell Miranda what's happening, you three, check with the guys in Survelliance, I want to make sure it's only the angel that's falling, got it?!” Evan commanded. “Rando, Cathy, you're with me, the rest of you—hell, you know what to do, we've rehearsed this.”

“Rehearsed?” Wilhelm repeated in disbelief.

“This sort of thing happens more often than it should,” Cathy replied.

Do NOT ask... "And the ape?"

"If by that you mean Victor," Evan replied as he ran for the door after the creature in question and Namia, "then he might want to be useful."

[ryocker]

When a snort sounded down the hall, an almost appropriate reaction came from Namia. "I don't know what you said, but he heard that!"

Skipping ahead a few pegs, Namia skidded out the doors, Victor awkwardly pushing through the doors. Not surprisingly, she tapped her eyes and looked above the building, telescopic vision active. "... yeah, that's our Angel," she told Evan. "From that height, he's almost guaranteed an instant death."

Although it seemed Victor wanted to get serious, he was a bit more concerned with the public eye walking around- giving them all the Evil eye. "My elemental skills aren't bad- I could try something like a wind blast to slow his decent a little bit," the pint sized sorceress suggested. "but I'm not promising anything- wind isn't really my forte."

Expectedly, Namia's fingers were already shouded by swirling wind, ready to fire when ready.

[doctorzero]

Evan skidded to a halt once he was outside and looked up, taking the pair of binoculars that Cathy was handing to him. “I don't see—no...wait...there he is.”

It was EXTREMELY hard to see, but the tiny black speck was definitely Dark Pit. Whether or not he was still alive was a different matter.

“So what's the plan?” Wilhelm asked, pointedly ignoring the glares from the bystanders.

“Slowing his descent would be a good start,” said Evan. “If it weren't for this island's physics we could just put a trampoline underneath him and let that take care of it. Otherwise he'd just burst into a million pieces on impact.”

Wilhelm grimaced. “Thanks for the mental image...”

“I am to please. Anyway, Namia's idea has merit, but I'm afraid that it would halt his descent too quickly—that could probably kill him too. Seriously, what did they do, throw him out the airlock?!”

“Ralsis probably doesn't know what 'hostage' means.” Wilhelm gestured to Namia. “Whatever it is you're going to do, do it now, kid.”

Rando glared at him. “Hey, who's in charge here?”

“One plan is better than none, pal.”

[ryocker]

With but a swipe of her fingers and a twist of her arm, Namia crafted what appeared to be a net of wind. Focusing it, a light breeze began to flow upward- and then flew skyward, a wave at first striking Dark Pit to lessen his dropping speed. The next wave was enough to slow his decent, but not so much he was safe game.

"Great," she said, hardly panting. "I can't adjust my power anymore than I already have! This is as strong as it's getting without blowing someone's head clean off!" When Victor grumbled and bent forward, he got a flat whistle in his ear. "He's slowing down, but if you charge up and catch him he might get a more serious injury then he already has!"

Unbeknownst to the group, two pairs of light green eyes were staring from behing a building, observing their action. "Ya think we gotsta help'em?" the smaller one asked her bigger counterpart.

She shook her head, eyes still trained on the girl. "Not yet. We're not to act until we're needed, you know that, Jingle."

"Yes, but-!" she started, but soon fluttered down. "I dun like this at all..."

[doctorzero]

“I am only going to say this once...even with your current equipment, a sustained battle with him is not a good idea. Don't try to kill him—you can do away with the others, I don't care about them, but Carmichael is mine, understand? Leave him alive.”

---

Some of the magic-oriented agents like The Amazing Rando were assisting Namia in trying to slow Dark Pit's descent, though honestly they weren't having much success.

“Dammit, Carmichael, you people have better success than this, is this seriously your best idea?!” Wilhelm ranted.

Evan ignored him completely as he continued to look through the binoculars at DP. The angel was definitely going slower, but at the rate he was falling, the impact would still be enough to seriously injure him if not kill him outright.

Damned island...if we were anywhere else we'd have the kid down here safe and sound by now, he thought to himself.

"Dammit, Evan, don't ignore--"

"Did you already forget Zero?" Evan asked.

That was enough to shut Wilhelm up.

[ryocker]

A familiar glint of Brown hair shuffled at his words. "Understood, sir." she grinned.
~

As the group continued on- Namia thankful she didn't have to strain herself nearly as much- the two in thw alley continued on with bated breath, but in short, their conversation was mostly akin to this:

"Are ya ready yet?"

"No."

"How 'bout now?"

"No."

"I think dey need us-"

"Not yet."

"C'mon, they need us!"

"Hush, Jingle."

"But we gotta-"

Swept up by a sudden airwave, Jingle was tossed out of the Alley, her boss flying straight for Dark Pit. After passing the group and making a loop-de-loop toward the fallen angel (Hurr hurr), the Sprite successfully managed to grab him by the ankles- and tried her darndest to slow him down that way.

Namia almost twitched. "What the bloody 'ell...?" she said under her breath, her original accent slipping out.

Back above ground, Fennel's wings were practically vibrating- she wasn't used to lugging such a weight, or someone going that fast. Meanwhile, Jingle had caught up, waving a pair of little flags all around the dropping Midlun, not doing anything to help. "Go go go! Yay yay yay! C'mon, Fennel! Save the day!" she chanted, gleefully cheerleading.

Even with the air waves slowing his descent, this isn't nearly enough! she thought, straining herself a bit. I'd have to have a parachute or something trapping that air if I really want to- Her eyes glistened. "I'm never doing this in public agaaaaiiin-!"

Her mouth wide open, Fennel began sucking in absurd amounts of air- enough to render her a balloon, her wings and the gust still keeping her going the other way. In only ten seconds, Fennel had successfully done what the others tried- slowing Dark pit down to a light still. "I... hate... Bloating...!" the puffy Sprite choked out. "Are we... slow enough...?"

"Yup!" Jingle excitedly answered. "You can let it go now-eeeeeEEEEEHHHH~!" Possibly as revenge for not helping out in any way, Fennel's Gust had blown Jingle plumb out of view- While fennel herself sped up for a decent dessent, watching the others prepare some kind of landing.

"My stars," Namia whispered. "What is that and why did it assist us?"

[doctorzero]

The sight of Fennel caused most of the agents present to reach for their weapons. “Stand down, people!” Evan yelled, keeping his eyes on Fennel. “Looks like they're trying to help.”

“Oddly convenient,” Wilhelm pointed out.

Evan ignored him as he approached Fennel's landing spot, with several agents following. “Come on people, let's give her a hand, nice and easy. Someone grab a stretcher, the angel's knocked out cold.”

It took a minute, but Fennel and Dark Pit were eventually safely brought down to a landing. As the unconcious angel was lifted onto a stretcher, Evan took out his ID badge and showed it to Fennel. “Evan Carmichael, Crystal Room Limited Agent. Who are you and why did you assist us?”

Meanwhile, Wilhelm and Namia had gone up to Dark Pit as he was being carried to the CRL building. Wilhelm gave a low whistle. “Guess they didn't have any hospitality up there, huh?” He winced a little as his gaze passed over DP's wings. “Damn, what the hell were they doing to him up there?”

[ryocker]

Watching Dark Pit get toed away, Fennel glanced at his badge- from quite the distance considering she's three feet tall. Shae softly slapped the gem on her collar, it glowing with an odd, club shape inside of it. "My name is Fennel," she began. "I am a servant of the guardian of Aerlos, which is currently the Wind Spirit Winris. And this is Jingle."

As if on cue, the tiny assistant to Fennel began to spin into view, obviously a bit dizzy from her sudden blow away. As soon as she landed on Fennel's head, she collapsed, moaning. "That's meeeeeee..." Jingle groaned, Fennel sighing.

Closer to Pit's location, Namia was cringing about as bad as Wilhem. "Ugh, hopefully he wasn't trying to start a barbeque. Not even I would want a taste of those wings, and I'm a consumer of the exotic- Hm?"

Victor was snarling again, anticipating something's arrival. This time, Namia felt it, too. "It's just one cataclysm after another with this island..."

[doctorzero]

Evan treated the sight of the dizzy Jingle with the air of someone long used to such things. "Pleasure to meet you, miss Fennel," he replied, "but that doesn't explain why you--"

"Uh, Evan?"

Evan turned. "Yes, Wilhelm?"

Wilhelm wordlessly pointed up. Evan's gaze followed the direction of his finger to see what the problem was.

It didn't take long.

"Fennel, take your friend and get inside the building," he said quickly. "No arguments!"