ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT.

1777, JULY 27th, WEDNESDAY 10:00 am.

Noche was still dripping sand as she, June, and Dharma marched their way back to the VPD. Behind them was a squad of police officers escorting prison trucks back to headquarters. Inside were all the criminals they took hostage, which to Noche was a surprising number. She expected more people to die, but Dharma's plan went off flawlessly.

"I can't wait to bring down Raptorman," the blonde said. "I've really started to hate the bastard. Especially after seeing that little girl. To think a child had suffered like that because of the lizard king's freedom. Her fate was completely preventable... It's all his fault."

"I know exactly how you feel. We're going to bring him down," Dharma patted Noche on the shoulder. "Once I publish my findings, it'll be the perfect time to attack."

"How long will it take?"

"Not long. Probably only a few days."

"This is going to stir up quite the storm," June said. "We collect so much evidence. Recordings, paper trails, eyewitnesses, and even the criminals themselves. A human trafficking organization of this size has never been caught in MoveCity before. When people see the condition these kids have been kept in, there will be riots at Raptorman's front door."

"As a self-proclaimed super-hero, it's going to be a mighty emotional blow to his psyche," Dharma said. "I don't think he'll quit his position, but I doubt he'll be able to fight back."

"If he does, I'll be the one to take him down," Noche said. "I haven't gone all out yet... Its time I stop holding back."

The three approached the front entrance of the VPD and its door was flung open. Kat sprinted out with all her might and threw herself onto June.

"June! You forgot your daily dose of vitamin hug!"

Meanwhile, at the exact same moment, only a few hundred feet away, a man with a realistic heart mask adjusted a scope aimed at the group's direction. A strand of his silver hair fell to the side as he took in a deep breath and held it. His pointer finger, with its additional knuckle joint, made its way to the trigger.

"The greater good can only arisssse from the asssshess of a necesssssary evil," Silver Silence said. "Thank you for thissss opportunity, Edward."

He pulled the trigger – Noche reacted the moment the sound reached her ears and created a telekinetic barrier of wind, but the bullet was faster. Her gold eyes went wide when Kat was launched like a bean bag to the ground from June's embrace.

"Kat! KAT!" June yelled.

Lightning covered Noche's entire body as she scanned the environment – there was too much chaos, too much noise. She couldn't pinpoint the sniper. If she had even an inkling of where they were she could teleport to them instantly and kill them.

"Medic! We need a medic! Now!" June shouted.

"Code red! Code red!" Dharma yelled into a radio. "The VPD is under attack!"

The next few minutes passed by in a blur, yet Noche was alert the entire time. It seemed like the attacker was a one-and-done. A pair of medical personals came by, grabbed Kat, and everyone headed inside. In a matter of seconds, the VPD was on high alert.

Officers scanned every nook and cranny in a one-mile radius. There was no sign of the sniper and fortunately, Kat was still alive. The medics loaded her up in an ambulance; June and Noche refused to stay put. Both of them followed not only to make sure Kat was safe but to prevent a follow-up attack.

Everyone got to the hospital safely, but the next few moments were agonizingly slow. It was probably less than half an hour, but to Noche, it was an eternity. Finally, a middle-aged doctor came out and approached June.

"She's alive, but what struck her wasn't a bullet. It was a dart," he said. "It injected some kind of venom. We... Don't know what it is, but it's destroying her drive. The process turns the drive volatile and causes internal damage."

"Is she going to be ok?" June shouted.

"If it isn't treated quickly, she's not going to survive it. But we've never seen this sort of thing before. We don't have an antidote. As it stands, her odds of surviving are low."

"No, you have to save her! There must be something you can do!"

Noche took a step forward. "June—"

"— Don't! You have no idea how important she is to me," June snapped. "She is the most precious person in the universe! She's the only family I have left!"

The blonde met June's tear-filled gaze and there was sympathy in Noche's eyes. The kind that comes from losing the only family you had left. June's expression softened when she met those hurt golden irises.

"The assassin. He might have the anti-dote," Noche said. "We have to find him."

After a second's pause, June nodded. "Venom that destroys drive... That sounds like something the PLC would do. I've heard rumors of them hiding in MoveCity."

"The Planet Lance Cult? Here? Fuck, ok. That's a start."

"Where do we start looking?"

"Excuse me," a woman said. "Did I overhear you talking about the PLC?"

Both girls turned to the newcomer.

"Yeah?" Noche said.

"I've seen some of them enter an abandoned building near the giant TV in the center of the city."

"How do you know they're PLC?"

"I... I used to be a part of them before I got infected with Drive. My whole family was zealous for the PLC, so I didn't really have a choice but to join," she said. "When I got to the Cross Continent, the PLC wanted me to continue to work for them. I turned them down when I saw how... extreme they were. Now that my family doesn't talk to me, I have no reason to stay with them."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Noche said. "So this abandoned building was near the giant TV?"

"That's right."

Noche turned to June. "Sounds like we got a pretty decent place to check out."

"We have to hurry! We don't know how much time Kat has left."

The blonde nodded, then turned back to the stranger. "Thank you so much. You may have saved a little girl's life."

With those words, both Noche and June ran out of the hospital. The woman stood there for a moment, then a wicked grin split her face. Bones shifted under flesh as her face changed from feminine to masculine. She became a he as he grew a couple of inches taller, his hair turned white, and his pointer fingers grew an extra knuckle. When the shape-shifting was done, he pulled out a mask.

Silver Silence put his realistic heart mask back on his face.

"I love being DeathTech's newest Vulture."