YOUNG ALICE.

1777, JULY 27th, WEDNESDAY 11:34 am.

Noche and June had searched over a dozen buildings before they found what they were looking for. Both girls stood above a reinforced cellar door. It was made of DriveMetal and would've been strong enough to stop even the mightiest create users. It did not stop Noche from ripping it off its hinges.

"I hope this isn't a wild goose chase," June said.

"It isn't. It can't be," Noche said. "The antidote has to be here."

They headed down and instead of taking the ladder, they both jumped. It was three seconds of falling about a hundred feet deep. Needless to say, it was no different than a little hop with both girl's augment. Before them was a thick vault door – Noche broke it open with a punch.

The duo stepped over the warped metal and explored the room inside. It was some sort of hallway filled with windows revealing various empty cells. Further in was another door that Noche ripped off its hinges. Inside was what could only be described as a science lab. A dozen tables full of paper, beakers, glass vials, and metal instruments.

However, it was the large vats of liquid with people floating inside them that caught their eyes the most. June approached one such vat and stared at the person inside.

"I recognize this person," she muttered.

She walked to another vat, then another, and another.

"These are all missing people that others filed police reports on."

Noche approached a desk and looked over the papers.

"I'm not a science buff, but these look like human experiments," the blonde said. "This one documents drive levels. As well as recovery rate and its gradual decrease."

June walked over and picked up a paper. After a moment of reading, she grabbed another and skimmed over it as well.

"Kat's poison came from here, without a doubt. This last page all but confirmed it. It's practically a report about the lethality of the drug on eliminating drive."

"Yo June! You'll never believe what I found."

She turned to the blonde standing next to a computer. It was unlocked.

"Someone forgot to log off," Noche said.

"No fucking way," June said.

"I mean, I get it. This place seems pretty hush-hush. People get lackadaisical, ya know."

"Lackadasical?"

"Lazy, whatever. Fuck you."

June approached the computer and went to the documents folder. She scanned the files for a few minutes before clicking on something.

"This is it. Data about an anti-drive serum. Wait a minute," she paused and continued to read. "This can't be right. Can it?"

"What? Let me see."

June pointed to a piece of text. "This. This is a record of Raptorman funding the PLC."

"What!"

"Just read it."

Noche did so and her eyebrows rose the further in she went.

"There's no way... Is this for real?"

"It's not a personal affidavit from the man himself, but it's a pretty damn incriminating piece of evidence. Records of multiple payments received from Raptorman to develop a weapon for revenge against Cross."

"I knew he hated the military, but I didn't think he'd go this far... To be honest, I'm kinda surprised."

June pressed some buttons and a moment later a printed whirred to life. Page after page spewed out of the machine and when it was done she grabbed the whole thing.

"We got to take this data to the doctors. It has all the information they need to develop an antidote," June said. "Afterwards, I think Dharma will appreciate a copy of these transcripts."

"And I thought the crime ring we busted would be big news. If word got out that Raptorman is funding a PLC bio-weapon that kills create users, then there'll for sure be riots."

"That's why we gotta give it to Dharma. She'll know how to leverage it best without causing too much chaos."

"Alright. Let's get out of here."

June nodded and they both darted back the way they came. When they were at the ladder, they turned back to look at the lab.

"Once we get the antidote to Kat, I'm going to come back and rescue anyone still alive."

"Sounds like a plan."

Theyboth jumped back to the surface.

Meanwhile, Alice stood across from a gunslinger. However, this Alice was a bit younger and her horns were short and stubby rather than long and sharp. She wore a khaki trench coat despite the heat and violet full-moon sunglasses. She threw a soda can into the air, drew a revolver, and fired six shots. Each bullet kept the can in the air and when it finally fell all six holes were in a straight line.

Her opponent did the same thing and Alice raised an eyebrow when his can had the same result. She created a coin, threw it a good twenty feet up into the air, and fired without looking up. When the coin landed back in her hand it had a perfect hole in its center. The gunslinger let out a tsk and did the same thing. He let out a breath of air.

They both turned away from each other, walked ten paces away, and then turned to face each other. The people on the street held their breath as a spectator approached. He looked from Alice to the gunslinger, before raising his hand.

"Draw!" He shouted while throwing his hand down.

Alice and the gunslinger fired at the same time – the bullets smashed into each other and fused into a metal slug. Both of them fired five more times and each shot ended in the same result. Twelve bullets fused into six lumps of metal. The gunslinger stared at them for a few seconds before raising his head to Alice.

"Alright – I surrender. You're better than me."

A little smirk grew on Alice's lips and she nodded. She walked over to the side of the street and picked up a wooden suit case with the words Fuck You engraved on a brass plaque. She walked away with a sway to her step, as if the whole world was a game for her to win.

She stopped when a familiar figure approached her. This version of Alice didn't know the woman personally, but from what she gathered about this timeline this woman was her boss. Alice stopped and faced Medusa.

"Alice, I have a mission for you. I've found Noche and she needs to be brought in. We don't have much time and you're the nearest skilled operative. Can you capture her?"

The violet-haired girl stopped and thought about it. She didn't know Noche well, not yet at least. All she knew was the blonde was a jerk and was very strong. If only it was her future self dealing with this situation. That Alice would have a better understanding of Noche's power. Still, she couldn't say no to her boss.

"I'll do my best," she said.

"Excellent," Medusa nodded. "You see that blimp? Head up there and you'll spot Noche near the giant TV. She'll be coming out of a building on the right."

Alice nodded and jumped towards the blimp. Mid-jump a burst of wind sent her flying towards her destination.

Medusa, meanwhile, walked back around the corner and into an alleyway. Her bones shifted, her face transformed, and her hair went white. Her pointer fingers each grew an extra knuckle and when the shape-shifting was complete the mask of a realistic heart was put on. Silver Silence pulled out a phone and dialed a number.

"Helloooo~" Edward said in a sing-song voice.

"It's Sil—Vulture," Silver said. "I planted the fake evidence of Raptorman paying the PLC to make the anti-drive venom. It was all too eassssy to break into the facility when I abssssorbed a ssscientist and assssimilated his knowledge. Then I lured Noche to the sssite. Just like you asssked."

"Excellent! Have you made sure she is pissed off?"

"Yessss. I shot a kid in front of her and that made her livid. Even tricked one of her companions into attacking her."

"Wonderful!"

"Ssssir, why doessss thissss Noche matter?"

"She might not seem like it, but she's a key player. As long as she's upset, she'll be distracted. We don't want her to notice our little plan. Besides, knowing her, the angrier she is the more likely she'll start a fight with the good ol mayor-king. Wouldn't it be nice if she took him out for us?"

"Noche can fight on par with Raptorman?"

"Oh no, no," Edward laughed. "She is stronger."

Sliver was silent for a bit.

"Now Vulture, I believe it's time for us to enact the next phase of our plan."

"Yesssss sssir. I'll make ssssure civil war breaks out today."

At the same time, a few blocks away, Noche and June had just exited the abandoned building. The later had created a briefcase to put the papers into. Both were making a mad dash through the plaza when Noche fell backwards to the ground. The blonde rolled around in the dirt as she clutched her torso – the air had been knocked out of her.

June had reacted the instant the gunshot was heard. She dropped the suitcase, pulled out her bow, and searched about – a moment later she was sent tumbling back as a trail of blood flew out of her shoulder. The crowd panicked and ran away from the duo; someone kicked the suitcase in the chaos.

Its lid snapped open and the papers were scattered about. Noche had recovered her breath just as the wind started to pick up and the documents floated into the air. For a brief instance, a flood of ants rushed through her veins. If they lost those papers Kat would die.

A tumbleweed appeared in her vision. One that was just at the tip of her fingers, but started to float away. Flying just beyond her grasp, high up into the sky. Fire exploded across her entire body – she would not let that happen again.

Noche used create to make a massive wind bubble and depressurize the air all around her. The papers dropped like dead weights to the ground as people started to choke while running.

"June! The papers!"

The VPD Lieutenant rolled to her feet and grabbed the papers. Noche released the air bubble, causing oxygen to flow back into the area, and in the same instant made a barrier of water around her and June. A bullet slammed into it, but the water was being held in place by powerful telekinetic force.

"I'll act as a distraction!" Noche shouted. "You take the papers and run!"

June nodded, ran the way they came, and created a telekinetic barrier around herself as she did. Noche dropped her water dome and when her companion had ran out of it she created a massive water wall.

The next bullet slammed into the blonde's forehead and everything went blurry. She maintained concentration on keeping the wall up, but for a moment she was seeing stars. She regained her vision to stare at her own shaking hands. A tumbleweed flashed before her eyes, just out of grasp.

"Even with all this power, I can still fail," she thought. "No. NO! I will not fail. I will not lose that tumbleweed again!"

Noche ran in the opposite direction of June. She reached a street where someone had created a giant chain the size of a semi-truck. She took cover behind it and scanned the rooftops for the sniper. A bullet struck her in the side of the head and Noche crumpled to the ground.

Whoever was shooting her was using a Grim gun for sure. A normal sniper round wouldn't have enough firepower to do this much damage to her. Not with her augment. It only took a second to regain her clarity, but it felt like an eternity when in combat.

"Calm down. Focus," she said to herself. "If I can't keep up with the speed of a bullet, how will I keep up with Raptorman. I need to spread out my drive like Vida does. Use it like a fishing net. Sense where that bullet is coming from."

The blonde closed her eyes and did that. There was a heartbeat where nothing happened. Then two, and three. Finally, it happened, she sensed the bullet a split second before it hit her. She saw it in her mind's eye as it flew towards her. There wasn't enough time to block or dodge it, but she was able to brace herself.

Another shot to the head. It stung like a bitch, but Noche was getting into her fighting mode. She could handle pain and this wasn't enough to kill her. Although, a few more hits to the head and she might black out. Unfortunately for her attacker, she now knew the direction these bullets were coming from.

She turned her head to the sky and searched. There, a glint of light in the distance, atop a blimp. Noche raised her left hand and charged a dead light cannon. A blue compass appeared around her wrist followed by a white ship wheel around her bicep. She fired and it rocketed towards the sniper.

A moment later the storm orb exploded and the top of the blimp exploded – the implosion sucked in a nearby helicopter and hot air balloon. Noche frowned at the collateral damage, but it was MoveCity so odds are everyone would be fine... Probably.

"Wait – if snipers were targeting me and June, what about Kat?"

Noche's blood went cold. She created a massive fog cloud around her and used Limbo to teleport back to the hospital. She dashed towards the window and pressed her back against the wall adjacent to it. Attempting to stay stealthy, she scanned out the window to see if there were any attackers lurking about.

Unable to detect anything she waited and stayed on guard. A few minutes later, June entered the hospital and ran for Kat's room. Noche stayed out of sight until it seemed reasonable for her to appear. She didn't want to let June or the VPD learn about her ability to teleport, so she had to make it seem like she ran here a few minutes after June.

Noche caught up to the lieutenant and found the doctor reading the papers. He was on the last page and nodding to himself.

"It might be possible," he said. "With our equipment, resources, and create, we might be able to make an antidote in time."

June's whole body sagged as if a ton of weight fell off her shoulders. Noche rushed over and caught the girl before she could collapse.

"We'll get started right away," the doctor said.

With those words, he walked back into Kat's room. Noche helped June walk over to a nearby bench and they both sat down.

Time passed in a blur as the two girls waited and waited. Hour after hour flew by and the duo could do nothing to help. With each passing second June became more antsy, her face a little paler. Noche was suppressing the dread building up within her.

What if they didn't make it in time? What if the cure didn't work? What if there was an accident or an assassin slipped past her? Was there anything she could do? It's not like she was Alice – she couldn't turn back time. All she could do was wait.

The doctor exited the room and approached with a smile. His expression caused all those worries to dissipate like smoke in the wind. June leapt to her feet and her eye darted to the room and back.

"Is she—"

"Kat is stabilized and awake," he said. "Would you like to go see her?"

"Yes!" June shouted.

Noche let out a little laugh. "Fuck, any longer and my little black heart couldn't take it."

The doctor smiled and led them into the room. Kat laid in bed looking exhausted, but her eyes lit up when she saw the two.

"J-June," she coughed. "Noche. Hey."

"Kat!" June ran towards her sister. "Are you ok! How are you feeling?"

"Great. Never better," she smiled weakly. "How are you?"

"I'm ok."

"Good. That's good," she moved her hand onto June's. "You know I love you sis."

June leaned forward and plated a kiss on Kat's forehead. "I love you too."

"You better. I'm adorable."

Noche stayed to the side of the room and gave the sisters space. She was glad Kat was alright. Even though she didn't know the little bugger too well, a part of her was more worried than she cared to admit.

After an hour had passed, June and Noche were told Kat needed her rest. June told her sister she loved her one last time before they left. Once out in the hallway, the blonde turned to the lieutenant.

"I'm glad Kat's ok."

"Me too. I was so worried."

Noche chuckled. "I could tell."

June let out a little smile of relief.

"So, are we heading back to the VPD?" Noche asked.

"Yes. We've gotta get these papers to Dharma."

"Let's go then."

June nodded and together they left the hospital. The VPD was close by and it only took a few minutes to get there. It was still on high alert, but June and Noche were able to get inside. In a matter of heartbeats, they were standing before Dharma. Handing over the paperwork, June explained everything that happened.

"You're telling me Raptorman funded a PLC anti-drive venom? Are you sure?" Dharma asked.

"Everything I read is printed on those papers right there."

Dharma looked over the pages. "June... Do you know what this means? If we can publish these findings, alongside the child-slave ring we just busted, the number of people who support Raptorman will plummet."

"There's more still in that facility. I just grabbed while I could while searching for a cure for Kat."

"I understand. June. Noche. I won't force you to do this, but you're both the most capable people I know. Can you go into this PLC hidden base and collect more evidence of Raptorman's involvement?"

The blonde grinned. "It would be my pleasure."

At another place, at another time, Venny Adventura was screaming as she and her boyfriend Rad both ran down an alleyway. Behind them was a giant magic eight ball that was a few stories tall. It was chasing them like a giant boulder and smashing everything in its path.

"Mierda! Mierda! Mierda!" Venny shouted. "Where is Hune! She could stop esto cosa easily!"

"I told you bounty hunting was a bad idea!" Rad yelled.

"We did catch him!"

"Yes, you did a good job stinging someone on purpose for once. But it doesn't count if we left him back at the top of the hill!"

"Less arguing! More running!"

The duo exited the alleyway with the giant magic eight ball behind them. Once out on the main street, dozens of people shouted and started running out of the way. The crowd parted like a zipper going down a jacket.

However, one person approached the rolling sphere and grabbed it with both hands. His super-strength caused it to slow to a stop. When the massive ball was motionless a crowd of people cheered. Venny let out a sigh of relief and leaned on Rad.

"Puta madre, I am so glad someone here could stop that thing."

"We really should get our augment up," Rad huffed.

"But it's so haaaard. I don't know how Cross soldiers do it."

"By practicing every day."

"Hey, we practice mucho. We're stronger than the average person here."

"Being slightly stronger than half the city doesn't make us strong."

"Ehh, fine, fine. Mierda. I wonder how Hune got so strong?"

"We haven't seen her or Kat for a bit. We should go check on them."

"Agreed."

With that, Venny and Rad caught their breath before collecting their bounty.