I needed to get to the institute without being caught. August had the remote to the collar. All it took was one strong zap and I'm on my ass. Since I can't pry it off, I had to find a way to lure him out and get the remote. But I had to get some supplies first. The institute had an arsenal. I needed one of the students to get in. That part was simple.

Getting there without getting caught. That was going to be harder.

The elevator stopped, making my head shoot up, looking around.

"Please exit the elevator Natasha" A voice came through the speakers. I couldn't tell who it was.

I used the walls to hold myself up and climb up, pushing the ceiling block out. The elevator rocked slightly as I climbed out, holding onto the wires.

"Get back into the elevator!" The speaker boomed. So indecisive.

I was on the fourth floor. If I climbed up the wires, I could get to the third and pry the doors open. They had a motion sensor that told the doors to open with the elevator if I could trigger that I could get through. The speaker began spouting threats as I pulled the mask up over my nose. I rubbed my hands on my sides before jumping up and holding onto the thick wires. I swayed with the elevator, refusing to look down. Pulling myself up. An aggravated grunt left me as I used my upper body strength. My skin slightly stung from the texture of the cord's protective layer.

I got to the third floor. There was a small space where I could land onto. I used my lower body and swung, getting enough momentum to make the leap. Grabbing hold of the corners of the ledge, a breath left me as I looked down at the fall.

Come on baby, open up. I supported myself and used a hand to hit against the sides. Rolling my eyes at the lack of response, I tapped my foot along the tiny edge and smiled as the doors opened up. I stepped in carefully, a weight sliding off my shoulders.

The walkway was made of glass and it wasn't helping my case that damn near everyone was out. It was slowly getting dark so it'll be easier for me to escape, but for now, I needed to stay low profile. I pulled the hood up and walked across. I watched below carefully. Seeing if I could spot the Five or Ross anywhere. I knew at any moment now August would be at the room and come to find me gone. That's going to piss that pretty little face off.

I took the stairs to get out of Aid and rounded the back. Pressing against the wall as a group of people walked past. The Institute was a straight shot. I could sneak around the back and grab a kid instead of making a big scene.

Stealthily, I blended in between groups of people with my head low, until I got close enough to sneak along the side of the building. I stood under the exit steps as someone came out. I smiled to myself.

My hand wrapped around the brick on the ground and tossed it up against the metal steps, startling the person. They stepped back and landed right into my chest. Squirming as I shushed them with a hand over their mouth. I was in my element. I was home.

"Scream and I'll snap your pretty little neck, baby," I warned in the young man's ear. I felt him shake against me. I saw it in his eyes, the hesitation in every breath he was contemplating if he could take me.

"You can't" I assured. His head turned slightly to me, meeting my dead eyes. His widened as he realized who I was. "You're going to do me a favor okay"

He stayed silent and nodded. I grinned.

"You're going to get me into the arsenal" I nudged him to the door, but he shook his head. I raised a brow, and he quickly tried to explain something. I moved my hand.

"Only level eight and up have access," he whispered.

"And you are?"

"Three" he shook.

I paused, giving him a once-over.

"Aren't you like twenty?" I made a face.

"I'm twenty-three," he breathed out.

"Hm"

His body dropped as I slammed his head against the wall. He groaned on the ground; I lowered to him, pressing the pressure point on his neck, making his head slump back hard as he passed out. Great, now I have to find a new way. I don't have time to go around asking people what level they are. I know they're already looking for me. Luckily for me, I knew which window was attached to the room. An alarm would go off, but it'll save me more time.

I slid my way into the building, ducking and staying close to the wall as I went up the stairs. I stopped as two boys passed. The weird look they gave each other and how their steps quickened was something I didn't miss. I let out an annoyed breath as I went the other way around the hall. As they turned, a slight flash of fear washed them before I slammed their heads together, knocking them out. I looked down at their IDs and one of them was a level eight. I huffed, pleased with myself.

"Isn't this some shit" I snatched it from around his neck, patting his cheek as I stepped over them. I hurried to the door and used it. The doorway opened, relieving the giant rectangular room, the floor checkered with glowing white tile. And the floor-to-ceiling glass walls that held weapons of all kinds and breeds. As I stepped in, the walls pulled out and expanded, revealing more candy. Black dresser-sized squares lifting from the floor, opening to holsters and gear. I smiled brightly as my head tilted with a devilish grin blasted.

"You bitches are fucked," I said to myself, closing the doors behind me.

I jumped excitedly as I pulled out the holsters and strapped my body with as many as I could without interfering with my mobility. I mostly focused on knives and blades. At least three guns will do. Killing them wasn't a priority, getting out was. I knew they would eventually find me after. Don't want anyone holding grudges. These people get maimed every day. They'll get over it.

Once I was satisfied, I turned back to the doors. Something sparkled in the corner of my eye. I walked around one of the black boxes to find a cracked cabinet. It had to be manually opened. Ou what kind of toys are they hiding in here? Those boys must have forgotten to close it. I pulled the door open and to say it excited me was an understatement. They had blades of all kinds. These were different. They looked sharper, heavier. I wrapped my hand around the double-sided one; the weight balancing in my hand. It had carvings around the crimson metal in the middle. I whipped it around. The slash ripped through the air. If this was love, I understand why people go so hard for it. I hit the latch in the middle and it split in half, a chain connecting both ends.

"Oh, you're sexy thing aren't you," I breathed. "wanna come home with me?" I smiled at the beauty.

My head snap back to the doors as a bundle of marches came closer. I gave it one last smile before hiding it on my back. If they knew I had this, they might shoot me on sight. Good for them. I slid against the wall by the door and waited. I counted the steps. It could be around five to six of them. Bane wasn't one of them. I heard a walky from one of them.

"We have her cornered, the second floor of the institute"

"The fucking arsenal!" the voice spoke back. There he was. "Stand down, I repeat, stand down and wait for us!"

I grinned to myself. They didn't respond.

"Are we seriously just going to let her go!" a female voice whined. "She's right there, there's six of us"

"Do you copy?" Bane yelled, basically.

"Copy," the man said.

It was silent.

Then the door jolted open. My hand tightened around a knife as I heard a singular pair of steps approach. I saw the shadow of their gun. Once their arm was fully in, I grabbed it, slamming them into the black chest, disarming them. He yelped.

"You said copy" I sighed disappointedly at him. He tried to swing. I blocked it, slamming his head into the chest, watching him fall to the ground, groaning. The rest scurried in. The chick from the cafeteria being one of them. They held their guns up at me and I put my hands up.

"I knew that winey voice sounded familiar," I spoke to her. She opened her mouth, but the guys groaning on the floor groaned louder. I stomped his head back onto the ground, making them point their weapons at me more forcefully.

"I'm sorry, you were saying?" I lifted my chin with a frown. She glared at me.

"I'm hard to forget," she sneered.

"I'm sorry. What was your name?"

She came at me. She turned to kick back as I kicked the gun from her hand. I blocked it, japing her in the throat, her hands wrapped around it as I punched, sending her flying back into them. I grabbed the wrist of the other as he came at me. He got a blow to my gut. I sent my arm under him, wrapping both of them, as I sent blows with my other. Another tackled me to the ground. I kicked him off, slamming his head into the floor. And my foot into the knee of one coming at me. I grabbed a smoke bomb from the shelf next to me, throwing it, I maneuvered through the smoke, listening to their steps and breathing. Because damn, use your fucking nose, that's what's it for. I swiftly knocked four of them out. The girl tackled me, sending us out of the room and onto the harsh floor. She pulled a blade out and sent it down to my throat; I grabbed it, shoving my knee into her ribs, head-butting her. I flipped us over, sending my harsh fist into her bloody face. Lifting her, pulling her up by her hair, and slamming her face first into the wall. I smiled down at her unconscious state. Grabbing the walky.

"You can't keep criminals under check and your team can't follow orders. How do you even function properly?" I spoke into it. It was quiet for a moment.

"If you killed them-"

"Calm down sweet thing- their breathing. Although this one might need a nose job," I grimace at her throbbing, unshaped nose, as I slightly kicked her face side to side.

"Where are you?" His voice was back to when we first met, all that hatred and misplaced anger.

"I want something big and shiny if I tell you"

"You're not getting the remote," He sneered. "And when I find you-" My lip tugged.

"Nat, it's not too late. Stop and maybe we can fix this," D spoke into it. My grin dropped.

"Put your papa back on for me darling, I don't want you to hear mommy and daddy fighting," my dry voice ordered.

"what do you want? Why are you getting weapons?" He spoke sadly into it.

"They're not for you, don't worry"

"Then who?"

"He's not a friend of yours"

"Nat, what are you planning on doing?" I stayed silent.

"Nat, if I mean something to you, you'll stop this" My head shot up. I heard marching on the floor above. I chuckled humorlessly into the walky.

"Smart," I whispered before slamming it to the ground.

I hurried down the hall and made my way down to the deck, where they kept all the vehicles. Four men with guns waited as I rounded the corner. I pressed my back against the wall, peering to see. I pulled a small knife from my boot and tossed it to the wall across; they shot immediately at it.

"Dude!" One of them shot.

"I got scared"

"We're not supposed to kill unless necessary"

"She killed who knows how many people she deserves to die. So that doesn't really comply with me," another spoke.

"Ross wants her alive"

"Why! why her?" he angrily criticized.

"I don't know"

"I could tell you" I rounded into their view, their guns pointing at me. "You want to shoot, right?" I inched closer.

"Stop and put your hands behind your head!"

"I know the feeling, that itch in your stomach. Do it"

"Don't listen to her, Dave! Put your hands up"

"It'll feel good, Dave, do it," I continued.

I got close enough, his finger began to pull, and I ran at him, using my weight to kick him into the wall. They began to fire wildly as I slid under one's legs, dropping him. I grabbed the gun from the next, using it to shove him into the last, knocking him down, his grip still tight on the gun. It let off rounds into the walls as we wrestled for it. I kicked his groin; he released, and I slammed the butt of the gun across his head, sending him down. The three stood back up, charging at me. One grabbed me, slamming me hard against the wall. I ducked under his punch. He hissed as it connected with the wall. I sent my knee into him, then an uppercut. He fell back as the others grabbed me from the side; he held me in his arms as the other sent painful blows into my stomach; I caught my breath and jumped up, wrapping my legs on his shoulders and holding the other man's arms around me as I twisted, sending us all crashing to the ground. I grabbed the gun and hit both of them in the face, knocking them out. The last stood. As I looked at him, I spat blood from a leaking lip. He placed his hands up, setting the gun down slowly. I approached him, snatching his ID card.

"Smart man," I grinned. He gave a nervous nod before I took a fist of head hair from the back of his head, slamming his into mine. He fell to the ground with a thud. I closed my eyes, waiting for the sting to go away.

I've got to stop doing that. I told myself before continuing down the hall.

I made it to the Deck using the card. The doors opened and waiting for me were about twenty men. August included with the five. I sighed as I stepped in; the doors closing loudly behind me. They all held hurt looks mixed with anger. Disappointment?.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," I gave them a face. "You look like I just stepped on your puppy"

"You stepped on our hearts, V." Joey glared. They all glared at him. I raised a brow.

"I didn't. But if you don't move, I might"

"What exactly do you plan on doing if you happen to get past us?" August asked, a bit angry.

"You'll find out after," I grinned.

"Surrender and maybe we won't kill you," He spat.

"Maybe?" I questioned with a grin and head tilt. His heated stare darkened.

"Maybe, was for D, I might just have to let him deal with that heartbreak," He spat.

"Builds character" I nodded approvingly. He moved to pull the remote and when it was in sight, I threw a knife at it. It shocked along with the collar. I hissed as it dropped to the floor. His expression hardened more. I guess he really was attached to that thing.

"Don't do this," Alec spoke up. His face was neutral, but his eyes released a bit of sadness.

"You guys are acting like I'm going to kill the president," I shook my head. "Let me go and when I'm finished, you can come to collect me. Put twenty collars on if you like. One for all of you." I pointed at the men waiting behind them.

"What, let you go so you can go kill more innocent people?" Chase snarled.

"He's not innocent" I glared.

"Who is he?" Joey spouted impatiently. He approached, but August stopped him. "If it's someone bad, we can help you. That's what we do, Novia. We stop the bad people. We could've done this the right way, we still can" He hammered. I kept a blank expression.

"We stop the bad people," He said again, almost like a sad warning. His eyes pleaded with me.

"Let me go and I'll do it myself," I said back with the same warning, just without the gentle touch. He let out a defeated breath as he stepped back.

"This is your last warning. Stand down Natasha," August hissed.

"I really don't like that name," I sighed, pulling a regular pair of blades out. They pulled out their weapons, too. August tilted his head at me disapprovingly. They inched closer, the tension cutting the air. One of the men shot at me. I ducked and hall ass, sliding and ducking through cars.

The Deck was big. It was like the parking lot of a big mall, just underground and dark. Shots passed through the air as I dodged them, one slicing my arm as I ducked down. My best play out of this was to take out the dudes with guns. The five didn't have them, they didn't need them. Taking out the guns men was the priority, then it would give me the space I needed to focus on the real challenged.

I heard footsteps approaching. The tip of the gun appeared as I watched their shadow. I swiped under their legs, pulling them down with a hand over the mouth, pushing their pressure point. They lay slumped in my arms and I tossed them aside, quietly shuffling to another spot. Stealth was the goal. There were too many of them for me to go hell rushing at them. I needed to stay out of the Fives' eye until they were all brought down. I disarmed and slammed two of them against each other. They went out cold after I butted them with the gun. I slid my way through the cars, taking them out as quietly as I could. I eventually got five more.

"Novia?" Chase called out. I hid behind a cement stand. "I've been waiting to do this for a while," He chuckled. I rolled my eyes.

"Maybe, once I kill your ass, I can finally get some piece without Joey-" He yelled out as my blade sliced the back of his calves, as I slid behind him. He dropped. I kicked his head to the side, and it hit the stand. I made a shocked face.

Oops.

I dropped down, placing my finger on his neck. He's good.

I shuffled finding another victim. I took down two more men. Taking their guns and using them to drop another two.

I rounded the corner and quickly pulled back. August and the rest were walking with the last two men. I stalked them between cars. I couldn't take those two out without them noticing.

Fuck it.

I jumped on top of a car and ran over another, sending myself down on one of the guns, men. I sent my blade flying at the other leg; he fired up. I grabbed it, butting him and sending my foot down on the other, his head slamming into the cement.

The four turned to me with heated glares, getting into a fighting position. I pointed the gun at them. They froze for a second before I chuckled and tossed it to the side.

"Oh now you want to play fair?" Bane glared.

"I could always pick it back up," I nodded.

They rushed at me. Alec kicked me back while Joey sent a hard punch to my face. Knocking me into Luis's arms. He picked me up and slammed me into the ground. I let out a painful groan as they circled.

"Give up" He ordered. His gentle voice remained the same as the day I met him.

"I'm going to enjoy kicking your ass the least" I gave him a smile. He looked confused before August yelled a get down as I slid my arm from under me, tossing the smoke bomb in the air. I flipped back, taking my advantage. I got Joey out first. Smashing his head through a window, pressing his neck as he fell. Alec tackled me out of the smoke, sending a deafening punch to me. I pulled a wire from my waist belt and wrapped it around his neck. He went to peel it off as I head-butted him, flipping him over me. I ran at Luis, hopping on him, sending my elbow to his face. He threw me into a car. I ducked his punch as he smashed the window. Grabbing his head, I slammed it against my knee, throwing him against the back door. I slid my hand through the broken glass, opening the drivers. He went to hit me. I grabbed it, sending him into the car. Pressing his neck, he collapsed onto the seat.

My hair was yanked back. August picked me up and threw me into Alec, who used both fists to slam me onto the ground like a fucking hulk.

"What are you? A fucking avenger," I gasped out, catching my breath. He yanked me up by my hair. I pulled a knife out and slammed it into his thigh. He grunted, releasing me, but before I could attack, Bane tackled me onto the ground.

"I'm getting tired of being tackled," I hissed out.

He locked me down, sending punches to my face. The pain