Standing looking down at herself, Liesel couldn't help but frown. She believed that the group of mutants that followed Shaw; Azazel, Janos, Emma and even Angel, were not the first. She only came to this decision when in her more in-depth exploring of the base, she'd discovered boxed up things. These things involved clothes, trinkets, other such things. She'd found suits, durable suits which she could surely use for her own benefit. So she pulled out a black suit, it was streamlined, well fitted, nothing really much to it. 

She had to make holes in the sleeves for the sensors of her gauntlets to slide in, but other than that she didn't have to do a whole lot more customising. The others of the group either opted to change their style or stay in the same clothes as always, such as Janos and Azazel and even Angel. Stopping beside Darwin when she returned to the main room, she crossed her arms. He merely glanced at her trying to stay casual, and not make being actually a little bit worried for her an obvious thing.

"I'm not looking forward to this." Liesel whispered, Darwin looked at her and nodded slowly. "Devolution." He looked at her curiously at that. "Self destruction from the inside. A force that cannot keep itself stable, will collapse. A trigger, there's always a trigger; a beginning of the end..."

"You can be very intense, did you know that?" Darwin asked with a raised eyebrow.

Liesel stopped staring into space and flicked her eyes up to him. "Yes."

"Because, that was pretty damn intense. Just wanted to make sure you knew, ya know?"

"Uh-huh." Liesel nodded slowly.

"You believe that Emma is this trigger? This beginning of the end you were just on about?" Darwin questioned while cautiously watching as everyone started to gather again.

Liesel looked at him for several seconds before looking away. "I believe she is the start of something, whether she is an end...I don't know."

"Why do you say that?" Darwin asked curiously. He hadn't come across Emma, he didn't even know the woman. Yet Liesel's dislike for her caused him to be a little bit curious.

"Because anyone who was so devotedly linked with Shaw cannot just...she is most likely the person to stab you in the back, and laugh as you lay dying. Telepaths, Darwin, are you seriously telling me they don't use their skill to their own advantage? Really?"

"So you think she's going to sway minds?"

"Perish the thought of swaying a certain someone's mind." Liesel muttered darkly.

"I get what this is." Darwin smirked, Liesel frowned up at him. "You're jealous."

"No, I'm really not. I would rather not be a damsel in distress, waiting for someone, anyone to come rescue me because the humans have locked me away and blocked my powers, perhaps. No. I learned years ago that if you get yourself into trouble, and cannot get out on your own, then you're...as you say...screwed and destined to fail regardless."

"I meant it in the regards of someone else being close to Erik." Darwin smirked, Liesel's defensiveness was rather off the charts, and that's where he got the inkling of jealousy from.

She tilted her head to the side. "I am not a petty person. I'm just a person who dislikes others really easily. And I dislike her. I dislike people who clearly ride coattails for the sake of furthering themselves." Liesel said with an unfaltering gaze before turning away and walking off. She didn't want to talk to anyone anymore. Mainly because she had an incredibly uneasy feeling in her stomach. It wasn't nerves. She couldn't really care less about breaking into a base; but breaking into a base and possibly fighting...maybe that's what caused her stomach to lurch as she stopped walking and suddenly looked to the side and got into a minor stare off with Erik. She pressed her lips into a thin line as he merely glanced away from her and moved over to Azazel. Liesel watched with a guarded expression. There was something remotely cold about this. Disjointed, cold, and final. "A means to an end." She muttered to herself while crossing her arms again. Hearing her name being called she walked over and stood kicking her feet against the ground. She ignored the recap of the plan: get in, find Emma, get out. It seemed so simple.

What was missing was the fact that destruction was a green light. It was a hidden underlining hint. She scrunched her nose up in disgust just as the clinical white base, with its simple furniture and pinned up plans and maps turned into a grey walled base with overhead lights and people immediately running towards them. In a blink of an eye Azazel went and appeared amongst the small group, Janos and Angel weren't too far behind. They seemed to easily deal with the small group, so what was the point of Raven, Liesel, Darwin and Erik even moving to aid?

"Where is she?"

Liesel looked up at Erik, these were the first words he had spoken to her since earlier on when she dared to ask for a thank you, she never got one, probably never would. "Follow me," she had remembered the directions down. Turning and running in the opposite direction Liesel led them down a flight of stairs and skidded around a corridor corner and pressed her back against it when more men in black suits appeared.

They aimed guns their way, and Liesel shot Erik an utterly bemused look when he simply walked down the corridor, she couldn't help but peer around the corner and watched as the bullets which were fired were stopped and sent back to the owners. Five more people had just been killed, and she could feel herself physically pale at that. She hadn't counted the group Azazel and the other two got into a fight with. The more she dwelt on this the more she could feel herself lagging behind. 

She looked down at the lifeless bodies on the floor as she neared them, they weren't evil people, right? They were people who just opted to work for some organisation that Liesel didn't even particularly care much for, but these men weren't evil. In her eyes only evil people truly deserved to be hunted out. These men were just trying to stop them from getting to their prisoner. Did that make them evil? No, it didn't make them bad, it made them loyal to their cause and orders. Did they deserve to die for that? No. Definitely not.

"Liesel!" Hearing her name being shouted angrily she looked down the end of the corridor. The group were down there and she was just staring at the people below her, she uttered a quiet sorry as she moved off. "Get with it. Where do we go from here?" Erik narrowed his eyes down at her. He was starting to get really quite irritated with her lack of being with it. She was way too spaced out. And way too reluctant to seemingly take part and do anything.

Liesel pushed past everyone and moved on, she stomped down a set of stairs, punched someone across the jaw as he intercepted her path and then continued on. The man wasn't dead, just unconscious. She stuck by it: she wasn't here to kill. There was no need for killing unless it was a dire situation. Getting Emma free was so far from dire, it was ridiculous. Fisting her hand she punched it through the security pad she had come across. She was annoyed. So anything and everything was being punched, and lashed out on. The door zipped open and revealed a boring corridor.

She side stepped and nodded downwards, Erik took the lead and the others followed. Darwin lagged behind and looked at her sadly. As such he hadn't exactly taken part in fighting either, not that anyone paid mind to that, no one cared. Liesel rested back against the wall, she told herself she was acting as a look out in case anyone else appeared, but she knew that everyone else knew that that was a lie. She just didn't want to follow them.

"Oh, well look who we have here." Hearing the ever smug sickly sweet tone, Liesel pushed away from the wall and looked to the blonde suddenly before her. "It is a shock to see you stand independently." The pun was rather pathetic, but considering each time Emma had spied Liesel, even in memory form; she was always with Erik, this was really a surprise.

"If you weren't likely to break my fist. I would punch you straight in the face without a second thought." Liesel said while narrowing her eyes and turning away.

Emma's mouth pulled back into an innocent smile. "Darling, I shall believe that when I see it."

Liesel looked at her with a sidelong glance before rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "Without diamond hard skin, what are you?" She asked while walking back along the corridor. "Flesh and bone." She looked over her shoulder with a smile. "And flesh and bone can break and burn." Liesel smiled, burns through electricity would surely be a nasty thing to see. "Minds can break too...so I don't pitch much on that other skill of yours." She muttered and waited until they were back at the warehouse base. Once they were she and Emma just stood looking at each other. Azazel appeared between them and pulled Liesel slowly away. More for her own good. He knew what Emma was capable of, and really he didn't want to listen to Liesel's whining for when she got beat.

"Listen, I don't know why you dislike me so much. I've never really done anything to you, have I?" Emma asked just as Liesel was turning away, she stopped and looked back at her. "You're the only one here with a problem." Emma's bright eyes narrowed and she tilted her head to the side. "You...you don't believe or agree with everyone else." Liesel frowned, "What were you saying about not pitching much on this other skill of mine?" She asked innocently as she smiled some more.

"There's a difference." Liesel started while turning back to her. "I don't believe in senseless killing for the sake of freeing one woman. And a word of advice: stay out of my head, the next time it won't end well for you." Liesel said dangerously while narrowing her eyes.

"Well you already said you can't hit me, so what are you going to do?"

"Maybe hunt out a chainsaw, or a heavy industrial drill?"

"Like they did with you? There's so much drilling and stabbing..."

"Oh! Oh, really? Really?! You want to go down this route?" Liesel said with a grim smile. "Yes, your old friend got great pleasure out of stabbing numerous instruments into me to see what would happen. Sadism at its best! Trust me when I say, I could channel that and let you into the know." Liesel smiled and nodded quickly. "There's many forms of pain, darling, the reason why I opt not to unleash my pain on the world, is because I don't think the world could deal with it." And with that she turned away.

"Turn away, turn away like you always do. Leave those that have the stomach to do what's needed to be done for the dirty tasks."

Liesel stopped and in a flash was back in front of Emma, with her hand around her throat, in a second Emma had transformed and smiled down at her. "I'm a coward, yes. I can admit that. Only because I am, does not mean I can't do things. You want a war with humans, for what reason?" Liesel tightened her hold, not that it did anything to Emma. "Or is it the fact that you don't have the stomach to do what's needed? You need to follow someone stronger than you. You need to follow someone who might actually have a use for you. Because without someone giving you orders, you are lost, and you are worthless, and you need to be needed." Liesel said dangerously while tilting her head to the side. "I don't give a shit about your crusade." Her eyes flicked over everyone, they looked on guard and ready to step in. "She is ultimately right, I don't agree with you or whatever plans are being schemed away to hurt the human race. And thus that brings me back to being a coward, apparently. Because I won't be able to hurt people...I can't...not when they're trying to simply defend themselves against us."

"What if they hurt you?" Liesel looked around and spotted Raven talking. "What then?"

Liesel smiled. "Sticks and stones. I'm not so childish that I have the mentality of: you hurt me, I'll break your legs."

"Then leave," Janos said simply.

"Like you're all going to just let me walk out of the door. Come on, I am no idiot." Liesel smiled sadly and shook her head. "I am sorry in advance." This seemed to cause Janos to laugh. Liesel pouted, "You think you've got me outnumbered? Please remind me how much electricity runs through this place?" Here his laughing stopped, and he looked to her. "I have to give your old friend credit. He really loved his generators." She smirked and pushed away from Emma before appearing in front of Janos.

He didn't even have time to move before he was punched across the jaw and went spiralling backwards. Feeling the familiar tingle in the air, Liesel leaped back and moved out of the way of Azazel as he just appeared.

Gripping her head when a piercing ache suddenly appeared, she fell to her knees and managed to grimly look up at Emma as she stood grinning. Liesel, despite the pain, smiled back. Emma's smug disposition was lost as she yelped and stumbled back. Her moment of loss was Liesel's gain as she appeared back in front of her. "Do you honestly know how many electrical signals are in the brain? Fancy if those signals got overloaded, whatever would happen if someone snooping tried to get in? Low and behold! We have the answer." Liesel said while bringing Emma's form closer, she had transformed back into her blonde haired self from the sudden shock. "Told you. I told you I didn't pitch much on that skill of yours. It's powerful, but you rely on it too much and it can be your downfall. Now, electrical burns, ever partook in them? I think I may have learned a small bit of torture from a very, very, good teacher." And with that said the grip around Emma's throat tightened and she sent her spiralling backwards in a shroud of sparks.

Just as Emma went, Raven and Angel tackled her. Thinking fighting fire with fire was a good idea, no sooner had the three righted themselves, Liesel stared at herself. Or rather, Raven disguised as herself. She was lost. And in that moment of being lost she screamed when a searing burn shot into her shoulder. She glared at Angel, she had shot her. She levitated in the air, and had shot her while she was distracted. 

"You first, you...you better hope you can fly high enough to be out of my reach." Liesel said while feeling her power build up within herself. Her skin was starting to glow from the amount of power she was stealing from the warehouse. Liesel looked to herself, to Raven, it hurt her heart. She hated mirrors, she hated looking at herself; because when she did all she saw was Gretchen.

She walked forwards slowly, it was a cheap shot. How dare she! Gritting her teeth Liesel ran forwards and met Raven halfway and the two commenced fighting, being suddenly barrelled out of the way, she looked up at Darwin. Liesel went to shout something at him only to realise that he had moved her out of the way of an attack from Janos, who had seemingly come back to the land of the living along with Azazel, Emma on the other hand was out for the count.

"Enough, yeah?!" Darwin shouted, "Haven't enough people been hurt today?" He went to speak some more only to suddenly grimace as Azazel disappeared and appeared before him. Yet again he found himself being teleported away, before he could attack him, Azazel was back fighting Liesel.

She yelped and cried out when she failed to move out of the way of his knife. Eventually she dodged out of the way and was shielded again by Darwin as his form shifted into one of metal to block the metal of the knife. The only problem was that being metallic caused him a bit of problems, especially when Erik lifted up a hand and he went vaulting off to the side. Liesel looked as he crumpled against the wall and slid down. She knelt bleeding and holding a deep cut on her arm. She looked up and watched as Erik simply turned away. He glanced at the people around him with narrowed eyes, before looking at her, and then he turned on his heels. He turned his back on her and simply walked away.

Liesel felt herself break on the inside. Something definitely broke, shattered and sunk to the inner depths of her being. Standing up on shaky legs she ran over to Darwin, placing a hand on his shoulder, she looked up just in time to see Angel lower herself down to the ground. Holding up two fingers, she aimed them at her back before shooting a shard of energy at her. She went sprawling across the floor, so much for trying to help Raven up, or forget this fight not being dropped; Liesel wasn't surprised that her warning was ignored. No matter how high she could fly, Liesel would still get her. With a sigh, she grasped onto Darwin's shoulder, took one last look around before she tried her hardest to hone what little teleporting skills Azazel had taught her.

They crashed and rolled on some gravel, much to Liesel's pain. She cried at the feeling of small pebbles digging into open cuts. Yet she jumped up, ran to Darwin's form, and teleported again. She kept going, she ignored the feeling of cauterising wounds which kept opening each time she sparked up and teleported off. Eventually though, she couldn't do it anymore. She had reached the destination she was looking for and she slumped on the doorstep, with Darwin by her side.

He was slowly coming to, which made her somewhat pleased. Reaching up she knocked heavily on the door, she had to knock a few more times before it opened and Hank looked at her with wide confused eyes. "Liesel?" He whispered and pretty much caught her as she faltered forwards, with Darwin still half draped over her shoulder. "What happened?" Liesel just gave him a look, which caused him to swallow heavily and nod slowly. Hearing his name being called he looked to the side and watched as Charles came over, he paused and shifted uncomfortably in his wheelchair when he caught sight of the pair.

"Charles-"

"No," he said, cutting Hank off before he could even explain. "No, I don't want a war, his war bought here. I don't want anything to do with Erik's hate filled endeavours; least of all on my doorstep." He said heatedly while narrowing his eyes at Liesel as she swayed on unstable legs. "Leave."

"Please...please look after Darwin...please...I will go, yes...I will leave...but please, please look after him. He followed me only to repay the favour and save my life. He did...don't hold loyalty against him, he's hurt...he might have a concussion, or something...just...I can't teleport both of us anymore, it's hurting too much...please, Charles, don't turn Darwin away. I don't care for myself, I will leave, I promise you, you will never see me again. Just...I didn't know where else to go, or who to go to...to...to look after Darwin..." Liesel said while having to pause every so often from breathlessness, blood loss, and tearing up. She wiped tears away on her cheeks, only really succeeding in smearing more blood against her skin. Hank stood by her side and looked at her sadly, yet he took Darwin's semi-conscious form from her as she swayed. She sniffed sadly and looked at him with a thankful look. Even if Charles said no, it was clear Hank was not going to turn Darwin away, or ignore Liesel's request. She got it. Charles was angry. He was still hurting, and seeing her surely didn't help. But she meant what she said, she didn't know who else to go to. "I'm sorry," she whispered while awkwardly turning. She didn't know when she hurt her leg, but she couldn't put weight on one of them. She practically dragged herself out of the door before managing to hone those little skills again and vanish.

----

Edited: 13/June/2019

Reedited: 24/August/2021