The protests ripping through the city of Damage Control left multiple streets across the city in grave ruin, engulfing the citizens in even more fear than they had endured before. Not only had they heard of the current rebellion - they had also experienced it. "Are they gone yet?" a small girl embraced in her mother's arms faintly whispered, gently pulling the curtain blocking the outside view away and noticing the ravaged streets. They had used a run-down cabin as their shelter, due to their home already being engulfed by another angry mob of criminals that would soon merge with the same group that ripped through their location. Seconds passed, and a slow rumbling sound overtook the area, forcing the young girl back into her mother's arms due to fear. Too scared to look outside, she closely observed the sounds in order to get a somewhat accurate sense of what was currently happening outside.
The manhole planted in the center of the street slowly lifted into the sky, falling with a loud clank seconds after Ralph's full body passed through. He dug into the pockets of his ripped jeans, pulling out needles holding even more power from Pyron and aggressively injecting it into his skin. "A sense of pleasure rippling through me… this is the feeling I've always yearned for!" he shouted, his endless satisfaction with the current circumstances growing his power even further. "A world where those looked down on can emerge victorious - I WILL CREATE IT, NO MATTER WHAT STANDS IN MY WAY!"
A plasma bullet from the southeast raged straight towards Ralph, ripping the part of his shirt that covered his left shoulder and sending the fabric straight into the air. "Seems like I've finally obtained authority to end your little game, Ralph Trimus," Ray's voice sounded from afar, almost instantly catching Ralph's attention. "If you're going to try and destroy my home, I'll make sure you regret it."
Volume 13, Chapter 40 - Running Out Of Time
The Great Armor raced through the trashed streets of Damage Control, bound for the center of the city where the protest epicenter stood. In the driver and passenger seat were both Forrest and Stephanie, both gravely disturbed by the amount of evil lingering in the air. "Why couldn't we just go to the beach instead…" Stephanie complained, leaning back into the passenger seat while forcing a loud groan. "The job of Team Pyron is not only to make sure our target is contained again, but we have to stop the illegal spread of firepower influenced from his breakout! Otherwise, what would be the point of coming on a special mission like this at all?"
Forrest's bold speech left Stephanie speechless for a few seconds. "I wonder what Itama's doing right n-" At the same exact moment, his voice could be heard slowly plummeting down from the sky. "STEPHANIEEE!" he screamed, falling right onto her head and pushing her back into the Great Armor. "Why am I always the one getting hurt!?" she complained yet again, this time being forgotten due to the current situation. "Which one do you two want first - good news or bad news!?"
"Bad," both Forrest and Stephanie called out in unison.
"I overheard a few criminals near the center of the city!" he claimed. "They were talking about how this guy named Ralph would inject all the remaining power of Pyron inside him, creating a shockwave bound to send everyone in the city unconscious!"
Stephanie and Forrest jumped out their seats in shock - not only to their prediction of something sinister happening behind the scenes being deemed true, but also to the way Ralph were to viciously use Pyron's power to create fear within his people. "We're heading to the center of the city - there, we'll be able to confront the leader of the MLA head-on. We just need to hope Kevin has the same intentions, aswell…" Stephanie informed.
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Ralph swiftly breezed through the barrage of bullets shot by Ray, tirelessly racing around the buildings that made up the circumference of the battlefield. "Pyron's power is growing stronger and stronger!" he observed, quickly pointing his sniper towards Ralph's fire-coated arm. "I'm going to have to abort this technique sooner than later!"
A large amount of the excessive power coursing through Ralph's body burst, creating a shockwave that blew many of the cars parked in the streets into nearby buildings. Ray was now beginning to grow fearful for his life, but he refused to give up - after all, not giving up had earned him one of the top spots in modern entity hunting across Nahata. He continued to spectate as he reached into his pockets, pulling out a customized switch compatible with his plasma gun. Ralph's eyes jolted open, his heart rate multiplying upon seeing the logo plastered on the center of the switch. "So you're the filthy scumbag…" he sputtered, the firepower revolving around him binding perfectly with his rage. "WHO'S BEEN UNDERCOVER IN THE UNDERGROUND MARKET!"
Damage Control, prior to Team ENTITY's arrival
Ray, tightly wrapped in a blue blanket, slowly rolled across the hardwood floor towards the banging front door. "Who the hell do you think you are, waking me up like that!?" he screamed, aiming his sniper rifle right towards the unruly guest's head. The sunlight filtered by the clouds poured into the apartment, revealing an out-of-breath William, the 33rd best Nahatan entity hunter right behind Ray. "Ray," he began, pushing the blue blanket away and shoving a piece of paper into his hands. "I have a request for an investigation I'd like you to pick up." Ray squinted his eyes, which still stood entirely blurry from his tiredness. His eyes focused on the bold header plastered on the paper reading "MUTATION LIBERATION ARMY - OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION."
Halting for a few seconds, Ray recapped on all the other occasions his runner-up had appeared at his door - mostly, it had been either just William challenging him to physical competitions or just him gloating about recent missions back in his hometown of Diamond City - instead, he had finally appeared at his door for something rather useful, as Ray viewed it. "Why couldn't you at least track me down while I was on my shif-" His thoughts chimed in once again, reminding him about his absence from the streets for about a week. Ray groaned, snatching the paper and slamming the door right in William's face. "I'll work on it!" he vowed. For a few seconds, his runner-up stood silently at the door until he heard the sound of loud snoring reinhabit the room.
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Since that day, Ray had been working tirelessly towards revealing the whereabouts of the Mutation Liberation Army's ringleader. This caused him to sneak into the Underground Market as an undercover spy, where he purchased the modified switch to relieve himself of a lingering thought that portrayed it as "essential for future battles." And in conclusion to Ray's research, the leader of both the MLA and the Underground Market stood right before him.