Now that the nanocell was safely on board, Sparks quickly lifted the Osprey up and out of range of gun fire, giving the two of them on board a butterflies-in-the-stomach sensation from the acceleration rate. Once she was sure they were out of range, she turned to not-Headcase. "Bug Zapper?" she questioned. "That's what you want to go with? Mr. ‘I'm Dead’."<br/><br/>Finn rubbed his head as he sat down, staring at the curly haired woman who seemed to crackle with power. Yet, despite her power, she seemed rather young; far too young to be your average criminal. "Yes, Bug Zapper. That electricity you have will draw insects to you and you will turn them into dust." He said, rubbing his eyes, before looking at the Nanocell next to him and raising his hand up, it flying into his grasp. "I'd ask why you were after this, but I really don't think it matters; it's mine."<br/><br/>"You're in<i>my</i>Osprey. I'm not sure you're in a position to bargain, Headcase." She eyed the nanocell he held before turning the Osprey in the opposite direction of where she was planning to put it down. The GPS was dead, but people could still see them from the ground. Osprey's couldn't get high enough, nor were the clouds low enough to cover their retreat that way.<br/><br/>"I can fix that REAL quick. Trust me. You may have home field, but I have experience, even if I can't break your mind." He said, before rubbing his eyes again. "And I told you, I’m not Headcase. Not anymore."<br/><br/>"Then who the hell are you? I know what I saw. Even if I didn't want to see it." She avoided his gaze, focusing on the controls instead.<br/><br/>"The fuck do you want me to say? I can't see inside your head. Thanks to whatever the hell was done to you, I can't tell your thoughts from a Synapse."<br/><br/>"Look, all I saw was that you didn't want those guys to hit you and leave any evidence, because you didn't want anyone knowing that you--Headcase--is still alive. So you don't want anyone to know you're dead. Great. Then what am I supposed to call you?"<br/><br/>"....Finn. My name is Finn."<br/><br/>"People call me Sparks."<br/><br/>He leaned against the wall and pressed a hand to his head. "Gods dammit, these headaches. Hey, the military medical kit, you think it has any safe painkillers, or just Morphine? I'd rather not shoot up, but I'm willing to take anything."<br/><br/>She looked over at him, frowning. "I don't know. I've never stolen one of these before." Listening to him rifle through the medical kit, she resisted the urge to take her eyes off steering the Osprey. Would him having a headache give her an advantage? She knew him, some, from his reputation. But what she had seen back in City Hall was beyond what she remembered Headcase being capable of.<br/><br/>Finn raised an eyebrow at that. “Really? Your skill says otherwise.”<br/><br/>"You don't have to have a lot of skill when you can just tell the machine what you want it to do,” she replied, glancing back at him as he rifled through the medical kit.<br/><br/>"Let's see… Diazepam, bandages, a tourniquet. Ah, here we are!" He pulled out a bottle of Methadone. "Honestly expected Morphine, but considering this is private military, not surprised. One will still do the job." He popped the pill and held onto his head.<br/><br/>“Anyway,” Sparks continued, “I've got to get you, and especially that nanocell, to Anarchy. I'm going to switch directions once we get out of the city limits and circle back around." She had so many questions for this man that was supposed to be dead. Maybe, if he calmed down enough to see reason, she'd get to ask some of them.<br/><br/>Finn opened an eye and looked at her. "Yeah, not fucking happening. I’m getting this Nanocell to Dr. Caliburn at Arachne's Domain. I got this blasted thing first; I ain't wasting all that effort just to give it to some warlord," he said, before looking at it. "This thing is going to change everything if that Quack knows what the hell he's doing."<br/><br/>"You're gonna have a lot more effort in store if you think you're getting away with that thing. We've got an outpost on the outskirts I plan on setting down at. You'll have a fight on your hands."<br/><br/>"I've dealt with your people and worse when I used to freelance for the Marshal's- Don't think for a second that I cannot beat you, I can and will." He glared at her.<br/><br/>"When you worked with the Marshals you weren't alone. You worked with Overcharge, remember?" The acid words came out before she could stop herself. Controlling the Osprey was beginning to make her tired. It wasn't often she held control of something for so long a time.<br/><br/>Finn stood up angrily as she mentioned Overcharge. "Don't you dare say his name so casually!"<br/><br/>"You're not the only one who knew him, you know," she said before dropping the subject. Silence descended for a moment a she kept the Osprey on course and he stood over her, breathing hard in anger. She finally looked up at him, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Who's Dr. Caliburn? What does Arachne have to do with all this?"<br/><br/>"Dr. Caliburn is some doctor that Arachne has in her hotel. I need him for specialized equipment I can't get anywhere else. Caliburn offered me a deal: Get this Nanocell, then he'll get me what I want. After that, take the damn thing. It's no use to me."<br/><br/>"I don't think anyone is dumb enough to try and get something out of Arachne's hotel. Once that nanocell goes in, it won't come out again until this Dr. Caliburn wants it to leave. I'm not an idiot,” Sparks snapped. She faltered a second in the energy flow between her and the Osprey, causing the blades to hiccup above them.<br/><br/>"Then that's the price you pay. I may be a lot of things, Bug Zapper, but I’m not a liar. The more lies you tell, the more string you wrap around your throat; it doesn't help my end goal." Finally sitting back down, he saw her beginning to struggle and lifted up his hand to place it on hers. Though he couldn't read her mind, he could still reinforce her mental focus. It would be enough to get them where they needed to go.<br/><br/>Sparks looked at him in surprise as he seemed to mentally stabilize her with his touch. They were far enough out now that she made the turn, keeping close to the outskirts as she changed direction. After a moment, she attempted conversation once more. "So. Why would I want to take you to this Dr. Caliburn? What's it to me? How does it benefit the Cause?"<br/><br/>Finn looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Cause? Oh, I get it. You're one of Anarchy's little Firebrands. 'Metahuman Supremacy' and all that. Fine. If it's cash you want, I can oblige you, and I still have underworld contacts that owe me favors.<br/><br/>“Also, you'll want to take the Nanocell to Dr. Caliburn because if you don't, I can snap your neck with a telekinetic whip-lash, and still make it off this thing alive. This Nanocell is to play an important role in my plans, and I don't intend for any screw ups. I've worked far too hard to get to this point."<br/><br/>She snorted. "Cash? Seriously? I don't need your money. Now, favors... That, we could talk. And I think we can dispense with the threats, yeah? Let's just agree that we're both capable of killing each other and leave it at that."<br/><br/>Finn would press a finger to his temple and sigh. "Fine. Yeah, sorry. I just have a migraine and too much has happened today that I didn't want to happen."<br/><br/>"You're telling me. This was supposed to be a simple grab." Sparks was silent for a moment as she thought. Getting the Nanocell from Headcase—Finn—was likely out of the question. They’d both end up dead if she tried, and she suspected he knew that, too, despite his threats. But, she had to have something for Anarchy so that the mission didn’t prove to be a total waste. It had cost a lot to have him get the key card from Arachne. The Osprey. She could land it at her place; there was plenty of room on the lawn. Then call Anarchy to come pick it up. He had others capable of flying the thing. It was a good plan, she thought.<br/><br/>But, she still wanted to find out what Finn’s deal was. Who was this Dr. Caliburn? Why wasn’t Finn dead from the Mindbreaker incident like everyone thought? What was he doing? Overcharge’s words from one of their lunches came back to her,<i>We mustn't let fear or anger dictate how we live.</i>Was Finn doing that? Surely, Finn had heard the same from his old partner as often as she had.<br/><br/>"Listen, what if... what if I set this thing down on neutral ground? But, if I do, I'm coming with you to this Dr. Caliburn. It could prove to be a valuable experience,” Sparks said.<br/><br/>Finn looked inside the unconscious driver’s pocket for something to take his mind off the pain in his head, finding only a pack of gum. Rolling his eyes, he popped a stick in his mouth. "Fine, you got a deal."<br/><br/>"How do I know you're not going to screw me?" Sparks asked, but she turned the Osprey toward the neutral ground she had previously mentioned. It would be perfect. It was near the hotel anyway, and she could contact Anarchy to pick up the Osprey once they had left. He had a spare key and the two factor code, anyway.<br/><br/>"Because, dumbass, can't fight on Hotel Ground. Arachne would hunt my ass from here to the East coast. Best not to stir up trouble in the Spider's Nest."<br/><br/>"Right. Sorry. I've avoided the place thus far. I can't exactly partake of her sort of drug." She began a descent a couple blocks away from from the hotel, aiming for the green lawn of a large house with a block wall and gate surrounding it. "Listen, I'm gonna stop and pick up Ed and change first. It'll only take a minute to run into the house."<br/><br/>Mimicking her question, he asked, "And what's to stop you from bringing your boys for some kind of reckoning?"<br/><br/>"This is<i>my</i>house. Only Anarchy himself has a key and codes, and he's at headquarters today waiting for me to come back. I don't allow other people at my place." She set the Osprey down on the lawn with a small bump, and pulled her hands away from it with a deep sigh. That had been far more vigorous than she had anticipated.<br/><br/>The two of them jumped down from the Osprey and headed for the house. Finn sighed and leaned against the building. "Fine. Go do your thing. I’ll wait here. Not like I can leave anyway..."<br/><br/>Sparks gave him a long look before unlocking the door and going inside. She left the door standing open as she ran in the house. It wouldn't take that long to change clothes. Quickly running to her bedroom, she changed out of the business outfit and back into her jeans and black hoodie. Hesitating, she looked at the electrical outlet beside her bed stand. She was tired after controlling the Osprey, and who knew what might lay ahead of her today. A quick inrush might set off a seizure, but all things considered...<br/><br/>Sparks gave a short, sharp whistle, then touched the outlet, pulling in as much electricity as she could manage to feed into herself. The process took seconds, and she pulled away with a deep breath. A partially mechanical French bull dog came into the room, sitting and wagging its tail merrily, mouth open in the way of a grin. The young woman could feel the electricity crackling through her, and clenched her fists, forcing herself to contain it.<br/><br/>"Come on, Ed," she said to the dog as she ran back for the door, grabbing her black gloves from the table next to it. The dog followed her obediently, running out into the yard. She closed the door, locking it, and slipped her gloves on with a relieved sigh.<br/><br/>She was surprised to see Finn still leaning there, waiting on her; she had half expected him to bail on her despite his word. "Alright. Let's go."<br/><br/>Finn looked at the robotic hound, raising an eyebrow as he followed behind her. "Where on the Creator's Green Earth did you manage to get a Cyber Hound? Those things are damned near impossible to buy."<br/><br/>Closing and locking the gate, Sparks looked down at her dog fondly before answering. "Edison escaped with me."<br/><br/>Finn stared at her before his eyes widened in realization. "You're that girl Overcharge mentioned. He called you Volt. Said he didn't want to use your real name, or your code name, so he called you that. You're the girl Overcharge wouldn't shut up about?"<br/><br/>"He what? That shit. I cried at his funeral and everything." Sparks kept walking towards the hotel, crossing her arms over her chest. What did he mean Overcharge wouldn’t shut up about her? What had he told Finn?<br/><br/>"Least you got to go to it. He cared a lot about you, if it's any consolation. I actually heard him say he planned on seeing if you'd freelance for the Marshal's, give you legitimate work, get you a semi-normal life, but... well, things happened." He said quietly. He didn't want to remember watching his friend die. This begged the question though: How the hell did Finn himself survive?<br/><br/>"Freelance for the Marshal's? Are you kidding? He would have been disappointed. There's a reason I've done my best to stay off the grid, and getting myself a fan club like you did by working for the Marshal's is not the way to do that." She paused and looked at Finn curiously as they rounded a corner. The hotel that Arachne ran loomed ahead of them just a couple of blocks away. "Why weren't you at his funeral? You didn't die, but... where have you been?"<br/><br/>They closed the gap to the hotel in silence, finally arriving at a side entrance. Finn gripped the door, silent except for breathing, before speaking. "I've been through a year of absolute and complete hell, and I never want anyone to experience that ever again… so, let's say that I’ve got a good reason for doing what I’m doing and leave it at that. Tell you what: Things go smoothly with the Nanocell? I'll tell you the whole damn story. We don't have time now." He finally turned and looked at her. "Ready?"<br/><br/>“I’ll hold you to that. Telling me the story, I mean. Yeah, let’s go, get this over with.” Sparks was nervous. She knew what stepping into Arachne’s hotel meant. Sparks would<i>be</i>someone now. Be on someone’s radar. It was something she had avoided all these years, but now… She glanced at Finn as he opened the door. Overcharge had thought very highly of Finn. She just hoped the old Marshal had been right.