Son of the Branwen

Chapter 82: Strings

Hawk pushed open the door of the container he was riding inside, being the last of the group to arrive inside the military complex. He couldn't help but chuckle at the situation playing out in front of him. Blake was nearly turning green as she held her stomach, leaning against the tube she rode up in, as Weiss gave a scolding glare as she pulled on Nora's ear for shooting her up the tube.

Nora: "Ow, ow, ow! C'mon that was a once in a lifetime experience!"

Blake: "Good. Because I never wanna do that again."

Weiss gave one final hard tug on Nora's ear before letting go, then walked up to Hawk and gave a quick kiss on the side of his helmet.

Weiss: "For returning the favour to Nora."

Hawk: "I would be lying if I didn't find it amusing."

Weiss rolled her eyes and playfully elbowed him in the side, before they glanced to Penny. She had walked away from the pneumatic tubes, and stood at the door that led further into the facility.

May: "Alright robo-girl, you're up. Which way?"

Penny took several moments, as she tapped into the complex's systems to download the blueprints. Then she spun around to face everyone with a cheerful grin as she physically began to point in every direction they'd need to travel.

Penny: "We'll cross the bridge, then go left, straight, right, straight, left, up, up, right, straight, right, right, straight, left, left."

The others exchanged looks, wondering if anybody was able to memorize her instructions. Penny gave a quick salute when she finished, before giving a cold look at May.

Penny: "And my name, is Penny."

May sighed and generated her semblance to cloak the group, before they began to walk the halls. The halls were easy to navigate, and with minimal security patrolling, they quickly were able to board an elevator. They stood in silence as they watched the numbers tick by.

Hawk: "Never thought I'd crave elevator music."

May: "Really?"

Hawk: "What? You prefer awkward silence?"

Suddenly, the elevator stopped on a floor, causing the group to gasp in surprise and quickly back up so they were against the far wall. The elevator opened and two soldiers walked in.

Soldier 1: "Squad captain knows what's going on up there. They can't get close to that storm without getting shot right out of the air."

Soldier 2: "It's creepy, all those Grimm just... waiting. Worse than if they'd attacked."

Soldier 1: "Hey, don't say that! You'll jinx us."

May motioned for everyone to stay quiet, and when the elevator stopped on their floor, they quickly went around the soldiers to get off. Nora muffled a snicker as she slid her hand across all the buttons as she went by, and they managed to hear a confused sound come from one of the soldiers before the elevator closed.

The group continued down the hallway, eventually coming to a stop at another security door. Penny smiled and looked at her hand, her index finger deploying a port to plug into the console, while Ruby watched in awe. Penny plugged into the terminal, and within seconds Pietro's portrait appeared.

Welcome back, Doctor Polendina.

The door opened and revealed another junction of hallways.

May: "Alright, where to next, Penny?"

Penny: "Right through central command!"

Penny pointed towards central command just as the door opened, revealing an extremely full room of workers. Hawk's helmet hid the fact that his jaw dropped in surprise, while Weiss let out a frustrated huff.