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Psionic Investigations Unit

Chapter 3

For DuskCypher

By Draconicon

"Well, that's it. We're fucked," M muttered as D checked his gun again. Twenty-four bullets left. Not much when you considered how many zombies could potentially be in one prison. "And now we have a bombing run coming our way, too. The PIU doesn't do things by halves, do they?"

"Not really," he admitted.

"So, what's the plan to un-fuck this?"

"I go after him, you stay here and secure the perimeter."

"...You're shitting me."

"I think that we both know what will happen if he gets his hands on you, or if one of his zombies does."

D could imagine it, certainly, and it wasn't a pretty picture. M was dangerous enough living, with some sort of control over her lightning powers and how she sent them after those that were worthy of roasting. If she somehow maintained that ability after being zombified, that would mean that not only had the PIU lost one of their heaviest hitters, but they'd also have given the Baron something insanely powerful.

And even if she lost them, he didn't want to lose a partner. Not when they could so neatly avoid it.

He started to leave, only for her to grab him and spin him around. The lioness poked him right in the chest.

"You listen to me. If you think that you can just leave me behind, you've got another thing coming."

"You're not a Nullifier. Remember?"

"Does it matter?"

"Against something like this? Yes."

"All I have to do is get them before they get me. And unlike you, I don't have limited ammo."

D looked down at his belt, and then back at her. Tempting. Admittedly, if he was quick enough, he might just be able to avoid using all his bullets, so long as he saved one for the Baron himself. That said...

One touch. All it takes is one -

One of the 'dead' bodies on the ground was slowly getting to its feet, making very little noise in the process. D made no sign of having seen it, cocking his head to the side instead as he kept his eyes carefully locked on the lioness.

"Do you think that I need your help?"

"More than you want to admit. I am better than you in close combat."

"And you're also a glass cannon."

"Doesn't matter if you can aim right."

"Can you aim right? 100% of the time? Every time?"

The zombie had gotten to its feet, and was slowly coming closer and closer. Shambling, one leg busted and held back, but that didn't matter. Yet, at the same time, there was less of a 'dead' look to the body than he expected. That was...slightly better, all things considered, but not much. Even if this Psionic Virus couldn't use dead bodies entirely, that didn't mean that the world was any less fucked.

He kept one hand near his gun, ready to fire at any second as M narrowed her eyes at him.

"You want me to prove it?"

"Maybe."

"How's this trick-shot, then?"

A bolt of blue lightning shot out of her eyes - or rather, from the space right in front of her eyes - and then flipped over her head, between her ears, and right through the zombie's forehead. He stopped two steps away from her, what little was left of his brain burned out by the lightning bolt that went straight through it.

As he tumbled over, D nodded in approval.

"Good one. How'd you know?"

"Bio-electricity. Everyone puts it off, even these things."

That would be useful. He could take the hits, she could see when they were coming, and where they actually were, too. It would have been a very useful combination.

Would have been. The Baron was too smart for it to be that easy, and by now, that asshole would know which agents were in the building. The mink would have adjusted some of his plans, which meant that they would be expected to be together. There would be roadblocks, things that would slow down M's sensory powers, and possibly things that blunted the blasts of lightning.

No, no, it would be too risky. If he was keeping an eye out for her all the time, then he would be less effective himself. There was no point in bringing her along. D sighed.

"Fine," he said, nodding. "Come with me."

"Glad you finally see sense."

The lioness fell in step behind him, and he led the way towards the edge of the cell block. If the Baron was here, he still needed to find where the mink was holding forth from, and he doubted that M could sense that far from here. If she could, she would have told him. All Psions had unique brainwaves, and while that wasn't the same as the bio-electrical signatures that she picked up on, he was pretty sure that she was more than capable of telling the difference between Psion minds and normal ones.

No, no, this wasn't them going to find the Baron. This was him finding a place to stash the lioness until he could come back for her. And it didn't take long to find one.

"Did you check all the cells?" he asked, pausing after passing one.

"Are we doing this again?" she groaned.

"I said, did you check all the cells?"

"Yes. Why?"

"There's a body in the one that we just passed."

"What?"

She turned, looked in -

"Oof!"

And then he pushed her past the edge, slamming his hand on the lock. The cell door slammed shut by the time that M pivoted on her heel, glaring through the metal bars at him.

"Jack-ass. What are you doing?"

"I'm making sure that you don't catch his virus."

"You - I told you, I can handle myself."

"Until you can't."

"And you can do better, 'Detective'?"

"I'll have to." He smiled. "You know I do better under pressure."

"Let. Me. Out. Of. Here."

"Not this time, M."

D tipped a hat that he didn't have, then turned to leave. Her shouts chased him down the corridor, and then -

ZZZZZT!

Even as a Nullifier, taking a lightning bolt to the back of the head did not feel good. As a matter of fact, it felt very similar to having a hammer swung at the back of his head while wearing a helmet that was barely good enough to keep him from being knocked out. D stumbled forward three paces, caught himself on the wall, and glared over his shoulder.

ZZZT!

Another bolt followed, one he barely managed to duck. It went right between his ears, leaving his fur standing up straight.

"You're wasting your energy!" he shouted.

"I'm pissed off! What else am I going to do?"

"If you really want out, figure it out instead of trying to zap me."

He probably shouldn't encourage her, but at least if she was trying to zap her way out of the cell, she wasn't wasting energy on him, and he wasn't wasting his limited stamina trying to keep canceling out her ability. He shook his head and continued on, and thankfully, no further lightning bolts followed him.

D reached the far end of the cell block, opening the door that M had left open, and then slammed it shut behind him. No point in letting anything else through. As he looked down the next corridor, however, he couldn't help but wonder where he was supposed to go next.

Thankfully, the Baron himself provided the answer. The intercom crackled, and a voice spoke over the entire prison, from the sound of it.

" Well, well, well. It seems that we finally have our challenger. But just one?"

Sounds almost like a game-show host...

" Well, it seems that our dedicated agent wants a challenge. Let's see how far he gets today, during our Living Dead Tour, hmmm? Oh, and don't waste any time, little agent. We don't have much of that."

D narrowed his eyes. This was the first that he'd heard of any sort of time limit. If there was something else going on...

He picked up the pace, figuring that he could logic it out on the run. Better not to waste time, after all.

M glared at the metal bars keeping her from leaving. The very idea that she had fallen for that ruse was beyond annoying. She was supposed to be better than that. Much, much better than that. And yet, here she was, glaring through the bars and trying to feel the electrical current that had been part of locking her up.

You...

There wasn't an insult suitable for her partner right that moment, but she'd come up with one, eventually. She was sure of that much.

As she took a few deep breaths, doing her best to calm down before she started using up more lightning in ways that would be very creative but hardly worthwhile, she heard the crackle of the intercom coming on. She wasn't surprised; from everything that she'd heard of the Baron, he was one of those that didn't have any sort of restraint. He wanted what he wanted, and he wanted people to know what he wanted.

" Well, well, well. It seems that we finally have our challenger. But only one?"

That's because he left me here. Trust me, it'd be more than you're ready for if I'd come along.

" Well, it seems that our dedicated agent wants a challenge. Let's see how far he gets today, during our Living Dead Tour, hmm? Oh, and don't waste any time, little agent. We don't have much of that."

M folded her arms, narrowing her eyes at the intercom across the hall. There was definitely something ominous about that. If he was already pushing the idea of there being a time limit, that almost always meant something like a hostage situation, or a bomb threat. If either of those was the case, then this just got that much more complicated.

Probably a bomb, M thought. No way that he's getting his zombies out of here without something big...

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her muzzle. This was just getting more and more complicated.

D was probably running blind through the corridors, puzzling out where to go next. She just hoped that the rest of the prison population wasn't as much of a problem as they normally were. If they were very active, then D was going to have a serious problem, indeed. They didn't like the agents of the PIU to begin with, considering that the agents were the whole reason that the prison was kept topped up with inmates to begin with, and she had every inkling that they would be howling for D's blood when they realized what he was.

Zombie or not, they'd be eager to take him down, unless he could give a very good offer as to why they shouldn't. She almost wanted to cheer them on.

"Goddammit, let go!"

D kicked a tabby cat prisoner in the face, knocking them back towards the zombie horde coming at them from behind. If the prisoner hadn't been completely hysterical, he might have been able to save the asshole, but it had come down to the tabby or the black cat. D was always going to save himself, if he had the choice; it wasn't like the prisoner was part of the PIU or anything.

He managed to throw himself past the next checkpoint and slammed the bars shut behind him. The zombie horde pressed against it a second later, holding the tabby with them. The virus spread, taking hold of the other feline, and soon, he was as much a gibbering mess as the rest of them. D shook his head at the sight, keeping well out of reach as the reality tearing and wrinkling continued around the unfortunate victims.

Damn...this is bad...

He'd seen how the previous Psionic Virus had torn through the population of Romania back when they'd originally gone after the Baron. It had leaped from person to person with a simple bite, spreading through them and taking them under the Baron's control almost instantly, leaving nothing but a husk in its wake.

Yet, that was nothing compared to this. The tabby had barely been touched, and had already starting changing just by coming within arms' length of the horde. If it was that infectious, then the world outside was in terrible danger if they ever got loose. All it would take was one zombie in a food court, and they'd have a shambling horde inside of three minutes.

And that's if they don't get longer range the more of them that are together, he thought, shaking his head as he felt the reality of the situation pressing down around them. There might not be enough bullets for this situation...

But if he could get to the armory, he might be able to solve some of that problem. He glanced down the corridor again.

He'd managed to reach the central junction where all the different cell blocks emptied into, where the central administration offices, the armory, and a few other facilities were. A sign on the wall declared that the library wasn't far away either, which meant that there might be some inmates there, having been out on reading time when this whole situation went down.

And that would be where they'd be staying, probably...

D didn't like this. The prison was filled with those that had powers, and those that had been affected by those powers. The ones that had been ripped apart by Psions in the field were victims, pure and simple, and they were helpless against the zombie horde that was spreading through the facility. It was just fact.

Those that had powers, however, would be able to hold out, at least for a while. Most Psions had some ability or other that allowed them to be effective in combat. If they were using that...

Thump, thump, thump.

There was a rhythmic thumping coming from down the hall, almost sounding like a dance. D arched an eyebrow.

"What the hell?"

" Mmm, it seems that our dedicated agent is getting close to the library. What a 'Thrill'. Tell me, little agent, are you going to be catching up on your reading while you're there?"

"Asshole, will you just shut up?" he muttered.

" Of course, you are wasting time. Who knows what will happen if you don't get to me before my plan comes together?"

"You'll be bombed back to the stone age, that's what."

" Of course, you might have already been planning to bomb me - of course, that's PIU procedure, isn't it? But that doesn't mean that I don't have plans for that..."

The Baron had ways of messing with your head that had nothing to do with his many created viruses. In this case, D knew that this whole thing was meant to make him question what he was doing, how he was going about this.

Joke was on the mink. He was questioning it anyway.

" Tell you what. I'll give you a little hint. I'm in the Central Control Room of the prison. Come and find me, and we'll talk."

That was a gift horse that he was most certainly going to look in the mouth, but later. For now, he wanted to see what was making that thumping sound, and see if it was something that he could stand to avoid, or if it was something that he would have to deal with. He followed the thumping, keeping out of the center of the hallway with his gun drawn.

It didn't take long to find out that the thumping was coming from the library, and he poked his head up to peer through the triple-paned glass window. Through that, and the metal mesh between the layers, he could just make out the source of the sound.

It was a horde of the zombies alright, but they were doing something that he honestly didn't expect to see. They were doing the Thriller dance, throwing their arms up and creep-dancing back and forth. They were steadily moving forward, then backwards, then forward again, always under the direction of that one dance.

What the hell?

It took him a moment to make out some prisoners that were moving atypically to the dance. There were six of them, all gathered at the edges of the room, moving around from spot to spot as one of them did the moves of the Thriller dance. The zombies copied the movies, moving in time to it, but always slowly getting closer.

D understood; they were buying time, with the dancer - probably a Psion of some sort - channeling this compulsion at the zombies, while the rest of the prisoners ran from side to side, keeping out of reach, keeping from being infected. It was nothing more than a time-waster, something to keep alive for that little bit longer. Without outside help, they weren't going to last much longer.

Hesitating for a second, D cursed under his breath and shoved the door open. He raised his revolver and pulled the trigger.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

With the exceptional ammo that the PIU agents were given, not to mention the extreme kick of the revolver, the bullets went straight through three lines of the zombies, dropping them all dead in the space of a second. Three single zombies were left, and turned to look at him, despite the dance going on.

"Get moving!" D shouted at the prisoners. "We're on the clock here."

The prisoners did as they were told, rushing around the various bolted-down desks and similar shelves, running as fast as they could from the no-longer-dancing zombie horde. D lined up a fourth shot and took it, taking down two of the remaining shamblers. The last spotted him, turning around and making a beeline for the black cat.

Not wanting to waste more bullets, D threw himself at the shelves and started climbing. Up, up, up he went, pushing himself to keep going as fast as he possibly could. He managed to outclimb the zombie, dragging himself up over the top, only for the white-eyed stag to follow him up. They were smarter than the average zombie, then, probably a result of the Psionic Virus taking hold of a living mind, at first, rather than going for the rot of a dead one.

Probably why the dead ones don't work. The brain's too long gone, not enough neural connection.

Or he was overthinking it and there was some other arbitrary reason. Whatever.

He threw himself back, leaping to the next shelf along, and ducked down to grab a book from the shelf. The biggest, heaviest one he could find. He stood up as the shambling stag reached the top of the bookshelf, then leaned back and let fly. The book brained the stag right in the side of the head, knocking him backwards and off the shelf. The sickening crunch as he hit the floor told D that it had been a successful death blow.

Shaking his head, he did a quick three-sixty, confirmed that there were no more zombies around, and then hurried to the orange-clothed prisoners.

Two of them were leaning against the wall with the classic downturned, hopeless expressions on their faces, while the remaining four were somewhere between panting in exhaustion or looking confused and angry at the same time. All things considered, he couldn't entirely blame them.

"Alright. Who's in charge?" D asked.

"...Guess that's me," the rhino that had been doing the dancing said. "Who the hell are you?"

"The 'agent' that the loudmouth on the intercom was talking about."

"Fuck, you're PIU?"

"Yes."

"And you just -"

"I'm also the only real way that you have out of this place, so choose your words carefully."

"..."

"That's what I thought."

After a quick look around the room, D found a duct that was leading out. He waved for the prisoners to follow him, and - with a little help from the rhino - managed to pull the grate off.

"This should take you through most of the prison. Make for Cell Block D. You'll find a lioness there; she'll keep you safe."

"Another one of you?" the rhino asked.

"Better. One of the special agents."

They winced at that, but that was to be expected. The reputation of the PIU and all their abilities was something that most Psions weren't keen to think about. However, in a situation like this, they were going to need it.

He guided them into the vent, leaving only the two depressed ones behind. They refused to come when he called, leaving him to growl and go to them. He yanked one of them - a hamster - to his feet.

"What the hell is wrong with you? There's a way out. Get going."

"What's the point?" the rodent muttered.

"Not turning into a zombie?"

"They're just going to get loose."

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

"He's got a bomb."

"...A bomb."

"Yeah. We're all doomed."

D slapped his hand against his forehead. Now it all made sense. There was a bomb threat, and it was probably timed to make sure that it would go off if he didn't get to the Baron in time to stop it. No wonder the mink was being all cocky. He had all the tools that he needed to make sure that his plan came off without a hitch, even if he got killed in the process.

Goddamn these mad scientist types...

"We're all doomed," the hamster repeated.

"With that attitude, you are. Now." He grabbed the rodent by the scruff of the neck, dragging him to the open vent. "Get in there!"

M had heard the continued bleeps through the intercom as D had made his way through the corridors further down the facility. She knew for a fact that the Baron could have turned the intercoms to only target the area that the cat was in, which meant that either he didn't care that everyone else heard what was going on, or he wanted them to be informed. Probably the latter, considering that the fear would probably be like a bug in the immune system, making it even harder for them to resist the Psionic Virus.

From everything that she could make out from the announcements, though, D was still doing pretty well. At the very least, he hadn't been caught yet, which meant that there was some hope that this was going to turn out alright.

Though she still had every intention of kicking his ass when she got out of this cell. One way or another, he was going to learn what it meant to fuck with her.

However, as she tapped her foot, waiting for the next announcement, she heard the sound of something else. A louder thump, something that sounded more metallic. She cocked her head to the side, looking up and back -

Then right to the middle of her ceiling, where someone was looking down from the ventilation shaft. She could see more than the whites of his eyes, which was encouraging. She cocked her head to the side at the rhino.

"What in the love of all that is holy are you doing up there?"

"Looking for a lioness. You her?"

"...You ran into a black cat, didn't you?"

"Yeah. Seemed lucky, for once."

"Lucky for you."

"You the one that he told us to find?"

"Probably. Back up."

Giving them ten seconds, she pulled at the bio-electricity in the air. There was a significant amount of it with seven people, and it was more than enough to create a magnet of sorts that spun the various screws out of place. They tinked as they fell to the floor, and the grate followed.

"Come in. There's no way for anything else to get in, at the moment."

The prisoners did just that. One of them eyed her rather lustfully for a moment, only to look anywhere but at her as she made lightning dance between her fingers. Being a living taser tended to be a good discouragement for anyone looking for 'company' that she wasn't willing to give.

As the prisoners shuffled around, she looked up at the vent. A slow smile started creeping over her face.

"D told you to go through that?" she asked.

"That the cat?" the rhino asked. She nodded. "Yeah, he said to find you."

"And that goes right back to where he was?"

"...Oh, come on, lady."

"Oh, no no no. He needs some back-up."

"And we need protection!"

The lioness waved her hand dismissively, already reaching out for the edges of the bio-electric fields around her. She was already thinking of what she was going to do when she found D again, what she would say...

How hard she was going to slap him...

"We ain't helping you up there," the rhino said.

"That's fine. You don't have to."

And just like that, a series of sparks arced out from her heels. She rose up in the air as the prisoners pulled away from her, all of them gasping and hissing in fear. It didn't bother M in the slightest as she rose to the edge of the grate, and then slid in. The residual electricity darted down the metal tunnel, and she chuckled, realizing that she had even greater defense in here than she did out in the open.

Well, this just got so much more doable...

Leaving the groans of the prisoners behind her, she continued the journey through the vent. There was a black cat that needed a serious reminder of protocol.

D emptied his revolver down the hallway, glaring at the bodies that had fallen before him while backpedaling as fast as he could. The spray of blood that he saw each time that he cut one of them down was a reminder that while the brains had been zombified, the bodies had not. They were still living, just with nothing in the skull beyond the stuff that kept the body running. They were alive.

The Baron was a cruel man, indeed.

D pulled himself through another checkpoint, the last one before the admin centers of the building. As he slammed it shut, the lock jiggled. He reached for it -

And something seized him from behind.

You've got to be kidding me...

He held out for a moment, using his Nullifying abilities on the tugging feeling. It was only a Class 3 telekinetic hold, and most of the PIU could have handled that. He pulled the lock closed -

"AAAAAGH!"

And a cheetah shoved a clawed hand through, almost catching him. D lost his focus, pulled his gun up, and just like that, the grip around his waist reasserted itself. He was yanked off his feet almost instantly, pulled across the hall to an open closet not far away. His gun clattered to the floor, and the door shut behind him before he could get it back. As soon as the door closed, he realized that there was someone else in the closet with him.

Someone canine.

The telekinetic grip returned, pressing against his wrists and holding them against the wall behind him, while the furred face of his canine captor leaned in through the darkness. Gray, almost black, the wolf looked him in the eye.

"The Baron will make us all die here," the wolf whispered. "And I am not going to let myself shuffle off this coil as I am."

"Mmmph...yeah?"

"Yes...I have yet to experience true bliss..."

The wolf smiled at him, and the mental grip around his wrists extended down his arms, forming invisible bonds against his neck and shoulders. His arms were all but pinned over his head as the wolf pulled him forward, and then turned him on the spot. D was forced to go along with it as he was leaned back against the wall, his face pressed firmly against the hard concrete.

"Boom boom ciao, I believe the phrase is..."

Is everything out to fuck me over today? Dusk wondered.

Yet, at the same time, it was better than being caught by the horde just outside. He had managed to seal the door, but he knew the Baron, and he knew that there was something else that would be making his trip to the control room that much harder. He needed to be focused, and more importantly, he needed to not have any threats lingering behind him.

Pity that he shut the door on my gun, but I can handle him...

Even if the wolf was pushing his bulge against the cat's ass even more firmly than his arms were pushed against the wall. He gritted his teeth as he felt hot breath against the back of his neck, the warmth of hands running down his hips and towards his crotch, pulling his zipper down and exposing him. His cock flopped out, and the wolf growled in his ear as furry fingers gripped his shaft.

"You're big, aren't you? A satisfying first encounter...and one that will be enjoyable to handle...but can you handle me?"

As D felt the canine's shaft flop against his ass, he knew where this was going...and he knew that he could handle it. It should even provide an ideal distraction for the wolf to allow him to make his move without being expected...provided that he didn't wait too long.

The End

Summary: Agent D locks Special Agent M in a cell for her own safety and delves deeper into the Penitentiary, looking for the Baron so that he can end it all. M, on the other hand, is looking for a way to follow and keep the team together.

Tags: M/M, Zombie, Magic, Modern Fantasy, Supernatural, Cat, Lioness, Various Species, Vents, Prison, Telekinesis, Fondling, Bondage, Impending Anal, Nudity, Series,