Mist.
[Lobotomy Corporation Spoilers!] And faster than anything, Max's world took a steep dive to hell.
One more hit. That was all she needed.
"C'mon, Miss Gebura… Come to your-!"
Max held her hammer, The Smile, so aptly named as Max enjoyed using it and showing it off, high above her head in preparation to strike. The Red Mist, born again from the ashes of what she once was, had gone through a hearty chase from the Disciplinary Department all the way up to Information. And before Max could finish her sentence and strike, it happened.
Gold Rush.
The Red Mist flew down the hallway, taking the heads off of the poor clerks who had been in the way just a little too long towards the portal she had opened. And just in front of it was—
"No!!" Max screamed as her unfortunate brother, Linus, got pummeled and tossed aside with a sickening CRACK. In an instant his ribs, neck, and spine shattered under The Red Mist's golden-clad fist as she continued her dash to the portal.
Max froze for a cold second that felt like an eternity. If she had just been a little faster, this wouldn't have happened. Her brother was collapsed in an unmoving, bloody heap on the floor next to everyone else and it was her fault. She knelt next to him, looking at the dented metal in his E.G.O. Suit that failed to protect him in his last moments against that woman, no, that monster. She kissed him on the forehead and closed his eyes, her last goodbye to her dear older brother.
Shakily getting to her feet and letting out a guttural cry of rage and pain, she began her mad dash to find The Red Mist again. She could've been anywhere at this point; she was fast and virtually unstoppable by any normal clerk or agent. And even though in the lower levels there were people who could finish Red Mist off, Max wanted it to be her kill. Perhaps it wasn't properly a "kill", since the Sephirahs were just as immortal as the Abnormalities, but beating that glorified tin can bitch to bits until she could move no longer would be one of the most satisfying things Max could imagine in that moment.
Dashing up to Control Department, pushing past several confused clerks in the main lobby, she skidded to a halt in the hallway where she faced The Red Mist, the monster cloaked as a Sephirah, her boss. Steadying her shaking breathing, she raised The Smile above her head and screamed in pure hatred as she slammed it into The Red Mist's head. Red Mist fell to the floor, her mask falling away to reveal Gebura, the Sephirah that Max had thought was so cool before this all happened. But that didn't stop Max.
"You're just like them! Those fucking abnormalities, you killed my fucking brother!!" She yelled, pounding at Gebura's metal flesh with her hammer. She got no response though, Gebura was unconscious. Suddenly Max felt a pair of firm hands grab her arms and pull her back.
"Greig, I think she's panicking! Can you get a clear shot with Ecstasy?" The soft, fairy-bell voice of Micaela called from behind Max as she was held firmly in the shorter woman's grasp. Greig, a senior coworker from a few departments over aimed the gun from Dreaming Current, Ecstasy, at her and shot. The bubbles gave an immediate relaxing effect and Max sunk to the ground, sobbing and trembling. Micaela crouched next to her.
"Hey, hey, it's okay. The battle is over. You won. Come get some rest, your friends are worried for you." Micaela patted Max's bloodied shoulder softly as the suit she wore opened one of its mouths to try and reach a clerk on the floor. Max sat up gingerly, her muscles beginning to ache from exertion now that the adrenaline and anger running through her system was dying down, leaving a dull throbbing in her legs, arms and head. She let Micaela tenderly wrap an arm around her and start walking her down to Briah to get cared for with the rest of the survivors of The Red Mist.
"Manager," Max said as she approached X at the end of the day, her voice still wavering, yet eerily cold. She was still in her E.G.O. Suit, the golds and blues of the Magic Bullet armor darkened with blood, sweat, and oil. Her face was messy with her tears and her normally halfway tidy hair matted with blood and her usual ponytail let down. She stared emptily into X's eyes and shakily held out a scribbled-through form. "I formally request to be transferred from Disciplinary Team. I don't care where you put me. I just need out."
X took the messy form and considered it for a moment with a quiet hum of appraisal. He folded it sharply and placed it in a pocket. "I'll see what Angela and I can do."
"Thank you, manager." Max replied, before turning away to begin her trek to the dorms.