The Phoenix arrived above New London the next day. Already, things seemed different. The usually bustling streets were now barren. Black flags were hung all over town, and garbage littered the streets.
"Hey, look on the bright side." Karina said. "We don't have to pay to dock the Phoenix anymore."
"Right." Martin sighed. He turned around to face Rose and Jade. "Since you two have been banished, and Karina and I are essentially wanted criminals, we'll have to wear disguises."
"Alright, what did you have in mind?" Rose asked. Martin snapped his fingers, and Geoffrey entered the room. He held up two black dresses, one long and one short, along with matching hats and opera gloves. Jade nodded as she saw her disguise.
"I like it." She said. "Wait... how do you know our exact measurements?"
"Anyway," Martin continued, dodging the question, "Karina will disguise herself as a member of the League of Silence."
Karina pulled out a white bird mask to accentuate the point. "I've even picked out a name. Call me 'Flamingo'."
"I thought we agreed on 'Toucan'." Martin said.
"The beak isn't big enough for that." Karina said, poking at the beak on her mask. Martin rolled his eyes and turned back to Geoffrey. "As for myself, I'll be inside Geoffrey. Once we get into the Palace, I'll take control of him and get into Terrance's office."
"And what about me?" Flint asked.
"Terrance doesn't know what you look like, so you'll be fine." Martin explained. "But I'd recommend against pulling one of your guns."
"Fair enough." Flint nodded.
Jade and Rose took their disguises from Geoffrey and left to their chambers to get changed. Karina draped a black cloak over herself and placed the mask on her face.
"How do I look?" She asked.
"Not bad, Flamingo." Martin answered. Karina chuckled. Soon enough, Jade and Rose came back, wearing their black dresses and hats.
"I hope these disguises work." Rose said.
"They will." Martin assured. "Now, if you're all ready, let's do this."

Getting into the palace was easier said than done. Several guards stood around the palace, some with close range weapons like swords and spears, and others with guns. To anyone else, it would be impossible to get in. But Martin and Karina had a plan. First, they had to smuggle the others in. This was simple enough. Karina noticed the guards out front were also members of the League of Silence. They all wore generic bird masks rather than specific bird masks like Owl or Hawk, so she could tell they weren't the highest ranking members. She cleared her throat.
"Hello, fellow assassins." She said.
"State your business." One of them asked.
"I'm bringing some prisoners before Emperor Terrance." Karina lied. "Two conspirators against him, as well as their robotic companion."
"Who's the cowboy?" The other guard asked.
"Hired help." Flint said, tipping his hat.
One guard looked to the other, and they both nodded. "Alright." One of them said. "Go ahead in."
Karina nodded, and they all headed in. She smirked behind her mask.
"That was too easy." She said. Unfortunately, her confidence was short-lived. Terrance himself was standing there, grinning at her.
"Well, well, well. The Steam Riders return." He said. Karina began to sweat beneath her mask.
"I... uh... don't know what you're talking about..." She lied.
"Oh really? Then why do you have that robot?" Terrance asked, gesturing towards Geoffrey. "Do you really think I wouldn't recognize that giant behemoth?"
Karina froze. She had no idea how he could have recognized Geoffrey, but she had to think of something fast. But before she could say anything more, Terrance reached down and ripped off her mask.
"And what do we have here?" He chuckled. "Little miss Karina, if I'm not mistaken."
"Alright, you got me." Karina admitted. She unbuttoned her cloak and dropped it on the floor.
"And I'm assuming these two behind you are Rose and Jade." Terrance guessed. He pulled out a switchblade knife and used it to lift up Rose's hat. She glared at him from under it. Meanwhile. Jade kicked him in the shin. He yelped in pain and frustration and looked angrily down at her while she stared smugly up at him.
"Little brat." He spat. "Now, where's that lab rat, Martin?"
Martin rolled his eyes inside Geoffrey's chassis. "Couldn't think of a better insult?" He muttered to himself. Terrance couldn't hear him, and nobody would say anything. Eventually, Terrance grew tired of messing with them.
"Whatever." Terrance said. "Guards, kill them all."
On his command, the guards pulled out their guns and aimed it at the group. Martin opened the door slightly to look down at Flint.
"Flint, remember when I said not to pull a gun?" He asked.
"Yeah?" Flint said. He could see where Martin was going with this.
"I take it back." Martin said.
Flint grinned and pulled out his shotgun. As soon as he pulled out the gun, the guards began to fire. Martin took control of Geoffrey and jumped in front of the others. His metal armour took most of the bullets, protecting himself and the others. The rest of the bullets missed, hitting the wall behind them. Karina pulled out Flints pistol, while Rose held Jade close to protect her. Flint continued to fire on the guards with his shotgun, but there were far too many of them. In order to help, Martin activated one of Geoffrey's defence protocols; a massive machine gun that sprouted from his hand. He began firing, and within minutes, the guards were either knocked out or incapacitated.
"I think it's over." Karina said.
"Good. I was out of ammo anyway." Flint muttered, reloading his shotgun and cocking it.
"So much bloodshed..." Rose said, "I truly detest violence. But I suppose it was necessary."
While they talked, they heard more and more guards came down the hallway. Martin controlled Geoffrey to look back at Rose and the others. "Karina, Flint, you stay here and protect Rose and Jade. I'll handle Terrance."
Karina and Flint nodded, cocking their guns. Martin looked back and ran through the hallways. Guards and members of the League of Silence approached him to attack, but ran when they saw a giant robot lumbering towards them. Some were brave enough to try and attack, but Martin used Geoffrey's immense strength to bat them all away. He grinned. He had never felt strength like this before. And he liked it. Finally, he approached Terrance's office and burst down the doors. Terrance spun around to face him clearly surprised by his arrival.
"What the... the hell are you doing here!?" He asked.
Martin opened Geoffrey's door and stepped out, aiming his sound gun at him. Terrance sneered when he saw him.
"Oh. So that's where you were hiding, lab rat." He grumbled.
"Terrance Chandler, you are under arrest." Martin said. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his hand, making him drop the gun. Something had slashed at his hand, causing it to bleed. He looked up, only to see Owl holding a knife.
"So you're this Martin I've heard so much about." Owl said.
"And you must be Owl, leader of the League of Silence." Martin countered. "Nice mask. Though I must say, I don't appreciate you sending your men to kill me and my friends."
"Well, when the money is good, I'll have my men kill whoever they need to." Owl said. "But now, I'm going to kill you myself."
Martin smirked and pulled out his collapsable sword, extending it by flicking it towards Owl. "Come at me then." He challenged. Owl jumped up in the air and grabbed an antique rapier from overtop Terrance's fireplace.
"Don't break that, it was expensive!" Terrance warned.
"I hope you don't mind if I get some blood on it." Owl said. He lunged towards Martin, who dodged out of the way and placed his unarmed hand behind his back. He counter attacked, but Owl blocked with his sword. Martin smirked and spun in the opposite direction he had attacked in, catching Owl off guard, and attacking him on the opposite side. They locked blades and began pushing against each other, until Owl kicked Martin in the stomach. He stumbled back, but came to his senses before Owl swung his sword down again. He blocked, and they clashed blades again and again.
"You fight well." Martin complimented. "How long have you trained?"
"Longer than you." Owl said. "While you were learning how to spell your name, I studied the blade."
"And you used your skill to become an assassin." Martin said, beginning to step foreword, forcing Owl to step back. "You could have used your abilities to contribute to society, help people, or stop people like Terrance."
"I enjoy killing. It only makes sense to make a job out of it." Owl explained.
"I suppose I can't argue with that." Martin shrugged.
They began moving backwards until they were standing on the office's balcony. Endless clouds were underneath. Falling would mean certain death. Martin spun around once more, but Owl guessed his strategy, and locked Martin in a wager. This time, Owl had the upper hand. He had Martin bending backwards as Owl looked over him. It looked like he was about to knock Martin to the ground and win the battle. A bead of sweat ran down Martin's forehead, until he suddenly got an idea.
"So, explain why you chose an owl for your persona." He said.
"They are wise, they are regal, they're excellent hunters," Owl explained, "all descriptors I would use for myself as well."
"I see. Can you fly like one?" Martin asked. Owl raised an eyebrow behind his mask, until he understood what Martin meant. Martin quickly ducked underneath him, and while he was confused, kicked him in the back, sending him over the edge of the balcony. He peered over the edge, watching Owl fall into the clouds below. To his surprise, Owl raised his arms, and two leather wings extended from the sides of his outfit. He stopped falling, and began gliding through the clouds. Martin guessed he would land on the ground below. Even if he wasn't dead, he doubted they'd be seeing each other again. Martin sighed and walked back into the office. To his surprise, Terrance was gone.
"Dammit. He must have escaped." Martin guessed. His thoughts were cut short when he felt the barrel of a pistol pressed against the back of his head.
"Not entirely." Terrance hissed. "You won't be winning this time, lab rat. You may have disposed of my best assassin, but you're still going to die, right where you stand. And then I'll kill Karina, Rose, and even little Jade."
Terrance was right. There was no escape. Martin quickly went through his thoughts, thinking about how he could get out of the situation, but Terrance could not be reasoned with. Plus, it was harder to think with a gun pressed against his head. Terrance grinned as he cocked the pistol.
"Any last words?" He asked. Martin glared foreword. If he was going to die, he could only say one thing.
"Duck."
"What?" Terrance asked, confused by his words. Just as he said, this, Martin ducked down and the other door to the office burst open. Flint had kicked the door in. He pulled out his own pistol and shot the gun out of Terrance's hand. A swarm of guards followed him close behind.
"Guards, arrest them!" Terrance argued. To his surprise, the guards didn't obey him. "Well? What the hell are you waiting for!?"
Karina also appeared through the crowd, smiling smugly and placing a hand on her hip as she did so. "Guards, arrest him." She said, snapping her fingers. The guards actually obeyed her, grabbing Terrance and putting handcuffs on him.
"What do you think you're doing!? This is treason!" He shouted.
"Oh my god, shut up!" Karina laughed.
"Looks like your little power trip is at an end, Terry." Flint remarked. Terrance glared at him.
"Who the hell are you?" He asked. He didn't get an answer, as Rose appeared, wearing her normal red dress. She looked just as regal as before. The guards bowed as she approached. Terrance looked around at them in confusion
"What are you doing? She's not the president!" He barked.
"Actually, she is." Karina explained. "See, Jade and I were able to testify that Rose was forced to give up her presidency under threat. Since that's actually illegal, you're being arrested for treason."
"Not to mention political fraud, attempted murder, and numerous other crimes for which you have admitted to being guilty in the past." Rose continued. "Guards, remove him from my sight."
The guards did as they were told, dragging Terrance out of the office. He still tried to put up a fight, but wasn't able to talk since the guards put a gag over his mouth. Karina ran to Martin and helped him up.
"Are you alright?" She asked. "That could have ended much worse."
"I'm alright." Martin chuckled.
"How did you know we were about to burst in like that?" Flint asked.
"I didn't." Martin admitted. "I just hoped I could come up with something before Terrance killed me."
"Well, we're glad he didn't." Karina said. Suddenly, Jade pushed past her and hugged Martin tightly. Rose also stepped foreword, smiling as she did so.
"Thank you, Martin, Karina, and Flint, for all your help." She said. "I am prepared to reward you each 500000 gold for your assistance."
Each of their eyes widened. Flint whistled is amazement. "Whoa. Is that what you guys get paid normally?"
"No. Usually it's not even half that." Karina said. Rose chuckled at their responses.
"And, if there is anything else you might want, please feel free to ask." She continued.
Martin looked down at Jade, who was still hugging him. He remembered what he had said to her a few days ago. She looked up at him and smiled. Martin turned back to Rose.
"I'd like to request something." He said.
"And what would that be?" Rose asked.
"An apprenticeship for Jade." Martin said. Jade let go of him and gasped, beginning to jump up and down excitedly. Rose was also surprised by the request.
"For Jade? Are you sure?" She asked.
"I think it would be a valuable learning experience for her." Martin said. "She certainly seems to be excited about the idea."
Rose thought for a moment. Finally, she nodded her head.
"All right." Rose said, smiling again. "If it's what Jade wants, then I'll allow it."
"Yes!" Jade exclaimed. She ran up to Rose and hugged her. Martin and Karina both laughed at her reaction. In just a few days, their team had gone from two to four.