The map in her head had become very neat again, everything was properly outlined and it slowly stretched the radius. Looking at everything at the same time was like not being oneself; it was like playing a videogame and watching the character move through a level trying to reach the exit. Yet, there was no controller.

The building's metal framework kept wailing with every step. She spotted cracks in several places of the floors, ceiling, and walls. With no time to lose, her steady paced sped up to a trot. She didn't run out of breath, and it made her realize her body was in perfect physical condition. Her arms weren't muscular at all, but her body was solid. She didn't have overwhelming strength, but she was precise. She did, however, felt rather naked fighting with her bare hands. A weapon would probably change this but she wasn't sure exactly which weapon she was familiar with.

A few turns, and she would be out. That's when she spotted the wounded professor Horowitz, making his way through a hallway not far away, apparently heading for the exit as well. She stopped, and pondered for a moment. The building appeared to be about to collapse, and while she didn't knew exactly who she was, she didn't care to save the Horowitz, that was certain. But she had several questions that would remained unanswered for the moment if the professor died. Decisive, Number V turned away, and run towards the professor.

It didn't take long to reach him. Horowitz was panting and had blood splattered all over his white scientist coat. He used the wall for support, and moved very slowly. "Who... who's goes there?" He asked nervously. Number V stood in front of him, but didn't say anything. "Oh, it's you, V. Help me out, will you? I'm hurt."

V stood still. "And why would I?"

The professor glanced warily. "The building is about to collapse... we got to... we gotta get out of here!" He explained desperately.

"Exactly," confirmed V. "That's why I would like you to answer some questions first, or we'll play dodge-stone and I assure you, I have a higher chances to win, doctor."

Horowitz went to his knees as if defeated. His face was a mix of discomfort, pain, and hesitation. "I... " He searched for the words, but they didn't come out. The entire room made a sound as if heralding the inevitable. The professor turned his head frantically.

"No time for hesitation, doc. What happened to my memories?" She asked.

Horowitz grimaced. "They were blocked. We have someone who uses that power. He's able to block memories selectively. The mental barrier gradually lifts off. If you try to force it, it will hurt, might even make you bleed. Now, can we please go?"

"Why was my memory blocked? What is this place?" And who am I? Who the hell am I? She had too many questions at the moment and she made a conscious effort not to let all of them come out.

Horowitz was clearly worried about the collapse, he looked desperate but made an effort to comply with V's demands. "I... it's complicated. This facility however is... a research institute of sorts for The Founder. He's the one who discovered the first one of your kind. We've been... researching the nature of your powers, and... ah, I know!" He rummaged through one of the pockets of his white lab coat. He took out a disc in a case. "Here, take this. It will shed some light into many of your questions until your memory completely returns. It will be... hard to find a powered, working computer, however." He glanced at the ceiling nervously. "Can we please go?"

"Yes, I'm taking you with me," explained V. "I don't care about your survival, but I want to know more."

A loud sound, louder than before, finally announced the beginning of the gradual collapse. The floor cracked opened, and turned into a slope. V held her ground, but Horowitz rolled backwards nonstop and fell deeper into the darkness. Not wasting any time, she turned and climbed the slope, while debris fell down. For a normal person, it would have been impossible to survive in this situation.

..but she wasn't normal.

Watching the falling debris from above and below, the floor at the same time, and the path ahead, it made it a sound possibility to escape alive. It was like a platform game, but you only get one life. For some, this might have nerve-wreaking enough to stop certain limbs from moving, but she moved and jumped as graceful as a cat. Her ability might not be flashy, but she certainly exploited it and reaped its benefits. 'Daredevil' was a word that would've fitted perfectly in this context; she was a superb individual, and her ability only outlined this very fact.

Jumping from the falling slope, she landed on unstable ground. V bolted immediately even though the floor fell apart into pieces like a dismembered chess board. She zig-zagged her way heading for the visible exit that couldn't be reached by making a straight line through the deadly rain of metal, concrete, and more debris. The door was visible, but somehow the outside light kept being shut out. The exit doors that had been opened started to cave in with the rest of the wall. The floor finally collapsed entirely, and she timed a flying kick to blast the broken door open, land on it, and with the momentum slide her way to freedom, passing a couple of other Numbers who quickly vanished in the cloud of dust of the final collapse.

She jumped off the sliding door before it crashed against the fence. She stood still for a moment, appreciating the "Texas City" sign, and ignoring the rest of the survivors whom she could clearly distinguish despite the temporal dust cloud.

The asian guy who had called her Cassandra wasn't among them. Nor was the familiar face she had seen in her power outburst. With her view she could see the first floor had entirely collapsed in itself, so there was no chances for survivors on that floor. If there had been anyone below, they would remain trapped, if they hadn't died already. But somehow she knew the asian guy had survived.

There were several corpses littering the facility. All of them dead. She started searching for footwear that would fit, and she found some boots from someone who apparently had been some sort of security personnel. She also took a .45 she found, but still felt something missing. She could clearly use a firearm, but she wanted something for melee as well. None of what she saw interested her. Finally, she ripped a piece of someone's tattered clothes and tied her long, black hair in a ponytail.

Still wearing the facility attire, she headed towards the city, in hopes she would find something, or at least slowly remember who she was.