Pop. Pop. Pop, pop, pop, pop. POPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOP! And Ryan's Jiffy-pop was done. Pop. Ok now it is. "BoB! Bring up the fight on the screens." He commanded as he pulled the tray off the hot-plate and ripped open the top. Lil burned, eh I'll just eat around it. He grabbed a lager from the cooler and planted his ass on a bean-bag chair that sat in front of a bank of monitors. On cue, B.O.B. brought up videos from News channels that had choppers keeping an eye on the fight in the City. The voice of a female anchor narrated the action, " Seraphim heroes have started to attach the creature, but it seems to shrug off everything they hit it with, our choppers have been advised by the police not to get any closer, still no word on the whether or not the NYPD will be called in to back the heroes up.
"Hey BoB doe we have any SPD's in the area? I wanna closer shot these chopper pilots are pussies." He asked.
"We have two within a half-mile at safe-house 3. One more observing a bank, two miles away." The synthesized voice replied.
"Alright sent the two from safe-house 3. Fly them high and camouflaged. When they get there half them focus on the uh, guy shooting magic, and the... What is she cosplaying a weeping angel? You know what? Stone *****, we'll just call her stone *****. Ya focus it on flame-o and stone *****." He commanded. This wasn't just about watching a fun fight, for Ryan this was research, a chance to see the heroes in action before he had to face them himself.
The frost attack had done little to affect the mage as he'd put up a cloak of fire. Virus stopped his attack and started to build up a ball of electricity between his hands, ready to fire it off. But he was interrupted as someone shot at his head, which, while it didn't kill him, did hurt him and interrupted his attack, making the ball of electricity disappear. Perhaps it would be best to retreat for now and think up a new plan.
"
Code:
We see that you're quite capable of stopping our plans. It would be unwise to continue our cleansing right now. But do take note that you have been chosen as special targets of ours should we meet again.
" When he finished talking, Virus' throat changed as he utilized yet another device he had assimilated, then took a deep breath and let out a vicious sonic scream, loud enough to break the glass in the nearby buildings. Once sure that his opponents were stunned, he quickly ran away, running in a strange pattern so that the heroes who had attacked him wouldn't be able to follow him back.
He reached his lab without any signs of anyone following him, and entered it, locking everything and activating the traps again after he had disabled them while he'd walked back in. "
Code:
We will need to find new things to assimilate. New ways to take them down. We cannot be stopped. We should not be stopped.
" He immediately started to think up what he'd need, and started work on a new plan.
[hr]
The pilot was too late to avoid the water attack, which made it swerve a bit too much. He looked back to see how they were doing, and saw how Justin was hanging almost out. "Goddamnit, I'm underestimating the creature!" He quickly put on auto-pilot, hoping that the leviathan wouldn't attack while he was away from the cockpit, and hurried over to Justin. "Hang on, son!" he called to him as he grabbed a hold of him and dragged him back inside.
"This is why I mentioned the life lines! Now make sure to put one on you so that you won't fall out! And you two!" he then said to Marcus and Kurt. "Do the same as well so that you won't fall off!" He hurried back to the cockpit and took the auto-pilot off, taking back control over the VTOL and watching out for any attacks from the leviathan.
The screech attack lanced straight through Talsper's ears, staggering him and causing his ears to start bleeding. In addition, the creature's attack shattered the mage's focus, causing the ethereal flames to vanish.
No way that was a natural thing. That's gotta be some sort of electronic weapon, Mark noted.
"I hath heard graver wailings," Talsper answered. "However, yonder being appeareth in need of aid. Mayhap I can assist." He hurried over to investigate the still-writhing Arlana, examining her from a distance to avoid getting swiped by a thrashing hand, foot or wing. "Intriguing... this creature hath been poisoned, from the sight of her."
Can you cure it? You've patched up our injuries before.
"I know not whether th'Aura reservoir we possess can drive this malady out. External sources may be the way forward." Talsper's eyes narrowed as he tried to think over his options. He could try, of course, but it would require that the patient be still. That wasn't likely to happen soon. Perhaps Seraphim had some sort of professional healer.
"God damn it! Get back there you gray infected dripping baby canal! Get back and fight like a man for my amusement!" Ryan screamed at his TV when Virus made his escape.
"Should I continue sending those SPD's?" BOB asked, responding to the new development.
"Why bother, I, it's like, uh the good parts over anyways, send them back. Just send the two that are there to do a quick scan on... Fuck I don't care about their names anymore, just make it quick so they don't get caught." Ryan replied, thoroughly put out by the recent development.
From their hiding spots high on the roof tops the two SPD's swept down behind the heroes and circled around Talsper and Arlana at break neck speeds. Flashing light stung their eyes as high speed cameras took pictures from every angle. Then as quick as appeared, they left, high above the rooftops and out of sight.
"Scan complete, would you like to review the images?" BOB asked.
Justin promptly gave the pilot thanks as he was helped back into the aircraft. Or, he would've, but all that seemed to come out of his mouth were heavy breathing and panicked whimpers. Without another noise, he quickly scurried-crawled over to the nearest life-line, and strapped himself in. With the feeling of security washing over him, he began regaining his composure (and his heart rate). "Never again. Ain't never doin' this shit ever again..." He mumbled in-between breaths. He yelled to the pilot's back as he returned to the cockpit. "And how's about you don't underestimate a GIANT, fucking sea monster, huh?! Justin shouted in seething exasperation, managing to wearily rise to his feet.
"And you two!" He pointed towards the weirdly inactive duo that was his teammates. "Can we please get our fucking heads in the game so we can fucking get the FUCK outta here?! You twig bundles both have powers that can shoot projectiles, how's about you both shoot the fucking thing, huh?! I mean, hey, if we can't outright kill it, then at least, maybe, juuuuuuuust maybe!, we can get it to go away! It's bad enough you can't save my life from falling hundreds of feet into the mouth of a goddamn Leviathan, but you give no effort towards saving your own?! If that's the case, then let me off of this crazy plane right fucking now, 'cause y'all motherfuckers are suicidal!" Justin (very colorfully) ranted at the two, making vivid motions with his hands and arms, while his face morphed through several expressions and took on a nice shade of red.
The spray of water threw Marcus clean off his feet, drenching him from head to toe. 'Oh, that's not good. NOT GOOD.' Thinking fast, he tore off his soaked coat and deactivated his suite. It looked like he'd have to go completely analogue for this encounter. Peering over the side of the platform, he saw the beast circling below, whipping its tail menacingly. As much as he hated to admit it, if it kept taking potshots with water like that, he wasn't going to be of any use.
"Look, we're clearly ill-equipped to fight this thing. It's not attacking anything - not yet, at least - so I vote we head back to Seraphim and rally some reinforcements."
He nodded to the pilot, before bracing himself on the platform. "Take us up. At the very least, we need time to figure out what we're doing."
Ianthe was finished playing around with this thing. She ducked under the waves, diving down as far as the floor allowed, and aimed up. In a burst of speed she shot up and breached the surface, jaws open wider than the VTOL. It was perhaps by pure luck that the pilot had taken Marcus advice and started accelerating away. The teeth missed them by mere inches, the force of her jaws snapping closed sending vibrations though the cockpit. She fell back to the water as the Seraphim agents sped away. Ianthe didn't bother to give chase, the top of her head ans eyes only visible for a few more seconds before she slipped into the cold depths.
Both teams reported back to Seraphim, both having failed their missions. The team that had gone against the leviathan reported back with not being used to fighting a monster like that, and Christopher gave them an apology for that, telling them that he should have known better than to send relatively new members against something like that. He offered them to go and train their abilities when they had recovered from the mission before the team that had gone against Virus reported in, showing an infected Arlana who was in great pain. She was rushed to the medical floor in hopes of being able to cure her of whatever it was that was causing her such pain.
[hr]
A month later...
Things were proceeding as usual at Seraphim. Missions were given out each day to the heroes residing within, who all did their job as best as they could. Arlana had been tested on, carefully, over the course of the month to see if there was a cure for her ailment. They hadn't made much progress, which was at least partially because she was a gargoyle with stone skin which wasn't easy to pierce, but also because they'd never come across such an ailment before. Reports were given to Christopher every few days, and they showed him just how dangerous this villain who'd done this to Arlana was. As if the flesh eating disease hadn't been bad enough. He sighed as he looked out his window. His medical team wouldn't give up, he knew that for certain. But he couldn't have her going on any missions in her current condition.
[hr]
Meanwhile...
Virus, after many patrols close to Seraphim, had gathered that he wouldn't be able to take them down on his own. He would need help, as much as he hated the thought of working together with others. He'd added a deep basement to his lab in order to use as a hideout or headquarters for when he would gather allies. He'd already managed to gather a few villains together who seemed to be willing to work with him.
The hideout part of the lab was several rooms for various purposes. Bedrooms, training rooms, rooms for improving ones gadgets, and a meeting room for when a plan was to be discussed. He'd still require more, but this didn't seem half bad so far.
Alias: Numerous. Her codename as an agent of MI6 was Countess, but she was more often known as simply Nine or Agent Nine.
Gender: Female
Age: There has been a Lily Keller, Agent Nine in the employment of MI6 since 1951. However, inconsistencies within the documentation suggest that at at least six different people have been this alleged single agent. By her appearance - late twenties to early thirties - it seems rather unlikely that these have been the same people, although even extremely secret MI6 records do not say anything of it.
Appearance: Given her skill for disguises, we'll go for her baseline look. It might not be her natural appearance, but it's what most people who know her recognize her as. She has jet black hair down to a few inches past her neck, usually either hanging loose or gathered into her balaclava, although she might draw it back into a ponytail, braid, or bun if she's going undercover and anticipates a chance of it going belly up.
Her eyes are a dark green, and that is one thing that is most likely natural, as she has been witnessed putting in color contacts directly over them, with no serious odds of her performing any feats of misdirection and legerdemain to conceal her swapping out the lenses.
Her skin is pale, most likely a result of too many years of sleeping during the day and breaking into the Russian embassy at night. This could potentially be a use of makeup, but it seems rather unlikely.
Her body is lean, built like an athlete. She's not completely ripped, but she's obviously in extremely good shape and there's considerable tone to her musculature, although not to the point that it detracts from her femininity.
To be diplomatic Lily is rather eye-catching - leggy and, ahem, built. It wouldn't be a stretch - or even slightly incorrect - to guess that she's made use of the honey trap technique more than a little.
Lily's accent shifts to various places depending on who she's pretending to be, but when she is in her rest state she defaults to a faint but definite London accent.
Lily has no fixed dress code, changing outfits to fit the situation like a social chameleon. Her only fixed outfit is her stealthsuit, her favored gear for stealth and combat. It is a dark-colored form-fitting garment that shifts between dark shades depending on the lighting. It has a pebbled texture on the exterior, visible to the eye as almost scale-like shapes on the surface. The head cover is two parts - one is a balaclava made of the same material as the suit, the second is a face cover comprised of a set of close-fitting goggles and a grill-like mask covering her mouth and nose.
Personality: Pragmatic and self-serving. Nine had her idealism burned out of her a while back and these days is just in it for the money. She could give less of a shit about the politics and the ethics involved. That said, she's not completely soulless. While she's in it for herself she has a certain sense of honor. She may be a ruthless, treacherous double agent but she's not a murderer, except in the sense that she is. She won't kill those she sees as bystanders and has no interest in mindless mayhem. If you have to scare the shit out of a guy and break a few kneecaps to get what is rightfully yours, fine, but out and out murdering an innocent is way too far in her eyes.
Mind that an innocent to her might not be your definition. Someone levels a gun in her direction and she won't care who they are, if they're just a cop or a guard doing their job or just some idiot civilian trying to be a hero, she'll kill them without hesitation. Their 'transgression' doesn't necessarily have to be a violent one to make her no longer look at them as off limits. While she won't take a job to assassinate some innocent schmuck for the giggles she has no compunction about icing a corporate spy or a Chinese intelligence asset.
Her day to day behavior depends on the role she is playing. When she isn't pretending to be someone other than Agent Nine she's very professional and straightforward, possessing a dry sense of humor and almost endless reserves of patience.
Alignment: Supervillain
Superpowers: Nine has no real powers, she's just a baseline Human, albeit a baseline Human that has undergone intense training to become one of if not the greatest spy and assassin in the world.
Her specialty is covert insertion and operations, both in terms of literally sneaking into a place and bluffing her way past security. She has a skill with disguises and an acting skill that would win her oscars if she had taken other paths in life, and if that fails she can move almost invisibly, nothing more than a shadow within a shadow until you find out that your mainframe has been broken into and there's a wad of C4 in the lining of your easy chair. Most security systems are easily defeated by her, whether by lockpicks, listening to the clicks of a safe's combination lock, breaking through a computer's firewall, or making her way past more esoteric defenses.
She is an expert interrogator and torturer, although she disdains most forms of torture as both barbaric and ineffective, which isn't to say she won't use them, just that they're not her first resort. That said, the more psychological means she uses are often just as sadistic as snapping fingers.
Should her operations ever go belly up - and that happens surprisingly often to the world's best spy - Keller is extremely skilled in handling herself both with martial arts and firearms, having trained with SAS operators and Mossad counterintelligence agents alike to be devastatingly effective, using small-unit tactics, impressive accuracy, and Krav Maga to lethal effect.
Other training includes being an expert with numerous vehicles. Keller can drive nearly anything that goes on the road from a motor scooter to an APC and do it extremely well. As well she can handle most boats, choppers, and civilian aircraft, although she is only proficient with these, not a master.
As a spy Keller has developed an impressive facility with languages. She speaks English and Russian as well as any native, is fluent in German, Arabic, and Mandarin, and can understand and make herself understood in Spanish, Farsi, and Hindi. She knows a handful of useful phrases in French, Japanese, and Portuguese as well.
While her normal weapon of choice is a Walther PPK modern times and more extreme circumstances have forced her to upgrade - using a purse gun on, say, a Gargoyle is about as effectual as using a spitwad. She now carries a custom-made handgun, about 30% larger than her Walther. While some of the space is used to allow it to load more ammunition - a fifteen round magazine - most of it is to reinforce the weapon to allow it to fire specialized armor-penetrating rounds, depleted uranium bullets with a truly massive powder load, an experimental military-grade ammunition called scalpel rounds. These bullets cut through even the most advanced armor in the world with relative ease, although they come at the cost of kicking like a mule, even with the recoil compensation. The increased velocity has an added effect of improving range and accuracy. Scalpel Rounds are relatively ineffectual against unarmored targets, as without armor to slow the bullet and cause it to tumble the bullet will simply pierce through flesh and out the other side, leaving a clean hole, hence the title Scalpel. If these bullets do not strike critical parts of the body mass it is likely the target will survive even with delayed medical attention. The weapon is also capable of firing standard 9x19mm Parabellum rounds. She carries a suppressor for it, but the suppressor is useless with Scalpel rounds. Lily's arsenal contains a number of other weapons modified to fire these specialized rounds, ranging from machine pistols to large-caliber sniper rifles, however she keeps most of these in secure locations rather than carrying them with her at all times.
Aside from her specialized guns Lily has a few other unique pieces of equipment. Her combat knife is a non-eutectic blade, the hilt of the blade filled with nano-constructors that constantly build and rebuild the knife, making the edge near-monomolecular and the knife itself effectively unbreakable while on unless exposed to extreme heat or EMP. In the event of either the device is destroyed. Fortunately EMP isn't exactly common, and the kind of heat needed to destroy the nano-constructors, well, the knife being destroyed would be the least of Nine's problems. This knife can cut through nearly anything when activated, assuming she can get close enough. It sees use as a tool as much as a weapon. It's likely that this knife is stolen Seraphim technology.
Her last piece of unique gear is her stealthsuit, a form-fitting bodysuit that covers her from head to toe, although the balaclava/facemask part of it can be removed from the rest with little trouble, as can the gloves. It's color shifts depending on lighting, although it always remains dark and has a very limited palette - dark gray, dark green, dark blue, and black. The stealthsuit, in addition to containing a nanoweave of carbon fibers granting it impressive bullet and knife defeating properties for its weight is designed to defeat many forms of sensors. The armor has a sophisticated cooling system allowing the exterior to constantly be roughly room temperature. Metal objects contained within this suit will go undetected by metal detectors - in fact, an X-Ray of someone wearing the suit will show that there is nothing there, not even the suit itself. The facemask of the suit contains a small rebreather/gas filter and switchable optics for both night and thermal vision.
The suit is usable as a drysuit, allowing for extended underwater operations even in extremely low temperature water, with the facemask's rebreather allowing for one hour of operations, additionally able to be supplemented to last effectively forever with a standard oxygen tank. The suit is not designed for it, but with the gloves and facemask properly sealed to the main body she is capable of operating in vacuum conditions. The rebreather will supply her with oxygen for one hour and can be supplemented by oxygen tanks, but the suit does not have an internal cooling mechanism and she will overheat quickly in the absence of air for convection. The X-Ray invisibility also acts as radiation shielding, providing unrivaled protection against radiological attack and granting Keller the full suite of NBC protection.
In addition to her unique gear Nine has a considerable amount of cash and underworld contacts, allowing her to get her hands on most anything she needs short of a tactical nuke.
Weaknesses: She's a normal Human lacking any kind of superpowers.
Biography: The program was begun at the same time as MI6 itself was created, shortly after World War II. The British government, foreseeing the kind of spy war that the Cold War was shaping into found the need for elite operatives capable of handling whatever missions were necessary to impede the cause of the Soviets.
This is where the story gets complicated. An SOE operative from the war was approached to become one of these agents, Agent Nine. According to records she accepted the offer, and to this day remains an active agent of MI6. There are no file photos on record of this woman, no descriptions, not even a confirmation that Lily Keller was her real name. No personal history, no family, the only listing being of assignments. The appearance was of an immortal operative of the British government.
Eighteen months ago, however, things changed. Nine was listed as missing following a failed mission to Guangzhou, apparently captured by Chinese Intelligence agents.
What follows from there is uncertain.
There are three likely possibilities - one is that Nine had planned this from the beginning, create the appearance of being captured to fake her own demise when in reality she was selling the secrets to the Chinese government for personal profit. The second is that she was indeed captured, but managed to escape. Fully aware that MI6 hung her out to dry she has turned coat and become a soldier of fortune, building up her fortune until she's prepared to take her revenge. The third is that she was captured, tortured, and brainwashed into a Chinese agent, and her current occupation as a soldier of fortune is just the current stage of a labyrinthine plan.
There are other possibilities, but they are rather outlandish.
Regardless of why she is doing it, Keller has been wreaking havoc across the west between executing truly legendary heists and performing mercenary work for untold numbers of criminal and corporate enterprises. She must have amassed a considerable fortune by now, but shows no signs of stopping.
Seraphim's line of body armour was weird. Not quite what Mark had been expecting. It was incredibly light and apparently resistant to all sorts of things. The traceur was contemplating its qualities as he ran through the end of a training regime he had developed over the past few weeks. One of the training floors had been given over to a gym, but he eschewed it in favour of navigating a series of trench-like mazes, "designed to simulate close-quarters firefights" as he had been told. It wasn't the same as working his way through the city streets and back alleys - there was almost no means of conserving momentum when rounding corners - but it was enough to keep his skills sharp and his fitness level high.
There were human-shaped targets scattered throughout each of the courses: presumably they were for people to put rounds through. But Mark didn't shoot them as he passed them by: carrying a pistol in one hand only limited his ability to move. That and he didn't own a gun, nor had he ever used one. Talsper's magic was his substitute.
How would a spell fare against this armour, I wonder? he mused as he moved through the last of the familiar patterns. Vault the ledge - catch another corner on the way down - bring it around, keep moving - short run up the wall, grab the top, swing over. Roll with the landing, cross the makeshift room, short dash out the door to the end of the course... done.
I know not. Mayhap some tests of my own art in order, once th'art finished here. Mark had only recently picked up the Seraphim armour and was running some tests to see if it had any impact on his movements.
[hr]
Name: Intet Yxi Alias: Sorcerer-King Gender: Male Age: 457
Appearance: Standing at exactly seven feet in height, Intet has pale skin in stark contrast to his muted apparel. Short black hair is obscured by a gold and platinum crown, into which are set several gemstones (chief among them is a trio of diamonds). His eyes are a bright blue. Intet's choice of clothing is a set of black, silver and gold body armour, the shoulder pads of which are made up of three separate layers, each one jutting outwards at a slightly different angle. A large floor-length cloak, attached to the shoulder pads, supplements the outfit and includes a pointed collar.
Beneath his shoulder pads, each upper arm has three thin belts wrapped around it, the ends of which taper to points. Intet also wears a gold amulet, in which is set a trio of diamonds, in addition to his crown.
Personality: If you had to sum up Intet in three descriptors, they would be "inquisitive", "driven" and "dramatic". He sees non-magical beings as having the potential to rise to his level. They just haven't reached it yet, and he can help them to do that through his destructive experiments.
Intet is of the belief that even if he causes significant damage in pursuit of his goal - granting humans the ability to use magic - the end result will justify his actions, and the world will heal from its wounds, as the phoenix rises from ashes when its new life begins.
If attacked, Intet will retaliate without holding back, though whether he will leave his foes alive or dead is another matter entirely. His foes, he will spare if they have potential to learn. His allies get the same treatment... if they can be trusted not to try attacking him again.
As a being of Eniadan, Intet occasionally speaks in the same semi-Shakespearean manner as Talsper. Time away from his home plane has caused it to wear off slightly, however.
Alignment: Supervillain Superpowers: Intet is a talented mage from the plane of Eniadan. Master of the magical Aura, he brings fire, stone, ice, lightning and necromancy to the battlefield in equal and devastating measure. He will often switch between these disciplines depending on the results inflicted upon his opponents. Intet also has power over flight, again through his command of the Aura. Outside of combat situations, he tends to use his magic to further his studies.
Weapons: Intet carries two weapons of choice. Primarily, he uses a silver staff inlaid with jet as a focus in his spellcasting. His secondary weapon is a plain, unadorned longsword, for use if he is engaged in close-quarters combat. The scabbard for the latter is fixed at his left hip.
Weaknesses: If an opponent impresses him enough, Intet will spare them even if they make attempts on his life in the future. He also has great interest in technologies from other planes, and will make attempts to prevent their destruction if at all possible, in the interest of studying them.
Biography: Originally a magister studying the Aura in great detail, Intet travelled planes other than Eniadan after turning three hundred years of age. The differences between other worlds and his home were spectacularly notable. Chief among them, the lack of connection to magic. He brought his findings to other magisters, but none cared to hear him out. It was a common fact that Eniadan was the one plane that possessed the Aura. But Intet posed the question: could other planes of existence be made to possess it?
So he began to experiment. Sealed pockets of his research laboratory were created, their connection to the Aura severed through powerful enchantments. The pockets were tested, to see if the Aura could be restored to the cut-off area while maintaining the wards that kept the original source at bay. Early tests were a failure, but they began to succeed as the years progressed. With this came a desire to expand Intet's experiments. He travelled to other planes with several artifacts in tow, and experimented there to build a connection to magic on the other worlds.
It took a while to set the groundwork, but it eventually started to take shape. Intet had outposts set up on six different planes, away from the planes' inhabitants so as not to be interrupted. Many of his experiments ended in colossal explosions that left craters where buildings once were. But in the mere minutes that Intet felt the Aura touch him from a new source, they worked. Intet began to travel more frequently, requisitioning more and more resources from Eniadan to continue his studies. When his requests began to be denied by procurement officials, he stole what he wanted instead of purchasing the required materials. Dedication to his project was greater than the need to acquire the resources legitimately.
Intet eventually discovered a way to produce more of the Aura. Purposefully detonating his experiments yielded stronger connections, though still fleeting. Twenty years later, amid much destruction of the wildlands where he had his outposts, he hypothesised that planes had innate characteristics that determined how effective the experiments would be. So he began to visit more and more planes, studying the worlds themselves until he found one that matched his findings with the greatest accuracy.
Earth. Once a dumping ground for old Eniadan magisters, the plane was filled with warring sides and squabbling factions. But there was a faint presence here. It would suffice. Nowhere near the levels Intet had previously used as the basis on other worlds, but it would be enough. The plane was almost entirely taken over by civilisation, though. Cities and towns where other worlds had lush jungles and plains and mountains.
Before beginning his experiments here - and likely causing considerable damage to the plane's cities - Intet knew he had to test the plane itself. That meant gathering allies, ones who would overlook the destruction he had to cause in order to lay the groundwork for his projects. A plane was a big place. A single man, no matter how well-versed in the magical arts, cannot sow the seeds of change throughout an entire world by himself. So Intet invented the nickname and costume of 'Sorcerer-King' and began to study the plane under this guise. The world already seemed to possess several individuals with similar names and abilities of their own: while not magical in nature, they would require study as well.
Notes: Intet possesses a large collection of Eniadan artifacts, almost all of which are enchanted in some way (and a good portion of which are stolen). This includes a Planar Key - a tool used to travel between the different planes of reality - and his two weapons of choice.
Reports of conflicts had diminished over the past few weeks, or so the scientist-mage had gathered. Intet Yxi, Aura theorist, planar traveller and Sorcerer-King - as some on Earth knew him - still lacked the means to gather information on worldly happenings. He worked alone, as always, but it was difficult to maintain secrecy and anonymity in a city-plane - or so it seemed to be, given the number of civilian and commercial structures.
He had yet to travel far, but the first time he had visited Earth the world had been much less developed than the sprawling cityscape it was now. Though time was not a multiversal constant: days and years varied in length depending on where you went. And Intet had been to many different planes.
Word of mouth on the streets was questionable at best. Assuming the guise of an ordinary civilian, Intet had tried several times to gather information through conversations. However, he towered over many of the populace and his manner of speech put people off talking to him. So for now, he watched and waited for something to happen.
Standing atop one of the taller buildings in his Sorcerer-King outfit, Intet was content to watch and wait. Someone with some sort of special ability had to make a move eventually, and when they did he would know thanks to the beacon network he had begun to set up. Small objects seeded in a uniform pattern throughout the city would alert him to the presence of a being with non-magical, non-mundane power.
Task Force B entered the premises first, and while their cosmetic damages were minimal, it was safe to assume there was some emotional scars left as a result of that failed venture. Upon catching sight of his superior, Justin dashed towards him, teeth clenched and bare. Quick to react, Marcus intervened, grabbing a hold of the agitated boy, only but a few steps from Adelbert.
"Some nerve...y'got some nerve sending us on that damned mission!" He exclaimed from beyond Faraday's grasp, eager to pump his boss full of voltage. "I am not the one to fucking trifle with, Christopher! There are hundreds of other workers that you have at your disposal, sending a pair of greenhorns that can barely use their powers might've been the stupidest idea you will have all year!" He continued through gritted teeth. His face began to take on a familiar shade of red as he ranted. "I don't know if your slow mind's fully processed it yet, but we could've died. And I almost FUCKING did! I better see some sort of compensation for your fuck up, or I swear-!"
"That's enough, Justin!" Marcus tried to keep a calm demeanor, but Justin's rash behavior was making it difficult. He turned to Adelbert and gave a half-bow through his restraint. "I'm very sorry, sir." Dragging the boy bodily from Adelbert's office as he continued to shout curses, he deposited him in the hallway before slamming the door to Adelbert's office shut. "What the hell was that, Case? We knew the risks going in."
"Yeah, and I also thought I had teammates I could rely on, but look at how that turned out!" Justin shot back, shaking out of Marcus' grasp.
"You say you knew the risks, but you damn sure didn't act like it! You, and that other guy (whatever the fuck his name was!), didn't do jack-diddly-shit! Not a damn thing! You fucking froze up when things got heavy! Marcus, I fucking dangled out of a aircraft today! And you fucking SAT THERE AND WATCHED! It had to take the damn pilot (who was like, five feet away, and didn't even see me fall, might I add!), to get out of the cockpit, come all the way over to me, and drag me back in, while you sat in your shitty little crouch, with your thumb up your fucking ass! Why was I (the smallest, weakest guy of our group) the only one conscious enough to at least try and come up with a plan, Marcus?!"
"Because I would have killed all of us if I hadn't." It was the truth. The second he was wet he became not only a liability, but an outright danger if he didn't work carefully to keep his powers under control. Not that Marcus expected Justin to understand, especially in his distressed state. "Now, tell me this, Case. Have you been bludgeoned, cut, shot, stabbed, burned, and mangled? I have. On my own, and on the few occasions I teamed up with others." His own voice was starting to rise from its previously calm tone, betraying his own rising anger.
"Being a superhero isn't something you do to make a quick buck. No matter how skilled you are, how skilled your allies are, there is always - ALWAYS - a chance you end up dead every time you go out there and fight." His own fists were clenched now, his voice having risen to a full shout. "THOSE are the risks, you fucking idiot!" He could feel the twinge of a tear rolling down his cheek as memories of his first fight flashed through his mind. So many dead... "You think we're incompetent? That's nothing. Competence can be taught - hell, it can even be taught quickly. But you know what can't be taught? Conviction. Courage. Things you clearly lack if you press the blame on others!"
He raised his arm and pointed to the elevator, not breaking eye contact. "Seraphim has little need for a person unwilling to accept the real risks of being a hero, Case. Man up, or get the fuck out of here."
"Man up?! ************, are you talking to me, or yourself?! I'm quite sure I was aware of the risks being dealt on a mission where I had to fight a fucking sea monster! While you, on the other hand, can only come up with bullshit excuses to try an' save your own sorry ass!"
"Was the monster shooting water at us when I was five fingers away from falling into its mouth? Huh?! WAS IT?!! You were ten inches away from me! Literally ten fucking inches! I counted! With your strength, it would've took you no less than five seconds to pull me back in!" At that point, Justin brought the Awe up to eye level.
"And what do you think this does? Shoot rainbows and generate currents of bullshit?! Because the last I checked, I haven't gotten that far with the technology yet! Believe me Marcus, in that particular moment in time, with those unique variables, we would've been just fine." The elevator reached the two, the confirming ding of the machine accompanying the machinations of doors sliding open. The argument was nearing its end. "I'm taking the stairs. I need to go to the R&D department." But before making his departure, he took a step closer to his partner.
"Take a good look at yourself before you tell anyone else to "man up". I wasn't the one so hung up over my weaknesses, that I couldn't help my teammates. Risks. Pfft." He gave a scoff and a contemptuous glance before taking his leave.
[hr] One Month Later...
Feuds have a chance of being short lived when the ones feuding live across from one another, and share similar interests. Justin felt it best to drop the blame game in order to put more focus into his creations. Just that day, he began with blueprints and schematics of his next Awe. Something with more power, better current flow, and a user interface more enhanced than two on/off switches and a couple of LEDs. He began putting research into the phenomenon known as "ball lightning", and began coming up with theories on how to replicate the occurrence.
With some help from Faraday, of course. It was only logical the electrokinetic could help with finding a breakthrough with man-made version of this unique event in nature. From his phone he quickly contacted the man, eager to get his outlook on his latest bout of researching. "Marcus? Get down here. We's got some sciencing to do."
Name: Richard de Bertrand Alias: The mage that commandeered his mind dubbed him Soarele Negru: The Black Sun.
Gender: Male Age: 30
Appearance: Augmented by the sorcery relentlessly pumped into him, Richard is a 6'2-inch tall Caucasian male. He's built like a quarterback, with steadily thinning brown hair, steadily graying pale skin, shimming yellow eyes, and a grim disposition. Upon entering the present day, he was wearing the colors of his kingdom. Blackened scale metal armor, sans, helmet, a white cross emblazoned over the breastplate. His altered form, the massive imposing dragon, is covered in rugged, sandpaper-esque, gray scales. A series of ascending sized black horns line his snouted skull, matching his sharp, blackened teeth, and black claws.
Personality: Fiercely loyal to his implemented "mission", unpredictable, impulsive, not in his right mind.
Alignment: Richard finds both sides of the spectrum in need of cleansing, and will not align himself with the filth polluting the world.
Superpowers: Trained from youth to serve his kingdom, Richard has the expert combat skills of the elite branch of knights he operated under. His weapon of choice is a straight-bladed halberd. Once a ordinary spear, it was enchanted by the sorcerer that abducted him. Now called the Whiteraze, the halberd is capable of igniting into white-hot flames with a thought, and can return to him if thrown. Also gifted to him by the wizard, was the Sigillum Dei Aemaeth, the occult diagram charred into his chest and back. With the marking driving his person, Richard is granted an immunity to fire and diseases, and possesses the ability to mutate into a 9'6 tall dragon with a ten foot long wingspan. In this form, he can spew flames of varying temperatures, along with a poisonous, black smog, capable of suffocating the unprepared in minutes.
Weaknesses: As formidable as he may be in his human form, he his still human at the end of the day. He could be taken out by modern day weaponry. His dragon form isn't indestructible either and could also be subdued and suppressed with enough firepower.
Biography: Sometime during the early 1200s, medieval kingdoms were all the rage throughout Europe. And with kingdoms, came kings. And with kings, came the quest for power over the land. And this craving came the force, the tide turners. The armies, the way to police the land you have, while fighting over the land you want. Richard de Bertrand was a knight in one of these armies, happily battling his bordering countries in the name of his greedy, selfish king. And his god, of course. One particular skirmish, however, produced a unique variable. A deranged mage by the name of Emil Metodija separated Richard from his troupe with illusions, before subduing him and retreating to his lair with his prize in tow. See, Emil was in cahoots with one of the bordering countries, one of which Richard's army was besieging their way through at the moment. With this new specimen in his possession, Emil had a potential Trojan horse to use against the ones currently stomping their way through his homeland.
"This pawn could raze his own home in under a day..." The more he thought of a plan, the more spells and enchantments came to mind. Firstly, after laying the unconscious knight upon his operating table, he conjured a large tome, filled with magical incantations and spells. He flipped through a few pages, and homed in on his first charm. One to implant false visions into his mind and alter his sights. One to enchant the knight's favored weapon. Emil felt his task to be complete after that, but then had a thought. "He willn't last long like this. He needs..." He rummaged around his trunk of magical items. One "aha!" of realization later, he produced two artifacts. A medallion made of gold covered in polygons and words, a large polished rune forged from a malachite ore. "The seal of god..." He addressed the medallion as he pressed it into the knight's chest. As Emil muttered incantations, the medallion began to glow red hot, and seared into the unconscious warrior. "This will imbue you with ability to truly obliterate your kingdom. A precaution, however. In time, the beast within you will consume you whole." Removing the medallion left a smoldering burn that left the skin charred. As his skin began to lose pigment, he moved on to the the second artifact.
Appearance: Straight black hair, brown eyes. KAMI is manufactured to move and act like a regular human being, the only way you would tell she was not would be to notice the threadlike seams around her joints and sections, or to literally open her up. Her build was designed with some freedom, and not pure optimization and utilitarianism. She is the perceived model for her gender, as voluptuous as they could get away with without affecting her combat prowess.
Model: KM1
Height: 5'10''
Weight: 200 lbs
Battery Life: Up to 72 hours without recharging for basic use
Memory: 50 EB, with an optional remote server for information storage.
Processor: SerOb 010
Our new and improved 010-07293016 android is available with any type of outer customization, so you can have your war machine look like a dolled up American sweetheart, the lead singer in a punk rock band, or even a foreign supermodel to impress your friends. Of course, if you don't care about the outside, or just aren't creative, you can go with our standard KM1 version: A standard Anglo female appearance with black hair and brown eyes. BWH: 30-36"x24"x30-36". Skin is made of extra durable synthetics layered over a tougher metal alloy skeleton, with hairline seams for hiding the interior.
Underneath that pretty face the KM1 is nothing to laugh about. The left arm reconstructs to a fully functional AK-92 semiautomatic rifle, or the pistol-like EK-54. 3 clips of normal rounds and a clip of armor piercing rounds are preloaded, stored in the upper left chest cavity. Accuracy is 99.99% up to 200 yards. The right arm folds out into a blade for close combat. But that's not all this little girl can do.
In a 3000 study done by a private lab, the KM1 can hack into almost any database in the world in less than three hours*. The encryption on the KM1s can be updated for a small fee of $199.99 every month, just bring yours in to the nearest SerOb servicing center.
There are several bells and whistles available, including a package of the 10 most common languages, radio communications, night vision, infrared vision, GPS, facial recognition, remote memory wipe, and even self destruct mechanisms should your unit be lost or stolen.
You're not just buying a robot, you're buying a SerOb.
*Studies performed with a selection of private companies. We are not responsible for any damage caused to the KM1 by firewalls or other anti-hacking precautions.
Personality: KM1-010s do not come with a personality, however Sepahim has been so kind as to program her one. So far, Kami is capable of expressing affection, frustration, gratitude, happiness, pity, relief. Emotions such as anger, sadness and disgust have been made available, but Kami has not accessed them, since they are not helpful. Christopher has encouraged her to integrate them in order to make her more empathetic, but with little success. She does posses a very basic pain response in order to prevent damage to her frame, but does not express it very well outwardly, usually reduced to a weird electronic groan with no facial expression. Due to the lack of "personality" software, Kami makes her decisions based on a complicated flowchart of conditions and questions. She can learn in that she is able to modify her decision making processes based on experiences that she has stored. Kami has been reprogrammed to identify Seraphim as an ally, however since they have not been able to overwrite her owner's chip, she does not respond as well as she could to orders.
Alignment: Hero
Superpowers: Max lifting weight of 3500 lbs, reaction time 100 ms, top speed of 60mph. Various fighting software. KM1 can download information off of the internet and other computers as long as they can transmit and receive information wirelessly, otherwise she needs a physical connection to the machinery.
Weaknesses: For all intents and purposes, Kami is still a computer. She is vulnerable to magic, and anything that can pierce her skins can cause major damage to her wirings. For the most part Kami is waterproof, and does fine in water so long as she is undamaged. Large doses of electricity will also cause her to short circuit. The more Kami moves and expends herself, the faster her battery depletes. She can replenish herself indefinitely with solar power, but indoors, especially in darkness, her battery only lasts a couple days before she is forced to go into sleep mode. She is susceptible to high end computer viruses, often needing ouside help from Seraphim to clean her out. Kami can also overheat if her liquid cooling system is punctured.
Biography:
"Please state your name for the record, miss."
"KM1-010-07293016 Is My Serial Number, But I Am Also Called KAMI."
"Alright Kami. My name is Emmy White. As you understand, I am responsible for examining all the potential heroes that wish to work with Seraphim. I need to ask you a few questions to acertain your compatibility with our standards."
"I Understand."
"To start, could you briefly summarize you experiences before you came to work for us."
"December 31st, 2000, 12:00:30. My Power Supply Was Recharged, And I Was Able To Resume Normal Processes. My GPS Was Not Functioning Correctly, So I Could Not Properly Ascertain My Whereabouts. I-"
"Excuse me, but December 31st, that was when you first arrived here, at Seraphim."
"That Is Correct. I Was Revived In One Of The Labs Owned By Seraphim."
"I wanted to know about your time before then. Before you were revived."
"I Do Not Have Any Memories Of My Time Before I Was Revived."
"... ... ... no memory? You don't have any data storage that we could access, or-"
"Excuse Me Ms. White, But I Don't Believe You Understand. I Have A Photographic Memory. Can You Remember What The Weather Was Like Where I Woke Up 13 Years Ago? It Was 60 Degrees Farenheit. Cloudy, With Rain Starting At Approximately 17:29:02. I Remember The Face Of The Man Who Revived Me. He Was 6'3", 200 lbs, With Green Eyes And Blonde Hair. His ID Identified Him As Alexander Basken. I Can Recite Every Word He Shared With Christopher. But You See... All The Information Is Overwhelming. I Can Filter Out "Unimportant" Details, Like The Lunch Menu In The Cafeteria When I Was Given The Tour Of This Ship, But It's Still An Enormous Amount Of Information In A Finite Space. I Am To Store This Extraneous Data On A Remote Server. But This Server... I Do Not Know Where It Is. Maybe It Did Not Make The Trip That I Did?"
"A trip?"
"Yes. I Am From The Year 3016, I Think. I Am Not From This Date Or Time. I Do Not Know How I Arrived Here."
"I see. So why would you like to be placed as one of Seraphim's heroes?"
"I Would Like To See If I Can Locate My Data Storage. If It's Here At All. But What Way To Travel The World Than As A Hero? Serpahim Can Continue To Make Improvements To Myself, And In Return I Can Devote Myself To This World's Defense. I Was Made For Combat, Ms. White. I Don't See Why I Should Shirk My Duties Now."
Code:
Powering up
Code:
New software installed
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New hardware attached
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Running system diagnostics
Code:
EFS RUNNING
Code:
ANTIVIRUS RUNNING
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DR_OPTIMIZATION RUNNING
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EVENTLOG RUNNING
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MEMORY ERROR, 80% REMAINING
KAMI opened her eyes, a flash of metal briefly visible as her pupils adjusted to the harsh light. KAMI was laid out on a metal gurney, as naked as an android could be, wires exposed and all. Her outer plates clicked back into place, creating thin seams at their junctions.
Code:
SWITCHING TO INFORMATIVE VIEW
KAMI's eyes readjusted from the plain colored view to the stereotypical "robot vision". Distances, temperatures, profiles, maps, all took up her sight at once. The man leaning over her was a scientist, or a mechanic, depending on which way you looked at it. It was his job today to restock her ammunition, top off her fluids, etc. Michael Santiago. 39 years old. He handed her a bundle of clothes, her self imposed uniform. A plain white tank top, and cargo pants.
"Morning Kami! How does that feel?"
Code:
TIME IS 14:18:39.
"Good Afternoon Santiago. The New Chip Has Been Integrated Successfully."
She swung her legs off of the table, standing up. She was 6 feet tall, today, with the modifications done to her legs. Seraphim occasionally used her as a guinea pig for some of their prototypes, with today's experiment being a pair of digitrade styled limbs. She took a few tentative steps to adjust her balance. It reminded her of a pair of heelless boots. Her usual legs were locked into Seraphim's private storage.
"Alright Kami, you feeling OK to go?"
"I Am Running At Optimal Levels."
"R...right. Well as promised, you are now a part of Seraphim's active duty heroes. The emotion chip shouldn't distract you too much, if there's any problems just let us know.
"Yes, sir. Thank you." She felt a twinge somewhere, her eye twitching briefly. KAMI shook her head. "Goodbye." Was this what the chip would do?
"Are you sure everything's alright, Kami?"
"Yes." her voice was more strained. She didn't recognize it. She didn't know why Seraphim insisted on this. Why make a robot humanoid? But such were their terms. So it would be.
A loud crash from the next room interrupted her analysis. Santiago almost spilled his coffee over his papers, cursing at the "idiotic high school dropouts" that were allowed to conduct their experiments in the labs. The source of the noise mapped out on her interface. 20 feet away. The next room. KAMI quickly stepped out, as quick as she could on her now tiny feet. They actually had rather good traction. She stopped in the doorway, arm extended to eliminate any threats. But all she found inside was a boy.
Her eyes locked onto what he must have been working on, on the table. Several wires sewn into a glove. High voltage battery hooked up. Armed, but not currently dangerous. He didn't make any movements for it though, so KAMI lowered her weapon, putting her hands on her hips.
"I Heard An Explosion, But You Are Unharmed. Do You Need Any Assistance?"
Marcus, in no mood for some stupid alarm clock's shit, waved his hand and gave it a shock to shut it off. It had been a long, tiring week, and he had little patience for this kind of -
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
He put his weary head in his hands, forcing himself to sit upright in his bed. No rest for the wicked, it would seem. He clumsily reached over to the phone to answer with a beleagued "Bwa?"
"Marcus? Get down here. We's got some sciencing to do." Oh, right. That was a thing he promised to do. He cursed himself for forgetting and taking an extra late-night patrol shift - good to make some extra cash, but draining if you weren't a robot or somesuch. "Mrg... right. That. I'll... be right down." He hung up and rolled ignominiously out of bed.
-----
Fifteen minutes later, he looked to be a completely different person - a quick shower and some coffee did wonders for a person's alertness. He strolled down to the testing lab at a lesurely pace, until he heard a blast in its general direction. He perked up immediately - the testing lab contained some dangerous stuff. And... wait...Justin was still there!
He scrambled into a full sprint, running down the hallway towards the source of the noise. As he rounded a corner, he heard another sound, this time a loud crash, like a wall being broken down. 'Oh god - is this a monster? Did the labs release something horrible? I need to hurr-'
He rounded the last corner to see Justin being... helped up? By a non-descript-looking girl, at that. But underneath the skin - or what looked like skin from where Marcus stood - he could feel massive surges of electricity running through wires. Must be one of those combat robots the lab cooked up every now and then.
The smell of sulfur filled the air as Justin's vision began to regain focus. "Haha...Whoo!" He blinked a few times, lifting his silvery goggles from over his eyes. The blast knocked him off his feet, but it was progress nonetheless. But, before he could stand up and perform the experiment again, there was a new person in the room, standing over him. He blinked a few more times, and the person started talking. "I Heard An Explosion, But You Are Unharmed. Do You Need Any Assistance?" It was a woman.
"I'm fine, actually-" She began helping him up anyway. "Oh, uh, ok, whatever..." As he dusted off his lab coat, Marcus came barrelling 'round the corner. "Uh... hello? Is... everything alright here?" He meekly asked, a classic Faraday gesture. "Who cares? Get over here, check this shit out." Justin motioned, moving back towards the Awe, its palm still smoldering from the blast. "That robot girl's yours? Wait, don't answer that, I don't want to hear about your sexcapades." He quipped tangentially to the obvious android now in the previously empty lab.
"So I managed to create a dense enough form of plasma to actually (possibly) be able to hold! I mean, it exploded almost immediately, so the next order of business would be to find some sort of way to stabilize the plasma upon ejection (maybe with microwaves...? Could I make a second glove capable of generating microwaves...?), but hey!" His rambling ended with a clap. "I made it this far. So, any suggestions?" He pulled his goggles back down, and looked in the android's direction. "Wanna help, sexbot?"
[hr] Across the street from the Seraphim Building...
In the middle of a crowded sidewalk in Manhattan, a burst of blue light appeared in space itself, spitting out an armor-clad fellow before vanishing immediately. Steam rose from his person. Pedestrians that surrounded him either ignored him, ran past, or stopped and started taking pictures. Clumsily, he began rising to his feet. As the motion sickness passed, he realized he was not in the world he once inhabited. Castles that climbed into the clouds, strange garments, horseless carriages. What dimension was he tossed into? It wasn't a question he couldn't answer, but he still knew he had a mission to complete. He grabbed ahold of the Whiteraze, and held it out in front of him. One deep breath later, it burst into flames. "This kingdom must be cleansed." He uttered grimly. The base of the weapon slammed into the ground, releasing an explosive shockwave of flame. Citizens were vaporized. Ground level windows were blown out. Parked cars were tossed. General chaos was abound. And this knight was only getting started.
"You Are Mistaken. I Am Not A 'Sex Bot', I Am A Combat Bot. My Name Is KAMI. And I Have Not Had Any 'Sexcapades' With..." KAMI paused. She tried to keep tabs on all the relevant heroes, the ones with mechanical skills. The smaller one was... Justin. His name was on the sign in sheet in front. This one could be any of several electric themed heroes. She ran a quick snapshot through her memory... "Faraday. Marcus." As son as she put a name to the face she put a story to the name. She had heard it 137 times in passing conversation. Between Hera Patterson and Dawn Delamere on his suitability as a mate. Between Hannah Watanabe and Devin Syn on the limits of his human body as a conduit. Introducing himself to a certain Catherine Rose. "It's A Pleasure To Make Your Acquaintance. As For Your Apparent Experiment, I Am Glad To Offer Any Help You Need..."
Another explosion, but this time farther away. Outside of the building. But close enough to Seraphim to be a problem.
Code:
ACCESSING SERAPHIM DATABASE. GROUND FLOOR CAMERAS. ERROR, SYSTEM UNAVAILABLE. SECOND FLOOR CAMERAS. ERROR, SYSTEM UNAVAILABLE. THIRD FLOOR CAMERAS. ACCESS GRANTED, SENTRY KAMI
A live visual fed into KAMIs vision. Something from a different era... She could detect the time distortion as an iron clad man appeared, and started to raze everything to the ground. "Apologies, I Must Tend To This. Another Time, Perhaps." KAMI forced open a nearby window and slid out in a single fluid motion. She fell a few stories before hitting the ground with a heavy thud. Of course, she would not be the only responder, nor was she likely the closest, but it was her responsibility as a Seraphim agent to protect the building, on duty or not. Her arm reconfigured in a flurry of moving parts, and she took aim.
"I Am KAMI, An Agent Of Seraphim, Whose Building You Have Defaced. You Have Committed-" Brief pause for calculations. "48 Counts Of Murder. Arson. Vandalism. Surrender, Or Prepare To Die."
Once the 'girl' had confirmed she was indeed a Seraphim-aligned robot, Marcus let himself relax his guard. Justin probably just rushed another experiment and it blew up in his face - business as usual, in other words. "My Name Is KAMI." Marcus let himself finish catch his breath before responding. "Nice to met you, Kami. I'm..."
He was interuppted by a blast rocketing through the building. The floor shook in protest, causing Marcus to stumble for a moment before he regained his footing. Did that... happen here? In Seraphim? Marcus's face fell into one of mild disbelief. Who would honestly be stupid enough to bomb Seraphim, of all places? He wasted no time in pulling the last part of his suite out of his bag and strapping it on. Apparently, KAMI had similar plans, as she lept out the window and down to the ground floor to confront whatever was going on below. "Come on, Justin. We have other work to do." He bolted towards the elevators and pressed the button to summon one, waiting for Justin to gather his things before ordering a drop to the first floor.
Once in the foyer, Marcus could see the obvious source of the disturbance - an armor-clad man with a halberd, killing citizens and destroying property with total impunity. Time to get to work. "Mark VI - power draw activate." Lighting arced towards him from various lights and outlets as Marcus rushed towards the scene of the disturbance.
A gem in Intet's staff blinked a bright red: one of his beacons had picked something up. But then, he didn't need the beacons to know where the disturbance was, judging by the plumes of black smoke in the distance. A gesture and a spin of the staff catapulted the mage into the skies, cloak fluttering in the wind.
The damage seemed to be focused near a building prominent in human news sources: Seraphim HQ. Intet was marginally familiar with the place, though its inhabitants remained a mystery. He picked up the pace, executing a deft swoop down to ground level and coming to a halt six inches above the wrecked road. A man in armour stood there, a great polearm in hand. Strangely, Intet could sense hints of the Aura about this individual.
"Stranger, stay thine hand a moment," he declared, magnifying his voice a touch with a snap of his fingers. "Whence came you? Be thine purpose naught but destruction? If true, th'art likely to make enemies, myself included."
[hr]
I know that voice... Mark could hear someone speaking at high volume outside. He did not pause to wonder, though, instead continuing to bound down the stairs to ground level. Some sort of explosion had gone off down below, audible even up here on the training floors. A lot of car alarms, screaming and shattering of glass. "You do?"
Aye. A younger being than myself. Intet Yxi. The 'Yxi' was pronounced 'she' in Talsper's thoughtspeech. A radical scientist bent on spreading the Aura beyond my home.
"That's not.. bad, is it?" The traceur burst through the door to the stairwell and hurried through the ground level, brushing aside shocked staff and making his way to the entrance. The glass doors were shattered.
I know not. Mayhap he be here to assist, or merely observe. Let us find out. Mark dashed through the broken doors to find a man in black and silver hovering opposite an armoured figure. Whoa... is that a halberd?
Thou knowst the weapon which this knight uses?
I've seen a little bit in movies and stuff... not important. Take over. The ring glowed its familiar gold, and Mark felt himself confined to the ring. Soon in command of the runner's body, Talsper flicked his hands and orbs of lightning crackled into existence. He did not step forward, though, instead waiting to see what transpired.
On the Ground Floor...
Before the feral knight could properly process his predicament, there seemed to be people standing to oppose him. Or, person, currently. A woman stood before him, telling him to surrender in stilted tone. Richard didn't appreciate the nonsense. "Defy me not, harlot. You are unclean, and in need of cleansing. Only through extermination, will you experience true salvation." He replied, the burning Whiteraze slowly raised to point in her direction.
In the R&D Department, about 22 stories up...
"Did she just jump out the window...?" Justin murmured in some disbelief as he poked his head out. "Come on, Justin. We have other work to do." Piped up from behind him. "Excuse me?" He immediately shot back, one eyebrow raised in pure bewilderment. Marcus didn't answer back, already on his way out of the lab.
"Okay, firstly, the mark four is basically out of commission. Secondly, the mark five's barely made it out of prototype phase. I mean, the onboard console and adapter is all set, the smartphone application is up and running, and the power supply's been fitted into a new backpack, but the glove itself is completely undone! The conduits have to be fine tuned, the coils on the micro-solenoids have to be tightened, there's too much current spilling through the palm outlet-"
Faraday was in the hallway, waiting for the elevator. "NOW, Justin." He yelled firmly. The boy grumbled a bit as he began putting everything together. "Fine! When this all goes tits up-which, trust me, it fucking will!-I'll make sure everyone blames your ass!" He yelled back.
In the Foyer, a few minutes later...
It wasn't too hard to spot the reason everyone was getting so worked up for. Just outside, a horrific scene had unfolded. While Faraday decided to rush headfirst into the fray, spouting his usual "Mark VI - power draw activate." spielings, Justin decided to hang back, as to avoid having his own power supply drained. Once he felt he was in a safe enough distance, he produced the company smartphone, and inserted it into the USB adapter on the wrist mounted console. A few loading cycles later, a screen appeared, showing adjustable meters, numbers, and words indicating what everything did.
"Alright, activating power supply..." He pressed a illustrated "on" switch on the phone's screen, and the large battery came to life. Some "vrrrmmm's" came from the glove, also indicating its successful activation. "Okay, so far, so good. I'll just keep the voltage low for now...no need to blow off my damn hand because of reckless stupidity..." He mumbled as he finally approached the blown off hinges that were once the company's entrance. As he looked up, he noticed everyone itching for a fight, a ultra-tense standoff between one knight, and (so far) three heroes. "Ugh, couldn't this bozo just decide to cause havoc somewhere else? The street's gonna be packed with goons in the next few minutes..."
Then, a booming voice projected from the heavens. A man cloaked in black swooped down from the skies, hovering just beyond the knight, placing himself in between he, and the android. He spoke in outdated English. "Be thine purpose naught but destruction? If true, th'art likely to make enemies, myself included." The knight Templar replied accordingly. All the defiance and threats were quickly began to make his blood boil, in more ways than one. "I am Soarele Negru. And I will rebuke you all of your inequities; through death you will all be made whole!" He snarled. Like, literally, inhumanly, snarled.
His eyes shimmered briefly as he coupled over, groaning. Immediately, the groans became growls as he began to grow, the flimsy scale-mail armor bursting apart. His skin appeared to harden and produce scales as his nose and mouth elongated into a snout. A pair of colossal wings burst from in between the shoulder blades on his back as a tail slithered from beyond his coccyx. He stretched his elongated neck skyward as he let out a bellowing roar that bent windows and shook Justin all the way to his boots. "D-did he...did he just turn into a fucking DRAGON?!" Justin fearfully replied-yelled to no one as the Black Sun stared back into the ebony cloaked sorcerer. "When all's to be cleansed...one makes no enemies with the ashes." A continuous spray of flame followed the beastly boast.
It wasn't too long before another individual made himself known. KAMI triangulated his position easily: he wasn't using any sort of scrambling device it seemed. A quick glance confirmed her postulates. A tall man in a flowing robe. She turned her attention fully back to her primary target. What was his motive?
So he wasn't allied with this man. But he was interfering, and attempting to down a violent, demonstrated deviant.
"Do Not Interfere, Mage-" "Defy me not, harlot. You are unclean, and in need of cleansing. Only through extermination, will you experience true salvation."
That was a threat if she ever heard one. He raised his weapon. A blade burning at least 6000 K, melting the very air around it. She'd need a new layer of skin most likely, after this battle. No problem.
Then a big problem. Before her very eyes, he morphed into a dragon.
Code:
TAGGED ANAMORPHIC: DRAGON.
She pulled as much data on dragons as she could, but there weren't very many of them in this era. A few bits of interesting information popped up. "When all's to be cleansed...one makes no enemies with the ashes."
She had a half second to sprint out of the way, but that was no test.
Code:
EYES. NOSE. BELLY. FEET.
But it was all hypothetical. The plume of fire followed closely behind. Now was the time to try something. She stopped and flipped high, the searing flames passing under her. TARGET LOCKED A armor piercing round loaded into her gun.
Intet's increase in altitude upon seeing the knight's transformation did not protect him from the scorching heat wave that accompanied the dragon's breath. "Well. That's something I don't see every day. You will make a fascinating specimen for study... once th'art subdued." He spun in midair and jabbed his staff up to the sky, causing the ground to shake beneath the draconic creature. Chunks of concrete, earth and stone began to erupt from the ground, sailing upwards and coalescing into a large stone spike.
[hr]
What the hell... Oh, son of a - DOME! No sooner had the thoughts been 'spoken' than Talsper switched spells, punching the ground to produce a bubble of light in hopes it would protect the mage from the searing flames. It seemed to work at first, then the heat from the fire pierced the shield.
You gotta hold it until the flames die down... I know! It quickly got hotter inside the dome, but the dragon's breath was kept at bay. Not for long, though, as the spell began to falter. Tongues of flame slipped through where the light dimmed, until it failed completely. The heatwave blasted Talsper off his feet, closely followed by the fire seeking a food source.
Talsper rolled, for what little good it would do, and got to his feet. "I cannot hold against this fiend! Its breath is too strong!" His shirt was smouldering in places.
Then fall back! Get inside and let me back in so I can get some help out here! Talsper hurried to do so, favouring one leg more than the other due to the raw burn-marks already present. The mage and the freerunner switched places as they retreated. Mark, having regained control, put one finger to the earpiece he had linked to his phone.
"All available Seraphim agents, this is Mark Robinson! There's a big fucking dragon outside! And someone call the fire department!"
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