DeviousMe

Well then, if you'd like to give the new Spearhead Lambda a try, I certainly wouln't mind. He lost an arm and his tail a while ago, and while I've gotten some cool shots from people for his bio page, I don't have one with the cybernetic replacements, so I'd really appreciate one of the updated look.

"It is not." the Krieger retorted to Legion, a motion of his hand indicating Isabel standing at the rear of the car, keeping watch on the tracks behind them through the windows of the connector door, "But according to description...if worse comes to worse, I...think we could take him. Not sure. What is his story anyway? Why is he like this...?"

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"Right, you said you'd hired on with the government." Vlasta recalled, the earlier remark having slipped his mind in the changing subjects, "So you haven't finalized the terms yet, hm?"

"I see." he couldn't help but smile, "Well, allow me to help with that. You s-"

Before he could finish, the front door crashed open, whipping his head about to look at the metal Caldok that now entered the building - the same cyborg War and Famine had seen by the helicopter at the research institute (or at least the same model), glowing, sapphire-blue eyes glaring daggers at their orange new friend.

Behind him followed several VB officers, their overcoats trailing in swift step. Interestingly enough, these weren't armed with the high-tech-looking weapons from before, but rather a more traditional form of armament: the Steyr AUG. The cyborg, on the other hand, carried only a pistol on the holster of his belt, the one article of clothing he wore on his full-metal body. Akin to a police officer's, it also held several other pockets and loops. Still, he was clearly the most lightly armed of them all - though that didn't take any force out of his glare.

"Uh-oh, I'm in trouble." Vlasta in turn mentioned in a mumble out the side of his mouth, then glanced to the mercenaries without turning his head toward them, "If you value your sanity, come with me. I will run now."

The bartender seemed to already be ahead of his patron, the door to the kitchen open long before Vlasta leaped from his stool and over the bar, making a break for it...

"That is easy to say." the Kommandant folded his hands over the table, placing the sentence's emphasis on the last word, "At this point, it is a fairly basic game: whoever kills the other first wins. We hesitate, we lose. We lose, we die. Makes for little incentive to think of 'what if' scenarios later. Like I said, Command may have an answer - but you would need to find them first..."

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Vlasta couldn't help a brief, hearty chuckle at War's comment during the handshake, not to mention Famine's return to his comrade after. He knew more than one duo like these guys, but before he could retort, the mercenary brought the subject of his friend up again.

"I don't know." he retorted with a concerned shrug of his shoulders, glancing at his glass again, "They won't even let me near him. Heck, they didn't want to let me off the Molvia. Good thing I can be sneaky when I want to be. But they already had him in the ambulance, and when I tried to get on, they came up with all this garbage to keep me away. I mean, I understand why, but..."

He sighed again, "...I'm just not used to running into problems that large enough force can't fix. Thing is, lately the universe seems to disagree with me on that..."

((Edited.))

"Your word in God's ear." the Kommandant answered Zeo with genuine concern, what he'd heard from the soldiers that had brought these people here not inspiring the greatest confidence. He truly hoped he was wrong.

"As for an aftermath...to be frank, we have not given it much thought." Kruger chuckled in a dark manner, "Fighting to survive each day changes your priorities. Limits them. Command could probably tell you...if they are still alive. They have not responded in three weeks. Generally, that means someone is either dead or in the process of getting there in a slow and painful manner."

"All I know is that it has to stop." he looked intently at Flashpoint, then shook his head, "Obey or die, this is not a way for human beings to live."

"And I am afraid that to your question,,." he turned to Egregore's drone, stopping once he'd gotten a good look at it. He blinked, taken aback, but remembered the many modules on the cyborg that somewhat resembled this thing as he inquired of Flashpoint with a finger pointed at the machine, "...is...that him? The real him? Is that body just a suit...?"

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"You don't say?" the orange being gave War a brief smirk. That, however, disappeared once more as his drink arrived, the brown eyes between the implant staring gravely into the container's contents, "Is a small world. Or worlds. And my story? My story is that one of my best friends is in the hospital and I can do nothing to bloody well help because the thrice-damned doctors won't even let me near him."

It seemed to take him a moment to realize just how he'd said that, as it was only then that the frustrated visage became one of self-consciousness, the orange being glanced sideways at War and Famine in that fashion.

"My apologies." his eyes closed while he let out a brief sigh, "I shouldn't greet new faces with my burdens. Where are my manners today?"

He turned his barstool to face extending a hand to War with a light smile, "Vlasta. Always a pleasure to meet new people. Welcome to this world; though I do resent that hell comment a little..."

Oh really now? Okay then, I'll bite. For your consideration, my bots/ff main Acid Zero, not-so-generic 'evil alien mastermind'. 'Nother screenshot. Sadly, I still can't get his look quite right in the character creator, but a while back someone got insistent enough that I do a sketch of what he was really supposed to look like.

Here's what came out, on 'vacation'. Not very good, I know, but at least it shows he's not supposed to be spiked or scaly. And if you'd like a bio, well have at it. Fair warning, though: it's long.

Rarr, how am I always too late for these?

War and Famine had likely taken instant notice that not all of the bar's patrons were strictly human. Then again, the people at the research institute had told them occurrences such as theirs were rather common, and neither the bug-eyed beanstalk of skin and bones at one of the booth tables nor that almost Rikti-looking guy at the other end of the bar seemed to be making any trouble. Heck, no one was even taking an interest in the mercenaries.

Well, almost no one.

The door closed with a clack once more after the most recent patron entered the old-style bar, giving a mournful, closed-eyed sigh as he leaned back against the heavy wooden frame. He wasn't human either...at least not fully. Orange and muscular, he almost could've been a Caldok, for though he lacked the distinct ears, microfur, and long fangs, the face structure stood about the same. The main difference, apart from the orange skin of course, came in the form of the four distinct horns on the back of his head: two hand-ling, curving almost horizontally backwards from the top back of the head, and the other pair just as thick, but barely half as long as a finger, sitting at the rear base of the skull and pointing close to vertically down - and all right through the velvet-brown, military-style buzzcut that stood perhaps two centimeters long.

He wore a rather strange outfit, though the armor of the 'Rikti' at the bar still had it beat by a mile, consisting of what could've been a modern uniform merged with pieces of armor inspired by the days of Rome. The pants were black and simple, the boots made for marching. A sleeveless vest that hung partially over the hips like a short, black kilt sported the characteristic silver-gray plating of armor over chest, shoulders, and abdomen, the deltoid pauldrons expertly designed to protect the ball-and-socket joints.

A pair of deltoid armbands completed the ensemble, and the rest of the black vest stretched elastically about his neck, a black undershirt visible just between the neckline of the vest and the new arrival's throat. Indeed, it was likely that throat that caught the mercenaries' attention - for the front of it stood composed of metal.

And that wasn't the only obviously cybernetic part. From the sides of the jaw and the rim of his face - the part that formed the interface between the orange skin and velvet-brown hair - as well as the nose bridge between his deep-brown eyes protruded in segmented intervals the metallic implant, even integrated partially into the bones of his cheeks. Surprisingly, the skin around the smooth, silvery protrusions looked well and healthy, fused to the cybernetics as if they were a perfectly natural part of that face, and not an artificial add-on.

After a few seconds, the new arrival finally pushed off from the door and headed to the bar, taking a seat on a stool beside the mercenaries, and told the barkeep that he needed something strong tonight. The man seemed to understand, setting to work posthaste.

"I hate Mondays." the creature sighed once more, speaking with a light, west-Slavic accent, and then turned to the closest mercenary to inquire, "Have not seen you. New in city...?"

((Finally. I already thought no one was going to ask. ))

"Oh, pardon me." Kruger apologized with an offhanded smirk to Zach, and took a moment to order another soldier to retrieve something from 'his office', as he called it, before sitting down in one of the passenger booths and unfolding the table from the wall, "I should have, of course. None of you have any idea what is happening if I do not tell you."

"About 20 years ago, der Reichsmann und sein...ahem, and his America Corps departed to attack your world." he began, performing a lax flip of a hand, "But this you know. What you do not know is that back then our world was by no means fully under the control of the National Socialists. In fact, back then there existed literally dozens of rebel organizations like us, not to mention a good many free nations, that opposed their regime."

He sighed as he thought back, "The result was a nearly perpetual state of war. True, the Axis powers had technically 'won', but if you looked at even Paragon City just four years ago, the place was a wreck. Tanks everywhere, fighting in the streets, rubble and debris...it was not a pretty picture...and then, a little less than four years ago, came the Nictus."

The Krieger briefly recounted the events of the Nictus invasion, how they had attempted to overthrow the Nazi regime with an organization that had called itself the Council. Ultimately, they had failed, the supersoldier serum of the old regime superior to what the Council could cook up. However, that such an enemy had appeared out of nowhere had shaken the Nazi faith in their invincibility, for without the Amerika Korps at their side, they had taken grievous losses. The old regime had decided they needed the supers back (most native to this world had been killed in the long war, even before the AK had departed), and that they should look for them where the Reichsman had gone: in the depths of the multiverse.

"However, the portal facility built at order of the Reichsmann had been destroyed soon after his departure." the Kommandant went on to explain, "It took them a while to rebuild it. Imagine the shock of their scientists upon rebuilding it when they found out that they could not establish a connection to your world. They could not get to the Reichsmann and his corps. So instead, they came up with a different idea: try and bring him back here."

"It took them a good while to figure that one out, and once they had, they of course brought back things and people they were not looking for..." Kruger almost grinned, but then his visage became most solemn once again, "...and about two years ago, it got them Teivos."

"Following the same procedure, he was taken to be interned and interrogated like the others. At first, he was forthcoming enough, telling the Nazis what they wanted to know; who he was, where he came from, and so on and so forth." Kruger's expression became grave, "But after a while, his patience ran out. He wanted to go home. Told them it was important that he do. They refused. He said that if they did not release him, he would make them pay. They still refused...he made them pay."

"He escaped the facility with several other captives," the Komandant just kept recounting, even as the soldier returned with a paper-stuffed manila folder, "who were all killed in the process, and thus the largest manhunt this world had ever seen began. It did not last long. Turns out Teivos had been telling the truth. It was important that he return whence he came - or at least, it was to the people there."

Kruger placed the folder onto the table and opened the thing, pulling out a headshot photo of a being that looked almost exactly like the cyborg War and Famine had spotted near the 'oversized Chinook': squat, naga-like face; large, stiff deltoid ears; and those two large, protruding fangs. Clearly organic, the being carried the profile of a reptile, which made the short, sharp brown fur that covered the creature's skin in the manner of a seal stand even more out of place than it already did - not to mention that the thing had a headful of hair, thick and black, that could've come from any old human.

"This is a Caldok." the Kommandant explained, motioning to the bit of cobalt-blue uniform visible just below the photo's neckline, "Where Teivos comes from, they are the most widespread component of the military - and for good reason. They are strong, tough, and have a very warlike mentality, which was not to the advantage of the troops that tried to stop them when they first came through the portal and wanted to know where Teivos had gotten to. Details from here are unknown since they left no survivors at the facility, but very soon it became apparent that they were the spearhead of a strike force sent to find him. The rest of this force stood composed of like, yet different beings: Tsaivs and Zargons."

He produced another picture from the folder, this one showing the head of a being that looked very similar to the Caldok. However, it had no hair, its face seemed thinner, the ears spread behind the head held flaps, and its thick-looking, almost cyan-green skin looked much more fitting to the naga profile - only that this being didn't have fangs; at least not ones that protruded out of the closed mouth.

"We do not have a photo of a Zargon," the Krieger shrugged, "but trust me when I say you never want to meet one. In any case, they found who they were looking for soon enough, but when they tried to get back home again, they ran into the same problem the Nazi scientists had. Well, not the same, but...oh, you get the idea: they could not. It was at this point that the old regime made the mistake to counterattack. Their force was virtually annihilated, but now that he felt they were a problem, Teivos did what he does with his problems: he makes them go away. He decided that if he could not have his world back, he would simply take this one. One military coup upon the Reich's Chancellery later, he subsumed the National Socialists, made the party his own, and announced himself the undisputed ruler of this world."

"That was about a year ago." Kruger gave a sigh, "By then, what was left of the other nations - if one could even still call them that after so much war - was too weak to resist him, their people more often than not welcoming him as their savior for finally ending the conflict. Anyone who resisted was killed. It was that simple."

"As for hardware," he opened the folder, revealing a great many more pictures, "he has everything and then some: the original, heavily armored infantry is only the start. Tanks, planes, helicopters, that stupid floating city of a battleship...but the worst are the cyborgs. They are from his world, from a place called Štátna Zbrojovka v Borgalských Vrchoch: State Weapons Factory in Borgal Mountains. Also known as ŠZBV. The 3rd generation sort were already weapons equivalent of the super-powered...and the 4th ones are unlike anything we have ever seen."

"However, a note must be made here." he raised a finger, his other hand pushing forward a reconnaissance photo of what could've been Junon Harbor - only that instead of a giant cannon, this titanic structure sported a relocatable runway of equally ridiculous proportions , "Originally, his force was relatively small. He could not spread it far. This he realized, and in reaction built this: the State Weapons Factory, Štátna Zbrojovka. While it is still under construction and does not have the capability of ŠZBV, it is already manufacturing military hardware at such a pace that it is hard to imagine. This drove him to set his sights onto other worlds as well. We fear that very soon, Teivos will have all the weapons he will need to take both our worlds, once and for all..."

"Thank goodness." the CO breathed a true sigh of relief, "Boy, am I glad I asked that. Teivos would've bitten off my head had I let that one slip away."

"Wha', he's a Zargon now?" the American VB officer couldn't help but snicker, though his Slavic comrade seemed rather put off by the remark.

"Do not, please." he requested, almost aquiver a moment, "Those guys creep me out to no end."

"Yes, yes, Zargons are big and scary." the Commander seemed to roll his eyes beneath his mask, motioning to the armored soldiers by the oversized helicopter, several more of which had by now fetched a large stretcher and proceeded into the building. The non-human cyborg had relocated to elsewhere as well, "Now go and deliver the news. I'll-"

This time, it was the American man who interjected, "Bu' Sir, what if some're Caldoks? They all wear th' same ZUBs. Never know which might be one."

"And what's wrong with Caldoks?" the CO glared back with crossed arms, "They happen to be extremely efficient soldiers."

"Yeh, I know..." the VB officer looked to the ground, somewhat ashamed, "'S just, I prefer th' Tsaivs. Caldoks, they're just so..."

"...impersonal." his Slavic comrade finished, which got an exhale and a nod from the CO.

"Fine." he waved the two off, "I'll do it myself. You two get back to your posts."

"My apologies." he then told War and Famine, "The whole race thing doesn't always work as smoothly as I'd like. Tsaivs, sure, but...oh, I need to...gah! I'll tell you everything in a minute."

"Here, take this." the man handed them what could've been a bank card, then gave the mercenaries an address and directions down the street, "There's a bar there. Best place in town. Much better to discuss matters of business there than out here. Please, go on ahead, order what you like. I just need to finish up here. Shouldn't be longer than ten, twenty minutes at the most..."

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"Well, we were kind of hoping you would help us kill the Dark Sovereign." the Unteroffizier answered Zach with a somewhat meek shrug, "You know, stop the attack on your world, help us free ours?"

With everyone finally aboard, the Kommandant entered the train as well, glancing at his watch. With a huff, he gave order to let everything else lie and get underway. The others obeyed stante pede. Within seconds, the doors closed, and then the locomotive hummed to life. A few clicks later and the station platform outside became mobile. They were away.

It didn't take long for the echo of several thunderous explosions from behind to reach the train.

"We seal the tunnels behind us." Kruger explained matter-of-factly, just in case anyone was curious, "Takes them longer to follow. Hopefully, long enough for us to get away..."

"Nothing different than if you were of African descent or Christian." the Unteroffizier answered with an absent-minded shrug, watching Egregore in the hopes that he wouldn't start anything more as the medics hoisted his stretcher onto the train, "When the Sovereign took over the party, he had all that abolished. Something about oppressing everyone equally. If you are loyal, what you are does not matter. If you want to be free...Teivos will kill a Jew in exactly the same fashion as anyone else..."

"Ah," the Commander gave an understanding nod, "I take it one of the portals spit you out then?"

"No, don't worry, we're not as hostile as we look." the man massaged his forehead with a slight sigh, "...though on second thought, I guess I shouldn't be assuming things here. Sorry if I am, but...this is more common than you might think, and usually people tend to take exception to our heavy military presence. Now then, where are you two from? As in: do you call your world anything specific?"

The Horsemen wasted no time. As soon as he'd said it, the VB officers took a step back, releasing the safeties on their sidearms.

"Primal Earth, hm?" the CO repeated thoughtfully, crossing his arms, and looked intently at the two, "This...may be a problem. I really hope you aren't just going to shoot or stab me after I say this, but I would kick myself for the rest of my life if I screwed up what could be a very beneficial business relationship by being stupid and attempting to have you arrested now. And you two, you stand down. I suspect these gentlemen could gut you before you get off a single shot."

"Long story short, our Leader is preparing a military offensive on your world." he presented the palm of his hand in an explanatory manner, "Do you have a problem with this...?"

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Kruger's fingers tightened into a fist as they walked, the last medical personnel out of the makeshift hospital bringing Egregore along in a stretcher.

"Please...do not speak of them like that." he requested tonelessly of Flashpoint, "There were some good men among them. Not all...but some. And no, the Dark Sovereign is not Nemesis. His name is Teivos. You still have your Nemesis then, hm? I dare say we wish we had him instead. At least his plans, convoluted though they were, always ended up being stoppable."

Meanwhile, along the back of the group, the Unteroffizier listened carefully to Isabel's words.

"If we did, I do not know." she candidly admitted, "Until your Dr. Webb arrived here, we did not even have the means to travel to other worlds."

The train the Kommandant had spoken of soon came into sight, and though the signs of wear and tear showed clearly, the machine was in good working condition. Even the run-down subway station that presently had it surrounded with cargo and personnel, all going on one way or another, couldn't hide that this was one thing the rebels had taken great care to maintain.

"Please, go aboard." the Krieger motioned to the nearest car, then turned to one of the soldiers who hadn't been busy with loading the train and began speaking to him in German, specifically concerning the setting of explosive charges...

"Do not take the Dark Sovereign lightly." the Krieger cautioned Isabel solemnly, "Our world did - and we paid dearly. The Rikti were nothing compared to his forces, and they have only become stronger."

It was then that he checked his watch, inquiring of the heroes, "They will be here soon. We should discuss the rest of this on the train. Please, follow me."

With that, the Kommandant turned to leave, and the Unteroffizier got her chance to ask of Isabel, "You spoke of a 'first' Rikti invasion...what did you mean by that? Did you not neutralize them? Did they come back for more with you...?"

"Hm." Kruger nodded again, his visage gravely serious. He poignantly gestured with his index finger as he added, "Let me be perfectly clear on: this information does not leave this room. If the Sovereign's forces catch anyone, you know nothing. As far as he is concerned, der Reichsmann won, has conquered your world, and is presently so entrenched that any offensive without months of preparation is doomed to fail from the start."

"I know." he told the Unteroffizier before she could say, having anticipated what she was about to state, "But if we are lucky, our last attack set him back at least a little bit - and any delay at all will be to their advantage..."

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((Alright, hope I get this right then. ))

Toy's blank faceplate regarded Famine with chilling dispassion, the red-and-black mechanoid giving not a whit of a hint that he recognized the mercenary - which in fact, he did not.

"You must be mistaken." Toy Dispenser retorted coldly, like a true machine, light static underlying every word and utterance. He said no more, instead turning to head elsewhere, pitch-black cape silhouetted against the dying flames of the research institute. He didn't even seem to care about the mercenary's presence.

Of course, this was but farce. Hidden in the shadows across the square, the camouflaged Small Toy had received its master's order clearly, keeping an eye - or a scope, rather - on the man that had clearly come from another world. The chances that he hadn't thought Toy Dispenser the one from his own universe were too slim to allow for any other possibility to be reasonable.

Where he'd come from, however, wasn't so sure just yet. True, Primal Earth was the strongest possibility, but not strong enough to automatically eliminate the others. Moreover, Toy didn't know whether he was actually a meta. No, for right now, it was tactically wiser to just see and wait - and in that order.

"Always creeps me out when he does that." the Slavic VB officer almost seemed to shudder as the android walked away, then turned back to the mercenary, "Now what do we do with you? Everybody is busy because of-"

A roar of rotors suddenly cut his speech short, the approaching aircraft that greatly resembled a Chinook on steroids (or some higher-capacity version of it anyway), rearing up its nose to lose velocity as quickly as possible, the pilot building a very near-crash-landing before managing to set the heavy vehicle down gently as a feather.

But even before its wheels had hit the ground, the rear ramp came open, and no sooner had the aircraft touched down across the square than about half a dozen armored soldiers that looked a great deal like Crey Eliminators stormed from the cargo bay. Of course, there were notable differences, most notably in the color scheme - these soldiers' armor carrying the same cobalt-blue hue as the standard forces - the smaller size of the shoulder harness (in exchange for a more volumous backpack), the fact that the whole gear just looked a good deal lot more mobile thanks to segmentation, and of course that the communications antenna stood much less pronounced and had been attached to the left side of their helmet instead of behind the right shoulder.

Indeed, said helmet was the most pronounced difference of all, following instead of the usual bald-man-juggernaut shape that of the pseudo-naga-like head of the tall cyborg that followed, stopping at the base of the ramp. Unlike the silver-gray construct, however, their helmets sported no oversized fangs (nor did any of them have but three digits per limb, in contrast to the cyborg's thick fingers and large, straight claws that composed nearly half of his plantigrade feet) in their place tight-fitting pipes reminiscent of armored SCB gear. Unlike the cyborg, who actually had a mouth in his armor, their suits were completely sealed.

That certainly didn't stop the first of them form barking orders though, the others giving immediate salute and barging toward the damaged institute, while a seventh armored soldier sprang from the chopper hopping on one foot, apparently working to get his other boot completely on while he tried to keep up.

But before he could get more than three steps from the helo, the cyborg's metal hand got in his way, blue-lit eyes staring intently at the man in solemn silence...before the inevitable argument ensued. The two bickered on for a good few seconds, both gesticulating heavily, before the cyborg got the idea to call for backup in the form of the man who'd first left the aircraft.

He in turn assumed the characteristic slump of sigh, then placed both hands against the sides of his head to remove his helmet. Contrary to what the alien-looking headgear may have suggested, there was indeed a bald human underneath, the man of African descent looking rather firm indeed. He used this fact to give the seventh soldier his best uncompromising glare-scowl combination, and that finally seemed to do the trick, sending the man to trudge back aboard the chopper in defeat.

"Dayumm." the other VB officer by Famine remarked, half-worried, half-amused, "I wouldn't wanna be that guy."

The one of Slavic descent but chuckled as the CO finally returned, though the man seemed to more spot the three still standing there and feel like he should do something about that rather than him actually considering them priority in the current amalgamation of events.

"Okay," he gave them a curt nod, the gasmask on his face leaving his tone surprisingly unmuffled, "who is this then...?"

((Thank Yakovlev and Teivos for the nice pictures. ))

"Ach du Schande." the Kommandant mumbled when Egregore awoke, leading a tad to the Unteroffizier, "Didn't I say to put him somewhere else - as in away from the people you said he spontaneously went ape on?"

"Eheh..." the woman looked about sheepishly, the order having gotten lost in the general hectic of the evacuation. Thankfully, Zeo diverted Kruger's attention away from her again with his answer to the Krieger's question.

"I...see." the man nodded thoughtfully after a few seconds, apparently needing to process that, "That...is both good and bad. Good because it means your world is as it was - at least I hope it still is, yes? Democracy and all? - bad because once the Dark Sovereign finds this out, he will attempt to retrieve him. If he does...ohh, nicht gut, überhaupt nicht gut..."

"Something I would like to know as well." a Germanic accent entered the room along with its owner - an abnormally tall man that could've been a 5th Column Krieger, garbed in the same gray uniform as the other soldiers around here, modeling that of traditional Axis America soldiers, but without the 5th's logo or face mask.

Flanked by several more, the man extended a gloved hand to Flashpoint Zero, as he stood closest to the door, "My name is Kommandant Kruger. A pleasure to finally meet you. At least..."

He glanced a moment at the Unteroffizier to his left side - the same woman that had commanded the troop in the sewers - then looked back at the tanker, "...I hope so. By bringing you here, our position has been compromised. We are presently evacuating. I pray what you have to tell us is worth it. We do not have many places left to hide from the Dark Sovereign."

"And yes, it would be Kimmandant Krieger Kruger." he added with a sigh when he saw the look from Zach, "I would appreciate that you get any amusement on part of my name out of the way now. We have business to discuss. I assume you know what we would like to know of you...?"

((Then ask. Or just make stuff up. I am in no way disinclined to have other people build here. ))

"Valerie, n-!" the Unteroffizier stopped in mid-shout, eyes wide in surprise as all three of them went down almost at the same time. Against all odds, no one seemed to have won this one - they'd just taken each other out.

"On second thought, forget what I said." she followed up, throwing an arm out to indicate each of the three on succession, "Each of you, grab one. Make that two on the big man."

"Understood." the two others originally with her and Valerie gave confirming nods, the latter already at her 'sister', and ran to Flashpoint and Egregore, the medic to the cyborg, who looked to have taken the most damage.

"Relax." the other told the tanker, bidding him he should turn down the flames, and follow him if he could stand. If not, he'd just pick the man up, and it wasn't quite clear for whom that would be the bigger surprise.

And as the troops gathered everyone together, the Unteroffizier took a deep breath. She unlatched a satchel and produced from it an emergency teleporter, removing from it the primed-and-prepped self-destruct. For a few moments, she but looked in thought at the PDA-like device, knowing full well that by using it she would be compromising the location of one of their bases. Still...

She looked at Valerie.

Yes, it had to be done, and not just for her. These people, whoever or whatever they were, knew what had happened to the Reichsman after he'd disappeared through that portal all those years ago. Not only that, they might even be able to...

Whoa there, hold it. You're getting ahead of yourself. One thing at a time.

"Here we go." she sighed, and let the device activate its sequence. The next time Isabel and Egregore - and due to the psi bomb maybe Flashpoint too - awoke, they would find themselves in a rather familiar hospital setting.

Only unfortunately for any who thought the events before them going out cold were a dream brought on by some delirium would of course find they were not so - for the 'hospital' was in some deep-bunker, the walls cold and gray, unpainted reinforced concrete.

Moreover, everybody around them seemed to be in some sort of hurry...

Valerie having overcome herself, the four now took off down the tunnel as well, though unlike the heroes away from the commotion. As much as some of them wanted to stay, even if only to find out what the burning man had meant, thanks to the battle it had become just too dangerous. There was already a boot coming through the open manhole, and any second now the inspector would be in view, see them, and call in the Verejná Bezpečnost.

Too late. The man had slipped. He fell. He saw.

Of course, first it came different, and second than they thought. Moreover, it actually came pleasantly surprising, for the man that had just been placed very forcefully on his hindquarters was none other than the very one they'd been sent to retrieve.

"I think my luck's finally changed." the gray-uniformed man grumbled with a pained grin, the others already helping him up, "Where did you guys come from...?"

--------------------

The Slavic VB officer gave a satisfied nod to his comrade, and then the two escorted Famine into the perimeter while they conversed with him. They didn't even ask for his weaponry, knowing full well that if he did turn out to be a rebel, there was enough collective lead around to kill him ten times over. Besides, he didn't seem like he was lying - after all, there were more believable-sounding stories he could've told if he were.

They spoke to him of his similarity with someone they called the Dark Soveriegn, who was apparently a strange fellow and had a penchant for nuclear weaponry as well, and that once the regional commander contacted him, he would probably be more than willing to hire the mercenary and his comrade, having done so with someone else not too long ago.

They soon reached the commanding officer - and with him, someone Famine had probably encountered more than once in his business as a mercenary.

Toy Dispenser.

Who looked...creepily different.

But even before the officer in cobalt-blue ballistic armor managed to say a word to the mercenary, something came across his radio, judging from the way he pressed a hand against the side of his helmet. A moment later, he wore a decidedly nervous expression, hastily bade everyone excuse him, and bolted for the mobile command unit set up across the way.

"Weird." the American VB officer scratched his head, looking to his comrade, "What got into him?"

"Someone found a...camera." the Slavic man made a confused face, seeming to pull that information out of thin air, "It was labeled with a name and address. Arnh...the image is too blurry, I cannot make it out..."

--------------------

Štátna Zbrojovka
Stewart Island, New Zealand

The demanding ring of a phone upon the large, high-tech desk that formed the centerpiece of the sizeable office shattered the room's relative silence, the man in the comfortable chair behind said desk giving a curious, "Hmmm?"

He did not, however, change the direction the chair currently faced - toward the large windowpanes that allowed clear sight out into the dark, across the black sea in the night, and at the starfield above. Instead, a black-gloved hand reached for the phone, stretched out by arm in a sleeve of like hue.

"Yes?" Teivos simply answered once he'd gotten the receiver to his ear, loose and calm as usual.

"What?!" that loose, usual calm vaporized like a bucket of water on the surface of the sun, the chair nearly perfuming a jump, "Poseidon?! Are you sure? Good. Secure anything you find."

The receiver was back on the phone not a second aftert that.

"Wolfgang!" another shout rang out, this once eleciting a loud crash from just outside the doors, as if something (or someone) heavy had fallen over, "Get the Molvia! Now...!"

Yeh!

((We'll see if we can't straighten this out. ))

[ QUOTE ]
"Yeah, we should leave..."

[/ QUOTE ]
"Valerie, that is not your sister." the Unteroffizier told the woman sternly, "And she is putting us all in danger right now - you of all people should know that. Now mo-"

A crunch down the tunnel cut her off, signifying the removal of a sewer lid.

Too late.

They'd already sent somebody out...

--------------------

[ QUOTE ]
"I'm here to apply for a job."

[/ QUOTE ]
The VB officers didn't quite know how to respond to that. Seriously, there a guy in armor and packing more heat than a fully fueled flamethrower just came out of nowhere, asking for a job?

"Well, technically..." the Slav considered to his comrade, "...stranger things have happened here."

The other gradually nodded. He was right. Hadn't there been a case of this very thing not so long ago? He tried to recall. Yes, yes there had been - some kind of undead guy it had been, right? Wait, no...hadn't it been a robot? Oh, what did it matter? It had happened, this he knew, and that's what mattered.

"Well...we'll need a story, an' see if it checks out," he finally answered Famine, "make sure you're not a rebel 'n disguise...an' we'll need to take ya to th' region'l commander one way'r another - now mind you, this don't mean you're under arrest or nothin', we just can't have a total stranger walkin' in here sans escort - y'understand, right...?"

((Hm. Hope that gets settled. Wilco on the pipes.))

[ QUOTE ]
"What happened here?"

[/ QUOTE ]
For a good few seconds, both VB officers gave Famine nothing but a wide-eyed stare, as if they couldn't quite grasp that he was really here. Seriously, a man in an orange-and-black exosuit just walking up and asking what happened here - what were the odds?

Confused as though they were, they did not attack. Nor did they pull their weapons. After all, though the man was visibly armed, he didn't shoot, which made it extremely unlikely that he was a rebel. Not only that, but they all wore gray, unimaginative lot that they were. This guy had style.

"I think a better question is 'why do you now know?'" the officer with the Slavic accent finally inquired, "Who are you?"

"Yeh, an' why're ya carryin' 'round all that there gear?" added the other, the idea forming in his head that the man may have been one of the experimental AI-cyborgs that had been at the institute at the time of the attack, "Or's that all...just you...?"

--------------------

[ QUOTE ]
Zach sighed irriatably, then said in pretty good Russian "I would not advise shooting me. One, I mean no harm. Two, you will be cut down, and quickly. Now, I want to know why they-" he gestured towards the three fighting metas "-are fighting" Half an eye on the soldier, he looked on as the giant fire-man (literally) swinging a giant firesword, evidently trying to hit some unseen target.

[/ QUOTE ]
"Looks like he doesn't." the Unteroffizer remarked to Valerie in German, not understanding or speaking Russian any more than she or the other two.

She then gestured to her ear, following up with a shake of her head, adding vocally just in case while she motioned to her mouth, "We do not understand what you are saying."

"Sir, we can't stay here." one of the other soldiers reminded, pointing his rifle over at the burst pipes, "They'll send someone out to have a look at that pressure spike soon. If we're discovered..."

OOC:

Note to Cham: no water around. It's all in pipes here. Description of the sewer from earlier:

[ QUOTE ]
[...]though the old tunnels still existed, the sewage channels had been replaced by high-capacity transparent piping, and the walls reinforced with smooth concrete. Even lighting was present, neon fluorescents dispensing plenty of illumination[...]

[/ QUOTE ]
Hope that helps.

--------------------

BIC:

The Unteroffizier's eyes widened as she heard what the fire-wretched man had to say about the Reichsman. So his invasion had failed...well, if this man was to be believed. Then again, he didn't seem to have any reason to lie to them. Still, she probably should...

Ha ha. Fat chance.

[ QUOTE ]
The soldier looked on in something resembling shock, as the various metas from Primal Earth suddenly turned on each other for no apparent reason. Giving the so very familiar looking blaster the benefit of the doubt she pointed her rifle towards the cyborg and waited for the order to fire, if it was coming.

[/ QUOTE ]
She never got around to what she should, feeling much the same, and honestly not knowing what to do - well, other than follow common sense and back off, but then they'd already done that. Mostly, anyway.

"Get over here!" the Unteroffizier yanked the soldier with her when she didn't move of her own accord, "What is wrong with you? You look like you saw a ghost..."

((Reply to Soviet pending PM. ))

The Unteroffizier's ears would've perked up if they could've at this, the unknown-generation cyborg referring to the very place the Reichsman had traveled to...not to mention supposedly taken over. Needless to say, this brought a great sense of apprehensiveness when she spoke her question.

"You really are from Primal Earth?" she gradually raised her weapon again, inquiring in German-accented English, "A cyborg from Primal Earth? Does...does that mean...der Reichsmann won? He rules?"

Of course, before Egregore could answer, a freakin' comet blazed right into the tunnel between them, and worse yet didn't stay one, instead becoming...well, she didn't quite know what that was!

"Meine Fresse!" she exclaimed in shock, eyes wide, and though their weapons all went up now, they didn't fire just yet; partially out of not wanting this to devolve into a firefight (maybe literally there) just yet, but mostly due to the large flaming guy just lokking scary as hell, "Was in Teufels Namen is das*...?!"

((*My gosh! What in the devil's name is that?!))

--------------------

((Roger roger.))

Toy of course found the CO stante pede, the high-ranking officer in cobalt-blue ballistic armor giving a hastened salute as he spotted the mechanoid, having not expected such a high animal to show up here.

"Sir!" he snapped to attention, "We did not...of course, Sir. Situation under control, Sir. Perimeter secure. Damage to the research institute is extensive, but not catastrophic. Initial casualty reports confirm twelve dead, at least twenty wounded."

Of course, Toy knew he wasn't counting the attackers there.

"All rebel forces have been either killed or apprehended, and are thus accounted for...save for four that escaped through a portal to Primal Earth during the battle. They are either dead or with the Reichsman now."

The Reichsman...someone of great interest to the Dark Sovereign.

"All projects should be back at nominal operation within the week. We are currently recovering portal generators from armored storage, meaning the accelerated timetable of Operation Coconut may proceed as planned. We are also still making our way further into the facility, and have not yet been able to confirm the status of all active portals at the time. However, at this point we do not believe any of them succeeded at reaching the second world indicated by Sovereign Teivos..."

((Ouch. Well, welcome back.))

The Unteroffizer couldn't help but smirk. That girl had guts. Hopefully, it'd pay off. In any case, she knew she'd feel better with someone backing her up, and thus the other three now moved out of cover as well. True, generally this wasn't a sound maneuver, but if this wasn't an ŠZBV cyborg after all, it was a show of good faith - and if it was...well, cover wouldn't have helped much anyway.

But though the Unteroffizier did know English, she didn't speak just yet, wanting to know just as much if whoever or whatever this person was could speak German...

--------------------

What was up with the burning building seemed rather obvious upon Famine spotting the security perimeter that was the chain link fence around the place, roughly rimming the same area that Freedom Court occupied back in the Horseman's native universe. Not only had said fence been wrecked by explosives in several spots, but several uniformed individuals stood positioned in pairs along said perimeter, high-tech weapons slung behind the shoulders of their long, black overcoats, the like-hued officer caps they wore giving a chilling image of stereotypical Gestapo.

Of course, the look stood different in several measures, most notably the almost pure-white letters 'VB' upon their upper sleeves and the lower half of their coats. The clear, one-piece glasses over their eyes were the other, and by the way they sat could've been blast goggles.

"This is stupid." one of the pair closest to Famine sighed to the other, speaking English with a thick Slavic accent, "They caught everybody, what are we here for? Should we not be letting the citizens know the threat is over?"

"I'unno." the second shrugged in response with a slight shake of his head, his language doubtlessly American English, "'f it were after me, we'd be searching houses to make sure. But I guess Command's sure no one made it. Anyways, orders're orders. Just wish we had some coffee."

"Da. I am falling asleep here. Let us hope the search crews get everybody out soon..."