Her eyes were on the vile. It glinted in the light. Ideas raced through her mind on what possibilities this would bring to Physiks Technologies. She reminded herself that she was not a scientist and that she should leave this to the experts in the lab downstairs, but there was a pang of envy. Her father had been one of the greatest scientists of the century, Richard Feynman. It was in her genes.
Clarisa picked up the document and read the first and last paragraph. She then stood up and casually walked about the room, a common behavior for her as she was conducting business. "Angelstryke, I realize the significance of your offer. I also find your ethic of not killing innocents to be admirable. We certainly do want to protect our assets." She let a little more leg show through the slit of her short skirt. "But your price is high and Crey is not above sending a double agent to its competitors. However....", she paused and tried to keep from hungrily staring at the vile, "...your bonus is good collateral and we accept it gratefully. Perhaps you would agree to let us draw a small amount of your blood in our lab, for comparison of course. After all, we have to validate your claim beyond doubt. In return, we shall deposit 2.5 million in a retainer account set up in your name. The rest will be payable to the same account in one year."
She smiled at the twins from time to time to see their reaction and acknowledge their presence. She wanted to make sure they didn't feel forgotten in this conversation.
"One more thing...Physiks Technologies is building a reputation of goodwill in this community. We do not want anything to jepordize that. Crey may be our competitor, but the police force and public do not take corporate espionage lightly. Anything that would marr our reputation will not be tolerated." She wandered over to the wall sporting several framed newspaper clippings detailing the company's humanitarian efforts. "For the present, let's keep your assignment strictly to protect. Your other contacts may have assignments for you that bring you to Crey labs, and naturally, we will be interested in your findings, but in that case, WE did not send you there. Is that clear?".
Once again her glowing blue eyes seared in Angel's direction. She didn't care about his egotistical demeanor, in fact, she thought it would be useful if she ever had to bring him down. But she did want to make sure he would not be a loose cannon and interfere with her project. Respect was important in leadership, but scientists and heroes often didn't respect authority because of over confidence in their abilities. In those cases, motivation would come from the overall goal. Clarisa wondered if his overall goal was truly money or was their something else.
(( OOC: Recruiting for this thread is always open, please feel free to join at any point with your story.))
[url="http://celestialguardians.guildportal.com"]Celestial Guardians SG[/url]: Chris Mas Snow 50 Ice/Storm Ctl, Li Zhou 42 MA/Rgn Scrp, Dui Zhou 32 Ice/FF Ctl, TinyTaxi 35 Emp/Psi Def
[url="http://tinyurl.com/y66drr"]UnAlliance VG[/url]: Shar Chi 37 Nin/Drk MM, La Vida Loca 16 Pl/Psi Dom
On a dusty, sun baked rooftop several blocks away from the Physiks Technologies building, there kneeled an armored figure, Matamoros. There the he had been during the recent developments in the office building, monitoring everything going in, coming out, and any important conversations around it.
He zoomed in closer using the telescopic sight built into his helm. The voices of the Angel and Clarisa came in crackled and with a slight buzz of static as he listened in.
The man shifted slightly in his red and gold emblazened armor, perhaps not the wisest choice of colors for a stealth operation, but then again, he was never really about stealth. He again shifted, this time lowering his shoulder and head to bring the "assault rifle," which he affectionately named "Torquemada," into his hands.
As he moved his rifle, the sun glared off of the scope for a split second. Matamoros immediately moved the gun to redirect the glare away from the building and froze.
"I need to be more careful. If I keep being so reckless they'll detect my presence." Matamoros was becoming slightly vexed. He never liked playing a waiting game. He had originally planned to move in on the building immediately, but decided to analyze the situation and the strengths of each of the newcomers first...
Kashaye, alone in her apartment, propped her feet up on her coffee table and reclined back on the couch, idly flipping the new Physiks tech ID badge around in her hand. She seemed to 'zone out' for several minutes, as she thought about the events of the day.
She had a new job.
She had a boss who she thought she'd get along with well.
She could get her research going again.
On the flip side, she had a potential new coworker that set her teeth on edge.
The new gig was fairly high-profile, and could get her 'noticed' by Crey. She was sure they already had her under some sort of surveillance; she'd heard enough tales about how they worked with potential 'assets' as well as potential 'liabilities.' She wasn't sure if she was an asset or a liability. Perhaps she was both at the same time.
Her thoughts kept returning to that Angelstryke character.
She picked up her phone.
"Hello, yes, Pavel? Hi, this is Kashaye Parker. You probably know me as Soul Train."
"Oh no problem! That assignment wasn't all that difficult, I'm glad you were able to use the information I got."
"Well.. I have a favor to ask. OK, two favors."
"The first one is in regards to a company called Physiks Technologies. More specifically, the CEO, Clarisa Feynman. I need to know as much background as I can get on both of them."
"Well... I've signed up to work for her, actually. As a researcher and as a field agent. I just want to have an idea of what I might be getting myself into."
"Right, the other is on a 'hero' (and yes, I use the term loosely) by the name of Angelstryke...."
"Yeah that's the man. He's ... well, he's a potential cog in the works. He's also possibly working for Physiks, so he might become a teammate... but right now I need leverage on him, I need to know how best to handle him so as to keep him out of my way. He's... rather disruptive."
"OK. Whatever you can get me, Pavel. And it doesn't have to be right now. I think I've got a short 'nesting period' with Clarisa, while we get my new subatomic research lab up and running... so if you need some time, that's fine."
"Yeah. I appreciate the warning. I'll watch my back around Angel, you can be sure of that. Thanks."
(click)
She contemplated the ID card some more.
(( OOC: consider this a formal 'background check' request on the named characters. Pavel Gaunier is a mid-tier contact from the FBI, and shows up in a couple of story arcs in Skyway City. Assume he has access to SOME of the requested information, and that as a favor to someone who's cleared all of his assignments -i.e. outlevelled him - he's willing to grant what Kashaye has asked of him. It should be written from the viewpoint of the FBI, OK? Please send to me via PM; I can give out my email addy to those that ask, if you prefer.))
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
Matamoros had moved down from the rooftops and, remaining undetected, made his way down into the sewers. He traveled down the sewer paths until he reached an open drain. There, Matamoros kneeled and activated the comm devices in his helm.
"Inquisidor, this Matamoros, do you copy," Matamoros inquired, a Spanish accent was easily detectable, although not horrendously thick. "I have delayed my move. The operation has several," he paused, unable to find an apt description, "uh, complications." His voice echoed through the drain, metallic and mechanical sounding as it exited the confines of the helmet.
"What complications," a deep, dark sounding voice questioned in reply.
"Several people have made their way within the vicinity of the targets. I was able to observe them and monitor their conversations, but I felt it unwise to move in with such a concentration of empowered people. It looked like possible 'controller' and 'defender' types. I was unable to verify. How do I proceed." For a few seconds, Matamoros received no answer.
The dark voice spoke up, "Proceed with observation on target number one: Kashaye Parker. Assess her current threat level to the operation. Afterwards, determine priorities at your discretion, according to the goals of the operation."
"Yes, Inquisidor. Orders received, Matamoros out." Matamoros closed the comm link and readjusted the assault rifle on his back. He quickly checked all of his equipment, feeling his utility belts and ammunition packs, then he moved out of the open drain and towards his objective.
(( OO, I have a stalker! This is a first. 
))
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
Angel's pale blue eyes masked by his shades stared into Clarisa's eyes as she talk, absorbing everything she said.
I had a feeling she would take the bait if I waved the vials in front of her, he thought to himself. They're of no use to me anyway. I've already got what i needed from them.
"Well Clarisa your terms are very agreeable. I'll be more than happy to provide you with my blood for comparison. This city is full of theives and tricksters," he said with a devilish smile. "However I have taken the liberty of setting up my account for the first deposit." He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small card. He took a pen from off Clarisa's desk and scribbled a few numbers on it. He handed it to Clarisa with a sneaky smirk. But just as he handed it to her he saw something outside the building. Before he could look more closly it disappeared. He immedietly disregarded it.
"The account number is on that card. Just give the bank that number and you can wire the money to me." Not only did Angel put the account number on the card, he put his personal number on it.
"I think this concludes our meeting beautiful. You still have to see the Wonder Twins over here and its been a long day." To show his sincerity Angel took of his sunglasses, revealing his own pair of blue eyes as well as his scar. "Just remember that I will do everything in my power to protect your gorgous face and everyone at this company, including that firebrand that attacked me." He put on his shades back on and prepared to leave.
As Paragon city grew dark, the alleyways and scarcely lit areas emptied of civilian traffic. This gave Matamoros nearly complete freedom of movement through the city by way of the back alleys.
Matamoros made his way through the litter and trash filled ways, kneeling by a dumpster, making sure it blocked the view from the open streets. Within his helmet the data on his target was transmitted to him through the comm links. All of the data was displayed on the HUD on the interior of the visor. He glanced quickly over the address and the hero registration data, as well as several files on her reasearch and connections with Crey Industries.
Matamoros stood back up and is immediately faced by several Hellions.
The apparent leader of the small band stepped forward. "Lookie what we have here, a lone masked freak! Looks like your buddies aren't here to help you 'save the day.'" Several of the underlings chuckled. "Looks like you're not arresting anyone today, or ever, once we're through with you." The small band of thugs drew various improvised weapons, including knives, pistols, and sledgehammers.
Matamoros, very amused by their display, let out a laugh, the metallic, hollow sound echoing down the alleyway. Several of the underlings were obviously unnerved by this. Matamoros reached back and drew his 'friend,' "Torquemada."
"As long as I am in this city, there will be order. You are chaos and cannot be controlled. What cannot be controlled must be destroyed."
The Hellions' eyes widened at the sight of the behemoth of a weapon. Several stumbled back, pleading for mercy. "No wait, I'll go peacefully" was heard from several, but ignored.
The pistol wielders tried in vain to shoot Matamoros, only to find their rounds ricochet off of his chest armor and helmet. Matamoros slowly squeezed the trigger, unleashing a furious storm of hot lead at the now fleeing brigands. They were cut down within seconds.
"Order has been restored." Matamoros raised 'Torquemada,' the barrel still smoking. He released the magazine and pushed in a fresh one.
Down the alleyway a police officer stood wide eyed. The officer pointed towards Matamoros, his hand and finger trembling. "Y...you there! You're under arrest," the officer yelled as he drew his pistol.
Matamoros looked in the direction of the officer and quickly pulled out a grenade, causing the officer to dive for cover and immediately call for backup. Releasing the pin, the grenade was tossed towards the officer, now panicking, but only a smokescreen is released, allowing Matamoros to leap onto the fire escape and flee across the rooftops...towards his target's address.
The next day, the front pages were covered by the story of this 'psychotic vigilante' and unmatched brutality, sparking a debate about heroes throughout the entire city.
"Tonight on Larry King Live we discuss Superheroes of Paragon City. Selfless Saviors or Violent Vigilantes?"
Kashaye, having done everything she could to prepare herself for a full day of work after months of being on disability, decided to cap it off with a good relaxing soak. She ran a hot bath, poured in some bath beads that had been given to her as a present by one of her SG members (oh, lilac, how lovely!), lit a couple of candles, and settled in with a glass of wine and a particularly trashy romance novel.
Once the water had gone tepid an hour later, she got out, toweled off, teased her hair back into her favorite afro (time to get it trimmed, it's getting out there), then, clad in a bathrobe, drank another glass of wine while looking out her balcony at the moon. Nights like this... they were meant to be enjoyed. She'd heard staccato gunfire a few blocks away, but the sound was fairly commonplace; she had long since learned to tune it out unless she was close enough to make a difference OR she was the one getting shot at.
She decided to leave the drapes and the sliding door open, as the breeze off the bay was pleasant and not too cold. She donned her oversized sleep-shirt, got into bed... and was asleep almost as soon as her head settled down on the pillows.
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
"I would like to thank everyone for coming." Dr. Lucidity said to the hundreds of scientists seated in front of his podium. He took a deep breath before continuing "As you all know, for the past 10 years Portal Industries has worked towards increasing our knowledge and understanding of the Universes that exist outside of our own..."
"Why did Dad have to drag us here, anyway?" Christina sighed as she looked outside the window of the Observation Room, situated high above the Portal Room, where Christopher and Christina's father continued to deliver his speech. Christina gazed down at her father as he continued his speech, then shifted her gaze to her mother, who was seated in the front row, nodding her head and beaming with pride as her husband spoke. In the opposite corner of the room, humming loudly and giving off a continuous white light, sat an enormous Portal.
"Yeah, it's always the same thing whenever he brings us here." Christopher sighed, running his hands along the machines that ran along the far end of the wall in the Observation Room. "He makes a speech, Mom and Dad and several of their friends go into the Portal, we wait here for several HOURS until they come back, and they they talk about ad nauseam about how INCREDIBLE the place they went was." Christopher stared longigly at the Portal. "I just wish that they'd at LEAST bring us along with them, just ONCE."
"You know what Mom says." Christina laughed, extending her finger out in front of her and mimicking her mother's voice. "'You're both far too young for this sort of thing! When you're older and know all there is to know about THIS Universe, you'll understand the types of dangers that can occur when your father and I blah blah blah blah.'"
The two chuckled quietly between themselves, then turned their attention back to the Portal Room. Their father had finished his speech, and the scientists were already making preparations to enter the Portal.
The sun was already setting low in the horizon when Soul Train and Angelstryke finally finished their business with Ms. Feynman.
"See, this is why I told you we should've investigated on our own first." Christopher sighed as Angelstryke got up and left the room. "Look at all the time we've wasted here!"
"I don't see how you could possibly care about how much time we've wasted." Christina said with a smirk.
Christopher rolled his eyes, then turned his attention to Clarisa. "I'm sorry, but we're not really here to make money, or apply for a job, or anything like that..."
"The thing is, we recently came into possession of something that concerns not just you, but your entire company." Christina raised her hand in the air and opened a small, black Portal. Reaching into the Portal, she pulled out the several papers and documents that she had placed in the Portal earlier. After everything was removed, the Portal closed.
"These were found on a small squadron of Paragon Protectors earlier today." Christina said, handing the documents to Clarisa. "The documents contain the results of a recent Board Meeting inside of Crey Industries that projected the net losses of Physiks Technologies should several of their laboratories become... unusable."
"There are also schematics of the interior of several Physiks Technologies labs scattered throughout Paragon." Christopher said, tapping his foot impatiently. "We felt that it would be best to inform you of this before investigating it first. Now, I do apologize for being so abrupt, but it's getting quite late and our duties at Portal Corp. prevent us from-"
"What duties? We're not on call tonight!" Christina whispered to Christopher.
Christopher sighed and turned his attention to Clarisa for a moment. "Excuse us for a moment, would you?" He snapped his fingers, and the entire world stopped. The sun, which had been setting at a rather fast pace, stopped in it's tracks; several birds that were flying by the window froze in place, perfectly motionless; and Clarisa herself was frozen in place, under the spell of Christopher's Time Stop along with everything else.
"Now, I thought we had rules about what powers we could use or couldn't use outside of battle." Christina sighed, turning towards her brother. "And I DISTINCTLY remember-"
"Christina, I'd rather not get involved in a corporate war between Crey Technologies and Physiks Technologies." Christopher explained, his tone and expression stern. "We've
already informed Ms. Feynman of what we wanted to, let's leave the counter-attack to her and Physiks Technologies." He lowered his eyes, deep in thought. "Besides, I'm more worried about WHY those Paragon Protectors were carrying the documents with them when they were NOWHERE near ANY Physiks Technologies laboratory..." He returned his attention back to his sister. "Let's make our exit now, so we don't have to deal with any unnecessary questions. I'd prefer it if we didn't waste any more time that we have."
"You really need to learn some manners." Christina sighed, shaking her head. She narrowed her eyes. "Where were you thinking of going?"
"That's easy." Christopher said, narrowing his eyes. "Back to the where we those Paragon Protectors were found..."
Christina nodded, and in the next moment, the two were gone from the office. A moment later, the world came back to life, and Clarisa found herself alone in her office.
Supplemental Galactic Protectorate Fanfic
There Matamoros stood, one rooftop across from his objective. The red and gold cape wafted in the night breeze as he stood silently, 'Torquemada' in his right hand pointed into the air. He looked across the entire apartment building making scans of everything from infrared to x-ray. He had noticed the blatantly open sliding door and was suspiscious. A nice M30 right through that door would do nicely, but he felt she might be able to provide valuable information...unknowingly of course.
Matamoros let the assault rifle hang at his side from the strap and grabbed onto his cape. With an uncharacteristically gracefuly leap he landed lightly in front of the open door. Slowly and cautiously he proceeded into the apartment, immediately looking towards the bedroom. "Good," he thought "sound asleep. Don't worry, I'll be just a moment..." Matamoros pulled a small metal case from one of his many untility packs. Opening the case, several small spider-sized droids were dispersed througout the house, bugging lines of communications as well.
"Now, for you, my beauty," he said to himself, pulling out a small bomb, "where to place you?" He slowly crept into the bedroom, sliding the small bomb behind a bedside nightstand. "A departing gift...once you've told me what I want to know." He turned and made his way towards the open sliding door and vanished back into the darkness.
"Those children were quite amazing. First delivering useful information found on a very dangerous foe, a Paragon Protector, and secondly, disappearing without a trace from her heavily surveilled office." Clarisa thought. She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Christina and Christopher..." She would be asking Jane to call up their files to find out when and where they might meet again.
Clarisa still had the viles in her hand. She placed them in a biohazard carrying case, lined with foam and brought them down to the biochemistry lab. After filling out some paperwork, she excused herself and headed back to her penthouse apartment.
During her limo ride, she called up details of the agents reports, threat reports on allies and foes, and Soulll Trainnn's order form. All the way up the elevator, she listened to her voicemail. Jane had left her a message asking for the next couple of days off, Officer David Wincott left contact info for an undercover officer named Flux, and Agent Rosalyn informed her that she had reached security level 18. She frowned slightly as a new problem presented itself. Soon, Physiks agents like Rosalyn would be getting missions to inflitrate Crey. She would have to carefully monitor that situation.
She disrobed and climbed into the small sonic shower stall. Within two minutes she was out and pouring herself a stiff drink. If she didn't dull her reflexes and senses, she'd never get to sleep. Despite the attempts to fall into a restful sleep, she tossed and twitched, expecting to find someone standing in her room threatening her. Luckily, she could see in the dark and was able to open her eyes quickly, see no one there, then drift back to sleep. And so ended a normal work day!
[url="http://celestialguardians.guildportal.com"]Celestial Guardians SG[/url]: Chris Mas Snow 50 Ice/Storm Ctl, Li Zhou 42 MA/Rgn Scrp, Dui Zhou 32 Ice/FF Ctl, TinyTaxi 35 Emp/Psi Def
[url="http://tinyurl.com/y66drr"]UnAlliance VG[/url]: Shar Chi 37 Nin/Drk MM, La Vida Loca 16 Pl/Psi Dom
"Time to celebrate!"
Angelstryke had just reached his apartment in Brickstown after leaving Physiks. He flew in through the balcony window that he always left open. He wasnt worried about theives. He had few things to lose. Plus he could always use a live punching bag.
Angel's apartment was big and a stereotypical batchlor pad. Big screen TV, weights and punching bag, the basic stuff. Angel took off his basic costume of leather jacket with his insignia, an A flanked by wings, and his blue undershirt. He exchanged these for a regular leather jacket and white undershirt. Angel didnt have much clothes. He also left his shades, exposing his rugged eyes and scar for everyone to see.
He walked out of the building and headed down to his favorite bar called The Hawk's Nest. He walked in like he owned the place. He was the best customer that showed up so he kinda did.
He was gretted by the bartender. "Wassup Erik! Didnt think youd come in for a drink tonight. What ya celebrating tonight?" Angel replied with a party like attitude. "I just got me a nice job that'll pay big so screw the beer tonight and shine the teqeila cause I'm buying for everyone in the bar, courtesy or Erik Masterson!" At this everyone cheered.
Angel had a smile on the inside at this statement. His name wasn't Erik Masterson. Thats just one of his many aliases that he uses. Masterson is his unoffocial civilian alias. The alias on file down at the FBSA is the lastest in a long line of alias to keep the government fooled. Angel didn't like people knowing who he really was. His real name was in there, but the government's way to stupid to figure it out.
Now on a regular night Angel was a big drinker, mostly because along with his powers came a bigger resistance to alcohol. When Angel was partying, he would drink enough to kill a regular man. Tonight was one of those nights. He bought drinks for all the ladies that came in so he could get his pick of the litter for the night. Each one of them was in love with Angel's personality and his face.
By 2:00 AM he was stumbling back to his apartment with the best looking babe at the bar. "Damn its been a good night," he thought to himself as he unlocked his door and let him and his date inside.
The next morning, Kashaye got up, did her usual routine, picked out a pretty blouse, smart jacket and skirt combo, and a demure set of stiletto boots to wear to the office, strapped on the fanny pack containing her 'heroine' uniform and her PDA, grabbed an energy bar from the basket on the kitchen counter, and left the apartment. She was tempted to use her powers to get across town, but wanted to settle into her new identity as a corporate research scientist, so instead hailed a cab.
(( for those watching from home, Crey Industries actually knows more about her powers than she does, as they have the telemetry from the lab accident AND from her initial tests. She instinctively knows how to use most of them... but doesn't know how she knows. So, bugging her apartment won't net much. Crey also wants her alive - they won't sign off on a terminate order until they get enough data from her to determine how to duplicate the 'accident' to create more metas with similar powersets. This will PROBABLY involve a kidnapping or some form of coercion....))
((Now... we don't know who our Matamoros is working for, or what their plans are for Kashaye... perhaps they're out to foil Crey's plans?))
Reaching the Physiks Tech office, Kashaye used her new bio-card to gain entry, gave a cheerful "good morning" to Jane, and headed down the hallway to her new 'office'... where she spent a good 3 hours reviewing corporate policies, reading up on company background, and weeding through what seemed to be a small flood of HR-related email (hardly any of which applied to her directly, so she created a folder to 'send' it all to for later perusal.)
She then composed an e-mail to Clarisa:
[ QUOTE ]
Ms. Feynman:
I hope you've had time to review the requisitions that are needed to set up the new lab. I'd like to get a timetable set up, from initial planning on through lab start-up. Please advise as to a good time for this meeting. I will probably need an hour, perhaps two.
Kashaye Parker
Research Lead
Muon Dampening Project
[/ QUOTE ]
(( No need to roleplay this out - she just needs to figure out how long it'll all take to accomplish, as she's champing at the bit to get the research portion started. ))
Around 11am, she received a page on the PDA - seems Tommy One-Eye had been spotted in Striga, looking to leave the country with a fortune in contraband. Three members of her supergroup had already responded, but she knew they'd need help. She sent a page to the supergroup dispatch captain advising she was on her way, then, ducking into the restroom, quickly changed into her uniform, advised Jane she had been tapped for an urgent mission, and super-jumped her way across two zones to reach the Striga entry point.
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
"Data received. You will receive an analysis within the hour," a voice informed Matamoros.
"Understood," replied Matamoros. His drones had scoured every corner of the apartment and sending every bit of information they could find, from computer data to what items happened to be in the waste bins throughout the place. "So far there doesn't appear to be anything indicating any major sin," Matamoros said to himself. He was sitting in another open sewage drain awaiting the data and their analyses. Matamoros activated his comm link and called for Inquisidor.
"Inquisidor, Matamoros reporting. Reporting preliminary threat assesment on target: Kashaye Parker. She appears to be an innocent to me, completely unaware of the threat her powers truly pose, nor the plans of Crey regarding her 'accident.' Data analysis forthcoming, but she appears to be guilty of no sin against order."
"You know the code. If she is an innocent, she cannot and will not be harmed. Innocents shall be protected. Watch over her according to the code unless further analysis reveals a threat."
"Understood. What of Physiks and their leader, Clarisa Feynman? Do we have sufficient evidence proving her to be a corrupted one?"
"No, nothing immediately damning. Keep an eye on her, however, she is not your top priority at the moment. We have reports from several other Inquisidor agents that suggests Crey covets the targets power even more each day. Make sure their agents do not get near her or her research. It is much too dangerous."
"Understood. Orders received. Matamoros out." He deactivated the comm and looked out towards the opening. It was a bright day. He would have to be careful moving about, even in a city full of strangely clad heroes running about. He was essentially a wanted man for the 'murder' of those thugs. Of course, he didn't consider it murder, he considered it their final judgement and punishment.
Matamoros activated his comm once again, "I need the current location of my target. This is Matamoros." Within seconds coordinates were sent to his helmet interior computing systems. He jumped out of the drain and made his way to the coordinates where, apparently, there was also a crime being commited. "Torquemada," Matamoros said to himself, "we have some work ahead of us."
As Clarisa was being driven into a Physiks satellite office in Steel Canyon, she read and replied to her email.
[ QUOTE ]
Ms. Parker:
I have reviewed your requisitions and found your requests to be reasonable. All the orders will be placed by close of business today with high priority. I expect you will take delivery on the items by Friday at the latest.
I will be stopping by your lab soon to see how the setup is going and to ensure you are getting the attention you deserve.
Clarisa Feynman
Director of Special Projects
Physiks Technologies
[/ QUOTE ]
She made a mental note to stop by the biochem lab to see the results of Angelstryke's tests. She would be contacting him soon for an update, so best to have as much information as possible beforehand. After all a little bit of blood goes a long way.
[url="http://celestialguardians.guildportal.com"]Celestial Guardians SG[/url]: Chris Mas Snow 50 Ice/Storm Ctl, Li Zhou 42 MA/Rgn Scrp, Dui Zhou 32 Ice/FF Ctl, TinyTaxi 35 Emp/Psi Def
[url="http://tinyurl.com/y66drr"]UnAlliance VG[/url]: Shar Chi 37 Nin/Drk MM, La Vida Loca 16 Pl/Psi Dom
As Soullll Train and her companions were busy taking Tommy's goons 'downtown' (her word for kicking butt), she heard the distinctive sound of autofire. It didn't sound like a Thompson machine gun either.
She looked up, and saw a figure in red and gold armor blasting targets at the periphery, using cargo containers to gain the high ground and pick targets, seeking out ambushes, and generally making the job easier without getting in the way.
She didn't think by the sound of things that the gun was loaded with nonlethal rounds... but considering how hard Tommy's boys were trying to send HER group to the hospital, she didn't dwell on it. That was the stranger's lookout, not hers.
She shrugged, and Power-siphoned yet another goomba so that the two tanks could more effectively introduce him to the deck plating.
She thought about tossing a Speed Boost onto the stranger, but when she turned around during the next break in battle... he was no longer there.
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
After assisting the super group defeat some minions and effectively checking his objective was protected, Matamoros dashed between myriads of crates and containers towards the end of the cargo area. Once there, he found a large group of men loading a transport with their illegal goods. He ducked behind the crate and loaded his M30 grenade. Quickly he raised up, firing the grenade into the group. The criminals were all hurled back by the explosion, needless to say, horrendously wounded, if not dead. The grenade sent a loud boom echoing throughout the entire zone, amplified by the metal containers surrounding the explosion.
"You have been found guilty of crimes against order and morality, as well as terrorism against and intent to kill innocents. Your evil reign over Paragon is coming to an end. The agents of order have arrived." Once he had finished his monologue, Matamoros managed to identify the leader by the use of data files sent to him over the comm link. He tied him up to a lightpole so that it would be obvious to Soullll Train and her team when they arrived a few moments later.
Once again Matamoros took his leave, disappearing into the maze of containers.
[ QUOTE ]
The grenade sent a loud boom echoing throughout the entire zone, amplified by the metal containers surrounding the explosion.
[/ QUOTE ]
"What was that???"
The team lead shrugged. She had no idea either... whatever it was, it wasn't one of them. All she cared about was the sudden lack of resistance - perhaps they'd catch Tommy before he left port after all.
[ QUOTE ]
Matamoros managed to identify the leader by the use of data files sent to him over the comm link. He tied him up to a lightpole so that it would be obvious to Soullll Train and her team when they arrived a few moments later.
[/ QUOTE ]
Soul superjumped up onto a stack of cargo boxes. There was Tommy below her, out cold, tied to a post. His subordinates were all scattered around him, some already dead, some dying. The team lead rounded the corner of the containers and immediately went into overdrive.
"Oh my goodness. Stilettos! Quickly! Arrest chits on anyone still breathing! Move, girls, or they'll be in the morgue instead of the Zig prison hospital!"
Soul speedboosted the others to let them do their task more quickly, and started zapping off heals as fast as she could to keep more men from dying.
She wondered, was this the work of that mysterious other that had appeared on the scene? She hoped it wasn't. She wasn't one to use lethal force, and neither was anyone she worked with. The thought of someone killing instead of disabling made her shiver.
She reached Tommy just as he began to recover. "Tommy! Tommy One-Eye! Come on man, stay with me here. Who did this?"
"Dunno... me an' my boys... was loading the ship... explosion... don' remember... somet'ing 'bout 'agents of order'..." The gangster lapsted back into unconsciousness.
Soul tagged him with an arrest tag and activated it. What was this 'agents of order' business? Who else knew about Tommy's plans? And who was the stranger in the red and gold armor? Her head swam with questions, ones she KNEW she'd have to answer at the team debrief.
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
((OOC: Tests? Was i supposed to go to your lab to get something done? I guess i was too drunk to remember 
))
Angel woke up at the decent hour of noon. His "companion" had already left using the taxi cab money that he always left on his nightstand for his dates. He had a pretty big hangover and could hardly remember any of the days events, cept for the 2.5 million.
"Ughh what a great party. Once i get my money it'll be like that every night." Angel staggered out of his bed and rumegged through his dwayers for a needle with a yellowish liquid inside. He injected it into his arm and felt better immedietly. He made sure that he always had a steady supply of his hangover remedy that he has his contacts in certain labs whip up for him.
Feeling refreshed, Angel took his costume jacket and turned it inside out so that he could always get in costume quickly. He put on jeans and a green muscle shirt and slipped his shades in his pocket. As he walked out he grabbed his iPod and listened to Blink182 as he walked to the First National Bank of Paragon to check if his money was already deposited.
"I love me my life," he thought with a huge grin. "This day could not be ruined for me."
Matamoros was kneeling on the roof of a tall building overlooking the port. He watched as the super group desperately tried to save the lives of those who managed to survive the storm of shrapnel. "Fools," he said to himself, "you know damn well they will be back on the streets in a matter of months, and yet you let them live. These men are mortal sinners and must be damned accordingly." Matamoros stood, crossing his arms over his chest, his crimson and gold cape blowing in the wind. The sun was setting now, the darkness slowly overtaking the city. He would be free to move about as he pleased soon enough.
(( She's not foolish, she's doing her job!! Besides... gotta go for that medic badge... ))
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
After spending the morning in the satellite office, Clarisa headed over to the main office to stop into the Biochem lab.
"Greetings Ms. Feynman", "Hello Ms. Feynman", "Good day Ms. Feynman". People said as she passed by them on her way through the vast lobby to the elevators. She passed them an acknowledging smile and said hello to a few of the higher ranking scientists.
When she got to the Biochem lab door, she held up her access card. The door glowed green and opened to admit her.
Immediately, a chief scientist came over to her with a report in hand (they still used paper for confidential information as electronics could be hacked and paper was easy to destroy). It was the result of Angelstryke's blood test and the preliminary analysis of the vial of green liquid. She was looking to see if the blood had any elements or compounds in common with the green liquid to verify it was as Angel had proported. Also, she was hoping that this early report would give an indication about how valuable the liquid was. This is what the report said:
((Soulfire, can you provide some info from the report, since you have an idea of where it came from and what it does? No need to give all the facts, just trickle some info and some leads for Physiks to follow.))
[url="http://celestialguardians.guildportal.com"]Celestial Guardians SG[/url]: Chris Mas Snow 50 Ice/Storm Ctl, Li Zhou 42 MA/Rgn Scrp, Dui Zhou 32 Ice/FF Ctl, TinyTaxi 35 Emp/Psi Def
[url="http://tinyurl.com/y66drr"]UnAlliance VG[/url]: Shar Chi 37 Nin/Drk MM, La Vida Loca 16 Pl/Psi Dom
After spending a restless night tossing and turning (the thoughts of why she'd find a dock full of mortally wounded mafiosos keeping her awake), Kashaye returned to the office. She'd already composed and uploaded the debrief to her team lead.. but it still bothered her.
She received word from Clarisa that the orders for her lab equipment had been placed, so she decided to take a tour of the facility, and see how construction was coming. She was particularly interested in the reactor and the particle accelerator, as well as the shielding elements. Thankfully the lab itself wasn't all that far away from the main offices.
Once there, she got caught up in meeting her lab team, reviewing the construction plans, offering advice on how to best implement the shields and the power relays, and so forth. She was impressed - Physiks must be spending a fortune on her project, all on a handwritten manuscript and a demonstration of abilities.
She used her PDA to pay a couple of bills that had come due, and received another shock; Physiks had already begun to pay her? Ad... oh my, how many zeroes was that?
She made up her mind - even if she didn't know Clarisa very well, if the woman trusted her enough to pay her that much AND foot the bill for this new lab, then she'd do anything she could to be deserving of that trust.
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
Several black SUV's pull up in front of the Physiks building. Out of the front and back limosines, latin-looking men in black suits and dark sunglasses step out. Several move forward and stop at the entrance to the building, two move towards the center vehicle and open the door. A dark haired, lightly tanned skinned man stepped out. He, too, was clad in a black suit and dark sunglasses. One obvious feature was the long scar stretching across his face at a forty-five degree angle, the only thing tainting his otherwise solid roman-esque facial features.
The man took a look at the building and the logo stretched across it before walking to the entrance, flanked by the other men in dark suits, and entering the building. He and his entourage walked past the front desk, being stopped by a secretary.
"You can't just walk in here without an appointment," the secretary declared.
The scarred man stepped forward, a look of aggravation in his eyes. Instead of harming the lady, as she thought he would, he pulled out a business card. "I don't think we need an appointment," he said to her as he held up the card. "I'm from Legion. I think you've heard of us." He placed the card into her hand and kept walking further into the building.
((okay, 'Legion' is 'Legion Technologies and Defense Systems', the largest and well-known supplier of state-of-the-art weapons and defense system technology in the world. It has a rather dubious reptuation because although it does basically make space-aged killing machines, it has also done a lot of humanitarian work through many of it's branch companies and the like. [edit] and I guess you could say that Crey and Legion don't exactly like each other either))
Angelstryke decided to talk first. "Well first I would just like to say that even as a mess you still look beautiful," he said with a smirk and a wink. "But the tough broad has taken the last of my patience, so im gonna get right down to business." His usual cocky smirk vanished as it does when the time for jokes has gone.
He reached into his jacket yet again and pulled out an offocial looking document and slid it over to Clarisa. "This is an interesting letter that I happened to recieve the other day. Apparently Crey Industries has been doing some backdoor research and found out who I really am, something that I don't like most people knowing. They found out that I'm strapped for cash. So the countess herself has 'drafted' me into her private army.
"The document says that I'm to be paid a million to infiltrate your company and give then all your secrets. They also would pay me another million to, and this is a direct quote, to 'make sure that you are never seen again.'
"Im here to protect you. I many be 'brutal' but I don't kill the innocent. Now i guarentee you my protection and I will take it one step greater and infiltrate THEM for you.
The thing is..." he started with his cocky self reutrning, "my services don't come cheap. I'll do everything i have said for the low price of 5 million." Clarisa's face dropped at the price. "But I will also throw in, just cause your cute, a bonus. One thats worth 5 mil on its own."
"Ya see, I gained my powers in a lab accident. I happened to be a member of the Trolls at the time, a fun period of my life yet one that i don't tell everyone. We were raiding a Crey lab because we had heard that they had developed a new kind of Superdine. Never mention Superdine to a Troll. They will hunt you down to the ends of the earth to get it. But i digress. We raided the lab but we ended up over our heads. The lab was actually devoted to the Revenant Hero Project. In the raid a scientist stabbed me right in the jugular with a needle composed of their clones' blood and some other chemicals. It mixed with the Superdine in my system and cured me of my addiction as well as granted my my superpowers. Over the years since this I manged to secure myself an identical sample from Crey." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small vial with green liquid in it. He also pulled out another vial with blood in it. "This one is my blood."
"Crey would do anything to get their hands on these. The scientific knowledge that could be gained from these is worth a fortune. And they're yours so long as you agree to my terms. We cool?"