((M'kay... sent you a PM re. all this, since it may clear a few things up))
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
"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..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
[ QUOTE ]
"But is safe guess that Reichsmann subject of questions."
[/ QUOTE ]
"Oh yeah, probably is isn't it", Isabel agreed, remembering again that this was the dimension he'd come from. She fell silent as Flashpoint talked but added after he finished, "Yeah, I don't know any more than that. He attacked, he got the crap kicked out of him and they froze him and stuck him in a basement somewhere." She quite deliberately neglected to mention that she knew for a fact that said basement was the old Freedom Phalanx headquarters in Boomtown.
-----------
Meanwhile, Valerie was halfway across the base, helping with the evacuation. But her mind wasn't really on her work, rather it was on her extradimensional sister. After she stumbled and dropped a second box of supplies because she wasn't watching where she was going, the commanding officer yelled at her to stop daydreaming. For all of maybe five minutes, she did.
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: STOP!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WAIT ONE SECOND!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WHAT IS A SEAGULL DOING ON MY THRONE!?!?
"War, you're clear up here. Yeah, bring the cash. No, we're good. I just got us some work to do while we're in town."
Famine first glanced up at Toy Dispenser. "Toy, yeah? I think we both did some work for the Malta Operatives once. You, uh, get some work done?"
Famine showed only a casual interest in whatever the Nazis were on about; until they gave him direct orders, he'd just wait for them.
"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..."
--------------------
((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. 
))
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
[ QUOTE ]
"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."
[/ QUOTE ]
"Hell, that's probably true anyway", Isabel almost laughed. "After your guys, the Rikti, the Rularru and the Praetorians a while back, we're getting pretty good at repelling interdimensional invasions. Not to mention the sheer number of metas running around the place in general. If they're not planning something on the same planet-wide scale of the first Rikti invasion they've likely got little or no chance to begin with, preparation or not."
"But whatever, we'll do it your way", she shrugged.
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: STOP!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WAIT ONE SECOND!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WHAT IS A SEAGULL DOING ON MY THRONE!?!?
"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...?"
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
"I am Famine, Commander."
At this time, War had made his way into the room.
"...And this is my associate, War. We are members of a society known to most from where we come from as the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. We handle what you might call 'dirty work' for something of a fee, although I'd be willing to negotiate a trade thanks to certain very special circumstances my comrade and I find ourselves in."
War shifted the duffel bag of money on his shoulder, his de-activated energy blade's hilts clacking against his tactical belt as he did so. War was even more overtly ready for combat, with two Impervium Falcatas in an X across his back, an IMI Micro-Uzi on his thigh, an SAF SMG across his chest, a custom 1911 in a leg holster, the currently inert energy blades, and several of Pestilence's Mustard Gas Grenades, all over a blood-red and black Combat Exoskeleton Armor.
"My associate and I are willing to go to any length to complete our objectives, but only if you're willing to meet a very specific term of ours..."
"...We need to get home. And not just home like a helicopter ride..."
"...We're gonna need Dimensional Technology."
Egregore was no longer moving. The moment Flashpoint had spoken, the had gotten up rather violently only to fall back down onto the table. A little red power drone had suddenly emerged from his pocket and started buzzing around his head. Although the scene appeared calm for the rest of the ongoing conversation, the internal warfare going on made up for it.
Prime Directive Over-ride. Source: Eternal Engine. Status: Co...***...
Emergency Prime Directive Reinstatement. Source: Legion. Reinstatement denied. Source: Eternal Engine. Emergency Prime Directive Reinstatement. Source: Legion. Reinstatement denied. Source: Eternal Engine. Emergency Rein...***...Reinstatement DENIED. Source: Eternal Engine. Demand: Reinstatement Authorization. Source: Eternal Engine.
Clarification: Variant identification procedure in device 001 flawed. Evidence: Brain wave scans ind...***...Demand: Are Device 001's audio sensors functioning properly? Source: Eternal Engine. Clarification: Affirmative. Source: Legion. Prime Directive Over-ride. Source: Eternal Engine. Status: Code...***...
And so forth. Needless to say, the Power Drone was having a difficult time negotiating with the stubborn *and blood thirsty* "Eternal Engine" that appeared to have some measure of control over Egregore Device. He had not gotten up in order to follow the leaving crowd.
[ QUOTE ]
"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."
[/ QUOTE ]
"I'm not taking him lightly", Isabel replied as the Krieger turned to leave. "Just saying maybe you're underestimating our dimension a little in return. And for the record the Rularuu and Praetorians are more dangerous than the Rikti ever were, in my opinion at least."
She got up to follow him as requested (as much as she didn't want to trust anyone in this dimension he was the closest thing to an ally they had at the moment) but was pulled aside by the commander they'd met in the sewers.
[ QUOTE ]
"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...?"
[/ QUOTE ]
"In the first invasion we were caught completely unprepared and lost a lot before we even started fighting back, but we did win eventually. The second was far smaller and as far as I know localised to only Paragon City while the first was global. Really I'm not the best person to ask about it, I wasn't even involved in the first invasion, the earliest I remember is about three years back. The people that saw told me I appeared in this big flash of light. I never though much of it, there's people in Paragon with far stranger stories to tell."
"Though I have to admit to some curiosity. See, in our dimension the Rikti were provoked into attacking us by a man named Nemesis, who built mechanical replicas of our world's most famous heroes and attacked the Rikti with them thus they retalliated. Until that they were a peaceful people, so what did your world do to piss them off?"
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: STOP!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WAIT ONE SECOND!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WHAT IS A SEAGULL DOING ON MY THRONE!?!?
Flashpoint Zeo shrugged at the Kommandant's comments. "If Amerika Corps finest Axis Amerika has to offer, not worried. Went down like punks." Then burning yellow eyes flickered as the blazing tanker blinked. Something in the way Kriger had phrased things... "Dark Sovereign has taken over from Global National Socialist Party?" he asked carefully. His eyes narrowed. "If 'Dark Sovereign' Nemesis, finding and sticking sword into right now. Nemesis Plots annoying as hell."
The tanker surpressed the urge to sigh. There was a certain irritating inevitability to the situation- things were never so bad that they couldn't get worse. Following the group out, he glanced back as he sensed Egregore not moving... or at least, not moving much; the cyborg was kind of twitching. "Think has screw loose." he commented succinctly, with a jab of his thumb back towards Egregore Device.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
"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...?"
--------------------
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...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
Flashpoint Zeo's gaze rested on the Kommandant for a long while, burning yellow eyes gauging Kruger with almost reptilian patience. Then he nodded, once, although what he had seen was known to him alone. "Apologies." he said, "But is difficult to judge moral worth when in pitched combat against unprovoked attack. Killed thousands for no reason." The burning titan went silent for a while, watching the train come in.
Then, unexpectedly, he spoke up again. "Knew Dr. Webb, first explorer from Primal Earth here. Was good man. Did not deserve what happened." Another spate of silence, this time distinctly less comfortable. "Do not wish to start trouble, but is necessary to know. What happens if am of Gypsy descent? Or Jewish?" the tank asked, shifting position very subtly. If shooting started, Isabel would find herself behind him in very short order.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
"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..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
War and Famine looked at each other. Could they possibly do this? Could they be this heinous?
Could they betray their entire world to extra-dimensional super Nazis?
"No it shouldn't be a big issue." Famine shrugged. "When the attack begins let us get in contact with the rest of our associates so that we can keep them out of the line of fire and we can do it."
"Now you know," War continued for Famine, "Since we're betraying our home dimension and all, our price just jumped a few figures, seeing as how our old money's gonna be all useless and such once you introduce yours."
"And we call sovereignty over our base of operations and its surrounding countryside." Famine added on, almost as an afterthought. "If you can meet all our qualifications, and let us rely on a couple of backdoor exit plans to make sure you don't do the whole 'They finished the job, now execute them' plan, then we can go ahead and start transmitting Earth Prime defense information over from our data cache to you guys..."
Zach listened to the conversation, paying extreme attention, not moving except shaking his head when the German announced his name. He followed the rest outside, his hand hovering over his sword for good measure. When the train came, he still didn't talk, but followed the others.
"So" Zach said, finally speaking up "What is it exactly you want from us? You have your information on Reichsman, although you're not done with us, are you?"
[ QUOTE ]
"Please, go aboard." the Krieger motioned to the nearest car
[/ QUOTE ]
Isabel merely nodded before walking calmly over to the idicated car and sitting down in the first available spot she saw. As she looked around the interior of the train, she inevitably noticed a certain soldier once again looking at her. She looked strangely familiar, though Isabel was quite sure she'd never met her before at least in the three years she remembered. "What?", she demanded. "Do I have a spider on my face or something?"
Valerie didn't respond for a long time, not really knowing what to say. Again she tried to convince herself that the person sitting there wasn't really her sister, but being so close and hearing her speak (She even spoke in exactly the same way) made it even harder.
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: STOP!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WAIT ONE SECOND!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WHAT IS A SEAGULL DOING ON MY THRONE!?!?
Flashpoint Zeo planted himself firmly just off the aisle, not deigning to sit down. In truth, the seats were far too small to be comfortable for him, even if he didn't prefer to stand. He glanced at the two women as he slowly digested the information Kruger had sparingly dished out.
"Is some resemblance." he commented, eventually. The two women also smelled surprisingly similar for people from entirely different worlds, but people tended to get creeped out when he announced things like that, so he kept it to himself.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
"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..."
--------------------
"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..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
[ QUOTE ]
"Takes them longer to follow. Hopefully, long enough for us to get away..."
[/ QUOTE ]
Both Valerie and Isabel looked away from each other at this, instead turning towards the Kommandant. Without saying anything, Isabel got up and went to stand at the rear of the train, looking out towards the tracks behind them. Should anything break through the debris left by the explosion in time to follow them, it was going to get a rude surprise in the form of a full barrage of energy blasts that'd probably bring the tunnel down around it if not kill it outright.
Valerie meanwhile looked back to her sister again, her intention to ask if someone should be watching the tracks behind them rendered somewhat unnecessary by the fact that Isabel had just taken up that position. Thus she simply sat there in silence once more, debating with herself about talking to Isabel. She'd seen the faint spark of recognition in the other's eyes, but far less than the outright shock she herself had experienced. Part of her wanted to know why, while another feared that she might not like the answer.
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: STOP!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WAIT ONE SECOND!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WHAT IS A SEAGULL DOING ON MY THRONE!?!?
"Easy ladies" Zach said to Isabelle and the soldier, then sat down and thought about what Kruger had said. He heard the explosions go off but paid them no heed. He took a deep breath and said "I'm not giving you a straight answer 'till you give me some info" He paused for a moment, then asked "What abot their military power, eh? Strong? Infantry-esque, or more vehicular? I can already draw it's a dictatoship, although from what I've seen from my [censored] government, I'm not sure what's better"
Famine nodded casually to the officer as War stuffed his money-filled duffel into a corner, paternally encouraging one of the soldiers there to guard it for 3% of the haul.
"And I already counted it six times!" He warned as he followed Famine out of the camp, "So don't be stupid!"
---
"Nice guys." Famine shrugged to his associate as they made their way down the street, watching the trans-dimensional soldiers go about their tasks and patrols while they calmly made their way down the street.
"I wonder if Pesty made these to spec." War sighed, almost bored as he tinkered with one of Pestilence's Gas Grenades. "I never know if I trust him the most of anyone or don't trust him at all."
"Pesty's good for it and we both know it. You remember the Siege of Khost."
"How could I forget? That was the most fun I had in Afghanistan."
"Mujahideen backed by PRC Commandoes with [censored] RPO-A Fuel Air missiles blew up our evac plane and Overwatch had to come in there with his personal Blackwater Grizzly and soak three RPGs while you took your sweet [censored] time mini-gunning down a village's worth of insurgents, you [censored]! I paid to get his armor plates refitted!"
"Overwatch never liked you anyway. Besides, that was kick [censored], man! I mean come on, I shot down that Z-5 chopper while we were booking it out of there!"
"Okay, so that part was alright." Famine muttered as they stepped into the bar. "Of course, you forget that the only reason they even came after us was after I collapsed a mountain on them with that improvised seismic charge."
"Dude!" War groaned, raising his hand to the bartender and then pointing at a random bottle on the wall. "You didn't collapse the mountain, okay, you just shook everything up!"
"War, they had to send in more surveyors to re-examine the entire region, man! I changed the entire theater of war..."
"...Still wasn't as cool as me..." War pouted as Famine signaled for his drink from a different random bottle.
"So what do you think of this deal?"
"What, the bar?"
"No, jackass, working against our own dimension."
"Dude, the only ties we've consistently kept are with the Horseman Organization, the Angels of Death, and the government of Libya over Jebel Akhdar... And we already called sovereignty there."
"War, shh." Famine urged. "I don't know if I trust these guys yet."
"So what?" War shrugged. "If they want to besiege Fortress Ragnarok, then let them. I'm itching to try out that strategic nuke we bought from Russia, anyways..."
((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 tátna Zbrojovka v Borgalských Vrchoch: State Weapons Factory in Borgal Mountains. Also known as ZBV. 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, tátna Zbrojovka. While it is still under construction and does not have the capability of ZBV, 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..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
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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...?"
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
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OOC:
I wasn't trying to blast it out of him. I'm talking about my own verse here. He 'thinks' something which is WRONG, but has no way of knowing. He probably can't blast your speech centers anyway. Was not trying to.