Gentleman Bones' step stopped in its tracks when the driver suddenly fountained with information, duly surprised. He hadn't believed the denim-hued Dragon's approach would actually get any results.
The draconian, however, seemed to very much disagree, a somewhat satisfied smile on his alien visage. As the necromancer halted his intervention, he let the man blubber on for a bit, passing the words through his mind for any clue he could latch onto.
"Yes, this monster is going to kill you next." he finally stated after a little time had passed, baring teeth and spreading his wings just a bit to appear more menacing, "Unless of course you tell it who we and they are - and let's not leave out your friend Jack while you're at it..."
--------------------
"I very much agree." the black-scaled draconian told Cory with a much-saying smirk, extending his hand to the man, "I am Ken'desseh Luun Drokar. Feel free to call me Ken, though. Any friend of Groul is a friend of mine. I'm his boss, you must know."
"And no, I'm just here to find him." he added in regard to the wizard's questions, "Seems some people are hunting regenerators and thought he'd make a good addition to whatever they're up to. They dragged him off in at least three pieces, however, so for obvious reasons I want him back as quickly as possible..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
--Southern Skyway City--
The driver turned his head away from Arek's visage for a moment. He couldn't believe what he'd just said. He knew that now, as far as the Committee was concerned, he was a dead man.
"Alright..." he whimpered, "I'll tell you, but y-!"
Before he could say anymore, a shot rang out and his chest exploded, spraying red mist across Arek's face. Panicking, the van's driver gripped the draconian's wrist and gurgled out something nonsensical as shock overcame him and he passed out.
Malachite would notice that the man wasn't exactly dead, but he was well on his way. He needed medical attention and fast if he were to survive.
From the direction of the shot, a triumphant whoop was heard. Alarm klaxons also started going off as local police forces and drones were alerted to the presence of a high-powered meta human. Unfortunately, they wouldn't be able to arrive before the peculiar mutant.
They could tell it was a mutant because of the bizarre man's unusual weapon. It was an assault rifle that seemed to have been absorbed into his arm. Writhing flesh wriggled and constricted around the device, only peeling back enough to allow the weapon to fire without burning any of it. The rest of the freak was clad in motorcycle leathers and a bandanna. His pock-marked face was split in half by a wide grin as he chortled.
"Oh, I hope he ain't dead!" he shouted, "I am SO gonna enjoy killin' him slow..."
With that, Nukus started spraying bullets at the heroes.
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--Sedadyne HQ: CEO Office--
"No need to feel ashamed, Dyanmo. I understand the world we live in and am no stranger to the heady sensation of power," the man replied as he relaxed visibly and started plugging away at his keyboard, "One moment while I log in, please. Let's see... Oh, and I'll stick to calling you by your moniker. May as well keep this as brief and professional as we can. Alright... Now, first of all, it's not blackmail... Not exactly, anyway. Unfortunately, I can't tell you who requisitioned the use of the warehouse, just that whoever it was made out an order to us and signed with specific codes to indicate that they are powerful members within our corporate... Association... And that if I were to refuse such a request, I could look forward to losing my position within said association and facing a vastly shortened lifespan afterward."
He looked up to Dynamo Rose and a light smirk appeared on his face.
"Well, there's no guarantee that I would die, but whatever life I would have afterward would either be extremely unpleasant or I would otherwise wish I were dead. I'm sure you understand how the old threats go."
He looked into the information he had collected and nodded before addressing her again.
"Unfortunately, I have no surveillance footage of what was going on in the warehouse. The orders were very specific that we couldn't keep tabs on the goings-on in there... Not that I would in any case. The less I know about what was going on in there, the easier it is to lie to the police that I didn't know criminal activities were being conducted on my property. The discrepancy you're referring to involves the use of the warehouse. It's supposed to be a supplement to cover any losses we suffer from not being able to utilize our warehouse. We simply apply it to our now-damaged profits and report our accounting as we normally would. I and my C.F.O. fluctuate the amount put in monthly so as to make it seem like it's more randomized than it really is and the I.R.S. is none the wiser. Think of it as 'Bad Guy Rent.' There are no curious changes in my company's profit margins, so no authorities get suspicious."
He chuckled again and shook his head.
"Of course, that doesn't take into account the bad guys in question bringing freelance trouble down on their heads, and here we are. Now, as far as Regenerators, all I can tell you is what I've heard in news reports, and that's just a summarized sentence fragment that indicates that 'heroes are missing,' though I guess some of your erstwhile 'compatriots' are having trouble as well. Unfortunately, I don't have any idea what my company has to do with this. What I can do, however, is provide you with a business with which to continue your investigation... See, while I may not know what was happening in the warehouse, I did recognize the vehicle that was utilized. I remember seeing it at a presentation earlier this year."
He typed a few commands into his computer and the nearby printer started its work. In a few seconds, a set of pages were printed out for Rose to peruse. They detailed a London-based automobile company called "Metatech Motors Limited."
"They don't normally build vehicles," the C.E.O. explained, "They're really a research and development firm. They came under fire a few years ago when Crey found out they were conducting research on Rikti technology. See, the law is actually against Rikti weapons technology, but you just say the buzzwords 'Rikti Tech,' and the public loses their minds. A lot of people tend to be very forgetful that the MedCom system is based heavily on Rikti technology. The War Walls and Arachnos' flying machines, too! Well, these guys needed money for legal counsel, and the same association that helped me helped them. This also caused them to be essentially bought out by New Horizon, but the Board let the company retain its current staff and even brought in the C.E.O. as a member. They did the same for me, but like any other power structure, it's heavily tiered. In any case, I'm sure these guys can help you figure out where that hovering van came from. They were showing us cars that used a similar propulsion system in that demonstration I mentioned, so they'd be your best bet I'd figure."
----------
--Sedadyne HQ: Archives Database--
"Sure," the tech pulled out a communication device and started plugging in numbers, "Okay, here we go... Uh..."
He saw one of the robots looking pointedly at him.
"Well I don't know the address off the top of my head! It's not like I'm on friendly terms with those guys! Yeesh... Anyway, here ya go..."
He gave Cassie the address. It was in the Bronze Way neighborhood, not very far from the police station.
In the meantime, her scan of the Internet located the doctor she was looking for. It turned out he worked freelance research, Hallcomb Fact Finding. It was kind of a strange business to set up, but he'd apparently done well for himself in recent years. He even had a very respectable home in a new city built near London called "Beta City."
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--Grey's Army Base--
"His boss, huh?" a voice intoned from the medical bay's entrance, "Well, then I guess Mark should stop whining about letting 'the Reds' in here and start packing up to get the Hell out, because we were compromised from the beginning."
"Sheldon," Cory gestured to the young man wearing a lab outfit and cybernetic exoskeleton under the coat, "This is Ken. He's a friend of Spearhead."
"I heard on my way here. Mark stormed by the workshop cursing about him and James and Levi won't shut up about what they should have done differently. Then there's Nester who's got a black eye from smacking himself in the face... When Mark stormed out of there, I had to drop by and make sure our... 'Patient...' Was alright."
The man turned his oddly emotionless face toward the draconian and quirked his mouth.
"I trust, despite the antics of our rather ridiculous comrades, you're finding the medical bay facilities up to par for your needs. I should assume they are, since your friend and... Employee..., 'Groul' was a major force for helping redesign and renovate. It's rather serendipitous, the method in which you're here looking for him, as I would assume you'd have come here eventually anyway, if not for our help, then at least to reacquire his stuff."
"The world in which we live grows smaller by the work of Fate's hand," Cory replied, to which the inventor's stony look actually broke into a grin, "I knew that'd get you out of your stoic funk, Shel."
"It's not a funk, Cortland. I just try to keep my emotions calm and controlled."
"Ah, then you need to study Roland and Dustin more..." the sorcer countered with a grin and a wag of his finger.
----------
--Beta City Summary--
((Because I can't have you guys go and level London... Think of this as basically "Paragon City, England; only smaller... Much smaller"))
Beta City had a very short history. It was essentially constructed out of the shanty town that developed in the wake of the Rikti War as refugees flocked from their devastated homes throughout the rest of Europe. They hadn't realized that London had fared little better than the rest of the major cities of the world, so the people wound up making a different community for themselves serendipitously as they pulled together to survive. However, as reconstruction was started, the British officials knew they couldn't just let this shanty town remain. Rather than just wipe the whole place out and face the public relations nightmare of driving the refugee immigrants from their new home, however, they decided to build it up. If that was where they wanted to live, that was where they would live.
Initially called Project: London Beta, everybody working on the construction took to the shorthand version of Beta City that the name stuck. In surprisingly short order, they had a power plant, stores and even an entertainment district based on a racing arena for salvaged junk cars. As the months wore on, the vehicles brought into the races, indeed the arena itself, grew more sophisticated and the central field was used to incorporate sports like rugby and football/soccer. The rudimentary market had become a thriving business district (and somewhat ashamedly a Black Market of sorts), and major chains were starting to crop up. In the end, around the same time Statesman made his call for heroes from across the world to help Paragon City, Beta City's renovation was completed and it looked as respectable as any other major community.
It wasn't exactly its own city, though. London's municipal leadership wound up altering a lot of the zoning throughout the two communities. With the reestablished system, Beta City would wind up becoming the industrial center, resplendent with factories, more and larger power plants, and more modern architecture. In this way, London "proper" would be able to maintain its classic charm. The people living in Beta City, unfortunately, have little say in the matter, not that many of them care. The new construction and businesses being brought into the city means jobs for the residents, and they're quick to set to work.
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
Confirming that her onboard computer recorded the audio of the conversation, Dynamo Rose stood up and nodded at the President.
"Thank you for the candor, I'll see myself and my compatriots out."
Rose's armor charged back up as she turned to the door. She paused and took out a business card, "Oh and if you need wetwork with complete deniability or heavy handed negotiations, Here's my card."
It was always important to network.
Stepping into the hallway, Rose pulled up her map, trying to locate her companions. Getting a location ping off of Cassie's comm unit, she started to make her way in that direction.
"Got some leads from the CEO's office. I'm coming down."
Infinity
Sam Varden 50 MA/Reg Scrap
Doomtastic 50 SS/Inv Brute
Ceus 50 Eng/Kin Corr
Cinderstorm 50 Fire/Fire Blaster
[ QUOTE ]
"Well I don't know the address off the top of my head! It's not like I'm on friendly terms with those guys! Yeesh... Anyway, here ya go..."
[/ QUOTE ]
Cassie chuckled quietly at the man's excuse, but didn't seem bothered by it. Her robot on the other hand did its best to monitor the transmissions from that device just in case. She noted the comm unit beeping softly at her, the usual signal for one of the protectors having finished its task. surely enough, after a few moments the bot in question appeared in the doorway before ambling over to join the others.
"I think I've got about all I'm gonna get here without trashing the place", Cassie said over the comm. The unspoken question of course, being did they want her to trash the place. She'd rather not, but she wasn't leading this little group so she'd defer to higher authority if needed.
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[ QUOTE ]
"Oh, I hope he ain't dead!" he shouted, "I am SO gonna enjoy killin' him slow..."
With that, Nukus started spraying bullets at the heroes.
[/ QUOTE ]
The wounded man would indeed not be dead, if Pax had anything to say about it. As a peacebringer she wasn't much of a healer, but she did have the ability to heal others in much the same way as she healed herself when needed, by use of her energy. Admittedly it wasn't that good on other people but it should be enough to keep the man alive until he could be given real medical attention.
Seriously, it must be world ambush day or something, she though to herself, shifting to her White Dwarf form in a burst of energy. Turning and facing the man she roared a challenge at him in some indecipherable language before disappearing with the flash of a teleport. Reappearing right above him, she attempted to knock him down and pin him with the Dwarf's sheer weight. Unless he had some fairly exceptional reflexes or some other way of knocking aside multiple tons of Dwarf, he wouldn't be going anywhere.
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: STOP!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WAIT ONE SECOND!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WHAT IS A SEAGULL DOING ON MY THRONE!?!?
Arek may have been surprised, but that didn't stop the Sky Commander from reacting almost immediately, bringing the driver behind him as the peacebringer stabilized him with her energies. In the same motion, the guard of his free left arm deployed an ellipsoid, concave personal energy shield, sending the bulk of Nukus' fire to deflect uselessly off the barrier.
Unfortunately, while the semimajor axes were more than enough to cover the denim-hued draconian's height, the semiminor ones didn't carry enough width to provide full frontal cover - and while Arek moved fast, he still couldn't turn to his side instantaneously. Several rounds shredded into his scales, drawing bloody scores against his hide at a thigh, his tail, and the support structure of his wings, not to mention punching a few holes through the interior skins.
But while the Drokar was forced back, Gentleman Bones' only discomfort was getting his hat blasted from his head, which served only to anger the animated skeleton. Luckily for Nukus, Pax got to him first...
--------------------
"Actually, I didn't want to involve you for just that reason." Ken answered with a brief, neutral sigh, looking to the Arachnos helmet, "I knew that things would get complicated if you found out."
"Besides," he turned back to the group, "as far as I'm concerned, anything he chooses to trust you with is yours anyway. He may work for me, but he's also a good friend. In any case, now that we're here, I suppose I might as well ask for your help. We could certainly use it..."
--------------------
((Not really sure how to say this, so I'll just drop it here: I don't know if I feel like going on with this thread. We seem to have lost a lot of people, which to me has just sapped the general spirit right out of it. I don't want to just outright quit, but...yeah, not quite sure whether I want to keep going either.))
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
Before he could say anymore, a shot rang out and his chest exploded, spraying red mist across Arek's face. Panicking, the van's driver gripped the draconian's wrist and gurgled out something nonsensical as shock overcame him and he passed out.
Malachite's body immediately emitted a radiant green aura in his immediate vicinity. It was part reflex and part panic that did it. He hit the ground quickly and looked around to survey what had happened.
[ QUOTE ]
The wounded man would indeed not be dead, if Pax had anything to say about it. As a peacebringer she wasn't much of a healer, but she did have the ability to heal others in much the same way as she healed herself when needed, by use of her energy. Admittedly it wasn't that good on other people but it should be enough to keep the man alive until he could be given real medical attention.
[/ QUOTE ]
"Play a distraction, I got it," Malachite slid over to Pax and the wounded driver and placed two fingers on his neck and wrist. His pupils misted over and transitioned to being completely emerald-colored. He felt a search of energy flow from him and into the man's body where he was checking for signs of life. It served as a vitals tracker and cleared the dirver's mind so he wouldn't under so much stress from the pain. The chest wound was bad, but only seemed to really damage one lung. Once the energy came returned back to Malachite, he looked down at the man with normal eyes.
"Sir, can you hear me?" Malachite spoke durectly into the driver's ear, "If you can understand me, squeeze my hand."
Nothing happened for several seconds. The man just gurgled while blood continued to pour out of his mouth.
Come on...come on...
As if the driver heard him, he turned his wrist up to grab Malachite's hand and squeezed it.
"Yes! Ok, now listen. I'm going to help regenerate some of these damaged cells, but you're going to have to help me out. I need you on this."
The driver responded with several blinks and more bursts of blood-mixed saliva running down the side of his face. Malachite looked up at Pax and hoped that her and any other of her associates on the team could handle what was in front of him while he did this. Both hands surged with power and let off a warm and sharp sensation all ovr the driver's chest. Light green rays of power stuck out from the palms of Malachite's hands while he surfed over the top of the wounded man's chest. Slowly, some of the skin began to reform around the outside of the bullet's exit point. The hole started to close up and the bleeding lessened.
The Healer tookone hand and touched his ear and activated his comm device.
"I know you hear that. I've got a wounded civilian with an explosive chest wound. He may go into shock. I don't have the tools nor the capacity right now to deal with this. What ever was done to me when I was captive is taking me a while to get over. I need immediate extraction to the nearest medical facility."
While continuing the healing process, Malachite reached into this suit pocket and pulled out a small green diamond-shaped pin. He placed it in the driver's hand.
"Ready for extraction."
A transporter specialist spoke back to Malachite, "Extracting. Standby."
Malachite crawled backwards on his hands and knees while a flash of green light enveloped the driver and mediported him to the hospital.
"Yeah, we found the ones in the warehouse", Cassie replied absently, as Mac continued menacing the already terrified employees. The big Assault Bot had never been too big on interrogations, unless they involved the use of force or at least the threat of such. So he amused himself by seeing how many of them he could scare into fainting like the first few had.
"I don't suppose you'd be kind enough to give me the address of this headquarters in Steel Canyon, for completeness' sake if nothing else?", the mastermind continued, ignoring her minion's amusement for now.
[ QUOTE ]
One compound, SPX-467, code named "Slumberyn," had been flagged as dangerous for public use. Users would find themselves in more of a "hypnotized" state that left them exceptionally open to suggestion. Sedadyne immediately recalled the formula and ceased production.
[/ QUOTE ]
The robot hmm'ed quietly to himself as he scanned the files in question, not even needing the borderline-sentient AI all of Cassie's bots had to recognise the similarity between this compound and the one presumably used on the group that had been attacked in Brickstown.
[ QUOTE ]
For some odd reason, the name of the agency wasn't recorded, but the individual who would be receiving the formula and conducting further research was. Hack recovered the name and address of one Doctor Hallcomb.
[/ QUOTE ]
And immediately began running a search on the wider internet, looking for anything publicly-available or otherwise on this Doctor Hallcomb or the company he worked for. Protected stuff would of course be harder to find and harder still to get into, but Hack wasn't called that for nothing. There was a good chance he'd get at any such data he found.
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: STOP!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WAIT ONE SECOND!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WHAT IS A SEAGULL DOING ON MY THRONE!?!?