Heroes: Shadows over Millenium

[SirNitram]

"Oh dear. A lifetime of looking over my shoulder. Why, Virginia, I don't know what I'd do... If I had to do.. Exactly what I've done... My.. Entire.. Life." Gravitas strung out the last of the sentence, rolling his eyes. "Jeez. Blackheart, your fellow government goons are really simple, aren't they? They don't have any grasp of scale.."

"I got what I came for." Gravitas glanced at Legacies. "Information? If I needed it, I could rend it from your cold corpse. But, like every other stupid little punk who tries to talk big to me, you made an error. You presume to understand me. You don't. Get over yourself. You probably understand Blackheart. Stick with trying to convince him."

[Charon]

Legacies seemed to swallow the tentacle whole, the piece that had been taken from his was quickly reinstituted into him. The symbiote grinned again.

"Well then, that was part of what you owe us human. Now where is the child?" Legacies looked back at the other members of the team. The symbiote seemed to grow in size some, spikes jutting out of it as the unhinged canined jaw dropped down more as the silver tongue lolled out of it's mouth. The silver figure yelled out. "Where is it?!"

[Cynical Cat]

"The extradimensional guy isn't going to be impressed with your theatrics," said Blackheart. "And I did your job, except with competent people. Of course, I'm with Ultima now. Officially. Says so on my paychecks and they wouldn't lie, would they? Far as I can tell, you're foreign agents. Certainly don't act like government spooks. Dangerous ones too. Easy as pie to sedate you, drop you in the system under a name of my choosing, and send you to another country of my choosing. CIA extraordinary rendition has nothing on me. Unless, of course, you give me reasons not to."

[B4UTRUST]

"Well if you're after reasons off the top of my head, I could name at least one of your superiors that would be less then thrilled. Agent Tarot is who I believe you know him as. Second reason is that it would do you absoluetely no good to drop us in another country. Again, you're presuming you can do something to us that will bother us.

"As for you Gravitas, I may no be on your 'scale' as you call it. But I do know a meta or two who just might be able to go toe to toe with you. So you can dispsense with your delusions of godhood and gradure. Besides, I'd be more worried about your symbiote at the moment. I don't think he's going to like that very much..."

Carver giggled up at the growling beast before him. He reached out a hand and petted Legacies' chest. Then he melded his hand into the symbiote. The hand seemed to shimer and liquify before spreading into the skin and dispersing. The rest of Carver seemed to be pulled forward along with it, likewise melding into the symbiote.

[Charon]

Legacies moved quickly, first trying to cut off the limbs of the man as he was sucked into him. When that didn't work the symbiote struck out quickly, decapitating the man without a second thought. If that didn't work the symbiote began to tear at itself in an attempt to peel the invading body off of it. The symbiote screamed in anger at the foolishness that had kept it from killing the scum long before this.

[SirNitram]

"Hold that thought." Both Legacies and Carver began to slow down, like being drenched in molasses. It affected Carver worse, as he began to slow down to nothing. "Literally." The time dialation was a trick that was, he had to admit, harder than most. But it didn't show on his face. "If your dickwaving is done. I would suggest you either cite your jurisdiction or prepare for a world of inconvenience."

Gravitas smiled. "You invoke names to go toe to toe with me. THis is because you are an idiot. You think I'd fight you, when I can drag your asses before a court? Expose your bosses to the cruel light of day?"

[Cynical Cat]

"Their bosses won't come," said Blackheart. "Look at these guys. No conscience, no fear of death or exposure, no fear of agency blowback for killing civies in public, no sense of self preservation at all. We're tough guys, been through hell. If we got caught fifteen minutes after a theft by guys who could easily hand us our asses, we would feel at least a little dismay. We're powerful, we're pissed, we could kill them if we wanted. We could drop them under false names and misleading paperwork in a shielded hole where they would never be found. They don't even blink. I've worked with countless black op spooks. None of them are immune to fear and all of them know that bad shit can happen to them that they're bosses can't get them out of. They don't take helplessness well. These guys don't fit the pattern."

"They aren't government agents, they're bioengineered lab products. No sense of self at all. Conditioned to do their job. Completely illegal, but completely disposable. They'll get puzzled after they cool their heels in lock up and no one comes, a crack will show up in their conditioning, but they don't know enough to incriminate their masters."

[B4UTRUST]

What was happening to Legacies could only be described as a desperate battle for control, waged between a symbiote and a dead man using its own cells against it. It was happening at a level and speed that defied traditional medicine's knowledge of virulence. Even under the time dialation effect the process was alarming.

To the outside observer there was no indication of infection, no discoloration, tumors, lesions or other signs. Only Legacies' frantic clawing at his own body trying to remove the infected areas, a battle he was rapidly losing. After all the enemy he was fighting was himself, it was hard and getting harder for the symbiote to 'feel' the difference of his own being and those of the dead man's.

Once more inside the symbiote there was two voices. A pair of tendrils snaked out from either side of Legacies' eyes and covered them for a second before pulling back and merging back in with the skin. At the back of the joined mind that was Legacies the thought came from somewhere of 'Peek-a-boo...' followed by what almost sounded like a titter of amusement

The fallen body of Carver layed there, still breathing. The head still mimed the actions, the eyes still moved, the lungs still pumped air and the blood still moved though the neck on either part did not bleed. There was words formed by the mouth that seemed to almost match those that Legacies heard in his head. Finally the body went still as the temporal field ceased the bodies actions.

Inside of Legacies, the fight for dominance of the body continued to be waged.

[SirNitram]

"They aren't government agents, they're bioengineered lab products. No sense of self at all. Conditioned to do their job. Completely illegal, but completely disposable. They'll get puzzled after they cool their heels in lock up and no one comes, a crack will show up in their conditioning, but they don't know enough to incriminate their masters."

"I trust you have some kind of training for this situation?" Gravitas glanced to the veteran agent. "They don't teach you how to deal with this shit in Teragen 101. Are you ready for Tarot to declare you Persona Non Grata?"

The God was still maintaining the hold on Bryant. "Now, were this my turf, I'd just sentence them all to a one-way trip down to the brimstone fires, myself. The blatant disregard for baselines is naught but evil.. But I bet whoever's actually doing the thinking for these second-rate Proteus drones doesn't give a fuck. It's a personal power play."

[Charon]

As Legacies realized that the battle was going on the mental level, he decided to play the same way. The thrashing came to an abrupt stop as Legacies collapsed to the ground, not moving. Inside Legacies the war heated up considerably as the combined minds of a centuries old creature and it's human's strong will and refusal to fall struck out against the invading force.

[B4UTRUST]

A game that would appear to a capable observer as one not all that dissimilar to hide and seek was being played amongst the cells of Legacies' body. When Legacies went still and devoted his mind to the task of erradicating the invading menace, Carver went to ground. He hid parts of himself in genetic code and cells that were rarely used or payed attention to. Parts of him hid in plain sight by simply working alongside the defending cells, eradicating parts of his own essence with his own essence in a grand game, one who's rules only he really understood for unnamed stakes.

A single tendril rose from Legacies' chin and fell down between his eyes. The tendril curled up and motioned as if grasping something and pulling it before merging back into the whole.
'Got your nose,' came the mental giggle of Carver.

[Cynical Cat]

"My ass is likely to be dead in two years," said Blackheart. "Either way, I'm not much worried about the personal consequences. This shit isn't going to stand. Every one of these slaver sons of bitches is going down the hard way."

[SirNitram]

"My ass is likely to be dead in two years," said Blackheart. "Either way, I'm not much worried about the personal consequences. This shit isn't going to stand. Every one of these slaver sons of bitches is going down the hard way."

"Ye Guilty." Gravitas passed judgement, the bodies of the little group frozen in time as space warped around them to a point of becoming perfect chryssalises, each holding them in place. "They're on ice. I'll transfer them to HQ, if that's alright. They're damn near impervious until those are dropped; you could cut off their air and they won't die because their breath will take a few years." He explained, opening a portal. "I figure it'll get Tarot's attention, without us killing feds. Killing feds causes paperwork." He levitated the frozen bodies through the warp, before approaching it himself. A pause. "Legacies? You okay?" The collapse concerned him. "Shall I move him too?"

[Charon]

The fight was a stalemate for a time, but for all Carver's knowlegde of genetics, nothing knew the symbiote's structure like the symbiote itself, many hidden infections were isolated from the rest of the body. The symbiote began killing itself in an attempt to stem the tide of infection. Carver was good, but there was no way he could win in the long run.

In the outside world, Legacies continued to be silent and still, not reacting to any outside influences.

[Agent Fisher]

Looking up and down the street for any other goons, Ryan made his way back to the group. "Nice work, guys, least nobody died." He said with a slight sarcastic tone. He looked at Legacies. "The hell happened to him?" He asked, having missed Carver merging into the silver creature.

[Cynical Cat]

"Go ahead and toss them," said Blackheart. "We'll sedate them and ship them to Cavanaugh. Need a hand Legacies?"

[LadyTevar]

Blast having told her he was content to stay at the apartment with a cold beer, Argent took shadowform and slipped away, trying to trace the link in her mind to Saibot.

[Dark Silver]

Garth had just settled on a bench in the local park, under a shadetree. He figured a shade tree could provide the best way for Argent to pop in right near him, if she could trace the link...

He watched the children at play, being the afternoon, no more school had the kids out with their parents...

[LadyTevar]

Silver eyes peer up at him from the shadows at his feet, a faint touch of emotions brushing him to draw his attention downward. Of all the places he could pick, a public park? she thought in annoyance. That made it a bit harder to manifest, or didn't he realize that.

[Dark Silver]

"upset beautiful?"

He asked it with just a bit of mirth in his voice.

"Good..you found me. We just need to make sure you can do it reliably for the mission......"

He reached behind him, touching the hilt of his sword, feeling the energy flow into him, even as it remained in it's sheath.

"Now...count to fifteen...and come find me..."

Before she could respond, he was gone, disappeared in a blur of motion to fast for the naked eye to see.

[LadyTevar]

"Now...count to fifteen...and come find me..."

Before she could respond, he was gone, disappeared in a blur of motion to fast for the naked eye to see.

If he thought she was upset before, this little trick just ensured it. Her silver eyes narrowed as she slid from shadow to shadow in the general direction she 'felt' was right, waiting for him to slow down or stop so she could pinpoint his location again. Maybe Blast was right not to come along....

[Dark Silver]

He was half way across the city within seconds, and when he counted Fifteen, he stopped.

He was in one of the little used sections of town, very few people, s she could come out this time.

He waited.

[LadyTevar]

Slipping from shadow to shadow, Argent had stopped counting, trying to judge more by where and when she 'felt' him stop. There

She dove deeper into the shadow, leaping the distance between where she was and the nearest shadow to him. Once again the silver eyes appeared first, scouting to make sure her appearance would be circumspect before the shadowdragon crept out to coil around him. "I wonder if you could find me, should I run," the dragonic head murmurred.

[Dark Silver]

"Don't know gorgeous...." he whispered, watching as she snaked around him, "I'm not very skilled in psychic stuff..."

A single hand reached up, and stroked her dragonic head slowly, "Had any trouble finding me?"

[LadyTevar]

The shadow-stuff was chill to the touch, slightly slick like jello; just enough tension to hold a shape, but giving way to pressure.

"No. You were very loud in your desire to be found." Lei answered, the silver eyes half-hooding as he stroked her forehead, the sensation unusual for her.