Heroes: Shadows over Millenium

[Dark Silver]

Making sure he was well clear of the visual range of the Legion's hideout, Saibot began his descent to street level. It took only a few minutes before he found what he was looking for, a old subway access tunnel. A quick scan with his ring revealed nothing amiss, and as such he floated through and underground.

He wondered if Gravitas had made it to the bunker yet, being on radio silence, his comm bud turned off, meant he had no way to know. He almost though about telling Gravitas do the start up sequences on the fission reactors....but he could get a teleport up there later if the demigod was up to it, and start on getting the bunker back into order. He missed going there sometimes.

Subway trains no longer passed through this portion of the track system, and as such, he didn't have to worry to much about a errant train coming rushing towards and past him. Constant scans by his ring and helmet's sensors kept him appraised of the path ahead, the starlight lense in the helmet's visor turned even a gentle glow from his ring into nightvision good enough to rival the noontime sun.

It would take sometime for him, even with the power of flight and a GPS linkup, to find his way through the maze of tunnels to the base, and make sure it was safe for the team.

He felt Argent's soothing feelings through the link, his own feelings lightening for a moment at the contact. He went back into business mode, as he continued on, the life support field glowing dimly around him.

[Hotfoot]

Hotfoot caught the look to Blackheart and raised an eyebrow. Just like before, something was running deep under the current. He really wasn't sure he wanted to find out, but curiousity was nibbling at the back of his brain.

Then Argent's features softened as the wistful look washed over her. Once again, an edge of confusion set in and was brushed aside. This woman, Argent, was a very complicated person, as no doubt were her interactions with the team, if the exchange with Blackheart a moment ago was any indication. Questions came to mind in a flurry, but they would have to wait for later.

One thought sped into his mind and lingered for a while. He was sure it would come back several times over the next few hours, maybe even a few days. What the hell is going on here?

[frigidmagi]

Blast stumbled in hopping on one foot has he tied his overboot shut. His voice was a bit muffled by the mask.

"Hey could someone check my rig?" He asked.

[SirNitram]

"Saibot is experienced here, but we're gonna back him up. I've still got a few hours worth of O-2 in my system, so I'm ready to rock." Gravitas nodded, looking over Blast and helping secure the mask. "There's just one thing concerning about this. The supplies indicate we will find children in there. And I'll bet.. Well, does Ultima actually pay me? If it doesn't, I can't bet a week's pay.. Anyway. I'll bet something of worth that they'll be used against us."

[LadyTevar]

"My information suggests that it is more of a commune, with more than one family. The children will be meta as well." Argent added to Gravitus' concerns. "I do not wish to fight children."

She was still holding up the chemsuit and looking at it as she spoke, frowning slightly. "I do not think this will fit..."

[Agent Fisher]

Ghost also headed over to Blast and checked the seals of the suit. He tugged on the suit a bit and patted Blast on the back. "Looks good, kid." He looked back at the team. "It's going to be tough. We don't really have enough manpower to do this raid, so if you encounter a family or kids, tell them to get on the ground and then cuff their hands. If that doesn't work, think fast."

[LadyTevar]

"Then we are arresting them?" Argent asked, one eyebrow arched as she looks to Ghost. "On what charges... being in the way?"

[Agent Fisher]

Ghost looked at Argent. "No. Standard policy when SWAT or Spec Ops units take down a location. Cuff everyone, sort them out later. That way you don't miss a suspect by accident. I don't want to leave some kid uncuffed, only to have to shoot me in the back." He said.

[Hotfoot]

Children? What the hell? I thought this was a gang bust!

The clarity from before was all but gone, part of him wanted to slow things down so he didn't have to hear what was being talked about, but this was big. "What is this, anyway? Some sort of crazy cult, or are we going after some sort of underground community? I mean, don't get me wrong, we have to stop these people, but kids with powers?" His stomach twisted up as he thought of the possible consequences. "How are we going to restrain them all anyway?"

[Agent Fisher]

"We don't restrain all of them, only the ones that get in the way. Once we get in, we move in and get the ring leaders. We also should send for as much backup as we can get to follow us and coral all people that don't get in the way."

[SirNitram]

"There will be no backup." Gravitas said simply. "Yes, cult. And community. They're basically folks who refuse to even try and integrate; I caught one of their operators in a hospital driving people insane. The only excuse was that she wasn't the sort who was gonna make front page with all the trimmings." There's a dark, loathsome tone in his voice, something from Gravitas' past.

"They support the community via robbery, theft, and other crimes. There'll be kids. If possible, I'll go into that section. I've had to do such before."

[Agent Fisher]

Ghost looked at Gravitas. "We should at least have some teams for helping with clean up and in case things go to shit."

[Cynical Cat]

"Sending in mundanes as anything but a clean up squad is going to up the body count," said Blackheart. "As for charges, RICO and being an accessory after the fact cover just about all the adults. I'm sure there will be more later. Not our problem. We're just going in to subdue and restrain. If they resist, drop the hammer on the resisters. And yes, it will be a lot fucking harder than it sounds."

[Hotfoot]

"So...do we have enough handcuffs for everyone, or what? Will handcuffs even be enough? I mean, if they all have powers and all..." Okay, sure, it was a cult, and a crazy, murderous one at that, but subduing that many? He called in for help with just five...five he might have been able to take, in retrospect, but still the thought didn't sit well with him. Still, this was the right thing to do. These people didn't care who they killed, and they were raising those kids to do the same. Maybe the children could even grow up to do some good as a result of this, but a sense of doubt crept into his mind and stayed there.

[B4UTRUST]

Saibot had not yet realized it but he was being followed.

The Freak was impossibly tall and thin, cadaverous. His skin was the color of old parchment and clung to the bones of his face like a thin film barely covering his skull. His eyes were sunken and dull in his head, the dead blue of fish eyes. His sickly hands were long and bony with unbelivably long fingers, like white spiders sticking from the sleeves of his coat.

He stalked Saibot, traveling silently in his wake. He knew these tunnels, they were his home, his land. He was bent almost double as he moved, stepping over and around debris and rubble, knowing the location of it all. Even doubled over though he was, he still would only barely fit through a doorframe.

He kept track of Saibot's progress, moving through hidden side tunnels and passages, using debris as cover. The invader moved with seemingly no stealth, no attempt to hide his presence. The glow of his shield was a small sun in comparison to the almost eternal darkness that reigned in this section of tunneling.

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

Blood flowed from the numerous cuts and lascerations to the man's face. Fear was plain in his eyes, a terror that he would take with him to the grave.

"Only now in your final hour do you regret your transgressions on this world. With these hands you have stolen, have killed, have destroyed. And with these feet you have marched with your men into conflict with the law of this land. With your tongue you have spouted lies and blanketed the truth in a cover of deciet and treachery."

On the table before the man, who was chained to an inclined slab, were body parts. His body parts. His hands, his feet, his tongue. Blood oozed from the stumps of his removed appendages. The stumps on his body were charred black and burnt over.

"Know that your last few minutes shall be spent in agony and pain unbearable. But the pain will be but an irritation to the suffering that awaits you in Hell."


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

Crucified to a billboard was a man. He was severely tortured, beaten and disfigured. His hacked off hands and feet were nailed beside him. A long gash gave an exit to his intestines which hung loose in the air between his legs. His eyes stared forward and were unclosable, the eyelids having been sliced off. Fear and terror filled them.

[Cynical Cat]

"Subduing means we use options other than lethal force if its practical," said Blackheart. "To be blunt, we are going to render helpless, probably by making them unconscious or smashing them to a pulp, almost every adult and teenager because that's the way these guys act. Odds are good that at least one of us will have to kill."

[LadyTevar]

"Unless the gas gets us first..." Argent muttered, turning to look at Blackheart squarely. Avoiding the issue about children, she moved on to something she saw as a problem. "I will not be able to wear this," she said, her shadows holding the chemsuit up as she shifted to her dragonic form. The difference between the suit and her elongated serpentine body was comically obvious. "Do we have a counter-agent to the gas in case I'm forced out of the shadows? I do not know if this half-shadow form will protect me."

[Cynical Cat]

"Then stay with your boyfriend or use one of his rings," said Blackheart. "There is, unfortunately, no known counter agent. I don't like having to wear this monkey suit either."

[LadyTevar]

The silver dragon eyes narrow slightly at the tone of Blackheart's voice. "The Ring," she emphasized the singular "Is for Ghost. It will not accept me for the same reason it would not accept you, Blackheart."

She tossed the suit aside, continuing to point out the flaws in Blackheart's comment. "Unless you plan to keep the group together, I will not be able to stay with Saibot. You will need my ability to move freely more, and I cannot teleport except in this shape."

If Hotfoot had questions about what was between Argent and Blackheart, they may have been answered.

[SirNitram]

"The ring isn't really an option, or at least not unless it all goes seriously pear shaped." Gravitas spoke up. "It's got no charge, an the imitation won't accept power from the same source as the original. I could probably charge it up, but I understandably don't want to drain my reserves if I don't have to." A pause. "And I seriously have no idea what effect it'd have on any of you."

[frigidmagi]

"If it's anything like the damn box, it'll charge me up and make me sick later." Blast replied flexing his hands. They were covered in rubber gloves that came with the suit. He hoped that wouldn't interfere with him doing his job... Or get blown off the minute he blasted someone.

[Charon]

In the medical bay, Legacies laid quiet and still, even his breathing seeming to have come to a stop though the machines that were attached to the silver figure said otherwise. The machines showed a slow, steady heartbeat of one at rest, oblivious to the outside world. Suddenly the heart rate spiked and beat at an almost insane pace. If someone was close enough to Legacies they could hear soft pops and cracks, the groans of muscles put under stress.

Outwardly however, there did not seem to be any change, no sign that Legacies even realized what was happening, Argent's connection, likewise, showed no change in attitude or emotion, for brief moments Legacies even seemed to disappear entirely, but that wasn't so uncommon.

[Cynical Cat]

"Then you'll have to decide for yourself if you're going to go in," said Blackheart. "The gas is, as far as we know, something produced only by Freak Show. I doubt he indiscriminently gases his hideout and followers, so let's not overplay the risk. You'll have to decide for yourself if you're up to it."

[Hotfoot]

Hotfoot watched the two personalities clash and frowned behind his mask. Part of him wanted to back Blackheart in calming down Argent, his mouth was opened, about to speak, and then an errant thought caused it to shut. Cult leaders didn't always care much for their followers...but saying that might not be the best idea.

Another thought came to mind, and he started to talk, "Well, it's not like we're all splitting up, right? I mean, there's a lot of ground to cover, but if we split up, there's a good chance of getting overwhelmed by ambushes and such, right?"

[LadyTevar]

Annoyance. Irritation. A strong desire to beat someone's head in.

Argent weighed the emotions that she felt pulsing down the braided link, noting with unease how much of the length had gone from two twining lines to a single band. She could draw some of that violence away, dump it out to give him a clearer head, but the source was far too powerful. She might be able to twist the lusts away from violence... but that would have its own consequences. Yet if she did nothing, once he started fighting the Freak Legion, he might not be able to stop himself from committing a massacre.

The demon would enjoy that. The man could be lost forever.
Unfortunately, Blackheart was not in a mood to listen to her fears. She would have to either stay close to him ... or give him a target once he lost control.