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Post by kensei on Nov 14, 2010 3:34:52 GMT -4
The bright sunlight slammed into Siegfried eyes as his hand lazily moved to cover his eyes.. He heard something.. He tried to look as he moved his hand, only to see a blurry version of his father above. His body felt like lead as it was pulled from the warm covers of his bed… His bed? How did that happened, the last thing he remembered was.. Alrick. That’s right; Alrick had played mind games with him all last night; or was that just a weird dream? His father shouted something about five minutes, he couldn’t really care less right now.. He raised his hand to his mouth before breathing into it.. It didn’t smell like alcohol, but then again he had been asleep all day and only had one glass..
His body didn’t want to get off the floor, but with extra effort he was able to dress himself to a some what presentable state. Well, at least he thought so; his father probably had different views considering what he was wearing was a torn up pair of jeans and black shirt for one death metal group or another. He didn’t much care what day it was, no he was more concerned about what had happened last night. Hell he forgot all about what today was and was utterly shocked to see the condition of his house as everyone ran to and fro to put all the finishing touches on the house. He scanned the room, his eyes stopping on Alrick as he waved at him and smiled, a smile that seemed to hide all the possible ways he was going to murder him today.. At least that’s what it seemed like to Siegfried. He was completely zoned out, that was until his mother slapped his arm and looked at him like she couldn’t believe he wasn’t moving. “Go! GO!” She said before pointing.. He didn’t have the heart to tell her he heard nothing she had said and just ran off and took a guess at it.
It wasn’t but a few minutes later that his aunt and uncle showed up with there vile daughter Patricia. Siegfried knew her kind, cheerleader bitch who thought she was better then everyone else because of her looks and slutted around with the nearest jock she could find. Needless to say, he hated her; a feeling which was luckily mutual. He had to scoff at her as she instantly became infatuated with Alrick. Typical, trying to whore her way with Alrick as soon as she set eyes on him..
But that is how the day went, everyone came and gathered around Alrick and placed him on high while he stood around, eyeing Siegfried the entire time. He felt as if Alrick’s eyes where burning a hole into the back of his head no matter where he went, he couldn’t shake the feeling dread every second that this party went on. Worst of all, he couldn’t get out. Alrick was everywhere, blocking the door every time he so much as thought about going to one. It wasn’t all just a dream was it? He really was part of some clichéd B-rated horror film! M. Night Shyamalan didn’t have anything on his life! But then something happened, Lene wanted to go bring her friend over, and Alrick left with her.. While he feared for his sister it was the perfect time for him to get out. Slipping by his busy parents was easy enough, and with a quick look to make sure Alrick was gone; he ran.
He ran as fast as he could towards the gulch. There where clear signs of tire tracks heading down that way, so it seemed like the logical choice.. But he never knew logic could lead to something so horrible. His hand went up as he walked towards the destroyed police car… Before now it was all just… theories right? Crazy paranoia… But this.. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THIS?!? His eyes started to water as he peeked in the broken out window. A thing he immediately regretted as the cold lifeless eyes of Sherriff Ruheim stared at him, his mouth wide opened as the coagulated blood was stuck to the rims of his mouth, his stomach inside of it keeping his mouth open to abnormal size. Siegfried immediately lowered his head as he vomited everything he had inside him. His hand touched the door, but immediately retracted as his head turned to look at the blood and muscle fibers, ground bone and among other things coming from the door. He let out a high pitched scream as he fell down, his leg falling into the vomit as he looked at his hand, then the door once more before crawling away backwards as tears ran down his cheeks. He didn’t want this.. GOD PLEASE STOP IT!! He thought as he kept moving away from the car.. That’s when he got the feeling he was being watched, he turned his head only to see the devil incarnated above him.
Siegfried tried to get up before yelling. “STAY AWAY FROM ME!” He broke out into a run, but before he got five steps he tripped over himself. He was sure it was the end for him. God he was going to die so young.. He was only sixteen! He sobbed into his arm as he crawled across the grass, desperate to get away..
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Post by GoldenKitten on Nov 14, 2010 16:36:58 GMT -4
Jager stood above Siegfried like a titan, his energy rippling through the air around them without an ounce of subtlety. The boy ran, coaxing Jager to jump off the gorge and sail through the air until he fell like a rock in front of him, kicking up a plume of dried leaves before they drifted slowly to the ground. Standing from the crouch he had landed in he turned to his sibling in a slow uncoiling pattern before looking to him with a cold, dead expression; that was before his mouth twisted into a Cheshire grin. Reaching out ever so slowly with his hand as if to grab his face he infused their surroundings with reishi in an attempt to freeze his prey with sheer, overwhelming power. However whether it was his lack of spirit sense or being somewhat immune to a wavelength similar to his own Siegfried was able to break off at the last moment. Naturally Jager could have ripped him out of the air in a split second or simply flooded the area with a murderous amount of reishi but that would have been dangerous. If he damaged him physically or burned him out spiritually before capture it could nullify his usefulness as a test specimen, Jager would take his time cornering him safely...and hey, it was kind of fun.
One moment Jager was watching the boy run off and the next moment he had disappeared from the spot. As a whole the forest began to tremble around Siegfried, to a regular human Jager was liquid lightning, everywhere at once. At one point as he tried to escape through a patch of trees Jager tore across the opening and kicked a wave of dirt and plant matter into the air like a physical wall; forcing him a different direction, keeping him cornered in the forest. Other times he simply settled for appearing ahead of his younger brother which sent him off in a different direction as quickly as any show of force. All the while he was speaking with him, toying with him mentally, waiting for him to make a mistake so he could grasp him without a fight back.
“Why are you running Siegfried?” “Aren't we friends? Aren't we brothers?” “Nobody else understands you.” “It's already done. It's already over.” “Where we're going, nobody will ever judge you again...or live after doing so.” “Free to be what you will be.”[/size]
The trees began to sway as a powerful thumping sound began to echo out through the gully, it soon became evident it was not purely of Jagers doing. A black shadow passed over them and was quickly off in the direction of the house, who knew if in his current state Siegfried was able of realizing it was a helicopter? However, as soon as it had passed three others flew over in tow making it impossible to hear anything and that was when it happened. Again Jager shot in front of Siegfried forcing him to turn a complete 180 and that, combined with the overbearing sound of the helicopter blades, gave Jager the opening he was looking for. Faster than he could blink his arm was laying across Siegfrieds chest with his hand cupping the mask with attached canister over his face, despite being a relatively light hold by most standards it was like an unbreakable vice to a normal human.
As Siegfrieds strength gave out to the powerful anesthesia the helicopters sound vanished into the background, allowing Jager to speak to him; “Calm yourself. Breath deep. Don't you feel like relaxing? In the new world you'll be more than you ever thought you could be.”
Unable to keep his eyes open any longer he dropped like a sack of dead weight in Jagers arms, “Good night boy.”
Removing the mask he snapped his hand and the device rolled up into a compact form which he slid into his back pocket. Jostling him by the back he easily tossed the weighted bodies back half into the air where he caught it. Inspecting it up and down like he was looking at a specimen instead of a human (he was), he insured it had received no damage. Once convinced he got a good hold of him and proceeded to walk out of the forest and easily jumped the height of the gully, coming back out to the opening before the home. It was doubtful Siegfried had realized in his fear but Jager had kept him turning so often that they'd really gotten no deeper than a few dozen meters into the treeline at any one time. In their time in the forest the Vulcan Biological-Containment Services had already begun recovering the rest of the family, the speed and efficiency due in no small part to the gas expelling devices he had planted around the home earlier in the morning.
The scene before the Fleischer residence was like a mix between all the cliches packed into a CSI AND an X-files episode all at once. Dozens of individuals either in hazmat or black-ops military suits scurried back and forth, diligent little ants doing as they were commanded without a thought about the morality of the situation. Truth be told most of them probably weren't aware of what was going on so they couldn't be blamed, not that any of them he couldn't trust would live out the week. What existed here, what had happened, none of it would ever be known by anyone but those under his direct control. In truth he had wanted to purge the entire community from existence but Amane and Adam had convinced him that would be even more suspicious, they could deal with it latter on when he had gained more direct influence and contacts. For what he planned to do nothing could be used against him, the NWO was stuck as if they used their knowledge about him he could easily use his own against them, but his other foes were no so burdened at the moment.
As he approached an entire team ran out to him and Siegfried was quickly laid onto a stretcher. A biological tent was laid out and quickly inflated with air, nobody seemed to question that Jager had just been holding something they had to safety tent, but then you didn't doubt the boss who could remove your eyes and feed them to you before you noticed they were gone. He stuck his hands in his pockets as he surveyed a dozen more tents scattered about the clearing, one being loaded onto the lead helicopter already. He snapped his head to the side when one of the techs let out a gasp of surprise and looked down to see Siegfried looking back at him, not wide awake but breaking through the haze of the drug.
Jager walked to the tent and looked down at the boy before turning to the leader who was one of the few men who would live through this since he had long worked at the Ikimura Island facility, “The adrenaline is probably rousing him, he might also have been awakened slightly to his spiritual energy being in close proximity to me. Give him the etomidate, I want him out but if we deaden his receptors with an analgesic we won't be able to work on him for a week or more while it filters out.”
“Get me a 20 gauge, we need to IV-pike him.” the leader of the team said after nodding to Jager, soon a nearby tech was rifling through a packet of supplies.
He remained to insure the boy went down without issue. There would be no waking up this time as the anesthesia had been injected directly into his bloodstream and they now had an IV in him for quick administration should he show activity again. Once it was done he looked around and located Amane by sitting in the open door of the lead helicopter which he made his way quickly to. Most of the workers were intent on their duties and didn't pay him much mind, he was torn on whether he appreciated their efficiency or was annoyed by their lack of respect, he decided he'd just be both. When he got to the helicopter he put one leg up on the edge of the doorway and leaned on his knee while standing up, looking into the helicopter. Inside was Lene, like the rest she had been hooked up to a number of probes and IV's, observing that she seemed to be breathing calmly he turned his head still leaning on the knee to look at Amane.
“How did she do?”
Amane who was sitting cross-legged and armed looked over to Siegfried first and nodded toward him as if suggesting his situation before looking to Jager with a smile, “She became conscious for a bit though she wasn't frightened, so was probably her higher level of reiatsu. That was mean by the way,” she was obviously speaking of what he did to Siegfried but the way she stuck out her tongue suggested her insincerity.
Pulling his head back to look at the sky before rolling his neck he spoke in a detached way, “His mental state is unimportant since we'll be rewriting it. Keeping his body safe was the important part, I couldn't just catch him, I'd break his bloody arm,” he paused for a moment and then switched the topic, “Thank you for taking care of that business as the convenience store by the way, it taught me a lot about myself at least. I've still got a ways to go before I've wrested complete control from the natural triggers Dick implanted.”
She looked down at the ground for a moment before switching her gaze to the events going about them. Following her stare over his shoulder most of the tents had been loaded onto the other three vehicles at this point, he did a quick tally and noted that they still had three more to remove from the home. Off in the distance another helicopter was circling the area and informing anyone nearby to remain where they were as there was a dangerous chemical spill. His eyes were lazily watching it perform the wide circle when the team with Siegfried walked up and Amane had to stand so they could load him in next to Lene.
As she moved to stand next to him they both watched them go about their task she grinned at him and asked sincerely, “So did you enjoy meeting your family?”
Jager couldn't stop himself from cocking his head back as he let out an airy “HA!” before he spoke jovially, “Oh it was different but I can live without them I think.” He looked at her with a slight air of confusion as Amane shot him a dark glare for a moment before turning away and pouting a bit, he thought about that for a moment, he didn't like how she made him feel guilty at times, made him feel like he had a weakness. But he ignored the feeling and instead responded truthfully, “If I had such a thing as a family I would certainly hope they were more useful than most of these sad sacks.”
It may not have been exactly what she wanted to hear but she perked up after that. Meanwhile Jager stepped back off the helicopter door and placed his hands behind him as one of the larger crafts rotor blades began to kick up and he turned to watch. It lifted off, taking the first batch of subjects to the nearby airfield where they would load them on to a prepared long-distance science aircraft, from there they would return to the lab. Then finally, after so long, they might have their answers if their projections were to be trusted.
The workers gave them the all clear as they stepped off leaving only one of them behind in the aircraft to maintain both children's metabolic state. The lead helicopter was smaller than the others so no more tents could be fit into the small interior compartment. Jager took one last look around, satisfied that the rest could be handled and more interested in the two present here he confirmed his intention with the group leader and then got aboard the aircraft with Amane following close behind. The blades sped up quickly and were deafening in the compartment even with the door closed, soon a sickening lurch went through them all and the heavy bird lifted into the air. Jager looked out the window to witness the one last look he had of the home that was never his and would soon be demolished, then it was gone as they pulled away into the sky.
Looking back into the craft the lab tech was hard at work, maybe Jager wouldn't kill him if he did a good job. His eyes flowed naturally to Amane who was kneeling down over Lene and had removed the tent since there was no need for the charade now, she was carefully caressing the little girls head as she whispered a lullaby in Japanese. For just the slightest moment in time Jager was calm, and then he looked away, his mind returning to the things yet to do.
Sleep softly for you are with us now. Do you hear us? Do you see us? Flying high up in the clouds? Will you remember us? What will we be? Sleep softly for you shall not be forgotten. Shimmering like shadows in the darkness. Flickering like flames in the light. Look at us move, look at us grow. Sleep softly for we watch over you. You will be gods of men. Look now do you see yonder star? Wish now, for it is fleeting! We wish... And so it shall be. Sleep softly for we shall give you the love you never knew. Deserving or not. And our love is eternal. For we are already gods of men. Sleep softly for soon you shall join us. Gods of men. This is my lullaby to you. Close your eyes. Be. Grow. Thrive. Better than all. Sleep softly.[/b]
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Post by kensei on Nov 16, 2010 22:26:29 GMT -4
Terror Horror.. Confusion[/b]
Words often used, yet something people hardly ever truly experience. Terror, in its simplest form is a form of chaos for the brain. So afraid that madness overtakes reason, that survival instincts are delude while you subconsciously try to keep away the knowledge that no matter what you do, it will not change the horrific outcome. Horror.. An unfathomable amount of pain or fear coursing threw ones body, causing adrenaline to blunt out thought or reason as a hysterical state of confusion overtakes you. The confusion of watching everything that you thought you knew, or wanted was wrong. That your entire world was being ripped from its roots, turned upside down, and then thrown into the fire like the garbage it was..
Terror Horror Confusion[/b]
Those emotions had taken over every bit of Siegfried psyche. It was pure, chaos. Every thing that was wrong in his life before, all the quirks and problems he had seemed almost heavenly when weighed against his current situation. His mind had no idea how to process the situation, it was as if gravity was no longer there and he could breathe underwater. Physics seemed to mean nothing now as the world took a dark and horrifying shape. And all the while he could on stare as his “brother” reached out his hand completely petrified. His body wouldn’t move, it felt like it was weighed down beyond anything he could lift.. But then, it was as if there was a small hole in the weights that he could slip out of, one way his body would move. And move he did, he ran as fast as he could into the forest away from his brother. But no matter where he moved, or how he ran he was there either making impassible walls of dirt that bordered on impossible and insanity appear. Or he would be simply standing there smiling at him, as if he was the murderous bastard’s new toy; all the while tempting and threatening him just like he had the night before. And then there was that damn voice that assaulted his mind. Trying to make it seem like this monster was his savior.. Was nothing sacred? Had he no rights to any last sane thought that might go threw his head? Was this monster trying to make him disbelieve his entire world?
That’s when another emotion took over him, desperation.. He was desperate to get away from the nightmare that had consumed him; the impossibly powerful being that was toying with the very fabrics of his sanity. That’s when he saw the black murderous shapes glide over the ground and tree tops, their howl deafening, their speed maddening. Where these black forms after him as well? What powers of hell where at work here? He moved to avoid them, only to see that the devil himself was there.. In his desperation he turned around, trying to get into the black figure, hoping it was some form of hellish demon set on ending his life. He hoped it would end this chase from hell, and get him away from the monster behind him. But before he could move the devil had his arm around. A grip that by rights shouldn’t have done much to hold him, yet against the impossible strength of his assailant there was no struggle. The mask took hold of him, his body deadened as he felt it.. Acceptance, he finally accepted that he was finished and that nothing he could do would stop Alrick.. He gave into the desires to sleep.. Sleep…
________
His body shifted in a rhythm as it all felt dead to the touch. His eyes where closed shut, but he heard muffled sounds.. The sound of loud, yet dull hums penetrated his drugged eardrums. He felt himself lowered into a soft bed, it felt like he was floating on air.. Light hit his pupils violently as he slowly opened them. He looked at the hazmat team that was taking care of him, before his eyes shifted to Alrick. But.. He was too tired to feel fear; instead he just looked at his blurry outline almost lifelessly. A dull poke against his skin, and then he was gone again…
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Post by GoldenKitten on Dec 3, 2010 2:38:46 GMT -4
4 Months Later
Deep below, where no form of detection could reach, where silence reigned, down there with the dead. This was the dark abyss home to the catacombs where Jager now reigned supreme. Eventually the NWO had learned of the Ikimura Island facility but they'd been found out and by the time they arrived all that had remained was emptiness and one massive trap. It had been time anyhow, time to cut connections with Yuusuke and strike out on Jagers initial plan, after all they had succeeded and he no longer needed the fools money. Not that finances weren't important, simply that he had found more secretive and reliable sources of income since then and no longer needed to tread such a fine line, of course if his new partners thought they would escape the same fate his of old ones they were only fooling themselves. Everything was culminating and it would do so very soon, he'd waited a long time to pay Dick back tenfold and indulge in true bloodshed, nothing would stop it at this point.
He watched over a mans shoulder at a computer screen as multiple accounts were being cemented in quick succession. Wholesale liquidation of a companies assets into pure capital for the overwhelming uses he now had, of course in the end he was simply going to use that capital to buy them back before the physical assets could be removed, but at a heavily lowered price. Vulcans computer technicians were scrambling, their CEO's having heart attacks or if they were smart taking what they had in concrete bonds and disappearing, watching a nearby television he saw that in the past three hours their stock had dropped by almost two thousand points, practically a full quarter of their revenue due to this unexpected loss of funds. Vulcan was to proud, if they owned up to the truth the leadership would lose its place, they were trying to take care of the problem itself but by the time they realized they had no chance and tried to use the truth to their advantage it would be to late.
Yager Industries only employed the best, the most intelligent, the strongest in all their fields. Whether he secured that loyalty through his contacts, his new business partners funds, or through simple intimidation Jager did not care though he accepted the former two accentuated trust more than the latter. Most people refused to be connected to some of the worlds greatest computer technicians, or “hackers” as the media might call them, as many were guilty of breaking into various government databases. Having a line drawn between you and them could be devastating but it could also come with great benefits, for instance when you begin to siphon a companies funds they can do nothing to trace it. Jager was not concerned with their link being found anyhow, if it wasn't then great, if it was then who cared? Because in a months time he was going to insure the governments with which he was connecting would play along and ignore it lest they be brought down in the following media maelstrom.
As he watched the numbers tick away the PDA on his belt vibrated and he pulled it up to his ear. Though outside radio waves could not penetrate this deep they had an internal communications system, and if necessary they had their ways of speaking with the outside. He couldn't help but smile when he was informed that his special guest was here, it hadn't been as long coming or as desired as this thing with Dick he plotted but it was one small victory amongst many. He took one final look over the bank of computers as those under his employee typed furiously as they countered attempt after attempt to locate where the funds were being placed. Convinced that his standing there would do absolutely nothing of benefit he turned about and walked through the nearest hydraulic doorway into the hallway beyond.
The facility was ripped off nearly wholesale from NWO bases that Jager had been kept in over the years but then it was meant as a founding block. The Deep Station Charcharon would one day be the primary wartime engineering hub of Yager Industries, a massive underwater city blasted into the Marianas Trench, which would also later begin their deep drilling projects. It would be comprised of a dozen underwater skyscrapers arranged in a circular pattern, multiple testing beds, an endless catacomb of tunnels, and all of it would be done in the overblown style of the theatrical Jager. But today, right now it was comprised of a half dozen small heavily plated shacks at the bottom of the sea with relatively spartan dull metal surfaces and insides. Though that was not to say there were not things of interest to note, simply that right now the viewer was witnessing the early stages of what would one day be one of the primary instigators of a coming war. He arrived at the docking elevator just in time to watch a group of black clad Predators dragging a man with a hood over his head, kicking and threatening his captors into the halls.
The men in black armor didn't say a word instead responding cognitively to him as one of them pulled the hood off of Yuusuke. The mans eyes flashed with confusion and fear for a moment before they set on Jager and turned to anger, “You!” he raged in an overly long fashion. Jager made a show of yawning before turning on his heel and walking down the hallway, the Predators drug Yuusuke along as he continued to curse at Jager, unable to use his abilities because of the limiter now placed around his neck. Other than this the halls of the facility were deathly quiet even with the countless black clad warriors at every door, they no longer had a need to speak. At the same time most of the scientist were confined to the lower levels to keep them from leaking information, Jager was imposing but he knew men left with free will would always want to move up in the world no matter the danger.
As they got in an elevator and proceeded down Jager looked to Yuusuke interrupting his ranting, “You'll be pleased to know we've succeeded!”, he'd raised his arms and seemed genuinely happy.
“Screw you! I couldn't care less!”
Turning his nose up slightly, “Well that's not nice.” with his head to the side he toyed with Yuusuke slightly, I'd have thought you'd be happy as a scientist.”
Yuusuke ignored him and instead for the first time controlled himself enough to ask something important, “Are you the one behind the cyber attacks?”
Looking at him for a second out of the corner of his eye Jager smiled, “Of course not. I don't have nearly that level of technical-know-de-bobble.”
Of course that wasn't really true, and from the way he worded it you could just hear the silent, 'But that's not saying someone working for me couldn't be responsible.'
Gritting his teeth Yuusuke spat venemously in his direction, “Where are we going, what do you plan to do with me then?”
Jager seemed taken aback, “Well Yuusuke-sama, naturally as my original funder I intend to let you see the progress we've made.”
“Don't be a smartass. Considering you disappeared months ago along with this set-up I'd say we both know you have a new backer, who the hell is it!? Morreau? Johnson? Val Himmer?”
“But you were my first Yuusuke, you never forget your first,” he gave an amused grin in the mans direction while sticking his tongue out him in a mini-raspberry, Yuusuke simply responded with an annoyed glare and growl.
As the elevator stopped at whatever depth they had no reached they only had to move down a short hallway before entering one of several rooms there. Inside it was extremely dark save for some blue running lights along the bottoms of the walls and along what appeared to be rows of chairs. A closer look at the far wall showed that it was a metal screen that lifted making it apparent this was some form of viewing area. Jager proceeded inside and with a mental suggestion the Predators threw Yuusuke to the ground before walking out to hold guard at the door. While the bound Quincy attempted to right himself Jager grabbed him by the scruff before tossing him into a chair and then sitting down into the one next to him.
It was only then that it became obvious they were not the only ones present. The voice of a little girl echoed out and Yuusuke was permitted enough movement to look over and see her silhouette making a grand motion as she stood in front of a larger figure seated in a chair. This man chuckled at whatever the girl had to say as he twirled a glowing cigarette in his hand but the room was to dark to see more. Before Yuusuke could say a word though Jager patted on his lap and called out.
“Come Lin,” Lin, or Lene came walking over from where she had been before hopping on to his knee and looking up to him, “Were you entertaining our guest?” he asked pleasantly.
“Yes daddy!” Lin cocked her head to the side and smiled, they had renamed her after the experiments so that when Jager needed to make a public face he could have a family, with Amane being Japanese it just took a slight tweak on her German name so her mind accepted it more readily. Once he had to go public they had a full fake life for him to exploit, this was as important as anything else as he needed the governments trust during the initial takeover of Vulcan. From the way Yuusukes nose was turned up it seemed he recognized her from when they'd captured the family and grasped what Jager had done to them.
Jager spoke over Yuusukes head, “Good of you to join us, I hope you weren't waiting to long. I thought it only right to allow my original backer to have a look see at what his funding allowed me to achieve.”
The man laughed, “Oh no, not an issue. I'm happy to see him one last time anyhow.”
Yuusuke gritted his teeth apparently recognizing the voice, “So it is you Johnson.”
But nobody responded to this and instead Jager pressed a button on the arm rest of his seat. The electronic sound of sliding metal sounded out as the wall covering the viewing area lifted, there was of course still what was surely thick glass between them. Beyond the glass lay a massive room, a hundred meters across in both directions and several dozen meters high. In the middle of the room a white cask began to life out of the ground, at the same time several entrances opened on each side room and Predators entered, tossing two dozen men into the room. Shortly after they pushed several racks of weapons into the room after them but the doors closed before the men could use them to escape.
Looking over to Yuusuke, Jager commented on their identities, “I'm sure you recognize the elite unit that was watching over you, I thought they would make a good analogue for what our units are meant to face.”
Of course the Vulcan manager had no connection to these men, but it was still an insult to use them like this. They watched as the cask was opened, falling apart from a seam in the middle, left standing there was a young man already rippling with spiritual energy, his still shaved head and pale complexion a testament to how recently he had been allowed out of constant production. Jager tapped another button on the console and spoke out, probably into a built-in speaker.
“Gentlemen, I suggest you grab those weapons. X, kill them.”
It took about thirty seconds, not near what Jager could have done but an achievement for anyone really. The men lay splattered across the room and it didn't take anyone special to see how superior these creations he was making were, naturally he wasn't going to tell them that X was his best after Lin and Amane. When it was all finished Johnson began clapping to himself and Yuusuke could only stare in half anger, half stupor...perhaps in the back of his mind realizing perhaps he shouldn't have so readily brushed Jager off. Jager stood up as Lin jumped off and he grabbed Yuusuke, pulling him up before pushing the intercom button again.
“X, report to Amane.” he removed his finger and looked down to Lin, “Lin, go help mommy with X, ok?” Lin shot him a thumbs up before skipping out the door, he then turned to look at Johnson, “It will take a few minutes for us to prepare the Predators for a full demonstration, I will take our visitor away now, I'll be back by the time they are ready.”
Without waiting for an answer he walked out the door, easily hefting the full weighted man with one arm. He only moved outside before dropping him again and willing the two Predators left at the door to retrieve him once more and follow. They proceeded down a labyrinth of hallways as Jager moved calmly with his hands tucked behind his back, Yuusuke was oddly quiet, perhaps thinking staying quiet might get him better treatment after realizing he was stuck in enemy territory now. However as they walked into one hallway that was in fact a windowed bridge extending over an open area he couldn't help but let out a gasp, then looking to Jager he asked pointedly, “I thought you planned to fight Mallory Arms Jager, but that wouldn't require all....this, what are you planning?”
Jager stopped and turned around, then walked to the window as he followed Yuusukes gaze outside. The room X had been housed in was large, but the one they now looked out upon seemed impossibly massive, as if it should have caved in on itself due to an apparent lack of proper bracing. Without complete lighting the far side of the room was lost in the darkness. But what could be seen was what looked like a hundred story tall metal pyramid, set into a maze of scaffolding, braced on building sized shocks, and thousands of little lights flickering on it suggested the many workers putting it together even now. Taking a deep sigh Jager walked up to Yuusuke and gently grabbed his chin between his thumb and pointer whereupon he turned him to look out the other side of the bridge, where an identical copy of the creation was being build.
Taking a step back he gave the man a mad grin, “Don't worry about that Yuusuke-sama, you'll be here more than long enough to find out.”
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Post by kensei on Dec 11, 2010 5:20:47 GMT -4
Why didn’t they install lights in this thing? Oh well.. Darkness is fun… I wonder what my hand is doing.. Oh wait.. Huh? Oh go time!
From the middle of the tall cylinder X was currently housed in a small blue light appeared before it split opened, each half moving to the side. X scanned the crowd of people who had either gotten weapons ready or where locking and loading as he watched. It seemed Meister had a new challenge for him. He wondered what kind of restrictions where going to be placed on him…
“Gentlemen, I suggest you grab those weapons. X, kill them.”
“Ohh! No rules!” He exclaimed as he jumped in the air and clapped. “Hokay! Wh.” He gasped slightly as his arm started to sting and warmth rushed over it. He glanced at the back of his arm; a small trickle of blood was there from a now closed wound. A ferocious growl ripped threw the room from X as his pale blue eyes started to glow. His eyes fixed onto the man who had fired, his face filled with fear. He let out a yell as he once again readied to fire... His gun flew across the room; two fingers penetrated his eyes as a voice whispered. “You shouldn’t interrupt someone like that.” With a quick jerk the lifeless body flew across the room as X kicked the sub-machine gun of his nearest toy into the air before grabbing him by legs, picking him up and slamming him into the third, splattering both of them. The gore was spectacular, splendid, and not near enough to sate X’s hunger..
X grabbed the weapon rack with a wicked grin as he looked at another group. They all seemed to be in shock.. Perfect… X chunked the weapon rack at a few of the soldiers, before taking off as fast as he could. The rack moved faster then they could predict, and it slammed threw two of them before hitting the thick glass, causing the rack to break apart and the glass to vibrate. Meanwhile X was on the other side of the room with his hand threw one man’s stomach. He pulled out before grabbing the gun out of his allies hand, turning it around and slamming it threw his eyes.. His finger slipped, pulling the trigger of the gun, causing X to jump back and yell a bit. “HE WAS DEAD BEFORE THE SHOT!!!! I SWEAR! I DIDN’T MEAN TO!”
His mind flashed back to one of his training sessions with Meister. He was teaching X about the joy of ending a life with your bare hands compared to the funless act of killing something with a gun.. Pull trigger; job done.. No fun, no style, nothing. Everyone could do it, it always looked the same.. It was just another damn shooting and that would not do.
Damn it! Gotta make up for that! He thought as he snaked his way towards the next group. A hail of bullets blanketed the area between him and his prey, though one had to wonder.. Could they really track his movements? X chuckled at the thought as he pushed off the ground, flying threw the air. His feet touched the ceiling, his dark blue riatsu swirling around his feet before he pushed off. A few bullets met with him as he ended his descent, but what hope did these fools have against him? One created by Lord Jager? HIS HUMAN WEAPON X! His hand sliced straight threw one of the puny creature’s skull as he landed. His head stung as he turned his attention to the next one, slamming two fingers from each hand into his chest. And then again, and again, and again until he had created a smiley face out of the holes.
Four left! He reaffirmed to himself as his back felt like a hundred bee’s had stung it. He grabbed the body of Mister Smiley, tossing it at the group, though not as a human projectile, but more as a decoy as he ran right behind it. It slammed into the ground, missing everyone but it had done its duty. He was now in the midst of the last four. He slammed his foot into the jaw of the nearest one, shattering it on impact, and presumably killing the man in the process. He then stretched out his left hand, as the bullets impacted his ribs, causing several minor cuts. His hand grabbed onto the man’s face as his comrades joined in the fire. His eyes pierced into his victims, X’s hand muffling his screams as he started to pour vast amounts of riatsu into the man’s brain. His blood was visually boiling him on the inside due to the heat coming from X’s riatsu. His brain cooking inside as it turned to hot, gooey, mush.. Or so we presume.. All we know is his eyes melted and he did indeed die..
Click.. Click.. Click.
“Oooh. Out of ammo?” X said with a laugh as the last two made a run for it. But before.. Oh lets call him Steve.. Steve was three steps away, X was blocking his path, his arms raised crossed out in front of him. He brought down his right, then his left, cutting threw the man’s skin and marking him with a giant, bloody, red X. Steve gurgled on his own blood as it started to flow out of his mouth. He fell to his knees, starring at the monster whom had ended his life, with horror. And then darkness overtook him.. Poor, poor Steve..
BANG
“LET ME OUT! PLEASE HE’LL KILL ME!!”… George yelled as tears rolled down his cheeks, his hands banging on one of the doors. “But George.. That’s the point of it all!” X said with a laugh as he turned the man’s neck a full 180% degrees. “Bye bye!” He said with a wave before letting the body fall. With a sigh X took off his shirt and used it to wipe off the blood that those damn guns had caused. There was no visual damage done to him, but his shirt was blood soaked. He took the shirt off of George and put it on before walking back into his pod. The pod sealed up, and once more that blue light flashed.. And then X was gone.
What might have been the most amazing part of all of this was that it had all happened in just under thirty seconds. He had taken the time to create a few interesting pieces, and still made record time. His training really was going well, Meister Jager’s teachings where really starting to shine threw. Maybe in a few months he would be finished?
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Post by GoldenKitten on Jan 2, 2011 16:28:19 GMT -4
18 Days Later
The large room in the Sun Co. eastern regional command in New York was abuzz with silent activity. Dozens of news reporters from a hundred different agencies were anxiously waiting behind cameras and microphones, preparing the questions they were soon to ask. The event had been planned nearly overnight with almost no warning and it had taken the typically in-power paparazzi by the horns forcing their typically calculated moves out of the equation.
Regardless it had quickly drawn national attention as the Vulcan Industries scandal in which the leadership had driven the company into bankruptcy after using company funds on personal endeavors, or so they said, had been a near constant in the media. Vulcan was the worlds second largest technology and weapons manufacturer after Mallory Arms but was known for backing America both politically and economically. Their bankruptcy would have downed hundreds of thousands of jobs, possibly even have sunk the already injured economy. Then with almost no explanation their assets were bought up, job suspensions were withdrawn, stocks were shooting up (suggesting backdoor dealings, which while illegal were doubtful to be investigated), and now two men were sitting in front of the nation claiming to be responsible for it.
One was the elderly Carl Johnson, CEO of Sun Co. which was in a constant positional battle for the fifth most wealthy weapons corporation on the globe. Despite the seemingly prosperous sounding spot of fifth one had to realize that their funds were estimated somewhere around one, one-hundredth that of Mallory Arms making them a seeming non-contender in reality. The other man was a relative unknown, appearing almost juvenile in age next to the elderly man and making the partnership Johnson was speaking about difficult to believe.
Jacob Yager was the founder of an independent small firm that according to records specialized in making small technology, such as new communications hardware, as it was they had created Vulcan Industries own ever-popular E-phone. This position of outsourcing described his rather mysterious anonymity until now, while information that would soon be displayed showed how the firm had accrued the necessary funds from these projects to take part in the purchasing with Sun Co. Though it all seemed on the level financially there was an obvious curiosity about him...Jager of course had no doubt when the free forum questions began being accepted almost all would be about him, thankfully they had not gone into this unprepared, in fact this entire event was about solidifying his position in the public light.
“...and so it was that myself and Mr. Johnson here came together to pool our funds and purchase the Vulcan Industry assets. Understand, that while we know some will see this as a corporate move and yes, it will forward our own goals, it is largely a tragedy. The terrible decisions the companies leaders made didn't just hurt themselves, they hurt America. Thousands of lives have been thrown into disarray because of them. And it has been by and large our point, as fellow human beings, to bring stability back to the economy and the people and their families who have been effected by these days of hardship.”
Jager brought his fingertips together in a pyramid before him as he leaned his elbows on the table, finishing his speech with a smile. Beside him Carl gave an affirmative nod before adding, “Quite so, and as a gesture of good faith to the American government and its people we will be providing defense equipment and tech in the next few days, free of charge.”
Tapping his finger on the table Jager spoke and Carls face momentarily betrayed the other man was going off script though he quickly regained composure, “Yes, so that like our forefathers we may defend ourselves, especially during this time of rebuilding our foundries. My father, like many, taught me that you can never be to prepared.”, it was a jab nobody would have caught, completely innocent to all others, personal and innocuous.
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5 Hours Earlier
“This is Johnny 2-by-4 we are passing checkpoint 7, no problems in sight, roger, roger.”
The captain of security outfit #36 of the American branch of Mallory Arms, Westling Wester, put his face in his hand and sighed as he reprimanded Johnny “No hands” Bushell over the radio. He could feel that damnable messenger from out easts eyes burrowing into the back of his skull, he didn't say a word but he knew the man was making silent checks in his mind of all the mistakes they were making. They were performing the quarterly arms sell to the American government and he had only been informed two days prior of the bosses sending a watcher to check in on their efficiency. He'd tried to ingrain the importance in his men for the few short hours they had beforehand but the sudden appearance the man had made did the job it had obviously been meant to do. His less...refined men were proving less than stellar at both their jobs and presenting company image, and that in turn reflected on him.
A Japanese man by the name of Shimura...something-or-other had arrived and been shadowing him like a bloody...shadow...like...thing ever since. He had tried to play nice for a bit but when it became very obvious the man had no intention of sharing the sentiment he had given up. He had to wonder why the people they sent to look after their stocks were always so disconnected with the people they were monitoring, it was like they were specifically chosen to inflame personalities...maybe they were? Either way he wasn't falling for it, this was a simple travel and drop, maybe he couldn't do much about Johnny but everything else was going by code. He wasn't going to have the office-suit going back to the corporate headquarters with serious complaints about his uniform.
Sitting in the passenger side of the third truck in the convoy he looked out across the vista on the left of the road, a cliff dropped off and beyond it were a wide range of mountains and forest. Similarly on the right it lifted up into a large sheer mountain, in the back of his mind he tactically considered that this gave them little maneuvering room. However most American members of Mallory Arms were not even aware of the NWO and as such few had the combat experience or training of their eastern counterparts. So, while aware of the tactical disadvantage he did not give it a second thought, and the possibility of danger was nowhere near the forefront of his mind. By and large the American branches never saw any kind of action, much less something actually dangerous to them.
The convoy was composed of fourteen vehicles, two lead Humvees, ten transport trucks starting with his own, and two following vehicles. Normally they wouldn't have had so much protection but when they learned about Shimura he had ordered extra protection for the sake of show, he knew some people in logistics that could cover for him so it looked like that was always the plan. This was going to go smooth like butter...and then he was going to ask for that promotion!
He was distracted with these thoughts when the Johnny up in the lead car called in, “Sir, I don't know what the fools who cleared the route did but we've got a car up ahead.”
Before he could even respond Shimura had stepped forward and pressed the button on the intercom, “Move around them.”
Wester couldn't help himself from spinning around and looking at the man over his shoulder, “Hey buddy, this is my outfit!”, however he caught himself from proceeding when he realized what he'd said combined with the look he was getting, he tried to save face by adding, “There's probably no problem, just somebody pulled in off a side road.”
Shimura eyed him incredulously and added, “There hasn't been a side road in miles and we're moving at a brisk pace, unless that car is doing 100 we'd have caught up long ago if that were true.”
He didn't want to give in but figuring it was best for his image if he just conceded, Wester relayed the order to Johnny again. Their pace increased briefly as they moved to overtake the vehicle and the lead car began moving into the left lane when they hit a brief straight-away. Everything was going fine when one of the men in the back vehicles reported in a slightly more concerned voice, “Wester, sir; there's a semi-truck coming up behind us at high speeds.”
Wester thought a moment as the clues sunk in slowly, “That's impossi-...Alpha-7 is keeping vehicles from passing behind...”
But even as he spoke Shimura grabbed him by the shoulder, “We're being boxed in, get around the car we need to move now!”
However this was met by a dumb look on the captains face, he knew how to react to threats but his skills were rusty and his response slow. A little to slow it appeared as Johnny let out a call on the radio and swerved violently into the left lane, slamming against the guard rail on the side of the cliff where the vehicle grated for several seconds. Meanwhile a ball of fire ignited on the front end of the second member of the convoy before its front half disintegrated, the front slammed into the ground, and it went spiraling into the air. His own driver gave out a cry as he pulled into the left lane just barely dodging the flaming wreck as it lost velocity and disappeared behind them. Though they were to busy panicking for him to immediately note it a secondary thud from behind signified the back most vehicle of the convoy being eliminated in a similar manner.
As they swung clear of the debris they had a good view of the old-model black Cadillac driving a few dozen meters ahead of them. The trunk had been popped open all the way and a man in a completely black military uniform had appeared from inside wielding a large weapon that could only be a missile launcher of some form. Instead of reloading and taking a shot at one of the two front automobiles the figure instead tossed the weapon to the side and in a movement that was wholly inhuman launched out of the trunk straight into the sky until he disappeared out of their view. Wester mildly registered Shimura moving in over his shoulder to get a look at where he had gone before he backed off, just in time for the black-clad figure to land hard on all fours creating a mighty dent on the hood of their truck.
It was hard to tell if the suit he was wearing was actually enhancing the man in any way like the suits the NWO wore or even like the primitive Mk.1 every security guard was clothed in. It seemed more like a thin layer of protection and unless their enhancements were better than their own it was more likely the actual enhancement was with the man, not the suit. A set of heavy woolen knit pants and shirt were covered by plates of black kevlar armor, over which a large duster was cloaking most of its bodies features. A leather balaclava covered the face with a row of black telescopic lenses over the eyes, numerous weapons could be seen on the mans hips which it was going for with the hand not holding him to the hood.
Wester was only just responding as he went for his own weapon when a pistol appeared next to his head and let out a series of shots which volume would no doubt leave him deaf in that ear for months. The bullets put clean holes in the glass instead of cracking it before they punctured the armor of the man easily and sent him flying off the vehicle into the road where he spun and rolled to his feet, to their surprise he seemed quite ready to come right back at them. He wasn't going to get that chance though as the next moment the large truck ran headlong into him as they all were jimmied slightly as he was thrown backwards to the road before one of the wheels ran him over. By this point Wester had recovered from the shell shock of the gun going off next to him and looked up to see Shimura behind him wielding a large hand-cannon. The Japanese man pointed forward and told them to keep going as he turned around and walked toward the back of the vehicle.
Ishika Shimura was astounded by the brazenness of the attack. He had been here to do exactly what he said he had been, to review the local security crews capabilities...though of course as a Shade of the NWO his side project had been seeing if any of them were candidates for induction into the more secretive cloisters. So far (and he could tell it wasn't going to get any better) he was unimpressed and was probably going to write a report on at least a few of them. But even so, they nor anyone from command were expecting an actual attack. Other than spirits they didn't have any real opponents, especially in the western countries where they were even more unopposed than in their home states. Yet, it had only taken a quick study to realize this foe was human in nature, even if they were bolstered in some way whether spiritually (seemed likely) or through more physical chemical means. He needed to get this information to his superiors quickly.
Unbuttoning his collar Shimura pulled his jacket down exposing the full Mk.1 exo-suit beneath, reaching into the large hidden pocket he retrieved the soft-flex helmet and quickly connected it. Tapping the communications button he dialed the preset frequency while he tossed his jacket to the side and unhinged the back door of the truck. As he opened it to the speeding road behind them the convoy was to long to easily see what was happening, however the sound of gunfire from behind along with a flurry of activity on the radio told him the majority of the attack was coming from that direction. Making a quick check he realized this place had been chosen especially by their attackers, communications with the outside world were impossible on almost all radio channels and they had lost touch with the American regional command as was expected about five minutes prior. Unfortunately for them they had underestimated Mallory Arms resources, or more accurately the NWO's hand who had nearly global communications coverage.
When the line clicked he spoke, “This is unit S48-366, I have a locational code black for immediate transferal to Commander Gospel. We are under attack by an unknown assailant, appearance suggest spiritually enhanced humanoids, confirmed casualties and expected others. Unsure of enemies full strength, need return communications ASAP. Confirmation code is 340303-40023-40-”, however he was cut short from a call from behind.
He turned around just in time to see two more warriors in black, identical in appearance to the first, now standing atop the hood, clearly there had been more in the car. There was no time to save the fool Wester or the driver as they attempted to shoot through the window at them but were quickly shredded to pieces by the enemies outstretched SMG's. The bullets began to head in his direction but turning to look out the back he took a short running start and then just as the vehicle turned sharply as the driver relinquished control to fate he jumped off into the air, even in his suit he didn't know if he would survive but there was no other option. With a hard slam he hit body-long into the windshield of the truck behind them and though it cracked and he felt a tight pain in his ribs he seemed to survive mostly intact. He was able to turn in time to see the truck he had been in smash into the cliff to their right, coming to a dead stop.
As they sped past the wreck he looked into the vehicle to see the Mallory Arms security team looking at him like he was insane. He simply pointed ahead as if to say “Keep going” before he pulled himself atop the square truck bed. Now looking back with a full view he was astounded how quickly things were going bad, he had thought after the initial surprise of the attack they'd begin to retake the advantage, he was wrong. The support vehicles were gone both in the back and the center, where a large red and silver 18-wheeler had pulled aside them, its side had dropped exposing numerous commandos, several who had jumped to their vehicles. At least two of the transport trucks had disappeared somewhere behind them and they were actively breaking into a third, if they couldn't hold them off that meant they'd already removed four of the transports.
Even though the security guards weren't members of the NWO they were still armed with weaponry that would decimate any man made targets. There wasn't supposed to be another human organization who could even begin to compete with them. There was the Brotherhood but they were only in Japan and were a small group with a rag-tag hierarchy, whoever was organizing this was a large group like themselves. Prior to this the only people they could have considered at hand was Vulcan Industries, but that was stretching it, and of course they were supposed to be out of the picture now. It was a conundrum and Shimura was already beginning to grasp how out gunned they were, but as a top ranking Shade he wasn't quick to give in to the inevitable nor did he yet understand the enemies numbers.
Quickly ascertaining that he had either hit a button or simply knocked something the wrong way during the jump he began fiddling with the communications dial to reestablish contact with command. He kept his eyes on his enemies but even so being absorbed in the task it took him a moment to register as two black shapes came sailing through the air landing on his truck and slashing out at his head. Performing a roll under the blow he was forced to give up on making contact temporarily as he focused on the situation. He didn't know how that many people were crammed into one truck as they'd need to be practically on top of each other but there were dozens of black shapes flitting about the trucks and the amount of fire being returned by the defenders was diminishing quickly.
Shimura could hardly do anything about the matter though as he was to busy staying alive himself as he only dodged the first blow, this was quickly followed by a dozen stomps as he rolled out of the way. Whatever they were they had strength he couldn't begin to compare to as those blows had easily tore through the top of an armored truck. As he flipped he reached down the trousers he was still wearing to the back of his hip, activating the blade it flared with spiritual energy and cut its way out of the cloth. Righting himself he came to a sliding stop just before he went off the edge and whipped the blade to his side, the two black-ops warriors stood where they had stopped with their arms firmly to their sides and their heads moving eerily on a swivel like a snake following its target.
Regardless of their lack of proper pose the moment he moved they were like liquid lightning and reacted moving to dodge. He whipped his blade around in a circle at their legs but both jumped over it, he spun around as he continued to back up which wound up saving him. As they had passed both had turned in a coordinated movement mid-air and each aimed a kick at him which would surely have sent him careening into the truck behind, he managed to dodge by a scant inch. Again as soon as the strikes had missed both his foes were opposite him again in the same pose, unmoving, as if waiting for a specific order to take action.
A brief glance behind him showed that they were being overtaken, logic kicked in and he began to come to terms with the fact this was a lost battle. He started to consider how he could escape, not out of cowardice but that there was no value in remaining, plus the NWO needed to know just what had happened here...if they were all dead all they'd know was one of their shipments was attacked. Readying his pistol in one hand he raised it and let out a a spray of shots at the man on the right, the man dodged but not before Shimura had moved to intercept and brought the blade up in a wide arc. A spray of blood through the air confirmed the hit and he lopped the right arm off of the foe.
This did put him in a dangerous position though as he tucked and rolled dodging a strike from his fellow comrade that caved the better half of the top of the truck in when it missed. However once oriented again he was somewhat surprised to find both men still standing and waiting to strike again, despite one of them bleeding copiously from his missing appendage. Though he quickly put together that it had something to do with enhancements they had it was still somewhat shocking as the NWO tech wasn't nearly so capable of dulling pain...it was as if the man didn't feel it at all.
It was a bad situation, if they could take that kind of damage and keep coming he didn't stand a chance against the two of them, much less all. From this position facing the back of the convoy he could more easily take stock of the situation without opening himself to attack. He had no time, dozens of the black soldiers were crawling over the vehicle directly behind them having already whittled them down to two. He could see the security guards in the vehicle opening fire as the enemy breeched the back-end but having fought them he was no surprised that once they were in close quarters the gunfire quickly stopped and the vehicle swerved into the guardrail. Though they were quickly moving away from it at least two of them were in a position to jump from the third truck to his own and though neither made the jump firmly both latched on to the back and began pulling themselves up.
As he readied his blade Shimura became intensely aware of his lack of options, there was nowhere to go on the vehicle and anything that fast couldn't be outrun on foot. The two new additions jumped inside the hole in the roof and there was little he could do to stop them as he heard a dull thud from below signifying their attack...or maybe just straight out killing, the security guards. With the two original members still watching him there was no way for him to move past and attempt to help. That was when the vehicle began to swerve telling him that nobody was at the wheel anymore, he began trying to decide if he could survive jumping off the cliff when the sound of a honking horn alerted everyone present to the front most Humvee pulling up next to their truck.
The vehicle was open-canvas and the guard riding shotgun called out, though normally he wouldn't have heard the enhanced senses of the suit knew he was telling him to jump. It was a foolish move for them to return, they were far enough ahead to escape as their vehicle was far faster than any other present. But now what was done was done, and all he could do was hope they could get past the car ahead and still make a clean getaway. He turned to his side and knew his enemy had rushed him at this moment in an attempt to gut him but in the end he was just fast enough. As he jumped to the smaller automobile the guard aiming at them clicked his lower trigger and a grenade projectile was launched at the top of the truck.
Shimura landed hard and was throughly convinced he'd broken a rib this time when his side connected with one of the back headrest and he released the blade, helplessly watching it spiral off into nowhere. He had no time to be in pain though as he rolled over the headrest and toward the back of the car where he'd fall off, reaching out he caught a crevice in its design and began to pull himself into the backseat. Rolling over into temporary safety he began to sit up in the seat as he checked his pistol over to ensure it was working. He looked behind to find the truck they were moving ahead of burning at the top, he didn't know if they'd killed any of them but none had been able to make the jump to their vehicle.
They wasted no time speaking as the man at the wheel accelerated and the passenger opened fire on the car they were now rapidly pulling up on, Shimura joined in this effort. Numerous pot marks in its side were testament to them already engaging the vehicle. Shimura happened to note that while their was a soldier in the vehicle he was busy returning fire with two pistols in their direction, nobody was visibly steering the car.
Their own driver looked around to him and pointed at his feet, “Shotgun!” before going back to driving, looking down he found there was in fact a spiritual shotgun there. It wasn't his preferred weapon but there weren't many bullets left in his pistol and there wasn't much else to choose from.
As he chambered the weapon the Cadillacs wheels screeched as it performed a wild spin and turned one-hundred and eighty degrees to face them. The single enemy grasped the dashboard and easily exploded out the already bullet ridden pane of glass. With a single firm step on the hood he launched through the air in their direction, aiming his weapons down and opening fire. A number of the bullets came to close for comfort but Shimura finished loading his new weapon and brought it to bear on the descending enemy. A careful moment slowed time down as he ensured the shot before pulling the trigger, the spiritual buckshot ripped out of the barrel and spiraled toward the target. It impacted with force and satisfying red mist permeated the foes body as he was thrust back through the air and slammed into the road several meters away as he came to a violent rolling stop.
As they flew past leaving the remains of the conflict in the dust Shimura ignored his wounds and immediately went about recontacting command. He found they had already attempted to reestablish contact but naturally at the time he hadn't been able to dial into the frequency. He was about to do that when the passenger pointed behind them, yelled out a very logical “OH SHIT!”, and began opening fire again.
Wasting no time he retrieved his pistol having laid the shotgun out of easy reach and took aim. He now understood the mans surprise as the warrior he had just shot out of the air and seen smack into the ground with fatal force was now chasing after them...on foot. Flexing its arms and legs to an inhuman degree Shimura could just imagine the force needed to move that fast, it wasn't gaining quickly but for a moment it was moving as fast as their vehicle. He too began to open fire and clearly saw a number of their bullets strike its body in various places, fine red mists showering where a normal persons body would have exploded. Then one of the shells clipped its knee while others entered the other leg and with a mighty tumble it slid to a final stop.
Their focus on this foe almost kept them from noticing the next danger, however Shimura caught it in his peripheral vision and pointed it out. Another black-clad enemy was charing after them on foot as they began to open fire, it took a moment for him to note how much faster and smaller this one was than the others. With the suits superior vision he made out the curves and determined of all the attackers this was the only one he could clearly tell was female, similarly her visor was shaped differently and had no lenses while two long strands of fabric trailed behind her and wrapped around the bottom of her helmet like a scarf. Unlike the other even as they approached ninety-miles-per-hour she wasn't just keeping up but gaining on them rapidly. The man in the passenger seat called out for them to speed up several times as they fired on her, however unlike the other she was capable of sliding side-to-side and avoiding the projectiles while still maintaining velocity.
When he realized she was going to catch them he dropped his pistol and reached down to the floor again, grabbing the shotgun by the stock. He spun to take aim when to his horror he found she had already leapt through the air and was upon them. His world spun as her outstretched palm collided with his head and snapped it backward as it impacted the middle console of the vehicle, then everything went black. Incredible pain surged through his spine and again he was sure he'd fractured something there, when the dark came for a moment he thought he'd gone unconscious. However as sentient thought continued through his head and he felt the obvious surge of motion he realized instead the helmet and all its faculties had been broken. Shimura began to work on the helmet to take it off but a moment later the world dropped out from below him, unsure of what had happened he grasped wildly and after finding some form of purchase could do little but hold on, until he really was knocked unconscious this time.
Meanwhile in the seeing world when Shimura had been crushed into the center of the car it had bent the soft inner surface sending everyone in the vehicle spinning. The man in the passenger seat managed to turn his rifle on the woman and open fire but she deftly slid out of the way. Placing her feet on the cars door she propelled off of it and came to a slide on the road before she charged after the vehicle again, but she was just in time to see her kick send it sideways before it upended and flipped over the guardrail...she didn't know her own strength. Walking to the edge of the road she looked into the valley deep below where the vehicle was now obscured by trees.
Touching her radio Bunny spoke, “Cousin, some went over the cliff. Try not to disappoint me and make use of my Predators properly if the enemy still lives.”
Behind her the last of the transport trucks that had managed to hold them off by actually making use of the arms they were transporting went barreling down the road. The truck was literally black from the number of Predators swarming it, they did not have much longer no matter their skill. Bunny took one last look over the edge before she spun about and began chasing the truck down. Five minutes later the scene had been cleaned up and there was little proof of what had occurred.
Awareness was made of pain. All Shimura knew upon awakening was it was dark and everything in his body felt like fire. It took him longer than he cared to admit to realize he was not in fact blind but that his helmet was still broken, with stiff movements he undid the hinges and began taking deep, sharp breaths of air. The scene around him was deeply obscured by thick smoke which he came to realize was coming from the vehicle several meters away. Though it was not on fire it was upside down and something up in the chassis was letting off a great jet of thick gas. He noticed he was now down in the gulch, amongst hundreds of tall trees. As he fingered the broken helmet he realized even if it wasn't broken this was one of the few places it might well have been useless for radio contact anyway and tossed it to the side.
Lifting himself to his feet with a great deal of exertion he could feel every broken part of his body, but if they hadn't come after him yet this might be his one chance to get away, he couldn't stop. Giving the vehicle a once over he noted that at least one of the men was visibly crushed beneath it, he had no time to waste looking for the other, and it was doubtful he was alive anyhow. Unable to locate a weapon other than the basic military knife on him Shimura turned and began hobbling away from the crash, more concerned with putting distance between him and it than he was of heading in a particular direction.
Though his head was pounding and his senses dulled he found himself jumping any time a sound penetrated the silence. He was keenly aware of just how vulnerable he currently was and knew if he was found it would be all over. Unfortunate then that it did not take him long to realize he was not alone, though silent he had been forewarned of an incoming presence when an abnormally loud snap came from ahead, a seemingly lucky break. Dropping to the ground despite the pain it caused a dozen shadows flew past him like a blur in the forest about him, headed in the direction of the crashed vehicle. After waiting a solid twenty seconds with no activity he launched to his feet and began in the opposite direction with all the strength he could muster.
He'd moved less than ten feet while checking behind him before turning his view to the front and coming to a dead stop, only able to utter, “Oh...” as he instinctively drew his blade from its holster.
Standing in front of him in rows and between various trees were over a dozen of the black soldiers. All of them were standing in the same identical position as those he had fought on top of the vehicle, unmoving, silent, as if waiting commands. All except one, a young man trotted forward from between them and with a laugh raised his hands, “Sorry sir, think you're going to need a few more guns...and some more guys couldn't hurt either...”, X then smiled at the man.
Taking in a deep breath Shimura reached to his wrist and undid the lock that activated the suits self-destruct system. Fighting would have been pointless, and he hoped that maybe the NWO would respond more quickly when the signal was received that the suit was disposed of on purpose. As an arc of energy surged through the device he briefly wondered, who in the world had he just fought?
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The Present
The speech was dragging though he understood the purpose, people were idiots, but it still felt like they'd been doing literary circles for the last twenty minutes. Things were going to wrap up soon though as he doubted Carl could find many more ways to explain the same thing in different words. He briefly considered this was the longest he had ever gone without overly murderous impulses, he was getting better with the control. Of course he still did, and had a feeling he always would, anger very quickly and this lead him into some awkward moments. But he was more familiar with the world now, knew when to shelf his feelings and deal with what was important, it had taken a year but in all honesty that was far faster than most would have acclimated. Why, he hardly felt like killing any of these reporters at all...ok, that was a lie, but he was doing a good job of not ACTING on that...that counted for something right?
A grand little flourish with his hands marked the end of Carls speech as he pulled to a close, “And that will be our mission statement for the next year. And so, that said, we proudly announce the partnership of Yager Industries and Sun Corporation into the Yager and Sun Conglomerate. With our announcement complete and our methods stated we now welcome to the fore the various news factions present.”
That was all it took, control of the room was officially lost though he had practiced to expect this and Jager merely kept his hands clasped before him with a kind expression eternally etched across his face. You didn't get a good story in the world of news by being friendly and nowhere was this more obvious than a press conference where the reporters were about ready to start clubbing each other to death for the first question. An official spokesmen of Sun Co. had moved to stand before the table they were at and after a moment raised a microphone up, extended his finger, and picked the first questioner.
A man was the first to question, “Eric Michardson, Channel 13. Mr. Yager we've done our research and honestly where has your company come from? Nothing on the stocks go by that title.”
Tapping his pointer fingers together briefly Jager spun his hands before pushing back deeply into his seat, “As explained we'll be making a full disclosure document available to all sources within the next day. However, fair enough question so I'll give the quick answer. As an independent contractor Yager Industries was legally bound to not take credit for its creations as long as the duration of the aided companies existence. With Vulcan Industries no longer a stock option I can confirm this included the popular E-Phone and several home computers from their lineup. Similarly there are still multiple companies I am not allowed to divulge by agreement with which we did work.”
Leaning forward on the desk he cocked his head to the side, “That said to maintain our clientèle agreement our stocks were broken up amongst smaller subsidiary branches. Each of these was a part of the Yager Industries family and each one tackled a particular project. This allowed us to pull stocks by making rough generalizations of “technological creation” without having to break our worded treaties and giving a solid parent company to locate in YI. Now that we will be funding ourselves and will no longer be providing our services as an independent we can go by our own name since there will be no future planning between us and the companies we did work for. Naturally their anonymity is guaranteed by the fact that if anyone broke these trade agreements or tried to dig for past information it would be a punishable crime.”
If you wanted to get all technical there was probably something illegal going on in there, but time had long proven money trumped law. More prominently few were familiar enough with the particulars to pick through that, and those that could knew there was good money in keeping their mouths shut, if it wasn't doing direct harm it was never stopped. When silence pervaded and it was clear that question was done the vying once again began, a young woman was picked out.
“Jessica Robeux, MEJX-6. Do you not feel it could be interpreted as somewhat narcissistic to go into this partnership retaining your last name in the company title while your partner is content not to?”
Jager gave a hearty 'Ha' before interlocking his fingers, “When I was boy, growing in rural Kentucky my family owned a farm where we scratched together a living by selling a years good harvest. Yager Farms, we sold wheat and cold-weather fruits. When my parents passed away I took the profits and utilized them to to form YI. I was barely 18. In five years we've pulled a fortune together and have been able to join together with a prestigious group like Sun Corporation for the betterment of the peoples future.”
He pulled one of his hands out and set his finger down firmly on the table, “Are you asking me if I'm concerned that this industrious spirit that is the hallmark of our free society, the stamp of freedom, and the right to forge ones own path; will be interpreted as egotism? That my father who made a life for my family by being a hard working man would be ashamed of what I've done with his life's-work by putting it to good use? No mam, I am not. Yager Industries was founded on the principles of the American dream and free creation, free thought, and free will. These are the tenets by which we will continue to be ruled, a name is merely a brand, it is the ideology behind it that is what counts.”
The woman manged to peep-up, “I...did not mean offense.”
“I know,” was all Jager stated in return.
That finished she sat down and before the crowd could get to rowdy the next was chosen. Standing up a young woman with short black hair stood and asked calmly, “Khalisah Al-Jilani, Westerlund News. I have to say Jacob”, she placed emphasis on the name, “You certainly like to bring up this nation. And while I understand the revitalization of the Vulcan assets will be largely beneficial to our nation do you not find it a bit pretentious? You are after all an arms company and not just technological, you will be selling to all buyers. Not to mention as you beat upon this cord your ethnicity is at odds with-”
Before she could finish he slammed his fist down, not enough to appear overly aggressive but certainly angry. In truth he was not, though he did have a strong undeniable desire to punch that seemed to come from nowhere. He took a deep sigh before stepping in, “I'm detecting a trend here am I not?”, there were a few chuckles from the crowd.
“Ms. Al-Jilani I am insulted. But let me address your concerns all the same.” He was dripping with callous loathing before dropping into a more business like tone.
“I am a fifth generation German citizen, my family arrived here in the 1840's, I do believe that makes me as much a citizen as anyone can claim to be. More importantly I was brought up to believe in our nations fundamentals, until my fathers generation my family was unable to find a permanent home. However through his own will he made a place for us and it was that hard driving willpower that he tried to teach me, that he was able to make a place for himself in this land which is one of its unique features which we should cherish. And so to the primary concern yes and no.
We are an arms company on top of other things. Sun Corporation has made its fortune on such deals, and the majority shares we will be absorbing from the remains of Vulcan are similar projects. However I think our companies histories speak for themselves, sales largely being within the American states, and those that are not are with her allies. We will support anyone who cares for her same values, of course. But if you are asking if we will arm terrorist, or revolutionaries, terrorist by another name, then I am again insulted. Of course not.
And yes, I bring up our great nation, because she is why we exist. Yes, we have been funded on our own merits of personal strength, but we were allowed to exercise those rights thanks to the country in which we are based, along with her free loving compatriots around the globe. And so, as long as we are in business, we shall back her whenever the call is made.”
Finished he sat back and began speaking before anyone could respond or ask any other questions, “Now, I understand some are intrigued by the speed with which I seem to have appeared on the scene but I believe I have proven myself through words. May we cease these personal attacks and inquiries and instead focus on the purpose at hand. Explaining the intricacies of remodeling our company in its new, larger form?”
Jager gave a long, hard, pleasant smile into the camera.
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