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Dr. Vahzilok     A coordinator for GIFT, the Genetic Investigation and Facilitation Team, named Antonio Nash, has called for Mutant Origin heroes (or those like them, out in the Multiverse), to come by Atlas Park. There, a run-down on the situation is provided. Antoio is a mathmatical genius who used to work for the Department of Defense, so he has a keen interest in matters like the current one...

    "The Council are a group that have sprung up relatively recently. They're a paramilitary organization of some kind, armed with considerable firepower, training, and some believe they might have ties to another group known as the 5th Colum: Nazis, essentially." Antonio explains as he adjusts his sunglasses, while standing in the part of City Hall assigned to GIFT.

    "I just spoke to Sarah Peters, an FCC investigator who tracks illegal broadcasts. She's intercepted some messages from Council soldiers. It seems they're planning to steal a powerful artifact that the government's been trying to protect for decades. Please meet Sarah Peters and talk to her about the theft. The 5th Column have shown an interest in strange and terrible experiments, including mutagens. If the Council has any connection to them, them wanting a magic artifact on top of whatever resources they have, can't be good." Well, that would explain why Mutant Origin heroes are being requested. They might have some insight into a criminal organization that is trying to create more mutants through sketchy experiments.

    Assuming the responding hero accepts the mission, he's directed to where Sarah Peters is, out on Hyperion Way, to the south-east.
Genya Arikado A sleek black car pulls up in front of the building in Atlas Park in which the contact is. Out of that car steps a black-haired, pale-skinned man in a neat, dark gray suit and black dress shoes. He shuts the door and the car remains. He too is wearing sunglasses-- dark things that are near impossible for him to see through. It's a wonder he doesn't trip.

He keeps those sunglasses on as he enters the building, to locate the contact. "Terribly sorry we couldn't spare more manpower," Genya replies, in near-flawless Japanese. "But given the nature of the problem, I thought perhaps a smaller force would be better."

He listens to Antonio's explanation of the situation, and nods. "A group looking for magical artifacts usually isn't a group that needs to have them anyway," he replies. He's never really seen anybody seeking one that was seeking it for a good purpose. Or that didn't eventually use it foolishly or turn evil after obtaining it. Or both. "But I can think of a number of reasons."

A nod. "I'll go and speak to Miss Peters." He bows politely. "Thank you. Should I report back here when finished, or report to her?"
Dr. Vahzilok     Antonio informs Arikado, "You'll probably need to deliver the artifact to Azuria, at the MAGI offices. They're better equipped to keep stuff like this safe. After THAT, I'd be glad to hear about your success." He seems to just be assuming that this man can handle it. But heroes do tend to manage to accomplish many amazing things on a regular basis. That's part of what makes them heroes. So perhaps his faith in this newcomer's abilities has some merit.

    Also, maybe he just recognizes that Arikado's fashion sense in regard to sunglasses is much like his own, and thus there is no way that the hero could not be too awesome to succeed! ...That's probably not the reason.
Genya Arikado Genya nods. "Probably for the best," he agrees. They're the magical MI-6 around here, right? "I'll speak to Miss Peters, then. Thank you for the information." With this said, he waits for whatever Antonio has to say before leaving the building and getting back into his car. He'll head for where he was directed to, where Miss Peters is supposed to be, that location on Hyperion Way.
Soma Cruz Where is Soma? Chilling in Arikado's ride, of course. He's been there the whole time! What was he doing while Secret Agent Dhamp was doing actual legwork? The same thing anyone would be doing

Fiddling with the radio and messing around on his smartphone of course. Playing some kind of puzzle game.

"Any luck?"
Dr. Vahzilok     Once Arikado and Soma arrive, an older blonde lady in a suit-dress, reading from a newspaper, looks up. "Oh, Genya Arikado! Antonio Nash told me to expect you. You should hurry; I hear those Council soldiers are already on the move. You've got to get to the warehouse and find crate 878-932 before they do. Get it to Azuria in City Hall; it'll be safe there. Good luck, Arikado!" When she sees Soma is also along with, she seems to decide a warning to the both of them is in order. "And whatever you do, don't look inside the crate!"

    Oh, so it's THAT kind of artifact.

    The warehouse is nearby. Sarah was keeping an eye on the area under the cover of just standing on the corner catching up on the news, even though she would be in serious trouble if they recognized her or her affiliations. She isn't a super hero, after all.

    It should only take moments to get to the warehouse and then get inside. It's a large building, and the loading doors are wide open, with a truck parked out in front. The lights are on inside, with a long hallway ahead with storage units built into the walls on either side, and what looks like a large open space at the far end, with a concrete wall that marks where the room ends, and a second story atop it.

    There are lots of crates, so they might have time before the Council finds what they're after. But waiting around is unlikely to be to their benefit.

    In the distance, the two heroes may hear shouted orders and the sounds of heavy boots on cement floors.
Genya Arikado Genya raises an eyebrow at the puzzle game. But he doesn't comment on it. Instead, as he settles in the car, he notes, "The contact here referred me to a second contact. A Sarah Peters, from the FCC. She intercepted messages from a group called 'The Council'. They have too much training and resources to have only appeared recently. They're planning to steal a magical artifact. Possibly to give to an organization 'The 5th Column'. If they're connected, there's fears they'll combine the magic with the 5th's use of what our contact is calling 'mutagens'. Genya doesn't usually say that much in a row, but when he does, it's usually important. Exposition for information is far different than idle chatter, after all.

The stop to speak to Sarah is probably going to be pretty short. She gives the information, and then Arikado's ready to move on to their next stop, the warehouse. It's been left open, which kind of... seems like a foolish thing to do. Which gives him an idea. He speaks German, so he's likely to be able to BS his way in. Not only that, he might be able to prove if there's a connection to this 5th Column.

He pauses long enough to radio Soma his idea.

<<Let's see if we can get this done without having to fight. We might also be able to prove a connection to 5th Column, too. I'll see if I can get them to believe I'm one of 5th's higher-ups.>>

And since that warehouse is wide open? Genya walks right in when they get there. He looks official enough. He doesn't say anything yet, but that's because he's waiting to see who comes out to greet them.
Soma Cruz Soma listens to the exposition and nods once, frowning slightly. He doesn't reply, just spends the short ride in thoughtful silence. Artifacts are dangerous in the wron hands. Especially hands with such ominous names.

The radio message startles him out of his own thoughts, and he replies simply.

<<Understood.>>

He exits the car and follows Arikado. While he is far less well dressed than his companion, he /does/ cheat a little. He looks at Genya's back briefly, his expression apologetic. He then concentrates a moment and lets it out a little. The Dread Presence that lies within his soul. Likely enough to cow normal humans who are not, in fact, crazy zealots, and maybe enough to make the crazy zealots think twice.

It's probably a familiar sensation to Arikado.
Dr. Vahzilok     At least initially, they meet a surprising lack of resistance as the two heroes advance into the warehouse. It is not until they round the corner at the end of the hall, and come into the next area, that to their immediate left, they see a procession of men in military fatigues and body armor coming down a ramp, towards the switch-back that will take them down another ramp... But the moment they turn on that switchback, they'll be looking right at Arikado and Soma.

    There's a chance for a surprise attack, but it's down to two or three seconds to decide what to do. They seem to be carrying shotguns, submachine guns, automatic pistols, assault rifles, and one of them even seems to have some kind of sniper rifle.

    Quite the ordinance for a bunch of goons. There's a stark difference between this Council and the demon-masked Hellions and skull-wearing Skulls that may have been seen around in the streets, as other heroes took care of them. Though whether the difference in skill is equally distinct has yet to be seen.
Genya Arikado Genya is not unaware of what Soma is doing, and turns to look at the young man with a nod of acknowledgement. That's actually a good idea; intimidation is probably going to be useful here. And indeed, their auras are similar. Though Genya's seems oddly muted somehow...

As soon as he catches sight of the men in fatigues, he radios Soma again. <<Be ready to dive for cover if this doens't work.>> Once that's done, he draws himself up straight, and asks, with a thick German accent, "Have you found it yet?" He just walks closer, as if he knows he's supposed to be there.
Soma Cruz Soma merely nods once. As Arikado approaches the men like he owns the place, Soma hangs back. He folds his arms across his chest, coat draped over his shoulders like a cape.

He is attempting to put off an air of being the muscle. It might be working.

Of course if this fails, he has a second option. He draws power from within his collection of stolen souls. He has one just for this kind of situation.

<<If they start to becom agressive, jump out of the way, I've got something ready.>>
Dr. Vahzilok     As soon as they hear voices, the soldiers turn... And apparently a German-speaking guy in a suit and some guy in a white trenchcoat, no matter how intimidating his aura, do not seem to provoke a response of respect or blind trust. Infact, one of them immeediately has the presence of mind to start yelling, "INTRUDERS! INTRUDERS!" over and over while pulling a grenade off his belt and removing the pin with his thumb before then throwing it at the pair of heroes in a single smooth motion.

    Regardless of what panic the powers may be inducing or not, they appear to be responding with aggression. The others are somewhat slower to raise their weapons, indicating they are perhaps not as well-trained, or they are stunned by the presence that radiates from Soma. But they still don't run for the hills now that they have a focal point to rally around. Which is still pretty impressive for relatively normal human beings.

    They really aren't like street thugs. While the frag grenade has been thrown, there may be time yet to take out the rest before they get their shots off. The one with the assault rifle is actually vaulting over the railing with surprising agility and speed, about on par with an Olympic athlete WHILE taking aim with the rifle one-handed. So at least two in this group are better than one might initially suspect.

    Probably best not to test them and see just HOW good.
Genya Arikado Fortunately Genya knew that was a very real possibility, that this would not work. So he does exactly what Soma suggests-- once the yelling of 'Intruders!' starts, he's already crouching. And when the grenade is thrown, he's moving to the side, out of the range of the grenade. Though he's not just rolling, running, or anything so boring as that. He actually SLIDES out of the way, as if he were running, but his legs do not seem to move. He's also getting out of the way of whatever it is that Soma's about to do.

But he's not just going to stand back and let Soma do all the fighting, no. While he moves back, he pulls a gun from his coat. And the leaping guy with the rifle is the one he aims a shot at at first.
Soma Cruz Soma trusts Arikado to move. It's why he doesn't even hesitate. The grenade lands, and some splays one arm to the side, gripping his coat and opening it. Arikado may be expecting fireballs.

What comes is much worse.

Three tentacles seem to sprout from the lining of his coat, or maybe from his back, it's hard to tell. The tips of the three limbs splay open and destructive lasers lance out at the soldiers.

"We gave them a chance. I really wish they'd taken i--"

That's probably when the grenade explodes.
Dr. Vahzilok     The lasers slice through the railings and all those Nebula Outer Band soldiers get bombarded with tentacle lasers that defeat most of them, though one or two get some shots off with hand guns or submachine guns as they go down. Whether any of the shots actually go near the heroes is another matter. The grenade thrower seems to need a bit more in terms of damage to get taken down, but even his body armor has a line of seared fabric and plating that indicates the damage probably went deeper than just the surface. He starts running up the ramp, back to that second level he descended from, even as the frag grenade goes off.

    The shot from Arikado takes the rail-vaulting guy right in the chest, throwing off his aim and interfering with his landing. He hits the ground and rolls, even though he's bleeding from a chest wound, before trying to get back up and take aim again. Persistent, though clearly still just a 'mere mortal'. A punch from the half-vampire would probably be enough to take him out at this point.

    Though the clearer-thinking guy racing to get reinforcements is probably a priority for Soma, if he isn't too bothered by the grenade. The man's back is exposed, so a good solid hit there should remove the Nebula Elite Adjutant from the fight.
Genya Arikado "Be careful," Genya cautions as the grenade explodes. He also trusts Soma to try not to get himself hurt too badly. There are ways to fix it if he does, but it's still more than a little concerning when that happens.

When the one shot doesn't down the rifleman, Genya frowns. And he's not unaware of the one running for help, either. <<Soma,>> he radios. <<There's one running. Stop him before he brings help.>> As for Genya?

He stands up from behind his cover, his back straight, his eyes narrowed. Said narrowed eyes start to glow slightly, and an unseen wind pulls at his hair. A hand is stretched out. "SOUL STEAL!"

Any of the enemy soldiers in range may need to watch out... because Genya's spell seeks to pull the lifeforce right from them. Shoudl the magic take effect, this pulled-out lifeforce will rise from their bodies in glistening, sparkling pinpoints of light, like stars.
Soma Cruz Soma shakes off some of the daze from the explosion. Clearly he is more than human, if in a different way than a standard mutant. His eyes home in on the fleeing man calling for re-enforcements. Silvery eyes narrow as he calls up another power at his command.

The young man pivots and makes a throwing motion, a bloody knife materializing out of thin air and hurtling at the back of the fleeing man.

He does not look pleased at having to do this.
Dr. Vahzilok     The soldiers, fallen or still up, get their life essence stolen from them. The injured man goes down as a result of this, and the bloody dagger that Soma throws finds the Adjutant's back, taking him out. Hopefully, the bad guys will survive through these injuries long enough for the police and medical teams to get here and get them teleported to a medical/holding facility. And with them no longer in the way, it's safe to continue.

    Assuming they do so, they'd find a crate in a storage unit upstairs, where a man in the same sort of outfit as the others stands there, with a couple more soldiers flanking him. "We have the artifact! Let's take out the intruders and call for an extraction!" he says testily, aware that there's something going on, and not wanting to waste time with his diminished forces trying to take down heroes.

    The crate out in the hall may actually be glowing to Arikado's senses, and veritably humming with magical energy. But so are at least two others. Good thing he was given the serial number...
Genya Arikado Arikado's not going to put any more effort into taking these guys down than is required. Not because he's lazy, but because there's no sense in trying to kill them. They're just doing their jobs. So those he's damaged will probably survive to get teleported out. Once they're down, Genya moves onward in that way he has of moving farther than a single step could take him, even at running speed.

He hears the plan of the remaining enemy and his helpers... and also senses the magical artifacts. He pauses, and then radios Soma again. <<Can you distract them while I look for the crate? Looks as though there are a few of them with magical items inside.>>
Soma Cruz Soma grunts as the man goes down. He puts it out of his mind for now. He lowballed his powers, hoping not to kill today.

He's not quite as mystically fast as Arikado, not without using a soul's power, but he can keep up. At the radio message, he grins.

<<I got this.>>

Soma moves up the hallway, drawin deeply upon his reserves of power. He transforms, growing massive, his form becoming a grotesque techno-organic shape with massive wings and horns. He moves forward with a bellow, breezing past Arikado and towards the soldiers.

Here's a distraction!
Dr. Vahzilok     "We'll eliminate the threat, sir. But we have the artifact now! I can't wait to get my first look at it!" one of the Council soldiers says as he pulls out his shotgun.

    The Archon says, "Quiet, fool! Didn't you hear that!?" The sound of a rampaging monster coming closer and closer resounds through the warehouse.

    The first crate Arikado checks does not have the right serial number. And if he looks inside as a result of knowing it isn't the right one, he'll just find some kind of vase with a panorama on it showing an infinite loop of people and snake-people merging together to create a line of half-snakes who then merge with humans again. Weird. A depiction of the origins of a species? Some kind of mythology? Who knows!

    As Soma charges into the enclosed space in the form of a giant raging demon, the Archon reacts by yelling out, "Take that thing down!" Then another grenade is thrown at Soma's face. Seems like today is grenade day.

    As the two startled soldiers accompanying the Archon open fire with shotguns, Arikado gets the chance to check another crate. Wrong number on this one too. Inside is a collection of porcelain masks... Not quite theater masks, but similar. Harlequin-looking, but painted in lots of extravagant, wild circus-colors. On to the last crate, which is just inside the area where the Council are fighting Soma! The half-vampire should be able to slip in and search it without being in the line of fire, assuming Soma is willing to keep tanking buckshot and grenades... And that one has the right number on it.

    The large crate is labeled 878-932. According to Sarah Peters, it contains a powerful artifact that the Council intended to steal. Arikado may have an almost irresistible urge to peek inside, despite the warning. Nearly mystical is the compulsion. But he wouldn't be so weak-willed as that, most likely, when he still has a comrade fighting the enemy...

    ...Right?
Genya Arikado No, Arikado wouldn't do that. Indeed, there is a great temptation to look inside, but he does not. There's a number of things he DOES do, though. The first of which is to place a tracer on the crate, just in case it does happen to get away from them, and activate it. That should give a solid signal enough to follow it if things do happen to go pear-shaped.

And the second of these things is to assist Soma with his new grenade-throwing friends! He does this by moving behind Soma and emitting a handful of fireballs from his hand. They'll arc around Soma's demonic form, not to worry.
Soma Cruz Soma roars as he takes fire and grenades. This will hurt in the morning. He rampages through, claws swiping, wings slapping and slashing.

Arikado can tell he's holding back.

This demon doesn't breathe fire, it only rampages and tanks for his good buddy Arikado.

As the fire spreads around, Soma stomps on the floor and roars in fury. Or is i feigned fury? Hard to tell, really.

Maybe they'll run.
Dr. Vahzilok     There's only three guys left, and with the Archon being the only one seemingly able to take hits from supernatural sources with any consistency, it's soon down to just Soma and Arikado versus one guy who, even with a treatment of super soldier serum, isn't really on par with an Elite. After slugging it out some more with him, he is downed as well. It seems the mission is complete! Now to get the artifact back to City Hall and to Azuria before more Council come to intercept them.
Genya Arikado Genya sighs once the remaining enemy goes down. And his attention is immediately drawn to Soma. He'll wait until the young man changes back, if he's able to. "Are you all right?" he asks. He has a healing draught in case Soma needs it. He DID take quite a bit of damage...
Soma Cruz Soma does change back! It's quite easy. He shifts down to himself and sags.

"That took a lot out of me. I'm fine, just tired. And sore. And wil probably get yelled at by Mina."

He straightens and moves to the crate. "Let's get this thing out of here."
Dr. Vahzilok     The heroes get the crate back to City Hall relatively without incident. Aside from a Council strike team ambushing them halfway there and possibly needing to get smashed up as a result. But once the crate is gotten to MAGI, the sorceress Azuria says to the two heroes, "Thank you. I shall place this within the vault and guard it with the strongest wards. The artifact within is not a thing for mortal or immortal use. You didn't look upon it, did you?" And after that brief interaction, popping on back to Antonio is the next destination, for a debriefing.
Genya Arikado Genya nods, and assists with the crate. Between the two of them they should be able to get it out; they're both pretty strong.

As for the Council strike team? Not to worry, Arikado has more smashing power where that came from. Not only that gun-- and he can aim for joints easily enough to put them down but not out, so they can get medical care-- but a magical punch, too. Woe betide these guys if he has to use his full power, though.

As for Azuria's question? Genya shakes his head. "I didn't," he replies. And he didn't, so there's no lie. "Might I ask what the artifact is?" Genya's natural paranoia will make him a little more inquisitive than the average hero. But it's BECAUSE he understands the need to keep these artifacts hidden that he asks; he wants to know what he'll be up against if this thing gets out! So checking in with Antonion will have to wait just a while longer...
Soma Cruz Soma smirks slightly at the question before he turns to head to the other contact.

"'Course not. I don't want to melt."
Dr. Vahzilok     Azuria shakes her head. "You should report to Mister Nash. I have to attend to securing it. I'll let him know it's okay to tell you. Thank you though."

    Whenever they report to Nash, he tells them, "Azuria tells me that that contents of crate 878-932 are safe in the MAGI vaults. She didn't want me to speak of this to many people, but you've earned the right to know: the artifact within is known as a Looking Lens. By peering through it, you can see the very deepest desires of the people around you. That's why you had to keep the crate closed. There is some information that no one is meant to have."

    Mission complete!