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Post by aegis on May 30, 2016 7:55:45 GMT
 Sometimes Spectre hires him out to the highest bidder, as long as they approve of their plans for him. He is, of course, implanted with additional kill-switches prior to each loan, but they're generally successful ventures. This outing is simple enough. He has a target to guard, and nothing more.
(The man is a corrupt businessman who deals in human trafficking, particularly that of children, but Aegis doesn't know this, nor does he need to know. Nor would it make a difference.)
He watches from a shadowed perch as his target shakes hands with a fellow co-conspirator.
physis
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Post by physis on May 30, 2016 8:54:43 GMT
the blood insideis cracked and cold Physis skulks along the other ledge like she's been for the past two weeks. This wouldn't be the first member of the ring that she's engaged, but this will be the first time that she's arrived before the shipment was sent across the ocean. A place where the children matter even less than in Arkham. She makes a fist. Physis increases the density in her body and leaps from above, shattering the asphalt beneath her feet. There is no need to dodge, no need to hide. They're not fighters - they're just men who think that guns make them invincible. From her angle on the ground, she can't see the fear in either of the men's faces. Physis doesn't care. She's a force of nature, coming to collect. She springs up with forward momentum. The first punch breaks the bald man's jaw with a nasty crack. VALKYRIE made by redox of gs |
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Post by aegis on May 30, 2016 9:45:00 GMT
There's the sharp sound of cracking asphalt and Aegis keeps her in his sights as her fist connects with his target's jaw. He pulls the trigger.
Then he's leaping down as well, landing in a smooth roll to come up between his target and his assailant. He grabs the man by his collar and throws him behind himself--he was instructed to keep him alive, not to be gentle about it--and lashes out with a flurry of short jabs aimed for the woman's head and stomach.
physis |
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May 30, 2016 10:29:51 GMT
Post by physis on May 30, 2016 10:29:51 GMT
the blood insideis cracked and cold She could, but Physis doesn't bother catching his fist. Whoever this man is, he's likely just an enforcer. Hired muscle. She phases past the man with the metal arm, lurching towards her original target. Her hands close around the man's windpipe like a vice, and he gags. Insurance for what is likely to come. After all, he doesn't know. Either way her hostage is a dead man. aegis made by redox of gs |
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May 30, 2016 10:36:50 GMT
Post by aegis on May 30, 2016 10:36:50 GMT
Aegis recalculates for a brief moment as she passes through him, but the equation settles itself quickly. The woman might have passed through him, but she has to be solid to grip his target, and she's unskilled enough to turn her back on an enemy.
He spins faster than any normal human could dream of and turns that momentum into a punch aimed straight for her kidneys.
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May 30, 2016 11:47:09 GMT
Post by physis on May 30, 2016 11:47:09 GMT
the blood insideis cracked and cold Most people would usually hesitate when their employer is in the grip of a mutant. Obviously, this man is not most people, and he doesn't move like most people. She hears the scraping of his foot against asphalt. If she doesn't want to move, then she won't move. Physis increases her body density in response. The punch hurts, but she's not bleeding in the organs. It will have to do. Physis shifts behind her hostage and uses him as a human shield, though her hold does not slacken. In the meantime, the other crimminal has already started running into the other direction. aegis made by redox of gs |
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May 30, 2016 12:01:53 GMT
Post by aegis on May 30, 2016 12:01:53 GMT
She takes his punch and keeps moving. If he were capable of being impressed, he might be. Instead it's only another variable. She's still choking his target, and he arrows his metal hand to lever in between her elbow and the target's neck, aiming to use his superior strength to pull her arm down and away and break her grip.
His flesh hand has a gun in it. He aims for her eyes. Aegis doesn't fight to win, he fights to kill.
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May 30, 2016 12:59:15 GMT
Post by physis on May 30, 2016 12:59:15 GMT
the blood insideis cracked and cold Physis cuts her losses (a severe loss, now that the other man has fled the scene) and unweaves her molecules. She's never taken a shot to the face before, and she's not willing to attempt it for the first time. After the bullet is discharged, she takes a single step back before shoving the quivering hostage on him. aegis made by redox of gs |
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May 30, 2016 13:14:03 GMT
Post by VALKYRIE on May 30, 2016 13:14:03 GMT
 Thalia has been working on busting this trafficking ring for months. It's not the kind of project the Initiative would usually put her on, but you could call it a pet project, or you could call it obsession. Both would be accurate.
When she lands outside the warehouse, just in time to see one of the head honchos in charge come bursting out the door like the hounds of hell are on his heels, it's almost as good as Christmas morning. Better, actually. Christmas was never this satisfying.
He goes flying back inside when she taps him politely on the chest. Not strictly by the book, but if anyone asks her he was trying to flee lawful apprehension. They don't need to know how good it felt to knock him out.
Thalia follows him in at a slightly more sedate pace to a scene she didn't expect. There's a tall black-haired man with someone who looks to be twice his weight in a fireman's carry across his shoulders--she recognizes the unconscious man's face after a moment, he's another one of those she's hunting--and he's sprinting across the floor towards the nearest exit. There's also a woman in a motorcycle helmet.
Well, she's seen stranger things in her time.
"Freeze, both of you!" She calls out, enhancing her vocal cords just enough that her words ring out like a bell across the vast, empty space between them.
Predictably, the man does not freeze. If anything he starts moving faster, somehow. Thalia leaps into the air after him.
physis
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May 30, 2016 14:06:13 GMT
Post by physis on May 30, 2016 14:06:13 GMT
the blood insideis cracked and cold It was not the result that she was expecting, and now she has to live with the knowledge that the two men may have escaped because of her. Physis only knows the other mutant by reputation, but she wisely stays out of her way. Instead, she stays behind to begin her search. One of the doors is secured with a heavy lock. She freezes the lock with her hands before punching it open. She goes in, making sure not to shut the door behind her. Captives didn't usually like that. Neither did Physis like what she sees inside. She feels like throwing up. Mostly because the numbers don't match, and she can only imagine what that means. Three children remain, shivering with cold. Their hair is disheveled, and none of them look like they have slept properly. One of them is healthy enough to appear afraid. The other two look up to her sluggishly, as if they know what to expect. Physis' mouth is dry. Without thinking about it, she removes her helmet. She knows that she is not here to hurt these children, but they deserved to feel unthreatened. "...is...is Christine here? Anthony?" Sophia finds her voice again. "Kenneth?" She had been following their trail for weeks. She's even watched as Christine was shoved onto the back of a vehicle. The oldest looking boy shakes his head. "Gone...we were the last ones who didn't fit in the car."Physis wants to go back. She wants to go back and rip out the man's spine, guns be dammed. Instead, Sophia removes her jacket and gives it to the youngest.
"I'm sorry."VALKYRIE made by redox of gs |
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Post by VALKYRIE on May 31, 2016 1:48:48 GMT
He's fast--faster than he should be while carrying somebody, but he's not fast enough to get away from her. Valk plants herself in from of him like a brick wall and lets him bounce off of her when he keeps going, clearly expecting to be able to knock her out of the way. His face doesn't change when he's the one who is thrown back instead, stays in that blank scowl, but he drops the man in a heap and draws two guns almost too fast for her to track.
He's shooting before she can close the distance between them, wrapping her hands around his wrists and snapping. She feels the bullets ricochet off her shielding and if she were worth anything she could stop them, but she can't. All she can do is stop him. The guns fall out of his grip as his hands twitch, her fingers crushing the delicate bones. He looks at her with something that's not fear or shock, but its distant, inhuman cousin. The man behind him moans.
"Stay," she says to the man on the ground, and punches the black-haired man in the jaw. He rolls admirably with the blow and sweeps his right leg out in a low arc that would put her on the ground if she needed to stand. She jumps over the kick instead and hangs in the air, gripping him by the shoulders tight enough to bruise.
"I don't want to hurt you any--" she starts to say, just as he wrenches himself out of her hold. He slams a grenade in her face that goes up into nothing more than smoke, and she blinks. The air is thick and clogged with black. She can't see through it so she goes further up, above the cloud, and looks down. Both the men are gone.
There's an open door where there wasn't before though. She touches down and looks inside. There's the woman from before, helmet now removed, and a handful of frightened children. Not enough children. She bites back a swear and reaches for her communicator.
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Post by physis on May 31, 2016 8:31:22 GMT
the blood insideis cracked and cold The children's expressions change, and Physis doesn't have to turn around to know that there's someone behind her. She shoves the helmet back onto her head, but the damage is partially done. All that the visitor knows that Physis is a blonde woman. Which is really not useful information in a large urban center, if she really thinks about it. Physis looks back, her face hidden once again.
"Drop the device."
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Post by VALKYRIE on May 31, 2016 8:48:52 GMT
Thalia's still smarting from the man who got away from her--for now, she promises herself--but she's not having an argument in front of the children. She steps backwards instead and turns slightly away, waiting for the Initiative's emergency line to connect. They need medics here stat. They need a time warp to undo the last several hours, if not days, for these kids, is what they really need, but she can't do anything about that. What she can do is get them fed and sheltered and looked over, at least.
Outside the complex, the target is ranting and raving at Aegis, his face red and mottled. You're supposed to be the best! he shouts. What the hell am I paying for? Get back in there and get my investments back!
Aegis calmly points out that both his wrists are fractured and that it's no longer just the one woman. The man swears, and slaps him across the face, then freezes. Aegis does nothing, and after about thirty seconds, he seems to realize he is going to do nothing. The man relaxes.
He can do more with two fractured wrists than most people can without, but he's not sure he would win a fight against the first woman. He knows he won't win against the two of them together. He knows this, but the mission is the mission. He flexes his fingers slowly, ignoring the hot flare of pain in both hands.
If you can't get them back, the target says, for Chrissake I at least don't want them getting away.
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Post by physis on May 31, 2016 9:22:22 GMT
the blood insideis cracked and cold So she's calling for medical services, not enforcers. A vigilante's role in this is over for tonight. She can provide nothing for these children, not even their vengeance. If the philanthropist Sophia and the vigilante Physis were one and the same, then perhaps such a thing would be possible. Physis looks at the woman for a good five seconds. Her hands linger at the edges of her helmet. That's as far as she goes; Physis can't even take her mask off in front of this woman. She refuses to be dragged into the light, she can only ensure that others will leave the shadow. Her hands fall to her sides. One of the girls reaches for her hand. Physis looks down at her, though it's impossible to see her expression.
"Don't ever come back here." said the woman who would make that journey again and again. She leaves by the front door, the feeling of warmth lingering on her fingertips. VALKYRIE made by redox of gs |
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May 31, 2016 13:22:22 GMT
Post by aegis on May 31, 2016 13:22:22 GMT
He tapes his wrists. The target does not help, does not have even the weapon's rudimentary grasp of battlefield first-aid. The solution is imperfect, but allows him to retrieve the RPG from the target's SUV and even have a hope of firing it. He watches the woman in the motorcycle helmet leave through the front door and cradles it on his shoulder.
(What the fuck, the target had said, When did you even put that in my car? Aegis hadn't answered but the man had smiled slowly, Cheshire-esque. I guess you do get your money's worth in some things.)
If he were an ordinary soldier, hired for an exchange of goods and services, he might have begun to question how this falls under the mission parameters of protecting the target. He would have been appalled at the request to take out four innocent people, three of whom are under the age of 13. If things were right and as they should have been, he would have been in his grave 72 years ago, or he would have died screaming on the torture table instead of breaking and reshaping into what they wanted him to be, but he's here and his target gives him in order and he doesn't question it.
He fires.
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