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[attr="class","sensestextbox"]Though Scarf is affiliated with the Initiative, he’s much more understanding and compassionate. He disagreed with a lot of their rules and methods, but it’s not like he’s in the Initiative to prove a point, he joined because he needed the money. Nothing more.

Once she showed up, he’d take a good look at her. Eyeing her form and chosen attire. Yes, in fact he has a lot of questions, one of which is why she’s dressed like that in this piercing cold. Scarf is covered in layers of clothing, yet he’s freezing. Nevertheless, he kept his mouth shut. He has a very good intuition when it comes to people, and that alone allows him to get along with most. The Initiative hero shook his head. “I don’t. It’s probably best to introduce each other, my name is Scarf.. And according to my records, I can manipulate matter.” The first thing to note is how he introduced himself, he went by his hero name. That meant this meeting is strictly professional, for her sake. She didn’t seem like the type to enjoy companionship at first times. The other is how he told her his power. Though he only focused on tampering with matters in molecular levels, the Initiative deemed it so he could manipulate everything that takes space.

Soon, a soldier would appear driving an armored truck. It shall be their escort for their mission.

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[attr="class","sensestextbox"]He is a good listener, even to those with few words. One could say only a couple lines and Scarf could deduct subjective information.

Of course he figured out she’s probably compensating with the cold by other means, meaning the heat to maintain her body is part of the augmented part she mentioned. It’s odd though, she seemed to so cold and distant despite all that heat. Scarf was then left alone, watching her proceed at the back of the truck. He shuddered a few, feeling a draft trespass on his neck. “You going to be okay?” Another voice spoke to him, this time with a thick accent, it’s their driver. He’s probably a local. Scarf put on a smile, nodding towards the man. He appreciated his concern. “I’ll survive.”

Scarf followed, all the way at the back. The truck’s a masterpiece; the Kamaz Typhoon is what they called it. A vehicle designed to maneuver in the deadliest terrains this planet has to offer. Comfortably isn’t accounted for however, it’s a good thing there’s only two of them but it’s clear that each space is utilized one way or another. He occupied one of the seats, opposite to Karasu. Through his gloves, Scarf felt the leather, admiring the craftsmanship.

The driver heard her, starting the engine and then flicking a couple of switches to light up the back for them. “Destination is at less than a hundred clicks from here, miss. It’d take at least half a day with the fanciest sedan to drive through the snow. But with this baby, we can get there in two hours.” He answered before moving the truck. The sudden movement caused Scarf to lose balance from his seat, and instinctively he clung to one of the handles that clung on the truck’s roof.

The journey was smooth for the most part, but not really. Every now and then the wheels would hit a bump, though it didn’t stop the truck it shook everyone inside. The silence was worse for Scarf however. Normally the quiet is his friend, embracing the calm that soothed his constant stress as a hero. This was different. It’s like he felt responsible for a conversation. He drummed the fingers on his knees, whilst pondering what he could bring up. It’s only been half an hour.

“So.. umm.. uhh.” There he goes, he’s about to talk. “The Russians picked you? I mean in the briefing they told me they’re sending someone they trust, so I’m guessing you’re from around here?” nosy, really, the questions mostly to break this painfully lethargic atmosphere. It’s true though, they personally hired her as their representative as they do not trust the Initiative entirely after all. Or so he was told.

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[attr="class","sensestextbox"]That was his fault. He knew he shouldn’t have pried but the quiet started to hurt him. Though he answer was flat out sour, she at least asked something of him which threw him off. He was relieved though, knowing she at least has the decency for social conventions.

“I’m not sure.” he replied, contemplating what to say next. Surely the Initiative could’ve picked a better hero for this mission, someone more experienced out in the field. They assigned it to him though. Perhaps it’s for the sake of his development, or maybe something more. “Well, the Initiative sent me to look into this.” he couldn’t express his self-doubt here, no. He needed her to believe in him for this mission, so he kept going. “As we were briefed, the serum we’re after that was thought to be banned and halted originated from. The Initiative’s research team actually started this, hoping to develop a drug that would enhance us heroes.” he paused, after another bump came to pass.

“But it was unsuccessful, even after several attempts. So they had it shut down. Doctor Andrei Sokolov didn’t want to. He was obsessed, determined to finish what he started. Right under our noses he continued, cooperating with the worsts of our city. They kidnapped test subjects, only to rid of them by throwing them in the dumps or unleashing its havoc to our city.” Scarf shook his head. He was part of that operation, and he could still vividly recall the image of the bodies piling up into a mountain of sin. “We destroyed his base and found his body. Or so we thought it was his body. Now we’re here. We sent a couple of our own to investigate but we haven’t heard of anything after two weeks now. The Russian government allowed to us to look further into this, given we work under their jurisdiction.” that was his answer, a summary of their side of the story.

He took the tablet and nodded, saying “Thank you.” Before laying his eyes on them. It’s not like he needed to memorize it, their path has been linear so far. It’s the weather he’ll have to worry about when he gets lost. He kept quiet from here on though.

Soon they would arrive. The truck stopped to what seems to be the middle of nowhere. The driver knocked on the plating twice giving them the cue, then he flicked the switch again to open the back. Quickly the snow fluttered in. Scarf shuddered, feeling the unwelcoming winds of this land. He stepped out, squinting his eyes towards the horizon only to see a dark gray mess. The weather also made seeing difficult. “Over here you two.” the soldier beckoned to them, right near the edge of a small cliff. He pointed towards north east. “Fifteen minutes of walking from here. Use the radios provided to you if you want to call for evac. I will come as fast as I can, like ten minutes.”

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[attr="class","sensestextbox"]“..My sins for signing up for this work?” he told her, with a clear sarcastic tone. Eun-ha’s a nice guy, he is, but this cold is making him a bit grumpy. It’s unbearable.

He kept both arms wrapped around his own body as he followed when she started to move. Normally any sort of perversion is near absent from his thoughts, but there is literally nothing else to look in this field. It seemed like an endless white field of agony. He did notice the view, embarrassingly turning his head to the side once he got a good picture of her figure from behind. One thing was off though, her body seemed too perfect. A human’s body is asymmetric, hers isn’t. With the evidence of her source of heat, body, facial features, and that sword, Eun-ha came up with the conclusion she’s augmented. As to how isn’t objective yet, but he has his guesses.

When she started to run, he had to move fast as well. They can’t lose each other from just starting.

Soon they’d come to get a full view to what seems to be an abandoned facility, poorly maintained and covered in snow. From the outside, it doesn’t seem like there’s anyone inside. He crouched down, momentarily leaning behind the rock before regretting the move. The cold immediately pierced through. He then opened his tablet, not as big as hers as this one’s issued by the Initiative. “Well there’s a lot of way in, we just need to consider our options. The most viable one in my opinion is to approach this stealthily, we’ve no idea what’s inside.” he said, tapping the side of the tablet as he pondered. “It doesn’t seem like there’s anyone in the front entrance, however there could be alarms. The same goes for the back entrance. We could try entering the ventilation.. but..” he knocked on her metallic leg, making a couple of audible clinks. “You’ll make some noise in there.”

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[attr="class","sensestextbox"]So that idea is definitely out of the window. The front door doesn’t sound like an optimal choice for a stealth approach, but then it at least has the element of where they would least expect it. Or not, since the literally have a guard there.

Scarf followed, as much as he can at least. He stayed on the wall when she started crawling, honestly finding her form a little silly. It’s like a silver snake crawling through powder, but whatever now isn’t the time to be whimsical. The guard was caught and knocked out, that was the cue for him to follow again, right beside her he rested as he waited for her to take care of the door, and once it was done, he went in.

“Six hours? I don’t think we have to worry about that. Hypothermia sets in fifteen minutes, he’ll die out there.” This was a mission though; there wasn’t really any point in caring about the lives of others. It was just so conflicting.

Four guards were inside in total, the three are together around a fire in a rusted barrel. The other one was left patrolling around. There is also a couple more guards up above the metallic platforms that hanged above them, strapped with bright goggled on their helmets. They were like walking, breathing, and probably soon, shooting lighthouses.

Unlike her, he can’t see anything too clear though, so their position is a bit mysterious for him. He needs to be of use. She probably can’t be on the metallic platforms, so Eun-ha volunteered. “I need to get up there and I can take care of their lights.” He said, pointing towards a pile of crates that will allow him to ascend. The patrolling guard stopped there though, idly waiting and doing his rounds. “Knock him out.”