[center] [h2]Phantasm[/h2] [/center] [u]Location: Unknown, Tenebrae[/u] [i][color=lightgray]Time: Late Morning[/color][/i] [@Estylwen] Eos smiled at the suggestion. "Your powers are unique, Miss Phantasm. Although I admire your idea, what I have in mind is much more simple." Eos gestured with his hands, drawing out her route as he explained. "The submarine will drop you off at a chasm half a mile off the lab. From there, you will travel due north for ten minutes through solid rock, and phase into the lab's basement. The control room will be nearby, and you will let the submarine into the loading bay and continue onward with the mission." Eos smiled, gesturing with his hands apologetically. "I know I've made it sound easy," He really hadn't. Ten minutes through solid rock was not a light ask. When she phased whole body like that, she could only take as much air as was in her lungs with her. Even with a lot of practice and some choice breathing drills she'd only ever been able to hold her breath for three minutes before she started to pass out. Moving in a straight line was also not as simple as it sounded. It was difficult to maintain a straight course with no sound or sight to guide her. "That might be a problem. I don't really fancy suffocating." Eos nodded. "That's what the device provided to you is for. It will make your entrance much easier. The device mimics your frequency, so it's one less thing to worry about while wading through solid rock. The granules in the disks act as a set of super lungs, giving you a compound that dissolved into oxygen over a span of time. One breath equals five minutes, the second breath equals four, while the third breath equals two. A fourth breath and the chemicals in the device begin to activate, causing it to be unsafe." "There's one problem solved. What about navigation?" "Rest assured, we've done our homework. There's a light on the device that acts as a compass, so as long as the rock around you is thin enough, you won't lose your way. It will allow you to navigate solid objects with ease, and only requires the disks to be replaced after use." The device didn't sound entirely foolproof and she wondered precisely how they'd managed to test it. Did they have another meta like her somewhere they were running experiments on? Or was this just based on research and her dip through a mile of rock was going to be the test drive. Neither option really appealed to her but she didn't say anything, not yet. Eos gave a nod, and Myriad was at his side, black matter pooled in her hand. He turned to face Gloria. "The Shadow Knights will answer any further questions you have, however, I do have to inform you that time is of the essence. The operation begins tonight if you choose to accept." He held out a closed slip of paper to her, she took it and unfolded it. On the inside was a dollar amount that made her eyes widen. "Compensation will be made to cover the quick turn-around time, it will be wired to an account of your choosing after the mission is complete." The amount they were willing to pay for this chip they wanted stolen worried her a great deal. Not that she was opposed to taking the money but people who were willing to pay that kind of cash for something, generally weren't planning anything good. His business with her apparently concluded, he turned back to his colleague. "Myriad, if you please." She tossed her black ball to the right, it flattened into a large disk, forming another portal. The other side was pandemonium. It looked like a lab, white floors and a vaulted ceiling, but the entire place was doused in red as flashing warning lights blared and alarms shook the air. People ran all over the place, scientists in lab coats dropping materials as they rushed to wherever they were supposed to be. Gloria craned her head and just managed to get a glimpse of a door. It looked more ornate then the rest, made of fine oak. There was a plaque on it that read [i]'Dr. Alexander Kaj, Head Scientist'[/i]. There was darker writing that was smaller and less embossed under the name. Gloria thought it might be the name of the facility but she wasn't close enough to read it. Eos, looked at the unfolding scene before him but rather than distressed he simply looked tired. He pressed the bridge of his nose, shaking his head, like this was an ordinary day at the office. He glanced back at her. "Ma'am, please enjoy the party." He politely inclined his head. He entered the portal nonchalantly, walking past the doors and down the curving hallway. Myriad held the gate open, barely hiding the grin on her face at the sight of the chaos. Slowly, the gate began to close. Gloria had a sudden moment of panic. It felt like a golden opportunity was slipping by with every inch the portal shrunk. Every nerve in her body screamed at her to make a dive for it. But there were too many variables. It looked like a place that studied metas and that more than likely meant weapons that were effective against metas. She didn't exactly blend in with her current attire. She had no desire to be running through the building dodging death rays. Instead she pointed to the 'Happy Birthday' banner and said "Isn't that a little bit much? It's not my birthday." When Arc and Myriad's eyes flicked over to see what she was pointing at she acted. She drew in a deep breath and let the GPS tracking disk she'd stuffed into her bra fall through her clothes. She caught it with her outstretched hand and tossed it at the portal. It whistled through the gap just before the portal winked out of existence. It seemed more than likely that she'd be leaving here alive and if the GSP disk worked then Quinn would already have this location, and if this place was shielded then it wasn't doing her any good here anyways. If she was lucky Quinn would have both places of importance marked on a map. If she wasn't... well it wasn't like that was any less information than she already had. [center] [h2][color=black]Lady Hel[/color][/h2] [/center] [u][url=https://goo.gl/maps/FpH6B4XGad6hC8ic6]Love Street[/url][/u] [i]Lincoln Park, Tenebrae[/i] [i][color=lightgray]Time: Late Morning[/color][/i] [@Blizz] A black sedan pulled up on the street in front of Haven. A woman in a neat black suit got out of the front and opened the back door for the woman inside. She was striking, high cheekbones and sharp features. Her bone-white skin and silver eyes contrasted against the black of her hair and clothes. Despite wearing head to toe leather in an outfit that wouldn't have been out of place in a biker bar she somehow looked far too classy for the neighborhood she was in. She exited the car in a fluid movement and turned to her driver. "You and the girls can wait outside. If this goes poorly, you'll know." She spoke with an English accent that wouldn't have been out of place on the grounds of Oxford or Cambridge. It was a little more posh than the dialect she'd been born with, a little less 'street' than the one she'd used twenty years ago when the man inside had known her but she found it added something to her facade. The building in front of her was 'Love Street', colloquially known to the meta community as Haven. It was a quaint little place that didn't have a problem with serving meta clientele or hiring meta employees and so it had become something of a sanctuary for her people who unfortunately still felt the grinding foot of movements like the Humanists and the persecution of groups like the Hunters. A few of the Valkyries had had an eventful time at Haven the night before. As she'd heard, there had been fire involved. She'd sent one of her lieutenants to smooth over any hurt feelings with the proprietor. Meta bar fights happened from time to time but it was still prudent to make sure he was compensated when one of hers was responsible. Haven was important to the meta community, it wouldn't do to have it shut down. When her lieutenant reported back about a familiar face dropping by Haven for a drink she knew she had to see to it in person. Linus Malden hadn't set foot in Tenebrae in decades. Some sources of hers claimed he died in a warehouse fire, others that he'd escaped into the sea never to return. She hadn't really concerned herself with which it was. The important thing had been that he was gone; until now. He was dangerous, an Omega Class metahuman. For all her tricks, he even outclassed her in terms of raw power. Maybe he was just passing through, if so she had no reason to bother him. But an Omega Class metahuman could by themself disrupt the delicate balance she'd been building in this city for so long. She'd be remiss if she didn't check in on him. As she strode towards the entrance to the bar, people walking down the street instinctively took a step back from her, allowing her space to pass without breaking her step. As she entered, the shadows in her presence seemed to grow just a little bit darker, the lights casting just a little less light. Not enough to inconvenience anyone but enough to signal her arrival. He was sitting on a bar stool, ordering a drink. She sat down next to him, her back to the bar, bracing herself on her elbows as she lounged on the stool. "Hello Oshus." she said, uttering a nickname she'd given him when they were much younger. When she was too young and inexperienced to realize that the Greek Titan of the Sea was [i]'Oceanus'[/i]. "Word was, you managed to burn yourself to death."