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[b]SuperIOR Incorporated's Expo, Lost Haven[/b]

Chike pulled his father's dark green camouflage jacket tighter around his chest as he and Ceri walked along the sidewalk towards SuperIOR's Expo Hall. All around them men in suits and military uniforms conversed as they pushed and shoved their way inside the crowded building. Standing on the grass just a few yards away was none other than Mary Belfast of Channel 65, the reporter who Chike almost crushed with a minivan. Polemos turned his face away from the news crew as they reported on the event being held by Lost Haven's own SuperIOR Incorporated. "...As you can see, there are still hundreds of people streaming into the Hall to get a glimpse at the technology of the future! SuperIOR has invited small businesses and private inventors from around the world to showcase their tech to the biggest names in the military industrial complex. In fact, I've heard rumors that the Secretary of Defense himself is here along with representatives from the Pentagon. It's a big day for weapon's development here in Lost Haven's financial district. We'll see if we can get inside and show you some of these amazing inventions before the end of the day." Chike and Ceri pushed through a pair of glass doors and had themselves scanned by security. Chike had injected the serum about fifteen minutes ago and disposed of the needle, so they wouldn't find any evidence of malcontent on him. Baatul would have liked to have a gun on him as well as the super soldier serum but security at SuperIOR was not taken lightly. One of the men in a dark blue uniform wearing a tag that identified him as a guard stopped Ceri. "What's this?" He said, holding up a small booklet. "It's a book, not a WMD. Can I have it back?" She asked with as much patience as she could muster. The guard flipped the book open and looked thoroughly confused. "What is this, Russian?" He asked. The text wasn't in English, that much was certain. "Fine. Move along." The guard ushered the two inside.

[color=aba000]"Whoa."[/color]

The Expo Hall was even larger on the inside. The ground floor was covered in large white tents where groups of people were gathered around looking at any variety of inventions and devices. Dozens of companies had bought out a space inside SuperIOR's hall with the hope that someone rich and important would take notice of what they've done and give them mountains of cash for it. "What are we looking for?" Ceri asked as she and Chike crossed the hall towards the food court. They took a seat at one of the elevated tables and began to look around. [color=aba000]"Well,"[/color] Chike began. [color=aba000]"SuperIOR is supposed to be holding its own presentation at the primary stage on level 1. That's where we're going to find the rest of the formula."[/color] A group of unarmed soldiers passed by the two of them carrying hotdogs and burgers. "And where we'll find the most security. Are you sure you can handle them? What if Liberty shows up? You could barely fight him with your powers, but now-" Chike interrupted Ceri's worrying. [color=aba000]"I'll be fine."[/color] He assured her. [color=aba000]"Varnia knows the plan. He'll hit the fire alarm and dose this place in water from the sprinklers, giving me time to sneak up and take what we need."[/color] The super-soldier explained in a hushed voice. "What exactly is it we're taking from them?" Ceri asked. [color=aba000]"Eric doesn't think they'll have an actual sample of the serum on hand. So we're going to have to kidnap one of the guy's they'll be showing off and extract it from his blood."[/color] Chike stood from the table as a pair of large double doors opened up at the end of the hall and a voice over an intercom called out: "SuperIOR main exhibition being held in Room 1 on the first floor. Starting in thirty five minutes."

Ceri and Chike followed a crowd of suits to the main exhibition hall. Some of the soldiers and big wigs gave them strange looks. Ceri and Chike weren't exactly dressed for the occasion. Ceri's blue robes and dyed hair next to Chike's torn and stained World War II jacket and jeans were a sight to behold among the pressed BDUs and thousand dollar three piece suits.

The pair took a seat in the back of the room where they could easily get up and out when the time came. People filed in to the room rather quickly and took their seats. Half a dozen armed men in black suits trailed behind a grey haired man in similar garb. "That's the SecDef." Someone in front of Chike whispered. Guards took their positions around the room and spied out any potential threats: they marked Chike and Ceri immediately. Owning one pair of ratty clothes isn't exactly ideal for infiltrating a high society Expo  where everyone is expected to dress the part. They were lucky the guards were letting in civilians at all, given the stakes. But refusing entry to normal people was bad publicity, wasn't it? Mary Belfast and her crew set up in a nearby corner as she prepared to show off SuperIOR's own tech advancements on live television. This had to be a paid gig for her; especially when there were metahuman serial killers running amok.

Edward Cunningham, CEO of SuperIOR and total dickhead, appeared from behind a curtain. He walked up to the podium at the front of the stage and smiled for the cameras. "Thank you all for taking time out of your day to visit little old me. I'd like to welcome all of you to SuperIOR Incorporated's annual technology Expo and World's Fair!" He paused as the crowd clapped for him. Chike grumbled a quiet complaint before Edward continued. "Yes, yes. This is all very exciting. It's my favorite time of the year, actually. But I digress; no need to make this thing run long, is there?" A polite chuckle escaped the lips of the men and women of Wall Street. "Here is our very own Captain James Abrams, operator of last year's award winning Heavy Armor Battlesuit the [i]Liberty[/i], to introduce this year's phenomenal new tech!" Edward stepped away from the podium as it lowered into a hatch on the bottom of the stage. Cunningham stepped off the stage and took a seat near the front as another hatch opened up and out popped the eight foot tall metal monstrosity that was Captain Liberty. He was greeted with more clapping from the crowd. [color=0054a6]"Good afternoon, leaders of these great United States of America and our allies abroad!"[/color] Captain Liberty waved a giant metal gauntlet. [color=0054a6]"The Liberty Battlesuit is an extraordinary piece of tech. It can level entire armies single-handedly. In an ideal world, every soldier who fought for truth and justice would wear one of these walking tanks. But we don't live in an ideal world. My armor is expensive. But we still have wars that we need to fight; and soldiers who need the best protection we can offer. So I'll introduce an age old concept: instead of making our weapons better, why not make the men who hold them better?"[/color]

The curtain dropped and revealed two dozen soldiers from various branches of the U.S military. They all stood, unarmed, with their hands crossed behind their backs. [color=0054a6]"I introduce you to the next super soldiers!"[/color] Captain Liberty threw out his arms in a grandiose fashion and the crowd applauded once more. [color=0054a6]"No longer will they just be legends from the Second World War. These men are stronger, faster and smarter than what any human is capable of; and in a world filled with aliens and metahumans, our boys need every advantage we can get."[/color] One of the soldiers crossed the stage as an over sized set of weights rose from a hole in the stage. The soldier lifted up the weights with single hand. [color=0054a6]"They can lift up to four tons."[/color] Another soldier took to the front of the stage as a treadmill appeared from the stage. He began to run. [color=0054a6]"They can run up to 65 miles per hour."[/color] Now they soldiers walked to the front of the stage, one of them pulling out a pistol. [color=0054a6]"Their agility and perception is unparalleled."[/color] The soldier began to fire off live rounds at the second soldier, who dodged every bullet. The rounds collided harmlessly with the wall behind him. The crowd clapped again. 

An alarm blared. Water poured from the sprinklers and drenched the entire hall. People looked around, confused. [color=0054a6]"Uhhh...Alright. I'll have to ask that you all exit the building in a peaceful and orderly fashion. This is not a drill."[/color] The Secretary of Defense and the Secret Servicemen who accompanied him were the first to stand, pushing their way out of the room and towards the nearest exit. Others began to stand and make their own swift escape. The guards and super soldiers tried to keep everyone calm as the room was evacuated. "Here we go." Chike muttered. He stood to his feet and shimmed past Ceri, pushing his way through the crowd. Ceri opened her book and began to read in the tongue of the ancients. Suddenly the water began to turn to steam, blinding everyone in the room as Chike rushed towards the stage, pushing people out of his way like they were weightless. [color=0054a6]"What the- Where's the steam coming from? Sergeant Jones, sitrep! Whats going on?"[/color] Chike decked the first super soldier he spotted on the jaw and sent him ragdolling across the room. Someone screamed. "We're under attack!" Captain Liberty shouted as he turned on infrared. Another soldier ran up to Chike, thowing out a powerful haymaker that he saw coming from a mile away. Chike ducked under the attack and  sent two rapid uppercuts into the soldier's ribs, before grabbing his arm and tossing him into another oncoming attacker. Three more soldiers appeared from the steam. Chike watched the way they moved...these weren't soldiers. They had no combat training. Probably just showmen for the Expo. Good; meant this was a fair fight. Well, as fair as 12 on 1 could be.

One of the soldiers threw out a quick roundhouse kick, catching Chike in the cheek as he failed to move out of the way. He counterattacked with a straight kick of his own. the attack failed and the soldier grabbed his outstretched leg, tossing Chike to the floor. The wooden floor of the stage cracked and broke as Chike was sent flying again; this time into a nearby wall. Chike pushed himself to his feet and blocked the next oncoming attack from a charging goon. Left hook, right cross and a knee to the stomach all in rapid succession brought the man down as the other two came into view. [color=aba000]"Ceri?!"[/color] Chike yelled out. A giant metal fist flew through the air and smacked the two enhanced humans into the wall, knocking them out. [color=aba000]"Thanks!"[/color] Polemos grabbed one of the unconscious soldiers and slung him over his shoulder. He started to move towards the exit, before he noticed that it was blocked by none other than Captain Liberty. [color=aba000]"Great..."[/color] He muttered. Chike was lucky that Liberty's infrared systems couldn't tell the difference between his own men and their mystery attacker. He wouldn't have gotten this far otherwise. Ceri appeared from the steam, panting. "Sorry. Had to deal with some of these guys. What's the plan?" Chike glanced around the room before looking at the nearest wall. [color=0054a6]"Freeze that."[/color] Ceri chanted the spell and fired off a stream of ice at the wall. [color=0054a6]"I've got them!"[/color] Captain Liberty announced. The sound of his approach rumbled through the exhibition hall as Ceri finished freezing it as best she could. Chike kicked the weakened structure apart and the two ran outside. People scattered in all directions. The panic was palpable. Chike and Ceri used the chaos to their advantage, running into the crowd to escape their pursuer.

Chike, Ceri and Varnia regrouped in an alley a few blocks from the Expo. The sounds of approaching sirens notified them that they weren't out of the woods yet; the 'soldier' they had kidnapped was sort of a dead give away. [color=aba000]"Alright. Let's split up again; we'll meet at Eric's place in Little Sicily. Stay safe."[/color]