[IC] The Unsung Heroes (Superhero,Always Open)

[Brodie]

Cole pulled up in his 1970 Dodge Challenger. The bar was the same one he got in the file report. He saw that some one called in suspicious activity and Cole needed something to do. He felt bad for missing out on the last job, Cole was on an different assingment across the city. When he herd about Flashbang he tried to get away from his assingment but he just couldn't. The moment Cole returned to based he checked in and got a report on the situation.

When he herd that the assailant was killed he felt bad that he was not able to help, so with out taking a break he picked up another call and headed out. He was in a grey shirt and blue jeans when h entered the bar. The only weapons he had on him were his twin pistols. The call only mentioned that the man in the yellow jacket was the target and he needed to be followed.

Cole came in and ordered a beer, he hated beer but for the purpose of cover he needed to drink one. Cole took his drink and went over to a table near the group of men. Once he got set up he looked around for who called in the tip. Maybe it was some one he knew.

His Car

[Gurren1]

Salty Crab Bar

The three men after drinking a few shots were ready to leave as they didn't want to be late in picking up there share of the crystals to sell. However Tyler was always suspicious,he interrupted the two other men at the table talking about the Golden City Condors,the local hockey team,and asked for one of them to go outside to make sure nobody was waiting on them.

Both of the men looked at each other hoping for the other to volunteer but it soon dawned on them that neither one of were willing to. "Really! Stop acting like children...Both of you check then!" Tyler barked back in a cold tone as his partners got up and causally walked to the door into the humid summer heat. "This is ya' fault Barry." The baldheaded man known was Dan said as the chime of the bell on top of the door made the whole bar now that someone was leaving.

As they both took a step outside a flush of humidity hit them like a wall and Barry was already sweating."Lets get this over with!"he said wiping some sweat off his brow and grabbing a 9mm pistol from his vest while Dan pulled out his puny PUG-D pistol. They turned the corner of the bar into a small alley where a few vehicles were parked including a nice Dodge Challenger and there old beat up truck.

"Its all clear nobody "waiting for us" why is the boss always so suspicious." Dan said getting his cellphone to call Tyler over. "I don't know but look at the car! You think we can take it!" Barry said looking into the interior of the car. "Why risk getting caught when we get these Blood Eyes you can buy 10 of those! Now shut up while I make the call" He said waiting for Tyler to pick up the phone.

Tyler was waiting patently looking around the bar just as the call came in. He quickly picked it up and after a quick conversation on it hung up and started walking out....

Union Beach,11:40 P.M.

The mysterious man who had just stole over 50 Blood Eyes made his way done to the beach it was nearly empty except for the few college kids left from a long gone party. Nobody noticed the man land from the sky with a duffle bag and pull out one shiny blood red crystal crushing it and letting the red dust drift in the current. He smirked just as a few college students were coming closer to investigate and the water in front of him started to bubble. "It works on creatures. Lets see if NAIL can keep up." he said in a low whisper and quickly launched himself into the air and left.

The water kept bubbling as the students watched in horror as a beast made of coral and shells came out of the ocean making its self known with a eardrum-busting roar. The creature then looked around with its makeshift parts and its eyes which were crab like saw its first target the students.

[WeepingLiberty]

@Jinxer@Gurren1

Nova watched the bar out of the corner of her eye, taking note of every movement and who they belonged to. She couldn't help but laugh a little to herself at Alexis' choice in cover, obviously mixing business with pleasure. Flirting aside, Nova turned her head slightly to watch the new comer walk into the bar, order a beer and find a table to sit at. A little too textbook for her, but the guys they were dealing with didn't look to bright. She wasn't quite worried about a blown cover either way. Guzzling a little more of her drink, Nova waited until the goons separated, the submissive pair exiting the bar for what could only have been a recon for their boss at the table.

As if on queue, the man received a phone call which lasted only a few moments before he decided to hang up and leave. Not wanting to miss out on a golden opportunity, Nova let down her hair and hopped down from her stool. Staggering around a bit, Nova intentionally rammed into the side of the target attempting to leave the bar. "Oh my gosh, I am soooo sorry. I didn't hurt you did I?" She asked, using a voice that made her sound like a drunken airhead. Subtly she slipped something from her pocket and attached it to the inside of the man's collar as she pulled him closer to her. The scent of her cider stuck to her breath as she chewed on her bottom, locking eyes with the man. "Ooooh, you're pretty cute. I usually go after guy with accents but I think I can make an exception this once." Nova cringed internally, feeling hypocritical acting like the kinds of girls she hated, but she always did what the mission called for. This was no different. She only hoped that the other agents were on the same page. Slowly, with the hand that was just out of the man's view, Nova signaled to Alexis to be ready to leave. "What do you say? Want to come back to my place? Another internal cringe. She prayed this guy was more interested in his heist than her, otherwise she just landed herself in a crap-ton of trouble.

[Jinxer]

Alexis nodded as Sasha prattled on about her life - it had quickly become apparent that this lady was incessantly boring. A shame, she actually appealed to Alexis to begin with.

The sniper's eyes slid over to the two leaving the bar with no change in her expression. She nodded and smiled, looking like she was just considering something her companion had just said. In truth she was barely paying attention anymore, just repeating the occasional word and taking social cues in the woman's tone to laugh or show sympathy as appropriate.

When Nova made her move, Alexis holstered her weapon and sped up the drinking of her last whiskey without making it obvious she was getting ready to leave. As she stood up Sasha slid a business card over to her with a wink.

"I thought numbers were on the first date." Alexis teased with a sly smile, picking the card up and slipping it into her pocket. "I'll see you around, Sasha."

Sweeping further into the bar she interjected into the conversation once Nova had given her signal, looping one arm of the pretend drunk over her shoulder.

"Come on, you. Time to get you home." She flashed a commiserating smile at the thug. "Sorry, she gets a bit handsy after a few." That done she guided them out to the car, helping Nova into the passenger seat before getting in on her side. The theatre was important, just in case the thugs were paying attention.

"Nice, drunk Nova's cute so we're definitely going for a proper drink sometime. So, do we tail them or let the tracker do it's business?"

[WeepingLiberty]

Nova smiled as she saw Alexis approaching, ditching the woman she'd been talking to in order to help out with the charade. "There you aaaare, I've been looking for you." She leaned on Alexis with a giggle, half waving to the guy before she was "dragged" out of the bar. Settled safely in the passenger seat of Alexis' car, Nova sighed heavily as she pulled out a cell phone. "Real drunk Nova doesn't sound like such a bimbo, but after that display I'm definitely going to need another drink." She glanced out the window toward the bar before typing a few things into her phone. Sending the text to her brother and "arming" her helmet, she pocketed the device and turned her gaze to Alexis.

"The one I tagged isn't stupid, he'll notice the tracker eventually. That being said he'll also know immediately if we started tailing him. I say we wait long enough for them to take off, fill the other agent in on our situation, then start to follow them. If we play this right, we might be able to take these guys out and figure out what the hell is going on in this town. Two cases in one day involving these odd crystals can't be a coincidence."

[Jinxer]

"That sounds promising, I'll hold you to that date, Nova." Alexis grinned, turning the key in the ignition as she watched the thugs ready to leave. "In that case we're better off vacating the area completely before we tail them. They'll get suspicious of our charade if we're seen to be hanging around. I'll go in and find the other agent. Then we'd best go back to my place and change; they'll spot us with the same clothes on easily."

After scribbling down some information on their situation in a notebook and ripping the page out, she exited the vehicle, leaving the engine running to show they were about to leave, and crossed to the bar again with a slightly harassed expression. Going straight to the bar she waved to the bartender and asked if anyone had handed in a set of keys recently. After a quick conversation she went over to the plainclothes she had seen at the earlier crime scene.

"I'm looking for my house keys. If you hear anything could you ring me? Here's my number." She slid the folded scrap of paper to the officer with a telling look before speaking to a few others to mask the interaction, then returning to the car and pulling off.

"I figure we go with the Flashbang set up - you go in straight and I'll be support. Depending on where they're going it might be more short ranged but I'm no less accurate with this than the rifle." She patted her holster. "Although we might need to keep the leader alive. If they're in a group or a gang they might know about the suppliers of these super-'roids. If it comes to that, they might lead us straight in. Before that, fresh clothes and a mug of your caffeine of choice at mine."

[Gurren1]

The thug was almost confused on what just happened. First an extremely attractive women who for a split second made Tyler forget about the Blood Eyes came up to him to talk but was quickly swept away from him by a women who must have had a gallon of whiskey on her from the scent. He didn't mind to much but still mumbled to himself as they left with the women waving to him before leaving.

Tyler after the bizarre scene quickly went back to his serious tone and turned towards the door. As soon as the creaky old door opened to reveal the hot and humid city Tyler made a quick scan of the parking lot (silently wishing to see that girl again) and then made his way towards the alley where his men were waiting debating on taking the Challenger.

He gave the men a cold stare which quickly shut them up and got into the truck. "We are going to get some gas and maybe get Red-Rusher in the action." He said to the crew. "Not Red-Rusher the last time we talked to him all he did was talk about doing my Mother!"Dan said groaning in which Barry joined in "Tell me about it! We went out to eat and made me pay for it all while he said I looked like Steve Buscemi's half retarted brother!"

"Quiet both of you! Red-Rusher is good at intimating people which means we can get more Blood Eyes from the "weaker" guys Orion asked to sell them." Tyler said pulling out of the parking lot and into the streets towards the Gas Station two miles or so from the Salty Crab.

[Master Crim]

(Stuff that is so old it has become irrelevant)

Col. Letterman

“So, Dr. Hunter, after this viewing of your first human trials I have one question.” The doctor slowly turned from the screens to look and the colonel. “What is it that you think should happen next with these bio enhancements?” Dr. Hunter sat quietly a moment thinking about what he saw the enhancements were capable of.
“They need to be kept under military guard when moved,” The colonel nodded as he received a message from Dex on his computer. “as well as stored under extensive lock down.” Col. Letterman was silent as he began typing a response to Over Watch.
“That is a good choice.” Col. Letterman said as he pulled out a paper from his desk and slid it across to the doctor. “This paper says that you are giving me full authority over the retrieval of this substance. As well as the ability to engage anyone and anything they are associated with.” Dr. Hunter looked over the paper slightly surprised that Col. Letterman had thought of this in the first place. The doctor grabbed a pen and signed the page. “You are making the right choice, and if NAIL threatens your funding for this just tell them to talk to Col. Letterman about it.” The doctor nodded as Col. Letterman began typing again.
“Is that it then?” Hunter asked.
“Yes, sir, you can leave.” Colonel Letterman said taking the paper and tucking it back into his desk. “Also you don’t have to tell Collins about this if you don’t want.” Dr. Hunter nodded and took his leave, and Col. Letterman sent his commands to the Over Watch team.

< < < - - - > > >
Over Watch

The team was all in the transport van on their way back to the safe house when Dex received the packet from the Colonel. “Hey, Riggs,” He said reading from his laptop. “got something from the boss.” Riggs, whom was typing up his report for the incident, looked to Dex sitting across from him in the back of the van. “He says we are pulled from pursuit… He wants us to retrieve and secure more of these bio enhancement items.” Dex paused as he continued reading. “We have a lot of green lights, and top priority!” This resulted in attention from the rest of the group as the rolled up to a stop light to make a left.
“Top Priority? This must be some deep shit.” Buster called back from the passenger seat.
“What are the green lights?” Riggs asked with a mix of confusion and caution.
“Shoot to kill, friendly custody, Trespassing, covert/loud… He really needs this done quick.”
“Finally, something good!” Wolf said making the turn heading to their regroup location rather than the safe house. “I am tired of this babysitting bullshit.”
“Alright, where id our first target?” Riggs said concluding his report for the previous mission.
“It doesn’t say.” Dex replied. “It just says to regroup and wait for further orders.”
“Okay, We will regroup, debrief and check back in forty-five.” Riggs said as he began to pull up the details of the this bio enhancing agent coded Blood Eyes that Dex forwarded to the team tablets for study.
“Yes, sir.” The team replied.

< < < - - - > > >

Once Over Watch had reached the regroup location they each wrote up their short conclusion to the previous mission, and began routine gear inspection while Dex and Riggs contacted HQ. It wasn’t long at all before he returned their inquiry about a target when he sent them a video clip from just minutes ago. The video was of a creature at Union Beach wreaking havoc on some locals. The clip was followed by a mission statement saying that their new assignment, detailed earlier was now titled Blood Retrieval, and would be an ongoing case. Their first task was to locate and subdue this target, and try to gather information on what it is.
“Alright, boys, we have our mission.” Riggs said walking from the computer to the gear lockers. The rest of the team finished what they were doing and gathered close to Riggs. “Our target is a butt ugly creature last sighted on Union Beach four mikes ago. We will be going in covert to not draw a crowd but we will not be going stealth. This is a standard ‘shoot first’ mission so let’s get it done.”
“Hoo-raw!” the group called out as they dawned on their NAIL combat windbreakers and tactical vests. Grabbing their appointed gear they loaded up in a pickup truck and rolled out.

They were almost geared up the same weapons and all, but their personal specialties that kept them apart. Riggs was pretty standard with his gear what set him apart was his sonic concussion grenades and magnesium breach charges. Wolf was mostly long ranged with a silenced M40A1 Sniper Rifle and a side arm of two glock 17s. Buster was their heavy fire man, and never left base without his LMG with grenade attachment. His side arm was a WW1 style Trench Gun for when things got close. Dex was the techy of the group, and as such got all the cool toys. He carries a case with a quad copter stealth drone practically invisible when seen from below, two motion activated conductor rods and few proximity mines that have a couple functions. One is used with their active HUD that allows the team see the outline of people near enough to them, and the second released a powerful electric shock onto the ground that can paralyze or kill depending on the setting.

The team arrived at the beach just a little ways north of the creature, but could see it well enough to assess the threat. “This is not going to be easy if that thing gets onto the streets.” Wolf said looking around for a high vantage point, and decided the roof of a seafood shack would have to do. “That is my best point.” He said pointing to the shop as he exited the truck.
Riggs looked and nodded. “Get there, Dex I want you to surveillance incase this thing gets ahead of us I want to know where it is at all times.” Dex nodded and began getting read the drone. “Buster your with me. We are going to confront this thing. Over watch let’s go!” Like a well-oiled machine the team went into the moation with Wolf getting to his perch, and Dex getting the drone in the air as Riggs and Buster came up on the creature.
Fireing two shots form his AR15 Riggs landed the hits on the back of the monster’s right should while Buster began circling left. “Hey!” Riggs shouted at the monster. “Just what do you think you are doing?” Riggs watch the moster a moment before speaking through his comm-link. “Where are you at Wolf?”
“I’m lined up, and ready if he gets to out of hand.” Wolf called back not a second later.
“Bogie is on the radar and I am ready to pursue.” Dex called through.

[Jinxer]

At Alexis' apartment

The BMW pulled to a stop, Alexis neatly driving the vehicle into a tight spot with practiced ease. A doorman approached but stood back from the car upon recognising the driver.

"Miss Chandle, you're back early today. A package arrived for you today. Shall I collect it for you?" The immaculately dressed man asked with a small bow. It was apparent he knew to stay away from the car until Alexis had gotten out; largely a trust issue on her part from years in the SAS. With a curt nod she agreed and the man headed off back into the building to fetch the parcel.

"I'm on the fourth floor, we can take the stairs." She had a mistrust of elevators and avoided them where possible or feasible, hence why she had an apartment only a few floors up so it was easy to take the manual route up. As they passed through the lavishly decorated reception area the doorman reappeared with a package wrapped in plain brown paper before heading back to his earlier post. Alexis tucked it under her arm and then headed for the stairs, taking them two at a time more out of habit than any hurry. "Here we are." She said as they emerged from the stairwell, key at the ready as she arrived at a door only two down from the door they had come from.

The inside was frugally decorated, in terms of personal items that was. An overly large TV was hung from the wall with two three-seater leather sofas facing it an angle with another, curved, sofa directly opposite it while a large class coffee table sat between them. One wall of the main room was a water feature, the liquid trickling down it in a continuous and thin layer with lights hidden in the trough at the bottom creating intricate patterns through the water. A kitchen, with graphite surfaces and natural wooden cupboards, with a breakfast bar was just around the corner in the open plan room with the remaining wall a large window looking out over the park opposite the apartment block.

Two doors leading off the kitchen led into a bathroom with separate shower and bath, the latter equipped with a vortex massage system while the former was relatively functional with stylish cupboards along one wall, a mirror as one of the doors, and a kingsize bed in the centre.

Alexis dropped her keys in a bowl on the kitchen counter, shrugging off her coat and throwing it over the back of one of the sofas with an apparently practiced movement.

"Make yourself at home. I'm going to change into something a little more incognito. There's a coffee maker... thing in the kitchen. I've never used it but I'm told it's top of the line." She disappeared into the bedroom and slipped into jeans and a white blouse, plaiting her hair into a ponytail rather than simply tying it up, and finding a pair of sunglasses. Checking her appearance in the mirror, and satisfied with the change, she rang into command and asked them to pass a message onto the man they had despatched to the bar after her report.

"Tell him to rendezvous with us here. We're better off going in with backup, even if he isn't NAIL." She ordered, the man on the other end protesting for a bit before she quoted a higher up's name and he relented quickly. Returning to the main room she popped the kettle and television on.

"So, what's the target up to?"

[Gurren1]

Union Beach

@Master Crim

The monster was rampaging the beach turning up sand and rocks. In only 19 minutes of its appearance the beach looked like a war-zone and an unlucky patrol car was the first to respond. "What the Hell are we supposed to do with pistols!" The officer said looking at the creature in amazement and then back at his partner who was running from the patrol car. He looked back at the beast and saw a huge clump of harden sand coming straight at the vehicle the officer had no time to react as the sand flipped the car on its back crushing the poor man as a single yelp came from him before the metal coffin tumbled on him.

The monster after taking a minute to process that there was nothing to stand in its way clumsily started to walk towards the street but before it could make two steps something hit its coral shoulder causing fragments of it to turn in dust. The creature turned around unnatural fast and saw two mere bugs in its eyes opposing him. The creature now was angered and launched out with its crude looking right hand made of sharp pointed fingers its other hand which was shaped almost like a bowl scoped up some more sand but wasn't using it yet.

Golden Gas Station

After a silent trip to the gas station and parking in front of the store Tyler grabbed his phone from his pocket and dialed Red Rusher.

"Hey man! What! No I didn't do that. Or that. Wait stop with the rant I got special news! Orion is letting us sell a few of the Blood Crystals...You know what a talked to you about yesterday for like two hours about....Anyways I thought you might want to get on this action and maybe we can scare some of the other dealers with your power into giving us more! Yea,we are at the Golden Gas on Beaver Street... 30 minutes! Fine we will wait. Ok bye."

"Now we are wait." He said as two men in the back of the car signed.

[WeepingLiberty]

Nova waited patiently in the car for Alexis as she walked back into the bar they'd been just moments before. Leaning her head back against the headrest, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment of calm silence before the agent reappeared in the driver's seat. "I just hope these guys aren't wasting my time. For all we know that idiot vigilante was just messing with us. Nevertheless this will be a good opportunity to figure out what the hell is going on in this city." She looked out the window for most of the drive, eyes drifting in and out of focus as building after building rushed by.

Upon arrival, Nova helped herself out of the car and looked up at the building with a whistle. "Not bad at all." She nodded with approval as she kept pace with Alexis on the stairs. Everywhere she looked Nova managed to find something else expensive looking, the apartment building obviously meant for people of decent wealth. Nova almost face-planted walking into Alexis' apartment, doing her best to keep her jaw closed but failing miserably. Finding her words lost, Nova nodded in response to Alexis' offer to make herself at home. "This place is so nice... Caden will never believe me." She breathed as she floated her way to the kitchen area, starting up the coffee maker and pouring herself a cup of a blonde blend she couldn't pronounce if she tried. Mug in hand and a smile on her face, Nova leaned up against the back of the couch phone in hand. She pulled up the tracker's feed, glad to see that it hadn't been discovered yet. "Go me." Nova congratulated herself before Alexis walked in, turning her phone so the agent could see too. "Gas station... Been sitting there for a few minutes already." She hummed to herself typing furiously into the phone, bringing up a live feed of the security cameras in the area. "They're just sitting there... Think they're waiting for someone?" She asked, deciding to record the bit that they were sitting there for just in case.

@Jinxer

[Master Crim]

Over Watch

After getting the monster’s attention it turned with a speed not natural for something of its size. Riggs was now the target of this colossal sea creature’s attack as the creature threw out and extended its arm at him making its fingers like spikes as it used its other had to scoop sand. Riggs jumped and rolled to get out of the way of the creature’s attack and barked out some orders. “Buster light up target right arm!” Buster responded without pause, fires several rounds into the extended arm in a tight grouping. Riggs began to stand again and focused his fire on the creature’s left shoulder attempting to prevent it from catapulting the sand it had just scooped up. “Wolf, if he makes a move towards the city see if you can take out its legs.”
“Copy.”

[Jinxer]

@WeepingLiberty

"Probably. They're just low level thugs so they'll be needing some direction, I guess." Alexis agreed, flicking through a couple of TV channels. "Something about this thing with Flashbang earlier is eating at me, to be honest. Whatever made him go Hulk-smash can't be a one off and he is - was - hardly a criminal mastermind; there must be someone else out there sourcing this stuff." She unconsciously corrected herself, highlighting her kill. Over the years she had developed the habit of being particular about those who had certainly died and those who hadn't; it was probably her subconscious trying to remind her of the many lives she had taken over the years.

"You know, this thing is basically a drug. So it's likely that it'll be on the black market, like other illegal substances. Right?" She was chewing her lip as she collapsed onto a sofa with a sigh, flicking through so more channels; so far it was all middle-of-the-day soaps and business adverts. "So gangs like these are going to be our best way to find out who is dealing it out. I guess we'll have to make sure at least the leader's still alive for interrogation afterwards." She had both her hands wrapped around her mug as she took a sip from it, a huge thing that looked big enough to hold a pint of the beverage, enjoying the warmth it provided. Returning to flicking through the channels she stopped, switching back to local news footage.

At first she had thought it was some shoddy horror film but it was one of those 24 hour news channels and right now they were filming, apparently live, some kind of monster and a team combating it.

"Erm, Nova. I think we might need to drop the thugs for a bit - that thing probably poses a few more problems."

[WeepingLiberty]

Nova nodded with a look of mild concern. "That sure as hell wasn't a normal high, that much is obvious. However, it's still unclear whether Flashbang was told about the crystals or if he simply knew about them because he was employed there. It's very possible that he heard about them from work and decided to do a little research on the dark web. After finding out what they were rumored to do, he used all that information as a way to get revenge on the bank for firing him in the first place. That's my analysis of the situation anyway..." Sipping her coffee thoughtfully, she listened to the tv making noise in the background as Alexis flipped from channel to channel. "Have you ever heard of the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon? It's the name given to the sensation that once you've learned about something you start seeing it everywhere. I get the feeling that's what Flashbang is to us, the spark for our brains to start noticing an object or activity that's most likely been going on around us for a while already."

Nova's mind had begun to drift to battle plans, working through possible scenarios for when she and Alexis decided to move in after the thugs. It was in those moments that Alexis drew her attention to the television where some crazy battle was taking place... The kind a hero would normally take care of. "And so it begins." She breathed with irritation. "Like you said before, these guys might be the key to finding out where these crystals are coming from. I doubt I'd be much help in that kind of situation but they might need someone with your skills. I'll give my brother a call and continue tailing the thugs, you can meet up with me and the guy from the bar when you finish mopping up that horrendous mess." Nova chuckled as she waved her phone for emphasis. "Besides, there's a few things I want to look into off the books, not something easily done when surrounded by agents at an active crime scene. Know what I mean?" She shrugged with an apologetic grin before draining the mug of the rest of her coffee. "Coffee was delicious by the way, thank you very much."

@Jinxer

[Jinxer]

@WeepingLiberty@Master Crim

"True." Alexis inclined her head in agreement as she thought. "I still find it odd that we haven't had much intel on this substance at all though. Even if it was just rumoured it'd be the kind of thing they'd warn us to report if we got even a whiff of its involvement." Slowly it began to dawn on her and she rubbed her eyes with her right index finger and thumb, one of her tells showing that she was either stressed or berating herself for not realising something earlier. "Or... it could be that NAIL knows about this substance and were running tests on it all along. They didn't want their agents to know in case it got out that we were holding such a dangerous drug. Classic cover-up."

She agreed with Nova that perhaps they were over-thinking it; two occurrences in one day didn't make an issue rife and now they were just trying to look for connections because of what may merely be a coincidence. "I didn't expect you to come out with something like that. You clearly paid more attention in psychology than I did." She said with a wink before considering it properly. "You could be right. Still, it's hard not to look for connections in this kind of job. I find coincidences are pretty rare although there doesn't seem to be any link between an outraged, lone villain getting revenge on the employer who fired him and a group of thugs possibly trafficking the substance, I admit."
Alexis stood up and crossed to a cupboard set into the wall to the right of the TV and reached for a key in her pocket. The cupboard had three locks on it, although they were all fairly inconspicuously set into its woodwork. Once the locks were all open she pulled both doors open to reveal dozens of firearms carefully set out inside the cupboard on hooks with enough ammunition to keep a small army going in boxes at the base. "As part of my signing on package NAIL gave me a fair bit of cash, as you can see, and also my choice of any weaponry I wanted. They wanted to... how did they put it again? Oh, 'encourage my versatility.'" She grinned, selecting an assault rifle, scoped of course, as well as two of her SIG-Sauer handguns as well as some spare ammo for her rifle still in the boot of the BMW.

She headed for the door, the weapons now snugly concealed either under her coat, in the case of the Sig-Sauers, and the assault rifle and ammo in another, rather chunky, briefcase. "Fair enough. Keep me up to date about the thugs, I have this feeling they're not just your average gang which means it'd be dangerous to go in without backup. You're welcome. Let yourself out when you're ready, the door will lock by itself. Oh, I got your bike brought here seeing as we left it at the bar, save you some time." With a casual mock-salute she slipped out the door. "Catch you later, Nova."

The BMW was ready and waiting for her in front of the apartment block, the on road parking quite a blessing for someone in her line of work. She put the briefcase in the footwell of the passenger side before pulling out into the traffic and speeding down the quiet roads with practiced ease. After getting a more precise location from HQ, she headed straight for the battle site but stopped a few blocks away so that she could prepare. With a brief moment of consideration she took the assault rifle from its case, leaving her favoured weapon in the boot; she doubted it would be as much help here against this monster.

Everyone had left the area, sensibly, which made the jog to the battle site proper easier. A team were already fighting the monster but it seemed like damage control rather than elimination at the moment, the monster still advancing slowly towards the rest of the city. She took up a position a little behind what was obviously a special ops team and opened fire in short bursts at the monster. She aimed at different parts of its body to see what the effects were before focusing on its left leg.

"Do you guys have a plan yet?" She yelled over the sound of the gunfire to the nearest team member, eyeing the monster's two arms warily. She disliked fighting non-humans or villains; they were always so unpredictable.

[Gurren1]

Union Beach

The creature started cracking ears its shoulder as the high-powered rounds crashed into its rocky surface but still it managed to throw the sand at the men. It roared as it focused its next target which was the men getting very close to the thing. The creature was ready for the attack however if the men were to get behind it there would be some serious problems.

[Master Crim]

Overwatch

Buster was far enough to be able to read where the monster was going to be throwing the chunk of sand, and easily strafed out of the way. Moving in on the creature Buster made his way between it and the city continuing to burst fire.
"Riggs, behind you!" Wolf called out from his position on the roof. just then Riggs dropped to one knee while spinning around and taking aim at the woman as her shots the creature. After seeing the woman was a NAIL agent, and she shouted her question, Riggs returned his attention to the creature while answering.
"We have orders to subdue if possible, but kill it if it gets close to the city." Riggs examined as the creature was not too fond of Buster getting behind it as he was cutting it off. "Who sent you? I don't remember hearing of any support." Riggs was mainly worried that the woman would get in the way making this mission even more difficult then it needs to be. "Buster," Riggs called out making his way opposite his partner. "Keep his focus. I am going to get behind him, he doesn't seem to keen on you being there." Still a little ways from the creature Riggs positioned himself accordingly and began firing on the creature's back.
"75 meters from the storm break." Dex called out an update of the fight's position in relation to the concrete wall the separated the beach from the parking lots and city beyond that.

@Gurren1
@Jinxer

[WeepingLiberty]

Nova nodded silently, NAIL was the type of organization to conduct a cover-up on such a grand scale. What didn't make sense was why they were continuing to keep important information from the agents on the cases involving the substance. Sometimes their red tape drove Nova up a wall, luckily she knew someone who either had some answers or a way to find them. "I'm a lot smarter than people give me credit for. I have a much higher IQ than your average lackey." She retorted with an innocent smirk. Remaining at her spot on the couch, Nova watched with slight amusement as Alexis retrieved her weapons from the cabinet like one of those movie spies at a safe house. If she thought about it, all the agents exhibited at least one stereotype or another... After all, they weren't called stereotypes for no reason.

"No, they don't do they? I guess that means I'll have to be extra careful... Don't worry, I'll keep you updated on their movements, so go take care of our infestation." She responded, mimicking Alexis' mock-salute before nodding her acknowledgement of the arrival of her bike. As soon as the door had clicked shut, Nova pulled out her phone and dialed her brother's number, the man answering with more or less annoyed hello. "You could try to sound a little happier to hear from me."

"I think I've had about as much of your shenanigans as I can take for one day." He smirked as he walked down the streets of the city, phone to ear and backpack slung over his shoulder.

"That sounds like a personal problem, and I suggest you get used to it... Something tells me we're going to be seeing a lot more of each other quite soon. I need you to listen to me very closely, I'm about to ask you to do something that I know you won't like but it's important." She waited a moment, taking Caden's sigh as a sign to continue. "I need you to look into this Blood Eye Crystal, or whatever it is, for me."

~~~

Caden almost tripped upon hearing his sister's request, looking around him reflexively before stepping off into a side alley for some privacy. "Do you even know what it is that you're asking me to do? That information is locked down under the highest priority there is."

"Yeah, I get that but this could mean the difference between the life and death of this city... And not to be dramatic but possibly the world." Caden pressed his back up against the wall, pinching the bridge of his nose in thought.

"Fine, let's say I can get this info for you... Why do you even want it, the Flashbang case has been handled."

"That's just the thing, it occurred to me during a conversation with Alexis that something like this doesn't just happen all of a sudden. Just think about it, Flashbang was just some angry clerk taking revenge for being fired so how did he know what those crystals were capable of upon ingestion?" Caden fell silent in thought, grimacing as he could feel Nova's triumphant smirk.

"Fine, you've got a point but you owe me one for this. I'll do some digging into the topic if for nothing else but to keep you from moving in too soon. Be careful tailing these guys, if Flashbang was an amateur I'd hate to see what the professionals look like."

[color7bcdc8]"Thanks, I really do owe you one. And don't worry, I can handle myself. Be sure to forward your findings to Agent Alexis Chandle as well, she'll be interested to see what you come up with. Good luck!"[/color] She chimed before hanging up, Caden grumbling as he made his way to a local library to conduct his research.

~~~

Rinsing the coffee cup in the sink, Nova jogged out the door and down the stairs to where her beloved motorcycle was waiting for her. "Thank you Alexis." She mumbled as she uploaded the live feed to her helmet and revved the engine. Waving goodbye to the polite doorman, Nova took off down the street at high speeds, simply enjoying the thrill of the ride. She wanted to get closer to the thugs position, but she made sure to stay far enough away that they would never know she was in the area. All that was left was their friend to show up, then the party could really start. While she waited, she decided to send out an ambiguous signal for the vigilante that had tipped her and Alexis off to the thugs. She had a lot of faith in Caden's abilities to find information when he wanted to, but he was never really the rule breaker. Eventually his work conscious would get the better of him and he'd back down, leaving her without the information she needed... Better to have all her bases covered than to go in blind. "Come on Robin Hood, where are you when I actually want to see you?"

@Gurren1@Jinxer@Inertia

[Jinxer]

Alexis rolled her eyes at the tone the operatives used. They were that kind: if you weren't one then you were useless.

"Let's see how they keep up with the SAS, then." She muttered under her breath, forgetting for a moment she had long since left that life behind. She loaded her weapon, swaying to and fro as she easily dodged any attacks that came near her before breaking cover to avoid the sand barrage, sliding over the top of a car bonnet to crouch in dubious safety behind it.

It doesn't seem to have a weak spot, they'd have found it by now.

She peered over the top of the bonnet, observing the team firing at the creature. It was clear they were still trying to find some kind of vulnerable area but so far it seemed completely unconcerned by their resistance and merely marched onwards towards the city. Subduing it was looking less and less likely as a possibility, let alone killing the thing. One of the team was trying to circle behind the creature but she could see that it would leave them vulnerable, isolated from the others. She too began to flank it but stopped halfway so that they could catch it in a perfect cross fire.

"Doesn't look like it has any weak spots. Have you got anything bigger?" She asked, looking for anything in the area they could use. There were no cars at its feet to light up and create a smokescreen, or even damage it with the explosion of a fuel tank. Alexis rarely used any non-precision weaponry and so had no grenades or anything more substantial than her assault rifle, although that was usually more than sufficient.

The creature was getting too close to the city for comfort now and showed no sign of slowing down or even being affected by their attacks at all.

"Focus on its legs - if we concentrate our fire it might actually do something!"

[Gurren1]

Union Beach

The creature steam-trained across the beach towards the city. The gun fire was more or less like a sting of a sweat bee so the creature was at no concern that is until a lucky bullet hit its coral cracked leg stuttering the creature making it put its hand down to the ground trying to regain its balance. It roared as it tried crawling across the beach once it knew its right leg was hurt. This was the time to strike.