Finch @Flamelord and Alkahest @Old Amsterdam"Sounds go-ah!" Finch's response ended in surprise as the ground dropped away, but he landed fairly well regardless. With a nod to the man he made his way up the ramp and began following the cloud of smoke as requested. Things didn't seem like they would be slowing down here any time soon and he was a bit out of his league, so best to not stick around. At least then his new ally could act freely.
The sounds from behind him indicated that he had made a good decision, as the police arrived and then there was the sound of....something. It wasn't like anything that he had heard before, and for the moment he did not regret leaving that place behind to go on his way.
For now he hurried along, keeping his eyes peeled as he watched for the guy with the lightning like he had been told. Hopefully there wouldn't be any problems between here and there.
Within moments the smoke he was following became impossible to follow, given that everything was covered in it now.
A flash of light couple barely be seen from up ahead. Moments later another flash appeared in front of Finch, still dull in the smoke, and two figured appeared.
Upon walking closer, Finch would notice the exact same suit as the last, with what appears to be lightning on their face. The white and blue apparently on something rather dark, given the lack of a view.
"Try not to blink," the man said as the other faded away, laying a hand on Finch's shoulder.
In a flash they were on the outskirts of the city.
"Wait here. I have to go back for the others," can't the curt request.
Well shit. Finch was no mind reader but the fact that smoke was everywhere now was probably not a good sign for him. He suspected his ally was still alive though, since it most likely would have vanished otherwise. But this was definitely not in the plan.
"Wonderful," he grumbled to himself, just before he saw a flash of light ahead. For a moment he thought it was just his imagination until it happened again, leaving him to assume that this was who he was looking for. Not quite as impressive as it had been made out to be, but oh well.
Drawing closer, it turned out to be two people this time, one of whom had lightning drawn on his mask or something. It was a bit hard to tell with all the dust and smoke. "Got it," he agreed, and proceeded to try and do just that as they suddenly appeared outside the city. Okay, definitely a teleporter then.
He took a few steps away and nodded. "I'll be here." He certainly wasn't going to go back into the city now.
Moments later the man returned with the man from before, and a woman in a schoolgirl outfit and a white mask with what appeared to be covered in old blood and a jagged smile and slits for eyes.
"That was bullshit. Why didn't we know she was so close to a Trigger?" The lightning man asked immediately. "That could've turned out much worse if it hadn't been you two."
The woman shook her head, looking at Finch. "Introduction. Like sun rays falling between the leaves, transparency and beauty entwined."
The telekenetic chuckled. "Don't mind her. She'll grow on you. I'm Scatterer, she's Smog, and he's Rend. You'll meet the rest when the initial missions are over."
"It's all simple, really. I'm sure you're wondering what we're up to," Rend spoke up lazily. "We're going to Ascend, and take over the place of the High bastards. Our leader holds many secrets, and he's working on creating Triggers for all of us. That'll include you, assuming you work out."
"Like the wind before the storm, leaves upturning and grass fluttering," Smog murmured. "We are the wind and the storm."
"Welcome to the Alkahest, Finch. Why don't you tell us anything you think we don't know about you already," Scatterer asked.
Finch did not have long to wait, and soon found himself joined with the man he had met before, as well as some others. They all seemed to share the same design aesthetics, which indicated that this was a bit more of a formal organization than just a social club or something. Not that he had a problem with that in the slightest.
"I see," he replied with a nod and a glance to Smog, who definitely erred on the poetic side. It was odd but not horribly so. In the meanwhile he wondered what a 'Trigger' was, since he assumed they meant Miss Edgy at the scene earlier. He'd never heard of it before, though a reason quickly occurred to him as to why that might be once the High were mentioned. Whatever it was, they had probably suppressed the knowledge of it. Same thing with this 'Ascend' really.
In all likelihood he would find out soon enough, and for now he needed to focus on the present. "Nice to meet all of you then," he replied with a nod and a casual stance as he took it all in. Seemed he was about to find some long term employment at last.
Rubbing his chin, he thought for a moment before answering. "Well, I have glass powers, I've got my own set of contacts to draw on in the city, opera is my guilty pleasure, and I have this bad tendency to wind up in situations where Epics try to punch me in the face a lot. I think that about covers everything."
Scatterer nodded thoughtfully. "You wouldn't happen to have an objection to the dress code, would you? That'd be terrible. We'll set you up with a mask soon enough, so long as you impress everyone."
Rend let out a barking laugh. "Being thoughtful and shit. Fucking Christ. Can't say much, though, considering mine was family and a tactical pick."
"Different views from the same glass, reflecting the same image in different light. We are all one, one is all, everything is nothing."
Scatterer ignored the others, continuing. "So any questions?"
A shrug came on his part as Finch shook his head. "I'm fine with it. I could use some new clothes anyway." His old ones had gotten a bit torn up from the successive fights with Epics, and perhaps a bit of a change from the cliched look would help him stand out a bit more. As they knew already, he did want to get some attention and recognition for himself.
That seemed to be the main take of things, and he had a few considerations ready when they asked if he had anything he wanted to know. "Well I would ask what this whole 'trigger' business is, but you guys were probably going to get to that anyway. Other than that, how active are things usually in this organization?" That seemed fairly relevant to know, and it was something that might not be immediately apparent either. It couldn't hurt to ask.
"Boss will discuss Triggers. It's not our information to give," Rend spoke up, sounding as if he were quoting a book.
"As for activity... We stay fairly active," Scatterer finished.
Finch let it go, honestly not all that surprised by both answers. It was what he had been expecting, and was more for the impression that he was willing to ask about things than just blindly following along. They weren't complaining, so he had to assume that it was working out.
"I see. Is it mostly in the area, or does your organization have a bit further reach than that?" It was the last question he had to ask, and once they had provided an answer to it he was ready to move on. "I think that's everything I've got." He was sure that he would find out the rest sooner or later.
"From many corners, bent at the corners to join the center mass. Each unit folding to create something greater, better, more beautiful," Smog answered.
"What she means is that we've been all over. We come from all over," Scatterer explained. "But we are here to stay."
"Like the wind," Smog nodded. "A hundred steps, a dozen strides, all lead to the same outcome."
"Alright then." Finch was still working on parsing the poems and such, but he got the general gist of it when Scatterer provided a translation. Though he was nonetheless grateful for the helping hand there even if he did not say it aloud.
With that said he looked around at the group one last time. "I think that's everything. Where to next?" He was ready to get this show on the road once more, wherever that might end up at.
"To the Metal Fortress," Smog said simply.
Rend held laid a hand on Finch's shoulder again, the other two grabbing Rend's.
Moments later they were in an unknown location, which seemed to be base entire of metal and looked like the entrance to an ancient styled castle.
"Welcome to home..." Scatterer muttered. "Explore for a bit. We'll collect you when the meeting happens. Maybe think about your mask, though one may be chosen for you. Find an empty room to take as yours, all that fun stuff."
Izurich
Genkai
twave
Knight 7