Is this your power, Yagami?
R.D.B. Snake And Queen en route
There was still some time before they would arrive, at least, according to Lucretia. To Francesca, it felt as if they were going to arrive in no time at all. This was all so...unexpected, really. It had barely been seventy two hours since she had found the Queen of Vale in her own home, her child in her arms. Homicidal urges spiking immediately aside, when she heard that Lucretia had a well paying job for her to do, she could not refuse. Oscar was in a coma, and Ieria was a growing girl, they were poor and she was too proud to ask her father for help.
So this was the best possible thing for her to do. She looked over the dossiers handed to her one more time, balancing Ieria in the crook of her arm as she did so, the black scaled snake faunus infant feeding quietly from her bosom as she read. "...So Ada Koller and Jenazad Scharfzahn are the ones I am to kill if they desert the unit?" She asks, flicking her eyes up to Lucretia.
Meeting room
For once, Francesca was grateful that Ieria was such a quiet child, as she didn't want her to attract attention at the moment. Her eyes scanned the other members of the newly formed task force, surprised and ecstatic that Lupa was there as well, it felt like forever since she had seen her old friend, and the fact that she was here made this easier for her.
Francesca elected to keep quiet, gently rocking Ieria in her arms, the sleeping baby resting against her.
"I am nature's weapon. You are unfit to carry on your species, and I shall ensure that you do not do so!" - Charles Darwin, XCOM Sniper
Rise Above Fate
Desert base
Since his funds were relatively low, and he figured that his wife and kids would need the family car more than he would, Mike ended up hitchhiking most of the way to the supersecret desert base. Once he figured he was close enough, Mike bid his ride farewell and began walking towards his destination.
The trip to the base had been fairly quiet for the most part, none of Mike's alternate personalities took over at any point (most likely as they didn't see a need to) and very few people had really bothered talking with Mike during the fairly long journey. The hike to the base on the other hand, was a little more unpleasant. With the sun beating down on him and his flannel vest and t-shirt combo only making the heat of the desert worse, Mike was beginning to wish he'd asked his last ride to drive him to the base.
A while later, having spent a good amount of time spent walking, Mike eventually got to the entrance of the base. Once he'd knocked on the door, been let in and led to the meeting room, Mike flopped down in a couch to himself, giving Francesca a friendly wave as he did so.
Reaching the Destination
The huntress slowly made her way through the desert, exhausted. "Ugh... Water... Need... Fucking... Water..." Finally she saw something on the horizon.. "The base... Oh thank goodness."
Meeting Room
"Whew. I thought I'd never make it. I'm glad I had such light clothes on..." She said commenting to herself on her rather... Skimpy wear. Reaching into her pack she slipped her slim fit duster out and slipped it on. "Much better."
Combat mode, engage
Arrival
Prospa stepped off the helicopter, a hand raised to ward off the wind though from the way she moved one would assume she suffered from only a minor breeze, instead of the massive down draft caused by the blades. She wore a empty holster on her back, her wands for the time being hidden among her coat. No reason to assume there will be a fight, not yet anyway.
Meeting room. The mage moved through the room in a controlled and poised manner, taking not of the positions of each of the others gathered before sitting down equidistant from all of them with her back against the wall. I recognize both Francesca and Lupa from Beacon...I wonder who these others are.
-dramatic music ensues-
Sumanai Man
En Route
Lucretia Vale felt more alive than she had for the past year and a half. The work was strangely comforting to her, the feeling of doing something for once after a long time of simply brooding. Her daughter was gone...but that didn't mean that she hand an excuse to ignore her responsibilities to the kingdom. Especially in dangerous times like this.
Besides, she felt it was good to remind the Council who was in charge of this country. Sometimes, those old bastards needed a good middle finger to the face.
"That's right, those two are the priority targets. Dangerous, unstable, and with no loyalty to the kingdom." The Queen replied to Francesca.
Francesca Jade. A hardened killer, but remarkably loyal to her employers. Lucretia needed someone like that. And, she had to admit, she felt empathy for the woman with the newborn daughter who needed her mother.
Lucretia pulled out her mask. It was a simple, featureless white thing, designed to obscure her face and distort her voice. She would join this task force not as Lucretia Vale, for the Queen could not be affiliated with something like this.
This idea was ambiguous, questionably legal, and potentially dangerous. Anything so blatantly connected to the Royal Family had no place here. It would cause untold chaos. Which was why Percival had been banned from joining. He was a Royal Knight, and the public could not see him in this company.
Admittedly, Lucretia still had doubts about this idea, and her personal morality rankled against some of the recruits, if not most of them. But...desperate times called for desperate measures.
Mask on, Lucretia turned to look at her companion again. "But your targets are not limited to those two. If anyone defects, or shows sign of treason, you must do what needs to be done. Anyone at all. And if I snap, if I cannot handle it..."
"...You must eliminate me as well."
She had thought long and hard about this decision. She was the last of the royal family, but if she ever became unfit to rule...if she became another King Galatine....
Meeting Room
The masked woman entered the room, kicking off her shoes and going barefoot. She then sat casually on a couch, crossing her legs and gazing at the others who had already arrived from behind her mask.
"Good day." Her voice had a distinctly mechanical distortion, one that should render her unrecognizable.
"I am one of the organizers of this team. Alisa Delfin, codename Silver Hawk. A pleasure to meet you."
Nothing is what it seems. Master of Shipping and Sadism.
Omega Overlord. Or superjwren329. Either or.
Destination Set.
Drifting from place to place and wandering the world. That wasn't anything new, having no real place or idea where to go and just letting the aimless desire to travel guide this solitary warrior. Although...it looked like there was an exception for once.
Adjusting the hood on his jacket, keeping most of his head concealed and blocking some of the sun's glare with eyes glancing at the 'road' ahead. Seemed like Archie wasn't far off.
Taking a swig from his flask and trudging up to the front gates, the 'human' flashed some sort of identification as most of those guards got the hint. ...It was slightly irritating, being observed closely and escorted to the meeting room.
...so far, so good.
Seemed like he wasn't the first one here. ...Some of those faces looked slightly familiar, some of them didn't. Maybe they'd recognize him, maybe they wouldn't. Giving a small wave, Archie quietly walked over to an un-occupied corner of the room, keeping a cautious eye on the group.
...And now I wait, I suppose.
Hope you weren't expecting anything witty here. Maybe some day.
Classic
Mother En Route
Lilac Vaylor Aurion was being flown into the base via helicopter. When she got the invitation to join this little team, she was surprised and honored to be chosen, but was also unhappy that she couldn't even tell her own husband Squall about this. Clad in a sky blue suit, the strawberry-blond-haired woman with blue eyes was looking at the letter that was her invitation as the helicopter made it's decent into the base.
She got off the chopper once it landed, and was directed towards the the meeting room.
Meet the Lilac
Lilac sat herself down in a nice chair, and looked around at all the others present, hoping that some people that she knew were among those chosen for this group.
She then saw the masked woman speak to her.
"Oh, a pleasure to meet you, Alisa. My name is Lilac. Lilac Aurion.", she said pleasantly.
edited 29th Apr '15 7:27:31 PM by TheHailStormer
"Never let anyone tell you that something is impossible." - Monty Oum, 1981-2015
Lizard Metabolism
The Laughing One En-Route
The roar of the motorbike echoed through the desert.
It was no mere motorbike either. Its previous owner was very proud of it, having made into a true landshark of a harley. Normally motorcycles like these stay only on asphalt routes and don't venture off-road. This one could.
Ada almost fell a twinge of guilt at stealing the bike in question, but what else could she do? It's not like the taskforce provided her with any sort of transport other than one of her own initiative. Gotta improvise sometimes.
On the way to the base some Beowulf jumped her. Must have been a stray one from the pack. Dragging it through the hot sand of the desert was surprisingly entertaining. By the time she reached the base only an arm was left of the Grimm.
She surveyed the base for a moment, briefly considering lightning a cig. Deciding against it she made her way inside.
Meeting
A really tall red-haired woman in sunglasses nodded lazily to Delfin's words, surveying the organizer curiously. Otherwise she payed little attention to any sort of introduction she could have for them. Rather, Ada focused on individuals that were also a part of this oddball team.
And, judging by the people gathered here, they were a rather strange if not downright dysfunctional bunch. Otherwise she kept quiet, waiting for the formalities to cease, twirling an unlighted cig between her fingers.
How do lizards fly?
Bark Bark Man
Arrival
A small plume of dust tore its way through the endless muted expanse of the Valoran Deserts. At its head was a lone man on a bright yellow sportsbike. Golden streams streaked out from his body at seemingly random intervals. He didn't appear to pause, or falter in his riding. It wasn't immediately apparent how long he had been going for, but his end goal was soon approaching.
The secret base was in front of him now. Setting his bike near the side, along with a helicopter and some other vehicles, he locked it with his touch and left it there. He removed the helmet from his head and set it right on top of the bike. His yellow irises barely peered out of his tired looking eyes, but this appearance seemed to be customary as opposed to unusual for him. Despite all the sand, his clothes weren't dirty in the slightest.
He strode up to the heavily armored doorway, reached into his back pocket, and pulled out his identification. Leonado Ocre de Gualdo. Operative Saffron Ocelot had arrived.
Meeting Room
Leo didn't really respond To his organizer's introduction. He simply nodded and leaned back in his rather comfortable seat.
What he did instead was take out a cigarette from a very expensive looking package. From his pocket, he took out an opulent lighter. Then, for the first time since his arrival, he responded to someone else's presence: "Need a light?" he asked, offering Ada the use of his lighter before he used it.
edited 29th Apr '15 7:58:18 PM by amporiusrex
"Gimme your pants.. and now your other pants"
The tendons stood out taut on Alex's neck. The few feathers he had all stood on end. His van was still rocking even though it had died almost a minute ago. Late to his new job, and here he was clambering around the back of his van, stalled on the side of the road, trying to find some spare parts. His Aura floated around the van as well, detached from his body with his Semblance, but even with two pairs of hands searching through his mess of a bedroom and van and living room and armory was not easy. Didn't help that every second he spent here was a second he wasn't going to be there. A few more minutes passed, the van rocking back and forth violently as Alex tore the back apart looking for his parts.
The van's back doors eventually exploded, spilling clothing, magazines, posters, and pistol clips out as Alex leaped out, tucking into a combat roll. He came up on one knee, holding up a spark plug. Like the holy grail out in this heat. He jogged out to the front of his van, popped the plug in, and finally got this thing moving.
Alexander Ashley entered the meeting room in a rumpled-up, bright green polo, a pair of jeans, and some black hi-tops. Jonatan and Dennis, his twin pistols, rested in holsters on either side of his bulky orange backpack; cactus, the glorious chainsaw tying everything together, sat inside. He wished he had something a little nicer, but he didn't, and if wishes were bullets his weapons would be significantly easier to operate. He at least made the effort—most of the soot and ash had been cleaned off of his face, though now he just looked like he had ashy skin all over instead of in a few parts. He smiled and took a seat. He started getting comfortable again, heart decelerating dramatically as he looked around the room; by the time he was done, he was almost completely horizontal on a chair clearly not designed for that.
Big scary woman with a baby. Major threat. Alex flicked his eyes away quickly from that one. Too many things to look at there, not enough time. He caught the ring on her finger, though, and that was enough.
Big guy slouched on a couch. Very stylish. Likable, clearly muscle like him. Brutish, but it'd be hypocritical to call him on that.
Wolf Faunus, trencher. Or duster. Whatever. Cute, but to be avoided until all his bullshit with the White Fang got sorted out. What little priorities he had included that. Familiar, though. He probably saw her at Beacon once or twice.
This one chick looked familiar. Maybe he'd seen her on a magazine cover or something, one of Dad's business ones.
The chick in the mask. Cool. He should have brought that cool biker helmet he had. Could offer a poor-man's counterpoint to her regal nature. Whatever. She had good taste, and she was human so hanging out with her wasn't a statement.
This fucking guy in the hoodie, the hell was he doing? Fresh-faced, right outta Beacon. Weird. Really sketchy. Watch him, probably a badass.
Lilac Aurion, huh? One of the only ones he'd heard speak. Nice enough girl. Cute blondie. Ring, though. Again. Damn.
Redhead with an unlit cig. What are you doing? You got the cigarette out, why aren't you lighting it? How pretentious, next!
This last guy, though, he had class. Not only was he lighting his cigarette, he was also offering her a light.
Alex slid down even further in his seat. Good lord, what had he gotten into?
Remote Desert Base, off the edge of Vale (AKA I'm the third person to pull the motorbike stunt)
Not far away from the base, yet another person was coming in on a motorbike. Unlike the others, though, this particular one wasn't in motorbike form.
"Woohoo!" Feros yelled as he rode Rodblomst towards the camp. Sure, the message had mentioned that he needed to be stealthy (and he had been stealthy most of the way there), but he was in the middle of the desert right now. One little jump over the gate couldn't hurt, right?
And three... Two... Now!
Quickly, he leaned back on the bike as he pulled back on the handlebars, triggering the command for Rodblomst to jump. And with a twist of the left handle, the miniature mecha shifted to the less-conspicuous motorbike mode. And not only did he made it over the check-in area, but he landed almost perfectly — a little too much force on the landing for his liking but otherwise successful.
"Yes! New record!" he yelled as he turned off the engine and got off the motorbike, pumping his fists into the air. “Now to enter the meeting room—”
He didn't even have the chance to finish before he noticed the guards coming over.
“Oh, shit.”
Meeting
Feros ended up coming in escorted by a bunch of guards. He didn't even bother taking off the helmet, but one didn't need to see his face to know that the young man was not pleased about the situation.
“This was not what I planned at all,” Feros muttered to himself.
"What was your plan, then?" Alex asked, sitting up a little in his seat. He looked over at the new guy, taking his idea. "That—that's a nice helmet, dude. I was thinking of doing the same, you know?"
Meeting Room
"Hmm?" Lupa turned to the one getting escorted by the guards. "Caused a little bit of trouble did we?" She said in an amused tone, like she was talking to a child who had just made a mistake and was realizing the reprecussions of their actions.
edited 29th Apr '15 8:53:53 PM by SolusLupus
Combat mode, engage
Meeting room
Prospa ignored the new arrivals and kept her focus on the masked woman. "I'm certain it is, Alisa. Do tell, would you like to skip directly to threatening us if we do not cooperate? Or would you prefer to go over what we're going to be doing here for those to dim to figure it out?" She pulled out a file and began maintaining her nails. "I only ask because your goons picked me up directly after a mission and I'd like to clean my tools sooner rather than later."
-dramatic music ensues-
Is this your power, Yagami?
En Route
Francesca's eyes narrowed as she watched Lucretia. "That is not going to happen." She growled. "I will not kill you, because I will make damn sure you do not snap, or anyone else for that matter." At this point, Ieria began to cry, sensing her mother's anger. Francesca's harsh features evaporated as she went into mother mode, rocking the baby gently.
Meeting Room
Introductions were apparently a thing that needed to happen, made sense after all. "Francesca Jade." She said aloud. "Green Dragon. Or White Snake, whichever is your fancy." She said with a shrug. "The little one is Ieria, my pride and joy." And all I have right now. She thought to herself after speaking.
Her eyes scanned the room, one of the "troublemakers" was here, Ada. So that was her, huh? Cute, pretty nice figure, shame that she'd have to kill her if something went south between them, though she seemed...well, perhaps repentant wasn't the correct term. But this wasn't the woman in the dossier, that was for sure. She noticed that some of them seemed to be avoiding looking at her, so she shifted her position, trying to seem as non-intimidating as possible.
edited 29th Apr '15 8:59:18 PM by RomanianInquisitor
"I am nature's weapon. You are unfit to carry on your species, and I shall ensure that you do not do so!" - Charles Darwin, XCOM Sniper
En Route: Desert Dust Storm
The recently converted black hat leaned forward a bit from within the drivers seat of her modified muscle car, a bit supervised by all the motor bikes crossing the desert, especially when none of them appeared to be dirt-bikes. With a sigh, she returned to the resting position in her seat, at least she had the common sense to modify her vehicle for off road use and she was not about to let these idiots show her up.
She immediately slammed the accelerator to the floor, causing the massive 7 liter V8 engine to roar to life, she quickly shifted her right hand over to the stick, and made sure that her left foot was on the clutch, this was not even a challenge, it was just a straight-line race and out of all the competitors she had the biggest engine, and a vehicle actually suited to the terrain.
There was no contest as the fuel guzzling beast speed ahead of the competition, not even bothering with tricks, just straight line speed twords the entrance.
Meeting
While the fox was intent on being the first to arrive with her car, she was not near as punctual to the actual meeting, and when she did show up, it is not exactly like her demeanor would inspire confidence in her ability to fight, or even her formality in general.
With little regard for the situation at hand, she entered the room chewing bubble gum, with a black and pink armored laptop to her side, one roughly the size of a suitcase, it was a monstrosity of a machine, not too different from her vehicle, even further observation of the laptop would show that besides the pink kitten face on it, it has 3 tiny "X_X" faced cats in the bottom left hand corner, a kill tally perhaps?
Rise Above Fate
Meeting Room
Well, this seems like an interesting group Thought Mike as each new member entered the meeting room, subconsciously keeping Brother Mercy from taking over for the time being (considering the number of women in his vicinity, it was probably for the best).
Seeing as introductions were being done, Mike waved to everyone, gave a friendly smile and said "Hey, I'm Mike Forger. You can also call me Red Badger, but I'd prefer if you called me Mike." For the time being, Mike opted to keep his alternate personalities a secret. Letting Charlie, Mason and Brother Mercy introduce themselves would probably be better in the long run.
Sumanai Man
En Route
Lucretia looked down, her face carefully blank. "I'd like to believe that...but where we are going...what we are going to do..."
"There's no guarantee we'll get out of this in one piece, physically and mentally."
"Francesca. Promise me."
Meeting Room
"Alisa" yawned and put up her bare feet on the couch. "I don't need to threaten you. That would be a waste of my time. You all should know what you signed up for. You know the consequences."
"As for briefing..." she shrugged. "How should I know? This isn't my show."
Nothing is what it seems. Master of Shipping and Sadism.
"Well, it didn't involve me being escorted to the meeting room," Feros answered. "And it involved me acting smooth towards a hot—"
He didn't get to finish that before Lupa said that condescending remark. "I'm only three years younger than you. Stop acting like I'm a kid."
Omega Overlord. Or superjwren329. Either or.
Meeting Room.
...Seemed like things had gotten crowded quicker than he'd expected, with some these people from Beacon ringing a few bells...and the faces he definitely hadn't seen before. It was still somewhat un-nerving that so many had shown up for this.
...at the rate we're going, it's looking more like an army rather than a specialized force. But then again, haven't got much intel on some of their semblances.
And with most of them introducing themselves, Archie just held his tongue, a copy of his ID card resting between his fingers before throwing it with blinding speed and pin-point accuracy as it embedded itself in the table, with the code-name 'Grey Rabbit' printed on it. That would have to do for his introductions for now.
...Not her show, eh? I suppose the one employing us must've had the common sense to either take his or her time...or do it remotely in the off-chance of a fight. Sound enough logic.
Hope you weren't expecting anything witty here. Maybe some day.
Alex raised his hand. "Green Swan. You want something destroyed, cactus probably has a mode that's good at killing it." He plucked a feather off his arm and let it coast through the air and watched the age debate with interest. "Actually, that is a good point. Why do we have code-names if we're all showing our faces, except for those of us who are smart or well-equipped enough not to? And why were we all told to socialize before we get briefed?"
Combat mode, engage
Porspa cocked her head to the side at "Alisa's" last comment. "All of those things are very true. However, one then wonders why exactly someone who is a part of this team is wearing a voice-distorting mask. When pairing that with the fact that you are armed just like the rest of us..." The dust-mage indicated the sword next to the masked figure. "It raises some interesting questions. I'd wager the answers to said questions are equally interesting if not more so."
-dramatic music ensues-
Lupa looked the younger man up and down, before coming to a sudden realization. "Oh my... Is that you? Little Feros! Hiram's brother! Oh now this is going to be lots of fun now isn't it?"
Lupa was outright teasing Feros it would seem.
Bark Bark Man
"It's not like we have anything to fear, really. Well, at least I don't." Leonardo replied with a relaxed tone, still holding out his lighter. He would have leaned back if he hadn't been holding something.
"Does it really matter, anyway? I'm Saffron Ocelot, or at least you can guess that's my code name."
"Gimme your pants.. and now your other pants"
There was something about a good wine that made every day worth living. With all the crap Nataline Richter had to put up with in her line of work, the finest Cognac made it slip away, at least for a little bit. As standing Director of the Vale Covert Defense division, she didn't get to relax for very long. For all the luxuries the government afforded her, enjoying them was almost always impossible. She couldn't help but find it a little humorous. Like the expensive shiny car, the penthouse suite, all the alcohol she could ever hope to ingest, and six figure salary were bribes for a job no one really wanted.
Richter made her way through the main floor of HQ, quite a slog of an elevator ride up. Once again, she rolled her eyes at the portraits of past "great" Hunters that stained the white walls of the corridor that led to the major conference room of the council. She swiped her key card for access, and stepped inside. The large circular room was empty save for a hardwood desk and chairs for meeting. The moment she entered, mufti-colored holographic figures appeared with a ZWING, as if instantly altered to her presence from wherever they really were. These were a few of the key members of the council, basically, her bosses and the ruling body of the entire country. Stuffy royal types. Probably didn't even know what a synth was.
Richter smirked at them. She always loved playing with these pricks. She flipped off her shades, sticking them between her cleavage. "I'm guessing I wasn't called here for a simple briefing."
One of the council members humorously stared at her, his older blue visage flickering for a moment. "We don't have to tell you how we feel about this little idea of yours, Ms.Richter."
"Not my idea. It was—"
"Yes, Queen Lucretia." The female Council member interrupted her, a very accentuated slightly hostile emphasis on 'Queen'. "The young majesty can be known for her eccentricities."
"A little hypocritical of a council member to say, don't you think?"
She ignored Richter's jab. "You can't possibly believe this will work. The idea of bringing so many hostile individuals together—"
"Is smarter than anything the council has done in the last 10 years."
"You would do well to hold your tongue, Ms.Richter. Your promotion to Director was quite recent, you know."
"Sorry, I'm a little drunk." She took a sip of her glass, savoring the color and flavor before looking back at the holograms. "Look, you gave me the damn job for a reason. I'm good at handling situations. And will all due respect, Vale could use something a little risky and dangerous right now. The Grimm are getting more and more dangerous, new ones with new abilities discovered every week, killing innocent people. Illegal Hunters are enforcing their will on the small communities and ruining the economy. And I'm sure I don't need to mention the terrorists or Project Orion."
"Criminals!" One of the male members was getting a bit frustrated. "Criminals, thieves, and mutated freaks. That's what this little team of yours is made of. The Queen's files mention Francesca Jade among the roster! The murderous snake?! Only a fool could expect these people to be able to work together towards any good."
Richter finished her glass, and started to walk away, back turned to the hologram Council Members. She stopped at the door. "...A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool...Pretty stupid, huh?" She tossed her glasses behind her, and it phased through one of the members, crashing on the floor as she exited.
Remote Desert Base, off the edge of Vale, Ventus 13th, 7:22 PM
They would all be arriving by different means. It really depended on how they were called. Some were flown in by Vale Helicopters, transported across the desert by armored truck. Some had to find their own way in, the organization unfortunately not putting much stock in their arrival.
This would be the first meeting of these people. It was sure to be a tense situation. Human and faunus, hunters from different backgrounds and skill-sets. Conflicting personalities, all experts, all professionals, all dangerous. Only a few of them, those closest to the Queen would have a true idea of what they were brought here for. The rest, if they were smart, could guess. Jobs, dangerous jobs, needed doing, and Vale needed someone to do them. And they were willing to pay and give hard. They all had to be found, some of them much harder to find than others. Some of them easier, and some of them not at all. They had to be asked, or forced. Taken away with whatever was occupying them at the time. And they couldn't tell anyone. Secrecy was stressed of the utmost importance. They were covert now. Secret agents of the government the second they chose to accept. Some had no choice, the government basically owning them.
The meeting space wasn't particularly luxurious, despite some of the other facilities of the base being nicer off. The base was mostly underground, with only the top level, as big as it was, being above. The room where they were all meeting was on the second floor down, just below the top floor. It was a loungy type of room that seemed to mix club-hopping bar scene, with sketchy warehouse drug deal. It had couches, black leather, and a couple of tables, along with a fridge and a tv in the corner.
They would be coming it at their own pace, told by the guards to wait and remain in the room quietly. They were warned that they were being watched.
Dicussion
edited 30th Apr '15 9:40:33 PM by Saturn