The Handler first turned to Torchwick. "We do not currently know what the artifact is. We do know that the Templars believe it to be what is referred to as a "Piece of Eden", other powerful artifacts that are native to the universe in question. Currently there are no other Pieces of Eden owned by the Templars in the area, so focus your efforts on finding that, and you will locate the artifact. As for how long they have had it, it has not been long. They are still experimenting with it, we think, trying to figure out how it works. That, however, will not last forever. Make no mistake, time is of the essence."

He then turned to Shade. "Not everyone that serves the Templars does so knowingly. They have hands in many things, people in many areas. Those motivated by material goods, such as money, will not lay down their lives to fight you if they can help it and if they lose courage. The hardened Templars, however, those who know what they do and belive in the path, will fight you to the death."

edited 27th Apr '16 9:43:37 AM by Meanken

"Oh, I must be fashionably late!"

Looking at the direction of the new voice people would soon spot a transparent square expand in thin air and from within it came out Dimentio, hovering in the air. The square then contracted until it disappeared and as it did so it created a small distortion in the space around the jester and making an ominous sounding noise.

"Salutations, my friends! What is it that we will be working towards on this magnificent day?" he asked everyone as he took the opportunity to take a brief look around the room and all the other agents in there, they seemed like a fun bunch if nothing else.

"What manner of soldiers are like to be brought against us? Their arms and armour, their numbers... for that matter, will they even be limited to humans?"

The Handler ignored the latecomer as he turned to address the next question. "The bulk of the Templar's forces come from a criminal gang under their control called the Blighters." Behind him, the symbol of the Templars changed to a picture of some Blighters. "These are the most numerous of their forces, and many areas of the city are under their control. They wield an assortment of weapons, common sights include brass knuckles, swords, and most everyone has a least one flintlock pistol. They are unskilled, but their strength lies in numbers.

The screen changed again to show another man "These are the ones you need to watch for, the Templar Enforcers, who keep the gangs in line. Each of them are highly skilled in combat, and none will go down easily. Sneak attacks are advised against them. And you will not encounter anything but humans during this mission, this universe does not have any other intelligent life forms anywhere near the area."

"sounds simple" noted the short robot, suspending a peach above her hand via statis field only to drop it and catch it then toss it and catch it again in her field. She repeated this idly as she pondered. It really did simple at first, just extract an artifact... still these Templar had to be strong for all of them to be needed. She wondered if they would have any allies in this new world. "These Assassins... can we count on them for help? after all we're going against their enemies" she asked in her chirpy robot voice.

These Templars sounded like the kind of people that Seija hated, and not in the good way. She didn't see any moral qualms with this business so far.

"Do you have any..." She paused, snapping her fingers for a moment as she tried to remember the correct word for it. "Leads! Any leads! I mean, I'm assuming you have it down to at least the right town."

"Just because the Templars are your enemy, do not assume the Assassins are your ally. The Agency takes no sides in this conflict. Undoubtedly the Assassins will want this item just as badly as the Templars do. Nether side can be allowed to have it. I will not stop you from working with the local Assassins if need be, but know you will likely fall into conflict with them at some point if you go in that direction."

"As for location, you will be going to London, mid 18th century. Currently the city is in the middle of the industrial revolution. It is a time of great change, as factories and machines begin to take shape and begin to have influence on people's lives. The Templar in charge in this city is one Robert Starrick, head of Starric Industries." Behind him, the screen changed to a picture of Robert◊. "Opposing him and the Templars at large are two twin Assassins, Jacob and Evie Frye. " The screen changed again as it showed two◊ pictures◊ "I should mention, while killing the unknown goons who work for each side is fine, you are not allowed to kill anyone who's survival is critical to the timeline. This includes the Frye twins and Mr Starrick. If you encounter anyone else who you cannot kill, I will make sure to inform you they are off limits."

At this point a green portal appeared next to the table. "This is all we have time for. As I said, time is of the essence.:" He fell silent for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Ah, yes. I forgot. Each of you take one of these." he said as he took out a bag of pin on buttons. "These buttons are enchanted with a spell that will make anyone who looks at you that does not have one on see you as a normal human with period appropriate dress on, regardless of what you may look like. That said, use of more....supernatural abilities will cause the illusion to be disrupted, so avoid that in public. And do remember, the knowledge of the Agency must remain a secret. Do not do anything to draw undue attention. Now, off with you."

The team would exit to find themselves in an abandoned alleyway. After a few moments, they would see two events of note. First, a group of red coated goons, clearly members of the Blighters, were talking loudly among themselves as they headed into a building that had a giant picture of a mug of ale on the sign. Second, a different group of them headed in the opposite direction were quietly talking among themselves, clearly trying not to be heard. The team would only have a few moments to make a decision of whenever to follow one, the other, or split up.

edited 29th Apr '16 1:14:37 PM by Meanken

A wave of deja vu washed over Seija as she heard the name London again. At this point, her and Britain seemed to be linked inexorably by fate.

This wave of deja vu seemed to come in as backwash by the time she actually got there. It seemed that they wouldn't advance that far in the next 50 years, the whole place was just about as filthy as last time. The only difference was the atmosphere, so heavily thick with smog that she immediately broke into a coughing fit with her first breath. Not exactly the most conspicuous entrance.

Looking back up in between wheezes, she spotted the second, more secretive group immediately. The Blighters, for all that their uniforms made them conspicuous, went unnoticed. The secretive ones got her attention because they seemed like the only ones in the entire city trying to be quiet!

She really hoped she looked like some kind of sickly miscreant, because she immediately started trailing the second group to the best that her coughing would allow, furtively motioning her allies to come along.

Jotaro had silently listened to the briefing, hardly saying a word or even moving much from where he sat. His eyes gave away how focused he was, focused on the Handler as he explained the details of the mission, making a mental checklist of what he needed to take note of. The portal was his cue, and he smoothly ejected himself off the seat with a little hop.

Hands in his pockets, he stepped into his first mission.

London Alleyway

The sight of eighteenth century London gave him a bit of a rise, his eyebrows raising and breath growing shorter as he took in the environment around him. It didn't stop him from noticing the two other groups before him, thankfully.

Jotaro turned to his allies, and nodded his head towards the secretive group of fellows. The Blighters would be in that pub for a while, and Jotaro was more interested in what this second group was trying to hide.

"If anyone wants into the pub, go ahead. Everyone else, follow me."

Jotaro knew how he needed to approach this. He kept his glare on the group from behind, whilst keeping a distance, using whatever crowds he could find as cover.

-Two groups to follow, but one appears more important, and already some of his comrades are following them. The Shade makes a small movement and a golden wolf sits in the alleyway, panting loudly. The wolf sniffs the air and growls, memorizing the combination of odors in both groups.-

<I have the scent.>

-Secure in the knowledge that he can find the secretive group later, the wolf follows the revelers as they head for the alehouse.-

"Now, you go off and follow that strange group that we have no proof can give us anything. I, on the other hand..."

Roman adjusted his hat, tossing the cigar down and snuffing it out with the base of Melodic Cudgel. Thankfully, the cane didn't look too out of place in this world...

"Am going to see if our friends over in the pub have anything for us. I'm told I can be quite persuasive..."

With a twirl of his cane, Roman headed off to the location of the Blighters, already formulating an argument and an escape plan in case things got ugly.

Corvo, seeing as everyone is going after the (presumed) Assassins, follows Roman. He takes off his mask, and with it off, looks quite normal. His clothes match the attire worn, as he's from the same time period that were in. He still keeps the button though.

"I'll come as back up. Let's try to act before they get drunk."

He looks over at what he thinks are the Assassins as he walks, hoping they'll be friendly to his new team.

edited 2nd May '16 11:53:24 AM by Skiller2

Those following the group entering the pub would enter slightly behind the Blighters to find a normal pub scene. Various people were off to the side, dancing to some music being played by a band on the stage. a large bar dominated one side of the pub, which the Blighters all went toward, claiming seats in the center for themselves (and shoving one unlucky man off of his seat). Lastly, directly in the center, a hastily built ring was in the center, and several large looking men were currently exchanging punches. In front of it was a man◊ in a blue coat.

"Step right up, step right up, who will be the next to challenge our champion? Place a bet or become a contestant, you could win big if you manage to defeat him!"

The second, quieter group, exited the alley and went onto a busy london street, where there was currently a game of ball being held in the street by ragged looking kids, who scattered whenever a carriage came down the road only to reform after it passed. The smell only got worse out here as the smell of various bits of excrement from horses reached the agent's noses. Meanwhile, the Blighters began talking.

"So what's this I hear now?" One asked

"The train passing on the bridge?" A second, dumber looking one asked

"No, no, I mean, I hear something big happened."

"Don't know nothing bout that."

A third one with a large hat spoke up. "Oh, ya I heard bout that too. bosses are all keeping quiet about it, but I heard me a couple of rumors."

"Oh? What like?"

"It's all secondhand information, mate, and some of these rumors are....out there."

"Like? Come on, don't make me beat it out of ya!"

"I'm getting to it! I was speaking with someone, someone who works for Starrick. Now he says they found something that is, and I quote, "Magic".

"Magic."

"Yep. Says whatever Starrick has made steel appear out of thin air. Real, cold hard steel that was stronger then any steel he had ever seen."

"Someone needs to get his head out of the bottle." One laughed.

"No, no, no, this was a reliable source, was as sober as a boy."

Every other member of the group laughed at him as they reached a corner and paused to let a carriage pass. Those who were also keeping an eye on the environment and who happened to be looking up might see a quick movement up on one of the roofs, only visible for half a second or so.

I will challenge you." There was a faint snarl as a figure opened the door of the pub- the misshapen, skeletal robot known as Dinobot ^note  the Cybertronian, unusually quiet and contemplative, had conveniently attended the meeting and fallen in with the rest of the group. One step behind the rest of the group, the Maximal pushed open the door and strode towards the center of the ring.

Of course, to the various 18th-century humans, they'd see a human. "Ordinary" wasn't quite the word to describe Dinobot's human disguise, of course. Roughly adhering to the contours of his true Cybertronian body, Dinobot's human disguise resembled a muscled warrior, covered in scars and wearing an eyepatch.

"Yes... it will be a... hrngh... a pleasure, to test my mettle against the likes of you." Dinobot grinned a lopsided grin- his human avatar revealing a mouth full of broken, jagged teeth. ""It will be... a.. a..." The Maximal's head twitched slightly, as though something had come over him.

" an ...honorable fight."

The man laughed as Dinobot stepped forward. "Oh, wonderful! You look like you'll put up a good fight! However, I do believe there's been a bit of confusion here, chap! You won't be fighting me, but the current champion of the fighting pit. I just run logistics and collect bets. Now, before we do anything, I'll need a name to announce you by, Mr....?"

"I am... hnrgh... I am..." Dinobot threw up his arms in frustration, unable to think of a suitable human name in time. " Gah! What good is a name to you? What matters is the combat! The Maximal clenched his fists, wiggling the sharp claws back and forth in anticipation of the combat. Inside, he felt his onboard computer start to twitch; resisting the urge to transform, he loomed over the smaller human. Gears ground, pistons knotted, and Dinobot suddenly felt the urge to simply eviscerate the annoying little man.

"Put me down as... as..." There was a pause. "Maximal. "

edited 2nd May '16 8:36:01 PM by Locoman

Corvo stands behind Dinobot, making sure he keeps in check. He puts his hand on his shoulder, and whispers "Keep it under control or I'll take your place."
He then sits down at a nearby table.

edited 2nd May '16 8:28:38 PM by Skiller2

Dimentio merely followed the group into the streets of the busy city. It all looked so dull and smelled terrible even, it truly looked like a decadent city. He listened to the conversation happening between the group and merely shook his head

"No wonder this city is as dull as a blank canvas in an art gallery, there's no magic," he said under his breath in order to not draw attention to himself, he then looked up at the roof and had a glimpse of some quick movement happening on one of the roofs. "And if there's no magic, then clearly what my sharp eyes have witnessed is no illusion, there's someone on the roofs."

London Streets

Marina took the button, bidding thanks and farewell to their handler and went into the portal. She emerged looking different, human looking. She was a woman of short stature with a short bob of flaxen hair, a pasty complexion to help her blend in dressed in a long sleeved dress, mustard yellow in colour, with a brown corset and a matching bonnet on her head.

Ah, London, she'd seen things in the old archives back home but she'd always wanted to live it in the flesh, it was exhilarating now that she had the opportunity! Well, aside from the polluted nature of the city and the odors that permeate the air. She saw there were enough people going into the pub so she followed the second group along with Seija, her short heels clicking on the cobbled streets, trying to hear the red coated men talk over the bustle of the busy city.

edited 2nd May '16 9:55:12 PM by Sanojutsu

London Pub

Druss had headed into the pub with several of the others. In his experience such places were always a good hotspot for information in any city. He sat down at the bar and called out to the blue-coated man.

"What kind of roster have you got for us today? You've got to sell your fighters before I put money on the table!"

Debriefing Room

Time is of the essence. This is an undeniable truth in any job you choose to follow. And if your life and many others depend on how well you do that job, all the much more important it becomes. However, not everyone chooses to follow this philosophy, and some people simply leave everything until the last possible moment.

Rito Tsukimi did not usually do that, but that day was the exception, and it brought her significant trouble. She had decided to take a short detour to deliver a written report she was supposed to hand in a few days earlier, but she had overestimated the duration of the debriefing for the new team she had been assigned to, and as a result she arrived just in time...

"Hello hello!" Sorry for being late~!"

...for her dramatic entrance to go almost completely ignored as she watched the last person in the group walk through a portal.

London Alleyway —> London Streets

Exactly thirty seconds, a scolding on the importance of punctuality, and a quick debriefing later, Rito strolled out of the portal. Luckily, she had no trouble figuring out where her new teammates had gone, since she could simply look for those people who looked thoroughly foreign to the setting.

Considering the pub to be a rather inadequate place for the dignified English woman she was pretending to be, she opted to tag along with the group walking out of the alley and down the street. Unfortunately, she was significantly more focused on keeping her pace than on looking around, so she failed to notice the movement in the rooftops.

Soon enough she managed to catch up, walking merely a couple of feet behind the group of agents.

The group of Blighters continued to walk across the street.

"You really need better sources, mate. No one is going to believe...."

Then he was shushed by another man suddenly, before he turned around to face the group of agents (Most of who had made no apparent attempt to conceal themselves or hide they were following the group).

"Oy, what are you wankers doing? Can't you see we're in the middle of a private conversation? Beat it, before I have my boys teach you a lesson in respect of personal space!"

"Excellent, I'll put you down, Mr Maximal." He said as he wrote the name of a sheet, apparently blind to the cybertron's irritation. Then he nodded at Druss. "But of course, have a look for yourself!" He then handed him the sheet of combatants. Most he would not know, of course, but if he looked closely, he might note the name of Jacob Frye near the bottom of the signup sheet, clearly a recent addition to the list.

Meanwhile, Corvo would note, if he looked at them, that several members of the Blighters were now being handed drinks, and one or two were pointing and laughing in his direction.

edited 3rd May '16 8:51:54 PM by Meanken

London Pub

Well, what a charming little place. Let's get this over with.

Roman casually strolled over to the Blighters, tipping his hat in greeting.

"Good evening, my good men. I see you're enjoying your drinks and anticipating what can only be an exciting night of fighting."

That's right, Roman, soften them up first...

One of the men currently holding a mug of ale looked at Torchwick, narrowing his eyes at what appeared to be a well dressed man in a period appropriate suit. He then spat at Torchwick's feet.

"Who the bloody hell are you? I'm trying to enjoy my drink, fancypants! You're not helping!"

edited 3rd May '16 9:02:40 PM by Meanken

Corvo walks over to the bar and digs around in his pockets. He finds a few gold coins and, hoping that they are worth anything in this universe, slaps them down on the table.

"Give me whatever amount of beer that money amounts to. Keep the change."

edited 3rd May '16 9:09:13 PM by Skiller2