Paradigm_Shift

"Well." Millions muttered to himself. "You just all go on ahead and do that." He sighed. "I'm a crutch to them. No powers - especially travel power." He continued muttering to himself, but started jogging towards the nearest entrance.

The fireball hit the wolf dead on, and it immediately burst into open flames that would have previously ben instantl suffocated by the wolf's coat. A tremendous howl filled the Port, cracked the windows and reverberated throughout the block. Crestfallen got very short-lasted glimpse of the wolf as it shot past him faster than a bullet and on fire, charging blindly down the street until it fell over and suddenly exploded violently, scattering its innards all over the street.

Apparently, something within it had been explosively combustive.

Erik deigned to show a very rare display of emotion and raised a solitar eyebrow at Blake.

"Despite your flaws and troubles, I can no longer deny that you are One Smooth Operator, Blake." He said. The teenager felt like a soothing wind had suddenly passed by, like he had suddenly been embraced by a lover, and he may have noticed that all of his wounds and decided to up and vanish. Erik's empathy was powerful stuff.

The wolf regained its posture and was now growling menacingly at Erik. The albino did nothing but stare, eyes relaxed and mouth set in a thin and narrow line, his face still as carefully blank as always. He probed the Wolf's mind, and immediately ran into a problem. This Wolf already had something controlling its mind, and it was MUCH stronger than any influence Erik could hope to exert. It would most likely be impossible to mesmerize, dominate, or confuse.

'That leaves me with telekinesis.' Erik thought. He coulld not hope to hold the beast with his telekinetic powers, however. He could only manipulate passive objects that did not offer immense amounts of resistance, like the wolf most likely would in that situation. So...

The fallen eight-balls from around the port suddenly arose into the air and started pelting the wolf, which suddenly lunged at Erik and entirely ignored the projectiles smashing into it. Erik performed a smooth, almost lazy sweeping step that covered an abnormally large distance quickly, but that did not get him out of trouble. The wolf landed heavily where he had been, and immediately whip-lashed its entire body towards the albino in a massive body slam.

Erik swept his umbrella in front of him. As mentioned earlier, it was made of a light-weight, flexible yet durable material built to withstand various impacts, and Erik had some telekinetic armor hard-wired into his reflexes, which he could channel into the device as well. As a result, the umbrella was very tough and could protect him from most forms of injury.

But not from momentum. Seven hundred pounds of wolf smashed into the umbrella and sent Erik staggering back several feet, almost falling over. The wolf was not fazed at all by Erik's sudden defense, lunging once more for the off-balance albino.

The ceiling fan overhead fell as Erik severed it from the ceiling with his telekinesis, and it smashed right into the wolf, which collapsed under the apparatus and howled like a demon. Erik backed away to the far side of the port as the wolf angrily got up, shoving off the fan with only a few cuts that were not even visible below its fur.

'I may be in trouble...' He thought.

Millions fidgeted uncomfortably as a force field enveloped him. "In any case, we should get this over with. We need to avoid fighting if possible while also completing this before anybody else takes notice. Shall we...?"

Erik suddenly burst into the pizza port, and immediately sighted the wolf chasing Alex. Little did she know that the creature was leaping for her at more than four times her top speed...But fortunately she now had backup. Erik raised a splayed hand swiftly, and the wolf smashed into an invisible barrier of telekinetic force. It grunted, as if dazed, regaining its footing and balance.

"Alex. Do you have any powers? If not, run." Erik said to Alex, not removing his gaze from the wolf.

OOC:

These guys. Nice one Grey. This is gonna be good. ^.^

BIC:

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
"Trouble?"

[/ QUOTE ]

"Possibly." Dr. Lore nodded, craning her head around the corner towards the warehouse. "Stahlhund said there's no signs of life he can pick up, the place is deserted, but it's completely spotless. I don't think it's a trap, but something is really wrong here..."

[/ QUOTE ]

"Ask him if he can see anybody in the building. Robots, zombies and cyborgs usually don't havelife signatures." Millions proposed.

OOC:

What say we have Hunter taken back in with his people for questioning over the event for X reason then until it's all fixed?

[ QUOTE ]
Rose picked up where the good doctor left off, "My husband gave a lecture at Founder's Falls university once. Granted that was pre Rikti, but it was nice."

[/ QUOTE ]

"Founder's Falls is the wealthiest sector in Paragon City. Of course it will be nice THERE." Millions muttered, but focused on the matter on hand thereafter.

[ QUOTE ]
It was still following her as she found Dr. Lore outside the building. Finally lashing out with a bolt of electricty, it fell to the ground. Crushing the persistant robot under her heel, Rose sighed, "I hate this city."

[/ QUOTE ]

"King's Row wad filthy and looked to be composed entirely of condemned buildings. This Skyway place doesn't look much better." Millions said, striking up a conversation. "It's appalling to see the state of the city. The mainland must really be as bad as they said it was..."

Obviously, he had received a quote "proper" unquote historical and geographic education from Crey, obviously in favor of Arachnos...

The giant wolf paid no attention to Blake's banter nor his blazing blade. It leapt for him with the intent of ripping him to pieces. It weighed a good 700 plus pounds, and had plenty of muscle to boot in order to support its own body mass. Which meant that Blake would be hard pressed to actually STOP the wolf from attacking-The sheer momentum behind the leap would carry the wolf's body forward even if Jake somehow killed it md-jump.

***

The wolf tore away from the nether tendrils sucking it dry, leapt oo the wall of the alley, and freaking [u]wall jumped[u] onto the top of the building. Hunter had already fled to the other rooftop, but Nyte had not yet moved, and the wolf lunged at her...

***

Halfway to Hunter's location, Erik sensed a second sensation similar to the one that had startled him earlier.

CONSUME
TORMENT
CORRUPT

He was about the same amount od dstance away from both sites. He hesitated for a brief moment before dashing off in the direction of Pizza Port...

By now, every civilian within a two block radius of the fight was running away from the fight with their lives, and Hunter did not see any reinforcements incoming.

The monstrous wolf glared at him murderously from the street, pawing at its face to remove knives embedded there. It seemed more annoyed than actually hurt. After removing all the proverbial thorns in its side, it pounced right onto the fire escape after Hunter in one gigantic and seemingly impossible leap from the center of the street. It proceeded to approach him cautiously, snarling and dribbling spittle everywhere with incisors bared.

Something may or may not have occured to Hunter at this point: The wolf could have gone after any of the civilians as they had started running, but it had specifically targetted him to attack and follow.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The problem is getting the physics effects to be rendered identically across all players. Right now, all physics bits are done locally and then the actual position of the object is later aligned to what the server says.

It usually comes out to about the same thing, but there's no guarantees, unfortunately. Lag or deficient hardware can verily mess with it and ruin one's BRB experience.

It pretty much can't be done for the same reason that everyone sees different objects being thrown by Propel.

[/ QUOTE ]So when I smash the gate off the frame near Sister Psyche in IP, and kick it around the street for a while, no one else sees that?

<pout>

[/ QUOTE ]

Nope, only you see it. The server doesn't keep track of its location. When it comes into view for a certain player, it spawns for that player where it should. If you have interactions with it after that time, then they'll see you hit it, but there's no guarantee that their client's calculations will match up with your own.

[/ QUOTE ]
So how do the propel ball games work? I've never seen one. I've always assumed that it was a Propel object thrown out, and, although it looks different for each player, they were all able to interact with it. If that's the case, then use the same sort of object, but give it a single graphic skin.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's it, really. Only most of the time the BRB is a person. Infinitely more reliable than random propel-fodder.

Hunter should have listened better to Erik's warning earlier. Although one of the safest zones in Paragon City, even Galaxy was getting more and more dangerous every day. Especially for heroes.

There was almost no warning at all. As Hunter passed by an alley in Orion's Beltway, a giant wolf 6.5 feet tall and much stealthier than it had any business being seemed to materialize in his peripheral vision half-way through its leap at him with the intention of ripping out his lungs and chewing on his head. There was no help nearby immediately, the street only bustling with civilians who would doubtlessly pick up the pace rather quickly in the form of wild mass panic...

***

Erik sat in his apartment, the illumination of his laptop’s screen the only light in the room. ’I should talk to him about getting a new partner.’ He thought as he typed up the report Vanessa hadn’t bothered to write herself. Erik did not like staying in any one place for too long when he could be patrolling the city. As it was right now, he was stuck with examining the entire zone’s atmosphere one district at a time once an hour. It was an exhausting, lengthy and inefficient process. ’Just about time. Might as well.’ Erik thought, putting his laptop aside.

He closed his eyes and concentrated. Every city zone had a number of districts that, over the years, had been not only gained physical boundaries but also immaterial ones. Each district had a certain feel to it. Erik started with the Nebula District: Age, some neglect, and lots of nothing. A warehouse and general storage district with little in the ways of civilian housing. Then he moved onto Orion’s Beltway, expecting to sense the standard hustle and bustle of activity mixed with trivial deaths of feeling and small sparks of meaning in a dark world.

His eyes snapped open as he saw something else entirely:

CONSUME
TORMENT
CORRUPT

Twenty-five seconds later Erik had cleared the apartment’s front doors and was making a mad dash for Orion’s Beltway…

Erik left the police station disappointed. Gregor had provided some information, but not much. He had been sleeping in a tree when the attack started, and he had divulged the nature of the attackers: They had apparently been wolves. Not dogs. Not hyenas. Wolves. When asked how he was so sure, he responded, “Dogs ain’t bigger than tanks. And these were not Council freaks, mind you, these almost looked like normal animals. Cept they were bigger’n tanks.” Thereafter, he claimed the wolves had suddenly been distracted by something near the War wall halfway through the frenzy, and he had taken the opportunity and bolted. He had then sought out the nearest PPD officer and begged to be arrested. Shortly after his testimony, he had gone into Shift withdrawl and became useless.

In any case, there was nothing Erik could do except go back to his apartment and write up the follow-up report Vanessa couldn’t have bothered to do herself.

Erik had arrived at Freedom Court and gone around to the back where there wasn't as much bustle. He settled onto one of the benches and waited.

Very soon a young lady wearing a red vest over a red shirt with a long red skirt and red hair with red-rimmed glasses came walking toward him. Erik rolled his eyes just slightly. It was Vanessa, the most annoying personal assistant in the world, who had been assigned to him. It wasn't that she was a generally unlikable person-She was just incompatible with Erik. She rubbed him the wrong way, so to speak, with her high and whiny voice and her vanity and her total lack of focus...

That, and she was always confused by his umbrella. She did not know why he used it. This was the polite way of insinuating that Vanessa was...

"Hello Erik darling!" She cried out to him from thirty feet away, drawing lots of glances and looks from the surrounding crowd. "You wanted to meet with me?"

'Please just sit down already.' Vanessa yelped as Erik's voice spoke to her in her head-The albino was a telepath. She quickly rushed over to his bench and made a slight fuss about how dirty it was before sitting down.

"So is this about that super secret thing we're working on?" She asked him immediately.

'Of all the people in that room, it had to be you. Lovely.' Erik thought, struggling not to become immensely pissed off at the woman sitting next to him. Whenever he heard her voice, he had to strangle his subconscious to prevent mental feed-back from his own emotions. His face did not reveal his internal struggle, still very passively blank with set lips and relaxed eyes that always stared straight ahead.

"Please talk a little more quietly, Vanessa." He said in his calm voice. "I called you here for your follow-up report on the Gemini Park incident."

She blinked vapidly at him. "Follow-up report?" She asked.

"Never mind." Erik said. 'I'll probably wind up making it eventually.' "Can you tell me anything about the couple involved in the incident?"

"Oh!" Vanessa exclaimed excitedly. "CAN I?" Their names were Paul and Maria Summerfield, and they owned Pizza Port just a couple of blocks away and-"

"Focus, Vanessa. Please relate to me only things which would connect them with our target." Erik said.

"Oh." She said, and suddenly went silent. "Um. They donated to the Humane society every now and then...?"

'Their names were all I needed. Since you didn't write up the report I'll have to do my own research, and all I needed to get more information on them was their names.' But just to be polite, Erik asked, "I see. Is there anything else?"

"Um. Ah! There was a witness! That's how we even know about it in the first place! His name is Joseph Gregor, he's a member of the Lost who was incarcerated this morning! He apparently turned himself in and gave a full testimony of the event to the chief."

'Much better. Not entirely useless.' "I see. Thank you. I apologize for calling you out here for th-"

"I think we should go out." Vanessa suddenly declared. "But do get rid of that silly umbrella, Erik darling, it’s really weird..." She grabbed onto its handle...

Erik instantly passed through his carefully maintained inner-balance and shot right past the earlier stages of fury and was now in that calm lagoon of rage where the voice is steady, the manner is measured and polite, and only a faint trace of spittle at the corner of the mouth betrays the inner inferno. Vanessa suddenly felt an invisible force shoving her hand away roughly and then shoving her entire person almost off the bench.

"Do not. Touch me." Erik said, still gazing straight ahead with a blank look. But even Vanessa recognized the cold rage that was seething in his eyes. She took that as her cue to leave, got up, and hastened away.

Erik lowered his head and stayed on the bench for another five minutes, gritting his teeth as his own rage was amplified by his empathy to the point where it began to physically hurt. He concentrated, focused...And slowly the rage faded away. He lifted his head and stared into empty space for a few moments before fully collecting himself and rising. He then started heading for the PPD station...

Millions Green, having observed that his supposedly well-thought attempt to be useful had suddenly crashed and burned, stayed at the back of the group and tried to be invisible. 'If I draw attention to myself now, they'll shout at me for being an idiot.' He thought.

[u]Gemini Park[u]

Erik was one of the privileged few who could actually enjoy a stroll in Gemini Park. It was considered the most dangerous sector of Galaxy City, thanks mainly to the Vahzilok who had moved in and made the place their unofficial turf. It was fairly safe during the day, but by nightfall Mortificators and Reapers ambushed pedestrians on streets adjacent to the place before dragging them to an unpleasant fate within the park. Their presence was so strong there that they even posed a challenge to most heroes who were just starting out.

Erik walked through the park towards his destination, thinking. ’A pack of wild dogs. A very rare thing indeed, even in Paragon City. I suppose there might be a few in Perez, but here in Gemini Park? It is mostly wide, open space here, surrounded by warehouses flats and with its Eastern side to the war-wall. Animals do not like it here. It would be much more likely to find such a thing in the Nebula district. One thing is for sure though.’ Erik came to a halt at the coordinates he had received half-way there. There were no obvious signs of disturbance anywhere. ’This was not a natural occurrence. Wild dogs in the middle of a densely populated city with heroes around every corner. And Galaxy city is heavily patrolled by Longbow and the PPD. It doesn’t make sense.’

The albino gazed around the immediate area from under his umbrella, feeling the mood and tone of the area. Erik could read a lot more than just people. He could also read objects and locales. Everything usually had one form or another of emotion ground into its very essence. All of Galaxy City felt of remorse, being a city zone that took pride in its memorials of fallen heroes. But it also felt of the urge to scratch an itch of discovery. An itch to venture into the unknown, unafraid. Each district and every building also had its own feel. Gemini Park emanated a sense of anxiety. Of hidden danger, the feeling that one was being watched. But here, on this spot….

Erik narrowed his eyes. He delved into the foreground, searching. He could just see it. It had happened a while ago, but it was still there, if only barely. It came in very brief flashes. At first there was fear, and an unquenchable thirst for power and knowledge mingled with the stench of rot and death. ’Presumably the couple was dragged into the park by the Vahzilok.’ Erik thought as the sensations flowed around his mind, seeping into it slowly as he sifted through the complex tangle of emotion within the park.

Everything suddenly changed. Fear, ambition, abomination-It instantly changed to confusion. Something had surprised them. Confusion very quickly turned to nothingness, and suddenly all traces of feeling started fading in certain spots, one at a time but sometimes altogether. Erik recognized this well-It was the signal of life, meaning and presence of matter being lost. Death. By this point, Erik had his eyes entirely closed and was almost in a trance beneath his umbrella. He could smell the blood, hear the growling of dogs, hear the moans of the wounded, the screams of those about to die. Screams faded, moans vanished, and all that was left was the shuffling and huffing of animals. Then something else arose amidst the vision: Hunger. The sensation spread amongst the entire area, and suddenly a frenzy of activity began anew.

’Eating the remains. Even the bones and the blood. That seems activity more suited to Hyenas than dogs.’ Erik thought musingly to himself, but then focused back on the scene before him. Something was coming. Something…It was hard to describe. Vast? Overbearing? Intimidating? Erik concentrated and focused on the new arrival, trying to ascertain what it was…

“Hello there my good sir!” Erik’s eyes snapped open. When he went into trances like that, he lost perception of time and the world around him. He was suddenly face to face with a Reaper, with two absent-minded cadavers behind him. There was a nasty looking cleaver against his throat. “How would you like to make a donation for the betterment of humanity?” The Reaper asked him in a cheerful, sing-song voice. The abominable excuse for a doctor was reaching into his pocket for a syringe, but Erik never let him get that far.

“I must decline your offer.” Erik said calmly, meeting the Reaper’s gaze evenly. “Here is a counter proposal: Go to the nearest police station and turn yourself in. Bring your friends with you and make sure they don’t attack anybody. Live out the rest of your days redeeming yourself for your crimes.”

“Yes.” The Reaper said suddenly, his eyes now blank and unfocused. “That sounds like a good deal. I will do that. Have a nice day.” He removed the cleaver and started walking, almost in a stupor, out of the park with cadavers in toe. Erik watched him go, his face having not even flickered from when he had opened his eyes. Though his expression was still blank, there was a sense of sternness to it as he watched the man go. After a few moments, he turned slightly to take in the entire scene once more and carefully began feeling about…But he didn’t even need to bother doing so for more than a moment to tell that he had missed his chance to fully determine what had happened here. Some places only ever divulged their secrets once.

He sighed and looked up into the sky, tilting his umbrella slightly so as to gaze upon the open blue if only for a moment. He stood there for a moment, thinking, until he lowered his umbrella and left the park, and started heading for Freedom Court.

Erik stared after the retreating Alex, his mouth a very thin and narrow line, his eyes perpetually relaxed. Being an empath unfortunately came with a price for him. He had to be careful not to express any emotions of his own, or he would cause mental feedback. He turned back to Nyte and Hunter presently.

"Well. It was nice to meet you two." His voice was exceedingly soft, more like the wind fluttering by coolly than actual sound. "Welcome. As long as I'm here, I'd like to warn you two to be careful. Galaxy City is getting more and more dangerous every day. Especially for people such as us." He nodded to both Nyte and Hunter respectively. "Goodbye." He then started to leisurely stroll down the sidewalk, heading for Gemini Park with umbrella in tow, like some monstrous creature hanging over his head.

OOC:

Well the plan, as far as I perceived it, was to get to King's Row via normal Atachnos methods. Helicopter, white non-descript truck, etcetera. Then shipment to Sedadyne via cargo container. It looks like we somehow got cargo'd to King's Row instead and now we are walking to Sedadyne.

Erik, living in room 216, woke up to the noise of his phone ringing. He grogily got out of bed, yawning and running his hands through his white hair, his red eyes mere slits. He was an albino, and usually slept during the days and worked at night. He got up and picked up the phone.

"This is Erik." He said sleepily. He did not disclose his last name. He did not have one.

"Hey! Erik darling, its Vanessa! Did I disturb your sleep?" A rather annoyingly chipper voice blasted him entirely awake through the phone.

"Not at all. I can always catch up on my rest later. When I'm dead, probably." Erik said in a tired fashion. "What is it?" As he spoke, he moved over the mini-fridge he had and took out a pre-made ham sandwich, biting into its cold and hard yet oddly refreshing surface as he waited for Vanessa to reply.

"Ah, well...it's about that thing last night. You know. That big meeting and...Well...I don't know how to say this..." Vanessa's voice was excited, even through her present hesitation and anxiety. Erik swallowed his mouth's contents and broke her off.

"They always tell everyone not to talk about it. You can. It's just a bit of drilling. What is it? Did you find something?"

"Er." Vanessa paused. "Yes. I was told to keep an eye out for local animal activity. Birds, cats, dogs...That sort of stuff. And yes, I did find something." Her voice dropped down to a whisper. "Just last night while we were meeting, a pack - get this - a PACK of wild dogs attacked a couple in Gemini park. It has to be what we're looking for."

Erik finished off his sandwich in two quick bites as Vanessa spoke, closing his fridge and shambling over to his closet to get dressed, pausing on the way to open the blinds slightly to see how bright it was out today. His closet contained lots of white clothing, and a black umbrella made of a very light-weight metal, and much more durable than standard models.

"Is the scene secure?" He asked.

"There wasn't a need. There were no...The dogs...They...The remains..." Erik could almost imagine the sight of Vanessa biting her lip over the phone.

"I see." He said simply. "I'll go over and have a look. I want you to deviate a little from your path, focus exclusively on Canine behavior here in Galaxy City over the past six months. Anything else?"

"No. Be careful." She said. "If reports are correct..."

"Not in broad daylight." Erik responded, having finished getting dressed in a loose white shirt and pants, just now tugging on two ivory gloves while holding the phone between his neck and shoulder. "Goodbye." He hung the phone up, picked up his umbrella, and opened the door into the hallway. His room, which had been pitch black, was suddenly flooded with light, making him wince slightly.

It was going to be one of those days...

***

"Hey Alex." Erik said as he emerged from the building, raising his umbrella to block out the sun. An odd sight, even in Paragon City. "Would you all be moving in?" He inquired to Hunter and Nyte. He seemed to be ignoring Blake.

Nyte may have noticed the slight nod she received from Erik as he met her gaze, and almost innately she understood that he was a fellow empath.

OOC:

I'm aware of that. But it should only take five minutes for a cargo container to be driven down ten city blocks or so.

ooc:

Millions was under the impression that they would sneak into King's Row and THEN be shipped. Which would have taen five minutes since we'd only be going through two zones max anyway. Hence why Millions only thought it would take five minutes.

Egregore easily evaded the security sensors, making a mental note to try and see if he could shut them down or somehow rig them for his own use later. He was pleasantly surprised to find that all the lights were off, and dust was EVERYWHERE. This looked to be a cut and dry storage warehouse, and one that was not frequented. Continuing this line of reasoning Egregore thought to himself...

'...Which means the only reason there would be security beyond a locked door was if they have heavy-duty hardware in here. Maybe even one or two military items. Not that I need any, of course...But it's nice to know I have plenty of scraps to work with.' Egregore went ahead and decloaked, but kept his disguise up. He found an office in the back of the place, with no computer but loads of shipment manifests. Spending a couple of minutes rummaging through these, Egregore concluded that everything he needed was here. It would be a bit of a patch-job, but it only needed to work once anyway. Oh yes. This warehouse was a dream come true. The Egregore Device was surprised once again when he found a notice in the stacks of paper explaining WHY the warehouse had apparently been deserted. It was due for renovations, and a crew would be along to move everything out of the place before getting to work around...

Egregore chuckled at the date. 2016. Sometimes red tape came through. He was now utterly alone in a warehouse full of all the raw material a crazed mad inventor could want, and nobody knew or most likely would ever know he was there.

’Go forth and conquer.’ Egregore thought to himself. “Yo Legion, I want you to go ahead and record everything in here for ease of access an…Eh? Legion?” Egregore Device looked around before face-palming. “Right. Tanks. Well he ain’t destroyed or captured, I would know…Which means he is free. Hehe. This just keeps better and better.” Egregore activated his comm. And communicated the now escaped power drone. “Hey Legion. I’ve got a job for you…”

OOC:

I was thinking Millions would divert the shipment to the Crey building in King's Row, specifically because nobody cares about what happens in King's Row. We all board and get shipped directly to the Sedadyne complex. From then on out, it is all about stealth and the appropriate application of force.

OOC:

Regarding your long break from the forums, Khell:

One smoooooooooooooth...operator...

BIC:

[u]Ten minutes into the future[u]

Egregore was now in Axis America's darker version of King's Row. He had picked this particular area for one purpose: No matter the reality or timeline of Earth, if it had a King's row, it would be LOUSY with warehouses. Sure, in this reality most of them were probably used to store military hardware or even fully operational military bases.

Which suited him just fine.

The Egregore Device liked being driven into corners. It gave him an excuse to mix things up a little. That was, after all, his main strength: His direct combat versatility. Given time to plan ahead, he could prepare for any situation in an appropriate manner.

'I'm the motherfuckin' Batm-I mean Manticore.' Egregore thought smugly to himself as he sauntered, cloaked along the edge of the lone warehouse in what Primal Earth called the Royal Refinery district. It probably had a different name, but the layout of the streets was exactly the same. The warehouse in this sector had many advantages over others that could be found in the King Garment Works and Industrial Ave. For one thing, it was small, but still large enough for his needs. It was far away from the rather creepier Axis version of Freedom Plaza. And best of all: There was no housing of any kind. No pesky civilians to poke their noses where they didn't belong.

'Oh yes. This place will do nicely.' Egregore thought to himself. 'Course, gotta see what venues I'm going to have to take here to make this place mine.'

Egregore proceeded to examine the perimeter of the warehouse, looking for windows so as to ascertain the nature of the warehouse if possible. Secondly, he looked for cargo entrances for trucks. It would be much easier to sneak in through one of those than the front door. And most importantly, he tried to determine if anybody was inside, managing the place.

It would be easy to think that many assumptions were being made regarding his actions in relation to the warehouse, in which case one would point out that Egregore Device currently had 19 module slots for his weaponry and port' module. Yet his backpack could maintain over three hundred modules simultaneously. One had to wonder what he did with all those spares, and the answer was he used them for disguises. He had a disguise for every major group on Primal Earth, and that had at one brief period of time included Axis America. He had modified the disguise to be more in keeping with the new standards around the place though: Anything that could see through his combat invisibility would see what appeared to be a third generation SZBV cyborg with thermo-optic camouflage scouting out a building for whatever reason instead of a borderline Malta gunslinger without a shirt and bits of metal sticking out doubtlessly trying to break in.

***

Legion had taken care to stick close to the rooftops at first, but the moment the Chinese arrived he shot straight up into the sky, doubtlessly thinking that nobody would place chasing it over this new mess...