And so it begins...

[thagema]

Shroud

Shroud perched in his favorite elevated position at the target range. After swapping out his weapons from his hidden dimensional pocket, he proceeded to fire.

After his first mission with Patriot, Tiger, Wrecker and the rest, the team had split. The reasoning was never fully explained, but when Patriot and Wraith left, it was clear that the team they had tried to build wasn't going to be permanent. Regardless, Omega Shield gave Shroud a place... to hide? A place he belonged? Whatever... He was content with where he was now.

After that mission, almost two years ago, he had augmented other teams when they required his unique skills. Though he never worked with Tiger, he had seen her around. She was doing the same as him, though she led other teams. That was fine. Leading wasn't his thing. Shroud was trained to operate solo and that's how he liked it.

Dropping down from his elevated perch, Shroud swapped his weapons again, and started cleaning up his casings. Many knew of his secret weapon stash, but old habits die hard. Never leave a trace was what they taught him. What was the old saying? Practice as if it were real. Cleaning up was what he would do. Leave no trace. It could almost be said that was Shroud's motto. Assuming of course he ever had one.

As he finished his clean-up, the rooms PA speaker crackled to life and the range supervisor, Longarm, spoke.

"Shroud, your presence is requested in the Ops building, briefing room 3A. 15 minutes." The one-way PA system went silent.

Well, it seems another team needed his unique talents. Fifteen minutes was plenty of time to clean up and change.

Gathering his equipment, Shroud left the range, turning in his checked weapons on the way out.

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Tiger

Tiger easily blocked the simple front kick from her student. The guy showed potential, but he needed a lot of work. In the past few years, Tiger had watched people come and go, been part of many temporary teams. None of them were completely to her liking, but she had led them successfully. Among many of the team leaders in Omega Shield, she was known as one of the best.

Her first team, though, had been tough to bring together. But, in the end, her and Patriot had led them well. They successfully brought down a slave trade ring in California. The slave ring extended far beyond the borders of the United States, though, and unfortunately the team couldn't go after them all. They may have only scratched the surface, but they still saved people from a life of miserable slavery.

Though they never had the chance to apprehend the leader of this particular hub, her having been killed by the real Mata Hari before they could arrive, it was still a victory. Apparently, the leader assumed the identity of the mutant assassin Mata Hari. The real Mata Hari didn't take too kindly to the use of her name and infiltrated the group as a potential slave. From that position, she was able to kill the fake Mata Hari and disupt the slave ring in San Francisco from some time. What happened to Mata Hari is still unknown.

As the workout wrapped up, Tiger was approached by the gym supervisor, Kim Tau, a very accomplished martial artist.

"Tiger, you are being summoned. Briefing room 3A in fifteen minutes." Bowing deeply, Kim Tau turned and walked away. As always, he would have no details on the mission so asking would be pointless.

Fifteen minutes gave her just enough time to shower and get there. Grabbing her bag, Tiger headed off to the locker room.

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Jeckle

Jeckle had been with Omega Shield for almost a year now. While she originally came onboard as a technician, she had been on a few missions. Nothing fancy, but it was enough to earn some funds. Not to mention the use of the compounds tools and shops. So far she had been very pleased with the arrangement. Working on some equipment at the chemical plant was tedious, but it helped pay the bills.

Jeckle had just finished cleaning up her shop and was preparing to go through her mail, as new magazines had arrived, when a call came through.

Answering the phone, the voice on the other end said, "Hello Jeckle. My name is Mr. Alexander. I'm a team liaison. You may have heard of me. I'm putting together a team for a mission and you have been assigned as the team tech. Please come to briefing room 3A in fifteen minutes."

As was usual, no mission details would be given out over the phone, even though the line was secure. Hanging up the phone after replying, Jeckle finished cleaning up before heading over to the Operations building.

[tag - all]

[albatross]

[Tiger]

After a quick rinse she slips into the suit of camouflage battle fatigues hanging in her locker next to her more comfortable clothes. She skips putting on the gloves and the hat and looks to her weapons. Slipping on her forearm sheaths and strapping on a gun belt, she adjusts the holsters so her Twin Ruger Old Army Survivors are pressed together running barrel to barrel down the small of her back. She looks at the other revolver hanging in her locker. It is huge, and very modern looking compared to the old fashioned Rugers. She frowns at the gun, and takes out a hip holster and straps it to her thigh. Very heavy, custom sized for someone at least a foot taller than her, and there is only one. Tiger’s weapons trainer had drilled into her the folly of carrying a single weapon so well that it bothered her vaguely that this new gun wasn’t a pair like all her other revolvers. Brushing these idle thoughts from her mind, she instantly focused and made her way to Briefing Room 3A. She hurried, moving quickly. She was always early.

Reaching the door to Briefing Room 3A her mind was clear and calm. She didn’t plan ahead, because she didn’t know anything yet. Instead she let her mind relax and waited for the right time to do her thinking. She knocked once and opened the door without waiting for a reply, taking in the room with the casual glance of a person who habitually observes everything. Her plain long brown hair is carefully braided into four intricate braids, she steps lightly into the room, her blue eyes bright. She is short, barely five foot three, and her frame is compact and light. Her eyes are smiling, but her expression is serious. She isn’t excited, yet she is hopeful her next assignment will be a good one. She loves good assignments.

[tag: any]

[shiivster]

*heads to the administration building and frowns as she thinks briefly* ...o0( Heckle and Jeckle, that was me and JD. He's missing, and they call me by his nickname. i really wish he was here sometimes. )

*then with her backpack filled with her new magazines, heads up to the front door and then enters. Moving to the meeting room, looks up and checks her watch briefly and ntices she still has a bit of time and then knocks at the door and then looks away so her burns dont show, andt hen turns to look at the way she came. A brief pause andt hen opens the door and tentatively says 'hello? .. ' *and then steps into the room in her usual work clothes, seemingly a bit scatterbrained in looks and demeanor.

[tag]

[thagema]

OOC: Sorry about the name confusion. I don't know exactly how I did that! I had just looked at your character and read the background before I posted and I still messed it up! I corrected the above post so that anyone who reads this later on will wonder what the name screw-up was

IC:

Jeckle enters the briefing room to find Tiger inside waiting. Though they had never worked together, they have seen each other in the compound from time to time.

The room is a typical OS briefing room. A long, dark wood table runs down the center of the carpeted floor. Along the sides of the room are extra chairs, a couple small tables, a coffee maker, pitcher of water and small refridgerator. Styrofoam cups sit next to the coffee pot, as well as sugar, creamer and the usual assortment of coffee condiments.

A few minutes pass with little conversation between the two when the door opens. A tall, older looking man, with salt & pepper hair cut short, a nice grey suit and folders tucked neatly under his left arm walks purposefully into the briefing room. Tiger immediately recognizes Mr. Alexander.

"Hello Tiger," he says smiling. "It has been awhile since we've worked together. I understand you've made quite a name for yourself." Unfortunately, Tiger knows Mr. Alexander has made quite a name for himself, as well. It just isn't a good name. He does his job well, but he isn't political at all. Because of that, he will never be more than he is now. But, Tiger is pretty sure that is how he wants it.

Turning to Jeckle, Mr. Alexander says, "Hello Jeckle. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Moving to the front of the briefing room, after a few brief words with each of the agents present, Mr. Alexander drops his folders on the table and goes to the fridge. Pulling out a bottle of water, he opens it, takes a drink then replaces the cap.

"We're just waiting on a couple more before we get started. They still have a few more minutes," he says moving back to the front of the conference table. He places the folders around the table in front of five chairs, then proceeds to warm-up the projector in preparation for the briefing.

[shiivster]

...o0( THAT's Tiger? ... holy ... wonder if there's anything i cou ....? who am i kidding. i'm lucky i'm not dead right now i guess. so they pulled out the big guns, hope i'm up to it. ) *Her pale purple eyes study the movements of the other two in the room, a part of her mind fitting them to a suit or guantlet.

*Nods at Tiger and hopes the rumors are false and she doesn't have to spar with her. looking away, she recalls her brother's teasing voice = you could always sit on her sis. you'ld win that way = A hand covers the smirk that forms at that memory, then goes quiet again, and pulls out the latest issue of the contact mag, looking to see the ads for his message. Pen in hand, checks the announcements and about 3 ads, before looking back up again.

[tag]

[dakota]

Finished cleaning up his mess, Khris casually strolled to his quarters and changed from his work clothes to a pair of khakis, sandals and hawaiian shirt. He picked up a pair of sunglasses from his dresser and slipped them on, along with a ballcap before slipping out the door. With his hands tucked in his pockets, he strolled acrossed the compound whistling a Rolling Stones tune towards the breifing room. He checked his watch to make sure he was going to be on time, but kept his casual pace.

Before he opened the door, Khris could sense a familiar presence inside. He opened the door with a grin on his face and walked in. He looked right at Tiger as he entered, closing the door behind him," I guess this must be a big job if they're letting us play together again."

[tag]

[albatross]

[Tiger]

"I sure hope its a big job, I'd hate to see this much talent go to waste!" Tiger smiles a big smile and says, "Great to be working with you again." Her voice is full of confidence as if she is talking to someone she knows she can depend on. Most of the rumors about Shroud wouldn't inspire that kind of reaction. She thinks back to their previous team and hopes her and Khris have a chance to catch up. Its been awhile. Not that she is particularly nostalgic for that particular team. Some of her teams lately had been much less impressive, yet they tended to accomplish more because they worked well together.

[tag: Shroud, Alexaxnder, Jeckle, any]

[shiivster]

' .... ' *then quietly to herself as she turns to look, the scarred half of the face first* ' ... us? ...' *then puts the current magazine away and slides the pen into her pocket and frowns and thinks to herself* ...o0( wonderful. this makes month 4 starting and no word. i really hope he's alright. did the wrist to eye link work or not? ... )

*her eyes watch Mr. Alexander who remains seated across from her and then sips up the backpack with a reserved sigh and hopes her twin is alright. she did have that leg spasm about 2 weeks ago, a sign that something had happened, but since then? .. no clue. then plops a pad of paper on the table and starts to design something in pencil as she continue to wait, no idea who and how many will be showing up.

[tag]

[dakota]

" Ditto Tigger." Khris replied, intentionally mispronouncing her name playfully with a wink. He took a seat acrossed from the third agent in the room. He put his feet up on the desk and leaned back, locking his fingers behind his head and tipping his cap forward. After he sat there long enough that he appeared to be napping, he asked," So how many bloody rookies you dumping on us?" His Irish accent only seemed to put an exclamation point on his question.

[tag]

[shiivster]

*lifts the eyes to look at the gent in the loud shirt. then goes back to her doodle and makes some cables attached to it. sighs and then sits back before commenting ... 'don't know about rookies, but i'm not exactly thrilled to be slotted in with some punks fresh outta school, mister 'i'm so special i can be a jackanaps to whoever i think will take the abuse'." *look up at the gent in question. setting her pencil down 'hope i never have to make anything for you. i highly doubt that you would have the appropriate amount of brain cells to properly assess anything loaned to you for a field test.'

*turns to look at Tiger 'hope i never have to spar with you. i'm afraid you'ld mop the floor with me. do you hppen to drive trucks? if not i don't think i'll be able to do a heck of a lotta work on the road. name's Jeckle, pleased to meet you' *nods and then extends her hand to Tiger.

[tag]

[[ ooc - what is it with the loudmouthed schnooks? ... =p .. this is gonna go soooooo well. good thing she's used to hte abuse, her twin was MUCH worse ... =p ]]

[thagema]

Smirking at the exchange, Mr. Alexander looks at Shroud.

"You just have a way with people, Shroud. To answer your question, there will be technically only one rookie with you. But, I think the new guy will be useful and benefit your team."

As if on cue, a quiet knock comes from the door. The door opens and in steps a dark haired man with what appears to be a three foot rod hanging from his hip. His clothes match his hair and the vague outline of an armored vest can be seen beneath his dark shirt. He moves gracefully, but quietly, to the next open seat.

"Sorry I'm late, sir. I had a hard time finding the room. My escort was suddenly called away. Honestly, his directions weren't very clear," the man says as he takes his seat.

"Not a problem, Magician. And drop the 'sir' thing. I'm not in need of an overabundance of formality. I'm Mr. Alexander and I'm your team liaison." Turning to the rest of the team, Mr. Alexander says, "Everyone, this is Magician. He's the one we were just speaking about. He's new to Omega Shield, but his abilities will aid you well in your mission."

Feeling eyes on him, Magician gives a slight nod to everyone. Though he appeared nervous, he didn't seem too phased by everyone looking at him. He pulled the rod from his hip and set it on the table. The tip looked somewhat like a flashlight, though the entire thing was heavy as evidenced by the thud as it was placed on the table.

"We'll save the formal introductions for later. For now, we can get started. I know one more member is planned, but I haven't been told who it will be. But, the necessity of the mission dictates that we push forward and backfeed the mission brief to any added personnel. I know it's an inconvenience, but we will adapt, as we've done in the past."

With that said, Mr. Alexander pushes a switch on the table and the lights dim. The projector comes on and the image of the Omega Shield emblem (a shield with the omega symbol), which isn't displayed anywhere else, appears on the screen.

The emblem is replaced with a picture of an older man with thinning dark hair and a goatee.

"This is Dwayne Zardona, the mayor of Century Station, a district of the United States. He has hired Omega Shield to perform a mission of some great importance. As we all know, Century Station is a city plagued by crime. In fact, the city is overrun by crime. Criminals of all kinds, all levels, terrorize the city. Street gangs, drug dealers, racketeers, you name it, Century Station has it. The worst is a criminal mastermind known as the Minotaur.

"Many believe the Minotaur to be either an urban legend or a collection of crime bosses. Many inmates at Gramercy Island, the super-powered prison in the bay of Century Station, claim to have alliance to the Minotaur. That is public knowledge. What the public doesn't know is that the Minotaur, from what investigations have deduced, is a real person. One man sitting on top of the largest crime ring in Century Station. Of course, man is speculative. It could be a woman.

"The problem is no one knows the Minotaur's true identity. With the anonymity, the Minotaur has become a symbol of power and fear. It's believed that almost all criminal activity in Century Station is tied to him somehow.

"A little bit of history, for those who are unfamiliar with Century Station. After Project Daedalus was shut down, the city fell into a major economical depression. Many of the residents turned to crime to get by. The crime rate grew to near cataclysmic levels. At that time a crime lord known as Iron Mike was a the top. In a daring move by the mayor prior to Zardona, he planned and executed an assault on Iron Mike. The plan was leaked out by an informant for the crime boss. The assault turned into a massacre.

"In the battle, many law enforcement officials lost their lives. But, Iron Mike was killed as well. Unfortunately, he had a small device hidden in his headquarters. The detonator was wired to his heart. When he died, it exploded. Hunderds died, thousands were injured. The majority of the city's police force was present and died. The city feel into turmoil. The event became known as the Bloody Monday riots."

The images on the screen changed to show images of the crime lord, the aftermath of the explosion and the memorial erected at the site.

"Once the city regained control, the President issued a warning. Clean up the city in five years or lose all district status. And the National Guard would be sent in to take control. The city would be under martial law. That was about four years ago. Progress has been made, but it isn't near where the Feds wanted it.

"Now, in desperation, Zardona has turned to us. The mayor believes that there's a leak within his department that has been feeding information to the Minotaur and that has kept him ahead of all attempts to stop him. This one is totally off the books and the city will disavow any knowledge of your activities.

"The Minotaur is rumored to be hiding in an area of the city known as the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth was the main hub of Project Daedalus and now is the worse crime zone in the city, perhaps the world. Snipers wait just inside the area and shoot any who attempt to enter. There is one possible route that we can try.

"The Mutant Underground, a supposed mutant sympathy group, operates in the city. The Underground is rumored to be undergoing strife in the leadership and that has led to two factions forming. One promotes the usual teachings of the Underground. They preach political changes for the betterment of mutants and assist escaped mutants from laboratories in finding a new niche in life.

"The second is militaristic. They seem to believe that only through military force can they assure the future of all mutants. This group is the one we need. It's rumored that this group knows of underground passages into the Labyrinth.

"So, your mission is to make contact with this group, discover if the passages are real, then go after the Minotaur and bring him down using any and all means at your disposal. The hard part will be bringing the Minotaur's identity to light in the process."

Mr. Alexander pauses to let the information sink in before continuing.

"You will need to make contact with a mutant known as Tribe. He's the bouncer, bartender, and assistant manager for a mutant-friendly nightclub known as Beneath Hades. It's believed the club acts also as a front for the Mutant Underground. He has offered to put you in contact with someone who might be able to get you a meeting with the Oracle, the head of the militaristic faction of the Underground.

"Payment will be $5000 up front, room and board, and $50,000 each upon completion. This is a big job, with a large payout. You will also have a contact in the mayor's office. A woman named Ms. Patricia Razzo. Her number is in the packets in front of you. Tiger, you will lead this mission. Now, I know you probably have a few questions, so this is the time."

Mr. Alexander waits for what he thinks will be a barrage of questions.

[shiivster]

*ponders a few things as Mr. Alexander speaks. At the mention of 'mutants' looks up quickly at the Liaison as the eyebrow lifts. Moving to the pad writes 'Minotaur' .. 'maze' .. '_____' . Takes her cue now to open the packet from in front of her, and opens it, glancing at the various papers and then looks up as Mr. Alexander finishes.

'other than not being, genetically imbued like most of the others .. i'm about as non souped as you could get. sorry. i'll do what i can, but don't expect me to save the day unless you need something made or figured out' *then starts to read the page with the most information and then comments, more to herself 'mind you a camera, on high might be able to .... yeah that could work .... and to record .. ' *seems to make a few notes on the pad with the doodle on it from before '... glasses ... and .. ' *glances up and then smirks once and then continues to read, this time she's quiet as she works something out in her mind and writes something down.

[tag]

[dakota]

He smiled at the magic words in Mr. Alexander's speech (any and all means). He swiveled his chair to look at Tiger. He pulled a slightly oversized cellphone from his belt and slid it acrossed the table. " Still got your's, Tigger? " He looked back to Jeckle. " Why dinna you just say you're the new toymaker? Our first tech, Wrecker, came up with these litle beauts. You, Magic Boy an whoever our mystery guest is will need something similar. An please don't destroy this one figuring out how it works."

He puts his feet back up on the table and leans back again, " So, take this Minotaur out by any means? You remember the last time you gave me those instructions? I seem to remember you complaining afterwards." he pulled off his glasses and tapped them against his chin with a devilish grin.

[tag]

[albatross]

[Tiger]

In response to Shroud's question, Tiger nods, she does still have cell phone Wrecker gave her. She waits patiently for Shroud's question about ways and means to be answered, and then asks one of her own.

"Mazes and infiltrating underground groups take time, and I know the mayor is facing a time crunch. Will the government be satisified with the mayor's progress if the Minotaur is removed, or will a clean-up period be needed? I ask because I'd like to know what our maximum timeline is."

"I'm also interested to know if there is any intelligence on potential safe-houses or places for us to stay in the city, although I'm sure we can find something if we need too."

Tiger pays attention to what Shroud, the Magician and Jeckle say, carefully evaluating their responses and the direction of their questions.

[tag: any]

[shiivster]

*puts the assorted papers down and then flips open the cell phone thats on the table. the eyes making short work on the exterior, and then the mini screwdriver that was hidden on the belt quickly undoes the back and looks as she asks "hey magician. you got issues with glasses? .. got a couple ideas if you're good with that, just try to not damage the surface is all. ahh there's what i was ... k .. got one of them but i think .. none of that tho ... '

*redoes the the cell phone up carefully and then as she sets it back on the table .. has it cleaned of her prints with the soft cloth. 'my truck would be a nice base of ops .. sad part .. its got to much wrapped up in it. and carries too much gear. so it will be a fact of thinking out the needs first. oh ... ' *looks at shroud and then away and says nothing more on that tract.

*then goes back to doodling something .. a strange looking fly or other flying insect 'hmmm .. just like one of those 'rods' from that cave ... now how to .... ? '

[tag]