Pirate Force

by Malicious hero

FULL SUMMARY INSIDE! Collab fic! A criminal of immense repute has escaped capture by using outlawed technology to enter another universe. Unable to let him go, a group of highly trained operatives and trainees pursue him. Only to find that their prey has joined this world's "Law Enforcement". Now forced to become outlaws, will they succeed, or fall to this worlds justice?

2. Prologue 2: Assemble the Team!

Greetings, one and all and a belated merry Christmas, from the Malicious Hero.

I am back, once again with a new chapter for one of my stories, this time for Pirate Force, my only collab fic. Guys, I hope you like how I did the characters. It took me a while to be satisfied with this.

Hope you all enjoy!

"Speech/phone or comm speech"

"[alternate language]"

"Attack text"

Disclaimer: I don't own any franchise involved with the making of this story, I only own the plot.

Prologue 2: Assemble the Team!

Chicago, 11:45pm, 5 days later...

Darkness draped across the large factory, its workers having gone home for the day a few hours ago. The only ones supposed to be there were a skeleton security team.

As an owl hooted in the distance, a thin middle aged coated man was approaching the back fence, glancing about for any sign of movement. At present, it was too dark to make anything else out about him.

Satisfied that there wasn't anyone around, he crouched down, his hand dipping inside his jacket. Pulling out a pair of pliers, he got to work on the fence, clipping away quickly and efficiently. As soon as he made his self-made entrance big enough to get through, he pushed part of the fence back. Squeezing through, he gently lowered that bit of the fence back into place, making no noise whatsoever.

Putting the pliers away, he crept forward, keeping an eye out for the security team. No sign yet.

Coming to some shipping containers that were due to be sent out the next day, he flattened himself against one, when he caught sight of a flashlight flickering nearby.

"Look, I don't care what you think you heard, I'm telling you there's no one here!"

The gruff voice faded away, the light moving off. Taking a moment to ensure the guard wasn't anywhere near him, and to calm himself from that near scare, the intruder moved on, taking his time to avoid any cameras he saw and not making a sound.

It took a few minutes, but he finally reached the side door of the factory. Glancing to the side, he saw a keycard scanner with a red light on it. After pausing to hastily look around, he pulled out a blank card and tapped it. With a soft 'ding', the door unlocked and slid open, and he swiftly entered, letting it shut and lock itself again behind him.

Moving silently down the corridor he was now in, passing a few doors, he soon found one marked: Manager. Using the card again to unlock it, he found himself in a small office, with a modest desk in the centre, and computer atop it.

Withdrawing a black USB like device from his coat, he promptly found a suitable port and plugged it in. The monitor sprung to life, a series of green binary code lines flashing across it at blinding speeds.

As this continued, the intruder kept glancing at the door every few seconds. It wouldn't do to be caught now.

The monitor switched off, telling him his task was done. Ejecting the USB, he returned it back to his jacket, and made to leave. He just closed the office door, when he heard a loud clanking noise coming from the factory floor, which was only a door away.

Narrowing his eyes, the man pulled a combat knife out, and moved to the door leading to it, his curiosity piqued.

Entering, he gazed across the various assortment of machines that made up the assembly line and conveyer belts around the factory. Scurrying across it, he blinked when he arrived at the storage area, where the goods were loaded into boxes to be shipped out. As to what caused the blink, well that would be a few boxes that had been cracked open, one lying on the ground nearby, its contents spilled across the floor.

Frowning, the man glanced about, before reaching down to examine the boxes.

The click of a safety catch was his only warning.

Whirling around, he swung his knife. Too slow.

Two silenced shots pierced the darkness, a final death toll for the intruder, who fell to the ground, his knife clattering to the ground next to him. Blood seeped out from under his torso, his final defiant expression visible for all to see.

9:35am, the next day...

It looked like just another 12 storey durabrick office building. With its unassuming exterior, no one would have guessed that it housed something far more important.

Inside was the HQ of the BlackGuards Office of Special Operations, Chicago branch. Spanning several floors, it sported several state-of-the-art facilities, as well as apartments for any agents who had no permanent place of residence.

Our attention, however, is on the 9th floor, a cream walled, blue carpeted space expanding the entire floor, with a few support columns here and there, and a set of stairs near the centre, which led up to the open 10th floor. Here one could see several desk spaces, split into groups by shoulder high thin walls, split up depending on which particular division an agent was assigned to, or for office clerks meant to handle other tasks for the BlackGuard.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap...

In a section of the offices walled off by these barriers to provide privacy for this particular division, one agent was already present and accounted for: the black-haired form of Azazel Serizawa. And he was getting a little impatient.

He'd been told to report here at 9:30am sharp. After unfortunately making a bad first impression on his soon to be senior agent, he decided to come in early and had arrived at 9:20.

That was 20 minutes ago. And here he was drumming his fingers on one of the classically styled wooden desks provided, becoming more and more irritated by the minute.

Ding!

The sound of the grav-lift opening drew his gaze, wondering if someone else was finally going to show up.

Into the work area came a blond-haired woman, clad in a simple black vest over a pale red shirt and black pants, accompanied by what Azazel assumed to be a mutant, whose body heavily resembled a wolf, who was wearing an armoured suit over himself, and had a set of glasses resting over his snout. Both were carrying take away coffee mugs, and appeared to be chatting, seemingly getting along.

"Just don't get dog hair all over me or my things, and we'll be fine."

The lupine creature, Fenris, looked a tad affronted. "I do my best to avoid such things. Doing so would be rude to the extreme."

Azazel's eye started twitching, as they hadn't noticed him looking at them. Deciding to make himself known, he cut in.

"Hello." He drawled out, his narrowed eyes glaring at them like twin black holes almost.

Fenris, startled, nearly dropped his cup. Vermouth was far more composed, turning to look at him as if nothing happened.

"Hello to you too, Blackie." She responded, her tone amused, seemingly entirely unfazed by his annoyance.

Azazel's gaze never wavered. "And where have you two been?" He asked pointedly.

"My apologies." Fenris inclined his head politely. "I would have gotten here earlier, but I ran into Miss Vermouth here, who informed me that the office coffee maker was broken. I offered to acquire some."

Azazel would have responded, had a glowing magic circle now appeared in the centre of the room, fading away to reveal Xathun in his mission garb, stretching his arms as he exited.

"Sorry I'm late, got a little caught up unpacking at my new apartment upstairs." He explained, not noticing that he wasn't the last to arrive.

Not two seconds later, the elevator dinged again, bringing Xathun back to reality.

"Oh." He blinked, doing a headcount. Glancing at the other three agents, his lips twitched upward upon seeing the lone wolf in the room.

"Fenris..." he walked up to his old friend, putting his hand out. Grinning said friend accepted the gesture.

"Good to see you, brother." He responded cheerily, his tail swishing behind him.

Breathing in and out slowly, Azazel looked impassive, as he stood up and walked around. "Am I the only punctual guy here?" He grumbled under his breath, before striding over to the group, deciding to introduce himself, offering his hand to the lone woman of the group.

"Azazel." He said curtly, his tone relatively neutral.

The woman glanced down at his hand, before placing her coffee on the desk behind her, which Azazel noted was the only one that wasn't set up the same as the others, indicating a sense of familiarity and individuality.

Grasping the hand with her own, she also introduced herself. "Vermouth. I think I'll stick to blackie, if it's all the same to you."

Well, this is certainly going to be an interesting squad. Mused Azazel, his earlier irritation fading. There were worse names to be called, after all.

A slight skidding noise indicated Ryo's arrival, dressed in a simple white dress shirt, blue pants and brown jacket, looking a little out of breath.

"Phew." He panted, slowly breathing in and out. "Made it."

Xathun raised an eyebrow at the newcomer. "Got lost?"

"I wish." Ryo muttered, shaking his head. "Blasted traffic... One thing in the city's that I hate..."

Vermouth nodded in some understanding. "It can be frustrating at times. You got a name?" She asked, crossing her arms under her chest, causing her, ahem, assets to be pushed up, making them look bigger than normal.

Cue a minor blush from the newcomer. "Er, Ryo. And may I know your names?"

"Xathun. Nice to meet you."

"Azazel."

"Vermouth. I'm sure we'll get to know each other better soon."

"Fenris. A pleasure."

Nodding to each other agent, Ryo, whose eyes lingered on some more than others, looked around curiously at them. "So, who's in charge here?"

"None of us are." Azazel glanced around; his arms crossed. "He hasn't seemed to have arrived yet."

"I'm sure he'll be here shortly." Fenris said placatingly, adjusting his glasses as he did so.

Ryo blinked. "So what? He's the boss, so he thinks he doesn't need to be here on time?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Doubtful." Xathun remarked, having chosen his desk out of the ones available. "And do you really have room to talk?"

"I'm not denying that. I just think that he should at the very least take this seriously. It's not like we were pulled out of the BlackWolves for this, is it?" He replied, his inner sarcastic coming out.

"He does raise a good point though." Vermouth pointed out, looking around before looking at Azazel. "Where is he?"

Azazel turned to say something, when he went stiff, looking right at Ryo, or rather over his shoulder, not that Ryo himself noticed, eyes widened. Following his gaze, Vermouth had a similar reaction after a few seconds.

"Probably having a drink somewhere without a care in the world, before coming to greet the commoners." Ryo grumbled uncaringly, not realising that both Fenris and Xathun were signalling for him to stop.

"Or perhaps I was waiting to get an idea of what kind of people would be working under me." A new voice called out.

Ryo froze, before glancing behind himself slowly. And then upwards. Standing on the upper landing of the stairs, looking down on the group one floor below him, stood Magnus, arms crossed over the railing, his lone visible eye locked on Ryo, sending daggers at him.

"You have something to say to me, Takahashi?"

Ryo backtracked, gulping at the stare sent his way. "No, sir. I was just-"

"Letting your mouth get the better of you." Magnus cut in before shaking his head in dismissal. "I've been here since 9. But we'll sort that out later. Ops centre, all of you. We have a case on deck."

The group blinked as one. A case on the first day? Now wasn't that a coincidence.

"Yes, I know that's strange. Now come on." Magnus pointed out, as if reading their minds.

With that said, he spun on his heel, moving off down the walkway. The others looked at Ryo, who was mentally kicking himself for not realising he was there.

"I will remember you fondly." Azazel mockingly patted him on the shoulder before moving towards the stairwell at a brisk walk.

Xathun grimaced slightly, before following, with Vermouth disappearing up them soon after.

His shoulders slumping, Ryo moved after them, Fenris bringing up the rear. What a way to start his new assignment...

Moving up the stairwell and moving across the landing, the group came to a set of reinforced sliding doors, which hissed open when they got close to them.

Inside, was a veritable hive of computer monitors, with a projection screen at the far end and a holotable in the middle.

Magnus was standing at the far end of said table, his hands clasped behind his back. Aside from him, there were only two other people there, both wearing headsets, a young teen looking man sporting slicked back brown hair, green eyes and was clad in a light blue shirt, matching vest and light brown shorts.

The other was a blue-eyed woman in her mid-thirties, with red hair tied back in a bun. She was wearing a relatively modest blue dress, and stockings.

Magnus gestured to them. "Team, meet Lucas Neill and Michelle Smith, our ops tech support."

"Hiya." Lucas gave a small wave, before turning back to his work, with Michelle giving only a small nod, before doing the same.

Magnus waited for the newly assembled group to finish responding before starting. "Before I begin the briefing, I should probably introduce myself, seeing as you already did earlier. My name is Magnus Zarathos, and I've been assigned to lead this new team of ours. If I'm not around, the next Senior Agent would be you, Xathun, so that makes you the SIC."

The mage nodded his head, as he got slapped on the back encouragingly by Fenris, giving him a toothy grin.

Looking around the group with a hard gaze, he continued. "Now, understand this. Most of us were former BlackWolves, and I'm sure most of us weren't too happy to be pulled out of them for this." Here, he scowled slightly at Azazel, whom had the decency to wince at the jab.

"That being said, ... I'm going to do my best that I can to lead this group; to make the most of an unfavourable situation. No offence meant, Agent Vermouth (here he inclined his head at the lone female of their group, who promptly waved it off). And I expect nothing but your best as well." He said, his gaze turning expectant.

"Are there any questions?" Looking around, he took in the faces of his new subordinates. Seeing no one step forward to ask questions, he shrugged.

"Ok then. Let's get started."

"So, what do we have?" Xathun asked curiously, moving towards the holotable.

"And why are we getting pulled in?" Azazel added, with an air of confusion about him.

Magnus nodded to the table, before pulling up a holo of a brown-grey haired man in a former BlackGuard uniform.

"Lieutenant Axel Myers. Former BlackGuard officer, during the final years of the war and later."

"I've heard of him." Vermouth paused, thinking for a second. "Didn't he retire over an incident in Madrid?"

Magnus nodded tersely. "Yes, he lost his temper with an official he was meant to be protecting. Mostly due to him having difficulty transitioning from war footing to the BlackGuards new role."

"PTSD?" Ryo asked, trying to clarify as he leaned forward to get a better look.

"That's what the report was, yes. As recognition for his services, he was allowed to retire quietly rather than face a dishonourable discharge. After which he became a private investigator." Was his new superior's answer.

"So, what's the issue with him?" Azazel questioned impatiently, clasping his hands behind his back, wanting to get to the point.

Magnus tapped the holotable surface, changing the image to a large factory.

"The issue is that he was found dead at the Armamax weapon factory early this morning."

He paused, letting the information sink in.

"Was he there due to his work?" Fenris inquired, adjusting his glasses.

"I can't imagine another reason." Ryo muttered under his breath, earning a glare from the mage of the group.

"That's what we have to ascertain." Magnus gestured to the image, trying to prevent another unnecessary dispute so early on. "Retired or not, Axel was a BlackGuard officer. And as such, he also had access to some classified Black-Ops documents. The SecBlack wants to make sure that any of the intel he knew hasn't been compromised."

"Typical." Azazel massaged his forehead.

"Understandable though." Xathun nodded, rubbing his chin. "So, what's our strategy?"

"Our strategy is simple. First, we arm up at the armoury, and then we split up." Magnus shut the table off, letting the light die down. Moving back around towards them, he stopped just next to Ryo.

"Takahashi, you and Vermouth take a look at Myers' office/house; see if you can find out what he was doing there, or what he was working on currently. Lucas should have sent the address to your holophones."

Vermouth gave a cheeky smirk, while Ryo merely inclined his head slightly, not wanting to antagonise his senior agent further. Twisting around, the pair made to leave.

"And Takahashi?"

Ryo paused mid-step, glancing back. "Yes, boss?"

"Next time you decide to insult someone, make sure they can't possibly overhear you." Was the seemingly neutral yet biting remark.

Ryo seemed to think for a second, then nodded stiffly and left after Vermouth.

"And us?" Azazel asked with raised eyebrows.

"We have the crime scene." Magnus replied simply. "So, let's get moving. Xathun, you and Fenris have the Forensics van, I've got the car. You mind riding shotgun?" He raised an eyebrow at Azazel.

Azazel looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Either I ride in the car or get stuck in the back of a stuffy van. I think I'll take the car." He replied with a deadpan.

Magnus gave a wry smirk at that.

"Right then, let's move."

45 minutes later, Armamax Weapons Plant.

Nice place... Xathun mused as he pulled the large black van into the complex's car park, with Magnus driving a 2092 Dodge Challenger XL R/T in front of them. Traffic hadn't been too bad, so they made good time getting there.

Normally, the Mage would have just teleported to the scene, but they needed to get their forensics van here somehow, and Fenris couldn't drive very well, considering his body shape.

Both vehicles soon pulled up in front of the truck delivery sections, BlackGuard LEO's already on scene, keeping any curious or impatient workers from the crime scene. Unknowingly, they all thanked the heavens that there wasn't any sign of the media. None of them had the patience for such an encounter on day one.

Getting out of the van, Xathun knocked a hand on the side of the van, to let Fenris know they'd arrived. Hearing a small bark from inside, he shifted his gaze over to where Azazel and Magnus were disembarking. And from the looks of things, the human of the pair seemed annoyed by something.

"... mean, seriously, who listens to that crap instead of actual music?!"

"I'm not much of a fan either, but is this really the time?" Magnus raised an eyebrow, partially regretting giving his passenger control of the radio.

"Yeah, yeah..." was the grumbled response, Azazel getting his head back in the game.

The back doors of the van popped open, letting Fenris disembark, holding a sturdy looking black case in his left hand.

"Shall we?" He asked, gesturing it towards the factory entrance, as their CO and enforcer joined them.

"Yes, lets." Magnus agreed, before turning to look at all of them. "I don't think I need to remind you to be on your best behaviour around here?" Here he locked his lone visible eye on Azazel, who looked affronted for a second, before shrugging.

"They treat me alright; I'll do the same." Was his reply.

Nodding in acceptance, Magnus turned back to the rest of the group.

"Fenris, the body's yours. Xathun, see if there's any magical residue around. If a Mage was involved, I want to know."

"On it." The Mage moved into the factory to complete his job, Fenris also accepting his order. With that the pair moved off after them, entering the factory floor, ducking under the crime scene tape set up.

"If you can talk with the LEO in charge here, I'll have a word with the supervisor here." He continued, glancing at the black-haired man with him.

"No problems." Azazel turned and walked away, looking for the officer in charge.

Seeing no further complications, Magnus entered the factory himself, taking in as much detail as he could. Around them, were several crates, each of which he knew were filled with the latest tech weaponry. A veritable treasure trove for criminals.

Looking around, he saw Xathun speaking to an irate plump brunette woman in a high visibility vest, while Fenris had gotten to work on the body.

"... longer will this take? I have an inventory to take stock off, not to mention shipments and deliveries to sort out!"

"Madam, I'm sure this won't take too long, we are just trying to be sure to get as much information as we can before we get the scene cleaned up."

Making his way over, as this was undoubtedly the person he was meant to speak too, Magnus made himself known.

"And he'd be right, Miss?"

The woman looked at him with a frustrated look in her eye. "Zara Milkos."

Xathun closed his eyes for a few seconds, allowing the pair to converse.

"You the supervisor here?" The redhead mutant asked, crossing his arms.

"Yes." She replied with any eye roll. "Been here 4 years and no mistakes on my watch. I'd not like to start doing so now."

"I'm sorry for the disturbance, this must be a bit of a shock." He placated, as Xathun opened his eyes again, before shaking his head at him meaningfully. The message was clear. No magic detected. So, no Mages were involved. That would narrow their search down at least, no matter how slight.

"No kidding." Zara scoffed, before looking contrite. "Not that this was a thing to joke about."

"Indeed." Xathun agreed, turning to look at Fenris, who was pulling a few instruments from his case.

"Do you know that man?" Magnus inquired, his hand gesturing towards the victim's body, deciding to question further.

"Never seen him before." She replied without a hitch.

Either well practiced or she's being truthful. Were the thoughts of the two BlackGuards.

"Security found him early this morning." She continued, before pausing. "We called it in as quickly as possible and let Mr. Armanti know."

"Is there anything missing?" Xathun asked, glancing at all the crates around them. "I imagine there's a lot worth stealing here for a criminal."

"Tell me about it." She rolled her eyes, before answering his question. "As far as we can tell, no. But our inventory system was down for maintenance last night, so we need to do a proper manual stocktake before I can honestly answer that. That'll unfortunately take a while."

Magnus reaches into his jacket and withdrew a card, passing it over. "If there is, could you let us know?"

"You'll be the first to know." She assured, before saying her goodbyes and moving back to the parts of the factory still operational, shouting at a moron driving a hover forklift.

"That was... informative." Xathun remarked dryly, before turning to face Magnus. "You think she's being truthful?"

"I believe so." Magnus replied, rubbing his chin. "From what I know, Armanti values punctual workers and personal loyalty. He's known for firing people for not meeting his expectations regularly."

"Still, she seemed more bothered by the fact that this would delay them, rather than the fact that he was killed here." The Mage pointed out, earning a nod from his fellow.

"True." Magnus conceded. "We'll have our techies take a look at her later."

Jerking his head towards Fenris, whom now had an elongated mask over his muzzle, the mutant and Mage started making their way over to him, moving past several crates and pallets.

"I almost didn't recognise you." Xathun commented casually. "It's been a while since Athens."

Magnus looked confused for a second, before his face gained a hint of clarity. "Huh. Small world. I did think your name was familiar, just couldn't remember where from."

The hooded BlackGuard shrugged it off.

"If you don't mind me asking, how-?" Xathun broke off, the African Italian uncertain how to word his question.

"My eye?" Was the deadpanned response from the Australian. It always did raise questions...

"Yeah. Sorry if I offended you."

Magnus waved his hand. "A little bit, but I'm used to it. You wouldn't be the first to ask, nor will you be the last."

Raising a hand to his eye patch, he gave a slight grimace at the memory.

"Hong Kong, about a year and a half ago. Corrupt officer I was investigating put out a hit on me. The local Triad picked it up."

Xathun winced. "Not the sort of attention we like." He didn't question it further; he had enough details about it to put the pieces together.

"Isn't it?" Magnus chuckled, good naturedly. "Thankfully, it isn't a big of a loss as you think..."

The cloaked man blinked, his expression perplexed by that last statement. "I'm sorry?"

"Another time." The captain promised, before turning curious. "How go your expeditions? I know you were still searching for a few more for your 'collection'."

"Not as frequent." Xathun shrugged. "With duties to the BlackGuard, I haven't had much time to look into new potential sightings. Luckily my last trip bore some fruit, albeit in an unexpected way." Under his cloak, he clasped his grimoire, holding it tightly.

Magnus would have inquired further, had they not arrived at the body. Fenris briefly glanced up at them, before returning his attention to it, slowly and deliberately going over every aspect of it.

"What have you got, Fenris?" Magnus asked, his tone full of authority.

"A fair bit." The lupine creature responded carefully. "I can confirm that the two gunshot wounds to the side are the probable cause of death, but I'll need the autopsy scanner back at the morgue to know for certain."

"Time of death?"

"Again, this would be an estimate, but I would say about an hour to half an hour before midnight last night."

Magnus crossed his arms thinking deeply, while Xathun took up the questions.

"Any of the rounds still inside him?"

"Afraid Not." Fenris shook his head in disappointment, gesturing around the loading bay. "Both have exit wounds on the other side, and there's no trace of any bullet shells around here."

"So, our killer knew what he was doing." The Mage remarked, rubbing his chin.

"Wish I could say the same about this places security."

The new voice signalled Azazel's return to the group. And saying that he didn't look pleased would be a massive understatement. From his slightly red face, scowl and grit teeth, it looked as if he'd just gotten into an argument. Magnus frowned, wondering if he'd need to have a talk with the man later. He had warned him after all. Still, it was best to hear his story before jumping to conclusions.

"How so?" Fenris looked puzzled, well, as puzzled as a wolf could look anyway. Slowly standing up, he removed the mask from his face.

Magnus raised an eyebrow at their enforcer, letting him continue.

"Apparently, the night security staff didn't find him until 1:30, after which, they called the BlackGuard." Azazel answered, gnashing his teeth as his face turned red. "So much for iron clad and effective."

The others looked at him in disbelief.

"How exactly does that happen?" Xathun asked, being the first to recover. "You'd have thought that the security here'd be top notch."

"Their chief was sleeping on the job." He snarled, turning to eye the trembling officers behind him in distaste. "And his job was to mind the security booth. Another guard fessed up to finding him like that later."

"Let me get this straight." Magnus clenched his fists, his eyebrow twitching. "He got too lazy to take his role seriously, and because of this, a man died."

"That pretty much sums it up." Fenris outlined, growling at the notion. "I think it would be a public service if we inform his employer about it."

The other three glanced at each other before answering together. "Agreed."

Their creepy unanimous decision over with, Magnus looked back to the body. Taking a moment of silence in respect to the fallen man, he let out a sigh, shaking his head.

"Let's get him out of here." He turned to Xathun, his expectations high. "Can you levitate him into the van?"

Xathun looked mock insulted. "Easily."

Moving his gaze to Azazel, he asked. "Can we get a copy of the footage from last night?"

"Already asked." He replied with a grunt. "They said the footage had been wiped from 11pm to 1am. By then the body was there."

Cue the shocked indignant faces.

"Are you kidding me?!" Magnus gaped, just looking stunned at the stupidity and incompetence being shown by the so-called 'Security staff'. First, they don't find a body for two hours, and now the security chief slept through someone getting killed and another messing with his console! Quite frankly, he was lucky that whoever killed Axel left him alive!

Heads were going to role in the Armamax corporation, that was for certain.

"I wish." Azazel replied. His sentiments exactly. Exactly whom had hired these nimrods again?

"Of all the..." Magnus massaged his forehead, trying to prevent an oncoming headache, before pulling his holophone out to make a call. "Great, just great." What a great way to start the new gig. "Send what footage we do have back to HQ. We'll see if our techies can work a little magic on it."

"I wonder how the others are getting on?" Xathun flicked through his grimoire idly, contemplating setting a dragon on these idiots. He wouldn't be able to obviously, but one could dream.

"Probably having an easier time than we are." Azazel bit out harshly, running a hand through his hair.

"Amen." Fenris rumbled, his voice sounding more guttural, conveying his frustration, while he tried to keep his inner beast contained.

Parker's Square, a few minutes earlier

Ryo wasn't exactly having a good day. Missing his alarm, wolfing down his breakfast, only to get stuck in traffic on the way in, and then his mouth lands him in hot water with his new CO. Yeah, not on his top ten best days list.

And I thought I left that back at the academy... he frowned, turning the radio up, listening to an advert for the next Hyperball game happening the next day. With the teams being the Chicago Centurions against the SF Strikers. Huh. Here's hoping the Centurions pulled a win.

"So," his current partner piped up from the other seat of his red 2095 Mitsubishi Evo RX, as he rounded the corner into the street they were looking for. "What's your story, Waterboy?"

Ryo jolted slightly. "How did you-?" His mutation ability wasn't public knowledge. How did she know?

"First, you just told me. Second, I already knew you were a mutant, due to Michael briefing me. Next, hardly anyone carries an antique like that anymore." She replied cheekily, gesturing to his canteen stuck on his belt.

His eyebrow twitching, Ryo took a breath, as he pulled up outside the place they were looking for. He couldn't believe he'd been played like a fiddle. And like an amateur at that!

Having parked the car, they looked up at the 5-story building in front of them. It wasn't anything special, just your classic old style brick building with a few balconies. Although Ryo has certainly seen buildings in better condition. Waiting as a kid on a Enerbike went past, the pair moved towards it. Still smarting over his unintended slip up, Ryo took point, flashing the dismissive receptionist his BlackGuard ID, entering the building at a moderate pace, Vermouth looking bemused behind him.

Looking around the dingy, dimly lit foyer, Ryo wrinkled his nose as a rather pungent odour sprang up into his nostrils.

"Talk about living the high life." He remarked, not liking the place at all.

"Not surprising." Vermouth remarked, stepping up next to him with her phone out, looking at something just sent to her. "According to his bank records, Myers often blew most of his money on alcohol and 'equipment'. With how much he spent, it's surprising he could still afford the rent here."

"Weapons?" He inquired curiously.

"Weapons, surveillance, Computer tech, you name it."

Reaching the main staircase, as it was just their luck the lift was out, they began climbing.

Axel's apartment/office was on the third floor, in unit number 3, so it wasn't too bad of a climb.

Reaching said floor, Ryo turned his head to the left, checking the apartment numbers for the one they were looking for. Seeing only 4 or higher, he turned back to the right, only to get a nudge from Vermouth.

Glancing at her, she directed him to the door not but 5 meters away. It was a simple brown wooden door with a small plaque next to it saying:

Meyers Private Investigations

That wasn't what troubled the pair though. What was eye-catching was that the door was ajar, with a few cracks around the handle. Obviously, a sign of forced entry.

Nodding at her, Ryo uncapped his canteen, drawing his sidearm at the same time with his other hand. Training it on the door, he advanced slowly toward it, not needing to look back to know his new colleague had also armed herself.

Coming to the side of it, he flattened himself against the wall, while Vermouth stood right in front of it, her handgun pointed right at it.

Raising three fingers, he slowly brought them down, one by one, and when none were up...

Bam!

Vermouth kicked the door open, moving in moments later, shouting "BlackGuard!" as she went. His gun covering her, Ryo followed, entering the Victims residence.

The place was a mess. And not due to the former owner. The place had been ransacked, with food being strewn all over the kitchen floor, cupboards open, draws upended, the couch had been ripped open, you name it. As Vermouth checked the door to the left of the room, Ryo turned to another on the far side of the room. Stepping over some cracked picture frames, he made his way around the couch to the door, taking care not to step on anything, but still keeping his weapon aloft.

Entering what appeared to be an office space, the young officer found another equally ruined room, with several papers and photos spilled all over the joint, along with several smashed computer drives. Someone had obviously been looking for something, but what?

Making a mental note to get a full Forensics unit down here, he whipped around when he heard shouts of "Drop your-!" followed by a gunshot.

Racing back into the living area, he saw Vermouth taking cover just outside the other room, as she blindly returned fire.

"How many?" He asked, coming up on the other side of the doorway.

"One." She replied, as she went to fire again, only for them to hear the sound of braking glass.

Taking a gamble, Ryo peered around, only to swear, when he saw a smashed in window, leading to a fire escape.

"Son of a-!" He hissed out, running over to it, ignoring the similar upended state of the bedroom he went through, poking his head out. Now a full story down was a male figure in a dark grey hoodie, his lower face covered by a red bandanna. Clutched in his left hand was an old Glock 457 pistol.

Leaping out onto the escape himself, Ryo took off after the perp, not checking whether Vermouth was following him.

The man reached the ground seconds before him, jumping from the fire escape, stumbling, before getting into a sprint down the back alley they were now in. As Ryo leapt down to ground level, he ducked slightly, as the runner had taken a second to fire a shot behind him in an attempt to dissuade his pursuer. Luckily for the agent, he was a terrible shot. Unfortunately, this panicked the people walking by in the nearby street, resulting in a few cries and shouts to call the BG.

Not taking kindly to this, Ryo brought his own gun up and prepared to return the favour, calling for him to drop his weapon.

Undeterred, the man kept running, with Ryo having to give chase down the back alley, as he lost his chance at a clear shot. Arriving at a chain link fence in the middle of said alley, the man fired back behind him again. Not bothering to see if he'd hit his pursuer, he jumped up onto the fence, climbing it in record time, and vaulting over to the other side.

His heart pumping, Ryo leapt up onto the fence himself, scrambling after his quarry. Landing on the opposite side in a crouch, he brought up his gun and fired, his shot striking the perpetrators gun hand, causing him to drop it as he stumbled, giving a cry of pain in the process.

Pushing through it, he abandoned the weapon, turning a corner as he tried to get back to the Street. Gritting his teeth at the man's stubbornness, Ryo resumed his chase.

Rounding the bend after his prey, he could see the man nearly reaching the street. Only for his car to pull up in front of the exit, Vermouth pointing her weapon out of the lowered window.

Freezing in his tracks, the man never saw Ryo snap his free arm out towards him, taking advantage of his indecision. Water swirled out of his canteen, racing out and down, wrapping around his right ankle. Jerking his arm back, Ryo pulled the leg out from under him, sending him down to earth on his front and injured hand with a bloodied curse.

Recalling the water, he promptly placed his knee on the man's back with a heavy thump, applying pressure so that the man couldn't get up, while he wrenched his arms into position to cuff him.

Doing so, while ignoring the perps swearing, he looked up at a smirking Vermouth.

"First catch of the day, Waterboy?"

"You could say that." He replied, looking relieved. "You alright?"

"I'm good."

"Great, now let's get this idiot to HQ. I think the boss will have a few questions to ask."

Ryo suddenly paused, realising something. She was driving his car!

"How the hell did you get my keys?!"

"That's for me to know and you to find out." She replied with a smirk.

Shaking his head, Ryo returned his attention to the perp, only for a black mark just outside his left arm sleeve to catch his eye. Pulling it up, he saw a tattoo of a snarling bear head.

Raising it up, ignoring their captives moan of pain, he showed his colleague.

"This mean anything to you?"

Vermouth raised her eyebrows. "Yes, actually. It's a gang tattoo. He's a Chicago Huntsman member."

"Sounds like a country club of sorts." He commented offhandedly, hauling the gang member to his feet, before starting to push him in the direction of the car.

Vermouth snorted. "You wouldn't be the first to think that."

"Shut your mouth, bitch!" Their captive snarled, only for Ryo to roughly shove him into the backseat, deliberately making him land on his injured hand.

"Lock the back doors. We don't want him jumping for it." He smiled, having performed his act of karma.

Vermouth promptly did just that, but took it a step further, lowering the cars security screen, effectively separating the backseat area from them. They could see him, but he couldn't interfere with their driving. Having done so, Ryo climbed back into the front.

"So, the Huntsmen?"

"Relatively small-time gang, they normally deal in low grade narcotics and illegal animal furs. Their good at covering their tracks through, and they don't sell to kids, which is why they've remained operating."

"Hence the name." Ryo mused, biting his lip in thought. "Any indication that they're moving to arms dealings?"

"Definitely not. Aside from personal weapons, this is new territory for them."

"Armamax is a big-time company. Rather bold for them to make a move on it." Ryo pointed out, as Vermouth pulled back out into the street, reaching for his phone in the process.

Magnus's car, 10 minutes later.

"Alright, get him to interrogation." Magnus stated, his brow furrowing at the news coming over the phone, while he drove. Azazel was equally unnerved, his black eyes narrowed.

"Understood." Came Ryo's reply. "I've also put a call to forensics to go over Myers apartment. Some LEO's should be there soon."

"Good call. Report back if you learn anything from him."

"Will do. I've also sent a photo of him to you, and I've asked the techies to send you the address of the bar the Huntsmen, along with their leader Marcos, are known to frequent."

"Thanks," Magnus replied, before his eyes softened slightly. "Good work, Takahashi. We'll talk later. Magnus out."

Hanging up, Magnus looked back at the road, his thoughts hidden. Azazel however was not having that.

"Something to share?"

"Seems a little out of character for a small-time gang like the huntsmen to suddenly be interested in a recently dead ex-BlackGuard."

"Maybe he had ties to them?" He offered, not liking the implications, but had to put them out there.

"Possible, but I really hope not." Magnus replied, as he took a left.

"Why?"

Magnus gripped the wheel tightly, his hands turning white. "Axel was one of us. Maybe for only a short time, but he was a BlackGuard. If he got in bed with a group like this..."

"It rubs you the wrong way, huh?"

"That's putting it mildly."

Silence filled the vehicle for a few moments, the pair simply taking in the signs of life around them.

Azazel glanced out the window, watching the people they passed going about their business.

"I guess you can never really tell with some people." He muttered sombrely, understanding where Magnus was coming from. Placing a hand on his chin, he rubbed it for a second, before turning back to his CO, looking curious.

Stopping at a red light, Magnus took notice with a raised eyebrow.

"Something you want to ask?"

"Yes." He answered slowly, taking time to consider his words, not wanting to appear nosy.

"Well then ask, I'm not going to bite over a small inquiry."

"I looked up your file on the flight here. I know you're a mutant, but the section covering what your mutation did was classified."

"And you're interested in what it is?"

"I think so, considering that we'll be working together for the considerable future." Azazel pointed out, explaining his reasons.

Magnus eyed his passenger for a second, before turning back to the road as the light turned green. He seemed to be contemplating something before finally begrudgingly accepting Azazel's point. Flicking a switch, the cars windows dimmed down, the noise filters activating as well. No one would be able to hear any conversation now.

"Honestly, mine's a little difficult to explain." He started, taking a left turn. "It was called 'Power Reshape', by those experts back at the academy."

Azazel frowned. "And what does it do exactly?"

"Essentially, If I touch someone, I can partially drain a mutant/mage of their power, and create a weapon or garment out of the ability or magic depending on what speciality their magic was or what their mutation did."

Azazel blinked in surprise. "When you say drain..."

"I mean drain. Those I've used it on are never as strong as they were before. They theorized that I could drain their power completely if I held on long enough."

Azazel gulped slightly, slightly glad he was a normal human, with his pure black eyes being the result of a genetic disorder.

"So, your power was classified to protect you?"

"Partly." Magnus nodded. "They were primarily concerned with how the opposition would react if they learned that BlackGuard had someone on the payroll that could effectively neutralize any ability, they could potentially throw at him, whilst making himself stronger in the process."

"They'd panic..." Azazel realized, his brow furrowing.

Magnus nodded, before taking the next right, remembering when his powers first came to light. There were some things he'd left out admittedly. The mutation was also tied to his magical ability, as it allowed him to store the items his power fashioned in a pocket dimension, where he could summon them and dismiss them at will. Also, he couldn't control what form the drained power would take, and would still have to train how to use it afterwards.

While he may be working with a new group under his command, he wasn't about to spill all his secrets to them right from the get-go.

Careful, he's dangerous to people like us.

...

Keep your mitts off of me, thief!

Bringing it up only brought back the memories of when his mutation awoke. The ability had only emerged while he was training at the academy, when he accidentally partially drained another trainee's ice magic. Before then, he'd thought himself a regular human, so as one would imagine, what happened was a massive shock to him.

While the student in question, Kuai Liang, had understood that it was an accident, several other students and teachers had become wary of him, which passed over to the upper levels of the BlackGuard hierarchy. The few friends he'd made started keeping their distance, leaving him an outcast among his academy generation.

It hadn't helped that he couldn't control it initially, so he'd taken to wearing gloves wherever he went. A habit, he glanced down at his hands, both covered by the suit he wore, that he had not been able to break since those days.

Azazel jerked slightly, looking more alert, as Magnus pulled into the street containing their destination.

"I don't suppose I have to tell you to keep what I just told you to yourself?" Magnus asked softly, eyeing his comrade narrowly. It was slightly off-putting if Azazel was perfectly honest.

"Ok." He replied simply, as Magnus pulled them up to the curb. Parking swiftly, the duo got out, Azazel slamming his door shut, to Magnus' slight irritation if his eyebrow twitch was any indication.

"But the others are going to find out eventually." Azazel pointed out, as while he had no doubt Magnus could keep it a secret, an ability like this could only stay secret for so long.

Magnus glanced around. The bar they were looking for was a two-story building on the corner opposite them. It was just your standard drinking hole, nothing especially eye catching. The sign out the front gave them its name: the Kilburn Arms. Turning back to his partner, his eye softened slightly.

"Maybe. But I'd rather they hear it from me rather than a third party."

Azazel shrugged as Magnus moved over the road towards the bar, taking care to avoid any incoming traffic. Following him, he was left puzzled by why Magnus hadn't collected his blades from the trunk.

Deciding to get back on the job, the pair entered the bar, their eardrums being blasted with rock music.

The bar's interior was normal for a place like it. Several tables, chairs and booths, with the actual bar taking up most of the rear space. It only had a few people inside, some sitting at the bar itself, a few seated in the booths, while a couple of men were situated around a pool table, all of whom turned to face the two of them, staring at them uneasily, as a silent tension filled the air.

Nonplussed, Magnus made his way to the bar, sitting himself down next to a Hispanic man in his late thirties with a chinstrap. Azazel hung back, deciding to let his comrade do the talking, glaring right back at some of the people, showing that he was neither intimidated nor impressed.

"A pot of your cider." Magnus asked, glancing at what beverages were on the tap, seemingly ignoring the man to his right, who snorted at his choice of beverage. Glancing at the man next to him, the bartender nervously poured the glass up, upon receiving a nod from him.

"So, what brings a pair of Black dogs here?" He asked mockingly, staring at him with a haughty smirk. "Especially one with your lack of depth perception."

Magnus' lips twitched upwards, as if he found the comment amusing rather than insulting. That assumption never gets old...

"Just wondering what a cub of yours was doing around the home of an ex-employee of ours."

Raising an eyebrow, the man didn't look surprised. "How am I to know? I don't get involved with my friend's personal lives."

"I'd believe that if I didn't know what sort of man you were, Marcos." Magnus replied, sipping his drink cautiously.

"Maybe." The now identified Marcos stated, before his face hardened. "But I'm afraid that I have nothing to say to you."

"Too bad." Azazel spoke up, his arms crossed, his ire starting to rise. "Because we aren't leaving here without answers."

At this, some of the other patrons started getting up, three in total, one holding a billiard cue aloft, while the others reached into their jackets threateningly.

"Is that so?" Marcos asked, seeming amused, before speaking in Spanish. "[Show these sons of whores out.]"

"What did you just call me?" Azazel hissed, having understood every word Marcos just said. Clenching his fists, he made to move forward, only to find his path blocked by the three other Huntsmen.

"We don't need to fight." Magnus placated, putting his drink down, trying to solve this through diplomacy, but the opportunity for that to remain was slipping quickly.

"Then just leave."

"[This pussy doesn't look so tough.]" one of the gang members remarked, staring intently at Azazel.

"[You see his eyes? What a freak.]" another replied, the both of them oblivious that Azazel understood Spanish. Nor could they see his face going red.

"Screw this!" He snarled.

Magnus' head whipped around, instantly seeing what was about to happen. "Don-!"

Too late, as Azazel's right fist smashed into the face of the huntsman in front of him, sending him sprawling. As he did so, a small metal pole slipped out of his left sleeve and into his hand, which promptly extended into a staff at the click of a button.

Bringing it behind him, he quickly blocked a blow from the man with the billiard cue behind him, who had tried to attack him from behind over the head.

Sonova...! Magnusquickly took action, grimacing at the trouble Azazel's temper had now caused, before noticing Marcos going for a hip holster. Grabbing his half drunken cider, he promptly hurled the rest of the contents in Marcos's face, causing the man to splutter as the liquid hit his nose and eyes. While he shrunk back to wipe his face, Magnus made a gripping motion with his right hand as the tell-tale glow of him summoning one of his items emerged on the same hand...

Azazel meanwhile had twisted himself and his staff around, promptly cutting the legs out from under his attacker, sending him to the floor, dropping the cue in the process, however the backlash of the swing also stuck another goon in the jaw, staggering him backwards clutching his cheek.

Snapping his unused fist up behind him, he caught the final gangster in the nose as he tried to grab him from his rear. Twisting around to face him, his staff soon found the man's right side, causing the gang member to cry out in pain, and stagger sideways as the strike held enough force to break a rib. Or two. Semantics.

Spinning it in his hands the staff soon came down on the same man's left forearm as he tried to steady himself on the pool table. A heavy resonating smack signified more broken bones.

The gang member whom he'd hit in the jaw earlier had hung back slightly, trying to study the opponent, whilst the first was now getting back to his feet, having been winded by his sudden meeting with the bars floor.

Deciding to take the initiative, former BlackWolf rushed the one still standing, who threw a sloppy punch aimed at his face. Before it landed, Azazel spun to the side, letting the man pass behind his back, jabbing the back end of his weapon into the middle of his spine. His opponent stumbled, but surprisingly remained on his feet. Now behind his foe, Azazel retracted his staff, swiftly getting the man into a suplex, slamming him back over onto the ground and into dreamland from the impact.

Azazel rolled to his feet, before turning to the final member, who had finally gotten back on his feet, his re-extended staff held in a reverse bojutsu stance, threateningly.

"I think that's enough!" Came a growl.

Turning, the two saw Magus having gotten Marcos in a headlock, Toxin (his magnum) in his hand, levelled right at the side of the man's head.

"Stan-d-d down!" Marcos choked out, trying to claw at his assailants arm, but his efforts were proving futile.

Seeing their boss in such a position, the only uninjured goon reluctantly stepped away from Azazel, the other conscious one clutching his broken arm with gritted teeth.

"Now, we tried to be civil." Magnus remarked coldly, gripping Toxin's trigger tightly. "But you had to try doing things the hard way."

Pressing the gun harder against his captives head, Magnus loosened his grip on Marcos, enough that he could speak properly, but not enough for him to break free.

"Here's the question: what was one of your guys doing at Axel Myer's place?"

"Myers?" Marcos growled out, ceasing his struggles due to the gun. "This is about that coward? I can't believe he'd be so low as to send you here!"

"Coward?"

"Myers owes me a lot of money! He lost more than he could give to me at a poker game a few weeks ago."

"So, you had him gunned down." Azazel bit out, putting his staff away.

Marcos stiffened, a look of shocked disbelief coming over him. "...What? The bastard is dead?"

"Yes." Magnus replied frowning. That hadn't been the reaction they'd been hoping for. Not by a long shot.

"You think I ordered it?!" His captive hissed, full of furious indignation. "How am I supposed to get paid if he's dead?!"

Magnus pushed harder, reminding him of the power he had over the head of the Huntsmen.

"Talk. What do you know?" Azazel growled, stepping closer to the pair.

Marcos looked apocalyptic, like he wanted to refuse, but as he looked around, he knew that none of the other Huntsmen here were a match for the duo. And he wasn't really in a position to deny his interrogators. A part of him felt the ass in red was bluffing with the weapon, but he wasn't about to take an unnecessary risk.

"The fool promises to pay me this morning, telling me he was soon to get into some big money."

"From whom?" Magnus asked.

"I didn't ask, nor did I care." He spat, Turing his beady eyes at his captor. "He didn't show up, so I sent a friend to his apartment."

The BlackGuards eyed each other, processing the details.

"Well, I'm afraid you won't be seeing your 'friend' any time soon. He's being charged with breaking and entering of private property, firing on BlackGuard operatives, possible theft and Vandalism."

With that done, Magnus shoved the man harshly to the ground with a thump.

"I hope that next time, you'll be a little more co-operative. I may not be here to stop my friend from decimating your little group. Just remember that next time you decide to provoke one of us."

Groaning, Marcos didn't even try getting up, as Magnus tossed the Bartender some cash.

"Thanks for the drink, but I think you need better clientele."

"I thought that was already obvious?" Azazel asked jokingly, only to be taken aback when Magnus glared at him, jerking his head towards the exit.

The Huntsmen giving them a wide berth, they left, Azazel slamming the door behind him just to get a last word in.

Magnus was silent the entire trip back to the car, his expression stony. One, Azazel thought privately, did not bode well for him.

Upon arriving at the car, Magnus swiftly slapped his fellow upside the back of his head.

Grunting more in surprise than pain, Azazel turned to glare at him, only to receive a far harsher glare right back.

"You want to tell me what the fuck that was?" Magnus hissed out, his lone eye narrowed in fury.

"He wasn't going to cooperate without some show of force." Azazel pointed out.

"Perhaps, but there were other ways of doing that than starting a damned bar fight! One you only started because of a few insults!"

"I'm sorry, but I wasn't about to take words like that from scum like them!" Was the irritated reply. "You're one to talk, pointing a weapon at the guy's head. Not that you understood them, anyway."

"[Didn't I?]" Magnus shot back bitingly in Spanish, catching Azazel off guard, before

"You speak-?"

"Yes, I do. Now, because of your little blow up, we're probably going to have a harder time with the Huntsmen in future. Not to mention that you started a fight with civilians around, where they could have been caught in the crossfire. And lastly, Toxin, my handgun wasn't loaded when I summoned it."

Azazel looked taken aback. "...eh?"

"Did you honestly think that everyone in there was a Huntsman?" Magnus looked incredulous as he jabbed a finger back towards the bar, as he opened his car door.

"Well, no, but..." Azazel tapered off slightly, as he got in the car.

"You're lucky." Magnus remarked, sitting down in the driver's seat before sighing. "Look, I understand that tensions are high, what with us being reassigned and all, but you need to keep a lid on that temper."

Easier said than done. Azazel thought, rolling his eyes. It wasn't the first time he'd been told that, and it probably wouldn't be the last either. It wasn't that he didn't try to, hell, he'd gotten a lot better at it since the academy. Heh. Now, there he was a little hellion.

"At least we got what we wanted." He pointed out, trying to change the subject.

Magnus remained silent as he pulled the car out of the space, turning the sleek vehicle around to head back to HQ.

"Didn't we?" He prompted.

"While I doubt he was lying, it puts us no closer to actually finding his killer." Magnus reminded him, having simmered down.

Azazel frowned. True, Marcos had motive for wanting Axel dead, keeping him alive would have been more profitable. That meant their only lead had led to a dead end.

"So, what now?"

"Now, we see what Fenris can learn from the body. And what the geniuses can learn about the staff at the factory. Both regular and security."

Azazel nodded, his face understanding. "So, you didn't buy that story either?"

"Hardly." Magnus snorted. "I can believe many things, but that kind of incompetence should not have been present at such an important site. They're hiding something, exactly what, I don't know. I only accepted it to make them think they were in the clear."

"You think they killed Myers?"

"That or they know who did."

Silence filled the car for several minutes, as Magnus expertly navigated the Chicago streets.

...

...

"You want a coffee?" Azazel asked, trying to break the tension, and try to improve his CO's mood.

"You're not my type."

"I didn't mean it like that!" He spluttered, red faced, while Magnus smirked.

"I know." Magnus thought for a moment, before nodding.

"Why not? I could murder a mocha."

"... You seriously like that kind of thing?"

"Do you want to walk back?"

"..."

"That's what I thought."

HQ, 45 minutes later

Magnus strode into the Bullpen with a satisfied smile on his face, tossing his takeaway cup in a nearby bin. Azazel came after him, still clutching his, having not finished his own yet.

Ryo turned to face them, having set up a holoboard one the left side of the room, for them all to make notes. On it were pictures of the victim, the crime scene, along with lines leading to profiles on the Huntsman.

Vermouth on the other hand was on the phone to someone, talking softly, so as to not interrupt anyone else's work. Neither Xathun nor Fenris were anywhere to be seen.

"Any luck?" Ryo asked, wondering how the lead panned out.

"Dead end." Azazel replied, plonking himself down at his desk in a huff.

"You're kidding me." Was the incredulous response, as the stealth operative stared between the two of them. Ryo had spent a fair amount of time in the interrogation room getting stonewalled all for nothing?

"Yup." Azazel popped his lips, before taking another sip from his coffee, frowning as he noticed it starting to go cold.

Magnus nodded solemnly, approaching the board. "Axel was in debt to the Huntsmen. The guy you caught was simply an overzealous collector. Axel however hadn't collected the money to pay them yet, so killing him would serve little point."

"Besides sending a message?" Ryo pointed out.

"Possible, but they're smarter than that." Magnus choose to ignore Azazel's scoff.

"Well, they've charged our intruder." Vermouth announced, having finished her call, coming over to join them, before picking up a remote. "But our lupine friend has something to say."

Clicking the remote, the board's image shifted to a holofeed from the morgue. Fenris stood there, looking right at them, clad in protective clothing, while Xathun was off to the side. The victims body was also there, placed on a high tech table, with several devices and scanners over it.

"Ahh, thank you, miss Vermouth." He said, noticing the feed becoming active.

"What did you find, Fenris?" Magnus asked, crossing his arms, keen to make some new headway.

Fenris turned around, gesturing to the victim with his claws. "The autopsy scan has finally come back, and I believe that the results may present a new spin on this case."

"How so?" Ryo asked, his eyebrows raising. Azazel remained sitting down, but his expression turned curious.

"I was correct when I said that the cause of death was the two gunshot wounds to his side. However, it is their path through the body that is interesting, as well as what they left behind."

"And that is?" Azazel asked, wanting him to cut to the chase.

"I had Xathun help me with some simulation tests in the recreation chamber, and based on the information we've found, it seems Axel was standing up from a crouch, turning behind himself when he was shot. We think that he had spotted something on the ground when he was killed. And given that there weren't any crates around him at the factory when we arrived..."

"It's possible this was a theft. And Axel just happened to stumble into it." Magnus rubbed his chin.

"Or the security team messed with the crime scene before the BlackGuard got there." Azazel offered, finishing his beverage with a scowl.

"Either way, the signs are pointing back towards Armamax." Xathun said, looking pensive. "Only problem is, we still don't know what Axel was doing there. Or who hired him for that matter."

"And it gets more damning with my other findings." Fenris went on, stepping around the body towards a small display at the desk nearby. "The bullets left trace amounts of a metal alloy called irrodium. A relatively new one, both light and hard... but one only Armamax have been given the permits to utilize them in weapons manufacturing."

Silence permeated the air as the team took the knowledge in. Several theories were bouncing around their heads. Had Axel simply seen something he ought not? Had this been an elaborate hit? The more they found out, the more questions they had.

"I think we can rule out Axel's knowledge being leaked." Azazel remarked, folding his hands together. Everything about this case hadn't given any hints towards such knowledge being leaked. Some criminals would leak the knowledge, in order to tarnish the BlackGuard's reputation. Others would blackmail them, which while unbelievably stupid, had happened before. Yet there was no suggestion that his intel had been compromised.

"Won't the SecBlack be pleased?" Ryo agreed with an eye roll as he leaned back on his desk, his hands behind his head. Liking the indications, but disliking the lack of progress.

Magnus was about to chastise him, when the screen started flashing on one side, indicating another room wishing to make contact. Specifically, the ops centre.

"Hang on, looks like the wiz kids have something to say." Vermouth raised her remote, clicking another button, allowing the holo to split, the morgue moving to the left of the room, and their tech hub to appear on the right. Lucas was standing alone, holding a data pad in his hands.

"Hey, guys. Couldn't help but overhear you." He said jovially, before frowning slightly. "Well, I could actually, but that would involve me using the ops centre for personal use, which would land me in trouble..." he trailed off, muttering under his breath incoherently.

"Lucas!" Magnus exclaimed sternly, snapping the youth back to reality. "What did you and Michelle find?"

"Right." Shaking his head, Lucas got down to business. "So, forensics is having a field day with Axel's apartment. Most of it was smashed, but they were able to recover a few of his cameras data chips. Michelle is still looking over a few of them. They're damaged, but we were able to pull a few images off of one of them."

Tapping a few places on his pad, the hologram blanked out, allowing all the viewers to see 8 images in total, all of unknown locations and people, with one exception. Present

In each of them, was a tall slim man of Italian descent, with a pencil thin moustache, slicked back, neatly trimmed haircut, and dressed in a rather expensive suit in each shot. In each, he was speaking to different people, some clad in suits like him, others work clothes, and some in his company's security uniform.

"Is that...?" Ryo blinked in surprise, standing up from his desk to get a better look.

"Lorenzo Armanti. Armamax's CEO." Magnus finished for him, his eye wide.

"Well..." Azazel gaped. "Who saw this coming?"

"Axel was investigating Armanti?" Xathun spoke up a few moments later, a little shock in his voice.

"Apparently." Magnus frowned, before dismissing the images, turning the screen back to Lucas. "Tell me you got something more."

"Ask, and ye shall receive." Lucas cried enthusiastically, tapping his pad again, this time pulling up a large bar graph with two bars, one red, the other blue, slotted in every month, for the previous year.

"And this is... what exactly? How much nonsense the tabloids spout on a monthly basis?" Ryo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's their weapons production, the red bar, per month against their sales, the blue. Which was surprisingly easy to get, since we're actually one of their biggest customers." Lucas answered, the tone going right over his head. "Take a look at what started happening in December last year."

What he was trying to convey to them was soon discovered. Given that the blue one was shrinking slightly per month.

"Their production levels remain steady, but their sales are dropping, more by each month." Vermouth frowned, biting her lip in confusion.

"Too much to be a fucking coincidence." Azazel added, standing up as his visage turned oddly contemplative, while earning a few looks in the process. "Someone must have noticed."

"Evidently, someone did." Fenris pointed out gruffly. "And I'd bet my tail that someone hired Myers to investigate."

Ryo pulled up Axel's surveillance photos again, after taking the remote from Vermouth.

"Could Armanti be double dealing under the table?" He motioned, glancing around the room to see the others reactions.

"It wouldn't surprise me." Xathun replied dryly, not entirely having the best experience with big corporations like Armamax. "That could explain the story security gave us, if they were covering for their boss."

Magnus' gaze hardened. "It's possible. But this is only speculation. If we're going after someone like him, with his political connections? We'll need a lot of hard evidence."

"And it'll need to be kept quiet."

The team jerked in surprise at the new voice, turning to see Michael enter the room, hands behind his back.

Instinctively, the team members present in the room straightened up at the entrance of the Head of Special Operations, Magnus slightly more so than the others, making Michael squint for a second before shaking his head.

"Sir." Magnus greeted, his face a picture of professional.

"Captain." Michael replied, inclining his head at one of Gabriel's star pupils, before turning his eye to the pictures they pulled up.

"Lorenzo is not a man one would cross unless absolutely necessary."

"Personal experience?" Azazel inquired respectfully, folding his arms.

"More than you know." Michael replied softly, slowly digging his wallet out of his jacket, to the teams confusion, if their glancing at each other strangely was any indication. Said confusion was wiped away when Michael pulled a picture out of it, showing himself and a younger Armanti in casual clothing.

"You were friends?" Ryo stated, his eyes wide.

"Ever since our school days. Or so I thought." Michael frowned, his tone turning bittersweet, before regaining his seriousness.

"If he has turned on us for a profit, I only have one question for you all."

Not letting them ask him what he meant, he continued.

"How do you feel about being caterers?"

Armanti Mansion, 7pm that evening.

Clink!

The sound of tinkling glasses could be heard as an orchestral group performed music to the performance of many high society guests. Who were all chatting, laughing and drinking away without a care in the world, as impeccably dressed waiters walked around with trays of refreshments and snacks.

The party was meant to be for a celebration of a multi-billion business deal Armanti had negotiated with another company, but that wasn't what was on Magnus's mind as he entered the hall behind Michael. It was also an opportunity.

According to his boss, Armanti was of a rather paranoid sort (something about a stolen project in college, he didn't elaborate), only telling people what they needed to know if needed. As such, only he knew everything about the business in its entirety, except perhaps for his wife, Roxanne, a stunning blonde, equally intelligent witch. The only device that would have the evidence they required, was his personal computer.

Michael had been invited to the party, as he was an old friend, but he had initially intended on declining, due to massive amount of paperwork he needed to get done involving the teams setup. Once this situation occurred however, his plans had changed, as this case had just turned personal for him.

The plan was simple. Michael would attend the party, with Magnus acting as his bodyguard. At the same time, Ryo, Vermouth and Xathun would be placed undercover as part of the catering service Armanti had hired. Finally, Fenris and Azazel would be outside in a surveillance van, watching through cameras all the others were wearing, and through the private security cameras. Now, the house's camera system was state of the art, and its cyber protection was no exception. Any normal hacker would easily be caught trying to gain access. Fenris, was no normal hacker, easily bypassing the defences without tripping any alarm. With their access granted, they were good to go.

At some point, Ryo would sneak away, avoid the security team and download the information from the computer, which was located on the second floor, away from the ballroom they were all situated in. Afterwards, he would return, and Michael would leave, allowing for the team to slip away undetected.

"Good evening, sir. Would you like a drink?"

Magnus turned to see Vermouth, dressed in a smart white long sleeved shirt, with matching black pants and waistcoat, her hair tied back in a ponytail. She was offering him a tray, holding some rather enticing cocktails. What surprised him was the flawless French accent she utilized. Well, maybe it shouldn't have, as she was their undercover specialist.

"No thank you, miss, but thank you for the offer." He replied politely, his face giving nothing away. In front of him, Michael nodded in approval, before looking around, searching the crowds of mingling people for the one they were here for. Finally spotting their target, Michael slowly made his way over, greeting anyone who spoke to him, as was his way. Magnus, fulfilling his duty, shadowed him, his eye alert for any sign of danger or for something amiss.

As he did so, he caught glimpse of Xathun and Ryo, who were standing not that far apart, each serving different groups, both clad in a male version of Vermouth's attire. However, Ryo looked to be more at ease at what he was doing than Xathun was.

To be fair, Magnus couldn't blame him. According to Michael, the mansion was warded by Roxanne personally, including magic detection wards and anti-artifact detection wards. If any magic was used by an unauthorized person, or an unknown magical item was utilized on the property, Roxanne would know immediately. There would have been more wards in place had there not more legislation in place preventing certain wards from being placed on unpermitted properties. As such, the family made up for it by having both regular, mutant and magical security.

This meant that Xathun couldn't bring his grimoire onto the property without being busted, nor could he use his magic. He was decidedly uncomfortable with the idea, but it was currently under Fenris' watchful gaze.

Armanti turned to see his old friend, having seen him out of the corner of his eye, while he conversed with a group of influential people.

"Michael, you rascal, where have you been hiding, eh?" He grinned, speaking with a smooth, cultured tone, as he clapped the mans arm.

Michael snorted. "Away from your wife. She scares me." He returned good naturedly, earning a chuckle from his friend. Could you really be selling out to criminals?

"Yes, she can have that effect on those foolish enough to earn her ire. What did you do this time?" Armanti asked, his eyes twinkling in mirth at Michael's predicament.

"I didn't say hello as soon as I came in."

"Ah!" He nodded wisely. "Yes, she would be most upset for you not doing so."

"Upset with whom, darling?"

Arriving on the scene was the lady of the house, wearing an elaborate black strapless sequined dress, her hair done up in a bun, her confident chestnut eyes curious. Magnus had to admit, she was beautiful, the way her hair shone in the light, and how she moved gracefully like a dancer, her dress shimmering like her form was covered in diamonds. Lorenzo was certainly a lucky man.

Upon seeing whom her husband was conversing with, her eyes narrowed, looking like a predator eyeing her prey, her lips twitching upward.

"Why Michael, when were you going to tell me you arrived?" She purred, looking him up and down, as if appraising his clothing choice. Only Michael knew that he was in trouble, as he gulped. There were few people Michael feared, and Roxanne Armanti was definitely one of them! Last time he'd made her upset, she gave him bald for two weeks. He couldn't look his colleagues in the eye for the entire time, without them cracking up!

"A few minutes ago." He replied, with only a few experienced ears able to detect his unease, as he shrank back slightly.

"Now, why would you do that?" She questioned, raising her eyebrows, waiting for an answer, and heaven help him if she didn't like it.

Armanti stepped in. "Now, now, Rox, I'm sure Michael didn't mean to upset you." He replied softly, yet charmingly, putting an arm around her waist.

Sighing, Roxanne shook her head, before kissing her husband's cheek. "Alright, but next time, you come find me immediately!" She chastised sternly, jabbing a finger into his chest, to make sure he got the message.

"Understood, my lady." Michael gave a gallant bow, before kissing the back of the hand she just jabbed at him.

Snorting at his smooth behaviour, she caught sight of his 'shadow'. "Oh? And whom is this?"

"This," Michael stared, reaching over to snag Magnus over to the group, much to his discomfort. "Is Captain Magnus Zarathos."

Roxanne's eyes widened in recognition. "The infamous Chimera of The BlackGuard?"

Magnus went still, the mention of his academy nickname throwing him for a loop.

Seeing his surprise, her look softened, before to the shock of those around her, she curtsied to him. "You have my thanks for saving my aunt, Melody."

Magnus frowned, trying to recall the name, putting a hand on his chin. Then it came to him.

"The British senator is your aunt?" He blinked, surprised that his last mission in New York would have a link here.

"Yes." She nodded, smiling widely, moving closer to him. "She was quite shaken up by that attempt on her life. And as the last living family member I have left, I am in your debt, Mr. Zarathos."

Slightly put off by how close she was, Magnus blushed, looking a tad embarrassed, before responding. "I was simply doing my job, ma'am." He said, trying to play it off.

Roxanne's grin merely widened, easily seeing through the ploy, but took a step back, deciding to have some fun later. No, not that kind of fun, get your heads out of the gutter!

Same Time, Surveillance Van

Azazel was doing his best not to crack up at Magnus' predicament. It was slowly becoming a losing battle. Sitting on one of the only chairs with a headset covering his ears, he was enjoying seeing the others on the feeds. And here he thought this part of the job would be boring!

Fenris meanwhile was seated next to him, watching over the other operatives. Temporarily giving the other agent a deadpanned look, he turned away when it soon became clear Azazel wasn't paying him any attention. Grumbling under his breath about unprofessional behaviour, he rubbed his eyes in mild frustration, before refocusing on the task at hand.

Just as well, because an unexpected hiccup was about to enter the ballroom.

Back at the Party

Magnus inwardly gave a sigh of relief, having managed to extract himself away from the tease that was Roxanne Armanti. Sticking close to Michael, but away from his conversation with Armanti, he relaxed a bit more as Xathun came up to him, holding a tray of small pastries. Thankfully, it seemed that he was getting the hang of the role a bit more.

"Thank you." He dipped his head in thanks, as he reached over to take one. Popping it into his mouth, he glanced around the room. Only to choke slightly, his eye going wide, as a familiar face entered the room.

Xathun made to turn around, wondering what had caused such a reaction, only for Magnus to strongly grip him by the side, preventing him from moving.

"What's wrong?" He hissed under his breath, as Magnus released him. His CO didn't answer, instead staring at the familiar plump woman who had just entered.

"Fenris, is that who I think it is?" He whispered, discreetly activating his comm unit.

Fenris was silent for a moment before giving out a curse.

Taking that as a yes, Magnus turned his eye, back to the befuddled mage.

"The Factory supervisor, Zara is here."

Xathun blinked, before paling slightly.

Not wanting to be overheard, Magnus crossed his arms, studying the tray, looking to the rest of the party as if he were contemplating having another. His left hand started going through some strange gestures.

Xathun soon recognized one of the sign languages taught to them at the academy. Bringing his right arm out from behind his back, laying it across his front, he waited for Magnus to finish.

How long were you speaking with her?

Xathun quickly sent a reply in the same signing.

5 minutes, maybe 10.

Could she recognize you?

Possibly. I had my hood up, but no guarantee. She may have got a good look at my face.

Magnus jerked his head to his left, turning in the as he did so. While she would undoubtedly recognize Magnus, his presence could be explained as Michael's shadow for the evening. Xathun, who was disguised as a waiter, could not. Not without blowing the op to hell.

Xathun quickly turned in the to face the direction Magnus was, just as Zara, wearing a smart female business suit, walked hurriedly behind them, walking over towards the group her boss was a part of.

Not wanting to risk the mission, the pair moved away across the room, separating midway, so as to not look suspicious. Magnus then doubled back, as he had to maintain his role as bodyguard, coming to stop by a window door leading into the elaborate garden outside. He was a reasonable distance from the group consisting of Michael, Armanti, Roxanne, as well as a few newcomers. Close enough that he could intervene if needed, but far enough to not be overheard.

With that done, he tapped a hidden switch on his suit's wrist, once again activating his comm.

"Everyone check in. We've got a problem." He whispered quickly.

"What's the issue?" Ryo asked, sounding concerned, having gone back to the kitchen to get more entree's, as the signal for him to leave hadn't come yet.

"An employee from the factory we spoke to this morning is here." Xathun explained, having just exited the ballroom himself, his tray thankfully now empty.

"And we can't have her seeing you, magic man?" Vermouth queried, easily putting the pieces together. She was currently moving in between groups of people, trying to remain inconspicuous.

"Well, that's a problem." Azazel grumbled over the line.

"I'd say thank you Captain Obvious, but there's now another problem." Ryo piped up, his worry unmistakable now.

"What now?" Magnus hissed back.

"Alright, Vermouth, how many caterers are in the ballroom with you?"

"Not including myself, 3... oh."

"Yeah."

"Eh? There were 5 of you in there when I left." Xathun pointed out, confused, but a creeping understanding was filling his tone.

"Would you kindly tell us what the problem is?" Fenris frowned, getting a little annoyed by the lack of explanation.

"Only some of the higher ups of the catering service company we contacted know we're BlackGuards, along with the supervisor here, who's overseeing things in the kitchen. The others don't, they just think we're new. Before we left, the Butler instructed us to have at least 5 of us in the ballroom to serve at any one time, letting the others get come back to the kitchens to refill their trays." Ryo started explaining hurriedly. "He's currently in the ballroom with you, sir."

Looking around, Magnus tried to spot said butler. "I don't see them, are you sure they're here."

"By the front entrance to the ballroom, I think he said."

Following his suggestion, Magnus soon caught glimpse of a man in a similar attire to the others, but he had a suit jacket over his waistcoat. And he was frowning heavily, obviously knowing something was wrong. Privately, Magnus hoped that he was angrier with the guy that just left, and not Xathun, as from the sounds of things, another guy had left after he had.

"And given that there are only 7 *ahem* waiters/waitresses, including me and the other two, Xathun cannot disappear at the same time as me when I go to make the attempt at Armanti's office. It'll provoke too many questions from him, wondering where the heck we are. Which will cause problems when the others need to refill their trays, and they'll start asking questions, which could alert Armanti to a problem."

Well, shit. Magnus swore internally, a bead of sweat falling down his neck. If they wanted to maintain their cover clearly, only one person could be gone to for the party to continue unaware of their intentions. But it was too risky to bring Xathun back in. Sighing to himself, Magnus made a judgement call.

"Change of plan guys, Xathun's going to have to do the infiltration."

"Wha-?" Xathun exclaimed over the line.

"You sure that's the righ-" Ryo started to ask, only for Magnus to cut him off.

"I understand that this isn't perfect, but I don't think we have much other choice. Fenris, Azazel, can you guide him through the mansion to the office, how to avoid the guards, and how to perform the download?"

After a pause, they answered.

"Yes," began Azazel, the sound of rapid typing being heard in the background.

"But we need to keep the cameras on a loop to prevent him from being noticed. Just a second..." Fenris grunted in concentration, becoming clear to be the one typing.

"We'll still get the live feed, but neither the security station nor the primary recording storage won't." He added, finally finishing his typing. "There, done."

...

"Alright, I just need to pass the infiltrator drive to him." Ryo reminded them, not sounding convinced about the plan, but not having much other option.

With that Magnus signed off, probably just in the nick of time, as Michael was now walking over to him, and Roxanne had disappeared from the group, leaving Lorenzo to talk to more of his guests.

Entrance Hall, 2 minutes later

Xathun wasn't exactly pleased at the situation. He now had to infiltrate a highly guarded office, all without using magic. Stealth wasn't exactly what you'd call his style.

He was currently waiting for Ryo to head back towards the ballroom, having hidden himself behind a curtain when the other caterer walked through.

Tapping his feet on the marble floor, he looked up at the sound of a door leading to the servant's quarters/kitchens. Ryo stepped out, one hand under a newly filled tray, before shutting the door and moving hastily over to him, reaching into his pocket as he went.

"Do you-?" Xathun never got to finish his question, as Ryo merely pulled out a small thin stick like device, and pushed it into his hands, before continuing back on his way to the Ballroom.

Coming up short, Xathun placed the drive in his back pocket, and swiftly ascended the main staircase, not wanting to be there when the other guy came back.

"Ok, where am I going guys?" He asked, trying to sound confident.

"Not far, Armanti's office is on the fourth floor, in the east wing." Azazel replied, before adding "That's to your left."

"Any guards?" He prodded

"3." Fenris answered. "One's in the hallway across from you, patrolling, while the other is in the sitting room halfway down said hallway, watching some TV (they ignored Azazel muttering "Lazy bastard."). You take that guard out, you'll most likely have to deal with the other. The last one is right outside the office."

So, there was only one form of immediate opposition in his way? Maybe this wouldn't be so hard.

"Any ideas to distract them, so I can get to the office?"

"Unfortunately, not. We can only see and guide, not much else." Fenris was apologetic, not wanting to disappoint his friend.

"But we can suggest potential hiding places." Azazel added, not wanting to be left out.

"That works." Xathun shrugged, not having much in the way of options.

"Alright then." Fenris got down to business. "The hallway leading to the office, extends around the edge of the mansion, so there is a corner, you'll need to go round. There's a few columns down the first part on either side of the hallway, where you could hide while the guard goes past."

"Just gotta wait for the guard to go around the corner."

Xathun grasped the door handle leading into the hallway, waiting for the all clear. As he did an idea came to him.

"Go!"

Pulling the door open, he left it partially ajar as he crept down the long corridor as quickly as he could muster, his shadow flickering in the moonlight from the windows on his left.

"He's coming back now." Fenris warned.

"Hide!"

Xathun, having made it about halfway down, leapt for the nearby column, flattening himself against it, as he began to hear footfalls. Getting louder and louder.

"Edge around behind it." Azazel advised, sounding uneasy. "There should be enough room."

Sucking in his stomach, Xathun did so, slipping into the gap, between the column and the wall, beginning to sweat slightly. Oh, it would be just his luck to be caught now!

The footfalls stopped for a moment, before picking up again, speeding past the column he was hiding behind.

Moving out from the gap on the other side of the column, he glanced back to see the man heading for the door he'd left open on purpose. Gathering his wits, he moved out, making sure not to make a sound, glancing over his shoulder every few seconds. The guard was female, looking confused, as she poked her head outside the door into the entrance hall.

Slowly, he turned the corner, evading her. Now, where was...? Xathun stopped dead.

The corridor now had rooms on both sides, as opposed to back around the corner, where they were only on the right side.

The guard outside the office door was several meters in front of him, with his back towards the agent as they spoke into a comm of their own.

"Yes, I understand, but it was probably just the wind." He spoke loudly, disbelieving of whatever he'd just been told.

Xathun knew it wouldn't be long before he turned around. Glancing to his sides, there were two doors either side of him.

"The right one's the sitting room!" Fenris warned, making his choice for him. As that was where the lazy guard was.

Reacting quickly, Xathun opened and shut the door to his left behind him. Turning around he found himself in a small, neatly furnished bedroom, with a balcony. Taking a few steps into the room, he pondered his next move, pacing for a second.

"Now what?" Azazel asked, stumped on what to do next.

Xathun made to answer, before the entrance to the balcony caught his eye.

"Does the office have a balcony? Or is it an internal room?" He asked, an idea coming to him.

"It's two rooms down from you, and yes it does have a balcony. Why?" Fenris blinked, his bafflement evident.

Azazel got it first. "You're not thinking..."

"Yes." He replied stoically, opening the window door to the balcony, stepping out into the open air.

Feeling the wind against his bald head, he shivered slightly, his current attire not providing much protection from the elements. It's times like this where I miss my cloak.

No point in crying over spilt milk though.

Scanning his surroundings, the balcony was wide styled classically with pure white stone, with the edge of it rising up to his stomach. A tad extravagant for Xathun, but that was his opinion. Taking no time to enjoy the view of the garden below, he turned right, looking along the edge of the house. While normally, he could teleport, but that option wasn't available at this point.

The house itself was a rather charming chocolate brown, with the white stone decals and Balconies jutting out of the side where fashionable and needed respectively. Unfortunately, the aesthetics were the last thing on Xathun's mind.

The balconies, however, were linked together by a 'lip' that ran along the side of the house, made of the same stone that the balconies were made from. There was enough space on them for him to grip with his fingers...

Note to self, he thought. Thank the academy P. E. Teachers for insisting I run their obstacle course without magic.

Heaving himself up over the ledge on the right, he dropped down over the other side, clinging from the edge with his fingers. Breathing heavily, he started slowly shimmying along the lip, making sure not to look down. While such a fall might not kill him, he probably wouldn't be walking it off easily either. He had to get past another Balcony and lip to reach his intended target. So, he better get there before his fingers started aching.

Back to the Ballroom

Unaware of his teammates 'creative' idea to gain entry to the target's office, Magnus meanwhile re-joined Michael, who had left the group to mingle, but was now standing alone, looking concerned about something. Having discreetly informed Michael of the change of plan earlier, Magnus grew curious as to why he would be troubled.

"Something wrong?"

"It's nothing." Michael replied dismissively, but the tone he used didn't make him believe it, as he swirled a cocktail drink in his hand. "Just a feeling."

"Was he aware of Axel's death?" Magnus inquired, deciding to ask if the case came up. "Yes. It did come up, actually. He took me aside earlier to thank me for managing to keep it from the media." Was the informative reply, before he took a sip.

"Anything else?"

"Not to me. But whatever that new girl told him seemed to alarm him."

New girl? That could only have been Zara. Now, what could she have told him?

Mansion Exterior

Xathun's fingers were roaring in pain, desperate for relief, as he continued his trek across the side of the Armanti Mansion, the wind making his clothes ripple across his frame. He'd passed the other balcony separating him from his goal a minute ago, and was slightly regretting not pausing to rest, deciding that time was of the essence.

He was only a few meters away. Soon, he could relax his fingers for a moment, giving them sweet, sweet relief. Closer and closer he got, his eyes locked on the balcony, sheer willpower keeping him up there and going at this point.

Part of the lip he was holding onto broke off, falling away. Yelping, he flailed about, hanging on fearfully with one hand. The temptation not to use his magic was boring a hole in his skull, but he refused to do it. He would not fail!

Grunting in exertion, he heaved himself up, regaining his grip on the side. With ragged, heavy breaths, he continued on, being more carful this time, until at last, he pulled himself over the edges of the balcony he wanted, landing on the solid floor with a massive sigh of relief.

For a moment, he just sat there, watching his breath exit his mouth like vapor.

"-un! Are you there?" His comm came back to life, Fenris sounding frantic over the line.

"I'm ok, bud." He breathed out, slowly hauling himself back to his feet, staring at the door into Armanti's office. "All this had better be worth it, is all I'm saying." He growled, getting his breath back.

Checking the door, he was surprised to find it unlocked. Pushing it open, he cautiously stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

The mage now stood inside a neatly furnished office space, with an old-fashioned fireplace on one side, a modern styled wooden oak desk in the middle, with a rather elaborate computer setup installed on it, with multiple state of the art hologram capable monitors on the surface, and bookcases and filing cabinets filling the rest of the wall space.

Pulling Ryo's infiltrator drive out from where he stashed it, and after quickly checking that it wasn't damaged, he softly strode around the desk towards the available seat, sitting himself down. Taking a second to admire Lorenzo's choice in desk chairs, as this was by far one of the better ones he'd ever sat on, he looked around for the power button, finding it under the desk, by his feet. Powering the machine up, he winced as it let out a loud ding to signify itself turning on. Briefly eyeing the door, he relaxed a bit, when Azazel informed hi the guard had moved elsewhere.

The main monitor lit up, with a holographic message box appearing in front of him, asking for a password.

"Guys, any ideas for the password?"

"You won't need to; the drive will take care of it." Fenris calmed him. "Just plug it in, and it will do the rest."

"Pick it up, will you?" Azazel spoke hurriedly. "Magnus just told me that the Armanti's have disappeared from the ballroom!"

Ice poured down the mage's spine at those words, as he fumbled with the device in his hands, before plugging it in.

As soon as he had, the password box flared to life, the box flickering with numerous letters, numbers and characters, switching between them so fast, Xathun had trouble keeping up with them.

In a split second, the box disappeared, the screen shifting to a holographic desktop of a picture of what seemed to be the Armanti's wedding reception. The next, a small progress bar came on the bottom corner.

"Download is commencing." Fenris informed him.

Not having much else to do, Xathun crossed his arms and sat back, glancing back at the inside door every so often, half expecting Mr. Armanti to just walk in. The thought wasn't doing anything for his stress levels.

The bar was about halfway up, when a blinking icon caught Xathun's eye at the bottom of the screen. The icon in question was a folded envoy, indicating that Armanti had some unread emails. While usually, Xathun wasn't one to pry into other people's private emails, this was a potential suspect.

Opening the application, he was surprised to find one message open already, and one unread. The unread one was, to his bafflement, from Zara, marked Urgent. It had been sent about an hour ago, just before the party started. But it was the one that was already opened, or rather, the pictures inside that made his face lose colour.

"Oh Ra..." he whispered, horrified at the implications the message was telling him.

"We've just made a terrible mistake."

A small click signified the drive had finished its download, but Xathun didn't bother pulling it out. He now knew who killed Axel. Or to be more precise, which group had killed him.

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the house, Xathun falling out of the seat in his shock.

"What in the name of Ophis was that?!" He cried, ejecting the drive, and running back to the window, as it had come from outside.

Garden, two minutes earlier.

Michael stepped out from the patio door, looking wildly about, Magnus hot on his heels.

"They couldn't have gone far..." Magnus muttered, rubbing his chin as he looked out over the property.

"Agreed." Michael replied, scowling as he stretched his gaze across the grounds.

Moving out onto the lawn, and past some flowerbeds, the pair didn't have much luck in their search, until Magnus heard voices coming from the entrance to the large hedge maze that ran around the back of the mansion, and behind the pool.

"-is is what I'm up against! I just needed more proof." That was Lorenzo's voice. And it sounded stressed.

"A man is dead, Lorenzo! That should tell you that these men aren't playing around! I'm worried for you." There was Roxanne, sounding frightened.

"I know that, but I couldn't go to the-!"

"That's all I needed to hear..." came an oily sneering voice, one neither man recognized.

Instantly, both BlackGuards drew weapons, Magnus summoning Toxin, and putting another hand on his blades, and Michael, pulling out his sidearm, before jogging to investigate. Spinning around the bend leading to the entryway into the maze, they were caught off guard by an explosion.

One that detonated several feet away from them.

Roxanne had her wand in hand, her face full of protective anger, aiming spells at another dark clad individual, who was leaping about with unnatural agility, laughing madly each time she missed. With every spell cast, came another detonation. Lorenzo, was on the ground, slumped over on his side, struggling to breathe, as a half-filled syringe was sticking out of his neck.

Michael didn't need much more provocation, seeing his old friends in danger, a furious anger consuming him. Ignoring normal protocol, he brought up his gun, took aim and fired twice in quick succession. Michael's experience did him credit, as both rounds struck the moving attacker in the chest, ceasing his cackling as he fell to the ground dead, his last laugh etched on his face.

Holstering his weapon, Michael ran up to his fallen friend, shouting for Magnus to call an ambulance, while Roxanne fell to her knees by her husband's side, yanking the syringe out.

Chicago General Hospital, 11:00am next morning.

Roxanne was pacing up and down the silent white corridor, her worry having gone through the roof since last night. Sitting down behind her were Michael and Magnus, both immensely frustrated with themselves.

After the attack, and Lorenzo was loaded up into an ambulance, Xathun had come running, having used the chaos caused by Mrs. Armanti's explosive curses, to slip back past the guards undetected.

After filling him in on what had happened, Xathun explained what he'd seen on Armanti's computer. It had been a group of pictures, sent from Axel's email address, dated that morning (the message being sent automatically on a timer, if he wasn't back at his desk), finally telling them who'd hired the ex-BlackGuard, of a man clad in the security uniform of the Armamax plant, meeting with a select group of individuals, each with differing cultural descent.

But it was the woman at the head who caught his attention. She was a tall slim woman with a deadly air to her, with her most defining features being her long white hair, and dark eyes. Xathun had instantly recognized her as China Na Wei, AKA China White, the former head/best assassin of the White Snake Triad in Starling City, whom he'd had the distinct displeasure of meeting once before when he was a rookie. A fearsome woman, one known to hold grudges. The shock factor had been that she'd not only been since usurped and exiled by the triad for too many failures (they'd initially tried killing her. Didn't work out so well), but she was listed as KIA a year ago, by a fellow BlackWolf at the time, agent Arrow. Evidently, death hadn't stuck, and the intelligence division was going to be spitting fire over missing her survival and movements. They were still trying to identify the other two people with her, having sent the pictures off to forensics for facial rec.

The man Michael had killed was identified as Mortimer Toynbee, a mutant ex-terrorist turned mercenary, known as the Toad. In and out of prison multiple times due to his involvement with the Mutant Supremacy group known as the Brotherhood. When the Brotherhood had fallen apart when their Leader, Erik Lehnsherr, was caught and imprisoned, Toad had dropped off the grid. Given that most of the more dangerous members were behind bars, his disappearance hadn't been ruled as such a big loss. Since then, he'd become a freelance thief/mercenary, with moderate levels of success.

Their cover had remained intact, but Lorenzo still had answers they needed. Toad had attacked him with a syringe of an enhanced poisonous paralytic venom, which shut down the body's vital functions and nerves. It was lucky for Lorenzo that Roxanne had reacted to his appearance before he could give him a full lethal dose.

Afterwards, Magnus had ordered the team home, sending a copy of the picture to the geniuses, with orders to bring in the guard meeting with China's posse, while he and Michael waited with the lady of the house at the hospital. When asked what to do with them, Magnus had turned to Azazel and told him. "If he doesn't give you anything, lose your temper." But had cautioned him not to do anything too damaging. Magnus had gotten a small nap at Michael's insistence, but it wasn't a long or peaceful one.

Michael stood up, intending to comfort the woman, when a white coated form of the female doctor came out of the room.

The three people waiting looked up at her, their expressions hopeful. She gave them a kind look.

"He's going to make it. You got him to us just in time."

All three released a massive sigh of relief, with Roxanne breaking into tears of happiness, Michael putting an arm around her to support her.

Michael glanced back at Magnus, nodding his head. Understanding his dismissal, Magnus returned the gesture, before turning around and heading down the corridor towards the stairwell. As he went, his phone went off, the tones of an old song "Kiss from a Rose" emanating from the inside of his jacket. Pulling it out, he reminisced about a much happier time, before answering, his stride not slowing down.

"Zarathos."

"It's us, boss." Came the upbeat sound of Ryo Takahashi.

"Armanti's alive, looks like he's going to be fine." Magnus stated, as he jogged down the staircase. Looking up for the sign for the car park, he took a left at the landing, moving past a person in a wheelchair rolling away in the opposite direction.

"Thank god." Ryo breathed out, before clearing his throat. "We got the guard. It was the chief."

Magnus sneered inwardly, not altogether surprised in the least. "So much for 'sleeping on the job'."

"Isn't it just? Azazel went to town on him in Interrogation." Ryo agreed. "Bastard sang like a bird when he saw the evidence we had."

Magnus chuckled as he turned right, the doors to the car park walkway in sight. He knew that flimsy story would come back in the end. And it was bullshit, as expected.

"So, what'd he admit to?"

"He was selling some of the factory's products on the black market, pocketing the profits. Sometimes he smuggled them out, other times, he pulled the sec team back to let the interested party inspect and take their wares personally, under the cover of 'drills'. Apparently, it never occurred to him that he might end up selling to terrorists."

"Blinded by his own greed, the stupid fool." Magnus scoffed, before moving on. "Any luck on Whites allies?"

"On both fronts. The first guy is Richard McConnell, an ex-employee of Armamax. He used to work in their technical division, before he got fired on embezzlement charges, and blacklisted. He now works as a cleaner. How the mighty have fallen. The techs are trying to find him now."

Magnus exited the hospital, feeling the sun's rays hit his forehead. "And the second?"

"Now we have a more interesting individual. Herman Shultz."

Magnus was taken aback as he made his way across the bridge. "The Shocker? How'd he get in town without the BlackGuard knowing?"

"That, we don't know." Ryo answered, sounding annoyed by the same thing. "We do know what they took though."

"And?"

"A few pistols, some SMG's, and here's the kicker, 4 pounds of CX!"

...

"Get the Rapid Response team on the phone!"

BlackGuard HQ, 1 Hour later

The story was now much clearer. Lorenzo by this point had woken up, becoming coherent enough for Michael to question him. He confirmed that Lorenzo had been the one to hire Myers, trying to figure out the source of his sales drop. When asked why he'd gone to a private investigator instead of the BlackGuard, he elaborated. No one in the finance department of his company had come forward on the issue, which was heavily concerning. As a result, Armanti hadn't been certain whom he could trust. While he could have brought in the BlackGuard, his concern was that if he did, it would spook the ones responsible, causing them to lay low. He wanted more physical evidence before approaching them, having actually been intending to tell Michael after the party, only for Axel's death to come out of nowhere, shaking him up. The pair had worked together for over a month, with Lorenzo staging a visit at the factory for Axel to observe their reactions to his presence, which was part of the collection of photos they'd found initially.

After explaining Lorenzo's story over the phone, Michael gave one last instruction.

"These people are now in possession of a weapon that threatens the lives of the millions of people that live in this city. In light of that, when you go after them, lethal force is authorised."

Now, though, the team had bigger problems.

"LEO's have been informed, they're setting up roadblocks out of town and have started patrolling the lake." Magnus informed the rest of the group, staring at the holoboard, putting down some files on the identified individuals of group. He'd figured it'd be best to know their enemies. "The Airport security at Chicago International are also on high alert."

This ensured that the thieves wouldn't run, but no one held the notion that that was their plan.

"So," Azazel began summing up, taking a bite of the pizza he'd ordered for lunch, as the area around the bullpen was becoming a hive of activity, with the possibility of a massive bomb threat. "We've got an ex-triad member, with a history of grudges, a mercenary with gauntlets that can cause shockwaves, and a former employee with computer skills, whom probably has an axe to grind with his former boss, despite the fact that his situation is his own damn fault. And they have enough explosive to take out 4 whole city blocks. Did I miss anything?"

"Probably some hired help too, considering the other weapons they took." Vermouth pointed out helpfully.

"Peachy." Ryo grumbled, now in his combat uniform, massaging his forehead, having just gotten off the phone with the tactical response unit. They were ready to mobilize as soon as they had a potential target.

"Now the main question is, what're they after, or whom, perhaps?" Fenris asked, rubbing the underside of his snout, as he stared at the board.

"China seems to be the ringleader of this little posse." Magnus replied, zooming in on the assassins face on the holoboard, as she was sitting at the head of the group in the picture.

"Based on that, their target could be connected to her in some way." Fenris nodded, seeing where his CO was going with that line of thought.

"Lucas, Michelle, are you listening in?" The red-haired leader of the squad spoke, his words sounding more like a statement that a question.

"Always." Came Michelle's soft tone.

"Are any of Agent Arrow's team in the city? Any authorization to travel here would have to go through Michael, unless they're on a black op."

"Not as far as we know. And we've had no data breaches lately, let alone any signs of a mole, aside from agent Vermouth's former colleague, apologies, agent." Michelle added.

"Thank you." Vermouth dipped her head, acknowledging the sentiment, as she leaned against her desk.

"That rules out vengeance against us for her failures." Azazel scowled, closing his empty pizza box. "What about the triad? Could this be her way of getting back at them? I can't imagine she was pleased at losing her position, not to mention being cast out the way she was, after all she did for them."

"Possibly, but while the White Snake does have a presence here, it's nowhere near as big as cities like Starling, Vegas, Frisco, etc. Damaging operations here wouldn't really affect them all that badly." Lucas pointed out, sounding stumped.

"So, she's not after the triad, or there's something we're all missing." Ryo summed up, scrunching up his face in thought. China wouldn't go to all this effort to merely give the Triad a small black eye. She was more a 'go straight for the jugular' sort of woman, if the reports they had were to be believed.

A few moments later, Fenris had an 'eureka' expression overcome him. "What if there is someone, or something coming from out of town? A VIP for them, or some important shipment?"

Lucas was quiet for a second. "Maybe, but I'd have to check with the intelligence dept. to know for certain. That will take time."

"Please insist that time is short." Magnus accepted, before cutting the call, turning to face the team.

"Alright, we're moving out. I'm not sitting here while a bitch with a bomb is out there." He ordered, turning to each of them in turn.

"Fenris, Vermouth, you two go to the ops centre to coordinate with the response team and the bomb squad. As soon as we get the slightest hint at the target, send them in."

The wolf and woman nodded and left, heading up.

"Azazel, you and Takahashi will be on the ground, visiting some potential informants that may have some information for us. Take pictures of the group we're after with you. Any hint of those people, or a potential target from any of them, I want to know. Take separate vehicles, you'll cover more ground that way."

"On it!" The pair stormed out, their destination being the garage.

"And us?" Xathun asked, looking a tad perplexed.

"We're going to be the eyes in the sky. As soon as we have a target, we'll be going in. Might you have a way of doing that?"

Xathun's expression turned positively amused, is if the question was hilariously funny.

"Yes. You could say that." He replied, fingering his grimoire.

1 hour later

The tension between the BlackGuards was high, as no new news had come out as of yet, with each member of the team anxious for news or results.

Xathun and Magnus were hovering over the city, seated on the back of a large sapphire scaled dragon named Saphira, whom was luckily not causing a scene due to a cloaking spell that Xathun had had a lot of experience with. Xathun was sitting at the front, while Magnus was holding on at the back, not entirely used to riding a creature talked of in myth and legend.

Suddenly, Magnus' phone rang, the screen indicating a conference call. Answering, he placed it on speaker, holding it between himself and his teammate.

"Yes?!" He yelled over the wind, gesturing for Xathun to take them lower. As their altitude began to drop, they began to hear what was being said.

"-to a hit!" Came Lucas' voice. "Tao Chang. He's a high-ranking White Snake, who came here a few days ago with some 'friends' of his. And if the intel is to be believed, he was one of the members to suggest China's removal."

"That's a possible target, but where would he be?" Azazel asked over the line, his tone anxious and uncertain. "The informants I've met with told me something big was happening, some VIP here they want to impress. That's about it."

"Not certain, but we're checking what bank records we have from him for any leads. We do know that he has a slight weakness for gambling, often fixing certain events to bring in money, those sorts of things."

"What kind of events?" Xathun yelled over the wind, not turning his head from the sky ahead, resulting in Magnus needing to repeat his question.

"Mostly casino games, races and other sports."

"Hang on, did you say sports!?" Ryo asked, his tone becoming frantic.

"Y-Yes?"

"Has he ever had an interest in Hyperball?!"

"I'm not sure, hang on... ... yes, he does follow the game often, according to our records. Sometimes to fix, other times for pleasure, given some surveillance we have."

"The bar I was just at, the bartender remembered seeing Herman a few days ago. He was interested in any games happening soon. Does Tao have an interest in a particular team?"

"Not really, but he does like watching a few teams more than others. Starling, Maine, New York, San Fran... oh, god."

"You mean the Strikers?"

"Yes!"

"Would someone get to the point please?" Magnus spoke hastily, beginning to get impatient due to the current situation.

"Sorry, but the Strikers are meant to play the Chicago Centurions in a Hyperball match at the newly refurbished Soldier Field. TODAY!"

"What time?!" Magnus barked, quickly understanding what Ryo was suggesting.

"It's already started!"

"Confirmed! Chang's Ecurrency card was used to buy tickets to the game a few weeks ago, along with some other Triad officials! Sounds like a meeting of sorts, possibly to expand operations!" Michelle exclaimed, panic filling them all.

"Fuck! She is after revenge. Alert Central that we have a possible target!" He roared over the line, urgently. The stadium could fit hundreds of thousands of people! "We'll worry about that meeting later. Xathun and I are headed their now. Get your asses there ASAP!"

Not bothering to hear a response, he hung up, before glancing back at his colleague.

"You hear that?"

"Already on it! We'll be there in 2 minutes! Hang on!" He replied back, as Saphira banked hard to her right, heading to the City's south, the duo praying that they'd be there in time.

2 minutes later...

The two jumped off Saphira's back, falling a few feet, before landing before one of the Stadiums entrances, and began sprinting for the doors, Magnus pulling ahead of Xathun, as he paused to dismiss his summoned dragon.

Arriving at the sliding doors, they found them locked shut, which immediately sent up red flags. The doors should have still been open, for any fan, staff or patron. Though the few dead bodies riddled with bullet holes were another clue.

"Well, we've found-." Xathun never finished his words, as Magnus had just sliced the doors apart in a few milliseconds.

"No time for chatter." He explained, stepping over the wreckage, keeping his blades out.

Fair enough. Xathun shook his head, before following his fellow agent into the foyer.

The foyer would have generally been an inviting room, with a large staircase at the far end leading up to the ticket area and stands. The rest of the area was empty, save a few rope barriers for some small shops at the side. The doors at the top, leading into the stands were bolted shut, most likely so no patrons could leave or stumble upon whatever these guys were doing.

Magnus wasn't interested in them though. His attention was towards the service corridors, or rather the two fire doors granting entry to them by either side of the staircase, leading under the stadium, and towards the team's locker rooms. Additionally, it provided access to underneath the stands and the field itself.

If a bomb were to be placed here, Magnus would put it somewhere down there. Gesturing to the right fire door, he headed towards the left one, Xathun making his way to the one he'd indicated.

A small change in the air was their only warning.

A man in an intimidating padded suit leapt from the rafters, coming down on the floor with a heavy Crash, right between them! (Shockers Spider-Man PS4 outfit) The pair were sent staggering back, Xathun less so, having instinctively brought up a shield in the form of a large magic circle hovering in front of his outstretched left hand.

"Sorry, can't have you interrupting our work. Nothing personal boys. Just business."

"Shocker." Xathun growled, glancing at Magnus as he jerked his head towards the fire doors, his intentions clear. Go! I'll handle this.

Looking uncertain for a brief second, before nodding his head, Magnus turned and went from stock still to full on sprint, pelting towards the fire doors.

"Where do you think you're going?" Shocker, not intending to let him leave so easily, brought up his left arm and unleashed a shockwave at his back, only for the shield Xathun conjured earlier to fly right in front of it, intercepting the blast before it struck. Twisting his head in anger at the mage, Shocker eyed the red coated BlackGuard as he hurtled through the fire doors.

"You're about to have company down there. Only one though." He spoke through his own comm.

"It is of no importance. He will die all the same." Came the dismissive answer, before the comm went silent.

"You could have used the help." He focused on the mag in front of him, advancing as he cracked his neck in preparation for the fight ahead.

"Doubtful, considering the first time you lost was against a trainee." Xathun returned cheekily, as he summoned his halberd to his hand, causing the merc's left eye to twitch under his mask. Fucking spider...

"... I'm going to enjoy killing you." With that, he launched another shockwave, no more words needed as the fight began in earnest.

Service corridors, same time.

The moment Magnus passed the doors, he was set upon by suppressed gunfire from his left. Sliding down into a crouch, he took cover, hiding behind a set of metal bins attached to the wall. Unfortunately, he was nicked in the upper shoulder, grunting in pain as the bullet grazed him. Lucky for the rent-a-thugs, as firing from the hip normally only worked in the movies.

Putting the slight pain aside, he raised one of his swords, trying to use it to get a glimpse at the opposition ahead, in an attempt to get their reflection(s) in the metal. No luck.

No choice then. He thought grimly, gripping the handle tightly, ignoring the gunfire ricocheting off the back of the bins he was using as a shield. I can't afford to waste time here.

What he did next, no one could have seen coming. Reaching up with his left hand, he took grip of his eye patch at the edge, and ripped it off, exposing what was hidden beneath: a glowing crimson mechanical optic, its sight growing larger and smaller for a few seconds as it came online and began to focus.

Placing the patch in his jacket, he let out a slow calming breath, closing his only real eye as he prepared to move.

His eye snapped open, and he sprang around, his now active High Frequency swords becoming a blur as his arms moved like lightning, their forms weaving and slicing in an intricate movement as he charged forward, neatly deflecting and dicing the oncoming bullets like they were nought but a minor inconvenience.

This action naturally caught the two hired guns, each wielding a stolen MPXI SMG with silencers attached, off guard, not expecting their foe to pull... well, this! That was the least of their concerns, as Magnus soon closed the distance in mere seconds, slicing the first ones right hand off, with his left sword, causing the goon to drop his gun, while his right blade slit the man's throat. The second goon, who was terrified as he attempted reloading, barely had time to register the blood flowing from his comrade in circumstance, before the redhead was on him as well, his primary weapons slicing his stomach open in a scissor formation.

Magnus was already advancing again before they even hit the floor, idly noting that they were dressed in cleaner's uniforms. Guess that explains how they got in, probably due to McDonnell's work as cover.

As he continued to run, he called up HQ on the comm.

"Fenris, Vermouth come in."

"Receiving. The response teams are en route. Should be with-!"

"Alright!" Magnus cut him off, coming to a halt at a fork in the corridor, with signs on the wall in front of him pointing right towards the locker rooms, while the other indicated Maintenance to the left.

"I need you to give me options. If you were going to plant some explosives, where would you put them?" He asked, considering where to go. "Then point me in the right direction."

This wasn't admittedly a perfect plan, but if he ran into further opposition, it would give him a hint that he was on the right track.

"Hang on!" Vermouth replied, sounding uneasy. "Pulling up the floor plans... now."

"Isolating your comm signal. Got you." Fenris added on after a few seconds. For a few seconds the wolf seemed to mutter incoherently, before seemingly coming to a decision.

"Go left!" Not needing much more encouragement, the leader of Sigma Squad tore off in the direction indicated. The sounds of more gunfire indicating that he was on the right track.

Back to the foyer

Xathun cursed as he dived to the left, backflipping so that he landed on the bottom of the main staircase, as his foe slammed into the ground after a mighty leap, causing a small tremor.

He had dismissed his weapon not too long ago, as he hadn't been fairing as well as he'd hoped. While Shocker was more limited in offensive capabilities than he was, he knew how to use what he had quite effectively, making sure to keep the mage at a distance, unless it was on his terms. The one-time Xathun tried closing it himself, he'd ended up blasted into a wall for his troubles, with enough force to crack it!

"Bolt Strike!" He roared, launching a stream of focused lightning from his palms. Shocker's eyes widened as the bolt struck him in the upper torso, his suits insulation and padding protecting him from electrocution. As it was it merely sent him sprawling backwards, sliding a few feet on his back, his suit singed in a few spots around the chest.

Pouncing forward, Xathun knew he had to keep up the pressure.

"Thorn Snare!" He slammed his left hand on the ground, heralding the growth of several thorny vines to spring up out of the ground around Shocker, reaching out as if to wrap around his limbs.

Not having any desire to be trapped, Shocker flipped himself over, and with a quick use of his gauntlets, was sent skyward via a set of his trademark shockwaves.

Spinning in mid-air, he sent two more blasts at the crouched BlackGuard, whom quick as a flash, brought up his shield, which while it protected him from most of the damage, it sent him skidding backwards by a few feet.

Xathun was grimacing in pain internally, as he felt another rib crack in at the impact. While there were a few spells that could end this easily, a lot of them would cause far more collateral damage than necessary. And to a fairly public place at that. The BlackGuard were already annoyed at him for damaging the Colosseum, and he wasn't in the mood for another lecture for bringing down part of a sport stadium.

Getting his head back in the game, he threw back his head for his trademark attack.

"Dragon Fire!" The stream of flames launched from his mouth, aimed right at where the mercenary was now landing. Shocker, eyes widening, shot forth both arms, creating a concentrated wall of vibrational force, strong enough to keep the flames at bay.

Xathun frowned as he kept up the juice. Just what would phase this guy? He wasn't capable of keeping it up forever.

An idea blossomed in his mind. Yes, that might work. His eyes focused, he increased the power output to his attack, the fire's spread growing wider, obscuring his form from his opponent. Whom also increased the power of his attack, to keep the inferno from enveloping him.

Suddenly, the fire cut out, the vibrations plowing forward unimpeded, slamming into the central staircase, the centre of which buckled under the strain before shattering, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of it. The mage was nowhere in sight.

Shocker turned his head around as he scanned the area for the enemy. "Didn't take you mages for cowards." He stated offhandedly, knowing that the man wouldn't have just left.

"Strength of the Dragon!"

Shocker twisted around to receive a hard fist to his jaw from Xathun, emerging from his transport circle, the blow packing enough force to send him flying, stunned.

Capitalizing on that, Xathun bent his legs and shot after him, appearing over the 'shocked' Shocker's shoulders in mid-flight.

"Going down." He spoke calmly, before flipping him downwards with a hard kick to the midsection, the Shocker impacting with the floor back first. Miraculously, he didn't break any bones in the landing, his suit providing adequate protection. But it did the job of knocking him into dreamland. Someone with normal strength wouldn't have been able to do such a feat. For a mage with the strength of a dragon, despite holding back? Easy.

Landing lightly on his feet, Xathun stumbled forwards as he clutched his chest, breathing heavily.

"It's called *puff* strategy, *puff* asshole. You should *huff* try it." He panted, checking himself over. That last attack had taken a slight toll on his lungs.

There were more than a few bruises from his fight. "And I'm the one that signed up for this shit." He groused under his breath, before moving forward to restrain Shocker before he woke up. Glancing around at the dead bodies of the few staff lying around, he stared at the unconscious villain in silent anger.

"Good luck getting out of whatever hole they stick you in after this." He remarked coldly, turning as sirens could be heard in the distance. Looks like the tactical response unit had finally arrived.

Maintenance tunnels

Magnus vaulted over the side of a set of stairs, running back down along the wide tunnel, the walls a bland grey, with the brickwork being obviously visible, as he continued to burrow further underground. Thank God the comm still worked, he'd had concerns that it wouldn't. His blades were heavily bloodied, having fought through more goons on his way here. Some were dead, others wished they were. Unlike with the first pair, given their first initial attack, he had given them the option to surrender. They chose… poorly.

Down here, was where all the stadiums electrical wires, heating, pipes, etc all ran around here, allowing any maintenance crew ease of access without getting in the way of any patrons, fans or general staff members.

While the Stadium was externally identical to its predecessor of the same name, the original Soldier Field football field, the inside was another story. The sports field was supported by 4 major support pillars, with several secondary pillars around them. The idea being if one of the major ones were damaged, the others could keep the stadium from collapsing in on itself until necessary repairs were made. The architects of this however, had not foreseen the use of CX in attacking the structure. If China blew the main pillars, several secondary ones would also be damaged in the aftermath, causing the stadium, and everyone inside to collapse into the cold hard earth.

"You should be close to one of the pillars now, just keep going straight." Was the encouraging word of Fenris.

The tunnel he was in was very wide, giving him ample room to swing both swords on either side, and ever so slightly curved to the left, the more you progressed. Jogging further along, he passed several small columns running along the side, made of a mix of MaxiSteel and Conqrete, to give them all better strength.

As he progressed further, he stopped dead in his tracks, when he came into view of a much larger column, partially emerging from the wall. Seeing this wasn't what had caught his attention. It was the pair of boot clad feet sticking out from behind it, on the ground, unmoving.

His pace slowing to a crawl, he edged around the column, grimacing as he came across the dead form of Richard McConnell, a rather gruesome set of stab wounds through his bloodied chest. He must have outlived his usefulness.

A bright light drew his optic's attention, and he let out a breath at the sight of a medium sized metallic black device clamped to the side of the main pillar, one that was clearly not meant to be there. The cheekbone under his optic twitched, as the red light it gave off switched to blue, letting him scan the interior of the now identified bomb, his vision changing to X-Ray. While the optic's normal mode granted him greater perception of time for short periods, which in turn bettered his reflexes, before requiring a healthy recharge time, it had other uses.

There wasn't any timing mechanism, so that implied a remote detonation of some sort. Also, there were multiple temperature sensors inside, likely to set it off if a sudden change in temperature occurred inside, such as freezing parts, which had become a common tactic in bomb disposal. But the biggest problem was that only one pound of the stolen CX was present there.

While his eye analysed the explosive, Magnus' mind was thinking rapidly, trying to make sense of all the information they'd gotten. The other pillars were likely set to blow too, he had expected that. China didn't care terribly much about collateral damage from what he knew, but even this seemed a little excessive. Unless it hadn't been her plan…

"Tell me." He asked calmly, before twisting around to block a pair of Karambit knives aimed for his neck. China stood before him, clad in a black bodysuit, a sword sheathed at her back, and a sidearm at her hip, her face set in cold fury.

"Did you really think a trap so obvious would…?" Magnus broke off, as he caught glimpse of something with his optic, which was still set to X-Ray. Embedded in China's chest, was a small black device, blinking a small light, just by her heart. What on earth was that?

Taking advantage of his distraction, China shoved him backwards, showing surprising strength, his back colliding with the wall as he staggered. In a split second she was on him, her knives flashing.

Getting his head in the game, Magnus dived to one side, flicking his optic back to normal vision. Rolling into a crouch, he was sent onto his side, by a savage kick to the side of his head. His ears ringing, Magnus barely brought up his right blade in time to parry the next knife strike.

Switching things up, he let go of his left blade, summoning a new weapon this time, as both his forearms were encased in a pair of gauntlets, that looked as if they had been cut straight out of a glacier, an unearthly chill filling the air. Lashing out, he made to grab at her right leg with his left arm, only for her to leap away, not keen on finding out what the gauntlets did. Not noticing small pieces of ice forming on the ground near the gauntlet.

"So, the BlackGuard sends their Chimera." She stated calculatingly, backing up, as Magnus pulled himself up, twirling her knives in anticipation. "A pleasure."

"It's all yours." He returned bitingly, retrieving his sword from the ground, and then sheathed them, much to her perplexment and intrigue, as his Katanas offered a greater reach than her knives did, giving him an advantage. But one he just gave up.

Wondering why he would give it up, she was taken off guard, when he thrust his right arm out, pointing downwards, as a sheet of ice formed under his feet. A small misty stream came out of the gloved hand, hitting the ground, more ice forming as he started skating across it towards her.

Regaining her composure, she blocked the first punch with her forearm, attempting to swipe at his stomach with her other, only for her knife to be caught in his left hand, her weapon being swiftly encased in frost. Releasing it before the ice spread further, the weapon shattering as it hit the ground, she received a harsh knee to the stomach, while she stabbed at the shoulder Magnus had nicked earlier. Both hits landed at the same time. Yelping in pain, Magnus retreated, while she took in a huge gulp of air to replace the wind being knocked out of her.

Scowling, Magnus yanked the knife from his shoulder, blood spurting out of the open wound, before his suit's nanites covered the entrance, their first aid and repair protocols kicking in to stop the bleeding.

Charging at each other, the pair once again exchanged blows, neither of them giving an inch, with Magnus soon destroying her other knife, much to China's frustration. Feinting with an uppercut, Magnus landed an expert right hook in China's face, the assassin stumbling. Pulling out her side arm, she went to fire, only for Magnus to grab the offending weapon and force it upwards, grasping her other hand so that she couldn't punch him. For a few moments they struggled, neither really gaining an advantage over the other, before China decided to employ a… less than honourable blow, bringing her leg up between Magnus' legs. Expecting him to drop down, or at least weaken his grip if he powered through it, she was left shocked when he didn't register any pain whatsoever.

That small moment of surprise was all he needed to break the deadlock, pushing her hard up against the wall, his gauntlets freezing her hands and forearms to it.

"You aren't the first to try that." Magnus replied, mildly cheerful, mentally thanking the suit's designers for including a box in its makeup.

China spat in his face, glaring hatefully, struggling to move her arms. Dodging the saliva, Magnus stared at her for a second, keeping his distance from her legs, sizing her up for some reason, before something clicked in his head.

"Who hired you?"

China's eyes narrowed, her face giving nothing away.

"Someone else wanted the stadium destroyed, Tao Chang's appearance simply made this the perfect way to sweeten the deal to you. Told you to kill McConnell to make this simply look like the actions of a disgruntled employee." He went on, remembering her psyche report from the files they had, recalling her loyalty to those she considered allies. Killing McConnell was out of character for her, so the only reason she would do this was if she'd been ordered by an employer trying to tie up loose ends. "Even rigged up a dead man's switch for you, so that if you died, the bombs would go off, and probably hired Toad to silence Armanti when you started leaving a mess behind. And the blame would mostly fall on Armamax for not protecting its wares better."

"If I am to die, let there be fire." She hissed spitefully, but Magnus could tell that he'd rattled her cage, her brief widening of her eyes telling him that she hadn't known about the attempt on Armanti, nor the dead man's switch, but was taking it in stride. Evidently, it had been somehow planted without her knowledge. An unpractised eye would have easily missed her reaction, but Magnus was anything but unpractised.

"Oh, no." Magnus replied, staring softly at her, shaking his head at the woman. "You're not going to die today. There's been quite enough of that."

And without warning, froze her feet to the floor. Ignoring her struggling, he patted down her sides, relinquishing the woman of her weapons, before looking for something else. Eventually, he found the detonator, lodged in a… compromising position, right between her breasts. Retrieving it, he looked flustered at the action, as she snarled at him. It was clear that Magnus had now landed on her hate list, both for stopping her and now for this humiliation!

Sighing in resignation, Magnus backed away, reattaching his eyepatch as he did (he didn't like relying on his eye too much), as shouts could be heard from the stairwell further back down the tunnel. The cavalry had finally arrived.

HQ, 7:23pm.

The sun was beginning to set as the team was debriefed. The bombs were thankfully found and disarmed, and the patrons freed from the stadium, mostly having been none the wiser due to the attack, due to the group primarily using silenced weapons and the overall roar of the crowd.

The media had finally gotten wind of what happened, going into a frenzy on the evening news, at the 'terrorist attack'. Lives had been lost, but many more were saved due to the efforts of the BlackGuard. Their hearts went out to the families of the lost. The team's names weren't mentioned, but they didn't really care all that much about it.

As for Tao Chang, he had slunk back to Starling, not impressed with the locals security. There would be other opportunities.

Shocker, it turned out, had been the one to shoot Axel, the tech twins (as the local staff called Lucas and Michelle), managing to retrieve the footage after hours of sleepless work. He was currently imprisoned facing charges of murder, accessory to commit murder, and multiple other charges.

China meanwhile had been slated for interrogation by a more specialised team. They assured the team that they'd track down her employer. An employer who was most likely spitting fire over the failure, and not like Xathun could.

The team were all preparing to head on home for the night, Michael giving them the night off for their work. Magnus was headed to the training room (despite his shoulder injury), Azazel going out for a beer, Xathun was having a movie night with Fenris, and Ryo still had to finish moving in. As for Vermouth, although she'd been invited to join some of the others, she'd politely declined, saying she had plans for the evening, though inwardly feeling like the odd girl out.

Michael was sitting in his office, right next to the ops centre. his back to his neatly decorated desk as he stared out the large window overlooking the city.

"Too close." He whispered, shaking his head. He then jolted, as his desk phone rang. Turning around in his swivel chair, he snatched it up.

"Hello, Head of Special Operat-."

"Oh, for heavens sake, Michael, really?" Gabriel interrupted, sounding exasperated.

Michael snorted as he sank further back into his chair, feeling completely at ease. "Hello, Madam Director.

"Must you, really? I think we're beyond such titles."

"True, but I have to keep you on your toes somehow." He replied jovially.

"One of these days, you are going to be the death of me." She grumbled, before becoming professional. "I heard what happened. How are they?"

Michael frowned, as he thought for a moment. "All things considered, I think they performed admirably, for only being placed together the day before."

"No problems?"

"Don't misunderstand me, I know full well that mistakes were made." He spoke softly,as he stood up, turning back to the window, watching as a few cars left the complex below. "But that is to be expected in situations like this. They have time to get better, in all aspects."

"What do you think of them?"

Michael looked as if he were pondering the meaning of life, and not about to give an opinion.

…

"As individuals, I must admit, they are clashing a bit, and will more so in future. Some carry dark pasts, and try to bury it in their work…"

Magnus stood in the HQ's training area, having changed into a white exercise top and black pants. Punching a heavy sandbag in rapid succession, not giving an inch. The force of the last punch causing an ornately designed locket on a gold chain, with a diamond ring also attached to said chain, to fling out of his shirt, hanging around his neck.

"While others try to make amends for such history."

Vermoth sat at a desk in her apartment, reading a book. A sound made her look up at her window, under which was a bookshelf. At the end was placed a small coin, on which was depicted a black bird, possibly a crow or raven, curled around the coin's shape. Her eyes lingered on the coin for a moment, as if reminiscing in self-loathing.

"Some have responsibilities greater than others might think…"

Xathun sat on a large sofa, holding a bowl of popcorn on his lap, as Ace and his fellow dragonoid Hajime sat on his left, and Fenris on his right, all waiting eagerly in preparation of the movie about to play on the screen they'd set up.

"Some are simply having trouble readjusting to working with others…"

Azazel sat alone in a bar, several people watching a Basketball game (yes, that sport survived) and chatting around him, enjoying the night , he finished his beer, leaving a sizable tip, and left.

"And others are trying to go with the flow."

Ryo packed a draw with some of his shirts, trying to at least sort out his clothes before going to bed.

"But as a team? They are so much more. I have a feeling that they are going to be one of the best the BlackGuard has ever seen."

The next day, and the team has reassembled in the bullpen, Magnus standing at the head of the room, his arms crossed behind his back.

"Are we all rested and ready?" he asked evenly, looking unjudgmentally around at his team, wow, it felt weird of him to think that. When all he received was determined, and even dare he say earnest faces, his lips twitched into a smirk.

"Well then, Sigma Squad… let's get to work."

2 1/2 years later...

BlackGuards Sigma Squad rose to prominence ever since that day. Taking on several cases, and leading to the arrest of several notorious criminals, with a near perfect record.

The group had grown closer over the years, with them coming to see each other like family. They ate, fought and bled together. It was said that if you harmed one of their members, the others would bring the Wrath of God down on you without mercy. Whilst this attitude had gotten the team into trouble with the higher ups on several occasions, they had persevered, undeterred. Their record spoke for itself.

One member of said family was now thundering towards Michael's office, a group of files wrapped under his arm. Magnus wasn't in a particularly pleasant mood, having received a piece of news entirely out of the blue. He hated unexpected surprises, as it more often than not signalled bad things for him and now for the team.

Flashes of two women appeared in his mind, one a young woman with hair and eyes similar to his own, and the brightest smile ever, the other an older more mature French woman with black hair and brown eyes. Trembling at the thought of them, he raised his free hand to his upper chest, where the locket he carried around with him always rested, underneath his suit.

Shaking the memories of better times away, he found himself in front of the door he sought, frowning. Rapping on it twice, he heard a soft "Enter!", before pushing the door open a little harder than necessary.

Michael looked up from the paperwork he was looking over (and was currently wondering whom on earth invented such a devilish entity), and pulled his reading glasses off, when he saw whom had entered the room.

"I take it you got the news."

"That's one way of putting it." Sigma Squad's CO replied, throwing the files onto the desk. "When were you going to tell me that you went behind our backs to sign this?"

"When they arrived." Michael replied, slowly putting his pen into a small cup on his desk, his tone casual.

Magnus stared at him uncomprehendingly. "...Why?"

"Do I really need to answer that?"

"Yes!" Came his growl.

Michael went from calm to stern in an instant. "Mind your tone, Captain." One thing that had changed about Magnus over the past two years was that he wasn't always as professional with his superiors as he used to be, something that while he and Gabriel had wanted, given his past experiences, as they had wanted him to open up and relax a more, was something of a double-edged sword. As it had sometimes gotten the team into trouble, particularly in the last few months.

Magnus wasn't backing down however, as his expression of silent anger and betrayal remained.

Michael lowered his gaze, turning in his chair to look out the office window.

"The SecBlack is concerned that the team's actions with Marcus Wilson have painted you in too bad a light. He was thinking of shutting the team down."

"... You can't be serious!" Magnus exclaimed, his eyes going wide. "He was a man in league with the OHM and funded several of their operations. You of all people...!"

"He was a visiting senator!" Michael cut him off sharply, understanding Magnus' point, but having more to say. "I signed off on what you all did, but the consequences are now coming to light."

"And you think I'm going to lose sleep over it? If Azazel hadn't killed him, he and several other innocents would have died. Heck, if my partner hadn't done it, I would have, orders be damned."

"I know!" Michael slumped over, turning back to face him. "But the problem is that the actions that lead up to himself doing so have put the tribunal on our backs. If we put one more radical step out of line, the team is done!"

Magnus went still, his eyes widening as a massive shock entered his system. "Since when were they involved?!"

"Ever since you 'went rogue', to protect them from that traitor that used to be a former classmate of yours."

Reyes...

The redhead captain twitched, having not liked that incident, as it had been one of the few times his emotions had gotten in the way of his judgement. It had been a rather painful time for the team especially for Xathun and Azazel. After that incident, he'd briefly stepped down as the teams CO, deciding to re-earn the teams trust back, with Xathun taking over for a few months. While some members were sympathetic, he'd known that he messed up, and had to accept the consequences of his actions.

"Ever since then, the tribunal has taken an unhealthy interest in your activities, and the teams by extension." Michael continued, looking like his age was catching up to him.

"Gabby and I used what influence we had in order to halt any investigations from going too far. The SecBlack has now given us a list of terms we have to follow if we want the team to remain on active duty. One of which..."

"Was to enlist us in the mentorship program." Magnus sighed, understanding his boss's predicament. Great, now they had to deal with some academy rookies.

"Yes. He feels that if you can teach a few of the 'problem' generation a few things that can help in future, he won't need to pull the plug."

Magnus frowned at how he voiced 'problem', but otherwise said nothing. Well, that wasn't ominous at all...

"What other stipulations are there?"

"I'll send them to you in the morning. That will be all, Captain."

Recognising the dismissal, Magnus retrieved his files, and left the office, closing the door behind him. Grumbling incoherently, while wondering how he was going to open this can of worms to the rest of the team, He flicked the first one open. From the looks of things, only four of them had been assigned a rookie to look after, himself included.

Briefly glancing through them, he saw who was assigned to whom.

Cadet 50746. Dupain-Cheng, Marinette

Academy Call-Sign: Ladybug

Classification: Mage

Assigned Mentor: Zarathos, Magnus

...

Cadet 51369. Agreste, Adrien

Academy Call-Sign: Cat Noir

Classification: Mage/Mutant (Impressive. He thought. Very few mutants had the capacity for magic, unless their magic was also a part of said mutation, like his own)

Assigned Mentor: Xathun

...

Cadet 50827. Midoriya, Izuku

Academy Call-Sign: Deku

Classification: Mutant? (Here Magnus raised an eyebrow in confusion. Just what did that mean?)

Assigned Mentor: Takahashi, Ryo

Note: Former apprentice to the late Colonel Toshinori Yagi

...

Cadet 50794. Bakugo, Katsuki

Academy Call-Sign: Nitro

Classification: Mutant

Assigned Mentor: Serizawa, Azazel

Closing the files, Magnus continued to make his way back to the bullpen. The team was going to love hearing this, he just knew it... huh. Guess Ryo was rubbing off on him a little.

Not that he needs to know that. He thought. He would never admit it, but he had grown fond of their occasional verbal spars.

Chuckling, he entered the bullpen, with the rest of the team getting ready for a pub night, an activity they'd started a year and a half ago.

Fenris noted his uncertainty.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" He asked, drawing the others attention.

Magnus let out a breath, deciding to tell them as they went.

"First round is on me tonight. I think we're going to need it."

Chapter End.

And with that, the prologue of this story is officially over! Next time: The hunt begins, as we finally set our sights on the altered One Piece universe. Also, we are now introduced to the trainees who will be joining the team on the hunt for this criminal. But who is this criminal, you ask? That will be revealed next time, along with some members of his group.

Thank you all for being so patient with me, I know I am a bit of a haphazard updater, so I do apologise for that. And I thank you all again.

Next on my list of updates, is going to be Return of the Red Dragon. This may upset some of you hoping for my older stories to be updated, but I have had heaps of PM's asking me to do so. I will, but understand that after that, I am going to be focussing on my other older stories, with Lord of the Icy and KMN next on the list, so I ask that you kindly bear with me.

I hope you all stay safe in these troubling times.

Well with that said… kindly drop a review. I'll take constructive criticism, but for the love of god, NO FLAMES! Seriously, I didn't force you to read this fic. If I don't like a story or the direction it takes, I won't read it any further. All I ask is that you readers show me the same respect that I give to other writers, which I don't think is unreasonable.

Alright then, I hope everyone once again stays safe, so until next time…

MH OUT!