Opening File: Scaramouche
Based on the discontinued X-Model Battle Android developed in Russia, Scaramouche is the next step in creating a new and advanced Hunter that incorporates the enhanced strength and speed of a machine with the fly-by-fly thinking of an organic much like Project: GUNDAM, only allowing the subject to retain its Aura and Semblance. Headed by a Chinese scientist named Di Lung the project started by selecting a Huntsman near death or permanently crippled and settled on one that was a master assassin that was nearly killed during a mission. However, unlike Project: GUNDAM that worked by uploading the 'mind' of the volunteer into a complete machine body this project was aimed at taking the vital organs of the subject such as the brain, nervous system and heart and placing them inside the robotic shell. The procedure was a success, creating the next generation in robotic assassins: Scaramouche.
Unknown to anyone the project was authorized by Sammael in order to create a warrior to deal with enemies in the East.
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Opening File: Mondo-Bot
For every hero there must be an enemy and for the legendary city of giants it was a massive war machine known as Mondo-Bot. A massive machine capable of causing mass destruction on a level matched only by few that was created by an unknown faction to originally serve as a defense against the Grimm, the Mondo Bot, for reasons unknown, turned against its creators and proceeded to instead terrorize the land of Pangea, eventually coming upon the City of Giants. The Giants faced Mondo-Bot in a battle that is said to have lasted from one day to weeks; others saying it lasted for years but each account having the same ending: the City of Giants sinking into the sea. The City of Andromeda would be built over where the giants supposedly lived, believing it would bring them protection.
They were wrong.
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Opening File: Drew Saturday
When Drew was a young girl, she went camping in the Himalayas with her parents and her little brother, Doyle. During the night, the camp was destroyed, presumably by a snow storm, and Drew was left all alone. She was taken in and trained by Tibetan monks, who eventually gave her the Tibetan Fire Sword, a weapon that can be wielded in the manner of a normal sword and it also can be commanded to shoot fire from its tip. The fire can only be generated while the sword is exposed to some degree of light, even if indirect.
When the fire is called forth, metal 'flames' sprout from the sides of the sword. In Hindu mythology, the Khadga, or Fire Sword, is a symbol of enlightenment used to destroy ignorance which is the enemy of liberation from the bonds of wordly attachments. It is found in the hand of Manjushree, the god of divine wisdom. The sword features a Tibetan Dragon at the hilt, holding the heavy blade.
The top of the handle is crowned with a 'dorjie' or Viswa Vajra which represents that which cannot be destroyed, but destroys all evil. The tip of the Khadga ends with detailed brass flames, again signifying the destruction of evil forces and protection.
Drew is the wife of Solomon Saturday and mother of Zak.
She believes in the magic so she is willing to believe in something before the evidence is found. She's a mystic who is well-versed in the world's cultures and can blend in anywhere her travels may take her. Drew is always encouraging her son to try new things like tribal dancing or sand painting. However, when there's a risk of danger, Drew gets a little overprotective of her only son.
During her travels she met Genki Sanban and took part in a secret mission that she has never spoken of, even to her husband and son. Though having never attended a Hunter Academy Drew is skilled enough to fight on par with fully trained Huntsmen, perhaps skilled enough to go toe to toe with the Demon Blade of the East herself.
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Xxx
"When you are a figure of high authority what is the number one problem you might have? The answer: assassination. Covert operatives trained to blend in, sneak past all eyes, strike the target down and disappear as if you were never there. Never being seen or heard at all, disguised as someone you'd never think of as dangerous or possibly being any kind of threat to you. Their weapon: anything they can get their hands on from the smallest utensil to a big bad bomb." TOM said, closing the file. "How do you prepare? Being paranoid, taking every form of self-defense training known to man, checking every inch of your home a million times over? Or maybe the only way to beat an assassin is to simply assassinate them before they assassinate you."
Xxx
"So this is Andromeda City. Huh…Smaller than I thought."
Black Velvet had heard of the legend of Andromeda City, its City of Giants and its destruction by one of the most powerful weapons on the planet. Stretching out with her Fallen abilities she could sense the Aura of three mortals…
And a half demon beneath the city.
"This will be fun." Velvet grinned as a portal appeared underneath her and she fell in, vanishing back into the darkness.
Xxx
"You have got to be kidding me. You have GOT to be kidding me!"
"I don't often joke in serious situations, Keanu."
"Well maybe you took an exception this one time! Why doesn't Scotty just portal us out of here?!"
"The drones will detect the portal and swarm this location. Even if we escape if they find these giants it could lead to something worse."
"Like what?"
Extor looked very serious. "I believe these drones are tied to the legendary Mondo-Bot that brought the City of Giants under the sea. I believe that they are possibly machines designed to find and reactivate it."
"You can't be serious." Da Samurai groaned.
"I am deadly serious, Keanu. I may be a scientist but I know enough not to dismiss the legends in this world we live in." Extor replied. "Mondo-Bot is a machine of mass destruction that cannot be found at all costs."
"How can you be even sure it still exists? You said it's been thousands of years since this city of giants sank." Raven pointed out.
"Those robot drones up on the surface are my proof." Extor answered. "They were created to serve as maintenance machines if the Mondo-Bot was ever heavily damaged or nearly destroyed. When I arrived here they were shut down but…"
"Ex, what did you do?" Scotty asked knowingly.
"I…accidently triggered a signal that reactivated the drones. They're scavenging for materials both to augment their depleted numbers and looking for the Mondo-Bot, which I suspect those materials will also be used to repair and reactivate it." Extor explained regretfully.
Scotty sighed. "So the machines are planning a massive weapon of destruction."
"Essentially yes." Extor nodded.
"Almost like we never broke up." Da Samurai muttered.
"We have to take out the machines before they find the Mondo-Bot and rebuild it." Extor continued. "If it's rebuilt it will go on a rampage across the world, destroying city after city, endangering countless lives and maybe even sending us back into the Stone Age."
"Sounds like our kind of party."
The four spun around, watching as a woman wearing a dark cloak landed in front of them. She stood up, looking at each of them with infrared goggles over her eyes. Scotty and Da Samurai pulled out their swords while Raven gathered dark energy in her hands.
"Well, this is seems like a fun gathering." The woman pulled her goggles off, revealing eyes without pupils and a complete purple sclera. "Scotty Blake, Keanu Grier and Professor Extor of Team SEKR along with a lost girl."
"And you are?" Raven asked, readying herself for a fight.
"Toast." Scotty raised his gun-leg and fired.
The woman started running, moving faster than a high speed jet as she dodged the bullets.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven called out, using her powers to send several large rocks at the woman.
She jumped up, landing on one of the incoming rocks and jumped off again, landing perfectly on the ground. She held out one hand and unleashed a blast of darkness at Scotty who quickly slashed through it with his sword. He aimed his gun leg behind and fired, using the recoil to propel him straight at the woman and slashed at her, only for her to easily dodge each slash despite Scotty's speed and efforts, jumping over him and landing behind. Scotty spun around, slashing at her head but she jumped up again and Scotty felt a weight on his sword.
He looked to see the woman was standing on his sword with a smirk and her arms crossed before she fired a shadow blast at Scotty's face and jumped up; delivering a double kick to his head that knocked him down.
"All right, lady!" Da Samurai dashed at her. "Let's see you survive an encounter with DA SAMURAI!"
He began slashing at her and even though she proved fast enough to dodge many of his attack he at least managed to leave a few cuts on her cloak. The woman stumbled back and Da Samurai halted his attack, taking the chance to see the few slash marks.
"Lady, you are out of your league. Da Samurai is out of your league and when you go to heaven tell my momma I love and miss her!" Da Samurai thrust his sword forward but the woman grinned as a black mist exploded from her cloak, blinding him long enough for her to punch him in the face and send him flying through the air, landing in the water of the underground lake.
"A kind invitation, but I'll decline." Velvet chuckled before sensing a rush of air coming from behind her.
Reacting quickly, she morphed into a shapeless black mass which twisted through the air, spiraling between various objects flung at bullet speed by Raven. Velvet snaked along the ground and shot from side to side, throwing off Raven's aim as she made used of the surrounding terrain, ripping up the ground and reshaping random debris into deadly weapons which didn't come close to touching the Fallen.
"Not bad, but you're a little rough on the execution, dear." Velvet taunted before shooting forward and splitting into three separate tendrils which circumvented a shield Raven had tossed up, slamming into the young sorceress…only to pass through her as Raven's shape dissolved into a shadow and sank into the ground.
Velvet reformed a few feet away on her feet and looked around with a frown. "But I've been wrong before…"
A shadow rose up to tower over her from behind. The Fallen spun and found herself face to face with a great raven made of dark magic, red eyes blazing as it snatched her up in one claw and shrieked before slamming her against a nearby wall.
"Oof! Impressive." Velvet smirked and slipped free, darting along the construct's leg towards the main body. "But you'll find it hard to hurt me with simple magic like this!"
She shot upwards and flipped her entire body backwards, landing both of her feet against the magical construct's head and shattering it. Raven plummeted from the mass of dissipating arcane energies and steadied herself in midair as the Fallen dove towards her.
"I've fought a lot worse than you." Raven slid out of the way of another kick and snaked her arms around Velvet's outstretched leg, using this opportunity to slam the Fallen into the ground using her own momentum. "And I might major in magic, but I'm not helpless without it."
"Good to know." Velvet's body contorted in a way that would be anatomically impossible for the typical human and delivered a devastating kick to Raven's face that flung her to the side. "And here I thought you were going to be a boring match."
"I'm afraid I can't just let you harm the young miss." Extor stepped between the two fighters as Raven clambered to her feet. "Nor can I let any Fallen profane the City of Giants with their presence."
"Profane? My, Professor Extor, it sounds almost as if you worship these fallen colossals." Velvet put her hands on her hips.
"I find it easy to admire anyone who can wield great power and put it to use for the good of others." Extor flexed both of his hands. "Just as easy as it is for my distaste for you and your kind to be brobdingnagian in scale."
"As fun as it is to hear you scrape the vocabulary barrel, I'm on a bit of a schedule." Velvet tensed and crouched down before kicking off of the ground and launching towards the scientist…just as metallic components unfolded down along both of his arms and closed around his open hands which clenched into fists with a pneumatic grown before Extor swung one up and unleashed a Dust enhanced punch that launched Velvet upwards in an explosion of electrical arcs.
"That's why I preferred working freelance." Extor rolled both of his shoulders and calmly stepped forward as Velvet landed several dozen meters away, shaken and taken by surprise by the seemingly benign and harmless man's show of power. "Working on my own time, setting my own schedules…it always makes my work easier until someone comes along and makes a mess of everything."
He slammed both of his power-gauntlet clad fists together, eliciting another series of sparks from them. "That's where these come in. I've been researching Fallen countermeasures for decades and I'm pleased to say that my time in this city only served to inspire me. This would be your last chance to stand down."
Velvet composed herself with a frown. "You've been waiting to brag about those for a while." She surmised. "Hard to feel proud of your inventions without someone to show off to."
Extor cracked a smile. "On that charge I'm one hundred percent guilty…and entirely unrepentant."
He reared one arm back and buried his fist into the ground, causing it to heat up and tremble as a small ravine quickly formed, snaking towards Velvet as heat radiated upwards until molten material spilt out, forcing Velvet to evade to one side and retaliate with a shadow blast that Extor blocked by creating a Dust energy shield with his free arm.
As they clashed, Raven raced over to where Scotty was only just climbing back to his feet. "Are you alright?" She asked quickly.
"Aye, but I feel like I got hit by a-"
"Good, be right back!" Raven shot up into the air before diving into the nearby waters, returning momentarily with Da Samurai who spat out water and grumbled.
"Remembering why I hate this job." Da Samurai glared towards the nearby battle. "He waited that long to bust out the gauntlets?!"
"Not sure what's worse: that he held out until we got our hides kicked or that he's actually holding up better than we did." Scotty said, watching as Extor grabbed one shadowy tendril and held it tight, using it to fling Velvet around and send her flying through the air. "He's been making some upgrades."
"Yeah but she'll get wise to them quick." Da Samurai looked to the sunken city. "We need a way out of here, and I don't think I could hold my breath for one mile, let alone fifty."
"Maybe we don't need to." Raven gazed at the still waters. "I've been…feeling something down in the city. The Giants might be…as close to dead as they can get, but there's something still alive and awake down there. It's calling out, and I think I know why."
"You suggestin' we wake a giant, lass?" Scotty asked.
"Not us." Raven unclasped her cloak and shoved it into his hands. "Me. I can take a bubble of oxygen with me, but that leaves me with a limited supply of oxygen. The smaller the bubble the less time I have, but it'll be easier than supplying air for three."
"You're seriously thinking of going down there?" Da Samurai gestured to the sunken city…before nodding at the expression of resolve that he saw in Raven's eyes. "Girl, you crazy…and I like it. We'll hold off the crazy lady while you do your work."
Raven nodded and waded out into the water, using her magic to create an air tight cocoon around herself, shaping it to contain enough oxygen to sustain her. It wouldn't last in the deepest reaches of the city, but it would be better than holding her breath all the way to the source of the call. She vanished beneath the surface, leaving the trio of veteran Huntsmen to deal with Velvet.
Xxx
Raven immersed in her powers moved through the water as quickly as she could, honing in on the presence she sensed. It was dormant but at the same time it seemed to be calling out to her somehow.
Close to death, yet somehow very much alive.
The cocoon she created reached the bottom of the lake and directed her towards the presence. She could almost see it, a gigantic form resting at the bottom. As she grew closer she could see it was humanoid, made of stone and shaped like an armored warrior. She came closer and the eyes lit up, halting her.
This was it.
This was the presence that had been calling her.
The giant's eyes glowed and without fired beams of light that enveloped her, causing the cocoon made from her magic to disappear. She felt the urge to resist but kept herself calm as she crossed her legs and closing her eyes, allowing the light to take her into the giant.
The giant was alive but needed a core unit to bring it back to life.
Extor spoke of these giants, how they rested at the bottom of the sea after their city sunk. Raven understood now that these giants, while powerful needed something from the people they protected.
They needed a soul.
That was what was happening to her right now.
Becoming part of the giant before her, allowing her soul to guide and power it.
To use it for one thing and only one thing: protection of the righteous.
Xxx
Extor had proven a surprisingly formidable opponent for Black Velvet but she was far from defeated. "I have been waiting to test this."
She produced a strange cylinder shaped device from her cloak and pressed down on a switch, causing a beam of crimson light to extend out, forming a glowing crimson sword. Extor fired another electrical arc but Velvet held her sword up and easily blocked. Velvet lunged forward, slashing her black at Extor who raised his arms, electrical shields appearing that blocked the crimson beam.
"BACK TO ACTION!" Da Samurai leapt in, his katana surging with electricity created from lightning Dust embedded in the blade.
He clashed with Velvet, the Dust allowing his blade to handle the intense heat of Velvet's beam saber. Velvet expertly parried and blocked Da Samurai's sword before retaliating. Da Samurai stepped back, suddenly finding himself working very hard not to get hit by Velvet's really hot(no pun intended) glowing sword.
"Guys, I could use a hand here!" Da Samurai called out, blocking a swipe at his head.
Scotty leapt in, the Celtic runes on his blade glowing brightly as slashed at Velvet who hastily blocked with her lightsaber. The Fallen looked surprised to see her saber was not burning through the Scotman's sword.
"Surprised?" Scotty smirked.
Velvet pulled back, hastily blocking as Scotty went on the offensive, slashing at her with extremely powerful strikes that she barely blocked or parried. Scotty swung down and Velvet hastily dodged but the Scotsman thrust his blade right at her chest…
And seemingly stabbed right through her.
Or did he?
Velvet had jumped back, creating a shadow duplicate to take the blow and lashed out, swing her lightsaber directly at Scotty's head.
"Oh no you don't!" Da Samurai shouted, rushing back into the fight and blocking the strike aimed at his teammate's head.
Velvet looked annoyed now as she and Da Samurai crossed blades again, seemingly even but Velvet eventually started to gain the upper hand.
"K, move!" Scotty shouted as he swung his sword, creating a portal that he then jumped into.
"And where is he going?" Velvet asked mockingly as she pushed Da Samurai back. "Running away?"
Da Samurai smirked. "Nope."
Just then a series of small blue glowing portals appeared around them, halting the fight and Da Samurai quickly jumped back. Just as he did, bullets with Dust shards fired out of the portals. Black Velvet had instinctively raised her lightsaber to block but a Fire Dust coated exploded against the blade, blinding Velvet and left her open to the bullets that hit her. Her Fallen body allowed her to survive but bullets made from Fire, Ice and Earth Dust severally hurt.
Finally, Scotty Blake leapt out and delivered an uppercut to Velvet, sending her flying back several feet and hitting the ground with a loud thud.
"I almost forgot about that move." Da Samurai admitted, looking impressed.
Velvet stood up, her wounds slowly healing as she glared at Scotty. "You…"
"You Fallen are really tough but you and the Grimm can be hurt, especially by weapons enhanced by Dust and Aura. The essence of Grimm makes you stronger and gives you a great deal of power alongside Aura but you still can be hurt and killed." Extor stood next to his teammates. "It's your strength and weakness."
"Aura is made from natural energy bonding with the soul and Dust is crystallized natural energy, creating a power that can counter the Grimm and the Fallen." Scotty smirked.
Black Velvet grunted as violet Aura appeared around her, allowing her wounds to heal faster. "True but Fallen can use Aura just as much as a mortal can. Only it allows us access to greater powers."
"Really? Show us." Da Samurai dared her.
Black Velvet grinned. "With pleasure."
Just then the ceiling over exploded and in piled the drones from the surface, crawling down into the city below, homing in on the fighters. As this happened Black Velvet's shadow started to grow and manifestations made of pure darkness appeared, taking the form of Grimm and humanoids carrying swords that surrounded the three.
"This might not be easy…" Da Samurai commented.
"You think?!" Scotty and Extor snapped, glaring at the idiot for opening his big mouth.
"This is the power of my Semblance, the ability to manipulate darkness and shadows to the point I can even create solid constructs. I call it Blackest Night." Velvet chuckled. "I am sure my fellow Fallen will be pleased to see the members of Team SEKR eliminated once and for all while at the same time discovering the location of the Mondo-Bot. Sammael would love to get his hands on the most destructive war machine from the Forgotten Age."
Just before she could give order her constructs to kill them all the ground beneath them suddenly began to shake.
"Wha-" Black Velvet heard something from behind and spun around, eyes widening in awe and horror. "Impossible!"
From the underground lake emerged a massive construct made of stone and resembling an ancient warrior, wearing the armor of a samurai and staring down at her with glowing white eyes.
"She found it." Scotty smirked.
"An ancient Giant…It's alive!" Extor remarked in excitement.
From the eyes of Giant came beams of pure light that shot at Velvet who quickly created a portal and vanished into it, leaving her shadow constructs to be destroyed. The Giant was not finished as it raised its hands and fired beams of light at the incoming drones, destroying them with frightening precision.
In a matter of mere seconds, all enemies had been instantly wiped out, showing that the Giants were not only real but extremely powerful.
"That's how you do it, lass!" Scotty laughed as the last drone was destroyed.
The Giant remained still, seeing that all of its enemies were now destroyed and its eyes fired a beam of light down on the ground in front of three Huntsmen. From that light appeared Raven, sitting on the ground with her legs crossed and her leotard now white. The light then dimmed as the Giant sank back into the water, returning to its eternal rest.
Raven opened her eyes as her leotard returned to its normal black color and she summoned back her cloak. "That…was something."
She felt strong, perhaps even stronger now since her arrival in this world. When she melded with the Giant it seemingly restored her and purified her powers that it then to banish Black Velvet easily.
"You melded with a Giant!" Extor remarked in amazement. "I theorized they needed core units, living beings to power them but never could find evidence of it."
"Impressive work, lass." Scotty remarked, looking at the remains of the drones. "Nice cleanup too. All the drones are gone too."
"That means they can't find the Mondo-Bot, wherever it is and reactivate it." Extor nodded, holding out his hand to Raven. "High five?"
Raven raised an eyebrow for a moment before raising her hand and slapping Extor's. "High five."
"So can we get out of here now?" Da Samurai asked. "We still need to track down Rino."
"Ah yes, Rino. No doubt looking to make a major score." Extor nodded. "His love for riches and jewels will make him somewhat easy to track down."
"I take this guy is some sort of collector." Raven surmised.
"Is that a fancy word for bloody thief?" Da Samurai asked rhetorically.
Xxx
Black Velvet appeared in another dark cavern, groaning as she held a hand over her eyes. "That cursed child. She actually summoned back a Giant."
This was bad news.
A single Giant could become a massive threat to the Grimm and the Fallen, especially if there were more out there.
"Sammael needs to be informed of this." Velvet lowered her hand, seeing her vision was returning. "They'll pay for this. I swear it."
Xxx
"The targets are approaching the temple. You know what to do."
"Oh you know it, babe!" The 'person' in question answered with a smile. "After all I am soon to be Sammael's number one assassin!"
He had a metallic face with teal eyes, a large mouth with teeth and a blue and green tongue. He wore a black straw hat, orange scarf, red high-heel boots, a long purple coat with red interior with a black musical note emblem on the back, and a large black belt.
"Just remember the targets are not to reach their destination. Kill them, destroy the temple, do whatever you have to do but don't let them enter the temple."
"You got it, Babe."
"And if call me 'Babe' again I will rip your brain from the metal head of yours."
"Yeesh, touchy."
Xxx
The journey to the abandoned temple took a few days but Artemis and Superboy were more or less use to long term travel. With Master Monk Guan as their guide they traveled down the river on a boat, spotting what appeared to be their destination, a massive vertical temple complex covered with bamboo scaffolding and boardwalks.
"There is our destination." Monk Guan said, directing the boat to the temple. "The sun will reach its zenith in nearly twenty minutes. You will have to be quick."
Artemis hopped onto the nearby boardwalk and tied the front of the boat down as Superboy and Monk Guan stepped off. "So what guards the portal?"
"An ancient magic create guardians from the mountain the temple is built on." Monk Guan answered, leading them up the boardwalks.
"Really wish Zatanna was here then." Superboy muttered.
"Do not worry. I will make sure no harm comes to you." Monk Guan assures, leading them up to the next level.
Just as he finished that sentence was when they were attacked. The statues built out of the mountain spontaneously came to life and attacked the trio, brandishing usually swords or used their fists.
"Move!" Monk Guan shouted, blocking with his spear and slashing one statue in half.
Superboy rushed forward, relying on his Kryptonian strength and invulnerability to plow through the Stone Guardians with Artemis and Guan right behind him. As they continued their way to the top more Stone Guardians came to life and attacked them, forcing them to fight their way through. Superboy was at the front, clearing the path for the two while Artemis fired her arrows from behind and Guan easily covered the two from Stone Guardians that tried to attack from behind.
"We're getting nowhere like this. By the time we reach the top it'll be too late!" Superboy shouted as he shattered three Stone Guardians with ease. "Grab on to me!"
Artemis grabbed onto him and Superboy jumped up, shooting up through the next boardwalks while making sure he didn't hurt Artemis.
Crash!
Crash!
Crash!
Crash!
Crash!
Monk Guan marveled at how his charge leapt, leaving a series of holes through the boardwalks and almost making it to the top. Deciding he could not afford to be left behind Guan leapt up through the hole, following his two charges to the top. Meanwhile Superboy and Artemis made it the top, landing in front of the temple entrance at the top of the mountain.
"Nice." Artemis said, letting go of Superboy. "We made it in time."
Superboy nodded. "We should be inside by the time the sun reaches its zenith."
Just as he was about to take a step forward stone hands sprouted up from the ground and more Stone Guardians appeared.
"Or I spoke too soon." Superboy grumbled, readying himself for a fight.
Xxx
Name: Black Velvet
Race: Fallen
Aura: Violet
Semblance: Blackest Night
Description: Black Velvet's Semblance based on the manipulation of darkness. She can cover large areas in pitch blackness; create shadow portals and constructs solid enough to engage in physical combat. She can also morph herself into a living shadow, able to glide along walls, slip under doors and through cracks and shaping herself anyway she wants. Her power, though great is weak against concentrated light based attacks such as when she faced the Giant of Andromeda City that was able to purify Raven's power.
Weapon: A lightsaber