N.I.G.E.L. Black Box
Audio-Visual Data Recording
Date: April 15, 12:10 PM

{Mendel Craven adjusts N.I.G.E.L. 2.0 on board the Heat-Seeker as Nick Tatopoulos peeks in.}

Nick Tatopoulos: "Mendel, we need N.I.G.E.L. to get a sample of that mutant snail's mucus."

Mendel Craven: "On it, Nick!"

Nick Tatopoulous: "I've never heard you sound so excited to bring N.I.G.E.L. out."

Mendel Craven: "After what happened in Hawaii, I'd much rather put N.I.G.E.L. through gross acidic slime instead of letting him be Kori's chew toy for another day in a row."

N.I.G.E.L.: "Oui oui! It's all for one and one for all!"

{Footage fast-forwards to 25 minutes later. H.E.A.T. is surveying the damage from the giant mutant snail's rampage through a small French town. N.I.G.E.L. approaches the toxic slime trail and deploys a sample-collecting drone.}

N.I.G.E.L.: Mucus composed of sulfur-based acids. Detecting traces of petrochemical olefins. Registering 10.5% Gy above normal. Harvesting bone dart samples now. Mon Dieu! Ze escargot, she is too spicy!

{N.I.G.E.L. moves to recover a pierced bone dart from the wall of a building, taking it with him as he scans it.}

Elsie Chapman (V/O): "Even N.I.G.E.L. speaks better French than you, Randy. Better step up your game."

Mendel Craven (V/O): Hmm, even the darts are poisonous. Nick, I think Godzilla should be wary of them."

Randy Hernandez (V/O): "How the heck does a snail shoot bone darts anyway? I thought they were soft and y'know, boneless under that shell?"

Nick Tatopoulous (V/O): "Many snails and slugs use darts made of calcium as part of a mating ritual. Some cone snails take it another step further, using the darts as venomous harpoons to kill prey like small fish."

{N.I.G.E.L. returns to the team with the bone dart in hand, the survey drone rejoining it.}

Randy Hernandez (V/O): "That's one nasty medical needle."

Elsie Chapman: "Well do I have bad news for you, Nicky. This isn't just a French appetizer gone bad, it's the whole kitchen spoiled."

Nick Tatopoulos: "What do you mean?"

Elsie Chapman: "I mean: this mutation is like a slithering biochemical factory. This thing doesn't just produce venom, it cooks up all sorts of chemicals, defensive or offensive, on the fly. It has thousands of chemical ingredients under that shell, and we can't predict what it will concoct next. Nick, I think you should keep Godzilla away from this thing. If he gets poisoned, it'll be impossible for us to produce a cure in time. The complexity of that snail's arsenal could kill him before we could even finish identifying the sequence.

Nick Tatopoulos: "And even if we did make a cure, it could produce an entirely different toxin with its next attack."

Monique Dupre: "Clearly this mutation is too much of a danger for Godzilla to engage directly. I suggest we try our own form of chemical weapons against it first."

Mendel Craven: "Like what?"

Monique Dupre: "Do you recall the weapon that Philippe brought with him when he returned to New York? The weapon that petrified Cameron Winter's Chameleon?"

Randy Hernandez: "Oh yeah I remember. He was going to use it to ice the G-Man."

Monique Dupre: "Oui, the very same."

Nick Tatopoulos: "Well, it's worth a shot. Let's make a call. Where's the snail headed now?"

{Skip forward to 3 hours & 42 minutes later. N.I.G.E.L. is sent out as Godzilla and the mutant snail battle in the French city of Lyon. Godzilla's atomic fire is useless against the snail's shell. H.E.A.T. controls N.I.G.E.L. from a remote vantage point.}

Nick Tatopoulos (V/O): Mendel, get N.I.G.E.L. into position!

{N.I.G.E.L. moves towards the giant snail, switching to hovercraft mode. The giant snail proceeds to secrete a sticky mucus, spraying it for blocks all around. Godzilla manages to dodge, but N.I.G.E.L. ends up webbed up on the side of a building.}

Mendel Craven (V/O): "N.I.G.E.L. get out of there!"

N.I.G.E.L.: "Sacrebleu!"

{N.I.G.E.L. attempts to dislodge itself from the webbing, but Godzilla's tail whips around, smashing the robot and the building he's attached to. Feed cuts to static.}

{Fast forward by twenty minutes. Video feed is spotty and prone to signal loss. The frames show N.I.G.E.L. at the team's base camp attempting to be repaired by Mendel Craven. The other members of H.E.A.T. are visible and gathered around a table.}

Nick Tatopoulos: "-chemical weapon was ineff- It's as if that snai- and adapted to it!"

Elsie Chapman: "Even with the weapon's full specs fr- Mendel and I still haven't been able to synthes - against the snail's biotox-"

Monique Dupre: "Please r- those notes after we- remains as classified infor-"

Elsie Chapman: "Yeah yeah don't get - twisted up, -. We'll -"

Randy Hernandez: "-about the G-Man? The army can't even land a dent on that - distract it, what do we do?"

{Craven successfully restores video feed function on N.I.G.E.L.}

Nick Tatopoulos: "I need to make a private call. You can rake me over the coals about it later."

Video Call Transcript - France to New York

Call Recipients:
*Nick Tatopoulos
*Cameron Winter

Cameron Winter: "Well, Nickels. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Nick Tatopoulos: "I need your help, Cameron."

Cameron Winter: "Oh? Do my ears deceive me? Repeat that for me one more time, I'm not so sure my signal was stable when you said that last part."

Nick Tatopoulos: sighs "I need your help."

Cameron Winter: "Christmas has come early! Now what could possibly compel you of all people to come to me for help?"

Nick Tatopoulos: "I need your team to come over to France and help fight this mutant snail. Godzilla can't break through its shell, and our chemical arsenal is ineffective against it. This mutation is too much of a toxic biohazard to risk my team against."

Cameron Winter: "If this mutation is truly as dangerous as you make it out to be, why should I stake my team's lives over your precious Godzilla's safety?"

Nick Tatopoulos: "What do I have to do to get you to help me, Cameron? Do you want me to get on my knees and admit you're better than me?"

Cameron Winter: "Well if you insist, grovel away." Cameron laughs "No, it's not that easy. This is going to cost you, Nickels."

Nick Tatopoulos: "If it's anything that you'll use to threaten my team or Godzilla with in the future, forget it! I'm not stupid!"

Cameron Winter: "But you are desperate. Do you honestly have anything left to leverage me with, aside from your pride and dignity?"

Nick Tatopoulos: "I'd rather lose both than my team or Godzilla."

Cameron Winter: "No no no! Stop being so straight-laced about this! You're sucking the fun out of this rare opportunity! The first time Nickels comes crawling to me for help and you can't even say please?"

Nick Tatopoulos: "Cameron, just name your price so we can settle with this. That mutant snail is still out there. If Godzilla dies, the French government would still call you for help to deal with it."

Cameron Winter: "Yeah but you'd be out of the way."

Nick Tatopoulos: "But if Godzilla falls here, he'll be a martyr that you'll never be able to overshadow. I know you'd rather defeat him in a way that buries him and props you up on your inflated pedestal, and it doesn't take a phone call to know that you're scheming up a plan to take on Godzilla again."

Cameron Winter: "Hmph. So you think you've got me all figured out, do you Nickels?"

Nick Tatopoulos: "It wasn't too hard to figure out, Cameron. Your vanity for the headlines doesn't make you subtle."

Cameron Winter: "Fair enough. To be honest Nick, I'm just waiting for the right opportunity."

Nick Tatopoulos: "I wouldn't be surprised if you turned your guns on Godzilla the moment we defeated the snail."

Cameron Winter: "Oh no, that's too predictable. When I'm coming for him, I'd prefer both of us to fight on an even playing field - fully loaded, mano e mano, both sides ready and waiting so I can beat him in a fair fight."

Nick Tatopoulos: "Cameron, are you going to sit here and monologue your great big plot like a cartoon villain or will you come over and help? There are lives at stake, more than just Godzilla!"

Cameron Winter: "Pragmatic as ever. Alright Nick, I want three things from you. One: When the press comes over in the aftermath, I want you to give a glowing testimony to my team, I'll write up what you should say and you better stick to the script."

Nick Tatopoulos: "I imagine the other two won't be so easy…"

Cameron Winter: "Number two: I want an exclusive expose from the lovely Miss Timmonds. Frankly, I'm surprised I didn't think of this sooner."

Nick Tatopoulos: "Leave Audrey out of- Tch, fine! As long as you keep your end of the bargain."

Cameron Winter: "I wouldn't be a good businessman if I didn't keep my deals."

Nick Tatopoulos: "What's the last one?"

Cameron Winter: "Oh this one is going to be the difficult one, Nickels. I want you to-

{SIGNAL DISRUPTED - TRANSMISSION RECORDING ERROR}

{REACQUIRING SIGNAL}

{...}

{...}

{...}

{FEED REACQUIRED}

Cameron Winter: "Those are my terms. Take it or leave it, Nick."

Nick Tatopoulos: "Damn you, Cameron. We…We have a deal."

Cameron Winter: "Splendid! My boys are deploying as we speak. I'll see you in France!"

{End of call}

Arte News Report Transcript
Translated to English

{The French reporter fixes her hair just as the camera comes online. Behind her is the Arc de Triomphe where other members of the media, photographers and reporters clamor to get their piece of the scoop amid the ruins of the battle between Godzilla, the Mutant Slayers, and the giant snail dubbed 'Carcolh' by the press. She walks over to Cameron and Nick, who stand waiting to make their statements.}

Juliette DuClare: "We are standing with Drs. Cameron Winter and Nick Tatopoulos here in the streets of Paris! We're very grateful for your efforts in defeating this mutation."

Cameron Winter: No need to thank us, it's our jobs.

{Winter visibly nudges Nick from behind, who steps up to the microphone and clears his throat.}

Nick Tatopoulos: "All credit for this resounding success goes to Cameron Winter. His ICE team has proven to be the cutting-edge innovation of mutation elimination. I apologize for Godzilla's inadequate ability to contribute more. This was one of the most challenging mutations we've faced.

{Cameron coughs and Nick sighs as he starts gesticulating in a cheerleader-like manner. His next words are delivered in a dour tone of voice.}

"Winter! Winter! He's our man! If he can't beat it, no one can!"

{Tatopoulos covers his face in his hand as he groans, but Winter wraps an arm around him to keep him in the camera frame. Nick maintains the irritated expression on his face as Winter takes over.}

Cameron Winter: "Oh Nickels, you are too kind. Please don't be too harsh on him. If Nick over here hadn't called for my superior biochemical expertise, the code of the Carcolh's chemical carnage would have never been cracked."

{Cameron points behind them towards the petrified carcass of the giant mutant snail frozen above the Arc de Triomphe, frozen with its head and upper body raised as it was about to smother the monument under its foot.

"I'm only sorry we had to leave it in such an unsightly spot. My team will gladly aid in its disposal. That ugly face next to such an iconic monument just isn't in keeping with the city's Neoclassic aesthetic."

{Local law enforcement are shown moving the civilians and journalists away to clear the area. Mutant Slayers Alpha and Gamma, the land and air mechs, are shown dismantling the giant snail statue. Mutant Slayer Gamma fires a precise cutting laser at the raised front end of the creature, cutting it off from the main body as Mutant Slayer Alpha catches it in its arms and lifts it, tossing it aside. Audience clapping and cheering is heard. The camera turns back to the reporter, who switches the microphone over to Nick to probe more questions.}

Juliette DuClare: "Doctor Tatopoulos, what else can you tell us about this mutation?"

Nick Tatopoulos: "Well we suspect it was a mutation caused by improper nuclear waste disposal. My team is aiding an investigation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to help quash this leak and prevent more mutations from arising."

{Winter comes up behind Nick and grabs his shoulder in a casual manner.}

Cameron Winter: "Aw come on Nick, aren't you gonna stick around? You're in Paris, live a little will you?"

{Nick grabs Cameron's hand and drops it off of him, his irritation rising. Winter backs off with a smile.}

Nick Tatopoulos: "Please excuse me, I'm out of time."

Juliette DuClare: "And that was Doctors Winter and Tatopoulos. Back to you, Pierre!"

{End of broadcast}

A/N: Nick and Cameron's conversation was the most heavily worked on part, I really wanted to give readers a sense that this rivalry was gonna go places. There were story bits here that I wanted to introduce, but logically would be unable to reveal at the moment because there are certain conversations that couldn't be recorded and would break the format.

As for Nick and Cameron's mysterious bargain, I'll let your imagination run wild as to what it is. Don't worry, you'll find out later on.