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Post by Hero on Mar 7, 2021 17:05:25 GMT
WE ARE--!AND NO UNIVERSE CAN STOP US! Sato Kaneda appreciated the scornful skyline that bled miasma and transmission vapors across the atmosphere, refracting into a tredecillion of different varying hues. When Sol (the designation for the Old Jerusalem and it's founding solar system's sun) rose from the astral beyond to the madness of the planet's nighttime mayhem things finally seemed to calm down. Hundreds of cities divided into sectors segregated by plates covered the entirety of Nu Marvotia, once known as Mars, stretching out as far as his eyes could possibly see. Twisted metal, cylinders, tetrahedrons, vertical polyhedrons connected by glass horizontal bridges, Nu Marvotia had long since entered a venerated era of sophisticated technology. Of course, a certain silver-haired machiavellian could hardly tell the difference between the past, present, and future. The longer he lived, the more he suspected his life was an elegiac to those he'd encountered and was yet to encounter. Every single second he spent contemplating the future sank him further in the past. All the details he needed to progress were mired under his ambivalence, confusion, a misunderstanding of what he had seen and what he was expected to see. This was the destiny of one who carried the blood of Fatima.
Kaneda's crystal right eye glimmered in the scornful rays of gamma, radiation, and UV atop a dilapidated skyscrapper that penetrated what was otherwise an impregnable miasma. On his shoulders rest his trademark overcoat jacket, though on the dawn sable, and the left side where a human's heart would be located was covered in rows of ribbons that couldn't be recognized or distinguished from any place within the universe itself. His undershirt was colorless, pure white with a fashioned crimson tie. Days before his arrival to Nu Marvotia he knew his time to parley had come to a close. The world was preparing a seismic change and he was one of many keys to seeing the world through to the other side, though it was debatable if that was truly his goal. Pressurized zephyrs cleaved through the skyscape, tearing through Kaneda's loose, smooth silver hair; while simultaneously throwing his sable overcoat trimmed gold up and behind him, blowing melodically in a world that had long since disrupted nature.
“To think I’d be the one late this time…” a sullen voice cracked just as the caustic winds seemed to die. “Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long.”
“I needed some time to sleep off the liquor anyways...” Kaneda grimaced, lifting his right hand to his face for a yawn. “And to take care of some...other things...”
“Other things eh?” the masked man stepped from outside of the staircase that brought him there. Less of a man and more of a giant, the masked nobody was atleast seven feet tall, and seemed filled with bags of muscle like a stout endomorph that simply kept growing. His traps leaned high over his chest and his shoulders moved mechanically with every step forward he took. Beneath his black boots glowing bound by four straps a reptilian hiss released itself from his legs with every step. “I don't suppose District 6 had anything to do with you?”
“Maybe...I'm still hungover, ask me later.”
The violet red tuxedo that covered the giant came with a velvet collar and a sable black undershirt. Truly a thing of sophistication, but its crude iron helmet that covered its entire head reminded Kaneda of Juggernaut from his favorite comic book X-Men, something he'd acquainted himself with after joining The Yggdrasil Pirates. The truth about the man was one most didn't know or expect, but he was one of the many eyes of U-TIC that still remained throughout the omniverse. The Nibiru universe was one that had to be cultivated carefully, and even with the changes home side the agents sent forward remained faithful to their task of reconnaissance. Less than a handful knew and understood this, and of them, Sato Kaneda was special.
“Well...how about it? I did what you folk wanted.” Kaneda smiled, lifting a rolled brown leaf from his coat pocket. Placing it within his lips he shifted through his pockets for a lighter while his anonymous companion looked out at the priceless sunrise. “I'm expectin' you folk held up your end of the bargain.”
Abruptly, the velvet collared freak suddenly dropped to a knee and his head followed, bowing next to Kaneda. Rather than offer words for the confusion he felt, he led the cyborg speak in reverence. “Alexa has agreed to your terms. She will bring The Outfitters to the location of The Judecca to rendezvous with Captain Uzuki at your request.”
Two months prior Sato Kaneda was held in Nortune maximum security confinement, doomed to be killed and extracted by The Babel Corporation for everything he was made of, and two months later he stood on the precipice of a great founding. The establishment of a radical undertaking the likes of which very few universes had ever seen, and even fewer could comprehend. Not only would this new organization serve as the veritable bridge between Kaneda and the congenial, but to perpetuate grand larceny in a manner that would be talked about for generations to come. Kaneda was not the great hero that the world needed to save itself from almost ensured destruction, but instead a selfish anti-hero that could very well steady the ship provided he got everything he wanted out of things. It wasn't that The Babel Corporation was even his true aim, but the man at the top himself...the Immortal Champion that loomed at the end of time.
So to say things had changed dramatically was the undersell of the year. Seemed like those premonitions he'd been seeing were coming to the forefront after-all.
“Alexa exclaimed that she wanted to celebrate before we left our home. District 2's Hofbrauhaus. They plan to use the day to retrieve their belongings.”
“Hmmm...I expected to leave this morning but...” Kaneda chirped, raising his right hand to stroke his chin as if him some deep, methodical thought. “If this means an extra night of drinking at someone else's expense...I suppose it'll do. I'm sure Uzuki's already said it's fine anyways...”
Pivoting on his right heel he turned his back to the beckoning sun.
“You all are the first official division within BLADE. Relax now alright?”
The giant man seemed confused by Kaneda's words. Everything he said flew in the face of his impression of the lion, and the death he had carved out on the planet within the last few days. “You're second in-charge of those welps. Make sure they make it on the Judecca before take off, that's your job got it? Leave the supplies and shit to Leroy...”
Kaneda's cashmere dress shoes clicked against the paved steel, and his right arm fell from his side to pat Camber's shoulder. His head inched downward in response. His loyalty was second to none, this much Kaneda knew already.
“Now if you'll excuse me...I have some loose ends to tie up...”/div]
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Post by Hero on Mar 7, 2021 17:10:04 GMT
[ I. The Immortal Champion— Landius Harcourt ]
The austere champion stared out onto infinity once more. In the fringes he observed the greatest power in the world, and in the other, a chaotic wild card of another distant universe. Careful extrapolation suggested that the turning point to break the cycle or disappear altogether would be upon them. What would humanity chose? The resurgence of the Gnosis suggested denial. Would they sooner become the hellspawn of existence than deny the inevitable? Their emotional reactions never did make sense to Landius Harcourt. Even as flesh and blood his peers became more alien as his understanding of everything grew. This was the inevitable curse of The Miracle Child. Unlike the other original specimen, born of his time and era, he was the only one of royal blood and possessed a lineage to Bart Fatima, and successor of the Fatima royal treasure; The Omnigear Andavari. With the resources available his intelligence and maturity accelerated past that of adults from a very young age, and it wasn't long until he exposed the flaws in his world and others beyond to become The Lord of White.
Stepping out beyond infinity his mind removed him from his strange mental projection and back into the foyer of the greater space station The Metronome. A personalized military facility designated to hold The Nibiru Alliance's arms and material manufacturing equipment, it was the last place many expected to see the division leader. His armored heels made loud boot clicks throughout as he passed through, observing the indolent workers, passerbys, and soldiers in their facetious comfort. Most were startled at the sight of him, but knew of him well enough throughout the galaxy and understood that anyone dressed as such was far more important than they could ever dream of being. This lucid truth was hard for some to understand, but to most, part of the dogmatic understanding necessary to live in a complicated world.
"Welcome, Mr. Harcourt..." a fragile voice echoed from a far reaching corridor. Navigating the ominously quiet space station he approached the colossal atrium, ignoring the iridescent holograms that flickered above. "I am the Model Four of Julies. Call me Ms. Julies or Delta Julies."
"Hello," <Landius> muttered blankly, his eyes analyzing her inquisitively. She was new technology from Axiom Enterprises, not unlike an android, but with different sophisticated exchanges. She didn't have the synthetic density of a human being but possessed cybernetic replacements for a select few. Strange. Just what exactly were they up to over there? "Is The Schleidenstadt finished?"
"Right this way..." <Delta Julies> motioned, pointing towards a translucent elevator at her rear. They marched into it and ascended heavenward for hundreds of floors at a time. When they finally stopped the elevator pinged the silent android for a password, and inside of the bra of her tightly-fit midnight blue dress she flashed a practically invisible, rectangular disk. Just the presence of it alone was enough for the elevator to unlock and allow them into the classified facility. Landius suspected that many Bracers and thieves alike had wandered The Metronome trying to access information for their competitors, and this was one of the many security measures put in place to prevent any accidents from taking place. Walking in, the entire lobby and corridors branching from the elevator foyer were white and indistinguishable from one another. That being said, Landius had memorized his way through all of Axiom's facilities via researching their maps ahead of time, as he did with all places that he traveled to, and so without the aide's help he started forward towards his favorite lab technician's humble abode.
It was impossible for anyone without a degree in space engineering and the complicated sciences of construction to understand how a hangar within The Metronome itself was so massive that it seemed to practically eclipse the entirety of the station. Hundreds of projects ranging from mobile armor weapon systems and custom atmosphere arrays to deconstructed plasma guns with modified coils. It was a technology extravaganza bleached by white light and somehow immaculate floors, walls, and a distant ceiling above. Everything Landius' laid eyes on gave him all the information needed to infer if it was effective or not, and this was one of the few places throughout the galaxy where technology that rivaled that of The Babel Corporation, The Reinbach LLC, Zyne Enterprises, or some of The Hiroshi Foundation's lucky works. There was a reason that The Babel Corporation entered in a deep partnership with them over the course of careful political maneuvering and a promise of long-term investment. The amount of resources provided to Axiom could never be truthfully disclosed, and the shadowy enigma of just how what all Axiom extended to is part of what made them such a threat in the world of inventions.
"I was wondering when you would return..." a voice feminine, smooth as wine echoed from deep within the laboratory. Landius remained apathetic even as he neared the tall, black-haired cyborg. There was nothing at a glance that gave the indication that she was a cyborg, her hips were rounded, her curves voluptuous, and her emerald eyes glistened under the lab light when the freckled girl turned to face him. "I was almost ready to reclaim your technology on our books for good..."
"Perhaps in a dream of yours. I am always on time." <Landius>
"You're starting to get lazy Mr. Harcourt." <?>
"You should probably watch the news more. Busy is a different personality trait than lazy." <Landius>
"So they say..." <?>
"Mrs. Peace, am I right to assume that it is finished?" <Landius>
She seemed to cut her young eyes away from Landius when he spoke her formal name. Her skintight contamination suit beneath her labcoat glistened in green oil as she spoke. "Yes. The Corona has been reprogrammed and the output feedback has been adjusted. Odin created something truly terrifying..." <Peace>
"I will retrieve it from the Frigg Container, it should be prepared for transfer." <Landius> informed her aloud, pivoting on his left foot.
"I haven't heard from Maxine or Prem. Are they alright?" <Peace>
"..." <Landius>
"L-Landius?" <Peace>
The truth was a conundrum in and of itself. Maxine was a splatter of pus, and blood-eddied bones scattered about his underground experimentation prison, and Prem was a brain dead husk having become the perfect subject of his own ignorance. The miasma killed any sense of feeling he had left, and his mind was lost in a macrocosm, an infinite feedback loop that served scientific purposes despite his disdain of the world that abandoned him. Would it be fair to suggest that they were alright simply because they fulfilled some modicum of purpose that suited Landius and The Babel Corporation? At what point was it twisting the truth? These were subjects of morality that Landius had always struggled to understand. Without a word more he exited the hangar, giving a simple wave back to Mrs. Peace as a symbol of respect. Perhaps his lack of an answer was answer enough...but there were more important matters to attend to.
[ II. Sigrdrífa ] The Lord of White was an enigma throughout the galaxy. Even those that understood he was the champion for which the military recognized, Bracers respected, and other companies and organizations catered to, very few understood the origin of the imperturbable general. This created wandering speculation and a number of antipathetic terrorists had attempted to take his life. It never ended in their favor, but it did add to the laundry list of feats that gave him the epithet The Impossible. Every move calculated, nothing wasted, he was often mistaken for a Realian or android but had not augmented his flesh with any cybernetics at all; he was a natural born child disconnected from the world around him and seemed to thrive as the pressure mounted. It was all mundane compared to the world of his childhood and yesteryear, but there was something about the state of things that suggested appropriate caution moving forward.
On the eve of invitation Landius ascertained many things in his preparation, and this meant that he finally had the opportunity to test the adjustments to one of his most powerful weapons. When the chasm of metaphysical energies opened in the center of his glass office, Landius took some medication and calmly stepped through it.
Emerging on the other side, The ARCUS System instantaneously ascertained his spatial axis and location, filtering the feedback of information through his etheric tether to the device.
"This, my friend, is the CHRONOS BREAKER. One of many VOLTIA we plan to manufacture within the next few months. As the name might suggest, this is a VOLTIA that allows it's user to command time in a multitude of ways; many of which I'll be demonstrating for you today". <Katsuo>
"..." <Landius>
Katsuo approached and extended his hand out. Landius stared for a single second before extending his hand out and sharing Katsuo's own. Their relationship was complex, more so than a simple mind could comprehend, and their political and business affiliations only complicated the matter.
"I have ordered The Holy Federation to send out a bounty for my head; two of the universe's mightiest hunters should soon be on their way to kill me. When they arrive, I will show you the power of The CHRONOS BREAKER- of course, I fully expect you to get a few hits in yourself; I'm sure the workload lately has been stressful for you. Why not take it out on the less fortunate? That always cheers me up!"
What are you after Katsuo?
The young man tossed over an augmented Voltia crystal and Landius inspected it critically all in the span of a single second. Ordering assassins after himself merely to demonstrate the effectiveness of his own newfound technology...what kind of egomaniac was Landius dealing with? To make matters worse, he didn't have the luxury of his genetic gift to unfurl Katsuo at the seems. Humanity, no, life itself was easy to read and dissect: but someone of a higher mind was a lot more complicated even when they appeared simple. Katsuo had mastered this at a young age, and this was likely due to his own bloodline. That's what it meant to be a Miracle Child.
Landius Harcourt himself was different than Katsuo in practically every apparent way, however. Six feet and four inches tall he wasn't particularly massive but he was lean and chiseled beneath the sable segmented armor pieces carefully fit around the ligaments and musculature. Incandescent leylines ran themselves through the trim, all the way up onto his neck where it seemed to end just before his chin. Atop the mysterious black armor was a white overcoat, a trademark of his appearance in virtually any fashion, and one loose enough that his sleeves were fitted just enough around his wrists. The usual carry-on weaponry he brought by his side seemed absent, his Kowareta Kage and Nijiro left back in his armory. This was by design. Today he would be field testing some of the standard weaponry given out to Bracers who began their tenure throughout the galaxy as the vanguards of peace and civility. It didn't seem apparent at a glance, but he had brought a multitude of Triggers that remained hidden in the sleeves of his coat, and at his backside along the segmented armor pieces hidden from plain view. His choppy coconut hair hung still infront of his square glasses, and behind them lifeless lavender eyes stared at the Voltia given to him and then at Katsuo in silence.
"So, what do you say? Care to join me in some stress relieving and weapon testing? I'll even throw in an extra CHRONOS BREAKER free of charge."
How many people will have access to the field tested information that he's going to provide here... <Landius> thought quietly to himself. This was a dangerous venue.
"You haven't left me much choice..." Landius sighed, lifting his left hand's middle finger adorned by a black glove to the bridge of his glasses. "We will speak when this is over."
Regardless of who or what emerged to confront Katsuo, the result would be the same.
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