Snippet #2815383

George smiled softly to Henry, but his look said that Henry wasn’t exactly correct…


"I think it’s more complicated than ‘alien’. It’s not the word I would use. The situation is more… Complicated than that. As for who knows about this…" He trailed off slightly looking over to the NAHLA agents for a moment, then back to Henry.


"NAHLA and SINS likely know nothing more about this situation than what happened on the beach today. In fact, about the only people who know more about this situation in the world are associated with me, or those men in black."


"So why exactly do so few people know about this? Why do you seem to have such exclusive access to this knowledge?" Richard finally interjected. He’d stood up and walked to the small bar near the back of the plane, pouring himself a simple glass of water, letting it glaze over with a thin layer of frost before taking a sip.


The others had been in a bad state so far. He pitied them, and everyone who lost their lives today, or loved ones. The whole thing was… Tragic. To put it entirely too lightly. But still, people needed to move forward, now more than ever with this much chaos.


George looked to Richard sympathetically, before continuing. "Because measures have been taken to ensure that. This planet needs to be protected, at all costs, and so subterfuge must be employed quite often. The men in black are proof as to why. Imagine if a power hungry government tried getting its hands on power like this."


Words were exchanged between a few of the other supers on board in regards to incidents in ‘Asia’, specifically Russia. George raised an eyebrow and accompanied it with a slight, sly smirk at Sasha. "Well now, I am surprised to hear that information passed around, especially since it came from behind the curtain! But the rumors you heard may have validity to them. Now may not be the time to talk about it, but I intend to look into those matters. Perhaps some of you could assist in that even."


The comment about ‘Giant Monsters’ also caught his attention, though rather than addressing them in Russian, he kept to English. "If I may say, ‘Kaiju’ are very much a threat in their own category, one that’s fairly static. What we’re dealing with is far, far more dynamic. I dare say, size is the least of our worries."


The sharp, biting words of Vicki Vortex cut through again, as she demanded more explanations. It seemed things were tense between her and Aegis, or rather it seemed she was becoming more and more tense, while many of the others seemed to fall into a state of burnout. George already was fairly certain plans would need to change. Before he could respond to Vortex, she had left for the bathroom, the shapeshifter following.


Sairyn too had left for a bathroom as well, and despite his attempts to perhaps be more inconspicuous than Miss Vortex, George could see the strain on him as well. He hadn’t been on the frontlines, but the events of today still weighed on Sairyn, and perhaps something else? George cast a brief glance at ‘Silver Fang’, asleep for now, recovering physically, and perhaps mentally and emotionally. Though those are scars that take much longer to heal, even for most heroes.


"What is it we’re dealing with then? You said you know more about Heather Wright, so tell us what happened to her, how that monster got a hold of that recording, and how she died." Richard asked plainly, now pacing across the floor near the bar as he sipped the ice water in hand. There were plenty of seats available, so the choice to pace wasn’t due to any lack of place to rest. An anxious response perhaps?


Before George could say anything more, Miss Vortex had returned to the cabin, approached him directly, and finally made her demands about as clear as they could be.


Now was definitely the time to change plans. George reached into his jacket, pulling out a small, rectangular, silver metal box. Popping it open, he pulled a card out from inside, sliding it across to Miss Vortex. He then pressed a button on the surface of the desk, leaning closer to a call box situated on the surface. "Pilot, radio to the sub. Let them know we’ll be a few more days, we need to take care of matters back in North Carolina first. Then turn the plane around, take us back over to Asheville. I think some rest has been earned."


He released the button, brought his hands together and wove the fingers between each other, gently resting them on the desk. "You can leave through the cargo doors under the cabin, there’s a set of stairs in the back by the kitchen that will take you down. It’ll lower a ramp that takes you out the back of the plane, so make sure to aim yourself downwards so you’re not hit by the jet exhausts. Just don’t jump out yet. Wait till we’re back over Atlas City, you’ll have much less of a journey then, I expect. There’s also a bit of circuitry in that card. Just give it a gentle press and we can come find you, if you change your mind about joining us."


George cleared his throat and looked to the other supers in the room with him, taking a brief pause before addressing the primary concerns he’d been confronted with. "I’ll be frank with you, Miss Vortex, since it seems to me like you might appreciate not mincing words. You’re all here because you’re not dead. You went to fight the Beast, managed to all inflict some damage, and avoid being utterly destroyed. When I look at you, all of you, I see what could potentially be a collection of the most powerful heroes on Earth."


He leaned back in his chair slightly, and looked from Vicki to the rest of the heroes gathered. "Give me some time and cooperation, and I can ensure you’re the most powerful heroes on Earth. That is, of course, if you’re all willing to help me save it."


George looked to Richard briefly before he continued. "There have been a lot of suggestions made about what this creature from the beach is, or what its capabilities were. We can discuss this more later. For now, let’s discuss the matter of Heather Wright. She died in a hospital bed in 2027. The creature we encountered on the Beach never met her in its life, because she never met it in hers. The ‘recordings’ it was playing? The only people on Earth with access to them are myself and my associates, and we still have all copies accounted for. Which leads me to a working theory."


His brow furrowed as he allowed the reality to finally sink in for them all. "I believe we’re dealing with beings capable of traveling through dimensions. Not just time. Not just space. Whole planes of reality. To put it in more pleasant terms for right now, we’re dealing with something, or some things, that are incredibly dangerous to humanity."


There was a long exhale as he flattened his palms against the surface of the desk. "Today was not a victory. It was a tremendous, tremendous failure. And not even because of the lives lost. This wasn’t an attack. It wasn’t an invasion. It was a STRESS TEST. Whatever sent that monster here was prodding our planet’s defenses for weaknesses, and we failed spectacularly. Of course, this isn’t any of your faults, I’d even find it hard to blame the American government. At the end of the day, humanity’s best chances of survival are when we all pull together. United we stand, divided we fall, and all that. And that’s why you’re here."


He looked Vicki in the eyes once more. "You may leave if you like. But understand that humanity needs a bulwark against to save it. Sometimes from outside threats, sometimes from itself. None of us can escape the dangers that fate will throw at us. But we can unite and weather those threats together."


As George finished what he had to say, he looked to all the other heroes gathered before him once more, making sure to look each and everyone one of them in the eyes (or thereabouts on the masked ones). "And if that’s still not reason enough to work with me, I’ll be compensating each of you. Whatever you want, within the limits of what is physically realistic and morally acceptable, I will make sure you have it. Take some time to think about it, we’re a very short flight away from some property of mine, you can all relax there and process everything."


Shortly after this, the plane made its way over Atlas City, and continued on West towards Asheville…





Maxwell tutted at Zeke, giving a slight wag of his finger as the fire wielder described the bad situation in the city. "Now now Pyromancer, there’s also a chance for business to thrive in a crisis. We’ll just need to be much more careful. Besides, the city is in mourning, they need a shoulder to cry on right now, something to bring them comfort. I do believe it is our job to do just that. Of course, I’m not sure if rumor has made it to you yet, but we aren’t the only ones in town now trying to do that. Bit of competition I think we’ll need to take care of."


The Shape gave a slight wave to their getaway drivers, particularly to the new employee. "Pleasure to finally meet you Spiderblood. Pay no mind to the doom and gloom, you’ve come at as good a time as any. We’ve a lot of work to do, and not much time to do it. We need to go to Shapeless to start, then I need to reach out to some of our… Stakeholders. It seems a lot is going to change around Atlas City very soon, so I want to make sure we’re all part of it." He nodded to Zeke and Maeve to join the others at the vehicle.


Maxwell was still bothered by all that had happened today, despite his calm speak and demeanor. He needed to be the strong face of the organization now more than ever though. This truly was one of the best times to start looking into ways to become even more powerful, to start clawing back what he had lost. There was no set end goal yet, but perhaps The Shape would not need one. Perhaps he would just keep moving forward until he reached whatever the last rung on the ladder was meant to be.


He checked his phone quickly, noticing service had returned, and a few new messages were there. Maxwell smiled as he read what Kiran had to say, and quickly sent a reply. Meet us at Shapeless when you have time later. We need to discuss hosting a meeting very soon. Some very important people we may need to work with. - Shape


His attention, once he had arrived at the vehicle, was immediately drawn back to Maeve, wondering if she would actually be able to fit inside or not. "Maeve you’ve… Gotten taller?" He asked quizzically.


Once everyone was inside, the car pulled out and headed downtown to Club Shapeless…





Agent Moore had just set the box he was carrying down on a table in a new tent SINS had set up, when in swaggered Peter Radovan. An audible sigh escaped from Moore’s nostrils as he took in the sight of the reprobate agent.


"Back already I see Agent Radovan." He spoke monotonously, trying to recompose himself from the outside in.


Peter shrugged and grinned. "Yeah, they just called me in for a bit of ‘specialized surveillance duty’, something along those lines." He chuckled as he made his way over to the table, glancing down at the box on it. "So, what happened to all my suspects then? They’re all in Gitmo or something?" He asked with a cruel sense of pleasure to the tone.


Moore rapped his fingers across the table. "No… Apparently the Attorney General asked for them all to be released. Sent them off with some guy named George Carlisle Hughes. We’re looking into him already, but as you can tell… Doesn’t really put the suspects back in our hands."


Peter bobbed his head from side to side as he started opening the box. "Eh, if it was me, I probably would have had them all shot."


The other agent narrowed his eyes at Peter. "Which is why I’m here, so those kinds of decisions don’t get left up to you. At any rate, we’ve got more investigating to do. You should probably get your team together. You’re supposed to be getting Hudson Li it sounds like, so allow me to say quite explicitly not to do anything stupid. She’s a great Drive Frame Pilot, a great soldier honestly. Treat her with the respect she’s due."


Agent Radovan continued to bob his head side to side, more or less ignoring what Moore had to say, though perfectly intent on working well with Li. She sounded like a good asset, one he hoped would become quite useful. Once the box was opened, he took a moment to read the note inside, before a smirking and letting out a little laugh. Had Sairyn made Peter’s job easier, or harder? The agent wasn’t sure just yet, but he enjoyed the moment nonetheless.


"Funny… He reminds me so much of someone I knew once upon a time." Peter muttered wistfully as he closed the container again.


"Sairyn? You knew someone else who kept trying to screw with your investigations huh. You ever wonder why that might be Agent Radovan?" Moore asked with a smirk.


Peter chuckled again. "I wasn’t talking about Mr. Pendrake. I was talking about George."





March 12th, 2045, 12:40pm: The Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia, USA


Colonel Van Graft opened a notification on his laptop, pulled up a file he had received a short while ago, and took a moment to scratch his chin.


"What is it Colonel?" The question came from a far higher ranked officer of the US Army, a general for that matter. The group consisted of seven military officials, and at least one other person, all gathered in a quite, secluded conference room of the Pentagon, essentially forgotten by all other employees and military officials there, save for the ones present in it.


The Colonel let out a soft sigh before turning his gaze back to the others gathered. "Mr. Pendrake sends his love and warm regards." Van Graft said in a voice teetering between tiredness, and irritation. He played what was sent to him and allowed the others to listen.


"Cocky fella hey?" Another officer responded. "And why send it to you anyways? It’s not like the canon was your idea. He should take it up with the SECDEF!"


Another officer chimed in. "Look, Victor’s canon may not have saved the day, but it was never meant for this sort of thing anyways. It does what it’s meant to do; destroy fortified enemy bases. Let’s at least give the man a little credit, even if not everyone here views him favorably."


Victor Covistic, the current Secretary of Defense, was a young man in political terms at only 35. His rise to power has been swift, but not altogether unexpected. The owner of his own military weapons development company, he used his technical expertise to help arm the US military with some of the best weapons in the world, a springboard that helped him launch a campaign for senate, and eventually congress. He won both.


Rumors had been abound that he may make a play for Governor of New York (where he had been both a senator and congressman), but surprised everyone when the last Presidential Election finished and he was selected, by both Senate and President, to be Secretary of Defense. This, while surprising to many, was not all unwelcome as he had proven capable of devising technology and strategies that had proven very effective on the battlefield. And since he had never served in the army himself, his ‘civilian status’ only helped prop him up further as a reliable, trustworthy person to take on the job.


However, some members of government and military have not been entirely supportive of this move, based partly on his age and lack of military experience. But Victor has made many friends in government, and has been an effective member of DOHA, working with the Attorney General and others to make sure America’s supers have all the support they need.


When it comes to the Director of National Intelligence though, it’s been rumored quite often that their relations are more ‘frosty’, tense, not very friendly. They will work together, for the good of the American people, but their difficulty being able to agree has been noticed by other members of the cabinet, and government.


Van Graft cleared his throat to get the attention of the others gathered once more. "All feelings aside, Mr. Pendrake is addressing something we’ve all already talked about. Clearly America does not have the level of firepower it will need to continue keeping itself safe well into the future. We need new weapons, new defenses, to ensure we not only remain safe, but dominant, unchallenged, and unrivalled. That is the best way we protect this country, its people, and all our freedoms."


The other officers nodded along before one spoke up again. "Agreed. I believe that means the matter is settled then on Project Obsidian; the project is accepted, and can begin work immediately. We don’t have time to wait." The others made their points of agreement, before another voice cut through.


"Excuse me gentlemen, but you still have yet to explain to me what Project Obsidian is. If I’m going to be getting the money and equipment you need to do this project in the clandestine way we’re working under, I need to know a bit more." The speaker was Senator Stewart, a man in his 50’s, with a body that was transitioning into unhealth, and a hairline to match.


"Mr. Senator, we appreciate your help, but I hope you can appreciate our need for keeping you uninformed at this time. We still need to vet you, ensure you’re actually on our side. You’ve done a lot to help, but what we’re doing is, by legal definition, treason." One officer said.


Another scoffed. "Bah! This is the furthest thing from it! What we’re doing is REAL patriotism. The bureaucrats and money hungry lawyers can thank us when they can sleep soundly at night without commie gunmen marching down their streets!"


The Shadow Pentagon, as these men had taken to calling themselves, is a rogue division of the Pentagon, composed of officers, scientists, and even a few wealthy civilians, all dedicated to trying to keep America safe, even if it comes at the cost of morality and ethics. ‘America First, Only, Now and Forever’; the words that summed up their philosophy.


Van Graft raised a hand to calm the other officers. "Mr. Stewart, we will bring you further into the fold as time goes on. But for now, please understand the need for secrecy. Spies, traitors, and those hungry for power are abound right now. And with everything that happened in Atlas City today, we need to be even more careful."


"And what is being done about the armed men that attacked the beach, hmm? What exactly was that all about? WHO is going to look into that and take responsibility?" The senator inquired with narrowed eyes.


"SINS is currently looking into all of that, but we only have a few of our people integrated in the agency. We can’t guarantee if or when we’ll get any information, but we’re trying our best Senator. We all want to figure out what happened today."


The Senator sighed and gave a nod of concession. He’d go along with all of this. For now.





March 15th, 2045, 9:12am: Omni Grove Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina, USA


It was three days ago that Atlas City had been attacked by the Beast of Decay. In that time, the city had managed to clean up most of the destruction that had been caused, and was now on its way to hosting the necessary memorial services to allow everyone to mourn their losses.


At this time, the heroes who had been there at the front line, and later ‘rescued’ by a benefactor named George Carlisle Hughes, were now situated at the luxurious Omni Grove Park Inn. The resort was located in Asheville, North Carolina, tucked away in the state’s mountains. George had bought it back in the 2010’s when some financial woes had swept through the state, leaving the resort in a desperate financial situation.


For the moment, the resort was empty, save for the heroes who had joined him from Atlas City. They would reopen later, once the heroes were situated elsewhere, but for the moment they needed privacy, and a chance to decompress from all that had occurred. A memorial service was scheduled for noon today, and George had invited the group to attend with him, should they desire too.


George was in his study at this time, checking on some information before getting ready later for the memorial. He would join the heroes later, but felt that for now they would be best left to taking care of their own needs.