Future Age ~IC~

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'Inhale... exhale'

Taking a moment to close her eyes and clear her head was a common practice for her during and after a field mission, finding herself often needing a piece of mind or a space where she could stop for a moment and consider the next step. She opened her eyes a little when a particular comment from the conversation between Sierra and Convel reached her ears, looking ahead at the familiar destruction which seemed to become a sight she was far too familiar with. "... I'm the furthest thing you'll find from good." she muttered to herself, furrowing her brow as her mind made an attempt to climb between the memories of all the wrongs she'd committed in her past before she pushed the thoughts away quickly. She inhaled deeply as she steeled herself against them, unfolding her arms and turning her attention towards Zadok despite hearing his warning through her ear piece.

She paled slightly, worried not for what might come as consequence to her own well being, she could withstand that kind of assault but she had to consider their lives now and throwing the dice to confront it haphazardly wasn't an idea she was very willing to entertain. She didn't mind putting herself into the firing line, to throw fists against gunfire till a bullet finally found it's way through her and sent away the nightmares keeping her from a comfortable night. That was her choice, the choice of someone who had no future, no potential to push towards something more meaningful that would enrich her life or lives of those around her. No she was nothing significant, another weapon of war waiting till it's utility was expended where upon she'd depart into memory as a fleeting footnote in someone else's story.

The Lieutenant brought her fingers swiftly to her ear, "Abort inbound Sparrow, we have unknown hostiles closing in on our location. Standby for reroute." she spoke before taking her finger away, turning towards Hanlon as he motioned towards the six wheeled car. It was just enough to carry them all, though it'd be a very uncomfortable ride being crammed in together. "Sounds like a plan, can you get it working?" she asked as she walked over towards him, motioning for everyone to collect themselves given their quickly vanishing time limit. She looked over her shoulder towards the direction of the roads that ran the perimeter of the courtyard, the blues of her irises shifting towards the exit they led towards before turning back towards the car.

She approached it before sinking herself down to one knee, placing a hand under it's side and bracing her shoulder against the charred door. With one smooth motion as if the car were made of light wood she picked the vehicle up onto her shoulder before turning to bring it back down gently with it facing towards their escape route, clapping her hands together to rid them of the soot and dirt collected on them. "Work your magic Hanlon, everyone else get in and get ready to leave. Zadok keep an eye on the timer for me and keep me updated... if you can... I actually have no idea what you can do yet." she shrugged and made her way around the front of the car before pulling open the passenger door, looking over to make sure everyone else was getting in before closing her door.

Once the car would start Naomi would pull out her sidearm and count how many shots she head left, suggesting the other shooters in the car did the same before once again turning towards their driver. "Get us clear and then we'll get a rendezvous with the Sparrow. We're not getting far in this condition, but first things first we have to avoid this fight." she spoke, pulling back the cocking mechanism of her sidearm before placing it down on her lap.
 
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Han pumped the gas pedal a few times, revving the engine to warm it up and carefully listening for any traces of whine or hammering. The motor sounded healthy enough, despite the fight and explosion that took part next to it. It was nice to drive an diesel engine car again. They were needlesly complicated, expensive to maintain and to feed, if compared to an battery driven electric cars. Nowadays they were in the same category as mechanical wristwatch, a mechanism that was a prestige symbol, the more it was pointlessly complex and lavishly decorated the better. This vehicle was a nice example of that. The inside was originally done in red leather, brass, expensive plush and chrome, though all of that was now charred, scratched or ripped to shreds. The engine used minimal amount of electric parts, only using electricity to warm up the block and for the initial spin on startup, and for WG-mandated security devices.

He made a note to turn off the seat heating before starting the car. No point in setting fire to the car again. Next, he kicked out the front and top window, as those were made from laminated glass and didn't shatter like the door windows, only cracked and obscured the driver's vision. "She can take us clear alright, boss. The engine in these is usually done without electric parts, to show the skill of the custom designer. Won't be stopped by any EMP barrier. We must ditch her the first chance we get, though. The owner won't be happy we took off in their stupidly expensive car, and she'll catch the wrong kind of attention," he reported to Naomi as the rest of the team filed into the vehicle.

The police sirens could be heard approaching now, which meant the real danger was even closer. The regular police would arrive just in time to see the whichever jackbooted arm of WG sent putting the Serenity terrorist down in the midst of their rampage. Camera flashes, inch high titles in tommorow's news, monkey courts that would drag for months, sleepless nights spent in interrogation rooms, broken fingers... Han groaned. He was too tired to go through all of that again. Once in a lifetime was enough.

He slammed the gas pedal down. The automatic planetary gearbox quickly changed gears to compensate for the moment generated by the engine as the vehicle almost leapt from its parking spot in almost unbeliavable nible fashing. "She's got a kick to her," he said. Several figures appeared from an alleway in front of them as they left the square, and filed across the road taking positions around kiosks and garbage bins. The amount of gear with red flashing lights on their bodies left little room for imagination about their intentions. The SMG's and short rifles even less so. Hanlon ducked behind the dashboard, swerving the steering wheel to guide the car towards the nearst group of bins. "Shoot all you have!" he shouted. "Forget accuracy, make everyone around us duck for cover!"

He slammed the pedal to the metal and the engine roared, the several tons of metal gaining even more speed as it crashed into the bins. Gunshots rang out, and some of the chromed decorative bits on the car's bonnet were broken off and sent flying into the passanger compartment through the missing windshield. The car jumped a bit as it ran over a pair of soldiers hiding behind the bins. Should someone look back, they'd see a pair of human bodies with extremities twisted into decidedly unhealthy directions.
 
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After their discussion, Sierra didn't think getting close to Convel was a good idea. He looked like he was ready to swing. Life had a funny way of turning things on her head.

Sierra flattened into Convel's armpit as Hanlon took a hard turn. On her other side, Sven felt ten times as hostile in the very cramped car. She smiled up awkwardly at Convel. "I be makin' a joke about intimate space an' all but, really, you ain' my type." She turned to Hana. "Don' suppose you'd trade places with the puppeteer, eh?"

In the same instance, Hanlon slammed on the brakes, bullets went flying. Sierra jerked forward and hit her head on the floor console. She groaned, feeling a bruise form on her brows as the glass shattered inwards and she covered her head. She gritted her teeth. Stuck in the middle of a shot-up car without a gun to shoot back? Not an ideal firefight in her opinion. She tried to peak over Sven's shoulder. Was there something she could fling at the shooters? Perhaps one of their cars-- stopping bullets hadn't worked too well last time she tried-- but before she could even formulate a plan to help her team, Hanlon yanked the car around and they were zooming off again. Sierra gritted her teeth.

"Oi! Fast and Fierce, Boss, don' suppose you can let me out at the next shootout or somethin'? I'm fuckin' useless back here!"
 
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We're pretty good at this, he said.

Then Convel and Sierra had some bout. Naomi's authority was questioned. Not to mention Zadok was now saying that more than 50 people were going to be after them in no time.

"Hm… We could be… better. Probably."

As Han headed towards their vehicle of choice, JD hopped down from his perch. "Yeah, getaway cars sound better than being shot at. Especially not by more than," He counted on his fingers, recalling a memory. "Maybe ten or so people."

The pile in was an uncomfortable fit to say the least. He hated cramped spaces, he hated crowds. It always made him antsy- or sparky for that matter. But attempting to combat that and relax, he snagged a window seat- or door seat with the windows being damaged and all.

"Not good." He pulled his head back from out the window when the soldiers started shooting. "Oof, coulda lost my head there." They were moving fast and all of the sliding and hard turns was making it hard to figure out what to do next. "M'not much of a ranged fighter, but I think… I think I can help. Let's just hope I don't get shot before I manage it." He clasped his hands together, electricity charging between them until an orb as big as his hand formed. It was bright, blue, and electricity jumped off it and onto him every so often.

"Hey someone mind keeping me from falling out the car?" JD flung the door open as Hanlon drove, careful not to have it go flying off. Dangerously, he leaned out the side and tossed the electric orb out at the crowd of soldiers. And if anyone in the car looked back, they'd see a short flash of light before the group suddenly was tasered and the ones closest to it collapsed on the ground. "Hah! Worked like a- ah!" Hanlon made another sharp turn nearly flinging JD out of the car. He reached out, grabbing the seatbelt, then whoever was closest, before scrambling back in and shutting the door behind him.

"Sierra was the one that wanted to get dropped off, not me!"
 
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Grimm had never been inside of a running car before. He'd spent many days of his life scavenging and hiding in burnt-out wrecks that dotted the littered streets of Burke, and had tinkered with some old engine parts, but he'd never been inside of a moving one. So far it was an interesting experience. The only reason he'd been able to fit in the car along with everyone else was because he was half their size. The place was chaos, there was shoving done by mechanical limbs, seat-belts yanked left and right, and bullets flying in through windows. It was hard for anyone to get a good shot with how the car swerved down the streets.

"Pardon me..." murmured the mutant as he crawled over laps and scuttled over seats to a window, "Mind your head, J.D., this will just take a moment..." Once reaching the shattered window Grimm slipped a hand into his bag and produced a metal sphere. His long fingers poked and prodded at neatly hidden buttons that covered its surface, twisting a few dials and glancing out at their pursuers every few seconds. After a few quick estimates the mutant tossed it out the window. If he'd been correct, it would detonate just as the largest grouping of World Government Agents would pass over it.

"I suggest those of you without protection cover your ears," said Grimm as he began preparing another sphere.
 
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As the bullets came flying towards them Naomi returned fire, squeezing the trigger to release short bursts back at their attackers. She didn't bother shouting for Hanlon to get a move on, the car already accelerating off from the courtyard toward the nearest exit. She raised a hand to guard against some splintered glass as bullets strafed the side of the vehicle, looking over her shoulder towards Sierra with a frown, "If you want to be useful use your magnetic whatever to divert some of the incoming fire." she replied before gripping her seat as Grimm's explosives detonated in their wake, casting more debris into the air and creating a rather convenient albeit temporary cloud of smog to cover their escape better. "Nicely done little dude."

The car would soon be clear of the danger, letting them out onto the open road which was thankfully rather deserted at this time of night in this abandoned pocket of the city. Hanlon would find it easy to make distance, although by no means were they in the clear. Naomi leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes as she exhaled a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding, running a hand through her hair again before looking at those in the backseats, her brows furrowed as she swept her gaze over them critically for any signs of injuries or wounded. When it seemed they were all ok she turned her attention back towards the road. "Head towards the canals, it'll be easier for the Sparrow to get in close without being spotted upon arrival, from there we'll cont-"

The road in front of them would suddenly explode before the roar of engines flooded into the area from overhead, a gunship soaring over them before pivoting around to face them. "Huh, they really want to kill us don't they... alright, Hanlon keep us moving. Sierra, come with me." Naomi didn't offer an explanation as she reached out of the side door window and began to pull herself through it, climbing onto the top of the car. Once there she would stick her head back down, now peering back inside the car upside down, "Sven, see if you can do something about the Gunships computers, jamming their targeting equipment is your highest priority." she said before disappearing again.

Once Sierra would hopefully join her she'd point at the gunship, keeping her other hand on the roof of the car to avoid falling or tumbling off while they raced to evade it's fire. "I think you already know where I'm going with this." she called over the whipping wind rushing past their ears as the car continued on at speed, "Think you can manage it?" she asked, her free arm starting to envelope in a purple aura as she prepared to intercept the ordinance. She could intercept the rockets with concussive blasts, but it'd be up to Sierra to deal with the onslaught of bullets which would undoubtedly rain onto them any moment now. The Gunship was already close behind them, engines roaring to steady it's weapons to target them, asking a lot for Hanlon to keep them from remaining in it's firing path.
 
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"Ever try stopping metal through metal? Not like that shit's easy--" Sierra yelped when more glass shattered and she bared her teeth, seriously tempted to follow the Boss's request. She hesitated though. She didn't know where the bullets were coming from, first of all-- in front, behind, everywhere? Couldn't see between everyone blocking the windows-- and flinging magnetic manipulation about was just as likely to tear off the roof of their car, damage the engine, or possibly ruin Convel's arm or disrupt Hana's… well, whatever she had going on under that porcelain skin.

Sierra was chewing over ideas when Naomi called her. "Yup!" the woman shouted, not even second-guessing why Naomi was climbing out the window of a moving car.

Muttering 'xcuse me' and 'likin' what you see, Hacker boy?', Sierra climbed, kicked and wiggled her way over Sven to get to the window. She winked at the hacker before placing her magnetically sticky hands on the roof and hauling herself up. The wind whipped her hair from the speed Hanlon had them gunning and the gunships hovering overhead, and she gave whoop as adrenaline kicked in.

"Never been shot at it on a high-speed chase before. Whatta 'bout you, Boss?" Sierra grinned at Naomi. Keeping one hand one the hood of the car, she knelt to keep her balance and looked up just as the gunships revved their turrets.

Sierra raised her free hand just as they fired.

High-propulsion rounds spit out at their car just as Naomi felt a weird pricking sensation across her body. The bullets carved up the road, the sidewalk, the buildings-- everything around them. Not one touched their vehicle. Sierra bared her teeth as they jarred up and down on destroyed pieces of road, concentrating hard on maintaining the field she'd created around them. "Boss!" she called Naomi's attention, "I got a magnetic field around us diverting the gun's firin' so if you got any metal pieces I wouldn't leave the vehicle-- less you like bein' flung like a ragdoll," Sierra sniggered then added, "Not sure how long I can keep it. Half my concentration is ensurin' I'm not flung off the car, and those weapons firin' rate is too quick for me to manipulate them right back at the bastards. Suggestin' we loose those ships quick, less Sven can hack 'em quicker."
 
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By the looks of it, they weren't getting out of this fight easy. They were practically surrounded- JD took another dangerous look around- no they were definitely surrounded. "So what part of the training was this in again?"

Instead of an answer he got Grimm manuevering a bit too close for comfort- not that there was much in the cramped car. "We're gonna need to talk about personal space around here." His opened palms closed into fists, careful not to accidentally taze Grimm. Then his fists went up to his ears as the explosion rang out behind them, jostling the car a bit. Unfortunately the grounded enemies became a quick second priority as a gunship pulled overhead. "Aw man that'd be so much cooler had it not been shooting at us."

In the matter of a few short moments, things suddenly got quieter. Not so much quieter in the sense that everything stopped, but quieter in the sense that the car stopped getting hit. And when JD peeked out the window again, he noticed it was like everyone had terrible aim all of a sudden. "Whatever those two are doing up there it's working! So I don't know if you guys had any bright ideas, but you might wanna- I dunno- try them out now!" He peered out the window, judging the distance from them and the gunship. "Would love to help with that but that's way too far for me to just try and shoot." He looked behind them, seeing the ones that hadn't been killed still chasing after them. "How many of those bombs do you have Grimm and can you possibly throw more of them and clear our trail?"
 
Convel bit the inside of his cheek and held his tongue. This whole thing was only increasingly fucked as the seconds passed. As the chaos unfolded around him his head began to throb. He chose to believe it was his implant working overtime trying to solve this mess rather than just simple irritation. For the pet rebellion of a tech giant, you'd have thought Serenity might have worked out some way to get their people out before things got hot. Then again 50 oncoming, a ludicrous number that smacked of either hyperbole or plain incompetence, hostiles didn't leave much room for anyone to work with.

For now he busied himself with holding JD in the car. He found himself more frustrated at his lack of frustration at his impotence than anything immediately. He hadn't earned the nickname Scrumdog by being content to hold on to the collars of other people while they shot out of moving cars. He reflected that his younger self would be out on the roof with Naomi and Sierra giving better than he got. Then again his younger self had never quite been in this idiotic of a fix before. And he'd had two arms. With Sierra's warning he was reminded of the itch on the sites where the prosthesis attachted along with the points where the rest of his body met mechanical patches. This did little to improve his mood. He forced all of that into the back of his mind and was glad not for the first time that his helmet hid his face.

"We need to quit trying to fight them and actually get out of here." He called.
 
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Grimm never had a chance to reply to Naomi's appreciation. The hair on the back of his neck rose as a shadow passed over the speeding car. The mutant grabbed the back of a seat to steady himself as the road in front of them suddenly exploded in a shower of smoldering concrete. His gloved fingers dug into the ruined upholstery in the subsequent maneuvers Hanlon pulled to keep them from going into the newly formed pothole. By that point he noticed a flying machine ahead of them, larger than the Sparrow, and pointing what seemed to be a very large gun in their direction.

"Interesting," he murmured through the ventilation of his mask. Grimm's view of the air ship was suddenly marred by Naomi and Sierra as they crawled past everyone, and he very narrowly avoided being kicked in the head as they exited through the window. J.D.'s voice suddenly caught his attention, and his hooded head turned in his direction. The mutant quietly peeked out of the broken window to the number of officers still in pursuit of their wildly careening car before looking back to J.D.

"Hopefully enough," he finally replied, retrieving a silver orb from his satchel, "Maybe if we used..." He dug through the bag and pulled out a metal canister. "Hmm...Nah, they won't have enough time to inhale...Bombs it is, then." He began pressing the faint buttons that lined the device, "Pardon me, J.D." Grimm chucked the bomb into the path of their oncoming pursuers.
 
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As their increasingly deteriorating getaway vehicle continued to weave and glide through the open derelict streets of the abandoned district, it was all Naomi could do to hold on as Sierra demonstrated her abilities diverting the hail of fire from the gunship which peppered the tarmac around them. The Lieutenant grimaced slightly in response to Sierra's warning, deciding now was definitely not the time to elaborate on how her abilities could very easily conflict with her own augmented anatomy. "Keep it up!" she replied before gripping the edge of the car's roof, curling her fingers into the interior through the smashed window before once again leaning over to peer inside at those still seated under them. "Hanlon, there should be a tunnel five miles ahead of us, make for it and lose the gunship there."

Disappearing once more she turned her attention back to the gunship, working with Sierra by throwing out the occasional shock wave to make things more difficult for the pilot. Explosions and gunfire relentlessly slammed against the ground, the roar of the gunships engines deafening them as it made passes over them in attempts to thwart Hanlon's driving. Several long minutes of the cat and mouse fiasco played out into their escape before the tunnel came into view and the pursuing gunship gave up on it's chase, albeit more so due to them heading towards a more populated area where it'd be unable to continue it's attempts to strafe them. Naomi let out a long exhale into the slipstream of air whipping past her ears and through her hair, raising a thumbs up towards Sierra before motioning for her to get back inside.

She slumped into the passenger seat, running a hand through her hair before sitting herself up and looking into the backseats to check if anyone might have taken a stray shot Sierra hadn't accounted for, finding herself at ease after noting everyone seemed in reasonably good health. "Take the next exit out onto the freeway, make some distance and get us close to a canal so I can call in the sparrow." she spoke to Hanlon once more before working through APOLLO to send out information to the Sparrow pilot. They would all need an outfit change along with a switch of loadouts before they entered Paradesium, otherwise they weren't getting very far before being noticed and likely stopped by local enforcement for questioning on why they were torn up and armed to the teeth.

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Upon reaching the Canal they didn't have to wait very long before a shifting shape in the air uncloaked itself to reveal a Sparrow in waiting, having remained hidden ahead of their arrival organised in advance thanks to APOLLO. The streamlined angular jet lowered itself before the back door opened and a ramp lowered to allow the team entry, Naomi wasting little time in getting everyone moving towards getting themselves ready for the upcoming pursuit of their newest lead. "Changing pods are on the back left side, gun racks on the right. Offload anything you can't conceal easily, if you need to be patched up there's an on-board med dock... it isn't great but it'll stop you hurting for a while." she spoke as she ascended the ramp and made for the closest change pod.

The pods themselves were narrow thin tubes with built in equipment made from similar tech that they would have witnessed during the simulations, possessing Thirium lasers that could quickly patch up clothing while also offering fresh outfitting based on the users preferences. Scanning equipment built into the pods grade three AI allowed it to offer clothing options based upon the user, handy utilities to be sure but nothing you couldn't find in most large superstores these days that raked in large enough profits. It was more than likely that most of them had used one at some point in their lives save for the likes of Grimm, Naomi and perhaps Zadok. Nevertheless they were pretty straight forward to use and the interior display screen pretty much detailed exactly how to make use of it.

Naomi changed her outfit into something more casual that'd be appropriate for the Paradesium, a white T-shirt under a black leather jacket accompanied by a pair of jean shorts and black boots. Lightweight and easy to fight in, plus she liked the look and was closer to what she'd actually probably wear during her downtime, however it'd be she'd choose to spend it. After getting changed she switched out her weapons, keeping only her sidearm which she stowed on the inside of her jacket into a holster, clipping it safely before making her way towards the off-ramp to await the others to collect themselves and get ready to continue on with the mission. Before they would leave however she felt it prudent to give a small recap once everyone gathered themselves together.

"As you already know, we're heading out towards the Cathedral of Sin casino to speak with Father Montaigne. It's likely that he knows we're coming his way and frankly I'm banking on it. If you didn't know before, the district is policed with local authority, with private security operating within many of the attractions you can find there. I don't think I need to explain the importance of staying out of trouble, that being said don't walk around with a stick up your arse. As of now we're tourists looking for a good time and a cheap thrill." she pulled out some small thin holographic cards, handing them out as she continued. "These will ensure we move through the checkpoint without a hassle, keep them on you at all times and 'don't fucking lose them... otherwise you're in for a swim across the canals to the closest derelict zone."

She slid her own card into her back pocket before reaching up to untie her ponytail, letting her hair out to fall around her shoulders and part way down her back. It had a curl to it, although it was probably unclear as to whether that was because she'd had it tied up or not. "We'll be making our way forwards on foot, turning up in a wrecked car as you can imagine isn't a good look. So, let's get moving while the lead is fresh... so far it's been a rough start but you're all still alive, so that's something." she then turned and pressed a singer to the COM panel to hail the pilot located on the side of the Sparrow's interior. "We're heading out, get yourself clear as soon as we deploy." a moment's pause before they got a response. "Understood, happy hunting Stalkers." the voice was clearly human unlike that of their previous pilot. And with that, Naomi motioned for them all to head out.

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Upon passing the checkpoint into Paradesium they would be greeted with large constantly moving crowds of people, bright neon lights of various different colours with vehicles both taxi and personal moving to push through the busy streets. The smell of delicious foods carried in the night air and the district was seemingly pulsing with life, excitement and music which appeared to change from one venue to the next as they passed by. No one really gave them a second look, too wrapped up on their own business or preoccupied with the attractions to care for anyone other than themselves and the friends they were with. People of all kinds could be found here, from human to Omnic, albeit the exception being mutants whom were expressively forbidden to enter such places meaning Grimm would need to keep himself covered up.

Police and security patrols could be seen moving between the crowds every so often but even they seemed to speak amongst themselves if they weren't dealing with a situation such as an irritated tourist or an ensuing outbreak of a fight caused by too much alcohol. No matter the issue however the vast majority appeared to continue on unabated in the presence of all this district had to offer in terms of entertainment. "Huh... it's been a while, looks like they have some new places opened up." Naomi commented idly, looking up at a large lit up statue of a phoenix with brilliant wings extended upwards, an attraction to draw the eye towards a towering casino building stood behind it. Of course this was not the building they were looking for, they still had a little ways to go before then. Her attention was pulled away for a moment by a man standing outside a souvenir store calling out to passers by to come and see his wares. "Let's do some blending in, visit some of the attractions before making our way up towards the Cathedral. Anyone got recommendations?"
 
Stepping outside the car Convel pulled off his helmet and ruffled his sweat slicked hair. He raised an eyebrow at the sparrow that shimmered into existence. *"All these resources and they can't spare another squad?"* he thought to himself. His darkening mood wasn't helped by the rest of the team's apparently sunny disposition. Seeing them cheerfully start to play dress up made his head ache throb. He set his helmet and rifle in a seat on the sparrow. Without those two markers he could've passed as any one of a dozen magazine obsessed Retros. Still he stepped into one of the tubes.

"Give me a pack of coffin nails, two sets of clothes, and a duffel bag." He stood impatiently waiting for his request to materialize.

He exited the claustrophobic stall and lit a Nail. The duffel was a little smaller than he'd expected, but he supposed that was par for the course today. Nothing was going how he'd hoped. Stuffing the crisp orange and brown pack into the inside pocket of his jacket he turned to Grimm.

"Aint any amount of lipstick we can put on you that'll actually fool the sighted."He dropped the duffel. "Hop in."
 
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It was unfair, but that was war for you. The surface closed behind the bullethole riddled car deviously fast. The murky waters of the Canal swallowed several more tons of garbage, leaving behind a floating puddle of unnaturaly thick foam with small halo of fast food wrappings circling around. "Indecend, forgotten grave, old sport. One all warriors yearn for. Noone can disturb your sleep if they don't know where you're buried six inches under or ten fathoms deep," he grumbled for himself under his breath. Hanlon tipped his head as a final goodbye to the vehicle and headed for the dropship.

He left behind all the obvious weapons. In his wallet, he kept a wickedly sharp money clip that could be used as a shitty, impromptu knucle duster, probably as dangerous to him as to the enemy. Several larger plastic coins, filed on one side to work as an emergency cutting device or a really bad flat screwdriver. A thick nylon string stuffed into sleeve of his shirt. A few nylon fist knives stuck behind his belt, just the right length to reach major artery in someone's liver, or rip apart a kidney. Two spring loaded tubular single use crossbows, just in case he needed to reach out to people. A shitty burner phone, in case he needed an improvised grenade. A neatly folded well worn orange high visibility vest. A 3D printed lockpick kit.

Just the stuff a proper gentleman out for a evening of lawful and chaste fun needed.

"Yup, some new places indeed," he said to Naomi, but he was looking away from the phoenix, just the opposite way. The place he was watching drank colours out of everything nearby. Literally. The signpost had a device attached that used some quantum bullshit device that turned everything nearby monochrome, leaving behind just black, white of the mundane outside, and a crimson red of the neon signpost that proposed the place was called "Barks like a cat" in one of the local dialects. "Where hope and memories come to lie down, and take it as long as you have the coin," he muttered. The place was a brothel for dreams.

It was ran by something called Denmother. Word was it was terribly mangled Omnic, so badly and critically damaged they had to reapir it with what parts were on hand, and it did something to its conker that eternally broke what soul the machine possesed. Now it lended your own dreams. You'd come in, rent a room and an Omnic there would let you temporarily overwrite its memory with... well, whatever you placed on the data carrier device. Anything, as long as you were able to splice it into at least somewhat coherent personality. People came in to have their own private dinners with caricatures of celebrities and crushes. Widowed came in to relive fake moments of happiness from past, until their money and grip on reality lasted. Extremists came to listen to misshapen words of their long deceased leaders. "We were so worried about afterlife existing, we just had to make sure by creating one of our own making. One we charge money for, and one that is as cold and unforgiving as grip of two interlocking gears," he muttered silently.

"No, don't have any recomendations. Anyplace with bar that serves drinks at reasonable temperature is fine with me," he said out loud to be heard over the surrounding murmur, first audible sentence after a long time.
 
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"Holy smokes we're alive." JD looked back where they were once followed, sighing in relief to know they had managed to escape- barely, but they did. And no later did they have Sparrow waiting for them. He hopped out of the car, thankful not to be so cramped anymore, only to pass by Hanlon giving him a small salute. "Nice driving." With hands behind his head, he heaved a sigh and walked into the Sparrow. "I'd say this is a win. Y'know, kept all of our fingers and toes."

JD's idea of blending in was what he wore more often than not being with the Ivory Skulls. Most of his life was spent blending into crowded streets right after causing a ruckus. "Streetwear it is." He murmured, stepping out of the crowded changing pod and then following them out to Paradesium. As he did, he readjusted the jacket, pulling the hood over his head. He kicked the heel of his shoe against the ground, testing how sturdy and how comfortable they were in case he ended up needing to run. He opened and closed his newly gloved hands, making sure they were good enough to at least keep his powers in check. When he settled his gaze went from Naomi to the city around them. "Tourism. Don't get to do that often. And… are, uh, delightful employers are taking the bills yeah?" The sights and sounds started to pull JD's attention left and right and when he realized that the list of ideas in his head started to get too long, he focused on what the others were saying.

"A bar's not a bad place to start. Get all the local news that way. Then again, it'd be a little odd with Convel carrying a… person in a bag around. I suggest food vendors. Can't get far on empty stomachs. Less people interested in staring with the bonus of good food too. Though, we could just do what tourists do. Wander aimlessly and stop at what flashes the brightest."
 
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"Hell yeah we are, when you got me," Sierra smirked at JD, watching him collapse into the car seat once they made the all-clear. She laced her hands behind her back and gave herself a mental pat of well done all the way to their destination. She hopped out, following JD, and rotating a stiff arm as she took stalk of their surroundings.

"I'm sorry-- Cathedral of Sin? Father who?" These things didn't ring a bell for her, but she shrugged it off when her questions went unanswered. "Seems to me you ain't gonna like right pops?" Sierra nudged Zadok once she stepped out of the pod. It was a relief to be out of the tight uniform and Sierra sighed in her newly-produced trench coat. Combat boots, her favorite rock band tee, and gloves glittering with metal and her looking flashy and ready to terrorize the streets.

Sauntering up to the ex-cop, Sierra gave him a light punch in the arm to cheer him up. Her metal gloves clinked against his prosthetic. "Why the long face Convel? Don't like the tourist traps?" Sierra sensed that could be a truth, though she felt she knew him well enough to know that wasn't close to the real source of his pouting. The air of frustration was palpable long before they fought the big giant mech. She stuck by him while they all sauntered into Paradesium. She oogled the neon lights and sensory overload. Trips to these kind of places happened only once a year for her family; sometimes longer, when money was running tight. It was exciting. Reaching back, she unzipped Convel's bag just a smidge to let Grimm see the spectacle too.

"Bet you've never seen this much color, have you Bird Beak?" she said it with slighted awe, mesmerized even though she'd seen it before.
 
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Grimm glanced up at Convel, his mask hiding the offended creases that graced his withered face. For a moment his eyes darted back and forth between the ex-cop's stony face and the duffel bag trying to work out if it was some kind of joke. But for all of the anger that flared up in the mutant's mind, behind it the begrudging acceptance of the truth. He did not belong in Paradesium. There was nothing the change pod could conjure that would hide him well enough in such a place of perfection. In lower-end venues he might've been able to hide in his cloak, but that wouldn't work here. With a sigh Grimm slipped into the duffel bag, curling himself into a crooked doll and muttering as he folded his cloak around himself. The scent of the bag drifted in to his mask as it was zipped closed. It smelled new and artificial, almost pleasing, but at the same time unnatural.

The mutant listened to all the sounds of the city as he was carried through the crowds. There were more voices here than he'd ever heard in one place before, and not being able to see where they came from made him anxious. He nearly jumped when he felt someone tamper with the duffel bag, keeping still only through fear of being discovered.

"Bet you've never seen this much color, have you Bird Beak?"

Grimm hadn't. He'd never seen so many people, never seen so many lights that worked, things that weren't broken or incomplete.The contrast between the muted funeral despair of his home and the vivid, breathing tourist trap was so great it was almost frightening, and yet he'd never seen anything more alluring. The thin fabric of a duffel-bag was all that lay between him and a world he'd only seen in pictures.
 
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Convel hefted the duffel onto his shoulder after tucking in his clothes on top of Grimm. Taking a long drag on his Coffin Nail he closed his eyes and wished for the thousandth time at least that his lungs still let him get a buzz. He heard the scuffing of combat boots on asphalt next to him. For a brief moment he indulged the fantasy that when he opened his eyes he'd see a familiar face telling him to snap out of whatever daydream he'd been stuck in for the past three years. The low throb of his prosthetic's dulled sense of touch ended that.

"Sorry." He mumbled, massaging his eyes with his real hand. "Something like that."

He walked in step with Sierra willing things to stay quiet. Fatigue itched at the back of his perception. While the headache had faded the explosion of excess that was Paradisium gave it new fuel. He felt his eyes involuntarily lingering on the epileptic billboards, seductive holos, and gilded doorways instead of the belt lines, coat silhouettes, and window reflections that his paranoia and the implant told him he should. Some part of him remembered fantasizing about a penthouse here. One that overlooked the whole never ending neon carnival, filled with easy booze and loose women. The thought of it just made him tired now.

He tensed at the sensation of the duffel moving. His fingertips brushed the handle of his hidden revolver before he saw what was happening. Seeing the pair enraptured at the lights he let out a quiet sigh of relief. He started to tell them it wasn't anything to envy, but another wave of exhaustion stopped him. Instead he started to scan the holos for something that looked something less than offensive.

"You ever have an old fashioned?"
 
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