[IC]M&M- Justice League International

Sakutian

Issue #1: Origins

The Kintara Cluster

In the far corner of Sector 2814 a binary star system known to be a haven for smugglers and pirates had become an especially dangerous region of the sector of late. No less than seven passenger ships had gone missing while passing through the cluster leaving no trace of the vessels or their crews in the last month alone. Normally the criminals operating out of the region only targeted commercial vehicles that carried valuable cargo, but each of the ships that had gone missing recently had been passenger transports.

Metropolis

The fluorescent lights in the office of General Wade Eiling died for a moment casting the cramped room into darkness. As the lights flickered and hummed back on the General looked up at them irritably. Several black and white photographs were arranged on the desk next to a manila envelope. Each of the photographs seemed to be warehouses of some sort.

"As I was saying six Lexcorp warehouses in Metropolis have been robbed by a person, or persons unknown over the last two weeks. The Metropolis police have failed to turn up anything, no shock there though. Ever since the alien turned up they've gotten lazy."

He tapped the last photograph on his desk with his index finger. The photo beneath his finger was of a mammoth freighter flying the Kaznian flag, crates bearing the Lexcorp logo were suspended from a net above the ship's deck. "We caught the crew of a Kaznian freighter loading crates from one of those warehouses onto their ship. For all we know Kaznians could already have everything else that was stolen from Lexcorp."

General Eiling looked up from the photos and glowered at the man standing on the opposite side of his desk. "I want you to find the out who is responsible for this and put a stop to it."

Captain Atom stood in front of the General's desk looking down at the photographs.

No. 8 Beijing Middle School, Beijing China

The blackboard in classroom thirty-two was crowded with line line after line of text detailing the history of the first thirty years of the Xing Dynasty. Zou Kang stood at the far corner of the board squeezing in a few final lines. Whispers and hushed laughter coming from behind his back assured the history teacher that his student's attention was not being spent on Xing.

Russia

Massive power failures all over Russia had left the authorities scrambling to deal with a number of problems for the last twenty-four hours. Radar failures had resulted in the full dispatch of the Rocket Reds along the Russian border to prevent any attempts at invasion. Planes circled in the sky at every major airport unable to communicate with the airports where they'd intended to land. Doctors, nurses, and orderlies were kept busy carrying gas cans to hospitals in every major city to keep their emergency generators running. The lives of every patient in critical care in these hospitals were in the balance. Traffic accidents resulting from failed traffic lights were keeping the streets of the cities in a state of chaos as the authorities struggled to maintain some sort of order with no measurable success. With no power many citizens had started setting fires in an attempt to stay warm, something that had resulted in the destruction of several homes.

Solar

Nathanial Adam, the man known as Captain Atom, looked down at the photographs on the desk. "You say you caught the Kaznians, Colonel. I assume they have been questioned for information." Picked up the photos Nathanial leafed through them. "And do we know what was stolen from Lexcorp? Or is Luthor holding out on you again."

Sakutian

The general pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes for a moment. "Unfortunately we couldn't hold any of the Kaznians since they were part of a diplomatic mission. The most we were able to do was force them to return to international waters."

"Mr. Luthor," Eiling emphasized the mister and when he reopened his eyes they were stern. "Has been very forthcoming. Most of what was stolen was surplus from his military contracts. Missile guidance systems, high powered energy rifles, radar jammers, and my personal favorite..."

General Eiling reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a long sheet of rolled up paper. He unfolded it on top of his desk revealing the plans for some sort of heavily armed robot. "A suit of battle armor that has been in mothballs for months awaiting approval by the bean counters."

Solar

Nathanial looked over the plans, checking the specifications for what is clearly am impressive piece of hardware. He noted the weaponry and defenses of the power suit, a suspicion sneaked over him that he might need to take the weapon down in the course of this mission, and if he did being aware of it's capabilities now would be useful information

"I'll get right on it Colonel, unless there's anything else I need to know?"

Sakutian

"Yes there is. Under no circumstances are Superman or the Justice League to be involved in this, it is a matter of national security. For all we know they may be behind it."

Solar

Nathan looked up at Eiling, meeting his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but then stopped, biting back his words, and straightened up.

"Understood." With that he salutes and then turns, walking out of the room.

Sakutian

In the hallway just outside of the General's office a young woman sat at a much smaller desk to the side of the door ping rapidly. Her desk was cluttered with large framed photographs of smiling children and a dark haired man who appeared to be in his early twenties, probably her husband. She turned to look up at Nathan smiling for an instant as she handed him a manila folder stamped with a red confidential seal. "Mr. Adam, the General wanted me to make sure that you took this with you."

Flipping open the folder he saw that it contained copies of the photos of the warehouses and the Kaznian freighter. There was alsoa list of addresses, six of them had been highlighted, they were most likely the locations that had been robbed. A column of more addresses spread throughout Metropolis lined the page. A business card bearing the Lexcorp logo and some contact information for Lex Luthor himself.

Solar

Adam nodded at the secretary. "Thank you." From the information in the file, it seemed like Luthor was the obvious first person to see, it was his warehouses that were robbed after all. Looking at the picture, Adam felt a small pang of loneliness, he hadn't seen his family or friends in a long time, didn't even know what he would say to them if he did. "Your children?" He asked, indicating the picture.

Sakutian

The secretary nodded and plucked up the nearest photo so she could offer Adam a better look. "This is William and that one hiding from the camera is Renee." The children in the photo both had dark hair similar to their father's They were standing somewhere in the park, Adam could see the distinctive Metropolis skyline in the background. William was standing rather awkwardly while Renee was half hidden behind her brother.

Solar

As Adam looked at the picture he wondered whether he would ever have that. Things had changed so much, his life was so strange, the normal family and life depicted in the photo could have been from another world. Did he even want that any more? Did it make any difference if he did?

"You have lovely children ma'am. If you'll excuse me, I have to be going." He smiled, a little uneasily, and then turned and walked off, heading upstairs to the roof. If he was going to go and see Luthor, he might as well show him that he meant business.

Sakutian

Making his way to the door to the roof and ignoring the sign that declared the roof an off limits area as usual Adam glanced around the rooftop to make sure no one would notice his takeoff. At first everything seemed entirely ordinary. A helicopter sat on the roof waiting to transport General Eiling and the members of his staff, but there was no sign of a pilot or any passengers. The Metropolis skyline expanded out across the horizon striking an impressive sight as always.

A jarring noise coming from below drew Adam to the edge of the roof. As he looked down into the street below he saw that a line of cars stretched over the street for as far as the eye could see. The traffic lights were flickering between red, yellow, and green a blur rsulting in a number of accidents that were blocking the street. Drivers arguing with one another on the street while several members of the Metropolis police deparment made an effort to get traffic moving again without much luck.

Solar

Adam watched the traffic jam below. The flickering traffic lights could just have been a malfunction, but he had a feeling that they might be something more. A traffic jam would distract the police and stop the movement of patrol cars and so on to any sort of disturbance, such as another robbery. Closing his eyes for a moment, Adam attempted to use his ability to detect energy signatures in order to listen to the police radios and get an idea of what was going on down there.

(Basically I want to use my radio sense to tap into the police frequency and see if any of them has noticed anything).

Sakutian

Metropolis

The police frequency was a mess to say the least. Officers all over the city were making frantic calls reporting in break-ins, robberies, traffic accidents, and a variety of mechanical failures across the city. On 2nd Avenue a ATM had started spewing money into the street and a mob had erupted as citizens attempted to grab as much of it as possible. Automated alarms were going off in half of the buildings in town and it was impossible determine which calls for help were authentic as many had proven to be false alarms. The Metroplois Airport was also in a crisis. Communication to all of the aircraft had failed and planes were being forced to circle while the pilots waited for instructions.

Even Lexcorp was having difficulties. Based on the reports coming in it seemed that Lexcorp's private security forces and the Metropolis PD were engaged in a battle with some sort of robots at the heart of the city.

The Kintara Cluster

Borialosaurus was the remnant of a species that had prowled the stars killing Guardians long before they had founded the Green Lantern Corps. His race, now a mere shadow of what it had once been, still inspired great fear in the darkest places. It was that fact which had earned him a place among the ranks of the Sinestro Corps.

Wearing the black and yellow uniform of all Sinestro Corps his body was made up of long spidery limbs ending in clawed appendages and a whip-like tail that jutted out of his backside. He also a yellow Qwardian power ring which he was using to produce a force-field of sickly yellow energy around his body as he moved through the system. His wrinkly head turned this way carried atop his extended neck as he searched for something.

Sakutian

Metropolis

A man's barking voice was shouting across the police channel with all of the gentleness of a charging bull. Weapons fire and the echoing din of several explosions could also be heard. "I've got three officers down here! Where are those ambulances?!"

The strained voice of the dispatcher on the other end of the radio was speaking as calmly as possilbe but she was clearly approaching her breaking point. "They're on their way Turpin but the streets are blocked. You're going to have to do what you can for them on the scene."

Several gunshots rang out in the dead air before Turpin responded. "You get them down here before..."

Solar

Adam had heard enough. Mission be damned, someone was needed and that someone had to be him. With a surge of quantum power, he lifted off the top of the building, the sunlight gleaming off the durasteel that covered his body. A corona of energy surrounded him as he took to the skies, flashing through the cloudless blue expanse as he flew to the aid of the beleaguered police officers.

Sakutian

For years Lexcorp had operated out of it's original offices on the top floor of the Daily Planet building, an arrangement that Luthor had decided to bring to an end less than a year ago. Rumor had it that he wanted nothing more to do with the Planet after the paper now that it had printed so many stories favoring Superman. Th fact that Lexcrp had recently acquired so many radio and television stations that took a less than riendly view of the man of steel lent credence to the rumors.

Lexcorp's new corporate headquarters had been built at the very heart of Metroplois, Lex had been buying up most of downtown for years. The 96 story building was easily the tallest in the city and one of the most breathtaking. Glistening twin towers of glass and steel rose ever higher as though nothing could stop their ascent.

Usually there were dozens of employees and visitors moving in and out of the Lexcorp building at all hours. Today the building had attracted quite a different crowd.

Three figures covered from head to toe in green and purple body armor were blocking the main entrance. Each of them had a large purple capital L etched across their chest. Two more of the armored assailants were picking up cars that had been parked on the street and tossing them into nearby buildings as though they were toys.

Several officers from the Metropolis police department a handful of Lexcorp's security guards were huddled behind an enormous cement bust of Lex Luthor in front of the buiding. Two men in Lexcorp Security uniforms lay on the ground in obvious pain behind the figure. As they continued to move further away from the tower in search of more cars one of the armored figures spotted the armed men huddled behind the statue. It hurled the car it had been holding at the bust with tremendous force. A grey haired many wearing a tattered brown overcoat and holding a service revolver saw the incoming vehicle and threw himself on top of the injured men. The car exploded raining bits of metal and sparks down onto the huddled group behind the statue. Smoke rose from the half ruined bust of Lex Luthor, half of his likeness had been reduced to smoking rubble.

The grey haired man hefted one of the security guards up onto his feet and began dragging the man down the street. Other officers assisted the other injured guard whil they moved to follow him out of the path of destruction. The armored figure that had tossed the car pointed at the retreating police officers. "Citizens, return to your homes. Lexcorp is concerned for your safety."

Solar

As Atom flew in, he quickly assessed the situation. The Lexcorp troopers were clearly an active threat, but they seemed likely to leave off attacking while the police and security guards retreated. In any case, the troopers needed taking down and fast. He would have to hold back his full power against them, even with their armour they were still only normal humans, and he wanted to disable, not kill them. As Atom soared in, a corona of energy seething across his gleaming form, he took the element of surprise and launched his assault, flying at the central trooper, fist before him!

Sakutian

Captain Atom's fist connected with the back of the Lexcorp Trooper he'd charged with enormous force. Despite his restraint he felt the green armor buckle like tissue paper ainst his hand. In an instant he found himself up to his elbow in his foe's chest. A torso filled with hissing wires, bent metal, and ruined bits of complex circuity was exposed through the wound he'd inflicted.

Each of the remaining androids watched placidly as their ally toppled off of the metal arm protruding through it's chest onto the street in a heap. Four pairs of blank yellow eyes turned to lock on Captain Atom in a decidedly unfriendly series of glares.

"Citizen destruction of private property will not be tolerated." The three troopers blocking the entrance raised their gauntleted hands towards Atom.

The nearest of the troopers took a step towards Atom. It's heavy metal feet clanking loudly with each step. "Lexcorp cares."

Solar

Atom turned to face the remaining troopers. As he did so, the energy corona around his body built up, bright light and power burning from his dilusteel form as Atom generated Quantum energy. "The feeling isn't mutual." With a shout, Atom unleashed the energy in a short ranged energy wave that would hopefully leave these androids at least damaged but only affect things close by.

Sakutian

As quantam energy began to build up around Atom the street beneath his feet began to melt and bubble violently. The nearest Lexcorp trooper siezed him from behind wrapping it's arms around him a vice-like grip and he felt the strength in those arms for an instant. Then the pressure was gone. An explosion of energy sent the android holding him flying over the street and crashing through the building opposite of Lexcorp Tower as though it had been shot out of a cannon.

The other androids weathered thex explosion slightly better. One seemed to be a bit quicker than either of it's brothers. It dug it's purple fingers into the ground and tore up a heavy pice of stone using it like a shield. As all thrree of the troopers were hurled through the glass revolving doors of the tower's lobby the shield was reduced to rubble after it had taken a great deal of the explosions force. Each of the troopers hit the floor of the lobby sending thin spider web cracks throughout the delicate tile within.

Atom heaved a sigh of relief as he watched the still forms of the androids for several seconds. The sigh quickly turned to a groan when all three of them stood back up and started to examine him like a lab specimen. One of them appeared to be damaged fairly severely. It's head kept twitching violently on it's short neck.

"Unidentified metahuman presence detected. Arming anti-metahuman offensive measures." Their computerized voices spoke in unison and as one they raised their arms at him again. Small circular discs on the palms of their hands began humming like flourescent lights that were warming up. Atom had less than a second to realize what they had in mind before the first beam of yellow energy fired out of lobby striking him dead center in th chest. He was hurled backwards into the statue of Luthor and he felt the stone crack as his back made contact with it. The blast hadn't hurt him in the least, it had just tossed him with a wave of power.

Two more beams of light suddenly flw out of the lobby headed straight for him.

Super Namicchi

The yellow energy of fear was an alluring weapon that bordered on intoxicating, but even Thaal Sinestro, master of a corps all his own, had to cede that the clarity of thought and purpose that flowed from will was a power unlike any other in the known universe. Putting on the green power ring and saying the oath had been like putting on an old boot, worn and comfortable. His former pupil would not stand a chance.

Sinestro caught up to Borialosaurus with ease, a green translucent cage springing to life around the creature. The yellow light began to expand, but Sinestro knew all of the old tricks; the cage turned into a bubble and collapsed quickly, shattering Borialosaurus's shield with overwhelming force. He got straight to the point.

"Cease your futile struggles, I only need information, and if you lie to me I'll know. What is your involvement with the disappearing starliners?"

Solar

The first blast sliced into Atom's shoulder, but his superhard form deflected it upwards, the beam dispersing harmlessly. The second beam, however, slammed into his chest and knocked him back against the statue again, and he felt a painful burning sensation as the Dilusteel struggled to absorb the energy.

Narrowing his eyes, Atom realised that he had to take the fight to them in hand to hand. While at range he would take care not to endanger bystanders with his force beams, he was sure the Lexcorp troopers wouldn't be so thoughtful. Let's see how those combat systems do in melee, he thought, before rocketing forward once more to finish off the more damaged trooper, hopefully turning his flying punch into a rolling strike that could catch another of his foes.

Atom rolls a 24 and a 32 on his toughness checks to take the hits. If it's possible, I'd like to try and use my Takedown Advantage to hit another of the troopers, since I think I hit the first one with a 20.

Sakutian

Metropolis

Capatain Atom's fist crushed the hevy plastic that made up the trooper's eyes just before reducing the rest of it's head to a collection of scattered metal. The other troopers seemed to hesitate for a moment at this sight. Perhaps they were forming a new plan to take their reduced numbers into account. Whatever their reasons were they had given Atom an opening.

The Kintara Cluster

Restrained by the power Sinestro's will made material Borialosaurus could barely move a muscle. Sinestro could see the gears turning in his prisoner's head and he was certain that he was already formulating an escape plan of some kind.

"I had no part in their disappearance."

No. 8 Beijing Middle School, Beijing China

A sharp knock on the classroom door followed a second later by the sound of the door sliding open drew everyone's attention away from the board. Wu Zhang entered the classroom and approached Zou Kang's desk very quickly. A visit from the most eligible female teacher at No. 8 Beijing Middle School was a very pleasant surprise for Zou. Their classrooms were on opposites sides of the building so they rarely crossed paths during a typical schoolday.

Wu walked oer to Zou's side and turned to face the class for a moment. <"Pardon the interruption but I need to speak to Mr. Kang for a moment.">

Without offering any further explanation or apology she took Zou by the wrist and began pulling him towards the door. Laughter and whispering from the students echoed out into the hall before Wu shut the door. She looked at him with a great deal more interest than he'd ever seen her show him before. In the past she'd reserved that kind of attention for her students and Thundermind. <"Do you know a man named Hu Wei?">

Teykovo, Russia

Five hundred miles away from Moscow the wilderness surrounding Teykovo seemed to be completely immune to the chaos the was rapidly spreading across all of Russia. The homes and businesses that made up the town of several thousand were all quiet and unlit in the dim light of the early morning. Fresh snow had started to fall giving the streets a layer of slippery white frost and coating everything in sight with a blanket of frozen quiet.

A battered green jeep slipped and slid across the single road leading out of town and up into the hilly wilderness that surrounded it. As the jeep's tires bucked in the snow causing the vehicle to jump violently every few feet as it continued on the driver tried to steady his hand enough to light a cigarette. General Ivanovoff's grim and bearded face was cast into the dim orange illumination of a small flame perched atop his lighter as he set the end of his cigarette abalze. Taking in a single drag of calming nicotine he exhaled a billowing cloud of smoke like a pair of antqiue bellows pumping out dust.

Twenty minutes ago he'd been in bed with his wife wrapped in the warmth of his home and his bed. Then he'd gotten a frantic call from someone at the base. Everyone under his command knew better than to wake him in the middle of the night for some idiotic drill or prank. Before he could learn what was happening the phone had cut out. That wasn't unusual, the phones at the base often lost their connection, he'd tried to return the call once before he rose from his bed with a pained grunt.

As the Teykovo Missile Base came into sight he couldn't keep the thought that had entered his mind the first time he'd laid eyes on it from returning. <"God what an ugly bitch you are.">

Seventeen miles of chained fenced topped barbed wire stood shaking in the wind at roughly ten feet around the entire complex. The fence surrounded the base and the twelve sealed silos that lay underground. From the surface it didn't look like much but Ivanovoff knew that there was enough firepower beneath the earth here to reduce a small country to ash. Every hundred feet along the inside of the fence there were watchtowers. At this time of day the general should have seen search lights and armed sentries in each of the towers. Today he didn't see the sentries, or the lights.

<"No reason to worry old man. Probably just slipped inside to get something warm."> It wouldn't be the first time someone on watch abandoned their post indoors to get a cup of coffee, or something a bit stronger. He'd reprimand them, order them to remain on base in the barracks for a few nights, and cut their rations for a week.

As he pulled closer to the base the genral noticed that the sentries weren't the only things missing. The surface level was completely dark. Even if they'd had a power failure they had enough fuel for their generators to keep the facility lit for weeks. A bad feeling began to spread through the general's chest. He turned off his headlights and pulled the jeep off of the road behind a cluster of tall trees nearby.

When he stepped out of the jeep General Ivanovoff winced as a familiar jolt of pain coursed through his bad knee. A large stout man, built like an ape with long strong limbs and a round stomach, he cut an impressive figure in his dark clothes. Reaching back into the jeep he pulled out a pair of binoculars he kept inside and turned them towards the base. These binoculars were not well suited to seeing in the dark but they gave his request for night vision goggles had gone unanswered for several years. It seemed that Russia had greater concerns.

Turning his gaze on the closest watchtower he could see that someone was manning the post, but it certainly wasn't one of his soldiers. The man he was watching was wearing sleek red and white body armor along with a visored helmet that hid his face completely. A red twelve was written over the man's left breast in blocky letters. Although he couldn't see him well Ivanovoff was certain that he was also wearing a jetpack strapped to his back and powerful wrist mounted weapons. There was a Rocket Red standing watch over his base. Without further hesitation the general drew a cellular phone out of his pocket and began dialing a number.

Many miles away a phone rang in the condemned workshop that was currently serving as the home of Gavril Ivanovich.

Solar

Withdrawing his fist from the shattered remains of the trooper's face, trailing smouldering electronics and armour shards, Atom smiled a little at the it's squad-mates' hesitation. These troopers were powerful, but they didn't have the advantage of real initiative and thought like a real human would, and with his powers that split second was all he needed. Rolling around, he span in the air, attempting to deliver a devastating uppercut to another trooper, his fist blazing with atomic energy! It slammed into the android's armour jaw, knocking him back and cracking the armour plate, but the trooper kept coming, and Atom braces himself for the inevitable counter attack...

Rolled a 17, I think the bugger dodged me! EDIT: No, I got him. Die robot scum!

Sakutian

He didn't have long to wait for the trooper's response to his attack. A purple fist moving with the more speed than Atom would have thought the mechanized warrior was capable of rocketed into his jaw. The sound of metal ringing on metal echoed down the street. The blow had been well aimed and powerful but it was nothing that he couldn't take. As the other troopers moed in to try and overwhelm him he found their punches were much easier to dodge and he managed to aoid taking any more hits on the chin.

Atom takes 1 failure.

Solar

Avoiding the next few hits, Atom considered his chances. These troopers seemed pretty battered, but if he wasn't careful they were going to use their numbers, surround him and give him some real trouble. It was time to try something they never taught in Air Force basic. Atom leapt forward, attempting to grab one of the troopers by the arm and get a strong hold on him. Hopefully this plan would work...

So the idea is to grab this guy and use him as a weapon, hurling him into one of his buddies and smashing them back, giving Atom time to beat the circuits of the third trooper. I can't remember exactly how grapple works, but I rolled a 19, in total, so let's give it a go and mix things up somewhat!

Solar

The trooper's muscle servo's whined as they pushed against Captain Atom's titanic strength, but to no avail. Swiftly he upended the trooper, grabbing him my a thickly armoured leg, and with a wordless shout and eyes glowing with incandescant power, the gleaming superhero swung the trooper bodily at his remaining squad mates, hoping to smash them to pieces!

All Out, Power Attack, let's go for Maximum damage here. Rolled a 23 overall on an attack roll to mess up some robot face!

Horseshoe

[Meanwhile, in Beijing...]

A few beads of sweat formed on Zuo Kang's forehead. He was a bit surprised that Ms. Wu had remembered his name. He stammered a moment and tried to straighten his messy hair.

<"Mr. Hu, the night janitor? I think we had a cup of tea when I was up late grading papers last year. I --">

It was at that moment he discovered that Ms. Wu had accidentally closed his necktie in the door. Zuo struggled, his heels slipped, and he fell into the door, landing inside his classroom flat on his back. The children erupted in hysterical laughter. Ms. Wu shouted loudly enough to silence them. She bent over Zuo Kang, who appeared to be somewhat less than conscious.

<"Mr. Zuo?">

<"I am awake!"> he said, suddenly sitting up and nearly head-butting her. The schoolchildren held their hands over their mouths to stifle their laughter. Ms. Wu shook her head in disappointment.

<"Here,"> she said, handing him a note. Apparently Zuo Kang's embarrassing behavior had extinguished any curiosity she might have had about the note.

<"That's strange..."> observed Zuo Kang. The note only had Hu Wei's name written upon it.

<"My mailbox in the office is right next to yours. I don't know what to make of it. Is it for you?">

<"Ms. Wu, could you possibly mind my classroom for a moment? This seems to be a mistake."

Ms. Wu nodded affirmatively but was clearly annoyed. Zuo Kang darted out of the room. Hu Wei of course was not a janitor, but one of China's most brilliant scientists. Zuo had been used to getting much more subtle (and less cryptic) messages directly from the General. The Yeti was only a reserve member of the Great Ten... but the message might not be from him at all. Last he had heard, the Hu Wei was in the Himalayas. Something about the note seemed quite out of place.

He needed to hurry. Ms. Wu had actually remembered his name and he didn't wish to make a bad impression upon her so soon. He ducked out of the hallway and found an empty alley. Crouching behind a dumpster, he quietly spoke the words...

Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ

...and in an less than an instant, Thundermind burst toward the sky from where Zuo Kang had previously crouched.

I am awake, he thought to himself with a smile. After rising above the haze of Beijing, Thundermind hovered and began to concentrate. He reached across the vast continent of Asia with his mind, searching for that of the brilliant geneticist Hu Wei... or possibly the savage thoughts of The Yeti.

Sakutian

i]Metropolis[/i]
Although he failed to smash either of the troopers to pieces Captain Atom did strike one with enough force to send it sailing across the lobby like an out of ontrol projectile. The flying trooper hit the far wall with enough force to split the decorative stone from the floor to the ceiling. Shaking it's head from side to side and standing up rather unsteadily Atom was certain the machine couldn't take much more punishment. Unfortunately the trooper he'd grabbed moments ago seemed to be finding it's second wind and he was having an increasingly hard time keeping a solid grip on it.

A gentle tone from one of the many elevators at the opposite end of the lobby drew the nearest trooper's attention. It turned to face the unopened elevator and aiming the powerful blaster in it's hand at the doors. Before the doors opened blue sparks began blossoming off of the android's body in a violent pattern. Atom noticed that all three of the functional troopers were shaking and sparking apparently unable to control their bodies.

The elevator opened to reveal three people inside. Two of the riders were men in lab coats, they both had badges with their pictures and names clipped to the pockets of their coats. The third rider was a woman, she was tall and wearing an outfit that probably cost more than the net worth of a small country. The woman marched out of the elevator clutching a small metallic cylinder in her hand and the Lexcorp technicians followed hot on her heels. She approached the looming android turning her head this way and that as she examined it for a moment. Then she pressed her finger to it's forehead and sent it toppling over onto it's back.

"Mr. Luthor wants all of these units sent down to high security station and placed in restraints. He'll be examining them himself later on." As the technicians began to drag the nearest android towards the elevators the woman turned her attention to Atom who was still holding one of the lifeless troopers like a club. "You can let go of the android now Captain Atom. It's harmless."

Beijing

Thundermind felt the oddly troubled mind of Hu Wei several blocks away from the school. His thoughts kept repeating the same thing again and again.

<"Don't lose control. He'll come. Don't lose control. He'll come. Don't lose control. He'll come.">

Hu Wei seemed to be hiding in a construction site that had been shut down several days ago following an accident. The beijin police had been investigating the incident but no evidence of foul play had turned up so far. Perhaps the Yeti knew something the police didn't?

Solar

Atom levelled his gaze at the woman, and let go of the trooper which slammed into the floor with a heavy clank. For a second, he forced himself to relax and turn down the quantum energy that he could feel surging through his body and crackling from his eyes. He felt a flash of irritance, Luthor's machines had endangered innocents and the police, and now he was calmly taking them back to study for himself? Atom didn't like it, and he didn't like Luthor's way of doing business.

Grimacing, Atom supressed the feeling. His mission was to investigate and recover the stolen goods, and for that he needed Luthor's help. This kind of jurisdiction wasn't his area. He couldn't help the thought from sitting at the back of his head though, and he knew he'd remember this for the next time he had a chance to deal with Lexcorp.

"I wouldn't call it harmless. These things were attacking police and civilians, I'd expect a call from the Metropolis Police Department some time soon. But that's not why I'm here. I need to speak to Lex Luthor, about his missing hardware."

Horseshoe

I am here, my friend. Do not worry, I will be with you soon.

Thundermind gazed down. The construction site was over a mile away... but to a man who can transcend the illusion of distance?

In less than a second, he was hovering a few inches above the ground in the middle of a group of bulldozers. He could feel Hu Wei's tortured mind. The man was trying to concentrate very hard, and very desperately. He floated through the equipment, piles of materials, and the just-begun foundations of the building, and finally came upon him. Hu looked unkempt, distressed, and most worrying of all...

"You've lost your amulet!"

Sakutian

Metropolis

The woman placed her arms at her sides and adjusted her stance slightly as she watched Captain Atom. "I'm afraid that Mr. Luthor will be unable to meet with you himself. However he sent me to see that all of your questions are answered."

Beijing

Hu Wei reached into the pocket of his dirty coat and drew out a handful of crushed metal. "<I destroyed it.>"

Thundermind looked down at the shattered remains of the amulet then back into the terrified eyes of Hu Wei. "<Why would you do such a thing? Without the amulet you will be unable to control yourself in your transformed state.">

"<You think I don't know that!>" The man didn't speak in the voice of Hu Wei. he bellowed in a much deeper more bestial voice that slurred the words that it was speaking. Siezing the taller man by the shoulders he lifted him off of the ground with no sign of difficulty. WIth every passing second his nails grew sharper while each of his fingers began to swell. Hu Wei shook his head violently then released Thundermind as moved back out of arms reach. He glanced down at his hands and paled.

"<I'm...I am sorry Thundermind. I do not wish to burden you but is no one else I could turn ask for help.>" His voice had returned to it's normal pitch but it trembled with every word.

Solar

"It's answers I'm here for ma'am. If the United States government is going to recover those stolen goods, we'll need every bit of information you have on the situation to do so." Atom had a funny feeling there was something up with Lexcorp, and he didn't like it one bit. He decided to pay close attention to what he saw and heard here, it might come in handy down the line.

Horseshoe

"It is I who apologize, Hu. You must have been suffering greatly, and Beijing is so full of stressful circumstances. Perhaps we might continue our conversation somewhere more peaceful, and somewhere beyond the reach of our government. I could take us to Nanda Parbat in a very short amount of time."

Diplomacy: 1d20+6 18

Sakutian

Metropolis

The Lexcorp Executive turned to keep an eye on the engineers who were scratching the floor as the dragged the downed androids across it. "I trust your superirors have already provided you with a full briefing on this matter Captain. I'm sure they also informed you that we have been nothing but forthcoming throughout this incident. What more information do you need for Lexcorp?"

Beijing

Thundermind's inner calm seemed to still the beast that was battling to break free from within Hu Wei. "<. Nanda Parbat is gone.>" The anger that had been present in his voice seconds ago had been replaced by a profound sadness.

Horseshoe

Gone? It seemed impossible. His last visit to the Himilayas had only been a short while ago. Thundermind gently placed a hand on Hu Wei's shoulder.

"Please, tell me what has happened."

Sakutian

Beijing

Hu Wei took a deep breath and shut his eyes for a moment before he spoke."<I have been living among the monks in Nanda Parbat for some time now. They were teaching me to attain a deep meditative state to control the Yeti's rage.>" He held out his clawed hands and Thundermind watched as the elongatd nails and swollen flesh returned to normal before his very eyes. A small smile appeared on the man's face, it was an expression Thundermind had rarely seen him wear during their past encounters.

"<I remember returning to my room after evening meditations, but I did not wake there. At dawn I awoke to fin myself laying in the snow just outside of the city. Do not ask me how I came to be there for I do not know. At first I thought Nanda Parbat had rejected me. I turned to take a final glimpse of the temple only to see that it had vanished. Thundermind I searched the ground where that temple stood longer than anyone knows and I found no trace of it. It is as though a great hand reached down from above and swept it from the world.>" Hu Wei knelt down and scooped up some of the dirt at his feet in his own hand illustrating his point.

Solar

Atom walked closer to the executive, looking down on her slightly from his impressive height.

"I was given the full report. I wanted to ask whether anyone at Lexcorp could give me any further information about the thefts, and does Lexcorp have any communication with the Kaznians that I need to know of. To be frank, ma'am, Lexcorp security is supposed to be some of the best in the world, it's why we use it in the military. Which leads me to think that the Kaznians probably had insider help, someone with access to the security systems in those warehouses. And to investigate that possibility I'll need your co-operation."

Sakutian

An irritated expression flashed across the woman's face as she looked up at Atom. "Do I look old enough to be a ma'am to you Captain? My name is Mercy Graves."

Mercy shot a pointed at the nearby technicians. "If we're going to have this discussion I think we'd better do it somewhere more private." She turned and moved towards the elevators forcing Atom to follow her or be left standing in the lobby. After a short elevator ride to one of Lexcorp Tower's uppermost floors and a few minutes of passing through abandoned hallways and offices they passed through a set of double doors bearing Mercy's name on an engraved plate.

The office they entered about the same size as a large three bedroom apartment anywhere in Metropolis. Windows stretching from the floor to ceiling offered a breathtaking view of the city skyline outside. The only furniture in the room consisted of a highbacked office chair and a black desk set on a raised platform at the far end of the office. Two much smaller chairs more ordinary chairs were set in front of the desk. A full bar with several stools stood in the corner.

"Help yourself to a drink if you like." Mercy gestured towards the bar in the corner while settling herself down into the chair behind her desk. Atom noticed that there was nothing occupying the surface of the desk exept a large computer screen.

Horseshoe

"When did you destroy your amulet? Was it before Nanda Parbat vanished, or afterward? I do not doubt or admonish you, friend Hu... but I must know as much as I can."

Solar

The room was impressive, Atom had to admit. The view was as good as any you could get in Metropolis, but Atom resolved not to be distracted by the corporate power the office oozed. He needed to stay professional, and didn't move towards the drinks cabinet, instead standing in front of the desk. He would have sat, but in his experience not many chairs could withstand the weight of his dilusteel form, and he didn't want to to break any more Lexcorp property today.

"I'm one duty Ms Graves, but I appreciate the offer. What I readlly need from you is a list of Lexcorp personnel who would have been able to gain access to the security systems in those warehouses. Like I said, I suspect this was an inside job and that someone in Lexcorp was passing information to the Kaznians. If we can identify them, then we're one step closer to finding out who is ultimate responsible for the theft of some serious military hardware."