@RoflsMazoy
Cas shakes his head and holds up the gun. A small red laser shoots out and a dot appears directly on the man's forehead much like a sniper rifle laser. "I assure you that would make this easier" he gives the barest of head tilts "your options right now consist of: giving me information and the data chip with me letting you live or I take you up on that and I still get the data chip. Which one do you feel like taking me up on? CSA studies the man, curious as to which this one would pick. After all, the man could either cooperate or die and Cas could care less.

@Slendy@Camerch
"May I ask, what makes you think Breaker is good for a leader. Not saying that he isn't, but what makes you think he is? I'm just curious, as it seems a little odd to me putting a spy as our leader. No offence, Breaker." I said. Sean was a bit odd, but putting a spy as our leader, it just seemed... odder than normal. Who knows, I didn't spend much time around Sean anyway. Oh well, we'll see what his answer is.

@jordy0403@Camerch

"I just decided that he would be the best choice being older and maybe having more experience in the field than both of us. I'm not saying he's the perfect candidate but if someone would had to choose a leader for our little group he'd be more of a safer choice." Sean replied looking up at the ceiling. This chick they're doing this mission for better be somewhat attractive or Sean was seriously gonna be off his rocker.

@BlackPanther
The tablet device flickered to life again, and Alto was back on the screen.

"Mr. Brown, we don't actually give a damn about the data," Alto said. Castyel may or may have not put the tablet away but it would still be loud enough for the other man to hear. "What you have there is a copy, the only thing I had to make sure of was that it didn't reach anyone. We'll make sure you can go home to your family Mr. Brown, but you have to give us something worthwhile first."

The man finally crumpled, and let the hard drive fall from his hands. He had never seriously stood a chance in the first place, had he?

"Fine... the corporation I'm working for... was Genesis corp." The man said. Even Castyel would know it, it had once been one of the largest corporations due to their monopoly on technology, but the formation of Ganze corp. dealt a serious blow to their monopoly, Alto Ganze had hundreds of investors within the first month, many of which had previously been investing into Genesis corp.

"I don't know why but I can't establish contact with them now... I was supposed to send the contents of the hard drive but I guess that's all pointless now." He finished.

"Alright, good enough." Alto said, "Castyel, knock him out. Oh, and bring that computer to Ganze corp. too would you?"

@jordy0403@camerch@Slendy
"I for one, consider Mr. Barrak to be the best option as leader," The head of staff said, "You cannot go out as an employee of the Free World Group, you must be like normal civilians. Ms. Sefia's bodyguards are experienced in spotting professionals from a crowd, while Mr. Barrak is experienced in blending in with the crowd."

@RoflsMazoy
Castile looks a bit surprised at the use of his real name. Especially since Alto had previously used his code name. However, he hides his surprise fast and well. With an almost elegant flourish he holsters his gun strides over and hits a nerve in the man's neck that would efficiently knock him out. Then, he grabs the bag and the computer that the man stole opens the shed door and leaves. With minimal effort, he begins parkouring his way to Ganze corp. What he doesn't notice, is a small tear in his silicone flesh on the wrist. Something that normally doesn't happen, but has a chance since the suit are fairly thin.

((Collab Post between Letter Bee and TheUnknowable))

Sanya led him into the administration building. Just inside the lobby there was a man who waved his hand at furniture, moving various pieces. "Hm. That's not right." he said rubbing his chin.

Sanya walked up to the receptionist. "Is Mr. Natsomoto available? I've brought someone to see him. She already had access to the computer system, but for appearance's sake, and to verify that the record was accurate, she asked anyway.

Mikhail waited for the receptionist to respond; he too knew that it was for appearances. He then began to wonder; what was Mr. Natsumoto really like, in person? The CEO seemed to be a relatively kind person...but quite frankly, Mikhail still found enough to disagree with him on. Plus, there is the fact that being nice and kind didn't really make one less of an opponent to the US Government, whom Mikhail was now more loyal to than ever; Tranquility City was an ironic name for a reason.

After the receptionist informed her that, yes, he was in his office, she lead Mikhail to the elevator, and pushed the button for the top floor. It scanned her artificial thumb print to verify that she was authorized to enter his office, and started upwards. When they got to the top floor the doors opened and she stepped out into an open area with a strange device and a man in the middle of it, next to a tool box. Upon closer inspection, Sanya recognized it as a modification of one of the solar power stations he was hoping to launch soon. Problems with the power transfer device had kept it from being launched yet, but Natsumoto believed he could fix the issue with a bit of work.

Natsumoto stood up, wearing high-strength coveralls instead of a suit as one would expect. "Hello, Mr. Peacemaker," he said, holding out his hand. The electronics he was working on necessitated the use of clean gloves, so his hands weren't dirty.

Mikhail smiled and took his hand, before saying:

"Hello, Mr. Natsumoto. Glad to see you hard at work. Anyway, thanks again for keeping your promise," the boy was genuinely grateful.

"Of course, I wouldn't dream of hurting you, or breaking my promise. Tell me, do you know anything about electronics?"

"The barest little. But, basically, devices run using a conductor and small chips made up of conductive material?" the boy then gazed at the station schematic:

"Again, I know little of the practicalities of hard science, but I have a good memory. That seems like a Solar Power Station; the Government has its own blueprints." Mikhail was clearly trying to memorize the schematics, not knowing how they worked, but knowing what they looked like would still be enough to him to relay information to his backers.

"'Sigh...I won't lie anymore, one look at this establishment, and I now see that the United States is technologically outclassed by one corporation. Even our own FTL project pales in comparison to thos. However, I'm not saying I'm suddenly conceding or defecting, just...saying that you might be a valuable ally; a knee-jerk reaction against all corporations is, well, going to fail in the long run." At least, until Viv succeeds in my other plan.

"Project Andromeda? Yes, their FTL drive certainly has advantages over my own hyperdrive design, such as a far more reliable speed and trajectory. The main problem is that, because it relies on the crew, there isn't much room for improvement in the actual device. Also,unmanned flight is impossible.

"As for the Solar Power Station, the US's design has it's flaws as well, such as an inferior cooling system and the fact that it isn't as efficient, but they will be much cheaper to produce, at least using Earth-made materials. Their energy transmission is also inferior, however, I may have a solution for them."

He walked over to a table and picked up a box, then brought it back to where Mikhail was standing. He opened it and inside were two tubes, one end of each red with plus signs on it, and the other end black with minus signs on it. Both tubes bore matching ten digit numbers.

"This is a Quantum Entanglement Power Transfer Link, or QEPTL, "quep-til". Instructions on how to install them are in the box. In short, however, one device is connected the device producing power, the other is connected to the device receiving power. Currently they can only transfer a few mega-watts of power before heating up, which ruins the efficiency and may destroy them, but the Solar Power Stations built by the USA only produce a maximum of 10 megawatts each. Two or three of these devices in each satellite should allow them to transfer the power back to Earth with virtually 100% efficiency. I would like to offer to sale these devices to them, as well as any devices we develop as the result of our examination of your abilities." He closed the box and handed it to Mikhail. "Please, have them examine the devices when you return, as well as those you bought when you arrived."

Mikhail bowed and took the box, saying:

"You are generous, Mr. Natsumoto, very generous." But is that really the case? He hasn't given us anything that would seriously reduce his advantages. Sitting down on a chair, Mikhail then continued:

"I thank you for this, again. This will be of help to our cause. But, I have to ask two things."

"One, why seek to gain our goodwill? We are no longer the most powerful force even in our own soil; far from it - trouble is brewing and we are impotent. Our authority has been reduced solely to a moral and symbolic one, and our remaining military, once the pride of the world, has suffered from defections to corporations, said corporations' technological superiority, and is now hanging by a thread."

"So, I have to ask, why us?"

"As for the second thing, what do you think of GenesisCorp, Alkaev, and the Free World Group?"

"Natsumoto Industries and Lunacorp's purpose has always been to colonize space. While the other corporations seek to take more and more of the wealth of the planet Earth and its people, we see space as the next great frontier, with vast, untapped potential. Not only is it a place where the industrious and the intelligent can become rich, but it is a place where people can be free from the control of those that would seek to dominate them."

"I believe our goals are similar. At the very least, the United States has a contingency plan to leave the Earth and start again on another world should the gigacorps attempt to wipe them out. The others wouldn't consider leaving behind their wealth for the freedom of the stars. They would fight and die, or kill, to maintain whatever scraps they could grab. They don't care about freedom. Many of them don't really care about the money. What they really want is control. The money is a tool to get that control."

Natsumoto took a breath. "I don't want the people to suffer for the greed of these corporations. Sure, I want to open up new trade markets into the United States, but what I want most is peace. If the world were to erupt into violence, millions, perhaps billions, would die. Humanity would be set back by hundreds of years, and we may never reach the stars." He paused and sat down. "Does that answer your question?" He motioned to Sanya and she walked over to a refrigerator, bringing them both Coca Colas, the bottler being a member company of Lunacorp.

Mikhail sipped from the bottle, then spoke:

"A true believer in freedom, I see." A smile. "The problem with freedom is the fact that too much of it enables the many strong to rule over the weak, to the strong's own corruption. The problem with control is that it keeps one strong person ruling over the weak, much the same." Another slight smile.

"Government, it's not perfect, it never is. People can suffer under it, sometimes very badly. But...that's the problem; people think that if it's not perfect, then it must be worthless, or even malicious. But in the end, there is a need for laws and structure and safety nets and roads and buildings and courts and seatbelts and, well, representation. The world, at its natural state, is unfair, and one needs to limit that."

"But liberty is valuable. Liberty is good. It's just that...its name has been tarnished by those corporations you speak of, so I cannot trust it."

He then looked at Mr.Natsumoto.

"But, I can now trust you." He then turned away in guilt.

"I had a plan to start a three-way war between LunaCorp, Alkaev, and the Free World Group. That plan is still in action right now. I am...sorry for betraying your trust." Mikhail sighed, half-expecting Mr. Natsumoto to order him detained and tortured for his betrayal.

He shook in fear.

Mr. Natsumoto sighed. "Thank you for telling me the truth. I need to tell you the truth, now." He waved his hand and a video of Vi's conversation with the CIA agent appeared on the screen. "The building that they were in is owned by one of Lunacorp's real estate subsidiaries. The camera is part of a closed-circuit security system we install in all of our buildings, though the footage is merely cataloged unless needed for an investigation. Sanya managed to find this file, though. The sound is too difficult to make out, but the woman is a known Technopath that I looked into hiring once. I may still hire her. I assume she's the one you hired to put us at each other's throats? It would explain why you suddenly needed her help so badly that you were willing to abandon your surveillance of her."

A sigh.

"I know you promised to not hurt me, but my pride...my pride is gone; I was out-gambitted. A child genius like me...trying and failing to make it in the world of adults. And, yes, I can confirm things; Vi was the person we hired." Soft breathing was heard.

"It seems that all I took to break was a little bit of kindness."

"Don't worry, no harm will come to you. I'll send her a message and a gift, our latest high-end supercomputer." He motioned for Sanya to take care of it. "She's a woman of honor. Either she'll accept it, and stop slandering me, or she'll reject it. You could also call her off, which I'm sure you will if your superiors accept my trade offer." Natsomoto stood up. "So," he said, changing the mood. "Is there anything else you want to do in our city before you leave tomorrow? We still have to wait for the prototype Hope sensor, after all."

"Nothing more," said Mikhail, "except perhaps see Project Centauri..."

"Certainly," Natsumoto said, "Right this way." The three went downstairs and climbed in a waiting car so that they could be taken to the hanger where the massive ship was being built.

Timeskip

A message arrived to Vivenne, telling her that LunaCorp has found out about the plan, and that said plan will change because of that. Instead of slandering LunaCorp, the target of the plan to create a melee-a-trois between three GigaCorps is, instead...Genesis.

@FantasyChic

@BlackPanther
"Mr. Ganze, Cipher Nine has dropped off the devices," The secretary said. "Payment has been forwarded to his account."

"Oh, great. What about Mr. Brown?" Alto said. It wasn't his real name but he didn't really care.

"He has been delivered back to his house, along with an application for Ganze corp." His secretary replied. "All that is left is the resignation for Genesis corp."

"Okay, let's see what I can do..." Alto said.

He booted up the laptop and plugged in the devices. It started up like any normal computer and went straight to the desktop screen. He turned on the router and a unique screen popped up with the webcam activating at the same time. However, all that was on the screen was static. Alto took out his phone and dialed the number for Genesis corp. but the call didn't connect.

"Hmmm, get some of our hackers onto this, get them to try and gain access to Genesis corp." Alto said, "There's definitely something going on here."

@Slendy@RoflsMazoy@Camerch

"Ok, let's get this straight, I don't mind who the leader here is, it could be someone who's been in cryogenic stasis for two hundred and ten years, or no-one here could be the leader. As long as we can get things done. If whoever was leading couldn't get a single hint, then I'd have a problem. No other time would I have a problem." I said, annoyed by how much time we were now wasting on deciding for a leader when, in the end, it'd probably be a joint effort anyway. If there was a leader, though, chances were at some point the other two of us would disobey anyway. That's what happened in every other situation I'd been in practically.

Breaker nodded in agreement. "You're right. We can worry about leadership later. Right now, I think we'd very much like to know where we can find Ms. Allens and how we can identify her." Breaker looked straight at the boss expectantly, waiting for the info so that he and the toher two could start making plans.

Castyel walks leisurely back to the place he calls home. As he heads up the stairs to his apartment a random thought wiggles its way into his mind. A thought of going to the moon. He has never been there, but always wanted to go. Mostly due to a childhood dream. When he finally reaches the inside of his place he closes the door behind him, pauses for a second, then grabs a rather large hiking style bag and begins packing. He grabs three of his flesh suit and his entire make up collection, from there it is normal day to day items and colored contacts. He then changes his clothes so that he is wearing a black t shirt, black jeans, black combat boots, sunglasses, and his normal thin black gloves. Once he is done, he gives a satisfied nod and grabs the rather stuffed bag. This entire time he still has not noticed the small tear near his left wrist exposing a hint of his blue skin.

-----time skip------

What seems like a long while later he manages to make it to the moon. He can't help but pause in a bit of giddy wonder. Then, he heads out to wander the town and grab a room to stay in for a few days. After all, if he can grab some information on the cooperation here while being on a mini vacation all the better for him.

((Collab with FantasyChic and RofizMozoy))



Vivienne outdid herself this time. During the flight back to New York she booted up her laptop to check her messages. "Son of a bitch." she said as she read the latest message. Her job had changed, albeit not drastically. Instead of the original trio, she now had to target Genesis. It wasn't an issue, but it was a pain in the butt.

After she filed through her messages, she loaded up the program Delvin gave her. She needed the proper paperwork for Belinda to have in order to even set foot on Free World territory without being flagged. It would take some hours to finish, luckily she had the time. As the program began working she decided to dress into her disguise. Belinda's attire needed to scream lawyer, but it also had to have that personal touch to it that told everyone who she was. She decided on a simple business suit in a light blue color. She also purchased some emerald earrings, wore a gold cross necklace on her neck, put on her long, manicured nails to match her suit, and some black heels that killed her feet when she walked. She also bought some body enhancement works to further the disguise. She turned her hair from her light brown hair color to full on platinum blonde, changed her eye color to blue and wore heaps of make-up (Belinda was nearing her 40s after all). She added on some stress wrinkles on her forehead and added some plumpness to her body. As she exited her dressing cabin she looked in a mirror. She liked disguises and this one was perfect.

She returned to her laptop and waited for them to land.

---------------------------------------------

As Vivienne walked on to Free World's corporate office she double checked her forms. She had her ID, her business papers, e-mails printed, and, for a final touch, had some pictures of her "kids". She walked through the front door and up to the front desk. "Belinda Savage, lawyer extraordinaire!" she said with a flick of her hand, "I believe I am expected."

A skeptical receptionist took her up.

"Okay, it seems as if you do have an appointment. Please proceed to the elevator, Ms. Sefia should be waiting at the top floor," He said.

"Well, I certainly hope this will be worth it." Sefia said.

She was sort of taking a risk here by letting someone who she was 80% sure was not who she said she was but it might lead to some interesting results. For one she had cleared out some of her schedule for this but to be fair, the only thing she was missing out on was faffing about some more, and she probably would've had plenty of room in her schedule for this if she didn't faff about so much.

It was for things like this, and 'Belinda Savage', that Sefia Allens was always a constant source of grief for her bodyguards. But there was no one else they would rather work under than her.

The elevator opened onto Sefia's penthouse, with her and her sitting ready in a rather fancy chair, flanked by her bodyguards. Believe it or not, Ikea was still the premier super-corporation for furniture that made your leisure area look like an office, even with the still hand-assembly required system they had always used. Going into their stores still threatened more victims being lost in their maze but they had holographic assistance now so that was improved at least.

"Please, take a seat Belinda." She said, motioning for the lady to sit in the chair opposite.

Vivienne nodded and walked over towards the sitting arrangement placed. She whistled in excitement as she did so, "Man you got some swanky digs here." she said in her southern accent. "It must pay really well here. Y'all looking to hire a lawyer?" she gave a big grin, "I kid, I love my job as is. Speaking of which..." Vivienne opened the briefcase she carried with her and took out the e-mail she printed.

The e-mail read as follows

To:Johnson, Johnson, and Vertune
RE: Free Worlds Human Resource Department
Subject: Classified

Hello Sirs,

I am messaging in response to a rumor going around the offices of some leaked information about one of our employees running around our offices. Needless to say, this would be extremely bad for us if this were true. We need to take measures to be sure this isn't the case, or if it is, that it be taken care of.

We would like it if you could come down and meet with one of the heads and hash out what needs to be done, what precautions to take, and basically make sure that everything will continue on as normal.

Should you need any more information, don't hesitate to ask.

As always, thank you for your help.

Belinda handed the paper over to the woman across from her, "My bosses sent me because I am a whiz at corporate dealings, especially human resource cases. I am sure you've heard of this rumor? I wasn't told much about it myself, just that I needed to make sure it wasn't causing you all harm." she gave another smile, "If you don't mind, I'd like to look at one of your company's computers, any one would do. You can even have your big, strapping guards here escort me, if you don't trust me. Lord knows how anyone works these computers nowadays, but I need to do my job, after all."

Outwardly Sefia kept a smile on her face, but inwardly she sighed a little.

"Ms. Savage... What would a lawyer need with a computer specifically? Trying to find evidence of the rumours would most likely breach the personal privacy of my employees, and according to their ethical rights even I can not do that without their written consent." Sefia said, "Breaching ethical rights is a criminal offence, Ms. Savage. What exactly are you hoping to find?"

Vivienne just smiled, "I figured you would say that, which is why I also have a warrant. I believe you know how those work." Vivienne cut the southern charm now and provided a hint of contempt in her voice, "Sign, sealed, and delivered. Unfortunately, given the circumstances, the threat of this is quite severe. I don't need to see a computer, if you want. Instead you can call all your employees to a meeting and I will speak to them all there, question them for hours, probably cost you a lot of overtime. Or..to simplify matters, I can take a peek at one, only one, of your computers for a few minutes, get what I need, and report back to my bosses. I don't like every facet of my job Miss, but I have to do it if I want to support my boys. Do you have children Miss? I'd do anything for them, even if it means doing something I don't much like. So here," she hands over the warrant, signed by Judge Garcia (who, if she were to look up, is a very real judge courtesy of Vivienne's hacking). "As I said, you or your guards can come supervise me while I do my work if you want. It will only take a few minutes and then I'll get out of your hair."

She was prepared of course. This woman talked far too much for her liking but there wasn't much she could do about that. Maybe she'd just cut it short, considering she wasn't going to get much more fun out of this.

"By all means, you may use my personal computer, on a guest account of course." She said, motioning for one of her guards to bring it. "Please be careful however, some of my men have... questionable taste."

"Thank you." As the guards brought the computer over, Vivienne logged into the guest account and started browsing through the various business plans, reports, and so on. She also browsed the e-mails. She opened her briefcase again "Do you mind if I print these e-mails out? This is exactly what I need and then I can go."

"Not at all, though one final question from me." Sefia said, "I must ask, why is it that you needed an audience with me specifically? I am sure the head of staff could have done just as much."

Vivienne looked confused, then laughed "Oh golly, it seems like your receptionist misinterpreted me. I do aplologize. I asked him to run it by you, I didn't need you per se. Oh I am so sorry for that." She prints the e-mails and sticks it in her briefcase and stands up "Well that's all I needed. My bosses should get in touch with you in a day or so. Thank you for seeing me and again, sorry about taking up your time."

"It's been a pleasure Ms. Savage." Sefia said.

-----------------------------------------

Vivienne exited the building with a small smile. She knew, of course she did. You don't run a major corporation without knowing a few tricks. However, Vivienne had a feeling the woman expected something else from her, instead Vivienne got exactly what she wanted with minimal effort on her part. Free World would be expecting a nice little gift soon.

The Republic of Kurdistan was forged out of...certain earlier wars, as well as the Corporate Takeover of most of the Earth. Unrecognized by most Giga-Corps, it was one of the few remaining US allies and clients in the Middle East, now run by Aramco, Alkaev, and other Corporations. Comprising of Northern Syria and Iraq, Southeastern Turkey (the rest of the country was also under Corporate Rule), and northwestern Iran, it is a land where all religions and all races can live in harmony...as long as they can defend themselves with a gun. For the Kurds and their allies are surrounded by Corporate Territory on almost all sides, protected only by mountains, their hardy and brave troops, and finally, by Corporate disinterest.

However, said disinterest might soon end, as Aramco, once Saudi Aramco, was sending out a massive army of Metahumans, Cyborgs, and Robotic Drones to finally crush it, and due to the little resources that the US can spare, they instead hired one man, Thanatos; the perfect soldier. But what can one Normal person do against such numbers and such technological sophistication?

@Shadowman215

After making the necessary purchases to turn her into Belinda, she headed towards the nearest tram to make her way to Atlanta. Another job needed to be done and she wanted to leave the city before she made her way over to Free World. The message was interesting. Two Chinese Dragons. It wasn't a hard message to crack, but it was one that was rarely, if ever, used anymore. They needed two laptops with the necessary tech to prevent themselves from being caught. The clients ranged from a variety of sorts, she expected it was a man who didn't want anyone to know he was looking at porn, or something of that nature. She didn't much care, she was getting paid.

The location wasn't in a public place, thankfully. She held the laptops in a black case, just like the movies. She knew the rules: don't look at anyone, but don't be suspicious. In the movies, the person making the drop was always looking around, wearing dark shades, and appeared to be up to no good. Instead, she wore a red trenchcoat, black skirt, and pumps. Just an average woman about the town.

She got to the location and sat down and dropped the package under the seat. She waited a few more minutes before she got up and went about her way. She got on her phone and sent a reply back, an anime panda giving a thumbs up. Her trademark for a job done.

Kyle took his hotdog and soda and sat down on the bench, just above the package. He'd already left the envelope of money in the second location, behind a trashcan at the Marta Subway Station just down the road. Two hundred thousand in cash. He just hoped some janitor didn't find it first.

After he finished his dog he sipped on his soda and stood up, picking up the package on the way up. He walked once around the block, then to the Subway station to check to see if the envelope was gone. After he saw that it was he boarded the train and headed to the other side of the city to finish the setup before he left to meet his client.

A few hours later he entered the underground gambling establishment with one of the laptops, having moved it to a new bag. After placing a few hundred dollar bet on a large man that was missing an eye, he ordered a scotch at the bar and sat down at an empty table, setting his laptop case on the table. Anyone who looked should assume he'd just come by after work and brought his laptop with him. Ten minutes later, long enough for the one eyed man to have his good eye blackened, his contact sat down. They chatted a little while about the fight that Kyle had just lost one hundred dollars on and Kyle got up to place another bet, leaving the laptop behind.

The people in the club weren't the scrupulous kind, so any that witnessed a different man walking out with the laptop shouldn't say anything about it. Kyle left after a few more rounds, and a hundred and fifty more dollars in losses. Maybe someone thought it weird that the guy didn't say something about his laptop being stolen, but they would know better than to tell the police, or even one of the gigacorps about it.

An hour later, back at his apartment/office, Kyle opened up Dropbox to find one hundred fifty thousand in bitcoin and a file containing data on the whistle blower's former employer. Kyle looked over the info quickly. Sure there were the few everyday scandals, various high-level employees sleeping with other employees, customers, high dollar crack whores, whatever, even a few minor embezzlements like that last employee paying the woman with company funds, but the really interesting stuff was at the end. The Corporation was going to attempt to drill to the Earth's core for geothermal power using methods every reasonable person had rejected a decade ago. In fact, every sensible scientist was certain that it would cause earthquakes, poison waterways, or maybe worse. The dollar signs in their eyes kept them from seeing the truth though.

This was too big. First, he had to get his client out of the Corporation's reach, then he could see about the info going public. He set about getting the man a ticket for the moon, a flight Kyle would also be on for security sake, and when he was done notified thOrn-rOse about the contents of the file using the new laptop and Dropbox. He would have to be extra careful until he got off world. This was the kind of thing Corporations killed people over, especially nosy PIs.

((Collab Post between BlackPanther, TheUnknowable, and Letter Bee))

It was 12 hours before Mikhail would go back to Earth, and he decided to spend his time exploring the city, surrounded by a blue aura of force that marked him as a Powered, and clad in his new armor. He had already reported to Madam President and Ms. Feather, who were not suprised at Mikhail's loss; after all, Mr. Natsumoto was a genius as well, and Mikhail was a bit smug in his own plans...

Still using his 'Hope Sense' to keep away from the more dangerous parts, Mikhail found himself gravitating towards a source of hope that was not too intense, but not too dim, either. That source of hope was Castyel.

Castyel ends up heading to a relatively cheap place to stay for his visit. Having dropped off his things, he seemed to barely notice what is going on around him let alone that he may have someone following him. After all, this is his first trip to the moon and he had been dreaming of this since he was a child....this is a slightly different version of what he had hoped for as a child but at least he was here. His normal rigidness and unemotional barrier seems to have been left behind, so he is actually an approachable human being right now. As he wanders, one hand slips into his jean pocket and a faint smile tugs at his lips.

Kyle had gotten off the ship a day earlier, and watched his client find a decent motel to stay in before he headed into town. He had brought a few thousand LC worth of US currency with him and taken it to the exchange booth as soon as he was certain his client was safe. He could live for well over a year up here on the money he brought if he had to and have a pretty good life, but he was here as a tourist, and had to play the part in case anyone was watching.

After getting a decent room, he left the motel and started walking the streets. There were plenty of places where he'd like to shop, but for now he wanted to get a read on the place. When he first stepped off the ship he was shocked at all of the things that were in this city. The first thing he noticed were all of the Supers using their powers in public. That just didn't happen on Earth. Noticing a young teenager with a blue field around him he decided to do something similar. When in Rome. he thought as he paused and took a few seconds to activate his Aura before continuing.

Mikhail approached Castyel openly, his arms and palms open and relaxed. The other man would know the boy's identity; he had to if he was any good as an information broker. However, whether Mikhail knew the other man's indentity as well...it didn't matter; the Moon was a truce zone. So, he finally said:

"Hello there; you finding this a nice place? My name's Mikhail, Mikhail Peacemaker, and, well, I'm happy to see you." He offered his hand.

Castyel hears someone greet him and that causes his attention to snap to Mikhail. A quick once over and Castyel recalled the kid from previous gatherings of information. All of his relaxed nature seems to disipate as he holds out his own hand. Ironically it is the hand with the blue showing and somehow he still doesn't catch the barest hint of the color. "Castyel, and it is quite an interesting place" His tone seems relatively monotone and unemotional. His sunglasses hiding any emotions that may have even experienced a glimmer of life in his eyes. This is the Cas that many saw, the wall.

Peacemaker, thought Kyle. Now where have I heard that name? Then he remembered. It was that old rich woman's son, the Lucky woman who adopted a kid that could manifest Hope. Didn't they work for the US government, though? Kyle sat down at a table in a Japanese restaurant near where they were talking and ordered a glass of Sake. He let his aura disappear and sipped his drink. People rarely paid attention to the guy drinking alone. He wasn't drowning his sorrows as they expected, though, he was listing to a conversation between a US agent and a man that seem familiar as well.

Mikhail smiled, it seemed that he wasn't the only one whose skills in spying slipped on the Moon.

"You shouldn't have used your real name, you know. Or at least the name we know you by. Also, I think that this place has artificial skin or something - the city is very advanced." He then looked at Castyel.

"It's also a truce zone, so you needn't worry about us fighting each other unless you really want to." A smile.

"And I don't want to fight you, not today. As for fishing information, we already know you're secretly...biased towards the Free World Group. After all, your former superior gave us a lot of insight to your character." Mikhail then held up his hands.

"But, I'm not here to scare you, or fight to intimidate you. Rather, I'm here to tell you to enjoy the place." A thought.

"If my presence makes you refuse to do so, though, I have a deal." He then took out a spare, empty laptop with only the most basic of programs installed in its hardware, mostly video games."

"Beat me in a closed-network game of Civilization VI, and you can have one piece of information from me. If I defeat you, however, I get one piece of information - pertinent information - from you. And no winning via cutting the Goridan Knot; aka messing with the computers themselves."

Castyel's features seem to crack a bit as waves of both anger and shock ripple through him. However, considering who he is he manages to pull the waves back to his normal stone wall self. "I make my own suits. Id rather not have some....stranger make my skin" His tone seems monotone, but with a bit of venom laced through it. Yes he had given away his name, but this is the moon. A place that seemed safe, then again, who is he to think he deserved some sort of vacation. He sighs, something hardly ever heard from him, and listens to Mikhail's offer. A small chuckle escapes. "Considering who you are, and the fact that I dont play video games, I will pass. If you want any information from me you will have to do it the hard way. You will have to get on my good side". Of course, no one has managed that since before the meteor hit. So it would be interesting to see the boy try.

"I have 12 hours," some of Mikhail's old smugness returned. "Why don't we pal around for a bit? I'll show you what this city has to offer."

Castyel raises an eyebrow and shrugs. Maybe his mini vacation has a bit of hope after all. "Sure why not?"

"Thanks!" Mikhail fully let down his metaphorical mask, before taking Castyel's hand and taking him to an amusement park, which had a giant ferris wheel where, when the cart reached the top, he can see space in all its glory. Though, not, of course, after buying some cotton candy. After that would come a trip to a swimming pool and gym, where the two would swim, and Castyel's blue hand would not be remarked at by the inhabitants. Then, a movie, before the two would then go to a bookstore, where Mikhail would buy Castyel anything he wanted.

And, finally, after 6 hours were up, the two would sit on an observation deck on the edge of the city, where they can look on the silver fields of Luna and the bright globe of the Earth. Mikhail would then say:

"You know a secret about myself?" spoke the boy, "I had to be put back together using Powers. No, really, I was so broken by being used as an assassin, by being bought and sold multiple times," he shook, "that my recovery took drugs, Psychic Surgery, and Subjective Time Dilation - they basically had to slow down how I perceive time, making me see hours as days, and counseling me all throughout that time as well as putting me through mental stimulations, in order to get me into working order. I also had to heal myself using my own powers of Hope; that part was what made everything stick."

Castyel feels his walls crumbling quite a bit as the tour pogresses. Of course, there was already quite a bit of cracking just from being in space. The amusement park had him feeling like a kid again and to top it off he actually grinned. Later, at the gym, he got to show off a bit considering part of his abilties was inhuman strength. Swimming was interesting for him since he had to remove his gloves and his sunglasses meaning both his red eyes and his blue hands were exposed, but the others seemed not only to not notice, but also seemed not to care. He actually felt...human for once. To continue on, the movie was good and the small rocket ship key chain he sheepishly recieved made his day.

And now, while he stares into space, Mikhail opens up to him. With something as horrifying as a past where he was put together again like some kind of humpty dumpty spin off. "I'm...sorry that happened to you. If it makes you feel any better, which I doubt, I was....I was a completly different person at one point." Cas looks down now his past flooding him a bit, after all, he wasnt always a cold ice wall. "I became what was expected of me because what else was I? Nothing was ever good enough and...I...I killed so many people for reasons i dont even know. Now to top it off, I'm a blue skinned red eyed freak who gathers information and pretty much free lances" *He rubs his face after removing his sunglasses "I'm sorry...I probably sound...I dont even know...Pretty sure the last time i opened up to someone was before I was a primary color" Cas looks at Mikhail every wall that had built up for so long crumbled quite a bit, leaving him vulnerable. He hadn't expected to actually like the guy as a potential friend, he had actually believed that his walls were secure enough. Probably the moon's fault.

"What matters to me..." Mikhail trailed off, "was that you gave me the time of day. I mean, I may look normal, but I'm more dangerous than you. I've seen the looks from my own allies; most people think me a threat or a potential threat, thinking that I should not have been 'fixed' in the first place. But the President, she's a kind person. So is Ms. Feather and countless others. They gave me a new lease on life, and freedom to do what I want as long as it is within reason and morality."

"And in return, I give them my loyalty." He then stared at Castyel, making eye contact, showing that he wasn't afraid of the man's red eyes.

"You are a good person at heart, a kind person, and you are not a monster. You're just...a person making the best of circumstances that aren't their fault." Mikhail's aura then turned off. He then, slowly and carefully, unclasped the tech-polymer armor he wore, leaving him in his T-Shirt, jeans, and shoes. He then stood, and looked up at Castyel.

"Take me anywhere, any place you want on the Moon or on the Earth; I trust you." It was the truth; Mikhail had purposefully left himself vulnerable. But there was a challenge in that, as well - betray Mikhail's trust, and Castyel will prove himself a monster.

Castyel takes all of that in. Then blinks as Mikhail says that he trusts Cas. "....you....trust me" That was unexpected. If anything he had expected to get hurt. Cas takes a deep breath and exhales finding himself sitting down. "If it is all the same to you....I think id like to sit here for awhile....just...take this all in" Space, the moon, everything in general. With an almost what the heck type moment he removes his flesh suit and pulls it out from under his clothes without removing his clothes, considering how full body pretty much the thing is, this shows just how long he has had to put up with the things. With a faint smile he balls up the skin a bit and tosses it into the trash. "It was torn anyway" Course it was more of a 'if you are going to be vulnerable so will i' type moment, but he won't admit that.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of," said Mikhail. "Just as I have nothing to be ashamed of." He then took a good, long, look at Castyel, before getting up again.

"So, once you're done thinking things out, let's go back to the amusement park! Bumper Cars rock!"

END

Well, thought Kyle, that was anticlimactic. He was hoping to gather a bit of valuable information clandestinely, but shortly after they had sat down the two had left together, apparently on some kind of date judging by the younger one dragging the other one off by the hand. Either that or they were so childish that they were just acting like a child. The age difference was pretty big, even though he wasn't sure of either of their ages, but two hundred years ago people were getting married at the younger one's age, the teen seemed very mature for his age, and he was the one to initiate it, so Kyle wasn't sure if he should interfere or not. Besides, he was here to protect a client, not hunt down a pedophile. If someone wanted to pay him to stop it, he would, but without either of them clearly doing something wrong, he wasn't going to interfere without getting paid.

Stopping here hadn't been a complete waste, though, as the Sake he had been served was excellent. He asked the server where it had come from and was informed that they had bought it from a grocery store nearby where the owner made it himself. He was going to have to pick up a few bottles before going back to Earth. Maybe being a "tourist" wasn't that bad after all.

He got up and, after paying for the drink, walked down the street to see what else there was to do around here.

"We can't get in." The Ganze corp. hacking specialist said.

The room was filled with busily tapping keys, the Ganze corp. digital security department was busy as always.

"Too much security?" The head of the digital security department asked. Their hackers weren't exactly gods or anything, they had limits, but they were still pretty good.

"It's not that." The specialist replied. "I've hacked Genesis corp. before, their security wasn't anything special then. But now they're completely off the grid. There's absolutely nothing coming in or out from any channel, they even cut the electricity coming into their facilities."

The head nodded. That was one way of doing it. Instead of having to set up digital security, just have no possible avenue for an attack to come. Cutting themselves off from the electricity grid was probably also a good move, there was a well known anti-corporate saboteur who had the power to 'sense' everything that happened around an electrical device as long as they could touch the electricity flowing into it. Not much else was known about them though, and it was also unclear where the primary source for that information had come from.

"Have we got anything on Genesis corp.?" The head asked, "We need to make a report to Mr. Ganze."

"Just some stuff we figured out." The specialist said, "They were off the grid some time between when Mr. Brown was deployed and about a week ago when someone complained that they couldn't reach the Genesis corp. phone line. The company website is still active but orders go nowhere and it looks like it got ported into an external server."

"Planned, huh? But they didn't tell Mr. Brown..." The head said. "Maybe whatever their doing is more important than some corporate espionage... Must be something big."

"Well, we can't do any more than that. Is that going to be enough for the report?" The specialist asked.

"Yeah. The boss is definitely going to do something about it." The head replied.

Step one was in play. She didn't know if the woman suspected her, though she probably had. She disguised herself before, but never to one with such power. She admitted, she hadn't expected to be brought to the head of the Free World Organization. Belinda did her part, she would keep her charade up on the web more, in case they continued to search and figure out she was fake, but in time she would fade.

She walked around her apartment in thought. What would be the next step? She needed to find out more information about Genesis. It was the change in plan that was tough. She knew her targets before, but Genesis was relatively new to her. She had heard of them before, but she only knew what she had heard.

She logged into her network and began tracking them. Weird though, it appeared that Genesis was off the grid. She knew what that meant and she was even more curious. She needed a few more tricks up her sleeve. She needed to meet with Delvin again.

((Collab between Letter Bee and TheUnknowable, and perhaps BlackPanther))

Some Time Ago...

In the middle of the movie, Mikhail sent a message to Kyle's phone using the man's public number, saying:

Hey, you, Kyle, was it? Anyway, I want to hire you for a job; meet me in the Spaceport in six more hours.

Castyel raises an eyebrow when he sees Mikhail texting, but doesn't snoop. With a small headshake he settles back into his seat to keep watching the movie.

Kyle's phone beeped, notifying him that he had a text message. He read it. Interesting. Peacemaker wants to talk. Well, I guess I could take on another job, as long as it doesn't interfere with this one. He sent back a responce, saying that he'd be there.

Five hours later

Natsumoto Industry's medical research division awaited the arrival of their newest case study, Mikhail Peacemaker. He would likely be impressed with what they had designed using their study of his powers. The Hope sensor, which was setting on the table in the form of a scanner which mapped out sources based on relative strength, was obvious, but there were two other devices planned, one of which R&D had rushed to get an early prototype of finished.

"'Wow!" said Mikhail as he strapped the second device, a shield generator that was enhanced by his power, onto his arm. "This is amazing!"

"It's just a prototype," said Dr. Kwan. "By incorperating the Hope sensor we were able to able to enhance its effectiveness using the wearer's own Hope. It's only a maximum of a 50% boost currently, as it's an early prototype, but the combination of the two shows great promise.

"Thanks; this is going to be awesome! So, the third device...when is it going to be built?"

"Should take about a month to get the first prototype out. This is unlike any tech we've built before. Creating solid constructs from electricity is somewhat related to the forcefield tech, but it's different enough that we'll have to rework the entire device from the ground up. That shield you're wearing should hit market by then, though it should be much more stable than the one you're wearing.

Mikhail nodded, before saying:

"Thanks for, well, everything. I presume I can leave now? I'm eager to return back to Earth."

"Sure." said Dr. Kwan. Take those two protypes with you if you want, we can always make more and I'm sure your friends in the US government would love to see them. They've already been offered personal shield devices by our sales division, but they didn't think the devices would help the troops enough. Maybe these new shields will be more to their liking."

"Possibly, but I think that they'll only accept them once the diplomacy between our two entities secures both an alliance and guarantees," Mikhail's voice was light. "But, still, I hope more than ever that we can establish both peaceful coexistence and colonization of the stars."

"And with that, me and Castyel say goodbye." And with a wave, Mikhail turned to leave.

Castyel had kept his head down the entire time, he can't help it as he subconciously takes in information and files it away for later. Most likely, he will never use it though. He is snapped out of it when Mikhail says his name and leaves, this causes him to give a quick nod and follow Mikhail out.

---

Mikhail and Castyel then went to meet Kyle at the Spaceport. Once the boy sighted the private investigator, he would approach him less openly than he had done with Cas, but still very relaxed, before saying:

"Glad you decided to hear me out."

"Of course," he said. "Why wouldn't I?" He paused for a few seconds. "You said something about a job?"

"Yeah..." said Mikhail. "For my return to Earth, I'm going to form a team to take down Alkaev's holdings in Azeribaijan; the Baku Oil Fields, specifically. That would help let up the pressure on our Kurdish Clients."

"Sound's like a big job. Normally I'm not a mercenary, more of a bodyguard, but, then again, we're talking about Alkaev."

"Glad you're with me, then," Mikhail said, holding out his hand. "Let's do this."

"I didn't actually say I was with you." Kyle corrected the new guy. "I'm here with a client right now. They dug up some dirt on one of the Corps and I've got to make sure they're safe, at least until the corp has no reason to kill them any more."

Mikhail projected a force field around himself, Kyle, and presumably Castyel, one that would hide them from all surveillance.

"Tell me more. If the Corps are up to something, we can shift the team's focus to stopping that, instead."

"I can't give you details. I don't think you'd turn on me, but if they have an agent in the city, they might find out and become a threat. Shouldn't take more than a few days, maybe a week, to clear up the situation, then I'm all yours."

Of course, Cas is more likely to turn against Kyle then Mikhail is. For now though, he remains quiet...with his sunglasses back in place his emotions are hard to read. After all, Mikhail is the only one he has opened up to. Anyone else will get the unemotional wall that may or may not be watching every move carefully to figure out if what is happening is quality information or dangerous to him.

"So, what do you think, Cas'?" Mikhail asked. "We wait till we return to Earth, or perhaps we can give him a helping hand, locating all agents of his current enemy in the city and busting them? Knowing your skills, I think we'll be done just in time for the ship to depart."

Cas goes into a thinking pose, if he helped that would move things along faster. "Sure, i'll have to get some stuff though since being blue doesn't help one blend in" That was aimed more at Mikhail since it has humor laced through it, to Kyle he nods. At least he never fully unpacks when he goes on any form of trips so after everything was finished it would only take him seconds to be ready to leave.

"I don't know about this Rose."

Delvin paced his apartment while Vivienne sat down on his couch, feet crossed across his coffee table.

"What's the problem? I just need the tech to be able to get into Genesis' databanks and find out what's going on. Shouldn't be hard for you."

Delvin stopped pacing. "It's not that I can't get it, it's that I don't know if I should. I've heard rumors about Genesis, Rose, and not very good rumors either. They are up to something there. This isn't like the other corporations who are dirty due to money laundering or extortion or what have you. This is deeper and more dangerous. In good conscious, I don't know if I could give you this tech."

Vivienne got up and walked towards Delvin's window that overlooked the city, "Well, either I get it from you or I go to someone else." It was a subtle threat, but a threat none the less. She felt icky inside after she said it. She never wanted to threaten her friends, but she needed to do this. This was bigger than her, bigger than her pay. Yeah she wanted to find out about her past, but if some business was taking strides to completely wipe themselves off the web, then they are playing dirty games.

Delvin was, understandably, pissed. "That's where it went, huh? Fine, I'll give it to you. But I don't want it coming down on me when you get busted or worse. Give me 24 hours and it's yours. Now get out."

Vivienne was about to say something, but thought against it. She already pushed his last button, she didn't need to cement it. She hated herself. She walked out of his apartment and he slammed the door behind her. He would understand, she thought to herself, if he doesn't already. She needed this.