[hr][h1][i]...[/i][/h1][hr]
[U][I]An abandoned Warehouse. Undisclosed...[/I][/u]


A metal figure went flying through the air, it's "flight" coming to an abrupt end once it hit a wall.

A metallic groan came from the source as the figure picked itself up, and pounded it's metal chest.

"... Okay, freak!" A man shouted as he approached. He was quite the intimidating fellow, he was seven feet tall, and incredibly muscular. His African-American skin was covered in tattoos of some sort. He hopped up into a boxing stance - feet were shoulder width apart, and his fists were face high. He began hopping back and fourth. "You better start talking - [i]who[/i] in the hell called us here?"

The man - more accurately; beast - got up and revealed his shiny golden body. He was incredibly tall - at least nine feet tall - and even more muscular than his opponent. He was quite bestial in appearance; his head was in the shape of a bull with massive horns, and each of his golden fingers were tipped with claws. Which made the whole creature look like a moving statue made out of gold, and other materials. Instead of replying, the beast started glowing red with heat as it opened it's mouth and unleashed a storm of fire.

The aggressor merely groaned. "If you gon' just whip out your supa power...." He put on an evil grin, and cocked his fist back. Rowdy winds surrounded his fist as he laughed, and punched forward, hard as he could, and a tempest wiped through the area and blew the flames back. The Minotaur was surprised - twice as surprised when the man came running up with his fists cocked. One solid blow to the beasts core sent a shockwave through the air, and the boxer followed it up with another blow to the jaw that sent the beast flying backwards through a wall.

The Golden Minotaur tried to pick himself up, but he looked up, and saw the boxer approaching him.

A bout of obnoxious laughter came from the boxer as he pulled his fist back for the death blow.

"... Bison!" A female voice shouted, and the boxer came to a halt. A woman walked onto the scene, average heighted, bright-blue eyes, and a head of blonde hair that accompanied European facial features. She wore a simple blouse, and some jeans. "Does your sadistic streak ever end?"

He looked back, his name finally revealed, "C'mon, [i]Eliza[/i]," He groaned. "Jus' tryna figure out who called us 'ere."

"By immediately picking a fight with the first person you see?" Eliza answered as she walked up. "Instead of just asking."

The golden Minotaur got right back up, and growled at Bison. "... Bastard." He said, his voice was... odd. His voice was deep and menacing, but the metal in his body added many extra vibrations. "I was sent here to meet [i]you[/i] by my boss."

"Boss?" Bison said with a grin on his face. He put his hands on his hips, before he shrugged, cockily saying, "Knew a freak show like ya' self wouldn't be the ringleader."

"... That is correct." A mechanical voice spoke from up above, and Bison and Eliza looked up.

"Well, look who it is..." Bison crossed his arms and bared a toothy grin.

On top of a shipping crate, was a being that wasn't seen for ages... By [i]RAVEN nor DOVE[/i]. Incredibly tall, and not even fitting the description of a human, was a mechanical being that wore white armor of ceramic. [i]The Mannequin.[/i] The third in command of the Changeling Unit - since their "disbandment," the Mannequin has been making... upgrades. Replacing his inferior skinny grey frame with a bulkier, white, ceramic shell, the Mannequin's new body was shaped less like an artist mannequin, and a bit more like a human with it's skin flayed off. It's limbs were still eerily long - it's limbs were triple jointed - and it's fingers were long (With at least five joints on each finger). The Mannequin's feet appear to be exactly like a human's - except it's feet had blades on the ends. The new armor was separated into several "segments" all over it's body that appeared like lines. Underneath this ceramic armor was a layer of a black material that looked like wires, weaved to look like a bloodstream.

The most notable change to the Mannequin's frame was the replacement of it's mask. Instead a vaguely humanoid mask with a single human eye, the Mannequin swapped it out with a featureless mask. That was essentially just a round dome.

Next to the Mannequin... was an Asian man wearing a long labcoat. He merely stood at the Mannequin's side.

"The Mannequin... Heh... Thought you were dead." Bison said. "... Unfortunately, you're still alive an' kickin'." Bison said in a thick accent. "[i]Please[/i] tell me that the rest of ya' Changeling freaks didn't come back either."

"No..." The Mannequin said in a robotic voice.

"Phew - Ya' had me worried for a moment."

Eliza was through with letting Bison talk, and crossed her arms, and asked, "Well, you're alive. That's [i]great.[/i] Why the hell have you called us here?"

The Mannequin's head turned towards Eliza - the rest of it's body was stationary like a statue.

"Look at the two of you...." The Mannequin started off with a robotic monotone, that was like a whisper. "... Both of you... both of you used to be mighty members of the REAPER organization - reduced to working as hired muscle for [i]what?[/i] An Eco-Terrorist organization... Neither of you fit bill of [i]Eco-Natura.[/i]"

Bison loudly laughed, as he took a step forward and pointed at Mannequin. "You the [i]last[/i] person who got the rights to be sayin' shit like that!" He kept laughing like a fool.

Before the brute put on a toothy grin and shrugged - keeping that position. "And, eh; the REAPER business just wasn't workin' out," He started off. "When Doc Cross, Ignatius, Eliza, and the other big shots jumped ship, anyone with a brain left the Hands to fight for itself. Once RAVEN started bringing down tha' hammer, the people without a brain - that weren't fuckin', y'know, busted - left too!"

Eliza looked at him, and sighed in indignant agreement.

"Us two? We were in the former group - because how the hell we gonna get that paper without a boss?" Bison rhetorically asked the Mannequin. "Problem came when you realized that there ain't a lot of job opportunities for two REAPERS - so, to survive, we had'ta join a bigger pack."

He started walking forward towards the crates the Mannequin was on, getting ready to punch it. "We could'a joined the Allegiance - but revolution doesn't get you a paycheck, [i]buddy[/i]... Eco-Natura on the other hand... yeah, I don't know who the hell be backing these loons."

Eliza took a few steps forward, and put her hands on her hips. "You should already have figured out that we have no interest in saving trees."

"... Perfect." The Mannequin said, as he hopped up into the air, and landed on ground level with Bison and Eliza. Earning a look from both of them. His associate turned into a purple smoke, and traveled alongside the Mannequin, before perfectly reforming.

The Mannequin stood up - he was over ten feet tall, but he always was hunched forward a bit, so it made him look shorter - and looked Bison in the face. "Neither of you care for the Eco-Natura cause... How about you work with me to build up something [i]greater?[/i] Greater than the foolish Hands, or Eco-Natura's terrorism...."

"If you want us to join your new Changeling Unit - then forget it!" Bison hissed, and pushed the Mannequin away. The machine took a few steps backward, stumbling over like he was falling - before abruptly stopping, and regaining his balance. He faced Bison.

"No..." The Mannequin said. "... The Changeling Unit was formed by a fool to pursue his dreams..." The Mannequin paused dramatically. "... As you can see, I am no fool."

"So, what [i]do[/i] you want...?" Eliza asked, putting a few fingers on her cheek.

If the Mannequin could, he would be grinning right now.

"If you're willing to enter this partnership; I'll explain everything you need to know..."