Argus

@Searat
Argus nodded along to the director's speech wordlessly, flipping open the file as soon as it was passed to him, "Considering the time of year and the location..." the Djinn thought it over, giving the Director a half-assed salute and stepping aside to join Richard, "We're too deep into civilized lands for wild magic, leylines are worn thin in this part of the world. Not to mention we're near the equinox, things are balanced right now." he offered, considering his knowledge on the topic, "We should head out now, before the problem can get any bigger. Try to figure out what's causing it and how to stop it." the Djinn slipped the folder into his jacket then strolled out of the director's office, "So Rich, we taking my car or yours?"

Rost

@KatherinWinter@Blueflame@LightningMaiden
"As you command, Director. Shall I be serving as the supervisory agent for their training, as well?" the scribe inquired, skimming through the folder, not many details but that wasn't unusual. "I'll have to stop by the R&D wing to retrieve a few pertinent items, and to make sure our new recruits are both carrying a proper field kit of course. Can't have them going out without a mana phial and their sealing cuffs." he stated cheerfully, closing the folder and placing it in one of the seemingly endless pockets of his coat. He looked quickly between Mason and Amaya, "Miss Yashika, Mason, Is it safe to assume neither of you has an agency approved vehicle? If so, I'll gladly offer to take the wheel for the course of this assignment."

@Phantomlink959
"I think we should use your car. Most of the time, I just get whatever the motor pool has to offer." He told the Dijin truthfully. Walking further down the hallway, Richard pondered what would be needed for the mission. He knew from training that undead, for the most part, are vulnerable to physical attacks. Though the same cannot be said if there was a necromancer is involved. If his hunch that there was a necromancer involved was correct, the undead would be more durable and more organized than those raised by mana surges or biohazards. Given that, he would have to rely on his miracles along with the fire magic of Argus to deal with the zombies. A chilling thought ran through his mind. 'What if...what if we're dealing with a lich?' The idea of facing down a necromancer was bad enough, what more one that willingly turned his or herself into an undead and still have access to its wits and spell casting.

"If...if we were to...I dunno...fight against a lich? You think that we can handle it?" The man asks the dijin, hoping that his partner won't pick up the nervousness he carried in his voice.

@Searat
"Back when I was on probation they always sent me out in the same car, easier to keep track of me. I got accustomed to the thing so I decided to keep it when they pulled the tracker off me." Argus explained nonchalantly, continuing his treck towards the agency garage. The Djinn was surprised how nervous Richard was to be dealing with the undead, he expected a god-touched mortal to be more confident with the subject, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves and start panicking, Rich." the redhead assured his partner.

The senior agent reached up, tapping himself on the nose, "Find out what we're dealing with first, form our plan once we know what we need to do. Shouldn't take me long to figure out what kind of zombies it is, they all smell pretty distinctive. After that we can get to the real job." Argus smelled Richard's anxiety well before noticing the nervous edge in his voice, "As far as I know, there's two ways to handle a lich. The first way is to purify or destroy the phylactery. That'll kill the bastard outright. The other way is to pulverize him so bad he takes a couple centuries to reform, and then he's not our problem anymore." The djinn let out a chuckle, patting Richard on the shoulder "It's no secret that I ain't the director's biggest fan, but he's no idiot. He picked us for this job for a reason. Our specific abilities mean nobody else is better equipped than us for this mission. So chin up, weapon loaded, let's roll."

@KatherinWinter @Searat

Gentle 'clicks' echoed down the hall as a little doll walked with grace in her steps. Both hands were folded, clasped politely with no intention to raise them until she reached the Director's office. Excited was an emotion, though it was hard to describe that as what she was feeling at the moment. There were multiple things that circulated her mind, wrapping around her skull in a crown of overwhelming thorns that pricked the skin of her thoughts and enveloped her in... An undefinable state. But nonetheless it didn't seem to matter, she was here now, she was but a wanderer in the midst of something unfamiliar. It was her unyielding request that granted the little doll access into missions, although it kept her distanced from things she wanted to examine.

Essie stepped through the doors and dipped her frame downwards in greeting to those who remained present. Her fingers gently brushed against her curled locks, removing any obstructions that fringed her porcelain features awkwardly. 'My name is,' she began to gesture her introduction, 'E-S-S-I-E. It is a pleasure to meet you.'

She was petite in stature, her porcelain worn with a matted texture and watered stains near her ball joints. Unsurprisingly the little doll was fitted in clothes most suitable for vintage toys; delicate blue frills and all.

@Phantomlink959 @Raining
The man smiled as the anxious feeling dissipated with a pat on his shoulder. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Argus. I just...really hope it doesn't come to that." As the two walked further down into the corridor, conversing among one another, Richard nearly bumped into a rather short figure of a girl as they turned a corner. Narrowly dodging the small girl by a couple inches or so, Richard turns to apologize to her. "Oops. Sorry miss my bad..." The man's apology was cut short as he observed that the girl didn't seem to mind that the man had nearly collided with her. Assuming that the girl saw no foul in the action, the man shrugged and kept walking to the bureau motor pool.

---

Astra quickly turned her head to look upon the new arrival to the director's room. The figure was small and demure, almost appearing too fragile. Almost. Checking her databases, she activated her scrying optics to analyze the doll like individual to see if she was in bureau databanks.

Subject #334-56-i29 ; Known Aliases: "Essie"
Species: UNKNOWN [Ceramic Detected]
Physical Status: UNKNOWN [Pulse not Detected. Contact Medical Personnel Immediately]
Mental Status: Stable

'Data Analysis Complete: Subject #334-56-i29, known as "ESSIE" has no pulse yet mental facilities are active and stabilized. Proposal: Observe Subject #334-56i29, and react to aberrant behaviors accordingly.' The porcelain doll then began communicating to them in sign, affirming Astra that she was indeed the subject known as "Essie". Quickly processing the information, Astra led to the conclusion that "Essie" was awaiting stimuli in response to her. Turning to her, she quicly signed back to the little doll girl. "Hello, I am Field Agent Astra. A golem from the Research and Development Department. Pleasure to meet you!" Astra then offers her a 'smile.'

@Searat@Blueflame@LightningMaiden@Phantomlink959@Raining

"I forgot you were joining us today Essie. Hopefully you won't have as much trouble communicating with them as they seem to have communicating with each other." The director said. Most agents knew some sign. There were many species that didn't speak English. He hoped the fact that the little doll couldn't speak wasn't an issue. He thought they might be able to used her for surveillance if nothing else. "You will be going with Griffin and Astra. I think you might be the most use in their investigation."

Griffin frowned at this. It was bad enough he had to deal with the golem but now they were adding a doll. He would have protested but how could he be? He had failed so badly yesterday that he was lucky to still be in the bureau. The director wasn't trying to insult him just get the job done. Unfortunately that meant working with others. "Can we go? A shapeshifter won't be easy to find. Especially in the business district."

@KatherinWinter@Raining
"That is statistically true. There are approximately six million individuals living in the city, locating one unregistered shapeshifter would be exceedingly difficult." The golem agent affirmed the statement, unaware that her partner was less than happy working with her and the new addition. She returns her attention to the little porcelain doll. "If you have no further questions, we ought to go now. We would brief you on the case along the way." She signed to Essie.

@Searat@KatherinWinter

She noted their faces, their expressions. One in particular showed discontentment due to the fact that he was stuck with both... A golem and a doll. Essie stared at Astra next with slight curiosity behind her glassy eyes; Despite appearing humanoid she acted in a mechanical manner, her gestures were quite off and lacked true emotion behind it, though there were attempts - poor, but attempts nonetheless, and Essie found it slightly amusing if not endearing in a way.

'I will work hard and make sure I won't hinder you in any way. I saw others before I came here, they seemed like they will be working on their jobs too, I hope I get to meet them on a more personal basis soon.' She paused and broke out into the faintest smile. 'You do not have to sign to me, I have very good hearing.'

Essie's hands returned to a clasp in front of herself as she stepped backwards to exit the room. Griffin showed desire in wanting to leave, it wouldn't have been right to prevent him nor anyone else from doing so.

@Searat

"If it does, just step back and let me deal with the fighting. I'm damned near unkillable unless I'm fighting a fire hydrant; immune to most diseases too - the zombifying kind included. One of the many perks of not having a true physical body." he assured the blessed agent, sparing the strange little girl a glance and sniffing the air, "Ceramic and ectoplasm? Odd. Must be something the nerds whipped up." he considered before letting it fade from his mind. Something to worry about after the current job was wrapped. "I need to swing by the armory before we leave base, while we're there you can pick up a few toys if they'll make you feel better. Think they've got some stuff specifically for dealing with undead." the Djinn offered, pausing at the hallway intersection which could take them to either the garage or the armory, "I need to requisition another canister of liquid hydrogen. They think I'm crazy to carry the stuff to begin with, god forbid they let me take more than one at a time. That shit's dangerous."

@Phantomlink959
The dijin had a point. The two walked further in until the dijin told him that they he was going to the armory to requisition some equipment and offered Richard an option to bring along something that would make dealing with zombies much easier. "Yeah, it would be better to be prepared for anything. Also I would agree to them calling you crazy, that's a canister of rocket fuel you'd be bringing on your person." He finally lets out a good natured chuckle. "I'd just ask for a club or a tonfa for discretion sake. Maybe a couple of flasks of holy water and some blessed salt won't hurt."

Q@Searat

"Prepare for the worst and hope for the best, as they say." Argus headed down the corridor towards the armory, not pausing to wait for Richard, "I'm also planning to drink it. After all, worked great for dealing with Mason." the Djinn reminded his partner, pulling the armory door open and waiting for Richard to enter before following the human in. "Hard to go wrong with a good old fashioned police baton. They might even have some enchanted or enhanced ones. Holy water and salt will definitely be handy for this job. So, let's see what they have in stock, shall we?"

@Phantomlink959 "no I haven't, so that would be appreciated." Mason said in response to Rost question. "[color=]what all does a field kit containñ[/color]" he asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice.

(sorry for the wait and the shortness of this post I have been busy settingup a Halloween party)

@Phantomlink959
Richard offers his partner a nod before entering the bureau armory. Though to say that this was an armory was an understatement. Even from the little he saw from the counter window where the spectacled quartermaster looking over ledgers and clipboards, the room was massive. Rows upon rows of weapons lined the walls; ranging from the humble truncheon, to some weapons just recently approved for field use by the R&D division. He could see a number of individuals moving crates and other items on push carts to and fro the area. The quartermaster then finally took notice of the two that had entered the room placing a bookmark on the ledger, the man then carefully puts the ledger aside with the clip boards.

The man then grabs a requisition form and begins to fill it out. "I assume its the usual for you, Argus." He then sets his gaze upon the dijin's partner. "How 'bout you kid? Need anything fancier than your pea shooter there?" Richard is brought back to reality and soon answers the man. "Ah, I would like to get a baton. Specifically something good against undead? Also, I would need a couple flasks of holy water and a bag of blessed salt, Sir." The quartermaster was taken aback from the sudden formality. "Shit, kid. No need for formalities here." The man then lets out a short but hearty laugh. "Gimmie a moment. I'll get what you want in a bit, meanwhile can you both sign the form?"

Richard nods and comes closer to the desk and signs the requisition form to verify that this was for official bureau use and that we are liable to loss, damage, and/or destruction of requisitioned weapons and equipment.

@Searat

Argus

The Djinn followed his partner into the armory, taking a moment to admire the visible arsenal. Though he didn't need nor care for most weapons, Argus had always appreciated the level of ingenuity humans showed in warfare. "Yup, same as usual. Pressurized liquid hydrogen mix, one liter reinforced bottle. Throw in a flask of holy oil while you're at it." he confirmed, striding up to the counter to sign his name on the form. "Did the nerds up in R&D ever got those holy silver bullets working or is that still an in progress thing? We're dealing with some undead so they might be helpful."

"'fraid not Argus, silver doesn't engage the rifling properly and the damned powder keeps burning off whatever blessing they put on the things. I'll let you boys know if they ever get them working."

"Appreciate it chief." he responded courteously, looking up and down the rows of weapons. "You know Rich, one of these days we're gonna end up going against something big enough that even I need to pick up a proper weapon. The thought of that terrifies me, because I never learned how to handle a gun. Probably should at some point."

@Blueflame@lightningmaiden

Rost

"I'm glad you asked, Mason." The scribe reached into his jacket, retrieving a pair of handcuffs etched with arcane symbols, "There's a few parts to a basic field kit. Arguably the most important is these. Sealing cuffs, fairly ordinary handcuffs engraved with runes and imbued with magic to suppress magic. They can sap most magical beings of their inherent powers and prevent spells from being cast, that includes the use of inherent magical abilities. A set of them was used on you in fact, Mason. The standard issue mass-produced sets are slightly different than these, not quite as heavily empowered. It takes time to fully inscribe the enchantments so we settle for enough. I've made significant enhancements to my own personal set of them." Rost returned the cuffs to his jacket and removed a clear plastic box containing four polished, heart-shaped stones and a wooden board, "These are anchoring stones. They can temporarily bind astral beings -ghosts and the like- to the material plane. Primarily used for interrogations though it's not uncommon to use them for capturing fugitive spirits. The binding can be overwhelmed by stronger entities, and a stone cannot be unbound once it has resonated meaning each can be used but once. They are used as a planchette for the Ouija, essentially setting a trap and binding whatever being interacts with the board."

Rost replaced the stones and extracted a hand-held device, "This is a multi-dimensional espectrometer, more commonly called a mana scope. Used for detecting, identifying, and tracking trace magical energy. Not the most reliable of devices but it's the best we can come up with for now. Many of our supernatural agents have their own ways of gathering that information. Argus is especially gifted in doing so, owing to the unique senses his people possess." The senior agent restored his scope and paused to catch his breath, "Most agents have at least one or two pieces of customized kit. If either of you thinks of any specialized equipment you might like, I'll put some of my researchers on the task to see what they can whip up. For now though, you'll get the standard set plus whatever you elect to check out of the armory."

@Phantomlink959@Blueflame

Amaya listened quietly to the entire meeting with the director, Seems like Rost got the deal with the two more 'elemental' type agents, not to mention how unstable both can be if in certain situtions. She listened hearing that she and mason along with Rost would be going after a witch. Well if that witch hates water, a simple bubble fits best for this situtation. Seing as the old myth was witches melt at the touch of water. She followed Rost and Mason out listening to the conversation "I am not all too sure what i would want for extra things for my kit or anything as I dont know how well of a agent i am." She replied "As for you asking if we drive, I know I do not cause i don't know how to."She Replied

Griffin signed. He wasn't sure that this was a goid idea. These two were as literal and unemotional as he was. The only difference was theur skills hopefully they would be able to work will together. He stormed towards the door. He stopped suddenly he stopped and looked at the two women. Could he even technically call them women? Was that better than thinking kf then as objects? Technically they were objects though. Magical objects but still objects. He shove the question to the back of his mind. He could figure that out later. "Do either of you know how to drive?"

@Phantomlink959
"That is a terrifying thought, Argus." The man pauses a moment. "Well...anything that pushes you to a corner really. I still remember the time that I felt most scared." The quartermaster then returns to face the duo and presents them the items they requested atop the counter. "Here you go, gents. A runed ash wood truncheon, two flasks of holy water, a small bag of purified sea salt, A reinforced canister of rocket fuel, finally a flask of holy oil fresh from the bishop himself." The man then takes the form and adds the additional flask of holy oil to the list. Signing the form, he places the form in a clip board and quickly logs the transaction in the ledger. "Happy hunting."

"I suppose we are all set." Richard says while checking if his pouches and other parts of his outfit was secure.

---

@KatherinWinter @Raining
The golem woman stares at Griffin for a scant few seconds as she downloaded files and software from bureau databases and soon she offers the vampire a quick nod. "Yes, Griffin. I am now proficient in driving vehicles ranging from bikes to classified vehicles being investigated by the Research and Development Department that I cannot divulge any information regarding."

@KatherinWinter@Searat

Oh my what a brooding presence Griffin was, he should lighten up - though of course she wouldn't make such a rude comment, she didn't want to get on his bad side. Essie pouted and trailed behind the taller vampire, her ceramic fingertips tapping together idly on the way. She examined things here and there, spared second glances to her team members, then settled back on Griffin's frown once he turned their way.

At the question she shook her head gently, her lips perking up into a smile. She couldn't drive but she was certainly fond of the rides she got out of them, when personnel escorted her to various sites she would sit in the back patiently, tinted windows allowed her to see the shifts in environment. Her hand outstretched in Astra's direction in an attempt to pat her arm, as if she were praising the golem for her skill in driving. 'Miss Golem Astra will be handling the vehicle then, I am sure we will be in capable hands.'

@Searat

"Thanks for hooking me up with the good stuff again, chief." the agent gave a thankful grin and quick thumbs up before picking up his requested gear, placing the canister into a holster on his belt and slipping the flask of holy oil into his jacket, pausing a moment to lift the flask up where Richard could see it, "Fun fact about Djinn, when we burn something that's not normal carbon fuel we pick up the properties of the flame it produces. Not forever, just until whatever we ate finish soaking it up. Never tested if that applies to magic, but can't hurt to give it a try." he explained quickly before stowing the oil. he reached down at tapped two fingers against the cansister, "I suspect that may be why I was able to hurt Mason so easily. I mostly use it for the boost, though." Argus waited for Richard to finishing packing his gear before heading towards the door and continuing, "It's sort of like what would happen to a human if they shot themselves up with PCP-laced adrenaline and chugged a six pack of red bull. Except without the risk of instant death."

@LightningMaiden@Phantomlink959

Rost

"Well, no rush Amaya. Just be sure to let me know if you come up with anything that may be of use to you in the field." the scribe reassured his young colleague, taking on a somewhat paternal tone as his teacher's instinct kicked in, "Most new agents -particularly those with a civilian origin- prefer to maintain the basic kit until they become more accustomed to their work. We can forego a stop at the armory for the time being, I keep a few of the agency's basic weapons in my car in case my pistol proves insufficient." Rost began to walk towards the garage, pausing to wave his partners along, "Speaking of, since neither of you is able I'll be driving. May be a bit of a squeeze but Amaya is slight enough that it shouldn't be a problem."

@Phantomlink959
The rookie agent nods with interest at the fact that was given. Doing one last pat down of his person, the man nods in satisfaction."I agree that who ever did that would die, but you'd be like superman for a second before your heart explodes a second after." The man smirks and shakes his head side to side gently at the comparison made by his partner. Nobody would be that crazy to concoct a stimulant like that, though considering how many possibilities it offered, he wouldn't be surprised if the R&D Division is tempted to make something akin to it for safe field use. "I'm ready when you are."