DClassified

Young Justice

_{Interaction | Israel & Jeremia
Location | Meta Youth Center; Basketball Court}

---

Thump…thump…thump…
A basketball bounced across the court, chased by one of the younger kids of the youth center. The boy eventually caught it and ran to his mentor, handing him the ball. Jeremia grabbed and immediately tossed it back onto the court. He was trying to tire this kid out. Israel was due for a nap.

“Tired yet Israel?” Jeremia called out to the curly haired boy. He stretched and groaned, resting his hands behind his head. At this rate he would be tired before this crazy tornado of a kid.

Ja, going by Ezekiel for the sake of this mission, had entered the court area. He had remembered the prompt for what the kidnappers were searching for; young and fit meta boys. Viktor had already gone to the gym, Zach to the pool, so Ja figured that this was a solid place to look for clues as well. As it were, there were a couple of guys playing a halfcourt game on one end and one guy on the other, seemingly keeping watch over another younger kid.

Basketball, while he didn’t play often in Buredunia, was something popular there as many players ended up coming to America to play professionally. With what he knew about the sport in mind, he wouldn’t try talking to the ones playing down the other end. Picking up a ball from one of the racks on the sidelines, Ja dribbled it as he walked, imitating what he’d seen on TV. Observing the older of the two, he seemed somewhat tuckered out.

Shifting a few braids from his face, Ja smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. When he got close enough to speak, a voice that wasn’t his own came out:

”Get into any good games?”

Jeremia’s brows shot up in surprise. This guy sounded exactly like Gerald from Hey Arnold. If that was his normal speaking voice that was awesome!

“Yo man can you do that again?”

He broke into a smile, though Israel wasn’t catching on. He didn’t grow up with the cartoon but Jeremia was having a serious fanboy moment. “You sound exactly like Gerald from Hey Arnold.”

“You can join us for a game if you can record some messages for my cousins.”
Jeremia had a cheeky look on his face. Israel was finally catching up to the conversation. He held the basketball under his arm, trying to look all grown up. The boy was clearly struggling to keep the ball from sliding down.

“So your superpower makes you sound like some cartoon character……that’s dumb.”

“Well, I guess it does seem a little dumb at first… Ja began, looking down at the younger boy with a smile. His breathing shifted just a little, and soon, the kid’s own voice came out, perfectly mimicked. ”It has its uses.”

”Name’s Ezekiel, but you can call me Eezy. Who’re you guys?

“Ahh!!!” Israel yelped and hid behind Jeremia, freaked out by the sound of his own voice coming from someone else.

Jeremia laughed and patted Israel's curls, letting him know things were okay.
“I’m Jeremia and this chicken behind me is Israel, nice to meet you Eezy.”

He covered the younger boy's ears with his hands and looked at Eezy with a more serious look in his eyes.

“It’s not a good idea to hang out around by yourself. Lately guys like you and me have been disappearing left and right. Stay with me and Israel for a bit.”

Eezy’s expression shifted to one of mild concern, and his voice returned to Gerald’s. “Really…? Thanks for the heads up…” He eyed little Israel a moment, deciding to speak up again briefly before little ears were uncovered.

“Did they have anything in common besides basketball?”

Code Vein (Closed)

_{Location | The Ruined City
Time | February 23^rd - Evening
Interaction | Akaia @Exit(Directly), Dallas @Pantothenic(Indirectly)}

---

As he always did, even when unprompted, Ajax kept on the lookout so the others could take the rest time. He wasn’t a fool to let his guard down just because they were now away from the Tsar Bomba. Surprises always lurked around every corner, and would only be unexpected if one weren’t prepared…Though too, this also gave him an opportunity to see if he noticed anything familiar. Anything that would click with the memories he yearned for or Poppy already had.

For those reasons, he decided to only briefly glance through the window of the music store but he didn’t stick there long. Instead, he walked around outside with his hands in his pockets and an ear to the wind. Whilst peeking through alleys full of garbage and debris, Aj didn’t find much of particular use. Though, adjacent from and across the cracked tarmac bordering the music store, he noticed something.

A glass window, covered partially in what he could only describe as colored dirt? He looked past the window towards the inside. It was darker inside, but he cupped his hands around his eyes for them to adjust. The roof of the middle of the room had caved in, making it hard to tell what specifically this room was used for at first glance. Still, he could make out, despite how dirty and desaturated it was, that the room was once colorful, with what were likely light blue walls. He could see the remains of a familiar yet warped plastic object that surely once stood on four metal legs.

It was the last thing that he noticed though, that made his leer linger. A stuffed animal of some sort, with a long face with a white line going down the middle of it, pointed ears at the joint of the head and neck. It had a black, cylindrical sort of body. It had three stumpy protrusions, but Ajax knew that there were supposed to be four. He recognized, despite laying on its side, that it was meant to have two bead-like eyes. That the few long bits of thread at the end were once a tail.

Ajax knew this because she had one, though not quite the same as this. Hers was light, like sand in color, with patches of copper mixed throughout. With her memory, the little thing always followed whether it be in the room or in her hand. This was not hers…but…

”Actually, I need a bathroom break. I’ll be right back.”

Catching that particular piece of dialogue from Dallas pulled Ajax back into the moment. Lowering his hands from his eyes, his head turned to catch the particular revenant walking off to handle his business. Although there was nothing specifically to be concerned about, the last time someone needed a bathroom break, they used it as cover to secretly investigate something. While Ajax wouldn’t hold those suspicions to everyone’s cases because of Lysandra, he decided to wordlessly tag along. At the very least as backup, should he get jumped.

Before he did though, Ajax looked back again at the glass window. He hadn’t necessarily paid it much attention before but there was a certain quality to the obscurity lining the bottom of the window…faded and dried blue paint? With it, there was a pattern of sorts…a handprint? Many small handprints next to each other, some overlapping— like a child might do. Then towards the top of the window, a larger, more obviously yellow handprint…

The sun over water…

---

---

Having traversed by rooftop again, Ajax kept a careful ear to Dallas footsteps ahead to follow without being initially intrusive. He was also quiet though too, so as not to be audible either. In his head, Ajax debated if the distance Dallas chose was necessary. A reasonable line of thinking could lead to the idea of not wanting his piss stream to be heard, but a counter thought: Did that even matter, given their current circumstances? Separating from the larger group was often how intelligent hunters picked off their prey; the ignorant, ill, and injured.

That was when Ajax heard a second set of footsteps as Dallas seemed to be finishing up. Peering over the building’s rooftop lip like a gargoyle, the Sword watched the interaction between the two. The veteran wasn’t convinced that it was a Lost that approached Dallas, its body language wasn’t aggressive. However, the sudden flash barrier to prevent his comrade from leaving the alley prompted Ajax to loose a stake from its place in his coat. He crept along the shadows of the structure to get a better angle without letting himself be detected.

Variables rolled in his mind. Could this have been an infernal after all? It seemed a little more intelligent and deliberate than most typically were. When Dallas got boxed in, the Sword had slowly cocked back his arm to headshot the interloper with the stake. What stopped him, was the fact that it spoke in response to Dallas’ question. Not only that, it— she knew his name.

This got more interesting, the longer she spoke. So this ‘attack’ was a ploy? There was fear and sorrow in the tone that the hooded revenant spoke with, as well as a form of urgency. She spoke of others that would become suspicious of her presence here, peaceably speaking to Dallas. Ajax certainly held his own suspicions, one of which, was that she wasn’t talking about the Commune. If she wasn’t, it meant that there was another group that must’ve been lurking about, possibly monitoring them. His eyes narrowed upon the object given the burly man, small and globular. Could that have been…?

Whoever this was had some kind of personal connection to Dallas. He had only been part of the Commune for a month, but what he had been doing before then…could be dealt with later. Ajax watched on as she walked away and around a corner out of sight. For now, as far as Ajax was concerned, his squad needed to vacate the city.

Whoever this hidden group was didn’t sound friendly, and the fact that this girl waited until Dallas was alone to ‘attack’ only cemented such. Thus, once Dallas was clear to head back, Ajax followed suit.

---

Soon after Poppy’s declaration, a door forcefully opened a little ways off. From the building he had been looking into earlier, Ajax exited wiping off an object he was holding. If one caught a glimpse of it before it went into a pocket, they’d see small, black stuffed horse with a white mane.

As he was walking, he stopped by the bench where Akaia and Cerise had been resting. Wordlessly, he waved to get Kaia’s attention. Taking that same hand, he extended it to the air away from his head, yet pinching the fingers towards his face. Taking the same hand again, he kept the pinched fingers and pressed them on his masked chin then cheek.

Moving on, he caught Desmond’s words, the Sword honestly couldn’t agree more. Less so about the hike, but more so about the fact that with the van, they’d be a bit less easy to follow.

Ajax eyed Dallas briefly as they both approached the group from opposite directions. Knowing what he did now, the Sword would bring this up to Erik before confronting Dallas straight up. With the way that he reacted in the alley, Ajax had convinced himself for now that he wasn’t directly involved with the mystery group anymore. That wasn’t to say that his presence though, was completely harmless, given that they surely knew Dallas was with the Commune now. Ajax didn’t like any of it.

However, if the Commune had to look over its shoulder, he’d prefer them to have home-field advantage on any pursuers.

Code Vein (Closed)

_{Location | The Ruined City
Time | February 23^rd - Evening
Interaction | V-C-A-L Squad; Lysandra (with @Force and Fury)}

---

Ajax kept on his way in the lead of the pack, senses on high alert. As their squad progressed further into the arid skeleton of the city, he kept his eyes moving. On the low, given that Cerise had found one of her memory fragments here, Ajax hoped that perhaps he could find one as well…It had been quite some time since the last one, and that agitated the hunter in the back of his mind. However, he was more than disciplined enough to keep to the course they were on; the safety of his squad depended on that.

As far as observation went, in the direction they were headed, the Sword took note of the growing amount of Grimes. Although the slime creatures didn’t impede their path, nor present much of a threat themselves, it could be an omen of more Lost ahead. Since their last encounter hadn’t exactly gone well, he was more on guard, as there were much less of them now and Vincent was still injured. That was when he felt it, and he stopped in place. He raised his hand as he did, indicating to the squad to pause.

Rumbling beneath his feet, barely audible to even his hearing, yet without pattern. Definitely not an earthquake, or footsteps…yet there was an eerie familiarity to it. As memory of Cerberus served him with regards to various Lost, as well as the implication made by Lysandra earlier…His head turned to her as she broke the news to their group.

Before he could make a call, Vincent had already broken into a sprint for the other group; running through walls in an already crumbling city. Good heart, boneheaded decisions. Regardless, as each member sprung into action in their own way, Ajax stuck close to Lysandra who had gone into her ‘drone zone’. The last thing they needed was for her to just be out in the open alone and somewhat unaware of her surroundings.

Lys was almost wholly immersed in a world of pure videogame combat, darting and dodging tentacles with Sky Princess as Sage hovered above her keeping a proximity alert. A notice flashed through her heads-up display as Poppy approached and the group's lone human gave a brief, blind thumbs-up.

With her clearly still being unstable on the ground at least, the Sword had a hand ready to catch the Sidhe pixie. Though with her determined task laid out to them, Ajax nodded as she flew off. Ajax recognized that they needed to move; he needed to be there for the distraction to be more effective.

”Alright Legs, we need to hit the ground runnin’.” He called before throwing an arm beneath and between her wheeled chair to lift it with one arm.

Lys died a little bit inside at the quip, but it was more or less a routine thing at this point. It was weird being around people and hearing them, but not feeling like she was around them. With the headset on, she was Sky Princess. Presently, a sharpened tendril came shooting out for Vincent and she blunted it with a rocket strike. It was enough to make the thing recoil, but Princess’ regular payload wasn’t having much of an impact except when it struck things like those ‘eyes’. Wasting my fucking ammo, dude. Goddammit! There was a brief pause in the action and she responded to Ajax, pursing her lips in unamused duckface. ”Alright, arms, let’s roll. Pops is right: we need to distract it. That means drawing Big Ugly off.”

Clearly not much fazed by how little she weighed, even with the chair, Ajax started on the rush down the street. His coat straightened and flapped behind him as he raced towards the increasing sounds of carnage. ”Once we’re close enough, I’m going to go in to help with the diversion directly.”

“Roger that, chief, and thanks for the lift.”

The crashing of debris and gunfire now much clearer in earshot, Ajax put Lys down, just out of sight. ”Alright. Keep an eye out, as soon as they are out of there, start rolling out. Once you have a good head start, signal to us with the drone and we’ll follow after you.”

Lys flicked Princess’ controls and the drone momentarily buzzed up outside of the Tsar Bomba’s reach. She flipped her headset up and glanced Ajax’s way. “Don’t have to tell me twice.” She paused for a moment, extricating her breath mask from a backpack pocket. “And watch out for that powder cloud thing it does. That shit messes with your eyes.” She slipped it over her nose and mouth and pulled the headset down over her eyes. “Stay safe out there. I’ve got your back.”

On that note, Ajax ducked out of the corner and sped for the action. Time was of the essence, but he would be very deliberate. Although to catch its attention, it’d need to take damage, the Sword would be wary of going for the kill. It would not be worth the risk of a final explosion, especially with his allies all so close. Thus when he arrived on the scene, he took notice of the direction where Poppy and Cerise were firing.

Calculating his route, he lowered into a crouch start with one hand on the ground. When the other unsheathed his blade, his body surely became a blur to the eye as he sprinted full force for the Tsar Bomba. He timed a jump as a tentacle was coming down, using a two-handed slicing motion to diagonally dismember that limb. Ignoring a possible roar of pain, the Sword nimbly flipped between retaliating spikes that protruded to impale him. With one quick strike in, he got out of range of the Bomba’s body. Using a perpendicular building as a springboard to repeat the process, this time he jumped nearer to the head.

Hopefully the ones inside got what they needed, because now all of them were on a dangerous time table…

Legion of Heroes

Possible super martial artist inbound.

Young Justice

_{Interaction | The Team; Generally
Location | HQ; Briefing Room}

---

Much weight hung on the shoulders of Young Justice in the days that followed from the mission to Atlantis. Some walked with their heads lower, others simply kept to themselves. As it seemed, for a lot of them, this mission was their first time dealing with internal turmoil within the team. The same couldn’t be said for the animal boy. Even with all of the aftermath: Kassy getting locked up briefly, Zachy nursing a wound, Daffy-Knee having to go out of town, then finally Talon resigning from the team.

Those things made him sad inside, but it didn’t last very long. There were many times on his former BSF squad that something bad happened. There were many days that he personally suffered back then. However, it was with those, that he was also taught to recognize that sulking in the pain did nothing for anyone; not even yourself.

Thus, Ja had given himself the task of looking after the others in the days leading up to this one. A spot of sunshine came with the reemergence of Casper, which personally put some of Ja’s thoughts about his disappearance at ease. Ultimately, though, he ended up spending most of his time with Kassy. She seemed to be going through a lot more internal struggle than even Vicky.

However, as should be expected, their task force had to continue operating, so Kilamanjaro was ready for action upon going into the briefing. This time, they were met with a real life alien; Martian Manhunter. He was even green and bald, but he anything but small. Regardless of how cool he looked, Ja kept himself from goofing or asking questions of the Justice Leaguer.

Moreover the information brought made Ja’s posture tense some. The phrase “Meta-Human Youth Center”, struck a chord with him. That a place where kids like him could go willingly, existed in America. In Buredunia, the “Meta-Human Youth Center” was the training grounds and camps; where metas were forged into weapons through fire and brimstone…That whoever these Kobra people were would take advantage of that place to steal people for their own purposes too, gave familiar light to Ja’s resolve to stop them.

Though, the mission with the personal stake wasn’t enough to rattle him on its own. No, what rattled Ja was what he didn’t see. While Martian Man had been talking, he couldn’t help but let his eyes wander around the room. His senses indicated pulses of the Green in this very room, but not just any at random. It was familiar…Looking about, he could only see his teammates…most of them, at least. When Martian Man had mentioned having to show them something with a somewhat downcast inflection in his otherwise monotone speech pattern, Ja’s attention returned.

It was when he pulled down the case, Ja felt a lump in his throat. The back of his eyes stung, but no tears came out of them. The face that held such strength in it days ago, frozen in a state of unconsciousness. A highly bewildering set of motions radiated through his body at once. His mind and emotions felt horrible that something happened to one of his most cared for friends that left her like this. Yet, with her closer, Ja felt the pulse of the Green from earlier in a much stronger form. His eyes and brain told him that she wasn’t right, that something was wrong, but his senses through the Red whispered otherwise.

The confusion so intertwined with concern made parts of his mane stand on end, as he was momentarily stunned. It was the approaching footsteps of someone else approaching that made him stir back into the moment and he turned his head to see Kassandra. Seeing her finally come out of her room for something other than food inclined him to smile briefly at her in encouragement.

However, Ja expression defaulted to one more serious as his teammates offered their input; finding himself agreeing with Viktor. Hex, despite his powers and even age, he wasn’t quite the type to blend in with the place. On top of being a new face, his appearance was rather distinctive and memorable. Those factors would draw more eyes than theirs and in turn make him a difficult target. If these people operated anything like BSF and this situation mishandled, they could quickly put together that they’d been made…

Regardless, Ja would do his utmost to stop this.

For the sake of his fallen friends whose memories were carved into his skin…

Young Justice

_{Interaction | Kassandra AKA
@Mistress Dizzy
Location | The Conference}

---

Like a Starfish, the animal boy stuck to the wall with his limbs splayed out, relaxing some. With the deluge forces handled and the remnants of the Red’s rage satiated, he felt much calmer inside, like weight had been dropped. That wasn’t to say that the young lionfish wasn’t alert, as he was still on the clock after all. Thus when everything was reassembled and the session resumed, Ja was stationed in a corner of the room to watch Dr. Bingley.

That, however, was when he started to talk about this strange unnatural ‘cure’ that he created. It did not sit well how calm this man was in the moment, considering an attack from the deluge came, seemingly synonymously with his arrival. Perhaps he felt safe, given the team’s ability to repel those forces.

That, though, was when Ja took particular notice of the briefcase. The strange case that the man carried held many sorts of protections on it. Yet, when he opened it, that feeling of unsettlement sank deeper. This ‘bad medicine’ wasn’t just some idea that the man had dreamed up, but one that he had already achieved. Inside the case was not only one, but many small containers carrying the compound inside. After the reveal of which, he went on to tell the atlantean scientists that they could start their tests.

Ja’s expression scrunched up at the implications. The man was planning to preemptively alter genes in children that weren’t even born…That didn’t seem right, no matter what it was. While he supposed that his opinion on the matter was irrelevant, he heard Kassy’s voice. Ja’s body slowly peeled from the wall it was clung to when the conversation started to escalate. The lionfish understood that Mirage used magic, like Zachy, but the tattoo on the back of her neck must have meant something. Ja understood and ultimately agreed with her point of view that this thing was a curse of human creation…

However, Ja looked around where perhaps Kassy had not. How ready the Atlanteans seemed to be to try out this experimental drug on their own people. Was this why the mission was so quiet? The Atlantean King had to know explicitly what was happening here…Did he perhaps agree with what Dr. Bingley was proposing?

Those questions became irrelevant though when Ja heard the things that Dr. Bingley had called her. How could he go from praising Young Justice for saving his life earlier, Kassy included, to this? Part of him would have asked what had gotten into the nice doctor that asked him questions on the submarine…but perhaps this was what he was all along.

His hair prickled outward as the tides turned, and his senses told him that bad was coming. The guards lurked closer towards where she and Bingley were, and Ja protectively drifted nearer. What were they doing? Kassy had done nothing— Then, instantly, chaos had exploded into the room with Kassandra’s rage filled voice. Ja’s own senses began to blur and fight for clearance as illusions filled the room.

With the rapidly rushing water against the sensitive whiskers in his mane, Ja could at the very least tell that the people rushing were real. In which case, he had to move to just barely avoid panicking Atlanteans crashing into him. Even his own teammates struggled with swimming, trying to get a hold on the situation.

The young man felt his heart race in his chest when Rain went for simply try to stop Kassy by knocking her out. Hurting one of their own shouldn’t have been the way to stop this, and Aleena, thankfully, had stopped him before he could do so. Nymph had asked what to do, and Metamorph himself wasn’t sure at first.

The words of Dr. Bingley earlier had simply replayed in Ja’s mind; “A dangerous beast” striking him personally. The jungle boy had been called that himself by BSF, as well as the people that he was sent to hunt. That one lurked within him…one that had hurt and killed people in the past…one that escaped him earlier today…one that Kassy had saved him from becoming again…

Maybe the answer wasn’t to fight her, or destroy the vials like Aleena had suggested. Maybe doing those things would only make what Bingley said right. Maybe the answer was to save her from her rage, like she did for him. Maybe it was Ja’s turn to let her know that everything was alright; that this is not what any of them wanted…

The boy didn’t realize exactly when his vision had gone dark, but when he blinked his vision was bright with color. Messy and polarized color, yet a kind he could make sense of, as he could see the figures of everyone and everything in the room with little impedance. Regardless, he saw Kassy amidst the figures and swam to her directly. The way his arms and legs pushed him forward in the manner an octopus might.

As he got nearer, he thought about the voice he heard in his mind…the one that whispered to his rage. He could see the waves of intense energy radiated from Kassy from the brighter colors that radiated from her. Yet, at the center of it all, he could see the face of a friend had been there for them in the past. A friend that was upset and lost. Kilamanjaro gently grabbed the girl by her shoulders.

”Kassy! Don’t believe that man! You are not a monster! You are my friend! But the only way that everyone else will see is if you stop this! Please, come back to us!!”

Code Vein (Closed)

_{Location | The Ruined City
Time | Febuary 23^rd - Morning
Interaction | Notes Various Rear Guard Squadmates; Lysandra @Force and Fury}

---

The Sword heard them before they showed. Before they spilled out onto the street that the team was on. The desperation in their run, footsteps like raindrops on aged and cracking tarmac. He felt the sudden rise in his system, his heart. If his mask were off, one could probably see something of an uncomfortable smile on Ajax’s face. Fresh meat. Was what the voice in the back of his head whispered to him. Though the problem lied in the question that came with it; did it mean the Lost approaching…or his teammates?

Regardless of the mental tug of war, Ajax pulled his trusty jian from its place. The mission was of prime importance, and the plan was key to success. That made him eye their position in relation to the front team. The gap between them was perfectly split by a parking deck’s entrance, and right on cue, some Lost out like a dam had cracked. Taking into account the types of Lost they were getting, the Sword’s eyes narrowed. ”Remember the plan! Push forward to keep ranks!”

At least, those were his thoughts expressed in a command initially. Lysandra had predicted a herd to be hitting this area previously, but it was meant to be in a half-hour. Clearly, she may not have accounted for the lurking ones. The ones that could smell fresh humans— something they surely hadn’t had in quite a while. Ajax growled under his breath, as the developing mist from Poppy’s bomb made thrm difficult to number. If they continued at this rate, more would hear the commotion and come, then they’d have to break to keep the humans safe. They had severely limited stamina, even with how trained they were.

Ajax needed to act quickly, but he needed a vantage point to prioritize where the concentrations were. Turning his head to the side, he caught an alleyway. It surely looked like a dead end, the walls between three buildings being the clear barrier. To Ajax, it looked like a quick way up as he studied the sturdy enough looking fire escape of a rundown apartment building. Returning his jian to its sheath, Ajax eyed the others briefly as they sprung into action. He measured it out, and despite the infernals, they should last just long enough…

With that, he begrudgingly but swiftly broke formation to slip into the alley. Making a break for the back wall, his canter broke into a gallop, and from a gallop to a sprint. Calculating the angles he wanted, Ajax started a diagonal wall-run. With clearly well practiced posture, he maintained his momentum to keep him on an upward incline. Eyeing the fire escape one more time to confirm its sturdiness and his landing target, his view flickered to the rapidly approaching back wall. Propelling himself forward, Ajax flicked the curved knife hidden in his jacket sleeve to latch into the back wall. He only took half a second to brace before spring-boarding himself backwards and off. Contorting his body to turn around, his free arm extended to the railing of the fire escape.

His gloved hand crashing into and gripping the railing, he got about four-fifths of the way up the five story structure. It took no time to get up the rest, and once on top of the rundown structure, he jogged to the edge to survey the situation. So far, there hadn’t seemed to be anymore exiting the parking deck, making this seem to be the group as a whole. He could estimate roughly 25 in all, a small group really, but the tentacles and infernals were the main threats. The Forward team seemed to be managing alright, on that front, thus, he focused on his own team.

The ranged infernal, while clearly disrupting Vincent’s advancement, it would keep its distance. His focus on that left open the other, as the purple shield was closing the distance with more thralls in tow. Thus Ajax ran forward and dove off of the edge of the building he was standing on. Timing his landing to be just as the Shielded infernal passed, the Sword used one of the thralls to break his fall, landing between them.

With his boomerang knife still in hand, he spun downward into a wushu cross stance, ducking an attack from one of the thrall’s rudimentary axe. He used the brief spin from the cross stance to generate just enough power for him to throw the knife ahead. While it flew off for the unsuspecting Shield infernal, Ajax unsheathed his jian again to make short work of the four thralls in his vicinity.

From his lowered position, he uncrossed his legs and swept One with a dragon tail. Using the momentum from that spin, he brought his jian up through a Second, slicing the torso diagonally in half with little effort. The Third tried at Ajax again with the axe, but the attack was sidestepped and redirected with one hand into the lunging Fourth.

All the while, the knife sent by the Sword arched into a slash across the back of the Shielded’s back. Clearly wounded a bit, the creature turned its head to look back at Ajax. When it did, it saw the knife caught by Ajax, who smoothly jabbed it into the Third. Roaring his way, it turned around and barreled for him. Ajax repositioned his blade for battle, but that was when he noticed Dallas go down, beneath a tentacled Lost. What was more, his eye caught the glow of another going for Desmond and Lys’ position further back. It looked like the poetic dance of Sword versus Shield would have to be cut short as priority immediately shifted. Turning around, he cocked back his arm and tossed the knife again.

Once done, Ajax sprinted for the Shielded directly. When close enough, he jumped to vault over it, kicking into a sideswipe to clear the purple shield barrier. Once clear though, Ajax kept running past it, to some of the infernal’s slight confusion but it turned to give chase though. Ajax slightly altered the course of his run just slightly as he noticed Dallas suddenly get up, given some aid by drones near his location. Then an explosion came from ahead. It seemed she put up a fight, given the bits that resulted weren’t human, but one of them wasn’t dead yet.

Looking over his shoulder, as expected, the Shield followed after him. Deciding to take advantage of it, Ajax slowed with a jump and tucked his legs. As it cut the chase, the shield glowed once more and made contact with Ajax’s feet, launching him further away. When the Shield infernal briefly stopped after being used, Ajax’s boomerang knife returned, slicing clear through the heart and exploding out of the chest.

Airborne now, Ajax extended his limbs to slow his arch just a bit, his coat flailing like a cap around his form. As he started descending, he flipped his jian backward. Just when it seemed Wheels time had run out, Ajax suddenly crashed down on the tentacled creature. Clearly caught off guard, it tried to writhe free but the sword of the Sword came down hard.

After ensuring the job was done, Ajax looked over at the brains of their operation stuck in a crack in the ground. There was something of a scoff that came from him as he walked nearer. Planting his sword into the ground for the moment, he took hold of Lysandra’s chair, jostling the wheel up and out.

”I thought you trained to have a leg up on those kinds of obstacles…” He commented, handing over her keyboard.

Young Justice

_{Interaction | Nymph AKA
@DreamingFlowers
Cybergirl AKA @Canaryrose
Zatara AKA @Crimson Flame
Location | The Aquarium}

---

Metamorph kept on the path, approaching the Aquarium. Despite his small outburst earlier, he reluctantly broke formation from Mirage to go provide aid to the team there while she went to check the salt plant. Despite having been in buildings called “plants” before, he couldn’t help but wonder if in Atlantis, if it was a literal plant that processed salt…A question for later as he got nearer to the location in question.

If memory served correctly, this was the team of Daffy-Knee and Alisa and Zachy were sent. With all of them, surely there had to be many deluge forces here. He felt many currents coming from ahead, a disruptive set of waves pushing against the sensitive whiskers hidden in his headbush. They were still in battle, and his assumption was confirmed when he met an entry way.

For the most part it looked as though it was under control; some forces knocked out and others locked in a shiny cage of cards. The latter caught Ja’s eye with wonder as it must’ve clearly been Zatara’s doing. Whenever Ja put cards in water they got all soggy, but these ones trapped their adversaries even this deep underwater.

The jungle boy felt the need to ask him about that later, but he was jostled from his thoughts on Cybergirl calling out to Nymph to look out. As it seemed, she had two of the remaining deluge forces caught in her hair. While one seemed easily subdued, the one behind her had more fight in them. Thus the deluge woman thrusted and thrashed about until she managed to shoot herself free with some of energy pistol.

Seeing her take aim at Daphne was what immediately sprung Metamorph into action. Using Ceta’s dolphin speed while kicking his legs like a tail, he swam with his arms wide as though to tackle the deluge woman. She seemed to catch on to his approach and fired at him instead.

Metamorph ducked it at the last second, instead zipping beneath and around this new opponent. With the precision of a praying mantis, Ja clipped the gun out of her grip and looped his arms around to hold her. Unlike earlier though when full of rage of the Red, Ja had control, locking the woman into a kataha jime judo choke. While she kicked and thrashed to try breaking free, Ja didn’t budge as the strength and suction of a giant squid was enough to remain locked.

Golden eyes surveyed about the room to be sure that there weren’t any other immediate threats. When seemingly clear, he didn’t seem as tense. ”Is that all for here? If not, we should rendezvous with the others to see if we are needed elsewhere.” He asked with a small calm smile while he waited for the woman to slip into unconsciousness.

Code Vein (Closed)

_{Location | Crow’s Nest - Telescope & Strategy Room
Time | Febuary 23^rd - Morning
Interaction | Various Squadmates}

---

Ajax had been largely quiet up to this point; ever since they left the presence of the Provisional Government’s representatives. While they came to The Commune with an offer that would benefit both parties, Ajax had his suspicions. Why not just send a team of their revenants to retrieve the mistle sample…? Potentially another attempt to subtly recruit them to Cerberus’ ranks again. It hadn’t been the first time that they came to convince him and Erik to return. However, Ajax’s mission was not complete, making the notion currently unthinkable.

Still, as Erik had noted on the way back, they did need the blood beads. While they did have two humans, for the sake of their respective health, it wasn’t ideal to use them as a source of sustenance unless absolutely necessary. Thus, going into the Ruined City was going to be the action.

While in the room, Ajax had kept quiet as the others offered their comments and questions. The city in question was close, one that they had only scavenged the outskirts of prior to this. He found himself agreeing with Dallas’ statement regarding the miasma situation. To be lost to his rage, but it only took a small contraction of the substance to trigger it. While true that it had been years since the last incident, even now the voice of thirst and fury whispered in the back of his mind.

This led to thoughts of routes through the city, which had high concentrations of Lost prowling. Ideally, despite their new members’ eagerness to fight, lower populous areas would be best. Thirteen visible via the telescope implied an intermediate population, as there were always more that they couldn't see until they got there. Returning to his thoughts from earlier, it was entirely possible that the provisional government had sent in their own recon teams with negative results.

He was soon to speak but he caught a new scent that gave him pause. Focusing in on it, there was a familiar earthiness to it. Recognizing it not to be a new scent at all, Ajax’s head turned in synch with Akaia’s entrance. Briefly did he check her for injury, of which he could see nothing notable, but that was where Poppy’s expertise came in. The Sword greeted her with a simple nod in acknowledgement before she had been whisked away.

With his hands in his jacket pockets, he stepped towards where the map had been placed. Barely managing to see past Erik’s terrible handwriting, Ajax studied it briefly before eyeing the sempiternal sitter and posing a question:

”Given what you saw, which sort of the Lost did you see the most of…?”

Code Vein (Closed)

The Sword of Cerberus

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A J A X

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| AGE |

???

| APPEARANCE |

*Appears physically to be in his late twenties to early thirties.
*Height - 6’
*Weight - 200 lbs
*Build - Athletic
*Hair Color - Black
*Eye Color - Light Brown
*Casual Attire - Tops will vary, but always with long pants and boot combinations. Often prepared for action, even if not mission related.

*Combat Attire

Body armor designed to protect against cutting/piercing damage specifically. Favors free movement but balances at least enough durability to survive other AB revenant attacks. The coat is more for the elements, to defend against short bursts of extreme heat or cold, as well as most chemical attacks. The most durable pieces of his attire is his torso, boots, and most importantly his mask.

| PERSONALITY |

| Analytical
| Sentimental/Self-Critical
| Iron-Willed
| Honest
| Wrathful
| Reserved

| BLOOD CODE |

Type AB - Deemed one of the more potent AB revenants, Ajax likely has the most well-rounded set of physical enhancements. If anything were to stick out, however, it’d likely be his agility and dexterity. He possesses a surprising amount of muscle memory from his ‘former’ life, which enables him to both understand and control his body better than most of his peers. Compounded with this is his relationship to the parasite, which can send his regenerative abilities and pain tolerance into overdrive under certain circumstances. His color code is scarlet.

| BACKGROUND |

_{Ajax Plight
Your little girl seemed so happy that day. Smiled bright,
You’d never notice how the sky was so grey. Wrapped tight,
In your arms is where you promised she’d stay. That night,
you knew how she would swell your pride up one day.
It’d all fall into place, you saw it all in her face.
She just started her race, you’ll have taught her to pace.
You’ll plan it all, it'd be great, or you thought so but wait.
Was it God? Was it fate? Why were they calling so late?
They gave a time and a date, claimed to double the rate.
Although you knew it was bait, you still needed the plate.
You feel the heat of self hate, yet don’t know why you’re irate.
Your heart is fraught with the weight? Must be your conscience, you say?
Your family all vanishing, that you’re the cause of their state?
Your blurry memory’s essentially the cause of debate.
It makes it hard to translate, this type of trauma’s innate.
For now I’m sorry to say, our time is up for today.}

||Ajax has been around for a lot longer than his physical age as a revenant would imply.
||Rumor has been that he was one of the first combat revenants inducted by Cerberus.
||In that time, he has learned much and been on many crusades against the Lost. This has landed him high in the ranks, reputable enough to be nicknamed the Sword of Cerberus before the Miasma Rage.
||He has accumulated some memories, causing him to suffer night terrors of things that may have happened near the great collapse.
||A direct counter to those memories though, is the fact that he remembers a family that he had, whose fate is ultimately unknown to him. Although unsure why, a feeling within leaves him inclined to believe they survived.
||Determined to find out, Ajax hunts for vestiges to piece together his fractured memories to paint the picture in hopes of following where they went.

| $KILLS / #EQUIPMENT |

$Martial Artistry - His muscle memory determines that he is most naturally suited to martial arts, drastically shortening the journey of ‘relearning’ them during his time under Cerberus. He has exhibited moves relating to Wushu, Muay Thai, and Krav Maga among others in his fighting style. As far as melee weapons are concerned, he has an affinity for swords, whether one or two handed.

$Marksmanship - Although not his specialty, he is no slouch in terms of accuracy with a variety of ranged weapons. He tends to be better with weapons that have slower fire rates, taking more to ‘archaic’ weapon styles.

$Free-Parkourist - His agility in tandem with his body control allows him to traverse different landscapes with speed, fluidity, and efficiency.

$Multilingual - Despite settlements being few and far between, it helps to be able to understand several languages anyway. Most of which he studied through the time he’s been a revenant, but there are a few that he seems to inherently understand possibly by obscured memory.

$Hunting Detective - A combination of senses and experience make it easy to track and find things. Moreover, his experience on the field along with training has enabled him to use logic and evidence to put together situations, scenes, and POIs even when there is only little to work with. He has quickly made these traits become a vital skill, given his goal of trying to find his family.

$Drawing - In a world where memory is short, he’s found a hobby in chronicling things that he’s seen or thought about through pictures.

#Bladema$ter - Among Ajax’ most distinguished of skills is his ability to wield swords. The most unique thing about him in particular though, is the capability of juggling a third blade, essentially tri-wielding one-handed swords. He usually only carries a specialized double-edged jian, but the amount and types of swords equipped can vary with the danger involved in the current mission. He also typically carries two curved knives on his person in different locations for quick access.

#Shurikens - Although seeming a little redundant at first, he has varying types of trick shurikens that he carries with him. Stakes are pipe bombs, Stars are acidic, and the curved knives double as extra sharp boomerangs for reuse.

| LIMITATIONS AND WEAKNESSES |

Miasma Rage - Ajax is particularly vulnerable to the substance as he’s been exposed to a lot of it during the years. There have been many instances where he’s almost been Lost but strangely opposed to what usually happens, Ajax doesn’t succumb to a manic frenzy. Instead, it is channeled into a violent outburst that he is capable of recovering from.

Reports indicate that in the field, he used the Rage to clear a battlefield of Lost without friendly fire before passing out. It is theorized that his aforementioned enigmatic relationship to the BOR in his system is the source, but tests have not confirmed or denied anything. What is known is that Ajax undergoes these bursts when exposed to even small amounts of the chemical, making his mask vital in particular.

Bayonette Range - While capable of using the weapon, his accuracy with it is highly limited on how long he has to aim it when at long range. In the short range, he finds it redundant, and uses the other projectiles that he carries that he is more accurate with, thus he never carries a rifle.

CQC Flaw - Being that he is a close quarters sort of fighter, it leaves him more vulnerable to his mask getting damaged. Although previous situations where he’s gone into his Miasma Rage have proven to have little to no friendly casualties, there’s no telling when the day will come that changes the statistic.

Shurikens - Can feasibly only carry about 20 at a time, majority of which stored on the inside of his coat: 6 acidic stars, 4 bomb stakes, 6 regular shuriken, 4 regular stakes. Critical strikes are crucial with the regular versions, or they would be otherwise impractical for combatting the Lost.

| NOTES |

Ajax always carries a small drawing he made of the girl most prominent in his memory on his person at all times.

The Connections of Ajax

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A J A X

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Role in the team: The Floor General
💔 Ex-friends/lovers/enemies
♥️🤍🤍🤍 Neutral
♥️♥️🤍🤍 Acquaintances
♥️♥️♥️🤍 Friends
♥️♥️♥️♥️ Close friends
❤️‍🔥 Lovers

Erik

♥️♥️♥️♥️
The history of Erik and Ajax run deep, all the way back to being on the Provisional Government’s task force, Cerberus. They were on the same squad, with Ajax having taught Erik the ways of the blade. If there is anyone who the Sword trusts implicitly, both in and out of battle, it is him. As such, Erik is one of the few that Ajax has told about the true nature of life’s mission. Out of everyone he knows, Erik is likely the closest thing to blood family Aj has; a brother from another mother, yet born in blood.

Poppy

♥️♥️♥️♥️
Interestingly, his relationship to Poppy is closer than to Akaia, despite meeting them around the same time. He deeply relates to her feeling to find someone, and the two usually go to great lengths to inform the other of potential clues. The sort of bond that they formed, eventually led them sharing their memories about the people they are searching for. As such, Poppy is someone Ajax is comfortable confiding in about what he remembers and the abnormalities of his condition. In turn, he is perfectly willing to, and has, done the same for her. If Erik is a brother to him, Poppy would be sister-like.

Cerise

♥️♥️♥️♥️
As the first recruit to their squad, Cerise holds a special place in Ajax’s heart. There are many things in his time around her that he’s learned about himself that he never would have from Cerberus. It wouldn’t be out of place to see Ajax spending his leisure time listening to her play piano. Her kind and gentle nature in these tough times makes him believe in the purpose of their group. The Sword sees these traits as rare among revenants, something that must be protected. She is too innocent and too trusting, despite her years of running with him and Erik. Ajax is always on guard to assure no one takes advantage of her heart; woe betide any who would try.

Lysandra

♥️♥️♥️🤍/❤️‍🔥
The friendship of Ajax and Lysandra is a curious one. On the surface, it appears that the two have something of a rivalry. Despite typically being more calculated and adaptive, the insufferable woman manages to pull out a more contentious side of him. Lys‘ insistence of her own strategy and brainpower often clash with Ajax’s instincts and experience, especially while in the field. Given time, though, their confrontations have become more like back and forth banter. With years of interaction though, the Sword came to understand her perspective more. Her strong personality, as well as inklings of this rare other side to Lys, prompt emotional responses that he isn’t sure how to interpret. For now, he simply doesn’t address them, though more insightful in his dealings with her.

Akaia

♥️♥️♥️🤍
As unorthodox as Akaia is, even for a Sidhe, Ajax doesn’t seem much fazed and gets along with her just fine. Though much of their friendship resonates through Cerise, he finds interest in her quirks, such as her pet crow as well as her various means of communication. In fact, she’s part of how he was able to put together the fact that there are languages he remembers innately. They are not the closest per se but, as he’s gotten to know her over the years, the Sword cares for Akaia and respects her capability.

Dallas

♥️♥️🤍🤍
Although not knowing the man for long, ultimately, he has merited a measure of Ajax’s respect. The trait of protecting the weak, no matter the cost, is an admirable quality. What the Sword is wary of, is his foolhardy approach. In this world, the good die young, and the reckless get Lost. Both results are only a matter of time for someone like Dallas as far as Ajax is concerned. The Sword holds hope that the man will recognize that before it’s too late.

Desmond

♥️♥️🤍🤍
In a world where humans are no longer the apex predator, the capable ones stand out. They haven’t interacted much in the month he’s been on the squad but they are seemingly on positive terms. As one of the few humans of the group, even more asa frontline fighter, the Sword keeps watch over him as a team is as strong as its weakest link. Although unquantifiably younger and less experienced than him, Ajax respects Desmond’s warrior spirit.

Ionna

♥️♥️🤍🤍
It is strange, the nostalgic sort of fondness that Ajax has for this childish revenant. This abnormal soft side of the Sword could be considered a weakness, as he’s less critical of her than most strangers and outsiders. Despite only knowing her only days, his mind associates Ionna with his familial memories. Although she looks nothing like the little girl he searches for, he feels the urge to protect Ionna in a similar way.

Vincent

♥️🤍🤍🤍
Ajax is not usually the type to judge someone, though Vincent irks him. He seems to radiate the same red flags that Dallas has, yet worse. The boy has so far displayed a lack of forethought before his actions; A fighter but not much more. So far, he’s been surviving, which many others cannot say. However, the Sword has seen many who were Lost to their bravery, and hopes that Vincent’s time on the team will refine his rougher edges.