Death and Renewal (Invite only)

Death is a strange thing—one we apparently do not fully understand. Materialism dictates that it is the mere cessation of bodily processes. Your heart stops pumping blood, your lungs no longer fill with air, and your brain, along with everything you were and could have been, is wiped. This nihilistic conclusion is the proper opinion on matters of death within the scientific community. When you're gone you're gone, so they say. There is no soul, and no mind outside the body.......

And yet here I stand, if only barely.

A dark silhouette, made visible by the starkly white backdrop of antarctic snow, stumbled through a fierce blizzard. He wore nothing but a burnt and tattered jumpsuit, and the cold, despite his abilities, was making his teeth chatter. A week ago the reality he now found himself in, his home, had been disturbed by a massive wormhole opening. It was the means by which he had returned, but it seemed now like it may also be his undoing. He had been walking through a tundra with no food, shelter, sleep, or warmth ever since his arrival, hoping beyond hope that the painstaking process he had devoted himself to in order to facilitate his return was not for nothing.

So how did I do it? How does one cheat Death? The answer may be irrelevant if I never get out of this Hell. No one would even know I made the journey home. But, assuming I do, and that you care to know, I'll tell you: Just like I do everything.

It hurt to keep his eyes open, so he had long ago closed them as he marched forward. They were useless in the completely obscured landscape anyway. He could barely feel his feet, and every step made him gnash his teeth in pain. This was miserable. A man of such quality after performing such a feat degraded to such a level. Worse than the pain was the thought of dying yet again, in such undignified circumstances. At least last time he had helped save the universe.

I buckled down. I kept trying, trying and trying no matter the odds stacked against me. Through force of will I persevered, because I was not finished—because I wanted it more than any being has ever wanted anything before. I faced reality head on, faced God and death and everything else, and denied them all, setting my own path. I did all this. I stood as a mere mortal and overcame the constraints of reality through nothing but force of being, and yet it seems some snow will kill me. The irony is so amusing I nearly manage a chuckle here and there, despite my frozen jaw.

It was the twelfth day that the man started to crawl. What little energy he was focusing on keeping in his body in order to warm him was dissipating. He inched along at a snail's pace, not giving up even as the bones in his arms and shins snapped. It was the body that he had made so powerful that would give out before the man. Lucius Alba's superpower had never been his energy or healing factor, but his absolutely ridiculous tolerance of adversity.

My survival was one in a billion. I was resurrected from the void with no outside help. That is not something that happens. Identities fade into a cosmic collective, becoming nothing more than fuel for the universe's never ending cycle of death and renewal. I persisted because my ego would not be quashed. But I was stronger before. Now I stand no chance if I perish again, just as I stand no chance against the elements now. I'm sorry I have been leading you on. See, I'm a sensible man.  The moment I saw this hellish landscape I knew I wasn't going to get out of this.

Lucius' muscles finally gave out. His face planted firmly in the snow, and his breathing became shallow. This was it. He could move no further. Even as his mind struggled to continue—to try—he could not move a millimeter. Like so many before, he would die climbing an Everest. But at least he tried.

Twelve days ago, a massive anomaly revealed itself and then closed itself not long after. The kind of thing that couldn’t be ignored when eyes looking for the signs were open. To be prepared meant to have as many possible responses to as many situations as possible, including the possibility of extradimensional attacks or interference. For the first few days he ruminated on the readings, breaks between the many duties he had between.  Days after no other similar anomalies were present in the far north of what seemed to be the Antarctic. What possibly could have come out in that section of the world? Nothing big happened but the barest blip could be seen through the tracker had had created. Mostly to follow and keep hold of anything that could come through portals. Cracking the technology of teleportation and even at times portals led to him what could come through one of them.

He watched, half looking through a stack of papers which were mostly inane business work. Something he could do in his sleep, already categorized within his mind and pushed away. There was much to do really, especially after the New York Incident as he had come to call it. Another grand tragedy that would lead to the same response from the people. Perhaps a short-term backlash and attempt to regulate metahumans. Things could change, that was his hope, but humans were not always the most predictable of animals. People however, now they were something that he could read.  Something to force greater powers to make their moves, such as Rise which was known for their sudden and powerful takeover of Belarus. A country barely on the map, now made the very model of utopia. He had been there a few times since then, leveraging his influence enough to gain access through a middling bureaucrat.

Despite his minute initial interest in the Antarctic anomaly, he kept his fingertips on the pulse of the political climate first. Doing what he could to push things in the direction he wanted. Of course, not through easily tracked means but still he was sure someone like his self-proclaimed new enemy would be able to follow it were they so inclined. Someone else was put in charge of looking into the anomaly, mostly scoping out what had happened.

Seeing a large section of snow which at one point been melted and gouged out through some manner of unknown phenomenon. Their drone technology had its own uses, including looking into things with the utmost stealth. Images sent back had shown a black cloaked figure, reminiscent of someone he had seen before. Mostly on many broadcasts and through media. That was what caused him to look away from what had caught his attention. What was Lucius Alba doing in a place like that? It caused his mind to come up with so many ideas, ones that were more conspiracy theory than anything else. Perhaps this was the next great opportunity in waiting.

That didn’t stop him from delaying his move.

Letting the information flow through, until he was certain of his information. That was why the twelve days passed, putting everything in order before he did something. Gathering a few resources to create gear to comfortably survive the arctic winter up there, where the temperatures could get as low as -40 to -60 Celsius, which would kill the average man in moments. Lucius was no average man. Even if he did die, his tissue would prove useful enough and if he were alive, well there were other things he could gain from him. “Sir, I don’t know why you need a suit to withstand these kinds of temperatures but I made something that should do the job,” He had his own personal engineers and designers for this kind of thing, though he didn’t need them to know all of what he intended to do. Just enough to know that he could pay whatever prices they needed to get it done.

With a set of four suits he borrowed some of Amaterasu’s muscle, offering them the same suits that he had made for himself. Three men that could level city blocks and himself for the more scientific things. Getting there didn’t even require a days long ride, just application of technology he borrowed from the very man he hoped to find. Deep in the bowls of his Chicago branch he activated teleportation technology. As always there was a certain uneasy feeling with it, and then they were there. The winds whipped around them, offering little visibility and the flurries were blinding. Well, they were to him, but his companions had sight sharp enough to see through the veil of cold death. The suits held up well enough, though he added small solar energy generators in the other three. Modifications to their heating units to keep them powered up well enough.  

They’d lost one of the prototypes to Humanity but he had one with him, well enough better than the average applicants for the permanent version of the Atlas drug. Maximilian raised a device to his face, watching the faint blip seemingly not too far from them. He had to keep in account how deep the snow was, walking through it as well as how far he actually was. It could have taken them hours to find him, it could have taken them even a day, but he was patient. Protected long enough for a day’s expedition, so long as the suits worked like they were supposed to. He trusted his research and development team to do their damn jobs, especially when they were paid. Besides, he knew what to do with those that proved improper for the challenge.

Not kill them of course.

He was no comic book villain after all. There were other ways to deal with people than just kill them. So they traveled north, towards the source of the signal through winds that threatened to blow him over despite the under armor managing to improve upon his strength. Nature was truly an unforgiving mistress, but that did nothing to stop him. Hours passed or they felt like they passed, with his solar powered bodyguards keeping ahead with their warmth producing powers useful enough and they moved any real barriers from their path. Eventually the cold began to infiltrate through the breather, giving his lungs a small chill but with a press of the button the heating element went up.

He could feel the eyes of his men on him, almost as if questioning what they were doping out here but that was when one of them pointed out the black shape buried within the snow. It was not long after the arctic storm broke, leaving them shaking off the white powder and approaching with boots crunching in the snow. Raising his wrist and giving a quick scan, he proved that he was alive but close to death. Dehydration, hypothermia and many other things were playing factor into what was happening and he didn’t have time to take him to a proper medical facility. Producing a small sphere, he produced a sequence in the holoboard on his wrist and threw it into the snow.

It landed with a subdued crunch and suddenly an undulating black sand began to flow out from it. Forming around them and rising up until a small, shack sized facility had seemingly formed within the arctic. The air suddenly raised in temperature, enough to be called charitably warm compared to the environment outside.  ”Quite the miracle material indeed,” he mused, through the technomatter here was more something he had created through his own tinkering. Nanomachines meant to replicate their function to an impressive degree. Sure, engineering was not his foremost talent but he was sure to be good enough in it to innovate his own technology. ”you three, get him on the bed there and see if you can put an IV into him. No, I’ll do that myself,” He didn’t need the muscle ruining everything by pricking the wrong thing.

They lifted the man up onto what looked like an infirmary bed,  and Maximilian  reaching into a small backpack attached to his back and produced a small  bag of necessary fluids and looked over the likely semi-conscious body of the man. ”Lucius, I’m sure you don’t know what’s happening but try to work with me. You’re close to death,you're missing too many fital nutrients so i'm fixing that now. Try not to do anything that either of us would regret,” A stand rose from the technomatter flooring as if in preparation as he tried to work the needle into his arm after tearing what he could of the fabric around there. He’d done this enough to know what he was doing. The other did their thing and watched with silent curiosity and confusion.

Lucius' perceptions were waning, but he could still tell to some degree through hazy senses that he was being carried, and subsequently given medical attention. Granted, it was not major. An IV wouldn't solve his problems. But, so long as he got out of the cold, perhaps his body could start to recover on it's own. A foreign warmth spread throughout his body. He had his suspicions that the room was not exactly toasty, but it certainly felt that way after nearly two weeks in subzero temperatures.

Lucius then heard a man speak to him. It was difficult to make out what he said, but it was something about being close to death and not doing anything stupid. He knew he was close. Right now he was in so much pain he didn't know if his healing factor would kick in soon enough to save him. With that in mind, even if he wanted to do something he'd regret, he probably couldn't.

Lucius opened his eyes for the first time in days. The grey orbs pierced directly outward into the man who had addressed him. He had seen his face before, though never in person. Lucius cracked a slight smile, which quickly turned back to a pained frown, and he nodded.

"U-understood," Lucius managed, his throat strained and his teeth chattering. He did not trust this man, to be certain. All that charm, money, and glamor didn't fool Lucius. He'd seen it time and time again. This man was likely as ruthless as he was. You didn't get to a position like his without being that way. Regardless, the man held Lucius' life in his hands. Trustworthy or not, he was all Red had at the moment.

"To...to what do I owe the pleasure, M-Maximilian?" Lucius said through pained heaves. His body temperature was elevating a bit now, but he had a long way to go. In the mean time Lucius was just trying to stay conscious.

How many words would the man be able to formulate? Days in the cold likely had begun to shut down his vital functions, metahuman or otherwise, which meant he would be far slower than any concept of his prime. A pity really to see someone so forward thinking reduced to a frostbitten, near dead state like this. The flesh was oddly pliable at the moment, allowing mundane needle to break through the skin with enough force. Not that he was ever one to use mundane needle, watching the apparatus pierce into the right point. He hadn’t learned to apply this kind of thing only to forget it in the moment he needed it afterall.

”I’m saving your life Lucius, though I imagine that is quite obvious isn’t it?” He replied with the faintest of smiles on his lips, setting up the clear drip bag and letting gravity do the rest. ”based on your condition you’ve likely gone without human essentials for quite a while. If I hadn’t come along I’m sure you would have died in a matter of hours. Once I found out it was you in the snow, let’s just say it was in my best interest not to let that happen,” He licked his lips, pulling down the mask and feeling the steadily rising warmth of the room wash over his face. Preferable to the unforgiving cold of the arctic, enough to kill even a metahuman like this.

He held the life of one of the most powerful men in his hands and there was a certain rush to it. Not that he would let the concept go to his head, that was for lesser men. Those prone to hubris and egotistical whimsy. ”I followed an anomaly that opened not too far from here, and it led me to you. I’ll admit at first I was worried it was some manner of trans dimensional monster, but luckily it seems it was just you. Though that does beg so many questions, ones I’m sure there’ll be time to ask later. For now, we need to get your body temperature up. Your abilities don’t seem to be working so well now,”

With that the small building lit up with heat that radiated from his bodyguards until it reached what his sensors stated was an even 55 degrees Fahrenheit. ”Though do try to stay awake. I don’t know what might happen to you if you fall asleep at this point,” he had an idea but he did waste enough time to rescue this man not to see him come out alive. Well, perhaps having him dead would be better but he was playing his cards where they fell.

What does a man who owes his enemy everything do to repay him? That is a question that if you asked Andrew Pettiglio a few years ago, you would get a chuckle or some quip. Hell on earth has it's own way of teaching you lessons on humility. Self control. Growth.

So the rumors and apparent first hand accounts the hero was looking into were 'true'. Lucius Alba was dead. The former Talon didn't know how to make heads or tails of that statement. Still so many questions left unanswered, and yet so many more revealed themselves over these past few years. "Alba." Andrew grumbled while shaking his head in disappointment.

"He took it all, smashed it to pieces and broke it's wings. The Talons gone. Tyuki gone. Team scattered." All that remained were his memories, dog tags, and empty base floating above the ocean of New York and best friend Sean. Andrew had heard of an Antarctic anomaly twelve days ago. Between dealing with The Pantheon, just stepping into the public again, and lack of a true team Project Halo would have to wait a little longer.

A.I. had left the base, himself untraceable. However a similar system was installed if ever A.I. were to be lost. Avian. A cyborg that could go into this empty base's mainframe as well as provide guidance for the now solo hero.

"Avian look into anomalies in the arctic area, twelve days ago. Pin point me a location on the map."
A giant blip flashed upon the screen. It didn't last long but Andrew was certain it was no mistake.
"Avian, compare that energy with all known enemies, that we can."
Faces of Vexus, Black Crown, Holocaust began to fill the screen. Only The Pantheon and Red were anywhere near a match.

This was impossible, not only was Patriot certain this had nothing to do with the Pantheon but Alba was dead.

Avian prepared the teleporter while Andrew suited up and tossed on a winter jacket. He didn't need it, but he was certain it would help camouflage. White glowed across his suit to prepare to change colors. The red white and blue was now an off white and grey. Staff in his pouch.

Send me as close to the ping as we can get me. Lock down until Talon T-001 presses return on his tags.

A flash happened and the hero was in the arctic. A makeshift building was in front of Patriot, he made his way to the door, looking around the room he was confused, his eyes darted quickly before the narrowed to a gurney holding the man that haunted him to this day. "Lucius Alba. They said you were dead, but then again...they said the same about me." Andrew pulled his hood down revealing his face. Only a domino mask covering his eyes. The room grew tense and Patriot could feel himself getting grilled. "I'm not here for a fight, I'm not here for malice. I'm not even here for a problem. Truthfully I wasn't even certain it would be you, so the matching outfit men can calm down, and you sir." Patriot looked up and down at Iskandar. "My name is The Patriot, formerly Phoenix. I assure you no harm intended either."

Lucius was glad that by some miraculous twist of fate he was not only found by someone, but someone competent. Just anyone wouldn't have been able to save him, but Maximilian seemed to live up to his reputation. His obvious intelligence aside, there was still the question of what he wanted. It wasn't obvious that Lucius wouldn't be killed as soon as he let slip some bit of information this man wanted. He'd need to be cautious.

Staying awake though, that Red could agree was a good thing. He wanted to drift off to sleep, but he had the intuition that if he did he wouldn't be waking up any time soon. He was not a medical doctor, but he had some medical training from his years in school. Paired with Red's great intellect it made him reasonably competent in the field. He knew that people in the state he was in needed to stay conscious. But, even if that weren't the case, he'd still want to keep an eye on the three powerful looking individuals in the room, and sleeping made that an impossibility.

"You have my thanks," Lucius said. He wanted to rattle on and on, but he knew that even if he could, it wouldn't help his situation. He needed to conserve his energy. A simple thank you would suffice for now, while the questions could come later. As intriguing as this man and what he was up to were, Lucius knew that he was not in a state prime for extended rants.

Lucius laid back, letting his eyes rest, but made sure not to fall asleep. He tried to think of anything but his current predicament, though it was difficult for a man like him. No matter what situation he was in, there was always analysis and strategizing going on. It was constant, and he could rarely turn it off. As useful as such a severe orientation towards strategic evaluation was, it was not the best mindset for peace, which is what he wanted right now.

Five minutes past. Occasionally, Lucius would grab a limb or joint and crack it into place, setting the bone so it could continue to heal. His body temperature had picked up, and so too had his healing factor. He was nowhere near full strength, which would probably take thirty minutes or more, but he was making progress.

However, it seemed that progress might get interrupted.

Lucius' eyes jolted back open at the sound of a technological boom from outside. Someone had just come into the area, and they had done so with advanced teleportation technology. Lucius had heard things like it time and time ago over his years of research. This particular boom was not one created by mundane effects. It was like a crackling of the atmosphere—a rippling of air louder than a thunderclap. Lucius' mind raced. He had little information to make a proper guess at who it could be, but he had only heard that level of transportation technology from so many sources. Vexus, Alpha, Guilty Spark, Zell Atterius. It could have been any of them, or none of them. The group was narrow, but still too many that guessing was pointless. Lucius relaxed, calming his head once again. He would just need to wait for more information.

It took a minute or so, but the information came, and in a larger quantity than Lucius had expected. He could almost not believe his eyes as the familiar face walked into the rather small makeshift building. Phoenix, complete with a fancy new name, was standing in front of him. This was a man that had challenged him. This was a man that had insulted him. This was a man that could very well have made the vision Isabella and Lucius had all those years ago an impossibility. It all would have been for nothing.

But Lucius had stopped him. Rise had prevented him from interfering, and had given Red the sweet sweet taste of retribution for the man's macho disrespect.

A smile played across Lucius' face. This was not the same look he had given Maximilian. The one he had given Max was a look of friendly respect and humor. This one was mischief. This one was sheer condescending amusement. It was not an uncommon smirk for Lucius' enemies to see. It was that of a master chess player who knew he had won, or an overly intellectual college student that knew he had bested his debate partner. It was victory.

There could never be a better excuse to speak in such an injured state.

"...You say that like I feel the same way. Honestly, what makes you believe I'd tolerate your presence?" Lucius said, chuckling a bit at the absurdity of it all. He sat up from his bed, red energy sparking behind his eyes as it worked to heal him.

"Need I remind you that I had you killed last time we met? Or how you insulted me for mourning what any man with a heart would mourn? Or, perhaps, how you presumed yourself capable of destroying everything that I hold dear? How you declared, in all your mightiness, that you would tear down one of the greatest civilizations ever to grace the face of the planet, and destroy a much needed movement protecting the rights of all metahumans, all because you didn't like it? Because you didn't like me? And they call me a tyrant. No logic, not even well reasoned compassion, but self righteous hatred against things you feel are evil." It was clear from Lucius' little speech he was not so ready to forgive and forget, and truly, it made no sense to him why he should.

"What evidence did you have that I would simply let everything go? What made you think one of your enemies would just stand down because you decided you didn't want to fight anymore? Presumptive and dictatorial as ever, Phoenix. At least give me a reason not to immediately oppose you next time," Lucius said. He then looked to Maximilien, the same smile still on his face.

"We have business, don't we? Would you do me the honor of ridding me of this pest while we talk?" Lucius asked. He of course meant he wanted Max to get his guards to occupy Phoenix, but that should have been obvious.

Iskandar allowed Lucius his period of rest, knowing that at some point he would be able to recover fully from the damage incurred by the intense arctic winter. His medical knowledge was enough to assume that even with his body fully healed, he would still need the vital nutrients that most humans needed. They had enough fodder for liquid water but the nutrients from food was something else entirely. Perhaps they would be able to find something but that would suggest prepping the food, cutting it up and he was sure a man of refined taste would be against eating fried blubber. Even thinking about it didn’t rouse his own palette, granted he knew how survival could make one break from their normally high-end desires.

The sound of bones knitting together when the minutes passed was fascinating, though he was working through a few notes he had on his wrist computer. Perhaps he could get some proper nutrition sent to them, or perhaps he couldn’t. He licked his lips, passing the time with small little niceties he was doing for someone he considered an equal in intelligence. His bodyguards were the first to react to the sound, something ripping through the air and the sonic boom that followed. Their hearing was sensitive enough afterall, though even he couldn’t ignore the sound once it tore through the arctic.  ”Sounds like we might have a guest soon,” The three arranged themselves around the front of the impromptu medical tent, as if preparing for the threat to just leap through the front door.

Well, he knew it would take a lot of force to break through the reinforced technomatter. It was meant to take the force of high end explosives, something that had comparable translations to superhuman strength. That was when the man walked through the door, brash in his words and presumptive in manner. Lucius let his anger out after the man spoke, in that same controlled way that he would likely do. Ripping into him for past grievances, and the three men waiting for his order to do something about Patriot; The former Phoenix. How would they stack up against him? He’d seen word of what Phoenix could do, the strength he had and what it allowed him to do. ”I’m sorry Mr. Pettiglio but Mr. Alba is recovering at the moment. He doesn’t need any negative stimuli right now, so I’m going to have to ask you to leave,”

With those words one of them stepped forward, eyes narrowed into slits. “You heard’em, you gotta go,” The mans voice was in the same rough talking he always used, though likely further roughened by the strength allowed him by the prodcedure. A failure of an experiment he was but he was far above any of the ones who attacked New York, save for perhaps the one Humanity killed. He looked prepared to throw the man out if he didn’t leave willingly.

"So it's like that Alba? I need no reminder the past few years spent training, reading, learning. They remind me that you TRIED to kill me. People aren't allowed to grow. To rise? I was arrogant. I was weak. I was hiding from every dark day I ever had and you kept true to your words. You took everything. I had a lot of time to think. From meeting your wife, to losing my love. I have had a plethora of reasons to talk to you and none of them involve that self righteous attitude a kid named Phoenix carried. I dropped the name for a reason. Maybe we don't see eye to eye, but things aren't right and they're about to get a hell of a lot worse."

Andrew shook his head.

"I never implied you feel the same way. I am grateful to you for the emptiness that left room to grow. I never thought you the type of man to let bygones be those. However. I. Came. To. You. Smirking at me isn't going or solve the problem's that lay ahead. Belittling me for those years ago won't change much. Action. That is how we get the results. I don't mean storming in like when you tore the wings off The Talons. I mean the same thing everyone who thinks their pee stream is bigger than the next eventually all have to do. Sit down. Talk. Devise a plan the benefits the world. And just be better than what we were. I fucked up. I thought because people wore Talon T shirts. Kids smiled at us in the streets. That because results were being shown on a small scale we could keep pressing. For god sake we saved the world two times. Tyrant? I was never a tyrant I was hopeful fool that didn't get it"  

This Iskandar fellow seemed to the point and one of his goons looked like he wanted a fight.

"When I first walked in I told you I mean no malice by being here. So are we going to let my past FUCK UPS define what happens to the world from here out, or are you the least bit interested on how we prevent more Isabella, Angie, and Seraphs?" Andrew folded his arms and leaned against the door.
Looking the guard up and down still showing no desire to lift a finger at em'

He waited patiently to see if Lucius was truly a man of what he spoke of. Growth. Or if in his most private of moments he would show himself to be the man Andrew fought those years ago.  

Clutching the Talon tags he typed T-001 just in case the need to go was upon him.

Oh, no, no, no no no HE DOESN'T GET IT! Just think for a few seconds! Lucius thought to himself as Phoenix rambled on. He couldn't understand how someone could so thoroughly miss the point. Instead of backtracking and re-accessing his approach, he doubled down. Instead of accommodating the nearly dead and obviously in pain man he was asking for a favor, Phoenix decided to continue on saying in so many words that Lucius had to help. It was as if Phoenix believed it was Red's responsibility to help a previous enemy making demands. No, this isn't how you healed things between people. This is how you made things worse.

Lucius bit his lip when Phoenix said he met Isabella, and grit his teeth when he said her name. You could almost feel the previously ice cold blood begin to boil. Any patient would be irritable after nearly dying, but Lucius had no pain killers, and had been quite literally resetting his bones with his bare hands. He was in agony, as much as he tried to conceal it, and this man coming in acting entitled was making it that much more unbearable. The absurdity of the situation was mind boggling. Go to a nearly dead cancer patient who hates you, act like it's their problem when they react poorly to your presence, start telling them they must do what you say, and then open up some of the oldest and deepest wounds from their past. See how quickly they call security. Lucius, in such a similar situation, was apparently being unreasonable.

"YOU THINK YOU KNOW ME, BOY?!" Lucius spat. "YOU DON'T! You know nothing! You stand there acting like we're supposed to reconcile—like we're some old chaps that drifted apart years ago. I've met you three times! The first two we tried to kill each other, and this time around you've done nothing but make demands of me. Treat you without malice, let everything go, help you, save the world by your side like we're best buds—anything else? I'm kind of nearly dead, and in a sort of pain that makes me want to go back to where I was before, but I think I can accommodate a few more wishes from the world's greatest hero!"

Lucius' tone was heavy with pain, anger, and sarcastic condescension. It was clear he did not want this man here. Lucius stood up. His legs wiggled. He barely kept his balance. He stared daggers into Phoenix as he walked forward. Lucius stopped six feet from the man, if only because he didn't want to pull out his IV. The Prime Minister shook his head.

"How dare you speak her name! How dare you talk of meeting her. How dare you. Usually people who want to make up with another bring good will, and maybe some chocolates. Usually people who want to come off as friendly to an injured man express their compassion—maybe even bring a 'get well soon' card for a little extra tangibility. You, Phoenix, have twice now reminded me of the greatest sorrow ever to befall me, and have acted entitled to both my help and forgiveness. Maybe next time you find yourself in such a situation you ought to lead with an apology, or perhaps words of concern. Some humility might get the the desired result a bit more than your empty attempts to get what you want through guilt and fear," Lucius said, moving back to his bed and sitting down gently. He could feel the strength returning slowly, but this truly was unbearable. For most, anyway.

"Get out of my sight. If you ever say her name again, I'll cut your tongue out. You know I keep my word."

Iskandar allowed the two to have their conversation the moment Patriot said what he needed to, and Lucius began his own rant. It was fascinating really, how he could impart so many emotions into his words as if trying to wield them like daggers to drive into the hero. He licked his dry lips, feeling the tickle of this thick beard. Examining a bit of information on his wrist computer and noting the shift within those meant to cast the man out. Well, they were prepared an unsure if they could do something like that. A brief flash of concern formed on his expression as he watched Lucius rise to his feet, as if to make some point despite how weak his stance was. As if a breeze would be able to push him off; a strong breeze but one, nonetheless.

When the dictator sat back down on his bed, he said that words that left little room for conversation from there. The kind of words someone tired of arguing, tired in general spoke and he sighed. This was not what he was hoping for when he came out here. One of his guard looked to him, asking for an unspoken go ahead but not yet. He didn’t know how things would progress. If The Patriot would see the writing on the wall or persist in his own path. Curiosity was the only thing staying hands at this point.

”You call yourself The Patriot now right? I’ve been following your career ever since the last New York incident, when The Talons were more well beloved and public opinion even swayed towards metahumans rather than away. Unfortunately, my assessment of you wasn’t the most positive. I’d been wondering if that were an incorrect view, though when your supposed death happened in Canada it didn’t seem to matter,” he shrugged, breathing out a thin cloud of cool air.  ”now you’re back, proclaiming your sudden growth. Despite your perceived growth you’ve done nothing more than insult a near dead man and not even deign to explain yourself. Poor form really,” Sliding a finger across a screen projected a few inches above his watch he looked to Patriot with an gaze that betrayed nothing.

”Still, I’m curious. I have no malice towards you, no reason to have it. If you genuinely care about the state of this world, then give me the pitch. What’s going to happen that puts the world in such peril? I’ll give you a few minutes,” he shrugged,  the floor rapidly shifting and forming the shape of a swivel chair from it that he settled into, one leg crossed over the other and fingers interlacing.

Andrew was almost baffled. Was Lucius really this short sighted? Was this really the same man that attempted a private assassination of his life while a public attempt at deforming his character? No. No one this short sighted. This petty. This childish. They couldn't have done those things. Andrew frowned almost disappointed at the man before him. This wasn't his one time nemesis. This was but a broken piece of what he claimed to be. How could he fault him? From death's front door to a place probably worse. He would need a different approach with this version of the man.

After letting Red ramble he looked him in the eyes. Almost unmoved in the slightest. "I never threw your wife in your face. I only asked how many more. How many more Angies? She didn't deserve what Holocaust did to her anymore than what... your wife had happen to her. One was a child the other an innocent woman. Neither at fault. You missed my point and that's ok. I apologize for hurting you with that statement."

"As for you.. Mr...?" He paused and opened his backpack, pulling out a tea stand and some herbs.
"I'll fill you in over some tea. Your opinion of me doesn't change what's coming but we can be kind towards one another before the real tide crashes." He opened the door and scooped snow in the teapot. "Something I've learned over the years. A good cup of tea helps make a conversation much more fruitful and enjoyable." he said smiling genuinely.

He held his hand under the pot and the snow began to melt forming into a liquid. Andrew put tea leaves into the pot and some honey. Letting the pot sit above a flame he created. The gold and white fire flickered lightly under the pot.

"There's a man coming with an army. One the likes of which we haven't seen yet. He's a god in his own right and his inner circle more powerful. With his main threat injured he's picked now more than ever to strike. The Sacred 7? They are a group posing as a terrorist organization. They're meticulously preparing for what is to come. Gaining power in cells they trust with powers on par with myself and Lucius, Sean Collin, the big hitters. Next is the chosen 4. None of us in this room could take one down alone. I'd be hard pressed to say even 3 of us could take one without planning. Reason being? They're already moves ahead. They've been thinking about this. Our weaknesses. Our strengths. They're digging. We don't even have a shovel yet, I just scratched the surface, and have my very credible intel to even have that much. They'll be the second wave after the 7th trumpets."

The tea was done Andrew poured a cup for each. "Instead of threatening to cut each other's tongues out, let's warm up a bit first. Plus this tea has herbs to help you heal up quicker."

Andrew sat in a chair that formed underneath him.

"Next. The four horsemen if you will. Last their leader. I know he makes gods crumble and universe explode. He is a large problem. I have one of the sacred seven pinned down and I plan to draw him out. As for the rest I can't do it alone. No Talons and while Sean and I are no joke, we aren't an army. This isn't even mentioning collateral damage his regular grunt army intends to inflict."

"I'm not here to say that by any stretch you guys are required to help but we are talking about a literal god's imagination of the apocalypse coming to life. That's a cause worth fighting if you ask me."

Andrew sipped tea and smiled. "A skill I never regret learning" he raised his glass before leaning back and crossing his leg.

"Alba, I'm not asking you to be best friends. I know where you stand how you feel and how I made you feel. I apologize. My actions were that of a child and you have every reason to dislike me. However I truly did not know today our paths would cross. destiny is an interesting thing. Today I think it may just be our friend." he sipped some more tea looking around the room.

"So, my pitch as it were. Do we wager our past grievances over the world, or do we band together and take our earth back? It's not a closed invitation." Andrew finished his tea and poured another glass.  

With true honesty in his eyes he waited for someone to speak. His face welcoming. His posture relaxed.

Lucius' blood was boiling. With every word that came out of the hero's mouth, the dictator's rage increased. Patriot would never admit a fault. Everyone else was the problem, not the glorious hero, and yet despite this he expected those he deflected blame onto to cooperate with him. It was as if Lucius' words were going in one ear and out the other. The Prime Minister shook, feeling the Red Energy surge within him, incidentally increasing the rate of his healing, but not doing his emotional state any favors.

Andrew offered him tea. TEA! He was still trying to make this something it wasn't. Red could not understand why he wouldn't just quit. Any sane person would understand when they weren't wanted in such a situation, but this stubborn man persisted regardless. The tea was placed on the table in front of Lucius, who looked at it with disdain. He'd never accept something so demeaning. It was a concession that could not be made—not to this man, given his behavior.

Lucius' eyes sparked red, and the very air crackled with combustion. In an instant, the tea cup in front of him burst in a flash of crimson. There would have been shards, but they dissolved before they made their dissent. There was no cup, no tea, and no good will.

Lucius sat in silence a few moments after his rather firm denial of the tea, calming himself down.

"As a matter of necessity, I will hear you out Phoenix. But I will take no peace offerings from you. Such symbolism is meaningless and misleading as to the nature of any potential cooperative effort between us," Lucius said, seeming to switch from his rage filled shouting to his more usual analytical speech pattern. The dictator then allowed Phoenix to speak without interruption. After all, despite his dislike of this man, he may have information of concern. Considering Lucius' absence for so long, it couldn't hurt to catch up.

Andrew went on, explaining the details of this apparently universal threat. Lucius couldn't help but sigh. It was cliche at this point. He had just got back from the dead after making a sacrifice during a similar circumstance, and now there was another threat to all life at their doorstep. Granted, it was probably overstated. All Andrew seemed to be concerned with was the invading force's relative power level compared to Earth's fighters, as if the only method of confrontation was a no holds barred punching match. How unimaginative.

"Phoenix, I know you liked to run the Talons like a runaway freight train, but it is typically not my policy to simply show up and take a chance at a direct fight. If we are truly outgunned here, then it is not a matter of superior force, but of superior intelligence. In other words, I'm not going to dance with them, so our relative power is inconsequential," Lucius said, folding his arms over himself. He wasn't going to engage with this simplistic cave man thinking.

"Besides, it's not like I'm all I have available to me. I have thousands of metahumans at my disposal, as well as a literal army and effectively the resources of a global superpower. If I were intending on a contest of power, which I am not, it wouldn't just be me, my energy, and my sword, but the entire force of Rise and it's connections." Lucius was staring off into space as he talked, as if bored. He felt his healing factor really start to kick in now. With his essential processes restored, it was only a matter of time before he was back to himself.

"So, you may be starting to understand. This is a battle of tactics and strategy, so I don't need your brutish, rather limited in scope abilities. Even if it was a battle of raw strength, I have plenty. With thousands of inhumans at my call, all with unique powers, you are a drop in the bucket," Lucius was starting to reveal his point now. He turned to look Phoenix directly in the eye, smiling.

"I appreciate you informing me of this threat. You can go home, boy. Let the adults handle it."

Quick enough the smell of tea began to flow through the impromptu tent. Iskandar considering the man and the boiling leaf water with a silent curiosity. Most of the words weren’t even directed towards him, instead towards Lucius who was still not pleased with this mans presence. Had he come unto some kind of strange personal spat between two superbeings?  Well, whatever the case he was he followed the flickering light cast across the room. There was mention of a terrorist group or perhaps people who pretended to be terrorists? He couldn’t quite tell, though he didn’t say anything and allowed the man to continue speaking and looking to Lucius silently wondering how he would respond. His facial expressions were enough to show.

Lifting one of the cups he sniffed the steaming liquid and handed it to the largest of the men he brought with him. The man looked hesitant but took the cup, sipping at it with a low pleased hum working from his throat. ”A god being copying Revelation to end the world. Fascinating, ” His tone was calm, lacking in any real emotion that could be picked up on. He was the kind of person that could control himself to an admirable degree. ”Well that is interesting. Definitely something I’ll need to work against, the world being destroyed would dampen what I’m trying to do. ” The air smelled of scorched ozone from Alba’s outburst, though he said nothing about that and instead unlaced his fingers.

”However I do have to agree in this moment you don’t offer more than my current allies can offer. The information is appreciated but I don’t believe I will gain much from your cooperation at this time,” In so many words he agreed with Lucius, though being informed of this situation was nice.

Andrew frowned and looked down "I liked that cup." for a moment ignoring Lucius' temper tantrum, and talking to himself.

After Red was done going on, Andrew picked up the broken pieces of the tea cup and put them gently in his bag, moving calmly and patiently. He finished his own last sip, and put down the cup.

"You're correct. You aren't all you have."
Patriot pointed to Iskandar.
"This guys knows WHO I am but he doesn't know me at all, so what's he got to trust me on...no offense."

Andrew folded his hands and narrowed his eyes to Alba. It may be the first time he ever looked at him as someone to share something with and not someone on the other side of the isle.

"Look I'm well aware this isn't how things used to work when I ran with the Talons. I know a lot about the situation we are facing. Valuable intel. You think I came here for your powers? I'm here to help make a chess board being played on both sides, by a god, into an even match. I'm not interested in dancing myself. I'm here for your brain."

The hero sighed, he knew nothing he said would matter to Alba and he was wasting his breath. Nonetheless he got this far.

"You had a traitor among Rise. Part of how I got my intel on this subject and a few others I'm going to pretend I don't remember. I know a smarter way to take this army on, you may have your own but you would effectively be sending lambs to a slaughter. I want to get on the chess board. Before you use some pawn pun, I'm serious Lucius."

The hero looked around the room. The other man seemed a little more interested now. Andrew stood up, and dug through his backpack until he found what he was looking for. A pair of Talon dog tags.

"Now when you're ready to actually talk about this, like adults. Handle this, like adults. Plot something beneficial, like adults. Then press that button twice. It'll bring you to Talons Tower. It's just me and some A.I. living there currently. You're no stranger to teleportation." He put his bag over his shoulder, and reached out shake Iskandar's hand.

"Thank you for having me, and letting me enjoy a warm glass of tea in a tundra. I'm Andrew I didn't catch your name."

He awaited a shake, and a introduction. Then he walked towards the door and back at Lucius.
"Listen, Alba. I promise I wouldn't be bothering you, if this wasn't serious. I really think this one's going to take a lot more than a college bar slug off. Rest up man, you look like you've been through hell."

He stepped outside and in a flash he was gone. Back at the base. He just waited for Alba to be ready to chat. Hopefully he would realize they could use each other's help.

On and on they go, loud and shrill and annoying. On and on and on. Nails on a chalkboard. Did these people ever shut up? The ones that chattered the most had the least to say, in Lucius' experience, and this one was very good at saying absolutely nothing with the highest amount of words possible. They knew nothing, yet acted as if they knew everything. It was almost sad, to see a creature desperately trying to make itself look bigger in hopes of being likable to a true superior. It was futile, of course. Lucius just ended up getting bored.

Lucius sighed and looked back at the other one at the table that could actually grasp the gravitas of the topics being discussed. Iskander radiated understanding and piercing insight. Phoenix was dull in comparison. No, not dull. Blunt. As blunt as a baseball bat. And yet, he thought of himself as a leader. No wonder none of his operations ever really solved anything. It was the blind leading the blind, Lucius had no doubt.

"More than hell. I've gone to the end of the universe and stared Gods of Death in the face. Your concerns in comparison to what I have just gotten through experiencing are trivial at best..... But, I suppose they will have to be solved eventually. We'll be in touch," Lucius said dismissively. It was then that Phoenix left their little makeshift shelter, leaving Lucius with Iskander and his three meta goons.

"Since I now know you don't intend to kill me, given the fact you've done nothing the entire time I've been gathering my strength, we can talk," Lucius said. It was true. If Iskander was currently a threat, he would have done something by now. If on the other hand Lucius was just overestimating this man's strategic ability and Iskander did in fact want to attack him, well, the Dictator was now at full strength once more, for practical purposes.

"I apologize for the interruption. Stray cats from my past. Do you have any questions for me?"