The Scepter of Maat (Iha, Revenant, Danny, Warhead, and Samuel)

The internet was becoming an even more ominous place the more Iha had searched and dove through the countless web pages. The world was becoming darker every time he went further in. He didn't like it but there wasn't much choice. He was the fasted way to finding the lost artifacts, a living computer that could jump in and out without being seen or detected... for the most part. Every lead seemed like it was useless till he came upon a post on a mercenary web-page stating something about 'apocalypse' and 'code word "Maat"' This had to be what he was looking for. There was little more about the project that was open to the public, then he dived into the secret spaces, effortlessly schematics of a facility in India poured down his vision. Details about the mercenaries movements and safe guards against intrusion or defence against attacks, it was all there.

Iha had been sitting cross-legged for an hour or so, he could feel it when he came too. Wires streamed off of his head and down into another computer system that Mehka monitored.

"It seems the scepter is being held here Iha. What do you think we should do?". Her Egyptian was getting better the last few months.

"We have to get to it some how." Iha told her has he pulled the wires from his head. "You think we can just go and ask for it?" He smiled.

"I doubt that, they seem to be keeping this a pretty good secret. If we tell them we know about it we ... migh.. might as well put our names on a hit list." Mehka explained. "I think we are going to have to steal it." She grinned.

Iha knew she liked all the ninja stuff, but he had a feeling it meant a lot of work on his part.

They have been living in India sense Iha had 'woken up'. He liked the country, though it was a little too warm. As soon as they got in the car his temperature spiked to 230°, which was fine with his suit on, he could feel it pulsating cool fluid down his body. The extra cloths he wore added a little, but he also liked to look good. The black sports jacket over a blue button up shirt and a tie decorated with Egyptian symbols, most notable was the anhk. Though when Mehka drove down the freeway at 80mph it would catch the wind and flap around.  They were on their way to the far southern edge of India, it was a little village on the coast of the Laccadive sea.

Two days later...

The building looked pretty basic on the outside. It was surrounded by electric fences, guard patrols, and there was a vehicle check point to get through the gate. From what Iha could gather it was owned by a big shot arms dealer. Maybe he was a lowlife, but the facility was top notch. It was four stories up on the outside, but its roots went deep underground, up to thirty stories. The scepter being at the bottom of course.

"Alright, lets wait till night fall, then we can try and sneak in." Mehka said looking over the steering wheel as they passed by.  

It took a moment for Iha to understand, the words streaming across his vision translated to Egyptain. "No." He looked at her, "You... st...You stay here. I don't want you to get hurt." He tried to speak English.

"You know I am better at fighting then you..." She looked at him with a sidelong face.

"If we do this right there will be... no.. fi.. fighting" He attempted.

Anyone in the general area would see a convoy of black armored trucks driving down to the vehicle checkpoint. There would be 5 armored urals presumably carrying people to the facility. As they arrive, a few men haul crates out to the checkpoint guards. The crates have dozens of stacks of American money. The lead driver in a thick Russian accent says, I'm here to see your boss with the girl's name." He smirks. The guards take the cash and wave him through, the urals moving up into the facility.

Luke looked about, he finally reached the destination on the GPS he found days ago, when he fought some powerful radioactive man. He still finds that moment a bit, unnerving. The fact that he could only slow that guy down, only when that guy wasn't paying attention did he have a chance of even causing a dent on him, he even had help. Luke hasn't been to India before, and he didn't have a frickin clue what anyone was saying, but that was fine, he just needed to make sure nobody got hurt. He finds some trucks coming up the road and leaps into the tree's, hiding before they would have time to see him. He see's some armored cars come through, once all the vehicles stopped, they started unloading millions, maybe even billions of U.S dollars. And then the guards let him in, "Ah, so they are using a bribe possibly, cant get them now, but maybe later." He thought. He decided to wait. Might find an opening, if there will be one...

In America, everyone thought Danny looked vaguely Indian. In India, everyone knew Danny was definitely American. The cab rolled along through the crowded streets with small bikes passing by her stalled cab. A thought crossed Danny's mind about the time a sixth bike passed by. "How much does it cost to rent a bike?"

The man positioned his rearview mirror to place Danny's face square in the middle of his line of sight. "For you? One hundred of your dollars."

Danny began tying her hair up.  "Do you take-"

"One hundred of the dollars. No card. No check." He turned the mirror back.

The heat rising from outside made things miserable, but Danny would need to shoulder a little misery if she wanted to get to the bottom of the reported disturbance in the area. Her track jacket remained half zipped over a pink shirt with a pair of white capris to try and battle the weather while she battled the bad. "Do you take anything that isn't- oh wait." Danny took her driver's license out of her wallet, letting a $100 bill fall out. "One hundred sounds good."

After the man took the bike out of his trunk, and Danny paid her tab, she found it much easier to zig through traffic, zag through alleys, and keep track of her own location with her bracelet. It rarely spoke to her, and even when it did, it rarely did so in a direct way, but this time it gave her a very bright image of a scepter and a distinct star signature. To say Danny figured out the constellation herself would be a bit of an overstatement, but she did use the resources of Stanford and her own charisma to get the astronomy department to let her know exactly where it would be. Within about fifty to one hundred miles.

So Danny searched within fifty to one hundred miles until her bike finally stopped a few meters from a fence as a patrol of armed men made their way by. For once Danny faded into the fold of the Indian traffic. The measure of the building did not dwarf the surrounding area, but its building quality stood as something the other shoddy buildings could learn from. "Now, how do I get in before- is that a live line running to the fence?" Danny tapped her bracelet. "I guess cutting the fence is a no-no."

Take this with you. Um... You remember how to use it right? Mehka asked as she handed Iha an M1911.

He looked at it for a moment. A box seemed to surround the weapon revealing statistics like fire-rate, ammunition size, effective distance, maximum and minimum range, and a little more about the manufacture and the material it was made out of. Most of this was just gibberish to Iha. He could read it for sure, but still knew nothing about guns.

"Um... I can figure it out." He smiled. Looking down at it, its silver body gleaming in the dim light from a hotel lamp.

"The target location is only down the block. Make sure you watch for the guards, get over the fence quick and quietly. Once you make it to the door... well, you'll know what to do." Mehka rambled off nervously. She hated to stay back. None the less she set up her laptop on the table and prepared as Iha walked out the door.

It was dark now. Iha's suit hugged his body tight under the long rain coat. It wasn't the most ideal disguise but as soon as he hit the tree line he dropped the coat and sprinted toward the fence.
Just how I practiced. He told himself scanning the fence line.
He could see a patrol walk their path around the building. Thirty seconds He jump. His arm shot into the air, dragging his body behind him. He cleared the fence easy. Landing on both feet next to the building and dashed to the closest door.

The ground was gravel under his feet, but he could make out the path the guards beat into it. Following it as quiet as he could be, sometimes having them crunch loader than he would like, but he seemed to make it to the door with no problems...

An alarm sounds...

Ummm... Iha sighed, remembering the cameras.

He drew his gun and aimed quickly down the wall. Five shots through a suppressor and finally the camera shattered. Speed was of the essence now. A contraption on his belt moved as if on its own. A wire quickly darted from it and connected to a key pad next to the door. He could hear foot steps crunches against rocks as the patrol hurried back his way. The door swung open as the first soldier turned the corner and Iha dived inside. Slamming the door behind himself.

The hallway was lit by florescent lights that made glares on the tiled ground. Iha's feet squeaked as he ran toward a sign that looked like the one Mehka explained before hand, elevator. He hurred up and pushed the button, waiting nervously as the alarm rang out.

Sweat started to bead on his forehead. He could hear as people moved through the compound. How close they were was hard to tell, the noise of the ground made echoes and then a loud squeak as a soldier turned the corner. Iha reacted at this point, slamming his fist into the mans chest, it was off target but effective enough to push the man back into the wall. Iha then shot a quick two shots, one of the bullets tearing through the mans leg. The elevator door opened as the man screamed and fumbled his hands on his weapon but he wasn't fast enough.

Elevator music...

Iha wiped his face. "Your doing fine." Mehka's voice spoke into his head.

"I didn't want to hurt him Mehka... but." He sighed.

"There was nothing more you could have done. Try to keep focused." She comforted him.

He quickly pushed the button for the lowest floor.

Sam was never sure why he could the weird jobs that required travel. He wasn't a well-traveled person, he didn't know how to speak other languages, but somehow, he always managed to land jobs that sent him to other countries. He didn't mind it, he rather enjoyed travel! It was nice to see the world and not worry about plane ticket expenses or not being able to find something to do, rather it was just strange that he was the one to be the person people picked to travel. Half the time he didn't even know what he was doing or why, he just was told to do it by someone he trusts, someone he has done jobs for before, he'd do the job, then he'd get paid. It was a simple process, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed strange.

This India job was quite strange, sure he could break into places easy with his portals, but he didn't know anything about the area or about the scepter thingy he was sent after. Sure, he had a magic sword, but that doesn't mean he knows anything about scepters. He doesn't even know how he got the magic sword, he just ended up with it one day. If he was lucky, maybe the scepter would do that too? As always he'd just have to play it by ear. His employer, after great lengths, had figured out where it was and sent Sam on his merry way to go and retrieve it. Apparently the group who had it wasn't the nicest, but by no means did Sam want to engage them, luckily for him, that part of the job was always optional.

After a long plane ride with a few transfers, followed by a few long taxi rides with a few transfers, Sam finally arrived at the town in which the place was located. It was apparently a large building with several floors downward. There was a briefing as to how many, but Sam couldn't remember the exact number, he just knew the scepter was on the bottom floor and that there would be guards. He'd just have to be careful and do his best to get through it. Take things as they come and go from there. It was hard to be worried about the situation though, the surrounding area was so interesting and different from what he was used to. It was a whole new world over here and Sam knew so little about it. Watching people on the street and on the roads was strange, seeing how they go about their day and lives, how the react to each other. It wasn't all pleasant, but it was interesting.

When he finally did arrive in the town it was already getting dark, it was so close the evening and it was hot! Being in the car and airport so long he had forgot how hot it was out here. He regretted he keeping his jacket on, but it was part of his identity, not a secret one, but just part of who he was. It took him so some time to actually figure out where the building was, a good few hours and most of the light had faded from the world. It would make his job all the more easy. He had positioned himself on a roof not too far from the fence that blocked the building. He stayed up there for a few minutes, scoping out the area and trying to see what the guard routine was. There were a few good points as to where he could use his portal to get in, but he wanted to make sure he had a route to follow and a good way to get out. This wasn't New York where other super powered people were going to come into play. He had to do this all on his own, not something he took great joy in admitting, but it was just how it is. What he wouldn't give to have some people here to help get the scepter.

And then he heard it, the alarm. It blared and, for a moment, Sam thought he was caught and started to raise his hands. Then he realized he hadn't even broken in yet and lowered them. He tried to look around to see what had happened, what had set it off, but couldn't find anything. With a heavy sigh he stood up and shook his head. He had wanted to do the silent approach, but now that was over, they'd be on high security now. He'd also have to try and find whoever broke in, maybe they were an ally? It was a nice thought that made Sam grin excitedly. He loved meeting new people.

With a clap of his hands together and took a step forward, opening a portal up in front him. "Showtime!' He exclaimed happily.

Already being inside the compound on the scepter floor, he'd hear an alarm blaring and decides that he needs to protect the scepter. He finds an electricity socket and plugs himself into it, charging his Boyd up with the facility's power. He looks to his men, armed in black tactical gear with weird looking assault rifles. He would also be in black combat gear rather than his normal yellow hazard suit. "Go and grab the scepter with Eleanor. I'll handle the company. Also, make sure to grab it with the container the scientists gave us." Now, fully charged up, Warhead would've grown to his massive 7'3" and started stomping down the hall to the elevator, preparing one of his super building crusher punches. Luke knows what I mean.

While Warhead was already in the basement floor where the scepter is located, preparing to send a thermonuclear special right at Iha as the elevator door opens, his men would enter the scepter holding room and prepare the container to hold the scepter. The others have their guns trained on the door to the scepter room while the others grab the scepter. The other guards that belonged to the compound are being attacked above ground while Warhead keeps waiting impatiently for someone to go down to the scepter level.

Luke was sitting in the branches, relaxing. His stomach was full of foreign flavours. He recently ate 4-5 entire tandoori chicken's, bones included. Followed by multiple glasses of shipanje, which was basically just lemonade. Finishing off with a plate full of paan, stuffed, spiced and folded betel leaves, to speed up digestion. It was weird, he no longer had the need for a digestive track, his body used everything in his meals to regenerate at the rates that made him unkillable, so far.

He started thinking about how weird his body got once his power's switched on, he remembers how he felt, having his organs start to dissolve within him. He relates the situation to having somebody's organs melted, slowly. He remembers lying in bed for days, throwing up blood and pus every so often, he hated that feeling. But he knew that once his body would quite trying to kill itself, he would be a god.

He chuckled lightly, as he remembers how he took the news that he didn't need to sleep anymore, he missed having dreams, he missed those lucid dreamscapes, those terrifying nightmares, those he missed. He sometimes wished he could one day get hit hard enough to put him to sleep for that long. But he knew its advantages, like how he went to go for a sleep over at Sean's, and dared him to stay up the whole night, and how the next day, Sean could hardy function, well he himself was well awake. And how he took the news that he would never get sick again, or that he really wouldn't feel pain for longer then a few seconds. He liked that he could regenerate, but found that he had to eat so much to be quite a hinderance. He found it hard to incorporate large meals into his daily life, and how it took more of his cash then any thief could accomplish. He then started to think of how much it money he would have hade if he would eat like a normal person.

Then he heard something, he broke from his trance with a snap of his neck up towards the large facility, he was alert and ready for a fight. He noticed guards running around, shouting and the siren blaring rang through the air. He leaps from his treetop perch, shooting above confused guards, as he clears the fence and lands with a heavy thump on the ground. Bullets firing at him from every direction, stinging as they pierce his flesh, some bullets exiting the body, other's getting lodged in his bones, before they are quickly expelled from his body. He decides whatever caused the alarm can wait, he will deal with the guards first.

He opens up the spots in his body that hold the axe, as he now reconnects it with his regenerative blood, refitting the axe to its original shape. He then begins attacking soldiers with the flat of the blade, he may accidently kill some, but most should survive with a few things to remember. He sends screaming men flying through the air as he swings with the force of a vehicle colliding into a wall. Breaking bones and moral's as he sends the blade slamming into men and vehicles. He felt the full force of their ammunition though, and it damn hurt.

But this is going to hurt them much, much more.

The first part of her plan still remained to be completed, but the sounds of two or three 'plan A's all sprung into action at once. "Less guards for me. I hope this isn't one of those 'the worst guys' are attacking the slightly less bad guys type deals." For the time being, she needed to seize on the opportunity before her window closed.

A large turquoise block about three feet in cube appeared ten feet before the fence. A second block with the same width appeared, but this one stood six feet. A final piece of the puzzle fell as a nine foot block finished the stairs just over the reach of the fence. Danny vaulted each of the blocks and leaped over the side, clearing the electric fence and protecting her fall with a graceful back handspring.

Her presence went unnoticed. Patrols all made their ways towards the growing calamity about the interior and exterior, and the call for a lockdown had yet to materialize, so Danny knew exactly what she needed to do. Get where no one was. Her blocks disappeared behind her. Danny turned around and darted for the side of the wall. Whenever noise popped up, she made sure to duck and see if another route could be used.

A solitary door away from any direct yells or gun fire whispered Danny over. She peaked her head to the door's locking mechanism and began to create a turquoise construct with enough of a wedge to force close the locking mechanism. Danny pulled the door open and quickly ushered herself in, closing it behind her with as little sound as she could muster. She stepped forward, and began to make her way down a lone hallway. She tried to get closer to the center of the building, hoping to find an elevator that could grant her access to any floor not currently bursting into an active warzone.

"This elevator opens to another hallway, take a right and I will guide you through the rest as it comes." Mehka directed. "You should probably prepa... get ready. There is no way it isn't protected."

Iha finished wiping the sweat off his face. His temperature was steady at 210°, that was within normal ranges, for being in India anyway.

He pushed a button on a pouch that was connected to his belt and pulled out a small twig that he placed in the middle of his hand. Then opened another and pulled a feather out. Placing his palms together he spoke four Egyptian words. "Life, protection, Please Ra". The words echoed slightly into the universe and he crushed the items together in his hands, then letting them fall to the floor. The spell would not be activated till Iha crossed his arms.

The elevator door dinged open...

After a few chains of portals Sam found himself on the second floor of the building. It seemed like most the guards had gone to the lower levels in search of the intruders, which, from the sounds of the gunfire, it would appear there was more than one. What did Sam get himself into? He knew it was gonna be dangerous, but this seemed like an all out war zone. Part of him began to think that this scepter was more than just some random doohickey, but actually something of notable worth. This would require some extra care and finesse, not something that Sam was quite used to. Looking around at this top floor it seemed to mainly be a office section of the facility. If the info he got was true, the scepter was at the bottom, so he'd have to find a way down. Maybe an elevator, or if he really had to, some stairs. That would be a pain, but...there wasn't an time to dillydally.

He made his way towards the back end of the room to where he saw the large metal doors to the elevator. He clicked the button once and frowned as the light at the top of the metal doors blinked. It was already at the bottom, it'd take forever for it to get back up here. On top of that...there was a good chance there would be guards inside, waiting. If the doors opened up on and a group of guards was inside then that would be it for Sam. Unfortunately the stairs were his only option. It was gonna be a long way down. At the very least, it was good exercise, and if it got too bad he could always use his portals.

With a small exhale he moved over to the door and opened it up. He started down the staircase, whistling a rather chipper tune. There was no sense in being negative in a situation like this, it wouldn't make it any easier or make it go any faster. However, he did keep a hand on the hilt of his blade. With all the noise going it made Sam tense, he couldn't be too careful here, he had to be ready at moments notice to get ready to fight something. On top of that, echoing further down the staircase he could the sounds of footsteps, several pairs of them, also heading downward. Those were probably more guards going down to protect the scepter. He had to be ready to face them if needed, he wouldn't kill them, but he had to be ready for a fight. He really did need to invest in more weapons or maybe even some armor or a costume. Something for a bit more protection, right now he was only in a pair jeans, a tee-shirt, and the jacket he almost never took off. He kept his hood down for right now, keeping his line of vision up, but it wouldn't hurt to get a mask or something. Yeah. After this job he'd go out and buy a mask and maybe something to go along with it.

As the elevator door opens, Iha would experience the most intense heat and energy discharge he'd ever felt. An energy discharge on the level of this punch once put Luke through a few buildings or so. With or without life protection, knock back is your enemy. Also, as this is going on, the soldiers are in the scepter room, using poles with claws on the end to grab the scepter and place it into a protective container. They put in the code to lock it before shoving it into a duffle bag.

Luke continued his wave of destruction, sending men in the air with the blunt of his axe. His strength fueling the power behind his swings, and speed to make the job quick. He left wounded guards, smashed vehicles, and blood in his wake, his blood. The stinging sensation started to numb a bit, dulling to more of a pinching sensation all over his body. His regeneration dealt with bullets pretty well, they only ever became annoying if they hit his face, or if they came in the thousands. Like right now.

He felt something drilling within his back, and spun around to see a guy behind a small blockade with a portable turret set up. He felt his bones start to shatter and his flesh to be sent everywhere, his blood spraying all over the place as hundreds of bullets plant themselves in his body as it tries to repair, but was too slow to fix the extreme damage. He started feeling weak in the knees, his muscles where being torn up from the constant shredding of ammunition. And he fell over. The bullets came for only a few seconds more until they stopped too, then he heard the man who was operating it yell out something and begin walking towards him. The man obviously thought he was dead, and stood over him, unaware that Luke was far from dead.

Luke pushed himself from the ground, sending himself and the soldier 20 feet in the air, he then spun around and quickly leg dropped the guy well they where still in the air. The man flew towards the ground and crashed into the pavement, dead before he hit the ground. Luke landed, his wounds still bloody from his earlier endeavor with his foe. He heard the men start screaming "Mrityunjya! Mrityunjya!" (Mrityunjya was a Hindu child who defied death in Indian mythology.) Luke had no clue what they where saying, but they where sure in a rush to get away from him, he used this fear-fueled retreat to his advantage, screaming and laughing as he mock chased soldiers, tossing things over there heads as they ran from the compound, but a few brave soul's stayed to fight. At this point Luke couldn't stand this, he needs to find that convoy, may have had something important. He runs towards the building, he was going to run through the facility until he reaches a spot that may have the vehicle, but he finds an elevator, he nearly passes it by when he hears a booming sound erupting from the elevator. Luke smiles as he realizes what needs to be done next, he pry's it open, he looks down the deep shaft, unlighted."look like it goes for infinity", he sighs, letting gravity do the work, he fall's.

It took no time at all for the calamity to come down to Danny. For once she did not invite it upon herself, but it asked for no invitation, nor did it expect to find recourse. Bullets sunk into the course defenses of the barrier, ringing cracks throughout the construct until it finally broke. More barriers could be constructed, but Danny never wanted to construct herself in a corner- especially if she needed to clean up the mess of some super terrorists.

"Of course the elevator would be busted." A long tunnel of nothing opened before her. The first barrier failed to keep the last of the bullets at bay. "That is going to be a massive staircase- and I do not know where the bottom is." The second and third barrier collapsed. The little effort Danny put in to make an escape put her in peril as a swarm of guards cascaded into the room.

Danny turned around with her hands raised. "I...didn't do that." Danny motioned her head back towards the elevator.

"Take out her leg." The man behind a gun with enough authority to pull other men's trigger aimed his rifle at Danny's leg.

"That's a little extreme!" Danny looked behind her. At the very edge of her vision she could see the top of the turquoise staircase spiraling towards her. "I'm not even resisting."

One man pointed his gun at Danny's leg. He squeezed the trigger. Nothing. Another stepped up and took a shot. Still nothing.

"I'll do it my-" More nothing from the man who called the first shot.

"Did anyone not waste all of their bullets shooting at my constructs?" Danny thought about creating some form of weapon to dispatch the guards, but that would mean spending more time with them. A situation she hoped to avoid at all costs. "The fact you guys are still trying to shoot me is not endearing yourself at- and there it is. Later boys."

Blowing a kiss, Danny stepped back to the turquoise platform. A final barrier would appear to block off any pursuers. Danny hopped down the stairs coming to the final point where her staircase originated. She could see two floors beneath her- and hear a great deal of violence coming from below. She looked up to confirm her stairs disappeared behind her. "Good. Good." She looked down and felt heat hit her in the face. "Bad. Bad."

A turquoise crowbar worked Danny's way into the floor just above the bottom floor. She needed more bearings and less confusion coming from such clear aggression. A voice came into her ear. It did not try to speak with her. It spoke beyond her.

There were others whom wanted to speak directly with Danny. "I'm guessing you all still have lots of bullets?"

A swarm of guard fixed the barrels of their guns directly at Danny.

The elevator door split open revealing a large man, and he was...striking at Iha!

"Watch out!" Mehka shouted through comms.

Iha quickly crossed his arms and threw himself in a twisted dive out of the elevator to the man's left side. It effectively dodged the blow, but a wave of heat singed some hair off his head and made his suit smoke a little. The man's punch destroyed the wall that was behind Iha. You could see clearly though to the elevator shaft and even then there were cracks that pulsed through it. The ground where Iha's legs lay shook as the elevator fell two feet when the wires above snapped.

The android's body felt intense pressure, then pain, and heat from the attack. Something he had never felt before, not to mention the shaking of the building. The energy that was released caused Iha's vision to go haywire for a moment as the system gave him damage reports. An image of a body came up on his peripheral vision, both of its legs blinking red. Words followed, "Severe Bruising... outer epidermal layers.".

His body hit against the hard tile floor, the intense  heat caused sweat to trickled down Iha's face as red numbers blink at the corner of his eye. '220°... 225°' and it was still climbing. The heat off this guy was intense. This must be one of the special guards Iha concluded to himself. Holding his crossed arms as pain from his legs intensified.

Before he hit the ground two monstrous soul like humanoid arms surrounded Iha. They formed a barrier that the man was within, causing him to feel powerless, as if all the energy had been sucked out of his body, frail like. This would continue for a little while after Iha dropped his arms, which wasn't about to happen till he got to his feet.