The Gala

Clement had always enjoyed Trains. In his own mind, they always reminded him of pocket watches. They way that each piece had to be moved and set to keep the whole working. How each tiny switch had to be correct, how each track and each wheel must move in unity to avoid disaster. They moved in such graceful little loops. He tended to help out where he could, his own intellect forbidding him from involving himself wherever he could.

That was how he knew about the Station, hidden away like a little lost jewel. He had seen enough of the Subway system that he could practically draw it out, on perfect scale, should anyone so ask him. Or at least, he knew enough of it fifty years ago. When he needed a home, a place to hide from the rest of the world, he went to it. And it embraced him, welcoming home as he was a son. It was truly beautiful, beneath the years of neglect.

The entrance was well hidden, a small and unnoticeable alcove in a back alley hidden behind a chain link fence. It led down a steep, tiled set of stairs, which turned harshly halfway down, to reveal another tiled set of stairs. The curved roof almost made it feel like exploring a cave, before a shutter seemed to ruin the image. When lifted, however, it revealed a large, rectangular room, with a single train track. To the immediate left, a curved room was sealed from the rest of the station, a very early ticket booth that would soon serve as an office, a living room, and a bedroom. In front of it, past the two proud standing columns holding up the roof, sat a single passenger car, rotting softly in silence. How it had been left there was a wonder, because in front of it of and behind it there were now thick bricks blocking the walls.

In the five years he had been hidden away, only venturing out to eat or to commit those horrible acts that were demanded of him, it had changed quite a bit. Firstly, it was cleaned impeccably by the small little workers that buzzed happily through the air, his little Automatons. Or Bots, as they were now called. The tiles hap been cleaned and polished, shining as they would have done in the first days the station had been built. The train car had been cannibalised, part of it being used to expand the ticket booth, or make the Doctor his new furniture. The chassis had been left completely intact, because now it acted like a podium for the body of his frozen daughter. The tracks underneath had been filled with generators needed to power the systems and keep her frozen, while iron grating had been placed above, to make a single long floor. In the far corner from the entrance, there now stood a kitchen, while in the other corner, a multitude of medical equipment hand built, or stolen. In between the pillars, however, was his most important tool. A computer, hand built from the parts of others, taught him everything there could possibly be to know about the advancement of man in the past fifty years. Beside it, wrapped around the pillar, was his work surface.

This place would have been the pride and joy of another man, who relished his work. To Clement, it was a monument to all of his sins.

The Doctor was getting ready. His “costume” and his weapons had all been checked over, because tonight was an important night. A night he had been waiting for, for almost three years, since he learned of the Project. Clement Industries was about to unfold the curtain on a device that would revolutionize medicine. A device that even Ignatius, the founder, would have struggled to understand if he did not have access to the company’s mainframe. A Genetic Manipulator. A machine built for the sole purpose of rearranging DNA, the building blocks of humanity. Clement would never have been able to build a machine with the limited funds he now had. So that left only one option.

He would have to steal from his own company.

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The building was illuminated with a few white spotlights, as the guests arrived. Apparently, the company was putting on a gala event to showcase their new toy. Clement watched with a critical eye, from across the street, atop a squat office building. He lingered only a short time, watching the limos pull up to the curb and the flashes of camera light, before he used the Anti-Gravity System to propel himself into the night sky. Rather than fly directly at the event, he planned on simply riding an elevator down into the lobby and going from there.

In the back of his mind, the guilt about what he was about to do squirmed. Something dark shifted with it, and crushed it with the softest of a hiss.

The lights blinded the New York skyline that retracted the stars from its canopy with the dim illumination of streetlights. Ashley couldn't attend the formal gala from the perspective of the limousine cascade, but with a little planning, and some quick thinking by Bliss, she made her stilettoed way through the security brandishing an I.D. badge showing her as a guest. Her heels echoed along the linoleum floor, while her knee length black, ruffled skirt bounced with each exaggerated move she made. Her curled ponytail skipped to her shoulder, as she turned her head to examine the scene before her. Men and women enjoyed the luxury that science brought them.

Champagne glasses and laughter from slightly inebriated patrons echoed through the halls. They came for a show. A new device that could alter DNA. It almost made her replicating cells long for the chance to redo the botched near death experience she put herself through. She almost dies because she needed to make a point to Bliss about her hubris and selfishness, and nearly died because of those two reasons. But the company brought it here. She wondered how they would go about testing the thing. Would they alter someone's DNA as an example? And if they did, would it be so drastic that we would take immediate notice?

She felt her phone vibrate in her small, white handbag. She opened it to see she received an email with an encrypted code from Bliss. Cute She thought to herself. Bliss is still making trouble for anyone trying to get anything from her. This better not be anything important. Another email came in reading In Cali, be back in NY soon. Miss you, and don't bother trying to figure out that e-mail you'll never get it. Ashley pressed the home key on her phone and slid it back into her bag. A smile came to her face; she had seen very little of Bliss since London and it made her glad to here her doing well in California.

A sudden push came to her back as a waiter moved past her. Time stands still for no one. Ashley began moving towards the front of the room. She grazed past a beverage waiter and grabbed a glass of champagne and looked to see if she could locate any company for the evening to make her seem to fit in against the crowd. The crowd seemed uniform in chatter and demeanor; maybe a few drinks would lighten everything up.

Amidst the laughter and chatter of the well-dressed guests of this formal event Ryan Blake stood smiling and joining in the festivities. He was a little out of place in this crowd of high class people but he didn’t let on at all, then again this was his element. At heart Ryan loved to relax and have a good time and this seemed as good a venue as any. Ryan was invited to the Gala by a friend of his whose mother worked for the company he was her “date” for the night, or at least he thought he was. The moment they arrived she had run off with another guy and he hadn’t seen her since. He didn’t really mind they were just friends of course and there were plenty other fish in this sea.

Ryan smiled shaking hand and joking with the crowd of well to do men and women, he was part of the sea of bodies that crowed the room he was just a regular guy for once. He wore a nice fitting suit it was black with a vibrant yellow tie dangling from his neck contrasting with the black of the suit itself and his white shirt. Underneath he wore his costume as he always did, it was very thin and easy to conceal under his street clothes. Though Ryan hoped that tonight BlackOut would remain buried in beneath his custom tailored suit and he would be able to enjoy himself for a change. He wandered away from the current conversation someone was explaining what the event was all about and he honestly didn’t care all too much. Sliding away from the group of people he had been standing with Ryan wade his way through the ocean of tailored suits and designer dresses until he could find a less crowded area.

Pulling himself from the crowd of bodies that surrounded him Ryan snatched a glass of champagne off of the beverage tray as the waiter walked by. Sipping the drink Ryan began to scan the room once more to see if he could find his date but it was without success. “Oh well” the said to himself shrugging and draining the drink in his hand. Turning around the room finding his bearing Ryan walked off toward the bar in hopes of getting a stronger drink, and possibly a new date. Wading through a second sea of guests he reached the bar and ordered his drink, rum and coke seemed like a good place to start he thought turning around he watched the mob of people and smiled as he sipped his drink hoping this was the start a very good night.

The roof was silent, the sounds of the city below drowned out by mere distance alone. Clement landed softly on the wide helicopter pad, his boots scuffing slightly on the surface before he finally let the belt hum to a soft stop. The contact lenses he wore instantly switched between visual modes, giving him a thermal scan of the floor below before switching to night vision. His heart pounded in his chest as he plucked a small baseball shaped object from his side. The tiny robot whirred to life, levitating in his hand and spinning once as it check its systems.

“Good boy.” The Doctor murmured. The habit of chatting to his own inventions had been with him for a long time now. “Tonight’s a big night, E-12. I want you and your brothers working perfectly. Understand?” The bot adjusted its visual lens as its recording system powered up. Soon, Clement was looking at his own face and marvelling at just how old he looked now. “Good. Now go open the door, while I wake up the rest of the fami- The rest of the Automatons.”

Four other machines whirred to life in his hands over the next minute, while E-12 went to the locked maintenance door on the roof. As Clement conducted them like a little orchestra, a small brass arm extending from beneath the robot. The red light on the end glowed brightly and produced a beam that steadily cut through the locking mechanism.

They should really have put an alarm on it.

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The Gala seemed to be hosted in the rather expansive and impressive Lobby, which consisted of Columns, shining steel, large glass windows and black grating. There was a buffet table set up towards the left of the entrance, with a large ice sculptor of Atlas and his big weight, the world. Lights illuminated it from beneath. To the left, there stood a grand piano, where a man in a white suit played classical music, with two large plotted plants on either side of him.

What interested the guests, however, was the stage. It must have been built specifically for this occasion, because it looked more like scaffolding, a number or steel poles sticking out garishly. The backdrop was simply a large white canvas, stretched from corner to corner. A projector sat five feet from the end of the stage, with a number of leads running to the rear. Hidden from the guests, were a bonk of monitors and a number of scientists, all monitoring every single flotation in the machine with military scrutiny.

What drew most eyes, however, was the large capsule shape, hidden beneath a white sheet. It stood to the right on the stage, luring the gazes of anyone who would care to glance.

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The upper floors were not as security driven as the labs below them. He supposed it had a kind of reasoning to it, that if such security had been enforced all the way from the grand up, the least of your worries would be with the roof. But when it came to the people he knew, the Heroes and the Villains that were most likely long dead... That when it came to the people with super powers, they could simply do what he had done and walked through, un-denied. Even the CCTV cameras, machines meant to capture his image, were easy to overcome. He simply hacked them, showing a repeated image of the halls that he slipped down, like a common theif.

His little entourage of Bots cleared the way for him as he walked the sterile hallways, their quick buzzing making sure that any stray watchman would not simply stumble upon them. Soon, he stood before the doors of an elevator. He pressed the button and waiting patiently, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. What would he say? Clement knew the machine he was about to steal would not go easily. It was big. Simply disconnecting the thing would take him an hour or two. Then to steal away in the night, with a multi-million dollar object bobbing along with him?

When the time came, he would know what to do.

Wait... A sound. The Doctor frowned as he looked up at the elevator. It seemed someone had caught a ride. “Bots, into silent running mode.” He turned and walked briskly away from the machine, trying the first door that he could. It was unlocked, and opened onto a supply closet. From here, he orchestrated four of the machines to hide beneath a desk, while the fifth slipped into the highest corner in the room, pretending it was a CCTV camera.

The elevator doors binged open, and a drunk man stumbled out, a woman of loose morals following him closely. She laughed a horrible laugh, a chattering that put Clements teeth on edge. She took the man’s hand and dragged him past the Doctors hiding place, towards the offices of the CEOs. So intent was he on watching them, he almost forgot about the elevator. Quickly, he directed one of his machines to lodge itself between the doors. The Automaton did so gleefully, the steel grinding to a halt when it stopped them with its own body. They bounced open again, which allowed the Doctor to slip out of his hiding place (When he was sure there was no one else around) and enter the glass cube.

As it descended, carrying him and his toys, Clement pulled his weapon from its holster and hung his head in shame.

Ashley paced the polished floors of the extravagant gala holding her glass in between her middle and ring finger, allowing it to rest within the palm of her hand. She swirled it as she walked unhindered through the mass quantities of people, while Atlas cowered over her. You make the weight of the world look so easy. She lifted her glass to him and took a sip. A brashly romantic couple invaded the luxury of a central elevator and made their way to the back of the cart as the door slid behind them.

Ashley brushed off the fleeting couple and looked upon the white clothed stage. Against the rest of the setting it looked rather dull. She walked past the noisy party-goers and stepped up to the edge of the stage. Security would never let her near it, and without her friend she couldn't stage a decoy. Ashley sipped at her glass while taking on the large capsule in front of her.

She gave a quirky smile as she turned and handed her drink to an unsuspecting man. "You look like you need a drink." She gave no thought to him as she walked back towards the elevator terminals. A guard stood at the elevator terminal. She began to focus the molecules around his ear piece causing a pain-staking shriek in his head. He grimaced and fell to the ground and threw the device out of his ear, speaking a handful of obscenities on his way down. He pushed on the side of his head to try and alleviate pain, as Ashley strode up to him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, miss, these device are really sensitive to something." He spoke as Ashley stood over him. She lowered her hand to help him up to his feet. He outweighed the smaller girl by at least fifty pounds, but his contribution helped him make his way up. She telekinetically lifted his id card and slid it over to herself as she brushed him off. She moved the card around his side and back behind her back. "Don't let anyone know you helped me up." He chuckled under his breath.

"Sure thing." She smiled as she moved her hand behind her back to grab the id card she held. She slid it into her palm and walked by the guard putting it in her hand bag. The guard walked haphazardly over to the side of the elevator terminal and rested his head. The elevators needed clearance to go anywhere of importance so he knew there was nothing to worry about.

Ashley walked to the front of the lobby and slid the card into a stairwell to give her access to the second floor. She waved to the greeters at the front as she closed the door. If you smile and open doors with cards people assume you belong there. She took the stairs to the top floor and looked around for the elevator terminal. A few doors down the hall she saw her prize. She slid the card into the id scanner and watched the door open before her. The terminal showed several basement levels that stayed unlit when she touched them. She slid her new id into a reader and pushed B1. The light remained lit and the elevator began to move.

The doors opened before her and she stepped into a hallway. Directly across from her was another elevator and a long hallway.

Behind the Stage, a woman in a pencil gray suit frowned at the banks of monitors. There was nothing wrong with the data being shown, but she seemed to always have a face that sat hand in hand with a dark disposition. And then it was gone, her mouth splitting into a soft smile, her eyes betraying none of the distaste she felt about this whole Gala. She thought the whole thing was a waste of effort and money, and could put the whole project in jeopardy. At best, there could be any number of business spies, sent to get some sort of idea how the machine worked. At worse, the machine could fail spectacularly in front of a number of key investors and create some horrible, genetically jumbled monster.

Oh well. The timetable was set. She checked her finely made watch once more, adjusted the glasses on her face and brushed the blonde hair behind her ears before nodding at the scientists and walking out, onto the stage. Eyes began to be drawn to her. At first, it was simply because of the charcoal coloured suit she wore, but a few lingered when they decided that she was slightly attractive. She ignored them, as she lifted the microphone clasped between two long and manicured fingernails. “Ladies and Gentlemen.” The smile hadn’t moved an inch; it had stayed as stationary as it would upon a statute. “The presentation is about to begin.”

The wave of humans, Citizen, Scientist and Industrialist alike, flowed towards the stage, or at least the red rope cordoned in front of it. She waited patiently, he foot only tapping once, the only flicker of disapproval at the situation she was in.

Across the lobby, the doors to an elevator opened. Inside, a man with a grim face stepped forward once, and pressed the barrel of his gun into the back of a Security guard who was not having the best of days.

“Good Evening. My name is Elizabeth Jules, and tonight, Clement Industries will pave the way for a brighter future.” She began with a smile, her eyes glinting in the light of the projector as it began to show stock footage of the original Clement and his lab assistants, working over numerous decades. “It has always been the belief of Clement Industries that there is nothing more sacred then that of a human life. We have spent over a hundred years trying to shape a better life not only for America, but for the world. Today, we do so again, with a machine that has unlimited potential.”

The pictures changed now, showing the age old symbol of Clement Industries. “We have built a device that will allow us to manipulate the very building blocks of Life. DNA.” The named Double Helix sprung up on screen. “And with this, there is unlimited potential. For a start, we could repair entire habitats using only a single plant, or restore an Extinct species by manipulating the DNA of a similar animal. There are even applications for the average Human. Cosmetic Surgery without a single knife, or restoration of lost limbs, or maybe even the halt or reverse of the Aging process.” A gasp went through the crowd, and glances were exchanged, as the large white sheet was pulled back.

The machine was seven foot high and round. On its right and left flank stuck out what looked like fins, attached only at the very bottom of the device. It did not seem to be sitting on the stage, however, but was connected to something underneath the hidden bottom. It was white, mainly, with a few lines of glowing blue here and there which may have had something to do with a power source. On the front of the cylinder was a curved door, big enough to allow the entrance of a person. Over all, it was a very sleek design, but Clement knew it was only the staging area for the effects of the machine. What he wanted was hidden away, below Elizabeth’s feet.

“The machine works using technology taken from numerous projects that Dr. Ignatius Clement worked on. Many tiny Omega Cores, which exert gravitational force, line the outside of the arms, on either side of the capsule.” A scientist stepped out from behind the stage, holding a glass box that contained an Apple, raised on a podium. Elizabeth continued speaking, as the box was placed within the machine. “As the arms spin, the subject is exposed to the gravitational pull. So much so, that the subjects’ very molecules are pulled apart.” A murmur went up from the crowd, but Elizabeth smiled. “It is absolutely painless, as the process takes no more than a few seconds and, well, this subject is slightly unaware of it even happening.”

A laugh ran through the crowd.

“Then, a number of forcefields are employed inside of the capsule. It is their job of finding every single strand of DNA and containing it. Not such an easy task, if it were not for the incredibly strong computer that controls the whole process, hidden away under the very stage I stand on. It is this computer that handles the process of changing one thing to another.” The door to the capsule was closed and the Scientist scurried off, back behind his screen, back to pretending to play the Grand Old Wizard of Oz. “The forcefields then remove the unwanted or damaged strains of DNA and replaces them with whatever we desire.” Elizabeth stopped, smiling slightly.

The crowd took the hint, and a number of them began clapping.

“I think it’s time for a demonstration.” The room was suddenly filled with a soft buzz, as the machine was powered into life. The capsule itself rose from the stage, while a number of the arms around its exterior began to spin. The crowd watched as electricity arced from the capsule to the arms itself, while Elizabeth stood back.

Clement watched with wide eyes, his gun pressed into the Guard, holding his breath. This was his only hope of saving his Daughter from her frozen prison. If it worked... If it worked, he would have his Cassidy Rose back.

The night progressed and Ryan stayed anchored at the bar observing the lobby that had been transformed into a ballroom. Near the front of the room there was a stage covered with a white curtain and a large covered shape stood tall to the side of the stage it rose gracefully from the rest of the stage drawing the gazes of the guests with mystique. As he finished his drink Ryan a sudden movement out of the side of his eye. Setting his glass back on the bar he turned to see what the commotion was. A security officer laid on the ground upping his hand on the side of his head and grimacing on the ground. A woman stood over him and spoke to him and then helped him up. Ryan was prepared to turn away when he saw something strange the guards I.D. card seemed to be floating behind the womans back

Taking a a few steps closer Ryan wanted to confirm that what he just saw was not a figment of his imagination. As he drew nearer his arm was yanked to the side by an unknown force. Swiving to the side to adress the latest disruption Ryan came face to face with his original date she looked very excited about something and began speaking to him with such speed that even if he was listening which he wasn't he probably wouldn't have understood a word of it. He felt bad but she didn't seem to be hurt and he was really wanted to see what that woman was up to. Looking around he didn't see her anywhere.

"Come on" said his date pulling him into the crowd of people.

"Alright I'm right behind you" Ryan said freeing his arm and letting her go ahead of him giving ample time to slip away from her and the group. "Where the hell did she go" he said looking for the woman he had seen earlier, but he saw of sign of her. Turning back to where his date walk off to Ryan waded back to join her. As he did his mind buzzed to life, something bad was about to happen he had that sinking feeling he had felt many times before. Ryan glanced back to the veiled shape on the stage and began to wonder what it really was. As this thought danced around his mind a womans voice filled the air of the lobby overpowering the ambient chatter of the excited guests.

"Ladies and Gentlemen the presentation is about to begin." The woman stood on the stage a large fake smile plastered across her face. Crossing his arms over his chest Ryan looked to the stage trying to keep up as the woman explained the revealed and explained the machine. His mind raced as she spoke apparently the machine could alter a persons DNA, it was very impressive and off the top of his head he could think of a handful of nut cases that would kill to get their hands on it. As the woman finished her piece the crowd stood silent overwhelmed for a moment and then began to clap. “I think it’s time for a demonstration.” the woman said as the machine came to life floating up from the stage. Ryan watched as showers of electricity arched off of its arms of the machine that impressed even him. Taking his eyes from the display Ryan scanned the room once again he still had a worried feeling lurking in the pit of his stomach, he was sure something was wrong.

Ashley moved with new found purpose through the curved hallway. The access card she liberated never left her hand, as she tried her luck on other doors. They remained locked even to the security card. Looked as though the security clearance only extended so far.

A loud hydraulic pump sounded down the corridor. She pivoted on the apex of her heel to turn around and move to the end of the hallway. Her pace quickened as she tried to maintain her balance in heels. As she came to the end of the hall she swiped the card and saw a red light flash her rejection. She bumped her head against the metal door and sighed. The door gave no relief to her. In the moment her head faced the floor she thought about the times Bliss opened doors. They used the same power, but Bliss always seemed to get into places. Her heel braced her back leg while she looked at the locking mechanism. A loud voice boomed through the substructure above her; the perfect cover for anything she was planning. Any attempts of ascertaining information this way seemed all but lost on the first time infiltrator. If Bliss wasn't going off on secret vacations to California none of this would of happened, she thought to herself. She turned back around and went to the elevators.

The door rang as the elevator came to a stop in front of her. She fuddled her way to the button to the main floor. The plan she made up offered no real solutions to getting any ideas or information about this new device. The doors opened and she stepped out to see a man with a gun to the back of a security guard. Ashley froze in the moment; she could levitate the gun over to herself, but what if it failed? She would be the first one shot by the man. Her hands began to tremble and her lips quivered. She closed her eyes and walked into the man holding the gun trying her best to look inebriated. She gave a drunken laugh and walked away, not looking to see what came of the bump.

Cosmos stepped forward, into the lobby, his eyes twinkling with the electrical light shining from the machine. He would have broken down into happy tears at that very moment, if he not works to do. The elevator behind him closed and he barely noticed it, his eyes focused so intently on the machine. Inside, the little apple was being torn into bits, pulled open an atom at a time while the Forcefields kept the glass box completely safe. As the computer and engine began to rewrite a few thousand years of Evolution, the doors to the elevator opened behind him. He thought nothing of it, intent on watching the graceful pirouette of the machines arms.

When someone bumped into him, he had to stop himself for pulling the trigger. A woman, of whom he only caught a little glimpse, staggered pass him and continued on towards the rest of the gathered guests. He turned to look back at the light show, and was disappointed to find it over.

The capsule slowly lowered to the stage, hydraulic clamps locking it back into place while its tether was pulled back. Elizabeth stepped forward towards the door, he finely manicured finger pulling it open, revealing the glass box inside. Before the guest could get a look (although many strained up on their toes to do so) she had kneeled down to lift it out. Keeping it out of sight, she walked to the centre of the stage and then turned, to show the experiment had been successful.

In the place of the apple, there was now what appeared to be a mouse, looking around in a confused and disorientated manner. Its memories were built with the new nerve cells, arranged in the format of a long dissected creature. It looked at the crowds of people, looked up at Elizabeth and then ran in a circle, looking for a place to hide. A camera, previously hidden behind the stage, now showed a live image, projecting it onto the back of the stage.

People laughed. Clement did not.

“What you’re going to is simple.” Clement spoke softly, turning from the display to the guard against the barrel of the gun. “You’re going to tell the other security officers that something is happening in the sublevels of the building.” The man paled, but he nodded slightly. “After you have done so, you will ride this elevator down to the sublevels and you will stay there. If I see you again... I will not be happy.” Cosmos (if he was going to call himself that ridiculous name, he might as well start now) whispered softly to the man before him. He waited for a moment, as the Security Guard muttered something into his transmitter.

If the guest had paid attention, they would have noticed the security guards slinking away, glancing from left to right. Cosmos noticed it, before he carefully patted the man in front of him on the shoulder and turned him towards the doors of the open box. He pushed gently and then watched as the doors closed. From his belt, he plucked the five little security cameras from his belt. They would be his little minions...

“As you can see, there really is no limit to what this machine can and will do. Thank you watching this presentation.” A scientist walked out from behind the stage and took back the glass box from Elizabeth. She brushed her hands off against her skirt and smiled wider towards the crowd, only slightly happy that nothing had gone wrong. “There will be a brief pause in the presentation, before the Q&A session.”

Atlas and his weight seemed to disagree. With a bloom of blue energy, the bottom of the statue simply disappeared. The scientific term would be annihilated. His torment came to an end as he rocked forward and the world upon his shoulders crushed his sculpted face into a million icy shards. The floor was filled with tiny sharp slivers, but it was purposely done. A show of strength, without actually harming anyway, since the crowds were gathered around the stage and not near the statue. Dr Cosmos, if a distinction could be made from Clement, rose into the air, holding the Ray Gun out towards the crowd. “Ladies and Gentlemen....” He sounded almost sad as he said it, waving the gun over the faces of the crowd as he levitated above them. “Please, stay absolutely still. I am sorry, but this event has been cancelled.”

As the demonstration continued Ryan kept looking around the lobby, keeping his eyes open for anything out of the ordinary. The crowd broke into applause as the woman held in her hand a mouse where there was once an apple. Ryan would have been as astonished as the rest of the crowd if he wasn't so distracted. Then he noticed something strange, it appeared that all of the security guards were going somewhere. "I'll be right back" he said wandering away from the crowd where he had been standing just in time to see all of the officers disappear into the elevator.

Now he was postive that things were about to go south, Ryan made his way toward the back of the lobby to where the bathrooms were when he nearly bumped into the woman who had taken one of the officers I.D. earlier. "Wait your that..." before he could say another word shards of ice shot across linoleum as the sculpture of Atlas came crashing to the floor.

"Ladies and Gentlemen please stay absolutely still. I am sorry, but this event has been cancelled." called a voice that came from a man who levitated over the terrified faces in the crowd.

"You should probably get out of here" he said smiling and leaving the woman find the bathroom. We he did find the bathroom he pulled the door open and hurried inside. Once inside he stripped off his suit to reveal his other self. Ryan carefully hung it up in the stall, he hoped it would still be there when he came back. Pulling his mask and his gloves out of the inside breast pocket of his suit and pulled them on. "Alright let do this." he said pushing open the bathroom door and stepping out into the lobby ready to face this latest enemy.

He looked at the demonstration with great interest.Mouth hung halfway open in awe and suprise.Though still toying with the buttons of the fine black suit he had managed to "borrow".Sweeping aside the black bangs of his hair out of his greyish eyes."woah this is amazing"He managed to mumble as the woman held a mouse that was once an apple.It was like some kind of alchemy.Well that was the only word he could use to describe such an amazing feat.Then out of the corner of his eyes he saw a man walking back to the lobby.
Then something else caught his attention.The sound of something like ice or glass crashing to the floor."what the hell"Sean cursed turning around to see that the large ice sculpture of whatever it was had fell,and broken into little peices."Ladies and Gentlemen please stay absolutely still. I am sorry, but this event has been cancelled." The voice of a man announced."as if im listening to that guy"He said a bit wryly turning around to leave through the lobbly.No way in hell he was gonna listen to some floating man.

Her planned at exposing the man failed.

She turned her head back to keep her eyes on the gun wielding man when a larger man plowed into her and placed his hand on her arm. He made a gesture to her but lost hid gaze in the background. He mustered a warning into her ear to leave, before making his way to the back of the lobby. Ashley narrowed her eyes on her surroundings.

With that the host of the event collapsed to the ground and shattered. Ashley mustered up enough molecular force to keep the ice shards from getting to her. Ashley kept her feet moving as pandemonium erupted from behind her. With all eyes on the flying man, Ashley made her way to the stage and slid under the platform. The skeletal structuring of the platform allotted her ample space to maneuver around. The wiring and circuitry leading to the underbelly of the device looked mind-boggling. She ran her fingers along the wires as she moved through the substructure.

The chaos of the gala echoed thorough the metal barrings. Ashley sat on the ground and placed her hands behind her; she inched her way along the ground in this fashion to stay alert with anything that could come at her. The structure sat firmly along the back wall of the grand ballroom. She ran her fingers along the back of the wall and moved her face against the drywall. The wall burst out as Ashley fell through. She collected herself on her hands and crawled forward a few feet into the dust filled crevice.

Her new job as a tunneler seemed promising as she began scaling the wooden framing inside the wall. The narrow spaces made her venture more troublesome, but her small stature proved up to the challenge. After moving up around fifteen feet, she braced her feet on the boards and placed her hands against the face of the wall. She shot a burst forward and saw a schismed opening in the wall leading away from the large ballroom. A foot and a half opening lay above the floor board, while another foot of drywall was blasted into the ceiling of the back rooms. Ashley crawled forward into the small opening, tearing a section of her dress along her midriff against a loose splintered planks that protruded from the wall. She stood up in a large boardroom and took in the surroundings she now found herself in. She seemed safe for now. But she needed to find away to get back at the mysterious man. She needed to find a way to stop him.

The crowd muttered, or even shouted, as they took in the sight of the Good Doctor and his weapon. As predicated, a view glanced around for security or began to move towards the exit. For once, in his life, could they simply do what he asked? Why did people have to be so difficult?! His sigh was one of an old man who would have preferred to be doing anything other then what he was doing right now.

Oh well...

His little angels, his security bots, immediately moved into position at the exits. They dropped down in front of the doors and the guests and immediately made a show of strength. They shot a burst of blue energy towards the shining floor, sending up a bloom of dust and ceramic. The keen of eye would have noticed them dipping slightly in the air, but the guests were not as observant as they should have been. All they saw were more weapons designed to herd them back into the centre of the Lobby.

“Yes, I said the evening was over. However, I did not say that you were allowed to leave.” He made no theatrical attempt to sound commanding, or to strike fear into the hearts of the party goers. He spoke with an air of casualness, as if what he was doing was nothing more than talking with a friend. “As of now, you will act as my hostages. I believe you will keep any Foolhardy Supermen or Women from stopping me from getting what I want. You will also be the sole reason that the gentlemen in white coats, behind the stage there, shall be forced to begun disconnecting the Genetic Manipulator.” He spoke the last sentence loudly, turning to the projector screen and staring intently at it.

He failed to notice, however, that a guest had suddenly gone from black tie to Superhero.

He had almost walked throught the door when a robot moved directly in front of him."Seriously Robots!"He complained looking them over. Though really this only intrigued him.Maybe he could have a little fun ,or not.You never know about these things.He ran to the lobby bathrooms.With haste he ripped off the suit he was wearing."Now I can get out of this stuffy suit"He sighed throwing the coat to the ground.Followed by the clean black slacks.Revealing the tattered jacket and tight jeans he always enjoyed to wear.Then he heard an explosion.Curious he ran out of the bathrooms to see only smoke and a man in a weird costume.Curious he picked up two shards of ice from the shattered statue."Wonder who he is"He said out loud to himself as the ice shards in his hands turned to water.

Black slid out of the bathroom and came face to face with a man who seemed quite under dressed for the occasion as he left the bathroom. "Get out of here bro." he said patting the man's shoulder and walking past. Peeking out around the corner he watched the man floating above the guests which had been corralled into the center of the room by a handful of robots. "Doesn't seem that tough" he whispered to himself, sizing up the man he floated above the face in the crowd he was wielding some kind of weapon but that looked like it was it. Turning the corner from the area where the bathrooms where BlackOut created a ball of electricity in his hand sparks showered down from his hand bounceing to the floor and disappearing from view.

"You guys always know how to ruin a party don't you" He called out from across the room drawing the gaze of the villain. "So do we really have to fight or is there anyway I can convince you to ya know just leave? Honestly I'm really not in the for this at the moment." Black stood striking his best hero-esque pose, the ball of electrical energy swirled around his outstretched palm "So whats it gonna be?" he said raising an eyebrow daringly though the gesture was probably lost due to his mask. He then flung the ball of energy past the the man missing intentionally, it sailed crashing into the wall above the stage splashing against the wall and turning into a shower of sparks, it was more of a warning shot than anything.