Die Welt gehört dir (open)

The Baroness's eybrows shot up in surpize as the rude woman began to angrily count off not to certain reasons why she didn't like her. She'd never seen someone react so negatively to being offered employment, good salary and stock options before in her life. The Baroness Gretchen Kirschensorte could only sit back and stare in awe as the young girl stood up as if to leave.

"I .....I am sorry.. I...I don't know what 'BB' even means.......There must be some sort of culteral barrier that I overstepped, I can assure you I meant no disrespect to you and that you have some twisted idea of what we do here. We are here to save the world. Regardless, I see that you've already made up your mind on the subject, and although I deeply regret that, I won't keep you any longer. Shall my men drive you back to your room or do you wish to find your own way?" The Baroness said trying to make amends for her unintentional rude behavior. That was her exterior, her interior was boiling with rage and only wanted to pick the weaker woman up and twist her head around backward, but not a single iota of it showed through her cool outer visage.

Before Bliss could make it to the door the Baroness added one final counter offer to sweeten the deal. "What about the Clement Corporation? Are you sick of them hounding you? Your Father, and what he has become.....Bliss we can fix that.....We can make life more livable for you....if you let us...."

"Listen..." Bliss turned back to give the Baroness a smile. "We all have problems..." Her demeanor shifted towards the reason she never liked politics. "...But I've got friends to help me. I don't have to cut deals with the devil, or sell my soul to some group. I don't run sacred every time something bad happens. That's why I'm not afraid of this place, or your party, or even you. Deep down you're scared; is it because of the problems in the world your supporting with politics? No. It's because you think someone has power and you want to suckle off of it, and keep others from being able to cut the same deal with you. Is that about right? Am I summing up why you pretend to be a Baroness? Why you have a brain dead superhero cause more damage than good and then blame it other people? Am I in the ballpark here?" Bliss waited for the response to come from the Baroness before she left. This waiting for the response could signal her undoing. The joy she thought she would find in the Baroness breaking her false state of kindness gave Bliss too much to look forward to. She believed she knew exactly how the Baroness would respond, but looks can be deceiving.

" I am sorry you feel that way.....and I am also sorry I didn't see was a self-serving little arrogant brat you are, I thought after I saw how you reacted earlier today that you might be someone brave enough to take a stand, but I can see your no more than a confused and scared young person, looking for a monster to hate....I am sorry, but it isn't me......Thank you and have a pleasant evening...." The Baroness said as she swiveled her chair around to put her back to the young woman. "When you do finalily figure out what's going on in this big ol' world, stop in and say 'hi'.

The Baroness poured herself another glass of wine.

The emotion struck vibrated through the room, carrying the tune of the perfect chord struck in the perfect manner. "You shouldn't drink..." Bliss raised her hand. "You're in the office and it's a workday. Maybe that's why you can't tell the difference between taking a stand and setting people up for a fall." Bliss fired a pin point blast of energy to reverberate the glass with enough vibration to cause it to shatter. "You'll thank me one day."

The scuffing beats of her rubber soled boots rang through the ornately polished floors of the spartan building. Making enemies within this building could not give her any less problems than the small minded adversaries she faced her entire adult life. Always guised in splendor and gilded ideals, Bliss could never escape the never ending approach of greedy, violent humans with only the power of self righteous justification on their side. Oh well, at least she knew where her driver was. "So, we're off to my place now? I take it the hour time limit is still in effect, so that gives you..." Time glowed from the illuminated screen of her phone. "Seven minutes to get me home. Going to be a close one, but it's an hour or less, otherwise I'm free. That's a good deal if I do say so myself." Foreign to the customs of anything around her, and utterly unwilling to make severe adjustments to her attitude and behavior, Bliss retained her pizza company comment as topical and culturally significant. It probably was not.

"Here is the number for a Taxi service ma'am.....We don't provide transportation to spoiled brats that waste good wine....The ' BARONESS' sends her regards" Agent Hister said as they got to the bottom floor of the M.O.M building. He escorted the rude young woman outside and locked the door behind her. He only gave a quaint smile at the thought of the surprise the brash young woman would get when she returned to her hotel room.The sound of fire engine's sirens filled the fading light of the city at dusk.

It was just about then that the other agents returned from Bliss's hotel room with the strange disk-like object and the clone computers that she had had in her room. Once they'd finished their search they had set the room ablaze with untraceable incendiary devices, taken both the Receptionist and video surveillance and replaced them with their own and disable the sprikler system. Unfortunately the fire would probably kill many tourists whom shared rooms around the girl's but that would only serve to further their cause. In the time it would take Bliss to cover the distance in that sort of traffic, the room would be ash, and when the fire department finally got around to starting their investigation the M.O.M agent plant-receptionist would be telling police that a suspicious young girl registered to that room; a 'Miss Fokukama' the forged registry would state; was pulling and excess of power to her room. The Baroness knew it wouldn't stop the driven young woman but she knew it would send the right message to her opponent.

The agents entered M.O.M HQ through the subterranean levels and took them straight to the secret tech lab several levels under street level as per the Baroness's orders. The scientists employed there, would reverse-engineer the devices and take detailed schematics. It looked like the M.O.M corp would have a head-start on the competition in the black market for the newest hacker device. They would market and sell the devices, to the highest bidders, if lil' Miss Fokukama wanted her Quantum computer back she'd have to wait a month and buy one on the black market like everyone else. The thought of it made the Baroness laugh.

Just then the bookshelf inside the Baroness's office, slid open. There stood a sharply dressed, 40-something (only in appearance), wickedly handsome man. Every bit the perfect stereotype of a silver-tongued politician, Baron Blackheart grinned and watched as his Granddaughter worked on her hands and knees blotting out the stain of wine from her favorite carpet. "We have servants for such things my dear....unless your intention was for my benefit....hahaahahha" The Baron laugh heartily, his focus the upturned rump of his own removed offspring.

"Very funny......It's a Kirman 'vase rug', 17th century ...those fools wouldn't have a clue." She stood up, her face flush with no exertion, but instead fueled anger. She adjusted her short skirt and shot a venomous glare at her impossible young 'grandfather'. "Good lord....It took every inch of my patience not to twist her head around backward! I have never been so insulted!" The Baroness said while throwing the wine soaked kerchief into the trash.

"Shall I contact the Clements Corporation?" The Baron said as he walked over and poured himself a glass of the wine in a new glass.

"No.....no I have other plans for her. I think we can still use her, one way or another, maybe she'll still find a way to push our agenda, even if it is through her death. I want agents.... discreet agents keeping track of her. Get a hold of our assets in Pakistan and tell them that the girl responsible for Jihad's death is here in Berlin, tell them that if they seek revenge we will accommodate their efforts here. Let's just see if that lil' b*tch is still so mouthy when she's got explosives strapped to her chest!" The Baroness ordered. The Baron finished his wine without another word and stepped back through the secret passage.

It was around this time that the Samaritan was returning from his own mission, he for some reason, could not remember what it was that he'd accomplished but still felt as though he'd done something great and that was enough for him . It had taken a bit longer than anticipated because on the way back to HQ he'd had to stop and rescue some citizens trapped in a burning hotel. Of course he had to pose for publicity photos with the people he'd rescued, ironically the blood from the man he'd just murdered still staining his new costume's insignia, in the pictures. Nobody even bothered asking about the stain, due to the state of the people he'd just valiantly rescued from the towering inferno.

"You know what. I think I'll take a metro." Feeling a surge of energy from her most recent conquest, Bliss blew a kiss to the agent that surprisingly no longer treated her nicely. "Who would've thought your loyalties were material based when you work for this group?" Bliss left the number in the man's hand. She turned and walked down the sidewalk taking in the nice breeze. Honestly she could only guess as to where the metro was, but the flood of traffic would bring her to her destination sooner or later. Skeletons employed by M.O.M. to guard her room probably came out of the closet to destroy or steal her belongings. No amount of time in the world would bring her around in time to stop them, so she might as well enjoy herself. Towering buildings along the streets now reflected the Autumn sun down upon her, a warm and relaxing feeling. As she walked along the streets, controlling when the sun would bounce its beams off of her face. It felt good.

People traffic lead Bliss to see where she wanted to go. Her phone showed the time stood at ten til the hour. It gave her sometime to walk without haste to her destination. Turnstiles kept the flow moving, shuffling people into the proper flow. The waiting area looked nicer than the ones she normally used in New York, but she had no idea what the signs said. She smiled at the conundrum, but really needed to gather some bearings on the situation. She looked to the map and the station listing wondering if she even remembered where she came from. "Hello..." She spoke in a loud voice around her. "My name is Bliss, and I speak English." She continued her diatribe hoping to garner some attention who correctly interpolated the message. "...Do any of you speak English?" She kept laughing at the situation and her way of handling it. Most people would not react in this manner to any situation of this kind, let alone the culmination of everything she went through that day.

A few people begin to turn around and point towards Bliss. She turned to see a television replaying the images of the day; some of them even involved her. "Oh no..." Bliss shook her hands gesturing 'no.' "That girl is wearing a black shirt..." She grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled it up slightly. "This is pink."

Archer’s plane ride was mostly uneventful, with the only downside being the oversized man in the seat next to him that insisted on talking to him about some ‘reboot’ that some company was doing. To make matters worse there was no alcohol allowed on the flight and the large man went into precise detail as to why the company was ‘screwing over’ almost all of their mythos and fans alike. Once the plane touched ground Archer made sure to grab his one bag and left, after excusing himself of course, and almost sprinted to put as much distance between the two of them. It had been one of the longest rides of his life.

Once off the plane and out of the terminal, Archer made his way to the hotel he would be staying at to quickly check in and leave his luggage. The man at the front desk was somewhat polite but did not seem to speak a word of English, making checking in a little more of a challenge, but using enough hand gestures and what little German Archer knew he managed. With his bags safely in the safe behind the front desk, Archer left to meet his contact who was supposed to meet him at the local metro station, which was only a few blocks from where he was now.

Walking as quickly as he could without attracting any attention to himself he made his way to the station, not a single person so much as looked in his direction it seemed. Archer made his way down the stairs and into the depths of the metro, looking left and right to try and find the woman that he was to meet to find out the secrets to some group of bad people. The first person he saw was a woman talking to a growing crowd of Germans, watching her with curious stares, this had to be the woman that he was meant to find. Hiding in plain sight, this woman was more of an operative than he had originally taken her to be on the phone. “I see you know how to blend in,” He said to her once he was within range for her to hear his words. This was how the conversation was supposed to start, the code words had been said. Off in the distance another woman, wearing a large coat and dark glasses, waited for Archer to initiate a conversation that could change all of the world.

(Thanks for Joining Archer, But the title states I have to be PMed before entry. In which case I would have given you the run down on what's going on. Your first to paragraphs are good )

"We have an unknown" the plain clothed M.O.M agent said as he watched from afar. He used the micro camera in his glasses to snap pictures and video of the new person that was approaching Bliss.

"Affirmative Agent 168...we are running his face through the mainframe now. Be advised, local law enforcement has been notified to Bliss's location and are en route. Maintain distance and follow. " The M.O.M dispatcher informed his field agent. The field agents were well trained in surveillance, they would switch off every so often so that anyone being followed would never see the same face twice.

"Keep me informed" The Baroness said as she patted the dispatcher on the shoulder. The Samaritan had returned from the mission he'd been sent on and agents reported he was now in the cafeteria having dinner as evening set in. The Baroness made her way up to the penthouse floor and saw several of the building's workers standing outside the door window and peering in, in awe. "Make way....what's going on?" She asked the freaked out looking mundane work staff. None of them answered so the Baroness pushed her way through and looked in for herself.

From the vantage point, all she could make out was the large muscled 'superhero' 's back, he was obviously eating, but what she couldn't be sure. What she could make out was a distinct hissing squeal. "Back to work!" She commanded the looky-loos. The Baroness opened the door cautiously and stalked into the room, as she came up on him, she could see something squirming in his hands.

The Samaritan sat at the table completely content and at ease. In his hands was a turtle, still alive. It snapped and bit at the invulnerable hero's grip on it's shell but found no hold. 'EEEEEEEE...hisssssssssss' the thing cried out as his invulnerable teeth bit through it's shell and tore into it's meat. He crunched away happily, but his eyes showed the truth of it. They were the ice blue hue of the ancient Lightning thing that dwelled within.

"Sa.......Samaritan? Albert.......What are you doing sweetheart?" She asked cautiously.

"Having dinner....it's turtle" He said in the Samaritan's tone, and not that of the Ancient One. He took another bite, this time the poor creature writhed and soon it would be dead. He held it's slowly stiffening form out as if to offer his mistress a bite.

"Noooo.....No thank you....I already ate" She held up her hand and politely refused. In truth she was horrified, but once again her ice cold exterior showed only the all-business facade. " I take it you completed the mission I assigned you?"

"yesssss.....The Reporter is dead.....He fell out of a window....Suicide....AHAHAHAHAHAHA" Now it was the other's voice that answered, the one that scared the Baroness. He said it in between bites, the sound of hard shell and juicy inards crunching between it's unbreakable teeth was a little more than off-putting.

"Ooohhh....Superb .....Well that's all we have for you today...Tomorrow comes more challenges to be sure to get a good night sleep ....OK?" The Baroness said, she so desperately wanted to enter his head and see what was going on, but the creatures earlier warning was enough to keep her from prying.

"Okey...Dokey....Will you be joining me in bed tonight....maybe we can Cuddle" He asked in his innocent boyscout voice.

"No I am afraid not.....duty calls and Corporations won't run themselves. I will see you in the morning though, OK?" She said as sweetly as she could and then excused herself. She left the strange being to finish his macabre meal and went back out into the hall. "If you value your jobs, you won't say a word about this to anyone...Am I understood?" She said to the staff members. "Yes ma'am" they retorted nervously.

With her attention diverted to the attention people gave her she forgot about her situation at hand. A tall, lanky man strode up to her and questioned how she acted within the terminal. "Yeah, get fucked..." The explanation she futilely fed to the by passers slid from her mind, as she remembered what she wanted. Her head turned to take the full view of the man. "Oh, I forgot what I was doing. I guess I'm kind of a big deal around here."

To most the disrespect would come off as unnecessary, but Bliss tried to divert any attention from that to her next question. "Do you speak German? I need to get home, but I need to know what these maps say." She walked over to a giant posted map that stood mounted in a display case in the middle of the walkway. "If you saw anything about the terrorist thing, I live three blocks south..." She waved her arm in a general area and tried to flash a smile. What she wanted to be friendly came off more as loaded. "Find where I should be going."

Archer was slightly surprised by the way the woman answered him but he let it slid past him like almost anything else in his life. Giving her a smile in return he said, “I think I’ll pass on the offer but it’s very nice of you to offer.” He was not sure if she heard him or not, the man preferred not since it was a bad joke, but she followed through with the second phase of the code. She indicated a map and to the event he was there to find out more about. She was going to let him lead the way to the meeting place to boot.

“I understand the language well enough to read a little bit here and there,” Archer said taking a closer look at the map before him. He looked for the name of the block and found it fast enough, having general knowledge of German and researching the area ahead of time paid off in that moment, pointing to a place on the map and then tracing his finger back to the station they were in. “Looks like we’ll be taking this train, or whatever they call them here,” He gave a soft chuckle to hopefully lighten the mood and the situation they were both in. Things were bound to start getting tricky and Archer had only just showed up.

Checking his watch real fast, Archer then turned to the clock on the wall. “Looks like we need to get going if we want to catch our train,” Though Archer was trying to be lighthearted he could not help but notice the men in the station watching him and the girl, not a good sign. A photographer’s eye was more handy then many people realized. They would have to find some way to lose the ‘tails’ in the moments to come, “I don’t know if you knew this or not but it seems we have some guys following us.” Archer was trying to be subtly but it was not easy to be heard over the people around them. “Do you have any ideas on how to lose them?” The question was simple but it could make all the difference.

"Whatever." Bliss kept fixated on the map while the taller man gave her the information she required. "I don't think what they call the train really matters as long as we are on..." Her eyes caught the movement of agents moving through the terminal. "...shit." She remembered seeing those men from her apartment a few hours ago. "I don't know them, but they know me. They're some corporate cocksuckers who probably trashed my place by now, and I'm being very open with you aren't I." Secrets always looked best locked away. At least Bliss made herself believe that. "Let's just get on that train. They can't do anything with this much of a crowd around. Or at least I'm betting a large sum on that." She remembered her comment about telling too much. "God, let's just get on the train."

Bliss made her move towards the train. "They probably are just doing corporate people watching, and well, if you are sharp enough to see the oddity of them being here, you should know why they are watching me. Let's just get on this train and do some watching of our own." In her mind she began thinking of a way to trap one of the agents; she wanted information out of them, and would not take the highroad on getting it once she trapped one. Whoever the man riding with her was did not concern her; she only needed him for the appearance of strength. No one underestimated Bliss twice.

As the two of them came around the corner, looking now onto the loading station, their mode of transportation was within easy view. Archer looked back at the woman as he continued to move forward and listened to what she had to say and he noted for the moment that she was telling him more than she apparently thought was required. Without a word, for the moment, he got on the train hopefully with the woman still in tow, and sat down on a bench not too crowded. The train was pretty full, which would prevent the tagalongs from doing anything for the moment just as the woman had said. She was smart and that would be the most helpful thing should anything go wrong.

“So, I see you know what you’re doing. Not that I didn’t think you did or anything,” Archer had always been pretty good at sticking his foot in his mouth. “You said you were telling me more than you thought you should,” He grinned to the woman and continued, “Don’t worry all information about you is going to be safe. I’m only interested in getting to the bottom of this whole conspiracy. I have no intention of harming anyone trying to do the right thing. In case you couldn’t tell I’m a reporter for a newspaper back in California.” Roland could not help but feel he was controlling the conversation and making everything about himself so he decided to end it with a casual question for the woman, “Am I allowed to know your name?” Again he smiled at the woman and hoped she would not verbally abuse him too badly.

To her satisfaction she found a guy who knew enough to help her, but seemed to have enough blank spots in the situation so that Bliss could steer this how she wanted. If she ever took the time to say that in an inner monologue she would sound like such a bitch. She took a seat within the hard plastic chair and waited quietly for the train to depart.

While she maintained her steady survey of the rail cart her knew friend made up conversation. "I guess I have an illusion of control about me. I think you know enough to be useful to me and to yourself." As the tunnel lights approached and faded, basking the outside of the tunnel in shadows, She sank down against her shoulders. Her head levied itself onto her collar. "I don't think it's really a conspiracy. Probably just corporate corruption, and of course a superhero type front. I guess I could show you the stuff I found out on them, but we need to watch for our stop until then." Motion echoed across the rails of the track, vibrating the window that Bliss leaned her head back against. "You can call me Eclipse."

As the train came into the station, Bliss made her way up to the front of the train. She focused her energy on the window pane behind the corporate guards and angled her hand to send a very tiny, yet concentrated blast out to impact above their heads. The glass shattered, sending jagged shards into the air. Calamity ensued and Bliss saw her opportunity. "Come on." Bliss moved her way through the crowd and off of the cart. With the recent terrorist attacks through the city no one knew how safe the public transits were, and this did not bode well for their confidence. Some took to a crouching positions while others ran for any exit they could muster through. Bliss maybe should have thought this one through a little more.

"We need to make out and to the apartment I'm renting. It's just down the street."

((OOC: Just let me know if I need to fix anything.))

Archer listened to the woman with intent on making sure he understood what she had to say, so he could better convey the potential feelings when he made his draft and eventual final draft for the paper. He noticed how she made sure to note that he would be useful to her and himself, which gave him the sneaking suspicion that at the end of the day it might be every man for himself. “Corrupt corporations that are trying to use heroes as a front should still make this story worthwhile to the world so I think I can be a very happy camper no matter where this goes,” He said as he looked around and tried to keep an eye on their unwanted guest without making it obvious. Quickly looking back to the woman he said softly, almost to himself, “Eclipse is a nice name.”

Eclipse got out of her seat and made her way to the train doors as they neared their stop and it looked as though she began to concentrate very hard. Then without a moment’s hesitation as the doors of the train opened there was an explosion and the glass above the undercover people broke into a shower of glass raining down upon them. The woman was fast and she began to run out of the station faster than Archer had anticipated but the congestion of the crowd and the chaos of the explosion made it easier than expected to catch back up with her as she made her way for the exit.

Once the pair of them were out of the station and in the sun again he looked around and found a child. “Wait a second, Eclipse,” He called out to her so that she would not leave him behind. “Gutten tag,” Archer said to the small boy, he hoped he remembered enough of the language to get his point across. Taking out an American twenty dollar bill, Archer hand it to the boy along with a quick note on the bill itself which read in a poorly structured German sentence, ‘Go to the police and tell them that there has been another terrorist attack on the train.’ Once the boy was off on his way he looked back to find his contact and said in a cheerful tone, “That might make it a little harder for them to get out of there.” If the local police managed to quarantine the station then it would potentially get rid of the people following the two of them.

Wherever she went trouble followed. She liked the loud type that gave her the chance to escape, but the subtle danger always followed her through the garbled mess. As she approached the gleaming lights of the city inspectors she found herself taken back with the assumption. Her apartment was gone. Whatever Roland brought with him would make himself useful for surveying the area, and getting a better view of what remained from the fire.

Bliss took off without checking to see whether her new acquaintance followed her. She remembered the smell of scorched metal more than most people of her age and status. Her mind immediately went to thinking about what she lost for good in that fire, and what she could get back from those who stole from her. Without giving her senses the benefit of preparation she turned around and ran into the black jacket of one of the corporation's henchmen. "Hello." A thick accent rang against her ears. "We left on such different terms the Baroness would love to see you again."

"I said all I needed to say." His hand grabbed her arm and clinched down on her bicep. Bliss pulled her arm back, and readied a blast against the man when she felt a the barrel of a pistol forced against her back.

"Not a wise choice. You should make better friends, or less dangerous enemies." Condescension at the point of a gun brought Bliss's actions to a halt. He gained his composure from her hesitation. "I've got a car that will take you back to the compound. We need your help."

"With something I made, and you stole I presume." She already lost her machine to these men; she did not want to lose her patience to them.

"We won't hesitate to shoot. If you come with us, we can help each other out." His arm kept her from turning to see the gun. If she could see the pistols mechanics she could press against the trigger mechanism and force the weapon to backfire. Of course, misfiring against her back would still do considerable damage to her back. Seeing no other options Bliss found herself pushed towards the black SUV the agents came in.

Archer looked onto the apartment with a sense of dread. It looked like it had been reduced to a pile of ashes in only a few moments which also told the reporter that it was most likely a manmade fire. The people who lived in the building, people from surrounding buildings, and the people attempting to extinguish the fire ran this way and that, separating the two people that had just arrived. Archer Roland moved more to the side of the crowd so that he would not be disturbed for a little while. Taking out his camera from the one bag he had kept on his hip and put it together, he snapped a few pictures of the building before trying to find Eclipse.

It did not take him long to find the other woman but he stayed back for a moment when he saw that she was indirectly speaking to. Archer took a moment to see what was going on and made a few mental notes, namely the size of the man, the fact he was holding a gun to Eclipse, and the way he moved. All of this told him that the man was strong and knew how to handle himself but also that he was trying to be discrete. Moving quickly, Archer moved to behind the man and tapped him on the shoulder. When the larger man looked around Archer punched him in the jaw hard, not being a physically strong person nor wanting to permanently hurt the man the man simply stumbled to the side but quickly collected himself. In one quick motion he pointed the gun at Archer and pulled the trigger.

The bullet struck Archer in the chest, breaking several ribs and puncturing his lung in two places, the only upside to all of this was that the bullet had exited the other side. The blood was hot and cold at the same time, just like always. Archer fell to the ground in a heap on his back and began to breathe hard, trying to compensate for the now faulty lung; it would all be fine in a moment just like it always was. Everything began to blur momentarily and he could not see what the woman was doing, if anything, to the man with the gun.

Fortunately everything soon began to correct itself as the healing began to take place. Had the wound be to the left by an inch or two then the healing would have taken longer. The bullet wound was closing itself off and the blood that had splattered in the ground had begun to turn into a think red cloud as it all returned to Archer’s body. As he opened his eyes, everything much clearer now, he looked for the girl as he sat up from his once blood stained grave. “Hey Eclipse, where are you?” He said as he got up off the ground. “I think I’m alright. It looks like the guy missed me completely,” Archer said, trying to shrug his accelerated healing off as a coincidence.