The Red Crate (Portland, Maine) - Invite Only

It seemed as if that unlike Sul, Nash had picked up on the sound in the captains quarters. The young boy smiled but didn't know what Amélie was saying. He was just glad the mood of the group had changed the way he wanted it to. Pressing towards the location of the sound, Cornelius extended a hand to Sul and introduced himself, referring to his lame excuse for an alias earlier, 'Franky".

"Uhhh, yeah my name isn't Franky." He said, pensively scratching the back of his head. "I just didn't want to give out my real name. My friends call me Sul." Sul extended his hand and lightly grasping the old man's. He barely even placed any pressure, for fear that he would hurt the poor guy. But something told him there was more than meets the eye with this fellow. His friends did call him Sul, but most people didn't know it was just a short form of what title he designated to himself as a Hero. Before he knew he was a mutant, before he knew he had power, he at one time was Alan. But that man and life was dead, behind him now. Alan's friends are now dead, and Hurricane murdered them. This is why the man keeps pursuing him. Unlike some of the metahumans out there that kill for attention, the ones that kill women and kids to draw out someone just for a fight, Hurricane had motive behind any action he took. Therefore, he rarely would get into such a public demonstration. Which, in turn, only made him harder to locate.

Nash fired a weapon that muted all sound into the room so that the group could enter silently. As they did, it seemed basically vacant except for a droid that had been destroyed earlier by the scrap the metahumans had between the patrol units. Sul looked around, but there wasn't anyone else here. In fact, the control mechanisms to the boat seemed to be missing. No wheel, or speed control. Just what seemed to be a USB plug-in by the front window. On a table to the side were charts, compasses and such. But no markers were made. Cornelius asked the boy a question, which was hanging on all of their minds. "Who else is meant to be here?"

"Dee Dee Ex is supposed to be in here somewhere. He's the Captain. I hope you guy's didn't break him or I won't be able to get back home." he responded. Looking up at the ceiling, on top of shelves and such. It couldn't be determined really what he was looking for. The pilot, a book, a weapon. You would have to be able to read minds to know.

A small shadowy object sprang up from a perch on the top of the doorway. A small robot the size of an iPhone with eight metallic spider-like legs and a singular red eye landed on the boy's head, using one of his insect legs to zap Compass in the ear resulting in an electrifying spark. The boy yelped in pain and grasped his ear as the spider-like robot sprang off quickly and landed on a desk nearby, clanking its metallic legs on the table as it challenged them.

"You filthy neanderthals!" it jeered, as Sul slammed a closed fist down on the table breaking it in half and sending pieces of wood sliding across the floor. The robot leaped off before the blow, landing on another bookshelf safely out of harms way. A digital growl escaped the speakers of the artificial life form.

"Wait! That's Dee Dee Ex. Don't kill him!" the boy shouted. "Dee Dee Ex, its me, Compass. Come down from there, we can set a course for home. I'll get us there safe." The boy still had one hand on his ear, but extended the other to the robot to land there so that the two could return to the island. However, Sul wasn't about to let the two go alone. He was fully intent on meeting their employer, whether it was Hurricane or not. He had to confirm it.

Nash sighed as the pair busted into the room ahead of him, their entry might have had all the sound and fury of a typhoon, but it was all for naught as any noise they might make was entirely muted. He watched as they looked at the dead robot. The boy started to speak but Nash simply shook his head. There was no sound, the child might not realize it but he certainly did. Flashing his hand in front of the disc, a small keypad sparked up, the green numbers holographically superimposed upon empty space. Pressing in the combination he sighed once more, the sound of he breath once more being heard as the disc stopped its signal. Nash popped the disc off the door and loaded it once more into the launcher as he walked over to the boy. A little robot had jumped out of nowhere and zapped him before leaping about like some sort of crazed lemur. It's voice had been ill chosen, a high pitched whine that seemed to strain whatever audio processors had been assigned to producing it. The little thing insulted them and continued leaping about as the man -who had identified himself as 'Sul' in the brief time before the silence had taken effect- smashed its chosen landing point, a large table that was now little more than debris from his blow.

The robot continued to spring about, eventually coming to rest on a bookshelf, out of most people's reach. The child seemed to be trying to coax it out of its spot, despite the little machine's prior assault on him. Nash put on his gauntlet and flipped open the back panel, adjusting the settings to 0.5. Even that was likely excessive. On a human, that would have been little more than a painful shock, but to a robot that size, it would be enough to stun it long enough to grab. Nash flipped the panel closed and walked over.

"I'm terribly sorry about this my little friend, but I'm going to need you to relax" he said as he tapped the side of the metal bookshelf, the shock traveling through the conductive material and into the little robot. The thing's circuits experienced a brief surge and it seized up, dropping like a rock off of the bookshelf. Nash reached out and caught it, gripping it by its legs and holding firm.

The little boy seemed to panic at this, almost like he would try and grab the rude apparatus away from Nash. Nash held his arm up in the air and smiled softly.

"Now, now, now young man, no need to worry. This tiny fellow is just fine. I only gave him a little jolt to calm his nerves" Nash explained, putting the little robot upside down on a table, his hand only inches from it. In the event the tiny contraption tried another session of leaping to and fro, he would shock it the instant it looked even the slightest bit jumpy. He honestly didn't like having to harm to the poor thing, it was probably scared, but nonetheless it had proven hostile so he would keep it from harming anyone else.

Nash grabbed a chair and sat down just as the device began to twitch once more, its systems rebooted from the shock. He placed his hand near it once more and stared.

"Jittery little fellow isn't he? I suppose you'll want to ask him some questions Mr. Sul, but please, do try and avoid scaring it this time. I don't want to have another session of 'catch the birdy'" he said, half jokingly. He could easily catch it again, but to do would mean another shock and another bout of waiting for the thing's systems to reboot.

Sul blankly stared at the small robotic creature. He didn't really have a question, he viewed it as a threat to the group initially. But now he felt compelled to ask it one. He had the group somewhat in his favor already of investigating this suspicious craft's destination. Now he just needed the vehicle to get moving so he could continue his pursuit of the villainous metahuman. Exactly what would he even do if he caught up to Hurricane? Sul internally sighed at the thought. Killing him would make Sul no better than he was. Capturing him almost ensured he would eventually be free again. Whether the trio were going with him or not, he needed to get this boat moving.

"The only question I have is how to get this boat moving towards it's destination. I understand you all might have things you need to take care of, but I need to catch up to Hurricane. If this is his boat, I need to find out where it's headed. And if it isn't I need to explain what happened to his security. And the kid says there is no map to get to where this boat goes. Hurricane is responsible for many people's deaths. If you aren't interested in chasing after him, this may be your only opportunity to get off." Sul said to Cornelius and Nash. It was an invitation to pass on the trip if they weren't wanting to get involved in a mess.

Cornelius decided to talk to the young boy asking him a few questions. "An island, far away from here. Days if you were to take a normal trip down. If you try to hurt me out there, you'll be good as dead. It isn't an easy place to survive without proper navigation. Plus, my boss is used to metahumans, likes them even. Who knows, you might end up being friends. Either way, Dee Dee Ex only does some of the basic controls of the ship. He doesn't have much of a say whether you are going or not. he replied, still rubbing his sore ear from when the robotic captain shocked it. It seemed with Hurricane, quite frequently there was a metahuman in all his operations. Whether it was a trained operative or just a small boy. "There might be some double fudge in the fridge. I dunno, I havent checked it in a while."

The robotic captain, under threat of another electrical shock, changed it's previously aggressive nature to almost a stand-still. It didn't budge an inch though it was perfectly capable. It didn't want to test Nash's patience.

"You're making a mistake, boy." Dee Dee Ex threatened. "They're a threat to master's operations. Did you see what they did to the squad outside? Their power exceeds yours, they will wreck havoc on the island. Master will not be pleased."

"Just warm the engines Dee Dee Ex." Compass said while glaring at the robot. It twitched slightly, unable to move while Nash had his threatening hand hovering over him.

Nash sat in his chair, tapping his fingers against the table. Cornelius was asking a slew of questions, some relevant to the situation at hand while others were of a more mundane variety. Finally he left the room after the boy told him of some 'double fudge' in one of the ship's fridges. Nash smiled, chocolate was always a good thing for someone's mood. The dopamine it carried stimulated the brain's pleasure centers and allowed for thought to move through the mind with greater ease. It was one of mankind's finest creations. A thing only designed for the betterment of others, even if was in just a small way. As Cornelius exited the room, Nash called after him.

"Do take care Cornelius. If there happen to be any more automated sentries, don't hesitate to call for our aid" he said, raising his voice just enough so it would carry into the hall. It was a real concern of his. This ship, though no carrier, was quite large. The probability that they'd taken out all the sentries -organic or otherwise- was low. A ship this size likely had multiple decks. If Isaac had been in charge of the defenses he would likely have set sentries on every level, each squad backed up by fail safes of an explosive nature. Each of those squads would also have a beacon or other handheld device that could be disabled if they were captured or killed. Once all beacons were off, charges set in crates on each layer would detonate, reducing the ship to slag and preventing the hostile invaders from using it as an asset. Nash silently chuckled at his musings. His? They were much more likely Isaac's coming to the surface. Isaac often thought of things that way, about how he could have done better. Nash silently reflected that all hindsight is 20/20. Looking over at Sul, he was explaining all about how this would be their last chance to leave the ship. It was probably meant as a warning, but Nash simply smiled.

"My newest acquaintance, why on earth would I seek to depart from such an important mission as the one you have detailed. This rogue you speak of -Hurricane was it?- is obviously a threat to the world at large and should be brought in for a proper round of swift justice. A fair trial will of course be provided, but that goes without saying." Nash chimed. He was having fun. Then the child spoke. About how Hurricane liked 'metahumans' and how he might even like them.

"My dear boy, this fellow is quite the dangerous individual by my reckoning. If he does wish to be friends, I'm sure he'll have no trouble coming along quietly and turning himself in to the proper authorities." Nash explained to the boy, whose smugness was starting to become the slightest bit irritating. Back when Nolan had first seen the boy trapped in the crate, Nash had felt sorry for him. A poor lad scared out of his wits and confined to a dark space, but now he was proving to be much like Simon. Petulant and cocky. Nash shook his head, a young man should be both humble and courteous, though the boy displayed neither. Perhaps he learned it from the tiny automaton only inches from Nash's hand.

Standing up, he looked at Sul and smiled yet again.

"Well then Mr. Sul, if you don't have anything else to say to our automated helmsman, I think it's safe to let him move about once again, after all; he seems to be the only one capable of operating this vessel" Nash said, looking down at the robot "And as for you my incredibly feisty little friend, I'm sure we won't have to go through another quick game of tag, will we?" He finished, his tone light but carrying a warning edge. Nash might be pleasant, but he was no less capable of doing his job than anyone else.

Dee Dee Ex sprang to its feet and scampered his way to the USB port that controlled the ship. A flexible wire came snaking out of an opening on the top of the small robotic life form as it plugged into the system. Immediately he was alerted to the situation that Cornelius was making in the engine room within the hull of the ship.

"That old man is tearing up our engine room." He spoke aloud, mostly to Sul-Fury and Isaac. "Go make sure that old fool doesn't blow a hole in the hull and sink us!"

Compass looked to Sul-Fury and Nash for but a glance, before running past them and out to the deck, leading the way to the lower hull. Sul took one glance and ran after the boy. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he didn't want the boy to get hurt, nor Cornelius to sink the ship. Long story short, Sul isn't the best swimmer. It would not be good if it did. The young boy slid on one knee as he approached the entrance to the rooms below, pulling up one of his pant legs. A small futuristic looking pistol was harnessed to his left leg. He unstrapped it from his leg and slammed the door open, running inside, leading with his pistol outstretched.

Dee Dee Ex wirelessly scanned the black box of all the dead robotic life forms to see its last few moments before death. Sul-Fury and Nash so far had seemed untouchable by the sentries so far. Perhaps a change of opponent might grant them a further challenge. Secretly, DDX alert all the internal security systems while he had the chance. If he could kill one of these metahumans, perhaps Hurricane would not be as angry with him and deactivate the small robot captain. Dee Dee Ex ordered all the sentries to kill any non-authorized personnel.

Scanning through the black boxes of the sentries that had faced Cornelius, it seemed that he had multiple appearances in different places. An impossibility unless it was a metahuman ability. Nonetheless, DDX switched all the sentries vision from infrared to heat vision so that the sentries could lock onto their living targets easier.

The ship swayed back and forth, as Sul and Compass moved through the corridors of the ship. What Sul hadn't expected, was complete silence. The security below the hull was a lot more stealthy than the group outside. It was filled with SNK Mark IX Units. A unit designed for speed and fighting skill programmed within its data banks. They were trained not to make a sound before attacking.

As Sul-Fury and Compass headed towards the engine room, a sentry attached to the ceiling fell down and landed both feet on Sul's shoulders. Before he could bat a lash the sentry had a blade up against his throat and slit it, as if it were performing an assassination in a training exercise. However, the blade was not strong enough to cut through Sul's durable hide. Sul swung his arm up to punch it in the chest but it sprang off and landed behind him. Compass stepped forward, taking several shots at the robotic sentry. Light blue energy blasts screamed as they flew at the sentry, but it side-stepped them all, running towards them. It leaped into the air, kicking Compass in the side of the head and knocking him against the wall before slashing at Sul. It was quicker than Sul expected, but just not strong enough. Sul swung a punch at its head, but the flexible creature contorted its back at a 90 degrees angle and backflipped to safety. It jumped up into the air and kicked its feet against the wall, propelling himself towards Sul. He slashed its sword and aimed a high kick at Sul's head again. The sword made contact with Sul's face, but Sul grabbed him by the foot and slammed him against the ground, shattering its components across the floor.

"Damn, he's quick." Sul stared at it. It was a great fighter, but couldn't get past the fact that Sul wasn't vulnerable to it's attacks. It had no other options but to pursue it with it's combat protocol. Compass got to his feet and picked his pistol up. He leaned his shoulder against the wall and rubbed the side of his head. Combat wasn't close to the kid's specialty. Looking down the hall, three more of the same type of sentries were waiting for them.

In the engine room, the alarms went off. They no longer needed to warn the entire ship, including its uninvited passengers. They could wirelessly communicate with one another. And what's more, the sentries could see heat and track the three that much easier, as well as see through Cornelius' parlor tricks. The walls made silent movements, allowing two sentries to quietly enter the room that Cornelius was in. The source of the intrusion that set off the alarms in the first place. Recognizing him as a threat, they split up in an attempt to block off any of his exits and pursue him with lethal force. The two seemingly sprang up from nowhere upon Cornelius, as they ran across the room at close to 100 mph, and rapidly slashed at the old man.

Nash sat back and watched the little robot go about its work. Standing up, he followed Sul out the door and looked around,wondering for the first time about the ship's design of his own accord. The hallways seemed poorly designed if the only passengers were to be automatons. As much as he regarded all life as sacred, he had to acknowledge that robots weren't particularly picky about their accommodations. The halls were large enough for people to move in without being even the slightest bit inconvenienced. Looking down, he saw the boy. Was it all for him? Was his supposedly grand role in this ship's operation truly enough to warrant such a massive flaw in its design? Nash didn't believe so, not just because Sul's description of the man left his moral position in little doubt, but because of the conditions under which they had discovered Compass. What an odd name for a boy. Perhaps a code name? Isaac had used a few while on some of his black ops, though most of them were only temporary, rarely something so mundane. Generally they were a false name or a descriptor relevant to his role in the operation. Was Compass the same? Perhaps that was why he was allowed on the ship.
He had said that their destination was impossible to find by normal means or something along those lines. Maybe he knew how to find the way. At any rate, he wasn't needed immediately upon shoving off or he would not have been locked in a crate. That bit still nagged at Nash. The young man obviously believed he was of indispensable value to this ship's operation and yet he seemed to have no problem being shoved in a dark metal crate with nary a flashlight or food. Cornelius had pointed out to Nash how the boy had something called shingles and by Nash's own estimate the boy was malnourished. He wasn't emaciated of course, but he wasn't healthy. Once more Nash gazed as the walls, absent mindedly following the pair. There seemed to be strange shapes on the wall, like a moth or other insect curled up to sleep. They were cast in shadow, preventing Nash from getting a good look at them. He doubted they were just for decoration, but whatever they were, the trio's presence hadn't brought about any reaction.

Suddenly, they stopped. Nash nearly bumped face first into Sul's back, a dumbfounded look on his face. Backing up, he turned, trying to figure out why they had stopped.

"Excuse me Mr. Sul but why exactly did you choose to stop... in... this..." he trailed off as he saw the thing -a model of automaton much sleeker than their previous opponents- drop down and attempt to slit his new acquaintance's neck. The act failed spectacularly, like a stick being drawn against a rock. Sul attempted to grab at it, only succeeding in grabbing air. The next few seconds were like a blur. The thing leaped about, delivering a swift strike to the young man and attempting to murder the large man once more. Was it hoping to wear him down with mosquito bites? It didn't even get the chance as Sul grabbed it and reduced the marvel of engineering to slag in less than a second. Nash turned to look at the boy. Was he injured? Apparently not as he stood up, rubbing his head but apparently undamaged.

Nash smiled, as much of a brat as the child was, he wished the boy no ill will. Noises, barely audible could be heard coming down the hallway. Three more were approaching from the front. Nash sighed, so many things trying to kill them. Looking down the way they came, he saw them. Several more of the melee proficient models were coming their way.

"Oh my, quite the ambush we've walked into, wouldn't you say Mr. Sul?" he joked, picking up the fallen droid's sword and testing the weight. It wasn't particularly heavy. It was a blade obviously meant for assassination, a thing designed to end the life of its targets in a single stroke. Any hope of prolonged combat with the weapon was an arrogant man's fantasy, like a boy who orders swords off a website only to find their blades dull and their materials shoddy. Nash stepped forward, slowly twirling the blade in his hand. A soft smile adorning his features.

"I don't suppose you gentleman would be willing to acquiesce to my wishes and surrender would you?" he asked as the first one reached him, the glittering steel a pale gray rather than the glimmering silver it should have been.

Nash moved backwards only a foot, the blade's tip mere inches from his neck. The thing had failed in its opening move.

"A shame" was all he managed to sigh, bringing the recovered blade in his left hand upwards, moving to slash the attacker's metal hand off. Hopefully that would deter its companions from attempting another foolish attack.

The thing moved its arm away with liquid grace, a thing Nash hadn't expected. These things didn't seem capable of finesse beyond the initial blow, but then again, he'd only seen one. Maybe they got smarter.

It was time to get unorthodox. Flipping the blade into a reverse grip, Nash popped open the panel on the back of his gauntlet and quickly moved the dial up to a 3. That would be plenty to dispatch these murder machines quickly.

Nash barely had time to flip the panel closed as his attacker resumed its assault. The blow was a swift downward strike designed to split him in twain. It hit, however what it hit was not its mark. Rather, the blade had struck the flat pommel of the scavenged sword.

"Gotcha" Nash chimed cheerfully as he gripped the thing's face, delivering a powerful electric shock. Its circuits were fried. It wasn't going to get back up. Lucky for it as one of its compatriots launched itself at Nash, its blade managing only to pierce the already dead droid. Nash pushed the body down, the second attacker's sword coming with it. The thing looked at its hand, as if it couldn't comprehend that its sword was absent from its grip. In doing so, it missed its opportunity to dodge Nash's next move. A roundhouse kick delivered to its head, smashing the things metallic skull to pieces. Only one remained. However, instead of striking, it turned and retreated. Perhaps it was retrieving reinforcements?

Nash glanced back at Sul only for a moment, unwilling to turn his attention from the supposedly empty hallway in front of him.

"Mr. Sul, while I do so enjoy demonstrating my talents in a manner that doesn't bring harm to sentient beings, is there a purpose to all this?" he asked. One could only destroy robots for so long without beginning to wonder why.

It seemed Nash was quite capable fighting the speedy sentinel droids. Despite the excellent swordsmanship they displayed, their assassin-like programming had limitations. Were it a snoopy police officer or a metahuman with limited powers, they might have been easily taken out within seconds. The remaining sentinel ran off, but not to get more numbers. They were wirelessly connected, their communication with other robotic creatures of the same make weren't spoken aloud. Perhaps it left just to strike at a more opportune time. It vanished in the shadows if the ship for now. Sul was quite impressed with Nash's abilities to fend off the three practically not taking any hits. Personally, his own fighting style was up close and personal. He would exchange blow for blow, and perhaps that made him weaker for it. Though, in this case, the assassins had not the strength to even scratch him. Rarely was Sul conservative, or demonstrate any attempts to dodge, or roll out of the way of anything unless he thought the blow might have a powerful impact. Still, practicing such skills wouldn't hurt him in the long run.

"A purpose?" Sul replied to Nash's question. He walked towards the engine room as he spoke. "The long-term goal is to get to Hurricane's location. The purpose of all of this is him. He throws an appearance of being a logical person, but his goals and plans for our world aren't in it's best interests. He'll do anything to achieve that goal though. If we meet him, don't let him deceive you. He's a killer. But as for short term, these robots are just getting in our way of reaching him. Wherever Cornelius is, I'm sure that old man probably is getting attacked by the same creatures. I don't picture him as the swordsman type either. Dee Dee Ex said he was tearing up the engine room. If that happens, we're dead in the water here. Mission over."

Sul walked into the engine room, finding the remains of assassin droids that they had similarly faced earlier. It seems Cornelius was stronger than his appearance led on. He assumed they would be too fast for an older gentleman who walked around with a cane.

"You in here, Cornelius?" Sul shouted. He looked around the engine room, it didn't appear to be torn up at all as DDX had claimed. Compass walked over to the engine to examine it for any tampering or damage, not able to find anything. Seemed to him that everything was intact. Which was good, because they needed to get this shipment going to the island soon. With or without the group of metahuman meddlers.

Nash tapped the mangled remains of the assassin droids with his scavenged katana. After what he'd done to them -a surprisingly brutal display for him- most organic beings would be dead, but you could never be sure with robots. Back when Isaac had been the only one, robots like this -or even those they'd fought outside- were mere science fiction, a pipe dream by crazy theorists and crackpots with too much time on their hands. Even the technology that Isaac had constructed for himself was somewhat outlandish. An energy gauntlet and a sound cancelling disc no bigger than a tennis ball. In the 60's even claiming such things were possible was going to get you odd looks at best. If you tried to go further they would laugh you out of the room. Yet, here they were, portable and easily replicated.
The robots were a marvel of modern ingenuity and yet here both Sul and himself were treating them as if they'd just smashed a group of wind up toys. Were such miracles truly so mundane? Had the world changed that much since Isaac had been in cryo? It seemed so. Nash looked over at Sul, who was finally explaining their objective it seemed. Much of it was repetition, how they needed to stop the man in charge of these robots. A one track mind was one of Sul's specialties it seemed. Then he saw the large man call into what Nash assumed was the engine room. The man Cornelius was supposedly in there wrecking the place. Worst case scenario, Nash could probably fix it, though that was more along the lines of Isaac's realm of expertise. Nash slowly shook his head, this place was huge. Why did this 'Hurricane' need such a large vessel? Was it to conceal the real cargo that they had so luckily happened upon? Like hiding straw in a haystack. Unfortunately, they'd plucked the gem right from the tiger's mouth through sheer luck. Well... luck might not be the best word. The robot guards had made a tremendous fuss about the little girl getting near that crate. If they hadn't Nolan might not have gone on one of his tantrums and tore the bloody thing open. Whoever built the robots obviously hadn't designed them for subtly.

Nash's musings were interrupted by a sound he didn't quite recognize, a buzzing sound like a bee or a far off saw blade, the sound wasn't constant, but faded in and out. It was like someone was attempting to rev an engine and failing, only to try again seconds later, hoping it would work. Though there was a distinct difference that he noticed as the seconds passed and the noise grew louder. The lull between the buzzing was getting shorter. They were down in the bowels of the ship, no windows giving them a view of the outside world, only the steady flow of artificial light from fluorescent bulbs preventing them from being engulfed in absolute darkness.

Then the lights went out, only briefly, but the two men were encased in darkness. The buzzing suddenly grew loud, a furious thing, much like the roar of a lion combined with the screech of metal being dragged away, before the lights flickered back on. All the droid's remains were gone. The only trace that they'd ever been there was a faint smell of oil and a few scraps of metal still scattered about. Nash moved into a ready position, his right arm held back, ready to thrust forward and catch any projectile weapons or fast moving targets. As he raised his left hand, he noticed something odd. It felt lighter. Looking down he saw that the sword he had recovered from the droid lacked its blade. It had been plucked right out of the handle by whatever had taken the two robots away. How hadn't he noticed it? He had had his hand on the weapon the entire time and yet whatever it was seemed to have been able to extract the blade with nary a pull or struggle.

What had it been?