Law and Order [Closed to Garth and Ranger]

Chicago, Illinois a city that was a hive of villainy before the New York incident, but since then the troubles within the city seems to have only increased. In terms of criminal activity, it had become a second New York of sorts, Metahuman and human criminals alike trickling here. The only ones standing between the city and anarchy was the law enforcement, though how well humans with guns fared was obvious. If it wasn’t men with skin tougher then concrete, then it was someone with a strange power that made those guns virtually useless anyway, and that was where the Special Task force came in. People knew that no human could hope to combat the growing Metahuman criminal element, and to that effect a force of Metahumans were formed to deal with the problems at hand. Units tactically created to deal with almost any threat that could form, lead by a substantially powerful Metahuman.

”You sure there’s only three?” Agent Mimic questions direly, looking past the police line into the foreboding building ahead. Three figures in complimenting black body armor stood beside him, nearly equal in height to him, save for one that stood a good foot over the others. Each was furnished with automatic weapons, and armaments meant to deal with lesser metahuman threats, and of course they had their own talents in case they were not enough. The quivering officer looked at him, amber eyes meeting with the dilating green. He licked his lips nervously, perhaps a little intimidated by the male in black standing before him.

”Hello.” Mimic said snapping his fingers and seeming to draw the man from a stupor. ”Are you sure there are only three?” He asked once again but with deliberate slowness.

“Yeah, couldn’t get a good look at them before one released some kind of bright flash of light.” The officer managed to say, giving the male at least an inkling of what they were dealing with. If what he said was correct, it was some kind or photokinetic, perhaps only able to create bright flashes of light or even more than that. If that were the case, then they should have brought some kind of protective gear.

”Three Metahumans of unknown power, sounds like a challenge.” One of the agents in black noted, voice sounding feminine.

”One possible photokinetic and two others with unknown abilities, we will proceed with caution.” He said simply unholstering the Colt M4 Shorty at his side, checking the weight for a moment, before nodding approvingly.

”So what do you suggest we do?” One of them asked, it was the tallest among the group. The one that had yet to speak up leaned in awaiting the plan.

”Jennings and I will draw some fire from the front, while Ghost and Jumper go from the side. This will be quick, and go off without a hitch. There are at least ten hostages and we cannot let a single one die.” Mimic said placing the black visored helmet over his head, loudly popping his neck. ”This should take less than five minutes.”

”I say atleast three minutes.” So now they were making bets it would seem. Jennings smirked, though under the helmet it was not obvious, however the chuckling sound was.

”We’ll see.” He said flatly, though one could sense a small amount of good humor under it. A short silence followed that and then they were in motion, one going completely invisible while the other disappeared in a small puff of smoke. That left him and the woman known as Jennings, the two that would end up leading the distracting charge. Mimic lets his fingers feel over the grenade strapped to his belt, one of two as well as the small pistol. Jennings was the first to move, a flash of motion through the police line as Mimic followed after, not as fast but still considerably fast. The one to take notice of them was the photokinetic, or so the brief flash of light denoted before he was knocked out by a swift chop from Jennings.

With that one down, that left them with two more and he was just moving through the door, eyes falling upon someone forming strange energy into a shield as he unleashed a barrage of fire upon them. His ally however was busy with a tank type. If things went as they were, it would indeed take less than five minutes to mop this up.

This place, filled with such filth it disgusted him to his core. He stood atop Sears tower, looking down upon the Chicago Union Station. His crimson eyes narrowed as his long black hair fell forth. Everything went essentially as planned, it was a rather simple task really. He had been tracking the progress upon the formation of this government unit dedicated to tango with met humans. He, for once, tracked the progress upon his own volition. Granted, it was all to ensure that they were not meddling in the affairs of his Lord. The King of Darkness, The Lord f Shadows….Cain Vulsore. Tonight, He received a command, The King of Darkness commanded him that he investigate this group farther. Test their capabilities maybe. The moment the words were uttered from his lips, He had purpose, and when he had purpose…there was no one more dangerous than He who served the Shadow Lord.

He was A.P.E.X. The predator of all living things, he who was victim to none. He who was the living embodiment of the Truth….that knowledge IS power. He was Garth, the perfect soldier and perhaps one the most knowledgeable creatures alive. Tonight, A.P.E.X had chosen his victims. One of them a Photokinetic, the other a man able to become intangible and invisible, and the third was a rather brutish character. There were more, but none Garth had attempted to manipulate…they were doing a fine enough job as it is.
The plan, capture humans and force this new squad into action. They came, as predicted. Garth watched as the squad began to make a decent hurt within moments. The Photokinetic was down, the Tank was busy. The Invisible man fled to find Garth, and signal the next part of the plan. Garth watched the anti-met human squad fight as they were trained to. It was obvious that in his current state, Garth was physically outmatched, but he was far from outmatched. Garth leapt from the tower and began hurdling towards the ground. The harsh winds on his face didn’t even trigger him to blink. He began to see the ground coming faster, and faster, and faster. Before he could hit the ground, he tapped into the power of the almighty mind and in an instant his body was black smoke. The smoke never even graced the ground, but when it reformed, Garth was upright on the ground. Arms still bound in his Sci-Fi looking suit, walking onward. The Sleek suit coursing with the life essence of victims and the lifeblood of the fresh kill. He would be undetectable in almost every way, if Technology were afoot he would remain unsensed by it, unseen and all around non-existent. It would make for an interesting meeting.

It was an average day for Ranger, he was out on his shift of patrol and had already stopped two robberies and three muggings but as of lately nothing was meta-human or out of the ordinary. Which of course in Chicago was certainly out of the ordinary. Something has to be going on, and he was going to find out what. Running across rooftops, because that was always cool, at and his top speed Ranger noticed something going on in one building. Something that not only had S.W.A.T teams on the job but the new meta-human riot control group, which certainly meant something big was going on. This was something that more than likely involved meta-humans and boy was Ranger ready for some real action.

With a grin he closed his eyes before opening them once again and looks across the street into the building. Getting a good look inside he could tell the people operating whatever was going on we're smart. He couldn't see where they were except for a few flashes of light and explosions. What exactly it was that was going on or who this was being run by was a mystery to Ranger, but he was going to find out what was happening. Moving back towards the other side of his building he took off sprinting and Jules off the edge bow out and crashed through the window on a floor above where the 'action' was coming from. Luckily to him on this floor the hostages were all tied up and the police could deal with the 'goon' squad or whatever it was 'protecting' said hostages.

Removing a normal arrow from his quiver he made his way over to where the hostages were, checking each and every one of them to make sure none were harmed or worse. After seeng that they were alright he of course held a finger to his lips and cut the binds, with the arrow, that held the hostages down and together. When they were free he told them to stay where they were not wanting any of them to be harmed or killed by the people who brought them there in the first place. Turning invisible he made his way over the the stairs and notched a tranquilizer arrow into his compound bow simply waiting to see what would happen next. He himself had never seen these meta-human riot control unit things in action and wanted to see just how good they really were.

Bullets ricocheted from the barrier of energy, but his intention was not to harm his target, it was only to temporarily occupy him. Their job was to really distract the three Metahumans, while his partners were able to free the hostages and then that was when they could end this. Mimic was having an easier time of this, unleashing his hail of rounds upon the one manipulating the strange energy, but then again his gun only had so many shots before it ran empty; and he only had so many clips. So it was perhaps time to work his magic, copying the guys power and then using it to take him down, if he could get the hang of such an ability. While he was used to his own copied powers, the thought of mastering more on the fly was daunting.

Not really one to deny a strategy, Mimic let his own gift go to work, analyzing everything that he took in about the ability and his body began to change to allow him to use it. It was a strange sensation really, but one that he enjoyed almost, even though he hadn’t really used his own power in what was years. Now he just had to try the ability out, something large and something that would help him within this situation, all that came to mind really was a wave of energy being thrust at his foe. With his will alone, the male formed a shockwave of the strange energy that thrust forward, ground cracking and splintering under the force of it.

His target did not expect the attack either, as he was thrown had backward, a look of absolute shock playing across his face hilariously as he slid at least a good twenty feet. While he would deal with the downed enemy, his partner was still fighting with the tank of a man, getting quick strikes in as he barely missed her vitals, a sort of dance that could not go on forever. However, nothing lasted forever, and that applied to the dance, as his fist connected with her stomach and sent the female flying through the air, and rolling along the ground. The air was knocked out of her, and likely there would be some bruising from the impact, something that would surely hurt in the morning.

Snickering lightly to himself, the thug would move in for the finish it would seem, though he would find himself pushed away by a powerful wave of energy. Mimic had moved from his downed target, detained already and protected his ally. ”Having a little trouble Jennings?” He said with a smirk.

”Shut up.” She said, though between pained breaths he swore he could hear her chuckling lightly.

. He continued his leisurely walk, not exactly rushing to the scene. As he began to enter the vicinity of the battle zone, Garth felt shadows crawl upon his skin, turning him into a walking shadow. With no sunlight touching his skin directly, he was able to make use of his shadow-travel, and move himself through the building ahead of him, and move out through the shadow it produce, bringing him almost directly to the edge of the conflict. He was close enough to watching the Tank of a metahuman throttle the one soldier, while the other soldier seemed to... replicate the energies projected from the one metahuman. Garth's interest was piqued. Had this been perhaps a part of his suit's capacity? No...the humans had yet to come that far with technology, and the U.S Government wasn't the best place for an intellectual meta to work. Conditions were rather...tight...for the group. Unfortunately Garth had plans for these hostages.

Garth's mechanical wings, moved, manufactured for perfect silence and stealth. The hand drew the Occult gun known as The Reckoning from it's holster. Without another moment it activated, and a large occult circle formed in the air, firing out several rounds like a Gatling gun. Blood spewed everywhere, innocent lives were lost, and ideally Garth fixated to end them all.
His motives? To make a statement. None were safe from the King of Darkness, and no second-rate meta-human squad was going to change that. Garth had his orders, and he carried them our without mercy, without remorse, and without regret. With most of, if not all the hostages dead, Garth stepped from the shadows, The mechanical wing holstered the gun as the shadow upon him persisted, to them he was a featureless shadow man with black wings and mysterious shadow-guns.

Garth's mind as solid as ever, he was careful to not allow anyone to get the better of him. Garth would not deny it. He was as weak as an average human, but what he laced in physical capability, he proved to be the A.P.E.X using his godlike mind, and his knowledge of all things to create a vast arsenal of weaponry. His wings, his guns, his very suit. All things created by him, in order to give him an advantage, and more importantly, to protect him from his own power. Not even the King of Darkness knew the power that Garth held, the power he needed to keep bound in this unique armor that he brandished.

”So you are the compilation of the government’s finest?” Garth asked, his low toned and near emotionless voice carrying a surprising distance from beneath the leather binding over his mouth. He cocked his head slightly, throwing his hair a little out of his face before letting out an scoff of obvious disappointment. ”If so, it looks like America is nothing more than Rome: The Sequel.” He said. Unlike many meta-humans, Garth was solely empowered through the powers of the mind, and it’s unlocking capability. His eyes needed only look to people and he could almost see their every move, as if he were some form of psychic strategist. The difficulty for Garth…was that he was never certain of their action, and he lacked the physical reflexes to react to what his mind perceived. He put his boots at about shoulder-width apart, and he looked to the surrounding area. He had nothing to fear at this moment in time, though it was what was coming next that was uncertainty.

It was truly a rush…to be uncertain… Honestly it made Garth smile whenever he was uncertain. It reminded him that he wasn’t God…and he did not truly KNOW everything.
…yet.

Ranger never even saw it coming, even with eyesight as good as a hawk he couldn't catch everything. One moment he was silently drawing back his bow to place a tranquilizer arrow on it and the next second gun shots rang out behind him and the screams or cries of the hostages could be heard. He had failed them, and through them he had failed their families. What were the mothers or fathers going to tell their children when they got home, that their parents had died because once again meta-humans had meddled in the world affairs, that once again the Ranger had failed? He replaced the tranquilizer arrow back in his quiver, still invisible of course, and watched the man if he could even be called that emerge from the shadows. The man slowly walked past him and over in front of the meta-human police squad, as if he didn't have a care in the world. And after what Ranger just witnessed, why would he. The being of shadows believed no one could stop him, that he was untouchable.

Well, maybe he was before today but today was a new day and he had never met The Ranger. Clenching his bow tight Ranger drew an electric net arrow and lined it up as the creature expanded one of his wings giving a very short speech to the police squad. Pulling back he let the electric net arrow fly in the direction of the winged shadow man. He wasn't quite sure if the net would be able to fully encompass him, but it had covered bigger so he would have to hope. When the arrow was fired he turned visible revealing his position. "They aren't the only ones on the job you sick bastard." He said quickly notching and firing off a tranquilizer arrow at center mass just incase the Electric Net Arrow didn't serve the purpose it was of course supposed to serve. Which was to detain and shut up the winged man. The electric net was a favorite of his actually, any form of struggling made from the occupant and they would be shocked by electricity every time and it would only stop when someone pushed a button on top of the 'arrow head' releasing them.

As for the two meta-human thugs Ranger quickly fired off a tranquilizer arrow at the energy manipulator and an electric net arrow at the tank hoping to detain them quickly so that his focus for the rest of the time would be solely on the winged man. Or if his tranquilizer and net combo worked he would be able to focus on the meta-human police squad and whatever, if any, hostages were still alive. This was not a situation Ranger wanted to see explode more than it already had, and he of course blamed himself for not acting fast enough but also the police for sending in the 'big guns' first without thinking and endangering the hostages. That argument though would more than likely come later as he was sure the Meta Squad would blame him for everything...

The metahuman criminal for the most part were dealt with, his newly copied power having made short work of them. However, Andrew was not aware of the one lurking in the shadows, a misanthrope willing to do whatever would please his sadistic master. Mimic was ready to cuff the two, and drag them away, where they would be processed and then detained in a facility that was more apt to handle them. Hostages saved and no casualties garnered, until he heard what sounded like gunfire, one that was new to his ear. It was not a normal gun, but something that perhaps transcended what was considered the norm of firearms. Within moments blood was spilt, innocents sprawling across the floor as their bullet riddled bodies hit the floor like a ton of bricks. Beneath his visor amber eyes widened into shocked ovals, then narrowing angrily, as if someone had stubbed his toe and then stabbed it with a knife.

”What the hell?” he growled lowly, looking upon the one that had murdered the civilians without a second thought, without a single moment of hesitation. A parahuman psychopath that killed without even blinking, one that he was trained to take down ever since he was taken into the task force. His fingers tightened around his weapon, gazing upon the murderer with veiled eyes, ones that burned. One thing that he hated more than anything was those that used their power to kill those weaker than them, cowards that killed simply because they could. It sickened him to the core. ”The situation has been compromised, unknown metahuman clad in black is upon the scene, carrying unknown weapon and with unknown capabilities; hostage casualties in unknown numbers, requesting use of lethal force.” he said lowly into his head set. It took only a second but he was given the go ahead, and the male couldn’t have heard a single word.

”making a lot of assumptions now aren’t we?” he said simply drawing upon the metahuman gift that he had copied, caught off guard by the appearance of another individual, one that was…dressed in red. Something about this metahuman seemed familiar, perhaps lining up with reports that he had heard before. The power of invisibility and archer motif made him sound like this Ranger that he had heard rumors of. ’Oh great, a vigilante.” He muttered rolling his eyes and hefting the gun in his hand, while focusing a sphere of the energy within his other hand. A half clip still held within his weapon, and the power he held right now felt more than enough to do some damage to the vampiric individual with a bondage kick. Adding onto the red archers assault, he unleashed a hale of bullets, followed by the powerful bolt of energy, one that was perhaps more potent than the bullets; ground cracking under it.

"They aren't the only ones on the job you sick bastard." A voice came out. Garth's eyes never left Agent Mimic as the net came closer. It closed in, and as it seemed to make it's grand strike upon him... he vanished. Gath had suddenly disappeared, completely gone form the fabrics of reality, undone within time and space itself. It was the leather straps all around his head, the special little "head-cage" that he wore. These straps were actually an enchanted little "tool" of his, one that he so aptly named "The Wraps of the Warped". The moment that the net and the tranquilizing arrow and the hail of bullets had passed, Garth reappeared in a maroon-violet plasma that sparked and snapped as black and red lightning crackled from the ground. Garth was still trained on Mimic, certain that the man who had now revealed himself knew that he was of little consequence. His boot shifted, kicking some of the rubble of the cracked concrete in the ground.

"Assumptions? I do not make Assumptions...I make observations. You may accept these observations, or you can deny them. It is of little gravity which you discern is the best course of action." He said, he turned and his crimson colored eyes fell upon Ranger, who had come from the guise of invisibility. Garth's eyes widened partially and he smiled. "Ah...how good of you to come. You and your pathetic race of people are also on my list. It is good to know that your people are so slow to think-you are not the one...you look similar...but you are not him." Garth said, actually shocked in the fallacies of his database. He would need to correct this issue.

The situation had become interesting. Not only did he have the means of survival apparently, but he had the ability to potentially gather information upon not only the anti meta-human efforts...but he may also be able to gather information upon this arrow flinger. The Mechanical wings moved with swift speed, now The Reckoning and The Culling, one in each hand as he chuckled, one gun aimed on each one. He bore no emotion what so ever towards this enigmatic figure known as Ranger, the man attempted to hinder his investigation that was sanctioned by the King of Darkness. A well of anger flowed through him, his suit's techno-lighting began to glow a dark red color as he chuckled. Blood pumped through him, the suit sustaining his existence. He looked to Mimic and then back to Ranger.

"I won't even have to come undone..." He said with a little sigh to break out of his laughter. The guns began to fire out, and Mimic would find himself under a barrage of bullets of his own, meanwhile the Ranger would be targeted under suppressive fire. Mimic was the target of The Reckoning and a pale green color, while The Culling was fixated on Ranger, who would need to avoid a relentless fire of orange black energies aiming to end his life.

Garth fixated his mind on the situation at hand. No detail, no speck of dust was unnoticed. No angle, left exposed...though his response was one they would just have to come and find out.