A Clash of Ideals [Red]

So he was being stubborn , Dex sighed to himself, bloody typical moody anti-hero types. Time was running low and with the force of Los Angeles Police Department riding up his backside Dex needed to change his tactics. The guy was obviously pissed and the injuring was most likely not helping, Dex needed him on his side. And more importantly didn't want him causing anymore trouble.

First things first, Dex needed to negate the guys cover. An easy enough task. Feeling the power field around him Dex shifted the field to mimic the world around him, he shifted from physical view as his body settled between two dimensions. Stepping forward and around the dumpster, moving to lean against the wall next to the metal box. He finally got his first good look at the person he'd been hunting all week. He was small, smaller than Dex had expected, with scruffy hair an odd look in his eyes. If he wasn't sitting their in his odd suit, working on his injured leg, he probably could have flitted through any crowds without anyone bating an eye at him. A good skill to have, but not in the world Dex needed to pull him into.

Despite essentially existing outside of the physical world Dex could still talk, he wasn't fully phased after all just hanging in limbo through the strength of his own mind. Which meant he could still communicate.

Ok look, i'll be right to the point with it. I've been looking for someone like you for the past week. Someone with your kind of skill set and your kind of experience with this place. Someone I need to help me find something quite important" Dex's voice appeared out of thin air near to Drifter.

"I can make it worth your while if you want" said Dex as an add on "I'll wager I can probably do a thing or two for that leg as well"

God these metahumans and their fucking powers, they were so unfair. But then again, he wouldn't want powers. For one they locked you down to a theme, and you became 'Guy with those one powers' rather then yourself. And for two....you weren't even looked at as human anymore, and Drifter could see why. But anyway, now he had this dude staring him down, asking for his 'help'. Now Lukas knew this guy was willing to use his powers to get what he wanted, maybe he would even hurt him if he was denied further, you never knew. Honestly Drifter didn't want to help out of principle now. However, maybe it was a good idea to stick around this guy at least until he got out of this situation, with Captain Seismic running around.

".....Fine, lets stop talking and get the fuck out of here. And yeah, no, you aren't 'fixing' me with those freaky powers of yours." Drifter said as he simply turned the corner and started walking down the alley, making his way to his vehicle which wasn't too far away. He just walked, the meta likely following. He could be dealt with later if he had nothing worthwhile to say, but for now they were escaping together.

The boy got up, showing remarkable resilience to the wound in his leg, and begun to walk off. Dex had no choice but to follow. As a show of good faith Dex lowered his cloak, his dark jacket, combat boots and helmet phasing back into the physical world. Falling into step next to him Dex tried to ease the tension in the air. The guy's evening was rough enough as it was and Dex didn't hold his attitude against him, though it seemed to go deeper than just having a bad day. Did he have a thing against meta's? From Dex's point of view it seemed like this guy had a problem with the world.

"So, I didn't catch your name by that dumpster" said Dex, trying to turn the mood to a more lighthearted one "What do you call yourself?"

At this stage Dex needed to get into the guys good books, and the better terms they were on the more likely it was that he'd be willing to help Dex out.

----

Felix had teleported back to his room in Sanctuary. He'd underestimated his opponent, that grated somewhat, but it was a mistake he wouldn't make again. Even with some unknown vector running around and stopping his work Felix wasn't going to be halted. And he'd be damned if the first mission he gave up on was to capture a human child. He finished removing the last of his light body armor, putting each piece back into it's place in his safe. As soon was that done he pressed a button, spinning the suit stand around and revealing the much more imposing suit of SHOCKWAVE armor. But, before he could gear up their was a few tasks that needed looking into.

"Hector, if you can spare the processing power I need something analysed" said Felix, apparently to no one in particular. The AI would most certainly be watching, it was one of the many reasons that Felix didn't fully trust it. Something with that kind of power, that remained so subservient to Lucius would have to be completely devoted to the man. Devotion like that in humans often lead to great acts of self-sacrifice on the part of the devotee. What that meant in AI's Felix didn't know. But it meant perhaps there were ways to pay such a mind.

Felix briefly wondered if Lucius was ever worried about Hector turning on him. Felix wasn't privy to the inner running's of Rise but no doubt Hector played a role no other person on the planet could play. What if he decided leadership needed to change, if everything needed a change. A vector to consider, but not to heavily.

In the meantime there was a hunt to plan. Reaching into his weapons locker Felix pulled out his assault rifle, moving over to lay it out on his work bench. As he begun to inspect the weapon a little light pulsed on a screen next to him. A map of the downtown LA area was sitting on the screen, large circles that constricted or expanded covered the map. Felix allowed himself a moment of pride in his work before he returned to his rifle. He'd have those two in his sights soon enough.

This was.....no time for small talk. He was limping down the alley, his wound wrapped up but still bleeding. He couldn't believe this guys optimism, he supposed that came with the ability to become invincible at will but that didn't make it less annoying. He just wanted back to his car, he didn't want to talk. Heck, he felt like he wanted to die with this thing in his leg.

"They call me the guy with a bullet in his fucking leg! Why don't you also comment on how lovely the weather is and ask me my favorite color? You ever been shot? Shut the hell up at least until we get to my car." Lukas said as he limped along. He was more sociable when he didn't have holes in him, but right now he was pretty bitter.

Eventually he would reach the car, getting in and letting the other guy in if he chose so, after that he darted off from the scene as fast as possible without drawing attention. He would remain silent for a little while, his demeanor showing he was not to be spoken to, not until he spoke himself.

"Ok, what do you want?" He said once he figured they were far enough away that no one would give chase.

-------------------

Hector was of course listening....not that he was snooping. He was an AI after all, and monitored nearly everything that went on within the Sanctuary. He had also taken it upon himself to get into Drifters phone, just to make the mission smoother. Honestly less people would be hurt that way.

"Very well, what is it?" The AI said, his voice booming through seemingly nothing. "And i can get you the location of your target a lot easier.............. There you go, a live GPS of his cell phone. He is also driving a 1999 Honda Prelude and has another person in the passenger seat. As stated before, make sure his injuries are minimal." Hector continued, quickly relaying his own info to Felix's screen.

Ok so, small talk hadn't exactly gone well. Dex hoped this wasn't what he was like all the time, if it was then this was going to be a long job. Perhaps he was just testy, because of the wound and an assassin trying to kill him. Choosing not to say anything Dex followed him into his car, a massively mundane 1999 Honda Prelude, and took the side seat. They pulled away and for a moment Dex prepared to ask if he should drive instead, reasoning that with his injured leg it must be uncomfortable at best to drive. But then he figured that it would only make more problems. For now it seemed, it was best to let him have his way.

After a few minutes of simmering, angry driving he spoke up. Going straight to the crux of the matter. I guess it was best to be straight with the guy. Maybe it'd cheer him up.

"To be brief, i'm here looking for something. Somewhere in this city there is a facility, a facility that contains an item I have been tasked with retrieving" Dex said this slowly, trying not to make himself sound to insane, or untrustworthy "Problem is, as far as I know the place is shielded by what I believe is a quantum phaser. Long story short is that I can't phase through it. Nor do I have the skill to enter more mundanely. And that is where you come in, you are from the area so you know the lay of the land and your a hacker. Perhaps good enough to get me in"

Dex hoped that didn't sound as far fetched as many people seemed to think it was.

----

A Honda? What a massively mundane escape vehicle. Not that he was expecting an armored tank car to be pulling away from the scene. On a practical note at least it was inconspicuous. But with the omnipresence that was Hector it didn't make them completely untraceable.

"Thank you" Felix said as he examined the screen, with his other hand her reached over and picked up the stolen USB "I need you to take a look of this, I grabbed it when I faced him earlier. I want to know as much as I can, so I might as well start with the tech. Also, I suppose Lucius will want to have a look at this.

"Thank you for the vague description of what you need me to do. But first of all, what's in it for me? And second of all, where is the facility and who owns it? Lastly....who hired you to get this 'item'?" Drifter asked, getting down to business it would seem. Honestly the guy was leaving out a bit too much for his taste. He wasn't about to offer his services for something he didn't know the nature of.

-----------------------

"Very well, I'll get back to you in a few moments." Hector said, analyzing the data in the device. It was quite a lot more then you would think, so it would take a minute. And of course, Lucius would find out before Felix did. That was just the protocol.

Dex feigned taking an interesting his gauntlets, making sure he hadn't damaged them somehow in the fight. In actuality he was working out how to answer all of the guys questions.

"I guess I can cover the first question by answering the second. The facility is located, according to my sources, near the Encino Reservoir but I haven't had the time to go there and check the place out. As to who owns it, rumor has it that it was an old safe house style holdup for a paramilitary group a few years back. They were disbanded and a lot of their old hideouts were lost, just like this one."

Dex stopped checking his gauntlets and instead laced his hands behind his head, trying to remain as casual as possible.

"As for who hired, well no one hired me as such. More a friend of a friend told an associate who notified someone I was with at another time who told me about the place. Short story is i'm here of my own violation. And as for what is in it for you...well. What do you want?"

----

"Thank you Hector" replied Felix as he finished checking over his assault rifle. All in working order, excellent as always. Leaving the gun on the rack Felix strode over to his safe again. This time he pulled out one of the draws at the bottom and begun looking through his assortment of grenades; frags, flash bangs, thermite, EMP until he stopped over a group of disks. Picking one out he quickly examined it.

The device was a neural inhibitor. Often used in high security prisons to keep unstable inmates in line. Or by bounty hunters when their client wants someone taken in alive. At it's lowest setting it briefly shuts down the targets motor functions, at it's highest level. Well, there is a reason most governments don't use them as often.

What did he want? That was a good question, one he couldn't answer off the top of his head. It was complex really. Sure he wanted money, but that wasn't his driving motivation. He wasn't a mercenary, or some revolutionist. All he was was a guy who hated corruption and people with too much power, kinda hard to offer someone like that anything.

"I'll be honest guy, anything i want you can't give me. So how about you help me kill the merc that was after me? God knows he is going to come again, and IF i manage to beat him I'm at the very least going to the ER. Save my ass, and I'll get your item." Drifter said, now pulling over as they got on the outskirts of town. There was nothing but weedy fields on either side of them, it was perfect.

"We're setting up here, someone is tracking my phone and thinks they'll catch me off guard. Oh how wrong they are." Drifter said with a smirk as he retrieved his bag from the back of the car. From there, he got to work, pulling out what looked like a tin can with levels built into it, then pouring a few viles of random things from his explosives kit into it. What these were were powdered iron and aluminum, along with a phone battery rigged to heat itself up to the point where it would explode. Once it did, it would heat the two metals and cause a thermite reaction. Yes, these were basically canisters of unstoppable, none smotherable fire. They would even keep going when wet and would reach temperatures of 2500 Celsius. All Drifter had to do was use a remote to tell a small antenna on the battery to do it's thing, and they would explode into fiery bliss.

He made a total of three, but that wasn't all he was doing. He got a large sheet of metal from his trunk, then placed it in the road. After that, he got a jug and started pouring it's contents all over the sheet. What was inside this jug you may ask? Hydrochloric Acid. This would corrode the metal almost instantly and release a ton of hydrogen gas into the air, which was really, really fucking flammable. All he had to do now was put his thermite bombs nearby, and wait for the target to show up while getting some distance. This was going to be a massive inferno, easily engulfing a football field or two, so he drove his car down the road a good ways and waited for a few cheap motions sensors to tell him his buddy had arrived.

Once his target set the sensors off, and he would unless he managed to see this coming, in the dark no less, Drifter would activate the thermite bombs. The bombs themselves would engulf the street, but then they would detonate the gas and blow the entire area to smithereens. All Drifter had to do was watch the fireworks.

Dex didn't know whether to be suprised or confused by the boys responce. Sure, getting that merc killer off his back would be a big relief for him but in Dex's world experience people always wanted something. Money, equipment, a good time. This kid just wanted one person taken care of? Sounded like a pretty good trade all in all.

As they drove on a bit further Dex tried to remember what he could about the merc from their last short fight. He was strong, much stronger than a normal human or a regular meta as well as freakish fast for a man of his size. Close combat would be a real danger with him, he was certainly experienced not to mention he'd probably have the advantge right from the go. Long range then? All Dex had was his pistol, a powerful pistol yes but it was doubt full that who ever was coming back wouldn't be ready for that.

So it was down to powers then. Dex had his intangability and invisibility, both useful for keeping the guy off guard. But what powers did he have? Dex hadn't been there to see the man use them, which meant that either his powers were to unstable to use regularly or in the short moment they had met he'd not needed to use them.

His driver brought the car to a stop and the boy begun gathering an assortmant of random objects and equipment. It was bizzare, like the boy had the power to materialize useful crap out of thin air. Dex got out of the car as he begun pouring something onto a sheet of metal. His helmet's HUD detected the beginings of a hydrogen gas cloud. So, he was riging for the place to blow. Clever, if a bit on the reckless side.

As the ministraions continued Dex checked his handgun, he still had all his ammo. Good, for some reason Dex doubted that whatever his friend was doing would stop their opponent.

Almost as soon as he started his work the boy returned to his car, Dex following slightly behind. They drove a ways down the road and stopped again. Once again Dex got out of the car, phasing out of sight as he did.

"So, think that'll stop him?" asked Dex as he stopped next to the driver window.

----

Felix was ready to move again. His SHOCKWAVE armor was set in working order, his rifle was slung across his back, held in place with magnetic clamps, and his pistol was hung securly from his thigh holster. His grenades and nerual inhibitors were at his belt. All he needed was his sword. Stepping to his safe he opened a case that sat on the left side, opening it to reveal his prized longsword secured safely inside.

He took it out slowly, feeling the grip and the weight. A master crafted weapon, one of Reave's most deadly tools. He swiftly secured it in the sheath on his back. He was ready for round two.

Walking over to his workbench Reave picked up the teleportation device, setting it to take him just a mile south of where the car had stopped. In flash of red light he was gone from the Sanctuary and was standing on the outskirts of LA, dry fields all around. With no cover avaible Reave moved forwards, taking a knee by some shrubbery to his right.

Bringing up his tactical sensors he scanned the area. Hector had traced the car to here, where it had promptly stopped. This created two possibilities. One, they had discovered they were being tracked and had ditched both car and phone to proceed on foot, or two, they had decided to lay a trap and antcipated Reave's return. Reave inclined to believe the latter. His target was resourceful and resiliant, if it was a different situation he'd have had more respect for the young man. As it stood all Reave cared about now was getting him to Lucius before he was asked to tear apart more buildings.

As he scanned the area Reave noticed something odd on his sensors, very odd. The air ahead of him was covered in hydrogen gas. So it was a trap then, and Reave had no doubt jumped right into the middle of it. A trap involving hydrogen gas was an unexpcted turn, such an explosion would decimate the area and as such the one doing the detonation wouldn't want to be anywhere near it for fear of being immolated. Which meant there would have to be some kind of sensor he was using to keep an eye on the area.

Switching his suits sensors to pick out comms frequencies Reave soon located a simple motion detector, tucked safely away behind a small bush. Another clever move, but Reave wasn't about to be out done by something he could have built when he was in basic training. Such sensors were rudimentory, and were easily fooled if you have the right kit. Or the right powers.

Moving back slowly Reave used his powers to reduce the vibrations he made as he walked to almost zero, any sensor would have a hard time picking up his presence moving this slow with no discerable footfalls. Once he was back far enough Reave took cover behind a rock and placed his hand on the ground. Feeding some energy from his energy field Reave sent a small series of vibrations out from his hiding place, mimicing the feel of his armoured foot hitting the floor. He lead the fake footsteps away and toward the trap, any of the sensors would easily pick up the vibrations.

Gently lifting his hand from the floor Reave kept the vibrations walking towards the car, sending the energy through his boots while negating his real footsteps. His fake footsteps soon reached the end of Reave's control and he stopped them some meters into the trap as Reave himself circled around. He'd marked the targets last location on his radar, just over the next rise.

Reave pulled out his rifle, and proceed up the small incline. If the boy sprung the trap then he could use the disrtaction to launch his own attack. And if he didn't? Reave still had the element of suprise, a flashbang to stun and then a quick seismic pulse to send him reeling. Either way, this time there would be no mercy.

Rule Three: Always overestimate your opponent.

Rule Four: Always assume the target avoided the trap when it's triggered.

These were a couple of lines written down in Drifters notebook, along with many more. Several sensors went of, a few in a rather off pattern. He was here, but Lukas stayed his hand. The traps weren't there to alert Lukas he was in the blast zone, they were there to alert him the target was in the area. The guy had SEISMIC powers, Luke was well aware his sensors could be fooled, and was well aware they would be. The sensors served their purpose, as he knew the guy was here.

"Why would i ask for your help if i thought one trick would stop him? He's here, and your my tank. Keep him busy and force the fight toward the blast zone." Drifter said, pulling his hood up and putting his mask on, as well as pulling down his visor. After that, he loaded his gauntlets and walked straight off into the dark field, getting some distance from the street before circling back on the other side of his trap as the two likely fought. If the guy wanted him, he was going to have to walk through the trap. The sensors at least gave him enough warning to get to a different position.

"Sure, i'll just face down the guy and draw him into the blast zone of a makeshift that will decimate the area Dex flexed his gauntlet hands as his new friend got out of the car "What could possibly go wrong right?"

He didn't get a response and soon he was left alone next to their car, waiting apparently for a random gun for hire to appear out of the dark night who he would then have to engage in combat in order to force him into the blast range of the trap that had been set up some meters away. It wasn't exactly a routine mission this one. But then a lot of what Dex had done these days wasn't what anyone in the trade would call routine.

With nothing stirring around him Dex pulled out his handgun, making sure he'd turned the safety off, and stepped a few steps forward. The night was quiet, uncomfortably so. With his free hand Dex reached into his pocket and pulled out his notebook, quickly leafing through the pages with one hand. The last tussle he'd had with the merc had seemed somewhat familiar, his armor especially was quite distinct. Eventually he stopped toward the back. Scanning quickly down the list of known mercenaries he needed to watch out for, he didn't find anyone that would match what little he'd seen so far.

Suddenly two gunshots burst through the night air, quick and sharp.

'O crap' thought Dex as he sprinted toward the noise

----

Reave allowed himself to peak over the rise to get a look at his target. He silently thanked who ever had made his armor for making it black as black, it meant that in this dark night he was fairly had to spot despite wearing such bulky armor.

As he looked down he caught sight of his target just as he got out of his car, readying himself and that ridiculous costume. Still, despite his strange garment the boy had proved resourceful and determined. Also, judging by the fact that he hadn't detonated his trap probably meant that he knew Reave had fooled them. A shame, but not a complete set back. He only knew Reave was hunting him again, not his exact location.

Watching for a second longer he saw the boy seemingly talk to himself before walking off on his own. Was he ditching the car and trying to escape on foot? He didn't seem to be escaping. Reave moved down the rise and circled around it getting another good look at his target as he walked off down the street. There was still no sign of the unknown vector....unless that was why he was talking to himself. The pair of them were trying to out maneuver him. Clever. But, simply splitting up wasn't going to make Reave reevaluate his plan.

From what he could see his target was alone and had no idea where Reave actually was, the unknown vector was still unknown but from what Reave could gather they were trying to draw him back into the trap. Even though he was fairly sure he could survive being on the edge of the blast he didn't want to try that theory tonight.

Instead he moved away from the rise and further down the road, keeping his target just on his motion tracker just a street away. Keeping his footfalls silent Reave followed the target quietly down the road. He followed him a little way, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Slowly the boy begun to circle back to where he'd set the trap, Reave keeping a safe distance, hidden in the nights shadows. Eventually Reave decided to end the hunt. Gripping his gun his raised the rifle and took aim at the targets leg.

Assuming this wasn't a super elaborate plan to get Reave to reveal his position the boy wouldn't know what hit him. His rifle kicked twice and two bullets shot through the air. If they hit then his target would have two new holes in his upper thighs.

Well, it seemed Drifters partner had failed to do his job. This meant Lukas was likely going to get two more holes then normal in his body, and he was still limping from the last one. Luckily though, once in awhile when Drifter was in a life or death situation, he'd remember something from his dreams. He didn't have the metagene or anything like that, really the source of it wasn't with him, but it was still unknown. So, as he walked through the darkness, he heard the shots.....before they went off. He had had this dream months ago, and forgot it up until this point. He rolled forward, dodging the shots just in time.

"You incompetent son of a......" Drifter mumbled to himself as he lay flat on the ground, using an incline in the dirt as cover. He then shot some cover fire with his gauntlets in the mercs general direction, while still laying low. They weren't likely to hit, but the explosive shells would cover him for a few seconds.

While the shells were going off, the sound of boots touching dirt would be heard from behind Reave. The unknown man had used a coolant in his suit to avoid detection from heat sensory, and used a small jammer device for the rest. He was virtually undetectable up until this point, and now he was behind the merc with a huge 45 long barreled pistol pointed at him.

"Kindly stop pointing that at my friend and put your hands behind your head, I'm sure you know the drill, mercenary." Thesis said, his voice changed by the plague doctors mask on his face. He was fully prepared to blow the man away with the anti-metahuman explosive ammo.

"Always with the explosions, eh Drifter?! You should try somethin' new next time!" Quincy yelled off into the dark, alerting Lukas to his presence. It was about time. Drifter would then get up from his cover spot, only if the guy put down his weapon of course. If not, well Lukas would just have to yell what he said next.

"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever...... Meet my buddy, Thesis. He was overseeing this mission the whole time, been watching over me using various security cameras and the like. As soon as he saw i was dealing with a seismic meta back in that dead guys office, he came here. This is what i like to call the killzone, it's specially equipped by one of the other members of our group once they get enough intel on the metahuman in question. Below our feet our old gold mining tunnels, and now they contain a magnetic based earth quake generator that make the little trap over there look like small potatoes. The detonator? Seismic energy. You see, it takes it in and releases it augmented by magnetic pulses for ten fold destruction. You use your powers mate, you die. So now you have no weapons, and no powers. You already primed the thing when you 'fooled' my motion detectors, now the slightest tremor even above ground will.......kill us all. Did you really think that amateurish set up by the road was all i had?" Drifter said, long winded but it got the job done. The situation was completely up to Reave now, if he wanted to die that was fine, but it was probably better to just make a deal..... Honestly Drifter didn't know the gory details as he was just filled in about what exactly the trap was on the car ride over, but yes, this place wasn't chosen at random. Where Thesis got the military prototype......well Drifter didn't ask.

The boy dodged his shots....he dodged them? Reave ground his teeth inside his helmet, this target proved more and more vexing by the second. But, like the good soldier he was Reave stuffed those feelings of anger and annoyance away in a dark corner of his mind, out of the way. Off the field such emotions were a powerful motivator but in a firefight it was important to keep your cool, not let his temper get the better of him.

The target slide away behind a rise, sending a hail of explosives Reave's way as he dove to the side. With no option the mercenary leapt to the side, slipping past the shells easily. Bringing his rifle to aim again he readied to put the boy out of action for good. That was until some unknown man came a shoved what Reave assumed as a gun into the back of his helmet. Outmaneuvered again, gritting his teeth Reave promised himself that when he got the boy to Lucius he would flay the skin off him, and then everyone else that had made this mission so much harder than it needed to be.

The man delivered his ultimatum and Reave complied, dropping his rifle and putting his hands behind his head. He couldn't detect him on the suits sensors, must have a pretty strong jammer on his person to get past Reave's suit. Still, there were methods out of this. And Reave wouldn't be the world class mercenary that he was if he didn't have contingencies in place.

His target and the unknown operator behind him, potentially the unknown vector he'd met with earlier, begun to converse. They knew each other, and apparently the man behind him was called Thesis. Over seeing the mission? All you did was murder some random office worker? What kind of mission was that. Reave let it slide for now and let the pair carry on.

So, they had done all this on purpose. Brought him to a place where he couldn't use his powers. A magnetic based earthquake generator? It sounded like complete nothingness, but the boy had pulled all manner of equipment seemingly from nowhere. And Reave was pragmatic to not risk his life on a hunch. So the situation was no powers, his rifle on the floor and a man with his gun to his head. In all honesty, Reave had been in far worse and still come out on top. It was all part of the job after all.

"I must say boy. Your ability to pull highly specific equipment and allies out of nowhere is quite a gift" said Reave, as calm and sanguine as if he was talking to an employer "And I assume that you have set up this rather, elaborate trap with the intention of getting me to settle a deal with you? In that case here is the proposition. My employer would like a word with you, he hasn't given me the specifics but from what I can tell he doesn't plan on killing you outright. Otherwise i'd have just shot you from across the street back in that little blood splattered office and have saved myself an evening that could have been used more productively. So, tell your friend to lower his gun and I will take you to my employer for this chat. Don't do that and I will be forced to disable you both. This is your last chance to surrender.

Reave had a feeling that they wouldn't take the offer. Either way was fine by him. But if they really though he used his powers as such a crutch they were sorely mistaken.

Ok, lets be completely honest here. The magnetic pulse thing was a bluff. He had a shit ton of explosives hooked up to a detonator that works off of an amped up motion sensor yeah, and all that was required for them to go off now was the man using his powers. However, magnetic earthquake generator just sounded cooler.

"Nah, it's pretty much just a bunch of explosives and a friend of mine, but i really am flattered." Drifter said, a smile on his face as he listened to the mans proposal. Honestly he understood this guy wasn't in that deep of shit....and could still pretty easily disable them. That was beside the point though.

"Uhhhh, no. How about you take yourself back to your employer and tell him or her i said to go fuck his or herself, and also apologize for shooting me, or we'll simply shoot you to death. Your choice." Drifter continued, loading his Gaunlets and pointing them at the merc. This was usually the point where his type did some sort of back elbow or kick to get out of the situation, so they kept themselves out of range of being hit. The only other option for the guy was to use a grenade of some sort, but then again both men were quite protected from tactical grenades with their masks. All he could do was pull something more lethal AND avoid hurting himself and Drifter so he could fulfill the obvious 'bring him to me alive' order his boss gave him. Either way, both men would fire as soon as their was the slightest indication he wasn't just going to leave.

----------------------

In a moment, Reave would get a call, likely to his on board system or however he took calls in the field. It was one of Lucius' lieutenants, Alden his name was.

"I'm giving you an update, and also checking on your progress. Hector checked the drive, and it seems to be recordings of billions of dollars in fraud...... Proof that would put dozens of businesses in legal trouble as well as most of the company CEO's. Seems our targets a Robin Hood type. Nevertheless, the order still stands. It's taking a bit longer then was expected for nothing more then a human, are reinforcements in order? I must warn if you need them though, it cuts your rate by thirty percent." The male said over the call. Reave would know it came from Lucius because of the number Alden was using, so no need for verification. It seemed they were ready to help.....for a price.

So, they hadn't taken the deal. Not to much of a surprise, no one ever took those kind of offers no matter the situation. To make matters more grating than necessary know he had one of Lucius's peons calling him in the middle of the mission. Reave hated it when clients called him on the job, but the man's offer of reinforcements was a handy addition and given the issues he'd had so far it seemed a prudent, the pay cut notwithstanding. It would make his next stunt a little less...risky. Maybe.

"If you have men in the area, tell them to converge on the rooftops to keep the target pinned" Reave cut the transmission off and then reactivated his suits speakers.

"Your suggestion has been noted" replied the mercenary, looking down at his target "I'll be sure to mention it to my employer when I deliver you to him"

As he said that Reave sent a few commands to his suit, his eyes selecting and activating one of his unique countermeasures. In a second a set of 'flash strips' on his suits chest activated, along with his transmitter changing to send a quick signal burst over all local channels. Effectively Reave had activated the suit equivalent of a short ranged EMP/Flashbang grenade . The effects varied for each use, the EMP would last for a few seconds, three at most, while the light and sound discharge was dependent on what protective clothing his opponents were wearing. Either way, it would give him an opening.

Not waiting for a witty comeback from his opponents Reave unleashed his new countermeasure. To the outside observer it would seems as if Reave had briefly become the center of a large, brief explosion of light. At the same time his suits speakers emitted a burst of noise similar to having a shotgun discharging an inch or so from the ear. Finally his transmitter shut down all electronics around him for a seconds, it was a short range burst and wouldn't last to long but I would give him a second he needed to put the battle back in his favor.

With those bombs under his feet offline Reave took the second or so window he had before the bombs reactivated to unleash a sudden blast of seismic energy. The blast would have sufficient power to send huge cracks along the road as well as sending his two targets sprawling.

Not wasting a second Reave would leap forward, drawing his sword as he did, and go for his target in the small window of opportunity he had given himself. Assuming all went according to plan, he'd have the target in his clutches before he could move. Still the boy was wily and there was still quite the chance that he'd slip from his grasp. If that was the case Reave would pass over the boy and spin around, one of his handguns ready to fire as he took in the new situation.

-----

Dex finally made it to the road Drifter had walked to, just in time to see Reave unleash his attack. With a few seconds grace available to him Dex was able to avoid being hit as he grappled up a nearby building and reached the roof. Running to the edge he looked down as Reave jumped forward. Still invisible and still with his gun out Dex tried to line up a shot, but with Drifter so close it was hard to say if he would hit the armored merc going for him or Drifter himself. Dex decided to hold fire, he still had the element of surprise.

The man's devices were powerful, military grade or higher, so they did manage to stun Drifter despite his protective ear coverings and visor. Unfortunately Thesis' mask wasn't equipped for that purpose, it was for toxins and the like, so he took the pull brunt of it and was forced to fall back a bit. There was very little cover, so all he could do was move around as much as possible.

But now they had another issue, which was the EMP shutting down their motion sensors temporarily allowing the metahuman to send a wave of seismic energy through the ground. It knocked Drifter off balance, but rather then letting it knock him over he used skills he learned free running to use the blast to his advantage. He jumped with it, gaining some pretty decent air and rolling when he hit the ground. Sure it hurt a bit, but at least he avoided getting mauled. Still, he had a guy with a gun pointed at him now, and with no cover that was not a good thing. Thesis was still recovering, so he couldn't even distract the guy to keep the threat balanced. All in all it was a terrible situation.

So, he quickly used a simple grenade he made from household products while everyone was taking in the situation. He never left without a few of them on him, they were standard despite the fact it might not have seemed that way. The grenade in question was a smoke screen made from sugar and potassium nitrate, amped up to the degree it could actually be used in the field. After rolling into a different area, covered by smoke, he set off his EMP generator to disable the mercs HUD. There was no use in using smoke if the guy could just look right through it. It was a small pulse, but it would get the job done for a little while. After that.....well he did what any sane person would. He ran like the dickens. He was a fast kid, professional free running did that to you, but he was sure the soldier could catch him, so he ran his heart out. He just hoped the distraction of the smoke would give him a minute. As for Thesis, well, he recovered, and his mask offered more protection against things such as smoke. He then threw two of his rocket propelled disks in odd directions, but then they circled around and came at the merc through the smoke at wicked fast speeds. They were most likely sharp enough to cut through his armor at these speeds, and if not Thesis had his gun ready.

As for the reinforcements, they weren't going to listen to Reave. Lucius' followers operated how they did, and no one was going to tell them how to do their job but Lucius. Nevertheless, they were on their way now, ready to put an end to this. Reave had done a good job tracking this kid and putting him on the ropes, now it was time for the knock out blow.