A Clash of Ideals [Red]

Felix casually stomped his way through The Sanctuary, heading for his room and the equipment he kept there. His new assignment was an odd one in contrast to his previous jobs, most of which had taken places much further from civilization. Jobs out in the middle of nowhere tended to be easier, mainly for the lessened worries about collateral damage. In a city however there was a lot you needed to consider. The first being that, unless Felix was planning on sticking to the rooftops, there was little to no way he was going in fully armored up. It would draw to much attention and for a mission like this he wanted to be in and out as quick as possible. In the same way he'd have to cut down on his weaponry, no assault rifle and no explosives.

As he pushed into his room Felix stepped over to his weapons locker, a specially designed lockable vault he'd had designed a few years back. Perfect for storing all the equipment he needed, and to keep them from peoples prying hands. Placing his hand over the scanner he heard the interlocking bolts pull back with a light hiss. A second later the grey gunmetal doors slid smoothly to the side revealing Felix's stored paraphernalia. Wasting no time he reached forward to turn a small dial, the SHOCKWAVE armor that had been stored comfortably spun around to reveal a small armor suit. It was less hi-tech and certainly offered less protection that its larger twin, but it was light and highly durable for its size. And above all it could be worn under Felix's clothes without attracting attention.

On large over-coat and combat trousers later and Felix was ready to pick out his weapons. Alongside his common tools of the trade Felix had collected a lot of other weapons over the years, including an anti-material sniper, grenade launcher and assorted grenades, a light machine gun, a customized shotgun and three times of rocket launcher. All of this was moot today and while this horde might have whetted the mouths  many a revolutionary of gun lover there was only one weapon Felix required. He plucked out his pistols, quickly giving the pair of them a once over to make sure they were still in good condition before placing them in the holsters hidden in his coat followed by five sets of ammo magazines for each. While he didn't consider the target he was going up against to be a threat it never hurt to over prepare. There was no telling what could happen on the job.

----

Dex crouched on the edge of a small office complex scanning the area laid out before him. He had to be here, his intel couldn't have been wrong this many times, one person shouldn't be this hard to find. It was a bright and breezy day in the greater Los Angeles area and if it wasn't for the interesting quirk in his invisibility ability Dex would have been sweating buckets in his jacket, armor and helmet. Luckily partially obscuring yourself from peoples vision by wrapping yourself in energy from another dimension also caused you to feel cold, not freezing but not comfortable either.  Rising from his crouch Dex raised a hand to his rounded helmet places two fingers on the visor. Inside he brought up his map looking around at the area's he'd already searched. The two blocks to the west were empty as were the five to the south. The last blocks below him, edging on one of the cities working districts, was one of the last places left to search.

Perhaps the problem was the method of tracking, but his target was one in over a hundred people. Just another person in the crowd. And searching for them was like looking for a needle in a haystack. It didn't help that he knew practically nothing about his target, only that he was a skilled hacker, other than that he was just another person in the crowd. But if Dex was going to find was he was looking for he needed someone with this guys skill set.

Looking below he watched the people of LA continue their lives, unaware or uncaring of the grander world events around them. Dex didn't envy their innocence, in some respects he even pitied them for it. The world was so much bigger than the average person could understand and Dex was only of the lucky few to have seen just a glimpse of it. To go to a life where none of that was a factor wasn't something Dex wanted.

Turning his attention back to the task at hand Dex let his eyes wander across the area around him, somewhere out there was a person who's help he needed. It was just a matter of finding him, and then convincing him to help.

"What do you mean i didn't get the job?" Lukas muttered as he leaned back in his chair, an irritated look on his face as he looked to the male in front of him.

"I mean you didn't get it, i don't know what else to tell you." The man said in return, almost confused by Luke's question.

"Are you serious? I've been after this job for weeks, and after three interviews or whatever they were all you tell me is i didn't get it? Come on." Lukas said. It was true really, he really thought he was going to get this one. Sure he had a job already, but it wasn't as good as this one. No, this was an IT job, one he really, really wanted, but it seemed he didn't get it.

"Well, one of your references gave you a horrible review. I just can't risk hiring you." The man said. Luke just groaned, he had a feeling a certain one of the people he wrote down as a reference would give him a bad name.

"Whatever, I'm out of here. I don't want to work for a place that makes decisions based on hear say anyway." Lukas said, slamming the door as he left. Yeah, he was pretty angry. However it wasn't the end of the world, he just wouldn't be able to have a job he actually liked doing. It was quite odd nowadays, people acted like a job was such an honor. How much did a guy have to do to get hired anymore? He wasn't asking to rule the damn world, he was just asking for something that payed better then minimum wage. it was a crazy world, one that almost asked you to commit crime. It was so counter productive in the long run. If people like him were stable, well the world would have that much more creativity and progression. It was the same with a lot of people. They couldn't foster their talents or ideas because they were so busy surviving. What kind of world was this? Luke just didn't care anymore.

That was partially why he had been doing what he was doing. He didn't care about this 9 to 5 bullcrap anymore, and wanted to break from the norm. He wanted to give the stuck up bastards stomping on the weak a taste of their own medicine. A little extreme from anyone else's point of view, but then again Luke wasn't exactly normal. He had planned to go go out tonight anyway, but now he had a certain amount of anger to use during this little outing. So, once he got to his car he drove to a secure location and got his gear, putting his costume on and all that before making his way on foot to his target location. He was going to infiltrate a rather prominent and very corrupt oil company headquarters. Once inside, well he would upload one of his potent computer virus' to the companies mainframe and then get out. It was simple really, except for the fact it had some pretty tight security. However, he could take care of that easy enough.

Eventually he got outside the building, and then he used his laptop to remotely connect to the building's security system. Once there, he froze the camera's up so that all would seem well to the guards. After that, he got up, leaving his laptop hidden away from view, he didn't want to fry it if he had to use his EMP device, so he would leave it behind. So then he went inside, through the front entrance and in full costume. He shot a tranquilizer dart in the clerks neck with his gauntlet and then made his way to the elevator. It took awhile to get him to the top floor, and was rather annoying considering the music, but he got there eventually.

All he had to do now was send a few taser darts into some guards and then walk into the main office, where the CEO presumably was. Thankfully no one was awake to alert the rest of security or the police, so he could take his time. He kicked the office doors down, shocking the CEO who went for his phone but before he could get it his brains were blown out all over his desk. From there, Difter made his way to the mans admin computer, then started to type on it and inserted a USB stick.

"Almost gotcha." Luke muttered to himself with a half smile. Things seemed to be going pretty well.

Felix had to hand it to his newest target, the boy had guts. And in a rather rare case the skills to back it up. Admittedly the boy wasn't breaking into Fort Knox but he wasn't making any rookie mistakes with this little caper of his. Even the costume, while somewhat ridiculous, was at least somewhat practical. Rising from his crouched position Felix did one last check, ensuring that his gun and sword were ready to use before unclipping his helmet from his belt and sliding it over his head. A rather barren heads up display loaded onto his visor as Reave stepped toward the targets building.

Steeping inside the building Reave was able to get a first hand look at his targets handy work. One clerk unconscious from a tranq dart and no signs of a struggle. Reave looked at the man for a second, he didn't know how long the dart would last, no doubt the kid didn't intend to stay long so it couldn't have been a high douse and if he woke up and raised the alarm if the mission went edge ways it would be a problem Reave could do with out. Just bad luck of the draw of this guy.

Walking over to him Reave reached down and grabbed him by the neck, generating a few vibrations Reave ruptured the man's windpipe as he hung in the air by the larger mans hand. At least it would be a peaceful death, not everyone gets that kind of luxury. Placing the man down carefully Reave carried on. Taking one look at the elevator and deciding against it, to good a place for an ambush. Instead he took a left as he searched for an access stairway. He soon found one down a side corridor, behind a locked door. Shattering the lock with ease Reave pushed on, ascending the stairs carefully to make sure no one got the jump on him. The building was oddly quiet. Reave saw no janitors on his journey up the stairs, no late night workers as he made his way through the halls. Perhaps it was just bad work ethic on the employee's part but Reave kept his senses primed, if there was something else happening in this building it wasn't going to come between him and the objective.

Reaching the CEO's level Reave slowly pushed his door open, pulling out his pistol as the metal door slid open. The other side was just as deathly quiet as the rest of the building, except this one came with two stunned guards laying comatose in the doorway from beyond which Reave could hear furious typing, no doubt the target engaged in some brand of cyber-justice. As he slowly walked forward, pistol slightly raised Reave reached down to give the two guards the same treatment as the clerk, two shattered windpipes and two guards not about to raise the alarm.

With the back area secure Reave stepped into the room, raising his pistol slowly to train on his targets head. Taking in the room quickly Reave noted the brain matter the blood that now stained the desk and back wall, the CEO's body lying dead just next to it. Other than that the room was fairly quiet in the light glow of the lamps above. Seeing his target up close Reave was still disappointed, he was little more than the boy, sitting in his ridiculous black costume, furiously typing away at the keyboard. Poor boy had no idea what was going to happen.

"Step back from the computer, boy" Reave's voice was filtered through his helmets speakers and gave them a hard robotic edge "Do not make me insist"

Drifter's grab drive was doing what it did, and since the systems weren't all that advanced it wasn't taking long at all. By the time Reave got into the room the loading bar was already 100% complete, and was starting to process. The only thing was this guy had a gun, and Luke had to grab the USB to get what he wanted. However, a bullet to the head wasn't worth that. So, instead of being stupid he dived from the desk and around a corner. The office was L shaped, so it gave him a perfect corner to use for cover. From there, he started to load his explosive sticks into his gauntlets, one of them at least. The other still had the stun darts, but of course they weren't just any stun darts, so they could be of use.

"Already someone gets hired to take me out? I'm flattered." Luke said through his voice changer, which made his voice very deep rather then robotic. Luke wondered who had sent him, could have been anyone really. He couldn't really know when it came down to it. Judging by this guy's gear, well he looked like he didn't care about the whole murder thing. So Luke had to be cautious. After he fumbled his explosive sticks into his gauntlet they began to process and divide into each of the launchers on their own accord, but it still wasn't fully loaded. However, it did still allow him to fire his other one. He reached around the corner and fired a full auto burst of electrically charged metal rods. These rods would stimulate the muscles on contact and cause them to contract rapidly, and would do something similar to pain receptors. It really didn't matter how durable you were, sure it would help but your nerves were still going to be effected and at the very least cause major pain, if not unconsciousness.

The boy's reflexes were impressive, Reave delivered his ultimatum and immediately his target dove to the side and behind the cover of a nearby wall. Still he appeared to have left a USB sticking out of the terminal he was working at, which presented an interesting option for Reave. The mercenary took a step to the right, going to circle around the wall to get a better shot at the boy, when suddenly the target poked out of his covered and opened fire with some hap-hazard rigged weapon that send a wave of metal rods toward Reave. A life time of battlefield drills and live combat engagements took over the Reave turned his step into a roll, slipping under the robs that buried themselves in the wall behind him. The bounty hunter didn't pause to consider what the rods might have done.

"Impressive toys you have their, boy" said Reave calmly as he walked up too the table where the terminal sat, it's screen a dull glow in the rooms half light "But you are playing in much bigger leagues now"

Keeping his pistol aimed at the door with a calm grip Reave reached down and plucked the USB from it's port, pocketing it and not once taking his eyes from where his target was hiding.

"Now how about you come out from there so we can talk, no sense making this night a waste for you"

He had a feeling the boy wasn't going to do as he was asked, most young hero's had a terrible stubborn streak and this one had a resourceful bent to him. With that in mind Reave begun to charge his seismic energy field, ready to send a burst of rupturing floors or cracked walls his way.

Shit, he had to take the drive didn't he? Oh well, it didn't matter now. He managed to kill the guy either way, so the mission was a partial success in it's own right. However, only if he managed to get away. Yeah, Drifter had no desire to actually fight this guy. He just wanted to get away at this point as it was clear he was here to either kill him or take him somewhere to be killed.

"If I'm so out of my league why don't you come over here and show me?" Luke said just as his explosive sticks fully loaded into his gauntlets, producing a sound not unlike a tire being aired up. As he said this he also prepped his EMP, activating one of the minor pulses to take out that fancy looking tech the guy was wearing. Might not have done much, but then again it was worth a try. From there, he removed a large stick of semtex from his pocket and tossed it a good ways in front of him, then took out the detonator and set it off. This blew a hole in the floor, one he would run for as soon as he could. It was a good thing this place was pretty dead right now. So, with his launchers trained on the path the man had to take to go around the corner, Drifter side stepped toward the hole.

Reave couldn't lie, it was very tempting to just walk up to the corner, rip the wall down and drag the boy back to the Sanctuary. But he hadn't gotten as good as he was from being overly reckless, there was a time and a place where getting the job done as quick as possible would be most effective, not here. Reave didn't like to admit it but his opponent had a slight advantage at the moment, with a superior position that afforded the best cover. However he was also boxed in and hopefully running low on tricks.

There was suddenly a plethora of noises from behind the wall, first a high pitched whistling noise like someone had brought a boiling kettle followed by a dull 'whump' which Reave identified as some kind of plastic explosive. Reave couldn't begin to guess what the first noise was, the boy had already pulled two weapons from out of nowhere and he didn't feel like finding out a third on this young vigilante's odd arsenal of weapons. It was time to bring the ball back into Reave's court.

Siphoning off some of his fields energy he sent a shock wave of seismic down through his boots and into the laminated wood floor. He then directed the blast forwards and the energy shot forward, tearing apart the wooden floor, throwing the table and it's terminal to one side, it carried on splintering the wood as it carried on it's path out from Reave's feet. It soon reached the wall the boy was hiding behind and the path Reave had set it on meant that it just passed him, throwing chunks of floor and debris as it rolled by him. The physical effects would be mostly concussive though the force wasn't enough to throw, only disorientate. The blast carried on, stopping just short of the hole the Semtex had made, leaving a large rend in the floor where it had torn its way across.

Smiling Reave stepped forward slowly, keeping to cover in case the boy had left any traps.

----

"Damn it" grumbled Ex-41 to himself, bringing up his map and marking the last area as a no go. Two days of searching and nothing but a wild goose chase. The guy wanted to stay hidden and he was doing it well, covered under the mass of Los Angeles. Sitting down heavily on his roof top Ex-41 rubbed the back of his neck in thought, he could give it up and go it alone. It would just make the mission a lot more difficult, no doubt the target would have more than just guards and he needed a way past those defenses.

As he sat their, mind racing over idea after idea of how to proceed his ears picked up a deep thump somewhere off in the middle distance, an explosion and a close one as well. Standing up quickly he rushed over to the side the noise had come from searching for the cause of the detonation. After a few seconds of looking he found it, a large building toward the edge of the working district with the words 'Gulf Rich's' shining on the side.

Accessing his helmets zoom function he got a closer look at the building, looking for a clue as to what was happening. He soon caught movement, near the top were two figures. He couldn't quite make out who they were but to Ex it didn't matter, whatever they were doing it wasn't wholesome in the slightest. Taking a step back Ex-41 leapt off the building, a second later firing his grapple and swinging off to the source of the commotion. In the back of his head he hoped it was the guy he was looking for, this was probably the best lead he'd had all day.

"What the fuck!?" Luke screamed as the seismic shock-wave was sent right past him, causing him to be thrown back onto the hard wood floor. He landed on his back, around fifteen feet from the hole the plastic explosives had made. Damn, now that guy wasn't held up and he could likely come around the corner before Drifter got to the hole to escape. But that's what his weapons were for. So, sticking out his fist, the four launchers on his right gauntlet fired out their explosive sticks in rapid succession, each exploding on contact. It was aimed at the corner and behind it, so the guy couldn't pass unless he wanted to take several explosions to the face. The explosions themselves were quite violent and over sized to use as ammo, but then again Drifter didn't give a shit. So, using the cover the explosive rounds granted him, he scooted into the hole and fell through to the floor below, where he began to run. He couldn't take the elevator, one it could be shut down and two if this guy acted quick enough he could jump him once it opened again. That or do some weird elevator shaft stuff, you never knew with these merc types. Luke realized he was dealing with a metahuman, and that was just not good. He had to move fast or he was screwed. Eventually he would get all the way down the hall and to the entrance to the stairs, hopefully the guy wasn't too close behind.

Stepping forward as carefully as he could Reave neared the corner the boy was hidden behind, no doubt his recent brush with his shock wave was still hanging over him which gave Reave the best opportunity to move in and take him down before he could do anything else. Suddenly, with only a few steps to go before he rounded the corner, a set of explosives jumped out of nowhere to embed themselves in the floor. Reave had a second to dive back before they exploded like over powered fire crackers, a chorus of detonations that washed over him as he jumped out of the way.

The sound washed away and Reave decided to waste no more time, if the boy was still there he'd have disoriented himself with the explosions. Or hopefully hurt himself. Using his optics to see through the smoke Reave saw the hole he had blasted in the floor. An impressive use of explosives, not one many people would consider. But it told Reave something important, he was scared and on the run which meant there was only one place he was going to go. The closest door out of this place.

Moving quickly Reave jumped down the hole, taking a second to scan for any kind of traps the boy had left in his wake. Crunching down on the blast remains of the floor above Reave turned to see his target, sprinting for the door to the stairs. He'd put on an impressive turn of speed for a young man weighed down by all his gear, explosives weren't light after all. Raising his pistol Reave took aim at the fleeing boy's leg, Lucius wanted him alive but he said nothing about unharmed. One second of aiming and then Reave fired, shooting straight for his targets leg.

As he lined up his second shot something wildly unexpected happened. He was hit. It felt like someones boot and it had come from his right. As he fell back into the wall Reave realized that wasn't possible, they were in a corridor, so for someone to have hit him, with their foot, with enough force to push him this hard from the right then they would have had to go through the wall to do it. A second later his back slammed into the opposite wall and he got a look at his new opponent. A flash of what looked like a grey jacket over some kind of armor, a glint of metal gauntlets over his arms and the sheen of a rounded visor under his hood. It was all the information Reave could gather in the split second before he had to bring up his arm to block the second strike.

This mission had just become a lot more complicated.

----

A minute or so before

The situation was significantly more dire than Ex-41 had feared. There was indeed a fight going on and whomever had just blasted a hole in the floor to try and escape seemed to be on the loosing side. That kind of behavior did match his search targets MO which meant that some random could be about to make his last day of searching moot, not something Ex was going to be happy about. Aiming his hand up he fired his grapple and shot up the building, coming to a stop as the second figure jumped down the hole after his target. Time was clearly running out.

He needed to move quickly if he was going to save the person he assumed was his target and without x-ray vision this stunt was going to be a difficult one. Jumping back a few times Ex-41 pushed off the wall with all his might, as he swung back toward the wall he phased through it, letting his body slip in between the seems of the universe. The world turned cold and took on a blueish ting, the way it always did. It was nearly comforting, being just outside of the world but he couldn't stay this way forever. He slipped through the wall and landed on the other side in a side office, dephasing and returning to the real world. He ran forward, keeping his momentum up as best he could.

Another wall rushed to meet him and he phased through, passing from one office to another. Vaulting a table Ex-41 phased through the wall and entered a corridor. No sign of a fight, must be in the next corridor over though Ex-41 as he ran forward, phasing into another office. Tables and chairs and dull glowing computer monitors slipped past as he ran onward, the next wall just ahead of him. Jumping forward he phased again and was immediately faced with a person.

They were dressed in a black over coat and combat boots, a dark helmet atop their head a what looked like armor beneath it all. In his hand he held a gun, which was rocking back as it fired. This was all the information Ex-41 could gather as he flew toward him. With his momentum keeping his powering forward Ex-41 made the split second choice to use it to his advantage. Bringing his knee up he bashed into the attackers shoulder, sending his aim off and throwing him into the opposite wall. Ex-41 pushed off him and landed on the balls of his feet.

Pushing off he jumped forward to punch at the man, who skillfully blocked the incoming strike and parried with a punch of his own. The strike was faster than Ex-41 expected and he only just brought up his arm in time to block the attack. The punch collided with his raised arm and gave Ex an opportunity to strike with his free hand, palm open to hit the man in his chest but his opponent was able to grab his wrist and hold him in place. The two of them were now locked, both striving to push the other off balance.

Instead Ex-41 changed tactic, phasing himself through his attacker. As he became none corporeal his attacker fell forward, his own weight tipping him off balance. He fell forward and Ex-41 returned to normal behind him in time for a swift kick to the back that send his armored opponent into the wall again. He'd bought himself some time and as he backed off he looked down the hall at the other figure. It seemed to be his target, he was wearing similar clothes to what he'd heard of. Good, not a wasted day.

Ex-41 waved his hand at the other figure, trying to tell him to stay back. Hopefully he'd listen.

Luke was close to his escape, so very close. But, he ended up getting shot in the ankle. Pain shot through him, and he immediately fell to the ground. Luckily there was a turn in the hall that he could take cover behind, so he scooted behind that. He held his leg, the bullet seemed to go all the way through, though it was just a flesh wound, no bone was hit thank god. Still, this fucking hurt. How could he get away like this? Peaking around the corner to see his attacker, his eyes met someone else. Possibly one of those hero types or another vigilante. This made things a lot easier in the end, he could use them to get away.

Leaning up against the wall and using it to prop himself up, Luke limped very slowly to the door to the stairs and pushed it open, then started down them. Each step was more painful then the next, but he had to keep going. Taking some motion detectors he got at radio shack out of his bag he rigged them up to all the plastic explosives he had, which was easily ten pounds. As soon as someone opened that door or otherwise caused any motion, the bomb would blow. It was a little insurance policy so to speak. He just hoped no one came through quickly, otherwise he could get caught in the explosion which would likely collapse several rows of stairs. Once he got down a few levels, he removed a phone from his pocket, one rigged so it virtually couldn't be traced. He dialed 911.

"Hello! There are two metahumans at Gulf Rich tower, I've been shot and several parts of the building have been destroyed, please send help." Drifter said, sounding frantic. There was a certain perk in being a normal guy in the world of metahumans. If you called the cops, well, they would blame it all on the dudes that could level buildings with a thought, not the normal person. Of course, he had to get out of this costume, and he would, but not until he worked his way outside.

Turning back to his opponent Ex-41 was given a split second to bring himself back to the defense before the armored man could slam his fist into his helmet. Ex stepped lightly to one side, deftly avoiding the blow. However, with a sudden burst of speed his opponent reversed the attack and smashed his elbow into Ex's face. Static washed across his helmets heads up display as it took the brunt of the strike even as the force of the blow pushed Ex into the wall.

His back slammed into the structure and Ex had to force himself not to put a hand to his head which now felt like it was swimming ten feet under the water. Whoever this person was he was good, really really good. Something Ex was learning to appreciate as the black armored figure bore down on him again. Fighting through the pains in his head the two fighters engaged in a short and frenetic duel, Ex pulled all his combat knowledge to keep the man back. All he wanted to do was phase out, slip back from the fight to give him a better advantage. But with each attack the man was sure to keep contact with him, stopping him from phasing out. And all the while his target was escaping. Ex needed to change tactics, this wasn't a fight he could win, so it needed to be a fight to escape.

His attacker launched another set of blows and instead of just blocking Ex moved into them, his advantage now was speed. He'd changed the rules of the fight and this man would have to adjust for that. A few seconds of adjustment that Ex could use. His sudden surge forward pushed the pair of them back a few steps, putting them in the middle of the corridor. With no restrictions to his back Dex activated one of the flash sticks in his gauntlets, one time use bursts of light that he could use to disorient an opponent. Polarising his helmet against the burst the silver stick popped out of his gauntlet and burst into a blinding light.

In a second the man's helmet would be a wash of white and he did the only think a sane fighter did, he pushed back at Ex and at the same time ducked backward and out of the way of any weapon Ex-41 might have to hand. But instead Ex was already running, his helmet depolarizing as he sprinted off down the corridor. He made it too the stairway and phased through the broken door, dropping down the stairwell as he phased down each floor. He landed softly at the bottom of the stairs, sending a brief thank you to his powers and enhanced skeleton for dampening his landing. Once there he stepped out into the corridor and looked around, searching for a trail to pick up on. His target couldn't have gotten far.

Scanning the entrance to the building Ex noticed small smatterings of blood on the marble floor, his gun wound perhaps? It was the best lead at the moment. Running outside Ex saw the blood trail take a left down the street. Tonight wouldn't be a wasted night.

----

Reave stood on the roof of a nearby building. As soon as that flash-bang had gone off he'd leapt back and away from his opponent, expecting some kind of return strike while he was incapacitated. Nothing came and after a few seconds his vision returned. Both the targets had escaped, but this little skirmish was far from a failure. A long time ago Reave had taught himself to not see every lose as a failure, there were many things to learn even on loosing. For example, he had a better understanding of his opponents fighting style and weakness's. Even the mystery attacker that had foiled his attack. Checking his pocket Reave felt the USB stick he had stolen was still secure in his pocket, another hint to his enemies true capabilities.

Reaching into his other pocket he retrieved the teleport device Lucius had given him when he'd joined. Mission parameters had changed and now Reave needed to armor up, plus he could give the USB for Lucius and Hector to play with until he acquired the true target. Thumbing the button the mercenary disappeared into a storm of red light, he'd be back. The question was, what would he be bringing with him when he did.

Tearing costume pieces off and throwing them in a dumpster as he went, Drifter made his way around the corner just as the other metahuman walked outside. From there he leaned against the wall, stuck a knife in his mouth and with another painfully dug the bullet from his leg. From there, he wrapped his over shirt around where he was hit, and tightened it to stop any bleeding. He wasn't the best doctor sure, but his mother had been a nurse and taught him a thing or two. Now he just had to deal with whoever was chasing after him.

"I appreciate the whole saving thing, but the cops have got this. Unless you want to kill me too you should get the hell out of here." Luke said from behind the corner to whoever was following him. He had gotten rid of the costume but not his weapons. Really none of it was illegal. Sure it was odd to have, but he was sure the cops would be more concerned with the metahumans in the area. Just after he said what he said, his gauntlets reloaded with a hiss of air and he took another bar of plastic explosive from his bag, ready to throw. Meanwhile, the cops were closing in with anti-meta units, ready to take control of the situation and possibly get him out of this in one piece.

Dex came to a stop a few feet away from the dumpster the boy was crouched behind. Chances are, if he hadn't said a thing then Dex would have just passed him. The sound of cloth ripping slowly tore through the air. Perhaps not then. Taking a step closer to the dumpster Dex tried to work out how to ask the guy for his help with out him pulling out another satchel of explosives. He didn't know if the guy was stable, what he wanted or who he'd react to a metahuman. Dex reasoned a good icebreaker was needed to release the tension.

"Well I couldn't very well let you die, I have been looking for you for the last few days" said Dex, deciding against another step toward the metal container took a step toward the wall instead "Can I talk to you without you making a hole in the road?"

In the distance Dex could pick out the sound of police cars approaching. He needed to get out of the area soon, but he needed this guy with him when he did.

"We're talking right now guy, so spit it out. I rather like living, and compromising my position so a meta can 'talk' with me is counter productive in my continued air sucking." Drifter said, being his stubborn self it would seem. This guy would have to make a move, or the cops were going to show up and put a quick end to this meeting. As powerful as a metahuman was, humans in enough numbers with a city at their back tended to overwhelm them.

Luke was counting on the man just running off, so he could do something similar really. He had a wound, he just killed a guy, and he was in no mood to talk. If he needed someone like Drifter, their were plenty of them out there, probably easier to work with too.

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"