As darkness descended upon New York, a lone man ascended the rooftop of an old, condemned building. The view from the building wasn't great, but it did allow him a good look upon the greater downtown from afar, those lights just starting to lighten the night of the city that never sleeps. The man, silently, watched as the city's night life began to come alive, the thousands who chose to work or play in the grip of shadows rather than the light. And the man knew, within those thousands, would be terrible peoples, murderers, gangsters, rapists...and even they were nothing compared to the true monsters that lurked within the city. Like a plague, they infested the city little by little, endangering the people and spreading their disease like rats.

Well, tonight there would be a new kind of monster to stalk the streets. And these monsters would begin the slow process of eradicating this disease...with itself.

A slow smile creep along his face as he turned to his companions, who were just joining him now. These two, his most trusted advisers and companions, who had been with him in this project since the first step. Now, after years of planning, preparation, carefully outlining each step and finding all the pieces to complete the chess board, finally, it would all begin to come to fruition. Tonight was the first step to cleansing the plague that had invested the world...and the General, for he needed no real name anymore, could barely contain his glee. He would, of course, for he was The General and he had soldiers that followed his example and lead. But for these two, he showed them just a little bit of his joy before hardening like a rock.

"Report."

The first of the two, a man barely into his thirties, tilted his head to the side as he listened to a voice in his ear, before speaking. "Everyone is in position and awaiting your orders, General. Teams one through four report that they are ready to commence "Operation: Revelations" at any time." Nodding to the man, The General turned to his partner, a woman in her younger twenties.

"And our "special" forces?"

"They are in place, with all their targets acquired. They merely await the command that will unleash them."

Smiling, The General clapped his hands together, rubbing them palm to palm as he looked out over the night once more, letting that scene of peace sink in for one more moment, before giving his order. The first order of many to come. "All forces, we are a go. Commence operations. Show the world what he can do. Show them all."

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Kyle knew something was wrong. He just didn't know what yet.

It wasn't that he'd seen anything to alert him to trouble, at least as far as obvious signs of trouble were. But from the moment he'd stepped outside Sanctuary this morning, something had felt off. It was one of those things that people talked about, a sixth sense or something like that; a person didn't know why or how; all they knew was that something in their immediate area, whether they saw, heard or smelt it, was out of place. Kyle had such a sense; it never alerted him to what was to come, but it put him slightly more on guard, aware that there might be trouble later that he would have to deal with.

He never would have expected the trouble that came today though.

Keeping himself aware of his surroundings at all times, Kyle went about his normal routine. Drive around the city, look for trouble, do a little side-work to get paid here and there. It was amazing the number of jobs you could do in New York for quick cash; all you had to do was be there and offer to help. Usually construction jobs or the like, enough to help him earn a modest living. It was when dark was descending when he switched gears, from money-earner by day to the being that stalked the nights.

Trouble was always around in a city like New York, but tonight it was quiet. More quiet then usual, even though it was only early evening. Quiet enough that Kyle was lounging near Times Square, watching the city go from busy as hell during the day to busy as hell while people partied all night. In the city that never sleeps, places like this seemed to stay consistent whether night or day, the only difference being what the reason for its activity.

It was so quiet(well, as quiet as Times Square gets) that Kyle didn't notice the two people who'd been approaching him from either side until they were almost right on top of him. Even then, he ignored them for the most part, until it was clear that they were focused keenly on him. Glancing to either side, Kyle took a quick note of them; one looked like he worked out too much, with muscles bulging from beneath the shirt and jacket he wore. The other was smaller in build, but was wearing pants so baggy that he must have had legs the size of small houses for them to fit in anyway.

When it was clear neither of them were going away, Kyle sighed before putting down the bottle of water he'd been drinking from and turning to watch both men as best he could. "So...how might I help you gentlemen tonight?"

Theatrics were, in a sense, the point of the evening.

Of course, theatrics being the point didn't always mean that they worked better if people knew that theatrics were the point. When people knew a scene was deliberate, they often began to doubt it. As such and in order to present the most effective scenario possible, Capricorn had resolved to behave as if no theatrics were intended at all. Fortunately, that was something Taurus was perfectly capable of, unlike clever banter.

That decision in effect, there was no need to acknowledge the target's comment externally. It would show that he had known they were there; his death was not a product of luck or deception, but simple weakness. Otherwise, it was pointless, and so Capricorn ignored him to meet Taurus's eyes instead, and nod. "Go."

Taurus's punch was not expected to connect; he was, after all, quite slow. The loud roar might startle the target, but that was unlikely to make enough difference to matter. Instead Capricorn would be wherever the target dodged to, always, until he slipped and was slowed enough for Taurus to catch. Once Taurus hit... well, one hit was normally enough. Taurus did not aim for the limbs. But they would do more, just to be safe.

For now, without anyone's knowledge, a new era began.

For the moment the two men had approached him, Kyle had been expecting a fight to come. Two guys coming from either direction and clearly staring at him suggested little otherwise, although their reasoning for such an attack had a bit more variety. Muggers, perhaps, or guys belonging to someone he'd dealt with before. Which was interesting, considering he was often masked when dealing with criminals...but stranger things had happened. All said and done, Kyle's body was on high alert, ready to move at the slightest opportunity.

The loud roar from the bigger of the too made Kyle draw most of his attention to the man, keeping the other just in sight as he turned to face the immediate threat. The man was clearly going for a punch, drawing his arm back for the strike.

And he was ridiculously slow! True, he was faster than your average guy, but a fighter like Kyle had seen real speed before. This was nothing for him to dodge; Kyle merely jumped back a step or two to evade the brute's swinging fist, readying himself to strike ba...

All thoughts of moving in right after were silenced momentarily as the man's fist connected with the wall Kyle had been standing by. Instead of just simply stopping before hitting it and turning to face him, the man's fist went right into the wall instead, the metal bending like butter before the man's fist. More so, the man pushed through the wall to free it, turning to him with frightening speed with malice in his eyes. Kyle stared in silence, even as his mind worked furiously to account this new detail. Oh great, super strength. Probably best to stick to long range then.

The thought had barely left his mind before a new one replaced it; his partner. Unleashing a sudden blast at the brute, Kyle turned his attention to his ally...to find him gone. Where did he go? This was starting to look like trouble...very big trouble.

Taurus failed to hit the target, as expected, nor did his roar cause any hesitation. The target did pause when Taurus's fist went through the wall, which Capricorn took note of. That indicated either inexperience with strength mutations, or a vulnerability to them, either of which would be useful. Once Taurus managed to hit, of course.

Capricorn, for his part, sped behind the target while Taurus evaded the blast, and prepared his own attack. That, of course, meant that they were no longer perfectly on either side of the target, but that hardly mattered; if he tried to run, Capricorn could easily catch him. Not that Capricorn expected to need to; he seemed too arrogant to think of running, even when it was obvious he would need to escape if he wanted to live. Certainly Capricorn didn't expect an escape attempt this early, though it could be a good demonstration if he tried. Well, perhaps one of the others would manage that.

In the meantime, Capricorn was attacking, to herd the target back toward Taurus. "Surprised?" Normally talking would be bad strategy, since it allowed the target to locate him more easily, but Capricorn's kick was already halfway to the target's head, and it didn't need to connect to be effective anyway. Taking the target's attention off of Taurus was a better strategy. "Too used to always fighting weaklings?"

It didn't take long for Kyle to figure out where the second of the pair had gone. Kyle had faced his fair share of combat and that wealth of experience came in handy more often then any level of solid training did. So when he'd noticed the second enemy had vanished from his sight, both frontal and peripheral, Kyle's mind knew there was a highly likely direction damage would be coming from. Turning his body, he was....

He'd reacted about as fast as any man could...and it wasn't enough. The only thing that saved him was the fact that he'd brought up an arm to defend himself for a strike he expected was coming; it saved him from being crippled in a single hit at least.

The kick that smashed into his arm sent arcs of pain through his body as his arm almost buckled under the force of that kick. The pain was immense, enough to make most people buckle and cringe as a result. Kyle was different...but it didn't mean he didn't gasp out in pain. Gritting his teeth, Kyle shifted his arm so that some of the blow was shrugged off, backpedaling to the side as fast as he could to keep both enemies in sight this time. His left arm was close to useless; pain rocketed through it when he tried to move it.

So of course, he forced himself to bring it up in a weak guard while he kept his right arm as the fore-guard. A weak guard was better than nothing...and that arm could be used for something else as well. "If all you think I fight is weaklings, then you don't know jack about me." Eyeballing the pair, Kyle snapped open his left and right hand at the same time, unleashing two quick bolts of energy from them at either target before diving back over a nearby car. Distance was the advantage in this game, at least until he got a better idea of what he was up against.

And if he might actually need to retreat from it.

Capricorn's hit connected.

That was no great surprise; he was the faster, after all. Still, it was slightly disappointing; if Taurus had managed to kill the target in one hit, it would have made a much more spectacular scene. Not that there where many spectators any more... or not many nearby and paying attention, anyway. There were some a but further away with phones out, though, so it would all work well.

Capricorn dodged the blast easily, though Taurus had to scramble to avoid the one aimed at him. Not a very successful tactic, scrambling away from the target. Capricorn would have to keep the target focused on himself, then, while Taurus got close enough to do the real damage.

That, fortunately, was simple to do. "Kyle Albatross." Capricorn was back around the target's side almost as soon as the blast was gone, swinging another kick at his ribs. "White male, early twenties." Once Capricorn's foot touched the ground again, his other leg repeated the circle, less targeted. This kick was meant purely for distraction, though it would cause plenty of damage if it is land. "Resident of the mutant homeless shelter Sanctuary."

Taurus had done this before, and didn't need to be told his role. He stayed quiet, and tried to get close to the target while Capricorn kept it distracted.

"Makes a habit of murdering any humans he doesn't like, in the name of mutant supremacy."

Kyle sighed inwardly as his energy blasts missed their targets, sailing past them to splash out against a car or sign harmlessly save for the little dents they had left. But then, Kyle had never expected them to hit; he would have used a much stronger burst if he had thought they would connect. The blasts had been as much a test as they were an attack; he was already hurt far worse then he should be. He had to bring the game down to a level where he could compete...or at least manage an effective escape.

The talker, the one that had almost broken his arm, had dodged his attack with ease. His partner, the brute, had a much harder time then him, all but scambling out of the way just in time. So...the talker was the biggest threat at the moment; the brute would be a threat if he got close, but Kyle knew he could at least likely manage to hit that one. The problem would be keeping the speedster in his...

A voice at his side made Kyle flinch in surprise, his eyes tracking to his left side, where the man had suddenly flashed towards him. Already a leg was swinging in towards him, moving straight for his unprotected ribs...

Kyle's right arm flashed out as Kyle spun, slamming his open palm into the spinning kick. At the point of contact, Kyle's hand flashed, a small burst of energy that kept the blow from breaking his hand off and smacking it past him as he stepped back, just barely managing to avoid the blow. His hand felt numb from deflecting the blow but it had given Kyle a pretty good idea about the man's speed...if he could keep it up, he'd soon have a fair enough idea of what he'd have to do to avoid him....

Pain lanced through him as the man buck kicked him in the chest, sending Kyle airbourne to bounce and roll over the hood of a nearby car. The man had followed up his move with an almost instant back kick; there had been less build up for it and yet Kyle found himself struggling for breath, winded from the hit. Struggling to his feet, Kyle brought his arm up and swung it hard from right to left, unleashing his energy as he did so, using a full laser of energy compared to the bolts. Then he put his back to a car, keeping the talker in sight.

"Okay...so you know a little about me. But killing in the name of mutant supremacy? Fool; I kill those who deserve death, whether they be mutant or human. But I'm not going to argue with someone who is likely doing the same thing he's judging me for.

I don't listen to hypocrites."