In a dark room a widescreen TV flickered to life. In time to tune in to a news report.

"Two weeks ago the shocking news that the arms giant Acutech was being sold off hit the markets prompting fluctuations in trading. This is the second company of its type to be sold of in the last few months prompting many to wonder if there is more to the story than just two CEO's who decided to retire and move away form the United States. Two months ago the CEO of weapons manufacturer Firebird Industries announced that he was retiring and selling the company off. After a closed round of confidential bidding, Firebird Industries was sold to Jagger Worldwide in a move that was highly contested by other companies in the sector. Unlike Firebird however, Acutech is to be broken up. This prompted one of the largest gatherings of big defense contractors in recent years as a viscous bidding war began. It has now been more than a week since the the selloff was announced and the pool has now shrunk to two. Neither of which were the expected favorites. The first is Jagger Worldwide which first came to attention of many when it snapped up Firebird Industries. The second is a lesser known conglomeration called
Glont International, little is knows about G.I but it is purported to be at least as large if not larger than Jagger. At this point the outcome is still uncertain, some say a deal is being negotiated between the two, while others expect both companies to fight to the last for Acutech in it's entirety. One thing is for certain, regardless of the outcome this whole episode has raised more questions.. than answers. This is Diana Hunt with NY Business."

It had been an interesting time for the business world indeed. G.I had seemingly come out of nowhere. It was in fact a conglomeration made up of a number of smaller companies, each which specialized in a particular area. In their respective areas they were held in high esteem, specialists, respected. United as a group under the leadership of Mr Glont they had blindsided many of the hopefuls. Not much was known about the reclusive Mr Glont. From his surname many surmised that he had Russian heritage, and from what information was available he appeared to be a reclusive multi million/billionaire who spent the majority of his time in Europe. Once Jagger Worldwide (J.W) and Glont International (G.I) had out bit, out witted and in a few cases simply out classed may of the hopefuls who wanted a piece of Acutech the two companies settled down to divide up the spoils. To date there had been 4 rounds of talks. The first round consisted of an army of lawyers from each side sending offers and counter offers and the two competitors sized each other up. Round two was a little more sedate with a smaller group of lawyers, accountants and analysts meeting face to face to discuss. At this stage neither Glont nor Jagger took to the field. Round three was smaller yet again, with both sides doing much in-depth research into the other for leverage, offers were made and countered and countered again. The first tentative deals or informal agreements were made. Round four was when both the CEO's took to the field, to the surprize of the staff on either side, the CEO's of the opposition were sharp, almost scarily so. It was like watching two grand masters playing chess, with plots and counter plots flying back and forth between them like machine gun fire. Now it was round five and somewhere in the offices of each of the companies sat what was essentially a score sheet. In different ways they both said about the same thing:

ACUTECH INTERNATIONAL:
Electronics Division: J.W
Aerospace Division: G.I
Munitions Division: G.I
Vehicular & Transport Division: J.W
Medical Division:
 - Regeneration & Healing: J.W & G.I (Joint)
 - Genetics: (Pending)
 - Bio-enhancements: (Pending)

For this last round it was just the two CEO's, face to face. Behind closed doors each had an army of talent data mining on the opposition and feeding data to the computers in front of each of the CEOs. Which of the last two divisions would go to which company? 

[OCC: hope this is ok, let me know if you want me to edit anything]

"Glont," Ambrose said, nearly spitting out the name in disgust. "He cannot possibly be legitimate. There are no records, no history, no reports, not even a first name."

Madeline nodded from behind her desk. Whenever he got particularly agitated, Ambrose would seat himself in front of his secretary's desk and just rant, and she would pretend to listen to him while really focusing on something important. This time, though, the anger was radiating off Ambrose is slight bursts, but more prevalent was the sickly, disturbing thrill of a predator chasing its prey. Ambrose and Madeline both knew that Glont International was not legitimate - could not be legitimate. There was no way such a purportedly big company could last so long under the radar. Madeline herself suspected foul play when it came to Glont knocking competitors out of the way, seeing as they had no credibility and should've actually been the first to get knocked out of the race. Meanwhile, Ambrose was anticipating a challenge. He knew that the only true way to beat out Glont was simple - outbid him, and there was no possible way he could lose, unless Glont happened to be Donald Trump's significantly more successful brother in disguise. He'd done some research (with Panu's help) and learned that GI was a conglomeration of small companies, none coming even close to rivaling JW, but as a combined force was decently formidable. Even so, their combined funds wouldn't be able to surpass would JW could easily offer - they'd go bankrupt first. So yes, Ambrose knew he would win. The prize his mind was set on, though, was not the pieces of Acutech that he didn't even particularly need anyway.

It was Glont.

The man intrigued him. Acutech had never been his target - sure, for GI, the pieces might help them significantly, but JW didn't need that kind of pathetically unimportant assistance. Gaining even all of Acutech would barely make a difference, considering JW's relative size; JW had just targeted it because that was what powerhouses like JW did. What had been interesting was when Glont refused to back out, even when they should have been crushed by the competition by now, because credibility and reputation meant everything today. Like a cat playing with a mouse, Ambrose had teased Glont out into the open by stubbornly clinging to divisions he didn't need (Vehicular and Transport Division, really? They made mutant goods, and tailoring cars for mutant's would not be a very profitable industry considering the lack of millions of physical mutants struggling to drive cars) until, finally, he'd managed to get a meeting with the mystery himself.

Ambrose glanced down at his watch, and Madeline could feel a sudden thrill from him as he realized it was almost time for the meeting. They'd agreed to meet in the Jaager Worldwide headquarters - Ambrose was heavily targeted by groups like the Bird Hunters, and it was just better for him to stick to a well-protected, known route, in contrast to Glont, who no one knew anything about anyway - and Glont should be arriving within the half hour in the Muspelheim conference room downstairs. He stood up, sweeping out of the chair and seizing the ebony cane engraved with a dragon's head at the top that he used to help him walk, limping rapidly over to the elevator. It usually wasn't this bad, but a police officer had hit the weak spot a few days before when Ambrose had been out as Jörmungandr, and the damage was enough to put him back on his cane for a while.

As Ambrose reached the right floor, he stepped out and headed towards the room, cane clacking softly against the tiled floor. The doors were open, the two cameras in the corner primed and ready to record all that proceeded (Ambrose had given strict orders that security would rush in if the camera feed so much as froze - he wasn't taking any chances with this "Glont"), and so he stepped in and walked over to the head of the table, sitting down and twirling his cane as he waited.

Victor Mikhkail Glont alighted from his car and was surrounded by security forces. For this meeting, both sides had beefed up security. There was always the media trying to sneak someone in and also this time there were disgruntled companies, big defense companies that were ...upset.. that they lost so early on in the game.

Over the years of being an extremely successful assassin, Hades had amassed fortunes that could last countless lifetimes. Some of this he invested and essentially owned a modest number of companies. Not directly of course. These he sometimes used as cover stories, or to provide information or specialized equipment or services. He did not manage them but had others do that for him. Although these "managers" did not know what Hades did for a living of even his true name, they all knew one thing. Keep your hands clean and manage the companies well and you would be rewarded. It was using a small number of these companies that a few talented individuals, hired by Mr Glont, had constructed the now infamous Glont International. A creation that would take an army of lawyers to untangle and an entity that would not stay in existence long enough for them to do so. It had one and only one purpose. To provide a tool to evaluate and meet Mr Ambrose Jagger.

Hades had always had an ear to the ground, more so after the Von Krause incident. He had been hearing things, what Jagger did on the surface and what he did in reality painted an interesting picture. Ambrose was gathering resources, recruiting talented individuals, but for what purpose. Hades was intrigued. He had not been this intrigued by a man/ group since the Kabal, lead by the great Hunter. He felt... interest. So he set about testing the man's reaction. The meeting was at Jaager Worldwide headquarters, home turf for Ambrose and for this meeting it was agreed that any interaction between them would be guarded by security forces from both sides as a precaution. Out of respect for Jagger, Hades came unarmed, in that he carried no firearms and no blades, he was confident that if the worst came to worst he could defend himself or flee the scene. 

Hades strode out of the elevator, looking every inch the confident Russian business man, tailored suite, black leather gloves. His security team was small but efficient, more for show this time although most of them were assassins in their own right. He strode into the room to see at last with his own eyes the target. The security stopped at the door as agreed. Hades was just sitting down and the doors almost closed when there was a knock. A elderly British gentleman was allowed to enter, after being patted down by both security teams and scanned by who knows how many of Jaager's security systems. The gentleman with the air of a butler addressed Glont. "A letter for you Mr Glont, priority Alpha."
"Thank you Bunter." Said Hades accepting the letter, he cracked the wax seal, recognizing that it was from his research team.

Librarian wishes Reaper ware the angry pilot with regards to operation: Complete.

*****
It was written in code that Hades would understand. This code relied on the meaning of the words to the receiver as opposed to numerical encryption or rigid code words. Librarian was the name for his research team. ware was beware, now on to angry. Angry made Hades thing of red, of a being that breathed fire. Pilots were called flyers, so combining the two yielded a flying object that breathed fire = Dragon. There was no operation Complete. To complete was to finish, it was not too much of a jump for Hades to recognize how his chief researcher thought. A Finnish Dragon, Norse mythology, Jörmungandr. His reply was flowing water, that which has no beginning or end, hence don't stop looking.
*****
Inwardly Hades grunted with annoyance. His research team should know better than to use his call sign. He was confident that no amount of searching of the name Reaper would offer any conclusive evidence that would connect him to  the name Hades, he had made sure of that. Although an astute and intuitive mind might draw the correct conclusions. Regardless, the contents of the letter had no doubt been captured by the ever present security cameras and there was nothing that Glont could do to change that. Glont hastily scribbled a reply

Messenger wishes Librarian, flowing waters.

Bunter took the reply and left. Hades sat down and waited for Jagger to begin. His mind reeling with the new information. He was now in the same room with Jörmungandr. Regardless, would Jagger cut straight to the point or would he play games? Hades took it for granted that Jagger had recognized that the business deal was not the purpose for the meeting.

[OCC: let me know if you need me to edit anything]

Glont entered, and Ambrose stood up, smiling pleasantly and only sitting down once the other man had taken a seat. As he did so, an old man came in and handed Glont a document. Immediately after, Ambrose's phone buzzed silently.

He pulled it out of his pocket, checking the notification. It was a grainy photo of a note of some sort, and he squinted down at it to try and read the contents.

"Someone gave this to Glont," Madeline said through the minuscule comm in his ear. Ambrose glanced only briefly at the photo before tucking his phone away and sitting down, not wanting to seem disrespectful during this first meeting. It seemed as if a security camera had caught the contents of the message as the man had handed it to Glont.

Librarian wishes Reaper ware the angry pilot with regards to operation: Complete. Well, Ambrose didn't have time to really think the code through, though he doubtless would've figured it out eventually. All he needed was a cursory look, anyway - librarian probably meant the guy feeding Glont information, and Reaper was probably Glont. "Ware," meanwhile, was definitely a somewhat failed attempt at coding the word beware. So one of Glont's team was warning him about something. Presumably Ambrose, seeing as they were meeting right now. So he needed to figure out the warning in the next ten seconds, because otherwise he'd be behind in this battle of wits. The most important part seemed to be "angry pilot," which made very little sense out of context. Thankfully, Ambrose himself knew that there was only one piece of incriminating information that Glont could have.

His status as Jörmungandr.

"Angry pilot" made sense, then - a pilot flew, as did he, and though he might be wrong, he presumed "angry" referred to his tendency as Jörmungandr to mindlessly tear things apart in fits of rage. That deduction pretty much dictated his next move, then. Thank whatever nonexistent higher spirit there was that the code hadn't been difficult, or even a code at all, instead being mere word association. More importantly, however, the note was in code, which did nothing to assuage Ambrose's suspicions that Glont was more than he seemed. And it also seemed as if this Glont went by Reaper as a codename - not a name with the most positive connotations, and also the number one most claimed name by hitmen. Because every hitman wanted a badass name and Reaper definitely qualified. Anything along those lines, in fact - "reaper," "soul reaper," "death," "Thanatos," "Pluto," "Hades"...

Hades.

He was an assassin, wasn't he.

And not just an assassin, one of the greatest ones on the planet, from what Ambrose had heard. He'd even considered reaching out to the mysterious Hades a few times but eventually decided against it, as hitmen killed for money, and greed had no place in an organization looking to change the world.

All he knew about Hades was that the man was bald.

Admittedly, that was a stretch. A huge stretch, in fact. But no harm done in guessing, right? And if he was right, it'd just make him seem even cooler.

By the time he'd figured all that out, the door was swinging shut, and Ambrose realized that he'd been staring blankly at Glont for the past ten or so seconds, rather awkwardly. So as the heavy doors stilled, Ambrose looked up and focused his gaze on Glont - no, Hades.

"Well," he said amiably. He had nothing to lose here, with what the other man knew - the idea of him being Jörmungandr was a fringe conspiracy theory anyway, and the man trying to go public with it would only lower his lacking credibility further. "Now that you know quite a bit about me, I'd say it's only fair that you share a bit about yourself, Mr. Glont." And he smiled predatorily, fangs showing a bit as his lip curled up. "Or would you prefer Hades? We like to make sure people are comfortable here, so there's no need for pseudonyms."

The moment that Ambrose looked at his phone, Hades assumed that he had just read the note. He would have to have a few choice words with his research team. The attempt at code was pathetic, but it would change the situation now. Hades usually decried any advanced technology when going into unfimiliar territory, there was always the danger of being hacked.The moment that Ambrose spoke his suspicions were confirmed. Although Hades suspected that Jörmungandr was more performing a mental leap, an educated guess than a conclusion backed by hard evidence.

>"Well, Now that you know quite a bit about me, I'd say it's only fair that you share a bit about yourself, Mr. Glont. Or would you prefer Hades? We like to make sure people are comfortable here, so there's no need for pseudonyms."

Hades inclined his head in ascent. He saw no gain in toying. "Very well Jörmungandr, although I suspect you know a great deal more than you are letting on." The look that Hades returned was no less predatory in nature. The atmosphere in the room changed. Two apex predators observing each other. It was not a contest, each was a master in his chosen field, Hades had little interest in becoming a business morgual, he respected the killer instinct with which Jager Worldwide had risen to its current position. Just as he suspected that Ambrose had little interest challenging him on the assassination and hand to hand combat scene. No the atmosphere in the room was more like.... evaluation, with each side almost measuring the other, evaluating, observing.

Hades had long graduated past a simple gun for hire. He picked and choose his jobs according to his rules. At time he had done some jobs for free, when those in need had not the means to pay, other times he accpeted jobs for the challenge. Yet other times he accpeted jobs because of the long term affect it would have, to start or stop wars to stablize or destablize economies and regions. Often it was years after the fact before anyone realized that a hit had been made. Even then often evidence was suspect or circumstantial. It was a worth noting that more than 50% of Hades hits were not attributed to him, or indeed anyone.

"So, now that we have that out of the way shall we get down to business?" Again this statement was probing, a test in a way. Did Ambrose realise what was being asked?

Hades had heard romours of the META program and knew that it would likely escilate tensions between mutants and humans, it would lead to bloodshed, conflict and atrocities on the scale of those comitted in the mutant registration camps. Humans never learned. THis time though there would be no force like the Kabal to rally around and lead. The Order was a shadow of its former self, with barely anyone there, the leadership scattered and absent. The X-men while noble in their ideals would continue to try to make peace until they themselves came under attack or suspicion then, late in the game they would probably fight for mutants. Was there yet another player in the game?

There could be only two reasons that someone like Hades would meet in such a public fashion. Either someone had paid him a mind boggling amount of money or had hired him at great cost to take Ambrose out in a public way or Hades desired a face to face meeting for another reason. The former was unlikely as it would be foolish to challenge a dragon in its den although Hades had successfully done so before. Hades had long heard romours of recruitmentdone in secret and his interest was piqued. His visit was more like a potential Thane who might offer his services for a time, who has come to evaluate a potential Jarl. Was the Jarl intelligent enough to recognize this?

"Very well Jörmungandr, although I suspect you know a great deal more than you are letting on.” Well, he would let Hades think that. He didn’t know that much because he didn’t really care. Although, now that he had drawn the mysterious Mr. Glont out into the open and had figured out his secret, his interest in the man was diminishing greatly.

He could sense Hades’s approach to the situation changing. He was trying to a predator now, but out of his territory, and that never boded well. If they were meeting in Hades’s territory, at least Ambrose would’ve had the decency to look respectful. Hades was going into this situation assuming that he held power or would be easily able to obtain it. And he could try. But he doubted that Hades’s expertise lay in the high-stakes world of corporations and business, just as much as Hades probably doubted that Ambrose could take anyone in a fight. Anything that Hades tried, Ambrose could probably counter, because this was not his territory anymore.

”So, now that we have that out of the ways shall we get down to business?”

Ambrose sighed, rather magnanimously. He had no need of weapons - he had plenty of those. He needed a commander who could control other weapons, but Hades was a hitman. He doubted the man would be capable of such a feat such as getting others to listen to him and respect what he said.

”About that,” Ambrose said loftily. ”For what reason whatsoever would you be of any interest to me? You may have figured out by now that Acutech is of no matter to me. It was you, Mr. Glont -“ and he said the name slightly sarcastically ”- who was the curiosity. But now the puzzle has a resolution, and there’s nothing that you can provide that I don’t already have. So what sort of business could we possibly have together?”

Ambrose seemed to sigh then loose interest. Hmm that was something to file away.

>”About that, For what reason whatsoever would you be of any interest to me? You may have figured out by now that Acutech is of no matter to me. It was you, Mr. Glont - who was the curiosity. But now the puzzle has a resolution, and there’s nothing that you can provide that I don’t already have. So what sort of business could we possibly have together?”

Another note to file away ab out Ambrose Jaager, for someone who had or claimed to have great vision he seemed remarkable short sighted. If this potential Jarl was that short sighted then perhaps Hades should just close the meeting and move on. Inwardly Hades sighed. It was apparent that Ambrose had a limited understanding of human nature. He decided to give Ambrose one final chance.Perhaps he was as ignorant as he appeared to be.

"Well Ambrose," Said Hades, using his first name, indicating a lessening of respect for the person he was addressing. He spoke without any trace of pride, devoid of self importance, this was not opinion, this was fact. Truth be told he spoke the words with a little trace of ....boredom. "I have more than a melennia's worth of experience in the art of war. I have trained armies, led armies, I have started and stopped wars, civil, national and international. I have watched civilizations crash and burn and new ones rise up from the very same ashes. I know that you are recruiting people for a cause, what exactly that cause may be is as of yet unclear." Hades paused thenlooked Ambrose in the eye. "So my question to you, Mr Jaager" -emphasis on the Mr- "is, what of interest could you possibly offer me?" This was Ambrose's one chance, after that Hades would vanish into the wind.

Oh, dear lord. Why was respect so hard to come by nowadays? He suspected that it was a primarily European thing, being polite, which was why he and Panu both were more than a little bit irritated at the informality of most people. Ambrose was used to it, having been born and raised in America, but it still threw him off sometimes because he'd spent most of his developmental years isolated among polite people, and the real world was nowhere near as respectful.

As for what Hades had said. Most of it sounded rather overdramatic and magnanimous, but the "led armies" part was what mattered. This was really just a business interview, after all, and Hades had experience. Another crucial part of being chosen for a job, however, was being the kind of person that would fit in well. Ambrose needed somebody who wouldn't be a loose cannon, because he couldn't afford for everybody to have their own personal goals when the time came to work together as a machine. But it looked as if Hades was still trying to keep the power on his side. Well, Ambrose would humor him, then. He was tired of arguing with people who didn't understand what they were talking about, and he certainly hoped that this didn't end the same way it had last time he'd argued with someone ignorant.

"Purpose," he said, in response to Hades's question. "After all, isn't that the most important thing? We want a world where people aren't fettered by the shackles of society today, and are free from the bigotry and hatred that we can't get away from now. At least, that's what I'm told. I'm just the recruiter; Loki is the one with the vision." Oh, that had been a stroke of brilliance on his part, inventing the non-existent Loki. People weren't so inclined to want to feel powerful if they didn't think they were dealing with the leader. He'd taken advantage of people's egos to come up with the idea, and he'd been absurdly proud about it afterwards.

>"Purpose. After all, isn't that the most important thing? We want a world where people aren't fettered by the shackles of society today, and are free from the bigotry and hatred that we can't get away from now. At least, that's what I'm told. I'm just the recruiter; Loki is the one with the vision."



Did he take that line with everyone? Hades could appreciate the semtiment and the goal but that desire had been voiced by many though the ages. Without a plan it amounted to nothing more than hot air. Many men had tried and failed, some had even achieved part of that dream... for a time. Loki? really? The trickster god? The unpredictable one?



"The goal is noble, and desirable. It is a world that many dream of, hope for, long for. How then, may I ask, do you plan on achieving such a goal? Many have tried."

He would hear the man out. This was common courtesy. He would hear him out and weigh his words. But if Ambrose could not show that he had more than good business sense, almost as much money as fort Knox and a some lofty pie in the sky goal then......

"The goal is noble, and desirable. It is a world that many dream of, hope for, long for. How then, may I ask, do you plan on achieving such a goal? Many have tried."

Well, that was just common sense. He wasn't going to lay out the entirety of Ragnarok's game plan to a man he'd just met, and he said as much.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hades," he said apologetically, "but I'm afraid I can't say more. I'm sure you understand. I'm merely the messenger, and I don't want to get ahead of myself. What I can say, however, is that in order to build a new society, the old one must first be torn down. We see that repeated numerous times in history. So why should now be any different?"

He'd given this spiel to so many people in the recent months that he realized now he was relying on the Loki thing a bit too much to save him from ridiculous amounts of explaining. Maybe it'd be more practical for him to give a more... well, practical demonstration.

"How about this?" Ambrose said suddenly. "A demonstration. Tonight, eight o'clock. Rikers Island. Do you know anything about it?"

A few hours ago...
There was the bustle of equipment being packed, of weapons being loaded, of gear being checked. "So its been confirmed then?" asked a voice, it was young-ish, late twenties, focused. "Confirmed, 25 million per head, but only if the head is intact." The second voice was older, more grizzled. "Christ, they must be really mad after what happened to their base." The older mand just nodded. He raised his voice over the din. "Alright, listen up, the mission is a go. The targets are Victor Mikhkail Glont of Glont International and Ambrose Jagger of Jagger Worldwide. The bounty on EACH of them is 25 Million dollars for their intact heads." Murmers ran through the crowd. They were tough men, ex-military, Russian special forces and tough as nails. Many were amazed at the price for two soft targets. The old man raised his voice once again and the murmers ceased. This made him smile, He had a good team.

"Jack, at T minus 5 kill power to the block and hack the lights, cause a traffic jam either side of the target location, you are on coms tonight." Jack nodded and cracked his knuckles, it was time to flex those fingers.

"Mark, you and your team of 30 will board the plane, jump in two sections, one 10 man team first, the breach team, then the support team. You will HALO in, you have good winds forecast tonight. Before you hit the roof drop an EMP. Breach team will then rappel down the sides. Intel suggests the 10th floor from the roof, make it happen." Mark nodded, this was his chance to advance in the ranks, he would not, could not afford to mess up.

"Al, you lead the ground team, 20 men, in swat uniform, place a coordon aroun the perimeter, don't let
local police take control, no one goes in, no one comes out. Sweep up from there. Any questions? No? Alright. Go! Go! Go!"

Back in the headquarters of Jaager Worldwide....
>"How about this?....

"Rikers island? As in the prison island famous for mistreating prisoners?" Hades interest was piqued. He was interested in seeing what sort of "demonstration" Jagger was referring to. "I am guessing this is not a black tie event." He said with a slight smile.

Just then the lights gave a flicker and died. Something felt wrong, Hades immediately tensed up. From Jaggers body language this was not a planned event. His senses went on alert. A faint sound caught his attention. There were faint shadows moving outside the windows. They were numerous floors up. They were attaching objects to the windows. It did not take a genius to make the connections. "Ambrose, get down!" Hades yelled as he blurred from sitting to leaping up from his chair and physically launching himself towards Ambrose, intent on tackling him to the floor. Even as he closed on Ambrose, the world exploded in smoke and fire and flames, and the air filled with shards of flying glass.