(occ guys dont mean to sound pushy but could you guys post soon otherwise i may not get a chance to get to america for the battle as there is still a whole lot more stuff that hades needs to do. sorry)

((OOC: First, I apologize for taking so damned long.... Second, sorry if I 'overstep' or mess something up a bit, PM me if theres a problem with the post.))

Heading through the rest of the complex, TJ kept looking around waiting for something expectedly unexpected to happen. She made sure her bodyguards were around her, but only when she wasn't inspecting part of a wall or one of the obvious switched off traps. <I'd very much like to meet this man. Very smart indeed.> They came to a final door that one could only guess lead to either death or the big man himself. Hunter wanted everyone to figure out as much as they could before going in. She listened to Shogun and Nox before going to work.

Closing her eyes, not because she needed to, but to better concentrate, she felt power all around her. Technological power. Mostly focused into the room ahead of them. TJ swooned a bit and put a hand over the left side of her face, "OooOoo...woah." One of the men around her put their hands on her shoulders to hold her steady. Waving him off she focused again, "There's a lot of pooowrrr....." Her word slurred as she spoke, her eyes fluttered a bit before she fell to the floor, here eyes open wide. She looked as if she had just died on the spot. If it wasn't for the slight rise and fall of her chest, one wouldn't be able to tell she was alive.

Gearhead's entire body twitched after a minute as if she had just been shocked. Blinking rapidly, her head jerked to the side. She looked up and saw two of the men lifting her up to her feet. "Thanks..." She couldn't help but giggle as she looked around. "Overload...had to reboot." She wore a cheeky grin on her face as she spoke. "Whatever's in there....there's a lot of it. I'd say," She rubbed the bridge of her nose, "That is the main control center." <I can't wait to get in there.> Her mind was full of fun thoughts, <I could spend a lifetime in there...maybe half a lifetime, but time well spent none-the-less.> TJ was smiling ear to ear.

"I'll narrow my focus a bit, that'll help me a bit." She reached out once more and found the light and communication systems. <That'll work....Oh, he shut off the communication systems....hehe> Like flicking a light switch in her mind the system came back online. <Just a series of electronic commands that create the voice and sound....> Inside and just outside the room a fairly electronic feminine sounding voice came over the intercoms. "Hello Hades. Don't bother trying to turn it off again. It won't work." Inside the room the lights all went out, except for the ones that would just illuminate Hades. "Gearhead's the name. I'm quite excited to meet you." She let control of communications go, and searched quickly for defensive or offensive threats. She found a few, though they were turned off like the traps the had passed recently. Just to make sure she put a rotating encryption on them, 10000 rotating numbers, letters and symbols making up the code, that would change every 30 seconds, but could be turned off by a specific code that Gearhead knew. She released her awareness on the room, staggered back into the arms of one of the men. One of her eyes was half shut, he brow slightly furrowed as if she had a headache, though the smile on her face said she was having fun. "I encrypted the defenses and turned the lights off except over him...just for fun."

(occ gearhead most of the electrical equipment has been REMOVED from the room, all thqat is left is your prize (the whirly thing), the deactivated control pannels which cant be reactivated as the organic compound is dying ( also meaning that you do not know / cannot do anything to annwn or anyplace outsied as the organic com line does not exist the coupound dissolved and dissapated), the lighted control pannel, and yeas the comunications sysems, the lights are dim anyway so yea)

In the room where Hades sat patiently waiting, the door told him that his guests had finally arrived. Then suddenly "Hello Hades. Don't bother trying to turn it off again. It won't work, Gearhead's the name. I'm quite excited to meet you."

Impressive, very impressive Gearhead thought Hades, then the lights flickered and all went dim except those that were above him. It is time, it is finally time. Hades opened a concealed compartment in the wall and gazed at the row of leavers there. I never thought I would see the day where I would have to personally kill what I build with my own hands. Hardening his heart and squashing down all the memories of him and his friends with a vengeance, he steeled himself and pulled them all down. This is it he thought it will take a major effort to revive this lab again. Far away in the deep recesses of the lab weights were released, chains were pulled taunt, huge gears started to groan and move. A few floors down there was a circular room, with tunnels radiating out from the room like spokes of a wheel, there was a groaning as a circular section of the ceiling lowered and rotated so that the channel through the middle of the section lined up with one of the many tunnels. In the channel there sat a bike, not just any bike mind you it was as though someone had encased the outside of the motorbike with a shiny blue/black sheath, the rider lay prone on the bike. This was one of Hades pet projects, as he either did not have the funding or materials necessary or he needed some technical advice/modifications to bring some of the more exciting projects to life. He christened the bike Storm.

Below where Hades sat, the floor rumbled and became hollow, yet still strong enough to support Hades and the chair. So basically the floor under him was like a sandwich with nothing in the middle and stone on the top and bottom, with many nozzles emerging from the stone around, ready to start pumping the contents of canisters at a command.

(occ: sorry hunter please don’t mind if I god mod you a bit, but I really want to portray this next part, pm me if you want me to take it down)

Hades returned to his seat, there he sat with a suite of death armor on, and a black cloak over that.

Someone pressed both their hands to the door and pressed for a moment, and then stepped back. What happened next was breathtakingly beautiful. Starting from the edges of the door small lines of clear blue/white light started to extend tendrils of life onto the huge door. Like roots of a tree the lines of light spread, they traced lines and curves, designs and symbols, graceful beautiful, they traces lines and lines of text, graceful and beautiful text. The script it was written in was an ancient one, it looked almost runic. The lines of light went here and there lighting up lines of script.


The words spoke of history, of things past. If any of those present could have understood it they would have been moved. Some times the characters were graceful, beautiful, awe inspiring, even to the people there who could not understand a word of it, to them it spoke plainly of integrity, of beauty of awe, it was awe inspiring. Then the light moved on the nature of the symbols changed, here they seemed to be composed of sheer anger, of hatred, they spoke of war, at times they looked as if they were going to jump out and attack, they spoke of rage, in another place there was more symbols, symbols that just by looking at them could move people almost to tears, they spoke of sorrow, of loneliness, of tears, of sadness of regret.

All in all it was like the readers were taken through the passage of time, there were seven of these dotted through out both doors, there were seven circles in which here and there now and then parts of symbols flickered. It had taken Hades 2 years to fully complete this and it was a masterwork, it took people through history.

Finally the lines of light stopped, the light of the text highlighting softly the faces of those who stood before the door. The lines of light condensed to illuminate the seven circles and what was carved into them, the seven circle were in a line in the middle of the door from top to bottom, and as they were illuminated, a line of light brighter than the others started around the outside of the door and then down the middle of it, seeming to carve the door in half, slowly the door unsealed itself.

(by analysing the chemicals and the body temperature of the people on the other side of the door) The door told Hades the intensions of the people opening it, that was its function, not to attack but to observe, its sole purpose was to tell him what their intensions were, if they were of anger the text would be different and in red and it would if Hades had let it have brought the whole place crumbling down and activated the self-destruct sequence, but because the thoughts and intensions were not of anger or of destruction, the door let them pass unharmed.

And there he sat illuminated by the very dim lighting waiting for them

Hunter listened to each in turn. Single person, centre of room, now the only thing illuminated due to Gearhead’s trickery. She’d been more forward than Hunter had intended, but not revealed anything essential. At a nod from him two of the men with them stepped forward and pushed on the door to open it.

That activated a light show, and quite a light show at that. Hunter watched, recognising most of the symbols as they flashed into view, telling their tale. It was one of the most impressive works of art that he had seen. When it finally finished the doors swung open.

The men had their weapons raised, but held their fire. Unless this man made a threatening move they wouldn’t shoot. Hunter stepped forward into the room and spoke. “You put up quite the little obstacle course,” he remarked with little humour, “Design it yourself or simply activate some of the facilities defences that were already in place?”

Gearhead seemed somewhat intoxicated by whatever she felt, but then Nox knew what it was like to suddenly feel vast amounts of power, and it certainly had strange effects. That was before she somehow managed once more to take control of the speaker. Smart that. Two of the few remaining men pressed the doors and…and the most marvellous sight that had ever greeted her eyes was initiated. Tendrils of blue light started to tentatively entwined their way over the door, small trickles welded together, meeting and parting to unfold text. The words to her were meaningless, their art however was not, for without meaning her mind saw only theirs shapes. Their grace. Their beauty. And it awed her. And for her it was not only the light, but the energy which it carried, which it was. And like veins they carried it around the daunting door, which had now become a masterpiece, saturating the door with energy. She closed her eyes and felt rather than saw the patterns, and it was more elegant still. For it was a pure essence she felt, something that could never be corrupted or tainted, a pure script of light, of energy.

At last seven aligned circles were all that remained, and then the door seemed to crack. And it was if the very room inside eliminated light, which now flooded the middle of the door, as the chamber beyond was revealed to them. Hunter stepped forward, and Nox followed suit, so to stand off to his right next to the door. Her fingers hadn’t helped but to tentatively trial along the line of one of the circles as she had stepped in. The energy mingled within her fingertip and the light, yet she called it not, so allowing the pattern to remain. Hunter’s dry humour rung through the chamber, not precisely what she herself would have used. She waited for the figures response, the figure, dimly illuminated yet still draped in shadows, who sat before them. Gearhead’s earlier injections had had its desired affects, and she felt she could call upon the energy that lay in the panel, in the door, in them, if the need arose. So she waited, warily, she waited.

Gearhead sent ripples into the room, and caused some sort of speaker to carry her voice into it. Shogun could just about make out what she did, something with the lights, except for the one over the figure in the room. Hunter sent a couple of the soldiers to open the door, and something happened. He wasn't entirely sure, but something was moving across the door. He could tell where it was going, as though it were a living thing. He was awe-struck, and felt the same emotion from Nox. He'd never witnessed such beauty, and yet he had no idea what it was. It was just... amazing.

The door opened, and Antonescu stepped in, followed by Nox. Shogun stepped up to Antonescu's other side, and kept a large part of his focus on the man in the room. Now that he was closer, he could pick up something else too. The man... wasn't all there. As if he could just slip away through the floor. What Shogun didn't realise, was that what he was sensing wasn't metaphorical.

As the men stepped forward and activated some sort of light show, Gearhead leaned in and watched intently, soaking it all in. At first they seemed as if they were random. Then she caught the patern, or paterns as it would be. "Well well well....interesting." She could feel the doors as it sent signals all accross it's surface, she could also tell there was more to what it was doing than just giving them a pretty show. It would take a closer inspection and more time to figure out what the door's actual function was, beyond obviously blocking the way. As the light began to show symbols and pictures of sorts, she realized this door was showing a sort of history. Unsure exactly what of, she made sure she watched and memorized every part of it's beautiful dance. She'd take down and recreate what it was showing at a later time and figure it all out. Once the circles came into alignment, the doors slid open.

Gearhead stepped forward behind the other three motioning for her bodyguards to say behind her. She didn't want them giving a bad impression or for them to block her view. As she looked around she could tell a lot of the room had been cleared of much, which made TJ pout just a bit. <Aww, shucks. Wonder what he did with it all...I'd really love to get my hands on some of his stuff.> Hunter made a fairly dry remark that Gearhead had no love for, but his second question she was curious about.

Gearhead poked out from behind Hunter and stepped forward a bit. She was a frail thing, but she didn't know intimidation, didn't know when she should be intimidated, thus she had no fear of the man in the middle of the room. Though, knowing Hades would take hell if he made a wrong move was a plus. TJ thought back to the begining, when the first started in on this place, at the many different designs she had seen and the various kinds of traps, some they had gotten passed though work, others from this man's seemingly good graces. She passed up Hunter, "Both if I'm not mistaken." She stepped forward a bit more, setting her briefcase down and sliding it backwards towards the group and held her hands out, showing she was no threat. She stood about ten feet from Hades and looked the man in the eyes. She saw intelligence, vast intelligence and cunning, and years, oh so many years in those eyes. "You're the mastermind alright, or one of them. You're smart, but there were too many variations to be the work of one man, or woman. No?" She wore a pleasent smile on her face, that held curiosity and respect.

Hades slowly stood up, when he interacted with humans he would dress in the fashion of the times, not extravagant but enough to convey his meaning, but here in his home turn he would dress in clothes of his choice but always covered with a black hooded robe. His chair was on a platform with two steps leading up to it. Gathering his robes around him he slowly stepped to be on the same level as Hunter.
His face hidden by the robes, leaving his faintly glowing green eyes visible. His back was slightly bent and his movements were slow and deliberate, as if he were an old man.
His age old eyes considered gearhead for a moment, and he gave her an almost imperceptible nod, then he raised his gaze at hunter and his eyes glowed brighter as he finally beheld the leader. Slowly he brought his hands out and gave a slow small bow, that of respect. His voice when it was finally heard was deep, yet soft, the words slow and deliberate. Even though he radiated a sense of danger, at that point in time he also seemed to radiate respectability, almost like one professor talking to a colleague.
“Hunter” he said slowly and gazed at him, silence.
“When you first trespassed on these grounds I was irritated, and so I allowed you to enter the first stage, then I was impressed by you, you are a very interesting person Hunter.” The words were clear, slow but spoken with careful consideration.
“You choose your companions wisely, they are loyal and good at what they do, you are a good leader and do not make hasty or rash decisions… I respect that, I have not met a man like you for a long long time.” The words were like words from the past, they spoke of one who had seen and experienced much, perhaps too much.

Hades then turned at each of Hunters “lieutenants” and gave them each a nod. “Shogun, (pause) a samurai, (pause) one that follows a code of honour.” He spoke approvingly.

“Nox” he nodded.

“Gearhead”

Turning back to Hunter, he once again regarded him with a cool calm yet respectful gaze, almost as if he considered Hunter an equal, he did not even seem to acknowledge the guards presence. “Under different circumstances, (pause) well… I might be interested…. There is much we can discuss. The levers that open the main doors are over there” he slowly detached one arm from his black clocked form and slowly pointed. The arm retreated to the slightly bent form. “In the custom of old when one sets a challenge to another, if the challenged overcomes the task, he is rewarded. Usually the challenger and the challenged are mutually acquainted and thus the prize can be negotiated, but since this meeting was not preordained, I took the liberty of choosing for you. Your prize is over there in the corner.”

His gaze now turned back to Gearhead. “Now to answer your question, i must apologize for the poor quality of the traps as I only threw them together on the spur of the moment, and yes I designed them all myself.”

His gaze went back to Hunter. “I would love to continue our conversation, and I hope someday I will be able to continue our conversation, but alas I have some personal affairs I must attend to.”

He stepped back to stand before his throne/chair. “Till we meet again, and mey we meet again.” With that he pressed a button set into the skull that was engraved in the armrest of the chair, and the ground under the chair shot downwards like from a rocket (actually pulled by a weight) taking Hades with it. The sound of the floor collapsing, mixed with the sound of liquid shooting from nozzles, as a tone or compressed quick-hardening concrete filler spewed into the hole and set within seconds.

Hades fell straight through the floor below unlike his chair which came to a smashing end on the floor below. He landed on his bike and with a roar, shot forward down a long tunnel, emerging a short while later out of a waterfall with the tunnel collapsing behind him. He slowed and merged with the traffic on a nearby highway. From there he drove to a nearby garage and up a ramp into a container sitting on a truck. Turning off the ignition, Hades engaged the clamps set on the floor and discarding his cloak into a duffel bag exited the truck, which promptly drove off, delivering his bike to a prearranged location. He switched to a car and soon was making his way in the general direction of Russia. The car he was driving looked like any other common high end car, it was fast but it was inconspicuous, it blended in. He hummed to himself as he ran his itinerary through in his mind.

Hunter watched Gearhead move forward, but didn’t move to stop her. The girl knew no intimidation, no fear. That was dangerous, fear was useful, it kept you on guard and alive. While Hunter was confident that he could reach Gearhead before the man, he was by no means certain, and Gearhead could be about to die.

However, the man chose not to attack. Instead, after briefly acknowledging Gearhead’s words, he spoke directly to Hunter. Hunter considered the man’s words carefully. Checking the exit and the device Hunter could tell by the tone of the man’s voice that this was a speech, not the beginning of a conversation, and he was about to exit.

So he was unsurprised and unconcerned when he dropped through the floor and disappeared. He made no effort to stop the man, or even go after him. Instead he said calmly, “Open the door,” and one of the men moved and pulled the leaver, opening the main entrance. “Gearhead, check out the device and prep it for transport back to Mondragon labs. We’re leaving.”

The figure, draped in black, robes approached them, only the faint green glow that seemed to come from his eyes were seen. Having bowed ever so slightly to hunter, he spoke, his words were precise and thoughtful. His tone, and his hunched back gave the impression of age, of one who has experienced a lot, and had paid for it. Nox, however, was focused on his movements, watching for any of the warning signs of an attack. It never pays to be wary. His words gave away little as he addressed Hunter, and even less as he named the rest of them in turn. The only feeling that was apparent was approval when he addressed Shogun, clearly honour meant something to him. She had nothing against others upholding their honour, she simply found that it got in the way, it was easier just to do what was needed without the added weight of righteous.

He then continued to address Hunter for a while, though something was clearly afoot; phrase like “under other circumstances” or “I would love to continue our conversation” don’t crop up unless the speaker is planning not to hang around for too long. Though for someone who admitted he had designed traps trying to kill you, he was remarkably amiable enough to show them not only how to exit the complex but also to give them a ‘prize’. Something was clearly going on here. As he stepped back, she tensed , this was it, and though prepared she was somewhat taken back when he fell through the floor. Dramatics it appeared seemed to come hand in hand with owning a secret lab. Clearly this escape route had been planned for just such an occasion.

She was surprised by Hunter’s apparent lack of concern, no orders were barked out to send them into action. No shown anger that the figure had got away, instead a cool voice ordered the doors to be opened, and the device to be checked. They were going back? Honesty she disagreed, even if they were just going to let the figure leave should they not check some of the rest of the labs for technology rather than presume the figure was honest enough to give them what they wanted. The whole point of the mission as far as she had understood was to scavenge any usable technology yet they were going to leave without even checking? Not sure whether she was over stepping her role she voiced her opinion: “We’re not going to check for any other usable technology?” she asked Hunter, as she stood while others obeyed his orders.

This man was old. Very old. Shogun was a little taken aback when the man knew his name, but supposed that he would have been able to hear everything they said whilst they fought their way through the traps. But the man approved of honour, so Shogun wasn't too concerned that the man might attempt a sneak attack. And when it came to his exit, Shogun oculd have guessed that it was something like that. He could tell that the man wasn't about to move himself, so something else would have had to move. In this case, the floor.

The fact that they were leaving concerned Shogun. He hadn't been briefed on what they were doing here anyway, but it seemed a bit odd that they would just pick up and leave like that. But when the man spoke of the 'prize', Shogun sensed no hostility from him. So he supposed that that was that. Soon they'd be back in New York, and Shogun could resume training.