The sun was bright in the sky when Cosmina arrived at the designated place. It was an older warehouse and in somewhat shabby condition. It looked almost abandoned and were it not for the workers that occasionally arrived and moved about within she might have thought it was empty. It was with some conceit that the woman thought that it wasn't nearly so nice as her own warehouse home. A bright smile lit the brunette woman's face as she approached one of the doors and tried it. It was unlocked and Cosmina headed inside.

This was the meeting point for a job. Her prospective employer was supposed to arrive here in about ten minutes or so. Since Mina took all of her work seriously she tended to arrive early for these sorts of meetings. Inside the place was somewhat less worn than the outside. It was clean and fairly well lit. Except for the outward appearance this wasn't the sort of place she normally met her employers at. They liked night time in swank offices or some dark creepy place or another. However the sum she'd been offered was well worth the unusual circumstances.

The contact was one she'd gotten jobs from before. Cosmina trusted him as much as she trusted anyone that she worked with. That is to say she didn't trust him at all but the contracts that he offered had a history of paying well and not a single one had refused payment. Cosmina made a sweep of the place to make sure no one was around and then took a seat on a crate near the door. Might as well make her comfortable. George would show up when it was time. In the mean time Cosmina whistled a cheerful tune.

Meld had gotten the call late last night from one of her regular contacts. Apparently he had some sort of mission for her and there would be good coin involved but he couldn't talk about it over the phone. Naturally she had accepted, being in need of a little extra money. Plus, she had worked for him before and knew he treated his people well and always paid what was promised. He went by the name George and whether or not that was his actual name she neither knew nor cared. He was a professional and that was what mattered so she took down the time and address of the meeting and promised not to be late.

There wasn't really a lot of preparation that Meld needed to do before leaving the safety of Sanctuary. She knew the lay of the land well and there were very few who were willing to attack her in broad daylight. Even if she hadn't worked with her contact before it was still unlikely that he or his organization would be stupid enough to attack her. Sure it might be possible, with enough people backing them, to take her out, but she had her reputation for a reason and the fact was she could take out enough of them in the process that it wouldn't be worth their time. Besides, while she didn't exactly trust George, they had an arrangement that was beneficial to the both of them making it unlikely he would try anything.

Upon arriving at the warehouse, early as was Meld's usual habit, she scanned the surrounding area with her ruby tail eye before, once she established it was safe, opening the door and entering. To her surprise there was all ready someone inside, someone she didn't recognize. Surely there had to be an explanation, perhaps she was to work with someone this time around. Stranger things had happened after all. She tensed her muscles, ever so slightly, watching and waiting to see if the other woman would acknowledge her.

Cosmina heard the door opening. Sounds were her province after all. Mina made much more note of the little noises than most would. She turned toward the door to see who had entered and was more than a little surprised by the sight that greeted her eyes. It was as though some creature from a sci-fi flick had just walked into the warehouse. Mina surveyed the cyborg woman with her smile in place as usual.

"Hi! You obviously aren't George so maybe you're here for the job too?"

If Mina had to kill this person then it was better to know now. Cosmina was already making notes about her and attempting to access her abilities. Of course if that wasn't the case then she seemed like she would be a capable partner in whatever George had for them. It was about then that George stepped out from behind several crates.

"Hello my dears. I see you've met each other. I'll skip the introductions and let you handle them. For now I'll just explain the job." George paused for a second, "One of our rival gangs has been doing favors a certain politician by the name of Jacob Anderson. Mr. Anderson has in turn been pressuring the police into harassing us. The boss would like Mr. Anderson and the three top members of that gang eradicated."

At this point George withdrew a manila envelope and laid it on the crate he stood beside.

"All of the information you need is here. The homes of all four men, their schedules, and as much detail on the security surrounding them as possible." He looked between the two of them, "Will you do it?"

Cosmina thought about it. Four targets and all of them were to be terminated. For the amount of money she would be getting for this job that would be an acceptable mission. Still, there were a few things she wanted to know.

"Any particular requests or special restrictions?"

If they had to leave any witnesses alive or some other strange request then Cosmina would have to demand a larger pay out. George shook his head.

"Deal with them as you see fit."

That made Mina's grin larger.

"I'm in."

"Hi! You obviously aren't George so maybe you're here for the job too?"

Meld offered a cold smile and a nod of her head. She extended her metal hand by way of introduction. "I'm Meld and it looks like we may, in fact, be working together." There was neither approval nor disapproval in her tone of voice, but simple statement of fact.

Not bothering to hide her scrutiny, Meld carefully observed the other woman, trying to size up her abilities and level of experience. There were subtle ways those who were truly dangerous acted and moved, a litheness of form that those not experienced didn't possess. Finally she nodded her head, satisfied. Whatever else could be said about the woman, she was no novice. Nerves would have been obvious to one of Meld's experience and the woman carried herself with an easy confidence that could only come with experience. It would would be interesting indeed to see why George had chosen her.

A moment after completing her assessment of her soon to be partner, George arrived and Meld nodded her curt greeting. At the mention of the politician Jacob Anderson her expression turned cold. He was someone all ready on her list of people to take care of due to a recent public speech he had made discussion the "mutant menace". People, especially people in power, needed to learn that it wasn't a good policy to disparage mutants. Bad things tended to happen when one did that, very bad things indeed.

"You always did know just the kind of jobs I most enjoyed," Meld offered a cold smile towards George. "You can count me in." She turned to her new partner, pleased to note that the other woman, likewise, didn't seem phased by the prospect of cold blooded murder. She had never had a problem working with partners so long as her partners were competent and knew how to take care of their part of the mission.

"So, I believe you have some idea of my particular strengths," Meld stated, her metal tail twitching above her head; there were certain advantages to having her weapons on display for all to see. "I believe its time for you to let me know what you bring to the table." George woudln't have given her a partner if not for a reason.

Oh this Meld was interesting! Cosmina grinned and shook her hand before George went on about the mission. If she was to be the woman's partner for a mission then Cosmina wouldn't mind at all. Meld seemed to like the idea of killing Jacob Anderson. After the both of them agreed Meld turned to Cosmina and told her to demonstrate her own uses. There were any number of ways that she could do that. Mina picked one that was the easiest to showcase. From a shoulder holster that had been hidden under the jacket she'd worn specifically for that purpose Cosmina pulled out her 9mm. She showed it to Meld.

"An ordinary gun with no modifications whatsoever."

Cosmina held it out for Meld to survey. Once the woman was satisfied Cosmina put a silencing field on the weapon and then another on the crate she was aiming at. She pulled the trigger. The bullet exited the barrel with none of the noise a normal shot from the gun would make. The impact, in the dead center of the crate, made no sound either. If you hadn't seen it you wouldn't have known it was happening at all.

"11 years of experience and the ability to suppress any sound audible to the human ear."

Cosmina's tone was sweet and she still smiled as she said it. Of course she had other talents. Her Savate training was not inconsiderable and she handled a gun well. However her experience and her silencing ability were more important than the tools with which she conducted her battles. Why go to all the trouble and mess of a fight that could leave evidence all over the place when you could simply shoot them in total silence? George smirked a little but didn't say anything.

"I'm Mute by the way!"

Cosmina could have given Meld her real name but Mute was what she went by on jobs. No need to break a tradition now.

At first Meld wasn't certain what her new partner was trying to illustrate when she pulled out the gun. She herself was by no means an expert in firearms, prefering close quarters combat and the use of her own unique modifications, but she knew enough to recognize the truth of the matter that the gun was not, in fact modified. When the gun went off, bereft of any sound at all, Meld couldn't help but be impressed. It might not have had quite the direct lethality of her own mutation, but it certainly had its uses. With a power like that stealth would most certainly not be an issue.

Meld nodded her head in acknowledgement of her skills at the woman who introducted herself as Mute, not perturbed in the least that she had used a code name. After all, Meld herself used a code name and rarely even acknowledged the human name she had previously posessed. Although many mutants held onto their human names, many did not, especially those who resided in Sanctuary. Not that she had ever seen Mute in Sanctuary, of course, but the fact that she was willing to do such missions for money spoke about the type of character she possessed.

"A pleasure to meet you," Meld answered, words which had the advantage of being true. Something told her she woudl enjoy working with the other woman. "I think you and I are going to work very well together. Which target would you prefer to start with?"

If Meld hadn't realized why she'd presented the gun to her to certify that it wasn't modified then her demonstration had obviously cleared that up. The other woman seemed to be quite satisfied with Mina's account and demonstration of her abilities. After Mina had introduced herself Meld nodded. Truthfully it didn't matter to Mina whether or not she got along with her partner in any given contract but it did help. During this period of exchange George decided to leave.

"Well if that's all I've got other things to be attending to. I'll see you girls again after you finish the job. You know how to reach me."

George turned and left, waving goodbye over one shoulder casually. Meanwhile Mina had claimed the manila envelope and was going over each of the men one by one. The politician had the best security. Apparently he'd been expecting some sort of reprisal after publicly making some nasty comments about mutants. The three crime lords or whatever they were weren't nearly as well protected for the moment. The death of the politician would likely get more attention though. Mina offered her thoughts.

"Anderson should probably be either first or last. His death will garner more attention than the three criminals. If we do him first that could be a hindrance. Then again if we wait until after we've killed the criminals then he'll likely have increased his security in response. Do you want to deal with the cops or with more pathetic guards?"

Cosmina said this in a bright tone as she studied the layouts of the various houses. It didn't matter to her which way they did it. She knew that she could handle whatever was thrown at her. Cosmina generally differed to her partner's preference in matters like this.

"Whatever suits you best!"

Meld picked up her own file folder and began reviewing the situation as it stood. It wasn't going to be easy although missions of that sort rarely were. There were always difficulties to overcome, always some sort of security or some manner of police presence. The challenge, however, was part of the reason for taking missions like this. Oh, the money was good of course, but the challenge of successfully completely such a mission served the purpose of keeping her mind focused on a definite task and that focused helped to combat her very real addiction to the thrill of the hunt and the kill. It was an addiction she was making definite progress on fighting, but it was a constant struggle to keep contained. Her inner monster wanted out and it was only through meditation and putting her violent instincts to good use that she was able to keep it contained.

"Anderson should probably be either first or last. His death will garner more attention than the three criminals. If we do him first that could be a hindrance. Then again if we wait until after we've killed the criminals then he'll likely have increased his security in response. Do you want to deal with the cops or with more pathetic guards?"

Meld inclined her head in acknowledgment of George's departure, all ready beginning to mentally plan out the mission to come. "Anderson should be a lesson," Meld stated thoughtfully. "He should leave a mark for people to remember and the best way to use him would be to kill him last." Just because the police presence would likely be increased with the killing of the others first didn't mean that Meld could easily abandon her mutant cause. Money or no money, challenge or no challenge, her cause was still of the utmost importance. Even if Muse didn't share her particular ideals, as a mutant herself surely she must hat least have some understanding of such things.

"Between your skills and mine I doubt we'll have a problem entering any of the buildings or making our escape when finished," Meld stated. Her own flesh melded limbs made entering a simple matter of breaking a window or, if the building happened to have a more sophisticated electronic lock, her mutant flesh melded hand took care of that problem rather simply as well. It was the noise that was always the problem when it came to shattering glass but, so it seemed, that wouldn't be a problem. "We should find ourselves a vehicle, less easy to be tracked if we're not in our own. The faster we eliminate the gang members the less resistance we'll likely face. I can take care of our transit situation, unless you have something in particular in mind." The advantages of being able to start almost any vehicle by touch alone.

Cosmina nodded while Meld talked. Meld had issues with Andreson apparently. Something he'd done had upset her. Probably his views on mutants. Mina honestly didn't really care. She had her powers and could buy or kill her way out of just about any situation. The state of mutants in the legal eye of the United States and the rest of the world didn't matter to her. Let them vilify mutants if they cared to do so. As long as Cosmina could continue working she was content. Her bank accounts were her most precious things.

"Then we'll take care of the criminals first and make an example of Anderson. A nice gruesome death for the mutant-hater! Maybe leave him somewhere nice and conspicuous so that a lot of people see him..."

Meld turned to the particulars of the job then. A vehicle would be required. Cosmina had not taken her own to this meeting. She never drove her own car to jobs. Her partner claimed she could take care of that if Cosmina had not already arranged it.

"Nope, we'll do the transportation your way."

Whatever Meld's way happened to be didn't matter. As long as it got them to the destination. That was all that mattered. It had been some time since Cosmina had worked with a fellow mutant mercenary. It was a different experience from working with humans. Humans either relied on her or went out of their way to avoid using her at all. Mutants were different. With them it was like working on equal footing. She'd noticed that mutant mercenaries with offensive type powers tended to be a little snobbish about her own power until it came in handy. Either that or until she fed them their words with her gun or her feet and fists.

So, its seemed like herself and Mute were on the same page when it came to teaching Anderson a lesson. Whether or not Mute actually believed in the mutant cause in the same way Meld did wasn't really of concern. So long as she was willing to go with her and had no qualms sending a little message, that was all that really mattered. It was a good feeling to know that she was working with a professional.

Meld studied the map that had come with the other information about the mission. All four gang members lived in the same neighborhood in relatively close proximity to one another. In fact, two of them were brothers and lived in the same dwelling, meaning they'd only have three locations to visit instead of four. Maybe they would even get lucky and find two targets unexpectedly at the same place, but she had never been one to count on luck in the past and wasn't about to start now.

Security was expected to be low to moderate, with each member having a pair of armed guards. Meld knew, however, that as soon as the killings began security would increase dramatically. The trick would be to try to eliminate as many targets as possible before word could travel to the others of their impending destruction.

"We should start with the brothers," Meld pointed to the largest house on the map. "They all ready have more security than the others so it stands to reason we should strike there first to avoid any potential increases in security. Do you need any time to prepare?"

Meld thought they should see to the brothers first and gave her reasons. It made sense. With the brothers they could eliminate two targets at once. Not only that but they would be taking down the most well protected of the gang members before they had a chance to strengthen their security. The third gang member would be a cinch after this. It was a good plan and Cosmina could not see any faults that couldn't be addressed if they came about. Meld inquired whether Cosmina needed time to prepare.

The outfit Cosmina had worn to the meeting was not her typical outfit for a job. She hadn't expected a partner. As such she wore jeans, a t-shirt, and the jacket meant to conceal her gun. Not the ideal outfit for such things but Mina could manage in it. She'd managed in outfits that were worse. Cosmina preferred not to think about them and thus went back to the question of whether or not she needed time to prepare.

"I don't think so. We can get started now if you like."

She had her gun, ammunition for the gun, and her abilities. Cosmina didn't need anything else for a job. The sooner they started the sooner it would end. The sooner the job ended the sooner Cosmina got paid. The thought of the sum she'd been promised made her already present smile even larger. Money was a wonderful thing.

"Now is exactly the time frame I was hoping to hear," Meld agreed. It was another sign of professionalism, to be always prepared for the mission. There had been a couple times in the past in which Meld had been forced to work with incompetent and inexperienced partners and neither of those times had been pleasant. The first time they had both almost been killed because of her partner's screw up and although the second time hadn't gone too badly, it still made the situation much more difficult than it had to be. Inexperienced was at least understandable and normally novices could be worked with and improved. It was incompetence that was the real irritant.

Meld gestured for Mute to follow her outside. "Let me now show you one of my less well known tricks." She looked around for an appropriate vehicle. There were two choices when it came to vehicles to be stolen, either older vehicles that were not likely to be alarmed and sometimes weren't even likely to be locked or new and sporty vehicles in which everything was electronic. She spotted an appropriate vehicle, newer and sporty without being so over the top as to draw attention. Taking off the glove hiding her blue veined mutant hand, she placed the hand to the lock of the door, effortlessly disabling the electronic locks and security system all in one simple touch. Opening the door, she touched the ignition of the car and smirked smugly as it purred to life. "Hop in."

Meld had first gotten her electronic mutant hand quite a number of months ago during the massacre of a human isolationist cult who had been murdering mutant babies. Herself, Aura and Cafas had broken in and exterminated the entire place, as was befitting of the crime of killing mutant babies. She probably would have done the same thing even if it was adult mutants being killed, but somehow because it was babies that made things even worse. The hand had been gotten from a misguided mutant who had tried to defend the humans. He had cut Meld's hand off first so it was only just that she do the same to him. At the time she hadn't even known that she could meld with human limbs, let alone that she could gain powers from them. Of course, however, she would never willingly hunt other mutants for their powers. The only time she could ever justify something like that were if it was in pure self defense. She did not kill mutants. Ever.

Mina followed Meld out of the warehouse and onto the street. As she did she pondered the woman's words. 'Less well known' implied that Meld had a reputation of some kind. Cosmina had never heard of her though. Perhaps she only had a reputation in certain circles. If that were the case then Mina would have to make the effort to uncover said reputation. It could wait until after the mission was through. However if George was willing to risk her ire by calling in someone that she didn't know on a job and not telling her about it then two things were clear. One, George hadn't been sure how Cosmina would react to the person. Two, he hadn't thought that Cosmina's skills alone could get the job done.

Neither of those things were promising for her future working relationship with George. It also made her curious as to why George had thought that Meld would be a good partner. So far Mina had no objections. The woman handled herself well. Speaking of which, she watched as Meld touched the lock on a newer car with one hand. That hand had strange blue veins running through it and Cosmina could only surmise that it had to do with Meld's mutation.

The car unlocked at her touch and Cosmina went around to the passenger side as Meld did the same to the ignition. The care rumbled to life as Cosmina took her seat. She smirked a little and then let the smirk settle back into the well used smile that Cosmina wore.

"Useful."

It was a small comment but it served its purpose. It was best to keep her partner satisfied. An unhappy partner could lead to mid-mission betrayals. Those, while satisfying in so far as an killing urges went, were generally messy. Not to mention that if the betrayer managed to screw up the mission entirely Cosmina didn't get paid. Then Mina had to hunt them down and kill them for depriving her of her pay day. It was better not to have to waste time like that.

Meld had always been somewhat torn as it related to her reputation, and more torn in recent months than in the past. On the one hand, she was proud to be known for all of her work for the mutant cause. She was dangerous, feared and driven obsessively by her cause and felt no shame in the rest of the world known it. On the other hand, however, she was known as a monster. The humans who viewed her that way really didn't matter, of course, except as they made her life difficult, but her fellow mutants were another matter. Even worse was the fact that she was well aware of her own internal monster and had been trying desperately to slay it. People didn't focus on her attempts to reform, all they focused on were those times in the past in which she had lost control. Even if it had been for a good cause. She would never seek to harm her fellow mutant except in strictist self defense, and yet somestill persisted in fearing her. That, more than anything else, tore her up inside.

There were a few secrets about her powers that Meld had managed to withold from the public, though not out of willfull intent. Given the shere violence and brutaility of some of the events she had been a part of, it wasn't difficult to hide the fact that she could effect electronics at a mere touch, nor the fact that she could literally meld with the limbs of the humans or the mutants around her. Intenional or not, having a few tricks up her sleeve, tricks that very few had any knowledge of, were certainly useful.

The drive to the first target's place of residence was uneventful. Although Meld had never bothered to get her actual liscence, it seemed pointless given her myriad of crimes and the fact that her mutation made her recognizable on sight, she was a good driver and was careful to do exactly what the other cars on the road did. She sped just a little bit to keep up with traffic and did nothing at all to stand out, not wanting to have the entire mission spoiled by one stupid mistake that would cause a cop to pull her over. Finally she parked a block away from the target's house. It was always safter that way, to ensure that they didn't arise any suspision. "I beliee its time we began." Meld gave her partner a cold look, ensuring by locking eyes with her that they had an understanding. Quick, silent and deadly were the words of the day.

The drive to their first target was uneventful. In this line of work uneventful was good. They pulled over to the side of the road and Meld stated that it was time to begin. Her partner's look was serious and conveyed how she wished this mission to go. Cosmina had no problem with what she saw in the other woman's eyes. Her smile twitched into a slightly larger smile for a moment or two and then settled back into it's usual pleased position. The quicker and quieter they were getting this done the less likely an alarm could be raised. With luck they'd get both men here sorted out and be able to move onto the third with no hindrance.

"I'll silence us both now. If you need to talk just catch my attention and mouth that to me. I can read lips."

With easy concentration and minimal effort Cosmina went about silencing the two of them. Within her mind's eye she picture two bubbles of perfect silence around them and she felt her power obey. This much was nothing. As long as they weren't too long about this then it should be fine. Mina would have to warn Meld as they approached the half hour mark though. Being able to move in complete silence made some people clumsy and foolish. That was well and good for as long as the complete silence lasted. After half an hour it became merely a muffling and a muffled noise was still a noise that could awaken suspicion.

Putting that aside, Cosmina nodded to Meld to indicate that they were covered for now. The neighborhood they'd come to was quiet at the moment. Being as it was daylight their stealth would be significantly hampered but that was alright. In a place such as this people wouldn't bother two women that looked like they did. In a place like this no one would care what happened so long as no noise was made. Since that was Cosmina's specialty she wasn't overly worried.