“An impressive display from the pair of you,” Hunter admitted, “Dakota, did that take all of the energy from the pack to do? I intend to equip you with a couple for each mission, so you have power on demand without compromising anyone else on the team. However, they do take a while to produce, so you’ll need to save them for when you need them.”

Turning to Xiin he said, “I’m impressed, you’ve got good speed and strength. I can only take them down a little faster than you just did. For you I have something as well. Bring in the armour.”

A cart was wheeled out with a suit of armour built to fit Xiin perfectly. It would cover almost his entire body, including his head and tail, while still allowing his full range of movements. There were blades attached to the forearms as well as a scythe like blade on the tail. The armour was painted black, allowing Xiin to hide in the dark.

“It’s bullet proof, heat proof and a reactive surface to reflect energy blasts. These men will assist you in putting it on.” A pair of workers were next to the cart, ready to assist Xiin in donning his armour.

Dakota looked at the armour. He then heard that it reflected energy blasts. "It reflects energy blasts eh?" he said. "You think I'm gonna attack him?" He then remembered Hunter's earlier question. "Oh, ummm, no I didn't use the whole thing. I used about half so I could've broke 2 of those." He then looked at the men that were going to dress Xiin. "If you guys value your safety, you wont go near him." Dakota warned.

He then turned to Hunter and said. "I want a mission with the Lizard ASAP."

“You’re not the only person who can play with energy, other mutants have that power as well. And if the lizard wants assistance with putting on his armour those two will help. As for a mission, I may have one depending on the information that Calley brings back. Until then Dakota you are free to go and see the accommodation that I have arranged and explore the city.”

He turned to Xiin, “So lets see how well that armour fits then.”

Simon listened impassively as Hunter introduced each member of the newly formed Kebal’s in turn, listing their names and area of expertise. The elemental was somewhat surprised at his own introduction, for while he did consider himself more skilled than most he had only begun his career a little over a year ago; hardly enough for someone else to consider his experience worth anything. ‘If this is an attempt at flattery it’s a poor one’ , still such a tactic showed that the man valued the people in his employ and was therefore less likely to send them out on potential suicide runs, always a positive with any employer.

Glancing around at his fellow “teammates”, the first one that caught his attention was the hulking green lizard who was just a hair shorter than Zephyr himself. It had been stated that this creature was to be the combat specialist of the group and upon seeing the razor sharp claws that tipped each finger and the jagged collection of fangs in his maw the elemental was inclined to agree with Hunters decision. Despite this though he couldn’t help wondering how capable the creature actually was, after all there were many creatures in nature that appeared fiercer than they actually were, ‘I suppose I shall have to wait and see’.

The next one to meet Zephyr’s azure gave was an individual roughly his own age. The boys name was Calley and he had been designated as the group’s stealth and reconnaissance expert, or in other words a spy. Zephyr nodded as this was announced, the kid seemed like good choice; he appeared normal enough to blend in with any crowd and the way he behaved conveyed an air an air of childlike innocence that would make most react to him as such. ‘Now the real question; is he a mutant?’ judging by the rest of the crowd the kid almost certainly had to be, but as to his abilities, well it seemed Zephyr would be left in the dark for a while longer.

The third and final member of the Kebals was a man who reeked of arrogance and made no attempt to hide it as he challenged Hunter's authority at nearly every turn. Simon swiftly concluded that the man had to have come from a rather privileged background to be able to act with such over confidence around scores of arm guards that were not under his control. From what Dakota let slip it also seemed apparent that he was quite familiar with Simon's new employer, one thing in particular caught the mercenary’s ears though, “I don't give a $h!t if you are 400 years old or not…”[/color]

400 hundred? Surely not, even the most long lived of humans never reached 200 and if they did they would have been reduced to flesh and bones, confined to bed in order to prolong the pitiful existence they refused to relinquish. Yet the twenty five year old before him was supposed to have nearly half millenniums worth of experience. As the elemental pondered over this enigma Hunter continued speaking, informing them that they would each have their abilities tested. Normally Zephyr would have greeted such an announcement with a sigh and possibly a roll of his eyes. Unlike some mutants he did not relish demonstrating his powers to every naive and curious fool in existence, one of the reasons he had managed to become so successful in Europe was because no one knew exactly what his powers were.

However Zephyr did not register Hunters words, too caught up in his own thoughts he simply followed the group as he tried to discern if Dakota’s words had any truth to them. ‘No human could reach 400 hundred years of age, it’s simply impossible. A mutant perhaps but we’ve only recently started to emerge at the turn of this century, there haven’t been any records of us before…’ Simons eyes widened slightly as the realization hit him; of course there had been mutants before! Where did people think myths of vampires, witches and werewolves originated from?

Focusing his gaze back on hunter Simon observed the man; there was nothing outstandingly remarkable about him, he came from money that much was easy to see just by his dress and his style of speech. Yet his physical behaviour suggested that of predator, one who was used to having powers over others and had no qualms about using it to his advantage. Nothing about the man shouted mutant, but now that Simon was actively searching he couldn’t say with any certainty that he was human either.

Deciding to file this interesting little puzzle under things to do Zephyr returned his attention to the events around him and observed as the others demonstrated the unique abilities they possessed. Dakota proved to be little more than parasite, but a strong parasite none the less as he drained energy from those around him and used it to unleash bursts of energy and even influence the gravity around his targets.

The Lizard, contrary to any doubts Simon had had, proved himself to exceptionally capable in close combat as he used his god given abilities to defeat three assailants without killing a single one, which was far more difficult than simply killing your opponent as Simon had learned early on.

As his teammates finished their demonstrations it seemed as though Zephyr had been forgotten, not that he was going to complain of course. Simon was more than happy to allow his talents remain in relative anonymity and so continued his role as Silent observer as a team of technicians arrived with a strange of suit if the armour for the Lizard who had named himself Xii.

“Your turn Zephyr,” said Hunter turning to the mercenary, “I hear that you control wind, and have almost a years worth of combat experience. So I have an interesting little challenge for you. Over there are five glasses of water on pedestals. Opposite them are five clay pigeon launchers, each twenty feet away and aimed at a glass. Each is loaded with thirty clay pigeons, and set to fire random sized bursts at random intervals. There is a circle twenty feet beyond the glasses. I want you to stand in the circle and prevent any of the water from any of the glasses being spilled. Think you can do it?”

This was a rather elaborate challenge, but would test whether Zephyr could use his powers in versatile ways. Deflecting the clay pigeons would be easy, but doing it without knocking over the intervening water should prove more of a challenge.

Dakota watched and listened as the boy named Zephyr's task was told. It seemed like he was an elemental. A Wind Elemental. Him and Zephyr would make a good team. The Lizard would make the team better. He saw a look of confusion and shock as he said that he didn't care if Hunter was 400 years old or not. He thought he would clarify. He looked at Zephyr. "Hunter here is a Vampire. Due to his mutation he has a prolonged lifespan. He can't die by natural means."

Dakota thought that was short and to the point. He then looked back to Zephyr's task and silently wished the elemental good luck.

“And if that ever leaves this room I shall track you down and kill you, very slowly.” During his work with Dakota’s father Hunter had revealed his powers, including his long life. Like most the man had dubbed him a vampire. He’d never found out about the weakness to wood, and Hunter would kill anyone who did.

“Dakota, does manipulating other energies such as gravity drain you, or only when you channel energy through yourself?” He needed to know what would cause the boy to fizzle out.

Zephyr sighed, his turn had come after all and it seemed as though Hunter was rather well informed for he had correctly stated the nature of the elementals powers and arranged a test to measure his control, 'Once more I am called up to the stage without a fitting a role, still I suppose this is what I asked for when I came to America''

Glancing over the pedestals and glasses of water placed atop of them Simon noted that they had not been tipped or angled to make their balance precarious in any way. He had been given a fair test then, but still not much of a test. What mainly people failed to realize about air was that it was not constrained to any one shape of mold like solid matter was. Instead like a river, air currents could bend, twist and double back over them selves with startling complexity that most people would find inspiring. It was a shame that most were ignorant of this fact, but it was one of the many reasons Simon held an advantage in battle.

Shifting his weight away from the wall he had been leaning against Simon proceeded towards the designated circle a casual pace with his hands in his pockets. His eyes were locked on the launchers as he slowly made his way forward, examining their design for anything that would aid him.

The launchers were obviously an expensive piece of equipment with three fully functioning barrels connected to a motor which rotated them at an even speed. This meant that in actuality he had to watch 15 targets since the clay could be fired from an barrel without a moments notice and could cover twenty feet in practically no time at all. Despite the launchers finely crafted firing mechanism though, it still contained a massive flaw in it's over all design. All five of the contraptions were balanced on tripods which were connected to the firing device by a single joint, this had been to allow the user to freely choose the angle of the projectiles but in the case of this little test it was serious flaw that Simon planned to exploit to the fullest.

Upon moving to the center of the circle Simon kept his hands motionless with in the confines of his pockets and tossed his head back to Hunter as he called out, "Ready when you are"

The instant the words left his lips the elemental had extended his senses to the air space surrounding the launchers and immediately crafted it to his will. Giving it the edge of a finely crafted katana and the intensity of a class five hurricane he sliced off the rear leg from each tripod causing all of the launchers to fall backwards and aim a good twenty feet above the pedestals. The clay shots were fired at a rapid pace yet Zephyr did not interfere with their trajectory in the slightest, why would he? He had accomplished his goal, for as the final clay shot collided with the ground the glasses of water remained untouched.

Hunter was very impressed, Zephyr had discovered a most unique solution to his test. “Very good, I like to see that my people can work beyond the obvious. However, you’ve only shown me how well you think, and I didn’t hire you just for the brains.”

He gestured to several nearby workers. “Repair the tripods and reload the launchers.” Turning back to Zephyr he asked, “Do you think that you can do it by stopping the clay pigeons rather than the launchers?”

Dakota heard Hunter's question and thought. What business does he have with my weaknesses?. He decided to answer. "The only thing that drains me is when I have to use my own energy instead of others' or the air around me's or if I am giving someone else energy."

Dakota then watched the perfectly executed Air techniques. This boy isn't too bad. Dakota thought he would test the boy a little himself. He took some of the boys energy. Just enough to make Zephyr's powers more exhausting to control.

“Very good, I like to see that my people can work beyond the obvious. However, you’ve only shown me how well you think, and I didn’t hire you just for the brains.”[/color]

"It's brains that keep you alive, you should know that, old as you are" Zephyr's response was flat and carried only a hint of the irritation he was feeling at having to repeat his task. 'I could simply destroy the launchers' he mused as the technicians set to work, 'but then he'd probably summon more, he has the resources'.

Keeping his expression bland Zephyr hunched over as he waited for the launchers to be repaired and restocked. 'This truly is a waste of time' he thought absently, 'I could be wandering the city or flying over to the statue of liberty right about now'. Now that his immediate problem of employment had been dealt with, he was turning his attention to other activities, namely those as a wanderer, or to put it crudely, a tourist.

As the mechanics were finishing up with the clay launchers Simon suddenly felt himself assaulted by a bout of fatigue that was in no way natural. Considering what he'd seen only a few minutes ago it didn't take the elemental long to figure the cause of his exhaustion, 'I'm not going to be a snack for some bloody parasite'. Flexing his will Simon swiftly summoned a localized hurricane which blew Dakota across the lab and into one of the sterile white walls.

"If you cannot control your hunger find someone else to leech from" the elemental intoned monotonously without turning his head.

As the technicians finally finished with the launchers Zephyr focused on the his given task once again and allowed the clay shots to be fired properly. Simon's strategy this time instead of slicing his targets was to create a small but powerful cyclone around the pedestals that sucked in every shot and caused them to orbit the glasses instead of smashing them. When the last shot had been fired Zephyr shut the metaphorical lid to his gift and allowed the clay shot to crash to the floor once more.

The glasses were still untouched.

Hunter ignored Dakota’s flight across the room and instead watched Zephyr work. Fine control of his powers, he would be worth the price tag. “Zephyr, you’re hired. What’s your usual going rate?” Hunter already knew his usual going rate, but wanted to know how much Zephyr would up it by.

He signalled some worker who brought a small case to him. Holding it out for Zephyr to take he explained, “In this case are several tranquiliser darts that are shaped to fly true through a blast of wind that you can create. Quicker was to knock someone out than suffocating them. Take it, there will be missions where I want a target alive, and you might find a use for them. Simply come back here whenever you need more.”

Dakota went flying across the room. He then took the energy out of the hurricane. With the energy he landed softly due to manipulating gravity and ran over to Hunter with a lot of speed. "Hunter, I like him." Dakota simply said. He then snapped his fingers. Nobody felt or noticed anything weird but Zephyr would feel completly revitalized and better than he'd ever felt. "Zephyr. You have earned my respect."

“Zephyr, you’re hired. What’s your usual going rate?”[/color]

Zephyr turned to face Hunter and considered his answer for a moment, he normally varied his rate based on how much his client could afford but he never went below a quarter of a million, nor did he give discounts for that would only create a precedent he didn't he want. Taking everything he had seen and heard of hunter into account Simon decided he would easily afford to up his usual rate.

"Five million" he uttered simply as he kept his eyes focused Hunters features, searching for any kind of response, 'is it too much or I have wasted a golden opportunity?'

Yet at Hunter next words it was Zephyr who felt himself become shocked; the man knew of his ability to manipulate oxygen, a skill the elemental had only recently perfected and considered his new trump card. 'Where is he getting his information?' Simon wondered as he fought to keep the annoyance off his face, he was supposed to be the one who observed and cataloged people, he did not relish the role reversal.

The specially designed tranquilizers were a unique gadget and one that Zephyr found most intriguing. It was likely that the elemental would spend the next few nights testing the darts range, accuracy and duration on countless unsuspecting victims across the city. After all what was the point of having a new toy if you weren't allowed to use it?

It was at this point in time that Dakota made a reappearance. Zephyr caught the mutants movement out of the corner of his eye and braced himself for an attack, but none came. Instead it seemed as though Dakota had been impressed by Simon's little stunt, going so far as to say that the elemental had earned his respect.

'A pity I cannot say the same for you'

Of course Zephyr didn't voice his thoughts, that would only lead to another confrontation that he truly didn't want to be bothered with. He had other things to do, new toys to test and all that.

Not responding to Dakota's statement Simon glanced back at Hunter and asked, "How soon will you be needing my services?"

Dakota waited for a response and didn't get one. He saw that as rude and was mad. He then touched a lightbulb, absorbed a little energy and used it to shoot a bolt of energy at Zephyr's butt. It would feel like being burned. Serves him right Dakota thought as he turned to Hunter. "I think that guy is outrageous. You shouldn't have to pay him for his support."