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Within the sterile confines of his lab Dr. Ingham gazed with an almost frightening focus upon the computer monitors before him. Displaying what seemed to be never ending lines of scrolling green text the sight would have made most people nauseous yet the good doctor showed no signs of queasiness as his sharp mind took in everything his precious machines told him.

The two blood samples Hunter had procured just recently had turned out to be both a disappointment and a challenge. The first sample the anti social doctor had received was something of a mystery; it had come from the ill educated mutt his vampiric employer had momentarily captured and then released. The strange thing about this blood sample was that although it did possess the x-gene it seemed almost… dormant? Yes that was a fitting description, the required gene was obviously there for he could see it on the monitors but it remained isolated from the rest of the DNA.

The second vial of blood he had received was a routine sample of mutant blood where the X gene was obviously active and had bonded itself to the hosts DNA causing a vast and noticeable change. The only thing that bothered the doctor was that it had come from the same specimen as the first sample which made almost no sense whatsoever. ‘A mutant is a mutant’ James told himself silently, ‘once the X gene is active it should not be possible for it to go into recession without an outside stimuli’ Although the doctors tone may appear somewhat frustrated he was in fact pleased, it had been a long time since he’d had anything he couldn’t unravel at a mere glance. This little project would be sure to keep him busy for…

“What have you found out?”[/color]

James flinched as his employer entered the room and allowed a slight scowl to decorate his features, the man had interrupted his thought process! If one of his aids had done that they would find themselves screaming in pain from a particularly nasty neural venom James kept hidden under his desk. Unfortunately Hunters physiology made annoyingly immune to most poisons, that coupled with his advanced reflexes were the only things that kept Ingham from taking any action against his employer.

Twisting his seat round the good doctor faced Hunter with a condescending sneer, “What have I found you ask? Many things, most of which would take you another lifetime to comprehend, I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific.”

James knew that his words would only aggravate Hunter but he also knew that the vampire considered him to important to be killed.

Zephyr nodded his head in acknowledgement of Hunter reply as he put the finishing touches on his final creation. So the man was giving them access to the very best was he? That was good, for not only did it mean they would have the necessary equipment, it also showed that the vampire placed a certain amount of significance on this mission. This was more than a simple test of their abilities; the scanner was important. The merc made a mental note of this fact, it was always worth knowing what possessions your employer valued or were valuable, so that when their grand plans came crashing down around their ears, or when they refused to pay out you knew what to… appropriate.

With a final flourish of his fingers Zephyr performed the last fold that completed his final creation. Examining his completed work with a skilled eye the elemental allowed a sense of satisfaction to pervade his mind as he found no flaws or errors, it truly was a masterpiece and it was with a certain amount of reverence that he lay the lotus flower among the middle of his other creations. The moment the paper had left his hands though the mercenary promptly dismissed such toys from his mind. They had served his purpose; he had crafted a plan for this odd assignment, there was no need to dwell on them any longer. So with a final thought the elemental gave the surrounding air the edge of a razor, reduced his creations to confetti and blew the scraps to a nearby waste bin.

Rising smoothly from his seat Zephyr prepared to the leave the war room, the briefing was all but officially over and he saw no point in lingering behind, not when he was in command of said mission. Still though it would not do to be rude and so he directed his azure gaze to his employer, “with your permission I'll begin the assignment immediately”

Even as the elemental uttered these words his thoughts were already drifting ahead as he tried to recall where the armory was located. Zephyr had every intention of taking advantage of his employers offer of free weaponry, in fact he had long considered the idea of purchasing a firearm of some kind. In the past he had never had need of one for his mutation had always proved itself superior to any trigger happy idiot he’d met in the criminal underworld. Now that he was in the United States though Zephyr found himself running into an unprecedented number of mutants, and most of them he’d noted only used their mutation and therefore expected others of their kind to do the same. If there was one thing the elemental detested it was being predictable in a fight. That was the reason he was so secretive about his abilities, that was the reason he worked on developing mutation to cope with any possible situation and that was the reason he was going to carry some type of firearm from this point on.

Strolling casually through desolate hallways of Mondragon labs subterranean bowls Zephyr made his way towards what had been deemed the "War Room". An overly dramatic name in his humble opinion, after all they were not currently at war with anyone nor were they planning to be, to Zephyrs knowledge anyway.

'Briefing room would be a more appropriate title' he mused as he passed yet another of security checks scattered throughout the facility. 'The name is simple and perfectly explains the rooms purpose, it also has the added benefit of sounding mundane enough to be overlooked by any possible intruder.' Shrugging his shoulders in a slightly exasperated way the elemental did his best to remove the thought from his mind; he wasn't running the show, that would take up far too much of time not mention his funds.

At last coming to the controversially named "War room" Zephyr passed through the sliding doors without incident and gave a brief nod of recognition towards Hunter before heading towards the circular table. Although this was the first time he had been in this particular room he had been subjected to enough media to know what was supposed to happen. As he circled the table something caught his eye; a few sheets of paper had been left on one of the empty seats, presumably from a previous briefing but Zephyr wasn't going to question where this little treasure had come from, with a gesture the elemental summoned a light breeze which caught a single sheaf of paper and guided it towards his outstretched hand.

Allowing his mind to go blank Simon stared at the sheet in his hand, not bothering to take in the text that marked it's surface as he waited for a shape to enter his mind; wings...an elongated neck...the image of flight.

Simon smiled as he came his conclusion, 'Crane' the design was an old one but in the mercs opinion it was a classic, taking a small breath Simon closed his eyes as he felt the edges of the paper and slowly began to fold it in apparently random places as he followed an almost millennia old design.

Zephyr observed silently as he watched Dakota break free from the earth, he hadn't truly expected that to stop his opponent, in fact the elemental would have been disappointed if it did. He was somewhat shocked though when the parasite demonstrated his own levitation abilities and flew until he was almost level with the British mercenary. Zephyr then allowed Dakota to proceed with his trivial taunt and was hard pressed to keep a smirk from his face; for as the crime lord was talking he was slowly losing altitude which suggested that flight was far more difficult for him then it was the elemental who could easily the soar the open sky's for hours if not days.

Allowing Dakota to return to the earth Simon waited for the young man to demonstrate one of the "tricks" he had boasted about only seconds earlier. The next thing the elemental knew his body seemed to have gained 200 hundred pounds in weight and he was plummeting towards the ground at a frightening rate. Acting swiftly he closed his eyes and summoned a hurricane force wind beneath him, the ploy worked and Zephyr's descent was halted, but the amount of energy he was using to remain aloft would not last forever. 'The question is how long can he continue to manipulate gravity?' for that was surely what the parasite was doing.

Glancing back down at Dakota he noted the mans smug grin and promptly decided cancel their little battle of tug of war and wipe the smirk from his opponents face. Discarding the hurricane force winds that had kept him aloft the elemental allowed himself to plummet back down to the earth and at the last few seconds before impact summoned a vicious air current to alter his trajectory so that Dakota was placed underneath him. Before the young crime lord had a chance to move Simon performed a devastating drop kick to the mans chest, delivering all the momentum he had gained into his opponent and causing him to land on his rear on the parched earth.

As soon as the blow connected Simon felt his body shed the excess weight it had suddenly gained and he once more took off to the air, 'Now let us discover the range of your abilities' Zephyr thought to himself as he climbed high and higher into the atmosphere and Dakota was little more than a speck a on the earth, but an easily seen speck none the less. Simon would not allow himself to lose sight of his opponent after all.

Zephyr proceeded calmly through the mass of hallways that was Mondragon labs, he'd intended to go out into the city and maybe test out the gifts he'd gotten from Hunter. However Dakota had been adamant that they had some kind of quarrel to settle and had challenged to a "spar" in the grounds surrounding the labs.

Normally the elemental would have refused such a challenge stating it is a waste of time that could be spent exploring New York or practicing his origami. Unfortunately though Dakota's mutation was annoyingly powerful and was a natural enemy to Simon's own abilities, so he'd decided to accept this invitation in order to test Dakota's and his own limits and try and gain a deeper understanding of his "teammates" abilities.

As he finally emerged from the labs and into the clouded sunlight Simon took a moment to scan his surroundings and swiftly located his "sparring" partner near a cluster of trees, 'Must be recharging himself'' Zephyr noted as he took to the air and closed in on Dakota's position, stopping ten feet away, plenty of space to react any cheap shots the young crime lord tried to pull."

"So when do you want to start this nonsense?"

As Zephyr waited for Hunters response the elemental once more spotted movement from the corner of his vision, whipping his head round he spotted Dakota leeching energy from light bulb. The young crime lord did not appear too pleased and so when he raised a finger and pointed it at the elemental Zephyr's body reacted with an instinct that had been instilled from multiple shootouts he had experienced from his time in Europe. Shifting his weight Simon pivoted on his right foot and angeled his body away from whatever Dakota had fired at him.

Unfortunately Simon wasn't quite fast enough for he felt burning pain slice across his hip which caused a grimace to form on his features for an instant. Focusing his attention fully upon Dakota Zephyr considered unleashing another gale upon the man but quickly dismissed the idea; there was no point in allowing himself to be dragged down to Dakota's level of immaturity, however he still felt compelled to make a comment, "I suggest you mature quickly, grown men have no business behaving like newborn infants"

Dakota's response to this was to turn to Hunter and automatically declare that he found Zephyr's fee "outrageous" and that Hunter should not be required to pay a thing. Needless to say Simon's impression of Dakota did not improve.

"Dakota kindly keep yourself out of subjects that do not concern you" Although this was said in Zephyr's usual flat monotone it carried with it an unmistakable air of malice.

Before the young crime lord could say anything in response though Hunter interrupted the little quarrel, “You start at three million, and will increase if you perform well.”[/color]

The elemental immediately returned his full attention to Hunter as this good new met his ears, while he hadn't expected to get hi asking price three million was far from a pittance. Nodding at his new employer Simon allowed a small smile to form on his features, he was now officially in the black and could spend his time on more pleasant activities.

When Hunter presented the Rolex watches though Simon quickly faded and was replaced by his normal impassive mask. The mercenary already had a watch and he was no hurry to be parted with it. Glancing at the somewhat bulky metallic chronometer on his wrist Zephyr allowed a small frown to form, the watch had been a present from his sister and was now the only thing he had from her since he had faked his death. He was not going to have it replaced no matter how expensive the Rolex was, "I fail to see why you cannot simply contact us via cell phone. They would arose less suspicion and if your team is good they bounce the signal halfway around the globe to prevent anyone from tracking us."

“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.