Welcome to Gaia! ::

Slowly Rachel emerged from behind the bed staring at the scorch marks on the bed from Nat's energized fists. Helga, now more or less recovered, saw the marks as well, "It appears we have already one answer for you, Miss Carter."

Blindside was escorted into an interrogation room with a large mirror on the wall. Daedalus motioned toward the chair opposite the mirror, while the master assassin took a seat at the same table. Four Black Talons also stand in the room paying full attention on the blind youth.

After a few moments of silence, Daedalus began, "Well then, Mr. Joe, we do know for a fact that is your real name. So let's start with the obvious question: Who are you working for?"

.......................

Threshold nodded at Jack Summers, "With enough time... I'll get whatever we need from your wayward daughter, Dr. Summers."

"Director, it's been confirmed. The saboteur is in custody. Daedalus has him in Interrogation Room Bravo," Jimmy Zorn looked up from his screen to make the announcement.

Ivana breathed a little easier, "Good. Let's hope Henry has as much success in resolving the gravity well, as your operative did in subduing the saboteur. Now, since we have ascertained our action against Wayne, let move to our final item on our bill...."

The raven haired beauty pushed a button on her desk, and a image appeared on the screen to be viewed by all: a large slate grey metallic coffin with blinking lights with alien symbols and a thin coating of ice on most of the alien artifact.

Ivana paused a few seconds for everyone to absorb the image, before she continued, "This... is the artifact that survived a UFO crash in Wyoming. This cryogenic coffin is the property of mind controlling aliens known as the Rigelians. From the information that we've gathered, the creature held inside has been in stasis for close to two thousand years, and the Rigelians have been using this creature -- whatever it actually is -- as the basis for hybrid clones used as bioweapons.

The aliens that were in hot pursuit that also crashed from a collision with the Rigelian craft, are enemies of the Rigelians -- a warrior race known as the Sh'iar. The Sh'iar who had survived the crash lived just long enough to plead with us to destroy the creature. Mind you, from the intelligence we have from the other universe, the Sh'iar are a conquering race. This creature scares them. Even though we've not been able to open this coffin, I need opinions now on what we do with this creature."

Threshold spoke up, "I did get to pick at the Sh'iar crewman's memories before his demise. Unfortunately, even they didn't know what the 'base' creature was before the Rigelians created hybrids. All that I know is that the creature is humanoid, that it can regenerate grievous wounds, and create bladed weaponry that can cut through anything. The Sh'iar referred to them as 'Reavers' because they were relentless killing machines. I do know that the Rigelians directed the 'Reavers' with mind control. It is possible that we can have the same success.

"Now of the original creature, we do know that the Rigelians themselves referred to it as 'The Angel of Wrath'. As to how the Rigelians got this creature seems to have been lost to time. We do know that the Rigelians themselves were very careful with it -- not wanting it to destroy them."

................................

As Henry Willowfield suited up to go stop Roxy's gravimetric disturbance checking the integrity of the exosuit, the latest development in the meeting in Ivana's office chirped on Henry's PDA appearing as speech directly translated into text via the Dragon software that Ivana activated to keep Henry in the loop.

As Henry would proceed into the ruined corridor protected by his exosuit, he finds himself carefully walking through debris from parts of the ceiling collapsing with occasional sparks from the light fixtures in the now dimly lit cell block. Of special note, would be the trashed robots that were based on the Titan Cyborg's technology and the steady increase in gravimetric pressure the closer Henry got to the cell where the two girls were.

Henry made his way to where Roxy was. As he made his way the movement of the suit was becoming sluggish and hard to control. Once he was only a few yards from the target he started to her the groan of the metal around him. The stress of the gravity well was getting to be a strain on the metal bars and joints of the suit. Henry prayed that the exoskeleton would hold up so that he could get to the girl.

As he got to the entrance of the cell a loud pop came from one of the joints on the leg, then a snap from the torso. The suit was giving out. He knew he wasn't going to be able to move the suit with a busted joint in the leg. He was doomed.

He looked to the two girls in the room as another bar on the torso snapped. He watched as an inner bar began to fold. His eyes went wide as it ripped through the only protection he had between himself and the gravity well.

His eyes shut tight as he expected to die painfully by being ripped out through that small hole, but nothing happened. He opened his eyes to find that he was still in the suit, untouched. He looked down at his hands. They were a ghastly white and his clothes had changed.

"Forgive the intrusion, ma'am. I'm Agent Parker. Leader of Black Talon division 13." he said, saluting, while still shaking.

"We got trouble comin' . . . you . . . you may wanna read this." Parker said, his shaking hands put the report down on the table and slowly backed away. The look on his face screamed that there was a storm a-brewing.

"The man encountered in the reports also sent a message." he paused, swallowing hard.

didn't catch his name, but he DECIMATED our squad almost single-handed. Out of the thirty who went to go retrieve or do recon, only five of us is left. With all due respect, ma'am, I think losing the majority of some good men rather calls for being rude. Especially when he is coming back to finish the job." Parker said, shaking. What had gotten into him? Was he acting like the leader he should have been?

"He also says to let the kids go within twenty-four hours, or he's coming after you. He mentioned the doctors Summers by name. I also have a hunch that he was the one who terminated Dr. Rocknell." he said, leaving the papers down and walking away.

Meanwhile, Bobby Lane was still in the chamber, and still thinking. He was being hip to the fact that he had been used like some sex toy for him with the potential of freedom he wasn't going to see. He seemed to boil a little bit with anger. It wasn't important right now, but it was starting to make the water in the isolation chamber rise in temperature.

Ivana leaned back in her comfortable large chair glancing in Jack Summers way, "Even though Mr. Arell L'Amour seems hellbent on making a spectacle of himself, I agree with you Jack. 'When your opponent goes to ground, leave no ground to go to.' I'll have the strike teams ready for your convenience of our dual assault. While the assault teams and Threshold go with you, Rose, and Redfire, I shall lead a company of Black Talons with mech support to Wayne Enterprises to serve the warrants and keep GCPD out of play. Three squads of mechs and three squads of 'Cybots' will be ready to support either venture. Meanwhile the rest of our forces can play with the swamp rats and whatever else shows up.

"Now back to the issue of the 'cryocoffin', how do we stand?"