Death to Valentines

Cetus adjusted his mask as he waited for his partner to arrive. His second partner, one from the guild. Hidden Blades wanted this job done right apparently. They were sending in two assassins rather than just one. Cetus had decided to double down on that. He'd brought in outside help without mentioning who the job was for. Uma was an accomplished water mage. She wouldn't enter the building itself once they found it, simply watch and keep anyone from escaping. She was clad in a black cloak as he was, her face hidden by a blank mask. Her diminutive form always caused people to underestimate her. It would be good for fleeing bandits. They would drop their guard and she would strike.

The assassin checked his invisible watch. The other one was late. They should have started the operation ages ago. He'd stocked up for this fight already. Gotten an ally to watch the outside, potentially help with the search, and shown up to the rendezvous. A growl reverberated from Cetus' chest. What was with Hidden Blades members doing their own thing? Couldn't they stick to at least meeting up on time? The shark man double checked the magazines on the pistols he'd stolen. Then the blades on the knives he'd taken were checked as well. Satisfied with his preparations, Cetus turned to Uma.

"Wa'ch fer anying suspicious. Ya see sommin we's can use, ya telep me. We's gotta findn dis broad quick like ta keep 'er from death." Cetus didn't worry about the woman being attacked by his partner. He'd emblazoned the symbol of Hidden Blades on her cloak, invisible to any eye but a member's. It would mark Uma as property of the guild at the very least. If his partner did end up killing her... well it would be a loss of a valuable pawn but nothing he couldn't replace. It wouldn't even set his plans back too much as it were. There were always orphans willing to learn.

Cetus dropped off the building they'd been perched on. Landing in a crouch, the assassin took stock of his surroundings. The wife had been kidnapped from this area. Someone around here had probably seen something. Would they talk to a tall dark stranger hiding his face? Probably not. There was this emotion called fear that made them freeze up. Cetus would love to feel that emotion even for a second. Feeling anything at all would be nice actually. The assassin slowly rose to his feet. He was tempted to shoot a passerby. Not for any particular reason besides gauging reactions. Though a large enough disturbance might draw the kidnappers out of hiding. Cetus pondered the thought. Would someone investigate a mass panic while holed up somewhere? Some people maybe. Not a good enough chance to risk it.

There was a man giving Cetus a look from across the way. The assassin warily assessed the male. Nothing outstanding, skinny arms, lack of sleep, most likely on many drugs. A perfect source of information if Cetus had brought any of his synthesized drugs. They would kill the man eventually but he'd be high as a kite when he died. A pleasant death by all means. This one wasn't tied to the Order either unless they had gotten really good at hiding in plain sight. Now the question was had the male seen anything. Cetus could question him, killing him afterwards. If he didn't know anything, the risk wasn't worth it. The wife would die once the Rune Knights were spotted. Too many dead bodies drew the RK like flies.

Cetus gnashed his teeth together. How to handle this situation? He didn't have many clues. The kidnappers were that good. They hadn't left a trace other than a shoe. A shoe that didn't have any blood in it. That made it useless to the shark man. He'd gone over the crime scene multiple times to try and find anything helpful. Nothing had come up. This man might be his only shot. Given his partner wasn't here yet, he couldn't ask for their opinion either.

It was go time. He'd hit the drugee now. Leave the body with a needle in its arm. They'd all think he died of an overdose. The male wasn't expecting a hurtling tackle. Cetus drove his shoulder into the stomach. That'd keep him from crying out. Probably. The flick of a knife gave the male's neck a much needed shave. "Yer gon tell me alln at I wanna know." The male's eyes shown with confusion but he nodded as much as he could. Cetus pulled out a photo. "See'n her?" He asked shoving it into the male's face. It was a picture of the client's wife. They'd been given it to keep from killing her once they found the bandits. The male nodded carefully. "See'n her be taken?" The drugee hesitated. Cetus dug the blade in a bit. "No lyin'." That drew out the nod. Cetus smiled mirthlessly. Now they were getting somewhere.

It didn't take long to extract everything the male knew. Cetus even managed to get all the drugs off him. All of those went into a terribly deathly cocktail the assassin put into the male's neck. The drugee didn't go quietly. Cetus sheathed his blade beneath his voluminous cloak. The wife was being held in a warehouse not far from here. It had been reinforced and the homeless had been kicked out. Warning shots kept people away from it. Some people had even disappeared. He had a location. Did he leave his partner behind or return to the rendezvous? Neither was an appealing option. Those holding the wife could have many numbers. Enough that even Cetus would struggle. Yet his partner had even bothered to be on time.

The assassin heaved a sigh. He'd wait a few more minutes for the other assassin. If they didn't show, he'd go it alone. That was the best he could do right now. Anything more was pushing it. Cetus lacked patience when it came to dealing with other people.

WC: 1013
1013/7000
@Esper

His partner was less late and more...curious. One of the perks of being covered up in the guild uniform was the increase in stealth, so much so that no one could sense her. She'd arrived right on time near the rendezvous point, up on the building but on the far side, moving in silence and shadow. What gave her pause was her enhanced sight alerting her to a second person present that she hadn't been informed of. Hidden Blades wasn't one to leave out information when planning a job, so this struck Esper as odd. What was she supposed to do in this case? She didn't have a radio to check back and reconfirm...was there a protocol no one had felt the need to tell her? While not normally too cautious, she thought it best to sit back and see what it was all about. The other person's cloak bore the guild mark, but it hadn't been in the packet from Blanche...and she'd even read it beforehand for once! That's what she gets for trying to be better prepared. Added confusion and uncertainty. If Esper had just remained in her normal amount of blissful ignorance, this could have been all avoided.

For a while, the other two did nothing but wait, but even so, the expected assassin waited. Her hesitation now, though, was more shallow in nature than careful. Esper stood in abject horror, listening to the syllables fly out of her guildmate's mouth in jumbled sounds. Was that any Earthland tongue? It sounded almost alien, and she would know since she hailed from the great starry beyond. Any thoughts about his generally attractive shape beneath his uniform halted, only being able to focus on the horrendous butchering of language. It was so...ugly. Esper's features twisted with disgust under her mask, offended as if she'd tasted spoiled expensive alcohol or laid eyes on an ugly old man. The voice disguiser wasn't doing that to his voice, as it? If so, she was appalled just thinking that it was doing the same to hers without her even knowing. No, that couldn't be the case. This must simply be how he was speaking.

Still reeling over the accent, she watched as he suddenly moved, leaping down to the ground. She resituated herself, watching to see what he was up to. No doubt he was growing impatient for her arrival, but the cosmic being didn't feel the need to reveal herself yet. The mysterious tagalong remained perched above. From her concealed spot, she watched as her partner suddenly moved on a distasteful man, swapping any choice he'd had to be attractive for the high of Earthland drugs. Esper couldn't lie and say she hadn't sampled said drugs, but never enough to let it tarnish her appearance...not that that could happen anyway. Shapeshifting was amazing like that. She always looked beautiful, no matter what she did. Normal humans usually didn't have that luxury and threw it all away just to escape their unfortunate lives. It was sad on so many levels. But what could her partner hope to achieve by assaulting and killing this ugly vagabond?

Esper had seen enough. She was bored with being careful already. Whatever happened happened, right? Taking a running leap, she launched off the top of the building and landed on the roof of another, moving until she could drop down behind the person she'd be rescuing their client's wife with. "Did you get some useful information out of the poor scrub or were you just bored~?" Esper inquired, settling one hand on her hip. Her own disguised voice made her frown beneath her mask, but it wasn't like he could see any of her expressions. These uniforms took all the fun out of using her assets, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. Despite being unrecognizable, it didn't rob her tone of its syrupy tease, so she'd be grateful for that.


[Esper's WC: 655 || Thread WC: 1668/7000]

Cetus frowned hearing the voice behind him. He hadn't been careless. Yet somehow, someone had managed to sneak up on him. Perhaps the killing of the addict had robbed his senses of their proper awareness. Though this person could also be better at sneaking around or disguising their scent. The assassin glanced calmly over his shoulder. Another Hidden Blades member then. That explained it. Their uniforms had a strange ability of suppressing scents and other identifiers. Useful if you were doing the sneaking but annoying if you were hunting. This woman must be his partner then. He couldn't use his usual accent. They needed clear and concise communication on this mission.

It was a slow turn to face his partner. He didn't size her up. It wasn't worth his time. Her abilities would show themselves on the mission. "Ack, it was a bit o' both lass. One must find ways ta amuse oneself when der partner is late" His voice carried a brogue, heavily accenting his words. A good disguise for his natural tones still and good for communication. He'd stick to this for now. If she brought up complaints, he'd be sure to rectify the issue. "My name is Blacktip. Blacktip Shark. Ye can call me Mistah Shark, or just Shark if it pleases ye. The wife is ovah in tha' direction. I've brought a little backup along to keep any odds from escaping. Just as a precaution. I'm sure we can handle dem all by ourselves." Cocky, confident, they were the same thing. He hoped. Either way, Cetus purposefully altered his tones to make it sound like he was talking down to his partner. She was late and there was no telling if the client's wife was still in pristine condition. He was a professional. Anything less than pristine was a tarnish on his record.

Cetus began leading the way toward the warehouse. Uma moved along the rooftops above them. Good. The girl wasn't doing anything stupid. Like talking. Or singing. That one liked to hear herself talk. It was grating in the best of times. The shark man had almost ripped out her vocal cords more than once since meeting her. She was lucky he had some restraint. Holding up a hand, Cetus sent silent signals for Uma to recon. After which the other assassin was to hold at a safe distance around the warehouse until they went in. Their trailing shadow vanished moments later.

That little detail was dealt with. Now there was another one. "We goin' loud or silent on dis one?" He asked. This brogue was quite fun. Cetus endeavored to use it more often. "Or are we gonna go one in front, the other sneakin' in?" Any option was viable though they didn't have much info. The only concrete information the addict had had was guns were being used. Everything else was conjecture. The warehouse was now a fortress. There weren't any mages in the kidnappers' army/team. Whatever you wanted to call it. Cetus wondered briefly if he should give his partner a little more of the information the addict had babbled. The thought was waved away. There wasn't anything too important in all of it.

"I use Takeover by da way. Nothin' too fancy like cause I prefer ta use da blade or da gun." That was information she needed. Probably. Cetus figured it would at least help her in battle. He hoped she wasn't anything like Baird. By the gods, he was a blight upon existence. It took all of Cetus' willpower not to strangle the man. Hmmm... that was an emotional response. A consistant emotional response. He'd have to look more into that later. Perhaps his partner would illicit emotions as well. That would be quite the experience.

WC:629
2297/7000

So the accent got less atrocious, but it still wasn't good. Esper idly wondered what the eyes and face it belonged to looked like. In these disguises, she was robbed of her primary way of judging people. She didn't like it, but she chose this job now didn't she? "You can call me Esper~" she purred in return, settling a hand on one hip and casting her masked eyes in the direction he indicated the wife they were to rescue might be held.

Esper didn't seem to notice his tone he took with her, and if she did, she purposefully let it roll off like water off a duck's back. She didn't feel the need to let him know she had been on time and chose to hang back and watch. Honestly, she didn't care what he thought in the slightest. Bringing a third person along when the mission didn't call for one wasn't grounds for immediate trust in their chosen line of work. However, being cautious was, which was precisely what Esper was around this Mistah Shark. She followed him to the warehouse, glancing at the mysterious third party with resigned acceptance. It wasn't her fault if this went sideways because this other person screwed up. The Chairman would see it that way, she was sure.

While Shark's companion did whatever she was doing, Esper decided to do a little recon herself. In a shimmer, Esper teleported to the roof of the warehouse. It had skylights, of course, so she peered silently down through one to get a good look at what the enemies inside looked like. Ah, disappointingly typical for a terrorist group. The largest number of nearly identical uniforms were the obviously the grunts, so that'd be the easiest way to go. Typical faux army combat uniform, colored in black instead of camo. It did absolutely nothing for the figure! The general look almost turned Esper away from her plan, but in the end, she would be willing to lower herself to such unattractive aesthetics to save the wife. It bore mental repeating; this was the occupation she chose.

Within seconds she had reappeared at her partner's side, just in time to hear him speak again. Plan hatching time! "I say one in the front, one sneaking in. I have a couple ideas," mused the girl, spinning the Hidden Blades disguise ring around her finger in preparation to use it. "I can either go in like a sultry seductress and distract the mostly male population while you sucker punch them all into oblivion," she started, the unmistakable tone of coy humor in her voice. That potential plan at least provided her with some entertainment, but she thought she might as well provide a more serious option as well. She didn't know Shark and his sensibilities. So far he seemed rather uptight and cold, which was no fun at all. "Or I can do in looking like one of them and blend in, getting a better look at the inside before I start assassinating. Which do you think?" asked the cosmic being, deciding to provide some visual aid to help his decision. First, she transformed into an ebony haired, emerald-eyed beauty with legs for days, porcelain skin gleamed as if self-illuminated. Well endowed and shapely in the right places, her garb of choice was a lacy corset and a short skirt. Strappy heels completed the ensemble, and it was clear from her pleased expression that she much preferred to go under this guise. It was much more in her wheelhouse, but reluctantly she changed into a ruggedly handsome man in the aforementioned uniform. Esper wasn't much for scars or other blemishes on skin, but to try and blend in without sacrificing beauty, he had a scar on his right cheek. The black hair and green eyes from the former look remained.

While he made his decision, Esper countered his volunteering of information about his fighting style with his own. "Hmm~ I guess the easiest way to describe it is...I can do tricks with my eyes," chuckled the alien, saving Mistah Shark from having to endure a lengthy explanation that normally weirded people out. "Don't worry, I have plenty of magical options, and I'm not bad with a butterfly knife. Hopefully, there are some tantalizing eyes in there~" Oh, there it was. That thirst to add more eyes to his collection.

[Esper's WC: 732 || Thread WC: 3029/7000]

Esper, was it? Cetus felt like he was missing something, or forgetting something more like. This one sparked a memory. A flickering of a day he'd tried to forget. Initiation day. It had been a boring mess of one person after another getting their guild stamps. Esper had been among the last. Unfortunately, given his preoccupation at the time, Cetus hadn't gotten a good look at this assassin. There were only the voice and body motions to go off of. A pity there wasn't a way to see through the uniforms. He'd have a better idea of this assassin with a face for the name.

Esper's disappearance was felt like a cold wind. Was her magic teleportation then? Or was there an item that allowed her to do such? Cetus held his composure, acting as if he hadn't noticed the disappearance. Better for this assassin to think he was incompetent. Either that or a newbie. People tended to underestimate both. Having worked in this job for years, Cetus knew that put him at an advantage. Provided his ploy worked that is. He wasn't going to assume Esper fell for it. That would be underestimating her.

Cetus leaned back against the wall as Esper went over his options. His eyes coldly took in each of her new forms. The consistency with the hair and eyes was intriguing. Perhaps those were her real eyes and hair? Both options were appealing. Having a 'man' on the inside would provide someone close to the wife if everything went to hell. On the other hand, drawing every male away from the wife would potentially leave fewer people around the wife to deal with. There were merits to using either plan. Cetus tapped the chin of his mask. Esper's explanation of her magic didn't help his decision. Tricks with her eyes? What did that mean? Was that how she teleported and changed form? Was there more to it or did something else give her those abilities?

The musing about her magic would have to wait. "Ca' ya pull off both?" Cetus asked pushing off the wall. "If ya can hit dem all, draw dem out with yer seductress, zap them as a group, then pose as a wounded soldier." His magic couldn't help here. It was specialized in dealing with individual targets rather than groups. He used explosions for dealing with large groups. Of course, there was one issue with this plan. How trigger happy were their kidnappers? An explosion might incite them or cause one to shoot the wife. That was an outcome they wished to avoid. That also depended on how professional these kidnappers were as well. The wife was attractive. A majority of the kidnappers were men. Cetus had witnessed adverse situations that came from those two elements.

There was a question of resources. If the kidnappers were well equipped or a large enough organization, they could give chase once the assassins had the wife. This could merely be one hideout. Cetus sighed heavily. He hated these situations. There was no way to prepare for every possibility. Even with Uma as a backup, they had little chance of getting out without issues. Cetus pulled a lacrima explosive from his belt. It held an earth lacrima, a unique design of his own. "This is an earthquake bomb. Settin' it off will cause a minor earthquake ou' side ta radius. Every ting inside is crushed. Se' it off when ya have enough in da radius and telepor' ya self ou'." He set the stick in her hand. Pulling out a handful of small marbles, he showed them to Esper. "I'll set a few small ones around da building, keyed ta this one. It'll make the whole buildin' experience a minor earthquake. If dey isn' stupid, dey 'll send a few more ou' ta ya. Tha should clear mosta our issues and give me a clear shot at gettin' da wife ou'."

Cetus put the small explosives away. His eyes watched his partner looking for some indication of her attitude regarding the plan. It wasn't the best plan. Neither was simply drawing the kidnappers out though. In either case, things relied a little too heavily on the opponent. Esper might not draw enough out. One or two might escape the blast. Someone might think it was a magic attack. It was all they could do with limited resources. "If ya are amiable ta this plan, give me ten minutes before drawin' dem out." He said carefully. These masks were really hindering his ability to read the other assassin. It made things difficult. Actual flickers of emotion flared within his chest. Was he anxious? Excited? Aroused? He had no frame of reference to identify whatever burned inside.

Regardless, he had to wait for Esper's answer. If she had a counterplan and he went off to do his own thing, they could end up getting the wife killed. That was an outcome he wished to avoid at all costs. If Esper agreed to the plan, Cetus slunk off into the shadows. He carefully planted each of his earthquake explosives. They needed to be precise for the effect the assassins wanted to produce. That ate up nine minutes of his time. The assassin didn't scramble into position though. Losing his cool wouldn't help anyone. As a result, Cetus was nowhere near the wife when Esper was supposed to begin the plan.

WC: 903
3932/7000

The suggestion of pulling off both was pretty much the only thing Esper heard. Between his still ugly accent putting her off and the general boring seriousness of it all, her mind wandered a bit through the rest of it. What did this guy look like under this infernal concealing assassin's garb? Furthermore, what did the wife they were saving look like? Hopefully she was gorgeous and had a stunning set of eyes on her, or else this whole business of saving her was going to be quite the waste. If this was a little lump of a woman with warts and cataracts...ugh.

So how would she do both, if that's what this Shark guy wanted? Infiltrate as a soldier and then transform into a gorgeous seductress and no one would notice or question how she got in? Or would she saunter in like a lady of the night looking for lots of money, then somehow escape their hungry gazes to become a soldier and have a look around? Like..how could she duck behind a crate and emerge a man and no one question it? Hmmm....this would be complicated. Esper's mind puzzled around it, eyes drifting toward the warehouse in distaste. Really, could they not have inhabited somewhere nicer? A mansion or a classy, high-tech lair? Why was it that militarized kidnappers wanted to inhabit dusty old warehouses in super conspicuous places? Uncouth degenerates.

Though the other assassin present couldn't see, what with the mask and all, Esper's wandering eyes snapped back to him as the explosive lacrima was placed in her hand. Wait, what was this? Her mind raced to catch back up from the bits and pieces of words that slowly filtered through her distracted brain. Something about waiting and drawing? Esper wasn't much of an artist, but he wouldn't know that. But was that what he'd even said? A small amount of panic settled in as the woman realized a plan had been fleshed out and she had barely any idea what it was, but couldn't really ask and let him know she'd blatantly ignored him, now could she? Well, technically she could, but....eh. It seemed just as viable to just wing it.

As Shark took his marbles and went off to do whatever, Esper shoved the bomb into a pocket and requipped a different set of eyes so she could seemingly split into two beings, one the militarized kidnapper type and the other a sexy dancer of the night. He'd said both, right? Perhaps this would work out fine. Grabbing the illusionary wrists of the attractive distraction, Esper, now committed to her ring's depiction of a man able to assimilate into the crowd inside, made his way through the squeaky warehouse door. "Ey yo! Look what I brought you guys!" he called in a rough voice. Yes, it seemed an odd approach for a "stealthy assassin" to make, but here it was. Fully aware that it was a gamble on what kind of general tone this group operated by, he held his breath to gauge the reaction to both a solider being outside the facility and the fact that said soldier brought entertainment into their secret operation. "She won't tell nobody. I paid her good already! This job has been so tense, I think we deserve a little break!"

A few more seconds passed as guards peered at each other, then toward the upper back portion of the building. The ocular requip mage noticed their converging glances in an instant. It told him exactly where the head honcho was that might punish them and also where the wife probably was. Top floor, in the third quarter of the building. Since no authoritative figure came flying out sputtering in rage, they agreed to feast their hungry eyes on the illusionary seductress that began to dance. Esper blended into the crowd and weaved his way to the back to get a better look at the layout. There wasn't a direct line of sight to the holding room, which means this little diversion was probably going unnoticed by the leaders and better trained terrorists. Getting rid of the bulky nuisances down here would help even the odds. His dancing illusion tried to lead them out into the fresh air, but the recruits and activists were at least trained enough not to leave the building. Turning back to them, another set of eyes switched behind the disguise, lending him a siren's voice that he used to put the lot of them to sleep. Taking advantage of a nearby cart, he took a few minutes to gather and cart the sleeping men outside. Dispelling his seductress, Esper took the explosion lacrima out of his pocket and debated. Was this supposed to be used inside or out? If inside...wouldn't that maybe kill the wife? So outside...but either way, the ones guarding the wife and the boss of all of this would surely be alerted. Hopefully whatever Shark's plan had been accounted for the possibility that a disturbance like this might get her preemptively killed as well. With a shrug, Esper dropped the bomb on the mound of snoozing, low-level terrorists and then ran back inside to try and assure the wife survived.

As the bomb went off, Esper was already making his was up the second flight of stairs and was tromping down the suspended walkway just as the building shook and some henchmen popped out of an office door, guns raised. "U-Uh, I was just coming to inform you that we're under attack, sirs!" he warbled, trying to sneak a glimpse inside the room at the boss and the wife.


[Esper's WC: 939 || Thread WC: 4871/7000]

Cetus got the impression there was something a little off about his partner. Mental disability? Potential injury? It could also be his awful accent keeping her from closely listening. Not that he minded much. Plans never held together well once everything started moving. Provided that Esper didn't intentionally mess things up, they should be fine. All the other assassin had to do was slip inside and place the implosive. Cetus' brow furrowed a little. The wife shouldn't be in any danger. Unless his partner decided to place it directly next to her. That wouldn't end well.

There was a small knot in his chest. Something he didn't quite understand. Was it nervousness? Why? Because Esper seemed like an airhead? Perhaps. There weren't many clues for him to draw upon. An urgency overcame him to hurry. There was no telling what the other assassin might do. To dictate greater speed to his task, Cetus let the power of the Spider Baron wash over him. His body mutated. Several extra arms sprouted. Eyes popped out all over his face. His mouth changed and split causing the mask to adjust. It took only a moment to acclimate to the new form.

The marble explosives were spread among his new hands. Time to work. Cetus leaped for the building. Inside he could hear the soldiers. Had Esper already entered the building? His mandibles worked in frustration. A small chittering noise could be heard a meter away. He despised working with others. They always had their own ideas, their own plans. His plans were perfectly devised! Couldn't they see that? Were they too blind to admit they weren't as suited for assassination? Irrelevant. He merely had less time than originally planned. The marbles in his hand wouldn't hurt if they went off. However, they would create a vibration that could paralyze him. While he was frustrated with Esper, the assassin had no intention of leaving her without backup.

The spider shark scuttled around the outside of the building. Implosive here. Move that aside, place it there. Could shatter a window with this placement. While the pallor of Cetus' skin was now nearly pure white, he did take steps to prevent anyone from seeing him. All the years of intensive assassin training came into play now. He had barely set the last one down when they all went off. The entire building shook, dropping dust and bits of stone. Cetus clung to the side of the building. Something was wrong with the sound of the explosion. His ringing ears seemed to be sharing the answer. Outside! Outside! Outside! All of his eyes closed in quiet disappointment. She'd detonated it outside. The implosion would feel like an attack rather than merely an earthquake.

"Baka!!" He hissed. The spider shark spun about. There was a window nearby. He needed to get inside. The implosion would bring multiple witnesses. Rune Knights were bound to be on their way. If the gang had any reinforcements, they'd most likely been called as well. What to do, what to do? Could they fix this? He'd find out. The wife was the major priority. With his current form, he needed only to enter the room she was kept in. A little webbing and the guards would be dealt with. The window had been shattered in the aftermath. It was, unfortunately, smaller than Cetus had assumed. Cetus squeezed his way through it. His limbs scrambled on either side of the opening. Glass pressed into his abdomen. This hadn't been his plan at all. What had Esper been thinking?

He was in a small stairwell. From what he remembered of the blueprints, it was supposedly rarely used. A secret stairway to the third floor. Rather idiotic to have a window over it. Anyone climbing in could find it. Cetus pulled a large tome from his belt. A present from the Court, it had helped him in several situations. He set it to float over his shoulder. Better to have it ready at this point. Four soldiers came rushing up the stairs. Probably securing their boss or the prisoner. His mutated mouth spread into a horrible smile. "Thank you boys" He hissed. Magic flashed down his arms. Each elongated grotesquely to strike out at the soldiers. Cetus made sure to snap each neck. It wouldn't do to have them sneak up behind him.

To avoid any more unfortunate encounters, Cetus climbed to the ceiling before progressing. He felt more comfortable there anyway. People apparently didn't enjoy spiders dropping down on them from above. Giant mutated man shark spiders were greeted with greater terror. That could be used to their advantage. If anyone tried fleeing with the wife in this direction, they could die screaming. Literally.

Cetus' forward progression stopped at what looked like a stone wall. His arms reached out to inspect the unexpected obstacle. His fingers tapped the barrier. Not magic. At least not magic that Cetus had seen before. It stumped the assassin. How to proceed now? Was there a secret door within the wall? Did it require a password? Was it not present at all and Cetus had triggered a psychic trap? He tapped it once again. Solid, in a secret passage, probably was a last line of defense. Curses. He could blow through it. Cetus possessed the magic to do so. However, that would make a loud noise in the process. Esper would be forced to act quickly where ever she was.

His fist connected with the stone. An audible crack split through the air. The stone had fractured under strike. Interesting. It would take time and still be loud but there was an answer. Cetus decided to more closely inspect the wall. Esper would have to improvise until he could reach her. Or hopefully, the other assassin would force them to use this secret passage. Then Cetus could snatch the wife away from them. Or kill them all. Either worked.

WC: 989
Total: 4921/7000

They almost believed him. The guns the guards had raised lowered ever so slightly as they gazed upon what looked like one of their grunts intending to bring a report. "Something shook the building and most of our guys down there are either out cold or dead, sirs!" Esper pressed under the guise, trying to emulate the stiff shoulders of a nervous soldier. The cosmic being wasn't one to ever feel nervous, so this was purely an imitation of a behavior he'd witnessed time and time again during his many years living on Earthland.

The rest of the imploders detonated and shook the building again in the mere seconds following the larger one he'd set off. The guns were raised again and there was some shouting from the second floor as better trained troops started to scramble. The two in front of Esper narrowed their eyes, rightfully suspicious. "Yet only you are here. What's your code?" one asked, though the expression he wore made it clear he'd keel over if this supposed grunt knew one. As much as Esper wanted to pull off some shenanigans and somehow guess one, she knew she'd been had. "Has anyone ever told you two that you have eyes that are to die for?" the assassin asked cheekily, transforming into the sultry dancer appearance from earlier. It was usually harder for men to attack a woman, something Esper had no trouble capitalizing on. She was also aware that it most likely wouldn't work for long in this case. After winking at them, they got over their initial shock just about the time her eyes began to glow like molten opals. Firing a lightning bolt at one of the soldiers, she lunged and ducked under his gun just as his hand involuntarily contracted and started spewing bullets. Using the electrocuted soldier's momentum, she simply palmed the side of the gun to aim it at his friend, filling the other guy full of holes.

It almost went smoothly. Both soldiers were down, but as Esper was accomplishing this, her eyes tracked four more guards and a tied-up woman racing out of the room and down the suspended walkway. "Crap," she muttered, but there was still another complication. The holey terrorist got a few shots off as well before he collapsed, two of which were now lodged in Esper's shoulder. "Hnnng," the female shuttered, body quivering and going weak kneed. She dropped down, grinning and giggling with a flush on her cheeks. "Oh, guys...you shouldn't have," the assassin nearly moaned, feeling pain but also intense pleasure. That was one thing she adored about this new job. People were always trying to resist and hurt her, and she loved it! It was just a shame they had to hurt her so good while the target was being hauled off, because now she was unable to follow right away. Through the suit oozed some strange looking blood, swirls of black, blue, and purple....and maybe some glitter? It was Esper. Of course her blood had glitter in it. As unique as this was, the disguise ring completely masked her wound and the blood, and at last she saw the true merit in the item. "Handy..." she grunted, finally regaining control of her body. However, she was unable to control her impulses, so before she hopped up in pursuit of the woman at the center of all this, she took a second to skillfully carve aforementioned eyes from each of the guards and plop them into a jar she replaced in her requip hammerspace. Now that she was covered in the blood of her enemies for some extra intimidation.

With all that done, she returned to the task and ran down the walkway after the escapees. Esper could still see them though they were far away, so they hadn't had time to kill her yet. Now it was just a matter of reaching them before they could barricade in somewhere else, or before the mob of black thunking up the stairs caught up to her. She loved a good beating as much as the next masochist, but she'd reveled enough for now. Maybe if they finished up quickly and with success, she could indulge as a reward.

In quick succession she requipped two different sets of eyes. One teleported her much closer to the fleeing enemies, but they were too far ahead to put her right on top of them. They were in range of one of her spells, though. Chartreuse cat eyes took their places in her skull, pulsing out a powerful brainwave at the kidnappers. She knew it hit when they slowed down, hindered by the intense migraine afflicting them. "You should just stop and give me the wife!" Esper called to them, growing tired of running. "You're beaten. Give up!"

"Beaten?" one of the guards huffed, tossing a look backward at the random dancer chasing them. "It'd take an army for you to have a chance. Where's yours, sweetheart?" the man grumbled. The space dust rolled her eyes and sighed, though that did jog her memory. Where was Sharkboy, anyway? It'd been a few minutes since the blasts, but he was nowhere to be found. Perhaps that'd play to their advantage, since Esper was the only attacker anyone had actually seen and lived to tell about. Assuming he was still around.

"Get to the vault!" another voice called, though it was calmer and more confident by a mile than any of the black-clad insurgents so far. She looked around for the source, but didn't see anything. Was that the boss? Hm.

Either way, the walkway no longer had any other doors or stairs to take. Esper was herding them toward the cement block end where there was a lone door, but she was sandwiched between the men hauling the wife and the gaggle of underlings catching up. They would be a problem if they reached her now, since they had sheer numbers on their side. Thinking quickly, the fake dancer came up with an idea. Once she passed a set of supports attaching the walkway to the rafters, she turned and used laser eyes to slice the path behind her as well as the next supports back, causing the walkway behind her to sway violently before collapsing at the freshly cut end and knocking quite a few of her pursuers off to plummet to the ground below. The ones that didn't fall puzzled over how to succeed, which no longer concerned the alien. She turned and followed the wife, disappearing behind the door right after her targets went through.


[Esper's WC: 1100 || Thread WC: 6960/7000]

They came charging through the door. Cetus couldn't help but smile, his mandibles clicking softly. Esper had managed to make the situation turn around. Ah, and they had the target-sorry, prisoner-with them. Excellent. This wouldn't take but a moment. The assassin released his hold on the ceiling. As he plummeted toward the fleeing figures, he fired off a spell. The air was filled with large white spiders. Each unerringly landed on their target. A swift bite left at least half the group paralyzed. Cetus' mandibles clicked in displeasure. That wasn't any good. He'd missed the man carrying the wife.

The White Baron's power flooded through Cetus. The muscles in his leg bunched before he launched himself forward. Some of the fleeing opponents screamed when they looked over their shoulders. A large half spider humanoid was rapidly flying through the air toward them. Landing among their numbers, Cetus struck. His limbs flailed, taking out legs with every strike. The enhancements of the Spider Baron broke each leg. They wouldn't be getting up again, much less joining the fight. The final stragglers were pinned by Cetus' webs.

His mandibles clicked as he looked over his victims. Where was the wife? None of these thugs were carrying her. His brow furrowed. Had he lost track of her somehow? That didn't seem possible. The clicking of a heel brought his attention around. There was nothing there. Or maybe there was. He vaguely remembered the dossier mentioning the leader might have lightning magic. Using it while carrying the wife was reckless, however. Not to mention, it would have distracted Cetus a great deal more if she'd been screaming her head off in front of him.

The blow hit him in the stomach. Cetus' many eyes widened and he coughed blood. The leader's face materialized in front of him. The man's lips were spread wide in a triumphant grin. The wife was unconscious on his shoulder. Found her. Cetus smiled gruesomely. The leader's grin faltered. "How..." It was the last thing he ever said. Utilizing his unique nature, Cetus tore the man into bloody chunks. His limbs blurred as he went about his task. His eyes were cold up to finally pulling the last pieces apart. "Nevah undahes'ima'e ya oppone'" Cetus said contemptuously.

The assassin decided not to leave any survivors other than the wife. He stepped around the room, ripping out the throats of his helpless victims. With that task done, Cetus hoisted the wife onto his shoulder. She would need to be handed off to Esper. His people skills weren't any good. The other assassin could handle the delivery. Lucky for him, the other assassin wasn't far off. Cetus handed the wife to Esper. "'ere ya go. 'and 'er off fer me. I's not sa good wif in da peoplin'" He gestured to his face, smiling for effect. With that taken care of, Cetus climbed out of the building. Uma was collected before the assassin vanished into the shadows, where he belonged.

WC: 498
7458/7000