[Freezair]

"They could be showing more concern for those who seek to protect them, then," Nara sniffed. She looked up somewhat haughtily, and let the comment dangle. Adam looked at her sideways, wound up to contribute, and then ended up simply sighing.

Fitz's hooded face seemed to consider something with surprise. Then he looked toward Tobias.

"Hey... Tobias, it couldn't be...?"

"Hey! Don't look at me!" He jumped up from staring at his coat.

"But your studio does have people funding it who are known collaborators of Prometheus," Nara pointed out.

"What--you think my penthouse is bugged, or something?" He brushed the side of his hand against his coat. "Man, this spot will not come out. I hope this coat isn't stained..."

[219, 189, 169, 24]

[endermage]

"Where...where DID you get that stain?" said Valor he said, standing up. He was a bit rocky, but his steps were more sure with each moment. His eyes glowed, and Karin sent out a pulse of light that became a grid that began to run over the Meji. "Karin," said Valor, "Do a full scan, we need to find out if there are any anomalies."

"Of course Valor," said Karin,"Don't worry Tobias, this won't hurt at all...it's just a bio-scan. Valor is just frustrated and worried. There are a lot of people that our organization protects....if there is a leak....many lives could be in danger."


[188],[188],[105]

[Freezair]

"I dunno," Tobias said. "I think it might be oil or something." His eyes suddenly bugged out. "Wait... you don't think it's..."

"It reminds me of that monster we fought earlier," Nara shivered. "The one in that man. There was black goo... wasn't there? But... you don't think that from one little spot..."

"Stop it!" Tobias said. "You're creeping me out. ...Please tell me it's just oil, Karin, please..."

"Monster?" Fitz perked up. "Woah. You didn't explain this to me..."

Adam told Fitz about the encounter outside the cafe while Karin scanned Tobias.

[220, 190, 170, 25]

[endermage]

Karin's eyes looked concerned as she tilted her head,"Well...it's not nothing...but the scanner can't determine what it is exactly....I'm not sure why... it's possible that it's something not yet recorded in the database."

"Are you sure Karin..." said Valor, mimicking her concerned look,"The database is pretty massive, it would be odd if we don't have something on this thing on his coat."

"I can't belive you are making THIS much issue of a freaking STAIN." said Photion coldly,"It's A STAIN..."

"Hush now Photion...." said Maxwell calmly.

[189],[189],[106]

[Freezair]

"I'm dropping this jacket," Tobias said. He slid out of the coat and dropped it on the ground. "I'm stepping away from it, leaving it here, and buying a new one. I don't care how much it costed. ...And now that I think about it..." He waved his wand at the jacket. "There. Now my pockets are cut off from my pocket dimension. Luckily, my other coat can access it too.

"Well, if it came from the monster earlier... you had info on that, so hopefully, it's from that, and it's too small to be read properly," Nara said optimistically.

"Think we should burn it, too?" Adam asked. "

"Quite a mess you've gotten into," Fitz sighed.

[221, 191, 171, 26]

[endermage]

"I'm still a bit concerned..." said Karin, "Whatever it is... I don't think it is something we can ignore."

"We can't leave till we determine the leak..." said Valor,"There is a lot at risk if we don't figure it out..."

"Yes...yes...yes..." said Photion,"Doom and destruction and camlamity. Oh my..."

"I...hate to agree," said Maxwell,"But we aren't even SURE there is a leak... isn't it possible we were just REALLY REALLY unlucky?"

"I'm pretty sure we couldn't POSSIBLY be that unlucky..." said Weber, slowly waking up.

"Oh Weber, you're up!" said Karin smiling.

"Yeah yeah..." said Weber,"I'm fine..."

[190],[190],[107]

[Freezair]

"I still say we burn it, just to be safe," Adam insisted.

"I don't know if that works," Nara began. But she eyed the coat while she said in, and, in the process, noticed something. "Hey... wait a second! Where did it go?"

"Huh?" Tobias said. He knelt over the coat. He lifted it and scanned every corner of it to be certain. But Nara seemed to be correct: The spot was no longer there, almost as if it had evaporated.

"I don't know if that's really good, or really bad," Fitz clucked. "Karin, what does the scanner say about its evil level now?"

[endermage]

"It's gone...no trace..." said Karin,"And it's not an 'evil' detector...it's a bioscanner. You can't 'detect' evil."

"Well...that's...worrisome..." said Maxwell, lifting his feet off the floor,"I wonder where it went..."

"I still don't get the big worry...." said Photion.

Valor looked around, a bit more nervously than before,"I do not like this..."

"You do realize," said Weber,"You're getting worked up over a spot...on a coat... right?"


[191],[191],[108]

[Freezair]

"I'm still not taking it with me,"Tobias said sternly. In his shirt and pants, he moved over to behind Fitz. He looked at the wall, wondering if they were almost home yet.

"I'll see to it that it's properly taken care of," Fitz nodded. "Don't worry, Tobias--I've got people who can take care of this sort of thing, and make sure nothing bad happens to it. Or us, for that matter."

"Does it involve burning?" Adam asked.

To Photion, Nara said, "Yes, but given all we've been through, it's good to be carerful."

[223, 193, 173, 28]

[endermage]

"So...what do we do now?" said Weber,"Cause...there is no WAY we can take down the other three or so labs."

"I agree...." said Valor, rubbing his temples,"But I'm not sure what to do now either. I suppose we could head back to the Hub, and hope for the best but I don't know...."

"Well, if we all head home we can decide what we want to do next." said Karin,"I'm not sure myself."

"Is that it then..." said Photion,"Thats our climactic conclusion?"

"I suppose..." said Maxwell.


[192],[192],[109]

[Freezair]

Appropriately enough, the hole in the wall took that minute to open. Fitz's assistants beckoned them out. They were not in Fitz's hideout; they were somewhere in the better part of Lamenolai. Nara and Adam stepped out with recognition. They were close to the PD.

"I suppose we'll rendezvous later, then," Nara said with a bow. "We will reconvene at a later time. Fitzpatrick, it has been good working with you," she bowed to the Evergreen. "I presume we will work with you again?"

"Sure thing," Fitz said. "You're not so bad yourself, ma'am."

"Time we got back to work, I suppose," Adam said.

"And time I get back home," Tobias sighed.

"See you next mission," Nara said.

"Same," Adam agreed.

"Terrorize with ya next time,"Tobias chuckled. "And no more eerie spots next time, I hope."

((If you do one more post, I will make my one after that the closer. And after two years, this silly RP can finally be done!))

[endermage]

Weber wandered out,"I suppose I'll see you guys later...but I hope not...the whole rebellion thing is NOT my scene."

Maxwell picked up Photion and followed Weber out of the doorway,"I hope we meet again...hopefully with more success."

"I don't..." coughed Photion, under his breath.

Outside Fitz's hideout, Valor opened a portal to the Hub and stepped though,"Great work everyone! I can't thank you enough! If we do this again, I promise it will go better!"

Karin said nothing and slid though the portal silently.


[193],[193],[110]

[Freezair]

With one last wave goodbye, Fitz stepped back into his transporting room, and winked out of sight. That left Nara, Adam, and Tobias standing in the street, wondering what would happen next.

"Well... guess I'll see you, then," Adam shrugged. He began to walk toward the police station.

"I'll walk you home," Nara offered. The coatless Tobias nodded, and together, they started off for his apartment. They would probably end up taking the bus.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Somewhere, in a far-off laboratory...

"Did we manage the scan?" Locke's voice rasped. His mechanical tails whirled. Even here, safe (or so he assumed) here in his hideout with his dear Marisol, he'd felt the probing glare of that wretched Hollowheart. But it was her loss, ultimately. She hadn't identified the scan probe before his people had withdrawn it. And in the process, she'd alerted him--oh, had she alerted him--to the presence of her little Hub, and all the people within it.

If the probe had landed on her, that would have been ideal. But the Meji was not a bad consolation prize. Locke had always assumed the game show host to be merely another trickster, doing his little gigs for the benefits of his audience. But he had demonstrated too much power for Locke to ignore him now. If Tobias had kept a low profile, he might have been safe. But that little rabbit spell showed just how much power he truly held.

But the blot had landed on his coat Of all the misfortune!

Marisol seemed to sense his nerves, and she cooed with a mechanical click. "Do not worry, me luv," she said. "'Air and dandruff. We've got plenty to work on, we 'ave."

"Have we?" Excitement stirred in his throat. He looked toward the formation chamber.

Marisol merely gestured with a wing. She must have activated some of her internal mechanisms as well. Light began to glow in the chamber, and shapes formed within. Balls of brilliance gathered and accumulated as if they were forming a star. But the substance inside grew darker and darker as it grew. The amorphous ball became longer, and them pointier, and then it started to grow extremities. The light grew darker and harsher until it became fur and nail. Soon, a small, curled-up form rested at the bottom of the chamber.

Marisol clicked her beak. The being inside stood, and blinked its immense, blood-red eyes.

"I am G-Meji. I am your creation. How may I serve you, my master?"

[225, 195, 175, 30]