Post by sporky on Oct 25, 2019 1:12:29 GMT -4
Rain had threatened Shinagawa for the last few hours and even now it only spat and spittled between black, blotchy clouds gathering overhead the docks. Cheap covers had been put over the merchandise and the cute auctioneers were given the option to huddle in the shipping containers if necessary. But the greedy, greedy customers had no such protection. If the winds came through and blew them all away… Well, that would certainly be unfortunate for all besides one woman. The figurehead of this, the country’s largest criminal gathering in decades, the organiser and public representative. The spokesperson of one of the most wanted men in Japan. Mercury, one of the Plutocracy.
Stood behind her open-air desk in the unloading area where her third mug of irish coffee sat near-finished, Mercury gazed along the fine, crusty hull of the ship they’d been waiting all night for. Draped in a fur coat made from the pelts of albino sables, which cost more than the combined GDP of several third world countries combined, the short woman displayed her usual charming smile as underpaid dockhands paid under-the-table worked to bring the IOL Endeavour into port and unload the most precious of cargo.
Messengers darted to her ears, delivering delightful news on the rest of tonight’s events. Yes. It was all going oh so smoothly. Mercury flourished as she turned to face the ebbing and flowing crowd of ne’er-do-wells and white-collars going between separate sales with the hostile excitement of hungry lice. How disgusting. She smiled. Tapping the top of her microphone, which wasn’t connected to anything, the peach-haired beauty’s voice began to roll from speakers all over the venue as it had many times before that night. The sickly sweet tinge in her words gathering attention throughout.
“Honoured guests!” She trilled. “The time we’ve all been waiting for has arrived! In just a few short minutes, we’ll begin our main event of the night! The final auction! The grande finale~!” Many faceless and nameless thugs and fools cheered and whistled and howled, though their wallets were too light for what was to come. Cranes churned to life, approaching the Endeavour and digging deep into its cargo hold. Foreign voices shouted, with no wind to buffet the sound. The other auctions came to a close. The women working the stalls packed up with efficiency, no longer needing to put up their sweet guise for the customers. A handful of bodyguards guided the twenty or so workers south, each bowing deeply to Mercury and being given a colourful bundle of money for their services by her right-hand man before leaving the docks entirely. Their work: done. Their sales: final. Mercury had no more use for them.
“Something’s off.” the right-hand-man whispered. A muscular gorilla of a man, unarmed, but his sheer size was enough of a deterrent for the troublemakers. Mercury flicked her microphone off and smirked knowingly up at the giant twice her size.
“You’re just anxious, Deimos. Mister P has been working on getting this thing into Japan for almost a year. I’m sure his excitement has been rubbing off on your boss.” Deimos straightened the tailored suit he wore, making him stand out as different from Mercury’s bodyguards who wore tacky shirts with her face, winking, on the front.
“If something goes wrong…” Mercury cut him off with a sigh.
“Nothing will go wrong, I promised him.”
Before long, the cranes lifted something into the air with surgical precision. To be expected when what was inside was quite clearly stated to be worth “more than you or your families”. Moonlight and special lights that illuminated the entire unloading area revealed a large crate, perhaps the size of two American muscle cars stacked on top of each other. It hung in the air and Mercury beamed at the illegible, dark red lettering and the unmistakable biohazard symbol printed large on each of the crate’s faces.
“We’re going to be rich, Deimos.” The man watched it hang there with a severe look on his face before withdrawing. Mercury once again turned to the crowd that had gathered there to witness its reveal.
“This.” She called into her microphone, her words echoed throughout the dockyard for all to hear. “Is our last item up for sale tonight. What is it, I hear you ask. Please, Miss Mercury! What grand prize do you have in store for us?” She giggled to herself, giddy and intoxicated. “Well~! Let me introduce you all to the end result of the Semper Fi incident. The goal of their research!” She pointed right at the crate with a sanguine grin.
“M.A.R.I.N.E.”
”This is Tiger-1. All clear from the West, IOL Endeavour is pulling in now. No sign of other hostile naval craft, but we’re keeping lights low all the same. Maintain position until we confirm the last bit of cargo. Over.”
The words of Kanae Gushiken, leader of the Tiger Unit, would echo through the earpieces and other communication devices the various police nad Pro Heroes had on their persons. Law enforcement was positioned in several positions, with those storming the IOL ship stationed and a number of dark, hidden boats in the Bay of Tokyo, watching the massive cargo ship pulled into port.
A number of confirmations of other positions would arise. Armored vehicles were stationed just off the terminal, lights low and loaded with cops and Pros ready to storm from the East. This mainly consisted of those who’d storm the Unloading Area and Container Yards, with the help of police and SAT. Those who’d be focusing on the IOL offices and warehouses were mostly positioned either here or within the terminal itself, under cover of stealth or incognito amongst the crowds. This was only were most were, and the Heroes could be situated wherever was best for their own approach.
The night was deathly quiet, as they all awaited the order to pounce. The plan was simple, to pincer the villains from the port and sea and secure the area as quickly and efficiently as possible. Naturally, Kanae had her doubts it would be that easy.
”Almighty, what do you see?” The SAT leader inquired as the cargo ship began unloading the precious goods. She turned towards the drone operator also on their boat, looking over his terminal intently. Glancing at the screen, she saw a high overhead view of the auction.
Many items had already been sold, and were littered around the terminal, in the various other areas, from the container yards to the unloading area to the warehouses and even the railway… But this ‘grand finale’ was of the utmost concern…
“Mercury is unveiling it now… Let’s see what they’ve got.” The drone operator uttered pensively, the screen zooming in closer and focusing on the main prize as it was unloaded onto the terminal. Kanae raised a hand to her earpiece.
”Be on standby. Main Target has arrived. Over.”
Elsewhere, atop one of the many office buildings within the terminal, a portly woman sat comfortably on fold-out chair, puffing on a thin cigarette. Her eyes glowed lightly, staring intently in the general direction of the auction, and seeing it all with vivid clarity. Madame Ito had a perfect seat for the events about to unfold.
Having taken in a number of vigilantes for this very purpose, she was well aware of what they’d be getting up to. Those Storm Knights weren’t quite as well-funded as the Tokyo MPD, so had to find their own ways to get into position for the upcoming raid. They’d likely be under cover, sneaking in as villains, or even storming the place with whatever vehicles they did have. With both police and vigilantes preparing to strike, it was going to be quite the fireworks.
She could hardly wait to watch it unfold.
The reactions from the crowd were, as to be expected, lax. All they saw was a box. It was cold and late and they were brought here for a box. Some sneered up in Mercury’s direction. Some even began to leave. They would need a demonstration and she would deliver. With a snap of her fingers, Deimos had returned, a shambling mess of human carried under one arm. Tossed like trash onto the ground, the junkie groaned, barely capable of standing on his own two feet. Middle-aged and wearing an impressive suit, some of the local dealers in the crowd might’ve recognised him as a wealthy businessman with a serious cocaine addiction. Muttering noiselessly, the man tried to approach Mercury and, as he pushed his arms out and her bodyguards began to move, Mercury instead presented a short syringe of dull blue liquid and jabbed it in the space between eyeball and bone with surgical precision. Deimos’ giant hands seized the junkie’s head and waist as he howled in pain and thrashed like a mad animal. Mercury, pushing the needle deeper, began to talk through her microphone which she held in a free hand as if the procedure wasn’t almost brain surgery.
“Ladies and gentlemen, what I’m currently jabbing into dear Mister Nakamura’s eyesocket is not your usual happy drug! It will not lift his spirits and let him live a portion of the day laying on clouds without a care in the world.” She dug it deeper and Nakamura screamed an unintelligible apology, trying to cry with only half his tear ducts. “It is M.A.R.I.N.E, the next step in both genetic progress and in biological warfare!” Her voice dwarfed his cries over the speakers. “You see, Mister Nakamura here - Has a quirk! What that quirk is - Well, you’ll see.” Her thumb pressed down the plunger and Nakamura began to cry dribbles of blue. When it was empty, she yanked the syringe out and tossed it over her shoulder. Deimos threw Nakamura back to the ground, where he went still and silent. Still and silent. For five seconds. Ten. Twenty. Mercury walked from her stage and back to her desk, sipping her Irish coffee and smiling as the screams restarted.
Nakamura’s body began to constrict and twist, as if being wrung like a towel. His shrieks were inhuman; and despite the pallor of his flesh, his skin began to change colour. From pale to red, from red to blue, from blue to heliotrope. They were stark, attractive colours and they flickered by so fast, some of the pigments got confused and mixed, turning Nakamura’s body into something of an iridescent lava lamp that was crying for his mother.
“His quirk lets him change colours! Five points to any of you that guessed it right!” Mercury giggled. “But originally, he could only change it slightly. And only once an hour.” Murmurs began amongst the crowd. “As some of you should know, the Semper Fi incident involved something called Q.E.D, an imperfect form of the drug I present to you know. It enhanced the quirk of those affected~ But sent them into a rage! How many of you lost associates and friends and customers to such an uncivilised substance?”
“M.A.R.I.N.E promises something different. A weapon that works on those with and without quirks. It adapts to whatever genetic code it gets its hand on and then it has two choices! If they have a quirk - Take whatever abnormalities exist and amplifies them! If it sees quirk cells, the quirk gets super-enhanced like you see here.” She gestured to Nakamura, who was now three times his original size, several swollen shades of red and writhing noiselessly on the ground, blood drooling from every orifice. “Soon, there won’t be anything left of their original D.N.A! Isn’t that cool?” She grinned like she was selling makeup and the crowd, those who weren’t vomiting or unimpressed, laughed. “Oh-Oh-Oh, and non-quirkers get the fun experience of-” Suddenly, Nakamura’s flesh tore at the seams and thick, oily, rainbow-coloured pools of congealed blood and pigment cells flooded the stage and ran off into the crowd’s area. It smelled putrid and marked the death of Mister Nakamura and the orphaning of his two children. Mercury bounced to keep her fur coat and designer shoes out from the fetid puddle. And that’s when the area was illuminated by several dozen tactical lights and the sound of engines roaring into life was all that could be heard. Mercury gazed out, hiding her eyes from the blinding array.
“It’s the police!” Deimos exclaimed, stomping across the stage, bodyguards immediately charging towards their client. “Tell me this was your plan!” Mercury, for the first time in a very long time, did not smile. She did not radiate sweetness or adoration. Her beauty was marred by a deep, hate-filled scowl and the unmistakable tremble of fury.
“Get the package, we’re leaving.”
”Jesus Fuck…”
Her profanity was uttered with genuine shock as Kanae and any of the Heroes in the police boat with her watched the demonstration of M.A.R.I.N.E. unfold. Having had no idea what would be unveiled, all she could do was watch in horror, as she raised a hand to her earpiece again. ”All units, be advised. Bioweapon on site. We ain’t got any time to waste. Send word up - we’re gonna need cleanup.” With a sigh, she continued, gritting her teeth and grinning lightly. At least she got her chance to do what she did best now.
”IOL Endeavour teams, secure that shit ASAP. Other groups, it looks like they’ve got more crates related to it, potentially other ways of ‘administering’ it, so keep your eyes out. That’s the last bit of advice I got, best take it if y’all wanna get out of this alive.”
No time for being professional any more.
It was time to rock and roll.
”All units, go loud. Hit em hard and fast. Commence operation!”
It was like a symphony, what happened next.
Lights of armored vehicles and cop cars turned in unison, sirens immediately blaring as they stormed into the port, sending the entire auction into an immediate panic. Police boats kicked into gear, keeping lights dark as they all headed for the cargo ship. Spook them right into the pincer, that was the plan.
Undercover officers were revealing themselves, Heroes and SAT striking from the shadows, as madness began to blanket the area. M.A.R.I.N.E. was immediately loaded back onto the IOL Endeavour, and fighting here and there began to break out just as soon as the raid had started.
Madame Ito smiled, already spotting some of the vigilantes joining the fray. She hadn’t seen this kind of chaos since her youth, as police vehicles charged into the area from both sides, and villains met the challenge with force. A self-satisfied grin formed on her face.
Kanae Gushiken wore a similar look, with a mixture of uncertainty. They were all rushing into hell, and although they had numbers, there was no telling what would go down… But both she and Madame Ito knew that it was, at the very least…
Gonna be one hell of a night.
”Operation Sea Priest is a go!”
Stood behind her open-air desk in the unloading area where her third mug of irish coffee sat near-finished, Mercury gazed along the fine, crusty hull of the ship they’d been waiting all night for. Draped in a fur coat made from the pelts of albino sables, which cost more than the combined GDP of several third world countries combined, the short woman displayed her usual charming smile as underpaid dockhands paid under-the-table worked to bring the IOL Endeavour into port and unload the most precious of cargo.
Messengers darted to her ears, delivering delightful news on the rest of tonight’s events. Yes. It was all going oh so smoothly. Mercury flourished as she turned to face the ebbing and flowing crowd of ne’er-do-wells and white-collars going between separate sales with the hostile excitement of hungry lice. How disgusting. She smiled. Tapping the top of her microphone, which wasn’t connected to anything, the peach-haired beauty’s voice began to roll from speakers all over the venue as it had many times before that night. The sickly sweet tinge in her words gathering attention throughout.
“Honoured guests!” She trilled. “The time we’ve all been waiting for has arrived! In just a few short minutes, we’ll begin our main event of the night! The final auction! The grande finale~!” Many faceless and nameless thugs and fools cheered and whistled and howled, though their wallets were too light for what was to come. Cranes churned to life, approaching the Endeavour and digging deep into its cargo hold. Foreign voices shouted, with no wind to buffet the sound. The other auctions came to a close. The women working the stalls packed up with efficiency, no longer needing to put up their sweet guise for the customers. A handful of bodyguards guided the twenty or so workers south, each bowing deeply to Mercury and being given a colourful bundle of money for their services by her right-hand man before leaving the docks entirely. Their work: done. Their sales: final. Mercury had no more use for them.
“Something’s off.” the right-hand-man whispered. A muscular gorilla of a man, unarmed, but his sheer size was enough of a deterrent for the troublemakers. Mercury flicked her microphone off and smirked knowingly up at the giant twice her size.
“You’re just anxious, Deimos. Mister P has been working on getting this thing into Japan for almost a year. I’m sure his excitement has been rubbing off on your boss.” Deimos straightened the tailored suit he wore, making him stand out as different from Mercury’s bodyguards who wore tacky shirts with her face, winking, on the front.
“If something goes wrong…” Mercury cut him off with a sigh.
“Nothing will go wrong, I promised him.”
Before long, the cranes lifted something into the air with surgical precision. To be expected when what was inside was quite clearly stated to be worth “more than you or your families”. Moonlight and special lights that illuminated the entire unloading area revealed a large crate, perhaps the size of two American muscle cars stacked on top of each other. It hung in the air and Mercury beamed at the illegible, dark red lettering and the unmistakable biohazard symbol printed large on each of the crate’s faces.
“We’re going to be rich, Deimos.” The man watched it hang there with a severe look on his face before withdrawing. Mercury once again turned to the crowd that had gathered there to witness its reveal.
“This.” She called into her microphone, her words echoed throughout the dockyard for all to hear. “Is our last item up for sale tonight. What is it, I hear you ask. Please, Miss Mercury! What grand prize do you have in store for us?” She giggled to herself, giddy and intoxicated. “Well~! Let me introduce you all to the end result of the Semper Fi incident. The goal of their research!” She pointed right at the crate with a sanguine grin.
“M.A.R.I.N.E.”
”This is Tiger-1. All clear from the West, IOL Endeavour is pulling in now. No sign of other hostile naval craft, but we’re keeping lights low all the same. Maintain position until we confirm the last bit of cargo. Over.”
The words of Kanae Gushiken, leader of the Tiger Unit, would echo through the earpieces and other communication devices the various police nad Pro Heroes had on their persons. Law enforcement was positioned in several positions, with those storming the IOL ship stationed and a number of dark, hidden boats in the Bay of Tokyo, watching the massive cargo ship pulled into port.
A number of confirmations of other positions would arise. Armored vehicles were stationed just off the terminal, lights low and loaded with cops and Pros ready to storm from the East. This mainly consisted of those who’d storm the Unloading Area and Container Yards, with the help of police and SAT. Those who’d be focusing on the IOL offices and warehouses were mostly positioned either here or within the terminal itself, under cover of stealth or incognito amongst the crowds. This was only were most were, and the Heroes could be situated wherever was best for their own approach.
The night was deathly quiet, as they all awaited the order to pounce. The plan was simple, to pincer the villains from the port and sea and secure the area as quickly and efficiently as possible. Naturally, Kanae had her doubts it would be that easy.
”Almighty, what do you see?” The SAT leader inquired as the cargo ship began unloading the precious goods. She turned towards the drone operator also on their boat, looking over his terminal intently. Glancing at the screen, she saw a high overhead view of the auction.
Many items had already been sold, and were littered around the terminal, in the various other areas, from the container yards to the unloading area to the warehouses and even the railway… But this ‘grand finale’ was of the utmost concern…
“Mercury is unveiling it now… Let’s see what they’ve got.” The drone operator uttered pensively, the screen zooming in closer and focusing on the main prize as it was unloaded onto the terminal. Kanae raised a hand to her earpiece.
”Be on standby. Main Target has arrived. Over.”
Elsewhere, atop one of the many office buildings within the terminal, a portly woman sat comfortably on fold-out chair, puffing on a thin cigarette. Her eyes glowed lightly, staring intently in the general direction of the auction, and seeing it all with vivid clarity. Madame Ito had a perfect seat for the events about to unfold.
Having taken in a number of vigilantes for this very purpose, she was well aware of what they’d be getting up to. Those Storm Knights weren’t quite as well-funded as the Tokyo MPD, so had to find their own ways to get into position for the upcoming raid. They’d likely be under cover, sneaking in as villains, or even storming the place with whatever vehicles they did have. With both police and vigilantes preparing to strike, it was going to be quite the fireworks.
She could hardly wait to watch it unfold.
The reactions from the crowd were, as to be expected, lax. All they saw was a box. It was cold and late and they were brought here for a box. Some sneered up in Mercury’s direction. Some even began to leave. They would need a demonstration and she would deliver. With a snap of her fingers, Deimos had returned, a shambling mess of human carried under one arm. Tossed like trash onto the ground, the junkie groaned, barely capable of standing on his own two feet. Middle-aged and wearing an impressive suit, some of the local dealers in the crowd might’ve recognised him as a wealthy businessman with a serious cocaine addiction. Muttering noiselessly, the man tried to approach Mercury and, as he pushed his arms out and her bodyguards began to move, Mercury instead presented a short syringe of dull blue liquid and jabbed it in the space between eyeball and bone with surgical precision. Deimos’ giant hands seized the junkie’s head and waist as he howled in pain and thrashed like a mad animal. Mercury, pushing the needle deeper, began to talk through her microphone which she held in a free hand as if the procedure wasn’t almost brain surgery.
“Ladies and gentlemen, what I’m currently jabbing into dear Mister Nakamura’s eyesocket is not your usual happy drug! It will not lift his spirits and let him live a portion of the day laying on clouds without a care in the world.” She dug it deeper and Nakamura screamed an unintelligible apology, trying to cry with only half his tear ducts. “It is M.A.R.I.N.E, the next step in both genetic progress and in biological warfare!” Her voice dwarfed his cries over the speakers. “You see, Mister Nakamura here - Has a quirk! What that quirk is - Well, you’ll see.” Her thumb pressed down the plunger and Nakamura began to cry dribbles of blue. When it was empty, she yanked the syringe out and tossed it over her shoulder. Deimos threw Nakamura back to the ground, where he went still and silent. Still and silent. For five seconds. Ten. Twenty. Mercury walked from her stage and back to her desk, sipping her Irish coffee and smiling as the screams restarted.
Nakamura’s body began to constrict and twist, as if being wrung like a towel. His shrieks were inhuman; and despite the pallor of his flesh, his skin began to change colour. From pale to red, from red to blue, from blue to heliotrope. They were stark, attractive colours and they flickered by so fast, some of the pigments got confused and mixed, turning Nakamura’s body into something of an iridescent lava lamp that was crying for his mother.
“His quirk lets him change colours! Five points to any of you that guessed it right!” Mercury giggled. “But originally, he could only change it slightly. And only once an hour.” Murmurs began amongst the crowd. “As some of you should know, the Semper Fi incident involved something called Q.E.D, an imperfect form of the drug I present to you know. It enhanced the quirk of those affected~ But sent them into a rage! How many of you lost associates and friends and customers to such an uncivilised substance?”
“M.A.R.I.N.E promises something different. A weapon that works on those with and without quirks. It adapts to whatever genetic code it gets its hand on and then it has two choices! If they have a quirk - Take whatever abnormalities exist and amplifies them! If it sees quirk cells, the quirk gets super-enhanced like you see here.” She gestured to Nakamura, who was now three times his original size, several swollen shades of red and writhing noiselessly on the ground, blood drooling from every orifice. “Soon, there won’t be anything left of their original D.N.A! Isn’t that cool?” She grinned like she was selling makeup and the crowd, those who weren’t vomiting or unimpressed, laughed. “Oh-Oh-Oh, and non-quirkers get the fun experience of-” Suddenly, Nakamura’s flesh tore at the seams and thick, oily, rainbow-coloured pools of congealed blood and pigment cells flooded the stage and ran off into the crowd’s area. It smelled putrid and marked the death of Mister Nakamura and the orphaning of his two children. Mercury bounced to keep her fur coat and designer shoes out from the fetid puddle. And that’s when the area was illuminated by several dozen tactical lights and the sound of engines roaring into life was all that could be heard. Mercury gazed out, hiding her eyes from the blinding array.
“It’s the police!” Deimos exclaimed, stomping across the stage, bodyguards immediately charging towards their client. “Tell me this was your plan!” Mercury, for the first time in a very long time, did not smile. She did not radiate sweetness or adoration. Her beauty was marred by a deep, hate-filled scowl and the unmistakable tremble of fury.
“Get the package, we’re leaving.”
”Jesus Fuck…”
Her profanity was uttered with genuine shock as Kanae and any of the Heroes in the police boat with her watched the demonstration of M.A.R.I.N.E. unfold. Having had no idea what would be unveiled, all she could do was watch in horror, as she raised a hand to her earpiece again. ”All units, be advised. Bioweapon on site. We ain’t got any time to waste. Send word up - we’re gonna need cleanup.” With a sigh, she continued, gritting her teeth and grinning lightly. At least she got her chance to do what she did best now.
”IOL Endeavour teams, secure that shit ASAP. Other groups, it looks like they’ve got more crates related to it, potentially other ways of ‘administering’ it, so keep your eyes out. That’s the last bit of advice I got, best take it if y’all wanna get out of this alive.”
No time for being professional any more.
It was time to rock and roll.
”All units, go loud. Hit em hard and fast. Commence operation!”
It was like a symphony, what happened next.
Lights of armored vehicles and cop cars turned in unison, sirens immediately blaring as they stormed into the port, sending the entire auction into an immediate panic. Police boats kicked into gear, keeping lights dark as they all headed for the cargo ship. Spook them right into the pincer, that was the plan.
Undercover officers were revealing themselves, Heroes and SAT striking from the shadows, as madness began to blanket the area. M.A.R.I.N.E. was immediately loaded back onto the IOL Endeavour, and fighting here and there began to break out just as soon as the raid had started.
Madame Ito smiled, already spotting some of the vigilantes joining the fray. She hadn’t seen this kind of chaos since her youth, as police vehicles charged into the area from both sides, and villains met the challenge with force. A self-satisfied grin formed on her face.
Kanae Gushiken wore a similar look, with a mixture of uncertainty. They were all rushing into hell, and although they had numbers, there was no telling what would go down… But both she and Madame Ito knew that it was, at the very least…
Gonna be one hell of a night.
”Operation Sea Priest is a go!”
