The Beginning

Kane walked through the bustle of New Times Square, almost amazed at the number of people milling about, enjoying themselves so soon after the appearance of the gate that wiped out the original Times Square.

So many people died only 2 years ago, yet here everyone was at the recreation of the tomb.

Kane huffed. Humans were like roaches; resilient and lacking any form of attention span.

He sat down at one of the outdoor tables of "The Aztec Sunset," a small restaurant where he was supposed to meet his new colleague. A waitress came over and asked him what he would like. He asked for a cup of chocolate milk, then mentioned the person he was waiting for would be there soon.

He scratched at the bandages on his arms. They were starting to itch again.

Jace had never been to the old times square. He'd seen it plenty of times on New Years when some old tv star would try to make things interesting till midnight. He hadn't really paid attention to the new years since the old time square exploded. Fire works just attracted too many people for the contractor's tastes. Yet fate had brought him to the new Time Square to meet his new partner. He looked a the address on his phone again, it was close. Things were so cramped in the city that he had no idea which way he was supposed to go. He did eventually find the cafe though. He noticed another man wearing similarly dark clothes and sat down with him. "Hello. I'd assume you're my partner." Jace said. The waitress had noticed him and came over. Jace sighed a little under hie breath before ordering a glass of milk.

Kane looked at the other contractor.

"Name's Kane. Yours is Jace according to the Syndicate. That correct?" It was more of a statement than a question.

He watched as the waitress brought the man his glass of milk. He looked at it, thinking. He'd read the contractor's file. Milk was his obeisance. What was he doing with a glass of the stuff now?

He brought his attention back to the contractor.

"You're wondering why I'm drinking milk." Jace pointed out, taking a sip and coughing a little. He still hated the stuff. "Let's say I had to lose some on lookers on the way here." The contractor said, taking a long swig of the milk. "And brute force just isn't in my nature." Already he'd taken in everything he could about his new partner. "So. I would assume if the syndicate has any sort of job to send us on, they told you about it. You know even if they didn't, seeing as you seem to know an awful lot about me. The syndicate gave me nothing."

Kane gave a little chuckle (something quite odd for a contractor)

"The Syndicate gives me nothing. I caught a glimpse of your file as it happened to be lying on my contact's desk. From my understanding we're supposed to meet our new handler and doll right here in about an hour." He watched his fellow contractor carefully, then suddenly smiled.

"So you stole the file while they weren't looking." Jace stated as he finished his milk. When the waitress came over he asked for a water rather then another milk. One was enough to pay his price. "If you already know my whole story, we can skip my introduction. From looking at you I can tell your price involves harming yourself some how, judging by the amount of bandages around your arm. Your demeanor says that you aren't the type to get beaten up, so self harm is the only way wounds like that would happen." Jace said as the waitress brought him his water. "What do you know about our doll?"

Kane shrugged. "Not much. My contact hinted to her being 'omniscient' though, so her specter must be something major. And he said she was more contractor than doll. Carries a lot of weapons i guess."

He was pretty spot on with the self harm. Sharp one. Better be careful.

Kang smiled and called over the waitress. "Have any of that really thick hot chocolate? like the kind they have in Spain? I havent had any since i last visited Barcelona and i'm feeling nostalgic." The waitress seemed impressed, and went to get him one.

"Too bad my price isn't something to do with her" Kane joked.

He really had to dial back the emotions. He didn't want to stand out as a contractor in such a big crowd though.

"Maybe they will just send this doll then, if she can work as both." Jace said, watching Kane use real emotions. "I'd stop flirting with the waitress. She most likely get's it more then once a day from a whole bunch of idiots. Keep it up and she'll think you just another pig. Doesn't matter how much you know about fancy drinks." The contractor finished off his water and ordered another one, this one with a cherry thrown into it. "No one in this city cares for people around them. They just go about their day. On their own."

Kane looked at him. "I know that. I understand humans better than they understand themselves. I'm sure you're the same. They meander about their insignificant lives expecting the world and getting crumbs. They care nothing for the people around them, the world they live in, or even themselves. They have a twisted sense of beauty, and they'll never fit it. I merely help them along on their journeys, whether the destination be death or otherwise."

He paused a moment, his face serious enough to scare a bull, then laughed. "Now stop acting so gloomy, you'll give us away!" He smiled again.

Kane smiled at her. The little girl was actually pretty cute for a doll. Then again, all dolls were usually pretty.

"And your name is?" Kane asked the young lady. He studied her, as all good contractors do. There was something different about her.

Jace nodded to the doll. "I see you have been informed on some of the mission as well. At least the names of the two of us." He said to the doll, taking a sip of his water. "Well, unless you're hungry Kane, I see no reason to stay at this cafe. The syndicate wants something done. Let's make them happy for a while. Least till something else comes up." Jace said, finishing his water.

Kane looked at her seriously. "Here? If they're after us we'll need to get out of the area. They're not paying me enough to blow my cover over a couple outliers" he said.

He stood up, leaving enough for the bill on the table. He began walking down the street, motioning for the other two to join him. He turned down an alley, trying to get away from where there might be any civilians.

Jace got up and followed Kane into the alley way. He glanced back at the doll, hoping she'd realize she was supposed to follow them. "What's the plan Kane. We have no idea how many there are or what their powers are." Jace said, looking down the streets for any milk crates with a bottle or two in them. If he had to use his power, he wanted an easy way to pay his price. "I like to assess a situation first and foremost. We have no information to assess yet though."

"Subways?" Kane asked. "Closed quarters. Good." He dashed through the door.

He emerged into a small room with a staircase behind a glass door with a key card lock. Kane touched one finger to the glass, shattering it. An alarm went off and a red light began flashing above them. He payed it no mind though, as it was a good bait for the other contractors.

He waved the other two before him. "Jay first, then brie" he said, trying to give them witty nicknames like humans might. "I'll cover the back. Plus, if they catch up, you two dont want to be anywhere near me."

He whipped out a zippo, lighting it as he ran. It was one of the cigar lighter types with the focused flame that ignored wind. He waved it under his left arm, paying his price. The longer he went without paying, the worse it would get.

Jace sighed at Kane's attempt to be witty. He grabbed a couple of milk bottles and tossed them into his pockets. "Don't call me Jay!" He called, sliding down the hand rail of the stairs into the subway. He reached through the now broken glass door and opened it from the inside, no reason to cut himself on broken glass. "Come on Brisa. Before he does something really stupid down here." He said, holding the door for the doll.

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Brisa nodded as Kane told them to head down and for Jace to take point. That was something that set her apart from other dolls, she wasn't completely helpless, hey programmed her to react to situations more. Perfect Doll. She stepped past Jace as he held the door for her. Was this chivalry?

She stopped at the bottom of the stairs looking up at Jace and Kane, " They are entering the Alley." She said, pretty much telling them that they are coming closer. How are they tracking them, without a doll? She was sure they didnt have one, as she could sense any other spectre's nearby.


"Holy Cats, I'm Talking!"
"Holy Cats, You're Talking!"
'Holy Cats, I'm Thinking!'

Tags:
Words:
Wearing:
Notes:
Lyrics: "Sweet Dream" by Beyonce
Credits: Made by LITE BRIGHT of RPGD

Kane stopped. "Go on ahead. I'm going to leave them a little present."

Kane held his hands apart in front of himself, creating a shining ball of light. The light became brighter and brighter, looking like a little sun. Then it suddenly went black.

Kane took the little black object and placed it on the steps. He hurried down the stairs, trying to catch up with the other two before the other contractors caught up with him. Plus, he didn't want to be anywhere nearby when that thing went off.

Jonathon kept running through the sub way tunnel, stopping once he was sure he was quite a ways in. "Kane. What did you just put on the step?" Jace said, looking back at the other contractors. "Don't you think complaining about my personality and saying that it'll give us away as contractors, then leaving something to blow up a part of the subway is a bit hypocritical." He said, adjusting his glasses and waiting for the boom. "Are we gonna keep running, or wait for a boom."

Kane looked at him seriously. "You underestimate humans. They can tell when something is off about a person, and complete lack of emotion is pretty obvious. As for my 'Boom' giving us away; it's not a boom. Any scientists in the area will only register a gravitational anomaly."

Up the stairs a muffled cry was heard as the singularity reached critical mass. Parts of the ceiling began to fall as the black hole ripped through supports.

Brisa nodded and followed the two guys. She too was a bit curious as to what he had just set for the followers, however she didnt look back, she didnt say anything, just ran behind them as fast as her feet would carry her. She stooped midway. There was a door to her left, and through that door was a opening to outside. A perfect escape back outside. While the followers would thing they were still in the subs.

It was that or fight, " Here, " she said in a montone voice. " Leads back outside." sHe said looking to get there approvement or if they should keep moving.

Jace nodded. "Kane, let's get the heck out of here. We gotta go. They'll be here soon. No matter how much you just blew up." He said. "Just to be safe though." He held up his hands and fog began to appear from all around, filling the tunnel. "Come on you two." He grabbed Brisa's hand and pulled out a milk bottle with the other. Jace ran up the stairs, chugging the milk. He just hoped Kane could find the door.

Kane didn't pay any attention. His payment was due, and he wasn't one to let it fester. He whipped out his lighter, flicking it on and waving it below his arms. The bandages began to catch fire, but he slapped them out before they light. The pain of hitting the fresh burns was like insult to injury though, and he cringed.

When he looked back up the room was shrouded in fog. "Great" he thought, "now what?"

He heard some voices across the room. Listening, he could tell they weren't either Jace or Brisa.

"Guess i'll be paying some more today..." He shrugged. He crouched, slowly making his way toward the voices.

"Time to find out who these guys are" he thought.

He got within a few feet of the voices, keeping off to the side and flanking them.

3 men in matte black trench coats were standing, discussing the location of their prey. One of them turned a bit to the side, the light from the stairway playing on his coat. The letters P.A.N.D.O.R.A. could be seen in a glossy black, only visible at certain angles.

Kane scowled. Pandora was a Gate research group made up of the greatest minds of the world. Most of all, they never hired contractors, except to experiment on them. So what was these guys' story?

Kane stood up and sneaked toward the group from behind. He placed his hands on the tops of the heads of the men on either side, causing them to implode, the blood and debris all sucked into the miniature singularities. The contractor in the middle turned around, his coat flying in his wake.

Her coat.

The woman stared straight into his eyes, showing no emotion. Kane's hands came together, almost in slow motion, to rest on her shoulders. In a split second he converted parts of her coat into electricity, stunning her.

She dropped to the ground, a mass of limbs and flesh. She was fine of course, just knocked out.

Kane bent over and retrieved the jackets off the other two contractors. The right sleeve of each showed a serial code, GT-763 and EB-539. Messier codes. Definitely contractors.

He threw the woman over his shoulder, the fog beginning to clear. He held onto the jackets. They might come in handy. He reached into his pocket with his free hand, grabbing his lighter.