/simu/ - Simulacrum

>>46
>As his vehicle comes to a dead halt outside of the empty Hydroponics District, Mosaic presses a button on his dashboard.

>Without hesitation, a faint glow covers the Manifold as the armored vehicle develops a translucent camouflage appearance - rendering it virtually undetectable under the cover of darkness.

"Good. Now for the investigation."

>Popping up the top hatch, Mosaic effortlessly jumps out of the Manifold and flips in mid-air, landing gracefully on the ground beside the vehicle. Adjusting his lenses, Mosaic begins viewing the world around him in a night-vision enabled filter, altering the view with real time frame processing.

"The reports said the Brigadiers were likely to make a move here. What are they even after?"

>Mosaic then holds out his hand, generating a nanite wire as he grapples onto a nearby building. Continuing his grappling, he starts swinging from building to building, trying to get a lock on any Brigadiers.

"Strange. This isn't like them. I figured they'd at least make a scene."

>After enough swinging, Mosaic then finds a small group of Brigadiers huddled together near the entrance of an abandoned factory. Curious, he lands on the side of a building across from the factory - zooming in his vision to observe them more closely. Holding out his hand, he then focuses as glowing red circuits appear around his gloved fingertips - serving as focused microphones.

————————————————

>A Brigadier with a large set of chain cutters frantically tries to undo the giant lock before him. Snapping with the cutters more and more erratically, his nervous is made all the more apparent by his speed and lack of accuracy.

"Dumbass! Stop rushing it! Nobody's gonna find us here!"

>Groaning, the Brigadier then turns towards his partner, saying:

"You wanna open up the fucking lock? Do it then!"

>Holding up a hand, the Brigadier then scoffs as his hand glows with a faint orange light.

"Never thought you'd ask."

>Said Brigadier then blows open the lock with a focused and concentrated explosion - melting it and fracturing it apart.

"Phobos got us these powers for a reason, idiot. That Helixer dude knows what he's doing."

>Muttering, the other Brigadier crosses their arms as they both go inside of the building.

"Yeah whatever man."

—————————————————-

>Blinking, Mosaic then lowers his hand as he takes in the information.

"Powers? They must all be on humor then. But consistently demonstrating explosive abilities? There has to be a core reference point….."

>Lightly facepalming himself, Mosaic says:

"Oh right. Phobos himself. He probably gave the Helixers his Meta-Gene to use as a baseline. Must be how they're transplanting his powers onto them with humor doses."

>Remembering the mutagenic substance being sold by the Helixers and other parties, Mosaic shakes his head and focuses his attention back to the warehouse.

"Right, might as well stop them."

>Mosaic then makes a note to Omnius with his H.U.D., while also sending an anonymous tip to the MRD of his current location in the Hydroponics District. After that, he then gets ready and leaps off of the building - gliding down below to the entrance of the warehouse…..

>>47
>As the Brigadiers come to the end of the Warehouse's hallway, they walk through the door - opening into a large open area. Entire rows of disassembled auto parts, metallic car chassis frameworks and welding tools litter the area. Looking around, the two Brigadiers are confused.

"OK, so where did the boss say we needed to pick up his stuff?"

>Shrugging, the other Brigadier states:

"Dunno. He said something about telling us when the time was right didn't he? Well ain't this the right time?"

"You think he's got a message or something for us to pick up? Like in here somewhere?"

>From the distance, a voice says:

"You guys really are gullible aren't you?"

>Out of nowhere, a pair of weighted graphite bolas spin in a carefully arcing path towards the Brigadiers. Getting ensnared by the bolas, the two Brigadiers fall to the ground - unable to move.

>Walking out of the shadows, Mosaic dusts his hands off as he walks towards the two.

"Fuck, it's him!"

"I ain't tellin' you shit!"

>Mosaic leans down beside the two bound Brigadiers, looking between them and saying:

"I know simplicity isn't your strong point, outside of your brains - but I'm gonna need some help understanding who Phobos is working with? I know he's not smart enough hide his gear beforehand and then rely on you two geniuses to enact a contingency."

>The two Brigadiers stare at each other then look away, muttering.

"So what's really going on here? Who told you to do this?"

>The Brigadiers stare at Mosaic in confusion, realizing that they can't break the binds - and aren't able to focus their powers through their hands efficiently in their current positions.

"….He did though. Phobos."

>Mosaic blinks and does a slight double take with his head.

"I'm sorry, what? You mean to tell me your boss ordered you to stay behind and wait for a signal to investigate the Waterworks dozens of miles away, in a part of town that the Brigadiers don't even control?"

>Looking back at each other, the Brigadier with the prior demonstration of power then responds:

"Actually yeah. When you put it that way, it's kind of weird. I mean Phobos is pretty careful, but not this careful."

>Mosaic then stands up and says:

"…..Somebody's been using you two, and it's not Phobos you were talking to."

>Immediately in the distance, another voice says:

"Correct."

>>48
>Spinning around, Mosaic barely moves out of the way, quickly enough to avoid a large sword - arcing past his waist and grazing it every so slightly - before slamming into the wall.

>Surprised, Mosaic then reacts more quickly as a figure in a bright silver costume rushes towards him from the shadows - brandishing another sword.

"Well I wasn't expecting this."

>Mosaic backflips into the air - landing closer to the entrance of the area and towards the hallway.

"Normally the Shinobi wait for Halloween, but I suppose February works?"

>Irritated by Mosaic's remark, the silver clad warrior points a sword at him, stating:

"I will not be demeaned by a mere jester. And you are a gesture, Mosaic."

>Blinking with his lenses, Mosaic then feigns ignorance as he points to himself:

"Oh sorry, you're talking to me? You're the one who looks like he just existed a B-movie action flick."

>Scowling, the silver clad man then draws a series of kunai from his pouch and tosses them straight at Mosaic - demonstrating both blinding speed and staggering precision.

>Mosaic uses his hands to carefully deflect the attacks with his suit's modified strength - complimenting his movement with his reaction times, also being enhanced by the nanosuit.

>The sword wielding man then rushes at Mosaic, aiming at him with one of his swords as Mosaic activates the plating feature of his gloves. Now reinforced with stronger alloys on the outer layers of his suit's gloves, Mosaic begins parrying the sword strikes with his bare gloved hands. Sparks fly as Mosaic easily matches the speed of his opponent's strikes. Looking at him, he says:

"You're the guy who set up the Brigadiers over here, aren't you?"

>Kicking the warrior away, Mosaic backflips out of the area again, as a voice says from the distance:

"And what if I am, insect?"

>Slowly backing out of the warehouse, Mosaic then says:

"Then that would make them bait. Pretty terrible bait, given how anybody could've responded to this crime - but bait nonetheless I guess."

>The voice responds from a distance.

"It has served its purpose and drawn out my quarry. One of you that is."

>Blinking, Mosaic then says:

"One of? Who's the other lucky guy?"

>The voice then laughs modestly, stating:

"None as capable of you, rest assured. However, his destruction is also necessary for my mission. I will leave you for now, insect, as I prepare to destroy my other quarry. We will meet again very soon."

>After that, the voice then disappears - causing Mosaic to narrow his lenses.

{"The theatrics with this guy. Sheesh. And here I thought the city's bad guys were losing their flair. Apparently not."}

>Looking around, Mosaic then scoffs and says:

"At least a left a present for the MRD this time."

>Mosaic then leaves, moving back to the Manifold as the light of the moon glistens on the area below.

>>49
>Date: January 31st, 2017
>Location: Archeon Complex
>Time: 2:00 PM

>After greeting everyone in the conference room, exchanging formalities and finishing up preparations, Aiden goes to the main briefing room of the Complex, preparing to give the Earnings Call presentation for Archeon Incorporated.

{"Here goes nothing…"}

>Confident in his performance, Aiden relays the good news to investors.

"We've beat expectations by around $4.00 EPS, exacerbated by better than expected supply chain establishment for our products. We've also seen substantial year over year growth in our core energy production business, with more companies signing onto our clean energy initiative."

>Aiden continues the call, outlining Archeon's financial situation.

"We're also doing great with our new investments. Archeon's genetics and bio-mechanics divisions have obtained multi-billion dollar contracts from the traditional institutional partners, as well as new customers in the applied genetics research field. We're estimating future revenue growth of 35% for these divisions, totaling to around $200 Billion in added revenue for the entire business next year, primarily driven by growth in the existing energy production business; our information technologies division and their software products, as well as the applied genetics and bio-mechanical divisions. Thank you."

>After finishing up with analyst questions, Aiden and staff then end the call. Looking at Orion, Aiden then says:

"I'm good for the rest of the day. Go do what you need to. I'll spend some time relaxing."

>After seeing Orion off, Aiden then goes down to the lobby and sits down in a chair. Looking at his phone, he views the MRD reports he's intercepted from earlier in the day - while also politely waving to and making small talk with all of the people moving to greet him.

>After a few minutes, Aiden's danger sense ability goes off, as his eyes widen.

{"What?! Here?! Now?! Who is it-"}

>In that moment, the glass of the lobby shatters as a familiar figure in silver clothing, a mask and a sword leaps into the lobby. As he makes his way towards Aiden's seat with blinding speed, Aiden begins thinking in accelerated time.

{"It's him! The ninja from yesterday! But why is he….."}

>Remembering the warrior's line from yesterday about his "other quarry", Aiden groans internally as he continues thinking at a million miles a second.

{"Of course. His other target was Aiden - or me rather. Well, good news is, if he decided to attack me out of costume, then he doesn't know that Aiden and Mosaic are the same person. I can use that to my advantage."}

>Still recognizing that the warrior is barreling towards him with destructive intent, Aiden then thinks:

{"If I dodge this at point blank, he'll know that I'm a Meta-Human. So will everyone else. But if I do nothing, I'll survive the attack and he'll still know. Unless…."}

>Thinking back to his situation a few days ago with the Helixers, the MRD Precinct and the very same Archeon lobby, he then says to himself in his mind:

{"Alright. Here it goes."}

>Ripples of distortion appear around the lobby - fracturing in place for a slight moment as a blurry figure tackles the silver clad ninja - knocking him into a nearby lobby table as everybody registers the events currently unfolding.

>>50
>Everyone in the lobby immediately recognizes what happened, with Aiden himself jumping backwards, gaining his composure quickly. As people in the lobby record the scene - they can see the form of Mosaic, restraining the silver clad ninja with both hands, while saying:

"I get that you hate big business, but trying to kill a guy in broad daylight? That's just messed up man!"

>Mosaic then flips the silver clad warrior around and kick flips him into the ceiling with both feet - from a laying down position.

>The cameras in people's cell phones also capture this maneuver, as Mosaic jumps up and walks to everyone.

"You alright? Ma'am are you OK? Sir? Everyone?"

>People in the Archeon lobby nod quickly as Mosaic gestures for them to evacuate the premises.

"And you? Mister Grayson? Not your biggest fan, but still wanted to know if you were OK."

>Looking somewhat shaken, Aiden nods at Mosaic - as the cameras also capture the scene, saying:

"Yeah. Not a huge fan of vigilantes either - but thank you Mosaic. Please get everyone out of here, alright?"

>Mosaic nods and begins escorting people out of the building - including Aiden.

——————————————-

>Falling down to the ground after being sent flying into the ceiling - and even up a few floors, the silver clad warrior groans as he rises to his feet. Grunting angrily, he then readies his sword as he looks around the now empty lobby, shouting:

"Grayson! Mosaic! Both of you show yourselves! The dishonor to my clan will not go unpunished Grayson! And I will defeat this city's strongest warrior! - You, Mosaic!"

——————————————-

>After everyone's dispersed outside in the main courtyard and parking lot of the building complex, Aiden quickly runs off in the direction of his car. After getting inside and looking around to ensure that nobody's watching, he then slowly "fades" into non-existence, his simultaneous forms now reconciling in one place - his body as Mosaic currently.

——————————————-

>Now focusing his mind entirely on being in one place at a time, Mosaic shakes his head, muttering:

"…..Well, at least I've gotten better about that. Still need some practice with the power though."

>Looking up, he then jumps back inside of the interior of Archeon through the complex.

>Making his way into the lobby, Mosaic leaps as quickly as a jumping spider, vaulting into the main area and flipping onto the ceiling - right in front of the warrior - who is now standing on the ground in the middle of the lobby area.

"So what do I call you? Is Shinobi taken? Ninja man? Something with Dragon in the name?"

>The warrior scoffs loudly as he withdraws both swords from his back, flipping them in his hands rapidly while doing so.

"Impertinent to the end, I see. Very well, I will humor your attempts at mockery. I am Shirai, and I represent the Hoyokazi clan. The Grayson man and his family have undermined the economic might of the Hoyokazi clan, to which I bear my name. In the name of my family's honor, I will not allow this affront to continue - and he will forfeit his existence as payment."

>Mosaic blinks for a moment with his lenses and narrows them, saying:

"…..So what do I have to do with this? I don't care about your family squabbles as you can tell."

>Shirai scoffs again, stating:

"With you, it is merely a test of my own capabilities. The whispers tell me you are the greatest of the Meta-Human defenders in this country. The most powerful. I must test the strength of the West, and you are the embodiment of that power. It is nothing more than that."

>Mosaic then flips down onto the ground, a dozen or so meters from Shirai in the lobby.

"So it's pride, that's it? No plan to destroy the city. No financial angle? Just don't like being number 2 in the rankings?"

>Shirai begins to grow visibly angrier with each of Mosaic's remarks, now shouting:

"Do not question my resolve, fool! I will ensure that you do not utter another word if you keep up this jester's routine!"

>Falling silent, Mosaic then says with a surprisingly serious tone of voice:

"You pull a stunt like this that almost got innocent people hurt, and you have the nerve to lecture me about resolve? My job's to protect everyday people from lunatics like you, pal."

>Giving Shirai a "come here" gesture with his hand, Mosaic then says:

"Alright then, shinobi. Show me what you can do."

>>51
>Annoyed, Shirai then closes his eyes for a moment behind his mask, opening them to reveal unique, red pupils with a set of black markings on them.

>Confused for a moment, Mosaic then detects the release of an immense amount of energy in the surrounding area. Not exactly knowing what it is, he then braces himself:

"Are you prepared, insect?"

"Stop calling me that. Seriously. It's not as imposing as you think-"

>Shirai then rushes Mosaic with a flurry of sword strikes, fast enough to cut through air. Mosaic dodges most of the attacks with blindly fast speed of his own, but winces as one of the attacks scrapes his leg - grazing his skin.

>Surprised, he then looks as the nanite structure of his suit immediately repairs the damage.

"….It is."

>Looking down at his leg, he then says:

"You're the first person who's done that in a long time-"

>As he finishes his statement, Shirai moves towards him in a spinning cyclone motion, generating a lot of force and energy - enough to strike through the nearby walls and rush towards Mosaic with surprising speed.

"Well, that's definitely a new attack!"

>Mosaic pivots, rolling backwards and launching himself from his hands backwards into the air - dozens of feet high. Landing on the ground outside in the parking lot, he looks back up at Shirai and says:

"Not bad. You're kind of winging it with the attacks I see, but bonus points for trying!"

>Annoyed, Shirai then focuses his red eyes on Mosaic, studying his movements for a moment. He then rushes towards Mosaic again, this time engaging him in combat - by perfectly mimicking his strikes as he performs them.

"What?!"

"I asked you if you were prepared."

>Shirai then punches Mosaic in the chest, making a motion that his opponent did not expect, as he's sent knocking backwards into a car. Shattering the front side, Mosaic grimaces slightly as he looks up at Shirai - already standing before him.

"It appears you were not."

>Mosaic then activates his jet boots - blasting Shirai in the face with a stream of super hot plasma - causing him to shout in pain and stumble backwards.

"Heal that, why don't you?"

>Flipping up onto the car he just damaged, Mosaic watches as Shirai's face begins to glow with a bright white light. As he expected, Mosaic watches as Shirai rapidly heals the burn marks around his eyes - restoring his prior state. Although Shirai looks somewhat out of breath after performing this action.

>Tapping the side of his mask, Mosaic then states, rather sarcastically:

"Feeling tapped out already shinobi? I know I'm a lot to take in, but you guys are supposed to be stamina masters, aren't you?"

>Mosaic then tosses a set of smoke pellets at Shirai, creating a cloud of smoke around him, as he remains somewhat disoriented by the fatigue of his Chakra overuse - and the surge of new visual stimuli from the smoke around his immediate area.

>In that moment, Mosaic then punches him in the face, sending him flying backwards a few dozen feet - into a nearby bench. As Shirai collides with the bench, he splits it into two, causing it to break into dozens of pieces as more force is applied to the area.

>Now dismissing the smoke with a strong gesture of his hand, the resulting air pressure of Mosaic's movement gives him a viewpoint of Shirai from across the parking lot.

>Then, Shirai begins to laugh.

>Confused, Mosaic asks:

"What's funny now shinobi? Having fun yet?"

>>52
>Slowly looking upward at Mosaic from the ruins of the bench, Shirai's eyes glow with a faint red light. The markings on his eyes grow more complex as more intricate designs are manifested by the red glow. The black markings from before are more numerous and granular, and far more sophisticated as well.

"It is true. You are powerful enough to further develop my replicant eyes. The Chakra flow, its sheer quantity….it is overflowing….."

>Slowly standing up, Shirai basks in the newfound energies he seems to be manifesting, before turning his attention towards Mosaic. Still feeling considerably sore from the battle so far, Shirai winces behind his mask as he states:

"….Well done….Mosaic. I will concede our battle on this day. However, I will return within a few days, to conclude our battle. The Grayson man is safe - until our battle concludes. That you have my word on now."

>Pressing his hands together, Shirai then surprises Mosaic by bowing and lowering his head - before slowly rising back up to a standing position, and disappearing in a flash of particles and energy.

>Left standing in the parking lot alone, Mosaic groans and rubs his lenses.

"Was going to tell him that I figured out his weakness, but I guess that can wait until the final fight then, I suppose."

>Looking around, Mosaic recognizes the extent of the property damage and says:

"And I guess I know where Aiden's paycheck is going this quarter. Typical."

>Mosaic then leaps up into the air and glides away from the scene of the battle, leaving the MRD to arrive and survey the scene.

>Across the world. . .

>Steam rises from a hot spring, the hot air from it making it particularly thick as it hits the chilled air created by the thick snow from the mountains around it.

>Inside the water, a lone silhouetted woman sits, bathing in the water, positioned to watch the sun rise over the mountains that the onsen overlooks. Behind her, a wall banner of black and red slowly sways in the wind, the charge of the banner taken up by a single red kanji - the symbol for an owl.

>As the woman rests in the water, her shoulders drop, the source of which is soon revealed as the presence of another person, their body covered from head to toe in combat armour, and their face covered by a featureless mask. Shifting slightly to the one side, she lets out a sigh.

"[I know. . .]"

>The figure says nothing in reply.

"[Prepare a plane, it needs to be dealt with. . .]"