A New Threat Emerges(Saber, Prythian)

[Mani4c]

Cyber City, one of the busiest areas of digital space on the North American network. Every day, hundreds of Terabytes of information flow throughout this digital metropolis, but one avatar seemed immune to the almost frantic energy of the digital city.

Justicar stood atop one of the skyscrapers overlooking the city. Normally he'd be scanning the city, trying to find new recruits or viable subjects in Noxus' evolution experiments. But Noxus had new orders for him today, he was tasked with finding an avatar called Mani4c, and was ordered to bring him to the outskirts of Cyber City. Justicar sighed, in all honesty he couldn't understand why Mani4c was so important, all Noxus would tell him was that Mani4c was a "kindred spirit of sorts". "Well, enough dallying, time to get to work." Justicar pulled his sword from it's sheath, holding it straight above his head. "This ought to get their attention." Justicar slammed his blade into the side of the building he was standing on before jumping down.

The sword tore a large gash in the side of the skyscraper as he plummeted towards the ground, slowing his descent. When Justicar landed on the ground, he pulled his blade from the side of the building with a flourish, he then looked at the stunned avatars and said, "Anyone want to play?" He then pointed the blade at the crowd before lunging forward a few feet and said, "Boo!" the crowd broke into a panic in an effort to get away from the sword wielding 'madman'. "Tch, that was almost too easy, now I've just got to wait." He decided to keep up appearances by half-heartedly swinging the sword at the fleeing avatars, being careful not to hit them with the blade.

[Prythian]

A fairly human-looking avatar was one of the few that wasn't running away. She appeared like a 16-year old girl would, slender, with black pants and a light-gold long-sleeved shirt. Her eyes gleamed a bright, almost molten gold as she examined Justicar with interest, and her light purple hair was coiled in numerous, extremely complex braids close to her head. She had actually been leaning against the wall of the building when Justicar made his dramatic entry.

"Ya got something against buildings? Cause this one was just fine until you decided to try cutting it in half by yourself. Didn't quite manage to succeed, hm?" There was a wry amusement in her tone, something that was well-matched by her rude words. "You should be careful, you could hurt yourself, waving something like that around."

[Mani4c]

Justicar stopped swinging his sword when the girl started mocking him, to be perfectly honest he admired her courage, While every other avatar was running away while soiling themselves at the sight of his antics, she walked up to him and started cracking jokes. "Heh, you're under the impression that I wanted to cleave this building in two. and as for the chances of me hurting my self..." Justicar went into a complicated series of drills with his sword spinning it rapidly before tossing it up into the air, only to catch it with the other hand and sheath the blade in one smooth motion. "Not likely. But enough with this battle of egos. I've seen thousands of avatars in my time, but none of them looked like you do." Justicar walked over to a bench and sat down with one leg crossed over the other. "What is your name madam?"

[Prythian]

"Hah! Madam. Oh, I like you, Mr. Show-Off." And it was true; genuine appreciation was shining on her face. Whoever she was, she certainly felt emotions extremely strongly. "Name's Amplify. But you can call me Amp. But the battle of egos has only just begun. Or should I say a battle of wits? If you feel like you might be a bit unarmed for this particular battle, you're welcome to concede before we continue." She gave a mock curtsy. "After all, most people hardly carry such a weapon as yours unless they're lacking in other areas. Of course, you couldn't possibly be like all the other combat avatars around here, could you?" She smirked in his direction, tilting her head as if innocently awaiting a response.    

[Mani4c]

Justicar chuckled, this young lady wasn't just witty, she was intelligent too. "My name is Justicar, and you are correct about me Amp, I'm definitely not like the other combat avatars, I don't have an operator, and I rely upon only one weapon." Justicar drummed his fingers on the scabbard of his sword. "This blade was born at the exact same time that I was, I came into the world with it clutched in my hand, and I shall leave this world the same way." Justicar spoke with a sort of reverence in his tone, for all intents and purposes his sword was part of him. "I even gave it a name, Gin'iro no ookami, It means 'Silver Wolf'." Justicar held put the sword in his lap, "So if by 'lacking in other areas' you mean that I lack a ranged weapon, then yes, I do lack in that regard. But it isn't an issue for me."   

[Prythian]

Amplify's eyebrows quirked, and she moved towards him and sat on the bench next to him. "Ah, you really are different, then. Allow me to re-introduce myself, Justicar. I am Amp, rogue of Project AUGMENT." She seems to consider for a moment. "Not that that will mean much to you. But then, it only means slightly more to me, and a girl has to have some secrets. But suffice it to say that I am distinctly not a combat avatar like you." Her lips twitched. "In fact, even if I was a combat avatar, I would not be one like you. So, Justicar, if your sword is named after a wolf... then where is the rest of your pack? And do they all use innocence and literalism to deflect parts of a battle of wits?"

[Mani4c]

Justicar looked at Amp, "I wasn't deflecting you're earlier question, I just decided not to dignify it with a response. And as for your second question, up until recently I was what many would call a 'lone wolf' if you'll pardon the cliche. I would wander from network to network, deleting any avatars or viruses that menaced innocent people. And when the area was clean, I would wander again." 

[Prythian]

Amplify mock-pouted. "Oh, too bad. Deflecting would've scored you more points than a simple ignoring. It would've been slightly more clever. Perhaps you are just like all the others after all..." The amused sarcasm in her voice was almost palpable. "Of course, deleting viruses and avatars has nothing to do with destroying a building or attempting to scare everyone away... so let me just hazard a small, eensy-weensy guess here. Whatever group you recently joined, you're not the one leading it, and whoever is gave you a mission. Something that involves attracting the police, perhaps? After all, I can't think of any other reason to make yourself a visible threat..."

[Mani4c]

Justicar laughed, "It's so good to meet someone with a modicum of intelligence after so long, my employer may be intelligent, but I'm never able to just sit down and talk with someone." Justicar put his hand on Amps shoulder, "You, my dear girl are a diamond in the rough, never lose that keen intellect of yours." With that Justicar stood up and bowed towards Amp. "I concede this battle of wits Amp, you've bested me fair and square." Justicar straightened and began to walk away, "Unfortunately, I fear that we must part ways, I'd hate to have you get caught in the crossfire when the police arrive." Justicar turned around and looked at Amp, "I hope we can do this again sometime, I enjoyed it very much."

[Prythian]

"Hah!"

Amplify barked a short, sharp laugh, standing up. She walked back over to the wall of the torn-up skyscraper, leaning against it once more. "Maybe if you'd played the game a little better, you'd know that I go where it seems the most interesting... and this seems the most interesting spot in the city at the moment. Besides..." Her eyes flashed. "It's just a little bit late for me to leave now. They're fairly fast, you know." She gestured down the road. "I'd wager that's them right now."

[Saber]

And sure enough, A large, 4 wheeled cyber speeder with the typical flashing blue and red and the blaring siren was zooming down the boardwalk of cyber city, coming to a screeching halt close to the panic-zone. Baretta was the first to leap out of the opened hatch, armored up and drawing both pistols, wielding them at both Justicar and Amp "Both of you hold it right there! Identify yourselves, and what the hell happened to that building!"

[Mani4c]

Justicar cursed under his breath, this wasn't the plan! he was expecting Mani4c to show up. He turned to face Baretta, "I'm the one who redecorated that building, so get that pistol out of her face. If something happens to her, I'll make the damage to that building minor in comparison." Justicar stepped forward once, "As it is, I have a message for Mani4c." "Well then you've got my attention A%^hole!" Mani4c jumped out of Baretta's speeder in full armor with his palm lasers glowing a dangerous red color. "Now give me one reason I shouldn't melt a F%*#ing hole in your head for threatening Baretta."

Justicar took out a cube, slowly knelt down before rolling it between him and the two officers. A holographic projection shot out of the cube, taking the shape of a featureless shadow. "Mani4c, such a pleasure to finally meet you. And I take it you've met my second in command Justicar, I apologize for any damage he's caused. I asked him to get your attention and he suggested causing a scene so you'd be called out." The silhouette raised his hand, and a small map of the city appeared, with a red dot marking a location just outside the city limits, " I know that you're in no mood to talk, but I wish to speak to you face to face, it's a matter of grave importance. You can bring Ms. Baretta with you as well, in fact..." The hologram turned to address Amplify, "Ms. Amp is welcome to come as well! A young woman as intelligent as her deserves to hear this." The man then turned back to the two Net ops officers, "I'll be waiting for you two, hopefully Saber can come as well, I have information regarding Halberd as well." Without another word, the hologram flickered and winked out. Justicar picked up the cube, "I hope you don't keep him waiting, because tearing up the building and scaring those imbeciles without even injuring someone may have been fun, but I don't like meaningless repetition."

[Prythian]

Amplify's eyebrows quirked upwards again. "Ah, now this looks most fun indeed. A plan of destruction, of visibility, and all to draw out one specific police officer? Just brilliant." The sarcasm practically dripped off of that last word. "Clearly, a plan of this genius that actually worked deserves to be honored. It's not like a simple anonymous tip-off might not have brought a specific officer running. No, that is clearly out of the question." A sardonic grin spread across her face. "And here I am, a perfectly innocuous civilian, minding my own business, when, with a simple building damaged and a strange swordsman appearing, am dragged into all this." She mock-pouted again, eyes gleaming wickedly. "What is a poor girl to do?"

[Saber]

Baretta's mouth twitched as the female avatar was running her mouth, hesitantly removing her gun from the girl's location, and now focusing both barrels directly at Justicar "You're welcome to try, jackass, I would LOVE to delete you just to vent a little frustration."

When the hologram appeared, and the featureless hologram began explaining to Mani4c how he lured the viral avatar out with Justicar's distraction "Yes, well be thankful I didn't outright delete him when I saw him swinging that sword around at innocent programs." Her guns started glowing at the barrels, warming them up to take fire at Justicar "As for your minion here, I'm afraid he's coming with us to be locked up. He may have done that just to get Mani4c's attention, but he still broke the law."

Baretta almost lost her composure when the unknown hologram mentioned Saber, and a possible clue that could lead them to Halberd. Her gaze shifted between Justicar, and the hologram in front of him "…How do you know those two?"

[Mani4c]

Justicar scoffed, "The only person in this entire city who could even touch me would be Saber, if you even thought about it you'd be in pieces before you even set your stance gunman." Justicar wasn't taking any chances, if this police woman decided to fire, he'd need a plan. 'Heh, let's see how you like this.'((He's thinking that, not saying it.))

Justicar focused for a moment before activating his bullet slicer technique, the only indication that it was activated was a slight shimmer around his body for a fraction of a second. "As for how we know about Halberd, he's been busy while your department's been chasing after mad bombers and virus toting weaklings. As for how Amplify's involved in this, I honestly don't know, it's possible that it's related to a recent development in the underground. But then again, there's only one way to find out isn't there?"

[Prythian]

Amplify smirked. "You should probably look at it this way." She remarked, waggling her eyebrows at Baretta. "If you decide to follow Ole' Swordy here to meet up with his boss, and get to take along the other person he mentioned... what was their name? Saber? Well, if you do that, on one hand, it could be a trap. But someone who'd give orders to wreck a building would never set up a trap, ever, in a million cycles. Of course, even if it was trapped, knowing that there's a trap could let you deal with it anyway, and by bringing along this Saber person, you have the one person that Swordy's admitted has a chance of beating him. Plus you could get his boss, the one who ordered the fake 'attack' in the first place. Seems to me that would be quite the feather in someone's cap."

She then pretended to examine her nails. "But then, I'm not a member of the wonderful police force, so what does my view matter?"

[Saber]

Baretta looked at Justicar dully as he ran his mouth about how Saber was the only one who could beat him, and that she would be deleted before she could even set her stance. But then the girl started running her mouth again, and Baretta's eyebrow twitched. If she had veins, they would be bulging by now with how frustrated she was getting from listening to the girl run her mouth *I'm going to kill her…I swear to the creator that I'm going to delete her and make sure she stays that way…* Reluctantly, she holstered her guns, but not before giving the annoying girl a death glare "That thing you're doing with your mouth, how about you stop it before you have another orifice in your head…"

She walked back to the speeder, patting Mani4c on the shoulder to get him to come along "You two can lead the way, Mani4c and I will follow." Once Mani4c and Baretta were in the speeder, she shut the hatch and waited for Justicar and the girl with the jabber jaw to go first "****ing hell…And I thought you had annoying tendencies…" She contacted Saber on the way, sending him a silent message and where to meet the group. She wanted him there just in case things got hairy.

[Mani4c]

Justicar lead the group to the outskirts of town, all the while pondering what to do if the plan went off the rails. "I could just kill the pistol wielding woman and beat Mani4c unconscious." Justicar discarded that plan almost immediately, Noxus didn't want a war between the NPD and his group. "I F%^&ing hate diplomacy, there's too many damn variables."

After about 15 minutes The group arrived at the meeting location. Mani4c jumped out and looked around "Oh, this is just great, tall dark and gruesome over there led us to the wrong location!" Justicar had had enough with these officers "If you don't stay your tongue boy, I swear to the creator I'll rip it out of your God damn skull." Justicar pulled out a small sphere with a single button on it, he pushed the button and threw the sphere 10 feet in front of him. When it hit the ground there was a large bang and a portal opened. Justicar looked at Mani4c "Do you really think that I'd allow my boss to stay out in the open when there was the possiblity of some trigger happy cop shooting at me?" Just then a man walked out of the portal, he snapped his fingers and the portal collapsed back into the metal sphere. He picked up the sphere and looked at the group, "Well, I'm glad that everyone's here, I take it Saber was busy?" He then looked at Amp, "Ah, and you must be Amplify. Pleasure to meet you young lady."

[Prythian]

"I take it you have your attack dog bugged." Amplify said, hiding a small grin behind her hand at the chance to refer to Justicar as an attack dog. "Either that, or you have some really good spies, but given that you've had no reason to spy on someone like me, I'm going to go with the latter. Alrighty, then, I'll simply step back and observe, if that's alright with you, Tall, Dark, and Mysterious. I do wonder what you want with the ole' boys in blue, though." She backed up slightly, a little bit away from the man compared to Baretta, Mani4c, and Justicar.

[Saber]

Baretta narrowed her eyes at the mystery avatar, crossing her arms and tapping them irritably "He'll get here when he get's here. Why don't you tell us about why you're so interested in Mani4c while we wait." One hand was holding onto a blaster, ready to jump into action if things got too tense "And I would recommend keeping your lackey in check. Because the next time he threatens my subordinate again, I'll put a bullet right between his eyes."

Meanwhile, Saber was speeding down the information highway, trying to reach the group in question before he missed out on too much. "What do you think of all this, Jake? A mysterious avatar interested in Mani4c, another avatar skilled with a blade, and the chance of a solid lead on Halberd." <I'm still trying to figure that out myself, partner. But considering the fact this avatar could lead us right to Halberd's hiding place, we have to take the risk.> Nodding, Saber revved the engine and increased the speed of his speeder, trying to reach Baretta and Mani4c as soon as possible.