Department of ''Problem Solving''

A symbol of power, and very hard to miss.

If the Headquarters of the Government wasn't impressive enough on the outside, it would damn sure be on the inside. Floor after floor built on top of each other, showing how marvelous modern day society was. However, there was more to it then the eye could see. The building also went underground, and not just a tiny bit. 50 floors to be exact. Floor -50 and -49 were very unlucky, as floor -48 belonged to the famous Doctor Gregory Karkarov.

Gregory Karkarov wasn't just any scientist. Like many other, he had received a shot, and had seen it as a revelation and a blessing in disguise. It didn't get cancer out of the way, but it made room in his mind for so many new things. He was a true inspiration to his own employees, but that was a little trivial to say the least. He had the power to inspire, so he would do that anyway.

The doors shifted open to the main room of his Department. Gregory ticked with his left index finger against his black sunglasses, and took a deep breath. The Department of ''Problem Solving'' as he seemed fit to name it unfolded before him, cell by cell.

''I love the smell of Napalm in the morning...Although this wasn't napalm it still has the touch. Or the scent.''

He walked in and said hi to some of his employees. All very skilled, but not everyone shared his enthusiasm for blowing things up. Those were normal. He didn't prefer normal though, because if you was, problems that threaten the normal couldn't be dealt with. You need to be above that to deal with it.

''Sir, why do you have such a creative combination of headwear?''

''Why do you bother me with the flabbering of your mouth Robinson, throwing around fancy words when you are damn sure what this combination is. And next time, use English.''

Gregory took off his fedora, and threw it to the side. It landed right on one of the many desk, this one probably being his. It was huge, and was stacked with papers and pictures and graphs and whatnot. Now, he grabbed to a small knot under his chin and untied the plaid he took. He lived here, but while he was doing dishes a few rooms away, he had no place to put it, so he figured he'd best keep it close. He threw the plaid next to the fedora, and scratched his beard and ruffled hair with two hands.

''I'd have to make a new entry for the dictionary...Plaid-hair. Like bed hair, just feels like dried cups and plates. And faintly smells like soap.''

''Sir, any plans for today?''

''Yes. I get a fire going for all these ''important'' documents, and we proceed testing my new invention. Till then, coffee.''

''Are you sure sir? If I might be so blunt, I wonder how your funds keep coming.''

''I wonder how these papers reach my desk. I'm sure I nailed that mailbox shut. Oh well..''

While saying this, Gregory raised both eyebrows, looking pseudo-surprised before walking to the coffee machine, saying good day to some more employees. He took a cup and placed it under the machine, before pressing some buttons and poof!, a fresh cup of very strong coffee. Gregory added about 5 times as much sugar as the regular standard, and grabbed a small spoon to stir it around. He looked around the department, past the theory room, where they would work on problems theoretically, and design or invent. There was a separate section for all the paperwork, whether he would process them or burn them, and then there was the biggest space, covering more then 75% of the entire department, the testing area. The entire department was covered by some extra high density titanium walls, and was unique in that. No other Department had it. Gregory knew why, looking around. Everybody knew why. He had blown a lot of stuff up, it was just what he did best, and what he liked most. He didn't know if the Government deduced it yet, but he would see these walls as a goal. When he would break them, he would have a job well done.

''Sir, care to join in on our research?''

Gregory moved behind an explosive protecting screen, and saw what two of his employees were doing. They were mixing two chemicals together, and if they did it just right, it would create something. That was what he thought. He had no idea what was going on whatsoever, he would start thinking after coffee. But his employees didn't know that.

The two fluids mixed and started to boil, and after about 5 seconds, it gave a small poof and exploded, only breaking the glass in which it was mixed.

''Wrong! How can it be any good like this?!''

Not caring for his own safety, Gregory stepped away from the screen. He grabbed what was left of both fluids, threw them together and opened his lab coat with a sound of glass colliding, grabbing a flask of white fluid. One of the many flasks and stuff he had under his coat. He threw the mixed one in, stirred heavily, and with a mighty whipping overhead swing, he quickly threw the concoction away. The employees hid behind the screen, because they knew what was going to happen. The flask hit the ground, and a massive explosion erupted, shaking the entire department, probably the entire building. Gregory didn't look for protection, he stood there laughing. He smiled while he turned to his employees. He was sure the entire earth would be shaking. As he laughed, birds would fly up above ground because of this. Other people in the building would be startled, but most were aware of what was happening when the entire building would shake.

''That is how you make an impact! Just one flask! And comrades, that is how our funds get replenished.''

''Sir what did you mix with the two fluids sir? And you have some dust on your forehead''

''I have no idea, but it worked! Now where is my coffee...and yes, now I have a use for that plaid.''

Gregory walked back to his desk and grabbed the plaid, getting the dust of his lab coat and his face. He looked to the right of his desk, around the side, and saw a briefcase. Entirely metal, with a few buttons on it. He smiled. This was going to be his work today, his new invention. Oh how he loved his job.

If anything the building was stupidly tall. She wasn't unfit, but seriously? Not allowing Super Soldiers in the lifts was bloody ridiculous. She climbed higher and higher, stopping to allow the feeling back into her terribly dead legs.
The light outside was beginning to fade, making her feel more at ease. She never enjoyed coming to this building anymore, although she worshipped Marshall like a god, she never enjoyed the metal cage that was his creation.

Higher still and she could feel the hunger settling in her system. She had been without blood for three days now, her longest wait for months. But she couldn't make the rebels suspicious by leaving the camp in a schedule or else they would kill her for being a spy. Though she was charismatic and charming she couldn't get away with murder. Eurgh, that feeling. She hated getting this. It started like a sharp pain all over her body, but over 24 hours she felt like she was being stabbed relentlessly all over, making her writhe and twist in agony. It made her shudder, remembering the last time she had staved blood to become human again. It hadn't gone well.

The door was finally nearing her sight and she flopped down outside the hallway, breathing heavily.

"That was ridiculous." she panted, wiping her brow. She could see from the reflection in the glass that although a slight sheen of sweat was rippling over her, the skin was still white as snow, no sign of red at all. Sighing, running a thin hand through her fiery hair she stood up, holding herself up on the wall.

Whilst gaining her breath back, she pressed down on the door handle and it swung open, letting her enter this new department. Inside was strange, the walls were shining, a light grey, it looked like Titanium or something similar. Looking around, she walked in further, biting her lip as another wave of ravenous pain swept over her. She hunched over slightly, letting out a harsh yelp, grabbed her hair and scrunched it in her hand, whilst gritting her teeth as she waited for this ripple to end.

It passed slowly, but eventually it did and she opened her eyes again and looked back into the lab.

"Hello? Dr Karkarov?" she shouted into the large room, not seeing the man anywhere.

((Climbing? I'm below ground level love, it's – 48! ))

A door to the left of Alyss swung open, slamming against the outer wall of the cell. Doctor Karkarov came out, a few pencils sticking out of his hair, and one balanced on is sunglasses like one big eyebrow. He took that pencil and raised his sunglasses with it for a second, observing the person before him. He lowered them back and pressed the frame into the cave of his eyes, before randomly throwing the pencil away. He didn't really like being disturbed when he was actually trying to solve some governmental problems.

''You sure you are in need of THE Gregory Karkarov? Women mostly don't visit my department. They cannot handle being underground and they cannot handle my inventions. Most of them do what they are supposed to do...blow up. Messes up make up...and faces. I suggest by the way that next time you would use the doorbell, when we have one. The last two people who came in and shouted were shot on sight by auto aiming turrets we were testing. Turrets with rockets. They make nice explosion, but it's so messy. Good thing the mess was rubble from the door, not the two people. Invention wasn't done yet, damn employees.''

Gregory walked over to the coffee machine, and treated himself to a cup of possible the strongest coffee alive. He added about 5 huge scoops of sugar, and grabbed another pen out of his hair, stirring the coffee with it. Alyss frowned, and didn't know if this guy was testing her, or was a complete moron. Gregory turned to her, and with raised eyebrows, he gestured if she would like a cup.

''With a bloody good taste, I must say.''

With that, Gregory grabbed the last pen out of his hair and clicked with it as if he wanted to write something down. Alyss heard something different though. Some mechanism was enabled and was working somewhere close.

''Please follow me miss. I'll get you a bloody drink.''

Alyss followed Gregory Karkarov to another cell. She had deduced that he came out of the designing cell on the front left side, and on the front right side were cells with desks, well protected against their own inventions. The biggest desk, with a plaid and a fedora on it, was probably Gregory's desk. Their was this cell where they were heading, probably construction or materials, and then there was this huge space, all used for testing and assembling. It smelt like gunpowder, and a bit like a workshop. Gregory inhaled deeply.

''I love this smell. It's the smell of progress. The smell of creativity, and the smell of something very flammable...Carrying on. Welcome to one of the material shacks.''

Gregory opened the door, twisting the doorknob and turning it outward. Alyss entered. It was a lot cooler in here, and when doctor Karkarov clicked on the light, she saw why. He had stored a large amount of liquids hat needed to be cooled. If they were too hot they would explode. Gregory hated that he had to keep his own materials from exploding when he would do that later anyway. He did have stuff there that could mean some fun. He pressed a button and a one-of-a-kind vending machine came up from the ground. Alyss looked surprised, as it was painted like it was a spraypainted graffiti wall, showing a female vampire suck on a can with two fangs.

''I got medical blood in all kinds and flavors, but for now I only have a reserve of normal flavor, strawberry, chocolate, peach, lemon and vanilla. They can be made stronger or weaker before it's put in a can, it's your choice really. I thought the flavors was nice, I mean, being a sucker for blood doesn't mean you only have to drink blood. I tested the flavors myself, they are very convincing. I might add a ''genius scientist'' taste later..''

Gregory looked at Alyss, with a wicked smile of his own. This was stuff he would do when he didn't want to work, and these things were the most fun to him, next to blowing something up in every way possible.

(God, sorry, I'll edit it until it's Down, rather than Higher)

"Don't insult women just yet, I feel safer underground anyway.

This man was very strange. If anything utterly insane.

Alyss took a step towards the machine and raised an eyebrow, running her hand along it. She licked her lips and looked back at Gregory, her eyes shining brightly. Another wave of hunger racked her body and she held onto the wall, letting out a screech through her gritted teeth. Her heart began to beat a little slower and she moved crookedly over to Gregory.

"I don't care about flavours, please. No flavours, no- just give me it, now. I was promised! And by God if Marshall lied to me, I'll just drink you!" she said, her face becoming angry. Her pupils dilated, then spread covering her entire eye, giving her a demonic look.

She stretched out her hand and broke straight through the metal of the vending machine and she ripped a can of blood from the tubes.
Her teeth elongated and she bit through the thin metal and began to drink the blood from the can, straight down her throat.
Her heart began to pick up in pace and she finished off the remaining liquid before crushing the can in her hand and opening her eyes. She felt immediately rejuvenated and her skin seemed to shine, her eyes glew brightly and each line of her body seemed more defined, more sharp than before.

She looked up at Gregory and smiled, wiping a small amount of the red fluid from her lips. Her teeth retracted at last and she felt satisfied. "Thank you. That was most delicious. It could do with a few more essential vitamins, but other than that it was perfect."

Gregory let it all happen. She apparently didn't understand he meant no disrespect so far. If he really wanted to sound disrespectful he wouldn't have called her a woman and would have asked her for her identification. Alyss Ray seemed to be get a shock from something, and suddenly threathened to bite him. He found the threat very amusing, and the feeling of being threathened exhilirating. She crushed the vending machine's exterior shell and drank blood like her life depended on it. Which might actually be true. After she took her share of blood, she seemed to look even prettier then she did before she came in. Now that she had her calm back, he could speak freely. It was weird to see she followed the paint job as an instruction manual though.

''Well lady next time, by all means take a bite. I might taste a bit strong though. Too bad you smashed the machine, it was an extra touch in solving your problem. It took my employees some time to make it that pretty and user friendly. However..''

Gregory grabbed inside the machine with his right arm, and found a reserve stock of cans filled with blood. He took it out and showed it to Alyss.

''Take one for the road. And a lot for the days after. I know you need it, so whenever you need it, simply open it with the lip and drink it like soda. Nobody notices, and you will feel better. You shine like a good Russian Molotov, and are very explosive too. If you need bag to take lot's of soda..I might have one in my office.''

Gregory bowed his head slightly to the vampire in front of him. He was kind of impressed with the effect blood had on her. And if she didn't have the craving to suck it out of a body, or was able to control it, medical blood was enough. It had also was the fact that this meant his research in blood stimulation had worked perfectly. While still in an early stage, he had received this 'problem' from Judah himself about possible lack of medical blood, including that for a female vampire to feed on and had presented an answer. He was a but surprised about the vampire part, saying Judah watched too many cartoons, but he had a simple solution. Get blood and with that, make more of the same. It seemed that he had a lot of work to do, but as it was now, it only seemed to lack minor important stuff like vitamins. Alyss Ray, the vampire girl, deemed it perfect. If the blood cans could also be used as grenades, it would have been worth a Nobel Prize in Gregory's mind. Now the only that seemed to shine was Alyss, and not the explosions. Not for now. Gregory had found a nicely looking side bag, he thought she would like it. It probably was for one of the employees, who were all having a break and getting some coffee in the canteen. He didn't care, the vampire girl might need it more.

''And here you go. A bag full of blood soda, all it needs is a brand name. You worry on that, and keep doing what you do best, and then, so will I.''

Alyss smiled at him gratefully. If she could take this entire bag of blood, she might not even have to come back here for months. This means that Marshall's hold on her would be loosened, she wouldn't have to be his dirty little spy anymore.
To be perfectly honest she enjoyed the freedom of the Resistance, but at the same time loved working under Marshall. It was a perplexing and dangerous situation she found herself in, but she imagined her cold and sharp mind would get her through, as would her cold and sharp body. Still, if she took this gallon of blood now, she could rest assure that she could always escape from both of the alliances. But to be hunted down by the government and your friends? It was a hard decision. Was freedom really worth that risk?

"Why, thank you." she trailed off, looking past him. She imagined that this man didn't know her entire situation with Marshall, but she could imagine that he might report it back under some mistake. Judah would be most angry. An image of herself being stabbed with a silver blade to the heart flashed into her mind. So instead, she took one last can and pushed the bag away.

"I'd better not. I have an agreement with Judah Marshall, and I'd better not disregard his instructions. Enough to keep me sane, was what he said. With the amount you offered, I could run away. And for all I know, I'd just be hunted down again." she said, lustfully looking at the cans and shaking her head.

She smiled once more at Gregory and bowed her head slightly. "Thank you."

Gregory laughed to his hearts contend. He never understood why he would laugh so jovially at times, although he did understand one thing. Alyss didn't like it all that much. It was out of contend mostly, as Gregory would be thinking about more then one thing at the same time. Alyss was lucky, this time he laughed and she would get to know why. His Russian accent seemed stronger, if only a little bit. He still held the bag in front of him.

''Miss vampire, why would I even think of offending anything related to comrade Marshall? I am never doing anything against the rules! Or wait, do I?

Alyss knew fully well THE doctor Gregory Karkarov was now officially messing with her. He was known for being a genius and for his gift to be able to solve problems. His powers were valuable, but everything was obstructed by the desire to be himself, including blowing stuff up. His work ethic was horrible. The was no other department that smelled like gunpowder and napalm most of the time. There was no department either that would frequently shake the entire building. If any, he had a small regard for safety or for effectiveness. His deal with Marshall was simple. Marshall brings in problems, Gregory solves them. A handshake, and new funds would keep pouring in. Marshall understood very well that Gregory would at times cost him more then he would gain from it, however, there was no one like Gregory. None could get the jobs done that Gregory would. Effective inventions like Gregory's renowned Boomstick to the Sulferised Hotdogs would mark him as both creative in giving names as in inventing. Everybody knew that with a Hotdog, it would be the end. Alyss looked at Gregory, who looked back with his sunglasses up, eyebrows up, and a devious shine in his eyes. He put his sunglasses back on, hiding his jade green eyes behind a wall of darkened glass.

''Listen. Gregory is told to give you blood. Marshall tells me, I make blood and give it to you. He never said about reporting back, or he never said about making a vending machine. I think keeping you ''just sane'' is the same as making you completely insane. You look like smart girl, I don't want that to be ruined now would I? We all know that insanity and being a genius does not mix well.

Gregory's left eyebrow got closes to his sunglasses, and his muscles seemed to cling together a bit there. He blinked as he shook the bag around. The cans gave a small rattling sound as the clinged together. He didn't know if he was sure, but he thought he saw Alyss gulping a bit at all that blood.

''If you choose to go, and if that leads to freedom in running, make sure you run past me at times. Now either take the bag or I'll leave it in the corner for you to change your mind. I got stuff to blow up miss Vampire, all in a days work for a hard working scientist like me.''

Gregory looked back at his office. He knew the full metal suitcase was still there, and he didn't mind someone passing by, but he direly wanted to test it out. It was surely going to leave a mark on the battlefield, and a bang in his office. Just the way he liked it.

Alyss smiled at Gregory. ALthough generally she was very nervous of him, for she was usually quite skittish around people who could influence her. But she knew that in this room she was the one with the more power, she could kill him if she so well pleased.

"Thank you Mr Karkarov, but I'll leave this here and just take two. I cannot let Marshall hold anything against me. I'm already in an extremely dangerous position, either side could kill me at any moment. I can't put my life in anymore danger." she said, giving him a sympathetic smile.
She appreciated his input but decided against possible execution. She walked to the door and turned back once to smile at Gregory, nodding her head.

"I'll see you in a few days." she said, sadly.

She turned and walked from the laboratories, starting her long trek up the stairs. She sighed and lifted her first foot, realizing that she was totally regenerated. She sped up her feet flying away and she arrived much quicker than she had come down here. She stopped at the entrance to the Building and looked around quickly, darting behind buildings until she was clear of the Government vicinity.

She ran back to the Headquarters of the Resistance, and wandered into the bottom of the Tower.
Walking into her room she slung the cans of blood into a drawer and flopped down onto her bed, tired.

''Boss...sir? Can we come out?''

''Yes Robinson. If you want to know if she is gone. Yes. Too bad. Hoped she would have been here for the test of the day. Everyone's break was good?''

''Well sir, we were, quite frankly...terrified. We don't know why you are not. She could have sucked you dry a thousand times!''

Gregory took off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes with his fingers, and massaged his forehead a bit. He understood very well why Robinson and the others locked themselves in. Marshall had given him more then a problem to solve. Logically, Gregory asked for a file about Alyss Ray, or the Vampire girl as he preferred. He hadn't read it all, but he had a good general idea of the 'Scavenger'. He opted that she would not kill him because it wouldn't benefit her in one bit. She'd be hunted by Judah and she would have no blood supply. Gregory didn't fear her for other reasons though. She looked like a cute lady, and he kind of liked her. She wasn't as tainted as some he has seen come in before. After the first thing she said he realized that.

''Robinson. You can grab a gun. With that, you have the power to kill. If you can kill...will you?''

''Well...no sir.''

''See powers given by the Genesis shot like a gun. It's a road to a goal. We talked about this before, remember? In some individuals, the gun for example is on the inside, in some on the outside in their hands. All they ever want is to reach their goal. Her goal is survival, not simply killing. She won't kill me. Besides, I'm good looking!''

Gregory laughed. Robinson was slightly confused again, so he had achieved his goal. Always keep them guessing. He placed his right hand on his most trusted employee's shoulder.

''You and the rest ready for the experiment for today. If I'm right, you must be looking forward to this one Robinson.''

''Yes sir, we are going to set up the testing course.''

''Very good comrade. Proceed.''

Gregory walked back to his desk. He rubbed his forehead a little. Even though the day was well underway, he felt like it was already the end of it. Robinson was right to more then one level. Doctor Gregory Karkarov was a gifted scientist with a hidden power who loved to blow stuff up, whereas the power is hardly known to anyone. Alyss however, was a vampire-spy hybrid. She was strong, fast, and was very sneaky. Gregory was mad enough to be able to fight, but in combat, he would probably lose. As a matter of fact, he would lose to almost anyone, be it a super or a fairly trained agent. Against elite agents like Darius Steele, he wouldn't even stand a chance. He was too carefree to be careful, and his true value was behind the scenes, even if he was willing to fight on the front lines with his trusted grenade launcher. Gregory looked at the files that he was DEFINITELY going to burn now, and the plaid and fedora. He placed the fedora on his head, and walked back to his employees, with the files in hand.

''Sir, you forgot the metal briefcase?''

''No I did not. Since it was invented by us both, I say you may have the honor of getting it and activating it.''

Robinson smiled. Gregory has forgot, but he was meaning it when he said Robinson could activate it if he wants to. To be honest, it was mostly Gregory's work and inventive mind that made the invention, but Robinson had helped him with fresh ideas and mainly overtime, he thought that would count for something.

''Sir. Can I?''

Gregory looked around the room. The employees had set up various devices across the room. One of them would shoot targets, another one would show targets spread across the room, turning them around, and some safety measures. Everything was into place perfectly.

''Team. Standby for testing procedure.''

Everybody got behind cover, and only Robinson was standing there, with Gregory next to him. Gregory tipped his fedora and nodded at Robinson. He had the green lights. Shaking a bit, Robinson pushed the green button on the full metal suitcase and threw it in front of him. The case snapped open before it hit the ground, spinning so that it was facing away from the doctor and his employee, and a mechanism was starting up. Before they knew it, both of the sides of the suitcase started to lift something up,carrying it on 4 legs, two from every case. A click here and there, and there it was...

''Test phase 1...''

Darius had got a message his package had received it's usual maintanance and upgrades. He could get it from the department on the minus 48th floor. He had never been there, he always went upwards in the tower, not downwards. He stepped out of the elevator, moving towards the huge double doors in front of him. He noted the unusual design, the walls, ceiling and floor all looked different then on other floors. The doors slid open and allowed him passage, only to give him insight on another unusual event happening.

Almost the entire team was standing behind cover, something was happening on the other side. Darius moved into the crowd and got a look at what happened. The man he dubbed 'Bear' was there, along with his assistant... Robinson was his name.

"Test phase 1..." Karkarov muttered. The suitcase in the middle of the room had transformed into some kind of autonomous four legged mechanism. It looked harmless, but everyone was behind cover, so that couldnt be right. Darius decided to wait and see what happened before announcing his presence.

''Now comrade.''

One of the employees handled the mechanism for the appearing and disappearing targets, standing in front of a large board full of switches and buttons, safely behind cover. He flicked one switch, and a target, about halfway, and straight in the line of the turret, turned around, showing a target with two red circles. The moment it showed itself, the turret made a fast double beep and aligned to the turret, as if it was looking at it. In the same split second, a shot was heard, and wit ha bang. No target, just a stick with a blown off target still up in the air.

Gregory smiled, as the explosion was deliberately turned down so that it would only obliterate a target, and not any allies that could be in the way. In his opinion, the explosion should be bigger, but Judah had stressed this was done perfectly. With any luck, this was a good breakthrough. If a turret was able to recognize enemies, they could fight on equal level with less men, and thus, spare human resources for other purposes. Gregory knew he would make a few with higher explosions though..Why take out one enemy when you can take out several with one shot?

The man behind the switches was picking up the pace now, but every time he would make a target appear, the turret would double beep and shoot it down, aiming at it perfectly. The remarkable feature, to Gregory, was that it was able to differentiate when to shoot or not. If he was perfectly honest to himself, he had produced these weapons, designed them, engineered them and calibrated them, but he had no idea how they worked. Not a clue. At times, he would simply see a problem and invent something against it, not truly knowing how it worked. He had ideas and theories, he knew the weapon's content, but the complicated combination of all the instruments did something that was never seen before.

After a few minutes, the target had obliterated enough targets. They were a few left, and Gregory raised his hand up to the employee with the switches. He moved to one of the last target, which was very far to the right. Gregory knew the turret could make it. It had a built in 270 degree turning angle, using the legs on which it stands to move and aim. He stood in front of the target, and motioned the henchmen to turn it around. His employee hesitated, he knew his boss was one crazy scientist, but this was almost like asking him to flick the switch to an electric chair. It could very well kill his boss.

''Do it, it is the only way to make sure this solves the problem. And if we have a new toy. The air is filled with an explosive smell, that's one, but it needs to be tested perfectly. And since I'm still boss, you still listen.''

Eventually, the man pressed the button, the target behind Gregory turned around, showing it's two red rings. The turret beeped twice and aimed at the target, but it didn't fire.

''Very good. Now make another target appear.''

The employee did so, and as expected, again two beeps, a shot and a nice concentrated explosion, taking out the target. In the meanwhile, Gregory leaped away to the ground, and in the split second one target was taken out, another two beeps were heard and the target was shot to rubble. Gregory crawled up and moved back to where he came from.

''Alright. Prepare to conduct Phase Two. We are going to see if this thing can keep up with moving targets. Supers mostly think they can move faster, let's see if they will still have that priviledge after this.''

Gregory looked around the department and spotted agent Darius Steele. He dusted off his labcoat, and walked up to the agent with his hand outstretched. Signing his employees to take five. Some went off for coffee, and he signed Robinson to get some for him too while he would be busy with the agent.

''Hello agent Steele. It is good to see you. Have you seen my new toy? Do you like it?''

Gregory grinned as he waited for Darius to reply.

One by one targets started to pop up after Gregory gave one of his minions a go. The walking suitcase reacted to each and every one of them in a perfectly executed explosive manner. Explosions, this guy seemed to like them alot, but these weren't like his other ones at all. The explosion ripped the target right off it's stick, not harming the stick in the process. Apparently they had designed a weapon to effectively target enemies, and not harming any friendlies in the battle. It seemed to be quite effective, as when Gregory stepped in front of a target the suitcase refused to fire, but instead targeted another target. Darius couldn't hide his amazement, as this was clearly a very useful weapon. Being a suitcase made it unsuspicious and hard to notice once moving around. It was a small target to hit and was an extremely deadly weapon. Gregory moved into the crowd, and Darius shook off his surprised and amazed look.

''Hello agent Steele. It is good to see you. Have you seen my new toy? Do you like it?''

Darius gave him a casual salute, as he always did, fully knowing this man couldn't care less about regulation.

"Afternoon doc. You surprised me with that thing, it's most interesting." His eyes began to shine once he talked about the events he had just witnessed. He liked all kinds of weapons and gadgets, and this looked like a combination of those. A pretty nice one to say the least.

"I'm intrigued, will we get to use this? And how do we use it for that matter, do we have multiple ammo options? Target painting? Remote control? I want to know every detail..." His 'hobby' got the best of him, he wanted one of the things he just saw in action. Questions literally filled the room, he had totally forgot what he came to pick up.

"... Unless you can't tell me..?" he said as a bit of sadness invaded his face. Darius acted like a kid getting a new toy, the professional in him was long gone.

Alyss trundled down the many stairs, less tired than last time because of her blood-driven invigoration.
From the Department she could hear lots of loud explosions and crunching metal, so she knew the Doc was in. She looked down at her bloodied hands, the red liquid forming a crust around her skin. Licking her skin on her arm, she lapped up the drying blood into her mouth. Only a little came off, because it was too stuck to her skin. As she threw open the door she saw the blonde man from earlier standing near the Doctor, who was watching a suitcase intently on the floor.

She ran over to the Gregory, happy to see a friendly face for once, smiling over her bloodied, fanged face.
"Doctor!" she laughed, gleefully. Her laughter was slightly maniacal due to her overdose on her much needed food. "I wouldn't ask this usually, but I need a place to stay, the Resistance..." she treaded carefully with her words, realising that an Agent was standing very close to her. "I'll explain later. But I need a home, food....I really need a shower." she smirked, holding up her stained hands.

While smiling, Gregory said ''You do like to make a bloody mess of yourself apparently. I think even Lenin saw less red in his life..''

Gregory was surprised. At first, an agent showed his interest in one of his inventions, and more then the average joe, and now the vampire lady was back, all bloodied up, rambling, and asking for a shower. Even he didn't calculate that, even if he has his living room, so armored it hardly had any toruble with the explosions, or he was just used to them. It was built to be able to resist hard sounds though..

Gregory had calculated an easy afternoon filled with coffee which was on his term filled with sugar, and small calculations. An agent with a shine in his eyes and a bloodied up sweetheart weren't really his idea of an easy afternoon. Not that it was a problem, it just needed to be dealt with accordingly.

''If you go through the other door in my office, you will find my living room. A warm wooden-interior-type room, just in case you walk wrong. Walk though it without trying to make a mess and on the end of the room, first door on your left, will be a special shower. Big bathroom with big waterfall shower. Throw your clothes in the laundry basket, take a warm shower and I will bring you some spare clothes, like dressing-gown,gym pants and soft slippers. I'm sure you'll fit into them, works for me too. I also have spare clothes in case I blow up mine..''

Gregory turned to Darius, scratching his head a bit. He had partially forgotten what Darius asked him, and wanted to do Phase Two of his testing, a crucial part.

''..As for mr Steele, before I answer your questions, I will show you phase two. My employees are back and scared of the miss Vampire I see...Strange people, I heard they all like Vamps. I came in this day with a plaid on my head and they all curl up at the sight of a young lady...I will never understand. Phase Two comrades, five minutes are over!''

Gregory moved over to a device over to the left side. It was shaped like some sort of disk shooter, and it happened to be one too. Darius seemed surprised as mostly, the things that Gregory made, weren't close to what they looked like. It was plastered all over the Government's Bulletin Board once...

Warning: DO NOT EAT Dr. Karkarov's HOT-DOGS. They are experimental insertion explosives rigged to detonate when excessive pressure is applied to them, only to be used in elaborate traps and explosions.

The day after, someone scribbled something below it:

''If I make a gun and call it The Poodle, will people feed it dogfood and walk it to the park, or feed it bullets and walk it to the enemy? It's a name idiot-comrades, not a manual.''

''Phase 2. Initiate!..''

With a hard ''THUMP!'' a clay disk was shot across the room. The familiar double-beep sounded and the mounted grenade-launcher suitcase shot the disk down, shattering the disk and crushing the parts in the explosion. Gregory let out a small maniacal laugh as he clearly enjoyed his latest piece of work. Who would ever though a suitcase like this could deliver such clear explosive working results? It seemed near perfect, as it hit the target when it had a view. The disk was caught in mid-air, not when it wasn't yet shot and not when it was almost shattered against the other wall. They'd have to measure the reaction speed of the suitcase by increasing the speed of the disks, but that would be for another time. This prototype was way too promising to experiment with for now.

Gregory started to fiddle a bit and with a loud ''Four!'' he shot off another projectile, which in the end suffered the same fate as the first, although this one was somewhat different. Darius thought he saw something attached to the clay disk. He was right. The documents Gregory was intending to burn weren't anywhere to be seen, and he stood there grinning.

''Oops, did I accidentally shoot those precious documents with the clay disk?''

Gregory walked back to Darius, scratching in his hair. He didn't have lice, he just liked to scratch a bit, especially when he was itchy.

''Don't worry. In needed courtesy, I took a peek. Only meager filework. Easily gets lost, and I do not have place for useless documents. Yours are safe though, regarding miss-Vamps-who-is-taking-shower. I wouldn't want those documents to run loose, they might be valuable. And if they were not, I would not blow them up in your sight, that would seem even more disrespectful. To me, it would only seem effective, but it has been proved my view differs from others more then once. Coffee, comrade? I have time for all your questions now as my helpers wrap things up and test it's speed and reaction and such.''

Gregory motioned for the room with the big table and the coffee machine, where the employees were taking five until Gregory called them back. The room was also kind of sound proof, without glass but with clear plastic windows and small curtains. Gregory liked this room. It was big enough to let the mind wander, there was coffee and sugar, there were cookies, and there were enough places to sit, ideal for getting new inspiration..next to his room with television and internet though.

Alyss nodded and set off quickly for the area Dr Gregory had pointed to. She walked forwards through his office, to the 'living room' area. She smiled at the warm interior, it was oaken panels lining the ceilings and floors whilst the walls were a soft cream colour.
There were a few sofas scattered around the room, by a large screen TV and a few smaller screens that looked like different views of the laboratory and the outside of the level.

She turned quickly, to see that a few drops of blood were dripping onto the floor, she she squeaked slightly and hurried off to the bathroom.

Inside was beautiful. There was a huge white bath on one wall, near a sink and a toilet whilst another wall was just a large mirror. The last wall was taken up by a huge shower area. There was no glass protection around the side, instead on the floor was a huge slanted drainage area, with steps up and down that you simply stood in and climbed out of. The shower head was large, raining down on the person. The whole bathroom was in a white, black and red scheme dashing and mixing the different colours around the bathroom.

Alyss eagerly stripped down and ran into the shower. Loving the feeling of the extra-hot water on her cold skin, she cleaned away the dried blood and the water around her feet turned a deep crimson. After her hair was finally clean and less straggly she turned the beautiful shower off and climbed back up onto the bathroom floor. She wrapped a black towel around herself, covering from her chest to her knees. She tucked it in tightly before taking another red towel and quickly scrubbing her hair with it, taking out the moisture. It was still damp and slightly curly, but at least it wasn't dripping.

She chucked her bloodied clothes into the laundry basket and walked out of the bathroom curiously, looking around.
She opened the door to the laboratory and poked her head through the door that the others were in, whom she saw through the tiny windows.

"Um, hey. Where could a girl find some clothes around here?" she said, flashing her normal teeth at the workers, who flinched backwards and grappled behind each other. She smirked at Gregory and winked at the other workers.

The blood covered dame he had met in the cafeteria just now joined their company. Apparently she knew Gregory, and sort of self invited herself into his living space. She took off for a shower and left the men alone again.

"Coffee would be nice, no sugar nor milk, I do like a spoon with it."

Darius inspected the device a little. It was a really neat little thing, and capable of doing it's job very well. It had shot moving targets with explosive efficiency and seemed to be well suited for any situation. He did however frown upon the fact the doctor blew up some of his paper work. he didn't like it either, but this wasn't really the way he'd solve the problem.

"I think we could use this in the upcoming defence. This little thing can solve a lot of our problems." He grinned at the irony of the 'solving problems' part.

When Darius finished his inspection both of them moved towards the room Gregory had pointed out just now. Almost at the door they came to a stop, the vampire lady had finished her shower and was making a little scene in the room. Darius looked at her, a bit surprised at the sight, only to shake is head and wait for Gregory to make his comments. Which he knew he would.

Alyss turned slightly, hearing someone behind her. She pulled the towel a little closer around her and gave Darius a large toothy grin. She moved towards him, remembering him as the slightly rude agent from earlier. But he was an agent no less, and from her experience with them, they didn't trust super soldiers who had worked their way up to agent rank. Alyss herself was very close to Judah Marshall, he had taken her from the training camp and moved her here, on her own special mission. Although she had missed him extremely every time she left, she was always ready to serve happily.
But as she had gotten to know the rebels she had felt less and less involved with Marshall. Now they had found her out though, she would never be accepted back and she had no real home to go to, so the Government would do. For now she was happy to be warm and filled with blood, with her twisted sadistic side appeased.

"When you see Marshall please tell him I'll be up later to speak to him." she said, sharply. For her to be listened to in this building she needed to show her no nonsense, cold, sharp and powerful side. Which indeed she was, but now and then all she wanted was a group of friends, some comforts and a normal life.
But for now her soft side was under wraps and her hard and tough side was on show, so she seemed to glow with power, demanding respect for her powers and how dangerous she really was.

''It seems I have to dress a lady, and well as the say, something about priorities.'' said Gregory with a wink and a grin. ''I will get your spoon with coffee. Robinson! Please help this man into the coffee room. Make sure he doesn't grab the explosive sugary thingies. I will be right back comrade.''

He walked over to Alyss and closed the door to his living room behind him. He looked at her in the eyes, and in a funny way said:

''You really should stop scaring my employees like that. You did it for a kick, as you don't even need new clothes. Towels look great enough on you. I assume everything went alright yes?''

Gregory moved over to a big closet in the main room, next to the room that was probably his bedroom.

''I have more clothes in my room, but I think this should suffice. Take a look.''

Gregory had some spare clothes in case anyone would lose or destroy theirs. All he would wear usually was a big white lab coat, but he preferred a larger taste of style. This closet however, had stuff that was simply comfortable to wear, in a various of sixes. Stuff like gym pants, sport jackets, large sweaters, normal T-shirts, and socks. Gregory pointed Alyss to the clothes, he was sure it would probably suffice. He had an upcoming question though.

''You didn't want to say agent Steele what was going on. You alright? Weren't you backstabbing the backstabbers? Or biting the...anyway, it seems you'll have to do with this for now, or keep the towels. I prefer the last choice, but who am I to prefer?''

Gregory took off his sunglasses, gazed at the clothes in front of him, and rubbed his sore jade eyes. He was positive he needed some sleep, he was starting to feel tired. This had been a more mentally tiring day, as a vampire-type Super and an Elite Agent were on his doorstep, and he had to be polite and actually deal with them next to the usual stuff. He didn't mind too much, but if they weren't here, he would have been able to pull the plug and take a nap. He sighed and looked at Alyss with his eyes, glancing.

''If it is the very essence of life is duality, as day and light, good and evil and of course, imperfection and bagpipes, then why do you show only one side at the same time? Why only be hard or only be normal?''

He knew this might have been a surprising question. He always was challenged by duality. Gregory could make someone feel great of like dirt. He wondered why Alyss had powers, and only used one side to show it. Apparently, at this given time, she was playing tough girl, while a short time ago, she was kind of..cute. He just had to know. She was on his doorstep, or more specifically, in his 'house' and needed a place to stay. She could get it, but that'd mean he needed to know more. He wasn't liking the idea of being attacked by an anomaly he hadn't predicted. IF he was going to end, he'd like to have predicted it himself.

''So...what are your next plans before I get you dressed...er..I let you dress yourself and get back to answering questions about the new device?''

Gregory rubbed his eyes again. They hurt a little, stinging. He hadn't used his powers too intensely, but his eyes were just a bit too tired. The sunglasses gave them some rest, but would also make them less active, and therefore, less resistant against normal light at times.

Darius was about to comment on the former spy's request when Gregory took his chance away. This way of acting would get here nowhere in his books, and he didn't interact with the Marshall anyways. The man named Robinson came at Gregory's request and led him further into the room, leaving the Bear and the vamp lady to their business, or priority as Gregory called it.

Robinson led him to the table, where Darius sat down and waited on his coffee. The assistant was getting his cup ready without a second thought.

"You like working for your boss, don't you?" Darius said out of the blue. It made Robinson freeze for a split second.

"Working for the Doctor is unique in all it's ways, you wouldn't find it anywhere else in this tower." He replied while brining him his coffee. No milk, sugar but he did get a spoon with it, exactly as he requested.

"I'll take that as a yes."

The room remained silent after that, as both men did not have anything to say to each other at all. Darius thoughts focused on the doctor however. He was a strange man, a good man yes, but one with very peculiar habits. He was Russian, wore strange things on his head most of the time and hade an extreme liking to explosive things. A chaotic non regulation following explosive liking bear. Darius remained in the room, sipping his coffee, waiting on Gregory. Robinson had returned to his duties without him noticing.

Alyss smiled at Gregory and pulled a large grey crew neck sweater and a small black t-shirt, along with a pair of black shorts. Her feet were cold, so she pulled out a pair of long socks which would ride up over her knees, or so she hoped.

"Why do I only show half of my self? Because the hard, cold and deadly side is the kind half. The other half would kill you without even a thought. It would kill me and probably everyone else here. The blood lust inside of me must be controlled, or else- well- I'm strong enough, fast enough and clever enough to kill the highest power in this building, in the Resistance building. I want to kill more supers, they taste...so sweet." Her eyes dilated and she smirked. "It's wonderful being dangerous when you're also mad." She snapped her head slightly and blinked, her pupils focusing back again. She looked down at the floor, her eyes downcast.

"Thank you for this, but the happy self you will get to see of me will only occur when my sadistical lust has been satisfied. Or after I've had a gutload of cookies." she smiled briefly, but looked back down at the floor. "I don't like Agent Steele. He is...an Agent. I don't trust him at all. I'm not fond of his company, or Katsa's for that matter. I don't think they're that fond of me either though. Now, I must get changed. I'll be in later. I think I left my Converse in the door, I'll fetch them later." she said, in a monotone.

''Áh. So I see. Do not worry, I am sure agent Steele doesn't bite. And if he does, I think you know very well how to bite back. Even if you do not like him, after you have dressed, you may choose to stay here for a while and wait for me to return from business or join me in the coffee room, alongside agent Steele. Thing is, you need a place to stay. I do not know how what or when for now, but until then...make yourself comfortable.''

Gregory stood up and went for the door. While he had the doorknob in his hand, he frowned for a second and looked over his shoulder at Alyss, not just for a sneak peak or anything, some words just popped in. He could maybe even remotely help her, using his Pacification Protocol...

''...And yes, if mad is the right word, I might just be. Letting a vampire in my ..house.. could be dangerous, but it's all fun to me. No worries, I see you later, and take your time, there is no rebel stupid enough to come into this department.''

Gregory went outside, and instantly got the results from the speed test. They were, as he expected, seriously insanely high. He looked at them, and took them to the coffee room, after thanking his companions. They followed him as he opened the door to the coffee room. Darius looked up, still waiting for the doctor. Gregory went over to the coffee machine, and got a new fresh cup, and emptied sugar unit after unit. After stirring it through clearly, he sat down opposite of Darius Steele, and placed his feet on the table sideways, not even remotely sticking them up Darius' face. He threw the reports on the table for the elite Agent to read, and rubbed his forehead somewhat.

''Where where we. The reports say it is extremely fast, able to keep up with Superhuman speeds, like your colleague if I am right. Katsa was it not? I have invented this machine to be able to fill in voids left by people like you and me. Do not get me wrong, you are an elite agent, and I am a scientist with an appetite for explosions, but if I get confronted with one of those Supers, I am more roasted then toast. Supers have an added element we both do not have. Well, theoretically speaking, Supers with battle-powers. As you know, I am a Super too, but my skills are at most remotely battle-related. I take it you too, read my file.''

Gregory took a gulp from his coffee, and looked at his surroundings. What if there never were rebels. He wondered that for quite some time, but everytime, he would remember how rebels were inevitable. He wondered how Darius would think about this, before they would discuss the device he had created.

''Comrade, I keep wondering about this Resistance. Do they not say that resistance is futile? Yet I keep wondering. What is it they fight for? Freedom? Power? Or simply fame and notoriety? History teaches us that there will always be opposing forces. But this dictatorship, as it is, is it not beautiful? I would almost compare it to the glorious Communism. It is even less flawed. If only these Rebels would lay down their arms and come to us like brothers, sisters and comrades, there would be no problem. I myself enjoy enough freedom, do you not? The thing is, if there would have never been a Resistance, I would not have been here, creating these devices. Or seeing the light of revelation, as my powers have given me that light.''

Gregory gulped his coffee down in one go, almost inhumane fast. Darius was sure the doctor should have burned his tongue or anything, but apparently, this was not the case. Gregory took off his sunglasses, clicked them to his lab coat pocket, and scratched his hair, looking a bit dumb.

''Or do you want to talk about the machine? I do not even have a name for it. What about Bobo the Blasting Briefcase?''

Darius grabbed the reports from the table and examined them a bit. Most if it looked like algebra to him, but he did make out what Gregory noted. The device was fast, real fast.

"I don't even care if you name it, I only care about this thing doing it's job. And it seems it does that quite effective."

This thing was perfect for every situation. A seemingly harmless briefcase of total carnage. I mean who would suspect a briefcase to transform into a highly lethal weapon.

Gregory mentioned his own powers, first implying he had no powers at all. As he suspected Darius had indeed read his file after their first meeting. The man created stuff at a genius level, without even knowing who, how or what. It seems alot of things commonly used by their agency was designed by his hands, and although a lot of things came in a real explosive manner, most of it was quite effective.

But the last thing Gregory talked with him about did not make him happy at all. What if the resistance never existed... The his parents would still be alive, but he would probably still be an agent.

"Those rebels will not lay down arms. They think we do humanity wrong or something, while they are the ones terrorizing humanity and keeping us from doing our work. Let it just be that our work involves the safekeeping of humanity. Even if they lay down arms and greet us like, how did you say, borthers and sisters, Id still have them locked down, executed and never heard from again. They don't deserve a place in this world."

Darius expression had turned from enthusiastic to a face full of hatred. He dispised the rebels and would stop at nothing to gun down every one of them. He knew he was quite outspoken in this subject, but it didn't really matter to him, it was his truth.

Alyss flopped down on the couch and looked at the clothes she had stuffed in her hand. She shifted through the clothes and moved back up to the closet, deciding there was nothing in her hand she really liked.
She moved the massive pile of clothes around until she found a short black dress and a pair of dark tights. She pulled them out and smiled.
She found her bag from earlier that she had dropped on the sofa and pulled out clean underwear and quickly pulled them both on. She looked at her body in the mirror, pulling the white skin away from the bones.
"Eurgh, grow some damn curves Alyss." she hissed, unhappily. Wrenching the dark tights up over her hips and sliding the black dress down she smiled at the perfect fit. She rummaged around in the cupboard a little further and found a tartan blazer, which she instantly adored. She pulled it up onto her arms, finding it only a little too big. (See avatar for outfit)

She smiled in the mirrored and preened for a second before bounding out of the room and down the hall into the coffee room. She heard Darius's final words and narrowed her eyes, standing behind him.
"In all fairness to the rebels, Agent Steele, at least they have mercy. They let me get away without a scratch when I have killed many of their comrades beforehand. They're still like us, still basically humans and if anything their community is much friendlier than the one here. So show the tiniest amount of respect until the day comes when we get to kill them. Let them go down fighting rather than you just executing them with no honour or anything left." she hissed at him angrily.
In her months with the rebels she had sort of grown to like them, in their own way. And mixed with her dislike for the Agents, she was having a hard time listening to him. She tensed up, waiting for his response.

Darius burst out laughing at the serious attempt to lecture him about the resistance.

"Hahahaha, that's the weakest attempt to justify their way of dealing with things I've seen. The fact they let you go without a scratch shows how stupid they really are. I don't dislike our community in any way, it reflects what you show it yourself. Maybe that's why you supposedly think its unfriendly. And if this resistance appeals to you so much, what kept you from staying there..." he told her in all seriousness. His voice didn't sound angry, but showed a little dissapointment.

Alyss had been spying on them for a pretty long time now. Far too long for a normal person to stay untouched. Darius had seen the work of this resistance, and from his point of view it was not pretty at all, nothing like the orderly way the government took care of things. Darius sipped the last of his coffee and went on to his final words on the subject.

"I won't give them any respect. I'll give them justice for their actions, the justice of the grave."

His feeling were strong, but justified for those who knew what he had been through thanks to this resistance. Gregory's response was still unheared however, but the bear would probably come up with something totally unrelated.

Gregory found it only fair if he would react to Steele before those two would go at it. Even if they were on the same side, they were very much different.

''I reckon that for every rebel you kill, two more will come back. However, I assume you have your reasons for hating them. They are the unwanted flowers, or to some weeds in our garden, in our world, after all. If you have such strong will, then it explains your iron fist.''

Gregory frowned for a bit. Darius wasn't going to look through other eyes then his own. He wouldn't view anything from the rebels perspective. Though, why would he? The Government was here, it tried to establish control, and it tried to supress those who oppose them. Gregory had a good national feeling for the Government. In his mind, he had to help comrade Darius a bit though. Even if he was consumed by anger or hate when he talked about rebels, at least he spoke his mind to his heart's content. And well, if someone was going to use that device against the enemy of the Government, it was him.

''Listen comrade. I admire your dedication. I think that I just heard something explode, you too?''

Darius and Alyss didn't hear a thing. Gregory was there though, pretending he just heard a huge thermonuclear blast. He even went as far as to look under the table. He turned back to Darius placing his feet on the table again, this time on the other side however, not obstructing Alyss either.

''It is unsure when this product will be taken into production. Especially since is quite unsure how it works, except for the small compartments containing the small pinpointing explosives. If a prototype had just destroyed, it could be taken away and a new one would have to be built. It might not even function half as good, but I think you get the point. Robinson!!''

Robinson came in, closing the door behind him. With a pseudo-serious demeanor, Gregory said:

''Bring the exploded prototype suitcase to me please.''

''Sir..nothing has been destroyed except for the training course, obviously. The prototype did fine, it wasn't destroyed, not even damaged at all.''

''You are as subtle as a dead fish Robinson. Just like me at times. I will explain later, but for now, mister Steele is taking the briefcase for work. I bet he will be able to blow a lot of stuff up with it, preferringly paperwork. All I want for him in return is that he gives his new steel companion a name.''

Gregory looked over at Alyss, with a faint smile on his face. Even ifthose two were going against each other, he still would not mingle in it. It was not his place.

''...And hello Alyss, welcome back, it is good to see you. I see you took quite a few interesting clothes. I assume everything went alright?''

Gregory rubbed his eyes. His jade green eyes were really hurting, and he had no clear idea why. Robinson and everyone else noticed too, but it was Robinson who was asking first.

''Sir, are you alright?''

''Yes.''

''Sir, then why are you rubbing your eyes all the time?''

''Why do you ask obvious questions. They sting a bit. Eyes do that..''

Gregory turned back to his guests, still rubbing his eyes, while waiting for either Robinson to fetch the briefcase, or those two to react to each other. He yawned and took off his lab coat, showing a three-part suit beneath, except for the jacket. It looked classy on him, almost giving him an older more mature appearance, even if he was already the eldest of those present.