Stop the Virus

Two men in white lab coats stood over a young metahuman. The room was dark and sterile, water dripped from a leaky faucet. The young metahuman's toungue whipped around violently as he was injected with an amethyst coloured liquid. The metahuman slumped down in the confined bed. "Another failure." One of the scientists said as the metahumans tongue retracted to a normal length.

"Ugh." Joshua sat up. He had been having these prophetic dreams for a couple days now. "They must be related to the virus." He muttered to himself. Slowly he got up and placed a hand on the counter. He had taken to living in his curio shop since he had to mortgage his house to pay court fees against the nuclear companies.

Joshua composed an email, mostly for his own peace of mind, and sent it out to anyone he thought could help. He also placed fliers all across Chicago while crime fighting. Once he believed that stopping the virus was of the up most priority he shut down his investigation agency, a major source of income, looking around he flipped the sign to 'Closed unless called upon.'

In the streets of Chicago a black blur with red lighting coming off of it would be racing down the streets of the city searching for leads. Jason did want to bother with this place to begin with, but the effort would be worth it in the end. But only for his team of super villans that he worked with. Jason had gotten hold of leaked information about a virus that can get rid of the meta gene in a metahuman. He along with his team can really use it or at least the research on the virus.
Jason would then run on top of a apartment biulding and look over a street or two to see if he can find anything of interest or something that would help.

The information had come to Alpha not too long ago, in the form of a report given to him by Omega personally. It was in the standard manila envelope, stamped with red that labeled it classified and that alone showed it was some manner of important information. It had been thrown down before him, slapping softly against the white metallic desk as Alpha turned from the screen feed to the folder itself, eyes narrowing slightly as he considered it. With a sigh, he would pick up the folder and then thumb through the contents, eyes only flitting over the words and images. What had caught his interest was one thing, information of a rather interesting virus which had been secretly developed within a government facility. Something that Omega had dug up with a little persistence, one that would perhaps remove the metahuman problem if used correctly.

Afterall, humans would prove to be less trouble than the superpowered variety, so he would have to look into it. There were of course other methods one could gain superhuman capabilities, but he would deal with those when they came about. A smirk would form upon his lips as he turned to Omega, grey eyes considering his younger sibling for a moment. So it seemed that he had managed to draw something useful to him for once, or something this useful anyway. It was no threat to them, as they held no such metagene, but for the poor metahuman they would find themselves without those precious powers of theirs. Honestly this felt almost too good to be true, but then again Omega was known for his ability to get results, so he would not sell him short by any means.

”I must admit Omega, I am impressed.” Alpha noted with a smirk, once again scanning over the files. ”I might have to investigate this, along with perhaps you or Beta.” He noted with a nod, a screen before him shifting into static before bringing the image of a room into view. The room being that of the Beta, a young looking male with rather shaggy dirty blond hair reading through a magazine that modern teenagers read. ”Beta.” The male would stop what he was doing, turning towards the camera with a rather curious expression, raising a single eyebrow, but showing that his attention was grabbed. ”You need to get ready, we have important business at hand.” With a nod, the feed would fade and he only needed to wait.

Within a matter of moments, he would walk through the office door dressed for whatever mission they had, with mask in hand. With a nod, Alpha stood to his feet seemingly producing a mask of his own from under his desk and sighing. ”Now comes the hard part I suppose.” It was with that they were out. Within a few hours the two were standing before a singular building, wearing their masks and with all precautions taken. "So, you must be the one infected by this...virus." Alpha said rather plainly with hands held behind his back, Beta and Omega at his side.

One could question how to learn about a Virus. It could simply be through experiencing it, or it could be through researching it. But the problem lies in how would one even know about the virus, and then how would they learn what the Virus is and what it does. For Silus this was easy enough. He wasn't looking for the Virus when he stumbled upon the information he did. Rather he was looking for A VIRUS. More specifically a living pathogen taken to a humanoid composition, a creature of creating incurable diseases, absorbing knowledge and lives to add to it's own as a cushion from final death. This living disease was none other than "Bodycount".

Lucifer (Silus) was quick to assist his father, The Archon, when he learned that such a detrimental threat could have somehow been born into this realm and under the rules that all beings must abide in order to exist here. But Bodycount was NOT anything to be trifled with, even in a juvenile form he could wipe the western hemisphere clear in a matter of months, or so it was feared. Lucifer took night shift and observed any sightings or oddities online and through telephone connections he had. Meanwhile his companion, Castiel, was out in the city itself, looking for information and hear-say. It was through their vigilance against Bodycount that Lucifer came across a rather unique pattern, subtle inconsistencies in the official government records. Lucifer couldn't help but smirk as he began to pry into and hack the systems, getting Castiel on the phone as soon as he could.

"Cas. Get back here, I found something." Lucifer said into the phone with his semi-glowing indigo eyes fixated on the screen. The Eleven year old boy then proceeded to make a mockery of government security and manage to not only hack the system, but leave no trace to his ever having been there.

"What are ya thinkin'? Is it him?" Castiel asked over the phone, a slight Texan accent still lingering with the tan male. Lucifer smirked again, able to finally enjoy his companions quirks now that he had retrieved his soul, thanks to his villain brother.

"I dunno. This is some pretty bunk stuff though. I'll meet ya at Seigmond's for a little chat. Laters gators." Lucifer said as he hung up the phone. He hoped for the love of everything Castiel remembered their code words. The word "Bunk" tended to mean a high priority, "Seigmond's" was a code word for a little bar and grille not far form the park, and "Laters gators" means that it has something to do with the government. Hopefully Cas has wizened up a little because he can't have his angellic companion always thinking that "Seigmond's" means "I need a therapist" and "Laters gators" meaning "I think crocodile skin boots are sexy". because there is a huge difference between

This is some heavy stuff. Meet you at the bar and grille. Hurry because it's about the government!

and

This is some Heavy stuff. I really need a therapist because I think crocodile skin boots are sexy. This one especially is dangerous to say to a Texan angel.

Thankfully it would play over as it would, and they would likely be able to group up and discuss their next course of action at Sally's Sports Bar and Grille.

Joshua stood there staring at the three men. He raised an eyebrow when the one who was obviously in charge asked him about the virus. "Are you guys with the government? Because I told the lady at the office that I will have my taxes in in a couple days." He told them in a sarcastic tone while sizing them up. Given that they were with the government he very well might have to run, but they seemed a little young for that. "Aren't you guys a little young to be in the government? I know they alter dome rules for metahumans, but this is starting to get ridiculous." Now that both of those phrases were out there Joshua eyed them to judge their reactions deciding whether or not to trust them using a sarcastic tone as not to hurt feelings. When he was done talking he smirked at the three in front of him.

While talking he fidgeted around in his pockets feeling for a weapon. All he felt was his deck of cards. In his wand holster as always was his wand. While he was wearing his spring shoes the rest of the gear was inside, and judging from the men in front of him, he was going to need it.

Quick managed to find the others investigating this virus as he walked behind them after tracking them down. He had his hands in his pocket as he staired at the others in the room. "You forgot about me as I'm here about the virus as well." But he didn't let the others go unnoticed."I guest you people are here because of these idiots as well."

Alpha considered the infected individual, one carrying the very weapon that he would use in time. Not that anyone would have to know that, but for the moment he was keeping as careful eye upon the males every movement, as if they would tell him something, though they typically did anyway. Alpha could glean much out of simple facial twitches, and even just unconscious movements. ”If I were with the government, you would be unconscious or dead by now. Which you aren’t, so that answers one question.” He said this sounding not a bit annoyed by the males sarcasm, though he was wondering how he had guessed age through their masks and various other precautions. Luckily a mask obscured his features, or otherwise one could see the slightly annoyed expression on his face.

His attention however would move to a third party, though when they had entered he could not quite tell. ”He appeared in my area before I had time to register it, either a speedster or teleporter.” Omega’s thoughts would ring within Alpha’s head. He nodded, and sighed, looking to the newcomer with a hidden annoyance. Part of him wanted to snap the males neck, but he did not, that would serve him nothing in the end.

”Yes, we are here about the virus.” Alpha would nod, hands buried into his pockets.

They were en-route to their mutual meeting space when Silus found himself perplexed by the concept that there were two men seeming to question another. Suddenly the third one appeared. Of course, Silus had the mental processing speeds that close to rivaled his father's so he was very easily able to perceive and track the movements of the fast individual that appeared. Sadly, Silus had found he had much in common with his best friends Ryan, in the respects that he absolutely hated speedsters for the fact he lacked the appropriate reaction time to deal with what he was able to process and perceive. Cocking his head to the side the shaggy haired boy with glowing indigo eyes would quickly send out a "change of plans" text message before he would trot up to the remainder of the group, one of them seeming a bit more fidgety than the other.

”Yes, we are here about the virus.” The words were like stones in his heart. He was careful to show not emotion, but stopped suddenly, then looked both ways on the street. For a moment he'd allow cars to pass as he contemplated the significance of the comment he had overheard. It could in fact be ANY virus really. But wouldn't one expect them to say "about the -Virus name- outbreak...or even just call the virus by it's name? This could actually just be paranoia, as Silus was dealing with the subject of a virus recently. With an instant he decided that he himself would be joining in on the conversation.

    As the boy with indigo glowing eyes approached he noted that the man had a wand, which caused Silus to smile a little bigger than normal. With a whimsical little hum he approached before he let out a rather childish giggle. "Hey! What's with the company big bro?" Silus asked, looking to Joshua, ensuring he was positioned in a way no one but he could see. His eye widened and shifted to the side as if he were attempting to silently warn Joshua about these people. Granted, Silus had no idea what their intentions were. For all Silus was aware they were here to sell metahuman boyscouts or something. I meant to type girl scout cookies but you know what, they look like the type who sell boyscouts.

    "Dad told me I was supposed to come here after school. Mom's in the hospital." Silus added quickly, only giving further giving reason for Silus and this man to be excused from the people with the strange questions. Silus could only hope that this man were somehow smart enough to take a hint and play along. He was also hoping he wouldn't be lame and predictable by stating that Silus wasn't his brother. The way it was currently, he could deal with whatever this was on his own which was a terrible idea.... or he could use Silus to his advantage. It doesn't take rocket science to tell that two men showing up on your doorstep asking about a virus wasn't a good sign. Be they from the government or not. The world was full of anti-metahuman bigots, many people would weaponize or use that virus for their own gain. "She's got that Virus...dad didn't want me near her." Silus said, feigning disappointment and a heavy-hearted tone. Ultimately he was hoping to throw off these strange people through a loop. Assuming that Joshua was speaking of the mother that Silus was.

"Oh man, really?" Joshua feigned upset. He turned to the men asking about his virus. "Sorry guys I have to go. It seems my adoptive mother is sick." With that statement Joshua turned to leave to the hospital before turning back into his shop. "I am gonna bring her something call a cab while I get it." Joshua yelled to the child putting his gear in a decorative bag.

Alpha was ready to restraint the male in necessary, but it seemed that complications were coming anyway, mostly in the form of someone claiming to have been the male’s younger brother. Yet, there seemed to be no records of him having a brother, meaning that something was up indeed. No, there was also something familiar about the boy, something that Omega picked up on far before Alpha had and something that was being transmitted to Alpha within less than a second via hive mind. He had to keep his composure, otherwise perhaps he would blow his cover quicker than wanted, and considering that he did not want to do so at all. ”So she does.” Alpha muttered to himself almost as an afterthought, pausing for a moment and already adjusting his strategy. ”Sorry for wasting your time.” Not that he was by any means planning to leave this as it was.

With a motion of his hand, he would urge Omega to follow after, though it was among the information highway that was the hive mind that he was sharing his newer plan. This involved mostly grasping onto every viable mind within reach and infecting them with that oh so lovely psionic virus. They would have all information upon these two, along with the technological edge. Now all they needed to do was wait really, leaving the shop and making sure enough distance was made before waiting.

Silus nodded and quickly withdrew a cellphone and put it up to his ear. He quickly began speaking a foreign language into the phone, a better observation would have been that the language was Italian. He was talking to his daddy, though thank Archon for secured technology that works on a magically protected science. Silus pretended as if he were calling a cab and on a first name basis with the people at the place. Of course Silus was getting nothing but confused Italian from the other side, and probably a really confused Michael or Sean.

"Okay, ready when you are!" Silus called back to the house.

"I'm sorry boys, but i have to go. " Joshua's heels clicked on the ground with an unusual style as he began to leave for the hospital. In his mind he tried to figure out who the new kid was. He had a sense of familiarity about him. Possibly a distant relative to an aquaitance or something of the like. It did not matter, however, because at the moment he seemed to be helping instead of hindering as the agents would most likely do due to their men in blackish appearance. The child seemed more than mundane, so to his knowledge he was in good hands. Unless a fight breaks out between them, then Joshua would have to play his ever so favorite role of protector.