A.R.E.S. - The Formation

[Azraeth]

He could feel hope tingling in his legs and arms, like the residual burst of electricity, some time after a shock. Azraeth had been around for long enough to know that the only thing that usually motivated vampires into working together was to kill something. The illusion this created was that their kind were proactive, but the truth was that every passing year only left the denizens of Harper Rock closer and closer to exposure. The method, he key tactic, was always to strike first and strike hard. While there would always be a case for violence, Az suspected that a touch of subterfuge and diplomacy would go a lot further. How did modern governments operate? Not through force, at least not the most powerful ones. Intimidation, spying, carefully said placating words. Power only came from force in a world where there was no media, no education, and lacking communication systems.

Harper Rock was a locus of vampiric activity, a hive ready to burst. Before the return of the elders, vampires had been unafraid to spread all over the globe. In those days, they could be killed as well, seemingly permanently. Of course secrecy was easy to enforce, when you only had a few vampires to a large population of humans, and bad eggs could be tossed in the proverbial trash. But that wasn't the reality vampires lived with in Harper Rock, and continuing to act like it was, was silly.

But the meeting wasn't about secrecy, and it wasn't just about vampires. He wasn't going to let his own shortsightedness cloud the discussion, so he kept his tongue in check and decided not to start off the conversation. Besides, he was fairly sure Nemesis had a few choice thoughts. Instead, Az moved to sign his name on the paper, and ceased to be Az. Or rather. He took on a second identity, that of Moros, the newly born member of A.R.E.S.. He continued waited near the paper, so he could watch as people signed, mainly so he knew how to address people properly. He didn't want to have to point and go 'hey you.' And quite a few people filtered in, more of a crowd than Moros considered might attend.

He felt the faintest of paranoid thoughts creep long fingers around his heart. Could he trust these people? His jaw gritted for a moment. Prima facie consideration of working with a team; you had to be willing to actually give a modicum of trust. He breathed, chest expanding. Now the real trouble. Who would really be team players? The anonymity, at least, removed the impetus for the less courageous of the gathered group to panic.

Nemesis spoke then, with a clear voice, laying things out in terminology that was as blunt as it was, in the experience of Moros, relatable. There were many truths that went unsaid amongst the supernatural.

Moros let arms fold over his chest as if he were afflicted by the chill. Late night in February, in Canada, could be brutal. He watched the others as Nemesis spoke, and noted the human fiddling with a phone. He was keenly aware he should have been worried about what might happen if the whole thing was being filmed, he wasn't. The whole trust thing again. A voice came from the device, feminine but unfamiliar. It seemed A.R.E.S. had grown one number stronger. Not just a name on a sheet, but a commitment to make things happen. Moros openly smiled. It was nice, for once, to not have a fight on his hands. That seemed to always be the response to new ideas, or structure. He recalled years before when Chad had been around and the Worthingtons had attempted to find some sort of purpose.

Most vampires knew how that had ended. The lineage had gone to shambles, and was widely regarded as a joke. What most people didn’t know was why. The very simple truth had been that there were too many cooks in the kitchen. Chad had been trying to lead, and appoint other people to lead. Silver Argent, Scorpia, Perry, Nikolae, Etienne, Mortll; and those were just the names he could remember. There had been factions within factions within factions. The Dragomir had stood solidly through most of it, before the politics had grown disgustingly arduous, and they had gone into a sort of seclusion. The problem with the Worthingtons had been that everyone had a lot of self-motivation and not a lot of reason to work as a team. Everyone wanted a piece of the pie, but nobody wanted to do the baking. So it had crumbled into the shadow it currently was.

The Worthingtons were a microcosm of the whole supernatural world, in that way.

A man who had signed his name as Argonaut spoke next. First, Moros mentally applauded the mythological reference, which somewhat matched both his and Nemesis's. Second, Moros listened. "I think you raise a good set of points." He finally said. "From a structural point of view, I think it's necessary, if we are going to get anything accomplished, everyone feel comfortable in speaking and relating their experiences. More importantly, nothing of any serious impact can be done by a single individual, so thank you for starting the conversation rolling." He started.

Az had broken into government facilities before. He'd been at the White Hall as well, though his own endeavours there had been fruitless. Not that it mattered anymore. He had broken into corporate compounds as well, which could be just as heavily guarded as a military facility, depending on the group involved. "I think what you're asking for is strategy, and that's exactly why we're here. Personally, I think the specifics should be discussed more rigorously at a later date. However, I think you're exactly right. Attacking a military base head on is a terrible idea, but there is, as the saying goes, more than one way to skin a cat. I think our supernatural community has suffered too long under the delusion that violence is the key to success."

He lightly cleared his throat. He felt like someone had shoved an epipen right into his heart. He could almost taste the adrenaline and the nerves. He wasn't a public speaker. It had been easier as Superbia. One flesh abiding, strong and unifying. The message had been so easy then. A clear voice and a challenge. But then Superbia had died and the Daughters of Destiny had ceased to function. And Az had come back, with the same foibles that came with having spent most of his life as an introverted nerdboy. "My point is that we have had some five years to build a power base within Harper Rock. In that time, we could have enthralled numerous people in power. Our Mayor is himself a thrall. We could have built careful alliances between the right communities. Formed symbiotic bonds. We could have done any number of things, and haven't, because we are like a shattered mirror. I'm willing to listen to ideas. I want us to do something of value, something to actually prepare for the future rather than just survive."

He could almost feel his voice wavering there towards the end, and knew his gumption was flagging. "Anyway, yes. We should come up with a real strategy, maybe even a few. Maybe even bigger plans. We should do something other than let everyone else have the power to evoke change, while we languish." And then he was done, because he'd said what he needed to say. It wasn't much, and he knew that. He had raw enthusiasm on his side though. He desired a change, and he was willing to put his own life (ha!) on the line for it. He suspected Nemesis was already working on a site for debate and discussion, and specific strategies, but Moros wasn't about to speak for him.

A woman spoke from behind an animal mask, and Moros couldn't help but nod in her direction, in agreement. While he did not personally think secrecy was destined to last, he didn't consider it his job to go down the streets firing off guns, saying 'HEY, VAMPIRES IS REAL, Y'ALL'. The issue with the 'Masquerade' as Moros saw it was that it was simultaneously shortsighted and doomed. Every year more and more pictures and videos were uploaded than every previous year, that was a fact. Eventually information would hit the web, and even if vampires were the best hackers in all of history, it just took one person downloading a copy of a video for it to be redistributed and go viral. Edward Snowden. Wikileaks. If arguably the only superpower in the world could not keep its top secret information from falling into the wrong hands, what made the vampires of Harper Rock think they could keep an even bigger secret? Vampires who had no central government, and no organization.

That's what they needed. Organization. And if secrecy fell, what then? There were no backup plans. Nobody had bothered to make one. So to Moros, keeping their actions covert was vital. They needed to act in secrecy so they could lay the groundwork for the future. "I agree." He said, belatedly. "We need to plan every move carefully." He tacked on at the end. And build a power base. And grow a network. The seeds of success were gathered in the warehouse, at the very least. Time to see if they would grow to fruition.

[Marian Merchant]

Oculus watched as others filed in, donned in their masks of sorts, filling out the sheet, then taking their places. Keeping silent throughout the beginning talks, she simply held her mask in place, since it was not one that would simply be tied on or fastened. These men and women talked of things that impacted the city, something that she had never truly thought of before. She had never taken the time to wonder how her own actions could affect the city, both positive and negative. With the others in their debates, this left the albino to her thoughts, where she found herself drifting into, for the first time in years. How could one person's actions affect the city? Was this something that she would need to monitor? Tracing her own actions back to her sire's deadly embrace with her, in her first entering the city, she thought this was a good place as any to start. At the beginning. Not Genesis, but it was close enough in her mind. She thought of the initial wanderings, since the embrace, and she had indeed made mistakes and stumbled, though she did realize her errors, and would mend them as best and as quick as possible.

Oculus began to think to a professor in school, explaining actions as ripples in water. Even the smallest ripple could end up becoming a large and unstable wave later on. The woman's own ripples would remain as small as she could manage, nearing non-existent if possible. Events were talked of, places, that she had never ventured, and maybe she would never venture at all. Strategy was talked of. A clear and concise one was needed, truly, or else the goal of this coalition would never see fruition. Greater minds busy in talk, Oculus did not trouble the others with her own additions, as she did not believe she had the qualifications to provide words of value. In truth, she was there for an educational standpoint, to learn, to grow, to be of use at any value, be it physical or non. As she sat, a familiar presence was felt, as if she knew a few of the others within the group, though she could not put a finger on it. It was like she knew, but when she tried to bring herself to it, the knowledge would disappear. If familiar bodies were at this meeting, then perhaps she would be in good hands.

Oculus found herself once more in thought, processing the information the others were speaking of, as well as attempting to find some way to tie herself into use of this group. A simple cog in the machine still kept the machine running, though she was unsure how she could assist. She did not have a pedigree in war, nor did she have vast knowledge of the military. She was a young woman who found herself busy in the ganglands, mostly, dealing with the gangbangers, or she was on the computer at home, when she found the time, deleting evidence of vampires' existence, to preserve the Masquerade. Preserving it wasn't something she really cared for, it just seemed like 'the right thing to do', so to speak. Perhaps it was the point of privacy, that she wished to do so, as she was rather against the point of others meddling in vampiric affairs. What separated this meeting from the 'meddling in vampiric affairs', though, was that it did not solely impact the vampires, to her knowledge. It impacted quite a wide variety.

Perhaps, Oculus wondered, the city would for once be able to settle a dispute, a conflict of this nature, without having to gun down every man, woman, and child, in sight. The fate of the paladin that the Dragon Lady of the CrowNet came to mind. His warpath was only brought on by the slaughter of his order. To her knowledge, this felt as if it was a just assault, though it still risked the safety of many others. Perhaps the order had done something to bring about the senseless slaughter. Perhaps not. She was not around then, to tell for sure, though the ripples could be felt for sure, and not just by her. Perhaps the slaughter of the Masquerade violators could have similar ripples, perhaps not, it was hard to say. She was no oracle. Her mind meddled about with many things, as she sat, watched, listened, learned, putting a few puzzle pieces together in her mind when the right parts aligned. Perhaps she'd learn more soon. One would hope. She did find satisfaction in learning.

[CharlotteC]

Charlie had stood there for a moment, leaning against the wall, watching as others walked into the warehouse, some looking as though this had become a sort of halloween-esque gathering, perhaps some others might look at the people entering and believing it to be some sort of concert or rave that allowed the masks and costumes and other things that hid their true appearance. She stood there a moment longer, but then crossed the street, as she did, she glanced at a woman. She was about her height and build, but she was blond, her hair cut in a short bob, and clearly this woman not only had money but loved to flaunt it. It was then that Charlie allowed two things to happen.

First was that her hand slipped into the woman’s purse as the two passed each other, and when she pulled her hand back, clearly not even tipping off the woman of what had happened, she was pleased to see that she was now a good $200 richer. The second thing that happened was that she allowed her alter ego to come out and play - so to speak. Her long chocolate tresses shortened until it was like the woman’s bob, it even went from brunette to platinum blonde in color. Though her face was now hidden, at least from the nose up by her techy masquerade mask, her face shifted just enough to resemble the woman in detail, no longer looking like herself. Between this power, and her mask, she hoped no one would recognize her.

She slipped into the warehouse and it seemed she had been right on time, because only moments later, the door was shut behind her. Charlie didn’t jump, but her curious nature did have her head pivoting around to spot who had done it. She felt a tingle, the sort of tingle that told her she was close to someone within her true bloodline. Someone connected to the Worthington line. It was the sort of thing that made the hair on her arms raise as if she were on high alert. Charlie made her way over towards a column and leaned against it as the male began to speak. As he did, she listened, but her eyes, they moved through the crowd, wondering if she would spot anything that would tip her off as to who she may or may not have known.

Charlie could feel a bit of familiarity in the air, but it was hard to tell between all the others she knew for a fact were strangers. Then again, when her own appearance was changed as it was, she knew that they wouldn’t know her. That is, unless they were really looking for her. The male was still speaking, and as he spoke, her eyes went to a table. That table, it had a pad of paper on it, and from where she stood, she could see there was writing on it, but she couldn’t tell what. He on the other hand was clear about what he wanted, why he had brought everyone together. At least, from what she was hearing.

She watched as he spoke, moving about a bit, and then looked to the pad once more. Charlie’s appearance was so different from her own, she knew that drawing attention to her would do no real harm, and it seemed that this Nemesis believed that, at least for now, they were in the presence of those of a like mind, so she moved forward, glanced at the pad and saw the names written on them. For a moment, she wondered what name she would give herself, and as she wondered, she noticed that a male with a mask from the Ninja Turtles entered the room. Her brow lifted, though it was hidden by her own mask. Her eyes shifted back to the paper, a paper she had already recorded to memory because of her photographic memory. That is when the name came to her.

She scrawled in a messy calligraphy of sorts “Lady Pentax” and then set the pen down and made her way back to the column that she had chosen to be her ‘base’ for this meeting. Her eyes roamed around the room again, all the while listening to those that began to speak. One name called her attention, ‘Michael’. Her eyes automatically went to him, but she said nothing. And then another began to speak, someone she couldn’t and knew she most likely never would recognize. He brought up some good points. The government had things that, yes, could wipe out the vampire world, but at the same time, she still believed that there were ways they could co-exist without having to live in shadows and shame just for the respect of mortals.

A soft sigh left her parted lips before she fell silent and listened as another began to speak. Her eyes shifted towards the new voice and again, she felt a sort of connection - weak though it was - to the person. Perhaps another Worthington. She would never know. That much she was pretty much sure of. She had not seen hide nor hare of the Dragomir line since their last meeting, but perhaps, that wasn’t totally their fault. He spoke, so she listened to what he had to say, though it was nothing really of importance other than to thank the other person for getting the ball rolling. Well, that and that they needed to plan, and plan well, and plan carefully.

There was a slight roll of her eyes though, he had been right about other things as well. They could have done so much more, but how could they when they were too busy killing each other over the trivial things. Things like ‘keeping secret’ what they were. As he mentioned that the new mayor was a thrall, that had caught her attention. A thrall, in power of this city. That meant that the city was pretty much under the control of one vampire yet again. Like that blasted Crow she had heard had gone into hiding. Perhaps that was who was the master to the thrall. One could never tell, and she had a feeling they probably never would.

Her eyes once again took in the people that were standing and sitting about. She recorded every look every fidget, every move about the room to memory. She could and likely would recall in in the privacy of her home and make a mental note about everyone, see if she could spot those things in the normal night to night lives of those around her. It was one of those things that would keep her mind busy. Though she rarely looked it anymore, she was always thinking, hacking, creating things without really moving a muscle. She crossed her arms across her chest as she continued to watch everyone.

She wanted to help, and she likely would, but she wanted to make sure that she was not outed, that she was not going to get stabbed in the back or betrayed. The only way that happened? Is that she did not speak. Would not speak, would not give herself away and give the enemy the ammo needed to send her back to the shadow realm. Assholes.

[Trahir Trahison]

Trahir stood and slowly make his way to the front of the room. He could already tell the crowd contained some zealots for one side or the other, some cowards who would smile and nods, carry through whatever was suggested and then either bail on the grand scheme if it faced true opposition or cry and whine that someone treated them unfairly because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. He almost wanted to clap the thrall on the back for his master. A proxy clap as it were. He has considered doing much the same thing with Nicolette but thought her more valuable than the average vampire. After all, she knew how to use words instead of simply shooting others to get her point across.

"First off", he said, looking over the others in attendance, not bothering to try and figure out who they were, "I think most of you are cowards. The only reason you are here is to float along on the shirt tails of someone else who actually has an idea and if they recommended licking windows until others all started licking them too because they thought you looked cool doing it there wouldn't be a dry pane of glass in the city."

He gave an unseen condescending smile to the group and then motioned to Azraeth, though he had no clue who he was under his disguise. "That man has at least the vaguest idea of how to go about what we... or you... depending how stupid your suggestions are... on how to go about things. If you attack the military they attack back. They have the Quarantine Zone, They've had it for some time. We would be foolish not to think they may have been oh, I don't know, surveying it? There is a very good chance they have every face of every being on video who has passed into the area. If I was them, with how cheap webcams are, I would."

"So it's good someone wants to do something without making a spectacle of ourselves. The question though is this. After we have no doubt made said spectacle of ourselves, how do we slash you intend to fix that without implicating the rest of us slash them. Them being those who decided not to bother with this meeting ."

With that the hockey masked man calmly returns to his seat and slides into it, throwing an arm over the empty chair beside him.

[Yuri]

The day had Yuri worn out, furthermore she had to wake up early for work tomorrow. With that thought in mind, she turned to head home but slowed down not even a minute later and glanced back at the crowd of spirits. Would she be able to get any shut eye with so many of them wandering around? Hastily turning around she proceeded towards the spirits, wanting to know what they were up to by gathering outside the abandoned warehouse. Upon closer inspection, she noticed there were two different groups of spirits. One group seemed to be guarding the warehouse, while the other group were in heated discussions among themselves.

“May I ask what is going on?” She approached one of them. The spirit’s head swiveled round to face her like it were disconnected from its body.

‘You can see us?’ A rough voice responded.

Even though the spirit was now facing her, Yuri could not tell its expression. The spirit’s face was badly disfigured with scars covering one side of her face while the other half was burnt badly, she’d say third degree burns. Further observation told Yuri it had been no accident from the way the scars littered the other half of the woman’s face. From what she could see, the spirit was in fact a petite woman judging from the curves of her body that showed through the translucent white gown. Upon seeing this, no begging from the spirit was needed (which was usually the case). Yuri would help her, even if the spirit did not want her help.

“How can I help?” Was all Yuri said. Her eyes alone were enough to show how much she genuinely wanted to help. Straightaway, the woman’s eyes turned sorrowful before anger flared up, raging flames in her eyes.

‘Those cruel bastards! They did this to us!!!’ She screeched causing the group of spirits who had been discussing amongst themselves to turn in their direction. All of them were disfigured, one way or another. Some were missing limbs while some others had parts of their bodies opened up and skin hanging like someone had been operating on them.

“Who do you speak of and why are you gathered here?” Yuri asked them and no sooner had she asked, the teen was ushered into another abandoned building and surrounded by the spirits as they hurriedly retold their tales to her in summarised versions. It was around fifteen minutes later that they were done and Yuri’s head was spinning with terrorizing newfound knowledge. Previous small doubts about sleeping well that night had flown out the window. With this knowledge in mind she, without a doubt, would not be sleeping that night. Once again.

“So they’re having a discussion regarding this matter in there?” She reiterated slowly.

The spirits nodded in affirmation having seen the people going into the warehouse. Yuri was not clear on how they knew of this gathering but chose to ask later. Right now, she had a gathering to attend.

‘Hide identity... use code name.’ A spirit spoke up in a voice that sounded like acid had been poured down his throat.

The spirit that had spoken was met with a blank stare until her mind comprehended his words. Nodding, she donned a black faceless mask which she had brought for her previous task but failed to wear it. Pulling her hood over head and zipping her oversized hoodie all the way up, she turned to face the spirits and was met with approvals. With the way she looked, one would not be able to tell if she were male or female just by looking. She was also not wearing any form of perfume.

Calmly walking across the space between the two buildings, she observed the other group of spirits. They appeared calmer compared to the group she had spoken to. Yuri gave them no form of acknowledgement and entered the abandoned warehouse without hesitation. She trusted the spirits information. If it was a trap… well, she often had the notion that she would die helping them.

The door had been left slightly open, muffled voices the only telltale signs of an ongoing discussion. Pulling the door open wide enough for her to slip through, Yuri instantly caught sight of a table with a piece of paper set in the middle of it. Finally stepping afoot into the warehouse, the 18 year old swept the place with her eyes and found many others with hidden identities already seated as she walked towards the table with the piece of paper. After a moment of looking at it she concluded that this was where everyone wrote their code names, thus followed suit.

In hasty handwriting, she wrote “Hei”, before calmly moving over to join the group, taking a seat in the closest empty chair she could find and as silently as she was capable of.

With an open mind she listened to what others had to say, waiting patiently as she played with the camera in her pocket. Her goal was simply to help the spirits.

[Nikolae]

Nemesis stood relatively silent, and relatively still as the others were given their chance to speak. He was glad of those who did, and weary of those who remained silent. What he had arranged here was dangerous, and he had a feeling every soul in this building recognized that fact. Vampires working with humans – even those of special talents – was taboo at the very least and, to those more paranoid of his kind, cause for a death sentence at worst. And he knew without a doubt that there were mortals in their midst. The one with the phone was definitely a mortal, and by the sound of things a thrall for a female vampire. Intriguing. Reptile eyes narrowed behind his dark tinted glasses, but he nodded with a twitch of a smile. Very clever of the woman. He hoped she would present herself in the future; he wasn’t sure what good a thrall would do when put up against the sort of trouble ARES was no doubt going to shake loose. Still, he dipped his head to the mortal male in greeting.

The next to speak was a man with bravado, and sound arguments against their odds. Still, the male seemed to recognize the same threat Nemesis found these humans behind their fences posed. He nodded with the man’s words, recalling the race years prior himself. “You’re absolutely right. Despite our vast powers, somehow these people out maneuver us at every turn. That in itself proves how dangerous they truly are. And how vulnerable all of us in this town are. Together, we no doubt all possess unique skills which can be stacked to change those odds.” He paused, narrowing his gaze and glancing around the room again uncertainly. Nemesis was a veritable power house of skills and abilities he’d picked up in his long years in this town, but he was not yet ready to reveal the extent of his powers. Not until he knew who would stand at his back and who would stab it instead.

He nodded to himself anyways. “Unexpected is most certainly the name of the game. Fighting is a fools errand. The simple man’s game, really. There are so many other things we are capable of than bashing our fists into an enemies face and gloating about it afterward.” He added. “We work in shadows. Small goals, little chinks at the rock we mean to topple. So small that perhaps our work might not be noticed until it is too late. That doesn’t mean there won’t be danger. I believe full heartedly that we must infiltrate and observe, learn what it is these humans have planned. And do what we must to wrestle back control of this town, ultimately. There are bigger things at play, things our fellows don’t seem to want to look at and realize.”

Nemesis smiled behind his makeshift mask at the woman who spoke, and shrugged his shoulders simply, causing the leather jacket to make a slight bit of noise with the motion. “Yes. They know our tricks. Makes one wonder how they learned them. What poor ******** did they dissect to understand the capacity all our kind are capable of?” He flexed his fingers, palm pointed down at the floor. “And who knows what their abilities are. Mere mortals? Or something more?” He gestured around the room slightly. “Even now, I don’t think any creature alive knows the extent of what… paranormal powers exist in this realm of ours.”

He trailed off, half lost in his own thoughts a moment, the familiar sound of his first borne childes voice ringing his careful statements. Raeth – Moros – was nothing if not exceedingly careful in everything he chose to do, even if that choice was changing his entire body on what appeared to be a whim. Something best left forgotten, Nikolae reminded himself ruefully. Another man had responded, brashly but with fair points. Nemesis was skeptical of the silent parties himself, but perhaps they were still uncertain of their own parts able to be played in this symphony of sorts. He shrugged again in reaction to the demanded question.

“Anonymity will always be imperative, I think. To one another, to outsiders. Certainly to the enemies we mean to pick apart. Sure, there may well be security cameras… but how many have passed by? Our faces remain shielded. Our identities hidden.” He paused, considering his own words. “If you mean, what should we do if our operations are realized and implicate the rest of our species?” He tilted his head, because his face was too hidden to reveal his expression. “We continue to remain hidden. We react like any of the others of our kind, with surprise and anger. And we continue our work. Resolves must not be shaken, least of all by those who would use any moment of weakness to destroy us all – and by all I mean us-slash-them.” He grinned, though it was likely hidden behind the handkerchief covering the lower half of his face.

Nemesis did not have all the answers. He had the problem. He had the broadest sense of a solution. And that seemed to be more than almost the entirety of the population in the city had – a fact which baffled him even as he stood here amongst others who would defy that statistic. If nothing else, this meeting had settled the worry in his mind that no one else in this town of selfish short-sighted murderers had an inkling of what was really going on beneath the veneer of the surface. Who cared who killed whom anymore, not when death was a mere nuisance to their kind. What mattered was who was pulling the strings, and who could do far worse than temporarily kill them.

“I say again. We must learn our enemy, learn what is really going on in this town. And then take it back. By force only if necessary, but only that. It’s high time we understand so much more than we’ve been led to believe, the crumbs offered to us about our own existence – and a fragile existence at that. I hope together we can do that.” He nodded to the paper, pleased to see a longer list than he’d ever hoped for, really.

[Cathy Dawn]

Cathy watched and then looked at Vincent with a smile on her face. Looking up at the man in front before she stood up and spoke her voice was a bit soft as she spoke but she did project it. "What if we send in someone that they can not see I know humans can not see the people that I see well the one that has bonded to me. He told me it was safe here tonight and he is here with me. I am not sure anyone else can see him but me but I could send him in to get some Info and report it back if that is at all possible." It was at this point she noticed all the people and her one curse started to kick in. As it did Vincent stood beside her to keep her calm he could tell she was not going to do good in the setting since all her senses where being attacked by everything in the room. She quickly sat down and bit her bottom lip.

[Lily Chen]

Lily listened silently as she stood near the back of the grouping. Being shorter than most she was easily able to hide herself behind a few of the taller individuals and stay, mostly, out of sight. She liked it better that way. It meant that anyone approaching her would have to come at a more awkward angle and given the...particular aroma she knew she gave off it wasn't a far thought that she and a few others could suddenly become the center of attention at an attempted vampire buffet. While part of her relished the thought of taking a few of the fanged bastards down with her the words that met her ears had an odd truth to them, a truth she had heard once before when she had met that Hebigumo woman a few months ago. A soft sigh escaped her as she remembered how that mess had turned out. Seal the portals they said, It'll be easy they said. Pfft. Apparently her past employers were just as dense and unknowing as this particular gathering was. Well, in part at least.

It wasn't until a hockey mask wearing man stepped forward and called them all cowards that her fists actually clenched. She could feel the heat building in her palms and, in an attempt to avoid an issue she quickly relaxed, a small gust of warm air blasting the dirt away from her feet. Control, Lily. Do not let your emotions rule you. The words of her mentor echoing through her mind as she attempted to regain the balance that only true serenity could bring. The vision of a flower balanced upon a single finger flitted through her mind. The wind of the world trying to unbalance her and force her to fall. This was something she could simply not allow. Even with the flood of emotions bombarding her, Lily stood stoic and silent for the time being. When silence fell finally and the door ceased to open to allow entrance to others she would step forward. Her oriental regalia setting her apart from a majority of the crowd. The blank kabuki mask giving an almost eerie look.

"And how do you expect to fight for a better life for all of us, human and vampire alike, when it's a well known fact that there are those in this city that would almost gleefully indulge in extermination of a multitude of different species? When our own brethren tear at each other's throats. We are all in the midst of a war with all sorts of different types and there is an idea of starting another one and fighting it anonymously? It is only a matter of time before someone slips and they are discovered. What happens when the military takes them and forces them to work against them? Or use their powers against us to discover our identities or our homes or our loved ones? Those of us that decide to unite under this cause will never truly be safe. Keep that in mind."

She spoke only what she believed to be fact. Spoke only with her mind and not her heart. Her emotions would not rule her this night, not when there was so much at stake. Not when she could face death at any moment. Logic, cold and hard, was the only avenue she saw to living through the night. Then again...she had lived long enough and passed her knowledge on to others. An honorable death wouldn't be the worst thing in the world would it? Refusing to step back she nodded to Nemesis curtly and smiled even though the mask would hide it.

"Even if we do not succeed. Maybe we will eave behind a legacy and inspire others. Maybe we'll get everyone we care and love killed. Who knows. Only a life of uncertainty and risk is truly worth living."

[Wendigo]

Wendigo managed well to suppress Argonaut's instinct to respond to every question and comment. He found himself surprised to agree with most of them, although some clearly did not know the extent to what they were up against.

"Wraiths won't work," he started simply. "If so, we'd have a map. Spirit Cages are ubiquitous. Even Hebigumo has them." He looked around and saw that some already knew this. "Captured Wraith is a liability," he added. The existence of Spirit Cages meant that Wraiths could be detected and affected: perhaps out of the reach of their masters' influences. Given that Wraiths could present themselves to humans, it was not unreasonable that a Wraith could be forced to talk. Too many vampires thought of Wraiths as slaves awaiting orders. Wendigo knew better from personal experience. Wraiths, he knew, were not automatons... it was important not to think of them as merely eyes, but actually spies. And a spy could be captured, tortured, and maybe even turned. They could even develop their own agendas. He hoped that much would be evident to anyone with a Wraith... verbally expressing all of that would be exhausting.

"Soldiers wear heart monitors.... can't kill and replace. Worked in the past though. Trackers... tricky IDs plus memorized codes... security is tight. Not like normal burglary." He shook his head. "Regular infiltration tactics don't work." Of course, he meant that regular vampryric tactics wouldn't work, but he thought that much was obvious. In any case, they weren't getting in...

"Maybe we don't infiltrate..." he suddenly realized out loud. "The Suits don't all hide... they come out and scout. I've tangled with them. They put up a fight: they have inhuman abilities. I suspect modification... maybe tech, maybe genetic engineering." He paused a moment, wondering why these pieces of the puzzle had not been more important to him in the past. "Have collected some tech myself..." He supposed that he would have to volunteer at some point, so he added, "...have some ability with it."

"Am not a geneticist..." he continued, "but I can recruit one." Mentally, he was already composing the text messages to send out. "Start with what they donate. They dissect us... we return the favor."

[CharlotteC]

‘Nemesis’ began to speak and Charlie turned her masked eyes towards him, following him as he moved as he talked about being outmaneuvered. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at that, of course they were being outmaneuvered at every chance, because they were all too busy fighting and bickering against one another because they were all power hungry jackasses that wished to make the weaker of the species bow down and kiss their lily white asses. If you didn’t play ball, they killed you, or hunted you, or did other ****. That was why vampires were ‘outmaneuvered’ time and time again. They preferred to bully their own kind into following old and out of date rules rather than concentrate on those that were the true enemy. Those that wished to experiment on them, those that wished them harm because they feared the power that they were given. If done correctly, she still believed that they could co-exist without having to live in shame and shadows. But was this right?

As he began to speak about the fact that they were so much more than fighting, she almost laughed out. She agreed, of course, but at the same time, she knew that many of the ‘vampire’ world were only about fighting, drawing blood, making those they claim to be unworthy bow down before them or kill them if they didn’t bow. Kill them if they tried to fight back. It was laughable to her, but she refrained from laughing at this point in time. She pulled her thoughts back to the here and now, and concentrated on what he was saying, that they needed to get in there, she smirked a bit, that was something that she was good at - so long as no one asked any questions - hell, she was sure at least those that paid attention would notice the fact that she seemed human, though she was far from that, had been for years.

He spoke of how they knew of their tricks, and she gave a small shake of her head. Of course they did, people chose to fight out in the open, especially as of late. Those that claimed they wished to protect the masq so they could continue to hide in their shadows and shame. Though she had to wonder for a moment how they could actually experiment on one of their kind. The only time they were at their weakest was when they were fully drained of blood. And when they were like that, any wound, even the smallest wound, could and most likely would send them to the Shadow Realm. All that would be left for them would be ashes… unless. She remembered that those of the Killer path left their bodies behind. So, whoever they had… if they even had anyone… was likely of the Killer path.

The mention of cameras spotting them had her once again shaking her head. A thief worth their grain of salt would have cam scramblers on them, and with the cameras that couldn’t be scrambled, there were other means. Hacking of course, something she was just as good at, even better really, than thieving. All it takes is one little hack and bye bye evidence. As of late she had been spending more and more time hacking, and she had to laugh at those of whom she was finding evidence of. Those that so wished to keep the masq, to hide, to feel shame for being who they were. Still, even as she thought of this and that, she listened to what he was saying. They had to know their enemy. Of course, first they had to agree on who was the real enemy. Was it the government doing strange experimentation? Or was it those who thought the enemy was those who broke the smallest rules or refused to kiss *** and kneel before bullies. He wanted to work together, well to do that, they would have to stop killing their own kind and start turning that energy towards the ‘real’ enemy.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a girl speaking. One who seemed not only young, but innocent and naive. It almost seemed as if she wasn’t even trained in the smallest of information and in that moment, she saw herself. A girl who had been turned and then left to fend for herself. Not being taught, not being trained, not being shown the critical information that she needed to know. The idea of using a wraith or two, or even ten might work in the beginning, but wraiths could be caught, she had disabled more than enough traps, had made her own even, many in fact, clearly vampires weren’t the only ones that could get their hands on such things. Humans, both those with powers and those without, could get them and use them as well. Who’s to say that the military didn’t already have them?

Another woman spoke, and what the woman said made her smile for a moment. It was true, so many of their own kind loved, even preferred to kill their own kind rather than fight the real enemies, so really how would they know? They wouldn’t. She believed that one group in particular had to go, once they were gone, she was sure that then and only then could they see the real enemy. Those that wished to enslave and use them. Yes, what they could do could easily sway one way or the other, but that was the balance of life. With life there was death, with joy there was sorrow, with love there was hate. Balance. It could be utopia they left behind or a city of ruin and death for not just vampire kind but everyone they all loved. She sighed, but it was worth the risk.

A male began to speak next, and he was countering what the younger girl had spoke of, voicing her own thoughts that the wraiths were really pointless because they could be captured. He then went on speaking about the soldiers and how they wore heart monitors, that was something that was easily faked. Though when he mentioned killing, again she found herself rolling her eyes. Another *** that preferred to kill and draw attention instead of going at it another way. Men, they were such simple creatures. Though, she had to admit that there was the fact that they did come out of their hidey holes and they did have strength they really shouldn’t. She herself had taken samples of their DNA and have spent quite a bit of time analyzing it. Granted, she was more computer science than biology, but she had taken many courses at MIT and had the degrees to show for it, so she knew enough.

That silly male was still all about drawing blood, treating them how they treat a vampire. And sure, that way of life used to be the way. Now though, she didn’t agree. If you act like a monster, you will be treated like a monster. Hell, even human ‘monsters’ were experimented on daily by scientists. Trying to find out what makes them tick. No, the only way to be treated as a citizen of the world was to act like one. She sighed softly, shaking her head once more, knowing that it was unlikely. Unlikely because it seemed those that were turned, even if they were only a few years old seemed to take on the thoughts of vampires who lived in the days of vikings or neanderthals. Just because they were vampires, didn’t mean they were anything more than they were five or six years ago aside from powers. Or perhaps Killian didn’t pass on the trait that sent her mindset back to the middle ages?

“Infiltration would and does work, perhaps you have heard of groups such as the Illuminati or the Freemasons? They have got infiltration down to a tee, and then there are the Russians with their sleeper spies… history is littered with infiltration that worked. The secret is that you don’t just send in one person or even two or three, and you don’t just send them to one place, you send them everywhere. If infiltration is a way of going, than the best way is to send in those that won’t cause suspicion. Apparently our own mayor is a thrall. So is our chief of police.” She wasn’t going to go into how she knew that little gem. “So thralls would seem like plan A, plan B would be perhaps a vampire who perhaps seems human… smart as well… maybe with degrees… someone that they would want to do their studies. The government loves to bring in civilians in that respect, mostly because they can pay less and use them more. And of course, there should always be a plan C through Z because no plan ever goes exactly right. They always need contingencies.”

She looked to the one male who seemed to love to kill. “And the best way to infiltrate isn’t to kill and replace, killing draws attention and is always found out. No, the best way is to just add, let them live as long as possible. That said, if you want to take out the ones that come outside and come to us, more power to you dude. Hell, even I can’t deny I have had a run in with a government agent or two and seen what they can do. Everyone wants to continue to hide in shadows, fine, but if you want to infiltrate, you’ll need people who blend in even in the light. Thus, thralls. Or at least a very convincing vampire.” She looked back to the male she felt a connection to and tilted her head a little. “Also, having well trained hackers and thieves on our side will be a plan as well. Need people to always be watching those that watch us. Acting smartly is how things get done, not rashly...”

She looked back to the killer as she finished, “not deadly either unless there is no - and I mean NO - other option.” It was only then that she fell silent again and continued to lean against her column.