"Remarkable."  Doctor Hyperion commented as he circled the room where one of his experiments had escaped.  Jorge sat in the middle of the floor, his massive head hanging low in shame.  It was his job to feed the beast and protect the doctor, and he had almost failed.  Almost.

They had named the beast Chimera, he was actually a combined endeavor with Lady Cybra and Mister Macabre, and was meant to be the Cabal's last line of defense against those few who would threaten them.  The combined genius of Hyperion's genetic tampering and Lady Cybra's bio enhancements, had created a glorious beast.  They had no way to test the limits of his powers, it had grown too quickly and had overwhelmed the space they had allotted.  ...as reckless and frustrated as a small child wanting out of his crib.  Innocent of his birth but wanting to play and live.

Mister Macabre had laid enchantments on him, wards of protection and most importantly the ability to track down and find their combined enemy, Shift. Unfortunately, the Conquistadors had apprehended the mage before he could cast the final spells of bonding on the beast.  So Lady Cybra and Doctor Hyperion were left with a beast that they could not control or contain. ...and now he was loose.

Doctor Hyperion had a nontraditional set of morals, to be sure, but he would never wish such devastation on those Above.  He knew that Lady Cybra's only interests were self serving, and while she would stop at nothing to get the Chimera back, she would lay the city Above in ruin if they got in her way.  He also knew that the beast would be hungry and confused, and once it got it's primary needs met, it would seek out to destroy Shift. 

Sadly, the Chimera wasn't ready.  So much time and money had been invested in him by Lady Cybra and Mister Mcabre.  So much care and dedication from himself and Jorge.  ...and now he was free and in danger.  So few in the city above possessed the strength or mystical energies that would be needed to stop him.  Even fewer in the city above would have the heart to see that the beast needed help.  The choices were few and grim.

"Jorge,' the doctor said softly. The granite man swiveled his massive clump of a head in the doctors direction, eyes still burning with shame. "Jorge, you did your best. Things happen. We just need to make the best of this, yes?" Hyperion smiled at his creation, then beckoned him forward. With a sound like tectonic plates shifting, the giant rose and clumped over to his maker. 

"Adam?"

The avian-eyed man moved forward without hesitation out of the darkness. "Yes sir?"

"I need you to work with Jorge on recovering my work. It will require you to deal with someone from Above, an old acquaintance of mine named Xavier Relaford." Hyperion's blue-veined hands dipped into a desk drawer and produced a wrapped, square parcel. "Take him this book. And tell him that the Chimera needs to be contained and returned to us alive, if at all possible. Should he agree to help us, then the book is his. Should he decline, then make sure the book is returned to me. Do not open the book, and do not let others do so either." He patted the brown paper wrapping, then handed it over to the homeless vigilante, leaning forward in his chair with a grunt of effort.

Adam took the package without hesitation. "Yes sir." The sun-gold eyes never left the face of his creator.

Hyperion leaned back in his chair and regarded the two seriously. The doctor looked as frail as ever, but his eyes still gleamed with a furious intelligence that even the cancer could not touch. "This creation is important, gentleman. It is a last defense of sorts, should we need it, against an enemy of great power. It also represents a considerable investment of both time and money from multiple parties, time and money that cannot be replaced." Both men nodded their understanding. "It's doubtful that the two of you could subdue the Chimera. In fact," the doctor said with a heavy sigh, "it's a certainty. It would destroy you both. You'll need Relaford's arcane prowess on this."

He raised a finger. "And don't judge Xavier on his own appearance - his knowledge and power are as great as my own in his area of expertise. Listen to what he has to say." Both men nodded once more. "And should those Above who possess power, like the Conquistadors, get involved..." Adam scowled, which caused the doctor to smile. "...well, let them tire out the creature for you should it come to that. You need not deal with them directly. You understand?"

Nods.

The doctor rose stiffly and placed a hand on Jorge's stony forearm. "It will be alright, old friend. Protect your young brother here," the doctor nodded at Adam, "should he need it, but bring the Chimera home to us." Jorge placed a massive hand over the frail human bones and skin and squeezed, the touch feather light. Hyperion smiled. "Adam?"

"Yes sir?"

"I'll be giving you some spending money, a clean set of clothes," the old geneticist waved a hand as he moved away from Jorge and across the large apartment, heading towards a back room that none were allowed access to. "Things you'll need to deal with those Above. You'll need a bath as well.'

Adam scowled. Hyperion laughed. "I know my boy, but sometimes we all have to do things we find unpleasant." Jorge, as always, said nothing, but Adam got the distinct impression that the massive bodyguard was also amused. The doctor vanished behind a curtain strung up across the door, and Adam sighed, heavily.

"Conquistadors," he muttered darkly. "And baths..."

* * * * *

Above the network of tunnels that had unwittingly loosed a monster on the city, the night was coming alive.  Music from the clubs were spilling into the street, hookers were selling their wares, horns were honking in an impatient symphony and the few unheralded heroes of the night were coming out to protect what they could.  Mason Willoughby, known only as Archon in his secret identity, was among those vigilantes.

LeMastre's Park, Archon's first battle against crime, was almost tame now.  Very few unsavory citizens were stupid enough to look for a safe haven there.  It was no longer overlooked once the sun went down, now it had a protector, and those with a lick of sense took their trouble elsewhere.  Still, every night he patrolled there, though he was able to extend his boundaries bit by bit to neighboring parks.

Tonight he was stalking through a neighboring park when he caught a faint but peculiar scent.  Since meeting Adam, he'd come to recognize the scent of Below, and the homeless people that dwelled there carried subtle tones of it on their clothing.  It was recognizable and distinct, it was Below.  Slowly, very slowly, he was becoming to understand some of the politics and attitudes that defined these people.  This peculiar scent was laced with the below, but was strong, almost putrid.

He lifted his sensitive nose into the air and studied it.  It was primal, animalistic and had alpha male written all over it.  The strong stench of alpha urine mixed with the subtle scents of below, and he was almost sure that it was a mile or more away.  Despite his catalog of scents, he couldn't identify what animal this was.

Mason's beast rose in response to threat that his senses detected. More than a mile away and it raised the hackles on his neck like nothing else he'd yet to encounter. He thought briefly about seeking out Adam for more information and assistance, since it was of Below, Adam would surely feel it to be his responsibility, but two things stopped him; one, he had no real way of contacting his odd counterpart, and two, whatever was loose in the streets, his streets, needed his attention right now.

Mason took off in the direction the scent indicated, his senses in full tracking mode. Let the hunt begin!   Mason's smile was feral and terrifying in its intensity. The night just got a whole lot more interesting.

The scent was strong and easy to follow for the most part.  There were a few times that it dove into the land below and Mason had to decide whether to track it topside or go down for it.  Each time he'd stayed above, and was rewarded a short time later by finding it's scent again.

As he slipped through the night, the hunt took him into a more congested part of town, where the beast had crossed the road and caused a small traffic pile up.  Some of the people involved were standing outside of their car, looking into the distance.  So far the authorities had not responded to the accident.  The cars were over to the side, and the rest of traffic was already returning to a slow flow around them.  

Mason suspected he'd have little trouble following his prey, so he turned his attention to the pile up. There may be someone here who needed assistance. At the very least he could make sure everyone was alright, and see if anyone had an idea of what he was following.

Mason moved towards the nearest car that seemed involved in the accident. "Hello? Are you all right?" He called out, careful to keep his voice calm, and reassuring. 

The man was rubbing the back of his neck, even as he craned to see into the darkness.  Both of the front airbags were deployed, but there was no one in the passenger seat.  "Yeah.  I think so.  I hit something.  Something really big.  He gestured to the front of his car, which was completely demolished."

The car behind his had managed to swerve and miss, but was then t-boned by the car behind him.  All told there were five cars that had sustained enough damage that they would need to wait for the authorities to get there before they could leave.  And in many cases, a tow truck.

Mason surveyed the damage and interviewed each person involved. He wanted to make sure there were no life threatening or serious injuries. After checking on each of the driver's and passengers he returned to the first person. "You mentioned you hit something. Did you get a good look at it?" Mason asked, as he examined the damage to the car. The scent of the beast he followed was strong here, mixed with the hot smells of twisted metal, steaming coolant, and spilled oil. The engine's lifeblood seeped out onto the road, and still didn't mask the thing's scent. 
 
"It was big."  The man said, looking a bit concerned about his own memories.  "Like something that maybe escaped from the zoo.  It was dark, black or brown and furry, like an animal.  ...but, I think some of it's cage might still be attached.  I think I saw metal around it...like he was in a trap or something.  He stopped right in front of me, sniffing the ground... like it didn't know what a car was, and took off again, but not before I smashed into it."

Mason nodded. The strength of the scent even from miles away had indicated something large. The man's description of metal was a little confusing, as Mason hadn't picked up anything like that in it's scent, but maybe the animal was overpowering it.

"How big, about the size of a bear, an elephant? How fast were you going when you hit it, and how did it react to the collision?" He asked, trying to get an idea of the scope and strength of the beast. If just hitting it did this kind of damage to the car, and it still 'walked' away then this may not be something he could handle on his own. He had a few options, contacting Adam for more information was foremost among them, along with alerting Phi that something big and bad was loose in the city.

"I don't know. ...About thirty maybe.  Maybe faster."  The man was obviously frustrated, not at any one thing in particular, but it was clear that as the reality of his situation settled in around him, he was getting agitated.  "Big. Really big.  Not Godzilla or King Kong big, but bigger than a god damn elephant."  Here he stopped rubbing his neck and glared at Mason.  "Who the hell are you anyway?  Am I just gonna have to go through all this again with the cops?"

"I am called Archon," Mason replied evenly. "The information you've provided will bem ost useful in containing the situation, and preventing further harm. Its possible the police will ask more questions, but I'll see what I can do to minimize it. I'm going to call for help and try to stop the beast. Thank you for your assistance. Please be safe and stay here. Help will arrive shortly."

Mason moved off quickly in the direction the beast had traveled, glancing at the street signs and landmarks as he passed. As he ran, he tapped the wireless headset in his ear. "Call Phi." Within seconds he was listening to Phi's ringback tone. "Come on, pick up," He muttered impatiently as he hurdled a planter in his path.

"Hello.  You've reached Ophilia."  Phi's voice answered pleasantly, but continued before he could reply.  "I'm sorry that I'm not here to take your call.  Please leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Mason growled in frustration. He needed to get a direct line to them. "Phi, it's Mason. Something big has hit the streets and its cutting a swath through town. I haven't gotten a glimpse of it, but it took a hit from a car going 35 or so and didn't stop. The car is totaled. Eyewitness describe it as an animal with metal, much much larger than an elephant. This is outta my league. I'd suggest getting someone to Rotterdam St and Salem Ave and get statements. Luckily no one was hurt, but that could change. I'm going to hit up a contact and see what information I can find. call me. we need a more direct line of communication for things like this."

Mason disconnected the call, stopped and pulled his cell out. He typed a quick text to Phi, '911 listen to vm. need the conks. call me.'

He took a  glance around to regain his bearings and started off back to Le Mastre's park. He needed to talk to Adam and find out what he was dealing with.

The trip back to his park took less time than his hunt away from it had.  Upon his arrival he smelled a faintly familiar scent, it was Adam, but laced with an unusual scent of soap.  Not that soap in and of itself was unusual, but having it associated with the peculiar bird eyed man, was a first.

Mason shook his head in wonderment. This day was just getting weirder and weirder. Mason made a wide perimeter search of the park, circling it, triangulating, homing in on Adam's scent. When he came to the entrance leading to the manhole they'd use the first time Mason had met the strange birdman, Mason knew he'd found the trail. It didn't take long for him to track it to an oak tree, near the cener of the park, not far from where he'd found Adam and Jeddidiah that night. 

The wind shifted a little and the familiar unwashed scent of Adam blew directly into his face. Mason glanced up and saw the fluttering of cloth about halfway up the tree. That hadn't been there eariler this evening when Mason had made his first pass through the park. Which meant Adam had been by recently.

Mason climbed the tree with the grace of a predatory cat. When he had the shirt and its contents he dropped easily to the ground, landing heavily on his feet. A small twinge flared in his right ankle, but by the time he'd unwrapped the package left for him, it had faded. 

He stared at the cellphone for several long moments in disbelief. Adam had anticipated a need for communications. whether this had to do with the loosed beast, Mason wasn't sure, but he realized there was more to Adam than Mason had originally suspected. 

Mason dialed the number taped to the phone and hit send. He discovered he was somewhat apprehensive, as if waiting for another shoe to drop. It rang three times, then: "Archon?", said in the same odd choral tone's Mason remembered from his first encounter with the homeless metahuman.

"Yes. I got your message. Since I needed to talk to you, I'd say it was rather timely. Are you close to to the park? There's something of Below loose on the streets, and I need to know what you know." 

There was a short pause. "Have you seen it?"

"Not yet. I was tracking it. I spoke with an eyewitness who said he ran into it with a car at about 35 miles per hours and didn't even phase it. I figured I'd contact you, because its scent was of Below. What can you tell me about it, and what did you need?"

"I have a magician," Adam said firmly. "To help catch it. But you can help too." 

"I'm listening."

"To what?" 

Mason pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it blankly for several long moments. Did he really just hear that question? He shook his head slightly and sighed heavily before returning the phone to his ear.

"I"m listening to you. What is that thing? How dangerous is it? How did it get loose? How is a magician going to stop something that a speeding car won't, and how can I help?" Mason forced himself to remain calm, reminding himself of Adam's peculiarities.

"Take us to where it is. The magician is small, but Hyperion said he is a master." There was a pause. "We can help the magician."

"I know the direction it was headed, but not where it is. Meet me at Rotterdam St and Salem Ave, and we can pick up the trail there. You still haven't answered my question. What is this thing?"

Adam considered the question carefully. "Afraid," he finally said, then closed the phone.

Only moments after Mason clicked off the call with Adam, his personal cell rang.  The display showed Ophilia DiSantiago.

Mason sighed in relief. She'd finally called back. Mason didn't know what Adam was bringing to the party, but having the conquistadors as back up certainly made him feel better. He started off back to the accident site to meet up with Adam. As he ran, he hit the answer on his headset.

"Heya Mace.  I got your message.  Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Phi. Thanks for calling me back. Something big and nasty has hit the streets and I think it's out of my league. Its some sort of Animal, but I don't know of anything big enough to take a hit from a car going 30 and act like nothing happened. The contact I mentioned said it's probably frightened, and he's meeting me with someone who supposedly can help contain the beast, but I have no idea what we're up against. It's heading south from Salem and Rotterdam. Do you have anyone on patrol that can get eyes on it?"

"Bastian is on his way to the accident site that you mentioned.  He's going to get a visual on it for us, so that we know what we're dealing with.  The animal, must be one of Lady Cybra's pets.  She has a bounty out on it, and to be honest, most of the Conqs are on patrol.  Looking for it...and making sure that any of these bounty hunters don't get out of hand.  If you see a solid visual on it, I can send someone to you."

"What's a Lady Cybra?" Mason asked. "I get the feeling this thing was raised in the catacombs of tunnels below the city and escaped somehow. It had some of that  ... scent .. about it. It may be more like a frightened animal escaped from a zoo than a henchman or minion. I won't know more til I hook up with my contact. I'll meet up with Bastian and my contact and we'll see if we can't get you more concrete data."

Ophilia was silent for a moment on the other end of the line before she spoke again.  "That sounds good.  Bastian will likely get to the intersection before you, so hopefully he'll have some answers then."  There was another small pause before she answered his original question, almost as an afterthought.  "Oh, and Lady Cybra is a villain associated with the Cabal and the black market sale of super powers.

There was a pause from Mason, but she heard him breathing, hard, like he was exerting himself, there was also a little bit of wind noise. in the background she could hear traffic noises and an occassional exclamation that faded quickly. When he spoke again, Mason sounded a little winded but not too badly.

"Sorry about that, had to avoid a group of gangbangers. Ok, I think I got it. I know of the Cabal, bad guys selling bad stuff to people who shouldn't have it. Lady Cybra's one of them. This thing, whatever it is has a bounty on its head and the Conks are on the streets trying to keep the peace. Have I got it all?"

"Pretty much."  Phi said, and he could envision that simple nod that she was making on the other side of the phone.  "Take care of you, and keep Bastian out of trouble."

Mason smiled at the vision, knowing she'd be itching to try to get into the action. "I will, but you knew that. I'm just glad to have some backup out here with this thing. I'll make sure Bast gets home safe and sound. I promise." 

"Good."  She replied quickly, before an awkward silence fell over the receiver.  That spot where she used to say I love you or some other endearment.  It wasn't like they spent much time on the phone since their relationship had ended, those many years ago.  "Um...keep me posted." Was the last thing she said before he could hear the silence that indicated she was no longer there.