4th Wall Universe

K.O.G.E

-~Vegas City, 2250 Hrs, Cicero's Tower Casino, Ground floor

The night is young as tourists from all around race from table to table pushing their luck. The air is hot and thick; there is intensity in the atmosphere that can't be found anywhere else on the planet. A buzzer usually sounds off at 10pm to signal "Jackpot hour", but tonight was different. There are no visible clocks to be found anywhere in the casino. The heavy promotion has drawn a large crowd for the weekend and the crowd was anxiously anticipating the coming hour. As the hour rolls in, a strange calm overcomes the crowd. The buzzer did not sound tonight and the confusion brings business to an almost immediate halt. All of a sudden, a piercing screech rips through the crowd, shattering glass and forcing patrons to the floor, while holding their ears in terror. Four armed men in all-black tactical gear race from the elevators carrying large backpacks stuffed with millions of dollars in cash and chips. They begin tossing flash-bang grenades to clear a path in front of them to the door and drop concussion grenades behind them to close the path behind them and prevent the security from following. Just before bursting out into the street, all four masked men toss their remaining explosives into the oncoming traffic, clearing out all bystanders. A blazing hot, blinding burst of light erupts from the combined ordinance, forcing everyone around to turn away and take cover. All four men vanish into the chaos. While the local authorities scramble to locate the four men, they have made their way up to a high rise in an adjacent building. William Flores, the leader of the crew, closes the door behind them while checking to making sure that they weren't followed.

"I think we're clear boys," he says with a content little smirk on his face. Flores is a Filipino-American man with the body of an Asian action star and the mind of a criminal super-genius. He has had many run-ins with the law, but his quest for "the big score" prevents him from being content with a mediocre lifestyle. He's been planning this hit for months now, and he's sure that he's out-smarted the hotel security and the local police but, what about the Aceblade? Vegas City's resident vigilante has a knack for fowling up big jobs like this one. No way. There's no way Aceblade could have known about THIS plan. Okay, everything is running smoothly. Now it's time to split up the money and get out of here.

BANG! BANG! Two shots ring out from behind Flores just as he was starting to relax. His muscles all tense up and his heart freezes as he whips around to find the last of the three henchmen being disarmed and slammed into the ground. It's Aceblade, ominously crouching over the three lackeys; he only has one target left. Flores' fear and surprise converge in his stomach and almost makes him sick enough to vomit. Aceblade rips the pistol that he has just taken into two pieces and looks up at William. Aceblade stands and starts slowly towards Flores. Not even thinking to reach for his weapon, Flores almost jumps out of his skin trying to get away. He trips over his own feet while trying to turn and starts to fall against the door. Aceblade catches him by the collar before he can even hit the floor and hoists him up off his feet.

"Wait, wait WAIT! Take the money Ace! It's YOURS!"

"Sit down!" Aceblade tosses William across the room like a clumsy bag of potatoes. Flores stumbles over the half-conscious men lying on the floor, into a nearby chair. "I'm not here for the money Will. I've got bigger fish to fry." Flores almost eases into the chair with a confused look on his face. He keeps his weight on his tiptoes, just in case he gets an opening to run for the door.

"Wha, what do you mean?" Flores has heard stories about Aceblade dealing out his own brand of punishment to criminals, but he's never actually come face to face with him before now.

"Hmph... I mean, tell me what I want to know and I might not break your face before your trip to jail tonight." Aceblade stands threateningly, as he clearly has the upper hand.

"Yeah! I'll tell you anything you want to know." Flores is willing to give up his own mother if he can get on Aceblade's good side right now.

"Good." Aceblade drops his arms and reaches into a pouch on his belt. He pulls out two silver vials containing blue and green liquid. The numbers 22 and 28 are stamped on the side. A thick, black rubber stopper keeps the strange liquid from spilling out. The letters R&D are inscribed into the stopper. Aceblade tosses the two vials into Flores' lap. He picks them up to take a good look, but it doesn't even take him a second to realize what he's holding. Aceblade starts his interrogation. "What do you know about these?" Aceblade can tell that Flores recognizes the samples by the look on his face.

"Where did you get these?" he asks hesitantly.

"You know where I got them or I wouldn't be here." Aceblade doesn't have time for the back story right now.

"Yeah, but this project was... terminated over a year ago."

"Spill it Will! I don't have time for you to be surprised!"

"Okay okay! I don't recognize the insignia, but these are definitely samples from the K.O.G.E's warrior project." Before moving to Vegas City, Flores once worked closely in research and development on a project that was intended to produce special abilities in mercenaries working for the private military group called K.O.G.E. The project was canned after new presidential policies declared its methods unconstitutional. "This is dangerous stuff here Aceblade. This stuff works, but the research was still incomplete and very unstable, depending on the user."

"Five people have died with this stuff in their blood, one was a teenager. Now there's been a kidnapping and a scientist is missing. Who in the city has the kind of equipment to start this project back up?" Aceblade adjusts his goggles and peers out the window to see the police still nearby outside of the casino.

"I don't know... I don't have any clue who could be running this project here!"

"Don't lie to me!" Aceblade turns to Flores and with a quick turn of his forearm, a blade extends from the metal brackets that Aceblade is wearing on his arms. He grabs Flores by the neck and pulls him out of the chair.

"Okay, wait a minute. There is a lab four floors under the Obsidian. It was one of the labs I applied to when I moved here. I always thought that their equipment was too advanced for what they said they were doing."

Aceblade digs deeper. "And what was that?"

"They said water treatment and testing, but I knew they had something else going on." Aceblade reaches into another pocket and takes out a small round device. "A friend of mines from K.O.G.E actually recommended that I apply there, now I see why." Aceblade walks up to the window and clutches the small device tightly in his right hand. "You should take me with you! I could probably help you get into the lab!"

"I won't need you for this next part. You've helped out enough tonight... and to show my appreciation; I'll give you a head start on the police" Aceblade presses down on the device causing it to beep loudly. He hurls it through the window, shattering the glass just before exploding over the balcony alerting the nearby authorities. Aceblade leaps through the broken glass and disappears into the night. Flores scrambles to gather all of the cash that he can, leaving his team to be taken by the police who are seconds away from capturing the crooks. Aceblade watches from nearby as he formulates a plan to rescue the kidnapped kid and find the missing scientist. It's going to be a long night.