Mission Codename: Cannon Fodder (BlisteredBlood & Devxx)

Thanatos nodded simply in reaction as he looked over to John before looking over to Linnox once more with an acceptable look on his face. "Very well then. Then we should get this plan of yours underway as soon as we can so the rest of the world can make up their minds." He spoke as he shrugged his shoulders. "Besides, at this point, there really isn't any other way for me but to supposedly plunge to my death." He added before looking over to John once again and extended a hand out to him.

"So Mr. Tetri," Thanatos spoke. "Here's to a happy landing for me, huh?" He asked despite there was a bit of sarcasm in his tone followed by a quirk of his brow.

Tetri merely offered him short salute before turning back to Linnox. "Well, I'm glad you're on board. I agree though, the sooner we get this done the better. If you go into the lab we can get your coat fitted with the pressurized air and get this show on the road." Linnox explained as he looked around the room. He was as eager as anyone else to get this all over and done with while they still had some sort of advantage. "We can get our team ready within two hours if you're ready that soon." They had been planning this for a while now and it wouldn't take very long to get everything into place.

"Ready to finally finish all of this?" Eris said as she turned to him. This anticipation was driving her mad and she just wanted it done for. The sooner Thanatos jumped off of that building the sooner they'd know if he'd actually survive and they could finally head over to Maui.

"Two hours, eh?" Thanatos asked more to himself. "Well, then I guess I'll be seeing you in about two hours from now, since I know for a fact that you're wanting to get this over with." He added as he nodded to him once more before looking over to Eris and arched a brow at her a little bit then crossed his arms across his chest before looking up to the ceiling in thought.

"Ready as I'll ever be." He answered with a pensive thought before looking to her once again. "How about you, huh? You ready to see me get 'shoved off' so we can go to our private beach in Maui?" He asked.

"Well, I can't say I'm not a little curious to see you take a flying leap off a 1500 foot building. Though you better make it back alive or else I'm going to have to contact a medium to annoy the hell out of your ghost." Truthfully, she wouldn't want to watch him fall off at all but she was damned sure going to be one of the people waiting for him at the bottom of the river when he came crashing down. There wasn't much she had control of but she could help in that respect anyway.

"Come on, let's get to the lab techs and get you fitted with those air bubbles." Eris said as she got up and tugged on Thanatos' coat. Linnox already gave them permission to leave as they got everything together on their side. She led him down the hallway to one of rooms that looked like some sort of lab. There were people in goggles and white coats shuffling about before they motioned for Thanatos to take off his coat off so they could get to work.

Before they knew it two hours would pass in what felt like a heartbeat and the plan would finally be put into motion.

"Hey, I'm not exactly crazy about it either, but what other choice do I have?" Thanatos asked as he looked over to Eris with a shake of his head and a shrug of his shoulders. "Besides, as long as you're gonna be among the group that'll fish my 'dead' body out of the river, I don't think I'll have any other complaints." He added jokingly with a chuckle and a smile in an attempt to try to make light of the situation.

"Yeah. Let's get over to the lab. Besides, I know you're wanting to get this over with as much as I do. Your body language is a bit of a giveaway." He said as pointed at her with a small smirk while following her over to what appeared to be some kind of lab with his long leather coat already off and slung over his shoulder. Once there, he handed his coat over to them then stood back, waiting for about two hours more before he got it back then put it back on.

The past couple of days had all but flown by but now it seemed like every minute was an eternity. The lab techs had managed to get his coat all wired up and Linnox said that the other teams had been prepared. Now all that was left was to get this show on the road.

They were all shoved into about three large black vans with the different teams ready to go. One of the vans was filled with all sorts of equipment that would hijack the television and radio frequencies and make it impossible for anyone to try and block them out. The other one had the rest of the dive team that would be waiting for him at the bottom of the river and the last van had them as well as Linnox and the other senior officers. The feeling in all the car was tense and no one seemed to speak a word as they watched the city pass by the windows. All of their hard work was going to be building into these next couple of moments and they were all running through the different scenarios in their heads. Eris kept tapping her fingers against the seat as she fidgeted in place. This whole thing was driving her completely crazy and Thanatos had been right about her body language being a giveaway. She'd never been good at hiding when she was antsy.

Finally, their van came to a stop at the bottom of the tower where people were heading in and out. The car door opened and it was a sign for Thanatos to get out. The rest of them would be based around the tower so they could keep an eye on everything that was going on. "Well kid, this is the end of the road. Tetri is already in place up there so make sure to give the people a good show." Linnox said in what could have been an encouraging tone if he had bothered to crack a smile. No, the man was as anxious as the rest of them but he still kept that same stony gaze as he'd had before. Leaning over Eris planted a quick kiss on his cheek before giving him a short hug. "Remember, if you die I'm going to haunt your ass." The girl warned waving a finger at him. She was already dressed in her black scuba suit and had her air tank next to her. After Thanatos made it to the top she'd take her position in the river.

When the man did finally reach the top floor he'd find Tetri leaning against one of the walls as his broadsword leaned next to him. The man would lazily be smoking and his eyes were hidden behind dark shades while waiting for Thanatos to make an appearance. Even with all this tension in the air there was a peculiar smirk on the man's face as he calmly waited. Something was definitely not right here.

It was almost hard to believe it, at first. After all of the days of being nearly sprayed with fragmentation, shot at with darts, bullets, sliced in half, burnt to death, smashed or whatever, the day was really here. But something about all of this seemed to be going along almost far too easily. Thanatos couldn't put his finger on it at first, but he figured that was all part of the plan either way.

What he didn't like was the fact that he was basically shoved into the back of one of the three vans with Eris, causing him to be rather irked. But that didn't seem to matter now. All that mattered was to just get there and put on one off the biggest shows of his life. Literally. Glancing over to Eris, he smiled at her softly before he gave her a nudge in return. "If I live, I'll be sure to visit you. Besides, it'll be more fun that way." He answered with a chuckle before he leaned back into the seat, looking out the window as the ride over to one of the world's tallest buildings remained uneventful.

After he got out on his own, he walked inside the Sears Tower, he walked into the lobby calmly with his katana strapped on his back once he adjusted it so that it was facing his right hand in one reach over his right shoulder. The odd thing of it was, no one seemed to know what was going on here and there wasn't one person that looked at him oddly. The walk over to one of the elevators went just as smoothly and once he got inside one, he pressed the button to get up to the highest floor he could. He then got out of the elevator once it had arrived then took the stairwell all the way up to the roof of the place a short while later, arriving with his eyes blinking at the morning sunrise. It was a clear, sunny day, not a cloud in the sky. That meant it would be perfect for the helicopters to to film the action that was soon to be taking place. Looking around, he spotted Tetri standing at one of the walls with a broadsword near him.

Interesting weapon... Thanatos thought as he noticed the odd smirk that was playing upon his face as he walked out towards the middle of the rooftop then stopped in place. Something was definitely odd about this current situation. Something that he just couldn't put his finger on. But what was it?

"Well, I guess the players are all in place." Thanatos eventually spoke as he felt the tension in the air.

The man looked up at Thanatos, his eyes hidden behind the glasses, as his cigarette hung lazily from his lips. Tetri let out a small chuckle as he pushed himself up off the wall and stretched his hands over his head like he was getting ready for bed. This was supposed to be set up to look like some amazing fight was about to take place but Tetri seemed as if he was getting ready for Sunday brunch. No doubt the ground team would be getting their surveillance up and running in a couple of minutes and it would finally be show time. Too bad this wouldn't be the kind of show they were expecting.

"Mhm, seems like." Tetri said as he placed his hand on his sword and dragged it across the ground as he stepped closer to Thanatos. "Right in front of us we have the unwilling antihero whose been forced into the lime light ready to sacrifice himself and ride off into the sunset with the leading lady. I guess all that's left would be the villain." That same smirk was on his face as he removed the cigarette from his lips and dropped it on the ground. He proceeded to ground it under his shoe before tilting his head up towards the sky and taking a deep breath. "Well now, I guess I'll just have to step into that role now won't I?" That smirk turned into a full blown grin now as he was just a couple of feet away from Thanatos. Raising his arm he heaved the broadsword on his shoulder before cracking his neck.

"That was some job you worked on Sai and Abassi. They were becoming a liability and the boss wanted them gone a long time ago but it would have been too much to do that ourselves. Luckily we had you step in and take care of that job for us. Too bad you couldn't off Loki either, the little bastard is probably on the run somewhere trying to hide from us. Oh well, I'll take care of him just as soon as I've finished with you." No, this was definitely wrong. Tetri was supposed to have initiated the fight by now, he shouldn't have been talking with Thanatos. There were now two helicopters flying overhead trying to get a visual and no doubt the ground team would be confused by what was going on.

"Quite some twist in the movie huh? It was easy enough to break into Nero and with the facilities we have in use it wasn't hard to create a bogus background story and infiltrate this place. Can you imagine the look on Linnox's face when he realizes that he hired one of the very people he was trying to destroy? Maybe that prick will finally just drop dead." No, everything they knew about Tetri had been nothing more then a lie. It had been Loki himself who had broken into their system and created a fake identity to get their own CROSS member into the enemy camp. Of course now that they realized it they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. The door to the roof had been wired with a bomb and if anyone after Thanatos tried to open it they would be blown to bits.

"Now then, why don't we start this little show?" With another chuckle Tetri took a flying leap forward with his broadsword raised above him ready to bring it down on Thanatos' head.

As he began to listen to Tetri, something about this situation made Thanatos narrow his eyes at him rather suspiciously. Just what was he yammering about this time, he began to wonder as he watched the other man approach and continued to speak to him with a steely look.

Then came the mentioning of both Sai and Abassi. This caused Thanatos to widen his eyes a bit and tightened his lower jaw snugly against his upper one and his expression turned into a bitter frown while his hands wrenched into tightly wound fists. So another CROSS member was here instead of the man who was supposed to shove him off the very top of this building and make him plunge into the lake far below. After a moment, his hands calmly unclenched before he reached one up to the side of his head and itched it pensively with his eyes closed, looking as though he was in thought then glanced off to the side as if he didn't care any less. The fact remained that he was here now, and there was no turning back for him.

"You know, do you have any idea how many times I've heard that line, that someone was 'going to take care of me'?" He asked Tetri as he made little quotation marks in the air with two fingers of each hand. "Honestly, I've heard that so many times, I've honestly gotten bored with it all. But if you feel as though you're man enough to accept the task and put me out of my misery, then I'll put it to you like this. I'll give you a five move headstart. If you think you can land one shot on me during that time period, I'll let you take my head for everyone to see. But, if you make five misses, then I'm afraid I'll have to run your through the next time we meet." Thanatos answered as he aimed a deathly glare at him.

"Five chances. That's all you get." He then summariazed, this time holding out his right hand and extended all the finger out to him.

Soon enough, Thanatos watched Tetri rush at him then took a mighty leap with his broadsword extended back to drop it onto his head. With narrowed eyes once more, Thanatos quickly sidestepped away from the attack and rolled away, leaving him with plenty of distance. But the odd thing of it was, Thanatos didn't go for his blade. His whole speech was little more than a red herring for Tetri to bite onto, leading him to believe his words.

"That's one." Thanatos spoke calmly. "You got four left." He added, his expression not even changing the slightest.

His sword hit the concrete with a resounding clank and put a decent sized dent where it had landed. Yet it seemed as if the broadsword itself was sparking with life as electricity jumped off of it and circled the piece of concrete where it was stuck. In a matter of seconds that small dent had become a sizable one and was at least a half foot deep. Parts of the rubble had all but disintegrated while loose bits were thrown here and there. No, there was no way all of this was caused just by the collision of steel and concrete.

"Four left huh? Don't worry, you'll be dead long before I use up the remaining four." Tetri said calmly as he pulled his broadsword up from where it was wedged and slung it over his shoulder again. Hidden eyes turned to face Thanatos once more as he lazily turned his body towards the other man. There was no erratic movement in his behavior like one would expect from someone who was currently fighting to the death. Every move he made seemed inhumanly relaxed and calm like this was all some big game to him and nothing more. Where the others had been quick to anger Tetri still had that same grin as he cracked his neck again.

"That was pretty impressive kid. You're quicker on your feet then most people would think though I've already seen the footage from your past fights and I know you're just playing around right now. Hell, especially when you get all golden eyed and scary; now that's a sight I can't wait to see." Tetri let out another chuckle as he shifted his broadsword on his shoulder. Yes, there was something very different about this sword considering it was still sparking behind him.

"Watch out though. Unlike a normal sword mine happens to be electrically charged and will send a strong enough pulse that it'll paralyze you if you get hit. The way I see it my sword has a good 20 foot radius of it's charge and up here we're going to run out of space pretty soon. So unless you can fly I'd say you'd better start saying your prayers kid." With that Tetri swung his sword off his shoulder and started heading towards Thanatos again. The genius of it all was that he wasn't even aiming his sword at Thanatos but rather at the ground near him. If he could corner the other man it would be enough to shock him and knock him out.

Thanatos gave a small scoff then shook his head slowly with his eyes narrowed at Tetri. "You would enjoy that, huh? To see me look as though I was a demon spawned from hell before I liquidized you in a series of strokes that you couldn't be able to see with your naked eyes?" He asked as he gave him a small smirk before he lowered his stance again. "I would, if you make four more mistakes." He lied once more. Besides, he had no intention of "playing around" with this guy for much longer than he was already for there was still the matter of positioning himself to the one corner where the lake was so that he could begin his "sucidial" descent.

"Sorry to break it to you like this, but I'm more the nondenominational type." He answered with a small smirk on his face as he mentioned the radius his weapon had. That range would present a problem, He began to think as he glanced around the rooftop quickly. But maybe I can use that to my advantage...

"You may be right. And up here, you're going to need all the range you can get out of that thing. I just hope for your sake it'll be enough before I decide to show you that something you're wanting to see." He added as that smile remained on his face while seeing Tetri slam the large blade down on the ground, transmitting with it an electric shock of some sort or another. In one mighty leap, Thanatos seemingly leapt high above Tetri's head at the height that would scare off most pole vaulters while his head was pointing down. From that vantage point - however temporary it was - he could see that the river was dead ahead of him.

In midair, Thanatos twisted his body around to that his feet were pointing down as he came to land right on the railing unexpectedly, causing him to stagger and flail his arms a bit. "WHOA!" He sounded out before he looked over his right shoulder straight to the river below as he then quickly steadied himself on the rail. Under normal circumstances nearly anybody at this height would've fainted dead away, but Thanatos wasn't exactly normal now, was he?

At that point, he felt his heart rate spike about an extra 30 beats more from the adrenaline rush of nearly going overboard as he looked back over to Tetri once again calmly then hopped off the rail. "That's two, three more left." He noted in an equally calmer voice. "So you better hurry it up, because really and truly, I have a flight to catch." He added.

Hm, he'd missed again. Tetri craned his head as he watched Thanatos soar to an unbelievable height before landing on the railing. For a second it almost looked like he was going to fall but the other man managed to steady himself before dropping down to the ground as if nothing had happened. Yes, the super soldier program had been amazing and he could see the result of all that work in front of his eyes. A normal human body would have never been able to take that much of a jump and anyone else would have easily freaked out and fallen over from that landing. Yet Thanatos had managed to remain cool through it all and that was something that Tetri had to admire. If this was another time he would have happily put the man through every trial he could think of just to see what he would do but this was neither the time nor the place.

"I have to say I'm impressed. You might not be able to fly but that was quite some jump you had there." Tetri said with a small chuckle as he pulled his broadsword up again. Sparks still flew from it charging the concrete beneath them for a lingering moment. By all accounts Tetri should have been shocked himself if it wasn't for the fact that the clothes he was wearing were insulated against electricity of any sort. No connection to the body meant to paralyzing shock for him. It really would have been such a shame for one to be taken down by their own weapon after all.

"A flight? Come now, do you honestly expect to actually go through with that stupid plan? We'll know you're still alive and we'll keep coming after you." Admittedly, the public would think that Thanatos was dead as well as the government but CROSS would keep hunting him. They had their own investment in capturing him alive and they wouldn't stop until they had him. So while they could fool everyone else he would still be a wanted man.

Overhead the helicopters got closer as a crowd started forming below. Even from their great height they could see people leaning out their windows with video cameras and news vehicles below as everyone tried to capture footage of the two men fighting atop the building. There would be no way deny Thanatos existence now and the next few months would have the government with egg on their faces as they tried to explain all of this.

"Shows not over yet kid." Tetri said simply as he put his broadsword in front of him before hitting a few buttons on the hilt. It seemed as if the electrical current flowing through it seemed to be getting stronger and the sword itself grew a couple of inches. Now the sparks were flying around madly like some concentrated thunder storm just waiting to strike. Grinning, Tetri twirled the sword above him with an impressive show of strength before charging Thanatos once again. The man was going to run out of space soon and the stronger currents would only make things more difficult for him.

"Maybe so Tetri, but how can you prove it? You'll never be able to find me without there being some form of proof. And besides, look behind you." Thanatos stated simply as he pointed out towards the incoming helicopters from above. "So you can send all your dogs out to get me all you want. No matter where you go, I'll always - ALWAYS - be one step ahead of you. Even if it means if I have to conceal myself in every part of the globe after all of this is done. Do you really think you'll have enough manpower to search everywhere in the world? Try as hard as you might, you can't do it and you'll be on borrowed time." He proclaimed as he grinned at Tetri as if he was adding further insult to injury, considering the fact that he hadn't even left a single mark on him yet. "So tell me how you intend on searching for someone like me, eh? Can you really send out a contingent of men to come and get me no matter where I go, especially when the very government had made me into what I am is probably going to get sanctioned or possibly arrested? People will eventually make up their minds, Tetri of CROSS!" He added, his voice seemingly booming out with bravado now as he pointed a finger at him. "And once they do make up their minds, they will know the truth. Once they all come to agree that this current administration reeks from top to bottom, it'll be anarchy like you wouldn't even imagine!" He added before he threw his head back and cackled loudly, taunting Tetri even further.

"Oh, so it's not over, is it? Then I hope for your sake you make the next three moves count, because once you make your final mistake, it's over for you." Thanatos proclaimed yet again, grinning at him with a semi-crazed glint in his eyes of obsidian. Soon enough, he watched as the lightning show Tetri was putting on before seeing him charge at him again. Thanatos knew he wasn't going to have much space soon, but instead of just dive bombing off the side of the building, he decided to liven things up.

Reacting quickly, Thanatos hopped back up onto the railing easily, not even minding the fact that he was teetering on the edge of disaster some 1500 feet below and then executed a flawless feat of balance by running across the wide metal tube and then skidded to a stop at the corner, facing one of the major highways below. Soon enough, he spotted one of the helicopters closing in on the fighting pair, but Thanatos's attitude was seeming as though he was literally having fun with the whole thing as he crossed his arms across his chest seemingly with a look of amusement on his face. "You might not be as fast as me, but that sword of yours definitely makes up for it, Tetri." He said with the same amused look as he looked over his shoulder at him. "But now is where the fun really begins." He added as his irises flickered gold for a split second as he took another massive pole vault like leap yet again, looking straight down at Tetri and twisted himself around so that his feet pointed down and then landed catlike near the rooftop door.

"I'm not even counting that as a move just yet, so you still got three chances left to try and hit me." He said with a grin.

Come on... He began to think as he gave a quick look back to the door. No, he's probably got that blocked off somehow. He thought as he shook his head then looked around the expanse of the rooftop, trying to formulate a plan to get Tetri to believe that he had indeed hit him, but he needed to make it look like the original plan, only with a minor adjustment before looking back at him again. Then it dawned on him. All he had to do - despite it was practically suicide enough as it was already at this height - was to grab that blade and let it shock him while he was on the rail facing the river! It was practically bulletproof! Sure, he would take a major shock, but the fact of the matter of it was he would be "allegedly" dead, CROSS wouldn't be able to find his body once it had hit the water below, and he would be recuperating somewhere far away from them all. The thing of it was, he had to buy enough time and space first before he enacted on this suicidal attempt.

"Heh, don't underestimate us kid. We're wired into every powerful government in the world and no matter where you hide we'll have allies there to come after you." CROSS dealt with much more then just the US government and they had cleaned up their fair share of messes for many others. In fact, just last year he had gone to Russia to deal with a little problem they were having there. CROSS was stronger then anyone could know and they had enough dirt on all the major players in the world to stop it as it spun. "You think I give a shit what these people think of the government after this whole mess goes to the public? They'll think what we tell them to think and nothing more. The average man is just a sheep with no opinions of his own. You're giving them far too much credit." His lips turned into a sneer as he thought about the normal people who lived their day to day lives in the world. They were so blind to everything around them and didn't have the braincells to put everything together. No, they would go on thinking that there was nothing wrong with the world and that this was all just a silly misunderstanding because that was what they wanted to think.

Yet something about Thanatos attitude hit a spark with Tetri. There was something almost chaotic in the other man, this need for destruction and chaos. He found the idea of anarchy desirable and had shown no remorse in cutting down anyone who stood in his way. That glint in his eyes was more madman then anything else and try as he might Tetri couldn't suppress the shudder that went down his spine. There was still much they hadn't been told about the super soldier program and what he saw before him didn't give Tetri much solace.

His head snapped up in awe as he watched Thanatos easily hop back onto the railing as if it wasn't just some thin strip of metal keeping him from a deathly fall. The man before him actually seemed to think this was amusing instead of a battle for his very life. How do you fight an enemy that has absolutely no fear of death and instead seems to invite it in with no hesitation? "Fun? We'll see about that." Tetri barked as he craned his head up and watched as Thanatos took a flying leap above him. For a moment in time they were staring eye and eye as Thanatos was directly above him facing downward before he landed gently on his feet. What, did they splice his genes with that of a cat or something?

"Ya know, you shouldn't be that cocky. Didn't anyone ever tell you that arrogance will be the death of you?" Tetri fired back as he put both hands on the hilt of his sword and brought up up off the ground. This bastard was really starting to get under his skin now. The man was used to having people bow before him and beg for him to spare his life, not jump around like this was some kind of circus as they taunted him.

His hands tightened on the sword as his eyes narrowed behind the black shades. This had gone on for far too long and this little game was really starting to annoy him now. If Thanatos thought he was getting out of this alive he had another thing coming that's for sure. "I hope you enjoyed your fun but unfortunately I'm going to have to cut it short. Say your prayers." The man dropped down into a crouch as his blade swung behind him. They were surrounded by metal and it happened to be a very good conductor of electricity. If Thanatos tried to jump on the railing again then he'd be in for a pretty nasty surprise when he got twenty thousand volts through him. Letting out a snarl, Tetri pushed forward with his sword raised to bring it down on Thanatos and the railing.

Thanatos just scoffed at the man's words before he shook his head. "You honestly believe that, do you?" He asked. "You honestly expect me to sit here and believe that all men, women and children alike can be led around like a horse towards water? Well, you can do so, but you expect them to drink from the same oasis, pal. Besides, last I checked, there was some out there that could make up their own minds, despite they go about it in a very crackpot manner. So whether or not you can control the world's opinion is highly doubtful, possibly even bordering on impossible. Either way Tetri, people are going to become aware that something stinks." He added as he narrowed his eyes at him from where he stood.

"Pssh. I've been told a lot of things in the past, so I really couldn't care any less of what people have said, much less if it's coming from your mouth." Thanatos spoke with a bored expression on his face then veered his eyes off to the side with his arms crossed over his chest before looking back at him once more, seeing that his words were having a bit of an effect on him. If memory served him correctly, then maybe he would begin to act purely out of anger and get all sloppy. This made him smirk a bit not in arrogance, but rather in amusement. Now if Thanatos could just get Tetri to come a little bit closer so he could lash his hands out at the blade, he figured.

Soon enough, he saw the other man come at him again, this time seeing that there was a look in his eyes that seemed to say that he didn't seem to care one way or the other if he hit him or not. Good, but not over here. He thought as he watched Tetri charge at him once more, swinging the large blade directly at him. Right before the blade came down on his head however, Thanatos pushed off the railing he was on, but instead of going high into the sky like he did earlier, he instead shoved himself forward in a frighteningly quick burst of speed, seeming as though he vanished right before Tetri's eyes, leaving his blade to slam home on the railing while he appeared safely on the rooftop some several feet behind him.

"Three down, two left." Thanatos warned with a grin on his face. "I'd make them count if I were you~" He added tauntingly.

Fuck he had missed again! It seemed as if the other man had completely disappeared in front of his eyes as his sword cut through the air that Thanatos had once occupied and made contact with the metal of the railing. Sparks shot like wild fire as the metal conducted the current and sent it over the entire railing. The broadsword shook in his hands from the strength of it all as Tetri struggled to keep his hands stable. He was lucky that a part of his flesh hadn't made contact with the railing or else he'd be barbecued right now. If Thanatos was this fast Tetri would have to be more careful with his swings. The chances of him shocking himself were getting higher and higher with all the metal surrounding him and there was no way he was going to give that brat the satisfaction of taking him down with his own weapon.

The man turned his head with narrowed eyes as he looked over at the other man who was taunting him. God how he wanted to wipe that grin off of his face and smash it in with his fist. That little prick was actually having fun with this and kept counting down like it actually meant something. No, Thanatos was riling him up and that was dangerous. If there was any way he was going to be able to take down an enemy like this he would have to remain calm and keep a cool head or who knew what would happen. "Heh, that was a pretty fancy trick kid. I won't need your little countdown though. Believe me when I say you're not leaving here alive." He meant for his tone to come off as if he didn't care but there was still an edge to it.

"As for your little rambling earlier, well I honestly couldn't give a shit. We operate on a level different from the government and even if these zombies get their shit together and figure out that something stinks it won't make much of a difference to us." Tetri all but spat this at him as he turned around to face him. His knuckles were white from the tight grip he had on his broadsword as the glasses shone from the light of the sun. Down below hundreds of people were gathering and the sound of the mob could be heard even from up there. Yes, the government wasn't going to get out of this one unscathed but that was the last thing on Tetri's mind. He just wanted Thanatos to suffer and beg for mercy.

The roof was a crumble of concrete now and they were running out of space to move now. It would only take a few more strikes for him to get Thanatos cornered and then it would all be over for him. Yelling out in fury he charged at the man once more with fire in his eyes as he brought the broadsword down at Thanatos again. If he dodged this attack it would be the last one as they would have run out of room after that and then the electricity would get him if the blade didn't.

Again, another scoff was all Thanatos came back with as he heard that string of words, that being "you won't get out of here alive." He simply lifted a hand up to his face and placed it in his palm before he shook his head with a sigh before looking back up at Tetri with a sigh. "Once again with the 'not leaving here alive' schtick." He answered with a frown. "How about you stop with the running of your mouth and come and get me for crissakes?" He added, his tone sounding more irritated than he was bored this time as he scanned the damage surrounding him. Surely there was quite a lot of it now, and the roof looked as though it was on the verge of breaking from all of those swings Tetri was taking at him. Now he had to change his gameplan up a bit in order to not only get Tetri to come at him while he was on the railing, but he also had to prevent him from using the entirety of the rooftop as some sort of megaconductor where he would be surely electrocuted.

He listened to the rest of Tetri's words as he tapped his foot on the ground, steadily growing impatient with him. If this guy was just going to rattle off like he was, then perhaps he should've just ended it before he even let him have his swings at him. Soon enough, he watched Tetri come at his for a fourth time now with a primal fury with his broadsword held back, looking to slam it down on him once more. But instead of dodging, Thanatos simply stood right there, letting him get closer and closer before he suddenly lashed his hands out, catching Tetri's hands and halting the weapon's advance. Luckily for him, he snagged his wrists and held them in a vice like grip, glaring at him bitterly.

"Four down. One left, asshole!" Thanatos snarled at him now before he lifted up one leg then thrusted his foot out, kicking Tetri directly in the stomach.

Tetri was expecting for Thanatos to jump up again or at least do something to avoid the attack but all he did was stand there like some impatient child. Before he could bring his weapon down he felt a death grip of Thanatos' hand s on his wrist stopping him from bringing his broadsword down on the man's head. It crackled and sparked just inches above the both of them as they stood there for a moment, locked in battle. The two glared at each other and the ferocity of their shared looks could rival the energy coming off his very blade. Tetri snarled but before he could say anything he felt the wind get knocked out of him as his foot made direct contact with his stomach. It felt as if he had been hit by a freight train as his body was spent spinning and tumbling on the broken concrete with his sword spiraled a foot away from him. Pain shot through his entire body as he took in shallow gasps of air and tried to get back on his feet. Fuck, he had never been hit quite that hard in his entire life.

"I thought I had five chances before you started fighting back." Tetri croaked out as he struggled to his knees. His sunglasses were destroyed now and were nothing more then a pile of broken glass and metal frames. Tetri turned his head to face the man and nothing but hatred could be seen in those eyes of his. Forget the mission and forget CROSS, he wanted Thanatos blood on his hands no matter what. Pushing himself up on his feet with a groan the man stumbled slightly before walking over to his sword and picking it up. This was it, this was his final chance to destroy that little punk. His body was screaming out in pain but that didn't matter one bit, all that mattered was killing Thanatos. He was a little shaky on his feet as he stepped closer yet after a moment his breathing wasn't as heavy and he could stand up straight again.

"I'm going to run you through with my sword if it's the last thing I ever do." His voice was little more then a whisper now but there was venom in it unlike anything ever before. Turning the hilt he pressed another button on the sword as it sprang with energy once more amplifying what it was already putting out. Forget paralyzing, this would be enough to make any normal human's heart stop on the spot. Spitting at the ground Tetri let out a roar like a lion about to strike as he jumped towards the man with everything he had left.

Thanatos only shook his head in reply before he spoke while watching Tetri get up onto his feet. "I know. I was just giving you a stern reminder of what was coming if you fucked up for the last time." He answered as his eyes narrowed at him. There was a point and time where if he really wanted to unleash on Tetri, he would've done just that right here and now. But unfortunately, now was the time to make his grand exit. On top of all that, he also had to make it purely convincing that Tetri had landed the final blow. Either that or possibly make it look as though Thanatos was the one who had made the mistake. He had to act fast, however. Besides, there was probably hundreds - if not thousands - of people that were looking on at this battle.

If memory served him correctly, he was about half the distance away between the side where the river was. Looking back quickly, he knew he had to go through with this plan, but he had to act fast. What was it, let him give him the shock treatment or make it look as though he had flubbed his dodge? Shock treatment? Dodge? What? These alternating ideas came at him with increasing speed as he watched Tetri come closer and closer still as he began to lower himself down and adrenaline was pumping through his veins now.

Soon enough, he settled on making an allegedly bad dodge over the railing. Right before Tetri came down with his broadsword, Thanatos exerted everything he had into one more final leap, this time deliberately soaring high above Tetri's head once again, looking over to the railing where the river was. He had honestly hoped this was the right idea, as he first landed on the railing at a crooked angle, staggering wildly for a few seconds before he fell over.

From there, Thanatos began his downward descent from the Sears Tower, his falling speed increasing rapidly little at a time while flipping end over end for the first few hundred feet as he then slowly stopped spinning, looking down at the river below, the wind whipping through his body as he approached speeds of about 60-70mph. During the fall, he had honestly hoped and prayed that those air bubbles that were installed in his jacket hours ago were going to be enough to steady his fall, because the river was coming up awful fast!

As the sword rushed towards him Tetri had been expecting for Thanatos to either rush at him or try and dodge it again. As the sword was brought down on the other man he once again leapt in the air causing his broadsword to come in contact with the hard concrete. As the electricity crackled on the ground Tetri looked up just in time to see Thanatos soar in the air above his head before landing on the railing once again. The man was expecting another smirk and some pompous words but instead it looked as if Thanatos had misjudged the landing and was flailing about for a bit before finally tipping over. Maybe it was the winds or maybe fate had finally had enough but Tetri ran over to the railing just in time to see the small black dot plummet towards the river. There was no way the other man could possibly survive that fall even if those air bubbles did work.

A collective gasp could be heard coming from the crowds as people started screaming and sirens wailed above the noise. Even as Thanatos started falling faster and faster a sudden whizzing sound could be heard as the air bubbles in his jacket came to life and started blowing out air to try and stop the speed with which he fell. The flips in the beginning had cost him some time and while the air bubbles would try their damnedest to create as much wind resistance as possible it would all depend on how much time he had before hitting the water. Falling from this height he would surely reach critical velocity and just the water itself would be enough to break any normal human's neck as soon as they hit the liquid.

Underneath the waves three figures in scuba gear swam by as they peered up in the murky water. They could see the black figure moving towards them though it was going faster then any of them had assumed. Linnox had been telling them that something was going wrong through the transmitters in their ear's but they had no idea just how wrong thing were. When his body hit the water two of the scuba divers rushed towards him and caught him before be went any deeper in the later. The third one held an extra air canister to his mouth so he wouldn't drowned. Eris put his arm around his shoulder as did one of the others while they swam deeper in the water to try and get into the lake. The river was too shallow and they needed to get to the lake where one of the boats was waiting for them.

Looking to her side it didn't seem as if Thanatos had been hurt but they wouldn't know for sure until they were on board the boat and the doctors had a chance to look at him. Even if the air bubbles had done their job who knew how long he would be knocked out for and how much damage he had suffered. No, right now they needed to get to the boat and get him checked out asap.

Soon enough, the g-forces that whipped through his body eventually caused him to black out, leaving him in sort of a freefall as he passed through the 700 foot mark within seconds. He wasn't even aware of the fact that the air bubbles had finally released in time to steady his descent from reaching terminal velocity or were at least trying to, much less when he began to hear the sounds of screaming from the people far below.

I did my part, you guys... Here's to hoping you'll do yours... Was all Thanatos could think of as he eventually crashed backfirst into the water moments later, sinking quickly into the depths of the lake almost lifelessly. But soon enough, Thanatos felt a pair of hands grabbing at him to keep from sinking any further. One of the things they would probably notice by now was that most of his body took an extreme amount of punishment as he hung there limply in their grasp while a third individual soon came up behind him and placed a mask over his face, connected to an air canister of some sort. The eerie thing about it was that Thanatos was in fact breathing, but it was extremely shallow, just barely to the point where it looked as though he wasn't at all.

The resulting damage from the fall was this.

Three cracked ribs, one of which was pressing hard into his right lung. Both upper arms were dislocated from the ball-and-socket joints, as was his right leg at the knee. A severe concussion. Three discs in his lower spine were on the verge of exploding outward, pinching on various nerves through out his body. Miraculously, the damage wasn't as severe as they had feared, but there was no telling how long he would be recuperating for.

The water got darker as they got out of the river and into the lake. Thanatos was still suspended between two of them as they tried to get to the boat as soon as they could. Finally they could see the boat in the distance and swam around back to make sure that no one could see them. It would be absolutely vital that everyone thought Thanatos was dead now and they even had a team that was planting evidence to prove so. Eris had given the technical team the bullet with his blood on it and they had gotten to work creating evidence. Breaking free of the surface of the water they pushed him towards the side of the boat where the others on it pulled him up out of the water. As soon as he was on the deck he was surrounded by a team of doctors who got to work checking out his vital signs and seeing what damage was done.

Eris pulled herself up out of the water and put down the air can before walking over to where Thanatos was lying. "How's he doing?" She asked as she looked down at him with concern. That had been one hell of a fall and he had felt pretty limp in the water. "Well, it doesn't look like he's going to die but he took a massive amount of damage. We'll take him back to base and put him in one of the recovery rooms so we can get to work. He might need surgery but we don't know until we get him to base." One of the doctors explained as they took off his coat to take a look at any of the bruising he had. Eris muttered under her breath as she stepped back to let the doctors work. She had already seen just how his body healed but who knew if that would be enough with all the abuse it had taken.

-----

Three days later and all that was on the news were government officials apologizing as the people skewered them. It hadn't taken long for the media to dig up just who that man was and how he had escaped from one of their super soldier programs. Left and right people were demanding answers and the officials were having a hard time coming up with them. Their whole little project had blown up in their faces and now it was time to face the music. Back in base Thanatos had been put in one of the recovery rooms where the doctors ran test after test on him. They had healed him up as best as they could but they wouldn't know if it took completely. Nero was abuzz with Tetri's betrayal and now everyone was under a microscope as the higher ups tried to weed out anyone else who could possibly be a double agent. Sighing, Eris got up off her seat and walked down the hall to check up on Thanatos. She hadn't seen him in the past few days and had been running back and forth making sure everything was going smoothly.

In the three days it took for a majority of his body to recuperate from the nearly fatal fall, Thanatos's body had remained completely still, even as the doctors had patched him up however they could. Needless to say, that fall took quite a ton of out him, and the might be a chance that some of his enhanced skillsets could be somewhat jeopardized if they didn't heal properly. Having a dislocated leg could easily slow anyone down, just as both arms that had popped completely out of the shoulder sockets were as well. The pinched nerves in his spine could also present a problem, meaning that he wouldn't as limber as he was before. The cracked ribs weren't exactly as bad as they feared, save for the one that was dangerously close to piercing his right lung. Had that happened, it would've been disastrous for Nero as a whole for Thanatos would've drowned instantly on the spot and he wouldn't have known about it due to the concussion he suffered.

The first day of healing would in fact see that it did begin to take, albeit slowly at first. Sounds of bone popping back into place purely on their own could be heard from time to time, causing Thanatos's body to flinch on its own. His shoulders and knee took up most of the time, steadily coming back into place within their proper places for the first day.

In the second day of healing, the cracked right ribcage would settle back into place, but the spinal column was the one that once again took the longest. It was sort of the same equivalent as trying to rescue someone from a completely wrecked car by only using the Jaws Of Life on it to get that person's head out first for using the same instrument to pry the rest of the car apart in order to get at him. Fortunately, there was no complications there, but it wouldn't be entirely known for certain.

By the third day, and this was the critical moment for Thanatos: Recovering after getting concussed. The entire day was devoted this part of healing, and by about later that afternoon, his healing was complete. Now all that needed to happen was for him to awaken from his current state. Unfortunately, it didn't happen until about 6 o'clock in the evening.

Slowly, Thanatos's eyes began to open, emitting a pained groan of sorts before he finally stirred. Needless to say, his head was literally ringing as he slowly rose into a sitting position then carefully placed a hand on it with his eyes tightly shut. "Ow..." He mumbled to himself before speaking aloud. "Does anyone... Have any aspirin on them? I got this killer headache going on here..." He said.

Leaning back against the chair her eyes scanned over the words on the page before finally turning it to the next page. She'd been in his room since noon and so far all she had heard was his soft breathing and the whizzing of machines as they monitored him. Eris was almost tempted to take a nap when she suddenly heard a stirring next to her. Putting down her book she turned her head to see Thanatos wide awake mumbling about a headache. For a second she was completely still as if she didn't believe that this was real and that she was actually dreaming. Of course when she didn't wake up from that dream and he kept moving it suddenly dawned on her that this was all very real.

"You asshole!" Eris yelled as she set down her book and all but tackled him. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck as her face was buried in the crook of his neck. Of course it took her a moment to realize that her practically choking him might not be the best thing for his headache or for his overall health. Pulling back she stared at him with a bit of a scowl as she struggled with the options of either hugging him again or smacking him upside the head. Sure it wasn't exactly his fault that he had taken that much damage but he'd had them all worried sick and they weren't sure just when he would wake up from his concussion if he ever did.

"You wanted an aspirin right?" Eris said as she got up off the bed and walked over to one of the tables that had a couple of bottle of pills. Opening one of them she took two small white tablets and a glass full of water before handing it to him. "You had us worried ya know. The doctors weren't sure if you'd wake up or even if you'd fully heal." Even though Thanatos was right in front of her and she had almost squeezed the life out of him it was hard to imagine that he was awake now. He had seemed so far gone the last time she saw him that this didn't seem real. "Oh, I have something for you." Eris said as she reached behind her head and pulled off the crosses around her neck before handing them over to him. "Told you I'd keep them warm."

Thanatos gave a grunt when he felt Eris's arms loop around his neck, causing him to give out a pained groan mostly in the neck area. Of course, getting squeezed there with a hard hug by Eris only aggravated the pain a little more aside from nearly getting choked out. "Ow, ow, ow." He sounded out quietly before he was finally released by her then turned his head towards her with a small smile on his face. "Heh..." He answered as he blinked his eyes a few times, trying to clear the dots out of his eyes.

After a little while, he reached his left hand over to take the aspirin tablets from her then switched them to his right hand, wincing a little bit more as well due to his arms giving him a little bit of pain as well. Once they were in hand, Thanatos glanced over to take the glass of water Eris held out for him, nodding once in appreciation. Soon enough, he popped the tablets into his mouth before taking a hearty swig of the water, drinking down the water slowly. "Thanks very much." He answered as he laid down onto his back, sighing softly.

After a minute, Thanatos looked over to Eris with a quirked eyebrow when she showed him the two crosses she still had for however long he was out for then smiled up at her. "I guess you did." He answered before his expression became a thoughtful look. "How long was I out for, anyway?" He then asked.