Mission Codename: Cannon Fodder (BlisteredBlood & Devxx)

"Pft, I don't doubt that for a minute. Somehow I think that if you came to visit we wouldn't be spending much time enjoying the local culture and probably wouldn't be leaving the house for a long time." Eris shot back with a bemused look. Well, it would fix her little wardrobe problem considering she wouldn't be wearing a ton of clothes if he visited.

Sai was the lowest rank and had been easy enough and it didn't seem like he'd had too much trouble taking down Abasi either. Yet Loki was still out there and Tetri probably wanted blood for the embarrassment he had suffered on the roof. Yet if Thanatos went up against them he would be going on a different territory altogether. At least when they had been chasing after him they couldn't fortify their defense or preplanned when they just had to jump when the chance arrived. Yet going after them meant attacking their on their turf where they could have all the backup they wanted and pull out the big guns.

"if you do go back to doing what you did when I found you can you please stop with the dismembering of politicians and police? I'd really rather not get a call complaining about all the people you've killed." Eris said with a laugh as she ran a finger through her hair. "Oh, staying with me won't be bad at all. I promise you'll get more of a workout then moving from place to place and the food would be better at least." Yet as he said, if any of that was going to happen then CROSS had to be knocked down. Of course she had yet to tell him what she planned on doing when the current leaders of CROSS were killed.

"Well, I'm not arguing with you there. You'll just have to be careful with how you go about it." All this talk of death and destruction had put her off a good mood and for now she'd like to ignore it. Reaching over she ruffled his hair before getting up off the bed. "Get some rest ok? Tomorrow is going to be your last round of tests and then you're out of this hell hole." Leaning over she kissed him on the forehead before stealing another fry.

"See? Now we're speaking in a language that you an I both understand." Thanatos answered Eris in a straightforward tone of voice, adding in a little laugh afterward. Come to think of it, it wouldn't be so bad, now that he thought about it. The only thing he would have to worry about was if Eris brought out the big - or bigger - guns in order to get him to the point where he would be forced to bang her brains out. Not that he wouldn't mind, of course.

After a little more consideration, it probably would make a lot more sense if Thanatos just did go after CROSS with every intention to take them out singlehandedly while they were spending every dollar on upgrading their own men when in reality, they should be putting it into fortifying their defense grid. After all, after what had happened with the four members as of recently - two of which he had yet to get his hands on while the others are probably in body bags by now - it should be a major concern if Thanatos ever showed up on their turf. But even if he did show up, the home field advantage would clearly be on their side. That was something Thanatos also had to take into consideration. But even with all of this in mind, the one nagging question was this: Where was it? They could really be anywhere, really. Maybe in Russia, possibly in China or even located somewhere in the United States. It would take quite a bit of digging around, but if he were to locate them specifically, Thanatos would have to - grudgingly, anyway - keep one member alive long enough for them to spill the beans. After he got the information he needed, then he would have a clearer destination, even if he had to adopt a new identity along the way.

"Yeah, yeah." Thanatos spoke again as he waved a hand at her. "I'll try and behave like a good boy." He added with a bit of a laugh before turning his head towards her once more, smiling at Eris. "Seems like I'll have more to worry about if I stayed with you, though." He quipped again before throwing a wink at her. Again, not that he wouldn't mind.

"Alright, Eris. And hey, you try and get some rest too, alright? Besides, you look like hell." Thanatos added once as he gave Eris one last playful swat on her rear before she headed out. "That's for stealing my fry, bitch." He said playfully, chuckling a bit as he then laid back on the bed, thinking towards tomorrow. Come to think of it, he did feel a little bit better than he was a few days ago. Maybe later on, Thanatos began to think. I think I'll do some solo testing on my own. Besides, I know I gotta be doing better if I'm wanting to get outta this place. He added to himself.

"Look like hell? Pft, I still look better then you." Eris said as she stopped at the doorway and turned around only to stick her tongue out at him. "Besides, just for that last thing I'm not going to bring you any more food so you'll just have to deal with the hospital food. Hope you're hungry though, I heard they're serving meatloaf surprise tomorrow." With that she flashed him one more smile before closing the door behind her and making her way towards her own room where she could finally get some work done.

It had to be around two in the morning and yet the blue screen of her laptop filed the room with light giving it an almost eerie glow. On her screen were different maps as well as documents written in languages that assuredly weren't English. She hadn't moved from this spot in a good five hours and the entire time she had been typing away like a madwoman trying to get every little bit of detail she could possibly get her hands on. Blue eyes scanned over the screen absorbing the writing as she jotted down more notes on her notebook which would have looked like scribble to anyone else but made perfect sense to her. If one actually knew what to look for then they would find the location of CROSS right on her notes, the same one they'd had years ago when she'd first run into them. That was a different time and a different place though and as soon as this whole mess was over she could finally close that chapter of her life forever.

Now she just needed to make sure that Thanatos got the job done and was able to take down the remaining members. Tetri would be a bit of an issue considering she didn't have as much information on him as she did the others but Thanatos had managed to have a good enough fight against him that he'd have to have gained some insight into the other man's fighting style. Loki would also present a problem and no doubt that idiot would just revel in being able to tell Thanatos what was going on behind the scenes. If he did show up to ruin things then she'd just have to take care of him herself before he could even say anything. History between the two had shown that when he didn't have smoke and explosions to hide behind he was useless in close combat fighting. Besides, she was much stronger then she'd dared let on to even Linnox though no doubt the old man was beginning to suspect something. If this was all going to happen then the sooner it got done the better.

Once this was all over she'd finally have her chance to meet up with Demetri once more as he saw his empire crumble around him and she could finally rub it in his face after all these years. There was a smirk on her face as she finally closed the laptop and set it on her desk before finally settling down for the night.

"Just for that," Thanatos called as Eris began to close the door behind her. "I'm not gonna be nice to you anymore!" He added before chuckling a little bit then shaking his head. "Oh, that bitch..." He muttered afterward then shook his head once more as he settled down onto his back with a sigh and his arms up behind the back of his head to cushion it, letting out a sigh mostly yo himself now. I should probably try and get some sleep, though. I'll need it for later tonight when I go out and do some of my own tests. He then thought as he settled down long enough to take a little nap.

By around two AM, Thanatos's eyes slowly opened then glanced around for a moment before rising into a sitting position then stretched his arms out widely with a soft groan. For the most part, there really wasn't much that was bothering him tonight, so maybe now would be a good time to go out and do some exercise. Besides, being cooped up in this hospital bed wasn't really doing him much in terms of keeping him comfortable for long. But, if he was going to get out of here easily, he need to shut off the monitors that he was attached to. With that in mind, Thanatos stood up onto his feet, shaking out his right leg a bit as he felt a slight bit of numbness there. No doubt that would bug him for a bit, but he figured it would be alright for a while. Walking over to the monitor that told him his vitals, Thanatos shut off the alarm on it before beginning to take off the patches on his body. Once they were off, he slid his shirt and coat back on over his torso, sighing a bit in comfort.

From there, Thanatos walked over to the door, but not before he picked up the last things he needed: His crosses and his katana. Once those were on his person, Thanatos opened up the door slowly to peek out into the hallway then glanced up to the ceiling. The only thing that was there was a camera, but as long as he hid under its blind spot directly under it, then maybe he should be alright. Narrowing his eyes slightly, Thanatos would then dash out into the hallway in one quick burst of speed before quietly pressing himself against the wall then shimmied across it once he saw the camera was looking in the other direction. Once he was directly under the blind spot of the camera, Thanatos watched as the camera slowly turned in the other direction to look towards the now closed door once again, allowing Thanatos to scoot by under it once again and began to move again.

From there, Thanatos moved towards the two elevators here, seeing that the power was off on both of them. Apparently, they closed at a certain time, so he couldn't use those. Wonder if there's a stairwell anywhere near here... He thought as he looked around a bit.

After a little more looking around, Thanatos spotted a door that led to the stairwell and ultimately down. Hopefully, he figured, they would lead him down to the first floor. He would walk over to the door and peered around from side to side once again, hoping he wasn't seen by anyone here as he then grasped the knob and gave it a twist, hearing the door open to him. Smiling a bit, Thanatos would then push the door open quiet before sneaking into the stairwell and doing the same to the door again, easing it closed behind him. Last thing he needed to do was to attract any unwanted attention.

Once he was in the stairwell, Thanatos would then begin to proceed down the stairway, rounding each and every corner with even steps, proceeding down and down up until he eventually found the ground floor some time later.

Deep breathing could be heard as eyes searched from the shadows and watched the figure moving below. The eyes had been watching the man as he left his bed and made sure to turn off the monitors and the alarm before taking the stairwell that led down to the ground floor where there wasn't a person in sight. NERO believed their security to be impenetrable so they thought that their alarm system was all it would take to spot an intruder lurking about. Most of the guards were placed up on the higher floors where the important information was kept so they didn't even bother with the lower floors besides to check the cameras once in a while. Yet if anyone was paying attention they would have noticed that one particular camera never seemed to change screens; almost as if it was playing on a loop.

The eyes almost glowed like those of a predator as they glared into daggers while watching the man finally come out into the light. There was an obvious energy of hatred around this shadowy figure as if it was the only thing flowing through his veins. Truth be told, it was. Tetri could barely stop himself from rushing our right then and there and electrocuting Thanatos on the spot. The smell of burning flesh would be the sweetest when he finally saw the man fry to a crisp as every nerve ending in his body cried out in pain. It would be like some beautifully haunting light show as the electricity from his sword flowed through the other man's body causing his heart to stop but not before his mind processed what unbearable pain he was in.

These were the eyes of a madman who sought only revenge against the person who had dared to dishonor him. All his life Tetri had always had an ego and strove to be the best at absolutely everything he did. CROSS gave him the opportunity to take the bull by the horns and play with the world as he saw fit. He had risen to the ranks to be #3 in the entire organization in only two short years. He had even managed to infiltrate NERO's main base and learn everything that they held precious. Just when it seemed like he would have the world in the palm of his hands this pathetic little mutant freak had to walk in and ruin all of it. He'd taunted and avoided his strikes like it was child's play and Tetri could still feel his blood boil as he thought back to their previous fight.

Not for a moment did he ever believe that Thanatos was actually dead like the media had claimed. He knew his weapon well and knew that the man had taken a dive where the plan had still managed to be put into action even if it wasn't how they thought they would go about it. Even as he retreated back to his own base to be treated for the damage he had sustained all his mind could think of was this arrogant fool and how he had managed to outwit him. As soon as he was given the clear Tetri had taken the first flight back and broken into CROSS where he laid waiting for his moment.

It seemed like the moment had presented itself on this fateful night.

Stepping out of the shadows into the light Thanatos could now see him clearly. The man was the same as he had been weeks before except for the minor cuts and bruises on his face and the bandage on his left arms. Yet he had a sneer on his face channeling all the rage he felt at Thanatos and the obvious desire to kill the other man. "You should have listened to your doctors and stayed in bed because now I'm going to finish where we left off." Not even giving the other man a chance to respond he rushed towards him with his sword held high as the electricity sparked through the air.

Once he was down on the ground floor, Thanatos began to walk around at a steady pace, his hands down by his sides before coming to a stop once he was near the front exit of the hospital before pausing in place. Something didn't feel right at the moment when he neared the exit before stopping in place then looked from side to side quietly as he silenced his breathing to the point where his lungs were entirely empty, allowing his muscles to become completely stilled. At that point, he could hear what appeared to be deep breathing somewhere behind him, putting himself on high alert for whatever was here.

Very cautiously, Thanatos's thumb inched under the handguard of his katana, pressing it up for a moment as he continued to listen to the sounds all around him, continuing to look from side to side with the same look in his eyes. Someone was definitely here, but where was the question. Then a familiar voice called out behind him, making Thanatos glance back with a wide eyed look to see Tetri rushing behind him with his weapon held high to strike him from behind. Right at the last second, Thanatos once again launched himself forward just as Tetri's weapon was right at his back, rolling forward an additional two feet before coming up into a crouch.

"Should've known you'd show your face again, you British piece of shit." Thanatos snarled quietly as he then stood up onto his feet once more, his hand grasping the handle of his katana with a calm look of anger in his eyes. "So you still think you can hang with me after what I did to you back up on the Sears Tower? I'd like to see you try." He challenged as he then slid his katana out of its sheath, readying to go at a moment's notice.

Dammit, somehow he had managed to dodge the attack even though Tetri thought he had been quiet. He had somehow managed to underestimate Thanatos once gain and should have known that after their little battle before. Thanatos' reactions were faster then anything he had seen before so attacking him head on wouldn't do much. Still, they had only ever played catch before and he'd never really had to block an attack from the other man before. This was going to be a different then before and he'd have to be on his feet.

"What you did to me? If I remember correctly I had you running like a scared little bitch until you decided to jump off instead of actually face me." Tetri looked up at him with obvious anger in his eyes holding his sword out by his side as it crackled angrily. With everything that happened between them this was going to be the last stand for them. Even if he had to die in the process Tetri was going to watch Thanatos burn for everything that he had done. Letting out a growl he charged at the man again this time with his sword overhead ready to strike at his side.

There was an obvious anger there that nothing but blood would quench. Sparks flew off the sword bouncing off the floor and ricocheting off the steel causing a sizable electric storm around them. It seemed like even the air itself was heavy as he brought down the sword.

A laugh was Thanatos's reaction when he heard Tetri openly claim to him that he had him on the run, or so he would've loved to think as he shook his head at him. "You really think that, huh? Don't you know an obvious act when you see it?" He asked as he soon took on a low stance stance this time, sliding his feet to shift into the stance as he watched Tetri make another hard charge for him yet again, watching closely at how his blade was going to come his way. It looked as though it was going to come straight back down on him, but he couldn't be too sure for the moment.

Right when he got close enough, Thanatos could now tell where his weapon was coming from. It was a side swipe. With that in mind, his first though was to just hop right over the blade, but the very idea of it seemed dangerous. No, he had to think up of something else and he had to think of it quick. Reacting purely on instinct, Thanatos pushed off of one foot to leap towards Tetri, looking to flip right over him, but he instead landed right on the man's shoulders, making sure to press his full weight down on both of them for the time being. From there, Thanatos pushed off of Tetri's shoulders, adding an extra amount of oomph to not only hop off of him at a good height, but to also shove Tetri ahead of him.

Once down on the ground as he landed in a crouch, Thanatos gave a slight grimace from the impact of the landing. Alright, so apparently he wasn't fully healed yet, but that wasn't going to slow him down. Not when he still had Tetri to deal with.

Tetri's eyes actually widened as he watched Thanatos jump towards him instead of away from him. The brat was putting on his little acrobatic act again just like he had done on top of the Sears tower and had managed to flip over his head. "What the...!" Tetri was cut off as he felt a heavy weight on his shoulders before Thanatos once more pushed off sending the man flying from the force behind the shove. He had been expecting Thanatos to dodge it or to run back but not to actually charge at him and physically jump on top of him only for Tetri to end up lying on the floor with his sword buzzing a foot away.

Getting up to one knee Tetri brought his hand to his lips where he could see a small trail of blood falling to the floor. Having his face swipe against the floor wasn't a pleasant experience and the man could already feel a throbbing on the right side of his face. Turning his head to Thanatos he let out a low growl before picking up his sword and struggling to get back up on his feet. The little bastard was moving quicker then he expected but the grimace on the other man's face didn't escape Tetri's keen eyes. Apparently he wasn't quite as healed up as he would have liked to have assumed which was only a benefit to Tetri. These little acrobatic acts were going to cost him in the long run and if he kept this up it could do serious damage to his newly healed body. This was a game of cat and mouse and Tetri would just have to wait it out a little while longer until it began to take its toll on Thanatos.

"That was a cheap move you know that. How about you stop jumping around and actually attack me head on like a man?" Tetri was taunting him now trying to get a rise out of the other man. If he could make him angry enough then maybe he could make him mess up as well. "What's wrong? Still not all patched up from our little match?"

Slowly, Thanatos began to pick himself up into a standing position despite the fact that his right knee was still giving him a little bit of a problem in keeping himself steady for a little while longer before shifting into a low stance once again, releasing a little huff of air through his lips with a purely focused look as he kept his eyes on Tetri as he was also attempting to get up after being launched like a human slingshot before crashing into the ground on his face. Judging from the amount of bruising that he could see on it, he could tell that he wasn't exactly too proud of what happened to him just now, but if he was going to put him down entirely, Thanatos knew that he was going to have to step it up a bit before this dragged out too long.

Soon enough, Thanatos smirked at Tetri's words, uninitiated by the other man's taunt before chuckling at him in reply. "You might think that, but you know how the old saying goes about how all's fair in love and war. You do anything you can to get ahead, even if you have to use a few cheap shots in order to get there. Something you're familiar with, I'm sure." He shot back with a little grin as he kept his steps nice and steady, despite his right leg was still smarting somewhat.

"Love and war? Kid, you have no idea how far over your head you are with this one." The man gave a hallow laugh as he shook his head from side to side clearing it after his little spill. "One person isn't going to take down an entire organization and if you try then we'll bury you. You would have been better off dying after your little jump earlier." Thanatos could think what he wanted but he wasn't going to take down CROSS by himself. Even if he somehow managed to kill all their head figures there was a chain of command in place with an organization like CROSS and someone would always be there to pick up the slack. This wasn't going to end with just a couple of sword fights.

The other man might be trying to hide his weakness but Tetri had seen the quick look of pain when he put too much pressure on his right leg. He wouldn't be able to move very fast for very long and there was no way he could keep up all the jumping. Not even giving him another moment to collect his thoughts, Tetri ran towards him once more with his sword drawn high. Yet right before he reached Thanatos he flew up in the air only to bring the sword down on the ground right before him. Tetri was balancing himself on the hilt so the electricity would travel down to the ground and create an electric field shocking anything that touched it.

"Maybe I don't know what I'm in for, but knowing that I have all of your heads stacked up on a silver platter is more than enough for me, pal. However, I think I'll start by seeing what they think when I drop you like a bad habit first." Thanatos counter with a bit of a grin on his face as he continued to hold his stance, studying Tetri closely from his current distance. It was clearly obvious that his right knee was going to give him a bit of trouble, but as long as he generated enough distance between himself and Tetri, he had honestly hoped that it would borrow him enough time to get some bloodflow back into that still bum knee of his the only way he knew how.

Right when he saw Tetri begin to make his move in a way that wouldn't allow him much time to do so, Thanatos once again steeled himself as he watched the other man rush up to him once again with what he might have thought was another high attack, but then he noticed that Tetri had pushed himself off of the ground with the intent of bring that thing straight down onto his skull. Not wanting to be around for either the blade nor for the fact that those streaks of lightning were still present on the weapon, Thanatos looked off to his right, spotting a nearby wall. He wasn't quite sure what he would do with it, but he sure as hell hoped that it would at least give him some time to get up it and move out of the way of the incoming jolts of electricity.

With that thought in mind, Thanatos immediately made a sudden dash for that wall and when he got close enough to it, he brought his right leg up and planted the respective foot on it before pushing off of his left and leaned forward with as much momentum that he could allow himself to carry with it, literally ran up the wall about five feet upward and kicked off of it hard to gain an additional three feet up into the air with his left foot again. Once in the air, Thanatos turned himself around in mid air within just enough time to catch sight of a flagpole coming up rather quickly. With the same quick reactions, Thanatos shot his hands out to catch the base of the flagpole and swung on it a few times, pumping his legs back and forth a few times as he began to generate enough speed to launch himself a pretty good distance above Tetri's head then released his grip from it, performing a full gainer and a half as he reached for his katana and drew it out in seemingly one fluid and smooth motion then raised it above his head and swung it down, looking to aim the blade right onto Tetri's head.

This was going to be it, he knew it. This would be the final move that ended the battle between them once and for all. Ever since he first laid eyes on Thanatos he knew that he wouldn't be happy until he had the other man lying dead at his feet. Tetri had always had an ego and that ego drove him to be the best and destroy anything that stood in his way. For years he had been making a name for himself as an assassin for hire and when he joined CROSS he maintained his perfect streak. There had been no opponent or target that wouldn't fall to his blade one way or another. Then Thanatos had to come along. They warned him about what had happened to Sai and Abassi but the other man just shrugged it off as the others not being anywhere near as talented as himself. So he took the challenge of bringing down this living weapon and had already prepared his victory speech for when he returned to base.

Yet all of that had changed up on the roof when they went head to head and Tetri failed to kill him like the thought he would. Even as he laid in his hospital bed resting up and allowing his body to heal all he could think about was the other man who had somehow managed to ruin his perfect streak. It drove him to the point of insanity until he knew he would never have another moment of peace until he reclaimed the honor he had lost and had Thanatos head on a platter. So when he brought his broadsword down on the floor and planted it through the tiles he knew that this was their final stand. After all, there was no place for him to run that the electricity wouldn't get him and even the super soldier couldn't fly. Besides, his knee was giving him problems and he wouldn't be able to last very long anyway. So with a self serving grin Tetri looked up, preparing to watch the younger man get electrocuted from his weapon.

Yet that grin soon turned to horror as he saw Thanatos pull acrobatics that shouldn't even be humanly possibly as he basically jumped from the wall and flew over to the flagpole before swinging his own katana down towards him. Tetri had been right in one aspect, this would be their final showdown. There was no way he could avoid the sword without stepping into the electrical field and shocking himself. He couldn't even mutter a word as the katana met with his angled head severing it completely from his neck. There was a sickening spark as his decapitated head fell into the electrical field before the sword finally fell over and his body fell to the ground. Shame that he went without his perfect record intact.

Right after Thanatos's blade slammed into the ground, he felt his right knee buckle under the amount of strain and weight that he had placed down onto it, causing him a significant amount of pain to race through it like a streak of electricity as he landed on the ground, his eyes tightly shut for a moment. He had honestly thought that perhaps Tetri would be smart enough to get away from his intended attack, but as he opened his eyes to look up towards him, Thanatos would only see that there was now a headless body that was standing there before him for a little while as blood was shooting up straight into the sky only to rain back down onto the ground.

For a moment more, Thanatos continued to remain there in a crouch as his knee continued to bother him quite a it then slowly began to stand up onto his feet, wincing the entire time he did so. Great... This is gonna put off my release date for a little longer than I anticipated. But at least I got this monkey off of my back. He thought morbidly as he then watched Tetri's headless form drop to the ground. With that, Thanatos would walk away slowly, wincing somewhat as he dropped a hand down to his aggravated knee.

"Dammit..." He cursed under his breath as he walked.

It was funny how people seemed to pop up only after all the action had already taken place. The noise from the pair had roused suspicion from the guards and they arrived just in time to watch the headless corpse lie in a pool of its own crimson blood as the once sparking sword now stood completely silent like a tombstone to the fallen man. Whatever happened here hadn't been pretty though enough of the guards recognized the head as Tetri's to put two and two together and realize that the pair had been planning on finishing where they left off.

"Mr. Thanatos, what are you doing out of bed?" One of the men in the white lab coat said as he strode towards the obviously injured man. This little fight of theirs hadn't been a cake walk and it seemed like he had managed to reopen some of his old wounds. They could only hope that he hadn't sustained anymore damage to his ribs or that there was internal bleeding. "Sir, you need to get back to your bed right now so we can run some more tests to see if anything has gotten worse." His voice was agitated but there was a hint of excitement in there. He was a doctor after all and the thought of being able to study the man's body and how it reacted after being damaged again did hold a hint of a thrill to him.

Two guards surrounded him and placed hands on his shoulders as a way to help him back to the bed as the others went to work cleaning up this mess before anyone else walked in. No doubt they would have to beef up their security considerably if it had been compromised again.

( Oh jeez, I always get so morbid during the fight scenes. >__<; )

As Thanatos continued to walk away from Tetri's corpse, his knee only continued to be more and more of a bother before he decided to come to a stop near a wall in the corridor then slid down once he had pressed himself up against it. "Alright, alright. I know I'm not a hundred percent yet you stupid knee, now quit fucking reminding me goddammit!" Thanatos snarled quietly once he was sitting down on the wall then let out a quiet sigh and shook his head a bit.

After a moment, he heard someone approach him from down the hallway and after glancing up, he saw that it was one of the la technicians that had found him here before calling a few guards down to him. Thanatos didn't bother with resisting this time, for his body wasn't exactly in tip-top shape as of just yet or it didn't want to cooperate with him in that manner. "Alright, you got me. Not gonna resist arrest." Thanatos joked after raising his hands upward and smiled morbidly mostly to himself before being assisted to his feet and guided back upstairs. He cast the doctor there a bit of a sideways glance and cocked an eyebrow at his words about wanting to run some tests, but Thanatos simply shook his head at the man prior to speaking.

"You know, it's not my ribs that's bugging me. It's my right knee. I know this because of the way I landed on it." He answered the doctor with a shake of his head.