As they entered the elevator, Eden's mind began to wander. She wanted to prove the eerie point she had made earlier. There had to be a vast amount of kidnappings in the area. Not that missing people sadly was out of the ordinary. There had to be some pattern. Will's words circled in her mind as she thought about what he had briefed them on. The file had been stored on her strange device which she pulled from her pocket. Not quite using it, in case the door opened and another tenet stepped in. They were not supposed to just speak about things in front of the public of coarse. "Once we settle in to the pent house I'll glance over the information and see if I can pinpoint us a destination. Four groups of them are bound to slip up and leave a trace." The elevator dinged as another man stepped in. He sighed realizing the elevator was going up, and not down. Still he stayed put.

After several quiet minutes, their floor came. There was three other doors on the floor including than their own. Meaning they have a very large penthouse this time around. Something of a rarity. Once stepping out, and the door opened. Eden got a good look around. Or at least as she walked down the main hall. The penthouse was beautiful. It had a basic color scheme of white and red primary. The windows were large with a metal shutters that could go over them if they chose. Mainly for blocking out the sun. "This is just wonderful." Eden said as she walked into the living room, looking out the large windows at the night sky.

"I was thinking on the way up. We cant just accuse people of starting anything. So we need to have a reason." Eden started, getting right down to business as Thane had wanted. Herself too, just less so. "We need to take down a gargoyle and see what we are dealing with.. but to find them." She took a seat on the couch, placing her storage device on the coffee table. In front of her a computer screen came up. Eden went into her bag and pulled out a pair of rimless reading glasses. They were also enhanced to connect with the screen and help her mind process the information. Or in Eden's case, help the computer keep up with her mind.

Windows started to change and grow larger, (I'm thinking Tony Stark's awesome computer from Iron man here. lol). Files were appearing and disappearing with a simple wave of a hand. All being added to a small map. Which after a few minutes she enlarged. Hundreds of red dots appeared and Eden stopped. "Why were we sent out here so late? There have been over three hundred murders in just Penn station alone. I think we should head there tonight. That alarming number is just too good to pass up." Eden said. Of coarse, she may have been missing the detail of Penn station running 24-7. There were always people there. Although primitive, the subways still ran. It was an easy way for the poor to get around.

"Average times.. 2:37 AM." Eden said as she looked around for a clock. What? Cant expect the super computer to have one.

(I was thinking the same thing with the computer screen lol)

Thane simply nodded to Eden's reply. It was best to keep things confidential of course. This was far too public of a place to be discussing dangerous business like theirs. A fact that was reaffirmed when another male joined them on the elevator. As the next few short minutes went by in relative silence aside from the horrible elevator music, Thane stayed in his silent contemplation state. The words that she'd said were true. If there were four separate groups of gargoyle's, no matter how smart they were, there were bound to be some trace left.

Once they exited and entered the penthouse suite, both of them were in awe. This was definitely a rare treat. It wasn't often that the two of them were given a temporary home this nice. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to dote on their home for the next month or so, it was time for business. Thane took a seat across from Eden as she jumped straight into work trying to pinpoint a starting place for the investigation. Watching her go to work on her supercomputer was still awe-inspiring though he was past the point of showing it thankfully. He'd probably look like an idiot if his jaw was slack while she worked.

The dark skinned male sat quietly and took in all the information that she spat out. His eyebrow was raised quickly when she said that there had been over a hundred killings at Penn station. "A hundred? This must have happened so rapidly that the Agency didn't have time to respond quickly enough. But even if that is the case, that's still frightening that so many have died in one area alone."

For a moment he seemed lost in thought as he ran through some questions that came up, "Can you check and see if there has been any news reports on these killings? Why hasn't the station been shut off if so many people have died so recently?" Pausing briefly as he stood to his feet, the male let out a deep sigh, "I agree that this is an ideal starting place. We should head there and set a trap. Not to mention get that station shut down. If we can prevent more lives from being lost, that's priority number one. Get situated and we'll leave at midnight."

((We think too alike sometimes xD))

"I think because the bodies of most are missing. And also because in a city of just over a billion, deaths happen every second." Eden said as she brought up numerous reports. "Its sad to say, but its new york. People just expect it seems. Or at least that's what I can assume. .... no reports of monsters..." Eden honestly was not sure why they would keep the place open. Maybe it was because of the amount of traffic is got every hour. Or the amount of people that relied on it. Business over lives? There were countless assumptions. "We should call it in and see if we can get a crew to shut it down. Even for just a few hours." It was a suggestion. The Agency could do magic at times. And it was easier than getting police involved.

She took her glasses off and stepped away from the computer. Setting her glasses back on the coffee table before stepping into the kitchen. Eden looked around a bit, finding two bottles of water, she brought on out for Thane. "So many variables is in this one. Been a while since we had anything this fun." Eden said as she took a seat next to him. "I know your now going to like this, but if the gargoyles are thinking, Do you believe shutting down the station is a good thing? They may catch on." Eden said. She did not rightly agree with herself, but in order to save the masses, they would not want the enemy to catch on. Even if that meant keeping the station open.

"Wait- without a report of seeing a monster, they may even be luring victims away from the masses."

(Agreed ^_^)She was right. Although a hundred deaths were a large number on a small scale it a miniscule number on the scale of reality. With over a billion people in the city, one hundred was barely a pixel on a computer screen. He hated losing so many lives even if it seemed insignificant in the long run but there were other options. "Do you think it would be best to leave the station open? What I'm trying to figure out is how a group of gargoyles have been taking humans and not getting caught at a subway full of people. Is that not baffling to you?" He knew that it probably was but the question came out before he had a chance to hold back.

Taking the water that his partner handed him, he quickly popped the top and downed half the bottle without thinking. He managed a smile as he thought about the fight that would be unavoidable once they found the stone beasts, "This is a bit more difficult than our usual cases. Maybe that's a sign that the Agency has more faith in us. Or maybe it's a test to see how useful we are. They can't keep giving us small time cases as long as I'm ranked seventh. I know they'd feel like it was a waste of a Gift," he said with a smirk as he shook his head. You could never know what the Agency was planning.

Turning back to the topic of the case, Thane pulled out his holographic computer and looked up the layout of the subway. There were several entrances of course but the entrance at Penn Station was basically a one way. There was only one way in and one way out. He glanced over at his partner and sighed, "What the hell? There's only one entrance. How many separate attacks have there been? And how many usually go missing in each attack? I can't imagine there being enough of a lull in human traffic for them to pinpoint a small group for them to take without being seen." Although this should have been a mind numbing fact, it only served to put a smile on Thane's face for several reasons. First, the number of spots that they would target was extremely limited. But they would be able to spot any other ambush spots once they arrived. Second, since they had an accurate time to go with, they knew where to be when. Lastly, this would make a trap easier to set up.

"I think we should leave the station open. Probably best if we plan to ambush a group of stone thinkers, yes?"

"Of coarse it is." She answer back, just as blindly. Taking a sip from her own water bottle. "Your right. This has to be some sort of test for you. Making sure your up to par or something." Eden said with a smile. She was glad to see her partner get so much outcome after the amount of work he put in. There were some times they had off she would literally need to drag him from the training room. But unlike most partners, Eden could not train with Thane. Even when he was reserving a lot of energy, he was still far stronger than Eden. But that was good. He enjoyed fighting, why Eden had no problem spending all night trying to solve one mystery. In fact, most of their missions she had pulled at least one all niter. Even if that meant doing it after Thane told her not to.

He pulled open a map of penn station. Eden looked it over too. 'Thane, I only assume this is one of the groups. Not all four. The missing persons number for the city.. you probably don't want to know. At least right now. This just happens to be the closest." She started looking over the map. "One main entrance.. one main way out.. There has to be an employee exit, or even sewers. Just other places to look for once we get there."

"As much as I don't like it, I agree." Eden said as she leaned back into the couch.

Thane smiled, "They can't test me without testing you. Besides, you're much smarter than I am, and you're the reason we make it through many of our missions. You knowledge is invaluable," he replied openly. This was the truth of the matter. She was just as responsible for their success as he was.

"I agree that this probably the work of one group. They've found them a hunting ground, but I imagine there's at least three to four of them in each group and gargoyles aren't exactly small. But I do keep forgetting that we are talking about gargoyles who somehow manage to think logically now huh?" One question always brought up more when it came to the more difficult cases but that was for the best. Eden could do her thinking and Thane could ponder it until it drove him mad enough to go train for hours. He needed to find a better stress reliever.

Nodding in acknowledgement that they agreed on leaving the station open, for now all that was left was to actually go investigate the place. "Well let's rest up before we go. A short nap would probably do us both some good, so where do you want to nap at," he asked casually as he draped his arm over her shoulders again and gently pulled her face towards his own. At least he knew now that nothing overly unexpected would happen since they were on stable ground, namely a couch. He did so like to tease the woman, it served as one of his favorite past times. Though he really did want to take a nap with her. Since he'd actually started touching her a bit more recently he realized just how much he liked to touch her. It was odd in a way but it was a fascinating discovery for the man. Plus it added a little spice to his teasing.

"The good thing is about the gargoyles, if they are using magic to being controlled you will catch on right away. Otherwise we might need to take a look inside." Eden said. The idea of a nap came up, making Eden smile. It was do them both good to rest a bit before the mission. "The bedroom of coarse." Eden answered him, tapping his knee before standing. Where else would they sleep? The couch.. Well I guess they could, but the bed was far more comfortable. His words from earlier echoed in her mind.

"..And I would like to cuddle if your up for it." She said it rather quietly, but still enough for him to hear before she headed into the bedroom. Sitting on the bed she bend down and unzipped her boots. Kicking them off followed by her suit. Even Eden could not sleep in the thing. Her body would show the rest of her vitiligo. In patches it split down her body. Making it appear she was made from several different humans. She also had more than her fair share of scars, Even just next to her spine was a bullet scar. Something she always had even before meeting Thane. It was a story she did not bring up ever, even avoided when asked.

There was something on her body though Thane had asked about once. It was a tattoo. Small, but on her right shoulder blade. It was a message, or more so a joke. 'It's called vitiligo.' it read. Simple, to the point. When she had gotten it? While on one of their missions more then two years ago. It was silly, and Eden loved it. Never though would she get another tattoo. After all, she got into a bit of trouble. Not like she knew. Not many agent got them, and therefore there was no written rule.

She climbed under the sheets, laying on her side. It would not be the first time they shared a bed. Being hunted down at times, it was safer. But this time was different. One more thought crossed Eden's mind.

"So the car.. Did you.." She didn't finish her sentence at first, but continued, "Enjoy it?"

"True," he replied. If there was magic being used he would sense the traces immediately. But if the gargoyles did have the ability to think, how much would they know? And would they leave behind obvious trails if they had any knowledge on the Agency at all? It would be interesting to see how things went.

Thane rose after her and followed Eden into the bedroom with a bit of mischief in his eye. She was playing along for now, which made things interesting but they usually never took things too much further than this. He watched her as she undressed admiring her beauty, while he too undressed. She had a few scars to go along with her skin condition, but Thane had far more. He had several bullet wounds, one right over his heart even. It was the power of the phoenix that had saved him. Apparently he rose from the ashes through a will to live? Or maybe it was Eden's voice that pulled him from the Abyss. No matter the case, that was one experience that he did not wish to relive again. There were slash scars over his body from his battles with various beasts, including gargoyles, but thankfully only the scar over his right eye on his face.

Now that he thought about it, he needed to shave too, but that could wait. His muscles was sculpted as if he been uniquely designed to be a Greek God. But that was all due to his training regiment and hard work. He had to be as fit as possible to survive in this line of work, so to be honest, Thane was simply built like most of the other male Agents. If not slightly better than most.

After he had slipped down into his compression shorts, which he preferred over boxers or briefs for several personal reasons, he slipped underneath the sheets behind Eden. With his free hand he ran his fingers over the tattoo that she had snuck off to get after one mission. It was funny to recall how furious Will had been when he found out about it, but that was to be expected from him. Thane had never wanted any tattoos or anything. His body seemed so scarred up, that there wasn't much room for one to look good on him, he thought.

His attention was pulled back to the present when Eden asked him about the incident in the car. Thinking about what to say and how to put it, the two of them laid in silence for a moment. "I did enjoy it," he finally replied. "Did you?" Propping up on and elbow he began to run his fingers through her hair as he awaited her reply.

Eden had her eyes closed as he ran his fingers threw her hair. He had answered her question, but Eden waited before she answered. It came as a surprise, but she did enjoy it. Eden tried to think. In the Agency, there was really no time for relationships. That may honestly have been her first kiss. But in this moment, she could not remember weather it was true or not. She scooted forward, rested her head just against his forehead. Her nose was against his, and her breath brushed his face every few seconds. "Yes, I did." She said finally. Eden was inexperienced at many things. Well, at least in par with other agents. This included things in a romantic nature. But one could say her heart was leading the way. Then we would just be getting sappy.

She pressed her body closer to Thane. Telling herself to stop and to wait until after the mission. But to be fair, she did already care for him a great deal. Most romantically involved couples would never actually lay down their lives for the other. Which made Eden feel they had something more. "I care for you, you know that, right?" Eden whispered to him. She had a smile on her face as she opened her eyes. Looking into his. "Your the only man who can make me feel nervous and safe at the same time."

This was good right? She had enjoyed that brief moment when their lips had locked unexpectedly just as he had. So this was a good thing right? Yes. He was sure of that. He cared about Eden deeply and wanted his feelings to be returned so naturally this was good. But being so inexperienced with his feelings left him slightly off guard when it came to his partner. Thane never knew how to approach her and wasn't sure if they should attempt to pursue a relationship or not. The Agency wouldn't like it. Not because it was on the taboo side, but because of the large gap in their rankings more than anything. The Agency was known to overlook things if they thought it would prove beneficial towards them but how would they view them in an open relationship? Or even a secret one? It would be nearly impossible to hide with all the spy equipment they had on them. And neither of them had inspected the apartment thoroughly enough to know if they had hidden cameras or not.

The thing was, if this was lust, it would likely be overlooked since that was part of human nature and a base need for anyone. But if it was love that was completely on the opposite end of the spectrum. This was a dangerous road they were walking along.

What made things worse was that they were so close thanks to their missions and having to put their lives on the line for one another, it made their bond that much stronger. Hell, Thane had almost died for Eden when he took that bullet in the heart to protect her. He smiled back at her and nodded when she asked whether he knew that she cared. "I know," he whispered back gently. Her following words made made him scoff playfully, "Good."

There were no more words to be spoken. He didn't have to hear her speak to sense how she felt. Her gentle breaths against his skin sent shock-waves up his spine. The sensation of their foreheads touching left a fiery sensation in his body as his lips crept slowly towards her. His mind had gone blank and his body was reacting to what it naturally wanted. And then their lips locked once more.

In the back of his mind, he knew they should've waited. The mission needed to be the top priority right now, and they needed rest to prepare for it, but this had been a long time in the making. Thane allowed his body to move on instinct as he did so often during missions, and passionately expressed his feelings through their lips.

Eden looked down at Thane's chest where she could see the bullet wound that had almost killed him. It had been one of the most terrifying days of her life. Honestly, the mission had been a success, and Eden could not remember it. All she remembered was Thane just collapsing to the ground. Eden did not know much of anything medical wise, but was able to keep pressure on the wound. The long couple of weeks after she was not allowed to even see him. He was held at the Agency's hospital in his own room. Finally, the night of his death, she was allowed in. To say goodbye. But instead, Eden just spoke to him. Then not long after Eden was called down when his room caught on fire. They had not idea how to handle it. When she made it down though, Thane was standing there completely fine. Confused and on fire.. but fine.

A smile crept onto her face as he messed with her. The Agency did cross her mind. How would they feel about it. If they would even allow such a thing. It was not uncommon, but with such a gap.. Eden was surprised she had not been eliminated years ago. Now that she was as low as it got, anything could happen. Hopefully something magical would happen this mission, and she would discover her little power. Because just being a borderline genius did not cut it apparently. The scientists did not like being corrected..

Suddenly though, Thane's lips were on hers. No surprise this time, in fact Eden happily kissed him back. Her body felt a wave as their kiss deepened. It rippled threw her body like the brush of warm water across her skin. Her hands moved involuntarily, brushing over that bullet wound and up. Running slowly across his skin. There was little hesitation from Eden, maybe a bit of nervousness, but no hesitation.

Their dance went on for several minutes. They were playing, exploring, kissing. Much like teenagers do their first time. It was special. Eden though, backed off first. Her lips close enough Thane would be able to feel the smile on them. "I'm really sorry to tease you so, Thane. But we must be prepared for work." Eden found the hand he had been using to lean on, lacing her fingers with his.

Thane had given in completely. Dancing to the melody that their bodies created and allowing it to sing to his heart a song it had never heard before. He could feel it. The connection that the two of them shared. The strength of that bond and how much it meant to the both of them. This romance was real, and he wanted to enjoy this moment, cherish it for what it was worth because it was not something that they could enjoy frequently. It would ruin their work. It would make them weak. Or at least he was scared it would. Then it ended. Eden pulled away and spoke the words that he knew would come. "You're right," he replied. He smiled back but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes that he couldn't hide, but for now it was time for business. They would have time for pleasure when this was all said and done.

As they intertwined fingers, Thane pulled the woman on top of him so that she could rest her head on the other side of his chest and hear his heartbeat. His heartbeat was strong now. Maybe stronger than it had been, but he couldn't really remember. The events surrounding his revival were a blank, he just remembered waking up and Eden being there with tears in her eyes and looking shocked to see him. Not much else though. It wasn't a memory he liked to remind her of. He knew there was a bit of trauma related to the incident. She wouldn't even tell him everything that happened during the few days that he was unconscious. All he knew was that they'd actually grown much closer since it happened. She looked out for him a lot more now than she used to and they got along quite much much better almost instantly. Still, he had to wonder how things would have been had he not almost died and what exactly happened. Though it wasn't a thought that lingered. He was happy with how close they were and with how things ended up.

"I've got an alarm set to go off at midnight, so get some rest. We've got a long night ahead of us I'm sure." And with that, Thane wrapped his arms around his partner and closed his eyes. It wasn't long before he was sounds asleep.

Eden was pulled on top of Thane. She laid her head down, listening to his heart as it stuck against his chest. With her eyes closed, and her body adjusted comfortably on top of his. Within a few minutes, Thane was sleeping underneath her. Eden soon followed. Sleeping quietly on top of Thane.

It was no more than a few hours before Eden woke up before the alarm went off. It took her a moment to realize where she was. But once she had, a smile grazed her face. Glancing quickly at the clock she noticed the alarm would not go off for another forty-five minutes or so. Carefully Eden started to get up. Standing on the floor as she looked down at her seemingly still sleeping partner. Eden bent down and gave him a small kiss before stepping into her clothes and out of the room. She wanted to let Thane sleep a little while longer.

Instead Eden did what she normally did while Thane rested. That being a bit of research. She sat on the couch while the room surrounded itself with screens. Her goal was the learn the ins and outs of the station in the short time. She had set the clock on her computer to go off just a minute before midnight, and when it did she went into the bedroom. "Thane" She spoke quietly, sitting on the bed next to him. Rubbing his chest. She felt bad waking him up, since he was just so calm sleeping.

It was dark and they were fighting. Flames were flying everywhere. Buildings were collapsing. Dust and debris flooded the streets and people were running for their lives as if they had been attacked by something truly frightening. It seemed that all of the agents from the agency were here and Eden was at his side. He couldn't recognize faces. He hadn't even met all the agents that worked for the Agency though Thane was familiar with the names of people worth notice. His fists were clenched tight at his side as several of the agents closed in on them. Was this an attack? Fragments prevented him from seeing everything but there was a struggle? A battle? No more like a war. They were somehow involved. After every blink of his eye more carnage was left. Agents ended up dying left and right, but something was wrong. He was sure that he and Eden were the one's doing this, though not entirely. Still, why hadn't they just been shut down? Was that it? Yes. They were free. His mind had been freed and somehow he felt unrestricted for the first time in his life. Had this happened for Eden? He couldn't tell. But every scene left more blood and more death on their hands. Still they fought. Then there was nothing. . .

He felt a hand on his body. Rubbing against him lightly. Then his name. Taking in a deep breath and letting out a soft sigh Thane opened his eyes. His long hair fanned out behind his head across the pillow that he'd slept on and was now tickling his ears. Sitting up, he made eye contact with Eden and stretched. "Work time?" He knew her answer before she replied. Grabbing his SDP he cut off the alarm and hopped out of bed. Quickly putting on his clothes he went to the kitchen and ordered a hot cinnamon spice tea. Tea was his preferred drink of choice and it was a ritual that he drank some before heading out to work. "Do you want something while I'm in here," he called to his partner.

Eden followed Thane out of the room. Taking a moment to admire him dress, although she did not make it obvious. Once they headed into the main living area, Eden sat back down in front of her computer as Thane went into the kitchen. "Umm, That tea you get with milk and sugar." She was looking at the screen and could not think of the kind he normally got. Of coarse Eden normally just got coffee or plain tea. On rare occasions when she was distracted she got Thane's ritual tea. now was simply one of those times.

Eden was looking at every senerio. Looking to see if any sewer led to anywhere in particular. Something that rose a red flag int he agents mind. But Thane was right. The only way in and out was the main entrance.... It just did not make sense for a group of stone monsters just to walk into the place. She pushed the computer away, laying back on the couch while Thane made the order. She regretted not sleeping the extra little bit of time. Then decided it was better this way. Alarms and she did not agree. "One entrance in, and one out. I can not wait to see how they are doing it." Eden said to Thane as she got up again. Going into the kitchen.

Thane could tell that she'd been up for a while diving into their work and was frustrated with something. It was the only times that she drank the same tea as him. He quickly put in an order for a pot of his cinnamon spice tea, along with her milk and sugar, and within a minute or so the order was ready. He pulled out a silver tray and placed the tea pot on it as well as cups for their drinks. Then he tossed on the sugar bowl a glass of milk and a side of honey for him and carried it to the coffee table as he took a seat next to Eden.

"So I take it that means you didn't find anything else," he asked as she got up headed towards the kitchen. If she hadn't then that would make things really simple and it would also mean that there really weren't any other places that they could use. Eden was definitely thorough when it came to work so if there were other spots that could be used she would've found them for sure. "Oh and what are you going to get? I brought everything in here." As he was talking he began making his cup, adding a bit of sugar and some honey to sweeten up the cinnamon flavor. He took several sips from the concoction to ensure that the flavor was just right and once he'd gotten it how he wanted, he sat back and pulled up the holographic computer screen on his SDP. He was looking over the layout one last time trying to commit the important areas to memory, still only seeing one opening that the gargoyles could exploit.

"I agree. This will be interesting. I hope you're ready for this fight. I doubt they made smarter gargoyles that aren't likely to be enhanced in other ways as well," he cautioned her.

Eden sat back down as Thane came in the the tray. "I was going to see if you needed help... Thank you Thane." She said as he placed the tray down. Pouring herself a cup. The smell reminded her she was not very partial to cinnamon. But that did not mean it would go to waste. She would just add a bit more milk than normal. Which is what Eden did. Half a spoon of sugar and a bit of milk was all it needed. Her first sip though really reminded her to stop ordering Thane's go to tea. Still, it was nice to have the hot tea warm her body. "Nothing I can see from maps, videos, pictures..." She took another sip of the tea.

Thane went onto his own watch. Eden pulled her own out. Going into the actual storage function. In that held all of her weapons, and how much ammo she had in each. She clicked one. A simple handgun in appearance, but it could fire off about nine different types of rounds. From normal to armor piercing, to even explosive. But what Eden needed this time was the armor piercing. Surprisingly it took just one carefully aimed shot to the chest in order to take down a gargoyle. Of coarse, that one shot was achieved after several in the same spot. Pumping threw the thick stone skin. They had a heart after all.. somehow. But getting to the heart of the challenge. And unless the stood still, which rarely happened, it was impossible. Eden was at a disadvantage in this fight without use of her inner power. Whatever it was. She cycled threw the gun, being sure she was fully loaded. Sipping her tea in between.

"Don't tell me that." Eden said with a small smile. Of coarse she considered it, but did not want to think of it. "I don't want to be completely useless after all..." She smiled at him, looking as he looked at the map. She already had every place memorized, but knew it was important for him also in case anything were to happen to Eden. They had only been separated once in the past, and threw that Thane was out cold. Eden leaned over, storing her weapon again. Resting her head on his shoulder. "This is a pizza place here. And here is one of those gift shops..." She pointed to a section, and named a few other visual landmarks for Thane. It was how she remembers things easily.

So there really isn't anything else huh? "So how many do you think are in the group based off the number of attacks and the number that go missing each attack?" It would be nice to see if he could get a rough estimate of how many they would be up against. It would probably be pretty difficult if it was more that three to four. Gargoyles really were just stone creatures with no sense of pain other than when you hit their 'heart' and killed them. So you could go hacking off limbs and so long as their heart isn't destroyed they can still move and attack even without a head. This was what made them so damn annoying.

Thane laughed at the woman, "You won't be useless. You never are. Just don't let yourself get cornered." He'd been in that situation once before. Never again. Still had the scars from it. Those monsters fight to the death literally so being cornered is far worse than being out in the open. He glanced at the woman as she leaned on his shoulder then turned his attention back towards the map and finished memorizing the area, then switched to his storage app to check his weapons. He too took a look at his gun and made sure that the armor piercing bullets were at maximum capacity. Then scrolled through to be sure that his swords weren't nicked and didn't need to be repaired. This pair of blades were special though. He'd had them made so that the blade would rotate at extremely high speeds in a circular motion and produce heat at well. What was so special about them was that they could carve through stone or metal as if it were normal flesh. He reserved these bad boy's specifically for these little uglies that they were up against tonight.

"We need to head down in a few minutes so check your gear one more time and make sure everything is set. You know how the drill goes. I don't know how long we'll be out or even if an attack will happen tonight so we have to be prepared." It was an unnecessary speech but Thane had said it for his sake as well. He scanned through all the apps on his SDP to be sure that everything was in order, and when he was done he finished off his tea and went to wait for Eden at the door.

"If they were normal, maybe seven to nine. But if they are thinking, probably a small team I can assume. Maybe three or four" Eden said. It was an estimate, and a tricky one to guess at that. She hoped it was no more than one or two. But unless they were killing every ten minutes or so, it was near impossible to guess. "Except simulations." Eden said with a small laugh. Those simulations and her just did not agree. As they saw from that morning. She nodded as she started triple checking her weapons. Eden had a pair of swords, but they were not as fancy as the one she knew Thane had been itching to use. Plus Eden had a very good shot. Nothing great in the eyes of the Agency, as more agents had an impeccable shot. But Eden rarely missed her mark. It was strange when she did in fact.

"Yes Sir." She said. Thane stood up as he was ready before Eden. She too finished her tea and got up. Strapping her SDP to her wrist. On the way to the door she started to braid back her hair tightly. Being sure it would stay out of her face. The braid fell between her shoulder blades. And she secured it at the end, rolling it back up to her head to make a bun. "Alright, I'm ready." She said to Thane. Fiddling still with her hair, but once it was in page she was fine.

Three to four was the number he was desperately hoping it would turn out to be. Having to deal with seven to nine enhanced gargoyles at one time would probably be the most traumatizing ordeal of his brief life span. As he waited on his partner Thane quickly tied his hair back in a low ponytail and tied on a black bandana to keep stray strands of hair from poking him in the eye during the mission. He had taken a look at his swords and was thinking of having a new design made. One that would focus his natural Gift into concentrated energy from the hilt. He thought about discussing the idea with Eden to see if she thought it was a good idea. Maybe they could talk about it on the way there.

When she was ready the two headed out and got on the elevator where Thane summoned their vehicle so that it would be waiting for them when they got outside. "So what is our first course of action, almighty brain?" It was fun to tease the woman like this from time to time so that the missions didn't feel too serious all the time. Thane preferred to keep things light-hearted for the most part if he could. There was enough stress involved in these missions for there to be any more added stress for any unnecessary reasons. Though now that he thought about it, he should've had his partner give him a back massage before they left. His back felt sort of tight as he wiggled around and tried to pop it as he awaited her reply to his question.

(Sorry I know it's not the best reply I could've made. . .)

"Getting to the station." Eden said with a smile. She did not realize at first he was only messing with her, but right after the words came out she did. On the way down the the garage, Thane started to mention the idea he had for his new sword. But the conversation had to stop once a few more people got into the elevator. The doors slid open to the garage, and their car was waiting for them already. They both got in, Thane driving this time. The car could not be completely trusted driving itself threw the city. More people could get hit if the car did not see them. So Eden gave directions while Thane drove. Which quickly turned into Eden becoming a back seat driver. She got nervous when Thane drove. But Thane refused to allow Eden to drive. Because she wrapped the car around a tree about two years ago. The conversation about his sword came up again.

"It sounds interesting." Eden said looking at the directions. They were just down the street. It had taken them almost half an hour to get threw the city. Even with the flying car, it was still a city after all. She went into the glove compartment, pulling a headset out. It was so they could speak with each other if they were separated. It also had a tracking device so they could watch where each other was. Thane pulled up to a parking spot and they both got out. Eden popped the headset into her ear before the car had stopped. She gave Thane his as they both headed into the station. As expected, it was packed. People shuffled, pushing each other. Cleverly the couple navigated the crowd, but it became clear they may have to separate.

"Its too busy in here." Eden said to Thane. They had their back to a wall as people pushed past them. "We can keep in touch no problem, but search the place for anything out of the ordinary." Eden had to remember they were not even sure the beasts were using the place as a feeding ground. It could be a gang.

Thane simply shook his head since the woman didn't get his joke but sometimes he figured that was a side effect of being a genius. Too much big knowledge in their heads to understand the little things in life at times. It worked to his advantage more often than not. Once they were down at the floor level and out the door, Thane took the drivers seat. He had come to believe that all women were terrible drivers. Or if not, Eden made them all look bad. She'd dinged up more than a few of their vehicles and wrecked two of them. Largely due to the fact that she thought she could multitask while she was driving. He, on the other hand was a fast driver but he paid attention to his surroundings, never taking his eyes off the road while they spoke. And it did always annoy him when Eden tried to be a driver in the passenger seat. Telling him to slow down and watch out for things knowing that she was a far worse driver than him. Thankfully, Thane was blessed with an unlimited amount of patience though.

Bringing up the topic of a heat based energy sword was used to pass the time some as they wove through the streets of Brooklyn. She had said that it sounded interesting. "Do you think it could be made though. Whether or not it sounds interesting is irrelevant," he replied mildly. As they reached their destination, Thane took the headset earpiece and plugged it into his ear so that they could talk if they got separated, and also they would be able to hear each other clearly with the earpieces. It was almost like speaking directly into the others' head. That's how advanced they were.

The two slithered through the crowd of people looking for anything that might seem like a clue, hoping that it would lead them to something but things weren't looking up. This station was crowded for one, but they weren't covering much ground together, was the problem. Eden seemed to come up with the same conclusion that he had, so Thane nodded and set off towards the entrance again. "I'll take a look around outside and see if there is anything around there that will give any clues," he explained on his way out.

After some skillful navigating, partially riding the wave of people exiting the station, he made it back up to the front. The street itself was well lit, with quite a few stores and restaurants decorating it for blocks down the way. There were dark alleys between each building though, so that seemed like the best place to start. Looking through his SDP, Thane pulled out a system visor that allowed their eyes to adjust to whatever lighting they were in. It also had an infrared and body heat functions but for now, what he was looking for was anything like blood stains and the like.

He quickly crossed the street once it was safe and headed into the alleyway next to the clothing store right across from the station. With the visor on, it was like walking through an alley in the middle of the daytime with sunlight illuminating the area. For the next thirty minutes, he searched the closest alleys in the area finding nothing. "This is getting me nowhere." Tapping his earpiece he called to his partner, "Eden. How are things looking on your side. I've got nothing over here. No bloodstains, no signs of any struggle. Nothing."

Eden stayed inside of the station. Twisting threw people as they attempted to push out of the way. She could feel a couple of hand tapping her waist. Trying to pick pocket her, only to find she did not have pockets. It got rather infuriating after the third time. But she knew better than to smack the man. The inside of the station was loaded with little shops, many food places and even more people. And with all the pickpockets she did not want to draw attention to herself with the use of technology. Or at least the expensive things she needed. Wondering the inside took her about twenty minutes. She was walking by a long hallway. The door read 'Empoyees only.' But something. A voice called to her. She could hear it clear as day over the crowd. Which was strange.

She turned, walking down the hallway. Slowly her mind slipped as she turned into a room. A large closet in fact. It was filled with mops and brooms. Also it held the entrance to the sewer. But what was worse, the room was caked in blood. She heard a shuffle, then suddenly her head came into contact with the wall. With gun in hand, Eden shot the large figure. Hearing it growl. The rough sound of metal being moved, then silence. Thane's sweet voice played in her ear as Eden tried to realize what had just happened. She reached up and touched her head, finding blood on her hands. She touched her earpeice,

"....I think I found something." She said simply. After a pause.

Long moments passed without hearing a reply from his partner. Something must be wrong. It was making Thane antsy. He was starting out of the alley that he was in when he finally heard her voice. But it was weak. And distant. "Eden where are you," he called to her as he bolted back towards the station which was almost a block away now. He hadn't realized he had come this far. Shit. Things weren't looking good right now.

There was no response from her as he finally reached the station. Immediately he pulled up the tracking device to see where she was. People were staring at him but the agent didn't care. He didn't have time to. Once he pinpointed her location which was a ways off into the station he raced towards her with little regard for anyone in his way. Men and women were being mowed down as he shouted for people to move and they reacted too slowly.

Thane reached a long dark hallway that said 'employees only' and the signal was coming from down there. Bolting down the hall he reached a janitorial room and he found Eden dazed with an injury to her head, "Shit, Eden are you alright?" He already knew the answer, but the words came out like vomit before he had a chance to stop them. Whatever had done this hit her hard and fast. Closing the door to the hallway he cut on the light and realized there was a large hole on the far side of the room that had been created as an entrance from the sewers and there were bloodstains everywhere. "Well I'll be damned. These bastards actually are thinking."

But he didn't have time for this right now. Quickly he ran through his SDP and found his first aid kit and quickly but carefully patched up the wound on Eden's head. It would suffice for now until they got back and called a doctor to come take a look at her. Once he'd finished wrapping it, he pulled out some water and painkillers then handed them to her. "Take this and drink all of that water. It'll be a temporary help."

Eden stayed in the spot for a few minutes. At least until Thane found her. Although she was not sure how long it had taken. The attack was meant to be a one hit kill. She probably surprised the gargoyle when she moved. And shot it to boot. Making it flee. The agent were enhanced after all. But a few more hits like that would have probably killed her. Luckily Thane was there now. "Interesting. I barely got the door open before it surprised me. But- ouch" She said to his patching her up. It was needed though. Eden hoped the wound was not so bad. Although she could already feel her mind slipping. But an emergency, but something to watch.

"It struck me hard enough to kill a normal human in one hit. But I shot it. It should be wounded itself. I aimed for its heart." Eden updated her partner. She looked at her SDP, bringing out a light. It was an orb that glowed very brightly. Giving them a very good amount of light. It showed them the room in its entirety. The room was just covered in blood. There was a huge stain right there Eden's head had hit. Many spreading as far as a few feet. Showing the brute strength of the creatures. She looked ahead, into the tunnels. Taking the pill and water offered to her. With the help of Thane she got up. Staggering a bit before standing.

"Thank you Thane." She said. Looking up at him and giving him a small kiss on the cheek. "It was just one in the room with me. Do you think we should send a probe in to the tunnels and wait? Or go in and take it out?" Eden asked. Leaving it up to Thane. Personality she wanted to take it out and dissect the gargoyle. Seeing what they could find. But with the injury, Thane may want to just leave. Eden knew she could continue though. "I'll be okay." She assured him after a second of silence.