E.C.H.O.

Stage 25 "Unexpected"

Lucas caved. Yes, he knew if ECHO found out they wouldn't be too happy, but then again, they never had to know. When did I start hiding things from the agency? He wondered. The thought was shoved aside as he and Nathan headed for their dorm room.

Nathan was more than thrilled at the idea of joining the ECHO agent in returning to the hockey arena.

I wonder if he would react the same if he knew it wasn't exactly the government I work for... Lucas wondered as he watched his roommate charge through their room searching for 'supplies'.

Turning his back, Lucas went through what he could use. A few bugs were taken, though he was pretty sure that even if he placed them correctly they would get fried. He slipped them into a pocket before grabbing a small bag of power. If would help detecting lasers. A pair of gloves to avoid fingerprints, wire cutters just in case, and a capsule that contained acid strong enough to eat its way through steel or concrete. He also grabbed a pair of what looked like nothing more than batteries.

The items he could take were limited as Lucas needed to be able to hide them within the clothes he currently wore. A change of clothes and a backpack would only raise suspicion. After a moment of debate he added a knife disguised as a pen. Done, he turned.

He paused as he stared at the person before him. 'What are you doing?"

Nathan turned. He was dressed in black from head to toe. A marker was in his hands, the lid popped off, and it looked like he had been ready to draw black lines on his face.

The pen we raised. "Getting my camouflage on. Why?"

Lucas eyed his getup. "That's just screaming suspicion."

"But..."

"It's daytime. How do you expect to explain wearing that across campus?"

Nathan hesitated. "You do have a point..." The lid of the pen was replaced. "Do we at least get to take a gun?"

Lucas shook his head.

"That's no fun." With a sigh, Nathan turned and began to strip, throwing the clothes he had worn before back on. "No weapon at all?" He asked hopefully as he pulled on his shirt.

"Are you wanting to kill someone?" Lucas raised his eyebrows.

"Sleep darts?"

"Nope."

With the shirt on, Nathan went for his shoes. "Ok. Great. So you could probably defend yourself with just your thumb...but what happens when someone pulls a weapon on me?"

Lucas leaned against the way, amusement flickering through him. "What makes you think there'll be a situation like that?"

Second shoe half on, Nathan paused to glance up. "No fighting?" His face fell.

"Not if we can avoid it..." The ECHO agent straightened as Nathan finished slipping his shoes on. "Trust me. It's not as cool as they make it look on TV."

"Nothing's as cool as they make it look," came the response. "But it would be fun..."

Lucas snorted. "Fun?" He grabbed the edge of his shirt. "Trust me." He lifted it slightly, showing only a few of his battle scars. "It's not fun." His shirt was dropped and he walked by his roommate.

"T-that..." Nathan spluttered as he hurried to catch up. "That..." He fell into step beside his friend. "How are you still alive?" he asked in wonder.

Lucas shot him a glance out of the corner of his eyes. "The funny thing about humans is that if you stitch them together right, they heal."

Nathan nodded. His eyes returned to the spot Lucas had briefly flashed. "It looks kinda..."