Operation Hades

Daedalus

The pair of crimson eyes didn't dare stray towards the other children to his left and right. All forty of them stood rank and file by their generation, nobody doing so much as to twitch a muscle as the hard heels of the official clicked across the solid floor. The assembly hall was dull, grey, and spacious, and the lighting gave off the dullest hint of blue.

"Over the last few years, this department has exponentially improved your bodies to a fine point beyond human reckoning," The break was followed by the methodical clicking of the man's heels, intensifying as he inched closer and closer to Acheron.

"You will all become the greatest agents of warfare that the world has ever seen," The man slowed to a stop in front of his generation, turning his head to meet Acheron's stare. He unnoticeably narrowed his eyes, drinking in the look of the Head Ordinator. A mask completely obscured his face, aside from the slicked short hair styled over it. Acheron realized he was holding his breath, and silently exhaled.

After a brevid pause, the main continued the slow steps across the ranks, "In the wake of this new age, chaos and terror are rampant, and the world is looking to change that."

"This Agency is that solution."

---

The clatter of gunfire broke his normal routine. John Holland swiftly rose from his seat in confusion. Judging by the muffled sound, it could've come from anywhere in the labyrinthine Agency underground. Not wasting any time, he rounded the bland desk at his front and made his way to the hallway door. With a familiar click, the door swung open before he could reach for it. In front of him was a teen wearing the uniform's black undershirt, sporting side-swept blonde hair and strong features. John recognized the boy as Alphonse Boretti, a Defender-class Agent.

"Master, there's been a security breach," Alphonse's breath was slightly labored, and he gestured John out of the door, "We have to go."

He had no room to argue with him, so he just went along with it. In the hall behind Alphonse was the taller Xiu Mei, wearing a much more full uniform. Her black hair was pulled into a tight ponytail. She smiled and gave a curt bow to him. The formalities were interrupted as a squad of guards armed with shotguns hustled past them. Alphonse slammed the door behind him, ushering John the other direction of the guards, "Doctor Klarke has already been escorted to the hangar, we have to get you there."

He felt around his chest for the breast pocket, pulling out and donning his signature aviator shades as he kept pace with the fast walking agents. At the intersection ahead of them, there was a crew setting up a machinegun emplacement with an M2 Browning. The sounds of combat were far off in the direction the men kept running. John grabbed Alphonse's shoulder and demanded, "Alright, tell me exactly what's going on."

"No idea, master, all I've been briefed is that there's been a breach, and we have to escort VIPS out of the facility. No one's been able to contact Commander Decarte, and from what we've been hearing around the facility, we assume the worst." Alphonse read it out to him in a precise, all-business tone.

"So the facility is under assault, and Lucien decides the enemy is too classified to let anyone know outright?" John asked rhetorically.

"It seems that way, master," Xiu Mei added. After turning right at the intersection, the trio examined a grizzly sight as they walked right through it. Bodies of Mobile Task Force and security personell were strewn about with little blood, as their comrades moved their bodies aside or examined them. From the amount of blood showing, John thought that the wounds were inflicted without a weapon at all. And only someone with extremely advanced training would be able to incapacitate a dozen armed opponents with their bare hands. His thoughts were halted by the sudden thundering of the Browning going off.

Alphonse looked back with teeth gritted, before shouting at them, "Hustle!"

They all quickened their pace, and soon enough the gunfire intensified. The sector's elevator to ground level was dead ahead. Alphonse ran to the control panel and hammered a button, only stopping to look back once the machinegun fire had suddenly ceased. The momentary echoes in the halls were followed by grunts of struggle and shouts of pain. The panel beeped twice, and the light on the display above it blinked a bright red.

"Denied?!" Alphonse doubled back, moving back around the two and drawing a sidearm, "Damn, we're gonna have-" As he focused his attention back the way they had come, Alphonse instantly stopped talking and trained the pistol at the hulking figure briskly marching towards them.

A monstrously built man loomed before them. He wore no uniform, just a tight black shirt and cargoes, matted with slight amounts of blood. His face was gaunt, his eyes narrow, and a barely noticeable smile was plastered on his face. His neatly forward-spiked blonde hair accentuated his strong features.

Alphonse and Xiu Mei tensed up at the sight of the easily six and a half-foot tall man. John only mumbled one word in shock.

"Daedalus..."

Alphonse wasted no time to fire on the new target, only to find his gun instantly swept out of his strong grip. The shot ricocheted off of the wall, completely missing its mark. Out of pure instinct, Alphonse ducked in and lunged at his horrifyingly fast opponent, not even fully aware of how he'd just been disarmed. To his terror, the blonde man caught his fist with his left hand, and to his dismay found his face ensnared in the brute's monstrous grip. In an overbearing display of force, his head was wrenched back with muffled grunts of effort and desperation. With his throat exposed, he let Alphonse's fist loose and struck his vulnerable windpipe. In an instant, he tossed the body aside, hitting it off the wall and letting it plop on the floor.

With an expression of pure shock and rage, Xiu, slid around John, putting herself between their instructor and the enemy. A solid kick was thrown upwards to the side of his head, but it did nothing to catch him off guard as he caught the attack by simply raising his forearm. He slid in through her open defenses, jamming an open hand into her midsection and forcing his grip around the flesh and bone of her metal-plated ribcage through her uniform. With a slight jerk, he turned the few bones into scrap, leaving Xiu breathless with her mouth wide open. He loosened his grip, and wasted no time to land a strike on her jaw, sending her plummeting to the ground.

John staggered backwards, but the assailant kept advancing. John drew a ragged breath, and threw whatever words he could find at him.

"I-I was told you weren't approved to be made! What is this?!" He tucked himself into a fighting stance. Perhaps his many years of hand-to-hand combat instruction and teachings would help him out. He knew his chances were microscopic, because after all, he knew that he was fighting an Agent.

John didn't even register the punch begin, but drew his forearms up just in time to absorb the majority of the attack. The force behind the strike sent him airborne, careening into the steel door of the non-compliant elevator. The last thing he saw before he hit the ground were his sunglasses slipping from his face.