Business With Magic

Esmeralda watched Tyrik from afar with some degree of curiosity mixed with concern for what Caliburn was forcing him to endure. The Blade itself was, in a sense, a means to channel one's Arcane Power to master it, a set of Magic Training Wheels if you will. Yet, the way it had been acting for Tyrik was a bit odd. When she was using Caliburn, it did not have this potent reaction with her. Though Esmeralda was in a debate if this was the result of her having a more natural connection with her inner arcane or was the result of something different.

Her thoughts were cut off by Kathleen's thick accent as she asked; "Wahrried abooeht de Yooehng Lad, Prencess? You clearly 'ave been lahst in yooehr own mend. Maybe it is de Woehlver 'alf o' me genetecs 'elpin me peck oehp ahn dat ahr me Ketsune side 'as started to allow me to 'ave empathic abilities now.[Worried about the Young Lad, Princess? You clearly have been lost in your own mind. Maybe it is the Wulver half of my genetics helping me pick up on that or my Kitsune side has started to allow me to have Empathic Abilities now.]" Announced the Mystic Irish Woman as she looked for concern. Though Kathleen has a rough and ridged hide, she is quite compassionate. Which would shine the most when she tried to help Esmeralda. "So, mend tellin me what's ahn yooehr mend, Esmeralda? I might be able to 'elp clear ooeht yooehr dooehghts.[So, mind telling me what's on your mind, Esmeralda? I might be able to help clear out your thoughts.]" Miss Carney asked as she sought to assist the young Dark Elf in the best way she could. Yet this sign of maternal affection resulted in Esmeralda backing away from her bodyguard and maid. Kathleen almost attempted to reach out to her, but she was quickly reminded that Esmeralda's mother was quite the blight on the Princess.

"When are you gonna remember that I don't want you to act like my mom... Raena is bad enough as it is..." Esmeralda told Kathleen with a cold and bitter tone. The once bright and colorful eyes, which Esmeralda had quickly changed into dull-colored stones as memories of The Queen revisited her mind. To say simply that her mother was unpleasant was quite an understatement. It was far more than that, and not only was Esmeralda an only child. Her mother made it quite clear that she did not care for Esmeralda. Raena wanted nothing to do with her, viewing her as a disappointment and not worth being a part of her bloodline.

Letting out a small sad sigh, Kathleen proceeded to give Esmeralda a formal bow as she humbly apologized for allowing herself to slip up once again. "Me apahlogies, Prencess... I can't always 'elp myself, Prencess Ravenna... I ded raise you frahm birth, Mestress. May I attend to any ahther tasks to allow yooehrself to calm down?[My apologies, Princess... I can't always help myself, Princess Ravenna... I did raise you from birth, Mistress. May I attend to any other tasks to allow yourself to calm down?]" Kathleen questioned as she raised from her bowing and hands held together before herself.

Esmeralda turned to Kathleen as she suggested that it would be best to check in on Judy. With that, Kathleen took off to complete this assignment. 'Maybe I should be less harsh with her... I know that she means well... I just don't want her to become like Queen Ravenna... I don't want to have to see her becoming the same vile woman...' The Princess thought to herself as she hugged herself to soothe her emotional pain.

Back with Lin Chao, Robert, and Alex as they headed back to The White Star Corporation Head Quarters. Lin Chao was snapping his fingers to conjure a small flame before flicking it away and repeating this cycle. Lin was lost in his own thoughts as memories of his past ran through his mind as well. From being transferred between various orphanages, enduring the harsh treatment of other kids within these places, being harassed by the ones who watched over them, and being regretted by every foster family. Though, it was often a gamble if he would get one that would abuse him physically or not. Lin Chao's inner abilities were unlocked as he had snapped at one of these families and incinerated them as well as their farm. Though, he was surprised that he transformed into a feral monkey with fur made from a flaming inferno. 'Though, it was kind of cool to see that my 'super form' is basically a mix of Wukong and the freaking Ghost Rider. Too bad I can't pull off the Hellcycle or Hellride like them...' He announced within his thoughts before hearing the abrupt sound of Alex clearing his throat.

"Please don't be conjuring fire inside the van, Lin... I would rather not be rendered into charred ash..." Announced the White Star Agent as Lin rolled his eyes and continued to snap fire into existence out of spite. With that, Alex angrily rubbed his face as he pondered why he even asked in the first place.

Deciding to change the topic, Robert glanced at his rearview mirror to look at The Fire Monkey. "So, Liùěr Míhóu is the one who helped you figure out how to use your powers?" He asked as Lin quickly confirmed this detail. "It is true the guy can... 'Hear' the future?" The Latino Amercian asked with keen interest about that rumored detail.

"Yes, but it is not that simple... His hearing is quite amazing, but it takes a lot of meditation and focuses on him to pin down one probable future. No one can predict the future since it is always influenced by the choices we make each day." Lin explained the best he could as he leaned back in his seat.

Though, this caused Alex to look over with some confusion. "You're saying that prophecies are really just bullshit?" He questioned as Lin gave out a groan of annoyance.

"Okay, the whole deal with Prophecies is complicated on their own. The answer behind those isn't a simple yes or no..." Lin announced as he redid his hair a bit as he went on, "Prophecies are not exactly completely false in what they predict. In a way, they will come true, but they do not dictate the final outcome of events. The ones that will often come to pass are the ones that tell a specific event yet are extremely vague about the outcome. Like that one, we found in Russia about some kind of darkness covering The Nine Realms..." He finished off as the two humans seemed to grasp an understanding of what Lin was trying to tell them. "I don't exactly see how there is some force of nature being able to overpower all of The Divine." The Fire Monkey finished off with an amused chuckle at the oddities which was within the scripture that White Star had uncovered.

The conversation was cut then and there as they drove into the main building of White Star situated in New York City. Though the trio was greeted with an unexpected figure before them as they exited the van. For before them was the CEO, Straxus Lithson. The elder gentleman was dressed formally yet with a unique militaristic flare to the usual business attire. Over his vest, collared shirt, and tie was a trench coat jacket designed to mimic one for a high-ranking general. On his belt rested a spadroon sword, allowing him to have a flexible side weapon yet be able to match his attire. His face expressed that Straxus was a fierce warrior, despite his age, yet had his black hair and bread trimmed to show that Straxus held himself in high regard within his company as well as fellow employees. "I see that you have finally returned from your duties, Lin Chao. Yet you're empty-handed in your endeavors to capture the most recent crew of Mythics." Straxus announced with a chilling calm tone as his brown eyes narrowed in a cold wrathful stare. "I hope that there is a good explanation for this failure, Mister Chao." He questioned with a minor wave of his hand while placing the other behind his back.

Lin Chao and his fellow agents were frightened by his tone before The Fire Monkey managed to work up the courage to answer. "We had an unfortunate encounter with Liùěr Míhóu, The Six-Eared Macaque... And another oddity back in California. Some kind of modified creature from the Shawnee Folktales. One of the names is Atchen, sir." He responded while hiding the other details regarding his mission.

Straxus promptly rubbed his chin in deep thought while closing his eyes. "That is quite a reasonable explanation... A powerful Granimur and an unknown creature appearing was not something we at the company were expecting." The CEO announced as this information caught the trio off guard.

"Hold up..." Spoke Robert with surprise written on his face as he held up his hands, "Are you saying that thing wasn't from the science team?" The Latino American promptly questions with some disbelief.

Straxus shook his head as he seemed to express the signs of a headache revealing itself as he gripped the side. "Not from what I can recall Agent Torres... Then again, I have not been completely in my own mind..." He explained with a mutter as Straxus tried to soothe his headache before taking a small breath. "Thankfully, we have made other progress within our Research and Development labs regarding our supply of Arcane Crystals." He finished off as Straxus gestured for Lin, Alex, and Robert to follow him to the said department.

As they followed this order, Lin Chao shrank the Ruyi Jingu Bang to the size of a pin before sticking it into his hair. "Guessing my intel of that mine within the Giant City located in Death Valley was useful, huh?" He announced with a cocky tone before he was greeted by a hard stare from Straxus to say he shouldn't push his luck. "Right... Sorry, Mister Lithson..." Lin replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Which kind of Giants are we talking about, though? Cyclop, Jötnar, Asura, Kapre, or Oni? Please don't be Oni..." Alex questioned with dread regarding the Japanese demonic yokai, the strongest among them.

"From what we have gathered, we believed this was a city belonging to Cyclops and Jötnars. The city shows signs of high levels of architectural design and other unique details relating to both races of Giants." Explained Straxus with the simplest of terms.

"Surprised we have two sets of the best builders of myths living together. Well, aside from the Dwarves that is." Lin Chao remarked with a degree of being impressed in his tone. "Quite rare to see races from different myths coming together to do anything." He finished off as he stretched a bit.

"Though we have run into the same prophecy we have found in Russia... Regarding the return of some creature of Darkness." The CEO added on with grave concern as they continued on to the R&D Department of the company. "Yet they don't explain anything about what this being is and why it is so feared." Straxus said aloud as Alex announced the most likely reason for why this may be.

"It is as if they were afraid to even talk about whatever this thing is. As if they wanted to make sure it was forgotten even if it was coming back..." Alex declared as the others began to wonder what this creature truly is.

Meanwhile, within a laboratory inside Gibbs Industries was a young african american man working on a prototype suit of armor as he listened to music on Bluetooth earbuds belonging to Skullcandy He was dressed in a white tank top and blue jeans covered in stains from his tinkering. This was the newest CEO of his family company, Anthony Gibbs. The high-tech armor he was building had the design of those of stories of King Arthur and his knights. This was more than appropriate as his chosen weapon to accompany this armor was a battle lance with a large cannon above the blade. In a way, Gibbs Industries could be considered to be a mimic of Stark Industries of Marvel Comics. Though Anthony wasn't using Tony's signature Arc Reactor, but a gem of Arcane power for his power source. "Alright, I think everything is ready for the first test run for The Nightsteel Armor. Hopefully, this Crystal doesn't cause a nuclear-level blast..." The Tech Prodigy said aloud as he removed his wielding mask as well as the earbuds.

Once these items were placed to the side, Anthony promptly suited up with mechanical assistance as the new Mana Core was placed in the chest piece. With that, the armor began to spark to life as a metallic hum rang out. Anthony waited for the Armor's Systems and Tactical Visor to activate as moved around with the armor in tow. "So far, things look to be stable." Anthony announced before he started to enact the movements from a karate movie to see how the armor reacted to this. Once he was satisfied, Anthony chuckled in delight to see that the armor's systems and other similar accessories were all ready to go. "Now let's see if this baby can fly!" He announced before the armor's thrusters promptly launched him into the ceiling with aggressive force before crashing onto the ground with a loud metal clank. "Ow... That definitely hurt..." Anthony groaned aloud as he tried to get up from this disaster.

This was when he came to realize that he had an audience as he heard the laughter of an old friend of his. "Jeez, Anthony. Talk about dramatic failure. Good thing I got that on camera." The young woman announced as she placed her phone away inside her hoodie jacket. "Though... I thought your 'Mana Core' wasn't really ready yet. Trying to impress another hot girl or something?" Questioned Luna with a raised eyebrow. Anthony did have the reputation of being an unwanted flirt among women, even if Anthony often viewed Luna as a sister figure.

Anthony then pressed a button on the side of his helmet to open the face cover to glance over at Luna. "Well... It is more like I have a deadline to finish this armor... Once again, Richard presented my tech to some military group without my knowledge. Though, I decided to use this as a test for the Armor this time around." The Young African American explained with a cheery smile. "Though, I am gonna have a long lecture with the old geezer about how I am the current CEO and owner of my family's company. He has just been a trusted Board Member that my dad appointed..." Promised Anthony as he got up and ran some scans on his new power core. After all, he wanted to ensure the energy was still stable. The risk of overload was extremely dangerous if left unchecked after all. The screen showing signs that the core was still in green brought a sigh o relief. "I think I have finally figured out how to extract these crystals safely." The Tech prodigy announced aloud with triumph.

"So, no massive explosion anytime soon?" Asked Luna as she backed up to the lab's exit, just to be safe. "If that is the case, mind working on a commission for me?" She perk up with a sense of delight as Anthony turned to face her. "Mind working on an 'enchanted bow' and something like Cayde-6's Ace of Spades?" Luna asked as she mimicked these forms of weapon-based combat. Anthony Gibbs thought this over a bit before a particular question sparked up about why she had chosen these types of weapons. "I know that look. Wanna know why I want an arsenal suited for my own 'Hunter Class' out of my favorite video game series, Destiny?" Remarked Luna with a smirk. "Let's say that both Cayde-6 and MCU Hawkeye make it look like I could totally pull off the skills." She explained with a wink as Anthony chuckled and made a mental note to try to make this commission for his closest friend.