The Director and the Dragon, Part 8 (Conclusion)

Posted on Tue Dec 2nd, 2025 @ 5:23am by Head Mistress Absynthe "Syn" Drake & Level 10 Minamoto 源 Takashi 孝志

Mission: HYDRA: Another Head Rises
Location: Mutant Academy Near Sedona, Arizona
Timeline: Current, 2300 hours

Takashi raised his left wrist and tapped the comms button with his gloved right hand. “Yes Director? came from his wrist terminal after the connection went live.

“I want a level three tactical team to head to these coordinates,” the Head of S.H.I.E.L.D. said as he tapped away at his terminal, sending them the coordinates given to him by OG. “And I want Rampart to back up that Tac Team, they may encounter significant resistance. I want them to locate and apprehend Marshal Jeremy Franks and bring him in for questioning. Put Perez on the interrogation. Apparently Franks has been feeding information to HYDRA.”

“Roger that, Director, said the disembodied voice of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent on the Director’s comms. Tac Team Gamma will be on site in… 12 minutes. Rampart has been alerted and he will arrive in 10.

“Have Rampart secure the area,” Takashi said into his terminal, as he used his right hand to access real time satellite data on Marshal Franks’ home. “Have him wait for the Tac Team to make contact unless Franks is in imminent danger. And Control, I want this done quietly. I will be on site, but not in command.”

“Acknowledged Director. Nocturne protocol will be initiated, Sir. I’ll inform you if there are any deviations. Peak out.”

Lowering his wrist, he looked first to OF, then to Syn, nodding once. “We will have him in custody shortly; Rampart is one of my best. He’s part of my Special Operations team.”

“Back to our previous conversation,” Takashi said in his Japanese accented English. “I was asked to bring her in by the Marshal Service, Headmaster. I have several of my own reasons for doing so, as well. Two birds… as the old saying goes. And my reasons are as I have explained; I know something extremely… dangerous will happen and I will be at the center of it. The sooner I locate Bethany, the better it will be.”

He looked directly into her serpentine eyes with his own dark gaze, truthfulness easily seen in their depths. There was no rational way to explain his feelings other than to repeat himself. His danger sense is an internalized feeling based on his powers and one he didn’t completely understand, only that every time it happened, it was an absolute certainty that it would occur.

Syn listened closely as OG delivered her analysis, the digital woman’s voice echoing through the chamber like an algorithmic whisper. The moment Takashi began issuing orders to his people, Syn’s posture shifted ever so slightly, more alert, more grounded. She had commanded teams for centuries; she recognized the tempo of a hunt tightening.

“My people stand ready if you need them,” she said, her voice measured but resolute. She gave a small nod toward the Director, then toward OG’s shimmering form. “She knows us. That may give us a small advantage.”

OG’s avatar flickered as new maps and trajectories appeared. Her projected movement continues toward that region, the AI said. At this point, the pattern is too deliberate to dismiss. She is leaving a trail. Breadcrumbs for those who understand how to read them. I suggest thoroughly scanning every recovered system for files of this nature. If the information she uncovered includes material this damning, you will need enough evidence to bury these men deeper than any surface-level prosecution ever could.

Syn exhaled, a sound caught somewhere between frustration and understanding. “She keeps contacting Dyami,” she said softly. “He’s one of the very few she trusts in this world.”

Her gaze lifted, locking onto Takashi with a clarity that allowed no easy escape. “But adding you to her contact chain…” She let the meaning settle. “That is not done lightly. It means she believes you’ll aid Talon. It means she believes you’ll help her, not hinder her. For someone so careful, that is a significant leap of faith.”

She turned back to the shifting data displays, their cold illumination washing across her dragon-bright eyes. “I know that not every answer sits within reach,” she admitted. Then, more firmly, “But if we are to locate her, protect her as you say you wish to, we must not be kept blind. Keep us informed, Director. We’re far more effective as allies than bystanders.”

Takashi began checking his gear, making sure everything was belted and strapped down tightly. He made sure his daisho was secured by the sageo to his obi. Tugging on the ends of his padded gloves, he spread his fingers to make sure they were comfortable.

“Are you saying,” Takashi asked her, his tone soft yet serious. “That you would like to join me, Headmaster? Because if not, I will certainly keep you in the loop.” Reaching over his shoulders, he pulled the zukin over his head and made sure it covered his face in customary fashion.

When he was satisfied his Shinobi shozoku was secured, he turned to face her, only his dark colored eyes were visible, placing his hands on their customary perch on his daisho and awaited her answer.

A long, heavy silence settled between them as Syn weighed her options. Duty to the academy anchored her, yet the situation had long since outgrown simple oversight. Fractal wasn’t just running; she was carving a path through slavers, traitors, and buried rot.

Swiftly. Violently. And she was doing it alone.

Syn exhaled through her nose, a soft sound edged with resolve. She turned to OG. “You ready for an adventure?”

OG’s avatar shimmered, amusement tugging at her features. Do I ever actually get a choice?

“Contact my team,” Syn ordered, her tone crisp now. “Wheels up in five. I want continuous scans over Washington state. If Fractal’s headed for Seattle, we intercept her before the body count manages to climb any higher.”

Then she faced Takashi.

Her posture straightened, her silhouette rising several inches as her nanosuit unfurled across her frame. The matte-black material flowed like living ink, sealing smoothly over muscle and skin. A thin, stylized dragon coiled along one side. Subtle, predatory, unmistakable. Her reptilian eyes vanished behind sleek black lenses that hinted at the creature beneath. Two obsidian war fans crossed at her back, completing a look pulled from the shadows of ancient China: silent, swift, and lethally precise.

When Absynthe Drake, the hero known as Wyrmwood, spoke again, her voice carried the calm of someone stepping into a familiar battlefield.

“Ready when you are, Director.”

“I am ready,” Takashi said in his Japanese accented English, looking at Syn in her nanosuit. He was quite familiar with nanotechnology, seeing as S.H.I.E.L.D. inherited all of the Stark technology. He had worked several years with many different forms and used it often in his own designs.

Syn crossed the room with purpose, each footfall a soft, measured whisper against the polished floor. As she approached the far wall, the glass panels, tinted and nearly seamless, registered her presence. With a muted hiss, two large sections slid apart, revealing a broad balcony that overlooked the back side of the academy grounds. Cool night air swept in, carrying the scent of desert and the distant hum of unseen perimeter shields.

The headmistress paused in the threshold, one hand resting lightly against the frame as she glanced over her shoulder at Takashi. “I’m sure we’ll beat them there,” she said, her voice quiet but certain. “Not by much, mind you. But I’d prefer a quiet exit.”

A faint smile, almost conspiratorial, tugged at the corner of her mouth. Out on the balcony, lights from the training fields glowed faintly through the landscape, pale and diffused in the darkness. The academy slumbered beneath her, unaware of the storm gathering beyond its borders. Syn felt the weight of it pressing at the edges of her thoughts, urging her onward.

She stepped out into the open air, the matte black of her armor drinking in the moonlight. A soft breeze seemed to stir the dragon-marked plating along her shoulders. She tilted her head toward the shadows at the balcony’s far end, where a discreet launch platform waited, already moving to launch their transport, tucked beneath a canopy of concealment tech.

“Come on,” she murmured, offering Takashi a nod toward the balcony. “No need to announce our departure to half the academy. Let’s move before the window closes.”

The Director walked out onto the balcony and offered Syn a nod, then leapt into the sky in a long arch, accelerating slowly so as not to cause a sonic boom so close to a populated area. Takashi could fly incredibly fast in the atmosphere; his top speed was about Mach 32. If he were to go any faster, air friction became a significant problem even for him as the laws of physics would not allow him to go any faster without ascending into the vacuum of orbit.

After reaching approximately 30,000 feet, Takashi increased speed significantly, hitting Mach 6 almost instantaneously. A vapor cone surrounded him as soon as he accelerated, the sonic boom resounded behind him though he didn’t hear it. The ground whisked by in a blur as he continued to accelerate, hitting Mach 9 a few short seconds later.

After a moment, Tak turned his head to see if he had outpaced the headmistress, not knowing how fast her nanosuit could propel her. He wanted to make sure that they got there before Bethany arrived, if she was going to show up, so he kept accelerating until he realized she was lagging. Slowing his pace somewhat, he made sure to keep Syn in view, not wanting to leave her behind.

One thing was for certain, the closer they got to their destination, the stronger the feeling of the hairs standing up on the back of his neck grew. Something was definitely going to happen soon, so he steeled himself ready for whatever happened.

Wyrmwood kept pace with the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director, though she could tell he was holding back. For him, the air was a highway. For her, it was a familiar comfort, but not one she could command at his level of speed. Flight came to her as naturally as breath, especially in her dragon form, but this was faster, quieter, less likely to send civilians screaming or make a passing airline pilot question their career choices.

The nano-assisted boosts thrummed along her limbs, sharpening her maneuverability as they cut across the night sky.

“OG, contact Dyami and get him briefed. We’ll likely need him,” she said, adjusting her altitude. “And tighten the team’s sweep. I want a corridor covered between the last compound Fractal hit and Seattle.” There was a beat of hesitation that slipped into her voice. “If she’s going there, with luck, they’ll catch something.”

Is something bothering you? OG’s voice floated gently into her ear.

Wyrmwood didn’t answer right away. The wind hissed past, carrying the smell of pine and distant rain as the lights of civilization smeared against the horizon. Finally she exhaled, a low, tight sigh.

“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy,” she admitted. “Something’s off. I can’t name it yet, but… we’re missing a piece. A big one. And I hope we figure it out sooner rather than later.”

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FIN
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Absynthe Drake
“Wyrmwood”
Headmistress - Drake Academy

Minamoto Takashi 源孝志
“Hypernova 極超新星”
Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.