2013.07.29 - The Ghost in the Machine

In a move that is so typical of him most would laugh, Justin Hammer has bitten off more than he can chew with his current projects. He's got a work load to rival anyone, having added three time sensitive and crucial new projects on top of his normal contracts. Not to mention getting ready for the Stark Expo, which is only a few weeks away. The work load wouldn't be quite so overwhelming if Hammer wasn't such a control freak, but since the CEO insists on having his hand in just about everything that goes on in the company it leaves him very little free time. It is, perhaps, a good thing that he's work obsessive and putting in time on the weekends doesn't really bother him. Yet another reason that Justin is still a bachelor.

It's after 7PM on a Sunday evening, and there's a skeleton crew working at Hammer Industries. There are a few scientists and engineers working long hours, most likely thanks to Hammer's taking on so many rush jobs, and the usual evening security staff. Justin himself is in one of the research buildings toward the center of the complex, working alone in one of the precision machine shops. He doesn't wear a suit today, instead donning a long-sleeved work shirt and a pair of cargo pants. It's quite the strange look on the billionaire, though somehow it seems to fit him. He has laid out in front of him several large cartridge casings, and what looks like ammunition reloading equipment. The computer screen to his left is littered with diagrams and chemical formulas, and there are several books scattered across the workbench.

Furrowing his brow, Hammer's concentration is one-hundred percent on matching up a casing to a bullet, testing to make sure that the volatile incendiary round will fit in the .50 casings he has on the bench. It's critical work- after seeing Jotun first hand, Justin wants to get the specially designed rounds into production as soon as possible.

"Sir," a voice comes over the machine shop's intercom. "There's an Aiden Lalor here who would like to speak to you. He says its very important and quite urgent, sir."

The sudden voice over the intercom gives Hammer a start, and he nearly drops the round he's holding. He catches it, barely, and glares toward the phone on the desk near the computer.

"Goddammit."

Taking a deep breath and setting the sensitive round carefully aside, Justin turns fully toward the phone. The system automatically activated the speaker phone, so the expletive carried through to the other side. "Who is he, and why is it so important?" And how the hell did this person know he was here, working so late on a weekend?

"I'll ask him, sir." There's a moment's silence, and then the guard comes back on. "He...hold on, kid! You can't...thank you, Mr. Lalor." In the backrground, Justin might hear a young voice with a distinct Irish accent swearing up a storm. "Here he is, sir."

"Mr. Hammer, I'm sorry to disturb you," a middle-aged male voice says over the phone. He also has an Irish accent, though it's fainter than the younger voice. "I know you're a very busy man, so we'll try not to take much of your time. I'm Aiden Lalor, and the one you can probably hear making his way towards having his game systems disconnected for a week is Breandan." The swearing in the background immediately stops, replaced by a silence that's clearly sullen even over the phone. "We've tracked a spirit to this area. We'd like your permission to search your building."

That younger voice and the string of vulgarities is familiar to Hammer. He blinks at the phone, his expression one of disbelief. No, it can't be. Please say it isn't... The older voice snaps him out of the thought process, and Justin sighs. The remark about the video game sinches it- the kid has to be that smartassed, foul-mouthed, self-proclaimed death god that he ran into last week at the coffee shop. Where Justin also met Loki for the first time.

This cannot be good. No, it cannot be good at all.

"A spirit?" Hammer asks, his tone clearly suspicious. "I'm sorry, but this is a secure facility Mister Lalor. I can't let civilians just go trapsing around. I'm sure you understand." The potential for things to go wrong is so high that one couldn't even chart it. There's military secrets, weapons, chemicals, corporate trade secrets, plus your run of the mill industrial hazards. There is no way on Earth Hammer is letting them anywhere on the property, if he can help it.

"I understand, and believe me when I say I wouldn't ask if this wasn't critical. These spirits can be very dangerous, Mr. Hammer. Please, let us..."

There's the sound of the phone being snatched away, and that familiar young voice is yelling into it. "Hammer! Don' be a ****in' ***! I'm comin' up whether...mrff!"

The phone is taken back, after a fashion, though the way the older man's voice fades in and out suggests there's a touch of a tug of war going on now. "I'm sorry, Mr. Hammer. I swear to you that we will keep our attention purely on taking care of the spirit. If left unchecked this could be a danger to your staff and your facility. Please. This is for your sake and the good of everyone who works here."

Hammer sighs and rubs his temples with the thumb and index finger of his right hand. The gesture can practically be heard through the phone when he speaks again. "What proof do you have of this spirit? How do you know it's here?" He's got way too much to do and far bigger things to worry about than this crap, and the irritation is starting to cause his temper to flair. The only reason he hasn't told security to haul them both to the curb and dump them is because the kid was hanging out with an Asgardian- and a dangerous one. He really doesn't want to stir that can of worms, especially after what happened Thursday.

"The boy can sense them, Mr. Hammer. He has...a connection. But if you're asking for proof, I can't give you any. We're willing to have security foll..."

In the background, a young voice can be heard muttering, "**** this."

"...ow...Breandan! Breandan, you can't...Breandan, listen to me! Balor!"

The phone is taken back by security. "Sir, the kid is running into the facility!" In the background, Aiden can be heard shouting, "This isn't how we do things!"

"Goddammit!" Justin snarls into the phone. "Catch him! But- Be careful about it. I'm coming down there." He was on the verge of asking which building it was- and if it was one of the civilian research facilities, taking them down there himself with a couple guards. But now... "Which building is he headed for?" Hammer has a sinking feeling that this is going to end in a complete disaster, and is afraid to know how much this little incident is going to cost the company. And potentially him...

"Understood, sir." The guard calls an order to two others, and gets back on the line. "He's headed for the munitions research facility, sir."

"Don't..." Aiden can be heard. "Please don't get in his way...oh..." He trails off, and can be heard to sigh. "...I can't afford a billion dollars worth of damages, Balor..." he says to himself.

The Munitions Research Facility? "That's where I am, you idiot!" Justin snaps. "Keep on them!" He smashes the button for the speaker phone, cutting the connection and almost pushing the phone off the work bench. Standing quickly he grabs his carry pistol, a .40 caliber, and clips the holster onto his belt. He doesn't bother putting his jacket on over it, he's on his own property and doesn't give two flips if anyone sees him carrying. In fact, he wants the little snot-nosed-god-wannabe to see him carrying. Maybe that will snap him out of this. He heads out of the shop and into the hallway, walking at a hurried pace toward the front entrance to the building.

There's an unfortunate-sounding series of thuds from outside the building. The guards must have caught up. No gunfire, so at least it's unlikely anyone's dead...but it sounds like some level of violence did just occur. But hey, it was a 13-year-old against multiple trained security guards...how bad could it be?

Justin hits the crash bar for the outside door just as the thuds reach his ears. Good, maybe they got the little shit, and are going to proceed to teach him that this is /NOT/ one of his damned video games. The CEO pushes his way out the door, stopping just past the threshold to survey what he hopes is one kid in custody...

...but is instead one kid standing over two unconscious security guards, with a third (also unconscious) actually held over his head. The kid's uncovered eye looks over at Justin. "Hey, good timin'! Y'caught me lookin' really bad***." He grins. "Didn' I tell ya, Hammer? I'm a god. Can't believe y'actually sent 'em after me. Y'wouldn' treat /Thor/ like that, would ya?" He dumps the poor guard down on top of one of the others.

The 'Oh Shit' look on Hammer's face alone is worth the price of admission.

The CEO freezes, his only movement coming in the form of a visible wince when the kid drops the guard. Eyes wide, he stares at the seeming 13-year old. "W-Well," he answers, his voice unsteady, "Thor wou-wouldn't just come barging in like this, ya know." He tries to pull an authoritative tone, this is his facility after all, but the crack in his voice and the stuttering is a dead give away.

"We /tried/ askin'," Balor says, shrugging. "Okay, /Aiden/ tried askin'. But you mortals...y'always want your ****in' evidence." He nods towards the pistol. "****, man...y'were even gonna try shootin' me or somethin'? Bet y'can see /that/ wouldn't'a gone well for ya." He starts to walk towards Hammer. "Well, whatever. I'll forgive ya, 'cause those guys actually put up a little fight, so it was kinda fun. What say we go ghost huntin', you an' me, so?"

At the mention of Aidan, Justin looks away from the kid and toward the front of the facility. Where is the guy, anyway? He would really, really appreciate someone who could wrangle Balor in with them. The comment about the pistol brings Hammer's gaze back to the kid. He doesn't reply, completely unsure how to react. Maybe the brat was a deity after all.

As soon as Balor starts toward Justin he backs up, hitting the frosted glass door of the building with a clank. So much for looking any sort of brave or defiant. "Uh, sure, but, if I may, why don't we wait for your friend, Aidan was it? Lets just wait for Aidan and a couple more of the guards. Just in case things get a little crazy. Y'know." There's less stuttering, but no more confidence in his words than before.

Balor narrows his eye, looking for a moment like he might indeed just decide to, say, rip Justin's head off and then punt it through the door or something...but something makes him stop. Judging from his expression, it was probably something over the earbud his wearing. "Aiden--I can hear y'fine! Y'don'..." He sighs. "Fine, fine...we'll do it your way. I had my fun. Y'wanna have some guards with ya, we'll wait for 'em. Not sure whatcha think they're gonna do against a ghost, but..." He crosses his arms, tapping his foot. Fortunately, Aiden can already be seen headed that way, moving in the company of two more guards--notably, /Aiden/ is clearly cooperating. He's a middle-aged man dressed in a suit, with a fatherly appearance and an expression that presently reads 'irritated but kind of used to it by now'.

Justin seems to shrink slightly under the look. Yeah, some 'Hero of Midgard' he is turning out to be. When the kid starts talking on some sort of comms system, the CEO relaxes ever so slightly. The words seem reassuring, and the sight of the man he talked to on the phone (along with the guards) brings some relief. Hammer straightens up, moving away from the door. It locked behind him when he originally exited, so he'll have to get them back in with his access card. With a very nervous grin he greets the approaching man. "You must be Aidan. Good to meet face to face." There's no little change in the weapon builder's attitude, he's practically a different man.

"I apologize, Mr. Hammer," Aiden says, as he approaches, pausing to catch his breath...and rest a hand tightly on Balor's shoulder. It's rather obvious that the pressure doesn't bother the boy at all, but the kid looks just a /touch/ less confident all the same. "I promise that I'll teach him that there's a /right/ way and a /wrong/ way to do things like this..." He looks down at Balor. "...as /soon/ as we're home."

Balor grimaces. "Aiden, I had..."

"No."

"But..."

"Not tonight."

Balor falls silent, pouting, and Aiden looks towards Justin. "I hope you won't press ch..."

Which is when there's the sound of a few small explosions from the inside of the building.

As Aidan's presence seems to temper the boy's attitude, Hammer's confidence grows slightly. He does make a mental note that if Aidan has that much sway over the pint-sized death god, that he's got to be a heavy hitter himself. Proceed with caution. Justin's posture straightens and his face takes on a more professional expression as the older gentleman starts to bring up pressing charges. Well, depending how this goes-

"Oh, shit!" Justin wheels to face the door of the Munitions Research facility, the color draining from his face almost instantly. There's a lot of very dangerous, and very volatile, substances in that building. If things start exploding then half the compoud could end up a rubble pile. Clumbsily Hammer pulls an access card from his shirt pocket, fighting to get it to sit into the scanner slot next to the door. Finally the lock emits a high-pitched beep and the sound of the electronic lock disengaging can be heard. Justin rips the door open and starts into the building, the two guards that accompanied Aidan quick to start to follow.

Aiden and Balor follow as well, swiftly, and give each other a look as they enter the building. As soon as they're in the hall, Balor darts swiftly into the lead, running quickly to the very lab Justin was working in and trying the door. Locked. So, logically, he punts the door hard and knocks it right off its hinges and into the room.

"Balor!" Aiden says, giving him an exasperated look. "This is..."

Balor points at the room. "Kinda urgent."

And it does appear to be at that. All the machinery in the room is running at high speed--the sort of speed that will clearly get out of hand and dangerous fast if left unchecked. The source of the explosions would appear to be a few of the samples of experimental ammo types having gone off of their own accord--thankfully, none appear to have lost /all/ copies. Several other samples of ammo are actually floating in the air, lazily drifting in random direction and occasionally exploding.

Balor sighs. "****in' thing's brainless, even. I really prefer the ones with a plan. They're more interestin'."

"Hey!" Justin calls when Balor shoots past him and toward the lab he was working in. "Hold on lemme-" Before he can offer to unlock the door it's knocked clean off his hinges. "Jesus Christ," Hammer mumbles as he skids to a halt. Yeah, the kid can kick down reenforced steel doors, Justin's not messing with him any more. Respect level up. The sight of the lab brings a groan before the CEO ducks as another round goes off with a bit more than a bang. He was working on some heavy-duty incendiary rounds, so they pack a hell of a punch. Both guards pull their side arms, and Justin takes a couple steps back, coming level with them.

/Great, just great, there's a freakin' poltergeist in my goddammed lab!/ "What the hell is going on?" Justin asks to anyone who might offer an answer.

"Aiden..." Balor says.

The older man simply nods. "Authorization granted."

There's a sort of shimmer from the symbol on the boy's eyepatch, and then he reaches up and removes it. His lidless, blood-red eye revealed, a change comes over him--his skin reddens slightly, as his hair darkens to blood-red and lengthens, and a faint but deep red collection of glowing lines spread from his evil eye across his body as a mist-like energy surrounds the eye itself. There's a strange, sickening feeling to being within the sight of that eye--nothing /major/, but just enough to be noticed. "The hell's goin' on is your lab's got a ghostie thinkin' o'gettin' into the merchant o'death biz, it looks like," Balor says with a harsh laugh. "Don' worry...I'm gonna eat it now before it breaks any more o'your ****." He steps into the room, looking quickly about.

"There are evil spirits in this world, Mr. Hammer," Aiden says, gently. "In this case...it appears to be a simple ball of spiritual energy. It seeks nothing but chaos. I'm sorry that it came into your lab, but there was nothing that could be done about that."

Inside the lab, Balor grins, and a strange beam of blood-red mist shoots forth from his eye, into one of the pieces of machinery...thankfully, doing nothing at all to the machinery itself. Whatever took up residence inside the machinery, though.../that/, it hurts. There's an ethereal shriek, and a formless blob of glowing energy, quite large, comes out of the machine. The floating ammo clatters to the floor all about the room, and the machines slow.

Justin has had his limo blown up by a life-force-sucking albino mutant. He's had a Green Lantern phase /through/ his office window. He's seen aliens face to face. He had a literal 500-pound gorilla teleport into his desk chair. But none of that can compare to the weird crap-o-meter reading this is getting. The change in the boy is strange, disturbing. It leaves Justin feeling slightly ill and very uneasy. He glances to each of his guards, both of which seem to have gone a little pale and are shifting nervously.

Balor's explanation just gets a stare, but Aiden draws a bit more of a reaction. Hammer nods to the man before looking back into the lab. The shrieking ball of glowing ghost-goo causes him to stumble back, his hands going up into a defensive posture instinctively. /Just get rid of it already! Hurry up and get rid of it!/ is all Justin can think. /Get rid of it and cover up that freaky eye.../

Balor sighs, shaking his head. "That's all y'got, huh? Y'really are just a mindless ghost...oh, well. Get's me home faster, sure..." He looks cheerful for a moment, then frowns. "...t'listen t'Aiden's stupid lecture."

"I'm right /here/, Balor," Aiden says.

"I know," Balor says with a grin. "Okay...time to eat." The red mist beams lance forth from the eye again...but this time, instead of striking the spirit, they wrap about it and start to drag it back towards the boy...whose eye shifts from the strange red to a blackness that seems to stretch on forever. Wailing and screaming, the formless spirit is dragged closer and closer...until, finally, it is sucked inside the eye, disappearing into the void. The eye's blood-red color comes back, and Balor grimaces, putting a hand over his eye. "St...stupid things...never know when it's over."

The humor of the banter between Balor and Aiden is lost on Hammer. When the freaky death-god-kid starts to pull the shrieking poltergeist in, Justin tries to look away. It's just... /Wrong./ This sort of stuff was supposed to stay in movies, not happen in real life. Then again, it turns out that gods and goddesses are real, so why not this? Even with his attempt not to watch, the mortal CEO ends up seeing the whole thing. It causes his stomach to lurch, and he crosses his arms over his chest. When it looks like the event is through, Hammer looks toward Aiden. "Is- Is that it? Is it gone now?" He sounds shaky, and his tone is a lot quieter than usual.

Aiden nods. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Mr. Hammer. It's over." He looks towards Balor. "Authorization revoked."

"Aw, c'mon, /already/?" Balor whines...as the eyepatch actually slides /itself/ on over his blood-red eye again, strapping itself in place. The symbol shimmers once more, and the transformation reverses itself as Balor gives a grunt of pain--his hair changes back to its normal copper-red and shortens, his skin lightens, and the blood-red lines of power fade away. His eye glares at Aiden, crossly. "Y'don' hafta change me back right away! It feels good bein' like that!"

"Yes, I know," Aiden says, coolly, before he looks to Hammer again. "Mr. Hammer, I hope that you find this acceptable. I'm sure you understand...gods tend to be set in their ways. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks...or manners."

"I'm right /here/, Aiden," Balor says, crossly.

"I know," Aiden says, with a smile.

Hammer gives a rattling sigh as things seem to go back to normal. There's a nervous chuckle, and the man shakes his head lightly. "That was, uh, an experience... I hadn't expected to end up on Ghost Hunters tonight," he offers, tone still low. There's not a lot that will knock Hammer down a peg, but this certainly seems to have done it. "I-It's acceptable, yes... I'll have the lab cleaned up A.S.A.P. It's gone, now, right? Completely? It's not going to come back?" He doesn't remark verbally on Aiden's assessment of teaching gods manners. Instead he just takes a moment to be thankful that Sif and Thor are nothing like that. Death gods are creepy as hell.

"It's gone, it's gone," Balor says, as he steps back out--walking on the fallen door--with a peevish expression on his face. "Don' worry so, mortal. Once I eat somethin' it stays eaten." He taps his eyepatch. "So you can go back t'makin' stuff t'help mortals introduce other mortals t'mortality." Notably, from the tone that's not a critique. Balor clearly doesn't mind violence and warfare by any means. He pulls out a business card, and flicks it towards Hammer. "Here. Any others show up around here some other time, y'call us. Y'can even have your guards try an' block me again--that was fun."

Aiden sighs, and looks at Hammer. "We'll get out of your way now, Mr. Hammer. I'll pay for the repairs to your door, and any medical treatments those guards require...though I think he may have actually /restrained/ himself there. We have enough in the budget to spare..." He looks over at Balor. "...though I may take it out of someone's allowance."

Balor glares at him in response, and starts swearing loudly as he heads for the door.

It's actually quite scary how alike Balor and Justin are, in certain respects. Hammer flinches when the boy taps the eye patch, now that he knows what's under it. God, that was the creepiest thing he'd ever seen. Justin pulls on a grin that's almost more of a grimace at Balor's words, and takes the card with some hesitation. He looks it over, then shifts his gaze toward Aiden. "I'll be in touch, with a bill," he comments, some of his usual air returning while still staying very subdued. The kid gets another nervous glance as he storms off. /Good riddance!/