It had been a couple of years now, since his home had been destroyed in what many would refer to as ?a nuclear holocaust? but what Shaw had simply referred to beforehand as ?inevitable? and afterwards in the term ?Called it.? These were easy enough to expect from the callous, brash Taskmaster, but it was also something that seemed, to those that had known him long enough or closely to any degree throughout his employ for the Baron as a bit showy of a fa?ade, even for Shaw.
It was, then, not too great a surprise when he dropped the Morana case and slipped well below even the Division?s own unusually thorough radar. The motions of the group he?d belonged to, and that he?d been more than aware of the interaction of in the destruction of his home, were all he began to follow. He showed nearly as much zeal as the Knights in his devotion to delving deeper and deeper into the trails Novus left in chasms throughout the scarred remains of not only his former life, but that of his home. The organization was never one to be ostentatious, but it's difficult to be discrete when a man like Aaron Shaw begins to dog your footsteps.
These excursions began to take more and more of the Taskmaster?s time, but his benefactor was more than willing to provide him with the means and the assistance he needed to begin dismantling the organization?s support structures in Rhy?din and the surrounding realities (those linked by any means of travel a fat purse could secure a body, at least) that could be reached. It was through this, and weekly raids on structures found to be owned, controlled, or funded by the organization that Shaw began to find some kind of catharsis in the destruction of his home. There was New Birmingham, at least, and it was a place he was more devoted to than anything else in this maddening world, but Novus had gone from having a few lives to answer to Shaw for to having billions, and there was nothing left to dissuade him from collecting that which he saw as owed.
This lead, whether fortunately or not, to a discovery in the connections of the organization to a group that specialized in political, military, and almost any other kind of dissonance or destruction. A group, Shaw noted, that he had a rather storied connection to himself; the Quinzer Group. The killers, strategists, assassins and mercenary forces that did the bidding of the cruel, rich creatures of the multiverse willing to pay their prices were, once upon a time, a group Shaw himself had nearly been inducted into.
Suddenly his work was unsatisfying, and incapable of bringing him the peace he thought he'd been edging towards over the long months. What else could he do, then, but begin to chase after the Quinzer Group and devote every fiber of his being to finding those responsible? Their Rhy'din branch's loose connection with the Baron prompted Shaw to remain somewhat quiet about his discovery until those more directly involved had been discovered. Once they had, and the Spine had been discounted as participants, he brought things to the attention of his one and only ?superior? in this mission.
The participation in, and mobility of, a particular branch seemed to be connected more closely than the others to Shaw?s current predicament, and this was where he decided to begin. While working on Novus through his own strike forces and Rhy?din based operators, he himself began to traverse planes and planets, searching for jobs and marks that only these very specialized, very careful killers would chase after.
The depth of their work kept the Taskmaster sharpening his own skills, improving himself, taking more dangerous risks and coming out with more as a result. His tracking became something of an obsession, and finally after following one of their mid-tier assassins out on a mission his sense of preserving the mission and maintaining security were thrown aside in favor of blood, violence, and a small sliver of vengeance.
Shaw couldn't follow the group anymore after that, but this lead him and the killing he'd prevented to draw their attention. He began to use outside operators, much to his own displeasure, and returned to Rhy'din when he'd collected enough intel to begin his hunt right and proper.
With those he needs made aware and those he doesn't kept in the dark, the Taskmaster is finally ready to begin what he's been waiting for since the day the bombs fell. The road has indeed been a long one, but the Omega branch of the Quinzer Group is finally in his sights.
It was, then, not too great a surprise when he dropped the Morana case and slipped well below even the Division?s own unusually thorough radar. The motions of the group he?d belonged to, and that he?d been more than aware of the interaction of in the destruction of his home, were all he began to follow. He showed nearly as much zeal as the Knights in his devotion to delving deeper and deeper into the trails Novus left in chasms throughout the scarred remains of not only his former life, but that of his home. The organization was never one to be ostentatious, but it's difficult to be discrete when a man like Aaron Shaw begins to dog your footsteps.
These excursions began to take more and more of the Taskmaster?s time, but his benefactor was more than willing to provide him with the means and the assistance he needed to begin dismantling the organization?s support structures in Rhy?din and the surrounding realities (those linked by any means of travel a fat purse could secure a body, at least) that could be reached. It was through this, and weekly raids on structures found to be owned, controlled, or funded by the organization that Shaw began to find some kind of catharsis in the destruction of his home. There was New Birmingham, at least, and it was a place he was more devoted to than anything else in this maddening world, but Novus had gone from having a few lives to answer to Shaw for to having billions, and there was nothing left to dissuade him from collecting that which he saw as owed.
This lead, whether fortunately or not, to a discovery in the connections of the organization to a group that specialized in political, military, and almost any other kind of dissonance or destruction. A group, Shaw noted, that he had a rather storied connection to himself; the Quinzer Group. The killers, strategists, assassins and mercenary forces that did the bidding of the cruel, rich creatures of the multiverse willing to pay their prices were, once upon a time, a group Shaw himself had nearly been inducted into.
Suddenly his work was unsatisfying, and incapable of bringing him the peace he thought he'd been edging towards over the long months. What else could he do, then, but begin to chase after the Quinzer Group and devote every fiber of his being to finding those responsible? Their Rhy'din branch's loose connection with the Baron prompted Shaw to remain somewhat quiet about his discovery until those more directly involved had been discovered. Once they had, and the Spine had been discounted as participants, he brought things to the attention of his one and only ?superior? in this mission.
The participation in, and mobility of, a particular branch seemed to be connected more closely than the others to Shaw?s current predicament, and this was where he decided to begin. While working on Novus through his own strike forces and Rhy?din based operators, he himself began to traverse planes and planets, searching for jobs and marks that only these very specialized, very careful killers would chase after.
The depth of their work kept the Taskmaster sharpening his own skills, improving himself, taking more dangerous risks and coming out with more as a result. His tracking became something of an obsession, and finally after following one of their mid-tier assassins out on a mission his sense of preserving the mission and maintaining security were thrown aside in favor of blood, violence, and a small sliver of vengeance.
Shaw couldn't follow the group anymore after that, but this lead him and the killing he'd prevented to draw their attention. He began to use outside operators, much to his own displeasure, and returned to Rhy'din when he'd collected enough intel to begin his hunt right and proper.
With those he needs made aware and those he doesn't kept in the dark, the Taskmaster is finally ready to begin what he's been waiting for since the day the bombs fell. The road has indeed been a long one, but the Omega branch of the Quinzer Group is finally in his sights.