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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:26:31 GMT -5
Scarlet Scorpion
The jet injector activated and Scarlet was awoken. The pain was realized immediately and her body convulsed with the shock of negative sensation. “Oh my gods,” she seethed, fighting the urge to scream. “Doc, do something or … ” She clenched her teeth to keep from losing control of her power and shooting a sonic bolt through the doctor standing over her instead of cursing at him.
“I can’t Commander. We don’t know why you’re not healing at the anticipated rate for your meta-level.”
Her eye popped open. “What in Hades does that mean?” She turned on her side as she started to concentrate her powers to self-healing. Her willpower to stop the pain was reducing its shock to the system but the doctor was right: she was not healing as fast as she can. Something was wrong.
“You should be healing at a faster rate than this, obviously that’s not happening. We can’t determine the cause.”
“Gods damn.” She rolled onto her back and looked into the sterile lighting of med bay. The pain was slowly getting better but marginally. She breathed in and out to control the pain better, like Kitai and Daikar taught her, but her anger was increasing. The Scarlet Scorpion was never taken out of action like this.
“Where’s Crimsonstar?” She winced. “Get Loni … umph … I need her here … and contact Nathan Maddox for me, please.” A tear rolled down her cheek and the doctor didn’t move, seemingly stunned at her request. “Now!”
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:27:01 GMT -5
Iron Goliath
Loni was sitting on a pallet on the floor, looking like the most miserable person on the planet. Maybe the galaxy. She had refused to be placed in one of the private rooms in the Infirmary, citing the lesser extent of her wounds compared to some. Her leotard was torn open at the side, and wide bandages had been wrapped around her abdomen. There were numerous small burns she had suffered from the myriad of tiny electrical fires that had started inside of Goliath's cockpit in those final minutes back in the Main Control Room, and she had a nasty lump on the back of her head that she was holding a compress to.
Alex had stayed with her for several minutes after helping get her to the medical wing. She had asked him about the others, and Alex had given her the grim news about the condition of many of those inside, as well as telling her that attempts to contact Patrollers outside the base, including Sheena, PAX Lawbringer, and both Dave and Lily had been unsuccessful. It seemed that the Dawn Patrol had suffered a catastrophic attack on several fronts. When she asked about Goliath, he only shook his head and told her more bad news. One of the doctors then gave Alex a list of things he needed done, and shooed him off. Alex gave Loni a tender kiss and reluctantly left, assuring her that he would be back ASAP. Nearby, the lupine Mistsong was assisting with triage. He gave her one of those crazy canine grins and told her that everything would be okay, then made her laugh with a joke. Something about a Sky Raider, a Troll, and a Thorn Cultist going into a bar...
One of the orderlies came out, telling Loni that Scarlet Scorpion was wanting to speak with her. Gamely, she staggered to her feet (with the assistance of one of the staffers) and made her way to Kathryn's room. Seeing her laying on the bed, surrounded by various pieces of medical and diagnostic equipment, Loni winced. "You needed me, ma'am?"
"Yes, I did. First, I wanted to thank you for your efforts in getting myself, Lady Britania, and Crimsonstar out of the Main Control Room. You showed your true colors in there, girl. Second, I know that you're still hurting, but I need Goliath to..." Kathryn broke off, seeing Loni shake her head.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but G isn't going to be doing anything ever again. Alex told me that at least 90% of the systems are blown to hell, and since the big lug was built using customized 70-year old pre-computerized electro-mechanical whatsis-es, its not like you can just go down to MegaMart and pick up some spare parts." She looked as though she were about to cry. "My Alex has done a tremendous job jury-rigging repairs on it, but even he said it's pretty much a lost cause. Everything in the cockpit is destroyed. It's a wonder that whatever powers G wasn't destroyed as well. Alex said he wants to try and salvage it for something. I told him sure, whatever. But there isn't a Goliath, not anymore, ma'am." Loni drew an arm across her nose, stifling a sniffle. "If it's okay, I'd like to stick around though. Maybe I can still be useful filing papers or something."
Then the tears came...
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:28:13 GMT -5
Lady Britania
A white haze... some murmurs off in the distance... getting closer.. brighter... And with that Tania focused in on everything. She was in one of the medical recovery rooms in the base, and a doctor was standing over her. He saw her coming around, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Easy. You're just coming out of surgery."
Tania aches all over her body...for the most part. "Oh my god I hurt...why can't I feel my legs?!" her voice rises as she frantically tries to sit up.
The doctor holds her down. "Easy." He struggles with what he wants to say for a minute. "Look, I don't know how to put this any other way but right to the point. It appears you were closest to the blast and took a good brunt of the damage. It looks like your regenerative powers tried to heal the damage done, but... I don't know, it's like... It's like your regenerative powers burned themselves out. You couldn't heal all the damage done to you.
Due to the blast damage and the debris that landed on you, you received a serious injury. Several of your vertebrae were crushed. We operated, and we tried to clean it up as best as we could but... I'm sorry Leftenant. If your regenerative powers don't kick back in, and right now, based on all evidence I see, they're not going to, you've got maybe a ten percent chance of ever walking again. You are currently paralyzed from the waist down."
Tania faints from the shock of the news.
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:28:52 GMT -5
Drive Train
A loud pop and a hiss of static startled Sheena awake. She glanced around, taking a quick survey of her immediate surroundings: she was still stuck in the liquid-filled tube, still immobile and helpless. The sounds coming to her left ear, however, were new ones. She felt a new sensation there as well: while she was asleep, someone had placed an ear transceiver in there. No sooner had she realized this, and figured it out as the source of the sounds that woke her, than an unknown male voice spoke through it: "Good morning, Drive Train. Don't let on that you're listening to anything, but I thought you should know where you are and what's going on. I can't stay to explain myself; that's far too dangerous and time-consuming. Just listen to what's happening and you should be able to figure it out for yourself. Good luck. And when the time comes, know that the Dawn Patrol has friends they may not even know about."
With another hiss of static, the voice was gone. However, Sheena could now hear other sounds: footsteps, the humming of machinery, and eventually voices. First, a gruff female alto: "Doctor. Good. What's the status of the subject?"
Then, a nasal tenor: "Ma'am. We've been able to replicate the core organic structures quite nicely as with previous subjects, but the, uh, mechanical parts are of a technology we're simply not well-versed in. They appear to be Praetorian in origin, and we haven't received enough intact samples from the recent skirmishes with the for-"
"I get it, Doctor. Do your best. If you can't replicate the tech exactly, at least make it look and act the same way. You're a smart guy, I'm sure you'll figure it out. You have 72 hours."
"Sev... seventy-two hours, ma'am? That's not enough time! I... I don't think that's poss..."
"It's possible, and it's going to happen, or you'll find yourself terminated. Clear?"
A hard, gulping sound, followed by a short pause came next, then receding, measured footsteps.
All Sheena could think was, "Who the hell ARE these guys, and why the hell would they want to clone me? I'm a nobody! Unless..."
A slideshow of images played against Sheena's inner eye: Marsius' kind but stern face, Scarlet's beautiful but scarred one. Tania, noble in manner and deed. Chev, the quiet leader. PAX, the buglike, friendly time traveller. Lily and Dave, so happy with each other. Loni and Alex, so hopeful for the future. Vince and Wonder Star and Color Guard and her sister and Dyna and Eldorion and Lady Vic: All the faces of her fellow Patrollers. The ones she knew well, the ones she had barely met. Her friends. Her family. Sheena frantically struggled against her bonds, but it was no use. Whatever they had holding her in here was draining her natural magic just enough to make it impossible to power her kinetic converters.
"No. No! NO! NOT AGAIN!"
Sheena's eyes closed, her sight turned inwards as her master instructed so long ago. She tensed and relaxed every muscle in her body: first her head and neck, then her torso and abdomen, and finally her upper legs.
"You can't have them!"
Her eyes still closed, Sheena's hair and skin were surrounded by a crimson haze. The liquid around her began to bubble.
"YOU CAN'T HAVE THEM!"
Sheena's eyes flew open, blazing red. Sparks began to fly from the tube, arcs of red lightning connecting it to the metal floor of the lab. Instrument panels and circuit boards popped, smoked and hissed with the surge of voltage. The glass of her tube began to spiderweb.
"YOU! CAN'T! HAVE! THEM!!!"
With a final scream, the power building inside Sheena released. The coruscating red electricity blew the tube apart, peppering the lab with shards of glass and boiling liquid. Sheena dropped to the ground with a wet thump as alarm klaxons started blaring. Tentatively, she fed power into her kinetic converters. Though slow to respond, respond they did, and soon Sheena drew herself to her feet, bleeding from a dozen cuts, surrounded by a crackling crimson aura of power.
"Now, you bastards. NOW. YER GONNA PAY!!!"
With a sweep of her hand, a huge ball of lightning flew out and hit the nearest piece of still-intact equipment. The overload of energy was massive: the metal itself turned to plasma with explosive force, taking most of the machinery in the room with it. Sheena weathered the blast with minimal effect. This was nothing. The pain merely told her she was still alive.
Two guards, in full Vanguard armor, rushed into view, rifles ready and aimed squarely at her. "You! Down on the ground, or we will open fire!"
Sheena merely grinned. "Like you could hurt me, losers."
With an instant's concentration, power flowed to her legs and arms. Sheena sped to the closer guard, a single palm strike connecting with his abdomen. Even through the full body armor, Sheena could hear the whooshing sound as the wind was knocked out of him. Then, with a twist of her legs, an elbow was brought against the side of the second guard's helmet. The satisfying clang of metal on metal impact was shortly followed by the guard crumpling to the ground in a heap. Sheena stomped on both rifles, destroying them. She then sprinted to the door, and with a double palm strike, ripped the door from its hinges. In the hallway, a crowd of at least a dozen armed Vanguard troopers greeted her with rifles at the ready. Sheena's grin turned feral. "Get in line, boys and girls. There's plenty of pain to go around!"
The world turned red.
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:29:28 GMT -5
Scarlet Scorpion
Scarlet fought revealing her suffering as Loni spoke. Sweat crawled down her neck as she multi-tasked to heal herself and listen to the tragedy befallen a fellow Patroller. A smile appeared to try to combat the strain internally and help another externally.
“I understand Loni. I’m sorry about Goliath.” She coughed slightly through clenched teeth. Looking around the room, Scarlet waited for personnel to be far enough away, and then closed her eyes to concentrate further. She created a sonic barrier that enveloped them both and Loni’s soft crying was suddenly magnified.
Scarlet raised her head and her anger was intensified through her words. “Loni, I need you to learn what was in that explosive. You are not a meta, and that makes you the best candidate for the job. Learn what you can and report to me directly – no one else under any circumstance. Do you understand?” The bubble dissipated and ambient sounds flooded them both.
Before Loni could reply, a stretcher appeared with Lady Victoria resting on it. She wa battered and unconscious and the medics were working faster than Scarlet anticipated. She did not ask the question but a nearby doctor saw the look on Scarlet’s face and walked toward her. “Commander, Lady Victoria’s vitals are good but weak. It’s her brain-wave activity: it reads as if she is in a coma.” Both Scarlet and Loni took in a sharp breath forcing the doctor to raise his hands as if to push back their fears. “We’re checking to make sure.”
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:33:02 GMT -5
Lights End
Alex quickly finished the tasks the good doctor had given him, and as he was walking back, he took quick moments to ask various medical staffers if they happened to need any help. It seemed everywhere he turned, someone was needing help with something, and he kept himself busy quite easily.
As he was helping in moving some rubble to open up a previously accessible part of the base, he noticed a glimmer on the ground. He threw some rocks aside, seeing what seemed to be the remains of a turret that Goliath had destroyed, and laying beside that was the weapon he had dropped earlier due to it being useless because of the EMP blast he released. He picked up the rifle and quickly examined it, before pulling the power core out of the gun, realizing that it was still good, despite the actual beam mechanism being completely fried. He stood up from his kneeling position, and glanced around the room, before tossing the rifle to the ground. As the clanging of the rifle hit his ears, his brain seemed to go into overdrive, making him wonder if the power core of the Goliath machine could also be salvaged. He raced down the hall, past staffers and medics to where the tons of rubble lay upon Goliath. He looked down at the power cell in his hand, then back at the rubble, then back to his hand.
"I hope they forgive me for this... EVERY ONE COVER YOUR EARS!" He yelled as he forced the last bit of energy in the suit's core through his electrical emitters in his hands into the Rifle core and chucked it at the pile.
**BOOOM!!**
A wave of almost pure energy ricochet of the walls, throwing Alex back and down the hall, letting him slide across the floor.
"Oh... that hurt..." He held his side and held one eye closed as he winced in pain, but ahead he could see that the explosion did the trick, and it removed most of the loose mess around the Goliath away from it, leaving just the metal hull behind.
He stood up and hobbled to the machine, looking it over quickly, seeing that the core of the machine was very much accessible. "With this... I can rebuild it.. I can make it better even," he said excitedly, as he breathed deeply in relief that he didn't blow it all to hell and back..
He at last pressed his hand to the communicator at his side, and without really knowing if it would even work, he spoke "Loni.. I think I may have some very good news for you..."
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:33:43 GMT -5
Iron Goliath
Thirty minutes later, after hearing no more news about Tania's condition, Loni was walking purposefully down the main corrider. Well, limping along, actually -- her side still screamed at her, and the doctor had told her she needed to get back to her pallet and lat down if she wanted her ribs to heal. But Scarlet had given her a task, to learn what she could about the explosives that had so badly mauled the Dawn Patrol headquarters, and Loni was determined not to fail her!
Of course, she thought as she approached the rubble-strewn doorway of the Main Control room, I'm no Sarah Sidle or Holly West. Loni's mother was a world-class scientist and engineer who encouraged her daughter to become educated in math and the sciences, just as her father helped train her physically and get her into sports. She wasn't stupid, but she never really applied herself in school as much as she should have. But she was going to make sure that Kathryn had whatever information she needed.
Loni entered the room. A crew, wearing DP Staffer coveralls, seemed to be making headway moving the debris. Golaith's entire body had been cleared. She brushed the big, outstretched hand and gazed into the dull green eye-lenses. Tears began to flow once more, and she sobbed silently. Then a familiar, loving voice said behind her "Heya, lovely". She spun about, wincing at the pain in her side, and flung herself into Alex's arms. Mindful of her injuries, he refrained from holding her, and just stroked her hair while she cried into his shoulder. Sniffling, she said "I thought the doctors sent you on some errands."
"I finished all those, and I made a discovery. I tried calling you, but..." "But there is still no comm net," she finished for him. He nodded "This is important to you, and if things are as I hope, Goliath won't have sacrificed itself for nothing." They stood there for a moment, his arm around her unwounded side, each lost in their own thoughts as they watched the crew shovel more debris from the circle around Goliath. She, about the night she fled her parent's house, piloting the mech away from the men who had assaulted their home and killed her mother and father, just to get their hands on some 70 year-old robot. He, about the special project he had been working on in secret, and praying that the power core, which his research led him to believe might be, in fact, a chunk of Shivan meteor, was still intact.
"Alex," she said a few minutes later, "what do you think happened. The explosions, I mean. How could they have happened?" Alex shrugged. "I'm not sure, love. But I do know that the Patrol will get to the bottom of this." Loni pulled out of his embrace and, still holding his hand tightly as though she were afraid to let him go, led them to the office where Crimsonstar and Scarlet were just a short while ago. The mess was tremendous in the room, the walls separating the office from the main room were no longer there. The two looked around the room for a minute. "Where do you suppose the bomb was?"
"Were," he replied. "There were several around the base. But see there?" he asked, pointing at one of the outerwalls. "See how dark that spot is, and how it gradually lightens? That shows that the epicenter of the blast was somewhere in that area." Loni nodded, chewing on her knuckle. She was going to have to go over the area with the proverbially fine-toothed comb to find... what? She still had no idea what she would be looking for, but it wouldn't take long for the fire-marshalls to get here. She only had so much time for her to do some kind of investigating and find whatever it was that Scarlet wanted no one else to find.
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:34:36 GMT -5
Crimsonstar
Marsius sat on the bridge of the newly commissioned Andromedan starflyer placed under his command. Everywhere the ship gleamed with the finely polished, almost too brilliant shine of a ship fresh out of the space dock. His two deck officers, Marshi Brax and Janus Darron stoold by him, smiling proudly.
"She's a fantastic ship, Crimsonstar Denthar." said Marshi to him. "It'll be a pleasure to serve on her under your command."
"Thank you Marshi, and oh, have I congratulated you yet on your promotion to Cluster* rank?" he asked her. Marshi smiled and gave him a friendly, gentle nudge with her elbow. "Only about three times now."
"It was well deserved I just wanted to ....
Get up, Denthar!
".....I'm sorry, did you...."
Quit dreaming of your past days in the Star Brigade and get this huge piece of debris off of you.
It's dark, but insufferably loud. Something had happened, an explosion, in the base. And now ....I'm...trapped, under an entire cross section of the wall of Dawn Patrol HQ.
"UGH" By Kairin's Blood, I can barely move it! And the pain, why does every part of my body ache? The powers my star implant grants me makes me incredibly strong and makes me almost entirely invulnerable. It's the constant joke Alex loves to make about me, that I'm "One stuck kitten in a tree from being like the comic book guy with the S and red cape"
Alex! Is she okay! Wait, I was talking to Dominic, then came back here to meet with Tania and Kathryn. We're under attack, ALL of Dawn Patrol.
"UGH" I think it budged that time, but why am I barely able to move it? Normally I would toss it across the base. I hear voices, there's a lot of commotion. I think I can hear Kathryn. but her voice is trailing off, as if she's leaving.... And everyone else seems to be moving to other parts of the base. This is it.
I'VE. GOT. TO. GET. THIS.
OFF. OF. ME!
As I thought, it's pretty much the entire west wall of the office and my throwing it it has brought down what little was left of the surrounding walls. My head feels heavy, and I'm sweating badly. I can barely walk without having to hold onto the wall.
This was no ordinary bomb. I barely manage to open the communication channel on my badge.
"Crim...Crimsonstar to...anyone......I'm......I need help."
Marsius and Alex's apartment in Perez Park
Alex pushed the grill and lawn chairs off of herself and struggled to stand up. The blast had knocked her off their patio and pretty much destroyed the top floor of their apartment building, but she appeared to be okay. Suddenly a hand reached down to her to help pull her up out of the wreckage.
"Thanks." she said as she took it and let them pull her up. She looked up to see a gathering of Hellions standing around her. Over the years, Alex had formed an understanding with street gangs around her building in Perez. The unspoken agreement was that they behaved themselves in the immediate area of her apartment building, and she wouldn't cave their heads in.
Alex recognized the one helping her up as the top dog of the little neighborhood tribe, Big Bill, she think they called him. She noticed one of them was holding her and Marsius' cat, Oscar.
"He's a cute fella." the Hellion said. The rest of them looked at him. "What?" he said.
She brushed off the loose debris, checked that the new tears in her costume didn't reveal anything she didn't want showing. Then she saw her apartment building, or what used to be her apartment building.
"Oh my God! Oh no!" she said and ran to the rubble. Most of the residents had been out, thankfully, but she could see one frail, broken body, lying on the ground. Alex pulled off debris quickly throwing it across the lot. "Mrs. Jenkins! Mrs. Jenkins! Laura!" she cried as she cradled the elderly woman in her lap. Laura Jenkins had been Alex's neighbor for years, always inviting her over for tea and cookies, or wanting Alex to join her for dinner. She seemed to always know when Alex had had a particular bad day in the 'hero business' and need to decompress.
And when she started seeing Marsius and he moved in, Laura took to him just as quickly. Alex could feel her eyes start to sting. She opened a channel on the comm badge Marsius had given her.
"Marsius, it's Alex, you there?" she asked, but got no answer. "Mars! MARS!" still no reply. She didn't know what to do, Mars wasn't answering but she couldn't just leave Laura's body like this. Then, Big Bill put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, we got this. Go see to your man." he said.
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:35:17 GMT -5
PAX Lawbringer
"So this is Ouroboros... not quite what I expected." said the man in the dark overcoat with his matching brimmed hat pulled low on his head as he took another sip of the iced tea in his hand. He and Lawbringer were sitting on a comfortable bench in the peaceful late afternoon seaming light that perpetually bathed the realm of the time traveling Menders. A quiet wind barely rustled in the leaves of the decorative trees that dotted the central platform of the Mender's 'vehicle'.
"And what a view..." The man known as Dark Watcher drank deeply and looked down to the endless water stretching from horizon to horizon in all directions that the Ouroborean platform hung, unsupported, over. In the distance several 'islands' also floated in the sky over the ocean. He could see they were dotted with trees and waterfalls that spilled out of springs and fell over edges to plunge spectacularly through the air to the waters below. "I've been meaning to investigate these Menders personally but I never seemed to find the time. Ironic isn't it?" He glanced at Lawbringer. His faceplate was open and his small delicate mouth parts were making quick quiet work on a stickybun. They stopped for a moment and moved in a pattern rubbing together making soft clicking buzzes.
"Irony or careful manipulations by the Menders, perhaps" Lawbringer's ever earnest and cheery 'voice' was muffled as his voder's membrane was folded away with his faceplate. Lawbringer buzzed and clicked some more. "Despite their stated purpose in interacting with the present timelines the Menders keep many secrets. You are well known for discovering secrets. Arranging other events to distract you from doing so where they are concerned, is well within their abilities" Lawbringer went back to eating the stickybun.
It was an unremarkable coincidence that Dark Watch drained his glass just as a young man dressed in the brown leather uniform of a Mender initiate stepped up with a tray. That in addition Lawbringer exactly then finished eating and slid his face plate into place once more scarcely bears commentary. Such things are easy for people who can manipulate time itself. Dark Watcher stood up and leaned against the railing looking back at the seated Humaniphyle.
“I’m an experienced dimensional traveler Lawbringer and I can usually sort out where I am in relation to Primal Earth. But here? I haven’t a clue how to get back. Is it some spell or technology about this place?” The tall insectoid rose, a muted clicking buzz could be heard behind his face plate.
“You cannot tell where you are because you are not anywhere.” He gestured to spectacular scenery. “I believe this scenery has been fashioned by the Menders for us.”
“An illusion?” Dark Watcher’s eyes narrowed as he peered intently around himself.
“A visual representation is a better way to think of it. A metaphor, of an actuality that most minds would find incomprehensible. A space, separate from all other times and places.” Lawbringer gestured down to the water and Dark Watcher nodded.
“The water is…time?” the man in the overcoat ventured his gaze following his companion’s motions.
“The water is ALL times, ALL places, the entirety of all existences within the multiverse.” Lawbringer corrected and Dark Watcher smiled.
“And here we are hovering over it all. Floating above the sea of eternity.” He turned back to face the interior of the platform and took in its graceful architecture. “Poetic, genius. Who crafted this I wonder?” he mused. Lawbringer felt lucky that Dark Watcher’s attention was not on him that moment as he felt guilty in any act of misdirection towards this man with him.
“I suspect Mender Silas would know. It is unfortunate that he is unavailable to meet with you at this time.” He buzzed after a moment’s hesitation.
“I’ve heard of this Silas, so far everyone who’s reported to me about him has seemed uncomfortable talking about him somehow. I think I should meet him and soo- OH MY GOD!” Dark Watcher pointed to a young oriental woman with elegantly coiled hair carrying a bow. “Is that Flower Knight?” He turned back to Lawbringer. “She disappeared two years ago! I’ve an open missing supers file about her on my desk!” Lawbringer carefully noted the coincidence of her appearance, talking with another Mender initiate.
“Flower Knight was recruited by Ouroboros due to the fact that the Outbreak incident she is most famous for is one of the most heavily assaulted points in recent Primal Earth history. Many current heroes began their careers there. A viable tactic in a temporal war is to eliminate your enemy before he gains power to defend himself. Flower Knight is a consultant to the Menders as they ensure each change to the history of that incident is repaired.” Dark Watcher eyes narrowed.
“So the Menders have an enemy.”
“One we share,” Lawbringer pointed out. “As evinced in the recent and ongoing destruction in Galaxy City.” Dark Watcher nodded then smiled.
“Is it my imagination or are you talking more clearly since we arrived… here.” He waved a hand as they strolled along the platform’s edge.
“It is not. My voder matrix uses quantum vector processing in translating my speech. With the vagaries and fluidity of modern Standard English this can result in a less than precise translation. You have so many words that either have the same sound or the same meaning. Quantum fluctuations in the matrix that entangles the meanings of my own speech causes it to frequently select a less than optimal word. At Ouroboros there is a sub quantum structure here that promotes favorable causality. For lack of a better phrase, things always ‘go right’ here in a way that would not elsewhere.” Dark Watcher snorted.
“That was plain English but I still didn’t understand it my friend.” Lawbringer cocked his head to one side but Dark Watcher continued before his insectoid companion could offer another explanation. “It’s been enjoyable but we’ve wasted enough time here.” He held up a finger to forestall Lawbringer’s inevitable comment about temporal mechanics. “You are sure the Menders will return us to where and when we need to be?” Lawbringer nodded and thought back to their arrival from his Perez Park apartment.
When Dark Watcher indicated they had little time to talk Lawbringer had opened the Ouroborean temporal portal immediately. When they arrived at the platform, Mender Lazarus was waiting. He assured them both that the Menders would ensure when they left no more than three seconds would have elapsed in their absence. The cowled and goggled Mender shook Dark Watcher’s hand vigorously telling him it was so good to see him after so long. The puzzled Watcher looked to Lawbringer standing there radiating amusement. Lazarus mentioned that such time looping was frowned on but that he had already had it approved by Mender Silas who sent apologies via Lazarus for his own absence. When Lazarus was gone Dark Watcher turned almost accusingly.
“How did he know to set this up?” Lawbringer visibly shrugged.
“I suspect that you or I will ask him to as some point later.” Lawbringer buzzed cheerily. Dark Watcher blinked and rested his head in his open palm for a moment.
“This time travel stuff is going to give me a headache.” He commented. Lawbringer pointed to an approaching Mender initiate bearing a tray with a glass and a stickybun.
“Perhaps some refreshments while you explain the danger facing the Dawn Patrol?”
Dark Watcher continued interrupting Lawbringer’s quick remembrance of amusement at his friend’s befuddling introduction to the Menders.
“There is a danger to both the Dawn Patrol and to Vanguard. I don’t have many pieces myself yet. It was a misfiled transport request that was sent to my office for confirmation that first alerted me. Without that slip up everything that is happening now would have slipped past me, which gives me no pleasure to admit I assure you.” The man in the overcoat took off his iconic hat and frowned. “Yesterday at 0-12:00 hours a C&C order was issued against you Lawbringer. That’s a Capture and Contain order.” He quickly amended when Lawbringer tilted his head to one side. “You’re not alone Lawbringer, there were C&C’s issued against Denethar, Temporal Knight, that Praetorian woman, in fact every member of the Paragon City branch of the Dawn Patrol with extraterrestrial or extra dimensional origins has a been listed as an enemy combatant and every other member of the patrol has a general arrest order issued by Vanguard.” Lawbringer stood rock still.
“Why would Vanguard doing this? The Patrol has long had a successful working relationship with Vanguard, stretching back to the First Rikti Invasion! What does Vanguard think the Patrol has done?” He demanded
“That is the problem. There is no reason for us to take these actions against the Patrol. None of the orders passed through my offices at all, which I might add is supposed to be impossible. The damning thing is that from what their routing codes say they were all issued by Lady Grey.” Lawbringer’s eyes glittered in anger.
I CAN’T believe she would do this! I don’t.” He continued pacing back and forth. “Someone is manipulating the Vanguard into doing this and I don’t know who. I need information. Obviously my normal investigators and information sources are suspect as long as whoever is behind this is has operatives within Vanguard itself.” He stopped and looked at Lawbringer. “I need someone of my own inside these traitors. I need you PAX.” He ended using the nickname Lawbringer’s progenitor friends used.
“How can I help if I am captured? It is doubtful these traitors will simply accept an offer from me to switch allegiances” Lawbringer countered. Dark Watch placed his hat on his head and his eyes glittered dangerously from underneath the brim.
“I don’t need you to switch sides at all Lawbringer I just need to you to be captured.” For a moment, Lawbringer was speechless. He held up an inquiring finger but Dark Watch continued “These people are using Vanguard assets and personnel. If captured you and the other members of the Patrol will have to be held somewhere. It can’t be at the central Vanguard base that’s too close to me and Lady Grey and other supers for that matter. No you will have to be taken to one of the Vanguard depots at least initially. I have to know where we have been penetrated. I only hope that its NOT one the ones in the Rogue Isles. Having to work around spiderman and his webheaded minions would be an unmitigated pain.”
“If I am captured how can I alert you?” Lawbringer objected again.
“I’m going to give you a master override control code. Input it into ANY Vanguard keypad, anywhere and it will unlock the controls of whatever panel you are at and place it into local autonomous control. You can override any lock you encounter or com panel or control system. Anything! Each time its entered it will send an alert to my office and append a time/date/location stamp. With that, I will know where you are and be able to isolate and capture these traitors using Vanguard troops I KNOW are loyal. As a security measure however if the code is used more than three times within 24 hours it will trigger an automatic alarm at the facility its used in and alert all local security of your location. So use it once to send an alert to me but if you can, don’t use it again.”
“I understand.” Lawbringer nodded.
“When we return to you apartment, Vanguard troops will be at your door in less than 5 minutes. Quite frankly, based on your Vanguard file they expect you will surrender without a fight. Please do so. Co-operate at least, until you arrive at the depot. Then get to a panel anyway you can. If we can’t stop these people Lawbringer then both the Vanguard and Dawn Patrol may be destroyed!”
It was the application of an electric prod that jolted Lawbringer from his reverie. The room swam into his view as he regained consciousness. Obviously some kind of anesthetic had been applied to him as he was riding in the Vanguard stealth transport. Lawbringer was initially disappointed as he had no idea which Vanguard depot he was at. The disappointment faded quickly and was replaced with concern as he realized he was in a lab of some kind and strapped down to a table under harsh lights. Two dim figures in Vanguard uniforms leaned over him. One was holding out something long and thin. Lawbringer felt the sharp pain of the electrical shock again and twitched in his bonds.
“You felt THAT one din’tcha bug?” The guard holding the prod said. The other one let a small giggle escape then looked up and shouted out.
“Hey Doc! The bug guy’s awake, you gonna vivisect him or what?”
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:39:21 GMT -5
Chief Engineer Justus Watson leaned over his control board in the Energy Center. "What's our status?"
One of his staff runs into the office. "We're working on it ChEng,"
"Work faster. We need those portals and Communication back up."
"Yes sir." The staff member walks back out to the control center.
Justus taps a few commands into the computer. Despite the damage from the fight and the explosions, DOGMA appeared to be still up and running. "DOGMA."
"Working..."
"Give me a systems status."
"Working...Systems status is 85 %. Damage to Secondary Core, 20 %. Damage to Primary Core, 5%."
"Open Core access for personnel to begin repairs."
"Working...Access denied. Authorization for Core access must be obtained from Leftenant Lockemont, Captain Denthar, or Field Commander Beringer."
Justus smacks a hand on his desk. "Of course, the three people most injured in the explosion. DOGMA, What's the protocol for getting Core Access if those three are incapacitated?"
"Working... Only Leftenant Lockemont, Captain Denthar, and Field Commander Beringer have authorization among DPPC to authorize Core Access. In case of incapacitation of those three, Authorization for Core Access must come from Lady Jane at DPUK Headquarters."
Justus mutters. "It figures." He looks out his office door and shouts at one of his staff members. "Someone go find out what the status is on the Command Staff. I need one of them to authorize me access to DOGMA's Primary and Secondary Core's."
One of the Engineers looks up from his board. "One second ChEng." He taps a few more commands into the computer and grins. "Communications, Entry Portal, and all Teleport Pads are back up and operational!"
Justus smiles and says "Good work people! Start sending out recalls to all of our staff to get in here to assist with repairs." He hits a key on his computer, activating the base intercomm. "This is Chief Engineer Watson. The Base Entry Portal, the Teleport Pads, and all communications are once again operational." He shuts off the intercomm and contacts the Infirmary.
"Infirmary, go ahead. Nurse Beskins speaking."
"Nurse Beskins, this is Chief Engineer Watson. I need to know the status of the Command Staff."
"They are still working on Captain Denthar I believe. Commander Beringer is stable. She spoke with one of the Patrollers, and is resting now. Leftenant Lockemont...It appears that she's awake again."
"Patch me into her room please."
"Chief...That might not be the best idea right now...She got some bad news a little bit ago."
"Can't be helped. Patch me in."
He hears a sigh. "One moment.." Lady Britania's voice comes weakly over the speaker. "Lockemont."
"Leftenant, I'm sorry to bother you, but I need authorization to access DOGMA's Primary and Secondary Core's to begin repairs." He faintly hears Tania talking with DOGMA for a minute.
"Justus, you don't need to send anyone in. DOGMA's self-repair functions weren't damaged and are already fixing the damage."
Justus frowns. "Leftenant, you know those repair bots are new and experimental. We don't know that they can handle all the repairs. Someone should be in there making sure."
"No, they're handling it."
"But Ma'am..."
She interrupts him. "I said NO! We have had enough prying hands inside DOGMA lately! No one is touching it except me! Access is denied and that is final!!!"
Justus jerks back like someone just slapped him. "Yes.. Yes Ma'am. I..." One of his staff walks in. "What is it?"
"ChEng, the Fire Department is here with the Fire Marshal. They saw the smoke and are wanting in."
Before Justus can ask, Tania responds. "I heard. Tell them we can handle it. We don't need them in here."
"Ma'am, they're pretty insistent." The Staff member replies.
"Then remind the esteemed Fire Marshal that this is technically British Soil, and he can insist all he wants. It won't do him any good. We can handle our own investigation and clean up."
Justus motions to the staffer. "Go tell him." He looks back down towards the speaker. "Leftenant...Are you all right?" The two of them had worked together for years and he had never heard her raise her voice before, or lose her cool.
"I...I am..Lockemont out." The intercomm cuts off.
Watson sighs, and heads into the control room to oversee the continued repairs.
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:40:48 GMT -5
Iron Goliath
Amid the bustle of the aftermath following the attack on the Dawn Patrol's headquarters, Loni quietly made her way to the Main Control Room after Alex had left to go back to his lab with the power core he had removed from Goliath's torso (after several hours of frustrating work to access it). She studied the blast marks on the wall and what remained of the ceiling and shifted around some debris, looking for... well, something she wasn't sure about but she was sure that it would stand out as being something not belonging in the room. Loni overheard one of the clean-up crew chiefs talking on the phone with someone... Jesse, Justin... she couldn't quite remember his name, but he seemed to be trying to make a case to access DOGMA's Primary core area and was clearly unhappy with the answers he was getting. Then another staffer ran up and she overheard him mention the Fire Marshal. Loni knew she didn't have a whole lot of time, even though this was technically considered British soil.
She poked around the room, looking everywhere, sifting through papers and such, but she kept coming back to the scorch marks. There was something odd... if only she could place her finger on it. She stood there for a moment, tapping her nose absently as she struggled to concentrate on whatever it was that seemed out of place to her when she stopped suddenly.
No, she thought, not my finger... my NOSE!
She began sniffing the air. Amid the pervading atmosphere of fire and ozone, she detected a subtle scent, something that she had smelled once or twice before. Loni began moving closer to where the blast mark was, and she was sure that the smell was stronger over here. She got right up to the wall and sniffed at the blackened area. Here, she thought, it is most definitely stronger right here.
Discreetly pulling a glass tube and a small lab scraper from her pocket, Loni managed to get a bit of residue into the bottle, which she stoppered and then returned to her pocket. Looking around the room, she realized that there were far too many people working here for her to access DOGMA, so she left the Main Control Room and, sidestepping her way around the work crews moving up and down the corridors, hurried to a location that she hoped would be empty of people.
Heading past the entryway into the Patrol's HQ, Loni went into the vehicle bay. Crews were at work here also, as throughout the base, but there were not as many of them. Mostly they seemed to be occupied using the open hangar doors to transfer the debris from throughout the base to the outside for disposal. Loni went into the area where the Dawn Patrol kept the Arachnos Flyer that they kept for transport to the Rogue Islands and places like the Rikti War Zone, and climbed the stairs to the launch control room which, as she had hoped, was unoccupied.
"DOGMA, this is Loni King. I need to have something analyzed," she said.
"Security Protocol Alpha Zulu One is in effect," a disembodied voice said. "Please state your Patrol Identification Number for Voice Print Verification."
"Um... Loni King, Dawn Patroller number 2467," she replied.
"Dawn Patroller 2467...King, Loni, codenamed Iron Goliath, verified. How can I assist you?"
"I need this residue analyzed," Loni answered, tapping out the tube's contents into a small port and pressing a button, causing the door to seal. Several seconds later, a chemical analysis results graph appeared on the screen. Loni studied it, frowning, recognizing some of the compounds, but not others. One entry stood out as intriguing because it lacked a name but was instead a series of numbers. "What is this?" she asked, tapping the screen.
"Unknown chemical, but it appears to be closely related to an octoxynol compound," was DOGMA's response.
"What does this particular group of chemicals signify?"
DOGMA said "This grouping of chemicals in these percentages is found in several perfume products, with the exception of the unknown chemical."
That's where I recognized the scent! her mind screamed as she slapped the launch control counter and ran from the room, heading back to the Main Control Room. Going back into Kathryn's office, she began searching around the remains of the desk until she found what she was looking for... the shattered remains of a glass bottle. There was nothing really left of the bottle that was recognizable, but the coloring of the glass was a very distinctive teal, the same color as the bottle of Bonne Odeur that Alex had bought her. Quite expensive at over $200 an ounce. And, she thought grimly, manufactured by Crey Cosmetics...
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:46:19 GMT -5
Lady Britania
One week after the base attack…
Tania looks around her room in the infirmary. She was tired of lying in bed feeling useless. She may not be able to go out and fight right now, but she could at least do SOMETHING. She didn’t even want to think about the possibility that she may never walk again. Tania reaches over and taps the call button on the side of her bed. A moment later, one of the on-duty Nurses enters the room.
“What can I do for you Leftenant?”
“Get me a wheelchair. I have work to do.”
The Nurse frowns.” I’m sorry Leftenant, but the Doctor said…”
“I don’t care what the Doctor said,” Tania replies, “get me a wheelchair. I am not going to lie in this bed day after day doing nothing but feel sorry for myself. Now go get me a wheelchair.”
The Nurse turns towards the door, “I’m sorry Leftenant, but I’m going to have to ask the Doctor…”
“STOP!” The Nurse freezes in place. “You are NOT going to ask the Doctor anything! Despite my current condition, I am not incapable of making my own decisions! Not you, not the Doctors, not ANYONE are going to tell me what I can or can not do! Now, you…Will…Go…Get…Me…A…Wheelchair! And do it now!” Tania shouts.
The Nurse winces and rushes out of the room. Tania watches as she hurries across the Infirmary, grabs a wheelchair, and heads back towards Tania’s room, only to be stopped by one of the base Doctors. The Doctor shakes his head no, says something to the Nurse, and points to where she got the wheelchair from. Tania shouts out as she watches the Nurse goes to return the wheelchair to its starting point.
“Doctor! If she takes that wheelchair to any place other than this room, then you’re going to find your security clearance to this base revoked in the next twenty seconds!” Upon hearing that, the Doctor stops the Nurse, says something to her again, and the two of them start towards Tania’s room with the wheelchair.
Tania waits for the two of them to get in the room and calmly asks them “Would you two please help me into the wheelchair?”
The Doctor clears his throat. “Leftenant Lockemont. I feel it’s my duty to at least tell you this. We can’t know the risks of allowing you to start moving around so soon after an injury such as you received. Moving so soon, you could actually end up doing more damage to your spinal column instead of letting it have the time to heal more. You run the risk of defeating any chance you have of walking again.”
Tania thinks about that for a moment. “I appreciate your concern Doctor, I really do. But you must understand. I have duties, critically important duties to attend to. I can’t stay lying in this bed for the next month or two, when there is important business to attend to. It’s a risk I’m just going to have to take.” She pauses for a moment. “Is there some kind of small brace you can have me wear while in the chair that would help restrict any spinal movement?”
The Doctor rubs his chin. “Yes…Yes we have something that could work to that effect.” He looks at the Nurse. “Go get it.”
As the Nurse runs off to get the brace, Tania looks at the Doctor. “Like I said before, I appreciate the concern Doctor, but remember one thing. I am an adult, and can make my own decisions, whether they are for the better or the worse for my health. If you would have simply come in here from the start and explained that, we could have avoided this unpleasantness. I will heed your advice as best as possible, but please do not get in the way of me doing my duty.”
“I understand Leftenant.” The Doctor replies. The Nurse returns with the brace. They quickly place it around Tania’s midsection and then help her into the wheelchair. The Nurse then wraps a blanket around Tania’s legs. “I will have Nurse Beskins push you wherever you need to go in the base Leftenant.”
Tania nods. “Very well then.” She looks at the nurse. “Hand me my communicator please, and then let’s go to the Control Center.” As the two of them leave the infirmary, Tania activates her communicator. “Security Chief please.”
“Thomas, go ahead Leftenant.” Base Security Chief Daniel Thomas, a fifteen year veteran of the British SAS before he accepted the assignment to run the DPPC base security force, answers.
“Chief, please send two of your best men, in full armor, to meet me in the Control Center.”
“You’re moving around?” Tania can hear the surprise in his voice.
Tania sighs, “Yes, I’m moving around. Please Chief, will you just send me the men?”
“They’re already on the way.”
Tania smiles. “Efficient as ever I see. Thanks Chief. Look, those two men are going to be on post outside the Control Center. Get a rotation schedule worked up. This is going to be an ongoing assignment for a while.”
“Understood Tania. I’ll get it done. Tomas out.”
The Nurse pushes Tania into the large room that held the Command Staff offices; Officer’s meeting area, and Control Center. She was happy to see, that despite all the damage done, that the walls to the Control Center weren’t breached too badly, and that repairs to it were already completed. Across the room, Loni and Alex are supervising the reconstruction of Scarlet’s office. Loni looks over as Tania enters the room. “Tania!” and comes rushing over to her.
Tania smiles as Loni comes up to her and motions for her to come closer. As Loni leans forward, Tania hugs her. “Thank you sweetie.”
Loni hugs her back tightly, and then realizes what she’s doing and abruptly lets go. “Oh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to hug you too tightly!”
Tania smiles. “It’s okay hon. You didn’t do anything wrong. Go on back to what you were doing. I have work to do myself.
The two of them turn back towards the work going on and Alex says “Good to see you up and around Tania.”
“Thanks Alex.” She nods to the Nurse to go to the Control Center. Two of the base security staff meets her at the bottom of the ramp going in to it. “Wait here a moment please Gentleman. I’ll give you your instructions momentarily.” Tania motions for the Nurse to roll her up the ramp. They move up into the Control Center. There are several staff members working in there. Tania looks up at DOGMA’s Core, attached to the ceiling, for a moment, and then says “May I have everyone’s attention please?” She waits until everyone is looking at her. “Until further notice, access to this room is restricted to the Command Staff only. So if everyone would clear the room please…Thank you.”
Outside the Control Center…
Loni and Alex stand staring at the Control Center. “I wonder what’s going on.”
“I don’t know Alex…What the heck is this?”
They watch as all the staff members come out of the Control Center. They watch Tania wheel up to the door, and motion for the Nurse to leave too and hear Tania say “I’ll send for you when I’m ready to go back to the Infirmary.”
“Yes Leftenant.” The Nurse hurries off.
Tania looks over the large room, and her eyes seem to linger on Alex and Loni for a second, then turns to the Security members. “Gentleman. Until further notice, only myself, Captain Denthar, or Field Commander Beringer are allowed access to the Control Center. If anyone else wants to enter, you will turn them away. If anyone tries to enter after you’ve warned them away, you will restrain them and place them in a Detention Cell. Is that understood?”
“Yes Ma’am!”
The last thing Loni and Alex hear Tania say is “DOGMA, seal the doors.” The Security door to the Control Center slams shut and they hear it lock.
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:47:29 GMT -5
Drive Train
Dr. Bertram Hickey was not a well-liked man. His sharp, weasel-like features constantly showed pinched irritation, and his stooped posture made his short, pudgy frame seem even more small and insignificant. His voice was a nasal, annoying whine, even when trying to issue orders, a fact that earned him the unflattering nickname Doctor Whiny from the men and women stationed at the base. His constantly disheveled hair and unwashed shirts showed his lack of respect for personal hygiene, and few of the soldiers, if any, enjoyed spending any time around the man. However, due to the responsibilities placed on him by Commander Epps, he was given a grudging respect by those very same soldiers. After all, if Ma'am trusted him, shouldn't they as well?
The Doctor sipped on his half-caf caramel macchiato and stared at the test readout. Failure. Again. One week. One full week had passed, and he was no closer to replicating the insanely advanced technology in those mechanical limbs. He was an expert in modern cybernetics and biomechanics, not to mention a Ph.D. in genetics and a full-fledged medical doctor, but even he couldn't figure out how those blasted Praetorians did it. This subject was powered by something he patently did not understand. How was he supposed to replicate technology if he didn't even know how to replicate the power source? His pinched expression pinched even further. His concentration was broken by one of the soldiers manning the surveillance equipment in the control center he sat in: "Uh, Doc? Is that normal?"
In sheer exasperation at the stupidity of the question, the Doctor threw his readout papers down on the wooden desk he sat behind and stood up abruptly, knocking his armless rolling chair back into the armored wall behind him. "Of course its normal, you buffoon! Who could possibly figure out something this advanced in such a short amount of time? It's impossible, I tell you. IMPOSSIBLE!" He spat the last word out with a spray of invective spittle.
The second of the three soldiers manning stations here barely failed to stifle a snort of laughter. The Doctor's head whipped in that direction, and he inhaled to give the fool what for, but was interrupted by the first soldier. "No, Doc. I mean, is THAT normal?" With the statement, he jabbed a finger at one of the screens he was monitoring. The subject was still suspended in its biostatic tube, apparently unconscious or sleeping.
The Doctor moved over to the station and the soldier stood up out of his way. The Doctor took his seat. Something was clearly happening, but what? A faint red glow had begun to permeate the picture. He turned to the soldier. "Is the color balance on this monitor correct?"
The soldier nodded, "Calibrated it myself two days ago, Doc. Checked that first thing. It's spot on."
The Doctor harrumphed and turned back to the display. A bubble appeared near the subject. Soon, another followed. Then another, then many more. Soon, a froth of bubbles was permeating the nutrient liquid. The Doctor's eyes widened. Red sparks began to dance along the exposed metal endcaps of the tube. Two wires carrying diagnostic lines back to this very room became an impromptu Jacob's Ladder as a fat red arc of electricity coursed between them, then up and away towards the ceiling. Large arcs of crimson lightning were soon shooting out of the metal caps into the floor below and the ceiling above. Panicking, the Doctor whipped his head to the medical diagnostic displays. Heart rate climbing. Blood pressure climbing. Breathing rate climbing. He turned to stammer at the soldier, but his attention was grabbed by the display again as a cracking sound, followed by a loud bang, filled the room. The tube was shattered, and the subject was rising to its feet amidst a huge puddle of nutrient liquid, trickling blood from numerous lacerations. She screamed something incoherent over the still-crackling sound pickups, and hurled a huge ball of electricity at the camera. The display went immediately to static. The Doctor at least had the presence of mind to slap the general alarm button. He then turned to the soldier with a panicked expression and yelled, "Seal the room! If she makes it here, we're all dead!"
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The body of the last, unconscious Vanguard soldier slid to the floor. Sheena, still bleeding, even more now from the various cuts and wounds she had received in battle, and still naked, took a moment to look around the hallway. Aside from the dozens of inert forms in the hallway and her own self, there was a row of lockers and several other doors, out of which the veritable army of Vanguard soldiers had appeared. Sheena walked to the lockers and opened the first one, which contained nothing more than a red women's one piece bathing suit. She growled, but put the suit on quickly. That's when the intercom crackled to life. "Attention. Attention, subject Drive Train. You are ordered to return to the lab and surrender, or you will be met with lethal force. You have 30 seconds to comply."
Sheena snorted in laughter, then grunted in pain from the wound in her abdomen. "Thanks fer the warning, ya stupid bullet-happy goldies. No thanks. I figger I'm gonna stomp a mudhole in all o' ya until ya tell me where the hell I am and what the hell's goin' on here. You got, oh yeah, no time ta comply. Jerks." With this statement, Sheena closed her eyes and concentrated all her attention on the nearby speaker system. She wasn't very good at it, but her old master had taught her some tricks on how to feel the electrical fields around her. If she could trace that signal back to its source, maybe she'd get some answers. The inevitable short reply came: "Very well. Prepare yourself."
Sheena's eyes opened abruptly and she was off like a shot, a trail of crimson lightning following her and leaving the stench of ozone in her wake. She'd done it! She found the source of the transmission. There it was! Up ahead of her, an armored bulkhead door stood across the entrance to a room marked "Laboratory Control Room". Jackpot.
*************************************
Inside the now sealed control room, Doctor Hickey was huddled behind his desk, sitting on the floor. The three soldiers in here with him had taken up their pistols and stood, unsure what to do, facing the armored doorway. Suddenly, a resounding boom echoed through the room. The armored doorway buckled ever so slightly inwards. "Doc! The subject's trying to break through!" The Doctor whimpered and hunkered down further.
BOOM. The door buckled in further.
"Enviro-seal breached! Maglock breached! Doc, orders, sir?"
BOOM. The door buckled yet again, this time letting the smell of ozone in from the hallway.
Doctor Hickey, cowering behind his desk, could only think, "Sir! Haha! They called me sir! They DO respect me! I knew it!"
The soldiers continued to yell. "Sir, what are your orders?! SIR?!"
BOOM. The armored door flew inwards off the frame, catching one of the three soldiers across the chest. He, the door, and his gun clattered to the floor after bouncing off a surveillance console. The other two soldiers opened fire, but the subject was just too fast. She had broken one's arm and leg and had the other sticking face-first out of a display console before they could so much as blink. The Doctor's only protection, his large wooden desk, was unceremoniously tossed aside. The subject looked down at him, surrounded by a palpable red nimbus of power. "So, sunshine, where the hell am I, and what the hell is goin' on?"
Dr. Bertram Hickey, M.D., Ph.D., curled up into a little ball and wet himself.
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:48:07 GMT -5
Lily Blue
Lily walked down the corridor, deftly maneouvering around the workcrew repairing a security junction. Her teammates, friends, and family had been dealt a seroius blow and now they quickly tried to repair the damage. The Dawn Patrol was hurting. The simultaneous strikes against the members and base had decimated them. Key members were either out of action, in shock, or just gone. A full roster check was still in progress but it wasn't looking good. Lily stopped in front of door in the infirmary and took a deep breathe, centering herself for what's to come. She triggered the door control and hesistantly stepped in. A figure sat unmoving in a chair staring blankly at the wall. It's hair was matted. It's eyes, normally a bright grey-blue, looked dull and lifeless. Lily placed a glass of water in it's hand and curled it's fingers around it. "Drink this." she commanded the figure. The hand slowly raised the glass to it's mouth and efficiently drank the liquid. She placed a sandwich beside the hand. "Eat this." she again commanded the figure. The hand grabbed the sandwich and again, with no wasted motions, eat the offered meal. It's eyes never moving from the spot on the wall. She lightly kissed the figure's forehead ans left the room, triggering the door closed behind her. Lily's head dropped as tears welled in her eyes. Nothing she said or did seemed to reach the figure. It followed her commands to do the basics of life but never responded back. Every attempt at diving into its mind had brought her to a grey nothingness that she had never encountered before. She didn't know what to do. The figure's remaining family had also been unsucessful at reached it. It's sister wasn't really the best person to help, she wasn't exactly the most pleasant of people. Maybe, she could get it's best friend to help. The best friend had a way of surprising Lily with her solutions.
"C'mon, Dave...snap out of it. We need you...Jayson needs you."
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Post by Lady Britannia on Apr 25, 2019 18:49:00 GMT -5
Drive Train
The door to the formerly locked storage compartment slammed loudly. Sheena placed her recovered visor to her face, adjusting the molecular adhesive that stuck the device to her temples. That useless, pants-wetting doctor had known nothing important at all, just what Sheena already knew: they were trying to make a copy of her, and had failed. He didn't know what purpose the clone was supposed to serve, nor even where it was to be sent. Useless bastard. Sheena viciously kicked the bottom edge of the door with one metal foot.
The clanging noise that resulted, though, repeated itself. Sheena stared at the door, and another clang came. Then another. She realized the door wasn't actually the source of the noise at all. Warily, she stepped out of the alcove the door was hidden in, to see a huge grey and purple robot lumbering down the wide passageway. "Damn," she thought, "they brought an HVAS in to take me? I'm kinda impressed."
Sheena flattened herself along the alcove wall nearest to where the large robot was approaching from. She held her breath and suppressed her powers. She knew she only had one real chance at this thing - if it saw her too soon, it was surely game over. The lumbering construct stomped past, and Sheena let out a mental sigh of relief. She turned to leave, but was interrupted by another sound - a human voice, a gruff low female one that she hadn't heard since she was still stuck in the tube. "Come out, Drive Train. I know you're in that alcove. Your temper tantrum gave you away. You really should learn to control yourself."
Swearing under her breath, Sheena stepped out of the alcove, reactivating her powers as she did so. The huge HVAS robot turned to face her, leveling its massive weapon arms. Sheena, though, was more interested in the lone human-sized figure in Vanguard armor, armed with a pair of Vanguard energy blades. The armored figure continued, "I suppose you know by now we were trying to replace you, but were having a bit of trouble copying those prosthetics of yours. No matter." She brandished one of the blades. "I suppose since we can't replicate them, we'll have to use the originals. The best way to get them will simply be to cut them off your body. Come now, I haven't got all day."
With this, the armored figure adopted a fighting stance. Sheena simply asked, "You sure you wanna do this, goldie? I already stomped mudholes in all yer boys, you ain't that much tougher."
The armored figure didn't move, but did respond. "My name is Commander Pauline Epps, and I think you'll find I'm a bit more of a challenge than my men."
"Whatever you say, goldilocks. Your funeral." With this statement, Sheena concentrated for but a moment, powering up both her kinetic converters to maximum. If that HVAS were to strike while she was occupied with this Commander Epps, there was no way she was coming out in one piece. She subvocalized a query: "Canister, can you teleport me outta here?"
A pleasant gender neutral voice responded, "Negative. Teleport functions have been locally suppressed by unknown forces. Exiting the facility is the only way to re-establish teleport functionality."
"Okay, then, can ya find me an exit?"
A confirmation tone sounded, and a bright line was overlaid on her visor's HUD. "Nice work, Canister. Prepare for immediate teleport once we're clear." Sheena smiled. Commander Epps spoke again: "Something amusing about this situation, Drive Train? I'd think you might want to surrender peacefully. At least that way we can avoid any additional bodily harm to you."
"You mean besides rippin' off my arms n' legs? Yeah, no thanks, goldie. I'll take my chances."
"Very well, you leave me little choice. HVAS, suppress and lockdown subject."
The HVAS' weapons thundered to life, spraying hot plasma and grenades around the corridor, but Sheena was prepared. She sprinted straight for the giant robot and slid between its spread legs, popping up behind it, covered by the flashes and explosions created by the machine itself. Redirecting the outflow of her converters, she leapt into the air and rammed both hands, bladelike, into the robot's back. The robot flailed wildly, trying to reach her, but the arms simply didn't bend the right way. Sheena concentrated as she was being swung about, and let loose two huge blasts of Mu electricity into the guts of the HVAS, frying circuitry and servos alike. The giant 'bot crashed to the ground face-first, permanently disabled. Sheena extricated her arms from the machine and looked down the hallway at Commander Epps. "Your turn, goldilocks."
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