10/28 - Lab Heist

[Brad]

[21:29] <Horde>On the outskirts of Salem, away from the city proper, lies a small laboratory complex. A small, well-fortified laboratory complex, high barbed wire fencing protects the outer perimiter, and the main laboratory building is patrolled by armed guards. Clearly, META has some involvement in the operation and maintenance of the facility, though it's a private contractor, given some of the insignias visible on security personnel. It's not a large compound, but something important enough is happening here for it to be kept under heavy lock and key. Some distance away, a large, white van pulls to a halt on the road. They may be being observed, but the driver doesn't care. The door opens, and the van visibly shudders as his bulk leaves the front seat. He stands almost seven feet tall, wearing a mask over his face, only his eyes visible. On his massive wrists are studded bracers, and he wears a black tank that shows an almost grotesquely muscled physique. His pants are camo-print, and he wears heavy, steel-toed combat boots to finish the ensemble. He moves to the back of the van, unlocking the twin back doors so he can let out his "cargo". He moves like a tank, and he's already juiced up pretty well, having drained the strength and endurance of at least ten different people prior to beginning this little sortie. Horde is on the scene, and the dogs of war are about to be loosed.

[21:32] <Horde>He throws open the doors of the van, and his 'cargo' is free to step out. Rick Calabro, Eden Abendroth, Chloe Cane, Gabriel, and Maksim Brecht. Some of them missing and unaccounted for from the Cobalt campus, one of whom had to slip out unnoticed due to his current restriction. He lets them file out, and glances at the lights off in the distance, eyes narrowed, before reaching for a small pouch at his belt. From it, he takes a ziploc bag, and hands each of the assembled thralls a single capsule. They'd follow his orders while he was around, thanks to the good Doctor's influence. "Take your medicine, kids. Doctor's orders." He narrows his eyes again, uncomfortable with this part of the operation.

[21:36] <Suzthulhu> Chloe leaves the van, all smiles this evening, and she's even dolled up for the occasion. Wearing a pair of knee-high black Docs, a pair of purple tights with black polka-dots, a short, black, pleated skirt, and a v-neck black cropped sweater, she looks smashing, with her hair pulled up and her makeup done just so. She holds her hand out and accepts the capsule from the giant man, popping
[21:36] <Suzthulhu> it into her mouth without a second thought or moment's hesitation.

[21:39] <Horde> Rick, seemingly entranced again, steps out of the van as well, and accepts his pill. He pops it into his mouth without hesitation and swallows, remaining silent, a dead look on his face. Gabriel follows after, and follows suit, since vile isn't here yet.

[21:39] <@AnE> Heavy footfalls against the ground as Eden hopped out of the van, no doubt causing it to bounce and rock as its weight settled and returned to normal. Fingers combed through chrome silver hair to brush it out of her face before falling to her side, fingers flexing idly. She looked over toward Horde and reached out to take the capsule, throwing her head back and swallowing it without a
[21:39] <@AnE> word.

[21:49] <Horde> As the kids take their 'prescriptions', Horde moves into the back of the van to get his own bitter pill. There's a locked case behind the front cab, and he opens it. From it, he takes a sledgehammer, but it clearly isn't just a normal wedge of metal on a stick. Covenant had someone make this for him, a vicious looking metal alloy implement, with some kind of technological enhancements. A normal man wouldn't even be able to lift the thing, but Horde pulls it out of the van and hoists it up over his shoulder with seeming ease as he surveys his crew for the evening. A good mix, they shouldn't have any trouble. In and out. Of course, they'd know what fucking hit them, he's never been one for subtlety.

[22:00] <Horde> He swings the massive weapon in the air once, experimentally, then looks back in the direction of the compound, some distance away. Of course they're under observation, and of course there's already a security team on the way to deal with intruders, especially as one of them just pulled a sledgehammer that doesn't look like it's street legal out of the back of the van. He narrows his eyes as he watches the compound, seeing spotlights already in motion. "Okay kids, it's go time." He says, his voice like sandpaper as usual, and starts trudging in the direction of the laboratory. This isn't going to be a stealthy infiltration, this is an outright siege.

[22:00] <Suzthulhu> Chloe bounces on her toes, hands clasped behind her back while she waits for the big dude to get ready. Her eyes go wide at the sight of The Hammer, and her mouth makes a round O shape. "Wow, that thing is huge." Once he starts forward though, she goes right along with him, a few loose curls bouncing with each step.

[22:02] <Horde> Rick and Gabe follow closely behind, remaining silent. Chloe might be chatty, but others have had the whammy put on them hard enough to be little more than tools for Horde to direct and use during this excursion.

[22:03] <Ahriman> Maksim wasn't particularly talkative. He'd done odd jobs before, seen tools like that. Sure, this one was a little larger than he remembered ever seeing, it didn't strike him as something amazing. He stood holding his demon-faced pendant, tugging lightly at the chain that held it around his neck.

[22:03] <@AnE> Eden mostly stared down at the ground until Horde spoke, at which point her head snapped upward and her eyes narrowed slightly in concentration. A quick bob of her head and she'd begin to follow, practically stalking along -- sort of a feat to move quietly when you managed to snap every twig within a ten mile radius just by existing.

[22:05] <Suzthulhu> Of course, inside Chloe's head is virtual armageddon. There's so much screaming, a cacophony of voices, all vying for attention, just to get through, that it's a wonder she's not on the ground screaming too. She can't, or won't hear them though, following along behind Horde quite merrily, even whistling a little tune to herself. So... helpful.

[22:07] <Horde> The lab goes on alert, knowing the group is approaching. Two men wielding automatic rifles rush out to meet the troupe, hoisting the weapons. "Halt!" The senior of the two officers calls out, leveling the gun against the big man at the fore of the group. Horde looks over to Chloe, and gestures to the two of them. "Take care of them." He says, in that gruff voice of his, then takes a step back.

[22:10] <Suzthulhu> He didn't have to tell her twice. Her eyes flash fully black, then white, pupils fading to nothing. A sort of odd hush falls over everything, eerily quiet, not even a breeze stirring. It's a heavy, pregnant pause, and something rises from within her, all happening in the blink of an eye. There comes a low pulse, a bass sound too low to hear, but forceful enough to be felt, and arcs out
[22:10] <Suzthulhu> from her, unleashed in a terrible wave of horror. She's grinning like a fiend all the while, and even laughing. It's awful to witness, and even worse to be victim to.

[22:15] <Horde> The two security officers freeze, eyes going wide as the wave of fear hits them both. One starts slapping at his own body, trying to dislodge the swarm of phantom spiders that are crawling over his entire body, the other simply starts shaking, pants going warm as he urinates himself. In an act of what might be called mercy in another context, Horde rushes forward once the wave of fear has passed, first grabbing one of them by the face, and then the other, draining them and adding their strength and resiliency to his own. Within moments, they both fall to the ground, unconscious, likely for several hours. Horde flexes one arm and takes a sharp intake of breath, the rush of absorbing someone's strength always being something to relish for him. First obstacle dealt with, he hoists the sledge back over his shoulder and continues trudging forward. "We got work to do." He says to the group assembled behind him.

[22:17] <Ahriman> Maksim stood just behind where Horde had been before the fear wave, watching with muted curiosity. He's observant, and the lights are on, but it's like someone put a thick shade over the lamps. With the 'encouragement', he resumes the march forward, finally burying either hand in the pockets of his light jacket.

[22:18] <Suzthulhu> The first deed done, Chloe's eyes resume their normal odd hazel hue, and still giggling, she moves forward again. "That... was awesome!" Hooooboy.

[22:19] <@AnE> A glance was spared to both downed men, Eden tilting her head to one side before trotting along after Horde in silence. She hadn't dressed for the weather and had virtually no protection, but it seemed that the very large man that was leading the group had that taken care of.

[22:24] <Horde> A trio of guards rushes to stop them this time, safeties off their weaponry, and Horde nods to Eden. "Get us an opening." The three men are wearing padded body armor, META insignias on the shoulders. One of them is carrying something that looks like a grenade launcher, likely loaded with tear gas. The other two, armored similarly, are carrying automatic weapons, and are likely considerably less nonlethal. They level their weapons at the group, the leader with the grenade launcher aiming and preparing to fire.

[22:35] <@AnE> Eden looked from Horde to the men, eyes narrowing sharply. They would soon feel the ground move beneath them -- rather, be lifted from it as they were hoisted into the air, almost violently at first before they would begin to float, probably towards the ceiling, enveloped in a 'bubble' of zero-g. After that? Well, it was a simple matter of adding pressure and dropping them to the ground
[22:35] <@AnE> like a bag full of bricks. The shift was so sudden and violent that their weighted descent was likely to break, if not shatter bones.

[22:42] <Horde> They were prepared for attack, you don't have a facility like this without thinking ahead, but they have no idea what kinds of mutations they're dealing with. The three men are lifted into the air, the leader managing to launch a gas grenade as they go. Unfortunately for them, that grenade is simply caught in the same gravity bubble and travels upward along with them, before they're roughly thrown back to the ground. There's a telltale snapping as at least one of the trio's legs break on impact, and the grenade goes off, the cloud of noxious gas affecting the three of them far more than it would the group trudging towards the facility, getting ever closer. Horde again moves forward, grabbing the most conscious of the three, draining him, and then tossing him to the side. He gestures with a wave for the group to continue moving forward, and they reach the gate. This, Horde will take care of on his own. He hoists the slegde, the strange looking piece of tech, in both hands, and then raises it over his head, bringing it crashing down on the fortified security gate. The metal of the gate simply crumples and shatters from the force of the blow, a shockwave actually blasting it towards the compound itself, and clearing a path for them to continue onward.

[22:47] <Suzthulhu> Again, Chloe is all =O face, and even claps her hands together, bouncing on her toes again. She was having a blast! And so was whatever that THING is inside her that she and Tobias had worked so hard to repair... it's hell in her head right now, but Chloe is orgasmically ignorant and follows along like a good minion. | Gina meanwhile, barely hears the tonr on her phone in the pause of the
[22:47] <Suzthulhu> music in her car. Snatching it out of the cupholder, she flips it open, glances down, and swears. "Awesome. Hope you brought your toys with you, Fergalicious. Can you drive a stick?"

[22:51] <Horde> "You three." Horde points at Rick, Gabriel and Maksim. "Deal with the guards." The guards, of course, being the some dozen strong group of armed men rushing from their posts to try and stop the group from progressing any further. Horde looks back at Chloe and Eden. "Cover them." Then he looks towards the main building of the lab, eyes narrowed again, hefting the tech-enhanced sledge. "I've got work to do." He starts moving forward, and bats an unfortunate security guard out of his way with a vicious backhand, sending him flying through the air to crumple on the tarmac. The rest of the guards advance on the group of thralls, weapons at the ready, at least fifteen of them, and they clearly mean business.

[22:52] * Isaiah growls as he heads away from Sullies at a good bit above the legal speed limit. He'd taken the two minutes to get changed into the rest of his team gear, and is now headed towards the META facility on the other side of the city

[22:52] <@AnE> Fingers flexed as Eden watched the men go up -- then down. She didn't even wince as she heard the obvious snapping of broken legs, instead scurrying on after Horde, pausing several feet behind him as he bashed the shit out of the security gate and sent it hurtling ahead. There was little visible reaction from the silver-haired girl at this point. She mostly just trotted along as though in
[22:52] <@AnE> a trance. Sort of. Of course, the order to 'cover them' had her turning back toward her current 'companions', bobbing her head in a slow nod as tiny sparks of light began to flicker to life in her palms.

[22:53] <Suzthulhu> "Stay behind me if you ever want to sleep again." Her voice came out in a chillingly calm manner as she stepped in front of the others, waiting for the men rushing toward them to just... get... close enough.. and then Pulse.

[22:55] <vile> Gabriel responds like a good boy. Gus is yanked free, his wings jerk open in a spread and he gets to work. The mace is ripped up into the air and he charges a grouping of those guards. The weapon is brought down, swung at the first of his intended targets. Whether Gus impacts or not, one of his wings flips upward, held in front of his body to act as a shield.

[22:58] <Ahriman> As soon as Horde's command registers, Maks doubles over, expelling a measure of gore into a puddle at his feet. It's a quick and, from the look on his face, painful upheaval, but soon enough the reason is clear. From that pool of blood and stomach acid a creature is born, a terrible, hulking beast. It looked like Horde, if he were a little taller, a little wider, had once mated with a Ken
[22:58] <Ahriman> doll, and then suffered MASSIVE burn damage. The creature wasn't singed, but it didn't have what could really be described as 'skin', muscle and sinew clearly visible beneath partially grow tissue. Since it was the start of the night, Maksim opted to at least maintain some control over this one; the golem with a toddler's intelligence turned to look at Maks, who had fallen to his knees,
[22:58] <Ahriman> finding himself suddenly dizy. The man with the unnaturally red hair looked up to the golem, then over to the guards. "Play with them," he pointed. With a deep rumbling of a murmur, the golem turned to the guards, and what could best be described as the most terrify grin ever, began a quick-walk toward them.

[23:01] * Isaiah raced around the outskirts of the city, dodging and weaving through traffic. "Circuit to X-team, Circuit to X-team, Radio Check." knowing that the bone mic around his throat would pick up better than any other mic could, and without any of the background noise to clutter up the sound. He was still a good five minutes from the facility... and a hell of a lot could happen in five
[23:01] * Isaiah minutes time.

[23:02] <Ahriman> "Deadeye checking in," Fergus called over the comm. "I'm with Doppleganger. We're en route." He peeked over to Gina and cocked an eyebrow. "Think we can beat him there?"

[23:06] <Horde> Three of the guards halt in their tracks, overcome by the wave of fear being emanated from Chloe. One drops to his knees, sobbing to himself, another babbles something about cobras, and the third just freezes in place, god only knows what he's experiencing. Rick and Gabe go after the others, Rick using his field as a shield to cover Gabe as the guards open fire, the low caliber bullets pinging off the gravity field as Gabe slams his mace down onto one of the poor saps. Another group of four guards begin opening small arms fire on the advancing Golem. With the security force sufficiently distracted, Horde begins to do his dirty work. He brings the sledge onto the wall of the main lab with a vicious blow, cracks appearing in the heavily reinforced surface. He swings again, and then again, making to blast a hole through the wall and into the lab through the force of his blows.

[23:08] <Suzthulhu> "You don't know who you're talking to." Gina grins wolfishly at Fergus, downshifts, and floors it. Go baby, go! They'd get there just a couple minutes later, skidding to a half-donut halt. She wastes no time, clambering into the backseat to do what must be the world's fastest change of clothes, shedding her sweatshirt and jeans, limbs flailing as she pulls on her skin-tight, underarmor
[23:08] <Suzthulhu> style catsuit over her boots. Grabbing her vest and belt, she piles out of the car and slams the door, donning the vest first, then the belt. "Doppleganger, on the scene. No time for recon... get in here."

[23:12] * Isaiah slides his truck to a halt on the gravel as Gina piles out of her vehicle "Circuit on Scene." He says calmly as he climbs out of his truck, his own belt already on. He carries his steel riot baton in his right hand, both hands wearing his special gloves. Nodding to Gina and to Fergus he looks towards the mess that lays before them at the facility... the gate apparently blasted off
[23:12] * Isaiah its hinges, the two guards posted there laying in a heap, otherwise looking unharmed.... "What the hell is goin on here??"

[23:14] <Ahriman> <Fergus> Fergus climbed out, slipping his pack onto his back and sinching it snug. He peeked back through a window every so often as Gina changed, but was unfortunately more focused on keeping the car covered. "Goggles and breather; I've got pepper," he nodded to Gina once she was changed. He resisted the urge to whistle, so they could maybe do a little sneaking up on whatever was fucking
[23:14] <Ahriman> up the lab's kool-aid. | <Maksim> The bullets sank into the golem as intended, and it certainly oozed.. something..from the wounds, but it was debatable if it was blood. It continued forward, now much more apt to 'play' a great deal more roughly with the guards. It reached for the first two that were in range, aiming to grab either by the face.

[23:17] <Suzthulhu> "Not sure yet. Whatever it is, it's noisy and big." Glancing between herself, Fergus, and Isaiah, she lofts a brow, digging into her vest to fish out her mask and goggles. Pulling them on, she starts toward the mess. "Are we it? Where the hell is everyone?" | Chloe, meanwhile, was having the time of her life. One of the guards managed to get just a little too close in between her waves
[23:17] <Suzthulhu> of fear. It would prove to be the worst possible mistake. As soon as he was within reach, she touched him, and pulled relishing the rush this time as his fears flooded into her mind. The guard, however, would full on hallucinate whatever it was she was getting from him, incapacitating him in much the same manner that her wave did from a distance.

[23:19] <vile> No time is wasted! The mace is brought back up and swung at the next guard without hesitation. The fact people are shooting at him doesn't seem to affect the guy. He continues to go GABE SMASH for the time being, moving on to the next guard once one goes down.
[23:19] <@AnE> Eden narrowed one eye, looking past the fighting and cowering guards with a rather suspicious expression on her face -- the most emotion she's showed all night, though that was only because-- "Something's up." Gut feeling? Or maybe because someone shut a car door somewhere off in the distance! She wasn't a psychic, but it was easy to pay more attention to what was going on outside when
[23:19] <@AnE> you weren't the one pounding face in or sitting on someone to break their spine.

[23:21] <Isaiah> "Looks like we're it... Nobody else is responding on the team channel. Whatever's going on in there... well, We're gonna have to handle it."

[23:23] <Horde> The guard Chloe touches shrieks an almost inhuman cry, before crumpling to the ground in the fetal position, likely damaged for life now. The golem manages to grab two of the guards by their faces, the men's screams muffled by its massive hands as their two companions begin backing away, still firing at the beast. Gabe's mace finds its way home in a second guard, slamming him in the stomach in a crushing blow, sending him doubling over and dropping his weapon. Rick operates like a machine, alternating between leaping forward to strike at a guard, and fanning his repulsion field out to provide additional cover to himself and Gabe. Horde continues slamming away at the wall of the building, the cracks becoming a hole, the hole becoming wider and more pronounced with each strike. It's obvious this is a very well fortified building, and it's equally obvious that Horde is capable of cracking it open like an egg, given enough time.

[23:27] <Ahriman> <Fergus> "Fan.." a vein on one side of his head throbbed into prominence, "fucking," his right eye faded red, "tastic." he sighed, moving to stand near Gina and Isaiah. "Well.. shall we?" He took a medicine bottle from one of his pants pockets, doling out a single, large pill, popping it before returning the bottle. A preemptive Ibuprofen before he went about screwing himself
[23:27] <Ahriman> up.| <Maksim>The golem reached back with its left arm, then flung it forward, tossing one of the captured guards at his friends. The other he held onto, the man's face sure twisting with terror and suffering as the summoned horror squeezed. This man was used as a weapon, swung by his head with his feet flailing at other guards.

[23:29] <Suzthulhu> Chloe meets the guard's inhuman cry with a mocking imitation of it, punctuated by a cackle. She lets him crumple to the ground, but looks up as Eden speaks. "What? What's going on?" She hadn't heard the door shut, being far too wrapped up in her own horrifying glee, but now she moves over toward Eden, head canted to the side. | Gina, on the other hand, scowls, and then nods at
[23:29] <Suzthulhu> Fergus. "We shall. I don't think we have time for a subtle entrance. Let's go before they realize we're here. Maybe we can take some of them by surprise." And with that, she's a blur of motion, warping ahead of the other two, both for what recon she can do, and to get the jump on the... well, whatever it is.

[23:31] <vile> Two guards down, Gabe swings his mighty weapon for a third with complete disregard for the man's life or his own. "Thanks." he grunts out, the comment aimed for Rick. On he goes, having no idea that trouble is coming his way.

[23:32] <@AnE> "I heard something." Eden spoke quietly to Chloe, her voice almost entirely devoid of emotion. Horde should know. She immediately turned and looked in the extremely large man's direction, calling out again as he worked on breaking his way into the building, "I heard something!" But she didn't know what. It could have been anything -- local wildlife, police, a fluke, a storm starting.

[23:32] * Isaiah nods and starts chasing after Gina at a dead run. He was fast. Like, 6 minute mile fast, but he wasnt going to go charging past Gina, instead as he caught up, he would fall in beside her, his baton tucked under his arm, noting the three badly injured guards as he and Gina and Fergus ran past them. "Fuck" was all he said as he concentrated on the task at hand

[23:37] <Horde> The third guard puts up more of a fight against Gabe, having seen two of his compatriots go down to the bird man already. His rifle comes up to block the incoming blow, and he launches his foot towards Gabe's chest with vicious force. The guard flung by the golem at the two remaining guards lands at one of them, knocking them both to the ground and sending one rifle skittering across the tarmac. The other leaps out of the way, only to be caught full force by the other guard being wielded like a morningstar, knocking him off his feet to land with a crunch on the hard surface of exterior access roads of the compound. Rick grabs one of the remaining guards and abruptly shifts his gravity, falling onto him, and sending him falling with him, into another of the remaining security officers. As the two impact, he leaps away, towards Gabe to help him with his own engagement. Horde slams the sledge into the wall a final time with devastating force, the air actually rippling slightly from the impact. The wall crumbles before him, leaving a ten foot tall, eight foot wide hole to step through and into the laboratory.

[23:42] <vile> The guard's foot connects with Gabe just like intended. It knocks him back a couple of inches but otherwise seems to have no effect. A wicked smile crosses his face, a quiet chuckle escapes him. Amused by the guard's efforts to fight back despite the apparant futility. The mace is left down and one of his wings snaps out suddenly. The thing is aimed to cut across the guard's midsection,
[23:42] <vile> attacking with the knives attached to his flight feathers.

[23:43] <Ahriman> <Fergus>He chased after Isaiah and Gina, scanned as he approached, adding it all to his awareness. "They're.. we know them?!" he asked, forgetting to use the comm, when he noticed first Rick and Gabe, then Chloe, then Eden. Maksim and Horde he'd never met. "What the hell is going on?!" | <Maksim>Even if the guards were down, the golem was still in 'play' mode. It scurried
[23:43] <Ahriman> toward the previously thrown guard, and once closer, the massive abomination jumped, still clutching the weaponized guard.

[23:44] <Suzthulhu> <Gina> "Holy shit, did you guys hear that?" She's talking, of course, about the hellacious noise being made by the pounding of walls, not so much all the racket of the fighting going on. She keeps going, making it to the smashed security gate before she stops to wait for the other two to catch up. Ducking down behind the ruined gates, she peeks in to see what she can see. "Fuck me
[23:44] <Suzthulhu> gently with a chainsaw. I think... I think I know where everyone else is." She nods to Fergus. "Yeah, we do. We have to be careful." | <Chloe> "I didn't hear anything." Nonetheless though, she steps further back the way they came, since the rest of the situation seems well in hand. As soon as she starts back, she can see the team approaching. "Ooh... we've got company."

[23:49] * Isaiah cursed under his breath, realizing now why certain people werent responding to the team call, or to his text messages earlier... "What the holy fuck is going on??" He ducked behind the gatehouse as he spotted Chloe moving in their direction..."We've been spotted. Shit shit shit"

[23:58] <Horde> The guard, clearly well trained, makes an effort to dodge Gabe's attack, but blades rake across his armored chest. He starts to level his weapon to retaliate and knock the mace away, but then he's suddenly impacted by Rick's body as the boy shoulder checks into him with his field out, knocking him several yards away, and breaking his arm. The guards dealt with, Rick turns, almost robotically, towards the new arrivals, no glimmer of recognition in his eyes. The golem lands on the guard, and with the other guard in hand, reduces one of them to a heap of broken bone and the other to an unconscious mess. They're alive, but just barely. Horde has entered the laboratory proper, and quickly grabs two onrushing guards, draining them, before moving forward towards his objective. It's a chemical lab, and they've been cooking something up. He knows it's here, and he's not leaving without it.

00:00] <Ahriman> <Fergus>Chloe, someone else he'd been flirting with, had spotted them. Fantastic. And then there was Eden, standing nearby. As with the others, he ducked behind the gatehouse. "What the hell do we do? Is this really because of them?" He peeked around the shack again to freshen his awareness. "There are two unknown men and some kind of..monster," he assessed. He looked to the
[00:00] <Ahriman> other two, hoping one of them would make the decision he didn't want to.| <Maksim> The guards may be alive at the moment, but the golem has far from finished playtime. Now, like a toddler trying to fit a triangle beg into a square hole, he begins to bash one guard against the other, even producing a rumble akin to a gleeful squee.

[00:02] <Suzthulhu> <Gina> "I don't think they know what they're doing. Deadeye... Circuit... non-lethal, from a distance. Once you start, I'll head in to... do what's needed with the others. Deadeye take, whatever her name is, the closest. Circuit, take Eden."<Chloe> "Oh look! Friends!" SHe does recognize them, but she clearly doesn't care. Instead, she grins that gleeful, awful, maniacal rictus again
[00:02] <Suzthulhu> and starts toward them, fearless. Irony. Her eyes do the color swap thing again, turning black, then white.

[00:04] * Isaiah would glance around the edge of the gatehouse, concentrating on Eden and gathering up a nice incapacitating holt of electricity from the surrounding air and even the ground she's standing on... If it hits her, she should get a nice dose of 'Dont taze me bro!' coming straight up through her feet. Hopefully, it will put her down and out of the fight... god he doesnt want to hurt his
[00:04] * Isaiah friends... "I'm sorry..." he whispers as he lets loose

[00:10] <@AnE> Eden began to walk forward, fingers flexing as she moved in the direction of the 'intruders'. You know how it is -- intruders intrude, then more intruders intrude upon those intruders. Her eyes cut toward Isaiah, narrowing just a little. Those little lights at her fingertips flickering to baseball sized orbs of pulsing heat and illumination. About the time that she was generously shocked
[00:10] <@AnE> -- it brought her to her knees, but she was not knocked out. One of these days, she would be thoroughly aware of why she was so huge. A pained scream tore through her throat, a murderous look flooding into her eyes as the pair of spheres shot in Isaiah's direction. Silver pupils dilated, then contracted, the stars going supernova in brilliant explosions, its force greater than something
[00:10] <@AnE> like a hand grenade.

[00:10] <vile> Once the guard has been dealt with, Gabriel focuses on the people who are supposed to be his teammates. The bolt of lighting attracts his attention: his chin lifts, he stares at where it came from. His eyes narrow, he glances over his shoulder at Rick and then eyes Chloe as well. The birdman rumbles and stands there, waiting for a target to become apparent. Or for his awesome shield, Rick
[00:10] <vile> to pick someone.

[00:14] <Horde> Rick doesn't take long to sprint into action, rushing towards Gina before springing into the air, shifting his gravity upwards to arc into the sky, then bring himself downward just as quickly, aiming to plant both feet into her chest. Gabe can follow to that target if he likes, or try to engage Fergus. The two guards reduced to paste, the others unconscious, the golem is probably going to be looking for new playmates soon. Meanwhile, inside the lab, Horde stalks through the building, literally just making doors for himself with his sledge, battering down walls effortlessly, and draining the strength and resiliency of anyone unfortunate or stupid enough to cross his path. He's nearing his goal, the center of the building, a chamber, cooled and locked behind a foot-thick steel door with a retinal scanner. Whatever's in there, it's dangerous enough to justify this kind of security.

[00:17] <Ahriman> <Fergus>It was a shame Chloe had eyes, Fergus thought. At least in this moment. Hopefully she wouldn't remember. He leaned around the gatehouse, brought his marker up, keeping the reddened eye open as the other close. It took barely a second to target Chloe and fire off a trio of capsaicin-filled balls. One was targeted for her forehead, the other two at either cheek. Bruises - most
[00:17] <Ahriman> likely. Also, burny death with the pepper founds its way to her eyes. And probably into her nose, if she decided to inhale sharply. He was just about to duck back behind the gatehouse, but then Eden and her damnable thparkly balls blew up. With no cover between him and the force they imparted, Fergus got an impromptu flying lessing, backwards.| <Maksim>The golem certainly was
[00:17] <Ahriman> looking for new playmates. Maksim finally picked himself up, and after a glance to the his helpful cohorts, he looked to the golem. "Let's go inside and play some more," he said, already walking toward the hole Horde had made. He golem gave a rumble of recognition, finally released the guard's likely crushed face, and followed Maks.

[00:19] * Isaiah would be lucky to be on the far side of the gatehouse... though it would likely throw him a good ten feet or so when those spheres detonated... "stupid...stupid..." he shook his head to try to clear the ringing bells... and would start channeling all of those negative ions away from Eden and safely to the ground, it was the only thing he could think of to do to hopefully drain her
[00:19] * Isaiah power without hurting her, just siphoning off ions like water down the drain... though that much energy would likely be making anyone within a dozen feet of her more than a little 'tingly'
[00:21] <vile> Gabriel stays with his homeboy! The birdbrain runs after Rick, moving fast enough to keep up. The mace is held at the ready beside him but not swung just yet. All he has are close range weapons, meaning he has to get close to her. Both wings are kept at the ready, on either side of him, and prepared to be whipped around as a shield or weapon.
[00:22] <Isaiah> (assuming it works... >.<)

[00:26] <Suzthulhu> Chloe shrieks as the pepper rounds impact, and then again, tearing her throat bloody when the HOLY GOD WHY gets sucked into her lungs and starts to almost literally boil her eyes and nose. She drops to her knees, clawing at her throat, her own worst fear realized in the sudden feeling of suffocation. Of course, this incapacitates her, but unfortunately, it also makes her lose total
[00:26] <Suzthulhu> control over her own abilities. The pulse of fear rockets outward from her in another forward arc, fueled by rage, pain, and her own fear, propelling the distance further than its usual 50 feet, out to more than 80 this time. Anyone in front of her who even catches a glimpse of her out of the corner of their eye would succumb to the wave's violent, fear-inducing effects. Those not looking
[00:26] <Suzthulhu> at her and those shielded by the team's handy dandy goggles, would still feel a wave of massive nausea overtake them. Hurrrrrrrl. | Gina is just about to shoot inside when a combination of factors delays her progress. First, she's overcome by nearly crippling nausea from Chloe's fear bomb, which causes her to double over, her stomach clenching and heaving. Second, Rick comes hurtling at
[00:26] <Suzthulhu> her from above, and thanks to the nausea, she's not quick enough to get out of the way. The only thing she can do is rely on the focus of her astral shields to absorb the impact, sending her rolling ass over teakettle onto her back and skidding across the gravel.

[00:36] <@AnE> The detonation of two explosives was... draining. But Eden really didn't care at that point! She slowly pushed to her feet, thoroughly unaware that she was having anything drained. Pushing off of the ground, she floated into the air, spreading her arms out to either side. The pulsing balls of light and heat began to form again, this time growing bigger. Bigger. Pushing the size of grapefruits
[00:36] <@AnE> after a while of concentration, she twisted a little and hurled them toward Isaiah -- another explosion was soon ripping through the air, though this one had the now-hovering Eden crashing rapidly toward the ground.

[00:41] <Horde> As part of his blow is deflected by the astral shield, Rick draws his legs up under himself and spins in the air, before striking forward again, this time as a balled up projectile screaming toward Gina, his own propulsion field rippling the air before him to add force to the blow. Inside the building, Horde faces the steel door, either unaware or uncaring of the lumbering presence of Maksim and his Golem, as they've chosen to join him indoors. He drops the sledge to the side, where it lands with a room-shaking thud, and simply reaches forward, grasping the door, immense strength causing the steel to curl inward where his fingers dig into the door. He wrenches and twists, the metal of the door warping and bending under his touch as he simply wrenches the entire door off its magnetic hinges, tossing it to the side. Inside, on a pedestal in the center of the cooled room, is the fruit of the scientists labor, held in a metal case. He steps forward and opens the case, confirming that the cargo is there for a moment, before closing it again and tucking it under his arm and starting back out.

[00:42] <vile> Gabriel is hit by Chloe's pukebomb. The birdbrain, while he has a great stomach and good control over it, even after drinking too much...isn't exactly expecting this kind of bullshit to happen. The wave of wtf is strong enough to make his charge fail. Before he can even get to Gina and offer support to Rick, he stumbles and goes down! He lands on all fours, wings flopping on the ground on
[00:42] <vile> either side of him, and he...doesn't puke. Not yet. Instead, he just spends a good couple of minutes prone, gulping and trying to keep his dinner down.

[00:43] * Isaiah barely gets behind 'cover' when those spheres of light and heat detonate, this time throwing him another good ten feet against the exterior chain link fence... "fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" he shouts as the wave of nausea hits him in the guts like a sledge hammer... making him spill the half of a hamburger and the bit of shake and fries he'd eaten before he got the call... yeah, it was a
[00:43] * Isaiah mess. thankfully, not *on him* but it was bad enough that it had come out of him... uhhhhg... nasty. This also caused him to lose his concentration on his draining attack on Eden, though it remained to be seen how quickly she would recover from it... He felt like shit. His mouth tasted like the floorboard of a boston taxicab, and his head felt like someone less friendly than his highschool
[00:43] * Isaiah gym coach had been using it as a punching bag.

[00:44] <Ahriman> <Fergus>Well, there was one benefit of having been staring right at Eden's supernovae - the flash had effectively blinded him for a good while. So once he landed, it was a simple matter of turning his head to his stomach contents could be free to frolick. Or to pool next to his head; whatever, he wasn't trying to style its creativity. And he landed on his backpack, which was none
[00:44] <Ahriman> too comfortable. So for the moment, he was content to just lay there and try to figure out how to unfuck this situation. And while he did that, he rolled away from the puke, reached into his backpack, and finally put on his goggles. | <Maksim> Maks and the golem step aside for Horde, neither seeming terribly concerned with whatever it was he'd come for. They followed him, though,
[00:44] <Ahriman> the golem still wanting to play.

[00:49] <Suzthulhu> Chloeis effectively down for the count. | Gina, however, is still flat on her back, hands over her stomach, trying not to hurl, right about the time god damn bouncy ball Rick comes flying in for another shot. Unstoppable Force, meet Immovable Object. Gina shoots to her feet, dropping to a crouch, and pistons upward to meet Rick, both hands balled into fists. She meets him twice,
[00:49] <Suzthulhu> spectrails impacting with solid force first before he'd wind up slamming into her again. Her point? Physics, simple physics. Either they'd both just slam right into each other, or he'd bounce back again. Either way, they'd both feel this one.

[00:52] <@AnE> THWUD. It was a loud and rather sickening sound as she plummeted to earth, totally unaware of just how much she would have been drained by Isaiah's hoodoo and the detonation of a second set of 'stars'. She curled up upon landing -- probably bouncing onto her side and leaving a sizable depression in the earth, her heart pounding, sweat trickling down her face. The thing in her stomach was
[00:52] <@AnE> probably going crazy as her heartrate absolutely skyrocketed.

[00:55] <Horde> Rick impacts with Gina, but yes, they both feel it. The impact of his field against her spectral attack knocks him back, and he lands in a skidding halt on the tarmac, eyes narrowed as he drops into a crouch. He's clearly not acting like himself, he's barely acting human, more like a tin toy that's been wound up and set to go. He launches himself upward again, this time moving to sail over her, seemingly escaping the fray before he abruptly shifts once more aiming both feet towards her back. Indoors, Horde has what he came for, so he scoops up the case under one arm, and then heads out of the cooled chamber. He picks up his sledge again, and pauses to look at the golem creature, unnerved by it for a moment. "Follow me." He says to both it and Maksim as he starts through the series of smashed walls he'd made to break his way into the place, heading back out into the chaos outdoors.

[00:59] <vile> Gabriel soon recovers and gets up to his feet, din din still happily in his stomach. The winged idiot's hand tightens around his mace. He narrows his eyes at the Gina-Rick collision and bolts forward, resuming the interrupted charge. Once he gets close enough and there's an opening, the weapon is slung through the air right for the woman. Or where she was when he begun the attack. As she's
[00:59] <vile> sparring with Rick, there's a good chance he'll miss. But he can try, goddammit! There's nothing in particular targeted, just...her.

[01:01] <Ahriman> <Fergus>His vision cleared soon enough, but to save himself from having to change his perscription, the red in his right eye faded, coming back in his left eye. He rocked himself forward, sitting cross-legged, and took a quick moment to refresh the situation. He thought for a moment about switching to the glass-breaking rounds, despite fighting with his friends and acquaintences. It
[01:01] <Ahriman> was a very tempting thought, but he stuck to the pepper. Hopefully nobody else would react the way Chloe did. Gina seemed to be in the most harried situation, what with both Rick and Gabe after her. Since Rick could probably repel his rounds, and Gina actively engaging, Gabe became the easy choice. Three trigger pulls later, Gabe would wind up with facial bruises similar to Chloe, and similar
[01:01] <Ahriman> capsaicin-induced incapacitation.| <Maksim> "Do as he says," Maks said as he touched the golem's arm. He spoke to it like it was a child, which for all for all intents and purposes, it was. A very large, very strong, very disgusting child. Master and creation followed Horde back into the chaos.

[01:02] <Horde> At this point, Eden, Rick, Gabe, Chloe and Maksim will all start to feel a bit of discomfort in their stomachs. Right now it just feels like indigestion, but it will grow worse over time.

[01:04] <Suzthulhu> "Oh no you don't.." Gina is mad as hell now, and while she's trying her damndest not to hurt Rick, it's clear he's trying his damndest TO hurt her, she was going to have to get mean. When he launched himself up, she followed. Granted, she's not an anti-grav, but her spectrails shoot upward, carrying her along with them, towards him. At the last second though, she shifts directions, arcing
[01:04] <Suzthulhu> off to the side to let him, hopefully, slam himself straight into the ground. | Chloe is still clawing at her face and throat, tears and drool running -everywhere- as the pepper rounds contunie to burn. Now, her stomach starts to bubble as well, and she curls up in a ball on the ground, mewling pitifully.

[01:06] <vile> The attack on Gina fails! Not only this but pepper. Pepper. In his face. It hurts like a bitch, like Julie's goddamn dog is chewing on him, biting out his eyes. Gus is dropped, his hands flying up to rip at his face as if this would get the pepper off of him. The winged man chokes and coughs, trying to breathe despite the oh god what in the fuck is this going on. He falls down to his
[01:06] <vile> knees and continues to rub at his skin, probably only making things worse. And if that's not enough, his stomach is trying to rebel again. And he's dooown! It's not likely he'll be getting up again, not until he has some time to recover.

[01:07] <@AnE> Eden was, at that point, having a difficult time telling what was new stomach discomfort, and what was alien bugbaby trying to rip its way out of her belly. Her heart continued to pound, the silver-haired girl quite possibly on the verge of something serious. As one might expect, it was hard to stay calm about 'that bugbaby is totally going to be taken care of' when it seemed that she
[01:07] <@AnE> was going into labor. So, she started to freak out! Squirming, kicking, flip-flopping every which way and grinding her teeth to the chipping point.

[01:08] * Isaiah starts to pick himself up at this point, spitting the last of the bile and uhhhg from his mouth and rubbing the back of his hand over his eyes, he risked a look towards Eden, and then looked around at the team... or what was left of the team... He would spot Horde and the Golem as they stepped back outside... "Feck."

[01:10] <Horde> Rick's eyes widen as Gina dodges out of the way faster than he can react, and with the increasing discomfort in his innards, he can't react fast enough to avoid slamming into the tarmac. The field takes the brunt of the impact, but it's only lessening it as he slams into the ground, skipping a few times and skidding to a halt, clutching his stomach. Horde exits the building, metal case under one arm, sledge over his other shoulder, as he surveys what's going on outside. 'Heh', he thinks to himself. 'Good timing.' Seemingly not caring about anything that's happening, he simply starts striding towards his evac point, taking his time, not even sparing a glance towards Gina, Fergus or Isaiah.

[01:17] <Ahriman> <Fergus>That could have been the fault of hubris of Horde's part. He'd been knocked back, puked, and was forced to shoot his freakin' friends. And now these three unknown men had returned from the lab. "STOP FUCKING MOVING," 6he shouted at them, expression twisting with ALL HIS HATE. He levelled the marker on Horde, since he was out front.| <Maksim>Maksim paid
[01:17] <Ahriman> little mind to his stomach's complaint. He had, afterall, recently horked up a golem. He was confused as to why he was feeling it now, but it wasn't yet a concern. "Over there, by that shack," he again touched the golem's arm to get its attention, "I think they would like to play." It took the beast a moment to process, but its face seemed to bright horrifically. It turned and made
[01:17] <Ahriman> for Gina, Fergus, and Isaiah.

[01:18] <Suzthulhu> "Doppleganger to Skieweaver... we need evac pronto. We have..." Gina counts Chloe, Eden, Rick, Maksim, and Gabe, plus herself, Fergus, and Isaiah. "Eight, including Eden, with at least four injured. Extent unknown at this time." She'd landed not too far from where Rick eventually skidded to a halt, and now looks up as Horde and Maksim start toward them. In particular, she focuses on
[01:18] <Suzthulhu> the golem. "Shit. Circuit, can you melt that thing?" Standing fully, she braces, preparing to either dodge or start pummeling things.

[01:20] * Isaiah narrowed his eyes slowly... gathering the energy to throw a bolt of lightning up this bloodbeast's proverbial rear end... "Working on it..." he was trying to channel every bit of energy he could from the area to make one hell of a blood sausage out of this baddie...

[01:23] <Horde> "Boy," He says to Fergus, pausing in his advance as the weapon is leveled on him. "You ain't got enough gun for me." His eyes narrow, and then he continues on his way. "Y'all got other problems to deal with, anyhow." He says as he moves, footsteps thundering on the tarmac. He reaches for his belt pouch and tosses the ziploc bag at Fergus' feet, still containing a few of the pills. Rick groans in pain on the tarmac, clutching his stomach. He's clearly reacting to something internal, not the beating he took from Gina.

[01:25] <vile> Gabriel stays down, still rubbing at his eyes and face. The discomfort is even worse thanks to the clawing he'd done. Torn between trying to wipe off the pepper from his face and pawing uselessly at his belly, he squirms like a dying fish. His wings flop around like he's trying to make himself stand with them but can't.

[01:26] <Suzthulhu> Gina's backing up, one step at a time, watching the golem. She takes her eyes off it long enough to look down at Rick, brow creasing, and then at Fergus and Horde. "Deadeye, stand down. We have to get our people out of here. There's something wrong with them. We'll find that asshole later." | Chloe groans, rolling onto her side and dry heaving.

[01:27] * Isaiah lets go with everything he had stored up... collapsing to his knees as the energy flows through him, through the ground and into that blood golem. should be enough current and voltage to sear flesh and flash boil liquids... this is gonna be messy

[01:34] <Ahriman> <Fergus>Problems? Problems?! Yeah.. they kinda did. While Isaiah did his human ZORT gun impression, nodded to Gina's order. He kept the marker trained on Horde, circling around toward one of the people he'd downed. Gabe was closest, so him first. "Stop rubbing, ya bird-brained idjit," he said in a hushed, grumpy whisper.| <Maksim>Maks reached up to grab for Horde's
[01:34] <Ahriman> shoulder. He would have asked what was happening to him, but the increasing intensity of his stomach cramping quieted him quickly. The golem, already charging toward the trio of unhelpful do-gooders, exploded in a mess of gore. Of course, considering how long it had been since its creation, and with Maksim crumpling to the ground and losing all focus, this would likely have happened anyways.
[01:34] <Ahriman> So the team in the direction of the guardshack would get a dose of golem gore rain.

[01:36] <Horde> "Figure you got about forty-five minutes, maybe an hour to get them to a hospital." He says, still walking, sledge over his shoulder and case under his arm. "Y'all have a good night, now."

[01:38] <vile> Gabriel responds to Fergus' muttering with a warbling noise of pain. It sounds pathetic and filled with pain, more animal than human in sound. The rubbing at his face stops and he wraps his arms around his belly, holding it as if that would make him feel any better. The wings continue to flop around, possibly smacking Fergus once or twice in the process. The knives, thankfully, are only
[01:38] <vile> on the flight feathers, leaving a good two thirds soft and fluffy, with armoring only covering the actual arm portions.

[01:38] <Suzthulhu> ".... awesome. So much for going out later." Not that there'd really be time for that anyway. She glares at Horde, flicking blood off her arm. "You're next. You better believe it. I'm going to feed you your own arms." But right now, feeding time would have to wait. Gina physically picks Rick up, carrying him over to Gabe and laying him down again. Chloe would be next, groaning and still
[01:38] <Suzthulhu> sobbing. Eden, well, that would take some effort, but she still managed, hauling the titanic girl over and laying her down as well while they waited for evac.

[01:42] <Horde> "Ain't nothing personal." He says over his shoulder as he continues. "I'm just the hired help." He trudges along towards the van he'd driven here, white, no windows, no plates.

[01:44] * Isaiah finally got back on his feet and got himself to where the team (both the mind frelled and those that had been forced to put them down...)

[01:46] <Ahriman> <Fergus>Fergus reached into his backpack, producing a few bottles of water, giving Horde the stink eye all the way. Yes, he was ready even for this. "Calm down or I'll give you another dose," he spoke sternly to Gabe. He'd made sure he got a dose of the pepper when he first got them, so he'd know what others would feel. So he understood Gabe and Chloe's pain. That didn't mean he
[01:46] <Ahriman> was gonna be nice about it. "Settle down so I can wash your eyes out." Then an idea! He pulled off the hopper with the pepper rounds, replacing it with the hopper filled with glowing paint rounds.| <Maksim>Maks.. well he just sorta laid down, clutching his stomach and groaning softly.

[01:48] <Suzthulhu> GENTLEMEN, BEHOLD! Sisip arrives in the Cobalt helicopter... and stuff.

[01:48] <Horde> Horde BOLDLY drives off in his UNMARKED WHITE PEDO VAN!

[01:48] <vile> Gabriel continues to make those pitiful noises and squirm around. His eyes open and he stares up at Fergus, the whites of his eyes totally red by now. They narrow at the half-Scot and he hisses at the guy. And lo! He gets taken into the helicopter...and stuff. Hopefully stuff like 'go to the hospital'!

[01:48] <vile> Gabriel continues to make those pitiful noises and squirm around. His eyes open and he stares up at Fergus, the whites of his eyes totally red by now. They narrow at the half-Scot and he hisses at the guy. And lo! He gets taken into the helicopter...and stuff. Hopefully stuff like 'go to the hospital'!
02[01:49] * @Sisip (aleafloor@aea6564b.dsl.hstntx.3e6fd2e2.net.hmsk) Quit (Quit: At six o'clock their mommies and daddies will take them home to bed because they're tired little teddy bears.)
[01:49] * Isaiah would help everyone onto da choppa!! and then drag ass back to his pickup, he had somewhere he needed to be, and he'd do the whole mission debriefing thing tomorrow, after he'd gotten some sleep.

[01:50] <Ahriman> Unmarked, until Fergus peppered it with glowing paint!

[01:50] <vile> Now it looks like nuclear birds crapped on it!

[01:50] <Suzthulhu> When their evac arrives, Gina starts helping get folks onto it, as gently as she can, of course, setting Rick down in a seat and buckling him him. "We've got about... thirty minutes to get them to a hospital. Deadeye, grab that baggie with those capsules in it. Whatever they took, that's probably it. Guy didn't seem like he wanted us dead. He said he was hired help..." For who? That
[01:50] <Suzthulhu> would have to wait. Anyway, load 'em up and all. Then she turns back to Fergus. "Need a ride back or you want to go with these guys?"

[01:55] <Horde> Even though that doesn't make sense, just go with it. The van, peppered with glowing paint, arrives at a designated drop point, and Bob exits the vehicle, case in hand. Why, who's that, but a dapper, refined celebrity therapist? "You got it?" He asks eagerly, looking at the case in his assistant's hands. "Yeah." Bob replies gruffly, before opening it again. Inside, three large vials. Pulse. Synthesized, refined, and extremely potent. META had been trying to recreate it, without the dangerous side effects, for use in the field. It was still in the testing stage, but they were damn sure it did what it was supposed to do. Covenant smiles broadly. "Fantastic. I'll get my agent on the phone in the morning. We've got a whole city to heal, Bob." Bob clamps the case shut again and shrugs. "Just so long as you pay me." Covenant takes the case, and looks at the van. "Ditch the van, Bob. It looks like the Toxic Avenger came on it." With those words of wisdom hanging heavy in the air, he gets in his own chaufferred sedan and speeds off into the night.

[01:58] <Ahriman> "I'll go with them," he answered, already climbing into the bird. "I feel kinda bad about shooting them."

[01:59] <Suzthulhu> "Make sure the docs get those capsules." Gina shut the doors to the chopper before backing away and giving Sisip a thumbs up. She heads back for her car and hops in, peeling out again and heading... off.

[01:59] * Isaiah drove away in his pickup after he was sure everyone else was on the helo. Giving Gina a nod and a wave to Fergus, he'd drive off back towards town