Summary:An imminent disaster at RESCUE Campus. Nanotechnology is like that. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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It is a weekend for RESCUE's campus. Overall this doesn't change things overly - lots of people have schedules that overlap the end and beginning of the week. Mostly interns are not normally required to stay, of course, and many of the office workers are off, the ones lucky enough to have the normal eight hour shifts.
ut one thing that does not stop…is SCIENCE!
The labs and testing facilities around the campus are always in operation, following planned schedules for use. Even the training area for Overwatch personnel is active, luckless rookies having to run the course to ensure they're in the best shape for whatever might come their way.
Currently, one of the decorative ponds is drained and open, the landing pad raised with the recently acquired Bearcat on it as mechanical staff work on finishing up getting it fully flight worthy. Not to mention painted in gleaming RESCUE colors, blue with orange striping and a star on either side of the nose.
The one person who completely has not stopped working since the return from Ukraine, or even been seen much save by food delivery personnel, is Toni. Who has been locked in her lab for days. Even Io finished her work on getting Goliath up and operation and has actually gone home for things like sleep.
And in the Foundry, a science named Dr. Jeremy Lewis, a specialist in nanotechnology, is currently conducting an experiment that could change the world…
The other RESCUE member who has taken almost no time off since their return, sacking out in her lab more often than in her apartment, has been Dr. Veronica Kelsey. Roni has been working relentlessly on testing and working out designs for improving her own and Ava's interfaces to their cybernetic technology, and hardening that technology against EMP spikes and attacks like those faced in the Ukraine. It's a good thing most of her contributions to the Bearcat project were done before they ever left!
Currently Roni is in her lab in the Wellspring evaluating her latest designs … by preparing to set off an EMP to see what the effect will be. Yes, she has hardened the containment zone in her lab accordingly. But it's clear how seriously she is taking this, the level of success she is demanding from these efforts.
Hank is actually pretty excited about his reason to be here today, one of his former students at the Institute, and one who still occasionally runs into him when he has a speaking engagement in NYC, mentioned that she was interested in Architecture. Well, Hank has a smattering of such knowledge, but not even close to enough to consider teaching. So, he looked for other avenues to help her out. Imagine his surprise when he learned that RESUCE had an opening for an Intern in the field of Structural and Civil Engineering, which seems a close fit since it has to do with Architecture and design for shelters.
He checked with Hisako to see if she'd be interested, and was pleased when she indicated she would be. A few calls later, and once it is the weekend, he picked her up in his beloved (highly reinforced) '78 Ford Grenada, Bessy by name, and then they headed off to the RESCUE campus on its artificial island.
They park at the parking structure, and head together to be checked in for the visit for the interview, and to introduce her to the staff, his friends and colleagues at the facility. Oh, and also the people that saved his life a few weeks back, yeah, those people.
"Don't be nervous, Hisako." He suggests as they enter the facility. "These are all VERY good people. Just be honest, be yourself, and you'll do well." A nod. "IF we can pry them out of their labs." Pot. Kettle. Black? Oh yes.
It isn't her first day on the job. It's her OTHER first day on the job. The slightly rusty gold on maroon Jeep Grand Cherokee rolls up to the security checkpoint with one pasty-faced occupant lurking behind the wheel. Blue tinted sunglasses fail to mask the spot around Domino's one eye. They also fail to completely hide the unsettled look in her gaze. Like at any second she's expecting this whole ordeal to go south in a big damn hurry.
As much as she hates having to go through this all over again she also hates having unfinished business hanging around. Best to just get it all over with. Today may as well be that day.
The third member of RESCUE's unofficial triumvirate is almost as sequestered as the former two. Ava, Chief of Security and head of the Overwatch disaster response division of RESCUE, hasn't been seen outside her room besides the cyborg's regimented cafeteria and gym schedule - not an uncommon condition for a weekday but rare for the hard-working, hard-partying woman on a weekend. Since their mission to the Ukraine however, it has quietly become a more and more common habits. Owing perhaps to too much on her mind or from the more limited mobility afforded by her replacement prosthetics, Posse's currently shut in and dictating to her smartphone while resting in a padded chair, her eye closed and a warm compress on her forehead.
"If we have to pry that hard," Hisako replies to Hank with a faint smile, "I hope you brought a big enough crowbar. I think the one Catseye used with you last month might do the trick."
She pauses to look up and around as they enter the RESCUE campus proper. The young Japanese woman may look suitably in her element, dressed as she is in a navy blue sweater over a grey blouse and black dress slacks, but the absence of visible nervousness is mostly a long-practiced act. Part of her anxiety is just the usual 'am I going to make a good enough impression?' of meeting new people, part is probably a precursor of sorts to imposter syndrome - she's not THAT good at architecture yet, even if she has an active and deliberate interest in the subject.
Still, Hisako's known Hank long enough - as a teacher, and a teammate, and a friend - to trust his judgment. If he says that RESCUE is comprised of good people, then either they're stupidly good at putting on a front or they really *are* good people, and the odds heavily tilt towards the latter. "Which names do I need to be ready with again?" she asks; she might as well do her best to remember them *before* the official face-to-face introductions.
With ID provided ahead of time, Hisako has been pre-cleared by security and Hank is allowed to drive on quite casually. Things will get slightly more prickly around the entrance to the Spire, but that's just life in a secure facility.
By comparison, Domino experiences a tad more prickliness when she appears; it seems word of the rest of her involvement in the incident in Ukraine has gotten out at least amongst some of the security personnel - they all work for Overwatch, after all - and the guard at the gate grimaces when she appears. He seems ready to reject her and make her turn around and leave when he glances down at his pad and his frown hardens. With a snort he raises his gaze back up, exhales, and opens the gate to allow her in … even as he gestures to his comrade to alert Overwatch to her arrival and presence on-campus immediately. And a small Humblebee drone lifts off from the guard shack to fly above and behind Neena's car, following her to the garage and beyond.
Fool me once/twice sort of thing.
In Roni's lab in the Wellspring, the good doctor checks everything a second time, and then initiates the countdown on the EMP device inside the isolation room. "Tee minus thirty seconds and counting."
And then notifications stream across Roni's smartglasses, informing her of guests. "Oh, feltercarb. Cassandra, pause countdown and reset. Lock down lab, please. I need to depart."
"Doctor Toni Ho is one half of the CEO team, she's got purple hair, and is Chinese. She's the one you likely be working closest with as she's the engineer, primarily. The other Half of the CEO team is Doctor Veronica Kelsey, she's a medical doctor, surgeon and cyberneticist. They're each of them completely brilliant, and geniuses, in my humble opinion. Oh, Roni is also paraplegic but does not let that slow her down. Code name Posse, I'm not sure I want to risk getting punched in the face for revealing her real name, is the chief of security. She's…unique. Good soldier, very strong, really skilled and professional, a little terse, perhaps but also someone I trust and respect."
Unaware of the impending EMP testing, Hank has spent a lot of time over the last weeks working with Roni online over secure channels to develop a sort of subdermal armor for just that purpose. Whether or not she's going to implement it, well, that's to be seen yet. Regardless, he escorts Hisako into the main reception area and knows to wait. Hank is himself dressed in a snazzy white suit, and matching fedora. Because /why the hell not/ a fedora? His visor has been reconfigured, it now looks like modern sunglasses, still snug to the eyes. A text is sent to Roni and Toni to let them know that he and Hisako are on the campus.
A warm welcoming hadn't been on the menu, Neena's not surprised to be getting the immediate cold shoulder. For any other group she might have been working with in the past what would follow is a cheeky grin and possibly a middle-fingered salute.
What happens at the front gates to the RESCUE compound is a solemn dip of her head and a shift back into drive. They let her through, though whether that's good or not is up for debate on both sides.
If the Humblebee is noticed she doesn't do anything about it. These guys can be as cautious and suspicious as they want. Maybe with enough eyes on her the ol' luck factor will pull through and she'll perform the right trick to save some face with this crew. Stranger things have happened.
Things aren't off to a great start when the first open parking space she comes across happens to be right beside a certain '78 Ford Grenada. "And here we go…" she quietly sighs while slapping the Jeep into park and killing the engine.
She's just about to step out when something stops her, pulling the door closed again as she starts stripping away all of her weapons. The very last thing she needs today is for someone here to suspect that she has hostile intentions.
Normally an Overwatch alert would come up on Ava's HUD… if she had one! Instead, the half-functional cyborg's smartphone buzzes with news and Posse stops in her dictations to check her messages. What follows is a tight sigh and a lone green eye creaking wearily open. "That was fast," she mutters sourly to herself. Taking the compress from her forehead, she taps through her phone to reach the Overwatch radio channel and broadcasts down a short message to her troops.
"<Follow SOP and keep an eye on her. I don't need to tell ya'll to be professional.>" And with that done, her legs whirr as the cyborg stands on her bare and fully metallic feet before shuffling towards her bedroom to don a more company-appropriate uniform.
"So it's Dr. Ho, Dr. Halsey, and …" Hisako trails off briefly, looking baffled. "Ms. Posse?" She shrugs gamely. "Do you expect we'll meet the security chief on this trip, then? Or just in case we do run into her for some reason?"
The prospect of meeting the head of security has Hisako wondering again - wouldn't they probably have done the background check or whatever before considering her for an internship? Or is Posse just so hands-on that she tends to meet with every visitor who may not have been thoroughly vetted ahead of time? (Since Hisako doesn't know how deeply she's *been* investigated already …)
"And I'm guessing it was Dr. Kelsey who kept you the friendly fellow we all know and love at the Institute?" asks Hisako further. "Or did Dr. Ho play a part as well?" The fact that Dr. Kelsey is paraplegic fazes Hisako not one iota; after all, she's been one of Professor Xavier's students for years now and knows better than to judge somebody by their mobility. Or, in fact, to judge their *actual* mobility by their *apparent* mobility either, for that matter.
Whatever 'are you supposed to have that in here' sensors are at the Spire's entrance would find Hisako fairly lightly loaded: she has her dorm keys, her smartphone, and her wallet. She would have eschewed an actual purse for this trip if she could get away with it.
The text message 'seconded' comes across the Overwatch network with Veronica's handle identifier after Posse's own message. Profesional is key. She then follows that with the information that she is headed to the front of the Spire to greet their guests.
Those on the Overwatch channel would also see the status message come up that the Augmenta armor is being spun up and prepped for launch, and Roni's locator beacon comes online.
When Hank and Hisako arrive at the front of the Spire, past the memorial statues there, they are welcomed professionally by one of the Overwatch personnel. "Good afternoon, Dr. McCoy, Ms. Ichiki. Dr. McCoy, if you would, please, could you stick with us? We need to get a badge completed for Ms. Ichiki, and then — " he pauses. "— apparently Dr. Kelsey will be here shortly to gather both of you." If he is impressed by this, he gives no sign, just complete professionalism.
Hisako merely gets compared closely with the photo on file to be sure she is the same person, and she is walked through a long booth, where a plethora of biometric data is checked, recorded and confirmed, then encoded on her badge as it is printed out and placed on a lanyard, offered to her. "Ms. Ichiki, this badge will grant you access only to the public-access areas of the facilities, except as cleared and overridden by RESCUE personnel with necessary authority. Please, stay within sight of your escorts at all time." A beat. "A pleasure to meet you, Ma'am, and welcome to RESCUE Campus."
The Overwatch guard shakes Hisako's hand, and then escorts her back to Hank to await the arrival of … that young woman in the wheelchair, coming through the indoor rotunda from the green-tinted hallway to the left.
When Neena arrives at the front entrance, past the memorial statues, the Humblebee drone takes up station overhead of the doors, just in case she re-emerges. Inside she is immediately greeted by a coldly professional Overwatch guard. She is not just put through a standard metal detector, but put through a wand-scanning as well as biometric confirmation scans. And she will notice that her badge design has changed since her last visit: it is BRIGHT ORANGE backgrounded, the first such she has ever seen. And the guard firmly informs her, "If you are spotted anywhere on campus without your escort, please understand that you will be rendered safe, strip-searched thoroughly, and ejected from the premises never to return, Ma'am."
Yeah. Some folks are taking this kinna personal-like.
Slightly different welcome for Hank and HIsako than Neena, the irony being that Neena is actually /on/ the payroll, well, maybe. Might be getting fired, who knows.
Hank smiles. "Good evening, Charles, how's the nephew, Russ was it? If I recall aright he was feeling pretty ill the last time we talked." A firm nod. "Of course I'll wait." And then he looks to Hisako and smiles reassuringly. "I'll be right here when you return." Not that she really NEEDS reassurance…he just tends to be polite like that, and to want his friends and such to be comfortable.
Perfectly at ease with the wait, he chats amiably with the guard on duty by his area, though…Neena's arrival stiffens his spine. And his hackles raise just a bit. Yellow eyes study the woman as she's detained, and he waits to see if she's ejected. Nope, not a friendly look to be found in the room.
Poor Neena.
The fun is far from over. Soon enough the albino gets to face off with all of those scanners and metal detectors which naturally do light up upon Neena's passing because those are -actual metal buckles- thank you. There will be some tongue-biting on her part while they go through every last detail to their satisfaction (she doesn't even have any trinkets tucked into the heels of her new McCoy-branded thermal boots!)
The modified badge is taken and barely glanced over with another heavy breath escaping the albino. "Yeah" she flatly replies with an idle flick of the badge-carrying hand. "That's a copy."
It's always nice to know when someone has you marked as being dangerous. Normally she might feel good about being flagged as a potential security breach! Instead it feels like another punch to the gut but she takes it and continues forth.
Unsurprisingly the inside of this facility seem even more cold and less inviting than ever before. For the moment she doesn't take another step, who or what might her escort be? Regardless, it's still perfectly obvious who else is already here.
There is also, of course, a furry blue elephant left to address. Sunglasses are slowly removed from her eyes and placed atop of her head. She may have been hiding behind them before. They aren't going to do her any more good.
"Hiya, Hank."
Thankfully, either Hisako is not acquainted with _The Treasure of the Sierra Madre_, or she simply knows better than to quote its most famous line in jest when the guard speaks of getting a badge 'completed' for her. It certainly sounds nice and impressive and official, though.
The stroll down the length of the booth is, in its way, more impressive, and Hisako can't help but joke, "Are you sure you didn't need any samples?" as she exits from the booth. She does, however, except her badge and lanyard with a duly formal demeanor. "Thank you very much for your warm welcome."
And then it's back to Hank, her shiny new badge hanging about her neck by its shiny new lanyard. Hisako's stride slows as she sees the decidedly NOT-warm welcome being afforded to the lady with the tattoo around her eye .. and the looks being exchanged between Hank and her. "Was she involved too?" Hisako stage-whispers to Hank, then turns to bow politely to the woman in the wheelchair. "Doctor Kelsey, I presume?" Hisako hazards.
Meanwhile, in a level 4 containment lab in the Foundry, Dr. Lewis continues his work. He's been very careful. His project could be revolutionary, but has obvious possibilities for misuse. He can't help but think, as he activates the last of the machines, that if it weren't for the obvious benefits, Dr. Ho might have never given him a second chance after working for AIM. Sure, he's pushed beyond what some people might consider completely safe, but progress doesn't happen by never taking risks. Carefully considered and planned for risks, of course. But risks, all the less.
In this case, the care taken is undermined by two significant issues.
1) A fracture in a screw that otherwise should keep certain mixtures from introducing themselves.
2) Someone mislabeled one of the containment tubes he's working with to contain a similar but VERY differently set up material to the rest of them.
The first thing most people will hear is a distant, if muffled, *WHOMP*.
Followed by a sound: https://youtu.be/W_9KR3mYkUo
Followed by every Overwatch officer jerking alert, as a computerized voice over the Overwatch channel says calmly. "Warning. Containment Breach, Nanolab 2. Warning. Containment Breach, Nanolab 2. All Foundry personnel, evacuate immediately to safe zones. Level 3 containment breach detected. Warning…."
Veronica has rolled up to greet Hisako with an upraised arm to shake her hand, offering a warm, reassuring smile - she's a medical doctor, and has a good bedside manner. "Good afternoon, Ms. Ichiki. Welcome. Please, pardon me one moment?" she asks, and then pivots her wheelchair smoothly towards the pale-faced woman with the dot around one eye.
"Hello, Tam — " Roni stops herself, making a mouth-twisting moue movement. "Sorry. That was wrong. Neena, yes?" she confirms. She does not extend her hand, but she isn't spitting mad, isn't cursing Domino. She's uncomfortable, uncertain, but staying as calm and professional as she can in spite of that. "I think you should probably —"
And then Roni gets cut off again, this time by the klaxon sound. Her reactions are swift and sure, immediately tapping the control on the tablet in her lap which launches the Augmenta armor from its cradle, sending it into the air and programming it to land as near to her current beacon location as it is able, then open itself and deploy grab bar. Then she glances around, and snaps her fingers before pointing at one of the Overwatch personnel. "Karl! I need you, right now. Glue yourself on this woman's six." She pauses to make sure her order has been heard, understood, and will be obeyed, and then she turns her head towards Hank and Hisako.
"I am very sorry, Hisako, but we have a bit of an emergency. I hate to leave you, but I have to respond to this. Henry, if you bring her with you, she's your responsibility." The young woman doesn't work for her yet; she has to be someone's responsibility, and she's not going to be Veronica's.
That said, Roni rolls for the front doors as they hiss out of the way, overridden on their lockdown by the presence of her chair.
Roni owns this place. It obeys her, if it knows what's good for it. "Someone get me an update, STAT! And send a priority override signal to Toni's lab to inform her of the crisis. Foundry is her space, I want her notified, I do not care how important her experiment is."
"Hello, Veronica." Hank greets his friend, his expression warm…and then when she turns to look towards Domino, that warmth sort of drains out of it, and he nods. "Of course." To Hisako's question. "Not with the event you were thinking of, but with another situation." And he leaves it at that for now.
When the claxon goes off he murmurs. "Activate Mode III." And his clothing morphs…apparently never having been actual clothing at all. What results is Hank, in a full coverage bodysuit with full gloves, thick and padded gloves, and large stompy boots. The face is covered, though there's no bio filters, and it is gas permeable, and a full eyes covering morphing of his visor.
Outloud and over RESCUE Comms. "Beast, location main entryway." Out loud only. "I accept responsibility, of course." And then he looks to Hisako. "Armour up, please, seal as much clean atmosphere as you can, and don't drop it."
And then he will stride after Roni and trust Hisako to follow with.
Neena, not even on the radar at the moment. This is much MUCH more dire.
Hmmh. Seems that McCoy here brought a friend to work today. At the 'not -quite- a whisper' whisper all Domino offers to Hisako is a black-lipped smile. Yeah, there's a good chance that she was involved.
The arrival of Veronica causes the pale lady to stiffen slightly as well, almost as if she's fighting an automatic response to stand at attention or something. "Neena" she confirms while rubbing the heel of a hand against the swath of much shorter hair along the left side of her head.
Then something explodes and the klaxons are set off.
"Sonuvabitch you've gotta be -kidding- me" she seethes before holding empty hands into the air. "Wasn't me, didn't have anything to do with this! -Jeezus- what's a girl gotta do to get a second chance around here?"
A second later she almost dives for cover as the Augmenta nearly divebombs them! Instead it lands beside Roni who is already barking out orders and handing Dom off to some guy named Karl.
Great! Trouble in paradise and she has no gear beyond an Overwatch headset, a security escort who probably hates her something major, and no way of being able to help.
"Yeah, I'll just …be here… With Karl."
Maybe it's all for the best, she's like the one person here who has no environmental protection on hand!
"And there's that albino luck!" Posse shouts to no one as she hastily tugs the sleeve of her Overwatch jumper over her bionic arm and zips it up before making a surprisingly fast walk to the front door while snatching an energy drink and bug-out bag kept beside it for just such an occasion. The cyborg pops the tab one-handed and chugs as she makes her way through the security floor while the staff on duty jog past her to help coordinate the foundry's evacuation by foot and by motorized cart. Entwined with the campus' underground network, RESCUE's ability to direct civilian staff in one direction while sending security staff in the other is already paying dividends faster than anyone hoped.
The distant (but not distant enough) *whomp* prompts Hisako's head to jerk up slightly, trying to figure out what that was and where. Then the klaxon begins to sound, and Dr. Kelsey pre-empts their visit with entirely necessary business. "Of course, Doctor Kelsey," she replies, already looking at Hank - or rather, at Beast - even before he gives her instructions on how to proceed.
"How big are the doors we'll need to go through?"
It's not a trivial inquiry; amber energy shimmers into coherence around Hisako's body, lifting her feet off the ground as the psionically projected exo-armor manifests around her, sealing in as much atmosphere as she can manage. "Clean" air will be relative in short order, but whatever the emergency is, a little extra carbon dioxide will presumably be much less harmful than whatever might have been released in the explosion, or whatever's going on. The bigger the doors are, the larger she can make her armor, and the larger a volume of healthy air Armor can carry with her as she follows Dr. Kelsey and Beast.
Karl eyes Neena as he's assigned to her. "Yes'm." he says in a Texas drawl, shifting the rifle on his shoulder from carry to 'patrol'. After a moment, he shifts his hand off the stock, then whistles to one of the other officers. "Gimmee th' holdout." The other trooper, who remains as his security station, glances as Neena, then types in a code on a keypad nearby as part of the desk slide pen, revealing a pair of more grenade launcherish looking guns next to another stun rifle, which he draws and underhands carefully to Neena. "Safety on the right." Karl notes as the security guy seals up the desk again. "Point an' shoot, like yer playin' with a laser pointer. Bolt goes where th' laser is. Ya don't got penetration, don't forget, so aim for unarmored if it comes ta that." He motions after the group hustling outside Foundry-wards.
The officer on duty for security responds immediately. "Dr. Kelsey…Nanolab 2 is directly above Dr. Ho's private lab. We haven't been able to get any communications into the area, there appears to be a disruption to the landlines. Officer on site are focused on evacuating personnel. Dr. Ho is not responding."
Outside, a line of people in scientist lab coats and a bariety of engineering related t-shirts are making their way out of the Foundry, with Overwatch troopers outside guiding them away. Over the doors, panels have flipped over to reveal flashing emergency lights as the klaxon continues to sound for evacuation. Other troopers are busy clearing any passersby away from the building, moving them to safety zones outside of a certain radius where department heads can start checking to make sure everyone made it. Considering how many lab projects were going at the time, it's unclear how quickly evacuation can safely take place - some things just need to be shut down safely before they can be left.
From the building itself, more unsettlingly, is a distinct groan of shifting construction. Part of the roof cracking and settling.
This causes a few cries of dismay and the evacuation becomes a bit less organized as people start doubletiming it away from the facility, save for the Overwatch troopers who are watching the building warily.
"Power up the rumbler drones and send them in, now!" Veronica shouts as she rolls to the side of her armor as it opens like an anxious rose's petals and then deploys a grab bar above her head. She shimmies out of her lab coat and leaves it in her chair as she undoes the velcro holding her in it and reaches up to grab the bar, lifting herself up and hand-walking over drop herself down into the Augmenta armor. The armor then seals up around her and all of the telltales come to life.
"Posse, command of the crisis is yours. But I need clearance to penetrate the quarantine seal to get to Toni. Can you please mobile an entry tent to the corridor outside nanolab two?" Veronica's voice comes onto the Overwatch channel. She glances at Hisako and though it is invisible, she grins. Nice. "Standard doors here are nine feet tall, three wide." Fun, when the owners include someone who is a firm advocate of disabled access and a common wearer of powered armor.
"Hank, you are with me. You might want to pick her up, I'm activating my jump gear. Neena, keep the Hells up, woman. Your luck might turn out to be the only way to save Toni, and I'll use you for all it's worth." Augmenta's altered voice vocodes her words as the suit moves gracefully, settling into a posture like a sprinter on the blocks. And then she launches!
Augmenta is not flying. Instead, she is bounding ahead with a running gait that picks up incredible leaps incorporated into every stride. If she keeps this up without height restriction she can actually cover speeds in excess of autobahn. As it is, she is far outpacing 'clunky powered armor', and she is leaping over any obstacle, including people.
"She's about as fast as I am, Augmenta." Hank says with a nod. The distance is short enough that any minor increase in speed probably wouldn't matter. And with that, the Beast looks to Hisako. "If you need a lift, hold on to my shoulders, if not…follow me and stay close, please." Once he has her answer, the man leaps into motions…and running on all fours he moves at literally highway speeds and is himself capable of significantly high leaps if needed, leaps fifty or more feet long with a run. Regardless, he stays on Augmenta's six, moving at his best speed. He /does/ also keep a wary eye on the albino, and oh…joy…the guard gave her a gun.
Though…he does have to admit, he has little doubt she DID inform them of what happened in the Ukraine, no way this reception would be warranted otherwise.
Oh—hello! Catching a weapon being thrown Domino's way seems like the most normal action in the world, she's got the rifle in both hands with a thumb automatically seeking out a safety which is right where she's expecting it to be. A second later she's giving the one trooper, then Karl, something of a peculiar glance. Yep, they're serious! She gives a sharp nod and "Got it" then follows Karl's motion to the group heading outside.
It may be a disaster but at least she can do -something- here. If she really intends to set things right with RESCUE then this is the next step forward.
Veronica's orders are heard (at least she's honest about using Dom for her power!) A quick glance back to Karl has her saying "You heard the lady. Not trying to ditch you." Then it's an all-out sprint trying to keep up with Augmenta who has already commanded a respectable lead! "Why doesn't she live in that thing like Ava does…" is thoughtfully muttered.
Soon enough the groaning of the other building can be heard, prompting a deadpanned "That can't be good." Normally she'd take the chance and push onward but if she winds up getting Karl killed… Mercurial eyes jump back to the Overwatcher in question, conflicted over the lone guard. This is a hand which she -cannot- overplay.
Just follow the Big Boss Lady, Thurman.
"<This is Posse, campus command has the reins. Entry tent for nanolab hall is ETA 30 seconds. Staggered lockdowns are going and green,>" the chief of security radios back as she enters the underground command center and integrates herself into the flow of information and orders passing through the room.
With an accurate headcount campus-wide thanks to the ubiquitous access badges - and perhaps a little surveillance equipment - the Foundry's containment protocol is able to take automatic effect, locking down and sealing each lab and hallway segment as it's fully emptied of occupants. Where evacuation measures have been at their fastest, nearest to the nanolabs, labcoats and t-shirts are replaced with hazmat suits as Overwatch personnel help stragglers to evacuate, all while matching colored dots and tallies move across a map of the building in the command center halfway across campus.
The shimmering exo-armor which gives the Japanese girl her codename stabilizes at about eight feet, nine inches in height - and becomes almost crystalline in its sharp, vivid manifestation. Trapping an atmosphere isn't *easy*, but Hisako's practiced that too for just such a situation. And once she's stabilized her armor, she follows behind Augmenta and Beast, half-sprinting, half-leaping, and keeping up pretty well. Beast *probably* has the advantage, especially if it comes down to a marathon rather than a sprint, but at least it's all one campus as opposed to running halfway downtown (or further).
The sound of a building in distress gets Armor to look up, and for a moment, she wonders if it's more important to support the building than it is to get inside - but given the unknowns of the situation, she sticks with the group, coincidentally (or not) lining herself up between "Neena" and the two in the lead.
They're all dealing with the same emergency right now, and Armor knows it. She also knows that the lady with the tattoo around her eye is Not Trusted, at least officially, by either Dr. Kelsey or Beast, and the latter carries significant weight. If it turns out that "Neena" is in fact completely trustworthy, all the better - Hisako will apologize if she has to. For now? They're probably going to have to go through the door in close to single file *anyway*, and this is the order they seem to have settled into.
Meanwhile, the other decorative pond near where the Bearcat is parked begins to rapidly drain, water pouring out of the basic to vanish down vents in the sides, before with a rumble the doors for the concealed hangar open, an elevator lifting up to fit perfect into the now open space. On it are a pair of smaller but sturdy ATV Rumbler drones, that take off down the path and turn towards the foundry, heading for the doors on the side as the troopers there back up slightly from the groaning building.
A slightly wildeyed and portly young woman comes charging out of the door, nearly running down one of the drones as it bobs to the side, her glasses a bit askew and her lab coat billowing behind her like a cape. As she sees Augmenta and the other arriving, she shouts. "He's eating it! He's eating all of it, the metal!" She sounds just a tad hysterical. "Are you CRAZY, you can't go in there!!!" One of the security officers takes her to the side, speaking to her, then amoment later over the security channel the comm officer updates. "Ah, be advised, we have reports of a possible unidentified metahuman inside the facility that is….eating the building. I repeat, we have an unconfirmed report of a unidentified meta inside the building."
This is followed by a second voice crackling with static. "All responders, be advised that there is a force field operational in the tunnels under the foundry. We can't get through it to to Dr. Ho's lab!
The sunken part of the roof drops again with a groan, then a section about fifteen feet across collapses inside, leaving a large hole in the roof behind. Followed by the Rumbler drones backing rapidly out the door. One gets clear. The other weaves and jerks, sparking, before it seems to start coming apart, its wheels falling off as it topples on its side, then seems to collapse in on itself.
Following it out is a staggering, humanoid form that stumbles into the doorway. Whatever is covered in a seething mass of red and silver, and as it topples into the doorframe, the door and frame rapidly begin to turn red, starting to flake and crumble as they rust away, before the figure staggers upright, making a gasping noise, the material shimmering around to show too slender limbs, before glowing yellow eyes turn towarsd the oncoming group.
Followed by those with wi-fi capable gear getting a signal:
"RECLAM1@#7DICAL PROCESS @(2>!@#**& would like to synchronize. Allow? YES/NO?
With this additional information, the pilot of Augmenta clenches internally with horror. Oh frakk, oh frakk, OH FRAKK! "Posse, I recommend deploying earthquake foam bombs in all tunnels leading to the Foundry. Give me a count soonest on the number of people we are missing."
Augmenta comes to a halt right in front of the flailing figure covered in the nanoswarm. "No one synchronize with that swarm! No one!" She then taps onto her left bracer with her right gauntlet, as she orders a Humblebee in closer before activating its transmitter to send the standardized emergency shutdown code to the swarm. She's not betting this is going to work, but she is going to try that.
"Force fields should be Toni's lab defending itself. I don't know why her communications are cut off, but we will get to her as soon as we can." Augmenta explains to everyone around herself. "Hisako, that armor of yours is not technology. I need to ask you to try something really risky. I need you to walk over there, and try to brush the nanites off that man's body. They should not be able to penetrate your field, or gain any purchase on it. If we can clear him off, we can help him."
And if not? Augmenta groans. "Posse … we may have to deploy the EMP device in my isolab, here in the field."
"The swarm is feeding on that man's blood, most likely the iron content of it is my inference." Hank observes. "An EMP might work, but…I think containment might be possible with a sufficiently strong EM field." He looks to Hisako, and nods. "Your Armour might well be the only viable defense we have, Armour. Please try to keep the man from getting near any other metals, if you would."
As for Hank he will move towards augmenta, and kills his wifi links entirely. Nope, not going to synch with questionable signals. Nope. Nope. NOPE. Not happening.
He DOES look around the area for anything…wait. "EMP…generator…the field COULD be modulated to do a slow burn instead of a burst, possibly to form a containment zone…we don't know if it is even ferrous, but it is /eating/ iron…" Hank sighs then, and deactivates his visor, pulling out the power core, and jury-rigging a magnet. Man, he goes through a lot of visors. He looks to Domino. "Red wire or blue?" Whichever she picks, that's the one he makes the final connection with, hoping perhaps to invoke her luck power?
And then he activates the visor, and lobs it towards the swarm, a strong burst of magnetism forming - hopefully there will be good results…you know…if he's lucky.
Sadly, it is only a test - and it will destroy the visor in the process. Oh well.
Cripes, is that the new girl Hank arrived with? Okay, so..probably a mutant! Domino's also getting a suspicious feeling that Hisako is running a little interference on the side. It's the orange badge, right? It's practically a neon fricking sign pointing at the marked albino. Eh, on the other hand Hisako looks pretty sturdy so Dom can always use her for cover in a pinch.
This could wind up being the winning strategy as the building sags more and something really..pretty grotesque stumbles outside of it. Hello, nightmare fuel. Neena's quick to take a defensive stance and snap the rifle up to her shoulder but she holds her fire. This..could somehow still be one of their own… Eugh, everything's so much easier when running solo!
"Uuh..Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over? Holy shit it -is- eating the buildingwhat the hell kind of'Synchronize?' What—" she grunts and quickly shakes her head before pinning Hank with a much more natural pale blue stare.
The guy's asking her 'Red or Blue.'
Hank is blue.
The sunglasses Neena wore today are blue.
"Blue or bust."
Confirmed: There IS someone inside of that mess who might still be saved. Neena's focus darts back to Karl. "Toni's still in there, right? You feelin' lucky?"
"Foam's already on its way, they deployed when the shaking started. Five souls counting Doc' Ho, and we'll task a Humblebee with EMP retrieval," Posse answers rapid-fire as she plucks data from the screens around her, freeing the command center personnel to coordinate the nit and grit of crisis management. Chief of Security the cyborg might be but instead of micro-managing, she's set herself up as a calm sentinel towards the back of the room, letting actions take their course but monitoring in case she's needed.
If Armor had time to pull her phone out, she would mash the 'NO' button on its screen - but she also tends, as a matter of habit, to keep her phone's wi-fi off whenever she's away from the Institute (and even sometimes within it).
There are more important things for now, though - like the collapsing building, and the nano-infested form who just staggered out of the doorway. Armor barely needs to be prompted to take the fore; she's used to being what gamers would call the "party tank," and when Dr. Kelsey instructs her to try and brush the nanomachines away, the girl inside the armor nods and gets to work. "Try to hold still, this is going to be bumpy as it is," she asks the figure before reaching out with both of her armor's hands - one bracing against the back of the form's shoulders, the other brushing down the front of the chest, trying to brush away nanomachines … preferably without taking anything more vital *with* it.
Y'know. Like skin … or ribs … or vital organs …
If it turns out it's *all* nanomachines already, she can at least make sure they don't get at her teammates. (Or her.)
"Sheeeet." Karl snorts. "Well. Got cleaned out at poker last night, luck's gotta balance out sometime, right?" He hefts his stun rifle. "What's th' crazy?" he asks Domino. And, well, he'll follow her into whatever she's got planned.
The visor core lands and rolls up towards the man staggering around. The Rumbler operator, apparently realizing that it would be Bad (tm) if whoever this is gets too close to another building or such, turns around the surviving one and accelerates it into a kamikaze bump into the man's shins that knocks him over into the field, though the nanites promptly swarm the little drone, eating away its axle and internal support structure, circuit boards and the like as it crumples into a pile of plastic. However, the field does have an effect, some of the swarm falling off the man's arm and face as he falls backwards into the field. His skin is as pale as Domino's, though there are weird flares of pinkish moment across it, especially his face as he tries to inhale, coughing, before the core burns out and the swarm covers him again.
A squad of Overwatch troopers come doubletiming it as the hangar elevator completes another circuit, humping what looks like some sort of sonic looking weapon between them as they find a point not too far away and start setting it up. Another pair have the odd grenade looking devices Domino saw at the front desk as they pop them open to load. "Ma'am, we have sonic and gas support weapons in place at your discretion." one reports to Posse.
From in the tunnels, the crackling voice responds. "MOving up foam. So far the tunnels look stable, but map says the roof collapse is over the lab itself…can't get to it to use the foam on the crumbling bit. We'd have to go through the Foundry itself."
Armor can get to the figure pretty easy…he doesn't appear to be really aware of his surrounding save in the 'oh god I'm on FIRE sort of flailing around and staggering, so he doesn't fight back as he's grabbed and the nanos start getting knocked off him, forming a little pile here and there as they fall off. They sort of swirl around in the grass but don't seem to spread too far, though they try to flow up Armor's legs and return to the unfortunate Dr. Lewis, who is being identified via facial recognition by the comm officer at that point.
"Get the EMP here as quickly as possible, Posse." Veronica offers, as she examines the comm log from the Humblebee. She commands it to drop its onboard Screamers, inactive, and then brings it back down into range, activating its open wifi connection and allowing it to link with the nanoswarm, even as she then turns, counts to three, and fires that sonic canon at the Humblebee to take it out.
Why all of that? Well, now Veronica is pulling out a cold air canister and running for the fallen drone, firing it at point-blank on the thing as she then tries to snap a copy of the RAM chips' contents for examination. Then she steps on the thing, crushing its chipset to bits.
"Toni's forcefield will only last ten minutes, tops, based on our last tests. We have three minutes left. Lewis is not the whole of the nanoswarm, the Foundry has to be full of them. Which means someone is going to have to go through that barrier and inside the Foundry to set off the EMP." Veronica sighs, and looks back towards Hisako as her shoulders hunch inside the armor. It goes against everything she believes in to send someone into that danger. But logic says its' their best chance.
"Neena, Hisako … I … I need to ask something terrible of both of you." And then Roni needs to throw up and cry. But she doesn't have time to be weak right now. "Neena, I need you to get her in there to the luckiest spot." And she looks towards the incoming Humblebee drone with the EMP device carried beneath it. "Hisako, I need you to carry that thing into the middle of the underground collapsing structure … and set it off."
Then Veronica turns to Karl. "I need the crew in the tunnels to prep two foam satchel charges. These two can carry them in, then set them off on their way out. That should be enough to stabilize prior to collapse."
And now Roni has to figure out how to build herself a suit of armor immune to this crap. Hers is resistant; carbon fiber shell, not metal. But not immune.
Hank moves forward then, a bit closer to the swarm. "It is subject to magnetic attraction, in theory a strong enough EM field might do to bring them to a given location for containment or destruction." Three minutes…that's probably not enough time.
And then Roni makes he plan known. "Doctor Lewis is in a constant state of exsanguination, specifically the red cells. It /will/ kill him if it doesn't stop." He looks to Roni. "Augmenta…I have the heartiest metabolism, I can survive far longer and far worse than anyone else here. And I have a healing factor…it will hurt, but I could see if I can draw them away, blaze a trail…"
He won't do it if she declines, but it WOULD cut down on the risk for others, and he IS tough. Really tough.
But it is not his rodeo, technically, it isn't hers at the moment either — but she's the one he asks. She's his friend, someone he deeply cares about, and deeply respects. He /won't/ put her through any more anguish.
Alright, it's go time! Neena darts a hand out to clap the back of Karl's nearest shoulder in a 'follow me!' way but before she can set off in a dead sprint…
Veronica's on the horn with both the -very information- which Dom was -just- about to ask for along with a different strategy which happens to lead to the -exact same area- she had just been planning to go.
"The force field's almost out?" Shrug. "Saves me some trouble."
Heh. The 'luckiest spot.' Someone hand her a mirror.
"Spare the formalities, I was about to go there anyway. Just get me what we need. Hisako" that'd be the other formerly unknown mutant girl, "let's roll."
When every rational thought returns 'this is a bad idea' along with a healthy dose of 'WTF are you even doing?!' the albino knows that she's on the right track.
The crackly voice turns up some useful intel, Dom makes a mental note then radios back "Working on it! Get a med team ready on the, ah—north side of the building!"
Which way is north, again..? Eh, it'll all work itself out.
Veronica only hesitates about nineteen agonizing seconds before she responds. "Go with them, Hank. Use that funky new nose of yours, see if you can find any of the others. And be goddamned careful."
"EMP mobile, on approach from Wellspring ten o' clock high," Posse radios back as the distant shattering of a window reveals the distinctive form of a humblebee heavily burdened by its payload up above - a little too heavily judging by the trajectory it's tracing on its way towards the group. Luckily for anyone immediately around the building, it's safety glass.
"Evac count, one - Doctor Ho," she adds in a factual tone that belies the reassurance of the news.
Armor glances over at Dr. Kelsey, listens to the instructions being given, and then asks with a nearly straight face, "What's the 'terrible' part?"
Nearly straight. She's joking, and it's a bad joke, and she knows it. But there are considerably worse things that could be asked of her, and what she *is* being asked to do will (hopefully) save lives, including one of Beast's friends. The terrible part, by her lights, would be if this goes pear-shaped and they get buried underneath the collapsing Foundry.
"Probably best if Neena carries the bomb and I carry her," Armor suggests as the EMP device is delivered. "And Neena - chilly reception earlier notwithstanding? If this works, I'm glad to meet you."
If it doesn't work … well, they won't be around to debate it, will they? Unless they meet up in the afterlife.
Armor lays Dr. Lewis down, and if Neena accepts being carried, scoops her up gently. "Three minutes and counting … let's go!"
And she goes charging into the building with Domino, trusting the lucky lady to guide her to where they need to be in order to set off the EMP, then set off the foam and get out of there again.
Just the information she needs right on time, lucky for Domino! Karl grunts and follows her at the dead sprint into the door, nodding to Hisako as he heads in. Inside, the effects of the swarm are obvious. Metal bits are being eaten, though not as quickly as they're not as concentrated as they are around the unfortunate Dr. Lewis, though they appear to be industrious little buggers all the same. Those inside can tell where Lewis stumbled or grabbed things, because that's where the largest concentrations are. Luckily the walls aren't ALL metal, there's plenty of concrete, though the i-beams that form the structural supports are certainly targets. Getting all the way in, the path to Nanolab 2 is pretty easy to see, as well as that it was ground zero for an explosion that seems to have thrown nanites everywhere. The equipment in the lab is gone at this point, as is the nearest support beam, which is responsible for the roof having caved in. The floor is partially gone as well, allowing those in the former lab to see the shimmering blue of a force field that seems wedged up under the weakened structure, keeping it from collapsing further. Of course, to see down into the lab you'd have to go right up to one of the holes in the weakened floor to look down…
But fortunately there's a place on the remaining floor to set off the EMP. Luckily the other labs are shielded, so it's unlikely it'll fry EVERYTHING in the building, and the force field will likely prevent it from frying everything in the lab below. Should get all the unshielded nanites though. Better yet, there's a pair of de-armored Overwatch types who are down to their bodysuits in terms of equipment that are doing a dance to try and keep a pair of foam satchel charges out of the reach of the nanites crawling over their equipment, that they toss towards the oncoming group before hightailing it back out of range. Better yet, the overburdened Humblebee wobbles its way over to the hole in the roof, the drops down to where the EMP charge can be grabbed from where it's holding it. Perfect timing!
%f It's easy enough to set off…press the button. And the moment it does, there's a snap pop as communications from those inside halts and the emergency lights for the Foundry flicker then go dark as the wave of eletromagnetic energy flows down the corridors and crevices of the facility. With the door open, there's nothing to stop the blast from propagating outside, at least in a narrow passage, enough to wash over Dr. Lewis as he flails on the ground, the nanite swarm shuddering then going inert as he collapses, coughing and panting as he rolls over and starts vomiting up nanites for a moment. His color starts recovering almost immediately as he sways, setting his hands on the nanite pile around him.
Which promptly oxidize and crumble into nothing.
The foam bombs are easy to drop down through the floor hole sat that point and set off, the quicksetting foam expanding upwards to press against the floor, adding structural support, the field flickering a bit afterwards then shutting down, revealing Toni kneeling down on the floor, wearing the breastplate from her wrecked armor and one of the gauntlets with a power cable crudely jammed into the side. "…good timing…" she says, wobbling a bit, a thin line of blood running down the side of her head where she looks to have been clipped by a falling piece of rubble. From the look of it, at least part of the floor came down before she got the field up.
"Med team!" Augmenta shouts. "Hose him down and get him on a gurney, into the Wellspring for immediate treatment!" There are other doctors, so Augmenta is not leaving the scene just yet. Right now she is staying until everyone is out … and everyone missing is found.
Then she's going to find somewhere private to throw up, and have a good cry. Veronica is really hating this crap. But when she finds out what caused this? Oh boy.
Hank meets Roni's optics, since he can't make eye contact through her helmet and nods. And then Hisako and Neena run off with Karl. And there's no time. All he can do is wait, and watch. Not something he's all that used to doing! So, he moves to stand next to Roni, one massive hand raised to Augmenta's pauldron, and squeezing. Not that she's going to feel any flex through /power/ armor, but the emotional support, that is real enough.
When the call is made to aid the injured, Hank will do his part, he even has first aid gear to hand.
He has to give Neena some credit, she's not armored, she's not invulnerable, and she had no force field. On the whole…took courage to go in there.
Hisako he approaches when Armor returns, thumping her force shielded shoulder. "Good job." Neena gets a nod, one of actual respect. "Both of you." And then back to Hisako. "I wonder if that will do for your interview?"
"Copy, Posse" Domino comms back.
A quick glance is passed to Hisako when she asks what the 'terrible' part is, prompting a quick and sly grin from the mercenary. "You're fun."
WaitHisako's offering to carry her ins"Screw it, let's do this. Karl, no hard feelings if you want to sit this one out" she offers while pulling the integrated hood of her jacket up over her head. Anything to try and keep the bloodiron-sucking nanites away! "Sounds like it's gonna get ugly."
Fortunately, ugly or not, it does move quickly. The spread of nanites in the building's interior looks properly creepy but there isn't much time to worry about getting too close with Armor effectively taking point.
A couple of foam charges get added to their inventory and Neena might be jumping just a little at them being thrown over by two guys who are already -covered in nanites.- Hopefully none of them are on the charges! Hopefully the charges -still work!-
"Got eyes on the packa—whup! Package secured! Live in five!"
Oh, god, that EMP really tingles.
Everything else goes like clockwork. The nanites go down, the foam goes down, Toni's clear to bring out, no additional injuries from making it inside… It's a clean sweep rescue, right?
Dom reaches to her headset but stops short of putting out the call. EMP blast. It's probably dead. Instead she turns to the other mutant and offers up "Good job, Hisako. Give me a hand with Toni?"
Back out in the open the hood's swept back in time for her to be caught off guard by Hank. She gives something of a humorless smirk in return while securing the rifle and handing it back to Karl. Crisis over, toys go back to the box.
Hooking a thumb toward Armor, she announces "Hire this one."
"Roni come in and sitrep? Squad comms are down from the EMP," Posse radios out as static disperses from the radio band.
"Sorry we weren't here faster, Dr. Ho," Armor apologizes as she makes her way down into what's left of the good doctor's lab. "Hang tight, we'll get you out to medical attention."
She'll take the time to be thoroughly creeped out by the nanomachines' swarming all over *damn near literally everything* later. She could ignore them well enough when they were trying (unsuccessfull) to crawl up her exo-armor, mostly because she had something else to focus on at the time - namely Dr. Lewis, whom she hopes is going to be all right.
At the moment, it's Dr. Ho who needs her focused attention, once the foam's solidified to prop up what's left of the floor/ceiling above Dr. Ho's lab. If Neena wants to provide the majority of support for the co-head scientist, Armor's okay with that, as long as they can move her without jostling her.
Shortly thereafter, they're out safely and Armor turns Dr. Ho over to a medical staffer, or Beast himself if he's not otherwise occupied. "Glad I was able to help," she replies to Dr. Kelsey.
And then she blushes at the combination of Beast's question, and Neena's announced opinion. "Are most days at RESCUE this interesting?" the Japanese girl asks meekly, de-armoring and looking between the two head scientists.
It's quickly determined that while Dr. Lewis is definitely a bit shaky, the combination of medical and engineering nanites appear to have actually triggered a meta eruption. Specifically, regeneration, which lets him physically recover quickly, annnnnd the other side, which appears to have given him touch based oxidation powers. Meaning he can rust anything he touches. This means they have to wait for an actual stretcher that doesn't have metal parts so they can move him, as the hazmat team moves in to gather up the nanites with a combination of magnets and vaccumn hoses. Though they're not messing around, so they also just remove a good chunk of the sod and put them in containment casks.
Toni is a bit harder to get to..while wobbly though, she's at least conscious, enough that she can be carried up and out as everyone can join up outside the Foundry.
Only two fatalities, from the initial explosion mostly, then…well, exsanguinated afterwards. They probably never felt it.
One person, however, is found to be missing, a Dr. Timsen, one of the other Nanotech scientists for the campus. A search of his badge reveals he left earlier in the day, reporting he was feeling sick and might have the flu. A search of his credentials show that he recently entered the Wellspring and used his authority to withdraw a container of medical nanites for another project, on authority from Dr. Kelsey.
A search of his office reveals a neatly folded and colorful black and white card on his desk in the Sandbox. Which, shortly after being found, suddenly powers up and taps into the campus-wide emergency channel, as screens flicker to life across the campus, including holograms showing a tall figure in a yellow beekeeper style of armor.
"Hello RESCUE." says the Supreme Scientist of AIM. "Just wanted to let you know…" he says in a boisterous tone, that sharpens into a more menacing one. "…who hasn't /forgotten/ what little miss Ho did?"
Then the cheer is back as he raises both thumbs, pointing at himself. "THIS GUUUUUY!" He waggles a finger at the screen. "Don't get too comfortable now…I'm /sure/ we'll get a chance to see you in person soon…"
And with a peal of laughter, the screen flickers out, to leave the symbol of AIM behind. Which will be stuck there until security programmers can finally override the worm inserted into the communications system.
Io Niven ta-da.