Summary:A foray into the subway beneath the Disaster Zone leads to an interesting discovery Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
      |
.~{:--------------:}~.
It's into the subways beneath the Disaster Zone that Vixen and friends are venturing today. More than anything this is a reconnaissance mission. To find their lairs and make 'all their bases belong to me'.
No one is sure how extensive the group is, whether it is just one group, or what it is they are trying to achieve. So … Hunting it is.
They've started early - the sun is rising and casting long shadows over the Disaster Zone, the sound of people getting ready for their day is slowly filling the area. Mari, dressed as Vixen, is joined by several others.
"We'll go in as a group and work our way through. Hunter, will you take point?" Hunter might not actually be with the group, exactly, but she should be able to hear. "If we need to engage with anyone, we will, but be careful - if they are supplied by Klaue as I suspect, they'll be very well equipped."
"Any questions?"
The threadbare homeless woman, looking suitably greasy and filthy in worth-through military surplus attire nods. Hidden beneath the oversized olive-drab jacket are the lumps of quite a lot of gear. The Hunter has come armed for whatever may befall them, as best she can. When asked, the woman simply nods and starts down the stairs, moving quickly and yet quite quietly, her feet never managing to disturb even a tiny pebble in her passage. And she does not bother with a light. She just slips into the darkness ahead, preternatural senses casting out before them to find the paths trodden by those who have attacked her and hers, and hunt them back to their hideaways.
The Hunter is hunting.
Alison is here because she encountered these people before and doesn't like leaving things undone…except for taxes. Does any pop singer finish their taxes? She is also here to represent the Young Avengers…or the X-Men. Not that she has permission officially, but it's not as if she will do anything embarrassing. Probably.
Alison is dressed in her white jumpsuit, complete with her Dazzler make-up. Secret identities don't seem to be a thing when you're trying to constantly be in the public eye. As the homeless woman disappears into the dark, Alison assumes she is with them. "I can provide lighting" she tells the others, perhaps unnecessarily. Oh… who is Klaue? Never mind, it can wait for later."
Apparently Avery was as good as her word, when the time came for this recon incursion into the depths…ooh, that sounds super dramatic, doesn't it? In any case, at the appointed time (actually she was an hour early, and scoping the place out from a distance) it is Zeal who is there for the rundown given by Vixen.
Zeal being something of an oddity - a Batling that is actually generally pretty upbeat, even prone to smiles! Rare, though not entirely unheard of.
Dressed in a Bat themed costume of black and yellow, her Bat symbol has a stylized Z in red over it.
Voice distorted, she does offer people comms if they need them, she has a few on hand, packed for just this purpose. "No questions, Vixen." Her voice is modulated to deepen it, adding a very faint reverb to it.
She offers a friendly smile to the Hunter, and to the Dazzler when she speaks up. "A heads up would be appreciated, I have optics that will be affected."
It is taking Avery a heroic effort to speak in the modern vernacular.
"If we are engaged, hide behind me." Brandon tells the others. He's staying flesh and blood for the moment but the transformation is quick enough. He's run into the Klaue weapons in the past and has an issue with them being on the street. Not to mention he approves of the rebuilding and wants it to continue.
An early start for Spider-Man means a certain array of complications for Peter Parker. Mostly, it means he won't be sure of getting to his morning lecture (even in the summer, there are classes), so he had to call the professor and apologize and promise to get the notes from somebody whose attendance is better. And then he had to make his way across to the Disaster Zone … although for Spider-Man, that's not really a challenge.
For those muggers who considered morning rush-hour to be prime time, on the other hand, getting ambushed by an annoyingly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed web-slinger has probably made some of them regret their life choices.
"Please try and leave your 'prey' able to answer questions," Spider-Man murmurs in Hunter's direction as he takes note of her taking the lead. He'd been hoping to have a longer talk with her, but between one thing and another, no dice.
To Dazzler, Spidey advises, "Save the light until we need it. Lighting up the tunnels around us'll just make us an easier target for the bad guys. If we *do* need it, though, someone'll yell for it." He gives a quick wave/thumbs-up to Zeal as well, then descends into the tunnels behind Hunter … and above her, crawling quietly along the ceiling rather than take up valuable stairs.
As Hunter heads down into the subway, she has to distinguish from *all* the scents and most are … not pleasant. Years of neglect, decay, detritus and the occassional flooding has certainly had their effect. However, she can something - that leads them further into the tunnel.
"The lighting will be needed, can you keep it subtle though and extinguish it when we need to?" Vixen asks. "Also, stay behind Hunter as well when you do - it will upset her vision otherwise." Mari has kit built into her suit but she doesn't need to show them off just yet.
"Take the comms that are offered. It will make things easier. Spider-Man, Zeal, I'll tune into your comms with my suit." T'Challa had put some bells and whistles in when he designed it. Comms had been considered a must.
Getting through the tunnel is … tricky. There's long sections that are more than clear enough to traverse. The scent Hunter is following takes a turn to the left down a side tunnel - it might have been a service access at one point. She doesn't make it ten feet before an electrical field snaps up. It zaps her with enough force to knock a person off their feet and hurt badly - what will it do to Hunter.
That field zaps Vixen who ends up with a thump against a wall several feet back. "Well. That's annoying, but I suspect we're somewhere we're not supposed to be. Can anyone see what might be generating it?
Indeed they can. There's two control panels on either side of the tunnel behind the field. To deactivate this - people need to get through.
Hunter smelled the scent, but could not find the tricker before it detected her and went off. Being herself, she bears down, resisting against the charge, which means there is some seriously ugly scents of burnt hair, singed dirty and soiled cloth, and some cooked flesh. Smoke wafts off the homeless woman as she advances, menacingly, through the field, teeth grit down hard against any outcry of pain. It looks pretty ugly, and smells worse.
Dazzler will only emit the most subtle of light, mainly to stop walking into things. Sure, she could send out sonar pulses but why waste energy on that until necessary. A surprised gasp at the sudden electrification of Hunter…the smell making her screw up her nose but she was homeless once too, so it's more the memories that offend than the scent itself. "There's probably a better way…" she whisper-shouts to Hunter but it seems the woman is determined. A glance round at the others in a 'this is not good' way.
Spider-Man comes to a halt well short of the field, but doesn't have time enough to warn Hunter or Vixen before they get zotted - off her feet, in Vixen's case. "Two panels back there," Spidey reports to the others, wincing as Hunter just tries to tank straight on through. That has GOT to be hurting her incredibly …
Spidey doubts he'll spot much of anything useful on the 'outside' of the field, but he checks anyway - looking for conduits, access panels, stray wires that don't look weathered enough to have been down here long. It might just come down to trying to bust a hole through the wall next to the field …
Not his favorite option, but it would be AN option, as long as they don't go through a load-bearing section.
Brandon moves up to the field and looks it over, noticing the panels along with the others. Reaching out, he feels the side of the tunnel and nods. "The strongest force field in the world is only as strong as what it's anchored to. We tear down the wall and either disrupt the force field or go around it. Probably the first."
The comms aren't Oracle-Net, she's not comfortable giving that out without discussing, they're tuned to another frequency, and she's synched her helmet's comm to it. "Of course Vixen, Spider-Man…" She names the frequency, and gives them the encryption key to access it. She offers Alison one of the comms, and will help her affix the throat mic so she can subvocalize if needed. She'll offer one to Brandon too, unaware he turns into energy, but still, could be useful short term. Once everyone is Commed up «Testing.» Comes her voice to make sure.
And then they enter. Zeal will move with a fair degree of stealth, and a nearly silent tread.
And then there's the shock field, and Hunter just…keeps going. Zeal moves to where Vixen was thrown. "You okay?" Zeal tests if inanimate objects can pass through it, tossing a rock, if it can…well…that's what throwing daggers are for, if not… "Tearing down the wall might bring down the ceiling." She's trying very hard not to watch the Hunter's struggle, or gag on the hair and burnt flesh smell. A handful of gravel tossed up to see how high the field goes as well.
Subvocalized over the comms. «There's also the likelihood that an alarm has been triggered by the firing of the field.»
Hunter keeps getting thrown back in the field. Her progress is painful and slow and unless others do something, she's going to be a charred mess *if* she can finally get through.
The rock can enter the field, of course but it's zapped and thrown about. Daggers could work though it's doubtful they'll have any real oomph before they hit anything.
Vixen nods to Zeal "I'm ok. A bit singed and bruised but we're going to have get through that. Anyone here immune to electricity or have the ability to 'port?" There's a 'look' at Zeal for that. Mari has seen the woman at least once before. Not that she knows for certain, but …
And Brandon, she's seen in action at least one as well.
"Failing that, anything that will pass an electrical field and knock those controllers out, will do." So Dazzlers light might not be as effective as others, but might. Mari fingers the small beaded bracelet at her wrist, as she talks - there's a last ditch if they need it. "I'm not keen to mess with the structure here at all."
Spider-Man can't see anything obvious but every so often, he might notice there's a 'gap' in the field near the ceiling. Hardly big enough for anything - if he's a good enough shot, could he get a web through and attached to something?
Zeal goes very still. "I can teleport, actually. Up to five hundred pounds at a time." She approaches the Hunter, first, and Brandon for the first trip. "Close your eyes, and try not to get ill." If permitted she touches, and all three vanish as she inhales, reappearing almost the same instant on exhale. And then she hops back, and offers hands to Spider-Man and the Dazzler, if they wish it. "We shall Walk the Space Between Breaths, it is…not comfortable for anyone but me." Same advice about the eyes.
Even if the instructions are followed the 'walk between' is nauseating, but brief. Intense vertigo, and chill.
"There we are."
Try not to get ill. Adequate warning of what to expect. Brandon braces himself and nods his agreement. On the other side, he puts out a hand to the wall again though this time to steady himself. "That's never going to be a popular form of transportation." he comments. "So, lets see if there's an off switch or if we just break it." When you're a psionic hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Very seared and cooked, smoking, Hunter finally flops down on the other side of the field, coughing as she has to force her lungs to draw breath despite the spasms and pain. Her body is indeed already starting to heal, but that's a lot of damage, and she is no Wolverine. Even so, she turns herself to wait for the others, certain that her coordination is too shot for the moment to cleanly deactivate the lightning field without risking something more, or something worse.
She might need a bit to let her body recover before she can do a decent job of scouting and seeking.
Alison won't turn down a microphone. "Testing" she whispers, and it seems to be work. "I can destroy those panels with sound" she notes but it is not necessary to use up her energy. "Wow, you can teleport" she grins to Zeal as she takes the offered hand.
And then she is on the other side of the barrier…throwing up against the wall. "Not as much fun…as I hoped…" she gasp-giggles before discretely wiping her mouth dry. "So much for the subtle approach" she sighs with a nod to the barrier before stepping up to destroy the panels with a searing laser from her fingertip. They might have to get out this way, no point leaving it working.
Hunter's refusal to give up and back away from the field, even with her life possibly on the line, is somewhere between awesome and terrifying in Spider-Man's opinion - but she does manage to push the rest of the way through, even as he comes up with a way to possibly short out the field.
… if he needed to. Zeal does have another option, and Spider-Man is happy to take it - the bad guys can't realize their security's been breached if they *bypass* the barrier instead of shutting it down or shorting it out. "Thanks," he says to Zeal, just before they Walk the Space Between Breaths -
And immediately after, he has to *take* several deep breaths. Normally vertigo isn't a problem for him, thankfully; considering how far he is above street level during most web-swinging, he'd never make it as Spider-Man if he *did* suffer from it. But teleportation, Zeal style, is something else again. At least Spidey keeps his breakfast down (even if he wonders whether he should've waited to eat later). "You okay, Dazzler?" he asks; he'd offer her a hand back to her feet, but he's checking out those two panels first.
"We shut this field down, somebody's *probably* going to know we're here, if Hunter bulling through it didn't already alert our hosts …" Spidey hesitates briefly. "On the other hand, we may need to get out in a hurry when we come back this way. What's your thoughts?" he asks, looking over at Brandon in particular.
Mari sways when Zeal sets her down on the other side of the barrier, it's hard to tell that she's a little green under the dark tone of her skin. She's about to respond to Spider-Man when Alison steps up and puts on a light show.
"It's a good thing I was going to say I agree …" she says, white teeth flashing in a grin as she looks at the charred remains of the control panels. "Now, shall we see what was so important to protect in here?"
While the others look around, Mari checks on Hunter. Drawing near enough to see the damage that has been done and is healing. "You ok?" Keeping her sentences short, as the woman seems to prefer, Mari looks around "Smell or hear anything?" Yes, Hunter is injured but they're on a mission.
The room they find themselves was once a control room, but the back of it has been dug out. Quite professionally, actually. Not commercially like the rest of the subway, but still, the new tunnel is large enough for a tall, wide, man to fit through and well supported that it's not likely to collapse. At the end of it is a heavy, metal, door.
Hunter can scent something down that tunnel. It's not a smell she'll be familiar with - but … Vixen's suit has a similiar scent. It's dark down that passage and where it ends - they'll need some lighting to be able to work.
And someway to get the heavy, metal, door open.
There's also a computer in the corner of the control room, which someone hasn't locked down particularly well. It too can be accessed and the first thing that flickers on the screen is a chemical formula … which gets Mari's attention at least.
Hunter's healing is rapid enough to be slow-moving visible, which is a bit disconcerting to most. But she nods to Mari when asked, and after a few more moments she pushes herself up to her feet. Good thing there're no empaths in here to feel the agony she's fighting through. Hunter looks down the dark tunnel, and then back to Mari. "Strange metal. Men, hour." she murmurs very softly.
Hunter does not seem inclined to use light, but instead hunches down and continues forward into the tunnel, leading not with eyes but with ears and nose and instincts. With just a hint of light from the room behind her, Hunter's feline eyes can make out more than enough of outlines and such to inch her way along, using her skills and experience to seek out potential tricks and trap, sensors and clues.
"What does 'Men, hour' mean?" Dazzler whispers to the others while watching Hunter slinking off. There is an apologetic shrug to Spider-Man about destroying the panels but at least there were some others who agreed with her. Though she is young and hip, she may not be the one to crack computer files - not with a Batperson here. Instead, her attention turns to the big metal door. "I could try to cut through it but anyone inside would see it and no idea how long it would take." She's trying.
Brandon was also thinking about their return trip, possibly in haste. But the question becomes moot when the panels are destroyed. "If they didn't know we were here, they likely do now so stay alert." As if anyone isn't going to be. He returns the comm link saying "It will be useless once I transform so there's no need. I'll just link to your thoughts if need be." A nod to Dazzler. "Tearing it down would be just as obvious and probably noisy."
Well, there *were* some potential reasons not to destroy those panels … but as the flash of Dazzler blowing them apart fades, Spidey admits (at least inwardly) that it was more satisfying to make sure that field WON'T stop them on the way out. "Nice shot," he compliments the mutant starlet, giving her a quick thumbs-up.
Then he turns his attention to the rest of the room they're in. "Dazzler, now's probably a good time for some light on the subject," he suggests - but he's already gravitating towards the computer, after assessing the rest of the room and not feeling like there are any hazards. "Huh … biochemical research of some kind. Specifically 'bio-chemical,'" he emphasizes both halves of the compound, peering at the formula, almost as if committing it to memory. If there's some paper and a pen or pencil, he'll literally copy it down for good measure, tucking the note away in a hidden pocket of his suit.
On the other hand, that formula doesn't have any obvious link to Klaue's apparent hunt for Vixen's totem, does it? It might be a side project, or something completely unrelated.
Time to give that door a look. "What sort of lock do you see on it, Hunter? Mechanical, electronic, something else, no lock at all?" he asks as he's heading towards that passage.
"I would think that it means that she's scented men here within an hour?" Flickering out and back in near Hunter, Zeal offers her some energy bars, yes, they taste like crap but they have a lot of calories, calories the shifter will need to pay for the healing she's going to do now. She frowns at poor Ali's condition. "I am sorry, but..you can grow used to it, it is actually worse with eyes open on short hops like that."
Zeal looks at the door, and sighs. "I can only walk between line of sight, and I have no explosives and am still working on lock picking training…"
A pause, "Or…perhaps…a hole through it and then I could skip others across at that point?"
"I don't think it will hurt for them to know they are hunted." Mari says as she looks over Spider-Mans shoulder. He'd said bio-chemical and her ears had pricked, metaphorically. "This seems rather advanced for meer thug, don't you think?"
Hunter can't detect any traps on this side of the door. There's a standard mechanical lock backed by a keypad. Brandon can take care of the door easily enough in his armoured state. It's going to take time to break them.
"We really don't have time." Vixen says from behind the group. "Sarge. Can you take it down please. The rest of you be ready …." Who knows what's on the other side, waiting for them?
"Bar, tumbler, keypad." Hunter murmurs softly from the far end of the tunnel, as she extracts tools and prepares to work her way through this. Yeah, yeah, no one expects the homeless woman who barely speaks to know how to do this stuff. But she does. But when someone offers a faster way, she backs against the wall of the tunnel, puts away her tools … and extracts a pair of rather large pistols, one in each hand.
When that door opens, any threat on the other side will be met with extreme prejudice.
Alison will happily provide light as necessary. "I don't suppose that computer has the door code in it" she notes absently but it seems there will be a quicker, louder way to be used. "Ready." Dazzler creates a shield of light around her in the expectation that weaponry is about to be unleashed upon them.
The sight of Hunter's pistols draws a sigh from Spider-Man, along with a soft but pointed comment of, "Corpses are bad at answering questions, Hunter. We need them to *talk* to us." Sure, the bad guys aren't likely to be nearly that considerate, but that's a big chunk of what *makes* them the bad guys, at least in Spidey's book.
On that note, Spidey takes his position - not on the ceiling, but perched high on one wall. "Sarge, can you hand the door to me after you wrench it loose? I might be able to do something with it once the fray starts."
He pauses to make sure he's out of everyone's way, then murmurs, "Ready when you all are."
Brandon nods to Mari and walks over to the door. There's no intermediate stage between him being flesh and blood and a swirling mass of energy. It takes a second to coalesce into what looks like a suit of translucent power armor that is almost as tall as the ceiling. He's not in the armor, he is the armor. « I wasn't planning on wrenching it loose. » Everyone can hear that in their minds. Lifting his hands, palms forward, he blasts the doors which go flying. If anyone was waiting to ambush them, they got a face full of door.
When the others ready, so does Zeal, a flash-bang in one hand, and the other palming a throwing blade, she waits. The destruction of the doors in spectacular fashion, she can't help but grin a bit. That was pretty cool. Still, she'll be ready and alert in the event of the inevitable danger.
BOOM
Spider-Mans spider-senses tingle.
Brandons effort on the door echoes in the tunnel, causing debris and dirt to shower them. The door flies to the other side of the room - no handing to it Spider-Man unfortunately. And no one waiting on the other side.
fffffffttttt
Hunter smells it just before the haze starts to eddy through the room. A precaution against the door being forced - gas starts to fill the air and everyone feels lightheaded, it verging on feeling powerful and wonderful all at the same time.
The gas is escaping from vents in the ceiling and cornices. "Vents. We need to block them." Vixen gasps. "We need to block them. Spider-Man, Dazzler, Zeal?" It's then that Spider-Man will get the glimpse of the spider silhouette sitting on Mari's shoulder - there and then gone. No one else see's it. Maybe he just imagined it.
There are crates in this room. Stacked on top of each other around the walls.
And Hunter sucks in one massive breath … and stops breathing. With no threats worth shooting, the pistols disappear, and Hunter just slinks into the room on slow-motion (for her). Her body tends to just process the stuff with minimal effect, though more while in human shape than Amur would suffer. She examines the vents, and then leaps up to physically force them shut, one at a time. With help - and some of Spidey's webbing - this would got a lot faster. But given she'd have to both open her mouth, talk, and use up her air supply to explain, Hunter just goes about it and trusts that either the others are competent enough to figure this out, or that she will be carrying them out later.
*thwip* *thwip* *thwip* *thwip*
Rather than actually telling his allies he's on it, Spider-Man is already webbing the vents shut as well as he can, just covering them in the synthetic, quick-drying adhesive. He did notice the silhouette, and he's *still* curious what it might mean as far as Vixen's concerned, but he's too busy trying to seal up the gas-dispensing vents before the team is incapacitated by the gas.
Only once the ceiling-mounted vents are webbed up does Spidey speak up, "Where are the others? Don't breathe more than you have to until we've accounted for all of them."
No gunfire is a good thing. Alison breathing a sigh of relief. Which is probably a mistake, since there is now gas flooding into the air around them. Though it is quite nice gas, it is hardly likely to be good for her health. Springing into action, while holding her breath, she starts to zap the vents she sees. Superheated beams of light to melt them closed…and burn up the gas too if she is lucky.
Not breathing or having pores does wonders for your resistance to poison gasses so Brandon walks into the other room to make sure the others don't need to squeeze by him. « I am monitoring your surface thoughts so don't try to speak if you need help. »
Alas for poor Zeal, she lacks Hunter's resilience, she lacks the living energy being's non-metabolism, and is not nearly as tough as Spider-Man, she even lacks a normal person's resistance to gasses, her amped metabolism making her in this instance more susceptible than Alison too. The gas drops her to her knees, but fortunately the rest of the people present are more than capable, and after a few moments, the weakness passes, and she pushes up a wall to her feet. "Well, that was not much fun." When nothing immediately seems to be a threat, she picks up her dropped flashbang and blade, and looks to the others. "So…further in, or take what we can, perhaps the computer, and scarper?"
Spider-Man, Hunter, Dazzler and Brandon manage to get the vents blocked. Vixen checks on Zeal and looks around. "Check the boxes…" She says.
In the boxes are weapons. Rifles and pistols. They've a strange scent to Hunter, she smelled that earlier. It smells a bit like Mari's suit.
To the others, the weapons are high quality and … some are sonic.
Alison pokes around in the crates like an interested bystander. She knows very little about weapons but knows them when she sees them. "Does it seem odd to anyone else that they rely on a big metal door, an electrical shield, and a strange gas to protect their weapons instead of actual guards." A beat. "Though, to be fair, that is a pretty good defence. I should take some of these back to Young Avengers HQ and get someone to analyse them." Who? She has no idea.
« Would actual guards fare any better against those who can get past the big metal door, electrical shields, and a strange gas? » Sarge asks. « You also needs to pay them by the hour. » It might be the end of the line but he's not ready to shift back to human. Those guards could be behind a false wall.
"Probably not," Spidey answers Sarge, "although with weapons like these …" He holds one of the rifles up, the eyes of his mask narrowed as if relaying the glower he's probably sporting under said mask. "Klaue's an arms dealer, right? Betcha we found one of his 'warehouses'. Can we hand these over to SHIELD, or the Avengers, or somebody? Getting them topside is going to be 'fun,' but I don't fancy leaving them down here for Klaue to move."
Or for somebody else to stumble across, now that they've left both doors impossibly wide open to whomever might wander down this way, he thinks.
Zeal will examine the crates, and looks to the others. "I can take some of the weapons to my own sources. See what they can do." She's still a bit woozy, but…recovering. "This was not at all what I had expected." She grips Mari's arm, squeezing it in thanks as she's checked on. "Keep the comms, by the way, they can be recharged with the USB CEE." Yes, she actually says it with a bit of an odd emphasis.
Regardless, she is ready to help however she can. "Hunter, can you sense any others near? Dazzler, can you perhaps send a light down the tunnel a ways? Spider-Man?" She's not sure what a spider can.
A warehouse seems to be a reasonable thought and Mari nods slowly. Dazzler has a point and Mari looks around "We should take these, yes, and get the hell out of here. I'm going to download the contents of that computer. T'Challa may have some thoughts on what that is."
"Take some back, Dazzler. The rest will go to SHIELD. Let's regroup when we've got this cleared and see what we can come up with."
Is this a Klaue stash? It … looks like it.
"Come on, let's go."
"If I had an airtight sample container," Spider-Man says idly, "I'd try to capture some of that gas they had rigged as part of the last line of defense, see if we can get it analyzed. Maybe cook up an antidote, in case this guy uses it anywhere *else*. Short of that, though, and without a decent lab to properly analyze it without risking exposure, I can't think of anything unless you want some of these crates taken out right now?"