Raveled

"Mara, that doesn't make any sense," Jessica protested. "I've seen you control things wirelessly, but it was... IR sensors and remote controls, built into your equipment." Even as she was trying to rationalize it away, though, a creeping sensation of unease crept over her, a feeling that something wasn't quite right. Her entire head felt like it was wrapped in cotton, and there was an intense pressure building up behind her eyes. It was like something was trying to force its way out of her head, like something was holding her back, even though her limbs were unrestrained.

Jessica rubbed at her eyes and face with her palms. It was obvious the woman was exhausted, but equally obvious that she wasn't going to sleep until some things had been explained. "Mara, what are you talking about? All these medical machines were talking so loudly... and the one in the room next door... and the radio down by the nurses' station, too." She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "And then you just made everything quiet again. Mara, what is going on, here?"

As the subtle pulse of energy out from the gauntlets calmed her nascent senses, Jessica's breath slowed and her muscles relaxed. She rested her forehead on her knees, arms hanging limply at her side. There was a fine sheen of sweat all over her body, and she slowly uncurled her back and laid her head on her pillow again. "Mmm. Oh, god, Mara. What... what was that?" She lifted her head and looked around. "Everything got really quiet again. What's happening?" It was slight, but there was a quaver in the young woman's voice, an edge of fear gliding into her tone.

Technically she doesn't have Datalink at all: ATM she doesn't have anything, mechanically.

Jessica gestured sharply at the medical machines all around her bed. "Noisy! All muttering about blood pressure and heart rate and brain patterns and the music and... and..." The girl brought her knees up and her head down until she was almost curled into a ball. Her eyes were screwed shut, and she was breathing hard. "So noisy. All the machines... talking. Why? Why make them all talk?"

Jessica tried to sit up in the bed, and partially succeeded -- at least she wasn't flat on her back anymore, trying to look down her own body at Mara. She still had energy to look repentant, though. "I'm sorry," she said, "but it was my only option. Grandpa's dead, and Blake's sweet but I don't really think he could handle something like... this." She looked down at her hands, sitting limply in her lap, and twiddled her fingers listlessly. "I... I didn't have anyone else to put there, Mara." She grimaced suddenly as a stab of pain went through her head, and pressed the heel of one hand to her head. "God. I can't believe just how loud it is in here. You think they'd keep the noise down in a hospital."

The doctor gave the young woman a nod and rose to return to his rounds. Mara settled down for a long wait, and it didn't disappoint. By the time a burly orderly came by to tell her where Jessica was, a quick canvass of the hospital's clocks told her that it was edging towards three o'clock. The young woman navigated the tiles hospital walls until she came to the glass-walled room where he friend was laid out in hospital scrubs, with an IV drip plugged into one arm. Her skin was sallow, and her eyes looked sunken. Still, when Mara walked in she opened her eyes and made an attempt to sit up. "Mara," she croaked, then coughed. "Um. What are you doing here?"

The Medical Center was a busy place, even in the middle of the night, and as she wasn't actively bleeding no one seemed to worry about Mara. Asking around, reading signs, and some discrete poking around in the computer system quickly revealed where Jessica was, and which doctor was assigned to her case. Then it was a simple matter of tracking him down and introducing herself. The medical professional lead the young woman to an out-of-the-way room and sat down, relaxing for a moment. "First, the bad news," he said. "Your... friend was dosed with what seems to be a nerve agent. We pumped her stomach when she arrived, but some of it got into her system. It seems to be eating away at her nerves, causing them to shrivel and atrophy. "The good news is, it's slow. It probably would've been several days before irreparable damage was caused. We're working on stimulating the nerves to regenerate naturally, and with any luck she'll make a full recovery. We just need to keep her for observation, to make sure there's no lingering side-effects of the nerve agent or the treatment." The doctor checked his watch. "It's past visiting hours, but if you want to wait I'll have a nurse come around and tell you when we're moving her to a room."

The AEGIS agent stepped back politely, letting Dragonfly take her call. The voice at the other end was clipped and tired, and in the background the heroine could hear a constant hum of movement and conversation. "Excuse me, is this Mara Hollow-man? This is Freedom City Medical Center; a Jessica Parker was recently admitted to our ICU. Her insurance has you listed as primary emergency contact. I know it's late, but could you come down to the hospital to answer some questions?"

Gonna give the MAX agents one more try 1d20+3=12, 1d20+3=16 And they wiff. Spectacular. Time to end this, R. Lee Ermy style.

The AEGIS agents fired again, missing horribly. The dead man grinned at Dragonfly, a look of sadistic glee in his eyes as he raised his arm again -- when the air was split by a horribly loud noise like someone tearing a sheet of paper the size of the entire sky in half. The helicopter banked briefly and a line of small explosions tore up the ground, leading to the dead man. The explosions overshot him and then returned, tearing into the dead flesh and revealing rotting muscles, bones held together by nails and staples, and strange containers holding stranger liquids. In the space of a few breaths, the hulking zombie-thing had been reduced to a few large parts, quivering with their own psuedo-life. The helicopter landed nearby, the Gatling cannon in one window slowly spinning down. The sides of the vehicle opened and agents in the uniform of AEGIS jumped out, hauling steel containers with them. They surrounded the area and started packing the pieces away. One of the agents in the MAX armor slowly walked up to Dragonfly, nodding to the hero, while the other jogged over to the knot of police. "Ma'am. Thank you for the assistance. Though I have to say, I didn't expect we'd need to use that." Amidst all of this, the heroine was suddenly aware of her cellphone buzzing in her pocket.

The snowy night went dim around Dragonfly as she fought back against the massive hammerblow. She was vaguely aware of the AEGIS agents agents attacking from range and missing, badly. Their assault didn't even faze the creature, as he raised his long, heavy arm to blast the young heroine again. Amid all the furor and roar, the technopath could briefly make out the sound of a radio-call. But what could a Purple Haze be?

Buddy Blast! Blast vs. Stunned Fly (1d20+9=13) It almost missed! But it hits now, for DC 24 Toughness MAX agents! 1d20+3=13, 1d20+3=14 ... Minions suck.

The creature took the attack and rocked back on his heels, but didn't go down. He even managed to send another lightning bolt arcing out at Dragonfly, even as he deftly avoided the blows of the AEGIS agents. The day wasn't looking very good for the forces of law and order, and the two agents shared a glanced before backpedaling out of melee range.

Buddy's Toughness 1d20+5=23 I'm naming my next PC Buddy. IC seems to love it. Buddy's Blast 1d20+9=22 Aaaaand that hits, for DC 24 Toughness MAX's attack 1d20+3=18, 1d20+3=14 One comes close, but no cigar.

The creature stumbled but resolutely stayed on his feet, demonstrating more of his incredible stamina. It charged and let loose another lightning bolt aimed at Dragonfly; if nothing else it was persistent. The AEGIS agents leapt to the ground and moved in close to the dead man, as the police pulled back with their wounded. The MAX agents traded blows with the dead man, but neither side seemed to be able to gain the upper hand in the contest.

Buddy's Toughness Toughness save (1d20+6=25) Bruise number 4! Blast! Blast (1d20+9=20) Misses! Just barely. Cops are exhausted and pulling back. Cue the MAX armor for another round! 1d20+3=5, 1d20+3=8 :O

Things were getting hectic and frayed in the little war near the airport. The cops were rapidly running out of ammunition, not being prepared for an extended firefight like this. The creature roared and charged another blast, but just before he could let it off the Blackhawk swung down, nearly braining the dead man. Now the heroine could see that it wasn't two men hanging out of the helicopter's doors, it was two men in large, heavy exoskeletons hanging off the helicopter. As the vehicle swung into position, both of them aimed and fired, the shots slamming into the dead man and making him stumble. A roar filled the air from a loudspeaker bolted onto the bottom of the helicopter. "This is the American Elite Government Intervention Service. Lie down on the ground with your hands and/or other appendages on your head!"

Buddy attacks! 1d20+9=17 Wiffs! Cops go Aid. They're down to 4, now! Aid action for Fly (1d20+3=6, 1d20+3=6, 1d20+3=20, 1d20+3=17) ... Well, +4 to Att! MAX agents from the air! From the air! (1d20+3=22, 1d20+3=17) Oh, wow. One actually hits. DC 22 for Buddy. Buddy's Toughness! 1d20+7=21 Another Bruise!

The dead man twitched as Dragonfly's immaterial blade sliced through him. Maybe the creature didn't need his internal organs, but the heroine's attack had clearly hurt it somehow. The police kept up their barrage, though two broke off to grab their unconscious comrade and drag him out of the line of fire. The whump-whump-whump intensified, growing steadily louder as a genuine black-painted Blackhawk helicopter rounded the last building visible in the distance. It was hard to make out in the distance, but it looked almost like some humanoid figure was hanging out of the helicopter on either side. In any case, the vehicle would be on-scene before long.

Buddy's Toughness Toughness save w/ 1 Bruise vs. DC 26 (1d20+8=19) O.O Okay, this is starting to work. Cops Aid 1d20+3=21, 1d20+3=18, 1d20+3=23, 1d20+3=6, 1d20+3=13, 1d20+3=8 +6 to Def, +2 to Att New Ini! MAX armor Initiative (1d20+1=16) Goes after Buddy. Which isn't an issue this round.

The creature rocked back from the heroine's blast, then roared in defiance and reoriented on her new position. He brought up his arm for another lightning bolt, but one of the young police officers charged in the way instead and clubbed at the dead man's arm with the butt of his empty riot gun. It connected and shifted the creature's aim a tiny but crucial degree, sending the attack into the frozen ground and creating a plume of steam. The dead man roared and clubbed the officer over the head; he dropped in a moment, falling unmoving to the ground. Through the noise of the battle, Dragonfly could make out a low whump-whump-whump sound, like someone beating on a wet blanket.

Buddy's Toughness 1d20+9=24 IC haaates Dragonfly. Buddy Blasts 1d20+9=22 *Does math* Swing and a miss! More help! 1d20+3=12, 1d20+3=5, 1d20+3=6, 1d20+3=15, 1d20+3=19, 1d20+3=12 +2 to Def, +6 to Att. Time to bust out that Power Attack!

The creature didn't even bother trying to dodge the blast; the steam and the pain pulled her aim off enough that the distorted blast zipped harmlessly into the night air. The huge thing began stomping towards the heroine through the snow, but it took the opportunity to charge another blast and send it flying towards Dragonfly. As for the police, the pair with riot guns clacked on their last shells and abandoned the smoking weapons, resorting to their sidearms. The volley of gunfire still didn't seem to be having much effect on the monster, though.

Buddy smashin' on Fly Ranged attack vs. Dragonfly (1d20+9=23) Good thing the cops are there! Speaking of, same distribution as before. First 3 for Def, next 3 for Att Aid Another action. (1d20+3=7, 1d20+3=5, 1d20+3=17, 1d20+3=15, 1d20+3=10, 1d20+3=4) O.O Oh, wow. Things aren't going well. +2 to Def, +4 to Att