Beginning of New Things (IC)

[Raveled]

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!"

[Fox]

"Really not sure he's that smart!" Dragonfly shouted, trying to be heard over the helicopter. "Some kind of zombie or construct! Annoyingly durable!"

She emphasized the point by sending another shockwave his way, both a little glad to have the help and a little annoyed to need it. She was panting a bit, both gauntlets actually steaming in the winter air. could have worn him down eventually - I think - maybe

[Raveled]

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.

[Fox]

The lightning attack scattered across Dragonfly's shield again, harmlessly running off to melt more snow and further charge the nearby air. Her hair, even wet, was starting to stand on end at the tips - as if the day didn't have enough problems already.

Still, she observed, the police had gotten out of harm's way and the remaining peacekeepers were equipped for the job. Part of her brain was already dissecting their armor, pulling it apart and figuring out how they'd built it, what they'd used, and how to make it better...but that didn't stop the rest of her brain from putting both hands together to keep up the attack. However slowly, the thing was wearing down....

[Raveled]

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.

[Fox]

That last one..hurt. Dragonfly rocked back, her shield breaking apart and fragmenting back into normal space as the lightning ate through it and into her. Her force field - and thank goodness she had one - did what it could but she still got far, far too much electricity coursing through her body than said body was designed for. She stood there, swaying a little, with barely the presence of mind to catch her force field as it flickered and concentrate on keeping the thing going, since it was now about the only obstacle between her and being made into electron-rich paste.

[Raveled]

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?

[Fox]

that one - that one hurt Dragonfly coughed, feeling like a science project potato. As soon as she got her bearings back she made sure her defenses were at full strength, sending a half-hearted and fairly weak shockwave at her enemy. She shook her head, trying to snap herself back into fighting form. This was going to go very badly very quickly, at this rate. and what is purple haze? - don't think I imagined that - mmh

[Raveled]

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.

[Fox]

Dragonfly could barely believe the thing had finally gone down - and it had taken a helicopter-mounted gun to do it. She eyed the chunks with a grimace, still not sure she wanted to drop her force field. don't know where the 'brother' went - don't want to know at this point - suspect he won't like this one bit - good riddance "Honestly," Dragonfly replied, sounding awfully tired and awfully...well. Electrocuted, "was hoping you'd show up before he got back out. Abnormally durable. Even for the type. Am sure there's an explanation somewhere in the..."

She blinked, realizing that her pants were buzzing. Carefully - a little gingerly - she looked down at one of her pouches and pulled out her cell phone, pulling it open and hitting [answer]. After this night, she was afraid to even ask. "...yes?"

[Raveled]

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?"

[Fox]

Dragonfly visibly froze hearing her last name used (or, rather, misused), but forced herself to slowly exhale when she noticed a policeman or two glancing her way. "...will be there as fast as I can."

Snapping her phone shut, Dragonfly quickly pulled out a card - with her hero alias and basic contact information - and practically threw it at the first official she saw, not out of anger but simply in a rush as she wordlessly stalked away from the collected peacekeepers and investigators, ignoring anyone who offered her medical help as she found a clear spot to pull her motorcycle out of storage. If anyone reacted oddly to a young woman making a motorcycle appear literally out of the palm of her head, she didn't notice - as soon as the wheels had touched the ground, she was on her way. Hollow-man - Hallomen - how did she even - hope you didn't end up being too clever, Jessica

At this time of night even with bad roads she could make pretty good time - breaking a few traffic laws didn't hurt either. She found a quiet spot around the side of the hospital to park, pulled her bike back into her pocket, and took a deep breath. Wincing as she told her gauntlets to change back into normal clothes, she stayed in the cold only long enough to pull those gauntlets off, stuff them in the scruffy messenger bag that came with her 'normal' outfit, and headed in to hear what she was sure would be bad news. In a building full of medical professionals, she tried not to limp too much.

[Raveled]

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."

[Fox]

Dragonfly looked like she'd been worked over in every way imaginable, mentally and physically, but at least her attention was keen as she listened to everything the doctor said. When he mentioned that Ironclad would probably be alright she just sort of...deflated, like her worry had been keeping her upright. And then she sat bolt upright once again when pain shot across her stomach. Throughout the rest of the conversation she unconsciously kept a hand there, glad that she'd been wearing a proper long-sleeved shirt to cover what was almost certainly a decent-sized electrical burn. She was also glad - if bitterly so - that she was more than used to running on fumes, soldiering on when exhausted. It had been a long night.

When he offered to let her stick around she gratefully nodded and leaned back in her seat, muttering something akin to a thank-you and letting the man get back to his night shift. She'd wait as long as she had to, even if she didn't know how long that would be. too long probably - always too long

[Raveled]

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?"

[Fox]

Dragonfly sat in a chair - awfully gingerly - and did her best to look like she hadn't spent the last while worrying and trying not to break down. Instead she looked Jessica and the medical equipment up and down - giving some of the electronics a better glance as her brain tried to figure out how they could be improved - before sighing and raising her eyebrows. "They called me. Apparently," she said, summoning as much wryness into her voice as she could, "I'm your primary emergency contact. By my full name. No less."

[Raveled]

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."

[Fox]

Mara shook her head. should be nicer - bad day for everyone - just don't want her involved in - don't want her to know that - mmh - focus "It's....fine. Don't mind being your emergency contact...sort of honored. Last name is...mmh. Nevermind. Can ask you about that later, when you're healthier. Not like you don't des...."

She trailed off, blinking. Very slowly, she tilted her head to look at her friend. "Noisy? Noisy how?"

[Raveled]

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?"

[Fox]

Dragonfly was immediately out of her seat and halfway to the door when she stopped cold. The world was in slow motion as her brain sped up to speed and she turned around glance around the room. blood pressure - heart rate - all the machines are talking....? - couldn't be - can't possibly....

Very quietly she sat back down, trying not to watch her friend have a panic attack on the bed. A quick command to the medical equipment told them to delay their alert, for now at least - she used that time to get her gauntlets out of her bag and set them gently on the foot of the bed. This...really wasn't something she did very often, though she certainly knew how; the gauntlets weren't designed for the effect and there was just a whiff of the acrid smoke of burning-out circuitry as they lit up where they lay, releasing an unusual and noticeable shifting pattern of light through the seams and glasswork, like someone had turned on a lamp underwater or she'd just hit the switch on a lava lamp.

"Jessica?" she asked, quietly.

[Raveled]

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.

[Fox]

She wasn't really sure how to answer that. She'd heard it all her life - more when she was young, really, because she'd been neglecting the skill. She had some suspicions about why it might have gotten harder after her brain was...enhanced, too, but they were just suspicions, and they were for another time. For now, she tried to get used to the feeling of being the voice of experience. It was slow going.

"That was...mmh. I think. Pretty sure, since you're...better, now, but that was them." She pointed at the assorted machines in the room. "All of them. At once. Probably...sort of a shock. You...do kind of get used to it. If that makes you feel better. Feels wrong when it's gone, after a while."

[Raveled]

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?"

[Fox]

Dragonfly grimaced. how do I even "They...talk. All of them. It's quieter for me, unless I connect to one I haven't been able to hear it for...I mean not since...." She sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Right. Sorry. Not important...tired. Focus."

She took a deep breath, trying to arrange her thoughts and finding it was kind of like trying to explain seeing to a blind person who just got their eyes back. actually... "You've...seen me do it. I think. Talk to electronics with my mind. Use computers from a distance. Hacked a connection to your suit when we first met, remember? That. You have...I don't know. I got it from my mother, I've...always been able to do it. But you have something similar, and it's new, and...try not to panic. It's...I don't even know. Probably very strange for you."

[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.