Just Another Sunday (IC)

[Raveled]

Victory's second sweep, and barely sub-sonic velocities, revealed nothing new -- rolling steel doors on the side facing the water, complicated by several man-sized portals on the opposite side. No windows or other opening that he could see. Blueshift caught something through her link to the cameras, though. A bright half-circle appeared near the center of the warehouse, cutting into the floor between the heroine's vantage points and the Power Corps. She could see them through the half-circle, but the image was warped and bubbled, like looking at a fun house mirror.

Odd forms began appearing, stepping out of the circle and approaching the mercenaries. They were six-limbed centaurs, with two arms and a low-slung torso with two sets of legs. Each on was covered in what looked for all the world like tinfoil, or some other silvery metal that wrinkled at their joints. One glanced around and Blushift caught a flash of gold-colored visor.

Six of the creatures emerged from the portal and clustered around the boxed the Power Corp has stacked up. A conversation was held -- all the heroes could hear it crackling over the radio bands -- and soon enough the silvery beings were lifting the boxes, two or three to each crate, and carrying them into the portal. As each group disappeared more came out to take their place, quickly breaking down the stack of boxes and moving them through the portal to... somewhere.

[quotemyname]

Crouched behind her crate protectively, Blueshift's mind was coursing the inside of the building. "Hold it. New Development. A Portal. Looks like." Her jaw dropped, "Those are...No. Cameras aren't lying. I'm seeing Centaurs. Armored Centaurs. Like an army. High tech visors. There's more. Big Bots were moving boxes. Looks like a deal. Discussion. Then Centaurs taking crates."

The situation had just changed rapidly. No more time. Have to move. Plan well. Plan fast. Blueshift's mind started burning through all the information she'd been given at an incredible rate. She didn't think multiple times faster than the average human. She though orders of magnitude faster than the average human. "Time is up. Can't wait this out. We wait. We lose. They run. They get away. New Plan. Listen up. Two prongs. One Distraction. One Hostage detail. Stick to the plan. This will work." She said, sounding sure of herself.

"Prong one: Victory. Ironclad. Protectron. Entry point: Front door. Priority one: Capture a Centaur. Priority Two: Sustain Portal." She paused, letting her instructions sink in. Hearing none, she continued. "Prong Two: Myself. Geckoman. Top Floor. Entry Point: Windows. Priorty one: Hostages. Priority two: Rejoin group. Time's short. Any questions? Quickly!"

[JackgarPrime]

"Good, we're on the same page then. But we've spent too much time talking! It's time to get right in there!"

Victory jumps right into it, dashing down to the roof and digging his fingers in to the material of the roof, and begins to tear a huge chunk of it right off. He was about to toss it aside, but he wasn't sure where it'd land, so he just places it aside. He hovers over the hole, and motions for the rest to follow in after him, as he vanishes from sight, into the hole.

[quotemyname]

Front DOOR I said. That's not a door! Ugh. Whatever. Still works. Even as Blueshift was worrying about her quickly formed plan going awry, her jet boots were carrying her to the proper side of the building. She withdrew two long pieces of metal from her belt and attached them to the backs of her forearms. These, along with the boots would allow her to scale the wall quickly, and be ready to surprise those inside the assumed hostage room along with Geckoman.

Seconds later she clung to the outside of the wall near one of the windows, Come on. You can do this. Her cloaking field went up once more. She waited for Geckoman to get into position, and for the distraction to began in earnest. Then she crashed through the window.

[Ecalsneerg]

Geckoman pulled out a remote, casually bringing the ship over to just above the window he'd been told to dive through. "Wop!" he exclaimed, rolling off the walkway and casually catching himself with his heels so he dangled just out of sight above the window, one hand flat just above the glass.

Then he rolled his whole body and launched himself in an arc through the window with a shout of "Weeeeeeee! Exploding glass!" That's probably gonna chafe later on...

[Dr Archeville]

Query: Are centaurs not mythical creatures? Must investigate; existence of six-limbed equine/human hybrid would have great impact on a number of biological sciences.

"Prong one: Victory. Ironclad. Protectron. Entry point: Front door. Priority one: Capture a Centaur. Priority Two: Sustain Portal."

"Acknowledged," the robot said flatly over the Pitchoo's comms. But as it was leaving the aircraft, it saw Victory tear open a section of roof.

Observation: Victory's actions are not entirely in keeping with plan disseminated by Blueshift.

Analysis: Victory's actions appear more efficient.

Conclusion: Follow Victory, as planned.

Jets in the robot's palms and the bottoms of its feet propelled it out of Geckoman's craft and through the hole Victory made, and made a beeline for the closest centaur.

"Halt, organic," it said in an amplified yet still clear (and still flat) electronic tone, "You are engaged in criminal activities with known antisocial mercenaries. Please desist at once and come along for questioning."

[Raveled]

Ironclad dropped neatly through the hole in the roof, her smaller armor passing through the hole with room to spare. "That's not how you do it, Protectron," she called out. "It's more like... this!" She hovered in the air, covering the two heavy mercs with a wrist blaster apiece. "Put the crates down, put your hands up, and prepared to be shucked out that armor!"

The silvery centaurs scattered, most running for the portal but several, including the one Protectron had confronted, ran for the edges of the warehouse. The Power Corps reacted like the trained military unit they were, snapping up their weapons and popping off several shots at heroes crashing in on them.

Geckoman and Blueshift, meanwhile, crashed into a single huge, open room. Several modular, fabric covered wall units stacked against the wall; linked together, they'd form the sort of cube farm endemic to offices everywhere. All that had been pushed to the side, however, so that several groups of civilians could be sat down on the floor. Their ankles were all duct-taped together, and soon the heroes could see that each group was duct-taped together at the wrists. Getting them separated and out would take time.

[Ecalsneerg]

"Dammit, we got a lotta civilians here... Don't worry, we've got it all under control!" said Geckoman, rummaging round in his utility belt for something sharp and pointy with which to cut duct tape.

"Gadget woman, I'm going to deal with this, you wanna help me, it'd be much appreciated, and much quicker, but if you want to go deal with the bad guys, I'm not sure that's much of a bad idea anyway... Aha! He triumphantly produced a pointy object. And quickly set to work cutting apart duct tape, trying to free hostages, speedy limbs blurring slightly as he went.

[Raveled]

The spandex-clad hero dashed between the groups, sawing through duct tape bindings with remarkable speed for someone who felt it necessary to ride around in an airship. Before long most of the civilians were upright and rubbing at their wrists or ankles. One of them, in the uniform of a security guard but with his belt holster empty, turned to the heroes. "Quick! Those Power Corp mercenaries broke in here and tied everyone up! There was a couple of them watching over us, but they all went outside into the main area just now. If you hurry, I'll bet they're still around!"

[Dr Archeville]

Observation: Centaurs are fleeing.

Tactical Analysis: Pursue and grapple/wrangle. Use own arms to pin its upper humanoid arms, and own legs to trip up anterior equine legs.

Primary Goal: Capture Centaur.

Secondary Goal: Maintain Portal.

Tertiary Goal: Preserve as much organic life as possible.

"Halt," the robot announced as it flew after the fleeing centaur. It spread its mighty metal arms wide, and prepared to latch on to the creature. "You are engaged in activities with known criminal elements, and are needed for questioning."

[Raveled]

Protectron easily caught up with one of the fleeing creatures, and its metal limbs and robotic strength overpowered it without much struggle. The creature turned its gold face-plate to the robot and... not spoke, not exactly. Everyone but Protectron heard its 'voice' quite clearly, as if the creature was right in front of them. "No! We never wanted to come! The metal man made us! He'll kill us if we don't come back, he'll kill everyone!"

[JackgarPrime]

With time being of the essence in this situation, Victory is down in a flash, his speed bringing him into the building before anyone's eyes could follow. Certainly before the Power Corps could react. Rocketing down to the ground floor, he had his target well in sight.

Number 1 was going to have to go down first. Take out the leader, and the rest of the corps. Will go down much more easily. With just a quick flash of silver, a huge blast of noise came right from the spot Number 1 was standing, and a cloud of dust and rubble kicked up.

Before it could even clear, that flash blasted out of the cloud, and another member of the Corps, stunned by being so close to the impact, was sent flying clear from where they were standing. And there Victory stands, readying his fist to go after another.

But as he did, he heard the voice in his head. While obviously not sure of the details, he knew this was an important lead. He shouted over to Protectron as soon as he was visible to the normal eye again.

"Keep that one here! We'll need him once we're done with these punks!"

[quotemyname]

Blueshift noted Geckoman making quick work of the hostages bonds. Deciding he didn't need any help, she dashed towards one of the windows overlooking the warehouse proper. "Objective update:" She announced over their comm link, "Hostages safe and secure. I will be joining the-"

"No! We never wanted to come! The metal man made us! He'll kill us if we don't come back, he'll kill everyone!"

"Interesting. Nix that. Continue to subdue Power Corps. Going to see where this portal leads." Blueshift quickly drew the small device from her belt, and fixed it to the side of her headset once more. She dialed in a few different settings this time, and dropped down at the floor of the warehouse where should could have a better vantage point on, and through the portal. She stared it, trying to see where it led, and by what means it was being produced. She flicked on a series of analytical sensors with the touch of a button.

What blueshift saw awed and amazed her. She quickly recalled everything she knew about what she was looking at. But processing a massive amount of information like that so quickly caused a sudden sharp pain in her head. Before she could open her mouth and report her findings, she was nearly flattened by the pain. She clutched at her head, able to say or do nothing.

[Raveled]

Losing their leader like that might have rattled another band of criminals, but the Power Corps were mercenaries and old hands at fighting superheros and rallied quickly. The remaining fliers took to the air and started blasting at the heroes, trying to hem them in. Ironclad retaliated quickly though, swatting another one down. The two on the ground split, on going for Victory and the other heading for Protectron. Both swung heavy blows, but neither connected; apparently the suits were more cumbersome than they first appeared.

[Ecalsneerg]

Geckoman pulled a remote from his belt, fiddling with buttons and controls to carefully pilot the Pitchoo in to the window, with the ramp resting gently on the window ledge. Concentration was etched in his face as he did so without denting anything.

"Ok, people, climb in, and I'll get you all out of here!" He spoke in a commanding, firm tone. "Unless you want to stay here. Do you want to stay here? Climb in if you don't. It might get slightly crowded, but it's probably more comfortable than a firefight... Get in!"

[Dr Archeville]

ALERT: I am under attack.

Tactical Analysis: Must maintain pin on centaur. However, position is less than optimal for proper defense.

Observation: Blueshift appears to be suffering some sort of mental distress.

Tactical Analysis: Damage to self from Power Corp member anticipated to be minimal. Must render aid to comrade, yet must not let captive escape.

Conclusion: Separation.

Tiny jets of exhaust hissed out from the strange robot's neck as the head separated and flew off towards Blueshift! Tiny tool-bearing arms unfolded from the neck, and one gently prodded her. "Miss, do you require medical attention?"

[JackgarPrime]

When the giant foe comes at Victory, he's ready for them. The armor was certainly big and scary looking, and the numbers he's getting from that fist don't look too good,either, but the speed is so slow that he has plenty of time to duck underneath. When the giant fist whiffs, Victory brings his own up into the armor's stomach area. With a huge, rocket-boosted blow, the massive foe doubles over in pain.

"Frustrating, isn't it? Such a big hit, and you can't land with it? Trust me, I know the feeling. Just not this time!"

Reeling back, Victory brought down another colossal hit, connecting right in the doubled-over villain's face, giving some nasty cracks along the entire armor from the force, and sending them crashing right into the floor.

With his foe down, he takes a moment to glance over to how Protectron's doing as far as holding the target down. A bit of an unusual workaround, he had to admit, but certainly a clever bit of design, being able to disconnect like that...

[quotemyname]

"Aaah!" Blueshift gasped, grasping at her head.

Tiny jets of exhaust hissed out from the strange robot's neck as the head separated and flew off towards Blueshift! Tiny tool-bearing arms unfolded from the neck, and one gently prodded her. "Miss, do you require medical attention?"

"No." She managed to gasp out, "I'm fine. All parts. Working order. Head hurts. Getting better. Clear up soon."

Blueshift was indeed looking better than she had only moments before. Though she was actively trying to steady herself, she wasn't quite back in action yet.

[Raveled]

The civilians moved into the waiting Pitchoo with a mix of gratification that the ordeal was over, and nervousness at walking onto a lighter-than-air vessel. Meanwhile, on the warehouse floor, Ironclad hovered in the air and took a moment to assess the threat posed by the remaining mercenaries. She debated several tactics to bring them down faster, but quickly settled on something she had wanted to try for awhile. Tracking the pair of mercs still in the air with her wrist blasters, she fired off a shot at both of them. The blast caught one square in the faceplate and smashed the other's flying pack, sending them both slamming into the ground. The remaining mercenary must have known she was out-numbered, but she didn't seem to care. She let out a howl of rage that was augmented by the massive suit, and charged at Victory. The AEGIS cyborg twisted at the last moment though, and the mercenary's massive, armored glove smashed into the concrete floor of the warehouse, sending up chips of stone.

[Ecalsneerg]

"Ok, people," commanded Geckoman confidently. "I won't be flying with you, but I'll be remotely piloting you out of her, which I've done many a time, so just hold on tight, we'll get you a few blocks down and onto the ground."

He began maneuvering the ship casually one-handed using his remote, other hand pressed to his earpiece. "OK, civilians are flyyyyyyyying away. Fun times. I'll get them to a safe distance, then help mop up this fight. Unless something happens with the ship. In which case... we'll have a problem." But for now, the Pitchoo was moving off at a steady enough speed, flying cleanly and evenly.

[Dr Archeville]

Protectron's body continued to hold the centaur, while the detached head circled around Blueshift again. "Are you sure you are alright?,"[/color it asked flatly. "Is there any way I may speed your recovery?"

Midway through its rotation, the head got a good look at the portal.

Analyzing...

ERROR: Spectral scanners offline.

"Were you able to learn anything of the portal and this generator?"

[JackgarPrime]

The other heroes were busy either with their own foes or their tasks, Victory tried to get these punks all down as fast as possible, so he could help with the rest of the efforts. Fortunately, it seemed there was only one enemy left. A big one, but that didn't exactly save the other one.

Rushing forward, Victory flies screaming into the other hulking armor. His elbow out, he landed a good, full blow in the armor's stomach. Unfortunately, the hit wasn't exactly where he wanted, so it didn't land with the same intensity that the one he hit before did. Still, it was solid, and the armor definitely made an audible crack from his hit.

[quotemyname]

Blueshift managed to fully shake the pain from her head, Stupid brain. Being broken. How dare it? she thought.

Protectron's body continued to hold the centaur, while the detached head circled around Blueshift again. "Are you sure you are alright?," it asked flatly. "Is there any way I may speed your recovery?"

Midway through its rotation, the head got a good look at the portal.

"Were you able to learn anything of the portal and this generator?"

"Yes. Summary: Centaurs: No threat. Release him." She pointed at the rest of Protectron's body. Obviously she was not taken back at all at the sight of a humanoid robot loosing it's head. "Primary target: Bob the builder robot. Full explanation later. Follow my lead."

Blueshift used her dash boots to streak toward the remaining robot, leaving a trail of blue light stretched out in her wake. When she reached the back of it, she slid through it's legs, feet first, slapping it in the feet as she passed through. It was less of an attack, and more of a motion to call attention to herself, and away from her allies. She came to a stop on the other side slid onto her stomach, aiming her gauntlet at the thing like a gun. Not that it had the capability do deal it any damage at this range, but whoever was piloting that robot couldn't know that!

[Raveled]

Ironclad hovered over the fight, watching Protectron and Blueshift have a casual conversation while she and Victory tried to take down the last member of the Power Corps. At least Geckoman was helping to evacuate the hostages! The battlesuited heroine bit her tongue, though, and targeted the battlesuited villain. Her particle beams lit up the warehouse in a brilliant display of power and color, striking the mercenary in the small of her back. The soldier for hire convulsed suddenly and then fell to the ground, lying still. Ironclad stayed in the air for a moment longer until she was sure that this wasn't some kind of trick, then lowered herself to the floor. She glanced around and noted that two of the silvery centaur-creatures had retreated to a corner of the warehouse. Exchanging a quick glance with Victory, she moved close to one wall and began slowly advancing on them. The last thing she wanted was to stop some villains only to release aliens on the city.

[Dr Archeville]

Protectron's separated head nodded at Blue Shift's words, then flew back to its body, which still held on to the centaur.

"I hope my body did not damage you while my head was separated," it said flatly to the creature in its mechanical vise-like grip.

Reattaching in 3.0000

2.0000

1.0000

Reattachment complete. All systems nominal.

"However," the robot continued, "I cannot release you until I know you will not run off, but you seem unable to communicate with me. Until one of the other superhero organics comes over here and can properly interrogate you, I must keep you in custody."