Fire to the Bone [IC]

[trollthumper]

The breeze came in off the river, and Cannonade meditated on it. The Waterfront had become a regular part of his patrol again, after rumors emerged that Los Diabolos Rojos had taken to smuggling cocaine in through shipments of flowers from Peru. The past few nights had been hectic, with each night bringing some new deal or attempt to muscle in on a warehouse. He'd sent more than a few agents of the Reds to jail, but they just kept coming.

Some folks just don't learn, he thought to himself. Or perhaps they did -- last night had been quiet, without so much as a single Red trying to muscle in. Either they'd taken their operation elsewhere, or they'd thought to lay low. Whatever the case, he was keeping up the patrol tonight, trying to make sure that all had been settled. And it wasn't half bad, actually -- the Waterfront always had its sights to see, and the warehouses provided a nice obstacle course for him to traverse. If it was another peaceful night, he could think of worse places to spend it.

His reverie was cut short by a scream from the street. Just as I thought. He ran across the rooftops, chasing after the source of the scream. When he reached the street, he saw a crowd pushing away from the sidewalk, rushing into traffic. One of them, a woman dressed for a night on the town, tottered in the street and tripped, falling right into the path of an oncoming taxi. With hardly a second to think, Cannonade leapt down, grabbed her, and jumped to the other side of the street as the taxi sped by harmlessly.

"You okay?"

"I think," she said. "Get me out of here. They're in the alley. They grabbed Steve, and then they came for us --"

"Who?"

As if in answer, a moan echoed across the street. Cannonade raised his head and saw a crowd of individuals streaming out of the mouth of the alley, clad in brown uniforms. As they came under the gaze of the street lamps, he could tell they were Nazi uniforms.

"Goddamnit, what is with this town and Nazis?" he said. "Stay here. I'm gonna --" He paused as he saw the face of one of the Nazis. It was gaunt and drawn, almost slack, reflecting not one hint of higher intelligence. But not distinguishable were the eyes. They glowed a sickly, unnatural green, and seemed to burn with an unnatural fever. And as he looked down, he could tell the Nazis' hands glowed with the same fire.

"Nazi zombies. Possibly radioactive Nazi zombies. Man, this town..."

[Geez3r]

This was the reason Atlas had decided to push the boundaries of what his Grue powers could do. There were risks to be sure, but he was sure he had control. And with that control he had gained his life long dream of the ability to fly. Granted, he had to use wings unlike many of his contemporaries, but it was a very small price to pay. He didn't get to use this Gargoyle form too much during the day, not because he would turn to stone if he did, but rather that this form made him look outright monstrous. Hunched posture, clawed fingers and toes, four arms that appeared to be sown on due to their odd angle, great bat like wings, protruding tusks and pronounced canines, ram horns on his head, black pupil-less eyes, and long pointed ears like so many tales of goblins. But he had excellent night vision like this, could rapidly make his way across the city and was well equipped to fight once he was there.

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted trouble down on the streets below. There was a pack of... something coming out of an alleyway. He didn't know what they were, but they didn't have the body temperature of a human, and that was a good enough reason to turn and angle a descent towards them.

[Quinn]

A roar of an engine from above, and Atlas saw a black and gold blur speed by him, a familiar brown coat and red scarf billowing out behind the driver as it wheeled and dived. A wink and a jaunty salute were thrown the gargoyle's way as the driver laughed, speeding down and coming to a halt beside Cannonade. Push swung a leg over, idly lifting his hammer and letting the end crack onto the concrete. The kineticist took a look over the small army of radioactive Nazi zombies, then rolled his eyes, quite unconcerned by the impossibilities of nature, magic, and science.

"Never a dull night in this town...whoever decks the least pays for the after-fight burgers?"

[Azuth65]

Vicky ran across the rooftops of the warehouses down by the docks, enjoying the feel of a good run in the muscles of her legs, her long white hair pulled back in a braid that swung with every stride. Across each gap she'd dive forward before teleporting safely across the gap, rolling forward or landing in a handspring and continuing forward when she heard the scream.

As she rushed towards the source she saw Cannonade bounding in the same direction a few roofs away. In a puff of her trademark smoke, Wisp stood next to him, opposite the side Push and his motorcycle stood. "I'll take that bet," the teen said with a smirk. "So..., did anyone else see Dead Snow and is now having flashbacks?"

[trollthumper]

Cannonade had leapt down to the sidewalk by this point, and ended up right next to Push and Wisp. "Hey, Wisp," he said. "Never saw that one. Does it end with -- ?"

He'd never find out how the movie ended, as a guttural roar from the zombies cut him off. There was a blinding flash, and he found himself clutching his head. His throat felt dry and a feverish rush coursed through him. It passed quickly, however, and he looked up to see Wisp dodge a rapid-fire burst of sickly green light.

"Goddamnit," he said. He moved to the mouth of the alley, staring down the radioactive zombies. "I am really getting sick of this!" he shouted as he brought his hands together. The rush of force surged down the alley like a hurricane, battering the zombies and knocking them against the walls. "Boneheads, mad scientists, cultists, war criminals, wannabe supersoldiers -- what is it with this freaking town and Nazis?"

[Azuth65]

Dodging the last of the radioactive blasts, from which she could almost hear a Geiger counter in her head telling her that those blasts were not something she wanted to experience first hand. Rolling of her dodge she focused on her teleporting ability and, in a poof of smoke that raised goosebumps on her skin, launched a series of strikes and kicks against the SS-clothed undead.

"Мой дед воевал в Великой ОтечеÑтвенной войне. Это будет огромное удовольÑтвие воÑÑтанавливают марш на Берлин Ñ ÐºÑƒÐ»Ð°ÐºÐ°Ð¼Ð¸ и ваше лицо," she growled to her opponents, letting herself slip into Russian as her disgust made itself evident in her voice.

[Geez3r]

Not one to pass up a free meal, Atlas moved into action. He banked high around one of the buildings while he waited for the zombies to fully shamble out of the alleyway so he would have more room to maneuver as his wings did take up quite a bit of space. Seeing the zombies make their move, he intentionally climbed higher to stall out before going into a sharp nose dive to build up speed. By opening his wings at the right moment he was able to fly right through the mass of zombies, his claws striking home on the zombie the others had yet to strike. And just in a flash, he was out of range again, banking high so he could make another pass in another moment.

He didn't recognize any of the heroes below, but it was good to know that there were even more heroes protecting Freedom than he initially thought. Offering burgers was just icing on the cake.

[Quinn]

A warp of energy engulfed the head of Push's hammer as he leapt towards the nearest monster, swinging it and connecting with a bone-cracking impact. The Nazi shot off as if fired from a cannon, crashing into the wall of the nearest building and denting it inwards on impact.

"Hey, 'nade, at least they aren't robot Nazis. I hate those guys."

He wheeled his hammer around, keeping close to the younger heroine. Cannonade and Atlas were both brick walls when they wanted to be, but she was an unknown factor. The kineticist kept his eyes on the radioactive zombies, fresh warps of kinetic energy appearing here and there around his body as he dug into his reserves.

"Name's Push, nice to meetcha."

[trollthumper]

"Yeah, at least these guys are easier to hit," Cannonade said. The one in front of him began to stir, rising from its slight stupor. "Well, kinda. Gotta wonder what genius decided to make them radioactive, though." He took a swing at the target right in front of him, but the zombie was, against all odds, quicker -- it ducked right before the powerful blow, and prepared for a lunge. "If that's how you're gonna play it, just stuff 'em with rabies and send 'em to an orphanage, 'cause you might as well just be a complete prick."

[Azuth65]

Wisp began another series of rabid strikes against their opponents, teleporting from one to the next and back again, causing bones to crack and bits of foul gore to fly off their bodies and stain her costume. When she finished three of the zombies lay in quivering pools of thick brown sludge that used to be their blood. Looking down at herself she muttered, "Well crap, Grim was right. This is going to take forever to wash out. I hope none of this goop is in my hair. So glad I'm wearing gloves right now..."

[Quinn]

Push reared back, bringing his hammer over his head, and brought it down upon the last zombie with earthshaking force, squashing the radioactive monster into a smear on the pavement. Twirling the oversized weapon in his hand, as if it only weighed as much as a feather, he snapped the head to the side, flicking the bits, pieces, and assorted color glops from the buisness end onto the pavement.

"Alrighty then. After we track down where these ugly frakkers came from and push the responsible bad guy's teeth in, I think Cannonade and Atlas're buying."

The kineticist slung the weapon over his shoulder, wrinkling his nose as the smell hit him.

"And we might want to hurry before that stench ruins my appetite. Any idea where they came from?"

[Azuth65]

Wisp turned to the woman who's scream had drawn their attention, teleporting a few feet to her right she left in her previous position a pile of undead gore hidden by her bi-colored smoke. Walking slowly up she asked, in the calmest voice she could manage, "Ma'am, are you okay? You weren't bitten or zapped by them were you? Also, anything you can tell about them would be of immense help to us."

[trollthumper]

"I wasn't zapped," said the panicked woman. "They came out of the alley. My friend Steve... he heard moaning, and he went in to take a look. And then they came, and -- "

"On it." Cannonade surged into the alley, pushing past the unconscious bodies of the Nazi zombies. A few seconds later, he emerged from the shadows, carrying the body of a man dressed like he'd just gotten out of work. "He's still breathing," he said. "No bite marks, but he looks like he got a nasty sunburn. May want to take him to the hospital just in case."

"Oh, thank God," she said, taking Steve off of Cannonade's hands. He turned to the others. "Saw a side door to an office building blown open back there," he said. "Guessing that's where our creeps came from. Anyone wanna go see if they've got more targets?"

[Quinn]

Push pulled his hammer onto his shoulder, and rummaged around the back of his bike, pulling off a white box with a red cross on it and passing it to the lady.

"Medical kit, it'll help somewhat with the burns. Just put it back on the bike when you're done."

Turning back to the others, he grinned wolvishly, motioning for Cannonade to lead the way.

"Nothing like capping off a day with some radioactive Nazi zombie-smashing. And maybe their boss is still back there too."

[Azuth65]

Wisp nodded grimly, "Indeed. Anyone who would let this bunch of freaks loose needs to be stopped. Preferably in a manner that will require dental work and a full body cast afterwords."

She moved up next to Push and couldn't help but eye his motorcycle as she passed it. "By the by, love the ride. Any more handy surprises on the back of this beauty?" she asked.

[Geez3r]

It was about that time that Gargoyle!Atlas came in for a landing, folding his wings back neatly behind him. "I've contacted a nearby ambulance driver telepathically. He'll be here momentarily." he said comfortingly to the woman, stooping a little so he didn't outright tower over her. "I've told him to keep his eyes peeled in case there are any more in the vicinity, as should you." he finished with a word of warning.

Turning his attention to the gathered heroes, he looked them all over. "Push, Wisp, and Cannonade right?" he said as he pointed to each of them in succession with a different arm."Altas." he said thumbing himself in the chest. "Anyone got a plan other than "hit zombies, make fall down"?" he asked as he nodded towards the alleyway.

[trollthumper]

"What? It's a cunning plan. They'll never see it coming," said Cannonade. "Most realistically, if they came from down the alley and weren't just dropped off there for a good time, whatever's down there's probably got some heavy firepower. You don't really get radioactive Nazi zombies without some weird-ass science -- well, not unless you decide to build a nuclear power plant on top of Bitburg. So, we're either looking at Nazi mad scientists, Nazi occultists who like the taste of nuclear waste, or one of those weird-ass Ahnenerbe hybrids." Cannonade cracked his knuckles. "So. We get down to the entrance, we see if there's any security left after these guys busted out, we disable it, and then we find out what the hell's going on here. Sound like a plan?"

[Azuth65]

"I like it," Wisp said moving next to Cannonade. Turning her head towards Atlas she added, "The genius of this plan is it's simplicity."

She moved down the alley, keeping an eye out for any bodies, undead or not, as she moved down into the dark. With some luck, these will be the only ones and all that's left is some geek in a lab coat I can lay out in one punch. she thought to herself. Of course, when do things ever run that smoothly?

[trollthumper]

Down the alley lay the open door, which had obviously taken some damage. Massive dents had been gouged into the steel, and in some places, the metal had run like candle wax. Through the door lay a standard office hallway, illuminated by fluorescent lights hanging overhead. It seemed almost banal by comparison.

Cannonade crossed the threshold tentatively, as if checking for some security alarm or defense that hadn't been tripped by the initial fracas. After a few seconds with no screeching siren or volley of gunfire, he continued on. "Doesn't exactly look like the kinda place that handles mad science," he said. "I mean, looks can be deceiving, but I'm not exactly expecting subtlety from someone who makes... well, those."

[Quinn]

Push stayed quiet, reaching into his messenger bag and taking out a pair of very technical-looking goggles. Throwing them over his head, he tapped his commlink once, and an HUD appeared on his side of the lenses. Hitting a small button on the side of the eyepieces, the tint of the lenses changed from clear to opaque, changing to heat-vision mode. He scanned the entire area, looking up, down, and all around, and then peered through the door, activating the zoom feature. Hearing Cannonade's statement, the kineticist commented dryly;

"Maybe all his subtlety was spent in sneaking those zombies into the city, or getting the equipment to make 'em. Or paying off his electricity bill, can you imagine how much energy evil labs take up? Next time, why we don't just inquire at the power companies when we're looking for a lair?"

[Geez3r]

"It looks like something busted out of that section of wall over there." said Altas after a moment of scanning the room, pointing out the bit of wall in question. "When they came out, they probably started attacking everything in sight." he said with a wave of his hand to the rest of the room. "And from the sound of it, there's a lot more where they came from. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather fight them in here than out there where people might get injured." With that Atlas shifted form into an elongated humanoid red goo.

"Should we go say hello?" he asked rhetorically as he started slowly making his way towards the patch of wall.

[Azuth65]

Wisp cracked her knuckles and rolled her shoulders, following Atlas as he changed into a rather odd looking red goop form. Okay, that's just plain damn weird, she thought to herself as she watched. The sound of what she could only assume to be more blaster-zombies further inside wasn't helping matters much either. She made her way carefully into the room, ready to fight or flight at the first sign of trouble.

[trollthumper]

Cannonade made his way over to the dented patch of wall. He rapped his knuckles against it, then gave it something of a harder tap. He cringed, and drew his hand away, shaking it. "Whatever they got holding this up, it ain't normal rebar and steel," he said. "Not that I really expected anything different. " He looked around the walls. "There's gotta be some sort of catch or keypad or something around here. Hidden switch, voice command -- given that it's Nazis, probably something like 'Thule' or 'Valhalla' or 'Einherjar' --"

The sound of pneumatic bolts shooting out filled the air as slowly, and with some effort, the panel began to open.

"...really? That's really your security system?"

The panel slid outwards into the hall... and as it did, a mangled body fell out from the gap. This one was made of burnished steel, slagged and broken by heat and brute force. One arm was missing and trailing sparks, and a face blank save for camera eyes looked up at the heroes. "Id -- idetifirrrrrizenen Sie sich-ch-ch," it spat out as it slumped to the floor.

[Quinn]

Push's eyebrow shot up as he heard the bolts opening, and he opened his mouth to make a sarcastic remark when the robotic body tumbled out of the door. Surprisingly, he seemed to take it in stride, and he knelt down beside the thing, tilting his head as he poked at it with a finger.

"...Am I the only one thinking that being reminded of a bad horror movie isn't exactly a good thing in this scenario? I mean, funny guy always dies first, right?"

The garbled German from the robot caused his second eyebrow to shoot upwards, and a note of somewhat forced cheer could be heard in his voice.

"Remind me again why we don't drop the building onto whatever's down below?"

[Geez3r]

"Well for starters we don't know if this building is entirely a front or if there are honest people working on the higher floors, utterly ignorant of the goings on here on the lower levels. Secondly, if this bot is part of the security, and its trashed, there's another player at work. In which case we'll need information. Thirdly, we don't know if any innocents got dragged down below and are now being held hostage. And lastly, vast amounts of collateral damage are to be avoided at all cost." Replied Atlas, using almost the same lecture he had received quite a few times. Phantom was good about keeping the team in check, she had to be with Avenger running around.