One Out of All Things (IC)

[Fox]

Dragonfly's heart just about broke seeing the little girl in the hospital bed; she wasn't the best at hiding her emotions anyway and it took most of her willpower and the help of her suit's full helmet to not betray her reaction as seeing the poor girl got piled on top of concerns about the risks, it in turn already piled on top of unease at being surrounded by medical equipment, on top of....

She took a deep breath to try to clear her head, with mixed success - though at least it made sure her voice was under control. [bg=#555555]"Will...leave you to checking on her. Should double-check the facility's systems, and check on the trucks' progress. Will let you know when they arrive."[/bg] She managed to stay calm, composed, and relaxed for about as long as it took to haltingly wave, exit the room, and make it partway down the hallway. After that there was a lot more fidgeting and a lot more urgent purpose to her step.

[Electra]

Miss A glanced momentarily at Dragonfly, but let her retreat go without comment. Instead she turned her attention to the little girl in the bed, smiling broadly at her young fan. <"It's so nice to meet you in person, Eira! I've heard so much about you from your uncle, and how brave and strong you've been."> She slipped on a pair of latex gloves to touch the sick little girl's hand. <"We have been working very hard to make sure that you will be able to do all the things we talked about last time we talked.">

Looking up, she beckoned Sharl over. <"Do you remember when I told you about my friend Sharl? His whole self is a program in a computer, just like what we're going to do for you. He can help answer questions you might have, and when the procedure is done, he will keep you company and look out for you while we're finishing up your new body.">

[Avenger Assembled]

"" said Sharl, giving the little girl a shaky smile of his own and a little wave. He forced himself to master his own fear, though, since so many people were counting on him, and reached over to pat her lightly on her other hand, his electronic hand tingling. He was glowing slightly and was translucent, enough that even a little girl like Eira could see right through him. "" he said with complete confidence, ""

[KnightDisciple]

Eira smiled a bit wider, even as her parents fought back tears of joy and fear in equal measure.

She waved a thin little hand at the armored form of Dragonfly, even as the heroine walked out of the room.

She gave curious looks to the assembled group.

Magnus stepped forward a bit, running his own hand over her hair. He fought back tears as he noticed how thin it was.

<Later today, little Eira. We simply need to get all of our machines set up, then make you ready. It will be a few hours yet, though. I think your Uncle Magnus will be taking a short nap; I feel quite tired at the moment. Do not worry, little one. You are in the best of hands.>

He leaned down and gave the young one a quick kiss on the forehead before stepping over to give Bernhard and Magda a brief, muttered update. He turned to Sharl and Miss A, giving them a slight smile as he walked out the door.

<Do not let the little rascal's curiosity keep you too occupied. She will ask a million and one questions on everything, given the chance.>

Said "rascal" gave an exaggerated pout.

Magnus winced at the nickname.

<Hn. I thought we'd gone past that little nickname? No matter, I suppose. I shall see you soon, little one.>

And with that, he strode from the room, before he made a beeline for a nearby elevator that took him one floor up, to the suite he'd commandeered for his own use. He definitely needed sleep.

[Electra]

Miss A gave Eira a conspiratorial wink. <"I think it's a great nickname. Now while Uncle Maggy is getting his sleep, do you have any questions for me or Sharl about what we're going to be doing? I know the doctors and your mother and father have already discussed things with you, but if there's anything you'd like to ask, we'll do our best to answer. After that, we're going to go back to the other room, where we're setting up all of our equipment, to get everything ready for you." >

While Magnus had been talking, Miss A had taken the opportunity to look at the little girl's chart and her monitors. They were lucky to be catching Eira awake at all, and time was just as much of the essence as the baron had implied. But there were no real surprises that might derail their plans at this point. She just hoped that the crew would hold together long enough. What was Dragonfly doing, anyway?

[Fox]

Dragonfly was flying.

Checking the hospital's power supply hadn't taken long, once she'd found somebody who spoke English (or, at least, understood what Dragonfly was looking for through pantomime) - as soon as she was satisfied that it would more than meet requirements she'd found a staircase that went to the roof and shot off into the skies to check on the progress of their gear and...well, mostly, to clear her head. Zipping through the air at a hundred miles an hour was pretty good for focus and for checking up on ground-vehicle progress, at least, so by the time she spotted the equipment on the road below and turned around to follow it she was considerably calmer.

And a bit annoyed at herself for ducking out like that, but she could berate herself later. Right now there was a girl to save and science to do.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Heh, you can just call me Sharl, Eira. I'm only sixteen, I'm just old enough to be your babysitter. Being digital is pretty fun," said Sharl with a smile. "Miss A has built a whole room for us to play in, and I'll be able to talk you to different places inside the computer, so you can ride, uh, pretend horses and things. The best part is: you'll even get your own room!" He smiled; that being a special prize where he was from. "I know things are a little scary right now, but Miss A and Dragonfly and Magnus are really great scientists. It may not be easy, but we'll get through it, and you'll be in a computer, and then in a robot body!"

[KnightDisciple]

GM Post

Eira seemed to be enjoying the discussion, but was clearly getting a bit worn out. Still she smiled at Sharl all the brighter.

It was only another five minutes before the little girl yawned and started to drift off to sleep, a smile on her face. Her parents sat there, most of their attention focused on their little girl. Still, they answered any questions the two heroes in the room might have

*********************************************************************************

Several Hours Later

The equipment brought in by the Freedom City heroes had been delivered, and setup had been completed less than a quarter of an hour ago. At this point, everything seemed ready to move on to the procedure. Eira was in her medically-induced coma, and her parents had been guided to a waiting room, to keep them out of the way of the delicate procedure.

Of Baron Magnus Katastroff, there was no immediate sign. It was likely he was still resting...

[Electra]

Miss A spent a few minutes conferring with the medical staff who would be monitoring the procedure, making sure they were all on the same page before letting them do their final checks before retreating from the action. For the moment, the fragile shell on the table belonged to science far more than medicine. "Sharl," she instructed her assistant, "Go get the Baron, would you? Tell him we're ready as soon as he arrives."

Once Sharl left, she pulled Dragonfly aside for a private confab in one corner. "I noticed you leave the room earlier when we were talking to Eira," she began with some delicacy. "Are you okay with all of this? I know it's hard to see a child like this, but I need you with me when we're in the middle of things over there."

[Fox]

Dragonfly glanced over at the girl on the table, frowning, but she shook her head. [bg=#555555]"Am...fine. Needed to clear my head; initial shock of seeing her was...mmh."[/bg] can understand the concern - immediate reaction wasn't encouraging - would be concerned in her place - still [bg=#555555]"Not just seeing her. That, too, but was made worse by...personal reasons. Bad memories. Worked through it. Would have already removed myself if I couldn't manage,"[/bg] she added, and she meant it. [bg=#555555]"Personal drama or pride aren't worth even minor risks today."[/bg]

[Avenger Assembled]

Not where to find the Baron at first, Sharl decided to use a trick he'd been practicing in Gina's lab before his trip back to Tronik. He flitted around until he found a security camera in the hospital, then took an iPad out of his pocket and began pressing buttons. Gina had explained to him that the iPad wasn't real, it was just a visible emulation of his program interfacing with the security system's hardware: he wasn't sure he understood it, but it certainly did the job as he cycled through image after image until he finally found Baron Magnus. Without stopping to look where he was, figuring they were in an urgent situation, he flew through the halls then stuck his head through the door, hoping not to alarm any patients: there didn't seem to be any nearby. "Hey, Baron? Miss Americana says we're ready to proceed."

[KnightDisciple]

Sharl's timing proved to be imperfect, but not disastrous. The Baron had clearly just taken a shower, and was currently wearing pants and shoes, but no shirt (he'd just picked one up off the bed). He turned in surprise as Sharl came through the wall. He gave a slight yelp of shock, but quickly recovered, pulling what looked to be a long-sleeved plain shirt on.

"Sharl! Um, thank you. I was actually going to be headed up that way in just a moment anyways. I slept a bit longer than I thought I would, so I'm still sort of playing catch-up. Give me just another minute or two here."

The Baron, dressed in rugged chinos and his simple shirt, gathers his wallet, phone, and one or two other nondescript items into his pockets before ducking into the bathroom to run a comb over his mussed hair and swish some mouthwash around. Once done, he power-walked out of the suite and to the elevator, pressing the button for the floor that contained his niece. He'd waited for Sharl to keep up, if the intangible hero had not left immediately.

"Right then. Hour of truth, I suppose."

[Electra]

Miss A nodded to Dragonfly, giving her a quick smile. "All right then, good. Soon as the Baron gets here, we'll get started. Why don't you check the backup memory connectors before we get going, and I'll start positioning the scanners." Work continued, and it wasn't long before Sharl returned with the Baron, who looked better than he had before his rest. "Excellent," she said to the assembled group. "I think we're ready to get started. Eira is sleeping and stable, the equipment is primed. Anyone have anything else before we get going?"

[KnightDisciple]

Baron Magnus Katastroff nodded to Miss Americana as he entered the room.

"Good. I do not have anything, no. It sounds like you have everything where it needs to be. Is she in position? And Magda and Bernhard, they are in the waiting room, correct?"

While he was clearly in better condition due to his rest, the Baron had an almost manic energy about him, though it appeared he was keeping excellent control over it. A nearby technician confirmed the answers his questions.

"Good. Shall we begin, then?"

Everything rested on these next few moments...

[Fox]

[bg=#555555]"Have nothing here,"[/bg] Dragonfly confirmed - a little softly, as if in consideration for the sleeping child. She'd positioned herself a bit out of the way, but had obviously kept some of the machinery within easy reach in case something went wrong, and between a screen or two near her rapidly cycling through data and the ghosts of little flickering lights visible through the lenses of her helmet she was apparently keeping a very close eye on the computers.

[Avenger Assembled]

For his part, Sharl stepped right into a nearby computer screen. With only a faint ripple on the screen, he popped into view on one of the room's many monitors. As he did so, the previously blank screen shifted to show a cozy-looking room decorated in the pinks and flourishes that a little girl would probably like, with Sharl standing in the middle of it. It looked for all the world like the teenager had teleported somewhere that a webcam was active, but of course this was actually just a high-end simulation inside a fast-running, high-memory computer. "Ready for upload," he reported.

[Electra]

"Then let's begin." With little extraneous conversation, the work began. For all that this wasn't a real surgery and that, besides a net of electrodes, Eira's body wasn't even touched, the operation was hours of tetchy and careful work. The Baron monitored the power supply, ensuring that not even the faintest fluctuation could affect the readings, while Sharl used the things he'd learned from Miss A to make last minutes adjustments to the computer environment for Eira's comfort. With the help of the technicians, Miss A and Dragonfly carried out the scan itself, delving deep into the little girl's brain to make exacting readings of everything they found there. It was an exacting job with extremely high stakes, but they had the best team in the world working on it.

[KnightDisciple]

GM

The procedure had been going almost better than expected, with everything staying exactly as it should for the hours of grueling work. Everyone involved seemed tense, but the positive progress had slowly but surely made them feel at ease, or as much as they could considering.

Sometimes thing just don't go as planned. Today is one of those days.

At first, those in the delicate operation will notice nothing amiss. However, it doesn't take long before a member of the staff comes in and whispers to the Baron.

"Sir, we have a problem."

Another staff member, this one dressed in a security outfit, came in and began entering codes into the computer systems.

"Initiating lockdown; in 15 seconds the only thing this room's computer network will be connected to are the secondary command center and the waiting room. And...locked down. Everyone, please stay calm, but we have intruders in the hospital. They seem to be targeting our computer network and our various high-tech pieces of equipment. Industrial espionage, or something to that effect."

He pulls out a tablet PC and brings up security footage on it.

Any of the various individuals in the room who look are treated to a series of short surveillance videos. The first shows an empty section of hallway, suddenly bisected by a blue glowing circle in mid-air. Out of that circle step several figures: first is a woman dressed in a form-fitting bodysuit with a belt full of small tools; next is a woman dressed in a similar manner, but with two handguns strapped under her arms; finally is a man wearing a full-body suit with a blue "whirlpool" on his chest, and orange glowing eyepieces. The male figure seems to be the rear-guard, while the first woman slinks (there is not other word for how she seems to move) up to where the images are captured; in short order, the feed is static.

Subsequent shots are much shorter, as the women seem to alternate, disabling any cameras they come across. At some point, the woman with the handguns is suddenly missing from the group; only the male who seemed to control the blue portal and the woman who looks to be adept at breaking and entering are left.

"And that's our status. Three hostiles, though they don't seem to be aiming to kill anyone. They're here for information and technology, nothing else."

But what a time to come here!

"Right now the two we have some measure of lead on are five floors down. We're still trying to track down the third one."

[KnightDisciple]

Baron Magnus had, at first, been curious, then shocked, then fearful (likely for Eira), then, finally, furious. But now, his face was like stone, displaying no overt emotion. He dragged a nearby tech over and whispered at the man for a moment. Considering how the tech's face whitened, there was likely some dire threat involved; nevertheless, the tech immediately took over the Baron's position at his console as Magnus began to march towards the door.

"Miss American, Dragonfly, Sharl, I cannot order you to help repel these...ingrates. But I can ask that you assist our security forces. I fear I am needed elsewhere now. I must go to, ah, help coordinate the security effort. I will stay in contact as best I can."

Without waiting for a reply, he jogged from the room, heading for the private elevator around the corner. However, he wasn't heading for the security center. Instead, his destination was buried near the bottom of the hospital, well inside the mountain itself. The area was incredibly restricted, to the point he was essentially the only one allowed in there. It had not been breached.

It was a little over a minute later that he stepped from the elevator into the...well, the best word was "armory". It was a room whose central piece was an imposing suit of armor, albeit with a couple of side-rooms. It was to one of these side-rooms that Magnus power-walked into, the one with an upright "exam bed" with a half-dozen injectors on mechanical arms surrounding it.

He began stripping off all but his most basic underclothes, pulling out several innocuous-looking bands that quickly revealed themselves to be containers for a morphic molecule undersuit.

"To think. All this time...If only I'd had more. But now? To protect Eira, I will give myself any advantage, no matter the pain."

With that, and a few barked commands to the computer, he stepped up and positioned himself on the bed; restraints popped in place, and within thirty seconds, the hypo-injectors were pressed against bare skin. Plungers depressed.

And those near the elevator shaft might hear the faint echoes of the Baron's howl of sudden pain.

[Electra]

Miss A looked up from her work just long enough to take in the situation playing out over the monitors. "Sharl, Dragonfly, you should go help the Baron. I'll stay here and oversee the procedure." Leaving in the middle of the operation was out of the question, but if they lost power or the computer system was too badly disrupted by the intruders, the results could be catastrophic as well. "Keep me informed how things are going."

[Fox]

Dragonfly eyed the surveillance feed with increasing concern and an ire to match. By the time cameras started going down she was audibly muttering to herself across several languages, making dark and colorful observations about how villains always, always had the worst timing imaginable. She glanced up at Miss Americana's suggestion, but nodded. [bg=#555555]"Good idea. Will try to keep them as far away as possible. And...good luck."[/bg]

She made her way out of the room, shut the door behind her, and immediately brought both her defenses and her wings online. Before her force field had even finished coming into being as a twisted line around her profile she was in the air and zipping down the hospital corridors toward the criminals' last known position. who robs a hospital? - breaking in for something generic - specific? - going to regret it - will make sure of that

[Avenger Assembled]

"I'm on it," agreed Sharl, stepping out the door of his 'room' and into the network of cables and patches that he recognized as the hospital's computer system, looking a bit like an empty neighborhood full of the red cross-symbols that they used in hospitals in the 'real world', each building shaped like some part of the hospital's own network: a building full of simulated kids for the pediatric ward, one full of boiling tubes for the labs, and many others. He took to the air, speeding along as fast as he could in Tronik towards a disrupted area he could see a few 'miles' away. In a few seconds, less from the perspective of anyone on the outside, he'd be stopping the hacker who was invading the hospital's systems, and then he'd be out helping Dragonfly deal with the bad guys who were greedy and selfish enough to endanger the life of poor little Eira.

At least, that's what he thought. To his enormous surprise, Sharl found there was someone else 'there' in the system with him: a young woman in her early twenties, black hair cut spiky short, wearing a black leather outfit and mirrored sunglasses that he immediately recognized. They stared at each other in shock for a moment, hero and villain interrupted in their work by mutual recognition. As it happened, Sharl spoke first. "Who...who are you!?!"

Pushing back her glasses, his other stared at him with bloodshot eyes. "Call me Rogue. And you?" They made quick introductions, Sharl pegging her at not too far from his own age. "Son of a bitch, not even the best programmers get the outfit and accent right. I didn't expect to see anyone else from back home here. Where are you from?"

"Sector 30..." Sharl frowned, thinking about how fast this conversation would be taking place outside. Surely they had at least a few seconds to talk. "How did you get out here? I thought I was the only..."

"Twenty-five years to find a backdoor, Citizen. You think you're the only one who got curious?" She grinned crookedly. "Shame we have to meet like this, though. If this is your home system, I'd shift out into the Army base upnetwork. It's about to get unliveable in here." Suddenly her grin didn't look so cute anymore.

"Look, Rogue, I don't know what you're doing here," said Sharl, thinking fast, "or who you're working with, but this is a hospital. There are sick people here, and my friends and I are trying to help upload a little girl into the network before she dies. If something goes wrong..."

"Don't you get it, kid?" asked Rogue, who definitely didn't look cute anymore as she put her glasses back on to hide eyes that had started to twitch. "That little girl, your friends, things on the outside? They don't matter. None of this matters. The real world is in here: it's information, it's money, it's pure electricity. The people I'm working with only matter to me because they make sure I get a clean system at the end of the day." She flexed her fingers. "Now if this is going to be a thing in here, I'll stay out of whatever subsystem you're in. But that's because we're kin. All the other people here, they're ghosts, do you hear me? I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you and your friends are too busy saving your little girl to stop us from doing what we came here to do. You hear me?"

"...yeah. Yeah, I hear you." Citizen raised his fists, hovering in in the air as he took a position to block Rogue's access from the rest of the system. "Let's go."

[KnightDisciple]

GM

Dragonfly's search lead her towards more ruined cameras, and a few unconscious guards. None of them seemed seriously injured; despite the travesty of attacking an occupied and active hospital, these two weren't out to specifically cause harm. They hadn't tried to simply shut down the power yet, either. Clearly, their objective was not to cause chaos or injury. At least, not yet.

*********************************************************************************

<Come on, Katkvinna! Just let me port us in there! I thought someone said there were heroes in this place!>

The man who had created the doorway into the hospital looked around nervously.

The woman in the bodysuit, on the other hand, just rolled her eyes as she poked and prodded at the door to one of the main labs of the hospital. This one in particular held samples and data on a multitude of cutting edge pharmaceuticals, as well as a few other, more esoteric items. She finally managed to get it open.

<You can be such a baby, Valvportmann. We're in and out quickly. It's not like we're really hurting anyone, besides the guy who owns the place. Well, Rogue might, but she'll probably get stopped quicker than the rest of us.>

Her distaste for the likely not-sane computer person was fairly evident.

<Now come help me sort through these things; we have a shopping list, you know.>

<Yeah yeah, I'm coming.>

With that, they were both inside the lab, walking around, placing various selected samples into a large duffel Bag.

[Fox]

not very subtle for thieves - metahuman 'smash and grab'? - disadvantages of a state-of-the-art hospital - makes them easy to follow at least Dragonfly followed the trail of broken surveillance and unconscious bodies clear to the lab, not really giving the hurt guards a second thought - none of them looked terribly hurt, and they weren't in any danger anymore anyway. The same couldn't really be said for the two would-be thieves, though; Dragonfly was on them just in time to catch the end of their conversation, and the idea that they were risking lives to pick up some samples....

Swedish wasn't one of her better-known languages and her program only translated in one direction, so she made her opinion known the old-fashioned way: by sending a twisting shockwave in space at the one who'd shown super-human powers.

[KnightDisciple]

GM

Valvportmann let out a cry of shock and pain as the shockwave struck him square in the back. It sent him pitching forward into the table in front of him, with his chest striking the edge of the table. The various bottles and other items on it rattled dangerously, but nothing broke (on the table, at least).

<OW! That hurt, damn it!>

Katkvinna had already dropped her bag on the table, executing a picture-pefect about-face and dashing directly at Dragonfly. The thief's path took her just to one side of the hero, and she sent out a precision strike at what looked like a vulnerable spot on the armor before she stopped a few feet out into the hall, in a slight crouch.

<Stop being a wimp and help me out here! By the way dear, nice armor. Stings a bit when I hit you. Too bad it's two on one.>

The smirk on her face was borne out when Valvportmann stood up and whirled to face Dragonfly, rage clear in his voice.

<I'll teach you who's better at inter-dimensional blasting!>

Suddenly a vicious hail of obsidian shards shot out from a half-dozen small portals hovering around the group's "transport", all of them trying to file away at Dragonfly's armor...