Robots! (IC)

[Quinn]

Push looked at Equinox's supine form in the alleyway, then back to her, and raised an eyebrow. The kineticist simply leaned on the wall of the alley and watched another pack of little robots go by, tapping his commlink.

"We'll be waiting for you two. If things get bad, give us a shout and we'll come in blasts flying."

The mutant cast a warmer look Blueshift's way, and murmured through the commlink to her.

"Be careful, Blue."

[quotemyname]

"No problem. If anyone here's got a commlink or radio, I'm on channel 1337; should we sync up?"

"Roger," Replied the gadgeteer, "Already on it."

"So are you sure that you want to leave your body in an ally instead of having two strapping young men stand over it and wow, that sounded a lot less creepy in my head."

"Well, I trust Push not to do anything. And I'm sure he can keep Glowstar in line. Right Push?" She asked with an insistent tone of voice over their comm link.

<I'm going to be a couple of steps behind you,> assured the witch. <But I'm going to be doing it silently and invisibly. Don't worry, I won't fall back into my body without telling you, unless something forces me to. Shall we proceed?>

The mutant cast a warmer look Blueshift's way, and murmured through the commlink to her.

"Be careful, Blue."

Blueshift nodded toward the incorporeal form of the witch, before returning a smile in Push's direction, "Meticulously." she assured him. She turned slowly, fixing her boyfriend with one last lingering look before firing up the rockets on her boots and the cloaking device on her back. She melded out of sight even as she closed with the door where the robots were entering the building. Not that she couldn't have hacked in through a secure door, but there was no reason she shouldn't take an open door when one was offered, especially considering that the robots seemed to be so oblivious to them even when the heroes weren't hidden.

"Beginning reconnaissance and sit-rep. Entering the building now..."

[Raveled]

Glowstar watched the two women sneak into -- no, wait, they were heroes -- infiltrate the building. He followed the one in the catsuit for awhile, his superhuman vision easily passing through the intervening walls and floor, but looking like that for always hurt his eyes and before long he was reduced to staring at the walls of the building. He began pacing, describing a circuit from Equinox's unconscious body to the door and back. The young man wasn't one for sitting and waiting, and before long he stamped to a halt in front of Push. "So, do you at least have some cards or something," he asked the older hero, a note of pleading in his voice.

[Quinn]

Push looked at Glowstar and his mouth quirked. Then he started chuckling. Clearly the kid had never been on a stakeout before, and he said as much.

"Clearly, mate, you've never been on a stakeout before. Getting antsy already, huh?"

The kineticist propped Equinox's leftover body against the wall in a seated position, looking at it askance. After a few seconds, he sighed and shrugged out of his coat, placing it underneath her and over the alley floor so she would at least not have to lie on some fairly questionable concrete.

"Neh, don't have cards. Can play I Spy if you prefer."

[Raveled]

Glowstar made a face and settled down next to the wall, legs folded Indian-style. "Nah, man. I don't sit around watching, I go in and save folks! Bif, bam, that's how it goes, ya know?" He leaned his head back until it rested against concrete. "I, Spy wouldn't be fair, even. I can see through walls and stuff." He fell silent and the time stretched again, working on his nerves again. "I'll play Twenty Questions, though. I'm thinking of, um, a person."

[Quinn]

Push sighed.

"Equinox."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Speaking of the witch, she easily passed through the walls and into the building; hot on Blueshift's trail. The two snuck through the building, passing easily by robots who either didn't seem to notice them or cared. Oddly enough, the place, or at least what they passed through, was devoid of pretty much everything; from furniture to paper clips. Eventually, they found the basement stairs...

[Raveled]

Glowstar blinked, glancing over at Push. "No, man. That's not how you do it. Next question you ask it 'man or woman,' or maybe 'alive or dead.' Heh, or in this town, 'human or alien.'" He leaned his head back and took to staring down the street. "So, uh, you and Blueshift are a couple, huh? How's that working out, exactly? Patrolling with your lady, I mean."

[quotemyname]

Glowstar made a face and settled down next to the wall, legs folded Indian-style. "Nah, man. I don't sit around watching, I go in and save folks! Bif, bam, that's how it goes, ya know?"

Blueshift's voice crackled over his radio, "Glowstar, Sun Tzu says, 'He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.' Stake outs can be fun. It's a great excuse to drink more coffee, at least."

She heard Glowstar's voice once more just as her foot hit the first step on the stairs to the basement:

"So, uh, you and Blueshift are a couple, huh? How's that working out, exactly? Patrolling with your lady, I mean."

"Appreciate the attention. Distracting, though. Gotta concentrate, boys. Mind muting at least?"

Aided by her Dash Boots, Blueshift practically tap danced down the stairs she spent so little time actually in contact with them. Once at the landing, she fired up the various sensors in her visor, trying to get a feel for where the were, and where they should go. The line of robots obviously led them in one direction. Though like any good strategic mind, or Chess Grandmaster, she knew the most obvious move wasn't always the best. She was looking for anything else important about their surroundings. Equipment rooms, alternate stairways, hidden panels, the works. If she was going to have any chance at reprogramming these bots, she'd need to find whatever was sending them the information. It was likely that whatever this device is, it wouldn't be kept in the same place as the robots were dumping their cargo.

[Ecalsneerg]

Equinox floated after Blueshift, a couple of inches off the ground, utterly silent and invisible. Rather than bothering to look ahead at the obvious, which her corporeal partner could do easily, she willed her astral form through the walls, peering through into the side rooms every few feet, trying to find any threats or at least find something.

She willed herself to temporarily appear out of thin air again. <We should maybe just follow the robots if we can't find anything here. I doubt whoever's behind this is going to make it so obvious, but I'm not sure what else we've got going.>

[Quinn]

The building itself was devoid of life or equipment, the little robots heading on a beeline towards the basement stairs. Steady lines of the little constructs went up and down the stairs, some struggling under heavy loads, others passing the strangest things from hand to mechanical hand. Following the lines lead to a huge basement storehouse, unsurprisingly devoid of everything including shelves. But the most obvious feature of the concrete room was the gaping hole in the centre of the room, where the robots simply chucked their cargo into before starting back towards the stairs and surface.

[quotemyname]

Blueshift skated over to the hole via the power of her rocket boots. Still invisible thanks to her cloaking field, she could only stare in wonder for a second. "Found a hole, guys. Bots are depositing their finds here. Given approximate diameter, visible depth (none), and amount of cargo already thrown in- No, couldn't be- Perhaps a bottomless pit? No. Doesn't make sense." Blueshift's eyes frantically scanned the room aided by the many sensors in her goggles, "Has to be something else here. A hint, or something!"

[Ecalsneerg]

Equinox shot where she thought Blueshift was a level look. <Or, just an idea... I'm not actually here. I'm a mental projection. Nothing physical will hurt me, anything magical or mental will just make me go back into my body, and, most importantly...>

The witch walked out until she was floating above the bottomless pit, glancing down into it. <I can float. I'll be in touch as soon as I find out what's in here. If I'm not back in 5 minutes, assume I've been delayed or injured, and go back.> With a brief nod, the witch shot downwards into the hole, going invisible once more as she did so.

[Quinn]

The hole was surprisingly deep, and it expanded in diameter considerably as she went further down. It went straight down, although, mercifully, didn't seem to cut through any crucial pipes or sewer lines on the way down. At the bottom of the shaft, her astral form landed atop a great pile of odds and sods, the strangest things gathered from around Freedom City's streets; here a stop sign, there a soda machine, over there a whole hot dog stand!

But what really attracted the attention of the magic-wielding heroine was at the other end of this small cavern, hewn from the earth beneath the downtown area. A great machine, shaped like a mechanical mole, with a huge open door at the back of it; other small robots carried stuff from the pile to other, larger robots; the larger robots examining it before hurling it either to the side, creating another large pile of discarded items, or into the open 'cargo bay' at the back of the great machine.

[Ecalsneerg]

Even knowing she couldn't be hurt as far as she knew, Equinox crept through the cavern, knowing it was likely only a matter of time before something sensed her presence. She had to find out what was in the cargo bay. If all the junk was getting dumped off to the side, she just had to know... what was considered worth keeping, and why?

As such, she made her way over to the cargo bay entrance, on a couple of occasions "walking" clean through a couple of robots in her attempt to make haste. This whole place was giving her the creeps, especially the constantly cold, sterile magitek aura filling the room. To her, it smelt like the taste of a battery.

[Quinn]

Amazingly, nothing seemed to pick up Equinox's astral form; a tiny robot dragging a large neon "L" even walked right through her at one point without reacting at all. As she slowly stepped up and peered into the cargo bay, it became readily apparent that the industriousness of the little robots was truly remarkable. Lines of smaller robots stood in straight ranks, obviously deactivated, missing parts here and there, with more ranks behind them getting steadily larger and larger. At the very back of the bay, surrounded by scaffolding, was an absolutely humongous looking robot, or at least the frame of one. Little robots like the ones she'd seen up top scurried hither and thither, applying new parts, carrying tools here and there; with the whole operation being supervised by a truly eccentric-looking individual who was pacing around on the upper gallery.

He had frizzy white hair that would make Einstein jealous, a tousled and unkempt beard with a pair of extremely large-lensed green goggles, a stained and burned labcoat, and a pair of rubber gloves and rubber boots. Sometimes one of the robots would bring an object up to him, and he would run some strange device over it, or simply lean in and stare at it very intensely through the goggles, then nod and pat the little bot on the head in a fond manner before it hurried off to do whatever roboty thing it had to do.

[Ecalsneerg]

Equinox stared in horror as she watched the army of robots multiplying. <We've wasted too much time. We're going to have to stop this now.> She took a deep breath, and let go of the effort of will holding her spell together, the pressure in the back of her skull snapping like a steel wire pulled too tight.

Her body shocked clean upwards, taking a huge gasping breath as the white light in her eyes erupted forth like a firework. "He's making robots, who make more robots, ad infinitum." The witch stood up, frowning at the coat Push had tucked in underneath her."Thanks for the coat. Get Blueshift on the radio now and tell her to hold her position, we'll be in as soon as possible. There's a factory under there, and we're confronting this professor."

By now, she had her wand in her right hand, left hand securing her pentacle around her neck firmly.

[Quinn]

Push swept his coat up and over his shoulders with a simultaneous groan as Equinox mentioned a factory. He began massaging the point between his eyes, feeling a distinct headache coming on.

"Aaand he brought the mole machine. Joy."

The kineticist sighed, tapping the commlink and alerting Blueshift to what was going down, before turning to the other two.

"Ok, quick heads up, Wyrd likes his magitek gadgets. Expect...well, lots of crazy stuff. Last time I threw down with him, he'd come up with this sheepification ray, and no, I'm not kidding. Not sure why he made it either."

He then cracked his knuckles and his neck, beginning to let the kinetic energy flow; for easier access when the inevitable happened.

"Well, c'mon. Let's go give the Prof a Freedom City welcome."

[Raveled]

Glowstar started when Equinox sat up so abruptly and made ready to charge into the warehouse. He jumped to his feet, pumping himself up for the action. His force field, which had fallen quiescent while he'd waited (and dozed, if he was being honest) sprang to crackling life again, and a ruddy glow emanated from the teen hero. "Right on," he muttered, striding towards the door. "Let's get this started."

The hero put one hand on the doorknob, then paused. He threw a glanced back at Push and asked, "You mean, like, a gun that shoots sheep, right? Not one that turns people into sheep? Because wool makes me itch, man."

[quotemyname]

"So. Plan?" Blueshift asked, letting her cloaking device fade as the others approached the hole, "I can infiltrate. Set an ambush. Surprise him after you make the confrontation." She tapped a finger against the side of her mouth briefly, "If he's got any weird tech on or near him, I can see about scrapping it before the fight even starts."

She moved to stand next to Push, who's flight would likely be her way down the hole, "Strip his advantages while maintaining our own. Objections?"

[Ecalsneerg]

The hero put one hand on the doorknob, then paused. He threw a glanced back at Push and asked, "You mean, like, a gun that shoots sheep, right? Not one that turns people into sheep? Because wool makes me itch, man."

Equinox raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Who turns people into sheep? I've heard of apes, frogs, the whole assortment, but not sheep. It's just..." She struggled for words for a moment. "Just... wow."

"So. Plan?" Blueshift asked, letting her cloaking device fade as the others approached the hole, "I can infiltrate. Set an ambush. Surprise him after you make the confrontation." She tapped a finger against the side of her mouth briefly, "If he's got any weird tech on or near him, I can see about scrapping it before the fight even starts."

She moved to stand next to Push, who's flight would likely be her way down the hole, "Strip his advantages while maintaining our own. Objections?"

Equinox nodded in concurrence with the plan. "Sounds like a good plan. I'm not going to take him down without giving a chance to come quietly, no, but that doesn't mean we have to be sloppy and leave ourselves wide. The robots didn't pick up on my astral form, so I assume if they lack magical sensory equipment they'll lack the electronic equivalent. I do think you should go down behind us, though. If we walk in without trying to hide, there's less risk of them finding someone who is hiding."

[quotemyname]

"Good point." Blueshift responded. She looked to Push and the others. "I'll still need a ride down there, but once we're in, I'll let you lead the way."

She looked expectantly, waiting for someone to make a move before she realized she was getting ahead of herself. "Right. There's one more thing. I'll be able to hear you fine, while cloaked. Through the radios, I mean. I can talk too. The device masks any audio or visual output my presence causes. But if the sneak attack's gonna work, we need a code. A high sign or something. You can act like you're just talking. But I'll know it's time to strike. Anyone have any suggestions?"

She looked to push, "You've fought this guy before. Any subjects usually come up in conversation? Words or things you can mention that would seem natural that I could pick up on?"

[Raveled]

"Distraction? I can do that." Glowstar cracked his knuckles, his force field flaring in sympathy, before positioning himself over the hole and floating down. Red light streamed off him, pushing the shadows back and making the bots look like they were made of copper. "Doctor Wyrd," he called out, purposefully mangling the man's chosen title. "I'm from the city planning council. I'm afraid that this neighborhood isn't zone for subterranean excavation! If you'd just come with us over to Freedom Hall, I'm sure we can get this all straightened out."

[Quinn]

Push stroked his chin as the others planned, and shook his head.

"I'm going to have to stay back, fought Wyrd enough that he's learned to keep sensors all over the place to pick me up. Kinda hard to hide when you're glowing like a sun on some kinetovision...thing..."

It was that point where Glowstar decided to go Leeroy Jenkins on them. The kineticist facepalmed, and abruptly swept Blueshift up into his arms.

"Right, scratch that. Last one to the bottom's a rotten egg!"

And then he simply leapt into the hole, scarf and coat billowing as he and Blueshift plummeted. He'd just kicked in the jets about 3/4 of the way down, and landed neatly on his feet when he heard Glowstar also deliberately mangle Wyrd's name. And heard the very loud response from the mole machine's exterior speakers. And saw the heavy turrets that popped out of the side and concealed holes in the cavern floor, charging up with an ommminous hummm as the little robots simply dropped what they were doing and hurried towards the cargo bay.

"PROFESSOR!" "...Oh, bugger."

[quotemyname]

"Ohh!" Blueshift squeaked with a mixture of excitement and surprise, for her, a good sound. She held on tight as the two of them dropped through the hole.

On the way down, she piped up, "Radio silence, everyone. Until I know he can't pick us up. And stay together. It'll make finding you easier."

As push hit the ground, Blueshift could see the defense systems begin whirring to life. Not good, she thought.

She hopped down from Push's arms, grabbed both sides of his face with her hands and kissed him square on the lips. The kiss was affectionate, but she didn't linger. She couldn't. "Be safe." She advised him. She never let her eyes leave his. She took two steps back. By her second footfall, nearly her entire body had been enveloped by the cloaking device she'd developed. Just as her neck and head began to fade from view, she whispered, "I love you."

Though invisible, she knew Push could tell she'd given one last lingering look before she dashed headlong down the tunnel that Equinox had detailed in her report. Gonna find these defense systems and shut them down!

Ice water ran through her veins as she got ready to charge into the semi-darkness...

[Quinn]

Blueshift's movement seemed to go unnoticed by the few active turrets, three of them pointing their rather oddly-shaped barrels towards the heroes. As they scattered, the machines seemed to glow with an inner light, and then blinding twin lances of energy erupted from one, a solid beam flying right through where Glowstar was a second previously and striking the other wall with a zap. The other two began charging, one tracking Equinox, the other aiming right at Push.