Ari Posted March 4, 2012 Author Posted March 4, 2012 GM The starkly-lit passageway, if it was trapped, gave no sign whatever of want to show it was. Neither the flung cards nor the two heroes' careful scan of the tunnel revealed anything dangerous at all. Though for all that, it appeared even more sinister than before. The card flung into the door dropped out with a slight clatter of metal, which was the only sound to break the stillness inside.
Supercape Posted March 4, 2012 Posted March 4, 2012 "Perhaps no need for a hand..." replied Synth, thoughtfully. She concentrated, her stem cells once against plunging into action. A third eye opened up in her forehead, and started to bulge out, until it formed fully and dropped out of her forehead into an outreached hand. "But I would like to eye up the place" she said, with the softest smile. "For that matter, I would like to keep several eyes open..." she added, as another fully formed eye grew at the nape of her neck. She took hold of her extra eye in the hand, and, like a bowler, threw it ahead of them where it rolled and rolled, serving as an advance scout. "Onwards, I think" she said softly, treading carefully, barefoot, down the passageway "I fully condone prudence, but we must not unduly delay..."
Eviscerus Posted March 5, 2012 Posted March 5, 2012 Spitfire Spitfire followed dutifully after Synth, staring at her up and down for what anyone would consider an inappropriate amount of time. A small smile played on his lips and one could see ideas forming in his head. After a minute, Spitfire could contain himself no longer. "Excuse me, miss Synth, but I was wondering... Have you ever considered joining a circus? Your unique talents would really be a welcome addition to any troupe, I can tell ya that." Spitfire could imagine the children, laughing in delight and shying away in fear and wonderment. It was enough to make him nostalgic, wishing for the old days of fire shows, hard work with wondrous animals, and a camaraderie that didn't often exist with his fellow heroes. By nature, heroes were a secretive bunch, and while those in the circus built a reputation out of mystery and wonder, together they were a family, close knit and secretless. Spitfire loved the hero work, loved helping people, but it was a terribly lonely profession, and watching Synth's display reminded him of that and more.
Supercape Posted March 5, 2012 Posted March 5, 2012 "Excuse me, miss Synth, but I was wondering... Have you ever considered joining a circus? Your unique talents would really be a welcome addition to any troupe, I can tell ya that." Synth stared at him from the eye on the nape of her neck, looking straight at him and blinking on occasion. "I've never in been to the Circus, my friend" she replied, smiling to herself "I heard about them, of course. Colours, spectacle, smells, animals...if I ever scrape together enough dollars, I will try to go. " She continued forward, with purpose, her pace was not slow but neither was it reckless. Her scouting eye continued to roll ahead. "But as for joining, well, I would rather stay away from the gaze of the crowds. I don't want to draw much attention to myself. As little as possible, actually. I just want to do the right thing. I suppose I should ask you all to keep my existence and help as quiet as possible..."
Ari Posted March 7, 2012 Author Posted March 7, 2012 The King of Suits glanced nervously back as he followed the other two. He had no doubt that both of them were quite competent, but he was deeply worried nonetheless. For all any of them knew there was a maze of traps just past that door... He listened with interest at the discussion on Synth's prospects as a circus performer. While he had little actual idea of what American circuses were, he did know they often required a great deal of agility and strong nerves in their performers, both things Synth seemed to have in spades. When they reached the door he asked bluntly "So..who will open it? I'd volunteer but" he shrugged at the narrow tunnel. Stopping suddenly he looked back and asked "Uh..do you want me to go fetch Voltage? I think he is back at the surveillance room"
Thunder King Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 Voltage surveyed the area warily, curious as to the purpose of it all. He stepped into the room. "Sorry, I was making sure everything was in order back there." He gazed down the tunnel. "I will see about triggering any traps down there." He said, exiting the room for a moment. He returned carrying several discarded swords, carried by the ninjas. He concentrated on one and lifted it with his new magnetic powers. He twisted it this way and that, poking around in the door area, searching for a possible trap. "This should prevent anyone from risking life and limb." he said as the sword prodded the area.
Ari Posted March 7, 2012 Author Posted March 7, 2012 GM The clattering weapons skittered across the door for only a few seconds before a large blade slammed down on them from a few inches in front of the door. Leaving the now bent and dented swords on the floor, the heavy blade began to ascend before slamming down again twice. This done, it calmly returned to the ceiling from whence it had come. If Voltage moved the swords against the door again, the blade returned to do its harsh work on them.
Eviscerus Posted March 8, 2012 Posted March 8, 2012 Spitfire Spitfire watched the deadly blade display and shook his head. "Well don't that just beat the band. If one o' you can find the mechanism that causes that thing to fall, I could turn it to slag, or if any of you is good at disabling these sorta things, that'd work too. Might be these things have redundancies that a simple sabotage wouldn't account fer."
Ari Posted March 8, 2012 Author Posted March 8, 2012 The King of Suits examined the area before them. "I would stake a lot that there's an electric eye somewhere around the door. It would probably be set to trigger in case of larger objects, like those swords" he nodded to the ninja blades over Spitfire's shoulder "and not small stuff like that card I threw. This would be Voltage's area of expertise, I believe"
Thunder King Posted March 8, 2012 Posted March 8, 2012 Voltage's mind scanned the area around him for the wireless network of the bank, or any network that might lead to the electronic eye. With a few seconds of thought, he shut down all communication between the eye and the trap, he hoped. He dropped one of the swords on the ground and guided it towards the door, prodding around it, making absolutely sure the trap was disabled. He didn't want anyone to get hurt, after all.
Ari Posted March 8, 2012 Author Posted March 8, 2012 GM That seemed to be the only real obstacle to entry of the secret lair. Apparently the ninjas hadn't thought they would need anything more to bar the way into their hideout, which considering their location marked them as either naive, overly confident in their abilities, or simply unused to the idea of NOT being the stealthiest guys in town. The wail of sirens heralding emergency vehicles resounded in the distance, quickly becoming clearer and louder. Their quick response was rather lost on many of the bank patrons, who thought them rather tardy compared to the heroes. Their assistance was regardless warmly welcomed, and the perpetrators and those lightly wounded were taken into medical or legal custody as their case required. The police and EMTs took one look at the heroes crammed in the tunnel and wisely kept from asking questions, merely calling over encouragement as they went about their duties. Soon the bank was empty of the ninjas, and it was as if they had never been; besides the scorch marks, divots in the floor from swords and the dents in the walls where some had been sent flying.
Thunder King Posted March 14, 2012 Posted March 14, 2012 "Well, it seems that the trap situation was resolved." Voltage said with a nod. "I'm curious as to where this all goes, I think we should investigate." He looked at the assembled heroes. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to have to stop another ninja robbery here, or have something even worse end up taking over the base back here."
Ari Posted March 14, 2012 Author Posted March 14, 2012 The King of Suits leaned back against the wall of the tunnel, watching with interest as Voltage disabled the trap, freeing them to proceed. "Good work Volt" he said cheerfully "I believe marching order has already been established so..off we go!" he began fiddling with his gear, making certain he could get at it and draw it at a moment's notice without any fatal seconds lost to fumbling with straps, buttons, latches or or securing technology. Calling ahead to Synth and Spitfire(Wonder if he's related to that WWII hero? I should ask) he said "Lead the way, we're right behind you" he wished a more..durable sort had happened to be along with them, but Synth at least was insanely agile, and could most likely dodge most attacks they might find inside the old building buried beneath the bank.
Supercape Posted March 15, 2012 Posted March 15, 2012 "What on earth is down here?" whispered Synth as she slipped forward. "It's like this Bank was built on top of something...something old..." She paused for thought, although but for a second or two - her mind sped along more quickly and efficiently than human's. The problem was she was largely ignorant. For all she knew, it was customary to build banks on old burial sites. "If anyone can explain, please do so...is this normal?" she asked, in a soft but unembarrassed voice. She decided that caution was of the essence. It would take quite a lot to hurt her, and she could grow back any thing that was sliced off, but there was no point exposing herself to trauma. She took her time, quietly padding down the walls. As she did so, her skin tone changed to a rusty brick colour, matching the walls of the tunnel. "Don't mind me" she said "I just would prefer the element of surprise, if it's needed..."
Eviscerus Posted March 15, 2012 Posted March 15, 2012 Spitfire "Ain't nothin' bout Freedom City normal, darlin'. That's fer sure, but I tell ya, this ain't normal either." Spitfire let slip a half-cocked smile and did his best to exude an air of confidence. If he were being honest with himself, he didn't like being in a place that could offer death to them without much warning. Maxie preferred his threats alive and flammable. With villains, you always knew where you stood, but trap laden passageways were as unreadable to him as tagalog. "This snails pace is borin' me. Let's light a fire under our keesters and get a move on." With that, Spitfire crouched low, sticking to the side of the passageway and crept along behind Synth.
Thunder King Posted March 20, 2012 Posted March 20, 2012 "If you don't mind, I will stay a distance behind so as not to disrupt your desire for stealth and surprise." With that said, Voltage began to walk calmly down the hallway, keeping sufficient distance behind the others so that, even if they heard him coming, they wouldn't necessarily know the others were though. He was not, however, so far away that he could not immediately join the fray if needed. "It's very unusual to build a place like this." He said somewhat quietly.
Ari Posted March 21, 2012 Author Posted March 21, 2012 GM The building under the bank was in passably good repair, as far as mouldering reinforced Victorian-style basements could ever be in 'good' condition at least. The place appeared to be composed of strict right-angled corridors that bore its way past eleven locked doors in a squared circle. The electric lighting was inoperable(for obvious reasons), so the King of Suit's goggles proved invaluable in determining the layout of their surroundings, and the simple geometry made it fairly easy to navigate, something assisted by how free of debris the halls were, and uncollapsed the walls remained. Still, the air was thick with dust, the faint odor of mold and rot, the concrete floor damp, and the ceiling didn't look in the best of shape, sagging under the weight of the earth above. Everything was silent, the distant rumble of the city the only indicator the outside world existed. Obviously, either the ninjas had used this as a temporary base, or else merely as a platform from which to launch their attack scheme.
Supercape Posted March 21, 2012 Posted March 21, 2012 "Nothing down here..." said Synth, holding a forearm to her nose. To her acute sense, the pungent odour here was almost overwhelming. "What is this place? How did they find it? How did they get in? How long did they wait?..." she asked to nobody in particular. "It doesn't look the safest, or the most healthy place to stay in for a long time" she commented, pointing at the sagging ceiling. Deciding that the immediate danger was over, her body started it's work of cellular growth and regeneration. The eye in the back of her head sealed over, and her own eyes grew back to normal shape. She looked human again, although new clothes and shoes might be an idea. Quite where she would get the money for that, she had no idea. She wished she had liberated some from the anarchists...
Eviscerus Posted March 30, 2012 Posted March 30, 2012 Spitfire Bumbling around in the dark wasn't getting them anywhere, and being able to breath fire, Max was imminently capable of remedying the situation. Max searched for a few seconds, grabbing an ornate chair and breaking off a leg of it, then wrapping it with a ripped and moldy table cloth, Spitfire set it alight with an almost contemptuous spit of flame. With torch in hand he looked back at his brethren and smiled. "It is better to light a candle, then curse the darkness. As the old Chinese proverb goes eh?"
Ari Posted April 2, 2012 Author Posted April 2, 2012 The King of Suit's night-vision goggles had been working out so well Marceau had quite forgotten how blinded the others would be by the dark. Thus, the sudden flare of light that touched at the edges of his vision caused him to spin around, arms at the ready for an attack. Seeing as it was just the flame-thrower making a torch he gave a sigh of relief. "A good solution, Spitfire!" he said, removing his goggles and placing them back in their container in his belt "But give a warning next time you light up, could you? I thought we were under a attack for a moment there!" he laughed aloud at that, and then turned to Synth's questions "Near as I could guess" he began thoughtfully, scanning the moldering basement "this place must contain an entrance to a secret passage leading to another building, perhaps even another basement owned by whoever made this place. You're quite right: it's got to be one of the worst places to spend any time at all, and it certainly would be foolish to set up shop here" he confronted one of the doors, tapping it experimentally to check both for what it was made of and how sturdy it might be. To Synth he asked politely "Beg pardon miss, but could you stand ready to help knock down this door, in case I can't unlock it? We might as well look for something, to my mind" He glanced over at Voltage "Volt, do you have the plans for this basement, by any chance? And would you be able to tell us anything about it?"
Thunder King Posted April 9, 2012 Posted April 9, 2012 "There's part of it they just didn't want to get rid of, I suppose. There's a pit in there for reasons I don't know." He said, grateful for Spitfire's impromptu torch. This was an interesting scenario. Why on earth would the build it like this? What purpose would that serve? Voltage anticipated that this situation would get stranger than it already was before long. The others, or at least some of them, appeared capable and trained in the art of stealth. Voltage...wasn't. He didn't even consider the idea of stealth. There was simply no way he could sneak. Which, of course, was why he stayed farther back. That and he wasn't built for hand to hand combat.
Supercape Posted April 9, 2012 Posted April 9, 2012 "Beg pardon miss, but could you stand ready to help knock down this door, in case I can't unlock it? We might as well look for something, to my mind" Synth listened carefully to both Voltage and King of Suits, then nodded. "It doesn't look too resilient" she said, tapping the door and then giving it an experimental shove. "I don't think hanging around is wise, either. These people are well organised, and fast. The trail may already be cold, but if there is any warmth left in it, I think we should move quickly..." She took a few steps back and rubbed her fists. "Lets get going..." she finished.
Ari Posted April 21, 2012 Author Posted April 21, 2012 "Alright, let's get to it!" exclaimed Marceau heartily, drawing out two padded metal gauntlets attached by narrow white tubes to a pair of bicep-length cylinders marked unambiguously "DANGER: do not ingest contents" in yellow letters. Positioning himself in front of the door, he tensed, swung back both fists and slammed them into the door, pulling on the long triggers running along the palms and forcing the padded hammers froward, with enough force to send the door almost off its hinges, and certainly out of the latches locking it. The echoes thundered around the cramped confines of the basement. Stepping backwards and shaking his head, the King of Suits blinked at the opened way, looked at his gauntlets, and grinned broadly. To Voltage he said "These work better than I had hoped! I'll have to figure out a way to dampen the noise though" he added, rubbing his ears ruefully.
Eviscerus Posted April 21, 2012 Posted April 21, 2012 Spitfire "Well that's one way to knock eh?" Spitfire entered through the busted door bringing his makeshift torch to bear. Pausing for a second, Max turned to King and raised an eyebrow. "I don't suppose ya got a spare of those do ya? They would probably come in handy on my nightly rounds if ya know what I mean. I may be fireproof, but using my powers in close quarters ain't exactly easy if ya know what I mean."
Ari Posted April 25, 2012 Author Posted April 25, 2012 "I'm certain I could make a second pair of thse, Spitfire" the King of Suits agreed warmly "just let me get your hand measurements, and I'll get to work." He stepped through after the firebreather, glancing around at the room and marveling at the slabs of pavement that covered most fo the floor "What do you make of this Volt, Mz. Synth?" he called over his shoulder cheerfuly, the pit and its railing invisible to him at the moment from the flickering light of the torch.
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