ic Test Site III (IC)

[SpicyWaffle]

From their position near the hub of the Curator's control, the teenaged hero locked in the tin suit could only sit in deathly silence as the Lor revealed their plan: to travel right into the heart of the Curator's ringworld in an endeavor to reboot its systems, lest they be destroyed by an encroaching fleet of less savory Pseudos. They needed to act quickly, and in the long, awkward uncertainty that seemed to follow with the unveiling of their plan, all Baxter could do was look out at the massive structure and heave a heavy sigh. He wasn't sure what all that techno-babble about Computronium and internal energy sources, but one thing was sure: someone was going to have to get in there. As much as he wanted to go home -- as much as he wanted to leave everything here behind -- he still felt strangely compelled to risk life and limb for the trillions of lives still trapped down there below, victims on a crash course with destiny.

"I'll go," he said, as calm and plain-as-day as the boy could muster as he stepped forward heavily to stand beside Samran. "I can't leave thozze people down there. And if thezze Grue are on their way, it'zz probably now or never if we're gonna do zzomething about em'. Zzo, yeah, I'm with you, crazzy azz all of thizz zztuff zzoundzz."

[Raveled]

Jay followed Samran across the floor, stepping back in shock when the cabinet rose straight up from the floor. She frowned at the black spheres inside, like super-sized dust balls, before taking one and holding it in her hand. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, then let the breath out slowly. For a moment she swayed on her feet; in that moment the young woman felt all the stress and questions and tension of the last few days on her shoulders, and all she wanted to do was collapse. But she knew she couldn't, so after allowing herself that indulgence she steeled herself and opened her eyes again. "Okay then." She stuffed the black ball in a convenient pocket. "How is this going to work? Who do I have to kill."

[Electra]

Erin took a sticky ball and affixed it to her shoulder as she'd seen the Lor officer do. "If we're lucky, we shouldn't have to kill anyone. We just have to be fast enough to get down there and come back before the Grue arrive to try and destroy everything." She checked her bat, then passed her knapsack of supplies to Dorothy. "You stay here," she instructed the girl. "We'll be back soon. Stay in radio contact, and if anything bad happens, try and get to a safe place." She gave the younger girl a quick hug, then patted her on the shoulder before turning her attention to Ellie. "It would be better if you stayed here too," she said with the air of someone who knows they probably aren't going to be heeded. "If we have casualties, we'll be transmitting them back here, and you'll be able to work on them in better conditions. I can take the hard drive down and plug Vince in."

[Gizmo]

Jill raised a pointing finger at Wander and opened her mouth to object but paused more a moment as her expression turned into a frustrated grimace of gritted teeth and her hands curled into claws momentarily. "Nnnh... Dammit, you just had to go and make sense, didn't you?" the medic groused, rubbing her face with one hand, suddenly unbearably weary. If she were being brutally honest with herself, she probably wouldn't have made it as far as she had without Erin's expertise and instruction but that didn't make the idea of letting others head into danger without her any more palatable, especially since she'd convinced the Lor officers to help with this Hail Mary pass in the first place. "I hate this like fire, but fine," she allowed with a scowl, passing the powerhouse the hard drive gingerly. "I'll keep an eye on things here but if any of you die over there I will hunt you down and kill you, comprende?"