A Better Mousetrap (IC)

[Ari]

Breathing a sigh of relief, veins thrumming and heart pounding from victory, Heraldo grabbed the machine and dove down through the hole in the floor, senses tuned to the fiery world around him as he flew once more through the apartment building!

 

That room hadn't had any people in it, and none had stirred during the fight, so hopefully nobody nearby had gotten hurt. That didn't mean the work was done though. If someone was planting killer robots and traps in the building, then who knew what might have happened to the people still inside? They would have to come first, then his schoolmates.

 

Eyes smarting at the heat, smoke and haze, the young flier darted through the apartment.

[Thevshi]

GM

 

Inside a dark control room lit only by a red light, Warden was watching the various monitors before him, observing the teenage "heroes" progress through his trap.  Thus far, he was frowning behind his mask.  Every one of the teens that had walked into one of his traps, had avoided being captured thus far.  But there were still plenty of traps to go.

 

The T-baby girl, Warp, he thought she was called, had teleported away beyond any of his cameras or sensors.  But she had inhaled some of the knockout gas, so unless she had a particularly robust constitution, always a possibility when dealing with a T-baby, she was likely unconscious wherever she was.

 

Perhaps most importantly, his main target was still outside the building, safe from any of the traps he had set for her.  That was something he would just need to change…

 

 

El Heraldo ripped up more of the floor to widen the hole he had made so he could fit through.  Once done, the patriotic paragon flew down, listening for any sign of his friends.  Though somewhat muffled by the walls, he was sure he could hear the sounds of water splashing up against the outside of the building.  But as he tried to listen for signs of Warp or Net Fly, he found he could not hear any.

 

But he was quickly distracted by the sounds of something mechanical in the room with him, as what looked like two mounted weapons popped out of compartments in the walls.  Each shot some sort of steel cables with weighted ends, similar to bolas, at the teen.  One wrapped around his torso, an electrical shock coursing through him as the cables wrapped themselves around him before he could try to fight them, pinning his arms to his body.  The second attack flew past, bouncing off the wall.

[Ari]

Flying straight into the new trap, El Heraldo barked in frustration, his curse short and muffled by the sudden constriction around his chest and lungs. Still airborne, he very briefly made a near-perfect arch as the electric shock blasted through his body, a shout of pain ringing through the room along with the hissing crackle of lightning as it lashed and stabbed into him! After a seeming eternity the charges were spent, and he was still conscious, if wracked with pain and seriously regretting it. "Whoever's doing this is just psycho-crazy..." Subito muttered to himself, gritting his teeth as he tested the wires wrapped around his body,

 

Finding a weak spot he grinned in triumph, muscles standing out beneath his thick jacket as he began to slowly break the cables with raw power. "Gotta get to the others, Tsunami's probably got a better idea how to deal with traps than me." he commented aloud, keeping an eye on the launchers that had shot him in case he needed to try and dodge again.

[Thevshi]

GM

 

El Heraldo was right to be concerned about the two launchers.  As he strained against the cables holding him, managing to fray them slightly, the launchers once again fired on the patriotic paragon.  The first whirling set of steel cables struck dead on, wrapping around El Heraldo tightly, effectively reversing the gains he had made in trying to free himself.  But, perhaps more significantly, the electric charge the cables were carrying coursed through the teen, causing his muscles to seize up as his vision blackened slightly as he found himself with tunnel vision and disoriented. 

 

The second set of steel cables then struck El Heraldo, but despite being stunned by the electrical charge of the first, the teen somehow managed to twist and avoid being entangled by the cables.  However, the electrical charge of the second set of cables still arched through his body, causing him to seize up once more as his tunnel vision began to narrow and everything else became not much more than a blur for a few moments before it all went black and he fell to the ground unconscious. 

Edited July 10, 2013 by Thevshi

[Vahnyu]

No good! Another trap... and from the sounds of it, I may not want to stay here for too long... Net Fly thought, as he frantically searched for a way out. Looking at the ceiling, he smirked from inside his mask as he thought Well... if I plan on going up anyways, there's no reason to make things more complicated than they have to be. Let's just hope that no one who I wouldn't want to injure is directly above me. Powering up, both of his hands were surrounded by sonic energy. Swiftly, he brought them together, pointing upwards, and unleashed a sonic blast that blew a hole on the ceiling. Judging it to be large enough to accomodate him, Net Fly flew right through the opening, and onto the upper floor. From there, he tried inspecting the surroundings, while keeping his hands powered up, in case he needed them. At least, I don't think I heard hurting anyone, so that's a relief.

[Thevshi]

GM

 

Flying up through the hole he had blasted in the ceiling, Net Fly found himself in another smoke filled hallway.  Thankfully, there was no sign of anyone that could have been hurt by his blasting his way through.

Just as the young hero arrived, another set of metal bars slammed into place to block the stairway entrance on this level.  Just then he heard a humming sound from below, as a pair of small rotating disks flew up through the hole and started towards him.

 

As the two disks drew close to Net Fly, they each veered to either side of him, a ribbon of electricity arching between them as they went.  The young hero was able to duck down beneath the crackling electricity as the two disks flew past.

 

No sooner was he righting himself than a second pair flew up through the hole and started towards him as well.  This time, he was not able to avoid the electrical arc, the current coursing through him as the disks flew past.  The shock caused the teen's body to spasm slightly as his vision blurred slightly and things began to spin slightly.

[Vahnyu]

"Tsk, oh gimme a break, will ya?" Net Fly muttered, as he spotted the disks. While he managed to avoid the first one, the second one caught him unaware, and send a stunning shocking current troughout his body. "TzzAAAARRRGGHH" the young hero screamed in protest, as the pulse made him black out and lose control of his motor functions, and along with those, his ability to keep afloat. He fell on the floor, and he fell hard, and while the force of the impact was enough to bring him back to his senses, the excess electricity in his body still ran strong, preventing him from recovering control of his body. Comeoncomeoncomeon, move, dammit! He cursed at himself, while he was barely able to pant and breath. And the fumes that the burning building exhuded didn't make matters any easier for the Blue Streak.

[Thevshi]

GM

 

While Net Fly tried to regain his bearings after crashing to the ground, the first pair of drones reversed course to come back for another pass.  This time the teen was unable to dodge the electrical arc that formed between the two, the current coursing through him.  But somehow, he was able to shrug off the effect as he tried to stand back up.

 

But that was when the second pair of drones made their next pass, their electrical arc also catching Net Fly solidly.  This time, the teen's body went ridged, as his vision began to narrow, before everything went completely black.

 

Just as the superteen began to collapse unconscious to the floor, a pair of metal pinchers attached to long thick metal cables extended from the hallway walls to catch Net Fly and restrain him…

Edited July 24, 2013 by Thevshi

[Thevshi]

GM

 

Inside his control room, Warden watched with satisfaction as first one of the teenage heroes, and then the other, fell to his various traps.  Neither had been easy to capture, with each resisting as hard as they could, but ultimately falling prey to his genius. 

 

The master trapmaker keyed controls to make sure both capture teens were well secured before turning his attention to the last of the teens still active, and the one he had been commissioned to capture.  The Asian girl was still outside, dousing the "fires" on the building’s outer walls.  Warden needed to lure her inside, and into particularly prepared rooms.  But he had a good idea on how to do that…

[Thevshi]

Tusnami had managed to extinguish all but a few small external fires on the building.  The Asian teen had brought a large pool over water over to the street and sidewalk near the building to be used as she needed.  Thus far she had not seen anyone make their way out of the building, not any tenants, nor her friends.  And this had her very concerned. 

 

With a simple gesture, a column of water rose up into the air, and the teen gracefully jumped off the rooftop she was on and onto the top of the column, which then snaked its way through the air, taking her into a broken out window that lead to a floor with a considerable amount of smoke, where she figured there would be more internal fires for her to douse as she started the search for any survivors and her friends.

 

The teen's watery conveyance took her through the window and into the smoke filled room beyond.  Tsunami blinked as the smoke filled her eyes, trying to take in her soundings.  But as she did so, a steel plate slammed down to block the window, cutting off the rest of the water she had been controlling from her, though she still had already brought a considerable amount with her.

 

The steel plate had her concerned, as she began to glance quickly around for any other threat.  That was clearly not normal, and certainly seemed like part of a trap…

[Thevshi]

GM

 

"Well, at last the fly I was after has wondering into the spider's lair."  Came Warden's voice over a speaker hidden somewhere within the room.  "How very noble of you and your friends to rush in headlong to save anyone trapped within the 'fire.'  But of course, no one was ever in any danger, save you and your friends."

 

"I have already captured them, but my contract is specifically for you.  Why don't you save yourself the trouble and just surrender."  Warden added as his hand hovered over some of the other controls before him.

 

The Asian teen in the room turned back towards the metal sheet that had slid down over the doorway out of the room she was in and into the hallway beyond, sending a blast of water that hammered heavily into door and leaving a large indention as the frame around the sheet splintered slighty.

 

"I didn't think so."  Warden replied quietly as he pressed a series of buttons.

 

In the sealed off room, several ports opened along the walls, partially concealed by the smoke still hanging in the air.  Two sizable rocks were launched from two of the ports towards Tsunami.  The Asian teen managed to dodge the first, but the second clipped her back shoulder, spinning her around slightly as she was knocked to the floor, dazed despite the thin sheen of water that swirled around her as a protective layer.

 

"It is interesting," Warden continued over the speakers as the teen tried to push herself back to her feet, "but my initial reaction upon receiving this contract was to begin designing fire traps that I could use to capture you.  But my employer provided some interesting information on how there was an even more effective way of dealing with you."

 

The ports each fired another set of large rocks at Tsunami, both striking squarely this time.  The Asian teen was knocked backward, a small cry of pain escaping her lips before she collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

 

"Who would have guessed the earth itself would be particularly effective against a water controller."  Warden commented out loud as he saw the results on the screen with a smile of satisfaction beneath his mask.  "Time to collect you all for delivery."  He added, as he rose from his seat…

Edited July 29, 2013 by Thevshi