ic Searching for Vanguard

[Thevshi]

Though Dee was busy trying to gain access to the Haven’s computer systems, she also "listened" to what the others had to say as they began to spread out inside the headquarters.

When Young Britannia changed from her costume into a suit and announced herself to the Vanguard's AI, Dee glanced up a moment, recognizing the name and face from the tabloids and news. Though Angus' songs were not particularly the type of music Dee tended to listen to, she had still paid enough attention to the general music scene to remember the singer.

At Osprey's mental comments about finding some sort of underfloor containers about the size of a person, the English woman's felt a chill run down her spin. I think you may have found the fate of the team that previously gained access to the Haven. She replied. One moment I am almost in the system.

A few key strokes later, and Dee had access to the Haven's record logs and quickly began flipping through them. Alright, I'm in. She "said" to the others. Lets see…yes, it appears the there are four pods that have people in them in suspended animation. Hmm…these files refer to some sort of cybernetic control implants that are active in each of the individuals. Jasmine, you might want to come over here and take a look at this, the files are referring to something called "Project Antibody" being active in each, some that is designed to modify their bodies' cortex.

[Aoiroo]

If Jasmine had gone any faster, she would of knocked Dee off her feet as she sprinted to the computer screen. Adjusting her glasses Jasmine scrolled through the files her mouth not saying anything, her mind not making coherent thoughts as she skimmed through. However, one word came across very clear when she got to the end,

#*@$

She looked up at Dee her eyes worried and her breath speeding up,

We have to help them, we have to help them NOW!

Pinching her nose under the bridge of her glasses she tried to calm herself down, but a stray thought crossed her mind,

If HeadCase is responsible for this, I will make him eat pepperspray until he passes out.

After her breathing even Jasmine went back to the computer and started to look through the files,

Okay, okay, we need to find a way to take them out of suspended animation and then safely deactivate the chips. If we try to force them open or break the tubes it'll probably trigger the security and very likely cause damage to the inhabitants inside which can be irreversible and or lethal.

Pulling from the screen she looked at the pods,

Just because the bodies are inactive does not mean the implants aren't and I can't tell what the prolonged exposure to them will do to the subjects. It's entirely possible if we release them they'll be violent, but the sooner we disable the control the better.

Edited February 7, 2014 by Aoiroo

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Vera this is Agnus Stone guest of Vanguard member Lucy Diamond. Please acknowledge?"

 

The central AI spoke, Vera briefly flashed to light as Lucy spoke to it. 

 

"All Security Clearance have been reset, Agnus Stone. Activating project Antibody. My apologies Agnus Stone, the Haven is now closed. All individuals without clearance are to be deactivated for Project Antibody..."

 

As she spoke, the floor panels near Osprey slid, almost silently, open. The four caskets underneath also opened, like beautiful black silent petals. 

 

Inside, four special forces operatives, apparently asleep. Until their eyes opened. 

 

Each was clearly the subject of advanced surgery and cybernetic implantation. Steel and plastic gripped their skull, draped over their right eye, with tendrils and tubes running in and out of their chests and right arm. 

 

"Deactivate intruders!" they said, without inflection, in unison. 

 

And then, they stood up...

[Ari]

Osprey had gotten up and stood back from the pods very quickly as the American's mental 'voice' detailed what they were about, his face twisting in a grimace. The obvious question was why. What on earth were the Vanguard thinking when they adopted something like this? Why would they set up a system to-

 

 

"All Security Clearance have been reset, Agnus Stone. Activating project Antibody. My apologies Agnus Stone, the Haven is now closed. All individuals without clearance are to be deactivated for Project Antibody..."

 

As she spoke, the floor panels near Osprey slid, almost silently, open. The four caskets underneath also opened, like beautiful black silent petals. 

-oh, so that was why. 'Lovely. Been here three minutes, already got stuff trying to attack us'  Alden gritted his teeth and reflexively grabbed at the wire bundles on his belt,  realizing with a horrible sinking feeling that he was the closest thing to the captured agents, something that wasn't helped by a deluge of memories of sparring with Eileen at the gym 'This is gonna hurt, mates, going up to the rafters!' he added mentally as the let fly with the wires, sending their weighted ends buzzing around the arms and legs of the heaviest-looking agent.

 

"Jasmine! If you've got something that can keep folks from movin', be great if you busted it out here!" he shouted over his shoulder. Then something clinked far above, he saw the weapons beginning to swing out, and he muttered to himself "Aw, **** this night."

[Aoiroo]

Jasmine took a few seconds to size up the antibodies. They were enhanced, but not absurdly so, maybe more then human but not more then what she has handled before. Which helped her in her choice of ammo,

"Well since you asked nicely."
Jasmine reached onto either side of her jacket and produced two brightly colored paintball pistols. It only took a second for her to check the ammunition before she shot off several rounds of small white paintballs that expanded upon contact and began to encase each of the antibodies in a gooey then hard gunk that held them firmly to the floor. She also shot several of these paintballs that errupted into goo to effectively gunk up defense mechanisms she could spot. Turning she gave an extra layer to anything she might of missed before she lowered her weapons and used the back of her hand to adjust her glasses,

"That should hold them for the moment."
She turned towards Dee,

"Now what can we do about shutting down the security systems at this juncture?"

Edited February 6, 2014 by Aoiroo

[Ari]

The Osprey whistled quietly as he risked a backwards glance, catching sight of the young woman's deft handling of the unassuming weapons "Good work, nice shooting." He called over to the Jasmine as he stepped away from the Antibodies, another coil of wires flashing into his left hand as the right drew the grapple gun. Firing into the air, he anchored himself to one of the arching rafters high above, flying up to the roof just as he flung the wires around the shoulders of the captured agents.

 

As he ascended, other wires flew thick and fast, wrapping around the few exposed limbs in a mass of steely fibers, and just as the last loop fell into place the air sang with several metal talons whirling through the air, the weapons embedding the loops into the floor and walls, creating a nigh-escapable spiderweb!

 

'Well, this isn't so bad...what now? Can you make the AI stop attacking us Dee?'

[Thevshi]

It is not quite so simple! Dee replied back at both Osprey and Jasmine’s questions about dealing with the Haven's security systems. The young Englishwoman was rather relieved the two had been able to so easily deal with the response systems VERA had activated. What had been done to those special forces operatives revolted Dee. As if she needed other reasons to hate Hardcase, she could not help but agree with Jasmine's reactions. Unless someone else had reprogramed the Haven’s AI since Vanguard had disappeared, Dee could not think of anyone else in the Vanguard that might have even through of such a defense system, let alone been able to create it.

"Okay, get on that terminal over there." She said aloud to Jasmine. "I will begin trying to get into the central core system. You can probably help keep the system busy, which should make what I am trying to do a bit easier."

[Aoiroo]

Jasmine went over to the terminal and started to boot up various programs and processes to keep the computer system busy. It wasn't a perfect solution but it seemed to be working as she clicked away on the keyboard. Her eyes wandered a bit to the people who have been turned into anti-bodies.

If you're still in here, I think I know what we can do with them.

She clicked on the keyboard at a steady pace,

From what we've seen this is a pretty complex system. It's likely whatever they have on them is just as complex and while I have a doctorate in my field, I have neither the medical or the cybernetics expertise to handle them. But I know who, or really a lot of whos who might.

It was with that she brought up a link to the computer systems to Freedom City.

If we can get that working, and make a safe jump we can smuggle them out and have them examined at the lab. As far as I know it's not government operated and the people who work there have such a large range of specialties and abilities that someone should be able to help them more regularly then anything the ministry has to offer. As for the ministry themselves, we may not want to tell them about this. While it may be that HeadCase very well created this project it might not be so that the Ministry was in the dark about it, and if at least one person there let this happen I don't think we can trust that these subjects will simply be examined with the intent of fixing the damage that has been done. If we're asked we can neither confirm nor deny it's existance, maybe we can gather more information about what exactly is happening now based on what has already been allowed to happen and who may or may not know about it.

Jasmine tabbed through more programs and sighed as the last thought crept in her head,

After all, if you could control normal humans with cybernetic implants, there are possibilities that the same can be done with those with superhuman abilities.

Edited February 12, 2014 by Aoiroo

[Supercape]

GM

 

As Dee and Jasmine went to work on VERA, they had mixed success. The files were locked away, tighter than anyone could get at them. VERA was no slouch in the electronics department. Every time they tried to unlock them, VERA locked them out. Somebody had clearly done all they could to prevent any access to the Haven and its secrets. 

 

What they did find out is who had locked them out. 

 

Champion...

 

The Heroic face of the Vanguard had deleted everyones access to Haven, including himself, and gave strict instructions to VERA to deny all access. It seemed he had even tried to detonate the Haven itself, but had been unable to do so. 

 

Another interesting file floated their way...

 

The London Tube

 

Hidden in the depths of the Haven was a portal, an accelerator tube. As they opened the file, the ground beneath VERA parted, leading to some stairs, and a shiny metal tube heading, as far as the eye could see, westwards. A 4 seater car was present, comfortable for all four of them to use. 

 

The Haven had many secrets up its sleeve, it seems. Layers and layers of secrets, like an onion. And here was one that was a political hot potato. The tube accelerated the car to faster than light, briefly turning matter to energy. In effect, it teleported the occupants straight to Freedom City...

 

Hidden from the American government, and probably from the British, the Haven had a direct link to Freedom City. In a flash, one could travel from one to the other. 

 

The "London Tube" would arrive in a disused and hidden wine cellar in the British Embassy in Freedom City. 

[Thevshi]

Dee was busy typing away as fast as she could, but VERA was managing to keep things just out of reach.  For the moment she and Jasmine had been able to shut off the security systems, and were pulling a few random files from the system before the access Dee had previously managed to get was lost.  The English woman quickly scanned those they were able to secure, reading far faster than a normal person could.

 

Champion...why the bloody hell did he try to self destruct the Haven and then lock out all access when he couldn't?  She commented over her telepathic link, even as she listened to Jasmine's thoughts on what they could do to try to help the special forces operatives that had been turned into the anti-bodies.

 

Well, looks like we have got the access.  The Englishwoman replied as she access the file for the London Tube and opened the transport system to Freedom City.  Though might take a few trips, and there is the problem that this will take us to the basement of the British embassy in Freedom City.

[Tiffany Korta]

Whilst the pair had been struggling with the computer Agnus had spent the time examining the encased cyborgs. The spirit that empowered her gave her access to quite a bit of medical knowledge some of it quite modern. All she knew about VERA was how to ask the computer questions, which wasn’t much help right now as the computer wasn’t talking to her.

After her initially examination she finished in time to hear Dee’s assessment of what happened.

 

Of cause all things lead to Freedom City should have expect it really. We don’t need the train to get us all there I can teleport us all there, I commute to Freedom all the time. Though to be sure I’ll like some idea of where we’re going to end up.

[Thevshi]

Dee glanced back over towards Young Britannia as she joined in the "conversation."  Hold on a second.  The Englishwoman replied.  Lets stop and think about this a little bit before you whisk us all way again like you did from the docks.

 

We just spent a fair bit of effort getting into here, and while we are still locked out from a number of systems, I have managed to compartmentalize VERA and shut down the automated defense systems.  If we all just take off to Freedom City, VERA could get lose and reassert control over the HAVEN.  Then we will have to start all over again.

[Ari]

Osprey dropped from the rafters, rolling as he hit the floor with a dull *clung* before springing to his feet and examining the captured agents. 'Don't see the need for secrecy about the soldiers. You don't tell the mops, they just find out later, get pissed and nobody profits. If your conspiracy thinking is right, that's all but certain. Besides, this is the first clue you've got so far: Champion found out something bad, tried to scuttle the Haven, and now he and the others have vanished thanks to whatever it was he discovered. Odds are good a little hinting will get the wheels turning in their heads; Vanguard's the best we've got after all, they've tussled with everything at least once.'

 

Jasmine's mental 'voice' clinched it. If she was stumped, there wasn't anything he could do for the agents stuck in the solution, dead-eyed and bound in a web, much as he had hoped there might be. Strolling toward the towering computer terminal with long strides, much more at ease now that nothing was trying to attack, he took a second to admire the mighty technological marvel around them 'If you're that worried about it, why not send the victims, Jasmine and Miss Britannia on the hush-job. Then you can stick about and make sure nobody else gets a crack at this fine place.'

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Status? Status? Can anyone hear me, over?"

 

Cruxberrys unmistakable clipped voice sounded out through Vera, peppered with slight crackles but perfectly understandable all the same. Whatever cleaning up of the security systems Jasmine and Dee had managed, the intercoms were back on. 

 

"Radio contact appears to be back on! which, hopefully, means you have been successful!" he said, hardly containing his excitement and enthusiasm, as well as his thanks and praise. 

 

"If not, well, there are plenty of disaster scenario's I can think of, but I am hopeful today? Can you confirm it is safe to enter? and if so, can you let us in? Its cold and dark out here?" he said, his physical presence still behind the impressive door of the Haven. 

 

"Even Mr. Smith is getting impatient, and with a face like his, that's saying something!" he joked. 

[Tiffany Korta]

Well this is going swimmingly Agnus! You couldn’t manage a band let alone a group, maybe you should just smile and act as the muscle. Let the smarter people do all the thinking.

“Okay let’s take a step back here. What do we know right now and what do we need to find out? Then we can work out a good plan, though right now Osprey’s plan sound a fairly solid.â€

Mama Stone didn’t raise her daughter to quit, despite it being a good idea many, many time.

 

“Sorry Mr Cruxberry but this place is far from safe, this could take a while so you might want to find somewhere comfortable. Like Whitehall.â€

[Thevshi]

Dee glanced over as Osprey came back down to ground level and joined in the discussion about how to handle the cybernetically altered team the Ministry had initially sent in.  Those are some fair points.  The young woman noted in agreement.  I have no real love for the Ministry, but like it or not, we are operating under their purview.

 

She was about to respond to his other suggestion when Cruxberry's voice came over the intercom, asking for their status, Young Britannia spoke up first, so Dee let her do so while she focused on the other discussion.    Well, we need to decide a course of action quickly.  Whatever you want to do about these men, I do think it best I remain here and try to get us more control over the Haven, or, failing that, allow me to disable more of the security measures and other failsafes for the time being.

[Aoiroo]

Sounds good Osprey,
Jasmine walked over to the thing and pulled out a small bottle of spray,

We don't have to leave immediately, but I can unstick them from the walk at least. They'll still be bound, but you know, not to this particular location.
After a quick sprays she nudged it and the antibodies weren't stuck to the ground, though they were still stuck. 

And if we don't need to go the British Embassy, would you mind I pick something up in the states while we're there? To help with my credibility and all. 

Adjusting her glasses she looked at her watch,

I wonder what the time difference will be, hope it's not too late, wouldn't want to spook anybody.

[Ari]

'If you're slipping off, best do it fast' Osprey commented over the mental link, aloud he said, for the listening officer's benefit "What Ms. Britannia said. Turns out there's quite a bit that none of us knew was here. Rather you didn't risk your life getting impatient, sir." He didn't like the flippancy, but it was better that than rushing through things. Besides, it would put the man at ease if he heard it from more than one voice.

 

Turning quickly to Dee he asked 'What now? I can have the turrets and trigger lasers properly out in not too long, if you'd rather wrangle with this...computer person than them. Still a fair bit that's unknown if there's much need for scouting, especially if they have a decent fridge. Small places hold big clues. Wait a tick...'

 

"Mr. Cruxberry, while you're there, can you tell us how the Haven was supplied?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

"I'm still here!" replied Cruxberry over VERA's intercom systems. "General Cruxberry too, son!" he said, a little stiffly. 

 

"The Haven was supplied via the entrance you came through. That old door, it wasn't really closed so often. More a contingency. Not many knew of the Haven, we tried to keep it under wraps for the most part. Only the Ministry knew about it...and I suppose anyone the Vanguard told. Crusader and Headcase were always pretty reliable on that front, even if they were at loggerheads half the time. Y Dderwen and Lucy Diamond...well, they were less reliable. Truth was, the Ministry didn't trust them like the other two. Had tabs kept on them, although Y Dderwen was pretty impossible to keep tabs on..."

 

"Anyway, I ramble. Supplied came in and out of the Haven. Only way in...except...well, if you haven't found it yet, I may as well let you know. Seeing as Freedom City was...is...the world centre for disasters on a global scale, and every type of alien and other dimensional interest. We built in a teleport shunt straight there. To allow instant access, so to speak. I suppose its possible that something came from Freedom City to Haven that way, but Headcase had that locked down good. Paranoid guy, but, well, Intelligence agencies like paranoia..."

 

"Now can I get the hell in there? whats going on?"

[Thevshi]

"Yes, we found that."  Dee replied as Cruxberry mentioned the shut the Freedom City.  The young woman then focused on his demand to know what was going on.  "At the moment we have partial control over the Haven, but VERA is outside our direct control and operating under protocols to stop anyone who enters.  For the moment we have her isolated in the system, but that could change at any moment."

"So for the time being, it is probably not safe for you to enter.  I am probably going to have to go about taking all the defense systems offline individually and see about completely disconnecting VERA from the Haven's systems until we can be assured we can get control over her as well.  And incidentally, we do not have any details at the moment, but apparently Champion was the one that sealed of the Haven, after he was for some reason unsuccessful in trying to initiate the self destruct."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Champion?" said Cruxberry in surprise. "He did what?..."

 

He paused for a moment, mind whirring. 

 

"Any Idea why? I mean, we had doubts about him before he left...he seemed...well, enough of that...." he said, cutting of his rambling. He seemed mildly irritated at not getting in, but conceded the same. 

 

"As for the security systems, let me know the moment they are circumvented. We have experts here for the VERA, and a team standing by for a forensic anaylsis of the place. We need answers damnit...where did Vanguard go? we need to speak to them!" he signed off, an uncharacteristic vexation in his voice. For a man who had spent months trying to unravel Britains greatest mystery, access to Haven was tantalising. 

[Ari]

'A forensics team? Good, I'm better with crimes in progress than ones that already happened. Something to work on.' The avian avenger wasn't too worried about the newcomers intending to sweep all the clues away, even the smallest clue would be invaluable to everyone involved. From the sound of things the three women would be pretty hard to get past too. And him? 'It'd be nice to find out what had happened' he thought as he made rapidly for the kitchens and living area, cape hanging close about booted feet and head a little forward, yellow eyes peering into the gloom 'But this isn't my strong suit. Better to leave it to people who know what they're doing, aye?'

 

As he entered, the eyes flicked about the walls and ceiling, legs and arms tensing for a spring...and then relaxed, as Osprey recalled that Synapse had VERA well in hand. Surveying the doors leading into the various sleeping quarters, he paused a moment at one marked with a heraldic 'C' standing just across from the one flatly marked 'H', eying the handprint scanner. Reaching out, he felt the screws holding the metal casing, wondering what he'd find inside...and stepped away, hastening to the kitchen/lounge area with a sharp shake of his head. Time for that later.

 

Sweeping into the narrow room, he glanced around, taking in the scattered signs of the team's idiosyncrasies; from the crazy lamps and icons of pop-art to the small and lovingly tended grove of tiny oaks in the corner, the neat labels on the small kitchenette marked with some official seal, a ragged Union Jack in a frame overwritten by a dozen names thanking Taskforce UK for something "We're sworn to forget.",  all of the wildly disparate natures colliding into something tantalizingly close to cohesion.

 

Ignoring that as best he could, the young man scanned the tables and floor, then opened the fridge and checked inside. Everything was important, no matter how obscure.

[Tiffany Korta]

“Okay I’ll go get Cruxberry off our back for a while, it might mean some of us have to be part of Vanguard for a while. Keep working on VERA for as long as you can, if you need some rest there are some guest quarters on the base.â€

She went to leave but paused and walked back over to Synapse.

“Look if we go public you're going to need a costume, I know this young designer just out of College who does some amazing stuff. She’s also discreet and can keep a secret.†she handed Dee the designers card.

 

“I’m sure the Ministry would happily shoulder the costs, well maybe not happily...â€