Patriotic Gore (IC)

[Avenger Assembled]

"And you'd do this why, out of the goodness of your heart?" challenged Freebooter. "Are you really such a white hat you'd just upload me with no strings attached, just because you feel like doing something good?" She could feel the rage, the defensiveness creeping into his radio-projected voice, all the emotions McGinnis hid as Freebooter in costume. "I don't want to be another one of your charity cases, dammit!" But he hadn't said no yet either... 

 

-

There were no immediate response to Argonaut's message - but Miracle Girl got a response. "That makes sense," agreed Hanson to Miracle Girl, the bearded sergeant who had been tagged as Magpie by Cannonade's memory. "Gentlemen, I suggest we take him directly to the base hospital at the Pentagon. That's both shielded from outside attack and has the facilities to handle superhuman care. If this man is a superhuman." His aura was smooth and professional, and soon the military escort was helping the medevac team prep McGinnis for travel, with Miss A next on the triage list. 

[Electra]

"Then don't be!" Cyberknife snapped back, her voice challenging. "You come and work for me at ArcheTech, put your abilities to good use for once. I've got a dozen projects that could use somebody with your kind of talents, the kind of work you'd never be able to fund and accomplish all by yourself. You'll get a good salary, full benefits package, including health insurance. Including whatever we need to do to keep you alive and mobile, even if that means experimental bionics, yeah?"

 

She took a few steps closer to him, lowered her voice. "I would do it anyway, fix you up, but not out of the kindness of my heart," she told him. "I respect your skill, and you're one of the few people alive who can challenge me on my home turf." She waved an arm at the virtual landscape around them. "If you die, or if you become somebody I have to put into Blackstone to rot away because you're a Crime League goon, my life would be poorer. We can both win this one." 

[Heritage]

All of a sudden, everything clicked in Casey's head at the same time; the 'medivac team' was fake, and trying to get away with McGinnis right under their noses!

 

The blonde powerhouse upbruptly smiled, reached out and grabbed the frail unconscious man's gurney.

 

"That's okay, I can take it from here!" And with that, she looked back over her shoulder and wooshed away from the phoney EMTs, the gurney's wheels rattling loudly across the pavement. 

 

Darn it, where can I find a place to stash him?

[trollthumper]

"Let me help." Cannonade swept up next to Miracle Girl, keeping pace with the heroine as she led the gurney away from the medevac crew. "Don't worry, she's got medical training and knows a good deal about people with degenerative conditions." He'd hoped he'd gotten the lingo right - he'd watched a few episodes of House on Netflix the night before. "We can get him there fast." 

 

He knew it wouldn't work. He knew the odds were that, as soon as they got outside of shouting distance, Magpie and his confederates would likely go to Plan B and outright attack. But it at least gave them a few seconds to plan. Normally, he'd try doing it non-verbally - Midnight had been very insistent that the League learn hand signals for that purpose - but the League wasn't here. Still, he figured he was far enough from the threats to talk safely.

 

"So," he said to Miracle Girl, "what do we do when we run out of runway?" 

[Avenger Assembled]

"...all right, I'm in. But I signed a contract - I'm not gonna help you with this one." Cyberknife could hear the wounded pride in Freebooter's voice. "I'm not a traitor." 

 

-

 

Magpie, still in his Hanson disguise, hesitated just a moment before he began jogging after them. "Say, where exactly are you taking this man?" he asked, a trace of a Continental accent creeping into his voice. "He's one of America's greatest cyberneticists - he needs specialized medical care for his condition." 

 

Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, McGinnis opened his eyes! Taking deep, slow breaths, he looked around, moving his head and shoulders but nothing else as sensation slowly returned to his body. "Oh, man...what happened?" 

[trollthumper]

Cannonade realized that there was only so far a bluff could go. He had to take things into account. The target was waking up. They had managed to get Magpie away from the other people. And, most importantly, Magpie was a teleporting master thief who likely had the ability to see through somebody as... brusque as Joe. 

 

Cannonade raised his hands - not in surrender, but poised to bring them together with a clap. "You're right," he said. "We're trying to do something here, but we're probably not gonna do it right. Then again, same could be said for you... Magpie. Whatever you're planning here, it's had a huge wrench thrown in the works - and before you do that thing where you insist your real master plan is so hidden and devious, trust me, I know how screwed the pooch is. So. You can go home and not keep ****ing with these nice people, or we can make this really, really hard."

[Heritage]

Cannonade was right, they couldn't keep this charade going on forever. Taking a firm grasp of the gurney, the blonde heroine gave the dapper criminal a hard look. "I'm not sure what you hoped to gain from all this, but it ends now." She looked down at the rousing disabled man. "Sir, we are holding you for questioning regarding the violation of military airspace and destruction of government property that took place today."

 

Did she really have the authority to say that? Probably not, but in the heat of the moment the words felt right. Her eyes scanned the area in search of the proper military or law enforcement personnel who could back up the impressive-sounding claims she just made.

Edited January 13, 2016 by Heritage

[Brown Dynamite]

Argonaut wasn't sure why the disabled cyberneticist was being accused of anything.  But, that was something that could be sorted out after Magpie was brought in.  At the very least one of their patients roused from unconsciousness.  Which increased the likelihood that Miss Americana remained unharmed in her weird radio coma.  The AEGIS agent had absolutely no answers as to what was going on and now seemed like a good time to change that fact as any.

 

Raising a finger into the air the freed drone would walk after the group that had tried to hastily move away from the medevac.  "Hold on a moment, I am sorry to interrupt.  But, rather than going home as Cannonade suggested.  AEGIS would certainly prefer he finds a comfortable cell to stay the night in.  Of course, if you wish to resist the medevac now has room for a second patient."

[Electra]

"There's plenty of room on the medevac," came a voice from behind them as Miss Americana walked up, looking little the worse for her prolonged unconsciousness. "We don't need it, we're both fine. Doctor McGinnis was temporarily disabled by the hooligans who were disrupting the computer systems here; I was able to free him from within the system itself. There should be no more disruptions from within the security or computers here, and all systems should reboot to normal functionality within the next three minutes. It's over," she said very firmly. 

[Avenger Assembled]

"Oh, was he?" said Magpie, sneering down at a tense-looking McGinnis, whose paralysis certainly looked real from the dead weight that hung beneath his waist and the slow, regular, controlled way he was breathing. "Dr. McGinnis, it is _highly_ unethical of you to interview for one position while in the middle of working in a previous one, don't you think?" He crossed his arms in front, looking with some annoyance at the disabled genius - then at the superheroes. "Well, I see no need for an undignified struggle. I'm not going to try and run faster than two flying women, or wrestle a man who can punch through a steel door." He extended his hands, pressing together at the wrist, obviously an invitation. 

[Heritage]

Casey breathed a sigh of relief; for once, a bad guy was willing to come along quietly!  Unfortunately, she doubted any of the heroes present routinely carried handcuffs, so she decided to improvise. She grabbed the railing of the gurney and yanked it off.

 

"Um, I guess AEGIS will pay for this..."

 

Looking a little embarrassed, she then attempted to use her super strength and speed to twist the aluminum tubing into a French bowline knot around his wrists.

[Brown Dynamite]

Those were some dreaded words for someone else to deal with.  Argonaut wasn't actually sure of what Miss Americana was talking about in going with the system.  Let alone the disguised Magpie's veiled statement.  But, things were working out pretty smoothly.  Which meant they may as well let the momentum continue.

 

"Hooligans, plural.  As soon as he is captured, we should find the others who attacked the doctor."  Argonaut stated without a hint of irony.  Rooms were apparently not one of the languages the freed drone's mentat ability allowed her to automatically read.  The fact that the whole day had been out of control didn't help sate the desire for the entire affair to be over with.  As such she didn't even consider question the surrender.

[trollthumper]

Cannonade studied Magpie, trying to figure out what the hell he was playing at. And, to his surprise, he found he didn't seem to be playing at anything. He was actually surrendering, and not trying to teleport a mile up before leaving the apprehending party behind. But, on top of that... he really wasn't that pissed off. It could be that he was the gentleman thief he sold himself as... or it could be that he was planning something that didn't actually require him to be there. Or might actually work better if he was in prison. 

 

And yet... I've got no goddamn idea what he's gonna do next. He knew how it would go. He'd call the guy out in a rather direct fashion without any guile or cunning, because that was not what he did. And this man, who was 30% guile, 30% cunning, and 40% ego, would dance around him. So, the best thing to do was to wait for Magpie to get dragged away... and then figure out what the hell he and his friends were planning next.