Nuclear Depths (IC)

[Supercape]

"Pfah! You don't win by being safe!" replied Casey, clicking away. She was a blend of nerves and excitement, anxiety and desire, dancing together. 

 

Marie just grunted something about revenge under her breath, in French, and with muttered swear words and some spice to her language. She was trying to figure out the equipment and the readings. 

 

The pit just bubbled again, sending out another heat blast. 

 

"I don't think this is safe..." said Marie, slowly, peering at a wobbling needle in the "orange" zone. 

 

And Bonfire could hear an approaching drilling, buzzing sound from one of the concrete walls, just near the ceiling. 

[olopi]

“Uuuuh, we might want to get away. There’s something coming. Up there, move. Now!“

 

Whatever this would be, this was bad. This place already was all but safe, and now this too? This could not end well in any way, unless it was some kind of hero, or maybe the police. Okay, journalists too, but those really wouldn’t have the capabilities to get down here. Probably more zombies? Did Neutron have enough budget to get a giant drill? Was this some mad-scientist that learned of this place and thought there was some kind of value in it? Bonfire quickly turned into smoke, and ascended off the ground, just a few feet. Whatever was coming, this wasn’t good.

 

Edited May 1, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

The drilling noise got louder and louder...

 

And then, some loudspeakers kicked in - dusty, crackled and whiny loudspeakers, but functional none the less. 

 

"Got you!" came the screech. Despite poor quality, it sounded suspiciously like Chief Green. 

 

"Chief Green got you!" it continued. It was sounding suspiciously like Chief Green because it was the very same, it seemd. 

 

"I'll get a promotion for this. Thanks, you hippie bastards!" sneered the crackling speakers. 

 

"You knocked Neutron Industries pretty good, didn't you? Well, we can knock back too!"

 

From out of the concrete wall burst robots. 

 

There were five of them, coming from different angles. About the size of a dog, with spindly limbs (too many of them to be comfortable) and a diamond tripped drill for a nose. They scuttled in from their tunnels, climbing around the walls like horrible insects. 

[olopi]

Huh. It was a trap after all! And it wasn’t more zombies! Yes, those robots had probably been built just to take out Bonfire, exploiting his weaknesses. But that was quite an honor too! And best of all, they weren’t zombies.

 

But for now it was time to take out these robots. Talking wasn’t really an option here, Green had enough reason to dislike Bonfire and friends to just ignore what he’d say. No matter how great. Running probably would be an option, they were outnumbered after all. But then again, these were just robots. They had to have some weaknesses Cass could exploit. Certainly not talking, most definitely not lungs.

 

“You know, I do appreciate your determination. But I’ll have to disappoint you once again. Knock, knock.“

 

And then, smoke. More smoke burst out from the flying cloud of smoke, covering the area around it. And then, when it died down just a second later, Bonfire, Marie and Casey Cutter all were missing. Just invisible, but the question would be whether or not Green was aware of that. He probably would be, which was why Cass took a closer look at the robots from a distance, maybe he could figure out something about their fighting capabilities. … Well, not really. So he just moved into a better position, flying upwards to hopefully get out of range of the robots once they would figure him out. The others should be more safe, but Bonfire had quite the heat signature even when hiding.

 

Edited May 2, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

The scuttling robots beeped and blinked, crawling effortlessly on the walls and ceiling of the dumping chamber. 

 

It seemed that there drills were only one aspect of their burrowing ability, as striking red laser beams fired from the tips of those drills (which, it seemed, were diamond-tipped, if one was so inclined to scavenge). 

 

The laser beams raked up, down, left and right, targeting Bonfire through the smoke. Despite best efforts and considerable agility, it was nearly impossible to completely avoid the web of lethal light. 

 

"Infrared - you fool! Don't think we didn't come prepared!" came Green's voice through the loudspeakers, still tinny and crackling, but gloating all the same. 

 

"You won't be smiling when I melt your teeth!" shouted Marie, eye goggles flaring, and her own blast of green light hitting one of the robots, causing it to explode in a shower of sparks. 

 

Some of said sparks fizzed into the central pit of green goo, which bubbled most alarmingly. A blast of heat hit everyone...

[olopi]

Ouch, that one hurt. The IR had been expected, Green would have planned for as much. The lasers however, had not been. Lasers usually weren’t too effective against smoke, but one managed to do some, insignificant, damage. Not fun, hurt quite a bit, but it wouldn’t be too much trouble hopefully.

 

"Uuuuh, maybe we shouldn’t fight right next to the giant pit of nuclear waste? No? Okay then. Just sayin’. "

 

It probably was a good idea to move onto the offensive. Hopefully Casey had already taken some cover. Cass didn’t expect Green to go ahead and attack a civilian, but it could have been a thing, so he’d wanted to make sure and give her time to escape with invisibility.

 

Maybe it was time to ignite? No, all the heat that the ignition would’ve caused could only lead to more problems. Time for simple smoke, no fire. These robots probably had some level of fire-proofing now, but what about smoke? Maybe Green had forgotten to also consider smoke. Maybe these things had tiny pocket fans built into them to make sure the smoke would not be a problem. Only one way to find out! And so smoke appeared, trying to cover as many robots as once, before bursting inwards.

 

 Now, maybe there was some cover to be found. There had to be something….

 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

GM

 

The room was spartan, bar the bubbling pit and the tiny tunnels the drillbots had made. Squeezing between some of the rusted machinery might have provided some cover but would probably not be the most sensible of tactics. 

 

The drills bots scuttled around, making it hard to keep track of their complex web of limbs, bodies, and laser - firing noses. The chamber was somewhat cramped, and unleashing a full volcano may have lacked prudence. 

 

And yet when smoke and fire swam through the concrete chamber, two more of the scuttling many-limbed automatons exploded in sparks and shards. 

 

The pool of green ooze reacted even more energetically this time. 

 

"I don't like the look of this...it's going to blow!" wailed Marie, trying, without apparent effect, to turn some knobs, pull some levers, and stab some buttons on the out of date, rusted machinery. 

 

A wave of heat and light engulfed the room for the bubbling green sludge. It was a rather sickening, toxic light. The kind of light one might get, for instance, when a burst of rather unpleasant radiation bloomed. 

 

"I don't...feel...so good...." mumbled Marie, leaning over and vomiting. 

[olopi]

The robots didn’t stand too much of a chance. Dealing with the excess smoke was difficult so the amount of smoke had to be tuned down by a lot, but a few robots still went down. These things really weren’t built for fighting Bonfire, were they? Now he was actually a bit disappointed. Green had a whole … day … to plan this out, and only sent some small drill-bots? Which weren’t even immune to Bonfire’s main powers? He could’ve at least tried to do more than just set a trap, couldn’t he? And then, lots of heat.

 

“Aaaaand there we go. Things go wrong”

 

That wasn’t good. Casey went down. And it wasn’t even really Green’s fault. More like, the fault of Neutron as a whole. Somebody to blame at least. Now it was about getting her out of here. Less good photos and videos, but she was in quite a lot of danger in here. Even without the lasers and smoke everywhere. She’d probably not get out herself, so Cass had to do what he did just a day ago, and drag her out. Everybody with all the radiation all the time! Cass felt totally fine, maybe there simple was so much radiation in his body already.

 

So he quickly flew over, switched into a more corporeal form, only his arms corporeal. Then, he grabbed onto Casey and tried helping her get out of the dangerous area, out into the sewers. There might be more zombies there, but it was safer than a room filled with radiation.

 

 

 "Okay, there's good pictures in here, but let's make sure the next episode of the People's Eye doesn't turn into the Casey Cutter Memorial Episode, okay?"

Edited May 2, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

Green's voice could be heard in the speakers behind Bonfire. 

 

"Not so fast! Think you can get away so easy?" he yelled through crackling and sparkling loudspeakers that had been half-fired by the radiation flash. 

 

An ominous build up of bubbles and heat could be felt from the dumping chamber. 

 

"Run!" screamed Marie, turning to do that very task. "Its about to Blo...."

 

The last two drill bots, in a suicidal act, had dived into the green goo and detonated themsleves. The result was catastrophic - a rolling wave of horrible purple energy waved out of the pit, engulfing Marie, and hurling itself like a tsunami of energy down the corridor and into the sewers...

[olopi]

*****! ****! **! *****! ****! I will find Green and rip his ********* **** ** head off.

 

The next moments felt both like they took forever, but also like they didn’t take any time at all.  This wasn’t bad. This was a lot more. This was incredibly, massively terrible. Marie, Casey, both probably dead. Casey was in Cass’s arms, to make things even worse. Marie was nowhere to be found. Maybe he could still save Casey. He wasn’t going to let a Memorial Episode happen. No, these still had to be a way.

 

He still had those pills! Maybe they were actually poisonous, but this was the best chance Cass had. He quickly got them out, dropping a few into Casey’s mouth. Hopefully her reflexes were still working. Now he had to get her out of here. And call ambulance, police and hopefully backup. This was bad. Really, really bad.  Maybe he could push his smoke form. Maybe he could actually fly while grabbing onto Casey. That would be a lot faster. He had to get somewhere with reception, not this far underground. First priority was to get Casey out. She also still had her camera on her, so at least in the end there’d be evidence….

 

So Bonfire switched back into his fully smoke form, trying to somehow push his arms into being fully flehs again, like in his non-flying form. Maybe …. Maybe …. And then it actually worked! This was his opportunity to at least save somebody …. Bonfire quickly grabbed the reporter, carrying her out towards the way into these sewers. He’d have reception there.  

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 3, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

gm

 

Further frothing of the ghastly, almost ghostly purple energy was not forthcoming. There was just an ethereal glow of unsettling hue. Strange algae on the sewer walls, undoubtedly already mutated, lapped up the energy and seemed to mutate still further, almost in front of Bonfire's eyes.

 

If Case was any better, or indeed worse, after the blast of radiation or the pills, she did not show it. A trail of vomitus, stringy and particularly noxious, lay down her chin and onto Bonfire'so hand.

 

"Not one of my better days...." she said weakly.

 

"REVENGE!" came the call from behind them. Marine had been apparent,you shielded from the radiation blast thanks to her remarkably sturdy suit, but she glowering red from its after effects, and it suited her. She was incandescent with rage as well as rays.

 

"Enough is enough!" she screameducation. 

 

"I'm taking down Neutron industries tonight. By any means necessary! Are you with me?" 

 

She gave Bonfire a determined and penetrative glare.

 

"Well? ARE YOU WITH ME?"

[olopi]

Okay, that was to be expected. Clearly Marie would want revenge now. She had even more reason too. But there were more pressing issues for now. Casey was still pretty badly injured. Radiation wasn’t a fast killer, so she wouldn’t die immediately, but all that radiation into a normal human body? Ouch. Not good. First of all, follow the plan. There still was one. And it was more important than revenge for now.

 

“I am, but let’s get out of here first! We can talk revenge later!”

 

Hopefully the next nuclear blast wouldn’t be coming at Bonfire after that. Marie was really, really annoyed, and she had all reason to be. Acting without thinking was not what was needed in this situation. First of all, a doctor was needed. A good one. And Probably somebody to gather whatever evidence was still down there. Police? Probably.

 

Bonfire continued flying, still carrying Casey. It couldn’t be far to the funnel. He’d only have to get her above-ground, and he could call in support. It couldn’t be far now, it had to be pretty close. It just had to be.

 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

GM

 

The funnel was, indeed, not far away. Through the glowing and toxic tunnels they went, then, arising like a geyser through the grave to starlight and a hand-wringing Reverend. 

 

"Good Lord! What happened to her?" asked the elderly cleric, peering over - but not too close, since Casey was still intermittently retching. Looked pale. 

 

"I feel like Satan's backside...." the plucky (or now, regretful) reporter mumbled. 

 

"No need to blaspheme, child! Now is not the time to be making enemies in the hereafter!" clucked the Reverend, concerned more for her soul than her flesh, it seemed. 

 

"I aim to live!" she replied, mustering her defiance. 

 

Out of the funnel came the glowing Marie. Whilst her luminescence had decreased, her anger had not. And with the faint glow of starlight, she still shone. 

 

"Finish this! Let's blow up their headquarters! Should have done it the first time!"

 

 

[olopi]

Immediately upon reaching the surface, Bonfire became fully flesh again. He manged to get his head turned into smoke right as he noticed he’d reveal his secret identity, but not having to strain his body further felt good. He took a few deep breaths, this was not something he was used to, and he also was quite stressed.

 

Okay, there was still time to deal with this. Radiation was a slow killer, he repeated to himself, mumbling. Now it was time to actually get medical treatment for Casey. Maybe for himself too, later on. But there still was Neutron out there, and they had not been dealt with.

 

In a feat of multi-tasking on nigh-heroic levels, Cassidy pulled out both his phones, his civilian one as well as the Bonfire one. He knew it’d come in handy to have to at some point, and here it was. While he called in an Ambulance on his civilian phone – Trinity Hospital was quite close after all, his fingers flew across the digital keyboard of Bonfire’s phone.

 

Bonfire @FreedomsHottest  Just now

Need healer ASAP. Civs dying of Radiation bcs of Spr-villn. Lantern Hill Cemetary. Will pay if necessary. Contact me if more info needed.

 

 

 

He quickly added on a picture of the surroundings, both to show people where, and to make it easier in case anybody that saw this was a teleporter. Those sometimes relied on knowing where they were teleporting to, didn’t they?

 

Edited May 3, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

The email was soon answered, by many. 

 

Some whacky, some insane, some genuine. 

 

Some suspicious. 

 

"I appreciate the motivation" sighed a cynical Marie. "But your e mail is surely being monitored by their spies and nerds. And you just gave your location" she explained. "We better make our getaway before something worse than the Gasman comes to town"

 

"Leave her with me. I'll make sure she gets the treatment she needs" interrupted the Reverend. 

 

"I hope that's more than the last rites..." mumbled Casey, with a trace (but only a trace) of mirth. 

 

"Speaking of the Gasman, can you drive an armoured car?" asked Marie, eyeballing the Gasman's armed vehicle. 

[olopi]

“Okay Reverend, the ambulance, and possibly some heroes, are on their way. I trust you can handle them! Casey, contact me after all of this is over, we can get back to the interview, okay?”

 

And now, it was time to deal with Neutron. Yes, this was a bad idea. No, Cassidy Bauer did not care. They had done enough. It was time to put an end to this. Not hurt people, no, but tear the entire place down. Make sure they couldn’t rebuild. They’d be prepared. Good, would hopefully mean they’d evacuate.

 

“I’m more of a bike person, but I’m sure I’ll be able to handle it. Let’s go!”

 

And so Bonfire walked in the direction of the Truck. He was still a bit exhausted, so he just walked. He’d rather not get too exhausted already, there was a lot more coming up. And he was ready for it. Not for what would follow afterwards, but that would be something he could figure out once it’d happen.

 

Edited May 3, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

GM

 

A little later, past midnight...

 

The starlight was beautiful, but soon overtaken by the neon ambience of Freedom Cities streets. It was quieter now, but not serene. People still bustled. Drunks, thugs, and women of disreputable profession spiced the pavements, mingling with workers and entertainers, sellers, buyers, and those wanting to be entertained. The law seemed more porous at night, despite the inevitable patrol cars looking at for more serious crime. 

 

The inside of the Gas-car was not plush but it was functional. It was dirty but lined with grenades of all types, although unfortunately no gas masks. 

 

"Want a couple?" asked Marie, pocketing what looked like a poison gas grenade. 

 

Neutron industries was not far away. 

 

"From the streets or from the sewers?" asked Marie. "Hopefully they haven't found my base, but I wouldn't put it past them, not after what we did..."

 

She tapped away on the vehicles computer, looking at emails and social media sites. It wasn't pretty. She appeared to be scouting for help...

[olopi]

This had been a long day. By now Cass had been up for about … 3 days straight? Coffee was only doing so much anymore, he started to feel a bit sleepy. But it wasn’t time to sleep just yet. There still was crime to be fought. For once, not like most heroes, reactively, but fully proactive. Well, with a bit of reactive parts, since these people had just tried killing him. Multiple times! Never got anywhere close to succeeding, but they had seriously injured a (mostly) innocent bystander and friend. And now it was time for payback.

 

Hopefully the building itself would be fully evacuated by now. Wrecking the place was one thing, but Cass did not want any innocents, and that was what these workers were, to be hurt while doing so. Some standards had to apply even when thirsting for revenge. Not that Marie felt like that, probably. Either way, it was time to start planning. Grenades were useless to Bonfire, he could carry one or two at most either way, and it would probably hinder him, so none of those. He had a lot better stuff (super-)naturally either way.

 

“They’d expect us to hit from the sewers again. They probably increased security down there, since they know where we came in from. But do they expect a frontal assault? We just have to do it right to not attract too much attention, from both them and the police. I’d prefer not having to explain this one afterwards.”

 

That was true, he would’ve preferred that. But he also knew that it wouldn’t happen. This wasn’t something that could be done stealthily. This was a big, big thing, and it would probably include big booms.

 

Edited May 4, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

GM

 

Marie seemed keen on the idea of a full frontal assault. Possibly, it was just that she was keen on assault, be it from behind, below, above, or direct. 

 

"Then straight we will be" she said, smacking fist into palm. "Like a battering ram, direct, honest, and just. Neutron industries shall be rubble by the time the sun rises"

 

The Gas Mobile was heavy and armoured, and likely to be an effective ram, if so used, but there was neither the time or expertise to consider the engineering parameters. 

 

Neutron Industries was not in a busy nor quiet part of town. But at this time of the night, it would likely be all but deserted. Some nominal security staff, possibly a few cleaners. Nothing more. The more significant problem would be its automated security - cameras, alarms and so on. And more than that, Neutron Industries had a declared interest in (and, Marie and Bonfire had personal experience of) robotics - and the type of robotics that had a distinctly military flavour. 

[olopi]

So what, a few more robots? At this point Bonfire and Marie had fought about a dozen of them, a few more wouldn’t matter much. They wouldn’t go down easy, but they weren’t all that dangerous so far. Cass knew exactly that this was about to change, but he could try inspiring himself, couldn’t he?

 

This wasn’t the time for battering rams. This was the time for a scalpel, flying at Neutron’s face at high velocity. Using the Gas Mobile as a ram sounded nice, if just for the cinematic aspect, but it probably wasn’t the best idea. Just lining up the shot would be difficult enough.  And then the fact that it might not work….

 

No, the best thing to do would be to just get in through the front door. Maybe burn it down. He could slip in, sure, but that did not apply to Marie. Maybe there were some explosives in this van? They also had to take down the building somehow. Sure, fire was one aspect, but the fire-fighters of Freedom City, Bonfire’s sometimes colleagues, were quite good at their job.

 

“Do you already have a plan on how we’ll take the building down? Any explosives in here? Getting in won’t be a problem for me, but for you?”

 

Edited May 4, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

GM

 

"I have called in reinforcements" explained Marie, in reference to her furious typing on the Gas-mobiles computer.

 

"My mercenary friends have left, but I still have a few contacts, a few favours, and a little money. And money gets you anything, it seems" she said, a little bitter. 

 

"But you are right; I can't turn into smoke, or fly. You are going the best bet for getting into Neutron Industries. I can follow, with a few guns and knives at my side. Perhaps a distraction for you" she said, thoughtful. 

 

"But once inside, it will need both of our expertise. The grenades here" she said, indicating the Gas-Man's arsenal "are small fry. Neutron Industries houses nuclear materials and has more than enough energy to grind itself to dust. Like the first time, my friend..."

[olopi]

Okay, Bonfire would definitely need radiation treatment after this. Being next to yet another nuclear blast? This had to be unhealthy. He wasn’t sure how unhealthy, and how being smoke and/or fire affected it, but this wasn’t good for his body. As long as he didn’t wake up with a new eye or something, as cool as that would be, it would also be incredibly disturbing.

 

And there was back-up. That was good. More people meant they weren’t as outgunned. And not being as outgunned would come in quite useful. Neutron probably was aware something was coming, they’d probably have all their robots set up. Only so many lasers a body, even made of smoke, could handle. Well, fire, actually. This was one of those times fire would probably be the choice. Don’t go in stealthily, don’t play it safe, just burn things. And maybe watch out for reactors still…. Okay, maybe it would still be smoke unless fire was needed. Standing next to a nuclear reactor going off was one thing, standing next to one and not bracing oneself was another. No need to make the situation even worse by unplanned collateral damage. Even if the entire building was planned collateral damage.

 

“So, what’s the plan, and when are we ready to move?”

 

Edited May 4, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

GM

 

A few minutes later

 

A street or two from the main entrance of Neutron Industries

 

Five thugs approached and knocked on the door. 

 

"Hired help" said Marie, not without distaste. 

 

The thugs were dressed "Street"; denim, tattoos, leathers. But no guns, interestingly. They scowled and looked mean and tough. Tough enough to shakedown an innocent bystander. But they were hardly the mercenaries that Marie had hired before. 

 

"Distraction" explained Marie. 

 

"Make some noise, guys" she told her crew "go get your wrecking balls and spray cans" she said, to some enthusiasm. 

 

She turned to Bonfire, talking in French to avoid being understood by the thugs. "Look, these guys are stupid, and dumb, and cheap. And probably criminals. Almost certainly criminals. But they will serve as pawns. If we go in, they can make some noise, break some windows, maybe even set a fire. Do you object?" she asked. 

[olopi]

This was even more legally debateable. Hiring straight up street thugs? These guys were the kind of people Bonfire usually fought against, not alongside with. Well, this was it. This was what it had become. Break some stuff, break more stuff, destroy a building. After that, it was time to lay low. Really. Maybe even leave the country for a while. Sure, Cassidy Bauer was fine, but still…

 

“I have various objections, but we can deal with those once this is done. Let’s do this. Front door?”

 

It was true. This was a bad situation by every account, but it would also be fun. And it still was doing good. Very, very misaligned good, true, but still good. So Cass spoke to himself inside his head at least. He was ready. Ready to destroy robots. Ready to trash the place. Ignite it.

 

Edited May 4, 2016 by olopi

[Supercape]

GM

 

Another few minutes later....

 

"An-Ar-Chy!" yelled the thugs, as windows were smashed and tags sprayed. A dumpster was set alight. 

 

The front door melted off its hinges, the furious flames of the fiery Bonfire doing their work. It might have been reinforced steel, but it could not withstand his assault for even a minute. 

 

Alarms dinged, lights blinked. 

 

The half-asleep security guard at the main desk was now very much awake indeed. 

 

"Look, ma-an...I don't want any trouble. Just took the job to feed mah kids..." he gibbered, laying his pistol on the floor, and raising his hands. 

 

Jenkins said his nametag. Fear said the sweat on his brown and armpits. 

 

"Whatever you want, man...I mean, I don't even like these guys...."

 

Marie pointed to the map of the five story building. 

 

"Top level...the Neutronium reactor....we superheat that, I can rig it to blow the whole building..."