Zenith Watch #4: A Miracle of Science

[sun_tzu]

((You can probably arrange a meeting with George Li afterward, but for now, I'd suggest remembering to smash the teleporter. ))

[mutecebu]

((Right!))

DT, already halfway out the door, does a double-take. "Wait, hold on! Right! The teleporter. Smash teleporter, THEN smash puny agents. C'mon boys.

DT gives the equipment a quick once-over, and then takes his gun to the power cable and any other interesting points before letting others take over.

DT also scans the room, alert for any danger, etc. He decides to leave the security cameras intact; shadow will quickly realize their teleporters don't work, and if the team needs to hunker down it might be worthwhile to access the security cameras in this area if possible.

[Blackbird]

Eagle Owl nods at DT's orders, leaving taking out the teleporter to Nightbane. EO gives the room a once over before positioning himself beside the door, ready to strike at any Shadow agents entering the room.

Spoiler

Show

Ready action.

[fireinthedust]

EA grins, then puts his hands on the teleporter. An emerald glow covers it, and his chest-gem flares with light as he attempts to transform the teleporter.

What would really bother SHADOW? Bubble-gum? Is that suitably taunting?

[HellFencer]

Nightbane

Seeing EA's intent to transform the teleporter into something, Zach took the opportunity to begin thrashing the equipment. He let himself go, breaking everything into pieces smaller than a square foot. "How about legos!!" he bellowed at Ea as metal began to fly into the air.

Spoiler

Show

Ok, soooo... apparently I didn't get the chance to attack someone last round, so consider that I instead beat the hell from the equipment, k?

[sun_tzu]

The teleporter is sturdy...But it was most definitely not designed to resist someone like Nightbane. The ebony hero's fists shatter the device like it was made of cardboard.
(OK, so cardboard doesn't exactly shatter. Whatever.)

Right at the moment Nightbane hits the telporter, a Gamma agent charges into the room, rolling on the floor before taking position to shoot. Eagle Owl follows his movements, though, and plunges his talons in the agent's belly before he can fire a single shot.

EA: The walls are mostly omni-metal, but your chemical sense also picks up some vague disturbance...Nothing specific, but like there was a variety of unusual materials at some of the base's area. You've felt that way in chemistry labs.

[fireinthedust]

EA points in the direction of the chemical sensation and tells the others. Okay, guys, my chemical sense is tingling and I think there's a meddly of chemicals really near by, past the Omni-metal walls. It's either a chemical lab or... ew, whatever that guy had for lunch. EO, you gonna clean that up later? Hey, how do you pick your nose with those things?

EA carefully moves towards the door, now in Titanium form.

[mutecebu]

"Oooh, bubble gum is good. I actually can't think of anything better.

Satisfied with his work, DT readies to venture out, scanning ahead with his sensor equipment.

[HellFencer]

Nightbane

Satisfied with his work, Zack brushed himself off and looked in the direction EA pointed. "Chemical sense? Does that mean we should head that way or are you just being observant?" He winked a flaming eye and nudged the green hero with a massive elbow.

"I'm ready, so let's not waste any time. Knowing our luck, every second literally matters," Zach said turning his attention forward and walking toward the exit. "And man, I really didn't want to take on another one of those tanks, but if we gotta, we gotta!" he added.

[Blackbird]

Eagle Owl lets go of the agent, letting him slump to the ground. He observes EA over his bloodied talons. "Want to give it a try?" Crouching down, he cleans them on the body. "We should focus on finding the girl as fast as possible before Shadow has a chance to move her."

[sun_tzu]

((Sorry for the delay...Had limited web access for a while, and forgot not to wait for Dorni...
OK, I take it that you're heading toward the elevator.))

"Right behind you," says Bravado. "Just hope I don't get shot in the knees this time around..."

After a short while, with the alarms still blaring, you reach the elevator. It is at the spot where several different corridors meet. While it has a retinal-scanner, the security on it isn't nearly as high as on the main systems - DT, you're confident you can hack it in a few subjective hours. An objective couple of seconds, tops.

[mutecebu]

As the group walks through the corridors, DT talks through the communicators:
Okay guys, elevators are death traps. I used to go to Nerf gun fights in the school building, the elevator always got you killed. We're on a tight schedule, though; so we've got to be clever. What do you think? Transmute a shield? Stand Night-boy in front of us?

DT approaching the elevators, already had his hacking software loaded. He set to work on it, racing against the clock to have it bent to his will before he could physically reach the doors.

[fireinthedust]

When we're close, stop the elevator below or above the floor we're going to. I'll phase through, become gaseous, and transmute the air up there into knock-out gas. Anyone there will likely be down before they see me, I'll come back and we'll keep charging through.

ooc: spending hero points where appropriate.

[mutecebu]

There you go. Way to be, EA. While you're at it, what if you phased out of the elevator early without us stopping, go a ways down the floor, then phase down to the appropriate level and flank them?

Also, careful what you say, guys. The communicators are encrypted, but I don't know how fast they'll break it. They're certainly watching what you guys say. Feel free to make plans without announcing them if possible.

DT checks the schematics for any weapon systems that would be harmful to EA's energy form. ((Is it just a map, or a complete schematics of the base?))

[HellFencer]

Nightbane

Zach got a bright idea as the group approached the elevator doors. He'd have no time to simply smash the doors down if everything was made of omni-metal like last time. Instead, he yells, "Green Thumb, crowbar me!" and held his hand out toward the green hero, hoping he would transmute himself. Assuming he does, Zach would stop just in front of the doors and slide the green crowbar into place and begin trying to force the doors open. He hoped that just because omni-metal was tough, that didn't mean it couldn't be pushed aside...

[sun_tzu]

Nightbane

Zach got a bright idea as the group approached the elevator doors. He'd have no time to simply smash the doors down if everything was made of omni-metal like last time. Instead, he yells, "Green Thumb, crowbar me!" and held his hand out toward the green hero, hoping he would transmute himself. Assuming he does, Zach would stop just in front of the doors and slide the green crowbar into place and begin trying to force the doors open. He hoped that just because omni-metal was tough, that didn't mean it couldn't be pushed aside...

((Or, y'know, Doublethink could hack it in a second or two...))

[fireinthedust]

EA gurgles as Hellfencer grabs him around the neck. Struggling briefly, he narrowly avoids passing out by transforming into playdough and going with the flow. Wait! I demand a fair trial!

[mutecebu]

"Hold your horses! We're not in that much of a hurry. I think I almost got it."

((I was asking more for the possibility of doing it when we get to the bottom, and using the doors as shields.))

[sun_tzu]

DT checks the schematics for any weapon systems that would be harmful to EA's energy form. ((Is it just a map, or a complete schematics of the base?))

((A map, presumably obtained thanks to Nicholas's scrying - but with many notes on what can probably be expected. The notes suggest Checkerboard has a pretty good understanding of how Shadow works.
And, there are no automated weapon systems EA needs worry about, but the notes indicate some Shadow agents within the base will probably be equipped to deal with intangible foes.))

After a few subjective hours of fiddling with the security, Doublethink successfully hacks the elvator's scanner, convincing it that Shadow agents want it to open. The heavy omni-metal doors move, giving you access to the elevator.

[HellFencer]

Nightbane

"Well fine, do it the easy way..." Zach said dropping Emerald Agent. "Sorry mate, desperate times. My adrenaline has me pumped to the brim and I'm ready to unleash my strength on someone or thing. These doors looked like a good warmup." The massive hero shrugged his ebony shoulders and stepping inside the elevator, watching for his weight to affect it.

[fireinthedust]

Meh, that's ok. Alright, DT, what's the floor we're going to?

ooc: as soon as he gets an answer, EA zips off and phases through the floor, using his powers to neutralize foes.

[mutecebu]

"We're going down <x> floors. Careful though; don't get yourself killed.

As the evelator approaches, DT trains his gun at the door, ready to blast anyone who might be in it. When he knows it's clear, he relaxes a fraction.

All aboard. EA, are you riding with us halfway?

DT also looks into the possibility of hacking other parts of the network. Is it feasible? Could he do it from here, or, failing that, from the security room? He was especially interested in the security cameras, followed by the security system (the door-locks, security lockdown, weapons, etc)

[sun_tzu]

The elevator only has three floors - the one you're at, the ground floor above it, and the one below it where the girl presumably is. It ought to be noted, though, that the floors are separated not only by layers of omni-metal, but also 30 feet of concrete, according to the schematics.

After a short but nerve-wracking wait, the elevator door opens. Nothing inside...nothing that you can detect, at least. It's apparently operated manually with buttons inside, like a normal elevator.

As EA floats down the elevator shaft, he peeks at your intended floor. He can see six agents, one of them a Beta, lying in wait, their weapons (only three of which look like machine-guns. The other seem more sci-fi) aimed at the elevator's entrance, waiting for you.

((OK, assuming EA got back up without getting seen...Who can think of a tactic to handle this problem? Because I can.))

[fireinthedust]

((I thought we were going with plan a: EA sticks his hand through the door (at a low corner to avoid it being seen and shot) and transmutes the air into knockout gas. Are the agents wearing gas masks? Are they armed with energy weapons? Do betas have super powers or just better training?))

[sun_tzu]

((I thought we were going with plan a: EA sticks his hand through the door (at a low corner to avoid it being seen and shot) and transmutes the air into knockout gas. Are the agents wearing gas masks? Are they armed with energy weapons? Do betas have super powers or just better training?))

((Nah, it's just...they're all there, several yards away from the elevator. To affect them, you'd need to get closer, and stick around long enough to transmute a lot of air into knock-out gas. All the while staying in your energy form. The odds of not getting detected like that are virtually nil.))

[HellFencer]

Nightbane

Zach, once inside, tested the proposed strength of each of the doors to see if he might be able to rip one off. He was hoping to make himself a makeshift shield, or perhaps a large projectile. That gave him an idea.

"Green Thumb, can you turn into something roughly the size of a few cars? I could throw you out the doors as they open and you could shift in flight. Then you'd be close enough to knock 'em out," Zach said, still toying with the doors.

[sun_tzu]

Nightbane

Zach, once inside, tested the proposed strength of each of the doors to see if he might be able to rip one off. He was hoping to make himself a makeshift shield, or perhaps a large projectile. That gave him an idea.

"Green Thumb, can you turn into something roughly the size of a few cars? I could throw you out the doors as they open and you could shift in flight. Then you'd be close enough to knock 'em out," Zach said, still toying with the doors.

The doors are thick, solid omni-metal. It's still regular omni-metal, and Nightbane probably could wear it down eventually...You just don't have the time.

((And, really, making knock-out gas isn't EA's specialty. You might recall attempts to use it haven't really had good results in this chapter.
Then again, EA does have the most versatile powers of the group, so, keep thinking.))

[fireinthedust]

((Well, EA is still going behind them; they're watching the doors of the elevator, not behind them... so he'll be in mist form while there, so the glow doesn't tip them off. Also, he did manage to make the knockout gas; it's just that someone got slashed right before it took effect.
Being so versatile, but the only thing he can transform is the air... I guess if the GM isn't a fan of complete Knockout, he can just make an obscure effect.
One last thing: are they energy weapons? If so, he'll just make the air misty (like in the mirror maze). If not, he'll do the obscure effect, then light himself up in energy form and use blast to take them out (like shooting fish in a barrel)))

[sun_tzu]

((Well, EA is still going behind them; they're watching the doors of the elevator, not behind them... so he'll be in mist form while there, so the glow doesn't tip them off. Also, he did manage to make the knockout gas; it's just that someone got slashed right before it took effect.
Being so versatile, but the only thing he can transform is the air... I guess if the GM isn't a fan of complete Knockout, he can just make an obscure effect.
One last thing: are they energy weapons? If so, he'll just make the air misty (like in the mirror maze). If not, he'll do the obscure effect, then light himself up in energy form and use blast to take them out (like shooting fish in a barrel)))

((Nah. One, your knockout gas doesn't work that fast. Two, they're Shadow agents. They'll turn around and zap you dead in a second.
And if you obscure the area then take a glowy energy form...Well, "shooting fish in a barrel" is the appropriate term, but you seem to have the wrong idea of who'll be doing the shooting.
Don't forget, you're not dealing with Rent-A-Thug losers. These are some of the deadliest commandos in the Avatar's World, and fighting superheroes is what they do.))

[fireinthedust]

((Wait, you mean fighting superheroes is what they do: like the Hulk, or like the minions of the Monarch? (from Venture Bros.) I figure we don't know their names, ergo they can't be that tough. Heck, the toughest one is known as "Beta"; he's still one consonant away from *sounding* like the coolest character on the enterprise barring Picard, and even that association is stretchier than our protagonist in rubber form.

Okay, so what about this: turn the air into solid cloud, while still phazed in the floor up to my arm (which is doing the changing) and then *not* go glowy? So they can't see a thing. Then I turn Titanium form, walk up to each of them and pound them in the face. Meanwhile, the elevator opens and the others come to save my skin.

sound good?))