Aberrant: Children of Quantum Fire - Mountain Rescue - Stealth Team [5.2b]

[Quantum Fire]

Gathering together the teams as agreed upon, this team was devoted to getting in and rescuing the captives, then getting out again without having anyone too badly hurt. Of course, it also was devoted to healing any of the captive second generation novas and dealing with any telepathic issues when they arrived....

Preparing to act within an instant after the assault, the team was telepathically connected in the network by Epiphany, allowing them to set themselves up, and act at the perfect moment.

[Butch_Cole]

Butch was eager to get the show on the road. He watched the digital clock on the wall tick down closer and closer to the time when the operation would begin. The two teams had separated in the submarine bay and were making final preparations and adjustments. Across the submarine bay, he watched as Cora blurred back and forth and Maia took to the air in anticipation.

On the mental network, Butch said to the group:

We strike when the operation clock hits 0. Everyone knows their part by now and should be ready to go. Keep in communication as needed and watch each other's backs. Let's show these mo'fuckers who their messing with. Hoo-ah!

Butch adjusted his pants and shirt. He managed to find a good pair of black cargo pants and a black shirt to wear along with his combat boots. From his belt, he pulled out his mask, a simple black one that covered everything but his eyes. Over those, he fitted a pair of mirrored black goggles. He looked sort of like an urban SWAT team member minus the helmet and armor.

Pip and Darrik were nearby as was Warren...or was it Warren's clone. Butch had forgotten already, but then again it was hard to keep track of his brother sometimes. The members of the stealth team seemed to be ready.

In a low voice, Butch said to them, "Alright folks. Let's be ready when it's time to warp. Get yourself set up with any powers in addition to the boost Darrik gave us. Pip, you good? Darrik? Warren?"

Preparation

When it's time to go, Butch is going to activate invisibility and intangibility.

The roll for invisibility was done at Invisible Castle. Here's the link:

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3156314/

That's 6 successes plus 5 Quantum, so total = 11 successes vs. opponent Perception to detect

[Courier]

Warren-Clone didn't like the waiting, it gave him time to think about his situation. It was weird being 'just' a temporal possibility. He felt real, but he knew if he examined his quantum signature he'd see the difference.

In a low voice, Butch said to them, "Alright folks. Let's be ready when it's time to warp. Get yourself set up with any powers in addition to the boost Darrik gave us. Pip, you good? Darrik? Warren?"

Butch's words snapped Warren back to the present and he realized he'd let himself get distracted again. With the time shift he had a lot more time than was healthy. And speaking of which...

Warren pointed a finger at Butch and then at everyone else in turn and said, "Zap. Welcome to Hypertime."

The words came out in a high pitched squeak and the world slowed down for each person in turn.

[Toby Lupin]

I'm ready.

Darrik faded from view and solidity as well.

Invisibility roll

emy] 10:45 am: Megas

Jeremy *rolls* 3d10: 10+2+10: 22

[Jeremy] 10:45 am: Regular

Jeremy *rolls* 12d10: 5+3+1+7+9+6+8+5+3+5+9+3: 64

10 sux vs Perception.

[LydaLynn]

Epiphany was struggling between hyperventilating and forgetting to breath. She knew what her task was and wasn't thrilled with the possibilities. After a moment, she put the panicking part of herself in a mental padded room and settled into the task at hand. She didn't want to think about the fall out of what she would be doing on this mission, so she didn't. With only the analytical portion of her mind out and functioning, Pip took the steps she needed to be prepared for her role in the operation.

I need to look some stuff up when I have the chance and am not at work, but . . .

Using Compartmentalized Mind.

I'll edit in the rest when I remember what they all do and the mechanics for it.

[Quantum Fire]

Ripples moved across the mental link, including the information detected by Cora in the subatomic vibrations.. the assault had begun, it was up to the stealth team to go in, stop Demon and Mindwave, and rescue Rose and her sisters.. the captives that this group was planning to rewrite and rewire their memories, in a manner that was anathema to telepaths with such strong morals as Epiphany.

[Toby Lupin]

And elsewhere the Apotheosis of Maia and the attacks shook the ground, surprising Darrik and everyone else. *Stealth Team, let's move. Assault team, someone get the A back there?* The shadows rippled over the stealth team and then they were underground. Darrik flashed off suddenly, mentally promising to reconoiter ahead, and moving at full tilt, stopped as he entered a room with Eclipsodol. Intangibly he was unaffected, but he noticed the girl lying limply in a chair. It was clear what was going on.

Immediately sensory images and directions were snapped back to the other Stealth team members and a suggestion to check the rooms around for Mindwave and the other captives. Meanwhile Darrik's crooning voice filled the air, as he devised a way to handle Demon. "Leave her body, Demon." With luck, the overwhelming command would either drive out the possessor or weaken him up for the second try to work.

[Courier]

Upon entry Warren reached out with his node to try to get an idea of where everyone was.

[Butch_Cole]

The jaunt into the mountain complex was fast, which Butch was thankful for. Everything else happened even faster.

First, two separate mental voices came across the link relaying the imminent threat to a young Nova named Rose. Immediately, Butch picked up on several key points from this conversation:

1. Rose was the eldest girl, which implied that there were other children here at the complex.

2. This nova, Demon, was capable of possessing her, indicating some degree of skill and strength.

3. His protection, Mindwave was reluctant to take part in something like this, meaning she could possibly be convinced that what she was doing was wrong. If not, it might just distract her enough to cause her to make a mistake.

4. There was a third voice, someone in charge, instructing both Demon and Mindwave...

Darrik flashed off the instant they materialized it seemed, and moments later sent a message indicating his location and instructions to search out Mindwave and the captive novas. Butch ignored the powerful urge to run off after his dark brother and help lay a beatdown on Demon. There were others that needed finding and potentially tending to.

To Darrik, he sent a quick mental message: Let me know how the girl looks. If she needs fixin', you let me know.

There were rumblings and explosions from outside. Butch hoped everything was going well for the assault team, but didn't allow himself too much time to worry. Instead, he needed to focus on their mission. Time was still very slow around them...or was it that they were moving very fast...he couldn't tell, but he knew there was plenty he could still do.

Invisible and immaterial, Butch mentally called out to Pip and Warren:

Let's start looking for these kids. All senses peeled for them and any novas or baselines that might be between us and them. Let's move people!

[Quantum Fire]

There were five captives, counting the sixteen year old Rose, after Rose there was her younger sister Thorn, and her friend Angel... those where the second generation nova's, their mothers were the other two, Sharron and Tedra, both of whom were unconscious. Sense the assault team was even now taking out the opposition above, the quantum energy flowing though the link even now, the surge of quantum flowed though and send two other nova's into apothesis as well, even as every water pipe in the complex burst as the water within froze to ice, Butch felt quantum surge though his body, enhancing him far beyond his imaginations. The surge of quantum also managed to ping off the other nodes nearby, granting him a much greater realization of where his targets were. After all, other then Mindwave and Demon, they were the only other nova's underground.

Meanwhile, Demon struggled against Darrik's command, as Mindwave looked up in shock, though the mirror window at Darrik's sudden appearance.

OOC: Sense a Picture is worth a thousand words, here are the 3 second Generation's your rescuing.. yes, all three of them have wings, and Mega-apperance, they are lovely girls.

Rose

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Thorn

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Angel

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Mindwave

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Demon

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

http://invisiblecast...r/view/3161705/

Exposure to Quantum Forces (Darrik), Other Nova's passing though Apothesis (Maia) and Stress lowers the difficulty to 3

Welcome to the next level, Butch..

[Butch_Cole]

The change came over Butch quite suddenly and unexpectedly. In an instant, he felt all of the quantum energy in the area surrounding him and flowing throughout his body. The pulse from Maia's expanding abilities was the final straw.

His node throbbed, ached briefly, and then he...became.

Time was running out, but Butch knew so much in the instant after his Apotheosis. For instance, he knew where every nova in the compound was. He felt where his siblings were. Then he knew where the five captives were. His cells reached out, gently, and understood that no one was injured, no one needed healing immediately. Inside of the captives, innerButch realized that there was a sterility serum coursing through each of them and that it was akin to a disease that was altering their genetic structure. It would take some time, but he could fix them. The danger to them was not immediate.

He knew where Demon was and by process of elimination, Butch was able to find Mindwave.

Thanks to Warren's gift, Butch made it to the room where Mindwave was staring, shocked through the one-way mirror. Given what he heard earlier, he felt he might be able to get her to stand down considering her earlier reluctance.

Invisible, Butch stepped into the room and said to Mindwave, "Surrender or die like the others."

He hoped she would realize that all was lost, that her team was all dead, and would comply. If not, he was ready to move and strike...

[Courier]

Warren2 was in the middle of node pinging when Butch suddenly exploded with quantum and then zoomed off.

Whoa... so no dropping him into the Sun. Pity.

That small sun of quantum is Butch. That one must be Darrik. The two next to them would be the hostiles... which meant the other flickers would be the captives.

And any quantum-less baselines with guns would be invisible to a node scan, and they'll have orders to shoot the captives when the base fell.

Bum rush time.

Trusting his siblings to be able to protect themselves, Warren2 shifted unsolid and moved to help or guard on the other novas. If he ran into any armed baselines he'd 'just punch' them with his spiffy Darrik enhanced muscles.

[LydaLynn]

Epiphany felt the other team, the raw power and emotions of apotheosis. And while her mind wasn't with the enemy novas, still Pip could feel their deaths in the distance and her mind flinched away from that knowledge. Information had been relayed, the captives and their captors had been located. The relief of not having to read anyone to know where to go made her knees weak.

But there was still something for her to do. Some Demon had possessed a girl. Epiphany could mentally picture the horror of the creature that would willingly take over another person, warp the mind and kill the soul. That it was a monster she sometimes pictured herself being only made the revulsion deeper.

Walking in the nearly suspended time the group had wrapped around them, Pip found the door to the room Rose and Demon were in. Opening it, she didn't worry how long this was taking as she steeled herself to do what she had to do. Looking at the girl laying with two people in her mind, Epiphany reaches out to Demon's mind. Her mental voice ringing with authority, Pip sends a single word thought to the nova invading the second gen Rose. "NO!"

Sending PM

[Quantum Fire]

While physically, Epiphany might not be as capable as some of her siblings, in the world of the mind, she was far beyond all of them, her mind possessing a strength an power far beyond any of them, and she unleashed a mental blast of sorts upon the nova known as Demon, but it wasn't one intended to do him phyiscal harm, this was a mind wipe, to tear from his mind the knowledge of what he was doing and how he was doing it, it required that she reach out to her strongest telepathic capability, and for her, this was a brutal attack, rather then the scalpel level attack she was capable of.. while Darrik's attack was socially based, and Demon had been able to fight against it, Epiphany's was mental, and went much deeper, she simply erased his ability to do what he was doing, and a moment later he manifested then fell over unconscious in the room.. his mind as empty as a newborn child..

Meanwhile Butch's sudden appearance and challenge of the woman called Mindwave had her stepping back and putting her hands up as Demon suddenly manifests in the room where Rose was wrapped up in a suit equavalent to a space suit filled with eclipsidol to keep other nova's from entering and rescuing the girl easily, even as pipes burst and fill the room with water, washing the chemical from the air, in fact the entire complex has burst pipes filling with water here and there.. and telepathic static comes from the unconscious nova a few moments before he's unconscious.

Meanwhile warren manages to find the other novas, who are being kept sedated and unconscious, with baseline guards in order to keep them prepared for their own sessions with Demon.

As you requested in PM, this attack uses telepathic authority, as a technique that pip hasn't mastered yet, so it's 8 quantum to use, it is manipulation + TP. Authority, and she needed 6 success to beat Demon's mind shield.. the last five dice in this roll were mega.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3167164/

With seven successes she succeed, but finesse isn't fully developed yet, so she's mindwiped him, his mind is as blank as a newborn.. though if he has any abilities like the Mega-Wits, Mind Restore, he might eventually restore himself.

Demon manifests in the room filled with Eclipsidol, but most of his powers are telepathic, random mind blasts, telepathic chatter, and shape after shape as he shifts though a dozen different forms, burning though his quantum in a few seconds, before falling over, unconscious..

Note: Both Rose and Angel are about 16, and Thorn is about a year younger at 15.. so they are close to you folks in age

[Karren Gaunt]

'You need any help down there since my first message seems to have been lost in the static of three of us Apothesizing at once? We're clear up here save for a satelite that's about to try and take pictures of the battlefield through one of Marina's fogs,' comes Coraline's mental voice over the link, curiously and concernedly, 'I have two unconsious Nova Motherhunters I'm keeping Warren from banishing to another dimension like their baseline allies.'

There was the merest hint of a chuckle under the concern on that last sentence, a sense of satisfaction akin to a much-subdued version of the excitement she had demonstrated after their first battle.

[Toby Lupin]

*It's fine.* Darrik's amused voice floated over the network, richly impressed with the way things were going. *Get the captured novas back to the submarine, make sure they're safely held. Butch, knock out Mindwave once you have her... she's going with us too. Now, let's free the scrumptious girls and get them out too. I'll take out the trash.* The meaning of that last line was clear when he conjured a blade of dark energy and ran it through the blank-slate Demon for good measure. Also, his own words gave him pause... he had promised the girls fidelity... but Darrik's sexual appetites were boundless, and potentially beyond the limits of even two partners like Gwen and Agatha.

[Butch_Cole]

Butch was somewhat glad that Mindwave decided that the sensible option was to surrender. He turned off his invisibility. Although her hands were raised indicating surrender, Butch was still ready to act on a moment's notice. He heard Darrik's mental orders and had to act. Over the link he sent the following:

***Belay that order. Alex, check everyone we're taking with us for any tracking devices. I don't want anyone tracking them or us. When that's confirmed, we can take the captives back to Primus. The hunters are going to Pip's hideout for holding and questioning. Bring them all to just outside Darrik and Pip's location and we move from there. Cora, whoever you've got, get them here ASAP. Warren be ready for the warps. Everyone else keep your shit wired tight. We're not in the clear yet.***

He gave Mindwave a hard stare, and said, "Good. Surrender accepted. You make a wrong move though and we gut you." Butch indicated with a finger pointed through the one-way mirror what Darrik and Pip had just done to Demon. Then, he continued, "You make the right moves and you might get out of this alive. So, keep your hands where I can see them. Good."

Butch reached out and communicated with Mindwave's body commanding a change in her body chemistry. The power was still new to Butch, but his instincts and innerButch helped him navigate. Still, there was one bump on the way...

Butch stared hard at Mindwave, and, well, she was kind of attractive, so when he overcame the first of her defenses, innerButch hit the wrong...button. She shivered, blushed, and shook, having to support herself on a chair next to her.

"Dang," Butch said, blushing himself. "Sorry 'bout that, ma'am."

He tried once again and this time found it easier. With slightly more control, Butch took control and told her it was time for a deep, deep sleep. As her eyes fluttered then closed, Butch caught her before she fell. Tossing her over a shoulder, Butch made his way into the next room, and knocked on the door

"Alright," Butch said to Darrik and Pip. "Mindwave's been neutralized. Once everyone else is set, we bounce."

[SalmonMax]

I'm on my way, Alex reported. But I object, in the most strenuous possible terms, to a potentially hostile telepath being brought to Primus. She may be able to relay images of its interior, or undetectably send her location to allies. Even with Pip around, it's too big a security risk.

[Butch_Cole]

Hearing/reading/knowing Alex's mental note, made Butch pause for a moment. He thought back to what he had said, and sent another message:

Sorry 'bout the lack of clarity folks. Alex, you're right. The captives I meant were the good guys, these girls and their mothers. They're the ones to check out and send back to Primus if they're clean. The others are going to Pip's hideaway until we decide what to do with them. Hope that's clearer. Got a bunch of stuff on my mind...

He laid Mindwave down and waited for the others.

[Karren Gaunt]

'Has anyone actually secured the captives yet? I think I missed hearing that.' wondered the young metamorph over the family net, and they could feel the frown on her face, her continued scrutiny of the skies above for more potential bad company, 'As for getting these two Motherhunter down there, I don't have superstrength, so I could use a little help getting these two down in one go. Maia's going to make this place a memory after we're done looking for what we want, so don't leave anything behind you'd want.'

[Courier]

Warren sent 'On it' and moved to pick up Cora's captives. He wasn't a powerhouse like Maia, but two baselines weren't a mountain. He added, 'Pip, if the other Warren is still around, tell him to help the prisoners.'

Clones' temporary existence made them too unstable to add to the family net. Thinking of which, it was odd none of the clones had come back yet from their prisoner trip. Once again, he might be finding that some of his powers weren't compatible. He should have tried with little white mice first... although with one of J2's airless moons as the alternative, the baselines probably would have decided to risk it.

Warren sent, We're ready on the outside. Did anyone find any more baselines on the inside?

Inside Warren2 had moved through the mountain to the other prisoners and was freeing them.

[LydaLynn]

Epiphany's eyes were wide, her completion pale beneath her fur. Watching as Demon's powers went haywire and he passed out hadn't been as much of a shock as watching her 'brother' murder the other nova in cold blood. Her mind numb from the power she didn't understand and watching the callous regard for life that seemed to be part of her 'family's' standard operating procedure, Pip shook slightly. She missed hearing any of the conversation buzzing through the link she held for everyone. It wasn't until Warren's mental voice spoke her name that she blinked, once.

Prisoners, right, there were people here to help. They were going to go to the moon, they were going to be okay, everyone was going to be okay. No, not everyone, not Demon. Not the others who had died above. Maybe none of them would be okay. How could they be okay after killing other people, no matter how much the people at this base had been doing the wrong things, Pip knew that her family were still kids. Still young in understanding and wisdom. Even if this wasn't the kind of thing that would spark the war between nova and baseline they all saw coming, just the act of killing was sure to impact the others. What she had done to Demon, that was horrible, it had gone too far, she knew she had done wrong but in that moment she hadn't cared. But after she had pulled his mind from him, he was an innocent. He could have been saved, could have been taught again, the right way. But now it was too late. Demon's blood was as much on her hands as it was on Darrik's. She had made sure he couldn't defend himself. She had offered the lamb up to slaughter.

Pip wasn't aware of the hot tears rolling down her cheeks. She didn't hear the others moving around, cleaning up and preparing to move on. She didn't feel the relief of those being rescued. She heard the hollow echo of her mind, shut away from her panic and the voices of those she had used her powers upon. Shut away from the new voice, the voice of the dead man in the room. Her wings wrapped around herself reflexively as she shuddered, suddenly cold despite the heat radiating from her core. This was not okay. It didn't matter that these people were monsters, that they needed to be stopped. No one deserved what she had done. Epiphany looked into the dead eyes of Demon and saw in them a reflection of the monster she knew she had become.

[Butch_Cole]

Butch knocked on the door again, but when no response was forthcoming, he sent a mental message:

Pip, Darrik, everything ok in there? I've got Mindwave out here, but we've still got prisoners that need help. Now, get your shit together and move damn it!

He was cautious about having Pip on a mission like this given her tendency to freak out, but her abilities were great to have around especially in a case like this. There was definitely something going on between Pip and Warren, so Butch sent a message to his warp-surfing brother:

Warren, I need you down here ASAP. Check in with Pip when you get a chance. I think she might be having a Pip-moment.

[Quantum Fire]

More baselines were underground, but the chaos that had perpetuated here from actions on the surface was quite extreme, there were alarms going, water was flooding some of the rooms due to burst pipes, and in the area of the sewer system, it was even worse, fortunately, that was the lowest level, but folks with mega-perception could still smell the sewers from here. It was child's play for Warren to push the remaining baselines though to the same place he'd dropped off the others, an unspoiled earth with dinosaurs, it might not even mean their deaths, with nova's around to help them, but it did remove them from this timeline.

The captives (Rose, Thorn, Angel, Sharron, Tedra) were all unconscious, as was Mindwave and the two nova's that Cora had taken captive, those three were the only ones who to be taken to the moon, the rescued children and their mothers were to be taken to the Primus. Again, with Warren and Darrik's powers, this was a simple task, with everyone unconscious.

The bigger problem, for the gathered nova's was Epiphany's stress and slight breakdown, killing was not in the young girl's nature, and that made this entire episode quite horrible to her. That she had not actually done the killing wasn't enough, she'd made it possible, and worse, had killed his mind, so in her own mind it might as well have been her who had done it. Perhaps, they could even have saved, or rebuilt Demon into someone they would have been willing to work with, something less horrible then mind wiping and killing him, but Darrik had taken that option out of their hands.

[Karren Gaunt]

Coraline returned from the flickering darkness of the base's tunnels in a soft crackle of quantum, still-masked features glistening with the poison she had been using to subdue baseline prisoners to deliver to Warren's one-way rifts.

She didn't feel quite so good about this phase of the fight, too many of the prizes she was seeking out just technicians or flunkies or at best panicking guards seeking whatever escape they thought they could find before the whistling blur tagged them, too, and made then drop and vanish into the dark. Coraline hadn't been playing with them when she picked one from a group and vanished, stole another and vanished, that was her own limits. They deserved retribution for the role they were willing to play in victimizing mothers and children, but... Beneath the fading adrenilien euphoria, she had recognized what they were feeling, and their fear stirred up the beginings of doubts that had nothing to do with the survival of her family.

She tried to keep any of this from her features as she touched down, releasing her active powers, suddenly shifting back to stunning default in water-soaked eufiber. "I think that's all of them," she volunteered softly with a concerned and sympathetic glance for Pip, "Everyone ready to go so we can take care of those who need taking care of?"

[Maia]

Leading the others down, Maia crushed any automated defense systems still functional. "No one else dies unless they attack us first." mindful of structural concerns she continued clearing things out, making her way down.

[Courier]

Multiple extra-dimensional movements cost serious juice. Warren had been wondering what to do when he'd realized the obvious. Thanks to his brother's 'gift' he could drain novas, and there were several unconscious hostile ones around. Juice ceased to be an issue.

Warren, I need you down here ASAP. Check in with Pip when you get a chance. I think she might be having a Pip-moment.

Warren sent back 'On my way.' and moved through walls as needed. Warren dropped his drained, unconscious 'cargo' in a passing room and moved to his girlfriend. Warren put his arm around Pip and surveyed the situation.

Dead nova next to captive nova. Demon and the kid, Darrik's work. Pip just saw someone get killed. Maybe was in their mind. Ouch.

Warren moved so Pip had to look at him and not the dead nova and said/sent, "Pip? You ok? How about we move to a different room."

[LydaLynn]

Epiphany just closed her eyes and shook for a long moment before nodding. A whisper, almost to faint to hear, "It's my fault. I did this and . . . " Tears turned into sobs as she leaned against Warren and allowed him to lead her from the room.

[Courier]

Warren thought about disagreeing; How could Pip kill anyone? Instead he led her away and asked quietly, "How do you figure?"

[Quantum Fire]

Warren was about to lead Epiphany out of the complex and though the warp leaving the place, until at last the entire complex was empty of humanity, and Maia stepped forward, and with a single strike of perfect precision, she shattered every wall, every floor, ceiling and roof inside the complex, turning it into nothing but a hole in the ground, and destroying every trace of their presence here in less then a second. It took no more then a moment, and then the last of them withdrew though the portal leaving the fog covered ground for whoever might show up to investigate, but there would be nothing to find.

Thread Closed

4 Standard XP for everyone.

Continued in Aftermath..