Aberrant: Quantum Zero - Quantum Zero

[Alex Green]

\"...Do what we say, & some of you may yet live! There are several devices placed throughout this building's ventilation system that contain a rather deadly chemical agent - I'd rather not use it, but I will if I have to. All exits have been wired with explosives, & my men are willing & able to execute any trouble makers, & those close to them....\"

Alex assesses the situation; " One option, this could be a big, elaborate game, thrown by our host perhaps to see how the novas react. With civilians around that would be pretty stupid. Better assume this is real.

He's not bluffing about the guns. Nothing he has or even has threatened could hurt me... the gas might be a bluff... but I can't take that chance. If I cut loose, lots of people would die. He’s tied into the central communications grid? Was security that lax or is there nova involvement here?”

For now Alex decides to bide his time and prepare to act. Perhaps someone with more subtle powers can talk them out of this, or perhaps someone will screw up and force his hand.

[ezekiel]

"It's like.. it's like I can still think, but whenever I attack something, or something attacks me, or even bugs me a little, I have to crush it. It's not a feeling which is easy to restrain."

"Mmm, well you're inconspicuous enough...can you try to get to the casino in the Chaos? We should try to have someone there...as long as you're pretty sure you can avoid "crushing" innocent people...again, unless someone has something better to say?"

[El Enano Gigante]

"Roight." Gerry takes off his jacket and rolls up his shirt sleeves. "Mary, Suzy - get yer heads down somewhere. Nulli - wi' a name like that I'm guessin' yer handy in a ruck. Take Terry up to the casino, and see what you can do there. Derek - unless you can get there yerself there, see if Masters can show you how to get to the control room fer those screens - take Johnny with you - I think a little carnage up there could go a long way." Gerry turns to Alex, and grins "Do us a favour lad - come wi' me. I'm gonna make us a little distraction, and if it all goes pear shaped then a nice, big, dark matter shield wouldn't come amiss........."

Gerry makes his way towards the armed men, all the time concentrating the quantum energies within him.......

He stands in front of the stage, and looks up the the soldiers

"'Scuse me fella's." As the soldiers turn to face him, Gerry's face darkens, and his eyes flash with quantum fire. His voice loses the Irish lilt, and becomes almost hollow sounding "DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND LEAVE. NOW."

(OOC- Max out Dominate to get some kind of area effect, and combine it with Awe Inspiring and possibly Persuader enhancements. Should shake them up at least...... ::sly ) (OOC2 - Damn Ninja.......... ::ninja ::biggrin )

[Alex Green]

Gerry turns to Alex, and grins \"Do us a favour lad - come wi' me.  I'm gonna make us a little distraction, and if it all goes pear shaped then a nice, big, dark matter shield wouldn't come amiss.........\"

Alex replies, \"Oh you have NO idea\", Alex says ironically. \"But that sounds like a plan.\"

\"'Scuse me fella's.\"  As the soldiers turn to face him, Gerry's face darkens, and his eyes flash with quantum fire.  His voice loses the Irish lilt, and becomes almost hollow sounding \"DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND LEAVE. NOW.\"

Alex waits and hopes.

OOC: Alex will reserve his action. If anyone throws anything violent this way, I'll use a defensive action & transform.

[brilyn]

Derek - unless you can get there yerself there, see if Masters can show you how to get to the control room fer those screens

"Um... ok?" ::blink

"Mr. Masters, how do I get to that room?"

As he listens, he concentrates for a few moments.

OOC: Derek is attempting to Max out Second Skin, putting all success into duration. Then is going to create a small sphere of steel (maybe a 1/2 kilo or less).

[ezekiel]

\"'Scuse me fella's.\" As the soldiers turn to face him, Gerry's face darkens, and his eyes flash with quantum fire. His voice loses the Irish lilt, and becomes almost hollow sounding \"DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND LEAVE. NOW.\"

"Sh it! Well there goes caution...Nullifier, you're with me! And try not hurt any party goers..."

A slight shimmer surrounds Terry as he rises in the air and slams full speed into one of the men by the stairway, flying on to the casino area.

(OOC - Activate force field and fly fly away! Aerial slam into the seemingly worst threat (ignore if everyone drops weapons) and hopefully uneventful flight into casino area)

[ProfPotts]

When the soldiers on the stage notice Gerry & Alex walking towards them they pause in their rounding up of innocent bystanders & turn their guns on the pair of Novas. As they get closer one soldier steps forward & shouts (with a slight Middle Eastern accent to his voice),

"Stop! Stand with the others or we shoot!" ::ninja

He stands in front of the stage, and looks up the the soldiers

\"'Scuse me fella's.\" As the soldiers turn to face him, Gerry's face darkens, and his eyes flash with quantum fire. His voice loses the Irish lilt, and becomes almost hollow sounding \"DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND LEAVE. NOW.\"

There's a moment of silence, then the sound of four SMG's clattering to the stage, as their owners drop them, back off, then turn & run for the stage door ::shocked . The other two men on the stage, take several steps back, but manage to steady their nerves enough to level their guns...

Alex transforms, darkening to pitch black, & growing to a full twelve feet in height, the floor creaking & cracking under his incredible weight. The guns rattle & spit fully automatic fire at the pair before them - Alex, who is now a pretty big target, takes the shots - with no visible effect (it appears that he doesn't even notice the three or four score bullets slaming into him). Thankfully no stray bullets make it past the massive Nova.

\"Mr. Masters, how do I get to that room?\"

Masters moves towards Derek as he hears his name, seeming more annoyed that his party's been disturbed than really worried about the attackers,

\"What?\", he says to Derek, not really paying the lad much attention, \"Oh, there's a private elevator in the temple over there...\",

He waves his hand in the rough direction of the temple-like structure at the back of the room, as he goes on to say,

\"I just knew installing giant video-screens would come back & bite me in the ass!\"

Around Derek a thin film of molecules hardens, unnoticed in the general panic, & soon after a small metal ball appears in his hand.

A slight shimmer surrounds Terry as he rises in the air and slams full speed into one of the men by the stairway, flying on to the casino area.

The six men coming down the stairs look over towards the sound of gunfire from the stage, then try to react as Terry swoops towards them, hastily readying weapons as best they can! Terry slams full-tilt into the lead soldier, sending the man shooting back into the smoke-filled casino, where his impact can be perceived by a distinct smashing noise, & a sudden cloud of casino-chips that clatter as they shower down the steps, along with a lone, bouncing, roulette ball. As Terry flies on into the smoke (which he recognises from his police days as tear-gas) the soldiers all open-up at him with their SMGs. The air is filled with deadly flying lead (luckily the casino is cleared of bystanders, & the gunmen are aiming high to target the flying Nova), many rounds stopping dead in mid-air before the hit Terry, but still pounding him (by sheer volume more than anything else). [Terry is Hurt with Bashing damage - those high-calibre weapons really sting!].

Meanwhile there are screams & general panic from the bystanders herded into the middle of the dance-floor. Susanne has taken shelter behind the stone bar (along with Tiny), Ash hurrys to Masters' side, & Dr Chen calmly walks towards the huge dark-matter giant that used to be Alex, seemingly oblivious to any danger, muttering something about "observations in the field...".

The gas-mask clad face on the video-screens looks to one side, seems to double-take, then spins back towards the camera, rage in his distorted voice,

"Arrogant fools! You've sealed the fate of those you would protect, you were warned!" ::angry

He turns again, gesturing off-camera. Moments later a thick greenish-mist starts to slowly pump from the many ventilation grills in the club, roll lazily down the walls, & start to gather at floor level, spreading across the room. The screams of the bystanders are intensified as they notice what's happening, & they crowd even closer together in the centre of the room, in a vain attempt to escape the deadly toxin... ::devil

[phoenix]

\"DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND LEAVE. NOW.\"

John goggles, stepping momentarily behind Derek in case of dismal failure.

\"Arrogant fools! You've sealed the fate of those you would protect, you were warned!\"

You know, I'm sure your nova powers are all very good, but for a group that claims to value logical problem solving so highly, you've sure put a lot of stake in the "Maybe they'll go away if I ask them to" defense!

Upon seeing the nerve gas, John steps out from behind Derek. He breathes deeply, and he stands up straight - in fact, it looks almost as though he somehow became taller. Almost imperceptibly, his hair shifts from the bleached platinum of seconds ago to a stark white, and his jaw sets grimly.

Suddenly, his eyes fly open, and hissing blue quantum flares up from his body. In seconds, it dies down slightly, then grows into the form of a great polar bear anima. A gust of icy air emanates from him. The form within, now only a silhouette, looks somehow transformed from the skinny teen of a moment ago - his form becomes streamlined and stands straight and tall, and though his expression cannot be read through the anima, he seems to resonate with an attitude of grim and sardonic confidence. His fists clench, and quanta crackles up and down his arms.

Bring it on.

He dives into the vile gas, heading straight for the aforementioned temple. The bear anima charges with him, constantly surrounding him.

Derek, follow if you can!

[ProfPotts]

John charges towards the "temple", head-long through the ornamental pool that sits in front of it. The water in the pool freezes & cracks where the polar bear image touches it, the spray from the waterfall bounces off the anima as crystalised flakes of ice.

[The Temple]

Inside, the stone construction seems to open out - in fact it appears to have been designed so that the "temple" visible in the club area is, in fact, an ornate doorway to a series of chambers beyond. These rooms are decorated to continue the "ancient temple" theme, & are lavishly draped in silk, with piles of plush cusions lying around low tables, on which stand bowls of fruit, decanters of drink, & several rather erotic statues ::blush . Fragrant incense fills the air, & the lighting, although electric, is designed to simulate flickering torch or candle-light.

A quick look around reveals one room with banks of monitors (all blank at the moment), another with a small swiming-pool, a bathroom, &, eventually, what appears to be an elevator door, cunningly camouflaged to resemble a carved relief in the stone wall. However, the door doesn't seem to want to open...

[phoenix]

However, the door doesn't seem to want to open...

::confused Dang. Okay, he turns around and goes back.

::biggrin Ha ha ha, just kidding. He gives the carving a cursory feel for hidden switches. If he doesn't find any, he spits on his hands, gets a good grip, and puts some muscle into it.. ::smile

[Nullifier]

Terry whispers to the group at the bar...

\"Ok...I know I can take the men out without bystanders...at least one of the groups.\"Nods to the group by the stage and the other by the casino stairs.

Nullifier claps Terry on the shoulder, \" Good man! I'll see what I can do. \" Then he falls silent, seemingly deep in thought, his concentration focused inwards as he works to understand the powers within him. ::smiley5 ::closedeyes

Meanwhile there are screams & general panic from the bystanders herded into the middle of the dance-floor. Susanne has taken shelter behind the stone bar (along with Tiny), Ash hurrys to Masters' side, & Dr Chen calmly walks towards the huge dark-matter giant that used to be Alex, seemingly oblivious to any danger, muttering something about \"observations in the field...\".

Allowing himself to be swept along with the rest of the bystanders, he made his way to the very center of the panicking group, as the baselines instinctively moved out of his way. Finally, upon reaching the center, he seems to concentrate, and powerful quantum forces surge from his node, bright white sparks of pure quantum energy shooting out from him as his black form is covered in intensely bright strands of energy. ::ninja ::halo ::shocked

\"Arrogant fools! You've sealed the fate of those you would protect, you were warned!\" 

Nullifier mutters under his breath, \" That's what you think.. \" ::tongue

He turns again, gesturing off-camera. Moments later a thick greenish-mist starts to slowly pump from the many ventilation grills in the club, roll lazily down the walls, & start to gather at floor level, spreading across the room. The screams of the bystanders are intensified as they notice what's happening, & they crowd even closer together in the centre of the room, in a vain attempt to escape the deadly toxin... 

As the baselines crowd closer together, they still leave a small circle around Nullifier clear, shying away from the intimidating, sparkling form. He grins grimly, bows his head, and holds his arms upwards, palms facing outwards. A bright flash seems to propogate outwards from him, stopping abruptly as it becomes a shimmering, sparkling field encompassing and encircling the entire group of baselines, with him in the center. ::biggrin ::cool ::halo

[Alex Green]

Moments later a thick greenish-mist starts to slowly pump from the many ventilation grills in the club, roll lazily down the walls, & start to gather at floor level, spreading across the room. The screams of the bystanders are intensified as they notice what's happening, & they crowd even closer together in the centre of the room, in a vain attempt to escape the deadly toxin...

Alex evaluates the gas, and thunders, “EVERYONE GET ON TOP OF THE BAR. THE GAS IS HEAVER THAN AIR.” Hmm, a selective gravity field would do wonders. “TERRY, GET IN HERE AND WEIGH DOWN THAT GAS.”

...a shimmering, sparkling field encompassing and encircling the entire group of baselines...

Mentally Alex thinks, "Wow, now that is a good trick."

Alex deals with any remaining hostiles and then strides towards the casino, simply ignoring the gas. He will create a staff to help with his reach.

[El Enano Gigante]

Moments later a thick greenish-mist starts to slowly pump from the many ventilation grills in the club, roll lazily down the walls, & start to gather at floor level, spreading across the room. The screams of the bystanders are intensified as they notice what's happening, & they crowd even closer together in the centre of the room, in a vain attempt to escape the deadly toxin...

"Feck." Gerry snatches up one of the SMG's and shoots at one of the remaining thugs as best he can..........

"New plan Alex!" Yells Gerry "Make us a new door to get people out, wouldja?"

[brilyn]

  Moments later a thick greenish-mist starts to slowly pump from the many ventilation grills in the club, roll lazily down the walls, & start to gather at floor level, spreading across the room.

"oh Bugger!" ::shocked

Derek seems to be caught in a moment of indecision......

Then sprints full bottle........ *AT* the nerve gas.

As he reaches the gas, just at the point where he should choke and die, his entire form becomes the nerve gas, and floats up towards the air vents. (OOC: I'm assuming I'll score a single success here)

OOC: Derek will now be looking at using either Molecular Mastery: Shape Alteration to seal the air vents, or Matter Creation to create a whole heap of impermeable material within the vents themselves.

[Alex Green]

Alex deals with any remaining hostiles and then strides towards the casino...

OOC: Forgot to mention, I pull these punches enough so that these guys go 'thump' and not 'splat' when I hit them. This is neither the time or the place to go around ripping people in half.

It is obvious watching him that Alex is only using casual strength when hitting people. It is enough.

\"New plan Alex!\"  Yells Gerry \"Make us a new door to get people out, wouldja?\"

OOC: Alex makes an engineering roll to determine the side effects of doing that.

If the roll comes up like I think;

"Not a good idea. The different pressure differentials between inside and outside will stir up the gas. The only reason it isn't killing people already is because we are inside so there isn't any wind."

If the roll comes up otherwise;

"Good idea". Alex walks over and through the closest outside wall. He spreads his arms and makes a massive hole in the building.

[ProfPotts]

[The Temple]

John starts to feel for switches & the like, but it's taking too long, he's in a hurry, DAMMIT! With an involuntary beastial bellow he drives his hands towards the elevator door, blue Quantum bears-claws slicing through, ice spreading out where they penetrate. With a second roar he flexes his muscles, the bear anima does the same, & the door rips away in a shower of electric sparks, only to shatter into a thousand frozen pieces as it crashes into the wall behind him. Calming slightly he peers into the darkened elevator shaft - no car or cable, just a shaft going both up & down as far as he can make out. He starts to feel frustrated again, the rage rising within him...

[Club Atlantis]

The crowd cower in the centre of the dance floor, under the sparkling dome generated by Nullifier. Dr Chen was close enough to also be caught under the shield, & as she watches the gas reach the dome, then divert it's course to rise up & over, following the shield's curve, she comments (to herself as much as anyone),

"Interesting - it appears to be a gravitic barrier of some kind.", glancing at Nullifier she muses, "It'll be informative to see how long he can maintain this effect before burning himself out - the strain must be enormous."

Alex evaluates the gas, and thunders, “EVERYONE GET ON TOP OF THE BAR. THE GAS IS HEAVER THAN AIR.”

At Alex's advice those few who aren't under Nullifier's shield (Susanne, Tiny, Ash, & Mr Masters) clamber up onto the bar, the greenish gas leaving it an island in a toxic sea. Ash seems to be listening to something, whilst Masters gets out a mobile phone & dials it. Tiny does his best to comfort the rather distraught Susanne. As the gas & battle whirl around them, Ash & Masters compare notes:

\"No reply from the lobby guards, or those backstage, Sir.\", reports Ash, \"Security teams 12 & 15 are closing in on more intruders on level 50, those that have sealed themselves into the security room - that's where the broadcast is coming from. Team 15 reports fatalities I'm afraid.\"

At that Masters' disposition turns grim,

\"Bastards! They'll pay for that - those men had families. Any idea who they are yet?\"

Ash pauses for a moment, then replys,

\"Not as yet, Sir, we're working on it.\"

Masters turns back to his phone,

\"Kane? Calculate our intruders' most likely target. Yes...\", he glances at the rising gas surrounding him, \"Yes, it is rather urgent.\"

Alex's massive form reaches back it's arm, the Dark Matter of his body shifting & warping, until his fist encloses the form of a huge black staff, that he sweeps across the two gunmen remaining on the stage - both go flying at the \"tap\", slaming into the wall & falling, obviously unconcious, to be lost from sight beneath the layer of gas.

Gerry snatches up a fallen SMG (always handy to have), & looks for more targets, as the gas envelops him... His skin suddenly feels on fire, his vision blurs, his head pounds with pain the like of which he hasn't felt since he erupted! He starts to stagger, cough, choke - if he was a Baseline he'd already be dead... [Gerry takes 1 level of Lethal damage, with more to come if he hangs around in the green stuff!]

Alex starts towards the casino, each pounding step cracking the stone floor as he goes.

\"New plan Alex!\" Yells Gerry \"Make us a new door to get people out, wouldja?\"

... Gerry chokes out as best he can... It only takes Alex a moment to consider his options,

\"Not a good idea. The different pressure differentials between inside and outside will stir up the gas. The only reason it isn't killing people already is because we are inside so there isn't any wind.\"

Derek's gas-form roils quickly to the wall, & up it, heading for the nearest of four vents, origins of the gas. His greenish-gas body momentarily obscures the vent, then, as he roils away over the ceiling towards the next vent, it can be seen that where the vent was is now a seamless plate of metal that allows no more gas to enter the room that way. He moves on to complete his task sealing all four vents...

Four of the five gunmen remaining on the casino steps hastily reload their guns, ejecting one clip & replacing it with the next with professional speed & skill. The fifth looks over to the Dark Matter giant easily dispatching his companions, then turning towards his own group, & decides instead to unclip a grenade from his belt, pop the pin with his thumb, hold it (waiting for the optimal moment), & hurl it at Alex as he strides across the room! The grenade detonates as it hits, exploding in a lethal cloud of hot shrapnel - the blast doesn't even slow the giant's progression, what little effect it has amounting to some of his body spreading out, then reforming, almost like a thick dark liquid in slow-motion... Rogue shards of shrapnel impact the protective dome over the crowd, stoping in mid-air, & slowly rising over the dome's curve - instead of ploughing through the innocent bystanders (as shrapnel tends to have a habit of doing).

[El Enano Gigante]

Choking from the gas, Gerry makes his way to the high ground provided by the bar and clambers up.

"Y'know," smiles Gerry to Masters, scanning the crowd for bad guys "if there's any other ways out of here, now would be a good time to say......."

[Nullifier]

The crowd cower in the centre of the dance floor, under the sparkling dome generated by Nullifier. Dr Chen was close enough to also be caught under the shield, & as she watches the gas reach the dome, then divert it's course to rise up & over, following the shield's curve, she comments (to herself as much as anyone),

\"Interesting - it appears to be a gravitic barrier of some kind.\", glancing at Nullifier she muses, \"It'll be informative to see how long he can maintain this effect before burning himself out - the strain must be enormous.\"

Lowering his arms and looking up, his black form shimmering and throwing off bright white sparks, he glances over at Dr. Chen and yells loudly enough to be heard by everyone remaining in the room, " I estimate I can maintain the field for about fourty-five seconds before it collapses. Someone had better do something about this gas before that happens! " ::nervous

[phoenix]

Glacier (for it is he) steps back from the elevator in dismay. Coming to a decision, he looks around for nerve gas, then closes his eyes. Breathing deeply, he allows the nova power to die down. He shudders as his body temperature slowly returns to normal and meets the cold air he's been emitting, and his anima fades away into nothing. He opens his eyes.

Holy chizel monkey.. I didn't take out the elevator - it must have been our guests. But that cable must have been solid steel.. that couldn't mean..?

Of course not - it must have been taken out somehow.

He thinks for a while.

Man.. I got shafted.

He sighs, then looks around for anything that might be another elevator. If not, he looks closely at the giant hole in the wall where there should be an elevator. If there's anything that looks like he could climb, he dorm's back up and starts climbing. Otherwise, decides to go back down to the casino and see what's been going on over there. The polar bear returns as he walks, though not as dramatically as before, almost as though it's embarassed at inconveniencing its partner.

He strolls down the same passage that he came down. Suddenly he hears gunfire, and activates Force Field. The polar bear anima takes on a slightly whiter hue.

As the gunmen take aim at Alex and/or the golden bubble, a silhouette of a great bear grows within the nerve gas. He resists the urge to immediately attack the gunmen - if he succeeds, he acts as follows:

God help the first one of you who tries to shoot me.., Glacier says menacingly to the gunmen (Intimidation). He hurries over to the bar, and hissing quantum claws come shooting from his hands. He dives at the floor, both pounding it and slashing with his claws, trying to make a decent sized hole for the gas to drain into.

Bear in mind that all this is if he doesn't find anything else in the temple..

[ProfPotts]

[The Temple]

John examines the elevator shaft, although he does notice that the gas from the club is starting to seep into the temple as well... The shaft (as far as he can make-out) is pretty smooth, apart from the doors at various floors that he can just make out both up & down the shaft. As for whether he can climb it or not - those bear-claws make nice pitons - it shouldn't be a problem (as long as Mr Masters doesn't mind even more damage to his building). Calling forth the bear anima again Glacier focuses his energies into the claws, causing them to glow brighter, then leaps into the shaft, punching the claws into the smooth wall (where they grip, even as a layer of frost spreads out from the impact points across the metallic shaft interior). One claw at a time he starts to ascend the shaft. The question now is - where is he going?

[Club Atlantis]

Choking from the gas, Gerry makes his way to the high ground provided by the bar and clambers up.

\"Y'know,\" smiles Gerry to Masters, scanning the crowd for bad guys \"if there's any other ways out of here, now would be a good time to say.......\"

Masters shrugs & smiles ::sly , saying,

"I'm afraid that my own super-power is the ability to throw money at a problem until it goes away. I'm not entirely convinced I can bribe the gas to back down..."

As Derek finishes sealing the vents (halting the rise of the gas, much to the relief of those on the bar), Alex reaches the gunmen on the casino steps. With a fluid quickness that is unexpected for one of his size he thrusts with his dark staff as soon as he's in range, catching the nearest gunman in the chest & hurling him back into the tear-gas filled casino (from which the occasional shout & burst of gunfire can still be heard - Terry's in their somewhere, & so, presumably, are more intruders). The remaining four fire continuously as they back into the smoke up the stairs, their efforts being an exercise in futility against the black behemoth.

[Alex Green]

" I estimate I can maintain the field for about fourty-five seconds before it collapses. Someone had better do something about this gas before that happens! "  ::nervous

To himself Alex thinks, "Blast. We have to deal with the gas and we have to deal with it Right Now. " ::angry

Alex says to the remaining gunmen, "I SUGGEST YOU RUN WHILE YOU ARE STILL ABLE."

Alex will make another engineering roll to figure out where the best place to dig a hole would be, then he take his impromp 'digging tool' and sprint to that location. One punch with the dark matter rod should (hopefully ::unsure ) make it to the next floor. Hopefully the gun men will run or someone else will deal with them.

His only other real option is to find something like a pool table that large numbers of people could stand on and he could pick up.

[phoenix]

Glacier pauses again, cursing Masters for not giving him a floor to head for and contemplating the sheer impossibility of the task without one. After all, getting the right floor out of all the floors in a skyscraper would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but within a time limit? More like looking for a particular needle in a needle stack.

Glacier weighed his options. He couldn't see a way to find the intruders without knowing their floor - to his chagrin, he would have to go back and ask Masters where to go. He had no idea what was going on back in the casino, but he had basically assumed that the other novas had things under control. Sighing (seems to be doing that a lot recently), he hops out of the shaft and goes back to the alternative action described earlier (except, of course, for the fact of him already having his claws out):

Otherwise, decides to go back down to the casino and see what's been going on over there. The polar bear returns as he walks, though not as dramatically as before, almost as though it's embarassed at inconveniencing its partner.

He strolls down the same passage that he came down. Suddenly he hears gunfire, and activates Force Field. The polar bear anima takes on a slightly whiter hue.

As the gunmen take aim at Alex and/or the golden bubble, a silhouette of a great bear grows within the nerve gas. He resists the urge to immediately attack the gunmen - if he succeeds, he acts as follows:

God help the first one of you who tries to shoot me.., Glacier says menacingly to the gunmen (Intimidation). He hurries over to the bar, and hissing quantum claws come shooting from his hands. He dives at the floor, both pounding it and slashing with his claws, trying to make a decent sized hole for the gas to drain into.

[ProfPotts]

Alex moves back into the club, glances around for a few seconds, then runs to one corner of the room, massive footsteps shattering the stone floor as he goes. He reaches under the layer of gas, as if feeling for something, then stands, lifts the dark staff high above his head (it's a high ceiling...) & smashes it directly downwards!

There's a shattering boom as the staff disappears beneath the gas, then Alex retrieves it, & takes a step backwards. For a moment it seems that nothing is happening, then the toxic gas starts to move, swirl, & spiral around where the dark giant has just struck. Almost like water down a plughole the gas begins draining from the room - it seems as though the massive Nova successfully located the ventilation system for the building's sub-basement levels.

On the bar Masters turns to Ash,

"The levels below us, are they...?"

"Already evacuated, Sir.", interupts Ash, "We still don't have full communications, but it appears that the intruders are concentrating on the upper levels. Once the gas drains we can get these people out of here, decontamination teams are standing by."

"Well", says Masters thoughtfully, "I hate to end a good party early, but I guess you're right. Call MGM & make sure all our guests look good on the OpNet as they exit the building, it's the least we can do."

"Yes Sir.", replies Ash, "Although we can't really evacuate until the intruders have been cleared from this level."

"What?", asks Masters absent-mindedly, "There's still some left?"

"Yes Sir, in the casino."

"Well, make sure you get at least one who can answer a few questions, I want to know who these guys are."

[ProfPotts]

Glacier climbs from the lift shaft, & heads back towards the club, noticing as he goes that the gas that was in the temple has gone. He re-enters the club to see that Alex has smashed a drainage point for the gas in the floor. Within the clouds of tear-gas smoke up in the casino he can't make-out any gunmen (or much of anything, except the odd flash of crimson laser-light), but can hear the sounds of sporadic gunfire.

[phoenix]

Glacier walks into the casino to marvel momentarily at the total chaos. He locates the casino, then plunges into the fray in its general direction, looking for Masters. When he locates him, he says Mr. Masters! What's going on?

[brilyn]

Derek roils back down the wall, over to the bar where Masters and Ash are stationed (being VERY careful not to touch anyone on the way).

Once there, the green gas cloud that is Derek returns to it's normal (albeit Metallic) hue, and consistancy.

Obviously exhausted, Derek slumps onto one of the stools.

"Ok, seriously, I need a drink. I'm KNACKERED......" ::sleep

[ezekiel]

(OOC - Sorry, had guests over and couldn't rightly get connected... ::blush )

The six men coming down the stairs look over towards the sound of gunfire from the stage, then try to react as Terry swoops towards them, hastily readying weapons as best they can! Terry slams full-tilt into the lead soldier, sending the man shooting back into the smoke-filled casino, where his impact can be perceived by a distinct smashing noise, & a sudden cloud of casino-chips that clatter as they shower down the steps, along with a lone, bouncing, roulette ball. As Terry flies on into the smoke (which he recognises from his police days as tear-gas) the soldiers all open-up at him with their SMGs. The air is filled with deadly flying lead (luckily the casino is cleared of bystanders, & the gunmen are aiming high to target the flying Nova), many rounds stopping dead in mid-air before the hit Terry, but still pounding him (by sheer volume more than anything else). [Terry is Hurt with Bashing damage - those high-calibre weapons really sting!].

Alex evaluates the gas, and thunders, “EVERYONE GET ON TOP OF THE BAR. THE GAS IS HEAVER THAN AIR.” Hmm, a selective gravity field would do wonders. “TERRY, GET IN HERE AND WEIGH DOWN THAT GAS.”

Unfortunately, under the hail of bullets and excitement, Terry doesn't hear the ingenious suggestion. That'll explain the inaction... AS the hundreds of rounds fall to the floor below him, Terry looks at the masked soldiers, making sure the room is cleared of bystanders, and they suddenly drop to their knees, masks and weapons falling towards the ceiling leaving the men gasping and coughing in the air. While the men grasp for their masks, Terry bursts through the air straight towards one of them with crushing impact. The scene soon become more chaotic as Terry flies in circles overhead and the men fall to the ceiling and back down again, Terry occasionnally diving into men that manage to grasp their weapons.

(OOC- Terry maxes his gravitational field to increase area if need be (to encompass the men) or to increase effects. If any still look threatening...well, continue with the mayhem. Ideally I want them to live, if they look too weak to be a threat I'll stop shaking them, one at a time.)

[Alex Green]

Alex says, "Now what? Knowing what to do now depends a great deal on what the point of all this was. Were they trying to steal money? Take hostages? Kill someone specific? Access information? I probably should go help mop up, but their best move might be to retake hostages so I'm reluctant to leave you."

Alex eyes the draining gas, the lowering gas level, the tired novas, Mr. Masters, and Susanne. "I'm open to ideas."

OOC: If I don't hear nearby gunfire (the intruders fled?), I'll stop paying maintenance. When I shift human I'll reform the tux (regardless of the gas level). If I do hear nearby gunfire then I'll go engage.

[brilyn]

Derek starts chowing down on the various bar snacks. Anuthing within arms reach gets eaten. Not wolfed down, mind you, just eaten with the attitude of "I'm hungry, so I'm gonna eat everything within reach. And then I'll move", slowly and methodically.

Between bites:

"Those seals aren't going to last forever. They'll last a good while, proabaly enough to get your decontamination team into the area. To be honest, I haven't really used this ability all that much, so I have no real idea how long it'll last. And seeing as that gas is pretty damn dense, this place will probably flood wtih good speed, considering all the gas that has probably piled up in those vents."

Reaching for the next bowl of nuts/pretzels:

"We do, however, have a early warning in place" Places steel sphere in empty bowl.

"I created that a few seconds prior to sealing the vents, as I thought the men with guns were going to be my main concern. It should vanish a good 10-15 seconds prior to the seals on the vents, giving ample time for a warning." ::cool

[Alex Green]

\"Those seals aren't going to last forever....I created that a few seconds prior to sealing the vents, as I thought the men with guns were going to be my main concern. It should vanish a good 10-15 seconds prior to the seals on the vents, giving ample time for a warning.\" ::cool

"Maybe I should knock down that wall now?"

[brilyn]

\"Maybe I should knock down that wall now?\" 

"Well, that'd really just send the gas out into the street. I don't think Mr. Masters needs that kind of publicity. 'Novas kill baselines to save themselves' isn't a headline *I* want to be associated with either."

"To be honest, I'm not sure what'll happen. I'm gonna rest for a bit. Let me know when that sphere pops, and I'll get ready to react."

[brilyn]

Deleted by me....

[ProfPotts]

As Glacier heads towards the casino, calling for Masters, the man in question waves at him from the top of the bar, in the club, where he is, & shouts,

"Over here lad! No need to panic, our friends seem to have everything in hand around here, & my people are on their way. Where did you get to anyway?"

From within the shimmering dome Nullifier looks to see the direction the gas is draining in. For a moment nothing happens, & those closest to him can see a frown of concentration crease his brow beneath his Eufiber mask. Then the speed at which the gas is draining quickens, roughly double the rate it was draining before. Nullifier starts to feel tired from all his efforts.

As the gas flows across the floor to the drainage hole, & Derek transforms back to his normal metallic human form, Ash climbs off the bar to stand next to him. She puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder, & says,

"Derek, you helped to save us all! You're a real hero!"

She leans down & kisses the exhausted Nova on the cheek.

Meanwhile, in the casino, Terry has been taking some time to locate all his opponents in the white tear gas smoke. The gunmen have been pouring short, controlled, bursts of gunfire at him, all the while moving, ducking in & out of cover, & making it difficult for the Nova to locate or target them all. As the bullets pile up beneath Terry's feet (where they fall a short time after being stopped in mid-air), he thinks he's finally located all his quarry (a difficult task considering the circumstances - the bullets may not be reaching him, but they are somewhat distracting...). He concentrates, building energy, & suddenly there are a series of dull thuds, & accompanying grunts, as the gunmen (ten in all), slump to their knees, then quickly to their faces, unable to bear the half-ton weight each of them now feels! At the same time their gasmasks & guns are ripped from them, shooting (falling) straight up to smash into the ceiling (small pieces of plaster rain down) where they are held firmly. The gunmen's eyes redden, & they weakly choke - the best they can manage whilst pinned to the floor with so much force. Terry feels fatigue creeping into his body at the effort.

Alex says, \"Now what? Knowing what to do now depends a great deal on what the point of all this was. Were they trying to steal money? Take hostages? Kill someone specific? Access information? I probably should go help mop up, but their best move might be to retake hostages so I'm reluctant to leave you.\"

Alex eyes the draining gas, the lowering gas level, the tired novas, Mr. Masters, and Susanne. \"I'm open to ideas.\"

Alex realises that the gunfire has abruptly ceased, & allows himself to revert to his human form, tuxedo unruffled by his exertions, & as stylish as ever.

Soon the deadly toxic gas has drained from the room, & the tear-gas in the casino is thinning out. Nullifier's shield collapses, having served it's purpose well. The sealed vents, despite Derek's worries, seem to be holding well. Through the front entrance of the casino come a dozen men, all dressed in high-tech looking body-armour, contructed from form-fitting ceramic plates & a rubberised undersuit of some kind. The suits cover them from head to toe, but to everyone's relief, also bare the Masters International logo on the chest-plate & shoulders. The men wield sidearms that appear as high-tech as their armour. It takes them only a few moments to assess the situation &, under guidance from Ash, they start to evacuate the bystanders from the building.

[New Scene]

Everyone has a chance to gather their wits, & Masters turns to the questions presented by Alex. After talking some more on his 'phone, he calls the Novas to him,

"Gentlemen, my thanks for your timely efforts - you've saved a lot of lives here today, & that's something I won't forget. In answer to Alex's questions, we're still working on it. This doesn't appear to be a simple robbery, & has been planned carefully & executed with professional, if fanatic, skill. My men are dealing with the group that took over the security room as we speak, so hopefully we can get some answers. I'm afraid the party..."

"Sir! Over here!", Masters is interupted by a call from Ash. He heads over, & she lifts a small object she retrieved from one of the unconcious gunmen, handing it to Masters. He looks at it for a moment, his expression turning deadly serious.

"Damn!", he exclaims, hurling the object away (as it slides across the floor it can be seen to be an amulet or necklace of some kind, a golden disc on a leather thong), "I should have known!"

Ash stands next to him,

"Sir they'll be heading for..."

"Yes, I know. They're heading for the 86th floor. We can't let them succeed."

Turning again to the Novas he says,

"Gentlemen, I can't ask any more of you, but I will tell you that the city, maybe the world, is in great danger."

As he speaks he takes one of the high-tech sidearms from the nearest security man, & proceeds to check & ready it with the steady precision of a trained soldier.

"I'm heading to the penthouse; the 86th floor. I'll understand if any of you feel you've done enough already, but any help will be appreciated."

With that he heads towards the temple at the back of the club with a determined stride.

[ezekiel]

the gunmen (ten in all), slump to their knees, then quickly to their faces, unable to bear the half-ton weight each of them now feels! At the same time their gasmasks & guns are ripped from them, shooting (falling) straight up to smash into the ceiling (small pieces of plaster rain down) where they are held firmly. The gunmen's eyes redden, & they weakly choke - the best they can manage whilst pinned to the floor with so much force. Terry feels fatigue creeping into his body at the effort.

Terry lands and disarms the pinned men on the floor and putting the weapons all to one side of the room. As Masters' men enter the room, the shimmer around his body disappears and his exhaustion seems tangible.

\"Please...Take care of the men.\"

Master's men start cuffing the men men on the floor, many of them pushing gasps of relief as the pressure is released from them. Terry approaches the pile of weapons and chooses himself a couple of SMG's. As he approaches them towards his sides, his pants seem to conjure up rings for them. Grabbing a few ammo clips he heads back towards the club and:

\"What in the world happened here?!\"

Terry stares at the mayhem in the Club and what was the temple area. At Masters' bidding he approaches the group and listens...

\"Yes, I know. They're heading for the 86th floor. We can't let them succeed.\"

Terry, visibly tired, mumbles:

"I...I'll see what I can do..."

His Tux seems to melt to his body and turns into simple black material, his SMGs hanging at his sides and ammo clips resting across his chest. He slowly starts rising in the air and then shoots towards the lobby and out through the main entrance. Once outside Terry dives towards the top of the building...

[phoenix]

\"Derek, you helped to save us all! You're a real hero!\"

Yes, congratulations, to both you and Nullifier. Glacier offers his hand to whichever is nearer, but thinks better of it and offers them a respectful nod instead.

\"Gentlemen, I can't ask any more of you, but I will tell you that the city, maybe the world, is in great danger.

I'm heading to the penthouse; the 86th floor. I'll understand if any of you feel you've done enough already, but any help will be appreciated.\"

Well, I'm none the worse for wear. I'm with you, then. Glacier joins Masters and his men with a spring in his step, after picking up the strange medallion when Masters isn't looking and putting it in a tuxedo pocket. But I doubt if that elevator is gonna be of much use to you. It's strangely absent. Some of the novas can climb the empty shaft, or fly, as the case may be, but you guys might need an alternate route.

\"I...I'll see what I can do...\"

Good man, Terry. Glacier again has to restrain himself from giving a cheery clap on the shoulder.

OOC: ProfPotts, what floor are we on? Not the ground floor, I hope? I'm gonna assume we're pretty high up, because you said that Glacier saw the shaft going down "as far as he could make out". Anyway, Glacier presumably knows, for the record.

IC: Glacier decides that he doesn't really care what Masters and his men do, and breaks into a run back to the elevator shaft. His claws hiss into existence, and he leaps into the shaft, his claws holding him in place. Slowly (or quickly, if it's a longer way than I thought - can I use Enhanced Movement here?) he makes his way up (or maybe down) to floor 86. Once there, he holds himself in place with one hand while ripping the door open with the other. Then he steps in, activates Force Field, and demolishes any remaining doors. (Being a bit irritated with Masters at this point, he figures that if he has a problem with any remaining damage to his building, he can tell it to someone else).

[Alex Green]

\"I'm heading to the penthouse; the 86th floor. I'll understand if any of you feel you've done enough already, but any help will be appreciated.\"

With that he heads towards the temple at the back of the club with a determined stride.

Alex shrugs and says, "Sure, why not?" and heads off with Mr. Masters. (Alex isn't even breathing hard.)

[ProfPotts]

OOC: ProfPotts, what floor are we on? Not the ground floor, I hope? I'm gonna assume we're pretty high up, because you said that Glacier saw the shaft going down \"as far as he could make out\". Anyway, Glacier presumably knows, for the record.

[OOC: Yes you're on the ground floor (or slightly below it). If you check back to the descriptions given at the start of the game the building entrance leads to the lobby, then through to the casino, then down a few steps to the club, & on the same level into the temple. And it's also yes to the fact that Glacier saw the shaft going down \"as far as he could make out\". For the record Glacier knows he's on the ground floor, but has no idea what's in the basement (or even how many basement levels there are to the building).]

Well, I'm none the worse for wear. I'm with you, then. Glacier joins Masters and his men with a spring in his step, after picking up the strange medallion when Masters isn't looking and putting it in a tuxedo pocket. But I doubt if that elevator is gonna be of much use to you. It's strangely absent. Some of the novas can climb the empty shaft, or fly, as the case may be, but you guys might need an alternate route.

Glacier picks up the strange amulet, that promptly freezes & shatters into a thousand fragments at the touch of his bear anima!

[bTW: Masters is heading into the temple without any of his men, just him & whichever Novas choose to go with him. Ash is organising the evacuation of the bystanders (including Susanne Winter & Dr Mary Chen).]

When he reaches the pool in front of the temple Masters pauses, looks at his watch (those close see him touch it & hear a soft \"beep\"), & suddenly a stone bridge rises up out of the water to give a dry path to the temple entrance. Glancing at Glacier he says,

\"The elevator is voice-activated. The shaft should be empty, apart from the car, & that's usually at the penthouse level until called - it's a 'magnetic-induction system' or something that sounded like that when the tech-boys tried to explain it to me - all I know is it's fast, quiet, & (so far) safe.\"

But it seems the man's words are for nought, since Glacier is already gone ::confused ...

Glacier decides that he doesn't really care what Masters and his men do, and breaks into a run back to the elevator shaft. His claws hiss into existence, and he leaps into the shaft, his claws holding him in place. Slowly (or quickly, if it's a longer way than I thought - can I use Enhanced Movement here?) he makes his way up (or maybe down) to floor 86. Once there, he holds himself in place with one hand while ripping the door open with the other. Then he steps in, activates Force Field, and demolishes any remaining doors. (Being a bit irritated with Masters at this point, he figures that if he has a problem with any remaining damage to his building, he can tell it to someone else).

[With Enhanced Movement & Claws Glacier is climbing at the rate of about 30m per turn - which is pretty fast! He'll be at the 86th floor in about 14 turns, or 42 seconds!]

Masters & Alex (& anyone else going with them) follow Glacier's frozen trail of destruction (mostly iced & cracked flooring) into the temple, & to the elevator shaft. Masters eyes the destroyed door, the once smooth claw-slashed shaft, & swears under his breath ::angry ,

"Damned fool child! The system's damaged too much to use!",

He looks at the Novas,

"Unless one of you fellows has a better solution we're going to have to ride the regular elevators to floor 80, then take the stairs from there."

He starts to head out of the temple again,

"The youth of today..."

[Nullifier]

\"I'm heading to the penthouse; the 86th floor. I'll understand if any of you feel you've done enough already, but any help will be appreciated.\"

With that he heads towards the temple at the back of the club with a determined stride.

Though the sparks falling from him seem a bit wan, and there seems to be an aura of fatigue about him, he starts to follow. Suddenly he stops and his voice rings out, " Wait! I think I may have a faster way. Give me a few seconds. " A look of intense concentration comes over him, and the sparks start to fly off of him, almost blindingly bright, as gravitational waves start to roll off his body making those nearest to him slightly nauseous. About ten feet in front of him, an intense gravitational disturbance starts to form, small at first but rapidly growing, until a fairly large hole in space is visible, strong gravitational waves rolling off it, intensifying the nauseating effects those near him felt a few seconds before. Through the hole the interior of the penthouse is clearly visible. His voice cracks like a whip, " Quickly now! Everybody through! I can't maintain this for long! " ::teleport2 ::excl

After everyone goes through the warp he follows, and the hole in space collapses behind him.

[ProfPotts]

"Good man!", exclaims Masters ::bigsmile , giving Nullifier a clap on the shoulder as he jogs past, & hurdles into, through, & beyond the hole in space. Although the image is distorted, & the hole begining to shrink in size already, Masters can be seen in the penthouse, gun out & looking around for intruders.

[phoenix]

\"Damned fool child! The system's damaged too much to use!\",

He looks at the Novas,

\"Unless one of you fellows has a better solution we're going to have to ride the regular elevators to floor 80, then take the stairs from there.\"

OOC: Sorry guys.. ::blush For what it's worth, I didn't mean to leave until I had heard Masters explain about the elevator, or lack thereof.. I should stop getting ahead of myself..

\"The youth of today...\"

IC: Glacier scampers vertically up the empty shaft, grunting Crazy old man..

Again, when he arrives at the top he activates Force Field and rips open the door, unless there's a control panel, or a button, or something.. This isn't Glacier's day for doors.. ::confused