[ What day and time is it? Down here in the DRAUPNIR basement, windowless and dark, it's difficult to tell. Only the white-purple lights overhead and the floor lamps scattered around the ground provide illumination, and the combination isn't pretty. The man known as Director Ferrion is addressing Kat and Yue, with Platina standing by. ] [ But across the floor comes the redheaded firestarter, towing the Krogstads, and eventually everyone is in a nice big group! The computer equipment on the walls buzzes away, and in the almost ritual circle-like ground of chairs, the 24 unconscious individuals 'sleep'... as well as Xavier, in their center. ] [ Zak and Roch are brought up just in time to hear the Director say, pleasantly enough, "Glad you could attend our little... ritual." ] [ Nobody is bound, or even disarmed! But Brokkr, Eitri, and Platina are all in evidence, and it's not entirely sure what all this stuff is FOR. How will our heroes respond? Let's find out. ] * Yue 's eyes train on Eitri naturally as he enters with Zak and Roch, with what could be the world's most miniscule face clenching and no comment as she stands perfectly straight. So, in other words, "Yue stands still. '...'" (::remains standing::. THE JOKE IS ::REMAINS STANDING::) (Remains sitting, but I was remixing!) * Katherine 's fingers drum against her thigh, but she's not in a western, so nobody's likely to draw. She glances over her shoulder and half-smirks before saying, "So, I'm figuring it all went well for you two. We're just getting to the creepy part." Oh, great, glad I didn't miss the floorshow. * Zak looks around. "What the fuck is happening here, anyhow?" [ He may kind of look like a too-pleasant vampire, but Ferrion still has that distant smile on his face as he observes all this. "Elias, Bradley, go bring Keith here, would you?" The two suited men nod and walk off, while their boss turns back to you. "The future," he says, directly to Zak. "The future of mankind itself." ] * Rochelle resists the urge to roll her eyes. The urge is strong, seriously. Instead, she looks at him blankly. * Zak scratches his head and looks confused. He looks to Roch, then to Kat, then back to Ferrion. Finally, he manages a "... really?" * Katherine murmurs, "Bradley. Nice." * Katherine then says, more directly to Ferrion, "Awful private future." * Yue has been trained since small to regard any and all Count Draculas at face value, and also resists the urge to roll her eyes. She does manage to ask, "How will you be disposing of us?" Her eyes are scanning to the three fighters on his side in the room. [ It's Platina who responds to that, actually, laughing lightly. "Oh, dear... if we wanted to dispose of you we'd have done it b--" However, Ferrion puts out an arm and cuts her off, and Platina surprisingly shuts up. ] * Katherine gets a deep frown on her face, then manages to side-comment to Roch, "Never underestimate the ego, huh?" (I have to reboot.) * Yue has quit IRC (Quit: ) (Ooookay, we shall hold a sec.) (So we are!) (Lesse. Oh yes.) (This doesn't affect Yue, but: all three of you feel a sort of... familiar? Or something close to it, sense from Ferrion. Kat feels it not only from him, but from at least half of the people in the 24 chairs.) (They are, not coincidentally, the adults. The younger ones, you don't get it from.) (Brr.) (That is creepy.) (:D) * Yue has joined #atc (Sowwy.) (Now Kat will face Ferrion in a childrens' card game.) (Oh man that is fucked up.) (WE RESUME.) (Oh, you paused for me? I woulda said 'sally forth'.) (Kat will take him down.) [ "Whether you meant to or not, it is because of you that this is all possible," Ferrion says to you all, still smiling that creepy smile. "So you should be here to see the results. Ah!" He looks over your shoulders to Brokkr and Eitri walking toward you, leading a kid of no more than 10 in hospital pajamas. He has a distinct physical resemblence to the Director. ] (Because she will play a card that allows her to draw three more cards.) (Zak/Roch: This is the kid from the hospital.) (Yes but Ferrion has Mega Ultra Chicken in his deck.) * Katherine rolls her eyes and snaps back, "Yes, everything's pretty much my fault by now, I'm aware." She glances to what he's looking at, then back at him. * Yue stares straight to Ferrion after her query for disposal has been... well, somewhat answered, and then flatly, "Less ambiguity, more facts." She glances towards the kid afterwards. * Zak stares at the kid and gets a sad look for a moment. * Rochelle almost looks concerned for the kid as well. "What are you doing to your kid?" [ For a moment, both Yue and Roch ALMOST turn Ferrion's :) to :|, before he clears his throat. "Right now? I'm going to discuss some things with him. Ms. Fortescue, feel free to outline the... particulars... for our guests." With that, he steps past you all toward his kid, in a very clear 'done with you now' sort of gesture. ] (I light him on fire with my secret fire flower) (He has a secret starman.) (Fuck!) (I jump over his fireballs and throw a boomerang at his head!) (Gimmie one sec, someone's pestering me for something in another window.) * Rochelle doesn't look at him or Platina; too busy zoning out. (How many people are guarding at the moment?) (Guarding who?) (Us!) (Uh... Platina.) (So tempting.) (Speaking of.) [ The silver-haired super secretary smiles coldly at her new orders, then looks at all of you. "Did Mr. Aurin ever explain his SCA power to you, by chance?" she asks, to kick off the explanation. ] * Katherine is silent a moment, then replies, "Actually, no, but he's not really a superspy." [ A snort -- an actual *snort* -- escapes Platina at that. Apparently Kat's comment was so worthy of derision it spontaneously generated an emotion other than 'amused detached arrogance'. "Oh please. He's a programmer. A good one, but that's it." ] Then.... why? * Yue is all ears for this too. * Katherine smirks. "Unique capabilities. Go ahead and explain it, wouldn't want to take the fun out of it." [ "He has a... unique ability to place... 'himself'... into electronic devices," Platina says, and each pause clearly indicates a brief search for the right word. "You must have seen it for yourself in Twilight City." ] (Hasn't she practiced this!) (>_>) * Rochelle winces and clutches her head. * Zak swivels to Roch, perhaps unconsciously, and put his hand on her shoulder. * Yue mmms for a moment. Then looks to Kat. [ This display gets a raised eyebrow from Platina. ] * Katherine is silent a moment, then replies, "There weren't any good electronics in TC." It's TC. Blinking shoes and heavy cyber. (...he talked to a gun.) (A gun you were holding.) (No, no.) (Kat saw him do it.) (Kat's questioning that her explanation _does not match what happened_.) (Why send Xavier to a place with no electronics?) * Rochelle twitches, but her vision clears and she blinks a few times. * Zak is looking at Roch with what is clearly a practiced expression between the two of them. [ Ms. Fortescue thankfully knows nothing about Rochelle's abilities and, as such, thinks the girl is a little freak, dismissing her little 'episode' and continuing. "You are a small thinker, Ms. Parker. What if that ability he has could be... harnessed, somehow? Directed, tweaked. Used to ends *other* than operating a TVNet from across the room like a glorified remote control?" ] * Rochelle looks back at him, then glances at the exit... then looks at the kid, all worried. * Yue sighs lightly, and murmurs, "It isn't as glorious as you may imagine it to be." * Yue flexes and stretches one of her hands - now covered again - idly. * Zak grimaces, and looks at Kat, who is busy. Then he looks at Yue. ... then back at Kat, but finally at Yue, and he nudges her in the back with his elbow, hopefully where Platina can't see. * Katherine snorts and replies, "I'm not thinking small, just not seeing why you sent him at TC. You could do a lot with that kinda juice." 'Specially if you can work on the range. Or the targets. ('Or the area. Or the defects.') [ That gets a smirk. Kat is successfully distracting Platina by causing her to smirk disdainfully! She sees nothing! "Again, you are thinking small. Controlling electronics can be done with other electronics. What if you could place who you are -- your 'soul', if you believe in such things -- not into a toaster, but into, say... another human body?" ] * Yue whips her head lightly around and somewhat distastefully answers, "I have little patience for people who try to get me to answer their questions, myself. Get on with it." * Katherine is good at distracting snarky women. Something about knowing the mindset. "Nah, Yue, let her go. So Xavier jumps bodies. You got another connection that makes that any good?" * Zak gets a frustrated look and nudges Yue again. * Yue looks at Kat and gets nudged by Zak, and turns her head away for a moment. * Zak nods his head toward Keith, then the door. Then he repeats the motions, perhaps with a bit more urgency. [ Platina just shakes her head sadly, which involves closing her eyes. This is pretty good for stuff you're doing on accident. Also, turning your head lets you see Ferrion settling his son into a chair that's back-to-back with Xavier's and attaching 'trodes to him. They're speaking, though you can't hear it from where you're standing. ] [ "Between you and me," Platina says evenly, "I'm not sure why that godforsaken crater, nor why he chose you. Those were the Director's fiat. And while I have little patience," she says, here giving a tight smile to Yue, "for his sentimental plans for his son, what he is about to do will change how we view death forever. You see... he's going to make it a thing of the past." ] (I'm about to die, thanks to Cham!) * Yue looks firmer to Zak for a moment, then at Platina closing her eyes... and takes the moment -- and hopes to nonexistence Kat follows -- to bolt very suddenly at full speed towards the vampire director and his son. Her gloves are off as she moves, to get herself armed. (Well, okay, that pose doesn't quite work with that second bloc.) (Does that mean you're not doing it?) (Just move the timing, I suppose?) (To where? @_@) (Paces before she finishes up her speech.) (I think it can still kinda work as is.) (Yeah.) (But is anyone going to do anything else before we start this ball rolling?) * Zak is going to take the opportunity to freeze Platina's head and hope the vacuum between her ears implodes. * Katherine feels Yue woosh by her, and then as Zak tries to freeze her, she steps forward to plant her palm right in the center of Platina's chest. Well, nobody co-ordinated with her! * Rochelle pulls out a gun during all of this, because nobody was smart enough to disarm her. But she doesn't shoot anybody (yet)! (Ugh god do we have to do dice rolling and all that x_x) (You could just let our awesome wash over them.) (My dice're on, if you want. But Mecha haaaaaaaets them.) (COLORS :|) (I think we're doing this the cinematic way because it's 10:30.) (Colors help people SEE Mecha! People that aren't legally blind!) (Mecha's not legally blind, he cheated at the DMV!) (Sweet. Cutscene power to the max. Where are my eye lasers?) [ Yue is off like a shot! Zak is trying to freeze things! Kat is punching! However, let's be honest; would these four be left armed and unguarded if their hosts didn't expect something like this. Yue finds her way barred by Brokkr/Bradley who, let's face it, is big enough to be a wall all on his own. ] [ Zak succeeds in freezing Platina's head! Kat hits her in the chest! And then things get strange because 1.) Kat just hit metal and 2.) Platina is clearly not suffocating. In fact, under the ice, she giving you all a stern, schoolmarm-y sort of look. ] * Yue is unfortunately not a blue bomber or a valkyrie, and lacks the panache to slide under his legs. She tries her best, though, gunless as she is, by feinting, and leaping to jam her acid-laden fingers into his face. It's likely the quickest path to damage she can take. ... she's a droid! Fuck, TVNet was right, they're here! (I thought those only hurt inorganic matter.) (They hurt organic matter, hence the metal gloves.) * Rochelle shoots Brokkr now. Good plan. (Well. Hurt non-metals. So she doesn't dissolve everything. Like Kat's shower.) * Katherine hisses at the hitting of metal, looks at Platina's frozen head a moment, then mutters, "Damn my soft heart," as she steps back from Platina and cross-draws her smaller pistol. "At least I didn't jam my nails into the metal." (If you're not familiar with the whole non-dice combat thing, just say what you're attempting to do, and resolve anything done TO you.) (I just don't have the energy for dice-driven combat right now, sorry. x_x) (I'm familiar!) * Zak changes his mind and heads over to help Yue, preferably by turning Eitri into Hawaiian Ice. (It's super effective.) (Kat's giving it a moment as she draws to see whether Platina's gonna present as a threat that needs to have a gun jammed in her mouth or not.) [ Platina is literally reaching up to crush the ice around her head as Kat and Zak react to her... reaction. Brokkr takes a shot that Roch barely has to even aim because of how huge he is, but he doesn't seem to notice. Yue, on the other hand... he expected a facegrab and got a face full of... whatever it is, that sends him stumbling backwards, covering his face with both hands and screaming. ] [ Eitri, meanwhile, has moved in front of Ferrion. Incoming ice meets defensive fire in a swirling burst of red and blue, but interestingly it's the director who speaks up: "NOT IN HERE! YOU'LL HURT MY SON!" It is also a reminder that there's 25 innocent people in your immediate vicinity. ] * Yue drops and moves past Bradley, trying to do the same trick albeit to the neck -and- face both since she's moving in from behind to the directorial vampire if the announcement stops the pyrokene long enough for that. (to who?) (Eitri = Kyo Kusanagi + Ryuji Yamazaki.) * Rochelle is reminded, and she holsters her gun and starts running around, trying to find a way to release the people from their chairs. * Zak doesn't let up when the director screams. He's got control over his powers, unlike some stupid firebug. * Katherine yells back at him as she starts to head over, trying to use the hole Yue's opened to get in the clear. "What'd you want from us? Passive witnesses?" [ Well, there's an upside and a downside to Zak's continual assault. The upside is Eitri isn't attacking any of you. The downside is that Yue would have to quite literally walk through a wall of flame to get to Ferrion and Eitri. Roch finds the restrains are metal, and electronically controlled; you could maybe pry them open with superstrength, or the right access code. ] * Rochelle stares at the restraints blankly. Aww, crap. [ Platina, free of the ice, stares down Kat with a smirk. "Oh, *you* he has special plans for, I believe," she says, walking slowly toward Kat, Terminator-style. "Something about having something in common with these poor fools." ] * Yue turns to Zak to ask snappily, "Does your ice control include water?" and makes a quick gesture over herself. * Rochelle winces as another headache comes on, shakes her head, and starts punching in numbers anyway. * Zak looks to Yue, and grimaces as he tries to condense water and/or a thin layer of ice over Yue without letting up on his barrage. * Katherine glances towards Roch a moment, then turns towards Platina as she pulls out her other gun. "Dammit. Why did I totally know that was coming." She tries to plant a bullet in one of Platina's eyes, since she seems to be rocking the 99% metal body. * Rochelle tries more combinations. Every once in a while, her eyes start to glaze over but she stops herself. (Do I have turn for jumping in, or should I wait until your next bracket?) (Gimmie a sec.) [ Platina doesn't even dodge. The bullet smacks into her forehead and... stops, really. A bit of her 'skin' flakes off. "Because you're a patsy, I assume," she says blithely, before throwing out a... quite speedy punch at Kat's stomach. Speedy, but mechanical in execution... which is to say, telegraphed. ] [ Zak lets up on his assault on Eitri for a moment to 'douse' Yue... but the problem is that he and Eitri are already fairly evenly matched, meaning that Yue is coated with a thin layer of ice, but the fire she would have to walk through is now encroaching more on her position. That, and Bradley is behind her, getting to his feet. You can hear Ferrion shout, "You... fools!". ] (Roch: The voice Ferrion just shouted in 1.) sounds familiar and 2.) isn't the one he was using up to this point.) * Rochelle furrows her brow and looks over at Ferrion. * Yue grimaces, and goes for it anyway, taking a bead on the figure of Eitri past the curtain of fire as she raises her leg and dives through with her limited protection, fist stretched out to cobra punch him to clock him out of his fiery concentration. Kataki. * Katherine 's eyes widen a touch at Platina's speed, the punch glancing off her upper arm as she steps past Platina, on her outside. She growls back, "What can I say. Born to die." Her body turns so that her bigger gun is pointed into Platina's side, at an angle, in the hopes of at least not jamming her gun if her body stops this one too. (And also the hope of her sides not being cyber, since they've gotta flex!) * Rochelle turns and aims at Ferrion now. (Ahahaa. You think small :D) (Well, she's not in her suit. She lacks the firepower to take out someone in heavy armor. :|) (I don't even have a gun!) (All I will say is you will be amused when the truth comes out.) (I bet!) (Also: Zak?) (It's best to know the truth, of that I have no doubt!) * Zak suddenly lets up his assault and attempts to take advantage of Eitri's surprise to punch him in the face with an ice brick around his hand. (Okay. This may take some explaining. Be gentle.) (And give me a line or two.) [ Roch manages to tag Brokkr a second time, though this one isn't on purpose. However, it's clear that his face... well. Yue fucked him up good, that's for sure. "My... nnngh!" He points at Ferrion, shouting "You're on your own!" before turning and literally walking toward the elevator. Halfway there his end of the room is shrouded in impenetrable darkness; when it clears, he's gone. ] (Er. He threw himself in the path of the bullet, right before his boss called him a fool.) (To explain.) [ Like someone suddenly moving away from a door they've been holding shut, Yue and Zak switch tactics. This works both in and out of their favor. Without the ice to counter it, Eitri's fire starts spreading outward toward... well, the innocents. On the other hand, Yue's fist lands in his face, shortly before he's frozen solid, almost comically. ] (Zak is Ice Kirby.) (Dual Tech!) (Complete with the hair.) It is true.) (+() Fire, Zak! ( <(. . <) ) (Are you out of bracket yet, Todd? Probably not.) (No.) [ Apparently that armored torso of Platina's can only take so much; she goes spiralling away from Kat to finish in a fighting crouch, a big powder burn and similar-looking wound at her side... but the visible flesh-silver double tone suggests that she is not just cybered, apparently. ] (Okay. Now I am done.) (Eitri is not down yet, then?) * Rochelle drops her gun and dashes for Ferrion, pulling a metal halo out from inside her jacket. * Katherine looks at her, levelling her guns at her, and says, "Metal all the way down? Did you--Kataki had the Kanenas research. Dammit." (Eitri si frozen solid. Literally.) * Katherine is waiting for her leap to move and counter-shoot. * Zak grins at the defeat of Eitri, but at Roch's call spins around and starts laying down ice to combat the fire. (Was I hurt from the fire jump? And how about Ferrion?) (You're not on fire.) * Yue 's focus can't be the fire for now; it's what Zak urged her to go for, which is Keith. She stares eyes at the vamp if he's still there to acid-hand. (Keith is the son.) (I know.) [ "For all the good it did them," Platina says coolly as she stands up, looking at Kat. She has no plans to leap, thank you. "It was interesting to find out who one of their benefactors was, though." Standoff! ] (Are you actually attempting to put the halo ON, Roch, or just running at him?) (See also: Yue. Are you actually trying that or just seeing if he's there?) (Trying that if he's there. If not, priority goes to freeing the son.) (Going to put it on, but I figured my turn could be running since I'm not ACTUALLY a ninja.) [ Zak manages to douse most of the fire in short order; at least no civilians appear to be harmed. Keith, to Yue's vision, is securely clamped into the chair he's in just like the people Roch tried to free. Ferrion is standing before it, and when he moves to avoid Yue's attempt to grab him, it's with speed and grace he should NOT possess. ] (I'm gonna throw us into the endgame, if y'all don't mind. Getting late for me.) * Katherine smirks a little and says, "I've got two guns. Eventually I'm gonna crack something that matters on you." (z? z.) * Rochelle tries to slap the halo onto Ferrion's head as he dodges Yue's grab. [ Roch finds herself grabbed by the throat. Apparently, Kataki was as good a martial artist as his brother was. "Apparently you people don't want eternal life. That's really kind of a shame. I mean, this sap really is doing it for his son... with my guidance, naturally. Ah well. See you on the other side." ] [ With that, he slams the hand *not* around Roch's throat onto a panel on the chair that Keith is sitting in. On cue, the machinery in the room -- including the chairs -- starts to spin up with a whine, and multicolored lights come on basically everything. ] * Zak looks over at Roch, and then doubletakes. "ROCH!" * Rochelle looks surprised for a brief moment, then realizes she's choking and tries to put the halo on Ferrion anyway. * Katherine glances away at Zak's yell, not turning her head, and starts backing away from Platina towards the fracas. * Yue snarls as Roch is grabbed, and being the closest there, tries for another grab, although she's primarily a sniper, not a martial artist. This won't end too well for her. (Platina and Kataki shouldn't be in the same place. I can't defeat both of them at once. ;_;) (Ahaha. I'm trying to figure out what having the halo on would do to what's about to happen.) (Which halo is it?) (We've got, like, three.) (the one she used on Xavier, I am assuming, since I also assumed she wanted the same result.) (Well, I thought we had psi suppressors and purple protection as seperate halos.) (So I was curious as to which it was.) (Psi suppressor. The reason Roch has it is actually so she can use it on herself in an emergency.) [ Ferrion!Kataki had thought he had Roch successfully cowed, considering: chokehold. Thus he sort of ignores her to duck around Yue's punch... and thus has the suppression halo jammed on his head by a desperate Rochelle. "Ngh...!" is all he utters, stumbling away (and dropping Roch). Of course, that soon becomes irrelevant, because: ] [ Everyone in the chairs -- Keith and Xavier included -- starts screaming, loudly, as if in extreme pain. The sound is horrifying to hear, and even more horrifying to *feel*, since it's followed by what can only be described as a psychic sledgehammer that forces everyone in the room (including Platina) to their knees in short order. ] (End brackets, or is there more?) (Get in some reaction poses.) (Then end brackets.) * Zak drops to his knees, clutching at his skull, which is probably feeling echoes inside it. * Rochelle falls to the floor, coughing, and tries to get up... then is forced to the floor again, and this time she's clutching her ears. * Yue 's eyes widen for a moment, and then she unsteadies and drops to her knees. The only saving grace she has is that she still has enough sense to not press her own hands to her temples and burn her brains off. * Katherine lets out a strangled 'gurk' as she drops to a knee and her hands, guns gripped tight and laying flat on the ground. Her eyes squeeze shut as she breathes heavily through her teeth. [ The pressure continues to be enormous until, eventually, it's simply too much to bear. For everyone in the room, the sound of screaming fades to silence, their vision to white... and then the black of unconsciousness. ] [ TO BE CONTINUED...]