Players:
Summary: Alex, and his newly minted Freedom Force, go after Los Angeles… with surprising results.
Date: March 20, 2009
Too Quiet
Rating: PG
Staples Center
They've been gathered together. The energy flows around the state simply didn't match the actual smaller fields before. Due to that, Havok was able to find an underground pathway to get his small team of people into the state. As they've driven through the state to LA, everything seems to be business as normal. The people of California seem to have just given in and gone back to their own daily grind. The only difference seems to be that the Staples Center itself is guarded by a single man. Well, many of a single man, on the outside. Inside? Well, that's hard to see from their position as they get out of the borrowed vehicle. He points at the man… men… all the same man marching around it in groups. "Jamie Madrox. Multiple Man. He duplicates on impact. If he's anything like ours… there's no telling just how many of himself he can make. Staples Center itself is one of the original targets. We need to get in there and see exactly WHAT they're hiding."
Not having any costume to sport, Danny's just in a black sleeveless shirt and a black pair of work out pants, it's usually what he wears when he goes to his Tae Kwon Do classes. He's in his rock form, which looks like a sort of red sandstone and just adds a little bit of bulk to him but his form is still roughly the same shape. "Then it's a pretty good idea t' not let me near him. Ah'm pretty much a straight forward physical guy." He admits as he's trained in Tae Kwon Do and super strength, not a good combination for one who makes more of himself when hit.
The avian of the group looks at the multiple men. His sword at his side and a combat vest holding multiple throwing knives. "Alright, unless his clones cannot multiply, I will not be able to take them down. An aerial incursion may work better, bypassing them completely." Seraphim offers to Havok and the others. "I don't have anything that can knock out en masse." He was trained at Xavier's and in swordfighting, but no martial arts skills.
Victoria has no costume, either. She's in her usual generically dark getup, the shades contrasting her stark white skin. She flexes her fingers, dark blades materialising and then disappearing once she closes them into a fist. "Impact multiplies him? Hmm. Given that he possesses multiple instances of himself, I presume the death of any one is not the death of them all. We may be able to clear out a large number of them if we do not need to hold ourselves back from causing injury." Her dead eyes watch the scene.
"The death of a duplicate doesn't kill the original. The death of an original transfers the original to another duplicate body. That's how it is with ours, but…" Havok says, with a nod. "However, I didn't come THAT unprepared." He says, moving to the trunk of the vehicle and pressing a button on a briefcase. It grows. Apparently, it's some technology borrowed from another super-team. He pulls out a long-rifled sniper-style gun and a large number of darts. "Tranquilizers." He says, looking at the others. He offers the tranqs to Gabriel. He doesn't know if he knows how to shoot or not. He turns to Victoria. "Are you able to create things to hold? To capture?" Turning back to Danny. "And you may not have that much control… but there's chasing. Luring."
Danny gives a nod to Alex and stretches a bit. "Ah can run out their and provide a mighty fine distraction and get them all headin' towards this direction." He says with a smile. He's not super fast but he's great atheltic condistion for a normal human. He can also fight defensively just incase. He takes a deep breath and walks out into the area, taking his time and not waisting his energy until the Mardoxes spot him, once they do, he's going to start heading on back towards the area, trying to keep them focused on him and not on the group.
Gabriel looks at the tranq gun, taking it into his hands, both hands. "Problem solved." He takes a moment to set it up and load a clip of darts, pulling the bolt. He looks into the scope, not knowing how to calibrate it. The winged mutant waits until a Madrox gets into range. Gabe's aim always being true. "Armed and ready." He quips off to the rest of the team.
Victoria turns a glossy black and her claws extend. "Careful," she says, stepping out and making sure she's clear of the others. Transformed into Obsidian, she quickly shreds off her clothing to make things easier. "Don't worry," she says, voice shifted into an unearthly tone, "I buy my clothes in bulk." A black chain manifests out of her right hand and extends out to some length. "Hold them and I'll make sure they remain immobilised."
Smiling slightly, he tosses out a set of walkies, one to each of the others. For now, that'll do. "Alright. Round up." He says, firing a blast into the distance to cause them to actually notice and start running in their direction. "Then we get inside and see what they're hiding."
Danny has rounded a few up and he's making his way towards the team, fighting defensivly if he has to. He's not going to aim any sort of kicks or punches at the Madroxes as he knows he'll cause more. As he gets back he takes a hold of the walkie and puts it on his belt. Unfortunately the battery won't be lasting more than a half hour to an hour in his. "Alright sir, Ah hope that helped."
Gabriel takes the walkie and hooks it to his belt. "Alright." As the Madroxes start to move in on the team, Gabe fires shots at a decent rate of speed, aiming for the necks of the Madrox copies. More shots to those lone stragglers, and the ones who come close. He's seen enough of those army movies to assume that the neck is best to shoot for.
The walkie bounces off Obsidian and she looks down at the object on the ground. "Uh. Sorry, no hands." She waves the sharply bladed extremities. "I'll keep with Danny." The dark woman dashes forward with that summoned chain to grapple and restrain as many Madroxes as possible, manifesting new chains for each.
"Try to make a solid box, with an open top to hold them. It doesn't have to be thick, just not connecting." Havok shouts as he begins running giving heat blasts without the concussion aspect, trying to get them together. Of course, the Madri are all intent on trying to take care of it themselves, and aren't calling for help. Each of Gabriel's shots takes one down. DAnny's crew are following him, closely and occasionally trying to attack, but their attacks are fairly ineffective. The ones that Victoria's after are easily captured. Perhaps, with the loss of the telepaths, the controlled ones don't have quite the effort…
At the moment, Danny is focusing on one thing, trying to get them in line for Gabriel to take a shot at. Sure they can't do anything to him but he's not effect against them either and he's not about to test to see if punching them will knock one out or split one in two. He's not taking that chance.
And Gabriel sends out a dart to hit each of the Madri that Danny lines up. He tries to shoot one but has to change the clip, going through the process again the winged mutant continues to use the very nice rifle to render each clone unconscious.
Obsidian shakes her head and shouts back, "I can't make stuff that large! The chains are working." The ones restrained so far are set down on the ground. The chains are fused into place, no knot or lock on them. Not wasting a moment, she manifests several more lengths of black chain and goes after the next group. "He doesn't seem much for tactics. Is his single mind having trouble coordinating so many bodies? It seems too easy."
"It does seem too easy." Havok says, glaring at the Madri, that have fallen under within minutes. "And is it just me, or is it really quiet around here." He looks around at the group. "Gabriel, finish up with them. Get them all unconscious. The rest of us, move on inside. Head in and see why." And the funny thing is? There really isn't anyone else around on the outside.
Returning to the group after the Madroxes have been sorted out, Danny nods. "It does seem mighty quiet but then this is mah first time, dealing with…something of this sort." And he means any sort of super hero mission. He was just a regular guy, well as regular as a guy can get with super powers. "After you sir, Ah'll watch your back." He says looking around as he prepairs to follow Havok inside.
"Affirmative." calls out the impromptu sniper on the walkie. As the last of the Madri get a dart to the neck, Gabriel places the sniper rifle back where it came from. The winged mutant takes off to the air to catch up with the rest of the team. Only to come down soon after to enter the Staples Center.
"All is quiet out here," says Obsidian, unsummoning the chain from the tranquilised ones and returning the material to her extradimensional reserve. She steps on up behind Danny as they approach the building. "What's our plan for entry?"
Havok raises an eyebrow as he looks at Obsidian. "There's a door. We walk in. Nothing's come out. Maybe there's nothing in there." He says, shrugging. What else are they going to do. The tranqs should keep the Madri down for a few hours. He walks towards the doors, waiting for the others only until he opens them. Inside Staples Center… most of the bleachers and areas have been stripped for two large pieces of machinery. One, a large circular machine with an open hole in the center. The other, a machine with two people strapped into it, and one chained to it. The one chained to it seems to be missing a few parts of his body. Namely an arm and a leg.
Walking behind Havok, Danny looks around. "This really seems too easy." He mutters as he looks around. There is an audiable gasp that comes from Danny as he sees the two chained to the machine and one missing a few parts of his body. "Sir, Ah am skilled in basic first aid, should Ah go over there and see if they're okay, or if Ah can break the chains at least?" Hey he can put upto 30 tons behind his strength.
The winged mutant looks around the sports arena. "I will check the upper levels and see if there are people still around here. I'll keep the team updated." Seraphim takes out the sword Metatron, the armament igniting as it's grasped by Gabriel in the open air. He lets his black wings extend and takes off to scope out the higher levels.
Obsidian steps in with Danny and Alex and doesn't seem too fazed by the persons trapped and injured there. "This looks like a trap. Keep an eye out." She moves forward slowly after Danny, watching the sides and above.
"Yes, please. Check on the two in the machine. I'll go to the man over here. We're… old friends." Havok says, moving towards Forge. "Be on your guard." He says to Victoria, knowing that in this form, she's probably one of the most durable. The two in the machines are recognizeable to those that have been paying asttention… for years… to the news. But those who haven't (about ten years ago for one), probably wouldn't have a clue. Though, in our world, they're known as Unus the Untouchable and Dr. Cecilia Reyes. The man with no arm and no leg… Forge. Kneeling down, he reaches out.
The other man wakes up, looking around. "Havok?" His good hand moves to lift himself upright.
Watching as he moves forward, Danny makes his way to the machine. He doesn't know much about superheroes so he doesn't recognize Cecilia but Unus is familar to him. "Alright." He mutters to himself as he takes a look at the machine. This isn't his specality but he does reach forward and tries to free Cecilia from the machine, using his strenght if he has too.
"Negative on contact." He says on the walkie, sheathing the sword and flying back down, joining Havok and Forge. Awaiting the next action.
Obsidian keeps moving forward, watching the machines and the surroundings as best she can. She steps up toward the chains. "I can cut these easily. Hold still." With thumb and forefinger like a set of boltcutters, she applies slow pressure to the presumably metal chains.
The chains and whatnot break easily. But there's more connecting them into the machines. Along their backs, interspaced about three vertebrae apart, are connections with needles linking them into the machines. Both Unus and Reyes. Forge himself is looking about. "Where is this?" He asks, as he stares intently at the machinery holding the others in place and at the other one. "Let me guess. They got me." He asks, no need to explain who. As his eyes focus. "Hell. This is a permanent staging point, and a force field generator."
"Of course. Can you tell what any of this is?" Havok asks, looking to Victoria and Danny and nodding lightly. "Be careful with those connections. Forge might be able to figure out how to get them out first."
Once the chains are broken, Danny looks at the conectors in her back. "Oh boy, yeah, Ah don't think Ah trust mahself t' try to cut these loose." Though with his first aid training he might be able to take out the needles carefully. He's not all brute and raw strength. "And Ah'm really thinkin' this is too easy." He mutters to Obsidian, like he's expecting the shoe to drop any minute.
Gabriel does agree with the others on the ease of this mission. "If this is where the invasion was staged, then why did they just leave the portal open?" Leaving unfinished business is a bit sloppy.
"It's strange. This has to be a trap, but shouldn't they have sprung it by now?" Obsidian looks over the connections and shrugs. "I have little medical experience. I'm sorry. I don't know if I can move them without causing further damage."
Forge moves to prop himself up on Havok's shoulder, leaning against him. "Get me to that panel. With it, I can do something." He states. Of course, Alex moves along willingly. He begins tapping a few buttons with odd symbols on them, in a key sequence. "I think they have a force on the other side. They just didn't feel the need to protect anymore, because the barriers are still standing. If the barriers were broken through, alarms would have gone off here and on the other side." Forge explains, as he looks over the machinery. "It's all connected across the barrier. I can deactivate the portals temporarily, but there's bound to be something on the other side that can override me eventually. I'll disable it and let these two be ejected for the moment." With that, a few more keyflicks are made. "Just pull the wires out carefully. It should close itself up afterwards." He offers to the others.
Nodding to Forge and Alex, Danny carefully goes to start removing the needles. He uses as much care as possible as he does so. "That does make sense sir." He says as he's curious if this is going to stop the portal and the barrier from being up in Los Angelas, and if this is going to put LA back on the map so to speak.
Gabriel does give a nod at Forge's explanation, but is now curious to know that is the force on the other side. The winged mutant still keeps an eye out for something to happen.
Obsidian watches Danny for a moment and seeing things are going alright there, she turns back to her watchful stance. She plans not to miss anything incoming. At least in this form, she doesn't have to blink or get tired.
Forge grunts as he begins tapping into things. "I'll have to stay here. If you're not busy, I'd rather have someone else here. And… if you're working for a group, you might want to let them in on this. This looks bigger than just what we have here. No offense. But what these machines signify…"
Havok nods succinctly. "I know it wasn't much, folks, but it looks like this is where I'm staying for the next few days until I can get some other people here to give me a hand. You're more than welcome to stay, but, it could be dangerous if Forge can't keep the portal locked out." He flips out a cell phone and mutters a curse. "I really didn't want to call him."
Danny is a bit lost in the talk but he does try to listen and follow. "Didn't wanna call who, and do ya need us t' stay out here with y'all?" Danny asks as he'll call out of work for something of this calibur.
"I can arrange for lodging and other necessities if needed." Gabriel offers, he think he's got a good idea about who Havok didn't want to call. But doesn't say anything right now, that whole business is a whole other can of worms.
Obsidian looks at herself a moment. "I cannot transform back unless I have clothes. I will have to remain in this form. I suppose I can stay here and remain on watch in case something happens. I do not bore easily in this state and can remain vigilant for days."
"Those that can stay, you're more than welcome to." Havok holds his cellphone as he sighs. He gets voice mail, though. Possibly because the recipient is working in the Danger Room or something. "It's me. I need your help." The words are practically torn from his throat. He hates those words. "We've got the portal. We're guarding it for now." And with that, he just hangs up. He'll get a call back sometime.
Danny nods. "Ah'll stay sir." Danny says, it's his first mission with the new team, he's not about to flake out now and go running home. The bar can manage without him, so can the book store.
The dark woman just stands in silence.
Gabriel gives a nod, being right about the call. "I will remain here, no sense in going back half-done." He's already publicly a mutant so he's not afraid to show his face to members of the press.
