2014.07.15 - Fatal System Error (part 2)

A few weeks back Nate offered Hope the chance of using Halo advanced tech to investigate her powers and limitations, and that was what they did early in the day. A run by the TEACH system (which involved teleporting to another planet to use ancient, long abandoned but still functional Kheran training facilities) then an exhausting number of tests. Results would be next morning, and since Hope was tired, she was offered one of the guest bedrooms. 
That was about four hours ago. It is somewhat past midnight when the alarms would wake her up, Void’s cool voice commanding all non security personnel out of the building. A few seconds afterwards, however, power goes out in the building, bringing up weak emergency lights instead, barely enough to see where one is going.
Meanwhile, up on the roof, Killjoy’s quick departure has left Roberto alone with the unconscious Buzzcut and a wounded Rose, which is looking for a medkit and some painkillers, and another large gun, since she burned out the whole power clip of the laser gun trying to hit Killjoy. 
Considering what the results of those tests may very well be without living breathing mutants nearby....
Well, Hope knows enough about her powers to doubt how accurate those test results may be.
But with that said, as those alarms go off...
The redheaded teen jolts right awake, and bolts out of bed. It's probably a good thing that she was tired (or paranoid) enough that she fell asleep wearing her 'uniform'. Because that means she can be up, and out the door of her room right in time to have the lights go out on her. And when she does, she lets out a very, very faint one word comment under her breath....
"Great..."
"The roof is secure, the roof is secure, no one is listening, the roof is secure," Berto chants into his communicator. It's like his own little depressing mantra as he clears the wreckage away from the smashed stairwell with the last reserves of his solar super strength. "We need to get you to the infirmary, Rose," he comments. "And probably Nate, too. I called it in but, as I mentioned: no one is listening, the roof is secure." Finally, the stairs are unblocked: he scoops up his injured teammate and starts running downward.
Comsystem is still down. As is power. Both things are theoretically impossible, but Cyberdata mutants must have an interesting set of abilities, or some weird alien tech.
No more talk from Void, she seems gone! And since Hope was never told about emergency exits or anything, she is somewhat lost. But her room was in the War Room floor, so it doesn’t take long for her to reach the living area. By then the whole building is rocked by explosions in the first plants. The War Room is also dimly lit, but she can see someone lying on the floor, near the windows.
 
It might take her a little bit...
And she might end up looking very ticked off as she feels those explosions...
Explosions that cause the redheaded teen to stumble and nearly fall, before she catches herself on a chair in the dim light of the War Room...
But she does make it /to/ the war room. And when she does, and she notices the downed form, she moves over closer to check to make sure who ever it is, is all right.
Huffing and puffing in a way completely inconsistent with his self-image as a suave, heroic ladykiller, Roberto kicks in the starwell door and bursts into the war room. "Nate, are you...? Oh, Hope. You're here?" He stares for a moment, then shakes his head and snaps, "No medics, no comms, no power. We need to get out of this damned building."
The downed fellow happens to be Nate, which doesn’t look all right. There is blood in his face and he is barely breathing. And just as Roberto arrives, another person burst in the room from the other direction. Jules Newberry, the blonde executive that is Marlowe’s assistant. “Who is here? Oh! Damn!” She is armed with a large handgun, and looks at Hope and Roberto with some suspicion. 
The fact that it is Nate... It worries Hope. But she tries not to think about it. Or dwell on the fact that it's him. Just as long as she can get a pulse and make sure he's alive...
"I'm here." is said as she takes a deep breath, trying to remain calm, and focused. "And we might. But do we know who else is stuck in here? Getting out ourselves is easy. but getting everyone else out..."
Yeah. She heard the alarm. And the evac order. But there's still no guarantee that everyone got out before the power loss. Or so she thinks.
Roberto ignores Jules just long enough to settle Rose in the best-padded chair within reach. Then he turns to her with a frustrated expression on his face, and bangs on his chestplate with an armored hand. "No one important. Just the people who have been keeping these maniacs from taking the roof of your office building and crushing you from both sides. Hold your applause in favor of medical attention for my friends, please." It's totally unfair of him to snap at this woman, but the stress of the situation, combined with the exhaustion of depleted solar reserves, is taking its toll on the Brazilian.
“I know who you are,” replies the blonde woman. “It is just Ms. Wilson and Mr. Grey are the ones that should be... well, taking care of this.” She sighs. “The medical personnel should be out of the building now. The rest of the security team went to the first floors, but all communications are down. I... I can lead you out, of course.”
Hope wasn't exactly trying to ignore Jules, it's just... Her player is an idiot and spaced out when writing that last pose. Sorry.
Anyways... As she hears what Jules has to say, before wincing at 'Berto's statement.
"If we need to double check, there may be a way." is said as the redheaded teen eyes Nate. "But either way, I guess you're right. We need to get out." a glance is flashed at the blond. "Lead the way."
"'Out' sounds like an excellent plan," Berto answers, running one hand over his brow. "But I should take point, and you should direct from behind me. It's kind of my job." He taps at his chestplate, less aggressively this time, indicating both his armor and his general bruiser role. "I don't suppose we have a stretcher, at least? Nate's not going anywhere under his own power."
Jules nods. There is an infirmary in the floor and she can show the others where it is. There are also sounds of gunfire, heavy weapons, from the first floors, but those end abruptly after a minute or two. The silence is almost more worrying. Jules speaks again, “we need to hurry. Either they left... or all the security detachment is now dead. If it is the second, I expect they will come here, it is where the bulk of the alien tech is.”
With the need to hurry, Hope doesn't bother with a stretcher, even if the infirmary is on this floor. Instead, she reaches out with her powers, and mimics 'Berto, if only so she can lug Nate around more easily.
And yet, at the mention of 'the bulk of the alien tech', the redheaded teen mutters, "The why don't we just destroy it on our way out, so they can't get it?"
"I love guessing games when lives are on the line," Roberto comments with a sarcastic grimace. "Let's get out of here through the armory -- I used up most of my juice on the roof, so I'll need a weapon." He glances over to see Hope lifting Nate and Rose following along under her own power, then adds, "That's also where we'd find explosives to detonate the whole floor. Not a bad thought."
Jules seems about to object the destruction of the War Room, but thinks better and nods. “This way... I don’t know if there are explosives, this place is a bunker and... oh!” Power is back! Well, lights are flickering. Unfortunately upon getting to the main room the reason of the flickering becomes apparent. Sparks surge from electronic equipment as it burns, and an humanoid figure made of lightning coalesces in the middle of the room. “Aha! Killjoy said you would be hiding here. Good! I am Megawatt, who do I get to kill first?” 
And as Jules explains what she can, and as the lights flicker, Hope nods. All though the fact that 'Berto needs a weapon does worry her a /little/.
But that worry is nothing compared to how the teenaged redhead feels once they get the flickering lights, followed by spark, burnt smell, smoke, and lightning guy.
"Hi Megawatt, I'm the terror that flaps in the night." is said as Hope just sort of comes to a stop, and stands there. "One question. Are you a mutant...?"
Then though, one of her eyes starts to glow as she mimics a certain someone, before glaring right at him... Before lashing out with a very, very strong, but mostly uncontrolled wave of kinetic force in his direction, as she just glares at the electric guy.
"Scratch that. Let's just get this over with."
"Porra," Berto snarls, dropping to a crouch. "It just had to be a lightning guy, didn't it? Couldn't have been a fire guy, or god forbid a light guy. Just once in my damned life I want to fight Doctor High-Beams. Hope, could you--?" A wave of telekinetic force washes past him, and he nods as though she has answered a question he didn't quite finish. "Obrigado. I'll run get a gun. Jules, stay in cover -- I'll get you something, too." And with no further comment, he's off running for the armory.
“Sure I am a mutant, so what? Darkwing Duck? I love Darkwing Duck!” Megawatt shots a stream of lighting towards Roberto, which bounces on the telekinetic wall. “Uh oh?” Mutters the electrical man. The walls hits him, but he is currently a cloud of sentient electricity with little physical mass to be hit with kinetic force, so it kinda washes over him, making him stumble back but not really hurting him. “Cute, it tickles,” he taunts.
"Being tickled is better than the alternative..." is muttered even as the electric guy isn't as effected as Hope wishes he'd been. Since that means that 'Berto and Jules try to get where they need to go, and she tries to set Nate down with some TK, the teenaged redhead is now switching tactics.
<Then...> is said telpathically, hopefully right into the electric guys mind.
<Let's get DANGEROUS.>
And with that... Hope tries to telpathically barrage him with feelings of pain and raw anger. Like she's /trying/ to overload him, but doesn't exactly know how. but given his form, she knows there's no guarantee that it'll work either.
Roberto grits his teeth and tamps down on the instinct to throw a solar boost into his run. The last thing he needs is to burn through what little energy he has left and pass out completely. Fortunately, Hope has him covered for the moment, and he reaches the armory unscathed. Once there, he grabs the biggest gun he can safely manage: a mean-looking alien device that he can carry slung to one side like a minigun. He also grabs something a little more compact for Jules. Taking a momentary breather to settle his nerves just inside the armory, he then spins out into the doorway, levels his gun at Megawatt, and hits the trigger with absolutely no idea what the result will be.
Despite his appearance, Megawatt has a rather human mind. There is some static when Hope reaches for it, but it is not much of a defense against the psychic power she is handling. The electric mutant screams, flailing, and in a flash of light he becomes human and falls to the floor unconscious.
Which might have saved his life, because Roberto shots him with a large plasma rifle, hitting the window panel behind him. Those windows stood unscathed to a barrage of air-to-ground missiles, but the plasma bolt blows up a large hole on the glass-like material.
<<Hope... what the hell are you doing?>> That is Nate’s telepathy, although it sounds weak, instead of too loud as it is usual.
And as she hears that voice in her head, Hope lets the powers she's copying fade away. At least for a moment anyways.
"Keeping us alive." is murmured towards Nate, even as she watches where 'Berto's blast hit, and where Megawatt fell...
All though that hole does give her a bit of an idea...
"Anyone want to go flying?"
"Oops," Berto says weakly. "Uh." He tries to find a safe direction in which to point the smoking barrel of the cannon. "You got him," he tells Hope weakly. He makes his way over to Jules and hands her the more sensibly-sized rifle, then looks over at Hope. "I can fly maybe six feet, and then I'll pass out, so we'll either need some kind of ship or some kind of really nifty powers thing."
Jules accepts the weapon, handling it with extreme caution. Apparently the woman has no experience with energy guns. Still, it is better than a regular handgun if she has to face mutant cyborgs, she figures. “Thank you,” she mutters.
Meanwhile, Nate seems to stir weakly. <<What is going on? I can’t see... uh. Killer headache. Crap. Hopedontcopyme. Mypowers arebadwrongbroken...>>
<<Too late.>> is thought as Hope's eye starts to glow again, and she starts to float an inch or so above the floor. Then in turn, Nate, Jules, and Berto may very well find themselves floating a similar height.
"Or a world class TKer who can carry us all...?" is said before the redheaded teen motions towards that hole in the glass. 
If everything works, and Nate's powers aren't too wonky, there in theory should be a way out. Right?
"No problem, Jules. They don't kick much, but..." the armored mutant glances at the hole where the window used to be, then amends, "Well, they don't kick much if you're holding them, anyway." He shakes his head as his feet leave the floor, and glances over at Nate. "Camarada, I will be happy to talk to you about your issues with your powers at some later date, but right now I'm more worried about US being badwrongbroken, which sticking around here seems to make an absolute certainty. So for now, I'm going to need you to shush and concentrate on not dying."
The main difficulty of leaving-by-telekinesis happens to be the glass of the windows, which seems tougher than tank armor. Hope needs to push quite hard to make the hole Roberto did large enough for the group to leave the towers. Then it is much easier, even if Nate complains somewhat incoherently about Hope being, well, Hope. They manage to leave just as half of New York cops seem to be converging into the Halo building. Looks like police response t terrorist attacks in the Financial District is pretty quick.
Of course Hope could do one extra thing to make getting out that window easier. That being she could ask for help.
"Could you shoot the window up some more?"
Either way though, be it because of the 'borrowed' TK, or because of her use of TK, once the hole is big enough, the redheaded teen tries to get the group out as quickly as possible. She doesn't try to keep them up for long though. Instead she tries to lower them onto the first nearby roof that's below them, before cutting out the power once everyone at least has their feet on the ground.
Of course let's not even think about what her head probably feels like after copying Nate for even that little bit of time.
Obligingly, Roberto takes aim with the plasma cannon and vaporizes a few more sections of the barrier. It's about as elegant a solution as cutting paper snowflakes with a machine gun, but it gets the job done. As they fly through, he's especially careful not to touch the edges, as he isn't sure whether they're partially melted or what. Once the group is clear, he wiggles around until he's facing back toward the building, plasma cannon at the ready. "No signs of pursuit. You think we beat them back?"
“The cell phone is working again,” announces Jules, and immediately she begins to make calls. Starting with trying to find Jack Marlowe. Meanwhile Nate manages to open his eyes and sit down, rubbing his temples. He attempts to glare at Hope with bloodshot eyes, but he looks too pale and sick to manage the effect.
And once Jules makes that announcement, Hope glances at 'Berto and shakes her head.
"I doubt it. But we should call for help. If you guys need a place to lie low, I might know a spot or two, otherwise..."
"Nate, relax," Berto tells him, moving a reassuring hand toward the telepath's shoulder. "You need to save your energy, not waste it being mad at Hope for saving our asses." He smiles over at the girl. "Actually, I was about to offer you two the same thing. It's not exactly lying low, but there's plenty of room at the penthouse for both of you." He reaches into one pocket of his shorts -- yes, true believers, due to the sudden attack, he's wearing shorts and a tank top underneath his riot armor -- and retrieves his cell phone. "In the meantime, I'm going to call in an ambulance."
“An ambulance? What for?” Nate glances at Rose. They are not going to convince her to go to a hospital (they never do). As for him, “don’t bother. Regular doctors can’t help me. Just... let Jules take Rose to one of Halo’s physicians. I’ll go to Xavier’s.”
There's /almost/ an eyeroll at Nate. That is before Hope almost glares at 'Berto.
"If these guys wanted to try and mess with Emma Frost, then they truly have a death wish." is said, before she grins. All though as Nate says that...
"You need to get her, and you to those places first. And unless you want me to do the 'heavy lifting' and copy you again, odds are he'll have to call someone."
Roberto nods to Hope and banishes his phone's lock screen with a complex swirl of his thumb. "Then I'll call the X-men and get you on the Blackbird," he amends. "If you think I'm just leaving you hanging here on a rooftop, you're even more out of it than you look. And no offense, man, but you look really out of it." Like he's in any position to judge anyone's appearance, with what he's wearing.
“Hope, Cyberdate just took out Halo with Void inside,” and finding out how they took out the cyber-goddess is going to be one of the first things he has to do. “Frost relies too much in her telepathy. The Academy is not really safe.” The Blackbird? That works, he nods to Roberto. “Better than a cab, for sure.”
And here's where Hope makes a small correction, "Frost, backed up by Shaw, Luthor, and Stark in regards to tech and other support? I'd still place my bet on Frost."
Of course, since 'Berto brought up the Blackbird, "But if you want, I'll go back to the mansion for /tonight/. Deal?"
Roberto grimaces. "I have...issues with Frost, but I wouldn't bet against -- hold on. Hello?" He's suddenly more intent on his phone. "Hello, is this -- Bobby? Jesus. Well, you'll have to do. Can you fly the plane to the GPS location of my phone? And, this part is important, I need you to fly the jet without crashing it. I repeat: without." He paces away from the others, his tired voice fading a bit with distance.
Category:Log