"What are we going to do?  We're going to regroup, tally our losses and then think of a way to tear the hearts out of the motherfucker's chests that did this with our bare hands.
So far I've seen Comstock, Gale, and now you too.  There's some movement around so other people survived, but I'm guessing no baseline survived that, not for at least a mile radius, and the radiation is probably going to kill everyone within 5 miles of here, and make an environmental disaster that's going to take a generation to fix.  What if they have more, where are they going to send them?  where are they going to hit?  I don't know."  he knelt down to offer her help in standing.  "It's going to be ok, Grav, we'll get you some medical attention soon."

Suzukaze looks to Comstock as he helps her up. "I don't think anyone is safe here..." Her eyes close from the pain. "We're alive though. Aren't we? What about everyone else?"

She doesn't notice the crater as Comstock sets her down. "My swords melted from the heat. If we go into a fight after this I'm..." She looks up from the ground as he walks to the crater. "My god..." She forces herself to her feet. "Sol? My god is that where she landed?"

Comstock responded to Suzukaze without looking back.  "You are in no condition to fight.  You'll regroup with the others and seek medical attention.  Wait here."

Mechanically, he made his way to Gale and, noting her discomfort, lifted her as gently as possible.  "You are hurt.  Come with me."  He surveyed her injuries and reached the same conclusion as for the others: he and Sol might be able to survive in this, but everyone else was in grave danger.  "We're gathering in that crater there.  Less wind.  Hopefully quick transport out."  He considered the storm.  "Do you think you weakened it at all?"

When they arrived, Gale was set down as gently as possible as well, and Comstock moved a few feet away to the lip of the crater again so he would remain visible.

Gale wiped the tears from her face as Comstock approached.  She momentarily wondered if the others had seen this sort of thing before, this amount of death and destruction.  The loss of life...it was an enormous crushing weight.  That she had survived, and so many had not.

The winged woman hobbled with Comstock to the larger crater, gritting her teeth.  "Have you gotten in contact with anyone?" She asked after he explained where they were going.  "I don't know if I even did anything.  I tried to lower the temp, stop the wind, but..."

She settled on the ground, waiting patiently.  It wasn't like she could go anywhere in her condition.

Solitaire coughed several times, not that she needed to breathe, but she had gotten some dirt and ash in her mouth when she landed. Still, she wasn't uncomfortable, despite the rubble she was lying in, naked, at the bottom of a crater. She was past such petty concerns at this point. Instinctively, she knew there was not much time left to her, she'd absorbed too much, been hit too hard. Her 'skin' was hardening, crystallizing into a protective coating while she processed the excess energy, attempting to control the damage and rebuild her. Pity, there were better times to go into Chrysalis than in the middle of a war. Still, nothing to be done about it. She had played her part for now.

"All right girl, up and at 'em, things to do before you crystallize." Solitaire commented to herself as she rose. She made odd crackling noises as she moved, as the semi-solid energy cracked and reformed. It was an odd sensation. After dusting herself off, unnecessary but psychologically helpful, Solitaire floated to the lip of the crater where she perceived Comstock's energy signature to be. She was still blind, but that wasn't all the detrimental at the moment, considering how irradiated everything was, she could sense her surroundings well enough.

"It's bad, isn't it Boss?" She asked Comstock as she touched down, she looked at him and smiled slightly at the incredulous expression she assumed he was wearing at her question, adding helpfully, "I can't see."

Quentin let his shattered hand fall back to the ground, having seen quite enough. He could feel the waves of radiation still bathing the area through his node. He tried to let as much of it into himself as he could. He'd been completely out of energy before the blast, but with any luck he might be able to recover enough to protect himself - and maybe the others - in the aftermath.

His self diagnoses continued. He guessed at the amount of blood he'd lost based on the estimated extent of his injuries. Phantasm's shielding had managed to protect the pairs skin remarkably well, but they'd probably both be suffering from third degree sunburns to second degree heat burns depending on the area of the body. Despite the choir of pain his nerves were generating, he predicted a minimal loss of concentration or motor functions.

He took a ragged breath and, experimentally, sat up. He expected that the others would attempt to keep him still, but would wave them off if they tried. Reflexively he took a look down at his left leg and immediately felt a pang of lost. Just below the knee his leg simply ended. It looked like it had bled a bit in the immediate aftermath and then his body had managed to clot the wound.

He looked around. The landscape looked about as bad as he felt. He remained sitting for the time being. It was best to make sure he could do that much before he decided to do anything more. His missing leg ensured that standing was off-limits for the time being. He tried to guess at how much energy he was absorbing from the environment and whether he'd have enough to get mobile again.

"I feel terrible," he announced and coughed up another mouthful of blood to underscore the point. Apparently he still had some internal bleeding, probably the tissues in his lungs being crammed full of debris. He hoped it would work itself out soon.

"You and me both, my friend.  I think I've lost all the skin on the back half of my body.  Quite literally.  Although the radioactive ash is making a fine mud plaster," He said with an attempt at humour.  "It looks like everybody on T2MA survived, not sure about everybody else.  Also, no sign of Zero."  he spat a gob of blood and ash, "So, Grav, any suppositions about what this level of irradiation will do to nova physiology?" he said by way of small talk and to allow his grievously wounded teammate a chance to focus on something other than the immediacy of losing most of his hand an half a leg.

Comstock nodded.  "Solitaire.  Yes, it is bad."  He had not recognized her beneath the dust and rubble and quickly decided that it was the loss of her jacket and other physical indicators that had led to his mistake.  "You have survived."  Neither happy, nor sad.

He looked to Gale and Suzukaze, to be certain that the two of them remained unharmed and were seeing the same thing he was.  "Solitaire: how far from the bomb were you when it detonated?"  She radiated power and occasionally tasted of unfamiliar crystal.  Her reaction to the weapon was non-standard.  "Your body ..."  Her body what?  He had no parallel for the experience, so he trailed off.

"Yeah, more or less intact. I'd thrown it maybe ten feet when it blew." Solitaire shrugged. "Could be better, could be worse. I got hit too hard Boss, I've got twenty minutes, forty-five at the outside until I'm out of action. It's funny, I always thought I would be the one to initiate a Chrysalis, not that it would sneak up and sucker punch me. Did everybody else make it? I sense Gale and 'Kaze here, but there too much background radiation for me to get a read on the others."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:55, Thu 18 Nov 2010.

"I don't understand," he reverberated uncomfortably.  "Are you ... dead?"

Chrysalis was a word unfamiliar in this context.  He looked to Gale and Suzukaze to see if they knew.  Even locked-down tight, he seemed to shudder with trepidation .  "Gale and Suzukaze are here.  The rest are coming.  We will get you medical attention."  He looked to the others again, searching for a sign, information, any option he could act on.

Suzukaze nods to Gale when Comstock brings her over but quickly returns to staring into the crater. She is shocked by the sight of Solitaire all battered the crystals forming around her body. A questioning look appears on her face, and she meets Comstock's eyes shaking her head. She takes a step towards her. "Sol. You don't know how glad we are to see you alive. We don't understand what your talking about though. Chrysalis? Is it some power you have that helps to protect you? She looks back to Comstock and then to Gale.

Imp, vision clearing from the aftereffects of the blast, started scanning the area for signs of life.  His head stopped turning when he noticed Sol.  "Looks like you did it, sister.  Is there anybody in particular you want to be left with until you emerge?"  he said in a whisper, counting on her acute hearing to hear the words, even over the howl of the wind, the screams of the wounded beyond the kill radius, and the continued roaring from the cloud that was ascending ever higher into the atmosphere.

Flare, who exhausted all the power she had healing everyone as much as she could, took a breath after healing Quentin of what damage she could.  Those limbs were beyond her ability to heal, but perhaps she could stabilize him enough to heal later on.

"God, I didn't think any of us would survive." She didn't know what this crysalis was, but it looked better than being dead. "Sol, I can try to heal you, it might stave off...whatever is coming." She looked around the blacked field and at her stable but suffering team mates, and finally at her own body, blackened and crisped in places, with one hand charred, but apparently still useful. Getting help for the others would be more useful.

"We have to get out of here. I don't think anyone has the power to deal with anymore attacks." She turns back and looks at Quentin's strickened form. "We need to get those too wounded to move to safety, and I think we need to get help if we are going continue fighting."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:27, Fri 19 Nov 2010.

Taking a deep breath, Phantasm pulls in the chaotic quantum energies in the area, filling herself with power.  She stands, and lifts Quentin, cradling him hin her arms.

Phantasm approaches the crater with silent grace, defying the wounds on her body and the exhaustion of her teammates.  Gravitas is in her arms, held with apparent ease.

"There's another option Flare, if you're willing to risk it.  Most of us have large nodes, at least 3rd or 4th instar, more for many of us.  Use that to pull in this energy.  It... Doesn't feel good, and I can't say what it will do to us, but it sure as hell puts us back in the game."
This message was last edited by the player at 07:06, Fri 19 Nov 2010.

Quentin shook his head in response to two things Flare said and allowed himself to be carried with minimal fuss. "Healing isn't really going to stop chrysalis, if that's what is starting. I'd kill to observe the process first hand, by the way." His voice was still a little raspy. He flexed the fingers of his left hand. Things hurt a little less after the brief healing treatment, and his hand looked less charred and more merely-covered-in-soot. That was probably an improvement. "Also, don't worry about leaving me behind." He took a deep breath and exhaled without coughing. "I believe I am well enough to be mobile now."

He motioned for Phantasm to let him down and got himself balanced on his one good leg. He took another breath, and as he let it out, relaxed gravity's hold on himself, floating an inch or two into the air. He nodded to confirm his status. "Yes, I'm good now." He floated over more closely to Sol and looked her up and down, then waved what was left of his right hand in front of her face to confirm her current blindness. "Tell me: How do you feel?"

Gale didn't realize that Comstock was expecting an answer from her when he turned to look at her.  Part of her was stunned that Solitaire was still alive.  She had no idea what the Chrysalis thing was either.  Even if she did know, she wasn't sure she'd be thinking clearly enough to explain it right now.  She was barely understanding what was going on.  Her eyes widened at the sight of Gravitas as Phantasm carried him over.  His injuries...he'd lost his leg!

A wave of nausea hit her, and soon the contents of her stomach lay on the dirt and ash next to her.  "Ugh..."  She normally didn't have such a weak stomach.  Was it Grav's injuries?  She didn't think so.  Thankful that she was already sitting, she carefully laid down.  Maybe then the world would stop spinning.

"Saul!  Slider!"  Comstock called.  His team needed transportation away from here and medical attention.  It was possible that Gale was experiencing radiation sickness from close proximity to the blast zone.  "Saul!  Slider!  Medical Evac!"  He waved for the two to come quickly and counted up his team mates one more time to ensure everyone was at the crater now.  All save Dr. Zero present.

But mostly he just kept staring, wound up too tight to cry or shout or get angry or do anything more than stand uncomfortably with no obvious options.  He did not understand the Teragen philosophy, and at this moment regretted never involving himself more to at least learn what his friends were going thinking and going through.  "Slider will evacuate us from the operations area.  Most of you should not be here."

"Nobody should be here, bossman. We should all have been rendered down to atoms and been blown away to mingle with the dust and ash of the forest and all those poor men and women who were in no way able to survive that blast. We're still here though, and relative to what we just went through, remarkably functional. This incident will probably make the baselines even more worried, and rightfully so, even unleashing the most powerful weapon in the history of man can't reliably kill us, hell, it can barely give Comstock a sunburn.  This will make T2M a legend. Something that will strike terror into the hearts of those who would stand against Utopia. Especially after what we're going to do to the bastards responsible for this atrocity."  Imp's face, blackened, bloody, yet still alarmingly handsome, was grave.  Angry.  "I'm guessing the gloves are coming off now, yes?" He looked to Slider and Saul, "Can I borrow one of your headsets?  I need to report to Frostburn."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:47, Sun 21 Nov 2010.

Solitaire ignored much of the commotion around her, she wasn't overly interested, as it no longer concerned her. She felt out of sync, at one remove from everything about her, but that was all right, she was, after all. She had several loose ends she wanted to tie up before she disappeared, mostly in the form of parting words and last minute instructions. Her projects would survive without her, which was good, Kat would have use the majority of her finances to continue building the House of Cards while she slept, and each Table was in charge of its own local affairs, it would be fine. Perhaps she should mention it to the rest of the team? No, they had their own problems, and it was her pet project after all. It wouldn't do to have other Nova's mucking about with it. The whole point of it was to preserve human strength and drive to offset Nova dependency anyway.

"You're wrong Imp." Solitaire said, breaking her contemplative silence, "We have not just struck terror into the hearts of those who oppose Utopia, we've done it to everyone. Even Utopia will fear us now, it's what we wanted to avoid all along.  Nuclear weapons were the Baselines trump card, and it came up bust." Then, just for the hell of it, she added an a gasping, raspy tone, "The power to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of US."

Solitaire chuckled at her own joke, then resumed her more serious topic. "There will be no more illusions, no more complacency. They'll want us tagged, watched, tracked, under control. I think the days after the Wars will look rather pleasant in comparison. Then it was just a couple dozen of us and some die-hard crazy baselines, the effect was localized. Here though, just look at the death toll. It was them that died, not us. And today is hardly near over. I do not like what I see in store."
This message was last edited by the player at 07:17, Sun 21 Nov 2010.

"Radio still static.  May have to head back for a good signal."  He didn't want to think about Imp or Solitaire's words.

"Some of us died here, Sol, i guarantee it.  We all have powers related to defense, energy manipulation or absorption.  Not all of our colleagues have those powers," his face fell momentarily, he knew Geisha had been here, knew she would be as vulnerable as the baselines in the face of a nuclear explosion. "How many of our kin were erased today, never to realize their true potential, to show all of us their own expression of magnificence?  Too many, i think."  He went quiet, thinking.  Then, "Zero should have checked on us by now if he got away, any ideas on how to contact him?"

The conversation had taken a serious and saddening turn.  "You know," Gale said quietly, "I probably wouldn't have survived either.  If Imp hadn't grabbed me and put his shield around me..."

"Thorn...he won't be happy.  All these people died.  And for something that wasn't even their fight."  She was rambling, saying whatever popped into her mind.  It didn't help that it was jumping around from thought to thought, with no obvious pattern.  "I don't want to be tagged like--like some animal.  I'm a person.  Really."  Yep.  Definitely confused and rambling.

Slider spends her time rounding up the injured for Saul to heal, pausing long enough to hand off her headset to Comstock.  No signal.

The other teams converge on the crater, looks of shock, horror, and numbness playing across the various faces present.  The least powerful members of T2M, as well as many of the hired support staff (several elites and non-T2M Utopia personnel), are not accounted for.

T2M Asia, already lacking a strong permanent staff and recently training new recruits is especially hard hit; the few survivors limp over to Sol's crater and lean heavily on one another.  T2M Europe is reeling from the loss of a comrade, their injuries, and several good friends from Utopia staff (they shared headquarters with most of the support staff that came on the mission).  T2M:E is also silent as they approach, but Thorn stops by Gale as he passes and looks in her eyes, sharing a moment of intense pain for his people, for what happened here, and for the young woman that was forced to see all this suffering.

After Saul and Flare heal everyone enough to travel, Slider opens a gateway, and the survivors hobble through it.  As Comstock is about to come through, bringing up the rear, Geryon flies down to the gate as well, a look of profound anger on his face... "We're here to help, but we'll need to plan this out.  I should come back with you."

---

The gateway lets out near the allied staging grounds, but far enough away that the radiation from the returning novas will pose a minimal threat to the forces there.  Radiowaves suddenly press in on Comstock, chatter across multiple frequencies, as those in charge try to obtain information, organize the forces, and react to what just happened.  Frostburn's voice comes through the headset, "-that you're back, we'll have every nova that can stand meeting at your site.  We have to determine what we're going to do, and fast."

In moments the novas from the camp are there, flying in with medical equipment and doctors in NBC gear who begin treating the survivors.  Frostburn approaches, carrying communications equipment.  As she sets it down and begins turning on the devices, she looks at the assembled T2M survivors, icy calm and intensity radiating from her eyes, "This is about the worst it can get, and everything we've worked for is going to hell, you're all smart enough to have realized that.  But I want you to know how good it is, despite all this, to see you here, alive.  You did everything you could, we all did, and that's what we'll keep doing until this is finished."

Holo-viewers with leaders of various nations, UN leaders, and the Utopia directors populating them, are set up at what is being prepped as the meeting point (those with enough mental stamina to be aware of such things at this point, note that the comm equipment and the viewers are far in advance of anything they've seen; R&D has been busy...).  The setup allows for a real time round table discussion of events and planning session.

The voices coming through are not terribly cooperative however.  Many are calling for a full retreat, in the face of severe losses, further nuclear retaliation, and a lack of nova combatants still capable of fighting.  Some, like the US and Russia, are calling for nuclear retaliation.  Utopia is trying to salvage the situation, calling for a full assessment of what has happened before jumping to a conclusion.  There are also disturbing reports of a nuclear attempt on the staging ground being thwarted, and Pax being lost defending the base.  Slider tells those nearby the details of what happened. "We had only a few second to react. Pax caught the bomb and flew it to me, but I was on the other side of the camp, getting supplies for another trip.  When he came into visual, I opened a gateway and he managed to get it through, but it blew as the gate was closing.  It looked like one of those pictures of solar flares you see on Discovery, it just curled out of what little was left of the opening, and washed over him.  If it was anyone else, he'd have been incinerated, and even with his power he was hurt badly... I'm not sure he's alive, we left right after Saul had a chance to heal him."

As Frostburn notes that communications have been established, and she is about to gesture for Comstock, Impetus, and the other Team leaders to report in, Geryon approaches.  Not waiting for permission, or even an introduction, he starts talking.  "Listen monkeys, because I'm saying this once.  You have help, and if you're smart you'll press your advantage as soon as you can.  We can deal with their shields, and we have someone cleaning up the radiation so that your army won't have their skin melting off in their sleep.  We'll even help you clean out that base of theirs, assuming you take us up on our offer.  Don't think this is about you; what these vermin have done to my people is unforgivable, and a message must be sent.  Working with you is just the easiest way to do it.  And, speaking of messages... We want full media coverage when we tear down that shield, all eyes look at us.  This is not negotiable, it's our fee for handling your mess for you.  Oh, and stop sniveling about more bombs; we've got that taken care of too, and odds are good one of your people is in there right now, disrupting them.  They won't be able to get anything out if you cooperate and do this right."

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Those that know Geryon, and those that are versed in nova powers, likely doubt the sureness of his final statement, that they won't be able to get more bombs out, but perhaps there is more to the situation than meets the eye?  Or perhaps Geryon really doesn't care if a few bombs get lose in the process of eliminating these people?

---

The leaders of the world, silent as the giant spoke, talk at once.  Rage, indignation, curiosity, and suspicion warring for control of the conversation.  The consensus that emerges, the question on everyone's lips, is: "What is going on, and who the hell was that?"

Frostburn, face unreadable, ushers the survivors forward to give their report, and help decide what to do next.

---

Zero teleports behind the enemy nova, connecting only barely with him as he blinks several yards away, dazed from the attack.  Soldiers press in, attempting to immobilize Zero as it in turn attempts to attack the Teleporter that has caused so much suffering to so very many people.  As long as Zero keeps up with the teleporter, it knows that he won't be able to move far, but doing so becomes progressively more difficult as the teleporter moves deep into the ranks of soldiers, ducks out of sight behind the terrain, and makes every attempt to escape.

As the dance continues, Zero moving rapidly through the troops, teleporting when necessary to keep in range, a contingent of novas approaches the scene.  The Doctor notes, using quantum sight, that they are not as powerful as natural novas, but even a dozen weak novas are still quite a threat.
What had it gotten itself into?
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:28, Tue 23 Nov 2010.

Flare reels as the grating tirade of Geryon comes to a close.  "That...that bastard! I don't care if he descended from heaven, and brought McDonald's for the troops, he can take his high-handed demands, and an active nuke and shove them straight up his-" The heck with it, this guy wasn't worth getting enraged over.

She looks to her leaders, namely Comstock and Imp. "Putting that aside, what are we going to do?"

Flare focuses her energy towards helping everyone get to a comfortable place to sit/collapse, particularly the most injured of the group.

"Quentin, I'll see if I can find anything to help your pain a bit more."

Imp paused, let Geryon speak. He didn't know how to categorize the nova, friend, enemy, companion... The closest he could come was peer, but that didn't do it justice either. Geryon's speech was predictable, formulaic. For an entity trying to forge its own path in life he sure went in jejune ways. Still, he was a great straight man. He didn't have much energy left, but, he realized he was saturated with it, probably succumbing to the radiation he had experienced. Might as well do something useful.
"Please, gentlemen, ladies," he began, cutting through their outrage with a transhuman ease. "Geryon's words are harsh, true, but please, listen to him. We Utopians have gone to war, fought waves of opponents, stopped one nuclear generator from going critical and survived a nuclear explosion. We are exhausted, battered, bloody and probably suffering from fatal levels o radiation poisoning," he spat blood partially to prove his point, "know now that there are three paths in front of you, the first is to launch your nuclear weapons at an opponent who can teleport bombs at will around the planet. Tens of millions will die, both here in South America and in your own countries. The second option, to pull back, to appease, to live in terror of seeing a distortion in space and then a silver cylinder and then that awful white flash, is no more palatable. The third, only, alternative is to allow the world to see non-utopian novas step in and finish this, here and now. They may not be photogenic, they may use their powers in ways that humanity find unsettling, but they promise a speedy resolution to this problem and broadcasting what will happen to those who attempt to weaponize novas and wage nuclear war will make would be dictators and empire builders think twice. Don't do this for yourselves, do it for the millions of lives that can be saved, and the suffering that can be averted." he bowed his head and stepped backwards, then crumpled to the ground. He felt coldness in his stomach and wet tears in his muscles as, deprived of the energy needed to use his abilities he cannibalized his own life energy. Hopefully they'd listen.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:45, Thu 25 Nov 2010.