When the magma-based EDE slid and crashed into the floor not tremendously far behind him, Richard decided he had made the right move in taking the gap in a single leap.  Hurdling one of the cars parked outside, he came down with a solid -thunk- close to Claire.  James was still close enough to take shots as needed.  One hand went to his own earbud.  "++Your call, agent Ellings.  Make sure all hands are accounted for and give the word.++"

They'd already lost one agent in this cluster-pluck.  Richard really, really hoped that count didn't go to two.

Devon desperately wished life were more like a Looney Tunes cartoon. The lava freak would've just gotten nice and stuck all firm-like, and Devon and the gang would b tickling his tootsies now.

They'd also be immortal, and he was poignantly feeling the lack of that right about now. He looked around, eyeing the windows... yeah. That would have to do. "If I get out o this, I'm applying for more combat training, I swear," he muttered, reaching into a pouch on his tool belt. He was trained, but he wasn't an amazing shot by any stretch of the imagination. Luckily, he just had to keep pulling the trigger until there were more than a couple holes in the same window. "Schwarzenneger, eat your heart out."

++Firing and exiting through silica, cover me. I'll report when I'm clear.++

So saying, he shot til it went click and ran, arms over his face.

Retreating as he saw Devon aiming for the window James hesitated as he considered taking the shot himself but instead began a retreat of his own as Devon began shooting, aware that he could easily be outrun as soon as gravity took over on Devon when he got through the window. Picking up on Richard's request he replied, ++"The call is on the demo agent. As soon as me and Devon hit the pavement we will run. When they think we are clear of the blast area trigger it."++

Out through the entrance James waited for Devon to make his more dramatic exit and, as soon as the man did, moved to help with his recovery. They hopefully would be able to start running quicker than the thing inside did and get clear.

Claire sat huddled behind a car, her mind already racing ahead of herself preparing to calculate the probability of perfectly collapsing a seven story building right behind her collegues but fast enough to bury the magma manifestation under a tower of concrete, glass and metal, and making sure the building wouldn't bury her team as well .. the task was rather daunting. And with her temporary knowledge of making make-shift bombs slowly fading from her mind again her she'd need to keep her mind clear as she mentally juggled a million different things.
And they kept on piling.
Police sirens in the distance closing in announced the next problem.
Trying to explain away blowing up a building recently the target of a fire.
The bulletholes in the van.
The guards' that protected the lawfirm offices.
The bystander witnesses.
Jacki fighting a large beggar with a metal arm.

Jacki!

Claire's head swiveled in Jacki's direction just as the cyborg's arm-turned-flamethrower spewed fire in Jacki's face. The spread was too wide to dodge, even for an biotechnically enhanced enforcer. Jacki dropped on the floor screaming as she caught on fire, and began rolling to smother the flames.

Richard ran through the front door first and leapt over a nearby car for cover, followed by a bewildered Sandra, her legs nearly giving in from sheer exhaustion. Richard heard the sirens blaring nearby, police, ambulance, police. They'd be here soon.

Claire ducked as the window was shattered by someone emptying an ammo clip through the tempered glass window which formed a fractured web of glass before it shattered into a cloud of small silicate granules, through which Devon made his grand escape.
Alarmed by the gunfire the magma monster turned to watch Devon smash through the bulletriddled glass and raised its glowing arms. Devon's silhouette was framed by the bright orange blast of flames that followed his jump to safety.
(Devon you take 2 points of fire damage. I rolled for dodge and soak. While your clothes are ruined they didn't catch on fire)

James turned and ran through the front door as soon as he saw Devon blast the window to smithereens. Outside havoc reigned. Sirens nearby, a few blocks away. Devon running for cover, his burned back exposed by the smoldering coat he was trying to extricate himself from as he ran away from the tall building. Jacki screaming and rolling. A beggar with a metal arm, transforming once again. Several eyewitnesses foolish enough not to flee the scene.

Chaos ruled the streets.

And with everyone except Jacki now having found cover it was up to Claire to bring the house down without killing everyone else.

No pressure.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:08, Thu 12 May 2016.

New round.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:02, Sat 14 May 2016.

The sound of flames and screaming from outside of the building, 'behind' their cover is very much unexpected.  Richard turns at the sound, wondering immediately if this is a multiple-prong attack -- and, seeing someone Jackie's size, shape, and wardrobe sense on the ground, with something he can only presume is a generations-old HIT Mark looming over her, decides that things are only getting worse.  It's operating in the open, with bystanders --

Can't stop to think about that now.  A quick glance to his side yields that Claire has seen it, too -- once she's free of all the glass shards.  Devon's escaping, he hopes.  Can't think about that either; it's in Claire's hands.

Out comes his sidearm.  Off goes the safety.  He is adequate at best with a gun, but he can at least distract the cyborg before it finishes the job.

OOC: Drawing the (mundane) heavy pistol he carries and firing at the cyborg -- Dex+Firearms pool of 3.

Devon continued moving away, tapping furiously at his iPad. He was attempting to utilize simple predictive algorithms based on the known materials of the building to plot out useful routes for himself (and anyone else) to remain safe and clear of the falling debris... He spent a long moment... too long, perhaps, deciding if he'd be spending his time better by figuring out ways to maneuver their enemies into the path of the building, but he was in no position to limit their actions. Better to keep to what was more easily possible.

I'll go ahead with a Matter + Data effect to try and keep myself and anyone else successes allow in clear paths.

With general chaos reigning at this point James tracked Devon's movement for a second to satisfy himself that the other would be getting clear enough before turning to Jacki, still likely in the danger zone when the building came down. He couldn't get her out of there in time and the thing she was fighting also would be unlikely to let them try. So instead he needed to try to make the best of the situation.

Jacki on fire, still by the van where she'd been attacked.
The entity...was it a cyborg? Certianly it looked like some James had seen but he was not certain. Assuming it was it would likely not be overly put off by his shots but perhaps distracted enough.
Richard behind drawing his own gun.
The rest of the team heading away for cover.
Witnesses.
Claire ready to set off the bomb.

++"Jacki, roll under the van towards us. Best cover you can get. Claire give us a countdown from three." As he finished the last word James started his own timer seeing it flash up briefly int the cover of his glasses before drawing both guns and allowing himself a brief smile. God bless John Woo.


OC: Golden Gunman with Foci -1, Fast Casting +1, point of Quintessence -1. Difficulty 4, 1 WP spent for Success. Total 4 successes

Per the rote I believe I can dual wield without penalty for the round and get the extra actions for Time so 2 extra actions (2 for 1). So 2 actions hail of bullets on the robot, last action turn away and start the running since the building is about to come down. Worried less about dropping the target as keeping it in place for when the building comes down

15:26, Today: James Ellings rolled 2 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6.  Shooting.

15:26, Today: James Ellings rolled 2 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6.  Shooting.

15:26, Today: James Ellings rolled 1 success using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6.  And yet more shooting.

15:26, Today: James Ellings failed (2 failures) using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6.  One last shot for the money.

++Reyes c... clear!++ panted Sandra into the comms. She scrambled over to a nearby car. Her back thumped into the metal and her mind raced to think of ways to help contain this mess.

Lines of data scrolled in the lower left of her display, showing micro local disturbances caused by Devon's scans. It gave her an idea. She peeked around the car towards the building.

++Containment will be impossible if... if more entities breach through,++ She said with strained breath and alarm in her voice. ++Attempting to reinforce the Gauntlet...++

Sandra keyed in commands on the touch screen. The range on the emitter was limited, but perhaps if she could construct a carrier wave, she could use it to extend the effect far enough to cover the building.

13:47, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 1 success using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 5 with rolls of 3,3,5.  Fortify Gauntlet (DS 2), adding Correspondence 2 for range.

Claire took a small peek from over her cover as everyone cleared the area and then ducked back down herself. "trois - deux - un" Once finished she pressed the keyfob down to 'Unlock' the doors, now set to arm the weapon, and then 'Start' to detonate the cobbled together weapon. If it worked correctly, the device should mist the fuel in the air just before setting off a small chemical explosive salvaged from the airbags. In short; a thermobaric bomb.

Sandra's efforts were not in vain. Somewhere far from the disaster area the bluecloaked man howled in frustration as his portal failed to open to retrieve his cybernetic ally.

The elemental creature crashed through the lobby's side window, in search of Devon. It stood around scanning its surroundings for the fleshlings it sought to roast at the behest of its hidden master.

On the other side of the building's entrance, a couple of dozen meters away the cyborg attempted to continue roasting Jacki. Despite its bulk the cyborg moved fast, advancing toward the van Jacki was rolling to while trying to douse the flames. Richard narrowly missed the cyborg's head.

Today: Storyteller, on behalf of Richard Jackson, failed (no successes) using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((2,4,5)).

James had better luck. His bullet hit the cyborg's shoulder and despite the armored underhide managed to wound it. It glanced sideways looking straight  in James' direction before the collapsing building and dustcloud obscured him.

11:06, Today: Storyteller, on behalf of James Ellings, rolled 4 successes using 5d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 (damage).
11:11, Today: Storyteller failed (no successes) using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 (soak).
11:13, Today: Storyteller rolled 2 successes using 4d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 (armor).

Devon realized everyone was probably best off remaining where they were currently hidden although it was impossible to guess what Claire's explosion was going to do to the already weakened structure. The unfortunate exception was Jacki and he hoped she'd find sufficient cover under the van.

Claire calculated with lightning speed the likelihood of the tower neatly collapsing without burying any of her team: 22.54%. Not great odds but certainly in the realm of possibility.

Storyteller, on behalf of Claire Blanc (Actively Actuarial), rolled 3 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 5 ((6,7,7)).

The fuel-air bomb went off, the fuel misting into the air a fraction of a second before the chemical explosion ignited the expanding fuel cloud. The car was consumed by an blinding bright orange cloud that blew the elemental creature back into the building. The explosion bloomed into a giant ball of fire. The booming shockwave that immediately followed shook the building's foundations. It was the last push the building needed to collapse. With a thundering death roar the concrete giant crumbled.

As the floors started to collapse onto each other thick clouds of dust rolled in from the site obscuring the ultimate result of the explosion under a brown-grey murky veil. The explosion turned the sound of a seven story building collapsing into a muted rumble for a few seconds until  ears recovered from the sonic assault. For a moment it was eerily quiet and dark as the dust slowly started to settle and the last debris fell victim to gravity ...
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:45, Fri 27 May 2016.

(for the moment combat is over but remember there is a lot of work to do still, witnesses to "convince", police officers to attend to, supervisors to contact and you need to confirm two kills, one cyborg and one magma elemental)

The moments following the collapse of the building were some of the tensest Richard had experienced in a long, long time.  The detonation-induced ringing in his ears was slow to die away, but by increments the sounds of the city began to re-establish themselves.  He took out a kerchief from his pocket and held it up against his nose and mouth against the omnipresent cloud of dust -- hardly hazmat gear, but the best that could be managed -- and began breathing normally, slowing his head down.

"++All personnel, chime in,++" he subvocalized over the line.  "++Sandra, we need confirmation on the EDE's status.  James, can you locate Jackie and the cyborg?  Claire or Devon, inform Control and get a chain of command re-established.  If we are clear of hostiles, I recommend we move to Contingency 6.++"

The distant whine of police sirens was indication enough that his own specialty was about to become relevant.

++Ugh. Agent Arc, sounding off. Attempting base contact.++

He was glad he wasn't in charge of spin on this one... though he could probably chip in. ++I can start re-routing traffic away from the area, keep the nosey-types locked up in traffic. Won't be hard with all this commotion.++

So saying, he began the usual encryption protocols necessary for base communication.

++"Ellings, I'm heading for the van now. Give me a heads up if security or the police start noseying around, I come out of the debris holding a gun someone might not bother with a warning before shooting me."++ Not bothering to dust the mess of his own clothes given he would soon be getting more rubble and detritus on it James headed into the mess after only a momentary pause to adjust his glasses.

Unable to see much further than his own nose in this much of a mess James trusted to his memory as best he could and aimed for where the van was, carefully checking the surroundings as best he could. The odds on something robotic and angry rising up and trying to wrench his head off seemed fairly high at this point.

(OOC: James, roll perception + Alertness (or if you want some form of perceptual magic) to find your way through the dust and smoke)

(Devon, what are you using to reroute traffic?)

++Reyes here. Scanning++ Sandra called into the comms as her breathing finally returned to normal. The familiar task of scanning an area for data probably saved her from a mental or emotional breakdown from surviving nearly being torn limb from limb by a lava monster or being blasted to smithereens from a fuel air bomb. Instead, she focused on her work.

Sandra's fingers tapped into the touchpad on her gauntlet. Encouraged with her previous success with the carrier wave, she constructed another to extend her instruments' range to the ruins of the building. "It should work for this too, in theory..." she muttered to herself she keyed in the final commands, extended her palm, and the emitter array hummed.

12:44, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 5,10,6.  Scan Locality - Correspondence 1/Time 1 / DS 1. Boosting to Correspondence 2 to reach the building.

Claire crawled out from under the car she had hunkered behind. "I am fine and attempting to re-establish ze connection. " With her ADEI and uplink she tried the remote connection with control, hoping that the dust wasn't going to cause too much interference.

Devon began tapping into the automatic stop light control servers, an entry-level hack that most serious "security consultants" will try once they think they can get away with it. It was just such a particularly Hollywood hack. From there, he cross-referenced a few easier observation satellites, and started cutting off access to any streets nearby.

Not sure how much of that is mundane security work and how much is Data / Mind to encourage other roads.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:32, Tue 31 May 2016.

Sandra's instruments detected no EDE activity on the material plane. Whatever gave shape to the magma elemental had abandoned the form it inhabited and slinked back to its home dimension. It had shifted frequencies and slipped sideways into another dimensional layer. For the time being Sandra still had a bead on it through the link she'd established prior and she realized technically she could probably track and follow the creature if she wanted to. The notion of going after the EDE on her own to hunt it down in its home dimension wasn't very appealing though.

James felt his way through the thick cloud of dust and smoke, sometimes briefly seeing glimpses of things around him. Piles of rubble consisting of blocks of concrete, brickwork, steel beams formed a disarrayed obstacle course.

Richard did some quick calculations: emergency services would begin arriving at the edge of the cloud in a minute  or so. From there standard disaster protocols would be followed. Their first priority would be to establish a paremeter to keep civilians out of the way. Then emergency personell and police would start swarming the area. The media would soon follow.

Claire received an incoming message through her uplink. "This is HQ. I've just gotten some disturbing reports in from The Hub, our data center, about your area. I need an on-site sit-rep. Do you need assistance? ", Claire recognized Erin's voice from the briefing. Erin sounded calm but very-matter-of-factly.

OC - no successes on a Per + Altertness.

++Please standby HQ, I am establishing a secure bridge to zee rest of my team now.++ With that Claire opened encrypted channels to her team's various communications devices so that they could share her connection. "A Uplink and encrypted bridge -as been established as requested."

Claire then focused on dusting herself off - this is why she hated field work. Back in the office nice suites were never ruined.

Making his way to where Jacki was last seen was not an easy task. James kept stumbling into debris that was obscured by smoke and dust. The landscape had changed rather drastically and the fog of war had not quite faded yet. James slipped and fell. Nothing too bad, scrapes and bruises and a damaged suit. He continued.

Slowly in front of him the fog dissipated, getting thinner and less opaque and he could make out the van. The sight of a large concrete section of pillar that had crushed the front part of the van made James a little queasy and dashed his hope of getting Jacki out alive. He couldn't find a body though, and neither the cyborg that attacked her. Was it still alive ..

(Make another perception+alertness, james)
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:49, Thu 02 June 2016.

OC: No surprises, 0 successes again

Muffling a curse at the sight of the van James pulled clear the gun and moved closer to it, checking underneath for any sign of Jacki or her erstwhile opponent then slowly looping it for cover back to where he had last seen her and the thing she had been fighting. His visbility was still non-existent and he somehow doubted that thing would have the same issues if it was still there.