15:00, October 21st, 2020, Freedom Force HQ Ruins

The next few days have been uneventful - at least as far as Freedom Force were concerned.  There was lots going on in the background, but Johnson didn't see fit to share any of it with them.  With HQ demolished, they all worked from the RVs Johnson procured from the FBI.  There were three in total - one for Freedom Force, one for Johnson, and one for the prisoners and their guards, all parked inside HQ grounds, not far from the lake.

All throughout the day, trucks and tractors went back and forth, making a ruckus as they worked on clearing the debris.  It would take many months before HQ would be rebuilt, but at least they were making a start. In the meantime, the heroes spent most of their time guarding Blockbuster and Scalphunter or writing their field reports.  None of them were allowed any leave time - not even to attend Mistress's funeral!!! The excuse being that Johnson needed every Agent available with him, in case the Marauders tried to escape, or made another attempt to free their friends.

Days went by, and when Johnson finally gathered them all again, it was to issue direct orders, without filling them in on anything that has transpired since last they've spoken:

"Listen up Agents. We secured the warrant to search Essex's Black Site, arrest anyone on-premises, and seize all assets.  A warrant was also issued for Scott Hill, Essex's CEO, to be served by our counterparts in England.  The facility is located in Harlem.  A densely populated neighborhood, so we need to be extra careful to avoid causing any collateral damage. Agent Ohm, see what you can learn about the facility while we wait for our transport.  We have little less than half an hour before it arrives.  The rest of you - get in uniform"

Illya seems both excited and anxious about the news, "Harlem? Like...New York?" Coooool."

"Uh, Agent Johnson,sir? Where do I get my uniform? And can I make alterations? Or even request a specific costume? The fam, uh, voted on what my costume should be, when I told them that I was joining FF."

A sheepish look crosses his face, "Oh. And how do I requisition a phone?"

Shiva proceeds to do as he is asked. However, he does do a few unneeded back ground checks for anyone near the place. Granted he did not have warrants for these extra scans, but given he was doing them through his sensors and not his computer it would be hard to tell.

OOC-scanning

Wits-d10
Senses-d12
Tech-2d8
Distinction-computer like mind-d8

Total=13
Effect die=d10

14:18, Today: Shiva rolled 4,9,7,4 using D10,d12,2d8,d8 with rolls of 4,9,4,3,4.  Scanning.

This message was last edited by the player at 18:21, Thu 16 June 2022.

Gwenyth tried, she really did try, to follow orders. But she found that she could not, and elected to go AWOL in order to attend Mistress' funeral. She already had a hard time staying at headquarters when it was roomy and expansive; trying to work from an RV felt like her blood itself was trying to escape. It didn't seem likely to her that these Marauder fellows would launch another attack so soon; it wouldn't make for a very compelling movie scene, which surely meant it wasn't going to happen. And, when it came down to it, her confidence in Freedom Force as a concept was at an all time low.

After returning to face whatever punishment and disapproval Agent Johnson deigns to dole out, Gwenyth takes up her duties again. Mostly. She does most of her reports from her phone and spends a fair amount of time at the lake training and managing her own stress. A critical eye might even say she is trying to avoid the rest of Freedom Force.

Nonetheless, she answers when she is summoned. "Is it really prudent to wear our stars and stripes on foreign soil?" she asks.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:34, Fri 17 June 2022.

While Kate did stick around, a fair amount of the time was as a cat, or fox, either curled up in small hard to reach places, hidden in a bush, or when Gwen might not be too opposed, in a warm lap to let spoiling her be therapeutic for the other.

She didn't sneak off to the funeral, not really having gotten to know Mistress well, and not wanting to get on Johnson's bad side, more.  When the call to action came she joined the others, shifting fuzzy so she would be ready for the trip.  A simple loose t-shirt and skirt over her fur.  The shirt bearing freedom forces logo.

"Whats going to happen with the prisoners while we're away?"

"We don't have a uniform designed for you yet.  You'll get one - when and if you ever become a full member" Johnson wasn't smiling back at Illya when he mentioned his phone.  If it was a joke, it was in very poor taste "Why don't you take a step back from social media for a while? Let's go in there and do our job.  Minimal distractions, yes?"

Though phrased as a suggestion, it wasn't really one.

"Agent Garcia will stay here to guard the prisoners while we're away.  I'll call in Fiona as well. Agent Ohm - you got anything for us yet?"

Frank didn't wait around for conversation. He just went and got ready. He never really liked his uniform — the stars and stripes made him feel like a cheap Captain America knockoff — but he wasn't about to challenge his requirement to wear it. He'd requested a few alterations through the PR department; sooner or later they'd get back to him.

"It looks like a pharmacy on the outside. Thats the case on the first floor. There is an elevator at the back of the store that leads to a  basement. There aren't that many people working at the pharmacy, and I am not detecting any weapons. Chances are there are mutants guarding the place." He reports to the team's comlinks.

"That's bad news, but also to be expected.  Unfortunately, we can't afford to wait and gather information.  The Marauders attacked HQ a mere few days after we defeated them in Brooklyn.  If we give them more time they will make another attempt, and we can't afford that. We need to go on the offensive"

While the rest of Freedom Force suited up, Johnson checked out the aforementioned Pharmacy at Harlem.  It wasn't too big. Only a couple of exits, and one elevator leading down.  That, at least, would make things less complicated:

"Agent Guberman; I want you to be the first man in.  Make sure the area is secure before calling in everyone else.  Agent Ohm - I want you guarding the rear entrance from a safe distance. Preferably from the roof of the nearby apartment building.  Your arms can reach across the distance without too much trouble.  I'm going to set up additional teams of snipers around the building, and give the order to evacuate the neighborhood as soon as we begin our operation.  Any questions?"

Kate shook her head.  It seemed pretty simple.  Wait outside the front door for Tank to call her in, or for the shouting to start.  Of course then she did have an immediate question. "So we're just arresting everybody there if they don't resist and make problems right?  What if we find kid versions of the Marauders?"

"The bad guys are probably all underground," Frank said, mulling over the plan. "We have to assume that the pharmacy will have civilian customers. Anyone who doesn't make trouble should be sent outside. If they resist, they'll get arrested.

Ana Sofía doesn't feel like disobeying direct orders, but she also wants to attend the funeral. Fortunately she has other options. When the funeral starts she sends her senses there to be part of it without leaving the trailer she's in. She just looks like she's doing one of her regular superhero concentration things.

When discussing the building and an approach to it she says, "I can monitor the building before going in, even where there are no cameras. That should give us a good idea of what we're walking into. I'll sweep through the place thoroughly ahead of time while we travel to New York." During the flight she'll let her senses take a walk through the building to examine each room thoroughly.

"We're going to hit the place after closing time, so no civilian customers.  Arrest everyone in there - I'm assuming the employees are all in on the conspiracy as well.  If we do find kid versions of the Marauders, we will detain them and let the Justice department figure it out"

The helicopter Johnson asked for was already waiting for them on the helipad - the only structure not demolished in the recent attack.  So far, every helicopter the team boarded was destroyed, but he hoped they can finally break with tradition

"Agent Garcia and Agent Ohm will provide additional information while we are in transit. Agent Blake - take the pilot's seat.  I want to get going"

"Yes, sir." Gwenyth slips into the pilot's seat and swings her legs into position with some enthusiasm. She quickly flips the necessary switches to start up the helicopter without even looking and hums some doubtlessly awful pop song as she waits for the rotors to spin up.

"Who wants to wager on this heli's survival?" Gwenyth asks. "Five to one odds, I'll bet a large three-topping pizza that this one makes without even a scratch." Playing the long odds!

Illya fusses with his trainee uniform, clear from the large yellow "T" spray-painted on the chest and back. In his preoccupation, he only seems to be taking in half of what's being said as he climbs aboard the helicopter, though he occasionally mumbles vague assurances that he's listening and what he thinks the speaker wants to hear, "Right. Don't go in. Arrest everyone. Crash the helicopter."

The last one, however, snaps him out of his reverie, "Wait. What?"

He looks at Gwenyth with wide eyes, "Just how many helicopters have you crashed?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:59, Sun 19 June 2022.

"Me personally? Just one, and there was a tornado involved so it's not my fault!" Denial! "Freedom Force collectively, I think three and also a weird stealth spaceship thingy. I'm not sure that last one should count. How much do these things cost again?"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:03, Sun 19 June 2022.

In reply to Gwenyth Blake (msg # 14):

"I will get a part of that action. For two pizza's!" Shiva says as he gets into postion. Once Tank goes in, he will send in several of the arms after his fellow mutant. Shiva will remain in his rooftop position.

Over the commlink, it could be heard him talking to someone else. "No Six. Nobody likes marshmellow pizza. That's disgusting, and if you had the ability to eat you would know that..."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:33, Mon 20 June 2022.

As they're flying... oh, this still isn't a good way to fly!... Ana Sofía concentrates and places her senses in a familiar spot close to where they want. She quickly moves through the streets to the address and then inside to check the current status of each room. She notes out loud through the head sets what she observes.

Kate sits nervously near the exit, ears muffled by the headsets as otherwise the noise would be quite overwhelming.  It's hard to stay calm though with their recent luck with all things areal.  She seems to be doing her best to ignore the betting on the poor helicopter's survival.