"So, nothing at all we can or should do.  The plan is... extend thumb.  Stick thumb up ass.  Wait,"  Melissa muttered.  "Lovely."

"Well, the good news on that is you likely won't be waiting long."

"Hey Andy!"

Andy looked up as another guard wandered over.

"Been standing here for a bit." He looked the two women over then turned his attention back to Andy. "Something going on?"

Andy gave a half grin. "Aw, hell. You know how it is sometimes. These two ladies and I were makin' a deal. You know." He gave an exaggerated wink to the young guard. "A little bartering. No harm done."

The young guard's eyes widened a bit as he once again looked over the women. "What...both of them?"

"Well, someone has to watch Daria while we're indisposed. So it's a take turns kinda thing. Cover for me, will ya?" Andy gave the guy a big smile.

The younger guard just laughed as he shook his head. "Ok, ok." He started off again, shaking his head. "Geez...two of them...man..." His voice trailed off as he left.

Andy made a face at the retreating figure. "Sometimes I can't figure out why that works." He looked back at Glaze and Dawnfire. "Well, this is a good excuse to get out of sight and get ready. You two just follow me and pretend to be agreeable."

She smiled pruriently at the younger guard on his way out, remarking "Ah, me and Ghiaccia*, we're a package deal, hey?  Double pleasure, like Doublemint twins.  Only spicy, not minty."   

"Seems to be the accepted and honored barter, here," she afterwards replied to Andy's question. "Many of these punks are probably incels, without social skill to get a date the honest way."   

While Nora of course recognized the danger of being held here, her attitude at this point was a little different than Mel's.    Unless Andy was a terribly good actor (something she didn't wholly rule out, yet), then this Havok thing was a serious operation, that likely had a quite solid plan behind it.

She was more than willing to be patient a time, to see how this thing unfolded.    She'd resort to more desperate measures - of which she was making a mental list -if it bombed.


*Italian for ice-pop/popsicle.

"Because the guys that think with their dicks assume every other guys also thinks with his dick," Melissa noted to Andy in a low voice then smirked.  "That said, if this thing works well, I might fuck your brains out for reals.  No promises.  Just... extra motivation."

"It's not an incel thing.  It's a power thing.  Stanford prison experiment.  The shit my dad told me his dad went through in the Vietnam version of this place," Melissa told Nora as they followed Andy.  "Power corrupts.  Not me, though.  I was corrupt before I got power."

Andy gets the three of them inside the large building and gets them in the elevator. While inside, his posture changes to a more alert one, and he doesn't speak. The other guards milling about glance over, but no one seems to question that he's moving three 'detainees' through.

In the elevator are two other guards, but not a word is said as they are moved up to a higher floor. If anything, these other two guards seem to either not notice what's going on, or they just really don't care.

Once the doors open, the first thing the girls notice is not the corridor, kept clean and shiny. Or the doors that more resemble futuristic devices you'd see in a science fiction movie.

No, it's the absolutely huge man. Man being a generous term. Someone took a black wolf, and a body builder, and then added another body builder, and maybe a few more wolves, and made this one. Probably over 7 feet, it was hard to tell as he was hunched over. Fangs, claws, piercing amber eyes. A sleek canine tail as well. Andy herded the girls out and the snout turned to regard the newcomers.

Daria gave a little squeak, and then rushed forward and threw her arms around one of the fuzzy legs.

The wolfman's hand came down and patted the girl's head as he regarded Andy. "Strays?"

"Pretty much," Melissa piped up and indicated Nora.  "We're just a couple of feral-ass bitches lookin' to bust out of this very-much-kill obedience school before they decide to put us the fuck to sleep."

Not everyone was left human looking after the onset of their power.   She'd learned that already.   Met two that would have blended in well in that cantina scene from the old Star Wars movie.    Still, it was hard not to stare just a little at first, till she forced herself not to.

Daria's ease and comfort with the uomo-lupo potente was good assurance as to his true nature.

"Hey-o," she waved briefly in greeting, remaining alert as she could, and waiting to see how this would unfold.

The wolfman opened his mouth in a kind of canine grin as Andy gave a half shrug.

"You know how it is."

The wolfman nodded. "Dog eat dog."

Andy frowned. "It didn't have to be like this."

"World's what it is. Not much to do about it." The way it was said it was almost a question.

Daria yawned again. The wolfman patted her head gently. "Almost time, yes?"

Andy nodded.

"So, is there anything in particular we need to, you know, do since it's 'almost time?'" Melissa asked them.  "Or are we still sticking with the whole 'stick our thumbs up our asses and wait' tactic?"

Andy lead them into one of the rooms and closed the door as Glaze poke up.

"Well, we were waiting for Wraith's report actually."

"Wraith's been waiting on you, Breyer," came a female voice out of nowhere.

The wolfman leaned against the wall, not even phased that someone he couldn't see was speaking. Daria barely seemed to notice either. Andy chuckled.

"Well, ain't you a sight for...well, not much of a sight anyway come to think of it."

Against the far wall materialized a female form. She had on a streamlined set of full combat gear, and a helmet. There was not even an inch of skin showing. On her back was slung a fairly large rifle, a pistol at her hip, and what appeared to be eseveral knives on her hips. The helmet faced Andy.

"Smartass," she said, before turning the helmet to look at the wolfman. "He still have you playing guard dog, Wolf?"

"Heh. I'm still good at it, even with this fancy bracelet on. Cats roam, dogs guard. Nature of the beast."

She nodded, then looked over at Glaze and Dawnfire before looking back to Andy. "Told you they'd follow."

Andy nodded again. "Yeah, but you got an advantage. I don't read minds."

She looked back to the girls. "Engel's on her way now. John's on route. ETA, about 5 minutes. So any questions, now's the time. Once he's in range, things are going fast."
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:50, Mon 16 Dec 2019.

"Okay so the signal goes out, and these cuffs drop off.  And then-?  Are we focused on escape, getting into some transport, taking down any opposition between?  Or is there a retributive strike, or something else planned?   Are there defense systems here we should be concerned about?   Or is goons with guns about the worst of what we face?"

"We stick our thumbs up our asses like good little girls and wait for the commando people to tell us what to do aside from that," Melissa piped up in a snide tone.  "Figure for this next bits we're not even passengers on this ride.  We're cargo."

"And that's the smart play for them," Melissa told Nora in a more normal tone.  "They don't know us.  They can't trust us.  We could be fucktards like the asshole who got himself fried on the way here.  Or just gutless loudmouths.  Or actual traitors, mind-reading or not.  Hell, we could be brainwashed sleepers waiting on a signal.  This is magic superpower shit.  Who the fuck knows what's possible?"

"One thought along that line," Melissa continued, turning back to the commando group.  "If you're in their system enough to shut it down, you might want to check to make sure all the suppressors folks are sporting are actually on and nerfing their powers.  Figure the fed A-holes might've snuck a supers ringer or two in here expecting you guys to do this exact thing."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:55, Tue 17 Dec 2019.

Wraith listened to both girls before she spoke.

"Priority is getting to the transport and getting the hell out of here. Most of the people here aren't going to be worth the time it takes to get them loaded, so it's you people here and Engel. After that, anyone musters enough to get moving, they can go too. Otherwise, no go. We're stretched thin enough on this run, there's no babysitting," she said, before looking down at Daria then back up. "Ok, some babysitting. Breyer will handle the little one, unless Engel's going to grab her."

She turned the visor toward Glaze.

"Hey, if you want to go out there and do this on your own then feel free. You want to start trying to power up right now, feel free. Otherwise, you got nothing else to do except stick your thumb up your ass and wait."

She put a hand on her hip.

"You don't want to be here and I can hear the echo in your thoughts. I get it. But I trust in my abilities, and so does Havok. This whole op can go thirteen ways wrong at any given point, and I'm not sparing any effort to hold hands. The inhibitor blows, you pull that son of a bitch off and you follow Breyer. Things go well, we're out fast. If not, you don't need to worry about growing old."

She looked at Wolf. "That means you get to go for a car ride."

Wolf growled. "I'm a wolf, not a dog."

Wraith shrugged. "Whatever. You just play nice."

He grunted with a laugh. "I don't play nice. I'll get to your transport."

Wraith nodded.

"Ok. Then looks like the party is starting. Three minutes and counting."

Daria looked up. "Mommy's coming?"

Andy smiled at the girl. "Yup. And then we're going on a trip."

She nodded, still a bit sleepy. "And daddy?"

Wraith's shoulders tensed a bit and Andy frowned. "We hope not."

She said to Mel "I like your spunk and initiative.   However, we Italians have a saying: 'One minute of patience, can result in ten years of peace.'  And though I'm sure there's little peace in our near future, it's just quaint way of saying action isn't always the right thing.   If we prove we aren't ritarda fottuta -  fucktard as you say - Mr. Havok may have some worthy things for us to do."     

She listened to the exchange betwixt Wraith and Warg (or whatever big-dog's code name was), then addressed them-

"Speaking of mammas and papàs and little ones --  is Signorina Daria the only child here?  I gather you won't be leaving others behind, if there are others? I would not willingly leave any kids behind.  Whether they're little dynamos or not."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:50, Mon 16 Dec 2019.

Melissa looked at Andy.  "Hey, is there anything like a vending machine or some shit around here?  Candy bar, Monster energy, something like that.  Figure with the draining thing these fucking things do a quick pep could do a lot toward give some folks here the energy to make it out."

"Yeah, no other kids here now. Daria's...a special case."

Wolf nodded. "Yeah, separating her from Engel didn't work out so well."

Andy nodded toward the end of the room, where a cooler sat. "We got some energy bars in there, along with some sodas."

Wraith turned her visor toward the window, then back. "Two minutes and then it's boom time."

Melissa moved to the cooler and opened it, grabbing a soda and energy bar for herself and Nora.  She also opened a soda with another bar and handed it to Wolf.  "I dunno.  Do the best you can." she said, hoping he'd be able to chug the soda with his other-than-human features.

Finally she gave a car and soda to Andy.  "For the kid if her stuff lets her have it."

After that she looked around to try to find some kind of bag to put whatever was left in to distribute to any other prisoners they ran across.

That done, she waited until the final thirty seconds before "boom time" to snarf the energy bar and chug down the soda for the energy she'd need to bug out of here.

There wasn't a clock in there, but it was pretty obvious when the time elapsed.

There was a soft chime from the arm bracers, and the light on them went out. Inside, the pressure bands that held them on quickly released, and all across the compound arm bands hit the floor like rain.

For Glaze and Dawnfire, the effect was immediate. It was like a switch turned on, a feeling that until it was gone either even knew was there. They could feel their powers come back to life.

Wolf threw his band to the ground and seemed to almost swell. His fur rose just a bit and he stood up straighter than he had before, although still slightly hunched as his normal posture.

Daria's band made a satisfying thump when the fell, and started to pool a clear liquid from it.

Wraith got her rifle ready as they made for the door. Andy had put his down and retrieved a different one from the side of the room. He nodded to Wraith and she disappeared as the door opened. Andy motioned to the girls.

"To the courtyard, transport is inbound. Quick in and out, so no heroics. Just get on board and we're gone."

"Vaffanculo, è meraviglioso!"

For all that she'd spent some significant time wishing she didn't have them at all, the return of her powers was one of the sweetest moments of relief she'd ever known.
For a second, she glanced down at the fallen band with a faint twist to her lips, the sort of look given to a piece of dog crap when found on an expensive, imported rug.

Streams of rose, bronze, and azure light traced over her form, erupting swiftly into a full aura. Realizing her right hand was clenched tightly into a fist, she made herself unclench it.    She'd no intention of doing anything other than what had just been suggested, barring unforeseen disasters.

She nodded, gave Mel a brief glance, then made her way toward the courtyard.   On guard and mentally prepared as possible, just in case.

Melissa felt immediately better and worse with from removal of the inhibitor.  He strength came back and could feel the cold core or her power.  At the same time though, she was in Death Fucking Valley.  The air was dry, hot and with her power came the pressure of an environment almost totally unsuited for her powers.  It was almost as bad as the inhibitor had been.  Almost.  The bar and soda were working at least some, though, giving her the energy she needed.

As they were moving, Melissa was watching for potential "rescuees."  She knew they couldn't take everyone, couldn't even take more than a few.  So she had a basic "triage criteria" in terms of who to get.  Not too weak/hopeless, female over male, young/teen over older, nearby vs. further away.

Assuming she found those in something like a sweet spot or even those at least near it, she gave them an energy bar and soda, then said variation on, "Chug it as we go, but come now unless you wanna live here.  Or die here."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:46, Tue 07 Jan 2020.

Heading through the building to the courtyard was easier than expected. Seems all the guards had filed out to try and control the sudden influx of uninhibited Empowered.

On the down side, they were using live ammo and most of the newly freed Empowered were mostly run down and beaten. It was a target rich environment, and most of the poeple didn't seem to even be fighting back. Here and there a bolt flew out, or a flash of light, or a guard went flying, but such were fewer than expected.

Two transports are coming in, low and fast. They kick up a wake of sand in their passing. The several large guns that sit on the edges of the floating prison don't move however, much to the annoyance of the guards.

Engel sees the group emerging and makes her way toward them, zeroing in toward her daughter. She spreads her wings and manages half flapping motions to try and get airborne, but all that does is to just accelerate her somewhat, she's way too tired to get off the ground.

However, it does make her one thing. A target.

Wolf bounds forward as the sudden whine of an energy weapon sounds. There is a flash from behind Engel and she pitches forward, her wings flailing as she falls forward, smoke rising from the spot between them as she hits the ground hard.

"Tochter..." she breathes, fighting to regain her feet.

Daria stops running, her expression going from smiling at the sight of her mother to surprise, then to fear, and then her lips curl back into a snarl that could best be described as feral.

"Mom!" the word comes out forced, gutteral. Daria takes a step toward her mother, a tear drop falls from her eye and hits the ground, red a fresh blood. Her shoulder shake, and there is the sound of tearing flesh as a pair of wings energe from her back, shredding the back of her shirt. Wings that resemble bones loosely stitched together with sinew and membrane, dotted with blood. Daria clenches newly sprouted claws and howls as she lunges forward, bits of her fall off to reveal muscle and gristle as she snarls, pointed teeth bared as she howls.

"Nein...nein mein kleiner..." Engel fights to get up as Daria begins to take flight.

The guards turn at the howl and many of them break ranks in terror. One word is shouted over and over as the few that remain begin to fire at the child.

"Nightmare!"

Meanwhile the transports anchor to either side of the platform and open. Men in dark body armor pop out and begin to fire at the guards. Andy heads for the rightmost transport, waving for the girls to follow. Wolf however hits the ground on all fours and bounds toward the downed form of Engel.

The heat was a fucking hammer and the dry desert air was sandpaper in Melissa's lungs.  Events outpaced her completely.  Her plan to give sustenance to the other prisoners was DOA.  Still, there was a chance to save Engle and her powers could help, but this was the absolutely worst fucking environment to try it.

She had a few cans of the soda left.  Daria was running toward her mother, Wolf was going after her, the guards were getting organized and the whole thing looked about to turn into a firing squad.

Blasting the guards was out.  Melissa probably couldn't manage a snowball in this dry heat.  But she might be able to do one biggish thing, even it if was going to fucking hurt.  She shook the sodas, popping their tops and tossing them, letting them spray into the air.  Then she reached for that new moisture, riding it to seeks the tiny bits of water vapor in the air.  She reached, grabbed and and threw it.

It hurt.  The effort of it was agony.  The air felt slightly cool as her sweat dried and joined her effort.  A white wall of ice took shape between Engel and the gunmen, hopefully giving her cover enough for the others to save her without getting murdered.

"Did it," Melissa breathed, through dried, cracked lips.

And then she passed the fuck out.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:34, Fri 17 Jan 2020.

"Cazzo Cristo!"  Nora said beneath her breath, as the winged German woman was shot, and things then went all pear shaped, as the British would say.

She might have been horrified, in other circumstance, at young Daria's transformation, but there was assuredly no time to dwell upon it now.    It appeared, at least, that the girl did possess power enough with which to defend herself.

Mel's ice-wall averted the most immediate issue.    It wasn't rocket science to figure that she was being adversely affected by the arid heat of this environment.  In a coruscating trail of dawn-colored hues, she flew to Mel's side, and picked up the fainted freeze-maker, who weighed next to nothing at Nora's present strength level.  Just as swiftly, she then flew to Wolf and Engel, and said to the great lupine:

"Get her to the ship!" meaning Engel, "I will heal her -- but this is not the place!"

Nora held Mel in both arms.  She glanced at Wolf's hands, making certain they weren't paws, and he was able to carry Engel.   If no, she would take Mel under one arm, and Engel under the other.  She could do it, but it was far from the best way to move an injured person.    Ice wall or no, she didn't want to risk multiple trips.

Wolf sprints past Dawnfire, skidding next to Engel as he whips out one huge arm and scoops her up. He fumbles for a moment to get her wings pulled in as several shots pelt the ice wall, sending chips and cracking it. It obviously won't hold long.

He takes off toward the transport as Breyer reaches it. He turns and fires off a few shots.

"Daria! Get over here! Your mother needs you! Deine Mutter!"

The creature that once was the little girl had bowled into a guard and the two collapsed as they rolled around. There was Nightmare's shrieks mixed with the panicked screams of the guard, before the sudden silence of both. Then, hearing Breyer, Nightmare raised her head, looking about as if confused. Until she heard the german. Then she shook her head and her lips moved, although no one was close enough to hear her. Then she leaped up, her bloody wings catching air and she cannonballed back to the transport, her form blurring and fading as if composed of mist, and the little girl collapsed in Breyer's arm. He pulled her inside as the armored men began their retreat to the transports.

Seeing that the fallen winged woman was in good hands (not paws), Nora wasted no time in flying toward the transport in the most direct line that she could, without intersecting anybody else's path of travel.

Once she was able to get inside, she looked about for a secure and comfortable as possible place to put Mel.   Being able to lay her down somewhere was preferable.  But, if everyone needed to be strapped into chairs for the ride, she would take care of that.    She guessed Mel mostly needed some rest, but checked her breathing and pulse to rule out something worse.

Mel situated, she made her way to Wolf and Engel, attempting to get an idea how bad this wound was.   She looked up at Wolf saying-

"Do you want me to do what I can?   It needs a little time and uninterrupted focus, but is faster than any standard treatment.   I'd need to have a hand on her. A light touch is enough. Over or near the heart is ideal."       She suspected Wolf was close to this mother and daughter --  thus, as a stranger here, she wanted permission, as well as to make clear that it would require physical contact.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:39, Tue 21 Jan 2020.