Starring:
Summary: A group of people — some with abilities, some without, some natural, some artificial — raid a Pinehearst Research laboratory, searching for the completed formula and the Boost drug. Novak, Elisabetha, and some security guards are all that stand in their way. Quinn is on the side of the raiders… But who is Tyson with?
Future Date: September 3rd, 2011
Storming the Castle
Pinehearst Research Laboratory
It is after-hours at a Pinehearst Research laboratory. Most people have gone home, with just a couple of night owls like Novak Garbaldi working late, and the appropriate number of night-shift security guards. Novak is sitting at a computer, typing on a keyboard with padded keys, so that they make the least amount of noise possible when pressed. By this point, Pinehearst is aware of Novak's ability, and has made some accomodations for him. Such as a nearly sound-proof office. The bespectacled man has been looking at this same problem with 'the formula' for three years, and so far has failed to find a solution.
'If only we had the other half,' he thinks to himself for the millionth time. Indeed, the reason why the formula is so weak, and why it required the enhancement drug that is the cause of so much pain, is that it is incomplete. There is another half to the formula. A half that Pinehearst does not have. Novak has extrapolated from the half they do have, trying to imagine what the other half might contain, and then testing his theories.
No success so far.
Outside the laboratory, a handful of men and women are setting themselves up around the building. Whether addicts to the adrenaline drug, or hoping to acquire an ability from a completed formula, or here for their own, more personal, reasons these individuals are prepared to use whatever means necessary to get what they came here for this night. This has been planned for weeks. The security cameras stationed around the building, the fence, and the guards on watch, are woefully inadequate defenses…
Word on the street is that Pinehearst has the capabilities of making mundane men more that normal. With those kind of words flying about there is no doubt about the kind people it's going to attract as if on purpose. Great for the people wanting abilities, not so great for Tyson who only saw mutual destruction by the end of it as he watched the group building just beyond what individuals might consider outside Pineheart's surveilance.
"Either they'll end up with powers, and screw themselves, or they gunned down in the process… heck, they might even get gunned down afterward…" He sighs, shaking his head. "Reminding me why I'm here…" He was among them now, waiting for the groups moment to come. He would be with them, with them until his own oppurtunity came.
Quinn has come with the crowd. Probably looks like one of the crowd right now. Working, she maintains a far more conventional presence, and act these days when people likely would confuse (correctly) her stage tricks with actual abilities and turn her in. She gets word on the street, though, and heard that there was some action going on at Pinehearst, the core of what she thinks of as the things that wrecked her life. If something's going on here, she wants in.
Elisabetha and her servant, Emily, are both walking down the sidewalk towards the Pinehearst laboratory where Novak works. He didn't come home, and it's late, so Emily has prepared Novak some dinner, and is bringing it over in a lunchcase. Elisabetha, not one to miss an opportunity to see her father, when he spends almost all his time at work these days, has come along with. She walks steadily, and firmly, at an even pace. None of that jerky, weak-limbed, 'oh help me I've fallen and I can't get up' nonsense from a few years ago. Elisabetha is stronger than that now. Stronger in many ways, but physically is the most obvious.
The younger of the two blondes, Emily, speaks up. "Miss Eli, I am worried about your father." Elisabetha responds without looking, "Oh? Whatever for?" Her speech is much bolder, more eloquent, and not at all halting and monotone as it once was. She is a cool, calm, collected, and intelligent woman. Emily and Elisabetha have filled out a bit over the past few years, but Emily is still shorter and less well-developed than her mistress. She looks up at Elisabetha and says, "Well, he works so hard all the time. He rarely comes home, rarely sleeps, and has to be cajoled into eating. He is going to waste away if he does not take better care of himself!" The research laboratory comes into sight on the right-side of the sidewalk, and Elisabetha considers what Emily says.
"I'll speak to him. He has been obsessing over his work for years now. It's time he stepped back and took stock of his life… And mine." Elisabetha picks up the pace as they near the building, not noticing the people lurking in the darkness, the man pretending to be homeless across the street, or anyone else lying in wait. Instead, she and Emily approach the gates, and Elisabetha waits for security to identify the two of them. They're regular visitors. While they wait, Elisabetha turns her head towards Emily, noting she still seems worried. Her wine-red eyes gaze at her servant, friend, confidante… And lover. She leans in and kisses Emily on the cheek, startling the other woman for a moment, before she smiles and relaxes a bit, blushing and looking down at the lunchbox in her hands. Elisabetha shows no sign of emotion other than the act itself, and turns to face the gate.
Unaware of the impending attack, or of his daughter just outside, Novak sips at some tea, notes the cup is nearly empty, and gets up from his chair to get more, saving and closing his work first, before locking down the work station. He walks out into the hallway, and heads towards the cafe to make some more tea, showing his I.D. as-appropriate to get through various checkpoints.
Tyson may not be here for the same reason as the others, but they at least know him well enough to not question his presence. The leader of this operation, a tall black man with a face full of piercings, looks up casually from his spot in an alleway across the street from the lab, and flips open a tiny Japanese-made cellphone. He speaks towards it, and a video conference starts between himself and the other members of this mission. Maybe not Tyson, but definitely Quinn.
"Everyone in position?" Berk, the leader, asks. While waiting for replies, he spots Elisabetha and Emily approaching, and watches interestedly, until they stop at the gates. Then he says, "Lucius, change of plans. Slip in when these two do. This will save us some time. Janice, and the rest of you, get ready to rush the gates when Lucius opens them. Quinn, make the street look empty, if you can." Berk turns towards Tyson, next to him, and asks, "Can you 'port into the guard room if I show you it through Lucius's phone?"
Meanwhile, Lucius, standing invisible next to the gates, watches as Elisabetha approaches, gets his orders through an ear-piece connected to his mini-phone, and doesn't reply. Because speaking right now would tip off his presence. The guards watching the cameras spot the two women, and the gate pops up to let them in. It's only open for a few seconds, but that's enough for Lucius to slip in behind Elisabetha and Emily.
Quinn has her own way to be 'invisible', her body and clothes become as inky as the shadow they stand in, while she quietly listens to her own radio. She is very quiet in her responses, waiting for her own part of this mission to begin.
Tyson looks over at Berk with a certain look in his eyes, "No, man. I can only go places I can see or /know/ where they are. Anything else and I might pop up in a wall or… inside someone else…." He shudders offering that much, he turns and looks towards the couple at the entrance. Being able to see them up close helps, especially from their distant location, but even then Tyson couldn't place if he remember the pair or if he just thought he did.
Elisabetha is totally unaware that there's an invisible man standing next to her. When the gates open, Elisabetha takes Emily's arm in her own and steps past the fence, into the 'yard' immediately in front of the building. Following the paved path past trees and little cemented-off hillocks of grass and flowers, the two proceed up to the doors and enter the building. Elisabetha asks, "What did you bring him?" Emily looks up, this journey through the building so common-place by now, that she doesn't even need to look where she's going mostly. "Some shrimp scampy, with cheddar'd broccoli, and some chocolate milk." Elisabetha stares a bit at Emily as the two walk through the lobby, towards some security doors that lead further inside. "Chocolate milk?" she asks. Emily nods and smiles. "Your father does not like normal milk, and the doctor did say he needed to drink more of it, so I thought some chocolate might help make it more palatable."
Elisabetha hmms, and then waits by the security doors. Novak will be notified of their arrival, probably, and come out to meet them. Allowing the two of them to enter the work and research area would be against regulations, regardless of whose daughter she is. Not that it would be the first time they let her in or anything, but no point in bending the rules more than necessary.
Novak is not in his office when the intercom clicks on to inform him that his daughter is here to see him. So a security guard is sent to get him instead. As he is just finishing making his tea, the guard shows up and delivers the message. Novak blinks a bit and says, "Alright. Thanks." Then he heads towards the doors leading into the lobby. The moment he opens said doors, he can tell something is wrong. He can hear four people breathing (counting himself), when there are only three visible (once again counting himself). He starts to slam the door closed, but an invisible body attempts to push past Elisabetha and Emily, and force its way into the hallway beyond the doors, pressing a gun into Novak's stomach if successful.
Lucius, if this works, whispers, "Yell and I shoot." Obtaining cooperation from Novak would result in Berk being contacted on over the cellphone, to notify him that he's in. From there, Lucius would lead the two woman and one aging man towards the power room. And once there… A few seconds later, and the building goes dark. The security system is offline, and everything is shut down until emergency power kicks in.
Meanwhile, Berk nods to Tyson. "Well, that will just make things more interesting." When the power goes down, he says forcefully into his phone, "Move! Now! Move move move!" Then he and others all rush out of concealment and charge the gates. Berk thrusts one of his hands forwards as he runs, and the metal fence that surrounds the building peels apart like a giant invisible can-opener was being applied to it. Improvised entrance. After that, it's up to each person to get into the building, and start ransacking the place, and take down anyone who gets in their way. Janice is paired with Quinn, and Berk is paired with Tyson. The others split up into their own teams and go their own ways. Anything that looks valuable, especially vials of liquid labeled 'top secret' or anything that glows, is going to be a target.
Back at the power room, Novak is held hostage with Elisabetha and Emily, their invisible assailant remaining hidden from the naked eye… But not from Novak. Novak can see waves of body heat emanating from around this person, can hear their breath, can smell them, practically feel their presence without even touching them. But he can't do anything right now. Because Lucius has a gun pointed at him. Sucks.
Quinn moves out of the shadows, looking like a living human shape formed of blackness until her 'chameleon' mode causes her to take the coloration of the fence, then the walls. Probably makes her a hard target to hit, even if it isn't that subtle an effect. She moves through the gates, right now focused simply on getting inside the institute.
Tyson eyes Berk carefully as he commands everyone to enter. This was the man that had been in control. He had organized everything, until this point… and now… could be- "Right. Interesting. So, are you going to be looting or making sure things go accordingly? I know I've got some body getting my loot in as well." Tyson didn't, but thought Berk wouldn't question it as he spied the guard room center and knew it to be the place he wanted to go.
Emily yells a bit and almost drops the lunch she prepared when someone INVISIBLE shoves past her. Elisabetha is nearly knocked to the ground, and certainly would have been a few years ago. Instead she just barely regains her balance, catching herself with one hand on the nearest wall, and trying to determine what's going on. She figures it out a moment later when a voice whispers about shooting if Novak yells.
From the look on her father's face, she can tell he is carefully masking his emotions. Staying calm. Elisabetha is naturally cool as a cucumber, so she doesn't have much trouble staying calm either. Emily, on the other hand, is quite nervous. Elisabetha turns to Emily and says, "Just stay calm. We're fine." Then she follows after Novak and the invisible jerk as they head down the hall, towards the power room.
When the hallway and the rest of the building goes dark, she assumes (probably correctly) that Mister Invisibo cannot see them, the same as they can not see him. So she waits and listens, trying to determine where exactly this man is standing. Then, hopefully before the emergency lights come on, she begins to speak. "Is it really worth risking your life to be here?" she asks, as she starts to slowly exert her power. "Is any of this really worth it?" Elisabetha allows the man to respond, if he wishes, but seems untrouble by any answers she may receive.
"Life must be so hard for you… So hard to keep going on, day after day, wondering when the pain is going to end… Wondering when you'll be allowed to just… Lie down and die. I can tell, you know. I can tell you're suffering. The drug you're taking to get your power… It's making life hell. But is all this really going to make it better? What if… What if it would be better to just stop thinking. Stop… Breathing… Just… …Stop." Then she reaches out her only hand towards where she thinks the man is, and attempts to finish the job she has started. She attempts to simply sap the will to live from Lucius, invisible or no, and make him give up completely. Make his heart stop beating from a lack of care to continue. Elisabetha really hopes this works, because she'd rather not have to pull out the big guns in a place where she could hurt Emily and Novak.
Novak stands there in the hall with Emily and Elisabetha. The emergency lighting has come on already, yes, though not before Elisabetha starts her speech. Lucius remains silent throughout the first part, but then, he snaps angrily, "Shut up. You don't know anything about me—" But then Elisabetha continues, in the monotone she used to speak in. The draining, exhausting, emotion-leeching voice of someone who really doesn't care. And the power that accompanies it is sufficient that Lucius's gun lowers from where it is pointed at Novak, lowers down to point at the ground, and Lucius lets out a choked sob before turning visible, and dropping to the floor when Elisabetha touches him. Even Novak was starting to feel a bit drained by his daughter. However, he says, "That's enough, Elisabetha. You don't need to kill him." Hopefully he stops her in time. But whether he does or not, he makes his way across the hallway, lit by small spotlights mounted near the ceiling, and attempts to go into the darkened power room, to get everything started up again. He is by no means an expert on electrical systems, so this may take awhile.
Janice is a red-haired young woman who stays near Quinn (unless Quinn is still doing the whole chameleon thing, in which case she just tries to stay nearby where she THINKS Quinn is), as they charge into the lobby. Janice takes a left and starts going up some stairs to the second floor, as the boots of guards running into the area mix with the sounds of the others running around in the building, trying to find what they're after. Janice waits for the guards to come into view on the second-floor balcony, and then points a hand towards one of them.
The guard immediately turns and shoves his companion off the balcony to the floor below, before looking horrified at what he just did, and reaching for his gun. Whatever Janice did, it doesn't look like she can do it again, from how hard she's breathing. She also looks like she expected something more profound to happen. Maybe she's running low on the booster drug in her system? Maybe Quinn can help with the first guard before he shoots Janice — and then probably shoots Quinn too.
Meanwhile, Berk makes a yanking motion at the metal security door that Lucius originally went through, and the door bends, screeches, and eventually is torn out of the wall, bolts and all. He replies to Tyson, "We're going for the formula and any of the drug we can find. They're workin' on somethin' in here. We want that somethin'. Call out if you find anything interestin'." Then he allows Tyson to head towards the guard center, and turns towards some oncoming guards in the hallway he and Tyson are in. When those guards open fire, Berk raises a hand and the bullets all slow and then stop in mid-air, right in front of him. Then he flings the bullets back with his magnetic powers, wounding or killing the guards who originally fired them. Whichever the case, they aren't getting back up anytime soon.
Quinn uses one of her newer tricks. One learned sometime between when she got her powers, and when the drug was developed. She doesn't use, and doesn't need the drug, as suddenly.. the Guard sees, and /feels/ the gun seem to superheat and melt in his hand. While he likely screams and tries to scrape the hot metal from his hand, she helps Janice, an arm under hers as she drags the woman toward the drug she so clearly needs. Quinn doesn't exactly approve of the drug, but blames the condition on the ones who created it.
Tyson watches Berk stop the bullets, different from how he would have done it… the bullets humming differently afterward, but he notes the presented ability for what it might be and the mentioned goal. They were going after the formula itself, Tyson didn't know what they planned to do with it once they got it. Did these people really have the- "Good luck in yours." He offers, feeling out the space and all the people in it before centering himself somewhere new, the security center. He knew to expect guards frantic about the happenings, he just hoped they wouldn't shoot first, explaining, "Things have all ready gotten crazy and now there are only a few things that are going to keep everyone alive. I'm going to try and be one of them. Help or move, and trust me, I can move you FOR you." He would be ready to hold the guards should they start firing at him in turn, but he thought reason might work a little better.
Elisabetha stops just short of killing Lucius, though it's a close thing. She really wouldn't have cared if he'd died. He threatened her father. Why should he be allowed to live? But it wasn't just about that… "I wouldn't be killing him anyway, father. I would be ending his pain. He suffers. He deserves to have his suffering ended, yes?" Emily shakes her head and says, "There are other ways to end that suffering. If he is placed somewhere he can get help, he will not need to suffer anymore, and he will still be alive." Elisabetha frowns at Emily, causing her lover to shrink back against the wall.
Harshly, the slightly older blonde says, "Life is suffering. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something." She then turns her attention on Novak's departure into the power room, and follows to see if she can help. Switches and generators are spaced around the claustrophobic room — more like a large closet, really. Is there anything she can notice that her father wouldn't have? Anything that obviously says, 'I am the thing what makes the power turn on'? Emily, meanwhile sighs as she stands out in the hall, trying to remove the gun from Lucius's hand as the man lies on the floor, comatose. She doesn't like guns, but she likes guns being pointed at her even less.
Novak looks over all the various switches, and panels, and dials and so forth, trying to make sense of it all. His perception is extremely heightened, to the point where he can easily hear all the commotion throughout the building. It's very distracting. But he tries to focus.
Even when a spider crawls across the wall in front of him. He's not arachnophobic, but just seeing the spider causes him to experience it as though it was crawling across the back of his hand with its hairy legs. He shoves the imaginary sensations aside, however, and tries just flipping all the switches on the circuit breaker to the opposite position they are presently in, until something positive happens.
The guard reacts as expected by Quinn, screeching as he drops his gun and starts clawing at his hand. He is definitely distracterd by the illusionary pain, but he also tries to chase after Quinn and Janice as they head through the building on the second floor, past unlocked security doors, and towards the nearest obvious laboratory.
Berk steps over the bodies of the guards he took down, and starts making his way deeper into the building, towards what he hopes is something important. Cafe… Bathrooms… Printer room… Various computers, all turned off, thanks to the power being shut down… Offices… "Where's the damn labs!?" Berk demands of no one. Then he stumbles upon what he is looking for. A place with vats full of chemicals, and vials of a blue liquid. Just as he steps into the room, a guard steps up behind him and tasers him. "Aaaagh!" he yells and falls thrashing to the floor.
The guards in the security center barely react to Tyson at first, but then they do double-takes and start reaching for their weapons. They draw them, but don't shoot, when Tyson starts talking. "Don't move!" is all one of them says. They seem to be listening, but they are still nervous. Then the power comes back on, and the various screens around the room turn on, showing on the security cameras all that's going on. The security captain looks everything over, looks at Tyson, and then says, "If you can help, you better tell us how, and then do it." He then gestures for everyone to lower their weapons. For now. If Tyson does anything suspicious, they'll come right back up.
Quinn was looking, it seems, in all the wrong places, with a screaming guard chasing her. Once the lights come back on, still supporting her partner-in-crime, she has an utter 'Oh crap.' moment.
Tyson is thankful these guards are sensible enough not to shoot the guy offering to help. In that case, "All right, you've got to know, and I bet you all ready guessed it; these people, by birth or not, have abilities. Most of them are hopped up on Boost are just ready to let all that built up tension go if they are able to get one more score. Done stating the obvious, now that the security cameras are online once again, I'm going to need your support in detaining most, if not all, of them. Simple enough?" Tyson asks, not ready to get much into the real details of his plan, but all ready scoping out what he could of Pinehearst using a sense of his that still creeped him out to this day. "All I need for you guys is to show me where the best rooms to put our friends." Having said that, Tyson looks out at the monitors and tries to place what he can see here from what he can only assume is being accurately relayed to him in other parts of the biotech firm.
Elisabetha and Emily don't have much to do, it seems. Novak has the power stuff handled, apparently, as the lights come back on all over the place. She's still not sure what's going on, but the fact that Lucius wanted the power turned off and then stuck around afterwards indicates he is probably working with someone. And with Lucius out of it in the fetal position on the floor, thanks to Elisabetha, that means whoever he was working with is probably in trouble now.
Exitting the power room, the red-eyed woman joins Emily, who has Lucius's gun, and begin to look around. Elisabetha would prefer to remain where she is, not being interested in heroing about. She managed to take down an armed invisible man, but that has not filled her with any particular sense of invulnerability. If she can restrict her role in combat to taking out those who aren't trigger-happy (and more importantly do not have guns), then she will be much better off for it. Those with abilities that do not rely on firearms are, ironically, much less capable of defending themselves against her (usually).
Moral of story: Stay out of trouble. "Do you know of someplace safe, father? Is the security center near here?" Elisabetha inquires.
Novak emerges from the power room, looks over Lucius on the ground, and then glances around for something to tie him up with. Finding nothing in immediate view, he decides to just leave him. With the power on, reaching the guards would be best. "Yes, the security center would be our best bet. Let us head there." He then leads the way. "Thank you for your quick thinking, Elisabetha. However, I wish you had stopped a bit short of draining his will to live. We could have questioned him for information if he could still talk."
He also takes the gun from Emily, because maids and aides shouldn't be wielding guns. Not that Novak is a particularly good shot, but…
Meanwhile, Janice manages to pull free of Quinn long enough to turn around and use her Psychic Voodoo ability one more time on the guard pursuing them. Even with imaginary burns distracting him, the man is still seemingly dedicated to not letting the thieves get away. So Janice makes some hand gestures, and swings her arms around and then the guard stops, turns, and rams himself face-face into the wall, knocking himself unconscious. Janice nearly collapses after that. The power is on, the nearest guard is unconscious, and there's a lab right next to them. Wait, a lab? Maybe there's something in there! Janice says, "In… In there! Let's try… In there!" Running out of the building would actually be the smartest option at this point, but the pain and the desperation for the Booster drug is sufficient to ward off common-sense.
Meanwhile, the guard captain listens to what Tyson has to say, and then has a map pulled up on one of the terminals, showing the lay-out of the building. This is a laboratory, not a prison, but Pinehearst's founder had certain safeguards put in place just incase, so there are a couple storage rooms that should suffice. Once Tyson has them all memorized, the captain asks, "Are you going to need back-up?" He is looking at one of the monitors where a camera is showing Berk being held at gunpoint on the floor by a guard.
Quinn has to run after Janice. Even if she doesn't approve, she was placed with this woman, and she will see Janice safe. She keeps a running chameleon affect, it is a really good distraction, and makes it hard to aim at her.
Elisabetha shakes her head. "I'll try to restrain myself in the future, then." Odd thing to hear, coming from such a restrained woman. Emily, quiet all this time asks, "Do you think it is safe to leave that man there?" Elisabetha responds evenly, "Of course. He will not be getting up for hours." Then she adds off-handedly, "If he gets up at all."
Emily makes a concerned noise in her throat. "Well… Why did he want to turn the power off? Is there something else going on here? Do you think there might be more people like him?" Elisabetha nods. "Obviously he wasn't working alone. He was just shutting everything down so someone else could get in." She considers for a moment, and then figures something out. "Maybe they're after whatever father is working on. He probably didn't know who father was, though, or he would have just kidnapped him instead of bothering with shutting off the power."
Once the security center is in sight, Elisabetha gestures towards it, and says, "Let's get inside. No telling how many of these people are in the building. We'll be safer with armed men around us." That's not technically true, but Elisabetha feels Emily and her father will be safer in such a situation, at least. Because she can't really cut loose and use her full power with them hovering around. They might get hurt, or worse.
"Oh…" Tyson says, thinking over his strategy, "well… being a laboratory there have got to be a couple good places." Looking over the lay-out of the space, Tyson was all ready familiarizing himself with its designs. The real trick of his plan was making sure nobody got where they shouldn't. Fortunately the leader, Berk on one of the screens was still down. Not for long, Tyson was certain. Then there was another pair that had made their way into one of the rooms with a laboratory label… they were another problem…
As for help, the wannabe hero thought hard. "Yeah… yeah. I think…" Tyson was looking back at the layout, scanning for something with both his eyes and his spatial sense to determine vague characteristics about it the rooms. This was good. Very good. "I think a couple of you should come with me. But stay close, we're going to be moving the downed guy into storage first." To accentuate this, Tyson moves towards a couple of the presented guards and puts his hands on their shoulders. The next moment, they'd find themselves next to Berk on the ground and more guards pointing guns and tazers at him. Thankfully he was in the company of guards who were sure to vouch for him…
Once Novak and Elisabetha and Emily arrive at the security center, they are guarded by guards, and kept safe. No opportunities for Elisabetha to go out and zap people, unfortunately.
Quinn and Janice find some of the drug. Not a lot of it, just some test samples. It's enough to get Janice back on her feet after a couple minutes, and get the two of them out of there safely. The other members of the raid were primarily either already going through withdrawal, and thus powerless, or had no ability to begin with, so with Tyson's help, they are rounded up and kept under lock and key until the police arrive. Inhibitor drugs keep Berk under control when he wakes up, since he's 'natural' not artificially evolved.
Tyson is thanked for his help, and offered a job with Pinehearst if he is interested. The few that escaped along with Quinn and Janice have some things on hand they managed to grab, but found no signs of the completed formula, or most missed any of the Boost drug. This raid didn't work out quite as planned. Maybe crime just doesn't pay.
His good deed for the day done, Tyson turned away from Pinehearst with a business card in hand. Originally he had only expected to bust the raid up… accomplished, he also found himself looking at the prospect of a new job, one with weight. Of course, he'd have to make sure it was okay with everybody else. There was no sense accepting this job without any support, especially after what he's heard about it- especially with what he intended to do now that a new oppurtunity had presented itself that only made his endgame a little easier. Now though, Tyson had only to return home, as there was no point going back to that other place just yet.