Defenders! Ch. 2: Purple People Eaters(Closed)

[Prof Weird]

Renee Richards
GM bonuses : comm link, +2 on A.I.M. tech rolls
HP : 1
Condition : despondent

"What's going on? Are you awakening her?" Cub asks confused, ready to strike the awakening woman down, if needed.

"yab ghajbe'bogh qoH JIH jay' !!"

"Not on purpose !" Renee replied to Cub. So far, her guesses and deductions had been WRONG 80% of the time; flipping a mindless coin would have given better results with far less effort and aggravation !

She'd assumed the girl in the tank was part of Project Black Knight (figured she was supposed to be wearing the black armor in the next tank); but she was WRONG ! The girl was 'Project S-Soldier', meaning the black armor was probably 'Project Black Knight'. Or not, given her abysmal guessing ratio.

Renee had talked herself out of thinking Project Pandora was the virus they were looking for; but, given her failure record - and the observation that the only other viable sounding options had just been ruled out, it probably WAS what they were looking for. Or not.

"Observation : all my deductions have been wrong so far.
But that is itself a deduction.
Therefore, the statement 'all my deductions have been wrong' is most likely itself wrong !

Irresolvable logic loop; therefore, whether I am right or wrong is INDEPENDENT of my logic and intellect.

Therefore, no point in even trying to reason out anything; best to just react without thinking instead of wasting time pondering what is really going on ...

Or not ..."

[Bladewind]

Sekhmet
Cond: Normal
HP: 1

The fury of the old gods barely contained, Sekhmet steps forward to the tube.

"Enough." She says simply. "We are getting nowhere and we are running out of time.

She slams her fist into the glass case with the naked woman within. Perhaps a pre-emptive strike would suffice in this case. In any event, if the being was waking up, it was probably a good idea to have her disoriented and not fully awoken by whatever instruments she was hooked up to.

[EPIC]

?????

Inside the tube, the girl shifts and twitches as the system brings her online, blue eyes fluttering open, hovering naked in a vat of some kind of fluid staring out at some figures, warped by the shifting fluid as it begins to drain, and more so when one of them slams against the tank. She doesn't so much as flinch from the attack, simply watching to see whether the tank holds up.

Whoever these people were, at least one of them was decidedly violent, hitting the tank like that. The girl couldn't decide whether the attacker was trying to break her out of the tank, or attack her. This group could be here to try and hurt her. This thought put her on alert though it doesn't show in her stance as she prepares to take action once free of the tank, either from the violent girl's attack or from the system opening it normally.

[Hound]

The first strike from Sekmet appears to do nothing, a follow up strike however results in a hair line fracker of the tube. Clearly the material it is made of was intended to keep strong (though not god like) people contained. As Sekmet prepares a third strike both tubes hiss, the tube contianing the woman slides open, at the same time the tube containing the armor and the strange device opens.

[Nineofspades]

Aquawoman
HP 1

Watching as Sekhmet's fist struck the glass, and the woman's eyes shoot open as she awoke. But what I saw in those eyes was no anger or rage, just surprise and confusion. As the tube splits and opens, I raise my trident, signaling Sekhmet to stop, before I address the woman "My name is Lorelei. We are not here to hurt you" While I must be a warrior, I must also be a Queen. And as such, against an unknown factor, whom I feel no anger towards and sense none in return, an olive branch should be offered. Even if this woman is the creation of A.I.M., that does not make her one of them, not by default. And from the looks of things, she very well may have never even been out of this tube before.

[EPIC]

?????

The girl's eyes show not such confusion or shock, simply passive observation and analysis (To correct Nine's incorrect assumption). As the tube hisses and opens, she darts quickly and limberly from the tube before it's even fully raised for the second tube, grabbing the glove-like device before dropping into a low crouch facing the group, a solid-looking, unadorned, round shield suddenly appearing, flaring to life from the device.

Four of them, one of me... the chick in black cracked the tube, so she's probably crazy strong...chick with a trident and tall, dark and lean both look pretty tough, no telling what they could do... looks like she's the weak link.. Her mind quickly assessed the group and narrowed slightly, not liking her odds in a straight fight.. it would probably be a fight to escape at best.

As the one with the weapon addressed her, she didn't relinquish her defensive stance, but did poke her head up just a little. "...I'm..." She winces and grabs her head, if not already down on one knee, she may have dropped to it. "Grr....stay away from me!"

Using Shield Block in her array.

[Nineofspades]

Aquawoman
HP 1

Sorry, my bad. Thought I read surprise somewhere in your post.

Fast as you please, the tube-girl is springing around, darting to the other container, and conjuring up an energy shield. Fire burns in her eyes. Fire and steel. Admirable. But again, still not really getting the sense of hate.

As the one with the weapon addressed her, she didn't relinquish her defensive stance, but did poke her head up just a little. "...I'm..." She winces and grabs her head, if not already down on one knee, she may have dropped to it. "Grr....stay away from me!"

"Alright" I respond, making no movement. I instead turn towards my fellows "You all head on ahead, I'll stay around here for now." Least from where I stood, my choice made sense. This girl wasn't an enemy yet, but very quickly could become one. Cub had already expressed anger towards opening her up, and distrust. Not something to foster any sort of communication. Richards was to smart for her own good, her mind likely spent trying to deduce exactly what this woman was. Sekhmet had actually attacked the pod, so some percieved hostility could be there, even if unfounded.

[Walking Dad]

Cub
Character Sheet - HP 1 - Condition: normal

Cub could have just snatched the device away before the girl got her hand on it, but he wanted to see how she would react. She didn't seem afraid, but clearly in a defensive mode, reducing the possibility that she was conditioned to attack others on sight.
He was also positively surprised by Aquawoman's reaction. After nearly drowning the hired mercs who protected the base, she seemed pretty forgiving to the girl. Some latent hate or distrust versus men?.

Activated Powers & Combat Stats

[Bladewind]

Sekhmet
Cond: Normal
HP: 1

Sekhmet stands down as the tube releases it's occupant. She had intended action and it had happened. However, when Aquawoman speaks she defers to her teammate but is not the first to take a step back or make any move to withdraw. She does, however, relax her stance.

If the woman dripping with vat goop doesn't move towards the equipment, Sekhmet will remove her jacket and hand it to the newcomer. (She wears a tight shirt underneath with the same lightning pattern as the jacket.)

Unless this all goes to pot and the new girl attacks...

The widsom of Zehuti suggests that the girl may be a plant. If she was being indoctrinated to work for A.I.M. the trio four heroes were in for a fight. Sekhmet`s thinking however, was that if she were truly an experiment, it seemed unlikely that they would only have a prototype at a plant of of this magnitude...

[Prof Weird]

Renee Richards
GM bonuses : comm link, +2 for A.I.M. tech rolls
HP : 1
Condition : fine, but suspicious

Renee watched Subject Beta-2 bound from her tube and grab the devices in the second tube.

"Great speed, reflexes and coordination ..." she noted to herself, "Looks like she has nerve too, since she's not attacking in a mindless frenzy. Just the qualities you'd expect a soldier to have.

But a soldier's most important trait isn't strength, speed, bravery, or skill - it's loyalty. A.I.M. wouldn't build her with all those enhancements if they thought there was any chance she could be convinced to turn her abilities against them.

Great ! We just released an enhanced thug that may dog us the rest of our days !" she continued, "Wait - the computer was 'awaiting final stage before activation' before Sekmet started pounding on the cylinder ! She might have interrupted a personality or memory download.

So things may not be as dire as I fear, but I should verify anyway."

"The answer to the question you asked before Cub is 'she is an experiment'. Project S-Soldier, Subject : Beta-2 to be concise." Renee stated to Cub while gesturing towards Beta-2.

"So I'm just going to check 'Betty's' files to make sure A.I.M. didn't encode some behavioural cues. Like going into a frenzy if someone says 'platinum kumquat', or an easily programmable state from the phrase 'titanium cockroach' or something. Shouldn't be more than a moment ..."

Possibly unneeded/unrequested Tech roll :
1d20+16=26

[Hound]

The terminal reads the following...

Final stage not completed. Subject lacks objectives. Key words not chosen. Subject not ready for field work. Recommend termination of subject.

[EPIC]

?????

The naked blonde girl slowly backs away from the four powered heroes, still ducking behind the shield, still clearly waging from mental battle as her mental conditioning, incomplete as the file says, tries to function, but incomplete as it is, wars with a more naturally grown mind that the conditioning was meant to suppress.

She takes a swipe at Sekhmet as the girl takes off her own jacket to offer, but the swing is wild and clearly out of measure, a warning swipe. "Get back! Get away from me!" The mental battle is fierce indeed as she wars with herself, doing everything she can to hold herself physically back, the coiled tension evident in her posture, ready to spring and strike, but making visible effort to not do so.

[Nineofspades]

Aquawoman
HP 1

Despite my insisting, nobody else moves, save for Sekhmet, who offered the unclothed woman her jacket. The offer was responded with anger, though the motion was not meant seriously, perhaps a test of mettle, or a warning strike? Either way, the groups presence does little to calm her.

"You see?" I comment, after Sekhmets attempted kindness "All of us together are doing no good here, and every moment spent here is another moment for A.I.M to act. I will handle things here and catch up. The rest of you should head onward. From what we have seen thus far, I expect you'll face little trouble." I speak with authority, as I would were I commanding my people. I do not seek leadership, but all the same, someone must take charge before we lose the initiative here. "We must keep on the offense, before they have a chance to regroup and prepare a proper defense"

Returning to the blond haired woman "I don't claim to know what your part in this is. If you truly wish to fight, then put on your gear and fight me. If you wish leave, the door is that way, though this compound is far from civilization, and it will not be an easy trek without supplies. As it stands now, I will not hold you accountable for the crimes of your creators, nor blame you for whatever they intended you to do." I take a step forward, my weapon held loose at my side. A gesture of trust, leaving myself exposed and open to attack. "What say you?"

[Walking Dad]

Cub
Character Sheet - HP 1 - Condition: normal

"Queen, we have no time for any rituals or games. With have to complete our mission, and just as we didn't want any mercs in our backs, I don't want this experiment in mine. I will not take the risk that she might be able to defeat you and attack the rest of us from behind. Either she she surrenders now, or we will quickly take her down together." Cub responds to Aquawoman's commands. Her suggestion sounds like foolish warrior pride and not a quick solution to stop terrorists.

Activated Powers & Combat Stats

[Nineofspades]

Aquawoman
HP 1

I have to actually stop myself from insulting cub. But really, he's acting like such a surface dweller. More importantly, the doubt he has in my own abilities is disrespectful, as was his tone. I look him straight in the eye. "A person can only be judged by their deeds. What has this girl done? Nothing. She is not our enemy, but if you continue to treat her as such, she almost certainly will become an enemy."