On the night the heatless fire lights up the sky; our plot comes to a close

[maidofiron]

Who: Iron Maiden
What: breaking into Fates Tower
When: Durring the Carnival
Where: Tower of Strangefate
Interactions: Open to anyone NOT currently at the Carnival who'd like to be part of the strike team
Warnings: Crazy magicks



This had been quite a plan. From the conveniences of the Charity Carnival and the near limitless power of the Carrier they had worked out the perfect time to infiltrate Strangefate's tower. 'They', being Pepper and Angie. Pepper hadn't been able to convince Tony that Strangefate had done something to him. So she's played it smart and let him go to the Carnival to meet up with Karen Starr to talk business. Of course that meant that Oracle couldn't come along on this either. Her absence would more likely than not grab the Dark Avenger's attention. The people who were coming along this time had all been contacted with the details of the time of departure. And should be preparred for a door to open wherever they were which would converge on the interior of the Tower.

From there, they had to look for any prisoners that may or may not be awaiting Amalgamation inside the tower. And after that...they could finally pay a visit to Strangefate himself and hopefully discover just what was going on.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without the access she and Pepper had been granted to the Carrier and it's systems. Which in turn had given Angie access to technology that whe could integrate into her nanites that created a kind of Magic-proof shell around her. And the people she was bringing along as well. She had decided to incorperate the feature into the technology she used for Radiotelepathy.

Just a little longer and...

"Door; Strangefates Towers lower level".

Comments

[i_am_the_maxx]

Maxx was in a jail cell. Again.
He broke that guy's jaw, and other puny bones in his body.
At least jail guaranteed food, shelter from the rain, and a bed.
But when that lady came and told him about...doors and...magic and...evil, Maxx was compelled to help, and so he sat quietly on his slim prison bed, waiting for his invitation.

When the door opened out of thin air, Maxx stood, the bed groaning with relief that it no longer was forced to support his bulk.

He poked an experimental claw through the door then pulled back. No worse for ware. Then he strode on through.

[maidofiron]

At least one of her potential recruits arrived, and Angie couldn't really ask for more than that. Still she'd allotted a five minute wait time for all members to present themselves. As she waited, the woman took a moment to give a quick nod of acknowledgement to the Maxx. She didn't want to say anything however as that kind of sound could attract attention to them and for the time being they seem to be undetected. Down the stone inlaid hallway she could see a soft red glow. However the light wasn't moving so whatever the cause was appeared to be stationary.

Without a sound, Angie placed one finger over her lips. The universal signal for "let's be silent".

[i_am_the_maxx]

Maxx managed to keep quiet, but looking around at the others, he noticed the strange gun-toting man all in red who was bouncing on the balls of his feet, excitedly.

Two more doors opened and two more individuals walked through them, both tall and dark and certainly not heroes. Maxx narrowed his eyes at these two new guys suspiciously.


As soon as Jackie walked in through his door, he sought out a shadowy corner and hung back. He checked his guns, making sure they were in working order. He had a handgun at each hip and slung over a shoulder was a rifle.

He wanted a cigarette, but the smell wouldn't be a good idea.


The Showman was quiet, waiting. His shadows slid long along the floor and touched Jackie, little snickers and hisses seemed to clack and whisper their own private conversation from within the black.

[maidofiron]

Oh good. More arrivals. She glanced over and found herself internally amused by Jackies Shadow brooding. But aside from that, she also noted that her designated Magic expert had arrived as well. And a good thing too because this place was positively loaded that that kind of energy. She made a little wave, sending microscopic machines out to each person. Establishing the radiotelepathic link that allowed her to communicate with team members without having to speak.

{{1-2, 1-2, Okay; Radio telepathy established. No one should need to talk verbally for the duration of the mission. So! Mr. Showman, got a bead on any mystical traps or other dangers around? We're right outside the holding cells so I'm expecting it to be guarded by something.}}

[theatre_of_real]

{{"Hmmm..."}} Mr. Showman closed his eyes and his sockets looked black thanks to his eye makeup. {{"There is some thick, spectral miasma permeating all through the building. If you give me a little time I should be able to pull a little thread from his tightly wound shroud askew."}}

He felt the need to explain further. {{"A domain, an alternate dimension, is like a ship, a boat. And every boat needs to be sealed tight and free of holes. Let in a leak..."}} He opened his eyes and smiled to himself. {{"...and all hell breaks in."}}

He smoothed out his cloak. {{There's a small spot in the holding cell observation office/control room that I managed to slash.}} He waved a hand and a window hovered before them. Then he pointed at Deadpool.

{{You, no not you. I changed my mind, you'd make too much noise. You}} He pointed at Jackie, who was already screwing a silencer onto one of his handgun. {{Fire at will.}}


Jackie looked at Iron Maiden for the all clear.

[maidofiron]

A short nod confirmed Angela's approval of both the plan and Jackie's choice of weapon. She really hated being here and wanted to get everything finished as soon as possible. Even though there was no visible people around and no surveillance equipment; the entire area felt alive with energy. And internally she couldn't help but think for probably the millionth time "I hate magic."

She made a note too though to keep an eye on Deadpool and Maxx. Each of them had their own little chaotic element to them that would be helpful when it came time to confront someone so obsessed with order and control.

[jackieestacado]

Jackie took aim at the 'window', the back of a man faced them all, and Jackie fired. The bullet hit with a small 'ping!' and the guard collapsed.


Deadpool was the first through the portal and he patted down the body. {{Maybe there's keys or pass-cards or...hey!}} He withdrew his hand and counted out the change he found. {{43 cents!}}
"ACK!"

The body had re-animated and Deadpool was grabbed by the throat. The body rose, somehow appearing at least twice as massive as it had been.


Maxx jumped through the portal and swiped his claws against the guard, who was now very obviously some sort of mechanical man. He clawed at the golem's back, then grabbed his head and twisted.

[axel_asher]

Just down the hall, a young man lifted his head hearing an unusual commotion. Access hadn't been expecting to have anymore visitors since Strangefate and Caitlin had taken Tony up to the Study. And while the woman had popped in earlier to leave his evening meal Axel nevertheless knew nothing of what was going on outside the tower. These new noises sounded promising though. And he got up from the cold metal bench and walked to the edge of the transparent energy field that kept the cells secured.

There was a drone golem at the end of the hall and it was active. That meant someone had come here without being invited. And that...well that brought a smile to his face.

"Hey! HEY I'm over here!" Axel yelled since the cruved hallway obscured his view of the 'visitors'.

[i_am_the_maxx]

Maxx punched at the golem's back, denting it, denting it, caving it in, he tried to dig his hand into the body and pull at anything that looked important.


Deadpool pulled a knife from a sheath on his thigh and stabbed it into the robot's face. "Metal morsel shish-kabob anyone?" Deadpool forgot about the whole telepathy thing.

[maidofiron]

A grimace formed on Angie's face and she shook her head. Not only at Deapool's outburst but at the fact that she seemed to be the only one that heard the voice down the hall. However they seemed to have the mechanical golem taken care of for the time being so she did a quick tuck and roll past them. {{Showman, can you cancel out the magic animated that thing? There are probably more on the way too so be on the lookout. Jackie; Come with me please so we can get to whoever's down the hall. Deadpool, Max; You two be read for reinforcements and...try not to trigger any other traps that may be in the area.}}

[theatre_of_real]

Mr. Showman once again closed his eyes and concentrated. He raised his hands, as if reaching out, and his cloak began to swirl and seemed to expand. A red-ish glow began to surround his hands.

He knew right away that Strangefate was much more powerful than he, but Showman also knew himself to be arrogant enough to push his luck beyond the breaking point.



Jackie followed Angie without a word. He could hear the Darkness complain about the lack of shadows and shade; it hated being restricted. Though under the shadows of his long coat his Darkness armor protected his body, and he had hundreds of little monsters waiting in the wings as it were. If it came to that. {What are we looking for?} Jackie asked in his mind.

[maidofiron]

Suddenly, terrifyingly; Angies radiotelepathy disappeared. At first she was sure the system had been hacked or cut off. But as the woman turned she began to freeze in her tracks. She felt an odd sinking sensation and a moment passed before she realized that the feeling hadn't been mere imagination. She could actually feel the the cold metal of the cell floor under her feet. Shaking now, Angela raised a trembling had up to her eyes. What she found was not the smooth metallic teal that had become so familiar to her, but instead her bare, milk chocolate colored skin. Her deep black brown hair hanging about her neck and shoulders and down her back in all the tight little braids she kept blunted with colored cloth at the ends.

And the draft was just terrible.

The up side to this seemed to be that the metal that she'd replaced her blood with was only kept from it's primary armor functions. She was not, in fact; dying a quick vibranium induced death. Didn't stop Angie from hating the entire situation though. Her mouth became a hard line as she scanned the walls, trying to ignore the social discomfort of her nudity.

[jackieestacado]

"...Damn." Jackie shoved his guns into their holsters and tore off his coat, fully aware that that would leave him very, very vulnerable. But all the same, he went to cover Angie with it.

But as soon as he stepped within a few inches of Angie he felt a sudden silence in the back of his mind, and something between his veins and muscles seemed to stop moving. He stumbled, dropped the jacket and looked at his own hands, which were shaking. It was gone...


Mr. Showman's eyes snapped open an instant before it happened. It was hidden like a trap-door spider, that enchantment, which is why it eluded him.

He retreated, stepping backward and away until he was once again with Maxx and Deadpool.

{you,} he pointed at Deadpool. {You're my bodyguard, I have to go into a trance. I think I can get through this spell if my body isn't in the vicinity. You, Maxx, go with Angela and Mr. Estacado.}

Maxx gave Mr. Showman a dubious look.

{Don't worry, Maxx. You're the only one who is fit for this job.} After all, Maxx was only a regular guy.

[maidofiron]

Angie was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. So as she stooped down to help Jackie to his feet she also scooped up the coat and slid it over her body quickly and with a slight nod of thanks.

"Feels pretty awful doesn't it?" She asked him rhetorically. "Looks like there's a power dampener on the whole area. I'll go look for the source. If you don't mind, please go and release that guy I heard yelling down the hall."

Rising from her stooped position Angie called out to the other people in her team. She couldn't use radiotelepathy anymore because the suit was shut off, and even so she was fairly certain Strangefate knew there were there at this point and was just waiting for them to come and confront him.

"It's alright fella's." She called out "Just a power dampener. Nothing really...deadly. Just annoying. And I think it's more for the suppression of the prisoners than us."

[agentslipper]

The blonde woman in black ops gear and a pair of black horn-rimmed glasses stepped out of the wall behind them. Her silver heels made a soft click-click noise on the floor before she spoke.

"I'll say. I've still got the migraine from last time I did this shit. Luckily, the energy output was close enough to the other place that I was able to get here without splicing myself."

She set a dufflebag on the floor and unzipped it with a huge shit-eating grin. "And I brought presents this time."

Inside were an assortment of weapons, devices, and other brick-or-brack that had obviously been customized with magic. A few objects were mundane, looking incredibly innocent and very out of place for the situation i.e. a wind-up cat toy and a tacking hammer. For such a small bag, it appeared to be bottomless.

"Just remember that if you still have them by the end of the mission, you have to hand them back over immediately. They're on loan."

OOC: Cindy has resorted to Clark Kenting it with magical horn-rimmed glasses to protect her identity. We'll see how that works for her. :P