1964-06-06 - Sinister Purpose: Latveria (Alpha Team Perspective)
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crystal kai lamont sophie-rousseau firestar carol-danvers steve-rogers 


LATVERIA
6:54 PM LOCAL TIME

They got in through a sewage drain. Thankfully, it was turned off and unused so the Avengers still smell pretty good all things considered. That pipe led to a shaft. That shaft led to a grate. That grate led to an electrical closet that opened up into an upward set of stairs, where all 10 of the Avengers on the mission have made it.

"Alright, gang, let's go through the plan again," Steve says. "We'll break into two groups. Our goal is to get to Doom, incapacitate him, and make sure those three million Doombots don't invade America to take over our nuclear arsenal. No mistakes. We need to win today."

"The team is splitting up into two. We can communicate through radio. I have this old map that we got from Roche. Be careful, though. It was years ago when this place was built and things might not be how they appear here."

"No matter what happens, realize that this mission must be successful. If you get knocked down, get your tail up. If you get hit, soldier on. The ramifications of what happens if we lose here could mean the end of the world."

"Finally, remember that fighting together and using teamwork is the name of the game. By ourselves we'll all die here. But together we'll prevail."

"Everyone ready?" There's only one door, so both teams are headed into the room as soon as Cap kicks the door down!

*WHAM!*

*

Captain Marvel nods, "Got it, Cap." Even though she's Captain Marvel, well, Cap is Cap, so that's fine. Then she looks at him, "Want I should take the point?" She then looks at Kai, Sophie, and Firestar, not knowing the latter two all that well as she gives them a curious expression. "Glad you all could make it by the way." And with that, the light motes that seem to constantly surround her intensify, as she starts channeling the energy that she stores.

Probably because she's going to need it.

*

"I'm just glad to be able to help," Firestar says. The team called for firepower, asked for Johnny Storm. He wasn't available. So they asked for Starfire. Again, busy with a major disaster. But this rather untested young lady was free, and according to Johnny is 'firepower'. So she's hanging back but is ready, in the orange jumpsuit. "If I have to fly, don't get too close to me, please. It gets hot." She's looking around for what she can do, not sure what's really going on, and looking way too young.

*

"Right," Kai says, and adds with a crooked smile, "no pressure." He falls in beside Carol and tells the small group, "I can take a bullet, so don't you chicks think twice about getting behind me. If there's a lock, I'll pick it. My da taught me young. Kind of the family business." He touches tugs a pendant free from his shirt and touches it with his two index fingers. With a tug and a twist, the pieces come apart and unfurl into… daggers. Somehow. Thus armed, he says, "Let's go save the word."

*

Sophie — or 'Mistral', as she introduced herself — dissipates from her solid, human self into a swirl of mist, which clears to reveal her 'ghostly', airy form hovering with her feet just above the floor. She's choosing to remain visible, at least for now, to make coordination with her teammates easier. She's here as a newly-minted X-Man, and as someone who witnessed the horror that began all this, and tried desperately to keep it from becoming worse. "Oui. Let's," she says in reply to Kai, sounding like a rather determined young woman.

*

"Once we get in there, Marvel," Steve replies. If they take a hit entering the room, he'd rather it be him than her. This team can still survive without Steve. Probably not without Carol. He kicks down the door.

< Room 5>

This wide open space looks to be a testing area for Doombots and other Doom creations. Moorings at the side of the room hold many Doombots in place as they await their commands. Burn marks on the ground show where some have met their untimely end.

From either side of the room, Doombots begin to shift to life. They look just like Doctor Doom, except the space behind their eyes looks dead and glows a deep green.

"Everyone look out," yells Cap as he covers his team in the door jam as the laser blasts begin to burn against his shield. He runs out, straight towards the first one, just as it comes away from the wall and smashes his shield towards its head.

Sizzling lasers and acrid smoke begins to fill the room as the beasts begin to take fire on the Avengers. If we were hoping for coming in unnoticed, that was clearly out the window sometime before.

Nexus stays back and reaches out and can feel the energy of the machines here in Latveria. There's, something in the way, however. It's, not mechanical. It feels natural. But dark. Natural and wrong. Something is blocking him from just taking control here and there and it is something evil.

*

|ROLL| Steve Rogers +rolls 1d100 for: 68

*

|ROLL| Firestar +rolls 1d100 for: 71

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|ROLL| Kai +rolls 1d100 for: 71

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|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 89

*

|ROLL| Carol Danvers +rolls 1d100 for: 10

*

Captain Marvel gives Cap a wry look, "I guess this is something where things aren't going to go according to plan." She blinks at the lasers, then says, "Lasers aren't going to bother me, I'll see if I can blast some before we get swarmed."

And with that, she flies in, just leading with a massive energy blast designed to clear a path for her to scrap the hell out of a bunch of Doombots before they can fully activate. She's pretty confident she can take the laser hits and absorb them… but the others, she figures she's the Tank in this scenario, so time to be Tanky! Even when you're Air Force.

*

Firestar stays behind Kai as ordered, not sure if she's got any requirements here. Aside from, y'know, blow stuff up. But the amount of energy in the room is actually making her feel kind of giddy, and she giggles and kicks off into the air shortly, her hair seeming to be actually aflame. She avoids blasts like an acrobat, then aims her hands and sends waves of flame out, enveloping two doombots in a blast of heat. They don't last under her barrage, but that's only two of many. "The room, it's full of energy!"

*

Kai winces as lasers start flying and he admits, "I don't know if I can walk these off." That doesn't stop him from coming into the room in Carol's wake. Normally, a knife against a robot might not do much damage, but he packs a punch, so who knows? He goes for quick duck and dodge and — if he can get close enough — punch-stabbing one of the bots between its robot eyes.

*

Mistral, meanwhile, flies up into a horizontal position near the ceiling, where she can fire over Cap into the room beyond. Stretching her 'ghostly' arms out in front of her, she takes aim and lets loose at two adjacent bots. Air compressed to near-solidity makes an *uncanny* sharp tearing report as it's accelerated to nearly the speed of sound.

*

|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 79

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|ROLL| Carol Danvers +rolls 1d100 for: 14

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|ROLL| Kai +rolls 1d100 for: 40

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|ROLL| Firestar +rolls 1d100 for: 16

*

ALPHA TEAM

Captain America's two hand slam hits the first Doombot straight away in the neck. It stutters and sputters and sparks begin to fly as it hits the ground. Using his foot on its chest for a brace he yanks hard and pulls the shield out, just in time to block another shot.

Carol burns ahead and sends a volley of shots that inexplicably miss their targets. Worse, she takes huge energy streams from two Doombots. Immediately she knows she's taking on too much energy too quickly and in too enclosed of a spot. Much more of this and she will overload.

Firestar damages one Doombot and singes another as she flies above the fray. Mistral finishes off the two Doombots that Firestar hit.

Worryingly, Firestar's making the room much hotter and Carol begins to emit laser beams as she overloads.

Kai, meanwhile, tries to drive his blade between the eyes of a Doombot. The machine pivots, expertly, and uses the elf's weight against him, driving him into the ground.

BRAVO TEAM

As Nexus reaches out with his powers, he can begin to feel the creases. Weak points like seams of power, banding the blocking together. Just as he's about ready to rip it open and get inside, a laser bolt shoots into the hallway and almost incinerates his face.

As Diana approaches, she'll find that these doombots are more savvy than she might have imagined. Her arm is knocked straight up in the air as her blade whizzes by the bot. A follow up shot drives the bots other hand right to her chest and knocks her backwards.

Rogue does a flip move and throws one of the bots, but it misses the other. The first does slam onto the floor, but it's still mobile. The second begins firing at Rogue, though it shoots wildly and misses her easily.

"Diana!" Steve yells as he holds his shield out. He looks to catapult her with all of his strength towards one of the doombots if she can get to him in time!

*

Captain Marvel starts glowing a brilliant green, drawing the fire… but probably too much too fast as she starts to feel the energy leaking away. Then she shouts, "Be right back!" And then she dives forward, rocketing into the midst of the Doombots and making sure no friendlies are nearby… before letting loose with a concussive blast of energy, trying to clear a path for her comrades as the alternative would be to fly out of the building. Which, well, if this doesn't work, that's going to be the Plan B.

*

|ROLL| Carol Danvers +rolls 1d100 for: 13

*

|ROLL| Steve Rogers +rolls 1d100 for: 44

*

Firestar is new at this. She has never worked in a smaller room, with people she's trying to to harm, before. But her radiant heat isn't something that she thinks about yet, so she simply holds out her hands together to send another wave of flame at a doombot and stays out of Captain Marvel's way. That much, at least, she can do. But the blast knocks her flipping in the air, forcing her to contort to keep from hitting a wall. "Erp!"

*

|ROLL| Firestar +rolls 1d100 for: 82

*

Kai hits the ground with a solid thump, far more solid than his slight frame ought to account for. Cap said if he fell to get back up, and that's what he does, going in low to take a stab at the doombot up from what passes for a throat. He goes for weak points in casing where a blade might have a better chance of stabbing through.

*

|ROLL| Kai +rolls 1d100 for: 57

*

Mistral advances a bit, still staying close to the ceiling, wary of the lasers. Bullets, blades, or hand-to-hand attacks don't worry her. These, on the other hand… But she's here with a job to do. Last time, she was able to finish off two Doombots that were already damaged, but it wasn't clear if her attack or the prior ones were more responsible. This time, she focuses her attention on a single target, hoping that the undiluted force of her strike will be enough on its own.

*

|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 23

*

BRAVO TEAM

Nexus is locked in a struggle with some sort of magic in trying to get access to the machines. So far he's unsuccessful, and surely must be getting frustrated. He knows he's more powerful than this magic and that there is a way, here.

Diana leaps and corkscrews onto Steve's shield. The latter times it perfectly and slings the Themysciran into a Doombot and it explodes into a thousand pieces.

Rogue simply tries to do to much and take on too many adversaries at once. The attention gets split and so does the effectiveness. The first bot gets thrown, but doesn't get destroyed. The second bot gets into a quick fisticuffs with her. After a few quick moves it grabs her by the throat and slams her into the wall.

ALPHA TEAM

Firestar wisely focuses on one Doombot this time and blasts him to smithereens with a concentrated blast of microwave energy!

Kai slams a knife into the throat of a Doombot. Immediately the functionality begins to suffer and it slows down, becoming easier to hit.

Sophie takes down the next target, but is unable to finish it off in total. It's down, but it'll be getting back up.

The more enemies Carol tries to take on at once, the more Doombots focus more and more energy on her. Worse, she's unable to hit any of them. Overcome with the overpowering of energy, Carol loses consciousness and falls to the ground.

And then she begins to pulsate.

"Marvel is gonna blow! Everyone back into the hallway!" screams Cap as he tries to block his friends from the energy blast with his shield.

Inside, Cap is worried. Too many of the Avengers are trying to do too much on their own rather than together. As a result there is too much that's not working here. They needed more time to train, clearly.

*

Carol lies unconscious, her energy blasts actually hitting Doombots as they sporadically fire off from her. If only there was someone around who could absorb the energy from her so she could recover a bit… or else just toss her out of the room so she could play Human Bomb. But as it is, she's just taken in too much too fast.

*

|ROLL| Steve Rogers +rolls 1d100 for: 36

*

Alighting near Cap, Firestar grounds herself and extinguishes her flame. She's very excited, this being her first fire-fight, but she's already acting worried. "Cap..I mean, Marvel! I mean, man down!" Seen too many movies, but she runs to check on Carol, barely noticing the energy overflow. And, coincidentally, beginning to suck it into herself. Her air shifts in the energy waves, changing colour as her inner batteries absorb the bleed-off. She actually looks kind of surprised, having never done it before and not knowing that she could.

*

Kai delivers one more stab to the bot he's fighting, then falls back at Captain America's command. For a son of rebels, he sure does follow orders well. Maybe that's his way of rebelling against his family.

*

|ROLL| Kai +rolls 1d100 for: 31

*

|ROLL| Firestar +rolls 1d100 for: 1

*

Meanwhile, Mistral grimaces at seeing her last target indeed down, but already starting to get back up. Maybe another shot will finish it — especially if she can score a cleaner, more solid hit than that last one, that partly glanced off. *SHRACK!*

*

|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 16

*

BOTH TEAMS

Nexus is able to get root, so to speak as he mentally pushes the magic shielding out of the way. He has access. Not full access to the millions of Doombots in Latveria that are ready to take off for the invasion, but he can feel the Doombots in this castle.

Sophie fires, but is unable to hit as her shot fires wildly. She is, however, able to get behind Captain America.

Batgirl dips down low to help Diana and uses a pair of scissor legs to bring down one of the bots onto its back. It's still in commission, but it will take a moment to get up.

Carol begins to overload, sending all of her energy out. Steve does what he can to push the remaining people back into the hallway and cover them with the door and the shield. Firestar does her best to contain it but it's too much and it overpowers her as well!

BOOOM!

A large amount of energy shakes the hallway at its foundation, but there are no more laser blasts coming from the testing room.

Kai is safely behind Captain America's shield and suffers no damage. Steve's shoulders slump down and he looks.

Shit goes sideways. Luckily, however, Diana is protecting Cassandra with her block of the energy that sends a cocoon back towards Carol's energy.

Rogue and the Doombot are locked in an epic battle of strength with neither one totally overcoming. By the grace of God, the incineration takes out the Doombot, and while nailed hard, Rogue is going to be alright. Even if the sight of seeing Doom's face melt away into an exoskeleton will probably forever haunt her nightmares.

"Everyone alright?" Steve walks into the smoldering room to find the wreckage of the doombots and Carol and Firestar lying there with Carol's hair full of soot. Diana has Cass protected, and

Rogue looks like she's going to be fine. He reaches down to give her a nudge. "No sleeping on the job, Marvel. We have a world to save."
5r"Alpha and Bravo teams spread out. I repeat, you're stronger than these guys if you work together. You try and take them on by yourself or all at once, we're going to be dead before Doom has his dessert."

"Alpha, come on," he snarls as he leads Alpha team to the Northeast door that leads to number 2 on your maps. "Bravo, you guys head that way." Steve doesn't bother to stop and search the room. Everything in here is probably toasted anyways.

*

Carol picks herself up, muttering, "Can't believe I was that stupid and careless." She shakes her head to clear it, then looks over Firestar, "Come on, if you can absorb energy, I have an idea… actually, I have a couple ideas. Wish we had more time to work on some tactics, but now that I know what these things are packing." She grins ruefully, "I think I got a couple ideas that will stop them cold." Her eyes flicker to Cap's shield, "How reflective is that thing, anyway?" Thankfully, after that explosion, her power levels are evened out to where they should be, but she still has a slight green glow about her.

*

Firestar picks herself up after Carol, following behind. Trying to stay out of the way, mostly. "I didn't know I could do that," she says softly. Not on that level, anyway. She follows, glancing at Steve and back to Kai and Sophie in confusion. Then, with a bit more spirit, she smiles gamely and adds, "Ready for more. Sir." It's not much but at least she's not out of it yet.

*

|ROLL| Bucky +rolls 1d100 for: 88

*

"It's nice how being tested brings out talents we didn't know we had," Kai says, rubbing his arm from where a laser grazed him. "We've just got to do that a couple million more times and we'll have all these buggers taken care of." He follows Steve's lead, and as the walk along, he flips the daggers and they refold into the crescent-moon pendant around his neck.

*

Sophie (or, as she introduced herself, 'Mistral') is in her 'ghostly' airy form, floating horizontally near the ceiling as she keeps pace with the rest of the group, peering ahead for any surprises.

*

Crystal has not been well lately. Too much city air isn't good for the elemental Inhuman. But she refused to be left behind, which is why she was bringing up the rear, guarding their backs and keeping the line of retreat open. Now, though, it's time to move forward. Stealth isn't her gift, but she has other senses. Keeping her hands slightly extended to her side, she lets a faint wisp of air move through the halls ahead of her, paying attention for any feedback that would suggest there's something other than open hallway ahead of them. (Something other than Sophie, that is. What an interesting sensation.)

*

|ROLL| Crystal +rolls 1d100 for: 50

*

Bringing up the rear, indeed. The Shadow's at the back, and for once, he's broken out that signature cloak, hat, and scarf. Surprise. Though he may seem only occasionally visible to his comrades, since it's hard to pick a target between minds both friendly and inimical. He's got a pistol in each hand, a .45 automatic.

*

The Heroes of Team Alpha move into the next room. Steve looks over his shoulder giving a nod to both Crystal and Lamont as they arrive. "Everybody on the ready," he says as the door opens.

Despite the stone floors and candlelight along the walls rather than fluorescence, this room seems to be a sophisticated laboratory of sinister purpose. Long have rumors circulated that Latveria was engaged in genetic experiments and this seems to be the case. There are many glass jars holding all sorts of body parts that look to be modified in some way: an eye with four irises and pupils, a hand with four inch claws where four of the fingernails should be, and a leg that looks like a cross between a human's and a cheetahs.

In the corner, a pair of Genetic Freaks shuffle over towards the group. They look fearful, and their bodies are so disfigured that they look clearly to have been experimented upon in some way.

One opens its mouth as if it looks as though it's trying to say something.

*

Captain Marvel raises a hand, but then blinks, a hint of pity in her eyes as she regards the genetic freaks. "My God… what did he DO to you two?" She doesn't want to blast them, but if they get too close or attack, she's strobe light them with a blinding effect. "We don't want to hurt you two, but we need to find the control center." Her costume has been burned and blasted in places, but is still mostly intact, thanks to her powers. Her sparkles seem to be a bright neon green rather than gold right now, though.

*

|ROLL| Carol Danvers +rolls 1d100 for: 49

*

Firestar, for her part, looks for orders. She just isn't sure where to put herself when there isn't anyone to blast, and if she were to fly in here she'd be cooking her own team. Assuming that someone told her of that little side effect in the last area. So she hangs back a bit, covering Carol in case she needs blaster backup and covering fire. Also, Carol's already taking care of the two, so…really no need.

*

Kai joins in with Captain Marvel, drifting to her side as he says, "We mean you no harm." Whatever language they speak, that's what they hear when he talks. If they understand language, the poor things. "We just need to pass through here." He pauses, then adds, "Is there anything we can do to help you?"

*

|ROLL| Kai +rolls 1d100 for: 60

*

For her part, Mistral hangs back, floating closer to the floor so as to put at least one of her teammates between herself and the poor specimens. If Carol and Kai are trying to communicate with them, having them spooked by a 'ghost' would not be helpful.

*

The sight of strange physiology doesn't disturb Crystal - she's seen enough unusual effects of terrigen not to even blink at it - but that there are pieces in jars? That is upsetting. Instead, she turns her attention toward the science of it all. How were these things made? What sort of manipulation have they undergone? If they've achieved any of these results, they're far ahead of most of humanity. She trusts Kai to handle communication - handy folks, elves - but genetics is closer to home.

*

|ROLL| Crystal +rolls 1d100 for: 88

*

For his part, Lamont's still concentrating on something that might be coming up behind them. But he does cock an eye at the poor, afflicted things. There's telepathy if needed, but they might not need him for that, one hopes.

*

Everything happens really quickly. Almost simultaneously their eyes turn bright yellow and flames begin dispersing from their mouths. It becomes clear they're attacking at the team, whether they want to or not.

Carol's blinding effect causes the flames to stop right after they start and they lose their focus. Despite Kai's excellent communication skills, they are unable to make contact with the men—they are just too far gone. It seems clear to Crystal that it's some form of genetic splicing and modifying. They're grotesque, that's for sure. Lamont does not notice anyone coming from the rear.

Now that they are dazed, Captain America does his best to put them out of their misery with his shield, which is thrown hard and knocks them both to the ground. Steve looks down, sadly, but there's nothing they can do for them now. "We need to keep moving."

*

|ROLL| Carol Danvers +rolls 1d100 for: 32

*

|ROLL| Firestar +rolls 1d100 for: 40

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|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 50

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|ROLL| Bucky +rolls 1d100 for: 1

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|ROLL| Steve Rogers +rolls 1d100 for: 39

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|ROLL| Crystal +rolls 1d100 for: 55

*

Steve Rogers dropped Doom Journal on Genetic Experiments!(TM).

*

Carol Danvers shakes her head at the poor abominations, sighing a bit, "Well, now I really want to clobber this guy." She grits her teeth, "Should probably take a look around here, just in case, before we go on…"

*

|ROLL| Kai +rolls 1d100 for: 66

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|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 85

*

Doom Journal on Genetic Experiments!(TM) has left.

*

|ROLL| Bucky +rolls 1d100 for: 30

*

The trio of Lamont, Mistral, and Kai journey up the stairs. It goes okay at first. It's a large circular stone room. But, as soon as the hissing starts, they know they need to leave. A green gas begins to fill the room. Luckily for all of them, they end up getting out in the nick of time before the stone wall slams shut on them. That was close.

*

A large workbench dominates the area. This seems to be where Doom does his tinkering. Small metal contraptions of all design are thrown haphazardly around the floor, apparently not meeting his approval.

A pair of Doombots begin to attack immediately, but these are different. They seem to be suppressive, almost like they should be used to thwart riots. They shoot fire-hose style water at each of the Avengers!

Steve brings up his shield to attempt to block and give his teammates a chance to respond.

*

|ROLL| Steve Rogers +rolls 1d100 for: 69

*

|ROLL| Steve Rogers +rolls 1d100 for: 24

*

Captain Marvel braces herself for the water impact, and focuses an energy blast off of Cap's shield, trying to get it to refract into multiple beams to take out the Doombots.

*

|ROLL| Carol Danvers +rolls 1d100 for: 64

*

Firestar is on the ground. As in: not flying. She walks into the room, squeaks, and then gets douses by the hose. Because she has zero combat training on the ground and literally can't dodge. She hopes that it won't hurt too much, or that someone can help her because otherwise this is gonna suck.

*

Kai leaves the area with the hissing gas with a quickness, though not so quick he doesn't glance back to make sure Lamont and Mistral make it, too. When he comes back into the room, he says with an air of finality, "You don't want to go down the— oh nuts." Doom bots! He ducks lasers.

*

|ROLL| Kai +rolls 1d100 for: 17

*

Crystal quietly palms a journal off the table as the others go to inspect the stairs, tucking it into the back of her belt. As the team continues forward, she stays near the back of the group, which puts her at something of a disadvantage when it comes to dealing with the water. She loses a moment, even though she senses it before it hits, by not seeing it. Once she realizes what's happening, though, she holds out a hand to redirect the water toward the doombots.

*

|ROLL| Crystal +rolls 1d100 for: 16

*

Mistral, fresh from the stairway near-misadventure, is near the ceiling again and quick to strike in backup to Carol's attack. *SHRACK!* Again that sharp tearing sound of air compressed to near solidity moving at close to the speed of sound.

*

|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 42

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|ROLL| Bucky +rolls 1d100 for: 38

*

Let's see how doombots respond to plain old gunfire. Lamont's far enough back to not get caught full on by the spray of water….and despite the other heroes between him and his target, he's firing anyway. Someone must be confident in his marksmanship.

*

Mistral, Lamont, and Carol attack, while the others defend. Luckily for Kai, he just does get behind Cap and his shield. Crystal and Firestar are not so lucky. The good news is that they're not hurt. The bad news is that they're knocked off their feet. The best news is that Mistral, Lamont, and Carol combine to destroy the Doombots right away.

*

|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 81

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|ROLL| Carol Danvers +rolls 1d100 for: 15

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|ROLL| Firestar +rolls 1d100 for: 78

*

Steve Rogers dropped DoomBot Plans!.

*

DoomBot Plans! has left.

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|ROLL| Bucky +rolls 1d100 for: 5

*

Lamont is unsuccessful in his scouting, which sucks because …reasons.

*

|ROLL| Kai +rolls 1d100 for: 93

*

Kai is successful in his scouting. Sees a rather large DoomMech within a laboratory.

*

Captain Marvel blinks at the… /very/ large DoomMech, and looks over at Firestar, "Okay, what you did to me with absorbing the energy, try to do that to that big thing. Maybe we can take it down between the two of us without having to fight." With that, she concentrates, glowing a brighter green as she tries to absorb as much energy as she can take… using some of that to heal up from the earlier Doombot fight, but also saving some for Doom.

She'll probably need it.

*

|ROLL| Carol Danvers +rolls 1d100 for: 19

*

Firestar comes running up, literally dripping and just as literally bruised. She slips a little into place, then says, "I don't know how!" as she holds out her hands, trying to…I don't know, eat more? She stops panicking a little, then closes her eyes, trying to 'reach out with her feelings' before the movie made the concept known. And to pull in what she can feel.

*

|ROLL| Firestar +rolls 1d100 for: 95

*

Carol's voice is calm, as if she were talking to a jittery recruit, "Relax, just feel where the energy is inside it, and then take it." She places a hand on Firestar's shoulder, eyes glowing a brilliant green now thanks to Doombot Power.

*

Kai does in fact point out the DoomMech, he's a team player. As Firestar and Captain Marvel take on the thing's energy, he stands by, guarding them. Just in case something else messed up jumps out at them. He's got his rather delicate looking fists at the ready, though honest, they do pack a punch.

*

|ROLL| Kai +rolls 1d100 for: 71

*

Attacking or otherwise risking interference at this point with what Carol and Firestar are doing seems unwise to Mistral, and so she joins Kai in being quietly vigilant.

*

|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 22

*

Crystal's moment of delay is one moment too long to keep her from ending up on her rear behind the others, rather thoroughly soaked. She sits there for a moment, wiping a forearm across her brow, then pushes herself off with a sigh that turns to a cough, quickly stifled into her shoulder. No time for weakness now. As the others take on the bots, she takes a deep breath, extending her senses into the stone of the castle around them.

*

|ROLL| Crystal +rolls 1d100 for: 6

*

And Lamont, too, has sense enough not to interfere. Gunfire doesn't solve *every* problem. Just most of them.

*

With Carol and Firestar on the attack and Mistral and Kai on defense, the pair of energy users destroy the mech before the mech can even get started. A special thanks to Kai for searching out and ensuring they got the first strike. The team likely would not have liked to get a taste of those rail guns. Either way, the mech lies smoldering, opening their way to the rest of the Nuclear Laboratory. Crystal, meanwhile, reaches out to attempt to sense the area around them. But, just like Nexus before, she can feel something blocking her.

*

|ROLL| Steve Rogers +rolls 1d100 for: 64

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|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 90

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|ROLL| Carol Danvers +rolls 1d100 for: 57

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|ROLL| Kai +rolls 1d100 for: 2

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|ROLL| Firestar +rolls 1d100 for: 90

*

|ROLL| Steve Rogers +rolls 1d100 for: 55

*

|ROLL| Firestar +rolls 1d100 for: 5

*

|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 73

*

Steve Rogers dropped Evidence of a Failed Doom Nuclear Program.

*

Evidence of a Failed Doom Nuclear Program has left.

*

|ROLL| Bucky +rolls 1d100 for: 63

*

He's not at his best - Shadow skills are rusty, perhaps. But Lamont's ghosting forwardd to play scout, as stealthily as he can.

*

|ROLL| Steve Rogers +rolls 1d100 for: 55

*

Crystal's brows furrow as she finds herself blocked. That…is new. As the others start to move forward, she stays where she is for a moment, pushing at her senses, trying one more time to see what it is about the stone of this castle that resists.

*

|ROLL| Crystal +rolls 1d100 for: 98

*

As Lamont scouts ahead, Mistral invisibly, er, shadows him, floating silently near the ceiling, ready to provide backup while keeping her eyes ahead.

*

|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 54

*

The scouts find a Doombot up ahead. Lone, quiet, and unassuming. It looks like some sort of recording studio.

*

"I could actually feel it," Firestar says. She sounds more surprised than anything else, with the water literally steaming off of her clothing as she heats the area around her. Not really meaning to do so, just a side-offshoot of sucking up all the doombot's energy. Well, 95 percent of it. "It almost had a flavour, if that made any sense. I feel like I could shoot out the ceiling." She's chattering like a schoolgirl, not a soldier.

*

Kai follows up behind the scouts, after getting turned around and losing track of where he was for a moment. Hey, these things happen when you've been sober for this long. When he spies the Doombot, he creeps up ahead to provide meat shielding if necessary.

*

Carol smiles at Firestar, "I know, it takes some getting used to. Seems that your powers are similar to mine, but here… let's see if we can take this bugger out quickly, the same way." She then tries to sneak up behind the Doombot, doing a combination of power drain and just headsnap of it to disassemble the thing.

*

|ROLL| Carol Danvers +rolls 1d100 for: 65

*

|ROLL| Steve Rogers +rolls 1d100 for: 100

*

Crystal can feel the stone and earth used to build this place, and the rooms near it and the soil under it and under all of the Latverian landscape. The information spills into her mind and she realizes that there is an elevator tot he south that will take them upstairs to Doom. Meanwhile, Captain America, Carol attack just as the Doombot realizes they are there. Good thing too, it begins to scream a high pitch noise that drives everyone's earbuds to distraction, and eventually, to burst. Carol reaches up to twist the Doombots head just as Steve's shield pierces its chest and causes it to die on the spot.

*

|ROLL| Steve Rogers +rolls 1d100 for: 6

*

|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 90

*

|ROLL| Firestar +rolls 1d100 for: 92

*

|ROLL| Kai +rolls 1d100 for: 99

*

|ROLL| Crystal +rolls 1d100 for: 44

*

|ROLL| Bucky +rolls 1d100 for: 77

*

Steve Rogers dropped Doom's Funniest Proclamations to his people!.

*

Doom's Funniest Proclamations to his people! has left.

*

The Squelching Doom has been put to rest. Cap takes a look at the map and notices they're in the room designated as 8 on their maps. "Alright, guys. Where to next?"

*

|ROLL| Firestar +rolls 1d100 for: 68

*

|ROLL| Carol Danvers +rolls 1d100 for: 71

*

"Perhaps I can try to scout ahead," Mistral suggests. "So long as that door is not airtight, I can pass it without needing to open it or call attention to ourselves doing it."

*

The airy X-Man is pointing to the door to the south (to 10).

*

Captain Marvel looks at Captain America, then back towards Mistral, "Sounds like a good idea to me. Just be careful, alright? Doom's definitely been expecting trouble."

*

Firestar bites her lower lip thoughtfully. She's been overstimulated and is only now starting to be calm enough to think, and she says in a rather too soft voice, "Is it just me, or…is this a bit too..simple for …I mean, for Doom?" She trails off, not sure she should be talking and certainly not sure that she's right.

*

Captain America shrugs, "It's not like he knew we were coming. Unless Roche doublecrossed us." Or, unless Doom has someone deep within Roche's organization. Either way, it didn't give Doom a lot of time to prepare.

Steve leads the team into the room, and though most of the room have had Doombots and monsters and all of that, this one is empty. It looks to be an office of some sort, except for the ornate chair which sits in the middle next to a small desk. All around are filing cabinets, binders, and other office equipment that seems weird. It's almost like a home for records.

Diana heads to Out <O>.

*

Diana has left.

*

Firestar looks about, poking at some papers. She pulls open a filing cabinet and looks inside, curious. And careful not to destroy anything with flame. Yet. Always an option. "It's…a copy room. Right next to the photo lab?" She's referring to the room they just left.

*

|ROLL| Firestar +rolls 1d100 for: 39

*

|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 76

*

|ROLL| Carol Danvers +rolls 1d100 for: 37

*

|ROLL| Steve Rogers +rolls 1d100 for: 10

*

Try as the team might, they are unable to find anything but boring documentation regarding the normal foreign policy and day to day actions of Latveria.

*

Carol frowns at some of the documentation, "Wow, who actually talks about themselves in the third person, anyway. And I think we can't dally, tempting as it is." The intel agent in her wants to investigate, but she knows time is wasting.

*

Mistral asks, "Shall we continue in the same direction? I will scout ahead again, just which door should I take?"

*

Firestar shrugs, tossing a glance southward. "I would..suggest..that we finish off the column before moving to the next row.." she says, referencing math without really meaning to do so.

*

|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 10

*

A well tiled and modern bathroom, you have reached THE SECONDARY THRONE OF DOOM. Recently, reports mocking Doom's control on the media had stated that the people of Latveria believe that the Supreme Leader never needs to use the bathroom because he is 100 percent efficient. Apparently that is not true. And apparently, Doom likes modernity when it comes to bathrooms.

*

Firestar looks into the room. Blinks. Then immediately says, "Oh thank heavens. Everybody out…" as she urges the group to go toward room 13. "I'll be right along."

*

Firestar says, "Go, go. Nothing to see here."

*

Captain Marvel grins wryly, "Well, if he has a death trap here, he's more paranoid than I ever imagined. Don't forget to wash your hands, Firestar." And with that, Carol leaves the bathroom, though she does wait nearby for Firestar to finish things that typically don't happen in the comics.

*

Mistral scouts ahead again, misting along invisibly, since that worked so well the last time. (Well, just because there wasn't anything there to react to her doing it badly…)

*

|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 66

*

Mistral looks ahead toward the next room; it appears to be a living quarters of some sort. She notes that it doesn't seem to be defended, but cannot tell if there are traps.

*

Firestar emerges from Room 13, which for ever shall be referred to as the Washroom of Doom. She joins the group, saying nothing, but blushing mightily! "I went before we left, but this is really stressful.." Okay, so she says something after all. "Should I burn it all?"

*

Carol smirks at Firestar, about to say something when Mistral returns from scouting, and she hmms, "Well, we could toss that room quick, if we think there'd be anything there, but otherwise we should keep moving."

*

Visible again, though still airy, Mistral nods to Carol. "The room I checked is unoccupied at least, so we should be able to safely bypass it." She points on toward room 12.

*

The floor in this room is covered by a large mat, similar to what you might see in a high school wrestling gym, but there are no pairs of headgear here. Instead, the wall is lined with martial arts weapons from Asia. A stick glows in the middle of the room. It seems to be enchanted with some sort of bluish energy.

*

(Room 12)

*

|ROLL| Firestar +rolls 1d100 for: 84

*

|ROLL| Carol Danvers +rolls 1d100 for: 82

*

|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 69

*

SUDDENLY, Firestar, Carol, and Mistral notice that there is a hissing sound coming from the floorboards. Upon further inspection, there are holes every so often close to where the walls meet the floor.

*

|ROLL| Carol Danvers +rolls 1d100 for: 73

*

|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 68

*

|ROLL| Firestar +rolls 1d100 for: 24

*

|ROLL| Steve Rogers +rolls 1d100 for: 82

*

Firestar dives into the room, having no idea what's going on! She looks all cool, standing to one side of the doorway with her right hand held in classical 'pistol' formation, and looks around while staying low. She pauses, sniffs, and then says, "Fire in the hole! Wait, that's for a grenade, what is it when the room is filling with gas?"

*

Mistral exclaims, "Gas! Everyone back! I will try to clear it!" And with that, she exerts her will on the air in the room, causing it to flow toward the northeast corner. If she can blow that door open, and send it out that way, she will, but for the moment, the priority is sweeping the gas away from her teammates.

*

Captain Marvel nods towards Mistral, "Time to go. Come on, quick, let's get out of here." With that, she darts towards the southern door, looking to get out of the room quickly. Gas typically isn't a problem for her, but then again, Doom's been full of surprises and she isn't feeling like taking more chances, even with Mistral running interference.

*

As the group files out into the hallway, it's clear that the gas is out there as well. It's…everywhere. Firestar is the one most immediately hindered as they labor along, more slowly. She can't take much more of this. Carol, despite normally being strong against this sort of thing feels immediately weakened. As does Captain America. Mistral also knows that she won't be able to control all of it. The gas is filling in too fast.

*

|ROLL| Sophie Rousseau +rolls 1d100 for: 94

*

|ROLL| Steve Rogers +rolls 1d100 for: 31

*

With Firestar dragging, she focuses on trying to stay upright. "This…ugh." She's spinning a bit, and wonders if she should test that whole 'burn the gas' idea. "Should I try lighting it?" It's dumb, but it's the kind of thing you think of when you're breathing things that are not oxygen.

*

Sophie flies quickly into the next room, hoping to find something that will help them get out of the predicament. She'll notice the same holes that were in the floor and up in the corners of the room.

The room looks as follows: Books that look to be several hundred years old are aligned on bookshelves of wood. A large reading chair sits next to a candle and coffee table. In the corner looks to be some sort of work station with bowls full of different powders. A chicken's leg, dried, is also there, as well as some canisters.

Worse, or maybe less worse, it's hard to tell, she's found a fire elemental, but has the draw on him.

*

Captain Marvel coughs, then says, "Cap, can I borrow your shield for a second… gonna try to make a hole." And then she takes the shield, bracing it with one arm as she suddenly flies into the ceiling with all her strength, using the shield to take the brunt of the impact… and hopefully shatter a way through to the next level, or somewhere /away/ from the magical gas!

*

|ROLL| Carol Danvers +rolls 1d100 for: 68

*

Marvel takes the shield and bursts through the floor up into the ceiling. She's gone from the bottom floor up into the Officer's quarters of the second floor up. It looks to be a simple room, with twin sized beds lining from each entrance. She'll notice that she still feels weak, and even weaker. A check and sure enough, there are more of the gasholes.

*

With Firestar basically leaning on the wall, she still doesn't have any response to her question. "I really.. I mean, I could test it and see if it's safe…" as she stumbles into the next area, trying to get away from both the gas and any falling debris from Marvel's exit strategy. She does, however, come face to face with fire. And with one hit point, she frowns. Then spreads her hands, and says, "Bring it on."

*

|ROLL| Firestar +rolls 1d100 for: 58

*

Firestar takes on the elemental. Fire vs. Fire. And she's definitely at the disadvantage. Both beings shoot out heat at one another and at first, it looks like Firestar is about to be overcome. The room gets very, very hot. Gradually at first, and then with more effort, Firestar pushes back against the Fire elemental, taking him over, and overcharging him. A streak of blood drips from her nose and she falls unconscious.

*

Captain Marvel blinks as she breaks through, and… there's more nozzles spraying gas in this room too. "Damnit, Cap, this isn't any good… either…" She staggers, barely able to fly back down to Steve as she hands him back the shield. Or she tries to, it bobbles out of her grip as she sways, glowing a bit brighter as she burns some energy reserves to try to shake off the whatever-it-is…

*

|ROLL| Carol Danvers +rolls 1d100 for: 54

*

Carol's power flickers as she hands the shield over to Steve. For what it's worth, he knows that this is about to be over. Rather than waiting, he just runs. Neither he nor Carol can stand much more of this, he knows that. He turns a corner and disappears from view.

*

Lamont arrives from Out <O>.

*

Lamont has arrived.

*

Carol barely sees Cap running off, trying to shout for him to keep going, but all she can do is cough… and then her eyes roll back as she collapses to the ground, unconscious as the mystical gas does its insidious work.

*

Having slipped silently and invisibly away from the fire elemental as Firestar was on her way in toward it (having judged her own chances against the creature and finding them slim to none, since she probably couldn't hurt it while her own defenses would be worthless against fire), Mistral is just in time to see Captain Marvel collapsing and Captain America trying to get clear of the gas. She's able to resist it herself, at least, between keeping it away from herself and her (unless its magical properties void that warranty) immunity to gases while in her airy form… For the moment, she's a bit out of obvious options, and slips back to the Restroom of Doom to at least be more fully out of sight as she decides what to do next…

*

As people begin to fall, Steve knows that the mission is in jeopardy. He begins to run through rooms with his shield out in front of him, bashing down doors and running by Doombots that are too busy or too taken aback to fire before he zips past them. Desperately he searches for a room. A way UP. The potent gas, even with his serum fueled body does not seem to matter. He takes a hard left and comes into a room where he sees Nexus, Diana, and Rogue, all incapacitated upon a metal grate. He looks upwards into a black cavernous sky and assumes they're in an elevator. It's his way out of here. A quick look to the control panel. It's been destroyed.

Those are his last thoughts before he falls unconscious.

*

TO BE CONTINUED?

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