13275/Magnetic Mayhem

Magnetic Mayhem
Date of Scene:	05 November 2022
Location:	Gotham University
Synopsis:	Hired goons try a smash and grab at Gotham University, but some visitors come across a local and stop the gang from getting away with some powerful electromagnets, after seeing their power first hand.
Cast of Characters:	Austin Reese, Skara Spark, Audra Meridian

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Austin Reese has posed:
Gotham University was in the middle of its semester, and so far things had been relatively normal. Well, normal for Gotham, anyway. Austin Reese had an afternoon class that had run long, and he had been in a hurry to get to his 'evening job'. That's why Osprey was currently sitting on a rooftop of the University's dining hall, scanning across the campus as he finished up a quick meal.

He had no idea that his delay might prove to be fortunate, as at that same moment, an unmarked white box truck had pulled up next to the new Wayne Science Center. One of the labs had been working on a powerful new experimental electromagnet, the kind of thing someone would want to turn into a weapon.

Inside the truck were six men, armed with pistols and vests, and wearing masks. As soon as the door opened, they were going to rush inside and grab it. It wasn't anything fancy, a smash and grab and shoot whoever gets in the way kind of deal. But who would be dumb enough to get in their way?

Skara Spark has posed:
A new sort of magnet? For all kinds of Fun Activities? Sounds like something someone in an engineering major might be interested in seeing. That's why Skara was on campus, to have a look at the tech the magnet was using and to bring back her findings to the college's sister campus over in Metropolis.

    Thing is, the train had a delay on arrival, so Skara got in a bit after her original appointment, but considering this was a planned visit, the staff trusted her to get what she needed unsupervised. As a result, when the door opens, it's a surprise to the woman, and seeing six armed men is .. not better. *HIDE* "Ah god where'd I put my bag. Bloody hell."

Audra Meridian has posed:
There was two advantages to having the qualifications to be a stormchaser as a professional rather than a hobbiest. One was being less hurdles to contend with when publishing or distributing your works... and the other getting paid more than decently to do so. Because lab nerds love having people brave/crazy enough to go into situations they wouldn't to get them more data.

And that is why Audra Meridian was at the Gotham campus, and at the new science hall no less, having delivered off a bunch of her reports from the summer tornado season in the Midwest for the Atmospheric Sciences department to utilize in their classes. Now she could just go get something to eat, and then be on her wa--

--aaand instead cussing under her breath as she nearly stepped around a corner, saw the first of the masked armed men, and quickly ducked back before he turned in her direction. It's never that easy, can't just leave and go about her business without some hoodlums making problems. She thinks a moment, then remembers seeing a janitorial closet a few meters back the way she came. Audra rushes back for the room, and thankfully finding it unlocked, ducks inside.

Thankfully she has been through this shtick enough times now that she came with Windrose's gear packed in her bag. Though after changing in a tiny cleaning station one starts to wonder how Superman managed in a phone booth for so many years!

Austin Reese has posed:
Inside of the science wing where Audra was at, two of the guys posted up with their weapons. They were yelling at everyone to get down on the ground, not be a hero, that sort of thing. Standard things that all the civilians comply with.

Inside of the lab that Skara was in, the story wasn't that different. Two more of the goons were waving guns and telling everyone still in the lab to get down. It was the last two that were interesting, they had singled out the scientist in charge of the project and were making him take them to get those magnets. At the moment they had a couple of different setups that the goons were trying to take.

Outside of the science building, the commotion had drawn the attention of one of the campus security guards, who was yelling at the guy still in the truck. The guy in the truck responded by opening fire on the security guard, who takes cover and returns fire.

The gunfire of course gets the attention of Osprey, who hops up and whips out his grapple gun, launching himself towards the sounds of the gunfire, eventually coming down on top of the box truck. The goon starts firing up at Osprey, "We got a mask!" He yells out over his radio to the other goons, shooting through the roof at Osprey who is not standing on the roof any longer.

Skara Spark has posed:
Oh great. Gunfire can be heard outside, yelling and shouting can be heard inside, and here's Skara, in a closet with a bunch of reserve cleanroom smocks, pulling their weapon out with nothing but a colored bandana across her eyes to hide who she is. "I guess I'm a turtle now," she mutters before waiting for a good moment to barge into the lab. Just creeeeeeeek the door open, peek out from behind the teal bit of cloth, and wait for the right moment. "Oh, I'm gonna make this the worst day you've ever had in a minute.. just get a little closer.."

Audra Meridian has posed:
It wasn't her entire kit, Audra still hadn't figured out how to make the Jetstream pack collapse compact enough she could carry it in a bag yet. Or make the rest collapse into the backpack without gutting the pack. But she had her gauntlets, her boots, and the goggles and half cowl for secret identity purposes (and protecting her eyes from stuff, but that's just common sense). It was enough. She wouldn't be the first person to go heroing in a leather jacket.

Audra nudged the custodial closet door open just enough to peek out and spots the two guys posting with their weapons and yelling at people to stay down. Okay, need to keep them from firing wildly or anything, and hope the people will take the oppritunity to -run- if they have it.

So in order to get their attention, she kicks the closet door open with enough force to slam it against the wall and yells "HEY WHERE'S YOUR HALL PASSES?!"

As she's stepping out she points with one gauntlet and unleashes a blast of frigid wind. The gunmen should turn right into it's path in response to her ruckus, and get a faceful of frostbite for their trouble.

Austin Reese has posed:
For Skara, the guy closest to her is one of the two keeping the lab down. The two guys getting the magnets have finally reached them, and are forcing the doctor to put them into a bag along with their controls and anything else. He has his back to her right now. If she's going to strike now's the time, especially with them getting on age, as Skara can hear that radio talk about a 'mask'.

Windrose in the science center atrium area takes a much more direct approach. The door slams open, and the goons turn towards her, "What the hell? Get her!" One yells, as the other raises his gun, only for both of them to get blasted by the sudden sub-zero wind. It causes their weapons to point away from her, even as one of them squeezes the trigger and shoots into the floor.

Outside, Osprey waits until the driver is out of ammo, when he hears the slide on the weapon lock back, and he leans over the driver's side window, "Hey, this is a no parking zone!" Before he swings in through the window and kicks the guy out of the passenger side of the truck. Osprey follows him through, landing on the prone gunman with both knees and knocking him out, rolling off the guy and rising up to a knee as he throws a small knife at the tire of the truck to keep it from being used by any others. That's one down, but he doesn't know about the six inside yet. Just that someone's inside, since he can hear the gunshot from in the building. The people streaming out of every exit doesn't hurt either.

Skara Spark has posed:
    Oh, someone else is here? Good! Time to get her groove on. As the scientists move about and do as instructed, Skara kicks the door open, spartan style, and without even a word brings the shield around for a resounding CLANG against the closer man's skull. "Oi! PAPERS PLEASE!" she roars before lunging for the second after spinning the weapon around to strike with the top, blunt, side. "RESEARCHERS ONLY YA GOBSHITES!"

Audra Meridian has posed:
Attention: Gotten. Distraction: Brief but effective. And as soon as they have a chance most people, likely mainly students from some late day classes, scram just as she had hoped. The gunshot is far off it's mark thanks to the wind gust, and Windrose leaps into action to capitalize on the moment.

The a casual observer it might look like she was just charging into a fight as many supers do, but that was hardly the case as her astute mind was taking notes and calculating options as she did so. Using the brief dash for momentum she leaps, and twists around to bring one of her hefty boots into a flying kick at one of the gunmen! Now Windrose might not have super strength, but that boot is made of metal and polymers. More importantly, the motion engages the ionized vectors, releasing a small blastwave with the kick to flip Windrose over backwards, and send her opponent flying across the room!

Austin Reese has posed:
The goon gets bashed across the head, flying forward and running into the second goon, both guys knocked over. The two with the goods leave the lab, and start heading towards the atrium. The guy Skara hit is out like a light, and his buddy was knocked over, but is aiming at Skara, looking like he intends to shoot her. If only she had some sort of defensive oriented weapon.

The two guys with the duffel bag run through the atrium area, Windrose can see them scrambling, "Shit we got a mask in here too!" "They're everywhere, get the stuff out!" And they try to sprint past, as the guys that she had knocked down with the wind are starting to get up, only for one of them to get wind boost kicked in the face and sent tumbling across the floor, crashing into the legs of the guys with the magnets and sending them crashing to the ground.

That's when things go weird, as there is a sudden loud humming as the magnet in the backpack activates, starting to try to pull anything metal towards it. Including the doors that Osprey just came in through. He can feel the magnetic pull, "Oh hell.." His armor may be mostly polymers but the gauntlets use metal. He can hold against the force for the moment, but the pull seems to be intensifying rapidly.

Skara Spark has posed:
    Oh no. A Gun whatever will-CHARGE. Now, of course, Skara puts Zethian between herself and the weapon aimed at her. Heck, for added protection the sides extend out a bit, so the chance of her being hit? Pretty damn low. "Gonna want those bits back bafoon!" she calls, likely crashing into the man as she really didn't stop charging forward. If those two are out cold, time to go out the way they came in and see if she can catch up with the others. "What'samatter fellas! Its like YER SCARED OF SOMETHING!"

Audra Meridian has posed:
Just goes to prove the saying about how you can't plan for everything. Or of how plans never go as intended. There was no way Windrose could of predicted the other men running into the atrium. And right into the trajectory of the other gunmen she kicked. It looks like random good luck as all three go toppling over and the magnets spill from the bag. "Oh, that's what they were after... Hey!" She at least recognizes Osprey from the last time they briefly crossed pathes. "I don't think these are more Joker goons. Not enough imitation clown makeu--" Her attempt at witty remarks it cut short by the whirr to life of the electromagnets, and have to juke her head aside to avoid pens being slingshotted into the air from a nearby table.

Now it turns out to be a good thing she's not completely kitted out, as that would of been a lot more metal on her body. As is she's got to brace herself to keep from getting dragged over. "Dammit, why must crooks always make science look bad?!" On a hunch and a few quick calculations she charges up the electrical capacitors in her gauntlets and boots, trying to cycle to an EM wavelength that's similar to the magnets so she's not attracted by them.

Austin Reese has posed:
Sparkblade blocks the bullets, two shots ringing out in rapid succession before she knocks the goon out with a rather overkill shot, considering he was already down on his ass. But he did shoot at her, so he kind of deserved it. Then out of the lab and back into the atrium area, where she'd find the magnetic pull of those electromagnets. She may be able to pull off the same kind of trick that Windrose is doing, because she's able to counteract the pull of the magnets.

The goon with the gun takes aim at Windrose, until the gun is pulled out of his hand and flies through the air into the bag where the goons have the magnet. One of them is fishing around inside of the pack to try to turn the magnet off.

Osprey lets go of what he was holding onto, and pushes off of the steps to fly towards that magnetic pull, aiming to crash into the trio of goons on the ground. The goon that was fishing around in the bag finally gets his hands on the controls and turns them off. Or at least what he thinks is off, instead it is an alternate mode that repels metal, which sends the group of goons and Osprey flying in separate directions, the bag there to grab for anyone who can bypass those fields.

Skara Spark has posed:
    So, yeah, the shield isn't really made with magnetics in mind. Rather than be able to counteract it she'll have to do something else. "Oh, hiya! knockin' these pups around too?" she asks the others before the magnets start tugging on the shield. That gets her to drive its pointed end into the ground so she can stay in place. "Who activated the bloody things?!"

Audra Meridian has posed:
The electromagnet is reversed. Osprey goes one way. The goons go in other directions.
And Windrose, having electrified herself to repel the first setting is now being yanked towards it again.

But with the men having been scattered by the switched polarity she sees it as an oppritunity. "Oh for Jove's sake, you're a bunch a numbskulls." She lunges into a dive, trying to get pulled close enough that she can grab the bag and turn the magnets off again! Hopefully being an actual technology savvy type will help. "If I hear one 'magnets how do they work' crack Imma chain lightning all of you!"

Skara Spark has posed:
"BLOODY MIRACLES is what they say in the pictures, buncha nonsense!"

Austin Reese has posed:
The shield digs into the ground, and it keeps Sparkblade from going either direction. Windrose, on the other hand, is able to stroll right up and grab the bag, seeing an obvious off switch on the controls once she looks inside the bag, and flipping it off.

With things back to relative normality, at least as far as magnetic waves are concerned, the four goons that are still standing find themselves unarmed, as their weapons were scattered by the rapid polarity shifts.

Osprey gets up to his feet, and shakes his head a bit, "That's a neat trick." He says to Windrose, after watching the stormchaser walk through the magnetic field like nothing. He also glances over at the shield in the concrete floor, and hmms faintly, "Right, well. What do you say we mop up these guys?" He asks the two of them, before he rushes at one of the goons, the knuckles of his gloves sparking with electricity a moment before he makes contact with the goon's stomach, sending both the blow and then the shock through him. One of the other goons yells, "Get 'em!" And the other three all start to rush at Osprey at once.

Skara Spark has posed:
    With the magnets no longer pulling on Zethian, Skara's able to stand, pull the weapon out from the floor, give it a spin for a bit of flourish, and then she just beams at the other two, but moreso at Osprey's question, "Oh I've been have'n a row with'm already. Bout time to put an end to it," and then she lunges for one of the remaining goons. "Feck. Off." Time to forcefully introduce the face of Zethian to a few more morons.

Audra Meridian has posed:
"Storms can cause some pretty strong electromagnetic fields with the ionizing particles, you learn a trick or two." Or at least learn to improvise.

But it looks like these thugs aren't about to give up just yet, even without their loot. "Really? Tenacity at the worst possible time." Windrose flicks up a hand, engaging the conduits in one gauntlet to discharge the current she'd charged to make her electromagnetic countermeasure at one of the charging goons. That's got to feel something like getting hit with multiple tasers at once. Enough to temporarily shut down enough nerves and muscles to incapacitate the chump.

Austin Reese has posed:
The goon that Osprey hits in the gut doubles back, only to get his arm grabbed by Osprey's, who spins him around and lariats him across the throat with his other arm, sending the guy sprawling and out. Out of the guys who are rushing at him, only one of them manages to make it, Sparkblade crosses the distance in a flash and intercepts one of the goons, the shield bash knocking him through a display glass, and into a heap on the other side.

The second goon that doesn't make it gets several thousand volts through him, multiple tasers hitting his system at once, sending him to the ground where he twitches a few times. He'll live, but he sure as hell won't be happy about it.

That leaves the guy who rushed Osprey left, as he swings a fist at the vigilante, who slips it like someone trained in boxing would, and then grabs the guy's arm, spinning him around and putting his knee against the back of the guy's neck, pinning him down, "You wanna tell me who hired you?" He growls, as he pulls back on the guy's arm, threatening to wrench it out of the socket as his knee provides pressure.

Skara Spark has posed:
    "Welp, that's that I reckon," Sparkblade figures before wandering over toward Osprey's captured goon, kneeling down beside him, watching that arm get torqued. "You should probably answer'm before he makes it so ya can't ever pitch a ball ever again."

Audra Meridian has posed:
"I can think of a few other things he won't be doing with a broken arm," Windrose adds as she tucks the bag with the special magnet and controls under her arm. "But they're not suitable for polite public company." The goods can be returned to the lab, but first she wants to hear if this goon actually has anything useful to say.

Austin Reese has posed:
"Augh. I don't know, they just texted never met in person!" Osprey digs into a pouch on the guy's vest and pulls his phone out, pulling off the guy's mask to unlock it with his face, "I think that's all I need." He says, before he knees the guy in the back of the head to knock him out with the other goons.

He turns to look at both Sparkblade and Windrose, "I know I've seen one of you around." He points at Windrose, "Abandoned joke factory right? Joker goons. I remember now. Didn't get your name that time."

A glance back to Sparkblade, "I don't think I've seen you around, but I do always appreciate the help." It's always nice to know it's not just his team out there every night.

Skara Spark has posed:
    "Oh ya, I've been going to university over'n Metro. Was sent over here to take some notes on the magnets they were tryin' to knick off with, bloody stupid to try. Like, did they really think there wouldn't be any of us around? IN GOTHAM?" Siiiigh. Shrug. "S'why their goons and not something else, I suppose. Either way, nice runnin' into some friendly 'faces' fer sure. This isn't really my normal look, but I reckon it isn't yours either," Skara muses to Windrose, "But you look like you were up with the gargoyles on the corners, eh?" Smirk. Someone's gotta be on the look out in Gotham. If not Osprey then .. some other winged animal. Plenty of those in the city.

Audra Meridian has posed:
"Call me Windrose... And yeah. Didn't have a chance to get my full loadout, or things might of gotten out of hand first," she replies to both. Followed by a nod to Sparkblade. "Pretty flashy piece of gear you've got there yourself." The magnet bag is given a light shift to keep it from dangling loose from her arm. "Did all the professors flee in the hooplah? Should really give this back."

Austin Reese has posed:
"If they were smart they wouldn't be doing a smash and grab." Osprey replies, as he takes the phone and clones it with after holding it up to the computer on his left gauntlet, "You got a name?" He also wants to ask her if she's a meta, but you don't ask people if they're a meta on the first fight. That's just bad manners.

An alert pops up in the HUD inside his domino mask, and he frowns faintly, "GCPD is on their way, so unless you're in the mood for long, boring conversations with detectives, I recommend you make haste outta here."

Audra Meridian has posed:
Audra Meridian makes a face. Appreciate the cops doing their job, but that doesn't mean she wants to sit through a lengthy discussion. She has to deal with emergency services enough with her 'day job'. "Right, I'll just leave this here." Windrose deposits the bag on a table. Then flicks a quick semi-salute to the other two with one hand. "Next time, guys." And she's off. Even without the flight back she's fairly quick thanks to the dash jets on her boots.