13696/State of Alarm

State of Alarm
Date of Scene:	08 January 2023
Location:	Arlington Heights Air Force Station, Illinois, USA
Synopsis:	A historic moment. The villains plot is almost entirely uncovered and the heroes are ahead of the curve. The POTUS brought together as many of the biggest heroic names he could muster to take on this challenge before HYDRA has a chance to attack.
Cast of Characters:	Lex Luthor, Nick Fury, Carol Danvers, Natasha Romanoff, Franklin Richards, Steve Rogers, Norman Osborn, Jean Grey, Diana Prince, Clark Kent, Tim Drake, Roberto da Costa, Clea

---

Lex Luthor has posed:
A summons from the white house by the President of the United States. It's a rare thing. But the president has made a move to get ahead of the threat. This time he has the luxury of foresight to know what's coming. Too bad it's not -to- the white house. It's to a military base hanger that has been emptied save for an array of evidence on tables and a set of secret service agents standing along the perimeter of the room.

Upon those tabs is what looks like a state of the art satellite roughly 9x9x27 feet. On other tables are parts of a giant robot. A hand, the remains of a face, some torso. It's a curious assemblage of parts and pieces and as the Titans know, that satellite cannot possibly be the one that they recovered from space. As the X-Men know, these giant robot parts are the remains of a machine that attacked the mutants and even tried to assassinate the president.

Another curious concession has been made for this meeting. Those invited have not been required to reveal their identities, teams, take off masks. The secret service no doubt hates this but everybody here has proven themselves an ally more than once in the past. These are the people Luthor wants to speak to because when aliens attack it's these people who step up to fight.

Speaking of Luthor, the doors open by two marines in dress uniforms. One of them calls out, "The President of the United States." Lex strides in to the hanger with purpose. There's no time to waste with this threat and while it is not one that immediately targets the whole world, it might as well be. If the USA falls then the rest of the world likely falls with it.

A meeting like this, with so many teams, some teams still completely hidden from others, is unprecedented. Is it an ego stroke for Lex that he can pull in so many so quickly? No doubt, but he takes it all in stride as if this were a perfectly normal thing to do. A true league of superheroes.

"Welcome Everybody, make yourselves comfortable, we have a lot to discuss."

Nick Fury has posed:
This must be some sort of meeting for the 'Old Man' to be pulled from whatever it is that he's currently involved with and go to Illinois, of all places. In deference to the weather outside, Director of SHIELD, Nicholas J Fury wears a black knit hat atop his head, effectively matching his dark uniform, and the black leather trenchcoat sitting atop. He stands in a corner, away from some of the gathered, his single eye looking out at those arriving and arrived, a neutral expression on his face.

Carol Danvers has posed:
Carol didn't think much of summons, presidential or otherwise. But much of her life had been spent in the Air Force, and when that big voice said 'jump' there were still parts of her that were conditioned to ask 'how high?' Not to mention if she were to say 'no thanks' it might well end up as some sort of PR incident and then she'd find herself in a flashy Madison Avenue marketing office being gently explained to why you respect the office of the President, even if you find the financially-rapacious billionaire occupying it to be questionable.

She's shown up in uniform, if for nothing else than to fit in with those attendees who have masks and have to dress gaudy. Besides her red-blue bodysuit and red sash, she appears to have added something to her usual outfit. In this case, it's what appears to be a pair of Themysciran bracers at her wrists. Even as she stands and waits for the President to arrive, she can't help but look down at them like one might inspect a particularly treasured keepsake.

"What's the solution gonna be here?" she asks Fury, raising an eyebrow at the man in the corner, "Giant bubble around the world? Evil-seeking micro-missiles?"

Then, with Luthor's arrival, she straightens up a little. Old habits indeed.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
And over by the man with the eyepatch is his Hound. Natasha Romanoff has likely taken a subtle position over of that as a bodyguard to her commander. Her body is positioned over in the shadows by the corner. she likewise looks to not have taken any sort of attention to her. She's out of the way, not standing out, and hard to notice for whatever reason. She's still, almost like a statue and making not the slightest motion.

Franklin Richards has posed:
Already sitting Franklin had just come in quietly not really taking the time to meet and greet anyone. He had tried to talk his father into coming instead because if there is anything that can change the outcome of something it is a Reed. The only problem is they had to know, because without that they were just smart people stuck in a tall tower doing nothing to help as it passes them by, and well Franklin couldn't live like that. He quietly looked at the faces in the room as he sat there, and even the ones like Jean, or Diana, that he recognized would get a smile, and nod.

Then the President came in, and it made him smile a bit, if Lex could be president he could get through a meeting of the minds as the least connected in the room. Sitting back into his chair he relaxed a little to be able to fully listen to what was coming next, as he did not want to even think about speaking till he was well out of here.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers showed up in his uniform. Rather than because he thought there might be action, or wanting to formally look the part of an Avenger, the choice in outfit kept him from having to worry about what was appropriate to wear to a meeting with the President.

In the time before President Luthor entered, Steve had taken the time to greet most of the other heroes in attendance. Renewing friendships, or making greetings for any that he might not have familiarity with before.

Nick got a nod of his head and a handshake. His other fellow Avengers smiles and nods as well, before the doors open to admit the President.

Norman Osborn has posed:
Norman Osborn is almost here more as support for Luthor, an industrialist, military contractor and a person deeply involved in and rooted in the defense structure of the nation. Norman has kept a low personal profile in recent years (going insane will do that), but he remains influential and powerful - especially since his true identity as the Green Goblin has yet to be uncovered.

He wears a Tom Ford suit, his hair trimmed tight to his skull, but lets the heroes and the publicity hounds take up the center of the room. He likes it in the shadows.

He gives the President a nod of greeting as he arrives, but otherwise keeps his peace.

Jean Grey has posed:
The use of a slightly less public venue has advantages; it means Jean doesn't have to fly commercial, for one, as she arrives on the Blackbird (with rides for any who might have wanted them!). Still, this is a pretty fancy invite, and so she comes dressed as if it -were- an event at the White House, in her best librarian-chic skirt and jacket number. No costume, no mask, as she hasn't worn one since her teen years as the rather unfortunate (in name and fashion sense) Marvel Girl. Heels click down the ramp of the jet, which is no doubt observed by some stoic-faced MPs. She gives them a winning smile, before continuing ahead under whatever direction and escort to the hangar, where she has a little time to look around before their distinguished host arrives.

The collection of evidence on display is quite familiar.

And, for whatever super mumbo jumbo, she does actually suck in a nervous breath and stand a little straighter when the President is announced. Its a little exciting! Real Big Girl stuff. Without the familiarity that they have in these circumstances, she naturally gravitates toward Carol and Diana, both as friends but also as more experienced Government-adjacent superwomen. She waits until the full introduction is over, before looking over and speaking in a low whisper to Diana, "Is there a... typical way these things are organized? Do we raise our hand?"

Diana Prince has posed:
Wonder Woman had arrived via her alien-tech-powered Jet, though as it arrived it was very much visible, and remains so out on the landing tarmac, while flanked by four other Amazon women who arrived with Diana.

The Princess of Themyscira now resides within the area with the rest of the gathered group. Wearing a deep blue cloak over her armored form, she stands motionlessly, her hair loose around her shoulders as her eyes dart from one face to the next before finally falling upon that of Luthor when he arrives and speaks. The Princess turns to look to Jean on her right, and affords the redhead a soft smile. "No raising hands, just speak up when you have something to say. If people start speaking over one another, well... glare hard at them until they back down." She says softly back.

Clark Kent has posed:
    Superman and Lex Luthor don't really get along. This is fairly well known, but at the same time, even Lex can sometimes run across an actual problem that needs to be dealt with. Besides, it would just look bad if Superman ignored an invitation from the White House, and he was sure that Lex would spare no time spreading the word about the snub.

    So he finds himself in Illinois, waiting to see what Lex has to say. Looking around at all the others who have been invited here, he gets the idea that either Lex is trying to make himself look important, or he's found a really serious problem.

    Despite the trouble it will no doubt cause, he kind of hopes it's the second option.

    When Lex enters, the Man of Steel straightens up a bit. He may not like Lex, but he respects the office.

Tim Drake has posed:
    One cannot stealthily appear from the shadows when inside a massive Air Force hangar. Well, this one can't because this one isn't Batman, but he's in the customary black and yellow, it's just all the red in addition that sets him apart as one of the Robins. Which one? Who knows, even most Gothamites have trouble keeping up with that revolving door of sidekicks.

    But appear Red Robin does, once most of those who are slated to arrive have already assembled, the President himself included. It's easier to slip into the crowd, on silent feet with his cape trailing behind him as he moves deftly to get himself situated with a proper vantage point.

    No eye contact is made with those heroes he knows, even if only through connections with their own respective younger heroes. Mostly because the lenses of his mask conceal his eyes. Superman and Wonder Woman both get quick but respectful chin-lifts, though, the only sign of life from the young man here to represent the Bats.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa looks about easily. He smiles and nods to the few he knows. Even headtilts to Jean <<Wow, what does it take to get Charles out of the office?>>. Dressed in an exquisitely tailored suit, black with a black silk tie and yellow dress shirt. An homage to the bumblebees of danger room fame. He wears a drivers coat over the suit also in black. He's sipping from a papercup coffee gotten from who knows where. And perusing through something on a tablet. He arrived in a sporty red LexCar electric roadster. He stands alone, very much walking his own path, speaking with anyone who approaches easily, friendly.

Clea has posed:
Clea is here, dressed in her usual purple ensemble that she wears when on business. She gives a nod of greetings to those that she knows and then proceeds to find herself a place to stand. The serene looking woman is floating just a few inches above the ground given it is her natural state, though she stops that when the president enters and there is a dip of her head to the man.

She then relaxes and tries not to fidget too much in place. We'd see if that battle was easy to win!

Lex Luthor has posed:
"I'm sure plenty of you disagree with my politics and I humbly ask you to put those thoughts aside. The country is under attack. Unlike prior times we know it's coming and we know enough to get ahead of it. If we can coordinate our efforts, no one has to die," Lex says matter of factly.

Not to mention how good it'll look in the press if the President unites the heroes in defence of the nation so well there are zero casualties. A jaded mind might go there, but the evidence laid out around them paints a stark picture already.

"Many of you I know personally. Some of you I know by reputation alone. Some of you may not know each other and I ask that you trust that everybody here has the best interests of the world at heart," Lex says, though, can he really vouch for everybody in the room so assuredly?

"There are gaps in the story that need to be filled in. Some of you have already been involved in events that have lit a torch upon this festering evil," he says rather dramatically as he motions to the parts of the robot. "This is the remains of a prototype Sentinel, a machine originally designed to kill mutants. It was thought every trace of the psychotic operation had been eradicated. And yet this machine was brought to my attention by Mr. Sebastian Shaw." His eyes look briefly to Jean. Some part of him had hoped the mutant who saved his life was going to be here.

"Feel free to interrupt any time. Everybody here needs to contribute if we're to get ahead of this." He motions to the satellite, "And this creation is cutting edge, state of the art, a container for an energy source we know very little about."

"A satellite like this one powered the sentinel from space and were it not in partially assembled state we might not have been able to stop it at all. And by we, I mean .. people represented by people here in this room. I'm not going to point fingers or name names. This isn't a 'lets out the supers' meeting. Be mindful of each others secrets please."

Lex's eyes fall upon Superman. The smallest little twitch at the corner of his mouth. This is a personal victory today but one he can't really gloat over. There's no violin string quartet to set the mood after all.

"These satellites stealth in orbit so well we've been unable to detect them. If one hadn't malfunctioned on a Space LeX mission we might never have known they were there at all. They stay dormant until activated."

He motions back to the robot parts, "I was informed there were seven of these prototype sentinels upgraded - only one has been stopped. There are six unaccounted for, ready to pounce, at the whim of an unknown master."

Lex motions a hand out to the gathered people, "I open the floor to questions, illuminations, first hand accounts, any constructive input at all. Out of this meeting I want a plan of action for when this enemy strikes, or better yet a way to stop them before they can begin."

Nick Fury has posed:
It's true; blink and you'll miss it. There's a touch of a smirk that creases Fury's face in response to Carol's question. His single eye shifts slightly in her direction before he lifts a finger to place it on his lips in a 'shhh'. It's his way of 'let's not tell them what we can do' sort of jest.

Natasha's presence is a given, truly. Where ever he goes, the Director usually has a small retinue of hand-picked agents, whether it's Coulson, Barton or Romanoff. With her here, thing will remain manageable, as far as he's concerned.

The presence of Steve, in his Captain America guise gains a quick nod from Fury, and with the handshake, a quick pull in with a whisper in the Avenger's ear. Letting go and retrieving his hand, Fury is back to listening... and watching.

Looks like the 'world bubble' idea posited by Carol is a little closer to the crux of the matter than he'd thought. Again, however, his position for the moment is 'wait and see' in terms of what the others can bring to the table, and then possibly augment it.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would go to fold her hands together Natasha gives a low nod over at Colonel Fury. She would assess, watching over at President Luthor. Evaluating. He's a businessman, politician, and president. She has no particular inclination for or against him. LIke her commander, she's in 'wait and see' mode and not directly interacting in the proceedings. She's there as a hound.

TO deal with anything that needs to be kept quiet and if at all possible get anyone important out of there. She has her hands folded together, looking around the room from each individual to each. Quiet. Observant. In readiness.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa raises an eyebrow, "The original sentinels were anti-alien tech not anti-mutant until they were re-tasked by Brainiac. Are we sure this is anti-mutant? Who has been developing the prototypes? Trask is out of the country is it them or someone new?

Jean Grey has posed:
Encouraged by Diana to boldly speak her mind, Jean is happy to go ahead and do so. As she has some experience with both the items on display. Although her approach is initially a further question, not of her peers but the man hosting them: "I helped deactivate one of these - maybe this one?" Its hard to tell one pile of crumpled metal that once was a satellite from another. "And being honest, I was far more surprised and even alarmed by what I encountered with it than by the Sentinel's activation."

Coming from a mutant, who the Sentinels have done such harm to, that says something.

"It was on a LexCorp shuttle, I'm not sure if you make the satellites as well or not, but is there... are you at liberty to explain that project, at all? Or is this something that HYDRA - or whoever - built on their own and snuck aboard your craft somehow?" She pauses a moment, as if unsure how to explain the next part, "Because the satellite's power system is, well, quite unique. I have a... unique perspective on its function that falls outside of the purely scientific, but it might be illuminating to have a bit of a general explanation there? In more common terms?"

She glances around, again to her nearby neighbors for their thoughts or maybe just a bit of reassurance. "Going from there, my instinct is that detecting the satellites would best be pursued by following on the unique nature of the power source. I'm not sure if Earth technology can detect them. Possibly some of our alien partners would be able to. But absent that, there are some of us-" and she glances at Carol as if to include her, "-who might be able to approach it from that angle through our own abilities."

Carol Danvers has posed:
"Excuse me," Carol speaks up, raising a finger when she does, "But it seems to me that something like a pogrom against an entire population ought to be something you're keeping a closer eye on."

Captain Marvel takes a step closer to the prototype on display, peering at it critically with a tilted head. She turns her attention to Jean when she hears mention of alien technology.

"Stealth technology works on electronic detection as far as I know, or it covers itself on the visible light spectrum," she carries on, "But there are those of us here who have good eyesight and the capacity to fly through space. If you ask me, Superman and I should just fly up there and decommission every satellite that looks at us wrong."

A glance over her shoulder at the Kryptonian: "Thoughts, big guy?"

Clea has posed:
Clea listens and watches, because she's not sure that she's ever heard anything like this before. Sentinels and things were new to her. But she was here to offer what knowledge she can on other options or things like that. For now, she doesn't have anything to include for the moment, so the white haired woman stays calmly where she is.

Diana Prince has posed:
When Jean steps forward to speak up, Diana glances over to her again, showing a soft smile at the displayed confidence. She then places her eyes on the busted up satellite in question, and considers its design... though she's far from a tech savvy person enough to really gain anything from a visual look at it.

Diana merely stands there, covered within cloak, and observing those who speak in turn of one another before she looks back on to Lex with a measured stare.

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin listens, and does actually look at the Satellite as he listens the ability to stealth. This means as long as they are working inside of physics they have tech to the proton level. This makes Franklin frown a bit. but it is worse they don't even know how many there are. Pulling out a pad, and writing some math he does some calculations of conflict, and the amount that would be needed to cover the globe. He considered maybe if they couldn't be seen they could still be calculated for, and found from the lack of anything though space is really big.

He is lost in thought about finding something that technically wasn't there, and a power source Jean felt connected to there was still too much unknown so Franklin just listens.

Tim Drake has posed:
    The discussion begins. Aside for a faint thinning of his lips at the mention of the Sentinels, Red Robin has little to add or even acknowledge, whether verbally or visually it seems. But he's near the front of the group now, somehow, despite hardly seeming to move at all. His arms hang at his sides and his feet are shoulder-width apart in a stance that gives the impression that he's both at the ready and yet somehow not feeling particularly suspicious of his surroundings. Despite being a Bat, which are a particularly suspicious breed.

    But maybe even Batman himself would be comfortably at rest with so many prominent hero figures present.

    Nahhhh.

    Anyone paying attention to him will notice his focus remains on the evidence, the tilt of Red Robin's head every few moments making it seem like he's giving it all a thorough examination, if from a distance.

Clark Kent has posed:
    Adjusting his vision, Superman starts looking _through_ the satellite parts, seeing if there is anything undiscovered on the inside of the thing. Glancing over at Carol he nods and replies, "I certainly don't have a problem with going up for a search. If we can find the things before they start turning on we have a good chance of keeping anyone from getting hurt."

    He turns to look at Jean, saying "Dr. Grey, I believe you may have a way to contact someone who might be able to make this situation a bit easier. I know he set up his mutant retreat in space to keep them safe and separated from those who would harm them, but do you think Magneto might be willing to help detect these things? I assume someone with his powers must be able to sense the metal in order to control it."

Norman Osborn has posed:
"Great Scott! We must make sure this monstrous technology doesn't fall even further into the wrong hands!"

Norman has been informed of these events, of course, but is still aghast that such technology was out running rampant, when it should be under HIS control to use for HIS ends, these fools never realized what they had right under their nose, pathetic, weak. PATHETIC.

A vein bulges on his forehead. His hand grips hard, whitening his knuckles. He has an excellent poker face to hide the chaos within.

"How can we help, Mr. President?"

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers gave Nick Fury a small nod at what was whispered to him. Apart from that, he's stood mostly still, arms crossed as he listens to President Luthor, and the subsequent discussion. Steve's face shows a concerned look through most of it, one which only grows as a few piece of information are revealed that he had not been privy to previous to this.

"So we have an unknown number of these satellites to contend with. And six of these prototype Sentinels, that we know of. What information do we have about their origins? Where was the Sentinel discovered? What information do we have on who was constructing or working on them?" Captain America asks.

Lex Luthor has posed:
Lex nods to Roberto and answers, "These prototypes were gathering dust somewhere. They were resurrected and put in to a Department of Defence black budget project for upgrading in to a modern weapon. The funds were illegally transferred and no order to start the project ever came across my desk. Yet, somehow, it was put in motion. The US military upgraded these frightening weapons. I put a stop to that the moment I found out."

He nods to Carol, "If governing a country and world superpower were as easy as pulling on all the strings at once, then my job would be easy. But it's big, complex, and chaotic. That's the nature of our democratic machine."

Lex raises an eyebrow as Jean throws out the name HYDRA. "Space LeX was contracted by the Department of Defence to launch satellites in to orbit. As President I stepped back from day to day operations of LexCorp and its child companies such as Space LeX... but even still, the board had no reason to doubt the legitimacy of the work."

At the mention of the energy, "There's only so much I know about the energy source - only that a small startup company in West Virginia were building the satellites and fuelling them up like a battery. That facility disappeared leaving a perfect sphere in the ground and reports of an aurora in the skies. I'd be -delighted- if somebody here knew what happened."

"How they were doing it, unknown, but there is a vast reality of energies we don't yet understand that are all labelled under 'dark energy'. These satellites are filled to the brim with the stuff. From all readings taken so far it's not clear to me whether or not it'd be safe for you, Captain," he says looking at Carol.

"...to simply smash the things or blast the things. Approaching or moving them may set them off - we simply don't know. However, I like our odds of defeating them before they turn on better than once they're active. My advisors tell me these robots move and fight like a giant on steroids. They will be a challenge for the likes of even you incredible people, and aliens."

"It's fair to say that now their manufacture has shut down, whoever is behind this.. perhaps HYDRA?.. is moving their pieces in to position on the board before they strike. Right now, they hang the sword of Damocles over our heads without a single demand. That... makes me nervous. It's possible they don't know how close we are to shutting them down."

"And in the midst of all this, the Deputy Secretary of Defense has gone missing. I don't believe in coincidences. It's possible Mr. Ross stumbled on to something he shouldn't have and he's been taken. If anyone knows anything about that... I need my whole team working the problem and Pete is a sharp mind."

Carol Danvers has posed:
"I don't need you to worry about my safety, Mr. President," Carol tells Lex with an arched eyebrow, "Forgive me, but your role here is to rally the pieces and move them on the board. If you need to sacrifice one, the expectation is you're going to do that. Let me worry about my wellbeing."

When Luthor carries on, her vague smile becomes thin-lipped and wan: "Right. Well, they don't need to be destroyed in orbit. If nothing else, we can go on the hunt for them. If we know what we're looking at, we'll have a better chance of counteracting it."

Her piece said, Captain Marvel steps away from the prototype to rejoin the small crowd of heroic sorts. She steps up alongside Diana, daring a faint and more genuine smile as she taps her with her elbow in silent greeting.

Tim Drake has posed:
    "It's HYDRA," comes the confirmation from an unfamiliar voice overlaid by subtle tonal modulation. It's Red Robin, who is now basically at the tables with the evidence, arms crossed over his chest as he looks across it all. "I doubt they're working with aliens, given their personal beliefs, but that is a question better answered by the experts." His head turns only slightly, but it's subtly in the direction of Nick Fury and Agent Romanoff, a blink and you'll miss it indication.

    He returns his attention once more to the evidence. Above his domino mask, Red Robin's forehead wrinkles briefly, and then he nods to some unseen, unheard command, his back going rigid at once.

    With a lift of his chin, Red Robin is now addressing -- not President Luthor, or the general assembly, but Superman, who by deign of also examining the satellite parts is in his line of sight -- with only a "We'll let you know when we're ready."

    And with that he turns on his heels and slips out of the hangar, apparently having nothing more to say or to share.

    Though those with superhearing will know he lets out a faint noise of indignation as he steps out into the Midwest sun, suffering under it until he's ensconced in the Batjet that will take him safely back home to the dark, comforting skies of Gotham.

Nick Fury has posed:
See now, Carol has the right of it, as far as Nick is concerned. It honestly sounds like something he'd order, anyway, with a general wave of his hand towards 'out there, somewhere'. Something he can absolutely get behind, and thankfully, he's not a politician and never will be.

Steve's questions bring out more information, and nodding his head slowly, his expression remains impassive. With every comment, every problem, the Director of SHIELD can see points of interest where his organization can take point, can help, or just stay out to let the others have their fun. He can wait, he's got time, while everything shakes down.

The news regarding the Deputy Secretary of Defense, however, earns a shift of countenance to a scowl. Glancing towards his Agent Romanoff, he seeks to hold that look to convey his thoughts on the matter. Time to do what she does best.. after the meeting, and after a quick briefing on the matter.

Diana Prince has posed:
"Mister Ross was taken by HYDRA." Wonder Woman announces. "I was there when it happened."

She glances at Carol when she returns to stand near to her, then regards the PResident again, and continues. "I was asked to provide Amazons as guards for Mister Ross, which we did, but the technology they used to capture him was beyond our ability to defend against. They simply teleported him out of his home, then teleported in to replace him with some kind of image-generator device. My sisters, and I, detained the HYDRA agents, and they are being kept at the Hall of Justice's containment facility in its under-levels. I will happily see them transfered to SHIELD< or anywhere else here who might desire to interrogate them. I do have information on a 'retrieval date' and location that I garnered from them via the use of my lasso of Truth..."

"I'll share that with anyone who would wish to have it too." She says, with a glance given to Nick Fury.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa frowns considering, "So, it is HYDRA. What role are they playing in all this do we know? I mean who's taking the lead? Red Skull? Strucker? Fenris? Per Degaton? Do we have any idea? When the X-Men teamed up with Shield and the Brotherhood to shut down a global trafficking and reprogramming ring we uncovered a base in the bermuda triangle, it was blind to Cerebro. I think we need to fight this on multiple fronts. We need to look at HYDRA as an organization." Roberto grins, "Oh, this will be fun."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would nod over at Fury and go to move over in front of him at the gaze. She sweeps along as if intervening in any immediate gestures that might be sent his way. Then she recedes over into the darkness. Matters here are to be monitored and observed. Each statement, each individual, each performance recorded to memory. THere would be data to glean from here later. On the status of individuals. Allies. Threats. Always better to see things in person.

The Colonel does not intervene. And thus neither does Natasha say anything. Once her slight shift of position is done with, she retreats back to the shadows. Diana speaking of Pete Ross has her attention for just half a second. Interesting. So they had tracked him.

Jean Grey has posed:
"Magneto is currently convalescing from an injury," Jean answers Clark. "But it's nothing life-threatening." The fact that she speaks with concern and reassurance of his good health seems to suggest a reasonably amiable current state of relations! "I'm not sure what percentage he's operating at, but, yes, in general it's a task that would be trivial for him. There are potential complications to his involvement," which she doesn't elaborate on, but one might reasonably suspect to fall in the general terms of 'villainous temptation to use for his own ends' or 'become enraged and blow up extra stuff.' "But if needs be, of course, I'd be happy to ask him to help."

Then she pauses, for a moment, her gaze drifting around amidst some of the very spectacularly-powered company she currently shares. The man asking her included. "Really, for mildly different definitions of the word, it would be trivial for many of us. Individually, let alone collectively. Assuming we can find them, assuming there's no extra layer here, we can destroy them."

Lex has an answer for her, of a sorts, about the satellite and the power source. She looks around, to see if anyone wants to comment, but then offers her reply. "I can tell you what it was, but my answer isn't scientific, precisely. There's a lot of very theoretical science - and theology, for that matter - about how things started. If there's a Big Bang at the start, then what was there before that? Nothing? A prior universe? God?"

You'd have to talk with someone like Dr. Richards," she looks at Franklin, but is obviously talking about his father, "Or perhaps a colleague of mine who who has given me some insights, or any number of other better scientists for a more complete answer. My understanding, in the brief bit that I've gotten, is that 'nothing' is somehow unstable, that there's a quantum fluctuation underneath said nothing, that can create that 'Bang' in the first place. From my knoweldge? It's a bit of all three. There have been prior universes. And there's at least one cosmic entity involved in the process, of everything being destroyed and then coming back again. But the science part isn't wrong, either. That was the energy being accessed, on the satellite."

Which may be a somewhat worrisome answer.

"I would only assume that explains the destroyed West Virginia facility as well. These sort of reactions, well, they have the power of the cosmic crucible, of the death and birth of universes. Powering some killer robots is kind of small potatoes, on that scheme. With greater understanding of the technology... blowing up a site in West Virginia? Try blowing up the state, and the next few over. For starters."

The others discuss the HYDRA stuff a bit, which leads her back around. "If they have access to this kind of technology, that's really the exclaimation point on all of this. Finding whatever scientists are behind it, and making sure those people are... well, safe and free if they're doing it by coercion, or in custody otherwise."

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers follows the conversation as different people contribute information. At the news about the abduction of the government official, and the identity of those behind it, those near him might hear Steve give a quiet grumble.

"So we have cloaked satellites that need to be discovered, and dealt with. That have a potential payload that isn't understood beyond the ability to power giant robots," Steve Rogers starts.

"We have the robots themselves. At least six of them, which were being modified by a hidden government project that was off the books. So need to find them, and if there are others," he says, holding up a hand, one finger up already, then ticking off a second.

"We have to find out who was able to make this happen under government funding. And possibly as part of that, we have a missing high ranking official that needs to be located and rescued, and who might have more information on that part?" Steve says, ticking off a third finger. "Anything I'm missing?"

Clea has posed:
Clea gives a look to Cap as he speaks and then back down to the evidence that has been gathered. She follows along with conversations, but she doesn't offer commentary of her own. She gives a dip of her head to Carol when she sees her and then looks back to the other things. Trying to see where she can add anything in.

Franklin Richards has posed:
Finally Franklin sighs a bit, he looks like he was going to say something but stops, perhaps they were close to shutting them down. It was an assumption to know they didn't know, but if they did then it would mean whatever it is isn't fully in place or else they would of done it. He took the location of the satalite that they knew, and was faulty, considering its orbit, could it still be they gun wasn't loaded yet. Giant Robots, stealthed satalites, it all had to come from somewhere.

Franklin glanced at Nick Fury, then away again, they had to resources to find this out as well, and most likely did way before it crossed his mind. The tech wasn't bad, but there had to be ways to detect them despite the stealth, it wasn't that good. Perhaps he could put a note into the lab and see if we could get some prototype on some kind of cloaking detector now that he has had access to see how the stealth was detected when it failed. The punching of giant robots he could leave to others, he is sure much were better at it then the Franklin.

Norman Osborn has posed:
Norman Osborn makes a point of memorizing the location of this West Virginia vicinity. Norman might be able to hire a Vulture to come in and pick up any remaining scrap tech that might be salvaged out of the place. To find more of it, he'll need access to the sight."

"While I may not be able to help on the...superheroic front," Norman says, inclining his head respectfully towards Carol and Captain America especially. He appreciated...patriots. "But, with your leave, Mr. President, perhaps I could help in a more civil way? An investigation like this, into who's been funneling out government money, well...you can't do it off book. You have to do something official. Perhaps if you named a...Special Prosecutor, to investigate?" he asks, running a hand up to straighten his tie.

Clark Kent has posed:
    Superman speaks up, saying "Secretary Ross called me to meet him and let me know he had discovered cancelled government projects getting funds channeled to them. He also gave me the list of the six people in the government with the clearance to move those funds. Given what he had found, we tried to keep him safe while trying to track down more information about the situation. That's why the Amazons were protecting him."

    He shakes his head, "Apparently we underestimated our enemies capabilities. At this point, I'd say our best options are to pursue multiple paths at once. Those of us able to will start checking orbit to see if we can find the things. Perhaps SHIELD would be willing to start digging into the government records to try and trace the funds Secretary Ross discovered." He walks over to Director Fury and holds out a thumb drive. "A copy, of course, but everything we got is on there."

Lex Luthor has posed:
Lex seems impassive to Carol's declaration of war on the satellites. All of them perhaps. Inside, he is delighted though. This is what he hoped would happen if he put all these people in the room together. "You're quite right. It is not my place to tell you what you can and cannot do. My apologies Captain Danvers," adds shifting the mood. The last thing he needs is an antagonised Marvel.

The consensus quickly settles on HYDRA. Though Wonder Woman's information has him raise an eyebrow. Someone asked them to protect Ross? Ross clearly knew something was coming and didn't tell him. That speaks volumes to him in ways that get under his skin. But there's the rub of it. A twitch of anger. Pete Ross, who is meant to work for him, went to Superman.. SUPERMAN.. of all people for help.

His eyebrows shoot up which helps mask his annoyance when when they talk about teleporting Pete Ross away. HYDRA with super robots and super satellites and teleporters. And yet they're still doing nothing. His hands clench a little and he relaxes himself, adjusting his tie.

"No one has heard a peep from Red Skull for a long time. SHIELD successfully dismantled the active arm of HYDRA," he says with a nod to Fury, Romanoff, and Rogers. "Another head perhaps, another arm. Clearly part of their organisation was missed. They are well known for being slippery in that way."

"Director Fury, I know you're a man of few words but of impressive action. Now we know who our enemy is - what do you recommend?"

Lex tilts his head a little. It's clear he's nervous about putting all their eggs in the basket called Magneto. The man literally made his own asteroid home for mutants and quit Earth for space. Not to mention all his terrorist actions prior to that. Like many, he doubts the man has changed that much in recent times. "If he can be of help then you can but try."

As Jean rattles off her assumptions about how powerful the weapons might be he takes in a deep breath and exhales it slowly. He has to put his mind in to the shoes of HYDRA to understand the actions and motives here. "I see only one reason HYDRA would be doing this. Conquest. They will hold the nation, perhaps the world, to hostage. The robots are their 'men on the ground' so to speak and their power sits in the heavens above us. And if they are capable of teleporting the robots then..." He doesn't finish the sentence.

Holding the world hostage with neigh undetectable weapons is the kind of power move that could force even the heroes of the world to stand down. He nods to Captain Rogers who has done well at listing the key threats and points.

Nick Fury has posed:
HYDRA? Of course it is. Fury has a personal bone to pick with them. They screwed over his people, and he's more than happy to get the opportunity to pay it back, in spades. The scowl remains upon his face, and as he catches the rest of the information, as well as the good Captain's summary, his jaw shifts. Everything sounds about right when broken down; just a whole lot easier said than done.

Fury does have to give it to Luthor, however. He's got pieces here at the table, ready to draw together to form a larger collective. Sort of like his dream for the Avengers. The single eye narrows as he looks around the room again at those gathered before it lands on the President. He'll have a chat with the man later. In private.

With Superman's words, and the profferance of the thumb drive, Fury nods his thanks, his response quiet, "I'm sure we'll be able to use this information, thank you."

With the callout from the President, the Director of SHIELD looks up and once again at those gathered. "I have a personal problem with HYDRA," he begins. "It's sounding like they've been doing the R&D thing, putting their production up and pulling back on the overt, fist-shaking shit. I think the only way we'll be able to find anything that they're hiding is to track some of the emissions, which means we might actually have to force their hand to activate. Only it'd be on our terms, and not theirs. With the information we have, we can force them to act rather than have us react. How we do that is up to these fine folks gathered. But, we can't rely on one or two people. Single point of failure is unacceptable."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
At the mention over of HYDRA, Natasha Romanoff goes to attention. As the Director himself goes to speak, Natasha fades back several stpes. Present enough to give Fury bakcup and security if he needs it, but otherwise not in line of sight to interfere with him making eye contact with anyone. She wouldn't say anything, to the other heroes or to the Director. They didn't have to overplay their hand after all.

So she's in a relaxed state, yet at readiness. She's not expecting any sort of trouble so is not on the immediate alert for it. Her attention is on the room. How will the other capes respond to circumstances and what else might they ask of SHIELD? SHe observes the Director's response in a detatched manner, separating herself from it while watching over at the exchange and then watching the president closely to gauge his body language.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa raises his eyebrow, "Cut off one head two will take its place? Isn't that the saying?" He glances over at Steve, "Okay, so massive jumps in tevhnology don't happen in a vacuum... usually. If it's not aliens then who? Who does Hydra use for their technology? Is it a particular group or company?"

Carol Danvers has posed:
"I'll be honest here. I'm not boots on the ground. The abilities I have aren't for doing detective work. If I have leave to do it, I'll go airborne and try to find these satellites. Obviously, if they're using cloaking technology I can touch base with some of my contacts among the Kree to see if they have a means to bypass that."

Carol drives one fist into a gloved palm, a lop-sided smile on her face.

"I'm looking forward to it."

Jean Grey has posed:
"They could easily hold the world hostage," Jean agrees, somewhat grimly, with Lex's conclusion. "It's... there's that other edge, to the kind of advancement it will take Earth to be a peer in the wider galaxy, universe: becoming an interstellar civilization fundamentally comes with the realization that things do not begin and end with a single world. And to escape your world requires the power to destroy it. I've been an advocate for our progress, but it does come with these kind of dangers."

Not to merely be a Debbie Downer about the whole thing, Jean's attention turns back toward Carol. "But this is what I meant about using the power source to track them directly. Assuming we can't break their stealth more easily, say with enhanced vision or even just technological counters to whatever stealth their using. Magneto might be able to locate them via altered magnetic lines and so forth as well. But if all of that fails, maybe the power source itself is something we could detect. I did, in fact, and it's the reason I was so... aggressive in removing it from the SpaceLex shuttle." She takes a moment, frowns. "Of course, it was online. So I don't know what kind of window we'd have, there, if we had to wait for activation."

Which has her glancing around the collection again. "So personally, my suggestion would be to try every angle. If Superman can spot them, well, that's pretty straightforward. Wanton destruction might be risky, but even just hauling them into deep space should be sufficient - that's what I did with the first one, before it was clear it had turned 'off.' And otherwise, we go at them with every detection method we have. I can ask the Shi'ar Ambassador as well. Or, well, have Charles ask, since he's basically Shi'ar royalty."

"And when we find them, we drag them out into space, smash them, drag them out and carefully dismantle them... whatever."

Franklin Richards has posed:
Quietly Franklin sits, and sighs a bit as he pushes the information away from him becoming obvious this was not related, there was no way despite how he may of wanted it to been. He glanced around at everyone with a small smile as this was them doing what they could, some more honest then others, but they had this so he felt safe looking into other things. He quietly stood, and if looked at would nod with a smile, as while they had to protect people the best they could there were still other manners to be taken care of.

He quietly walks towards the door not feeling the need to share as he is thinking about where he needs to check next to find what he is looking for. If this escilated then of course his family would step in, but for now he believed his fathers attention was better served somewhere else. He didn't want to say that out loud so he quietly walked out instead, hopefully saving any face for Luthor.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana steps forward to the table where some of the items are displayed. She brandishes a smart phone from beneath her cloak, and then sets it gently down upon a open spot. "This is Peter Ross' phone. It has been unlocked since his abduction. If it may serve any use to upcoming investigations, though the Justice League has already scanned it for related content."

She steps back then, her cloak shifting around her tall form, as she resumes her previous position, and resumes listening to the others.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers looks around the room, the man's true blue eyes meeting the eyes of one hero after another as he begins speaking. "I don't imagine this needs to be said, but Hydra's goal has always been world domination. Those, like Hitler, who thought they did his bidding, were but part of their path to their goal. And nothing that I've seen says that goal changed at all after the Red Skull's death in the war. The country needs us to see to this matter, and it is going to take all of the skills and capabilities we have. Working together."

The Captain's gaze sweeps the room again slowly. "I'll propose we focus teams of people upon each of the tasks at hand. First, research on the technology involved. Mr. Osborn, Mr. da Costa, with your corporate experience I'm hoping you can take a lead in investigating the technologies involved. In addition to your own resources, I'd propose making use of the investigative skills of Natasha Romanov, of Batman if he's willing, and others. Perhaps members of the Fantastic Four can help with technical evaluation," Steve Rogers suggests.

His eyes go to Superman and to Captain Marvel next. "Superman, we need to find a way to detect those satellites. We may have to move quickly to disable them in one go, so if it's possible to do so without Hydra realizing we have the capability, that might be preferred. Would you and Carol head up a team to try to locate them. Reed Richards, Tony and others might be good for technological means of identifying them. While you and Carol, Green Lantern and others capable of space travel can also try your own methods?"

Captain America looks about the room further. "Nick, we need SHIELD to help with finding the current Sentinels that are still out there. Perhaps your people combining forces with Dr. Strange, Clea, Wanda and others would be able to attack the problem from more than one angle. Again, there are plenty of people that can be pulled in. If you can pinpoint ways we could be detectors to find them, Dr. Banner and others could be consulted."

Finally his attention turns to Jean Grey. "Miss Grey, if I'm wrong on this please say so. But I was thinking you and some of your team might be able to employ some methods to try to locate Pete Ross and rescue him." Steve doesn't seem to want to go into more detail than that. "There are plenty of others who might also be able to help with that search. Batman, and Diana may have more information for you that could possibly be used to help locate them. Perhaps Beast might be able to backtrace their teleporter or... something. I'm not the best at the science parts."

Steve looks around the room. "Do those proposals meet with people's agreement? Diana, I'd add that we might need backup for any of these teams at any point. Guards who can deploy quickly if someone stumbles into something and Hydra reacts. If you would be willing to make sure we have a team of heroes, potentially including your warriors, that might be good to have ready strike teams who can help."

Lex Luthor has posed:
Lex watches at the situation they're in settles in to the minds of these heroes. The cogs are moving, the wheels are in motion. He got them here and now they're about to change the course of history. One of the planets worst cancers, a threat that won't quit - HYDRA - will be stopped before they can do any real damage.

That is the hope. Then again, it turns out Charles Xavier is alien royalty. Who knew? the things you hear holding a meeting with the worlds most powerful and talented superheroes.

Pete Ross's phone still has an unsent message on it reading: 'You could say that. I not only know who it is, but the proof to put him away. It's-'

With Steve Rogers organising the team of teams Lex feels his work here is done. "This hanger is yours for as long as you need it," the President states to the group. A marine in dress uniform enters and places a red phone on the table behind Lex. "And this phone will go straight to me. Of course, you all know where I work," he says side eying Superman. But it's then moved to a nod in Fury's direction.

His eyes spy the young Richards sneaking out. There's a thought that may be not everybody here is going to share openly but the risk that this wouldn't work was always there. "If you need the US Government to move mountains - metaphorically speaking - don't hesitate to call. And as with everything HYDRA don't assume you can trust everybody you know with the working details of a) what we know, and b) how we're going to combat it."

Because clearly there's someone high up in his administration capable of pulling the kinds of strings necessary to move money around and keep projects dark from even his eyes. He has a mole. May be it's Pete Ross, or may be Pete Ross figured out who it is. That's a question he needs to get to the bottom of.

The marines salute as Lex turns and heads to the door. The presidential chopper is warming up as he makes his exit. He pauses at the door and decides to lay on the presidential charm, "The fate of the free world rests on your shoulders." And then he is gone.

Clark Kent has posed:
    Superman nods to Steve when he's asked to be one of the people trying to find the satellites in space. Looking over to Carol, he says "Sounds like we're about to spend a good amount of time in orbit. If you want to get right on talking to your contacts about the tech, I'll start with the hunt. The faster we work on this, the better. I'll also talk to Reed, never hurts having more scientists brainstorming. Can you or the good Captain get Tony's attention and see if he'll work on understanding these things as well?"

    Looking around the room he says, "Unless anyone has any objections, we may as well go with Captain America's roster. It's probably best that we all know what we're working on so that we don't trip over each other. Any other thoughts on this whole thing?"

    "Oh, and President Luthor, don't think too badly of Pete coming to me with this. That list of the only six people who would have access to those funds includes you, so he couldn't take the chance. I'm not accusing you, just explaining his reasoning."

Nick Fury has posed:
Fury has said his piece; he'd watched everything, listened, and gave his advice. To him, a good offensive to get HYDRA reeling from an attack was better than being a touch more passive. Chalk it up to the military, perhaps. Still, he listens to Steve's plans outline, and he gives the man a long look before nodding. Whether it's agreement or acknowledgment, that's anybody's guess. "Agent Romanoff?" It's a question and a request to accompany him abord the Quin. "We have room for you too, Captain."

It's when the President departs that he, too, turns, the leather jacket flapping slightly in the action, and begins to head back to his waiting aircraft to bring him home.

Jean Grey has posed:
"The X-Men are happy to assist with anything on the ground, from dealing with any of those HYDRA investigations, to hitting any Sentinel locations, to hostage recovery," Jean offers, agreeably, as regards Captain America's proposal. "Depending on the mission parameters, we can offer a lot of useful talents. Telepaths, of course, are very good for any kind of covert work. And I know a young lady who is basically the perfect infiltrator as well as talented IT specialist. So I can loan people out wherever they're needed."

She does, however, have one point of alteration to make: "That said, although I may not look it, I am one of the few people in this room who can do anything about it if... things go wrong in space and the worst should occur with the satellites. So I'd prefer to take that up personally, along with whatever aid I can get from our alien friends. And if we have Magneto on board, it's another reason to have one of, well, 'us' involved and on-scene, to act as an intermediary." She quickly looks over at Clark and gives him a friendly smile. "Of course I'm more than happy to work under our stalwart protector's guidance, on the space side."

With that offered, she stands as the President departs, and then when he's gone, slumps her shoulders a bit as if finally able to relax. Of course, a look aside to Diana. "Did I do ok?"

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa looks about as no one answers his question which seems so easily answers. Secrets, they're a currency unto themselves. He raises his eyebrows, "Right, go ask Forge to make a stealth penetrating radar. See who in the world has the knowledge to pull this all off and isn't on the side of the angels." He nods looking at his phone already tapping away, he stops blinking at then turns on his heels, "Director Fury, Dr Tony Ho at Shield is an expert on giant robots and exotic energy. Mind if bring her along?"

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
And as Fury goes to turn aside, so does Nataha. Everything filed away over for later analysis and action. She goes to fall in over behind the Commander and goes out with him. Having not said a word the entire time there or given much of a reaction. She would walk out after him, covering his flank. Ever so much the hound and ready to engage anyone that might threaten him.. Or merely interfere with his passage.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana's right hand comes down to rest gently upon Jean's left shoulder shortly after it slumps a little, and that question is asked. "You did wonderfully." The Amazon Princess responds to the Star Eater. "I will see to it that everything we experienced, and learned, from Mister Ross' abduction is sent over to you at your home."

A glance is given to Steve, along with a little smile, before Diana turns then to start to make her own leave back toward the eastern exit that she came in from.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers turns towards the Brazilian younger man. "I don't know that there is any single answer about Hydra's technology. Some of it they develop themselves. But they are just as happy to steal it, or to get others to do the work for them, knowingly or unknowingly. That would be one direction you could investigate, others they have worked with in the past. I imagine there might be unique technologies involved as well, that might show up in other applications, once you know what to look for, if they are working with any other established companies."

Clea has posed:
Clea hears her name come up and she gives a dip of her head to Steve, "I can help with that." the woman states in her calm tone. She then settles back into floating just those few inches above the ground as she listens to the rest of things.

Norman Osborn has posed:
Norman Osborn makes note of a few things he might talk to Lex about later. As people are gathering, taking his own responsibilities in mind - and wondering how much authority he can attach to said directive. He momentarily brushes against the shoulder of Captain America as he gathers himself to leave, "I'd be happy to offer my advise at any time, Captain. I'm something of an admirer," he says, his smile broad and his eyes bulging perhaps...just...a little. Boy, tha'ts a firm grip.