14720/Brood of the Savage Land: The God Machines, Part I

Brood of the Savage Land: The God Machines, Part I
Date of Scene:	27 April 2023
Location:	Southern Mountain Range
Synopsis:	THE ERRUPTION OF MOUNT DOOM. Heroes return to Sauron's former lair, sneaking past a broodified colossal Quetzalcoatlus, debating King Phangor and his new Sun Priestess advisor, and ultimately destroying the Celestial computer core within. One down... at least six to go?
Cast of Characters:	Jean Grey, Natasha Romanoff, Mary Bromfield, Audra Meridian, Rahne Sinclair, Rogue, Marie-Ange Colbert, Franklin Richards, T'Challa

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Jean Grey has posed:
Hidden in the midst of Antarctica's frozen wastes, the isolated micro-climate of the Savage Land is place lost to time. Within it, Earth's evolutionary legacy has been preserved, not as fosilized bone, but in living flesh, as prehistoric beasts wander the land and long-lost cousins to modern humanity live in ancient societies. Perhaps it's fitting then, that the Savage Land now hosts another form of life once thought extinct: the alien Brood.

After discovery by the X-Men, the Justice League has organized a general response. Unchecked, the Brood could threaten all life on Earth, and containment has been the immediate priority. No shortage of heroes have answered the call, joined by many local allies. Supplies arrive via an airstrip and SHIELD facility in a sheltered outer territory, loosely controlled by Lord Kevin Plunder and his friends the tribal Fall People. Further on, an Amazon detatchment has encamped before the walls of the medieval-esque society of Lemuria, guests of Queen Leanne. While nowhere here is safe, beyond the castle and nearby sea, the Brood hold dominion.

Nonetheless, that is the journey undertaken today. While the total destruction of the Brood is the ultimate goal, it is complicated by obstacles fundamental to the Savage Land itself. During their prior visit, the X-Men discovered a kind of power-dampening effect across the central basin. Though inconsistent, it easily negated their most powerful abilities. They also found a likely source: a system of computer cores, located within the volcanic mountain ranges that ring the Savage Land.

The computers were advanced beyond anything known to humanity, even in its alien encounters. Defensive systems resisted any physical tampering, and access proved difficult given the complexity of their interface. The X-Men managed to interact with one briefly, using a 'family heirloom' belonging to Queen Leanne, that proved to work as a kind of access key. In doing so, they got a basic understanding of their function: maintaining the local ecosystem and biosphere. Welcome, to Jurassic Park... if it was run by alien AIs.

And so that's the mission. Reach one of these computers, and figure out a way to turn them off, or reprogram them to recognize the Brood as invasive, or anything else that will un-level the playing field and let the heroes fight with their full power. Because they're going to need it.

---

Now, the group involved has just unloaded from a Lemurian ship, across the inland sea and fully in 'hostile' territory. They know the location of two of the computers, although one, withtin Aerie Shalan, is too great a risk, near the very center of the Brood infestation. The other is inside Mount Doom.

That's not it's real name, of course, but if you're the kind of supervillain who names yourself after Tolkien characters, you're obviously going to call your lair that. Properly, its the mountain roost of the Pterons, who Sauron had enslaved to his purposes. Now they're ruled by Phangor, a former ally of dubious loyalty.

The area, on approach, quickly rises from jungle lowlands toward rocky hills, and seems forever seeped in an ominous blanket of mist. Some of the X-Men have been here before. And they can't help but feel like something is a little different.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff is there, wearing a full SHIELD tactical suit. "I've made arrangements to have whatever data we an find transmitted and broadcast offsite to the forward operating base for analysis and if it can be timely review and advise." That would require of course the transmission to work and the data not be so chaotic that they could get review in a short timespan. "We are expecting to face hostilities inside. Stay coordinated and if at all possible attempt to delay engagement. Stay in line of sight and minimize being split up."
    The senior SHIELD Agent seems to be taking charge - at least, presuming the others would listen.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary, aka Thunderbolt, as she's gone back to that alias, nods in agreement with Natasha. "Well, just point me where you need me, ma'am." She smiles, looking somewhat relaxed, all things considered. But then again, the name might change, but the powers remain the same.

So long as they don't get negated that is. But if that happens then she'll just have to improvise, even as she nods in agreement with the SHIELD agent.

Audra Meridian has posed:
Once again she was just the 'common' hero amongst a bunch of big names and super powers, but by this point Audra was getting use to being in that position and just going with the flow. She would find something useful to do eventually, and since this is a technology and an ecosystem related issue it might be something important. But for now, she was just along for the ride as it were.

As is she was wearing her usual gear, because even if the dampening effect diminished her weather manipulation it still provided her with better overall protection. Plus the goggles were designed for incrimental weather, the mist isn't going to be misting up these eyes! Which is good, because she wants to see as much of this venture as scientifically possible. "This place seems to confirm the theories that much of prehistoric fauna and flora's impressive size was partially due to the difference in environmental biosphere conditions..." Guess who's the scientist in the group. Go on. I'll wait. You probably don't even need three guesses.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne Sinclair having adopted her 7'4 hulking werebeast form hunches down and just lets herself watch Natasha for a moment. She has not really formed a opinion of shield yet, she knows they have their hands in alot of super hero pies. The large wolf hybrid inhales the scents of the area, in particular Natasha to get kind of a gauge of her character. She glance around for a moment fixing those yellow eyes of her on teach team mate and just kind of staring at them in the way only a hunter can.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue may be feeling her powers coming and going in strength, like waves of dampening fields rushing across all of the Savage Lands, but it was something she was fairly used to by now... even if she hated it.

Nevertheless the Southern Belle spends the majority of the ship trip across the sea flying around the vessel. She fluttered through the air, occasionally touching down on the ship for a moment's rest, much like Tinkerbell might. Just zipping and dipping.

When they make their final arrival, Rogue sweeps in toward where the others are, hovering off the ground in her green-and gold bodysuit, with her leather jacket slipped back over her shoulders to hang on her biceps, her gloved hands held up in the air with the jacket bunched up around her elbows.

"Ya'll ready for this? We gotta find that computer, see if we can't ... fix this place, keep close, the enemies that we've fought in the past have been pretty gnarly..."

With that said, Rogue will look to the directions they were given and begin to fly (slowly enough for people to keep up) toward it.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
It's familiar enough territory for Marie; she remembers the fight against Sauron very vividly. /That/ particular rogue (not to be confused with Rogue) in the X-gallery has earned his place on a very short list in Marie's mind. The list of people she doesn't like.

Black and yellow bodysuit worn, Marie holds a single tarot card in her hand while the rest remain in the pouch attached to her belt. Moving along with the group, not too far from Thunderbolt. With the kinds of dangers they've faced here, one just can't be too careful.

Natasha gets a nod -- not splitting up definitely seems like the best idea to her, and Rogue gets a slight grin. "As ready as I ever will be, Madame. We have a job to do. We will do it." ...because if they can't stop the Brood here, humanity's future will certainly be jeopardized.

Franklin Richards has posed:
After riding quietly the whole trip Franklin didn't say anythigh as he couldng to anyone on the trip thigh as he couldnking about thigh as he coulds. He is still quiet when he walks out behigh as he couldnd everyone not offering anythigh as he couldng yet just listening and standing with high as he coulds hands in high as he coulds pockets. He wears the dark green hoodie, and shorts as he seems confortable out here. He felt the dapaning, but he was always dampened so it was nothigh as he couldng new to high as he couldm. He walked away a bit just to pick up a rock he does nothigh as he couldng yet as they were coming up with a plan.

Working the stone in high as he coulds hands as he looks at the others, Now a little bit away so if it brings attention dowwn it at least won't be right where they landed he embued the stone with just a little bit of energry and threw the stone as high as he could in the air the rock shoots up, and through the sky.

Franklin listens for any sounds before he nods, as he hears nothigh as he couldng. He doesn't mention anythigh as he couldng, but notes it for later if needed.

Jean Grey has posed:
The X-Men in the group have all been here before, and they know the way, such as there is one. Which is handy, since they don't have Phangor leading them along this time.

The last time they traveled this route, the rocky ledges and outcrops above were patrolled by some of the Sauron-loyal Pterons - flying dinosaur-people who are visually quite similar to Sauron himself - but this time, the skies are empty, and everything is quiet. It makes the gloomy weather somehow a little worse, a bit more ominous. There's little sunlight, the low-hanging clouds blocking it out.

The terrain is rougher for those who are on foot, but not impassible, and bit by bit, they'll make a scrambling ascent. Eventually, they start getting up over the mist, out into the sun and nearer the entrance they're looking for. And then, finally, they do hear something. It's a slightly bird-like screech, again familiar to some of them. A Pteron warning (or challenge?) call. The source isn't immediately clear, with how it echoes back and forth amongst the rock faces.

It's answered, a moment later, by a second call. But this one sounds... it's deeper, for starters, if fundamentally similar. But there's something wrong about it too, a sense of pain in the sound.

In response to the response, the first alarm call becomes a rapid chorus of them, which quickly start to fade as if into the distance. Another cloud passes over them, and the sun fades again.

... except its not.

They'll hear it, in the deep, heavy WOOSH of a downward wingbeat, as a creature launches off another rockface somewhere above them. Another pterosaur, but not a humanoid one. Just the 'normal' kind. Well. Not normal, not typical. Its wingspan is... ridiculously huge, with a long neck and a beak that looks larger than a person. The massive flying bird-lizard sweeps over them, not immediately seeming intent on the group, more toward the Pterons ahead. And maybe for the best, because as it passes overhead, they'll see the tell-tale signs of transformation, a pair of strange tendrils trailing behind it - tails that any Paleontology fans would realize it shouldn't have, tipped with nasty looking barbs.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
And Natasha has spent her time researching the sorts of things that the Savage Land has to offer. Lovely. That sort of thing will make a mess of them if they can't bypass it. Particularly with their powers being almost randomly limited. She turns in the direction of Rahne, "Is there a way around it?" She'd rather not get in a fight as soon as they hit the entrance if possible. She'd rather not have to fight their way in, and then out again. But they work wiht what they have.
    Natasha's hand goes odwn to a fragmentation grenade over at her side, ready to pitch it if they get into a fight and the things charge them. The conventional ways still work the best. But it seems like they'll have to fight along at some point. But, she trusts the pathfinding of the wolf girl.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary frowns a bit, her voice quiet, "I don't like leaving people to fend for themselves here." She clenches a fist, looking up at the massive Broodadon that flew off to chase more of the Pterons. She then looks over at Rahne, waiting for her response as she shifts a bit to stand closer to Marie-Ange.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne Sinclair pauses for a moment as she is the one they are relying on for pathfinder. Still if she is going to do it she is going to do it right, she begins to move forward and then let herself shift into the large dire wolf form of her. Because the wonderful body mass and fur will insulate her from the cold and her senses are much keener, she begins to inhale the various scents of the world and begin to do the classic stalking wolf posture as she makes her way forward with her much keener wolf like senses leading the way. Hopefully the team is good at reading body language cause she does stop frequently to make sure she has the right trail based off her senses and then moves on as she keeps stalking through the cold.

Audra Meridian has posed:
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Which in Audra's case is switching to hover mode - and after a brief hesitation to be sure the tech was actually working properly (for now) lifts a bit off the ground. Much like Rogue she's avoiding getting too far from the group, she's just trying to get a better vantage point considering they could have to deal with any unsuspected surprise at any given moment.

Like giant shadows passing overhead.

She may not be a paleotologist but like most people she was into dinosaurs as a kid, so she knows some of the difference between pteranadons and pteradactyls. And while only one type has a tail, none of them had multiple. "Well, damn, guess the Brood took advantage of local superfauna to deal with some of the locals being able to fly. Equal parts scientifically facinating and pterafying..." Dang it, that pun only really works in text. Stupid silent P.

She's a little awestruck, good thing the wolf girl is dealing with trailblazing right now.

Rogue has posed:
On the way up, Rogue is flying there alongside the others... should anyone need a stabling hand, they'll find one of Rogue's gloved hands offered. She's sturdy as they come, afterall, since she controls her own presence within gravity.

"Keep close, ya'll. We don't wanna let anythin' pick us off one by one if we get split up." She'd say along the trip past the fog.

Once above it though, Rogue makes toward the front of the group, staying a bit up off the ground now. Her eyes rise up to any visible signs of the Pterrasaurs that might be brave, and bold enough to attack them. She has experience with them at this point, and is surely not afraid to give them a pummeling even if her powers are somewhat decreased in this area.

She draws in a quiet breath, shakes her head softly in the wind sending her dark and light hair wildly about her head. "These fools choose to attack us, we'll make'em regret it." She calls back to her companions on this mighty quest that would even make a Hobbit proud.

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin looks at them, and listens to Nat. "If you could get me one of those in my hands I still have enough umph to do something with it." he smiles, and looks over at the large werebeast to see her gone. So instead looks at Nat, "If we take a quick stop maybe we can see what we are facing before we are neck deep." and he shrugs a bit. He looks down the trail to see the walking Rahne, and sighs he snaps, and sighs a bit, and does it again he goes invisable as a shield wraps around him.

Does Franklin follow who knows for now, as he quietly decides to observe, and they will make their own decisions he will only follow along as it will lead where he is going anyway. He sighed a bit as splitting up was a bad idea, but will see what Mary decides before he follows Rahne.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Marie's immediate thought is to try and skewer the incoming... flying... brood... thing that ends up flying over them. Lessons learned in her combat training have made clear the importance of striking with meaning definitely come to mind, but the fact that it's already swooped /past/ them and towards other prey(?) will make it harder for her summoned weaponry to catch up. Especially in the power dampening field of the Savage Land.

Actually working out more has made climbs like this easier for Marie, too. She's not as much of a liability when going vertical as she has been in the past. "Do you think the Pterons are in league with the Brood, Madame Rogue?" she asks, frowning a bit.

T'Challa has posed:
    Arriving just a touch after the expedition has set out, T'Challa set the Talon fighter on course after them, enabling it's cloaking mode as usual. Without pushing the speed too high, he manages to get the team in sight around the same time the gigantic pterosaur flies over them. Determining that it is not currently involved in attacking them, he lets it pass by and continues to follow in the cloaked fighter. Should they meet any more like that, an aerial combat vehicle might just come in handy.

    Over the Avenger's comm channel, he says <<I am about a hundred yards behind you and fifty feet or so above. I will remain cloaked until the destination is reached. Hopefully we will not need all the power gathered here, but it is best we are prepared.>>

Jean Grey has posed:
Any question of the Brood and Pterons being in league seems answered by the aggressive posture of the fallen Quetzalcoatlus. Sweeping ahead, it skims low near the rocky surface and makes a quick snap with that long neck (which may seem a little more agile and flexible than it would be in the natural creature). The huge beak plunges downward, and there's a screech of pain, before the group can see it lift away with one of the Pterons impaled. As it rises, it makes a quick flicking motion to dislodge its speared prey, tossing it briefly before snapping it out of the air with a bite.

The natural version of the animal might struggle with the size of its meal, being that these animals likely hunted more like modern storks. But it's not really hunting, at least not in a natural way. While holding the wounded Pteron in its beak, one of the double tails flicks forward to give it a quick jab. After that, it just continues to hold it, rather than trying to chew or swallow.

The group below can make use of the distraction to scramble quickly across the rock face, following Rahne's lead through the various overhangs and crags. They can find some cover, though it's hard to say if it would hold up against inspection from a less-distracted beast.

Separate of all of this, T'Challa arrives in his craft. It's a smooth ride, up until he gets close to the mountain, when suddenly a bunch of warning lights go up across the control surfaces. Cascading power losses, without mechanical cause.

Meanwhile, the Quetzalcoatlus has circled, dropping its twice-speared prey off onto what might be some nest or ledge. It's only as it begins to make another pass toward the Pterons that they start giving their own defense. Some hurl weapons at it, but one, dressed somewhat like a priest in white drapings, holds out a disc-like amulet with a starburst pattern... and focuses a burning blast of light toward the beast. It roars angrily, and turns course inward toward the defiant Pteron.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
They have the room to sneak in, and Natasha's not going to intervene in something small scale like that. There's a quick picture taken to be sent to the research station for them to review later as she marks the nest on the map. But she's in full stealth mode, going to head along to sneak in. She goes to click her tongue on the Avengers comm to speak to T'Challa.

<<Excellent. Act as forward recon for us. Presuming we can breach to the nearest access chamber, your technology will hopefully be efficient at getting us some level of systems access.>> They hadn't been lucky enough to have a good tech-head with them, so T'Challa's presence would be invaluable. She goes to stlak forwards after Rahne.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne Sinclair raises her large wolf head to stare calmly for a bit before stopping to look at Natasha with those large golden eyes for a bit before back down the path. she flairs her nostrils for a bit catching the various scents as she keeps the group out of the sight of the petras for now, unless one of them wants to get involved, she isn't going to stop them.

T'Challa has posed:
    Having heard something of this issue in the Savage Lands, the Panther was almost expecting it. He had hoped that Wakanda's advanced technology coupled with vibranium might have held out against it, but it seems the mysterious creators of the Savage Land were yet a step above that. Fighting the failures, he does his best to land the Talon in the nearest spot he can, probably scraping along some rocks on the way down.

    As far as the group goes, they would see the vehicle phasing in and out of stealth mode and bumping along a large outcropping of rock before landing heavily at it's base. The door opens and the Black Panther steps out and then closes the door, hitting the control to stealth the fighter again. Hopefully the power dampers will let it hide.

    If not and it ends up stepped on by something large, it can always be replaced.

    But either way, he heads for the group, springing from boulder to boulder, generally hitting each surface a bit harder than he needs to. It's always handy to be at least a little charged up before the bad things happen. And eventually, the bad things always happen.

    <<I will take point. And I am certain we will figure the system out.>>

    Activating the stealth mode for his suit, he hopefully fades out of view. Either way, he moves up and past the group, looking carefully around as he goes.

Rogue has posed:
When Marie spoke to Marie, the Southern Belle looked to the dignified French woman. She drew in a breath at the question, then just lightly shook her head. "To be honest, I dunno. What I do know is this place is likely the closest thing we'll ever come t'bein in a Game of Thrones world... so backstabbin' and betrayin' is probably second nature t'these people." She says before casting her eyes back to the other Marie. "Not t'sound down on'em, we've met some good folks here... but I am not really naturally one for trustin' people."

Of course, a second after that and Rogue bares witness to the rather gruesome display. "Okay, well, maybe these ones don't like each other... or they're really committed to the betrayal..." She quips with a grim edge to her voice.

The sudden appearance of the Panther's airship has Rogue looking over to see him landing nearby under some measure of interference from the region. "Looks like King Handsome is havin' some problems." She quietly tells the others as they try to sneak past the small fight taking place. When T'Chala joins them, Rogue offers him a flirtatious wave with a smile. "Point is all yours, Mistah." She tells him before flying up and around to get between the Pterrasaurs and her companions on this journey!

Audra Meridian has posed:
Nature is often both beautiful and horrifying. But this was just disturbingly unnatural. Had the Brood infestation changed the creature so much that it now hunted for sport rather than to feed? Turning it into a living weapon?

Audra frowned. She disliked the idea of leaving others to fate, but at the same time, there was much higher stakes at risk if they didn't try to do something about those cores? "Ugh, what ever happened to the aliens that just abducted cows and butt probed rednecks..."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Thunderbolt looks at Rogue taking off, but decides to stay low for the time being. For one, she's feeling protective of Marie-Ange, for obvious reasons. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, she's keeping her power in reserve, since the Wisdom of Minerva gave her the inkling that she's probably only going to have one shot at full power on this trip.

So best to make it count.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Fear of collusion assuaged by the fact that the Brood and Pterons definitely aren't working together, Marie isn't about to let the dino-folks go without aid. "Thunderbolt, if I start to lose my grip..." she offers to her girlfriend, trusting the woman to catch her if she falls. Why might she? Because the Nine of Swords she'd been holding onto springs to life as a trap card as the brood-o-saur comes in for another swoop. It's not nearly as fine a display as usual, with the blades showing up in differing sizes, some even partially formed without hilts. At Marie's mental command, they insert themselves between bird and prey, being driven into the swooping menace by it's own momentum. Something of that size won't be felled by the attack, but it's a show of support. A reminder that the group is on their side and hasn't abandoned them, despite the redhead not /physically/ going to them.

Jean Grey has posed:
The Savage Land is a brutal place, and perhaps they cannot save everyone. Would the Pterons thank them if they did? Or would they scheme for advantage, as Rogue suggests?

They do not go totally without aid, as Marie summons her constructs, fully-formed or otherwise. Is her magic more welcome here? As ever, the rules are hard to grasp. But does slow the swooping terror, even as it drives itself into the blades. This brings it short of the Pteron priest, although it finds other targets, both with those strange tail-barbs and with its terrifying beak.

As the violence unfolds, Rahne leads them up to an entrance more distant from the defending Pterons, where they can enter unnoticed. The inside of the mountain is again familiar to some, a huge inner cavern that might now be recongized as the interior cone of a semi-dormant volcano. There are smaller caves on that surface, at various elevations, as well as a stone pillar in the middle. On it remains the throne of the Pteron king. The last time they came, the Sauron's brainwashed puppet-ruler Khalf had attacked them there.

This time, it is the newly-minted King Phangor who holds the throne. And he sits in it like he was born to it. Notably, he is attended not by another of his kind, but by a human woman, who wears an outfit similar to the Pteron 'Priest' outside (admittedly, she wears it more pleasingly to human eyes), including the necklace.

"Outsiderss! Weeee remember you! Why are you here? By what permission?!" His tone, though perhaps not outright hostile, is certainly suspicious. The woman beside him then speaks. "Majesty, they are part of the invasion, gathering in Leanne's kingdom. They promise salvation from the blighted transformation, but it is they who brought it here in the first place. Trust not such meddling - only the burning fire-light of Lord Garokk can purge the evil from our lands!"

Yeah. Rogue was on to something with the 'Crazy Game of Thrones' stuff.

Perhaps they will treat with Phangor, all the same. If they prefer not? Rahne knows where they're going. Although sneaking past any further seems unliekly. The computer was in a large cave on the far side, though there was another access through some lava tubes further down, into the molten pools where it draws its power.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
And as the group goes to face off with the King of the Under-Mountain, Natasha goes to smoothly take out the large rigfle over on her back and doesn't train it on the king and his guards, "We can come to an accomodation." The unspoken of being 'you can accomodate us'. The king is going to be an alpha and take up the challenge - or at least pay attention to the woman with the big gun. She's not going to directly challenge his authority or standing.. But just casually defy it in fron to fhim.

Enough to get the flying-dinosaur-version of his dander up and his attention over on her. This is going to leave an opening for the rest to go through. They know over where the computer is, and with all the guards' attention on her they will have less in their way. Natasha keeps the rifle slung over but in a casual 'ready' position. No real threat.. But just the showcase of oen that knew how to use it.

Audra Meridian has posed:
Audra Meridian really, really has to resist facepalming as they find the current leadership only to promptly have insults and accusations slung at them. Why is it always the royal advisors that act like asses? Granted the so-called king isn't exactly all rainbows either. "How charming," she drawls under her breath.

She's just going to keep back here, and leave it to the folks that know how to deal with the dino-people, and move when it's time to move. Nope. Not starting any international incidents... if this would even count with anachronistic dino-people...

Rogue has posed:
When they enter the familiar location, Rogue momentarily touches down on the stone floor to put her hands on her hips, her eyes on Fanger, and a sigh escapes her lips. "This guy. Where's Iara when we need a distraction..." She comments mostly to herself.

With that lovely redheaded lady from SHIELD taking up a measure of attention, the Belle looks over to the Wolfen Rahne to her right. "Come on." She says, tapping Rahne's arm with her gloved hand. "Follow me. Lets try'n get to the computer system." She notes, before her booted feet raise up off the ground once more, followed by her sweeping herself around to the farthest side from where the 'King' Fanger, and his court reside. She'll try to use cover within the cave to make her way to the passageway up to the computer system where they'd come before. "Remember this place?" She asks Rahne. "We had a big bru-ha-ha up here." She whispers on the way.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Thunderbolt hovers quietly in the air, just a few inches off the ground, then slips forward silently, scooping up Tarot as she gives the redhead a good-natured shush. Grinning slightly, she lets Natasha do her intimidation thing with the King, while she follows Rogue to the computer section.

T'Challa has posed:
    T'Challa has a pretty good idea why the Quetzel is playing with it's food. Or should we say, it's Brood? That wasn't hunger, that was recruitment. On the way out, they may want to do something about it.

    Either way, he's forced to let the others take lead now, for the simple reason that he doesn't actually know where the computer is. Once Rahne and Rogue go past him, he follows silently and hopefully unseen. He'd stay and help deal with the king, but since they need his tech and knowledge to deal with the computer he heads off after the others.

    <<Natasha, send a signal should you need help. Though I doubt they could be enough to defeat you on their own. The Black Widow should be able to handle a few of these creatures.>>

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Not falling to her death is a good thing; though with both Rogue and Mary around, she wasn't too terribly concerned about that possibility. This was how teams worked. They trusted each other to handle those things they do best, and Rogue-Marie and Mary were near the very top of the trust list for the french girl. After that impact's made, she releases concentration on the swords, allowing them to vanish and leave only gaping wounds behind.

That's probably more effective than keeping them in there. Maybe not as effective as leaving them in their and making them move around to cause /more/ damage, but she's not the type to think that way.

The familiar sight of Phangor causes Marie to freeze, though, and Natasha taking the lead is definitely noticed. It's times like this that she really wishes that she could animate things /other/ than just her cards. A photo of Iara would've gone a long way today. Practice on expanding her repetoire might have to come in the near future.

Of course, while she's mentally bemoaning this, she feels her feet leave the ground. There's the start of a gasp-- then it's quickly cut off with a nod up to Mary. Let the diplomats work with the King. It makes sense.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne Sinclair nods her head, she straightens up and then turns into her hybrid form as she starts to follow behind Rogue, she looks over the shoulder before hurrying along to follow rogue and her party. The computer is the main goal, hopefully she can help with the computer.

Jean Grey has posed:
"It issss not you who makes demands heeeere!" Phangor screech-hisses back at Natasha, rising from his seat and spreading his wings, very much a bit of puffing-up, to make himself appear larger. But, she's not the only one who gets what is apparently a rather sexist talking down-to, as he quickly whips his beak back toward the priestess. "Nor do you, woman! Phangor rules heeeere!"

OK, primitive jerk he may be, but at least Phangor's not TOTALLY seduced by said sun cult sexpot.

Moreover, by now, several more Pterons fly in, squawking what must be reports about the attack going on outside. The fact that Phangor doesn't seem overly alarmed by it might suggest that such Brood-o-saur attacks are not uncommon, even if they are clearly dangerous. And thus, he looks back to Natasha.

"If you wissssh our aid, show that you are worth as much as this one isss," he hisses back to her, while gesturing toward the Priestess. "Her magic is strong against them. But Phangor remembersss, the outsider magic is weak here. Can you do better?!"

--

The whole thing, as well as the attack outside, is enough to draw attention away, and for the others to slip around. Phangor is very single-minded.

Making it into the cave on the far side, for once, it's very much NOT as they remember it from the last time. The cylindrical silver-chrome body of the computer core is still there, seemingly fused right through the cave rock, albeit with some cracks where it meets the floor, leading down to what they know to be the power area. But everything else?

All the technology Sauron had installed is gone. Instead, the place is decorated... well, like one would imagine a dinosaur-king's luxury pad to be. Its piled in various furs and hides, there are piles of odd 'treasure' (tribal trinkets, weapons, some Lemurian jewelry), and even a few live animals tied up... likely as readily available snacks. It's a happening pad. There are even some strange decorative rugs, including one with a sunburst pattern, hung in the back, partially obscuring the computer. Clearly... he doesn't have the kind of technical fascination Sauron did.

All the same, it takes no more than for Rogue to come near the computer core that its panels brighten up soft white-blue lights, making patterns across its surface while several screens illuminate with unfamiliar text. It blares a strange noise, incomprehensible to the ear and yet somehow dense with information that is somehow comprehensible once heard.

USER RECOGNIZED. PRIOR ACCESS WAS ON DATE 13725618482.162

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
There's a casual smirk from Natasha over then as she goes to slide the rifle over to her back and goes to keep ehr hands together, "I can be useful. I'm sure that we can come to a.. Mutually beneficial agreement." She goes to cock her hands in front of her and goes to make a show of consideration, hand going over to the zipper..

Apparently some things were universal for mammals. But she also moves like a hunter circling. "The question is.. What do you offer that makes you worthy of my time?" It's a twist and a turnaround.

"Because, great Phanglor, I can do a great many things. The question is what you offer to me in return for them." A probe for information, a tease to see if he would give off anything from the top of his.. Beak.

She was stalling for the others. If she could come to some sort of arrangement with him, very well. But she would settle for keeping him and his guards busy. Not saying exactly who she was and what she could do.. LEt his own iamgination fill that in.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue looks back over her shoulder to those who were sneaking up to the computer room with her. "That Fanger fella, he's got a one track mind. If ya distract him on it, he wouldn't even notice an atom bomb goin' off a country mile over."

When they reach the room, Rogue stops flying, her wedge-heeled boots touching down on the ground. She grimaces at what she sees. "This is... new. Guy's turned this inta a Shag Pad that even Austin Powers would approve of."

She looks to the others. "Anyone with any tech savvy experience, come with me. Everyone else, find a place t'setup. Once I start accessin' this thing, there's a good chance they'll send some guards up here to tryin' stop us. I'm gonna need the cover if that happens."

While saying all of that, Rogue walked rapidly across the Fanger decorated room, her hand going down to the amulet hanging around her neck against her chest. She sees it light up softly as she nears the computer, and the computer screen come on.

"Okay. Nice t'see you too, with a little less drama goin' on this time." Rogue mutters TO the computer as she starts to access it.

"We gotta find a way t'shut this thing down, for good this time." She'll state while navigating the strange alien runes and symbols strewn across the odd computer's screen.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Thunderbolt looks mildly amused at the decor, shaking her head, "Great, looks like a college freshman's idea of the Playboy mansion." She looks over at Rogue getting to work, thne sets up in a spot where she can easily intercept any unwelcome visitors while Rogue hacks the Savage Land.

Audra Meridian has posed:
It's a good thing they had someone to make a distraction because Audra isn't really the stealthy type. Not that the computer room is exactly what they where expecting. Though Audra briefly has to stifle a snicker as Rogue comments on the same thing she was thinking as she follows her over to the computer... terminal for sake of familiarity. Pulls her goggles up so she can see clearly. Briefly she glances down at the wiring going through the floor, but we won't worry about that until it's a necessity. So instead she looks back up, nodding to Rogue. "Let's see what this thing can do."

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne Sinclair just knows point and click, she watches Rogue work before looking about the room and staying close by if anything need to be mauled. She can maul stuff that is generally what she is most comfortable doing. She hunches down sitting on her haunches as she lets those other senses she has come to rely upon just work for her. Hearing, smell, those are much keener in this form and she just keeps herself on guard for anything that might be a threat to her friends.

T'Challa has posed:
    Nudging a Compy with an ornate collar aside with one foot, T'Challa also approaches the computer core. As Rogue starts to access it by it's own interface, he pauses and waits to see if she can get into the systems she needs to. If not, there was always time to try a little Wakandan technology on it and see if he could sneak in another way. So for the moment, he watches, trying to get a feel for the system by the icons and symbols Rogue chooses to access.

    "A complex system, to be certain. I take it you have accessed this before?"

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Tech is not Marie's forte, not in the slightest. "Thunderbolt," she starts, glancing over to the brunette imbued with the power of the Gods, "I will set up a barricade. Ir will not hold long..." The two girls share a unspoken nod; there's nothing more than needs to be said. She'll set the trap, and Mary'll knock them down when they try to burst through it.

This time it's the Ten of Wands that is called forth, the wooden poles -- again, some mishapen, not as uniform as they should be -- move into position in an effort to block the way /in/ to the computer room. It's not a /huge/ barrier, but it's more there to slow the enemy and allow their side first strike, not to stop them.

Jean Grey has posed:
Are man-pteranadons mammals? Or are they reptiles? There's some ambiguity there. Still, there's both good prior intel and enough situational context to suggest that Natasha's second approach isn't totally off. Definitely better than the first. As she circles predatorily, his head tilts and twists to follow, yellow eyes on her. "Yess... beneficial."

"Majesty..." Interjects the priestess, though he waves her away momentarily. "What can we-" But then there's a pause, as he considers her question. "You came here!" he squawks . Phangor's no master conversationalist, manipulator, or possibly even all that terribly bright. But he knows that much. "So you must want something of us, what-"

"The others, Majesty," urges the priestess. "They've tricked you, as I said they would."

He looks around. "Where did they go?! FIND THEM!"

No doubt, this is around the point when Natasha thinks she might try something action-wise. It's also the moment that the Priestess raises her amulet, causing a sudden, blinding flash of light in her direction.

--

They probably hear the 'FIND THEM' in the other room, justifying that call for a few to take up guard duty. Indeed, Marie already has a small stockade up, by the time several Pteron guards descend from other caves and start trying to force their way in, banging against the obstacle. It doesn't hold long, but buys time.

For Rogue and T'Challa, there is a certain kind of translation at work, not entirely comprehensible, but effective all the same. They can understand the glyphs, intuitively, even if they can't read them. There's navigation through various interfaces as one might expect, and displays of information. Some of it is obvious, like temperature and basic weather data. Some of it is less clear in the moment, but may later be translated (once the SHIELD nerds get to it) as things like population counts for every single species in the basin.

And there are control systems too. Last time, Rogue caused some kind of shutdown. She can even find the log. But it also displays very clearly, soon after that:

STATION 7 POWER CYCLED ON 13725618482.162. AUTOMATIC REBOOT ON 13725618482.172

They turned of one of them (apparently, of many). And it turned itself back on, after a while.

T'Challa has posed:
    "The question is, how badly do we want this shut down? I see that turning it off did not last. But if we disable it entirely, we may destroy the Savage Lands. Should the weather system fail, the normal temperatures will sweep this land away under a blanket of snow and ice."

    Hearing the combat at the door, he turns away from the computer to judge how things are going. For the moment his companions seem to be handling things so he returns to watching Rogue working on the system, adding a suggestion here and there.

Rogue has posed:
For those with Rogue at the computer, the Belle takes a moment to explain some of what she's doing. She points at some of the symbols to elaborate on how they work, and how to navigate the different directories. It's not much, but it could give them some additional help to spread the knowledge out.

"I sort've downloaded this information from Jean Grey's mind..." Rogue says to T'Chala directly then as her eyes go back to the screen. "If you can record any of what we're displayin' here, you should do that too. We could use more people savvy with this kinda system. There's allegedly more stations around this whole country... area? Whatever this place is...."

She starts muttering to herself as the amulet on her chest glows a little brighter when she discovers those logs.

"It looks like the power backup came on and shunted the computer back on after I turned it off last time. In theory, if we could some how overload the power system from here, we could maybe kill it for good?" She asks the others nearby. "I think there's a way down to the power area directly, but I never went down there. I've only ever been up here." Rogue notes, giving a look over her shoulder at the combat breaking out just as she'd guessed. "WE got company...." Rogue says before she looks back to the computer.

"I dunno if the power systems can be overloaded from here... I'm not exactly a tech person by my nature." She grumbles while navigating the computer system, and possibly cursing Kitty Pryde for not being here under her breath.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Well, lovely. She managed to hold it off for just a few moments until the group got down to the computer room. She doesn't have enough alert to rotate to attack the self-proclaimed king and the priestess beyond going to call out a warning along the comms <<They've gone hostile>> Right as she's flash blinded. They're at a distance - too great a distance for her to try and just drop the two with shots or Widow's Bites. But.. Fortunately Natasha has other ways. The groups are loud, hostile.. She can work with this. Their yells make them easy to track.

Natasha's eyes are flash blinded, and she keeps them closed. She goes to drop several knockout gas grenades over the area, blanketing it in a thick mist. It's meant for heavier human doses, so isn't quite a direct match to Pteran physiology, but they're close enough so hopefully it will slow them some. Another trio of smoke grenades are added.

If she can't see, neither can they. And then she goes silent. In hunter mode.

Let them squawk and lead her right to them.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahna stands up to her rather impressive full height and then lets out a growl as she bounds into the petra warriors, she becomes a whirlwind of violence as claws and fangs lash out and attempts to hold the line. Mind you she fight a little recklessly as she trusts in her natural regenerative properties to shrug off most of the wounds that are inflicted on her.

Audra Meridian has posed:
Audra Meridian watches all the scrolling data, picking out the bits about weather and related things since that is one of her specialties... but it all connecting to the other functions is still abstract to her. "Or start a minature global warming," she adds. This is the sort of weather control she's only dreamed of being able to perfect some day, but right now that's not imporant. Just seeing that it IS possible is going to have to be enough for the time being.

Briefly she glances over her own shoulder to check on Marie and Mary (try saying that five times fast). Then back to the alien console. "I feel like a Linux user trying to use an iMac... Do any of these menus say anything about the dampening effect? Or threat recognition?" At the moment the most she can really do is make sure they're getting this recorder for later analysis, and make a few comments to give the nerds ideas what to look for later.

Looks like shutting the computer down is only temporary... Unless they did something to power supply. Which might not be the best option. "I could possibly overload it.. if it doesn't cancel out my lightning projection... might not be the best option either way."

Jean Grey has posed:
The gas grenades don't need to be terribly accurate, so even making that throw blind isn't hard for someone as trained as the Black Widow is. The cannisters roll over the center platform, dispersing their payloads. Immediately the priestess starts couhging, holding up a hand to her face. Apart from whatever strange 'sun magic,' she's pretty much just a human, and despite her efforts, collapses after staggering around a few more moments.

Phangor is another story. Although the gas seeps out around him, he doesn't react immediately to it, and with several heavy downbeats of his wings, sends much of it swirling away, before launching himself into the air, above the cloud, drawing and brandishing some kind of club weapon. Nat, at least, remains hidden in the smoke below. But it doesn't stop him from making an attempt at finding her, sweeping downward and skimming over the cloud, taking a blind swing through it with his weapon.

Inside, as the first of the Pterons make it through the destroyed barricade, Rahne leaps on him with a feral fury, forcing them back. She can handle a couple at once, especially as she's a little more willing to take a hit or two.

However, she can't quite FULLY fill the entry, and a couple fly overhead, screeching angrily and dive-bombing the people messing with the computer.

Rogue, meanwhile, can spend a little time meandering through the systems. There's definitely a sense that she's just looking at a subset of commands here. Following Audra's suggestion, she can even bring up the 'habitat stability protocols,' which cover the power-limiters. There's output data here, status readouts, some of which fails to translate (or maybe translates into incomprehensible science that they'll need the SHIELD nerds for!), but there are no options to change or configure.

T'Challa has posed:
    "Allow me to try something." T'Challa pulls a Kimoyo bead off the bracelet around his left wrist and places it on top of the computer, activating it. The holographic display flickers into life above the bead, turning the symbols into more recognizable words. "I do not seem to be able to override the system. But at least we can make the interface a bit more clear. Perhaps we can now figure out what all the options are."

    After watching for a few moments, he says "It looks like whatever access that necklace gives you, it is not that of an administrator. We might need to find a better version of it." He's also got the Kimoyo recording everything they input and the computer's responses. Perhaps with that info, they can figure out a way to hack the system.

    "If there are indeed seven of these computers, I think losing one would not destroy this place. It may be best to disable this one while we are here. I do not think the King would welcome us back again. Then we can try and find a way to get higher access to the others."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
The PRiestess is down, and Phangor is charging at Natasha. She doesn't have that long to react. He's flying, she has only a limited ability to trakc him up in the air. Her eyes are still blinded and she's keeping them closed. He has a very, very large club and in the confines of the cave she doesn't have that much room to dodge. She's good at blindfighting, but she's not Logan that can move in total dakrness purely on his senses.

She goes to take the hit - there's aloud CRACk as she goes to just blast him full on with a Widow's Bite! The short range electric blast would at least slow him down for a few moments! It would hopefully give her a cuole moments to let her eyes adjust and to get moving again. The quick shot from the Bite is followed up by a duo of flashbangs in the general area. They won't go up remotely as high as he is but it will add to the chaos with their own cacophony.

Audra Meridian has posed:
"The man in the catsuit may be right. If aliens were smart enough to build this system with several terminals, it's logical they're meant to cover for one or two being offline or in maintenanc--" The conversation is interrupted by the screeching as some flying lizard men manage to get into the room. Of course divebombing at the computer group.

"Heads up!" Even as she shouts Audra wheels around, and swings a fist at the first Pteron to dive towards them. You don't need super powers to throw a punch, and even without them her fist just happens to be in a large mechanical gauntlet. That's a potential concussion even without the flashy tech active. "Time to just pick something and do it, or we're pteranadonefor."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue takes a moment to listen to Audra, nodding softly to what she says. She's got that section pulled up within moments, feeling the pressure of combat behind her now much like last time...

When T'Chala starts to do his tech, Rogue pauses her hands, and just watches. Her eyes go to what his gadget displays now, and she bites down on her bottom lip before her head nods to times to what he states. "The power room, downstairs." She tells him, glancing to the others for confirmation.

"If I don't have access here, not enough to change things, then we should just blow the damn place up. It's the only way t'be sure, right?" She asks, before she looks down at her amulet, then over at T'Chala.

"That lady with Fanger. She has an amulet, doesn't she? It might have better... clearance for future problems, if we can get it. Someone contact that SHIELD agent lady, and let her know."

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Marie's retreated further into the room, letting the heavier hitters (Rahne and Mary) handle the front line while she uses more wands to strike at fliers. Doing her best to keep the stragglers off of the computer people.

"Perhaps..." Marie trails a bit, splitting her focus between the summons and her own body isn't the easiest for her. It's why she usually remains in one place. "...a diplomatic mission for Iara?" is suggested to Rogue, "If she can't get it now." Marie's got no idea what's going on in the 'throne room', afterall. Plus, the shark-girl not being with them NOW might help her diplomacize later.

Jean Grey has posed:
As the Bite hits Phangor, the electrical shock courses over his scaly form, and he loses control of his wings in the air, leading to a rather spectacular bit of a crash landing. Nat, fortunately, is agile enough not to end up crushed beneath a pile of dino-man. There's no movement for a few moments, but she can hear an angry hiss, followed a bit later by the scratching of is claws on the stone floor beneath, as he slowly drags himself back up. Groggy. Dazed. A good time for her to bolt!

Also, uh, the rest of the Pterons have finished driving off the Quetzalcoatlbrood, and the cavern is starting to fill with more of them as they come back inside. "Intruders!" roars Phangor, as he slowly stumbles back upright.

Inside, they're seeing the accumulation of those numbers. Audra manages to knock one of the 'incomings' out of the air, and Marie makes another go on evasive rather than dive-bombing Rogue and T'Chall, but there are more to follow.

If they want to blow the place? The cracks around the base of the computer pillar seethe with heat from the room below. Its a tight fit, but doable - Rahne and Iara came UP that way, the last time.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha has thsoe few moments as Phanglor is thrown off her to get her gaze back. The priestess has some artifact on her that was targeted as an accessory earlier. She goes to fire off her grappler over at it. It would snap about the neck of the necklace, latching and then yoinking it all the way back to her. The King is given another pair of grenades. This pair are very, very nasty and intended for throwing off some of the larger dinosaurs.

A combination of extremely potent tear gas, itching powder, small powders of things many mammals had extreme allergic reactions to, and that induced extreme nausea. Those dteonating around would give Natasha the movement to disengage, darting down towards the rest to rendezous with them after tucking the retrieved necklace over ina pouch.

Wait, people actually used those things?

T'Challa has posed:
    Once Rogue gives him the go-ahead, the Panther types commands on the holographic display floating above the computer. Putting it into shutdown mode is not especially difficult, as Rogue has done it before. A few final instructions and the display goes dark. He shuts down the Kimoyo bead and returns it to his wrist.

    Clicking on the comms to Nat, he says <<When you are finished playing with them, do steal the advisor's necklace. We believe it may grant better access to the other systems.>>

    Ducking a flyer, he pulls a dagger from his belt and releases a carefully adjusted energy beam to hit with concussive force and knock it into one of the walls. "Hold just a bit longer so that we can finish this!" He then enters the fray, leaping high to catch onto another flyer and drag it down before punching it into unconsciousness.

    Once the power system is blown up, he helps fight off the Ptera attack until they can all reach the Talon. It should be working now, and they can squeeze everyone into it for a faster retreat then having them walk to the other ship.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
More and more of Phangor's troops are coming in. They're getting overwhelming. But...

"Mary! It is your turn to bat, oui?" the redhead calls out to the brunette, drawing another card from her pouch, and letting herself fall to the ground.

Summoning the Tower would usually require more room. The normally massive structure is usually used as a shelter. This time around, because of the dampening effect that the Savage Land holds... it's still large, but at a much more managable size. Closer to a person in height. Which makes for a fantastic weapon for someone with super strength -- like the aforementioned Thunderbolt -- to clear the 'intruders' (who are technically defending their home against an actual invading force but whatevs) en mass, without mortally wounding them. Marie? She's staying down. Twitching every now and then as she struggles to keep a) concentration and b) conscious. About the only thing Marie's /really/ worried about is getting trampled, but with a large 'bat' in the hands of someone with a vested interest in her survival to fend the Pterons off with, that might not be as big a concern as it feels like.

Once the power system's blown up, Thunderbolt will collect a rather limp redhead to carry her to said Talon. Pushed beyond her limits in this battle, but still breathing.

Rogue has posed:
While T'Chala works on the computer, Rogue joins the frey.

She rips that sun blanket off of the wall, and flies right at one of the Pterrasaurs! Soon after the beastly guard is wrapped up in the blanket, with his heavy wings flapping with leathery gusts of wind rushing around. He's shouting...

Because Rogue is punching him repeatedly through the blanket!

Whap, smack, whompf! The Belle keeps punching until he stops moving finally.

With a heavy exhale, Rogue rips the blanket off of the dino-man before she starts to roll it up to tuck it under her left arm.

"I'm keeping this." She announces in a breathless voice in time to see T'Chala making his exit. She gives a glance to the computer, then down to her chest where the amulet hangs. With a nod she turns to chase after the others on the way out of here, kicking one of the Guards as it raises its head up to try and stand again, only to get knocked out once more!

Audra Meridian has posed:
There's a certain satisfaction in slugging on of the saurians, but there is way more of them coming than any one person can fight off. "I think we're out of time for datamining guys." While T'Challa and Rogue handle the terminal she circles around behind the computer construct, both for some cover from the swarming Pterons and to investigate a little more closely. It's drawing power from some manner of system down below them, and despite whatever intelligence the original creators sported they had to resort to networking through cracks in the volcanic rock.

Power lines in exposed openings? She can work with that.

Working quickly she detaches some of the conduit cables from her suit, and part of the device from her backpack. She won't be able to fly after this, but really, if it doesn't work it won't matter. If it does work, she's got allies to help get out of her. She jury rigs various pieces of her own gear together, and into the conduits going to the power generator room down below. Instead of taking the time to climb down there and back out, she's just going to tech up a feedback loop that will take the power no longer being used by the computer once it's off, and pump it back down into the generation system to overload it. Can't trust her tech based powers to work, so she figures instead to just turn the energy supply on itself until it explodes. WITH SCIENCE!

She bolts around from the back to rejoin the others. "Time to blow this joint before this joint blows like a hurricane making out with an earthquake!"

Jean Grey has posed:
Natasha Romanoff: And I took that personally.

Clearly, the effort here is aimed at teaching the dino-chieftain something of a lesson in humility. Maybe it is warranted, given his aggressively macho leadership. Whatever the case, he's left to ponder the consequences of his actions in what can only be described as extreme discomfort.

She zips away, sun amulet in hand. Unlike Rogue's, which is clearly some piece of long lost technology... this is simple beaten metal, maybe brass. A religious icon, not a computer accessory.

Back at the computer, Marie holds the line with Rahne, although it is rapidly crumbling. But they have the time they need. Black Panther's gadget makes it a lot easier for him to navigate the systems, to initiate the procedure Rogue used once before. It cycles the power system, which, among other things, does leave a gap in the computer's defensive mechanisms, and a moment when all of them feel their powers at full.

-which is demonstrated a significantly more powered-up Mary Marvel takes the combo from Marie, going to 'bat' with the Pterons. It holds up to the forces, too, more solid than Marie might have anticipated as things come flooding back.

Rogue joins in, and while she might start that fight at mild-strength, she can feel herself powering up as she punches away. Which means that by the end the poor Pteron is crying whatever 'uncle' is in their language.

Oh, it might ALSO be because of what's happening behind them.

With the defenses offline, nothing stops Audra from getting in there to tinker, and tinker she does. Admittedly, the system she's looking at is well beyond comprehension in much of its function. But power... power is a pretty basic concept in engineering. And shorting a powered circuit, putting energy where it's not supposed to be is a fundamentally predictable recipe for disaster. Nothing happens at first...

...and then a whole lot does. Although the computer is the visible part of the system, it is part of a much larger system, built deep into the base of the mountain. That system regulates all the considerable thermal energy, not just siphoning it off, but also keeping Mount Doom stable. They wouldn't want it errupting on their specimens, after all.

But now, well, one by one, those systems fail. The computer itself only displays this in a few visible shorts, sparks errupting from panels as circuits blow out. Yet just a few moments later, the ground beneath their feat shudders, and hot gas starts blasting out of cracks in the rocks... sort of everywhere, at random. It's clearly time to go.

Fortunately, the Pterons ALSO take this hint. Squawking and flapping, they start to flee, dispersing from the caldera. Fortunately, there's a minion or two 'loyal' enough to grab Phangor and his lady-friend and drag him out, although one wonders what his political future will look like after this.

Either way, the day ends with the assembled team leaping from one of the cave openings into T'Challa's waiting, re-powered ship, which turns and zips away just as Mount Doom bursts into a full, violent erruption behind them.