17340/The Path Of Progress: The Fall Of John Sublime

The Path Of Progress: The Fall Of John Sublime
Date of Scene:	17 March 2024
Location:	Madripoor
Synopsis:	Cable and the team begin their infiltration of John Sublime's island lair, seeking to put an end to him at last.
Cast of Characters:	Cable, Monet St. Croix, Tabitha Smith, Sally Pride

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Cable has posed:
The time has finally come.

After tracking down John Sublime's mutant harvesting ring across the globe, Cable and his allies have finally managed to obtain the long sought after information on just where the unscrupulous businessman and Transhumanist leader can be found.

And in the end he is not very far away at all.

THe island nation of Madripoor is actually a string of islands, though the vast majority of the populace is naturally concentrated in the city of the same name. But given the nature of the island and the rather... permissive tendancies of the local government, it is no real surprise that the outer islands are popular with the wealthy and morally questionable.

John Sublime definitely falls into both of those categories.

So it is both convenient and a little disheartening to discover that he has practically been within arms length for weeks, given that the team has established safehouses on the main island. And while they might have lost their original base in the attack by Sublime's allies, well, Cab le is always the sort to have a backup. Suffice to say they did not need to relocate very far.

With Sublime finally located, it isn't very difficult to put the little island that he calls home under the satellite surveillance of Greymalkin, insuring that they both have extensive intel on just where they are striking and to insure that they are doing all they can to minimize the chances of his slipping away unseen. Though that is complicated by all the enhanced Transhumanists and their stolen mutant abilities. If just one of them included teleportation or some other similiar ability, well, it is more difficult to do anything about that.

But all they can do is plunge ahead.

The satellite imagery shows a relatively small island, much of it covered in jungle. It also boasts sheer cliff faces on the north and eastern approaches with only a single harbor that is, unsurprisingly, well guarded.

The compound itself appears to be a lavish affair, a sprawling villa, though the imagery suggests huge power consumption with almost a certain guarantee of significant defenses. Dozens of heat signatures likewise suggests a considerable force gathered, no doubt to stand between Sublime and any threat.

Not the easiest nut to crack. Not that it has ever stopped them before.

And while they cannot control every single variable, the weather at least is on their side. A nearly moonless night with plenty of cloud cover has presented itself, offering reasonable cover for their approach.

"You know what to do. What the stakes are," Cable says quietly, hefting his pack as they near the island. "It's time to end John Sublime, once and for all."

And not a moment too soon.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
They still don't know just exactly where Sublime has gotten all of his technology from. Where he has gotten all of his resources. Where he's found every nasty toy that he's deployed against them. So this is almost a reconaissance in force. But they'll be doing more than just reconottiring. Watching thoughtfully over as she would give a nod. "Understood." She might not prefer killing, but she's not going to waste any tears on the man that deserves being put down nearly as much as Creed does. And just as painfully.

She goes to focus, trying to subtly scan ahead - leaving Tabitha to coordinate the group and let Cable do the heavy lifting to smash things up to try and let them split the load about. They'll need every edge they have against Sublime at home in his Bond villain lair. So that menas divvying up what they can do and having to adjust on the fly.

And she has a very, very large frown as the group gets ready. They're definitely going to be having their enemy throw out all the stops now.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
It's really hard to enjoy the tourism when there might be hits out for you and people you like. Luckily that period should be over and Tabby can get her retail on later.

Now though, she's with the team, dressed in black, figure hugging nex to toe, an orange X on her chest taking up most of her torso, orange stripe down the sides of her sleeves and legs. Yellow tinted wayfarer style glasses on her nose.

"I'm gonna be pissed if he's already bailed. This whack-a-mole crap gotta stop." Tabby says in a huffy tone, the blonde had been loading up on sugar, carbs, and energy drinks most of the day and into the evening to make sure she can go full tilt as long as she needs.

"So how we wanna do this. You guys rush for the man, the myth, the motherfucker, I can go set up that cranking power source, blow that, flatten the island I bet!" she ponders ideas. She's not Cyclops but treating getting in like a heist can help when numbers aren't on the team's side.

Sally Pride has posed:
If anything, it explains just how Sublime was able to mount that large of a force into Madripoor City so effortlessly.

"High security doesn't make this impossible." Sally Pride paused to adjust the sight on her rifle. "Just makes it a challenge." The lioness certainly came armed for bear to tackle that challenge.

"Blowing whatever power source this place has will slow them down," she replied to Tabs, "but we still need to get on Sublime's slimey ass as quick as possible so he doesn't get to pull another disappearing act." Satisfied with the sight she checks the rifle's chamber. Firearms prep before a mission was both military training, and a sort of personal meditation before the big mission.

"This hunt ends tonight."

Cable has posed:
At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter just how difficult a proposition it might be to finally corner Sublime and deal with him once and for all. It needs to be done so it is going to get done. That's just how things work with this particular team. They don't tend to deal with the easy missions. Only the ones that are likely to get nasty.

Which also means that they sometimes have to get rather nasty in dealing with those threats. Though admittedly the comfort level for the kinds and levels of violence they sometimes trade in does vary.

"Taking out the power would help considerably," Cable agrees with a brief nod, peering at the landmass that looms up ahead of them. "But it will present challenges too. It seems to be located underground. Likely geothermal in nature, though a backup reactor isn't out of the question either," Cable says quietly, lifting one arm, the device straped there generating a holographic map of the island.

"The likely entrance is in the jungle. That is also probably our best option if we want to try and approach unnoticed too," the grizzled future soldier points out quietly. "Assuming that we can catch them unawares at all. They've proven annoyingly prepared for us up until now," he conceeds, the line of his mouth tightening ever so slightly.

"Still, taking out the power first will likely take out a good portion of any automated defenses that they have available to them. It's likely there are extensive turret emplacements not to mention the anti-aircraft weapons to fend off any sort of aerial assault so that might be a good first thrust," he admits.

Cable definitely has a preference for the head on attack, to overwhelm their enemies with a suitable display of shock and awe. But sheer firepower might not be quite enough to get it done, at least not this time.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would nod at Cable. "At the point we have to take out the power it will be rather messy in and of itself." They'd have to penetrate on deep anyways. But the main headquarters would likely be underground, and thy'd probably have to bust their way on down regardless. So hopefully bypassing everything and shutting down the weaponry would help quite a bit.

At the mention of 'anti-aircraft' she would squint. "Where does the man -get- his resources from? I hope that in the end you can track down them and neutralize them." Because a bad guy wtih several billiond ollars worth of military hardware and tech was horrifying to think about who was -giving- him this sort of thing. They had to go after his suppliers next.

Sally Pride has posed:
"Big corps feed each others corruption, Mon. Especially the ones that specialize in this 'grey area' type of security. Practically small personal militias." Sally goes through her other weaponry in the few remaining minutes they have before landfall. "No matter which way we go about it, we're not going to be unnoticed for long. It'll depend on how much they're expecting us to be crazy enough to attempt this kind of direct assault."

Tabitha Smith has posed:
"I just need to blow the line to the rest of the place. I can then just channel my energy through and send a big ass blast. This is gonna wipe me out but I can probably get us some breathing space." The trick is not electrocuting herself.

Not every electrical system is compatible. Even if there is a joke about Tabby being AC/DC.

"You have money, there's always someone selling gear hot. That shit is the real whack-a-mole. Take out one arms dealer, there's another. " she points out while looking over maps for the best place to get as close as she can to do her thing. "After that, or maybe on the way, probably wanna blow escape routs, helipads, jetties, impromptu runways." she suggests. Hopefully Sublime lacks teleporters. Zeta beam transport is everywhere these days.

Cable has posed:
"He does seem unusually connected for just a corrupt businessman," Cable conceeds quietly. Leader of a movement intent on 'improving' themselves by harvesting mutants for their body parts, stealing their powers. Extensive ties to shadowy corporations and mercenary groups. And his own seemingly legitimate commercial interests. It's a lot of fingers in a lot of pies, there's no doubt about that particular fact.

"Once he's taken care of, we can look at dealing with some of his contacts," the future soldier agrees. Though at this point there is no doubt just who his priority is. "We have some cleaning up to do in Madripoor regardless. That's almost guaranteed to send some of the cockroaches scurrying away. Those that we don't get the chance to squash at least, he adds with a tight smile.

Cable does tend to enjoy the squashing part of things. Though in fairness it couldn't happen to worse people, so maybe it's called for.

Again motioning at the map, a potential path is displayed with them landing on the western side of the island, heading through the jungle towards the likely site of the power generator before moving unwards to the seeming heart of Sublinme's estate and the topside villa that sprawls above the solitary beach, nestled uphill and against the cliff facings on the other two approaches.

"It's as good an approach as any. Gives us cover, might let us sneak up on them. We'll see if we can find power access that isn't buried and if so Tabby can do her thing. If not... well, we'll see about forcing our way down into the main geothermal station and dealing with things more directly before continuing onward to Sublime," Cable suggests, glancing around at the others.

Picking their way through the jungle in the dark might not be the most fun anyone could ever ask for. Then again they are a rather unique bunch. What passes for fun might likewise be somewhat unique under the circumstances.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would nod to the tohers, "THat works. Best to not have to fight them on multiple levels. Particularly when he has so many men and material to throw at us." They'd faced through dozens of cyborgs and heavy weapons. Doing so while he was also throwing all the guns at them might nto end well.

"We also have to make sure he doesn't flee. He's going to have a way to extricate himself if he feels he's too endangered." She would close her eyes and rub at her temples.

"Very well, let's go." Moving to glide through the jungle

Sally Pride has posed:
It's not necessarily what one would call fun... But it's not the worst case scenerio either.

Sally makes her way through the jungle, rifle in hands and saftey off, ready. No telling if they will have guards or automated defenses hidden somewhere so best to be ready as they make their way through the tropical environment. It being late and dark hardly slows her down. She's got predator senses and feline night vision to deal with that. She's just being cautious, to keep their advantage as long as they can. There will be time for loud and proud later when it's appropriate.

In the jungle, the quiet jungle, the lion creeps tonight...

Tabitha Smith has posed:
At least Tabitha brought some insect repellant for anyone to use. No catching malaria from a stray mosquito bite. Especially when Tabby still has some skin visible from the neck up.

Not being a flier, Tabby has to traipse through the jungle. Eventually needing to break off from the others with a wave and a grin. her fun will happen soon enough but the ex-ish-thief has to keep her stealth own while Cable and Sally get their blasters rocking.

And Monet can swoop in and snatch goons like an eagle in a preschool playground.

<<You guys want me to get at the power first or should we all go at once. All chaos and stuff?>> just checking, for all she knows she may end up getting their after everyone in their grills has been beaten up.

Cable has posed:
The approach to the shore is quiet and discrete and while previous surveillance indicated that patrols wander the edge of the island on an irregular schedule, between practice and a few gifted telepaths it isn't that hard to find a time to make landfall when they are going to be unobserved.

From there it is only a short sprint to the treeline and that tangle of thick undergrowth that makes the going so very difficult.

What little light might be visible from the night sky above is entirely cut off once they are beneath that leafy canopy and only the shuffling of animals in the dark and the hum of insects breaks up the quiet. That insect repellant might definitely come in handy.

Fortunately Sally has her predator senses and Cable's artificial eye cuts through the gloom, letting him easily pick out the occasional discretely placed video camera that is positioned to monitor their approach.

He is also able to spot a number of potential threats -- predominately snakes and medium sized jungle cats -- that creep and slither across the ground or in the trees above. Not the biggest of threats to them, but definitely something that would do a decent job of keeping most sane people out of these woods.

The holographic map that springs up from the device around Cable's forearm does offer some small amount of light, compiling all the satellite intelligence that Greymalkin has been able to gather, guiding them amongst the trees towards the most likely site to find the underground entrance to the geothermal generators and sure enough, a rocky outcropping shows a shadowed passage beyond, the unmistakable presence of turrets and a small group of powersuited mercenaries suggesting that they are definitely guarding something.

"And let you have all the fun?" Cable offers quietly. "We'll focus on clearing a path for you. Lets cut the light out of their lives."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would nod over and frown. Scanning along then while being thoughtful. "I can give them a distraction so the rest of you can infiltrate closer and take them out." She has to do something that would work if they're on alert but not have them raising an alarm. If she makes it too much of a distraction then they'd be set off. She has to do something iwthin the value of what the men would normally accept and be within the bounds of small talk to.. There.

She attempts to push upon the men while they would be on alert and talking over to try and nudge them with.. A game of cards. They were bored, they were competitive, they were out here in the jungle in heavy armor, sweating, being eaten alive by mosquitos, on drugs for malaria.. Miserable. They were just doing shifts endlessly..

So she would try to push upon their consciousness to do something to pass the time. Just a game of cards.

Sally Pride has posed:
A jungle cat slinks up and crouchs near the group when they pause to check Cable's map, and the psychics focusing on the guards ahead. Sizing them up as prowlers do, trying to determine what they are.

Then Sally turns her head just enough to -glare- in it's direction.

It clearly gets the message from the fellow predator the group is not prey worth the trouble. It's not actually seen at any point... the sound of branches shaking as it takes to the trees and disappears back into the jungle is the only indication it was even near.

Sally turns her attention back to the main matter of the mission like nothing happened.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
The group mind link lets people stay in touch, no need for verbal communication, which makes things much more stealthy. It also lets visual updates happen on the fly as well.

It's totally tactical.

Tabby's part is mostly keeping to sneaky mode at least until it isn't. Watching out for live guards is the easy part, avoiding cameras is tricky but you can gleam that from the odd metal sweep.

Handy when three of the four person team hve some level of telepathic ability and a willingness to share it so even Sally isn't left in the lurch when she gets her predator on predator stare downs on. <<Kittehs are just hungry. Shame we can't bring them inside with us. To risky for them.>> maulings might be funny but getting animals shot is not.

Cable has posed:
Telepathy definitely offers it's advantages when it comes to missions like this.

Not only does it give an instant means of discrete -- and for the most part secure -- communications, but it can also serve as a means of keeping tabs on the opposition as well. Being able to locate things that can think helps a great deal, at least when one is up against sentient opposition.

It also has it's other uses. Like the one that Monet puts into effect, reaching out to dry and dull the senses of the sentries standing watch over the entrance to the underground power station. Humans aren't really built for constant vigilance and while Sublime's mercenaries have proven to be fairly professional, they're not really trained to stand up to telepathic machinations. So the quartet of armored mercs begin a quiet discussion there in the mouth of that underground passage, their attention less on the surrounding jungle and more on one another and finding suitable entertainment.

While Sally wards off some of the curious wildlife that could otherwise prove somewhat troublesome, Cable himself creeps forward, edging through the shadowed darkness of the jungle, sliding in behind the rotted out stump of a fallen tree. Sliding one of those big guns free from where it rests draped over his shoulder, he sets it up, using that same stump as a resting perch, a means to stabilize the otherwise formidable weapon as he takes a bead on the quartet that stands watch, waiting for the rest of the team to get into place.

And as soon as everyone is ready, he strikes.

Normally the future soldier does have a particular fondness for his big plasma cannons. They're bright. They're destructive. And they also tend to be loud. Not necessarily ideal in these circumstances. And while that virulent green energy discharge could probably tear through that quartet of armored mercs, it would probably bring the whole passage down. Not to mention light up and echo across the entirely island.

Not the tool for this particular job then.

Instead, when he fires off the weapon he braces on the stump in front of him a very tight beam of energy lances out in a sshort burst, just a brief flash, as the high intensity beam cuts right through the powerarmor worn by one of the mercs, cleanly burning a hole through the metal.

The man doesn't even make an outcry, just slumping over and falling down lifeless in front of his surprised and confused colleagues.

One down, three to go.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Her focus is on keeping the men's attention elsewhere. On something normal, something immaterial. They're bored tremendously. Another day in and out of guarding somewhere in the godsforsaken jungle, being eaten alive by insects, sweating, and constantly feeling sick. It's easy to suppress awareness so long as she's focused, to keep them locked down while they try and think of something ot do to relax until the next level of their shift goes out and they can be backin the glorious air conditioned goodness..

It doesn't last that long as Cable goes in sniping, and Monet just does her best to try and keep them stunned and disoriented now so that the others can go in and quickly take them out. The name of the game is suppression. To keep them down for those final few seconds before they're dropped, and before they can send out an alert. They're not going to have much surprise.. But the faster they can take out defenses and sensors, the better they'll do in the long run.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
The booms start, and that should bring any dulled guards running towards the source of the weapons fire. <<Stay safe guys, no extra holes if you can avoid it!>> Tabby wishes them luck and starts using the distraction.

Sure the occasional guard might get a face full of her own plasma, but she can suppress the sound of her blasts without dulling the impact.

Like putting a silencer on the Iron Fist.

<<Hey M, you know you could just pick mooks up and drop them in the ocean. Why stay up there being all psychic debuff? M like Magpie!>> she suggests as she moves from corner to corner and cover to cover.

Cameras get added to the objects wreck when she sees them. Some close, some further and aiming other directions. Might help in preventing prediction of movement by anyone watching.

Sally Pride has posed:
With no interuptions from the local wildlife for the moment it's back to matters at hand. It's not as big or flashy as Cable's piece, but the rifle is just as deadly in Sally Pride's hands as she takes aim. The laser gun does take out the guy with the heavier armor, that and Monet's mucking with their awareness giving her a chance to line up more precisely before firing. Pick off the other guards and take them down as fast and efficient as possible before they can raise more of a ruckus. While not coming out of the jungle coverage any more than necessary to do so.

Cable has posed:
Those layers of mental supression do the trick as it keeps the outer sentries unaware of just what is going on, of the very imminent danger that they are in.

At least until those first shots strike home with very minimal noise or warning. In a heartbeat two of them are sprawled on the ground. At that point all the mental dulling in the world is only going to be so effective. It's pretty hard to ignore your friends just collapsing in front of you, no matter how bored you might be.

But it is also too late. Between Sally and Cable, the two remaining guards don't really stand much of a chance and only a moment later there will be a quartet of armored men laying on the ground, clearing the passage for Boom Boom's approach and the inevitable explosion to come.

Rising to his feet, Cable raises his free hand towards the tunnel entrance, reaching out with that telekinetic force at his command and simply seizing hold of the surveillance cameras anchored in place there, crushing them with the force of his mind leaving them sparking and useless. It will almost surely draw soneone to come check on the situation. But then they probably won't be here for very much longer.

Tabitha will certainly encounter a roving guard in that passageway with no doubt even more below. But then she does not necessarily have to go all the way down. Sure enough, powerlines run along the side of the carved wall and ceiling, giving her potential access without all the muss and fuss of descending too far into the earth.

Either way, the issue of power is about to be solved and the team can continue on their way to John Sublime.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
There's an annoyed response from Monet to Tabitha mentally <<I'm aware. This is more efficient>> Maybe. Maybe not. It's also possible that she doesn't want to admit that Tabitha is right in the matter as the group gets ready to head on down.

<<We don't know what he'll have inside. So be on watch. He'll have more than simply disposable hoodlums. Try and keep your mind out for whatever we pick up.>> Because most of the team other than poor Sally were telepaths..

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride walks over to check the guard's bodies. Make sure they're dead, and grab any radios they have just to be on the extra precautious side. After all the weird shit powers they've seen Sublime give his transhumanist goons she's not risking someone being able to revive from death and blowing the alarm on their visit.

Once that's settled and everyone else is ready, it's time to plunge deeper into this hell hole.

Sally is probably glad she doesn't have to deal with telepathy beyond the other's giving the group mental comm-links. Sometimes heightened senses is enough to contend with.

Tabitha Smith has posed:
Tabitha would have been happy finding a junction box. But feeding overhead lines up into the ceiling and then out. But this.

It just makes her job so much easier.

The lone guard on the upper level gets rushed and shoved downstairs while a very large number of beachball sized bombs is created and left. All set to go off at the same time. A few possibly rolling down where other guards might be. <<Okay, blowing the power in ten... nine... eight...>> she starts counting down while she starts hauling out of the blast radius. Legs carrying her to as sturdy a cover spot as she can.

<<Three... two... one...>>

Everyone knows what's coming next.