17627/Appalachian Atrocities: Touch the Sky

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Appalachian Atrocities: Touch the Sky
Date of Scene: 05 May 2024
Location: Appalachian Mountains - West Virginia
Synopsis: They all showed up for Bucky. His 'family' saved, the compound raided and secured. A cure found for the missing miners and loggers. But the monster behind the madness was nowhere to be found. Will Dr. Helix show himself again or has he abandoned his work and disappeared into the night?
Cast of Characters: James Barnes, Natasha Romanoff, Betty Ross, Kate Kane, Frank Noble, Sara Pezzini, Morrigan MacIntyre, Richard Stadler




James Barnes has posed:
Once again the sun is about to set on the mountains of West Virginia. It's not the ideal time to be creeping through the thick forest trees - or maybe it is? Early recon of the compound the missing miners and loggers were tracked to showed the place heavily guarded on the outside with very little being known about what awaits on the inside. Under the cover of impending night and the shadows of the trees, it's time to make plans.

Although one person is missing from the mission - it just so happens to be the one reason everyone's here. The last two were tough on Buck and had him thinking with his heart more than not. This is why Steve - the only person that would likely have been able to do so - convinced him to hang back.

Just ahead, not quite in range of sight, is the place where someone is turning men into monsters, turning them into beasts - part human, part animal.

As darkness begins to fall, strange noises fill the night from the direction of the compound - grunts, growls, howls, screeches - the sounds of things waking in the forest that don't belong.

As for the compound itself? There's only one way in, the front door that's tucked away in the side of the mountain - unless one wants to brave the ventilation system.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
She's here for Bucky's sake. Because for him it's personal. She's there to back him up.. But also to head him off. Clint's better at this sort of thing. She might work together seamlessly like a well oiled pair of war machines with Bucky, but Clint is a friend. So there's a difference. As the shrieks go out, Natasha goes to get ready. They hopefully have enough firepower here to deal with whatever's in the interior.

Some specialists, some reinforcements.. And enough to bring the mountain down. "I'll go through the vents."

Betty Ross has posed:
Betty Ross follows somewhere in the middle of the group. She is dressed in camo, and shoulders a duffle bag that has some emergency rations, first aid kits, and ammo. Holstered at her left side is a standard glock handgun. She's not here to 'hulk out', at least she isn't planning to. Betty is known to have knowledge of biology, specifically effects of radiation on human anatomy, as well as advanced knowledge of first aid, even if the wounded person is a metahuman of some kind.

That is her primary reason for being here, since no one knows what this thing is.

Betty winces as the sounds of the night begin. She doesn't reach for her weapon, she just habitually makes sure that it's there..

Kate Kane has posed:
This isn't exactly Batwoman's thing, running around in the wilderness compared to the urban jungles of Gotham City or New York. But when she heard about this situation from the other Avengers... well, she's been working closer with them lately, so she wanted to join in. She does look over at Natasha when Nat announces where she's gonna go, "Want someone to watch your back in there?"

Frank Noble has posed:
The night after they got back from the Appelacians before, he yelled at Necessary in the hotel room. "Why CAN'T I Become Grenademan? We're fighting fools who use monstrous science to turn people into monsters...I can barely fight them with an icer pistol and a few sleep grenades..."

"You are not your tools. And while I didnt realize it at the time I said it....You are Not Your Tools..."

Flash to the present and Frank is dressed, again, in a SHIELD issue flak jacket, with the sleep gas grenades full of Super Icer formula and an ICER gun he knows how to take the safety on, and unsure what good he is going to do on a full on combat mission...but he does, reluctantly agree with Necessary...

A hero is what they do....not their tools.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Once again Sara is there, already wearing the Witchblade's armor. She was there for Bucky, she had been there from the beginning and now as they hopefully came to the end, she was ready to kick some ass and find his missing family.

Prepared this time, she brought several ICERs from the SHIELD storage, as well as a couple of tranq-guns. These monsters were people, and there was still a chance they could be people again.

"They have sensors inside that can detect either magic or non-human DNA," she warns, looking toward the compound. "It means I'm going to light that place up like the fourth of July, or if I don't, any of the non-humans will."

She looks toward Natasha. "Make certain you wait for indications that the sensors aren't triggered. I don't want you in a vent shaft with the alarm going off."

Looking back to the rest she continues with, "We have two options. We can attempt a stealth entry, which I'll admit isn't the easiest approach but is possible... or we can go in ICERs blazing."

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Like everyone else, Morrigan is here for James. "Ah good. Most of us will definitely trip the sensors then." the Irish woman states as she heads with the group. She's dressed like she normally is. Jeans, black t-shirt and her black leather jacket. Tonight she is without her sunglasses though so everyone can see her weirdly colored eyes. "I will follow the majority on how to go in." she states to the others.

Richard Stadler has posed:
     Stadler told Bucky he'd be here to help. Life gets in the way, admittedly (certainly he had enough on his plate with school and his extracurriculars, but he had made a commitment, hadn't he? And after the reports...

The life sciences were scared; something meant to be helping people; to improve the lot of mankind in a natural world that, while beautiful, was often cruel and uncaring. The worse thing to use them for would be to make that world worse. And look at where they were.

He stood with the rest of them, his own pack on the ground, quick released, on one knee as he peered at the compound through a set of binoculars. Woodland fatigues were good for a situation like this, and easily available at most hunting stores. Less so was the load bearing vest laden with equipment and ammunition, and certainly not was the Mark 17 rifle pointed down to the ground in a tactical sling, a gloved hand wrapped tightly off the grip.

"I'd like to see the specifications on those sensors. Viral sniffers are hard enough to produce. DNA scanning..." He says, before shaking his head. The binoculars come down, and the gas mask comes down into place, quickly cleared. "Didn't see a mortar section here, but I'm sure we have substitutes. Heavy indirect fire at front, maybe, team ingressing in through the side?"

James Barnes has posed:
As the moon begins to rise in the sky, the sounds increase - in both audible volume and, seemingly, just in volume. There are more of them. They're still a distance away, which means the team hasn't been found - yet. Not quite far away that the rustling of the trees can't be heard.

The vents on the outside aren't terribly difficult to access. It's as if no one inside is actually expecting anyone to be fool enough to take that route. A few nuts and bolts and the steel grating over them should come right off with a good tug.

Going the direct route certainly wouldn't be a fools errand, that is if the guards patrolling the perimeter are taken down before they can manage to raise an alarm. Twelve, perhaps, in total - it's just difficult tell. Could be more, it's hard to track their movement, even with heat sensing technology. The trees are just much too thick - in diameter and in tree density.

Plus side, getting close enough to see more shouldn't be all that tricky.

Betty Ross has posed:
Betty Ross looks down, as if to survey herself when Richard and Natasha speak. She whispers in reply, "Yep.. my DNA is altered. I'll trip those alarms for sure." She readjusts the weight of her duffle bag, and continues to move with the rest of the group, trying not to think about what is making those sounds.

Betty also keeps a look out for any lights, or other signs of the guards.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
With her statement given to the others, Natasha goes to slide through the vents. As she does, she drops small sensor modules along after her. The size of marbles, designed to give out an alert if something else comes through the vents. Natasha goes to carefully slide her way in and she moves to go on through. Careful the entire way to try and make as little noise as possible.

Kate Kane has posed:
Batwoman looks wryly as Natasha goes off without responding to her, "Wow, just like home." With the mention of DNA sensors, she looks over at Betty, "My DNA isn't altered, so I can sneak ahead of the group easily enough, while Widow goes through the vents." She shrugs a bit, and then she moves off into the shadows.

After a moment, her voice echoes on the SHIELD comm frequencies, "There. Now I can do what I do best, and you guys can do the same." Her grin can almost be felt over the radio, as she does a very good job at being unseen in the unsettling twilight of this place.

Frank Noble has posed:
Frank Noble activates a small bracer mounted sensor which is an array of the Mass Spectmeter sensors; refined to a ridiculous degree from analysis on the Wakandan drone Siri had him through before. As such, he can 'smell' the presence of the Venom to a degree within 100 meters that appear on the small Aliens style graphic on said bracer. He waves it around, trying to see what he can pick up. If he gets readings, he shares them.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Making sure to pass out extra ear pieces for communications, Sara watches Natasha leave, as usual, to be sneaky... the woman was an expert at sneak. When you wear bright shiny armor that can only be slightly dimming, sneaky wasn't an option.

"MAke sure to stay in contact with each other using these," she says, looking to each person before looking back to the compound.

"I'm going over watch," she then adds. "If you need me, tell me. Witchblade and I can go through walls if we have to, and please remember... these creatures are humans who have been altered. Use the ICERs first, tranq guns second, let Doctor MacIntyre put them to sleep... try not to kill them because out there somewhere among them is Bucky's other friend."

Taking a deep breath she leaps off the ground and into the air. <Stay alive people, stay sharp, and don't be a hero... call for help if you need it.>

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan's listening and watching. She has one of the SHIELD comms given the territory and the general amount of times she goes on these missions these days. She gives a nod in regards to Sara's commentary, "We would rather catch them and help them regain themselves than having to deal with the alternative." the woman states. She's keeping the talk light tonight given things.

Richard Stadler has posed:
     Stadler nods over to Sara, tapping the earpiece in his own ear. "Thank's for the offer." He notes, watching as Kat moves down into the vent, before advancing in on the tree line. "RIfle's better at range." He says, noting the suppressor at the end. "Not going to be as quiet without the subsonic ammunition, but it's going to take some time for them to understand they're getting shot at. WIdow's moving in through the vents, so is our friend from Gotham. 'Witchblade'," Lord, she needed ot shorten that name down, "Going for the air. Ms. Ross, you seem to be kitted out for something more direct, so I'd appreciate youd sticking with me." He says.

He moves forward again, skulking toward the compound with cover, and peering over to the guards. "Good with that pistol? Start from the left, I'll work my way from the right." He says, before bringing the rifle up, setting the sight down on the first sentry. Headshots would generally do, but do would aiming for anything about the trapezius.Not like someone was going to talk with a round through they're throat.

<<Wilco.>> He says, simply to Pez on the net, before taking a deep breath, holding, it, and pulling the trigger. Sending the first of a few rounds down range in a supersonic crack of fire.

James Barnes has posed:
Once Natasha's inside and gets a first whiff of the internal air it smells like a petting zoo. Inside the beastly sounds are less, lower in volume and not quite as creepy as outside in the dark. That is unless someone thinks of things like snake-men, or spider-men that don't wear red and save the city on a regular basis. It's tight in there, definitely no room to turn around and run.

At a crossroads in the shafts, voices can be heard - muffled - in one direction and those disturbing animal sounds in the other.

Frank's sensors pick up minute traces of the venom in the distance - in the trees, some on the ground. It's just remnants of the passing through of some of the reptilian hybrids, but it's also a good indication of how far they typically travel from 'base' when they haven't been dispatched for something.

A wolf's howl sounds in the distance to the right, one more from the left and another from the rear as if calling warning to one another - or perhaps signalling attack?

So much for the element of surprise.

Being aerial gives Sara a better vantage point to see - everything. Twelve is the right number for the guards, all of them spread out and walking through the trees. But it's the sheer amount of 'others' that is more disturbing. - thirty, perhaps forty. They range from tree dwelling to ground dwelling to something in between. She might want to duck behind something when two large - are those owls? Man owls? Take flight from the trees, heading in the direction of the howling - in the direction of the team.

Betty Ross has posed:
Betty Ross smiles and thanks Sara as she is given the ear piece. She attaches it to her ear, <Testing.. and you don't have to worry about me trying to be a hero. I won't engage unless I'm being attacked directly, or given the order to. Let's avoid escalation in my case..> She doesn't feel the need to explain more.

When Richard suggests that she go with him, she doesn't object, "I have a lot to learn, but I can handle myself yeah." She moves in sync with his directions, drawing upon her training with firearms. She doesn't have infantry training, but she does know how to shoot pretty well.

The wolf's howl gets her attention, <I'm getting Lon Chaney Jr vibes now..>

Kate Kane has posed:
Batwoman isn't actually in the vents, but that's just how sneaky she is as she creeps through the shadows, making nary a sound as she creeps in the forest. Spotting one of the patrolling guards, she moves up quietly behind him, then takes him in a choke hold, covering his mouth to make sure no sound comes out as she drags him down.

Once she's sure he's unconscious, she zipties him up out of the way, then takes his comlink and moves quietly along. When she gets asked a status report, she makes a gruff reply about it being 'all clear'. So hopefully that keeps the guards in the dark for just a little bit longer, even if others might be more alert to their presence.

Frank Noble has posed:
Frank Noble listens to the reports of just how many of these there are, and while he is hardly the advanced guard here, he does know he can throw quite a bit. Taking the sensor and Sarah's intel into account, he does some rough but lightning fash Trigonmetry (yes folks, Math does have an actually useful military application sometimes) and determines the most probable areas to reach a number of the guards in the trees based on the data he has, and tosses one of the super icer grenades into the darkness and trees.

Probability says that he is right. Reality had yet to yield its opinion on the matter.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
All right, she had made it inside. The vents let her sneak, but they were also vulnerable. If she were caught in them,s he couldn't fight back. So after finding somewhere she couldn't see or hear anything, Natasha would quietly remove a vent grate. Then she would go to drop out of them and land hopefully silently over. A quick tap on her mic to let the rest of the group know that she was inside.. T hen she was going to switch her optics over to UV to sweep for heat sources.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
From the air Sara has the perfect vantage to see every little thing. Witchblade's gifts allowed her to see the placement of the twelve guards, along with their locations, and the pattern they were maintaining.

Making sure to position herself in a way that made it harder to see from the ground, she counted out the number of other creatures while taking stock of the location of the entrance.

Once she was certain, she shared the information over the comm, then moved in a little closer, making sure to stay upwind of those who could scent track, if there were any.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
"Well fuck." Morrigan states rather eloquently when the howling starts. She doesn't go very far though as she's trying to help get one of the guards down without hurting them. And without things going to shit too quickly.

Richard Stadler has posed:
     Stadler nods over to Betty as she indicates the vibe she's getting. "You know." He says, calmly, working to the next guard, sighting him, and pulling the trigger. "I don't think I ever saw those movies. Really, there's so many good film clubs to choose from I need to make a bit of a decision for it." He says. Another sighting, another guard, focusing on the task at hand, his mouth under his mask giving a bit of tic as he hears that howling moving closer. "Just focus on the targets. One at a time. Deal with them, and then deal with those... well. People." He notes. He has to fight from moving his hand to the borrowed ICER tucked into the thigh holster where his Hi Power normally rested. "We break the guards. We move forward, out of their hunting, and cover the rear for the advancing team. "

James Barnes has posed:
As Natasha turns to do her sweep, she finds herself face to face with a heat signature. Fortunately it's just a man. Unfortunately the first thing he does is start toward a red button on the wall. Another thing on her side is that he appears to be just a scientist - dressed in a white lab coat - rather than a soldier trained to kill. (Why do all scientists wear those coats? Inquiring minds want to know.)

Batwoman's tactics work, at least for the moment. All of the guards have been put on high alert by the howling of the wolves - howling that gets closer the second time around, so close that it might even feel like they're breathing down necks.

"Think they've spotted something or are they just making noise?" one of the guards asks of another who responds, "Dunno, better be alert just in case," before they split back off to cover more ground.

Two things happen, Frank's grenade hits dead center of a group of trees and everything in that vicinity goes down - guard and lost soul. However, not everything was in that vicinity. The chance for a sneak attack is completely blown. The trees come absolutely alive with movement. One guard sounds the alarm. Everything goes from relative calm to complete chaos in a matter of seconds.

What comes out of those trees is the stuff of nightmares. Over there a chimpanzee that looks like some horror movie adaptation of The Planet of the Apes, across the way a familiar looking reptilian hybrid. There's one that looks like someone was trying a triple play, man bear and bat. Everywhere, they're coming from /everywhere/, one more disturbing than the next. The sounds are a deafening combination, a cacophony of noise that should't exist.

...and all of them seem intent upon making a meal of anything or anyone that isn't supposed to be there.

Let the games begin.

Betty Ross has posed:
Betty Ross continues to move, on the lookout for guards. She doesn't see any yet, <Richard that movie wasn't bad at all for its' time. In fact I kind of relate to-..> She's cut off when the clearly "not normal" chimpanzee crashes out of the trees some distance away. She hasn't seen the reptilian being yet.

Betty freezes, not out of fear, but uncertainty, <Should we keep going? That large ape over there? It doesn't look normal.. should we help?>

Betty places a hand on her glock, crouching down, uncertain of whether, or not, she should even engage in fighting..

<Just so you guys know, if this thing attacks me, and I don't disable it.. yeah. I won't be able to stop what happens in the aftermath..>

Kate Kane has posed:
Batwoman /was/ working on stalking the next guard when all Hell breaks loose. Frowning, she looks around and sees the Lovecraftian chimpanzee menacing Betty. Moving quickly through the shadows, she launches out of the brush and tackles the chimpanzee-like thing.

Moving quickly since she only has the strength of a very athletic human and not a mutant chimp, Batwoman reaches into her utility belt and jams a sedative right into the chimp's neck. As it goes limp, she straightens up, glancing over at Betty and the other agents, "No time for subtlety, let's move!"

Frank Noble has posed:
Frank Noble sighs and hears dead silence from the mice comm. Apparently, they werent impressed. As it was, he held the line and drew the Icer. He had read the manual but that was hardly being able to know how to use it, assuming the thoroughly ridiculous looking squat that does actually achieve maximum strength against blow back, he aimed, and fired a single ICER round and missed, but hit the larger one behind it....

Sara Pezzini has posed:
All hell is breaking loose... the song starts going through Sara's head as she shifts in midair from flying north to flying south. Noting a guard in the other side of the compound from the rest of the group, she dives down toward it.

Left hand forms a whip, while she pulled an ICER with the right. Witchblade /loathed/ technology, he really did, but he had no way of his own to merely subdue these people, so that meant letting his wielder use technology.

Using the whip to distract the guard creature to the left, she fires three ICER rounds like the overly skilled marksman she is, striking the creature firmly in the chest. Even as it is going down, she is lifting back up into the air as the metal of the whip retracts back into the armor.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan has no ICER...or any weapon for that matter. What she lacks in those she makes up for in complete suicidal behavior sometimes. She's not wearing her sunglasses, so she's trying not to get blinded out here and avoiding large amounts of the lights.

Once the big half animal, half man targets are moving there is a quick decision, just wade in. She's keeping track of who has been ICER'd who hasn't. She baseball slides in next to one of the downed forms and quickly uses her magic to send them into a deep sleep. Then it is up an on to the next.

But getting around the active ones is fun.

James Barnes has posed:
Slowly the way toward the front hatch-like door becomes more and more clear. But getting there is work. When there's a 'no kill' order in place, it makes things a little more tricky. It's made even more challenging by the fact that these lost souls turned into monsters can run, jump and climb better than any human ever could. They share more with their inhuman side than their human. Taking them all down for the count definitely won't be easy, but persistence is a hallmark or being a hero. Standing when the odds are grim, when things seems hopeless? That's what makes a hero.

... so standing tall in front of the last monstrosity to get through, that's a heroic thing. The thing standing in front of the door to the compound is huge, a good seven foot tall. It's jaw is elongated like a wolf's, saliva drips from fangs that nearly gleam in the moonlight. Two leathery wings extend from its back. The body is build like grizzly and those claws put Wolverine's to shame.

That's what everyone is fighting their way toward - the way inside, the way to a possible cure for these poor people... and it's blocked by something that looks like Donkey Kong had a bastard child with the Big Bad Wolf - with wings.

Betty Ross has posed:
Betty Ross watches as monsters are subdued, <Thank you.. seriously.> She pushes her mind away from the possibility that she might transform, and on to the next phase of the mission. Moving foward for a bit, she finally reaches the entrance, not seeing any guards. But what she does see is.. not good. Not good. At. All.

Betty unholsters her glock, and turns to Richard, but speaks on comms so that everyone else knows what's going on, <Richard do something.. anything. I can shoot, and I will, but for the love of god.. do not let this thing attack me..>

She backs away quickly, and aims her pistol. She won't fire until after someone else does, to avoid its' attention being on her..

Kate Kane has posed:
Batwoman keeps fighting the creatures and minions that get in her way, using a variety of weapons from her utility belt... or just an old fashioned right cross, should the situation call for it. And she looks like she's actually having /fun/.

Bats are kinda strange that way.

And speaking of bats, she sees the Big Bad Wolfbat guarding the door to the compound itself, and she hrms, "I think you folks with the grenades can deal with that one." And with that, she seems to vanish from sight, stepping into the shadows of the nocturnal forest and disappearing without a trace.

Frank Noble has posed:
Frank Noble realizes thata as he is, one random shot of super ICER ammo isnt going to do anything...well, not to zozens of these things so he...waits...and waits...and waits. And then tosses both his remaining ICER grenades with insane precision (despite the lack of built in controls contolling the blast radius) as gas lays out a thick area taking area of several of the slavering lost souls behore the wolfen horror....

He has to suppress the urge to Mask up, but does so....drawing his pistol and checking the clip.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Once the guards were down and the group started moving in toward the main mass of creatures, Sara dropped out of the sky to begin shooting at the creatures at the outer most edges on the far side. The team had enough to deal with from the angle they were approaching from, so she was using her ICER to clear out those far off to give them more space.

As the numbers dwindled she lifts up into the air as she said, <<Well holy shit that's big. Doctor MacIntyre, do you have it in you to put that thing so sleep if I can subdue it, or should I just distract it so you can all get past it?>>

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
<<I might be able to put him to sleep without an ICER.>> Morrigan tries to sound sure about this, but it's not one hundred percent or anything though. She does gather herself up to go face off with DK though.

<<Alright if he decides to eat me just give my car to Sam's nephews...again.>> she muses over the comms. She had a very morbid sense of humor.

Then she addresses Donkey Kong as she teleports from the ground in front of him to hanging from his back, "Go to sleep...go to sleep..." she whispers as she reaches to press her hands to the side of it's head.

This would end very well...

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha goes forwards over while flipping out a large knife in her hands. A serrated one. That's clearly used for skinning leather by the look of it. She goes to smile over at the scientist. "Now, you're going to tell me what is going on here. For each protest and complaint you make, I'll take off a section of skin. Then I'll cover it with salt. You know what that feels like on blood and muscle, right? Add some acid.."

Richard Stadler has posed:
     Oh, Hell.

There was a time for grenades. Stadler felt that that time had been very prematurely reached, as the forest lights up with howls and calls of things that really should exist from all around them. "Damn it." He breathes, standing up and moving toward the facility; rounds fired in bursts now, trying to take out the guards in front of them center mass. As quick as possible. "God /damn it/."

Certainly with the calls here, those guards might have to deal with those things rushing toward them. That would be cold comfort for the team that got ripped apart, though, which meant clearing out in front and avoiding the forces coming in from the rear.

Of course to do that, they needed to get through the big guyt that suddenly appeared in front of them, and Betty begging for him to do something. <<LOoks like we have no shortage of help.>> He breathes through the commlink, bringing the rifle up... much farther than where he was used to aiming, his grip adjusting on the rifle to the shotgun locked down below it. ICER's were nice, but how many would it take to get this one down? If Morrigan's sleep spell didn't work...

The shotgun goes off, the hard baton rounds slamming forward, looking for the eyes and head. There was a reason this was supposed to be aimed at the ground and was 'less than lethal'... but their own lives had to come first.

James Barnes has posed:
...or maybe it won't end very well. The nightmarish creature at the door lets out a sound that's half howl, half growl before it reaches up to grab Morrigan by the arms. It shakes her like a rag doll and then lifts her over its head poised to throw her into next week. That's the bad news. The good news is that it was, at least, staggered a little by her efforts. It's not down, it's not out, but it's definitely swaying on its feet.

Could have been worse, it could have just eviscerated her with those claws.

"He calls himself Dr. Helix," the scientist begins, words falling out like an open faucet. That's the thing about devious hired help - they're typically not loyal when their own life is on the line. "He's looking for a way to create the perfect, indestructible killing machine. He calls it project GENOME - Genetic Engineering for New Order and Master Evolution. It works by using auditory input to change the DNA sequence. He has plans to sell the work to the highest bidder, that's all I know! I swear!"



Horrifying cutting edge - but then again most mad scientists are on the cutting edge of horror.

Richard's efforts save Morrigan from being slung into next week, possibly to splinter a tree or be splintered by one. The hit is square in the head and Mr. Kong goes down hard - meaning poor Morrigan only goes flying about five feet.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Most others might stare or roll their eyes. Natasha doesn't even sigh. "Thank you for your cooperation. Do you have access codes for here? If you prefer to try and play a game, then I can just crush your hands. Reduce the bones in them to fine powder. They'll have to amputate them." She would smile sweetly while holding her knife out. "It will take me about five seconds ot do it to each limb. I'll tie them off before you bleed to death and you may not die of shock by the time we clear the rest of here. Or you can cooperate and give me sweet things to work with and keep your limbs as they are."

There's no mention of the High Evolutionary, which is one of those nightmares that the higher ups have when it comes to things making their way out of the Savage Land.

Kate Kane has posed:
Batwoman appears out of the shadows by the door, checking the lock now that the wolf-thing is down, "Hrm. Well, the door /had/ a triple-encryption lock that would normally be about ten minutes to crack, even for me... but fuzzball here disabled the lock when you shot him." She then quirks a wry smile and pushes the door open, "Think we need to catch up with Widow, here." And with that, she darts inside, moving rapidly through the halls of the complex.

Frank Noble has posed:
Frank Noble shoots one of the things in the face with Super ICER ammo, and proceeds into the building. He should have brought more ICER grenades. As he dodges another creature he moves with alacrity.

Sara Pezzini has posed:
Hovering above the huge thing, Sara watched Morrigan teleport in and... starting singing a lullaby to it. Bearer of the Witchblade, and she still has no idea how magic works.

Unfortunately for Mo, the thing has time to grab her and lift her up over its head before Richard shoots it, but Sara was already diving. What this meant is when the thing went down and Mo went flying, Sara was there to catch her before she could hit anything.

<<I gotcha!>> she nearly shouted over the comm as she swooped in, and once again as Morrigan is caught, metal tendrils wrap around the woman to ensure she can't be dropped. Sara grins at Morrigan as she says in a teasing tone, <<Perhaps sometime you can explain what that particular, somewhat stupid move is called, Doctor.>>

Betty Ross has posed:
Betty Ross watches as both the ape, and the bat-wolf creature go down, <Thanks.. everyone. This might just go without a hitch..> Of course many times, those words are said just before things get even worse, but Betty is feeling optimistic.

She nods towards Richard and makes her way through the entrance cautiously, making note where she can of where someone, or something could be hiding. Not attacked yet, Betty tries to figure out where Natasha is, <Natasha where are you in relation to the entrance? I know you went in a different way, but I feel like we should all regroup..>

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan's prepared to go flying into the forest given things. There is the tiniest 'weeeeeeee' at comes from the Doctor when she goes sailing, but it isn't very long. "Thank you, Agent." she tells Sara. "And it is just stupidity. Nothing special." she laughs. It really was that simple. <<Time to head inside!>> she calls over the comms. <<Everyone alright?>> she asks as well.

Richard Stadler has posed:
     Oh, thank God, one of his paycheck's signers isn't laying with a broken back somewhere in the forest. Oh, and the big thing in front of them finally hits the dirt and... is hopefully unconscious. RIck doesn't take any time to check life signs... and ziptying something that big wasn't exactly going to be an option. Just get past it, post at the door, and swing to cover their rear while the techies deal with accessing it and getting int the place.

<<Entrance is secure for the moment, but I don't know how many of those things are out there. Rifle's going to leave me better out for range in front of us, and these creatures will have to get in close. I'll keep an eye on the front if you people enter to secure the facility.>>

James Barnes has posed:
"Here, here, take it!" Mr. Traitor Scientist says - voice all squeaky with fear - as he shoves his security badge at Natasha.

Once inside, the way is easy. There's nothing in the building but more scientists and a room with cages holding more of these poor souls.

... and the big prize - the control room, the beating heart of the compound. After a bit of searching, one particular panel is of interest. 'Return, Incapacitate and End' are the labels on its buttons. The only thing missing is the 'reverse'. But certainly if auditory stimuli was used to change them, the same can be used to change them back?

AT least the 'incapacitate' button might be useful until SHIELD's science nerds can be called in to untangle the mess?

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
The scientist is quickly KO'd and smashed down as Natasha goes to zip tie them and goes to sweep the area, ICER in front of her. Now it's time for cleanup.. And then to hope that some of the xenobiologists in SHIELD can find a way to undo what was done to all these poor people.

Then make sure that STeve and Clint keep an eye on Bucky's emotional state.

Betty Ross has posed:
Betty Ross now sees the scientists as her eyes adjust, <Oh.. this place isn't as big as I thought it would be.> Glancing about, she keeps moving, not speaking to any of the scientists as she makes her way to the control room.

<Lots of computers. Any sign of radiation yet? If so then I may be able to help run some tests. If not? Then I have no idea what caused those creatures..>

Kate Kane has posed:
With everything under control of the SHIELD agents and their like, Batwoman smiles slightly. If she sees Sara, she might give her a wink, before she vanishes from sight. She wasn't here for accolades or to get her hands on this research.

She was here for an Avenger. And with that being done. she departs, a last, "Well done," coming from her communicator. Then she leaves, rapidly moving towards where her transportation is stashed, out of sight and out of the way.

Frank Noble has posed:
Frank Noble is no hacker, but he does have a good sense of observation and is also worried there might be a self destruct. Its not like those are uncommon and stick s ajump drive in a USB where someone a lot better than he is at hacking begins downloading files. Its not Plan A, but if the place does blow up....

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan quiets considerably as they head into the inside and there is a bit of a mental inventory taken. She quietly starts to look over terminals and to see what she can glean from things. Maybe there was some reasoning for all of this in the files...

Richard Stadler has posed:
     And finally, they're able to enter in.. better than Rick dealing with the creaturees out there. Stadler grumbles, and quickly heads in with the rest, keeping his eyes on the back until they can secure the door in front of them. Once so, he's moving in, and zip tying scientists as they walk through. "Don't destroy anything, don't /let/ them destroy anything." He said, moving to reach into his gear to fold out a trash bag. "Load up documents, take the hard drives if you can, computers if you can't and if you see anything that looks biologic, /DO NOT TOUCH./"

At least he knew what he was doing her.e

James Barnes has posed:
It'll take a while before everything is tied up in a neat little bow, but it will happen. SHIELD science geeks will be called in, the answer to the cure for the lost souls will be figured out through trial and error.

...and Bucky's 'family' will return to their little town of Blackstone Hollow.

SHIELD will have access to terrifying technology to do with as they see fit - destroy it or no.

The one thing missing, the one ribbon in the neat little package...

Dr. Helix was not among the scientists captured.