20219/GNATION: The Chemical Plant Siege

GNATION: The Chemical Plant Siege
Date of Scene:	20 March 2025
Location:	East River Chemicals, Northeast of NYC
Synopsis:	The Goblin Nation temporarily takes control of the East River Chemical Plant in an attempt to produce an improved version of the Goblin Formula, but their attempts are thwarted by heroes that arrive on the scene. Rest assured, the Goblin King will not stop at this, though! He will have his new forumla!
Cast of Characters:	Gwen Stacy, Mark Grayson, Natasha Romanoff, Miguel O'Hara, Valeria Richards, Alison Blaire, Richard Stadler, Daniel Ketch, Kim Hayes
Tinyplot:	Rise of the Goblin Nation

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Gwen Stacy has posed:
The East River Chemicals plant is under siege.

How anyone managed to get permits to build a 400 acre chemical plant on the East River so close to New York City is anyone's guess. Money. Corrupt politicians. Power. Bribes. Extortion. It's so large that even the workers use vehicles to get around the facility -- dedicated work trucks or motorized carts designed to haul personnel and equipment.

Approximately eight million people live in New York City. The fallout from a chemical spill into the river -- or worse, aerosolized into a vapor cloud that could spread over the Bronx and Queens, even Brooklyn and Manhattan -- could be catastrophic.

Alarms wail across the industrial complex, the shrill sound mixing with the flashing red and blue of police cruisers forming a barricade outside the main gate. SHIELD's mobile command center hums behind them, agents monitoring surveillance feeds while officers hold their positions. Farther back, civilians gather at an outer perimeter -- because of course they do. A few even slip through the cracks, forcing officers to run after them and drag them back behind the barricades.

It's nearly impossible to cordon off this much area on short notice. The plant sits right on the shore of the East River, which is left entirely unprotected. Ships still transit the river, from large cargo ships to smaller sightseeing vessels and recreational boats.

Inside the facility, the Goblin Nation has fortified the massive plant.

Dozens of masked Goblins patrol the perimeter with stolen firearms, some on foot and some driving the motorized carts the employees use to get around the facility, securing key entry points. These are the foot soldiers. Pledges. Initiates. Untransformed, unmodified by the Goblin Formula, still proving their loyalty, most still teenagers, plucked from the streets and given 'purpose' by the Goblin King.

Some of the Goblins and all of the facility's guards already lie prone on the ground throughout the facility, unmoving.

Overhead, at least as many Goblin Knights weave between the stacks of processing equipment in armored suits, darting through the air on high-tech gliders. They drop pumpkin bombs and fire energy blasts to keep law enforcement at bay, ensuring no one gets close, cackling maniacally. Some brandish swords that seem to be made of fiery plasma.

From what little surveillance exists, there are over a hundred hostages held throughout the facility. Most are being kept in the basement research lab of the East Processing Floor -- engineers, maintenance workers, clerical staff, and other scientists. The few who have escaped reported to the SHIELD agents that they were trying to force the scientists to improve some sort of compound -- they called it the 'Goblin Formula.'

At the northern end, the cooling tower looms over the plant, releasing steady plumes of steam. This system keeps volatile chemicals stable. The Goblin Knights have begun rigging explosives to its base. Similar explosives -- seventeen on SHIELD's last count -- have been spread throughout the facility. They are small packages, not much bigger than a breadbox, strapped to pylons and the sides of holding tanks. They put off energy signatures unique from others in the facility, but the mechanism for their detonation is unknown. Timer? Radio? Something else? If they explode, the resulting disaster could easily contaminate the East River and most of Queens.

The southern warehouse is already in flames, the aftermath of an earlier explosion. Thick smoke billows up into the sky, visible for miles around, obscuring the movements inside the building. Despite the fire, Goblins are still active in the area, moving deeper into the wreckage. It's unclear what they're after, but something is being transported under the cover of smoke and chaos.

Some Images for Inspiration: https://imgur.com/a/aibkFSL

Gwen Stacy has posed:
TL;DR

-- The Goblin Nation has taken over East River Chemicals, a massive facility just east of New York City. The intent of the Goblin Nation is unclear, but if it was purely destruction, they could easily have been gone by now. Instead, they've taken the facility. A few hostages lucky enough to escape reported that they were trying to force the scientists to make an improved 'Goblin Formula.'

-- Law enforcement and SHIELD have formed a perimeter. They could provide support on the ground, but they are pinned down by Goblin forces at the fence. Farther back, spectating civilians try to push in on the outer perimeter to get a better look, forcing officers to spread themselves thin.

-- Dozens of masked Goblins -- mostly teenage pledges in goblin masks recruited from the streets -- patrol the facility, guarding key locations with stolen handguns and rifles, while Goblin Knights on gliders with energy rifles and plasma swords control the air, taking down drones and dropping pumpkin bombs. There are fallen Goblins and security guards scattered throughout the facility.

-- The basement research lab under the east processing floor is protected, heavily guarded and accessible by lift or through security doors guarding the stairs. This is where the bulk of the hostages seem to be held, though there may be others throughout the facility.

-- Many of the structures, including the cooling tower, are rigged with explosives. The mechanism of detonation is unknown. If they go off, it could trigger a toxic disaster and a massive explosion.

-- The southern warehouse is burning, but Goblins are still moving inside, hiding whatever they're doing under the cover of smoke.

-- Potential goals:
-- -- Deal with Goblin Gliders and the Goblin pledges
-- -- Find and rescue hostages, Locate and disable bombs before they go off
-- -- Figure out where they're making the Goblin Formula and stop them
-- -- Find out what's happening in the southern warehouse
-- -- Help the police/SHEILD gain entry

Mark Grayson has posed:
Cecil Steadman will not shutup. Mark is frankly tired of being pestered by him, but with the whole thing since Omni-Man's attack, the young hero has been kept on a short leash. So when SHIELD called out for reinforcement to support breaking the siege of the chemical plant, Mark suited up and made his way towards the cut-off plant.

Arriving in the air above the plant, Invincible comes to a halt above the plant, floating backwards from the toxic smoke that might be rising from the exhaust stacks. As he surveys the situation, he sees that the FDNY cannot get to the fire on the southern warehouse, and it is there where he decides to focus his efforts, in order to clear the building so the bravest can do their job.

Diving down, he smashes through one of the skylights of the warehouse building, dropping down onto the ground to land, glancing around - mainly looking for those that may be trapped or held hostage within.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
With the SHIELD team that's going to slide their way on through, Natasha Romanova has linked up with anyone through one of the evacuation routes. The scientists fell back through it, and it makes sense that it would be used. It's also probably one of the infiltration points - or going to be used by the goblins. Natasha is in full stealth loadout and with heavy weapons. She's read the data on what the Goblin serum is capable of, and looked at what data files SHIELD has on it. So she's coming with heavy weaponry that can deal with invulnerable individuals in power armor. At close range, flight's not going to be an issue. She's keyed in to the Avengers and SHIELD networks, so for thsoe heroes that aren't being in the comm loop, they might nto be aware of the infiltration team.

Besides, Natasha doesn't necessarily trust them to not accidentally leak the presence of the stealth team. But still, she monitors it along with anyone else over, coordinating with the exterior team. As she goes forwards, her steam uses hand signals and avoids using comms. They don't know what their enemy is capable of, so always best to assume that comms will be hacked or jammed.

They go in quick maneuvers, heading along until up ahead they see crates being loaded on to hover sleds.

Miguel O'Hara has posed:
Miguel O'Hara is a SHIELD agent and so could be part of the SHIELD response, but he's a Spider, too, and this is a Goblin problem and Goblin problems call for Spider solutions, historically speaking. Plus, agent or not, Miguel has always been a terrible team player and prone to going rogue, so better to just start out independent and only invoke his (fraudulently acquired) federal authority if things got in a pinch.

So, suited up and in stealth mode, he does a rapid-scan of the schematics and rapidly scouts out the basement research lab, with thermal view in his helmet giving him some idea of the hostages present there. One of the benefits of being a basic unknown is that you aren't much of a target. Of course, it also means he's mostly on his own. Or is he?

He flicks on the Spider-comms, but doesn't say anything. Just listens. He'll make himself known if need be.

Valeria Richards has posed:
It should have been a nice easy flight from Manhattan to the GIRL labs in New Jersey. Especially since Valeria Richards herself doesn't actually drive the Fantasticar. Not that she doesn't know how.

It's just she has a tendency to be kind of a leadfoot and not great a pilot as a result.

But sometimes emergencies mean making the robots get the lead out and and put the proverbial foot down. Communications coming in from emergency services, SHIELD make it kind of a big deal.

So finding a good place to land, the blonde woman is already firing up the forcefield generators, one on the car, and the other built into her Val suit. the larger one to be maintained by the HERBIE while providing a safe place for any escaping hostages. The other for herself, to provide personal protection as much any environmental hazards as any possible attackers.

Communications wasn't hard to patch into either. <<Hello, Brainstorm with the Fantastic Four onsite. How's things? I've got a spot picked out in what looks like an evacuation muster point if people want to send escapees for forcefield goodness.>> she greets and asks, getting a quick TL;DR as the vehicle lands and the young woman stretches her legs for an eventful time.

Alison Blaire has posed:
Alison Blaire aka DAZZLER is chasing after a young teenage guy on the street and he is really hoofing it away from her. She is wearing her casual clothes and doesn't have a gun or a backpack or a shield or a helmet. She's just frantically running after James. He is carrying a GOBLIN mask and is dressed in shoddy, faded colors like people those near industrial complex.

"James! Stop!" Alison yells, "Don't go over there!"

"Leave me ALONE! I'm late!" James yells frustratedly.

Alison keeps chasing James toward a key entry point, "Dammit! James! No! Stop!" she repeats again but the young James pulls on his GOBLIN mask. He tries to dart around a police barricade and a perimeter setup that's way on the end away from the main security. The teen tries to hop the fence.

Alison checks her pocket for the transmitter she was given, "Dammit, where is that thing?!" she mutters, "James! Come back! Somebody stop him!"

Richard Stadler has posed:
     It was a long perimeter for the authorities, as they are, to hold against the Goblins at the facility (Why did they all have to the chemical processing plants, anyway?). It meant that the line was pourous, easily infiltrated if the Goblins had a thought to break out of the cordon and swarm the rest of the city...

But it also meant that there were pleanty of places to infiltrate /from/. Enough so that a team that was skilled, trained, and, most importantly, coordinated could get through and in past the Goblin defensive lines... Which Richard would prefer, in this case.

After all, he'd read the brief on what identities were avalible, seen the recon photos of them. Simple masks, guns, sure, but most of them looked to be kids. Thinking this was them aganist the world, no doubt, and probably unsuspecting of what sort of consequences were coming their way. And Rick would rather those consequences leave them alive. The only way to ensure that is to be one of the people at the forefront.

Granted, that's not the only reason he was skulking forward with Natasha's team, mask sealed aganist his face, and gloves and overboots taped tightly aganist to a charcoal lined set of BDUs. Not exactly MOPP 4, but one had to trade mobility and effectiveness for protection. And they would /need/ the protection here; chemical plants were highly regulated, dangerous areas in the best of times, without someone shooting a stray reactor tank,

When they stop for a moment, Rick has the Mk17 pointed up, silencer attached, scanning for threats. They hadn't been seen.. yet.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
You know which vigilante never uses stealth? Right. He drives a motorcycle on fire through the half-formed police security setup. Some cops even attempt to shoot at him, screaming about how he is going to make everything FAR worse.

Somewhere else Daniel Ketch might also be screaming at the Rider to be careful JUST ONCE.

At least the menacing skeleton on fire makes a great distraction for the sneakier heroes. He slows down as he approaches the cooling towers, so far ignoring the younger gang members. They are all guilty, they will be punished, but there are guiltier ones to catch first. Or maybe he is learning restraint, anything is possible.

Kim Hayes has posed:
    Kim Hayes is not the girl who runs toward the burning building.

    She's not even the girl who runs away from the burning building.

    Generally speaking, Kim is the girl who watches the burning building on her browser while sitting in her pyjamas at home while she's waiting for matchmaking to spool up a new game on whatever she's playing at the moment.

    Unfortunately for her, Kim isn't the one behind the wheel of the truck she's in.

    "Come on, Kurt. This is clearly a bad idea," she says as the truck edges as close to the perimeter as it can get.

    "Man, it's so cool that you keep calling me Kurt," the driver, with a scruffy goatee and long bottle-blond hair, remarks, giggling with the aftereffects of recent marijuana consumption as he tests the boundaries of the perimeter. "Come on, haven't you ever wanted to see this kinda thing like really close up? I'm totally gonna put this up on my socials."

    "Definitely never," Kim says with a scowl. "And how the frig are you gonna put it on your socials when you aren't even recording it, dumbass?"

    "Oh, shit, good point," 'Kurt' says, eyes going wide. He pulls out his phone and quickly opens the camera app. "Damn, I can't get a good shot from here. Gonna have to go closerrr..."

    Kim's eyes practically bulge out, her heart thumping hard as the pothead next to her starts peeling through a gap in the police line and heading toward the carnage.

    For once, her personal passenger, who normally revels in the potential for an adrenaline rush for its host, concurs.

    << Haze: Hayes! There is SO MUCH FIRE in there! Make him stop! >>

    More sirens close by ring out as the picket runners are spotted. Kim reaches out to the driver's wrist to try and take his hands off the wheel, even though that's not how you stop a truck.

    "Dude! Just stop!"

    "Why? This is awesome!"

    << Kim: It's not working! >>

    << Haze: We'll deal with it, then! >>

    << Kim: Dammit... okay!! >>

    Suddenly, Kim's hoodie starts shifting in shape and hue, rapidly covering her skin in mottled purple goo. As it envelops her face, her brown hair becoming a curtain of green tentacles.

    'Kurt' suddenly notices the sensation of cool claws and viscous goop against his wrist, detects the horrible smell suddenly filling the cab, snaps his head - and is greeted by a pair of enormous wild eyes and rows of rotten-looking fangs.

    "Pullll overrr, cupcake."

    The brakes are slammed, and the truck screeches to a halt. Waves of horrible, hallucinogenic vapour billow out of the driver's side door as the owner emerges, screaming and rolling onto the ground and writhing before paralytic lethargy sets in.

    "Thanksss, dude," the Symbiote emerging from the truck after the man says sibilantly as it looks around for a route of egress. Unfortunately, the way from whence it came is now a hive of thrillseekers and cops.

    << Kim: Crap. We should like, help them? >>

    << Haze: What do you suggest we do? >>

    After a moment's further consideration, the Symbiote tapping a claw against its unseen chin, it suddenly sprouts several tentacles, looming up to appear larger in its own fog as it takes on the aspect of an eldritch monstrosity before letting out a horrible gargling howl.

    Several civilians scream and start to run away as the tentacle monster makes its threat known.

    << Kim: Hey, I think that worked. >>

    *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

    Unfortunately, several cops also take immediate offense to the tentacle monster and start opening fire.

    << Haze: They aren't very appreciative, Hayes. >>

    << Kim: Dammit! We'll have to go further in! >>

    The semi-amorphous Symbiote starts slithering away from the perimeter and deeper into the facility grounds, leaving a trail as it seeks...

    << Haze: Escape? Assistance? ...Fun? >>

    << Kim: We'll figure it out as we go, man... >>

Gwen Stacy has posed:
The moment Mark crashes through the warehouse skylight, he doesn't find trapped hostages or a desperate evacuation -- he finds organized movement, precision, and purpose.

Around a dozen masked Goblins, still in their pre-Knight stage, work with practiced urgency, hauling chemical-marked crates across the scorched concrete floor. The fire that engulfs the outer walls isn't spreading inward -- it was set deliberately, a controlled burn masking the true operation beneath.

In the center of the warehouse, a gaping hole has been carved into the ground, leading to a service tunnel below. The Goblins don't react with fear when Mark lands -- they react with panic and anger, scrambling to shove the last of the crates onto hover sleds that are already drifting down the tunnel.

Down in the darkness of that same passage, Natasha and Richard's team moves silently forward, unseen for now. The sleds they spotted -- laden with unstable chemicals and stolen materials -- are the same ones Mark can barely glimpse through the haze. There are five of them, each with several Goblins manning them. A couple of Goblin Knights stand guard of the grouping, ushering the 'kids' the work harder.

Up in the warehouse next to Mark, one snaps up a radio. "They're here! We've got to move -- NOW!" And just like that, shots ring out, handguns drawn and fired at Mark as the buzz of gliders approach rapidly.

The flashing red and blue barricade stretches across the street like a neon "KEEP OUT" sign, but Ghost-Spider has never been great at following directions.

She fires a web and swings in low, a streak of white-and-black right over the heads of the nearest line of cops, the downdraft from her speed kicking up dust and loose papers. A few officers duck instinctively, others shout as she sails past.

"Don't worry!" she calls, twisting into a corkscrew. "Not a Goblin! Promise!"

Her second web-line snaps onto a streetlamp, slingshotting her forward as she rockets straight toward the chemical plant's towering exterior fence. A flick of her wrist, a perfectly timed redirect, and she vaults clear over the barricade, stretching her legs to land in a tight, low crouch on a processing pipe just inside the plant.

A pumpkin bomb explodes right beside her, the shockwave knocking her off of the pipe just as a pair of Goblin Knights streak overhead, laughing as they pepper the police line with suppressive fire.

"Come on!" Ghost-Spider laments as she swings after them. "Pumpkins aren't even in season!"

Not far below her, Ghost Rider's fiery motorcycle plows through the tall chain-linked gates of the facility, cutting through them and knocking them askew without even slowing down. The engine roars as the two Goblin Knights Ghost-Spider had been chasing cut a clean arc through the air, turning around to come back towards the sound of that motorcycle.

If anyone needed a distraction for anything, between Mark's arrival and Ghost Rider's arrival, the Goblins are like an angry hornet's nest. Some rush towards the motorcycle. Some rush towards the warehouse. Pumpkin bombs explode next to Ghost Rider as he rides towards the cooling towers.

Ahead of Alison and James, the police barricade is thinly staffed, stretched to its limits like the rest of the makeshift perimeter. Officers are already overwhelmed trying to hold their position near the main gate, and this far end of the line is barely covered.

"Kid, don't do this!" one of the officers calls, but the nearest cop is a good twenty feet away and already preoccupied with a different commotion -- an eldritch monstrosity that's letting out a gargling howling. Pistol withdrawn, the officer opens fire, screaming something that's lost under the sound of his own gunfire.

The moment James reaches the top of the fence, a sharp, mechanical screech fills the air. A Goblin Knight glides low over the yard, tilting his head as he spots James. There's no hesitation. "You're late!" the Goblin snarls from above, hovering in to reach down and grab him, to pull him over. "Get moving before you

Gwen Stacy has posed:
The moment James reaches the top of the fence, a sharp, mechanical screech fills the air. A Goblin Knight glides low over the yard, tilting his head as he spots James. There's no hesitation. "You're late!" the Goblin snarls from above, hovering in to reach down and grab him, to pull him over. "Get moving before you get us all caught!"

At the same time, Valeria has managed to integrate the comms of the common frequencies -- SHIELD, law enforcement, Spider-Comms, and other hero teams, so that anyone with an earpiece can communicate on the same frequency to work together and get updates.

Mark Grayson has posed:
The flames lick at the inside of the building, and within, the organized removal of materials. There's a glance around, and finding no hostages, it means that Invincible can instead focus on...

"I don't think you have permits - or the age to remove those!" he calls out as he suddenly rushes forward. These are kids that want to pretend to be Goblins and Hoodlums to get a higher power? Mark is going to make sure that they know that there is a severe downside to this path of action.

The shots that are fired at him slam into his body, the bullets impact absorbed for a moment before being reflected away. A year ago? He would have been hurt by those weapons. Now? They are minor annoyances, as he has grown stronger with every fight that he has been in.

But as the goblin gliders come sliding in, he's turning his attention towards those. There's a grit of his teeth as the hero considers his options.

<<In the warehouse. They're trying to smuggle out some checmicals. Not my strong suit. Sending pics, someone else figure it out?>>

It's a race against the clock. Those gliders will be there any moment - Invincible launches, while their defenses are weaker and not supported, to try to stop the flow of materials out of the warehouse by disabling the sled.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Well, Invincible has made any real stealth difficult. But, the SHIELD team is still unspotted. So now Natasha goes to pop out a rather powerful jamming device, which she goes to press over towards the wall. It's about the size of a car battery, but it should make all comms that aren't friendly be met over with static. IT means that whomever is in charge will lose track of the melee on the other end of the warehouse district, and have to decide about sending reinforcements..

Or just lose track of that area of the encounter entirely in the midst of a general melee spread all throughout the chemical plant. Natasha goes to say calmly along the SHIELD comms <<Engage at will. Shoot to disable if possible.>> She doesn't know how far the invulnerability goes, or how much the suits enhance it. But, if they can take some of them alive, then better. Besides, they might have useful information to quickly interrogate and get and they'll be much more willing if they're crippled and everyone is down.

Natasha goes to open 'fire' by moving to blast out with two of her Widow's Bites from about fifteen meters away, going to throw them over towards the heaviest lookin Goblins - the ones that seem to be moving the smoothest and most coordinated. Hopefully they'll be the ones in charge or at least the ones with the most experience. Take out the leadership, and the rest won't be able to fight as effectively. Particularly given the massiv enoise of the firefight and Invincible - so they can only communicate by screaming. And even then, they might not able to hear one another.

Valeria Richards has posed:
The forcefield barricade Val set up should hold. Being powered by the Fantasticar's engines, it would likely take Hulk level strength or ordnance to break through. Good enough to keep people safe till police and emergency services can get themselves in.

Being that people are trying to swipe stuff, it's likely that it would be an idea to have an idea what would be likely inventory to be taken.

With a few swipes of her personal wrist mounted computer she's working on accessing the local network, and eventually the companies intranet. <<Lets see what the company was working on, might give us a reason why they're swiping stuff.>> And with a little extra info coming via Invincible, and the others, puzzle pieces should start coming together for the Brainstorm. <<If need be I'll figure out if anything needs to be neutralized, and let you know how.>>

Alison Blaire has posed:
Alison wrenches the little comm out of her pocket and says into it, "Someone help! My friend...!" she begins but stops speaking as she watches James jump down from the other side of the fence and into the crutches of the EVIL EVIL Goblin Knight.

"Sorry I'm late, bro!" James tells the Goblin Knight. He goes with the Goblin Knight but turns his head to look back at the fence where Alison tries to catch up.

"Hey Alison, don't come over here! Don't!" James yells at her.

While in mid-stride, Alison lowers her hands and releases some really cute pink and blue SPARKLE BLASTS into the dirt and TAKES OFF, propelling herself in a wobble arc over the fence, "Ooof!" she lets out as she crashes awkwardly into the ground near the Goblin Knight and James.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Lead bullets are, at most, an annoyance, so the Ghost Rider arrogantly drives through the streets ignoring anyone not directly in his way. Perhaps searching for hostage, most likely searching for the leadership of this mess. The main 'sinners'.

Only the sounds of explosions seems to distract him. He glances up as Ghost-Spider is attacked, and spots the pair of 'knights' heading his way.

The motorcycle roars as it turns left, finding a way between two massive pipelines. Not as much seeking cover as forcing the goblins to come closer if they want to hit him. He actually jumps off the vehicle and waits for a few seconds, as the motorcycle moves forward on its own.

Richard Stadler has posed:
     Well, there was an objective here, and certainly, the SHIELD team couldn't allow those components to escape. Otherwise they'd be able to create an army in something like secrecy... or start this all over again somewhere a response as forceful wouldn't be able to be mounted. Thankfully, the appearance of Mark meant there would be a lot of bullets and attention going his way, and less so for the team that was sneaking through into the warehouse itself. Which suited Rick just fine; body armor was helpful, but lord knows there was precious little that seperated him from death at the very best of times. The best fights would be the ones he didn't get shot at at all.

Of course... it was helpful to know that those Goblins, the recruits trying to man the line, would feel the same way. And Rick could afford to pull a punch or two to teach lessons that weren't permanent. The rifle hands on the sling as he reaches for the new-fangled ICER he drew from stores for this mission, the hand gun raised and a group closest to the sled engaged. Two rounds each, center mass from the pistol-type weapon, the pinnacle of less than lethal tech. There we 4 of them that he could reach, and it was all he could afford, as he went back to the rifle, voice amplifed through the gas mask's vocalizer.

"Your weapon on the floor or your corpse! One chance!"

Kim Hayes has posed:
    It turns out that Haze isn't the only eldritch horror currently crashing the scene and getting shot at for their trouble. The Ghost Rider has left the gates wide open for the Symbiote to shamble through, its movements appearing erratic in the fog that engulfs it.

    << Kim: I guess we might as well follow that bike. >>

    Fortunately for its host, the Klyntar makes for a nigh-impervious sludgy shell against any of the small arms fire that might happen to hit it. And given that this isn't the first time that she's actually been shot, she's not even giving much consideration to the police that have been trying to do so.

    Both the Symbiote and their host are hesitant to engage with those explosives, though. Haze presses itself up against a corrugated metal wall as pumpkin bombs go off nearby - as if it can hide its presence despite the visible brownish fumes rising into the sky above it like a signal from a flaregun.

    << Haze: Surely if we catch one of those ones, we should be allowed to eat them. For the safety of your fellow humans. >>

    << Kim: Still no way, dude. You don't want to be eating their brains, anyway. Whatever they're on is /way/ worse than anything I've ever done. >>

    << Haze: Ostensibly... >>

    << Kim: Look, maybe we can steal one of their flying surfboard things and get away on them? >>

    Its minds as one, the amalgam of Hayes and Haze starts climbing up the side of the structure it's been pressed against for a vantage, just peeking over the roof with its wild eyes... and waiting to try and snare one of the fliers as it approaches or passes with a set of sticky tentacles snapping out through the air!

    What success or failure might ultimately lead to is likely not as simple as the stoner and her Symbiote buddy expect...

Gwen Stacy has posed:
The gunfire inside the warehouse falls into chaos as bullets bounce harmlessly off Invincible's body, sending spent casings skittering across the concrete. The Goblins panic. These aren't hardened soldiers -- they're teenagers wrapped in stolen armor and a cause they barely understand. Some scramble to shove the last of the crates onto hover sleds, others turn to flee down the tunnel, but it's already too late.

The moment Invincible launches toward the sled, the whole operation fractures. A Goblin Knight dives down from the rafters, banking hard on his glider, plasma blade igniting in one hand as he tries to intercept. But even enhanced, even in full armor, he's not fast enough.

One of the sleds in the service tunnel shatters under Invincible's strike. The chemical containers topple to the side, a container clanking loudly onto the ground, followed by a hiss and an oozing red liquid seeping out onto the ground. The remaining hovercraft lurch forward faster, the Goblins desperately trying to move them through the tunnel before any more get taken down.

Natasha's jammer goes live. A faint pulse ripples through the air, and instantly, Goblin radio chatter turns to static-laced frustration. Command just lost contact with the warehouse. The firefight across the plant won't stop, but this sector? Cut off.

Without clear leadership, the Goblins react poorly. Two of the more coordinated operatives -- likely mid-ranking lieutenants -- take the brunt of Natasha's Widow's Bites, their bodies convulsing as arcs of electricity lock their muscles into spasm before dropping them hard to the ground.

The rest of the Goblins? They scatter.

Some dive for cover, others keep pushing the remaining sleds down the tunnel. The Knights above turn and pull back, banking away toward the cooling towers instead of sticking around in a fight where they no longer have control.

At the same time, Valeria breaks into the plant's intranet, filtering through chemical logs, production manifests, and inventory tallies. Within seconds, her HUD pings with a priority project file -- something that shouldn't be here, something experimental.

More than just files, there's an active synthesization process underway in the underground research lab beneath the east processing floor: Dr. Everett Hall, according to the active user logs, is moments away from completing a new chemical formula, codename GOBLIN2. And many of the chemicals needed to produce it are found in quantity at this facility.

The two Goblin Knights diving toward Ghost Rider veer in, keeping their altitude low as they chase him into the narrow pass between the pipelines. One swings wide, dropping a cluster of pumpkin bombs, aiming to flush him out. The other banks sharply, blade drawn, expecting him to try and make a break for it.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Ghost-Spider tracks one of those Goblin Knight banking hard to line up another attack run on Ghost Rider. His glider hums, plasma blade igniting as he zeroes in on the chaos below.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to run with knives?!" Gwen mutters.

She fires two quick webs -- one latching onto the back of the Knight's armor, the other snapping onto a rusted scaffold nearby. With a sharp jerk, she yanks him clean off his glider mid-dive.

The Knight flails, his blade flickering out as he tumbles through the air, his startled scream cutting short when he slams back-first into a storage container below.

His glider? Still flying. It spirals wildly, the onboard stabilizers fighting against the sudden loss of control. It barely clears a catwalk, clips the edge of a pipe, then vanishes around the corner, sparks trailing in its wake.

Gwen flips off her webline, landing light on a catwalk that runs over Ghost Rider. "Dude, you're on fire!" Somehow, she manages to make it sound like a good thing, but she doesn't linger. Even as the second Goblin Knight is circling back around, Ghost-Spider is flipping off of the beam, swinging away towards where the Knights on the ground are tethering blinking devices to the feet of the cooling towers.

<< "Uhhh... nobody panic, but... does anybody on this channel know how to defuse a bomb? Or like... four?" >>

Even as Ghost-Spider asks the question over the tethered comms, the Knights wheel on her and the lights on the devices they were tethering begin to blink.

"Ghost-Spider!" one of the armored Knights hisses, raising an energy rifle to fire in her direction, leaving her jumping and web-lining erratically as she gets closer.

Alison's landing isn't graceful. The sparkle-propelled leap sends her over the fence in an awkward, mid-air wobble, and when she hits the ground, it's with a hard skid on the gravel just feet away from the Goblin Knight and James. The Knight, still holding the boy by the arm, stumbles back slightly, caught off guard -- but only for a second. His plasma blade ignites, flickering orange-red as he glares down at Alison.

"You're not supposed to be here," the Knight growls.

From the shadow of the smoke-choked industrial yard, Haze moves, the symbiote clinging to the corrugated metal wall, its host and passenger locked in a silent back-and-forth. Then it moves -- fast.

A set of thick, blackened tendrils whip out, snagging onto the passing glider of one of the airborne Knights. The moment they grip, the Goblin jerks violently to the side. But it's too late. Those tendrils are wrapped around Goblin Knight and Glider alike, trapping the whole package as the Knight tries to twist free, to get to his plasma sword.

In the tunnel, Richard's ICER rounds find their mark. Two Goblins drop instantly, unconscious before they even hit the ground. The others freeze. They aren't trained for this. They're kids. They drop their weapons and their hands go up.

But one of them reaches for his radio -- only to hear static. Natasha's jammer is working. They're on their own.

Mark Grayson has posed:
Torn from his mission when Ghost-Spider comes over his radio, Invincible responds. <<I can tank a bomb or four.>>

Wait. Tank?

<<Someone get on the warehouse, the fire's controlled, should be able to get in!>> With that, he launches from where he was, heading to where Ghost-Spider and the cooling towers are.

As he approaches, it seems his plan is going to be 'Gran the bombs and launch them as far into the river as possible before they explode.'

Solid plan, right?

Valeria Richards has posed:
<<There's some active projects going on that is kinda meant to be off the books. I'm sending the details to SHIELD, once I get a better eye for the work I'll make sure it can be shut down safely. If it needs a manual shut down I'll forward the instructions to Black Widow. I'd need to see any bombs too for a defusal. You never know if they have any kind of motion triggers.>> Valeria informs the pick up team of heroes on the job.

Inside the forcefield, any escaping employees are getting organised via the HERBIE and anyone fit enough to help with the others that might be hurt are being conscripted into becoming aid workers.

Anyone balking soon complies when Val points out how much space between their position and the perimeters where police and EMTs are, and the sound of explosions, gunfire and goons screaming is not too far from them.

In the mean time, practical instructions will get forwarded as needed. Sure, her suit would be great for a fight but being a walking knowledge base and tech troubleshooter is probably the best thing she can do.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Only one of the goblins appears on the Ghost Rider's view, but that is enough. He throws a chain, which twists and whirls through the air trying to wrap around the flying maniac's legs. If it succeeds, he pulls hard, down.

"I am the Spirit of Vengeance, I am made of fire," he states on Gwen's direction, his voice a hollow bass. Also made of bones, certainly not anything like vocal chords or a throat, so maybe it is best not to think much about how he manages to talk.

The presence of bombs is news to him. Not that it slows him down a second, he is trying to give that goblin knight the worst minute of his life. But he might stop for a second the beat up to ask about said bombs.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
As Invincible goes to knock things over, Natasha's expression is passive. But, internally she's at least peripherally annoyed at the hero for the collateral damage the spillage might cause. She goes to quickly report it in, and then goes about quickly trying to disable any remaining hover carts that are still operational, and then she glances over at the children. They're not going to know anything useful. So no reason to leave them conscious just in case they're enhanced. They don't have the time to post a guard on them anyways. It's time to go deeper in as she moves to speak into her comm <<Area secure. Spillage of substance noted. Highly acidic. Hazmat team required. Team should block the tunnel and fortify escape route.>> Just as this end is locked down doesn't mean that others might try and break their way thorugh it.

Now Natasha is going to head along deeper into the place with herself back over in stealth mode, intent on getting to where the sounds of the central melee are coming from. She'd rather not have the heroes make a big mess of things when so much here is rather dangerous fi it's left to seep into the environment. She's been in too many toxic spills to want to risk another one, even if Damage Control can fix it in relative short order.

She goes to quickly head along at high speed, once more vanishing.

Alison Blaire has posed:
Alison Blaire spits some dirt as she looks up at James and this evil Goblin Knight, "This boy is...protected...let...him go," she mutters, stopping short of advising the evil knight about a mutant school who might be willing to kick his ass.

Alison starts to get up to confront the Goblin Knight and she raises her comm to again call for help but finds that she broke the darn thing during her crash landing. She balls up her fist as she stares down the Goblin Knight.

"Come on, let's go. Don't pay attention to her," James tells the Goblin Knight. Alison looks sad.

Kim Hayes has posed:
    The tentacles streeeeetch further and further as the velocity of the vehicle carries the ensnared cavalryman of the Goblin army away from Haze's lurking spot. Something's got to give...

    << Kim: Oh, geez - I don't think we thought this one through -- >>

    ...and with a snap, it's the sticky base of the symbiote that loses grip on the building, rubber-banding up to the Goblin Knight as it refuses to let go of its quarry. With the full amorphous mass suddenly clinging tightly as a lover to both the Knight and its chariot, the Kim-biote becomes all the more inescapable. Haze attempts to give some guidance to the vehicle using its shifting weight while simultaneously confronting the Knight directly, its visage meeting that of the armored goblinoid mask of the rider. A clawed hand reaches down from the opposite side to seize for the bottom of the mask and try to wrench it up and away as the symbiote speaks, releasing a waft of its cloying, narcotic breath: "Jussst relax, take a deep breath..."

Richard Stadler has posed:
     Good news; there were some kids here that would end up going home after this... well. Not home. Police processing, most likely, interrogation by SHIELD to collect intelligence. It was a tough road ahead... but it meant that they'd be alive to walk it. Or.. hopefully. One of them is stupid enough to go for the radio, and Rick moves the rifle up, well above his head, before pulling the trigger. It was a single round, and even with a suppressor, there was a loud whip crack, the sound of death whistling above heads. "Don't be stupid!" He said. "Down, on the ground-" He starts, before looking past them, to the sled that came screeching to a halt and tipped over nearby, a canister broken, hissing, and... eating through concrete. There was a reason Rick was wearing protective gear and a mask, of course. But-

He looks to the goblins there, walking forward and snatching the mask off of one of their face, examining it. "Change of plans. Masks off." He said, pointing down the tunnel. "This is called parole. You run that way. You keep running until you see police. You put a mask back on, pick up a weapon, parole's done, and I will not offer again." He says, the rifle's switch flicking from semi-auto to burst for the emphasis he needed. "Go."

It was a gamble. Everything was a gamble. The safe thing to do would be to zip tie them all and wait for a clearing team as they breathed in caustic chemicals. Nope. Rick would just have to hope people don't get shot in the back as he moved forward at a run himself, chasing down what sleds remained. If he could get into view... well, this /was/ a battle rifle, loaded with some heavier rounds. Enough to take out an engine block.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
The Goblin Knight barely has time to register the chain before it coils around his legs, the metal links burning white-hot as they constrict. His glider wobbles violently, servos whining as it struggles against the sudden, unnatural force yanking him from the sky.

Then Ghost Rider pulls.

The Knight is ripped downward like a puppet with its strings cut, his glider careening off without him, spinning wildly before smashing into an overhead pipeline in a burst of sparks and shattered plating. The Goblin himself slams into the ground with bone-rattling force, his armored form bouncing once before skidding across the concrete in a tangled heap of limbs and singed leather.

For a moment, he doesn't move. Then, a ragged, pained wheeze escapes his helmet as he tries -- and fails -- to push himself up. His body trembles, as if something deeper than mere pain is clawing its way into his bones. The flames flickering in Ghost Rider's sockets reflect back in his visor, burning in his eyes as well.

From her aerial vantage point, Ghost-Spider's attention turns from Ghost Rider -- who she was glancing towards with wide-eyed surprise -- towards the streak of blue and yellow launching toward the cooling towers. Invincible. His approach is fast, direct, and entirely lacking in subtlety.

"Oh great," she mutters, watching him rip the bombs free and hurl them into the East River like oversized baseballs.

The Goblin Knights above the cooling towers react too late. By the time they realize what's happening, the bombs are already airborne. Yanked free with near-effortless strength, they sail in rapid succession toward the East River, their small blinking indicators vanishing into the night. The Goblins watching from a distance freeze, stunned. That wasn't supposed to be possible.

The first bomb splashes down, sinking deep into the murky water before detonating with a muffled, subterranean thud. Another follows, sending up a brief, violent ripple of displaced water, barely noticeable from shore. The remaining devices strike the water in quick succession, each vanishing beneath the surface.

But one of them detonates too soon.

A bright orange fireball erupts just above the waves, sending a towering plume of water skyward. A sightseeing boat just outside the restricted zone takes the brunt of the impact -- not as a direct hit, but as a geyser of river water slams into the side of the vessel, drenching passengers on the outer decks. The explosion rocks the boat hard, knocking a few startled tourists off their feet.

A panicked moment passes. Then, as the steam and spray settle, it becomes clear -- no one is hurt.

<< "Uhhh... that's one way to do it." >>

Gwen Stacy has posed:
The Goblin Knights don't wait around. The moment the explosives are gone, they peel off, retreating toward secondary fallback positions. Their attack was supposed to be calculated, devastating -- instead, it was dismantled in seconds. These aren't just the New York Spider-menaces. They have super-powered help, and the Goblins need new orders.

The Goblin Knight gripping James' arm tightens his hold, his plasma blade flickering dangerously close to Alison as she scrambles to her feet. The red-orange glow reflects off the ground between them, an unspoken warning.

"He's not your problem anymore," the Knight growls, dragging James toward the industrial yard's tangle of pipes and catwalks, where a waiting hover sled hums softly nearby.

James hesitates for a moment, glancing back at Alison, guilt flickering across his face. But he doesn't let go. And the Goblin Knight won't let him.

Inside the tunnel beneath the warehouse, the last few hover sleds have given up their escape. The younger Goblins left behind aren't moving anymore.

One by one, the recruits drop their weapons.

Hesitant at first, then in full surrender, they pull off their masks, revealing wide, pimpled, sweat-drenched faces, their expressions a mix of fear and uncertainty. They look at each other, exchanging glances, then at the battle-hardened operatives standing in front of them.

Then, at once, when Richard gives them the order to "Go," they bolt.

Not in a blind panic, not toward the firefight outside -- but toward the same tunnel Richard and Natasha's team entered from. A few glance back briefly, making sure no one is shooting, before vanishing into the darkness, feet pounding against concrete.

The SHIELD team at the entrance to the tunnel is already set to meet them, a hazmat team suiting up to enter. The warehouse sector is all but lost to the Goblin Nation.

Natasha is already moving, tracking the sound of the heaviest fighting. Even as she disappears into the shadows, her HUD pings with an incoming transmission from Valeria Richards.

The message is precise, technical, and grimly efficient. The remote shutdown is complete, but that only halts the automated process. The research lab beneath the east processing floor still has one active station, where Dr. Everett Hall is manually completing the synthesis.

Meanwhile, Haze refuses to let go of its prey. The Goblin Knight thrashes against the suffocating mass, his glider wobbling mid-air as the symbiote tightens its grip, wrapping him in shifting, ink-black tendrils.

The Knight's plasma blade flickers, but it's useless -- his arms are pinned, his control lost. The mask in Haze's grip resists at first, then suddenly, with a snap of torn straps, rips away from the Goblin's face.

For the first time, his eyes are visible -- wide, bloodshot, and terrified. His breath hitches against the cloying, narcotic vapors swirling around him.

He exhales sharply, his body going slack.

From the radio chatter picked up by SHIELD's surveillance team, the Goblin King isn't responding. With their leadership cut off, their bombs neutralized, and their recruits surrendering, the operation is falling apart at the seams.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
The Ghost Rider seems... well, he is an skeleton, his only facial expression is a grin. But he is annoyed when the goblins start a disorganized retreat. It makes his vengeance very difficult, he will have to spend all the night chasing after fleeing sinners.

But he can start with the poor bastard with several broken bones he still has wrapped in chains. "YOU... worthless wretch," he grabs the goblin by the neck, forcing him off the ground. "Tell me where are the hostages and perhaps I will spare your soul from the worst of the pain you deserve."

Kim Hayes has posed:
    The Goblin Knight held in the throes of struggle with Haze goes slack, and the Klyntar releases it like so much deadweight to fall to the ground.

    "Thanksss for the ride."

    He'll probably be okay, right?

    Arguably, the short drop from the low altitude isn't nearly as dangerous as the situation the sky-surfing symbiote now finds itself in - as its shapeshifting nature in the absence of a solid anchor sends the device into a spinning spiral.

    << Kim: Oh god, I think I'm gonna barf -- >>

    << Haze: Wait till we've retreated this time!! >>

    Not really able to steer, or sure where it would be aiming to land if it was, Haze ends up careening out of control --

    *CRASH*

    *SKREEEEE*

    -- and smashes through the window of the building above the research lab, where many of the Goblins have been gathering. The glider rapidly splits apart as it skids along the ground, bowling over Goblins as it goes, its syrupy rider slammed over and over against the surface with a streak of tar-like substance left in its wake until it smashes into a post, sending parts flying everywhere.

    << Haze: Hayes? What shall we do about -- wake up! >>

    There is no internal response. The host is out cold inside the Symbiote's shell in the aftermath of the crash.

    << Haze: At least she didn't disgorge herself... >>

    The fumes start to roll across the ground and up into the air as the fluid form of the alien coalesces back into nightmarish cohesion, turning slowly to face each of the anarchistic assailants of the chemical plant in turn.

    << Haze: Well, if you're just going to have a nap, then we'll do things our way for once... >>

    It lets out a long, steady breath - forcing them to contend with the mind-bending and muscle-weakening effects of the fumes that Haze releases by its mere presence in more concentrated potency. Mixed with the chemicals that many of them have likely exposed themselves to already, the effects are likely all the more severe.

    "Ssso, you like chemicalsss and violence too..." the multi-tonal hiss of the Klyntar can be heard through the fog. "Let'sss have some fun while the vessel iss sleeeping, shall we?"

    The shape shifts toward the nearest Goblin, lashing out with long fingers to pull them into the mist, leaving nothing to be seen or heard of them but a resounding crack in the mist as the untethered nightmare begins its campaign of violence.

Richard Stadler has posed:
     Rick watched the kids move down the tunnel, and felt like, today, he'd actually managed to accomplish something. Something that didn't include a body count. Those kids would probably need a hell of a lot of therepy, but they were alive and not pumped up full of whatever madness serum these Goblins were producing over here. Still, though, that wasn't the objective; they needed to stop this at the source, and e the person responsible for this.

Furthur through the tunnel, there was a service door, headed down. Down was good; these sorts of facilities always seemed to be underground, of course. Boots clang aganist stairs as he passes down levels, puffing hard, reaching the door at the bottom. A deep breath, looking to the other member's of the team. Hand signals to stack themselves on either side of the door, then the handle pulled, a concussion grenade thrown through the gap. The door closed until there was a /boom/, and then swung open, slowly clearing the area.

It was a mess. There was already a metahuman here, doing a /significant/ amount of damage to the Goblin's around the lab itself. Questions would probably be asked about what sort of.. creature it was, but that wasn't important now.

"Rats,gentlemen." Rick said. PErhaps it wasn't heroic to leave someone else to do the fighting, but RIck wasn't about to get men killed when he didn't have to. They moved forward, bursts of rifle fire directed toward the higher ranking Goblin's in heir way... Onward to the hostages.

Alison Blaire has posed:
Alison stands there defiantly as the Goblin Knight guy threatens her and tells her off. She smirks.

Alison looks at James sadly maybe wondering how best to help or maybe wondering how best to encourage him to help himself. She glances at the broken comm in her hand again, wishing she wasn't so alone in the middle of goblin territory.

"James! These guys aren't your friends! They're hurting people! I'm not leaving without you!" she calls out, "Now you're gonna make me start trouble," she mutters.

Alison tries to blast the Goblin Knight from behind in his big ole noggin with SparkleBlastPinkPower.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
With the majority of the Goblin forces scattered or retreating, the order finally comes down the chain -- move in.

From the perimeter barricades, NYPD tactical teams push forward, riot shields up, weapons trained, advancing cautiously past the now-unguarded main gate. SHIELD agents in reinforced tactical gear break away from their command posts, splitting into squads. Their presence is swift and methodical, securing stragglers and clearing out any hidden Goblin resistance before they can regroup.

The Goblin Knight in front of Alison barely has time to react. The moment Alison's hands ignite with dazzling pink light, the energy lashes out -- a crackling bolt of pure, concentrated brilliance streaking through the industrial haze.

The blast catches him clean in the back of the helmet. His head snaps forward, his grip on James loosening for just a second as he staggers from the unexpected impact. Sparks cascade across his armor, momentarily shorting out the plasma blade in his hand.

In front of Ghost Rider, the Goblin Knight's body trembles violently in Ghost Rider's grasp, the overwhelming heat of the chain still coiled around his limbs searing into the armor. The skeletal specter doesn't loosen his grip.

"The lab," the Knight chokes out, barely able to force the words through his trembling breath.

His hand shakily lifts, pointing toward the processing facility just as a shadow spirals out of control above them -- a streak of wild motion, black and unnatural.

The symbiote crashes through the facility's window, smashing through the glass in an explosion of shattered shards and tangled limbs. The glider splits apart mid-impact, spinning wildly as it skids across the floor. Goblins scatter in every direction, diving for cover as the wreckage bowls through their ranks, knocking a few off their feet before it finally slams into a reinforced post, collapsing in a heap of metal, limbs, and thick tar-like tendrils.

For a moment, there is no movement. Then, the nightmarish form of Haze pulls itself together, its shifting black mass oozing back into cohesion, tendrils snapping into place with eerie, unnatural fluidity.

The fumes roll out, thick, cloying, turning the processing facility into a haze of hallucinogenic mist. Goblins cough, stagger, some dropping their weapons as their minds swim in confusion. Their hands shake, their muscles weaken, and those already exposed to industrial chemicals throughout the battle fare even worse.

One Goblin stumbles forward, eyes wide with fear. A crack echoes through the mist. He vanishes.

The others hesitate. Then, they run. They scream. Shots ring out.

Outside, Ghost-Spider hears the trembling confession of the fallen Goblin Knight. The lab.

That's all she needs.

She's already in motion, swinging high through the air, momentum carrying her toward the processing facility. "Nice talent!" she calls back to Ghost Rider. "You're like angry Wonder Woman!"

Her webbing catches the edge of a broken tower frame, slingshotting her forward.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Below, Richard and Natasha's team moves fast. The last known location of Dr. Everett Hall has been transmitted, and Valeria's remote shutdown has halted the automated synthesis process -- but Hall himself is still working, and whatever progress he's made could still be completed manually.

They find the lab behind a thick, transparent security door -- the last barrier between them and the doctor working on the improved formula. It's thick, bulletproof, and the console beside it glows red -- the door is locked.

Inside, the lab is sterile, clinical, bathed in cold fluorescent light. Dr. Everett Hall, still in his lab coat, stands at the primary console, frantically working to undo whatever Valeria shut down. The process is suspended, but not fully wiped. The data still exists.

But Hall isn't working under duress.

The two Goblin Knights standing near him aren't forcing him to work. Their rifles aren't trained on him. They're guarding him. They don't flinch away from the movement outside their secured room. They step forward, weapons raised, ready to defend.

The air here is stale, metallic, thick with the scent of chemicals and sterilized surfaces. The lights flicker intermittently, casting uneven shadows as Richard and Natasha's team pushes forward.

Beyond the door, a wide storage bay, retrofitted into an impromptu holding area, comes into view. Rows of plant workers, engineers, and technicians -- still in their work uniforms, dozens of them -- sit or crouch along the walls, hands bound with zip restraints. Some look exhausted, others panicked, their voices hushed as they take in the sight of the approaching operatives.

A Goblin Squire, barely more than a kid, stands at the center of the room, his hands shaking around a stolen rifle as he stares down the incoming team. He's the last one left guarding the hostages.

His eyes dart toward a control panel mounted on the wall -- one marked with release protocols for the chemical locks on the storage tanks above. If he flips that switch, he could flood the chamber with something lethal.

His grip tightens. A final act of defiance -- or a desperate bluff.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Ghost Rider is just like an angry Wonder Woman, except... not really. Not that he knows what a Wonder Woman is. But he asks no question, too busy giving the poor goblin knight a mild overdose of hellfire.

He leaves the man screaming on the ground, burning on icy soul-flaying fire for an endless minute as he gets back to his motorcycle, close to the moment he crashes through the wall of processing facility to add to the chaos already caused by Haze. His general goal is to find the hostages, but so many sinners in his way that desperately need a good beating or hellfire burns! Chances are good Richard and Gwen will get to Dr. Hall much sooner.

Alison Blaire has posed:
Alison sparkle blasts the Goblin Knight with as much pop rock gusto as she can, frowning in determination. She rushes forward to James and the Goblin Knight, trying to grab James away, "James! Let's go, this place is gonna get a whole lot busier in a second!" she tells him.

"I'm sorry Ali!" James says as he tries to pull away from the Goblin Knight.

Alison raises her hands again and tries to FLASH DAZZLE FLASH the Goblin Knight right up in his grill as she stands there next to him, hopefully causing some blindness for a while.

"Come on! Run!" Alison tells James.

Kim Hayes has posed:
    The long-limbed, purple creature stalks through the murky mists of its own making, visible only in glimpses. Bullets pierce through phantoms of the mind and tricks of the eyes. Several fired from one panic-stricken Goblin strike the looming horror where one would expect its monstrous heart should be - only to be swallowed harmlessly in the inky morass. A hand of seemingly impossible proportions reaches out and seizes the Goblin, pulls it closer to the cavernous maw of putrid fangs.

    "Deliciousss..."

    An enormous tongue slides across the teeth as the creature inhales the scent of fear, savouring the hint of the chemicals that it truly covets...

    Then abruptly, the symbiote flings the screaming heap of meat aside, silencing it as it crashes into a wall.

    Unconscious though its host might be, Haze still feels her voice quelling its dark hunger. It doesn't stop it from thrashing more Goblins left and right as it lurches onward, though.

    The Ghost Rider appears like a beacon of soulfire through the fog as the bike crashes through into the facility, drawing Haze's attention. Instinct tells it that, ally of opportunity or not, a being wielding such flames can only mean danger for itself - and perhaps its host.

    And somehow, Haze suspects that the Rider can see it, regardless of the fog.

    "We leave them to you, warrior..."

    Besides those already battered by the monster, many more are lying incapacitated or crawling from the noxious, inebriating fumes. Others will be fleeing directly into the Rider's arms.

    << Haze: The horror and carnage are... satisfying. >>

    << Kim: ...what's going on...? >>

    << Haze: Worry not, sweet Hayes. We are leaving... >>

    Wisely deciding to stick to travel on foot (more or less) this time rather than hijacking a ride, the symbiote slithers away along the ground beneath the smokescreen in a mass of clawing limbs, then into a ventilation shaft - aiming to travel through it to the open air and make good its escape while the battle is still in full pitch.

Richard Stadler has posed:
     Stadler's team keeps moving forward, seeing, finally, where the doctor was doing his work... the work he did on his own, without a rifle pointed at his head. Why? A question that they couldn't seek the answer to, at the moment. Too many things rested on a knife's edge. Rick stares into the glass, to the men working, before bringing up a hand. "Charges on the door."

Two men start moving, another one covering the door in front of them. It would take some time to wire up the room itself, to blow their way in, but they had another objective to complete here. It was moving down furthur through the lab, boots clomping down on concrete floors, the acerbic smell of the chemicals around them muffled by the mask Richard wore. Always something that benefitted him, every mission... if only because of the various hazards he faced.

But the mask wasn't going to help anyone else. Like those hostages, and one boy gripping the lever to something caustic. Weapons were up, fingers were on triggers...

But maybe it was possible to go for the clean sweep here. A mission where gunfire wasn't the thing that won out.

"Son, you don't look older than... what? 19? 20?" He said, making a guess, his rifle pointed at the ground. "You know, I'm going to be fifty in a couple months. A little shocking, admittedly. And my God, there is a lifetime between 20 and 50. One beyond it, too, I'm hoping. And it's something I want people to experience. Don't you?" He said, taking a few steps closer. "You can't be that eager to end things. To end these people around here, who've got lives to live, just like you, for... what? A doctor locked inside a lab? A chance at power?"

He gestured to himself. "No powers to speak of here. Just a life. And I think you'll find that'll be worth a hell of a lot more."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
The young Goblin gripping the lever hesitates. His fingers tremble over the switch, his breath shallow and ragged behind his mask. The weight of the moment presses on him -- the reality of what he's about to do fully sinking in as Richard speaks.

The kid swallows hard. His hands drop from the control panel. He lets out a shaky exhale. And then he runs as fast as his feet will carry him. Abandoning the hostages, he tries to make it past Richard to the others, trying to make his escape.

A few seconds later, the charges are set on the security door.

The hallway rumbles with an explosion, the concussive force sending a shockwave through the underground level. The reinforced glass shatters inward.

The SHIELD team moves in, highly trained operatives sweeping into the breach before the Knights can properly recover. The air erupts with gunfire, controlled bursts tearing through the Knights' armor plating, sending them staggering back. One tries to lunge forward, plasma sword igniting -- but he doesn't make it. A SHIELD agent drops him with a point-blank stun round to the neck.

The fight is over before it can even begin.

Dr. Everett Hall stays where he is, still standing at his terminal. He doesn't resist. He doesn't flinch. He simply watches, arms at his sides, as the Goblin Knights protecting him collapse around him.

"You don't understand," he says again, quieter now. "It doesn't matter what you stop here. It's already too late."

Quickly, he presses a button, and a large container of a bubbling liquid inside the lab explodes in a flash of light and shattering glass and scalding liquid.

The doctor screams, but so do the SHIELD agents in the lab with him, who took the brunt of whatever chemicals exploded into the room. While they're dazed and trying to shed the acrid liquid, he's running, making for the exit with no idea he's running straight towards a flaming motorcycle.

In the processing facility, Haze is gone. By the time Ghost-Spider swings in, the symbiote has already disappeared into the vents, leaving only destruction and thick, chemical mist in its wake.

But she isn't alone.

The remaining Goblin Knights are taking to the skies, their gliders screaming through the air as they retreat in waves -- each carrying a Goblin Squire with them, hauling them out of the battle before they can be captured.

It's a full-on aerial escape -- but they don't make it clean.

The instant they break into open air, gunfire erupts outside.

SHIELD snipers and NYPD tactical teams unleash a coordinated volley, bullets streaking through the night sky, aimed at disabling gliders before they can disappear.

One Knight takes a direct hit to his thruster, sending him spiraling out of control, his glider clipping a smokestack before he careens down into an abandoned loading dock.

Another manages to dodge the worst of it, weaving through suppressive fire -- but his passenger isn't so lucky. The young Goblin on his back panics, losing his grip, slipping off -- only for a webline to snag him mid-fall, yanked back toward the ground.

Ghost-Spider doesn't even have time to celebrate the save. She's already swinging again, trying to cut off the rest.

The Goblin Knight clutching James reels backward, hands clawing at his visor as bright, dazzling energy bursts right into his face. His helmet's internal display glitches, flickering with static, his balance thrown.

For a second, it's a struggle -- James torn between two forces -- but then the Knight stumbles, hands still up to his face.

That's all Alison needs.

The Knight slashes blindly, but his swing hits nothing. By the time he blinks his vision back into focus, Alison and James are already gone, disappearing into the maze of industrial wreckage.

Alison Blaire has posed:
Alison Blaire runs with James by the hand over to the barricade and successfully evades the Goblin Knight. Some police officers are busy helping at the line and a rescue person motions them on but Alison stops to hug James.

"Don't feel alone James," Alison tells him, "It's alright to talk to people about what's going on. Just...not these guys."

James tosses down the goblin mask and says, "Sorry Ali. Do you think that guy was really gonna hurt you?" he wonders.

"Let's see him try it," Alison smirks. She ruffles the hair on his head. They walk off together. Some very wholesome after-school special music plays.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
The Ghost Rider barely notices Haze leaving; he is in a room full of criminals, some of which are super-powered and under normal circumstances he would be in big trouble, as those goblin knights are likely strong enough to hurt him.

But they are trying to escape, so it is a free buffet of hellfire and punishment. He aims hellfire for the knights and hits as many other goons as he can with his chain and burning throwing stars. Always aiming to hurt and maim, not to kill, although he is not apologizing to anyone if a few goblins fall to their deaths or otherwise end up shoot by snipers.

And then he sees Dr. Hall. Which deserves special attention. "YOU! Your greed caused this. Face your condemnation!" He roars. For Dr. Hall it is hellfire and the Penance Stare.

Richard Stadler has posed:
     Stadler stays there for a moment. A long moment. He was masked up; so were the people he brought in here, but the hostages had no protection, and there was a decision point. A choice between a room full of corpses and everyone going home. And..

The choice was made. The right choice. Sure, that kid had broken some laws, most likely, but Rick meant what he said about Parole before. Granted, he'd probably run into the SHIELD agents that were at the gate, but some kid out there making a new life for himself? Hardly something Rick was going to sweat over. He wasn't a cop, after all.

"All right. Ladies and gentlemen!" He raised his voice. "We're leaving here ,and we are going to do so in an orderly fashion. One moment." He said, right before there was a rumble of a detonation from the room below. "Once your hands are freed, make your way with the agents to the entrance for processing." He said, clicking on the radio. "Sitrep."

A pause, as he absorbed the information from the lab itself. "Good. Secure the Doctor. We need-"

Another explosion. This one not one that he was expecting. "Hell." He said, and started sprinting, heading to the entrance to the room, to the shattered glass, the disabled Knights, and the agents recovering from the explosion. "Someone find me a goddamn chem shower!" He yells. "Do not remove your masks! Keep them on! Clear the filters!" The Doctor... where was he... down the hallway. THey had to get down there before he could escape.

They didn't need to worry about him escaping, it looked like. They had to worry about him surviving. Rifles up, pointing toward both the Doctor and... Blast, what was this one? The powers looked familiar, but so many did these days. "We've got him!" Rick yelled. "We need him alive!"