6618/The Framework: Chasing Morpheus

The Framework: Chasing Morpheus
Date of Scene:	19 June 2021
Location:	Security Containment Complex, The Triskelion
Synopsis:	Sky Commander Morse returns to the Triskelion to extract Lance Hunter. John Garrett objects. Both have more tricks than the other knows.
Cast of Characters:	Melinda May, Lance Hunter, Bobbi Morse
Tinyplot:	The Framework

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Melinda May has posed:
The security containment complex of the Triskelion in this strange, twisted world is much bigger than the one in the real world. While most of the Inhuman prisoners from Afterlife have been processed and moved to containment cells in the science wing, there are enough extra spaces for the various new traitors that have come to light. Of course, most of them are a level or two higher in the complex than the reincarnated Lance Hunter. So, while May, Carter, Sousa, Simmons, and Underwood may be on a level together, due simply to the logistics of their capture, Hunter is in a reinforced wing and actually bound to a metal table rather than languishing on a poor cot in a corner. Because, the Doctor *really* wants to know how he manged to arrive here, when he was definitely dead before.

Hell... *Garrett* wants to know. "I gotta tell you," the man says in his most genial good-old-boy voice, a soft chuckle underneath. "I'm seriously impressed. And it takes *a lot* to impress me... But, props where they're due. You got grit, man."

Lance Hunter has posed:
Hunter would have much preferred the cot, and when Garrett enters he knows he's about to have a very bad day. He never met the man in the real world but he'd heard of him by reputation. He doubted that he was any better in nightmare HYDRA land . "What can I say, I can take a hit and keep on ticking, and I'm plain human too, no wonder the Inhumans are giving you lot so much trouble."

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    The doors snap open with frightening efficiency. Standing in the frame is woman wearing a long leather coat, tight fitting black and green stylised armor, a belt with several pockets likely filled with toys, a machine pistol in its holster, and ammunition. The jacket, no doubt, hides other things and who knows how many blades are on her person.

    Seeing her old mentor her eyes widen a touch. Standing over Lance no less. The emotions that cross her face are mixed and confused. 'He's not real remember.. this is all made up nonsense just to fuck with you' she tells herself. Her ruined eye seems to glance over Garrett and Lance briefly as she enters the room.

    "John," she says. Her voice laced with respect despite what she not knows about this world. Her good eye looks over to the corner of the room where the security camera is.

    "I see you've taken a personal interest in this." It figures, he had her kill Lance to make sure she was truly HYDRA through and through after all. Even before they rose up from the rotting corpse of SHIELD. "Change of plans, I'll be taking this one to a special facility where we can get real answers about how he came back from the dead," she says. If only she knew dozens of HYDRA agents did just that not too long ago at the re-education facility where Melly was being held.

    Lance ... is not looking great. She doubts he's going to put up much of a fight, though she does start undoing the straps holding him on the table. Still there's something about John being here, looking over the very person that defined her career and put her on the path to becoming the Sky Commander. Surrogate father John or True love Lance. Even May can feel the conflict rising up inside her from a floor away.

Melinda May has posed:
"Bobbi," Garrett says expansively. "I guess you've been outta the loop, huh?" She really should've heard of the fall of the old Silo. It wasn't a big facility, by any means. But it was *special*. Red Room and Faustus special, depending on the order. Not to mention some other fun interrogation experiments on the side. It won't be a surprise if the renegades they captured there somehow find their way back there, eventually.

"Sorry, Patches," he says fondly to her. "I know you got a weak spot for this guy. You always have. You did real good, way back when. But this time? Yeah... I know that order's not valid. Guess you didn't hear about May, huh? Hoo-wee! What a stink that caused."

He strolls casually to put himself between Bobbi and Lance. "We'll figure out how he came back from the dead, though. Daniel Sousa, too, aparently. It's gonna be a party. I'd invite you, if I could."

Lance Hunter has posed:
Hunter glances up when Bobbi enters and despite all he's been through his first reaction is relief, though before too long his brain reminds him that in this place Bobbi was not an ally. Still, his dire situation didn't dull his tongue any and after all he'd annoyed plenty of captors into making mistakes before this, he was hoping it'd work again. "Patches?" he asks, lifting his head and arching an eyebrow. "God, that's worse than Babs," he says.. "Really glad this guy's dead or in a cell in our world, either it'll put an end to his nickname game or give him time to give it some much needed work."

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    Raising her split eyebrow she says, "I've been busy." Damn, she's walked in to something unexpected. Garrett is here, for one, but the Silo? why must everything come to a head all at once? But he's not going to fall for her bullshit. Smiling won't win her any awards in acting with her mentor either. He's the one who taught her all the dirty tricks (well, most of them anyway).

    "What about May?," she asks somewhat curious but also her posture starts to change just subtly as he places himself between her and her target. The creek of her leather gloves as she tucks her left behind her. A small touch to a device and the cameras in the room shut off.

    "If you could? You're on the board, you have more authority than Radcliffe," she says but can't help but sound scornful when saying Radcliffe's name. But the conclusion is obvious 'if I could' means he knows. How he knows she's not sure.. may be he just assumed that Lance would get through to her somehow. If only he could be proud that she didn't let Hunter get through her defences after all... no... it was the truth that broke her.

    Even now it feels like the world is pushing in around her. She wants out, she wants out so badly. Lance is her ticket out of this hell hole. It annoys her that even now she seeks Garrett's approval. An annoyed look is shot toward Lance. "Babs? shut it Hunter." The last thing she needs is for him to realise she's here to save him.

Melinda May has posed:
"Oh, May went right off the deep end," Garrett tells Bobbi, ignoring Hunter's mouthiness. He wrote the book on being mouthy, after all. "Did exactly what the Doctor predicted she would -- went after the Sousa kid with a bunch of SHIELD agents, if you can believe it." He shakes his head almost mournfully. "Real waste, if you ask me. She was one of our best."

His eyes rise, meeting Bobbi's. "Kinda like you are." It's a subtle warning, not to play this hand.

Still, he walks around Hunter's table, examining the man and considering what still needs to be done. "I could override Radcliffe. But, you gotta admit... another world? Pretty heady stuff. You wanna go play with Daniel Sousa on this? You go ahead. But pretty boy here is off limits to you." He gives her his usual charming smile, but his eyes are as cold as ever. "Sorry, Patches. You need to sit this one out." It's her only warning. And maybe his weakness.

Lance Hunter has posed:
"Where's the fun in that, Johnny, can I call you Johnny?" he says. "Don't you want to give," he rolls his eyes. "Patches another crack at me. Sure she'll get it right this time. I mean where I come from she's an excellent SHIELD agent, and not some second rate double agent who gave his loyalty to HYDRA. I mean, seriously, your motto is that you're all replacable, not the best career choice Johnny."

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    The unsmart thing would be to respond with something pithy about this reality being fake and Garrett not even being real. But she was taught better.. the fact that Garrett is still talking makes her realised something she had never quite seen before. She's his weakness, as much as Lance is hers.

    The corner of her mouth rises in a tiny little smirk. Only the strong can survive. Her quickdraw is on point and she shoots at her mentor. It was inevitable, she is HYDRA.. the young consume the old, it is the way of things.

    The machine pistol blasts out _du du du_ as she also immediately dashing to the side to take cover. Just in case he wasn't as distracted by the Lance prize as she thinks he is. She didn't come here to kill John.

    Truth be told, she adores the man who taught her how to be.. everything she thinks she is. But what he taught her also includes the tools to kill him and not feel terribly conflicted about it: he's just another road block in the way to her freedom from this simulation.

    The irony is not lost on her in this moment though.. apparently she has a type: men who love to shit talk.

Melinda May has posed:
Garrett flips a switch on the far side of the table. Leads pinned to Lance's limbs come to life, sending several thousand volts of electricity through him. Less than a taser. More than a tickle. As he does, he drops down to the floor behind that table, his own gun coming out as Bobbi's bullets clatter and ricochet above his head.

Well, that's disappointing. If he's honest, it's not entirely surprising. He knew this day was coming. But over this fellow? Well. Who knew he'd come back to life, right? "Does he know you named your dog after him?" he asks casually during a lull between shots. "I mean... a dog. It was a pretty big tell, Bobbi."

Lance Hunter has posed:
The shocks get a strangled scream from Hunter as he clamps his mouth shut to keep it all in, though the way his body convulses, he's definitely feeling those volts.

"Bloody hell," he says when he finally opens his mouth. "You named your bloody dog after me Bobs?" he asks. Of course he'd fixate on the petty details, they were easier to manage than the larger issues and dangers at play. Though he's not all snark, he tests his bonds trying to get a limb or four loose and help out Bobs.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    Bobbi checks her wrist. No signal. Not that she expected anything less. She's inside a contained room designed to dampen Inhumans and dangerous enemies of HYDRA. Once she gets back in to the corridor she can call in her reinforcements. But for now.. for now she must deal with her mentor.

    "It doesn't have to be this way John," she says. Of course it does, they both know it. She's out grown him. The strangled screams from Hunter cuts right to her heart which, for the first time in a long time, feels like it exists again.

    "At least the dog is obedient!," she cuts back as her free hand draws a flash bang. Looking at a metal surface she can see John taking his position behind the table. She tosses the flash bang up in to the air and then moves out of cover and dives over the table while looking down, hoping to force Garrett to look up and take the full flash of that flash bang.

    Bullets lead the way to keep him in position and Lance, albeit electrified, gets to see a vision in leather and armor leaping over him. The Bobbi that Lance knows is the kind of woman who has jumped off 4 story buildings on to giant robots to fight them. This person seems much more familiar.

Melinda May has posed:
As Bobbi leaps over that table, Garrett shoves it away with both his legs. This causes it to bounce and its electrical hook up to strain and tangle. Not to mention giving Lance a bit of a turbulent ride and risk of a topple. But it also allows him room to roll out of the way of those bullets. He thrusts up with a blade, towards the weak point in her armour, to get under her guard, away from that gun, as the flashbang goes off. It dazzles him, but not so much that he can't engage with her. He's older, yes, but he's still tough. And... well... he's not without tricks of his own.

Lance Hunter has posed:
There's a snort out of Hunter at the obedient crack, "Touche," but then he's turning his head when the flashbang detonates above him but not before he sees Bobs being very much the Bobs he remembers, As the table tilts he tries to throw his weight to send it back the way it came, all the while shouting "Give 'em hell Bobbi! You can take him."

Table settles he works all that much harder on trying to get free.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    Bobbi pauses for just one small moment as that knife digs up in to the weak spot penetrating her flesh. Damn, she can't remove it or she'll bleed out but it'll continue to cut her the more she moves. She throws a punch regardless and he blindly blocks it because these are the kinds of combat training exercises he lives for.

    One foot stomps on the electrical cable and the other kicks at the wall socket to knock it out. A small reset to the field. She bought the time she needed to stop Lance from frying. But it cost her a knife in the side.

    Letting the pistol return to its holster she stares at Garrett menacingly, then spreads her hands and arms and two blade tipped staves, more like specialised daggers, shoot out of her long sleeves and in to the palms of her hands. Unlike the real life Bobbi who has stun batons, this Bobbi has dagger batons.

    "I used to think you were the best fighter I'd ever known. Though, then I met May.. but I watched you get old John. Year after year, your cosy board position, the fight has left you and you know it," she says with a sneer. Being cheered on by Lance is... certainly unique to her ears. 'Just what the hell kind of relationship does he have with me out of this place??' she wonders to herself.

    She moves in suddenly, with speed and intent, the dual dagger staves dancing about. Death by a thousand cuts is just as good as a stake through the heart.. though she'd settle for that if she can manage it.

Melinda May has posed:
"May's good, I'll give you that," Garrett says, regaining his feet. She arms herself with blades; he smiles like a boy with a new toy and flexes his hands. Long blades slip out of the base of his forearms from mechanical implants there.

He's had a little work done over the years. Old? Maybe. Finished? Not nearly. "Not even she could stand up to a hail of bullets."

His own jacket falls back, an old bomber that's seen better days. The metal on his chest becomes more evident. "I can, though." So, when she dives in to engage, he's ready for her, spinning and parrying almost as well as he ever has, for all that he's more heavily relying on these new cyborg upgrades.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    Bobbi scowls as he reveals his cybernetic enhancements. Typical. The guy never did know how to play fair. That was the point of winning though - you never win by playing fair. Bobbi never intended to play fair for this rescue either - she just never anticipated having to put her mentor down first.

    But there is one wild card she hasn't entirely given up on yet. While Garrett has spared with Bobbi a million times, staves and all, he's never had to face off against an unknown like Lance. Apparently a SHIELD agent with many more years of experience than he did in this world (because, ya know, she killed him).

    She blocks and spins and slices at John, losing and gaining ground, but she gives away her advantage and one of her dagger staves when she tosses it past John and hits the release button on the table strapping Hunter down. Possibly the dumbest or may be the most brilliant move she's ever made in her life - but he sure seems to _know_ her and believe in her and who they are as a team.

    She turns the remaining stave around and prepares herself for the next pass against her boss. "Don't judge it til we see how he goes," she says almost with amusement to Garrett like she too thinks this may have been an absolutely terrible idea.

Lance Hunter has posed:
Hunter's eyes widen as the knife stave clicks the release for his bonds. His hands and feet hurt like hell the blood flow cut off by the tight bonds but he didn't care right now, he rolls off the table and grabs the fallen stave. Without even getting up, he twists, swinging the blade at the back of Garret's ankle, hoping the man's Achilles tendon didn't get the Robocop treatment like the rest of him.

Melinda May has posed:
John grunts as he takes hits and loses a little blood to his erstwhile protege. That doesn't stop him, however. The truth is, he lives for this shit. He always knew he'd end up facing off against her, one day. That's just how HYDRA works. And, really, if she kills him, well... then he didn't deserve to live. But, if he survives? Then he'll simply come back stronger than ever.

It's an outcome he can live with.

He lets out a shout of surprise as Lance knocks at his ankle, though it quickly becomes evident, as the blade splits leather, fabric, and skin, that there is metal underneath. Who knows how extensively he's been made over? This distracts him momentarily from Bobbi. A fist clenches. A blade retracts. In its place, out of the back of his forearm, insted of the underside, a small barrel rises. He fires swiftly at Lance to force him to back off.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    Bobbi sees her chance and she takes it. She knows that small knife in her side isn't going to be the only wound she gets from this mission. She has decided to take on all of HYDRA if things go badly. Luckily the bad is still just contained to this room.. so far.

    When Lance goes for the ankle and Garrett takes the bait, she dives up to him, wrapping her legs about his arm. But he's big cybernetic man now and even her body weight and momentum is not going to drag him down.

    Bobbi knows this, she expected it. A blind spot of those who think they're stronger and faster and more durable. Everyone else looks and feels like a flee.. but Garrett's still gotta eat and breath. Her stave blade drops from her hand and even as she's falling backwards off of his body upside down, she lifts up the gun and shoots at his mouth and nose. _du du du_ _du du du_ _du du du_. The odds of him having armor in the roof of his mouth to protect his brains? she's gambling it's zero.

Lance Hunter has posed:
"Damn it, that's not bloody fair," Lance exclaims as his blade hits metal. Bobbi's attack gives him space to make a plan of his own, the knife on the end of the stave slicing through the electric cable leading to the table, he grabs the now severed cord and looks for the button Garret pressed, if Bobbi's shots don't take Garret down Lance has a shock in store for the HYDRA agent.

Melinda May has posed:
The bullets tear through Garrett's face, proving he doesn't have a cyborg skull. He doesn't even get to make a last, pithy quip as lead shreds his soft pallet and cranium. Blood spatters across the floor and wall behind him. His body careens backward, landing in a bloody heap in the middle of the room.

Distantly, klaxons begin to sound, doubtlessly responding to the sound of gunfire.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    Bobbi crashes back to the ground on her back with an ooof. She winces a moment and glances down at the blood dripping out around the handle of the small dagger. The parting gift of John Garrett. "Something something hail of bullets?," she murmurs to herself - not used to making dark quips out loud with Lance like in the real world.

    From a pouch she pulls out wound cement and primes it. With a small cry she pulls the dagger out, then shoves the nozzle in to the wound and depresses the injector. A proper fix of the wound will have to wait for another day.

    Panting, she peers at Lance and says, "You're welcome. We have to get out of here before .... " and then the alarms start to chime. "Too late. Now we have to do it the hard way."

Lance Hunter has posed:
Hunter drops his cord when Garret goes down in a bloody heap, "Well that's one way to do it," he remarks moving over to search the near headless body for any weapons or tech toys he might have brought with him. As he searches he glances up to Bobbi. "Gimme one sec to get what I can for weapons," he says, "And then I'm right there with you. Where the bloody hell are we anyhow?" he asks.

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    Bobbi places the small dagger on the table top and then pushes herself back up to her feet. She looks down at Garrett and feels a pang of guilt... but also, she knows he's not real. He's not real right?? Her face looks conflicted again and then she looks back to the man she just traded John for. Lance Hunter.

    "Triskelion, containment level." She pats herself over, half surprised she just won that fight. She peers at him, annoyed with herself. If she'd listened to him sooner she could have skipped this rescue operation and escaped this simulation sooner.

    "I went to the sphere. I saw the truth. So, I'll get you the hell out of this place, if you get me the hell out of this simulation like you promised. Deal?," she offers her hand to a man she barely knows anymore.

Melinda May has posed:
With the klaxons sounding, the guards have been alerted. Throughout the complex, now, stormtroopers are moving into position to reinforce access points and begin a sweep of the complex. Security cameras are being shunted to ops, away from central security, where the top brass can see directly what is happening.

Thus, two strike teams are already on their way onto the floor with Bobbi and Lance.

Lance Hunter has posed:
"Deal," Hunter says shaking that hand, eyes glancing to hers. "We'll get ourselves both home," he promises.

Hearing footsteps in the hall he readies Garret's pistol and looks to Bobbi. "So, this is your turf, what's our plan for getting out of here?"

Bobbi Morse has posed:
    Bobbi cracks open the door and peers carefully out. From behind her she takes out a glasses case that was hanging from her belt and slides them on. Tactical goggles, lined in green not yellow. The operating system fires up and she lifts up her wrist, "Oh. I made some friends on the outside who are going to give us cover." Bobbi taps a button on her wrist cuff.

    -- ^&&*#+!@ -- <0NN3<710N 3574B|15H3D --
    -- $&&@!_&$ -- 74RG371N5: |-|/DR4 7HR347 --
    -- ******** -- M15510N: PR073<7 411/ M0R53 --

    Outside, the fleet of quinjets parked by the water side activate. Their control panels come to life and the doors shut. The wings unfold and they rise up in to the air autonomously. An old enemy has come back to haunt HYDRA. In the real world, the drones gained self awareness and declared SHIELD their enemy. Here, it was HYDRA they despised. Both in the real world and the simulation, the drones were defeated heroically - but now they get a rematch, with significantly upgraded hardware... The Sky Commanders Fleet.