Log:Mamba Returns - Scene 1

Mamba Returns 2007/01/25 	 Intrigue Shoro Valencia Xing-Liu 1

TV News Report

It's appeared on all the news channels in the last few minutes. A city block in Downtown has been affected in some unknown manner, rendering everyone inside it unconscientious. Television coverage from just outside the area shows pictures of streets where cars have run into buildings and each other. Pedestrians out for an evening stroll have simply dropped where they were standing when the effect started. Fortunately at this time of night the traffic was low in volume but even so many of the crashed vehicles have their horns blaring, making a continous background noise. Police patrol vehicles are parked on roads outside the affected area but the attending officers are unable to enter.

Main Street , a street paved with cobblestones and is a part of the old historical part of town. The street is lined with antique cast iron lamps, which have been converted into solar lamps without ruining the antique look. The lamps provide the illumination at night giving a glimpse of what it was like to walk this street in the past. The street stretches north and south with historical buildings lining its edge. The historical buildings appear to be in good condition, often times getting a face-lift to keep up the nice clean touristy image of downtown. Some of the buildings have been converted into small shops, while other governmental buildings remain intact preserving a part of history.

Yutaka is walking with Val towards the downtown area as he hears the commotion.."Val..what was that??" he frowns.."Should I..?"

Valencia nods to Yutaka, taking a step away from him. "You probably should...I'll go on ahead." She starts to walk towards the disturbance.

Seeing the information on the news, Intrigue comes flying into the area. She pauses above one of the police vehicles unable to enter and then slowly, cautiously flies forward.

Yutaka nods and steps into the dark of a nearby alley..soon enough he is on the roof tops, his tell tale *POP* can be heard from above...as he gets near main street.

Valencia walks up to the police line, trying to see past them.

A circling traffic news helo swoops over the affected area, fortunately without being affected. The pictures from the helo show the effect to be consistent throughout an area roughly circular and slightly larger than a city block in size. The cameraman zooms into an office building where a plume of smoke is emerging from a twelfth story window and flames can be seen inside the tinted glass.

Yutaka jumps from the second floor to the ground..near Val.."Look there.." he points to the building on fire..

The police officers where Val heads for are trying to use an imprompto lasso from the rope in their emergency kit to snag and drag the closest affected unconscious people back out of the area.

Valencia nods to Yutaka. "Yeah...Sleeping people and fire is no good." She looks over at him. "Go in?"

One officer spots Val when she gets to the scene. "Don't go any further, Maam."

Yutaka nods, "yes.."..as if there were no choice..he ignores the officer and heads off at a run.

Seeing the fire, Intrigue frowns and looks around. Hmm. She activates her forcefield, just in case, and immediately flies towards the smoking building, although keeps high like the helicopters just in case of sleeping.

Valencia nods to the officer. "Yes sir." She says a little hurriedly before anxiously moving away from the police. She starts to head around the police, finding her own way in. She looks up at the building and notes Intrigue.

On the ground, Yutaka and Valencia feel the effect the instant they cross the invisible line that borders the area. Suddenly the world seems a dull distant place, all senses are partially numbed and a great crushing sensation of extreme tireness fills their bodies and minds. Up in the air Intrigue crosses the border without any affect at first.

Yutaka feels the effects..he continues on though..he looks behind him.."Val..you ok?"

Valencia blinks as the effects take hold. She pauses, leaning against a building. "No...But I can keep going..."

Yutaka stops for a second for Val to catch up..his hands start to glow..

The sight is eerie. Everywhere you look people are laying unconscious yet around them the city seems normal, with the flashing advertizing displays showing the usual range of overpriced products, traffic lights functioning, shop window displays lit up.

Continuing to fly up in the air, Intrigue flies towards the smoke, seeing if anybody is in any immediate danger.

Valencia catches up but still seems a little worse for wear. "Are you ok?"

From above it's clear that there's going to be lots of work for the emergency crews once they can get inside the area. There are crashed cars everywhere on the street. Who knows what has happened inside the buildings.

Shoro nods..he places his hands on Val's shoulders imparting some energy to her..

By their various means of travel, foot and flight, the heroes converge of the building showing smoke and flames from the twelveth floor. Intrigue is immune to the effect high in the air but when she descends towards the building and reaches an altitude roughly equal to the distance into the area she gets affected like Yutaka and Valencia have been.

Shoro asks..as he continues to the building.."Did that help?"

Valencia straightens for a few seconds, nodding to Yutaka before she comes back down again. She shakes her head. "Just temporary..."

Shoro nods.."Damn..ok..lets get in there.." he takes off at a forced run..

At the building: The automatic doors work. Inside a security guard is laid face down at his desk. A flashing red light and siren on the display behind the desk shows the fire alarm for the twelth floor has been triggered.

Intrigue lowers herself towards the roof of the building to enter from the top.

Valencia nods to Shoro and hurries up after him

Shoro looks at the system..

Shoro checks the security system..and seeks to turn it off..

Valencia looks around once inside. "At least it's warmer in here. I should be able to use my powers."

Access to the building is straightforward from ground and roof. The heroes can make their way to the 12th floor, noting the flashing lights and siren of the fire alarm system. The fire is contained, for the moment, in a corner office. The sign on the door reads Wilson, Smith, Crabtree, Consultant Engineers.

Shoro nods, "It about to get hot.."

Shoro doesn't beat around the bush and cocks back a fist..hand glowing..to break the door down.

Valencia waits near Shoro for the door to be down.

Intrigue pauses as she sees the others. "Hello.", she states to the unknown people. She pauses and lets them do their thing, apparently not bothering to get in the way.

Shoro turns suddenly when Intrigue says that.."Who?.." he follows through with his strike to the door.

The door smashes in from Yutaka's blow. Inside the office is filled with black cloying smoke as a wave of heat spills out into the hallway. The rooms in the office section are completely obscured by the thick billowing smoke.

Valencia glances at Intrigue and blinks. "Hey..." She coughs some as the smoke spills into the hallway.

Intrigue's feathers ruffle as the door is crashed in and the thick billowing smoke comes out, though stays where she is currently. She brings a hand up to her face and covers her mouth and nose.

Shoro coughs himself "get low.." he says he gets as low as he can, he covers his mouth and nose as well,..he enters in looking for people or the source.

Valencia follows Shoro's lead, covering her mouth with her hoody. She looks back at Intrigue. "Watch out for us, ok?

Intrigue nods at the others and moves to the doorway as they enter the room. She glances inside, her eyes narrowing from the burning smoke.

Yutaka and Valcencia get lucky. A quick search of the office finds one person. They were engaged is shredding documents, and also indulging in a old fashioned and disgusting habit of smoking tobacco. It seems probable that when overcome like everyone else in the area the cigarette they were smoking dropped into the bin of shredded paper. Even more fortunately, the fire is still contained in the bin at this time.

Shoro frowns and wonders why the sprinkers haven't gone off.."stupid.." he says and he finds something to cver the bin with..killing its oxygen source and hopefully putting it out.

Valencia grabs hold of the person who was shredding the paper. "They've probably suffered oxygen deprivation...I'll get 'em out." She starts to drag the person towards Intrigue.

Shoro nods to Val.."we've got to find out where this damn dampening field is coming from.

Shoro starts to use his tired brain..

Yutaka can find the bin cover and fit that, enclosing the fire and sealing it away. His thought about the sprinker system is answered by a quick look upwards as the smoke begins to clear. To prevent his cigarette setting off the alarm the guy smoking it duct-taped a plastic cup upside down over the fire and smoke sensor in this area.

Intrigue looks as Valencia begins pulling the person out. "I'll go and fly over the area, maybe something is visible to cause this.. the higher up I am, the better it seems to be... so it's at least limited.", she offers.

Shoro swears..and says.."it looks safe now.." he looks out the window of the building looking for the epicenter..

Valencia nods to Intrigue. "That sounds like a great idea...Let us know if you find anything." She lays the guy down in the hallway.

Shoro nods to Intrigue.."Great Idea Miss."

Shoro looks at Val.. "Is he ok?..breathing at least?"

Valencia nods to Shoro. "Yeah, he's fine." She wipes some sweat off her brow. "Or he will be if we can get this solved."

Intrigue nods to the others as they take care of the man and heads towards the stairs. She gets to the roof and begins to fly again, going higher to be able to scan the ground and area to see if there is any 'epicenter' to this.

On a quick flying patrol Intrigue spots nothing out of the ordinary. At first. Then, it strikes her, that at this time the ordinary has become the extraordinary. There was movement in the Art Museum. That's such an everyday occurrence it didn't register at first.

Shoro watches Intrigue from the window..nothing is visible to him.."Nothing Val..we should get down there and make sure we're able to react to anything..we're useless up here."

Spying the movement at the art museum, Intrigue frowns slightly. She turns and flies back towards where she thinks Shoro and Val are to report actual MOVEMENT at the museum.

Valencia nods to Shoro. "Yeah. Wait, she's coming back."

Shoro turns back to the window.."Over here!" he shouts from the window..

Intrigue flies to the window she sees Shoro at. She smiles and says, "I saw actual movement at the museum. There shouldn't be any movement, should there? Do you wanna check it out?"

Valencia blinks. "Anyone moving around and not helping is probably trouble." She looks at Shoro for confirmation.

Shoro nods.."If you're up to it, run point..we'll be a while getting there I think. fly clear if theres trouble." he nods affirming Vals thought.."You're probably right Val..lets move.." he says..

Intrigue nods at that as she hovers there. "Alright. I'll try and get some reconaissance." She turns and begins to fly towards the museum where she saw movement.

Valencia watches Intrigue go, taken with her flying for a moment before turning for the stairs.

The flight to the Museum is initially without incident. Until a bulky figure passes across a window inside the building. He or she stops, possibly for a casual glance out at the street, and spots the flying Intrigue. A moment later the window explodes outwards as the figure fires a wildly aimed blaster at the heroine.

Shoro hears the blast and curses.."Val..lets move.." he's jumping down floor at a time..

The hot core of plasma comes nowhere near Intrigue but it's warning enough that the figure inside the Museum is hostile.

Valencia jumps over a banister as Shoro urges speed. She stretches as she goes down, essentially climbing the stairs.

Intrigue quickly dodges out of the way as she sees the large bulky figure points and shoots at her. She looks surprised and hovers there a moment before she flies a tad higher and replies with a sonic screech.

After an exchange of attacks the figure inside the Museum moves back further inside the Museum and out of sight.

Intrigue looks slightly annoyed as she hits the windowframe, but she hovers and waits, looking to see Val and Shoro so she doesn't enter alone.

Shoro exits from the emergency exit and begins to run towards the museum..blaring horns and such..his voice wont be heard..he hopes Intrigue can see them

Valencia runs after Yutaka, wincing as she leaves the nice warm building but keeping pace with him.

Art Museum This building may look antique on the outside, but once you've stepped inside, you find yourself transported into a world of color, shapes, and imagination. In this section of the museum, sculptures sit precariously in various open areas within their own spotlight of fame, while paintings adorn the walls with a mind's eye image into the artist's perception of reality. Marble floors and tall white columns set this museum off with an aura of rich elegance mixed within the dreams of creators. Each creation has its own space, each space highlighted by its own spotlight. A section of the museum has been dedicated to the alien artworks that have been donated as a part of a cultural exchange. High above, the gothic style ceiling displays a marvel to the eye, a window into a world of dreams is painted in vivid colors which seems to draw all but the ignorant into its spell. Security guards stand about, looking official and polite insuring the safety and security of the museum.

Waiting for a moment or two, Intrigue gets a little impatient and can't wait any longer. She flies into the window that was blasted.

Inside the Museum that gallery is now deserted. No sign of the figure. What can be seen however are the gaps in the displays, the empty patches of wall where paintings and prints were hung on display.

Intrigue slowly moves through the museum, trying to walk as quietly as possible while searching for the thief.

Intrigue spots a roof mounted security camera slowly turning to track her as she moves. It's clear she is being watched.

Intrigue pauses as she sees the camera system. Frowning, she nods to herself and moves to the window again, to turn and wait for the others. She knows where he is now. That's all she wanted.

Shoro enters quietly.. stealthily..

The Museum is certainly different on this visit. The security guards, usually so noticable, if unfailingly polite, are sprawled of the floor by the front doors. The centerpiece of the lobby display is missing, a collection of Russian jewelery dating back to the Tzars. Over on the left side the door to the security room, usually locked tight, is wide open. Nobody seems to be in sight but a plaintive voice can be heard from a corridor leading into the Modern Art gallery, "Hey, guys, wait up. Don't leave me here."

Valencia follows Shoro into the museum, silently lamenting that she doesn't have her gear. She tries to be sneaky as well.

Shoro looks at the noise maker..

Rushing into view after a moment, unable to stop even if he sees any of the heroes, comes a normal looking thug type in extraordinary gear. There's a heavy looking patchwork of wires and electronics hung all over him making him at least twice as bulky as he would normally be. A silvery helmet covers his head and much of his face. Under the patchwork of wires and electronics he is wearing a black uniform, agent style, patterned like scales and with a stylized snake head motif on the chest. A blaster pistol is holstered at his right side but his hands are filled with a dozen rolled up canvases.

Valencia blinks as she sees the techno guy run onto the scene. Rather than confront him she tries to dodge behind a conveniently placed piece of art.

Shoro tests something..he comes out of hiding and moves as stealthily as he can towards the man..ready to take action if need be..

The agent stops on entering the lobby of the Museum. His attention is focused not on any of the heroes, hidden and sneaky or open and overt, but on a blank empty patch of wall. "You f&*$@#s!!!" He screams in rage. "Come back!"

Xing-Liu heads for the visible man, aiming to relieve him of his weapon. After this is gone, she figures he will be less of a nuisance and open to answering questions.

Xing-Liu's nimble fingers grasp the weapon's handle, slipping it out of its holster, and moves atop a statue head.

Valencia looks out from her hiding place. "Woah. When'd she get here?"

Shoro moves infront of the agent and says calmly.."Nows a good time to talk?"

The agent finally notices the presence of at least one hero, and hurriedly drops the rolled up canvases. He looks around coldly, "Huh, you think I'm some techno nerd, hey. Wrong. I was an enforcer with the Mob. I'm going kick your butts."

Valencia steps out from her hiding place with her hood up and crosses her arms. "Three against one, pal."

Shoro chuckles..and his fists start to glow.."Are you sure of that?..."

Xing-Liu begins to scout out the museum, looking for other conscious people. She moves quickly, despite her desire to remain quiet.

The agent smiles coldly, the smile on his lips but not reaching his eyes. "So. How you feeling? Sleepy? I bet you can hardly stand up right now."

Shoro shakes his head.."Lets dance.."

The agent drops easily into a boxing stance. The heavy patchwork slows him down but he does look to know what he's doing.

Shoro shakes his head and without warning jumps up leveling an axeheel kick to the top the mans head an effort to break the helmet.

The agent's head rocks back from the impact against the helmet. He stares in horror at Shoror, "You bas... yawnnnn... Zzzzzz....." and crumples to the floor.

Shoro nods.."ok..that solves one issue.." he says.."helmet equals filter."

Shoro looks at the helmet..maybe he can fix it..

Valencia nods to Shoro. "And you broke it."

Shoro looks at the helmet after taking it off and fiddles with it..its just a loose wire he finds and he reattaches it..puts it back on the man's head and says, to the man..if he wakes up.."So..I think its time you began to talk." he turns to Val.."Get his gun..cover him with it?"

Valencia looks at Shoro. "I think Fist took it." She replies, moving to the Agent.

The agent comes around after a few seconds, opening his eyes and looking up at Shoro. "That was a dirty trick."

Shoro raises an eyebrow.."I could have kicked you in the balls.....so count your blessings." he says.."Now..talk, I know you're from Mamba..and you're about to be incriminated on a major crime all alone, unless you start to talk, I'm sure we could talk with the authorities and the DA to cop a plea for you.."

Suddenly there's a flashing and crackling of sparks from the security room and the oppressive weight of the suppression field lifts. All around you people start stirring and looking around in confusion.

Valencia breathes a sigh of relief as her energy returns. "Well, I guess that's that...Until we torture this guy horribly to get what we need out of him."

The agent stares into Shoro's eyes. "I don't own them any loyalty. They left me behind. What do you want to know?"

Shoro seems to smile in his eyes.. "Lets get you up..and walk you to the police..we'll talk on the way.." he says helping the agent up.."First. You're working with Mamba right?"

Valencia hmms at the mention of police. "I'd rather not stay and chat with the fuzz...I'm gonna slip out the back, ok?"

Shoro nods to Val.."See you later."

The agent nods, "Yeah. Well this was the first job for any of us. Apart from the Black Mamba herself."

Shoro nods.."So Black Mamba was here?"

"Yeah," The agent confirms.

Shoro nods.."Where's their base?"

The agent shrugs, "I'd tell ya if I knew. I got picked up by the tunneller and taken there to get kitted up and be briefed."

Shoro frowns.."The Tunneller..a machine or a person?"

The agent tells Shoro, "It's a vehicle. Travels underground. Like a ghost. It can phase through walls and stuff."

Shoro blinks. "It can phase? ..so its not even really tunnelling.." he nods, "how did you get in contact with the Mamba?"

The agent laughs bitterly, "Advert in the sits vacant column, how else. The word gets around. You know how it is. I hear there's a new Black Mamba in the city and she's picking up people. I put the word out I'm interested and get a call."

Shoro nods.."did you know any of the others?..have you worked with any of them before?"

Shoro he continues walking with the man.

The agent shakes his head, "Nah. If I'd had any buddies on the team they wouldn't have left me behind. Never ever saw faces. When we got together we were already wearing the helmets."

Shoro nods.."Who helped you get geared up?.."

"One of the base tech." The agent explains, "You know how MAMBA works, right?" Shoro nods.."No..tell me.." he says with a confident voice.

The agent says, "It's a franchise operation, right. Cough up $10M if an area doesn't have an active group and you get the Black Mamba Meta package, the tech gear and weapons, and base techs to run it. Then the local Black Mamba picks up agents and runs their area. 10% of the profits go back to the parent organisation. MAMBA got torn up bad a couple of years ago and the Golden Mamba was taken down. The Green Mamba's have been fighting to see who took over. Guess they decided because MAMBA are expanding again."

Shoro nods and frowns.."I had heard about that.." he's now looking for a police officer.."Look..I'm going to have to ask you to take your gear off.."

The agent nods and unhooks the patchwork of electronics, letting it slide to the roadway. Then he removes the helmet.

Xing-Liu places the weapon she found in Shoro's hand, still doing her best to never have been seen by the agent of MAMBA.

Shoro takes the weapon.."Look you've been very good about all of this. Make sure you share this with the police..I will put a word in with the DA..that I promise."

As a couple of police come over to see what is happening the agent tells Shoro, "Kasprin Conrad. It's a cargo hauler, registered in Brazil. They'll be shipping the loot out on her. Tell the fuzz I cooperated, ok?"

Shoro nods, "You got it."

The agent is taken away. The police want statements.

Shoro gives his statement..and sends a note to the DA.