Log:Hospital Bombs II

Guilt Complex 2013/07/18 	 Fox Mage Obsidian Butterfly Porter Star Girl Ten 3

The Hospital is a hornet's nest of activity, a swarm of emergency response vehicles clustered around it, emergency workers scurrying this way ans that as patients in hospital gowns are hurried out of the building. Many of them step through an open rift into the evacuation area across the street. Through the rift the hospital's interior is visible, an anthropomorphized Fox guiding patients to safety.

For those with access to radio chatter there are some nine or so devices Mage has been able to locate, flying slowly, conserving his energy. The deadline for detonation is fifteen minutes away, but in a significant twist Obsidian and Porter have found the bombs are each equipped with a magical sigil that protects against tampering. This latest gem is being transmitted by the head of the bomb squad, the devices are to be left alone until the nature of the protection can be better understood.

Ten has become aware of the situation at the hospital and is swinging toward the scene, asking as she goes on the SGG and Wonderland channels if anyone knows what's going on.

Star Girl shows up, coming from the direction of the campus. She radios: 'I'm just getting here myself.'

Sapphire Shield respond that she is on site. The top floor has apparently been evacuated already, with hovercars on the roof removing the frailest of the intensive care patients. She is moving to help with location and containment of the devices.

Mage transmits the locations of the remaining bombs to the others on his mind link. To the bomb squad representative, he adds, "Don't you folks have some sand bags or some kind of case that can be placed around these explosives that will blunt the blast without activating the anti-tampering?"

Ten looks for someone in authority from whom to find out what's up.

Apparently distracted by the sudden intrusion of magic into his otherwise orderly existence the Bomb Squad leader, Captain Trask, snaps back to his senses. "You're right." With that he turns to start barking instructions to his men to place sandbags, but working against the tide of evacuees they have a hard time maneuvering the heavy trolleys of bags into place.

Mage steps outside, breathing heavily. Spotting additional arriving supers, he waves them over.

Ten notices the waves and flips to land by Mage. "What's up?"

Fox continues ushering people out of the floor she has made a portal on. She keeps the others in the link up to date on her progress.

Star Girl hops over to where Mage is. "Hey. I'm Star Girl... How can I help?"

Ten makes her way to what she recognizes from long experience to be the command post. Negotiating her way past the officers maintaining the perimeter she comes on the hospital administrator Doctor Hamilton, and Commander Suarez of the CBPD poring over diagrams.

Fox's portal disgorges people by the dozen, a queue of confused and startled patients calmed and kept orderly by the meta-human's skilful and reassuring presence.

Commander Folkes turns to Star Girl. "If you can disable magically protected bombs do that, if you can't do that help with the evacuation, if you can't do that we need help surrounding the bombs with sandbags. Here's a map of where they are. That guy over there can help you find them." He points over to where Mage is being approached by Ten.

Mage says to the pair from his place near the command centre. "We have nine bombs with magical anti-tamper sigils on them. Open your mind to me and I will show you locations. Obsidian Butterfly and Porter and trying to see what they can do to bypass the sigils without harming anyone, Fox is helping with evacuation and the bomb squad needs help with sandbags.

Ten nods. "Ok - um, how do you open your mind? I'm Ten, by the way."

Mage taps Ten's forehead to give her something to focus on and says, "Just don't fight..." .oO (... this.)

"Hm." Star Girl says, pondering the Commanders words. "I'm no good with magic. I guess I'm on sandbag duty." She turns to find the pile of sand bags, and she starts collecting as many as she can carry with her enhanced strength. "Ok, so where are the bombs?" she calls over her shoulder.

Ten doesn't appear to have much in the way of mental defenses anyway. "Oh... ok."

The commander point s to Mage. "He can show you, he does some mind thingie. He illustrates the potentially confusing techno-babble by waggling his finger near his temple.

Mage shows Ten the locations of the potted plants with the bombs inside, the bomb squad man's evaluation of their simplicity and his own interpretation of the triggering anti-tamper sigil.

( Hi, I'm Fox, I'm clearing people out and this is totally awesome the way I can communicate and not sound like a total simpleton. ) Oo. The fox-girl-monster busily gets people to leave in an orderly fashion from her floor of floors. When the people are sparse enough, she starts searching for anyone still hiding, listening as she goes through the rooms at a rapid pace.

Ten says, "Ok... I think I'd better get shifting sandbags too..... I should be able to maneuver them with my staff, I think...."

"Hmph!" Star grunts as she lifts a sled full of sand bags over her head. She takes a moment to steady the weight over her head. "Ok," she tells herself. "Been a while since I had to test my strength like this..." She turns slowly and starts to walk the sled over to Mage. "Ok. Where do you want this again?"

Fox finds one or two people who have gotten lost before coming on a nurse and a security guard who are helping some frail patients into wheelchairs, there are four of them, quite elderly. The security guard looks to the heroine. 'I swept the floor, there's no one beyond here. If there is anyone Fox can't hear them.

Equipped with shiny new mind links Star Girl and Ten join the party, Casey effortlessly hoisting a sled of sandbags over head and nimbly maneuvering through the crowd with an agility and speed the bomb squad cannot hope to match.

A fireman on a ladder breaks a window on the second story, where there are at least three bombs. Calling to slinging super-heroine he announces. "You can drag them in through here. The ground beneath the window, not being near the main door is free of fleeing patients, with Ten's skill strength and extendable staff a steady stream of sandbags makes its way through the busted window.

Ten says, "Huh. If the superhero thing ever falls through maybe I can get a job as a crane."

Mage says, "There are five in the emergency room and admittance areas. Put the sleds in there first. " As the window breaks, he glances up toward the sound. "Or up there. I can show you exactly if you don't mind a mental intrusion."

Ten thinks. o O (Is this thing on? Anybody know just how big a bang these bombs have? I can always throw myself on top of one if we run out of time.... but only one, of course.)

Mental link shows that each of the bombs has ten litres of plastic explosive, which is a seriously big blast, the Bomb disposal guy things their placement could have been better for destroying the building but there will be massive destruction.

Mage sits down near the command center, adding his human ears to the information available to the supers.

As the floor is cleared by Fox, the monstrous girl moves rapidly up to the next and opens another portal there linked to the one that exists outdoors, ushering people as before. She opens it in front of the elevator, as that seems to be where the majority of people seem to be stuck, and then heads on to search for the hidden and the cowering.

Star Girl frowns slightly to Mage. "Er, we just kind of met..." she says, declining the mental link for now. "I'll jus take these over to the admittance area." She turns and hefts the sled of sandbags over in that direction.

Ten keeps acting as crane for the sandbags as long as there are some to shift - then she enters the building itslef to help with their placement.

Ten thinks. o O (I just pray they can evacuate everyone - even muffled this is going to be a huge explosion...)

There is a sudden fresh surge of evacuees into the emergency station in the car park opposite as Fox moves on to the third story. The patients clustered in the elevator waiting area, anxious and angry. Already agitated the sudden appearance of salvation almost threatens to spark a stampede, requiring Fox to reassure and calm the terrified civilians.

At each of the bombs a couple of members of the bob squad wait. As Star Girl appears with a trolley of bags they begin expertly and briskly packing them around the pot plant. The scene is repeated on the story above where Ten rendezvous's with a solitary member of the bomb squad team who gratefully accepts the sandbags and begins putting them in place to contain the blast.

Inside the Foyer Obsidian looks to Porter. "I understand your reticence, but this is an anti-tamper device, if the paint interferes with the mechanism you haven't tampered with anything. If it misfires you in hale some paint, or I do." She shrugs. "That won't set anything off though."

Star Girl continues ferrying sandbags to the admittance area and the emergency room by the sledful.

Ten thinks. o O (What madman is trying to blow up a hospital, anyway?)

"Right." Porter sounds ... slightly convinced. Not that they really have that many options. It might be easier had his two major experiences with magic not involved mass injuries, all of his furniture, and a quarter ton of spackle. "Ok, here goes..." He nearly says 'nothing,' but leaves it out. Porter leans forward and focuses on the bomb, particularly the painted detonator thingamawhatzit. He puts a hand on Obsidian for support. Hopefully he won't be the madman that blows up the hospital, though that's the opposite of what he's trying to do.

Sweat trickles across Porter's brow as he focuses on the bomb. Paint on an electronic device. That's asking for trouble. He focuses, his body tensing, for half a second his mind flickering to images of what will happen if things go wrong. His brow wrinkles as he drives such thoughts away and after a heartbeat the tiny red indicator light on the detonator stops flashing.

Obsidian watches in silence and then claps a hand on Porter's shoulder with a bright smile. "Nice job hero!" She turns away to lead the way to the next device.

Butterfly .oO(Fox, continue the evacuation, we have some hope here but we may not get to all devices if we've even found them all.)

Fox is busily getting everyone to the portal and through, happily not having much variation in her activities.

Star Girl makes her third trip, taking sandbags into the hospital.

Ten brings up another trolley of sandbags, and checks the time to decide if she should help the demolitions guy with the placement of these or hurry on to the other floors.

Porter was holding his breath, and Obsidian's slap on his shoulder makes him jump. An expletive comes out in his head and the communal link, quickly followed by a (Sorry). Relief and elation pop in just long enough to wave when he remembers that there are still a bunch more to deal with. He follows Butterfly for the next one. "I've never been in a hurry to play with explosives before... If it goes wrong, and something does explode, I'm glad you're here. You can tell me what I did wrong." The attempt at humor is only voice deep, as all get a mental disclaimer, (If anything does explode, I'm sorry in advance.)

As soon as they get to the next device, he doesn't do much more than take a deep breath to hold while focusing on it. It's slightly easier to try this when he busies himself thinking about something else, such as not thinking about what he's doing.

Having calmed the initial surge Fox is able to leave the elevators to search for more patients. This floor includes the maternity wing, frantic mothers cradling tiny infants, while nurses frantically try to work out how best to transport the babies in the humidifiers.

Ten's and Star Girl's loads are gratefully accepted by grim-faced bomb squad members who work briskly but carefully to place the sandbags, leaving the heroes to get more. to the other devices on the upper floors.

Obsidian turns to Porter as the light flickers out and grabs him by the shoulders. "Look at me Porter." She gives him a second to comply. "I'm not going to tell you what you did wrong because you're not going to do anything wrong, more specifically, there's nothing you can do wrong. Luck is a crutch, you're going to do this because you're skilled, you're trained and you kick ass." She pushes him toward the next bomb. "Now let's save lives.

Ten decides it's safest to leave the placement to the bomb guy and move on to the next floor, setting her staff to push sandbags up there - even if this does involve knocking out a window to get them in.

As if Porter has much choice but compliance when he's grabbed. He looks at her, stares, really. Somewhat blankly, but not from ignoring her or spacing out. He just has no idea what to say. Even his end of the mental conference call is quiet enough to hear crickets. Then he's pushed, and keeps the momentum going as he runs. "Ok!" He's moving, he's emphatic, and he's motivated. Porter may even keep the two step lead on Obsidian on the way to the next one.

Star Girl holds another sled as she looks up to the side of the hospital. She sucks in a deep breath before she leaps up to the fourth floor, using two feet and a hand to cling to the side of the building. She uses her other hand to hold onto a sled. Eyelets narrow as she slowly raises the sled and pushes it in through a 4th story window.

Combining superhuman strength with awe-inspiring agility and Grace, Star Girl and Ten make the process of hauling tonnes of sand to the various devices seem smooth and simple. Stunning the gathered patients and workers with their abilities.

Within the hospital Fox's work is repetitive but valuable, in the time remaining she is able to empty the upper floors single handedly (well some still use elevators and stairs but they're a minority). Thanks to her efforts what seems like an impossible deadline is met with easily dozens of seconds to spare.

Porter and Obsidian and Porter move from device to device, blinking red light after blinking red light fluttering to darkness. With little time lift Regan grabs Porter and leaps through a window to presumed safety. As the clock hits 1 the pair sail through the air and land in the car park, rolling to cover behind a sandbag barricade.

For long seconds nothing happens, there is a murmer of muffled conversation...

Mage hmms in the expectent silence from his place by the command center, "Perhaps somebody's clock is off."

Ten frowns. "Did we stop them all? Or was it a bluff? It could easily have been a distraction..."

Star Girl walks up to Ten. "Was there anyone under guard at the hospital? Any special patients?"

When the people are all clear, Fox remains in the hospital to ensure she missed none, continuously checking, just in case. She's pretty sure she would survive anything, and she can evacuate a single person at a moment's notice. She keeps moving, not giving up on her search for straggles.

Porter had little, if anything to say, as they went from one to the next, to the next. No time to waste, or think, or worry, not even on the ones that didn't go relatively smoothly. He's about to go to town on what could be the last one? when he's grabbed and carried bodily out the window and across the way... and he actually complains! "Wait! I was just-Oof!" The landing and rolling takes whatever else he was going to say, and most of his breath.

As the clock ticks to 1:01 the hospital is rocked by a trio of violent explosions, plumes of brilliant orang rolling through the first second and fourth floors followed by showers of debris and broken glass. Dark tendrils of smoke stream from the shattered windows engulfing the hospital in rippling tentacles of ash and noxious fumes, a series of smaller explosions follow as the fires reach oxigen tanks and other secondary combustion sources and emergency services spring into action...

Ten says to the firefighters present, "Tell me what to do and I'll do it - I should be sufficiently fireproof!"

"Damnit... did we miss some of them?" Star says. She waits to hear instructions from the firefighters too.

The explosion comes, and Fox feels much of the effect rip around her and through her. It does not, however, appreciably slow her. Those in the mind link can feel some hint of what she feels, which is a lot of her body being severely broken. Already she begins to heal the massive trauma, all the while working to free herself of the rubble, which does not take long. She is strong enough to lift an entire section of the hospital.

As the fire crews move into action ably supported by the gallant heroes their progress is observed on a monitor in a darkened room across town. "Only three of the devices detonated Mistress, projected casualties are minimal." Glossy lips curl into a dark smile. "But the seeds of fear have been sown in fertile ground. What is the status of team Baal?" A press of a button brings up a monitor feed of two paramedic helijets flying across the sunny afternoon sky. "They will reach the rendezvous on schedule, one hundred percent of mission parameters met." Finely sculpted brows arch. "All five? In one sitting." The Morbane nods. "Excellent work brethren, Colonial Bay's torments will be exquisit as it writhes in DEMON's grasp."

Mage stands, gestures and speaks words of power. The pressure of maintaining a mind link while exhausted has prevented him from properly resting, but he expends more energy despite his fatigue. As the mind link snaps, a glowing disk appears in the air beside Fox and another in an open space nearby.

Porter picks himself up, ears still ringing and mind still wincing from what he could feel of Fox. His only consolation is that her presence is still felt afterwards before the link vanishes. "Ow..." He then immediately perks up and looks around. "Did everyone else get out?!"

Back on the scene fire marshals quickly take charge, using the heroes to run hoses, smash windows and clear rooms where the fire is too intense for normal humans. through their combined efforts the fires are quickly brought under control, the damage limited. At the command center Commander Suarez shakes his head. "Without the sand bags we could have lost half the building. If all nine had gone odd..." He leaves the sentence unfinished.

Ten shakes her head. . o O (Damn. We should have done better. The damage to the hospital alone could cost lives before it can be repaired.....)

Fox emerges from the portal setup, looking over the damaged devices on her wrists with dismay. "Broken," she says, wistfully. "Any...dead?"

Ten goes to keep helping the emergency crews in areas that may have been weakened by the explosions.

Mage turns to the heroes after Fox appears and says "Alive or dead, we have done our utmost. None can ask for more," in his distinctive Boston accent. "I have a chilled bottle of Chateau 1924 and running water if anyone would care to adjourn to my abode for a celebretory toast. I also have some skill at wound care."

Porter is disappointed like everyone else that there was boom, but it isn't nearly as bad as it could've been. He does what he can to help with the dangers that remain, until they're under control. Once that's done, he does what any heroic individual might do. Porter walks just far enough to not be in the way and sits down. There, he sighs, runs a hand through sweaty and dirty hair, and vomits. Ah, adrenaline.

Smoke stained and disheveled Obsidian looks utterly spent after helping to bring the fire under control. "I didn't see any bodies in the fire and the marshal's haven't found any yet." She announces as she joins the other heroes. "Fantastic work from everyone, Fox, you saved about five hundred people I guess, probably more." Her narrowed gaze sweeps the building. "Bad as it looks most of the damage is superficial thanks to the sandbags, and of course only three went off rather than nine." She looks over to where Porter sits. "Thanks to the man who hates machines!"

Fox shrugs slowly. "Get...better," she murmurs. She speaks of herself, being the only one actually injured. It's clear she is mending. She changes size, down to her normally small self, staring at the remains of her favorite and only toys. "Wiked

Mage asks Obsidian Butterfly, "Are all your patrols this interesting?" as he walks over to Fox to see if there is anything he can do.

Fox is healing rapidly. Her devices on the other hand have seen far better days. Functional days. She unstraps each one, looking to Mage and asking, "Know...who...ffffix?"

Obsidian shakes her head. "No, I'd have to concede this one was unusually strenuous." She moves over to where Porter sits, apparently content that Fox will recover. "You doing ok Porter?" She looks up at the building. "It's still there because of you big guy." She nudges his foot with a boot. "Going to be a bevy of cute reporter babes lining up to get interviews." Her brows lift. "You may want to upgrade your wardrobe a little."

Star Girl walks over to join the other heroes. "Any idea who was behind the bombing?" she asks Obsidian, being the other hero she's most familiar with here.

Porter seems Ok enough to startle when he realizes Obsidian is there and make a quick effort to straighten himself up. He looks up and nods. "Yeah. I'm Ok. Wished things went better... but we helped." When she mentions reporter babes, he smirks. "Don't you think we pushed things enough for one day?" Porter doesn't look ready to hold his breath like he did before, though he does take a glance around for any. Just in case.

Obsidian shakes her head. "Not really. Large scale operation including magic and tech targeting a public facility." She shrugs. "Could be Satanists, could be DEMON. But here's what I don't get..." She looks to the evacuees milling in the carpark as emergency services deal with th e sheer mass of humanity. "Clearly the bad guys aren't averse to killing civilians in their hundreds, it's only thanks to Fox we got everyone out in time. Without her this would have been a catastrophe. But you know what else helped? The fact we got thirty minutes warning." Her eyes narrow. "If you're only objective was to kill people why would you do that?"

Mage casts another spell and touches Fox. She might be able to heal on her own, but that doesn't make the process pain free. A small gesture and a great deal of pain just falls away.

"That leaves me with two possible conclusions. One..." She holds up a finger. "This was all staged by Fox's publicist." She looks over to the singed heroine. "I'm going to count that as extremely unlikely. Two... this was some sort of distraction or cover operation."

Star Girl nods. "What was the source of the warning?" She looks over to Porter and Fox and Mage. "Hey, I'm Star Girl, by the way..."

Obsidian lowers the fingers on which she counted. "And by the time we;ve sifted through the fire damage and confusion it could be days or even weeks before we know what is what." She looks to Star Girl. "Apparently a bix was delivered to hospital security containing ten litres of plastic explosive and a note with the deadline."

"Hi," Fox responds to Star Girl, deciding to hug Mage rather than offer some pitiful attempt at gratitude via verbalism. "Any...fix?" she inquires, looking around and holding up the devices, rapidly getting the impression that she might not see them in use again.

Obsidian Butterfly looks to Fox. "Interface or Quinn will know how to fix them." SHe announces confidently. Perhaps we should adjourn to take up Mage's kind offer."

Mage is suddenly conscious of Fox's state against his clean outfit. He returns the hug, but very briefly. "I cannot fix them, but I may be able to replicate what they do."

"Hi," Porter waves and smiles wearily to Star Girl. "Porter. Good to meet you." His smile grows more when he looks over to Fox and sees that she is mended, even if her favorite toys are broken. "I'm sure we can find somebody who can fix them. Interface, maybe? I'm still looking around for her, anyhow. I can ask?" Now his smile fades and he looks back to Obsidian and that discussion. "They wanted people here, busy, trying to stop it and help people." Beyond that, he's not sure. "And going somewhere else sounds really, really good right now." He nods to Mage.

Mage casts and another glowing disk appears. Through the portal can be seen a quaint manor house with open sky behind it.

"Once I'm done here," Star says, "I'll try looking into if anyone is missing from the hospital. The bombing could be cover for a prison break or a kidnapping."

Obsidian moves forward to step through the freshly opened tear in the space time continuum to step through to where the house is(and in the process time travel - just ask any theoretical physicist). It doesn't seem to do her any harm however.

Star Girl waves to the departing heroes.

Porter waves to star Girl. "Sure we'll meet again. Hopefully when nothing going to explode." Another flash of wearied grin before he steps into the anomaly.