Log:Chandrika Heads to Zu, Scene 2

Chandrika Heads to Zu 2009/12/21 Silver Spider Prometheus Epimetheus 2

Chandrika leaves Maximillian Sisulu's office. o O (They'll be watching me now. They were watching me at the airport. So now let's judge the strength of the opposition and see how much resources they're willing to devote) She makes her way over to the elevator and hits the down button, making her way inside. o O (Time to get my things from the hotel, pay the driver to take a cushy vacation in the transport, and hire myself a jeep.)

It's apparent on your way back to the hotel that you're being followed. They're not even trying to be subtle about it. It's a black luxury hovercar with tinted windows. One of the new Lincoln models. You get back to the hotel without problems...and your room does not appear to have been ransacked. YEt.

Chandrika puts the "Do not disturb" sign on the door and carefully goes over everything to make sure her room has not been ransacked. Then she goes downstairs to the concierge, luggage in tow. "I'm going to call my driver, I need to go somewhere..." She smiles pleasantly. "Could you call him, please?" She waits patiently for the concierge to do so while she looks around, keeping an eye on the front door.

You're pretty sure your things have not been gone through...but...you also notice something new. It looks like there might be a listening device in the lamp on the desk.

Chandrika turns to the lamp and notes it's presence, but does nothing for now, acting as though she hasn't seen it. She won't be here long anyway. She turns the shower on high, takes a quick one, gets dressed, gives them a quick show in case there's a camera, and leaves the shower on. (She makes sure it's as sexy as possible. Nothing like sudden reassignments to ruin an investigation.)

Nothing extraordinary happens...except that just about when you're finishing up, the concierge calls you to let you know your car is ready.

Chandrika smiles and heads downstairs to the car, making her way outside with her luggage. She waves sweetly to the driver and stops at an ATM, getting out as much as she can in one go. Then she heads over to the car. "Could you step out of the car for a moment, sir? I need some help with my bag."

The man nods, "Of course." He gets out, and walks around the car to give you a hand.

Chandrika adjusts herself to cut herself off from the goons in the car. "Hey..." She says. "Listen, can you drive me to a place where I can get a jeep and then take the next few days off? You still get paid, and here's a little extra to drive anywhere but where we're supposed to be going." She puts the wad of bills into his hand covertly. "Think of it as spending money. Don't do anything illegal, and don't get arrested."

He hesitates a bit, and then nods. "Alright. Where would you want me to drive after you leave?"

Chandrika shrugs. "Anywhere you like that isn't where I'm going. Preferably somewhere in a different direction, out into the Bush. Oh, when we get to the jeep place, only slow down and then pull away hard into traffic. You're a taxi driver. How hard can it be?" She grins. "Shall we?" She hands over her bag.

Amplitude nods again slowly, but looks curious at this point. He takes the bag, and puts it in the trunk of the car. He then opens the back door for you.

Chandrika gets into the car and waits patiently, holding her bag as the car begins moving through traffic. The key moment was approaching. She would have to open the door and leap out while the car was moving and shut the door quickly.

The car slides through the streets. As you get closer to the vehicle rental place, he does basically just as you told him. He slows down a bit, giving you the opportunity to get out. You're pretty sure the car following you won't have a good view, due to traffic.

Chandrika slips out with her bag and sneaks off to rent a jeep, gathering up more cash out of her wallet. She skulks quietly along until she's sure the hovercar is out of range, and then heads into the rental area.

Your driver swerves into traffic, causing the tail to do similarly. They continue on past, down the block, and out of sight.

Chandrika heads into the Jeep Rental area. "Hello..." She says with a smile, looking at whoever is behind the desk. "I'd like to rent a jeep, and a good driver, if I could. I'm interested in going here..." She points on the map. They would be waiting for her at the hotel, but if she got there first she could clean off quickly and head into the bush.

The man behind hte counter looks at the map, "Hmm. I see. A hover-jeep?"

He nods. "I think we have one available. How will you be paying?"

Chandrika smiles to the man. "Cash..." She pulls out a thick envelope. "And silence, if you'll do it off the books. None of those nasty tracers. I was thinking of something a little more archaic. If we have to use wheels, that's fine with me."

The man raises a brow. "We do have a couple...alright." He takes the cash, "You have a deal." He then directs to you your rental...sure enough, it's a wheeled jeep. Probably about...twenty years old. An old Hummer. He also supplies a driver, a slightly older bald black man. The driver is probably in his 50s.

Chandrika nods slowly to the driver. "Hi." She says. "This is where we're going. We need to go right now. There's extra money for gas if you need it."

The driver nods. "A long trip. Many hours. We'll need more gas on the way."

Chandrika laughs. "We should just buy it now, put it in cans and lock it down."

The driver takes your bag, and puts it in the vehicle for you, "We should get get going. And yes...there's storage for more gas on the vehicle. We can do that."

Chandrika smiles. "Let's hurry up, then. I have about eight hours to get a head start." She says with a light laugh.

You head out...and fill up the extra tanks before leaving town. The road is in decent shape, but it's still a long trip. Seventeen hours, or so. (After checking online) You get there at the end of the following day...and quite sick of being on the road.

Chandrika smiles a little bit and gets out of the hummer. "Thank you, sir." She says gently. "Do you want to stay on for the trip into the bush, or am I on my own with that?" o O (I have no idea how I'm going to navigate. I'll probably have to hire a guide.)

He nods. "I can do that, if you like. It would require additional pay, but I can do this."

Chandrika nods slowly. "Sounds good. I'll run in, check in, take a quick shower, and you probably should, too, and then we'll head off. I'm sure the hotel has some wilderness survival gear if we need it. It's kind of touristy."

He nods. "They might, yes. I can check for you."

Chandrika smiles. "Well, feel free to use the shower after I check in. We'll head right out. I can drive if you're tired."

The jeep rolls over the countryside, bouncing over the uneven ground. It's quite picturesque, actually. Though dry. Apparently there's been a bit of a drought here as of late, as it's in the middle of summer. You're in the vehicle a good forty-five minutes, going cross-country, when you start to notice some buildings up ahead. They look like temporary structures.

Chandrika raises a hand. "Do you know what they are?" She asks as she peers at the buildings. o O (Odd. I thought Zu had gotten rid of all the tribalism and made everyone worship the African States of VIPER)

The driver slows down. "Government buildings, I think. Probably some kind of research site out here?"

Chandrika nods. "That's probably your cue to hide." She says. "I should probably think they aren't going to let us pass. And if they see us, they might not be so kind to us. Pull over to the side of the road and wait here."

The driver chuckles. "Not much road out here...but alright." He looks at the GPS. "I think it's the location you were heading to."

He pulls hte vehicle over, and stops in a small dip in the land, so the vehicle is out of sight from the buildings.

Chandrika nods. "You might want to go back to the hotel and enjoy yourself, then. Here's a keycard." She says, slipping it into his hand. o O (Time to go to work.) She gets out of the car and opens up the carryon, slipping her costume under her blouse and grabbing a spare shirt and a change of underwear. "Take everything back to the hotel, and don't play around with my luggage."

The driver nods slowly. "You don't want me to wait here to drive you back?"

Chandrika nods. "Look, if you wait here, and something happens to me, they'll arrest you. I'll have to risk the walk."

The driver shrugs, "Alright. Up to you."

The driver does as you told him...and turns around, driving back in the direction you came from.

A remote location in northern Zu, where scrubland is the most common terrain feature. There's a large crater where the Starguard shuttle crashed to earth here in the wilderness. The area has been cordoned off with small wooden barricades, and there are several small buildings around the site, all apparently owned by the government.

Chandrika smiles a little bit. "Take off. I'll see you back at the hotel. If I'm not back in two days, get out..." She says as the driver begins pulling off. Then she slips into the brush, checking for motion sensors and cameras, and slips into her costume, webbing the rest of her stuff to a tree.

Chandrika slips quietly between the few trees, keeping low to the ground as she skulks in the shadow of the buildings, keeping an eye out for soldiers and patrols as the sun begins to rise. It's moving towards the hottest part of the day, and the best place to hide is in the line of the shadows...

The 'research site' is like a ghost town. No movement or sound coming from it at all. The only sound is the wind...and...a whining noise? Like a jet? Looking up, you see two people flying at a relatively high altitude. Probably power armor, given the sound coming from them.

Chandrika blinks. o O (Powered armor? Two of them....good lord...this is a war zone...) She slips closer to the buildings, keeping an eye out as she keeps an eye to the left and the right. The goal was to get as close to the crash site as possible, but the horizon beats higher as the shadows begin to shrink. Low in the tall grass, she slips closer, trying to stay out of the range of the sensors on the armored units.

The two suits of armor change course, and head toward the research site, disappearing behind one of the buildings. Both suits seem to look like...high tech versions of Hoplite armor. One in gold, and the other in silver.

Silver Spider slips closer to the site, keeping an eye out for the aforementioned supervillains, circling and keeping low as the sun gets higher in the sky. There isn't much to hide behind, the sun beating down as she stays low in the grass. o O (These guys never read a lick of Igbo philosophy, that's for sure.)

Silver Spider blinks. o O (Oh, my god, you have got to be kidding me. What are these guys doing out here?) She slips closer, trying to get a better look as the armored agents slide inside. o O (This is going to require more stealth than brawn. I can't fight those guys plus Enemy Ace and his two cronies...)

As you get closer, sneaking up behind the building you hear the two of them talking. "Are you sure this is the place?" "Yes, I've foreseen it. She'll be here." It's at this point, that you remember....Enemy Ace was last seen wearing what appeared to be power armor. Presumably made by ACRO.

Silver Spider skulks closer, trying very hard not to breathe. (Scratch that. His four cronies. Mentalist has precognition. And they're waiting for me...you've GOT to be kidding. There's five of them for one of me...hmmm...radio unit. Contact Imaginary Girl. Yeah...I could do that. It would break all kinds of international laws, but ACRO vs. VIPER...yeah, that would probably create all kinds of chaos...) She slips closer to the door, trying to get a look at her enemies, and possibly a radio. o O (A false government setup. Wow, ACRO must be spending millions in bribes to keep this op going.)

As you get closer, and look around the building, you see the crater proper. There appears to be some wreckage in the crater itself. Your guess is that it's part of the shuttle. One of the buildings does appear to have a tower with an antenna on it. You get a closer look at their armor...it's apparently one of the more advanced types of suits that ACRO makes. At least when looking at them. They're a far cry from Ruger's suit, at least. Less blocky, and more efficient looking. While you're watching, Prometheus continues watching Epimetheus as the latter moves to the crater proper and gets down on one knee to examine the ground. Epimetheus places his 'shield hand' on the ground, palm down, and speaks up, "He was here. I might be able to track him down." He starts to look around slowly...raising his head, "Are you sure she's worth bothering with? I mean, she's kind of tangential."

Silver Spider thinks. o O (They're looking for Enemy Ace...and they know I'm here..This is going to be trouble...)

Silver Spider skulks closer to the crater as best she can, trying to stay out of sight. o O (Duh. One's a precog, one's a postcog. The suits just cover for their real powers and keep them from being crushed to death.) o O (Why would he foresee my being here. Something really weird is going on. Why would Enemy Ace be hunted by his own buddies?)

Prometheus nods. "Well, I at least want to make it difficult for her. We need to find him first, after all. He's going to make life more difficult for us with his actions here."

Silver Spider's eyebrow raises. o O (They have no idea what difficult is. Take the postcog first. Unfortunately, he's the big tough one.) She presses flat and prepares to spring, her special senses checking for invisible creatures as she flattens nearby. o (God, I have to fight this whole battle at range. I can't afford to touch either one...)

Epimetheus(#1038TOn)

A large man in what appears to be power armor. The armor has a distinct Greek influence, with a helmet that evokes the look of the old hoplite horse-hair helmets. The armor itself is made up of interlocking plates. In his right hand is what appears to be a high tech spear, of all things. On his left wrist, he has a small shield generator. The armor itself is a silver color.

Prometheus(#1898TOn)

A large man in what appears to be power armor. The armor has a distinct Greek influence, with a helmet that evokes the look of the old hoplite horse-hair helmets. The armor itself is made up of interlocking plates. In his right hand is what appears to be a high tech spear, of all things. On his left wrist, he has a small shield generator. The armor itself is a golden hue.

Epimetheus straightens up, "I found out what happened. Mortua did her handiwork on the recovery team. Domina took control of a driver. They're gone. Let's level the place, and be done with it. Cover the tracks, as it were." Prometheus nods, "I concur." He raises his spear, and aims it at the communications building.

Silver Spider's graceful form fires a bolt of blue green energy into Epimethius's back, the swirling spiral hurtling towards him as the relentless armored duo prepares to destroy the communications gear. "Do you want to know what the problem with guys like you is?" She says as she flips to her feet. "Even when you know someone is here, you don't try to negotiate. You know...Hi, Silver Spider...want some coffee? We're all way out here in the veldt and no one loves any of us! We'll even put in a good word with Knox Pooley for you! So what is it this time? Internecine fighting in ACRO? Enemy Ace stole your boyfriends, Mortua left a lump of coal in your stocking at the ACRO Christmas Party?"

Epimetheus is hit in the back, "Unf!" He goes tumbling about four meters before sliding to a stop in the dirt. He looks like he's still awake, but down for the moment.

Prometheus doesn't glance toward you, but his shield does ignite, causing a round luminous orange energy shield to form, centered on his left wrist. A blast of energy is released from his spear, cutting into the communication building...

Silver Spider blinks. "You IDIOT! You do realize that once you blow that thing up this area will be surrounded by the Zu Military? None of us will be able to escape, chucklehead! Did your precognition think of that?" o O (I can't believe I'm taunting a guy who can find out where I live and kill me in my sleep. I am SO dumb...)

The beam cuts into the building, shearing off a wide swathe, and cutting into the tower proper, causing it to lean precariously. He then turns to look at you. "I'm surprised you came all this way. You had to figure Enemy Ace would return to face you all in Virginia."

Prometheus chuckles quietly, "The military will be...delayed for a bit, I think."

Silver Spider shrugs a little bit. "In case you didn't notice, Prometheus, that little part about Mortua killing a whole Zu recovery team? That might make you want to re-think this..." She says icily, leaping forward to land not far from Prometheus. "So...predict this...I flatten your buddy here, which you have little to no way of stopping. Your choices are then either finish the building, which hoses you because then you have to waste time carrying him out of here, or fight me, which guarantees both of us a lot of lumps. Maybe you win, maybe you lose. But if you lose, I go after them, and you wind up in a Zu prison, with no armor and a pretty face among thousands of lonely guys who didn't get to wear body armor..." She shrugs. "So, Eppy here eats it. You just have to decide..." She turns her hand towards Epimethius and shoots him again while he's on the ground, the blue green bolt slamming into him. "It's kinda ruthless, but, you know, it's my best option, since you can just blast every wall I shoot out down."//OCV 11, DCV 12, zapping Eppy again.

Silver Spider shrugs a little bit. "In case you didn't notice, Prometheus, that little part about Mortua killing a whole Zu recovery team? That might make you want to re-think this..." She says icily, leaping forward to land not far from Prometheus. "So...predict this...I flatten your buddy here, which you have little to no way of stopping. Your choices are then either finish the building, which hoses you because then you have to waste time carrying him out of here, or fight me, which guarantees both of us a lot of lumps. Maybe you win, maybe you lose. But if you lose, I go after them, and you wind up in a Zu prison, with no armor and a pretty face among thousands of lonely guys who didn't get to wear body armor..." She shrugs. "So, Eppy here eats it. You just have to decide..." She turns her hand towards Epimethius and shoots him again while he's on the ground, the blue green bolt slamming into him. "It's kinda ruthless, but, you know, it's my best option, since you can just blast every wall I shoot out down."

Epimetheus makes another grunting sound as he's thrown through one of the sheet-metal buildings, and clear out the other side.

Epimetheus slides to a halt. He then gets up to his feet, and ignites his shield as well. This one is a pale blue. "I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by that. You did say she was here."

Silver Spider shakes her head. "You know, your name means Afterthought. Maybe Enemy Ace really did steal your boyfriends. You are Greek, after all..." She teases a little bit and winks an eyeslit. o O (This is the lowest form of humor. Maybe I can get them mad and get them to make some mistakes.)

Prometheus chuckles again, and aims at Silver Spider, "Your friends never really talked to you about how we deal with governments, did they?" He lets loose with a beam of plasma energy toward the woman.

Prometheus's beam misses wide left, "It's only a matter of time before I manage to hit you."

Silver Spider nods a little bit, and scampers after Epimetheus, leaping across the veldt as the battle begins to kick up sand, grass, and dust, her fingers firing off another blast of energy at Epimetheus as she closes the distance. "And it's only a matter of time before I manage to disable your buddy. But your powers only work by touch, otherwise he wouldn't have had to bend down to touch the ground to track them, and that means that as long as you don't lay a glove on me, even if your powers are synergistic, I can still win. So nyah!" She executes a graceful acrobatic flip now that Epimetheus is standing on his feet, rolling to the side and upside down to launch the energy bolt as it spirals towards the silver-armored titan.../OCV 11, DCV 12, Half Move forward 7", Acrobatics to attempt to surprise maneuver him, Breakfall to land without landing on my face.

Silver Spider nods a little bit, and scampers after Epimetheus, leaping across the veldt as the battle begins to kick up sand, grass, and dust, her fingers firing off another blast of energy at Epimetheus as she closes the distance. "And it's only a matter of time before I manage to disable your buddy. But your powers only work by touch, otherwise he wouldn't have had to bend down to touch the ground to track them, and that means that as long as you don't lay a glove on me, even if your powers are synergistic, I can still win. So nyah!" She executes a graceful acrobatic flip now that Epimetheus is standing on his feet, rolling to the side and upside down to launch the energy bolt as it spirals towards the silver-armored titan...

Silver Spider thinks. o O (These guys are way better than I thought. I need to think of something fast, or these two blowhards will drain my energy and then I'll have to run away while they collapse this place.)

Both move to where they have a clear line of fire at you, and let loose with beams of energy at you. Epimetheus speaks as he fires, "I think we'll be more likely to tag you before you drop me."

Both beams miss...but they do seem to be right. They're getting close. Very close. You could feel the heat from one of the beams through the costume.

Silver Spider dodges between the blasts as they hurtle to either side, vaulting between them as they destroy various sections of sheet metal, her fingers twisting between the shapes created by the beams. "So...do you guys train for hours? Do you give each other a hug when this is over...?" She teases..."Why not start now...?" She vaults upwards, pretending to fire, before extending, a webline towards Epimetheus, trying to yank him off his feet and slam him into Prometheus. "Oh...did I mention...I can fight dirty, too..." The webbing begins charging up as it hurtles towards Epimetheus, the graceful arc tumbling downward as she prepares to swing...

Silver Spider yanks hard and hurls Epimethius over her head, the loud crackle and horrible zarking noise slamming him into the ground. The webbing retracts as a large dust cloud is kicked up, metal on dirt as the webline retracts. o O (Why did I have to pick a fight with the two toughest guys in ACRO? It's hot. I want a bottled water or something...)

Epimetheus gets tossed past Prometheus, and lands on the ground, bouncing once, eliciting another grunt from the man as he slams into the ground. He looks to Prometheus, "Brother...this is growing tiresome."

Silver Spider thinks. o O (If they have a power that only works when they get close to each other and it blows me up, when I get out of the hospital, I'm going to give them such a pinch...)

Silver Spider lifts her hand to Epimetheus and says. "Yeah, it is. Ready to live up to your name?" She charges up another energy bolt and fires it at his prone form. "Get down and stay down! I swear, you guys are like the halves of a lunchbox that got split apart. Only there's no lunch inside and you make four year olds cry." She teases as she fires, keeping herself as defensively crouched as possible, dropping into a three point stance.

Epimetheus is hit again, and goes sliding into another building, causing it to collapse on top of him.

Epimetheus doesn't reappear, still under sheet-metal and siding. Prometheus stands his ground, and gazes at you for a long moment...and then fires again at you.

The lance of energy strikes you mid-maneuver, like he expected you to be in that exact pose at that moment...and it sends you off your feet, at least initially.

Silver Spider gasps as the blast catches her straight in the chest, sending her sailing back across the veldt a few feet. "Right..." She winces. "Nice shooting, Tex..." She takes a deep breath. o O (Crap, these are the most powerful two guys ACRO has, and I just beat one of them and the other's doing a number on my face...I need a trick, or I'm going down...) She tilts her head as she stops a few feet away. o O (This guy's as powerful as Megamite or 3000, and has less scruples...) Then she looks up at the tower. o O (Oboy...I cannot believe I am thinking this, yo...He said Mortua dealt with the recovery crew. Walkie talkie should do just fine. Where would they go....)

Silver Spider leaps to one side of Prometheus as she extends a webline outward towards the tower. "You know what your problem is, Prometheus? When really big things come towards you, it doesn't matter how much precognition you have. It doesn't matter how much plasma you throw when you bring fire. All that matters is gravity! And that means that F still equals M/V. Only in this case, M's the killer..." She extends her webline outward as she leaps, sticking to the wall, and gives the wall a sharp, savage tug, yanking hard on the tower as she struggles to pull the massive weight towards Prometheus...

Prometheus doesn't quite manage to get out from underneath the tower as it comes down toward him.

The tower comes down on top of Prometheus, slamming him into the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

Epimetheus stirs from the building he was in, pushing aside the sheet metal as he gets to his feet.

Silver Spider turns to look at Epimetheus. "You have GOTTA be kidding me..." She says, staring at him as he stands up. "That is just unbelievable. You guys are the toughest people I've ever fought after ACE, and there were more of them. You should be proud of yourselves..." She turns to look at Prometheus. "You're gonna have to dig yourself out. I've got to put your buddy down. He's hurt more..." She leaps away from the rubble and tumbles through the air, firing at Epimetheus once again, trying to put distance between her and Prometheus as the twin terrors regain their footing, swinging from building to building...

Epimetheus is busy dodging out of the way of your blast. Prometheus gets to his feet, and rips his way out of the tower, pulling apart the beams of it.

Silver Spider thinks. o O (Oh, god. This is going to get rough now. Think fast, Spider, think fast...you can handle these jokers...)

Silver Spider looks at Epimetheus, nimbly stepping aside from her first blast, and cocks her head. "You know something? I used to make that move when I was still in high school. But now...now you have something new to learn..." The blue green bolt of energy rockets forward as she leaps over him, unleashing a massive blue green burst of force as he continues to evade. "Wide angle attacks hurt more..."

Epimetheus raises his shield, attempting to deflect the incoming blast...

Epimetheus is hit squarely in the chest, and he goes sprawling again, landing on the ground. He's still moving, though. Just slowly.