Log:Rats on Campus, Scene 2

Rats on Campus 2020/05/15 	 Amelia Felix Moonshadow Phantom Riptide Wade Barnabas Bighead

2

The heroes have been breaking up a fight at a dorm party caused by Barnabas Bighead, who has caused the students to perceive each other as zombies. By this point, the armed students on the ground floor and in the corridor of the next floor up have been contained or disarmed. The two badly injured students - one shot, and one hurt by the heroes - have had their wounds stabilised, though not fully healed. Bighead has teleported away. Meanwhile, some of the heroes have heard an alarm from elsewhere on campus. 

Wade looks around, 'We need someone to go check out that alarm. Any volunteers?"

Moonshadow flies up to Amelia, she's shaking and her eyes are full of tears, "I...he had a gun...oh, that horrible crunch...I think...I think I killed him!"

Amelia glances at Moonshadow judging her reaction. "Well if you killed him then he's the liveliest corpse I've ever seen, Moodshadow. And trust me on this, as an ex Chosen One I've seen a lot of moving walking corpses. He's going to be fine. Just remember to hit civilians a bit less hard next time, okay?"

Looking a bit frazzled now, Jamie looks from one wounded student to another and says, "I am going to stay with these kids until the EMT's arrive. I can transport them safely to the ambulance." To anyone else nearby. "I'll try to catch up, but I think it would be best to make sure -someone- is here.

Travis answers Wade, "I'm not all that fast, but I could try."

Phantom answers Wade, "I'm not all that fast, but I could try."

Riptide looks to Wade, "What alarms? Any idea what direction?"

Wade describes which direction he heard them from.

Amelia calls down to Wade, "Get someone fast with a phone there and if backup is needed I can open a gate."

Riptide calls up to Amelia, "I'm on the way! If you can track those comlinks you gave us, use that!"

Some of the dorm doors remain closed and likely locked. From others brave and/or foolhardy student emerge wielding hockey sticks, baseball bats, angepoise lamps, large books or wharever else is the best weapon they can find. The guy with the hockey stick who appeared in the doorway Felix was checking takes a swing at the Felix-zombie!.

The attempt at high-sticking fails.

"I would try to talk you out of attacking, but I think all you're hearing is 'Brains' so..." mutters Felix as he leans back to avoice the high sticking attempt. "Brains, brains, brains, brains, hockey boy..."

Wade hears some figthing starting upstairs and hurries up there to see what the current status is.

Amelia glances at Felix, "Have a little respect. He's just a Uni student. He's thinking there's a zombie infestation, and he's coming out to try and help. Under the mental thumb or not he's showing a good deal of courage."

Since Riptide said he's going to check the alarm, Phantom runs upstairs to help with the deluded students. Maybe he can clear their minds and make them see reality for what it is.

Phantom calls out to the students he can sense. "Hey, snap out of it! Can't you see we're here to help? We're not zombies!" He tries to unravel the illusion Bighead put in place.

The four students shake their heads. "What happened?" "Where'd the zombies go?" "Whoa - wild hallucination!"

Wade looks over to Phantom, "Did you clear their heads?"

Moonshadow says, "He's alive?" She wipes the tears away. "I've never...I heard the shot and saw him with a gun, and I just...blasted him. You're sure he's going to be ok?"

Phantom rubs the back of his head. They were pretty entrenched in the illusion. "I think at least these for seem to have snapped out of it," he answers Wade.

Amelia smiles, "Health wise he's going to be fine, Moonshadow. Whether he passes his exams of not isn't up to me or you. He needs to get on with revision."

Moonshadow says, "Please don't you get hurt, Amelia. I don't know if I could live with what would happen..."

Amelia says, "I'll be careful, Moonshadow. Now, ,imds back on the hob. We have work to do."

Wade smiles and says to Phantom, "Not what I asked, but yeah. They seem to have recovered. Seems like you've got this under control? I'll check out the other wing." He jogs in the direction of the other wing on the floor to see what the status is there.

Phantom grins awkwardly and gives a wink just to Wade. "That answer that?"

Wade finds five armed students reemerging from their rooms.

Wade moves further into the hallway, "Calm down, everyone! Put the weapons down!" He's looking to make himself a target...drawing their attention, if they dont' recover on their own.

Moonshadow says, "I..I'll try. Can I stick with you?"

Amelia reaches up with a hand to grip Moonshadow'a hand briefly, "Always!"

Amelia summons up a messenger and sends it after Riptide. If she needs to open a gate to his location that's how she'll do it.

The various students turn toward Wade - seemingly seeing him as a bigger threat than each other!

One of the students, the furthest away snaps out of the illusion - realising that the other 'zombies' are behaving weirdly to Wade's appearance!

Felix points at the guy with the hockey stick, "You, hockey boy, call the PD! There's a rogue mentalist on campus. Send help. Two injured at least." He adds over his shoulder as he runs after Wade, "And by the way: rugby's so much better that hockey."

Jamie keeps tending the wounded.

Riptide stops for a moment to listen, then takes off quickly again. This time by leaping as his ki is focused into doing just that. A small dust cloud is left behind as he leaps towards the science building. Mid-jump, he reaches up to touch his comlink to open it to the other teenagers.

 Riptide says, "Found the alarm. It's at the science building. Hey, Phantom, what was it you were going after earlier?"

 Phantom says, "Huh? I wasn't going after anything."

Amelia nods to herself, "This is a distraction," she calls out. The real target is something in the Science Building. I'll be opening a gate for anyone who wants to get there."

Moonshadow nods.

 Riptide says, "Alright... well, checking out these alarms. It's going to take me a bit even with my ability to leap houses and stuff."

Phantom follows to where there's more students ready to defend and attack. He looks to the ones who are still under Bighead's influence. "Look, we really don't want to hurt you. We wouldn't be holding back if we were really Zombies," he says as he stops, not getting in melee range of them.

Phantom's mind reaches out to the minds of two of the students. The illusion of Zombies everywhere vanishes and they see the truth.

Wade figures he's fast enough to get to a student and disarm them...and then defend himself before they can take a swing. He steps forward and goes to knock the weapon from his hand.

Wade knocks the racket from teh student's hand. "Drop the weapons! There are no zombies here!"

Amelia orders the Watcher to head into the science building, and waits for it to comply.

Felix grumps a little as he messes with his Bandolier. <> he shares with Phantom over the mindlink. He pulls out a small canister, pulls the pin, and does a bowling through to send the gas canister. "This is taking too long. Time to go to sleep so we can deal with that alarm."

The students see a zombie bowl a gas canister their way. The all look a bit sleepy as they breathe in the gas, getting a little woozy.

"Well, if you gave me some time," Phantom complains a little at Felix's tactic. He starts running for the next floor to check for more college students.

People are just beginning to emerge from their rooms..

Amelia looks through the Watcher's eyes, hears through it's ears, and opens a gate into the science building.

Amelia opens a gate to the top floor of the physics wing, far back in the building.

Moonshadow steps through the gate, and to the side, and looks around.

The place is relatively deserted this evening. Alarms fill the air - not only the outside one, but a second one, inside. that echoes up the nearby stairwell.

Moonshadow says, "Clear!"

Amelia calls out, "Gate is open. I can't hold it open forever."

Felix pulls another gas canister smoothly. << It's not a race, Tr--Phantom.>> He tosses the canister down the end of the hall towards the students.

Riptide continues his leaping across campus. Like a teenager with too much sugar!

The two remaining armed students yawn and blink, leaning against a wall and a doorframe. They both sink to the ground and start snoring.

Wade nods as the stundet start to wake up from the illusion...or fall asleep. Both are acceptable. He heads upstairs to check there...and picks the wing that Phantom ddidn't go to.

Here there are 4 students emerging. This seems to be a girls' wing.

The guy with the tuba comes at Phantom.

Luckily for Phantom, tubas a pretty cumbersome weapons.

Meanwhile, Wade is attacked by a wild-eyed. screaming girl carrying a print copy of the Hero System, 11th edition!

luckily she misses. Further down the corridor one student attacks another with knitting needles.

Wade clears the distance pretty quickly, and dives in the way of the knitting needle, taking the hit...which glances off of him...but also leaves him on the floor.

The last still-affected student on this floor approaches another student weilding an office chair like a shield.

The students whose heads were first cleared by Phantom are getting their act together - one has taken the lead in organising a student force to subdue still-affected students.

Phantom leans back to avoid the tuba and tries to clear that student's perceptions to see reality, as well as the one behind them.

Tuba person and their neighbor come to their senses, looking about in confusion as they lower their weapons.

Moonshadow casts Lunar Eclipse on herself and moves to the door of the room.//Invisibility (Sight and Radio groups), half move - cv:7/7

Wade gets to his feet among hte students. "You all need to calm down! There's nothing to fight over!"

Amelia holds the gate open, while instructing the Watcher to start a search of the building.

Knitting-needle girl is snapped out of the illusion. "OMG! You'ew Victory!" she says, then realise to her horror she's in the middle of stabbing him.

Felix still has one more gas canister should he need it. He thinks Victory and Phantom should be able to handle the rest, so he goes in search of the gate to go through.

Moonshadow says, "On your left."

 Amelia warns Moonshadow over the Travelers comm, "Laurei, be very careful. There's a host of armed rats in Dr Fogg's old lab. Wait for backup."

Riptide continues his literal hopping across campus to the front of the science building. Once there he moves to try the front door.

 Moonshadow replies, "I'm waiting for you near the gate."

Phantom runs up to the next floor. . o O (Man am I glad for training.))

Riptide grumbles. Then reaches to his comm unit.

 Riptide says, "So... I'm outside the science building, but I got a problem. The door's locked."

The college student lowers her baseball bat. "I need to stop with the all nighters..."

 Phantom says, "Try the roof?"

 Amelia hears Riptide of the general teens channel and tells him, "Break in. If there's any comeback I'll deal with it. Join with Moonshadow and Felix. Watch out, multiple armed rats in Dr Fogg's old lab."

 Riptide says, "Got it... and who the hell is Dr. Fogg?"

 Amelia says, "Think mad scienist. Then think more insane."

 Riptide says, "... are they giant rats, or just small rats?"

<COMM> Riptide says, "... and why does weird rats sound familiar?"

<COMM> Amelia says, "Mostly regular rat sized as I recall. Some bigger. Intelligent. Armed, Dangerous."

<COMM> Riptide says, "Well, I can probably clear them out pretty easily if they're all on the floor."

<COMM> Phantom says, "I mean...how bad can rats be?"

<COMM> Amelia says, "Phanton, I heard they held Starguard to a no-score draw. That dangerous."

Wade tries to restrain the last fighting woman. He tries to put her into a choke hold...but not squeeze. "You need to calm down...please...just relax."

The girl emits a cut-off scream as she imagines the zombie crushing her throat...

Wade says to the other women in the hall. "You were affected by a mental power from a meta. Everyone is being...overly aggressive."

Wade sighs, 'Thinking that zombies are attacking. She thinks I'm a zombie."

Felix pulls his last gas canister and sighs that he's out. "I s'pose I could try rolling this into the lab and closing the door. It might make some of them sleepy enough for the rest of us to charge in, guns and spells ablazing like in some movie," he suggests quietly to Amelia and whoever else is nearby. "If everyone's ready. Are the others coming or not?"

Riptide grumbles something about being told breaking in is a good thing. Then sighs and looks at the door lock. Well, easy way! He just flat out kicks at the door lock itself. Full strength.

Riptide probably puts a bit too much into it. The door comes off the hinges. He blinks, then shrugs. "Oops." Then he moves into the building itself, keeping himself unarmed otherwise for the moment.

After mopping up the students that were still slightly out of it, the heroes regroup post-gateway to Dr. Fogg's lab. Where the only threat... is rats.

Phantom finishes freeing the minds of the people in the wings he took. He pants and wipes his brow with the back of his sleeve, taking a very brief breather before Felix bark at him to hurry up. He groans, starts jogging, and is soon sprinting towards the gate to meet up with the others.