YOUgenics Corporation International (CVnU Business/Location)

@the_psyentist: Let's figure out something to do together.

@damian_carlisle: Well, hello, Tom Hardy. :P

@femme_finale:

Jun grinned at Astrid's inquisitiveness. At least there was one aspect of this place that did not fill her with rage. "They have four arms." She almost elaborated on some of the other differences, but remembering that her listener had been trapped her for her entire life, such tales might not make a lot of sense. Or too much sense, which would be cruel.

Instead, Jun closed her eyes and tried to dredge forth what flashes of the dreams she could. They were always very hazy, and did not come often, so she struggled. "They are...not pleasant, these dreams," she began. "Sometimes I am in a place like this, only there are no humans. There are only machines. Robots. I...do not recall if I am alone or if there are others like me. Other times, there is battle. Not battle as on Eristes; there is much technology. I am wearing strange armor, and using strange weapons. I am always fighting different enemies, as well. Machines, living things...some with technology like mine, some using little more than rocks and their bodies."

@the_psyentist:

@damian_carlisle: :'( LOL

@jungala:

Astrid closed her eyes behind her green lenses, listening to Jun’s words. The images were painted in her mind. Cold, ruthless machines creating and destroying living things. It wasn’t too foreign. It almost made her grateful to be in such a biologically orientated place. He had been programmed with an EMP-type nervous system to wipe out the technological energy within her radius should such problematic entities arrive. But it was only a stab in the dark, an assumption based on their own technologies. And was such scientific cruelty justified if it was to protect a planet? She wasn’t a person, she was a Doomsday device, being poked and prodded by humanoid creatures that might have easily sold their souls to science, becoming the very things they sought to combat. All the glories bestowed upon the world by scientific advancements seemed futile and heartless. Deep within her gut, she wanted to fulfill her purpose. She wanted to destroy the world. She wanted to create a new one, a tabula rasa.

The Ticking Time Bomb didn't even realize the heat that was radiating from her cybernetic pieces as she contemplated global annihilation. Her body was slowly drained of her current energy levels, and she found herself drifting off into sleep.

@the_psyentist: (I hope that was fine)

His military force, an army consisting of Konite-infused rebels from a crumbling Spanish empire, and the Brahma Brotherhood, was a formidable one. They'd weakened Ziccarra's grip on her nation, but failed in fulfilling their terrorist agenda. Satar found himself retreating from Iberia, unable to seize Andalusia and turn it into the terrorist-state he envisioned, unable to seize control of the Strait of Gibraltar, a location of immeasurable strategic, military value. He'd failed. The Baabda Beast however, doesn't deal in failure, he deals in power. And the promise of power now lied elsewhere, far from Spain, and at the heart of YOUgenics International... if the rumors were to be believed.

There were whispers, in Gothic's underground, whispers that spoke of genetic experiments and super-powered clones, potential boons for Satar's personal agenda. Boons he now sought to acquire. He'd sent a squad, four Black House Kamikaze Kings. Their power of numerical precision, the ability to solve, measure and calculate numerical problems through simple intuition, would prove invaluable to their task. They would be able to discern the number of people in YOUgenics' headquarters, the number of weapons any security forces might be wielding, the number of bullets inside any firearms, the number of computers there, how many floors existed in the building, they'd be able to measure the area and memorize it's coordinates not with actual data, but simply by being there.

And their approach was wary. Cautious. Avoiding security forces, outmaneuvering them in silence, in the shadows, was their course of action. Even in the cover of night they took no chances. Their garments, brown trench coats, gas tanks and gas masks, were manufactured from a unique material. One embedded with differently colored lights. Lights that rotated and turn on and off dynamically to match the color of the Kamikaze Kings' surroundings. Lights that were attached to protein motors running on small microtube rails. Lights that were comprised of highly fluorescent nano-scale metal semiconductors that absorbed and emitted light of different wavelengths. The colored dots, numbering in millions, moved around in a controlled manner on the Kamikaze Kings' garments.

Their intensity and position was controlled, and the integrated technology in the Kamikaze Kings' 'gas tanks' used appropriate video input captured from the environment to match the image of their surroundings. In short, they were invisible. And their intention was clear; slip into YOUgenics undetected, and capture a number of the rumored super-powered clones before departing.

@jungala: (Jun, do you want our two to escape during this raid? Seems opportune.)

@satar:(Cool. I'll respond tomorrow.)

@the_psyentist: (Looking forward to it)

@the_psyentist: Escape, or just change hands? :P

Either way, I'm cool!

@jungala: Guess we'll find out. >:)

@satar:

The reach of YOUgenics was far with branches spanning the globe. With such a wide expanse, so much manpower and financial means spread around, each one was slightly more vulnerable than in the past. Dr. Blood’s branch was one of the more fortified. And with good reason. Not all the branches contained the clones known as the ALEX project. This one contained one of the more volatile creations ALEX X Delta, Weapon Q. Her danger was only augmented by her spite toward her austere treatment, her curious mind abuzz with thoughts of Armageddon.

Regina Blood was also an ALEX project but one who had been granted a station over her genetic siblings, her vampiric skills offering unique power and insight, her scientific training making her one of the most qualified employees of the YOUgenics corporation. Regina had left for the evening, herself the facility’s greatest security having the knowledge of all its floors and functions and her own superpowers. Behind were left various rent-a-cops in the upper floors, more for the appearance of security than anything else, walking eyes to patrol the medical areas while the doctors were away. Or were supposed to be away, one lone scientist burning the midnight oil desperately trying to break ahead to gain access to YOUgenics deeper locations and specimens. Each door and window was fitted to a central alarm triggered by unauthorized access, passcode or fingerprints required. The alarm would signal the police and the current security. All was peaceful for now, unaware of the presence of intrusion.

But that was only the YOUgenics the world knew of. Behind the massive portrait of the company’s founder Dr. Heinrich Keller was a hidden elevator opened by retinal scan. The materials were usual enough. Reinforced steel alloy, state of the art design. Some ways below the surface of the Earth, the elevator descended to the first basement floor which housed the projects constructed from genetic splicing of various animal traits with those of humans and mutants, animal experiments that would be deemed unethical at the very least should they be discovered. Traversing lower, were the human mutant experiments, the alterations more subtle. Within these two floors were the synthetic wombs that held the forming fetuses of their experimental procedures, various freezers holding the genetic samples from specimens collected over decades of study.

Deeper still, buried beneath the feet of the city walkers was the final basement floors, those that held specimens and experiments of interest, the youthful ALEX projects, kept for observation, mutants and aliens and other metahumans in holding cells, shelves of superpower tissue. The entrances to all the basement levels were guarded by mercenaries clad in black, some were repurposed for commandos those who would capture the specimens. Their purpose in the basement levels was two-fold: keep strangers out, keep experiments inside. They were equipped with laser-guided firearms, flash grenades, tasers, tranquilizer rifles slung over their shoulders, full body armour. But since this was such a secretive operation, most were restless and bored as hell as they patrolled their floors. CCTV was watched by disinterested aids at monitoring stations throughout the compound.

The last floor was access only by the elevator, the descend long to preserve the contents at a safe distance, or the safest the facility could manage. It was here that Astrid (@femme_finale) and her new friend @jungala were kept, both too powerful to be kept in the traditional confines. The ALEX project’s cell was barred with vibranium while Jungala’s bars had been infused with adamantium. This floor was the smallest, and no personnel walked its location unless Dr. Blood was in the building. The elevator was locked down otherwise, unable to pass down to this level to keep the two quarantined, monitored only by various cameras. The Weapon Q paced her cell, her body covered in devices to maintain her from escaping, that kept her energy dispersal in check, her known capabilities written upon a plaque outside her prison. Highly Volatile. Practically her middle name if she had one.

@jungala: @the_psyentist:

Though invisible, the Kamikaze Kings' movements were measured. They were cautious, gliding so as not to alert any motion sensors, and remaining mute so as not to trigger any acoustic sensors. The halls were bleak and futuristic, alabaster and uneventful. The Kamikaze Kings moved, armed with fluoroantimonic acid-containing grenades, radioactive and ferrofluid rifles. With each meter traveled, their minds and senses came together to map out and memorize the coordinates of their locations, and pinpoint the areas most densely populated by roaming security forces in order to avoid them altogether. A half hour into their infiltration, the Kamikaze Kings encountered their first hurdle.

A door, grey and unassuming, but one embedded with fingerprint biometrics; a fingerprint scanner. It was to be expected. One did not slip into YOUgenics' headquarters without anticipating the most modern of security systems. The Kamikaze Kings were prepared. As prepared as they could be, at least. Despite the mainstream appeal of it, they and in particular, Satar himself, did not consider fingerprint biometric scanning to be a strong defense. Why? Because human beings leave their fingerprints everywhere. On walls, on tiles, on glass. And from whichever surfaces they found, the Kamikaze Kings lifted the prints and with a variety of fingerprint images on mere pieces of masking tape, sought to bypass the security system.

Their first attempt failed and an alarm was triggered, echoing throughout the entire building, reverberating like a force of nature. But they didn't panic. This was no failure. Simply another hurdle to overcome. The impending arrival of YOUgenics security did little to break their composure. They were still invisible and armed with the more exotic weaponry, and their numerical precision left them at ease, insisting that the distance between them and security officials was fairly considerable. And they had many a fingerprint image to test. The second attempt failed. As did the third. But the fourth was a success. It was the correct fingerprint image, and the door swung itself open for them, hissing with cooling gases as they hurried past it before closing it behind them.

They roamed about, their numerical precision informing them of the number of nearby doors, focusing on one in particular, one hid behind some kind of structure, a portrait. That was to be their next destination. And it was imperative that they reach it before security does.

@satar: @jungala:

At the sound of the alarm, the security guards jumped. What the hell? A message was blared across the radio. “The alarm was triggered from the back of the building. Somebody, check it out.” Two grabbed their tasers and approached the door. It was open. “Door is open. Cops are on their way.” They looked around for the intruders but couldn’t see anyone. “Hey, you know what’s going on?” One muttered to another. “Maybe it’s another drill.” There was a snicker. “Well, the door is open, someone has to be somewhere. Keep looking.” “Craig, check Dr. Blood’s office. Can’t have anyone getting in there.”

Another team approached the office, two men, stepping through the darkened halls nervously, nearly running into a very anxious doctor. The three nearly had a cardiac arrest right there. “Sorry. SORRY. Why did the alarm go off?” One of the guards furrowed his brows. “What are you even doing here?” “Wait, the doc didn’t set of the alarm?” “Huh?” “Okay, someone is definitely here.” The security personnel scanned the area. Nothing? The sound of sirens began to drone, growing closer each moment.

@the_psyentist: (Nice. I'll wait for Jungala to reply)

@satar: @the_psyentist:

Jungala woke suddenly. There was no gasp, no sitting bolt upright; in the wilds, such things got you killed. Her eyes slid open, smoothly, adjusting to the lowered light of the cells. Nothing seemed awry, at first. The only other immediate presence she could ascertain was Astrid, likely still sleeping in her own cell.

Something was wrong, however. Well, this entire situation was wrong, but something had disturbed the facility. In the distance, her sharp ears could pick up the faint traces of what seemed like alarms. With a sinuous movement that should have been impossible for one of her size, she slid to the floor, silently cursing the bizarre, awkward garment she had been unceremoniously dressed in when she was captured. Silent as a shadow, she moved to the separation between her cell and Astrid's. "Astrid," she hissed, "something happens."

Y'know, if Jun escapes that leaves a nice empty cell.

I sure wonder who could fill that.

@_ophelia_: Axl Rose?

@jungala: @satar:

Astrid’s eyes flung open behind her green lenses. The young woman sat up, scrambling to her feet and dashing over to Jungala. Not just anything would warrant such an alarm given by her prison mate. “What? What is it? Do you hear something?” Her eyes strained upward. Damn, the one time X-ray vision would be a viable superpower to have. Her heart raced with excitement. “What do you suppose it is? Hasn’t all the staff gone home? Is it a break in?”

The Weapon Q trembled at the thought, heat radiating from her implants as she strained against their control. If there was a chance at escaping, the Femme Finale would need energy and would need some way of getting out of these bonds. If there was ever a time to push her limits… she growled and smashed her face into the bars in an attempt to break her glasses.

@the_psyentist: @femme_finale: @jungala:

They heard the sirens. Registered their distant decibels and allowed their numerical precision to determine the distance between them and the police sirens, and the exact amount of time left until their arrival. The Kamikaze Kings kept their focus cool, pumping ice in their veins as they roamed YOUgenics' halls, invisible to the eye, and quieter than church mice. The alarms echoed, ringing with a never-ending prominence that soon came with the investigative strides of the company's personal security staff. Their time was limited. They acted quickly, approaching the large portrait of YOUgenics' founder, their peculiar senses alerting them of a door behind it, one of the many doors their senses had numbered.

Removing the portrait, the extremist squad was greeted by elevator doors, opened only by a retinal scan. This would be difficult. But the Kamikaze Kings did not fret. Instead, they planned. The squad of four was in need of a diversion. They separated. Two of them retraced their steps, deliberately seeking out the company's security, engaging them in a gun-fight, then feigning retreat so as to lure them into a wild goose chase, to divert their attention from the other two Kamikaze Kings that now sought to open the elevator doors. 'Keep them off our trail. Distract them. And if an alarm or something else alerts them to us, prevent them from reaching us', one of the Kamikaze Kings requested, transmitting his instructions from his helmet to those of the other squad.

They roamed, and searched, and roamed for a good fifteen minutes until they'd found it, the computer laboratory. There they sought to bypass whatever pass-codes and user credentials was requested by the computer system. The Kamikaze Kings were the intellectuals of the Brahma Brotherhood. They were the scientists who developed Satar's feared chemical weaponry, and they were the hackers. In the computer lab they sought to hack into a biometric database, and create a credential for one of them by placing their own iris template there. And should they succeed, the retinal scan would study them, and the elevator doors would open. Elsewhere, the other half of the Kamikaze Kings held their radioactive rifles, caught sight of security staff and fired.

Radioactively charged rods, encased in magnetic fields, propelled at supersonic velocities, scorched the air, consuming up to 50% of their mass along their path and threatened to either burn holes right through their targets or should their targets be durable enough, halt inside their body and continue to burn their internal organs until cooling off... and becoming seeds of radiation poisoning.

@satar: @femme_finale:

"I don't know..." Jun answered Astrid, straining to hear the faraway noises. "I hear sirens, and voices...I think." She glaced over in surprise at the sound of her companion's visor striking the bars of her cage. "Save your strength, Astrid," she said with a touch of gentleness. "It may be nothing, or they may be testing us, seeing if we will try to escape." Jun left her own frustration unspoken, as the desire to be free and bring her strength to bear on her captors was becoming difficult to bear, even before this tantalizing possibility arose.

@jungala: @satar: (I'll make a proper YOUgenics response when I can. For now... Astrid's losing her fecking mind. :P)

Smashing into the bars once more, the lenses gave and shattered. Her glowing green eyes were visible as they turned to Jungala. There was a nearly deranged glimmer within those peridot orbs. She nearly growled. "This IS saving my strength. The whole point of this prison is to drain my strength. I. Need. Energy." The femme finale clawed at the devices keeping her power dispersal in check.

@jungala: @satar:

The guards were not prepared for an attack. "What the hell was that?!" They scrambled behind anything to be used for cover, one screeching over the radio. "Gunfire! Get clear. Where are those damn cops?!" "I'm not getting paid enough for this." Those brave enough pursued the gunmen, drawing their sidearms to keep the Kamikazes in sight. "Intruders, stand down. We will use force. The authorities are... ARGH!" The rifles let loose something other than conventional bullets, fire engulfing the hapless guards. They fled screaming.

The initial computer system was refined but ultimately made for scientists, the systems encrypted only to prevent novice attacks. It was easy enough to crack for the cerebral agents. A file of the new input was saved onto the cloud of data throughout the upper levels. By then, the police had arrived and were barricaded outside, surveying the situation. There was a call for additional support. Supers were involved, and the National Guard was requested.

The mercenaries rallied to the first basement floor. They hoped to catch the intruders in a bottleneck coming from the elevator should they manage to breach the security system. Automatic rifles were rested upon metal desks arranged into a barricade, the bodies of the armored guards stooped behind them, ready to fire a barrage of bullets at their opponents. One entered a code to lock down the floors, the elevator halted from being readily allowed down through the subsequent levels, and barred off the areas containing the genetic experiments and documentation, the lockdown released only by confirmation of a code and vocal activation from Dr. Blood or Dr. Keller.

@jungala: @the_psyentist:

All four Kamikaze Kings' senses flared, alerting them to the arriving numbers barricading the headquarters. Their minds were quick, listing how many were outside, how many firearms they held, and how much ammunition they carried. Again their minds flared, now listing the number of mercenaries that roamed in the basement. Those tasked with maintaining the distraction did not falter, and instead, attacked with greater intensity. Firing their weapons, exotic rounds zipping all about while the other Kamikazes set foot inside the elevator, having managed to bypass the security system, their senses reacting with greater alarm as they drew closer to the mercenaries and clones nearby.

As they readied their weapons, their senses listed numbers. The numbers of mercenaries present, the numbers of automatic rifles etc. But then, the elevator stopped. They'd been intercepted. And they were left with little choice but to pry the elevator doors open themselves. Saving their exotic explosives and chemical agents for their imminent confrontation with the mercenaries, the Kamikaze Kings dug their gloved fingers in between the elevator doors, recruited every single one of their muscle fibers, and felt them twitch with superhuman strength as they grunted and slowly but surely pulled the doors open.. to be welcomed, barely, to the first basement floor. The opening was a small one, they'd have to slide through it, the elevator having halted a little less than halfway of the full entrance.

But their senses warned them, rang in their skulls and told them to act with caution. So they did. They tossed their NCCI (Cyanogen Chloride) grenades through the opening, and heard them detonate, a cloud of experimental cyanogen chloride spreading. It was a highly toxic and extremely volatile asphyxiating blood agent that sought to interfere with the mercenaries' ability to use oxygen. Why cyanogen chloride? Because of their ability to penetrate the filters in generic gas masks as opposed to the ones worn by the Kamikazes. Lying in wait, they would observe, as much as they could.

Would the blood agent attack the mercenaries' organ systems most sensitive to low oxygen levels, like their nervous systems, cardiovascular systems, and pulmonary systems to leave them corroded, paralyzed, confused and poisoned like they should? Or were their foes cleverer than anticipated?

@satar:

The guards watched in astonished horror as the doors were pried open by superhuman strength. It was only a small opening the Kamikazes would have to enter, choking them off to one at a time, but also keeping the rest safely stored away from the barrage of bullets unleashed upon the first to pass. But they didn’t come through the spray. Instead, a gas grenade was released in their stead. At first, the mercenaries assumed their masks would protect them from the noxious fumes, but as the cloud spread, the fine gas seeping through chinks in their armour, the guards began to succumb. The bodies grew weaker and disorientated as they desperately tried to fight the airborne poison. One clumsily tossed a grenade, aiming for the small opening between the doors to explode inside the elevator.

(*goes to make a post involving the Organization, sees Satar is attacking another thread and quietly slinks away to avoid being attacked.*)

@the_psyentist: @satar: @femme_finale:

"Skaaz!" Jun cursed, reverting to Eristian as she once again threw her titanic strength to no avail against the bars. To be trapped and have to patiently plot an escape was one thing, but being trapped in a cage while a battle that may well determine both her and Astrid's fate was unbearable. "What can I do, Astrid?" she all but roared, planting a kick against the door with enough force that pain shot up her leg.

@the_psyentist: @jungala:

It seemed the detonation of the NCCI grenade had proven successful. Their mercenary foes succumbed to the blood agent's toxicity and grew more sluggish, more poisoned by the minute. The Kamikaze Kings remained in the elevator, in the warmth of the shadows cast in each of it's corners as light from the bulbs in the basement floor's ceiling conjured weak illumination. The Kamikaze Kings waited, exercising patient, their senses detecting a sharp decline in the numerical value of their opponents' movement. Their minds measured it, the lowering numerical value of their speed. They were moving at lower speeds and moving less and less in specific spans of time.

The Kamikazes would wait, wait until the cyanogen chloride's paralysis took hold and the detected numbers stopped at zero. Only then would they emerge from the elevator, invisible and armed to the teeth. The mission, so far, yielded success, but then came the first casualty suffered by the Brotherhood cronies. A grenade bounced into the elevator, and within a second or two, it detonated, it's scorching, fragmented bits puncturing one of the Kamikaze's ballistic armor, rupturing his internal organs and leaving him to bleed out. The smell of blood, irony and repugnant, began to settle in the air, hanging alongside the toxic cloud born from the Kamikazes' grenade. But now, only three remained. Two exchanged fire with security staff elsewhere, and one was left to continue roaming YOUgenics' deeper floors.

Alone and without the perk of support fire from a partner, the lone Kamikaze's movement would adapt caution. Wounded but alive, unlike his colleague, he shrugged off his surface wounds and waited in the elevator, he waited to hear the mercenaries drop, so that he could emerge and face no resistance. He would wait, cautiously and patiently, for the blood agent's effect to grow in strength until his foes were either dead or incapacitated.

This interaction has been so different, but in a good way! It's interesting to see something done mostly through NPCs.

@jungala: @satar:

Any communication of the sub levels to the outside was choked out by the concrete and metal walls. There were no calls for superhuman backup as the last of the squadron fell still. The only hope of the secured lower levels was the inactive elevator blocking the path from the prison.

Astrid's brows furrowed as she saw Jun eager for escape. "Don't break any bones just yet." Her green eyes stared out through the windows. "I think our remotes should be at the console that opens the cells. With any luck, those should be able to deactivate the mental implants. Don't know about my body devices. If I can break them, maybe, maybe, I can store up enough energy to open your door. The vibranium bars just absorb the energy I throw at it."

The Femme Finale, smashed her shoulder into the bars, hoping to store up the kinetic energy and break the device. Her eyes glowed brighter as she did. Staring hard at the window, a beam of green kinetic energy shot out toward the glass. The tempering made it quite resilient, but finally, it cracked. Raising herself up onto her left leg, she gave the glass a solid kick to knock the remains from the pane. "I'm going to take out the glass from your cell. Then I'll try to target the lock. Stand back."

Ramming into the bars again, her specialized muscular-skeletal structure absorbed the impact, storing the energy of the effort. It really wasn't nearly as strong as when acted upon by another being, where she didn't have to exert her own energy just to gain energy. Her cell was perpetually kept dark and cold to limit the amount of thermal and electromagnetic radiation she could passively absorb. She shot another concussive blast through the hole to the window across from her. And again until it shattered. "Can you knock out that glass, Jungala? Then I'll have a clean shot. And you won't have to break your leg trying to kick open the door."

@femme_finale: @satar: @the_psyentist:

Jun stepped back, visibly impressed at the destructive power unleashed by her previously unassuming friend. The alien huntress could not begin to guess how her body managed to convert impact into blasts of such magnitude, but she was content to live with her ignorance, in light of how effective it proved. Several of the blasts devastated the glass that Jun's own considerable strength could not have cracked. Now that its integrity was compromised, however...

"Yes!" with haste, the warrior had knocked the remaining shards of the strange glass from the divide, her armor-like skin preventing her from suffering any lacerations in the process. "You are clear!" She pressed herself to the wall, eager to both give her friend as clear a shot as possible and not experience her projectiles firsthand.

@jungala: @satar:

Astrid grinned broadly. "This would be so much easier if we shared a cell. You could transfer your kinetic energy to me." The Femme Finale pushed herself into the bars again and again. She didn't as much feel pain as pressure, every hit reinvigorating her cells. Every movement drained some of the energy she stored, so it took time to build up the blast. Her gaze fixed across the way onto Jun's door. She fired a beam of energy at the lock. She huffed as it retained it's strength.

She smashed into the bars a few times, thrashing around the cell, her green eyes growing brighter. Gritting her teeth, she released a stronger blast until the bonds holding the metallic structure crumbled. Astrid fell over. Her skin where she had made contact with the bars bled into green bruises. She had released more energy than the damage she absorbed, and her body was suffering for it. She would need to absorb more energy to heal. The blonde panted weakly as she scrambled to her feet to see if Jungala had managed to free herself.

@femme_finale:

The alien warrior did not hesitate. As soon as the door support gave way under Astrid's assault, she threw her frame against it, knocking it across the hallway to slam against the opposing wall. A moment later, she was at the door to Astrid's cell, frowning in concern at the injuries the other woman had inflicted on herself to give her the means to escape. She gripped the door, hoping that, as Astrid's own physical strength had not seemed greater than that of any other human, they would not have put her in a cell as strong as the one she had been imprisoned in. With a grunt, she exerted her full 25 tons of strength in an attempt to tear it from its hinges.

@satar: Is this still happening?

@the_psyentist:

@celtic_maege: Well, you don't HAVE to get dressed. :P

@the_psyentist: My normal attire wouldnt normally classified as fully dressed

@the_psyentist: Yes! Just got caught up with some stuff. My bad for making you guys wait.

With a metallic groan, the bolts holding the door in place gave way. Slowly. The cell was not made to be easily breached even if it wasn't as sturdy as Jungala's own adamantium-laced bars. Finally, the door pulled free. The woman looked up with a small smile. "Finally. Help me up and get to the Hole. There should be some nice tools there to fix me up."

The Hole was the void-like chamber they kept Astrid in for testing. It was sealed off by lead walls to keep any of the dangerous substances and energies they subjected the ALEX creation to from escaping. There were irradiating and electrical machines. The Femme Finale needed not only to heal herself from her previous ordeal, but she had to empower herself, remove the constraints that held her and kept her from reaching her fuller potential.

@satar: It happens! I was pretty busy myself recently, so all good with the delay.

@femme_finale:

With surprising gentleness, Jungala lifted Astrid and carried her out of the cell. "Tell me which way to go and I will get you there." Without further ado she set off down the corridor, senses alert to avoid whatever conflict was unfolding elsewhere in the complex, or any employees who might not be presently occupied with it.

@the_psyentist: @femme_finale: @jungala:

Without the support of his colleague, the lone Kamikaze strode forward, armed to the teeth but cautious. In the air, the toxic fruits of his grenades hung thick, ready to slay those without the means to deny their form of chemical cruelty. Around him lied paralyzed mercenaries and security staff. They were dying, he was certain of it. And though he remained focused, confident in his remaining two colleagues' ability to stall any enemy support in the upper floors, the thought of law enforcement outside lingered in the back of his mind. But it didn't matter. Satar's indoctrination was strong. The World Eater's words burned into his mind when his resolve grew weak, and he was reminded of why he gave himself to the Brahma Brotherhood.

Reaching the lower floors, his grip on his rifle was tight, his finger always ready to pull the trigger should he need to. But there was no resistance it seemed. For now. He'd move lower and lower, watching his every step, his numerical senses searching for any organized numbers of enemies anywhere in his path. And if not, he descend to the lowest floor by elevator and find the gems so desperately wanted by the World Eater.

@satar: @jungala:

She pointed. "This way." The Femme Finale leaned upon her friend, colour draining from her face. She directed the couple to the metal framed structure not far from the cells. The walls were lined with lead, precautions not against any damage from without but from within. The door was opened easily, latched from the outside. The blonde hobbled toward the centre of the small room, pitch black, her hands moving instinctively upward to grasp the restraints that had held her some times before. She called out to her companion. "Jun, outside of this layer of the room should be a control panel. It controls the various machines that input energy into the Hole. Close the door on your way out. You probably wouldn't want some of this radiation and scheisse messing with your biology. Once you're through... just turn on everything for a few minutes. That should power me up enough to get me back to normal."

Her eyes glowed faintly green in the darkness, her lips drawing up into a ravenous grin. This would hurt like hell. It always did. But this time, she was in control.

@the_psyentist:

In front of the YOUgenics Corporation's building, a specially-designed limousine pulled up. A small company of well dressed, yet discretely armed security personnel exited the limousine and held the door open for its remaining passenger. With that, William Greystoke emerged from the vehicle - finishing up a fine cigar.

The air had already begun to become quite crisper as winter was slowly beginning to make its presence known. William welcomed the temperature and embraced it with a slight grin. Draping a scarf loosely around his neck, he made his way up towards the doors of the great facility which lay before him. However, just before entering, he discretely put the cigar out in the palm of his hand. Once extinguished, he placed it in a slender metallic tube and kept it in his coat pocket.

Standing just outside the doors, William glanced at his palm which had already begun to heal. Whether it had taken longer than normal to heal itself, he did not know. In a few short seconds though, it had completely healed and the Lord of the Lycans clenched his fist tightly - glancing down at the silver-colored ring which lay upon his finger.

"That will be all..." he said to his personnel. With that, Greystoke took the briefcase which one of them held before the party returned to their prior station. Turning back towards the door, William took in a deep breath and walked inside. Making his way to the receptionist's desk, he said, "William Greystoke of Greystoke Industries here to see Dr. Steele."

@the_psyentist: @femme_finale: @satar:

Jungala did not hesitate; the time for that was long past. She nodded once to her mysterious friend, striding quickly through and closing the door tightly behind her. A quick glace about the outer room showed her the control panel that Astrid had indicated. In moments, every switch on it had been flipped to the "on" position.

Instinctively, she positioned herself where she could watch the door to the inner chamber, but also observe the door leading back out into the greater complex without being seen from anyone outside of the room; there was no sense in having gotten this far to be taken by surprise by security or whoever these invaders seemed to be. She found herself continuing to glance worriedly at the inner chamber, however. While she was no stranger to technology, she had long since learned not to trust anything, technological or otherwise, if she did not fully understand its function.

@jungala:

The room was filled with blinding light, arcs of lightning lurching toward Astrid’s body. Her hands gripped the chains as her back arched with a groan. The kinetic energies passed through her unique skin, infusing her cells with potential. The green, patchy bruises seemed to fade then spread and illuminated until her flesh matched the glowing green of her flashing eyes. Her frame seemed to grow, saturated by the influx of energy, filled to the brim with power.

With her body fully healed, the controls would be turned off. The Femme Finale released her hold upon the bonds as the room returned to it’s darkened state. A wild grin in her face, Astrid stepped forward. Her eyes glimmered before releasing a blast taking the door off the room, the cells of it thrown apart by the massive force. She reached out to place a hand on Jungala’s shoulder. “Now, we can get out of this hellhole. The elevator is probably locked down, but we can probably still scale the innards. I vaporize the box, and we hop out of the hole. I wonder if the police have been called yet…”

@femme_finale:

Jun was momentarily startled by the rather change in Astrid's appearance, but she did not waste time in contemplation. In the relatively short span of her life that she could remember, she met quite a few beings who varied wildly in appearance and abilities. Everyone is "normal" somewhere, as the spacers liked to say.

She nodded at her companion's statement. She much preferred the idea of climbing; in her limited experience, elevators tended to be too prone to observation and outside control for her liking, especially in a place like this. "I hope not," she responded, "I do not think they would fare well against something that could attack this place."

Astrid's theory proved to be true; when they reached the nearest elevator, the control panel displayed only angry red lights, and none of the buttons produced a response other than an unpleasant beeping noise. The doors, however, were not designed to withstand 25 tons of power, and Jun wrenched them open without difficulty, revealing a dark shaft, only sparingly illuminated by the occasional maintenance light. "How is your climbing?"

The receptionist looked up from her paperwork. “Uh, Dr. Steele? We don’t have a Dr. Steele in our employ.” She flipped through some files. “We do have her details if you need to get in touch with her if it’s official business.”

@the_psyentist:

Sockless shoes tapped down on the ground just before the facility. Asymmetric glasses tilted with calculation of the place, sneering and snarking eyes behind them. Puzzler was here, and he was certain it wasn't going to be a pleasant visit. Lighting up a fresh cigarette, he used his TK to gently swing the entrance's doors open, walking like he owned the place. "Anyone who tells me to put this smoke out is going to shit themselves" Puzzler wasn't joking, actually hoping someone did try and stop him.

Upon arriving at the front desk, he puffed smoke from his nose at the receptionist. "I'm here to see Steele, and I'm not a bloke who likes to be jerked around..."

@the_puzzler:

A receptionist looked up tiredly toward the smoking man. "Well, sir, I certainly would not want to cause a fuss, but you see, this IS an office with standards of cleanliness and air purity. We deal with foetuses and pregnant women on a daily basis. Therefore, I must suggest you DO stop smoking until your business is concluded or be escorted from the premises. Chance of defecation or no."

She raised a finger. "As for your inquiry about Dr. Steele, she does not work here." She sighed. "If your business is official, our offices do have her contact information and can notify her of your request, Mr...?"