20336 replies to this topic

[A billion cats]

IC: Jeffery Pryde - Las Vegas -

 

Jeffery slowly got up onto his knees, looking at the girl. "Well could be worse I suppose, considering I tripped." He smiled nervously...he really wasn't that good around girls. 

 

"I'm uh....Jeffery." He said, rubbing the back of his head. 

[ZHX]

IC: Gabriel

 

"Gabriel," she replied, holding out her hand. "Gabriel McKnight."

[A billion cats]

IC: Jeffery Pryde - Las Vegas -

 

Jeffery held out his hand in return. "Oh right my last name..." He blushed again, he hadn't given his. "It's Jeffery Pryde." 

 

From the looks of things Gabriel looked like she was about 18, though Jeffery on the other hand was 15, and rather short for his age, he wasn't sure if he could really pass for 18 or not, so he hoped this Gabriel didn't decide to report him to the casino staff. 

 

He was noticing Gabriel's blue hair, wondering if it was natural. He then realized he was probably staring and looked away. 

 

IC: Howard - SHIELD Helicarrier -

 

"I don't know....whoever has hacked the system knows exactly what they are doing...heck they just might be good enough to hack Stark Tower...thought doubtful." Howard continued to attempt to gain access to well...something, any of the systems would be great at this point, though he wasn't having much luck. 

 

 "Agent Ishtar reporting. I'll be down in the computer room soon." Howard heard as a response to his hail. 

 

"Ishtar, can you tell me what has happened here?" 

 

 

[Rawrmouse_Bieber]

IC: Liberty

"I know you can do this Howard." Noel's voice was steady and confident but she wasn't feeling that way at all. Yet she had to put up this front, she always put up a front.

[ZHX]

IC: Gabriel - Las Vegas

 

"So kid, why are you here anyway?"

[A billion cats]

IC: Jeffery Pryde - Las Vegas -

 

Jeff cringed at being called kid, though he supposed it was obvious he wasn't supposed to be here. But how was he going to explain his presence here? I mean there really were only a few things he could think of, and all of them were illegal for someone of his age. "I was just...taking....taking a walk." 

 

Yeah she so isn't going to buy it...

[ZHX]

IC: Gabriel

 

"Eh, don't worry," she said with a smile. "I'm not eighteen yet either. Still got a few months to go."

[Ilyusha Blokfase]

IC-Erin:

 

Three seconds.

 

A lot of things can happen in three seconds. A computer - a slow one - can load a page, you can swallow a morsel of meat. A few breaths, a slight continuation of your life. Your heart can beat about eight times, and if you're trying rather hard, you can type a twenty word text message. But you have to be fast to do that.

 

Well, these computers, hijacked, somehow, were faster. In three seconds the system had run haywire. In three seconds, multiple automated weapons had trained themselves on Marlon, and in three seconds, three, short seconds, Marlon had time for a few final thoughts to run through his head. What was he thinking about? Obviously, what sort of quip he was going to make when we all thought he was dead, after having been fired upon. Obviously, he would have assumed he'd make it out okay, just like always. It wasn't his time yet.

 

Three seconds, Marlon had time to notice the readouts that said he was targeted, pop a hatch, and then he might have had a chance to get to safety on the ground; if anything, he'd have had two seconds to send them another message before he got shot, one last flippant remark on how, mortality be darned, he was going to make it through this even if it killed us.

 

Three seconds that Erin had to notice what was wrong and at least make an attempt to shut down the automated weaponry. Three seconds where he could have gone over, darkened the lights on that computer board, and maybe Brando'd have had a chance to get out of there. Three seconds where he could have run above deck - heck, he could have clawed through the ceiling - grabbed the main gun targeted on Brando, pick it up, and throw it - possibly diverting targeting parameters to him.

 

Three seconds. Three seconds, where he could have done something other than just sit there, watching in stunned silence like the rest of them. Three seconds where he'd watched one of his friends get killed right in front of him.

 

Not too long ago, there had been three seconds where he'd had time to watch his father, Bruce, get killed. He'd been too little to do anything then, but by God, he could have done something here. Now. He could have at least tried.

 

"Well." One word was all it took to force the others into silence, slowly looking towards him. "He's dead. Looks like sarcasm can't quite save your life, can it?" He shrugged, appearing for all the world to be completely nonplussed, as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened, and reached to open the comm link to the Pantheon members.

 

"Vincent," he said, calm as though he were simply discussing something over a cup of coffee, "Remember what I told you earlier; it's your time to get something done. Don't fail us now." He let up on that quick comm connection, having not really cared that the others were already in comm with him and that he could speak through them. He reached up a hand, pulling a lock of hair out from in front of his eyes, pushing his glasses back up a bit.

 

He promptly stood after that, walking over to the large windows there at the bridge of the helicarrier, looking out. Far below them there was water, and just past that, land; and there were clouds surrounding them. A completely serene image, beautiful; until one piece of wreckage fell past the view, streaking it's smoking way through the clouds nearest.

 

Erin cocked his head slightly to the side, uncaring if the others were talking now or not. He seemed the picture of perfect calm, as though he was watching the aftermath of the attack like it was some mere curiosity, drawing his attention away for a moment. However, the others would soon notice something odd.

 

His right hand had begun to shake. Nigh instantly, in Fury's mind, would come thoughts of how to contain him if he were to suddenly morph; they had no Thor there to fight him back, and Howard likely couldn't do too much if he fell into his rage. One second of shaking, and Fury was taking in the breath to order somebody to take him down.

 

Two seconds; and Fury's own hand began to twitch, ever so slightly upwards, not quite giving the command to take him down; not yet. But he was ready to, if it was needed. There had already been one disaster today.

 

Three seconds. Erin's left hand clamped down on his right, stopping his shaking, and he let out a breath that it had just been evident that he'd been holding, and that seemed nearly the cue for the others to do so as well. He performed a quick about face, stepping back to the group behind him, his face more stony a mask than one might normally see on him.

 

"Well," he muttered, again. "I see no need to state the obvious. We need a plan; now. If we just try to run about this, randomly, it's not going to get any good done. Fury, you're in charge here, and we need you to have a clear head. James, get up; you and Noel are the two in charge of this team's field operations. Howard, you're the computer expert besides me, and trusting me with a computer now wouldn't be a good idea," he said flatly, the short, sarcastic comment being a bit of an opportunity to provide humour for the situation.

 

"So. Plan. Now."

[Half a Cup of EW]

IC:

 

"That might be the most attractive thing I've ever heard a girl say in my life," Dallas replied with a ramrod straight face as he held the door open for Angela and then followed her inside, whipping out his Quiksilver wallet and fishing out some money for lunch or dinner - despite being a chronokinetic, the ultimate X-Man wasn't exactly sure how time worked in this part of the world. As the line slowly moved upwards, his keen blue eyes scanned the menu lazily.

 

"Man, I'd order some churros for dessert, but at the same time, you know how scared I am of calories..."

 

-Tyler

 

IC

 

"Oh I know," Angela replied, giving Dallas a critical once-over. "Looks like you ran away from every calorie you ever met in your life."

 

The cashier waved them over; the two walked up to the till. Angela smiled.

 

"I'll take one of your volcano tacos, and a couple churros." She looked sidelong at Dallas. "Looks like today's a good day to start conquering your fears."

[Kaitholas Cage]

IC: Natalie's voice was gradually stabilizing, taking on a cold, steely tone. "Someone hijacked the helicarrier." She paused, strengthening her grip on her emotions. "Brando's dead."

[Dallas Winston]

IC:

 

"Whatever happened to, 'Don't worry, Dallas? You look smokin'?"

 

Dallas' electric blue eyes played their way back over to the cashier, who was waiting patiently for his order. With a faux-disgusted roll of his eyes, the Ultimate hooked his thumbs in his pockets.

 

"Doritos Locos and a couple churros," he grumbled.

 

-Tyler

[Ilyusha Blokfase]

IC-Erin:

 

"Y'know, now that I think about it, there's something more we have to add on to the plan, whatever it is," Erin growled, before any of the others had time to speak. They all looked at him, expectantly.

 

"We have to find out where the **** Carmen Sandiego is. For Brando."

[Rawrmouse_Bieber]

IC: Liberty

Noel froze. She must have just misheard what had just been said. Brando couldn't be dead...no..that was impossible. She looked desperately at the others for conformation, praying she was wrong.

Edited by Rawrmouse_Bieber, Jan 22 2013 - 08:29 PM.

[Half a Cup of EW]

IC

 

"Don't be grumpy, silly," Angel sang, poking Dallas in the side. "You're not allowed to be grumpy when there are churros to be eaten."

[Constructman: Black Knight]

IC: Knower

"What happens now?" I asked even as I began to race towards a computer. I heard Erin's voice over the comm but my conscious mind didn't register; I was too busy trying to think up a plan. I was a Cadet trying to do a Lieutenant's job; I was a Grade 9 student taking on a University level assignment, but somehow, I was holding it together. Maybe that's the odd thing about me: in situations where one would normally cave in from stress, I was perfectly fine. In other situations, however, ones that may be classified by some as "minor", I would totally freak out. Fortunately, this happened to be the former. "Hecate, ya got anything?" I asked even as I sat down at a computer of my own. "Man," I muttered. "Should have sapped those memories from that hacker when I had the chance..."

[Lord of Adders Black]

IC: "How...how was that even alive in there?" Alec questioned as the puppy materialised out of a clearly wrapped box

 

 

IC: "Agent Chrysaor reporting in," Anton answered, "Not sure how much use I can be with hacked computers unless you want me to tear them out though. Has anyone checked our prisoner in case this was something she brought with her? A Trojan Horse sort of thing?"

[Kaitholas Cage]

IC: Alyssa saw the avengers and ran back under the deck, heading toward the computer room. As soon as she stepped in she sat at a terminal, turning it on and beginning to type.

She did not look happy.

[The Snark Knight]

IC: James

 

He wasn't entirely sure how much time passed.

 

It could have been a couple of seconds, if he hadn't been able to hear the frantically spoken directives over the comm system, all trying to figure out one thing; Who it was that had gained control. Who it was that had hacked the carrier, who it was that had activated the weapons. They were all trying to do their jobs.

 

But on the bridge, four people truly understood what had happened. Two Avengers, a member of the Pantheon, and the Colonel. Four people, only four, truly felt the loss. The technicians all scrambled for control, furious that someone had taken control of their ship, their home, from them. But they didn't really think about the occupant of that shuttle, and if they did, it was only to utter a short prayer. A hope that they hadn't seen it coming. But these four did not feel the anger of a home violated, no. They felt the pain of a lost friend. 

 

"So, Colonel Kentucky. You met Fury yet? Because I swear, that eye hasn't left my back since I got here." The words reached Jame's ear from over his right shoulder, the speaker entering the room behind him. Neither of them had been on the Helicarrier for more than a few days, neither of them was older than eighteen, nineteen at most. The super soldier turned, a grin creasing his face as he spoke with the teenager who would become his best friend for the first time.

 

James was completely still, staring as the world went to **** around him. People rushed about, from one station to the next, furiously trying to make some sense out of what had happened, trying to find where the problem was, trying to take back their home. Fury stared straight ahead, but James could see the pain clearly, even on his face. Despite what everyone said, Fury wasn't heartless. Not even close. 

 

"So, Rogers." James looked up from his bottle of water, staring at the eye patch wearing man in a black coat that had materialized on the football field. He hadn't been there a minute ago, he was certain of it.

 

"How d'you know my name?" 

 

"I've known your name since you were born." He wouldn't find out until years later that this was only half true. Fury had learned of James' existence precisely one week after his birth, when SHIELD finally made the connection between the genetics they'd found, and where they came from. "I've been watching you since then, too. You've got real potential. But is a field really where it's best spent? On football?"

 

"You got a better idea?"

 

Unbidden, his mind played memories over, and over, and over. To most they would have seemed random. Significant moments, mixed in with otherwise normal occurrences. But each one had a meaning. Together, they told a story. A long story.

 

The same eyes he had first seen over a year before, glaring at him from across a plane. Their owner perched rather precariously on a lumpy wrapped bundle, far from comfortable. James sat in the last real seat, panting as his body slowly mended itself in the many places it was broken. A weak smirk, with a single finger quickly raised in response. 

 

Tears impacted with the metal floor, the sound unheard in the sheer blending of noise that filled the bridge. Under normal circumstances, the sight of anything resembling sadness on the face of the irrepressibly cheerful super soldier would have had the entire carrier in a panic, but in this din, his reaction went all but unnoticed. His shoulder sagged under a weight no amount of power could hold, a burden that he, for all his strength, could not seem to bear.

 

Two loud laughs, shaking the small motel to its very foundation, as the door closed after the previous occupant of the closet. James, mortified at the simple fact that someone had been in their room when they arrived. A reporter, in fact, chasing down some rumors. SHIELD would track her down three days later. Last James knew, she was working as one of their intelligence officers somewhere in Europe. The son of Hawkeye glanced at James' horrified expression, and burst out laughing anew, finally regaining his breath. "Well, that was exciting. Who's up for frozen yogurt?"

 

A quiet clatter, as something metal hit the deck. The super soldier turned to look at it with glazed eyes, suddenly realizing that he'd still been holding the package, Barely visible beneath its lid was the metal butt of his last Christmas present. And with it, another weight became readily apparent. With shaking hands, he reached into hic coat pocket, pulling out a messily wrapped package with a slightly flattened bow on top. He'd never been any good at wrapping. Nor had he ever been good about handing gifts out on time.

Now he wouldn't get the chance.

 

"... because we're reforming the Avengers." Across the table, wise-*** as ever, Brando produced a noisemaker, and blew on it loudly.

 

With that one last recollection, the tears slowed. The pain was pushed down, as best it could be. Brando had joined the team knowingly. He'd joined a team, the best team there was. And a team looked out for each other. They kept each other safe. Well, he'd failed at that. But there was one thing left he could do. And it was inherent in the very name that had been chosen, decades before. A name that suddenly became maddeningly apt.

 

Brando had been an Avenger. James was an Avenger. It was time to do what he did best. It was time to live up to the title he had taken on. It was time to make the ******** pay.

 

With shuddering muscles, he stood, pushing the present that he never got to give back into his pocket. He could grieve later. But right now, there was work to be done.

There was Avenging to do.

[Constructman: Black Knight]

IC: Knower

"I was interrogating her when the alarms went off; she didn't seem to have anything on her." Typing at the computer, I eventually found something. "People, it looks like we have a..."

 

OOC: GM Brando, may you do the honors?

[Lord of Adders Black]

IC: "Maybe not, but we found her escaping," Anton said,  "What was she doing before we caught onto her? Seems a pretty big coincidence that within the hour we take a prisoner we get hacked."

[Constructman: Black Knight]

OOC: The tension of this situation... Man, am I feeling it.

 

IC: Knower

"...a..." Anton cut me off mid-sentence. "I talked to one of the doctors about it," I replied. "He said that she had specifically targeted Aether. She did... something. Will's alive and well, so she can't have done anything too bad..."

Edited by Constructman, Jan 22 2013 - 08:42 PM.

[The Phoenix]

IC: Winter

 

"Okay... do you know how to find one?" Winter asked, slightly startled by this sudden turn of events.

[A billion cats]

IC: Jeffery Pryde - Las Vegas -

 

"Oh..." Jeff said rather relieved, he jerked suddenly at the signs of yelling and just random chaos from the Casino room next door, the one where he'd totally trashed the slot machines. He looked back at Gabriel. 

 

"Well, since we're both not supposed to be here, I guess I can tell you....I kinda destroyed all the slot machines..." 

 

IC: Howard - SHIELD Helicarrier -

 

Howard continued to work, though he became very quiet after hearing about Brando, only speaking up if necessary. 

 

The one thought clouded his mind. I don't have a CEO for Hostess no more....

[ZHX]

IC: Gabriel

 

"Nice."

[Rawrmouse_Bieber]

IC: Liberty

She bit her lip and hung her head, a few tears escaping her emerald eyes. No, now was not the time. Later she could mourn but now, now it was time for action. "We need to get everyone to calm down. Howard, is there anything we can do?"

[Varren Rehn]

IC:

 

"I'm right here," Will said softly behind the two of them, still annoyed that he was being ignored, "I've been in the Pantheon room for awhile, sleeping. Besides, I couldn't hack this thing, it's too complicated for me."

[Dallas Winston]

IC:

 

A...a...what the heck was it?

 

This was no virus that Knower, nor Pantheon, nor any of the SHIELD techs, had ever seen before. It raised heII and high water through the SHIELD defense systems, which were like total putty in the virus' claws. As a matter of fact, most of the time it seemed like they weren't even there; whatever was currently breeding and festering inside the Helicarrier was something that even the governments of the world would take about five years to catch up to.

 

As a matter of fact, it seemed almost...sentient?

 

-Tyler

[Mega Man: The Blue Bomber]

IC: Zanebono

"Let me see," Zanebono said as he got his hands on the computer. He pulled out a USB flash drive and inserted it into one of the plugs, "Whatever this thing is, I'm gonna figure what it is,"

[thelonewander]

IC: 

 

(Carli)

 

"I've got nothing. I'm not the computer person in this team. That's you and Hephaestus." 

[Dallas Winston]

IC:

 

The screen flickered when the USB drive was inserted in, and for three seconds - only Erin got the sick irony in this - the code of the virus stopped rolling through the SHIELD hard drive. Zanebobo grinned and did a fistpump as he looked down at the flash drive--

 

--only for his elation to turn into a startled curse as the flash drive began to crackle with visible electricity as it, too, was infected - the computer virus was definitely sentient, probably programmed by a team of  black hat technopaths. Code began scrolling through the screens of the Helicarrier again, and this time, a name was visible in the backdoor code:

 

Attila. 

 

IC:

 

"James."

 

A first name: a moment of compassion from the deadpan stoic. For a second, the SHIELD honcho sounded almost human; Brando would've liked that, he reflected, at a time like this. He would've wanted to see that Nick Fury really was human.

 

"James, I need you to come with me. Away from the briefing. Can you do that?"

 

-Tyler

[A billion cats]

IC: Jeffery Pryde - Las Vegas -

 

Jeff smiled, he couldn't help but feel proud of himself at that moment. "Yeah I figured I'd teach the moneybags who run this place something...." He frowned as he thought of something rather important. "I just hope they didn't catch me on camera....that would blow." 

 

As if on que, to security guards came out from the casino, entering the pool area, they began to ask the people there if they'd seen a boy around the premise. 

 

​And unfortunately for Jeff, a kid in a hoodie and jeans stood out in this place like a sore thumb. Gabriel found Jeff hiding behind her, this was the only reason they hadn't found him yet. "Don't move....or they might see me." 

[Mega Man: The Blue Bomber]

IC: Zanebono

"Attila?" Zanebono said as he saw the visible name. He immediately pulled out the flash drive and dropped it to the ground. He pulled his cane out and slashed the flash drive with the sword quickly in half and retracted his blade,

"This thing is sentient, and its not gonna go down so easily," Zanebono said, "From now on, do NOT use any technology in the ship! This is includes wifi, all computers, the training simulator, anything related to computers until this is resolved,"

Edited by Zacax: The Gunsmith, Jan 22 2013 - 09:08 PM.

[Constructman: Black Knight]

IC: Knower

"The heck?!" I yelled in surprise as Zane's USB was infected. "Wait..." I thought. I grabbed the USB and instantly tried to scan it. Was this thing alive?!

 

OOC: Ninja'D

 

IC: Knower

"The heck?!" I yelled in surprise as Zane's USB was infected. "Wait..." I thought. "Is this thing alive?!" I put a hand to the computer and instantly began to scan it, trying to see if there was a mind behind this.

Edited by Constructman, Jan 22 2013 - 09:10 PM.

[The Snark Knight]

IC: James

 

"Yes, sir." The reply was a bit slow in coming. Most people wouldn't notice it, but the reaction was noticeably slower than the crisp, official acknowledgment that usually followed Fury's words. The super soldier's back was straight, almost too straight, and his muscles were tight. Tense. 

 

"Yes sir. I can do that."

[Mega Man: The Blue Bomber]

IC: Zanebono

Using the the cane, he whacked Knower's hand like a mother smacking her son who was stealing a cookie from the jar,

"DON'T!!"

[Constructman: Black Knight]

IC: Knower

"... I'm not a computer."

[Ilyusha Blokfase]

IC-Erin:

 

Three. ######. Seconds.

 

Erin twitched. A momentary tick; harbinger of something to come, possibly, if whoever made this virus wanted to keep playing with them.

 

IC-Error:

 

"...It's probably a good thing I came," Error muttered. Unnoticed by the shocked personell of the ship, unnoticed by those who brought him here, he quietly slipped away, heading for an access shaft.

 

He was going to find his way to the heart of this ship, where the actual hard drive was located, where everything was tied together, and whatever was going on, sentient programs and the like, he was going to kill it.

 

Nobody was allowed to design sentient computer programs but him, darnit. Well, him and Stark. But yeah.

[Mega Man: The Blue Bomber]

IC: Zanebono

"I don't care, what did I say about NOT MESSING WITH THE TECHNOLOGY OF THIS SHIP!!!!" Zanebono sas

[Constructman: Black Knight]

IC: Knower

Keep your cool. Keep your cool.

 

"If this thing is as sentient as you say," I said, pulling back from the computer, "Then there's gotta be some sort of mind behind it. But no matter; what do we do now? Seeing as any attempts to sue the computers will only result in, well, this..."

[Dallas Winston]

IC:

 

"Rogers," Fury replied, pulling the super soldier into an empty corridor; the place was a blind zone, free of surveillance equipment of any sort. "Rogers, I need you to snap to for me, kiddo. Listen. I have a name."

 

"What is it? And where?" A sharp light leapt back into James' eyes, but not the gleeful on that normally resided there.

 

"James Dean Foster," the colonel said meaningfully, eye boring into James' as if this information was the key to life, the universe, and the meaning of everything. "Upstate New York, not far from here."

 

"Great." The supersoldier nodded, committing the information to memory in an instant. "Got an address?"

 

In a silent reply, Fury pressed a note into James' hand with a scrawled address.

 

"You can't go into the primary Lokisphere, it's closed for repair. We have a one man unit in the back you can use. Know where it's at?"

 

James nodded, and Fury's face was set in a silent approval.

 

"Go get 'em, tiger."

 

-Tyler

Edited by Marlon Brando, Jan 22 2013 - 09:21 PM.