10212/The Panacea Project: Interlude

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The Panacea Project: Interlude
Date of Scene: 26 November 2019
Location: Aeon
Synopsis: Cosmic Boy, Slipstream, and Saturn Girl almost rescue Azeilia from Computo, but she foils their plan by revealing herself.
Cast of Characters: Cosmic Boy, Slipstream, Saturn Girl, Mon-El
Tinyplot: The Panacea Project


Cosmic Boy has posed:
After sorting through the video logs that the team had recovered in the last part of the mission, a select group of Legionnaires was heading to the last known location of Azeilia, the sister of Astrix. The Legion was worried that she may be in danger, and if Computo is involved, that would only make things a lot worse.

"You know, this seems like old times again. Danger all around us. Trying to save people. Even in the 21st century, it looks like there is a need for the Legion. Even if I am a bit worried about time tampering...ah well, I'll let Brainy and Lyle worry about that. Let's go."

Cosmic Boy was wearing his dark uniform this time. Black, and Purple, with the silver spheres on his jacket. "Everyone sound off before we head into the hornet's nest. Everyone good to go?"

Slipstream has posed:
"I'm good to go." Drake says as he is in his new all black uniform that consists of cargo space pants and a snug black muscle shirt with his black bomber jacket on. He has silver stripes along the outside of his pants, and dark boots on. He is /tactical/ Slipstream today.

"Do we put our hands in and do a Legion cheer or something? I vote for: Let's not get killed! On three!" Morale officer on duty!

"So, is this an engagement type of situation or we just sneaking about?"

Saturn Girl has posed:
Her return had not been that long ago. Her last mission had taken her away from the team for a time. She'd even missed the last recruiting drive!

Yet, Imra was there, resplendent in a bodysuit of white and pink. The Saturn symbol was on her chest, as was required of her people so others would know a telepath was among them. A belt at her waist with a Legion symbol belt buckle.

"Saturn Girl, ready." She frowned ever so slightly at Slipstream's jokes but otherwise said nothing more.

Mon-El has posed:
    Azeilia's last known location was at home, in her high-rise apartment in one of the capital city's residential sectors. As they'd approach the complex, it's not super fancy, but not a ghetto, either.

    Fortunately, they're not too late -yet- it seems...she is currently sitting at the desk of her home office in her bedroom, reading an article out of an ecology journal, her legs crossed and glasses on her nose. This can be seen from her bedroom window many floors above street level.

Cosmic Boy has posed:
Looking over at one of their newer recruits, Cosmic Boy smiles, and gives him a "thumbs up". AT least, he thinks he does it right. Checking his telepathic plugs and comms, he realises that he has someone better than the comms. Imra. "It's good to have you back, Saturn Girl. Or should I say, it is good to be back. Either or works."

Cos chuckles at Drake's idea of a "battle cry" but simply adds. "Long Live the Legion - my friend." Cos blinks. "Minus the my friend part." As his smile fades, Cos puts on his "game face".

"Right. We're going to try stealthy, but since we aren't usually the stealthy types, I suggest eyes and ears on...and mind, everyone keep those open, and we'll be okay. Right. Let's get closer." Pointing to his eyes, then at the window, they can all see Azeila inside. Now came the hard part...the waiting. And watching.

Slipstream has posed:
"Snowball." Drake says to his robot in a soft voice. "Sweep the perimeter and stay out of sight. Radio back if you see anything." The tiny Overwatch companion detaches from her harness, then sweeps itself about up and away to monitor the area.

"We should probably talk to her." He suggests as he creeps along forward with the rest of the team. "At least this way she has a head's up and maybe she can give us some intel about the area. Emergency exits and what not."

Saturn Girl has posed:
"I will coordinate communication," Saturn Girl says, taking on the role she is used to with her team. While they do have their tech to help them when she isn't around, thought is faster than sound so it is a more efficient method to use her telepathy.

She hovers with the others, reaching out with her power and scanning the minds in the immediate area. Not for thoughts. Simply to know where they are. This will also let her know if there is anyone in a strange place that shouldn't be, like an air duct or the like. With a bit more power, she makes sure they are not seen by others. It's a simple mental illusion should someone look where they are, they will see nothing but the open sky.

Mon-El has posed:
    Snowball's sweeps and Saturn Girl's mental scans would reveal that there isn't really anything out of the ordinary around here, at least not -yet-. There are a few people walking around in the hallways, probably headed to or from their units, and people hanging out in their own apartments much like Azeilia is.

    After a few moments of uneventfulness, Azeilia puts down her reading material and picks up a comm, sighing. A second later and -their- comms start going off. It seems, she is trying to call them, unaware that they are right there watching her...

Cosmic Boy has posed:
"Excellent Saturn Girl." Cosmic Boy says, and switches to sending his thoughts. Just like old times once again. "Slipstream has a few good suggestions...we can talk to her, warn her, or wait to see if who were are looking for shows up. Then move in. I'm open to both. As for exits..." Cos holds up his hand with the Flight Ring.

When the coms go off, Cosmic Boy raises an eyebrow quizzically. "Slipstream. Do you want to do the honors and talk to her while we keep an eye on things and listen? Saturn Girl has the neighbourhood "locked" down so let's see what she has to say." Then, he nods.

Slipstream has posed:
"Sure, I have a good relationship with her." Drake says as he gives a salute across the brow, then answers his comms. "Hey Azzy! I'm actually here on site and coming towards your office. I thought I'd drop by and make sure you were okay." As he blinky-blurs his way across the distance, he reaches out to knock on the door from outside.

"It's me! SlipStream." He says as he listens to Snowball in his earpiece doot-da-doo away and give him intel when and if she comes across it.

Saturn Girl has posed:
As Slipstream goes to join the one they are protecting, Saturn Girl continues her quiet vigil of monitoring, protecting them from being seen by bystanders and providing communication should it be necessary.

Mon-El has posed:
    "Oh, Slipstream." Azeilia certainly welcomes the sound of Drake's voice. Because he was one of the -nice- ones! She opens the door for him before he even finishes knocking. Smiling warmly, she welcomes him in. "It's good to see you. Thanks for checking on me." Then she frowns slightly. "So, have you discovered who's behind all of this? I am certain it's not Astrix."

    Snowball would identify the exits in the building. On the ground floor, there is the main entrance in front, a loading dock in the back, and a side door on the west end. On the top floor where Azeilia's apartment is, there is an emergency exit that leads to the roof. There is also a glass sliding door in her kitchen that leads to a small patio.

    As Saturn Girl keeps vigilance, she would pick up on someone approaching the building--it's Lar. He lands on that patio, and waves toward Drake and Azeilia standing inside by the main door to the inner hallway.

    "Oh, hey it's your friend." Azeilia's eyes light up with recognition and she smiles, moving over to the patio door and reaching out to push the button to open it.

Cosmic Boy has posed:
Moving to stand with Imra, Cosmic Boy keeps watching Slipstream, and listens to the night. Looking sideways at Imra, he smiles. For just a moment, but it told her everything through the link. Cos was enjoying this. Too bad Garth wasn't here. They needed to get the original band back together.

"He's a good kid." Cos said that out loud, not in the link, nodding towards Slipstream. "Good instincts, if impulsive." When Lar arrives, Rokk looks at Imra with a curious expression. "He's not a part of this mission? Imra..." She probably already knew to check. Something felt wrong.

Slipstream has posed:
"No! Don't push the button! He's been compromised! ROKK! IMRA! CODE RED!" Drake calls out through the comms as he blurs forward to grab at Azzy's hand before she can tap the button, using his sonic speed to close the distance. "I need to get you out of here! Snowball! Prepare for deep freeze!"

He can hear the robot signal her confirmation and come racing back quickly on her four tiny thrusters. Doot-Da-Doo!

Saturn Girl has posed:
"He's young. Raw. Impetuous." Saturn Girl's sum up her assessment of the new recruit. She's always been a bit harder on them. Not meaning to be but she often is. Of course, saying he is young is a bit humorous considering they aren't really much older.

As Lar arrives, she considers him a moment then hears the thought from Cos. <<Protect her. Do Not Open that door.>> The words go directly to Slipstream, expecting him to act. Her thought was actually too late. He was already acting. He went up a couple of notches with that.

Even as she is speaking to Slipstream, another portion of her mind reaching for Lar. <<Lar? Please join us. I need to speak with you about the mission.>> Polite. Friendly. Even as she draws her mental power into a fine pinpoint, not wanting to use it as the weapon it can become.

Mon-El has posed:
    Azeilia looks confused as Drake seems to flip out and grab her hand away from the door controls. "Wha--compromised? What do you mean?" she asks, looking concerned. She glances back at Lar. He -looks- normal to her...

    ...Er, well except for that oddly vacant expression on his face.

    Okay...she starts to step away from the door. But as she does so, Lar shrugs and his eyes glow crimson before he starts carving the glass out of the doorframe, then pushes it out with one finger. It falls in, clattering to the floor. "Drake." he says flatly. "Come on now, surely -you- don't believe I've betrayed the team, do you? That's why I don't want to hurt you." He eyes Azeilia. "Still, she's coming with me--whether I need to go through you or not."

    As Imra reaches out to Lar, she would find that his mind is oddly empty. As if he is unconscious or something. But there is another presence there...

Cosmic Boy has posed:
Noting what Imra was doing, Cos nods, and sends through the link, which didn't include Lar. "Right! Mon-El is a Daxamite, so we are outgunned! Where's Jo when you need him? Okay, the priority is the sister, Slipstream, all yours. Keep her safe. Get out of there! We'll deal with Mon El." Cos sent that with confidence, but heaven knows how they could take him down.

Cos also tries to calm himself down, not that that would help. Lar could hear their hearts beating. Concentrating on the electro-magnetic spectrum, he tries to see anything that would give away what was going on with Lar. Manipulating the magnetic fields should give them a warning...however quick that would be.

Cos steps in front of Imra, just in case this goes south, and Lar targets them next. Her mental powers would be Rokk's first target, thinking tactically. Which, of course, Imra would "hear" since they were linked. "Just let me give you the time to take him out Imra, if you can."

Slipstream has posed:
Sweeping his arms about Az', Drake hikes her up, then blinks away a few dashes, moving quickly in a blue blur. "We shoulda gone with the other team cheer!" He calls out through the radio as he zigs and zaps about, generating enough sound in his sonic pocket. "Hang on!" He calls out to his precious cargo, then rams himself towards one of the walls, forcing his speed outwards into a sonic boom that shatters the stone and carries him out through it.

"Snowball!" He shouts out as the little robot zips down from the sky in front of Lar, funneling the deep freeze of ice into a thick ten by ten wall that quickly looks to seal him in. It won't stop him for long, but it will at least cut away his line of sight, and allow Drake to continue blasting away with his speed. "Saturn! Track me! I need an exit strat before he eats me!"

Saturn Girl has posed:
"He is unconscious. Someone else is in his mind," Imra shares with the team over the telepathic link. As Cos moves to get in front of her, she realizes that it is the correct tactical move. She might hate it, but it is the right thing to do.

<<I am giving you one chance here. Who are you and why are you in my friend's mind?>>

Ever the one to try to /not/ go to violence if necessary but her power level is great, the highest of her people, as strong as the greatest telepaths on this planet. <<I do not wish to harm you but do not doubt I will do so if you do not leave.>>

Yet, even while she is doing this, her mind is with Slipstream. She is able to feed him information from locations of others, giving him a 'map' of sorts marked by minds.

Mon-El has posed:
    Drake is fast, but Lar is also fast. Walls shatter, while ice walls go up. As the new Legionnaire may have expected, it definitely doesn't hold him for long, and it actually doesn't even break his line of sight either--gotta have lead for that. The Daxamite simply shatters the ice, sending pieces of it flying everywhere, as he flies out through the same busted wall after Slipstream and Azeilia.

    But then Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl suddenly appear in his path. Of course, where there was one Legionnaire, there was bound to be at least a couple others. "You would be wise to stay out of my way, Rokk Krinn." he warns, and charges at Cos, aiming to grab him and -throw- him out of the way. He'd best have some kind of defense up, because Lar isn't pulling any punches this time. Not that it'll keep this from hurting... a lot.

    Imra's probing would reveal someone--or rather someTHING, rather familiar. If it isn't Brainiac 5's rogue AI, COMPUTO in there. "You are in no position to make any demands, Imra Ardeen." it responds. "If you want your friend to survive--at least for now--you will hand Azeilia Stellaris over to me, and withdraw immediately."

Cosmic Boy has posed:
Since Cosmic Boy had spent most of his power on shielding Imra, Mon-El rips through his magnetic shields with supreme effort. The sweat on his brow reveals how much he is trying to give Imra time to deal with Mon-El, and he gives her precious seconds...until he is thrown at the nearest car, setting off the alarms as he crunches into the vehicle smashing into the windshield, unconscious. His shields saved him, but for the time being, he was out of the fight. Unfortunately, with consciousness went his shields around Imra. She was on her own. Hopefully he gave her enough time.

Slipstream has posed:
As he puts enough space as possible between himself and Lar, Drake puts Azzy down and says, "Hide. If you got a thick metal wall, maybe made of lead, get behind it. I gotta help my team." He says with desperation in his voice, then turns his eyes over back to the battle. "Snowball with protect you." As best she can at least.

With the blurs back towards the fight, zipping away in blue blasts as he absorbs the kinetic energy around him, pocketing it once more. He can hear the bracelet on his wrist dinging loudly, alerting him that he's moving from 'you're okay' to 'oh shit this may be a bad day for you', but he ignores it for now.

"LAR! YOUR SHOES ARE UN-TIED!" His voice hollers out, moments before he slams on the breaks right before him and unleashes a wall of sonic 'BOOM' right into his face.

HA-DO-KEN!" Wrong character in the game, but Guile is a prick and Ken is way cooler.

Saturn Girl has posed:
Cos goes down hard. Saturn Girl cannot let herself react. She cannot go after her friend, to see if he is okay. She has to keep an eye on the target in front of her.

<<What are you...>> That is for Slipstream but he is already acting before she can send him a thought. She finds the woman's mind, reaching out to cloak her as best she can with illusion so she isn't there.

Then she throws an illusory Azzy a few blocks away. Hopefully this works if Lar--no, Computo--if Computo goes after her.

<<As seems to often be the case, you are incorrect. I am in such a position. You will not have her today.>> Another day? It's possible. Computo is formidable as an opponent. A moment later, she disappears from view and uses her flight ring to immediately drop about six stories and fly around the corner. Trying to keep herself at a distance from Lar because he could take her apart. Literally.

Yet her her mind is her weapon and her tool. She reaches into the mind of Lar, trying to find the man behind the machine. He was there, just unconscious. She just had to try to reach him, to bring him back to himself.

Mon-El has posed:
    Azeilia nods quickly as Drake tells her to hide. He doesn't have to tell her twice this time! She hurries away, ducking into her hovercar. Okay maybe it's not the best hiding place, but at least this way she has some kind of getaway ride if he spots her.

    Lar/Computo watches with satisfaction as Cosmic Boy falls and doesn't get back up. It notes that Azeilia -appears- to be a few blocks away, but now that it is aware of Saturn Girl's presence, it doesn't trust that! Now, its focus is taking Imra out. But before it can go after her, Drake comes at Lar with a big sonic boom that takes him somewhat off guard. Interesting...it wasn't familiar with that one. The Daxamite is thrown into the side of the apartment building, cracking walls and sending debris flying and falling. The screams of the residents can be heard as they run for cover.

    "Fine, if you want to do this the hard way, then so be it." he calls out as he recovers himself from the side of the building and fires his thermal vision at Slipstream.

    Thanks to the distraction that Drake is creating, Imra would indeed find Lar himself in there, trapped in a corner. Though it seems to be a somewhat younger version of him, maybe about fifteen. And...he doesn't seem to recognize her presence.

Slipstream has posed:
"I don't want to do this the hard way! You're making me shit my pants!" Drake calls out as he blinks about in a crazy pattern, trying to make himself seem untrackable. The bracelet is screaming! Orange! ORANGE YOU IDIOT!

He cartwheels, backflips, dives to the side, all trying to remain a step ahead of the laser beams that barrels down upon him. Sadly, he is not quick enough, and as he blinks out of one run and into another, the shot catches him square in the back, sending him flying into the ground with a bloody heap and tumble. Thud-Thud-Crack!

He can feel his vision grow cloudy, his head spinning as he coughs out a lungful of blood. ".. Ow. He broke my everything."

Saturn Girl has posed:
As Lar/Computo spots Azeilia, another one appears on another block. Then another. She is sending out as many illusory versions as possible to keep him from hopefully finding the right one.

She feels the pain from her teammate. It is what happens when there is a link. Cos. Slipstream. Leaving her to face her Daxamite teammate.

In his mind, she enters more fully, becoming a construct there as she walked toward the figure hidden away in that corner. "Lar? It's Imra. Can you hear me?" she asks him softly as she tries to examine how he is being held there. The fact he has been youthened seems to indicate this is a part of his psyche from the past. She tries to search for the answers.

Outside she flies around another building, keeping that distance from the possessed Legionnaire. <<Computo, why? Why do you want her? What have you done to Lar?>>

Mon-El has posed:
    Computo watches with satisfaction as Drake tumbles into a heap on the ground. As expected, he is no match for the Daxamite, and therefore not worth its effort. As such, it refocuses its efforts on finding and taking out Imra, but with all her mind tricks, this proves to be difficult. Even if it does spot her, it cannot be sure that it is truly her. It hovers there, considering, when she tries to get information out of it.

    Meanwhile, inside Lar's mind, the younger version of Lar doesn't necessarily seem to be physically restrained, but mainly appears very confused and scared. He stares at her. "Wh-who are you? I-I don't know an Imra."

    "Lar Gand is mine. If you want him to live, you had best hand the girl over to me."

Mon-El has posed:
    Meanwhile, Azeilia watches in terror from her vehicle as Drake is struck by the laser vision. "....Slipstream...no! Oh gods..." she whispers to herself shakily.

Slipstream has posed:
As his body begins to knit together from his pathetic self-healing, Drake cracks his head slowly to stare at his bracelet as it blinks bright red, flashing rapidly. He can feel his stomach heave, but for his own pride and ego, he swallows it back down. With tears pricking the back of his eyes, he sucks in a deep breath and slowly pushes himself upwards to his feet, sputtering out again.

"Snowball.." He croaks out into his communicator. "Take out his eyes."

Wait, what did he say?

There's a DOOT-DA-DOOOOOOO from above as Snowball whirls quickly, followed by a blast of hot pure ice into his face as she turns on the thrusters. He gets the world's coldest facial that would burn most normal humans. He hopes Snowball can give his teammate enough of a distraction to dig deeper into his head if possible, or at least GTFO.

Either way, hey, his bracelet turned orange and he can feel his legs again! That's a bonus.

Saturn Girl has posed:
"You don't know me yet," Imra says with a smile to the young Lar. "When you are older, we're teammates." She realizes she needs to give more than that. "Friends to be honest. Can you tell me what happened?" She waves her hand at the mindscape around them, the world that is dominated by someone who is not supposed to be there. "You seem to have been tucked away here. Do you remember anything?"

As for Saturn Girl? She could feel all those minds around her. She couldn't attack Computo without attacking her friend. While a psionic blast probably wouldn't harm him, she wasn't sure and would not chance it. Unless forced.

A new plan hatched and it was a good thing Cos was out. He wouldn't approve. <<Do you promise to let him go, and any other Legionnaires you have compromised, if I let you have her?>>

Mon-El has posed:
    Ah, Snowball. The Brave Little Robot. She does indeed blast him with deep freeze in the face, but while this would burn a normal human, Lar is far from that, and it basically does nothing but distract him. "Gah! Your actions are futile, you fragile Terran. Do not be a fool!" His eyes blaze crimson again, and the red lasers lance out at the robot at close range. In case that isn't enough, he dashes forward and grabs her, then chucks her hard at the now halfway destroyed apartment complex. "Where is Saturn Girl?!" he demands.

    Lar's younger psyche seems to relax a little when Imra seems friendly. He frowns, trying to remember. "I....just remember being at home, before..." But he shakes his head, peering curiously at her. "Wait, when I'm older? Are you from the future? How did you get here?"

    "I make no promises. You are in no position to bargain. I tire of these games. Show yourself, and stop hiding like a coward. I -will- find Dr. Stellaris, whether you cooperate or not."

Slipstream has posed:
Poor Snowball! At least they can rebuild her, right? She gets blasted into rubble, becoming a smoking, charring hunk of metal. Drake feels his eyes glisten with tears as he becomes overwhelmed with emotion. He takes a step forward, then another as his body is weak and limpy, still trying to put itself back together again.

With a glance towards Az, he makes a motion for her to keep her head down. Stop peeking.

<< I'm out of distractions. I could tell him knock knock jokes or something. I think all my ribs are broke and I'm down to one lung. What do you need me to do? I can try and get her out. >>

Saturn Girl has posed:
"Well, that's a hard question to answer," Imra says with a soft laugh. "Yes, I am from the future. The 30th century to be precise. And I know you as Lar Gand. Also Mon-El. You are the same age as me, at least where I come from. Right now? This is inside your mind. I'm a telepath and a bad entity has taken over your body. Your real body," she adds. "You are powerful, moreso than I am. And I need your help to get this entity out of your brain."

<<I will mask your exit. Get her away. Tell the others what happened here if I don't make it back. Come back for Cos when she is safe. Make sure they know that Lar is compromised. I am hoping to break him free before this is over. If he is freed, he will know the password as Sunshine.>>

And with that, all the illusory Azeilia begin walking toward where Lar is hovering. Down on the ground, Saturn Girl emerges and walks to the point where all the illusory versions of Azeilia are gathering. She stops and looks up at him but her mind is used to communicate with Computo, in case it gives anything away. "I am no coward. I will give her to you, if you make the promise. If you do not, I will hide her so well you will never be able to find her, even if it means the loss of my friend."

Mon-El has posed:
    "30th...century?" Young Lar's eyes widen at Imra. "Wow, do I live that long? I--" He frowns as she starts to explain the situation, and after a few moments, he suddenly seems to shift back to a more current version of himself...

    "Imra," he says urgently. "You and Drake -need- to get out of here, and get Cos to safety. Computo knows how to turn Astrix's nanobots into self-replicating machines that can consume organic material to create copies of themselves. It's planning on using Azeilia to force Astrix to hand him control of the factory he just purchased...you -have- to stop him before he mass-produces them and uses them to eradicate every last trace of organic life in the galaxy..." he looks away. "And if that means destroying me, then so be it."

    Outside, Computo leers at Imra and the Azeilia illusions as they converge near him. "I knew the coward part would work." He flies at her, unleashing his thermal vision in her direction as he had done at Drake earlier. But suddenly, some rocks and debris hit him in the back and he turns...

    It seems Azeilia has opened the door of her vehicle and is attempting to draw its attention. She just couldn't stand it! Watching Drake limp like that...he almost died! If it's her the rogue Legionnaire wants, then she won't be letting any of her new friends get hurt any more, much less killed, for her sake! "Hey! HEY! Yes you, Mon-El! I'm over -here-! If it's me you want, then come -get- me!" she shouts, shutting the door to her vehicle as soon as he is looking her way, and taking off down the street!

Slipstream has posed:
Already moving towards Azeilia, Drake gives a quick blink of blue light, crying out in pain as he reaches the vehicle. "Shut up, you idiot. We had a plan." He hisses at her as he shoves her to the and into the passenger seat. He starts to quickly pound away at the dials as the speedy hovercar lifts upwards, then he jams on the engine and blurs off with a Jetson like VROOM. Once he secures her on the ship, he'll come back for Rokk. He can do this. He can do this. He can do this!

<< Try and keep him off us. I'll come back for Rokk! >>

Saturn Girl has posed:
"It won't come to that. I have a plan." Imra offers to the Lar stuck there. "Can you tell me anything about what he did? How he got you? Is anyone else compromised?" So many questions and no time.

Which is when the woman does the most stupid thing ever. <<Azeilia, we have this. Or we did.>>

As the heat vision comes her way, it blasts straight through the Saturn Girl standing there. That too was an illusion. While no coward, she's also not stupid.

Her plan may be completely destroyed now. Thanks to their protectee deciding to become the protector.

Imra begins to duplicate the vehicle, trying to mask the real one with dozens of illusions splitting off from the first then more splitting from that.

Around Mon-El, a dozen Saturn Girl's appear, eyes glowing with power. <<Computo. Get out. Now. Or I will rip you apart, along with Mon-El.>>

Mon-El has posed:
    Azeilia looks equally frustrated when Drake jumps into the vehicle with her. "Slipstream, -no-!" she squeals. "Gods, just -let- him take me. If he wanted to kill me, he would've -done- so by now! He wants me -alive-. But he almost killed -you-. I'm sorry, but I can't live with your blood on my conscience!" With that, she pushes the speeder to max altitude and -jumps- out the door!

    "I'm the only one. It doesn't have enough of the nanobots under its control to puppet anyone else, at least not yet. But that will change if it seizes the factory in Theta-4 from Astrix." The real Lar Gand sighs and shakes head at her other questions. "Imra, there is -no time-. Go. -Now-."

    Imra's illusions serve their purpose of confusing Computo...all the way up until Azeilia jumps off of her own speeder, effectively painting a big target on herself. Even as Imra threatens the rogue AI, a slight smirk appears on Lar's face. "Empty threats are useless." It replies to her, knowing she would not hurt Lar.

    Then he zooms off, catching Azeilia as she falls. It is true enough though, that he doesn't seem to have any intention of killing her--at least not yet. Instead, he makes for the nearest space port, no doubt headed for that factory Cos and Brek had seen in Astrix's ledgers earlier.

Slipstream has posed:
"No!" Drake calls out, reaching out to try and snag her before she leap out, but missing her as the car jerks to one side. He lets out a scream of frustration, slamming his hand on the steering mechanism. Beep! Oh. He found the horn.

As the car whips itself around in a one-eighty, he shows off his thousands of hours playing VR Grand Theft Auto. << Are you fucking serious right now? We had this in the bag and that ... dumb as rocks... Oh my God I am so fucking tilted right now. >>

As he parks the vehicle, he pushes himself out, still limping, battered and bloodied as he coughs up another clot again from between his lips.

"I need a bandaid." Thump. He settles against a wall and slumps down like a rag doll.

Saturn Girl has posed:
For a moment, she almost releases that bolt. But he's right. That's the worst part. There is nothing she can do without hurting Lar. Despite the words of her friend, she has no desire to hurt him. Perhaps the rest of the team will have a better idea how to get Computo out without harming Lar. She has to get them the information he shared. "Alright, Lar. But I will get you back. I promise." Then she is gone, disappearing from his mindscape.

At that point, Saturn Girl becomes visible on the ground as one of the Azeilia's there disappears. She had been hiding herself as one of them. Her plan in ruins, all the duplicates disappear and it leaves her with her broken teammates.

"Saturn Girl to Legion, we need medical assistance." She sends out the call to the others. "And I have critical information to share."