5474/Astral Flux: One Dead, One Alive

Astral Flux: One Dead, One Alive
Date of Scene:	01 October 2018
Location:	Triskelion, New York City
Synopsis:	An attempt by Psylocke to free the telepaths in SHIELD gets a little insane.
Cast of Characters:	Psylocke, Hawkeye (Barton), Nick Fury, Hellboy, Shadow King, Quake
Tinyplot:	Astral Flux

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Psylocke has posed:
The Triskelion is always bustling with activity. There are visitors coming in the lobby trying to get the organization to look into their personal crises. These may include the dog that is always barking next door, the taxi driver they are positive is an illegal alien (the outer space kind) and the one older lady always coming in claiming her toilet is clogged up. Agent Tonara had been kind enough to help her once and since then, she always came looking for him. There were also people with actual intel or needing assistance and they were filtered to agents who processed their complaints.

Adding to the bustle are the employees. Not just the agents but the host of others who provide the infrastructure that allows an agency like this to work. From file clerks to receptionists, telephone operators to maintenance. The backbone of the place who were always present but rarely noticed.

The agents were the last tier, covering all the sensitive areas as well as the reception desk there in the lobby.

Through the big shining doors comes a figure that draws the immediate attention of everyone she passes. No business suit. No SHIELD armor. Not even a daring dress. The Japanese woman is wearing a costume. There is no other term for it. A bodysuit in a deep blue with a red sash at the waist. Thigh high boots and long gloves in the same deep blue as the bodysuit. A few wraps around her upper arms and thighs. Her purple hair is worn loose, falling around her shoulders and part way down her back. She stalks directly for the reception desk.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint is down in the lobby when Betsy makes her entrance. At first with the all the head's turning he wonders if Tony's made another of his surprise visits, but when he turns and sees Betsy his brows widen in surprise.

He remembered her vaguely from the SHIELD files, Psy something? Psyborg? No he didn't see any metal parts... Well he'd figure it out.

Seeing some of the lobby security guys heading Betsy's way he waves them off and heads over himself.

"Hi, I'm Agent Barton, welcome to the Triskelion, though a quick head's up, our Halloween party isn't until the 31st so if you're here for that you're suuuuper early."

Nick Fury has posed:
    Nick Fury was there. In the background. Almost like he had known she was going to be there, but was trying to remin silent and incommunicado. Fury was nestled in the back of the area, watching carefully, and taking everything in, as though assessing the threat, and seeing if there was anything else that might be coming as a surprise. His eyes watch Psylocke with an almost casual air, as he assesses her, and the potential threat. It was a talent, and the light coming from the tip of his expensive cigar reaveals something else...that he had just inhaled. His eyes see that Clint is there, and with a nod, watchesl knowing he can handle it. Maybe.

Psylocke has posed:
As Agent Barton intercepts, the woman stops her forward motion immediately. Psylocke takes a single step back, angling her body so a little less of it is squared to him. More a three-quarters. Anyone with training, which is basically every agent there, will know it is a defensive stance when practicing martial arts. If the costume wasn't a giveaway, that movement was. There is much more to this one than a pretty face.

When she speaks, her accent is distinictly British. "I am not sure what you people are doing here but you have endangered lives with your recklessness and cowboy tactics. I am being forced to act in a way that is unbecoming of my character." She keeps her arms hanging loosely at her sides, hands open. No threatening movements. "You've already killed Paul Dannon. I demand to speak to Aaron Grant before he suffers the same fate." Diplomacy doesn't seem to be her strong suit or perhaps she's just as angry as she is trying not to sound.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
The defensive stance has Clint taking a step back, opening up distance, giving him the chance to use his reach if it came down to a fight. Not that he was looking for one, he'd been around enough great fighters to know one when he saw it and he was definitely seeing one right now.

"Who?" Clint lies. "I'm afraid I don't know who you're talking about, but if you'll take a seat for a moment we'll try and see what's going on."

He was stalling and if his mind's being read he knows exactly who she means, hell, he spoke with Aaron just the other day.

"So yeah, take a seat and let me see what the folks above my paygrade might know who you're talking about."

Nick Fury has posed:
    Fury taps the ear piece in his right ear, and whispers, "Security teams to the holding areas. Keep Grant there unless I give the order. We may have a hostile situation, and I don't want this getting out of hand. All weapons to stun." Icers of course. Fury lowers his hand to take the cigar out of his mouth, and watches with narrowed eyes.

    "This could go south." A pause, Fury taps the comm gear again, and says to Barton. "Agent Barton. On deck. Keep it up, and now we have reinforcements. If it goes south. I'll count on you to prevent that. Copy." Fury smiles and exhales. The small plum of smoke hovering around his head.

Psylocke has posed:
Violet eyes are narrowed as Agent Barton offers his explanation. She isn't actually scanning anyone's minds at the moment so Psylocke isn't aware of his lie. She tries to be polite and not poke that way.

Telling her to sit down isn't helping matters although it was a polite response on the part of the agent.

Suddenly her voice is in Clint's mind alone. It's the same voice he just heard but it's echoing inside his head. The woman continues to simply stand there, not speaking. The voice in his head is calm but insistent. <<I am a telepath. I know he is here. There are others on that network and they are all in danger, You are playing with a being so powerful you cannot even begin to imagine. I'm one of the good guys. I want to get these people free of that influence.>>

If there are any sort of detection devices set up to recognize when there is a telepathic action in their range, they just went off.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint groans inwardly at Fury's oh-so-helpful instructions, wondering if the boss wanted him to distract her with card tricks or maybe a song and dance number.

But he was the boss, so he keeps at it.

When Betsy talks in his head. Clint blinks taking a step back brushing his hand against his ear to turn on his comms mic to make sure the Boss was listening.

"Okay, you're a telepath and you say the guy's here. What network are you talking about and who are we supposed to be up against?"

Nick Fury has posed:
    Fury frowns as he sees the interaction out there, and his eyes narrow when nothing is said for a few seconds. Something was going on. Fury lowers his hands onto his weapons at his belt, and prepares himself for getting involved. However, something holds him back. It is his confidence in Barton, although he would never tell him that. And Barton let's loose the comment about telepath. That confirms it.

    Fury suddenly gets a unique little beep in his ear, as Psy Ops contacts him with theri distinctive sound. "Sir. A psy event has occurred. We are awaiting your instructions as to whether or not to get involved."

    Fury taps the comm again, and says, "Stand by. Let's see what happens. I know this one, as she is supposed to be a good egg. At least that's what Logan says. We'll see how Barton handles it. Fury out." Fury's eye then goes back to the scene at hand, and watches it play out.

Hellboy has posed:
    In a nearby hallway, a figure was watching the situation unfold on one of the security monitors. He'd just got back from a meeting with Derek and some other good guys, he probably still stunk to high heaven of booze, but he was still good to drive...or brawl, in this case. He picked up one of the security guard's phones, the little ones built into the panels, and dialed.

    "Hey, Nick, this is Hellboy. Yeah, I'm watching the action here. I know it's kinda overkill, but ya want I should step in, here? Not that I don't trust The Sarcastic Arrow, but but I'm gettin' vibes from that chick."

Psylocke has posed:
She's been ever so polite and ever so cooperative. Yet, she is still being stonewalled. Psylocke frowns as she shifts her weight ever so slightly. "If you insist on discussing it here, then please give me a moment."

The pings on the psionic web are going to be felt as she reaches out to the people that are unnecessary around her and Barton. Anyone that doesn't need to be there, and is unprotected from psionic manipulation, will find themselves with a sudden need to be some distance away from them. At least out of earshot. Why does she do this instead of just continuing to speak to Clint telepathically? Because she is certain that they are being monitored and she wants this on file.

Then she turns her attention back to Barton. "During the space fungus invasion, there were a group of people hoping to be heroes by stopping it using their telepathic abilities. They created a network, a link between them. But there was something else there, something evil. It has been beaten before but somehow it is back and more powerful than ever. I was approached by a young woman who is part of this network. Friends that are linked to her are no longer responsive. I have tracked that network, through her mind, with her cooperation. One of them who had been here with a damaged mind is now gone. Completely. Which tells me he is dead. The other one in your custody is still alive but difficult to track now which makes me believe he may be sedated. If you had kept them both in that state, we would't be forced to have this conversation. With this entity losing his network bit by bit, I fear he will use them soon to act on his behalf. Which can lead to the loss of more lives. Allow me to see Mr. Grant and I will use my abilities to sever this monster from them all." She sounds way more confident than she feels about that happening. Best to sell it though instead of expressing the doubts that are there with facing this particular monster.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint notices the people leaving, his brows raise, but he doesn't make a move to stop Betsy either. He just turns back, "Must be great for waiting in the line at the movies," he quips off-hand.

"Alright, won't bullshit you, since you seem to know already, but yeah they were here, Paulie's dead, Aaron's not. So, you're saying you can cut Aaron off from the whatever it is that's causing this problem?"

He lets out a breath. "Boss, what do you think? We want to give this a try?" he says speaking directly to Fury now.

Nick Fury has posed:
    Hearing a new voice over comms, Fury frowns, removes the cigar from his mouth once more, and taps the comms. "You can let Agent Barton know you are available, but unless there is something else going on here, you can be our reserve Big Red." Fury taps his comm to off, and watches the frey once more.

    Fury listens to what Psylocke has to say, and winces at the feedback over the comms. Fury also feels the psychic "instance" coming from Psylocke, and is glad he has those state-of-the-art psychic dampners that his friends had set up for him. Still in the "fight" so to speak, but a little worse for wear, as they were not quite up to a omega-level psychic threat.

    Another tap. "Let's do it Agent Barton. Have Hellboy assist you, and escort our guest to where she can do the most good. Hellboy...if she so much as sneezes, step in. Let's do this by the book."

Hellboy has posed:
    Luckily, Hellboy was out of earshot to begin with, but even still he got that brief 'wave' of energy, a sudden compulsion to turn around that he was obeying without realizing, before he suddenly reached out and grabbed a fistful of wall, shaking his head and forcing himself to stop. The wave passed like a sudden bout of dizziness, but he still had to close his eyes and breathe in deeply. When he got the call, after a few moments he let go(and let the drywalll crumble to the ground...oops) and picked that phone back up. "Yeah, got it chief. On my way."

    Soon he was there, swaying ever so slightly from his wild night, but already recovering with remarkable haste. He was wearing the usual, trenchcoat, black shorts, his gun in its holster(with rubber bullets, just in case. Seemingly a 'cruel' option, but far more humane than a punch.), and two sticks of gold incense in his left hand, both burning and wafting a rather pungent, sour smell. One he immediately gave to Clint, speaking as he arrived.

    "Here, take this and wave it around. As long as you smell them your courage will never waver. That's the legend, anyway, never had to test 'em out before. An' you, Purple. You try that whammy, an' things get real bad around here, got it?"

Psylocke has posed:
At the arrival of Hellboy, Psylocke gives him the once over. This is not someone she is familiar with at all. Mutant? She has to wonder with his appearance. At the threat, he is rewarded with a smirk. "The temptation to test that is high but I will resist." Then the smirk shifts into a rather dark smile. "That wasn't even close to a 'whammy' as you so eloquently put it. It was simply a suggestion that we be given a bit of privacy to discuss matters. Wouldn't want the general population to panic." Whether due to the threat she mentioned or the idea they might kill their prisoners? That's for them to choose.

She turns her head back to Clint, waiting to see what the verdict is now that he as spoken to his boss. With reinforcements arriving in the form of giant red man, she's pretty sure she will be getting in at least.

The question is, will she get back out?

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Alright," Clint said over comms to Fury before turning his attention to Betsy and the newly arrived Hellboy.

He takes the offered incense his nose wrinkling at the smell. "Uh, thanks HB," he says with a shake of his head.

Then he looks to Betsy. "Okay, we'll take you to Aaron, and you can do your thing, but first off we'll need your name and any weapons you've got on you," he says firmly but politely. "Then we'll see what you can do for our guy."

The byplay between Betsy and Hellboy is met with a smirk. "Easy big guy, let's try and keep it polite."

Hellboy has posed:
    He immediately took up the rear of the group, waving the incense around wildly, mostly above Psylocke's head as if she were a spirit he was warding off, though he heard Clint's words and, started waving it a little less violently. Still waving it, though.

    "Well, uhh...You know, I actually read about abilities like yours in the Visuddhimagga. Siddhis, obtained through extensive meditation and old-world yoga...you must be rather spiritually enlightened to be able to do these kinds of things on a whim. Dad woulda been askin' you all kinds of questions until you left or died of old age."

    He got quiet then, like he always did when thinking about his dad.

Shadow King has posed:
    In the secure detainment area, Aaron Grant is currently being housed. His 'accommodations' (aka low security but specialty cell) is a strange sort, one of the types that generally expects restricted access to the denizen. There isn't a mirrored wall; instead, physical distance and psychic dampening is at hand, in efforts to not give local minds for telepathy to link to. It is clear that he is usually spoken to through a video monitor, as opposed to in person, and there is a variety of 'environment' controls over the cell, including how sedated the young man is kept. The controls and video monitor are in a nearby communication room. There are some staff around, that monitor the physical access.

    Aaron Grant is in his early twenties, reasonably average physically, with light brown hair and eyes. His hair is getting long: a sign of his somewhat lengthy stay here. He's mostly unconscious on his cot, in his issued light teal cotton pants, shirt, socks. He isn't under covers, just sort of sprawled out loosely on his belly as if he'd been at a college kegger and had had a great time.

Quake has posed:
Skye'd asked if she could visit with him - well, more to the point, she told Aaron she'd like to visit him. An attempt to maintain a relationship with someone who clearly was unhappy about his state of affairs, even as he realized he was likely safest here.

It wasn't like she wasn't unfamiliar with that little scenario, being under protective custody herself. Only unlike Aaron, Skye wasn't sedated, or behind particularly guarded and warded doors - not unless you included the guards at the entrances to the Trisk. Warding? Enh.. not so much.

Still, even if he was sedated, it gave Skye a sense of purpose to show up and check in on the young man. That's where she is when the others make it there, outside Aaron's 'quarters' watching him.

Psylocke has posed:
The smell of the incense is enough to make her want to go wash her hair immediately, especially the way Hellboy keeps waving it above her head. Psylocke does walk with them calmly though, even as she answers Clint's questions. "I am called Psylocke. I am a member of the group you likely know as the X-Men in your files." She isn't naive enough to think that there is no file on their merry band of adventurers. She glances back at Hellboy as she continues. "I am a mutant, born with psionic abilities. Although like most of my kind, they didn't appear until I was in my teen years. You will find that MI-6 has records of me as well. Although my appearance in those files will be different." So very different.

When they arrived at the cell holding Aaron, she automatically reaches out to try to touch his mind and finds those psionic barriers in place. "When the time comes, I will need those dampeners dropped. Long enough for me to try to break up the network."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint nods along with Hellboy pretending he knows what a Visuddhimagga is.

As for Betsy he follows that much more easily. "Right saw a couple of your people in Mexico, uh, Storm and White Queen I think," he says of the X-Men. "Oh, and Beast, I've met him too."

But then Beast has hung out with the Avengers often enough. On the way up to Aaron's room, Clint sends a quick heads up to Skye remembering she said she'd be looking in on Aaron to let her know the patient would be having visitors.

Inside the room, he gives Skye a nod. "Hey, I think you met HB on that China thing, and the lady with the awesome hair is Psylocke from the X-Men," he says by way of greetings and introductions.

He nods to the monitors on the wall. "And that's Aaron, as for the dampeners," he pausea considering a second. "Sure, we'll get those turned off for you."

Clint looks to Skye. "Psylocke here thinks she can help Aaron with whatever got him and the other guy."

Hellboy has posed:
    Genetic Mutation, Hellboy remembered reading all kinds of theories on the matter, from scholars and intellectuals, to yogis, demonologists and even a dead pharoah in an English museum, who talked all kinds of crazy crap about Egypt and Pyramids and whatever else. HB hadn't been paying attention at the time, on account of the pharoah trying to cut his head off and wreak havoc, but now he was wishing he'd been more astute. That was neither here nor there, because they were at their destination, and the stone-faced ugly red duckling was looking in, with those glowing yellow eyes of his.

    "Clint, you think dropping those dampeners is a good idea? Isn't that like turnin' off your flamewall to illegally download jazz albums from the internet? Or so I've heard, anyway, because I would never do that?"

Shadow King has posed:
    One of the staff members present, a lab technician, had helped hold open the door to the monitor room. She waits for direction, watching the group, on what they'd like her to do, if anything, to rouse Aaron Grant. "We've kept readings; he has never done anything outward that we've seen, at least so far, Agents," the attendant offers. "But that could be due to our excellent dampeners. Prior to a few days ago when we returned him to prior sedation, he was watching television, without any problems or noted use of abilities. It is only the interview attempts that can agitate him."

Quake has posed:
Skye is only saved from surprise by the message that reaches her only moments before the crowd of SHIELD personel and Psylocke arrive. Rising from her seat, Skye frowns.

"Uh.." A nod to Hellboy who she remembers from interrogating Peck as much as anything else. But it's Psylocke who gets the bulk of her attention. "Not to be rude.." - it likely is - ".. but how are you helping Aaron? He doesn't need help. He needs a telepath who can cut him off, and keep him from going batshit. Unless you're able to do that, we're not dampening anything."

A look to Clint, like he might make things clearer, then back to Psylocke. "He's about a poorly placed question away from losing his marbles, so, yeah, I'm serious about this. If you can't fix those things, then you're going to do more harm than good."

Psylocke has posed:
"Coming from the people who killed the other telepath in their custody with their mishandling of the situation, instead of bringing in a professional, you will forgive me if your alleged concern falls on deaf ears," comes the crisp words with that proper British accent. Psylocke is not the least bit intimidated, despite being in the belly of the best with psi dampeners around.

She continues. "I am a telepath of some skill. I have been in contact with anoother on the network with Aaron and they were concerned for his safety. As well as that of Paul." She glances to the room where Aaron is resting so peacefully. "I have some of the other telepaths who are local, nearby the building. Once the dampeners are dropped, when I am ready, I wil break the ties that bind them all together." She takes a deep breath, holds it a second, then continues that thought. "If this works, the entity that is using them will likely strike out at me. If I become possessed," Psylocke looks to each of them in turn. "Sedate the room immediately. For both Aaron and myself. Do not allow us to wake up again but reach out to the X-Men through any contacts you might have and let the know what has happened."

Something occurs to her as she waits to be allowed into that room with the prisoner. "If I am correct, the being you are dealing with is called the Shadow King. He is the most powerful telepath on the planet, save one other. The other one is on our side thankfully."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint meets Skye's look and gives her a nod. "Psylocke is a telepath," he comfirms. "I think she can help."

Then Psylocke pretty much confirms all of that and provides another piece of the puzzle, a name. The Shadow King.

"Where do these guys come up with these names?" scoffs Hawkeye a faint grin on his lips. He saw the irony there.

He turns to the medical staff, "Uh, can we gas the room if it comes to that?" he asks.

Hellboy has posed:
    "'King, huh? Can't tell you how many of those I've met in my lifetime. Everyone thinks a crown on your head makes you unpunchable."

    In truth, Hellboy had never heard of 'The Shadow King', but then his world had very little overlap with that of mutants and spandex. He met a vampire who thought he was Superman, once...that encounter ended pretty quickly.

    Hellboy, for his part, waited outside to let everyone go in, but he tapped Clint on the shoulder before he could enter. He spoke quietly, only for the archer's ears.

    "Out of all of us, yer the smart guy here...do you trust this? This whole situation? Bringing in a psychic to talk with a psychic who's part of a team that's been attacked by another psychic? Doesn't this feel like hitting every screw you see with a hammer, until they start going in?"

    If Clint went in, then so did Hellboy. But he wasn't very confident in this.

Quake has posed:
"Who or what the hell is The Shadow King? Sounds like someone has been playing too much D&D." Skye continues to frown.

"And coming from the people? What the hell is that supposed to mean anyway? Did your people tell you what Paul said when he died? Cause if not, you might want to ask Aaron there before you go around being cranky with us."

But her frown turns into something less defensive and into something much more unhappy. "It still shouldn't have happened. You're right about that." The rest of Psylocke's words register. "So, you're the telepath I wanted, then."

The other woman is considered, and Skye nods, body language indicating a standing down. "Fine. You act weird, we take you down too. We call your people. Got it. But if you fuck with him.." The threat just hangs. Skye hasn't an actual response to that.

Shadow King has posed:
    The attendant agrees, "That has been how we have been administering much of it -- at least to bring him to where we consider the room safe to enter, and then we enter to more properly dose for long periods, or to set up an IV. So gassing that room, absolutely."

    She then gestures to the room, "We can wake him up now whenever you are ready, or give... physical access...?" she asks, uncertain which direction things are going. "I'll prep the drugs to awaken him," she says, starting to exit.

Psylocke has posed:
Psylocke keeps her gaze on Aaron, despite the conversation around her. "He chose his own name, I presume. He hides in the shadows and uses others to do his dirty work. He enjoys treating them like pawns. My understanding is the Astral Plane is off limits because he is there now, more powerful than we remember him being." She glances over at the various agents. "I am unaware of what was said before Paul's death. I simply know that his brain had been there, then it wasn't. If I had gotten here sooner..." She pauses, clearly angry but this time perhaps moreso at herself than the agents. "Perhaps I could've freed him before he was lost. I won't let that happen to Aaron. Or M...the others." She stops herself from saying the name, not wanting to give that much to them, though perhaps Aaron already had.

She takes a breath and moves to stand in front of the door. "I would suggest that I go in alone but I also understand if you don't trust me enough. I am putting myself in to your telepath cage so that should be a sign of my good will."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Hellboy's whisper is met with a nod. "She seems sincere, and if she's not we've got the dampeners and the gas," he whispers back then adds. "But stand back from the room a bit, if there's a problem I don't need you getting whammied, you're our ace in the hole."

Then he moves over to a locker at the side of the room he scans his lanyard and opens it, grabbing a couple of ICER pistols, he chambers a round in one and then brings the other to Skye handing it over.

Then he looks to the med-techs. "Open the door, drop the dampeners."

Hellboy has posed:
    "Whammied? That's my line. Well here, take this for good luck. You gotta keep wavin' them, or they won't work anymore."

    After handing the last stick off to the archer, Hellboy rolled his neck and walked back around 30 feet or so before turning back and watching the action. This whole situation was making him nervous which meant the smokes were coming out, bringing one to his lips as he struck a match against that massive stone hand of his. Another nail in the coffin was lit, and the big man was left to fidget and pace like a tiger in a cage.

    He didn't like this, not one bit.

Shadow King has posed:
    The lab attendant follows orders as directed, and will both begin the process of rousing the unconscious Aaron Grant, as well as tapping on her console to open physical access to the man. She's going to stay waaaay over here out of the way by the controls for if things turn pear-shaped, thanks.

    In the room, Aaron starts to stir a little bit, turning his head and gesturing limply at nothing with a hand, as if telling his mom he'd like another ten minutes before going to school.

Quake has posed:
Something Psylocke said actually registers with Skye. Actually, it registers past the point of her own snarky response to the woman.

"Wait! Actually, we might have a problem." She looks to Clint, who was there, and the others, some of whom may have read the report, and then back to Betsy.

"No snark this time. You're right. You don't know what happened there. And we didn't tell you. Paulie thanked us. I mean, it's shit that it happened, and you can confirm, but more importantly, it's *why* he did."

She explains, "They're being used. It's not just this network thing. They're being put somewhere else and their abilities are being used. Aaron in there makes portals. He can't remember making them. He's terrified about the fact that he did. He asked to stay in our custody and like that so he can't be used." A frown. "If you just waltz in there without a plan, we, including you, might all be at risk."

Psylocke has posed:
At the warning from Skye, Psylocke frowns slightly and looks to the door. "I'm not going to give him time to wake up fully then, if can help it. Stay out here. If he opens a portal, I may be able to counter the effect." Seems Psylocke has some other things going on that she hasn't shared. That is demonstrated when a crimson tattoo in a strange triangular pattern appears over her right eye.

She is already reaching out telepathically for Madison, trying to find her and those with her. When she finds those minds and the threads that connect them, she takes a deep breath.

A moment later, she is through the door and into the room. "Aaron, if you can hear me, I'm here to help you. I'm going to reach into your mind." Which is tricky when he is just coming out of sedation because it makes his mind more slippery, so to speak. But those mental threads from the others on the network will hopefully give her a way in. Unfortunately, she isn't the only one with access to them.

She searches as quickly as possible for the thread that connects his mind to the network created by Harry.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Damn it," Clint says as Betsy goes on into the room anyhow. He glaces to the staff ready to request the dampeners be activated again, but he holds off, "Be ready to turn the dampeners on at the first sign of a portal," ge warns.

Then he turns to watch what's happening in the room.

Hellboy has posed:
    The clacking of his hooves was loud and obvious, the way he was pacing back and forth like an expectant father. Clasped in his left hand were wooden rosary beads, a cross dangling downward. He went back and forth on being religious or not, but situations like these made him turn toward what he knew.

    He knew to wait, and he knew to strike the moment he could.

Nick Fury has posed:
    In his office, Fury is watching and listening to everything, making notes, and frowning as per usual. His eye watches the monitors, and lets the Agents on the scene deal with things without interference. After all, when he was gone, it was important that they be able to take charge. Coughing, Fury pulls out his handkerchief, and notes the blood spatter on it. Gasping for breath, he goes back to the scene without a further sound.

Shadow King has posed:
    It isn't hard to find that thread, for Psylocke. It's that thing in the back of Aaron's mind that's screaming. Harry's link isn't quiet, and Psylocke knows what to look for. In the same way Madison has that horrifying screaming, Aaron has it also. Somebody on their mental link is shrieking constantly. Hard to overlook. His mind is odd for several reasons, one of which being the sedation, another being that his thought patterns are a little strange, which isn't usual for someone with some type of mental mutation. He reacts to her in extreme fear, though. Someone talking about coming into his head is massive alarms for the guy. But he's not awake to do anything about it other than to panic. "What?!" Aaron asks, disoriented.

    No portals open, no telepathic attack is launched. He mostly just tries to wrench to sit up, but at least he doesn't fall off the bed this time, and fires off a weak alarm into the mental thread. He doesn't want to die quietly without anyone knowing. He attempts to move, drugged and confused, by getting up off the opposite side of the bed. His mind is messy, as the dampening suddenly being off also messes with him. He was used to it. Some mutant mutations aren't the most fun, and he's getting some extreme spinning and disorientation from his. He's seeing multiple locations at once, and sorting them out. But the alarm was the first reaction.

    Which means the others in the network are going to hear his fear.

    Mentally, Madison reacts, trying to reach Betsy through the connection Betsy just offered. What is going wrong, she wants to know.

Quake has posed:
Skye isn't pleased that Betsy has gone in, but she can make sure the team outside is ready at the drop of a hat to drop dampeners and flood the place. There isn't much more she can do right this very second, though, other than sit tight on the monitoring device in case Aaron needs.. well, Skye isn't really a friend, but maybe the young man will remember her as a friendly face and it will help? She doesn't know. But it's what she's got.

Psylocke has posed:
<<Madison, I'm with Aaron. I am going to try to free all of you.>> Psylocke sends the information directly to the woman in a tight beam, trying to keep it from being intercepted. Quite impossible with the entity is as powerful as the Shadow King but hopefully he wasn't paying attention and she could do this very quickly. She reaches out to all the people on the thread, letting them hear her mental voice. <<I am going to cut all the threads at once. It's the only thing I know to do. I don't want to lose any more of you.>> Her voice is softer, more caring than it had been when dealing with the SHIELD agents. <<You have all done wonderful and your loyalty to your friends is admirable. Never lose that. And if I am compromised...>> She has to admit that it is possible. <<I have a backup person who will be contacting you. If I fail completely...I'm sorry.>>

She has to move closer, to that edge so very close to the Astral Plane but not letting herself cross over. To that screaming figure just on the other side, so close she feels like she could reach out and touch him but know she does not dare. Here the threads are closer together since it is from that one man in so much pain that the network expands.

And with that, she reaches out to the threads with her hand, knowing that it will draw the spider from his web. She focuses her power there, all of it, the sum totality of her psionic abilities and the mental psionic blade flares to life in an attempt to cut the people loose from the network.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint stands by the monitor, arms crossed. So far, no portals, but he doesn't move his eyes from the screen. He was worried, Aaron seemed like a good kid, just one that ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. "Whatever, Psylock is doing, I hope it works," he murmurs.

Shadow King has posed:
    Suddenly, the mental screaming stops. Silence. It's weirdly mentally deafening, like suddenly only hearing a heartbeat in your own ears, nothing else. The lack of sound is almost worse, but from a mental perspective.

    A kill order is suddenly sent to the threads Psylocke pulled on. Hard, and fast, straight down those links Psylocke has in her mental fist, a horror of mental power surges. Her agility is quick, she was one step ahead. The links are severing.

    But the power is so great that it jumps the gap. The edge of that kill order comes through, and Aaron collapses, mentally overpowered, reeling, but not dead. Similar reaction is coming from Madison: she's in trouble. The other person Psylocke sensed with Madison seems to have had shields adequate to have protected her.

    Whoever else, though? Those people Psylocke didn't grab onto? The screamer, or other people on that network? Unknown. The severing was, and is, finished, they aren't connected to the network anymore. It's just the fallout, now: that deadly, cold, sadistic death order lingering like a stab wound.

Psylocke has posed:
As the order goes out, Psylocke's psiblade is breaking the threads. As Aaron and the others reel, she quickly reaches out to help Aaron as best she can. He is closer than the others. They are alive at least. Madison. The other that she had not even met personally. She can't try to think about them all right now as she reaches out with her shields to mentally warp Aaron in there with her in that safety net of purple. <<Aaron? Are you still with me? Please be with me.>> she says mentally to him.

That darkness from the strike still hangs there in the air, the speed, the finality. The monster on the other end did not want to lose his toys but better he destroy them than have them taken away it seemed. It made no sense to Psylocke, how someone could be that callous with other beings.

Physically she walks over to reach out a hand toward Aaron, to help steady him that way as well.

Shadow King has posed:
    Aaron's still laying on the ground, aware of the shields she's using. He's not a telepath of any defensive skill: he'd be dead if she hadn't helped heavily. "I'm... I'm okay. I'm sorry. I'm okay. I didn't-- Madison's with you. I didn't see. I... Go help them, now," Aaron says, starting to roll partially to try to sit, but gives up on it at first. Then he rallies and sits up. He leans on Psylocke's mental connection to Madison; she'll feel him use it as a lifeline. He breathes, and splays both hands out. Erupting from his forehead and body is a phenomenal surge of blue and blistering white energy, that flows and churns, ripping up through the very air somehow, as a twisting, pained portal manifests directly above and in front of Aaron in the room. The air whips and crunches in and around the edges of it, but thin outlines of the two other telepaths are there. Madison, convulsing. Another woman yelling at people to 'get back' while trying to support her neck.

    Aaron himself is sitting in place, eyes and face a fierce storm of the energy of his particular power, entirely focused, but weakened.

Hellboy has posed:
    Hellboy couldn't resist being himself. There was danger, people were in trouble, and he could potentially do something about it. The rift could be trapped, it could explode, it could cut him in half, none of that mattered as he almost tore himself through the door of that room and cell, running across the floor with the clacking of hooves, trenchcoat almost flying backwards as he leapt through, and landing wherever he did with a roll. He was looking around, paranoid, as all around him was...?

Psylocke has posed:
As Hellboy bursts through the door, he manages to make it to the portal first. He isn't alone. "I'll see to them, Aaron. Stay here. They will keep you safe." She hopes now that the Shadow King doesn't seem to have ahold of him. The form of Madison convulsing has her leaping for the portal, a diving roll that brings her up just behind Hellboy. Her right hand is glowing purple, her psiblade manifested as she prepares, in case there is danger.

Immediately she moves to Madison's side, reaching out with her mind for the girl's. Which is when she feels something. Her head snaps up as she looks around. "There another one here somewhere," she warns. "I didn't separate them all." Then she raises her voice. "Someone call for the EMTs. We have to get these two to safety." Not just Madison bu the girl who is helping her. Psylocke lets her mind start to reach out, trying to find that fourth mind she senses.

Shadow King has posed:
    Madison is a teenager, and she's having convulsions on the floor as her brain believes she's supposed to be having a stroke, or worse, from what it looks like. People are calling for police and an ambulance. A second woman, of Korean descent, about mid twenties, is yelling her name at her and trying to stop her drop hurting herself. "Madison. Maddy, hey. I can't guard you. You gotta fight, Madison," says the woman over her. She looks up when Hellboy appears, with shock and alarm. Because Hellboy is not exactly Captain America.

    Then she looks PAST Hellboy and the portal. They're outside a café, on the street. There's a shiny portal now, and some pushed over tables, and a lot of alarmed bystanders. People all over the place, really. The women talking to Madison with such concern seems to stare across the street, and then suddenly, calmly, places her hands on Madison's windpipe and holds down hard. It all happens very quickly. The crowd moves to help crush the girl.
    The fourth mind replies to Psylocke when she reaches out. The blast lacks preamble or warning shot. She probably does see where he is. If she can convey it.

Quake has posed:
It all was a blur of *so much going on* and before she can react, there's a portal, and visiosn past it, and Aaron in distress... and then Psylocke and Hellboy are gone. Skye's up and away and wanting to get at Aaron, never mind the fact he's in a guarded cell, instinct says she promised to make sure he was alright, and he's down and needing help.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint had said it from the start, one sign of a portal and he's turning on the dampeners, unfortunately, he was a little slow off the draw and Hellboy had rushed through.

"Damn it," Clint curses and then making a face, turns to the med techs. "Turn the dampeners back on now."

Yes, Hellboy and Betsy were through the portal but at this point he had to protect Aaron and the Trisk. After the order is given he follows Skye into the room, ICER gripped in his hand and aimed at the portal.

Hellboy has posed:
    It was funny, when he was a kid he did have a stack of Captain America comics. Being in a military base, there was a lotta access to 'em. But that's not who Hellboy saw, when he looked in the mirror. The guy who punched Hitler didn't have horns on his head.

    He saw the crowd shift and change, and he looked down and saw the girl closing her hand over an unconscious woman's throat. He made a decision, right then and there, that was probably gonna get SHIELD into some trouble, and lead to way too much paperwork. But he was a peace keeper, and peace needed to be kept. The Good Samaritan was loaded with rubber bullets, non-lethal, non-deadly. but it was still a revolver mixed with a shotgun, which meant when he drew his piece and fired it right at the Korean woman's torso...it was gonna pack a punch. Same as the next three, lunging people that Hellboy fired at, before it ran empty, and he had to resort to just throwing people around with that massive stone hand of his. He was yelling over at Psylocke now.

    "I got crowd control, these guys can't hurt me. You do your whammy and get the girl outta here, huh?"

    Well, they could probably hurt him, and probably would. But he'd been through worse.

Psylocke has posed:
The mental attack was not expected. It rips into Psylocke's mind even as her mental shields slam into place. A purple psionic butterfly light appears around her eyes as finds herself slumping forward. Even as she tries to fight the pain going through her brain, she lashes out toward that mind to pinpoint it. "Corner. There!" She points in the direction.

Drawing on her abilities again, she follows Hellboy's directions. She draws her power then sends a mind blast in the direction of the man on the corner. It doesn't pack as much power as it might. She's been using it a lot and she is starting to feel it.

As Hellboy begins to fight back the crowd, she reaches for her other powers. The tattoo flares on her face. Then her body shifts, seeming to become a living shadow with that tattoo glowing. Then the shadows just open up, allowing her and Madison to fall through.

She is pinpointing and precise with her power this time. There is a sound from under Aaron's bed, where the shadows are. "A little help here?" Out comes a shadow hand, seeking assistance to pull Madison back into the little cell. Apparently these powers are not psionic in nature since the dampeners did nothing to stop them.

Shadow King has posed:
    Skye rushes to Aaron, and is there for when the dampeners get flung back on. The portal disappears, the energy flaring and then splattering out like static. Skye's there to assist Aaron, who partially flops back. The portal is gone, in the Triskelion, leaving a tired Aaron sitting there. "That portal -- I did make," Aaron tells Skye quietly, semi guiltily. But not entirely without sense of humor.

    On the street of the café, Hellboy saved Madison's life, knocking the other woman to the ground, and defending from the onslaught of the crowd. Psylocke's attack towards the man down the street finds his shields, but he can't both shield and maintain all those people. The people stop attacking, one of them stopping to stare at the metal café chair he was about to club Hellboy with. "Uh, sorry, man," the man with the chair says to Hellboy.

    From Hellboy's cloven feet area, the Korean woman says to Hellboy, choking from having the wind knocked out of her, "There. Blue --- blue coat," she says, before falling back.

    The man on the corner in the blue coat is gripping his head and recovering.

Quake has posed:
Skye whispers a hushed bit of words to Aaron, "I know. To help her. It's okay." She's not sure who 'her' is, but she figures it was important. Skye's been just as stupid when it came to folks she cares about. She can't fault Aaron for the same.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint moves into the room when the portal closes Clint lowers the ICER.

"Phew," he says as Skye tends to Aaron.

Then the weapon's raising again when he hears that voice, "Skye, down" he calls at first before he homes in on the sound. It's under the bed.

Clint ducks down and seeing the hand he makes a face, "I am so going to be sucked into hell..." he reaches out and grabs it with a firm grip and pulls.

Hellboy has posed:
    Hellboy, in fact, had been clobbered by a few people, thankfully for the people there, mostly rolling with the punches so that people didn't break their hands too much. He looked over at steel chair man while his eyes narrowed suspiciously, holstering that gun until the pained woman spoke. He looked over at the man in the blue coat, hedged his bets, then immediately looked back over to the young guy right next to him.

    "Gimme that. And never download music illegally, nobody should!"

    He snatched that steel chair right out of the young man's hands, so that he could take it with his right stone hand...and LAUNCH it almost like a catapult, arcing over the general populace so that, if willing, it could clobber the hell out of the man, and give Hellboy time to run over and detain the guy. Even so, whether the chair connected or not, he was immediately calling it in to SHIELD via a communicator.

    "Cafe, ya guys got my coordinates. Send like a million cars, with anti-psychic stuff!"

Psylocke has posed:
The shadow hand clasps Clint's. As he pulls, out comes a shadowy form that looks like a woman but there is nothing but darkness. Except for that red tattoo and yellow eyes with no pupil. But as he gets the shadow form to safety, it reaches back into those shadows under the bed and pulls out another female form. A moment later, the two solidify back into human beings. Psylocke and the young woman Madison. "She needs medical attention quickly."

Shadow King has posed:
    Aaron nods a little at Skye, and... passes out, relatively comforted. He was sedated, suddenly back in on his powers, nearly murdered mentally, and opened an emergency portal. He is very DONE.

    Madison is fried, but she can be at least steadied and put into a peaceful sleep, with some effort from Betsy. She'll need more than a little repair, though, to undo the lengthy damage she suffered at the hand of her torturer. She also needs medical attention, as stated by Psylocke. But at least she's in a good place for it.

    At the cafe, the control over the crowd is re-established by the man on the corner. They start to react to Hellboy again, as the man in the blue suit decides to calmly and smugly turn and walk off.

    But then, chair. It hits hard, and the man goes down in a crumple, chair bouncing off him and spinning against a car. The car alarm goes off, insulted and loud in pealing noise. The man'll be there when Hellboy comes over to knock him out fully, unmolested by the crowd.