6703/Sentinels: EXTRACTION POINT

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Sentinels: EXTRACTION POINT
Date of Scene: 28 February 2019
Location: Unknown
Synopsis: Avengers assemble to attempt to rescue a 'scientist'. Things always go to plan.
Cast of Characters: Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Wasp (van Dyne), Spider-Woman (Drew), Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, Captain Marvel (Danvers)
Tinyplot: Sentinels


Iron Man has posed:
The Avengers have the layout for the Corning-Painted Post Airport.

They have the information they need about the crew, and have one of their own in the flight crew to give updates as needed on the plane's arrival: Carol.

The last time, plans had to completely change, due to mechnical difficulties, but so far, it seems to be arriving. It's even early, by twenty minutes.

The airport itself seemed to be quiet, but arrival in person showed a different story. The place is locked down, in a seeming security mode. A check into this showed that they weren't exactly tipped off, but they were aware of multiple VIP arrivals around the same time frame. The security is confused by the large number of government officials and additional staff, but all of it passed inspection.

Even the janitorial staff and those who work the kiosks are aware that something is happening, and a few workers have made the wise choice to decide to come down with a strange 'I don't get paid enough for this' flu.

Four planes are scheduled to land within the next half hour, including the one the Avengers (and, no doubt, others) are interested in: flight 560.

Captain America has posed:
Before the group met at the respective location, far enough beyond the airport landing strip that they wouldn't merit detection, Steve addressed them all. Each had a task at hand:

For Thor, wielding his hammer: a presence from above in case of aerial complications as well as influencing the cover of the skies themselves. Bonus points if lightning could be utilized in their favor.

For Janet, small and nimble: reconnaisance before they even break cover, to report what can be seen and to harry as necessary to provide distraction.

For the Witch: cover in the case of gunfire and potentially (likely) heavier weaponry because there will only be the element of surprise for as long as offensive measures are holstered. Should guns be bent and bullets suddenly runnel to puddles, all the better.

For T'Challa: a place beside the Captain as one half of the muscle, speedy and able to throw a punch with the best of them, to break apart the grouping of mercenaries surrounding their asset.

For Jessica: in-and-out, a wrapping of webbing about the dazed and disoriented Sentinel scientist and snatch away like a hawk with a mouse. Get the man to safety no matter what it takes.

For Tony: directions via the comms as well as appropriate moral-boosting commentary (and potentially music, though Steve doesn't directly mention this).

"Comm check," the Captain then asks as he adjusts the mooring of his shield upon his back. "Rogers here." His voice resounds clearly in everyone's ears. "Mission..." He can be heard to sigh even as he begins jogging cautiously towards the airfield itself. "Rock'em-Sock'em-Robots is a go."

Guess who didn't name the mission.

Thor has posed:
    In the sky high above, the view for Thor Odinson is limited in part to the dark sky and the flicker of a flash as lightning dances from one cloud to another. To those far below it is a storm that had not come to any meteorologist's attention, though for now it was all grim portent with little rage nor wind. It was merely the potential of the deity's ire, but a great ire it was.
    "Thor holds ready. At your word, Captain." He holds Mjolnir in one hand, floating in the sky, at times a lash of lightning slicing behind him, through him.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Tactical prudence would have Janet on the ground, perhaps near one of the landing lights; or close to a cop vehicle, ready to commandeer it and drive off to evacaute whomever needed rapid transportation. It's a bitter New England winter day and the chill in the air drives her away from more accessible locations.

Instead, she's sitting on a stool in the traffic control tower, chatting gaily with a broad-shouldered air traffic controller who exudes the easy charm of a chronic surfer bum as he leans over her, palm planted against the wall behind her shoulder.

"Really, a paramedic? That's so interesting," Janet tells him, with a simpering sort of mindlessness. She's perched comfortably in place, wearing her black bodysuit and gold armor; legs crossed daintily at the knee, doughnut in one hand, coffeecup in the other.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm working on my pro surfer gig," he says with a lazy drawl. "This just pays the bills while I'm on the coast for th--"

Janet upholds a finger at him apologetically and touches her ear. "Wasp in place, I'm keeping an eye on the, uh," she eyes 'Todd'. "Situation in the tower."

"Also didn't copy that last, Captain, /what/ mission is this?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica giggles to herself as Cap relays the mission title. "You know you like it..." She replies over the comm, then goes silent as she slips into place, hiding amongst the machinery like the noiseless, patient spider that she is...supposed to be. Clinging to a cargo net in an empty and abandoned luggage tram, she awaits like a sp--well, you know.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
    Witch. It applies. The others in formation provide the shields and fists, but Wanda plays crowd control. The cardinal rules about public spaces: confidence and a uniform will get you everywhere you should be and plenty of places you shouldn't. Eyes tend to slide off workers, ask anyone in retail. So there she is, listening to the crackle in her ear. A legitimate concern, as she murmurs, "Got it, boss." The broken down, dull tone of hour seven on a double-shift is still much in place. Polish by accent, muddied by the Bronx.     For the moment, she looks exactly like the civilian she never really was. Dressed in dull grey coat and pants for staff, her hair tucked up under the world's third ugliest hat -- may the Lady Wasp, patron saint of sartorial blessings, forgive her. She has acquired herself a lanyard and a badge, heavy-duty boots for prowling around unseen places. Or obvious places. Not quite out to the runway, she watches out for crabby Gate Gourmet foodies, luggage vans, runaway gas trucks, and executive planes landing wherever they darn well like. All while pushing an empty hand-cart along a bank of windows. Faceless, nameless, forgettable.

Black Panther has posed:
Black Panther listened quietly to the instructions, giving little nods here or there. When it comes time for the com check, T'Challa's vibranium markings below his skin on the back of his neck light up just briefly as he says, "T'Challa. You need merely say the word, Captain," he says. T'Challa moves over to stand near to Steve. "If it is advantageous, I may move in unseen when we act. Just so you are not surprised by it," T'Challa offers to Captain America. He has his panther mask down at the moment as he waits.

Iron Man has posed:
"Is this what most people experience at an airport? Hurry up and wait?" Tony asks into the comm frequency. He's not present; there's more than enough Avengers on site to make mincemeat out of any complication, really. Besides, he has eyes and ears all over the place.

Including the shiny new yellow tech glasses he's been working on Steve to wear. "Truly, I recommend a private jet," Tony comments in a thoughtful way, devoid of any shame or perhaps even awareness about it. "Preferably containing supermodels, which are---oh, we have a thrilling update. I know you're sad when I interrupt myself."

Tony pauses, perhaps for comedic beat. "If you wouldn't mind aiming your face to the south there, Rogers. Nice big building, hangar. I've marked it on your HUD." Which isn't intrusive at all. Really.

"We've got a mess of signals I'd expect from Sentinels beaming out of there. I'll let you know when I've hacked them," Tony shares. "I think it's legit - not a distraction, but it's also probably not our main concern. These might just be here to protect their guy, not shoot him in the forehead."

The first plane begins to land on the runway, flight 488. It's a big one, but doesn't seem to be all that special.

There's movement for those looking for it out in the large lawns: some of the big mowers are doing their thing. A quick check can tell they aren't scheduled to be out there for a while, if anyone bothers to care about mowers. The tree cover out past the largest landing strip also might make someone nervous. There's a good amount of places to hide with a sniper rifle. Similarly, the people near Scarlet Witch could all be candidates for assassination. Maybe not the old man in the wheelchair or the giant guy with a cinnabon, but perhaps old guy's calm nurse...

Captain America has posed:
"Rock'em-Sock'em-Robots," Steve repeats with impeccable, teasible calm into the comms as per Janet's question. Tony's HUD likely catches him rolling his eyes. As he approaches the fenceline for the perimeter of the airfield itself, he slows to a stop and looks towards the hanger in question. A squint at it.

"Thor, might need you to swing a little lower after the plane's landed. You heard Tony. Those robots can hit with some power. Wanda, same with you. Might need you to redirect some heavy fire out on the tarmac."

As to the Panther's thoughts, Steve glances back towards where he thought he last saw the incredibly-sneaky Avenger. "Take 'em off-guard if you can, T'Challa," replies Steve quietly to the Panther over the comms. "I don't expect them to be regular hires. HYDRA's already put their fingers in this pie."

The mowers in particular catch his attention. "Janet, what's the status on the flight?" he asks as he hangs to the shadows of the trees, waiting for that particular airplane to touch down.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Someone, somewhere, is eating a Cinnabon. They all know it. Jessica knows it. And god knows the guy with the cinnabon knows it. The scent is drifting down an empty jet bridge and infiltrating JD's heightened awareness. "Either way this thing goes down, I'm gettin' a Cinnabon after this is over," Jess announces via comm. "Also," she adds, climbing the cargo net slowly to get a better look over it, "I've got eyes on that hangar, watching for anything suspicious. Let me know if I can help there, I can put feet on the ground at any moment. For now, I'll stick to my web. And the plan."

Thor has posed:
    If only Steve had some insight into the way his orders filtered into the thoughts of the Thunderer. At first his suggestion indicate a need for subtle repositioning and Thor begins to make it so even as Mjolnir makes a faint /whom/ of sound as he brings it down and forwards, some wisps of the clouds trailing after him while his cloak billows.
    But then he mentions the might with which those metal monstrosities can strike and it's after those words are offered that Thor replies on the comms. "Aye. If they show themselves they shall feel my wrath."

Black Panther has posed:
Black Panther's helmet closes over his face and then his body shimmers to go invisible. "Yes. HYDRA. Perhaps they will, put their fingers back in again," T'Challa says. His normal smoky-rasp of a voice has a slight edge to it as the villainous organization is mentioned. His blades in his gloves slide out and retract a few times as if T'Challa is working something out of his system.

After a few breaths, centered again, T'Challa moves over to look about the area. His vision cycles through each spectrum, infrared, ultraviolet, thermal, looking for anything worrisome that stands out.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"I'm sorry Steve, /one/ more time, bad copy: /What/ is the mission name again?"

Janet lifts her palm to Todd, having already dismissed him from her attention. Back to work you go, to join the controllers dealing with finicky equipment. It's like a lightning storm, except it's a clear, cold winter day.

"Thor, back off the static a bit," Janet tells the Asgardian. "You're messing with the landing equipment." It's all pretty well static-shielded, but still.

"Jess, if you go to Cinnabon with me, I'll split one with you," she offers. Her doughnut is dunked in coffee and then chewed upon. "And Tony, speaking of private jets, I want to see the maintenance logs for that Slipstream III you sold me," she says, with a peevish vexation in her voice. An arm braces out and with limber flexibility she braces the heel of her hand against the windowsll for balance, hips cocking lazily behind her. "Because my pilot says it feels like it has five thousand flight hours on it, and you *said* it was 'like new'."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
    Torments of cinnamon do not afflict Wanda in her restless shoving of that cart. Uneven linoleum tiles that haven't updated since bellbottoms were a newfangled thing mean the wheels squeak slightly. She fights it, corralling the hateful engine of spite to a corner. Figures a wheel spins around aimlessly. She pauses to make a correction, staring blankly around her with that empty look of uncaring employees. A cinnabon, a cigarette, a sin demon: any of these would be a welcome distraction. Those empty eyes glazed by exhaustion and minimum wage travails up against the temptations. "Bring four," she idly mumbles, clearly two steps from fading out into restless sleep of the damned. Jess offers a hope if there was one.

    Time to get moving again. The inevitable runs around the rings of airport hell await. She vaguely scowls in the vicinity of two women thick in conversation, wandering off again. It doesn't take overly long for her to report in again, though a muttered Russian 'Marry in haste, regret at leisure.' Such positive sentiments are blended into broken English again. "Man by the gate, the suit doesn't fit right. He is playing security. Advance watcher. Others probably go off his lead. Security team in action."

Iron Man has posed:
"Yeah, I'm not busy, and I can tell you're not either: I'll send you maintenance logs right now," Tony says dryly to Janet, playful, "You might not want to read them. That one went to Vegas more than once. At least. I think. I might have been drunk."

"I'll go ahead and turn up the volume on your comms, Janet; Steve, go ahead and repeat that for her when ready," Tony teases. He also helpfully prints the mission name on Steve's HUD in nice capital shiny letters. Pushing his luck with Steve wearing the glasses? Of course he is.

So far, Tony's music is a quiet roar in the background of whenever he speaks. Sounds like the opening chords to 'Train Kept a Rollin, and a bit of "~~She was pretty, from New York City~~!" as Tony continues to talk over it.

Flight 488 finishes approach and begins to land with a roar of sound. If nobody messes with it, it lands predictably, and begins to taxi. Various people spill out of the airport in that area: baggage handlers, and so forth, to begin to unload. The vehicles for the baggage are long and pod-like, carrying three handlers.

Flight 560 begins to come in, once the way is clear.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
It's showtime, and Jess perches in the top corner of her cargo net web, on the inside of the tram car, prepared to make her way to the target by whatever means necessary if it doesn't come in to the location that's planned. She makes her way silently and swiftly toward the plane as it comes in. Tony was right: Hurry up and wait.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
    "At least four," Wanda repeats, mostly for Jessica's benefit. Because Cinnabon goals are important. "Pretty cinnamon rolls from New York City. Yes." Nope, the song is lost on her. Sorry, Tony.

Captain America has posed:
More information crops up on the HUD before Steve's eyes. Anyone in line of sight for his silhouette will be able to see him lean back and away from the sudden barrage, as if a fly were to have dive-bombed his nose.

"It's Rock'em-Sock'em-Robots and Tony, can you -- stop with that, it's blocking my view. Get it off the screen -- thank you." Everyone can hear him then mutter, "Used to be simple, none of this...flashy informational overload."

His voice switches back into business mode. "Jessica, keep an eye on those passengers," he says, referring to the flight that just landed in particular. "Could be some plants there."

Memory (and a flash on the HUD) makes him glance upwards, but then comes a HUGE flash of information, accompanied by the sudden shift from golden to red, a colorful claxon. The door to the largest hanger is sliding open and upon reveal?

Four of the Sentinel robots, standing at attention while still without action. Steve speaks quickly over the comms. "Thor, Wanda, the Sentinels on threat display. Stay on your toes, do not engage yet -- repeat, do not engage yet. Janet, flight status? T'Challa, Jessica, get ready."

Thor has posed:
    There is no response from Thor on the comms this time, but one can feel the bridled tension as the storm roils and there's a single short snap/crack of lightning that triggers a roll of thunder to wash over the airport and, perhaps impertinently, a burst of static to sear across the comms.
    But just the one.
    Yet above the clouds seem to darken, barely noticeable by those who might glance up save if they note the lack of stars and the way the moon is now obscured.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"Allllmost done with my coffee," Janet responds. Sluuuuuuuuurp. Over the open channel. Audibly. "I'm trying to hit that perfect point where it's just hot enough to warm my tummy, but not *so* warm it collapses my doughnut," she explains.

"They've got doughnuts up here, guys, by the way," she explains. "And don't worry about my flight status, I'm ready to fly like, on the word 'go'," she adds. "I can get anywhere I want to from up here and I'm a lot warmer than I'd be on the ground."

She watches Flight 560 making an approach. "Thor, check your vector zero-two-niner, 560 is on approach. Altitude is thirty-five hundred feet and falling, airspeed's a hundred and eighty knots, trim looks good from here but there's some windshears because SOMEONE won't turn down the weather." She rolls her eyes.

Black Panther has posed:
Black Panther glances about the area, eyes going to the various baggage handlers that are waiting for flight 560. A faint, lopsided grin crosses his face as he listens to his teammate's banter. The light-hearted exchanges are far different than what he is used to being backed by the Dora Milaje.

Just the thought is enough to make T'Challa picture Okoye in front of him, disappointed look for letting his mind wander.

"Get me one with with chocolate sprinkles, Janet. For later," T'Challa says of the donuts. He checks his belt, making sure a few gadgets are close at hand, wondering if they will be effective against the Sentinels if the need arises. Still in his invisibility mode, he keeps a wall between himself and the Sentinels, not wanting to risk seeing what kind of sensors they might have.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"Uh, hello, they do have the word 'please' in your country, right?" Janet quips back at T'challa.

Iron Man has posed:
As Flight 560 begins landing procedure, the hangar in the south opens. Near Wanda, a young 20-something man that was jamming to his music actually slips, staring out over that way, the hangars. "We got robots," he growls to nobody: presumably his headset, or earpiece. He's angry. "Not gettin' vaporized, not for that price." A pause. "Yea, okay." The man trots down along towards the greeting area.

Flight 560 lands on the runway.

"Used to be simple? Meaning, you guessed? By all means, 'use the force', Cap," Tony answers smoothly, a smirk in his tone even if they can't see him.

560 has now landed. The plane turns, and begins to taxi, and finally stops, just next to 488. The people unloading out of 488 are argumentative and upset: it seems they were circling for ages, their flight was delayed, there's a lot of complaints. Many people rush off, but others are staying to argue. The security arriving to deal with that is mixed with that coming to flight 560.

There's a lot of civilians around. And that can't be a mistake. Smoothly, security members approach into the 488 group, and then a plan is suddenly executed: arms are handed over from the baggage cart of 488, and a team of five mercenaries rush for the ladder of 560. One of the handlers of the ladder gets the stock of a gun in the head and screams as she goes down. They're not going to wait for the plane to unload, they're going to take the plane, it appears.

"I've got one of the Sentinels; working on the other three," Tony says lightly. Indeed, three of the Sentinels have awakened and with a loud crunch of their huge footsteps, they advance on the situation. The crowd stopped for a moment to take them in, and begins to erupt into panic. The baggage handlers by T'challa? Those aren't in a panic. They're just efficient mercenaries; and guard the others they just equipped....

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica watches carefully as the plane comes in, but she keeps her eyes cautiously on the sentinels on display in the newly-opened hangar, as well. "Everyone stay alert. Be safe, we have multiple activated bogeys...They're now approaching, and they don't look like they have leis or packets of peanuts."

It is at that moment that Jess sees what's going down as the mercs try to gain entrance to the plane. With a quick thwip from each hand, she plasters webs over the door of the plane, likely divulging her hiding place, but at least nobody's getting on or off that plane immediately.

Iron Man has posed:
"Two," Tony says, by way of countdown. One of the three sentinels that had started to walk over instead just stops, like a giant speedbump in the middle of what it was doing. The other two sentinels continue to troop over towards the planes. "Something's resetting them, but I can keep hammering them to keep them quiet," Tony says. "I'm sort of impressed." A challenge can be rare.

~~Got off the train, and put her hands up~~ sings the music.

Inside flight 560, there's a lot of sharp orders in russian: no chaos. They're going to get the 'cargo' off the plane, not fly off. Not that they can open the door right away, because of Spider-Woman's well placed web! Inside, they debate over opening another door, and having a sentinel come pick him up. That seems safe, to them.

One of the mercenaries wheels around to unload on Jessica's position, covering another to rush up the ladder to try to do something about the web. They are in a big hurry, so a knife is what he attempts first.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"I've got the avionics handled. If they get on board, they're not getting off the ground." Janet buzzes through the air at a fierce clip, barely hand-sized and moving faster than any insect could hope to do. She flickers past the jets to get upwind of the planes, then barrels back inside the corridor of a tight slipstream and flies towards the cockpit at a shocking pace. Wings flare, flutter and she skips tiny feet along the hull to slow her pace against the fierce intake of the engines as they cool down. She hugs her arms tight and with a *thumpf* vanishes into one of the air intake vents that leads into the airplane itself. Once inside, it's a trifling manner to unplug a few connections here and there.

People would be very disturbed if they knew how little it took to cripple a plane.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
While Carol desparately wanted to work her way into getting rid of the pilot and introducing herself as the new pilot for Flight 560, she was sorely disappointed to learn that was not possible. What turned out being the easiest -in- was her least favorite choice, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Instead of wearing a flight suit and piloting a plane like in the good old days, Carol had to put on a sexy mini skirted suit with a classy touch of a silken scarf around the neck to play air hostess to these guys. Sadly, while no questions was asked, because she did look good, having eyes on her for most of the flight cut off times she could communicate.

But she eventually used the age old excuse of bathroom break to get a moment of privacy, her voice comes on the comms in the form of a whisper, because she doesn't want to be overheard, "guys...sorry about radio silence, but I got stuck with a air hostess cover, no joke, to the point: everyone on board is Sentinel crew, Russians or at least fluent in the language, and they have three guys in hoods, one of them is ours. Do you want me to wait on you guys or try and act now?"

She's not yet aware about the armed welcoming committee heading towards the plane.

Captain America has posed:
Just like a match dropped onto a puddle of gasoline, everything takes off. Steve drops back before vaulting over the barbed-wire fencing separating him from the beginning of the tarmac, behind one of the smaller hangers. His voice breaks into the comms: "The 'Force'? If that's a pop-culture reference, Tony, so help me god -- " His voice falls out as he reaches back to pull his shield before him and breaks into an all-out sprint, approaching the rapidly-dissolving sanity that is the grouping of people including mercenaries and civilians alike.

"T'Challa, combatants with a gun needs to be put on the ground," he says quickly on the approach. "If they look like a merc, level them! Carol's on the plane, so that'll fall in our favor." A few breaths even as he readies the shield to throw at the nearest machine-gun-toting goon. "Probably," he adds under his breath. In a shimmer of silver, red and blue, there it goes, CLANG into the nearest guy about to clunk another civilian in the head. Now they're definitely aware of Steve as he goes flying in, heedless of his personal safety as he catches his shield again, one arm already pulled back to level another merc through a lights-out punch.

"Thor! Engage! Wanda! Go go go!"

Upon hearing the Captain on the comms, the Witch makes to subtly excuse herself towards one of the staff doors in the small airport itself. She's outside shortly in her understated garments with the cracklings of ruddy magic already manipulated about her limber fingers in esoteric angles and shapes. It lifts her hair in tendrils as if heated air brushes through. A terse acknowledgement even as the remaining two Sentinel bots continue moving on.

"ACT NOW, CAROL!" So sorry if the Captain blows out any ears; he's currently dodged a kick aimed at his ribs.

Black Panther has posed:
The sound of the giant Sentinel's footsteps as they cross the concrete resound across the tarmac. Their closing on the plane draws worried looks from the mercenaries and baggage handlers, casting looks that way that grow increasingly agitated the closer that the giant forms get.

The handlers should really have been paying attention to their own surroundings.

The one farthest in back suddenly keels over as if jerked backwards, and his head flopping about. He doesn't so much fall as lowers quiestly to the ground.

The next farthest handler suddenly has his eyes bulge out, mouth open as if to yell but it's like something is covering his mouth. There's the crack of vertebrae in his neck breaking and that man joins the first on the concrete tarmac.

One fake baggage handler after another is quietly eliminated by their unseen foe, until finally one of them catches a glimpse of a companion going down, and spots the other bodies and finally raises the alarm amongst the rest. Wild gunfire results as they begin spraying the area the handler was taken down. Bursts of purple energy start to accumulate in the area, drawing more gunfire, and soon T'Challa's form shimmers into view, the bullets rattling off his body, each adding a purple glow to his Black Panther armor. That glow becomes brighter and brighter the more that bullets hit him.

Thor has posed:
    There's no response of words on the comm from Thor. There's just that deep raucous laughter that's often heard when the gift of battle is granted. Yet what is heard is the KRAKKABOOM of the thunder as a bolt of lightning slashes down, multi-pronged and dances back and forth between the two Sentinels at the forefront, sizzling and lashing.
    But that is only the harbinger as in the next moment, slashing down from the heavens, Thor plummets with Mjolnir in both hands coming around once in a whirl of motion, electricity licking the falling man's form and the weapon in his hand as he brings it down hard, trying to smash into the robot and if possible through.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Oh, c'mon, you can do better than that..." Jess quips as she thwips a web up toward the overhang of the roof and swings swiftly up as the armed merc unloads on her position. "Aim for the job you want, not for the job you had when I was still down there." She aims a web toward the merc with the gun, and one for the gun itself. The first catching his far shoulder, she gives a sharp jerk to pull him off balance. With the other hand, she rips the gun from his hands as he tumbles ass over teakettle back down the stairs. With that, and suddenly a gun in hand, she disappears over the top of the roof and moves quickly along until she's within her own tremendous leaping distance of the plane.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol doesn't need muh more than Steve's very clear reply, "aye, aye, Captain," she jokes, before coming out of the plane's lavatory. For the duration of the flight, she's been the perfect image of sweet and charming as she served the passengers, but now, her expression darkens as she walks directly towards the hooded men, intended to remove the hoods one by one so she can get the man she wants. She doesn't even look at the other guys, expecting they might be occupied about how to get out of the plane, before they see to their human cargo. But she could be wrong...still, shocking how often the most direct and simple attempts are the best.

Iron Man has posed:
"Educate him on this, please, Janet: you're my only hope," Tony quotes in proper Star Wars reference that is lost on the Captain. "Three Sentinels," Tony says, pleased with himself. Arrogant, maybe.

The problem is, there's /four/ sentinels. One of them, number four, raised a palm, and there's a sudden horrific flash of energy as it sends a massive, blinding blast into the mercenary group around the baggage handlers, including the zone Panther is occupying. The baggage cart's center carrier is just GONE.

"You might want to watch those hands," Tony comments belatedly into the communicator. The third sentinel turns on the forth one and blasts at it, making the fourth one stumble precariously, hip encountering the side of the plane!

Thor smashes the left side entirely off of the third robot; it was the best target, for sure, since it stood there for easy smashing, held by Tony from also attacking, for the moment. It drops to knees, leaving Thor a great angle to finish it off.

The plane, as struck by sentinel #4 in the tail, SPINS with a screech of tires and metal. Everything inside is flung, as the plane, nudged by the enormous sentinel, swings around precariously. Carol's approach will be interrupted by the sudden heave of the whole plane. The hooded men and Russians fall into the seats and aisles with yells.

The rubber of the wheels screech on the tarmac, a wing dipping to grind a huge swipe out of the ground. The ladder goes flying, people scream and dodge, mercenaries fall off of the ladder to the cement. Jessica saved the guy with the gun: he would have had it a lot worse if the -- no, wait. The ladder fell on him. Ouch.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Once out of sight and angling for a leap at the plane, Jess webs the assault rifle to the roof, and prepares for a running start. "If there are three men in hoods, I say we extract all three. If the other two are decoys, or if they're victims, they're all three in danger. If you want to change my mind, you better hurry." And with one tremendous leap, Jess lands atop the now moving plane, crouched on extra-clingy hands and feet and crawling spider-like over the top and down toward an emergency door on the other side of the plane from the sentinels and whatever may be left of the mercs.

Captain America has posed:
The whirring sound of the Sentinel's beam readying to engage -- in combination with the terrified expression of the guy Steve's about to deck -- is all the warning he gets. With a quick scramble, he throws himself to one side as the beam lands nearby, close enough to blast him with super-heated air.

"Somebody on those robots?!" Yes, he knows that Thor just landed, no one could miss that, but now there's a robot setting the flight with the asset to rotating rapidly in a manner it was just not built to withstand.

Wanda, on the fly, shifts targets. All around the plane, suddenly cracklings of kinetic energy manipulated to her whim brings the near-tumbling plane to a slow and steady grinding halt for Jessica to land safely upon. The scent of gunpowder, melted tarmac, and shredded rubber burn the nose.

Steve rolls to his feet and takes stock of the number of people left. Another poor merc stumbling to his feet lands on the asphalt again with a groan.

"To the airport, let's go, LET'S GO!" This is Steve belting at civilians as he wades through them to stomp on discarded guns with all the force he can manage.

Thor has posed:
    The one-eyed Asgardian continues to ride the Sentinel down as it falls with his cloak flaring behind him, and when it hits the ground with its knees he flips the ancient hammer around reversing his grip and brings it down across the robot's broad chest, slashing armor plates and sending pieces and debris scattering across the tarmac even as the automaton's glowing eyes dim.
    Yet not wasting an instant, he continues the follow through and releases the hammer, sending it /hurtling/ across the distance... and straight past Sentinel 4's ocular sensors with a /WHOM!/ Though no moment is wasted as he lands on the tarmac and then bounds towards that Sentinel menacing the plane, roaring as he draws a fist back.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"YOU educate him!" Janet tumbles over a few times and enlarges herself to a claustrophic size inside the airplane's panel; it is cramped but it keeps her from getting her brains smacked out on the inside of the hull. Once the vehicle stops spinning she shrinks again, finishes breaking the computer circuits, and flies towards an interior access panel.

There's a buzzing near Carol's ear and then Janet materializes out of thin air and slams an armored knee into someone's head. She vanishes in a flash of light and swirl of air and reappears opposite Carol's advancing path as a blur of flying punches and kicks. It certainly draws everyone's attention, but with the aisle packed of hooded strangers and masked men the odds are definitely in Janet's favor.

"'Stuck with a cover', huh Carol?" Janet says over the radio. Her voice is full of skepticism. "How come every time you need an emergency cover ID, you end up running around in a miniskirt?"

Black Panther has posed:
The burst from the Sentinel hits a scant dozen feet from Black Panther. The searing blast of energy hits like a thunderclap, sending the black-clad Avenger cartwheeling through the air. his body bounces off the pavement several times before coming to a stop, leaving T'Challa lying prone and bruised. Mercenaries who survived the blast are all around him as well. Some who were further away manage to get to their feet first.

Magazines are ejected and full clips slammed home as they see one of their adversaries lying prone in the middle of them. Black Panther's head lifts at the same time as their gun barrels. A sudden burst of purple energy radiates out from Black Panther, sending the bodies of a full half-dozen armed men hurtling through the air. T'Challa stumbles back to his feet.

"Four, Tony. Time to hear you say four." he groans into his comms.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol was just about to get the first hood off when the plane is struck and sent on a spin, causing her to get knocked to the ground along with the Russian Crew and The Three Hoods. Not nearly as famous as the Three Tenors, but one of them which is not like the others, is quite popular today.

If she was doing good at keeping cover to this point, it will be more difficult to do once she gets knocked down and the impact makes her glow momentarily. "Damnit," she snaps, and then answers Jessica on the coms, "I think it's a great idea to get all of them. But I do know how our guy looks..." looking around, as she gets up, she tells the men in Russian, "<if you don't mind us...we're here to provide personal escort service...>"

But Carol doesn't wait to see if she can convince the Russians Looney Tunes style, instead, she joins Wasp in punching the way clear to the hooded men once again.

These guys shouldn't be too much of a challenge, Carol expects, which is why she doesn't mind answering Janet's accusations while clearing a path, "that's hearsay!"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Janet has a point," Jess says into her comm as she wrenches the emergency door open at the lip and rips it off its hinges. She flips down, glancing inside the plane and notes the three figures with hoods askew. Quickly, she thwips out a web and jerks one out the door, deftly binding him in webbing and sticking him to the plane hull like a refrigerator magnet. "One hood down, two to go."

Iron Man has posed:
Tony doesn't let Panther down. He clears his throat. "Four."

"By the way, you have about eight more sentinels coming in. They fly, apparently," Tony says smoothly. "Learn something new all the time. They're not fast, though, you have, eh, six minutes. I can't get at them at the moment. Guess I should've come in person; but I can't come to /every/ meet and greet." Tony's a busy man.

Thor's hammer was flung past the fourth sentinel; it had begun to orient, chest charging up, eyes burning, ready to unload some nastiness on Thor in retribution. "SURRENDER," thunders the Sentinel loudly.

"By 'four' I meant it won't attack. Maybe. Something's fighting me on this, pretty strongly now. No hurry, though, Thor, but what's the hold up?" That's Tony, of course.

"Get them off the plane; use the robot!" answers one of the men in russian to Carol, uncaring if she's with them, or not, with his concussion from the overhead bin opening. Two more hooded men are on the ground, one of them struggling to get up, the other just laying like a corpse.

Outside, a gun goes off at the refrigerator magnet: finally the sniper in the trees has something to shoot at: someone with a hood. A bullet hole sprang into existence inches from magnet-man's head.

Thor has posed:
    As Mjolnir blurs past that one Sentinel it hurtles some distance and then sharply ends over as if being drawn back by an invisible tether. Suddenly the inertia shifts and it is rushing right back at that Sentinel, the mallet starting to crackle with electricity.
    Yet it does not strike until the same moment as Thor completes that leap hurtling straight into the armored robot, his left hand flashing out in a crackling punch aimed right at the giant drone's 'jaw' in the exact same instant that Mjolnir /EXPLODES/ through the chest of the sentinel and smacks straight into the Asgardian's waiting hand with a welcome _whom_.
    The robot topples, starting to keel over slowly. "Ware!" He shouts as he tries to grasp the largest fragment to prevent it from striking those mortals near.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
When speaking Russian seems to be enough to convince the other guys, Carol stops struggling to make her way towards the two hooded guys still on the plane, "<of course,>" she keeps to the Russian, "<does the robot answer to some key phrase? Or will it know we are to be protected?>"

Captain America has posed:
Given Steve's angle as he's directing frightened, yelling civilians as fast as possible away from the chaos of the threatened Sentinel and -- he's having kind of a time doing it.

"No, m'am, no filming -- stop, put it away -- I said go that way, DOUBLE-TIME!!!" Again, so sorry if ears are blasted out, but he's having to really raise his voice overtop the clamor that is Thor engaging with the Sentinel robot. "Thor, put it down and get into the air, we've got more incoming!" Surely everyone's heard Tony's missive, but that is no small problem on the way.

Wanda is at an angle to see the fist sniper-bullet hole appear on the exterior of the airplane itself. "That is not playing fair," comments she in a cold tone even as she orients towards the treeline. Her eyes gloss over in a hue of refractive crimson color to match the graceful gestures of her hands before her chest and suddenly...

In the distance, the sound of an arcing cry of shock and a body to follow. The sniper flails limbs as they travel through the air in a small dark silhouette to disappear again farther away into the trees. Presume there is a wince-worthy thump of impact at some point. Turns out trees //can// act like rubbery sling-shots if one wishes!

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Shit!" Jess utters, RIGHT into the comm as the bullet hole appears next to her first catch of the day. "Sniper, somebody on this gu--Oh, right, good going Wanda. Maybe I'll bring you Cinnabons after all." Jess flips swiftly down into the doorway, upside down, for only the moment it takes to thwip out a web, snatching the one hooded guy who's not moving at all and jerking him back through the door with her as she flips up again. "Got two!" she announces gleefully as she sticks the second guy to the plane.

Black Panther has posed:
Black Panther looks about and doesn't see any more mercenaries in the area that are on their feet. He begins heading for the plane, while pulling a small vibranium bead off his bracelet. An image of his sister appears above it as he says, "Please bring the jet in, Shuri."

"You almost got vaporized by the Sentinel. You're getting slow eating those American cheeseburgers," his sister tells T'Challa. But she does as requested, remotely piloting in the Wakandan jet, cloaked against detection by the Russians, bringing it into a hover above flight 560, the doors open for easy entry.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"Jess, you sweet thing, quit buttering me up. You know I love you," the Wasp says into her radio with sassy glee.

Janet's a blur of motion, never making it quite to full size. In the tight confines of the plane, this gives her a significant advantage. Seats and armrests are no more impediment to her than a low tire course would be to anyone else. She zips around like a manic pixie (or spider monkey) of some kind, dropping anyone who expresses some hostile intent.

"Jess, can you handle the rest here on the ground?" Janet demands of Jessica, breathlessly. She flits to Carol's shoulder no larger than a Barbie doll and lands, grabbing a tiny fistful blonde hair for balance. "Carol let's get ahead of the incoming Sentinels. We can each take one, that'll thin the herd so we're not facing them all at once."

"Steve! Make sure they don't blow up the Cinnabon! And save me some Cinnabons if you get back there before we do!"

"Wow, I have got pastries on the brain," Janet informs Carol.

Iron Man has posed:
"<If you are not in the database, then you--->" begins the Russian that demanded a lot of drinks earlier. He doesn't get to finish his statement, though, because Janet is a wrecking crew of attacking.

One of the civilians trying to get a picture switches over to a gun; he hid in the people Steve was escorting, to try to get off a shot on the captain. It's the guy Wanda'd seen earlier: he won't tangle with the robots, but he'll be famous if he gets a shot on captain goody-two-shoes, make a name for himself as a mercenary. Not just 'Brent'.

One of the hooded, webbed blobs seems to have somehow freed itself, or something got it loose, because the man suddenly PLUMMETS towards the ground.

Captain America has posed:
With a herculean display of strength, the blond Asgardian god digs in his fingers hard enough to wrench the large portion of metal out of its flattened, shaped state. With a roar of effort, Thor then shifts the pathway of the falling Sentinel debris to avoid further collapse upon the civilians. Now people are really scattering and heading towards the airport proper and the waiting arms of the overwhelmed security staff, few in number as they are.

This is enough to make Steve relax his guard as only an Avenger can on an airfrield strewn with flaming wreckage and screaming people. No big deal. As he turns, he sees not the reflective eyehole of a phone camera, but the black depths of a gun-barrel. Up goes the shield, CLANG goes the ricocheting bullet, and down goes Single-Syllable Dudebro, no longer able to make more than a one-beat name for himself.

"Nice try, kid," the Captain mutters, displeased.

He can't see the weird unpeeling of the hooded captive, but Wanda can. With a grunt and throwing of her hands, she attempts to wrap the man in a force-field of brilliant crimson netting before he hits the ground!

Iron Man has posed:
"Those eight are the first wave; more coming after that. They really want these guys. You have two minutes until those. Each of you just take a hood, you can trade speed-date style later," Tony suggests 'mildly'.

From the hangar, the two other Sentinels suddenly come: they fly out hot and fast. "They're in some kind of alarm mode, look out!" Tony says sharply.

The haze of reddish magic floods around the falling figure, but he weighs a lot more than expected. The gentle slow, intended to NOT rip apart a human, isn't enough to catch him.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol was pleased with the progress she was making, she was planning on having a Sentinel serve the Avengers and all thanks to her mastery of the Russian language, but before she can progress further, Janet just takes out the one guy who was offering help, leaving Carol to stare blankly. No, Carol is not amused. "Wasp!" She mutters, "he was going to help..." but before she can proceed with reprimend, the radio comes in from Tony and Carol frowns, quickly transmitting back, "guys, we're not fighting a whole squadron of these Sentinels, we don't know enough about them, let's bail with the objectives."

Looking aside at Wasp, Carol notes, "you're the tinkerbell sized, so, mind if I take the cargo?" She reaches to snatch the last hooded guy still on the plane, to take him on a little flight out of there.

Iron Man has posed:
The magic of Wanda didn't stop the fall of the man, but it did buffer it. Something was pushing him through her gentle brake: he wanted DOWN. Probably. He does impact the ground, with a harsh noise.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Sure thing, Short Stuff. I got this," Jess replies to Janet. But While Carol and Janet are fussing with (and over) some guy with a concussion over ownership of the last hooded guy, Jess peekaboos down just in time to see Captain Marvel flying out with hood number three. And then BAM...Magnet number one falls to the ground with a loud metallic CLANK.

"Yaahh, CRAP! Wait...clank? What the hell do you MEAN, /clank/?"

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"Oooh, call me Tinkerbelle /again/, Barbie, I dare you," Janet threatens Carol, buzzing in her ear as irritatingly as she can. She flickers off through the exit door and alights on the ground next to the guy who'd impacted the asphalt.

"I'll get him out of here, then, we don't-- oof! God, my BACK!" Janet winces and rubs her lower back. "Christ on sale, this guy weighs a TON." She takes a breath and straightens up-- and up-- and up! to a towering ten or eleven feet tall!

"OKAY, I GOT THIS ONE!" Janet informs everyone in a stentorian version of her otherwise pleasant voice. She lifts with her knees and pulls the heavy figure onto her shoulder in a practiced fireman's carry. "We should probably get going before the cavalry gets here, boys!"

Iron Man has posed:
The two sentinels coming in to play get a roar of battle from Thor, who moves to engage them.

"Something's controlling them, some kind of AI," Tony says on the comms. "You have somebody nasty there with you, must have just arrived in that mess. Working on it. Don't get yourselves dead."

The man in Janet's arms twists with alarm, pulling one arm up and pulling his hood free. He's gagged as well. Extreme reaction is on his face, a hand lifts suddenly, a massive energy blast building up unexpectedly from forearm and wrist, aimed directly at her, and at very, very close range.

It also comes with blasts from the sentinels, that shoot directly at Janet, intending to blow her, the plane wing, and anything in the vicinity of the one they're after into tiny little bits....

Captain America has posed:
Steve's head is canted to one side as he listens to the chatter through the comms. He looks up towards the two incoming Sentinels, but they're rapidly addressed, one way or another. Wanda moves silently up to his side, a veritable wraith in her undercover garments and still crackling about her person with the lickings of crimson magic.

"We've got incoming. Get the assets to safety. The civilians are -- " No one's going to miss how the squirming man suddenly lights up like he's part Terminator, nor how he draws the attention of the two beleaguered Sentinels engaged by Thor. "Wanda, DOWN!!!"

That's about all the time Steve has to say before he's engaging all of his kinesthetic prowess to throw himself between the struggling Wasp and one of the Sentinel beams.

ZRAAAKKK!!!

The Vibranium shield blocks one solid beam of pure energy. The bleed-over is enough to send Steve tumbling backwards over the tarmac, smoking at his elbows and shins where his suit withstood some but not all of the beam. He's lost his helmet in the process and he scrambles to his feet, panting into the comms, "Asset compromised?!"

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet barely has time to whirl her face away. That saves her features from being seared by the blast as energy erupts in her hands. Plasma sears her uniform and only the light plating of her armor saves her from major injury. She cries out in pain, loud as a foghorn.

The Wasp flings the man away from her with a wild frisbee toss, aiming for relative shelter out of line of sight of the advancing Sentinels. Preferable to him being dead... but someone else is going to have to pull retrieval. Burned and injured, she flees for the only relative safety that can be had: Steve Rogers. Barely six inches tall she flies to the cover of Steve's shield and hugs his forearm, gripping his gauntlet for dear life.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"WASP!" Carol cries out about half a second before the hooded person in her arms attacks her. Too slow, 7th Sense works a lot better when Carol has to respond to a threat to her own well being, the time wasted between getting such an omnious alert and communicating it to another is too slow.

Seeing how Janet is hurt but flying away from harm's way, Carol decides to go after the plummeting guy, calling out in Russian against hope, "<we're the good guys, we're here to save you from terrorists who tried to kidnap you.>" If he seems to be reasonable, she'll go about catching him while holding the other in one arm. If he's not, maybe he deserves a bit of a fall for shooting at Janet.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Jessica, uncertain as to where Hood Number Three was left, deftly creates a cargo net ramp of webs up into the Wakandan ship over her head, and she carries the only remaining webbed up magnet she has in her possession up into the craft. From there, she fires filament upon filament down toward the bruised Black Panther, giving him a clear path up to the ship that he might pilot it, if Jess needs to return to the ground. She keeps the webs just ahead of his steps, and he shreds them as he ascends, vibranium claws destroying the ladder as quickly as he passes over it, to keep anyone from following that doesn't /need/ to be following. Once he is aboard and able to watch her ward, Jess jumps from the craft back down to the plane and calls out to Cap and Janet, "We have wheels. We need to move before the rest of the squadron arrives." Her eyes flit toward Carol. She knows that Captain Marvel has her own wheels, but she extends the invitation nonetheless. But she waits to see what the plan of action is from Captain Marvel.

Iron Man has posed:
"Get out of there; this is not the time for more hurry up and wait!" Tony commands into the communication. Steve's HUD has exploded into the urgent warnings Steve probably didn't know he needed. It might be somewhat headache inducing. But the HUD has picked up all the flying sentinels coming in. "I'm being overruled at this distance, but I can see they're setting up to level the place. Remember the time I sacrificed myself to save the city? I'm not there to do it this time," Tony says. Even in an emergency he'll remind them about that.

Is the man reasonable? He's falling. "<mmmmh!>" he ends up with in Russian (or maybe another language?) since he's gagged, extending a hand towards her. The wrist is still glowing red, but it probably is a 'help me' extension of hand.

Captain America has posed:
With Wanda having taken cover for now, Steve's able to focus on continuing to move out of range of further targeting by the robots. With Janet tucked between the strong line of his forearm and his chest, he gestures for the Scarlet Witch to follow and she does. The odds are ever in her favor, for it seems that nothing nearby damages her -- no shrapnel cuts nor does fuel caught afire crisp at skin or clothing.

"We're compromised, team, retreat! Bag and tag him! To the plane!" He means T'Challa's jet, hovering overhead, and that's where he and the Witch head, his heart in his throat.

Iron Man has posed:
Thor ignores the order, he's busy beating the hell out of the Sentinels. He probably says something dramatic like he'll cover their escape, or the like.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol has this jarring realization that the guy is actually gagged, because she didn't see it before, because Wasp was carrying him and also reasons. And there was a hood. She really isn't that dumb. Even if she is blonde, which is a terrible stereotype! Don't do stereotype kids, they offend!

"<I'm here to help, we'll save you from the terrorists, I need to get you out of here, keep you safe,>" Carol informs the plummeting man while snatching him in her free hand. Carrying two people, one hooded, one not, makes her pure transport, but that's fine. She's not about to fight what's coming, she just zooms on over to Black Panther's plane.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"LET'S GO!" Jess gives one last plea as she ascends the net and climbs into the Wakandan jet to await the others.

Captain America has posed:
Hot on the heels of both Carol and her bounty as well as Jessica and her hooded steal, the Captain's got Wanda at his side. He frankly herds the Witch up the netting and into the Wakandan aircraft before he finally scrambles up inside himself.

Janet, having passed into unconsciousness, reverts to her normal size -- thankfully while he's still able to catch her. The Vibranium shield falls to the floor of the ship with a resounding, rolling clang.

"Tony, we have a team member down, get the medics rolling," he says into the comms in a tone ironed to emotionless composure. "Thor, disengage, join us when you can." Who knows when that might be? For now, the Captain holds Janet slung across his arms and tucked to his chest as he sits in one of the plane's chairs, staring at nothing on the floor.

Iron Man has posed:
"Got it; she's priority. I'm on route to the airport; I'll handle the press, and sort out this AI presence," Tony assures on the comm. Yes, he will: Tony's good at the press. And killer AIs. Unfortunately. And he trusts Steve to look after Janet.

John Doe doesn't blast Carol; he's caught. His arm doesn't wrench out of the socket, so he's built of some sturdy (heavy?) stuff. His other hand goes for his gag, tearing it off, and staring around, trying to orient on everything. He's probably thirty, but looks like he's been through a war. He's a muscular, big type, not a scientist by appearance.

"<All right,>" John answers in Russian, and the red fades out of the wrist Carol caught.

The whole team is able to make it to the plane, but those Sentinels coming in are RIGHT THERE.... will follow the ship?

They're slower, but tireless. Perhaps they can simply be out-distanced....