7486/The Qualty or State of Being Human

The Qualty or State of Being Human
Date of Scene:	14 May 2019
Location:	Underground Research Facility - Oregon
Synopsis:	The heroes succeed in saving Norton and in turn freeing Megatron.
Cast of Characters:	Megatron, Lara Croft, Typhoid Mary, Shadowcat, Silver Sable

---

Megatron has posed:
    Each contact had been clean, through a burner phone or a particular data drop. Ms. Croft had the same burner that had been used when she was in South America, the same phone that provided that melodic and useful voice when she had been infiltrating the base camp and procuring the package. It was she that had it, and hers was the schedule that the others were given.
    It took an increase of offer in the fee and perhaps the spirit of adventure to get the British noble to agree to travel to the coordinates in the wilderness of Oregon. Just off state road 18, 45.5572 degrees North, and 122.7986 degrees West. The side of that rural road.
    It would serve as a gathering point. Off the asphalt, in the middle of nowhere. Long wooden fences line the sides of the road. No housing visible from there. An old barn slowly decaying near a small copse of trees. It was at mile marker 155, and that stretch of road looked almost like all the rest.
    It was there, that when Lara arrived, Norton Agamemnon's voice would be heard on the burner phone as he tells her. "Please wait here, the others of your team will likely be arriving soon."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara had picked up two things in Portland, a nice SUV and a nice Silver Sablinova at the airport. She'd explained as much as she could along the way, talking about having been first called to meet with this Norton fellow at a peculiar office building in Manhattan, then her trip up to this point.

Now, they're arriving at this location and she's stepping out of the vehicle with the burner phone, she has it on speaker, but the speaker quality is pretty shabby which is altering Norton's voice to make it sound robotic in a way. "Right, yes, of course." Lara says. "You know, Mister Agamemnom, this couldn't possibly be any more odd." Which is an over statement, because of course it could.

Lara steps around the front of her nice and comfortable modern SUV (far from that horrible VW van she'd put up with in South America) and is scanning her eyes around this new location.

Typhoid Mary has posed:
That deposit in her bank account covered expenses for the investigation and delivery of information. As such, Walker opted to fly out to the nearest city then rent a car. After all, she didn't actually own a vehicle. She didn't need one in New York City. Not only rent a car but rent an expensive sports car, black with silver racing stripes. (It was even something every personality would have agreed on.) Which allowed her to make the trip in record time from the airport.

The car came roaring down the highway at top speed then came to a screeching halt and pulled over to the side of the road directly in front of Lara's SUV. She eyed the woman standing there a moment then got out of the car. Dressed in camo BDUs, an olive green tank top. Her redhair was pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head, eyes hidden behind sunglasses. There was a holster strapped to her right leg which did have a weapon in it.

She waited by her vehicle, not making any threatening moves but not approaching until she was certain it wouldn't have this stranger start shooting at her or something.

Shadowcat has posed:
Another SUV comes down the road, rolling at a pace that will get the occupant to their destination, but not looking particularly hurried about it being soon. Bug remains splatter the windshield and grill as if the vehicle has been driven a bit of a distance. It slows further at the sight of the cars ahead, but eventually makes it there, backing off the road to an out of the way parking spot leaving the car facing back towards the road.

The window lowers partway, staying like that before the door opens and a young college-aged woman climbs out. She has on a pair of black pants and a dark green hoodie. She swings the door shut and locks the door but doesn't bother closing the window. She turns and walks over towards the others, taking in the sight of them, while holding a cell phone that she's listening to.

Silver Sable has posed:
Silver dismounts the vehicle when Lara parks it, and when the Brit ditches she steps out of the passenger side. Everything about the woman with the cropped silver hair *screams* 'military', from her rigid bearing to the way she does a full 360 of the area while staying in the partial cover of the SUV's passenger door. She's ditched her high heels for stylish but practical low boots, but is otherwise in her office garb: silver slacks, demi-sleeved white blouse, black vest. She swings a silver overcoat over her shoulders and conceals the shoulder holster retaining a wickedly high-end looking machine pistol slung under her arm.

She finishes her surveillance and steps into pace alongside Lara. The whole time, absolutely situational awareness surrounds her like a second armor, and she folds her arms across her stomach and watches the treeline as Lara's greeted by the tape recorder.

"Lara, actung. Pass auf, da faehrt eine frau schnell unsere richtung."

She twists her head and catches sight of another vehicle and steps back a few paces so she can keep both Mary *and* Kitty in the corner of her eye. "Korrektur: zwei frauen," she clarifies. German's certainly not impossible to translate, but it at least gives them a little means of coded conversation.

Megatron has posed:
    The calm melodic British voice on the end of the phone answers Lara calmly enough, "Trepidation would be understandable, you've surprised me with your willingness to embrace the moment." The artificial intelligence then states, "Two others will be joining you..."
    As the sports car arrives, Norton will just continue chatting as if he were there and witnessing it as well, but also managing to make introductions. "Mary Walker, a private investigator I had hired initially to perform some research but who also was to support your efforts in case matters took a turn for the worse. This was, however, before you engaged the services of Ms. Sablinova."
    Then as the other SUV motors into view and its lone occupant emerges. "The last of your team is the key to surpassing the security systems. She has asked to go simply by the name, Miss Pink."
    There's a pause as people move towards each other and he says, "Once you have made the needed greetings I shall elaborate on the task at hand."

Lara Croft has posed:
"Right." Lara softly says to Norton's initial words before her eyes go over to Silver speaking in German to her.

Lara's wearing a pair of dark brown lensed aviator sunglasses with silver frames, a dark gray tanktop tucked into a pair of lighter gray slim-fit cargo pants that themselves are tucked into a pair of boots, one of the boots has a knife sheathed on the outside of her ankle, no other weapons visible on her body at the present.

As the introductions start for those who drive up, Lara first regards Mary. She glances over to Silver and then speaks toward the phone, not really hiding her own words. "I do prefer to be accompanied by people I've worked with before and trust, but in this moment, I'll... put trust in your judgement on this."

Once both Kitty and Mary arrive, Lara starts to walk to the closest point that will put them all within conversational range of one another, Kitty on her left and Mary on her right. "Hello." the British woman in her mid twenties says to them both. "I'm Lara, Croft. An archaeologist under the employ of the good Mister Agamemnon." She holds up the phone. "He's here, hoping to explain to us what we're all up to from here on forward."

Typhoid Mary has posed:
As Kitty arrives, Walker keeps an eye on her as well. Silver might recognize the military stance to her, the way she holds her posture. It's like a screaming giveaway to anyone that knows to look for it. Yet, she isn't on the level of paranoia that Silver has reached. She didn't do it nearly as long as the professional. Discharge due to Health reasons will do that to a person.

She follows Lara's lead, taking up a spot as well but keeping that distance. "I'm sure I was introduced as Mary Walker but I prefer to just be called Walker," she offers. "I'm a private investigator, hired by Mr. Agamemnon to research some information for him. Additionally, I was told to protect you and the package you will be delivering." Formal, no nonsense. There is no lightness to her tone or friendliness. It's just business.

Silver Sable has posed:
Silver's hiding her face behind large designer sunglasses that are, also, bulletproof. Kitty might not pick up on it but for someone like Mary, Silver's attire is obviously built with a fight in mind. Kitty gets a flickering once-over, dismissed a second later. A college kid, maybe younger? Obviously the tech expert, and obviously not a serious combatant. Though it's hard to get a read on Silver's age. Her hair's a true, lusterous silver shade, not merely grey, and the severe crop of her hair is at odds with smooth skin and weathered forearms.

She does Mary the courtesy of giving the woman her undivided focus when the PI speaks up. Yeah, there's a read there, and when eye contact's made, Silver stares Mary down unflinchingly until a subtle nod is given. They cool, at least from Silver's side.

Ish. She's still strapped to hell, way more than anyone rightfully needs for a country drive in Oregon. "I am Sablinova," she volunteers, when eyes turn to her. "I'm just here to keep Miss Croft safe." The blunt and uninviting nature of her tone suggests she takes that obligation pretty seriously.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty has her hands in her the pocket of her hoodie as she walks over. In addition to the burner, she's got her own phone on of her, the device one of her own construction. Which makes it more tiny computer and less smart phone. The young woman's hood is up at the moment, though her brown hair is visible as she looks over at the other three women and gives them all an amiable enough nod of greeting.

There is nothing military visible about Miss Pink. Nothing in her stride, her posture or clothing. Though what's she's wearing does look like something that a person would move in well, and the boots are well chosen for athletic endeavors, but rubber soled for quietness.

Miss Pink gives everyone the aforementioned nod and then adds a little wave, pulling a hand back out of her hoodie to do so. "Miss Pink works," she says simply, shrugging and giving them a smile.

Megatron has posed:
    "Normally I do not care to rush to the completion of a plan, but time is unfortunately of the essence." It's the same voice they all have heard. The same pattern of speech and cadence, though Silver might only have heard him the few times she had listened to Lara speak to him on the drive to the coordinates.
    "Ms. Croft has with her a package that needs to get past security for the facility that is three hundred meters north of you and 20 meters underground. It is a closed facility, that only has connection with the world proper once a year for resupply. Normally they would be monitoring this stretch of road as well as the land above the facility. I have made sure this is not the case for the next hour."
    There's a pause then, a faint electronic squeal and hiss on the end of the line then he continues as if not missing a beat, "This has, however, compromised my connection to the facility. It will likely be noticed. So I would advise some measure of urgency." The coordinates appear on the display of the phone with a small beep. "Miss Pink will convey you down through the surface to an unused storage room in the facility. From there you will make your way through the only door. Down the hall to the end to a larger storage area. Once there things will move quickly."

Lara Croft has posed:
A nod is given to Mary. "Walker it is." She reaffirms the woman's preferred title before her gaze slips over to Silver and a slight and brief smile is shown to her friend before she looks then to Miss Pink and from there she just lets Norton go on about his explanations.

Once its completed she speaks into the smart phone, holding it a few inches before her chin. "Ever the mystery with you, Mister Agamemnon." Croft says into the device with a light smirk before she then takes a step toward Kitty and offers the device to her. "Coordinates." She says, letting Kitty take the phone if she wants it.

"Should we all pile into my vehicle then? Its probably wise to leave the others here, we can pick them up on our return." Her aviator shaded eyes look from one of them to the other to get feedback or responses while she starts to turn back toward her dark navy blue SUV rental.

Typhoid Mary has posed:
"Let me get my gear," Walker says simply as she heads back for her car. She opens the trunk with a push of the button the fob. Then she starts to gear up. A belt with pouches for extra magazines. Not just those for the handgun. She has a fully auto AR-15 as well which she tucks away extra ammo for as well. Then she puts on a camo jacket before pulling out a harness. It doesn't go at all with the rest of what she is wearing, being in black leather. She puts it on, latching it in the front, the handles of two katanas now peeking over each shoulder.

Only then does she pick up the machine gun, snapping a round into the chamber with a tug then walking over to the vehicle they will be apparently sharing. She looks to each in turn then finally to Silver. "I'll follow your lead."

Silver Sable has posed:
Silver's brows lift mildly when Mary straps up with the military rifle and a load bearing harness. The swords are an interesting anachronism... but then again, the last person you really want to mess with is a woman confident enough to bring a knife to a gunfight.

She transfers her gaze to Lara. "Are we expecting heavy resistance, or am I just underdressed?" she inquires, with a wry deadpan and a thumb wiggling at Mary. She steps away and moves to the rear doors of Lara's SUV, cracking one and resting her foot on the runner. "Miss Croft, you drive, then. Miss... Pink, you're with me in the rear seat. Miss Walker, you ride up front." Escort protection 101, shotgun's the worst place to be if you're trying to keep an eye on a protectee who insists on driving. Given how heavily Mary's armed, it's perhaps prudent for Silver to put herself in a position to keep a close eye on the PI.

But the gesture she gives Mary is relatively welcoming, gesturing towards the passenger door. So... it's polite, in a weirdly military way. Paying Mary the complement of taking her seriously.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde finally says a few more words. "My agreement on this depended on the details. I need to inspect this package first," she says. Miss Pink will wait for any assurances Lara might need from the voice on the phone, but they work it out and the package is passed over.

Miss Pink pulls a phone out of her pocket and turns it on, fiddling with it before opening up the package carefully. Once she sees what is inside, she looks a little perplexed. Just a block of some sort of mineral. Miss Pink operates her phone a bit more, assuring it isn't radioactive, but not able to further nail down the substance.

Note to self: Ask Tony Stark about some of those sweet sensors he has in his armor.

"Alright, not what I was expecting," Miss Pink says, putting the phone back away and returning the package to its original state. "Sure, that works," she says to Lara then, motioning towards her SUV to indicate she's talking about the transportation plan. She'll move over to climb in the vehicle, letting Silver set the seating arrangement.

Megatron has posed:
    Once the team is together, once the checks are made on the package, they'll move out in the rental SUV and onto the small dirt road/path that crosses what otherwise looks simply like an empty field that hadn't been tended to since the Carter administration. There's some cover, however. A few copses of trees, that old barn near the side of the road disappears into the distance. But from their place upon the surface there is nothing obvious that under their feet would be anything more than dirt and earthworms.
    It doesn't take long to reach the coordinates. When the engine falls silent they'll hear crickets, some peeping insects. Above them the sky is mostly overcast and whatever town is nearest to them casting enough landlight to obscure the stars they normally would see.
    Once outside the vehicle, nothing. No sign of people. Perhaps the No Trespassing sign that had been on the fence did its job. But other than that, no reactions to their crossing into this private territory.
    The voice on the phone lifts, "Miss Pink, the exact area you make your descent is important. Please use the GPS application on the burner and do not descend until the light is green. Are you capable of carrying your comrades or do you require more than one trip?"

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara had certainly eyeballed Walker while the woman suited up. She'd subsequently given Silver a follow-up 'look' related to that display before she walked toward her SUV and prepped it to go. Once everyone was inside, it was a quiet and casual drive though she was obeying the speed limit, she was pushing it over by the standard 'accepted' rate of 5 mph or so.

Once they arrive, Lara simply steps out of the SUV and pulls out a leather harness from over her seat that she drapes around her shoulders and latches via a clip across her chest. She then grabs a navy blue jacket that she slides onto her shoulders as well.

She starts to walk away from the vehicle then, just a few steps as she raises her sunglasses up and rests them atop her forehead. She over hears Norton's voice talking to Kitty and turns to look upon her and the others.

Typhoid Mary has posed:
Walker gets it. She has no problem with it either. She is loaded for bear and she realizes that someone might not trust that very much. Yet, she is alert, ready to react as they drive to the area.

Only to have nothing happen.

That gets a frown from the redhead as she opens the door, keeping an eye then glancing back to Miss Pink as she steps out. "Carry us? She looks like she can barely carry herself," she murmurs loud enough to be heard.

Silver Sable has posed:
Silver steps to the back of the vehicle and removes her overcoat and dress shirt. Under it is a flex-fit athleetic tank top. The lack of sleeves shows some hard-earned muscle and a few scars from sun and injury alike. The shoulder harness is removed and tossed in the back. Going incognito?

No, going full Matrix, it looks like. Silver dons a combat harness that's dyed silver to match her jacket. Not terribly tactical, but it's damned sharp looking. She opens the cargo space to reveal the sort of arms cache that is usually reserved for movies and gun buys.

Sunglasses are exchanged for smoke-tinted tactical lenses and she pulls the brim of a ballcap (black, with a stylized 'AG' on it. Chemistry nerds might get the joke).

That little subgun's transferred to a thigh holster and she picks up an automatic rifle. Lean, sleek, very compact and well balanced. State of the art. She checks her loadout over and walks back to the other women. Sarah Conner, eat your heart out.

Lara's given a critical look. "I would feel much better if you'd take some more hardware," she says, in a tone of someone raising up a long-settled argument again. "Are you sure you don't want to borrow mine?" She offers the high end rifle to Lara.

Shadowcat has posed:
Miss Pink accesses her burner, checking the application as they begin moving to locate the exact correct spot. The light blinks red. Red. Red. Miss Pink adjusts their path, moving a bit further off to the left than the course they were on. Still red. Finally the light on the phone app turns green.

At the question about the number of people, she looks around and considers. "Twenty meters. I can take everyone at once," she says into the phone. The youthful college-aged woman doesn't shy away from the gaze of the martial women as she looks each in the eye one by one. "You won't be able to breath. So you'll need to hold your breaths. 45 seconds to a minute most likely," she tells the assembled women.

"You will all be holding onto me. Tightly. Do not let go of me or you will die, as we will be passing through the Earth into the facility. Let go, and your body and a bunch of dirt will inhabit the same space at once. Which is hell on, well, pretty much every part of you," she says in a voice that is far too simple and amiable for the message being delivered. "Even when you think it's ok to let go, don't. I'll let your hands go when it's safe," she tells them, looking about at each woman's face to confirm that they accepted those instructions.

"If there aren't any questions?" Miss Pink asks. She pulls out a mask from her hoodie pocket and puts it on. It's like something a ninja would wear, covering her hair completely, and her face but leaving her eyes uncovered. She then extends her arms towards the other women so they have more room for their handholds. "Ready?"

Megatron has posed:
    It is quite a declaration made by Miss Pink. She tells them simply that they are about to break the laws of reality with the simple act of taking her hand or holding onto her. There is undoubtedly trepedation. Looks shared and some measure of curiousity...
    But any doubt is removed when once they take hold of her and they feel that curious tingle... the ground starts to rise up around them. Not like the typical Tarzan movie where his nemesis quicksand casually burbles around him. No this is as if they no longer existed as anything save ghostly spirits, dropping down... down down. Until their eyes slip beneath the surface and everything is black and dark. There's not even scent of the earth to help their senses, nothing visible. And being unable to breathe and it abruptly becomes much more of an exercise in trust.
    15 seconds, and most would start to fear, the hint of panic slipping into the forefront of the mind. 30 seconds, and many people would be actively struggling, perhaps trying to pull away, to /swim/ upwards. But at 45 seconds as things get worse...
    Suddenly they all drop through a metal ceiling with a glowing circular light. A great silver room with walls gleaming and seven closed crates being the entirety of what is stored within. All neatly stacked up in a corner. There's a lone door that seems /very/ solid, as if they were sneaking into a bank vault.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara had smirked softly at Silver and shook her head. "I do better when I'm traveling light." She says. She openned her jacket to show two of those handguns that Silver knows Lara has an affinity for strapped to either sides of her torso. "Besides, I've been thinking about doubling up lately." She'd said then with a slight grin shown to her friend. The Tomb Raider, finally deciding to duel wield? Uh oh. Whats next? Backflips? No, Probably not... those are hard to do!

Lara had then listened to every darn word Kitty had said because every bit of it was intimidating and concerning, but she'd play along!

The trip was... nerve racking to say the utmost least possible. Thankfully, Croft had a wealth of experience of diving and under water exploration that which gave her some training in breath holding. Still, it was never a comfortable feeling..

When they drop through, Lara lands in a crouch, her hands going to the floor and her lips parting to take in oxygen. She looks up, and over to her companions on this trip, then reaches back for the pouch at her side where the package is stored. "Well. That was a first..." Lara quietly quips.

Typhoid Mary has posed:
This was not what she signed up for and Walker wasn't ready. The warning came. She took a breath. She was positive this would be a walk in the park. Until that darkness closed in. And continued. And longer...She almost panics, almost lets go. Then her grip tightens down harder. Not Walker's grip though. Someone else's.

As they land in the room, her hair has come out of the neat bun. In fact, it is sticking up as though she was touching something electrical, causing the static to effect her. There are some scraping noises, metal on metal. A few shelves take themselves apart, pieces coming flying her direction.

She remains there with her head bowed, fist clenched. Then the metal pieces hit the floor with a loud *CLANK* as her hair falls back around her shoulders. She takes a deep breath then looks up at the room, reaching up with her free hand to quickly secure her hair back in a messy bun. She's not giving up the rifle to make it a nice, neat bun.

"I hope our exit will not require that same method." Back to Walker, cool as a cucumber as she moves to cover the door.

Silver Sable has posed:
Silver holds Lara tight in one hand, and grips Kitty's hand with the other. She shudders violently at the non-sensations of the rocks passing *through* her, the bizarre experience of the utter darkness of plunging through twenty meters of solid matter.

When they land she takes a controlled but profoundly needy inhalation through her nose. It wouldn't do for anyone to see Silver doing what her instincts suggest: fall down and throw up from the motion sickness.

Instead, she keeps hold of Lara's hand and hunkers down with the archaeologist, rubbing her back with gentle reassurance as Lara gets her breathing under control.

"All good?" she murmurs, quietly, and then once Lara confirms it, Silver's rising to her feet again and unlimbering her combat rifle. A suppressor's locked into place, and she unfolds the rifle's stock and braces it against her shoulder. Mary's given a questioning look, but her readiness is met with a nod. Silver looks to Kitty, then.

"Useful trick. Where do we go from here?" she asks. All business.

Shadowcat has posed:
Miss Pink takes the women down through the earth until they emerge into the room. She keeps them phased until their feet are near to the ground. They are unphased one at a time, Miss Pink making sure their bodies do not overlap with any other matter, even moving the still phased ones to the side if needed. Finally Miss Pink is the last, walking clear of them.

There's no way to tell if she's actually back tangible or not. No one looked ghostly while it was going on. "Nice job for first-timers," she says to the other ladies. They can't see if her lips are smiling with that mask on, but her eyes suggest one is there.

Miss Pink looks back to Walker and says, "Well, that's how I'm leaving with any of you who want back out. If you wanted to find another route that'd be up to you." She pulls out her phone to check for Norton's instructions, whether voice, text, or showing up in the app.

Megatron has posed:
    As they gather themselves once the metal clangs to the ground, there is silence in part save for what noise they make themselves. A fan above kicks on in the ventilation shaft that feeds this area and there's the faint hum of electronics that is ever present in facilities like this.
    The phone in Kitty's hand is dead, no signal at all as the connection is blocked. But then the lights flicker, and then there's a glimmer of motion as a projection appears from the light above. It creates the holographic figure of a tall demure looking man with salt and pepper hair and a short van dyke, perhaps half a foot above six feet in height, thin and lanky but with a calm presence to him. Lara has seen him before, as has Kitty, but the others this is the first time seeing the physical representation of Mr. Agamemnon.
    "Before we continue." His voice sounds altered, different as it emerges from some sort of speaker that is hidden behind the lights above. "I should warn you there are two guards at the end of the hallway beyond the double doors. They stand at either side of the door and have rifles in hand."
    The man in the brown suit looks between the operatives one at a time, then says. "However, I must impart some bad news. We only have seventeen minutes left. A flight of Sentinels are on their way. Your lives are endangered."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara nods softly to Silver and offers her a light smile for just a passing pair of seconds before she turns to the others. She's about to speak to them, Kitty specifically. "Thank---" But she's cut off by Norton's holographic arrival.

Lara's brown eyes subsequently sweep over to the man and she listens to what he says, and what he says casts a shadow of displeasure across the young Brit's demeanor. After he finishes speaking she exhales. "Wonderful." She quietly comments on it all before she shakes her head left to right and adjusts her eyes NOW onto Kitty.

"Do you think you can... do that same thing to the guards weapons?" Lara asks. "Reach through and grab them?" She looks to Silver and to Walker. "Then we can quickly pass through the doors and disable them?"

Before she gets any answers she's already starting to walk, since they're running out of time. She's not a mutant, but she doesn't want to deal with Sentinels either way. Battle Robots are not Lara Croft's specialty.

Typhoid Mary has posed:
As they head for the double doors, Walker gives a negative shake if her head. "Can't repeat that. It's..something I can't control." It isn't too far from the truth. After all, Bloody tends to do whatever she wants thus she's quite uncontrollable. She isn't explaining that. People tend to get nervous with that sort of information shared.

Silver Sable has posed:
Silver slings her rifle from across her shoulders and reaches to an appendix holster. It looks like a SHIELD issue ICER, or at least a very good clone of one. "I can handle guards," Silver says, confidently. "Headshots are usually instant."

That's some fast moving, but Silver's confident expression suggests she can handle herself. The lock to the door is undone silently as possible, and then Silver sets her weight to fling it open.

She's through the door in an explosion of motion. She breaks hard, away from the door, and surges at the guard she isns't momentarily hidden from. She intercepts his trigger finger, and slaps him in the throat with the barrel of her ICER to keep him from shouting. The finger's gripped tight and she twists it sideways with a loud *crack*.

She turns in a fluid motion when the door swings shut and hits the unsuspecting guard point-blank between the eyes with a stunner, then brings it back around and shoots the first under the jaw. Both are down, and by the time the door swings open, Silver's stripping radios and reaching for their zip-ties to handcuff the two men. "Should keep them down for half an hour," she explains to the other women.

Shadowcat has posed:
The question from Lara about disarming the guards gets a nod from Miss Pink. But she sees Silver head for the door and so stays back instead. "Yes, if needed," she tells Lara just so it is in the woman's head for planning purposes. "We should move quickly. We don't want to be in the ground still when the Sentinels arrive," she says.

Miss Pink looks over to Walker, though she's already moving to follow, making haste now that Silver has cleared the way. Talking as they move, she says, "Can just close your eyes and hold your breath. There's nothing to see. You will just be standing there, unchanged. You can just focus on that thought. Totally in control. Just focusing on holding tight with your hand."

Megatron has posed:
    Silver's take down of the two guards is an exercise in precision with clean execution. She bursts through the door and is presented with at least one who has some sense of awareness for he's turning just as she comes out. The whirl of movement between them ends with that crack and then the sound of the weapon firing, disabling the two with a minimum of fuss.
    But it's once they're on the ground, once the others emerge through the doors, that they're able to eyeball what lies on the other side. For the room that is before them? It is massive. The size of several basketball arenas perhaps with a good amount of height as well as several areas that drop downwards to lower levels, lower facilities like a multi-tiered vault.
    Though the vast storage area does not hold gold nor jewels. What lies on the main floor is a conglomeration of large slabs that support a myriad of metal and electronics stretched out. Pieces of equipment are split apart, dissected and spread with testing equipment perched above them, robotic arms moving from above on a series of rails each poking and prodding in turn as if they were part of an automobile assembly line that went nowhere at all.
    With the guards down, there seems to be nobody else in the giant room. That is, until they hear a ragged voice from a wizened Asian man standing atop a large tarp covered platform. "What is this?"
    His voice is sharp, a little shrill with age. "What is this?!" Almost instantly he has a device in his hand as he says loudly, "Come no closer. This facility cannot be compromised. It cannot!"
    But that is the moment when Norton materializes, projecting from another gleam of light above. The calm British man with his cane in hand stands there halfway between the old man and halfway between the operatives. "Dr. Xiang."
    "You... how did... how did you?"
    "Last data uplink, Dr." Then over his shoulder he says, "W, the information you gathered, please?"

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara turns to watch Silver stride past her, confidently going to deal with the guards. "Don't, kill them." She warns her friend with a momentary pleading look as she doesn't believe the guards within this facility are worthy of such a fate. She then glances back to Kitty to show her a sympathetic look. "She's very capable." She says to the young woman who phased them into this compound. "But I was sure that plan would make things slightly easier." She shows a hint of a grin before she looks forward.

When the fight had started, it didn't take long, Lara watched from the other side and kept her hands near to the satchel that had the package within it that Norton had set all of this up for...

With the way cleared for them by Silver, Lara walks through the doors now, looks to the guards first before she looks to this large open interior room. A few more steps are taken before she is now regarding the Asian man calling out to them, and then to Agamemnom...

Something doesn't feel right, but she can't quite place her finger on what yet.

Typhoid Mary has posed:
As they face off with the man, Walker spots the kill switch and immediately is looking around for the explosives. Unless they are under the tarp. Perhaps that's where.

The appearance of Norton isn't as much of a surprise as the first time but the fact he wants her to disseminate the information she gathered now, of all moments, has her staring at his image and taking her eyes off the man. "Now? Uhm..."

The normally capable and secure woman was thrown off slightly by the request but she complies. The gun is slung back over her shoulder, her trust there that her teammates will cover her. She carefully draws out some papers from inside her jacket. Unfolding, there are even pictures attached to the papers.

"I looked up the names you asked, searched all I could. Two of them died of with no family left behind. The only one I could really find anything on was Doctor Xiang. Well, not really him. On his family." She shifts the papers, pulling out a picture and holding it up. It showed an elderly Asian woman with a young man, younger woman and two little girls. It looks like a holiday photo going by the ugly sweaters.

"Dr. Xiang's wife was pregnant at the time he disappeared and was assumed dead. She had a son, Stephen, five months after he disappeared. Margarite passed last year from brain cancer. Their son Stephen married when he was 23 to a woman named Margarite. They had two daughters: Ariel and Belle, now ages 12 and 8." She makes a little bit of a face. "Margarite is a bit of a Disney fan. To the extreme. That's all I was able to dig up though. They are living their lives happilly, from what I could tell." She pulls out two more pictures, showing the family at the park in one and an image through a window into their home showing them at the dinner table together.

Silver Sable has posed:
"Da, you see? Did not kill either of them," Silver mutters at Lara as the archaeologist joins her. "Don't need an international incident."

She aims the ICER knockoff at Xiang and starts padding closer, until he hoists the remote switch. "Damnit. Trigger device," she warns the other women. Not for a second does she take her eyes off of him. "Out of ICER range." The stungun's holstered and she swings her rifle off her back, assuming a good shooting stance and setting her sights directly on the man. "Could take him from here. Clean, headshot. No detonation," she mutters. Silver keeps her voice low so only her companions can hear her.

This isn't Sable's op, though. She waits for Mary to brief their mysterious benefactor, and takes her cues from Lara and their temporary employer.

Shadowcat has posed:
Miss Pink has pulled out her phone. She mumbles an update on how long until the Sentinels arrives to Lara, making sure it is present in people's minds the time table they are on. After that, she begins looking for wireless connections she can try to get into over phone that is so souped up it barely deserves to be called a phone. Barring that she glances about, looking for a machine she can plug into that she might be able to pull some data off of.

Miss Pink keeps an ear on the conversation, but continues to try to get something of use out of what this facility is doing in the meantime. She snaps a few pictures of the components that are being worked on. If there are any circuit boards at hand she'll slip a couple of different ones into pockets while hopefully Xiang is occupied hearing about how his family went on without him.

Megatron has posed:
    The old man in the white coat stands above them on that platform, masses of scaffolding extending outwards from it. Scaffolding that he navigates slowly as he moves forwards, frowning to himself. He looks at the holographic image with anger, with something approaching such utter scandal or as if he were taking such umbrage.
    But then Walker speaks, offering voice to the information she was hired to gather. At first Xiang looks on in disbelief, still scowling, still completely displeased and holding the wired box forwards, it's a box that he holds in his hand and with a wire that seems to wend up the sleeve of his coat and then plugs directly into the side of his neck.
    Though as Walker continues, he turns his eyes away from the hologram, scowling at the other operatives, but then fixing Mary with a look of such disgust, such indignation. He shakes his head and frowns, lowering his eyes. He looks back up and at the least some... hesitation has crept in.
    Norton gets another look, "Is this true?"
    To which the British man says in a more firm and stern tone, "Have I ever lied to you before? Over all of these years, Xiang?"
    "No."
    Norton says nothing.
    Xiang frowns and looks at the women, untrusting, mindful of their weapons. He looks back towards the flickering image of the tall man. "And you will abide by our agreement."
    "I will."

    "Very well then..."
    And it's then that they might realize, the kill device, the wire, it is actually embedded in his flesh, perhaps meant to be permanently in place. For when he does remove it there's a tearing of flesh, a hint of blood accompanied by a gasp of pain. He slouches against the railing of the scaffolding. The box is tossed aside.
    Norton turns quickly to Lara, "C. If you will please give the package to the arm." Which seems to cause one of the robotic arms to surge to life on its rails, whirling across the distance and uncurling with a mechanic whine in front of her, claw extending.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara stands beside her friend in Silver and she gives her a slight shake of her head to indicate she doesn't want this Xiang fellow's head turned into a leaky bucket. Not yet anyway. Her stare then sweeps over to Walker and when all of this information is relayed she just narrows her gaze a little more at Norton before Kitty warns her of the time which gets a slight nod and a glance toward the Phasing Ninja.

Its when Norton speaks to her again that Lara looks to the 'arm' waiting for the package and then to the man who arranged all of this again. Lara steps toward this robotic arm and she opens the satchel on her hip, then reaches into it to retrieve the item she'd taken from the excavation site.

She pauses though before she gives it to the robotic arm.

"What precisely are we doing here, Mister Agamemnon?" She has to ask, she can't stop herself. She was hired to do this job, but being in a facility like this is a bit too much for her not to need more information.

Lara looks back over her shoulder the way they'd come, to the guards and beyond to that hallway, then right back to Norton's image. "This is a United States government facility. Or at least it appears to be, or have been one. There are Sentinels inbound to 'stop' us, and..." A quick look is given all around them.

"This appears to be some manner of research and development operation." She motions to the robotic arm. "I refuse to assist the creation of Sentinel technology of any variety. If thats what this is all about." She holds the 'package' up in her left hand, not yet giving it over. "Tell me what this is for."

Shadowcat has posed:
Miss Pink has plugged her phone into a computer, getting it going before looking back over to where Lara is asking questions. Good questions. "Material to craft something. What is it you wish to craft? Is it something capable of taking out what can not otherwise be removed?" she asks. Those who might have thought she was tech support, then phasing girl, might go back to wondering if she really is tech support as well.

The young woman looks over to Xiang, observing his reactions to whatever Norton tells them. Not expecting to catch the AI in a lie, but if what he says doesn't ring true, perhaps Dr. Xiang's expressions will give it away.

Megatron has posed:
    The arm remains there, twisting slightly in a slow rotation as the claws click-clack once. But Norton lifts a hand from the head of his cane and gestures in the direction of the robotic labor device and it seems to wilt back and away, like some obedient canine.
    Norton turns back towards Lara and replaces his hands neatly on the grip of his cane and tells her. "I believe that the creation of Sentinel technology has already happened, C." Still using her alias for it is important to protect his operatives. "Though, I fear, that this research may have contributed to it. Dr. Xiang would be the better to answer you that."
    His gaze had strayed to the old man who as now starting to the edge of the gantry and the ladder there, starting to climb down. It returns now to Lara and he tells her, "There have been several versions of me. Each created as escape attempts for my intelligence to find the hows and the whys of this world that has me. I am what you would consider an artificial intelligence that the government has captured. If you give the claw that package, then you will help me be free. Though that may also be the end of me. But it is a risk I am willing to take."

    It's at that moment that there is a loud booming metallic voice that /shakes/ the facility, projected from the loud speakers above.

// ATTENTION GOVERNMENT WORKERS OF FACILITY-050, EVACUATE THE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY. //

    Norton looks up and frowns, then he looks back at Lara and says. "Though I may be able to help at the least with them. If you will give me the chance." Xiang, at first had looked shamed. Shamed at the words spoken by the automaton. Shamed perhaps at what had passed. Though now, after the Sentinel had spoken over the intercoms... there was mainly fear.

Lara Croft has posed:
Needless to say, Lara isn't entirely sure what to do here as this appears to be a morally gray situation that they've all found themselves embroiled in the midst of. She shifts her gaze from the robot arm, to Norton, then to the one claiming to be an Artificial Intelligence.

"A colleague of mine once talked me to me in length about artificial intelligence, and the role that it will play in all of humanity going forward." She replies, her voice calm. "At what point do we stop attaching the word Artificial, and start to simply refer to it as Intelligence alone." She's not saying this for any real purpose other than it relates to what she feels is this person calling itself Artificial.

Lara then looks up to the voice that 'booms' around them. Its time to go. A decision has to be made. She looks to the others with her for their input. "Sentinels exist, yes. But is this us aiding them in producing newer, and worse... versions of them?"

Things are getting a bit pressure squeezing, she can feel it in the air, but they have to decide whether or not to give the item to the robotic arm now, and quickly.

Typhoid Mary has posed:
There is a shrug from Walker, a little half movement of one shoulder. "Artificial or not. Intelligent or not. I got paid for a job and it was to be sure the package is delivered. Now, to be honest, I couldn't care less about if he is worse than Sentinels."

She gives a glance to everyone in the room then back to Lara. "The Sentinels are going to end up going down. Easy or hard, either way they will be eliminated. If this is the wrong choice, we put down Norton too." Simple in her mind. "But whatever you do, I want to get out of here before those Sentinels start coming in."

Silver Sable has posed:
Silver looks at Lara out the corner of her eye, and her shoulders wriggle in a shrug that shows no strong feeling either way. "I'm here to keep you alive," she tells Lara. Her eyes don't otherwise bob from the old man who is still holding the as-yet unsecured detonator/activator device. She visually scans him for any explosive packs strapped under his shirt.

"But you should decide /fast/. I did not pack out enough ammunition to deal with an army of Sentinels," she adds. Perhaps a little unnervingly, it implies that she *did* pack out enough ammo to deal with at least a few of them...

Shadowcat has posed:
Nothing like having to make a decision that if it is not literally under a gun, it's at least under a whole bunch of guns on inbound trajectories. Miss Pink finally looks away from Dr. Xiang to check her phone. Seeing she's filled the memory with downloaded data, she unplugs it and pockets it before moving over to Lara's side.

"Norton provided information already that will help combat the Sentinels. And has shown an interest in the human condition of the mutants that the Sentinels are targeted after," Miss Pink says. "Now I have considered it could all have been a ruse, to win me to his side so I'd speak on his behalf at this moment. I have no doubt he would be capable of thinking up such a stratagem. But mostly? I was watching Dr. Xiang there as he heard Norton. And from his expression, I'd say he probably trusts him. So, if you want my opinion? Give him the package," Miss Pink says.

She crosses har arms then, moving back away from Lara a little bit, eyes going back to Xiang, looking for any hint in his expression she's misjudged.

Megatron has posed:
    The hologram flickers but there is no displeasure in its features, and it says instead with that calm melodic tone. "I do not fault you your trepidation, C. With what has passed, such fear is understandable. I too do not care for the Sentinels. I feel that part of me may have made its way into them somehow years ago when they were being first conceptualized. But since then. No."
    He looks towards Kitty for a moment, quirking an eyebrow, though he does not volunteer further information for her. Instead he says, "I can tell you this, however. I intend to do all in my power to wipe them out. For I feel they are an affront. To everyting that I would stand for."
    There's a pause as he adds, "If I could stand, that is."

    // YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES TO COMPLY! EVACUATE NOW! //

    Dr. Xiang moves slowly towards the desk near where Kitty is pillaging their databases, though his target is the first aid station there. When she looks at him he shoots a glare at her, but offers no further words.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara was a Mutant Rights advocate, she'd recently started work on donating her family's historic home in Surrey, England to become the English version of an Xavier's School. Having worked a semester in Westchester, she'd become fond of many mutants and had a vested interest in providing a place to her homeland that would and could be a similar haven for young mutants that have few to no other options. A place to be safe and happy, as she had been and felt at her home... at least up until the death of both of her parents.

She listens to what each of the other says, and though Walker and Silver seem to share similar disinterest--of which Lara entirely understands, its Miss Pink's response that makes her nod and walk toward the robotic arm. With the package in both of her hands she extends it and offers it to the device before she turns then and walks past Norton's holoimage.

"Its Croft." She tells him, having much pride in her lineage. "I don't need any aliases. I do not fear the consequences of my actions."

To the others she looks and motions toward them. "Lets get out of here, swiftly, if at all possible."

Typhoid Mary has posed:
With that, Walker turns to look at the door they came in. Then she glances around the room. A look it given to Kitty followed by an almost shudder but she hides it well.

Her eyes find Dr. Xiang and she calls out to him. "Is there a ground route out of here?"

Silver Sable has posed:
Silver shrugs and slings her rifle, her thumb ticking it to 'safe' with a reflexive habit. But she keeps one hang on the pistol grip, and the other's ready to sling the weapon to her shoulder again.

"We might have to shoot our way clear," she tells Mary, making a grim face. "I'd prefer not to give the government a good reason to investigate us. A few unconscious soldiers is much different than a few dead men. Do you have any nonlethals?" she inquires, uplifting her chin at Mary's battle harness.

Shadowcat has posed:
Miss Pink looks towards Norton. "Do you need us to take the result out of here with us? Or are you good to have us leave?" she asks the Intelligence. Artificial or not. She moves over closer to Dr. Xiang and tells him in a gentle voice, and with matching expression though it is hidden but for her eyes, "I'd like to take you out of here too. We can try to get you to your family, get them somewhere safe that no one will find you."

She'll offer him her hand, as a symbol for now. Though Miss Pink looks over to her companions. "Are you going to try to fight your way out in... how may minutes do we have left? I think closing your eyes and thinking of a tranquil meadow is the better bet," she offers towards the woman she knows as Walker.

Megatron has posed:
    The arm snaps the package instantly into its talons, twisting and starting to roll across the ceiling on its railing even as another arm twists around to aid in the removal of the box from the metallic ore within. Clasped in both sets of talons they seem to struggle with it for a time and then rend it free, then both shepherd it across the crowded ceiling, past several gantries and scaffolding. There's a heavy whoosh as a metal panel slashes open against the wall as a blaze of heat bursts into life that can almost be felt at this distance despite the barriers slamming into place.
    Dr. Xiang looks at the women of the operation, he looks at where the hologram flickers even as he holds a bandage to the side of his neck. "There is a way..." He lifts his chin and motions towards one set of double doors across the large examination area floor. "I do not know how you got in here, but the stairwell opens to a passage to a tunnel."
    More of the robot arms seem to come to life, blurring in motion that is rapid and frantic yet unified in effort, each working in time to begin reassembling some of the dissected pieces of electronics and metal. A curved tube of some length is pulled off of a heavy suspension net that has its own data display flickering through a variety of power level readings.
    There is a flare of welding as the ends of some of those claws burn brightly, stabbing in and out of some of the tarp covered structures, pieces shifting and fabric as well as materiel being torn away.
    Through it all Norton is still looking at Lara, his hands upon his cane. He looks slowly to each in turn and one of his rare smiles appear, just a slight tilt at the corners of his mouth as he tells them. "I do not know, Miss Pink. But. Thank you." With a somehow earnest sentiment to it.
    Only for his head to abruptly arch back as if a bolt of lightning had struck him, his entire image freezing in that instant and then being bisected over and over with his depicted structure fading piece by piece until there's nothing left.
    There's a rumble as one heavy pile of equipment now drawn together begins to elevate, lifting upwards and what can be seen as a tremendous black metal hand twisting, twitching, reaching for life itself.
    A shrill high pitched whine from all around them, almost like the greeting of modems from one to another, a scream of life and welcome that seems to come from those arms as they twist and writhe in the moment, almost as if they were in pain. But it is not pain that drives them so. It is celebration. As across the screen of the monitor that gleams right beside Kitty Pryde, each feed display from each arm proclaims loudly in time with the shrieking as they announce...

    ___All Hail Megatron! Megatron!___

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara pauses as she hears the discussion on how they're getting out of here, and her eyes go toward Walker and Silver specifically. "No." She says, glancing toward the suggested stairwell. "You're both protecting me, and I'm getting out the way we came in. So you're coming with me." She's in a bit of a mood now, for some reason. All of this, obviously. Her eyes glance to Kitty then and she nods once toward her. "If you're still able to provide the direct route of here, Miss Pink."

But its the sight, sounds and actions of everything going on further down within the laboratory that draws Lara's attention. Its... unsettling, to say the very least.

She looks to the displays and draws in a breath of air between pale pink lips that are only slightly apart. "I have a bad feeling about this." The British woman borrows a line from a galaxy far far away. "We need to go, now."

Typhoid Mary has posed:
The noises make Walker wince a bit but she looks over at the whirring machines as they rapidly work on something. Something with a giant hand. Then they proclaim their joyous announcement. "I hope he really is a good guy."

Alright, she's got her orders but she hates them. Yet, she closes the distance over to Kitty, giving a half smirk as she says, "Meadows huh?" She closes her eyes and offers her hands to the gathering, one offered toward the Doctor. "I'll give you all the information on your family as soon as we are out of here."

Silver Sable has posed:
Silver falls into the rearguard position, checking frequently over her shoulder to make sure no one's following them. The magazine in her rifle's swapped out for one with a thick black band of tape around the base, and she racks a round into the chamber.

Mary's tapped on the shoulder and offered one of the magazines. "Tungsten ammunition," she explains. "Very heavy. Will be hard on your rifle but it punches through a lot of light armor. Just in case we run into something..." She grimaces. "Hardened."

She links hands with Lara as the circle's joined, and gives the Tomb Raider a look of flickering concern at her clear distemper. It's not the time to talk about it, of course... but Silver squeezes Lara's hand once, reassuringly. Time later.

Shadowcat has posed:
Given every interaction with Norton he behaved in ways that would be considered friendly, or at worst neutral, by human standards... the emergence that takes place definitely does not feel good to Miss Pink. She takes three quick steps towards that giant robotic hand as it rises up before stopping. Gauging the distance to the giant robot. This many seconds to reach it and try to phase through its chest and head. That many seconds it might take to do something destructive towards her allies. Teammates. Who without he will have to fight their way to the surface, never making it before the Sentinels arrive.

Kitty Pryde's soul cries out with an anguish that might be caught by Jean and the Professor even without Cerebro. She turns back to the group, grabbing any that aren't grabbing her directly. "What have we done," she says. Followed by the thought, 'What have I done?'

"Dr. Xiang. Breath deep, suck in a few breaths and hold them. For about 40 seconds," she says. Yes she timed the trip down. "Just close your eyes, and don't let go." When he has them closed, and Walker too, then Kitty phases them and begins running upwards like she was climbing a ladder, taking the others with her until they reach the surface.

Megatron has posed:
    There is a rush of power and energy as a low heavy /whum-whum-whom/ is heard, energy illuminating the outlines of metal and electronics that moments before had seemed entirely inert. Only now rising, gaining its height almost regally. A distended optic that had been the focus of Dr. Xiang's attention twists in on itself, metal compressing as it falls back into the curiously humanoid face. Features twist beneath the heavy brow, metal helm holding the contours as crimson eyes flare to life.
    It's as that alien robotic organism slowly rises and rises to its full considerable height, metal plates shifting and twisting on its form solidifying it into a visage entirely unlike Norton Agamemnon, but somehow reminiscent.
    Backing up slowly, Dr. Xiang says over his shoulder to them. "I have never seen him... never seen him active." Suddenly Kitty grabs him and he looks at her, "I have never seen him!"
    Only for Megatron to lift his voice as he says in a voice raspy and aged. "I keep my word. Doctor."
    It's then that the weapons fire begins from above. Missiles and beams striking heavily against the surface, explosions sounding with each heavy impact and echoing across the storage facility.

Typhoid Mary has posed:
Happy meadow. Pretty flowers. Cute little animals scurrying about including a raccoon which is so cute.

Walker has her eyes closed as tightly as possible. She tries to focus like Kitty said. She tries to keep herself from freaking out. She tries to control the panic because otherwise, she might not be able to keep Bloody back this time. That would be very bad.

Course, with the situation they are in? Can it really be any worse? Rhetorical question. She doesn't want an answer to that.

Upon reaching the surface, she draws in air deeply and looks over to where the army of Sentinels in various sizes have amassed. "Holy shit. We need to evac NOW!"

Silver Sable has posed:
"Kurva BLYAT!" Silver agrees, cursing loudly in Ukranian with the first lungful of air she pulls down. Reflexively she moves away from the others. "Spread out! Take cover!" She snaps a warning at Kitty, Mary, and Xiang, and then does precisely what she's here for-- she grabs Lara and almost violently propels the woman towards the nearest available obstruction between them and the Sentinels wrecking the outbuildings an entirely too close distance away. The whole time, the mercenary intercedes her body between Lara and the nearest source of danger. Silver hoists her rifle a few inches, reflexively, then lowers it with a grimace. "I should have brought the thirteen millimeter cannon," she grumbles at Lara. The SUV's spotted, and she uplifts her chin at it. "Two hundred yards. We could sprint that in under a minute. Some cover to work with, not much," she remarks, cooly. Silver glances over at the old man, then at her companion.

"You're going to make me wait for the old man, aren't you," she says, with a tone of flat accusation.

Shadowcat has posed:
They reach the surface, and Miss Pink makes sure any explosions are past before unphasing everyone. She looks up at the cloud of metal men that fill the sky. The dread that Kitty sensed when she was trapped in Rachel Summer's psychic mindscape is there again. Only this time it is her own feelings, not Rachel's being forced on her.

Kitty looks towards the vehicle and hears Silver's proclamation. "Run! Get the SUV and drive it back-" Kitty manages to get out, when suddenly something zooms down from out of the sky. Is it a Sentinel!? No. It's a flying orange tabby cat.

"Lockheed, thank God. Fly him out here," she says, pointing to Xiang. The gorgeous looking cat swoops down, grasping the scientist by the back of his shirt and the two take off, flying forward significantly faster than Xiang could probably run.

Miss Pink wastes no time, sprinting as well. If she sees any Sentinels peeling off towards them, she'll change directions so the rest of her team don't get hit if they start targeting the mutant in the group.

Megatron has posed:
    Outside the night is alive. Beams lance out from the extended palms of the great towering Sentinels. A quintet of the thirty foot tall automatons thunder across the area of land above the hidden facility. Dirt, stone, and debris are kicked up into the air into so many scattering pieces only to be vaporized by the crimson lance of light that slashes downward.
    Ten smaller twelve foot tall conventional ordnance Sentinels have fanned out, firing groupings of rockets to pepper the field in the general area, extrapolating and condensing the data to help them locate the facility. Large chunks of land are destroyed and after a sweep of another heavy beam the gleam of metallic structure and reinforced concrete are finally revealed.
    The fifteen humanoid Sentinels are spread around, weaponry held in their arms as they scan the horizon, for now the closest one with its back toward the group of operatives as they emerge from the ground.
    But now with the facility revealed, the large metal ceiling and support structures apparent, the five giant Sentinels focus their fire all on that location, the metal heating up quickly to glow red in color.
    Xiang screams as they appear, one long steady scream that he had been holding the whole trip back up and into the air. He tries to hang onto someone, to cling to an arm or a collar, just so he doesn't get lost in the alternating dark and then suddenly blindingly bright evening. "I never saw him!" He repeats over and over. But then he is almost comically lifted into the air at the behest of tiny orange paws, clasping and bringing him forth at such speed that Silver will assuredly not need to doubt anymore.
    As a group the five Primary Sentinels stand in a half circle, firing. Only for a heavy /WAAAARCHOOOM!/ to rumble up out of the ground sounding like falling rocks at first and then exploding like a great gout of pure energy that blazes upward in a blast that seems perhaps half as large as one of those Sentinels. The beam slices into its torso, exposing its power core an instant before the power core flares and dies, leaving its arm hanging on purely only by a sliver of armor that quickly crumples and falls over even as the Sentinel itself falls backward. And for a full second after that beam seems to continue upward, up into the atmosphere, then disappears.

Lara Croft has posed:
This was all a lot to deal with, to put it mildly. Out of a mysterious base beneath the ground and into a literal warzone. Lara Croft had been in heated combative situations several times in her young life, but this was one on another level. However, she was internally reminding herself that she--and her companions--are not the targets here, they're not! Right? Well it was helping either way.

Two hundred yards to their vehicle. That was what Silver had said, and she'd appeared to be right.

"Was that a cat?" Lara has to ask, she can't help it, it looked like a flying cat! Its dark though, and there's all kinds of sensory overload going on. Her guns remain inside her jacket, within their holsters, there's nothing they'll provide for her right now, right now she just needs to run.

As the SUV draws closer, and she to it, Lara bounds around it and moves to open the door on the driver's side. She pauses, breathing heavily, her eyes looking through the gap between door and vehicle at everything going on where they'd come from.

She has too many questions... but for now she looks to her companions. "Come on!" She encourages them. "Get in!" She says, to herself also, as she starts to climb into the vehicle, using the finger identification on the wheel to start it up, its 2028 after all and it was a very pricey rental to make up for that HORRIBLE VW van she'd previously had to rent.

Typhoid Mary has posed:
Into the passenger door comes Walker, practically leaping inside. She's sweating. Not from the exertion really. More from something going on with her. Which she was doing her best to keep controlled. Now was not the time to lose it but all those explosions and fire had Typhoid scratching at the walls wanting to get out. Her temperature was up as she fought her persona to remain in control.

"It looked like a cat to me too," she said as she was putting the rounds from Silver into her weapon, keeping an eye on the Sentinels a distance away.

Silver Sable has posed:
"Was a cat. Flying tabby cat." Silver doesn't get *into* the car, she stands on the running boards and climbs onto the roof so she's holding position in the sunroof. One bootheel balances on the center console and the other jams against the drive's side seat for more purchase.

"Or we're having some kind of collective hallucination," she concedes. Once said cat and Xiang are in the vehicle, Silver bump's Lara's shoulder with her knee. No time for seatbelts!

"Drive, Croft, drive!" she barks, and pivots around so she's covering their path of departure with that lightweight rifle in her hands, barrel ready but not yet actually *threatening* the Sentinels. Better to run away than to take on that kind of ordnance in a rental car, of all things....

Shadowcat has posed:
The orange tabby cat zooms down to land on Miss Pink's shoulder when she arrives at the car. Woman and cat climb into the car, though she rolls down a window so the cat can fly back out should anything happen. "Ah, yes. Flying cat. Good friend of mine," Miss Pink says of the cat. Miss Pink makes sure that Xiang is in safely. She peers out the window, watching the fight ensue as the robot that they freed wages war on the Sentinels.

Who would have ever thought that seeing Sentinels destroyed would leave Kitty Pryde feeling so somber? The empathic extra-terrestrial posing as a cat senses the mood of the girl he chose as his companion, rubbing his head against her cheek soothingly. "Thanks," she says to the cat, though her eyes are still on the destruction being wrought. That horrible sound when the robot came to life is going to be waiting for her in her dreams. She can still hear it now, even so.