8161/Sentinels: Sharing Info, Making Friends

Sentinels: Sharing Info, Making Friends
Date of Scene:	03 July 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Professor Zoom takes Frank Quaid to the Sahara and demands information. Frank gets more pain than he knew existed. Professor Zoom gets everything he wanted.
Cast of Characters:	Frank Quaid, Professor Zoom
Tinyplot:	Sentinels

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Frank Quaid has posed:
The day had been non-stop briefings so far, and the afternoon was not looking any different for Frank Quaid. The Counterterrorism Joint Task Force and Special Crimes Unit were up to their necks in major files. If he was not keeping on top of the lastest from his teams, he was giving a never-ending stream of updates to Deputy Commissioners and Commisioner.

Frank climbs out of the passenger side of his unmarked black Tahoe. He grabs his cane and leans on it, waiting for his patner.

Detective-Sergeant Elaina Bever, Special Crimes Unit, gets out of the driver's side.

"When is today over?" Elaina complains when she comes around the truck.

"Not soon enough," Frank grunts.

The two go into Starbucks and say very little to each other as they wait in line. Frank has his head buried in his Blackberry. They order, wait for their drinks and then walk back outside to the truck. Elaina leans back against the front quarter-panel of the driver side of the truck.

"It's been hell, lately. We're burning everyone out," Elaina says, looking concerned. "They gotta give us more bodies, or we're going to have shelve some files for a while."

"I know. But everything's a priority," Frank grunts sarcastically.

Elaina just shakes her head and drinks from her coffee.

Professor Zoom has posed:
A moment of respite from Latveria's security. It's about the right time... and he needs to keep track of the progress of the robots. He might need to secure and transfer his assets, if he's unlucky... and the easiest source of current information would be those at ground zero of the current situation... which means the Avengers. Getting into their mansion would be a huge mess for Eobard to get into and hack though. He'd be found easily.

The police, however...

Red lightning trails from Latveria to New York as Eobard uses his opportunity to get out of his 'containment' and head back to Future Solutions... within seconds going into the back chamber housing Gideon. Red, glowing eyes meet the hologram interface at the pedestal, "Gideon, wake up."

A blue, holographic figure of a female form pops into existence, "Yes, Professor Thawne?" Eobard continues, "Show me historical archive entry Sentinel Crisis. Page 7." 'Of course." A moment passes as he speed reads... before Eobard smiles, a malicious smile, "Good. Standby to break into some encrypted police files. I need to make a stop."

Across New York, the people of the city might as well be in stasis as Professor Zoom superspeeds around the city, red lightning trailing practically invisible behind him as he searches for a man with the description of Frank Quaid.

Finding the Starducks the man was at, Zoom stops on the rooftop opposite, checking out the surroundings...

In a blink of an eye, Frank Quaid goes from sitting, to... going through some sort of speed tunnel? He's been grabbed by something in some sort of yellow suit.

By the time Frank is beginning to get his bearings, he's in the middle of a desert. Somewhere. Probably. In front of him is a man in a yellow suit, blurred, with red glowing eyes... and red lightning flickering here and there over his body.

"Good morning, Captain. We have some things to discuss." Comes the monstrously distorted voice of the Speedster.

Frank Quaid has posed:
"It's not helping, things, Frank," Elaina confides. "It's never been easy with Trevor, but I don't see him and I think... I think he might be.... Frank? Frank?!"

Elaina turns in a circle looking for her partner. He is nowhere to be found.

"Frank?! Oh god..."

She tries his Blackberry and gets nothing. Her next call is to the Chief Dispatcher.

Meanwhile, Frank does not even have time to yell. His senses are thoroughly overwhelmed. Then he pops into reality in a desert. Frank stumbles and catches himself with his cheap, drug store cane. His coffee falls forgotten from his fingers into the sand and splashes on one of his dress shoes. The black suit, white shirt and green tie look comical out here in the blazing heat. His two yellowing, black eyes are wide-with shock and his breathing rasps through his broken nose under the badge.

"What in God's name?" he asks, stunned, fixing on the figure in front of him.

Professor Zoom has posed:
"You can call me Professor Zoom, Captain." Eobard starts to walk around Frank, the yellow suited man momentarily surging that red lightning over his body as he goes, "I'm a Speedster with an urgent need for some information you possess."

He continues to walk, "You see, I'm a time traveler from an era centuries ahead of you... who's stuck in this backwards period." In the blink of an eye, he's right up in Franks face, adopting an intimidating posture forward leaning posture... so close, it's clear that the red arcing around him /is/ some sort of lightning energy... and those red, glowing eyes flare with that energy, "And my archive makes it clear you're a good place to start."

He smiles under the blurr. It's not a warm smile. "The Sentinels. You've heard of them?"

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank watches Eobard walk around him, turning his head to follow. He starts a bit when Eobard appears in front of him, then straightens up.

"Everybody in the world has heard of Sentinels. Pick up a newsfeed," Frank grunts with a frown. He seems to be relaxing from concerned to disgruntled. "Professor."

Professor Zoom has posed:
"You're going to tell me everything you know about them. I need to prepare for the impending slaughter, and I have a timetable to keep track of." The man in the yellow suit continues walking around Frank.

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank considers Zoom's words. He continues to track the man. Sweat is starting to bead on his face in the heat. "Impending slaughter? Is something going to happen?"

Professor Zoom has posed:
"Many things will happen in this era, Captain. I'm a historian from the distant future, I studied this period extensively." Eobard explains, before he superspeeds around Frank, searching him... and pulling his Blackberry. He examines it briefly. "Does this mean you're not going to tell me what I want to know willingly?"

His heads tilts back up, regarding Frank. "Trust me when I say you don't want me to have to get messy with you. It will not be pleasant, and I don't have patience for an extraction right now."

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank Quaid says, "That's a great story, but..." Frank stops and his eyes narrow when Zoom comes up with his phone.

"You're threatening the wrong guy," Frank warns and holds his hand out for his phone.

"You have no idea what kind of shitstorm you'll start if you mess with me. Professor," he sneers the name and gets directive. "Get me back where I came from. Now.""

Professor Zoom has posed:
Red lightning visibly speeds away as Eobard superspeeds his way back to New York, turns the Blackberry off to stop it's tracking, and wires it into Gideon. "Gideon, I want everything you can get off of this phone as soon as possible." Without waiting for an answer, he's back in the desert, in front of Frank in a trail of red lightning that slow dies around him as he stops channeling the Negative Speed Force as much.

The whole trip took about ten seconds.

"I think I'll take my chances." Eobard informs him, before he's in front of Frank in the blink of an eye, and brings up a hand... and begins to vibrate it audibly. "I can phase myself into any portion of your body I please... and can disrupt your natural processes and shred tissues at any rate I wish." He smiles. It's an evil, sadistic smile, "Are we doing this the hard way, then?"

Frank Quaid has posed:
Eobard is just gone, and Frank looks around, disconcerted. Then Eobard is there in front of him and Frank stops short. His jawline tightens along wiht his grip on his cane. Frank glances at the vibrating hand.

"I've been threatened by worse than you," Frank says defiantly.

Professor Zoom has posed:
"I'm the worst person you can possibly be threatened by. I learned advanced biology as a /hobby/." Eobard all but laughs out... before he's pushing his vibrating hand into Frank's injured leg, in and around the wound.

Eobard isn't going to cripple Frank for life... but he is definitely going to do more damage to his shins and knees.

The pain is /excruciating/. It's as if every nerve ending in the area was suddenly on fire... because they practically are. The vibration is being done at just the right frequency and speed to stay just on the curb of blowing out his nervous system from the friction.

Frank can easily pull back from it... but there will be damage to heal already.

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank is about to say something back, but then his world explodes in white hot pain. Sounds, sight, everything else is lost. He screams, then collapses to the ground and writhes in pain.

Back in New York, the Chief Dispatcher leans over the shoulder of an operator. "That isn't possible, some kind of glitch, or signal from another phone," she insists.

On the screen in front of them are logs for the most recent connections by Captain Frank Quaid's Blackberry. It was in New York, then suddenly it disappeared for a few minutes. It returned to New York, dropped a log that showed it acquired a GPS signal in the Sahara, and then dropped off the grid again.

"Another phone? Using our encryption at the same time his partner says he /disappeared/ right in front of her? And he just goes dark?" the operator asks, incredulously.

"Shit," the Chief Dispatcher breathes quietly. "Get on the phone to Virgina, get confirmation on those logs."

The Chief Dispatcher sits back down at her desk and hits the emergency tone alert. "All units, officer in need of assistance. Captain Frank Quaid has disappeared on duty in front of his partner outside Starbucks on fifth. Units to respond."

Professor Zoom has posed:
"I can do a lot worse, in much more vital areas of your body." Eobard notes as he drops to the ground. His vibrating hand stays in the air, parallel to his head. "Let's see... how about your lungs next? I'm sure you'd love to be able to breeath."

For now, Eobard just stands there over Frank.

Meanwhile, Gideon is busily crunching through the data in New York. It takes major processing power to go through police encryption, even with the hardware Gideon has available... but Gideon can at least get the database from the phone.... and monitor the network for attempts at force starting it.

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank rolls on the ground in pain. Sand sticks to him where his sweaty face hit the ground. He ends up on his right side, clutching his left leg. His eyes flutter back to focus, blurred by tears.

"Fuck you," he grunts between ragged breaths. "Don't negotiate with terrorists."

Patrol cars race to the Starbucks. Officers pile out and confer with Elaina. They spread out to search the area, but nobody has any idea what happened to the Captain. Elaina keeps trying to call him, but his phone is off.

Professor Zoom has posed:
"You think I'm a /terrorist/?" Eobard states with incredulousness, "Captain... I am far worse than any 'terrorist you've ever met. 'Terrorist' is a label for those without my skills, powers, or knowledge."

Eobard leans forward, then goes to a knee. "I'm not a terrorist. I'm a nightmare."

That vibrating hand goes into his chest, starting to work his way over the ribs, and into the lungs. The ribs themselves begin to have micro fractures... but don't break, while the lungs suddenly have all their air forced out.

It both becomes hard to breath /and/ Frank will feel like he's on the curp of suffocating... and this time, Eobard keeps it up, on top of that white hot pain from disrupting the skin, while at the same time moving along with him if he tries to escape.

It's very effective torture... disrupting vital systems to an extreme, but being able to control the damage to a minimum.

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank shrinks back from Zoom involuntarily when the man leans forward. His body shakes as the vibrating hand comes toward him. Then he screams, except there is no air. He is trapped in terror and suffocation. He instinctively he tries to move to do anything, but his movements are feeble and uncoordinated, and ultimately futile.

Franks eyes roll up into his head and he is on the very cusp of losing consciousness.

Professor Zoom has posed:
Just as he looks about to pass out, the hand is pulled back, and he's given time to recover his breath.

"I can keep this up all day. We're in the middle of the largest desert on the planet, half the world away from New York. If I don't take you back, it'll be months for anyone to find your corpse." Zoom explains, "and let's be honest, you're hardly Special Forces material, trained to resist anything even remotely like this."

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank curls up in the fetal position in the sand. Snot and tears run down his face and his body quivers. He barely hears Zoom talking. His skin is getting decidedly paler, the pulse in his neck is irregular. He face is contorted in pain as much as terror. He just gives off that 'feel' of there being something really wrong with him. Being who is, Zoom probably recognizes the man is having a heart attack if not a stroke as well.

Professor Zoom has posed:
That's the problem with being pressed for time; you have to dial it up far more than you usually do, and run the risk of overdoing it. Slow burn interrogation usually works better.

Police and their bravado.

He doesn't have the blood regulation injector on him. He didn't expect him to go into a cardiac event so quickly... but he's probably one of the few people who can get back in time with it.

Red lightning trails as Professor Zoom heads back to New York, grabs the injector from Gideons chamber, and comes back with it. He's not subtle at all going back and forth... not that anyone but the Flash would be able to keep up with him.

By the time he gets back, about twelve seconds have passed, since he needed to get the material into the vial... and it's immediately pressed directly over his heart. A silent 'thrumm' can be heard as the regulating fluid carrying medical nanites directly enters Franks heart, clearing it out and starting to bring the condition under control.

Next, the temple gets an injection as well, the nanites entering the brain to counteract any blood related conditions, including a stroke.

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank's body relaxes quite quickly under the influence of the highly advanced medical technology. His eyes flutter open again he groans. He rolls over onto his stomach slowly and takes a deep breath. Then his hand drops to his gun and he tries to unholster while rolling onto his back to see Zoom.

Professor Zoom has posed:
Eobard pays Frank no mind when he turns around. In fact, he stands utterly still when he goes for the gun. Frank is reacting on blind instinct right now probably... but Eobard is more than capable of catching any bullets out of the air if he tries anything.

"I wouldn't recommend doing that, Captain. It's utterly pointless to try to shoot me." The monstrous voice of Zoom informs him.

Frank Quaid has posed:
"Fuck you," Quaid grunts out. It is not even clear if the shots would be on target as he shoots one handed and waving. Regardless, it is futile. He drops the gun in the sand and rolls back onto his front with his eyes closed.

"Not talking."

Professor Zoom has posed:
A few bullets do manage to aim in his direction... and they're simply plucked out of the air with the reaction speeds of a Speedster. Then, they're dropped to the sand.

"Have it your way."

The injector is placed in a utility pouch... and soon enough that vibrating hand is back in Frank, this time between his shoulder blades as yet more microfractures form and that same feeling of suffocation floods his instincts.

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank's body tenses in anticipation of what is to come and when it does he screams. But there is no fight left him in face of pain of that magnitude. He whimpers incoherently and then goes limp.

Professor Zoom has posed:
As he goes limp, Eobard pulls the hand back out. "All I want is information on the Sentinels. Eventually, they're going to go wild and go on a mass murdering spree. You can tell me where along the timeline we are... and then you can go back and prepare in whatever fashion you need."

Frank Quaid has posed:
Frank hears nothing because he is not conscious. He lies still in the sand, oblivious to the heat, pain, injury, or sand coating his face.

Professor Zoom has posed:
"Well, that just won't do. Not at all." Eobard grumbles as Frank lays there. "We'll have words later... but it seems like I'll get more out of your phone for now." Eobard grabs the body... and superspeeds back to New York.

Soon, he's in an alleyway next to the Starbucks, and he dumps Franks body on the ground, between two dumpsters, out of sight. "Gideon, status." Eobard asks over his transceiver to the AI. A few seconds later, Gideon replies, "I have the data from the phone. It will take me about a day to decrypt the relevent sections. Two for the rest, unless you'd like me to change priorities, Professor Thawne."

Eobard just stands there for a moment... watching Frank... before he goes to grab the Blackberry, places a tracker on the inside, and replaces the phone in Franks pocket.

In the blink of an eye, he's gone.