Last time on Section M: You got him! Mostly. Archer ended up getting in the final shot, killing the rogue metahuman in the process. Fallone ended up getting buried under some rubble as the stairs exploded and collapsed. Meanwhile, Jess is busy saving marines in the basement. It's slow going as the webbing is rather thick but she has most of them free now as well as two extra corpses, it seems. [Thursday, January 12, 2063] [Inside the Church] [Collar status: Still off!] [Session start] * Archer doesn't say anything further as he makes his way down to the rubble, digging away trying to get Fallone free. * Tanya keeps an eye on Archer as she helps dig out Fallone * Scratch steps cautiously towards the rogue demi's slumped body and kneels to confirm the kill. * Crows swirl madly, coalescing into a thicker cloud as they converge into a central mass, which turns vaguely humanoid. Moments later, Crow is hovering in the middle of the tower, right next to the dead demi. "Oh. Well, that's done." * Fallone groans and does not feel very good. You okay? n...no... * Cara has shifted back to her human form and is helping Jess cut the marines out of their little cocoons. It does appear to be dead as the final shot went straight through the grey matter, blowing it out against the wall. The green foaming at the mouth though doesn't really seem to stop though. As Scratch gets a closer look she can tell he's wearing old army camos and appears to have some extra bulges down under his shirt. * Crow descends to hover just over the rubble, and join in helping dig out Fallone. "That does look uncomfortable. We'll get you some medical attention in a bit." Jess, Cara, are you two okay? Everyone accounted for? Doing all right down here. Finally managing to get most of this webbing cut away. Jess finds that four of the marines are still alive, or at least still breathing. They're all paralyzed and can only really respond by moving their eyes. The dead 3 look like they were killed during the combat due to various bullet wounds and burns and cuts from explosions. <> * Scratch , to further investigate the abnormalities on the corpse, uses a single claw to expose the body's torso. "..." The two other corpses appear to be that of a preacher and that of a security guard, from the way they look they've been dead for a while. Most of the fluids have been drained from their bodies through several bites that look to match those of the spiders you had fought. <> Scratch finds that the metahuman had extra arms growing under his shirt. One of them is full formed, the other three look small and babyish like they hadn't quite finished developing. It looks like the same thing on his face. Some of the extra eyes he was growing hadn't quite finished and only look like strange lumps. * Archer doesn't respond to that and tosses away another large chunk of stairway. * Tanya helps Fallone to her feet. <> Fallone's mostly free now, you can see several spots where the grenade shrapnel hit her as well as a nice hole in her shoulder where the stairs landed down on top of her. Don't worry, Fallone. A couple hours in the regenner will have you back to normal. * Fallone takes Tanya's hand, trying to pull herself, and yelps in pain, slipping back down. <> Scratch, Jess needs your help in the basement. Are you guys okay in there now? Is it okay if we send in the clean up crew? * Crow smiles down at her, and very carefully transmuting the stuff still on top of her out of the way, into nice, strong support beams to hold the rest at bay. It's a slow process, but probably less painful. * Scratch stands and walks to a nearby ledge that would allow line of sight to the rest of the team below. "Report that the target is down. Other teams can be sent in to disarm the remaining traps." <> <> Roger. * Scratch nods to Tanya and steps down towards the basement. * Cara continues cutting away some of the webbing. << I swear, I'm going to kill any spiders that are in my room when we game back. >> * Jess starts to try and keep the marines entertained. This of course means doing a cheerleading routine for them. * Crow laughs. "<>" * Fallone turns off her radio. * Tanya forces herself not to laugh. The marines blink back at Jess. It could either be confusion or amusement. * Jess takes it as them being entertained and of course appeases Crows request shouting excitedly into her radio. * Scratch , not knowing what dangers await him in the basement, continues passed the mined hallway and towards the new basement entrance in the middle of the cathedral floor. * Jess is in full sight of Scratch doing a leg split in mid air shouting "GO TEAM!" * Scratch stops abruptly. * Archer checks Fallone to see how badly she's hurt. Finally, he says, "It doesn't look like your legs are broken, you can probably stand. You left arm looks rather swollen though. You might have a fracture." * Archer offers her a hand to help her to her feet. * Fallone grimaces and tries taking Archer's hand with her other one, gritting her teeth when she stands up. Archer's arms look a little odd as the veins stand out and look blackish under his skin. Both his wrists are red and bruised. * Jess looks up and waves excitedly at scratch. "We got injured here. Can you help me carry them? Please?" * Fallone looks at Archer strangely. Come on, we'll get you back to the med team. What... happened to... you? He tortured me. * Fallone grimaces and nods, and lets Archer help her out of the church. Nice guy. * Cara , who had been ignoring Jess up till now, turns to see Scratch up there. "Come on down. Nothing dangerous here except Jess there." * Archer winces a bit as he supports her, but his grip never falters. * Scratch , sensing no immediate physical threat, wrings his eight-foot long reptilian arm out to the side, its joints popping audibly before its form shrinks and shrivels in on itself before a new layer of clean, pink skin grows to keep it inside. He shakes his wrist with another audible crack and starts forward again to carry a few wounded. Yuck. Hardly neighborly of him. Definitely needed to be contained. Though this is almost as good. * Tanya helps Archer help Fallone out the door. *Someone* healthy needs to keep an eye on him, and Tanya's stronger than she looks. * Fallone just concentrates on not throwing up. * Archer supports her out the newly smashed in front doors, just as the support teams enter to start cleaning and collecting evidence and all that other fun stuff they get paid to do. * Jess bounces along side Scratch talking about how they will all be ok and everything is just great and of COURSE the church is intact and just going to stand there forever, no damage happened to it from them it was all that evil mans fault. That evil man brought forth evil spiders that hurt Cara. Spiders shouldn’t' hurt people don't you think. After all Cara is a nice girl and just a great person to be along with just like that Crow * Crow accompanies Archer and Co., since he's not much use in carrying people who can't hold on. He fiddles with a feather as he drifts along behind them. "Let's see... stop the rogue demi, rescue the marines, don't destroy the church... Am I forgetting anything?" A med crew runs up to meet the two as they exit. After one look at Fallone one of them stammers out. "What... happened?" Yeah. Rogue demi was to be brought in alive. A staircase fell on me. And a grenade... * Fallone looks woozy. N-not in that order... * Crow shrugs. "Oh, right. Oh well, maybe next time." * Scratch carries one or two marines in each arm as he and Jess make their way out of the Church, never once looking down or even blinking really. "..." "Yikes." He takes her off Archer who almost stumbles and collapses right there, breathing heavily. Fallone is escorted towards the medical helicopter and receives only the best of care the UoN has to offer. * Fallone is in good hands. * Cara leaves after seeing that the cavalry has arrived. * Jess just happily chatters away at the marines talking about how good the mission went and the whole team in the high school gossip sort of way. Even wondering out loud what Scratch would look like in a football outfit before moving on to how Tanya dyes her hair, but that HAS to be a natural color and how she wishes SHE could dye her hair and make it look that natural... * Crow moves forward to catch Archer and support him a bit. He ruffles the man's hair teasingly. "Good thing you were there to help, though, or we'd probably not have managed so quickly." >> Jess! My hair is a natural raven color! << >> I didn't know Crow help dye it! I'll talk to him about it! << >> The carpet matches the drapes, you know. Haven't you seen his newsletter? << Jess's talk is almost enough to make one of the marines twitch. That's a good sign, I suppose. * Scratch makes his way to the medevac to deposit the marines with the personnel on site, then stands by for debriefing while occasionally keeping an eye out for any pieces of equipment laying around he may have dropped when entering the building. Come on Scratch! We got one more in there! * Jess tugs at his arm. >> Ooooh! He's good at it then. << <> * Archer looks at Crow awkwardly, but can't help but accept his support. He doesn't really respond to him though. * Scratch nods, and follows Jess towards the building. "Understood." * Jess holds Scratches arm, half skipping half running back. * Scratch keeps up being led by his arm at an uncomfortable pace unbecoming of anyone of military training but says nothing. * Cara notes all the people Scratch is dragging out. >>Looks like we didn't do that poorly saving the people in here.<< >> No comment, Crow. << It's a bit of time to remove all the bodies from the basement and afterward the teams go about cleaning the place up, disarming the traps and searching for all the missing marine gear. * Tanya helps with the searching, if allowed. You guys don't have to stick around any longer. Feel free to get back on the transport any time. * Scratch does as ordered. The teams don't stop Tanya from helping but don't really say anything to her either. They all just kinda eye her oddly. * Jess sees the others come out and IMMEDATELY glomps them. "GROUP HUG! WE LIVE!" It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Archer. *hands him over to medical people, and goes to help Fallone* Maybe we'll see you next time, too. *tips an arrow at him like a hat, and re-quivers it* * Crow somehow dodges the glomp, and hugs Jess from behind before returning to helping Fallone. ^_^ * Cara gets glomped briefly before she passes Jess onto another person to be glomped. * Scratch is now wearing his button-up shirt and slacks school clothes, having mostly destroyed the fatigues he was issued for the mission, and is hugged. Yeah... Thanks. * Jess even glomps Archer. "Wait...I don't know you. Oh well, YOU LIVE!" * Crow 's Cupid costume - white pants, red shirt, and pink-hearted sash and all- is immaculate as ever. Go figure. * Archer eyes the little girl oddly, pushing her off him. "Do I even know you?" I'm Jess! I helped the team! It's our first mission. We did Great! Look we even saved some people! Isn't that wonderful? Jess, this is Mr. Archer, the Marine who helped us with the demi. Mr. Archer, this is Jess. She's enthusiastic. Yeah. You did great, I guess. *he ruffles her hair as he's not sure what else to do with her* I noticed. * Jess bounds off to find the last two of her team she hasn't congratulated yet. Come on, he probably wants to go talk to his friends. We should get back to the transport. Cara, you and Jess should probably look over Fallone, here. * Tanya returns to the group, saluting the Marine commander as she does that. * Archer just goes back to sitting quietly on the transport. * Simmons steps out of the transport with Lt. Ryan and salutes the group. Great work guys. And hey, you're all mostly still alive even. Not for long. * Jess freezes mid bounce to turn and look at the people coming to talk. * Scratch returns with a stiff salute at attention Soon, we'll all be completely alive. So, did we win? * Cara returns the salute, out of force of habit more than anything else. "Yeah, which is more than the demi in there could say." Though it'll be faster if we let Cara and Jess at Fallone. *stage-whispers to Lt. Ryan* Confidentially, I think Jess makes people better by telling them how much she looks forward to being their nurse. * Crow , perhaps notably, does not salute. Of course we won. The demi is no longer a danger to himself and others. * Fallone kind of eyes Archer up, wondering what's going on in his apparently battle shocked brain. Ryan tries really hard not to smile at that. Marines aren't supposed to smile. But, we know nothing about where he came from, how he eluded capture before this, and who trained him. * Jess grins at Crow. "I have -NEVER- Been your Nurse, we have to do it sometime! Hi Sir!" * Scratch drops his salute but remains at attention. "Sir!" He begins, directed at Simmons, "we apologize for the damage incurred to the building. I take full responsibility." * Crow grins back at Jess. "I'd be happy to play doctors and nurses with you sometime." We did no such damage at all! It was all the evil spider marine mans fault! Funny, I didn't notice any gills. * Simmons says to Tanya. "We have other people that figure all that stuff out. Marines are just supposed to stop them and bring them in." Oh....if we do play will Tanya play too? We need a Patient if we play. I'm sure we can find someone, even if she's busy. ^_^ And the damage isn't any big deal. The important thing is everyone is alive. Not every one sir, the evil thingy got some of the other Marines. * Jess sniffles and looks like she might cry. "I couldn't save them..." * Scratch remains at attention, never once looking at any spot other than the imaginary one dead ahead of him. "That is very kind, sir! Thank you, sir!" Aww. *he pats Jess on the head* There's nothing you could've done. They were dead before you even got there. Thank you, Sir. *She stops sniffling immediately, brightening up.* I assume the corpse will be sent to Olympus for study? Indeed. That's for the white coats to play with. Cool. I'll have to submit a formal request to assist. Or at least observe. ...think they'll need the eyes? I'm starving. * Jess bounces on the balls of her feet looking around. * Tanya tries not to smile. * Simmons shrugs. "I'd personally rather not watch them cut into the guy, but whatever floats your boat." Mm. Seriously, have we got any food around here? I've not eaten in hours. I think we have some extra MREs in the back. You guys ready to take off? Fine by me. Yes Sir! Thank you Sir! *GLOMP Simmons.* * Scratch nods and drops to an at ease position in preparation to move. Definitely. *flies towards the back, and starts rummaging around for the promised MREs* I'm ready to go. Don't really like the weather that much here anyway. * Simmons blushes a bit. "Is she gonna keep doing that?" Until she matures, yes. Crow indeed finds a box in the back filled with all the flavors of the rainbow! If the rainbow was made out of cardboard. * Jess then bounds for the Jet humming a happy song. Well maybe if we stick her in a cave till then... * Simmons leads the group back towards the transport. * Crow returns up to the seating area, lugging the entire box. He carries it onto the transport with him, and claims a seat, hastily tearing open the first MRE he can get his hands on. * Scratch cracks his neck side to side and fidgets momentarily in the time between arriving in the transport and finding his seat. Mm. *starts on the second, having practically inhaled the first* * Cara takes a seat in the plane, making sure to choose one away from Crow. "Be sure to chew your food there, Crow. Don't want you to choke." The transport takes off after the team is on board and takes off back towards the island. * Tanya gets into the transport, grabbing an MRE on the way. * Jess flops into the seat next to Tanya and looks over at her shyly. Now, I'm supposed to turn your collars back on as soon as we take off again. Are you guys gonna cause any trouble if I hold off on that until we land? Yes, ma'am. *chews each bite once before swallowing, now* That's much better. *finishes the second, and opens a third. He seems to be slowing to a more normal eating pace, though* No trouble from me, Sir. * Scratch nods. "Understood." Thanks for the food, by the way. It's hitting the spot. No troubles. * Jess looks at Simmons confused. "I would never give you any problems..." * Crow hasn't even cooked any of the MREs he's eaten. Heh. Have at it. I can't stand the things. Nothing like what mom used to make back home. Taaaaaaaaaaanya? Yes? * Crow smiles companionably. "Really? I've never had any of 'Mom's Cooking'. If I ever find a mother, I'll have to ask for some." * Scratch looks up momentarily and absently scratches at his forearm before catching himself and regaining his up-right composure. I...was thinking. With our new rooms and all...a sleep over to break them in... I'll make popcorn and put in Lovely and Lonely and we can stay up all night and I can learn how you get your hair so pretty.... Oh right, I'm sorry. I forgot you guys never uh... Yeah. Pff. No need to apologize. Though Scratch might want his collar back on. He's itching again. Don't take my word for it; but you might offer. * Scratch furrows his brow at Jess' comment, completely apart from Simmons' words. "..." I'll head up front and leave you guys to your... things. Well, it's all a matter of the right shampoo, conditioner, and a thousand brushes each morning and evening. So...you'll come? Aw, you don't have to. We enjoy the company, don't we, guys? You okay there, Scratch? I don't think we have another one of your fancy collars but we have a couple of the ones the marines had. * Jess blinks and looks at crow and grins. "Crow said he'll come! We can give him a make over!" No. Thank you, sir. I'm fine, sir. Thank you for your concern, Sir. Heh. You don't have to call me sir. I don't outrank you. You don't even have a rank yet, do you? I did? Come to what? What's a makeover? Understood, Sir. No, Sir. Nope, though I think we're technically cadets, Mr. Simmons. Or may I call you... oh, wait, I don't know your first name. ^^; *to Jess* Well, I'd hate to stop the quality time you and Scratch are gonna have. It's Jesse. But..but... I want a girls night. And... Yes Sir? *She blinks and looks at Simmons.* * Scratch clears his throat and speaks towards no one in particular. "Pay me no mind, do as you like." Pleased to meet you, Jesse. You already know all of us, so I won't bore you with formalities. No, not Jess, Jesse. That's my name. Nice to meet you. * Cara just slouches a bit in her seat and listens to all the banter going on around her. ooh! Nice to meet you, anyways you SIMPLY must come, and Cara too. I couldn't redecorate without Cara there! She has such wonderful Fung Shi Fashion Sense! You want me to go to your makeover party...? Yep. Best do so, too. Jess doesn't take 'no' for an answer. * Cara just kinda boggles at Jess's Feng Shui comment. "I suppose once I get my matters arranged in my room, I can come over." I don't think my wife would be happy with me hanging out with a bunch of teenagers... Thanks though. * Scratch sits silently at his bench, back straight and eyes focused on front of him. "..." * Crow chuckles, and actually starts up the heating element on an MRE while he finishes off the fourth cold one. * Jess blinks and looks at Simmons. "oh.. well it's open invite. Of course it's Scratches room too...so the guys would have something to do. OOH! I know two TV's and they can play video games like Princess Plumb's Horse Riding Adventure as we watch the movie!" I think I could rent Lady and the Tramp for you, if you like. You mentioned you'd not seen any really old Disney movies, right? ...or was that Fallone? * Scratch 's already furrowed brow furrows a bit more. * Jess gets this -real- blank look on her face. "Tra...mp?" Guys don't play games like that. They play bloody games like House of the Silent Evil or Bone Destroyer. Loud, scary games. Bone Destroyer is awesome! I heard they're making a sequel. Hey, now, Final Fantasy Star Twenty-Nine isn't -that- violent. Well, I do have this nice new hentai dating game I just downloaded you might be interested in, Jess. But...but... They wouldn't work with the movie. * Crow eyes Tanya. "Hey, I thought you were going to let me play that with you, first." You mean you haven't yet? And so the group continues talking on their whole trip home. Or at least Jess does. You just -got- it yesterday. Hey, it'll be a few days before Jess is settled in enough for this alleged makeover. That'll give you time to master it. ;) As they finally begin to make their final approach and the craft switches back to helicopter mode, Simmons finds a chance to make his way to the front and get everyone's collar back on. He let's the base know that they need another new one for Scratch. * Simmons also makes sure the team gives back all the gear they were given, suits, pistols, collars and everything. * Jess won't stop rambling about how GREAT everything will be at her party and how EVERY one is invited and OOOH they can pick out good clothes for Scratch at Overly-Sensitive-Metrosexual-Man Clothing Inc. Jess's phone beeps as they land, indicating that she has a message or three. * Scratch , through use of self-restraint at levels even above average for him, does not dragon out and kill everyone in sight before he can receive a new collar. * Jess flips it open and starts reading excitedly. A pair of soldiers meet the group at the back of the craft as they arrive, one of them has a collar in his hand. He walks up to Scratch as the team exits and gives it to him. "Put this on." All three of the messages appear to be from Tiffany. * Crow almost forgot to hand his spare collar back, but sheepishly did so with an apology. * Scratch takes the collar with one hand and places around is own neck without hesitation. * Tanya stretches as she disembarks. * Scratch 's shoulders lower slightly as his at ease stance becomes more at ease. Follow us. * Fallone waves to the others from behind the soldiers with the arm that's not in a splint. Yes Sir! o/~ * Jess skips along reading her messages humming a bit. * Soldier immediately turns and leads the group back into the tower towards the central lift. Lead the way. * Cara follows along to the central lift. * Fallone falls into step. * Tanya follows, hanging back. * Crow walks along, following somewhere in the middle of the group. He's looking all around, as if trying to take in everything, despite this being a relatively uninteresting place. * Scratch does as he's ordered. The first voice message is "Jess, this is Tiff. Where are you? I thought we had a game today... Are we still on for the club meeting tonight? What happened? Are you in trouble? Call me when you can. Kisses, Tiff!" * Soldier triggers the lift and sends it up towards the command floor. * Crow lounges against the elevator wall, as ever, watching everyone with his standard amused grin. The second message starts. "Jess, Tiff again. Um, I'm at the meeting and everyone's wondering where you are. Sandi and Stacy are trying to cover but they keep arguing like they do... It's not like you to miss things like this. Are you okay? What happened? Please call me back. Please. I'll try calling you after the meeting again if I still don't hear from you..." She sounds a lot more worried this time around. The lift reaches the top and deposits the group back into Central Command. The soldiers stay inside and take the lift back down after they make sure everyone is off. * Fallone looks at the closed lift door. * Crow steps off the elevator, and heads towards the Colonel's office, waving greetings at anyone he encounters on the way. * Scratch steps off the lift to the side and awaits further direction. Gee, I'm fine, thanks. Really? Because you don't look it. * Scratch nods at Fallone. "Good." You don't look it. When we get back to our rooms, we'll have Cara look you over. * Jess sniffles looking at her phone. "I gotta go." For now, let's go talk to Mrs. Hall. * Fallone actually cracks a grin. * ColonelHall is in the meeting room with the General waiting for the team to arrive. Major Rose rushes up to the group as they arrive. "There you guys are. Jess stop playing with your phone please. You guys need to all be on your best behavior with the General, okay?" Umm...Ma'am is this going to take long? I need to go. I'm late. * Scratch snaps to attention and salutes the Major. "Yes, ma'am!" Don't fight it, Jess. * Fallone seriously contemplates pretending to faint. "Late? Worry about that later. We'll write you a note." Oh! A Note! OKAY! I'm always on my best behavior, Major Rose. *smiles* * Fallone settles for just giving the Major her best droll look. Jess doesn't have time to listen to her third message though as she and the rest of the group are ushered into the meeting room. * Jess tries to listen to it anyways. Her phone is more important then some old black and white movie. * Crow claims his big comfy chair facing the Colonel's desk, and greets the two officers there with a smile. "Hello again," he says as he shifts his quiver onto the floor and attempts to get his wings situated comfortably. * ColonelHall stands as everyone enters. "Everyone, we're glad you all made it back in one piece." Aren't we General? * GeneralIronside harrumphs in his seat. * Fallone looks at her arm, and makes no comment. * Tanya smiles, but it's a thin smile/ * Scratch files in to stand behind the seat he occupied previous to the sortie and salutes the Colonel. "Ma'am, thank you, ma'am!" * Cara looks less than pleased with the General's less-than-ideal response to the Colonel's question. Can I get you guys anything before we begin? Coffee? Tea? Just sit down. * Tanya sits. I'd love some more of that apple juice, if I may, thanks. I'll have some tea, please. * Fallone sits near the front as she can. * Scratch sits immediately. The Major nods at the door, heading out to fulfill the various orders. So are you going to tell me what all that was back there at the Church? * Cara finds a seat and takes it. Yay! What all what was? They caught the rogue awakened as was their mission-- They KILLED the metahuman is what they did. * Crow opens his mouth to answer, then closes it with a smile to let the Colonel speak. * Fallone coughs. With all due respect sir, it was YOUR man who did the killing. * Tanya glances at Scratch. "Actually, one of the Marines killed him." * Crow chuckles at that. * ColonelHall nods at Tanya. "See?" * Tanya starts in with explaining how everything went down. * GeneralIronside harumphs again. I knew this was a mistake letting them out there. * Crow embellishes Tanya's story with important, grisly details. * Scratch sits statuesquely in his seat, no emotion other than militaristic concentration plays across his face. Oh, definitely, General. But I'm sure your men will learn better in the future, so don't lose hope for them. If I can finish, Crow? Go ahead. ^_^ * Fallone leans on her one good elbow with her hand over her eyes. * Cara watches the verbal game of tennis. She's not in the mood to interject here. * Tanya goes on to explain how this demi appeared to control the mutant spiders, and had had a tube surgically implanted in his mouth. He seemed confused. I don't think he was expecting us to escort him here. Nice guy, but jumpy. You know, he and Mr. Archer had a lot in common, come to think of it. You guys still handled it as best you could. My man has nothing in common with that... thing. Fair enough. Mr. Archer really isn't demi material. But jumpy people... *shakes his head, tsking* And then, once the demi was down, before we could get a collar on him, Archer pulls out his pistol and head-shots him. I'm sure he had his reason. I'm sure he did. * Fallone mutters something. Thereby containing the situation. Just goes to show what happens when demis aren't properly controlled. Pity we couldn't help this one, but at least he's not endangering himself or others anymore. But his actions shouldn't be counted against my team. * ColonelHall nods at Crow. "That's exactly my point." Pity, though... just think what he could have done with proper training. Ah well. Seriously, we could have used more control collars. We didn't know which of us were going to be the one to contain him. IF we even let you out on anymore missions. If it was up to me-- Ah but it's not really up to you, now is it? * Crow just smiles. * Tanya fixes the general with a Look[tm]. "If it was up to you?" * Scratch continues showing no reaction whatsoever. The UoN voted for this team. Even if you're personally against it, I'm still operating here under their authority. * Fallone is unable to keep her general disgust from her face at this point. He'd not send inexperienced Marines in where we're better suited, of course, Tanya. No sense wasting human life. Demis, properly trained, can handle wild ones. * Crow smiles in a friendly manner at the General as he says that. * Scratch coughs at this point and clears his throat. My marines were not inexperienced! They're the best of the best! They've dealt with countless of your kind. You mean they've killed countless. * Crow holds up an index finger. "Countless plus 1." It's their job to deal with the situation accordingly. Are we done here, then? Were their orders ever 'contain without killing the target'? And they did fine. But why waste their lives when you've got us? You yourself said you knew it was a mistake to send them. Their orders were to subdue the target with a minimum loss of life. * Fallone has progressed nicely from looking disgusted and being disinterested to looking quite pissed and interested. And that THING killed 3 of my marines. I think my marine was more than justified. * Jess slams down her phone and glares straight into the Generals eyes. “I miss my meetings, scare my friends, risk my life, MY OTHER FRIENDS RISK THEIR LIVES. We go through the creepy old church which kept collapsing in on us without us even DOING anything. AND THEN BECAUSE YOUR HYPED UP INSANE IDIOT MARINE KILLED THE GUY WE ARE IN TROUBLE? F…” * Jess gets quiet and lowers her head crying. “I went through this to help people. I’m sacrificing my life to help you. I save three of the marines. I worked through blood, as gooey and icky as it is. I battled off spiders that had supernatural powers. And because some one not on my team and not involved with this at all who I had no chance of doing anything about pulled the trigger, you are saying –we- failed?" * ColonelHall just stares at Jess. Subtle, ain't she. And we are back to square one on figuring out who trained the guy. Look at that, they're only children. They have no idea what they're getting themselves into. * Crow lets out a low whistle. "Wow, Jess, you've been practicing." Your man was the one that lost control and killed the target. * Scratch stands. "Sir, Excuse me, sir." Not us. Are we done, now? * Jess just sobs and clings to Crow. "The General hates us." General, complain all you want, these kids saved your men when you were ready to just turn that building into a smoking crater. You should be thanking them not condemning them. I'm with the Colonel here. * Fallone is shaking a little bit, looking daggers at old Ironsides. * Scratch looks down at the General without speaking, letting the rest of the tumult around the table play itself out. I'd say our abilities are what got your surviving men out of there... that includes Archer. Do we need more training? Probably. Did we pull this off? HELL YES. And if you don't have anything of use to actually add to this meeting, I'm going to ask if you'd be so kind as to excuse yourself so I might be able to actually properly debrief MY team. * Crow hugs Jess lightly, rubbing down her hair. "Shh, it's okay. The General isn't mad. Are you, General?" he asks, still lightly, as if discussing the weather. * GeneralIronside just fumes and glares at the rest of the team. I'm... I'm going to write a letter! Oh! Can I help? * GeneralIronside with that gets up and slams the door shut behind him. ...guess not. * Tanya breaks out laughing. I hope he's just having a bad day and isn't always going to be like that. * ColonelHall can't help but snerk at that. * Fallone mutters "fucker" under her breath. * Jess is just in tears and actually curling up on Crow's lap. * Scratch 's eyes follow the General out of the room. He remains standing, his fists are clenched, though he appears to be otherwise in good composure. You okay, Scratch? You seem rather... more tense than usual. * MajorRose enters just as the general leaves with a try and tea and a hot glass of apple juice. * Crow wraps a wing around Jess, sheltering her and giving her some privacy. He's actually forced to sit up straight for this posture to work. * Fallone looks uncertain, but gets up, and goes over to Crow and Jess, sits down next to Jess and pats her with her good hand. I know only Fallone asked for tea, but I brought enough cups for everyone in case any of you change your minds. * Crow sniffs. "Oh, that smells wonderful, Major." * Scratch blinks and looks around towards Tanya. "Excuse me. That was uncalled for." He reseats himself. * MajorRose offers Crow his apple juice and Fallone her tea. Thanks, ma'am. * Fallone takes the tea and sets it down on the floor. Thank you. *takes a cup, too* Could you pour Jess some tea, while you're here? * Crow holds out the cup, politely. She can have mine. * Fallone looks sheepish. I wasn't thirsty anyway. * Cara waves off any attempt to give her tea. "I'm not in the mood for tea." * Tanya grabs a cup of tea. "I think it'll help calm us. Is this regular or herbal?" * Jess doesn't seem to notice anything beyond giving Crow's shirt a complete washing with tears. Now then, I'm sorry you had to deal with that. He just needs to understand that Section M is special and not his. This is my baby, and I'm going to do my best to see that you guys succeed. * Crow sips his apple juice. "Ahhh, wonderful. You are marvelous at this, Major Rose, thank you." He smiles, not at all bothered by or even upset on the behalf of Jess, or her behavior." Honestly, I'm not. I just poured it out of the container and stuck it in the microwave... * Scratch continues sitting straight in his chair, he faces the Colonel. "Ma'am. Thank you, ma'am." Of course, Colonel. It's out pleasure to be of service. So, ma'am, how *did* we do for our first time out? Nonsense, Major, it's delicious. Nobody can microwave like you. *winks, smiling joyfully at her* You did fantastic. You're all still here and the bad guy didn't get away. I'd say that's a complete success. * MajorRose blushes and giggles. "Oh stop it." Maybe the general wouldn't yell if I had saved all the marines... I'm still bothered, though. With the demi dead, we won't know where he's from or who trained him. Those marines were gone before you even left this base, I imagine. Sounds like he would have found something else to yell about then. 'You took too long' or 'You didn't do it counterclockwise'. Oh, he just likes yelling. I'm sure he didn't mean it. No humans are that stupid, Jess. Certainly not any in command. That does present an interesting problem. Especially if there's more like him. He would have found some other reason to yell anyway... * Scratch does not speak his mind. * Crow looks earnestly at the Colonel. "We'll just have to prove ourselves to him. Demis -can- be more than a burden on society. We -will- be more, and help humanity." * Cara nods at Fallone's statement since it agreed with her own. That's what I'm hoping you'll prove. That's why Doctor Shepard built this place after all. * Crow nods, emphatically. Ma'am... Is it possible someone's managed to figure out how to *make* demis? That tube in his mouth looked surgical, not natural. I suppose an autopsy will show whether it is or not. That reminds me, ma'am: I would like to formally request to assist in the autopsy, or at least observe. Technology has only been able to replicate your abilities in very small ways. I don't think it's possible to make a whole living demi... Ugh. Why would anyone -want- to? You never know sometimes. So they could be... useful? * Fallone quirks an eyebrow. You should have clearance for that now, although are you trained to perform an autopsy? I don't recall reading about any formal medical training in your records. Or someone's private demi army? * Scratch nods, but remains silent. * Jess just curls up closer to Crow, the tears have stopped now at least. I've been studying the biology of magiology for a while. Mostly as a subject, I admit, but I'm trying to pick up enough to eventually work with Dr. Shepard. *wraps his wing tighter around Jess, almost totally concealing her from the room, now* * ColonelHall nods. "Well we'll still have one of our doctors actually do it. You're free to observe though." Thank you, ma'am. I think I'd like to observe as well. This guy's a curiosity. Have there been any other reports of insect- or arachnid-type demis? We can have them do it in one of the operating rooms with an observatory so you're not all crowding the lab. And his eyes... *licks his lips absent-mindedly, and sips his hot apple juice again* There've been a couple. There's that one kid who talks to ants on the island. I'd rather not watch myself. You guys have fun with that, though. * Fallone sips her tea, since Jess doesn't seem to be having any. Mmm... can I get a copy of the findings? What all exactly did he do? What would you say his abilities were? * MajorRose prepares to take notes. Well, he appeared to be able to control those other spiders; the ones we fought in the basement. Lots of webbing. And some paralytic poison. Not to mention jumping ability. It was a fun little game of tag to keep up with him. Quite possible he was able to mutate them, as they were larger than normal; almost as large as medium-sized dogs. * Jess mumbles something into Crow's body. * Crow absently runs a hand down Jess's hair under his wing. Did you see him manifest them or were they already there? * Scratch didn't actually encounter these spiders himself, and so remains silent. They were already there when we moved in. Three of them tried to feed off the cocooned marines. * MajorRose nods. He may have had something resembling Fallone's capabilities, as Jess here had difficulty manifesting against him. What sort of difficulty? One of them did, however, as if on cue, bring up an unpinned grenade. * Fallone winces. So he could at least talk to them. * MajorRose continues making notes. I'd say that's control. Very likely. Since he told it to blow itself to bits. That's more than a friendly request. But they were just regular spiders that were bigger? * Tanya nods. "The mutating them is based solely on circumstances; he didn't bring them with him into the church, from all feeds." * ColonelHall sips her tea as she listens. * Cara doesn't add anything but nods since she wasn't up there with the demi. I can bring in crows without them showing up on video feeds. But they -were- magically sized spiders. At least, the one with the grenade was. I didn't see the basement. Something was wrong with him, too... When I hit him, it made it get a lot worse. Can we get some of the video feed in here. I was too busy dealing with him and them to get a good look at them. * Fallone shrugs. I don't know what it could be. And... he was hard to see. Interesting. We've seen demis that can mutate others. I guess this was a kind of that. Crow, what did he look like under that coat? * MajorRose looks to Fallone. "Hit him how?" You got the best look at 'im. When I, uh... dispersed his abilities. * Scratch turns towards the Major. "Ma'am." He almost went down right then. We'll go over the feeds later. Right now I just want to hear your opinions. * Crow chuckles. "He looked scared. I don't think he was in control of all his magic; he was turning into a giant spider, and not happy about it. I think he would have come with us willingly if he weren't so panicked." * Jess pokes her head out a bit. "My first attempt to get one of the spiders backfired and went straight for Cara. Trap cards shouldn't do that." He -definitely- was a wild one. No idea what was wrong with him. So then something he had... one of his abilities was keeping him stable? Maybe... Dunno. Maybe. Hmm... Some demis... doesn't it hurt when they're suppressed? * Scratch nods. "His body appeared as if not fully matured. Either his powers had not fully manifested, they were in the process of manifesting, or they were retarded in some way." Though I don't know of any magic that would work to change you while suppressed. *flexes his free wing unconsciously* * Scratch clears his throat and resumes saying nothing. Yes, we've seen all sorts of reacts to the collars. More to the point, do their abilities hurt them when they aren't suppressed? * Fallone shrugs again. If uncontrolled, they almost certainly do. Imagine what any of us would be like if we weren't taken care of and managed. There was this one guy who had acid for blood and when we turned his collar on... *she looks a bit sick at the thought* That and the difficulty in actually seeing him... those are the most I saw. He was pretty lonely. Stuck me to a wall just to make sure I didn't run off and leave him. * Tanya shudders at what the major just said * Scratch lowers his chin and closes his eyes momentarily. Scratch? * Fallone 's mouth flattens to a line. * Scratch comes back up. "Yes?" Anyway, he had a paralyzing spray you said? That came out of the tube you mentioned? Penny for your thoughts? Didn't see where it came from. It froze up a bunch of me when it hit them, though. * Tanya nods at the Major * Scratch pauses. "I was considering... That there are also demis who are in pain without the collars." A bunch of you... Your crows you mean? He spit something at us from that tube. I went intangible in time, so I couldn't say whether it paralyzed or not * Crow nods cheerfully. "Yep." * MajorRose nods and makes more notes. Anything else? Took almost a minute to fully recover from that. Cool ability. * Scratch turns. "Ma'am." Hm... I mentioned his webs filled the church... and how hard they made him to sense... Yes, Scratch? He rigged up a bunch of claymores in the church. He might've known what he was doing, too... Nope, think I'm done. ^_^ * Crow drinks a gulp of his still-hot apple juice. Webs that masked his aura? That'd be useful. At least if you knew you were going to have uninvited guests... He knew, I think. I don't think he expected them to be like us, though. By the extent to which the rogue was able to mine and make use of his surroundings and equipment captured from the marine's team, I believe it is safe to assume that he had been the recipient of extensive military, or civilian force explosive training. * Scratch nods towards Fallone and resumes sitting still. * ColonelHall smiles at Tanya. "That was the entire thinking besides sending you guys in. No one would see you coming." * Cara continues to listen in since she wasn't "lucky" enough to fight the guy. Oh, he was surprised that there were 'more than crows'. But seemed happy enough to play. Archer certainly wasn't expecting us. From what I could tell, over the radio, he thought Crow was working with the demi. And Crow's comments about 'helping' didn't help that impression. * Fallone looks a bit disturbed. He, uh... Actual military training? Unless he found some way to pass himself off as normal, I don't think any government would accept a demi into their ranks... Yeah, Mr. Archer was just a bit too jumpy. Like I said. At least he didn't hurt anyone. He tortured Archer... literally, not figuratively. * Fallone bites her lip and looks down. Poor guy... Tied him down and did things... Maybe someone trained him to do that, too. * Tanya turns to Scratch. "Are you thinking third world military? Para-military terrorist unit? Something similar?" wait...he was friendly? * Scratch continues, "However, supposing that this demi's abilities had only recently manifested as his mal-formed body would suggest, would it not be possible that at some point he could have? Furthermore, this scenario would suggest that the demi would have a mundane human record somewhere. Perhaps even a missing person's report." Only if he could disguise his demi-pattern from the standard scans... We'll look into it. Check and see if his prints match up to anything in our databases. * Scratch turns to Tanya and shakes his head. "It seems implausible that someone of that nature would travel to that location alone, or if they did, that they would put themselves in the situation that he did." You did mention he was harder to detect than normal, didn't you Crow? Yep. Definitely. At least, with his webbing. Visually, he was harder to see. I never got a good feel of him when he wasn't surrounded by his webs, though, so can't comment beyond that. He was blurry. * MajorRose nods and continues making notes. * Fallone nods decisively. Yeah. Him *and* his pet spiders. He was seeking medical attention. It could be that whatever his condition was, it impeded his ability to travel unmolested. Could be a natural stealth camo. * Scratch nods. * Cara just kinda shrugs at all the commentary. Anyway, another part of your new assignment is that you can't talk about it with anyone else on the island. Especially the other demis. ... It must be my imagination, but the thought of someone mutating others into demis keeps popping into my head. We've got a mal-formed demi with para-military or military training and no mundane record. The demi was seeking medical help, but was too scared by the marines and security. Right-o, Colonel. * Scratch nods. "Understood." If they knew you were allowed to leave the island... Well, there's no telling how they'd react to that. Colonel...ma'am? * Jess crawls out from Crow's wing looking worried now. Yes? Well...what do I tell my friends and my clubs and...? Don't. * Crow chuckles. "I wouldn't worry about that, Tanya," he begins, as he lets Jess out. But...Tiff is really worried. Tell them it's a special school project. I'm sure she'll understand. Tell Tiff that you were working and away from the phone. Oh, do we have any orders for tomorrow night, Colonel? * Jess gives Tanya a look of pure horror. Oh yeah, we took the liberty to have all your stuff moved into your new rooms while you were away so you didn't have to take the time to pack. * MajorRose smiles. Or just use the old "I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you" line. * Fallone smiles. * Scratch almost *gurks* but doesn't. That'll make life easier... Understood. That's good. I don't feel much like doing a bunch of work to move today. Me either. Oh, cool. You're dismissed now if there's nothing else. Please enjoy your new rooms. You have a busy couple weeks ahead of you. * Scratch rises to stand next to his chair and salutes the Colonel and Major. "Ma'am." Thanks. And thank you again for the juice, Miss Rose. *smiles charmingly at the Major as he puts the empty glass on the tray* * Fallone bows laconically from the neck. * Crow gets to his feet. "Now, Jess, you mentioned a sleepover..." * Jess nods and takes crow's hand talking a bit. Oh you're very welcome. Oh... boy...! A sleepover...! ... * Fallone tries her best to pretend enthusiasm. [session end]