Scene Listing

||

Scene Schedule

||

Scene Schedule RSS

Owner	Pose
Dr. Vahzilok	A Bio-Hazard warning has gone out from Vasilikos Laboratories. Normally this would be the kind of situation that people who aren't containment squads would be warned AWAY from. But just putting the place under quarantine isn't enough. The threat itself can't be contained until heroes go in to stop it. There are sick and injured heroes getting treated right now. They may be super heroes (or in some cases, not-so-super but still willing to put their lives on the line for others), but they are still vulnerable to radiation poisoning. And the creatures producing the radiation. Monsters that will be unpleasantly familiar to those who performed the rescue mission at the cargo vessel, Overbrook Queen, when they catch sight of them.     Vasilikos Laboratories is on a small artificial island off the coast of Independence Port. Reaching shouldn't be an issue. Whatever the method needed, it is available. Boat, flight, teleportation, swimming, super speeding across the water's surface, whatever. What's important is getting there and making it possible for the civilian researchers to make it out of there.     Once everyone is assembled in the lobby, they find there are a lot of people already clustered together. Patients, doctors, some heroes on life support or otherwise completely indisposed. One hero that Revan is likely to recognize from a couple of past encounters, Lilac Lascerator, is presently in a wheelchair and missing both her legs. They'll grow back eventually. She is insisting she is good to go and can go fight, and is being restrained by a few people.     The briefing when people arrive, provided is thus:     Dr. Vasilikos, Dr. Maccabe, Cortex, Positron, and a few other researchers are still deep in the facility, trying to shut down a reactor that is acceelerating the growth of radioactive organisms that appeared suddenly and started flooding the facility. The monsters got into the morgue, and seemingly integrated corpses into themselves as skeletal support. It's a pretty grim situation.     The reactor is meant to heal everyone around them. Regenerate tissue, etc. And now its effect is that these alien monsters or whatever are growing and replicating at an extroardinary rate. Why the laboratory had so many bodies lying around in their morgue is unclear, but it appears there's no shortage for the monsters to take over.     Most heroes still in the facility who couldn't be evacuated are under lock-down with sealed doors and aren't in immediate danger. But there's no telling how long that will last.     MISSION: Rescue Dr. Maccabe, Dr. Vasilikos, 3 Researchers, and join up with Cortex and Positron.
Xiaomu	"Can't they give us some kind of anti-radiation armor or something?" Xiaomu complains, not as good-naturedly as sometimes, as she goes over her gear one last time. Silver, Platinum, and Roc's Icebrand are all loaded with full clips - currently standard ammo for the more mundane handguns, and the normal bullets that Roc's Icebrand uses; she's got several spare clips for each of them, including a couple of loads of anti-spirit ammo for the first two. She has some of Shinra's fire-boosted hand grenades, in case anything inside the facility is particularly vulnerable to fire (magical or otherwise). Suiren is currently sheathed inside of her staff, and looks like the kind of monk staff you might see a travelling Buddhist monk carrying on the road. She's also healed up from her last round, has a full tank on the magical front, and her Vita and her 3DS are fully charged; in case those aren't enough, she's also packed a deck of normal playing cards into one of her vest pockets. Y'know. Just in case there's anything we can beat with a hand of poker or something instead of having to fight it. She can hope, right? "More seriously, is it feasible for us to shut that regenerative reactor off? That might make the monster-slaying part easier, - and this is going to be hard enough as it is." Fighting monsters around the reactor that made them strong enough to require heroic intervention just sounds like a bad idea to the sage fox. But, she's helped with situations in Paragon before, the heroic orgs around here have her contact info, and she couldn't justifiably recuse herself from lending a hand.
X	X's usual method of arrival works out fine. He appears from a short-lived beam of blue light no wider than he is streaming from the heavens on the island. X needs little protection from radiation, at least at the levels present. Yet he's donned a some of whatever protective gear's being offered. Just in case. It isn't too restricting or he'd just take his chances...     "So the reactor was tested but strange monsters appeared." X remarks, echoing what he's heard. "The same strange monsters Arachnos forces ran into? That we ran into? And the material's a rare element from space? We might be dealing with alien life or... I don't know! Should have taken the monsters for a warning sign...." Really, he'd already done that. Why didn't the laboratory been more concerned? Were they not told...?     He doesn't know anymore.     But X will be among the first through the doors, right hand shifted into the humble X-Buster!
Alexis	Biohazard warnings, well that's just wonderful. Good thing someone thought to have some temporary shielding on hand. Still, means they're going to have to deal with this quickly. All the same, Alexis doesn't push any additional chances, when she grabbed a few monsters and moved out. Considering what they're possibly up against it shouldn't be a surprise that her first choice to accompany her was her Lucario. Steel types are immune to poison, so hopefully that will provide some additional safety against biohazards and whatnot as well. "Well, now we kinda know how that slime monster turned up on the ship," she murmurs sardonically. At least, they know there's definately a connection now.
Alden	The digimon lacks any fancy methods of arrival, unless you consider him running in a larger, quadrupedal form,before reverting to the much cuter looking gabumon. He hears curiously, and of course, he accepts the offered shielding, "I am not even sure if radiation might affect me, or if it works on me the same way as others..." he muses softly. He mirrors X's remarks, being rather curious, "So this healing reactor started to produce monsters?... and possesing dead bodies?"
Blurr	Blurr arrives in a fashion similar to X, and similarly doesn't have much need for protection against the radiation. Well that is unless it's radiation levels comparable to what you'd get flying too close to a star or getting stuck unprotected inside spacecraft engines, in which case none of those organics who are around would probably be left alive so to him it's safe to assume that isn't the case. Whether his assessment is accurate or not remains to be seen. "So we get in, find the researchers, grab them and get out? Sounds simple enough." He begins scanning the building, searching for the best way in as well as attempting to scope out lifesigns and which of them are seething with radiation to see how many of the things they may be up against.
Dorian Pavus	Dorian is once again forced to go by boat.  And as the nausea starts, he vows silently to figure out some way of getting around that doesn't involve reliance on a boat.  At least this time he's going to an island and not climbing on board a ship.  That had been wretched.  Anyway.     He gratefully steps off the boat, dressed as he normally is, in his light leather armor and white clock over it, serpentine dragon-headed staff in hand.     X's words get a sigh.  "Egos bigger than brains always mean disaster."  Should he really be talking about big egos?  He also nods to Alexis's words.  "More than likely," he agrees.  "One would think thetesting phase would be sure to tick off 'does not produce vile undead monsters', but apparently that got overlooked in the rush."     Looking up at the facility, "You know... magisters do the same sort of thing."  His voice raises in pitch a bit, as if he's mimicking someone else.  "'Oh, look, something horrible happened when we completed this ritual.  Should we stop and never do it again?'  'No, I'm sure it'll be fine.  Just a fluke.  Let's just start using it every day!  Do ignore the undead; I know they smell utterly '''foul''', but you get used to it after a while.'."     He will indeed accept whatever is offered that might protect him from the radiation, however slight or temporary.  He's not confident in his armor's ability to protect him.
Revan	Vasilikos Laboratories seemed to be the nexus of a lot of trouble in Paragon City, albeit through no real fault of its own as far as Lowri Revan-Shan could tell. With the sort of treatment and research it offered, it would naturally draw the attention of any number of villains and villain groups throughout the city, possibly even the world it was on. But there were times when things in general seemed to spiral out of control due to the nature of the research they were doing. Either way, the Jedi would answer the call; there were civilians and the currently defenceless there, as well as friends and allies.      Reactions to the Ebon Hawk's arrival and landing in a nearby airfield were subdued, with even ordinary citizens only so much as glancing upward the same way they might glance up as a common commercial aircraft. Even the fantastic had a way of becoming mundane when it became a regular occurrence, and little short of alien invasions tended to shake the whole of the city. Likewise, no one so much as bat an eye at her style of dress, the robes favoured by the Jedi of her era, and she made her way quickly to the compound.      As she waited in the lobby for the mission briefing, her mismatched eyes widened in surprise at Lilac Lascerator's condition. It was fairly recently that she had fought alongside the local hero...what had happened? She could also sympathise with the drive to go out and fight, to do what heroes simply do, but she shook her head. There would be plenty more battles after this, Lowri was more than certain. And she didn't need the Force to tell her that.      Gratefully, she accepted the simple radiation shielding with a slight nod; Jedi were still organic beings regardless of their strength in the Force, and enough radiation would kill even the strongest eventually if they failed to take necessary precautions. "Seems straightforward enough," she replied. Which, naturally, meant there were going to be unforeseen consequences or other problems. However, she didn't voice her sardonic thought. "How much time do we have? Not that I anticipate any sightseeing or anything."
Dr. Vahzilok	At Xiaomu's complaint, a radiation-burned nurse walks up silently to her and holds out a modular device that can be attached just about anywhere to her person, and says, "This radiation shielding device will temporarily protect you from the worst of the radiation. It isn't enough to stop the attacks of the monsters, and it will eventually expire." Looking around at all the patients and workers who have already suffered a lot worse than Xiaomu, and who they are trying to just escort out of the hospital before they suffer worse, Xiaomu's complaint might seem a little bit...     ...Jerkish.     In response to the inquiry about the reactor, the one who provided the briefing originally reiterates, "Shutting down the reactor is what the others inside are attempting to do right now. It's self-sustaining, so there's no power to cut. If you join up with them, you may be able to get the reactor shut down more quickly and easily."     To X and Dorian's thoughts on whether they knew about the monsters or not, the mission-giving medical technician has less information to give. She just shakes her head. She doesn't know. Presumably, if they'd known, they would have been prepared for it. "All we know is the reactor was tested and shown to be safe. The materials used in it are non-radioactive, and non-harmful. It's possible that the samples in the sterilization chamber were altered somehow, but that chamber is intentionally, heavily shielded specifically to prevent this kind of thing. It's possible that the chamber was compromised somehow..."     In response to Revan, the technician says, "We don't know how long. The reactor itself isn't dangerous. If these destructive creatures could be defeated, the reactor could be used to treat anyone suffering from radiation poisoning or other injuries. It was specifically things like that which prompted it being built. This entire hospital could passively heal people simply by BEING here... There were even plans for something that combined regen tech with medi-porters. Reclamators I think they were called?" She shrugs. "Time is not on your side in either case. A 'meltdown' of the reactor is an impossibility, but the monsters will only become more numerous the longer it remains running without intervention."     Lights are flashing in the halls when everyone who needs it is properly equipped and advancing into the facility. High-tech elevators carry them down a few floors, to where the problem lies. Their objective is the center of Vasilikos Laboratories, and to rescue those in the vicinity.     Though emergency lighting is active, and many of the halls have normal lights going as well, some are a bit more darkened. The walls seem scoured by burns of some kind that match the pattern of claws. And around one of the corners ahead something is glowing green...
Alexis	Everyone suited up, so to speak? Good, let's get going. The limited time on the rad shields isn't the only clock they're working against here, and Alexis is all too ready to hit the elevator and get down to the proper floor. Though once they're on said level, her pokemon takes the lead. Even with the extra shielding, the Lucario is much more suited for being in front of her trainer. "Lucario <We must make haste, but not without caution.> A flicker of blue aura energy crackles between her hand-like paws as she curls them into a grip, and a long bo-staff in the form of a bone manifests between them. "This place has definately seen better days," Alexis notes, keeping her usual commentary going. Burn marks, claw scrapes, really getting the zombie apocalypse feeling going here. "Sashou, feel anything?" she askes as they start down the hall. "Lucario <Negative. There is too much unstable energy for my aura sense to penatrate.>"
Blurr	Blurr grimaces at the results of the scan. "Looking like several dozen of these things throughout the building, with more appearing as we speak. I'll try to get in, find the humans and get them out quick so that we can deal with these things without having to worry about them getting caught in the crossfire." Time is -definitely- not on their side. It's a good thing this Autobot can move faster than sound. He finds a loading dock door to enter through, because he won't fit through the regular doors. Thankfully, most of the hallways are spacious enough for him to stand up in, despite being a few stories tall. Well, it is a state-of-the-art medical facility, so perhaps that shouldn't come as a surprise.     Upon sighting the green glow, he hurries toward it, darting in front of everyone else unless they are both capable of moving faster than him and/or attempting to do so.
Xiaomu	"Ah, thank you very much," Xiaomu says - as graciously (and apologetically) as she can manage. Yeah, that was kind of a bad attitude for her ... but not without reason. She knows what radiation does to youkai - not that humans get off easy by comparison, of course. She keeps her ears perked (literally) as she's finding a spot on her person to affix the shielding device. Once it's in place and appears to be working, the sage fox settles her carry-pack across her back and takes her staff in hand again. "If the incident on the ship is anything to go by," she says to her allies, "expect things to smell awful. I didn't actually see the monster, but ... it smelled like somebody was playing arsonist at a toxic landfill after a dozen corpses had been buried in it for a year." Her ears stay perked on the way into the laboratory facility proper; she's not depending on her sense of smell or her ability to sense chi or the like, just good old-fashioned looking and listening. She's fished a flashlight out of her carry-pack as well, and has no compunctions about using it when the group hits a darkened corridor. Some of those claw marks have her worried enough to try and scrape off some of the burnt layers into a zip-lock bag for analysis - whether by the locals or by Shinra, or possibly by both.
Dorian Pavus	Dorian nods to the technician's words.  "That's not a surprise," he notes.  He offers a smirk, and adds, "Sod's law, after all."  He at least seems polite to the technician, so clearly he doesn't blame her for anything.  She just happened to be the one on-site; it sounds like things went wrong '''long''' before she got involved.  And at the further note that they're not in danger of getting blown up in the reactor, Dorian sighs.  "Well, that's a relief anyway."  He offers a smile to the technician before heading in with the rest.     Lucario's words get a nod.  "Take our time, but in a hurry?" Dorian replies.  "That suits me.  I can already smell those things."  Actually no, he can't.  He's just being dramatic.  However, no sooner does Dorian see the glowing green thing than he casts a Barrier around himself and as many of the others of the group as possible.  It'll be enough to protect from direct damage from at least the first strike of an attack if that's one of those nasty monsters.
Alden	Alden was joined by a rather small (even compared to him) humanoid robot. (Basically looks like 6 inch a girl with kitty ears and a tail). It was wearing what seemed to be some combat armor of some sort, covering most of her's torso, her hands covered in oversized cat paw shaped gloves. She was carrying a portable device of some sort, which had a screen, a keyboard of some sort and a card reader slot on one side. The neko girl produces a large card and slides it, "Alden!, go!" she exclaims.      Alden chuckles, "Hey, I am not your pet." he says, before the effect of the card affects him. The digimon glows brightly, enough to make it hard to see him for a second, before he seems to explode into voxels, the small lizard form replaced by a rather tall, toned bipedal wolf, wearing what look like jeans, and armed with metal knuckles. "Good idea Katze... I don't think it might be good if I go on my other form and accidentally destroy a room or two." he says, before attaching the radiation shield to his size.      He shoots a curious glance at Alexis' pokemon, and then to the others, smiling to Blurr and X, the people he seems to remember the most and offering nods to the rest. He splays both ears as he sees the state of things, and the glow, letting out a growl. "That sounds like a good idea Blurr, can you detect them somehow?, I wish my special senses worked on things besides digimon." he mumbles. He decides to get in front of the group as well, being prepared for close range combat and hoping that the radiation won't mess him much. The robot girl seems to remain far back.
Revan	Revan nodded as her question was answered. Even if the reactor itself wasn't dangerous, that was hardly any reason to rule out the possibility of tampering when so many depended on it. In truth, she had a feeling some kind of sabotage had been involved -- particularly if these creatures were connected to it -- but any potential investigation would have to wait. They were on the clock when it came to protecting themselves from other forms of radiation.      The odd eyes flicked to a white-haired young man probably in his early-20s resting on one of the hospital beds as a nurse checked glassy neon-blue eyes, stripped down to a grey undershirt and black trousers. The Guardian frowned; there seemed to be quite a number of heroes being treated, and she couldn't help but wonder if this was unusual or a typical day for this facility. In either case, there were a lot of people relying on them right now.      "Yeah, we'd better get going," she agreed, drawing her lightsabers as they stepped onto the lift, though she held off on igniting the blades for the moment. The shield, on the other hand, was activated once the doors had opened.      "Well, /those/ seem friendly," she quipped with irony at the claw marks on the walls. "Even better," she continued once she'd spotted the glowing green on the corner, drawing on the Force to form protective barriers around her body before igniting her blades with their characteristic 'snap-hiss' sound.      "Ready to dance?"
X	"Radiation's a kind of energy. Ionizing radiation, anyways. Or... any other kind that the local physics allow. Either way, radiation's pure energy and you're also a kind of pure energy. There's a good chance it COULD be dangerous. I'd take the shield." X advises Alden. "I'm a robot... radiation can't make me sick or give me cancer, but enough of it will blind sensors, scramble signals and damage electronics." He's being cautious about this.     Sure, he won't topple over and die from a lot of radiation, but...     "The difference is a few damaged parts can be replaced, while biology's permanently damaged."     He gives Dorian a look. Maybe not sure he agrees THAT VEHEMENTLY... "How do you TEST for a meteorite producing monsters?" He asks naively, not sure whether that comment was rhetorical or not.     He's quiet until everyone's out of the elevator. "'The reactor's not dangerous, it just produced a bunch of monsters when we weren't looking'" he echoes sadly. "It's the meteorite that it was designed to use. Something's wrong with the material... or came in the container with it. The monsters were already on the ship when we arrived. The reactor itself's probably safe but whatever it's doing to the meteorite's accelerating... whatever it does..." He's thinking out loud, as far as anyone could likely tell. Kind of distant look in his eyes and mind grinding hard on analyzing a problem.     But he quickly shakes his head. "Shutting down the reactor's the best bet. We've got to make sure that happens."     He moves to examine some of the walls, particularly the burn marks. While there's any time, he'd like to figure out more of the nature of these things.     So, the burned claw marks. Are they more MELTED into the wall or SLASHED into the wall...?
Dr. Vahzilok	According to examinations of the marks on the walls it appears to be a bit of both. SOMETHING corrosive has eaten away at the metal walls designed to handle whatever powers super heroes have to throw around, AND there's also deep gouges from some physical force. On closer inspection, there's also similar prints on the floor and some glowing green slime here or there that would be putting out readings on geiger counters if anyone has such.     Xiaomu could get samples of this slime if she wanted, but it's probably best not exposed to bare skin. There's also that smell that Xiaomu mentioned in the air, and NOW Dorian can smell them. As can anyone else with scent receptors. And as Blurr and Alden race ahead, they comes face to face with a corridor that has about a dozen glowing green monsters clustered in it. Vaguely humanoid slime creatures, with partial human skeletons inside of them. It appears the skeletons have somehow been altered by the slime to grow claws and spines that protrude out through their bodies. They turn the moment the Transformer and Digimon appear. There is only a brief delay before they let loose roars that echo up and down the hallways and blasts of visible radioactive energy start pelting the area where the two are standing, and trying to plow through into the hallway beyond in their rush. They are surprisingly fast for things their size, producing booming thuds whenever they step.     The creatures are not as tall as Blurr, but even the smallest is taller than Alden or any other human-sized being here. The tallest present is around 15 feet tall or so and even spikier and meaner-looking than the rest.     What were they doing clustered around in this hallway? It looks like they were trying to get into a room with heavily corroded and claw-marked doors, labelled 'Sterilization Chamber'. Presumably they came OUT of that... So who or what is in there now that they want to get in there so badly?     Maybe defeating these monsters will earn answers.
Xiaomu	Even Xiaomu isn't crazy enough to try taking samples like that with her bare fingers. There's a little-used sampling kit that was buried in her carrypack; she fished it out at the sight of those seared gouges in the wall, and is using some metal tool to scrape bits of the edges left by said gouges into presumably-sterile plastic bags or something. And she's still in the middle of that when X goes over the situation - and her ears stand STRAIGHT UP. "Wait a sec," the sage fox says with a note of alarm in her voice. "If the reactor's supposed to supercharge people's immune systems, and it's doing what it was designed to do, then what if the meteor is doing exactly what *IT* was supposed --" Cue the roars from around the corner ahead. "Remind me to ask the locals what the meteorite did in the area where it first landed," she says, putting her samples and tools away in a big hurry. "X, I dunno if you can analyze just a weapon, but here - !" She tosses him a grenade (with the pin and spoon still in place, *thank you*). "Fire might help, or you can just use that straight if you can't copy it!" Sample kit and samples go into carrypack, pack is zipped closed and slung across her back once more, and then Xiaomu goes charging around the corner behind Blurr and Alden, planting her staff as though to use it for a brake - and slinging ice magic *past* the party's vanguard to try and freeze at least some of the monsters. Probably she'll only get the one (maybe two) closest to Alden and Blurr until she can see what she's aiming at better ... not that she wants to look.
Dorian Pavus	Dorian grimaces at the foul smell.  But hey, at least he's not nauseous from being seasick.  So he's not going to throw up this time.  So there's that.  "They're close by," he murmurs, more to himself than anyone else.  He's keeping an eye out.     Of course suddenly there's radioactive material pelting the floor nearby.  Normally one would run '''away''' from something like that.  Dorian, however, is being asked to do the opposite of that.  So that's exactly what he does, and he heads for the area where the noise is coming from.     When he sees the slime-things, he tosses an orb of lightning up over the creatures in the hallway.  It's his old Lightning Cage trick-- it won't shock them unless they go outside the perimeters the spell's marked out on the ground.  Right now he's trying to keep the beasts from leaving the area, so they can be more easily contained and dealt with.
Alexis	Well that didn't take long to run into trouble. Good thing the robot and digimon are taking the lead. Though Alexis and her pokemon aren't that far behind them. Though she does stop for a moment, to make a face of disgust. "I don't know what's worse, the looks or the smell!", she hisses, putting one hand over her mouth and nose. The rad-shield doesn't really do much about the stentch unfortunately. "I think the only option we have is to fight through them." There's no objection from her pokemon. Or much of a response in general, as soon as it's confirmed it's fight time Sashou bolts for her position. Charging at the first slimey thing she can see and swinging her aura bone-staff in a flurry of squick blows to drive the thing back again.
Blurr	Blurr immediately springs into action as the slime monsters start shooting radiation blasts in his direction. There's not a ton of room for him to move around but he twists and turns as he jumps back and forth to avoid most of the blasts. Even so, since he's a good amount larger than they are, they manage to land a few. That doesn't keep him from activating his weaponry though, and with a mechanical sound arm-mounted guns emerge from compartments and open fire on the monsters in front of him. He tries to aim in particular toward the largest one though.
Alden	Alden has no time to ask Katze for a card buff, so he has to make do with his own skills, and he decides to try to at least make time for the others!. He moves aside, letting Xiaomu's blast to go through, and he tries to do a ranged attack of his own!. He shifts his stance a bit and jumps forward, raising both of his hands, claws exposed. Crimson energy builds on his fingertips before he slashes the air in front of him, his hands leaving a trail in the air that takes a large X shape, which shoots forward, aimed at the closest target. (The attack is apparently just a really hard remote punch/slash kind of thing, it hits hard and pushes back for a while, enough to go through a solid wall.), and prepares to just punch and kick ones that manage to get close otherwise. "Katze!." he calls.
X	X does have a nose and believe it or not, it DOES work. Unlike human senses of smell, he's... got something different. Most of it is just a chemical sniffer that can analyze compounds in the air and print out its chemical makeup to him after a bit of analysis! Though the resolution's fairly basic - he isn't a sensory type. And it does map to some sensations. Which means...     The unpleasant rank of this palce DOES get him to wrinkle his nose ever so slightly, but it DOESN'T have nearly the same nausea-inducing effects that biologicals would suffer.     "These aren't-- hmm?!"     And suddenly Xiaomu's tossing him a grenade. He snags it from the air easily and blinks at it. Focuses briefly, based on the way his eyes narrow. "Copy Chip's not accepting this. There's no mechanism in it to PRODUCE explosives!" he sounds a bit bewildered. Did Xiaomu want to load him up with weapons? He's not sure he likes the idea of being nothing but a mobile weapons platform...     But at the sight of the horrible monsters he makes a grim face the very next second. "WITHOUT good weapons we'll never get anywhere though." The robot murmurs to himself, irritated.     Energy pulses through his armor, shifting it from blueish shades to yellow and grey. Why he's chosen Ember Celica isn't immediately obvious...but it becomes so when he pulls the pin on the grenade. "Grenade out!!"     --And then promptly PUNCHES it with the unmistakable sound of a SHOTGUN going off.     This would probably be stupid if it wasn't a high-quality grenade in question. The casing holds, the internals need FIRE to explode not SHOCK... and the igniter's primed but jostling it ain't enough.     Which means that the grenade transforms into one HECK of a fast-moving, hard hitting projectile.     One that X intends to BURy into the creatures just a moment before Xiaomu's ice waves can freeze them.     Because the result, if he knows his physics, is going to be VERY bad for the creatures. An explosion trapped within, combined with their exteriors being REALLY frozen?     Catastrophic damage.
Revan	Revan grimaced; even Jedi noses are weak to bad smells. "Oh man, and here I thought banthas smelled terrible."      A wry smile formed on her lips. "Even if we can't see them, we'll be able to smell where they're coming from."      Not that being unable to see the creatures was a problem once they came into her line of sight, however. The Shivans were more than a little hard to miss, not to mention rating fairly high on the grotesque scale. Not that she had time to permit her inquisitiveness to take over at the moment when they were causing no end of problems.      Quickly tossing up a Force barrier to envelope her allies, Revan drew on the Force again in a more adversarial manner by giving the nearest Shivans a good hard shove backwards via a Force Wave. That might also buy them a little more time.
Dr. Vahzilok	X's shotgun-punching maneuver sends the grenade into the midst of the Minion-class enemies, and when it goes off, it takes out three of them. That's 1/4th of the opponents down in the first attack! Though that still leaves 4 Minions and 3 Lieutenants left! X also gets one of them shooting green eye lasers of some kind at him for his trouble.     Xiaomu's magic at first almost seems to not be very effective, only slowing the monsters down in their lumbering rush, but gradually they become coated in ice and then locked in place. She may have to keep up the effect longer than she normally would, but it works eventually, coupling well with X's attack.     The ones that aren't frozen advance directly into the lightning cage's effects, suffering electrocution, seeming pissed about it, but not stopping no matter how their ectoplasm boils and smokes. The smaller ones manage to either get stuck in a paralyzed state as too much of their composition is agitated by the electricity to advance for the moment, or to remain where they are and shoot cancer lasers at the good guys.     The electricity did damage, that much is clear, just like ice had an effect. But it seems that they don't go down easy. If it weren't Elites facing off against them, it's easy to see how even well-equipped standard soldiers could be overwhelmed. Just one of these things took down an entire squad of Arachnos troops while Maya watched, before it was downed in a desperate, spiteful final attack from the squad leader, right before he succumbed to the radiation cloud engulfing him.     Lucario's staff strikes batter and smash a Shivan Smasher as it shoots X-Ray lasers at X, already weakened by that exposure to the lightning cage. They are tough, and fight back, but they eventually fall. And they seem to have no special resilience to blunt weaponry.
Dr. Vahzilok	Blurr's blasts bombard the Shivan Destroyer, sending it leaning to the side with boiling 'impact craters' in its ectoplasmic side. That did damage! Enough to possibly take out the small or medium-sized Shivans immediately! But this Boss-level one... only leans. Then it straightens, turns to face the source of the attack, and lets out a cacophonous roar that vibrates the floor as it forms a giant ball of searing radioactive plasma above its head with both hands, and then hurls the bomb right at Blurr. It probably won't be healthy for anyone nearby him either.     The slashes from Alden tear through into one of the Lieutenant-class Shivans, still suffering from electrocution damage, before being kicked back towards Katze, it seems, for some form of team work! Hopefully she can deliver the finishing blow before it strikes at her instead!     Revan, meanwhile, blasts the remaining Lieutenant BACK through the lightning cage, causing it to suffer additional electrocution damage, knock the paralyzed Shivan Minions out of the fight for good, and then knock the ones that were staying at range into the OPPOSITE side of the lightning cage and getting electrocuted in turn. Soon, the only one left should be the big Boss... The Shivan Destroyer     And as its in the middle of throwing radiation bombs into the midst of the heroes, it suddenly finds itself impaled upon a huge metal spike. It staggers forwards. And then turns, enraged... And reveals the corridor behind it has a purple armored hero in a wheelchair in the middle of it, metal spikes still protruding from her body. "'Let the others handle it,' they said. 'You're still in recovery they said.'" Lilac Lascerator pushes herself up on the arms of her wheelchair, and says, "And waste this Moment of Glory? To hell with that." And right before their eyes, her legs start regrowing, regenerating, as her whole body glows with purple energy. Combined with the regeneration powers of the reactor, her own powers are going into overdrive. And in a few seconds, she's standing on brand new legs that are already becoming encased in insectoid armor.     And then another figure steps up behind her.
Dr. Vahzilok	A sasquatch-looking individual, and Lilac's companion. He looks banged up. Bandaged, one arm in a cast. But the hairy Wild Thing is in the fight too. "I concur. There is no way I could sit idly by in my room while others suffer for me." Then, the corridor begins to fill up behind them, as heroes familiar and non all assemble, having left their rooms, their beds, no matter their condition. There's even one leaning on some kind of IV-bearing pole on wheels as support.     And together, with heroes on one end of the corridor, and heroes on the other, the Destroyer is sorely outmatched. In the ensuing onslaught, and with some of the heroes present using their healing powers to help restore anyone who suffered injuries so far, fire and ice and lightning, psychic powers and darkness blasts... X-busters and force waves and Autobot technology and martial skill with claw and staff, and magic ice and magic storm, and a wide arsenal of other weapons and abilities and talents...     The monster that might have held up the rescue effort for longer than they had to spare is downed, and soon dissolving into a puddle on the ground. An awful-smelling, still-dangerous puddle, but at least one that's not in the way of the sterilization chamber anymore.     This is truly a City of Heroes.
Blurr	Blurr sees that big plasma bomb headed toward him and starts firing at it, attempting to blow it up before it could get to them. If this were outside, or on Cybertron or somewhere not mostly designed for humans and human-sized organisms, he wouldn't have any issue just dodging something like that, but in here there isn't as much space, not to mention cover that would actually work for someone his size. Less space also means less time before the thing hits. But the Autobot believes that if anyone is best equipped for taking the brunt of the damage, it's him (some of that may or may not be due to his enormous ego). As such he jumps out into its path, and as a result takes the hot plasma to the chassis. It sends him backward, however thanks to the strange reactor and the skills of the heroes present, he makes a quick recovery.     "Ugh. Well, that wasn't hard, I guess." He gets to his feet once more, dusting himself off. Does that reactor heal paintjobs? He hopes it does. "Let's find those researchers." He moves to press forward into the chamber, assuming those needing to be rescued are beyond the door somewhere.
Xiaomu	Oh hey, reinforcements! That always brightens one's day, especially Xiaomu's - well, at least when the reinforcements are on the same side as she is. When they're on the opposing side, things get hairy, or moreso. She joins in the assault, not relying entirely on her ice magic but drawing her handguns and opening fire on the remaining monsters. Slowing the uglies down is one thing, but if magic isn't enough to actually put them down, hopefully bullets will be more productive. Only once the last of the Shivan creatures is dissolving into a mostly-harmless puddle does Xiaomu eject the empty clips, load fresh ones, and let out a breath. "Okay, so how far from here to the reactor with Cortex and the others?" she inquires. "They're either running out of time, or already did while we were fighting ... but one way or another we have to round up the meteorite or its pieces and get it *OUT* of the reactor's area of effect. They might keep spawning monsters anyway, but if the reactor works by amplifying people's immune system ..." She pauses briefly. "Okay, so think of the meteorite fragments as something ELSE'S immune system, except instead of antibodies and white blood cells, it creates those glowing goopy skeletons to fight off intruders. I think that's what we're dealing with. So where reactor's power makes humans and near-humans get better in a hurry," she nods to L.L. in particular and the other city heroes by extension, "it makes those fragments spawn a *lot* of those monsters. And no, I'm not sure how to stop them from doing that; my best idea is to wrap them up in warding talismans of some kind and hope the effect is supernatural enough for those to do something. I also don't have nearly enough talismans for the job; I'd have to ask Fayt for a special delivery or something. Anyone else got other, potentially better ideas? I'm all ears." That said, she proceeds behind Blurr, still listening for answers - or for other signs of trouble, ahead or in any other direction.
Alden	Alden tries to take note on the odd creatures, and what worked. The assistance from Blurr is appreciated, he might be able to stop something like that, with some help, but Katze was a bit distracted from the odd creatures, apparently taking pictures for later. He instead waves to the heroes that came to assist, offering a polite bow and a wag of his tail. "Yes, we should find the people we were supposed to help,before more of those things appear." he says softly, agreeing with Xiaomu, "As for how to stop them... sorry... I don't really know anything about that kind of things, beyond taking them away from anything they can.. use to make more of those things."
Alexis	That... is a lot of heroes. You can't even count how many difference forces are being slammed into that monstrousity before it finally melts down into gooy remains. Ick. Just. Ick. "Appreciated!" Alexis gives a quick salute to the various gathering of healing heroes as they assist in taking down the monster. "If there's still people that haven't healed enough to get mobile, get them out of here." Then turns her attention back to the others as she and her Pokemon follow. "Cortex was probably right, before he was cut off from the radio. The only way to deal with this problem is to hit the source of it. If that thing is going to keep trying to make these things...."
X	These monsters are pretty ROUGH. Smelly, enduring, and RADIOACTIVE! X takes a rather high-energy blast unable to dodge them even though he makes a valitna sideways leap to to do so!     But the combined assaults are making SHORT WORK of the monsters, giving him a bit of a break in the fight to answer Xiaomu's claims.     "That's a chilling thought." And... he has this weird suspicion she's RIGHT.     But what the heck could have an immune system like this? He's hardly a xenobiologist. He's hardly even familiar with basic HUMAN biology.     "Our mission hasn't changed." He notes, even s he boggles at the sight of Lilac's legs REGENERATING in before his eyes!     "Break through the monsters and aid the team that's been in here the whole time!"
Dorian Pavus	Lasers are not a good thing!  One manages to clip Dorian's shoulder, prompting a yelp and a growl, before he ducks behind some cover.  Might be the hallway itself-- there have to be features along them, alcoves or something.     The sound of other voices is what gets his attention, and he peeks back out... to see someone '''regrowing lost legs'''!  He steps out of cover fully, to see the other heroes joining the fray, regaining their ability to fight.  At this show of courage he is all too ready to contribute to the renewed efforts to destroy the creature!     Once the creature is dead, he breathes a sigh.  Though he listens to Xiaomu's explanation, and the relief goes away right quick!  "Lovely," he comments wryly.  However, the mention of supernatural warding draws his attention.  "Well, being as I ''am'' a mage, I might be able to help with that," he replies.  "I might be able to seal the fragments temporarily.  I'll need some information on their energy and the like, though."
Revan	Lowri might not show it, but she couldn't help but be worried. When Cortex's radio suddenly cut out -- along with his warning -- some part of her warned her to beware. Whether that was the Force, pure instinct, or a little of both, she couldn't say. But a cold feeling settled into her bones even as she fought. She didn't place much stock in the "There is no emotion" part of the Code, but for the moment it kept her focused on trying to take down that last Shivan. Fortunately, help soon comes.      After Lilac and Wild Thing appeared, a sudden hard strike materialised out of thin air before the white-haired youth Revan had noticed before seemed to come out of nowhere. Now dressed in a black calf-length longcoat with side fastenings and a high collar, the same dark trousers, boots, and fingerless gloves, the hero flash-stepped rapidly backwards and dropped into a stance reminiscent of Tai Chi. Once the Destroyer was dealt with, Wild Wind saluted the heroes respectfully before the small band left to complete their mission.      For her part, Revan waves to the cavalry before moving on quickly. The sense of urgency still loomed, and she wasn't about to waste time here. Even as she moved, Lowri reached out with the Force, searching for both immediate danger and signs of life, hopefully from their friends and the researchers.
Dr. Vahzilok	Revan would sense a few things. First, that the sterilization chamber has life inside of it, and not of the hate-filled alien monster variety. And that there is a hate-filled alien monster of rather enormous scope somewhere in the facility, raging against some kind of confinement. Even without the Force, people may be feeling shocks and tremors more and more often, as the lights flicker occasionally.     There's at least two people in pain inside the the room. Two of them, Revan may feel she knows.     When the sterilization chamber is opened, by force or by computer-hacking or by sorcery, what's revealed inside is... Piles and piles and piles of meteorite fragments. All in crates, most of the crates lying open. If exposure to the reactor makes these things start spawning monsters, then could they have just ensured that hundreds or thousands of these things are about to come pouring out!? Was that Cortex's warning? 'Don't... Open the chamber!?'     An exhausted-looking, toussle-haired Demetrios Vasilikos turns to the heroes, seeming unconcerned as he finishes sterilizing the last of the meteorites with some hand held device. The doctor says, "Ah. Good timing. We have some injured here who could use evacuation. Where's Cortex?"     Venturing further into the room will turn up Doctor Faith Maccabe lying on the floor, with a heavily blood-stained bunch of gauze on her face. It seems that she was a casualty when the monsters first emerged. Fortunately, she's still alive. But her face might not be in very good condition. Maybe the reactor will help, but she needs to be evacuated.     Also inside is an unfamiliar, wiry-haired man in a labcoat, with his hands tied together in front of him with plastic zip-ties, and a face that looks like it's been punched repeatedly. By human hands.     "This man forged Doctor Maccabe's credentials in order to enter the sterilization chamber while it was in the middle of processing these fragments. We knew hostile organisms were inside of them, which is why they were being STERILIZED." The doctor, despite his fatigue, turns on Jacob Marlowe, his eyes flashing with rage. The other doctor cowers appropriately.     There's a couple other researchers inside, one of whom is trying to tend to Faith.     He looks up and says, "She's in a bad way. We can probably save her life if we get her out of here quickly, but..." He looks down at her again. The blood-soaked gauze all over her face. It's probably really bad. But she's the most skilled cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon in the city, right? Maybe even in the world! ...Though operating on HERSELF might be difficult...     Ironic that the only person who could easily repair her face is the one who can't do it.     Revan might unintentionally be hearing something echoing in the doctor's head when he looks at Faith. Three words, mixed in with all the other thoughts racing through a brain that thinks very, very quickly.     'Transplants. I can fix it.'     Then he focuses on the others, apologetically. And the ones behind them.
Dr. Vahzilok	Lilac Lascerator is there, her legs grown-back, but still not at a hundred percent. Wounds suffered while fighting that Shivan are already starting to close up though, and even Wild Thing can afford to cradle his arm with his other hand instead of a sling, after smashing his cast (broken arm and all) right into the monster's face.     "Lilac, they're right. We need to leave." Wild Thing says.     Lilac turns, other heroes passing by behind her, and snarls. "No way! There's still two of US in there, fighting! I know what a hero's job is! I know what we're expected to do! I couldn't help back then. I'm going to help now!"     Wild Thing says warningly, "Lilac..."     Lilac says, "I won't be left behind again! My mother did that to me when she went up there as part of Omega Team! I was TWELVE, and she went off to fight the Rikti and DIE! I can DO something this time! I can--"     Wild Thing puts a hand on her shoulder. Lilac is trembling all over, and not just from the adrenaline crash as her Moment of Glory wears off. Twelve? The Rikti invaded two years ago. Is this... Is Lilac only FOURTEEN and is out here fighting and LOSING HER LEGS?     The gentle giant who goes by the codename Wild Thing, says, "Lila. This isn't your time. And it might not be theirs either. If the time comes where you, or I, or anyone has to make that sacrifice, we'll do it knowing it was the only way to save everyone. That this is what we chose to do, as heroes. You have a whole life of saving people ahead of you. Don't throw it away here."     Lilac goes to wipe her eyes angrily with the back of a hand, but can't through the bug-like exoskeleton covering them. After a few moments, she chuckles a little. Mirthlessly. "Heh... You know... Mom said that too." Then she storms down the hallway after the others.     Wild Thing looks to Vasilikos, to Revan, to Alexis and Blurr, to Alden and Dorian, to Xiaomu and X, and just... Bows his head in acknowledgement. "I trust you'll not investigate her identity further, even if to help. I am her caretaker in her mother's absence. I will look after her." Then he lumbers away with the others.     The entire facility shakes as a distant sound of something breaking can be heard.
Xiaomu	Xiaomu takes one look at the thousands or more of meteorite fragments in the decontamination chamber ... Plants her staff next to her, gripping it tightly in her left hand. Raises her right hand in front of her, fingers splayed, palm pointing at approximately the center of the pile. "XIAOMU WAAAAAAAAAAAAVE!!" And revs up her basic containment technique - although her version of the Demon Gate Seal is NOT meant for long-term binding; she's just trying to hold in either the fragments, or whatever magical power they contain, long enough that somebody CAN do something a little longer-lasting. "Definitely didn't bring enough talismans for all of these," she observes while casting. "Dorian, any tricks you've got up your sleeves, now's the time!" Lilac's true identity - and Wild Thing's, for that matter - are a totally moot point to the sage fox; she's got bigger fish to fry, and more dangerous ones.
Blurr	The explanation about the immune system and white blood cells goes way over Blurr's head. Because he knows nothing about human physiology. He does catch that the monsters are coming out of the meteorites, though. "Meteorites, eh? So uhm is there any reason why we have to contain them instead of just destroying them all? Are they valuable enough to risk this?"     He is somewhat relieved to find that Dr. Vasilikos and the others appear to be more or less all right. Except the one with the bloodied face, but it seems she won't die, so that's good. "Great, let's get you guys out of here." Then suddenly there is that sound, and the shaking. "The scrap was that?"
Alexis	Despite everything she's seen in her time Alexis still winces a bit at seeing how badly Faith's face is mauled, even with the bandages. "Okay, let's get her out of here." Ironic that since they're in a medical facility they can't just teleport people to a medical facility like they do after fights around here. She thinks about it for a few minutes. The whole thing on secret identities she just kind of pretends to not even notice, to be polite about the whole secret identities thing.... And then the place starts shaking. "Oh great, NOW what...."
Dorian Pavus	It's a touching scene.  Touching... and not one Dorian wants to get in the middle of.  There's a lot going on here, most of it he has no idea about.  Besides that, the way Lilac and Wild Thing interact reminds him that he's about as distant from a relationship like that with his own parents as he could possibly be.  So that's why he heads into the area with Xiaomu, frowning slightly.     Something is there to distract him, though!  Xiaomu's sealing the shards, it looks like.  Dorian opens his magical senses, trying to get an idea of what he's dealing with... and then immediately gets way too much information to process.  He has to close that off again.  "Ouch.  Right then."  He reaches into the Fade, trying to pull energy from it, to wrap it around the area Xiaomu's concentrating on, like wrapping up a present!  Magically speaking.     And then the area shakes!  Dorian stumbles.  "What was that?"
Revan	Lowri shrugged to Wild Thing with a slight smile and a wink. "I'm not what you'd call up on all your world's history, so ignorance is bliss in this case, right? Can't reveal what I don't know."      She relaxed slightly when she sensed the lives inside, but not too much. There was still a lot of work to be done...but their fight wasn't an ultimately futile one. "Thank the Force...we just need to get them out of there."      When the door was opened, the Jedi was far less relieved. Suddenly, the attack by the odd, violent creatures made considerably more sense. And she was not at all certain this was a good idea; it wasn't kolto they were playing around with here. In spite of her personal misgivings, especially after the stray thoughts she gleaned from the troubled doctor, she reassured him. "We'll find him, don't worry. And we'll get you guys out of here."      As if to underscore the urgency, a tremor resounded through the complex. "...And before those become much more of a problem."
X	"..." X makes a sort of awkward yet frowny look at Lilac's state, after thinking about it. She's WAY too young to be.. but she's also... superpowered? How does this work?     In the end all he can do is give Wild Thing an affirming, supportive nod. "We'll do our part. I think you're doing great with yours."     Strolling into this freakish storeroom and hearing of what happened though is another matter entirely. "Is there another place she could be taken and in a hurry? .... I'm not sure using a teleporter on an INJURED human's a good idea." Especially if, well, what if there's some weird contamination going on in here? Grimaicing he looks back and forth, then waves a hand as if to ward Blurr off.     "The whole reason they have these is to save lives and change medicine for everyone! It sounds like we just need to shutdown the reactor, clear out the monsters, THOROUGHLY sterilize the fragments... and try again. Very... very carefully."     He can only peer Vasilikos' way, hoping to find agreement.     And, of course, fix an extremely angry look at the intruder. "Great. So he mucked with the entire experiment? What were you DOING?!" The robot, full of anger and pure disbelief that anyone would interfere with this experiment, is making a frightfully upset yet demanding face at the guy...
Dr. Vahzilok	The trembling increases significantly. Violently. And then, with an encroaching sense that something very bad has just happened, the world becomes undone.     This building, composed of walls, and floors, and ceilings, and boundaries of solidity, is suddenly torn apart, gutted, by an enormous green appendage of some kind, as big as Blurr's entire body, that sweeps through, destroying all its in path. There stop being floors. Walls fall out into the air and disappear somewhere on some other floor. Ceilings come crashing down as searing radioactive ooze melts through equipment and meteorite fragments and everything else in its path.     Demetrios and Faith and the researchers tumble with any others caught unawares, down into a gaping emptiness. When the impact comes, it is jarring, and awful, and painful for anyone who can't orient themselves properly in an environment without boundaries and find where the new ground is before they land.     Dust and masonry and metal floor plating and broken glass and destroyed medical equipment, and meteorite fragments continue to rain down on everyone in whatever this new space is. It's hard to tell what it used to be, though from conduits and panels it may have been some under-the-floor access way for the power system. Demetrios is injured, bleeding from his head, some of his hair seems to have been... Torn out? There's a strip on his head missing any skin.     Demetrios looks around the area, seeing one of the researchers is impaled on a support beam and clearly dead. Another is moaning in pain. The 'prisoner' is thrashing around but seems to have gotten off with barely a scratch. The one that caused all this is the one that doesn't get killed. Splendid.     The doctor looks around for the others, locating heroes as quickly as he can, and then finding Faith, lying face-down on the ground. He checks her pulse, goes through all the standard emergency maneuvers one must, and then looks around wildly. "Teleportation was it...?" he mutters. "Where was... Yes..." he keeps whispering to himself as he crawls towards some device like a booth without walls, just a frame, with a disk-like floor. Somehow, it has miraculously survived the fall. He gets up, only realizing now how woozy he is from the blow to the head, and then tries to drag the frame towards Faith, kicking aside rubble in his way. "The Reclaimator should work... Yes. I can still fix her. She's not beyond saving."     Then, with or without help, in the silence that is interrupted only by more rubble falling or settling, and the cries of pain of others, he loads Faith onto the platform. "It's supposed to be receiving only, but in this case, maybe if I activate the receiver in a loop it will..."     Whatever Vasilikos intends to do is interrupted by a huge slab of concrete and metal that has formed one of the new 'walls' in this darkened, underground, cavernous area, suddenly exploding inwards...!
Dr. Vahzilok	Cortex, surrounded in a sphere of purple energy as some kind of protective field, is the cause of it. Oddly, however, he seems to be flying... Backwards...? What's he flying away fro--     The wall explodes more violently, as an enormous, radioactive slime monster with the at least three dozen different mutated human skeletons fused together inside of it, comes barreling through, pursuing the psychic super hero, and immediately bathing the area in green radiance, accompanied by a roar that makes the air shake like it's about to shatter.     Before it can turn its malevolent attention on the heroes or attack Cortex further, a man in a suit of armor comes flying in and blasting it in the back of the head with a double-handed attack of some kind. The Shivan Annihilator barely notices except to turn and swat at him. Positron uses that opportunity to try to siphon away some of his radiation using his suit's dampeners.     Cortex blasts the Shivan with his telepathy, totally focused on the fight, and the Shivan roars in ear-shredding pain instead of rage, before turning back towards him.     It's total madness.
Xiaomu	"DAMMIT CAN'T DUNGEON BOSSES JUST WAIT IN THEIR ROOMS ANY MORE," squawks Xiaomu (at very high volume) as the facility suddenly gets utterly rekt all around them. She's used to abrupt descents from high places to low places, so the landing isn't THAT much of an issue for her; it's just the sudden START to their descent (coupled with the aforementioned utter wrecking) that dunks her mood. No sooner has she landed from that sudden sharp drop than the sage-fox of Shinra rears up to her full height, her staff's butt slamming on the ground hard enough for the rings on its headpiece to jangle. "If you'd just been a little patient, we would've found our way down to you, but since you're in no mood to wait around, you can die right now too! BEHOLD, MY MOST SECRET OF SECRET TECHNIQUES!!!" And then ... with a puff of golden smoke ... Xiaomu is standing there in a *wedding gown* of all things. Complete with veil and bouquet. "YOMEIRI NO KATA!!" Xiaomu wastes no time in starting to kick very large cherry bombs from under her dress at the monster; at the same time, scatterings of yellow and white rose petals descend gently from above her allies, helping heal any injuries they've incurred thus far that the healing reactor didn't account for. Even the robo-types. Sadly, the Yomeiri no Kata is a short-lived technique - but judging by the look on Xiaomu's face when she reverts to her normal combat ensemble, she at least feels a LITTLE better for having punted a buncha bombs at the monster.
Blurr	Suddenly, the building is being ripped apart at a monumental rate, and everyone is falling many stories into the ground. Blurr can take the hit from a fall like that, but he's not so sure about the others. He sort of flails about, attempting to catch as many of his allies as he possibly can with various parts of his body. If anyone falls through the cracks, hopefully someone else can help out in that regard.     As soon as he hits the ground, he puts down whoever he managed to catch as gently as he can, and turns to face the giant monstrosity that the other heroes are already fighting. "Finally something at least my size or bigger to pick on," he mutters. Seriously, it's just a little bit awkward when everything is only a portion of his height.     Anyway, with weapons already drawn he opens fire on the creature, careful not to accidentally hit any of his allies who might be in the vicinity.
Alexis	Alexis reflexively braces herself as they end up having the floor collapses under them. Fortunately her Lucario has much quicker reflexes and recovers to catch her, and take the landing being the much hardier of the two. Most she can do is just cover her head with one arm and hold on for the ride. It's a loud thud at the bottom. And then something smashes through the wall, and then something even BIGGER smashes through it after Cortex. It's a good thing that her pokemon is still carrying her, because she can quickly jump out of the way of the debris falling from the wall. "Lu Lucario. <It would seem a bigger problem has arrised.>" Sashou remarks afterwards, setting Alexis down. "No. Shit," Alexis retorts flatly. "Keep it at bay so we can get the wounded doctor," and others, "Out of here! Preferably without losing the research!" As much as she would like to join in the fight, she doesn't trust the rad-shield being able to hold up to getting too close to that thing. Gonna have to stick to Mastermind for this fight, stay back and give commands. The jackal-like steel type nods her head, her eyes already starting to glow with the same soft blue as her other aura powers. A ball of the same Aura energy between her paws, and then it's flung at the monster. Thanks to it's homing abilities the Aura Sphere actually arcs improbably in the air to hit the monster of the side.
X	WHUMP-THUD-CRUNCH! The very instant that tentacle comes flying through the floor and rips everything apart, X immediately detects the floor about to crumble beneath him. "Brace yoursel--" CRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNCH!     And then everything's falling. X makes his decision with rapid speed. While he still has ANY kind of footing, he dives DOWN through the crumbling floor and kicks off shattering timbers, accelerating his plummet for one good reason.     Lots of other people here are human and he DOUBTS they can withstand slamming into whatever's below. He's not the physically quickest here, but his internal gyroscope keeps him coordinated and balanced despite slamming into tumbling debris and springing off of it for a few wild manuevers.     Boncing between walls and gaining purchase for just long enough to-- "Hah!"     VAULT off some wreckage and angle his catch properly to SNAG Dorian out of the air with just one arm. Because X sails through the chasm to sort of... sliiiiide down the opposing wall a bit.     Unfortunately, that's about ALL he can do is then leap down to the ground and set the guy down because everyone else just went TUMBLING PAST.     "What... is anyone badly hurt?!"     Upon landing, he can get a good view of the THING...     And he looks upon it with complete horror.     "Gahhhhhhh... how did that thing even FORM?!"     He's not sure WHAT he's got that will do much to it. But his armor flashes to a different color again, this time RED AND BLACK. The Phaser Beam's brought to bear! X rakes the pulsing disruptor across the creature's front in a brief burst. He's not about to just unload EVERYTHING on it.     What if instead of HURTING it, it ABSORBS such power, after all?!
Dorian Pavus	More rumbling... and then suddenly the floor just disappears.  Dorian has no way to fly, float, or otherwise dampen his momentum... so down he falls, giving a surprised yelp.  Falling is an unpleasant feeling, but he looks around for some way he can slow his fall... otherwise he's going to be a human pancake when he hits the bottom!  He's just about to try to jab the end of his staff into a piece of debris or something to try to 'catch' himself with it and 'ride' it down, when he sees X hurtling towards him.  Since it looks like X is trying to catch him, Dorian shifts, to avoid hitting X.  And when he's snagged, he hangs onto X in such a way that he doesn't impede the Reploid's ability to save them both from that fall.     Once X sets him down, Dorian breathes a sigh of relief.  "Thank you," he offers earnestly.  "I didn't relish the thought of ending up all over the place.  I'm far too handsome to be a flatcake."  Yes, he still has the snark after such a fall.  "That tears it.  I am investing in aerial transportation.  Or a flying mount."  He looks around as X asks after everyone's health... and sees the dead researcher.  "...Maker have mercy..." he offers under his breath.  There's nothing he can do but pray for the researcher's soul at this point.     He's concerned about Faith, and stays with the one trying to get her out of there for the time being.  Even as the wall explodes, Dorian is in front of the doctor's place, trying to bat away pieces of debris with his staff.  He might not have that much luck, but he's trying.  Someone needs help, and he's not able to render it.  He can, however, Barrier the area where the Doctor and Faith are.
Revan	The tremor and the sudden danger sense spike from the Force were the only warnings Revan had to prepare herself before the floor abruptly collapsed beneath everyone. Their rescuees disappeared faster than she could catch them, yet she didn't have the time to be frustrated and upset before the rest of the heroes befell the same fate. But if there was at least one thing she was good at, it was thinking on her feet...certainly metaphorically, in this case.      Giant sections of wall came loose and fell; she could use those. Using the Force to pull it toward her, the Guardian planted her feet on the flat side of it, effectively riding it down over the rain of crumbling masonry with a bit of Force guidance. It wasn't the smoothest of landings -- she likely would have broken an arm or leg without the Force protecting her -- but she was alive and reasonably intact. "Ugh....everyone accounted for...?"      Before she had the chance to so much as finish, the Jedi caught the gruesome sight of the dead researcher, pressing her lips into a thin, distressed line. "Return to the Force," she could only offer him now before turning her attention to those who could still be saved.      Lowri never had the chance to address Demetrios; there was a blare of warning through the Force followed by an implosion. Likewise, she didn't have time to be relieved to see Cortex and the unfamiliar superhero alive, given the monstrous Shivan they were currently fighting. Instead, the Jedi exploded into action, drawing on the Force for a superhumanly fast leap at the creature, both lightsabers ignited and bearing downward on it. The lwast she could do was keep the blasted thing occupied. "Shards, it's as if there's no end to these things..." she managed to mutter following her strike.
Dr. Vahzilok	The reason Demetrios and Faith even made it to the ground with more severe injury is probably due to Blurr's efforts. Though one didn't make it, and there's two others not in great shape, Faith and Demetrios have normal human durability. They could have wound up like the dead one without the Autobot. And Dorian moving in to protect them further ensures no greater harm befalls them.     Cortex looks pretty battered. Exhausted. He is significantly below the strength level needed to fight this thing. This is something on the same scale as Positron himself, in terms of combat ability, and even Positron is just basically trading blows with it, neither able to defeat the other. He has used every source of Inspiration he has for how to maximize is effectiveness. The Shivan Annihilator seems vulnerable to psychic attack, but even that is doing negligible damage. When bombs start detonating against the Shivan's slimey surface, sending globs of radioactive slime flying every which way, and Blurr starts pelting it with his own weapons, scouring its surface with boiling pock-marks that dribble molten slime caused by advanced energy weapons, Cortex suddenly becomes aware there are other heroes in the area. His attention turns off the enemy for just a second, still gritting his teeth, as he scans who's here, and who is in danger, and what he needs to do about it.     He has transformed to a degree by this battle. Whatever he had to fight to get to the Annihilator in the first place, and now the continued battle against the thing itself, it seems he is sharp, in control, analyzing the situation in a heartbeat... Those hero instincts of his see no doubt, no hesitation, no fear...     Not even when he sees Demetrios and Faith, does he waver, regardless of how he feels about it. Dorian is down there protecting them already after all. That's far better a situation that it COULD be. If Dorian wasn't there, both doctor and patient could be crushed at any moment. Seemingly almost WERE, based on the deflections that Dorian is performing.     That purple energy field around Cortex is flickering and fading as his Defense boost decays, but he starts zipping around more and more wildly while blasting telekinetic waves into the monster, trying to keep attention on HIM and not the civilians. Fortunately, Sashou is also useful in keeping attention off the doctors, blasting the slime beast in the side with a powerful energy blast. The slime ripples, perhaps giving the impression of absorption at first, as X feared, but the smoking hole in its side that reaches into some of the twisted remains woven together inside of it proves otherwise.
Dr. Vahzilok	Then Cortex sees Revan, leaping into action, tearing into the ectoplasmic horror with her lightsabers, chipping away at it bit by bit, and his eyes widen a bit, and his concentration lapses. He recovers, but it's too late. As if sensing the fact he's not paying attention, the Annihilator's head comes up at that exact moment, with a sound like someone swinging an enormous torch, and unleashes twin beams of gamma radiation at the hero. More than enough to kill a human.     But somehow that tunnel of lethal energy never seems to reach the psychic. Positron flew in the way, and is trying to divert, convert, and absorb as much of it as he can with his suit. Armor that was at first meant to amplify his ability to create negligible amounts of anti-matter, and then became the only thing keeping that power from going out of control after an accident during the Rikti War. It's a suit that's up to the task of taking damage and suppressing energy.     And even that starts to fail, as Cortex flies out from behind Positron and down towards the others, allowing the veteran Hero to also get out of the way instead of having to stay there and protect a lower-level hero. Cortex is gasping for breath as he lands near Doctor Vasilikos, and Doctor Maccabe. He looks to the surviving researcher, and Doctor Marlowe. That guy that Cortex was never able to feel anything from, even with his powers as their peak. He'd just assumed that Marlowe was resistant to psionics or something. Who knew that it would be that resistance that would let him act as a traitor in their midst?     Cortex has no time for that though. He looks up at the monster as X rakes phaser fire across the Annihilator's chest, flames and atomized slime springing forth in its wake. The monster shrieks again. If it keeps doing that at close range, the vibrations alone could shake internal organs loose in most humans. Much like those in the vicinity of an artillery bombardment, even if they aren't directly hit.     Cortex says, "Doctor, you need to get out of here. EVERYONE. Out! Positron is going to intentionally breach his armor and unleash anti-matter on that thing. This whole island is going bye-bye as soon as he does so, and none of you can be anywhere near it."
Dr. Vahzilok	Cortex looks up at Revan in the middle of combat, and almost says, 'Especially her.' But his mouth closes, and he looks around. It's easy to tell them to get out. How are they supposed to do so? They can't even tell where 'out' is!     Demetrios is insistent, however. "We have to use the Reclaimator first! She won't make it out of here without it!" He looks to the injured researcher, who he hasn't even gotten to inspect yet. He looks at the grisly sight of a human body with a metal beam clear through it, red running down it and pooling below. This is not the first blood he has seen, nor the first gruesome injury. He has no time to be shocked either. He just looks to the reclaimator, and says, "...There's a second facility. I'll set this to take Faith there. It's meant to receive, not send. This will likely burn it out. I don't think the rest of us are making it out of here."     Then, sincerely, Dr. Vasilikos looks to all those nearby, Cortex, Dorian, X... "I'm sorry." is all he has to say.     Cortex, frowns sternly, his fear of losing everyone, of his own death, of the feel of shadowy hands scratching at his brain, all being shelved. They're still there, just not important anymore. He is remembering what Revan said.     'I don't believe that fear itself leads to the Dark Side. It's a natural response to danger, a self-preservation strategy of the most basic sort. Without it, our ancestors would have been so reckless that they would have died before starting families.'     Cortex stands from where he'd been crouched near Faith.     He looks at everyone in turn.
Dr. Vahzilok	Blurr, who fought against the Devouring Earth in Terra Nova, who guarded their flanks when they went to face the Banished Pantheon, who challenged Adamastor in Dark Astoria, and now is here, facing yet another massive threat, without ever even asking why he should help.     X, who Cortex has never met before, but can already tell is a born hero. Or built. Whatever it is inside him that makes him fight to save lives, he belongs here in Paragon City as much as any other hero. He too doesn't seem to need compensation or reason to help people. He knows what a hero is, and what a hero does. And he does it.     Alexis and her tean, who have also faced everything from the Banished Pantheon to Hellions to Devouring Earth... Who helped save Woodvale, and keep it from being turned into the play ground of human-exterminating sapient bio-weapons... She has been fighting alongside Cortex and without him, keeping this city safe as much as he has.     Xiaomu, too, has been fighting the good fight. She has fought Banished Pantheon and Adamastor, like Blurr. A friend of Reiji Arisu, if Cortex remembers right. Reiji has also fought alongside Cortex. Shinra has his thanks for helping solve the problems of a world that they aren't at all obligated to deal with.     Cortex remembers the first time he met Dorian. It was in a sewer. Together, with Corona, they battled Hellions. And since then, Dorian has stepped in more times to help, against even more Hellions, at the Overbrook Queen, and here... He has been involved, with witty banter and snark, but also a compassionate heart and magic that has spared his allies much suffering.     Demetrios Vasilikos himself, whose father took Cory Conley, a student at Paragon University in Steel Canyon, turned psychic super hero via experiments, very unsure of himself, and entrusted him with the safety of all these lives. Demetrios has been his friend, his support, through rough times. Even now, despite the changes Demetrios has gone through, the desire to save and improve lives remains at the core of the doctor. Cortex can FEEL it. And he admires Demetrios as much as Demetrios's late father for all he has done for everyone, from that charity to wasting away for the sake of super heroes day after day.
Dr. Vahzilok	And then there's Revan. Revan has been Cortex's example. She has been his role model. His mentor. His FRIEND. And also more than that. She has guided him, she has protected him, she has fought alongside him as an equal even when he wasn't up to the task. And every time he was about to fall down, she was there to support him.     'Where fear becomes a problem is when you allow it to rule you, to blind your more logical side and paralyse you to the point where you can't even act. True courage is not a lack of fear, but rather, moving forward in spite of it.'     Cortex has been paralyzed by fear by many things. But the one that he wishes he wasn't paralyzed by most, is the one thing that, even now, he can't say to her. Not out of fear... He's decided what he has to do. But because he knows how unfair it would be to her to say it now.     'I think the point when you stop being afraid is when you should be concerned,' Revan had said to Cortex back then. 'I don't think there are any heroes who stop being afraid. I've certainly had my share of good scares, both before my galaxy Unified and after. But if we didn't do what we do, who would protect those who can't protect themselves? I think that, more than anything else, is what makes a hero.'     Cortex, with his back to the doctor, his gaze directed upwards, reaches out telepathically to Revan, with a simple message.     "Thanks for everything."     Then he turns, smiles broadly, and gives a thumbs up to Demetrios Vasilikos, before silently facing forward again, clenching his fists at his sides, and unleashing all the power he has or ever will have. The top of his head seemingly explodes in a spray of blood and bone, to be replaced by a blazing psychic flame of purple and pink that radiates from him like a beacon.     And then he flexes his mind, and all the ruins around them peel backwards, a telekinetic force sufficient to move hundreds or thousands of tons of rubble out of the way. And then. The way out is open.     And suddenly a pink blur slams into the Annihilator with earth-shaking force, driving it backwards for hundreds of feet. Directly towards the reactor.
Alexis	This is one of those moments when things happen almost too fast to keep up with, right up until it slams into just what Cortex is about to do. "Wha... Wait! Cortext! What are y--DAMMIT!" And this proves to be one of those moments where the Pokemon is a bit more sensable than the Trainer... though it's not that strange when it comes to Alexis. Her Lucario grabs her by the shoulder. "<He's already determined what he must do. Let's not squander it.>" And cue the timely beeping from the rad-shield warning that signals it's running low on charge. Alexis' expression scrunches, frustrated, but the realizing of what's being done and the lack of time they have really sets in. But this is the sort of thing superheroes fight for, isn't it? To make that difference. "You heard him, lets get the people out of here! This place is gonna be a super sized bomb soon enough!"
Xiaomu	Not just Reiji's friend, but his partner, but that's kind of beside the point - and Xiaomu may have many gifts but she's not telepathic, so she doesn't know what Cortex is thinking. She only knows what he says. And she wracks her brain, trying to come up with options for destroying the monster that DON'T involve what sounds an awful lot like a heroic sacrifice. She's coming up empty, though; this monster is just too big and regenerates too aggressively for them to do enough damage. These monsters have proven resistant to all of the party's best attacks that Xiaomu's aware of, and this thing isn't staying hurt enough for them to chip away at it. If Reiji were here, then they could at least try Shinra Banshou, but even that might not be enough. It might actually take antimatter. And Xiaomu knows enough science fiction to know that *you do not want to be anywhere close* to antimatter meeting and reacting with ordinary matter. She pulls a baton-like object out of her vest, 'opening' it and bringing her lightcycle online. "Blurr, take as many passengers as you can; I can carry one person behind me and Dr. Vasilikos has dibs if he wants it! Cortex, Positron ... if you can come out of this alive, I'll buy you both a drink next time we meet!" Once her passenger is securely behind her and hanging on tight - be it the good doctor or one of her fellow Elites - the sage fox leans forward and guns the engine, peeling out and up the entranceway that Cortex practically busted his head open to make for them. Xiaomu is well over seven centuries old; she's seen a *LOT* of mortal lives begin and end, including a fair number of friends - no matter how much distance she tried to keep, early in her life. Death is a necessary part of mortal life - that's why it's CALLED 'mortal' life. That doesn't make it much easier for her to cope with. And when somebody who *could* live a longer and presumably happier life finds that they need to lay that life down early, to stop an enemy who seems otherwise overwhelming ... Her train of thought is halted there, because it won't go anywhere better. The lightcycle's engine just rises in pitch and barrels ahead even faster along their escape route.
Blurr	Blurr is blasting away at the monster, listening to the humans trying to find a way out of here. But the thing is just so huge, and with the reactor online, it keeps regenerating faster than he can kill it. Ah, if only organics could handle orbital jump, if that were true then he could just call an Autobot vessel to beam them all out of there from orbit. When Cortex mentions antimatter, his mind races, trying to think of every possible alternative there is. Because there has to be another way, right? He could just--blast through all the rubble...but there's no way even he has enough firepower to do is quickly enough. Well they could keep the thing at bay--! Maybe destroy the reactor to keep it from regenerating?     But before he can make any suggestions, Cortex apologizes, you know, in -that- way, after Dr. Vasilikos just admitted he didn't think they'd make it out of here alive. "WaitCortexdon't--!" he calls out, which is saying something because he absolutely hates the word 'wait' you know. But it's too late. The guy's head has exploded, and the way is clear. "Smelt it all..." He mutters and transforms into his vehicle form with doors open. "Anyone who can't move very fast pile in if you can fit, -now-!" Cortex gave his life, now it was up to them to make sure his sacrifice wasn't in vain!
Dorian Pavus	'I don't think the rest of us are making it out of here'.     Dorian swallows hard at those words.  This thing, it has to be stopped.  But if they're not able to get out, they can't use the one thing that would probably stop it.  Not without killing everyone stuck here.  And there's no time to wait util they find a way out.  And they can't just abandon this thing; Maker knows what kind of damage it would do to the rest of the world if it was allowed to escape.     Surprisingly, when he realizes it, Dorian nods.  "If that's what has to be done," he says quietly.  He keeps the solemn look on his face for a few seconds, before a snort of a laugh escapes.  "...I always said 'hero' was something you put on the gravestone of the fool who wasn't smart enough to get out before the world collapsed around him..."     He can't know just how prophetic those words are.  Not until Cortex... explodes his own head somehow.  "''Fasta vass!''" he swears, raising an arm to shield himself from whatever consequences might result on the rest of the environment from whatever Cortex is doing.  "You fool!" he can't help but declare.  It's true, he didn't know Cortex that well, but he knows a heroic sacrifice when he sees one.     But even as he's shouting those words, he's helping.  He's aiming pure magic at the moving pieces of ruined terrain, trying to help Cortex force the ruins out of the way for everyone to escape.  He begins helping the surviving researchers get situated in some way to get out of this place fast, whether that's setting one on the back of Xiaomu's lightcycle, or helping them into Blurr's vehicle form.     Everybody's loaded up.  It's time to get out of here, before one sacrifice becomes many.  Dorian pauses, to look back at what used to be a man, now a pink blur.  There's a stricken look on his face, just for an instant, realizing there's nothing he can do but make what Cortex's giving count.  He's not really supposed to do this.  But rather than try to pile in, he does something different.     Suddenly his body glows with blue energy... and he zooms forward, as if pushed forward by unseen hands.  It's almost able to keep up with Xiaomu's lightcycle.  He's only supposed to do this for a few moments.  A few seconds.  But the feeling of frustration when you can't save an ally requires some negative energy to be burned off.  Not to worry, this is a fast enough method of travel.
X	This is a grim, GRIM time. X has never seen anything this big. Never even considered fighting one.     Some distant part of him wonders why it is there is so much fighting to be done everywhere. Wonders why his world seems so mostly peaceful and everywhere else is... horrors that he cannot just ignore.     Nobody in the right mind would want to be doen here. Trapped in wreckage with a nightmarish monster, impaled corpses dribbling their guts everywhere. Pain. Death. Destruction. Corruption... all of it...     ALL FOR WHAT? What PURPOSE does does this serve?!     There's a look in Cortex's eyes there though, a look he doesn't quite recognize. But it yanks at something deep in X's systems. Something he can barely even recognize. A feeling he doesn't know. At once relieving, at the same time... heartwrenching.     What?     And then... Cortex's head ASPLODE.     HORROR shows in X's eyes. Horror and amazement. He can't help but gape and then quiver where he stands at the show of purest power that follows. "What... what is he doing?!"     It takes a few moments for him to realize... self-sacrifice. He's giving it literally ALL he has. All he has... AND MORE.     "No..." Was that the only way?! He didn't even have a chance to think otherwise... and now it's too late to do anything else. X can only sizzle and simmer with guilt and frustration inside.     "If only I had more power... these people wouldn't be dead." What good is he, as a robot meant to help humanity, when he can't even save a few falling people? What good is he when he can't even fight these battles he doesn't want to see other people fighting?!     X ends up making an enraged, angry outburst - a rather vocal and wordless one, clenching his fists. He cannot even believe he just desired more capacity for VIOLENCE.     Just like that, X kicks into motion. His body sizzles and glows briefly, the switching back to the blue scheme... but the X-Buster glows brilliantly from within. The weapon screams with building energy. Instead of running, X opens fire with rapid shots of blazing energy. They're not the tiny bolts from his stores of solar energy, but emerald rays of rippling force! Shot after shot he aims at the thing to give Cortex a bigger chance of victory.     Shot after shot that burns his very arm to make, pushing the X-Buster past its limits. Limits that SHOULD be absolute.     Smoke comes from the weapon but X continues to fire while letting out his frustrations in angry yells and shouts.     It's perhaps the first time he's ever wanted to see something DEAD.
Revan	The absolute worst things always happened when she simply acted.      Though the memories remained elusive at best, she had heard the horror stories of Darth Revan's campaign against a Republic weakened by the Mandalorians, a fall to the Dark Side born from her anger over the genocide of a Cathar settlement. The young Guardian could not simply sit still while people were being slaughtered, as Lowri had learned, and this need to protect the defenceless was something so core to her being that even the loss of her very identity could not erase it. She was born to protect, had a /need/ to.      She would have chuckled at the twist of fate, were they not in such a dire situation. She had found the life of a superhero far more to her liking than that of a Jedi Knight.      That was not to say that Jedi teachings didn't have their uses...she was still a Jedi first and foremost, after all. But they had proved the best framework she could have hoped for when she had suddenly found herself mentoring a young psychic hero. Revan had been honestly surprised that he looked up to her -- she was still far from becoming anything resembling a proper Master, particularly when she had started following the Grey Path -- but she decided that she could provide what modest guidance and support that she could. She encouraged him, partly in the ways of the Jedi, but more importantly those of a simple human being. Rather than denying his doubts and fears, she tried to steer him towards acknowledging them and facing them. She tried to show him new ways of using his powers, ways he might not have considered. But perhaps it was really Cortex who had taught her; she had finally started to understand some of Jolee Bindo's lessons that had escaped her understanding when they had travelled together.      Revan considered it her duty to help the fledgeling hero out when he seemed like he was in a pinch...though he wasn't really that any more, was he? Cortex had grown significantly and matured as both a hero and a person. No, this was her assuming her role as a Guardian, the front-line Jedi who acted as shields for their troops and junior Jedi. They drew the wrath of their enemies deliberately, kept them distracted. The pale-haired Jedi didn't need to keep him from getting in over his head -- something that heroes in general simply did -- he was an ally, a teammate. A cherished friend.      But even Revan had no idea what Cortex had planned to do when the situation had turned hopeless. Not until she heard those words in her head, the light touch of a mind on hers.      "Thanks for everything."      It seemed like ages ago that she and her band of misfits raced across the galaxy in a desperate search for the Star Maps necessary to locate Darth Malak's mysterious superweapon, but she could clearly remember all they had been through together. She remembered numerous horrors, but what had stood out among all others was the revelation that /she/ was Darth Revan. Yet, even that had not made her blood run as cold as it did at that moment.      "Cortex, NO!" was all she could manage before the young hero she had befriended on her very first mission in Paragon City acted in a way that was, ironically, so very much in the way of a Jedi.      And then the once Dark Lord of the Sith could only see red.
Revan	Whether the thing had a mind or not, even if it had nothing which could be called a brain, the Shivan would be suddenly assaulted from within by a technique only the Sith would use in good conscience. It could cripple even a strong mind with fear and overwhelming pain, and it was a technique Revan had sworn never to use again. But for that moment, her rage and grief overwhelmed her and the Jedi reacted. It was only when someone mentioned not letting his sacrifice go to waste that she regains control of herself. The odd-eyed Guardian draws upon the Force to boost her speed and flees the place which had become Cortex's grave. "May you rejoin the Force," she murmured as she followed the others.
Dr. Vahzilok	Positron's plan to breach his armor was a desperation move. Something he'd normally never consider, and that he certainly wasn't going to use with people still in range. Especially when they couldn't escape. After Cortex's sudden explosion of power, and driving the Shivan back, that might no longer be necessary. But something major WAS still needed. At first, it seems that even this mighty display of psychic potential realized in an instant might not be enough, the Shivan Annihilator digging in its ectoplasmic feet, and actually SLOWING the push backwards.     ...And coming to a near-stop.     But then X's blasts slam home as well, relieving it of balance, blowing huge holes in it. And as is staggers under the onslaught, Revan attacks something that has never known fear, or love, or hope, or despair, or happiness, or sadness, only the overwhelming desire to crush, destroy, and annihilate everything, just as the creature it was spawned from.     In 1989, a multinational force of heroes went on a deespace mission to destroy a world-devouring alien, labeled 'Shiva' by an Earth scientist because its real name was unpronounceable. That force was never heard from again. That same year, meteorite fragments rained down on Bloody Bay, carrying with them fragments of that planet-destroying monster.     A being that is but a fraction of such an alien of monstrous power and menace, but has enough strength to do all this, to require THIS level of response...     And as Revan assaults its mind, the already off-balance monster clutches its limbs to the sides of its ectoplasmic head, three giant, distorted skulls contained therein opening their jaws. The Shivan Annihilator roars in pain and an emotion it is not even equipped to feel.     Fear.     The Shivan loses its footing and the push backwards continues, a trail of psychic energy blazing in the air. Cortex forces the giant back towards the same thing that made it so strong in the first place.     Positron transmits, "You should still clear the area. But blowing this place up is no longer on the menu. There's too many people in the area, and there's a better option."     Then he takes off flying after Cortex. It might not be too late to save him. If he can keep Cortex from having to use up this enormous power boost of his... Keep him from seeing it out to its end... Then maybe... With Doctor Vasilikos still alive to treat him...
Dr. Vahzilok	Speaking of, Demetrios makes sure that the researcher, Faith, and even that scummy surviving doctor who had worked under Faith, all get on board with Blurr. He wants to supervise the process as Dorian loads them onboard. But they're running out of time, and he climbs on with Alexis, realizing he can't help anyone if he dies. He is clearly distraught, the mental image of Cory smiling and giving his signature 'thumbsup' pose burned into his mind. He might be able to help if he had his facilities still. He has made so many advances in his knowledge. He has developed new technologies, new procedures, and HE ALONE has the one thing that could save his friend! So why, now, even after all he has gained and become since that time... Why can't he save this one life?     His line of thinking is much like X's. Is he doomed to fail again? To fail every time it actually MATTERS?     He hangs on tight, grappling with his thoughts, and turns his head to look over his shoulder, unable to prevent himself from trying to catch a glimpse of Cortex.     Cortex has rammed the monster into the reactor. And shattered the casing on it. The reactor can't 'meltdown' like a nuclear reactor could. It's safer than the one in Terra Nova that villains are constantly trying to blow up or take over. But there is still a LOT of power running through it. And when that power is no longer being focused properly, the regeneration aura stops working properly. Electricity blasts outwards, sparks flying, tearing through the monster, and into Cortex as he hangs on with everything he has, using all of his psychic power to keep the monster pressed up to the reactor so that it FRIES.     He grits his teeth in pain and determination, eyes practicalling bulging as all his muscles lock up, and things start misfiring inside of his head -- or what's left of it.
Dr. Vahzilok	And then Positron lands on the other side of the reactor. He makes dozens of calculations in his head, angles, trajectories, force and counter-force, and then channels an enormous amount of power through his armor. His signature power: Overcharge. He builds up all the energy he can without risking a breach, and then aims both fists up into the reactor, at just the right angle to spare Cortex. And then he unleashes an atomic blast from both fists, annihilating the machine and atomizing most of the creature.     Alone, he couldn't have built up this much power quickly enough without being taken down. Without the heroes of the Multiverse weakening it, tearing it down, forcing it to expend energy trying to regenerate from damage that wouldn't stop coming, even this blast might not have been enough.     But they fought together. And as an enormous beam of light lances up into the sky, scattering clouds towards every horizon, up into space, it even manages to disintegrate a Crey Industries-owned sattelite.     Ground Zero for the blast is a smoking crater. Hopefully X ported out of there before then. The island might not have been obliterated, but there's not really any island left to speak of either. Thankfully, during all that the heroes managed to get the civilian personnel, the doctors and researchers, and those patients who couldn't travel on their own, all the way back to shore.     And they too see the blast that turns night into day, and though they do not know what it is, they know that a great and terrible power has been unleashed, and it was not aimed at the city.     Hopefully, that is good.
Dr. Vahzilok	Positron's gauntlets are smoldering as he looks around himself, at the charred landscape. A heat so intense that concrete, glass, and metal, have all been fused together on the atomic level, a mix of molten and solid materials woven together in impossible ways. He scans, and then starts walking. He's too drained to fly. He walks among the smoking wreckage, searching. Searching for something. For someone. He lifts slabs of concrete and hurls them aside. He digs through ashes that were once organs or corpses or samples of some kind.     He trudges through the bleak wasteland that was once an island with a hospital on it, searching... And fearing that maybe he miscalculated.     Right up until he sees it. He pauses, almost not believing it. But then he rushes towards the body of Cortex, lying on the ground, right on top of the reclaimator that, for the second time today, has somehow miraculously survived destruction.
Alexis	"Make it count you two!" That's about the only other thing Alexis can really do for Cortex and Positron making their potential final sacrifice. Time to get out of this bad situation. With the wounded doctor and the bound traitor in Blurr, and everyone else either in him or making their way out, Alexis makes sure Vasilikos is on the bike with Xiaomu as well. She then turns, recalling her Lucario. She needs something both fast and strong enough to get out of this madness. Cue a few moments later when she's bringing up the rear on the back of her Flygon, which keeps using Tailwind to boost it's speed enough to get out of here. Maybe not the fastest of fast fliers, but with the maneuverability of a dragonfly it partially resembles it's much better suited for weaving a way quickly out of the wrecked building.
X	Mere seconds before the great explosion starts, X realizes... it's time to go. No time to think. No time to hesitate.     This mission is OVER.     With a final growl, he lowers the smoldering, sparking X-Buster and takes a leap skyward. His body shimmers, compresses into light-- *BZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!*     The tiniest spear of blue light pierces up into sky moments before it can be fully engulfed in the great explosion. Probably too small, too dim, to even be seen stacked up against it...
Dorian Pavus	Dorian just runs, half-carried by the currents of the Fade.  He has no idea how he's going to actually get off the island.  Hopefully that boat's still there.  It's not that he can't swim, it's that he probably wouldn't get away from the blast by swimming.  And he can't hold Fade Step for too terribly long.  By the time he's out of the facility he's exhausted, his mind screaming against the abuse he's putting it through.  But yes... frantic, helpless negative energy must be burned off.     He lasts long enough to get to a safe area.  He wants to look back, see if somehow, against all odds, Cortex and Positron made it out of there.  It did look pretty damned hopeless.  But heroes defy the odds, don't they?  Or is it always the word engraved on their gravestones?     Unfortunately he's not going to get to look back to find out.  He's burned too much mana, exhausted himself too much.  From wherever the safe zone is, hopefully there's a medical transportation.  Because Dorian turns about half-way, wanting desperately to look back... and then his legs just go out from under him.  He's out cold before he even hits the ground.  He's alive, thankfully.  Just exhausted.  He used up all his power getting out.     ...Let's just hope he doesn't have 'visitors' while he's out...
Revan	For her part, Lowri moved on instinct escaping the facility. But the Force still guided her, and she had at least enough frame of mind to act logically. Thankfully, her comm still worked.      "T3," she called to the utility droid handling the Ebon Hawk's functions when Revan was not at the controls for one reason or another. "I'll need a pickup."      Her voice must have sounded hoarse with raw emotion, because the squat droid warbled his concern. "I'm fine for the moment, but I won't be if this place goes."      "With an affirmative chirp, the droid gunned the engines, and it wasn't long before the freighter roared overhead, the loading ramp lowering. With a final leap and sideways glances to confirm her allies making their own escapes, the Guardian climbed aboard, making haste for the cockpit and taking the pilot's chair. "Might want to hang on, guys," she warned her crew before the freighter blasted out of range. It was only once they were relatively safe that Revan sank back into the chair wearily.      "I think...this might be a good time to go home."      T3 answered her with a confused bleep; wasn't this her home?      "I mean /home/ home, T3. We're going back to Telos."