Silent Mountain (Part 5) by MaLAguA

Saturday, December 24th - 9:01pm
Silent Mountain Base - Level 1- 2 - East side stairs - Vic

Vic, you aren't fine, you need emergency medical help as soon as possible and I can only hope you don't get injured again. Locked door, time for the others to see Vic's skill at picking locks with his power. 6-7 minutes in the shape Vic is in, that is really good. Oh, good, still linked with Raffina, and no trouble for her so far. Vic, taking a class is a good idea even if that particular power isn't that strong.

Saturday, December 24th - 9:11pm
Silent Mountain Base - Level 1 - Kitchen - Raffina

Raffina has to use the map photo on her phone to navigate, I hope the details aren't lost. I hope Ruben isn't that tough. Yikes, traveling through that void, she must have some form of sense to keep her from getting disoriented. Close one, almost hit by Ruben tapping his foot.

Knocks him to the floor, but he blocks the blows to his head to knock him out, Ruben must have experienced being knocked out. Darn it! Taser and Raffina can't act for 2 seconds, enough time for Ruben to recover and grab her wrists. Hehe, slowly overpowering him and Ruben knows it. Ow! Ruben knows how to fight, I give him that.

Great counter-move by Raffina, but Ruben counters it with a flashbang. Darn it, it hits Raffina hard and she is blinded and deafened.

Her powers depended on the darkness in the environment and, to get a sense of that, she had what the testers called nyctosensitive aura that hovered around her skin. She wasn’t sure if it was a real word, but in essence, it allowed her to perceive the darkness around just as easy as knowing something was hot or cold.

It being a sense also meant it could be overwhelmed and shocked by strong or sudden lights. Flashbangs had both, making her feel her entire body tingle like crazy, piercing through flesh and bone to leave her jittery.

Gah! I would hate to be her right now. By the time her vision comes back Ruben has fled the room, great, now he is going to rush to warn the others.

Control of the security room, but Raffina is going to be feeling the aftereffects of that flashbang for a while. Raffina uses the cameras to scout things out, and spots Root, Josh, and Vic as they are almost to the VIP lounge room. In the supply closet, Leslie and Censer are still trapped, but Censer tries to work free of his restraints. VIP lounge with Barb standing guard, the henchmen carrying out gold bars from the room they cut into, and they are almost done, uh oh.

The hanger and one of the carrier aircraft were loaded with the missing items from the office. Now Raffina knows they need to act now to rescue Leslie, Censer, and Lightning, and stop these creeps from escaping. Closing the hanger door and timer pops up, now they know about the threat of the place melting down. This is going to be close, I just know it.

Saturday, December 24th - 9:19pm
Silent Mountain Base - Level 2 - Hallway - Root

Vic, Josh, and Root are on the way to the VIP lounge, no idea if they can take on Barb. Josh doesn't know about BMA at Whateley, heh. Half a liter of water, ouch, that is a severe limitation for a hydrokinetic. The kinetic blaster is not designed for lethal and won't be much good either, darn it. Oh no, Josh is thinking of how to modify it as they walk, not good.

Of course, Steve is watching the hallway and frowns when he sees Josh's blaster. Why is he just removing his jacket and moving towards them like that, what powers does Steve have? Oh shit, Steve gets hit by a blaster bolt and it barely fazes him. Werewolf! Root is right, you need to get out of there or he will kill you. I thought Chad was the sociopath of the group, but Steve being a werewolf makes him a lot more dangerous.

In combat with Steve and Raffina tries to tell them about the imminent meltdown. Great, a lot of mana and seeds for fast-growing vines to entrap his enemy, Root can't pull that one again anytime soon. Steve starts to rip the vines apart to try and free himself while Raffina tells them about what the criminals have done and the threat of meltdown fast approaching.

50 minutes, but down by 2 seconds per second, so 25 minutes right now, crap. Root, drawing Steve's attacks is suicidal, there has to be a better idea. Vic and Josh running for it as Vic mentally tells Root not to be a hero. Too close, way too close, Root was almost taken out that fast. *blinks* Root survived wood dryads, another mythic species confirmed to still exist in the Whateley Universe.

If Root hadn't made layered protection on his arm that claw attack could have maimed him at least. Putrid smell from the engorged vines, nice one, Root. Same substance on spikes and splinters on his weapon at the moment of impact, Root knows how to fight dirty to survive. Wolfbane extract, whoa, Root can make that, knowing the weaknesses of different entities and his power makes him a lot more valuable than most would realize.

Darn it, Root is too drained to follow as Steve goes off after Vic and Josh. Vic is right, Josh, hiding from a werewolf in a building is near-impossible. Eep, Root is down to half a dozen seeds and low on mana and energy, this is bad when he has to face Barb.

Saturday, December 24th - 9:26pm
Silent Mountain Base - Level 2 - Hallway - Vic

Good thing Raffina can warm Vic and Josh about where Steve is, trying to flank them on their left, this whole crew of villains needs to be taken down. Charged up shot by Josh from his blaster and Steve halted for now, down to his knees, but not out for the count, just how tough is he? Arrggh, that shot burned out the blaster's battery, his boss should have given him better parts.

Run for the elevator, Raffina has basic controls over them, it is your only chance right now. Rush to the elevator and get inside with the doors shutting fast, finished closing right as Steve would have reached them. But Raffina locked elevator controls to keep Steve out, so he tries to brute force it, time to go down and hope he doesn't leap down on top of the elevator to chase them.

So Raffina is taking them down to the basement so Josh and Vic can sort out the generator issue, I hope Steve isn't fast enough to catch them on foot. Use mining equipment like weapons, that only works in video games or about one or two blows with mining picks if you are strong enough. Ouch, Root mentally talks to them and the distance is putting a real strain on Vic now from how he reacts.

Nose bleed and headaches from the link due to the distance, cut the link, it isn't the best option right now, but we need Vic healthy and not taking damage from his own power being this strained. Steve on the stairs up to the third floor, Root needs to rescue Leslie despite Barb being there, they just can't catch a break.

<I always wondered how far I could push, but I never tested it for this long or at that distance,> Vic said as he took a breath as, relishing in the gone pressure. <So far I haven’t really had classes in telepathy. Didn’t think I would need it while my other power seemed to be more relevant.>

Rule one for all Whateley students: Get classes and training for all your powers, no matter how minor they might seem to you.

I hope Cole shows up to help out the kids, even if it is just to keep the criminals contained until Syndicate forces arrive to round them up. With all those advanced tools there, it is a good thing Vic is there to keep Josh focused on the task at hand. A massive thing out of sci-fi, eep. 27 minutes at triple speed now, they have 9 minutes before meltdown! Oh, under 20 minutes and I'm guessing the criminal idiots didn't account for the timer speeding up this much.

Vic's idea is a good one, take it apart, it can't melt down if they do that before it overloads. Josh knows how to take it apart, I hope they have enough time to do it and no distractions. Good grief, Josh and Vic have to do it together along with Vic having to get over one of his biggest fears involving his powers. Sharing mental images so Vic knows how to do it, is going to be rough. A lot of water and yes, don't you dare tempt fate by saying that, Vic, fate already has you guys in her sights as it is.

Saturday, December 24th - 9:40pm
Silent Mountain Base - Level 2 - VIP Lounge - Root

Root is at the entrance to the VIP lounge and has to figure out how to get through this, free Leslie and Censer, rescue Lightning if possible, and not get killed by Barb in the process. Barb has already spotted him, rats. How to deal with Barb and complete his objectives, he needs tactics and intelligence over her brute strength.

Henchmen move out of the office with loot, only to be signaled by Barb to hurry up. The distraction isn't enough for Root's attack to work, Barb catches the sword and breaks off the tip in the process, but winces, so his attack does work. Damage, but only enough to tick Barb off, uh oh. Ow, at least his vine armor works. A wooden shiv sharpened by magic and Root draws blood from Barb's arm with it, he has a chance in this fight.

Yellow pollen right in Barb's face, an attack I would hate to be hit by. Sent the knife into the closet, I hope Leslie or Censer can use that to free themselves. Down to 3 seeds, oh boy, Root needs help fast. Coffee table shrapnel, yikes, Root has taken some real damage. Pinned to a wall and about to be attacked, Root is saved by Censer's attack with his meteor hammer, but still in bad shape.

Ignoring Root to focus on Censer, Barb might regret that. *winces* Censer knows how to fight using some brutal attacks. His control over his meteor hammer is impressive. Tripped to the floor, and Censer has her pinned with the chain around her neck to choke her out. Dang, it is a stalemate as Censer keeps pushing, but Barb keeps her fingers between the chain and her neck.

The chain snapped from the pressure, yikes. But Root comes in with burning seeds and his nose covered, she shouldn't have counted him out so soon. Censer controls the smoke, sending it into Barb's nostrils, and she is unconscious. Root finally gets the splinter out of his leg, and goes to the supply closet to check on Leslie. Leslie's power is finally unsuppressed again, time to fill her in on what has been going on.

Leslie doesn't know if she can create a mental link, best to try and fail than not try at all. Vic's connection linking Root with the others still exists, his telepathy is a lot more powerful than he realizes. Censer is in the mental switchboard now, silence like that is unsettling in the least. Quick rundown for Censer on everything that has happened, it is a shitstorm that needs cleaning up.

Yeah, well Lightning, and you were sent to fail half of them by an idiot who cares about the bottom line instead of the potential of assets if given time to grow. Crud, they need the book that Josh has to turn off the silence device, but he needs it to figure out how to take apart the generator so it won't go into meltdown. Please, no more complications and let every one of the kids, Censer and Lightning get out of this alive.