Warmach1ne32
Machine of War and Quests
- Location
- Indonesia
Wait, what does this mean? the Chitauri tech we had before got converted into Nanites when we got Extremis Healed?
Invaders create Avengers [An MCU Quest]
- Thread starter K1ng
- Start date
- Sci-Fi Modern
- Location
- Illinoise
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] As much as you'd like to help yourself with this opportunity, you can't. Skye is still out there. You don't trust that Killian really let her go. You need to find her, or hopefully – find out that Killian never had her in the first place. That video exists, and when you find it, you'll know just how real it is.
- Location
- Seattle, Washington
We can't counter what Killian is doing if we don't know what he is doing
[X] Project Ascendency? You don't like that name. It sounds like the last-resort method that guys like Killian love to spring when all their carefully laid plans start collapsing around them. There must be a record here. If there is, you'll find it, along with everything else about this facility while you're at it.
[X] Project Ascendency? You don't like that name. It sounds like the last-resort method that guys like Killian love to spring when all their carefully laid plans start collapsing around them. There must be a record here. If there is, you'll find it, along with everything else about this facility while you're at it.
[X] As much as you'd like to help yourself with this opportunity, you can't. Skye is still out there. You don't trust that Killian really let her go. You need to find her, or hopefully – find out that Killian never had her in the first place. That video exists, and when you find it, you'll know just how real it is.
- Location
- Canada
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Project Ascendency? You don't like that name. It sounds like the last-resort method that guys like Killian love to spring when all their carefully laid plans start collapsing around them. There must be a record here. If there is, you'll find it, along with everything else about this facility while you're at it.
- Location
- Seattle, Washington
It occurs to me, OOC if Skye had been captured Tony probably would have already rescued her, since he directed her to a safe house.
- Location
- Iowa, United States
- Pronouns
- Him, His, He
[X] Project Ascendency? You don't like that name. It sounds like the last-resort method that guys like Killian love to spring when all their carefully laid plans start collapsing around them. There must be a record here. If there is, you'll find it, along with everything else about this facility while you're at it.
- Location
- Tarn-Vedra
[X] As much as you'd like to help yourself with this opportunity, you can't. Skye is still out there. You don't trust that Killian really let her go. You need to find her, or hopefully – find out that Killian never had her in the first place. That video exists, and when you find it, you'll know just how real it is.
- Location
- The Internet
[X] Project Ascendency? You don't like that name. It sounds like the last-resort method that guys like Killian love to spring when all their carefully laid plans start collapsing around them. There must be a record here. If there is, you'll find it, along with everything else about this facility while you're at it.
VE12
Would you kindly?
- Location
- Deep down bellow the sea
[X] Project Ascendency? You don't like that name. It sounds like the last-resort method that guys like Killian love to spring when all their carefully laid plans start collapsing around them. There must be a record here. If there is, you'll find it, along with everything else about this facility while you're at it.
- Location
- Deutschland
[X] Project Ascendency? You don't like that name. It sounds like the last-resort method that guys like Killian love to spring when all their carefully laid plans start collapsing around them. There must be a record here. If there is, you'll find it, along with everything else about this facility while you're at it.
[X] As much as you'd like to help yourself with this opportunity, you can't. Skye is still out there. You don't trust that Killian really let her go. You need to find her, or hopefully – find out that Killian never had her in the first place. That video exists, and when you find it, you'll know just how real it is.
[X] Project Ascendency? You don't like that name. It sounds like the last-resort method that guys like Killian love to spring when all their carefully laid plans start collapsing around them. There must be a record here. If there is, you'll find it, along with everything else about this facility while you're at it.
- Location
- Pee Pee Poo Poo
[X] Project Ascendency? You don't like that name. It sounds like the last-resort method that guys like Killian love to spring when all their carefully laid plans start collapsing around them. There must be a record here. If there is, you'll find it, along with everything else about this facility while you're at it.
K1ng
Reader of The Book of Vile Darkness
- Location
- Australia
Okay, 24 hours later, we're at:
Winner is Skye. For anyone who votes for the other options, you'll still have a chance to do them, you're just going to need to get your hands on another Network Connection while you're escaping.
[X] As much as you'd like to help yourself with this opportunity, you can't. Skye is still out there. You don't trust that Killian really let her go. You need to find her, or hopefully – find out that Killian never had her in the first place. That video exists, and when you find it, you'll know just how real it is. – 17
[X] Project Ascendency? You don't like that name. It sounds like the last-resort method that guys like Killian love to spring when all their carefully laid plans start collapsing around them. There must be a record here. If there is, you'll find it, along with everything else about this facility while you're at it. - 10
[X] Tony's in Tennessee? What the fuck? that makes it a bit harder to get into contact with him. But he's still connected to JARVIS, and you know where JARVIS is, he'll be able to pass along that you're alive and where you are. After all, JARVIS more than anyone else will understand you speaking with your power and not words. -1
[X] Project Ascendency? You don't like that name. It sounds like the last-resort method that guys like Killian love to spring when all their carefully laid plans start collapsing around them. There must be a record here. If there is, you'll find it, along with everything else about this facility while you're at it. - 10
[X] Tony's in Tennessee? What the fuck? that makes it a bit harder to get into contact with him. But he's still connected to JARVIS, and you know where JARVIS is, he'll be able to pass along that you're alive and where you are. After all, JARVIS more than anyone else will understand you speaking with your power and not words. -1
Winner is Skye. For anyone who votes for the other options, you'll still have a chance to do them, you're just going to need to get your hands on another Network Connection while you're escaping.
Iron Man 3 - 7
K1ng
Reader of The Book of Vile Darkness
- Location
- Australia
39 Hours until Misfire
Skye wasn't here.
You could tell that from the start. The security team had eyes everywhere, and for the moment, so did you. There was a camera in almost every room in this place. Maybe there were a couple of rooms that weren't covered but you doubted Killian would stick her in a room with no security. There weren't any hidden rooms either, nothing was hidden, not from you.
Still, that was only your first guess, you doubted Killian would keep you and Skye in the same location, but it didn't hurt to check. Next you would check the real cause of all this. That video.
The dive from the wireless network to the computer one was as easy as taking one step to the side. Well, you guessed you were, in a way.
Files, videos and every kind of program in-between passed by. You didn't see them exactly, it was more like… an impression of their purpose, but you knew they weren't what you were looking for.
You plundered the network for all it was worth. Encrypted files, firewalls, false databases – security made by professionals – it meant nothing. Maybe if you were looking from the outside in, they would've at least slowed you down, but here? In the metaphorical heart of their network? As far as the security was concerned, you were just as much a part of the network as they were. And there was nothing you couldn't see.
Thousands of files later, in what felt like hours but in reality was barely two minutes, you found it. Under an admin account that had no other presence on the network apart from this one folder, hidden from the rest. Inside was a video and a single page document.
You started with the video.
Skye struggled against her restraints while a glowing hand pressed against her face. Stream rose and skin bubbled. Hansen's phone screen cracked. A dash of concentration fixed it. If not for the camera you could still sense your fist would've gone through the computer screen. And then it looped back.
What? You brought up the video again. This time, you focused on the makeup of the video. The video was thirty seconds long. A 'live feed' huh. But you didn't stop there. Somewhere in the compound, in a dark room, smoke rose from a closed laptop as you ripped the video apart down to its most basic parts. Skye disappeared, underneath instead of colours you found code of models, motion and light effects.
A computer-generated image. A fake.
Not only was Skye not here, they never had her in the first place.
A small laugh escaped you. Extremis flared.
Killian had no leverage over you. All those threats, they meant nothing. You'd make him pay. Your irises burned. Visions of bloodshed, each more violent then the last flashed by. Maybe you'd inject him with an overdose. There'd be a poetic justice in that.
Whoa, Jack, dial it back. You pushed both Extremis and revenge out of your mind. Hansen would be coming out any minute and there was still one question you wanted answered while you still had access: how did Killian find out about Skye in the first place?
Well you might as well start with the document. The shredded remains of the video faded. On the document was five lines. Each line contained a date, a location and the time of day. Wait… you recognised those days… Those were the days you hung out with Skye! How the fuck did Killian get his hands on something like this? You were careful. The only people that could've followed you that well was someone with eyes everywhere, someone who had a vested interest in knowing exactly where you were at all times.
Someone like SHIELD.
After Killian had left, you'd gone over everything he had said over and over again, until you could recite it in your sleep.
"You'd be surprised how little it takes for secret spy organisations to sell you out when they don't trust you."
That little remark had stuck out at you more than most, but when you had taken a minute to think about it, you concluded that it was just a taunt. Just another way to get under your skin, to make you even more unbalanced. Easier to manipulate, to control. After all, why would SHIELD antagonize you? What could Killian possibly offer them that would make it worth the potential of you becoming an enemy to them?
You thought about it sometimes, the things you could do if you chose. You could shut down networks, destroy power stations, burrow deep into the most secret databases and reveal it all to the world. Maybe they could stop you, but who knew. Either way, the damage would've been done. What could be worth that risk?
Maybe not all of SHIELD, but a part of it? You knew very little about SHIELD's inner workings, but you knew it was a huge organisation. They couldn't create the Avengers in the first place without being one. And an organisation gets big enough, eventually factions emerge. Especially in organisations with no oversight. So, assuming it was a splinter faction, what would they want? Information, Equipment, Training? Unlikely, if they were within SHIELD then they'd have all that already. There was only one thing Killian could offer that they didn't already have.
Extremis.
A pseudo super solider formula. One that already had almost all the bugs sorted out. And now thanks to you, Killian would have a perfect version.
You couldn't let that happen. Trashing the code wasn't enough. There could be no record. Computer systems, databases, recordings – everything that made up this network, you would have to obliterate it root and stem. And the house too for good measure.
The bathroom door swung open and you quickly put the phone back down on the desk. The connection to the secret account faded away, without a direct link your connection wasn't strong enough to continue piercing the veil, though you were still within the network.
You didn't say a word to Hansen as she walked by you, only stopping to pick up her phone. You didn't say anything about the wetness running down her cheeks or the bile on the corner of her mouth. You didn't say anything when she sat into a secluded corner that you now knew was a blind spot. And you certainly didn't say anything when she grabbed an injector of the nearby table and threw it across the room. What could you say? That it wasn't her fault? She wouldn't be acting like this if it wasn't. Therefore, you had to assume that whatever Project Ascendency is, it had something to do with Extremis in some way.
Instead you used your connection while you still had it. Your brief sojourn with the camera's had given you a decent idea of the houses (more like a mansion) layout. But decent wasn't good enough. If you were going to pull this off, you needed it to be perfect.
So, you better get started before you ran out of time.
35 Hours until misfire.
Hansen hadn't spoken for hours. At some point she had left her hidden corner and returned to her workstation, but all she had done was stare at the simulations. Every time you had tried to talk to her she had just given you this dead eyed stare. You were getting worried. You may have only known Hansen for a day, but she didn't seem the type to get knocked down without trying to get back up.
Some would question why you were even worried about a person fully collaborating with someone like Killian, but Maya Hansen was the reason you were still breathing, you figured you owed her something. And getting her out of this funk may not even the scales, but it sure would make it a bit less lopsided. But how to go about it? This wasn't your area of expertise.
Well Hansen didn't start out working for Killian, well at least you hope so. Maybe you can remind her of how she started instead of where she ended. Right now, she can only see the bad, maybe you can remind her of the good. Though what good could come from Extremis is something you like to know as well. She designed the damn thing, she could think of something.
You might as well start now. "Hansen. I have a question about Extremis."
She flinched at the word Extremis. Oh, that wasn't good at all. She continued to stare at the screen. "Yes?"
Well, you got her to speak, that was progress. "What is its purpose?"
She blinked. "What?"
"What is its purpose?" You repeated. "Extremis I mean. I've read all your papers, all your notes. How did you go from regenerating plants to, well…" You gestured at your surroundings. "All of this. Trapped in a basement, blackmailing a superhero. It's quite a leap."
"No." She turned to face you, but still wouldn't look you in the eye.
"Yes."
"No, you're trapped. I'm free to go."
You shook your head. "Just because the chain around your neck is a little looser than mine doesn't mean it isn't there. You saw the look in Killian's eye. If you push him, he'll kill you. He doesn't need you anymore."
"Shut up." She hissed. "You don't know what you're talking about." She didn't turn her head, but her eyes darted to where you knew one of the hidden cameras were. "Those cameras can hear everything you're saying. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
You chuckled, keeping your expression nice and relaxed. "No, they can't."
"And how do you know that?"
"The same way I know that you chose to hide on one of their blind spots. To make sure Killian didn't see that look on your face."
"…what do you want?"
To know if Extremis was worth saving. To If you can afford to let even the slightest piece of knowledge about a perfected Extremis leave this room. But you couldn't say that straight away, not without knowing what led Hansen here to this point or she'd clamp up and you'd never get another chance.
So instead you said, "for you to answer my question. How did you let things get this far?"
She looked away for a moment before she squared her shoulders and finally met your gaze. "Do you know who Wernher von Braun is?"
"Vaguely." You hadn't heard that name since history class. The teacher spent an hour covering his exploits, but that was years ago. What you remembered could be summarized in a sentence. "He was a former Nazi, slash rocket scientist, right?"
"Not a rocket scientist, the rocket scientist." Hansen corrected. "But that's not important. Do you know what he did before he built rockets for the Nazi's?" You shook your head. "He dreamed of space travel. He wanted nothing to do with war." A bitter smile spread across her face. "Do you know what he said when the first V-2 hit London?" You shook your head again. "He said that the rocket performed perfectly. It just landed on the wrong planet." Her expression became distant as she remembered who she used to be. "You see, we all begin wide-eyed. Pure science. Thinking only of the good we can do. And then if we're lucky reality steps in, and shows us consequence before we can go too far. But if we aren't, then it's the ego, the obsession that drives us. And if you ever look up, you don't recognise yourself anymore."
She sniffled. "I created Extremis to save lives. To create a medicine that could cure anything. Cancer, neurological damage, paralysis – every disease and weakness that has ever plagued mankind – defeated. But I hit a wall. No one was willing to fund a miracle drug. Not without proof that I couldn't get."
"Except for Killian." You whispered, a sudden clarity coming to you. She worked for Killian because he gave her everything.
She nodded. "He had been following my work for a long time and he was a scientist in his own right. He knew it could succeed. As long as I had the proper resources. So, he gave them too me."
"And all it cost you was your soul."
"Not at first," she admitted. "I thought Stark had given me enough that I could take Killian's money and buy him out after I had the first successful trial."
"Tony? What does he have to do with this?"
"Perfect, you called it." Hansen said. "That little clump of code that controlled Extremis. That code, that little clump, it was his." A laugh escaped. "Drunk out of his mind and twelve years later I haven't come close to matching his coding skills. Imagine what he could do now."
Your fist started to glow as you felt your knuckles crack. "What are you talking about?"
"That was Killian's original plan you know." She spoke the word Killian the same way you'd say rancid pig-fucker. You'd give it an eight out of ten, she needed to draw out the hatred a little more, just to make it abundantly clear how much she wanted Killian to die screaming. "Draw Stark out, and use him to fix the bugs that he couldn't. He had done once before, Killian knew he could do it again. But then you came along, and disrupted all his carefully laid plans."
"Yes, it is a rather nasty habit of mine." One that maybe you should do something about. Then again, it's how you end up visiting the most interesting places.
"I wonder how Stark would've fixed Extremis in your position?" Hansen asked herself. "Would've he have improved his own code? Maybe, he would have altered the nanites like you did? or would he have improved Extremis itself and cut the nanites out entirely." Her face twisted in disgust. "Or maybe he would've taken it even further, and built an even better weapon." The just like the last time went unsaid, but you could hear it clear as day.
"You give Tony too little credit." You said, snapping her out of her reverie. You knew exactly what he would've done, and it would've had nothing to do with making Extremis stronger. Quite the opposite in fact. "He's not the same man he used to be." You resisted the urge to laugh. The irony of Hansen thinking that Tony Stark of all people would've given Extremis a power boost while you'd done the exact same thing wasn't lost on you. Too bad you couldn't explain, but that was one secret that had to stay secret until you'd injected yourself.
It was easy to believe that if you had found yourself in a different position, if you hadn't been forced completely on the defensive, then you would've done what Tony would've done if he was in your position – neutralize Extremis so Killian's plans would never see the light of day. But honestly, you didn't know what your choices would've been if the circumstances were different. Either way, it was useless to speculate. You still needed Extremis to survive, and if that meant you had to grasp everything that came from it with both hands then you would. To not do so was the same as to give up and die.
That couldn't happen, not until Killian was dealt with. Whether that was by you or someone else you didn't really care, so long as his plans were nothing but ash, you'd be satisfied.
"So, he's not the arrogant, self-absorbed twat that a met twelve years ago?"
You couldn't help but snort. Succulently put. "Oh, he is. Though while he might not look it – or even show it all that well – above all that is just someone trying to help."
She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I just can't see it."
"Trust me, Extremis in Tony Stark's hands would be used to save lives, not end them." And if you saying this somehow convinces her to send everything she has on Extremis to Tony then good for you. But you'd settle for shaking her convictions with Killian just a little bit more.
"Save lives…" Hansen whispered. "You know you were the first life I ever saved with Extremis?"
What? You couldn't stop the expression of surprise that crossed your face. After a decade of experimentation? What would the odds be?
"Its true," Hansen confirmed at seeing the look on your face. "Everyone else I ever treated was on Killian's orders." Wetness trailed down her cheek. You doubted she even noticed it. "Pathetic isn't it? A decade of research, and only one life saved. Sometimes I wonder if it was even worth it, maybe Extremis should become public. If in the end it'll only benefit people like Killian."
"Maya, you can't blame yourself for the actions of someone else. You didn't make Killian do what he's done."
"But Killian couldn't have done what he did without me."
"So what? If not you then he would've found someone else." One thing technopathy had taught you that there was always another piece of tech that could achieve a similar result, if you were motivated enough. "Just because you've only saved one life now doesn't mean you can't save thousands more. Don't wallow in your regrets, not when there's so much good you can still do. Use it to push yourself forward. Maybe it won't be enough to clear your conscience, but it's better to try and make the world just a little bit better than it was, then to not try and leave the world as it is."
What you just said would likely not help your escape attempts at all, but you knew the road to hell was often paved with good intentions. And while you've had a luck of never having to learn that lesson for yourself, you could recognise the living example in Maya Hansen right now. Especially after living in close proximity with Tony Stark these past months. You didn't want to imagine what a Maya Hansen with nothing but immediate redemption in mind would do. More than likely it would get her killed. The good she could do could still outweigh the bad, if you could help her realise that true redemption was a marathon, not a sprint.
"You know, there was something I should've said to you the moment I found myself awake instead of dead." You paused and cleared your throat to give what you said next the weight it deserved. "Thank you, Maya Hansen, for saving my life."
Maya wiped her face and for the first time since Killian's call, she smiled. "Thank you, Traveller."
"Don't thank me. You were the one that did the right thing." You leaned forward. You had gotten a lot from this conversation, enough to decide that Extremis might be worth saving, but only if Maya was the only one to walk away with your new formula. "What you need to decide now is, was one enough? Or would you like to save more?"
"You know the answer to that."
"Then let me help you. I can get you out of here. Away from Killian before he does something worse. I just need some information."
"You want to know about Project Ascension."
You nodded. There was no point beating around the bush on it. "I've gone through everything you've given me about Extremis. There's no reference to a "Project Ascension." But Killian wouldn't have called you if it didn't involve you in some way."
Her eyes darted to the side, but she didn't look at the camera directly. "What you're asking me tell you could get me killed."
"It could," you admitted. "but the moment Killian has a working version of Extremis in his hand is the moment you become redundant. And you know it."
Maya bit her lip, but didn't deny it.
"Think of it as deciding who you trust more, the hero or the villain? Because make no mistake, Killian is the villain in this story."
"So then who are you supposed to be? Maya asked aggressively. "The hero that saves everyone?"
"No, not everyone." You admitted. "I wouldn't even know where to begin. So instead I'll stick with what I can promise, and that is to save you."
"You can't promise that."
"I can." Because there was nothing holding else holding you back. The final simulation results would be coming back any minute now, and your power gave you an early result. It worked. Just like you knew it would.
Maya looked away, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she looked back, every hint of fear was pushed to the side, but not gone. "Project Ascension is…"
The screen lit up. The words simulation successful flashed across. Instinctively, Maya's gaze snapped to the screen and when she saw the results, her eyes widened and she turned away to bring the simulation up on her own screen.
"It works," she whispered. The previous conversation forgotten. She brought her hand over her mouth to cover the bubble of laugher that soon escaped. "No glitches, no degradation. It really works. You did it."
"We did." Your gaze drifted to the one camera in plain view. Were you watching now Killian? Or was Tony giving you too much trouble to take the time to watch little old you? "But we still have work do."
As you turned away from the camera a brief smile crossed across your face. Still, that was another obstacle dealt with, you had a working version of Extremis, all you needed to do was to make it.
Well, there was one other thing you needed to do. Thanks to Killian's paranoia, the only record of your modifications to Extremis was in this room. You needed to make sure it stayed that way. But the only way you could do that was with your power. And there was no way you were getting access to Maya's computer considering how she was almost devouring the information that streamed across the screen. You'd save her computer for when she was distracted.
"Yes. We still need to test it." Maya acknowledged, still refusing to tear her eyes away. "We should get started, just give me a minute. I need to make sure I'm not missing anything."
You cracked your knuckles. "No problem, I'll get started without you." It also gave you the opportunity to make some minor modifications to a group of the nanites. And by modify, you meant temporarily disable and clump together so you could fit an extra couple of thousand into the serum without setting off any sensors. According to what little documentation of the phase two injection you'd been provided, the second injection normally added another thousand nanites for that little bit of extra stability. You wanted at least five times that. And there was enough nanites hanging around for you to do set up multiple doses. You never know, it might come in handy.
After about twenty minutes of work, Maya joined in. More then enough time for you to have finished your modifications.
"So," Maya begun while she set up her workbench. "We have enough supplies to make five doses. We need to keep one as a control with the old formula, but for the other four we can use various concentrations of modified nanites. We just need to set up the capsules…" You slid the nanite capsules – including the ones you'd modified – over to Maya. "Oh good, that saves some time. Well then next we need to program the bio-encoder and mix in the nanite capsules so they'll slowly integrate into the serum."
Most of what she said was new to you, the exact process of how Extremis was made was tellingly absent from the documents you'd been given. Killian really was a paranoid son of a bitch. Too bad that was going to cost him. "What do you need me to do?"
"Well, you can start by configuring the growth emitter settings." She frowned at your raised eyebrow. "You have no idea what that is do you?" You shook your head and she sighed. "Check my computer, there's a file – EXT33 – on the desktop, that should show you what you need to do."
"Got it." You checked Maya's computer and found the document, opening it saw that it was over fifty pages. Oh fantastic, more reading.
32 Hours until misfire.
The few hours passed quickly, the document was a lot less technical then you expected and your power helped you fill in the blanks you couldn't wrap your head around. It didn't take you long to get a decent understanding of the process, enough to be a help rather then a hinderance. After you finished reading you went back and helped Maya with creating the serum, though not before you made some modifications to her computer, and your laptop on your way back.
To both you disabled every free port and fused the hard drive with the connected mounts and cables. Now they couldn't get the data off the computers or rip out the hard drive without destroying it. That wouldn't stop them forever, but it would take hours to repair the damage, hours Killian wouldn't have if you anything to say about it.
"There we go," Maya said as she inputted the last command into the console. "Extremis samples one through five are mixing and then decanting. They'll be done in about ten hours.
You looked over at the clock at the wall, just shy of ten pm. The serums would be ready at eight o'clock tomorrow.
A lot could happen between now and then.
Maya let out a yawn. "I'm going to go find a place to crash. I'll see you here tomorrow."
"You're not heading home?" You resisted the urge to facepalm as soon as the question left your lips. Of course Killian wouldn't let her leave. Even if he wasn't a bastard letting Maya leave was stupid move from a security perspective.
She shook her head. "There's a guestroom a few doors down that I use when I have to." She moved past you. "Good night Traveller."
"As soon as I get the serum, I'll get you out of here," you whispered as she passed you by. "Be ready."
The only sign Maya gave that she heard was a slight hesitation in her next step, but that was enough. For the moment, you didn't have to worry about her. Killian wouldn't kill her without proof that the new Extremis worked and that wouldn't happen at least until tomorrow. On the other hand, should probably sleep with one eye open, if you sleep at all.
"Hey boy wonder," called out the guard as he came into the room. "Dr. Hansen says she's done for the night, that means you are too. Let's go, we got a room setup for you. Also…" He tossed something at you, catching it, you found yourself staring at a pair of handcuffs. "Cuff yourself."
"Awww, Barry, I thought we had something special." You taunted as you cuffed one of your hands. You weren't too concerned. With Extremis you could get out of these with no problems.
"Shut up," he snapped as he came over and put the cuffed your other arm. He didn't make you do it behind your back, sloppy. "It's been a long day, so let's get this over with so I can get some sleep. And my name's not Barry."
"My mistake, Vincent." You laughed in his face. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to piss off one of the guards, but he was right, it had been a long day and you needed to relax somehow. You also needed to test something, and you needed pissed enough to follow through. "Or is it James? I'm guessing it's something pitiful and average."
He shoved your forward. "Shut the fuck up."
"You know what, I bet its Glen. You look like a Glen." Though you like Barry better… fuck it, you were going to call him Barry.
He shoved you again. This time you intentionally drifted to the side and knocked yourself against one of the serum containers. The only one in a blind spot. For a split second your eyes glowed. By some power-fuelled instinct you had pushed every bit of your power you could spare into that serum over the past few hours, slowly mutating it into something that you didn't even know what was capable of. Only that it was powerful.
"Fucking freak," he muttered under his breath. "Just shut up and go."
Almost there. Stopping, you turned around and gave Barry your most provocative grin. "Is that all you got?"
Pain erupted from your mouth. Got him.
"I said shut the fuck up!" he shouted as rubbed his bruised knuckles.
Rolling your tongue over your teeth, you spat the small amount of blood gathered at the ground. "You punch like a bitch, Barry." Actually, it hurt like hell, but there was no enhanced strength behind it. That confirmed it, not everyone of Killian's security staff was Extremis users. That made your escape so much easier and complicated all at once.
"Shut up."
You smirked, but this time you stayed silent, after all, you'd gotten what you needed.
Seeing that you had nothing else to say, he grabbed you by the arm and pushed and prodded you forward, escorting you out of the room and leading you down a twist and turn of corridors and rooms that you would've been lost in if not for your memorising of the building's layout thanks to the cameras. Eventually, he stopped right outside a barred room. A cell.
"Someone will be here to get you in the morning," Barry said as unlocked the handcuffs. "So, sit tight until then." And then he left, the bars slamming shut behind him.
You rubbed at your wrists, the redness and raw feeling in your wrists fading away with a small glow. You took a quick look around the room. As far as cells go, this one wasn't bad. The bed was an actual bed, there was a small fridge filled with snacks and bottled water and there was a separate curtain with a shower and bathroom. Of course, no matter how gilded it is, a cage is still a cage.
Taking a sandwich and some water out of the mini-fridge, you deliberately looked away from the bed and set yourself down against the wall. As tired as you were, you couldn't let your guard down.
Still… you though after you finished eating, maybe you could just rest your eyes for a minute…
Before you knew it, your head lolled to the side and everything went black. And as your eyes closed, you power awoke. Beyond your control and unbound by your restrictions, gold bled through closed eyelids and flowed through air, reaching out for a serum that it had already poured so much of itself into. But there was always more to give, to shape in its image.
Over the next few hours, that serum's colouration would mutate, going from an impure orange to a memorizing gold with flecks of pulsating green. Flecks that if someone looked closely, would match a certain technopath's heartbeat.
26 Hours until misfire.
Your eyes snapped open as the sound of keys jiggling filled your ears. The first peaks of daylight streamed in through the barred window. Fuck, you slept through the night!
Nanites moved underneath your skin and Extremis pulsed, ready for anything. You hoped you would have enough time to get to the lab before Killian decided that you were no longer necessary, but if this was his clean-up crew now then you couldn't wait anymore, you'd have to come out swinging.
What came through that door was nothing like what you expected. Instead of a group heavily armed thugs, it was a single man in a cheap suit (at least cheap compared to anything you'd seen Tony wear, so probably not that cheap), that from what you could see, was carrying no weapons.
Well, that immediately ruled out anyone on Killian's payroll. But that didn't mean you were going to let your guard down. Your palm started to glow.
He raised his hands in surrender. "Don't shoot."
"Who are you?"
He closed the door behind him. "My name is Jackson Norriss. I'm to make you an offer."
An offer? "Are you with SHIELD?"
"No."
Oh? The plot thickens. Your arm relaxed a fraction, but you didn't lower it. "What kind of offer?"
"I can get you out of here."
Sure, he can. And since you seemed to have encountered a genie, maybe he can get you some decent food or a couple of extra thousand nanites as well. Though to be perfectly honest, you'd take either at the moment. "Well I appreciate the offer, but by my count there's at least thirty guards out there. With some guaranteed to be Extremis users. So, no offense, but unless you've got a tank under that monkey-suit of yours I don't think you'll be of much help."
He chuckled, not taking offense to your remark and pointed at his pocket. "Not a tank, but something almost as good, may I?"
"Go ahead."
He pulled a small box with a single button on the side and an antenna. A detonator?
"This is linked to almost every choke point in the building." He explained. "It will keep the guards distracted long enough for us to get off the property and then hide until I can call a helicopter in."
"Or trap us along with them." You pointed out.
He shook his head. "The chokepoints from here to the courtyard have no explosives covering them, its almost a straight run. We can be out of here in less than ten minutes."
You bit your lip as your mind when over Jackson just told you. It was a good plan. It would more than likely work. Ruthless as hell though. You don't want to know how many people may end up getting splattered by falling debris. Now normally you wouldn't give a shit, anyone who was working at a location Killian felt comfortable enough bringing a superhero and his chief scientist was likely neck deep in whatever Killian was planning, which made them no friends of yours. But there was a promise you had made, and if you went through with this plan then you wouldn't be able to keep it.
Plus, there was this suspicion that all this was too good to be true. This guy came out of nowhere offering you everything you needed right when you were about to make you own attempt. That and the fact he wasn't working for SHIELD, which as far as you knew was the only organisation that would have the jurisdiction to attempt to rescue someone like you. You felt like you'd just stepped into someone else's plan and you didn't like that one bit.
You needed more information. You lowered your arm. "Sounds like a plan."
"Then let's go." Jackson moved for the door.
"Just one thing…" Jackson turned back. "You never said who you were working for."
He smiled. "I am merely a servant for a far greater power." Why hello there, red flag.
You blurred forward and knocked him against the wall, your arm against his neck. "The last time I heard something like that it was coming from Aldrich Killian." Extremis surged along your arm, making your grip unbreakable. "Are you like him, are you working for the Mandarin?"
All pretence of civility vanished from his face in an instant. His face split into a snarl and his eyes burned with hatred. All signs of sanity had vanished. It was the face of a fanatic, of someone who would burn the world for their cause.
"Do not call that pretender the Mandarin! He has taken a name that is does not belong to him. His time will come. We will fill his body with holes for every ring of our faith." The fanatic faded away, hidden behind a mask of civility once more. He gave a polite cough. "I'm sorry, that was unprofessional. Now, can you please let me go?"
"Not so fast." You tightened the hold. "Pretender? What do you mean pretender?"
"He is a fake. A pawn of the true mastermind."
The only way he could be so sure that this 'Mandarin' was a fake if he had existing knowledge of the so-called real Mandarin, and the only way he could have that was if… You pushed those thoughts to the side. No, don't speculate. Just because he believes its true doesn't mean it is. Focus on the facts. There's a mastermind in this scenario. And the only person you've seen so far that could remotely fit that bill is…
"Killian." No, that couldn't be. But it made a terrifying amount of sense, for someone as paranoid as him. Why have a target on your back when you can put it on someone else's? You could see it. You could see it all too easily. But that didn't mean you were going to take the word of perhaps one of the most biased sources you'd ever met. "Do you have proof?"
"I do." Jackson said, beads of sweat trailed won his face. From the heat, not nervousness. "He's here. The fake. I can take you to him."
"No. You're not taking me anywhere. What room is he in?"
"The master bedroom."
You knew where that was. Thanks to your brief sojourn with the camera's you knew where almost every room was. It wasn't too far out of your way from the lab.
"Now, can you please let me go?" He repeated.
"Not yet." Smoke started drifting up from below and you looked down. Oh shit, your clothes were burning. The glow along your arms (and your chest?) dimmed as you pulled Extremis back. "Was getting me out of here your only objective?"
He nodded. "It was my primary one, yes."
"And now that I'm not going with you..." You leaded.
"I will move on to my secondary mission." He finished.
"Which is?"
A hint of the fanatic returned as his expression hardened. "Disrupting Aldrich Killian's plans."
Well that was annoyingly vague, and based on that look on his face you doubted you were getting anything more than that.
You weren't sure what to do here. You didn't want Jackson wandering around and potentially disrupting your own plans but what could you do? Short of killing him there was no way you could keep him contained. Locking him in your cell and leaving was just killing him indirectly, same with knocking him out. And you sure as hell couldn't trust him to watch your back.
There was also the fact that he hadn't harmed you, quite the opposite in fact. You had no quarrel with Jackson Norriss.
You guess in the end – you'd rather have a potential threat that you knew about taking out other threats then nothing but unknowns. That it also didn't make you a murderer was also a plus.
You released your grip and stepped back to give Jackson some room. "Try not to get in my way."
He adjusted his tie. "I assume you have a plan then."
You smirked. "Of course, you've just sped up my timetable."
"Very well, on behalf of my Master I wish you luck."
"I'll take planning," and overwhelming technological superiority. "Over luck any day. But I appreciate the sentiment."
Jackson drew a circle in the air. "May you be guided by the King's Wisdom."
Uh okay? 'Smile and nod, Jack' was your thought as you took your own advice. Smile and nod.
Jackson moved to leave before he suddenly turned back. "Here." He held out his hand. In it was a familiar box shaped object.
You took the detonator out of his hand with great care.
"I recommend that you're not in the building if you choose to set it off." Jackson advised.
You clipped it to your waist. "Thanks." You'd prefer not to use it at all, but you weren't going to turn down one of the best distractions you could think of. It would be rather difficult for Killian's people to keep a clear head when sky was falling down on them.
You knew that personally.
"You need to hold the button down for five seconds to set it off," was Jackson's parting statement as he prepared to leave.
"One more thing."
He turned back.
"If you hurt Maya Hansen, I'll repay it on your master a thousand fold."
"Understood."
And then he was gone.
Did you do the right thing? Was your thought as you watched Jackson leave. Maybe if you had more time you could have thought of a better way then turning what looked like a master assassin loose on Killian's forces, but you were drawing a blank.
Besides, you were almost out of time. You needed to get to the lab, find Maya and get both of you out, now. Maybe you could check out this so called fake on the way to see if Jackson really was telling the truth. Or you could head to the main server room, you still needed to find out what Project Ascendency was. Lastly, you could head to where all the Chitauri parts they'd acquired were being kept, that would help you drastically expand your arsenal.
Whatever you decided, you had enough time to go for one room, two at the most if you pushed it.
Designs of weapons of war flowed through your mind, each more vicious then the last, empowered by the nanites in your blood. You had held back on bringing them to bear.
No longer.
From under your skin, silver spread and pushed through.
You were done scheming. It was time to go on the offensive.
But before you headed for lab, what detours could you make? (choose up to 2)
[] Chitauri room: "No parts until tomorrow morning." Fucking liars. There was a room filled to the brim with broken down Chitauri parts. Guess the working parts were too expensive to bribe for, even for Killian. Still, they couldn't do anything with them, but you could. [Gain 5000 Chitauri Nanites]
[] Server Room: You've been in the dark long enough. Find out what Project Ascendency is and send it out to every network of Tony's that you know about. Killian greenlit it in response to Tony's actions, not yours. He was obviously the first target. [Gain Project Ascendency Knowledge and indirectly pass it onto Tony]
[] Main bedroom: The master bedroom wasn't that far out of the way. And as far as you could tell, Jackson never lied to you, so let's go see if this is true, and look this so-called Mandarin in the eye. [Gain knowledge of Killian's Mandarin]
But just as important as where you'll go, is what you'll arm yourself with. The nanites have boosted your powers significantly, time to use it. Choose any number of equipment that equals or is less then your free nanite total. Going over will invalidate your vote.
Note: Chitauri Nanites can replace Earth Nanites but Earth Nanites cannot replace Chitauri. Full Equipment list is in spoilers below.
[] Heat-Shredder Claws [Gloves]
[] Gloves of the Scarlet Flame [Gloves]
[] Scorching Morphing Appendages [Back]
[] Devastator Cannons [Shoulder]
[] Heat Mantle [Chest]
[] Rocket Booster Boots [Boots]
[] Firestorm Generator [Chest]
Well, that took a lot longer to write then what I expected, but I also ended up writing 4000 more words then what I thought I needed to so it balances out.
Also, if any of you are confused on who Jackson Norriss is, just google his name plus MCU. Though spoilers obviously.
2 Hour Moratorium. Votes will need to be in a plan obviously. I'll be checking the thread for any questions.
Feel free to discuss.
Skye wasn't here.
You could tell that from the start. The security team had eyes everywhere, and for the moment, so did you. There was a camera in almost every room in this place. Maybe there were a couple of rooms that weren't covered but you doubted Killian would stick her in a room with no security. There weren't any hidden rooms either, nothing was hidden, not from you.
Still, that was only your first guess, you doubted Killian would keep you and Skye in the same location, but it didn't hurt to check. Next you would check the real cause of all this. That video.
The dive from the wireless network to the computer one was as easy as taking one step to the side. Well, you guessed you were, in a way.
Files, videos and every kind of program in-between passed by. You didn't see them exactly, it was more like… an impression of their purpose, but you knew they weren't what you were looking for.
You plundered the network for all it was worth. Encrypted files, firewalls, false databases – security made by professionals – it meant nothing. Maybe if you were looking from the outside in, they would've at least slowed you down, but here? In the metaphorical heart of their network? As far as the security was concerned, you were just as much a part of the network as they were. And there was nothing you couldn't see.
Thousands of files later, in what felt like hours but in reality was barely two minutes, you found it. Under an admin account that had no other presence on the network apart from this one folder, hidden from the rest. Inside was a video and a single page document.
You started with the video.
Skye struggled against her restraints while a glowing hand pressed against her face. Stream rose and skin bubbled. Hansen's phone screen cracked. A dash of concentration fixed it. If not for the camera you could still sense your fist would've gone through the computer screen. And then it looped back.
What? You brought up the video again. This time, you focused on the makeup of the video. The video was thirty seconds long. A 'live feed' huh. But you didn't stop there. Somewhere in the compound, in a dark room, smoke rose from a closed laptop as you ripped the video apart down to its most basic parts. Skye disappeared, underneath instead of colours you found code of models, motion and light effects.
A computer-generated image. A fake.
Not only was Skye not here, they never had her in the first place.
A small laugh escaped you. Extremis flared.
Killian had no leverage over you. All those threats, they meant nothing. You'd make him pay. Your irises burned. Visions of bloodshed, each more violent then the last flashed by. Maybe you'd inject him with an overdose. There'd be a poetic justice in that.
Whoa, Jack, dial it back. You pushed both Extremis and revenge out of your mind. Hansen would be coming out any minute and there was still one question you wanted answered while you still had access: how did Killian find out about Skye in the first place?
Well you might as well start with the document. The shredded remains of the video faded. On the document was five lines. Each line contained a date, a location and the time of day. Wait… you recognised those days… Those were the days you hung out with Skye! How the fuck did Killian get his hands on something like this? You were careful. The only people that could've followed you that well was someone with eyes everywhere, someone who had a vested interest in knowing exactly where you were at all times.
Someone like SHIELD.
After Killian had left, you'd gone over everything he had said over and over again, until you could recite it in your sleep.
"You'd be surprised how little it takes for secret spy organisations to sell you out when they don't trust you."
That little remark had stuck out at you more than most, but when you had taken a minute to think about it, you concluded that it was just a taunt. Just another way to get under your skin, to make you even more unbalanced. Easier to manipulate, to control. After all, why would SHIELD antagonize you? What could Killian possibly offer them that would make it worth the potential of you becoming an enemy to them?
You thought about it sometimes, the things you could do if you chose. You could shut down networks, destroy power stations, burrow deep into the most secret databases and reveal it all to the world. Maybe they could stop you, but who knew. Either way, the damage would've been done. What could be worth that risk?
Maybe not all of SHIELD, but a part of it? You knew very little about SHIELD's inner workings, but you knew it was a huge organisation. They couldn't create the Avengers in the first place without being one. And an organisation gets big enough, eventually factions emerge. Especially in organisations with no oversight. So, assuming it was a splinter faction, what would they want? Information, Equipment, Training? Unlikely, if they were within SHIELD then they'd have all that already. There was only one thing Killian could offer that they didn't already have.
Extremis.
A pseudo super solider formula. One that already had almost all the bugs sorted out. And now thanks to you, Killian would have a perfect version.
You couldn't let that happen. Trashing the code wasn't enough. There could be no record. Computer systems, databases, recordings – everything that made up this network, you would have to obliterate it root and stem. And the house too for good measure.
The bathroom door swung open and you quickly put the phone back down on the desk. The connection to the secret account faded away, without a direct link your connection wasn't strong enough to continue piercing the veil, though you were still within the network.
You didn't say a word to Hansen as she walked by you, only stopping to pick up her phone. You didn't say anything about the wetness running down her cheeks or the bile on the corner of her mouth. You didn't say anything when she sat into a secluded corner that you now knew was a blind spot. And you certainly didn't say anything when she grabbed an injector of the nearby table and threw it across the room. What could you say? That it wasn't her fault? She wouldn't be acting like this if it wasn't. Therefore, you had to assume that whatever Project Ascendency is, it had something to do with Extremis in some way.
Instead you used your connection while you still had it. Your brief sojourn with the camera's had given you a decent idea of the houses (more like a mansion) layout. But decent wasn't good enough. If you were going to pull this off, you needed it to be perfect.
So, you better get started before you ran out of time.
35 Hours until misfire.
Hansen hadn't spoken for hours. At some point she had left her hidden corner and returned to her workstation, but all she had done was stare at the simulations. Every time you had tried to talk to her she had just given you this dead eyed stare. You were getting worried. You may have only known Hansen for a day, but she didn't seem the type to get knocked down without trying to get back up.
Some would question why you were even worried about a person fully collaborating with someone like Killian, but Maya Hansen was the reason you were still breathing, you figured you owed her something. And getting her out of this funk may not even the scales, but it sure would make it a bit less lopsided. But how to go about it? This wasn't your area of expertise.
Well Hansen didn't start out working for Killian, well at least you hope so. Maybe you can remind her of how she started instead of where she ended. Right now, she can only see the bad, maybe you can remind her of the good. Though what good could come from Extremis is something you like to know as well. She designed the damn thing, she could think of something.
You might as well start now. "Hansen. I have a question about Extremis."
She flinched at the word Extremis. Oh, that wasn't good at all. She continued to stare at the screen. "Yes?"
Well, you got her to speak, that was progress. "What is its purpose?"
She blinked. "What?"
"What is its purpose?" You repeated. "Extremis I mean. I've read all your papers, all your notes. How did you go from regenerating plants to, well…" You gestured at your surroundings. "All of this. Trapped in a basement, blackmailing a superhero. It's quite a leap."
"No." She turned to face you, but still wouldn't look you in the eye.
"Yes."
"No, you're trapped. I'm free to go."
You shook your head. "Just because the chain around your neck is a little looser than mine doesn't mean it isn't there. You saw the look in Killian's eye. If you push him, he'll kill you. He doesn't need you anymore."
"Shut up." She hissed. "You don't know what you're talking about." She didn't turn her head, but her eyes darted to where you knew one of the hidden cameras were. "Those cameras can hear everything you're saying. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
You chuckled, keeping your expression nice and relaxed. "No, they can't."
"And how do you know that?"
"The same way I know that you chose to hide on one of their blind spots. To make sure Killian didn't see that look on your face."
"…what do you want?"
To know if Extremis was worth saving. To If you can afford to let even the slightest piece of knowledge about a perfected Extremis leave this room. But you couldn't say that straight away, not without knowing what led Hansen here to this point or she'd clamp up and you'd never get another chance.
So instead you said, "for you to answer my question. How did you let things get this far?"
She looked away for a moment before she squared her shoulders and finally met your gaze. "Do you know who Wernher von Braun is?"
"Vaguely." You hadn't heard that name since history class. The teacher spent an hour covering his exploits, but that was years ago. What you remembered could be summarized in a sentence. "He was a former Nazi, slash rocket scientist, right?"
"Not a rocket scientist, the rocket scientist." Hansen corrected. "But that's not important. Do you know what he did before he built rockets for the Nazi's?" You shook your head. "He dreamed of space travel. He wanted nothing to do with war." A bitter smile spread across her face. "Do you know what he said when the first V-2 hit London?" You shook your head again. "He said that the rocket performed perfectly. It just landed on the wrong planet." Her expression became distant as she remembered who she used to be. "You see, we all begin wide-eyed. Pure science. Thinking only of the good we can do. And then if we're lucky reality steps in, and shows us consequence before we can go too far. But if we aren't, then it's the ego, the obsession that drives us. And if you ever look up, you don't recognise yourself anymore."
She sniffled. "I created Extremis to save lives. To create a medicine that could cure anything. Cancer, neurological damage, paralysis – every disease and weakness that has ever plagued mankind – defeated. But I hit a wall. No one was willing to fund a miracle drug. Not without proof that I couldn't get."
"Except for Killian." You whispered, a sudden clarity coming to you. She worked for Killian because he gave her everything.
She nodded. "He had been following my work for a long time and he was a scientist in his own right. He knew it could succeed. As long as I had the proper resources. So, he gave them too me."
"And all it cost you was your soul."
"Not at first," she admitted. "I thought Stark had given me enough that I could take Killian's money and buy him out after I had the first successful trial."
"Tony? What does he have to do with this?"
"Perfect, you called it." Hansen said. "That little clump of code that controlled Extremis. That code, that little clump, it was his." A laugh escaped. "Drunk out of his mind and twelve years later I haven't come close to matching his coding skills. Imagine what he could do now."
Your fist started to glow as you felt your knuckles crack. "What are you talking about?"
"That was Killian's original plan you know." She spoke the word Killian the same way you'd say rancid pig-fucker. You'd give it an eight out of ten, she needed to draw out the hatred a little more, just to make it abundantly clear how much she wanted Killian to die screaming. "Draw Stark out, and use him to fix the bugs that he couldn't. He had done once before, Killian knew he could do it again. But then you came along, and disrupted all his carefully laid plans."
"Yes, it is a rather nasty habit of mine." One that maybe you should do something about. Then again, it's how you end up visiting the most interesting places.
"I wonder how Stark would've fixed Extremis in your position?" Hansen asked herself. "Would've he have improved his own code? Maybe, he would have altered the nanites like you did? or would he have improved Extremis itself and cut the nanites out entirely." Her face twisted in disgust. "Or maybe he would've taken it even further, and built an even better weapon." The just like the last time went unsaid, but you could hear it clear as day.
"You give Tony too little credit." You said, snapping her out of her reverie. You knew exactly what he would've done, and it would've had nothing to do with making Extremis stronger. Quite the opposite in fact. "He's not the same man he used to be." You resisted the urge to laugh. The irony of Hansen thinking that Tony Stark of all people would've given Extremis a power boost while you'd done the exact same thing wasn't lost on you. Too bad you couldn't explain, but that was one secret that had to stay secret until you'd injected yourself.
It was easy to believe that if you had found yourself in a different position, if you hadn't been forced completely on the defensive, then you would've done what Tony would've done if he was in your position – neutralize Extremis so Killian's plans would never see the light of day. But honestly, you didn't know what your choices would've been if the circumstances were different. Either way, it was useless to speculate. You still needed Extremis to survive, and if that meant you had to grasp everything that came from it with both hands then you would. To not do so was the same as to give up and die.
That couldn't happen, not until Killian was dealt with. Whether that was by you or someone else you didn't really care, so long as his plans were nothing but ash, you'd be satisfied.
"So, he's not the arrogant, self-absorbed twat that a met twelve years ago?"
You couldn't help but snort. Succulently put. "Oh, he is. Though while he might not look it – or even show it all that well – above all that is just someone trying to help."
She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I just can't see it."
"Trust me, Extremis in Tony Stark's hands would be used to save lives, not end them." And if you saying this somehow convinces her to send everything she has on Extremis to Tony then good for you. But you'd settle for shaking her convictions with Killian just a little bit more.
"Save lives…" Hansen whispered. "You know you were the first life I ever saved with Extremis?"
What? You couldn't stop the expression of surprise that crossed your face. After a decade of experimentation? What would the odds be?
"Its true," Hansen confirmed at seeing the look on your face. "Everyone else I ever treated was on Killian's orders." Wetness trailed down her cheek. You doubted she even noticed it. "Pathetic isn't it? A decade of research, and only one life saved. Sometimes I wonder if it was even worth it, maybe Extremis should become public. If in the end it'll only benefit people like Killian."
"Maya, you can't blame yourself for the actions of someone else. You didn't make Killian do what he's done."
"But Killian couldn't have done what he did without me."
"So what? If not you then he would've found someone else." One thing technopathy had taught you that there was always another piece of tech that could achieve a similar result, if you were motivated enough. "Just because you've only saved one life now doesn't mean you can't save thousands more. Don't wallow in your regrets, not when there's so much good you can still do. Use it to push yourself forward. Maybe it won't be enough to clear your conscience, but it's better to try and make the world just a little bit better than it was, then to not try and leave the world as it is."
What you just said would likely not help your escape attempts at all, but you knew the road to hell was often paved with good intentions. And while you've had a luck of never having to learn that lesson for yourself, you could recognise the living example in Maya Hansen right now. Especially after living in close proximity with Tony Stark these past months. You didn't want to imagine what a Maya Hansen with nothing but immediate redemption in mind would do. More than likely it would get her killed. The good she could do could still outweigh the bad, if you could help her realise that true redemption was a marathon, not a sprint.
"You know, there was something I should've said to you the moment I found myself awake instead of dead." You paused and cleared your throat to give what you said next the weight it deserved. "Thank you, Maya Hansen, for saving my life."
Maya wiped her face and for the first time since Killian's call, she smiled. "Thank you, Traveller."
"Don't thank me. You were the one that did the right thing." You leaned forward. You had gotten a lot from this conversation, enough to decide that Extremis might be worth saving, but only if Maya was the only one to walk away with your new formula. "What you need to decide now is, was one enough? Or would you like to save more?"
"You know the answer to that."
"Then let me help you. I can get you out of here. Away from Killian before he does something worse. I just need some information."
"You want to know about Project Ascension."
You nodded. There was no point beating around the bush on it. "I've gone through everything you've given me about Extremis. There's no reference to a "Project Ascension." But Killian wouldn't have called you if it didn't involve you in some way."
Her eyes darted to the side, but she didn't look at the camera directly. "What you're asking me tell you could get me killed."
"It could," you admitted. "but the moment Killian has a working version of Extremis in his hand is the moment you become redundant. And you know it."
Maya bit her lip, but didn't deny it.
"Think of it as deciding who you trust more, the hero or the villain? Because make no mistake, Killian is the villain in this story."
"So then who are you supposed to be? Maya asked aggressively. "The hero that saves everyone?"
"No, not everyone." You admitted. "I wouldn't even know where to begin. So instead I'll stick with what I can promise, and that is to save you."
"You can't promise that."
"I can." Because there was nothing holding else holding you back. The final simulation results would be coming back any minute now, and your power gave you an early result. It worked. Just like you knew it would.
Maya looked away, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she looked back, every hint of fear was pushed to the side, but not gone. "Project Ascension is…"
The screen lit up. The words simulation successful flashed across. Instinctively, Maya's gaze snapped to the screen and when she saw the results, her eyes widened and she turned away to bring the simulation up on her own screen.
"It works," she whispered. The previous conversation forgotten. She brought her hand over her mouth to cover the bubble of laugher that soon escaped. "No glitches, no degradation. It really works. You did it."
"We did." Your gaze drifted to the one camera in plain view. Were you watching now Killian? Or was Tony giving you too much trouble to take the time to watch little old you? "But we still have work do."
As you turned away from the camera a brief smile crossed across your face. Still, that was another obstacle dealt with, you had a working version of Extremis, all you needed to do was to make it.
Well, there was one other thing you needed to do. Thanks to Killian's paranoia, the only record of your modifications to Extremis was in this room. You needed to make sure it stayed that way. But the only way you could do that was with your power. And there was no way you were getting access to Maya's computer considering how she was almost devouring the information that streamed across the screen. You'd save her computer for when she was distracted.
"Yes. We still need to test it." Maya acknowledged, still refusing to tear her eyes away. "We should get started, just give me a minute. I need to make sure I'm not missing anything."
You cracked your knuckles. "No problem, I'll get started without you." It also gave you the opportunity to make some minor modifications to a group of the nanites. And by modify, you meant temporarily disable and clump together so you could fit an extra couple of thousand into the serum without setting off any sensors. According to what little documentation of the phase two injection you'd been provided, the second injection normally added another thousand nanites for that little bit of extra stability. You wanted at least five times that. And there was enough nanites hanging around for you to do set up multiple doses. You never know, it might come in handy.
After about twenty minutes of work, Maya joined in. More then enough time for you to have finished your modifications.
"So," Maya begun while she set up her workbench. "We have enough supplies to make five doses. We need to keep one as a control with the old formula, but for the other four we can use various concentrations of modified nanites. We just need to set up the capsules…" You slid the nanite capsules – including the ones you'd modified – over to Maya. "Oh good, that saves some time. Well then next we need to program the bio-encoder and mix in the nanite capsules so they'll slowly integrate into the serum."
Most of what she said was new to you, the exact process of how Extremis was made was tellingly absent from the documents you'd been given. Killian really was a paranoid son of a bitch. Too bad that was going to cost him. "What do you need me to do?"
"Well, you can start by configuring the growth emitter settings." She frowned at your raised eyebrow. "You have no idea what that is do you?" You shook your head and she sighed. "Check my computer, there's a file – EXT33 – on the desktop, that should show you what you need to do."
"Got it." You checked Maya's computer and found the document, opening it saw that it was over fifty pages. Oh fantastic, more reading.
32 Hours until misfire.
The few hours passed quickly, the document was a lot less technical then you expected and your power helped you fill in the blanks you couldn't wrap your head around. It didn't take you long to get a decent understanding of the process, enough to be a help rather then a hinderance. After you finished reading you went back and helped Maya with creating the serum, though not before you made some modifications to her computer, and your laptop on your way back.
To both you disabled every free port and fused the hard drive with the connected mounts and cables. Now they couldn't get the data off the computers or rip out the hard drive without destroying it. That wouldn't stop them forever, but it would take hours to repair the damage, hours Killian wouldn't have if you anything to say about it.
"There we go," Maya said as she inputted the last command into the console. "Extremis samples one through five are mixing and then decanting. They'll be done in about ten hours.
You looked over at the clock at the wall, just shy of ten pm. The serums would be ready at eight o'clock tomorrow.
A lot could happen between now and then.
Maya let out a yawn. "I'm going to go find a place to crash. I'll see you here tomorrow."
"You're not heading home?" You resisted the urge to facepalm as soon as the question left your lips. Of course Killian wouldn't let her leave. Even if he wasn't a bastard letting Maya leave was stupid move from a security perspective.
She shook her head. "There's a guestroom a few doors down that I use when I have to." She moved past you. "Good night Traveller."
"As soon as I get the serum, I'll get you out of here," you whispered as she passed you by. "Be ready."
The only sign Maya gave that she heard was a slight hesitation in her next step, but that was enough. For the moment, you didn't have to worry about her. Killian wouldn't kill her without proof that the new Extremis worked and that wouldn't happen at least until tomorrow. On the other hand, should probably sleep with one eye open, if you sleep at all.
"Hey boy wonder," called out the guard as he came into the room. "Dr. Hansen says she's done for the night, that means you are too. Let's go, we got a room setup for you. Also…" He tossed something at you, catching it, you found yourself staring at a pair of handcuffs. "Cuff yourself."
"Awww, Barry, I thought we had something special." You taunted as you cuffed one of your hands. You weren't too concerned. With Extremis you could get out of these with no problems.
"Shut up," he snapped as he came over and put the cuffed your other arm. He didn't make you do it behind your back, sloppy. "It's been a long day, so let's get this over with so I can get some sleep. And my name's not Barry."
"My mistake, Vincent." You laughed in his face. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to piss off one of the guards, but he was right, it had been a long day and you needed to relax somehow. You also needed to test something, and you needed pissed enough to follow through. "Or is it James? I'm guessing it's something pitiful and average."
He shoved your forward. "Shut the fuck up."
"You know what, I bet its Glen. You look like a Glen." Though you like Barry better… fuck it, you were going to call him Barry.
He shoved you again. This time you intentionally drifted to the side and knocked yourself against one of the serum containers. The only one in a blind spot. For a split second your eyes glowed. By some power-fuelled instinct you had pushed every bit of your power you could spare into that serum over the past few hours, slowly mutating it into something that you didn't even know what was capable of. Only that it was powerful.
"Fucking freak," he muttered under his breath. "Just shut up and go."
Almost there. Stopping, you turned around and gave Barry your most provocative grin. "Is that all you got?"
Pain erupted from your mouth. Got him.
"I said shut the fuck up!" he shouted as rubbed his bruised knuckles.
Rolling your tongue over your teeth, you spat the small amount of blood gathered at the ground. "You punch like a bitch, Barry." Actually, it hurt like hell, but there was no enhanced strength behind it. That confirmed it, not everyone of Killian's security staff was Extremis users. That made your escape so much easier and complicated all at once.
"Shut up."
You smirked, but this time you stayed silent, after all, you'd gotten what you needed.
Seeing that you had nothing else to say, he grabbed you by the arm and pushed and prodded you forward, escorting you out of the room and leading you down a twist and turn of corridors and rooms that you would've been lost in if not for your memorising of the building's layout thanks to the cameras. Eventually, he stopped right outside a barred room. A cell.
"Someone will be here to get you in the morning," Barry said as unlocked the handcuffs. "So, sit tight until then." And then he left, the bars slamming shut behind him.
You rubbed at your wrists, the redness and raw feeling in your wrists fading away with a small glow. You took a quick look around the room. As far as cells go, this one wasn't bad. The bed was an actual bed, there was a small fridge filled with snacks and bottled water and there was a separate curtain with a shower and bathroom. Of course, no matter how gilded it is, a cage is still a cage.
Taking a sandwich and some water out of the mini-fridge, you deliberately looked away from the bed and set yourself down against the wall. As tired as you were, you couldn't let your guard down.
Still… you though after you finished eating, maybe you could just rest your eyes for a minute…
Before you knew it, your head lolled to the side and everything went black. And as your eyes closed, you power awoke. Beyond your control and unbound by your restrictions, gold bled through closed eyelids and flowed through air, reaching out for a serum that it had already poured so much of itself into. But there was always more to give, to shape in its image.
Over the next few hours, that serum's colouration would mutate, going from an impure orange to a memorizing gold with flecks of pulsating green. Flecks that if someone looked closely, would match a certain technopath's heartbeat.
26 Hours until misfire.
Your eyes snapped open as the sound of keys jiggling filled your ears. The first peaks of daylight streamed in through the barred window. Fuck, you slept through the night!
Nanites moved underneath your skin and Extremis pulsed, ready for anything. You hoped you would have enough time to get to the lab before Killian decided that you were no longer necessary, but if this was his clean-up crew now then you couldn't wait anymore, you'd have to come out swinging.
What came through that door was nothing like what you expected. Instead of a group heavily armed thugs, it was a single man in a cheap suit (at least cheap compared to anything you'd seen Tony wear, so probably not that cheap), that from what you could see, was carrying no weapons.
Well, that immediately ruled out anyone on Killian's payroll. But that didn't mean you were going to let your guard down. Your palm started to glow.
He raised his hands in surrender. "Don't shoot."
"Who are you?"
He closed the door behind him. "My name is Jackson Norriss. I'm to make you an offer."
An offer? "Are you with SHIELD?"
"No."
Oh? The plot thickens. Your arm relaxed a fraction, but you didn't lower it. "What kind of offer?"
"I can get you out of here."
Sure, he can. And since you seemed to have encountered a genie, maybe he can get you some decent food or a couple of extra thousand nanites as well. Though to be perfectly honest, you'd take either at the moment. "Well I appreciate the offer, but by my count there's at least thirty guards out there. With some guaranteed to be Extremis users. So, no offense, but unless you've got a tank under that monkey-suit of yours I don't think you'll be of much help."
He chuckled, not taking offense to your remark and pointed at his pocket. "Not a tank, but something almost as good, may I?"
"Go ahead."
He pulled a small box with a single button on the side and an antenna. A detonator?
"This is linked to almost every choke point in the building." He explained. "It will keep the guards distracted long enough for us to get off the property and then hide until I can call a helicopter in."
"Or trap us along with them." You pointed out.
He shook his head. "The chokepoints from here to the courtyard have no explosives covering them, its almost a straight run. We can be out of here in less than ten minutes."
You bit your lip as your mind when over Jackson just told you. It was a good plan. It would more than likely work. Ruthless as hell though. You don't want to know how many people may end up getting splattered by falling debris. Now normally you wouldn't give a shit, anyone who was working at a location Killian felt comfortable enough bringing a superhero and his chief scientist was likely neck deep in whatever Killian was planning, which made them no friends of yours. But there was a promise you had made, and if you went through with this plan then you wouldn't be able to keep it.
Plus, there was this suspicion that all this was too good to be true. This guy came out of nowhere offering you everything you needed right when you were about to make you own attempt. That and the fact he wasn't working for SHIELD, which as far as you knew was the only organisation that would have the jurisdiction to attempt to rescue someone like you. You felt like you'd just stepped into someone else's plan and you didn't like that one bit.
You needed more information. You lowered your arm. "Sounds like a plan."
"Then let's go." Jackson moved for the door.
"Just one thing…" Jackson turned back. "You never said who you were working for."
He smiled. "I am merely a servant for a far greater power." Why hello there, red flag.
You blurred forward and knocked him against the wall, your arm against his neck. "The last time I heard something like that it was coming from Aldrich Killian." Extremis surged along your arm, making your grip unbreakable. "Are you like him, are you working for the Mandarin?"
All pretence of civility vanished from his face in an instant. His face split into a snarl and his eyes burned with hatred. All signs of sanity had vanished. It was the face of a fanatic, of someone who would burn the world for their cause.
"Do not call that pretender the Mandarin! He has taken a name that is does not belong to him. His time will come. We will fill his body with holes for every ring of our faith." The fanatic faded away, hidden behind a mask of civility once more. He gave a polite cough. "I'm sorry, that was unprofessional. Now, can you please let me go?"
"Not so fast." You tightened the hold. "Pretender? What do you mean pretender?"
"He is a fake. A pawn of the true mastermind."
The only way he could be so sure that this 'Mandarin' was a fake if he had existing knowledge of the so-called real Mandarin, and the only way he could have that was if… You pushed those thoughts to the side. No, don't speculate. Just because he believes its true doesn't mean it is. Focus on the facts. There's a mastermind in this scenario. And the only person you've seen so far that could remotely fit that bill is…
"Killian." No, that couldn't be. But it made a terrifying amount of sense, for someone as paranoid as him. Why have a target on your back when you can put it on someone else's? You could see it. You could see it all too easily. But that didn't mean you were going to take the word of perhaps one of the most biased sources you'd ever met. "Do you have proof?"
"I do." Jackson said, beads of sweat trailed won his face. From the heat, not nervousness. "He's here. The fake. I can take you to him."
"No. You're not taking me anywhere. What room is he in?"
"The master bedroom."
You knew where that was. Thanks to your brief sojourn with the camera's you knew where almost every room was. It wasn't too far out of your way from the lab.
"Now, can you please let me go?" He repeated.
"Not yet." Smoke started drifting up from below and you looked down. Oh shit, your clothes were burning. The glow along your arms (and your chest?) dimmed as you pulled Extremis back. "Was getting me out of here your only objective?"
He nodded. "It was my primary one, yes."
"And now that I'm not going with you..." You leaded.
"I will move on to my secondary mission." He finished.
"Which is?"
A hint of the fanatic returned as his expression hardened. "Disrupting Aldrich Killian's plans."
Well that was annoyingly vague, and based on that look on his face you doubted you were getting anything more than that.
You weren't sure what to do here. You didn't want Jackson wandering around and potentially disrupting your own plans but what could you do? Short of killing him there was no way you could keep him contained. Locking him in your cell and leaving was just killing him indirectly, same with knocking him out. And you sure as hell couldn't trust him to watch your back.
There was also the fact that he hadn't harmed you, quite the opposite in fact. You had no quarrel with Jackson Norriss.
You guess in the end – you'd rather have a potential threat that you knew about taking out other threats then nothing but unknowns. That it also didn't make you a murderer was also a plus.
You released your grip and stepped back to give Jackson some room. "Try not to get in my way."
He adjusted his tie. "I assume you have a plan then."
You smirked. "Of course, you've just sped up my timetable."
"Very well, on behalf of my Master I wish you luck."
"I'll take planning," and overwhelming technological superiority. "Over luck any day. But I appreciate the sentiment."
Jackson drew a circle in the air. "May you be guided by the King's Wisdom."
Uh okay? 'Smile and nod, Jack' was your thought as you took your own advice. Smile and nod.
Jackson moved to leave before he suddenly turned back. "Here." He held out his hand. In it was a familiar box shaped object.
You took the detonator out of his hand with great care.
"I recommend that you're not in the building if you choose to set it off." Jackson advised.
You clipped it to your waist. "Thanks." You'd prefer not to use it at all, but you weren't going to turn down one of the best distractions you could think of. It would be rather difficult for Killian's people to keep a clear head when sky was falling down on them.
You knew that personally.
"You need to hold the button down for five seconds to set it off," was Jackson's parting statement as he prepared to leave.
"One more thing."
He turned back.
"If you hurt Maya Hansen, I'll repay it on your master a thousand fold."
"Understood."
And then he was gone.
Did you do the right thing? Was your thought as you watched Jackson leave. Maybe if you had more time you could have thought of a better way then turning what looked like a master assassin loose on Killian's forces, but you were drawing a blank.
Besides, you were almost out of time. You needed to get to the lab, find Maya and get both of you out, now. Maybe you could check out this so called fake on the way to see if Jackson really was telling the truth. Or you could head to the main server room, you still needed to find out what Project Ascendency was. Lastly, you could head to where all the Chitauri parts they'd acquired were being kept, that would help you drastically expand your arsenal.
Whatever you decided, you had enough time to go for one room, two at the most if you pushed it.
Designs of weapons of war flowed through your mind, each more vicious then the last, empowered by the nanites in your blood. You had held back on bringing them to bear.
No longer.
From under your skin, silver spread and pushed through.
You were done scheming. It was time to go on the offensive.
But before you headed for lab, what detours could you make? (choose up to 2)
[] Chitauri room: "No parts until tomorrow morning." Fucking liars. There was a room filled to the brim with broken down Chitauri parts. Guess the working parts were too expensive to bribe for, even for Killian. Still, they couldn't do anything with them, but you could. [Gain 5000 Chitauri Nanites]
[] Server Room: You've been in the dark long enough. Find out what Project Ascendency is and send it out to every network of Tony's that you know about. Killian greenlit it in response to Tony's actions, not yours. He was obviously the first target. [Gain Project Ascendency Knowledge and indirectly pass it onto Tony]
[] Main bedroom: The master bedroom wasn't that far out of the way. And as far as you could tell, Jackson never lied to you, so let's go see if this is true, and look this so-called Mandarin in the eye. [Gain knowledge of Killian's Mandarin]
But just as important as where you'll go, is what you'll arm yourself with. The nanites have boosted your powers significantly, time to use it. Choose any number of equipment that equals or is less then your free nanite total. Going over will invalidate your vote.
2000 Earth Nanites
2000 Chitauri Nanites
2000 Chitauri Nanites
[] Heat-Shredder Claws [Gloves]
[] Gloves of the Scarlet Flame [Gloves]
[] Scorching Morphing Appendages [Back]
[] Devastator Cannons [Shoulder]
[] Heat Mantle [Chest]
[] Rocket Booster Boots [Boots]
[] Firestorm Generator [Chest]
]
Cost: 1000 Earth Nanites
Boost
Close Range Combat +6 Stages
Perks
Heat Control: Extremis flows through this equipment, passively increasing its temperature.
Cost: 1000 Earth Nanites
Boost
Close Range Combat +6 Stages
Perks
Heat Control: Extremis flows through this equipment, passively increasing its temperature.
]
Cost: 1000 Earth Nanites, 500 Chitauri Nanites
Boost
All Range Combat +5 Stages
Perks
Direct Heat Control: Extremis flows through this equipment, passively increasing its temperature and allowing you to directly control its payload while firing.
Cost: 1000 Earth Nanites, 500 Chitauri Nanites
Boost
All Range Combat +5 Stages
Perks
Direct Heat Control: Extremis flows through this equipment, passively increasing its temperature and allowing you to directly control its payload while firing.
]
Cost: 500 Earth Nanites, 1500 Chitauri Nanites
Boost
Versatility + 5 Stages
Close and Medium Range Combat +4 Stages
Perks
Heat Control: Extremis flows through this equipment, passively increasing its temperature.
Configurable: Nanites control this equipment's structure, allowing it to be more fluid. You can use them as a weapon, a shield, an additional arm or whatever else you can think of.
Cost: 500 Earth Nanites, 1500 Chitauri Nanites
Boost
Versatility + 5 Stages
Close and Medium Range Combat +4 Stages
Perks
Heat Control: Extremis flows through this equipment, passively increasing its temperature.
Configurable: Nanites control this equipment's structure, allowing it to be more fluid. You can use them as a weapon, a shield, an additional arm or whatever else you can think of.
]
Cost: 1000 Earth Nanites, 500 Chitauri Nanites
Boost
Long Range Combat +8 Stages
Perks
Heat Control: Extremis flows through this equipment, passively increasing its temperature.
Shredder Ammo: Equipment's armament is concentrated heat generated by Extremis, massively increasing its armour piercing potential.
Cost: 1000 Earth Nanites, 500 Chitauri Nanites
Boost
Long Range Combat +8 Stages
Perks
Heat Control: Extremis flows through this equipment, passively increasing its temperature.
Shredder Ammo: Equipment's armament is concentrated heat generated by Extremis, massively increasing its armour piercing potential.
]
Cost: 1000 Earth Nanites, 1000 Chitauri Nanites]
Boost
Flight: +6 Stages
Close Range Combat +3 Stages
Perks
Heat Control: Extremis flows through this equipment, passively increasing its temperature.
Heat Burst: Equipment can unleash a concentrated burst of fire for additional speed or as an improvised weapon, at the cost of disabling the equipment for several minutes.
Cost: 1000 Earth Nanites, 1000 Chitauri Nanites]
Boost
Flight: +6 Stages
Close Range Combat +3 Stages
Perks
Heat Control: Extremis flows through this equipment, passively increasing its temperature.
Heat Burst: Equipment can unleash a concentrated burst of fire for additional speed or as an improvised weapon, at the cost of disabling the equipment for several minutes.
]
Cost: 1000 Chitauri Nanites
Boost
Close Range Combat +3 Stages
Durability +4 Stages
Perks
Heat Control: Extremis flows through this equipment, passively increasing its temperature.
Heat Shield: Generate barriers of pure plasma. Become the unyielding bulwark.
Cost: 1000 Chitauri Nanites
Boost
Close Range Combat +3 Stages
Durability +4 Stages
Perks
Heat Control: Extremis flows through this equipment, passively increasing its temperature.
Heat Shield: Generate barriers of pure plasma. Become the unyielding bulwark.
]
Cost: 1000 Earth Nanites, 1000 Chitauri Nanites
Boost
Versatility +3 Stages
All Range Combat +4 Stages
Perks
Heat Control: Extremis flows through this equipment, passively increasing its temperature.
Direct Interface: Have you ever wanted to be a firebender? Directly interface with Extremis and generate pure fire from any part of your body.
Cost: 1000 Earth Nanites, 1000 Chitauri Nanites
Boost
Versatility +3 Stages
All Range Combat +4 Stages
Perks
Heat Control: Extremis flows through this equipment, passively increasing its temperature.
Direct Interface: Have you ever wanted to be a firebender? Directly interface with Extremis and generate pure fire from any part of your body.
Well, that took a lot longer to write then what I expected, but I also ended up writing 4000 more words then what I thought I needed to so it balances out.
Also, if any of you are confused on who Jackson Norriss is, just google his name plus MCU. Though spoilers obviously.
2 Hour Moratorium. Votes will need to be in a plan obviously. I'll be checking the thread for any questions.
Feel free to discuss.
Last edited:
- Location
- Seattle, Washington
Cross-posted from Spacebattles:
So, if we take the Chitauri Room, that gives us 2000 earth and 7000 Chituari nanites. We can then use it to get the following loadout, which leaves 1.5k Chitauri Nanites free for future use, and gives the following stats at all times
+13 Close-Range Combat (+16 at cost of sacrificing Flight for a few minutes)
+4 Mid-Range Combat
+8 Long-Range Combat (With Armor Piercing)
+4 Durability
+5 Versatility
+6 Flight
I am focusing on close-range combat because we will be fighting in close quarters, and if we use our ranged attacks too much, we might burn the place down (Since I think all of our ranged attacks are heat based)
[ ] Plan Versatile
-[ ] Chitauri room: "No parts until tomorrow morning." Fucking liars. There was a room filled to the brim with broken down Chitauri parts. Guess the working parts were too expensive to bribe for, even for Killian. Still, they couldn't do anything with them, but you could. [Gain 5000 Chitauri Nanites]
-[ ] Server Room: You've been in the dark long enough. Find out what Project Ascendency is and send it out to every network of Tony's that you know about. Killian greenlit it in response to Tony's actions, not yours. He was obviously the first target. [Gain Project Ascendency Knowledge and indirectly pass it onto Tony]
-[ ] Heat-Shredder Claws [Gloves] 1k Earth
-[ ] Scorching Morphing Appendages [Back] 500 Earth, 1.5k Chitauri
-[ ] Devastator Cannons [Shoulder] 500 Earth, 1k Chitauri
-[ ] Rocket Booster Boots [Boots] 2k Chitauri
-[ ] Heat Mantle [Chest] 1k Chitauri
-[ ] Keep 1500 Chitauri Nanites in reserve
So, if we take the Chitauri Room, that gives us 2000 earth and 7000 Chituari nanites. We can then use it to get the following loadout, which leaves 1.5k Chitauri Nanites free for future use, and gives the following stats at all times
+13 Close-Range Combat (+16 at cost of sacrificing Flight for a few minutes)
+4 Mid-Range Combat
+8 Long-Range Combat (With Armor Piercing)
+4 Durability
+5 Versatility
+6 Flight
I am focusing on close-range combat because we will be fighting in close quarters, and if we use our ranged attacks too much, we might burn the place down (Since I think all of our ranged attacks are heat based)
[ ] Plan Versatile
-[ ] Chitauri room: "No parts until tomorrow morning." Fucking liars. There was a room filled to the brim with broken down Chitauri parts. Guess the working parts were too expensive to bribe for, even for Killian. Still, they couldn't do anything with them, but you could. [Gain 5000 Chitauri Nanites]
-[ ] Server Room: You've been in the dark long enough. Find out what Project Ascendency is and send it out to every network of Tony's that you know about. Killian greenlit it in response to Tony's actions, not yours. He was obviously the first target. [Gain Project Ascendency Knowledge and indirectly pass it onto Tony]
-[ ] Heat-Shredder Claws [Gloves] 1k Earth
-[ ] Scorching Morphing Appendages [Back] 500 Earth, 1.5k Chitauri
-[ ] Devastator Cannons [Shoulder] 500 Earth, 1k Chitauri
-[ ] Rocket Booster Boots [Boots] 2k Chitauri
-[ ] Heat Mantle [Chest] 1k Chitauri
-[ ] Keep 1500 Chitauri Nanites in reserve
- Location
- Bronx new york
[X] Plan : Firebender growth
-[X] Chitauri room: "No parts until tomorrow morning." Fucking liars. There was a room filled to the brim with broken down Chitauri parts. Guess the working parts were too expensive to bribe for, even for Killian. Still, they couldn't do anything with them, but you could. [Gain 5000 Chitauri Nanites]
-[X] Server Room: You've been in the dark long enough. Find out what Project Ascendency is and send it out to every network of Tony's that you know about. Killian greenlit it in response to Tony's actions, not yours. He was obviously the first target. [Gain Project Ascendency Knowledge and indirectly pass it onto Tony]
-[X] Gloves of the Scarlet Flame [Gloves] 1k earth 500 Chitauri
-[X] Rocket Booster Boots [Boots] 2k Chitauri
-[X] Heat Mantle [Chest] 1k Chitauri
-[X] Firestorm Generator [Chest] 1.k earth 1k chitauri
-[X] Reserve the 2500 Chitauri Nanites
-[X] Chitauri room: "No parts until tomorrow morning." Fucking liars. There was a room filled to the brim with broken down Chitauri parts. Guess the working parts were too expensive to bribe for, even for Killian. Still, they couldn't do anything with them, but you could. [Gain 5000 Chitauri Nanites]
-[X] Server Room: You've been in the dark long enough. Find out what Project Ascendency is and send it out to every network of Tony's that you know about. Killian greenlit it in response to Tony's actions, not yours. He was obviously the first target. [Gain Project Ascendency Knowledge and indirectly pass it onto Tony]
-[X] Gloves of the Scarlet Flame [Gloves] 1k earth 500 Chitauri
-[X] Rocket Booster Boots [Boots] 2k Chitauri
-[X] Heat Mantle [Chest] 1k Chitauri
-[X] Firestorm Generator [Chest] 1.k earth 1k chitauri
-[X] Reserve the 2500 Chitauri Nanites
Last edited:
Warmach1ne32
Machine of War and Quests
- Location
- Indonesia
[X] Plan Versatile
- Location
- Seattle, Washington
@Dragonstar719 You need to post your vote again for it to be counted properly. Also, something important to note is that the Heat Mantle and Firestorm generator cannot be used at the same time (Having both of them equipped is valid, Traveler just can't get the benefits of both at the same time, he has to swap between them), because they occupy the same equipment slot.
[X] Plan Versatile
-[X] Chitauri room: "No parts until tomorrow morning." Fucking liars. There was a room filled to the brim with broken down Chitauri parts. Guess the working parts were too expensive to bribe for, even for Killian. Still, they couldn't do anything with them, but you could. [Gain 5000 Chitauri Nanites]
-[X] Server Room: You've been in the dark long enough. Find out what Project Ascendency is and send it out to every network of Tony's that you know about. Killian greenlit it in response to Tony's actions, not yours. He was obviously the first target. [Gain Project Ascendency Knowledge and indirectly pass it onto Tony]
-[X] Heat-Shredder Claws [Gloves] 1k Earth
-[X] Scorching Morphing Appendages [Back] 500 Earth, 1.5k Chitauri
-[X] Devastator Cannons [Shoulder] 500 Earth, 1k Chitauri
-[X] Rocket Booster Boots [Boots] 2k Chitauri
-[X] Heat Mantle [Chest] 1k Chitauri
-[X] Keep 1500 Chitauri Nanites in reserve
[X] Plan Versatile
-[X] Chitauri room: "No parts until tomorrow morning." Fucking liars. There was a room filled to the brim with broken down Chitauri parts. Guess the working parts were too expensive to bribe for, even for Killian. Still, they couldn't do anything with them, but you could. [Gain 5000 Chitauri Nanites]
-[X] Server Room: You've been in the dark long enough. Find out what Project Ascendency is and send it out to every network of Tony's that you know about. Killian greenlit it in response to Tony's actions, not yours. He was obviously the first target. [Gain Project Ascendency Knowledge and indirectly pass it onto Tony]
-[X] Heat-Shredder Claws [Gloves] 1k Earth
-[X] Scorching Morphing Appendages [Back] 500 Earth, 1.5k Chitauri
-[X] Devastator Cannons [Shoulder] 500 Earth, 1k Chitauri
-[X] Rocket Booster Boots [Boots] 2k Chitauri
-[X] Heat Mantle [Chest] 1k Chitauri
-[X] Keep 1500 Chitauri Nanites in reserve
- Location
- Bronx new york
Okay thanks @Captainwolf
[X] Plan : Firebender growth
-[X] Chitauri room: "No parts until tomorrow morning." Fucking liars. There was a room filled to the brim with broken down Chitauri parts. Guess the working parts were too expensive to bribe for, even for Killian. Still, they couldn't do anything with them, but you could. [Gain 5000 Chitauri Nanites]
-[X] Server Room: You've been in the dark long enough. Find out what Project Ascendency is and send it out to every network of Tony's that you know about. Killian greenlit it in response to Tony's actions, not yours. He was obviously the first target. [Gain Project Ascendency Knowledge and indirectly pass it onto Tony]
-[X] Gloves of the Scarlet Flame [Gloves] 1k earth 500 Chitauri
-[X] Rocket Booster Boots [Boots] 2k Chitauri
-[X] Firestorm Generator [Chest] 1.k earth 1k chitauri
-[X] Reserve the 3500 Chitauri Nanites
[X] Plan : Firebender growth
-[X] Chitauri room: "No parts until tomorrow morning." Fucking liars. There was a room filled to the brim with broken down Chitauri parts. Guess the working parts were too expensive to bribe for, even for Killian. Still, they couldn't do anything with them, but you could. [Gain 5000 Chitauri Nanites]
-[X] Server Room: You've been in the dark long enough. Find out what Project Ascendency is and send it out to every network of Tony's that you know about. Killian greenlit it in response to Tony's actions, not yours. He was obviously the first target. [Gain Project Ascendency Knowledge and indirectly pass it onto Tony]
-[X] Gloves of the Scarlet Flame [Gloves] 1k earth 500 Chitauri
-[X] Rocket Booster Boots [Boots] 2k Chitauri
-[X] Firestorm Generator [Chest] 1.k earth 1k chitauri
-[X] Reserve the 3500 Chitauri Nanites
- Location
- Illinoise
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Plan Versatile
