The Conquering Mind (IC)

[Fox]

Dragonfly was making rather profound use of a very broad, multi-lingual vocabulary as she scrambled for the nullifier before it could manage to get itself damaged. would be just our luck - find a spot - no - no - no - there - feet are too slow - predictable - move Her eyes settled on a spot that her visor told her was about as close to the thing's center of mass as she was going to manage without actually walking on it; a thought later space turned inside out and deposited her where she wanted to be.

As fast as she could she had the thing set upright and the cover pulled off. Were she a pithier hero she'd probably have had an excellent one-liner about brain mass or viruses or Grue; she had to make do with a fairly colorful epithet questioning the Mind's dubious maternal ancestry as she grabbed the center switch and twisted. had better work, she reflected as she watched the device hum to life. fairly sure odds are against us - phrase - "'when', not 'if'"

[Dr Archeville]

Tactical Analysis: Immediate combat ceased, but exact reasoning unsure.

Primary Goal: Preserve organic life.

Toughness of organic superhero Siren unknown, so simply dropping her as happened to Captain Thunder (who from this angle appears unharmed from the fall, possibly due to additional cushioning provided by Siren's net), I shall set her down.
Since we must pass by The Lab anyway, I shall set her down there.

"Possibly," Protectron said flatly, already heading back to wards The Lab with the unconscious Siren in hand. "Scenario One, Friends-Americana and Dragonfly have successfully neutralized Grue/LV-13 Hybrid, and this unconsciousness is a precursor to true freedom from the hybrid entity's influence. Scenario Two, is that Friends-Americana and Dragonfly are in combat with the Grue/LV-13 Hybrid Entity now, and it is either 2a] losing the concentration needed to sustain its telepathic connection to the infected hosts due to their assaults, or 2b] focusing its attention on a few top-tier agents in its control in order to ward off their assault, or 2c] focusing its total mental energies on those two, in an attempt to pull them under its control."

Reaching the Lab, it gently laid Siren down on the Lab's helipad, "in any case, now that this organic is safely down, I advise heading to the Star Island complex with all haste."

The golden robot jetted off towards Star Island, though its speed was such that Sharl could easily leave it behind.

[Avenger Assembled]

The Conquering Mind gave a terrible squeal as the mind-warping waves of the nullifier washed over its body, and as Dragonfly watched the writhing, pulsating mass began to fall apart into ever-shrinking clumps of red and black that turned into the blood-red starfishes that she'd seen crawl out of the commander's neck a very, very long day ago. The mass was hideous to look at, but it seemed to have no driving will; it was more like looking at a schoolbus-sized mass of starfish all dumped together on a concrete floor than anything else. Behind her, as she turned, she saw the winner of the Daedalus/Miss Americana fight: the two gadgeteers plunged to earth together, landing with the sound of denting metal and cracking concrete. Both of them lay still, clearly unconscious.

-

Sharl wound up tagging along with Protectron for the flight out to Lonely Point, clinging onto the robot's leg with a sturdy magnetic grip. The voice of the Mind was gone from the robot's sensors, and now he could hear the voices of emergency personnel coming on the radio asking for status, a couple of shocked disk jockeys who found themselves back on the air, and eventually even Star Knight and Captain Thunder on the Freedom League's radio system reassuring everyone that things were going to be okay now. The Conquering Mind had been defeated!

[Fox]

Dragonfly sat back, letting out a held breath as she heard the radio chatter over her visor. She glanced over at Miss Americana's prone body and winced, though; hauling herself back up onto her feet, she made her way over and did her best to assure anyone and everyone showing up to help that she had things under control, and Daedalus probably needed her help more than the more shapely paragon did....

As soon as no one was looking Dragonfly pulled the robot into her storage. should probably put this somewhere safe until she - probably a she? - can take care of it Any other day she'd have been awfully tempted to poke around it with datalink or a noninvasive tool...but right now she was starving, tired, and she was pretty sure her own sweat was pooling at the feet of the hazmat suit. "I...am gross," she tiredly announced over the still-active intercom, looking out at the writhing mass of starfish. "And tired. And hungry. Going to see to Miss Americana's...safety, make sure hazard teams know how nullifier works, shower. Play bass. Eat. Call girlfriend. Not in that order."

[Dr Archeville]

As soon as Protectron was within a mile of Star Island, it switched on its internal comms and contacted Dragonfly (and attempted to contact Miss Americana). "Sharl and I are on the way, ETA 31.68 seconds. Do you require assistance?"

The reply received was Dragonfly's grumblings.

"May I assume that your statements are indicative of a successful use of the nullifier against the 'Conquering Mind,' and that much of the danger is passed?," it said flatly. "If so, do either of you, or anyone else at your location, require medical attention?"

Observation: Friend-Dragonfly expresses hunger. Likely also dehydrated due to lengthy conditions in hazmat suit.

Conclusion: After Grue/LV-13 hybrid macroorganisms are contained, return to The Lab to prepare nutritious meal, with plenty of water for rehydration.

Secondary Task: See to captured infected heroes in Lab holding cells, and to Siren on The Lab's roof helipad.

Secondary Observation: Digital entity Sharl can transmit himself across electronic networks.

Tactical Analysis: If Sharl can do so across my inboard communications systems, this could be a very useful tactic for us to use in future conflicts.

It turned its head slightly to address Sharl, "I hypothesize that your ability to transmit across digital communications systems would allow you to 'piggyback' on my comms systems, and instantly teleport from here to the receivers at our Lab-Friends on Star Island. Do you wish to attempt it? If so, it may prove a useful tactic we could employ at latter times, especially if I can improve the range of my transmissions."

[Avenger Assembled]

"...I'll go, but I won't go there," said Sharl, making his decision quickly. "You and Dragonfly make sure Miss Americana makes it back to the Lab in one piece. I need to...I need to see my friend." And with that, Sharl concentrated, reaching out with the same 'senses' that Miss Americana had downloaded into his mind earlier when she was modifying him for the trip out to Lonely Point, and suddenly he was abruptly gone from Protectron's back, with only a faint echo of radio waves showing what direction he'd gone: not towards the island, but somewhere out in Freedom City.

Elsewhere, Sharl abruptly spilled out of Gina's holoprojectors in the basement, his image fuzzing slightly for a moment from the sheer force of the strain he'd just put himself under. "Gina!" he called out.