Something in the Water (IC)

[Dariusprime]

Darwin looked back mid stride and then continued right on trotting. Impersonating Steam's accent, he replied, "We've villains to punch, Masterpiece Theatre!"

Having a look over the hobos didn't seem like a bad idea. No, the timing just felt a little off. He doubted the mastermind behind this plan would have his or her people fire with abandon if they weren't on a truncated timeline. So went his logic anyway. Not to mention why someone would use murderous bums, or where they'd find such homeless people. Hopefully, they were alright...

In any event, as the sunlight died away behind the industrial infrastructure, Darwin slowed down further, sniffing the ground carefully. The water plant and the acrid smells of sanitation compounds loomed large. Likely too would their quarry!

[Semi-Autogyro]

"Roger that, let's move out." Myrmidon said, as he followed Animus deeper into the bowels of the water treatment plant. He scanned his surroundings continually, hoping to avoid another ambush. Noting the more enclosed spaces than the entry to the plant, he changed his weapon to be more suitable to the environs.

Still, this facility offered many places to hide not to mention the rapidly approaching nightfall would further complicate things. While he wondered about who would go to the facilities offices, his instincts as a soldier felt that the better target was the water supply. He held his weapon at the ready, trusting Darwins' nose to lead them to their objective.

[Raveled]

GM

The Australian hero turned towards the smell of water, Lord Steam and Myrmidon trailing in his wake. The trio of heroes moved through the complex, approaching the huge mixing tanks where the water was actually processed. Just before a final turning, Animus stopped them all; the particular stench of the hobo gunman had gotten noticeably stronger during the last few steps. He peered around the corner and, yes, there they were; a group of twenty or so were group around one of the large basins, and several more were manhandling a barrel up the staircase on the side. A barrel with a very clear BIOHAZARD warning on the side.

[Supercape]

Lord Steam was not used to "creeping around". However, he had just been shot, and there were twenty men fully armed.

So creeping around it was.

"I say!" he whispered. "If I'm not mistaken chaps, it appears those blighter's aren't playing cricket!"

"This calls for some kind of distraction, or something eh? divide and conquer, so to speak?"

[Semi-Autogyro]

He peeked around the corner and saw twenty of them, each armed with a motley collection of firearms.

Myrmidon zeroed in on the group hauling the barrel to the cistern. "We need to stop them." he spoke in hushed tones. A flash-bang grenade materialized in his left hand. "If the both of you two flank them, we can attack them from multiple sides after this detonates."

He continued, "I can provide cover fire from here as well." Hopefully the grenade would dazzle them causing them to lose control of the barrel, while the others were caught unaware by Animus and Lord Steam.

[Dariusprime]

"Bloody lot of 'em," whispered Darwin. Nodding to his companions, he motioned around the left of the room ahead. "You blokes have the right idea. I'll creep around left if you'll take right, Lord Fog." A big grin erupted when he noted the stun grenade.

"I love this job," he whispered to himself. Tapping the chameleon symbol on his neck, he faded from view as surely as the Invisible Man. The only recognizable pattern, a shimmer in the air, crouched and turned left around the corner. The young hero slipped along the wall, and just as adeptly, crawled up the walls and pipes.

Ever so slowly he approached group of homeless, eh, villains? Even crawled along any pipes or grating that could be a ceiling. Yes, this would be a good surprise, but he had to make sure not to be too close! Flash bangs and all, right?

He waited.

[Supercape]

Lord Steam crept around to the right, feeling rather outgunned and outnumbered. His hand clenched around his cane. They had the element of surprise, and he was pretty sure these clowns were no experts in baritsu like he was. But even so, the numbers were not in their favour. They would have to be fast, quick, and hard.

He was not accustomed to creeping around, but if the need was great - and it was - then he would try his hand at anything, and he was no klutz. He took his time, doing his best to stay silent and out of view...

[Semi-Autogyro]

Myrmidon waited for the others to move into position before lobbing the flash-bang grenade at the group hauling the bio-hazard barrel. He angled it so it would drop in from above them, getting the most out of the blast. Hopefully it would also obscure his attacking position from them as he ducked back down behind a set of pipes. He was hopeful that this would work, as he waited for the imminent shouts of confusion and subsequent detonation of the grenade. John pondered the reasons of using these men for the job as they were not professionals in any sense of the word as he mentally counted down the seconds to the explosion.

[Raveled]

GM

Myrmidon's summoned flashbang arced high in the air, dropping down towards the group of ill-dressed thugs. It went off in a harsh bang and flash of light that was almost painful even where the heroes were crouching; for those directly under the epicenter, it was a disabling cacophony. Unfortunately, only one of the hobos had the presence of mind to ignore his bleeding ears and streaming eyes and keep a hold on the barrel. The rest squeezed their eyes shut and clapped their hands over their ears, sagging against the railing. One man couldn't do the work of five, though, and the barrel rolled down the staircase to the ground, shattering upon the concrete. A viscous blue-black fluid began to leak out, and from the way the other hobos edged away from it, it wasn't something to take lightly.

[Dariusprime]

Animus cursed like a sailor and tapped his crocodile tattoo on his chest. His free-hand hold on the pipes released and he dropped down amongst the barrel workers.

"Oi, bad timing ain't it?!" he said while spinning in mid air, his legs making a wide circle at head level. A couple of solid thumps registered.

Pulling his legs in he landed low, crouching in case of a blind counter attack. He didn't count himself the greatest of martial artists, but he could manage against a few hobos! Certainly, he tried not to hurt them too badly. Whatever brought them to this state wasn't anything good. They weren't professionals by any measure!

[Raveled]

GM

Animus' surprise attack would've caught the bums unawares if they had been able to see; as it was, his sweeping legs (which looked just like a thickly muscled tail for a moment) knocked the thugs down and caused them to tumble off the stairs. Flush with victory, the hero came under small-arms fire from the homeless down near the base of the basin. Most of the shots barely missed him, but suddenly he felt a harsh fire in his leg as one of the bullets hit him!

[Supercape]

At the sound of Gunfire, Lord Steam whipped into action, with a run and a jump into the centre of a group of workers, landing in a baritsu posture.

"Guttersnipes! Lowest of the low!" he said in a stiff voice full of regal reprimand, before his cane flashed left and right, to and fro, striking one rapscallion and another around him.

[Raveled]

Victorian detective rushed into the criminals, cane swinging with deceptive grace as he spilled several of them on the ground, stunning them and making sure they wouldn't be getting up. The hobos on top of the basin opened fire on Steam, but none of them even grazed the top-hat wearing hero. All they managed to do was dig gouges into the concrete surrounding him.

[Semi-Autogyro]

John moved out of cover, bracing the spread stunner against his shoulder as he rounded the cistern. He took aim at the motley crew of vagrants on top of the basin and depressed the firing stud.

A conical undulating wave of force emitted from the end of the weapon, followed shortly by the harsh report. Myrmidon lowered the gun taking in the results of the attack before finding a new set of targets.

[Raveled]

GM

As Myrmidon stepped out of hiding, several of the thugs along the rim of the basin shifted their aims up. Their thoroughly unprofessional shooting didn't manage to even graze the solider, but it did put his eye off. Rather than sweeping the bums from the top of the water tower, he only managed to glance a couple. Those two weren't even knocked back, merely dazed by the high-powered weapon.

[Dariusprime]

Now the funny thing about Animus had to do with his reaction to pain. If he was to become a seasoned superhero at Claremont, then he really needed to work on his language. Really the young Aussie could speak quite fluently and without excessive use of slang. But like any good Aussie, his displeasure firmly expressed itself in a litany of curses of considerable creativity.

Which is exactly what he did while hopping around clutching his leg! Growling like an angry dingo, he hop/skipped down the stairs to the rim of the basin. Not into the goo! He did his best to avoid that and lunged over to the nearest shooter. Yes, they may well be innocent in some respect, but they shot him! He wasn't going to hurt them. Just get their attention!

"That hurt! A lot!" he yelled all the while socking a fellow in the nose. And using the fellow for cover. Animus was crazy not stupid!

[Raveled]

GM

Animus' blows were too fast to follow, and the thug he directed his attack at was downed in one punch. Atop the basin, the thugs who hadn't been temporarily taken out of the fight by Myrmidon's sonic stunner reaimed and opened fire on the Aussie. However, all they managed to do was raise a lot of sparks off the concrete ground.

[Supercape]

Lord Steam leapt to Animus' side.

"Tally ho, my antipodean chum!" he yelled, as his boot unbalanced one of the crooks, and he followed up with a blow from the butt of his crane, slamming into the jaw of the poor fellow.

"This feels like the three musketeers, only not French, thank the gods!" he added, shoving away a few ill-timed telegraphed punches.

[Raveled]

GM

The Victorian hero's skills with a cane were put to good use, bopping one thug on the head and sending him to the ground. He swung the length of hardwood at another offender, but the grizzled man took the blow to his coat and the layers of leather and cotton there softened the blow. The hobo dropped his pistol and pulled out a rusty crowbar; grinning cruelly, he swung at Lord Steam and connected solidly with the hero!

[Supercape]

"Ruffian"

"Cheat"

"Cad"

Replied Lord Steam, backing off and rolling with the blow, thankful that he was wearing his kevlar vest. A worthwhile investment he conceded. Even if it wasn't as comfortable as his silk shirt. Perhaps he would need to work on that.

It still smarted, of course, but he had been stabbed, shot, and punched enough to know a glancing blow from a serious one. This was the the former. And he didn't approved of the weapon, or the assailant.

"You really should keep your crowbars in better order" he said, his dry voice full of aristocratic authority. "Will you look at the rust on that?"

[Semi-Autogyro]

Myrmidon needed to whittle down the numbers fast, so he concentrated on the spread stunner in his hands. It changed shape, gaining a heft the previous one did not have. He pulled the trigger, and a long stream of greyish colored material started splashing around the opponents on the upper level. On impact it rapidly started to expand, encasing whatever it touched.

Myrmidon kept sweeping it over them, with all the concern of a man watering his lawn.

[Dariusprime]

"I gotta agree, mate!" laughed Animus at Lord Steam's three musketeers and, especially, French comments.

His leg slowly went numb, which allowed him to step upon it more than gingerly. Now more mobile, he swiftly hopped up against Lord Steam. There they stood, fighting back-to-back, against the streams of ruffians. In the moment the British lord fell several more and rolled from a counter strike, Animus leaped away, assured in the knowledge that the Englishmen did indeed know how to fight properly.

Which meant that the Aussie could focus on his own little corner of mischief! Down he swept to the bottom of the basin, tapping his parrot tattoo as he went, and yes, actually flapped his arms to control his movement! Not that the silliness of the exercise bothered him in the slightest. That the last free enemies looked stunned at his sudden...bird-ness...only served to aid his attack!

POW! The Bird Man kicked the lead thug square in the chest. Bringing his legs up, he hovered parrot-like and landed with that lovely awkwardness of large birds. Even squawked like an angry parrot at the same time!

[Supercape]

"Take that!" retorted Steam to the thug with the crowbar, knocking it aside with his superior cane, and thrusting it at the belly of the thug.

"Fly like the wind, Sir!" he called out to Animus as the Antipodean flew off.

"I still think you need a haircut, mind! I can recommend a good barber!" he added, as his cane whipped around again.

[Raveled]

GM

Between the pair of them, the Australian hero and the Victorian detective took the few remaining thugs down in good order. Before long they were all trussed up, tied hand and feet with lengths of cord that the heroes scrounged. While the felonious homeless had been dealt with, there was still an unknown chemical spilled out onto the concrete, leaking from the barrel that the thugs had dropped when Myrmidon blinded them. It wasn't eating away at the concrete, at least not visibly, but Lord Steam's steampunk chemical sniffer was going mad over it.

[Supercape]

"And don't do it again!" said Lord Steam, chiding the last unconscious thugs and dusting off his coat.

He quickly turned to examine the spilt chemicals, and his copper plated analytical tube. He clearly recalled his chemistry lessons at school. All childishly simple to a man of his astounding intellect, but he had never taken his studies much further. Of course, all knowledge could be applied to the noble art of detective work, so he didn't discount anything he learned.

"By Tesla's Coils!" he exclaimed, examining both the chemicals and his gizmo. "Over here!" he called out to his allies. "Come, what do you make of this?"