ic OVERTHROW in Freedom Hall!(IC)

[Azuth65]

Silver Spider crept along the ceiling, nearly soundless as she moved. Coming up on one corner she saw one of the terrorists peering in some of the doors, apparently looking for anyone they might have missed. The arachnid themed heroine waited for her unsuspecting target to pass before dropping from above to club him simply over the head with a powerful strike. Her blow connected, knocking him to the ground and into unconsciousness.

She pulled him into one of the abandoned offices, webbed him to the wall and, like the first one, disassembled his rifle and leaving or breaking several of the important bits of the gun. With her task complete and evidence of the brief combat out of immediate sight, she continued on towards the hostages.

[Brown Dynamite]

Pondering on his feelings about. "Russia? Hm, haven't had Shchi in years, at least the real stuff. Or big old plate of studen, well I suppose I can make cuisine plans later. As for getting my water wings, I suppose I have none. But just in case anyone here's wondering, I don't have gills. I'm hoping not to have to hold my breath for too long." Walking casually to the the federal building with AEGIS agents was definitely not the way he expected the day to go when he got up.

[Tiffany Korta]

With a burst of photons Agnus flashed into the sky, only to find that those on the roof had already been dealt with. It looked like today was going to be one of those days when she was always behind. Seeing the open entrance she figured that must have been the direction that Asad had gone, and the plan was to back him up, so she dived down towards the door. She couldn’t help but do a little roll as she came out of the dive.

As she reached Asad it seems that she’d sprung some kind of trap as doors came crashing down, and out of the corner of her eyes she saw several OVERTHROWN troopers waiting in ambush.

“Well that just perfect! This is my day in a nutshell.†She looked towards Asad and gave a friendly smile “Hey there, I suggest you close your eye like right now.â€

With a rapid build-up of her aura she released a blinding flash of light which filled the tiny space with blinding white light.

[Ari]

GM

The blaze of light washed through the lobby, the startled OVERTHROW soldier above them barely managing to throw his hand in front of his eyes, pushing against the ceiling with all his might as he strove to keep from tumbling to the ground as he weathered the attack that turned the world to white fire behind his eyelids. The other man down the hall saw the growing flash of light, and swung around just in time. "Wasn't expecting that" muttered the one down the hall, smelling of smoke, calling back "Halb! You alright?" "I am fine" came the quiet and serene response from the man on the ceiling, replacing his hand against the curve above the doorway, tensing for his attack, two startlingly blue eyes glaring down at Young Britannia "I have my target. Engage yours" the light in the room suddenly grew paler and weaker, and the shadows around Young Britannia and Asad lengthened and deepened.

---

"The cuisine is unlikely to be so good, AEGIS' budget doesn't allow for much like that. We can provide all the freeze-dried food you can eat though!" Agent Anthea laughed, leading the way across the crosswalk, heading the trio towards the Federal Building. "And we can get you some SCUBA gear. You'll be helping a new agent on his first official mission, and I'm sure he could use some pointers in swimming."

[TheAbsurdist]

Asad drew to a sharp stop, seeing the guy down the hallway, and then he glanced up seeing the person above them, and then his eyes started to glow before he lifted a hand, and the force he had taken from attack on him roiled and burst force, buffeting the man above them, before the billionaire hero lowered his gaze and looked down at the guy. "Oh, now you gentlemen are going to fairplay. I am afraid you are going to both of your efforts to bring me down. Do not worry, I promise the ad campaign I will run will only smear you through the appropriate amount of muck, that you deserve."

[KnightDisciple]

Gabriel had held back a bit as the others rushed into the building; he stayed outside partly to make sure the "negotiation team" the criminals had sent out stayed subdued, partially to make sure the law officers weren't seriously injured, and partially to move in as backup if any one part of the scenario went bad.

He was about to move into the building when his eyes caught a bit of motion over by the helicopter, and he saw a figure start to board it. He turned to the present law enforcement as they restrained the OVERTHROW members.

"If you'll pardon me, someone's trying to leave the party early."

And with barely a sound, he was suddenly a blur in the air that was crouched a bit over the rapidly-accelerating helicopter blades. He was standing just behind whoever was boarding the chopper, his face calm and confident, his tone somewhere between "conversational" and "chiding".

"Pardon me, but I think it's best if you don't leave just yet. I'd hate to make a scene of this, like you know I could. So just shut down the helicopter, step out, and explain yourself. Now."

[Ari]

GM

After a few moments the would-be escapee edged out of the cockpit, holding his hands in the air and looking rather nervous. They were a sandy-haired vaguely Dutch looking man, wearing the same combat uniform the other OVERTHROW soldiers wore. "I..uh...I wasn't gonna shoot anyone! Those rockets don't even work!"

---

Inside, the other man down the hall abruptly lit on fire, barked "Okay, screw you guys. You're going DOWN, Light Lady!" and hurled himself at Young Britannia, his feet moving faster than the eye could follow, leaving a smear of burned marble behind him, his fist full of flame lashing out...and whistling past her wit a trail of smoke.

"You need to time your attacks, Charfoot" the shadowy man explained, sounding a little pained after the sudden concussive blast to the chest he had received from Asad. He had cushioned the blow moderately well, and a sudden tentacle of darkness lashed out at the energy absorber with a faint hiss of otherworldly power, trying to snag him around the waist. "As for ad campaigns, I would suggest some good French agencies I know, but when you're pulled in half such things can be a little hard to keep in perspective."

The guard overseeing the hostages looked over the prisoners, humming quietly to himself as he wandered over to the door, glancing out "Huh, wonder where the others are..."

[Raveled]

Starlight picked up the discarded weapon and studied the face and form of the downed woman, preparing her own imitation. The sounds of battle grew suddenly closer, however, and so the heroine dropped the weapon and moved quickly down the corridor. She turned a corner and saw another armed terrorist. She heard his question and smiled. "The rest of your allies," she said, raising a palm to face the criminal, "failed to see the wisdom in surrender. Just like you." The glow intensified to the point of pain and the hall was filled with white light, which punched into the terrorist.

[Ari]

GM

The OVERTHROW soldier nodded, a look of irritation crossing his face just as the blast of solid light struck him "Oh, yeah, that so-argh!" he began, only to cry aloud in pain as he was flung fifty feet and into a hardwood wall, which he slumped off of in a heap.

At the sound of the thud and the blaze of light, the hostages slowly began to creep out of the lunch room they had been held in before the leader saw Starlight and gleefully called back into the room "It's okay! We're saved!", the civil servants quick to rush out of the room, many of them eagerly shaking the Grue's hand and thank her, the grey-haired Mayor OÇonnor among them, with a smile as well as an earnest"We can't thank you enough! You've saved our lives, ma'am, and stopped a terrible threat to this city." he glanced down the halls "Is it safe for these people to leave the building? Or are there other OVERTHROW goons that still need to be collared?" he asked with a rueful rub at a slight bruise on his neck.

[Azuth65]

Moving through the hall along the ceiling as quietly as she could, it was easy for Silver Spider to hear the commotion caused by the brief altercation between Starlight and the last OVERTHROW foot soldier before the light coming from around the corner nearly blinded her.

Blinking the spots from her eyes she let fly a line of webbing to grab onto the far wall and while focusing on her graviton field, was able to yank herself to the corner. Landing in an easy crouch, she scanned the crowd of people starting to pour out of the lunch room before spotting Starlight. Moving up to stand near the golden clad woman "Starlight, good to see you again."

Turning to the crowd, she called out, "Please remain where you are and stay calm. As far as I can tell, most of the threats within the building have been neutralized but until the men with heavier weapons outside have been disarmed, it is too dangerous to try and make a break for it."

Reaching to her ear to tap the communication device she wore she radioed out to the police, "Hostages reached and the guards are down. Can I get a sit-rep of the outside?"

[Ari]

GM

With a faint electric crackle the arachnid-themed heroine heard Dir. Schultz's pleasant voice on the other end "Use of military jargon, while music to the ears of an old soldier, is quite unnecessary Silver Spider. Glad to hear you and the rest of that merry band have been successful! Everything is..ah, alright Captain, thanks for the heads-up." she heard him say to someone else before his voice grew louder from being closer to the microphone "Sorry, Captain Maddicks just wanted me to let you know that Gabriel caught someone trying to get into the helicopter. Judging by the guns on that thing, quite fortunate. Anyway, everything's quiet out here, Mr. al-Misri and Young Britannia have gone inside the building after taking care of the OVERTHROW soldiers on the roof. If you can, take the hostages out the back way, no point taking any chances. Schultz out."

[Azuth65]

Closing the comm link, Silver Spider stood a little straighter as she turned to address the crowd again. "Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please! I have received confirmation that it is safe to escort you all out the back of the building. Please stay behind me, stay close, and stay quiet."

As people began lining up, the arachnid heroine leaned closer toward Starlight, and said in a quieter voice, "Would you mind following along and guarding our rear? The last thing we need are any surprises from behind."

[Tiffany Korta]

Agnus had been trying to follow everything that was going on outside, and was pleased that everything seemed to be going well. So it seemed that Asad and herself we’re the only one’s still in trouble. Best to let everyone know, so she thumbed on her communicator.

“Young Britannia here. Me and Asad seemed to have run into a couple of OVERTHROWS pet’s. They’ve shut us all in and so far we’re fine, hopefully this won’t take long.â€

That was as much for the two troopers than her allies. She squared up to one that seemed to chosen to attack her, she suspected that the Shadow wielder was avoiding her for obvious reasons.

Still no matter she loosened off a burst of pure light towards her foe, trying to exude confidence.

[Ari]

GM

A brief shout of "Hol-!" followed by a thunderous crash as the flame-wielder was knocked clean off his feet and into the hallway several yards away filled the room, the man letting out a gasp of flame from his mouth before falling still. The shadowy man hanging from the ceiling above Asad glared at Young Britannia, snarling "As soon as I banish this brute to the Schättenwelt, you are next! The monsters in the Holy Dark will feast upon your feeble light!" he hissed, eyes gleaming with anger.

---

The city government hastily evacuated the building under the guard of Silver Spider and into the arms of a waiting police guard, who quickly escorted the band across the street into a small huddle of vans. Captain Maddicks was present to oversee the evacuation, and nodded thankfully at the heroine, saying appreciatively "Good work Spider. Thanks for your help getting those people out, and good luck with whoever it is that's in there causing trouble. We'll make sure they don't try anything with Mr. OÇonnor or anyone else." He tipped his hat and got into his squad's van, hurtling off after the ones carrying the mayor and the other officials.

[TheAbsurdist]

As the shadows started to pour around him and coil, he roared, and stretched out. Force pouring off of him shredding the effort to restrain him, and he surged up into the air right at the guy and he just straight decks the man the follow through provided by his ability fly. Asad was mad, and his anger made him start to burn a little, power leaking off of him brightly. His hand moved, after the punch pressing is forearm against the man's upperchest, and the other hand grabbing a handful of his clothes "Listen here you balaclava wearing twit, I am going to show you what happens when little sniveling jackals decided they are big enough to fight a lion. This next part? It is going to hurt. And when I am done you are to apologize to the nice lady. Maybe even praise her sense of national pride."

[KnightDisciple]

GM

After a few moments the would-be escapee edged out of the cockpit, holding his hands in the air and looking rather nervous. They were a sandy-haired vaguely Dutch looking man, wearing the same combat uniform the other OVERTHROW soldiers wore. "I..uh...I wasn't gonna shoot anyone! Those rockets don't even work!"

Gabriel gave the man a flat look that clearly said he didn't believe anything he was saying. He pointed firmly with his empty hand, indicating the police lines.

"Yeah, I'm sure you were "just" the getaway driver. Doesn't matter, buddy. You're taking a walk with me to those nice federal agents. I'd prefer the two of us kept it a nice stroll, instead of me reducing you to a vomiting wreck and dragging you foot-first over the parking lot. But it's up to you."

The casual manner in which he laid out this hypothetical said his preference wasn't very strong, though.

[Ari]

GM

The man paled at the threat, mutely getting to his feet and following Gabriel to the police line, allowing himself to be handcuffed and hauled into the armored car that was the home of his other comrades, who were currently being checked for any injuries from their effortless defeat.

---

The flying punch was cushioned, softened by...something, but it did hurt, as a pained snarl from the shadowy OVERTHROW agent attested. It also loosened his grip enough that he was easily spun into Asad's grip. Glaring defiance at the energy-absorber he spat "Apologize? For a mere insult? Thin-skinned cowards!" He followed up his words with a savage wriggling, seeming to become nearly boneless as he struggled to escape Asad's Titantic grip!

[Raveled]

Starlight stood aside as Silver Spider led the hostages out of City Hall and into the protective circle of police custody. The Lightbearer closed her eyes and breathed deeply; it was over, mercifully quickly, and no one was dead. At least, that's what she thought until the sounds of battle filtered through the halls. The Grue hero frowned and flew off towards the sound of combat. She streaked through the corridors of the city building quickly and soon came upon the sight of her friend Young Brittania, and another hero she did not recognize, locked in battle with more of the Overthrow agents. Starlight gathered her power around herself and prepared for another fight.

[Azuth65]

Silver gave the police a quick wave of acknowledgement as they gathered up the hostages. She was about to say something to Starlight when the gold and white heroine had zoomed off. Not really sure what the plan was, she focused on the slight buzzing of her graviton alteration before she sprinted after the trail of light.

As she moved through the halls, jumping from wall to wall as often as she ran across the linoleum flooring, she heard the sounds of a fight, arriving just in time to catch site of Asad grabbing hold of an OVERTHROW agent.

[Tiffany Korta]

Agnus couldn’t help but smile at Asad defending her, just then she could almost forgive him the whole disappear for Six Months thing. But right now probably wasn’t the time to bring that up, especially with the whole secret identity thing going on.

Instead she gathered up all her energies and looked for just the right time to hit the final opponent with her blasts of light, she was mad at Asad but that didn’t mean she wanted to hurt him.

“Aw that so sweet, but I’m quite capable of defending my own honour.â€

At that moment she let lose a massive bolt of pure light.

[Ari]

GM

The two heroes arrived just before Young Britannia unleashed her blazing lance of light, the attack slamming into the OVERTHROW agent with a flash of golden power that lit up the surrounding hallway to an unbearable level..for one second. The flash was joined by a sizzling and a roar of pain as the controller of shadows visibly rippled, the darkness that played across his body trying to escape before it was incinerated in the light, which burned the man's pale skin too and left a smoking hole where his urban camouflage had once been.

"I...grugh" he said weakly, his once defiant head dropping onto his chest as he slumped a little in Asad's grip. His body still jerked and struggled however, and it was clear that he wasn't out of the fight yet.

[TheAbsurdist]

"Oh just shut up!" And then he leaned back, and then brought his head forward, hard. His forehead being rammed into the bridge of Halb's nose. It wasn't artful. But then Asad was not exactly the prettiest fighter, and he had to curb his ability to ruin property around him. Feeling the man slump into unconsciousness Asad would release him and let him fall to the ground.

"Prophet wept, people like you make it so I get hassled by the TSA. Damned idiot." Lowering to the ground, he look to Young Britannia, "Much obliged for the help. I was away on... business... so I am a little rusty."

[Ari]

GM

With a sharp, sickening crunch and a loud thud the man's nose was broken under the sudden weight and energy of Asad's headbutt, the jarring collision that was softened for the wealthy hero by his powers felt to its full effect by the shadow-controlling OVERTHROW agent. Blood flowing from the man's nose, Halb-in-Shadow breathed some last invective against either Young Britannia's fabulous hair, Asad's energy-sapping(or beard), Starlight's blazing gold armor, or perhaps Silver Spider's bi-chromatic costume before falling limp in al-Misri's powerful arms and slackening his jaw.

With a rush of air the shadowy barrier around the door vanished, and the two AEGIS agents entered with Omen in tow. Auburn-haired Anthea smiled brightly at the assembled heroes. "Hello, concerned citizens! I and my associate are representatives of the American Elite Government Intervention Service. My name is Athena, and I would like to invite you all to-gah! Excuse me!" she exclaimed, suddenly thrust to the side as a well-armed band of S.T.A.R. officers burst in, lowering their weapons when they saw that both of the OVERTHROW soldiers in view had been dealt with. "Thanks a lot, folks." their commanding officer said to the heroes as she oversaw the removal of the terrorist agents from the building, where they were then taken into waiting vans that would spirit them away to holding cells to await trial "We were just about to start trying to break down the door when that shield fell, whatever it was. Glad you were here! This could have been ugly if you hadn't shown up." glancing casually at the AEGIS agents with a light smirk she joined the squad as it left, passing with their prisoners through the now much less restrained press who surged across the plaza in a storm of cameras, mics both micro and boom held aloft, and eager attempts to find out just what had happened pouring from dozens of lips!

The AEGIS agents did their part in satisfying the curiosity of the reporters and news anchors, finally giving the floor to the suddenly reappearing Mayor O'Connor and his cabinet, who with the skill of seasoned professionals quickly had the full attention of those seeking the news for their fellow citizens, the Mayor launching into a warm and congratulatory speech praising the city and its heroes for their work. While all eyes were on their beloved city father Captain Maddicks arrived back at the Federal Building, and while the S.T.A.R. squad commander was gathering his crew for a victorious ride back to the station, he passed by Gabriel. "Hey," he said shortly "Good work. I'm not sure it's anything we couldn't have handled, but thanks for dealin' with those OVERTHROW goons. Oh, before I forget," he added, suddenly turning back as he began to depart for his squad car "Some AEGIS bigwigs wanna see you and the other vigilantes in the Federal Building. Sounded like they were excited about something. If you could go calm them down that'd be much appreciated." giving a swift nod to the white-clad mutant champion, Maddicks departed.

Athena led the heroes further into the Federal Building, saying quietly when they were out of earshot "Director Powers has an invitation for you. He wants to track down who did this, and he knows who it was and why. If you'll follow me, he will give you a full briefing and the resources and intelligence needed to bring them to justice. If after hearing what he has to say you would prefer to act on your own, he respects that, but please, hear him out."

[Raveled]

Starlight allowed the energy to flow out of her hands as Asad took out the last of the super-powered terrorists. She flew into the air and bypassed the soldiers who stormed into the place, setting down near Young Britannia. "Young Britannia," she said, her normally stoic tone tinged with relief. "I am glad to see that you came through the combat." She glanced down at her friend and back up, giving the other woman a tight smile. "And unharmed. Congratulations."

She nodded to Asad and turned to listen to Athena's proposal. She formed an eyebrow so she could raise one at the suggestion. "Are you saying that Director Powers wants us to do the job of AEGIS? Are we to be deputized?"

[KnightDisciple]

GM

While all eyes were on their beloved city father Captain Maddicks arrived back at the Federal Building, and while the S.T.A.R. squad commander was gathering his crew for a victorious ride back to the station, he passed by Gabriel. "Hey," he said shortly "Good work. I'm not sure it's anything we couldn't have handled, but thanks for dealin' with those OVERTHROW goons. Oh, before I forget," he added, suddenly turning back as he began to depart for his squad car "Some AEGIS bigwigs wanna see you and the other vigilantes in the Federal Building. Sounded like they were excited about something. If you could go calm them down that'd be much appreciated." giving a swift nod to the white-clad mutant champion, Maddicks departed.

"Just doing the right thing, Captain, and trying to help minimize loss of life."

He raised an eyebrow at the mention of AEGIS; he'd not dealt with them much, and was generally more familiar with how UNISON operated. He gave the Captain a nod as he walked off.

"Thanks for the heads-up."

He quickly walked into the Federal Building, bypassing the press and Mayor and such. He arrived in time to hear the bit about "hearing him out".

"Who are we hearing out exactly?"