Heroes: Shadows over Millenium

[SirNitram]

"Physical wounds are easily repaired." Sculptor said simply, studying the wounds on Argent simply, quietly, as he caught a dollop of his own flesh, dripping away from his arm. "Please hold still, miss. And sir, with the, ah, speed. You will wish to not watch."

It was like sculpting, literally. The exposed muscle had clay-like flesh dabbed into it, shaped.. And it shifted to the colour and texture of muscle with a touch. So went the work, as Sculptor repaired the damage, rebuilding Lei's torso with his own flesh and blood.

"Sir." He nodded to Ghost. "I will need tweezers for the shrapnel and spurs..." He murmured, plucking them out of his pocket. This, too, was the same process, only with removing the foreign objects as well.

"Troll is a kind soul, wouldn't hurt a fly... His stitches are fairly easy to tear, though. I suspect he's leading the young ones to safety. Far from here." Sculptor sighed. "I have no doubt your intentions are to take the rest of us in."

[Agent Fisher]

Ghost shook his head. "If you don't mind, I'd rather have the docs at Ultima take care of it." He said. "I'll just wrap a bandage around it and then use my MOPP suit to make a water tight seal around it, don't want to get any nasty water in the wounds."

[Hotfoot]

You will wish to not watch

What Hotfoot wanted and what actually happened seemed to be two very different things this night. Watching sculptor was weird and a little gross, but nothing at all like the horrors the other freak was creating. He gave Argent a weary smile and stumbled down the hall, looking for Blast. He seemed to have a better idea of what the fuck needed to be done.

As Sculptor talked, he shrugged. "I don't know...it was supposed to just be about the ones that were killing. Now, there are going to be a lot of questions. I wish I could tell you I can make everything better, but it's pretty clear that's not the case. I just have to know...why was this happening?" He waves towards the room, clearly upset. "Fucking hell, those were PEOPLE! Didn't anyone know? Didn't anyone care? Fuck meta and normal shit! PEOPLE! They had souls, they had lives, they had loved ones! Yeah, so did everyone down here, I know, but just because some bigots did some nasty shit doesn't make it right to strike out at innocent people or turn a blind eye when you see it happening!"

[Agent Fisher]

Ghost put a hand on Hotfoot's shoulder. "Calm down kid." He turned to Sculptor. "We where going to take you all in. Then things went balls up and now all we've got are two dead Freaks, and the rest are running away."

[LadyTevar]

Argent was the one who couldn't watch, when it all came down to it. The Freak, who had yet to give a name, had not even suggested she lay down, but had started working on her where she stood.

No, Lei'd not been able to watch, her eyes shut tight and her face turned away, knowing that as he touched her he'd feel just how much pain she'd been hiding.

But she'd been surprised. He was more than just a fleshshaper.

With his touch had come calming images, soothing sights and sounds, straight into Lei's mind. It had distracted her from the first pains the flesh-shaping had drawn, eased her mind as the pains faded away with his odd brand of healing.

Yet she'd not opened her eyes. She did not want to see just how he healed her. Lei knew her limits, and from the slight chuckle inside her mind, the Freak had read her thoughts and understood. It was a sad laugh, of a man too used to being seen as other.

Once the Freak had turned away, Lei's damaged costume showed how neatly she'd been healed. The view of her abdomin, from half-hidden breasts to bikini-line, now would draw eyes for the Proper Reasons a half-naked Asian Chick should.

"Fucking hell, those were PEOPLE! Didn't anyone know? Didn't anyone care? Fuck meta and normal shit! PEOPLE! They had souls, they had lives, they had loved ones! Yeah, so did everyone down here, I know, but just because some bigots did some nasty shit doesn't make it right to strike out at innocent people or turn a blind eye when you see it happening!"

Guilt. Lei felt it hit the Freak like a hammer. "Hotfoot... "

[SirNitram]

"Mister... Hotfoot... Is correct." Sculptor spoke, softly, quietly, as he eyed Ghost. "Remain still, sir. Better we heal you now than risk an infection, even if it is water-tight." As he worked steadily, he closed his eyes, working by touch. There weren't any mistakes; he was too used to this.

"I've no claim to innocence. None at all. I can't say I didn't know what was happening; when others came to me for my aid, I could see in their minds.. I could see which ones had struck out against humans. It wasn't a case of couldn't do anything, either. At first... I just wanted pain to spread. I had felt so much, lost so much..." He shook his head. "No, that's not an excuse, or even a good reason. I was a petty, evil bastard. I might not have caused the pain myself, but I let it continue, and healed those that caused it."

"Even as I came to realize it was going too far, I didn't act. I am guilty, Mister Hotfoot. Miss Argent. Mister Ghost." The names plucked from their very heads. "I can only try and make amends through actions, and serve what is meted out to me." A glance around the room. "...I didn't know it had gone this far, though. I knew the pain.. I knew it was driving some of us mad, the pain we felt from the humans, from our own bodies. I didn't know it had turned into this. I thought it all happened above.."

[Hotfoot]

Hotfoot leaned up against the cold stone wall, letting the back of his head tap against the rock as he let out a long, drawn out sigh. He looked to Sculptor and shrugged. "For what it's worth, you did something. You're not alone in acting too late. I almost let two people die tonight because I hesitated." He slipped Argent a quick glance before he caught himself. He slid down the wall, letting the cold stone rake against his bare back.

"I...wish I could tell you what's going to happen, but now, we need to make sure the innocents down here don't get hurt, and to make sure that everything can be sorted out. This is a fucking mess..." The outrage in his voice replaced by general frustration. He ran his hands through his hair and looked around, the fact that Argent's wound was repaired not even registering to him.

[Agent Fisher]

Ghost growled as the Freak finished healing him. He looked down at the slightly paler than normal flesh, noting that a scar he had was now only half there. 'The wife's going to notice that.' He thought to himself, not looking forward to that conversation.

Ghost looked at Argent, his eyes roving her body before quickly snapping to her face. "Damn it." He pulled off his vest, then the top of his MOPP suit. Once he was down to his normal swat uniform, he pulled off his jacket, handing it to Argent. He put his vest back on. "You might want to put that on."

He looked at Hotfoot, "Yeah, its a fucking mess. And don't worry about hesitating. I did it the first time I was in combat."

[Charon]

Legacies didn't see anymore people coming so he slowly let the debris fall again, controlling it's fall as best he could, then the silver figure burst into movement showing up where the fighting had been only a few moments later. The figure quickly looked over everyone and everything.

"The situation here has been dealt with, what are you waiting for? There are more civilians to evacuate and likely more killers to apprehend. Move out if you're able." Legacies looked over at Argent and Ghost. "It would be best if the two of you sat out the rest of this."

[LadyTevar]

Argent took the jacket, more because she had felt Ghost's conflicting emotions and embarrassment about seeing her half-naked than because she was worried about it. "Thank you, Ghost..." He may have his doubts about her, but he was a decent man, it seemed.

She shrugged into the jacket, which covered a lot more of the small Asian woman than it did Ghost. Still, she left the jacket hang open as she crossed over to where Hotfoot slumped at the base of the wall. It was partly because she knew he needed to see her unhurt.

"Hotfoot," Lei said, one hand touching his face to lift it up a little more than her crotch level. "Everyone hestitates their first fight. Unfortunately ... it was far from Saibot's first fight." A deep breath, and the jacket did little to hid the effects, and Lei did not use any Empathy on Hotfoot. "I failed you," she said sadly. "I should have warned you better."

"The situation here has been dealt with, what are you waiting for? There are more civilians to evacuate and likely more killers to apprehend. Move out if you're able." Legacies looked over at Argent and Ghost. "It would be best if the two of you sat out the rest of this."

Argent sighed. Nothing like Legacies to break in and ruin a mood. "Thanks to this one," she gestured to Sculptor, "We're both healed enough to keep going, Legacies. Where is Blackheart? I want to know how he knew I was heading for Ghost."

She turned as she spoke, and Hotfoot's glimpse of paradise was gone, covered by the jacket

[Dark Silver]

Saibot, still unconcious from his mind being pressed beynd the breaking point, floated in darkness. Or his mind did, at anyrate, as his body was being taken by a group of Freaks, with them in their evac.

He remained dimly aware, that somewhere his body was moving, yet he didn't care. He watched as his body did those things, his voice and memories were used..and he could do nothing.

For all the bluster he performed, for all the talk of wanting to protect his teammates, he watched as his own body, his own powers, nearly killed Argent, tore down a entire street, attempted to kill Blackheart, Legacies and Gravitas.

His mind shifted into the darkness, wanting to hide, ashamed of what he was used to do....and of what was done to him in that pocket dimension.

[Hotfoot]

Hotfoot blinked as Argent came up to him, initially averting his eyes to avoid having to look at her. His eyes widened slightly as she guided his gaze back to her body, in part because the wound was gone without so much as a scratch, and in part because he had a pulse. Wearily, he tried to keep the flood of thoughts from overwhelming him again. He didn't have a response for her, though he felt that she was being far too hard on herself.

He wobbled back to his feet, still uneasy from the sudden vomiting, and yet somehow new energy helped to focus him. The aura flickered back into existance, clearing his mind as he replayed the last several moments of his memories. There was only one word that came to mind...

"Damn."

[SirNitram]

"Hesitation in the moment of conflict and combat is entirely normal. Be thankful you are normal enough it still comes to you." Sculptor nodded gently, watching the interactions. "They call me Sculptor down here. My old name..." A wan smile. "Well. I'll hold on that until I'm under arrest. The human who had that name is long gone, after all."

As the others seemed to notice Argent's nudity, and Hotfoot's single word of appreciation came, Sculptor raised a brow. "Ah. I take it she is a good example of what the average human desires? I am sorry, after a few years down here, your concept of beauty becomes... Distorted, shall we say. I simply tried to restore symmetry."

[Charon]

Legacies looked over at Sculptor, examining him more closely, then back at Ghost and Argent. "Very well. As for Blackheart, it's probably because you're predicatably stupid. Forget Blackheart for now though, we need you to reach out and see if you can feel anyone else in the area, Hotfoot will help us on clean up detail."

Legacies looked at Hotfoot, trying to remember that the kid was new. "You've done good work here."

[LadyTevar]

Lei was actually enjoying Hotfoot's impressions of her. Every woman likes knowing she's viewed as sexy. But Legacies' flat statement stung, her eyes closing as she winced internally. She was already blaming herself for how the mission had fallen apart; finding herself 'predictably stupid' only added another layer to the guilt she was trying hard to hide from the team. From 'Sculptor' may be another matter. Lei'd never had to try to hide from a telepath before.

Still, she did as she was ordered, closing her eyes to Feel out around them ... and grimaced. "We'll have to leave this chamber." she said bluntly, stalking towards the door. "It's more polluted than the Astronomer's Lair." Legacies may be the only one to recall what that was like.

[Hotfoot]

Hotfoot felt a blush wash down his face as Sculptor heard what he said even through the speed distortion. He keyed his radio and said something before running off again, giving Argent one more glace as he went. By the time the glow from his shield disappeared down the hallway, the message had finished playing.

"Uh, I think I should go back to finding stragglers and wounded...if you need me, just call." The speedster was not in the best shape. The momentary pick-me-up Argent had given started him back on the road, burying the previous emotions temporarily, but once he was back in that dark tunnel, the thoughts came back, nipping at the corners of his mind. Things that would likely be bothering him for months.

[SirNitram]

"The psychic trauma here is.. Considerable. It will be less intense in the rest of the maze, but still present. Be strong." Sculptor offered simply to Argent, as he watched Hotfoot go by. "His.. Mind moves almost painfully fast. I think I should shut down my telepathy for now, lest I get too much of a headache, between the duets, his speed, the litany of Chinese, and the localized trauma. If anyone requires my thoughts, tell me."

A tap to his forehead sent ripples through his flesh, then he smiled wanly. "I suppose I should remain with you, really."

[Cynical Cat]

Blackheart continued to make his sweeps, looking for anything unusual. Some scumbags were going to try and sneak away, that was the nature of the beast. His view from the top gave him a lot to work with, but he was only one man. The containment and rescue teams were another story.

"This is Blackheart. Grab everybody and hold onto them until cleared. I want priority on Saibot and Gravitas. All other Ultima team members sing out and whoever has Saibot and Gravitas let me know." There was too much to fucking do and too little to do it with. How had Fadeout managed? Right, they had killed everybody and that made it a whole lot simpler.

[LadyTevar]

As Blackheart asked them to 'sing out', Argent complied. "Argent reporting ... we found a healer, calls himself Sculptor. Ghost and Legacies are with me, and we're trying to sweep the Maze clean. Hotfoot took off ahead, Blast is close by as well."

Short and to the point, and hopefully Blackheart won't bitch too much. Until he hears the bad news. "I can locate Gravitas at any time, but Saibot ..." definate hestitation there. "... whatever Portico did to him made the link self-destruct. There's nothing for me to follow."

How to explain it? And would Blackheart care that there was a large gaping hole inside her where that strong bond had formed. No ... Blackheart would probably think she's trying to protect Garth, which would just piss him off more. Just another failure weighing down upon her, forcing her to try to juggle feeling for Freaks and bottling her own emotions away from the team. She needed to go to Hawaii again, to the spit of new-formed land and scream her emotions out as she had before .....

[Hotfoot]

"Hotfoot here, heading to Gravitas's last known position, I think Legacies dropped off Saibot in the same place." He blazed through the tunnels, making his way through the evacuee line, looking for Troll, Gravitas, and Saibot. At least with Argent back up, they could get to proper medical facilities.

[Cynical Cat]

"This is Blackheart. Med teams give me a run down. Do you have Saibot and Gravitas?"

[Charon]

Legacies followed after Argent and Sculptor, keeping his head down. The suit shifted slightly, almost eagerly awaiting action. Everything was still going a little slower than usual. That was odd, but ultimately unworrying. It gave the symbiote time for it's mind to wander to other things, the daemon problem, and Tarot. The symbiote shifted again and stood still for a moment.

[B4UTRUST]

The transmission came back garbled and staticy. Interferance with the outside forces was probably due to their underground location.
"Agent Black*static*t, we have *static*ody. Repeat, we ha*static*obody. We're still *static*ng to find *static*way in. Entrances *static*blocked, tunnels col*static*sed."

[Cynical Cat]

Fucking morons. Blackheart and Legacies had cleared open tunnels already. "Follow the blue beams," he said and sent low power beams flashing down in the areas Legacies and he had opened up."

[LadyTevar]

"Blackheart, I can teleport to Gravitas," Argent said, hearing his half of the conversation and guessing the rest.