Scientist Rescue Mission

Voltman coughed violently, bits of his armor corrupted by the smoke flying into the air from the force. He gathered a bundle of electric energy in his hand, bringing the data around to the areas where his armor was most damaged. He sighed in relief as the worst of the pain faded, but the burning in his chest was still all too present. The sooner he got out of this hellhole, the better. Shifting his grip on the fire extinguisher, Voltman tried to see anything through the smoke, unsuccessfully. A piece of burning rubble crashed to the ground beside him as the building crumbled from the fire, throwing Voltman sideways. He struggled to his feet, opening a communications channel.
Cough Shigeru...! Help... me... His vision growing blurry from the constant assailing of the smoke and the flames, Voltman fell to one knee in a struggle to remain operational in the harsh atmosphere. A blast of flame from further in the room threw him backwards into the wall, where he slumped downwards and began to lose functionality...

Meanwhile, in the real world, Shigeru was attracting the attention of several passerby. Shit. Shit! Hold on! He continued to spout profanity as he pulled up the Folder display. A warning appeared on the PET screen, warning him of Voltman's condition. Shigeru moved it aside and tried to barricade some of Voltman's integral functions against the automatic shutdown. All the while, battlechips were scrolling across the side of the screen, when Shigeru finally found what he was looking for. Shadow1 battlechip, activate! The image of the battlechip flashed on the PET screen, followed by a notification that the chip had been received. The function allowing Voltman to control his own battlechips having long since shut down, Shigeru activated the chip, and sent the command to override all automatic shutdown routines.

Voltman awoke to a cocoon of darkness. System notification windows clogged his visor, all detailing the shutdown and subsequent reactivation of his processes. While shutting down for emergency repairs was a good idea when the navi could EJO, doing it while in a jack out barrier was tantamount to suicide... he would have to talk to Shigeru about that later. What... what happened? He asked, before realizing that whatever was happening was happening faster than normal processing speed. Anything he said, Shigeru wouldn't hear as anything more than a squeak. His thoughts were interrupted as a strange feeling began to envelop his frame. The darkness surrounding him spread to the armor covering his body, not covering it but changing it to match the cocoon itself. Soon, all of his armor was composed of shadow, through which bolts of electricity flowed. Throwing his arms out, he dispelled the cocoon and returned to normal time.

Voltman leapt to his feet, free of the pain that had been plaguing him. Looking around for any sign of the door he had seen while searching for the fire extinguisher, he discovered that the setup of the room meant that he was virtually blind. One thing was still in his view, though: The crates that were about to explode! They were much too far away for Voltman to use the extinguisher in time, so without any other options he pulled one of the three cryo grenades and pulled the pin. Counting to two under his breath, Voltman took careful aim and tossed the grenade at the crates. The momentary flash of blue from the grenade disappeared amongst the flames before the flames leapt up and obscured his vision once more. Gripping the fire extinguisher tightly, Voltman turned to his right and caught a glimpse of what could have been the door he was looking for. Pulling the pin of the Fire extinguisher and standing back, Voltman let rip with the flame retardant blast. The force was incredible, but keeping a firm grip on the object, Voltman charged forward to extinguish the flames and find the door. He needed to get in there, and fast.

Overview:
<Dynamo (Heal 30 HP)>
1. Shadow1 to Voltman (Shadow status for 1 turn)
2. Take Aim at crates
3. Throw Cryo Grenade at crates (Freeze, Extinguish flames)
4. Fire Extinguisher to fire along wall on path to door (Extinguish flames)
5. Run towards/open door [Fire extinguisher being used]
-TURN SPLICE-
With a bit of quick thinking, Shigeru creates a stopgap measure to disable the continuing burn and smoke damage that was previously wreaking havoc with his systems. The damage no longer influencing him, he is able to refocus and throw a grenade at the explosive crates. (Fortunately, he chose to follow instructions.) The grenade landed amongst the flames, unseeable and- nothing happens.

At least for a moment.


Then the air literally cracks. Even in his shadowy state, Voltman can feel the air suddenly lose temperature and breeze past his face. If he had been in a more physical state to experience it, his face would have gotten a light coating of frost as steam and smoke froze into latticeworks of delicate ice that melted instantly after they were created.

There was no fire in the area he had thrown the grenade.

Everything had cracks in it, some of it was falling apart. The intense cold made it obvious what had happened. The change in temperature had happened so quickly that things had simply broken.

Even those explosive crates.

Voltman ran for the exit, using his fire extinguisher to clear the way as he-


The aquaballoon exploded.

Exploded was not the right word, more like went critical, detonated with the force of water that could not be contained within that device. It hit Voltman from behind- and passed straight through him. The fire extinguisher in his hands was not so lucky as the water ripped it and the cryo grenades from his hands. He fumbled through the water, trying to reach them- but the water tore them away. With a last second swing through the water, Voltman caught the final cryo grenade by the tips of his fingers with an iron hard grip.

The water was draining from the room, but it certainly didn't look like it. That aquaballoon was still going off.

Voltman was through the door and at another stairwell. It looked like the water stopped at about ten feet up. The shadow was wearing off quick.

Voltman: 150 [SUBMERGED]

Terrain: 95% Sea, 5% Snow
Voltman spun around frantically in the unfamiliar environment. Water was cascading all around him, tearing his weapons from his hands and sending them along with the stream. The Aquaballoon... using such a weapon in an enclosed space, upon reflection, was not the best idea. But Voltman wasn't about to give up without a fight. Ejecting water from the tanks on his arms, Voltman made his upper body more buoyant than his lower, flipping upright immediately. The spinning motion ripped the cryo grenades from him, but with a sudden burst of speed he managed to catch a single grenade. The water continued to rush around him, and even partially through his shadowy form.

But he wasn't moving. As much as the current tugged at him he wouldn't budge, and it wasn't long before he figured out why. A stray desk, charred and cracked from the fire, was pinning his leg against the wall. He hadn't felt it, the object unable to harm him, but it was still pinning him down. Flailing about in the water, Voltman tugged at his leg. A sudden flash of pain from his lower body indicated that the Shadow battlechip was beginning to wear off. But once more, his operator saved the day.

Hold on, Volt, this should get you out in no time flat! Shigeru assured, sending the last Areagrab chip they had in reserve. Voltman's form wavered and disappeared, a small trail of bubbles pointing towards the stairs the only indication that he'd been there.

Overview:
-END TURN SPLICE-
6. Areagrab to dry land (Teleport)
<Siphon if the Shadow1 runs out while Voltman's getting out (40 HP Barrier)>
Voltman found himself on the dry stairs, and the water was noticeably starting to drain now. There was, however, a large creaking and snapping noise.
Voltman moved his leg cautiously to make sure there wasn't any severe damage, as crackling sounds came from the stairs below. Getting up, he ran up the stairs at top speed, stopping only briefly at each floor to look inside for the target.

(Up, up, up!)
The stairs at the fifty third floor stopped.

As in, there was a large clean chunk-

Voltman looked up to see that there was quite a bit missing. Namely, a curved chunk missing from everything that made it look like a giant sphere had simply appeared, disintegrating everything in its radius. There was a giant open space with a female navi floating in the center.

Voltman felt a strong feeling of wrongness about the data in the area the navi was floating in, as if it was just waiting to go off. Something about it felt volatile, explosive. But it was just air... right?

As Voltman paid more attention, he felt air. It was constantly coming forth and being sucked back. Back and forth. As he looked further- he could see a shimmer in front of him.

His scarf gurgled.
Voltman nearly tripped over the final steps as his gaze was drawn inexorably upward. Chunks of data near the top of the building floated in the air, apparently suspended by nothing. The navi at the epicenter of the strange disappearance did the same. A strange gurgle was let out of Voltman's scarf as he looked upwards, to which end he grabbed one end of the scarf and held it out in front of him.

What's... going on...? He looked down the stairs apprehensively, but his pursuers seemed to have stopped their chase for the time being. He slid backwards on the step as a pulse of energy flew from the navi, and slid back to his original position as a second wave passed. Small chunks of data flew out of the building next to Voltman, flying towards the navi. Spool... Spool, come in. Something very, very bad is going on here. I don't know if it's a defense protocol, the tech you're looking for, or just the power of the navi we're dealing with. But everything past floor 50's just GONE. He pointed the scarf at the navi, as if that would somehow allow Spool to see what he was talking about.

Voltman braced himself against the power of the navi, standing back from the edge of the stairs. Whatever was happening to the building, he didn't himself into it in the slightest. Should I get her attention? Does she even realize I'm here?
What the hell is going on?
"Kzzzzssshhhtt-Kid, what the hell did you do? I've got readings that the building is half-broken. It might fall apart soon. Floor 89 and 51 have collapsed. ...And you're on the floor with her. Shit, man. You fried half the stuff I put in here. What did you do, dunk it in water? ...Wait. No way this can be right. There's no way she's this powerful. All the data we had on her... Ergh. Give me a minute. Going to have to contact a- mutual friend of ours, personally. Need to get these readings to her. Try what you can but don't do anything stupid. [font=optima][size=75][/font][/size][font=optima][/font]" With that, the scarf went silent.

Everything was eerily silent.
Voltman listened to the increasingly frantic reports from Spool, trying to interject what he could whenever he could.
She took out all the floors? But that's-
Yeah, I can see her n-
Well it got submerged, but SO DID I and-
What do you MEAN she's more powerful than you'd thought?!
Stall her? How the hell am I supposed to-

And with that, the line died. Spool was silent again. Voltman, on the other hand, was swearing profusely. Another wave of power flew out of the navi in the center of the area, drawing in more of the data. Voltman looked up. Three floors up, the rest of the skyscraper was floating as if nothing had happened. No visible support, just... what the hell was keeping that up, anyways? Best not to think about it, Voltman decided.
Spool knows what's best in this case, Voltman. Just stay out of trouble. Shigeru warned his navi, attempting to gain some sort of video feed of their target but getting nothing apart from static. Voltman cupped his hands around where his mouth was under the armor, taking a deep breath and preparing to call out to the navi.
Logic, thankfully, took over. Lowering his hands, Voltman waited for Spool's analysis, keeping an eye on the stairs underneath himself.
"Her reports say that she's unstable. That field is a constantly intermeshing field of bit drones projecting minute terrain field changes on a virtually molecular level. That technojargon means that she's basically creating lots of really tiny terrain changes across that bubble through multiple interfaces at once. Stick a hand in there and it'll get hit by fifteen terrain changes in a milisecond. Your hand will be completely deleted by the destabilized data. You might even suffer enough feedback shock to well- get deleted, considering you're in a jack-out barrier. Got any ideas?"[font=optima][size=75][/font][/size][font=optima][/font]"
Voltman had to admit, the situation was a delicate one. A burned, flooded building below him, and some insane techno jargon explaining that the strange bubble would delete him if he stuck so much as a hand in it. For lack of a better option, Voltman just amplified his voice several times and yelled up to the navi.
Excuse me! I'm not Netpolice, and I'm here to help you! Come with me, there's a Netpolice squad in this building that's bound to be here soon, which means we won't want to be here when they finally get up! He looked down the stairs, but from what he could tell the flowing water had slowed the police for the time being. He looked upwards again. Long story turned short, we need to get the heck away from here, and fast!
"WHAT?[font=cursive][size=75][/font][/size][font=cursive][/font]" The voice calls back, as the woman turns around. Her eyes seem wild, and part of her navi suit is gone from the right shoulder down to her right hand. She is wearing half a labcoat, (the other half is in tatters and burnt.) has short mousy hair, and her left arm is pointing at Voltman.

"YOU WANT SOME TOO!?[font=cursive][size=75][/font][/size][font=cursive][/font]" The navi screams as suddenly, part of the stairway violently disappears (noticeably closer to voltman.)
Voltman flinched as the stairs suddenly disappeared with the navi's scream. His footing options becoming less numerous by the second, he yelled back as quickly as he could.
No! I do not know what It IS, I do not WANT any of It, and I am not HERE for IT. I'm here to help you get away! Voltman braced himself against another stray pulse of energy from the terrain clusterbomb. Listen to me! I'm able to help you, but if we don't get going soon things are going to get way worse! I had to take out some crazy bastard named Wall, fight my way through a fire, swim through the water used to DOUSE the fire, and I seriously doubt most navis would do that if they didn't have a damn good reason to help the person on the other end!
Voltman gestured to the wide expanse of NetVegas visible from that high. If we get out of this building, we can get you away from the bastards chasing you. I don't know what happens past then, but there are a hell of a lot more places that you could be besides here! Voltman stood upright, looking the navi in the eyes. You have to trust me!
"Oh.[font=cursive][size=75][/font][/size][font=cursive][/font]" To be honest, the navi looks almost a bit disappointed. Perhaps she hadn't managed to get out all her stress destroying several floors of a building along with multiple navis. "I thought you were the explosives advance recon bit or whatever they were sending to try blast their way through to me...[font=cursive][size=75][/font][/size][font=cursive][/font]"

"Volty-boy, not to get on your ass or anything, but I'm getting this distinct feeling that what you've managed to do so far is not on its way to helping your presence not be noticed. In fact, I'd like to mention that I'm getting several blips headed your way. [font=optima][size=75][/font][/size][font=optima][/font]" The scarf was preceded by a crackle and ended with a small 'zzkazzt' It was also audible to most of the area.

"Oh. That's not good. What did you do, exactly?[font=cursive][size=75][/font][/size][font=cursive][/font]" The woman asked as patches of glitches started becoming more frequent around the barrier.

Voltman winced as the crackling from the scarf played havoc with his hearing, but several things stood out to him. I had to get to you as quickly as possible, so I lied to a receptionist, dropped an elevator on a psychopath that was going to kill me, flooded the floor just below us that was on fire, and laid a Flashbomb way further down in the building. He looks up at the woman, and down the stairs again. I'm guessing the blips are that explosives team you mentioned, so please, let's get out of here ASAP! I didn't come this far to save you just to be stuck between a Netpolice team and a terrain-change death bubble. Voltman was half pleading, half telling, and pretty nervous. Wall was one thing, but... any navis that could fight their way up the torrent of water from that floor were not to be underestimated.
"Well, I had my sisters kidnapped. Ran for it with one of the more unstable devices we were engineering, utilized it to wipe out parts of buildings to block shots, and now it's gone and malfunctioned at the perfect time. I can expand it, but not retract it.[font=cursive][size=75][/font][/size][font=cursive][/font]"

"There's something big coming your way.[font=optima][size=75][/font][/size][font=optima][/font]" The voice suddenly seems like he's out of breath. "I'll be a bit busy. Got noti-[font=optima][size=75][/font][/size][font=optima][/font]" Spool cuts out in a squeal of static, which ends with 'USER DISCONNECTED.'

"It should be unstable enough to- what was that?[font=cursive][size=75][/font][/size][font=cursive][/font]" She asks as Spool fizzles out.

Then there's a series of booms from below. The floor moves unsteadily, almost rippling.

"What was that?![font=cursive][size=75][/font][/size][font=cursive][/font]"

Voltman nodded as the female navi explained, but something about the whole business was bothering him. Spool's interjection didn't exactly help. Shit... that was my superior apparently getting himself into more trouble. Voltman found himself checking the stairs again. You were saying something about it being unstable enough to...? Voltman left the question hanging, but put a hand on a nearby wall as he nearly fell over from the tremors that shook the building. That? That was probably the explosives team you mentioned. Voltman cracked his neck as his emblem started glowing with energy.
Shigeru's viewscreen appeared next to his navi, facing the floating scientist. Listen, it sounds like things are about to get a lot worse, but what else is new. We'll help you with whatever's going on as much as we can, but Voltman's going to have his hands full with whatever's coming. Shigeru closed the channel, opening a secure line to Voltman.
Man, how's this for a first mission? Voltman chuckled, a sparking sword growing out of his arm as Shigeru began preparing him for battle. He flexed his hand experimentally as energy flowed into it, spreading from his palm to form a small barrier around his armor.
Well we asked for something worthy of our skills, eh? Shigeru responded, scanning the building for the location and strength of the incoming 'blips'. And Voltman... remember, there's a jack-out barrier. The mission is important, but don't get deleted for it. Shigeru's tone was considerably more serious than normal. Voltman just nodded slightly, all-too-aware of the consequences if he failed.

Shigeru reopened the communications screen aimed at the female navi. Alright, now what do you need to shut down this field, or break it, or stop it, whatever? We've already wasted way too much time!

Voltman merely started cautiously down the stairs, keeping a grip on the railing in the case of additional explosions.
(Bump)
Shigeru can't locate the blips.

Voltman, on the other hand, gets a face full of buckshot.

Or at least, the stairs shattering up into his face feels like it, as he catches a glimpse of a navi with a very large rifle and tactical layouts flanking his faces on all sides.

"HALT. YOU ARE TRESPASSING ON TITANTECH NETSPACE. NETPOLICE WILL PROCEED WITH ASSISTANCE FROM TITANTECH RESOURCES.[font=Geneva][/font]" The voice seems to come from everywhere at once, and is at least coming from 10 different synthesizers that Voltman can distinguish. Whoever's saying this, they want it quite clear.

Great. It's not only Netpolice now, but corpsec, too?

"Well, fuck![font=cursive][size=75][/font][/size][font=cursive][/font]" The scientist sister exclaims. Quite aptly, and succinctly put. "I'll need about thirty seconds to overload this![font=cursive][size=75][/font][/size][font=cursive][/font]" The field begins to shimmer, pieces of random terrain coalescing from it and falling to the ground. "I hope you have a shield of some sort, this'll get ugly![font=cursive][size=75][/font][/size][font=cursive][/font]"

Drones begin swarming in from the hole, and the outside as well. They look like small, spherical orbs with small hoverjets and tiny tracer lasers that start projecting.

Everywhere.

Not good.

"CEASE MOVEMENT, AND SUBMIT YOURSELF TO SUBSEQUENT DATA SHUTDOWN, AND YOU WILL NOT BE DELETED. IN ACCORDANCE WITH NETVEGAS PROTOCOL, YOUR DATA LINK IS CURRENTLY BEING TRACED. REINFORCEMENTS TO SUBDUE AND TAKE YOU INTO CUSTODY ARE INBOUND.[font=Geneva][/font]" That statement might be alarming to someone in the real world who controls a navi currently committing criminal activities. To someone like Lachesis, it means absolutely nothing to Voltman, it might mean quite a bit. It seems like these bots and navi are very vocal in their intentions. (To say the least.)

On top of this entire mess, Spool cuts back in. With some good news, fortunately. "Well, looks like this entire thing is going south. I'll be fine, these guys are strictly- [font=optima][size=75][/font][/size][font=optima][/font]" There is the sound of a scream, and a 'schlunk'. Strictly amateur! If you need some help, remember the stuff I-[font=optima][size=75][/font][/size][font=optima][/font]" the next couple words are slightly muted by the thuds of explosions going off from where Spool is."-got to you, but if you really can't handle it, I can come in and give your ass a hand. After I'm done with these idiots. Oh, right. You might want to move your ass, person-not-voltyboy![font=optima][size=75][/font][/size][font=optima][/font]" There's some more explosions, and another scream. Along with something that sounds suspiciously like bones being crushed.

Voltman: 200 HP


Ally?:
Lachesis.???: 560

Guy with the Gun:
Alex.BOR: 480

Tracer DroneA: 60
Tracer DroneB: 60
Tracer DroneC: 60
Tracer DroneD: 60
Tracer DroneE: 60
Tracer DroneF: 60
Tracer DroneG: 60
Tracer DroneH: 60

Terrain:
Current Floor: 15% Cracked, 30% Broken, Missing 55%
Residents:
Voltman.exe (Cracked), Tracer Drone A (Broken), Tracer Drone B (Broken), Tracer Drone C (Cracked)
Lower Floor: 25% Magnet, 10% Metal, 20% Broken, 45% Missing
Residents: Alex.BOR (Magnet), Tracer Drone F (Metal), Tracer Drone G, Tracer Drone H (Broken)
Upper Floor: 45% Broken, 55% missing
Residents: Lachesis.??? (Cracked), Tracer Drone D (Cracked), Tracer Drone E (Missing)



Voltman recoiled as the explosion of flooring flung debris in his face, throwing up his hands in time to form a small barrier of electricity. The data fizzled and turned to charcoal against the highly charged field, and Voltman expanded the barrier to cover all of his armor before focusing on the source of the blast. A navi stood down the stairs, aiming an imposing rifle in his direction. HALT. YOU ARE TRESPASSING ON TITANTECH NETSPACE. NETPOLICE WILL PROCEED WITH ASSISTANCE FROM TITANTECH RESOURCES.
Voltman shrugged. Call in the swiss guard for all I care. I won't be here long. Voltman took a step forward on the stairs, despite the blast of sound assailing him. The doctor said something, but all save the words "thirty seconds" were lost in the din. Not that anything further would have been necessary. Nine small targeting reticules appeared on his visor, the largest centered on the sniper navi, as Shigeru initiated Voltman's battle routines.
CEASE MOVEMENT, AND SUBMIT YOURSELF TO SUBSEQUENT DATA SHUTDOWN, AND YOU WILL NOT BE DELETED. IN ACCORDANCE WITH NETVEGAS PROTOCOL, YOUR DATA LINK IS CURRENTLY BEING TRACED. REINFORCEMENTS TO SUBDUE AND TAKE YOU INTO CUSTODY ARE INBOUND. Shigeru swore under his breath, slotting in the battlechips quickly, before transmitting a short message to Voltman.
Sorry, I'll reconnect as soon as I can, but I really can't risk us getting traced. You'll be on your own for a bit, but the battlechips should hold you. With that, the connection terminated, and Voltman was left alone. He wrapped the scarf around the bottom half of his head once, popping the collar of the jacket Spool had given him and staring at the sniper navi.

Voltman's shadow suddenly seemed to waver, before flowing around and up his boots. Voltman's armor took up a pitch black shade, absorbing all light and leaving a sucking feeling in one's eyes if they stared at it too long. The change spread up his legs and over his torso, his emblem and gauntlets turning at the same time as his visor. A voice emanated from the living shadow.
I've got a better idea. I don't do any of the above, you don't find me or my operator, and I get the hell out of dodge just as soon as the amazing hovering woman gets her shit together. Voltman's arm transformed into dual prongs, electricity sparking between the ebon wires as a glowing ring formed. Yeah, I think that should work fine. The ring shot off of the prongs, which quickly dissolved back into a hand. The Zapring chip flew through the air, spurred on by an ever so slight amount of extra power from Voltman himself.

Voltman gave a lazy salute to the navi and sunk into the ground, the shadow fading from sight entirely. Mere moments later, a head emerged from the shadow of the gun slinging navi, followed quickly by a torso and extremities. In Voltman's hands, a silvery chain ending in a curved blade hung, glinting ever so slightly n the shifting light of the distortion. The chains clinked as he lifted the weapon over his head, before bringing it around himself in a deadly arc. He let the blade go on its second swing, the chain and blade dissolving into nothingness once more as two glowing orbs of energy formed in Voltman's hands. Thrusting his palms forward, Voltman let loose a double blast of energy towards Alex.

Moving backwards slightly, Voltman snapped his fingers and summoned a gale. A block shaped virus fell next two both Voltman and the enforcer navi, whipping about winds that seemed to not even stir Voltman's scarf. Holding his hand back, Voltman summoned a last effort of an attack: a small sparking orb, green and white in color with various spikes around its sides. Winding up, Voltman let the Satellite fly. Curving through the air in its trademark erratic pattern, the chip seemed doomed to miss its target, Alex, by a wide berth. At least, that's how it would seem, until the windbox was taken into account...

Overview:
<Siphon (40 HP Barrier)>
1. Shadow1 (Shadow status for 1 turn)
2. Zapring1 to Alex (40, +25 elemental bonus, Stun, Elec)
3. Areagrab behind Alex (Teleport)
4. Moonblade1 to Alex, TracerF/G/H (80, A accuracy, Slashing)
<Jolt [x2] to Alex (40)[x2]>
5. Wind next to Alex (Summon 100 HP Windbox, Lasts 3 turns or until destroyed)
6. Sattelite2 to Windbox (80, +15 Elemental Bonus, Impact, Object orbit, Elec)
<Dynamo (Heal 30 HP)>