[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/sxeqxm9.png[/img][/center] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/klHHPfB.png?1[/img][/center] Icon touched down on the roof of the Maine Supermax Prison Complex, known to most as simply Tartarus, or Tartarus Island. If Iron Knight had been right, Dr. Diplodoc had used some sort of device to shield the prison from the effects of the meta dome, and if he had done so here, he had probably done the same thing in other prisons around the country. Iron Knight had surmised that if they could get one of these devices into the proximity of the source of the domes, then perhaps it could be used to deactivate the domes altogether. Icon didn’t know if Arthur was correct in his assessment, but he hoped against hope that he was. Arthur had suggested that Diplodoc would hide the device where it would go unnoticed amongst the staff as well as inmates. He speculated that the most logical place to pull this off would be in the prison’s mechanical room, which is where Icon would look first. Fortunately, his arrival on the island prison hadn’t gone unnoticed. Prison spotlights were focused on him, and several guards as well as the prison administrator, Robert Dale, met him as he approached the prison’s rooftop entrance. “Icon, what do we owe the pleasure?” Mr. Dale said as he approached the hero with his hand outstretched. [b]“Warden.”[/b] Icon said as he accepted the man’s handshake. [b] “We believe that the Pax Metahumana terrorists somehow smuggled a device into the mechanical room to shield the prison from the domes. We hope that this device is the key to shutting down the other domes across the country. I need access to the mechanical room to see if we’re right.”[/b] Icon told the man. Robert Dale stood silently for a moment as if contemplating what Icon had told him. While he doubted that anyone could smuggle anything into the prison under his watch, if there was any chance that there was something here that could bring an end to this nightmare, it was at least worth investigating. “Of course.” Dale agreed. “Jones, take Icon down to the mechanical room, see what you can find.” He told one of the guards standing beside him. The officer, Jones nodded in compliance and motioned for Icon to follow him. When Jones and Icon reached the mechanical room, Icon wasn’t sure what he was looking for. The room was filled with generators, water pumps, and electrical panels. Then he saw something that didn’t quite seem to fit in. It was a large cylindrical object, about the size of the hood of a mid sized sedan. [b] “Have you ever seen this before?”[/b] Icon asked Officer Jones as he approached the device. “No, this shouldn’t be in here.” Jones confirmed, and with that Icon grabbed the device, which was heavier than it looked. Knowing that he didn’t have much time, Icon left his feet, crashing through the ceiling as he took to the skies toward Philadelphia. [b] “Arthur, I’ve got the device. Now what?” [/b] [color=C0C0C0]“Okay, Icon. Take the device to one of the tallest buildings in Philadelphia,”[/color] Chris paused from speaking in the communicator as he did a quick search for potential sites, [color=C0C0C0]“such as the Comcast Center. It’s just east of Penn, across the Schuylkill River. There are also several other tall buildings around that area, so they shouldn’t be hard to miss.”[/color] [color=C0C0C0]“While you fly there, I’ll remotely alter the machine’s parameters so that it’ll have a large enough range so that it can get rid of the dome. Also, let me know when you land. I’ll be able to detonate the device remotely, so you don’t need to worry about activating it.”[/color] Icon didn’t respond. Instead he rocketed off in the direction of Philadelphia, only leaving a sonic boom as he broke the sound barrier in his wake. The trip from Maine to Philly only took a few minutes on account of the extra weight he was carrying. As he approached the City of Brotherly Love, he was taken aback by what he saw. He knew that the city had been encased inside of a massive dome, but actually seeing it in the flesh was something else altogether. However, the sight of the dome wasn’t enough to deter him, he pushed forward and carried out Arthur’s instructions and touched down upon the roof of the Comcast Center. At first, nothing happened. [i]Dammit, it isn’t working![/i] Icon thought to himself. However, after a moment the device made a series of beeping sounds, and then he heard a slight hum. Then a series of lights suddenly came on which made the device appear to be enveloped in a soft green light as if came to life. [b]“Iron Knight, something’s happening.”[/b] Icon said into his commlink. If Arthur had responded, Icon didn’t hear him. Instead, he watched as the emerald dome which encased the city began to slightly warp in response to the activation of the device. Then, after several long moments, the dome was gone, having blinked out of existence as a result of the opposition from the device. [b] “It worked. Now for the others.”[/b] With the dome gone, Icon finally exhaled in relief. [color=C0C0C0]“Was there ever any doubt that it wouldn’t?”[/color] Chris boasted to Icon after he had gotten confirmation that the modified device was able to disperse the dome that had surrounded Philadelphia. [color=C0C0C0]“But don’t get excited yet. We still have five more domes to remove. I have already alerted local authorities about our operations. They should have located the devices by the time you have arrived.”[/color] Icon took to the skies again, repeating the process five more times. He raced across the country collecting the dome dampening devices and placing them in the highest points in the cities. Soon, the domes began to fall one by one. Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Seattle, and finally Los Angeles saw the domes that had encircled them vanish, allowing millions of their inhabitants finally breathe freely. Icon stood atop the unfinished construction site of the Wilshire Grand Center, what will be the tallest building not only in Los Angeles, but West of the Mississippi. He looked out over the usually vibrant city of LA and noted the unusual stillness that had gripped it. [b] “It’s done. The domes are down.”[/b] Icon said into the commlink. [b] “Get ready for the final assault, I’m on my way back to the facility. We’re going to end this, once and for all.”[/b] [color=C0C0C0]“I’ll arrange for some backup to help transport Doctor Diplodoc and his allies to the proper authorities.”[/color] Chris told Icon. [color=C0C0C0]“Also, I’m not suited up, so you don’t have to be all formal! Call me Chris or Arthur. Either is fine.“[/color]