[Center] [h3][color=4863c0] Lethal Developments, Part 2: Electric Boogaloo[/color] [/h3] (Featuring yours truly, [@Old Amsterdam], [@Spiffy], and [@Crusader Lord].)[/center] [hr] [hider=I was here all along...] Whip nodded her approval, hardening the string connected to her still and making it pointed, throwing it into the train car herself. “Whipstitch.” Sparce slid over the car hood and landed on the ground, drawing his pistol and raising it up to the air. [color=00a99d]”Spar-”[/color] Then he was suddenly cut off by his twin. [color=fff200]”and Farce!”[/color] Farce paused suddenly after. Judah grinned at Allison. Then he spread his arms wide and stated, [color=green]”Call me Mantis. Welcome to [i]Lethal Force[/i].”[/color] Farce stops for a moment as she looks around her, seemingly super confused. She swapped a minute ago, right? Why was she back so soon? [color=fff200]”Uh… why am I here so soon?”[/color] Allison blinked a few times at the odd change in Farce/”Spar”, but nonetheless gave a smile in regards to being welcomed onto this….hero team? Er, whatever they were, she hoped it wasn’t villains. Though even if they were, they at least they were being friendly about it all, eh? But wait a second, there was one important thing she needed to ask on this occasion…. [color=pink]“Er, what happens now?”[/color] Whip glanced at Mantis expectantly. “You said we could hit the Community.” Judah was surprised as SpFarce changed so quickly. Something was different about their ability. Was it the villain meeting? [color=green]”Try changing again Farce.”[/color] At the mention of hitting the Community Judah grinned. He pulled his balaclava back over his face. Then Mantis jerked his head toward his car. He began walking toward it and replied, [color=green]”Get in or follow. Our target is not far from here.”[/color] As he opened his driver side door he turned to Excaliblast and said, [color=green]”The Community has been a blight on Denver for far too long. We are going to help put them out of commission. [i]Permanently.[/i]”[/color] Once everyone was either inside or swinging overhead, Mantis drove closer to their destination. Once they were a few blocks away Mantis pulled over and parked. They didn't want to alert their enemies before they had a chance to strike. The entire car ride, Farce and Sparce were riding shotgun, trying to figure out the mechanics of their swapping. For about thirty uneventful seconds, nothing happened, but after that, Sparce had appeared, uttering his name [color=00a99d]”Sparce?”[/color]. After that, it was all uphill from there. The two must’ve swapped at least ten times after they figured out how the switching worked. They were definitely excited, though. Wait…..waitwaitwait. She was already being taken to a BATTLE?! She had no experience in this stuff, she was just a student, now with a quirky hero name, who….ahhhhh. Why was this a thing, now of all times? She supposed it was the price of superpowers, and she was slightly too nervous to complain considering she had drunk something potentially way too valuable for her to ever pay for. At least, in cash. So going along with things, she got in the car with the others and began to ride with them. Though at least the Sparce/Farce thing was kinda entertaining, if she had to say so herself. Whip slid into the seat next to Allison, watching the twins with something akin to disgust and apprehension on her face. The drive, however, was short. Not even five minutes later and they were at the ‘entrance’ on the map: a staircase into the subway system. This stop seemed to have been abandoned, however, showing signs of decay and having been boarded up a few too many times to actually stop Intruders. Whip, naturally, pulled Allison from the car and pointed at the flimsy plywood barricade blocking the entrance. Her intent was obvious: break it. The stairs were cracked, paint chipped and peeling on the walls, and a strong smell of urine and rotting garbage was floating upwards towards them. The bottom of the stairs was dark besides where the midday sun shined through. Briefly a fat rat flitted across the light, scampering off as fast as it had come. The directions said to go in and follow the tracks east. Mantis gathered his equipment; mp5, silencer, flashbangs, smoke grenade, extra magazines, combat knife, sidearm, and two fragmentation grenades. He walked down the steps while looking at his map, [color=green]”Here's the entrance.”[/color] Whip glanced at Mantis before sliding down the handrail. Down below…. It was dark. There were intermittent lights on the walls where the trains would go, but they really didn't provide much in the way of light. A bum was passed out, or maybe drugged up, in a corner. They didn't need to guess where the smell of urine was coming from anymore. “Sure your information is accurate? Do we even know when a train is coming? I might be able to not get splattered by them, but you would. Actually, yeah, let's walk down the tracks.” [color=fff200]”One sec.”[/color] Farce commented as she was suddenly replaced by a [color=00a99d]”Sparce!”[/color], who began rummaging through his bag in pursuits of a flashlight. Of course, like any good law-enforcement trainee, he always carried one, in case he was in a situation like this. Wow, good thing he had it on him, huh? He shined the light into the subway before clipping it onto his shirt. [color=00a99d]”Hopefully this should help.”[/color] Sparce willingly stepped onto the tracks after and began leading the way. [color=00a99d]”We’ll know when a train comes because we can hear the echoes.”[/color] [color=fff200][i]I’m not gonna swap. You’re the main light source right now.[/i][/color] The college student was a bit nervous about the situation, though felt it was best to comply with things right now. They were the good guys, right? So it would make sense then to do all of this. Allison thus pointed her wrists appropriately at the barricade, before a small barrage of metal blades flew out and shattered the flimpy barricade like a knife cutting through wet paper. It hadn’t been too hard, though she kept her mouth shut for the time being. This was all new to her, after all. Mantis nodded approvingly as Allison blasted the barrier apart. Then Mantis replied to Whipstitch, [color=green]”The Questioner gave me the info. I was led there from the other intel we got from the warehouse. So...no I'm not sure it's completely accurate. For all we know we could be heading into a trap.”[/color] He chuckled to himself, [color=green]”But it's worth the risk, right?”[/color] Mantis looked over the map again and pointed, [color=green]”It says we need to head east. Everyone, stay on your toes. I'll alert you if I sense anything ahead.”[/color] Then Mantis removed his 1911 sidearm from its holster as he led the way down the tracks. He continuously sensed for any emotions where they were headed. He could easily distinguish between animals like rats and a human being. He had gotten much better at it over practice. As the group headed deeper, Whip lagging behind while staying close to Allison, the relatively closed in space of the tunnels may have started to dampen some moods. Hopefully no one was claustrophobic. Mantis could pick up on the usual rats, bright flashes of fear and hunger as they scampered away relatively unseen, and Sparce's light giving them ample forward light to avoid the live rail that would, if touched, kill any of those present. They walked through seemingly uniform darkness and tunnel, a slight curve to it, with little issues. It was eerily quiet, all things considered, and soon Mantis lost the faint feeling of giddy happiness that had been the squatting hobo. The directions, while not very detailed, indicated that they would be looking for a hidden entrance, but didn't specify what it was. The details stopped there besides a vague “They're in the main camp down there with supplies.” Would they be able to see anything out of the ordinary in this darkness? Mantis certainly wasn't picking up on anything in particular. [color=00a99d]”Anyone else feel like this was a bad idea?”[/color] Sparce asked. [color=00a99d]”Just saying, it doesn’t feel right to be down here without much of a note to work on.”[/color] Sparce was intimidated. He knew he’d been in more dangerous situations, but this was something else. Mantis better have had good intel, or this entire situation was shitty to him. Even Farce felt the same way about the chaos that was stirring. It wasn’t good, not one bit. Mantis was totally focused on finding the entrance and barely heard Sparce. [color=green]”It has got to be around this area here..”[/color] He was barely audible. Like he was speaking to himself. He looked around and watched where Sparce’s flashlight went. Mantis hoped to spot any abnormalities on the tunnel walls. Allison internally agreed with Sparce’s question, more than she was perhaps willing to let on. The atmosphere of the tunnel, even in all its darkness, the mentions of risk and potential traps before by Mantis, it was all leaving a bad taste in her mouth and a chill running up and down her spine. Sure she had powers now, and could us them, but without any proper experience in this sorta stuff it was….well, not the best situation regardless for her personally. Further, how many enemies were there? What types of powers did they possess, and what kinds of powers would give them the advantage here? [color=pink]“Honestly, if there was a secret entrance, wouldn’t they leave something like a mark on the wall or such? Just so their own people can find it?”[/color] “Thinking with the wrong head, as usual,” Whip snarked from the back. Turning towards Allison, she continued in a much calmer tone. “Now you, dear, had a phenomenally brilliant idea. Maybe scuff marks or an erroneous line….” The group were easily a mile from their entrance at this point and tensions were rising. Could they pull together long enough to find the entrance? The answer was yes. Mere moments later Mantis’ keen vigilance paid off as he noticed something that both girls had just moments ago mentioned. There were small grooves running vertically along a wall, a slightly darker 'x’ barely visible, and some signs of frequent weight being added right at the wall. In fact the depressions went through the wall! Now the challenge of opening the entrance. How did they plan to figure that out? And to make matters worse, there was a distinctive rumble approaching their position. Just as Whip had warned: there was a train coming. And there it was. A slight set of lines indicating an entrance of sorts. Mantis made his way over and began to examine the area with his gloves. Then he turned to his team, [color=green]”There's definitely something here. See if one of you can pry it open, we don't have much time!”[/color] He gestured toward Whipstitch and Excaliblast with urgency. Perhaps the combination of their powerful string and steel could break it open before the train got them. [color=00a99d]”God… fucking… dammit.”[/color] [color=fff200][sup]G o d... f u c k i n g... d a m m i t...![/sup][/color] Sparce immediately got to work on trying to find the door lock, looking everywhere around the wall with his flashlight in attempts to find what was going to be the way to get in. With a bit of light panic, though attempting to remain as calm as she could, Allison moved over to the “door” Mantis had found and stuck her wrist near the left edge. She began to extend a blade from her wrist, attempting to push it deeper into the small cap. Maybe this would help in prying it open? Maybe it would trigger a switch on the other side to gain entrance? For all she knew the sword blade could act as a useful wedge if naught else…. ….hopefully they didn’t all die, though. She really didn’t want to die, personally. She didn’t even get the chance yet to flirt with even more cute girls, or finish her degrees at that!!! Whip pushed past Mantis and Sparce roughly, joining Allison in her efforts to force open the door. String, barely visible, snaked along the blade and across the ground to squeeze into the gaps. They hardened as she broke them from her, tossing the ends at the men. “Pull!” she commanded urgently, running more string along the blade and adding her own strength and leverage to Allison's attempts. Between all their combined efforts they managed to make the doorway slide sideways into the wall, revealing a roughly created passageway of dirt and stone. There was a faint glow of light a ways ahead, otherwise the tunnel was dark beyond their flashlight. The group stumbled in, the train passing by and knocking them to the ground moments later, before the door slid shut on its own with a resounding [I]click[/I]. Whip was the first to her feet, looking warily at the seemingly seamless wall behind them as her chest hiked from exertion. “Fucking BULLSHIT,” she muttered angrily, pacing back and forth across the narrow tunnel. Speaking of, they'd need to file one by one in order to advance. And Mantis could pick up on strong emotions from ahead. It seemed that they were expected. Mantis stood up, holstered his pistol and unstrapped his mp5 from his back [color=green]”They know we're here,”[/color] he whispered, [color=green]”I'll take point and flash the entrance. Excal, come up behind me and build us some cover when we breach. Whip, we need you to use your mobility once inside to pick them off from above. Sparce, provide covering fire for us and take these.”[/color] Mantis took one flashbang, and a fragmentation grenade from his belt and handed them to Sparce. [color=green]”You know how to use these right? Pull the pin and throw. The flashbang flashes, the frag..frags. Only use as a last resort.”[/color] With his instructions given out, Mantis began to walk through the tunnel after his allies followed. This would be a dangerous battle. He could [i]feel[/i] it. At closer distances Mantis could perceive the location of living beings. It would help him when he threw two flashbangs into the entrance to determine where his targets were. [color=00a99d]”Okay, no problem, just give me a moment… to catch my breath.”[/color] Sparce was heaving in the back of the entrance behind everyone. He was pumped full of adrenaline from that train missing them. He still grabbed the grenades that were given to him, but he was just trying to calm down. The flashlight he had was out of his hands, and he was sitting down. [color=fff200]”Farce!”[/color] Then the replacement came. [color=fff200]”I got this, Sparcey. Lemme take over for a bit.”[/color] Farce went right into grabbing the flashlight and the grenades, clipping them to her bag’s straps and pulling her magnum revolver out. It was the gun she lifted off of the warehouse thugs a week or two ago, and it just felt like the perfect gun for her to use. She was ready to go, so there wasn’t any time to be wasted. It was a narrow passage, so that wasn’t exactly a good sign if any movie or video game tropes were remotely applicable to this situation. The feeling this was all leading into something bad was something Allison could not shake from her gut and mind. Perhaps she was being paranoid. They were the good guys, right? …...Right? Regardless of the other thoughts crossing her mind, the words of the famous Admiral Akbar crossing her mind was not a good sign in her opinion. How many did their enemies number again? Wait, had she even asked questions about this stuff before right now?! Plus they’d almost been hit by a train….ah. This was turning out to be an interesting day as it was already. [color=pink]“I’ll do my best. But….er, i know i am new to this, but if shit hits the fan do we have an escape plan?”[/color] Mantis turned to Allison and replied, [color=green]”Back the way we came.”[/color] He looked forward once more and asked, [color=green]”Is everyone ready?”[/color] If not.. that would become an issue. They needed everyone working together to get this thing done. Mantis sensed again for the location of people to ready his throws. [/hider]