Non-HPU: Beacon of Hope

[~\Rook/~]

Quint gave a small nod as he took the pill, plopping it in his mouth without a second thought. ”Thank you. This should help speed up the healing process.” He said, before walking off without waiting for a response. It seems Quint was much more blunt than his partner.

Rika just nodded after Quint said thank you, then turned to look for Kol.

"Kol needs your help too, Rika. Boxer's fracture. She broke it when the elevator fell." Archangel said.

Hearing her name called an turning to notice the healer present, Kol rises from her position and walks over, keeping her pace slow so she can keep her weapons trained on the soon to be former guards being escorted out.

Rika smiles and nods. "Thanks for the information, Archangel! And hello Kol! Let's see it.." She says, taking the 'hand' with the fracture and quietly checking it over. "..Yeah, that's a fracture all right! Nothing a little chemical mixture can't fix!" She then takes out another pill and puts it in Kol's free hand. "There you go! It should heal up just fine!" Rika says happily.

-----

"Don't know about weirder or more dangerous..." Gadgeteer said. "But a few floors up we ran into these mutant abominations. Unkillable Celican-Varanian hybrids that adapt to whatever hits them. We couldn't even finish them. Quint had to trap them in that hammerspace pocket of his. Best not to forget they're there, Quint!" he added the last bit, directed at Kolt/Quint

Traci looked surprised. "Well, I guess I was right then.." She said flatly.

..MT grabbed the door and pulled. The metal crunched and bent. The door started to buckle and bend, before being ripped clean out of the wall.

The room behind the door looked something like an armor forge lab. Inside, Monta stood facing the door, shocked at the Dragon Mech that just tore it's way through hundreds of thousands of dollars of fortified blast-door. With him were a number of annoyed looking scientists and researchers, but it appeared as if all of his guards were in the other room, currently surrendering. "All of you guards are fired!" he shouted into the room.

Monta ran for the armor forge and stood against an indentation in the wall. One of the scientists shouted out. "Wha- Wait! Sir! That's just the prototype-" He was too late though. Mechanical arms descended from the forge and attached various pieces of highly advanced armor to Monta's work suit. It didn't take too long before he was encased in a very advanced looking armor.

"Right! Bring it on! With my company's latest armor, I'm untouchable!" Monta called out to the champions.

"But... But...!"
Sparks started shooting from Monta's armor as it powered up. The entire suit was encased in a field of energy. Energy shields surrounded him, and more energy shields surrounded those. Monta struck his metal fists together, sending bolts of electricity between them. "Yes! I can feel the power! I can feel the energy! Come at me, Champions! I know what you want, but I will crush you before you get the chance!"

meanwhile, the scientists looked at Monta in fear and dove behind cover.

"OK, Traci, get those scientists out and ask that one about the weakness he was going to say aloud. Everyone else? Do what you do best. Time to applaud the villain so John? Colonel? Cover your ears." So saying she dropped her gun and sent a short series of sonic pulses straight at Montas' head to try and deafen him.

"On it!" Traci dashed over to the group of scientists, then proceeded to take them out of the forge lab room one at a time and over to the surrendered guards. "Right, anyone who doesn't want to be injured or killed by your former employer, come with me!" She says aloud once all the scientists were out. "Oh, and whoever knows the weaknesses of that fancy mech, please shout them out now!"

-----

"Oh, erm.. I'm not sure, anything you want to do Keeva?" Dan asked, looking expectantly to his companion.

"Learning about the universe seems a good idea," Keeva admitted, scritching the back of her neck. "Especially how to work the tech. Is there a guided tour Hivebot lurking around? Little cap on the head?"

"Any Hive android you find can give you a tour unless I'm doing something else with that body. Most of the actual tours are going to be given by employees at the establishments themselves." Hivemind said, not really getting the joke. "You might want to start by learning more about Earth, and how it's different from the Earth you know. We can start with the Terran museum. There's a park near it as well that has a focus on plants and animals from Earth, though you might want to hold off on the park until after you've learned a few things about this universe."

"Sounds ominous," Keeva admitted, looking at Dan with a small grimace. "Can't be THAT different, surely?" She brightened. "Suppose we'd better see, hadn't we?"

Dan nodded. "However different, we have to live in this world now. Best to learn what we can." He replied brightly, sharing in his partner's enthusiasm.

[Buster]

pulling her helmet off so she can take her medicine, the semireptilian felinoid, nods and proceeds as directed. after a minute noticing the pain and stiffness that had been rendering her main hand hand hard to use receding. once it had passed she switches the shield from her main hand to her offhand now that she can hold her staff properly again. her confiscated plasma rifle shifting in her back arms to rest over the other shoulder as well, so it can still be fired around the shield. afterward she returns her helmet to it's proper place and resumes acting as defensive escort for the prisoners.

"Thank you."

[Neon Icy Wings]

Tatiana readied her rifle and started it charging, waiting for Monta's reaction to Jenny's attack or any attack that could threaten Traci's evacuation of Monta's crew. "Tatiana standing by for opportune moment."

[CyberDragon]

The wolf nodded and followed the bot to the tower, all the while saying "Sounds good and, in regards to your one statement, if the Champions are like any thing we read, then we are a perfect fit for your team", his voice suddenly shifting to one not of his, but of a more robotic sound, before shifting back to his normal voice as he asks the bot "Judging by how those folks acted, I take it bounty hunters are frowned upon here?"

Hivemind held off on answering that question until they were in a meeting room in Champion Tower, after having stepped through what looked a little like a kiosk with a door and emerging in the vast headquarters of the superhuman group. "You are correct. Bounty hunters aren't looked upon kindly here. All too often the bounty they're chasing was put on the person by a tyrant for calling them out on their tyranny. Even if the bounty is legitimate, if I or my champions haven't caught them ourselves then that means I actively don't want them caught for one reason or another. Hence, any bounty hunter actively hunting a target will be asked to leave, and they will not be allowed into the main civilian area of the ship."

Hivemind considered the wolf for a moment. "Anyway, that doesn't matter right now. You aren't here for a bounty. You want to join the Champions? I have good news and bad news." He said. "The good news is that I've heard of you, Redsky, and I know what you're capable of. The bad news..." He leaned forward a bit. "Is I've heard of you, Redsky, and I know what you're capable of. Champions have rules, Mr. Redsky. Strict rules, especially regarding killing. Rule number one: No killing targets. Exceptions are during large-scale Omega level threats and in interplanetary warzones. Though even then, every death by your hand will be investigated. If it is deemed you killed without necessity, the punishment could be severe. Do I make myself clear?"

----------------------------

"Well, I'm sure the Varanians have been thinking it, Pred," Jenny replied before the action started. "OK, Traci, get those scientists out and ask that one about the weakness he was going to say aloud. Everyone else? Do what you do best. Time to applaud the villain so John? Colonel? Cover your ears." So saying she dropped her gun and sent a short series of sonic pulses straight at Montas' head to try and deafen him.

"Woo, relief," Norwood said, wholly unamused that his relief was here.

Collins gave a smile to the two reptiles and The Good Doctor, "Good to see you," he said as he launched into a quick explanation of what had happened and what had been done to remedy the various ailments sustained by the Celicans.

The Good Doctor thanked Collins. "You have done very well here, Doctors. A lot of people are alive because of you."

The Old Jaken followed the NotJaken out through the portal. "I believe I will remain here and help the help for now." he said before walking over and introducing himself to the newcomers.

Eira and The Lycan walked over and got in the aircraft, gesturing for NotJaken and the Doctors to follow.

----------------------------

"I mean from the computer I was on in the station, boss," Sana explained, shrugging. "You can link from there. Just chuck the deputies out and it's private. Although it would be good to check on how the Doctors are doing."

"Right." Hivemind said. He started his walk inside the police station. As he walked, he said quietly to Messalca "I'm sorry. I'm afraid what I am going to say to the canines is quite sensitive information that isn't ready to be widely known. It's confidentiality could have massive consequences on Celica, and possibly beyond. I will have to ask you to give me some privacy."

----------------------------

"Sounds ominous," Keeva admitted, looking at Dan with a small grimace. "Can't be THAT different, surely?" She brightened. "Suppose we'd better see, hadn't we?"

"You... might be surprised." Hivemind said.

Dan nodded. "However different, we have to live in this world now. Best to learn what we can." He replied brightly, sharing in his partner's enthusiasm.

"Just let me know, and I'll lead you wherever you want to go."

----------------------------

"Gives us something to look for on the film channels," Genevive grinned, "provided he lets you show them, of course."
"Who wouldn't want them shown?" Corvis said, slightly excited by the prospect.
Golten chewed his meat.

"I don't think that you'll find them on any film channels... They are over thirty years old, after all. You'll definitely find them in any store that sells movies, and most video services." Hivemind suggested.

----------------------------

"Did it say anythin' ta ye," Sarah asked gently, a little curious, despite herself.

Conall immediately jerks reflexively to the left, his eyes snapping open as he looks for the implied danger. Sensing the movement, Cailean also opens his eyes.
"Ah think he's right." Conall signs to his brother who agrees and says as much both to the Laird and to the entity.
"Aye, Sarah. He said we shuid wait an' do it when there aren't darts flyin' everywhere an' rowdy sports fans tae interrupt th' reunion."

The moment Conall moved his head, a dart zipped right past his right ear where his head used to be. Hivemind's hand shot up and caught it just before it hit him in the face. He held the dart up and shot a look at the man who threw it. He was lying on the floor. Apparently, he tripped in his tipsy state and flung the dart in the wrong direction. Hivemind chuckled. "Diligitis is always right. Let's get going then. I've already paid for your meals." He stood up and gestured for the others to follow. "Come on! I know a good place."

----------------------------

"<Like this?>" June asks back in a very similar if slightly accented way, eyes flickering faintly, but without the intensity they had earlier, and seemingly without hurting herself the way she'd been doing, since most of the work had been done by her colony comparing the different sounds and structures to the linguistic knowledge she'd inherited.

"<Yes...>" Sal-Hleel said, looking a bit uncomfortable. "<How...?>"

----------------------------

"On it!" Traci dashed over to the group of scientists, then proceeded to take them out of the forge lab room one at a time and over to the surrendered guards. "Right, anyone who doesn't want to be injured or killed by your former employer, come with me!" She says aloud once all the scientists were out. "Oh, and whoever knows the weaknesses of that fancy mech, please shout them out now!"

"Well..." one of the scientists called started. "The thing is, it's a prototype! We haven't tested it yet! It could have any number of flaws!"
"I'm thinking there's too much power going through the circuitry in the arms! Those sparks aren't supposed to be there! A significant surge in power could-"

- - - - -

Quint sighed as he walked nonchalantly to the front of the group. ”I would tell you to stand down before you embarrass yourself any further, but you are clearly not smart enough to do that.” He said, before suddenly rushing forward, firing a few EMP shots from his left arm cannon and aiming a kick at Montas chest.

The EMP caused a surge of voltage to pulse throughout the armor. The electricity sent sparks straight into the weapons systems in the armor's arms, causing them to detonate. The armored arms exploded in a shower of sparks and fire, sending Monta flying back and screaming in pain from what the explosion did to his hands.

- - - - -

"Ah... That. That wasn't supposed to happen..." the second scientist said.
"Not to mention... the audio sensors were designed to be far, far more sensitive than a Celican's ears normally are. The suit was meant to give the ability to hear enemies for miles and spy on their conversations. But this suit was just a proof of concept! We didn't put any way of lowering the sensitivity since the suit wasn't meant to be u-"

- - - - -

"Well, I'm sure the Varanians have been thinking it, Pred," Jenny replied before the action started. "OK, Traci, get those scientists out and ask that one about the weakness he was going to say aloud. Everyone else? Do what you do best. Time to applaud the villain so John? Colonel? Cover your ears." So saying she dropped her gun and sent a short series of sonic pulses straight at Montas' head to try and deafen him.

Monta couldn't even scream from the pain, it was too great. His burned and still smoking hands shot up to his ears, and he couldn't decide what was more painful, the burns or the sonic blast in his ears, amplified by the suit's sensors. Eventually, he broke through the pain and ripped the helmet off of his head. There was a steady trickle of red coming from his ears. Tears filled his eyes as he bent down and lost his lunch. Everything was spinning for him, and he couldn't hear a thing. His head felt like it had been steamrolled if the steamroller also played death metal music cranked up to eleven.

- - - - -

"...We're so getting fired."

- - - - -

"You're lucky MT's rated against EMI or I'd have some words with you." Had he been in control of his own body he would have cracked a couple of joints, "Alright, you've got... Now, to disarm yourself or we will gladly do it for you." Chris grinned, arming a number of not-so-nonlethal weapons.

MT looked down at the pathetic wreck that was Monta, feeling a little disappointed. "I don't think he can hear us anymore. Should we hit him with amber for good measure?"

Tatiana readied her rifle and started it charging, waiting for Monta's reaction to Jenny's attack or any attack that could threaten Traci's evacuation of Monta's crew. "Tatiana standing by for opportune moment."

"Seems that's not going to be needed." Archangel said. "That was a lot easier than expected."
"Yeah. Kind of a lot of buildup to this moment. He's already done?" Recon said, confusion in her voice.
"I admit, I'm a little disappointed I didn't get to hit him." Said Gadgeteer.
"Well, that's often how it is with enemies with a lot of financial and political power, but without physical powers. This man owns a lot of assets, but that's it. Heck, he isn't even the actual owner if our sources are to be believed."
"Still though, would have been nice to have a bit more of a fight..."
"You mean after all of the other fighting today? After the Warlord? Wasn't that enough for one day?"
Gadgeteer shrugged.

[SeanWolf]

The wolf, known as Hawk Redsky, sits down on the nearest chair in the room and, after removing his hat and placing it on the table, looks to the Hivebot and answers with a smirk "Fine to me. How about you?" The fur on his face suddenly starts to dissipate away as a more chrome-like skin takes over, revealing his 'friend in question' who answers in a voice that comes off as calm but with a side of threatening "Rules don't apply to my kind...but remembering what you told me as we arrived to this ship, I'll make an exception this once." before Hawk's original fur returns to his face. "Sorry about that" He chuckles as the last bit of fur returns, "He's the main reason why I...rather we have that bit of a reputation on our head. But if you are worried about any of us going postal on this vessel or doing breaking the terms you gave us, you won't have to worry. Once we've agreed to your terms, we make it our goal to abide by terms set forth to us...though we will admit we have disobeyed some agreements but we always made sure we had a legitimate reason for doing so. Otherwise, you're dealing with the most trustworthy ex-bounty hunters you can get."

[Buster]

the sharklet laughs at that, "<Quick learn. I collect hour... wait...> Sorry I don't have all the words figured out yet. We learn fast, I was speaking fluent english within an hour of forming a stable consciousness. Kind of have to, bodies only last a decade or two."

[Welsh Halfwit]

"Well..." Jenny said, a little stunned at things, "that worked. Who wants to put him in stasis for a bit until we can get him to a secure location?"
"I don't think you'll be out of work long," Hannabelle 'reassured' the scientists as she nodded toward the Colonel, "Idiots like him like to know where to find people like you. They often have big, destructive, things they want built for as cheap as possible and you're the experts on that." She leaned towards Gear and lowered her voice. "He could send them in to work for the enemy," she muttered.
---------------
"It'll be aces to see Miss Rika again," The NotJaken said, saluting his older self (with his tongue hanging out of the side of 'his' mouth) before getting into the ship. "An' June."
--------------
"What's a video," Corvis asked.
"Try shortening the word, genius," Golten replied with arid dryness.
Corvis clearly thought about it. Then, after realising the word 'vid' was there, he chose to throw a small piece of meat at his brother.
"Pick that up," his mother warned.
"Can't," Corvis replied. "He's eaten it."
------------
Clearly having a thought, Keeva stepped up to the Hivebot and whispered a question. After it replied, she stepped back next to her beau. "Tell you about that later," she assured, putting her artificial arm around Dan's waist. "When in private. Ready when you are, Mr Hive, sir."
------------
Seena oversaw the loading of the crates onto the shuttle as Sana kept close to Hive. Messalca delegated one of her deputies to go with Seena as she could be taken as, Messalca put it after Seena was out of earshot, 'one heck of a snack by wrong minded people.
-----------
Sarah joined in the glare at the drunkard and gently took the dart from the Hivebot. "Reet wi' youse," she said, before standing and walking over to the inebriate. She pulled him upright so he was only a few inches from the end of her muzzle and growled as she smelled the drink. "Y'need ta be more careful, like," she warned, before launching the dart hard at the board without turning to face it. The point embedded in the outer ring of the bull as she put the sot down into a chair. "S'ggest 'e sits the night out," she 'advised' the others as England scored on the screen. "Lay on, then, Macbot," she stated, paraphrasing Macbeth as she returned to her group.
-----------
Corp mentally stored the information about June and languages.

[~\Rook/~]

pulling her helmet off so she can take her medicine, the semireptilian felinoid, nods and proceeds as directed. after a minute noticing the pain and stiffness that had been rendering her main hand hand hard to use receding. once it had passed she switches the shield from her main hand to her offhand now that she can hold her staff properly again. her confiscated plasma rifle shifting in her back arms to rest over the other shoulder as well, so it can still be fired around the shield. afterward she returns her helmet to it's proper place and resumes acting as defensive escort for the prisoners.

"Thank you."

Rika nods happily. "You are welcome, Kol." She replies, then watches the 'fight' with Monta unfold.

"Well..." one of the scientists called started. "The thing is, it's a prototype! We haven't tested it yet! It could have any number of flaws!"
"I'm thinking there's too much power going through the circuitry in the arms! Those sparks aren't supposed to be there! A significant surge in power could-"

- - - - -

Quint sighed as he walked nonchalantly to the front of the group. ”I would tell you to stand down before you embarrass yourself any further, but you are clearly not smart enough to do that.” He said, before suddenly rushing forward, firing a few EMP shots from his left arm cannon and aiming a kick at Montas chest.

The EMP caused a surge of voltage to pulse throughout the armor. The electricity sent sparks straight into the weapons systems in the armor's arms, causing them to detonate. The armored arms exploded in a shower of sparks and fire, sending Monta flying back and screaming in pain from what the explosion did to his hands.

- - - - -

"Ah... That. That wasn't supposed to happen..." the second scientist said.
"Not to mention... the audio sensors were designed to be far, far more sensitive than a Celican's ears normally are. The suit was meant to give the ability to hear enemies for miles and spy on their conversations. But this suit was just a proof of concept! We didn't put any way of lowering the sensitivity since the suit wasn't meant to be u-"

- - - - -

"Well, I'm sure the Varanians have been thinking it, Pred," Jenny replied before the action started. "OK, Traci, get those scientists out and ask that one about the weakness he was going to say aloud. Everyone else? Do what you do best. Time to applaud the villain so John? Colonel? Cover your ears." So saying she dropped her gun and sent a short series of sonic pulses straight at Montas' head to try and deafen him.

Monta couldn't even scream from the pain, it was too great. His burned and still smoking hands shot up to his ears, and he couldn't decide what was more painful, the burns or the sonic blast in his ears, amplified by the suit's sensors. Eventually, he broke through the pain and ripped the helmet off of his head. There was a steady trickle of red coming from his ears. Tears filled his eyes as he bent down and lost his lunch. Everything was spinning for him, and he couldn't hear a thing. His head felt like it had been steamrolled if the steamroller also played death metal music cranked up to eleven.

- - - - -

"...We're so getting fired."

- - - - -

"You're lucky MT's rated against EMI or I'd have some words with you." Had he been in control of his own body he would have cracked a couple of joints, "Alright, you've got... Now, to disarm yourself or we will gladly do it for you." Chris grinned, arming a number of not-so-nonlethal weapons.

MT looked down at the pathetic wreck that was Monta, feeling a little disappointed. "I don't think he can hear us anymore. Should we hit him with amber for good measure?"

Tatiana readied her rifle and started it charging, waiting for Monta's reaction to Jenny's attack or any attack that could threaten Traci's evacuation of Monta's crew. "Tatiana standing by for opportune moment."

"Seems that's not going to be needed." Archangel said. "That was a lot easier than expected."
"Yeah. Kind of a lot of buildup to this moment. He's already done?" Recon said, confusion in her voice.
"I admit, I'm a little disappointed I didn't get to hit him." Said Gadgeteer.
"Well, that's often how it is with enemies with a lot of financial and political power, but without physical powers. This man owns a lot of assets, but that's it. Heck, he isn't even the actual owner if our sources are to be believed."
"Still though, would have been nice to have a bit more of a fight..."
"You mean after all of the other fighting today? After the Warlord? Wasn't that enough for one day?"
Gadgeteer shrugged.

Traci looked as baffled as the scientists. "Well then.." She sighed and shook herself out of her amazement. "Aaaanyway! Thank you for your help, However useful it may or may not have been, we shall now.. Erm.." She turned to the group. "What should we do with these guys now?" She asked flatly.

Rika, on the other hand, checked to see if any of the soldiers or scientists had any injuries.

-----

Clearly having a thought, Keeva stepped up to the Hivebot and whispered a question. After it replied, she stepped back next to her beau. "Tell you about that later," she assured, putting her artificial arm around Dan's waist. "When in private. Ready when you are, Mr Hive, sir."

Dan looked intrigued, yet just nodded in response. "Yep, ready. To the museum!" He added.

[Buster]

"So he's stupid enough to try using an unfinished weapon, and not expect it will break?" Kol asks aloud, amused at what she's watching.

[Welsh Halfwit]

"When we get back, Kol," Jenny added, looking over at her friend after checking on Quint, "you should ask Hive if he can get you a shield like that. It suits you!"

[Deske]

Collins nodded, "And I'm sure many more will be thanks to you. Good luck," he said, giving a wave as he walked off to join you with rest.

Norwood joined him, having finished packing the bags and inventorying them. He tossed one to Collins, "Ever the friend."

"I try," Collins said with a smirk.

Denver had caught up with and, for the most part, finished triaging the casualties, marking their various levels of severity with tags, both official and impromptu once the real ones had run out. One final check had him walking down the rows, doing quick rechecks on bandages, sutures, and the variety of gels that had been applied. He was just about finished when he felt a small tug on his sleeve and, turning to look, found a small Celican child clutching a broken Killranger action figure. Though he knew where this was going, he crouched down so he was eye level with the kit and waited out the response.

"C-can you fix him?" the child asked quietly, holding out the action figure.

Denver smiled at the child as he unzipped his bag. "Of course, gotta take care of the heroes," he replied amid a mental chorus of "Aww's" from the other doctors. He pulled out a small syringe filled with medical cement, the kind used when stitches aren't necessary, and carefully glued the arm of the action figure back on, making a show of taking extra care for a hero. He held the two parts together, ensuring they'd bond well, before taking a small strip of cloth and tearing it into two. One half he wound around the arm of the action figure, the other he used to make a sort of sling, holding the broken arm against the chest. He looked it over and handed it back to the kit, who beamed a smile, giving Denver an excited "Thanks, mister!" before scurrying off to wherever he'd come from. The doctor zipped his bag and stood up, heading over to join the other 4 that were already waiting by the ship.

------

Chris sighed, firing the amber cannon with an oh-so-unsatisfying single shot. "I guess I should be thankful that we didn't have any more destructive fights on our hands today." He paused, looking at the encased "villain" frozen before them, "Too bad I'm not."

[Neon Icy Wings]

Tatiana let her charged energy shot dwindle into nothing and chuckled. "If this were any other day I'd say I was annoyed. But we already had a punch out against a giant dictator lizard so I don't feel all that cheated." She gave a thumbs up, her eye lights forming happy shapes to compliment her helmet smile, "Nice shot Jenny! Does that wrap everything up or what? I mean sweeping this whole facility is a must but I think Hive might want to let his bots do that." She leaned on her rifle as her second shell applauded the take down.

[Legotron123]

”I concur with Tatiana. While it was surprising to have him go down so quickly, ultimately I am glad Monta did not put up any substantial fight.” Quint said, leaning against a wall, occasionally eyeing the scientists in case they tried to make a getaway. ”In any case, I would like to head back to the surface soon. The fact that we are cut off from most communications while we are so far underground has me worried.”
-
Once Corp pointed him out, Liz was about to find their waiter rather easily, and made her way over to him. ”Excuse me sir, I would like to pay for my tables meals.”
-
Lewis gave June a curious look. ”Do you lose information gained in one body when you move to another one? Because otherwise, I don’t see how the average lifespan of your host bodies causes a need for rapid learning.”

[Hlaoroo]

"Remind me nae tae challenge ye tae darts, Sarah." Cailean observes as the dogs follow Hivemind out, their dinner forgotten despite it not actually having been served yet.

[Buster]

Lewis gave June a curious look. ”Do you lose information gained in one body when you move to another one? Because otherwise, I don’t see how the average lifespan of your host bodies causes a need for rapid learning.”

"the immune system of the new host rarely cooperates. add to that that there are certain nodes that act as an index for the others but that index is only useful if intact and the nodes are connected in the same patterns. ever tried rebuilding a fragmented file manually while some of the fragments are missing and others can be accidentally overwritten at any time?" June is doing that thing again where she sounds like she's repeating someone else's words verbatim without fully understanding them.

[Legotron123]

Lewis seemed a little unnerved by what June said. ”Doesn’t that mean that everytime you transfer to a new body, you undergo death of personality?” He asked, sounding concerned.

[Welsh Halfwit]

"I think the phrase is 'everyone's different', Lieuten... uh, Lewis," Corp said, reminding himself to use the 'friendlier' term.

[CyberDragon]

The wolf, known as Hawk Redsky, sits down on the nearest chair in the room and, after removing his hat and placing it on the table, looks to the Hivebot and answers with a smirk "Fine to me. How about you?" The fur on his face suddenly starts to dissipate away as a more chrome-like skin takes over, revealing his 'friend in question' who answers in a voice that comes off as calm but with a side of threatening "Rules don't apply to my kind...but remembering what you told me as we arrived to this ship, I'll make an exception this once." before Hawk's original fur returns to his face. "Sorry about that" He chuckles as the last bit of fur returns, "He's the main reason why I...rather we have that bit of a reputation on our head. But if you are worried about any of us going postal on this vessel or doing breaking the terms you gave us, you won't have to worry. Once we've agreed to your terms, we make it our goal to abide by terms set forth to us...though we will admit we have disobeyed some agreements but we always made sure we had a legitimate reason for doing so. Otherwise, you're dealing with the most trustworthy ex-bounty hunters you can get."

If Hawk was expecting Hivemind, aka Solomon, to be surprised, shocked, or impressed by the transformation, then he really knew nothing about him. Solomon, the man who witnessed his brother come back to life and turn into a dragon demigod at his own funeral, the man who built a star ship the size of a small continent, the man who founded an army of superheroes, the technopath with billions of bodies and trillions of thoughts, was not a man who was easy to impress or surprise.

"The rules do apply to you. They apply to everyone so long as there is the ability to enforce those rules. Break, ignore, or disrespect the rules, and you will quickly find out that you are not the biggest fish in this ocean." Hivemind says plainly and seriously. "Champion rule number two: We do not pick and choose who to save unless circumstances require us to do so. Our job is to save lives more than it is to fight villains. If the person you are fighting ends up in mortal peril, you must endeavor to save them unless the act of doing so will cost innocent lives. Understood?"

----------------------------------

Collins nodded, "And I'm sure many more will be thanks to you. Good luck," he said, giving a wave as he walked off to join you with rest.

Norwood joined him, having finished packing the bags and inventorying them. He tossed one to Collins, "Ever the friend."

"I try," Collins said with a smirk.

Denver had caught up with and, for the most part, finished triaging the casualties, marking their various levels of severity with tags, both official and impromptu once the real ones had run out. One final check had him walking down the rows, doing quick rechecks on bandages, sutures, and the variety of gels that had been applied. He was just about finished when he felt a small tug on his sleeve and, turning to look, found a small Celican child clutching a broken Killranger action figure. Though he knew where this was going, he crouched down so he was eye level with the kit and waited out the response.

"C-can you fix him?" the child asked quietly, holding out the action figure.

Denver smiled at the child as he unzipped his bag. "Of course, gotta take care of the heroes," he replied amid a mental chorus of "Aww's" from the other doctors. He pulled out a small syringe filled with medical cement, the kind used when stitches aren't necessary, and carefully glued the arm of the action figure back on, making a show of taking extra care for a hero. He held the two parts together, ensuring they'd bond well, before taking a small strip of cloth and tearing it into two. One half he wound around the arm of the action figure, the other he used to make a sort of sling, holding the broken arm against the chest. He looked it over and handed it back to the kit, who beamed a smile, giving Denver an excited "Thanks, mister!" before scurrying off to wherever he'd come from. The doctor zipped his bag and stood up, heading over to join the other 4 that were already waiting by the ship.

"Awwwwww!" Tyratea sang, resting her head against her folded hands. "That was so sweet! Such a nice-"
"Tyratia!" Fades-In-Shadow's hissed. "Get a hold of yourself. You're making it rain!"

And indeed she was. The previously clear skies were now cloudy, and rain drizzled down from above. "Oh... Right... Sorry." She concentrated, and the rain cleared up.

"That wasn't very professional..." the Good Doctor said once the doctor was out of earshot.

"It'll be aces to see Miss Rika again," The NotJaken said, saluting his older self (with his tongue hanging out of the side of 'his' mouth) before getting into the ship. "An' June."

"She didn't leave that long ago! It hasn't even been an hour!" Eira said, chuckling a little bit.

Hivemind's voice spoke over the comm system. "We're headed back to the Beacon. You'll be able to see June-Wait... Jaken, you're already on the Beacon! You can just take the headset off."

----------------------------------

"What's a video," Corvis asked.
"Try shortening the word, genius," Golten replied with arid dryness.
Corvis clearly thought about it. Then, after realising the word 'vid' was there, he chose to throw a small piece of meat at his brother.
"Pick that up," his mother warned.
"Can't," Corvis replied. "He's eaten it."

"The Lycan is actually on his way back to the Beacon right now. Would you like to meet him this evening, or wait until tomorrow?" Hivemind asked.

----------------------------------

Clearly having a thought, Keeva stepped up to the Hivebot and whispered a question. After it replied, she stepped back next to her beau. "Tell you about that later," she assured, putting her artificial arm around Dan's waist. "When in private. Ready when you are, Mr Hive, sir."

Dan looked intrigued, yet just nodded in response. "Yep, ready. To the museum!" He added.

Hivemind nodded and lead the two of them out of the restaurant and through the nearest portal door. The door took them to a train station, where the elevated maglev that ran throughout the city. "The best entrance to the building is the one that's five stories up and has a maglev station." He chuckled as the train pulled into the station and opened it's doors.

----------------------------------

Seena oversaw the loading of the crates onto the shuttle as Sana kept close to Hive. Messalca delegated one of her deputies to go with Seena as she could be taken as, Messalca put it after Seena was out of earshot, 'one heck of a snack by wrong minded people.

Hivemind stepped inside of the station, giving a mildly concerned glance to Seena before doing so. Once he was sure it was just him and Sana, he started up communications with the canine fleet. "Canine fleet, this is Hivemind of the Beacon of Hope. Come in please."

----------------------------------

Sarah joined in the glare at the drunkard and gently took the dart from the Hivebot. "Reet wi' youse," she said, before standing and walking over to the inebriate. She pulled him upright so he was only a few inches from the end of her muzzle and growled as she smelled the drink. "Y'need ta be more careful, like," she warned, before launching the dart hard at the board without turning to face it. The point embedded in the outer ring of the bull as she put the sot down into a chair. "S'ggest 'e sits the night out," she 'advised' the others as England scored on the screen. "Lay on, then, Macbot," she stated, paraphrasing Macbeth as she returned to her group.

"Remind me nae tae challenge ye tae darts, Sarah." Cailean observes as the dogs follow Hivemind out, their dinner forgotten despite it not actually having been served yet.

Without another word, Hivemind led the three out of the building. They walked down the street for a bit until they got to one of the portal kiosks scattered around. Hivemind opened the door and led the group through. When they emerged, they were in the middle of what looked like a city park. Trees, grass, benches, everything one would typically find in a park like this was there. There were also art museums, sculpture paths, playgrounds, a visitor's center, a greenhouse, and a large lake in the center of it all where people were taking paddle boats out on. The Zoo was also in the park, but not visible from their position.

Hivemind took the three of them down a quiet path that led up to the creek that fed into the lake. The trees and bushes blocked this area from view by anyone walking along the main path. The creek gurgled quietly, and there was a gentle breeze rustling the leaves in the trees. Hivemind pointed to the benches. "Here should be a good spot." he said. "Try again."

- - - - -

Meanwhile, Hivemind picked up the food the three bought, but left before receiving. After he got it, he walked toward the portal door to the park.

----------------------------------

"Well..." Jenny said, a little stunned at things, "that worked. Who wants to put him in stasis for a bit until we can get him to a secure location?"
"I don't think you'll be out of work long," Hannabelle 'reassured' the scientists as she nodded toward the Colonel, "Idiots like him like to know where to find people like you. They often have big, destructive, things they want built for as cheap as possible and you're the experts on that." She leaned towards Gear and lowered her voice. "He could send them in to work for the enemy," she muttered.

"In our own professional defense," one of the scientists spoke up. "The first prototype was never meant to be used. It wasn't designed for it. It was designed to gather data for future functional versions. That's what a prototype is for."

Traci looked as baffled as the scientists. "Well then.." She sighed and shook herself out of her amazement. "Aaaanyway! Thank you for your help, However useful it may or may not have been, we shall now.. Erm.." She turned to the group. "What should we do with these guys now?" She asked flatly.

Rika, on the other hand, checked to see if any of the soldiers or scientists had any injuries.

"We need to get everyone out of here." Archangel told Traci. "I don't know if we have enough fliers to get them all in one go. We might be able to do it, but the heavy guards might be tough. They're in that room over there." Archangel pointed to a closed door behind him. "Just to keep them out of the way. You can go get them and make sure they're out of their armored rigs."

Rika would find the worst injury was one of the guards who still had Gear's knife sticking out of the back of his right hand.

Chris sighed, firing the amber cannon with an oh-so-unsatisfying single shot. "I guess I should be thankful that we didn't have any more destructive fights on our hands today." He paused, looking at the encased "villain" frozen before them, "Too bad I'm not."

"It's a common feeling when you're a walking one-robot-army. When every enemy feels like a low-grade mook, it gets dull when there's only one of them." MT responded, shrugging, before picking Monta up and carrying him out of the room.

"So he's stupid enough to try using an unfinished weapon, and not expect it will break?" Kol asks aloud, amused at what she's watching.

"When we get back, Kol," Jenny added, looking over at her friend after checking on Quint, "you should ask Hive if he can get you a shield like that. It suits you!"

Tatiana let her charged energy shot dwindle into nothing and chuckled. "If this were any other day I'd say I was annoyed. But we already had a punch out against a giant dictator lizard so I don't feel all that cheated." She gave a thumbs up, her eye lights forming happy shapes to compliment her helmet smile, "Nice shot Jenny! Does that wrap everything up or what? I mean sweeping this whole facility is a must but I think Hive might want to let his bots do that." She leaned on her rifle as her second shell applauded the take down.

”I concur with Tatiana. While it was surprising to have him go down so quickly, ultimately I am glad Monta did not put up any substantial fight.” Quint said, leaning against a wall, occasionally eyeing the scientists in case they tried to make a getaway. ”In any case, I would like to head back to the surface soon. The fact that we are cut off from most communications while we are so far underground has me worried.”

There was the sound of Jump jets in the elevator shaft, and then a thud as a light combat hive droid landed. The droid jumped through the elevator doors and walked up to the group. "You aren't cut off anymore." Hivemind said. "Finally figured out how to re-purpose some of the equipment here into a makeshift Hive Relay. Anyway, I would like to sweep the building myself. Given the data I gathered on what's here, there are things in this facility I don't want your team to run into. As for the scientists, most will probably be released. After all, they thought they were working for a legal, government sanctioned weapons development company. Not their fault their boss is a traitor."

----------------------------------

Once Corp pointed him out, Liz was about to find their waiter rather easily, and made her way over to him. ”Excuse me sir, I would like to pay for my tables meals.”

"Oh! Right! Of course! Sorry..." the waiter said, trying not to look like he was hiding. "Ah... could I see your card, please?"

[SeanWolf]

Hawk was silent as Hivemind informed him of the second rule and while he understood it, he was starting to realize these Champion were a bit of a pacifist crew...but he wasn't going to complain as he simply nodded in agreement to the rule, though the last part did confuse him a bit. One thing that did take him a bit by surprise was how Hivemind had little to no reaction to his Other Side as, normally, people would either freak out or shoot him on sight, with the later being more common lately, so the fact that someone wasn't even fazed by it not only impressed him but surprised him too.

"Pardon the interruption" Hawk suddenly speaks up as something just came to his mind, "But I have a question I just thought of. You said that you know of me...how much do you really know OF me? You know of my exploits, that's for sure, but I'm just curious as to how much you know cause...well you are the first one I know of to not have a reaction to my friend. Normally, as of late, people who see that side? Their first reaction is a shot to my head so the fact that you didn't even blink was impressive. Same time...'If the person you are fighting ends up in mortal peril, you must endeavor to save them '...I understand that the job is to save lives than just killing villains..but you mean to tell us that you rather imprison them then kill them? You do know some can't be redeemed no matter how much you want to, right?" Another thought then came to his mind which was followed by a smile, "Actually, I just thought of this: Those things you read about me probably left this part out...here, watch." He proceeds to take his right paw and places it under his chin with two fingers sticking into it. Suddenly, with a smirk, the fur on those two fingers quickly gives way to his other beings massive claws and, like a warm knife through butter, pierces his skull then retracts and reverts back to his normal fingers. With that, his head falls forward to show a huge hole in his head...which then begins to repair itself, though one could tell this wasn't painless as Hawk was wincing from the pain but, after a few seconds, his head was back to normal as he looked back up at the bot and replies "That's why my friend said what he said: Some rules just don't apply to us because of what I just showed you" before uttering to himself "Man I'm gonna feel that one in the morning..."

[Welsh Halfwit]

"Oh, yeah," the NotJaken said chirpily, "I'd forgotten that!" He sat down. "Probably better to sit rather than fall," he said, not realising his timing was a little off. "See you on board, Miss Arctos, Mighty Lycan," he added, giving a sitting 'salute' to the heroes and Doctors before the hand removed the helmet.

The real Jaken blinked and sneezed as he did his best not to fall over in reality. "That's... something," he managed, using his white paws to check his head for hats.
----------
"I think tomorrow would be best," Jenevive decided, drawing cries from both cubs. "If it were tonight, you'd be too excited to sleep and you'd be useless tomorrow," she told them.
"We'd be just as excited tonight if we were to meet him tomorrow," Golten protested.
"No," his mother stated, "I figure you'll at least TRY to sleep tonight if the meeting's tomorrow."
"We wouldn't" Corvis warned, backing his brother up, "why would you think that?"
""Because you don't want to fall asleep DURING the meeting, do you," she asked, tapping Corvis on the nose and grinning as she won the discussion.
------------
"Ulrich," Jenny said politely, "any chance of an elevator pod or movable floor at least?"
She looked to Rika. "Kol, Tat? Go with the Doctor here. Figure the heavies aren't in any mood to fight but you two would probably guarantee that. Legion?" She nodded to the Hivebot that had just arrived. "I can't say 'watch over him' as he could sack me for disobeying his orders to get out of here but, if someone he can't sack should choose, of their own volition, to keep an eye on him..?" She smiled gently. "C'mon, all us sackables," she added brightly, "let's get a wiggle on! You too, John and Colonel. Actually, John? Is this the only way up? Seems rather Health and Safety non-compliant."
"I'm tempted to point to the ladder," Hannabelle said drily. "At least to get up a floor or two."
-----------
After a short while (and a bit of circuit wiggling from Sana) the Canines replied on a slightly fizzy signal. <<We're here, Hivemind,>> the ranking officer announced. <<What is the situation?>>
----------
"Well," Corp said, hearing the mention of payment cards, "that's a good point. Do Varanians wash dishes?"
---------
"Pity I were aimin' fer the triple twenty," Sarah confided, taking Cailean's handpaw as they went. She admired the park and noted one or two from the 'HAVEN had found their way there amongst the others. She slipped her handpaw free as they reached the bench and remained standing, watching the surroundings carefully.
---------
Keeva looked a little stunned at that. She managed a smile eventually. "What's... what's the value of, um, life if you can't show off a bit?"

[Buster]

"I... don't know what that means..." June mutters before corp jumps in. which leads to her looking at him funny wondering what dying and being different had to do with eachother.

"what do dishes have to do with finding your cards?" june asks, pulling out the one linked to kobor's account from when she was clothes shopping previously. genuinely examining it with a confused expression on her face, "This doesn't look like a plate to me."

- - - - -

Kol meanwhile nodds to jenny tagging along with Rika.

[Welsh Halfwit]

"It's just a saying," Corp grumped, sensing his attempt at being slightly witty had failed. "It's a way of paying for food if you've no money. And I don't recall being given cards yet."

[Legotron123]

As soon as Hivemind confirmed their communications were back, Quint started typing a message to his old team leader Mythos, telling him not to open the hammerspace pocket for a few hours, but that there was a weapon in there for waiting for him once he did open it. Once he sent it, he turned to look at the Hivemind drone. ”Do not want us to run into because they might be dangerous, or do not want us to run into because you want to keep them a secret?”
-
Liz was coming to the same conclusion Corp was, that Hivemind hadn’t actually given them any method to spend the money they had earned that day. ”l.... have not been given one of those yet.” She said, looking around for a Hivemind drone and trying to think of anything else she could say that wouldn’t come off as awkward in this situation.
-
Lewis paused for a moment, trying to think of a good way to to bring across the concept he had in mind to a being like June. ”Death of personality is when you are still alive, but your mind and personality have been so fundamentally lost or altered that the person you used to be might as well be dead. I bring it up because the way you described it, it sounds the process of transferring bodies involves your mind breaking down beyond repair, and then you build a new one using the leftover fragments as a foundation.”

[Deske]

If he didn't have fur in the way, Denver's blush would have been visible from a mile away. He did his best to ignore it though, quickly catching up to the rest of the surface team.

------

Chris sighed, "Yeah," he said simply.

------

Ulrich gave Jenny a quick nod before summoning a large platform in place of the broken elevator car. He stepped onto it, making sure he'd missed all the debris.

[Buster]

"Thats dumb and not how that works. Minds not Mind. We're not one person, we're a colony." June corrected shaking her head. this part at least she actually understood herself, and was able to speak about more confidently. "A gestalt of hundreds. or millions if we were talking about father or auntie, but they're older. we all remember who we are even if no one of us alone has enough memory to remember why."

[~\Rook/~]

Hivemind nodded and lead the two of them out of the restaurant and through the nearest portal door. The door took them to a train station, where the elevated maglev that ran throughout the city was. "The best entrance to the building is the one that's five stories up and has a maglev station." He chuckled as the train pulled into the station and opened it's doors.

Keeva looked a little stunned at that. She managed a smile eventually. "What's... what's the value of, um, life if you can't show off a bit?"

Dan shrugged. "Doesn't sound as big as a heavy-freight-class ship, but impressive nonetheless. My question would be why did you build a train station five stories up? Or did I hear wrong and overthought what you said?" He asked, a little confused as he stepped into the Maglev train.

-----

"We need to get everyone out of here." Archangel told Traci. "I don't know if we have enough fliers to get them all in one go. We might be able to do it, but the heavy guards might be tough. They're in that room over there." Archangel pointed to a closed door behind him. "Just to keep them out of the way. You can go get them and make sure they're out of their armored rigs."

Rika would find the worst injury was one of the guards who still had Gear's knife sticking out of the back of his right hand.

"Ulrich," Jenny said politely, "any chance of an elevator pod or movable floor at least?"
She looked to Rika. "Kol, Tat? Go with the Doctor here. Figure the heavies aren't in any mood to fight but you two would probably guarantee that. Legion?" She nodded to the Hivebot that had just arrived. "I can't say 'watch over him' as he could sack me for disobeying his orders to get out of here but, if someone he can't sack should choose, of their own volition, to keep an eye on him..?" She smiled gently. "C'mon, all us sackables," she added brightly, "let's get a wiggle on! You too, John and Colonel. Actually, John? Is this the only way up? Seems rather Health and Safety non-compliant."
"I'm tempted to point to the ladder," Hannabelle said drily. "At least to get up a floor or two."

Kol nodds to jenny tagging along with Rika.

Traci Nodded "Will do, Archangel!" She replied simply, walking up to the door and starting to open it.

Rika had gave most of the injured soldiers some of her healing pills and helped the one with the knife in his hand before hearing Jenny mention her. "Mm? Oh, if they're injured too, I'll help them." She said simply before finishing up with the last guard and heading over to Traci, who had by then opened the door. "Hello in there! It's all over now, we took down your boss and we have a medic here if you're injured! I'm stepping in now." Traci called before stepping through the doorway, readying herself in case the heavy guards were not so friendly. Rika waited for Traci to wave her in, green capsule at the ready.

[furrygamer793]

A rabbit-cat-bird chimaera, having watched the fight with the crazed man in the mech, shot out of the vent after he heard the sonic blast, he tried stopping himself and the fell on the ground, scraping his right knee, "Ouch, stupid anti-friction boots." After looking around and slightly recovering from the fall, he said, to himself mostly, "Oh boy, now they'll freak out from me being a chimaera and having superpowers."

[Welsh Halfwit]

At the sudden new noise, Jenny put herself between it and the lesser armoured Colonel and John. Raising her gun to cover the newcomer, she spoke simply. "Wanna I.D yourself or fight, fella?"

[Hlaoroo]

Cailean giggles at Sarah's comment as the pair leave the pub paw in paw. They look around appreciatively at the spot Hivemind has selected as they seat themselves on the benches.
"It's perfect. Thank ye."
"Aye, thanks."
So saying, the collies close their eyes and summon Diligitus again.

[furrygamer793]

At the sudden new noise, Jenny put herself between it and the lesser armoured Colonel and John. Raising her gun to cover the newcomer, she spoke simply. "Wanna I.D yourself or fight, fella?"

Nat held his hands up and said, "I'm Nathaniel Jay, a chimaera, technically a rabbit, with superspeed from planet Zevian. Is that good?

[Welsh Halfwit]

"It's... certainly specific," Jenny agreed, pointing the gun down from the target. "Suggest one of our 'fleet of foot' keeps an eye on him, Boss? You hostile or peaceful, Mr Jay?"

[furrygamer793]

"It's... certainly specific," Jenny agreed, pointing the gun down from the target. "Suggest one of our 'fleet of foot' keeps an eye on him, Boss? You hostile or peaceful, Mr Jay?"

"Two things," Nat said, One, what does fleet of foot mean. Two, I'm peaceful.

[Neon Icy Wings]

Tatiana nodded at Jenny's order and moved to escort Rika wherever she need to go. "Alright doc, where ya need to-" She broke off and aimed her rifle at the loud entrance of the chimera, not keen to be caught off guard by anything similar to the other mutant creations the team ran into before hand. "At least this guy can talk. And, really? It ain't the powers, it's how ya use em that dictates our reactions, thank you very much." She lowered her rifle, not thinking him any threat and turned back to Rika. "So, anything specific ya need help with?"

[Buster]

Hopping out of the nearby elevator shaft with a loud clunk and a complaint, "can someone please clear one of the broken stairwells these bodies are not made for climbing down... uh... okay what the heck kinda party did i miss while i was trying to connect to hivemind?"

"It's... certainly specific," Jenny agreed, pointing the gun down from the target. "Suggest one of our 'fleet of foot' keeps an eye on him, Boss? You hostile or peaceful, Mr Jay?"

"Two things," Nat said, One, what does fleet of foot mean. Two, I'm peaceful.

"It means; if you run or try to pick a fight, the 'faster than you' ones chase. and they have guns. not in the mood for more [mad science experiments] today. not personal. this bunch tried to shoot us after they said they wouldn't so not trusting." Kol 'helpfully' adds to the conversation.

[CyberDragon]

Hawk was silent as Hivemind informed him of the second rule and while he understood it, he was starting to realize these Champion were a bit of a pacifist crew...but he wasn't going to complain as he simply nodded in agreement to the rule, though the last part did confuse him a bit. One thing that did take him a bit by surprise was how Hivemind had little to no reaction to his Other Side as, normally, people would either freak out or shoot him on sight, with the later being more common lately, so the fact that someone wasn't even fazed by it not only impressed him but surprised him too.

"Pardon the interruption" Hawk suddenly speaks up as something just came to his mind, "But I have a question I just thought of. You said that you know of me...how much do you really know OF me? You know of my exploits, that's for sure, but I'm just curious as to how much you know cause...well you are the first one I know of to not have a reaction to my friend. Normally, as of late, people who see that side? Their first reaction is a shot to my head so the fact that you didn't even blink was impressive. Same time...'If the person you are fighting ends up in mortal peril, you must endeavor to save them '...I understand that the job is to save lives than just killing villains..but you mean to tell us that you rather imprison them then kill them? You do know some can't be redeemed no matter how much you want to, right?" Another thought then came to his mind which was followed by a smile, "Actually, I just thought of this: Those things you read about me probably left this part out...here, watch." He proceeds to take his right paw and places it under his chin with two fingers sticking into it. Suddenly, with a smirk, the fur on those two fingers quickly gives way to his other beings massive claws and, like a warm knife through butter, pierces his skull then retracts and reverts back to his normal fingers. With that, his head falls forward to show a huge hole in his head...which then begins to repair itself, though one could tell this wasn't painless as Hawk was wincing from the pain but, after a few seconds, his head was back to normal as he looked back up at the bot and replies "That's why my friend said what he said: Some rules just don't apply to us because of what I just showed you" before uttering to himself "Man I'm gonna feel that one in the morning..."

Hivemind was, once again, completely unphased by Hawk's demonstration of his powers. "Thank you for getting stains on my floor and chair." He said, sarcastically. "In answer to your first question, I only know of your reputation for brutality, not details about your powers. That said, I founded an army of supers, own a ship the size of a continent, and witnessed as my brother came back from the dead and turned into a dragon. It's going to take a lot more than your 'friend' and your regeneration powers to surprise me." He said.

"In answer to your second question, of course I would rather arrest them. I am aware some can't be redeemed, but you don't know who is irredeemable until you've tried. Regardless, imprisonment removes the threat without putting blood on our hands or risking perpetuating the cycle of revenge. I don't know what else you were expecting. Even SWAT teams are supposed to make an arrest if they can. The difference is SWAT teams don't tend to have the ability to stop bullets midair with force-fields, or turn guns to dust with their minds. Champions often have enough power in their teams to open up plenty of non-lethal options. Finally, It is not the Champions' jobs to be judge, jury, and executioner. They are there to save lives and stop what is putting them in jeopardy." Hivemind explained.

"As for your regeneration powers..." Hivemind said, leaning on the table a bit. "As useful as they are, do not make the mistake of thinking they make you above the law, or above the champion rules. The only punishment they make you immune to are those involving physical harm. It does not mean you can't be thrown in the Vault or uploaded onto the Server if your 'friend' decides the rules are too much of a hassle to follow. This isn't a movie or comic where prisons are made of cardboard with revolving doors installed. You get sent to either of those places, and you won't get back out until I decide you do. Understood?"

--------------------------------

"Oh, yeah," the NotJaken said chirpily, "I'd forgotten that!" He sat down. "Probably better to sit rather than fall," he said, not realising his timing was a little off. "See you on board, Miss Arctos, Mighty Lycan," he added, giving a sitting 'salute' to the heroes and Doctors before the hand removed the helmet.

The real Jaken blinked and sneezed as he did his best not to fall over in reality. "That's... something," he managed, using his white paws to check his head for hats.

"Welcome back, Jaken." Hivemind said. "You going to be OK?"

--------------------------------

"I think tomorrow would be best," Jenevive decided, drawing cries from both cubs. "If it were tonight, you'd be too excited to sleep and you'd be useless tomorrow," she told them.
"We'd be just as excited tonight if we were to meet him tomorrow," Golten protested.
"No," his mother stated, "I figure you'll at least TRY to sleep tonight if the meeting's tomorrow."
"We wouldn't" Corvis warned, backing his brother up, "why would you think that?"
""Because you don't want to fall asleep DURING the meeting, do you," she asked, tapping Corvis on the nose and grinning as she won the discussion.

"You should also try to get to sleep tonight because if you stay up, the meeting will only take that much longer to arrive." Hivemind said, reinforcing Jenevive's argument.

--------------------------------

"Well," Corp said, hearing the mention of payment cards, "that's a good point. Do Varanians wash dishes?"

"I... don't know what that means..." June mutters before corp jumps in. which leads to her looking at him funny wondering what dying and being different had to do with eachother.

"what do dishes have to do with finding your cards?" june asks, pulling out the one linked to kobor's account from when she was clothes shopping previously. genuinely examining it with a confused expression on her face, "This doesn't look like a plate to me."

"It's just a saying," Corp grumped, sensing his attempt at being slightly witty had failed. "It's a way of paying for food if you've no money. And I don't recall being given cards yet."

"We... don't typically use dishes. Or cook our food." Sal-Hleel stated.

Liz was coming to the same conclusion Corp was, that Hivemind hadn’t actually given them any method to spend the money they had earned that day. ”l.... have not been given one of those yet.” She said, looking around for a Hivemind drone and trying to think of anything else she could say that wouldn’t come off as awkward in this situation.

"Aren't you a champion?" he asked. "Hivemind would have given you a Champion ID when you joined. That's multi-purpose. It's your ID card, and credit/debit card, along with a bunch of other things."

(I don't know if Hivemind gave them the cards or not, but if he didn't it's a plot hole and should be assumed he gave it to them off-screen)

--------------------------------

After a short while (and a bit of circuit wiggling from Sana) the Canines replied on a slightly fizzy signal. <<We're here, Hivemind,>> the ranking officer announced. <<What is the situation?>>

"Everything is currently under control. The remaining Varanian forces have been cooperating under the orders of their new Warlord, Sep-Heth." Hivemind said. "We are currently conducting an investigation into the events that led up to this invasion. We are looking for a man named Harkavan Jontal. We believe he could be a key witness, and would like to speak with him. I received word he is currently with the canines"

--------------------------------

"Pity I were aimin' fer the triple twenty," Sarah confided, taking Cailean's handpaw as they went. She admired the park and noted one or two from the 'HAVEN had found their way there amongst the others. She slipped her handpaw free as they reached the bench and remained standing, watching the surroundings carefully.

Cailean giggles at Sarah's comment as the pair leave the pub paw in paw. They look around appreciatively at the spot Hivemind has selected as they seat themselves on the benches.
"It's perfect. Thank ye."
"Aye, thanks."
So saying, the collies close their eyes and summon Diligitus again.

The voice of ultimate benevolence spoke in their minds once more. "This is a far better place for this. Please, prepare yourself. Your family awaits you."

To Cailean and Conall, the park would seem to become consumed around them by bright, holy light until nothing but a white void was visible. Then, the light started to fade. "Open your eyes." Diligitis said to them. Should they comply, they would find themselves in a very familiar place.

They would find themselves standing in the middle of a pasture. The area around them consisted mostly of rocky hills, pastures, and the occasional copse of trees. Down the hill from where they stood was a country road, and across that was a familiar lake. It was Loch Leathan, just as the brothers would have remembered it. Up the hill was a rather old, rustic, and decent sized house. That was not the only thing, however. Standing in front of the house, clearly waiting for them, were some very familiar people. Their mother, father, little sister, even the butler. Everyone they had lost when the bomb dropped stood up the hill in front of the house, beaming at the brothers.

--------------------------------

Keeva looked a little stunned at that. She managed a smile eventually. "What's... what's the value of, um, life if you can't show off a bit?"

Dan shrugged. "Doesn't sound as big as a heavy-freight-class ship, but impressive nonetheless. My question would be why did you build a train station five stories up? Or did I hear wrong and overthought what you said?" He asked, a little confused as he stepped into the Maglev train.

"Because I can." Hivemind said, his voice indicating amusement. "Also because the train is mostly for scenic tours. Locals tend to take the portal doors, but they can get a little tough to handle if you aren't used to them." He said as the train pulled out of the station and started on it's way through the city skyline. "Because it's mostly for people who want a nice view of the city, or for people who need to learn the city's layout, you get the best view when the train's higher up."

--------------------------------

If he didn't have fur in the way, Denver's blush would have been visible from a mile away. He did his best to ignore it though, quickly catching up to the rest of the surface team.

"Sounds like you have an admirer!" Eira said, a bit of a shark-grin on her face. "And an admirer who can control the weather, too."

--------------------------------

"Ulrich," Jenny said politely, "any chance of an elevator pod or movable floor at least?"
She looked to Rika. "Kol, Tat? Go with the Doctor here. Figure the heavies aren't in any mood to fight but you two would probably guarantee that. Legion?" She nodded to the Hivebot that had just arrived. "I can't say 'watch over him' as he could sack me for disobeying his orders to get out of here but, if someone he can't sack should choose, of their own volition, to keep an eye on him..?" She smiled gently. "C'mon, all us sackables," she added brightly, "let's get a wiggle on! You too, John and Colonel. Actually, John? Is this the only way up? Seems rather Health and Safety non-compliant."
"I'm tempted to point to the ladder," Hannabelle said drily. "At least to get up a floor or two."

"I could always carry ya again an' jump up the shaft." Gear said, smiling. "'s faster'n climbin'. An' a lot more fun."

"I appreciate the concern, Jenny." Hivemind said, his tone sounding amused. "But the only reason why it's OK for me to check things out is because loosing bodies is less of an inconvenience than loosing a strand of fur would be for you. I'm tougher to kill than even Legion and they're already dead, and if one body breaks here that just means dozens more will flood the place."

"Hard to argue with that reasoning." Legion shrugged.

As soon as Hivemind confirmed their communications were back, Quint started typing a message to his old team leader Mythos, telling him not to open the hammerspace pocket for a few hours, but that there was a weapon in there for waiting for him once he did open it. Once he sent it, he turned to look at the Hivemind drone. ”Do not want us to run into because they might be dangerous, or do not want us to run into because you want to keep them a secret?”

"Mostly the former, but definitely a little of the latter. There isn't anything else here that requires your attention, so there's no need to risk running into potentially more things like those mutants." Hivemind said. "Though in the cases where the things here should be kept secret, it is because of the open investigation."

Chris sighed, "Yeah," he said simply.

"Cheer up, friend." MT said. "It's not like this is the last fight we're going to be in. In the wake of destruction following war, there is chaos. And where there is chaos, there is the need for proper and appropriate application of force to establish peace and order."

Ulrich gave Jenny a quick nod before summoning a large platform in place of the broken elevator car. He stepped onto it, making sure he'd missed all the debris.

The scientists filed onto the platform first, followed by any guards that surrendered. Finally, Archangel and Gadgeteer helped pile the amber coated guards onto the platform as well.

Traci Nodded "Will do, Archangel!" She replied simply, walking up to the door and starting to open it.

Rika had gave most of the injured soldiers some of her healing pills and helped the one with the knife in his hand before hearing Jenny mention her. "Mm? Oh, if they're injured too, I'll help them." She said simply before finishing up with the last guard and heading over to Traci, who had by then opened the door. "Hello in there! It's all over now, we took down your boss and we have a medic here if you're injured! I'm stepping in now." Traci called before stepping through the doorway, readying herself in case the heavy guards were not so friendly. Rika waited for Traci to wave her in, green capsule at the ready.

Traci and Rika would find the two heavy guards in bad shape. One was sitting on the bench. The chest plate of his heavy armored suit was scorched all the way through, to the point where his chest had third degree burns. The other one was laying on the floor on his side, crumpled up in a fetal position, still in a great deal of pain from when Quint hit him.

A rabbit-cat-bird chimaera, having watched the fight with the crazed man in the mech, shot out of the vent after he heard the sonic blast, he tried stopping himself and the fell on the ground, scraping his right knee, "Ouch, stupid anti-friction boots." After looking around and slightly recovering from the fall, he said, to himself mostly, "Oh boy, now they'll freak out from me being a chimaera and having superpowers."

At the sudden new noise, Jenny put herself between it and the lesser armoured Colonel and John. Raising her gun to cover the newcomer, she spoke simply. "Wanna I.D yourself or fight, fella?"

Nat held his hands up and said, "I'm Nathaniel Jay, a chimaera, technically a rabbit, with superspeed from planet Zevian. Is that good?

"It's... certainly specific," Jenny agreed, pointing the gun down from the target. "Suggest one of our 'fleet of foot' keeps an eye on him, Boss? You hostile or peaceful, Mr Jay?"

"Two things," Nat said, One, what does fleet of foot mean. Two, I'm peaceful.

Tatiana nodded at Jenny's order and moved to escort Rika wherever she need to go. "Alright doc, where ya need to-" She broke off and aimed her rifle at the loud entrance of the chimera, not keen to be caught off guard by anything similar to the other mutant creations the team ran into before hand. "At least this guy can talk. And, really? It ain't the powers, it's how ya use em that dictates our reactions, thank you very much." She lowered her rifle, not thinking him any threat and turned back to Rika. "So, anything specific ya need help with?"

Hopping out of the nearby elevator shaft with a loud clunk and a complaint, "can someone please clear one of the broken stairwells these bodies are not made for climbing down... uh... okay what the heck kinda party did i miss while i was trying to connect to hivemind?"

"It means; if you run or try to pick a fight, the 'faster than you' ones chase. and they have guns. not in the mood for more [mad science experiments] today. not personal. this bunch tried to shoot us after they said they wouldn't so not trusting." Kol 'helpfully' adds to the conversation.

Hivemind sighed. "Well, I suppose under the circumstances, this was probably the best surprise we could have gotten right now." He thought out loud. "Mr. Jay, You can call me Hivemind. The team you see around you is part of a super hero organization I run known as the Champions. May I ask what you are doing in this lab?" He asked.

[SeanWolf]

Hawk leaned back in the chair as he listened to this bot speak poetic to him, his head still throbbing from the stunt earlier, though not as bad. The mentioning of jail brought back memories of his time in the prison mines after a false accusation...started the infamous riots there and managed to get out as, luck would have it, there was a high-priced bounty there just ripe for the picking. But he was young then and, nowadays, the thought of jail just seemed boring him. Reaching into and pulling out a small bag of a snack mix he bought (as he was needing something for later), he pops it open while remarking "You know, you keep throwing around that word to describe my actions...'brutality'. If you really knew my reputation, then you would know I'm only brutal if the need calls for it," he munches on a few peanuts from the bag while continuing, "But, as I said, you have my word I won't be too violent..." He then places the bag on the table briefly and, while placing a steel claw over his chest, quips "Prin sângele care curge în corpul nostru și cu oțelul care îmbrățișează carnea noastră, ne vom onora acordul cu tine până când doamna Lunii ne cheamă" before picking the bag back up and continuing with the eating as his arm goes back to normal.

*Translation - By the blood flowing through our body and the steel that embraces our flesh, we will honor your agreement with you until the Lady of the Moon calls us.

[Welsh Halfwit]

Jenny slung her gun back over her shoulder as Hivemind spoke to the little whatever-it-was and tried to look non-threatening, despite keeping a hand close to one of her pistols. She'd been about to mention that it was legal procedure that no-one searched alone as it could lead to 'tainted' evidence being thrown out in court but, then again, she doubted Hive really cared that much and he probably recorded his own searches anyhow.
--------------------
Now Hannabelle was somewhat amused. "Ooh," she said playfully, "you think I'm that easy to pick up, eh?"
-----------------
"Um," the No... the real Jaken said, wondering about the difference in lighting. He blinked a couple of times to clear his vision. "yup. Um, yup." He grinned as his stomach protested. "Quick way to travel ten thousand miles, that, isn't it?" The grin dipped. "Is Miss Rika OK?"
----------------
Cherry Seena sat in the shuttle, her feet on the control panel - keeping well away from anything that looked like weapons or ignition - and looked back at the closed and locked door with the deputy outside it. "Cherry calling sexy," she said languidly into the comm, thinking of Colorado. "Heading back soon. In a shuttle with a local guy guarding but I'd rather get away from these Foxes and back to my own hot bod Tod, y'know?"
---------------
<<I would, of course, need to confirm with our intelligence services that we have him,>> the Commander smirked, <<but I should imagine they won't mind you talking to him. If we have him, of course,>> he added, almost as an afterthought.
---------------
Sarah indicated the pair as they conversed. "Tak' it they's talkin' ta this Digital fella now, then," she asked the Hivebot. "An' no, I got nothin' I wanna 'ear from the dead." She shrugged.
---------------
"Can we see SteelHaven street from here," Keeva asked, smiling despite herself as she was pretty sure the answer was almost certainly 'no' but you never knew with this place...

[furrygamer793]

Nat took a deep breath, "I am kind of a wandering type of person, going from place to place based on the circumstances, after coming from a space station in which I was turned into a chimaera and getting my superpowers, because it blew up, I ended up traveling from station to underground base to station to underground base to, well, you get the idea, and then I ended up here, 'Chimaera Heck' as I like to call it. so you guys are superheroes? I guess that is why you didn't freak out from me being a chimaera, or the superpowers; and one last thing, can you not blast sonar cannons, or whatever caused the loud noise, and finally, can you please explain what you are doing here"

[Welsh Halfwit]

"Well," Jenny said, offering a handpaw, "in no particular order, we ARE heroes, we can't tell you what we're doing here but, so long as you ARE friendly, we won't shoot at you any more, OK?"

[furrygamer793]

"Okay, that sounds like a great idea." Nat says, finally standing up