STEINMAN RESCUE

[chickbro]

Who: Everyone that signed up to rescue the crazy surgeon. CHECK THIS FOR YOUR TEAMS.
What: Rescuing the crazy surgeon in the medical pavilion under the ocean of Promenade.
Where: ...The medical pavilion under the ocean of Promenade.
When: Day.
Warnings: Gore, psychological horror, Dr. Steinman, eventual eye-squick and death. Also language. this log

Comments

[failatskypirate]

That was a relief and as the group starts recuperating, Cou doesn't wander far, but wastes little time in immediately searching the bodies for supplies. He'd easily gone through almost three magazines of ammunition during that fight and finds himself relieved that the munitions loaded in the guns of their foes were appreciably compatible with his gun.

As the guy with the lightning and ridiculously impressive sword techniques speaks up, the pirate decides to try his hand at being a team player and cooperate with the rest of his group. "I'm okay, but since I've got some space in my bag, I'll take some of the more-intact-looking of these first aid kits." While going over the groups spoils, he holds up one of those blue-hypos and shines his flashlight on it.

Admittedly, there's something peculiar about the strange syringe -it's nothing he's feeling so bold about as to try giving himself a dose. Still, he can't help but think that knowing what it is might help them figure out what exactly is waiting down here for them, "Hey guys... what'do you think stuff is? I mean, a lot of those things we were fighting had it on 'em."

[splicedsurgeon]

((ooc: As a note -- none of the Splicers had EVE hypos, as none of them are actively using Plasmids. There are, however, some on the corpses in the extra rooms and in the extra rooms themselves.))

As soon as Harry got too close to the Vita-Chamber, there was a loud fizzling sound before the lights within it dim. It wouldn't have worked for any of them or any of the current residents of the Medical Pavilion anyway, but the noise would likely be unexpected.

None of the first aid kits have been tampered with, and all of them are well-stocked. As the group speaks, sounds can be heard from the distance. If they look, they won't find anything, but it's a nice reminder that they aren't alone.

[oldfireturkey]

Isamu had been about to yell at Harry - going off on your own was a sure fire way to get your fool head knocked off and it was hard to miss Harry's seeing as he hulked over pretty much all of them. But he didn't because he'd be saving that for any further encounters they might (who the hell did he think he was kidding here?) get into and took a few long moments to judge the group.

"If we stay tight and any further melees don't take too long? Decent amount of time. The longer it's up and we're fighting and I'm using other magic, it's going to get weakened and damaged and give up the ghost, not to mention that the things we're fighting could damage it too." A pointed look there; them running around on fire might do the trick. A quick thanks was then tossed Cou's way before he gave the syringes another look, shrugged and smirked, "For all we know it's disease-riddled semen." Isamu-speak for 'it's your funeral if it makes you sick'.

Back where he was meant to be, Isamu awkwardly positioned himself to actually use this part of the magic. Outdoors, he had limitless space to work with, wielding a blade as large as the one he carried but in here, one wrong move and it might be a teammate getting a sword where they didn't want one but it was manageable and it would hold. For a time.

"So," a grin full of false optimism found its way to his face and he gestured in the direction Harry had been heading, "shall we see what next wonders are in store for we, the lucky chosen few?"

And oh fuck that noise had damn well better be an empty stomach.

[magicprogeny]

Billy was just about to go after Harry, because running off on your own probably wasn't a good idea right now and the wizard might/would probably need some back up, given how that first fight had gone. Luckily, the older man stopped and Billy let out an inward sigh of relief.

He turned to look at the bodies lying on the floor. There was no way Billy was going to touch them. He'd seen dead bodies before but touching them and taking their stuff was another thing entirely, so he let whoever else wanted to do so deal with that.

Peering at one of the blue syringes, he shrugged a little. "My dad works in a hospital and I have never seen anything like that before," he put in. "Whatever it is, it doesn't look normal."

Listening to Isamu and Harry discuss on strategy, Billy added in a few words himself. "Is there anything I can help with?" he offered. "If we're going for stealth, I've made myself invisible before." He jumped a little at the sounds, glancing off in the direction they'd come from a little nervously. Thaaaat didn't sound good.

[gumshoewizard]

Harry reaches into his pocket and pulls out a piece of chalk, carefully marking an arrow pointing down the hallway, a symbol sketched above it.

"Alright, keep the same pattern, I'll take point, Billy and Isamu rear." He turned to the others on his team. "Red," he points at Cou, "and Goldie," thats you, Ares, "take left and right flank respectively. Goldie, be ready to reinforce whatever side's getting hammered hardest. And..."

He started at the girl that he'd seen popping in and out during the first skirmish.

"I'm not shouting a series of numbers to get your attention. So..." That teleporting power was like Nightcrawler, right? Kurt Wagner. Kurt, Kurt...feminine of Kurt...

"You're Courtney."

Then that noise rattled down from the hallway they were about to go down.

"I...don't think thats a whale."

[splicedsurgeon]

While the team is planning, there's a loud 'DING' of a loudspeaker and an announcement -- propaganda -- begins to play.

"Jim: Hey, Mary, why so down in the mouth?
Mary: I don't know, Jim. I guess I just don't know how I feel about those Little Sisters.
Jim: The Little Sisters? Gee, don't you know they're the glue that holds Rapture together?
Mary: Really?
Jim: You betcha! Ryan Industries has seen to it that they're bred to be as happy as clams while they do the work that keeps us safe from the bandits and terrorists. We all need ADAM, and we all need the Little Sisters."

There's a long pause after the announcement, and then another begins to play.

"Approaching a Little Sister is a criminal offense. Do not approach the Little Sisters."

From down the hall and the stairs, the Big Daddy roars again. This time, there are gunshots -- and the sound of a little girl screaming. "Don't let him get me!"

[gumshoewizard]

Buttons. We all have them, little things that, despite our logical ability to deduce otherwise, just set us off. For some it was being insulted, threatened, or something else understandable. The "Yo Mamma" joke didn't become popular because it was funny, after all. But for Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, his single, biggest, most gut-instinct-reaction/Neanderthal Brain triggering/Heigh Ho White Knight Complex igniting button was someone harming an innocent. Especially little girls.

Harry was a father, a father who had walked through hell, the coldest depths of winter, and a few crystal planes to rescue his baby girl from the monsters. And even though he'd only gotten to hold Maggie for a few sparse hours, holding your child for the first time does something to you.

So dangers be damned, along with all the nightmares in this god forsaken place. A little girl was in danger, and Harry couldn't keep himself from rushing to help.

[oldfireturkey]

"Invisible sounds good - if you can do that then you can maybe get a head start on something if we hold them off." Or something like that. The announcement caught him off guard and he looked around, brows drawing together and frowning. "Okay, taking a serious turn towards Uncanny Valley here then."

It was then that he noticed that Harry was pulling the disappearing act on them. Had they not all just heard the same announcement right there? That they were not to approach random little girls down here? Because Isamu and anyone with the ability to hear shit had heard it and here was Harry, about to probably go off and do exactly what they'd been warned not to.

"Oh for the love of...go, go, go!" Trying to get the team moving so Harry wouldn't be confronted alone by whatever might be there or facing reprisals for disobeying the warnings. Sorry to those in front and to Billy next to him but Isamu couldn't pass up the chance to shout after Harry as they followed him. "Ittai nani ga anata ga baka o kuso yatte iru to omoimasu ka! Jibun jishin o shutoku suru tsumorida - to watashi-tachi wa - korosa reta!"

Everyone had better be ready this time. At least they had a vague idea of what worked to slow down the monsters and get rid of them.

[[ooc: Ittai nani ga anata ga baka o kuso yatte iru to omoimasu ka! Jibun jishin o shutoku suru tsumorida - to watashi-tachi wa - korosa reta! - What the hell do you think you're doing you fucking moron! You're going to get yourself - and us - killed!]]

[failatskypirate]

Harry wasn't the only one breaking into a sprint at the sound of the girl's voice. Did he like the other sounds accompanying it? Not in the least. But though he was a pirate, the boss had always stressed to the entire crew about the proper treatment of women. Then during his travels with Ren and the Arc Aile team, he'd personally developed something of a hero-complex... or maybe it'd just always been there and he'd never had a chance to act on it until he'd been spending time with them.

In either case, Cou had just barely finished stuffing some first-aid kits into his bag, along with as many magazines as he could fully load and the few of the mysterious syringes he could find that still had their caps on. He certainly had no intent to accidentally stick himself with one of those, but that voice in the back of his head had put the notion in his head that such things might come in handy.

"No time to waste, let's go!"

So pistol drawn, he follows after their de-facto leader, momentarily pocketing his flashlight to draw his hook and line. In a somewhat more reckless show than the older wizard fellow though, he vaults over the railing for the stairs, his hook catching it and his line allowing him to rapidly descend to the floor below. A quick yank releases the whole thing, the winch built into his jacket almost immediately winding the cable back up inside of it as he slides the hook back into the catch that normally held it.

Following the sounds of screams and gunfire -now possibly having gained a second, perhaps two over Harry thanks to that stairway vaulting trick of his the pirate draws his flashlight, taking up that cross-brace posture that he'd used previously so he could easily shine his light at what he was shooting. He approaches the door to the next hallway, throwing caution to the wind as his jog slows just enough for him to throw a solid kick at the door.

If he manages to kick the door open, he'll immediately whirl about, planting his back to the wall adjacent to the door frame and hastily peeking out. He was reckless, but at least knew better than to just charge in and get mauled.

[[OOC: Going to work. Team has modest godmod rights to Cou until I get back around 7:45pm PST. He's got first aid kits and other supplies, if needed. Scratch him up, but no serious injuries... yet. Have fun! ]]

[bloodhounding]

She's been watching this whole time, keeping quiet and not mentioning much except for when she feels it's necessary. The fact that Harry gives her a name makes her blink in surprise- and as she's about to question him for it, the other events occur and she happens to notice Cou place those vials in the bag he's carrying before sprinting off. Most of the time she'd notice everything else with the same amount of attention, but his sudden actions caused her to be alert to his movements specifically.

Which is why he might find himself being grabbed by the wrist as he hurled himself over the stairs- and then teleported through a void back into the middle of the group and dragged along. Call it her being absurd, but maybe it was just better strategy to let the hulking almost seven foot tall wizard go first, and take the brunt of whatever might come.

Her grip's still tight on his wrist as they're following, and after Isamu's done yelling, she's looking at Cou and giving him a stern voice.

"What have you placed in that bag. That is not only medical supplies."

[splicedsurgeon]

The hallway is long, but from the top of the stairs, the team should be able to see what is happening. The stairs curve down into an open area, a waiting room of sorts, and all the doors leading away from it are either blocked, locked, or broken. There is another set of stairs on the opposite side, but below them, there is a fight taking place.

One Big Daddy can be seen fighting the splicer that escaped earlier, but that splicer isn't alone. Nine others are with him, and unlike the ones previous, some of these also have grenades. Cowering on the ground in the corner is a Little Sister.

"Unzip him Mr. B! Unzip him!"

Mr. B, however, does not unzip him. The Big Daddy roars again, staggers, and crashes into the supports under the far staircase. It's enough to make the already weakened stairs collapse on top of it. The little girl screams and runs over to her protector's body, already sobbing. "Get up, Mr. Bubbles! Get up!" He doesn't get up, and the splicers are going after her now, laughing -- she's their real target.

If the team wants to save her, they had better move fast.

[failatskypirate]

One moment he's getting ready to dive right into the action, the next Cou finds that suddenly, he's back among the group that he thought would probably be following right behind him. Certainly that act of reckless charging that Harry had done was equally inspiring to the rest of the team... or maybe not, considering his current circumstance. His expression seeming only modestly annoyed for being recalled in the fashion that he had been, he turns his attention to the lady that addressed him.

No, he really doesn't appreciate the talking to he's getting. However in the spirit of cooperation, he's at least forth coming with things. If nothing, it adds a modest hint of confusion to his annoyed expression.

"Huh? Oh, the blue stuff? I found some of the intact ones that still had their caps on, so I wrapped them up and tucked 'em in with the supplies." There's a pause as he does his best to pull his wrist free. "I had a hunch the stuff might be important to hang on to, so I've got a few in case we need it." His voice is kept low as he advances with the group, feeling modestly annoyed that their 'leader' hadn't been recalled in a similar fashion.

As they reach the railing and he gets a look at what's going on down below, he's clearly shocked at what he shines his light down into. Seeing the behemoth stagger and collapse doesn't do wonders for his confidence that this encounter will go as smoothly as the last. All the same, something about seeing the little girl sob like that kicks the part of his brain that worries about self-preservation offline.

If he hadn't been released earlier, he'll give a much harder yank as he tries to break free again. Should he happen to be free in either case, it'll be back into pretty much what he'd just been doing; swinging down via hook over the railing, except this time he's aiming his swing to plant both his boots into the face of one of the splicers and hopefully, ride it's flying body like a surfboard into the nearest wall while retracting his line.

Otherwise, he's just going to struggle to get loose. Screw it if there's a seven-foot wizard with them. He was going to do what he felt was right -cause it's what he always did. Besides, if he breaks away from his group, it's not like they'd suffer any consequences for his actions.

[oldfireturkey]

Already Isamu's shadow cloaking was being tested and he muttered, focussing harder on it to keep it together. And despite what he might like to say and how he still believed that following the warnings they'd gotten over the loudspeaker was for the best, it took a heart of stone not to want to help a child and so he left 'Courtney' and whoever it was she'd grabbed to it as he came to a halt.

"Hope your girl Courtney isn't picking up bad habits and taking after the other person she could be named after," he groused as he looked on at the monsters, nodachi up, his stance not defensive but ready for action. Whilst not something he would have chosen, if he got blown up by a grenade (and that really caught his attention because grenades meant business, turning the unlucky victim into red mist and bonemeal if they were too close) it would hurt of course but he wouldn't be permanently dead. Hell, if it wasn't direct hit he'd start healing, albeit sluggishly from the sheer amount of damage, as long as his heart remained intact.

The blade in his hand changed and he slipped away from his position to take a run at the splicers. The sooner they were cut down, the better and hopefully being attacked would divert their attention away from the little girl because if going near them was not to be done then letting them die would be even worse. Maybe, if whatever Gods up there weren't feeling particularly cruel and capricious, they'd be let off the hook for it. Unlikely, considering the warning and the general atmosphere and attitude of everything encountered so far but worth a shot.

"Someone cover the little girl but don't get yourself killed doing it." And no, Harry should never mistake that for Isamu having a white knight moment himself.

[magicprogeny]

"I got her!" Billy said, teleporting his way over to the girl and... he assumed it was a guy in an old fashioned diving suit. Once there, he quickly threw up a dome-like shield over them. "Hey, it's okay," he called over his shoulder in an attempt to reassure the girl. "We'll get you out, don't worry." What the hell was a little girl doing in a place like this? At least it seemed like she hadn't been alone, judging by how upset she was over the diving suit guy.

[gumshoewizard]

Sometimes seconds is all you have when you're running on adrenaline and instinct. Before he even knew it, Harry was vaulting down the spiral staircase, landing in the next floor with a crash that had everything in the room turning to look at him, Splicers, Little Sister, et all. The hall became eerily silent in that heartbeat of surprise. Glowing eyes wide with fear and dark shadows staring hungrily at him, the wizard stepped forward, grin cocking on his face.

Well, with that kind of attention, there was only one logical conclusion. Point staff at the things hurting the helpless little girl and shout out: "Falcon Punch!"

Silver-blue sparks rippled through the air as he unloaded a boulder-sized Fozare into the middle of the group of Splicers in attempt to send them scattering. Like bowling pins. Bowling for Splicers, the new sport of Promenade.

[splicedsurgeon]

The room is quite large, a makeshift arena now that there's a fight. If Cou is in fact free and swinging, he'll make it short of the group of splicers -- but certainly close enough for one of the Thuggish Splicers, the ones armed with lead pipes, to take notice and decide to attempt to use him as a pinata before he drops to the ground.

His arrival and the Thuggish Splicer's movement away from the group clues the rest of them into the team's arrival. The Nitro Splicers, armed with grenades, look up and immediately hurl them at anyone still on the stairs while the Leadheads, those armed with guns, start shooting. They'll focus on taking the team out before they get the Little Sister, even in the face of Isamu's blade -- these ones haven't fought the team before, after all, with the exception of one.

They're so focused, in fact, that they don't notice Billy shielding her. The Little Sister certainly does, though, and she shrieks again. She's scared. She doesn't know these people, her guardian is dead, the monsters want to get her.

Harry's attack does the most by far, knocking a great deal of the splicers over and scattering them across the room. They scream, scrambling up to try and attack again, but the Fozare has bought the team time to hit them while they're down.