ArchivedLogs:Eye of Sauron

Eye of Sauron
Dramatis Personae Ash, Daken, Faelan, Jack, Jax, Lia, Lucien, Matt
In Absentia	Monday, May 18, 2020 "Should we start running like hell now?" (Part of Future Past TP (See Discussion page for the 'retcon' action.)
Location <NYC> Oscorp Tower - Midtown East
The main entrance of Oscorp Tower is a sprawling space - the ceiling is five stories up, with balconies for various offices exposed to the lobby interior. The front desk is manned at all times by no less than three secretaries prepared to direct you where you need to go - or file an appointment with the appropriate manager. Two escalators flank the desk, extending up to a third story pantheon - where tour guides regularly take visitors through a variety of hotspots, including Oscorp's biology and engineering departments. Two elevators are set aside beside the escalators, with a third private elevator that is guarded at all times by a guard and requires a security card to access. The place is crawling with guards, all of whom are watching for the first sign of funny business. Workdays aren't as long as they used to be, around Midtown. The curfew means shorter hours for people to get all of their errands done -- this in turn means plenty of people more than glad to get out of the office as early as it's feasibly allowed to do so. Fewer workaholics. More empty cubicles at the stroke of six pm. Which means by seven Oscorp Tower is -- not quite deserted, never /quite/ deserted, but it's certainly quiet. Occupied primarily by robotic guards rather than human security, and very few people actually still working their dayjobs on its floors. It made it surprisingly uneventful for Lucien to bring their motley crew in through a back entrance, up an elevator, out onto a top floor. For those who have been around here long -- maybe they might think it strange that the one pair of Sentinels they /did/ pass paid the group of mutants no notice. The floor they come out onto is, at the moment, quiet as well. Several halls branching off, all of them barred by heavy doors, electronic locks with small red lights suggesting they are probably not likely to open with just a polite word. A helpful sign, though! EXIT, glowing red; beneath it; ROOF ACCESS. Even an arrow. Pointing the way. Totally straightforward. If he was ever going to live up to Xavier's dream, Faelan would have few chances better than this day. Dressed in a full body suit with molle straps sewn on haphazardly in place, it looks like his attire has seen better days, but well patchworked at least. With the news of the raid reaching him through the appropriate channels, every stockpile he's been saving for a rainy day has been emptied out and bundled in tightly to the backpack belted tight around him. "If anyone happens to have a bunker buster they've been holding onto, now would be the time to share..." he says only half seriously to those who've joined as they approach the helpful glowing exit. He does however take the opportunity to slide the rifle from behind his backpack to fit more comfortably at hand. In contrast to Faelan, Jax -- is dressed in shiny silver leggings, a crushed velvet black miniskirt, sparkly purple Docs, a fishnet shirt worn over a shiny purple and silver tank top. They might have different approaches to this X-Manning thing. His lips curl up into a small twitch of a grin, one hand faintly glowing as he bounces forward a half-step. "Do I count?" /One/ of the Sentinels is paying the group a great deal of notice. In the spirit of fighting fire with fire, one Lia-bot is part of the crew, likely making more than a few people nervous in her borrowed body. She is a little less obviously armed, unless one /counts/ the...arms...one of which she lifts in answer to Fae's question. The 'bot has been sticking just a little closer to him since he brought her in on this little endeavour. "You know pretty much what I am carrying," the light young-woman's voice answers. Every day is a good day to die, as far as Daken is concerned anyway. He's wearing a worn red and black shirt and a pair of holey jeans. "Do grenades count?" Faelan wasn't the only person going through stockpiles, and he's wearing a backpack of his own, and he's fishing around to pull out a handgun. "I'm getting too old for this shit." There's a whole list of things making Jack nervous right now, Liabot among them. At least now he really understands what Lia meant about being robots in the future. He's not really dressed for X-manning, not that he is one. Old sneakers, worn jeans, a light hoodie and a backpack to carry anything he may have been asked to carry. He's been pretty silent until now, hands stuffed in his pockets as he sticks close to Jax. "Sorry...I left my air strike button back in the past," he murmurs quietly. Lucien, as well, does not look dressed for any sort of X-Manning. Granted, he was never much of a superhero either. He is just in jeans, dark boots, a grey-green button down. His brows raise at the questions, a very small breath hfffed out through his nose. "You are all such. /Soldiers/." There's a faintly exasperated note to his tone as he slips past the group, tugging a keycard out of his pocket to tap it to the lock panel. The light clicks green. There is only the faintest twitch to his lips as he pushes the door open to hold it for the others, letting them out into the setting sunlight on the roof. The Sentinels on the roof of the Oscorp Tower are standing mostly at posts around the edges of the rooftop, peering down and up at the ground like so many futuristic gargoyles. There are at least ten of them, with three standing along each side and a single one in the center standing a few meters from the door to the roof, standing in front of a door marked "HVAC Maintenance". Unlike their human security counterparts, they are almost completely still - watching, untired and unbored. Dreams are funny things - apparently. Even though this isn't really a true dream anymore, Ash is not wearing what he fell asleep in. Instead, he's wearing a large, brown bunny suit. The chest is criss crossed in large pocketed belts, with many stone disks strapped to his thighs. There's definitely kevlar underneath, reminiscent of the gear he wore during raids, and the bunny ears sticking out of a riot helmet. He draws in a deep breath and flips the visor up as he looks around where they are all working, his lips pressed together firmly. Matt stays close to Lucien, a jittery nervous bounce in his step. A laughing cartoon Coyote (of Gunnerkrigg Court fame) dances on his black t-shirt, and he has an olive Blue Sun messenger bag slung across his chest. His tan cargo pants have seen better days, as have his dusty brown hiking boots. "Remember, your abilities will pack more of a punch than usual as long as you stay near me." He looks at Jax when he starts speaking, but makes eye contact with his other teammates as well. "If you need specific assistance, ask." Jax cringes just a little sheepishly at the admonishment in Lucien's tone. The glow fades from his hand; he steps to the doorway, looking out onto the roof for a quick scan. "Ten bots. At least. Luci, can you hide /all/ of us from those or are we going to have to fight them?" "You count...just watch out for friendly fire. You go supernova and I'm evaccing everyone I can grab," replies the older Faelan to the glittery one. He glances over his shoulder with a frown to Jack though... "You're on your own I'm afraid. Never could manage to grip the unseen, so if things go pear shaped...run." Matt's comment seems to have him considering, but he shakes his head as he looks at the sentinels aligned on the roof. "I don't like this." It isn't paranoia if everyone really is out to get you after all. "Got darted, if you could fix that I won't need any help. Unless they start destroying organs." Daken says, pulling the slide back on his pistol. "Best way to take these bastards down, aside from explosives?" "I am a dancer, actually," Lia-bot informs Lucien brightly. So reassuring. "We brought so many pretty boys. You did not tell me you were making a pretty boy army, Lost-boy." That last seems directed at Faelan. "You do not need to hide me. The me that they sense is not here. I can be one of /those/ if that is helpful. If I can see their eyes, I can switch. Quick-quick, one Doll to another. This one will take a nap if I go." Jack gives Lucien the flatest look an empty hood can possibly give when called a soldier. The older Faelan distracts him from making a snarky comment though. No, instead his heart sinks in his chest and he rubs the back of his neck. "Right...run like hell," he murmurs, the idea of being on his own adding to his worry. He looks back at the others and falls quiet again. Shoulders tense when the information on the bots is relayed and Jack nods but stays quiet, listening for any useful information. As the little crew spreads out on the roof, the Sentinels pay them seemingly no attention - though, one advantage of being a robot is having sensors, if not eyes, in the back of one's head. The Sentinel closest to the HVAC room door, though, pivots slightly to give Lucien a quick once-over before returning its gaze to scanning the roof-top in a methodical pattern. Back and forth. Back and forth. There is a faint pallor to Lucien's expression. It is really /unnecessary/ to reach for his brother's hand to boost the range of his powers, /Matt/ is more than capable of handling that without contact, but he does it anyway, biting slightly down on his lip for a moment. "I can cover you all. I have no key for that last door, though." He nods towards the door marked HVAC, behind the Sentinel that just moved. "Feel free to employ whatever methods you people normally --" His hand unfurls, flicking fingers towards the locked door across the roof's length. "Run like hell, naked." Ash adds somberly, frowning at the guards. He follows the group as he draws in a breath and wets his lips. "I can go through concrete better than I can open a locked door." He stays low and almost a little jittery, ready to bolt when things look bad. "Alrighty then Dancer, you've got the fancy sensors. Anything in there to let you know if that door has an alarm on it?" Faelan says as he looks to Lia. "I can probably just port the door off the hinges if we need to. Or our bunker buster could blast it out. Or ya know, we could pick the lock probably. I just don't want something waking up the sleeping beauties." He itches his nose at that as he glances around the various bots, then looks to Lucien. "They wont suddenly wake up if we start using our stuff will they?" "Okay. Okay. If you're sure --" Jax pulls in a deep breath, his brows a little furrowed. He eyes the bots uncertainly as he steps out onto the roof, breath held. His gaze skips from bot to bot to bot -- and he exhales sharp and relieved when nothing changes. "Of course the door has an alarm on it." His nose wrinkles up. "It's hiding the power source for all the Sentinels they're not just going to -- leave it. But we kinda gotta get into it, so." He shrugs, walking up nearer to the door -- still a little tensed. Not actually exploding it, though. Just kind of examining. The bot, first. Then peering past it to the door and its lock, brows furrowed. "Plus it probably won't like us shoving it aside to /get/ to the door, I'd -- guess. I mean we could ask nicely? But I think I'm just gonna have to --" He shrugs, a little uncomfortably. "Lia, can you make /this/ one step aside?" "Oh, I have fancy everything. These are very nice robots, but..." Well, /that/ one looked at them. Eyes on is the opening that Lia-bot needs. The Lia-bot with the party suddenly slumps against a wall and the bot by the door...rests hands on its hips as it regards the door. "Yes, it can move." The robot door guard obligingly slide-steps out of the way. With a flourish. "I might be able to pull the door open, too? These things are strong." "Yeah...naked," Jack murmurs, chuckling nervously. Oddly enough, that's what's bothering him least about all this. He's starting to unzip his hoodie though. "What kind of lock is it?" he asks, wondering if he could use his power to open it. "It certainly has an alarm. Once you get it open, I advise taking the power source out rather quickly. The Sentinels have quite limited backup power, once it is down. They'll be very weakened. And then shut down." Lucien is hanging back by the roof door. Possibly because, pale and a little tired, it is taking some /exertion/ to keep the entire flock of mutants shielded from the Sentinels' detection. /Possibly/ just because he doesn't want to be in the line of fire when the door opens. "Here, Jack. Least I can do, is keep you comfortable. I can make your clothing invisible. You'll have a few hours, and well, no freeballing around the angry robots." Faelan, holds out a hand to the younger mutant with a smile as if remembering having made that offer in ages past. "I'm going out of sight in a moment anyway. If we're doing a speed run, I don't want to make it easy on targeting systems. Offers there for the rest of you too if you'd feel safer, but well I have no clue how long it will last with the enhancement." He glances to the others as he makes the offer, eyes lingering on Matt a moment at that, but he's tightening straps already to get ready for a sprint. "They're all electronic. I don't think Luci's key works on this one, though." Jax frowns at the door when the Sentinel moves aside. There's a faint unsteady shiver in the light around him, his eye flicking to the stationary bots again. He reaches out a hand, palms pressing to the door. There's no flash, no large explosion. Just a slow burn of laser that slides its way down the length of the door's edge, top to bottom. Yank. When the door to the "HVAC" room slides open, though, two things happen in very quick succession. First, the still Sentinels lining the roof turn in one smooth motion, flipping around to face the group of mutants on the roof. Second, a Sentinel steps into the doorway from the inside of the shack, blocking Jax's way. Its gun is aimed directly center-mass and, storm-trooper or not, it would be hard to miss from point blank range. The voice comes (now in Dolby TM Surround Sound!) loudly from all of the Sentinels on the roof: "This is a restricted area. Leave immediately or lethal force will be used to subdue you." "Oh man, yes please. Thank you so much," Jack replies to Faelan, having not even thought of that with how nervous he is. He shifts a little and reaches out to take the offered hand with his still invisible ones. He glances at all the robots as he waits for Faelan to do his thing. Once he's completely unseen, he relaxes slightly. Very slightly. And then trouble is happening, robots are talking, and Jack is staying as low to the ground and pressed against a wall as he can without actually laying down. He has no idea what to do so he's letting the more experienced handle the immediate situation. Hello, Mr. New-robot! Lia-bot is looking at you! "No, no. No guns. Bad for faeries. Rude robot." She sounds really put out by it, all told. The current Lia-bot joins the first in slumping over as the girl slips into the new one, promptly /lowering/ the gun in hand. It takes her a moment to think to stop blocking the doorway. "Oh, here." The gun-free hand sweeps in invitation. Daken watches the door slide open and immediately goes to his backpack, tugging it around so he can dig through it. The handgun is tossed into the bag. "Jax, do me a huge favor? Blow the heads off whatever is left in there.. I think that's probably the safest place for everyone." Then the digging is resumed, this time in the front pocket. "There we go, I knew dealing with the Russians would pay off." It turns out what he was looking for was an /anti-tank/ grenade. Jax was already lifting a hand towards the newest Sentinel when Lia takes it over. He starts to relax -- but only slightly. His eyes cut to the Sentinels still on the roof, now facing them. "Faelan, can you -- get rid of those? Just send them somewhere far. I don't want them cornering us in there." He's slipping through the opened door, into the space that lies beyond to see what exactly /is/ left in there. Tensed and ready. Perhaps to blow off some heads. What is in there is a loud humming. It comes from up above, where a large entanglement of metal and glass walls off something sparking and glowing up above; not-so-cheerfully nicknamed the Eye of Sauron by the city's nerdier residents, these days, the beacon has long since been easy to /see/ at the top of Oscorp tower. Less easy to reach, through more sturdily locked doors and a high flight of stairs leading up. And, beneath the incessant drone of humming -- almost but not quite drowned out by it -- there is a steadily growing keen that sounds almost like a scream. Barreling its way down from above and towards the opened doorway. The figure approaching is much -- much larger than the Sentinels out on the roof, already. The mouthful of sharp metal teeth in its face as it shoots down towards Jax looks uncannily like a grin. The rest of the Sentinels seem to take notice at their larger comrade's arrival. At least, that /might/ be it -- whatever the cause, though, nine Sentinels level guns at the mutants lined up on the roof. "Cease resisting," come nine voices at once -- and then they open fire, electrical prongs firing out of tazers from all directions as the noose of Sentinels around the rooftop closes in on the group, at least one Sentinel targeting each member of the crowd -- except Lucien, who is studiously avoided. "Crap," Faelan says and as the word is heard by the others, the source of the exclamation ceases to be seen. He does however keep his offer of making Jack disapear more fully. Actually being asked to make things disapear on purpose is something new however "Do my best," comes his words already not where he had been, and a few seconds later there is definitely a distinct lack of sentinels on half of the roof. Ash reaches down and takes a couple of the discs from their clasps near his knees and flips them up into a better grip. He is hesitant though, sticking close to Matt and Lucien, gnawing on his lip unhappily. Once the Sentinels open fire, he sends his discs flying, aimed for the taser prongs on two of the robots, whipping rock around to aim for another pair -- only to find the robots gone. He calls the stones back and looks for a second set of targets. "Be careful being invisible -- I don't want to hit anyone!" he calls out, frowning deeper. "Here we go." Daken hits the ground as soon as the sentinels speak again, enough time goes by for Faelan to poof half the group away before the grenade is lobbed at one of the remaining robots. Lucien's already pale expression goes even paler at the sound of that screaming. "... That," he says, a little bit stiffly, "I can do nothing to hide you from. That thing is not --" For a moment his eyes cut towards Matt. "... not," his tone has shifted out of bleak resignation into a faint sense of hope, "quite a robot." "Oh, I hate these ones! I cannot be those!" Lia sounds truly /dismayed/ at the humming and the keen before the monster-bot even shows itself. "Run, Mr. Fairyjax! Get the power thing! I cannot be hurt here!" Well, /she/ can't. The Sentinel body is likely in for some critical damage as she tries to put herself between Jax and the /maw/, robot hands already sparking with electricity. He doesn't say it but Jack thinks the same thing as Faelan. Crap. Sentinels opening fire means its time to hit the deck and send a little burst of telekinetic force out to hopefully knock away incomming taser prongs. But then the Sentinel is gone and Jack blinks a few times. Ash's warning gets Jack looking his way but he doesn't respond, not wanting to give his position away. He starts making his way towards that HVAC door. If there's a chance to slip past the robots and start heading for what they're supposed to wreck, he's going to try to take it. Jax's hand lifts reflexively at the sound of that screaming. Not in any defense -- just to quietly make the sign of the cross as he crosses rapidly closer to the door leading to the stairwell /up/. "Matt," he yells, over the screaming and the sound of the humming, "I could maybe do with some extra juice right about now." Not for the stairwell door -- although he's blowing /that/ off its hinges in a hurry. A bubble of shield goes up around him, between him and the oncoming Mark IV, but that doesn't really make the pale and none too pleased expression on his face any more comfortable. "No," Matt says, only faintly incredulous. "It's a /mutant./" His green eyes track the incoming Mark IV, narrowing as he bites down on his lower lip with concentration. "{It's not working,} that thing might be immune..." All at once he turns his attention Jax. His hand clamps down on Lucien's, knuckles white, as he focuses, ramping the photokinetic's abilities as high as he can push them. When half of the Sentinels vanish, the rest of the Mark-III's duck behind whatever cover they can find - vents, mostly. Not that this helps the one with a grenade next to it -- a thin vent is no match for the shrapnel spat out by the grenade. Firing from behind cover, they seem to have given up on this whole "less-than-lethal" hippie bullshit and gone straight for all-American made lead, gunpowder, and proprietary-de-mutant-ing-serum. They still make an attempt to avoid Lucien, though as bullets whiz over his head, it doesn't seem to be /as/ careful. "A /mutant/? I didn't think --" Lucien's hand is gripping his brother's back, tightly. And /yanking/ Matt back behind the partially-open door back into the building when the bullets start flying, a small hiss forced out through his teeth. "{Is it immune or is it just -- too different from normal brain patterns for you to latch on to? Can you just shut it down? Can you just shut /everything/ down?} Let Jax hit it and turn everyone's powers off on the whole fucking roof if it stops that thing. I've seen what it does to --" His lips press together tightly. "But perhaps if it is /off/ they can /shoot/ it to death." "Going for the beacon! If I can drop it we may have a chance," Yells Faelan from somewhere amidst the emptier side of the rooftop. With the Mark IV and active death dealing, mission priority was escalating and he took the chaos of the firefight to teleport to the open door past Jax and the screaming death, hoping at least if multiples are going for it Someone may make the end point. "Shit." Daken growls at the new arrival. He reaches into his bag and pulls free one more grenade and lobs it at where one of the sentinels is taking cover. His next words are directed at Matt, "If you can get my healing factor back, I can play distraction!" The Mark IV thuds down beside the now-open stairwell door with a /whump/. If anything, its grin seems to get brighter at the sparks of electricity coming from Lia's robot-hands. It doesn't actually wait for her to attack with them; just /sucks/ the electricity into itself, discharging it back in a sudden lightning-blast that shoots out over the robot body and Jax and his bubble both. Its sharptoothed maw opens up, discharging a sudden blast of fire in the direction of Liabot. Hellothere. Jack stays crouched behind his venty cover and edges closer towards the stairwell, cursing a few times in his head. He knows he can handle normal people. Even some other mutants judging by his performance in Fight Club but dealing with robots shooting guns and those nasty darts he'd been told about is way farther out of his league than he knows. So he's going with the 'run like hell' plan...only towards the stairs and beacon rather than away. Being more invisible than usual thanks to Faelan, he takes that first opening and darts into the stairwell. He almost tumbles through the door but manages to stay on his feet. There's a half second where he considers trying to catch his breath but heat and light coming from behind having him cursing in his thoughts and starting to climb the stairs two at a time. Ash frees the rest of his discs and launches them - six stone circles, spinning fast and furious. He arches them around to start taking out the smaller Sentinels that are shooting at the intrepid mutants. The discs dodge neatly around the obstacles the Sentinels are hiding behind and aim for their weapons and their eyes. He can only focus on two at a time, running as he goes, but a bullet or two thud into his body armor and sends him sprawling. "Goodyes. Smash it to pieces. Teleport all its parts to the corners of the earth or just. Blow it up I don't --" Jax's teeth clench in a sudden clacking; his shield, evidently, does not provide the best of insulation against electric blasts. He drops to the ground in a crouch -- perhaps equally for stability as because some of his muscles are kind of spasming -- and braces one hand against the floor. His shield drops as the other hand lifts -- a sudden brighter flare pushes outward from him. Fierce and searing in an augmented-strong blast that rips through the Mark IV, enveloping it and then imploding /inward/ rather than outward. Teeth clenched, he drops the rest of the way to the ground once the light dies away. A little shaky. A little pale. A weak glimmer of shield trying to form back around him. Just in case that screaming is continuing. Heavy footfalls up the stairs somewhat disrupt the nature of invisibility, but speed matters more here, especially with potentially dying people behind him. Faelan has years of running away from things fueling his limbs as this time he is running towards something for a change, hopefully a way to save everyone else. The Lia-bot is temporarily a bit /shaky/ for the electricity coursing back through it. And it probably won't fare well for the fire, but...Lia does not seem intent on waiting that out. She /rushes/ the maw of the Mark IV instead, trying to slam the Sentinel body into its mouth like delivery food service. Then she is /out/ of there, slipping back into the last Lia-bot still slumped just inside the door to the stairwell. As quickly as she can orient herself, she aims to get between Jax and the robo-mutant-monster once again. It might be a small thorn, but she aims to be one in this thing's side. The humming grows louder as Faelan and Jack rush up the stairs. There's a bluish glow up here, too, painfully bright, and a tingling charge to the air. High overhead at the top of the tower the beacon crackles and shifts in a constant arc of power; the base it is set in is a heavily reinforced mess of metal and machinery, tucked neatly behind smooth black paneling. Down at the base of the stairwell, the screaming has, in fact, stopped. The Mark IV is blackened, crisped, stumbling back as Lia slams into it to topple to the ground, one of its limbs falling off, its mouth twisted and melted shut, its face just a waxwork snarl of half-melted wires and flesh. But, slowly, its body is starting to knit itself back together. Its limbs beginning to tuck back into their proper configurations as it starts to find its feet. Somewhere in its misshapen face a light that is probably an eye winks back on. The Sentinels are not bothered by explosions or their comrades falling around them. The remaining four Sentinel Mark-III's continue firing, laying down thick barrages of suppressing fire and causing brass to clatter to the ground around them as missed darts tinkle down onto the rooftop. Even then, a grenade turns four to three and little bits of electronics and another two are using weapons that no longer really fire -- but just make futile, angry clicking noises in the general direction of the mutants. Across the roof, though, there is a loud bang of sheet metal clanging against brick. Reinforcements begin to stream onto the roof, a line of Sentinel's spreading out on the other side of the roof and slowly approaching the mutants, darting back and forth between cover. "Damnit, I hope this is enough." Comes Faelan's voice as a backpack thuds into view, and heavy bags begin to be pulled out. "Ah I don't think my chemistry teachers would have liked me having to have made improvised explosives." From the smell of it, the bags seem to have that amonium nitrate smell, the classic fertilizer explosive. Clicking the switch on a little LED timer with the package he frowns and looks down at the reactor sparking. "God this better work," and concentrating his aim, the package disapears and reappears sitting on a support beam in view. Matt leans out from their cover briefly, eyes flitting from Jax and the rapidly convalescing monster to the newly arrived Sentinels. "I'm shutting /everyone/ down, shoot that thing like there's no tomorrow!" he shouts above the din of battle, but only Lucien is near enough to hear his whispered, "{May the gods smile down on us now.}" He flicks the black ring on his hand and all at once, everyone below the stairwell save for Matt himself goes flatscan. "El fucko that bullshito." Daken mutters as the reinforcements come. He tugs a desert eagle from the bag and one more grenade. The pin is pulled and the thing is dropped into the bag before he slings it into the mob of sentinel reinforcements. Then he's pushed back all the way on his feet, gun aimed at the Mark IV's face. It's his turn to unload on a sentinel, and unload he does. The sounds of Faelan's footfalls drive Jack on, the invisible teen following the sound of the other invisible guy. "Coming up behind you, Faelan," he calls, knowing it isn't specific but letting the X-man know he's got some back up. Even if it is just Jack. All the glowing and tingling has his heart racing. Weird stuff like that has to mean they're getting closer. He'll be a few moments behind Faelan but once he reaches the room and sees what's inside it, he just stares. Then Faelan snaps him out of it and Jack takes his bag off too. "I got some explosive...things too. Dunno what they are...got told to carry them," he says, taking the bags out of his backpack and looking around. "Uhh...that looks important," he babbbles, fumbling with the timer. When he finally gets it working, he sends it flying towards another support beam with his TK. "Should we start running like hell now?" he asks, backing towards Faelan quickly. Jax's shield fades away as his powers shut off. His eye closes, shoulders slumping back against the burned and blackened concrete as the Mark IV is fired upon. Maybe he is praying. Maybe just passing out. Running like hell might be the better part of valor. The charges find their place -- and detonate with a blast and a groaning creak of metal. A lot of metal. A lot of crackling sizzling electricity, too. High above the tower, the glowing eye is shifting, toppling -- about to crash down into the city far below. But in the stairwell there is a whole lot of heavy cables and beams and concrete starting to crack and crumble and fall inward, too. Down below, the Mark IV's wounds stop healing back up as Matt's powers take effect. It stumbles back at the gunshots, and its next scream sounds less vicious -- more keening, in pain as the bullets find home. Another stumble, and it crumples back to the concrete as well, claws scrabbling against the roof as it starts to try and lift itself but fails. For lack of a better plan, Lia-bot enters into close-combat mode, just /beating/ and pushing the Mark IV back, trying to get it away from Jax and clear the path for the others to get /out/ when it is time to run. Once it seems like it's going to /stay/ down, she turns back to collect Jax and do that run-like-hell thing with him toward the entry door, shielding his body with the much more durable Sentinel's. Faelan starts a bit at the other voice, not that anyone could see such impropriety. "Yeah... I think running like hell is a good idea. I don't know how much explosive we just dumped there, and what will happen when experimental power supplies explode." He grabs the backpack off the ground and rummages through it, pocketing something within it. "You gotta get home. And some of the bots may still be kicking with whatever leftover juice is in them." Slinging the backpack on, an oddly visible site on the rest of the invisible fellow, he glances towards the door. "Go! I'll be fine behind you." The bag of explosives certainly puts a stop to the floor of reinforcements onto the rooftop -- it's hard to climb out of a doorway that's now caved mostly in -- but the real damage seems to come from nothing at all. Nothing seems to touch them, and yet, as a large explosion happens high in the tower, all of the remaining Sentinel's seem to behave as though they have been dipped in molasses. Their aim goes all Stormtrooper-y, firing high above the heads of the mutants as they retreat. Several of them simply slump over after a few seconds of attempted movement, and the few that remain are clearly no longer playing with a full deck of cards. Ash skitters to his feet once more as he heads for Jax, scrambling as best he can, bruised and utterly disoriented without his usual sense for the ground beneath him. He swallows hard and skirts by Daken and the Mark IV, heading in for the injured team mate, but stops short when he sees Lia doing the same thing. He turns and heads toward the Tessiers, but stays just enough out to watch the others for any difficulties. Any other time, Jack would at least try to indicate where he is for ease of conversation. Not right now though. "Yeah...running now," he mutters. The bag that had been getting dragged gets pulled back onto invisible shoulders and he starts running. "You better be," he calls over his shoulder as he goes. He's got a few scrapes and cuts from shrapnel but he isn't even paying attention. Nope, all he's thinking about is 'run down the stairs' and 'do not fall!'. Despite all the chaos reigning around them, Lucien's expression as he leans against his brother tips into a small smile, when the reactor at the top of the tower begins to crash down. Retreating may be the most judicious plan, but just for a moment he lingers, watching its shuddering crashing descent. "That," he murmurs, pleased, "is a welcome sight."