You are (Not) the Heroes IC

Daff brightens. "Yes! The bad pony could walk through walls and left little marks sometimes and knew just where to go because she didn't really touch anything else. Oh, and there's a secret room in a wall back there. I think the bad pony that did this might live there, which I don't think would be very comfortable so maybe that's how she got so mean. It was full of secret drawings and plans, too!"

He scratches his head with a hoof. "But they were too complex for me to understand. I think Dove could read them, though. Did you know he was a genius, too? I think I'd be jealous if I didn't have Rousseau to guide me."

He trots forwards to join the others. "Did you find anything here?" he asks.

Hiding her feelings about discovering how limited her options right now are with illusion magic out of the question, Madame Mask turns around with a smile. "That's a great trick, you simply must show me how you do it," continues Madame Mask, speaking with her voice this time, as there is no way to confirm if the telepathy was working as intended, "But, introductions first, oui? I am Madame Mask. And you darling?"

"Nothing concrete. Just considering the odds that our target is the 'deceased' Complex, former head of the Lexicon Labs who 'died' in an accident with the Presence Suit..." Remembering whom he was talking to, Crimson quickly added "The invisible one. Normally I wouldn't be considering such a thing but when you take into account just how many villains got started due to science accidents and the fact that there wasn't a body... " He trailed off, letting the conclusions reach themselves. "Let's just say I'm keeping the option opened until proven otherwise."

"Lemme take a wild stab at this."

Sunset is now focusing on that senior lab technician.

"Y'all had a prototype o' this here suit, 'n' somepony decided to try it out himself. Put it on, turned it on, and then puff! Gone. No suit, no body. Am I close?"

Dove/Gaia:
"Invisibility? Hmm... Well, the scientists up top are developing some kind of stealth suit. There was a big accident, real headlines. The boss of the labs, Gear Complex, apparently got caught in a live testing and got exploded into atoms." The guard scratches their head. "Then there's Vanish. Real mysterious, no one knows what they look like or even if they're a pony. Hit a lot of LexiCon facilities, never been caught."

"They say Vanish is some kind of ghost, you know. An avenging wraith or something. Just between me and you, with how successful Vanish has been I wouldn't be surprised if they were. Oh, and they say Gear Complex had a bit of a rivalry against the boss, but he kicked the bucket a while ago."

---

Daff/Crimson:
"I find that likelihood very low." Lexicon says, skeptically. "The amount of energy being outputted by the anomaly was well beyond survivable equine levels."

Just then, the suit still suspended from the ceiling starts to emit a beeping sound. The lights start to flicker. Lexicon tenses up and shifts back slightly, consciously putting himself between Daff and Crimson.

Then the lights explode in a shower of sparks, arcs of electricity coming out and striking the walls, the floor, and the broken down suit. An eerie blue light floods the room with no apparent source, and then the suit moves, just slowly jerking and twitching at first, then turning into full-blown actions as it flexes, snapping the chains holding it and stumbling onto the ground. With a terrible grinding of gears the suit straightens up, featureless mask directed straight at Lexicon.

---

Sunset:
"Well, there was debris. Scrap metal and the like. But yes, no body." The technician started to say something else, but suddenly stopped, staring at the spot where Sunset assumes the stealth suit is.

Actually, she doesn't have to assume anymore. The stealth effect appears to have worn off, revealing a sleek black suit covered in futuristic markings.

Before anyone can comment on that, the lights start to flicker, then fail entirely. Terminals start shutting down left and right, and previously running machinery grind to a halt.

In an instant, it's dead quiet.

(Perception prompt)

---

Madame:
I̢̜ ̻̣̬̹̺͎͝am̹̫ ̷V̛͙̫̭̭a͍̝̩n̥̻̟͓̘̗̣i̯̠͚̟s̳͚͈͢h͓̟

It sounds like listening to a corrupted digital sound, the voice discordant and abrupt. The figure of Vanish seems to shift before Mask's eyes, parts of their surface swirling and twisting unnaturally, almost like a viscous turbulent black mist.

I̶'̨͉̝̰̳̘v͓͝e̯͚ ͖͍̼̭̫h̘̝̲̤͠e͝a͎͖̰̟͚͈͟r̞̠͡d̹͉͙ ̙̪̥m̝͇̜a̺͚̣͙̤̖n̻͖̲̣y͔͍̘ ̗̞͉̟t̜ͅẖ͈i҉ń͕̼̖̳g̝̘̮̰̫͖s̩̭̹̫ a̲͓b̛͈o̗̮u̮̻̗̤̻̺͠ͅt̩̜͖̲͓̻̤ ͓̫̣̫̣͚͙y̢̥̭ou͖̩͙̦̖͟,̗̠͢ ̟̫ͅͅM҉̳̖̠a̩d̺a͚͔͈̲̝͜m͔̝̟͟e͈ͅ ̸͈͈̣̬̞̰Ma̷̜̤̬s͞k̖̥̬͚̳̬̰. U̥͖̯̳̲n̡͔̹̹̼̼f̪̱̩̻̖̳̭́o̘̕r͏͓̹̭͖̗tư͔ṇ̞͕͇at͉̭̟el̠͜y, ̠͎͚͈̰̻͈͟I͏̱̟͚̝͈̜ ̣̤̲͉̪̦͓h̥̹̯̩á̘v̕ę͖̭ ͏̭̟̭n͔̬͈̫o̖̤̲͇͖͇ ̭̗͕t͚i̲̗̦̲͍͟m̴͍̠̖e̫̼̙͇̬ ͉̟͜t̵͖͉͚͔o̻̳̫ l͖̖̘̲̼͎ͅi̶̘̭̺̦̥̩̤n̸͚g̢̗̗̩͉e̩̠͎̮r̖͔̝ͅ.

Vanish gives Madame a bow, before starting to slowly glide towards an unknown direction, seemingly leading down a corridor to nowhere at first.

"No body, huh?"

Sunset's horn lights as she scans the room, and her guns emerge from their holsters.

"Clear out or get someplace safe."

Actions:

Daff looks up in confusion at the beeps, only for the lights to suddenly go out. Darkness engulfs the room, leaving only a few sets of eyes blinking in confusion. When the explosion of sparks and electricity illuminate everything in a harsh black and white, he quickly scoops Rousseau off of his head and holding the squirrel close to his chest as he turns sideways and places himself in front of Lexicon, trying to shield both the squirrel and dragon. Soon, the room is flooded with blue. He looks up again, eyes growing wide. Was the bad pony hiding INSIDE THE SUIT the whole time? Their opponent was way smarter than he could have possibly thought!

Daff fumbles about, only for Rousseau to helpfully shove something into the stallion's mouth, followed by a card in his hoof.

"Take this, Mr. Author!" Daff spits out the energy pin - the one given seemingly forever ago by Gizmo, for the dragon to take, then says, words muffed with the card in his mouth, "Sunny... happy... rainbow... uh... SUNGLOW! Hi Ardent!" The words must sound very strange with the card actually in his mouth. "I'm with Mr. Author and Crimson. Evil is happening! Bad evil!"

Dropping the card, he steps forward, placing himself squarely between the suit and the others.

For a moment, Crimson had hoped that whomever or whatever was behind all of this had decided to call it a day and leave the building. As the lights went out, he couldn't help but sigh a little at his own naivety. While Daff was panicking at the sight of the damaged suit starting to get up like a puppet being controlled by demented strings and calling for back up (which he didn't disapprove of to be honest), Crimson took a deep breath before calmly stepping forward and taking control of the situation. "Lexicon stay back and we'll protect you. Daff!" Crimson barked, hoping that his voice and what he was about to say would piece through the panic that seemed to have gripped Daff's mind. "We've got this. Let's do it!"

With those words of confidence spoken with complete certainty, Crimson turned towards the suit before planting his hooves on the ground. "I've already lost to one tin can today, I'm not losing to another. Bring it!"

Actions and Abilities:

"What if it's a g-g-ghost?" Daff asks worriedly before adding. "Rousseau doesn't like ghosts." The squirrel, of course, doesn't look all that preturbed.

Crimson's encouragement, no matter how brief, seems to help, though. Daff gives a resolute nod, taking another step forward. "You're right! Heroes have to always fight evil, vandalism, and trespassing, even when it's done by a ghost that's really scary - to Rousseau! Prepare to face great justice scary ghost!"

"It's not lingering if it's productive." Madame Mask floats to and follows Vanish. "I've heard about you too Vanish, as well as seen your work upstairs. Calling Lexicon 'Thief King' like that? Very bold, very impressive darling."

---

Meanwhile, up with Daff, Crimson, and Lex, the fake Madame Mask points at the moving suit and proclaims "I see something here."

Daff & Crimson

Lex catches the lightning pin, looking confused for a moment, then realization dawning on him when a streak of electricity arcs towards him only to be diffused harmlessly before it reaches him.

There is a hissing sound as the suit's artificial muscles engage, and still dragging a multitude of chains behind it, it advances towards Lexicon. Reaching up to its chest and with a terrible screeching of metal, it pulls the pipe out of its chest, the tip stained black from burning and machine fluids.

It seems set on getting to Lexicon without any regard for the heroes.

Sunset

In the total darkness, a pale light suddenly appears, a circle floating in the middle of the air. No, not a circle - a hole. A hole which seems to be growing.

Sunset hears a gasp come from the retreating researchers, and one of them whispers, "Is that-- no, that's not possible... could that be a dimensional rift?"

The hole quickly expands to pony size in a matter of seconds, and then- something comes out. It's vaguely insectoid at first, some kind of upright four-legged *thing*. As soon as it exits the hole, it seems to warp in shape before assuming the form of a completely featureless pony - no horn, no wings, no face, no cutie mark. Another one steps out, and another, then an actual pony, clad in a ragged looking hero costume with a blue vortex motif, steps out of the hole.

"Hmm." The pony looks around. "Looks like I was a bit off. A room over, maybe?"

He doesn't seem to have noticed Sunset yet.

Madame Mask

I̤͕̹̺̬͖̤̕ ̭͈s̘p̴͉̜͎e̠̩̠̕a̺̯͟k̸̹͇͓ ̵̜͕͕̲̘̣b̩͟u͟t̖̩̱̖ ̟͇͙͓t͎͚̺̯͕͖h̴e̝͔͍ ̱͎̭̬̫͔ͅt͖̰r̷u̩th͖͓̣͙͚͎.͈͔̪ H̝̩̖̪̙͓ͅi̵͍͕̖͓s͞ ̜̫̹̰͙ͅc̶̥̻̳on̘̙g̻̣̦l̩̞o̻͝m̷͇̘͙̣̠̖̘e̜ͅra̺̝̤̘t̪̗̘e̺ ̛̰̬̟i̟̣͡s̞̣͕̬̀ ̺͘a̛̤ ͜p̣̟̪͜a̘̟̤̠̹ͅͅt̲ͅc̡ͅh̴̫w͎͍o̰̤̼r̷k̡̲̻̲ ͍̲͇o̲̱͙͙͕̤f͕̺͈̲̘̯ ͜s͈̞t̢̫̠̫̟͔o̘l͖̯̘͝e̱̳͖̯n̨͇ ̸̘p̬̥̻̱̙̟̲oͅs͍̼̻̣͈̝̭s̖̠̜̲̮̭̕ͅe͔̜̻̟͙̕s̪͕͈̭̰͎͇͠s̷̝͎i͖̙̯̟͡ơ͍̜̻̼̼n͈̰̱̹s͙̼̦̣̹̪͖.͘

After a short while of travel, Vanish stops, and looks up.

I͇̖̝̟̘͙̖t͈̣̞̙ ͏͕͓̜͉s͚̜̤e̢̠̹̰̗͎̼̦ȩm̫s̕ ̶̖̩̜̩̖m̤͞y̮̮͕̠͇ ̗̺̤̞͕̯͍̀a͈̩̲̲̮̤͔͘s̼̞̟̺̰̜͘s͇o̘͓̭̟̖̟c̴ị͟a̗̖t͈e ̘h͚͚́a̙̰̖̣̱̻s̳̲͖͔̲͞ ̯̮̗a̛̪̫̲̣̮̙rr҉̙̩i͇̱v̰̦̮̜͚̤͚͘ed͈ ͚̘̝̖̯̥a̟̘̻͓̰ͅș ̠̹̳̠̲͕͘we͇̝̬͈ĺl͜.͙ W̲͈̞̫e̺̲̙̰̯͍'̙̙̖͇l͚͈̞͉͉͝l̝̯̱̩̬ͅ ̥̲̤c̭ͅo̝̩̗̜̩̭̬n̲͓̲̲̟̲t̰̹̺͔̤i̵̲̭ņ̭̞u̙̟̮͇͢e͈̻̩̳̟̖ ̧͕͈̳͍͇̫t̲h̰̥i̘̫̺̮̤̘̘s̹̪̘̙̤ ͈̣̪̣̲̝̼͟t͇͍̝͖̻̫́a̬͔l̫k͔͚̯̳͙̮ ̜͕͍͈͓l̢̜͇̳̲̣͇a͇t̩̯̹̟͈ḛ̷͙̼̳͇r̶͓̺̩̼̩̟,̯ ͔̪̣͎̯Í̭̟̞̣͖͕ ̸̫̤̻͙h̘̬̝̝͉̘́o̻̪pe̛̮͈͙̯

It nods and floats up, resting a foreleg against the ceiling. Madame's tracking spell goes momentarily haywire again, and Vanish seems to just melt through the ceiling, though leaving the ceiling intact.

Dove and Gaia
The communication card starts flashing, and Argent's voice comes through as soon as the card is activated.

"Bad news, there's some kind of... uh, bad evil thing? Attacking Lexicon?"

The security seem to be receiving orders from their helmets too, as they quickly excuse themselves and dash off in a direction.

With a deep breath, Crimson steeled himself for what he was about to do; Despite his confidence in both his and Daff's (and to a somewhat lesser extent, Rousseau's) abilities at being able to handle this... or at the very least stall until the rest of the team could come to reinforce them, he suspected that this was going to be an uphill fight. Well, if nothing else it wouldn't be boring. Still, there was something that he could do before running blindly at the high tech, prototype battle suit made by one of the most brilliant minds of their day and age. "Lexicon, where's the power source for this thing?" A simple question, but if they knew where to hit the damn thing to brake whatever was feeding it power the sooner it would stop moving... or at the very least, not be throwing electricity everywhere! Even as he waited for an answer, he allowed his eyes to wonder over the metal form, trying to locate weak points to exploit.

While he doubted that it would do much, Crimson removed one of the small balls from the little bag of gum balls that he kept. With a careful eye, he hurled it towards the face plate of the living mech suit. His logic was that it was the most likely location of the sensor equipment that was currently allowing the suit to locate its target; As the ball splattered over its face plate, it would quickly start to sizzle as the acid started to try melting through the metal to start messing with vital equipment.

Actions:

Status:

"Maybe just a bit."

Sunset's weapons swing around, and each one trains on a different target.

"Haven, I reckon? Sunset Raider."

She waits until the researchers have left the lab, then says, "I know the dragon's a rat, 'n' I ain't up for givin' him hugs 'n' kisses any more 'n' you. Got a few minutes before the power comes on 'n' brings the security back up with it. What say we be neighborly 'n' talk a spell?"

Daff's jaw drops open as the dragon is struck by lightning almost immediately. This ghost thing is not joking around. Which means it's time for them not to be either. This is REALLY serious.

"You better get back, Mr. Author!" Daff calls.  "Evil, prepare to face squirrly fury! Get ready, Rousseau!" the large pony bellows. He charges forwards towards the suit, doing his best to be completely in the way of it and everypony else.

Actions:

Summary:

Status:

"Hm. Au revoir for now." Madame Mask twists around back towards the stairs. Vanish confirmed that he had a hoof in this, and he's not alone. She moves up the floors keeping track of the location of her tracking spell...

"We should go, little one," Gaia rumbles, morphing into a bird-like form and depositing Dove onto her back. "Hold on tight!"

She turns and flies back the way she came, as quickly as she can.

Might to fly and provide aid: 1d20 (12) + 8 (Skill) + 4 (Level) + 5 (Haste) + 5 (Brawny) = 34

Daff and Crimson

The suit completely ignores Daff and Crimson, beelining for Lex. Crimson's gumballs barely seem to slow it down, and the suit continues to drag itself forward. Alarmingly, it seems slightly less disjointed than before, regaining a modicum of fluidity in its movement. Lunging forward, it makes a grab for Lex, but the dragon moves with surprising agility and dodges nimbly out of the way.

"Power source? What an antiquated notion! we use a decentralized absorption system that draws in ambient energy from the environment." Lex says proudly, before yelping and quickly ducking under a bolt of energy. "...I slightly regret that design decision now."

Another few bolts snake out from the suit, striking Daff and Crimson respectively. It seems that their previous battle with Locust and Low Key have short circuited most of their lightning pins, because there is only a brief moment where the bolts are absorbed before the electricity breaks through and starts striking at them.

Summary:
The Living Suit tries to Grab Lex (Single Attack), but Lex dodges (not affected by the attack).
Daff and Crimson each take 18 damage (Burst Attack).

Sunset
"Yes, well, as much as I would love to do that, I have a job to do." Haven says, walking over to one of the consoles. He produces a data chip and inserts it into the console, his horn glowing as the console comes to life. "Maybe over a spot of tea, somewhere safe and not in this den of evil."

Then what looks like a living shadow bubbles up through the ground, forming into a suited quadrupedal form with a strange grid-like mask.

I̝̱̼ ̹̞̜͓͙̙̕ͅw̸a͏̪ş̫ ̵n͓̱̼̻̱̜͈o̵͍̲͔ṭ̦ͅ ̢̦̩̺a̮͉͓ͅw̦͓̕ạ̘̦͕͘r̠e̱̣̲̹ ͏w̖͈̟̜͟e̞͚ ̨̺̳͕͈͉̯w̻͓o̹̤̭͇u̲̖̤̯̙͢ĺ̪d̛̪̹̝ͅ ͎̺̝̣͓͕h̪a̺v̵̝͍e͏̩̫ ̗c̶̖̳͈̹̲̝̞o͖m̪̜̳͚̰̹͠p̳͕̥̦a̬͔̝n͖͕y̗.̞ Y̝̯͚̦̞͔ͅơ̯̖̹̺u̸̼͎̱̰͈̤r̥̳͕̯ ̢̹e̙̥͔͢s̰̥͟t̶̺̠̬̯͇̣i̙̮̰͇̞m̼̳̝̱a̲̤̙̦̠̤t̴̮i͈̖̜̦o̧̹n̺͎s̗̹͔̣̼̯͡ ̭͎͔̼̠ͅa͉̹̳r̡͙͔͓̗̱e͚̻̤̘̱͘ ͕͈̳̫̟o̶͉̖̹f̺̠̯̻̖͝f̞̘̹̯̭̗̰,̗͉̜̠̻̻̥ ̹͔̘͉͕̦̻H̯̮́a̤̤͓̟v͉̪͙̺̹̫̩͜ȩ̗̥n̥̙̲̝.̰͇͍̩ͅ

"Don't do that, and don't talk to me, you terrorist." Haven grumbles as he taps away on the console. "We're here to get the file and go."

I͏͎͚̺̮ ̡̺͙w̨͈̱̤̼͎͈͖i̥̲͇̟̝̥l̜̫l͖̙̀ c͇̦͇͚̠a̸̱̼̮͍͖̩̖pt͉u̟̱r̝͎̱̥͙e̫̣̜̠ ̬t̘̲̟̲̩h̸e̮ d̪̦̥̭͉̠̩r̡͇a҉̹̖͖g̼̦o̥͙̭̥͍n̛̟̬̯̱͔ ̡̣̥͔ţ̰̺͕hẹ͉̪̩͇̰͜ͅn͈̲.̛̜̻̰̟ "We need him alive." B̡̻̹u̺̺̼̟̭͙͎t̳̬͖̲̪̝̯ ̥̟̟͚̬̦̀ͅn̝̟̳ͅo͇̫̘̗̝͜ͅt͔̯̠̫̞ ̨̫͔̭̻̳͙u͚͢n̬͞ͅh͘á͍͚̦͎͈r͖̜͔̯̀m͜e̮̝̻͜d͓̪̠̟̞ "...No, not unharmed." E͝x̫̱̥c͙̘͘e͎̰̻͎̞͇̮l͓̬̭̦̜ͅl̻͇̥̗̣̬̞e͖͔̤̥̹n̶͖̖t̺̗.̶̺̬

The shade starts gliding towards the direction of the testing chamber.

Madame Mask, Dove, Gaia
Madame Mask can guess, based on her understanding of the building's geometry, that Vanish has entered the laboratory area. As she makes her way back up to the lab, she runs into a very large green and brown falcon carrying Dove Colt as it zooms past her up the stairwell.

It will take them a few more moments to get to the lab, but knowing the other heroes are there, they have a little time to spare.

(Basically, Gaia and Dove and Mask are in transit until the next interaction between Sunset and the dastardly duo)

"Fast- Fast- Fast!" Dove stammers as Gaia screeches by at breakneck speeds, but he suddenly stops and waves at Madame Mask as they pass. "Hey Miss Mask! So, um, do you know what's going on? We just heard that 'evil was happening'."

"He wants to go public with them suits in a big ol' shindig. Brought us heroes in to sweet-talk us into workin' security."

She smirks back toward Vanish.

"I ain't agreed to nothin' yet, 'n' I ain't too shy 'bout workin' a little gray area now 'n' then. Leave the dragon for when he's in front o' the press talkin' up his latest security doodad to the world. Throw a big ol' egg in his face when ya pop in 'n' nab 'im while the whole world's watchin'. He tries to cover that up, he just makes himself look worse."

So we're doing this the hard way. Great." Crimson muttered with a slightly annoyed tone at the end. A small part of him had been hoping to end this as quickly as possible but if he wanted things to be easy he was going to have to wait until his next shift at work. On top of everything he quickly found that murphy's law was in effect as the pins that they had been given that were supposed to deal with electricity decided that now was the perfect to stop working, a pain filled hiss escaping Crimson's clutched teeth as he felt his mucles seize up painfully from the 'attack'... through it was hard to tell if that was an actual attack or just the suit malfunctioning.

As his muscles started to relax again with a rather unwelcome tingling numbness that was left behind, Crimson rolled his shoulders before taking a deep breath before darting in towards the lumbering suit of armor. He considered trying to help Daff recover from his shock a little but regardless of what faith he put in his pet that he carried around with him Daff was surprisingly sturdy in his own right and would most likely shake it off on his own; Freeing Crimson up to focus on attack.

Winding up a low punch with his right hoof, Crimson lunged at the 'living' suit of armor to land a solid uppercut right into the 'wound' in the armor that had been caused by the pipe that had been rammed through it, enough force put into it to stop the armor in its tracks as he exploited the weakness to its structure. The first blow was quickly joined by a quick second strike with his left hoof, followed by him jumping into the air to plant both of his back legs into its 'stomach' with a solid buck to launch himself backwards into a flip to get out of the way and give Daff (and possibly Lex if he was so inclined) a clear shot at the weak point themselves. Even as he landed his barrage wasn't done, a red gum ball appearing in his hoof to hurled at the hole that the pipe had left behind, finishing his combo with blast of light and heat as it made contact with the metal.

Actions:

Status:

Upon seeing Dove and Gaia, the invisible Madame Mask creates an illusion of herself on herself so they can see her, which they do. "No, I was busy having a brief chat with Vanish. He's a shadowy being behind our suit impaling, able to travel through walls, sees through my magic, and said an associate just arrived." The illusion mouths along. "Remember darlings, keeping Lexicon and any other civilians safe is our top priority."

As soon as it makes another rush for Lex, Daff gallops, turns, then gives a full buck right into the suit's side, throwing all of his substantial mass behind it. There is a deafening CLANG as his hooves strike the metal.

Much to his surprise, the suit still manages to keep charging forward enough to attack Lex while also sending more bolts of electricity at him and Crimson. Daff doesn't make for a great window, but he's an excellent door. He still manages to get in the way of their attacker and Crimson.

As the crackling energy subsides, the fur on Rousseau's tail is left sticking out, making the tail look twice as big as the squirrel itself. The squirrel looks indignant. Daff looks angry.

With pursed lips, he lowers his new gas mask (which looks utterly ridiculous with his baseball cap). Rousseau follows suit with his little squirrel mask. Then, with another yell, Daff gallops directly at the suit, ramming into it and wrapping his forehooves around its entire frame, doing his best to hold it in place for Crimson.

(ATTN: Crimson)

Reactions:

Actions:

Summary:

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Sunset
Y͔͔̲͚o̹u̮͙̮ ̷̖͕̣a̡̞r̶e̵̻̬̫ͅ ̶a̰͇͇̙̰ ̺͙̮̣̦̠d͚̗a̜͞n̵̮͖̺̹g̭͍͠ͅè̘̹̱ro̫̭̜u͟ṣ͚̱ ̦͖̙m̭̭a̜r̖̣͡e͖̥̬̪,͔̀.҉̫ p͈ḻ͕̳̜̮a̢͇̺̺͉̝̣y̭̜̰̘̥̖͚͢i̜̖̤̻͚̟͍n̫̱̝͖̣͙͔g̳͇̳̗̻ͅ ̵͔̩̭̪̺a̪̱͡ ̲̟̥͡d̛͈̱͖̜̺̖͔a̕nǵ̳͎e̱̫̲̣̟̣͠r͓̖͝o͇̟͜ṳ̻̯̣̣͕͇̀s̴͉ ̵͍̠͈̺͓̣͙g̘̖̖a̫m̯e͖̞̹͚̙.҉̫  Vanish stops for a moment, glancing over to Sunset.B҉̼̹͔̦ͅu͎̤͠t̗͚̰͉͚͝ ̰̠̪ͅL̗e̮͜ͅx̹̲̱̥iç͙̺̰͕͈̞o̶͈͎̘n͏͓̪̙̹̹͉͍ ͏͎m͏͔̼u̩͖ͅṣ̶̳t̠̹̱̗̪̮͡ ̼̻͕c̙͕o̟͖̼̖͎m҉̘͈̱̩͍͎ȩ͚̘̯̖̜ ̛w̨i̦̤̭̼̼̘th͈̟͚̳͎̀ ̀u̠͖̺s̵̼͔.̱̖̲͍M̥̫̭͍̥a̟̗̯̩̲̯ͅy̗̠͙̠̫b̲̘͉e͙̬̭͖̙̪ ̛̘͓̝̦͇͓͓n̞̦̺̗͉e͢x̧t̺̦͕̞ ̗̘̼͔t̯̳̰̞̱͇i̥̥̺̦̗̠m̘̭̕e̬̠̤̤̝.̜͚̯̻͝ͅͅ

"He's a creepy bastard, but a point's a point." Haven mutters under his breath, eyeing the console urgently. "Our job isn't a senior prank. If we wanted to expose the drake we have ample evidence to do so already."

Vanish shrugs, and continues to glide towards the testing chamber. They press a forelimb against the wall, then stops. Displeasure is clear in their voice.

S̙̩̝̱̝o̗͜m̡̗̣e͈t͏̪̯̼h̴̳̖̼̗͇i̢̠͓͙͖̥͈̝n̵͍g̣͚͞ ̪̬̬͢i̷̟̜͚͉̞ş̥̖̪̥̣ ̹̯͠pr̸o̫t͓̩̤̹͉e̦̪̮̯̪̖c͢t̠̘i̥̥̳̩̼̝ng ̸̻̗͕ț̷͉he̥͟ ͉̲̫̰̖͙̘r͇̣͇̮o̦̞͈͖o͖̭͜m̩̱̳͓̼͠.̦ Vanish says, turning to Haven. H͚a̕v̜͇̣̞͈e̤̹̬̦̜̙͞n͎̬͚̤̰͚͡,̼͓ ͉̥̮̞̳hͅo͉͈͖̪̙͕̠w̜̳̖͕̬͓̯ ͍͕l̙̬̹̲͓ͅͅo̧̘͎̙̣͕̰͓n̝̬͚͍͇͟g̬̜̲͍̀?̧

"Just a couple more seconds--" Haven says, before a thud comes from outside the laboratory. "Shit- your friends are fast, Miss Raider."

Gaia/Dove/Madame

Gaia thumps against the door of the laboratory, finding it locked shut. Madame Mask catches up soon, as well. Madame can definitely hear the distinctive voices of Vanish and Sunset within, as well as another, unfamiliar stallion's voice. They seem to be having an amiable discussion, but the contents of the talk are indistinct.

Crimson/Daff

Lexicon backs off, striking a defensive stance that Crimson and Daff might recognize as a bipedal martial arts stance. He doesn't look to engage the suit however, perhaps recognizing his own strategic importance.

The suit looks heavily dented and battered now, the entire chestpiece buckled in from Daff's herculean buck, though none of the vital systems seem damaged. It sparks angrily, almost in protest of being held, electrocuting Daff repeatedly, with a few stray arcs of lightning reaching out and grazing Crimson and Lex as well. Using the chance, the suit creaks in protest as the artificial muscles strain, then just barely manage to dislodge Daff from itself.

Summary
Suit deals 32 damage to Daff and 16 damage to Crimson and Lex (Burst Attack)
Suit saves against Grapple.

Lex takes 10 damage from Suit's attack.

"That'd be the other reason to hold off. See, I know characters like him. He'll just sweep whatever ya'll do here under a rug. Rich mucks like him, they always do. He gets some superheroes in his pocket, then he's got the perfect way to distract everypony from any ol' thing y'all blow the lid off of."

Her smirk widens.

"If he's also got a couple big-name villains like y'all in his pocket, then he's got the perfect setup to control the board." She nods toward the console Haven's at. "He calls a gang o' upstart superheroes up here to sell 'em a security deal, and then y'all two pop in 'n' raid the lab next door right as he's showin' off the new toys. Surely y'all don't think that's just a little convenient?"

Out of all the members of the team that had been created as a counter to the Power Ponies, Crimson had to admit that out of all of his teammates he felt like he got along best with Daff. Their personalities seemed to blend in rather well off the field, but watching as the squirrel loving pony seized the opening that he had created to full advantage without them having to communicate was not only refreshing... but rather inspiring in its own right. Granted it didn't do much to stop the pain of being hit with electricity but then again few things did.

Watching as the living armor managed to slip away with Daff, Crimson was quick to take advantage of the fact that his teammate was out of the way as he hoofed one of his higher grade spice balls. Without delay he hurled it towards the suit of armor, aiming for the hole in its chest but content with merely hitting it; the burning hot spice would find its way into the cracks on its own after all. "What do you think is holding up everyone else?" He called out to Daff, feeling confident enough to try and hold a conversation with him.

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