While everyone makes their plans, Guardian muses half-aloud. "Why would these cultists come to a candy factory? And if they can raise the dead to do their bidding, why didn't they raise the watchman as well?"
Still puzzling over this new information, he turns and concentrates to scan the woman's locker room.
The woman's locker room also scans as clear; you may move through either locker room to get to the main section of the plant.
Atticus focuses on his range of over 3 miles and pings for anything with a synapse of mental activity.
"Maybe it takes too long for them to make a zombie? If they were in a rush they might not have had the time. We need to watch out for those guns though!"
He nods, "Definitely. I haven't been injured once so far, but I can't keeping out onto luck alone to get me through this. But don't worry- With me and Tesla here, we'll be alright." Confidence and admiration saturate his words, still having faith in his personal hero in science despite the recent events. He turns to the once wheelchair-bound hero, "Hijack, are you reaching them at all? You seem focused."
Atticus focuses on his range of over 3 miles and pings for anything with a synapse of mental activity.
Atticus senses the "creature" (It reads more like a man on a sugar high with the intensity of speed) through the wall to the right, about 60 feet away. There is no sign of any "normal" signatures that might represent the robed men.
Atticus relays the info to the others and starts to fiddle with the blaster the Doc has given him and starts fiddling with any of the switches and knobs.
"Think I can turn this up to 11?"
"To the right? Ok, let's go. Quietly." Guardian floats up a few inches off the ground and drifts into the men's locker room.
"Think I'd prefer that you don't disintegrate it. I mean, I suppose I could still bring them back, but..." He shrugs, and follows along behind Reece. He tries to keep himself as quiet as possible, but his natural lack of caution and his continued fatigue could easily do him in.
Rift follows the others, doing her best to remain silent.
Everyone moves through the locker room. Looking out the far door, you now have a good idea what most of the factory looks like.
This end of the building is dominated by three huge machines. Each features a large vat, from which a hose and nozzle extend. Each nozzle is poised over a conveyor belt that leads into a small enclosed case. The conveyor exits the case and extends for another 5 feet before doubling back.
The conveyor belts of all three machines are running, and the vats radiate extreme heat and hum as though there is mechanical activity inside. A security camera mounted near the ceiling is aimed at the machines.
The "zombie" is in the storage area off to the right; Atticus can easily pinpoint his position.
"Um...I'm not the best shot, so if one of the folks who has impressive control of their abilities would like to save me the trouble of aiming?" Atticus suggest.
Theodore takes a steadying breath. "Okay... 3... 2... Now!" He rushes straight into the production floor, turning towards the creature. He thrusts his right hand forward, his other slamming down on one of the devices on it's wrist.
|
"Do NOT turn that thing up to 11! It's run by a zero-point nuclear generator to charge capacitors with the destructive power of three sticks of dynamite. Setting 7 is more than powerful enough for most mortal needs."
Tesla takes Stopwatch's statement in earnest and strides out purposefully into the middle of the floor. "An ye hath wished for him to live, so shall it be." The zombie finds itself spurned by the Earth as one rejects a faulty suitor, and the gravitons working upon it reverse themselves, flinging the thing upward in mocking jest of the natural order of things.
As Stopwatch and Tesla seem to have the "Zombie" well in hand, Guardian scans the area for any other adversaries.
Zombie save against Stopwatch:
The zombie flies up toward the ceiling, temporarily nullified by its inability to move in the no gravity environment. The sudden movement stymied Stopwatches' attempt at stasis (aka it made the save).
In the same direction as the zombie, Guardian sees an unmoving human
body, its arms and legs splayed in awkward positions. Its hair is brown, and it is dressed in blue coveralls; this appears to be one of the workers that broke into the plant when the doors were locked (at the request of the owner), and was evidently done in by the "zombie".
Next to the machines (which are still running), Guardian notices an unmoving one-foot tall figure.
You may roll 4d6 damage if you choose; I had assumed since this was possibly a living innocent you were being gentle.
Guardian moves cautiously towards the tiny figure as he motions to Stopwatch to take a look at the worker.
Theodore moves forward, his arm is still poised in the creature's direction in caution. He only let's his guard down when he get's close to the worker, and checks the body for signs of damage and trauma. He didn't think he should be trying to bring him back right now, with the zombified man glued to the ceiling, but it should help once things are... calmed down.
His breath becomes steadier, and one would wonder why it wasn't in the first place.
Atticus lets out an order, just to experiment.
Guardian finds himself looking at a 6" carved wooden figure of some sort. It has vague African features, and appears very ancient.
Meanwhile, Stopwatch examines the body. he appears to have died from a broken neck. Sugar and blood is all over the body where the zombie must have attacked him. He also has a serious broken leg, which must have happened when climbing in the window.
Atticus lets out an order, just to experiment.
Guardian lifts the figurine with his telekinesis and brings it closer to him. "This might be what is causing the problem." he calls out just loudly enough for those closest to hear him, although he hoped he was wrong. He started to scan the figure more deeply to see if there was anything more to it than it appeared.
I hope it's not magic. Examining the structure of things that don't follow the rules of physics gives me a headache...
Theodore files away the information, it'd certainly help give him a leg up later when he tried to bring this guy back as well. The sugar is a little weird, it was on the other man as well. He looks up from the corpse toward Reece, frowning. He voices both his, and Reece's, thoughts on the matter. "I hope it's not magic... Things that don't follow the rules of physics gives me a major headache."
"As long as it thinks, I might be able to get a word in edgewise. Magic....complicates matters, but shouldn't be too much of a problem."
He watches as Guardian telekinetically lifts things with his powers. Sometimes he wished he got the more physical portion of powers. Well...maybe they could get some good info from that martial artist he captures earlier.
To Guardian, the figure appears as a normal piece of wood, although, oddly, it looks only a couple decades old, physically, but you get the sense that it's much, much older.
Atticus doesn't sense an intelligence in the object.
All of you standing near the candy machines (which is where you found the statue) can feel quite a bit of heat building up off of them.
Knowledge: Technology, to know if this amount of heat is normal.
Normal it is. Desirable, it isn't. The machines have been left on in a holding state without the proper air circulation they'd normally get when producing candy. A fire or explosion is imminent.
As the heat builds, Guardian backs away from the machines and scans the area for an power switch, flipping it off telekinetically once it's located.
Stopwatch quickly turns around towards the group, noting Reece already seems to be searching for a way to turn it all off.
"The machines, they weren't meant to be on this long, they could blow or catch fire any minute! Guardian, if you can't turn it off, I need you to make us a hole! Rift, as soon as you see an opening you have to conjure us a portal so we can get out of here. Tesla- Gather up the body, and try to drag the creature along with us but keep him out of reach- I could still save him! Hijack, I need you to send out a message to everyone near the factory to get back, it's dangerous! If it looks like we won't have enough time, I'll stay behind to try and contain the blast within the timestream."
Atticus takes a step back towards the exit.
"Um...I'm not really built to be able to take an explosion. I don't have a robot suit, can't rewind injuries on myself, or tap into the force. So....I may have to leave...."
Fortunately, Guardian finds a cut-off switch before that becomes necessary, and power to all the machines is killed.
You have now neutralized the "zombie," and found an idol either left or dropped by the cultists. You've also stopped the threat of the machines exploding.
Currently, you have the idol, some cameras, and some more rooms that need to be explored.
Theodore sighs in releif once the heat dies down. "Awesome, 'cause I had no idea id that plan would've actually worked. Better that we don't even risk it. Guardian and Tesla, can you two help me take these two outside? We'll have to restrain the other, but I'd like to get their health out of the way first. We might be able to do with some investigators helping out now that the primary threat is dealt with."
Atticus breathes a sigh of relief that today he wouldn't become a spray of paint on the side of a factory wall.
Atticus sends a quick note to the operatives that came with him of the now defused situation and adds that he would like three scoops of vanilla instead of the usual two when he returned.
The whole scene. However, your second check still only detects the team, and the zombie. The artifact does not seem to have anything your mind recognizes as intelligence.
"I don't think we should let anyone else in here until we check the rest of the place out." Guardian replies as he reaches out to grab the idol in his gloved hand. Reaching out telekinetically, he lifts up the workman's body and starts moving it toward the entrance.
"Ah... Hm. Right, maybe you and Guardian should switch then, Tesla? You simply carry him physically, and Guardian can keep the afflicted man contained. You're probably right, by the way. There could be other things in here, but... at least the main threat is dealt with." He follows along diligently, eager to set these men back to how they should be.
Guardian discusses their discoveries with the officer in charge. "So, while we have the perpetrator of the crime in custody, we still do not know exactly what happened here. It might be best if we secured him as we do not know his capabilities, as well as this 'artifact', but if you would prefer to take custody of them we will turn them over to you. Would you allow us to review any security tapes with you?" He remains respectful of the police authority, while trying to hide his slight nervousness.
Stopwatch, ocne things are settled, turns his focus first on the one he knows he could save. He dosn't notice the drain on his stamina once again, as he pulls on the temporal energies while aiming his wrist at the man's neck.
+2 from medical analysis if you'll allow
+2 from medical analysis if you'll allow
"There... I'm nor sure about what to do with our... other freind, but... Hmm."
Unfortunately, the nature of what has happened to him makes it difficult to affect, temporally. Stopwatch feels like he's hitting up against a force that is equally essential to the universe as time.
The police are more than happy to turn the zombie over to the AEGIS agents Atticus brought with him. Guardian may keep the artifact, if he wishes. A thought comes to mind: you could see if your old buddy Professor Petersen (who you saved recently) could give you some insight into it, since religious and occult artifacts are his area of expertise.
As for reviewing the security tapes, the police locate the office on the opposite end of the building from the production floor, and there have access to the server video.
The tape of the door shows the guard smoking just outside the entrance. Suddenly, he drops his cigarette and puts his hands in the air. Then he opens the door, puts his hands up again, and backs slowly inside. Six figures wearing light-colored, hooded robes enter by the now open
door. They carry firearms ranging from pistols to shotguns and assault rifles, which they keep trained on the guard.
The tape of the factory floor shows the robed figures come in and herd the night workers somewhere off-screen. Then the figures come back carrying what appears to be another security guard. After laying him carefully on the floor, they pull over some large sacks, open them, and pour out white powder over his head and shoulders. Several of the robed figures restrain the half-buried man for a few moments while his body twitches. When the twitching stops, the figures join hands and appear to pray for a very long time.
Then the robed figures scoop the white powder off the man, pour some into the vat of each candy machine, and begin making candy. Something (presumably the statue you found) falls out of one of their robes as he works. They then pack the candy into boxes and move them off-camera toward the loading dock.
When they have finished moving the candy (tainted with whatever they poured over the guard), one of them stands over the guard, who has lain still the whole time. The robed figure gesticulates wildly, and the guard sits jerkily upright, then stands and follows the robed
man off-screen.
Some hours later, a uniformed policeman enters the area and looks around. When he reaches the westernmost machine, he spins around suddenly, draws his gun, fires twice, then turns and runs. This is the man who initially called for backup.
He frowns as the tape finishes it's playback. He turns to one of the officers, "You need to get someone to destroy the current batch in the vats! The intruders have done something to it, and we can't risk it getting any more getting out to the public. If the company complains about the loss of product, let them know they'll be compensated."
Whatever they've done with the rest of it is disconcerting, but dealing with this situation before it get's worse is necessary.
Atticus makes a hesitant face.
"Not sure if Aegis is going to compensate, but if you rich guys want to make the payout then go for it."
As for the intruders...
"I don't sense anyone in the area, so I think we're clear now."
After being told what is on the tape, Guardian asks the officer in charge "Perhaps you should make an announcement about the tainted candy? We will do our best to find those responsible, but in case they manage to distribute it before then, the public should know about this."
Pulling out his phone, he dials a memorized number. "Professor Petersen? This is Guardian, I have a favor to ask..."
"We'll make a statement, but you gotta realize halloween is comin' up. If that stuff hits the streets..." the detective shakes his head, the ominous completion of his statement unnecessary to voice.
Petersen answers the phone on the second ring. "Petersen. Oh, Guardian, nice to hear from you! Thanks again for rescuing my dinner guests from that awful affair. The repairs are going nicely.
"A favor? ask away, sir."
[presumably asks about the statue]
"I'd be happy to take a look at it for you. Can you meet at my office this afternoon?"
"We'll be there. Thank you!"
With an audible click, he snaps his phone shut. "We have an appointment with Prof. Petersen this afternoon. Does anyone have any ideas about where to continue the investigation until then? Where would be the best location to distribute a lot of candy quickly?"