Potentially. Ahead of time, you're not sure if the windows to the place are shaded or covered based on the limited schematics you've found of the apartment.
"Alright... I think this is feasible." He says, the beginning of a plan flying through his head.
"Let's get going. It looks like there shouldn't be any windows on this side, so let's approach there. Tesla and I can fly ahead; Rift, I assume you can transport everyone else?" Guardian stands up and snaps his laptop closed, an idea about how they may be able to get more information starting to form. It would be tricky, though...
The trip to midtown is very quick.
-xxxxx-----------|
-xxxxx-----------|
-xxxxx_olive st_|__
-----------------------__---yyyy
---------------------------------------------__-yyyy
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__________Lindell Blvd_____________________________
The "x" square is Petersen's building. The next tallest building in the immediate are is the "y" area, coming in a 8 floors.
Dashes represent space occupied by lawn or smaller buildings.
As you arrive in the area, you notice a Fox 2 News helicopter flying over the building; SLPD are swarming the streets around the building, blocking traffic on Lindell, a street normally busy this time of day.
I can get us there - It'll take a few 'jumps' but i think we should be able to keep up.
Closest one you find is the one labeled "yyyy". It's shorter than Petersen's building by 3 floors, but you can see the windows of the penthouse. The windows along the front would put you by his front door (near the stairs and elevator), and those you can see into. The windows along the east side of the building would put you into the actual penthouse, but the curtains are drawn.
"Ready when you are, Miss Rift. I trust you to decide the best entry point given your experience with your own powers."
"I was just thinking; did the plans show any area with an exterior wall and no nearby windows, like a closet? If I could sneak up to it, I can transform the wall into glass and Rift could see in to transport us inside." Guardian asks, scanning the nearby buildings for a route that he could take to fly up to it without being seen from the penthouse.
Theodore tries to recall if there was, and informs Guardian. He adds that it's a possibly brilliant plan, so long as nobody was on the other side to see it.
The PLANS did not show that level of detail, but you can certainly see a place in the wall to do just that, between two of the curtain-covered windows.
After finishing his scan of the building, Guardian ponders for a moment.
"The area between those two windows is a posibility, but they might both just lead to a single large room. Rift, could you open a portal to the roof just between the windows? I can open a tiny pinhole in the ceiling so we can get a bit of a view into the room below."
Okay. The team heads through Rift's portal onto the roof. After a brief survey of the area, it does not seem to be watched. You'll want to keep this as quick as possible; the news chopper is probably broadcasting a live feed. If the assailants are watching TV, the chopper might give you away. Currently, however, it seems focused on the action on the ground, and you do have some cover from rooftop air conditioning units.
Drilling a hole into the roof, Guardian sees what looks like a very large dining room. A banquet table that seats thirty gives mute testimony to the Petersens’ love of dinner parties. A large catered meal appears to be laid out on the table currently.
He kneels down, and keeps his voice low and quiet. "Did you spot anyone down there, are we free to move in?"
"I'll see if I can reach anyone."
Atticus reaches out and tries to sense the minds of anyone on the floor or below and above them.
"I don't sense anyone directly under us, but I can't scan the entire room. Is that hole enough for you to create a portal inside?" he asks Rift as he edges back to give her room to peer down.
Hijack shakes his head no.
"Doesn't work like that. Give me mind and I'm in a playground, but I can't really affect anything on a physical level."
"I'll see if I can reach anyone."
Atticus reaches out and tries to sense the minds of anyone on the floor or below and above them.
There is no one directly below you (in the kitchen) if that's what your sensing. If you're trying to pinpoint where the others are, let me know and we'll make some checks.
Once given the go-ahead, Rift peers through the hole and then gestures, opening a portal into the building. She waits for everyone else to move through before following and letting the portal close behind her.
Rift transports everyone into the room below. There is light coming out of a large doorway toward the head of the room (probably leading to the front foyer). The layout below shows the positions of the doors. The upper right corner is where the light is coming from.
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"I think she was referring to making the person operating the camera in the helicopter decide to film somewhere else." Guardian whispers, pointing to the circling chopper.
"I think she was referring to making the person operating the camera in the helicopter decide to film somewhere else." Guardian whispers, pointing to the circling chopper.
You're hoping the portal was open too briefly and with enough cover for them to notice from their position.
Theodore takes a look around the room, trying to place him and the others on the vague blueprints he had located.
"Not sure if I can reach that far...but I'll give it a shot."
Atticus reaches out to the helicopter and uses his single command version of mind control.
Film the sky.
Theodore takes a look around the room, trying to place him and the others on the vague blueprints he had located.
If you were looking at a map with the front of the building (where elevators and stairs are located) being at the top, the dining room would be in the lower left of that map.
Guardian moves as quietly as he can across the room towards the right-hand wall, then slides along the wall towards the door. Reaching out to touch the wall near the door, he crouches down and opens up another tiny pin-hole low in the wall to scan the room beyond. He hopes it will remain unnoticed as most people tend to look around at eye-level not at knee-level.
Guardian sees a room roughly 25x20, which appears to be a study of some sort. There are two more rooms opposite the door near him. At first it appears no one is in the room, but then he sees them hulking shape of the marbel man from the video, patroling the study. He's there only briefly before he moves into the lower (map-south) of the two doors into the room beyond it (ie further from the dining room).
He waits with bated breath for Guardian to reveal what he's seen.
As he stands up, Guardian whispers "It looks like the marble man is patrolling the area to keep watch. Stopwatch, do you think you could freeze him the next time he comes by?" He points down at the hole and steps back to make room.
"I'll certainly try." He states, a little nervous. Moving up to the prephole as silently as he can, something absurdly hard for him of course, he then lifts his wrist up and presses a useless button on a hidden watch.
As the marble man walks past, he pauses for a second as he's hit by Stopwatch's attack. He then continues on...at half his normal pace.
"What's the plan here guys? I can try to mind whammy him, but if it doesn't work then there a good chance he's going to make some noise before we take him out."
He's currently slowed. You can let Stopwatch try again on his next pass. If he fails, he'll be completely paralyzed.
That said, while he does not seem to have noticed the effect, it's not certain others will fail to perceive it if they see him. He's heading toward the exit of the room you're watching, to continue his rounds. Anyone who has not yet acted against him may try.
"Stopwatch, give it another shot. It doesn't look like he's noticed yet."
The golem-like marble man freezes in his tracks from Stop-watches' second attempt to paralyze.
Theodore notes that not only is he frozen in place, he's hovering about half an inch off the ground from being in the middle of his heavy footfalls. The entire thing is likely unsettling for anyone familiar with the laws of physics. He breathes a sigh of relief, "That should hold, but we need to move him before someone sees. Guardian, can you make us a way in?" He says, in the assumption there's no door.
Guardian sneaks over to the door and gestures towards the marble man. He lifts a few inches further off the ground and floats through the doorway, which Guardian quickly closes behind him.
"How long will this last?" he whispers to Stopwatch as he heads back to his peephole to scan the next room in case anyone comes to look for their prisoner.
"A couple minutes, maybe. We need to knock him out before he readjusts to the temporal stream."
"How do we affect something that's out of sync from time? Can Guardian just build a wall around him or something? Actually, can Rift just send him outside into police custody?"
"I can do this," Guardian says as he touches the ground, causing the floor to flow around the man so that he sinks down up to his nose, leaving only the top of his head exposed. The area around him then slowly transforms into steel over the course of a minute leaving the kidnapper immobilized. "But I don't know how strong he is. He might eventually break free."
He takes a moment to scan the man, trying to discover if he only has a shell of marble around him or if he is entirely made of the substance.
He nods approvingly, "Can you muffle him somehow too? Wouldn't do good to go through all this effort and for him to start yelling for backup..."
"Move on or wait to see if this holds? I'd rather not leave an ambush behind me..."
Yes. He is trapped, for the moment.
"Move on or wait to see if this holds? I'd rather not leave an ambush behind me..."
For the moment, he seems to be held. You have no idea how strong the marble man is; he might break out in a few seconds, or never.
"We'll have to trust it for now, we can't spend too much time waiting. Sooner or later, someone will probably come looking for him..." He takes an anxious peek into the next room, whispering to the others. "Is everyone ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be..."
Atticus, while a master of the mental landscape, is still very vulnerable to bullets. Still a thought occurs to him.
Guardian, he's still going to be able to breathe right?"
"Ready when you are." Rift replies in a whisper. "Let's hope we can get to those prisoners quickly enough!"