Post by The B-Witch on Jun 23, 2010 23:12:23 GMT -5
*The Schemer's latest plan seemed be working to perfection. And why not. He did not over think this one for once. It was simply. With New York in a overun by dinosaurs...and giant insects...the super heroes of Manhattan...and the national guard were too busy to worry about looters. Thus...Manhattan was wide open to be plundered.
Clique agents were scattered about the metropolis lining their pockets.....and the Schemer was on wall street with dozens of LMD drones prepared to move whatever haul he chose. And the Schemer's choice of haul was one that would bring for a great deal of income into his personal fortune.
The Manhattan federal credit bank. The govenments personal storage facility for all New York's federal holdings. The vault itself would be filled to excess with the locals taxes just collected....but that was chicken feed. It was the computer system the Schemer was interested in gaining access too. If he could get through the various govenment protection codes....the wealth of the entire city would be at his disposal. He could simply route the money into his various personal accounts.*
Perfect....absolutely perfect!!! All this lovely money....with my grasp. *Telepathically he called out.*
Hard core....Threshold. How soon can you be here. I would like the woman I love...and my closest friend here to share this triumph....and the rewards that will follow.
--
It is soho that Skylark had chosen to loot. The greatest fashion designers in the world make some of the best dresses here. There are diamond exchanges and art galleries. All sorts of great shops to her feed need for greed.
She has those human looking robots her father made with her. Ten of them each pushing a stolen shopping cart. Already most of them are full up with stolen goods. She orders them to follow her into a dress shop near fifth avenue. Inside spies hundreds of dresses starts pointing out which ones she does and does not want to the robots.
"Yes. No. No. No.No No. No. No. Yes! No No. Yes! No No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Yes! No. No. Yes! No. No. No. No. No. No. No. yes! No. No. No. No No. No. No. No. Yes!"
She tries on the one she likes best. A beauitful black creation with a a deep crew neckline.
"How chic I look! How elegant!" She is so inspired she breaks into song. "Dresses and gems that glitter like ice! This is skylark paradise!"
Yes there is more verses.
"Mistress of the sky! Dresses really fine, it's Skylark!"
--
That depends on where you are darling... She furrows her brow slightly, somewhat relieved she'd moved the selenium chip to her waist so she could think a bit more clearly.
She doesn't quite take to the air as she sends back the radio signal to the WBN'ers that the coast was clear...almost and that they could return to work, home and loved ones, though warning them that Manhattan was still a bit dangerous. She didn't want to take to the air, but thankfully there were enough abandoned cars that she wouldn't need to.
She eases into a rather plush seat and starts the car's engine, feeling a bit of a pull from where her darling was, though she considered stopping by the Philmont building to see if there was anyone that had been caught inside it.
--
The coast was clear. The firebomb had done extensive damage to the lower floor of the Philmont building, but the giant insects were eliminated. All staff and guests had been evacuated long ago. The Clique members, what was left of them, were in the field having a field day with Manhattan as their personal play ground. The biggest kid in the sandbox….Schemer.
The doors hissed open, their lock disengaging and opening to the elevator which had delivered him into the panic room. Which had cut him off from assisting his fellows against their leaders madness. Schemer had gone too far. He’d turned on allies before. On Llyron, the New Gods, Black Tarantula….but to turn on his own people. To attempt to kill them as they escaped the fall out of yet another one of his failed schemes… Winston was his dearest friend, his leader, and in many ways his brother, but Eric had to draw the line somewhere. It was time for an intervention.
The elevator doors slid open once more, depositing him back into the Clique command center secreted away within the Philmont Industries skyscraper. The computer screens flickered, registering the remaining Clique members, the police and heroes in the area, and the newly acquired Sentinels.
Eric took a breath, fingers reaching out but hesitating at the controls. What he was about to do….couldn’t be undone. Couldn’t be turned back. If he was going to take this step, he had to be sure he could live with the consequences.
He looked at the screen. The chaos, panic. Unnecessary damage and loss of life caused by Schemer’s schemes. There were more efficient ways to achieve the Clique’s goals. More practical ends to put their means toward. He could no longer afford to let Schemer run amok with the power he’d accumulated. The news cameras cut to footage of the escape pod his fellow Clique members had climbed into, not knowing that their leader had intended them to never leave it. Lips set into a grim line, Threshold activated the secret protocol hidden into the Clique mainframe.
“Activate Brutus Protocol. Authorization: Coburn 37”
The computer flashed a red warning, and Threshold confirmed the decision. Within moments thousands of Trojans, worms, and other malware he’d managed to secret away into the coding of the Clique’s mainframe began funneling the criminal organization’s funds into new accounts. Accounts only he had control over. Command of the LMD was turned over to his sole control, along with the Sentinels in the Clique’s service. Access codes to the weaponry and defenses of the Clique rewritten for him and him alone.
A com channel opens on all Clique frequencies, old and current. Threshold takes a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking. So often he’s heard Winston give his speeches, never understanding the appeal. He was a man of action, not words…but the moment demanded he say something.
“Attention all members of the Clique. This is Threshold. In light of recent events it has become abundantly clear that our leader, The Schemer has no regard for our lives. He has shown his true colors that he would betray and murder anyone, even the Clique to achieve his increasingly erratic and impractical goals. When a military commander is deemed unfit for duty it is his second in command’s responsibility to replace him. Therefore I am assuming command of the Clique and all assets. As we speak all Clique funds are being channeled into accounts that can only be accessed by myself. All Clique weaponry and resources recoded to accept only my authorization…and yes Schemer….that does mean your cane as well. I’m sorry old friend. You went to far this time.
Any remaining Clique members are ordered to restrain The Schemer and return him here so that we may decide what to do. I have no wish to see him turned over to the Kangaroo Courts of this country, but he is to unhinged to remain at large.
It’s time for the Clique to take a new direction. One where our lives, talents, and resources are not wasted on the whims of a madman.
Threshold out.”
Eric clicked the button to disable the Com, then reached up and slipped his Selenium tag on the collar of his coat. There would likely be some who didn’t approve….Hardcore for one. He had to prepare for a fight if necessary…
--
Piri knew something was up, it did not take a genius to figure this out. Well, truth be told, it did take one with a very acute brain to figure out just what they Schemer might be up too. With a little bit of research and cross referencing the current locations of the dinosaurs, super insects and the national guard, Piri could easily see that they were all far from the Manhattan Federal Credit Bank.
It was time to go into action and protect the wealth of the country from the Schemer. Having her priorities in order, Piri reached into her over sized backpack and pulled a colander from inside. Flipping it over she made sure that the shoe laces were tied on either end and the polarized foil was safely glued to the inside of the metal kitchen tool.
Placing it on her head like a helmet, she tied the two ends of the string under her chin. Adjust it slightly, she nodded. Carefully calculations and a 5th grade science kit have given her the perfect means to repel the Schemer’s telepathic powers. Sure it wasn’t pretty, but she was on a tight budget and had to make do with what she found. Piri just was a little green MacGyver if she said so herself.
Satisfied that the Schemer would not be able to read her thoughts through the special colander helmet, Piri began to peck away on her keyboard. She sat in a building adjacent to the Bank, and had her computer wired directly into the phone lines. When the Schemer began to try and break the computer codes she would begin to rewrite them. Until then, she would wait… with her helmet and humming the MacGyver theme song quietly to herself.
--
*The Schemer strode purposefully over to the bank vault....and looked it over for roughly 8.2981 seconds. A simply simple six number combination lock with an electrical based timer. Childs play. He could phone in instructions to a moron and get them to open it for him it would be so easy....a piece of cake...as it were.
First a burst of his magno-locking beam from his omniblaster disrupted the timing deivce...and then...nimbly fingers and a good ear would handle the rest. In less than a minute...58.3497 seconds to be exact....the Schemer had the vault open.
Inside....the collected taxes of manhattan were held in a locked safe made of solid ominium. He had not expected that....but it was nothing his megaton beam could not handle. He flipped over to that setting and stepped back 9 feet 1.3474 inches before he opened fire. The vault was destroyed....but the ominium casing absorbed enough impact to to prevent the money within from being damaged. It lay on the floor...ready to be gathered up. For this he was ready....Vacuum like suction robots entered and began hauling in the money. Like Skylark...the Schemer was thrilled at his success...and began singing to himself.*
Yay brother sweep it clear...there's mucha moo-lah everywhere. Yay brother sweep it clear....there's money money....everywhere!! *He broke into manical laughter and strolled over to the main computer terminals of the credit bank. But he found firewalls being placed up to prevent him channeling the money into his accounts.*
What the devil?? Fools....none can over match my mastery of computers. *he was going to pit his skills with computers against this unknown hacker....when Threshold's announcement was made.*
What??? What on earth??? Eric??? Have you lost you lost your mind!!! There's billions here for the taking!!! *His omniblaster went dead....and so did the robots with him.*
Hard Core....Lark....all clique agents. Disregard Threshold's commands!!! Get the Philmont Industries and stop him!!! At once!! His rash actions could cost us a chance to loot the city!!
*Eric had shut down his robots...and omniblaster....but not the Schemer's mental powers, genius...and the Fedora arrays which he kept on a seperate line of coding which only he knew. He made certain never to trust anyone completely.*
--
Skylark has slipped out of the dress she has been trying on and went back into costume. She hands the dress to one of of the robots with her but it stops in its tracks as it reaches to accept the dress from Skylark.
"What happened? Did your spring wind down? Come on, take the dress. There's like ten more shop to hit this block."
There is no reply so she uses her comlink her father gave her to make contact with him.
"Daaaaaaaaaddeeeeeeeeeee! The robots are not working? Make them work please. I have lots of things to bring home. Too many things for me to carry. Pretty bird out."
She hears Threshold and blinks.
"Hi. what's going on? Capture my father? He is the bad guy now?" She shrugs. It so strange. One minute she is working for the Schemer. Then Llyron seems to be in charge. Then Spectrum. the Hard Core. Now Threshold. it is getting so you need a scorecard to decide who is the bad guy lately.
"Come again? You want me to arrest my father?" Then the Schemer tells her to capture Threshold.
"Make up your mind out there! Who do I arrest?" She shrugs again. "God! Why do the X-men get all the awesome mutants and we get all the 'tards?"
--
Good lord, Eric...
She looks at the building, then eases out of the car. She moves the selenium back from her belt to clip it behind her ear and starts to hobble into the building. It was a bit eerie to see the LMD's deactvated, even if temporarily while Eric's plan went into action. She would have protested Winston's attempted destruction of the rest of the Clique...if she'd know about it. She had been detailed by her "real job" for that fiasco. She made her way to the elevator and tapped in her code to allow her access to the Clique base locked within, provided her codes hadn't been over-ridden during the one man siege.
One relief, however was that she had her funds set as to not be linked to the primary Clique accounts, by separate ones...such as the charity fund for Good Works, and WBN's budgeting...as well as a rather nice expense account under her mother's name. She pushes a few more buttons and waits, glancing at the floor level while casually rubbing her stomach as it seemed at least one of the duo growing within her didn't like the sharp vertical climb.
--
Eric nodded, seeing on the scanners that Hardcore was approaching. He’d expected that. The confusion from Skylark as well. The girl had no business being in the super villain game and if Winston cared for his daughter one iota he would have seen that years ago and helped her fund the vapid life she wanted.
Nimble fingers stroked the holographic keypad of the computer, activating the LMDs with new directives. To capture the Schimer, subdue him and bring him to the Clique Headquarters. In addition to the Schemer’s tinman army, Eric sent several of the fresh Sentinels, the giant robots rocketing off from the Clique’s master mold on an intercept course for the bank.
Alerts flashed as the elevator approached. He’d left the access codes for the elevator active for select members of the Clique. Hardcore was one of them. It was practical. He couldn’t keep her out…if the elevator was inaccessible then she could just plow her way through the walls given enough time. This way at least maybe he could talk to her.
Still…no sense taking unnecessary risks. Eric turned to the door way, hands clasped behind his back. His guns would do him no good if Hardcore meant to fight him. He was in no way her physical equal. Still, he did have one advantage. He reached out with his power, extending it through the empty building to sense the complex bioelectrical impulses that made up the woman’s nervous system. Weaving himself into her synapses, insinuating into her neurons. If she attacked, he would be ready to disable her with but a thought.
As he prepared to greet his guest, the machine army arrived at the bank. Armed and activated LMDs stormed the bank, aiming straight for the Schemer, while Sentinels set up a security perimeter around the building to keep out any other foolish enough to remain loyal to the Schemer.
--
*The Schemer was mad. Of that there was no doubt. But he was not a fool. He knew Eric would reprogram the LMDs...and other robotic agents of the clique to capture him. So he took quick precautions to prevent this. Thankfully....what he needed was just down the street. An electronics store. There with his vast genius he could take his omiblasters he had on his person offline and power them manually.
He rushed from the credit building....leaving all those millions laying around on the floor of the vault...and rushed down the street. On route...a sentinel he had stationed down the block turned and gazed down at him....following Theshold's commands.*
Mutant Schemer detected. Targeting.....target acquired!! *It was preparing to fire off a power nullifying catchweb to capture the Schemer....but the fedora wearing genius reacted faster. He tossed his fedora at the head of the sentinel as it leaned forward towards him....and the explosive charge within the hat went off on contact....blowing up the robots head...in the process...destroying its command relays.*
Alright Eric!!! You want to play games, eh??? That suits me fine!! *He slipped into the electronic store....glancing about for the items he would need to give him back control of his omniblaster. While searching.....he reached into an oversized pocket of his trenchcoat and pulled forth another fedora. He kept several folded up inside his coat for emergencies like this.*
Lark!!! Shut up and go capture threshold!! He's gone Rogue!! *He telepathically reached out to Hard Core. Calling to her through the selenium was taxing....but necessary.*
Beware....Eric will try to stop you with his pain inducing powers my beloved!!!
--
Skylark frowns as she is called into action. She has nearly five million dollars in stolen goods in those shopping carts but her father and Threshold want her to leave it while thay play king of the mountain with clique leadership.
"Men!"
The robots start walked away from the shopping carts and heading south towards where her father must be.
"Thanx for nothing tinkertoys! Leave me to carry this stuff home!"
She decides she is going to comfront her father. Threshold is more normal and he had never tried to kill her like her father did the other day.
"Luv you Daaaadeeee! But U tried to kill me the other day so screw you. Skylark reporting for duty, Threshold! I will find the Schemer and bring him in for you!
Ultrasonically produced non-functional pink wings appear on her back with the properly struck sonic note. Another unltrasonic note allows her to glide through the air like Banshee of the X-men use to do. Finding her father will not be hard. She knows the sound pattern of his heartbeat. With the city also devoid of humans he will be easy to spot.
In the air she gives what she hopes will one day be her well known battle cry.
"Soaring through way up high! Mistress of the Sky! It's Skylark! Lovely brunette hair! Sexy beyond compare! its Skylark!
--
She chuckles softly, as if she needed to be reminded of Eric's powers...hell, she's relied on his powers often enough to know them. She glances at the signal light and the doors open. It had been a while since she'd seen Eric, and he her, so he probably hadn't seen her progression. She had gone from wearing skimpy combat clothes to considerably more comfortable ones since April and she began showing.
"Eric...what are you doing? This is only going to make him madder. I had hoped he'd turned over a new leaf this time. For some odd reason, the rationality I had seen in him vanished again...it's like his mind split a while back and he became a good man...and he's reverted back. I don't know what to do with him to be honest."
She doesn't make any aggressive motions, but simply comes farther in and takes a seat, slowly.
"If he dies, he'll just jump to some other body...or back with some clone somewhere, and then he'd come after you, just like he's expecting me to."
She sighs softly. "I'm even considering leaving the Clique because of his madness...for my children's safety if not my own. I know it isn't as if he hasn't already devised ways to make sure I can't hurt him. You may be one of few people that actually can."
--
Eric watched as Adrianna stepped in, his eyes slipping momentarily toward the bulge in her belly, feeling the growing life there. He felt them, the flutter of their heartbeat, their nervous motions as the adrenaline from their mother.
“Lovely to see you again Adrianna.” he said, nodding as she took a seat. With a casual motion he slid a nearby chair toward her. Something to prop her feet up on.
“That is my point Adrianna. He will never turn over a new leaf. He will never grow. Winston is stagnant because he believes himself to be all powerful. The only thing that will continue to thrive is his madness until one day he destroys us all.”
Eric sighs, the weariness and sadness showing on his face for a moment. The Schemer he’d seen recently was so different from the man who’d taken a confused and bitter teacher under his wing. So different from the man who’d had a dream of all mutants being free of fear and tyranny. Compared to that man, the Schemer of today was a petty thug working over corner store owners for ‘protection’ money.
“To Winston we are no longer people. We are tools. Of value only so long as we have usefulness to him. Once we cease to be so, he will cast us aside. You and I have been more sheltered from this than the others, but rest assured….the time will come when he decides we too need to be eliminated.”
Eric glanced at the screen, confident that he’d be able to feel any change in the nerve impulses within her body if she were preparing to attack. In truth, his heart went out to her. What it must have been like to fall in love with, and bear children to a man you watched slowly go insane.
Things were progressing well. The LMD army was surrounding Schemer, who’d sought shelter in an electronic store. Some last stand no doubt, putting his considerable genius to work in manufacturing a weapon. It would do little good. The numbers were to far against him. In the end, Schemer had grown to accustomed to having pawns to take the damage for him….now the King was alone.
“I have no interest in killing him. I’d cure him if I thought it truly possible. However I will no longer allow my life, or the lives of those I care about to dangle on his whim. We will capture him, and imprison him until such a time as we can find a better solution.” He gave Adrianna a cool, steady look. They’d been through much together, almost as much as he and Winston had. He hoped it would be enough to support the bridge between them.
Nodding as he received his the communication from Lark, Eric reactivated his Com
“Good. Be careful, Lark. He’s already proven once that your life is of no value to him…he will kill you if you give him the opportunity. Let the machines go in first to draw his fire.”
--
*The Schemer worked feverishly. He searched the the store for tools and other items needed take his Omniblaster offline. It took him only moments to open the outer casing...and switch of the main computer link. Of course now....he had no power. But that was easily taken care of by locating a nearby generator. The one on the show room floor...filled with gas for demonstrations would do.
He found some electrical wires....and began to connect the omniblasters power core to the generator. He then need 9 volt batteries....many of them. He could not carry a generator around....so it would only serve to drive off the robots that were surrounding the place. After that....he would need to batteries to power the omniblaster when he was on the move. And on the move he would be. For he needed to reach clique Philmont towers...for it was there Threshold would be. And oh how he would pay for betraying the Schemer.
He could sense lark coming.....but was more worried about the robots. Connecting the wires to the generator was taking longer than he wanted. LMDs were breaking into the front enterence of the store. He flipped his Fedora into their midst. With the hat was a bipolar amplifier....which was capable of increasing gravity 1000 fold around any object within ten feet of the hat.
The robots entered the field like mindless sheep and were pinned down. this gave the Schemer time to continue his work on the omniblaster. Once he ahd that operational......he felt he would be unstoppable.*
--
Skylark soars through the air and comes to a landing out back of the electronic store where her father is hold up. A quick sonic scream shatters the lock and allows her to enter.
Inside she knows her father is expecting her. But she is not afraid. Threshold is in charge. He will reward her for helping him so she can count on a nice amount of money every week. And best of all she will not have to hear the schemer's ecomonic lectures anymore. The value of a dollar, a penny saved is a penny earned. Boooooooooooooooorrrrrrrring!
"Hello Daaaaaaaaadeeeeeeeeee!" She says confronting him. She sees the robots pinned to the ground and shurgs. "You beat the tinmen but now you face me! Skylark!
She smiles self-confident. "I know you must afraid now. I bet you are ready sh*t your little green pants facing me! Ready to give up?
--
"That's the problem...I don't think there'd be any rehabilitation. We could capture him, though he's managed to be able to penetrate selenium chips with considerable focus. It's how he talks to me most of the time, I wear one constantly. Even then, there'd be no real controlling him unless you essentially deactivate his abilities. I've only seen two or three things that make him completely lose them...and one of them is my friend...whom helped lower my own tolerances long enough to...well." She glances down and rubs her stomach gently again, feeling more stirring.
"I've considered going to just hide out in one of the schools in Europe...or Africa until I give birth. But if he can't be captured, he'll just come for revenge. Hell, the only reason he hasn't done anything to us is that he can't find a way to defeat the both of us. The rest he felt aren't as important as he's got his sentinels."
"I was all in favor of the whole suppression of mutant haters...but all he's done lately is stir them up more. I've got over five thousand kids in other countries learning to be at peace with humans."
--
“I appreciate your concern Adrianna. It is only a matter of time before he would have turned on us as well. I’ve decided that I will no longer sit idly by waiting for him to decide my usefulness has come to an end. I will take action against it.
I’ve known something like this was coming for some time…..though I didn’t want to admit it to myself. I’ve set up precautions, means to protect us from him and to imprison him until such a time as we can decide on a more permanent solution….
I also know of someone who may be able to….disable him. I’m loath to go that far, but if it means that he can live and we will no longer be at risk from him….”
Eric surveyed the computer, taking note of the downed LMDs. He’d know that many of them would be disabled or destroyed, thanks to Schemer’s blasted fedoras. Keying in a few commands he instructed the LMDs to attack, using their weaponry to destroy Schemer’s tools…his fedoras and his omiblaster which he was no doubt working to reactivate at this moment. Outside one of the Sentinels got down on it’s hands and knees, hand reaching out and ripping the security grate from the plate glass windows. Bullet proof glass shatters under the blow of the giant fist, then it extends it’s hand, palm out to fire a power nulification net.
--
One of the sentinels surrounding schemer suddenly looses connection to the rest, it's eyes glowing blue, brighter and brighter, it's head beginning to expand as it shattered and fell to the ground from the shoulders of the juggernaut machine. Holding onto the cabling of the machine was Prodigy, his energy flowing through the monster as it stepped forward swinging it's arms out, smashing onto the heads of the sentinel to his right and left, Prodigy crying out as his body rippled with light, his clothes desentigrating, then looking down at his father and to the other robots...moving towards them and attacking, the arms moving sluggishly as his body seemed to burn from the energy flowing over it, his glowing skin bubbling with blisters as he cried out in agony.
The sentinel stomped forwards crushing the foot of a sentinel, then it held it's arms out, one fist rocketing off with a blue glow to a sentinel to the left then one to the right, it leaning forwards as it's foot engines rocketed, it flying into a crowd of sentinels, Junior falling from the robot landing on the ground with a thud, his eyes looking up as he gasped for air, trying to breath, having trouble as he held his side pulling himself to his feet, seeing his father surrounded by a crowd of sentinels, he unable to contend with the growing crowd. All he could think in his mind was that he had grown up without the presence of his father, and even though his father may have lost his mind a little, Junior didn't wanna lose his father's life, he'd lost 18 years of having a father, he wasn't about to lose the chance for the rest of it.
He trudged forwards, running towards his father crying out as he surged under the foot of a sentinel, his power pushing it's knee to a buckle, it falling backwards towards the ground, the ripple of energy shredding skin off of his chest and back, blood trickling down his legs, then running to another one, placing both of his hands on the leg of the sentinel, the metal decaying as the beast tipped to the side, it's leg shattering as it fell to the ground, Junior coughing up blood as he reached out for his father looking at him from a distance as he curled to the ground, there were just too many sentinels to battle them...and then his father went into the store.
He never had a grudge with Threshold, but he couldn't understand why he was doing what he was doing to his father, he wanted more than anything to see his father turn a new leaf, but at least he did all he could to try and save his father, perhaps sometimes the fight is more important than the outcome.
Then he woke up, in a thrust he blinked and gasped for air, Lotus speaking. "Winston, what's wrong?" He looking at the window of the car and blinking. "Drive to the Philmont building, NOW!" The car roaring and rocketing off down the road. As he clocked one hundered and twenty five miles per hour the car nearly slid off the road as it made it's way down the path towards the Philmont Building, the front window opening and Winston looking up seeing sentinels as his hair began to wave in the breeze, he pushing a button as he rocketed out of the car, his clothes vaporizing as his body ignited into what looked like blue flames, as he ripped through the chest of the robot, wires and shards of metal falling to the ground with the rest of the body, it falling to scrap metal on the ground, then another one, Winston sweeping down and flying towards the Philmont Building, his eyes burning brighter and brighter as he seemed to whistle through the sky towards the Philmont Building.
He flew up to the entrance, two sentinels meeting him, he flexing his fists as their chests swelled up, exploding, he gritting his teeth as he felt himself overloading himself, walking across the property to two more, one shooting at him, hitting, he flying back and into the fence of the Philmont Building, using his telekenesis to lift the fence and fly up, wrapping around the arm of the robot, the fence falling, he ripping the arm off with his powers and swinging it around to hit the other sentinel, it falling down, Winston standing up realizing his skin was torn on his back, blood trickling down the backs of his legs.
He knew what was going on, he'd been sent a message by his father, he moving into the Philmont Building and down the hallway, his powers now failing as his bare feet stepped one at a time, red outlines of his foot prints being left as he reached out, his eyes flashing as the door dissolved like mist, Prodigy looking at Threshold his face twitching, blood covering most of him as he fell to his knees, then collapsed to the floor behind Threshold, blood covering his back side as well, a hunk of the metal fence hanging out his back as his breathing could be heard in a weeze, he coughing up blood. ..."...stop..."...
--
*the Schemer had completed his work on the generator....and used the freshly powered Omniblaster to set up a magnolocking field over the generator and himself. It would by him time to find a way out of this. Behind him....his idiot adopted daugther entered the electronics store...and confronted him. A simply telepathic thought burst would dispatch her. She would fall unconscious....sparing all within ear shot further insipid melodrama on her part. Clearly...she was the dutch elm disease of the family tree.
With Lark down....he filled his pockets with 9 volt batteries...and prepared to make his escape. Just then....a fedora wearing sentinel ripped the roof off the electronics store.*
Mutant detected. *It said in a cold machine voice.* LMDs came pouring into the store.....and the Schemer realized it was time to flee.
He switched a laser burst but before he could fire....LMDs unleashed their weapons.....blowing up th generator. The Schemer was sent flying from the blast...straight through the back door Lark had opened.
He landed in a pile of trash in the back alley....unharmed...and on instinct realized his best bet was underground...the sewer system. So he fled down the alley....heading for the nearest subway enterence....om route...he caught the mental whiff of his son confronting Threshold.*
You see, Eric!!! See how loyal my son is to me!! I'm coming my boy!!! I'll rescue you!!! Winston my beloved son!! I love you boy!! I'm coming!! I'll save you from that traitor!!!
--
She furrows her brow when Thomas comes in.
"Thomas...Do not harm Eric." She had it...the mom voice. She eases from her chair and simply kneels down next to her step-son and pets him gently. "You and I have already spoken about your father's issues. We only wish to help him...but he has to admit he needs help. You can help us with that. We have to find him and hold keep him secure until we can find a way to help him."
She looks back to Eric, then to Thomas again. "We've been with him a long time. We've seen his mental degradation. He's gone from trying to help mutants to trying to kill anyone who opposes him. You know that isn't how to fix things."
--
Threshold turned to the door, the sensors in the building alerting him, but just barely. The door to the Clique computer center vaporized in a blaze of blue light as Prodigy, Schemer’s son made his way into the room. For a split second the very fabric of the room’s reality seemed to hang in the balance as the boy tried to push himself even further beyond his limits before collapsing. The computer screen blared alerts as over a dozen of the Sentinels registered irreparable damage wrecked on them by Prodigy in his destructive journey to the building.
Threshold felt the boy’s pain, the screaming of his nerves as his power flickered out and his blood soaked body sank to the floor like Atlas crumpling under the weight of the world. Shocked pain receptors screamed from too many injuries to count, though the one in his back was certainly the most grievous. Threshold reached out with his power, soothing the boy’s wounds, easing the pain of the damage he’d wrought to his body. He keyed in some simple commands to the robots. Those small enough would pursue Schemer into the sewer system, with the larger Sentinels using their thermal and genetic tracking systems to keep tabs on him as he fled. He dispatched a set of Sentinels to destroy the sewer lines ahead of Schemer, trapping him in the tunnels with the army of LMD behind him. That done he turned and approached Prodigy, examining his wounds carefully.
“Hardcore….the first aid and emergency med kit if you please. We have to stop this bleeding.”
--
Clique agents were scattered about the metropolis lining their pockets.....and the Schemer was on wall street with dozens of LMD drones prepared to move whatever haul he chose. And the Schemer's choice of haul was one that would bring for a great deal of income into his personal fortune.
The Manhattan federal credit bank. The govenments personal storage facility for all New York's federal holdings. The vault itself would be filled to excess with the locals taxes just collected....but that was chicken feed. It was the computer system the Schemer was interested in gaining access too. If he could get through the various govenment protection codes....the wealth of the entire city would be at his disposal. He could simply route the money into his various personal accounts.*
Perfect....absolutely perfect!!! All this lovely money....with my grasp. *Telepathically he called out.*
Hard core....Threshold. How soon can you be here. I would like the woman I love...and my closest friend here to share this triumph....and the rewards that will follow.
--
It is soho that Skylark had chosen to loot. The greatest fashion designers in the world make some of the best dresses here. There are diamond exchanges and art galleries. All sorts of great shops to her feed need for greed.
She has those human looking robots her father made with her. Ten of them each pushing a stolen shopping cart. Already most of them are full up with stolen goods. She orders them to follow her into a dress shop near fifth avenue. Inside spies hundreds of dresses starts pointing out which ones she does and does not want to the robots.
"Yes. No. No. No.No No. No. No. Yes! No No. Yes! No No. No. No. No. No. No. No. Yes! No. No. Yes! No. No. No. No. No. No. No. yes! No. No. No. No No. No. No. No. Yes!"
She tries on the one she likes best. A beauitful black creation with a a deep crew neckline.
"How chic I look! How elegant!" She is so inspired she breaks into song. "Dresses and gems that glitter like ice! This is skylark paradise!"
Yes there is more verses.
"Mistress of the sky! Dresses really fine, it's Skylark!"
--
That depends on where you are darling... She furrows her brow slightly, somewhat relieved she'd moved the selenium chip to her waist so she could think a bit more clearly.
She doesn't quite take to the air as she sends back the radio signal to the WBN'ers that the coast was clear...almost and that they could return to work, home and loved ones, though warning them that Manhattan was still a bit dangerous. She didn't want to take to the air, but thankfully there were enough abandoned cars that she wouldn't need to.
She eases into a rather plush seat and starts the car's engine, feeling a bit of a pull from where her darling was, though she considered stopping by the Philmont building to see if there was anyone that had been caught inside it.
--
The coast was clear. The firebomb had done extensive damage to the lower floor of the Philmont building, but the giant insects were eliminated. All staff and guests had been evacuated long ago. The Clique members, what was left of them, were in the field having a field day with Manhattan as their personal play ground. The biggest kid in the sandbox….Schemer.
The doors hissed open, their lock disengaging and opening to the elevator which had delivered him into the panic room. Which had cut him off from assisting his fellows against their leaders madness. Schemer had gone too far. He’d turned on allies before. On Llyron, the New Gods, Black Tarantula….but to turn on his own people. To attempt to kill them as they escaped the fall out of yet another one of his failed schemes… Winston was his dearest friend, his leader, and in many ways his brother, but Eric had to draw the line somewhere. It was time for an intervention.
The elevator doors slid open once more, depositing him back into the Clique command center secreted away within the Philmont Industries skyscraper. The computer screens flickered, registering the remaining Clique members, the police and heroes in the area, and the newly acquired Sentinels.
Eric took a breath, fingers reaching out but hesitating at the controls. What he was about to do….couldn’t be undone. Couldn’t be turned back. If he was going to take this step, he had to be sure he could live with the consequences.
He looked at the screen. The chaos, panic. Unnecessary damage and loss of life caused by Schemer’s schemes. There were more efficient ways to achieve the Clique’s goals. More practical ends to put their means toward. He could no longer afford to let Schemer run amok with the power he’d accumulated. The news cameras cut to footage of the escape pod his fellow Clique members had climbed into, not knowing that their leader had intended them to never leave it. Lips set into a grim line, Threshold activated the secret protocol hidden into the Clique mainframe.
“Activate Brutus Protocol. Authorization: Coburn 37”
The computer flashed a red warning, and Threshold confirmed the decision. Within moments thousands of Trojans, worms, and other malware he’d managed to secret away into the coding of the Clique’s mainframe began funneling the criminal organization’s funds into new accounts. Accounts only he had control over. Command of the LMD was turned over to his sole control, along with the Sentinels in the Clique’s service. Access codes to the weaponry and defenses of the Clique rewritten for him and him alone.
A com channel opens on all Clique frequencies, old and current. Threshold takes a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking. So often he’s heard Winston give his speeches, never understanding the appeal. He was a man of action, not words…but the moment demanded he say something.
“Attention all members of the Clique. This is Threshold. In light of recent events it has become abundantly clear that our leader, The Schemer has no regard for our lives. He has shown his true colors that he would betray and murder anyone, even the Clique to achieve his increasingly erratic and impractical goals. When a military commander is deemed unfit for duty it is his second in command’s responsibility to replace him. Therefore I am assuming command of the Clique and all assets. As we speak all Clique funds are being channeled into accounts that can only be accessed by myself. All Clique weaponry and resources recoded to accept only my authorization…and yes Schemer….that does mean your cane as well. I’m sorry old friend. You went to far this time.
Any remaining Clique members are ordered to restrain The Schemer and return him here so that we may decide what to do. I have no wish to see him turned over to the Kangaroo Courts of this country, but he is to unhinged to remain at large.
It’s time for the Clique to take a new direction. One where our lives, talents, and resources are not wasted on the whims of a madman.
Threshold out.”
Eric clicked the button to disable the Com, then reached up and slipped his Selenium tag on the collar of his coat. There would likely be some who didn’t approve….Hardcore for one. He had to prepare for a fight if necessary…
--
Piri knew something was up, it did not take a genius to figure this out. Well, truth be told, it did take one with a very acute brain to figure out just what they Schemer might be up too. With a little bit of research and cross referencing the current locations of the dinosaurs, super insects and the national guard, Piri could easily see that they were all far from the Manhattan Federal Credit Bank.
It was time to go into action and protect the wealth of the country from the Schemer. Having her priorities in order, Piri reached into her over sized backpack and pulled a colander from inside. Flipping it over she made sure that the shoe laces were tied on either end and the polarized foil was safely glued to the inside of the metal kitchen tool.
Placing it on her head like a helmet, she tied the two ends of the string under her chin. Adjust it slightly, she nodded. Carefully calculations and a 5th grade science kit have given her the perfect means to repel the Schemer’s telepathic powers. Sure it wasn’t pretty, but she was on a tight budget and had to make do with what she found. Piri just was a little green MacGyver if she said so herself.
Satisfied that the Schemer would not be able to read her thoughts through the special colander helmet, Piri began to peck away on her keyboard. She sat in a building adjacent to the Bank, and had her computer wired directly into the phone lines. When the Schemer began to try and break the computer codes she would begin to rewrite them. Until then, she would wait… with her helmet and humming the MacGyver theme song quietly to herself.
--
*The Schemer strode purposefully over to the bank vault....and looked it over for roughly 8.2981 seconds. A simply simple six number combination lock with an electrical based timer. Childs play. He could phone in instructions to a moron and get them to open it for him it would be so easy....a piece of cake...as it were.
First a burst of his magno-locking beam from his omniblaster disrupted the timing deivce...and then...nimbly fingers and a good ear would handle the rest. In less than a minute...58.3497 seconds to be exact....the Schemer had the vault open.
Inside....the collected taxes of manhattan were held in a locked safe made of solid ominium. He had not expected that....but it was nothing his megaton beam could not handle. He flipped over to that setting and stepped back 9 feet 1.3474 inches before he opened fire. The vault was destroyed....but the ominium casing absorbed enough impact to to prevent the money within from being damaged. It lay on the floor...ready to be gathered up. For this he was ready....Vacuum like suction robots entered and began hauling in the money. Like Skylark...the Schemer was thrilled at his success...and began singing to himself.*
Yay brother sweep it clear...there's mucha moo-lah everywhere. Yay brother sweep it clear....there's money money....everywhere!! *He broke into manical laughter and strolled over to the main computer terminals of the credit bank. But he found firewalls being placed up to prevent him channeling the money into his accounts.*
What the devil?? Fools....none can over match my mastery of computers. *he was going to pit his skills with computers against this unknown hacker....when Threshold's announcement was made.*
What??? What on earth??? Eric??? Have you lost you lost your mind!!! There's billions here for the taking!!! *His omniblaster went dead....and so did the robots with him.*
Hard Core....Lark....all clique agents. Disregard Threshold's commands!!! Get the Philmont Industries and stop him!!! At once!! His rash actions could cost us a chance to loot the city!!
*Eric had shut down his robots...and omniblaster....but not the Schemer's mental powers, genius...and the Fedora arrays which he kept on a seperate line of coding which only he knew. He made certain never to trust anyone completely.*
--
Skylark has slipped out of the dress she has been trying on and went back into costume. She hands the dress to one of of the robots with her but it stops in its tracks as it reaches to accept the dress from Skylark.
"What happened? Did your spring wind down? Come on, take the dress. There's like ten more shop to hit this block."
There is no reply so she uses her comlink her father gave her to make contact with him.
"Daaaaaaaaaddeeeeeeeeeee! The robots are not working? Make them work please. I have lots of things to bring home. Too many things for me to carry. Pretty bird out."
She hears Threshold and blinks.
"Hi. what's going on? Capture my father? He is the bad guy now?" She shrugs. It so strange. One minute she is working for the Schemer. Then Llyron seems to be in charge. Then Spectrum. the Hard Core. Now Threshold. it is getting so you need a scorecard to decide who is the bad guy lately.
"Come again? You want me to arrest my father?" Then the Schemer tells her to capture Threshold.
"Make up your mind out there! Who do I arrest?" She shrugs again. "God! Why do the X-men get all the awesome mutants and we get all the 'tards?"
--
Good lord, Eric...
She looks at the building, then eases out of the car. She moves the selenium back from her belt to clip it behind her ear and starts to hobble into the building. It was a bit eerie to see the LMD's deactvated, even if temporarily while Eric's plan went into action. She would have protested Winston's attempted destruction of the rest of the Clique...if she'd know about it. She had been detailed by her "real job" for that fiasco. She made her way to the elevator and tapped in her code to allow her access to the Clique base locked within, provided her codes hadn't been over-ridden during the one man siege.
One relief, however was that she had her funds set as to not be linked to the primary Clique accounts, by separate ones...such as the charity fund for Good Works, and WBN's budgeting...as well as a rather nice expense account under her mother's name. She pushes a few more buttons and waits, glancing at the floor level while casually rubbing her stomach as it seemed at least one of the duo growing within her didn't like the sharp vertical climb.
--
Eric nodded, seeing on the scanners that Hardcore was approaching. He’d expected that. The confusion from Skylark as well. The girl had no business being in the super villain game and if Winston cared for his daughter one iota he would have seen that years ago and helped her fund the vapid life she wanted.
Nimble fingers stroked the holographic keypad of the computer, activating the LMDs with new directives. To capture the Schimer, subdue him and bring him to the Clique Headquarters. In addition to the Schemer’s tinman army, Eric sent several of the fresh Sentinels, the giant robots rocketing off from the Clique’s master mold on an intercept course for the bank.
Alerts flashed as the elevator approached. He’d left the access codes for the elevator active for select members of the Clique. Hardcore was one of them. It was practical. He couldn’t keep her out…if the elevator was inaccessible then she could just plow her way through the walls given enough time. This way at least maybe he could talk to her.
Still…no sense taking unnecessary risks. Eric turned to the door way, hands clasped behind his back. His guns would do him no good if Hardcore meant to fight him. He was in no way her physical equal. Still, he did have one advantage. He reached out with his power, extending it through the empty building to sense the complex bioelectrical impulses that made up the woman’s nervous system. Weaving himself into her synapses, insinuating into her neurons. If she attacked, he would be ready to disable her with but a thought.
As he prepared to greet his guest, the machine army arrived at the bank. Armed and activated LMDs stormed the bank, aiming straight for the Schemer, while Sentinels set up a security perimeter around the building to keep out any other foolish enough to remain loyal to the Schemer.
--
*The Schemer was mad. Of that there was no doubt. But he was not a fool. He knew Eric would reprogram the LMDs...and other robotic agents of the clique to capture him. So he took quick precautions to prevent this. Thankfully....what he needed was just down the street. An electronics store. There with his vast genius he could take his omiblasters he had on his person offline and power them manually.
He rushed from the credit building....leaving all those millions laying around on the floor of the vault...and rushed down the street. On route...a sentinel he had stationed down the block turned and gazed down at him....following Theshold's commands.*
Mutant Schemer detected. Targeting.....target acquired!! *It was preparing to fire off a power nullifying catchweb to capture the Schemer....but the fedora wearing genius reacted faster. He tossed his fedora at the head of the sentinel as it leaned forward towards him....and the explosive charge within the hat went off on contact....blowing up the robots head...in the process...destroying its command relays.*
Alright Eric!!! You want to play games, eh??? That suits me fine!! *He slipped into the electronic store....glancing about for the items he would need to give him back control of his omniblaster. While searching.....he reached into an oversized pocket of his trenchcoat and pulled forth another fedora. He kept several folded up inside his coat for emergencies like this.*
Lark!!! Shut up and go capture threshold!! He's gone Rogue!! *He telepathically reached out to Hard Core. Calling to her through the selenium was taxing....but necessary.*
Beware....Eric will try to stop you with his pain inducing powers my beloved!!!
--
Skylark frowns as she is called into action. She has nearly five million dollars in stolen goods in those shopping carts but her father and Threshold want her to leave it while thay play king of the mountain with clique leadership.
"Men!"
The robots start walked away from the shopping carts and heading south towards where her father must be.
"Thanx for nothing tinkertoys! Leave me to carry this stuff home!"
She decides she is going to comfront her father. Threshold is more normal and he had never tried to kill her like her father did the other day.
"Luv you Daaaadeeee! But U tried to kill me the other day so screw you. Skylark reporting for duty, Threshold! I will find the Schemer and bring him in for you!
Ultrasonically produced non-functional pink wings appear on her back with the properly struck sonic note. Another unltrasonic note allows her to glide through the air like Banshee of the X-men use to do. Finding her father will not be hard. She knows the sound pattern of his heartbeat. With the city also devoid of humans he will be easy to spot.
In the air she gives what she hopes will one day be her well known battle cry.
"Soaring through way up high! Mistress of the Sky! It's Skylark! Lovely brunette hair! Sexy beyond compare! its Skylark!
--
She chuckles softly, as if she needed to be reminded of Eric's powers...hell, she's relied on his powers often enough to know them. She glances at the signal light and the doors open. It had been a while since she'd seen Eric, and he her, so he probably hadn't seen her progression. She had gone from wearing skimpy combat clothes to considerably more comfortable ones since April and she began showing.
"Eric...what are you doing? This is only going to make him madder. I had hoped he'd turned over a new leaf this time. For some odd reason, the rationality I had seen in him vanished again...it's like his mind split a while back and he became a good man...and he's reverted back. I don't know what to do with him to be honest."
She doesn't make any aggressive motions, but simply comes farther in and takes a seat, slowly.
"If he dies, he'll just jump to some other body...or back with some clone somewhere, and then he'd come after you, just like he's expecting me to."
She sighs softly. "I'm even considering leaving the Clique because of his madness...for my children's safety if not my own. I know it isn't as if he hasn't already devised ways to make sure I can't hurt him. You may be one of few people that actually can."
--
Eric watched as Adrianna stepped in, his eyes slipping momentarily toward the bulge in her belly, feeling the growing life there. He felt them, the flutter of their heartbeat, their nervous motions as the adrenaline from their mother.
“Lovely to see you again Adrianna.” he said, nodding as she took a seat. With a casual motion he slid a nearby chair toward her. Something to prop her feet up on.
“That is my point Adrianna. He will never turn over a new leaf. He will never grow. Winston is stagnant because he believes himself to be all powerful. The only thing that will continue to thrive is his madness until one day he destroys us all.”
Eric sighs, the weariness and sadness showing on his face for a moment. The Schemer he’d seen recently was so different from the man who’d taken a confused and bitter teacher under his wing. So different from the man who’d had a dream of all mutants being free of fear and tyranny. Compared to that man, the Schemer of today was a petty thug working over corner store owners for ‘protection’ money.
“To Winston we are no longer people. We are tools. Of value only so long as we have usefulness to him. Once we cease to be so, he will cast us aside. You and I have been more sheltered from this than the others, but rest assured….the time will come when he decides we too need to be eliminated.”
Eric glanced at the screen, confident that he’d be able to feel any change in the nerve impulses within her body if she were preparing to attack. In truth, his heart went out to her. What it must have been like to fall in love with, and bear children to a man you watched slowly go insane.
Things were progressing well. The LMD army was surrounding Schemer, who’d sought shelter in an electronic store. Some last stand no doubt, putting his considerable genius to work in manufacturing a weapon. It would do little good. The numbers were to far against him. In the end, Schemer had grown to accustomed to having pawns to take the damage for him….now the King was alone.
“I have no interest in killing him. I’d cure him if I thought it truly possible. However I will no longer allow my life, or the lives of those I care about to dangle on his whim. We will capture him, and imprison him until such a time as we can find a better solution.” He gave Adrianna a cool, steady look. They’d been through much together, almost as much as he and Winston had. He hoped it would be enough to support the bridge between them.
Nodding as he received his the communication from Lark, Eric reactivated his Com
“Good. Be careful, Lark. He’s already proven once that your life is of no value to him…he will kill you if you give him the opportunity. Let the machines go in first to draw his fire.”
--
*The Schemer worked feverishly. He searched the the store for tools and other items needed take his Omniblaster offline. It took him only moments to open the outer casing...and switch of the main computer link. Of course now....he had no power. But that was easily taken care of by locating a nearby generator. The one on the show room floor...filled with gas for demonstrations would do.
He found some electrical wires....and began to connect the omniblasters power core to the generator. He then need 9 volt batteries....many of them. He could not carry a generator around....so it would only serve to drive off the robots that were surrounding the place. After that....he would need to batteries to power the omniblaster when he was on the move. And on the move he would be. For he needed to reach clique Philmont towers...for it was there Threshold would be. And oh how he would pay for betraying the Schemer.
He could sense lark coming.....but was more worried about the robots. Connecting the wires to the generator was taking longer than he wanted. LMDs were breaking into the front enterence of the store. He flipped his Fedora into their midst. With the hat was a bipolar amplifier....which was capable of increasing gravity 1000 fold around any object within ten feet of the hat.
The robots entered the field like mindless sheep and were pinned down. this gave the Schemer time to continue his work on the omniblaster. Once he ahd that operational......he felt he would be unstoppable.*
--
Skylark soars through the air and comes to a landing out back of the electronic store where her father is hold up. A quick sonic scream shatters the lock and allows her to enter.
Inside she knows her father is expecting her. But she is not afraid. Threshold is in charge. He will reward her for helping him so she can count on a nice amount of money every week. And best of all she will not have to hear the schemer's ecomonic lectures anymore. The value of a dollar, a penny saved is a penny earned. Boooooooooooooooorrrrrrrring!
"Hello Daaaaaaaaadeeeeeeeeee!" She says confronting him. She sees the robots pinned to the ground and shurgs. "You beat the tinmen but now you face me! Skylark!
She smiles self-confident. "I know you must afraid now. I bet you are ready sh*t your little green pants facing me! Ready to give up?
--
"That's the problem...I don't think there'd be any rehabilitation. We could capture him, though he's managed to be able to penetrate selenium chips with considerable focus. It's how he talks to me most of the time, I wear one constantly. Even then, there'd be no real controlling him unless you essentially deactivate his abilities. I've only seen two or three things that make him completely lose them...and one of them is my friend...whom helped lower my own tolerances long enough to...well." She glances down and rubs her stomach gently again, feeling more stirring.
"I've considered going to just hide out in one of the schools in Europe...or Africa until I give birth. But if he can't be captured, he'll just come for revenge. Hell, the only reason he hasn't done anything to us is that he can't find a way to defeat the both of us. The rest he felt aren't as important as he's got his sentinels."
"I was all in favor of the whole suppression of mutant haters...but all he's done lately is stir them up more. I've got over five thousand kids in other countries learning to be at peace with humans."
--
“I appreciate your concern Adrianna. It is only a matter of time before he would have turned on us as well. I’ve decided that I will no longer sit idly by waiting for him to decide my usefulness has come to an end. I will take action against it.
I’ve known something like this was coming for some time…..though I didn’t want to admit it to myself. I’ve set up precautions, means to protect us from him and to imprison him until such a time as we can decide on a more permanent solution….
I also know of someone who may be able to….disable him. I’m loath to go that far, but if it means that he can live and we will no longer be at risk from him….”
Eric surveyed the computer, taking note of the downed LMDs. He’d know that many of them would be disabled or destroyed, thanks to Schemer’s blasted fedoras. Keying in a few commands he instructed the LMDs to attack, using their weaponry to destroy Schemer’s tools…his fedoras and his omiblaster which he was no doubt working to reactivate at this moment. Outside one of the Sentinels got down on it’s hands and knees, hand reaching out and ripping the security grate from the plate glass windows. Bullet proof glass shatters under the blow of the giant fist, then it extends it’s hand, palm out to fire a power nulification net.
--
One of the sentinels surrounding schemer suddenly looses connection to the rest, it's eyes glowing blue, brighter and brighter, it's head beginning to expand as it shattered and fell to the ground from the shoulders of the juggernaut machine. Holding onto the cabling of the machine was Prodigy, his energy flowing through the monster as it stepped forward swinging it's arms out, smashing onto the heads of the sentinel to his right and left, Prodigy crying out as his body rippled with light, his clothes desentigrating, then looking down at his father and to the other robots...moving towards them and attacking, the arms moving sluggishly as his body seemed to burn from the energy flowing over it, his glowing skin bubbling with blisters as he cried out in agony.
The sentinel stomped forwards crushing the foot of a sentinel, then it held it's arms out, one fist rocketing off with a blue glow to a sentinel to the left then one to the right, it leaning forwards as it's foot engines rocketed, it flying into a crowd of sentinels, Junior falling from the robot landing on the ground with a thud, his eyes looking up as he gasped for air, trying to breath, having trouble as he held his side pulling himself to his feet, seeing his father surrounded by a crowd of sentinels, he unable to contend with the growing crowd. All he could think in his mind was that he had grown up without the presence of his father, and even though his father may have lost his mind a little, Junior didn't wanna lose his father's life, he'd lost 18 years of having a father, he wasn't about to lose the chance for the rest of it.
He trudged forwards, running towards his father crying out as he surged under the foot of a sentinel, his power pushing it's knee to a buckle, it falling backwards towards the ground, the ripple of energy shredding skin off of his chest and back, blood trickling down his legs, then running to another one, placing both of his hands on the leg of the sentinel, the metal decaying as the beast tipped to the side, it's leg shattering as it fell to the ground, Junior coughing up blood as he reached out for his father looking at him from a distance as he curled to the ground, there were just too many sentinels to battle them...and then his father went into the store.
He never had a grudge with Threshold, but he couldn't understand why he was doing what he was doing to his father, he wanted more than anything to see his father turn a new leaf, but at least he did all he could to try and save his father, perhaps sometimes the fight is more important than the outcome.
Then he woke up, in a thrust he blinked and gasped for air, Lotus speaking. "Winston, what's wrong?" He looking at the window of the car and blinking. "Drive to the Philmont building, NOW!" The car roaring and rocketing off down the road. As he clocked one hundered and twenty five miles per hour the car nearly slid off the road as it made it's way down the path towards the Philmont Building, the front window opening and Winston looking up seeing sentinels as his hair began to wave in the breeze, he pushing a button as he rocketed out of the car, his clothes vaporizing as his body ignited into what looked like blue flames, as he ripped through the chest of the robot, wires and shards of metal falling to the ground with the rest of the body, it falling to scrap metal on the ground, then another one, Winston sweeping down and flying towards the Philmont Building, his eyes burning brighter and brighter as he seemed to whistle through the sky towards the Philmont Building.
He flew up to the entrance, two sentinels meeting him, he flexing his fists as their chests swelled up, exploding, he gritting his teeth as he felt himself overloading himself, walking across the property to two more, one shooting at him, hitting, he flying back and into the fence of the Philmont Building, using his telekenesis to lift the fence and fly up, wrapping around the arm of the robot, the fence falling, he ripping the arm off with his powers and swinging it around to hit the other sentinel, it falling down, Winston standing up realizing his skin was torn on his back, blood trickling down the backs of his legs.
He knew what was going on, he'd been sent a message by his father, he moving into the Philmont Building and down the hallway, his powers now failing as his bare feet stepped one at a time, red outlines of his foot prints being left as he reached out, his eyes flashing as the door dissolved like mist, Prodigy looking at Threshold his face twitching, blood covering most of him as he fell to his knees, then collapsed to the floor behind Threshold, blood covering his back side as well, a hunk of the metal fence hanging out his back as his breathing could be heard in a weeze, he coughing up blood. ..."...stop..."...
--
*the Schemer had completed his work on the generator....and used the freshly powered Omniblaster to set up a magnolocking field over the generator and himself. It would by him time to find a way out of this. Behind him....his idiot adopted daugther entered the electronics store...and confronted him. A simply telepathic thought burst would dispatch her. She would fall unconscious....sparing all within ear shot further insipid melodrama on her part. Clearly...she was the dutch elm disease of the family tree.
With Lark down....he filled his pockets with 9 volt batteries...and prepared to make his escape. Just then....a fedora wearing sentinel ripped the roof off the electronics store.*
Mutant detected. *It said in a cold machine voice.* LMDs came pouring into the store.....and the Schemer realized it was time to flee.
He switched a laser burst but before he could fire....LMDs unleashed their weapons.....blowing up th generator. The Schemer was sent flying from the blast...straight through the back door Lark had opened.
He landed in a pile of trash in the back alley....unharmed...and on instinct realized his best bet was underground...the sewer system. So he fled down the alley....heading for the nearest subway enterence....om route...he caught the mental whiff of his son confronting Threshold.*
You see, Eric!!! See how loyal my son is to me!! I'm coming my boy!!! I'll rescue you!!! Winston my beloved son!! I love you boy!! I'm coming!! I'll save you from that traitor!!!
--
She furrows her brow when Thomas comes in.
"Thomas...Do not harm Eric." She had it...the mom voice. She eases from her chair and simply kneels down next to her step-son and pets him gently. "You and I have already spoken about your father's issues. We only wish to help him...but he has to admit he needs help. You can help us with that. We have to find him and hold keep him secure until we can find a way to help him."
She looks back to Eric, then to Thomas again. "We've been with him a long time. We've seen his mental degradation. He's gone from trying to help mutants to trying to kill anyone who opposes him. You know that isn't how to fix things."
--
Threshold turned to the door, the sensors in the building alerting him, but just barely. The door to the Clique computer center vaporized in a blaze of blue light as Prodigy, Schemer’s son made his way into the room. For a split second the very fabric of the room’s reality seemed to hang in the balance as the boy tried to push himself even further beyond his limits before collapsing. The computer screen blared alerts as over a dozen of the Sentinels registered irreparable damage wrecked on them by Prodigy in his destructive journey to the building.
Threshold felt the boy’s pain, the screaming of his nerves as his power flickered out and his blood soaked body sank to the floor like Atlas crumpling under the weight of the world. Shocked pain receptors screamed from too many injuries to count, though the one in his back was certainly the most grievous. Threshold reached out with his power, soothing the boy’s wounds, easing the pain of the damage he’d wrought to his body. He keyed in some simple commands to the robots. Those small enough would pursue Schemer into the sewer system, with the larger Sentinels using their thermal and genetic tracking systems to keep tabs on him as he fled. He dispatched a set of Sentinels to destroy the sewer lines ahead of Schemer, trapping him in the tunnels with the army of LMD behind him. That done he turned and approached Prodigy, examining his wounds carefully.
“Hardcore….the first aid and emergency med kit if you please. We have to stop this bleeding.”
--