Charged Felony (HIVE/Villains) - Russian Attack!

Jump City Maximum Security Prison, conveniently connected to JC Police headquarters. The proximity between the two facilities is to ensure that the city's evil-doers will always be under constant surveillance. Arguably the most protected area of the city...At least it was.

During the early evening hours just as all the lights were coming on around the city, the Police Department's lights began to flicker on and off. This was odd because the power was provided by a very large generator. Men rushed to the engine room to find a blue glowing humanoid standing by the generator absorbing it's power. It was amazing to say the least that even if this was a meta-human his capacity to absorb energy was extremely high. The generator for this joint prison/headquarters was designed to power the facility for years without too much maintenance or external management.

The police officers reached for their weapons as the being turned towards them and demanded he drop to his knees and put his hands in the air. A flash of yellow light ensued and the being was gone. All the officer's peered around their perimeter for the missing person when they were all suddenly hit with a jolt from behind and dropped to the floor with fumes wafting from their bodies through the air. The last man standing a midst the pack was the very man, or rather teen, they had been looking for just moment earlier.

Spoiler:

Killowat teleported back to the generator and completely drained it of power, turning out all of the lights in the prison and police department, as well as setting off the alarm. Luckily, there was a back-up generator hidden underground that kept the prisoner's behind bars.

The issue is the mission was to locate and destroy that generator as well. Once it was gone the security measures for the entire compound would shut down and a prison riot would ensue. And the police...They had other issues to deal with...

With the original generator down and the lights out in the compound JCPD was unprepared for the Russian Special operative raid that occurred momentarily after power failure. Three explosions were heard as men dropped onto the roof of the facility and broke in through the ceiling. Another explosion at the HQ's door way where men funneled in one by one with high powered military grade weaponry (RPGs, laser Rifles, oozis, Mini-machine guns, grenades, ETC.) At the prison entrance an effort was being made to break down the reinforced doors where Russia's forces would infiltrate and hopefully unleash the prisoner's but with the back-up generator still working this was unlikely, even if it did operate at half the power of the original.

All out war broke out as the ill prepared officers faced off with Russian military in a dog fight for the right to control the prison.

It could be said that Pix was a bit of an armchair general. Several selections on his bookshelf were accounts of battles long passed. He was mesmerised by the feats of generals. Men never setting foot on the front line who receive the accolades of victory for their masterful strategic chicanery. It was the reason he followed the Zydon war with avid interest and the reason he had turned an eye to the growing Russian aggression.

Given prior history, Pix had come to surmise that modern day Russian military feats were all about posturing, propaganda, and heavy firepower. Shock tactics. Like their annexation of parts of Georgia, there came a point where they ignored actual international law and substituted their own. And it worked. It was a challenge the international community never accepted, for their conquests were small. They bullied small countries, like the new Californian Nation. They would hit hard, hit fast, make laughable justifications that satisfied only their own media, and then wait until Western outright died down. People never forgave, but they eventually forgot.

This formula had already begun anew. The Russians had directed their first attack at the most heavily defended fortress on the planet; Titans Tower. They may have been beaten off but that only lured the country into a false sense of security. Pix had instructed Kris' gang to keep a watch on three areas. City Hall, the Jump City Police Department, and the Bay Bridge. Capture of the first ensured them a political claim to dominance. The second a martial claim. The third suggested siege warfare. Thank goodness they did not want the latter.

Pix addressed every HIVE operative on his communicator, "Everybody listen up. A communication just came in. There was a power cut at the police station. Followed by explosions. Media vans have just shown up. We could assume this is one of our garden variety villains looking for some notoriety. But I'm gonna go one further and hazard a guess at their identity. They're Russians." He paused to allow each member's personal opinion to dawn on them, "Kris is on route to make a confirmation. We have no duty to fight them. It's a hero job. But let's just say we suddenly acquired a vested interest in preserving the status quo."

The sprite was on route now, riding atop of a pixel platform. He could see the station in the distance. "Stealth is the key to begin with. Get inside. Find out their aims. And tell me immediately of any ex-Titans that might be helping them." The reappearance of Vanished Titans had greatly interested Pix. If nothing else he wanted to unravel that mystery today. "Kris. We're going with the contingency plan we discussed. Everyone else stay tuned."

As soon as he hung up Pix was back on the communicator. This time he patched in to only Quinn and Gilda, "Any objections to what I just said? Is this regular crazy or me crazy?"

Kris was riding his motorcycle to the prison, he knew what he had to do. It was time Kris went AWOL. He watched the patrols, looking for someone he knew was in the Russian Special Tasks team, his cousin, Ivan Dyavol. Kris called him 'cousin' because Ivan looked exactly like Kris, it was kinda creepy. Sure enough, Ivan separated from his patrol to take a leak. Kris grinned, show time. Kris ran up behind him and snapped Ivan's neck. Then it was a time sensitive objective, Kris switched his clothes with Ivan's, making it look like Ivan killed Kris. He then shot 'Kris' in his chest multiple times. Ivan stood over Kris' dead body, yelling to his squad, "РЕБЯТА! Иди сюда! Быстрый! Вы можете убедиться в этом!" Kristoff 'Zero' Makarov was dead, and was no longer a constant threat to the Russian military. There was absolutely no way he could infiltrate their ranks. Ivan had to sit down, he was a hero to the cause.

Nina had been given a simple task, find out who or what was doing all of this, and for what purpose, sure they knew about the Russians but was there more to this than met the eye? Nina was in her fox form and kept to the darkness, sniffing around and listening out to any clues. No one would suspect a simple, innocent, city fox. Heading towards the garbage area like any hungry fox would, she looked around for any way of getting inside, finding an air vent as she climbed up to it and made her way into the prison vent system 'ugh, why can't people just clean their air vents...' she thought as she began scurrying around the vents quietly, seeking any info she could hear from the rooms.

“Bit late to object now”. Pix should have perhaps asked in advance of giving Kris the orders. Now, a plan was set in motion, any objection could cause a few problems. Quinn shut off her ear piece after that, having watched the Russians enter the Police HQ from atop a building nearby, peering over a few storage crates that were up there. Above the headquarters, a helicopter, with ropes from either side that acted as the instrument for the Russian forces to descend onto the roof. All of their troops had entered now, bar one whom had given the signal to the pilot above to take the ropes back up – for now.

That’s when a small canister was thrown onto the roof of the Police HQ, the can breaking with an outburst of smoke that quickly covered the entire roof making it very difficult to see - it wouldn't last long, hence why a quick approach was needed. Quinn got up from where she had been watching, and began running towards the edge of the roof she was on. She leapt across onto the Police HQ, a roll up to her feet, and now she had the veil of smoke to work with. A few yards away she saw that last troop member, coughing as he swatted the smoke in front of him. Quinn crept up behind before grabbing the Russian with a choke hold, applying a lot of pressure. A knee to the back, and Quinn would pull him to the ground as she choked the Russian out cold; setting him down on the rooftop before letting her hold go.

Through the hole in the roof created by the Russians, Quinn dropped down into the headquarters. She saw the last few members of the Russian troop turn the corner, heading towards their objective. Stood tall, she would open comms through her ear piece to Pix and Gilda. “I’m in”. Captain Obvious strikes again. “So what do I do if I see Kris? Play fight?”. It was a good question, perhaps the others should’ve been clued in as well. What if Nina finds Kris? What then? Only one way to find out…

As Kris assumed the identity of one of the Russian military leaders orders were given for them to move towards the prison. Agent K was on the move.

Speaking of Agent K, Nina would discover Killowat tearing through Jump City police towards the control room. He was teleporting to avoid any fire and returning fire the moment he appeared.  A fearsome former Titan to say the least. Killowat made it to the control center and began to drain the system. The plan was then told over the radio in Russian to Kris and his platoon - only his ears and the solider's would hear it however.

"Plans have changed - the roof patrol unit isn't responding. The original plan was for Killowat to short circuit the second generator and then the roof patrol would move in while the second agent released the prisoners. But now we move to plan B. Were going to use the second agent to open the front door and release the prisoners with agent K hacking the control room. Some of the incarcerated may die in their attempt to escape, but in the end our goal will be realized. Kill all who try to stop you and rondevous with the second agent B at the prison gates. The first squadrant is holding the front entrance to the local authorities headquarters, so don't worry about enemy reinforcements."

In simpler terms Killowat was about to currently drain the control panel keeping the higher level villains locked up of all it's power and the second agent B was somehow about to open the prison gate, allowing for them to escape. Ivan's unit was to move to the prison to provide support when this happened while killing all who approached them as the initial attack unit kept most of the authorities fighting at the main entrance. Now the plan had been leaked to HIVE, or rather Ivan.

The only question was as to how this would be done. Quinn was the lucky one to discover who the second agent was. As she followed the last few units of the roof unit she immobilized she would bare witness to a stand off in the hallway where those last few men were gunned down by the prison security. However there were now only five prison security guards wearing riot uniforms and helmets left to defend the gate.

"Call for reinforcements," One of the masked officer's said. "alert everyone that their main objective is to free the prisoners. Not immobilize the police - pull everyone left to the prison." The lead officer told one of his subordinates. The subordinate saluted but then pulled out his night stick and removed the false top to reveal a blade! The blade pierced deep into the captains chest and then was pulled out just as quick as it entered. The agent blocked the incoming fire from the remaining units with the same blade and quickness, then cut them down in movements so fast they were barely visible to the human eye.

The sounds and screams of the men were gone nearly before they could mutter a curse or a call for help. All that was left was the pitter patter of rain drops. The Russian forces infiltrator removed his helmet and grabbed the card key for the prison door from the lead officer, who's body lay in a pool of blood on the floor with the others.

Spoiler:

Quinn witnessed Bushido make a dash for the prison doors with the key he had taken. This once honorary Titan that Robin heralded as highly skilled in melee combat was going to open the doors unless Quinn or someone intervened.

Meanwhile, Nina would witness in the vent overhead that Killowat was starting to drain the control panel room's systems of all energy. If he was left unchecked he would succeed and the criminals would go free.

Ivan's unit was also on it's way to Bushido, but the remaining cops that weren't battling at the front entrance were moving to intercept them.

The situation would be dire if these criminals escaped and the only ones able to stop the Russian's operation weren't exactly heroes.

Ivan nodded at the plans, his platoon began to move out, he hung behind a bit to send Pix a translation of the orders. A lucky call because the cops managed to breach a wall and attack the platoon. Ivan growled and raised his weapon, taking the cops out with ease along side the other Russians. They continued to make their way to Bushido, if back up is what Bushido needed, he'd get it. The patrol continued making their way down the halls of the prison, gunning anyone who attacked them, bodies piling up against the walls.

"Gilda. Be advised. A storm front just blew in. The atmosphere is, like, super-charged. I can't fly up there at all." The freakish weather had forced Pix to keep at building level and thus slowed down his approach speed. Denied a quick entrance, the sprite had decided to make a detour to ensure he was well prepared instead. Pixels peeled off the gigantic display boards centred around the main shopping district. That in itself caused panic. He had been saving this fuel source for a serious matter. Open warfare seemed to fit.

While he was gathering pixels he got a call. Not from his HIVE communicator, but from his phone. There was no caller ID. A little perplexed, Hugh answered. (｀_´)ゞ "Hello?"

"We were told to call this number. 'Case the boss stopped responding."

It took him seconds to put it together. This was Kris' set of delinquents, "Zero went in. And then fell silent, eh?" It was their plan after all. Using the Russian's offense as an excuse to infiltrate their ranks. It would be the last thing they'd expect. Unfortunately for this ruse to work he needed to convince his associates that he had perished in the line of duty. Shouldn't be too difficult to convince these dullards. "Well what was the last thing he told you to do."

"Keep a bead on that coptor."

"Then do that. Leave Zero to me."

"Err. It's kinda on the move, pal."

"Then drive fast. Worst thing that can happen is a cop breaks free of the terrorist attack for the sole purpose of giving you a speeding ticket." Pix hung up. A thought dawned on him. Σ(-᷅_-᷄๑) Bad weather was as much a nuisance to him as it should have been to airborne machines. Why did the storm seem to be favouring Russian helicopters? Unless they quite literally brought the weather with them.

Quinn was the first of his members to respond, "Try not to get bogged down in that. It'll do less to sell his cover than risk exposing it. Hang on; getting another call-" Hugh changed channels, "Congratulations caller, you are liiive on Capital FM! Oh Zero. Yeah I'll shut up." It astonished Pix that the assassin had achieved his objectives so quickly. That might possibly play against him in the long run. Kris had just indoctrinated himself into the Russian's aims tonight. He would have to follow through with their plans now in order to not raise any red flags.

"Killowatt? I was thinking it would be Thunder and... You know what. Never mind. Get back to it." Brilliant. They had the name of a Titan now. But it was a very unfortunate selection. They were few people in HIVE's team who stood a chance of bringing down Killowatt. And Zero was the main one. But Pix wasn't going to risk blowing his cover now that he had infiltrated the ranks. He redialled for Gilda as soon as he reached the front of the police station, "If your poor ickle wings are having trouble flying in this, admittedly, blustery breeze, we'll wait. But just so know - I need you to hit someone special with your mace. And before he kills us all. That okay with you or are you still preening?"

His final alert went out to all of HIVE except Zero, unwilling to jeopardise his cover, "It's been confirmed that Killowatt is in the vicinity. If anybody gets eyes on him, do not engage, and direct Gilda to the point of contact. Meanwhile I'd be really appreciative if someone could hold the prison doors closed and someone else get me a manifesto of just what kind of psycho they have incarcerated down there these days. I'm going for backup." With that, Pix willed his stolen pixels to swirl around his person as he levitated forwards. His target was the front entrance of the police HQ. Those stood in the lobby would quickly find themselves blanketed in a sandstorm of pixels that began to form shapes and smash into Russians at random intervals.

In this instance, helping the police could be an advantage.

Nina had stared at Killowatt, not knowing what to do, but then thankfully Pix had radioed in with instructions. She kept her eyes locked on Killowatt from the vents and hid herself so she wasn't in direct sight from the vents "yeah...urm...Gilda if you want to come exactly where I am, he's draining the power to the whole place, if you could come as fast as possible then that would be just great" she said, her paw on her little intercom collar that she had taken with her, she was also whispering as softly and quietly as she could, she feared that if Killowatt realised that she was there then...well...she was in what was basically a cramped, metal, tube, and she would take a random guess that the kind of metal that surrounded her, was the conductive type.

"We may have another problem". Quinn said in a rather soft tone, keeping quiet. She had waited a few seconds before making a move from her spot, allowing for Bushido and whoever else to move on a fair enough distance before she starts to trail them. Alas Quinn moved, she remained rather low, crouched as she walked after them as not to make any noise. "I'm trailing a friend of the Russians, he has the keys to the prisons... no doubt there will be a few Russians there with him". Quinn came to a halt, back to the wall before peering round the corner where a platoon of Russians had caught up with Bushido. Quinn hid away when one of the troops looked in her direction, hopefully not capturing sight of her.

But then... Pix wanted someone to stop the prison doors from being opened. To engage now, may be best. They weren't at the prison doors just yet, cut them off before getting there. Pix hadn't given the order to break stealth but... what the heck! Quinn stood up tall, and walked through the open doorway to where Bushido and his buddies were hanging. She stepped forth, stoppingonly a few yards before the swordsman before drawing the sword sheathed on her back, holding it down low by her side. Bushido looked, a competitor with honor. Hopefully he'll accept this challenge; one versus one. A glance to the sword that he had, and Quinn let out a sigh - what had she got herself into. "...now would be a good time to show up, Blake...". This is exactly the reason Quinn used an ear piece - hands free.

Killowatt finished draining the control room. The specific meta-human restraints were all depowered. No special collars, holds, braces, cells, or rooms would keep the villainous metahumans at bay. The inmates now owned the prison - some even went to free their friends that had no powers - however the doors would still need to be opened so they could escape the compound. The criminals began exiting their cells and roaming the halls, they would attack anything they saw and they all had different powers - ranging from acid spitting, gravity control, and shadow manipulation, etc - not to mention the Zydons that were trapped here.

This was a class five prison - there were multiple traps, and security measures in place to keep the criminals from escaping. Killowatt finished draining and took a moment to breathe before deciding his next action, that was quite a bit of power.

Meanwhile, Bushido was approached by Quinn out in the open. The men he was with prepared to gun her down but she brandished a melee weapon at the ninja. Bushido raised a hand to them while stepping ahead of their weapons and tossed the key to one of the subordinates. They knew this meant he had accepted her challenge and ran off ahead to reach the prison gate.

As the five men branched off Bushido stayed to make sure Quinn didn't follow. He turned off his intercom, ignoring the Russian commander yelling orders to continue with his mission. Bushido drew his blade once again and assumed a fighting stance. This man was rarely even touched in armed combat but this girl was daring enough to challenge him...He welcomed it.

Kris's platoon was to meet up soon with the five men Bushido had let go with the key. But now his battalion would also have possibility of meeting hostile villains on their march.

((OOC: St has opted to skip.))

When you're geared for a warzone, high-velocity pixels smashing into you is little more than an irritant. The Russians were being buffeted, but they knew their bigger problem was the restricted visibility in this blizzard. They would be firing blind at cops who were already well entrenched at the back of the station. Granted their intention was not to overrun them. Suppression was all the tactics called for but if their enemy made a sortie now, they would be hard pressed to rebuff it. Yet it would be a mistake to say the invaders were wholly unprepared. Metahuman confrontation was expected and doubtless training provided. Powers lended versatility, but if there was any military force in the world qualified to counter, it was the Ruskies.

A command was audibly transmitted between them, its meaning a mystery to English listeners. The attackers had gone to ground. And it was soon obvious why. A flashbang detonated in their immediate vicinity. They knew the metahuman responsible must be nearby. Coupled with the reduced visibility their foe had themselves coursed, there could be no warning. This was a crippling blow to the overconfidence meta. Advantage Russians.

In proof of success, the swarming pixels stopped immediately. They fell out of the air and littered the ground. In the middle of the lobby was the inert form of Pix, face down sprawled across the carpet. A combatant vaulted from his position behind the registration desk and went to check for activity. He confirmed the threat was out cold. Given no one was stupid enough to try and shoot the pixel man they decided to restrain him. All eyes turned to the metahuman lest it suddenly awaken.

"Ping." The pixel body opened up, proving to be hollow. A decoy Pix with an additional surprise inside. A pilfered Russian flashbang grenade. Now their tactic worked in reverse. The sprite had out-strategised  the Russian host. A good number of Russians went down clutching at their ears. The lucky few who were still watching the police, or those quick on their feet, soon found an additional problem. Their guns were jammed. Any guesses with what substance?

The pixel-storm picked up again around these men. By the time the police advanced it was over. Hugh was unimpressed with their hesitancy to take advantage of his distractions. (¬､¬) But he had the manpower he was after now. Unless more Russians had escaped his attentions, which given he didn't know the number of your average Russian squad was likely, "Hey! Captain."

The police shared his suspicions, fanning out to cover their own halls. A greying man in captains uniform finished issuing orders and took the time to speak with Pix, "Titan?"

"Don't insult me. A little birdy told me the Russians want to get into the prison. Mass breakout. Do you have any Russian national in there?"

"Beats me. Not my job."

"I'd like a transcript of the metahumans you've currently incarcerated."

The captain looked hesitant but overcame the absurdity of the situation with professionalism, "Look. We're grateful, really, but even if we had the time, we can't hand over private information to just anybody."

"Aw cmon! Didn't you see what I just did?" The genuine heroes made this asking for stuff look so easy. Here he'd saved a dozen lives and he was being treated as a bad odour, "Well can you at least give me some equipment? That's not too big an ask, is it?" Douchebags.

"Nuh-uh. I'm not about to give a teenager weapons. And you can forget about explosives."

This guy was validating every bad word Pix had ever said about the police, "I'm talking about a megaphone. One measly megaphone. Pretty pretty please?" Hugh's exasperation was already drawing out his sarcastic aspect.

The Captain was disbelieving, "A megaphone? You gonna talk those felons back into their pen?"

"Yes." (¬▂¬)

Blake had kept out of the ordeal until now, those were her orders. Now she was being asked to intervene and she gladly did so. "I'll see what I can do." She said quietly into the earpiece in her usual respectful, monotone voice. First of all she had to get into that building quickly. That was simple enough. With her training, sneaking through the lines of soldiers was simple. Effortless really. They'd even left a window open for her, though she assumed that was left by Quinn or Pix or Gilda for her.

Tracking by scent made Quinn rather easy to find, and Bushido too. But Quinn getting into a sword fight? That...didn't suit her. At all. Blake dropped silently behind Bushido, far enough away that she would have time to react to any movements he made, but still in range to close the gap in a second and help Quinn. She held her hand on Gambol Shroud's hilt, signaling to Quinn that she would take over if Quinn would prefer, or she could give Blake the signal to keep moving and take out that squad of Russians. All up to her, though Blake felt she was more suited to Bushido, and Quinn the latter.

Nina watched Killowatt fully drain the power, deeming the vents to now be the safest place for her. She decided to quietly move through the vents to check how much chaos was ensuing. Having no instructions from Pix she decided to stay hidden and move through the vents stealthily and carefully, trying to take note of each room she saw.

Blake was correct. A sword fight did not suit Quinn, and nerves began to set in as she looked on at Bushido who had drawn his sword, assuming a fighting stance. Perhaps if Quinn had brought her more specialized weapon; her ring blade, then she’d be a better match for this contest. But then, a boost of confidence and an idea had come to mind. Blake was here now, and the job she set out to do become significantly easier. Pix wanted the prison doors held shut, and what better way to keep them shut than by possessing the keys to those very doors. No longer were they in the possession of Bushido, rather his Russian comrades – a much easier battle.

Quinn assumed a fighting stance herself, staying fairly low to the ground to keep that low centre of gravity. Bushido was clearly waiting on Quinn to make the first move, and that is what she did. Quinn charged towards Bushido with her sword, prepped to lunge towards him. But as Quinn closed the distance, she dropped down to slide beneath the legs of Bushido, and back to her feet behind him. She didn’t stop there; she continued to run, towards Blake. Dashing past, Quinn spared a few words; “I’ll be back!” – words for confidence as Blake making an appearance had done for Quinn. Quinn continued running, and ran the same way that Bushido’s comrades had disappeared to before. Bushido had been given the slip by Quinn – slippery as a snake.

In a perfect World, Quinn would quickly slaughter the Russians, hold the prison doors shut and make it back to Blake to help out with Bushido. But the problem with that plan is that we don’t live in a perfect World.