The Mall

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The door opens onto a hot day in early September, and stairs sticky with blood half-covered in shadows. They've just emerged from a rattletrap gate that once kept people out of the Museum Station metro stop- "It was the only door I could reach safely," Ellen explains. "Once we get to the top of the stairs, we're visible from the Mall- it's maybe ten yards away, tops. The mutant've got miniguns, I know that much for sure."

Comments

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods and pulls the headpiece of her armor up and over her face. A moment later she shimmers and all but vanishes- there's a human-shaped distortion in the air, but it's hard to see if it's not moving. With great slowness she creeps away and up the stairs, out of sight.

Some time later, the shape returns, still painfully slow in its motion. At the bottom of the stairs it gives way to Ellen, pulling the headpiece back again. "The two nearest mutants are about ten yards into the trenches, so twenty yards away," she says. "I counted at least three others- two of them at observation posts on the far side of the Mall, and one in a fortified position about a third of the way towards the Monument."

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle nods, considering what Ellen has said. "How deep are the trenches, and are the ones closest to us patrolling?" Annabelle inquires. "I may be able to take the closest two out without us having to leave the shelter of the stairs..."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"About nine feet, I think," says Ellen. "And they seem like they're patrolling. The ones on the surface are holding their positions, but down in the trenches they're moving around."

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle frowns, "The patrolling makes things a bit difficult. I could shoot at them blind readily enough if they were standing still..."

She sighs, "I'll have to get close to the top of the stairs to take a shot at them, I'm afraid."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"I can distract them if you think that'll help," Ellen offers. "All I have to do is drop the stealth field long enough for them to have to take aim. They're armed with hunting rifles, not automatics."

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle shakes her head, "I wouldn't know where they were standing when they saw you, not well enough to fire blind."

"I can get a bit of cover from the top of the stairs if I use the scope, and I'm quite good at dodging," she says with a smile.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"All right," says Ellen. "What do you need me to do in the meantime?"

[aeons_crackshot]

"If they've got any sense, the other mutant in the trench will start our way once I fire on the first one. It takes two shots between the eyes to drop 'em, so I may need you to ensure the other one doesn't get close enough to mash me into pulp."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"That won't be a problem," Ellen says, unshouldering her Gauss rifle and ensuring that all the connections are in place. "I can do that whenever you're ready."

[aeons_crackshot]

"Thank you," Annabelle replies. "No time like the present, I suppose."

She creeps up the stairs until she's just able to get the head of one of the mutants in her sights. Then it's just a matter of waiting for the right moment to place a shot between its eyes...

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

For all their patrolling, the mutants aren't paying quite as much attention as they ought.

There is going to be bellowing and much grabbing of the face in pain very shortly, down there.

[aeons_crackshot]

Thankfully for the world, this bunch isn't going to have much chance to learn from their mistakes.

Annabelle expects the mutant not to drop right away this time, so she's got a rather grim smile on her face when she moves to put a second bullet between it's eyes.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

An excellent decision on her part, and something of a lifesaver given that the mutant was about to return fire. As for the other patrolling mutant, well, there's suddenly a thunderous BAM! from Ellen's position, and the other one sinks out of sight.

"That one might still be alive," Ellen warns. "The Gauss rifle tends to knock its targets down even if it doesn't kill them-"

"Stupid humans!!!" roars something in the distance, and a whine of bullets can be heard.

Ellen sighs. "Minigun," she murmurs. "Dodging that's going to be a treat."

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle's no genius, but she's not stupid. When it's taken two shots to kill a mutant on every previous occasion...

"Good shot, Ellen!" she calls out as the mutant is hit.

Annabelle stands up from the cover of the stairs and moves over toward Ellen. "I'll keep an eye out for the one you hit, just in case."

Annabelle looks over toward the source of the shout and the bullets, trying to see what they're going to have to deal with. "We only have to dodge the bullets if we can't shoot at it from outside the range of it's gun," Annabelle says wryly.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Given the apparent IQ, or at least English language skills, of every super mutant Ellen's encountered yet, the 'stupid humans' taunts are the pot at the center of the singularity calling the kettle black.

The one Ellen shot won't be getting up again. The Gauss rifle is slow to reload- Annabelle could get off two shots from her own gun in that time- but when it hits it hits like the fist of an angry god. Thankfully its means of accelerating its ammo to high speed involves magnetic rings, not explosive propulsion, so it's not a shoulder-dislocating level of recoil.

As for the mutant shooting at them, the bullets from its spinning minigun are spraying in all kinds of directions. Their current position is very much outside its effective range; at this distance the best it can do is make it very, very inconvenient to try to get closer. "I think between the two of us we can take that one down," Ellen says. "And there are a few car wrecks in the area; if there are mutants near them we don't even have to shoot the mutants, just the power plants."

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle rolls her eyes at the mutant's wasting of bullets. "Not terribly bright, are they?"

Annabelle looks intrigued at the mention of using the cars to take the mutants out. "That could come in very handy if any of them are bright enough to shoot from behind cover."

"How do you want to take care of this one?" Annabelle has already formulated a few plans of attack, but coming up with a plan will be educational for Ellen. (It's a bit like a mother lion teaching her cub to hunt, only they aren't planning on eating their prey.)

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"The ones with miniguns can't move very fast," says Ellen. "I think if I go stealth I can line up a shot- the Gauss rifle's as good as a sniper rifle for distance, I just need the time to set up first.

[aeons_crackshot]

"That sounds like a good plan," Annabelle says with a nod. "I'll keep it in my sights, just in case. If your shot doesn't kill it, I'll finish if off."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods and activates the stealth field, blinking out of sight in a wave of distorted air. Some moments later there's a murmur of "Oh, blast, there's more of them," and then another BANG. "... crumbs. I hit his gun, not him..."

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle makes a mental note to teach Ellen better curses for situations like this as she fires on the mutant Ellen attacked. Once that one drops, she gets in position to take out the others that Ellen has discovered.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The bright side? Apparently the mutant Ellen was shooting at didn't carry a backup firearm. The Gauss rifle did some serious damage to the minigun and the mutant's trying to fix it rather than reaching for something else to shoot with.

The not so bright side? While the oncoming mutants are still some distance away, and the two assault rifles are not very accurate at a distance, there are three incoming mutants. And one of them is carrying a missile launcher.

[aeons_crackshot]

The mutants decision to try and fix his gun turns out to be a terminal mistake. It howls in pain and starts to move toward Annabelle when the first bullet hits it between the eyes, but by then it's far too late. The second bullet hits and the mutant staggers for a moment before crumpling to the ground.

Annabelle turns to the three approaching mutants, but doesn't recognize the rocket launcher for what it is at this distance. Annabelle puts a bullet into one of the mutants carrying an assault rifle, but that's when the mutant carrying the rocket launcher decides to fire.

All the Inspired are favored by Lady Luck, but Daredevils are her most favored children. They move unconsciously through all the outcomes that might be to the one that favors them. Probability would tell you that Annabelle should be hit by the rocket and die a fiery death, or be torn apart the concussive force and debris inside the rocket's blast radius. An outside bet would leave her crippled, but still alive. However, there is one 'maybe', one path, that has Annabelle twist violently and make a near impossible lunge out of the radius of the worst damage.

Annabelle curses, twisting and lunging in a desperate bid to get out of the way. The rocket impacts the ground, and Annabelle feels something hit her ribs with terrific force. The armor absorbs the majority of the damage, but she can feel several ribs cracking from the force of the blow...

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Holy- Annabelle? Are you all right? Hold on!"

BANG. "Oh, God, they're shooting, come on, recharge, recharge already-"

BANG. "Launcher mutant's down- eek!" That last is prompted by a hail of automatic rifle fire tearing through the air in Ellen's general vicinity.

BANG. "No closer, greenskin! Knees are a privilege!"

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle is stunned for a moment or two from the impact, but comes back to full alertness by the time Ellen 'eeks' at the automatic rifle fire.

Annabelle is sprawled on the ground and doesn't waste time trying to maneuver herself into a more upright position. Raising the rifle into a firing position is agonizing as muscles pull on cracked ribs, but Annabelle manages to get a shot off with a shout of "Die you bloody green abomination!"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

There's still other mutants coming, but they've got the trenches to navigate and get out of, thank God. Ellen takes the opportunity to scramble over to Annabelle as fast as elbows and knees will carry her. "Okay. You can move," she says, and the concern would be plain on her face if she'd remembered to take her head unit off and de-stealth the armor. "Are you bleeding? What hit you?"

She's fumbling for a stimpak regardless, although that's probably a little difficult to make out given that she's currently a talking distortion in the air.