The Streets Of Old Olney

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The door that opens from Milliways leads to a gray and dusty landscape across which the fingers of the dawn are just starting to spread. Actually, no. Too poetic. The sun's coming up over one of those landscapes which would probably look a lot better in the dark. This is a land where the trees are sparse, shriveled, and black; where rock and concrete jut up through the ground like the bones of a compound fracture; and where jagged, ragged walls and chunks of rebar huddle together in vaguely squarish piles among heaps of rubble. There's a distinct smell of animal on the air. Many predators live here, or somewhere nearby, anyway. Those accustomed to nights among the densely populated regions of twenty-first century Earth may be taken aback by the fact that there's no skyglow to be seen even where it's still dark. This is a quiet place.

Except for the odd snuffling and hooting noises from deeper within the ruins of the city, anyway. Those carry real good.

"Welcome to Olney," Ellen says quietly. "You're hearing the deathclaws now. I did some scouting earlier. There's a gap in the outer rubble that we can all get through about twenty yards that way, so long as we keep an eye out for anything trying to kill us."

Comments

[venusadept_2]

Felix decides not to start contemplating human stupidity. He's here to do a job, after all.

So he nods at Moon Shadow's warning. "Would standing near it be reasonably safe, or should we try to keep our distance?"

[basic_powers]

"Don't get dunked in it and you should be alright, and if things go pear-shaped in that regard, I've got a spare bottle of Rad-X from Bar, few pills, and a long sit in the bathroom, you'll be fine."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Actually, take the Rad-X first," Ellen says. "I can give you all some now. Rad-Away is the stuff you take after exposure."

[gammagammahey.livejournal.com]

"I don't need it -- I'm impermeable when it comes to radiation -- but I don't want to expose anyone else inadvertently to radiation. I should take some Rad-X to avoid glowing in the dark."

[basic_powers]

"Here, pass the bottle around..at this point it couldn't hurt to be prepared."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods and fishes two sizable brown tablets out before passing the bottle around. "I've got water too," she says, "or soda. It doesn't glow, I promise."

[gammagammahey.livejournal.com]

"My friend Reed would be very, very interested in these," Jen says as she takes two tablets from the bottle from Ellen. "Bottoms up, sir and madame."

She takes the tablets and swallows them dry.

"Actually, could I have a small water chaser? Ugh. I was hoping for peppermint flavor."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"They're an iodine compound, among other things," Ellen says. "They prevent the uptake of radiation to some degree. Rad-Away flushes rads out of your body, but the flush part is kind of literal. You can have some of each to take back with you when this is over."

The bottle of water is getting passed around next.

[basic_powers]

"Still have that stuff from when we visited the Nuka-Cola factory, Ellen." Moon Shadow nods. "It's gone to good use."

[gammagammahey.livejournal.com]

Jen takes the proffered water and takes two sips to wash away the taste.

"Thank you," she says, and hands the bottle back to him.

"'Nuka-Cola' Wow. Great marketing exercise for aspiring ad people. Shall we get going?"

[basic_powers]

"Yes, the longer we stick in one place, the better chance we end up on a Deathclaw lunch menu." Moon Shadow replies, adjusting his pack and gear again to put the water bottle back into his belt.

"The founder was completely rich and insane...the two seperately I think the world could have handled, but combined was a bit..."

[gammagammahey.livejournal.com]

"Unless we get overwhelmed by numbers, I don't think the deathclaws will be more than a nuisance for me. We need to stay on our toes, though, obviously, in case they get close enough to hurt one of us."

Says the woman immune to deathclaws in almost every possible way.

"I'll try to make sure that won't happen. What's your weapons array, by the way? What are you carrying? I'm trying to figure out who to pitch to."

She grins, teeth white against the night.

[basic_powers]

"...aside from the two BFGs?" His face might not be visible entirely, but there's a perk and a spring in his step that someone asked.

"I've got three pre-programmed non-newtonian high-density protein-based nanite fluid solution canisters, four spare clips for the BFGs, combat knife, half dozen flashbangs, and two very good tasers built into each glove. Along with a slightly smaller computer hacking set, spare radios, spare bottles of pure water, and a first aid kit good for treating at least 3 people with heavy injuries if it comes to that."

"...and a few other tricks, personal devices."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Meanwhile, Ellen glances over at the others, shaking the Rad-X bottle inquiringly. "We're going to have to go for speed now," she says. "Sweep as much of the area as possible for an entrance into the maintenance tunnels before anything or anyone comes looking for us. Once we've found it we'll send someone back for Fawkes and Ben and get moving from there, assuming they don't find one first. Anything two-legged with horns is fair game for shooting."

[basic_powers]

"I'll be doing the running back for Ben and Fawkes..." Moon Shadow offers, just so they can know in advance. Just saying the guy who can cloak should probably be sent with sneaking back to get people.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Thank you, Moon Shadow," says Ellen. "That should two Deathclaws, six o'clock."

When you are dealing with creatures as fast as these things, it doesn't pay to waste time on transitions between sentences. You warn your comrades and take aim with the plasma rifle as quickly as your fast-twitch muscle fiber will allow it.

[boston_bruiser]

Voodoo's already turning at "six" - by "clock" his M60 is pointed straight at the Deathclaws.

He doesn't think twice about sighting in and squeezing the trigger.

There's a long six-round burst, followed shortly by more than a handful of shorter ones, all directed toward the Deathclaw's center of mass. It might be a hideously mutated freak of nature, but nobody likes getting shot - especially with something going close to 2800 feet per second.

[respectthegun]

Lawton - who's been quiet all this time because he was having a cigarette, is now just about done with his smoke. He was just flicking the butt away and pulling his mask back down when Ellen gave the warning.

He spins, lifts his arm, and waits for one of the guys to roar. Then it's a couple of rounds of armor piercing ammo right through those ridiculous teeth.

There's no point in having tough hide if you're going to provide a traget to your brain.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

True. Very true. Of course, if you happen to be hatched with an exceptionally tough skull... oh, who are we kidding? That's going to hurt. A lot. There's a reason why it used to be common practice for those few who went up against deathclaws and survived out West to go for the eyes. Same deal here. That deathclaw of Floyd's is going to throw its head back and scream in agony, staggering as it tries to keep its balance.

Voodoo's deathclaw, meanwhile, had been mid-leap when the bullets hit. Momentum is a funny thing, especially when you're not in contact with the ground. AP bullets make that amazingly tough hide of theirs something of a moot point; there's blood spraying all over the place as the creature's arc fails and it lands horribly wrong. It'll be getting up and trying to attack again, sure, but that's because some things don't know when to quit. The claws aren't so much going to be striking as flailing erratically.

[gammagammahey.livejournal.com]

"Bingo!"

This is directed at Voodoo and Deadshot.

"Ellen, is there anything else that explodes when you punch or throw it?" Shulkie asks as the weapons fire ceases.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Do grenades count?" Ellen says. "I have a few if you want. Plasma okay?"

[gammagammahey.livejournal.com]

"I honestly don't think I'll need them, and besides I don't want to deplete your own arsenal. This doesn't look to be shaping up to be a short mission, although I'll try to contribute by shortening it as much as possible. I'm going to scout ahead a bit - but I'll keep a keen ear and stay within earshot."

With that, she pads silently forward in the direction Ellen first indicated on their arrival. There's a side street there, and there.

She picks the closest one and ventures down the middle, mindful not to trip and fall - the terrain is rough going.

A hissing noise tips her off, and they're on her before she can swear - four of them. Their claws can do any damage, but she's not taking chances. She snatches at the throat and torso of one and throws it as far as she can, muscles straining.

"Have fun on the moon, jerk."

The other three are attempting to claw at her and rip at her with teeth, but they're not getting anywhere. She throws one down on the ground and stomps through its back, ribs crunching under her foot, effectively crushing its heart. She's angry now, angry at the whole situation and the blasted heath that this world has come to, and knows that deathclaws can't help being deathclaws -- quick and deadly for the rest of her troupe -- but they have to go. The last two she punches hard, through their torsos, over and over again until they lie down and are still. Then she throws them into planetary orbit, or something close to it, with a roar of victory.

"Ugh. Anyone got a handwipe?" she calls back.

[respectthegun]

You know what? Fine. As that fucker won't go down when hit little and accurately, Lawton just keeps his magnums pumping into the head - eyes and mouth and throat, showering himself with empty cartridges as he stands.

He takes a break for only a few seconds to produce a hankerchief from - somewhere, ball it up and throw it in She-Hulk's direction.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Yeah, little and accurate is for people and certain robots. Everything else here is descended from something that was nasty enough to survive the apocalypse on the surface, and it's not gonna go down easy.

Fortunately, Lawton's repeat fire is plenty enough to finally get through to the beast that it ought to, y'know, stop moving. That's what happens when a repeated hail of ammunition shatters anything resembling a coherent cranial vault. Cue one dead deathclaw.

The other one- Voodoo's deathclaw- is suddenly having twice as bad of a day as before. Voodoo's automatic is getting an assist from Ellen's plasma rifle, as fast and as often as the green blobs of light can fly.

(Burning deathclaw hide smells awful, by the way. Plasmafying deathclaw hide smells even worse. Don't get the green goo on you, you won't like it.)

[boston_bruiser]

With the combined fire of the M60 and the plasma rifle, it doesn't take long for the Deathclaw to stumble to the ground. It lets out a bloodcurdling snarl -

- just before a five-round burst perforates its thick skull.

"One down!"