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Post by skybright on May 25, 2010 23:12:22 GMT -5
"Yeah, and that's the real trick, isn't it?" Daws said with a frustrated sigh, folding her arms. "We're no further along than we were on it, either."
Caddy frowned thoughtfully. "Well, I don't know about getting in there -- but he brought at least a couple of these people with him when you ran into him at Voegel's apartment, didn't he?"
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Post by Jordanna on May 26, 2010 22:10:25 GMT -5
Vance frowned. "Yeah--that's the whole reason you got to see the effects of the stuff firsthand. What about it?"
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Post by skybright on May 26, 2010 22:17:45 GMT -5
Caddy shrugged one shoulder. "Well, I mean. Strategy isn't exactly my line of work in this whole operation, but it seems to me if he was that keen to get his hands on the stuff you brought me, you might be able to use it to lure him out. Maybe, I don't know, take down one or two of these slaves of his before you go in after the rest of them?"
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Post by Jordanna on May 26, 2010 22:31:37 GMT -5
Vance rubbed his jaw through his mask. "That's an interesting idea. Not sure how we'd work it, and we don't have much time, but..."
Nate eyed Thatcher. "Suppose we let him drop the bait? Set it up to look like he escaped from us--and have him send G's attack dogs and anybody else who'll come into a trap."
"Letting Thatcher go back to 'em would probably tip 'em off that we know about the move... but they're probably guessing that anyway." Vance turned a hard, direct gaze on Thatcher. "But even if we're ready to trust you that far, it'd be a huge risk for you. They could get suspicious--and either way, we probably wouldn't be able to get any word to you before our real strike."
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Post by skybright on May 26, 2010 22:34:50 GMT -5
"But it's a solid plan." Thatcher replied. "Doctor G's not in this for the betterment of the Project; if he thinks sending the hounds will get him what he wants, he'll do it, even if it means pulling them off the complex. If it could get even a few of them away from him . . ."
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Post by Jordanna on May 26, 2010 22:53:06 GMT -5
"It'd be better to let them come to us than fight them all on their own turf," Vance concluded darkly. He was silent in thought for a long moment, and then spread his hands.
"Okay. Thatcher, as of now, I think it's best we don't let you hear anything more. In a worst-case scenario, I don't want you to be forced to tell even more than you know now... well, except for one obvious thing. The location for this trap, because you'll have to take that information back to G and the rest of 'em."
He glanced wryly around at the peeling wallpaper and torn furniture. "I'd offer up this place, but we've had a nice arrangement with the landlords, and it wouldn't be a nice way to repay them."
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Post by skybright on May 26, 2010 23:15:41 GMT -5
"That sort of thing does seem to make people cranky for some reason." Daws cocked her head for a moment, thinking. "There's a couple of recently-condemned buildings not far from here -- the sort of place people like us might hole up in, under the right circumstances. I don't guess anybody would mind too much if we knocked a few more holes in one of them."
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Post by Jordanna on May 26, 2010 23:26:24 GMT -5
"Sounds good," Vance agreed, and glanced at Thatcher.
"I want to be as prepared as we can be for whatever comes calling. If you've got any suggestions about what kind of mutant powers would be best at taking on G's slaves, I'd like to hear 'em."
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Post by skybright on May 26, 2010 23:32:55 GMT -5
Thatcher frowned. "About all I can tell you is you're going to have to be prepared for close combat and long range." He said. "I think he chose the hounds to be a mix of both -- plus one of them can create force fields as well."
"Yeah, we met him already." Daws replied dryly.
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Post by Jordanna on May 27, 2010 22:26:31 GMT -5
Vance pushed a notepad in front of Thatcher. "List all the powers you know they have. I'm pretty sure we can counter or at least match whatever they've got to throw at us."
"The question is which ones G would send," Nate murmured.
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Post by skybright on May 29, 2010 22:37:52 GMT -5
Thatcher frowned as he bent over the pad of paper, scribbling out information. "Who did he send to Voegel's apartment?"
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Post by Jordanna on May 30, 2010 22:01:09 GMT -5
"The force-field generator we mentioned," Vance recalled. "And a female teleporter."
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Post by skybright on May 30, 2010 22:29:20 GMT -5
Thatcher nodded. "Thought so. The two of them are almost always paired up. I don't know if that's because their powers just work well together, or . . ." His expression darkened. "Or if they mean something to each other. I wouldn't put it past G. to use something like that to his advantage -- in fact I'm positive he would. And since she's the long-range teleporter of the group, you'll probably be facing off against both of them again."
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Post by Jordanna on May 31, 2010 21:57:57 GMT -5
"Our own teleporter already went up against her," Vance noted. "I don't know about range, but it looked like she could move more mass at one time than he can."
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Post by skybright on Jun 1, 2010 18:06:24 GMT -5
Thatcher nodded grimly. "I've seen her move half of the Hounds from one place to another within the building. I think she must be naturally quite powerful, and with the poison amplifying that . . ." He shrugged.
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 6, 2010 21:55:29 GMT -5
Vance raised an eyebrow behind his mask. "I wonder if there's something we can do about that. Doc..." He turned to Caddy. "What about that stuff we stole from the Bat--the stuff that cuts down on a mutant's powers? Any guess how it would affect somebody on G's poison?"
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Post by skybright on Jun 7, 2010 19:48:01 GMT -5
Caddy frowned and made a thoughtful noise. "I can run some tests. It's not a systemic depressant like most sedatives, so we might be able to risk it. Best-case scenario, it might take them back down to a normal level of function."
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 8, 2010 22:19:45 GMT -5
Vance nodded, and then ventured further with his line of thought. "You told us it takes a little time to take effect. If we were to send some with Thatcher, when we turn him loose to pull the hounds into our trap... Is there some effective way he could slip it to them without giving himself away?"
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Post by skybright on Jun 8, 2010 23:47:47 GMT -5
"Maybe. Possibly. Can't guarantee anything. The only stable form of the stuff we've got so far is administered by injection." Caddy rubbed the back of his neck. "I've been working on a version that would absorb through the skin -- not that different from how G's toxin works, actually -- and one that's delivered via inhalation. I could probably try and do a rush job on one of those."
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 9, 2010 22:02:25 GMT -5
"If you can manage that, we'll be glad to take it. We need every advantage we can get," Vance nodded.
"So, to recap," Nate spoke up. "We're gonna send Thatcher back with some misinformation, hoping it'll lure the hounds to some abandoned place where we can trap them. And then once we've taken out as many of them as we can get, we're gonna do a full assault on the main lab."
"That's the basic plan," Vance confirmed grimly.
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