[ QUOTE ]
"Hey, Richard" he said, pulling out the one he had gotten when they were fighting the hell-roaches "Since we all have one of these now, do I need to keep this one?"
[/ QUOTE ]
"No, that's my one. Sorry, I thought I got that back already", Richard replied a little sheepishly before swiping the device out of Matrix's hands. "As I told Danny though, if the materials are there one of the worktables has the plans to make them. And there's the entry portal and the two telepads in the teleporter room, it's the left hallway when you get back to the entryway." He pointed back down the hallway they'd come from.
"Also whoever was asking about food, they did have some but I'd imagine anything left here's long past being edible. We'll need to grab some supplies from somewhere once we get a working portal out."
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: STOP!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WAIT ONE SECOND!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WHAT IS A SEAGULL DOING ON MY THRONE!?!?
[ QUOTE ]
"No, that's my one. Sorry, I thought I got that back already", Richard replied a little sheepishly before swiping the device out of Matrix's hands.
[/ QUOTE ]
"Oh" said Matrix as the device was swiped. He put his device back in his pocket and, following the directions Richard gave him, went into the workroom. He looked at the clutter of tools and parts and sighed. He put his longbow and quiver down near the entrance of the room and walked around, looking for potentional parts. After standing around for a few moments trying to decide what to do, he went over to the workbench and placed the teleporter device on it. He reached into the pocket he hadn't used yet and pulled out a potato chip bag.
"Shouldn't of eaten that" he muttered sadly before tossing it behind him, then taking out a switch-blade and a Swiss Army Knife. He put the switch down and fooled around with the army knife until he found a small knife. Carefully, he cut along the sides of his teleporter device until the metal containing it's innards came free. He plucked the metal off the device and looked inside it, analyzing what wires there were, where they connected, whatever made the machine work. Finally, he trotted over to the pile of parts and looked around, picking up things and putting them under his arm.
As the pair drew to the entrance of the tower known as The Library. Draculad opened the door for his guest and with a simple "after you" he ushered her inside then followed suit.
"I'd normally keep this locked, but I doubt that we'd want to keep other humans away, and bugs don't care about opening doors." He said. "Now then, you can head on up to the top of the building where Luke or Larry or whatever his name is, see if he's still alive. I'll join you momentarily to discuss a few things." With that, he turned to his left, opened the door that lead down to the basement, and dissapeared down below.
The space that made up his basement was simply a giant room, lit by long blue ceiling lights. It was empty save for a large computer in it's center, with the only chair in the building placed in front of it. This computer was made over five years ago by his close friend, the brilliant Dr. Stevenson.
Sitting down at the computer, Draculad spoke to it.
"X-S, Turn on please."
"Good Morning Sir." the X-System replied. "How are you feeling today?"
"I am feeling well, thank you. Show me the outdoor view please." Draculad ordered the system. A screen popped up on the monitor that showed what the camera hidden above the door to his home was recording. In the distance, he could see the small red dots of the bugs, crawling around outside.
"It seems the town has a bug infestation, Sir." the X-S noticed.
"Quite." Draculad answered. "They're very dangerous, I don't want them inside the library."
"I shall prevent their entry, Sir." X-S responded. "I shall assume your guests are seeking refuge from these pests."
"Indeed, I'm going upstairs momentarily to discuss a plan of action with them, could you compile a list of options for us please?."
"I'll have it ready for you after your conversation, Sir."
"Thank you X." Draculad sat back in his chair and began to think for a moment.
She felt it best to keep her mind occupied. Healing someone, yes, yes that would work. Being a doctor did keep her mind occupied. As she trudged up the stairs, she took out her medical pack and looked it over. The simple device, similar to a remote control, was able to do more than heal wounds with a green mending lazer: it was capable of resurecting a body completely back to life within one hour of its demise. This was extremely strenuous on the device's batteries: and Dr. Lore reminded herself there was only one resurect left in the device... two if she pushed its limits hard enough, but that was very improbable.
Upon reaching the top step, she looked around for the second man in the tower. "Hey, anyone up here? ...Alive, perferably?"
((OOC: Yeah, she's a brute that can rez. Go on. Lols. You have no idea how useful that is in a pug.))
The Freedom Server Wallflower (shhh, sleepy)
Angelfish on DrunkDuck.com
Dr. Lore at HeroCon 2008
Arc 67690: Out For Blood
Danny floated impatiently by the workbench, watching Matrix work. He couldn't contribute, and he was stuck in the base, so he was going a bit squirrely. "'m votin' against raidin' an El Super Mexicano for food, f'r th'record." he commented acerbically. Then he paused, thinking for a moment.
"There're some base-type widgies over thataway." he added, then thought some more. "And if'n ye're needin' wee powersources, 've got these..." he finished off, pulling out an arrow with a strange, blunt head. A brief twist, and the Talsorian Blade that formed the cutting edge snapped to life with a crack and a hiss, casting an eerie green light across the dimly lit workbench.
"M'Cross-D quiver still seems t'be workin', a'least." he said. "I dinnae ha' quite infinite arrows, bu' there sh'd be enough f'r just 'bout anythin' we're needin'."
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((okay... if Unholygiant hasn't put in a reappearance by tonight, it'll have been a full week without word. I have some ideas as to where to take this; what would be the general feeling towards me taking over the running of this? Of course, if Unholygiant turns up soon, I'll turn it back over to them, but... well, I don't really want this one to die))
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((Go for it.))
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: STOP!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WAIT ONE SECOND!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WHAT IS A SEAGULL DOING ON MY THRONE!?!?
((Take charge Cham. Woulda been a shame to see this one get shot down, it had a nice general idea))
Matrix heard Dan and nodded, the only indication he was alive except the rapid movement of his hands. Before someone could blink, he speeded over to where TargetLad had announced and looked around, grabbing bits and pieces that he needed. He speeded back over, and his hands worked in fast-forward as he hastened to get done. He stopped and took a step back, admiring his work. It was a hunk of rectangular metal with intricate wires running through the exposed back. He turned to Dan and asked "So, where do we want this thing to end u?"
((Yeah, go ahead and take over. Some of us *ahem* can't move without Unholygiant here, so we need direction))
The Freedom Server Wallflower (shhh, sleepy)
Angelfish on DrunkDuck.com
Dr. Lore at HeroCon 2008
Arc 67690: Out For Blood
((going to be a bit before I can do a serious plot-post, but I should be able to get it up later tonight... stay tuned, all))
Danny blinked at Matrix zooming around like bad stop-motion animation. "I saw th'folks i' Atlas Park, no' far fr' th'statue. Dinna know if'n they stayed there, o'course, but 'tis a reasonable spot t'start." Leaving the other archer to work, he wandered off, floating swiftly down one corridor and up the next.
After a bit, he found his way back to Richard in the ops center. "Ah... an' how big were ye sayin' thi' place wa'?" he questioned. "On account o' i' seemin'... bloody huge. An' creepy." he added.
((and yes, there is reason for this. The base is a wee bit bigger than Richard remembers... there's also a practical reason for it- if this is going to be a safehouse (for a given value of 'safe' <.<
for survivors, we're going to need room >.>)
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
[ QUOTE ]
After a bit, he found his way back to Richard in the ops center. "Ah... an' how big were ye sayin' thi' place wa'?" he questioned. "On account o' i' seemin'... bloody huge. An' creepy." he added.
[/ QUOTE ]
"I don't remember it being particularly big, we weren't a large supergroup so we couldn't afford a really huge base. Actually hang on a moment, I'll see if one of these things will work for long enough to let me pull up a map." He went over to one of the few consoles that was still working and hit a few buttons, resulting in a detailed map of the base popping up on the screen. Or at least the original base was detailed, the map showed a far larger area than Richard remembered but most of it was only a bare outline. "Ok, yeah that's a bit bigger than it used to be." He tapped a few more buttons, trying to pull up access logs, security footage, anything that might show who expanded the base. Of course this resulted in the screen flickering and dying again, and then in Richard planting a decent kick in the side of the machine. "WORK YOU USELESS HUNK OF CRAP!", he yelled at it.
"Now now, yelling at it won't get you anywhere", Areu said from over by the other console where he'd dropped her.
"No, but it does make me feel better." Grumbling to himself Richard picked up his axe and wandered off, intending to explore the bits he hadn't known about.
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: STOP!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WAIT ONE SECOND!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WHAT IS A SEAGULL DOING ON MY THRONE!?!?
((doodaa, if you could have Matrix finish the repairs in your next post, that'd be great- it'll make things simpler if the quartet and the duo become a single group- Techno and Golden are kind of at loose ends, and I'd like to gather them in))
The kick resulted in a decent-sized chunk of the ceiling dropping onto Richard's head as he started to walk out of the room, accompanied by the lights flashing out 'Jerk!'. Given that he was more-or-less invulnerable, that didn't do much, but it was likely to be a little disquieting, especially since the ceiling seemed stable otherwise.
Danny gave the ceiling a worried look, but didn't comment. He flew back to where Matrix was working and hovered, waiting as patiently as he ever did... which wasn't very... for the telepad repairs to be finished.
------
Across town, yet another earth-shattering shriek sounded- the clear sound of a sonic-empowered superhuman pushing themselves to their very limits, in desperation or anger, it was hard to tell. The big window across the tram shattered into a thousand thousand glittering shards, and glass showered from exploding windows as far away as the docks.
Devil-termites exploded from the walls, pouring out like an obscene crimson tide, hailing from walls and oozing out of every crevice to form a sluggishly moving carpet, the majority of the bugs stunned, some even dead, as they built up to be nearly three feet deep in the Eastern end of the zone, tapering off to a 'mere' foot closer to the center of the Island.
Throughout the city, the bugs... shifted... disturbed, often extruding slightly beyond the protective walls that formed the borders of their hiding places, a pulsing, throbbing ripple of bloody red from a wounded city, eerie in the urban nightglow.
------
Back in the base, in the now-empty ops center, the lights flickered 'What the hell was that?' as the consoles flashed to life, screens scanning rapidly across Paragon City.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((I wouldn't say we're at loose ends, I kinda like how we're seperate for now. We'll join up eventually, but no need to rush it.))
[ QUOTE ]
((I wouldn't say we're at loose ends, I kinda like how we're seperate for now. We'll join up eventually, but no need to rush it.))
[/ QUOTE ]
((... sent you a PM about this))
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((I'm assuming I'm still completeing it soooo...))
Matrix nodded and turned back to the device, using his Swiss Army Knife at random intervals to do who-knows-what. Finally he stepped back and nodded, admiring his work. "Ok" he muttered, then fixed a rectangular sheet of metal to the back. He picked it up and tossed it slightly, catching it again. It was a rectangle metal box with two antenna sticking out with blue balls on the tops. He looked at Dan and nodded "You might wanna step back out of the..." He stopped and looked at TargetLad, thinking for the right word "Blast radius" He smiled and pressed a small red button in the center. Electricity surged between the two antennas until it reached the two balls on top. The device shook, as did the base as the device tried to open a portal through space. There was a blinding flash, and there stood a swirling blue portal. "Haha!" he laughed as he saw his device was a success.
((apologies for the delay... just getting something fairly important sorted with Techno. Soon as that's dealt with, I think things are going to get rather interesting *evilgrin*))
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((Edited for a real post, thanks to TeChameleon for PMing me the info))
"Man. there's a heap of this stuff here", Richard commented to his companion as they wandered through the base. "I don't think there's any way one of the old group put any of this here though. There'd be no reason to, most of them moved on to other groups."
"Yeah, you're probably right about that. Though I still can't shake this odd feeling that something's- whoa. Yeah definitely not put here by any hero, I don't know of any that can do that." It was abundantly obvious what she was talking about - they'd come to the edge of a pit. But this was no ordinary pit. Across it Richard could see the hallway continued, but to the sides he could see the warped sky that a hero more experienced than himself might recognise as that of the Shadow Shard. "Did we intersect with another dimension maybe? Or is that an illusion?" He bent down to pick up a small piece of debris from the floor and dropped it over the edge. It fell a fair way but eventually came to rest against an invisible barrier.
"So, an illusion then." He waved Areu about in the altered space just to be sure, but it didn't seem to have any effect so he leapt over the gap and continued on. A few empty and uninteresting rooms later, some small and some not so small, he came to another room that was clearly out of place. "Oh hey, didn't we beat up some of those Council goons in a base that looked just like this?", Areu asked as they inspected what was clearly a room from a Council base. What it was doing here was anyone's guess. Richard looked around for anything that might be useful, but there were no computers or anything similar as there would be in a normal base. Nor were there any in the Oranbegan cavern they found next, though interestingly the waterfall that usually followed through such a cavern was dry. Though since it wouldn't be connected to any kind of water source in this pocket dimension it wasn't really that surprising. Still, they paid it little attention as they searched but again there was nothing of much use besides the space, should they happen to find more survivors. Returning back the way they came Richard asked absently, "So what were you going to say before?
"You mean before we found this illusion cutting across the hallway? I was saying I couldn't shake the feeling someone or something is watching us. I still can't, by the way", Areu answered as they leapt back over that very same obstacle. "Something other than our group is here, though what I couldn't say."
"I'll see if the internal scanners can pick up anything when we get back." Richard looked up at the still flickering lights as they reentered the part of the base that he remembered. "Really gotta do something about those too, they're getting annoying."
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: STOP!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WAIT ONE SECOND!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WHAT IS A SEAGULL DOING ON MY THRONE!?!?
((Alrighty, Im going to get in this as well. Seems pretty cool, please tell me if anything is wrong and I will edit in time :]))
((My character is a Broadsword/Super Reflexes Scrapper))
John yawned as his iPod buzzed in his ear, starting the new day.
"Damn it." He grumbled, slightly frustrated. Once again, the power was out, but this wasnt unusual due to all the Clockwork activity right above his base and I use that term lightly. John made sure to make a mental note Remember to kick their [censored]
again. Also, remember to find a new power source, electricity just doesnt cut it anymore. It wasnt until he started stumbling around in the darkness that he noticed that there was something awry.
It was eerily quiet, complete silence. This -was- unusual, very unusual. By now you could hear the hustle and bustle of the many citizens above starting their new day, or ending their night. He stumbled around for his suit, he gave up fighting through the mess and settled with a grey tank top and some nice cargo pants he had just bought the day before. Man these are clean to, oh well got to break them in somehow. By now he knew something was defiantly wrong. He reached around the table and grabbed his cell phone, flipping it open. No reception. What the hell is going on. John whispered, this city has no dead zones. Well, save Dark Astoria. He kept the light from the cell phone on so he could find his way to the trap door in the ceiling leading out to the abandoned building in the north eastern sector of Steel Canyon. Its then we he saw it.
It was a mess, he really needed to clean his room. There were clothes everywhere. Its a wonder he didnt break his leg or something stumbling around in that mess. Another mental note as he unlocked the hatch and jumped up, grabbing his speed boots on the leap up. He clipped them on, and pulled the hilt of the vanguard issued light saber. He used to use a regular old steel broadsword but he liked the badass-ness of the green glowing laser weapon. Unfortunately, it would prove nearly useless against what he was about to face.
He looked up at the piercing sun and shielded his eyes, he flipped out his very expense looking aviator sunglasses and threw them over his dark blue eyes. It was a bit chilly, freezing actually. To late now, he would have to deal with it. First order of business, deal with these Clockwork
again. They usually gathered in a little warehouse on the corner of the street. He began his walk, trudging through the heat all the while looking around. No-one, nothing, it was like a ghost town. In the heat it sounded like a desert, with the bugs chirping and chiming. It was a very ominous tone.
John flipped open the warehouse doors, and let fly his blade, ready to attack the usual mob of robotic monstrosities usually greeting him at the door. Nothing, he just kept walking guard up, senses aware, the chip in his brain fully functioning. His eyes scanned everything in the room, every crack, every red termite? What the hell is that? It puzzled John that the only living thing for what seemed like miles was a little red termite looking bug. Soon that one turned to many, quickly swarming toward John at breakneck speed. Good thing John was faster, in an instant he clicked his boots on and blazed out of the room leaving a small trail of dust behind him. No, he wasnt a coward, he knew better than to fight a swarm of red bugs in an abandoned City of Heroes. This was obviously the cause of the silence. John was moving at nearly one hundred miles an hour now bobbing and weaving through the streets, dodging the empty cars and parking meters. He came to a sudden halt above Icon looking over the small lake. He couldnt believe his eyes, they were still coming and fast. Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t!
(( Meh that was my bad on the page breaks. I did hit enter but I guess a single one and a tab doesnt register on the forums or something, I fixed it.))
((Two things, Dredge- first off, Paragraph breaks are your friend. That's a bit of a wall-o'-text to wade through. Secondly, it's already been established that it's cold out (Danny, my character, wore a coat because of it).
Also, Techno, are you coming back? I'm seriously just waiting for your answer before we can keep going))
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((Wall of Text crits you for 500000000000!
Sorry, but like Cham said, paragraph breaks are your friend. You can leave it for now, just next time try to use the Enter/Return key a little bit 
Also, I think it was established that it was cold. Why Matrix is wearing jeans/sweatshirt))
sorry i've been busy.
i'm pretty dissapointed by saying this, but whatever direction you feel you want to take the story, i'll go along with it.
((trust me, there is an excellent reason for what I'm doing. If I get any of the details wrong, please let me know, Techno. Also, yay, I can keep going!
And... is it just me, or is almost everyone bringing in characters that would have a really rough time fighting swarms of regular-sized bugs? 
))
The instant the portal stabilized, Danny bolted through, soaring out into the cold air above Atlas Park, his voice lingering behind briefly. "There're folks i' trouble, wha're ye standin' 'round for, y'great gowk?" Then his rocket boots kicked in, and he started to move, a blue-glowing exclamation point carved across the night sky for Draculad's Library Tower. "There's summat weird goin' on here..." Danny said, mostly to himself. If the commlinks were still working, it wasn't well.
Eldricht lights played around the tower, weird shimmers like summer lightning dancing across it. One moment a portion was bright and shiny-new looking (or as much as a gothic tower ever got, anyways), much like the rest of Atlas Park usually was, the next it was very slightly dingy, like the buildings surrounding it. Age and emptiness had come for the Library, crawling across it like scabs developing in fast-forward.
All around the base of the tower, the bugs were in a frenzy, a boiling, writhing red carpet whirling around the walls like jaws snapping, lunging at the walls and darting back as another flash of weird non-light earthed itself.
Inside, the lights flickered feebly, and the X-S system fought the encroaching entropy, error messages flashing and vanishing as the powerful computer struggled mightily against whatever forces were invading the tower... in vain.
One bite at a time, the Library vanished, the interior replaced with dusty, empty rooms... or, worse still, sticky, dripping tunnels with vaguely organic-looking walls that echoed with a diseased chittering. The devastation slowed as it approached the core where X-S resided, but it didn't stop.
------
Downstairs, the change swept across the room just slowly enough to be seen, crawling obscenely across the room with a tinge of uncanny non-light at the transition point. It tingled as it oozed over Dr. Lore, but left her unharmed and unchanged, at least on the surface. In her hand, the medilaser blinked softly.
Then the sound came... a tiny, faint crunching, ever on the edge of hearing. Above Dr. Lore, the ceiling wavered a final time... and then one of the devil termites dropped through. And another. And...
------
Upstairs, X-S was sending out a distress signal. It could not stop the change.
------
Outside, Danny risked a yell. "Oi! Y'gits i' th'tower! If'n ye head f'r th'roof, I c'n get ye off an' clear! An' maybe t'a safe spot."
------
In Richard's extradimensional base, the screens in the ops center were pulsing brilliant light, showing Talos Island and, dimly visible in the shattered night, a small human figure in the midst if virtual drifts of stunned or dead bugs. The lights in the center and across the complex flashed 'Uh... hello? This could be important...'
((Techno, if you want to have Draculad save X-S by yanking his memory core or whatever and bring it to the ruined base, you can))
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((I'll take over Unholygiant's surviving character Leon for now. Feel free to control him for situations if you need to.))
The doctor didn't go too far to find her patient in the Library. The young man was slumped in a chair, a book he had been holding had fallen to the ground on its pages. His head was slumped and his eyes were closed, his chest moved ever so slightly with slow breaths. Clearly, passed out from fatigue. Dr. Lore's first order of business was to power up her medilaser and wave it up and down the young man, healing him enough to wake him with a bit of energy. After his healthy dose of warm, green light, she walked right up to him and started patting his cheeks to fully rouse him.
"Hey... wake up." She watched as his eyes opened but seemed to register nothing. He looked scrawny, starved even, and he had lost quite a bit of blood by the look of his slightly colorless face. Just as she considered using the rest of her medical equipment on him, a faint movement out the corner of her eye caught her attention and she turned quickly. The sight made her gasp, and could only watch in horror as the room seemed to rot away all around her into an empty space. Her arms crossed in front of her defensively as the change moved over her, leaving a tingling sensation. After it passed, she checked her medilaser and sighed in relief at the light. "Oh, thank God..."
Her eyes didn't seem to register anything happening around her. Were the bugs doing this? As if to answer her, she caught the movement of one dropping from the ceiling. And another... And another...
"No..." she staggered away from the slowly growing swarm of them towards Leon. Not one to abandon a patient, she picked up the still unresponcive youth and hoist him onto her back and ran for the stairs.
"HEY! THEY'RE COMING IN!" she yelled down. "WE HAVE TO GET OUT!"
Past the sound of the dropping bugs, she thought she heard someone yelling from outside. She wasn't sure if she was hearing things or not, or if she was finally going crazy and everything around her was now just in her head. But one thing was certain: she shouldn't be here. She had to get out. Going down the stairs to the ground floor was out of the question as the bugs were all on the ground level. There was only one place left to go, and she yelled back down the stairs, hoping her rescuer could hear her.
"HEY! HOW DO WE GET TO THE ROOF?!"
The Freedom Server Wallflower (shhh, sleepy)
Angelfish on DrunkDuck.com
Dr. Lore at HeroCon 2008
Arc 67690: Out For Blood
((So what happened to Plague? Gave up?))
[ QUOTE ]
In Richard's extradimensional base, the screens in the ops center were pulsing brilliant light, showing Talos Island and, dimly visible in the shattered night, a small human figure in the midst if virtual drifts of stunned or dead bugs. The lights in the center and across the complex flashed 'Uh... hello? This could be important...'
[/ QUOTE ]
Richard was muttering angrily to himself as he came back into the ops center, something about 'useless equipment'. Probably he meant the still flickering lights, but either way he stopped abruptly when he saw what the console was displaying. Leaving the question of why it was displaying that when it hadn't been when he left and no one had used it since then for later, he noted the location displayed on the map and hurried through to the workshop to see if Matrix's portal was still online. Thankfully it was, and stopped only to make sure he had his own portal device before running through.
Reappearing in Atlas Park, he took off towards the Skyway gate. Strangely, the police drones on either side of the gate were all still online, though they didn't appear to regard the bugs as a threat for whatever reason. Yet another question to answer later. Proceeding through Skyway City to the Talos gate he noted a couple of spots were the bugs seemed to be extremely numerous. Maybe they'd found survivors that hadn't been so lucky. Regardless, the silence was again broken only by his own footfalls as he jumped from building to building, not staying anywhere long enough for the bugs to notice.
Finally reaching Talos, he consulted his map to retrieve the location he'd written down earlier and headed in that direction. As he approached where the latest survivor should be, he began to see increasing numbers of dead or stunned bugs. Finally he saw the person he was here to collect, and aimed for them. Dropping out of the sky with an odd crunching sound as several bugs were crushed under his feet, he put one arm around the other person and leapt away again before the bugs could take them both. Bouncing off a wall before landing on the next building over, he headed for the nearest War Wall. He'd noticed the bugs tended to avoid them so they should be safe there for a while. Landing carefully on the edge of the structure he finally let go and turned to explain. "Sorry about that. They seem to avoid the Walls so we should be safe here for a while."
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: STOP!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WAIT ONE SECOND!
[Admin] Emperor Marcus Cole: WHAT IS A SEAGULL DOING ON MY THRONE!?!?
Matrix took the device and looked it over before depositing it in his pocket, where he found he still had the one from earlier. "Hey, Richard" he said, pulling out the one he had gotten when they were fighting the hell-roaches "Since we all have one of these now, do I need to keep this one?" He was asking this because it was an updated device that makes portals, and everyone wanted a way out of the base, and he had a pretty good idea of what he could do. "If not" he explained "I might be able to scrap together something to get us out of here"