The Will Stanton Affair

[Natalie Denisov]

"Cruising. Honestly. Is that what you teens get up to these days?" the guard asked Natalie.

It takes Natalie a moment to process that she needs to respond. "When there's nothing more interesting to do," she says, still a little distracted.

[Samantha McManus]

"Oi!" Sam says to the guard outside.

"Her royal bossiness thought she saw something out here. Want to win me a pint?"

[Toshiro Narumi]

The thing almost immediately started pinging back results -- Will had DEFINITELY been here. He had even been in the storage room that Nailah and Tosh had fallen into.

The trail went two different ways -- one out a set of double-doors near where the paper was fed into the racks, and one out a set of double-doors at the other end of the facility.

"Okay. Door number one," he said, directing Nailah to the two option, "...or door number two? My gut says one."

[Narrator]

"Oi!" Sam says to the guard outside.

"Her royal bossiness thought she saw something out here. Want to win me a pint?"

"And how I would go about doing that, then?"

[Nailah Weaver]

"Then let's try that one first." Nailah nods and tries to make her way through the room while staying int he cover of machinery as much as possible.

[Samantha McManus]

"She thought she saw a car circling the place, coming from over there," Sam says, pointing and hopefully leading the man away from the alleyway.

"I told her it's probably just some kids cruising, but she insisted."

[Narrator]

"She thought she saw a car circling the place, coming from over there," Sam says, pointing and hopefully leading the man away from the alleyway.

"I told her it's probably just some kids cruising, but she insisted."

The guard looked confused. "I haven't seen anyone go by since I've been out here. You sure it this direction?"

[Narrator]

"Cruising. Honestly. Is that what you teens get up to these days?" the guard asked Natalie.

It takes Natalie a moment to process that she needs to respond. "When there's nothing more interesting to do," she says, still a little distracted.

The guard moved in to give her a closer look. "You...you alright there, kid? You're not some junkie, are you?"

[Samantha McManus]

"Well if you ask me she's angling for a promotion, but we've got to check it out."

[Neena Thurman]

"Then let's try that one first." Nailah nods and tries to make her way through the room while staying int he cover of machinery as much as possible.

The two carefully pieced their way through the room, exiting some double-doors on the other side.

Bundles of bills -- millions and millions of pounds worth -- were stacked on pallets, and forklifts were wheeling them towards an armored train. The goods were clearly getting prepared to get out, though with the sheer number of stacks of bills still on the loading dock, it was clear the train wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

A white-skinned woman, wearing the security guard's uniform, was overseeing people loading up the train. Touting a fearsome looking assault rifle, she was barking out orders.

"C'mon, c'mon. I have better things to do than watching you idiots struggle all day. We have a schedule to keep."

[Narrator]

"Well if you ask me she's angling for a promotion, but we've got to check it out."

"Hah! I hear ya; Thurman's a real slave driver, isn't she? Tell ya what, I wouldn't mind if we all got moved up a slot -- maybe get you a chair indoors, right? Lazy bastard," he joked. "Let's go check it out."

[Natalie Denisov]

The guard moved in to give her a closer look. "You...you alright there, kid? You're not some junkie, are you?"

"Blood sugar's getting low," she says, still distracted as she tries to manage multiple camera feeds and keep the alarms complacent. "I don't suppose you've got any snacks?"

[Narrator]

The guard moved in to give her a closer look. "You...you alright there, kid? You're not some junkie, are you?"

"Blood sugar's getting low," she says, still distracted as she tries to manage multiple camera feeds and keep the alarms complacent. "I don't suppose you've got any snacks?"

"What, you diabetic or something? This ain't a daycare, kid."

It was hard to focus on what the security guard was saying; there was so much information floating through Natalie. There was Nailah and Tosh, creeping through the processing section of the plant, and Sam strolling along outside. There was so much movement, so much activity -- so many vantage points and points of view. Here, someone opened a door. There, someone punched in for work. The police, always asking to make sure everything was OK. Constantly asking her -- poking and prodding to make sure everything was fine. All running through the central room, and through her link, her -- so many images and permissions to manage...

[Toshiro Narumi]

Tosh quickly hid behind a stack of money. "Is it just me or does she seem a little too heavily armed and," he whispered, gulping, "scaryfor this job?"

[Natalie Denisov]

"What, you diabetic or something? This ain't a daycare, kid."

It was hard to focus on what the security guard was saying; there was so much information floating through Natalie. There was Nailah and Tosh, creeping through the processing section of the plant, and Sam strolling along outside. There was so much movement, so much activity -- so many vantage points and points of view. Here, someone opened a door. There, someone punched in for work. The police, always asking to make sure everything was OK. Constantly asking her -- poking and prodding to make sure everything was fine. All running through the central room, and through her link, her -- so many images and permissions to manage...

She begins muttering to herself as she processes things, "No, no, it's all good..." Her body begins to sag in the chair, threatening to fall out of the chair.

[Narrator]

She begins muttering to herself as she processes things, "No, no, it's all good..." Her body begins to sag in the chair, threatening to fall out of the chair.

"Kiddo? KIDDO?" the guard said, concerned, moving over to feel her temperature. "Frank, get over here--we may have a Code Yellow. Would explain why she was pokin' around the facility, at least."

[Nailah Weaver]

Nailah looks happy for a tenth of a second when she sees the piles of money, but her expression falters when she sees the people and the heavily armed lady. She ducks for cover along with Tosh.

"Dangit! She looks like a mutant too." she hedges, peering over the stack of money to confirm her suspicions. "Okay, try to find Will while I distract them!" she says and takes the roll of paper. Putting it on the ground she gives it a nudge to unroll it towards the pale woman, aiming for it to bump into her foot and draw her attention.

[Neena Thurman]

Nailah looks happy for a tenth of a second when she sees the piles of money, but her expression falters when she sees the people and the heavily armed lady. She ducks for cover along with Tosh.

"Dangit! She looks like a mutant too." she hedges, peering over the stack of money to confirm her suspicions. "Okay, try to find Will while I distract them!" she says and takes the roll of paper. Putting it on the ground she gives it a nudge to unroll it towards the pale woman, aiming for it to bump into her foot and draw her attention.

The paper rolled, rolled -- and bumped into the white-skinned woman's foot.

"What the hell?" she said. "Who the hell brought this out here? It's probably ruined now, and it's not coming out of my paycheck," she groused, headed over towards the stack of money Nailah and Tosh were hiding behind.

[Toshiro Narumi]

Tosh hurriedly crouch-walked to a new hiding place and started scanning for Will.

[Narrator]

Tosh hurriedly crouch-walked to a new hiding place and started scanning for Will.

Success! Or, at least, probable success --- Tosh had never actually scanned Will with this device in the past, so he was going on the assumption this was a positive signal. Still -- success!

By sheer happenstance, the pallet of bills Tosh had ducked behind? Definitley trans-dimensional, meaning almost certainly that they were certified, patented WillBucks, accepted as currency in most major markets. Fantastic!

...But another pallet registered as positive, as well, and that one was inside the train. Less fantastic.

...And there were decently strong remnants of signals from back inside the actual billmaking plant. A little tallow could make a lot of paper; could some of Will still be stuck in the machine?

...And for that matter, how much of Will did they technically need to reconstitute him? This sounded like a job for science....later. Now was the time for quick thinking. Which is like science. But different.

[Natalie Denisov]

"Kiddo? KIDDO?" the guard said, concerned, moving over to feel her temperature. "Frank, get over here--we may have a Code Yellow. Would explain why she was pokin' around the facility, at least."

She was actually overheating a little bit. Like an overclocked processor, she was doing more than her brain was used to handling. As the guard touched her to check her, she slumped forward against the guard, some of the camera feeds hiccuping as she fights to retain control of the system.

[Narrator]

"Kiddo? KIDDO?" the guard said, concerned, moving over to feel her temperature. "Frank, get over here--we may have a Code Yellow. Would explain why she was pokin' around the facility, at least."

She was actually overheating a little bit. Like an overclocked processor, she was doing more than her brain was used to handling. As the guard touched her to check her, she slumped forward against the guard, some of the camera feeds hiccuping as she fights to retain control of the system.

"Get on the horn to the hospital, now; we're gonna need a medic alert for this one," she said, trying to steady Natalie. "Get Oliver back in here, too; he called her parents, he needs to tell them we're taking her off the facility. You copy that, Oliver?" she asked into her walkie-talkie.

She tried to steady Natalie. "C'mon, kiddo, stay with me. Tell me about your pokemans or something, I'm sure it's fascinating.."

Her focus on Natalie meant that she missed the hiccups in the security feed -- at least for now.

The feed, however, kept swarming in on Natalie, asking her for information, reporting what was going on. As far as the system was concerned, she was the main security console -- the entire building slamming her with billions of bits of information, trying to run a top-level government installation through the head of a 19-year old mutant.

[Samantha McManus]

"...I swear, they'd forget their trousers if they weren't fastened at the waist. Medical emergency inside," she tells the other guard, rushing in.

[Natalie Denisov]

"I... I... I..." Her body jerks slightly as someone in the building opens a door and she reflexively suppresses the accompanying notification. "Too... too... too... long..." She starts to shiver.

[Narrator]

"Jesus, she's flipping out. Don't worry, kid; ambulance is on the way."

She took off her jacket and put it around Natalie, because, hey, shivering means warmth, right? She's a security officer, not a medic, dang it!



"What th....what's up with the console?" the other guard said, having finished calling the hospital. "Cams are going crazy."

[Nailah Weaver]

The paper rolled, rolled -- and bumped into the white-skinned woman's foot.

"What the hell?" she said. "Who the hell brought this out here? It's probably ruined now, and it's not coming out of my paycheck," she groused, headed over towards the stack of money Nailah and Tosh were hiding behind.

As she pokes her head around the corner Nailah throws a thick wad of pound notes in her face before trying to scramble on top of the pallet of money. Briefly taking a moment to blink at the fact that she's climbing on top of a literal pile of money. More than she'd ever seen or likely ever will see again. That was kind of crazy.

[Toshiro Narumi]

"Morrigan. We found him but we've got another problem. The armed kind and they've seen Sphinx," Tosh quietly radioed as he sneaked both closer to the train and to a better ambush position.

[Samantha McManus]

"Something's wrong with Intercept and they want to send her to the hospital. How pear-shaped are we talking?"

[Neena Thurman]

"What the f..." Domino said, instinctively sidestepping Nailah's toss -- lucky, wasn't it? -- and trying to get a bead on the nimble mutant. "Alright, freeze! Hold it right there!"


One of the workers ran over to pull the alarm switch...

Natalie

...Which sent blaring notices up and through Natalie. Something was happening! Something wrong! An enemy was in the loading dock! Fire, police, murder!

[Natalie Denisov]

Natalie's whole body goes rigid as her overloaded brain tries to handle and divert the new alerts. Unfortunately, that also causes a secondary problem in that her mind, responding to her body's state, starts to put some sections of the facility into lockdown by locking the doors and throwing away the electronic keys.

[Nailah Weaver]

"What the f..." Domino said, instinctively sidestepping Nailah's toss -- lucky, wasn't it? -- and trying to get a bead on the nimble mutant. "Alright, freeze! Hold it right there!"

"Sorryyy! No can do! You got a friend of ours stamped into these bills." Nailah informs her, almost unconsciously digging her claws deeper into the pile she's climbing, which tears away at the wrapping, making stack of money come crashing down on Domino while Nailah just barely makes it to the top and jump from the crumbling pile over to the next, more stable stack of money.

[Narrator]

Natalie's whole body goes rigid as her overloaded brain tries to handle and divert the new alerts. Unfortunately, that also causes a secondary problem in that her mind, responding to her body's state, starts to put some sections of the facility into lockdown by locking the doors and throwing away the electronic keys.

"Shit, something's gone pair shaped over here. All the systems are d...what the hell is going on at the loading dock?" the guards said, seeing Nailah's feat of acrobatics on the monitor. "We've got....we've got a mutant assault here. Where the hell are the X-Men when you need them?"

The security guard tried to rush out of the security office -- only to find the electronic door locked. "What the hell? What on Earth..."

[Narrator]

"What the f..." Domino said, instinctively sidestepping Nailah's toss -- lucky, wasn't it? -- and trying to get a bead on the nimble mutant. "Alright, freeze! Hold it right there!"

"Sorryyy! No can do! You got a friend of ours stamped into these bills." Nailah informs her, almost unconsciously digging her claws deeper into the pile she's climbing, which tears away at the wrapping, making stack of money come crashing down on Domino while Nailah just barely makes it to the top and jump from the crumbling pile over to the next, more stable stack of money.

"I said get DOWN!"

Was it Nailah's weight that caused the pallet holding the money to crack? Or was it just an old pallet that wasn't of very much use anymore? Either way, the stable pile of money suddenly got a lot less stable...

[Nailah Weaver]

Something was weird. Like her power skipped a beat just long enough for her to lose her footing. "Whoah..." she goes, arms waving before she snaps back into the path, wings flapping to help her twist herself around mid-fall and turn it into a drop-kick aimed at Domino.

[Toshiro Narumi]

"Something's wrong with Intercept and they want to send her to the hospital. How pear-shaped are we talking?"

"Well then we're pretty much in total FUBAR if I can't keep the train half of Will is already on from leaving. So... wish me luck in not getting shot?"

Tosh broke cover and ran for the train, transforming in a cloud of shredded fabric and speeding up as his stride lengthened .

[Samantha McManus]

Sam reaches the door to the security office, and finds herself locked out.

"...FUBAR it is, then."

She turns tail and runs for the loading dock.

[Natalie Denisov]

Natalie's brain finally taps out, mercifully robbing her of consciousness and any contact with the security system but also relinquishing any continuing control she might have had over the system. Of course, essentially ripping what had become the processor out of the security desk probably wasn't going to be kind to the equipment.

[Narrator]

Nailah
Her powers definitely were thinking something was amiss, but hey, adapting on the fly is what she does, right? She managed to turn the fall into a pretty sweet drop-kick, connecting with Domino's chest and sending her slamming backwards into one of the pallets of cash -- not one of the Will ones. Regular money.

Domino absorbed the blow with a grunt. "Oh, you're just asking for me to test how far they'll let me go, aren't you?" she said, grabbing one of the bundles of bills and winging it at Nailah with surprising strength and power, as she jumped back to her feet.

Tosh
Nailah's distraction meant that Tosh had been able to get close to the train without being spotted. Turning into a giant shark-thing, however, was slightly more noticable, and Tosh slammed people and crates out of the way as he approached the train.

The armored train car had several palettes of bills stacked high, including one of the two WillPiles. It also had a couple of the base's security guards, who did what anyone would do in this situation -- screamed.

One, thinking quickly, took out his tazer and shot it at Bruce, the two electric probes attempting to embed themselves in his skin.

This may not have been a good idea...and then the lights went out.

Sam
Sam found a door to the loading dock easy enough -- it was the door with all the FIGHTY sounds behind it. And fighty feelings, for that matter. It was locked, though, and the lights flickered off...

Natalie
The security desk sparked and fizzed as it's main processor went off-line. The system was designed to be fail-deadly, and every door in the place thudded with a mechanical locking sound as security went down. It also ended up disrupting the plant's power supply, and the omni-present whir of machinery sparked and thudded to a halt.

"Oh fuck! Get the backup generators on line so we can call out! We're going to need some help over here!"

[Nailah Weaver]

Nailah punches the bundle of cash out of the air with an almost smug grin on her face that falters a bit when that hurts way more than she anticipated. "Oww! Hey, I don't want to fight, we're just saving our friend. Really! He's a shapeshifter and he accidentally got into your money!" Even just saying it out loud Nailah realizes how ludicrous that story sounds and she finishes with a labored smile.

[Toshiro Narumi]

Bruce completely ignored the electric shock. In fact, it's possible a larger shock traveled back to the taser. He leapt onto the train, rushing to grab the WillPile with no regard for inanimate obstacles.