capeandcowllogs | In A.D. 2011, war was beginning.

In A.D. 2011, war was beginning.

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Edited 2011-05-18 14:43 (UTC)

Edited 2011-05-18 14:44 (UTC)

Ten minutes after it became clear that the City was experiencing an attack of massive proportions, Jack and his helicopter were in the air. The craft's powerful communications and information suite allowed Jack to continue belting out commands even as he flew to get a firsthand look at what was happening.

It was unlike anything he'd ever seen. If he had to classify it, he would call it a riot, but a pre-organized riot following a definite plan, whose participants were some of the most strangely armed and equipped people he'd ever seen. Judging by the buildings the crowds were pouring out of, it seemed clear that the immigration trend that had so recently given him hope for the City had been nothing more than a gigantic Trojan Horse, a mass infiltration in preparation for this attack. The thought only made him even angrier.

From their statement and from what he could see from the air, it was obvious their main objective was Manhattan and the Porter in Midtown. Hovering over the Manhattan Bridge, Jack saw hundreds of Crabhammers streaming across from Brooklyn into the island, storming through gridlocked civilian traffic, attacking anyone who didn't get out of their way quickly enough. Jack gritted his teeth and activated the helicopter's loudspeakers.

"THIS IS THE POLICE!" He roared. "LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY OR YOU WILL BE FIRED ON!" His answer came in the form of a flaming projectile arcing towards the chopper from a- catapult? Was that a catapult down there? Had they actually brought a catapult to attack the City with? That was it. Time to try out the chopper's new upgrades.

The projectile fell harmlessly into the East River. Jack activated the targeting system and stun cannons, locking onto the catapult operators. Blue bolts of energy flashed down from the sky with pinpoint accuracy, dropping four cloaked figures to the ground unconscious. Jack didn't hesitate before designating a new set of targets, starting with the hostiles who were threatening civilians. The bridge was a natural choke point for holding up their advance into Manhattan. He wasn't going to let any of them past.

Edited 2011-05-18 16:42 (UTC)

Once the bombs had started to go off and fires began to spread, Jack immediately made them a priority. From their location it was clear they were intended to be distractions for the main strike at the Porter, but they posed a major threat to civilians, especially from fires. They couldn't be ignored.

A police officer had spotted what looked like a bomb being planted in a department store by people dressed as blue-shirted COBRA troopers from G.I. Joe. The costumes may not have been real, but the weapons seemed to be, and the car had withdrawn while the store was evacuated and available STARS personnel were mobilized. A few minutes later Jack was leading them toward the store, painfully aware that his team wasn't at its full strength, and that the enemy would almost certainly be ready to defend their bomb.

Two straight days of unrelenting crisis. Even by Jack's standards, it had been a long haul. But he wasn't going to quit until the enemy did. So when the call came in that a new wave of hostiles was hitting one of the police roadblocks in Manhattan while the helicopter was being refueled and rearmed, there was nothing for Jack to do but get in his SUV and head down there to examine the situation.

Despite the chaos in the City, Jack had no problems with traffic as he sped down the road, courtesy of a power he wasn’t even aware that he had. So when another SUV suddenly roared out of a side street and slammed into the side of his car, Jack was taken completely by surprise. Quickly regaining control of the vehicle, he wrenched the wheel until he came to a halt at the side of the road.

Looking over his shoulder, he saw men getting out of the car that had hit him- and more getting out of a van behind it. He saw them carrying pipes, bats, knives, a few firearms. Jack recognized the face of the other driver from an old police file: Marcus Gyrich, former employee of anti-mutant crusader Cameron Hodge, convicted of 3rd degree stalking in December 2009 of a citizen he had argued with over Import rights. Jack had examined his file as someone who might be susceptible to being recruited into terrorist activity. Apparently his suspicions had been right.

The SUV’s windows were tinted, and the attackers couldn’t see who was inside. That didn’t stop them from making their assumptions. Jack flashed his lights and sounded the siren, its wail cutting throught he air. They ignored it. A bat slammed into the rear window and bounced off the bulletproof glass. Gyrich kicked the passenger door and shouted. “Open up! Hey! You got an Import officer in there, huh? Got an Officer Freak? Open up!” Another kick. “It’s all over for them! You get that? This is the end of the fucking road!” He turned and addressed his friends who cheered and hollered. “That’s what’s happening! People are finally fed up with all this freak bullshit! Time to get them all-“

Jack put the car in reverse and backed up fast. The attackers jumped out of the way to keep from getting run over. A brick skidded off the windshield. Jack turned the car around, but the van moved to block him, and the SUV was on the other side. He was boxed in. He was going to have to fight these people. Somehow, he found the prospect of taking them out didn’t really bother him that much.

Edited 2011-05-18 17:48 (UTC)

Jack was out of the helicopter for the moment, but that didn't mean he was off the job, not for a second. Sweat glistened on his brow as he bent over a map underneath the Washington Square Arch, surrounded by officers, paramedics, firefighters, civilian volunteers, and other people trying to help contain this thing. The sounds of continued chaos could be heard, not far away. A rough system had been worked out: Commissioner Hernandez was remaining at One Police Plaza to coordinate from the rear and talk to the various police precincts, fire stations, and hospitals, minimizing damage to the City and its populace, while Jack stayed out in the field, organizing things from the ground and focusing on defeating the enemy. He had not slept or eaten or bathed throughout the entire first day, and was well on his way to doing the same for Thursday. He ignored all that and focused on the map.

"All right, it looks like we've managed to keep them away from their main objective so far," he said, his voice tired but clear. "Judging by the reports we're getting, they've taken heavy casualties. I think it's time to start thinking about hitting back. We're going to be launching targeted raids." He reaches into a file folder, takes out a printout of the data the Red Queen gave him on the City's immigration patterns back in April. In identifying the hostels and apartments where people were moving, she had effectively mapped out the enemy's territory and bases of operations. He starts marking out key buildings on a map, the largest hotels and condos.

"It's likely these locations are serving as supply dumps and command centres for this attack. These people are being coordinated, if we can disrupt that, it will help slow them down. They've been living in these places, at the very least there must be intelligence in there we can use." He looked up and nodded to a SWAT commander. "You'll take your team to this complex in Queens, almost all its vacancies have been filled in the last few months which means it's likely in enemy hands." The commander nodded back.

Jack looked around the table. "I'm looking for volunteers to handle some of the other locations. And if anyone has anything they need to tell me or ask me, do it now because I'm back in the air within the hour."

[Open to anyone who wants to help Jack plan or just tell him to get some freaking sleep]

Edited 2011-05-18 18:08 (UTC)

It was taking a while to process the whole situation rapidly unfolding below. Really, Jaime was still boggling over the name Crabhammers. What the hell? Revenge of the nerds packing heat? An--

Did someone bring a catapult?

Even Scarab had to admit the oddball quality of it all, impressed. And lightly remind its host of the capacity to construct its own searing projectiles in response if the need be.

No. Thanks. Let's not make this STUPID-crazy. Just crazy is good.

The Blue Beetle made a wide arc in the air, high above the hot spot and within great view of said catapult's retaliation against a cop copter. Not a good thing. He changed course to come astride the thing while Scarab opened up a channel to speak directly to the pilot and its passengers.

"Hey, officers! Blue Beetle - Justice League! I'm here to help! Tell me what you need the most focus on and I'll be on it!"

Edited 2011-05-18 19:15 (UTC)

Jack was glad to see the help, especially since the Justice League had a high reputation as far as the City's vigilantes went. "Blue Beetle, this is Captain Jack Bauer!" He had to yell over the steady zap-zap-zap of the copter's stun cannons, dropping more medievally-dressed hostiles to the pavement. "We've got civilians trapped in their cars on the bridge, surrounded by hostiles. I need you to get as many of them as you can to safety!"

He gave a wave. "Aye-aye, sir!"

Wrong captain. Woops.

Nobody can see a face flush in black, at least! He was off, arms at his sides as he dove down bridgeward, swapping out his high-speed rocket power for the maneuverability (and awesomeness) of the beetle wings, the sudden slow of descent whipping his body to point feet-first. Scarab gave Jaime's voice the extra auditory oomph to broadcast over the then-preoccupied mass of crazies and accosted.

"Okay, guys! We're going to stop bothering the nice citizens, now! Back away from the cars an--!"

Something pelted against the back of his head. And exploded. And oozed. "What th--?!"

His hand came back red. He made a face, unable to keep from exclaiming: "Who the hell's throwing tomatoes?!"

Ophelia had been perfectly content to let the little nerds go about their 'destroy the porter' plan. She was actually rather fond of it, really...if that thing went away, she couldn't ever be ported out. Granted, she wasn't sure if that meant dying here became permanent too, but it was a risk she was willing to take, really.

And yet the nerds themselves weren't willing to leave her be. She had just been out for a stroll to watch the war when the mob had found her. Now she stood on the end of a street, arms crossed, with the gravedigger she had created in her first network post and a bride she had apparently picked up somewhere along the way. The gravedigger was holding a broken off parking meter, and the bride was hovering ominously in place with her misery-inducing storm cloud floating above her head.

"That's her! I had all the action figures from that game and she made them disappear!" One of the mob members in the front, dressed as what appeared to be a viking, was rallying the nerds around him to charge, but no one seemed quite willing to take that first step.

"Oh come on, boys. There's only three of us," Ophelia actually laughed, throwing one arm up mockingly, the black tears lashing around her a bit more rapidly than usual, belaying the faint concern she was feeling. She could probably get overwhelmed with sheer numbers, but she could always fly away...and she would have a bit of fun until then, right?

From a bit further back in the crowd, someone threw a bottle which shattered against a car next to Ophelia, causing her and her minions to shield their faces from the glass. And as if the shattering noise had broken a dam, the mob itself charged.

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Page 1 of 17

In A.D. 2011, war was beginning.

DAY ONE: 7:30 AM--10:00 AM (FIRST CHARGE, BROKEN TRAINS, TRAFFIC JAMS)

DAY ONE: 10:00 AM ONWARD (CONTINUED BATTLING, PUBLIC DISTURBANCES ELSEWHERE)

DAY ONE: 5:17 PM ONWARD (CONTINUED BATTLING, FIRES AND BOMBS ALL OVER)

DAY ONE: ALL DAY (ON THE SIDELINES, AT REST, TAKING BREAKS, ETC.)

DAY ONE: ALL DAY (FORGET THE BATTLE, I HAVE HBO)

DAY TWO: 1:00 AM -- 6:28 AM (CONTINUED BATTLING, ENEMY ENERGY DRINKS)

DAY TWO: 6:28 AM -- 12:00 PM (CONTINUED BATTLING, PIRATING THE RADIO STATION)

DAY TWO: 12:00 PM -- 7:42 PM (CONTINUED BATTLING, TOY RAIDS)

DAY TWO: 7:42 PM -- DAY THREE: 12:00 AM (CONTINUED BATTLING, ENEMY IMPORT-HATING REINFORCEMENTS)

DAY TWO: ALL DAY (ON THE SIDELINES, AT REST, TAKING BREAKS, ETC.)

DAY TWO: ALL DAY (YOU LOSERS ARE STILL FIGHTING? IT'S AMERICAN IDOL TIME!)

DAY THREE: 12:01 AM ONWARD (CONTINUED BATTLING, HERE COMES THE CAVALRY)

DAY THREE: 6:45 AM -- 1:00 PM (CONTINUED BATTLING, CREATE YOUR OWN INSANE LAST-DITCH GEEK TRICKS)

DAY THREE: 1:00 PM -- 3:13 PM (CONTINUED BATTLING, THE MADAGASCARIAN TWENTY-GRAND HOLDOUT)

DAY THREE: 3:13 PM ONWARD (WAR OVER. TAKE PRISONERS, MAKE FRIENDS, GET HEALED, FALL ASLEEP, ETC)

DAY THREE: ALL DAY (ON THE SIDELINES, AT REST, TAKING BREAKS, ETC.)

DAY THREE: ALL DAY (IF YOU'RE ALL BUSY ELSEWHERE I'M JUST GONNA GO ROB A BANK)

Open, in the air above the Manhattan Bridge

Open to STARS and anyone who wants to help defuse some bombs

Jack vs. Import-haters, Open

2:00 PM, Washington Square Park Forward Command Post, Open

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Random street somewhere, open.