Andrew lands and makes no bother to clean off the ash, the look on his face shows that he probably had more fun in the past fifteen minutes than he has in a good long time. In reply to Cody he says, "If you'd like I can send a scout ahead ... I shouldn't have any trouble keeping focus with just one clone, and if it runs into trouble we've risked nothing."

"Steve was right," said Joani, "there are traces of recent use. I can see it on the microscopic level. Let me check on heatsources next before we enter."

Joani squinted her eyes and changed the spectrum of her perception to IR and UV, scanning carefully the doot and its immediate surroundings.

(ooc: EM-Vision active)

Michael sends back over the open link. *I'm detecting a few minds within a short distance of you, but none at your current location. They appear to be nova scavengers just trying to eke out enough food and shelter for survival. They don't appear to be very stable either and are likely to be quite aggressive. I will let you know if they approach.*

(Joani does not detect any heat signatures within sight.)

"Going forward with heightened senses and a probing mind makes more sense than sacrificing a scout at this point and time. Joani should go forward as our detector and I'll disarm whatever we come across. I'm no TrapMaster, but I've dealt with the engineering aspects of this kind of project before."

Smiling toward Omar,
"If you would be so nice as to hang out close by so as to give me some level of protection to hide behind incase I mess up, it would be appreciated."

Steve comments,

"There will be traps and they will have already been sprung on whoever was left in there. We had to clean out a batch of old nerve gas last time, they don't believe in loose ends."


{Steve activates Lie Detector & MP: Investigative}

Omar smiles back at Ulric. "Sure. Feel free to use me as your meatshield." Omar winks at him. "Wouln't want you to break a nail"

Omar watched as the others prepared to enter the facility. If it was up to Omar, he would smash down the door, laugh at the exploding trap, and then whisk his friends in after him. He knew, that if it really became violent and dangerous, that he would be needed.

"Lets get moving before they see us out here and we lose the element of surprise."

Joani nodded to Ulric and prepared herself to enter the building concentrating primarily on her senses to detect any immediate danger. "Omar - not a scratch on my husband, understood? That's a mans word.", she blinked at him smiling in a mock impersonation of Han Solo to Lando.

As you proceed deeper into the building it is apparent that someone or more than one someone has used this area recently. There are fresh tracks in the dust at the entrance. Here on the ground floor of the building you don't encounter any traps. You see signs of the security you would expect but the cameras and such have no power to them.

You know for a fact that the secret Proteus facility is on a lower level, but that the entrance is via a special elevator accessible from the top floor. Interestingly enough, the footprints in the dust move about the all over the building, but most of them seem to end right up against a blank wall.

Joani pointed at the footprints and moved carefully closer to the blank wall activating her X-Ray Vision again.

"Let me try to see what's beyond that wall", she said with concentration in her voice.

Andrew slunk along in the back of the group. He held himself in a state is partial flux, solid and formed enough to manuver, but otherwise fluid such that he could quickly shift for attack or defense.

Steve sends,

*We might be looking at a surviving nova using this as a base. If so they might even be shielded from mind-scans.*

Joani raised an arm as if to say something as she scanned the wall intensively. "There is something like an elevator shaft behind this wall, but I can't see the access point. Someone... must've walked through the wall, knowing what lies behind. Do you want me to punch a whole through it?"

Omar motions to Joani to wait. "Lets try to find a button or switch first."

Ulric studies the wall, checking to see if its part of the origonal structure and if so - what is the external switch, lever, keyhole, or button for letting people in.

"There is always teleporting to the roof and taking the elevator directly were we want to go," he jokes.

*We have been here before...the access panel is upstairs...*

If it is safe to proceed, Cody leads the way, followed by Omar and the others as they discussed.

Just to be safe and avoid any possible traps Lorean teleports all of you to the top floor of the building. You appear inside of a board room with a massive oak table and leather chairs. The room seems to be intact and even in good shape. The windows of this room must be of a strong glass because it has withstood the elements and the disaster for three years. Despite the dirty state of the windws you have a good view of the downtown area and it looks pretty grim out there. Despite being nearly noon it is only about as bright as dusk outside and looks like a storm might be brewing by the look of the overcast; it's hard to tell though given the atmosphere.

The elevator shaft is concealed behind a hidden panel on the back wall. Cody walks up to it and easily opens it. The elevator seems to be at the bottom of the shaft and the door opens into a dark hole going down the 14 floors to the secret Proteus Base beneath the building. There is no power of course, but there are steel rungs set into the wall of the shaft.

Looking down the shaft Andrew mutters something like,
"Ladders are for chumps..." and simply jumps in. As he falls his body contorts and patagia form between his outstretched limbs slowing his descent into something akin to a leaf tumbling off a tree. He lands softly at the bottom and adjusts his eyes to the minimal light at the bottom of the shaft looking for a way to access the lower level.

You land on the roof of the elevator. In the almost complete blackness you can just barely make out an access panel on the top of the elevator. Do you wait for the others to come down?

Joani immediately jumped after Andrew cursing his careless attitude. On the way down she kept scanning the surroundings with her X-Ray vision trying to see beyond the walls.

As she landed next to him she said with a disapproving tone in her voice "You've got some guts, Andrew..."

All Omar could do is shake his head at Andrew's lack of caution. When he sees Joani jump in after him, he chuckles. "It looks like I'm going to have to take the long way down."

Omar grabs the rungs and begins to climb down into the facility.

Steve waits for Omar to go down a story then follows him. Almost as an after thought he starts to glow.

{Biolum on}

Andrew only smiles broadly, though the effect is touched with just enough insanity that it becomes off-putting. Andrew doesn't bother to wait though and pulls the hatch on the elevator open and sticks his head down into the darkness.

Joani shook her head and followed Andrew, adjusting her eyes to the darkness and reflexively changed the spectrum of light she could see.

Sending over the link she simply stated *Andrew obviously decided to spearhead this without waiting for backup. I won't let him go alone, though. Just try to catch up with us*

Silently she cursed again at Andrew's obvious lack of caution and positioned herself quickly next to him ready to intercept any possible attack.

Steve's light helps considerably with the visibility thanks to your adjusted eyes even with him nearly 14 floors above. Inside the hatch Andrew can see that the elevator doors are closed, but still can't detect any light sources below. Joani can see into the elevator with no difficult thanks to her Xray vision.

Above the others make their way down to the basement as quickly as they can.

Andrew looks up at Steve, "Oh DUH!" He says as he epends a mote of concentration to alster his body to glow in a similar method. "Ahh, much better." Andrew drops down into the elevator proper and pushes his hand through the seam in the doors and then pries them apart.

"Wait!", says Joani raising her voice and reaching for Andrew to try prevent him to move further. "The whole room is wired to several metal boxes and cameras. I can't tell if there is still power in the lines but the room as such seems to be boobytrapped. Maybe I or Omar should go first?"

Ulric makes his way down the shaft as quickly as possible, though he uses his headset to give him light amplification.

Andrew stops, "OK, but I think that you both are relying on your invulnerability too much. Why don't we send a clone. They're much more expendable, cause I can just *pop* make another one as needed!"

Joani raised an eyebrow at Andrew, "If that is what you think my reasons for caution are... go ahead. But don't blame me for who I am, I'm not relying too much on anything - you should know me better.", Joanis voice was sounding a bit upset at the end.

Kyria followed quietly behind the others, taking up the rear position and thinking over the entire scenario so far. The elevator shaft was creepy and the entire world was stuck somewhere between despondent sorrow mind-numbingly horror. She'd be happy when they left this place and hoped that the other worlds they visited would be something more like home.

{Activating Quantum Attunement (once at/in the elevator) and Prodigal: Tactics.}

*Damn it!" Cody says, thinks as Andrew descends into the darkness.

*We don't have the leisure of being reckless now Andrew. If you set off any traps, ALL of our lives could be at stake. If you don't reign it in and show some caution you can teleport back to the ship right now!*

Cody is pissed but also nervous. He makes his way to the head of the pack as soon as possible and uses his intrusion skills to get a look at the lockbox. Hopefully his intuition warns him before anything dangerous happens, to him, or those around him.

((OOC: remember Cody's intuition has the effects others extra...))

Steve says nothing at this point and just stays observant.

Using her heatvision Joani burnt through the elevators ceiling like a melder making an opening large enough for everyone to pass through without damaging any of the electronics connected to the elevator. Then she looked at Cody and Andrew obviously waiting for a reaction. "If this was a Paragons mission Omar and I would take head..."

Andrew rolls his eyes, "Sure, yeah and if you happen to be the one who gets blown up shall I just grow you in a dish up in the lab? I'm pretty certain that you are are somewhat irreplacable, on the other hand I can keep making Clones 'till the cows come home."

Omar interrupts Andrew. "If the explosion is very large, we could lose the original and the clones." Omar shifted his gaze to Joani. "I would also suggest that one of us takes the lead. Both of us could survive such a blast....the rest of you would not. Your chances of survival increase the further back you get."

Omar shrugs his shoulders in resignation. "I am not going to force anyone to do something they don't want." The last remark was directed at Andrew.

After Joani rips off the roof of the elevator and wedges it up against the side wall of the shaft there is plenty of room for everyone to get inside. Instead Omar, Joani, Cody and an Andrew go first, leaving the original Andrew standing on the remains of the elevators roof, and Steve, Ulric, and Kyria hanging on the ladder just above. Cody does confirm that there is no power to the cables that Joani was worrying about. Once inside Joani grabs one door and Omar the other and wrenches them open revealing the room beyond.

The first time around, in the other timeline, what the group found was rotting and dessicated corpses and a room that had been throughly ransacked since the occupants had been trapped inside until they starved to death. This time the scene is a bit different. Eerie, and bizarre are the first words that come to mind. The room looks well used and lived in, and is filled with people in various positions. Some sitting around tables or desks, some standing in conversation, some performing other tasks. All of them motionless as if frozen solid, in fact after the first shock passes you notice that they look like concrete cloths and all. After a moment is is apparent none of the figures move and feeling a bit more confident Omar steps inside the door shining his light and focusing on the closest person. It is a man in a very nice business suit with a briefcase in hand looking like he is waiting for the elevator. Closer inspection reveals that the statue is connected to the floor as if it is part of the floor.

Steve says,

"No one move just yet."

Steve turns on his enhanced vision and checks to see if these "statues" have dust on them.

Joani instinctly floated next to Ulric trying to cover him as much as possible. In case a bomb went off she was ready to engulf him in her cape and protect him from the blast using her body as shield. (ooc: Joani doesn't have Eufiber but her Suit is attuned to her)

There is dust on the statues but not a great deal, and it is really pretty hard to see since the lighting in the room isn't very bright. Add to that the fact that dust is pretty close in color to the concrete and you can really only see that the ones near you are in fact covered in dust.