His name is Chuck Abraham, a mechanic at a local power plant. He's a tall, heavily muscled, blond haired man, built like a pro football offensive lineman. He is very conservative, his heroes being people like Ronald Reagan and Rush Limbaugh. He is also very stubborn and will likely argue any idea that isn't his own. All in all, he basically wants to help people and will in the end do what is right. Chuck is very outgoing, being a former high school football star, popular with friends, and his size makes him used to getting his own way. He will tend to unknowingly stare people down when he talks to them. Like I said before, he is very conservative, patriotic, loves America and all that. <><><><><> [GM] Chuck's day starts normally, a drive to work, checking in at the gate, where you notice that there is yet another protest outside your plant by a bunch of tree- hugging anti-nuke Sixties throwbacks, then into the facility, where you get busy as usual. You don't pay much attention to the demonstrators outside, though you and some friends yell catcalls at them while taking your lunch break outside. At about 2 PM, you are working in one of the access tunnels that leads to the reactor...no danger to you, you're just fixing one of the regulators that controls water pressure to the chamber [actually, I'm kind of making this up, since I don't really know a lot about nuclear power plants ]. You look up, and see a man who could be the poster boy for Flower Children of the Nineties. He's wearing baggy chi pants, a blousy tie- dyed top, and has long blond hair tied in a ponytail. He smiles at you. "How's it going, man?" He is NOT supposed to be here. Obviously! <><><><><> Chuck is involved in some fairly major work right now. In coordination with other mechanics and electricians earlier in the day, he's placed a parallel system in operation, so he can isolate this one and get to work on it. One part of the job involves the replacement of the internals of a globe valve. He has taken this part of the job on himself and is alone at the moment [I assume]. He has just separated the valve, when he notices someone out of the corner of his eye. "Hey, will you hand me that canvas sack?" he asks without looking up, not wanting to drop the O-ring or anything else in the valve. When he gets no response, he looks up to see a hippie standing in the tunnel. He looks oddly out of place, since everyone wears green coveralls (sleeves rolled all the way up, of course) and black steel-toed boots in here. "How's it going, man?" he says. Chuck's a very large, muscular type with short blond hair and a mustache. He could very well be a pro football offensive lineman if he wanted to. The two men contrast sharply. Chuck sets the valve materials on the floor and then straightens up. He squints pale blue eyes as he takes in the hippie, a corner of his mouth curling up in amusement, and he wipes the sweat from his forehead with a rag from his back pocket. "Friend, I think you might've gotten yourself a little lost. I'd be willin' to bet you're not wearing a radiation badge, and the company gets kinda upset when you forget THAT." He stuffs the rag in his back pocket and advances on the man, pointing in the direction that will lead them to the security office. He intends to get them to a phone and call security. He will keep this man in his custody until they arrive. -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] "That's OK, man." The hippie sidesteps as you try to herd him towards the security office. And as you make a more determined effort to grab his arm, he slips past you quite nimbly. Finally becoming annoyed, you jump for him and try to grab him with both arms. Suddenly you're flying head over heels, landing on your back with a painful thud. The hippie darts down the corridor. "Power to the people!" he calls as he disappears around the corner. You grimace as you leap to your feet. Tossed like a baby by a walking Sixties cliche! Probably some of that Tai Chi crap that's so popular with New Agers nowadays. But you grin knowingly. There's no exit from the corridor he went into. Just a door at the end, heavily sealed, which leads eventually to an area near the reactor. It's only used in emergencies...the rest of the time, no one can get through without various keys and combinations. <><><><><> "Hey, stop!" Chuck winces as the hippie disappears around the corner. "This is a problem," he thinks. Chuck advances down the corridor after him, looking for a phone on one of the walls, which would give him a direct line to the control room, where the operators there could dispatch security to take out this guy. [If he finds one, he calls quickly and tells them the situation.] Coming to the door (and hopefully the hippie) at the end of the corridor, he assesses the situation and acts on it. -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] The nearest phone is about 50 feet in the opposite direction. Since there's no other route for the hippie to escape by, you trot down the corridor, keeping an eye over your shoulder, and call the control room. They tell you security is on its way; you should keep an eye on the intruder, but not try to arrest him yourself. You head back for the bend, careful in case Mr. Ponytail turns out to be more aggressive than he looks. When you turn the corner....he's not there. But the door is still sealed; you can even see dust on it, undisturbed. Even if he could have somehow opened the door, which is impossible, you'd be able to tell. Plus all kinds of alarms would be going off right now. You hear the footsteps of the private cops coming towards you, at doubletime. <><><><><> Chuck looks down the last leg of the corridor in disbelief. Empty? Wait, wait, wait a minute. That doesn't pass the common sense test. Chuck carefully scans the walls of the corridor for any accesses he might not know about. That shouldn't be, since he was required to pass a test for knowledge of the floorplan before he was allowed to work here ten years ago. He arrives at the door leading to the reactor. All locks and safety devices are intact. Where in the hell could he have gone? He scratches his head in confusion. Boy, would he look like an idiot in front of security. They were almost here, based on the sound of their footsteps. Clueless, and resigned to explain his mistake to the guards, he waits for them. Then a thought comes to mind. No. Impossible. He freezes, almost laughing at himself for the thought...what the hell. Could he have gone in THERE? Chuck looks for a window near the door to view the reactor. [If there is no such window] he leans close to the door and raps briefly with his knuckles, "Hello?" he says, almost embarrassedly. -Chuck- <><><><><> No sign of the hippie. No sign that the door has been touched. And no response when you knock on it and call out. Four security guards come barrelling around the corner and skid to a halt, with their weapons out. (This is unusual...usually they won't respond to a possible intrusion with such an aggressive posture initially!) They look around, and then at you. "Where's the intruder?" the captain demands. <><><><><> Chuck grimaces as the guards come around the corner. The captain calls out, "Where's the intruder?" Chuck shrugs, takes a crushed pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket, and taps one out. With a Zippo, he lights it up and puffs out a thin grey cloud. He snaps shut the Zippo and points with the cigarette down the way the guards just came from. "He probably slipped past me the other way when I was on the phone. I thought he came down HERE." Chuck shrugs again. "Call your office and get some more guards to start searching the place. There's no telling what that nut might try doing." -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] The security officer eyes you, and the corridor. "How could he sneak back that way?" he asks. "He'd have to walk right past you." He inspects the door. Then says, "I think we're going to have to bring you back to the main building. If this was a false alarm, you're in serious trouble, and if it wasn't, we need to get complete details from you." He leaves a couple of his men to check the area while he and another guard walk with you back to the main facility. You arrive in the administration section, and notice that there are several men in dark suits talking to the plant manager and the head of security, up on the catwalk around the control room. "Feds", says one of the guards. "We had a threat or something called in. Not unusual with these protesters, someone tries to shake us up by calling in a bomb threat, but apparently the authorities think there's something to it." "Shut up, Lin!" the captain snaps. You notice now that there is a woman with the men the guard says are federal agents. She's young, late teens or early twenties, with blonde hair and large glasses that make her look somewhat owlish. She's rather plain-looking, in a conservative knee-length skirt and a dark blouse. And she's peering around the room with a frown, scanning everyone in it, as if looking to identify a face. While you consider whether you're really going to get in trouble (You KNOW you saw that hippie, dammit! And your elbow has a scrape from hitting the ground after he threw you...but how could he have disappeared?) and who the woman is (not a plant employee, you're pretty sure, and she looks too young to be a federal agent), all such thoughts are banished from your mind-- Alarms and klaxons sound, red lights flash everywhere. Six different alarms are going off, including one that you've only heard in a few drills....the one that means Seriously Bad Things are happening in the reactor! The faces of the guards turn pale. <><><><><> Chuck calmly puffs his cigarette while the guards inspect the door and corridor. At the phrase, "If this was a false alarm..." Chuck's face turns red as a dark cloud of anger briefly crosses his brow. He suppresses it. Chuck follows the guards to the front office. He listens closely to the guard who talks about the threat. When the captain snaps at the guard, Chuck takes a last puff of his smoke and thumps the butt to the floor. "I've had about enough of your mouth, partner," he says. ALARMS..."You know," Chuck says to the nearest guard. "This is really a poor time to be running a drill." Then he realizes, hmm, no follow up announcement, this isn't a drill. Chuck's job is as an equipment repairman and maintenance man and not as an emergency team member, so he really has no immediate need to rush into anything, but his help may be required somewhere as an extra person, so he jogs out to the site and sees what he can do to help. -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] The guards say "Hey, wait a minute!" as you begin moving. The captain grabs your arm, and you shrug him off angrily. He flies back and slams into the man behind him and both hit the ground and skid across the floor. You blink, wondering how the heck that happened. The woman on the catwalk stares straight at you, wide- eyed, then clutches at the coat of the alleged federal agent next to her, pointing at you and speaking excitedly. You feel half a dozen pairs of eyes on you, even as almost everyone else in the room is rushing towards one emergency station or another, or else just scuttling about in a panic. The men in dark suits rush down the stairs and converge on you. "Don't move," the one who seems to be in charge says, calmly and firmly, the way one might speak to dangerous trapped animal. "I think we need to have a talk..." The others, you notice, are holding very large pistols which were concealed in their coats until a moment ago. They're not pointed at you, but they're definitely being held at the ready. Behind them, standing at the base of the stairs, the young woman watches you, wringing her hands nervously. <><><><><> Chuck stands in the center of a group of suits with guns. He's not really sure what the fuss is concerning him--except for his surprising show of strength (and at that he looks at the floor for something slippery that may have caused their fall, not believing he actually did that). There is a silence, broken only by the klaxons, while Chuck looks first over one shoulder, then the other, to get a good look at the gunslingers. "I reckon you're gonna talk whether I like it or not, so let's have it. Without the guns, if you would. I don't want Junior there to accidentally shoot himself in the foot or anythin'." Chuck looks over at the woman by the stairs. "You too, doll. What d'you have to say?" -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] "What's your name, and what exactly do you do here?" The man who seems to be in charge says. "And the guns are there for a reason...don't give us one." "J..John...I mean...Agent Radecki...I don't think it's him." The man who's inspecting you snaps his head around to look at the woman as she speaks. "I mean...it IS him. He is one...but there's another one, in the area. And I don't think he [she gestures loosely at you] is doing any of...this." [she waves her hands rather uncertainly, apparently indicating the entire vicinity with all its panicked commotion] "His...he's..." "I get it," Radecki says curtly. "Crap, what are the odds? Looks like we got some fallout at this one." He looks back at you, as one of the men next to him mutters "Bad choice of words, chief." Apparently making a decision, he snaps orders to his men. "Move out, check out the areas we reviewed with the plant personnel. Stay in constant radio contact, try to stay out of the way of the emergency personnel as much as possible." The armed dark suits fan out and head for the various pathways that lead to the reactor. Radecki turns back to you, and says "You stay right here," pointing at the floor under your feet. "You're not under arrest, but if you refuse to stay put voluntarily, I'll PUT you under arrest. Got it?" Radecki heads after his men (ignoring any smart/rude comments Chuck might make). Leaving you standing there with the nervous-looking woman. <><><><><> >"What's your name, and what exactly do you do here?" "Abraham," says Chuck impatiently. "Chuck Abraham. I'm the support machinery shop foreman here. Just ask anyone around here. I've been here longer than most of 'em." >"And the guns are there for a reason...don't give us one." Chuck's hot headed temper flares again. He speaks in a low smoldering voice. "That sounds like a threat to me, partner. I'd like your name and supervisor. Now, are you gonna let me do my job, or blab a bunch of meaningless nonsense." >"You stay right here...You're not under arrest, but if you refuse to stay put voluntarily, I'll PUT you under arrest. Got it?" Chuck's anger bursts through. "I OUGHT TO WRING YOUR NECK, YOU LITTLE TWERP! I've got an emergency going on here! They may need some help out there!" But he stays where he is regardless, shaking his head in disgust. He recognizes authority and knows when not to push it. After they leave, he cools off a little and looks at the woman. "So, what is it you were trying to say, doll? I didn't catch your name." He walks towards her and climbs the first two steps of the stair way. Putting a hand on the steel handrail, he turns and sits down on the steps. Then as an after thought, he gives the hand rail a good squeeze. (He still wonders a little if something might have happened to him. He really shoved those guards pretty hard.) -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] She backs up the stairs, away from you, almost tripping. Easily spooked, you think. "I'm, ah, my name is Kelly. Kelly Donovan." She takes a deep breath, and says with as much authority as she can muster, "Special Agent Kelly Donovan." Special Agent Kelly Donovan looks like she would faint if you sneezed at her, you think. A sudden pouty scowl crosses her face. Then her expression softens, and she says, "You don't have a clue what's going on, do you?" She says this as you squeeze the handrail. The handrail crumples in your grip like aluminum foil. "Oh dear," she says faintly. <><><><><> As Kelly backs up the stairs, Chuck gives her a curious, amused look. "Are you scared of me, sweetheart? I wouldn't harm one hair on your pretty head." >"You don't have a clue what's going on, do you?" "Not really. But I know I'm not helping the situation any sitting on my...well, sitting here. Whoa!" the railing crumples in his grip. "I didn't expect that to happen." Chuck is certainly more than a little startled. "Oh dear," Kelly says faintly. Chuck stands up and inspects the handrail. "Hmm. Stainless steel." Chuck feels a wave of dizziness pass through him like that one time at football practice in high school. He had just pounded the guy across from him as a jolt of pain shot down his spinal cord. When he stood up his left arm was numb. It was just sort of like a piece of dead meat. The feeling came back minutes later, but during that moment he felt like something was seriously wrong with his body, and he had the same dizzy feeling. "I've GOT to help out. I'll be back here, shortly. I promise. Okay? Besides, I haven't gotten your number, yet," he says with a smile. [If she protests STRONGLY, he will complain and stay put. If not, he's out the door and headed to the site to see what the heck's going on.] -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] She protests, but not strongly. "You...you can't do that...you have to stay here." She trails after you as you head for the scene of the crisis. "Agent Radecki said to stay here....he'll be upset, you don't know what's happening, we have to tell you about...oooohhh!!" She keeps following you at a comfortable distance. "Why do you have to be such a...a jerk?" In the corridor ahead, which happens to be the same one you were in when all this started, you suddenly hear gunfire. LOUD gunfire...those guns the agents are using (assuming it's them) must pack a hell of a charge. Agent Donovan flinches, then says "See? Now you have to come back, you'll get hurt! They're trained to deal with this, you'll just get in the way." Your hippie friend suddenly appears out of thin air, right in front of you. You blinked, and there he is. He looks mildly surprised to see you. Donovan yells "Eek!" "Peace, dude," he says, holding up his fingers in a 'V'. "I'd make tracks if I were you." <><><><><> >"See? Now you have to come back, you'll get hurt! They're trained to deal with this, you'll just get in the way." "Hippie-hunters, huh?" Chuck says sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. He waves her back gently. "Honey, get out your pencil and pad and take notes. I'm going to show those pencil necks how to handle kooks like this." >"Peace, dude. I'd make tracks if I were you." "I will, partner, right across your teeth." Chuck swats at the hippie with the back of his hand...hard. -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] The hippie chuckles and vanishes, as your fist swings through the spot his head had been occupying an instant ago. You're not sure, but you seem to still hear him chuckling for a moment after he's gone. You see Radecki and another man running up the corridor towards you, both brandishing those enormous handguns. "Goddamit, another teleporter!" Radecki snaps. "I hate !$!##! teleporters!" He skids to a halt in front of you and pulls out his walkie-talkie, speaking into it abruptly. "All teams, be alert for castle. Looks like a hippie, possibly a protester from outside. Use full contrast." He lowers the radio. "What are you doing here?" he demands. "I told you to stay put!" And to Agent Donovan, "Goddamit Donovan, what's your problem? You let this uncat wander off, then you stand there while the rogue just goes blinking by? Why didn't you stop either of them?" Donovan blinks and looks panicked and flustered, trying to stammer a reply. <><><><><> Chuck grumbles at the vanished hippie, but in a way, he's not all that surprised. "Freakin' freak..." he mumbles. >"What are you doing here?" [Radecki] demands. "I told you to stay put!" And to Agent Donovan, "Goddamit Donovan, what's your problem? You let this uncat wander off, then you stand there while the rogue just goes blinking by? Why didn't you stop either of them?" Chuck's had enough. The stress of the emergency and the hippie and the agents finally gets to him. His face flushed bright red, his arm pistons out as he attempts to grab Radecki by the front of his shirt and tie and lift him one-handedly up to Chuck's eye-level. With his face an inch from Radecki's, he growls, "SHE'S DOING JUST FINE. DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO SPEAK TO LADIES?" [If applicable] He drops him to the ground at his feet. If Radecki pulls a gun out, Chuck grabs the gun's barrel in his fist and squeezes. -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] You lift Radecki as if he's weightless, and shaking him around causes his head to snap back and forth. He staggers when you set him down, and has to be supported by one of his men. They all become tense, though no one points a weapon at you. "He, umm, I think he has super-strength," Donovan pipes up from behind you. "He...crumpled a steel railing." "Brilliant," Radecki mutters. Then, as you get ready for another tirade, he says "All right, calm down, Conan. Congratulations, you're a superhuman. Now the question is, are you the sort who's going to lose his temper and cream anyone who annoys you, just because you can? We've got enough of those out there, I was kind of hoping you might want to HELP people. But if you'd prefer to assault federal agents, we'll do what we can to put you down. And if we can't, you'll be a hunted man, and we have superhumans of our own working with us. So why don't you decide right now if you're one of the good guys or one of the bad guys?" He backs up a few steps, out of arms reach. A tech comes running up, breathless. "We've got to evacuate," he tells you all. "The reactor is heading for meltdown, the mechanism for inserting the control rods is hosed!" <><><><><> The anger still swirling around in his head, Chuck looks warily at Radecki, "What do you mean by 'superhuman?' I've never been able to do this before." >"..if you'd prefer to assault federal agents, we'll do what we can to put you down." Chuck's almost dissipated anger flashes again, but he breathes deeply once and lets it go. "You know," he says softly, eyes closed. "Your words really have a way of pissing...me...off." >"So why don't you decide right now if you're one of the good guys or one of the bad guys?" "That's the first intelligent thing you've asked, yet. Sure, I'll help you, if you're US government." His hot head has cooled off some at the prospect of being a real 'special agent.' He imagines himself in a costume like the comic books, pounding villains into the ground and winning the adoration of the public. "Like Superman, hmm?" [At this point I had assumed the administration building would be quite distant from the reactor. Okay, we're nearby. No problem.] "Alright, Mr. Secret Agent Man, where do I sign?" Chuck taps out another cigarette and lights it with a snap. No head rush. With a puzzled look, Chuck examines the cigarette closely, shrugs, then tosses it to the floor. >A tech comes running up, breathless. "We've got to evacuate,"... Chuck's demeanor changes. His casual, informal attitude becomes one of a professional--trained to react to problems and keep his head cool under pressure. When it came to his line of work, he couldn't afford to be rash. "Okay," he says to the tech. "I want you to call emergency control central. Tell them to order a general evacuation. Sound the whistle twice. You." He points to Radecki. "Get your men out of here now. And...uh...lady. They'll only confuse people and get in the way. I'm gonna see what I can do." He starts in the direction of the reactor, then looks back over his shoulder. His gaze says--*Do not argue.* "And one more thing. Do not follow me." -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] The tech looks at you impatiently. "The alarm has already been sounded!" he says. "I'm telling YOU to get out of here. You're not part of the emergency crew!" Radecki snaps "Just wait a minute, Conan. You don't know crap about your powers except that you have enhanced strength. How is that going to help you stop a reactor meltdown? You want to try being a hero on the fly, fine, but I know more about superhumans than you do, and Agent Donovan, here, has a few talents in that regard herself. My men will keep non-essential personnel out of the way; me and Donovan are coming with you." Radecki tells the tech, "Get us some radiation suits, now!" The tech looks from him to you, back to him, and Radecki flashes his badge. "You can call your boss and confirm I've got the authority," he says, "but I'm going to get really impatient, and in a mood to arrest someone for obstructing federal agents in the meantime!" The tech frowns, then nods. "I'll be right back." Donovan, obviously unhappy at all these power games, watches nervously. <><><><><> >"The alarm has already been sounded! I'm telling YOU to get out of here. You're not part of the emergency crew!" Veins pop out on Chuck's temples. "No, you dolt! Sound the E-VAC-U-A-TION alarm! TWO WHISTLES!" He throws his arms in the air and shakes his head in exasperation. >"...me and Donovan are coming with you." Chuck stops in mid stride and turns again. *This is absurd.* he thinks, and it shows. "Okay, genius, what do you think you can do? This thing needs to be shut down quick." >"I'll be right back," says the technician. "No! Do NOT get any radiation suits," Chuck orders impatiently. "You get OUT of here. NOW! As for you," he points at Radecki. "I'll deal with you later. You've got a SERIOUS attitude problem that I don't have time for. And neither does the public." He hits the wall with his fist like a veto stamp for emphasis. He turns and runs back toward the reactor as fast as his legs will carry him. -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] You hear Radecki swearing as you run off. You get to the outer containment wall of the reactor, and find a group of men in radiation suits apparently preparing to go inside. A rather portly man who you vaguely recognize as one of the nuclear engineers who works in the control room is stuffing himself into a suit as well, looking very, very apprehensive. "If we fail, there's nothing the rest of you can do, except get the heck out of here," he's telling the people gathered around. "I recommend you all clear out immediately....you may already be too close to get away in time." He is sweating buckets as he fastens the headcovering on. You notice that two of Radecki's armed agents are here already, though they don't seem to be doing much except watching. You recognize one of your fellow mechanics, Brett, who walks over to you and says "Come on, Chuck, we better get going. You heard the man, nothing for us to do but pray." <><><><><> "Hold on, Brett. Wait 'til you see this." Chuck yells over at the nuclear engineer, "Hey, you electronics weenies might need someone who works for a living to help out...especially if he can do this." He grabs a wrench from his pocket and bends it into a loop. "We'll go in, and you just tell me what you need me to do." If there is a radiation suit nearby, Chuck starts putting one on. [If not, he grabs the nearest person by the shoulder and says, "Let me have your suit."] Chuck turns to the other people standing by watching. "The rest of you get out of here. I'm in charge here now." -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] Brett's eyes bug out as you twist the wrench into a pretzel. The others don't seem too sure about your suddenly being in charge. The two agents, with the big guns, stare at you, frowning, as they pull out their walkie-talkies. No one argues as you put on a radiation suit. The chubby engineer says "Just what do you think you can do? The control rods seem to have been removed, and the mechanism for reinserting them has been damaged. We're hoping to repair it, quickly...are you qualified in that kind of work?" <><><><><> Before snapping the hood on, Chuck raises an eyebrow at the engineer, "Sir, I'm the machinery shop foreman. I can fix anything, as long as I know what's supposed to go where. You just point and I'll do." He snaps the hood in place. He waits for the engineer to give them the okay to go in. If there is some sort of delay, he says impatiently, "What's the hold up? Let's go!" -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] No one argues with you, but the engineer takes the lead. Just outside the reactor itself, you come the machinery that houses the control rods. They have been removed. The engineer tries to use manual controls to reinsert them, but they don't work. With the help of some other techs, you uncover the casing (unless Chuck just wants to rip it off? ) He groans, and although you're not familiar with this machinery, you can see that large pieces are just plain MISSING. As if they'd been carefully removed, and the casing put back on afterwards. "There's no hope," he says. "There's no way we can get new parts, or even jury-rig this, to get the rods back in before meltdown occurs." <><><><><> Chuck stares at the inner workings of the metal casing. *Hmm. This is a problem* he thinks. He looks around the room for the missing parts, but finds nothing. "Sir, don't give up hope yet." He studies the general configuration of the machine to figure out how he can get his hands on those rods. He pulls and bends as necessary to get to where he needs to be. When he finds a way, he turns to the engineer. "Alright, sir," he shouts triumphantly, "what do you want me to do with 'em? I'm ready!" Closing his eyes tightly, and crossing his toes for good luck, he does whatever the engineer directs. -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] [I have to fake it somewhat here, but my impression of a power plant's control rods is that they are very large pieces of metal that insert directly into the reactor chamber. They'd probably be very "hot", literally and radioactively, and take a lot of power to move. Of course, I could be totally wrong, but I'm going to treat this as being the case unless you know better. ] The engineer stares at you. "Those rods weigh tons! You can't move them manually! This bracket holds them all, and the machine has to lift it and move them carefully into those holes in the reactor chamber. Unless you're like that superman in Israel, there's nothing you can do!" <><><><><> *Well, let's just see how strong I've gotten.* Chuck thinks. "Okay, sir! Stand back. I'm gonna try it anyway." He wraps his arms around the bracket and pushes with all the strength he can muster. [He will ignore whatever pain he feels to the point of passing out if he has to.] -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] You grab the bracket, and heave. The rods radiate heat, but it doesn't bother you much. The bracket is hoisted into the air. "Christ!" exclaims one of the other techs, while the engineer says "Hold it steady! The rods have to be inserted evenly! If you just shove them in haphazardly, you'll destabilize the core!" Carefully, you walk with the bracket on your shoulder, trying to insert the rods into the apertures in the reactor wall. It takes several tries before each end catches in its respective hole. Then you slowly walk forward, until the engineer says "Stop!" Then, "Keep going! But slower!" Finally he has you stop in place, holding the bracket steady. "How long can you stand there?" he asks. "The rods are dampening the core, but it will take us some time to shut it down to the point where it's safe to let go." You don't feel particularly tired. You hear someone mutter "He's way too close....the radiation suit won't protect him from exposure for that long!" <><><><><> A momentary wave of panic flashes through Chuck's mind. *Oh, s***, I forgot about that.* He almost lets go, but decides to wait it out. *Oh, well, too late now.* He cranes his head around to speak to the engineer. "I got nothin' but time. Now, what's that you were saying about the superman in Israel?" They can't see the smile behind his hood, but they hear the gentle taunting in his voice. In the back of his mind his rational voice is speaking up: You're absorbing way too much of this, you're gonna die. He ignores the voice and keeps smiling. -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] It seems to take forever. And the heat becomes more and more intense. You start to lose track of time, but you hold onto the bracket. Then there's a glowing figure appearing above you. An angel? "Heh. You're either crazy or stupid. Maybe both. You do realize that you're eating enough gamma rays to fry you a couple hundred times over, don't you? I see you're reflecting a lot of 'em, but probably not enough." "What's the deal here, anyways? I could see the radiation leaking from orbit. Did you guys screw up big-time or what?" <><><><><> "Better to burn out than fade away..." Chuck replies. "How'd you get in here anyway?" He looks around for the others to see their reactions to this glowing angel. "What's the deal here, anyways? I could see the radiation leaking from orbit. Did you guys screw up big-time or what?" "ORBIT?! I *must* be hallucinatin.' Here's 'the deal.' Some long haired, commie, pinko, fag with powers like yours or mine decided to waltz in and try to lunch the reactor. I tried to catch him, failed, and now I'm cleanin' up HIS mess. If I do catch him, maybe I'll just give him a haircut, or maybe just take off his whole head. And by the way, instead of just floating there, why don't you go help outside with the emergency crew. Or at least track down the pot-head. Hey, how much longer with this?" He yells this last to the engineer. -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] The techs are staring above your head, at the indistinct, glowing figure. The figure laughs. "Powers like mine? I doubt it! So another one of us super-types decided to frag a reactor, huh? Nice. Tell you what, I'll do you a favor." There's a flickering, then suddenly the lights go out. All of them. The only source of light is the glowing man above you....as you look closer, he seems to lack resolution, almost like he's not real. A hologram or something. "Oops. Guess I absorbed too much energy. Oh well, I figure you'd rather stumble in the dark than glow in the dark, right? You're on your own to catch your 'hippy'. I've got better things to do. So do you, probably....like checking into a hospital for radiation treatment. Ciao!" Then you're enveloped in total darkness. One of the technicians swears. "My flashlight's not working!" he says. Then another voice from the darkness; "Mine neither." <><><><><> Chuck curses the darkness and yells to the engineer. "I guess we're good to go now. I'm setting down the bracket." He sets it down and moves in the direction of the nearest exit. Feeling his way out, he leaves the room and removes the bulky radiation suit. Once in the hallway, he feels along the walls for an emergency light and attempts to turn it on. If this fails, he feels for a phone and calls for help. "Hey! We need some G******** flashlights sent in here, time now!" If that fails, he feels his way along the walls until he reaches an emergency exit and leaves the building. -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] The emergency lights are dead, but the phones still work. "We've got more personnel coming up now," someone at the other end tells you. "But we've lost power throughout the facility. Even batteries have been drained. Scared the bejesus out of us....we thought it had blown, and we were about to get nuked." With only the prospect of waiting for someone to eventually bring a flashlight in from outside, you grope your way along the tunnels, until you get to a door leading to the main facility. Of course it's still dark in there too. You shoulder past people who are clustered together in the dark, or running around in a panic. You're not sure how long it might take to find your way out, but eventually the lights flicker, and come back on, dimly. The plant is obviously running on emergency power. Your friend Radecki, his men, and Donovan, catch up to you as you approach the exit. "Well, quite a stunt you pulled, Conan," Radecki says. "The engineers are saying that the reactor is DEAD. This glowing person sucked up every bit of power from the entire facility. Conveniently enough, he seems to have absorbed all the radiation that was leaking out, too." He looks at Donovan. "How is he?" Donovan seems to be studying you, then says, "He...he's irradiated. He should be dead. But...his body is metabolizing it, almost like the way your liver processes alcohol. Except a hundred times faster." <><><><><> "So...what does that mean? Am I gonna live?" Chuck stares at his hands and arms as if he could "see" the metabolic process. He continues out the exit and taps out a cigarette. Remembering the dull flavor from before, he tosses it and the pack in the nearest garbage can. "Mr. Radecki, what's that you were telling me about working for the feds? I might just be interested, if this change is permanent." -Chuck- <><><><><> [GM] "AGENT Radecki." Donovan sighs. "Do you two have to start this again?" she asks. "I think you're going to live, Mr. Abraham. I don't know what your body is doing with the radiation, but it's disappearing." Radecki says "So far we don't know of any superhumans turning normal again. If you want to become a bonafide super-Special Agent, we can go straight to our headquarters in Virginia. The brains will love us for bringing another lab rat to study." Donovan says "Don't listen to him. It's a nice place. They're trying to figure out how we can...do all these things." <><><><><> "Lighten up, Radecki..." Chuck replies. >>> Donovan sighs. "Do you two have to start this again?" she asks. "I think you're going to >>>live, Mr. Abraham. I don't know what your body is doing with the radiation, but it's >>>disappearing." Chuck looks down at himself in mock horror. "You're right! I can't see my feet!" "Well...I need to get my stuff together...and after this mess, I'm sure God and everyone will want to talk to all involved. You know, a big investigation and all. So, if you don't want to wait weeks or months before taking me to Virginia, I recommend you use some of that 'government authority' to get me the hell out of here. You'll need to talk to the management, the investigating authorities, and anyone else who can use their pull to keep me here. In the meantime, I'll be around. Just let me know when you're ready to go. I'm single, so I don't need to make any special plans. I can just up and go. See ya." Chuck waits for any reply and then looks for any media crews to talk to. He's suddenly finding in himself a strange desire to be a publicity hound. He's still wearing his dark green coveralls, the long sleeves rolled up high on his arms, and the front zipped down casually to show a white T-shirt covering a massive chest. His black steel toed boots are laced up high. He walks in the direction of the nearest crew, if any. -Chuck-