I'm gonna shake up the system

[heismymission]

Who: Bucky, Steve, Fortuna, and Diarmuid.
Where: The building across from the welcome center and into the underground tunnels
When: January 9th, in the dark hours of the morning
Summary: It's time for a rescue mission.
Warnings: ???

After Zeloph sent him and Steve the map of the underground tunnels, Bucky had been reminded of the predicament the priestess had been in while he'd been sitting around feeling sorry for himself. He cursed internally over the lack of focus and almost immediately began to plan on how he would help the priestess, going over all the information he'd acquired in the past few months that would help. It was easy enough to figure out the other two key holders the mysterious figure was referring to with a little process of elimination, and he'd visited Fortuna and Diarmuid before the day was over, discussing plans with them and what they might expect.

When he returned and asked Steve to accompany them, they'd had an argument about the kid's presence, but Bucky had placated him by saying he'd already tried to suggest Diarmuid stay home, and that the boy had been adamant in joining them. It didn't make Steve happy about it, but it was enough to let them move on and start to prepare.

He had several weapons now, even if it wasn't nearly as close to his old arsenal in size, and that reassured him somewhat. A pistol he'd save for emergencies, several knives, and something else he'd acquired in case Burnie got involved. He'd stick with hand-to-hand and the knives if he could, as much as he wanted to use the gun. The strange bag that was larger than it seemed was also taken in case they found something they needed to store and bring back with them, but he left the medallion key in one of his normal pockets for easy access.

It was early enough in the morning that it was still about as dark as it could get when he arrived, wearing the armor HYDRA gave him--though he left the mask and goggles so he could easily communicate with the others--in addition to his leather jacket to help conceal his arm. He had no need to conceal his face when he didn't plan to be seen anyway, and even if he did wear them and was spotted, he doubted it would hide his identity.

All that was left now was to retrieve Rhea and Mai.

Bucky stood near the door to the building, wondering if he might have to break in to enter--the palm reader the elemental had used was still there, but he thought it unlikely it would accept his hand print, and even if it did, he didn't want to leave a definite trace of his presence. Giving Burnie any more obvious clues as to what he's been doing probably wouldn't be a good idea.

Comments

[noparachute]

Although still worried about their youngest companion, Steve turned most of his focus to the earpiece, trying to listen in on anything that could clue them in. It was faint, but he could definitely hear something coming in from the other side.

"It's quiet, but I hear it. A hum of somethin' constant, but not alive. No sound of footsteps or people either." Steve responded as he looked over at Fortuna. Huh, maybe it would be a good idea if they spread out a bit instead of standing in front of the door like this. He still wanted to stick around and listen in case the situation changed, so he nodded over at Bucky.

"Should spread out a little. I'll report if anything changes on my end."

[heismymission]

"Might be whatever power system they have in place."

At Steve's suggestion and nod, Bucky began to head around the corner that Diarmuid had gone, wanting to be an equal distance away from his allies in case something happened. Although it was raining, he could tune that out easily enough and focus on anything unusual.

He would prefer that Fortuna came with him so that he could also watch out for her, given the fact that she had to focus on the drones, but he wouldn't argue with whatever she did. She knew how well she could handle herself better than he did.

Either way, he'd find a spot where he could easily stay out of sight of any cameras or passersby.

[shadowsgambit]

Fortuna did follow; she'd noticed the bird's collision above, and it had drawn her attention to the camera on the building.

"We'll need to find a way to get around that camera," she whispered to Bucky as Violet followed behind her, feathers fluffed up in the rain.

She shifted most of her attention to the drones in the basement once she said that, taking a look around. They were in...a storage closet? Converted into some sort of magic thing. Summoning thing? She wished she had more shaman friends.

Regardless, she moved both drones towards the door and positioned them on either side of it, watching for shadows under it and listening with their microphones for anything outside it.

[smallspot]

Despite the fact that it doesn't really seem to have anything to do with the task at hand, Diarmuid can't help but stop and look at the circle and the book in the middle of it. It makes him think of something a druid might draw or the magic circle he had seen when he talked to the messenger who gave him his key. Could he use this to call a messenger to help them? Or would it just summon something bad?

He looks up when he notices the drones move, but since they seem to be checking for something, he doesn't immediately follow them. Instead, he decides to take a closer look at the book to see if he can make out anything useful. Carefully, he picks it up from the middle of the circle and starts flipping through the pages. If there is anything he can read, he will try to read it...

[rekindlenpcs]

Whether it was luck or just the cards folding in the right places, the bird that had hopped onto the camera after the collision seems to be rather intrigued by the camera lens. The white raven looks at the strange circle thing in it with one eye, before pecking at it until the glass lens and it flinches.

Inside the book, he finds illustrations of each of the elementals that the three had previously encountered and corresponding animal spirit versions of them. A blue dragon with dark scales, a hippogryph, a phoenix, and what looked like a white siren with a mystery elemental. The words, oddly enough, look similar to Diarmuid's native language.

The only thing the drones pick up are the same humming coming from upstairs.

[heismymission]

The sound of cracking glass reached the super soldier's ears even through the rain, thanks to Fortuna bringing his attention to the camera in question. He wondered if the bird's actions were truly coincidence, but found it irrelevant for the time being. The fact was, that camera wouldn't be good enough to see much through the rain and darkness.

"I don't think that'll be a problem anymore," he murmured, settling into a hiding position. "What do you see?"

[smallspot]

The last thing Diarmuid expects when he looks at the book is to be able to read it, but he is shocked to see he can. Since everything is quiet, he wants to take a few moments to read it, just to see if there is anything that can help them. First, though, he walks over to one of the drones and gets its attention. He mouths the word 'look' into the camera and then holds up the book so that they can see the illustrations, especially the mystery one. They have no idea what will happen and he wants to make sure if they lose the book, as many people as possible saw it first.

After a few moments, he lowers the book and lets the drone go back to watching the door. He walks back to the cicle and pulls a piece of paper and a crayon out of his bag. Diarmuid then starts to quickly copy down what the circle on the floor looks like--at least as well as he can. Once that is done, the drawing and the crayon go back into his bag. Finally, he opens the book again, to read what it says...

[shadowsgambit]

Seeing as all three bodies are just waiting and paying attention, it isn't hard for Diarmuid to get her to focus through that drone's camera. She turns it towards the book he's holding...

"Interesting," she murmurs, taking the control deck from her coat and showing it to Bucky. "Look what the kid just found."

[rekindlenpcs]

Enscribed on the page with the elemental's image--a woman with white hair and skin the same shade as Diarmuid's--is her title: The Aetheric Avatar.
A messenger of the goddess Akasha and made of the goddess's breath, this Avatar commands the element of wind and healing, and weaves her spells with the voice of the heavens. Her true form is that of a siren, who may both heal allies and curse foes to the Gales of Fury.

Winds that guide, mend our wounds
Gales that threaten, let thy words profound
Avatar of Akasha, to my will be bound!

well i lied, i forgot he also had other information

[heismymission]

When Bucky takes a look at the screen, he seems slightly surprised, leaning in for a closer look.

"It looks the same as the book that woman left behind," he says. "The one who gave me a key."

Recalling what he'd read in that tome--even if he can't read this one--and what Cyntia had told him about evokers, he thinks he's made a connection.

"It might be for summoning something."

doubling up this round for the sake of pertinent info

[shadowsgambit]

"I got one too. Think all three of us did? We didn't exactly group up and compare notes all that much beforehand."

Which might have been a bad idea, but all of them were focused on helping Rhea out here.

[smallspot]

As Diarmuid reads the book, he becomes more and more focused on it. Perhaps he shouldn't let himself be so distracted from the door, but the drones are watching it and he is still learning to read so some of the words are harder for him to make out than others. Eventually, he starts whispering the words to himself without even realizing what he is doing...

"Winds that guide, mend our wounds. Gales that threaten, let thy words profound. Avatar of Akasha, to my will be bound!"

Only once he finishes, does he realize he is speaking out loud. The boy looks around with wide eyes to see if anything happens. He is sitting in the middle of a strange magic circle, after all...

[rekindlenpcs]

The moment the last word is said, the red-orange light turns a near-blinding white. If Diarmuid looks up, he'll see a few bluish white feathers begin to fall from the ceiling, before a young woman matching the image on the page he's on appears in a flowing white dress.

Once she drops to the ground in front of him, the light fades into a dim glow.

...Though that doesn't stop the white raven from being startled by the sudden light from below. It flies away, looking for a different cover.

Steve will hear the sound of the summoning, and gears turning from somewhere in the room.

You called for me, young one? the Elemental asks, bending down to meet Diarmuid's height.

[shadowsgambit]

[She hadn't even realized the kid was reading aloud, until blinding white overwhelms the part of her that was watching the drones. She has to tear herself away from them visually (drones don't have eyelids to close), closing her real eyes reflexively.

When she peeks back in through her drones, she watches the scene, and all she can do is say, plainly...]

...well, drek.

[Hopefully Bucky's still watching this on the control deck because she wouldn't know what to say to this, really. Is the kid a latent shaman, or does this spirit just answer any old summons?]

[heismymission]

Possibly--

[It would have been hard to miss the bright light from the screen even if he hadn't been watching it--and seeing the figure appear is enough to surprise him, even though he knows summoning or whatever is... a thing here. He frowns, unsure of what to make of this development.]

What the hell...?

[noparachute]

[He frowned a little when he heard the sound of something happening in the room. It wasn't really anything he recognized and part of him was tempted to just break down the door to make sure that Diarmuid was doing okay. He didn't hear any gunfire at least, but that wasn't really enough to stem his worry.

However, he held his position, not wanting to reveal their presence unless things went really sour. The sound of gears only added to his confusion and he wondered if Fortuna or Bucky managed to catch anything on their end.]

[smallspot]

When the light grows so bright, Diarmuid can't help but close his eyes for a moment. He opens them again as soon as it fades and the first thing he notices are the feathers. One hand reaches out to try and catch one while the other grips tightly onto the book. Of course, he forgets completely about the feather and draws his hand back against himself when he sees the woman.

"Lady...Avatar?" His voice is soft and almost a little timid. Is this going to put them in danger? What about...

"Can you help us save Lady Rhea and Lady Mai? People are holding them captive and we are suppose to help!"

[rekindlenpcs]

Steve will hear a door opening, footsteps following as the door seems to close behind whoever just entered the room. The droids will have caught a single heat signature moving upstairs as well.

We will do all that we can to aide you. However, someone is likely to have heard the summoning. She replies, before the sound of footsteps reach the door at the top of the stairs. Pray hide yourself and leave this one to me.

[smallspot]

Excitement lights up Diarmuid's face when she says she will help, but it fades when his ears catch the sound of the footsteps and the Avatar gives her warning. As much as he would like to stay and fight, she is more powerful than he is and so he listens to her. The book disappears into his bag and then he pulls his cloak of invisibility back around himself.

"Good luck!" His voice is barely more than a whisper as he dashes toward the back of the room with his bag and crawls behind some of the boxes. Sometimes being small comes in handy!

[shadowsgambit]

[The drones don't actually share her heat vision, false color thermography is too jarring when combined with her natural vision, but the footsteps are picked up by their mics, of course, and she moves them out of the way, to hide where Diarmuid is.

She whispers to Bucky.]

If we're lucky, they'll never know who summoned that spirit.

[heismymission]

[He watches the screen and strains his ears, frowning in frustration.

This is one thing he'll always miss from working primarily on his own--he never had to rely on the skills of others in order to complete the mission. Supplies and transportation, yes, skills no. He hates sitting and waiting, but he knows trying to get in there where Diarmuid is now would only make those inside aware of their presence.]

[noparachute]

[The sound of footsteps isn't really a good sign, but if he tries to break the door down now, they'll probably alert even more people. Hopefully that invisible cloak Diarmuid is wearing will keep him in hidden. However, he pulls the mic and backs away from the door, just in case if someone tries to check the outside.

If the situation's right, maybe he can even knock out the person, but he's not about to risk it if there's too many of them.]

[rekindlenpcs]

[When the guard opens the door, he spies the two droids moving behind the crates.]

"What the-? Who let 'ese in here?"

[Though as he approaches, he catches sight of the young woman standing in the middle of the magicked circle. At first he doesn't seem to recognize the woman, but as he takes out a tonfa, the glow around her hands tips him off.]

"You're a--"

Sorry old man, your shift ends here.

[The Elemental laughs softly, before moving her hands as though plucking the strings of a harp.]

O' bound unto night, faded within sight...
[As the siren sings, her voice carries beyond the window as a spell casts. Any (whether they be horsebird or metahuman) who hear will find themselves smaller than a toy doll...]

Bound fast unto fate afoul... as the winds howl...

[...and the shrunken guard finds a sudden gust of wind slams him into the ceiling.]

Hm... Perhaps I had overdone it.

[heismymission]

[Due to his concentration on listening, Bucky (unfortunately) manages to hear the siren's song, and in the space of a blink, he finds his surroundings have changed completely. Due to not being Ant Man, it takes him a while to make his way through the shock and trepidation to realize that the only difference is size, but it's different enough that he has to pause for several moments to collect himself. He's too disoriented by the transformation to regain his focus.]

[smallspot]

Diarmuid should be more scared than he is, but instead of being scared, he can't help but excitedly watch from his hiding spot as the guard enters. For a moment, his excitement shifts to worry when the guard sees the drones and then the Avatar starts singing. That causes him to forget everything but the song. It is so beautiful and it reminds him of something his father would sing.

When the sing ends, though, something...unexpected happens. Diarmuid finds the world changing around him. Maybe it is because he is so small naturally or maybe it is all the tales he was brought up on, but he figures out pretty quickly what is going on.

"I've been shrunk!" The boy can't help but giggle when he hears his squeaky voice. It takes much longer for him to move from behind the box than it did before, but once he makes it, he runs up to the Avatar and looks up at her. Way up at her...

"I'm a mouse! Squeak!" He runs around in a circle to make sure he gets her attention before continuing, "Did you mean to make me bittier too, Lady, or did you oops?"