[6/7] Something Awesome [1.3 - Redwatch] [Slot Open - Accepting Entries]

"Hahahahahaha ok seriously though." Otto says, actually saying the laughter-noises aloud without a hint of amusement. "No 'police agent'-" he nearly brains Oren with a stray mop movement making inverted commas here "-would introduce himself with his super-generic first name alone."

"Now excuse me while I-" Otto whips out his cellphone before anyone can make a move, and puts it to his ear. He then swings it round and takes a photo of this perp. Snap. "Call bullshit. Get out of here and get some real credentials before I sick my frogs onto you, yeah?"

John's goggles appears to briefly turn red - a white scanline moves back and forth inside the eyepieces. The now-obvious computer properties of it are seen. As soon as his eyes reappear from behind the red scanline, the voice of his apparent superior is heard again.

"...Holy shit," she mutters. "Multiple instances of dangerous magical signatures in these people. I'm sending reinforcements. Incapacitate or kill them immediately!"

As Otto finishes speaking, this supposed John figure raises his hand and flicks his wrist. Upon doing so, a small lightning bolt arcs out of his hand and straight at the cellphone - knocking the phone clean out of Otto's hand and sending it straight across the room.

"Looks like a bunch of smart ones we've got here," he snarls. "What exactly did you hope to find? Now turn over that folder. We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

"The fact that your leader there is really making it sound like you're not a cop isn't helping your case either. Likely acting against local law? Wouldn't a cop know? And 'terminate us'? Surely you can understand why this sounds suspicious."

Lawrence looks down at Oren's shotgun and back up at him, as if trying to hint that he should probably get it ready.

"Call your boss back and get your own sweet spark-shooting self terminated, you hypocrite!" Otto clutches his hand that was holding the phone. It's all tingly.

Lawrence is cut off by John's action.

"Well. That's interesting. Magic, you say? Is that what that was?"

He clutches the folder in his hand, still unwilling to show it to the maniac.

One hand goes on the stock of the shotgun, still out of sight.

Oren's eye darts to Larry's, and his eyebrow raises. Anyone tries something funny, he's just gonna fire right through the desk. Thing's flimsy plywood and Oren's packing 12-gauge slugs. He should probably have loaded buckshot instead at this close of a range, but fist-size holes in your head is fist-size holes in your head, no matter the delivery mechanism.

Arthur chuckles and grips the hilt of his sword tightly, drawing the massive blade from it's ornate sheaf, it is simple in it's design but decorated with gold all across the hilt, the blade glowing with an almost magical radiant sheen and with intricate engravings at the base of the blade. This weapon is truly fit for a king and this is the first time anyone here has fully seen Athur's sword, he never had much reason to use it in a school really.

He shouts. "Listen here, you gutless knave! I have been very patient, but you have threatened the king and his people! I will have your head if you do not lay down your arms now!"

The King takes an offensive stance, ready to leap forward and strike the criminal down at a moment's notice.

This John character pulls one of the beige objects from the canister strapped to his waist, tossing it up and down in his hand.

"Are you really sure you want to attack me? Go on, you delusional brute. Strike me where I stand."

Melinda silently urges Arthur to attack him with everything he's got. She can't see what John has up his sleeve, but she's been to enough Renaissance Fair weapon stands to know the sound of a huge well-sharpened sword being drawn when she hears it! Who knows, maybe this weirdo will reveal more about this so-called magic if he's put under pressure. Everyone knows magic isn't real, but Melinda's always kind of hoped in the back of her mind that it was.

King Arthur glances about the room, noting the distance from him and John. There is no way he will get in melee range without being hit by that orb he has, simply running up to him won't do him any good.

He isn't king for nothing though, he stifles some laughter and responds. "So be it."

With that Arthur lunges forwards in a sprint, steps onto one of the more intact desks, leaping off it and at John in a single fluid movement, roaring with a furious battle cry as he raises his sword above his head. He fully expects his attack to be intercepted mid jump, but if common sense shows any strength over magic, it is that a man in armor falling on top of you hurts regardless of the context.

Otto shoves his cleaning cart at John, before realising "Shit! Frog 2!!"

As offensive measures are taken against John, he quickly throws the beige object at Arthur. Upon contact, a deafening blast and a brilliant flash of light emanates from the object. The explosion knocks Arthur back, largely unharmed due to his heavy armor. The others are thrown against the walls of the chem lab, and Donovan and Melinda are thrown back out and down the hallway, sliding a good distance.

When the stunning light fades, the man known as John is gone. Lawrence still remains in possession of the folder and book on the Potato Cult.

Police sirens are heard outside.

Otto checks his frogs are ok, then puts them all on the cleaning cart and dives out the window. He probably doesn't have magical teleporty-skills, he can't have gotten too far on foot.

Lawrence swears and stands up. Looking around to make sure he still has what the man was after, he warily stands up.

"Well, at least we managed to stop him from getting what he wanted, right?" He nervously grins and holds up the folder, before dropping it back in his bag. "We should probably get out of here, you know; avoid the cops, regroup, figure out what to do about this since it apparently isn't just one of Mr. Zikkit's crazy conspiracies."

He makes sure to grab that other book he didn't pick up before, then heads outside the lab.

"Otto, make sure you re-lock... oh, uh... hi kids." He practically walks into a wall upon seeing Donovan and Melinda. "Wh-what are you doing here? How about that explosion huh? Crazy chemical nonsense."

Lawrence also turns to Otto as the janitor goes to jump out the window.

"What the hell are you doing? The cops are out there and from the sounds of that John guy's boss we really don't want to run into them right now."

Loud, unsettling thumping is heard from above the ceiling of the chem lab.

Donovan skids to a stop halfway down the hallway. He waits a few moments before picking himself up. That definitely left a bruise or too. He walks back over to the chem lab door to hear a loud thumping sound coming from... just above the chem lab. "What the heck..."

"Fie!"

Arthur clutches his head and climbs back to his feet, resting up against the wall while trying to gather his senses. He notices a familiar sword (ie: his sword) stuck into one of the walls and hurriedly limps over to it and pulls it out after a couple of tugs, then spinning around sword still in hand and chasing after Otto.

"Just a moment! I have to get this ruffian!"

Melinda cries out in pain as she slides diagonally across the hall and hits the far wall. Her left arm feels sore when she tries to move it, and she's probably scratched up pretty badly, but at least she's okay. That...probably wasn't the smartest thing she's ever willed someone to do. Ouch.

But still! This is all insane, she's caught up in the middle of a real conspiracy!

"We heard everything," Melinda says to Mr. Beedle, not the slightest hint of shame in her voice. "Did that John guy set off a bomb or something?!" She rubs a sore spot on her head where she'd hit the wall.

The thumping catches her full attention. John's partner! They might still be in the building! "Hey, Donovan!" she says, getting to her feet. "What's above the chemistry lab? We gotta get up there, quick!" She starts for the nearest staircase.

"Oh uh. Everything? Well I suppose that can't be helped."

Lawrence sighs and listens to the thumping as well. When Melinda starts to move he races ahead and blocks the door to any available staircase.

"Now I suppose I can't stop you, can I? If that John character is any indication, this is likely going to be very dangerous and I'd rather not put you and Mr. Zikkit at risk."

"Well then come with us," she says, as though it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Larry," says Oren, pushing his gun back into his bag, "we can't stay here, or the cops are going to come and cook our goose. And these kids need chaperones." He zips the bag up and gets to his feet. "Or some cooler word for it."

He slings the bag back over his shoulder and pats Larry's shoulder, exerting a gentle amount of force to suggest he let the girl pass. "Maybe bodyguards or something."

"Alright."

Lawrence shrugs, as if he wasn't really that invested in putting up a fight anyways.

"Just promise me that if things get, well, violent you two'll get out of here and let us take care of it."

He gets out of the way and holds Oren back.

"No taking out that gun of yours when they're around, we're in a little over our heads already, the more danger we can keep them from the better."

Of course, Lawrence didn't really care about the shotgun, he just wanted as few people to know about his talent as possible.

Thump. Thump.

A moment later, the ceiling collapses and a soldier of some sort falls through the opening. His uniform is plainly black with white stripes running down the arms and across the waist. Around his right arm is a band with the previously sighted red swirl and thunderbolt insignia.

All around the party, more such adversaries appear. One's holding a rifle of sorts, another with a shortsword, and the third has fire eminating from his hands.

They all take aim at various party members.

As soon as they point the gun at the high school kid something already frayed breaks inside Oren and he is no longer interested in talking.

He flattens himself against the wall of the hallway, yanks the shotgun back out of the bag and fires full auto into the soldier with the rifle.