Meanwhile, at Guantanamo...

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

Guantánamo is the easternmost province of Cuba. Its capital is also called Guantánamo. Other towns include Baracoa. The province surrounds the important U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay.

Since the 1970's, the base was used to house Cuban and Haitan refugees. Since 2002, it's been the primary detention camp used on the War on Terror, and a lightning rod for controversy.

Lightning prepares to strike as 7 people...and one chimp...prepare to reach ground.

Comments

[green-shield.livejournal.com]

Ollie would have a field day if he knew she was here.

"Prison is to the west. Barracks to the north. Supplies to the southeast."

[caleb-z.livejournal.com]

Caleb reaches out metaphysically, trying to identify anything magical or with a human soul in their area. The intense magic of the barrier is making this somewhat more tedious than Dr. Zukov is used to, but it’s a thorough search nevertheless.

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

Chimp glances around. "First thing to do is make contact with the US Army." He pulls out a cigarette and lights it. "In addition to being good tactics, it'll help us dodge a treason charge."

[jla-kobra.livejournal.com]

After awhile, they find themselves at a clearing coming out of the woods.

They can see the edge of the camp visually, roughly 5 miles from them.

They can also see at least 25-30 guards in front, doing various activities, from patrol to having 'discussions' with some US troops.

There's a shimmer that appears to be the field around the base area.

[sand-hawkins.livejournal.com]

So much for stealth. Sand thinks. Gemma, can you work your mojo on thirty-plus, or should we prepare to start getting dirty?

[gemma-masters.livejournal.com]

I could but I don't know that I should. It's low magic and dirty, most mystics won't notice it because of that...no offense but most mystics hate the dirty hands thing...but that many people it might be noticeable that it was happening. That could spoil the later surprise factor of having me around. Right now hardly anyone knows me and what I do...they get the smell of a Constantine could be bad. She shrugs, she'll leave it up to them.

[sand-hawkins.livejournal.com]

Sand has about five seconds to muse to himself that that was a clever place to put it, since most folks would figure Havana...but for two fields to be powered, it made sense to have it centralized on the island.

Then they had to open fire, and a plasma bolt shot across his arm gets his attention. Chimp, you know the plan, now you know the location. Hit it. Everyone else...we're on.

Sand gestures as he moves forward...and the ground immediately beneath the squadron of soldiers to the middle erupts, spilling them over.

Two more squadrons (six in each) move in on the right, guns blazing. As do the two near the other outsiders.

[ibn-al-xuff.livejournal.com]

Ibn doesn't need magic to hide himself. He has his father's natural athletic abilities and the training from the League of Assassins. He keeps on an eye on the Outsiders as he creeps closer for an ambush, his sword at the ready.

He heard Sand's words eariler, but he didn't respond. An agent of Lady Death knows full well the value of life....

He hopes that there are other ways this time.

[green-shield.livejournal.com]

Compared to Ibn's stealth, the other team medic relishes in her role as bullet blocker. Handgun rounds sting her like a hornets as she moves around the scene firing blackout arrows for the moment, blocking their view of anything and hoping Ibn is better at blindfighting then they are.

[onthecase.livejournal.com]

The Chimp has a different goal.

He's already been enchanted ahead of time... the only way to be sure that he could get anywhere he'd need to get within any length of time... for today only, any vehicle he pilots will travel at triple their normal speed.

But first, he needs to get a vehicle.

He'd really prefer a bike... as silly as he'd look wearing a helmet, he'd have better control over the vehicle. But, unfortunately, as he sneaks through the jungle, the only thing he can find is a Kobra jeep, with two troops milling about while a third empties his bladder behind a tree.

Chimp is decent enough to let the guy finish, if not zip up, before sneaking behind him and cracking his skull against the tree, knocking him out.

The other two turn to investigate the sound, but the chimp is already up the tree. As they begin to look around, he drops onto the back of one, taking him out with a blow to the head; as he stumbles forward into the other, the chimp is already leaping onto the face of the remaining trooper.

Of course the key for the vehicle was snapped in the brief skirmish, the Chimp mutters to himself mentally. So two minutes later, the jeep is hotwired; two minutes after that, it's on the freeway, and five minutes later, he's 50 miles away, his eyes barely seeing over the wheel while he keeps one of his lower limbs on the gas pedal.

[jla-kobra.livejournal.com]

Within a matter of a minute, all 30-some soldiers are down and unconscious or in crippling pain. But not before a couple of them had obviously gotten word out.

A blast of plasma energy...more cannon-sized than rifle-sized...is fired right in the vicinity of Ibn and Green Shield, close enough that it would potentially cause damage to either or both.

[sand-hawkins.livejournal.com]

Sand whips around and sees them...a motorized tank, along with another 20 or so footsoldiers. These were the ones stationed near Guantanamo...guarantee more are coming. Cover me, I'm going to try something.

Sand is at the edge of the field...by now many of the soldiers near that area have gathered around the field to see what was going on. "Get back, please!" Sand shouts...and he directs his earth-moving energy directly beneath the field, trying to almost burrow under it or open a fissure large enough to cause a disruption.

It has no effect, as the field simply fills whatever cracks or crevasses there are.

[jla-kobra.livejournal.com]

Directly in front of Sand, a flash of light occurs, and suddenly the person in front of him sends him flying straight backward at high velocity with a right cross...

...directly towards Green Shield.

Was the fact that it was high velocity mentioned?

[jla-kobra.livejournal.com]

Meanwhile, the purplish blur whips around Brainwave and is heading toward Ibn.

Whatever it is, it's definitely got super speed.

[hotshot1280.livejournal.com]

Hovering overhead, Hotshot is simultaneously providing cover fire and a distraction target for those on the ground when he sees Sand go flying. Two responses immediately flash through Hotshot's mind. Knocking Green Shield clear in time is impossible, though, so instead a wall of solid fire appears between Sand and Tara. The wall is tilted upward at a forty-five degree angle to soften the impact, but Trevor still braces for a hell of an impact when Sand hits.

[gemma-masters.livejournal.com]

She's keeping her shield up so as not to get shot...being shot sucks...and using small amounts of magic to make it difficult for the bad guys to cooperate. Little nudges and pushes off balance into each other if she can, things that are hard to trace to her if you're not a mystic.

And she has a cricket bat in one hand for when they get too close.

[jla-kobra.livejournal.com]

Your presence is not welcome here, Gemma Masters.

The former Magique is suddenly...there. Right behind Gemma. She turns around and sees one physical being...but with facial features that shift between multiple faces as she talks, like the end of that old Michael Jackson video.

You certainly do bring a unique perspective to things, which is why I must deal with you before you further disrupt the plan.

[gemma-masters.livejournal.com]

Oops, she's not happy about being noticed.

"Bite me you bad special effect." And she'll throw her first serious magic at her in the form of a concussion bubble trying to knock her backwards.

[jla-kobra.livejournal.com]

Meanwhile, a new adversary walks out of the woods, locking eyes with Ibn.

"G'day. Don't recall you on the intelligence reports."

[ibn-al-xuff.livejournal.com]

"I've been told I'm a mystery...."

Ibn raises his sword in a salute. "I don't suppose this is the part where you tell me all of your plans..."

[jla-kobra.livejournal.com]

"Reckon not." the stranger says. "But you should know m'name. Call me Rattler."

He concentrates...and Ibn can feel his sword arm begin to violently vibrate.

[jla-kobra.livejournal.com]

Slyther smiles, even through the pain.

Kobra has helped her to tap her full potential, through the chaos magic that Kali represents.

At her core, she's a magical mimic. In addition to her own magic, she can also copy both the power level and skill level of other mages in her presence.

Meaning right about now, she's as buff as Caleb is, magically speaking.

Time to get nasty, though. Even at his power level, he's too dangerous to go unchecked.

She utters the incantation silently...to send Caleb, mind and soul, into his own version of Nirvana. Lets see the mind punk break through this. she muses silently.

[caleb-z.livejournal.com]

Caleb doesn’t move quickly enough to counter her spell, and for a few seconds hovers in the air, motionless. The energy surrounding him begins to dissipate as he limply falls to the ground, his eyes staring off into nothing. The lights are on, but no one is home…

[sand-hawkins.livejournal.com]

Sand surveys the scene and sees things going south very quickly. Brainwave, Hotshot and Gemma are down. Ibn's hurt, Green Shield just got rocked...

...and somehow, Magi...SLYTHER is going toe to toe with Caleb.

The other thing he noticed is that the troops aren't currently ADVANCING...they've surrounded a perimeter so that we don't leave without facing them...but they're giving the metas room to work.

That can't be good.

This is forcing Sand into tactics he'd rather not use.

As the black cloud dissipated around the one called Blackadder...who looked NOTHING like Rowan Atkinson, Sand thought to himself...Sand literally swallowed him alive with Earth. If he's intangible, we'll find out soon enough, but things were going badly, and he had to risk it.

He checked on Hotshot just to make sure he was breathing, then moved forward to Brainwave.

[dr-black-light.livejournal.com]

As Ibn faced down the woman known as Diamondback (http://community.livejournal.com/jla_watchtower/1209219.html?thread=37341315#t37341315), between the pain in his arm and the focus on the woman, he doesn't hear what forms around his body.

A solid light cocoon, with the light taking a diabolical greenish tint to it. It closes tight around him, showing only his head.

The pressure on his arm? Most intentional.

In his brain, he remembers the confrontation he had with Sand Hawkins and his group at the time, the JSA. It was shortly before his most recent death...and more than a year since his reincarnation to this more powerful form.

He's going to enjoy this.

"Mr. Hawkinsssss." he says plainly. "Welcome to Cuba."