NeutralNexus — Roleplayer Guild

“I'm no millionaire
But I'm not the type to care
'Cause I've got a pocketful of dreams”

“It's my universe
Even with an empty purse
'Cause I've got a pocketful of dreams”


The Cowl sung softly to himself as he drifted through the hallways, swinging around his goons as they sprinted off to defend the front, reaching in his coat to pull out a handheld detonator.  The remote charges were set all around the building, key passages now booby trapped for the unwelcome visitors as well as many spots within the large processing room covering Racheli’s position.  The Cowl had memory on where most of the mines were and carefully organized detonators on his perso.  Of course, he did not leave her without assurance either, the chains supporting her also sporting explosives in case he needed to rid the evidence before he made his way up to the second story of the Ironworks. 

But explosives were not the only trick the Cowl had laid around the building.  This was far more than one’s average Ironworks building.  Guns were hidden under every workbench and conveyor belt, lockers in the changing rooms stowed with explosives, even vents specially designed to fill rooms with poisons or chemicals.  Tricks and traps littered this Ironworks, after years upon years of using this place as a safehouse and armory, with every little nuance memorized in the back of the Cowl’s head to utilize with deadly efficiency. 

And all he had to do was get to the control room, it overlooked the room he had put Racheli in, and if he could maneuver it right, he could utilize the tools placed in the room to further impede the intruders.

“I wouldn't take the wealth of Wall Street
For a road where nature trods
And I calculate that I'm worth my weight
In goldenrods.”

“Lucky, lucky me
I can live in luxury
'Cause I've got a pocketful of dreams”


At the top of the stairs, the Cowl  swerved a corner, making a roundabout path that overlooks the front grounds before circling back to the control room.  Along this pathway, he snagged a fire extinguisher from its holster pulling another explosive from his pocket in one smooth motion.  It was a smaller explosive, one more akin to blowing out a handle on a door rather than blowing a hole in a tank, but from what the Cowl seemed to intend, he didn’t need much of a detonator.  He laid the small explosive upon the extinguisher, keeping the device close by his person as he made his way to the windows.

Of course, that is not all he planned on his trip down to the control room, as there was a janitorial closet with a much bigger surprise waiting for the heroes fighting outside.  Ducking quickly into the oversized closet, the kingpin took a few seconds looking over the mundane equipment before pulling on a rather dirty looking broom, causing an audible click to echo through the small chamber, causing the back wall to vibrate and shudder, dust falling off of it as the wood paneling was swept aside, revealing the armory laid behind it.  A plethora of high-tech guns on display, all accented by a lovely white backlight as the weapons came into view.  Incendiary grenades, hand-held EMPs, even a nicely polished Desert Eagle and a pair of Colt 1911s with a m4a1 assault rifle to back it up.

But none of those tools compared to the The Accuracy International AW50 anti-tank rifle hanging above them.  One of The Cowl’s personal acquisitions while running guns through the city, he made sure to save a couple for himself, after all, it was situations like this that made weapons like that come in handy.

“Oh, I'm no millionaire
But I'm not the type to care
'Cause I've got a pocketful of dreams”


“It's my universe
Even with an empty purse
'Cause I've got a pocketful of dreams”


The Cowl could hear his goons being torn apart below, he’d have to pick up the pace.  Making his way past window, he took the brief moment to make out what was occurring outside.  A fierce battle had erupted, broken drones, bleeding men, and a sea of overgrown trees now decorated the battlefield that was once the factory grounds.  Old warehouse equipment and container were shattered and lain across the cracked Earth, accented by broken bits of metal.  It was clear from what he could see that the metallic foe Odette had engaged earlier had made his presence known, and due to the fact The Cowl could not currently see him, he could only make the conclusion that the technologically advanced hero had actually made his way into the building.  Normally this would not be an issue with GeneCo on the scene, but they were currently being held off by what looked like a wall of overgrown trees, headed by some earthen monstrosity now engaged in heavy combat with what looked to be a man made of fire.  

The smart man Cowl was, he could deduce that Jacqueline had sent him as metahuman backup to try and cut a hole to get to Racheli, she had fortunately listened to him when he said that there would be an intense conflict.  Unfortunately, it did not seem to be enough, the overgrowth was keeping them out, leaving him to deal with the metallic intruder.  

“I wouldn't take the wealth of Wall Street
For a road where nature trods
And I calculate that I'm worth my weight
In goldenrods”


It did not take him long to get to the control room from the janitor’s console, luckily the Cowl could see that the main processing room had not been busted through, Racheli still being positioned far in the back over the aerial kiln, the few men he placed still in position.  However, there was not much more time left, the metallic man was well on the way and the Cowl had mere moments to prepare.  

With no time to waste, the Cowl got straight to work, accessing the control console that overlooked the large production facility Racheli was dangling over after putting the fire extinguisher down right at the back end of the room, where someone could come up from the ground floor.  He quickly took note of the second floor room, seeing the exits, reminding himself of the molotov cocktails safely tucked away in a nearby cabinet in case they needed to burn the place down for insurance money, as well as the loose wiring in a nearby circuit breaker with a water pipe not too far off, ways to protect himself and maneuver others into bad situations.  Flipping several switches, the Ironworks came to life, humming, whirring, and buzzing into production.  His fingers gliding over the control panels with the muscle memory only a kingpin would have, a blur of movement and planning to continue trapping the room.  The aerial kilns began to groan and creak as they were moved, setting Racheli in a minefield between several other kilns, with some clever maneuvering skills, he may be able to drop one of the kilns on an unsuspecting metal man’s head.  A few more keys pressed, machinery groaned and hummed as they were moved into position, several pipes on the ground floor began to actually move and shudder.  In a few seconds, they burst, The Cowl intentionally causing a bit of damage to cover the ground floor with just a bit of water.  He was making the area as hazardous as he could without intentionally blowing the building sky high.  

There was not much time left, the metallic man was already just around the corner judging by the light show that was being emitted from the farthest exit.  The Cowl took his anti-tank rifle off of his shoulder, getting low so as not to give himself away when the man entered the room.  While he had placed explosives on the entrances, he knew he wouldn’t have the timing to hit this one if the man came in at full force, so it may better be used as a sealant.  Opening one of the windows overlooking the room, he pushed the large rifle’s barrel just barely out of the windowsill, enough to get a clear shot of the two entrances to the room, but not enough to  give away his position.  

The anti-tank rifle was his best shot, all he needed was the right opportunity to use it.

“Lucky, lucky me
I can live in luxury”
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