Shalmdi

Several hours after he had sealed himself away, Coolant System emerged from his living chamber. The severe burn marks around his chest and gauntlets were gone, and the hero no longer looked weary from his earlier exertions. He had once again resumed his passive demeanor, and he had even replaced his teleportation beacon.

Activating his thermals, he quickly located his teammates and headed in the direction of Mystic's overly bright signature.

Upon reaching the mage, Coolant deliberately bumped into a nearby desk to get his attention. It usually took people a while to get used to the fact that he could move around quietly in his armor; he figured it was a good idea not to surprise the flame throwing Mystic.

“Good afternoon, my friends. Excuse me, Inferno, can I talk to you privately for a moment?”

Coolant System was happy when he saw that Mystic was ok, and even the Outcast had survived apparently. Of course, he felt his energy peak slightly the moment he let an emotion slip through, and that signaled another nap for the chilled hero.

Immediately before losing consciousness for the second time, he forced his chamber to seal and lock itself. The door hissed and a locking mechanism made sure that nothing short of a tank would get into the resting hero. It wasn’t like he had never slept in his armor before.

Coolant awoke as he slammed into something. He pushed his over taxed body to action and used his remaining strength to open his face shield. He was in his chamber. He could see Sting and Newton, but he couldn’t quite spot Mystic. Switching to thermals he made out two human signatures, an insect signature he had recently become familiar with, and a signature that was lower than room temperature.

[ QUOTE ]
“Oh $#i7 that hurts!” Sting was still on his hands and knees, as he took heavy, hissing breaths. “Boss, you gotta get that leg bandaged. Who is the medic in this unit?”

[/ QUOTE ]

His heavy, steel suit slowly pushed itself up to stand. Coolant grabbed a nearby plug and connected it to a slot that opened in his chest. He voiced a command for the room to warm itself to normal and stepped to the door.

“Sting, Newton, if you could get him in here, I’ll see what I can do,” replied the very tired hero as he fought off sleep.

Coolant System (Nikolas Wilson)

Eye color: Dunno, wears tinted visor

Skin Color: Light blue

Size: 6' if you count the hood

Weight: 314 lbs w/ armor 141 w/o

Age: 22 -6 yrs. stasis

Human: Yes

Strengths: Very Strong. Very thick armor (Bring an ice pick and a screwdriver). Can chill beverages at will.

Weaknesses: Must stay emotionless to conserve energy. Strict morals and rules. Much self loathing and depression.

Personality: Coolant System tries to maintain a cold outward appearance to match his powers. He is very protective of others and does everything in his power to preserve human life (good or bad). He will put himself in extreme danger to protect a teammate as atonement for his past mistakes. A good ally to have but mostly a drag at parties... except for the cold beverage trick.

Origin: See link in Signature for the full story.

Coolant would have to remember to thank Newton for his efforts later, but for the moment he had other pressing matters. He quickly placed himself between the fallen Outcast and Sting. Hopefully to act as a shield for both parties.

He forced his armor to emit a heat absorbing aura in an effort to protect himself from the flames, but he could only take a few blows before it started to seep through. Without the energy to properly armor himself, he couldn't take down Brander without feeling the burn.

Using a large piece of a pool table as a shield (he would worry about where it came from later), he began to approach the wounded Outcast in attempt to end this fight. As the table became engulfed in flames, he hurled it at the fire user.

When a metal plate came down from his hood and obscured his vision, Coolant realized he had used the last of his energy and could no longer support the drain of his face shield or other defenses. As usual, he realized this immediately before losing consciousness.

Coolant was mad. Coolant was very mad. Had he been in his right mind he would have realized he was burning up his energy at an accelerated rate. He had moved from hours of remaining power to minutes. The little girl had been the straw that set him over the edge. “Everyone clear out of here!!!” he yelled as loud as his suit could, but he really didn't notice whether or not anyone paid attention.

He could feel his suit venting fast; he was too cold to go near the girl or the others. He didn't like being helpless. He couldn't get near them without making things worse. On the other hand, there was one person nearby that could take the cold; a certain Outcast that now deserved Coolant's full attention.

Moments after Sudden Chill fell to the ground, Coolant was upon him. He saw a cold blast come from the thug's hand and slam into his body, but he didn't feel it. Had his suit not automatically restricted him, he may have hit Sudden with his full power. As it was, he was certain that if he didn't break ribs with the initial blow, those ribs had broken when the Outcast's unconscious form came back down.

Coolant quickly reigned in his emotions as he realized how far he had almost gone. He turned off his ice leaving himself defenseless and leaped over to the fallen child to shield her. He quickly placed his emergency teleportation beacon on the child and activated it.

[ QUOTE ]
“Oh god, it’s all going wrong at the girlfriend’s house. It’s like a nightmare.”

[/ QUOTE ]

Coolant was hurdling himself through King's Row at insane speeds. He already had his icy armor at level one and was preparing himself for the unknown. When he arrived at the scene, he had only a moment to let it all sink in. Mystic was hit; there was no time for thinking.

Focusing all his thoughts on anger, he felt his should armor open and crack his icy shell slightly. A freezing cold seeped from him and his armor solidified into a smooth icy barrier, chilling all around him slightly. He leaped between Mystic and the oncoming gun fire and yelled with an amplified voice that was not easily ignored.

“You wanna play?! Play with me!”

Moving to the nearest thug, he quickly analyzed him and sent a blow to the man's stomach. As the Outcast flew backwards, Coolant could only hope he had used the right amount of force. Too much could seriously injure the man, but too little could seriously injure his teammates.

The second thug was encircled by Mystic's flames and seemed to be a contained threat; Coolant decided to let him be. Two others seemed to be occupied firing at... someone who matched Sudden Chill's description? Coolant decided to leave them to their own devices as well. Perhaps Inferno had some kind of mind control magic as well. The other punk was completely ignoring himself and Mystic and seemed content unleashing fire at Newton.

Fire was not one of the things Coolant excelled against. He swiftly moved his hand to his head while continuing to stay between Mystic and the Outcasts. “Sting, I don't know where you are, but we need someone who can take the heat. Quickly!”

As usual, Coolant sauntered through this section of King's Row like he ran the place. The punks that had been here for any length of time knew not to mess with him, and the newer ones usually avoided the intimidating metal-man. One Skull came too close and wound up flat on his back and ready for pickup.

When he heard Newton's Apple come over the radio, he had to calm himself very quickly, but a smile still managed to seep through. He could tell that Newton was going to be a daily test on his self-control. Well, if he had to let an emotion slip, amusement was easily his favorite.

The sign above the door said “King's Tats.” As he walked inside, a large bald man with a goatee turned to greet him in what passed for manners on the Row, “You got busy-ness 'ere, Sardine Man, or is you just admiring my pretty?”

Coolant System decided to try things the way his teammates would handle it; being opposed to murder never meant he was opposed to violence. As he turned to face the man, his shoulder armor opened up and cold air filled the room, dropping the temperature to about 40 Fahrenheit. “Actually, I had some questions for you. It would be in your best interest to be honest.”

At this point, the bald individual did about the stupidest thing he could; he attempted to punch his intruder in the face. Coolant could see the fingers smash and flatten into his face shield, and he watched the shield flicker into visibility for a moment before fading again. Assuming his most intimidating smile, Coolant stared the man in the face and repeated himself as the punk clenched his cold, broken hand. “As I said it would be in YOUR best interest to be honest. I can tell if you lie to me...”

Five minutes later, he emerged from the shop convinced that the tattoo artist was either a very good liar or had no idea of Sudden Chill's location. “This is Coolant System. The tattoo parlor was a waste of time. I am going to scout the surrounding area.”

Coolant pointed at the area of the map containing the tattoo parlor. "I am familiar with that neighborhood. Since no one else has laid claim to it, I'll scout out the streets around there and this marked building."

Coolant turned towards the door and added, “If you need anything, just call on the radio. Otherwise, I am going to get this man hunt underway.”

With that, he quickly made his way out of the building and began heading east.

[ QUOTE ]
“Why would we want to avoid fights?” Sting questioned Coolant. “If we want to find this guy, the best way to do it is to crack some heads and ask who has seen him. We have a picture, don’t we? Heck, he might come out after us if we make a little mess of his ‘crib’ and his ‘homies’ as Newton put it.” Sting poked fun at Newton’s attempts at using slang.

[/ QUOTE ]

Coolant System wanted to sigh, but he kept his emotions at bay. He had the distinct feeling that doing things “the easy way” wasn't even going to be an option in this group.

[ QUOTE ]
“You say this is low tech crap? Can you make us something better? Or know where we can get some cheap?”

[/ QUOTE ]

"No, sorry," Coolant replied. "I'm a more of a repairman than an inventor."

He switched the radio he was holding on and placed it back on the table. Turning to Mystic Inferno he stated, "I hope you won't take offense if I just tune to your frequency.”

Before waiting for an answer, Coolant put his hand against the side of his head, and continued to move his lips until the word “Testing” came over the radio in front of him.

Coolant just nodded before putting his hand back down.

“Light and heat aren't a big deal to me, so you gentlemen can decide that amongst yourselves, but I will do my part to get this place working" Coolant stated while taking a seat and examining the radios, “Low tech piece of… *ahem* Umm, my biggest concern is security really. I’ll help with the task of the day, but if you guys could leave me to my own jobs for a bit, I would like to get these windows sealed up and put in a security system of some type. I'm afraid electronics and metal work are my only skills, and that's due to necessity more than actual interest.

As far as this search goes, I agree with the team assault observation, Mystic.” Coolant replied with what could almost be excitement, “An opponent with a name like ‘Sudden Chill’ sounds like he would fair poorly against your fire powers, but if anyone faces him, I would like to be there to provide cover.”

The blue hero reached forward to point to specific areas of the map. “Most of the scum in the Row run their businesses up front due to overconfidence; if we stick to these back alleys, we can avoid unnecessary combat.”

Coolant sized up the rest of the group slightly before adding, “If you want to avoid fights here, look intimidating. Gangs that hang out in King’s Row like it because there’s less chance of getting caught and less strong heroes. If they sense a challenge, they usually back down. Umm… Newton you may just want to stay out of sight.”

((OOC: I realize I never actually explained what Coolant’s chamber looks like, so I’ll throw that in))

Coolant System breathed a sigh and cursed honesty, “Yeah, we have a refrigerator.”

Coolant took a moment to look over his metal home. The structure looked like a huge ice box, and the irony wasn't lost on him. While there were some vents and a few visible buttons, it was mostly featureless metal. He had installed it where there had previously been a large office (a Captain’s he assumed), and it barely fit the space that had been allotted to it. Jutting out from the front of the chamber was another rectangular section that appeared to be the entrance. The only prominent feature was a keypad next to the entry point.

“I don’t have a freezer - don’t need one normally, but there’s enough room in one of my storage compartments to keep a good bit of this stuff cold,” Coolant replied neutrally while grabbing one of the Mountain Dew cases. He walked over to the left side of his doorway and pushed a square button. The wall on that same side slid open to reveal a cold section with some small pouches inside it.

Coolant put the drinks in the compartment before returning to his seat and speaking, “Please don’t tamper with those pouches. If you absolutely have to taste one that’s fine, but please throw it away afterwards.”

Coolant had busied himself with shaping and welding some scrap metal he picked up the previous evening. Newton had thought to put furniture in front of the many openings in the precincts walls, but those would only keep someone out that wasn’t too determined to get in. Anyone that could break through the barricades Coolant was making could just as easily use the wall.

He had overheard the other talking. He never tried to eavesdrop, but it happened. As he saw Newton approach him, Coolant placed down his welding torch and climbed to his feet to meet the red and green hero.

“No thank you, my friend,” he replied in a cheerful manner, “I brought my own supplies. However, if you’re stepping out, there’s a nice little store down a block and a half on your left. Just head north when you get outside. You can’t miss it.

Coolant sat back down and picked up his welder before adding, “The old man that runs it is fond of heroes. Bring up what you’re doing around here; you might get a discount.”

Coolant System found himself quickly stripping off the ridiculous outfit he had been given. When his audios picked up on the punk’s confession (spineless, weak-willed cowards), he allowed himself a slight smile and a nearly inaudible chuckle. The strategy hadn’t gone as planned, the fight had been pathetic, and he had unnecessary fibers all over his armor; but somehow, they had achieved their goal.

After a rather crumby morning, he could see this day improving, but he found the urge to distance himself from the mop. His thermals had picked up a strange (but sadly familiar) shift from the captive in room three, and he had a feeling there was a mess in there that was better left to someone - anyone else. ‘Besides,’ he justified to himself, ‘my strength would by wasted on such a small task, I’m sure one of the other won’t mind.’

He allowed himself another smirk at that thought, and quickly began looking for something else to do.

Coolant System is an employee of a technology firm called BIT Corporation. He earns his keep by field testing new gadgets for the company and making contacts through his heroic activities. As you would imagine, people recently rescued are usually happy enough to take a card; that's good advertising. As a bonus, a payroll-hero is good PR for the company and works as a tax write off.

After the spell wore off, Coolant System breathed out a sigh and cracked his knuckles. His defenses were now off. Without saying a word, he walked back over to the area that seemed to have become the sitting zone. In a gesture that looked strange from a man of his bulk, he sat down cross legged in a meditation style.

“I apologize for my outburst; I will work harder to keep my emotions in check.” Coolant said with complete detachment. “Please, do not let my rashness imped things. Continue at your leisure.”

Coolant System kept his breathing even and did his absolute best to calm his irregular pulse rate. If anyone could have seen his eyes, they would have realized he was not even blinking.

Newton said something, but Coolant System didn't really seem to hear it

"You know the proper cure to heal those you put down!?" Coolant said with more emotion than he had shown since he arrived, "That is rich, because I don't see you carrying anti-venom, and yet I saw you showing a decent amount of strength yesterday. I suppose that serum must weigh a ton!”

Coolant stood up and prepared his suit for combat. Few would even notice the motions he made to ready his different defenses, but as always, he made an act of stretching to hide the finger motions and facial twitches.

“I don't pretend to understand your life,” he continued after resuming his emotionless battle persona, “But I do see you as someone that has been given second chances, and I can definitely understand that. To murder is to give up on people AND second chances.

I'll try not to judge your actions, only my own. You can try it my way, or I MUST try to stop you. If we do this, though, aim for my heart. I doubt you can pierce my inner armor; It hasn't happened yet. I would pass out after you got through the second layer, but if it does pierce, please put me down quick. I won't hold it against you at that point."

Coolant System stood a safe enough distance to ready his shielding and assumed a statuesque posture and featureless expression. The word “cold” seemed to embody his entire form.

[ QUOTE ]
Sting thought for a moment. “Interrogation; that means not killing them…well not ALL of them anyway. But yeah, a room for interrogation sounds right. I call ‘bad cop’, who is going to be ‘good cop’?”

[/ QUOTE ]

"Listen," Coolant said, finally closing the hatch he was working on, "I don't really care about your past, but I don't stand for murder. Accidents do happen, and I realize they are trying to kill us, but if you are openly using lethal force, I will feel obligated to step in. I really hope it doesn't come to that."

Coolant walked over to the rest of the group and did his best to resume the friendly demeanor he had possessed that morning. "If we need to sneak in, I am sorry to say I tend to be as subtle as a steamroller. Strategy has never been my thing, but tell me what to do and I'm there.

As for the interrogation, I have thermal scans that work as decent lie detectors in a pinch."

[ QUOTE ]
Newton looked quizzically at Coolant. "You were 'put' in this can?" The mutant then looked at the container. "Okay, the caffeine is kicking in. What is that thing?"

[/ QUOTE ]

"Umm, I mean this suit," Coolant stated without even looking up from the wires he was pretending to fuse together, "but the caffeine may still be getting to you. That stuff will kill you."

[ QUOTE ]
“Well geez, and I thought I cut it short. Good thing to know since we will be working together that trust won’t be an issue.”

[/ QUOTE ]

"Well, trust is a hard thing to develop in one day with three people that I moved furniture with." he stated without malice or humor. "At least nobody tried to kill anybody else in their sleep. That definitely puts points in the trust column."

Coolant System had only been paying marginal attention to the group. Breakfast was a nutrient mix he had sipped through a straw, and as this deli couldn't deliver oil for the squeaking hatches in his now completed living chamber, he had no use for it.

When it became apparent that these people (insectoid or otherwise) wanted him to talk about his life, he found himself looking for a way to tell them the truth without actually telling them anything. He hated lying slightly more than he hated his life story.

“Not much to tell really,” he said with a smile to maintain the facade, “I was born, I lived as a normal person for a while, and then I got put in this can. I can't be outside my suit or my living chamber. Period. You get used to it.

I volunteered for this job because I like The Row. I have to admit, I thought you guys were volunteers too, but I'm glad you're here all the same."

After speaking, Coolant returned to work on his chambers locking mechanism and prayed that none of the others knew he had been done with it for about thirty minutes.

Coolant System was quite pleased with himself. According to the clock in his display, it was only 6 AM and he was two connections from having his "portable" living and repair station set up. In all truth, the station weighed nearly 3 tons when complete, and it was anything but portable. However, his supervisors had determined it would be better than making a regular commute to the lab every other day.

He had estimated a much earlier completion time, until he realized about midnight that he would almost have to rewire the ground floor to set it up. Coolant had wanted to put it in the bunks area with the others, but the structural integrity of the precinct was questionable enough to make anything above ground floor too risky.

The others had gone to bed hours before, but he expected as much from people that had to try and regulate their own energy output. If he continued to avoid the massive strain of combat, he estimated he could go 12 to 14 more hours before sleep would be a necessity.

As he was putting the finishing touches on the chamber's air-intake pipes, Coolant heard the others beginning to stir upstairs. When Mystic Inferno came down the stairs, Coolant turned to address him. “Good morning, my friend,” he stated way too cheerfully for most people at 6 AM, “I was just finishing up here, are you ready to start again?”

"Yeah, I would love to help," Coolant replied while effortless lifting some filing cabinets above his head "I can't summon food, but I am kind of embarrassed to say I can generate some water if you need it. I guess the first order of business for this place is getting things straightened up.

I have a couple of machines I have to go get if I am going to be here regularly, but that can wait. Save some space for me to put them in though.” Looking around at the scrawnier members of the team he added, "Uh... just leave the heavy things to me, and let me know if it gets too hot for you."

Coolant System stepped into the room as the blue mage had requested; apparently, this group was part of the cleanup process as well. At almost six foot with his hood on, Coolant didn’t really think himself imposing, but it is much easier to look intimidating in a bulky suit of Blue Steel and gears than it is to look friendly.

Realizing that the situation was peaceful for the moment at least, Coolant switched off his automated defenses and addressed the other heroes.

“Excuse me, I didn’t mean to come on so strong,” he replied in a normal voice. “You may call me Coolant System… or any variation of that as people always do. I don’t believe I caught you names, but was one of you the Poison Apple?”

(OOC: I am writing this between interuptions at work; so if I post something that no longer fits with the story, I will delete or modify it. Just ignore it thanks)

As Nikolas approached the fallen down building, he could feel the depression that always found him in the Row. He remembered this building and the others that surrounded. He was young back then, but he had never let himself forget this neighborhood. It was never a beautiful area of town, but it was at least decent before the invasion.

He always felt helpless in this part of town. He felt like he should have done something. He knew “Coolant System” wouldn’t have made a difference in the war, but that thought never made him feel better about THIS part of town.

When his supervisors told him about Hero Intervention, he had asked only one question: “Is it available for King’s Row?” That was how he found himself on the way to the old Twenty Sixth Precinct. The people in charge of the program offered him directions. He didn’t need them. They had offered him a small payment. He didn’t want it. This was the last place he was a child, and it was his job to protect it.

As he approached the broken doors, he saw two people standing in the lobby and a third person back away from the other two; a Circle mystic perhaps? Maybe he should have paid more attention durring the briefing. Nikolas felt his state of mind shift to that of Coolant System, and he prepared himself for the situations that could present themselves here. He switched off his voice suppressor and tried to look menacing.

“Hello. Would you gentlemen be part of the area cleanup program, or are you just here to cause trouble?” he said in as deep a voice as he could muster, “Either way, it looks like I have a lot of work to do here.”

Despite the amazing events taking place, at least one of the room’s occupants seemed unfazed by the otherworldly happenings… of course, Coolant probably would have found himself just as shocked as the others had he been paying attention.

Shortly after he began his search, he realized there was nothing medical in the files and shifted his focus to exploring the highly advanced system. Coolant found the network littered with firewalls and encryptions too powerful for even his strongest hacker programs to break; programs that had opened 5th Column and Crey computers without leaving a single indication of entry.

In most cases, he would have dismissed these security features as simple anti-theft precautions, but something about the frequency and placement of the firewalls indicated that there may be more to the elderly woman and her building than meets the eye.

Tapping into the localized surveillance network, Coolant began to hastily examine the events that had taken place in the room prior to his entry. The more he observed, the more confused he became. One thing was certain, Coolant had stumbled into something big, and he had the distinct feeling he should have just stayed home.