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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jonrog1" data-source="post: 546341" data-attributes="member: 189">All three moved at once.  The Italian cut hard right, crossing the bottom of the stairs, guns BOOMING.  Nadia Tesla raced up the stairs with suicidal glee, her small gun coughing, catching one of the armored men in the throat.  She skipped lightly over him as he rolled down the stairs.Captain Tom Houston passed her, though, taking the stairs in great strides, SPARKS pinging off his shield ---- the shield shaped like the great state of Texas.  For Captain Tom Houston was the first of the super-serum test subjects.  He was ... Captain Texas."Say hello to Laredo!" Captain Texas bellowed as he cracked an assassin's skull with  precisely the section of the shield corresponding to that fine town.  With a snap of the arm, his shield FLEW away, crushed the chests of two of the anachronistic assassins, then rebounded beautifully back into his hand.As he reached the top of the stairs, he shouldered one of the "knights" down, sending him tumbling.  The Italian below swore, now having to deal with three machine-gun wielding killers simultaneously.  He and the three circled the heavy rail and bannister of the stairs, wood splinters everywhere.Nadia used the super-soldier as cover to dash into an open doorway.  She cursed as she realized that the pantry she'd entered led nowhere -- and one of the assassins dropped his machine-gun, drew his longsword and rushed her!Up on the second story landing, Captain Texas was a whirling mass of fists and sheild metal.  One of the killers got off a lucky shot.  Houston felt a rib go beneath his chain shirt, but he shook it off, savagely disarming the man with his shield edge.The Italian finally put two of his opponents down at close range.  When the third raised his weapon, the lithe gunman spun, catching the machine-gun barrel in the edge of his overcoat and knocking it away.  That split-second was all the time the Italian needed to press his .45 against the man's teeth and pull the trigger.In the pantry Nadia ducked as the knight's longsword bit into the cupboard beside her.  The man pressed her too hard for her to bring up her gun.  As he bared his teeth and lunged again she ducked under his swing and placed her hand flat on his chest.ZZZAAPPPPP!  10,000 volts arced from the delicate ring on her finger through the man's armor.  He convulsed, flew back and SLAMMED into the doorframe.  She didn't wait for him to stop twitching.  Nadia leapt over him and into the next doorway.  That one had an inner door -- and if she were right, it led to the bedroom the assassins had come from.  She bolted through the opening.Nadia immediately saw two things in the bedroom.  First, the figure of Vittorio Littello, slumped over his writing desk.  Second, one last assassin lurked at the main door, about to get the drop on Captain Texas.Houston tossed his opponent over the rail.  He turned just in time to see the bedroom door open.  The last of the knights was there, gun raised --Suddenly, the dark young girl was behind the man.  She stuck her hands out on either side of his neck.  The knight looked at the delicate wrists on either side of him.  "Hey," he thought, "what a pretty charm bracelet.  Is that an elephantUUURRKKKK --"At that moment Nadia TIGHTENED the Tesla Monomolecular Filament Garrotte(tm) she'd just unraveled from her charm bracelet.  She placed one foot in the small of the man's back, WALKED up his spine and back-somersaulted through her own arms.She and the man's head landed simultaneously.  His body hit the floor a beat later.Captain Texas arched an eyebrow.  "Ain't you full of surprises little lady.""I do not see as that is any of your concern."  Nadia crossed to Littello's slumped figure.  She studied him, her pretty b row furrowed.Houston nodded to the Italian as he reached the top of the stairs.  "Right nice job there, Furious.""Furio", the Italian corrected laconically.  He'd long since given up hope this soldier would get the name right.  He perked up at the sound of sirens.  "Policia, I will deal with them."Houston joined Nadia at the body.  Litello was seated at his writing desk, head down, as if he'd fallen asleep reading.  "Looks like we got here a little late for Dr. Littello.  He's dead, right?""More than dead."  With her index finger, Nadia pushed the top of Littello's skull.  It slid away.  Like the lid of a jar, the top of his skull flopped onto the desk ... revealing a bare, empty skull beneath. "Someone has stolen Dr. Littello's brain."</blockquote>

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