Carefully, Lightforge peeked around a corner at a nondescript brick building. There were probably dozens like it scattered throughout the area, and most people wouldn’t give it a second glance. In fact, he had probably passed by it at least once while patrolling Chancery Hills. But now things were different. He was here for a mission, and the building knew it.

He turned back to his team. Each had taken a turn to inspect the building, but there wasn’t much to see. The only way in was a steel door set into the wall halfway down the block from the corner that they stood behind. Cannoneer had learned the hard way that there were defenses in place even along the outside.

“Ok,” Lightforge said, “If I can get a look at the turrets, I should be able to take them out.”

“Should?” Cannoneer asked, “How confident are you?”

“I’m not sure. It depends on the level of the turrets.”

“Alright, then why don’t we try another plan first? Circe’s an illusionist right? Can you just make us invisible and we’ll walk right past?”

“Maybe,” Circe said, “But I doubt it. Higher level sensors will see right through my abilities. Besides, that’s a big illusion that I would have to hold for a long time. We can try it, but I make no promises.”

“Helpful,” said Sunbird, “Just get them to open up and I’ll fry them. Quick and easy.”

“That might be a good idea,” Lightforge said, “But you’ve put all your points so far into DEX. You might not have the stopping power. What about you, Cannoneer? Can’t you shoot them?”

“I tried. The things shot my grenade out of the air.”

“Um,” Gray Guardian said, “I have my Energy Barrier. I could draw fire while you all take care of the turrets.”

The group was silent for a moment as they all considered their options. They had a lot of potential approaches in front of them, but which to choose? It was Cannoneer who broke the silence.

He said, “Alright, I’ve got a plan. Sunbird, take to the air and charge up the best blast you’ve got. Circe, cover Lightforge with an illusion to keep him hidden as best you can. I’ll pop out with Gray, get their attention with my weapon, and we’ll draw fire with the barrier. Sunbird and Lightforge, it’ll be up to you two to destroy the things and get us inside. Any objections?”

No one could think of a better plan at the moment, so they all agreed to follow Cannoneer’s lead. They split up into their teams and got to work. Within moments Cannoneer leaped around the corner, bazooka at the ready. As he fired, Gray Guardian joined him and a translucent white sphere of energy appeared around them.

Two sections of the brick wall popped out to reveal the turrets, with laser cannons at the ready. True to expectations, the first harsh blue laser sliced through the RPG round and made it explode prematurely. The next beams focused on the barrier, trying to drill through the surface to reach the targets inside.

Lightforge stepped out from behind the corner and hurled a dagger at the nearer of the turrets. It flew true and landed inside the mechanism, which made his Sabotage skill light up, ready for use. He activated it and watched as the dagger jiggled and expanded, slicing open sections of the mechanism.

He sprinted forward to finish the job. The lasers continued to ignore him as Circe’s illusion held for the moment. Sunbird released the biggest blast he’d seen her use so far, completely enveloping the turret that was further away from him. It sputtered and sparked for a moment before beginning to smoke and ceasing its attack.

Lightforge arrived at the first turret just as it suddenly swung towards him. Apparently the illusion had just failed, but it was too late. He thrust his hands into the gap his dagger had made and began to rip the insides of the machine apart. The aperture was glowing with energy right next to him, but it died before it could fire again.

He stood back with a sigh of relief and gave a thumbs up to his team. Everyone came together to admire their handiwork. Since this was his mission, Lightforge felt obligated to be the one to speak up.

“Good job, everybody. Honestly, that was pretty easy. I’ve got to believe that the rest of this will be harder.”

“A good assessment,” Cannoneer said, “More than anything, this little plan was just to get us all to start working on the same page.”

“Right. Get to know how we all fight and how to work together. With that in mind, I’ll go in first. I have the biggest advantage against machines and the most close combat tools. Cannoneer, how about you cover the rear? I don’t envy anything that has to take a hit from that weapon of yours.”

“Agreed. Circe and Gray, stay in the middle. You’re both support oriented, so stay where we can protect you. Sunbird, float above us and keep an eye out for anything coming from above.”

“Alright, let’s do this.”

Lightforge summoned his hammer and shield. Without a second thought he reared back and drove the hammer into the metal door, denting it inwards and throwing it open with a mighty clang that echoed through the interior of the building. He waited for a few moments but no traps were sprung by the violent entry so he slowly stepped inside to start taking in the view of the building they were meant to search.

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He groaned at the sight and called behind him, “Sunbird, I think your job is going to be a lot harder than you might have thought. This place goes underground.”

They weren’t standing in an entry hall so much as the mouth of a cavern. The concrete floor fell away in front of him, spiraling downward as tunnels branched off in all directions. Glints of metal dotted the walls where terminals and security were doubtless waiting for intruders just like them. This place was less a lab and more like a full underground compound.

Lightforge slowly made his way forward, weapons at the ready. While he was confident that he could handle any machines that this place had in store, there were no guarantees that there weren't other countermeasures that wouldn't be so simple.

As the group descended, Cannoneer called out from the back and said, "Hey Lightforge, I've been meaning to ask something. What did you do to that turret outside? It didn't look like a normal attack."

"It's a Gadgeteer skill called Sabotage. It makes me really good at breaking machines. I just have to get a weapon in contact with them first."

"That's pretty cool. Should make this place a lot easier."

"True, but that's what I'm worried about. This is a mission specifically for Gadgeteers, so it was probably designed with such skills in mind."

"Good point. It looks like you'll get to test that theory right now."

Panels in the wall opened up silently in front of them. From each one came a robot that looked vaguely like dogs, four in total. At least they walked on four legs. They had no heads and had round bodies that looked too big for their legs. Unlike the spiders that he'd fought before, these were sleek and well constructed, clearly the product of someone experienced.

All the same, they were still machines. Lightforge conjured his daggers and threw them at the two nearest robots. Each stuck into a joint and held fast. He couldn't help but grin at the sight. Sabotage almost seemed too good sometimes. The indicator for the skill flashed briefly, but then became grayed out again. He looked at it in confusion for a moment before turning back to check on the robots.

The daggers' shapes were warped and distorted, like he was looking at them through a mirage. After another moment they shattered and were absorbed into the robots' bodies. His stomach sank; it had been too good to be true. He'd expected countermeasures, but not on machines, and definitely not this soon.

Seams appeared on the robots’ bodies, unfolding the outer layers of armor to reveal a truly stunning variety of weapons hiding inside. Blades, guns, and grenades were some of the easier to identify objects that were now coming to bear against him. And his trump card had already failed.

From behind him, Cannoneer roared, "Everybody down!" His tone made it more expectation than order; there was no possibility of ignoring the command.

Lightforge dropped to the ground just in time to see a grenade go zipping past his head. It hit the nearest robot and unleashed an explosion that rocked the narrow corridor. Heat rolled over Lightforge in waves as he stayed down and covered his head. Soon after the first, a second explosion made debris rain down from the ceiling.

Lightforge jumped to his feet and checked on the robots. One was simply gone, smoldering slag left where it had been. The second was sparking and shaking but was still on its feet. The other two were damaged, but still looked to be in fighting shape.

There was a moment of silence and shock in the aftermath of the explosions. It was broken by Circe, who leapt forward and rolled along the ground, scooping up pieces of shattered concrete as she went. She sprung up into a kneeling position with both hands in front of her, rubble in hand. Her hands glowed purple and the debris changed into little stone birds with sharp beaks.

The birds darted forward and crashed into the most damaged of the three remaining robots, pelting it over and over again to take out what remained of its health. That snapped Lightforge to his senses and he sprinted forward. Beams of golden energy crashed into one of the damaged robots as he came up on the other and swung his hammer with all his strength.

Between the three of them, the remaining robots were soon turned to scrap on the ground. Lightforge allowed his weapons to dissipate and looked back over to his team. There was a lot of panting and darting eyes as they were all looking around for the next attack.

It was too much. Lightforge chuckled, which made the others look over at him in surprise. Their shock only made him laugh harder, and soon he was doubled over and struggling to breathe. The sight of him made the others fight off their own smiles and giggles, despite the fact that none of them saw what was so funny.

After a full minute he stood back up and said, "I'm so sorry, but we suck at this."

The snickers grew from the others, and this time it was Sunbird who started laughing out loud. It only took her a moment before she said, "Yeah, you're right. This is a mission for level 5 characters and we've thrown every trick we can think of at the first two obstacles. We really do suck at this."

"Let's be fair," Gray Guardian chimed in, "This is the first time we've had to do a mission with our own bodies on the line. It's sure to make anyone jumpy."

"Sure," Lightforge said, "But we still suck. If we want our rewards from this mission, we're going to have to learn fast."

Circe rolled her eyes and said, "Speak for yourselves. Cannoneer and I struck fast and hard. And Guardian already put regen buffs on you and Sunbird so you don't blow all your AP in the next five minutes."

"Wait, what? When did that happen?"

"While you were rolling on the floor. You're incredibly unobservant."

Cannoneer cleared his throat and said, "Fun as this is, we should get moving. Circe, you have Transmogrify as your second power set, right?"

"Good catch, bomb boy. Yeah I do."

"Can you use those birds of yours to scout ahead of us?"

"Unfortunately, no. Simple constructs like them can only hold a single command, like 'Fly Straight'. I could use them to check for traps, but that depends on the mechanism involved."

"Crap. Well, it looks like we're doing this the hard way."

"Lighten up," said Sunbird, "We're here doing a mission! Instead of trying to plan and scheme, let's do this the true gamer way."

"I'm with her," Lightforge said, "All the planning is making us panic and slowing us down. What's the worst that could happen if we run in guns blazing?"

"Death," Cannoneer said flatly.

"But even that's temporary. Think of it like a scouting mission. We'll be fine." The glint in Sunbird's eye was full of danger and mischief as she turned to point down the long tunnel. She floated a few inches off the ground and the glow around her began to pulse brighter in anticipation.

"In the words of the great one," she intoned, "Alright, chums! Let's do this! LEEEEEE-ROOY JEEEN-KINS!!!"

She shot down the corridor at top speed, Lightforge following as fast as he was able. The remaining three shared a look and began to trot along behind the pair. They were all going to die, and they knew it.