sword of promised halp
Kotomine Kirei; We Fight...
"Perhaps." The smile leaks full from my luscious lips. "But accuse me not, Wade Wilson. I don this body not to vex you, but to show you the truth."
Desco wobbles behind me, filled with monstrous enthusiasm. Fitting, for such an abomination. Lancer leans on his spear, looking at the mercenary in contempt.
"And what exactly do you want me to do with this bastard, Master? Stick him, I suppose."
"I ask nothing of you, Lancer. This man cannot be killed. It is not given to him to perish like mortal men, not his fate to return to the dust from whence he came. Yet I will grant him this: his rancid humor goes not unnoticed."
"...But he hasn't even made a joke."
"Precisely. Despite all his efforts, he never has."
Meat peels off me in slow red slivers. My jaw gleams gaunt through hers, like the unstained wool of an eagle-torn lamb.
"Is that all you think of me, Wade Wilson? I, the Vicar of Christ?"
The last shred of Shiklah falls, and Kotomine Kirei stands in a great red stew. As I draw in my stance, I hear my joints creaking. Alas, I have softened these past months. To walk in precise circles is an exacting science, but by no means arduous.
And yet the old steel is in me yet, sharpened with mirth. And he shall break first, adamantium bones or none.
"At the end of this, you shall lie as your wife does now. And the two of you, quivering in the open air, shall become one flesh. Lo, I tell you the truth-"
I set my stance, and send the thought. The pagan dog streaks forth like the wind, shooting straight into the nearest car. The red whalebone darts from his hand, impaling it with a horrific screech. My foot leaves the wetness and I charge, Keys ready.
Everything is set. At the very instant the car crumples, thrown on top of my foe, I leap - then Lancer crashes into me at the apex, taking me back into the sky.
"Rejoice, Wade Wilson!" I cry, already arranging myself in the customary position. "For this vile girl shall leave you like unto the squid!"
I believe three of my ribs are broken. But no matter. The taunt comes clearer crushed.
edited 20th Feb '16 4:26:24 AM by troydenite
'Being around you guys makes me go "wtf" instead of pondering the ever increasing dread of time' - EchoingSilence, 2023
Mancunian Candidate
Jetstream Sam, Ops Room
"If you don't need me elsewhere, I'll go wherever Nitori's headed," said Sam, who'd been stroking his chin in an attempt to disguise worry as thoughtfulness, uncharacteristically silent ever since Metal Gears and Monsoons burst their way into the tactical picture. "Like Sokka said, we all need to get home safe. Kappas included."
And he put a hand on her shoulder, reassuring, and although exactly who it was reassuring was a complicated academic issue, it didn't matter. Reassurance was in the process of happening. He gave her a fond glance to seal the deal, secure in the refuge of empty sentiment.
But when the room had emptied enough, he left, leaving her with a cheerful stay-put pat and a distinct lack of substance, and made a bee-line for Fury. This was the most delicately calculated part of the endeavour. He needed to be seen talking, but he needed nobody to hear, not until significantly later, not until he'd had time to formulate an explanation. There was a specific range from Fury he needed empty, and another one he needed full, albeit with the right people.
Close enough.
"Quick word?," he said, hushing urgently, hand reflexively gripping Murasama by the hilt, and left no time for an answer.
"You and I both know this, but I'm gonna say it anyway. We pull this off, and we're in for the long war. This isn't going to disappear along with New York. And that's fine, we didn't didn't sign up for anything, but we all knew this was coming. We're as ready as we can be. But we need full disclosure. I know it feels like West Berlin down here, but this isn't the Cold War. This ship doesn't leak. There's no intel for you to counter, and all of us are your potential advisers. If you don't let us know everything you know, you're missing all kinda variables. This Monsoon? He's one of mine. I know who he is. I worked with him. I know how he does things. That Metal Gear? I know what that is. Get me the model and I can tell you exactly what it's armed with. But I don't have time to file a report because you sprung this on me five minutes before the op. Are you seeing the problem here?"
Wamuu, Training Room
"I am not the governor of whom you speak, jestful one, and I did not devise this stratagem." Says Wamuu, jingling nonchalantly. "'Ask not the soldiers of what the general dreams'. I will go to Saranac, and face the mighty Teridax of whom my comrades speak."
Dio Brando, Kahndaq
It was already dark, when we arrived on the dusty streets of Kahndaq's selfsame capital, and though a black and moonless midnight, though those streets were disarrayed and quickly emptying, a sense of boundless night-life energy pervaded. This is a feature particular to those developed cities that find themselves within the region. I believe it has something to do with the heat, or perhaps the warmer colours of equatorial architecture. Even stalking alone along back-alleys in the small hours, without a man or woman in sight, the arid energies of these locales will put a man into illusive company. The night air seems to writhe with unspoken potentialities, and the artificial lights of this age - the street light, the all-nite boutique, the lonesome passing automobile - take on the character of the ancient defiant camp-fire, each a silent declaration of bustling civilisation.
But in our particular instance, the effect was jarring. Though all disjointed impressions of the environment were optimistic, energised, boundless, the reality they surrounded was anything but. Men and women tore in naked terror through that writhing air, barricaded their homes, cowered and tried to disguise themselves amidst the urban filth. Noatak and I fought through the crowds with little effort, driving upstream to find the source.
It was, and here the terminologies of this ridiculous world are fearsomely accurate, a Hulk. At least, a thing born from its template. Black Adam had been familiar with his inspiration, and as such, so was I. The silhouette was as unmistakable as it was simplistic, a design borne of naked destructive purpose; an ordinary man, but musclebound to the point of deformity, skin discoloured a mottled brown-grey, eyes bloodshot and spittle-flecked chin grotesquely broad. The ground shook under his footsteps, and the city crumbled under his wrath, and when he roared his triumph and his threats, it was made only more fearsome by its guttural humanity.
Noatak the Statesman attempted to mollify his people, I suppose by right my people too, but they remained unconvinced. I was distracted as one brushed past me, a waifish girl of ten or twelve dragged hastily by her father, and returned my gaze a fraction of a second too late; our plagiarised Hulk had closed the distance with deceptive grace, fist already flying, and before I could react, before the World could fully materialise-
Noatak spiralled through the air, through the crowd, and demolished the stand of a tobacco salesman. Though I knew by logic he would survive, though the shiver up my spine was halted by a moment's rational thought, it took some effort to tear my gaze away, not to continue staring dumbfounded, still and open-mouthed, and wait for any sign of movement.
But I did not. My eyes left him, and met his assailant's scowling bloodshot gaze.
Summoned on reflex at the moment I knew the blow would be struck, my Stand had appeared between us; on an equal reflex, it and I both lapsed into a loose but recognisable boxer's pose. Noatak's fate had given me the vital clues; this Hulk was strong, stronger than either of us, faster than any godly right afforded him, and blinded by a savage rage. I found myself at a disadvantage I had not faced since the Man of broken Steel, but one more utter, more pronounced, in that there were no principles to be exploited. The psychology of the berserker is almost without flaw. This would be a purely physical battle.
There was a precedent here, you see, one from my youth. He was an infighter. In a contest of power I could not win, and so instead I would play the outfighter, defensive to his offensive, and bridge the gap through the power of technique. All I needed was to coax the first attack.
I dove backwards, and as I did, the World dove forwards - a barrage of feinted jabs towards his nose, none landing, and as his arms raised to attack or reflexively defend, a powerful right cross into his stomach, landing with enough force to send the dust around us spiralling away and the impact echoing into the night.
This was, of a kind, another test. I had to know if his weight was too immense to be unseated, if force alone was enough to harm his unnatural flesh.
edited 20th Feb '16 3:12:11 PM by OG-Sama
huzzaaaaaaaah
Overlords Headquarters
"Right." Up on the helicarrier, Loki looked down at the Overlord Headquarters, a black, jagged metallic structure protruding right out of the middle of New York. "We can't just land and make our way up- he'll be expecting that. We need to perform the kind of attack that'll distract him... so we can move in for the kill." He turned to Gavrill. "You have an entire army at your call. Why not use them? Maybe they can spread havoc around New York, cause a big mess."
Times Square
"Well, well, how the mighty have fallen." Tira would hear Loki's voice from afar, as the god appeared behind her, nothing more than a semi-transparent illusion. "I thought you'd take the first shot. But now you're letting others do the hard work for you. Has Tatu turned the fearsome queen of the jungle into a tiny little domestic cat?"
Deadpool didn't move when the car was sent flying towards him. Yes, he remained perfectly still until the last moment, at which point he dodged forward- although to the untrained eye, it looked like he had disappeared and reappeared in front of where the car landed. "You're gonna have to do better if that's your first move!" He yelled nonchalantly.
Kahndaq
The grey Hulk stomped and bellowed through the empty market, every move complemented with a (sometimes entirely useless) destruction of common property. The sight of Dio just standing in front of him was too much for the Hulk to ignore: when Amon disappeared into the tobacco stand, he surged forward, eager to close the gap inbetween him and his latest target. The appearance of another target only teased him more, and the Hulk put on a bout of speed, almost getting on all fours to run like an animal.
When the World came close to him, the grey Hulk clenched his hand into a massive fist, ready to bring it down on the World's face as if it was an asteroid ready to destroy a worthless planet. The jabs at his nose didn't distract him- either the Hulk could spot a feign move from a mile away or he just didn't care- but they did slow his fist down, making it stop in mid-air. When the cross landed on his stomach, the Hulk faltered back, his foot leaving the ground for a bare second before he dug both of them into the earth.
Ground sunk underneath the Hulk's feet as the fallout of the World's punch dug him into a hole. When he stopped, earth up to his ankles, the Hulk looked right into the World's eyes, but to Dio it would feel like he was staring right into the vampire's eyes. He opened his fist, aiming to grab the World's head when, suddenly, a mass of red flesh made up of several tendrils stuck itself to his hand, pulling it back.
Amon walked out of the destroyed tobacco stand, torn clothing revealing his dark skin changing into the bloodied muscle of Carnage. "Stay away-" He muttered, the tendrils bursting through his mask as he became Carnage incarnate, sending another mass of tendrils which quickly stuck to the Hulk's other hand. "-from him!" It shrieked, pulling the Hulk down like the statue of a dictator, the monster's enormous frame hitting the ground with a loud thud, preceding a slow attempt at recovering his bearings and getting back up.
Los Angeles
"I..."
Cheetah finally opened her mind to speak, looking down at Zeal and breaking the illusion that she wasn't in control of her abilities. "I loathe all that man builds. Within me harbors the spirit of the Goddess of the Hunt... and she is NOT PLEASED!" She roared, stretching one finger in Menardi's direction as the street was covered in crystal dust. A lightning bolt cracked out of the sky, going right towards the Alchemist... and as if expecting a simple dodge, the earth shook again, this time seemingly growing a mouth as it tried to devour Menardi whole.
"This land is a beacon of the greed and corruption that plagues mankind. And I will cleanse it off this Earth with the gifts Sinister has given me!" Roaring once again, Cheetah stretched her hands and began to erect several rock walls around her as the wind began to swerve around her body, shielding her with a tornado. Not satisfied, the scientist turned her gaze to the sea. To many, this seemed like nothing, but Greed's Ultimate Eye would see a massive tsunami forming in the Pacific Ocean, heading to submerge Los Angeles, and perhaps even the entire coast.
Operations Room
"I'm coming, Kitana. Don't worry." Sokka responded to his squad leader's demand. Arms returning to his side, he chuckled at Armani's comment. "Once this is all over, I'm going to take up on your offer and finally drink one of your meads. So don't miss that chance." 'Punching' Armani's shoulder, Sokka gave him a 'see ya' and turned right into Icarax's face.
He held back his instinct to growl and grumble, giving Icarax enough of a leeway to put forth his feelings. Surprised by the Makuta's genuine response, Sokka glanced awkwardly at his hand. "You too, Icarax." He replied, unsure of what else to say. But as the Makuta left, Sokka snapped towards him. "Hey!... thanks for the sword!" Motioning to the blade on his hilt, Sokka gave him a tiny smile and then walked over not to Kitana, but to Hood.
This time, he was a hundred percent more worried. The carefully created confident smiled dissipated, and in its place was an anxious visage. "I won't say 'take care of yourself' because I know you'll do it. I'm just gonna say..." He slicked his hair back a little, sighing. "I managed to hear some agents talking about this... Aurora Borealis thing. I suppose once this is all over and done, we'll have a lot of free time... and I want to take you there, okay?"
"I understand it quite clearly." Fury replied sharply. "I hope you'll also understand that where we stand, Monsoon is nothing more than a side effect of a larger problem. If we don't deal with Tatu right now, we're gonna have gods in our hands. Do you know what it's like to fight gods? I know. I've got a thousand bombs in my hand, and I'm defusing the one that's closer to blowing up. Are we clear on this, Mr. Rodrigues?"
Training Room
After hearing of the plan specifications, Zuko stood up and took a deep breath. "I'm going to Saranac with Wammu." He glanced at his uncle. "I'm more capable of dealing with someone like Teridax than someone like this Amon guy. You should come with me, Uncle. I may—" He gulped something down. "—I will need your help."
edited 21st Feb '16 8:33:21 AM by Stratofarius
As Tira heard Loki's words, her fists notably tightened in anger around her giant weapon, and it took every ounce of self control she had not to turn around and yell at the top of her lungs and risk blowing her cover. No one asked you, lying god. If you must know, I'm waiting to see what this moron can do first. It's been a year, he might have new tricks. She said as she continued to look through her scope and saw Deadpool dodge the car in a manner that Deathstroke did not remember him being able to do, and she chuckled to herself. So, you did get some new tricks. It won't save you from a bloody death. She was silent for a moment until she realized Loki was apparently not content to just deliver one insult and move on, and quickly turned her head to look at him, anger and annoyance clear on her face.
What, what, what the fuck do you what? I'm a little busy here, this can't wait 5 minutes? If you're about to ask me to go running to stop those morons who are blowing up Kahndaq, Las Angeles, and Japan, then no! I have better things to do!
edited 21st Feb '16 8:05:29 AM by Meanken
Nitori, Seiga and Toph - Operations
"Oh fine. I'm going with you," Toph conceded, arms raised in defeat. "It'll be the team... and you, I guess. So pretty much like old times then."
It helped, she felt, that moment of levity. It helped quite a bit. Like the world was not eternally screwed over for once. What a nice change.
Well, she was pretty much ready to go, otherwise. Hopefully they would not stick around too long.
Nitori looked up at Sam, initially with something akin to confusion. Then she broke out into the widest grin her hamster cheeks could countenance.
"Don't worry," she said, "I think I'll pull through."
Of course, she was less certain inside. And on some level she was aware that went for Sam too. But it was easier not to delve too deep into that, lest they just fret internally without end.
Seiga was more concerned with her nails at the moment, and gave no sign of any emotion beyond the thin little smile she wore.
Youmu - Hanging Gardens
With the new outfits in hand, Youmu flew back to her lady. The tailor had been as polite and professional as always with it, showing her the two new pieces and carefully placing them in bag for her. He looked quite proud of his work. She had not spent too long there, but she mumbled some thanks as she left.
"Ah, so soon, Youmu?" Yuyuko said as the gardener entered the building. "I do hope you were not too rude, our tailor is very sensitive."
"Uhm..."
Fortunately for Youmu, her employer simply went ahead with examining the outfits. So she was left a few moments of peace. Her mind wandered to the cities and sights she'd seen the past year. Istanbul had been a very nice city, so nice that memory lane remorselessly pulled her in.
"How does this look, Youmu? Yuyuko's voice sounded a minute later, returning Youmu to the present.
She had put on one of the new outfits, and now stood decked out in some black garb. Youmu stood silent for a few moments, unsure of what to say.
After a moment, Yuyuko chuckled, then motioned towards the other one
◊. "That one's yours. Put it on."
edited 21st Feb '16 12:18:07 PM by joergenjetsam
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable
Kitana exited the room she was in, now dressed in a torn pair of jeans and a random shirt provided to her by SHIELD. She tossed a bag of clothes to the rest of her team members.
"Get dressed in these, we need to fit in if this plan is going to work correctly."
She gave them a minute to get ready. Then, once the three had returned, she held out her hand.
"Alright. Grab my hand and we'll go."
Once each seeker had grabbed on, Kitana looked at the gem and used it,the four vanishing from the room. The second they reappeared, as instructed, Kitana dropped the gem and shattered it under her foot.
Helicarrier, above the Overlords Headquarters
"Good idea... but there's something I want to do first. We could make things a bit easier for ourselves if we got some support. I think we can convince some of Tatu's team to turn against him. I know for a fact that some of them hate him and don't trust his godhood deal. You probably know the ones I mean. He's made this whole thing into a fucking powderkeg, and I know we can make it explode in his face. Just get me talking to them, and I'll do the rest."
edited 21st Feb '16 12:44:27 PM by Vox
Vampire Hunter
Zeal, Goddess of Lust vs. Goddess of the Hunt
"Fine then, Goddess of the Hunt... Feel the full wrath of a Goddess of Love!" Zeal began floating up into the air and began casting spells to neutralize the rocks and tornado forming around Cheetah's body.
"I know you do not wish to harm me or my people... Just rid that Goddess of the Hunt from you... purge it completely from your soul," Zeal said in her enchanting voice as she continued to neutralize Cheetah's powers over the elements with her own divine power. "Surrender youself to me, Cheetah!"
B.B. Hood & Maria Renard, Operations Room
"Yeah," B.B. Hood nodded to Sokka when he offered to show her the Aurora Borealis, smiling a bit. "It's a date."
"And you better come back in one piece!" B.B. Hood said in mock demanding tone. "I won't let you skip on our date!"
"I can guarantee you that I won't miss it," B.B. Hood added, with an obvious subtext in her words of her returning from China victorious. "I can promise you that."
B.B. Hood gave Sokka a quick kiss and then followed Riesbyfe. In reality, B.B. Hood was anxious and afraid of what might happen to Sokka, but if anyone could get that mission done, it was Sokka, Kitana, and Ryuko.
"Fletcher, Armani, before we leave for the east coast, we should remove every piece of metal from our bodies," Maria advised the teleporter and the demigod. "We do not want to give Teridax any help."
Wizard Needs Food Badly
The Mighty Pen
Urza nodded to Fury. Through the blank golden mask of his helmet, the planeswalker's eyes gleamed.
"Done," he said, then glanced to the others as they too made ready to leave.
"I have armed you with information as best I can," he said, "Use it well, and stay in contact. The moment our enemy shows weakness, we strike. The moment we show weakness, we retreat or reinforce. We know what our enemies are capable of and they know little about us. Our levels of power are comparable and our discipline and tactics can well be superior. We will win. It is only a matter of time and patience. Fight well."
And with that, he turned on his heel and followed Icarax. "Those with me, come quickly. We can discuss tactics on the way."
A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. -Lao Tzu
Desco and Schala in Times Sqaure (and Des X)
Desco watched as Kirei floated away on Lancer... that looked really weird. Desco didn't expect him to fly and from that exit it almost looked like they were a pair. She nudged the picture to Schala, shipping them together.
Then she turned back to Deadpool. That thing really killed the mood, now Desco wasn't all that angry anymore. Schala spoke first. After a year Schala knew how to speak Desco to get persuade her to do stuff. "He wants to avenge his wife Desco. That is some pretty heavy plot, but Priestman just left us here to fight him like we were a midboss encounter."
Desco turned and nodded to Schala. "You are right Schala, and Desco isn't a mid boss." "Neither am I"
Desco turns back to Deadpool. "You can go after him if you want. Desco doesn't want to be your midboss."
edited 21st Feb '16 10:39:42 PM by StephanReiken
Organized Canine Bureau Special Agent
"Coming with ya."
Sky waved to the others and followed up with Urza, walking beside him.
As for Sasuke, he decided to take his chances with Riesbyfe.
"I'll go."
"Exit muna si Polgas. Ang kailangan dito ay si Dobermaxx!"
Los Angeles - Menardi
Menardi felt the lightning bolt approach more than saw it, the sudden fluctuation in Jupiter the only warning she had of the bolt from the blue. However, just as she tensed to jump away, she could feel a shifting in the Venus psynergy from below. In a split-second decision, Menardi teleported to a nearby rooftop instead of jumping, dodging both attacks.
Taking a moment to catch her breath, she couldn't help but admire the strength of her opponent. So many large techniques, and changing between the elements with such ease. The Cheetah was buffeting Menardi with new attacks and defences as fast as the Alchemist could break them down. At this pace, the city would be a wasteland before Menardi could win this exchange of blows. It gave her a bad taste in her mouth to admit it, but their only hope of a swift resolution lay in Zeal reaching home with her mental techniques. If Cheetah's control over the elements was mental, the strain had to be immense by now. Hopefully that would leave an opening for Zeal. Menardi just had to make sure that could happen.
Her moment of reflection over, Menardi's presence of mind returned to the present. For now, she had to break through the newly erected barriers and keep Cheetah busy. An earthen barrier and a shield of wind...should be easy enough. Then it struck Menardi. Up until now, the Cheetah had been attacking all this time. Why the change to the defensive? Was their counter-offensive finally getting through? Or was she up to something? Menardi looked around the nearby area, but due to not having augmented vision, she couldn't see the tsunami beyond the coast.
Instead, she opted for what seemed the obvious next move. Jumping off the rooftop, she assumed windform, making her corporal self as untouchable as the wind. It was one of the harder techniques to control that Menardi had discovered. Unlike Teleport, which scattered one's energy across the wind and moisture of the atmosphere itself, the body stayed together, giving the technique more obvious tactical uses but demanding more finetuned control.
Flying above Cheetah's rock walls, Menardi approached from the top, and didn't drop the Windform before she was right above the former archaeologist. A direct attack here would only hurt Zeal's chances, so instead Menardi opted for a different way of neutralizing the wild elementalist. Weakening the whirlwind barrier with the aid of the Philosopher's Stone, she cast Weaken with her left hand. Usually a Jupiter Psynergy used to weaken the opponent's resistances towards other Psynergy attacks, Menardi's experiments had shown that it should also work on lowering their magical and mental defences. Hopefully it could also make the Cheetah more susceptible to whatever illusions and suggestions Zeal was throwing at her.
edited 24th Feb '16 1:57:36 AM by Lemurian
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!
Did you know this section has a character limit?
Tesseract, Child, Mooks - Overlord Tower
Tesseract nodded, and strode over to the table where Sense, Child and Tatu were sitting. The suit jacket was quickly shed and tossed onto the table, and the shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Without a word, Sense threw Tesseract his trenchcoat.
"I have work to do, Child. Mr. Sense and his friends are in charge while I'm away." Tesseract glanced at Tatu. "You may talk to Mr. Tatu. ''He will not hurt you, physically or psychologically.'"
There was just a hint of a threat in that last bit. How Tesseract would even threaten a god was a mystery, but he did not seem apprehensive at the idea.
He continued on his way to the teleportation tubes, his mercenaries coming out of them before he reached them. Almost immediately, just over half of them split off and followed Tesseract back into the teleporters.
The other half went and stood by Sense, Child and Tatu. As Sense got up to leave, explaining quite loudly to his friends that Tatu wanted "cake". They got the sarcasm in his voice, and moved away from the pair, but watched them from a distance.
Child still scooted away from Tatu, despite his promises of a gift and Tesseract's promises that he wouldn't hurt her.
"You brought Daddy's teammates here too." was all she said.
Fletcher - SHIELD Base
Fletcher took the offered headset, and listened to what Fury had to say.
Needless to say, his emotions were mixed. The vote of confidence was great, really, but it really should be Armani leading the team. He was the kid who tagged along because he had a useful power, not the leader of the team. Not even having Bucky in his head changed that.
This also hurt what little plans he had. The Winter Faker was his burden, and he had to take it on. But he couldn't do that when a team was counting on him. He could leave it to Armani... but there he went, promising to leave his position.
Crap.
"I need twenty good people. Preferably ones who aren't afraid to die. Head to the armoury, and grab the heaviest Anti-Magneto weaponry we still have in stock. Make sure it works against other targets, he's not gonna be the only thing we're facing. We need four teams of five, and each team needs a duffelbag of C4, and three separate detonators for each block: timer, wireless trigger, and a magnetic switch. Saranac Lake is in Upstate New York, people. Anyone who comes with me is starting a fire in a god's backyard."
"Armani's my second. If I go missing, he's in charge."
Maria made up her mind about where she was going, and gave him some advice. Fletcher lowered his voice to a whisper in answering her.
"If Teridax shows up, we're dead anyway. There's enough metal in a city to kill us ten times over. Keep what you have, it'll protect you if anyone else shows up."
He turned away from Maria, and was suddenly shouting again. The omnitool built until his arm lit up, indicating that he was also broadcasting to everyone on the team.
"Whoever's coming to Saranac, we leave in fifteen minutes! Be at the Boom Tubes in ten!"
And without another word, he was gone. Anyone at the armory would spot him stuffing a large bag full of explosives, and another bag with wooden sports equipment, before he disappeared again without a word.
He was waiting at the Boom Tubes.
Sy Duir and the Hand - Partway into Molly Hayes' brain
Sy pushed through the crowd of voices, easily noticing the one that really mattered. Probably because it was one of the few thinking in English.
"You tried to be a hero. But you picked the wrong side. The one that doesn't give a damn how many people die, as long they're the ones ruling the world when it's all over."
"My name is Sy Duir. Your name is Molly Hayes. A man named Mr. Sinister has turned you into a weapon of mass destruction, but I can help. My friends are tracking him down, and we're going to force him to fix you. All you need to do is stop moving. If you do that, we can take you to a place where you can't hurt anybody. Please. You can still be a hero here."
Mordin - Outside the Base
"Teridax is dangerous. Psychic. Magnetic abilities. No apparent physical weaknesses."
He took a breath before continuing.
"However, has taken on former member of team as... consort. Has let her rule in his stead. Appears infatuated with her. Conditions in kingdom not overly oppressive. Regular public execution of dissidents and rebels. Living conditions second world at worst."
Tesseract and Mooks - Saranac Lake Dump
Almost as soon as they hit the ground, the mercenaries were in action. They split into four groups, two groups of five fanning out in two directions, the sniper pair heading for the nearest higher ground, and the medic sticking next to Tesseract.
There had to be a defense, and they were waiting for it. They do have medals for almost, and they're called silver!
Fear me
Training Room
-Iroh looks at his nephew in silence. The idea of sending his remaining family to the front line is not appealing, contradicting the vision of a future where Zuko has finally found his way into the world, and dredging up unpleasant memories of the siege of Ba Sing Se where Iroh nearly lost his. But for Zuko to admit his weaknesses thus must have taken some effort, and the last thing he needs now is for his confidence to be broken even further.-
Very well. Then let us not waste time.
Mancunian Candidate
Jetstream Sam, Ops Room
"Crystal," said Sam, "but I'm not saying we change our priorities. I'm saying that we all know the real fight is coming soon, and once it does, you just make sure we know what we need to. All of us, not just Fletcher, not just our brave leader-of-the-week. Operational transparency. Alright?"
Dio Brando, Kahndaq
Blinded either by fury, stupidity, or the benefit of training, the plagiarised Hulk made no attempt to shield himself from feint, but hesitated long enough for the straight right to land - here, the results were more reassuring. He faltered visibly and beautifully, both feet leaving the ground, a train of rage derailed by pain, and took vital seconds to recover.
Our eyes met, or his and the eyes of World, our eyes met vicariously, and saw I fury I could not hope to match - I was not afraid. I had seen him falter. As recovered, surged forward, I reciprocated, preparing to dodge my spectral second body under and away from his wild strikes, rise within his guard, and destroy his jaw with a falling chopping right-
But I did not. He made to take the World by the throat, in this case unfortunately literal, but his hand was stayed by a thicket of pulsating gore - this, I recognised intimately, and smiled. Noatak had survived, as I had known he would, and with him had survived the parasite. They attacked in unison, two beings brought under a single will, two furies bound in the harmony of shared purpose, a twin bloodlust - as he emerged from the stand, his skin split, revealing the bloodies flesh of the alien, and the mask that was his public face was consumed beneath the writhing tendrils which suffused his body. In the fury of the truly righteous, the human form became irrelevant.
"Stay away," he said, as his tendrils took the other arm and our Hulk was dragged forward to the ground, "from him."
That, I would realise later, was a mistake, but one corrected easily enough. My smile widened nonetheless, and as my mind raced, I happened upon a perfect serendipity - the monster at which I so fondly gazed was the monster of God, His incomprehensible judgement incarnate, and so too would this be the monster the citizenry would be convinced to remember.
"The blood, Amon," I said. In the heat of the moment, I had almost called him Noatak, before the baited breaths of our audience corrected my tongue. "Use your powers of the blood. Show him the might of a man who entrusts his flesh to God."
The Hulk's arms still bound by Noatak's writhing tendrils, I acted quickly - the Soul Dagger passed from the interior of my forearm into my waiting hand, for although this counterfeit Hulk was not a creature of magic, the blade was still the sharpest I had ever known, and the metal seemingly indestructible. For a second I overtook the World in my approach, but had it swiftly follow, so that it could place both hands against the back of the Hulk's neck and force him back onto the ground.
"And we ordained for them therein a life for a life," I said, lapsing into Egyptian Arabic to quote as best I could remember, loudly and clearly for the benefit of those behind close walls and battened windows, "an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds is legal retribution."
Once again, his eyes met mine, a white-hot fury only intensified by his doubled ensnarement. The vessels had long burst within them, and I gazed into a pair of black-pink orbs.
Kneeling, I took the Soul Dagger and gouged them out.
edited 24th Feb '16 5:57:26 PM by OG-Sama
Seiga & Nitori - Operations
As the grin slowly faded from Nitori's face, she thought back on Seiga's remark and saying hi to the ghost princess. She had nodded and all that, but it struck the kappa that she might want to confirm what Seiga had in mind. Looking back at it, she felt a bit dumb that she had not done so immediately.
So without any fanfare, she strode over and tugged at Seiga's arm. The hermit turned slowly, in keeping with her insufferable mien.
"I wanted to ask you what you meant just now."
"Oh?"
"Yeah," said the kappa. "When you meant say hi to the Saigyouji, do you mean now? As in instead of taking out those generators?"
Seiga did not immediately answer, apparently having decided to take a moment to formulate the reply.
"Yes," she slowly replied. "That is what I meant. Now, admittedly neither of us have met her before, but I think we could secure her aid. Imagine if we challenge her to a spellcard duel, where the loser is required to aid the victor."
"Oh. Really now?"
Nitori received a nod for her trouble. She was still turning it over in her head. There was no garuantee of victory, so that would be troublesome. Then again, the ghost would probably accept. At least, so the kappa figured. A spellcard duel sounded so unbelievably nostalgic at the moment too.
"Spellcard duels are non-lethal..." she started.
"So there will be no risk to ourselves." Seiga finished.
Well, hard to argue with that. If they formulated the terms vaguely enough, they could probably also get out of actually helping the spectral overlord if they lost.
edited 25th Feb '16 4:01:26 AM by joergenjetsam
Conception is sin Birth is pain Life is toil Death is inevitable
huzzaaaaaaaah
This post was thumped by the Merciless Hammer of Doom
huzzaaaaaaaah
Operations Room
"It's a date." Sokka repeated, smiling (almost dumbly) at Hood as she walked away, before following it up with a "these clothes are weird" murmur as he put on the jeans and shirt given to him by Katana. A far flung from his usual Water Tribe clothing- that felt like swimming compared to this. "I'm right behind you. Let's go." He said confidently to Kitana, watching as she crushed the gem under her foot and... (read the New York section below).
Those following Urza only had to step through the ethereal glow of the fake Bifrost before... (read Khandaq section below) Following them were Riesbyfe's group and squad, who were enveloped in a similar light... (read China section below) Finally, the Bifrost was closed to make way for the Boom Tube, which was quickly used up by the non-teleporting members of Fletcher's group... (read Saranac Lake section below)
Fury seemed to be paying attention to Sam, even though his eyes were on stuck on one floating hermit. "Tell you what... we got a golden opportunity here. Follow that floating woman and see what she can bring to the table. The Overlords will be scattered... if we've got a chance to bring a new pawn onto the board, the time is now. Take the boom-tube with them."
Teridax Place
"What?!" Teridax bellowed, clenching his fist with such strength Loki winced at the sound of his own metal creaking. "That is..." He grumbled, trying to find the words as he moved around, every inch of his adamantium body rippling with fury at the thought of lost opportunity. "I see why you brought me here. You want me to correct my younger self's mistake..."
He turned around, looking down at Loki and Mordin with the pomposity of an ant who sees himself as king. "Take me to him, and I'll dethrone this faker." All Loki did was give Mordin a look, waiting for an order, or an suggestion.
Training Room
"Well now." Captain Cold tipped an invisible hat to the SHIELD agents. "Let's get going." He tapped the button on his belt, and then... (read Saranac Lake City below)
China
... which dropped them in the middle of nowhere.
It had once been a part of the great land of China, filled with awe-inspiring natural vistas and truly breathtaking man-made structure. It had then become a prime example of planned devolution, as the idols and technologies of modern day were banned and stripped away from a population forced to return to the ways of their oldest ancestors. The skyscrapers became measly farm houses, the concrete streets became dirt, the future became the past. And when the past started boring its new leader, the future became a Wasteland.
Chase's palace was visible from afar, as if it gloated in the result of its actions, on the destruction it has spread on its wake due to mere annoyance... unfortunately, those in the palace could also see them...
Headquarters
Tatu feigned offense at Tesseract's little threat, grasping his chest and mouthing a gasp. "Well, Child, you take the good," He raised one hand. "And you take the bad." He joined both hands, grinning behind them. "You take them both and there you have." Intertwining the fingers on each hand, Tatu made a complicated hand motion before drawing a triangle shape. And in the middle of that triangle shape was a full-on bonafide portal, stuck inside a measly finger painting. "The facts of life!"
"Guess what I'm trying to say is," Tatu reached into the portal, pulling out a framed picture of what looked like a ten old Child proudly posing with a black belt in front of her father (still as stoic as ever). "The future holds so much. All you need to do is... open your heart to it." He murmured, tenderly, putting the picture on Child's hands. "That's not a forgery, by the way. That is your actual future. And I can help you get there, Child, just like I helped your father get to you."
Helicarrier
Loki looked up at Gavrill and smiled, sliding the staff over to her.
"I'm already taking to Tira," He warned. "So focus on someone else and you'll cast a projection to them."
Japan
Molly Hayes kept rocking back and forth, but this time she didn't speak. Although her eyes were still stuck to the white ground (?) of the vast hive mind and were still displaying the same 'what did I do' thought process, her lips did not move, and that was clearly a conscious choice. Even though Molly Hayes on the hive mind showed no signs of stopping... the Molly Hayes in the real world did stop moving, slowly sitting down on the ground with her legs crossed like an obedient child.
Kahndaq
... re-appearing in the middle of the abandoned streets of Kahndaq's capital city, the moon shining in the sky and providing a beautiful visage for those who momentarily forgot about their mission. This sudden quietness and emptiness was not an unexplained phenomena, as the group could clearly hear the sounds of battle from far away. They were on top of a small hill, which gave them a perfect sight of the main square far away from them, where the main battle currently raged on.
Once the Soul Dagger pierced the Hulk's eyes, the giant gray monster began to squirm wildly. Any other human would amount to nothing, but the Hulk was a mass of muscles and rage, so his 'squirm' translated into minor quakes as he savagely tried to pull his arms free and 'squirm' the life out of the man trying to kill him. With each tug of his arms, the tendrils holding back started to snap and crack, until the Hulk was fully free, hands spreading open and flying for Dio's neck.
Like before, he stopped in mid-air. But this time, there were no tendrils. Carnage had been sent back into the depths of Amon's mind, and the mask had returned to hide the true face of the leader of Kahndaq. His arms, however, were still outstretched. The moment he started flicking his fingers, like a puppet master tentatively pulling on strings, the Hulk started having a violent reaction. The blood inside of him started to crack, forcing his body to adopt uncomfortable positions, as if his spine was being readjusted on the fly.
Moving with the grace of water, Amon continued his demented display, the Hulk roaring at the top of his lungs and producing a deafening siren as the veins around his chest and neck started to pop, crawling up his skin and towards his eyes, until the hole opened by the soul dagger was filled with blood. Potent blood, streaming out of each orifice like a hose set free on a flowerbed. The gouged out eyes became a drainage hole for the Hulk's body, as Amon's graceful ballet of control forced the monster's system to send its blood spraying into the humid skies of Kahndaq.
Los Angeles
Zeal's spells began cutting down the rocks protecting Cheetah, but the woman started growing more and more, faster and faster. "Your spells will not work on someone who is not blinded by carnal desires!" Proclaimed the Cheetah, already in full-on Goddess of the Hunt mode.
However, whilst that helped in the dramatic part of the battle, it certainly didn't help when actual fighting was concerned. Cheetah was struck full on by Menardi's weaken spell, which also dropped her control over the wind for a moment. The woman hit her own rock walls, causing a nasty wound in her head, but that wasn't enough to stop her.
Cheetah's head snapped towards Menardi angrily, as the rock walls tried to grow around the Alchemist, hopefully trapping her in. And not wanting to give her enemies an easy way out, a sudden thunderstorm surrounded Menardi, as a pair of lightning bolts tried hitting her from opposite directions, teeth gritting in a full (albeit unnecessary) display of pure power.
New York
... Kitana and her team appeared on what was once a bustling and hustling New York street. But now, it was nothing more than a temporary display of weariness and defeat at the hands of the invader. Cloak-wearing men and women littered the sidewalks, some of them wandering aimlessly, some of them chainsmoking, some of them enjoying a nice bowl of mushy soup. But most of all, they were covered in the dark dust of the mines, the vacant expression a sign that they had clearly seen things that made them question their lot in life.
So when Kitana appeared out of nowhere, the disheveled men and women of New York barely reacted to them, choosing instead to shoot a glare at their clean skins- a rarity and a commodity in the city these days. "Spirits," Sokka muttered under his breath. "Everyone looks awful." Shaking off that feeling, he pointed towards the north. "Building's that way. Let's get going."
Saranac Lake City
... who were unceremoniously thrown into what was supposed to be the town hall of the city, now nothing more than an empty painting, a moment frozen in time before the city became home to one of the most condemning Overlords out there.
Chairs and tables were thrown around everywhere, moss and rubble covering everything- from the burned out computers to the banner promoting a 'meeting about recent developments'- alongside the faint smell of charcoal. Lighting the entire place was the red light of the New York afternoon, which invaded the town hall through the massive hole on the side. This hole also gave them a bird's eye view of the city, in so much as it was connected to Main Street, which in turn was connected to every other section in town. And of course, it was impossible to miss the giant structure that was Teridax's lair, decorating the Saranac Lake City skyline like a child painting a tower in the middle of a Turner.
The somber delight of Saranac Lake City was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Captain Cold, Wammu, Iroh and Zuko. After a hasty explanation- which Captain Cold made sure to point out he didn't enjoy- both sides stopped pointing weapons at one another, and instead pointed glances at Fletcher, waiting for his order.
Meanwhile, the ones that had arrived at the Saranac Lake Dump didn't find much of a defense. The place was still dead... and it was still a dump. But this time there was a new pile of trash, one that seemed just a tiny smidge out of place, enough to tick off the brain of someone with a penchant for details. All one would need to do was move a few of the abandoned electronics to find a keypad asking for a password. None would feel the sudden arrival of the heroes... not even Teridax, who would instead feel a sharp pain in the back of his head, as if another Makuta had entered the field unexpectedly. But this pain was different: off-key, if only a little.
Times Square
"I'm going to ask what exactly do you plan on doing after this, Tira." Loki continued, leaning besides her. "Do you plan on just... doing whatever Tatu asks you to do, content and happy with your life as a slave? Or... do you want to help me and put an end to his life?"
"What the fuck are you smoking?" Deadpool blurted out to Desco, staring at where Kirei had flown off to. "I can wait here for that faker to come back. I have all the time in the world, and he can run away as much as he wants. I'll never stop trying to kill him."
edited 26th Feb '16 8:29:00 PM by Stratofarius
Helicarrier
Gavrill took the staff, considering how best to word what she had to say. They were going all in, and asking others to do the same. The price of failure would be their lives, at the very least. She needed to be convincing, tactful, reasonable. She focused her thoughts on the Overlords, every one of them. Her blurry, holographic form appeared in the vicinity of each of them, and began to speak.
Hey there fuckheads, this is a message from Loki and Gavrill, and we have an offer for you all. I’m sure some of you are busy right now with, so I’ll keep it nice and simple. We’re going to kill Tatu and we don’t give a shit how we do it. We’re done taking orders from him, or from anyone else.
If you feel the same, maybe we can help each other out. If any of you still have any balls at all, you’ll help us fuck him over. If you’re happy staying his bitches, that’s fine too! We’ll just have to crush you as well when you get in the way. You can’t say we didn’t warn you.
Now, I know that red bastard promised to give you all godhood. But frankly, he’s full of shit and you’re a fucking idiot if you don’t realize that all his deals have messy nasty strings attached, and he’ll throw you away once he’s used you as much as he can.
I can’t make you into gods. But I can offer you a chance to get your freedom back. I’m not asking much of you. As soon as we have his fucking head on a plate, you’ll be free to go, or stay, or do whatever the fuck you want. I don't care. The moment he’s dead, we won’t give you orders and we won’t try to keep you here. This could be over for all of us before the sun goes down.
So... there it is. You can stick with him, and keep taking whatever shit he slings your way from now until the end of time, or you can join us, and take back control of your life. The choice is yours.
When she finished speaking, she handed Loki his staff back and ran a hand through her hair.
"...How did I do? I'm not really one for speeches."
edited 27th Feb '16 8:33:33 PM by Vox
Tira got up slowly after the god made his pitch to her, clutching Soul Edge as she rose, Deadpool and the anti-material rifle forgotten. Loki's offer was a tempting one, a very tempting one. That was exactly what she wanted, freedom from this god that had taken her from her home, his death as vengeance for this whole fucking year. It was perfect.
....Too perfect.
Tira's paranoid Gloomy half interjected before she could agree to anything. She had questions, concerns. What if this was some trick set up by the dark god, designed to root out traitors or dissenters? What if Loki was trying to get her to do something stupid to get herself killed? She was prepared to pose these questions to him, untrustng as she was of the lying god.
Then Gavrill appeared before her and made her own pitch. It was her words that dispelled any doubt in her mind that this was anything but the real thing. Tira had begun looking up to Gavrill as this year had gone on, in her she saw a kindred spirit, unlike most of these other fools she was here with. She still did not truly understand what the woman saw in the lying god, but there must have been something she saw in him if she was still with him. She knew that Gavrill would never in a million years play along with any scheme to trick her or lie to her. That just wasn't how she worked. So Tira smiled at the lying god, who was still standing there after Gavrill vanished.
Ohh, you have no idea how happy I am right now! Yes, yes, yes, I'll come with you to kill that stupid looking red guy! I'm so excited right now! She then hunched over in Gloomy's stance.
That said, I do have questions. How exactly do you plan to kill him? I've been watching, waiting, examining the situation for a year now, but not once did I see any hint of a weakness to use against him, any hint of something that might have a hope of even putting a scratch on him. You remember what he did to those morons that tried to save this city a year ago. That pet of his that's been hanging around his tower is all that's left of them after he ripped that one boy's soul in half and tore those other two apart and made a body out of what was left. I still have the tape he gave me of that. Even Soul Edge isn't powerful enough to kill him like he is now. So how do you plan to do any better?
Kitana nodded as Sokka pointed at the building. "Good. Move out." She said under her breath so that the people on the street would not hear. "Heads down, don't stand out. Look like the rest of these people do, we can't afford to get spotted right now." She started moving in a hunched stance like the rest of the people on the street were as she slowly moved in the direction of the building.
edited 28th Feb '16 12:47:50 AM by Meanken
Calamity is a housewife
Los Angeles
A flick of the wrist, a twitch of the eye...it seemed even Cheetah's seemingly impossible feats possessed movements for the Ultimate Eye to predict.
Cheetah looked to the coast, a seemingly harmless motion. But Greed saw more, he saw a great wave coming from the coast threatening to put Los Angeles down under the ocean surface.
("You're kidding...")
Even so, this seemed a perfectly convenient time to put his alchemy to use.
Stomping his right foot, red lightning trailed from the heel of his boot. Along the coast...or as far as Greed's alchemy allowed it...the ground cracked, the earth opened. Great earthen walls rose behind the shore line and slowly began their ascent, attempting to cover as much of Los Angeles as possible and aiming to intercept the incoming tsunami.
A feat this gargantuan took time and concentration. As much as he hated it, Greed couldn't get into the fight just yet.
New York, Glacius
The Seekers who headed to New York would find that Glacius had vanished, and in his place was a puddle of water. An impressive illusion of one, at least, though at closer glance it would seem too viscous to be water, from afar its transparency and volume would pass it off as such.
The puddle didn't move, though that was only because Glacius was surveying the area for possible cover, in order to make his stealthiest approach possible. A blob of water conveniently following the group of Seekers would arouse great suspicion otherwise.
Operations Room: China Group, Hol Horse
Riesbyfe would probably notice the puff of smoke next to her. Hol Horse took its place soon after.
"Going with you's about as good for me as with any other group. Count me in, m'lady."
That last 'm'lady' was accentuated with a tip of the hat, and a confident grin, accompanied with a steady, steeled gaze.
For all his recent failures in wooing the opposite sex, far be it from Hol Horse to give up on his pastimes.
And as the light engulfed him...
China, Hol Horse
...he found himself in a place he couldn't decide was ancient history, a facsimile of ancient history, or just the boonies of China.
"Alright Cap...orders?"
edited 29th Feb '16 5:12:29 AM by LatverianBadger
"Shake the dust." - Anis Mojgani
Los Angeles - Menardi
Menardi did not even try to escape. Throwing up a Jupiter-affinity Magic Shell, Menardi instead let the thunderbolts bombard her as the Cheetah locked Menardi in with her. The Shell took the brunt of the electric damage, but the pain was still quite potent.
But when the storm passed, Menardi was smiling from ear to ear. After all, her opponent had been so kind to give them both nowhere to run, and a perfect sealed chamber for Menardi to do just what she wanted. No more games. At this distance, Menardi would grasp victory. She raised her arm.
"BIND!"
From thin air, ethereal blue bands of Jupiter Psynergy manifested, coiling around the Cheetah in her Weakened state. However, these were not corporeal bindings; indeed, if Cheetah tried to touch them, she would find them impossible to grasp. These bands of blue energy, that twisted in an ornate, triangular pattern, were bindings for the mind. A Psynergy usually employed by the Wind Seers and Hermits, it was a technique that temporarily sealed away the opponent Adept's Psynergy, making them unable to reach for the elemental powers.
This was, however, Menardi's first time trying it on a human opponent. And there was no guarantee that Storm's mutant ability to control the elements by power of thought worked identically to an Adept's ability to do the same. But if it worked, the battle was as good as won.
Join us in our quest to play all RPG video games! Moving on to disc 2 of Grandia!
Organized Canine Bureau Special Agent
Sasuke in China
"I'm not liking this." Sasuke looked around to take a good look at his surroundings. "Either we're in the countryside or the bad guys set up some device to make this a wasteland."
Sky in Khandaq
"Urza." Sky asked the wizard. "I could see some kinda fight. I'd ask if we intervene, but we need to move slowly on this."
"Exit muna si Polgas. Ang kailangan dito ay si Dobermaxx!"
Vampire Hunter
Zeal, Los Angeles
Zeal found her attempt to control Cheetah's mind did not work... No carnal desires, which annoyed her to no end. What also annoyed her was that Cheetah sealed herself and Menardi inside a rock shield. Thinking for a moment, Zeal concentrated on neutralizing Cheetah's power outside of the orb of rock... She had an idea, but she needed Menardi outside of the rock shield. Until then, Zeal just concentrated on neutralizing the magic that was damaging Los Angeles.
edited 29th Feb '16 8:00:03 PM by GameGuruGG
Wizard Needs Food Badly
SHIELD Operations Room
Riesbyfe carefully fitted the headset over her ears. Not the most comfortable fit, but passable.
"Call me old-fashioned, but I like it."
At the same time, she turned her mind to the news that had just arrived, the implications thereof, and what could be done. So, chances were they were walking into a trap. At the same time, that disadvantage had been countered by some unexpected assistance. This could end badly, but there was no backing down anymore, no delaying. All or nothing, now.
She absorbed her briefing in silence. Then she saluted.
"Understood. I won't take too many agents. If at all possible, we'll be trying to avoid detection until the generator has been neutralized. For that, a smaller group will be more effective, but it can't be too small either, since chances are we'll have to fight at some point. So, one or two squads, twenty people at an absolute maximum, will serve our purposes best." A bit lower than a captain like her was used to commanding, but the Seekers accompanying her would put things in the same general range.
And, finally, it was time to go. Time to fight back. Time to turn things around, time to start winning this war. Time to pay the Overlords back for all their evil.
"Alright!" Riesbyfe called out, waving an arm above her head to catch the others' attention, "everyone bound for China, with me! We'll be on our way in just a moment!"