The Path
When the Swarm arrives, Elizabeth tenses up and prepares to MAGIC BLAST these oddly cute yet dangerous things. She does so and is worried as they inexorably march over them... only to be quite visibly confused when she's left unscathed by the wave of monstrosities. This is replaced by anger at Lan's BASELESS ACCUSATION.
"Why I never! As if I could recognize or be associated with such a destructive thing." she angrily replies to him. Sbeve can tell with her Mind Tricks that she does genuinely think that. She then stops and Thinks though at Eve's actual encouragement. "Though there's a passing resemblance to..."
With that vague statement she tries verbally and psychically MAGICALLY commanding the swarm to "Stop!"
Blackreach Alliance Headquarters
Shadow blinks, mildly surprised by Eneru's protectiveness. He tilts his head, and then smiles warmly to him and Yumuse when they introduce themselves.
"Hey, nice to meet you. And don't worry, despite appearances, I'm probably one of the nicest guys you've met."
He gives Pseudo a shocked look, his eyes quickly flashing both purple and red before returning to their usual white just as quickly.
"...I have half a mind to either head to the future myself or just keep this in mind for when I get there naturally, but either way, I feel strongly like some of the higher-ups at G.E.M. would need some stern talking-to..."
He looks thoughtful.
"Actually, mentioning Navitus, that, er, reminds me of another part of my recon that I need to report...but another part would come first."
He then blinks as he hears Eneru and Yumuse talking. He glances at the pair, tilting his head.
"...wait, what was that?"
"Life isn't a fairytale. There isn't always a 'Happily Ever After' waiting for you at the end of the road." ~ Isengrim Heath-StalkerKoru could seize control of a good chunk of the cultists’ cyberware, but curiously, the mechanical demons (this being the Mecha-zombies and the Hellsinger) bore machinery too insidiously complex to be commandeered.
As Iris dropped from the balcony and fired off her first shot, it hit an Imp squarely in the leg and blew the appendage off. The demon dropped to its hands screeching, while another two took action against her; one rearing a hand crackling with hellfire back before throwing a ball of it her direction while another pounced at her, aiming to bloody her with an assault from its claws. From her right was fired a plasma orb from the handcannon of a mecha-zombie, moving quicker than the fireball yet slower than a bullet.
With great power…you know the rest.The Coming War
Baz could see the Rangdan beneath their mask scoff. He said something to Arzohis that seemed to catch his brother off guard:
"Lumrahe, manungsa nganggo busana kaya ngono bakal dadi permen mata sing nyenengake, lan panganan meriam. Aku luwih milih Grineer."
"Oh! High words for them then."
The Rangdan made their way forward, looking over their shoulder to respond.
"Grineer ya, nanging aku bakal mateni manungsa yen dheweke mikir babagan pengkhianatan."
At first Arzohis looked a little pale before straightening up his posture and shrugging to Zytak and the new recruits.
"Uh, welcome aboard he said."
The Great Ezcape
Another shot collided with his mostly healed hide, and while the Sauropod wailed in pain, it pressed through and swung it's hips to create distance between it and the attacker-
Resulting in its club swinging at full force towards the quintesson. Spectral energies flew through the air behind the club like flame, and as soon stood it collided with the attacker, sent pieces of shell everywhere.
The Medicine Vendor watched Ez and Mal go at the facility's master, his eyes narrowing. The swords jaws clanked together. They had found their spirit. But against his better judgement, he didn't pull his sword.
The Quintessons were flesh. Cruel and corrupt but mononoke? Spirits? No.
Rather, the form of Mal and Ez's traumas, their truth, their reasons... had all been laid out.
The sword wanted to strike at the Gundam. To bring it down. That blade could... however... truth was-
Deep down, he knew Ez was lashing out. Why wouldn't she? The only thing he feared was the aftermath.
He waited out the two's moment, grabbing a pipe and lighting it amidst the carnage.
"Let it all our of your system."
Heavens, he needed that.
AwawaZystak silently watched Dewa’Faisung, deaf to his language yet familiar enough with the body language of his kind—a byproduct of his time with the T’au—to pick up on a safe wariness. This much he expected from the Rangda prince, and it was far from something he’d hold against him. You don’t get far in a cruel galaxy by greeting everyone you meet with open arms.
On the other side of him, Baz had saluted and pledged her aid, and Zystak dipped his head in a reciprocal gesture. Then he took notice of the girl beside her. "And the girl?" His piercing gold eyes flicked to the Imperial soldier, but Pearl answered before Baz could, her words spat in a rush.
“I’m not staying! I wanna find mom!”
Zystak hissed lowly as he thought on this: while he applauded the girl’s valor, what could she really bring to the table? Her youth would be more of a hindrance to them than a benefit, though…
She was the smallest of them, and therefore the most unassuming. That could come in handy. And as he peered around, at the droid patrols sweeping the desert, he realized here was not as safe as it seemed. So Zystak hissed again. "Fine. But you do as I say. Or…Dewa’Faisung will eat you."
Then, to Baz: "The camp looks to be heavily fortified. Have you determined a route in?"
With great power…you know the rest.Coming War
Baz is surprised by Pearl speaking out but at the same time she kind of understand. It's her mother after all. Baz herself has no feelings towards her mother and vice-versa but... from what she gleaned, they were supposed to actually really matter to their children.
I've spotted a vent. I'd only need light leverage to get in that vent. She also thought of suggesting Pearl but dismissed it as insane - Baz was ready for a fight, Pearl only had her childish pluckiness.
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitterBlackreach Alliance Headquarters
"Locke's afraid of tampering with time 'cause it could make things worse. And we don't know if the Divine Guardians would let people try.", Pilly sadly notes. "We're planning on asking the Great Light once they come back."
Helryx tilts her head.
"Do you have an update regarding her? If so we can confirm with her, she is currently residing in this base."
The two kids are briefly startled when Shadow makes it clear he heard them. They look at one another, with Yumuse now looking uncertain despite having been the protective one of the two. Eneru nods supportively to him, after which the other boy looks back to Shadow.
"Well... ever since the experiments... one of my eyes has been really weird."
He closes one eye.
"If I close this one I don't really see anything different than normal with my open eye."
He opens his eye and closes the other.
"But this eye sees things differently and it sometimes lets me see things other people can't see. Uh... how do I say this... when I look at you it's like there's a broken border around you. Like you're, y'know, a puzzle piece of a bigger puzzle.", he says while also motioning with his hands, basically tracing Shadow's 'outline' as if he were trying to mimic his shape with them.
"And when I look at you like this, instead of fully black, you look more... space-y? I guess?"
It seems like Pseudo, Pilly and Helryx weren't aware of his ability because the three of them look surprised too. It's quite the sight on the otherwise stoic and/or angry-looking Helryx.
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.The Coming War
"Be more sincere... I wouldn't eat her. Just leave her for dead. Keep with the group... and you'll be fine."
Arzohis tried to hand wave it away as he talked to the much younger, most definitely out of their depth individual.
"Don't worry about him. You are probably his age when he saw his first execution... you've got the mental hardwire for that."
"And in regards to that vent... if you're sufficient in moving in such spaces... I can lift you in."
AwawaPearl glanced frightfully at Dewa’Faisung before quickly looking away, for fear that he’d catch her. Instead she looked at Arzohis who, despite his spiky, scary armor, she liked the voice of the best of the three aliens. “Execution?”
"It is a good idea," Zystak commented on Baz’s plan, waiting for the Rangda prince to offer his own impact. The kroot clicked his tongue in thought. "Still, the question remains of how we all will reach it. Those walls appear…twelve men tall." He tried to relegate his estimation to a unit they’d all be familiar with, squinting across the night desert at the tan, concrete Box dropped in the midst of it and the gray, featureless hatch on its roof.
Edited by ISZATSO on Jun 4th 2025 at 6:49:39 AM
With great power…you know the rest.The Coming War
The Exiled Rangdan Prince and Dark Eldar... whatever Arzohis is, raise their hands about getting over the wall.
"We can't climb well, and we can fandangle a way to the vent... or... to open a way in."
"Depends how much our little... vent crawler, is fine with being in my jaws. Don't worry, I won't drag them up the throat."
AwawaPearl’s mouse-like squeak at the notion of being in the Rangda’s jaws brought Zystak to even more thinking. "I grew up scaling the trees of Pech. Concrete is a fair degree more challenging to sink my claws into, but I can manage; and I could carry the girl upon my shoulders, if you can bear the human woman’s weight. Eldar, could you climb with your claws?" Yet as he aired the ideas, they all seemed to fall short in his mind. "If any has another route to that hatch…"
With great power…you know the rest.Blackreach Alliance Headquarters
Fixed a mistake (was a long day at work)
Shadow sighs.
"Fair, I guess. For all that G.E.M. set themselves up to be a protective bastion against dangerous forces, it seems they've committed quite a few crimes in the name of their pursuits that are just as wretched as those of their enemies."
He quirks an eyebrow, and nods to Helryx.
"In a roundabout way...yeah. It's, ah, about the Cyber-Angels. Specifically, about the ones who'd been assimilated into the Culmination after the fragment of Navitus' hatred took over. You may recall that I'd taken the Culmination's remains into my custody in order to find a way to restore the Angels to their former selves, like I'd told Pandora I would. Well...something...unexpected...just happened...I feel like I should take this up with her, y'know?"
He then listens to Yumuse, tilting his head. He raises both eyebrows when hearing about how he looks in Yumuse's augmented sight, looking quite surprised.
"...well, I've gotta' say, that's a pretty astute description. Without me getting too far into why that is, yet...do you think you could focus, try to get a clearer look? I'm...curious about something."
Edited by SacredSpirit123 on Jun 5th 2025 at 6:38:21 AM
"Life isn't a fairytale. There isn't always a 'Happily Ever After' waiting for you at the end of the road." ~ Isengrim Heath-StalkerMission Report: BEGIN
0354 Hours
Wyleskk Expanse, Kashyyyk
42 hours prior to the CIS invasion of Libeos VII
…
From orbit, the raging tempest was a great grey splotch on the planet’s lush green-and-blue surface. It flashed periodically with azure Greatbolts, hugely violent lightning-strikes of almost mythical proportions largely unique to the forest world of the wookies. It was certainly far from a good time to delve directly into the storm, but waiting for it to pass would risk very important data falling into very bad hands.
The mission was simple enough: trace the starship’s flight path to its last known location, find the crash site, and recover its cargo. Though, Kado had warned, the mission had a high likelihood of complication: Kashyyyk was an unpredictable planet, and even more unpredictable when Mother Nature’s rage was rumbling the great trees of the Wyleskk Expanse and raising its already impossibly deep lakes. This, mixed with the fact that the shuttle’s crashing had certainly not been a coincidence, meant that anything that could go wrong…was pretty likely to.
But there was a job to be done.
With great power…you know the rest.District 13
"-uhoh."
As multiple attacks flew her way, time suddenly stopped-
...alright, it didn't stop, but it had slowed down quite a bit. To about a tenth of its usual speed, in fact- at least, that's what it seemed like for Iris.
Immediately, she sprung into action- holstering her pistol and moving towards the three that had went to attack her.
The interesting thing about being really good with tech was the ability to override the Sandevistan's inertial limiters- aka the safeties that slowed your body down to a safe speed upon nearing an object so you wouldn't suddenly become meat-paste on a wall if you fucked up slightly.
Iris had made this a toggle- and now, she had toggled those safeties off. Against one of the imps, she simply swung her arm about- cutting the demon into four bloody chunks from the power and sheer speed of her metal arm. For the second imp, she simply clapped her hands together- with its head inbetween.
And then her Sandevistan reached its limit and was forced into cooldown, steam hissing out from behind her sweater. And being unable to keep up that movement, the plasma orb smacked into her back-
Which made her grit her teeth a bit from the pain, much of the back of her sweatshirt burning away to reveal... That she seemed to be more cyberware than human. She still had sections of skin 'paneling', however.
"Alright, that's it."
Drawing her pistol once more, she aimed a shot for the mecha-zombie's head and fired off the explosive round.
Meanwhile, Koru was-
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Burn, you demons, BURN!"
-leaping about in holographic form, making those he 'cut' with his claws burst into flames and feel their organs either stop or melt, among an array of other things- whatever one he felt was more fitting at the moment.
That was, until he phased right through one of the more actually demonic hostiles, with a confused expression on his face as nothing happened.
Hacking doesn't work on the more otherworldly sorts.
Good to know- little busy, though.
Wyleskk Expanse, Kashyyyk
In orbit was one black, triangular, arrow-like ship. A spec-ops variant of an Ariral Warp Arrow, to be exact. Within it resided one Mirachuli,
who had been munching on a packet of shrimp paste while letting the autopilot do its thing before getting a notification from the navigation computer.
For ease of 'Arirals don't have a language translator I can use and the one resource I had for Ariral language is outdated now' anything in <> is in Chuli's native language, and thus probably not understandable unless you're also an Ariral.
<Autopilot disabled in stable orbit. Reason: Environmental conditions exceed auto-navigation safety limits.>
The viewscreen shimmers to life as she sighs, stretches, and grabs the controls. For something to be outside the limits of the autonav was worrying, but she'd done this sort of thing before.
<Get down, find the ship, grab the cargo, get out. I've done this sort of thing before... And that means I know exactly what can go wrong with these kinds of missions.>
The Warp Arrow broke orbit and headed downwards, tracing the ship's last known flight path. Once it stopped, she flew down towards the atmosphere... and directly into the storm, by extension.
The shields went up, configured in such a way as to give a gap between the metallic hull and the atmosphere- thus keeping the bolts away from the metal ship... hopefully.
<Storm's too dense to risk flying through for long... gonna have to land, search on foot... Good thing my armor's got some good scanning tech.>
The ship moved down, scanning towards the ground in an attempt to locate a landing spot- or at least somewhere she could drop to the surfact from.
aeiou: the secondDistrict 13, Kashyyyk
Iris weaved a path of gore through the pair of Imps that would’ve made whatever demonic overlord who sent them smile in pride, their torn bodies falling apart as a blur shot through them before disintegrating into embers, souls recalled to the darker realm to continue their suffering eternally. The mecha-zombie’s head blew apart yet the body persisted another moment, leveling the arm-cannon at Iris as the crimson light within intensified…before flickering to darkness. The cannon dropped back to the corrupt’s side as it dropped to its knees and slouched forwards, vanishing just as its demonic contemporaries had. Interestingly, the bodies of cultists through which Koru kleaved did not disappear as the demons did, perhaps because their transformation to Hellhood hasn’t been entire.
Yet despite their individual victories, the armies of Hell were relentless. More warped into existence, another three Imps shooting great balls of flame one after another at Iris like they were the GOAT Le Bron; as they did, the club floor trembled underfoot following two particularly bright flashes of Hellish energy, birthing into the mortal realm a set of Pinky Demons. Armored like a tank in the front yet naked as a newborn baby in the back, the front-heavy fiends charged at Iris from 2 and 11 o’ clock, violently trampling over any fool unlucky enough to stay in its way—demon, cultist or civilian—without so much as breaking pace.
——
The Warp Arrow’s shields were battered on all sides by heavy bursts of wind and thin rays of lightning, though it’d take more than that to bring the ship down. Any pilot with less experience than Mirachuli might’ve crumbled under the pressure set upon them by piloting through this storm, and any pilot less rational than her might’ve attempted to keep going through the storm until they were right over the wreckage. Thankfully, Chuli was neither inexperienced, nor irrational. As she searched for somewhere to set the Arrow down within the dense tangle of trees, their stalks woven over another to create a multi-leveled landscape of wooden webs. One such level was sturdy enough to hold her ship, and decently sheltered from the storm beneath a dense canopy.
Nights on Kashyyyk were dark, and tonight was rendered darker still by the storm denying starlight, yet if Mirachuli possessed—through means organic or mechanical—advanced sight, she likely would’ve noticed among the dark skyline a darker column of smoke in the near distance, rising from somewhere amidst the thick jungle. On the off-chance she wasn’t, one of the scanners her armor possessed would prove capable of picking up on it.
With great power…you know the rest.THE OUTBACK
Wait, does that train have wheels? That's a bit quaint. Chuckles Baz. Ahh, the wonders of old technology. There was a time where trains needed such accomodations (and rails) to get around!
Alright, unto the... spores? Baz knew it was a crazy idea but it was a crazy idea in a crazy place which means that it'd work over a normal one. So she gladly grabs Casper's hand and jump with him over letting him do it, with her renewed confidence pushing her to do so under the belief that she's his equal here, and can help him as much as he can help her!
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitterCairo
Reiss preemptively pulls Nick out, who would've barely avoided the fireball anway but its much to his chagrin. Under any circumstance he would bicker and moan about it but they're facing Annihilation. Nick hasn't really faced him up close but Reiss and Luin have — the latter several times — so first thing he asks is;
"Tell me, Reiss, does it breed?"
"...What."
Nick looks dead serious when asking so its is followed by Reiss zooming back and forth to and from the Nergigante's underbelly.
"No... Idea."
"Damnit."
Whatever idea Nick was going to propose is set to the wayside. They hear the scouts offer some help and the brothers nod to each other. Nick draws his knife and forms constructs of solid air. They act as moving platforms for Reiss to run across while the older brother starts looking for more concrete (pun unintended) things to transform — Pretty hard thanks to the surrounding water.
Reiss would zoom straight for Nergigante's head. He recites at incomprehensible speeds what boils down to a basic piercing spell, hoping to essentially give a rapid trimming of the spikes on the monster's head. While not targeted at any particular spike, he hopes giving them a flat-top would at least give the other fighters a platform to press their feet on.
Sub Centralis
William barely had any line of defense against the horde. All he could really do was silently hunch down and hope lacerations were redundant enough to torniquet with a single rag — biting down on the blade he brought with him to dull the pain. No blood came from the open wounds. It rather leaked whatever mysterious liquids he drank way earlier.
He would try and ignite it with a tiny spark to reinvigorate himself but he didn't drink anything wholly alcoholic prior. Sorely disappointed that the few goes at sobriety he has made has failed him, he is on sitting on both knees, sword used to prop him up jus barely.
"God..." Then he hears Jolyne reassure him, he doesn't have the energy to reply, he just smiles a little then nods twice before looking at Elizabeth, who is unharmed. All he pleads is to
"make it stop..."
realThe Outback
The bug within the tumbleweed they hopped onto began to panic, swerving at first before stopping abruptly. This time as they flew through the air, there was a sudden bout of realization for both of them-
They weren't in the Outback anymore.
In fact they were flying through the air towards the monorail. She could see in her hands was a golf club, and in her other hand her trust blaster. But before both parties could crash to their death, Baz could feel mist against her back-
And suddenely they were both within the Outback's train. Well, Baz wouldn't be able to identity Casper. He currently resembled some thresher tailed theropod, with incredibly reduced forelimbs with paddle-like webbing. His skull possessed a distinctive "pompadour" crest that spanned the head from side to side, his snout long and almost akin to a sawshark's, though his true teeth were angled more for catching fish.
Resembling aboriginal dreamtime artwork made flesh with many rows of coral coloration and striped candy patterns, he seemed... more archaic then his other forms.
"𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴."
A layered echoing of some softer heart throb was not the voice Cadper expected himself.
Now the interior of the train was available for them to observe it was...
Underwhelmingly normal, hell, high class. Small white creatures looked up at the two, eyeless faces somehow able to convey puzzlement.
The Maxx lunged from the cardoor behind them, panting heavily.
"He's... on here somewhere..."
AwawaThe world shook beneath their feet. Entire mountains crumbled as the stars hovering above them in the sky were plucked by immense fingers and thrown as flashing shooting stars at hordes of superheroes, the strongest of whom combined their might to deflect them and launch it back unto the mighty figure that hovered over the DARK REALM, a twisted world where all that was good had been long extinguished and where evil reigned.
The lord of it, Bruce Wayne didn't know the name of. Nor did he knows its motivations, only that they were generally bad. Just like Darkseid, just like Mongul, just like Perpetua, just like endless villains. And for that reason, Batman remained fairly composed as he backflipped over a extermina-raytion beam that narrowly impacted the ground, one of countless attacks being thrown at him by the godlike villain. With his base destroyed and his tool to plunge all worlds into the DARK REALM extinguished, the heroes of the Multiverse, Justice League and Avengers, now only had to mop him up. Which wasn't really Batman's duty to do at this point.
He simply watched as the dreadlord's titanic hand came crashing down upon the surface of the planet, standing still as he knew that no amount of slick hook tricks or rolls could take him out of this one. And he also knew that he didn't need to really try any of that - a red blur placed itself unto the oversized palm threatening to crush them all, stopping the hand mid-moton. And then, a god of lighting came to assist it, providing such force as to not merely block the hand but start repelling it as more and more heroes came in to assist.
And as the furious overlord moved his other hand upwards, his only remaining option to get rid of the pests (for the omnipotent being apparently lacked the means or imagination to simply make another hand), a green blur smashed into that hand with a loud cry of HULK SMASH!, single-handedly accomplishing what it took a legion of super-strong heroes to perform. With his hands disabled, the frailest yet most powerful of the crews combined their might into a singular beam of pure power, striking the overlord in the chest and pushing him off his dark planet, the brute letting out a roar of incomprehension as it was thrust across lightyears.
Batman then raised his cape as the flying superheroes each took off after it, loud shockwaves accompanying each of their faster-than-light takeoffs as they moved off-world and into the depths of the Dark Realm. Batman could follow them. He had toys to help him dispense punishment on a cosmic scale if needed. Because he, the crusader who sought only to fight against thugs, killers or mobsters, has had needed to refine his arsenal to be ready to handle a crisis on the scale of ending of the world.
Why, he'd once sat in the Mobius Chair. He, a mere (bat)man. The fact that he stood in this battlefield, eyes pointed to the sky, body unflexible, was a feat on its own. And he didn't even move his head as something crashed down next to him - a man in gold and red armor, sparks flying off it as he withered briefly in the crater of his impact. Ah, yes, the other genius billionaire of the team - Iron Man.
... I'll have to tinker with the suit a bit. The Omniblast's backlash is still a bit much for my taste. Tony said, getting up to his feet. His armor plates slid off to reveal his handsome, if tattered, face. And he held his jaw, massaging it before turning to the side and spitting some tooth unto the ground. Hm? What gives, Wayne? You lamenting the fact your brand of super-genius only allows you to make and name bat-shaped tools? You'd be doing a lot more work with a powered suit, I'll tell ya. And it isn't that hard making it look like a big mean bat.
All of reality could still come undone if we fail here. And yet you jest. Batman replies, not moving his eyes off the battle in the sky.
Well, that'd be the third time this month for me at this point. Don't even ask the year, it'd be-
We deserve better. Tony stops talking, tilting his head to the side. There's so much we could do with our technology. But it seems like we always have some sort of crisis to undo it. Some sort of ancient beast to crawl out of the muck of creation to ruin it all.
Tony's eyes widen in slight concern. That's the kind of world we live in. Let's just take comfort that we always beat 'em back to that creepy corner they all sit in. He sighs nonetheless, and Batman actually turns his head at that.
But why not make a world that's safe? A world that's free from the madness of the multiverse? A world where we can sit down and solve problems for the common man without having to constantly fend off an invasion? Batman continues, turning to Tony this time. I'm not talking about remaking the world in our image. I'm talking about finding an ark that'll be free and safe from all of that madness. Where people can live without fear of societal or cosmic torment. All of that without needing to abandon our worlds.
... You've got an idea for something like that?
Batman, at this point, does a rare smile.
UTOPIA
Tony sat on the council seat, eyeing Bruce. The tall man had been the first to come along for the meeting, of course. Tony had been late by a few minutes due to needing to briefly monitor a drone that glitched fighting off the Living Laser - Waller had been on-time. The woman was never late but she was never early, and Tony could live with that. It meant she always had work to do - but that she always concluded it before the meeting. She wasn't an idealist like the others, but it worked to have a realist like her to ground the rest.
Miquella was the only one late - 3.5 points seconds, and he'd been forced to teleport on his seat with a bright flash of light. My apologies for being late! I was fixing a ghostly conflict in the Arena. Waller was the only one to glare in disapproval while Tony and Bruce simply shrugged, each smiling.
The Council Room was at the penultimate floor of UTOPIA's command tower, right below the roof of it. Said roof had the necessary equipment to host a fleet of large vehicles but it also contained a large antenna, which pierced into the sky. There, it connected into the pattern of the worlds with a unique frequency. A process which helped it to tap into and contact the worlds to speak of UTOPIA and its benefits. That had been which they had even chosen this particular universe - it sat right atop a multiversal Nexus, and could connect with more than enough stellar frequencies to do its job.
The Tower itself was a large, large, large if wholly unremarkable brick-shaped building, with various little landing stations for spaceships inside. Its only purpose was to be seen anywhere in UTOPIA - from the main city, to the more distant towns scattered over the Halo's biosphere, whom wished to live somewhere less chaotic than the main city. And there was space enough for that! It was why they'd picked the Halo, a fearsome war weapon, turned haven of peace by its new inoccupiants.
Though it helped the Halo contained facilities and such that Bruce and Tony could easily repurpose for themselves.
The Council Room was a large and golden room with a crescent shaped table at the middle and a golden platform upon which people stood when talking before the council. No one stood at the middle of it - UTOPIA wasn't a world with one singular leader. It was very much the project of a collective bunch, and they wished to enforce that. As such, the man standing before them wasn't looking at any of them in the eyes as he stood tall, priestly garbs worn instead of a scientific suit.
Beelzebub waited for them to be ready before he spoke.
The other strain of the Absolute Solver is still contained within the te... Uzi. I'm getting closer and closer to finding a way to purge her of it for good - once that is done. I'll be able to destroy the other Absolute Solver unit trapped within the Facility. I predict that I'll be able to deliver results within two days. Beelzebub spoke, holding up two fingers, in case the demigod and highly intelligent folks in the room had forgotten how to count.
The unconscious arrogance of being a god, he brushed off.
Very good. I trust that Uzi is still being treated humanely, how is she handling these experiments? Miquella asked, ever the kind. Beelzebub seemed lightly surprised at this, but with no one else talking...
Very good. The Holding Facility is treating her nicely. She is cooperative, as expected from a survivor of it. She will find no problems in being released unto the Arena next.
Now for the bad news. Or should I have to deliver them myself? Waller said.
No need. While we've made immense progress with Uzi at the pri… the ‘’holding center’’, the facility in which the initial strain of the Absolute Solver is lodged has stopped reporting to me. And to us.
What? Bruce's usual stoicism can barely hide his shock, but he's able to still hide it anyway, leaning back unto his seat.
We've lost contact two hours ago. Given the fact that the Absolute Solver is locked far beneath it... A slight eye contact to Tony. I suspect it has to do with that spaceship that crashed near it. I had ordered the bodies to be disposed of via fire following the unsettling discoveries within said ship. But I was apparently overriden, for I was instead informed that they had been successfully placed within the facility for analysis.
Waller frowns heavily at this.
There has been leaks about the Absolute Solver's presence within UTOPIA. I've done my best to snuff them out but when there's blood in the water, there will inevitably be sharks. We've been compromised, and I suspect that the facility has been broken into ti deliver the captured Solver to one of numerous shady entreprises.
But who would want to do such a thing? The Solver is beyond anyone's ability to control!
We'll have to figure out "who" is before we start asking "why". Beelzebub, your order was overriden. Amanda, you've noticed leaks. Tony briefly pauses at the two names he just whispered. Somehow, the literal demon scared him less. We have a mole problem. It's going to compromise our ability to retaliate without the mole learning of it. Beelzebub, were you told who had overriden you?
Beelzebub shakes his head. I only know the order came from above. And I received no answer about who told it. Beelzebub huffs. There aren't many here who could override an order from me.
So one of us is compromised.
Or perhaps the Solver is to blame? They could still hold influence over the system... We shouldn't point fingers. But we should strive to do something to remedy this problem - Tony is right that we have a mole regardless.
So what do you suggest? Do we call upon a plucky group of adventurers from below and trust they'll bumble their way into getting us rid of our little trouble in heaven?
There's silence in the room.
That was sarcasm, do not-
TO ALL ARENAGOERS! UTOPIA IS IN DIRE NEED OF YOUR COMPETENT HELP! TO THOSE OF YOU WILLING TO VENTURE INTO DANGER, WE PROMISE A HIGH REWARD AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE COUNTLESS LIVES FROM DANGER!
Miquella puts his hands on his hips, smiling at the golden letters displayed over the district of UTOPIA within Hub Centralis. He'd written them himself - taking pieces of light and giving them shape. And he'd also taken into account that the Arena had true heroes and ... heroic opportunists' who might care about rewards when the act of saving countless lives was no option.
Either way, so far, he'd managed to gather the help of some people within UTOPIA - "tourists" unrelated to the power structure - and two people sat by in front of the stage. The first was The Emperor, escaped from Moonrise Crypt, and a sight which Miquella was glad to see. For his experience in dealing with the horrors of the crypt would be crucial here. The Illithid's cold purpled eyes rested upon Miquella, with the Emperor trying to force his way into the Demigod's mind under the pretense of patience. Miquella found little problem warding him off.
The second was Trafalgar Water D. Water Law, another such rescapee and a veteran of the terrible attack that had struck Hub Centralis not even a year ago. The pirate was eating a big stick of ham, trying to look dignified even as he sometimes stopped by to take a big chunk of meat.
I'm not looking forward to getting thrust into worldly nonsense again but any good pirate will strive for a reward.
Nautolan picture belongs to Bonesmarinated on twitterHub Centralis, Utopia District
Soon enough, Jason finds himself driving through the entrance to the Utopia District, looking around at the golden city as the Hoodmobile cruises down its streets. While he still intended to conduct the investigation that he hoped would ultimately prove unnecessary, he's be lying if he said the place wasn't a beautiful sight to behold.
Pulling over at the first hotel he comes across, he climbs out of his car, planning to check in and find himself a room for his stay when he notices one of the fliers Miquella had sent out. With an eyebrow raised behind his helmet, he walks over to read its contents.
"Now, why does this feel so familiar?" he mutters, At least this probably wasn't a trap like Kenjaku's invitation to Moonrise Crypt. Well, he certainly hoped it wasn't. If nothing else, he'd at least get some answers.
Jason steps back into the Hoodmobile, starts it up, and drives off to the stage where the meeting was taking place. Upon arriving and summarily finding a good parking spot, he exits the car and makes his way to the front, intending to see who might be present. While he was pleasantly surprised to see Law again, the presence of the Emperor of all people briefly catches him off-guard. They had been allies who shared a common enemy in the now-deceased Kenjaku, but Jason still remembered the Emperor not only making pawns out of those who'd journeyed to Moonrise Crypt, but masquerading as Corrin's father figure Gunter to manipulate him as well.
Well, as long as the Emperor wouldn't interfere with his plans and wasn't plotting anything sinister this time around, Jason wouldn't mind his presence.
Blackreach Alliance Headquarters
"Sometimes the greater good demands sacrifices.", Helryx says. She doesn't sound like she agrees with what G.E.M. did, but she does understand why they did it.
Yumuse looks uncertain again.
"Uhhhh..."
"I think it's fine to try.", Eneru encourages. Yumuse closes one eye and narrows the one with its special sight.
"... you still look space-y. And something small is glowing I guess. I don't think I see anything I didn't see before."
UTOPIA
There are many who hear the announcement. Many of said many are unfortunately wrapped up in business of their own.
But a few divert their attention to that announcement.
Hydraxon
◊ had trailed N and Uzi to around this area (not knowing the latter was currently in captivity already), meaning he was already going to be headed this way. The announcement had, admittedly, caught his interest, if only because he figured he could maybe strike a deal regarding the reward.
Somewhere else, Antony
◊ also overheard this announcement and... well, he couldn't give a rat's ass about saving people from trouble. Yet he still decides to go check it out at least. Why, you ask?
Because his search hasn't yielded any results yet and he's bored as balls.
Lastly, a truly magnificent creature overhears the announcement and starts making its way over.
Soon enough, they would arrive.
Hydraxon.
Anthony.
And...
The noble creature
◊ (Rope not included. Background not included. Uplifting text not included).
Edited by DevilPsyco on Jun 5th 2025 at 2:26:32 PM
In the year 202X, all is devastation... Soon, any last shred of hope had by the saintliest optimist shall die and decay.UTOPIA
The Street Performers
Save
- Utopian Entryway
wait why the fuck did i choose this as their group leitmotif?
What seems to be a trio of street performers arrive at the UTOPIA district, approaching the stage as a potential candidate for a future venue. All three are wearing an odd glove that doubles as a smart device. Must be a group thing.
The lead guitarist is a girl with short messy hair. She’s wearing a pair of shades and carrying around a white cane alongside her guitar. Think of Sophie from Blind Girl but a bit badass looking.
The bassist dresses androgynously, covering the right side of their face with their shoulder-length hair and covering their nose and mouth with a flowing red scarf. Their wristwatch emits a mystical aura, and they are pushing a bike, which seems to carry the group’s travelling equipment. For those that recognise them from previous encounters, there’s something… different about them this time around.
The drummer has tied up her waist length hair into a loose ponytail as she carries around a drum bag with little sweat. Her expressionless face gives off a cool vibe to onlookers, although the gill-like slits on her neck probably draws even more attention from onlookers.
They seem to be quietly chatting to themselves about the stage being a new venue to perform. Occasionally a Rolycoly seemingly belonging to the bassist rolls around their shoulder.
The Conversation
|The Guitarist|
“Huh, is that Law from One Piece? Guess you’re not wrong when you said that everyone that you can think of can be here in the Arena.”
|The Bassist|
“…I worked with him during the moon castle thing. My memories for that was vague because I was tuning out and panicking during combat and you know how panicking screws up memory, but how we utilised his ability was particularly memorable.”
|The Drummer|
[That is a really large chunk of meat. Did we bring food?]
|The Bassist|
“Only the bananas we packed as snacks, I was planning to find a grocer and get our food there if we’re cooking by ourselves. Carrying food around wouldn’t work well with what we already packed anyways, our weapons are gonna mess up the food.”
Oh. Okay.
Inventory
- Multi-Range Electrocane
- 50x slingshot ammunition
- Quake Spear
Tools:
- Holo-Apples
- Backup Command Blocks
- Acoustic Guitar
- Portable Multicooker
- Cellphone for communication
Support:
- 5x Medium Heal
Personal Skill:
- Echolocation
- Hand Shocker
- Orihime and Hikoboshi
- Moonrise Hammer
Tools:
- Victoria to use SONG Drives
- Wristwatch that Lily hides in
- Cellphone for communication (has Ui)
Support:
- Summon Ravenos
- Summon Coalin
Personal Skills:
- “Pyra” Blast
- Smokescreen Generation
- Azure Cloth Blade
- Coated Trident
Tools:
- Combat Tengu Fans
- Cellphone for communication
Support:
- 5x Mason jars filled with an unknown acid (may also contain a figurine)
Personal Skills:
- Scald Cannon (a kettle that can turn into a rocket launcher)
Tools:
- Corey’s Fingers
- Sound Condensing Solution
- 1x roll of duct tape
- 5m of nylon rope
- A collapsible camping stove
Support:
- Trick Recharger x5
Songs:
- Make It! (Usable/Recharging)
- Agent Yoru o Yuku
- Snow Halation
Active Tricks and Songs
Currently none.
Edited by TheTropingAlliancer on Jun 5th 2025 at 8:30:41 PM
Du-Du-Wa-Do-It, Arena Katsudou

Zystak glanced at the brothers with him upon hearing what Baz had to say. Of the question of trust, he’d done his research and knew there was little reason not to confide in the pair; the CIS rarely risked organic operatives in the field, and the Grineer, a strictly monoracial empire, would never employ anything that wasn’t born in a vat. Henceforth, returning his attention to the two humans, Zystak shared: "As we speak, Steel Meridian forces are breaching the two subcamps. However, any aid you can offer in quietly entering the main holding center," he pointed at the Box as though his point weren’t clear enough, "Would be greatly valued." Then the Kroot looked back at Dewa’Faisung and Arzohis both, testing for their reactions.
With great power…you know the rest.