A Game of Gods Season 3: Frontiers

Shigure, Castle Tour > Wendy's

"The best temptation is the one which isn't untrue." Shigure nodded, looking unusually thoughtful for himself for a moment before returning his focus to the matter at hand. Rico was looking to be incapable lady hands for the time being, so he didn't have to worry. Following Tira, the Exorcist took in the details with a careful look. It looked to be a rather disappointingly standard fare. It wasn't until Tira's room that they had something of note.

"Well, he's not the boss anymore." Gespenst might have been rough around the edges, but he wasn't the kind to mistreat a fellow man. "Well, you two take care. Don't get yourselves killed." After saying his goodbyes and finding nothing of note, Shigure returned to Akibahara (but not before grabbing a few tokens of appreciation; nothing too big, just a couple of gold coins. Should be good enough for now) and stepped into his favorite eatery right after Pink, Morgrim materializing right behind him.

"Salutations, Madam. Is it too much to hope for a chef's special for two battle-worn travelers?" He nodded hello at Wendy with a typical boisterous grin of his.

Oh dear. And here she thought things were calming down. Pyrrha had yet to figure out if Bowsette was trying to pick a fight or not, but she was definitely defiant. Apparently she and Wake had some less-than-pleasant history...? The adviser owned up to the fact, but from what the redhead saw of the Turtle Queen, that would just be perceived as insolence. Wake did have a penchant for overly smooth-yet-slimy talk, to be fair...

Mirroring Satsuki's movement, she placed herself on Wake's other side, but remained silent. The adviser's political game was a little more clear to her now that he mentioned other gangs prowling in Gotham: Bowsette's group was one that the city had found some common ground with, and thus would loathe to come to blows when they could be spending that time fighting a mutual enemy.

And then the infamous Maneater showed up, busting out of a cherry pink van in an ensemble much more reminiscent of rough-n-tumble frontiersmen. The contrast was enough to make Pyrrha blink, and the strange question made her blink again. Well, nevermind that. She had an idea. "...if you think this method of settling this issue is unsatisfactory, Madam Bowsette..." She met the turtle queen with an unflinching look. "then what do you say to a trial by combat?"

"Well, they'll do what they do best, I guess." Inosuke shrugged indifferently, his interest in the interrogation methods having long since vanished. "So, like... monsters but not demon kind of monsters? Then again, demons used to be human and just got warped by being demons and all that stuff..." Upon being asked about his mask, the boy bristled just a little. "They'd try copyin' The Great Inosuke, there would be teeth flyin'!"

"This boar head is mine and mine alone. Them Kakushi guys cover up, but none of other Demon Slayers do." He explained absentmindedly, heedless of the fact that he was throwing new and unfamiliar terms at Toriel.

Chun-Li, Middle of the Ocean, Rocket Launch

"Barry, we have a boat," Chun-Li admonished the suit of armor as she tied him to the boat. After all, he was floating, so he could be towed by a boat. Rather than try to swim over there like Barry stupidly tried to, she instead drove the boat over to where Architect was. She was not exactly going to risk swimming in this water if she didn't have to.

"I want to see this video right now," Chun-Li frowned slightly. "And Reiko as well."

"You've really put Akihabara and me in a bad spot by taking Reiko," Chun-Li explained to Architect. "We already have a depressed population because of how long it took to notice her murders, and then when we finally found where she was located, your Sakura Empire took her so she could be part of this rocket launch. So yeah, I want all the evidence you have in regards to Reiko's actions in the Sakura Empire as well anything you have about her, er, court case here."

"The rest of you stay here for now," Chun-Li looked over at the others on the boat as well as Barry, as she got into the hatch. "I'm used to being around a military base, so I'll be fine."

In addition, Chun-Li felt only her life should be in peril if she had to get Reiko out of there quickly.

Juri, KAIBADOME™

"Just reminding you, whippy," Juri grinned at Sonia, eager to see her sword fight.

"Nah, Kaiba gets his money from selling tickets to watch fights here," Juri dismissed Sonia's concern about the cheering crowd. "We really need to ask for our share from him after this."

Once Sonia gave the courtesy sign that the battle was back on, Juri prepared herself for Sonia's next attack. She had to time the attack just right and kick on target. Once Sonia got close enough to Juri, the Street Fighter performed a roundhouse kick aimed at Sonia's sword, attempting to kick it right out of her hand.

Maria, KAIBADOME™

"W-Why are people cheering for me?!" Maria looked nervous as she was not really used to being an actual celebrity. Noticing what Cynthia was doing, she nervously smiled and waving back to the crowd, "Uh, thank you for cheering me on!"

"You like what you see?" Catwoman simply smiled at Persephone as the five San Fransokyoans seemed to just continue scanning the battle between Juri and Sonia.

Siluca - Formido Castle -> Adventurer’s Guild -> Log Horizon District

Siluca simply followed as Tira led the group around the castle, not really remarking much. The mech and the guns, whose designs seemed more alike those in Gotham than her districts armaments, were by far the most notable things within the armory. Seeing the largely antiquated catapults among the stockpile, it was hard to believe something like them could breach other castles compared to Crest bolts and cannons. When they reached the treasury, Siluca also helped herself to some of the treasury, though there was not much she could carry.

The emptiness of the whole place in some ways reminded the mage of Akihabara and her own district, quite vast in space and just barely enough people to guard it.

As the group went around, Siluca repeatedly tried to introduce herself to the castle’s inhabitants, though they seemed noticeably wary of Tira, which made sense given the assassin’s reputation.

Then they reached what was apparently one of the castle’s towers, which seemed to have once belonged to Tira. While perhaps not too surprising, the place sounded like some sort of prison or holding chamber.

Now that Siluca was satisfied with her tour of the castle, it seemed time to leave.

“And I’ll be returning to my district as well,” she said, giving a bow before leaving through the same portal Gespenst went through.

Once back in the Adventurer’s Guild, Siluca left and headed back to her fiefdom, telling a few of her people what had happened, acquiring a replacement for her broom while sending the other one to be repaired, and gathering an impromptu session of her war council to discuss how to deal with Britannia's mechs and in particular their missile armaments.

Toriel (Bisga Woods)

"From what I understand, many 'demons' were simply images of us monsters to begin with, but yes, we would be different." Toriel answered, then noticed how the boy did not take well to her question, and she took her hands off of him to give him some space. "So others cover up, but yours is unique, that makes sense." After a moment, something Inosuke said prior made her blink a few times as she spoke again. "Excuse me, did you say humans...became demons?"

Sonia (KAIBADOME™)

Now that the fight was back underway, Sonia realized too late that Juri had come up with a plan to stop her; as such, despite her efforts, the sword tumbled from her hand, being scattered a good few feet away. Weaponless and in range of a good pummeling, Sonia's eyes flashed as fire began building around her, the Belmont hoping this would be enough of a deterrent for her to get some space.

Persephone (KAIBADOME™)

Biting her tongue lest she get the Renard on her case again, Persephone stepped forward to join the feline attired woman and her entourage, eyeing their scanners suspiciously.

"What are they doing..." Persephone muttered, primarily to herself but not particularly trying to monitor who would hear her.

Dark Samus (Rocket Launch)

Staring after Chun-Li as she got into the hatch of the rocket, Dark Samus seemed like she was inclined to follow despite Chun-Li's request, yet also seemed hesitant on the matter; as such, she was slowly inching closer towards the edge of the boat they were on, unmindful of anyone that might be watching her.

Eugen - Rocket Launch Facility

Being a kansen, it wasn't exactly an ordeal for Eugen to put one foot in front of the other, walking on the water over towards the rocket, Architect, and the growing assortment of guests.

"You know I could have done that for you so that you wouldn't get seawater stains all over your clothes... tsk." She shook her head.

"Oh yes, the security video. Give me a moment, vielen dank."

She reached into her purse to pull out an iPhone and loaded up a video, then held the screen out. In landscape mode, of course - she wasn't a barbarian. The video was a rather grainy security camera feed from what seemed like the opposite side of the street from a power facility. In it, there was a bright flash, then a figure hopped a wall to escape from the facility, running away and taking a few shots at approaching dinergates and drones with her handgun as she ran away. She had Reiko's distinctive attire, and on her back was a large boxy rifle case, cautiously and securely strapped on.

"Pretty fucked up, no? Thankfully Gotham has something called a Taco Bell that provides meals with as much energy as bunker fuel, so that helps us get by. Though I don't know why such abusively large portions would be popular with normal humans...."

Venus - KAIBADOME™

"Wooo yeah, kick her ass!" Venus waved a fist down at the crowd and then shoveled in another mouthful of popcorn. "But who the hell is Tom Brady...."

She shook her head. This whole multiverse thing was weird sometimes.

"Oh hey, name's Venus... Popcorn?" She tilted her bag towards Maria.

"So the Kaiba... dome, huh? What sort of prizes do people get for competing here, do ya think?"

"Well then this can wait till he's free." Bowsette sighed in exasperation, both at the comment and at the rather muted reaction her challenge had gotten. "I'm not always this patient, so you should feel lucky."

The more hopeful mood was quickly squashed as the runt of a man once more showed his true side when he began to accuse her of blatant lies. The queen wasn't one to take credit for things that she hadn't done, and also wasn't the sort to standby idly as people accused her of things she hadn't done. A very unimpressed scowl crossed the horned woman's face as she glared down at Wake. "I don't need protection money. And I don't have a husband, runt. And I should stomp you into the ground for assuming so."

"You forgot the part where you and that kirby knock-off tore up parts of the bar, refused any attempts at communication, and then fled when you realized you couldn't just talk your way out. Like a coward!" Bowsette growled, not at all impressed by the man's twisting of the truth once more, and quickly growing tired of dealing with him. She glanced at the others in the group. "Don't be tricked by him, he's no hero. He's the worst sort of villain, the type that hides it behind a mask."

And then, with Alan's final words delivered, the towering woman stepped forward and bent over until her face was level with his. And with fiery eyes she said, "Your words mean less than nothing to me, runt."

Standing back upright, Bowsette glanced over at Satsuki. "I am pushing, Gotham will be mine. But I didn't have anything to do with whatever lie this man is saying I did. My subjects are protected and looked after. I wouldn't be a good ruler if they weren't, now would I?"

The large woman stepped back slightly as a van came screeching to a halt, watching warily for whoever might come out of it. She crossed her arms in reply as she stared down at Velvet. "I wanted a change of pace. Why do you care?"

Then, the girl with hair similar to her own finally spoke up. The one dressed like a proper hero, and who carried herself like one as well. Bowsette's eyes settled on her, sharp and firm, before she sighed and lifted her hands up. "Thank you! See? She's get it." She looked at the others briefly, before focusing back on the girl with a sharp grin. "Are you offering, girl?"

Chun-Li, Rocket Launch

"Hmm," Chun-Li stopped entering the rocket and began looking at the video. The figure who supposedly blew up the power facility did in fact look to be Reiko. She sighed, sounding like she was unhappy.

"I would still like to see the prisoner, but it does indeed look like Reiko in that video," Chun-Li shook her head and sighed.

"The rest of you, watch the video," Chun-Li looked at her motley crew. "Tell me what you see... Well, except for you, Samus. You've not met Reiko yet."

Chun-Li would wait for the others to see the video Eugen showed her. From what she could tell, Sakura Empire did have a valid claim to put Reiko on trial.

Juri, KAIBADOME™

Juri smirked and tried to counter Sonia's fire by empowering her legs with dark ki and cartwheels in midair, attempting to use her Senpusha to cut through Sonia's fire. Juri might get singed, but she should be able to land a hard hit against the woman.

Maria, KAIBADOME™

"Uh," Maria ate some of the offered popcorn. "Oh, this is good... Um, I do not actually know, Venus."

"Well—" Catwoman began, before the leader of the San Fransokyoans there interrupted her.

"Finally, she's using her ki!" the head San Fransokyoan said as it was now clear that they were scanning Juri's power with their scanners before she noticed Persephone. "Oh right... We are scanning our Master's ki in a combat situation. These scanners can measure over 9000 kilowatts of ki power!"

She laughed as she was absolutely proud of the invention.

"At least, I think it is kilowatts," the San Fransokyoan shrugged before she was lost in thoughts and dreams of scientific breakthroughs. "Maybe ki power needs a new unit. It could be named after me!"

Catwoman shrugged her shoulders at Persephone, and rolled her eyes.

Gotham, Commercial Street: ...Okay, Now I'm Mad

The words "I'm also not always this patient" were on Wake's tongue, but he knew better than to say them. Even his least patient moods, he was still Job-like compared to the Koopa Queen.

The comment about being husbandless earned Bowsette the first victory in this exchange: the heavily practiced gentility cracked, and Alan blinked at the Madame in disbelief.

"You...don't? But you said—no, wait, you didn't answer me when I pieced together who you are. So if you're not his ball and chain, you're like..."

This reveal deserved some serious thought, but the Koopa Queen's accusations drew him back to the present...of talking about the past.

"If memory serves, Your Highness, I didn't make the first move to wreck the bar. I recall a certain someone throwing a certain giant hammer at my head, which missed and wrecked a certain collection of top-shelf bourbon. As for leaving with my tail between my legs, it was Your Highness' right hand gal who suggested we call off the fight. A magic barrier between the battle lines ring a bell? And as for 'refusing to communicate.'"

Wake stretched his arms out with a smirk, as if to say: "C'mon. This is me we're talking about."

"Your Highness says she doesn't need protection money? I couldn't agree more. Enough dough's raked in through the Koopa Kasino, and that's completely legal. But I'm not making this up—I've got witnesses, descriptions of the perps, Your Highness can even ask the shop owners. If these foot-soldiers are acting independently, then that looks bad on the New Koopa Kingdom. Cut them loose, and we'll throw them behind bars. Force them back in line, and maybe we won't need to have this conversation again."

All of these lines were delivered with light-hearted tones—even corrections regarding "The Incident" were said with the tittering, bashful voice of someone who only cared about clarifying details for those who weren't there. But all the warmth in Wake's face and voice died when Bowsette branded him a villain. The smirk died, and Alan crossed his arms across his chest to hide his clenching fist.

"Your Highness comes from a kingdom composed of walking fungi and talking turtles; a place where gold coins can be found in bricks if you smack your head on them hard enough. A magical land where princesses are snatched from their beds and dragged from castle to castle as predictably as the tide. Where the primary antagonist straddles the line between "big scaly monster" and "not scary enough to startle toddlers;" a villain who gets his shell handed to him over and over again by an Italian caricature who's preferred mode of transportation are sewer pipes. A world of big round eyes and catchy tunes and happy endings for the Good Guys. It's about as complicated as counting from one to five...and Your Highness thinks she's genre-savvy enough to label me?"

Were Bowsette in any mood to actually hear these words, perhaps a brawl would've started then and there. But the Madame's declaration that she was done listening made Wake's nostrils flare, and expel some of his cold frustration.

"Then we're done here." he muttered, and turned to leave.

That's when Pyrrha spoke up, and Alan's feet glued to the ground.

"Excuse me?" he blinked.

Then the Madame applauded the proposal, which made Wake repeat the question.

"No offense, Mr. Wake." the martial artist sighed. "But it doesn't sound like you're talking Bow—err, Her Highness' language anymore."

Stepping from the rear of the pack (but giving the newly-arrived Maneater a notable wide berth), Krillin took his place by Pyrrha's side. He crossed his arms, and closed his eyes with a contemplative frown.

"I'm not a fan of no holds barred fights on my best days; too many people get caught in the crossfire. But a trial by combat...that's supposed to have rules, right? A way to call off the fight and declare a winner before things get out of hand? That sounds like a tournament match to me."

Krillin opened his eyes, the frown flipped into a confident smile. "And that's something I can definitely get behind."

Taking a moment to glance at Pyrrha, Krillin studied her expression to double-check that she intended to face Bowsette in this match. He then looked up to the Koopa Queen:

"Mr. Wake mentioned that Your Highness has some powerful friends; I'd like to fight one of them, if that's alright. This'll be a great chance for me to see what Gotham's strongest have to offer!"

Wake pried his feet from the pavement and turned back to face Bowsette—or more precisely, to look around at the half-dozen fighters who had come to back up his words. Now that words had failed him, he could only stare into everyone's eyes and silently ask if they really, really wanted to go through with this.

He didn't always like the look he got back.

Wulfrik, Wastes

-The castle now a speck on the horizon, Wulfrik becomes aware of a change coming over the household troops, many of them shaking their heads as if coming out of a daze. A raven flies overhead, and its cawing lifts his heart more than anything he heard in months. Calling a halt, he wheels his mount around to face the lizards and warriors, surrounded by his own wastelanders.-

Warriors and servants of the Nightmare! Your lord has fallen!

With his death, your duty towards him has ended. Those of you who would return to cringe beside his corpse, go now!

-Thanks to Wulfrik betraying him at the most crucial moment, Nightmare has fallen, not in single combat for the favor of the Gods but a mere assassination, hopefully against weaklings who submerged him under their numbers or struck him from behind or even used foul sorceries to annihilate him. With any luck, the ungrateful lordling died screaming his betrayer's name in impotent rage. For such a deed against so impious and unworthy a servant, the Changer will reward him greatly. Wulfrik toys with the Permit he received and thus far showed no response to his demands.-

O'Kais, Castle

-One of the gue'la announces his intent to claim the castle for his own. Despite the collaborative nature of the strike, his species' regrettable difficulty in understanding the principles of the Greater Good is once agian revealed. However, given the obvious difficulty in supplying it, not to mention the remarkably outdated nature of its construction, the Shas'O raises no objection.-

-Returning to the city, he goes off to announce the triumph of the Tau'va to the Ethereal.-

Nightmare's Castle

Lady looked like she was joking with her most recent lecture. Rico decided to take that at face value. Why wouldn't he?

What she didn't seem to be joking about was that she refused to let him go off on his own until she could be sure Nightmare's sword hadn't done something else to him. That Rico was willing to accede to. He didn't really know what other kinds of side effects could result from whatever the hell that was, and Lady had probably dealt with demons that could do something similar.

"Very agreeable. So long as you agree to take me to Camoa so I can get my armor fixed. I'd rather not be showing off all of my muscles to the world." He took another second to look at his damaged armor. "And it doesn't really look very good like this. Not befitting a hero of the people, hm?"

Sonia (KAIBADOME™ - Vs. Juri)

Unfortunately for Sonia, Juri's attack was able to power through her fiery defense, knocking her off balance and making her stumble; while she was able to catch her footing, it was clear that the Belmont had been rattled by the blow. Having to take a second to catch her breath, Sonia stumbled forward before she was able to walk again.

"Truth be told, I never was a sword master. My calling has always been the whip." Sonia said, gripping her whip once more. "With skill of your caliber, I would be a fool to limit myself now." Eyes locked onto Juri, Sonia began to glow with energy not unlike Juri's ki, though hers was lighter both in color and feel. Steeling herself for what would likely be her last and best chance of victory, Sonia dashed in a circle around Juri, trying to keep her at arms length as she closed in...though with each crack of her whip she made, a crescent projectile came flying at Juri, to make her job of intercepting the Belmont that much harder.

Persephone (KAIBADOME™)

To someone of Persephone's persuasion, both Juri and Sonia's energy lit up like beacons, instantly attracting her attention and resulting in her gripping the railing, firmly enough to start making the metal struggle under her hands. Clearly, she was fully invested now.

Dark Samus (Rocket Launch)

As to be expected, Dark Samus did not really have a clue what she was watching, or why it was important, but she watched regardless, more to have practice at hearing human speech, and mimicking the words she heard. Once it was done, she looked at the rocket again, then at Chun-Li, as if wondering what the problem was and why they hadn't grabbed Reiko yet.

Barry - Rocket Launch

"HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" Barry looks closely at the security footage, trying to identify Reiko from it. There was the explosion, the power plant, her attire and case that she'd once bonked his head in...

And that's it.

".... Huh. Hadn't figured honey to be the terrorist type." The automail finally admitted. "Figured she'd be more into silent 'pew pew' or remote sabotage rather than runnin' away from a flashy explosion, but eh, what do I know? Gehaha!"

Simple observation done, he continued. "Say, any idea how much she got paid? Unlike good ol' me, who shanks someone's day up for free as a personal hobby and passion in life, she must've gotten a lotta dough involved to cross with ya guys!"

Daud - Gotham(soon-to-be-brawl) -> enroute to Koopa Kasino

The assassin had only stood there passively, listening all that he could. From Mr. Wake sharing a not-so-pleasant history with the Koopa Queen(one in which he didn't fail to notice how Alan subtly tried to hide whatever specifics of the incident they're involved in under a rug) to claims of said queen's goons harrassing citizens to the red-headed knight looking to solve this in personal combat, unsurprisingly getting through Bowsette's fondness for the flairs and theatrics of being a 'villain'.

With that, he quickly establish contact with his spies, looking to confirm what he's hearing. Of the protection racket, there were definitely sightings and hearings of it, so it's not just empty rumours.

... Truth be told, he could just let them duke it out. He gets the distinct feeling that the 'villain' might honor her part of the bargain, given how she is; plus, it would limit conflict between these two groups rather than involving multiple interests, factions and people into this mess.

Still-

"... She's very obviously the muscle." That's what he concluded. If that had been it, there's not much to worry for. But what if she had the brains working behind her operation, while she leads the front? There's only so much one could accomplish and gain through brawn alone, and from what he's hearing the casino is run, someone must've been managing it efficiently.

If so, they're probably aware of what's going on. Or maybe even-

"Well, no good sitting around thinking about it." he looked over at the direction where the casino might've been in, contemplating briefly.

"Going to pay a visit to the Queen's staff. Follow me, if you want." Invintation given to Bub, his newest business associate, Daud then flashed by and Blink-ed himself onto the other building's railings, staying out of sight while parkoring and Blinking his way to the Koopa Kasino.

Edited by JustSomeGuy732 on Mar 17th 2020 at 9:01:37 PM

??? (Junko Followers) - Koopa Kasino

An unwashed black sedan drove up to the front of the Kasino. A woman, dressed in an outfit like this except black, wearing white gloves, and wearing a mask with a prominent Illuminati-like symbol (with eye slits), stepped out from the right back door, carrying a purse over her shoulder and wearing a semi-full backpack. If anyone was able to see through the lightly tinted windows, they would have seen two gas-mask wearing mooks and a Monokuma in the driver’s seat. The mook in the shotgun seat was holding a freeze gun, with a shotgun resting next to them, and the one in the back was holding an assault rifle with a grenade launcher attachment.

Resting about half a block away but keeping the front sedan in sight, there was a gray SUV with four additional gas mask wearing mooks inside. These were similarly armed to the mooks in the sedan.

Once the woman was dropped off, the first car would drive off, though at some point it would loop back around to the street in line with the place the masked woman had been dropped off.

The woman would attempt to head into the Kasino, and assuming she got inside without difficulty, she would look around for the nearest person and say, “Excuse me, but do you know where I might find the owner of this fine establishment?”

From her purse, the woman pulled out and displayed something that resembled a police badge except made of some silvery metal, with Monokuma’s face prominent in the center. A ring surrounded the Monokuma face. Red lettering was written on this ring, with “SOCIETY OF GOTHAM” circling around the top half, and “L. JESTRESS” on the bottom half.

“Sorry for not giving notice, but I was hoping to discuss some business related matters with her royal highness, if she is not too busy.”

Edited by CathariSarad on Mar 18th 2020 at 11:36:27 AM

Juri, Vs. Sonia, KAIBADOME™

Juri looked surprised when Sonia activated her Burning Mode as if she was expecting anything but that. It was enough of a surprise to leave Juri open to Sonia's whip attack which hurt like hell. A few more hits like that and Juri would be down for the count.

"You wanna go all out, then let's go all out!" Juri's left eye glowed purple and she began glowing with dark energy like Sonia had just summoned. Juri grinned madly and ran to try to kick Sonia, hoping her superior speed and devastating attacks would outmatch Sonia's significantly increased strength.

Maria, KAIBADOME™

"Another Feng Shui Engine?!" One of the San Fransokyoans as she and the other tried to recalibrate their scanners.

"You two, scan the ki of the other one!" The Head San Fransokyoan exclaimed and two of the four others began scanning Sonia's energy while the other two continued to scan Juri's energy.

Meanwhile, Maria's attention had shifted fully to the fight at this point.

Nightingale - The Return to Akihabara

After the tour of the giant landship by Katyusha, the head nurse had returned back to the mainland to continue her work of promoting healthcare to its denizens. Had it been just that, today would be no more different than the last; where her usual routine is: cleaning every speck of Yue's room free of harmful dust and bacteria, managing the day-to-day operations of her medical center and reprimanding a few of her staff for not being clean enough.

The only thing that marked today as being a teensy bit different is the fact that every personnel there seems to appear visibly more nervous than before once she steps foot. One (forceful) interrogation and a look at the weird sludge that her new San Frasokyoan intern had been keeping in the research room later...

... And, like a dam having been broken through by an enormous tsunami, it is as if all hell had proceeded to break loose.

Nightingale - (enroute to)Sakura Rocket Launch

Those who were at the rocket launch site would see several small boats heading their way at the edge of the sea. On it, were several Hazmat-wearing medical personnel; their expressions unreadable from said suit. On the helm of the leading ship, stood a familiar head nurse.

One very, very, very determined-looking head nurse, her expression eternally stoic yet there's an aura of intenseness around her for some reason as she scanned the place for her contaminated quarry.

Should Dark Samus deign to make eye-contact with this particular individual, she would feel as if all of Nightingale's attention are now focused solely on her; her gaze intensified several magnitude times over.

It was as if the fervent wrath of God himself had descended onto the Earth, ready to contain, secure and disinfect the unclean on-site or so help her. And right now, the target of her righteous crusade happens to be directed towards the blue alien as the boats were getting ever so closer to their destination.

Edited by JustSomeGuy732 on Mar 27th 2020 at 3:04:32 AM

Chun-Li, Rocket Launch

"Unfortunately, Barry does have a valid point..." Chun-Li began to explain. "Why would—"

And about this time, Florence Nightingale was sailing towards them looking like she had the fury of a thousand nurses, all aimed at Dark Samus! Chun-Li even had a look of "Oh Shit!" on her face and turned to Dark Samus.

"Samus, you need to get out of here now," Chun-Li gave her a command of sorts. "Nightingale has discovered your existence!"

How Dark Samus interpreted that was up to her.

"Samus seems to have a... condition," Chun-Li explained to the Architect. "We aren't sure what infection she may have, and she doesn't seem to know anything about being human."

"I've accepted the duty of her guardian for the time being because of how many unknowns there are about her," Chun-Li sighed to Architect. "Unfortunately, your note came about at the most inopportune time for trying to let someone else look over her."

"She was declared safe to travel by Nightingale's Hospital, but clearly, Nightingale herself disagrees with that," Chun-Li frowned at Architect, bowing in apology. "I'm sorry about this."

Edited by GameGuruGG on Mar 26th 2020 at 11:23:13 AM

Dark Samus (Rocket Launch)

Feeling, or perhaps sensing, new arrivals coming up, Dark Samus turned her head...and froze. A lifetime of attacking threats head-on without fear was now called into question by a dormant primal instinct that was now making itself heard; knowing when something was so high above you on the food chain that fighting would be suicide.

So Dark Samus did exactly as Chun-Li urged her to do; she took flight and bolted, headed straight towards the rocket if only to put it between herself and certain death.

Sakura Empire - Middle of the Ocean, Rocket Launch

"We don't know who paid her or how much, that was something we were hoping you could figure out yourself, but it is also slightly beyond our concern", Architect replied as she began to step back out of the rocket to let the others take a look when some unexpected guests showed up.

The security robots that were currently watching over the banners quickly preped to ready there weapons to stop an incoming security threat, but did not.... actually do any thing yet, Architect for her part took a deep breath and sighed "Look I don't exactly give two fucks about an infection on account of being a machine so why don't I help you out here and make sure she is able to get.... far... FAR away from here very quickly?", she replied to Chun-Li.

With a little whistle and a rub of her head, she looked over to the piece of construction equipment that seemed to be in charge of workplace safety. "Big Bob! I need the recovery equipment from "Project Suzuka" Now!", to which she was responded to by the construction equipment making a loud buzzing sound at her, "I know this isn't Project Suzuka and that it isn't meant to be maned but like.... just toss the fucking recovery equipment to me!"

And with that, the bucket of the safety supervisor picked up and tossed a parachute to Architect, which she then tossed to Samus, before jumping off the rocket and back into the water swimming away. "Samus? your going to want to put that on and jump at some point before you reach space, I am not your boss, I don't care when, just don't wait so long that you go splat... The rest of you might want to clear the area as well... Being close to rockets doesn't tend to go well for your health"

She then paused, and made a call out at full volume.

"Amagi! Begin the countdown"

"But.... the speech", the brown fox replied back to her.

"We are helping with a getaway, forget the speech! You wouldn't be able to hear it over the rocket any way!", Architect replied to her.

"Then why were you going to let me waste the effort of making an important announcement when....", the fox queried a bit confused.

"Because I thought it would be funny!" Architect replied to her one final time, before Amagi coughed and picked up a megaphone, "Jū... kyū... Hachi... Nana... roku... go... yon..."

Fire nation - Shipyards

Upon arrival at the ship yards, locating Kaga would be a relatively trivial task, not only because of her distinctive looks compared to the locals, but also because although she was currently trying to relax she had not ventured far away from her pet project... a similarly distinctive conversion of a former fire nation cruiser that was looking less and less like a cruiser and also less and less like a carrier which was what she had originally wanted to make by the day. Instead slowly becoming some kind of frankenship.

Either way, she was sitting around in an overseers office playing go with one of the foreman when she was walked in on.

"And you are sure this will still be able to....." She asked him calmly and aggressively, before moving one of her pieces on the board.

"As sure as I can be, with the new designs your friend sent it has saved us a lot of work and space", The foreman replied making a move of his own.

"It... is just very strange compared to what I am used too, though then again most of the things here are strange", she replied again, before pausing half way through her move this time as her ears panned to the pair that had shown up.

Arms crossed under her chest and painted fingernails tapping rhythmically against her arm told Wake just how much merit she was giving his words as she fired back at her. The Koopa Queen's arrogance shone through as she waved her hand as if discarding his words, as she said, "You may not have physically struck the first blow, but you were looking for a fight all the same."

"Trust me, we won't be having this conversation again." Bowsette said flatly as she stared down at the man with that same sharp gaze, leaving just what she meant by it up to him to assume.

Wake's rant very well almost did start a fight, as despite her words the insult to herself was almost too much for her to take. Whether it was the insult to her threatening presence, her apparent lack of things outside of her own game, or both together may not ever be known. The ever-present reminder that she was not as hardy as her other self and that she didn't want to get into a deadly brawl with all of these people the only thing holding her back.

Bowsette's eyes narrowed as the short, bald and strange-looking man stepped forward. She eyed him carefully, not with any threat, but as if scoping him out thoroughly. Extremely short and oddly-shaped men tended to be heroes that could catch you off-guard with their appearance. Mario, Fix-It Felix, and Dig Dug as a few examples. "I will see if they care enough to do so."

The Koopa Kasino building was no doubt a sight to behold for the arriving group, with its spikes, garish lighting, and massive roaring Bowsette head framing the entrance in an incredibly tacky and narcissistic display. The guards standing outside of the casino, born and raised in Gotham, knew that supervillain business was about to go down the moment they spotted the masked woman. One of them quickly radioed in about her arrival before she'd even begun to walk towards them, but otherwise did nothing as she passed and entered.

Inside, the nearest person to the woman would be one of the receptionists at the front desk. The woman spotted the new arrival, and tensed slightly as she took in her unusual appearance. The nervousness showing on her face grew as she was approached, though her polite smile and attitude didn't falter. "Oh, um, welcome to the Koopa Kasino. I'm- I'm not quite sure sorry, but I can ask for you!"

She was quick to grab the phone on the desk, giving the badge a polite glance but not paying it much mind as she focused on getting in contact with her boss. A short conversation later, and she was putting it down, and looking a little less nervous. "It seems she's already on her way down, Ma'am. If you would... wait just a moment?"

And sure enough not more than half a minute later, the blonde-haired towering horned woman herself came striding out to the foyer; Scanning about until she spotted the masked woman. Grunting, she stepped over and stared down at the woman. "What? What do you want? If you're here to threaten me or anything, then hurry up."

Meanwhile, outside, the men within the car, who were no doubt keeping an eye on the casino, would be able to spot the moment something◊ came stomping around the side of the building. It clanked its way into view, over-sized head chomping at the air as it did so, and made its way towards the entrance. It stopped not far from the guards at the door, before turning to face out towards the street and simply stood.

Edited by Alleydodger on Mar 29th 2020 at 12:06:26 AM

Gespenst - Fire Nation Shipyard

"Hello Kaga! Hope you aren't busy!"

The black mecha said in a cheerful manner, still bearing the scars of his battle with nightmare. Then he did something the kitsune probably would not have expected and bowed.

"I came here because I want to apologize. I am sorry for insulting your honor back in Gotham."

He stood back up straight after giving his apology.

"Well now if we have to fight each other there won't be any bad blood so we can enjoy it."

there was a slight pause as the robot remembered the other thing that had literally just happened to him.

"The other thing is that I know you like to fight in general, and I just killed a guy and stole his castle so I can use it as a base to fight Britannians. If you ever feel bored, you can stop over and fight some giant robots for fun."

Nightingale - Sakura Empire Rocket Base

She saw. She moved. And finally, she's inside what seems to be the entrance to a something submerged beneath the ocean. The boats finally got close enough within hearing distance from each other, but when the Head Nurse heard someone counting down like a timer, her gaze sharpened at what she guessed was about to transpire.

That will not do.

Positioning at the back of the boat, she then rushed forward.... before quite literally jumping after the soon-to-be-launched rocket in an almighty leap, her Servant-enhanced physical parameters allowing her to cover such a distance, and at such speed, in a way that no ordinary human is physically capable of.

That done and should she find no immediate resistance on her way, she'll immediately dig her fingers deep into its steely exterior and create her own hold onto it; her digit crunching through the metal bits inside with ease. Even if the rocket were to fire off by now right onto the sky, she would continually climb up towards the hatch while poking holes with each grasp of her hands; not stopping until she gets her hands on the infectee like a madwoman hellbent on treating a stubborn patient, even if it means involving herself in a crazy suicide situation.

The other medics, for their part, seemed... less than enthused. Keeping their boats' distance as the nurse leapt off and ready up to offer their white flag following all this.

Daud - Koopa Kasino

Arriving at the scene via various Blinks later, he would soon learned that he doesn't happen to be the only one paying a visit to the casino; seeing the arrival of a few vehicles and a woman with her face conveniently covered moving out. Briefly, he'd considered avoiding the obvious entrance altogether and entering through another entry-way somewhere in the building, but decided against it. More oft than not, he'll be treated as an obvious intruder and will get into more trouble than it's worth, considering the legendary temper of its owner.

Front entrance it is, then.

Down at the entrance to the casino, a certain red-jacketed man would also make his appearance; moving in as he glanced at the mechanical-like guard standing... well, guard, at the entrance. He stopped a few distance away from it, just eyeing at the rocket-balled head straight in its cartoonish-looking eye to see if it would impede his movement or not.

Should he take a few steps and find that he's allowed in, he would move inside towards the casino. If not, or if the guard seems to try to act in an aggressive manner towards him in any way, he'll just stand back and await there until further notice.

Should the former happen with no incident, he'll continue walking until he's a few steps away from said woman covered in said strange mask and Bowsette, the owner of the casino herself. Noticing the tell-tale sign that shady business might be on-going and/or danger is afoot, he feint a cough before staring towards the Koopa Queen.

"Busy? Could help myself with the games and drinks here until you're free."

Chun-Li, Sakura Empire Rocket Base

About the time when Architect said 'fairly quickly,' Chun-Li started piloting her boat as far away from the rocket launch as she could. At that point, she knew a rocket launch was going to happen sooner rather than later. Her boat was headed right towards Nightingale's with Chun-Li having a death glare towards them that could rival Florence Nightingale's own. Before the Interpol Special Agent could even have a word with Nightingale about her interruption of this entire situation, the Head Nurse ran and jumped off the boat and flew through the air to latch herself on the rocket. One can imagine everyone looking on with shock as Nightingale did her impressive superhuman stunt.

Well, at least Chun-Li and her boat was as far away from the rocket launch as she could get. She glared at the medics in hazmat suits.

"Tell me what the situation is with Samus to have caused this sort of chaos!" Chun-Li told the medics with clenched fists, her voicing beginning with tranquil fury and ending with the tone that sounded like she might bite their heads off.

Sakura Rocket Base - Innocent Bystanders

Though Chun-Li couldn't see through their suits, she could feel as if they flinched underneath it; probably sweating bullets as they tried to explain themselves.

"W-would you believe us if we said we tried to stop her and said Samus' infection is nothing serious?" a voice belonging to a middle-aged man speak out. "But nothing so serious as to what that poor intern had to experience during interrogation. Wouldn't want to be in her shoes, poor gal."

"She's even declared the whole hospital as a quarantine zone until further notice." A woman's voice, this time. "Said that she'll personally bring the emergency patient back herself and won't release her until she's been fully treated and declared safe by her own words."

"Even without us, she would've ridden or even swim out here on her own." someone sigh, before adding "Was hoping we could solve this amicably before the situation got out of control, but-"

They looked back at the monstrosity of a boss nurse mindlessly devoted to her one craft.

"... Yeeeaaaaah..."

”Jestress” (Junko Follower) - Koopa Kasino

“On the contrary, we have no desire to quarrel with you.” the woman said amicably upon the Koopa Queen’s arrival. “I am Lieutenant Jestress. The organization…”

“Jestress” turned when she heard Daud approach, gently ensuring that the badge was stowed away.

“Oh, why hello there! You must be from Akihabara!”

The woman was silent for a few moments, and then she turned to Bowsette. “Where was I? Oh right! I’m Jestress, and I represent the Society of Gotham, though we go by a few other names.

“We have heard wondrous things about your kingdom, and have been interested to learn more for quite some time. We were hoping we could come to a better understanding of each other, and perhaps foster a sort of friendship or jolly cooperation!

“Hmm, this open space doesn’t quite suit the mood. You wouldn’t happen to have any conference rooms available at the moment, would you your majesty?”

Dark Samus (Rocket Launch)

Clinging to the rocket, and feeling the takeoff about to commence, Dark Samus grasped awkwardly at the parachute she was given, having no idea how to operate it but holding onto it all the same; while she might have thought she had at least a few seconds to get distance between herself and terror incarnate, the threat proved her wrong as she jumped onto the rocket too. Panic soon began settling in for the unfortunate being, and the stress of the situation was resulting in her very form changing and warping, resulting in Dark Samus taking on a more alien appearance. As a result of this, her hazardous material began bubbling into the surface of her hand, like she was about to try and attack with it if Nightingale got any closer.

Edited by Bored_Man on Mar 29th 2020 at 9:15:24 AM