A Game of Gods Season 3: Frontiers

Bub's, Adventurer's Guild

"I guess I am, at that! Thanks for answering my questions~! Hahaha!" Arcueid laughed cheerfully, "I just didn't have much opportunity to learn about or live in the outside world until about a month ago, except through books, so every day is full of wonderful new things to experience and learn about! Say, Zero, how old are you and X? Are you older chronologically than the time you've been out and about in the world?"

Gotham Naval Yard

"Guh!"

The thug Krillin had assaulted collapsed to the ground, unconscious, freeing the hapless bystander he'd been holding. "T-Thank you, Sir! I'll never forget this!" the citizen promised, gathering up his fallen supplies and hightailing it outta there like a bat out of hell. The mobsters, on the other hand, seemed slower on the uptake. A trio turned to look at the small bald man, but took no action. Four thugs each near Lappland, Rico, and the shipgirls likewise turned to look at them but did nothing. Their expressions didn't even change, nor did their grips on the civilians struggling against their chokeholds loosen. It was hard to tell what they were thinking, almost like they were-

Suddenly, every single one of the nineteen still-conscious thugs mentioned thus far moved at exactly the same time in exactly the same way and whipped out a pistol from their suits, pointing them at the respective interloper they were staring at! "HA? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" they all shouted as one in exactly the same voice, "FUZAKENNAKORRA!!!" Hey, don't fuck with me!!! the perfectly identical Yakuza were saying! How scary! How utterly terrifying! Just as terrifying as the fact that they all opened fire on their opposition at exactly the same moment as they finished their perfectly simultaneous exclamation!

Meanwhile, the remaining thugs crowded curiously around the front of the semi truck whose engine had made the mysterious cracking noise, staring at it blankly through their cyber sunglasses. Finally, one of them threw open the hood so all four could stare blankly at what was inside instead of at the exterior. It was too bad none of them had any knowledge at all about how to fix automobiles.

Gotham Naval Yard

Despite the fact he hadn't actually readied any weapons, Rico decided to relent as a display of goodwill. Ideally, everyone present here besides the thugs were on the same side, and the last thing Rico wanted to do was go all Civil War on a friend. So he returned to a neutral posture and watched as Krillin karate chopped one of the gangsters hard enough to knock them out on the spot. (The arrival of Lappland was not something he noticed.)

"He sure do-" was all Rico was able to get out after seeing that before the rest of the gangsters, as one, drew identical handguns and let out a war cry.

Rico assessed the situation. Krillin seemed like a very by-the-book officer. Killing was certainly going to be a no-go here. But at the same time, he was not going to stand idly by and let his life be in danger because somebody said that he wasn't allowed to do anything. Not when there was a gun pointed in his face.

Rico hit the deck as they opened fire. He took a bullet to the chest, but fortunately their handguns didn't look like Magnum weapons, and his Carabineer mail bore the worst of it. (Still stung like a bitch, though). Almost immediately after he'd flopped down, he targeted one of the gangsters. Throwing his Grappler arm up, he fired his Grappler into the wall behind his target, then reeled himself in and flipped over in the air to deliver an ersatz flying kick right into his target's face.

He couldn't kill them. But Rico Rodriguez did not need a gun to make them regret fucking with him.

Edited by SpartyMcFly on Sep 27th 2020 at 3:32:27 PM

X, Zero- Adventurers' Guild

Zero nodded to her. "I can understand that. Well, from the looks of things you'll have no shortage of things to hear about and places to explore here. Seems like everyone here comes from a pretty different background... and admittedly, I guess I'm a little curious myself what this place holds. And why exactly you were such a shut-in before hand. Books are nice but they're definitely no substitute for seeing the world. "

He thought for a moment. "As for how old we are? That's actually a bit complicated. X here is actually a prototype android built over 100 years ago, but he's technically only been active for 25, not counting 30 years of virtual ethics tests. As for me? I don't actually remember anything past 20 years or so, so I don't actually know when I was built or who it was. But I can guess that I can't be much older than that, since the first reploids were built after he was unearthed", he said. He smirked slightly. "I guess that is one perk of being artificial, though. For a 100-year-old geezer, X has aged phenomenally"

Edited by ForsytheTheWeird on Sep 27th 2020 at 12:58:38 PM

Junko - Adventurer’s Guild

In a brief moment that Junko glanced back while running, Junko called out to Lucifer, “SHE’S GONNA BWOW UP!!! RUNNNN!”

Who was this new person? Was she the one telling blue person not go out?

What the hell? Just one lame hug was enough to keep her from getting worked up? And why wasn’t anyone else panicking? This was super ultra turbo lame!

Oh hey those two guys flinched.

“YOU ALL HAVE TO RUN AND GET OUT! RUUUN!!!!” Junko continued screaming.

Junko kept running toward the door cause that’s what she was doing, not really sticking around to hear what people were saying. Once she was across the bridge or at least a good enough distance away if the guild hall didn’t have bridges connecting to it, she would turn around to briefly see if she could hear any commotion from the Adventurer’s Guild, though if enough time passed without much incident, she’d just wander off in some random direction.

Lappland - Gotham Naval Yard

A wolf's keen ears picked up the tiny bald man's words from across the yard, and Lappland let out a soft derisive snort. Just her luck. She was no stranger to rules of engagement, but she'd been hoping that sort of complication wouldn't have followed her to the new world...

Then the fools did her the favour of drawing their weapons - or, was it a single fool in many bodies? Lappland didn't really care. Clearly these were dangerous men with deadly intentions! Who could fault a girl for replying in kind now?

Silver light was already pooling between Lappland's fingers like mercury as her own opponent shouted in chorus, her eyes watching for the telltale signs -

There!

The lupo was moving even as the gun fired, uncoiling like a spring as she ducked left and darted forwards, coming in low and close, the bullet flying over her shoulder with a whistle that set her heart pounding! With a casual flick of the wrist, she retaliated - a flashing razor crescent lancing out from her fingertips to weave its way up the thug's gun arm, biting deep, bisecting his hand and opening up his forearm like a banana.

Whether by luck or skill, the hapless gothamite hostage was untouched - unless you count the thug's arterial spray, that is. While the man was reeling, encumbered by his own prisoner, Lappland was on him, grabbing his ruined arm and lifting it high, shoving her palm against his armpit, and releasing another blade of force into his chest.

She held the body upright for a few seconds, turning her head to flick a twinkling smile at the hostage.

"Run."

With that, she let the body fall and drew her swords in one smooth motion, the first blood of the day stark against her pale skin and hair as she sauntered towards the next thug, blades held out to either side, as casual as a morning stroll.

"Hmm, almost got me that time! Wanna try again~?"

Kaiba, Adventurer’s Guild

Where had Seto Kaiba been? Where he always was, really – in the Frontiers, making that bank. No matter what happened, there were always people interested in playing card games… for some reason. No, that reason was because card games were cool. Kaiba knew that much for sure.

What Kaiba didn’t understand at all was why there was some weird Junko around disrupting his peace and quiet. He was checking the various postings at the guild while going over his third quarter profits – such multitasking was elementary for our Kaiba. He sighed, clearly annoyed at the gyaru Harpie Lady.

“Quiet!” He yelled in a not quiet fashion. “I swear, some of you people are just ridiculous.”

Looks like it was going to be another long day for our tech mogul.

REGIS Alpha: Adventurer’s Guild

The pointed tips of REGIS’s legs planted themselves more firmly in the floor as the stand-off wore on, his solar receptors gorging themselves like hungry ticks on the sunlight spilling in through a nearby window in order to build up the increasingly-energetic glow on the tips of either of his weapons—contributing to a slight but growing scent of burnt ozone in the air. REGIS was not entirely sure why he was being attacked, but the motivations of organic lifeforms were frequently a mystery to him, and the one standing before him was more mysterious than most. But, even as he prepared his systems for the seemingly inevitable show-down, one of the other mechanical lifeforms sought to intervene, going so far as to suggest a peaceful resolution to the dilemma.

REGIS held his position for a few moments longer, but as soon as the count of three elapsed, his almost-liquid mechanical frame seemed to relax, the two weapons perched to either side of him powering down even as they ceased subtly heating the length of the knife’s blade to a sufficient heat to pierce the creature’s hide. REGIS rose from its crouch, looking for all the world like he was about to drop the confrontation entirely, when suddenly—

“SHE’S GONNA BWOW UP!!!”

REGIS’s weapons immediately powered back on, firing high-intensity beams of heat into the blade of his pilfered weapon to make the blade glow red-hot up and down its length. Taking a startled leap back in an attempt to get clear of the alleged explosion, REGIS let loose with the weapon in a straight fling on a trajectory that wavered indecisively between plunging forwards at the blue-tinged organism and instinctively aiming at the new speaker—

And ended up hitting neither of them, instead embedding hilt-deep into a nearby slushie machine.

REGIS paused as he landed, weapons hovering awkwardly about his person as a steady stream of Stratospheric Strawberry Slime began pouring out of the pierced slushie spinning section, steam rising in a sudden burst before abruptly tapering off as the frozen treat worked to cool the super-heated weapon.

One would swear that REGIS made a motion akin to coughing awkwardly into his leg, before pointing that leg at Dark Samus once again as his weapons powered down and either retracted back into his body or slipped back into place upon what passed for his face. “In light of your cowardice, the invincible REGIS Mk. 5 has chosen to spare you on this day. Rejoice, and think more carefully on who you challenge in the future.”

Scuttling quickly away from the confrontation before anyone could quiz him too harshly on the sugary treat still spilling its way onto the floor, REGIS stopped at X’s feet, peering up a significant amount at the taller robot from just below X's knee. “Your assistance, while unnecessary, provided a valuable insight into your dependability in uncertain situations. I am the Reconnaissance Expert Generated for Investigation and Surveillance Mark 5. I require the use of a Type 3 Interstellar Communications Array in order to contact my creators, and inform them of my findings on this strange planet. Are you aware of where one might be located?” REGIS asked, staring unblinkingly up at X as he said this, privately hoping that his double was having better luck at their tasks than he was…

REGIS Omega: Tricorner Naval Yard

The good news, was that the thugs wouldn’t have to worry about fixing the engine.

The bad news is, that was because that the engine was gone.

In fact, at first glance there seemed to be nothing in the engine compartment, only for the sunlight spilling in over their shoulders to resolve the scene into something far stranger; a deep, rich blackness of irregular shape and form filled the space instead, a rippling and roiling material that folded over itself in subtle waves and ridges like the icy pitch of a witch’s brew run amuck.

And as the sunlight continued to rest on the mixture, it began to slow, then to stop. All at once, the rippling complexities, the slight variations in alien topology, grew still.

Two eyes, mismatched and ruby-red, emerged.

Unless they were fast enough to dodge, each of the thugs would feel a concussive force hit them in the center of their torsos as, one-by-one, they were all targeted by an attempt to strike at the middle of their chests by the tip of one of four long, articulated black legs, forming out of the strange material. If they connected, each leg would hit their respective thug with enough force to send them flying back several feet, at which point they would hit the ground and slide across it for a few feet more.

Whether the legs hit their mark or not, they would all wave absently in the air for a moment, feeler-like, before each would plant their tip on a different section along the lip of the engine compartment. The rounded, spider-like body of the engine compartment’s new denizen would begin to rise, as big as the missing engine block with a few extra of the space’s components thrown in, supported by those legs hefting him up and two more identical-looking legs extending up from underneath him. And those eyes, located in the center of it all, slowly swung over the four, the alien surface of each lens-like optic nevertheless brimming with an unmistakable emotion. Anger.

“The invincible—”

Then one of REGIS’s legs knocked against the arm holding the hood open, it slammed shut, and he was shunted back down into the engine compartment and out of sight.

There was a long, awkward moment where maybe the thugs thought that they’d gotten off scott-free—before those same eyes glowed once more, the light penetrating the murkiness lurking behind the truck’s front grill.

A slight heat shimmer, resolving into a point of light, formed on the upper edge of the truck’s grill, before abruptly sliding down, leaving a trail of melted and dripping metal in its wake. A set of familiar legs lodged two each into either side of the bisected grill before shoving them out, forcing them to the ground with a definitive clang as the legs found purchase between the slats and worked to hoist the bulk of REGIS’s body out of the engine compartment and into the open air.

“The invincible REGIS Mk. 5 mocks your pathetic attempt at vehicular destruction.” The REGIS unit finished as though he’d never been so rudely interrupted, his eyes briefly scanning the four again and, after taking note of the irregularity of their similarity, beginning to glow once more in an unmistakable fashion.

Horizon - Off In Some Fucking Trench.... wait isn't this more of a truck

Chocolate Architect was sitting in the back of the Ho-Ki attaching her rocket launcher and busy turning the vehicle into some kind of technical, or at least the closest approximation of of technical one could get with a truck.... While Vanilla architect kind of watched out the sides of the vehicle wondering when exactly they would meet up with Eggman.

"True, and this thing is so much better then the van.... thoooough, guys, hear me out we should install a mini fridge..."

As the Ho-Ki passed over the landscape and she could finally make out there roboticist that they had left.... for who knows how long, she waved him over to the slow vehicle that he would have no issues keeping up with.

"Sorry that took so long, we.... kind of got stuck in the gate..... we shouldn't be that far out from the creature now though."

Edited by Imca on Oct 2nd 2020 at 5:34:52 AM

Junko - Adventurer’s Guild

Oh hey, wasn’t he that guy who sold Chiaki that spaceship deck yesterday? What was his name again?

“Heeeey, wasssup?” said Junko.◊ “You’re that card shop guy from yesterday right? Jes thought that glowin’ lady might’ve had a fuckin bomb in her. Whatever, I’ll get out of your face. I was gonna leave anyway. Heard there were vampires or some shit in the forests.”

As she began to move on, she glanced back to see some of the destruction caused by REGIS. Was a bit less chaos than she’d like but that screaming wasn’t a complete waste.

Mystique—club cape

From this point the others might notice how the mutant was smiling a lot .... No doubt thanks to the alchohol already taking effect.

“Alright, I suppose we could use some laughs to cheer up Chun li. Although... I think she might be too old for a party clown.”

Mystique opens her eyes widely out of surprise at Chun li.“ That means a lot coming from you —-she looks down at the table—I would be lying if I said the words of bigots didn’t hurt me;Back home a lot of people hate for me just for existing for being a mutant. “ She has a faint smile. “You said it. To hell with them”

She smiled warmly Juri she said, “I sincerely doubt that. I mean if I had to compare you to something it would be a tiger. They are beautiful creatures. Everyone admires their beauty, their ferocity. But few would dare to be infront of one. Who would be brave enough to even try to tame you?—She looks at Chun li while still speaking with Juri—“No, maybe that’s the wrong question. Maybe it’s just a matter of finding another one as wild as you are.”

The mutant would raise her glass of beer to join Chun li and Sonia with her toast. “For Belmont.” And another for my own children: Rouge and Kurt.”

To Chun Li she simply says:

“It’s only natural I take the lead. I mean you’re too much of a good person for your own good. If I’m not a bad influence for you, then, who else?”

Edited by FallenLegend on Oct 3rd 2020 at 6:18:04 AM

Above Some Fucking Trench — Dr. Robotnik

The mad doctor finally arrived at the designated hunting grounds in his futuristic flying machine. He grunted and rubbed his vehicle's foggy windshield with a moist cloth (so manual! He would have to consider installing some windshield wipers in the future), and peered down at his robotic comrades as he finished up. "One of you should've told me about the weather here. It makes no sense! It was as pleasant as an autumn day a minute ago, now it's all muggy!"

Robotnik lowered his vehicle closer to the ground, and he took a long gander at the Tallneck pacing around in a circle. It was sleek, intimidating in its size, and functional enough to be hanging out in the wilderness by itself, with no visible signs of a supervisor. It was beautiful. Whoever designed this specimen might've been a kindred spirit who had struggled to create their own form of perfection long ago. So Robotnik wasn't the only man with a brain out there.

The Tallneck was an incredible idea brought to life, so Robotnik saw no issue with taking this idea and making it his own. As he slammed his fist down on a big red button, a dizzying array of guns, turrets, cannons, pistols, and even a pair of limbs preparing a slingshot emerged from within the Eggmobile◊.

The doctor took one last cursory glance at the onboard targeting system, considering the vast variety of gadgets he could use to bring down his prey. It only took him two seconds to make a choice. "Weapons systems are a go! I'm taking the shot!" Robotnik said.

Robotnik pressed a button on his flying mobility scooter's dashboard. The pair of arms with a slingshot unleased the slingshot, sending a decently sized rock flying at incredibly dangerous speeds right towards the Tallneck's... Neck.

With Zero, Adventurer's Guild

"Mhmm, I see! He certainly has, hasn't he? Heehee!" Arcueid giggled and bobbed her head in understanding, "I'm older than that, but like X, I've also spent a lot of my life asleep, so I guess I've only been active something more like two hundred years..."

"Hey, did you know electricity in this city is free? So you'll be able to charge up your backup power for no charge! Evidently the person who created and oversees the generator didn't think it was ethical to make people pay for basic necessities! Unlike my landlord..." Her expression soured a bit, and then she shook her head and resumed smiling. "So, Zero, what are you and X going to do now that you're stuck here with the rest of us? I guess you don't really need to work to live if you're relying on free electricity from the grid here and solar power, but is there anything your programming requires you to do, or anything you, yourselves want to do?"

Gotham, Naval Yard: At This Point This Counts As Police Brutality

Krillin barely had a chance to note the thugs' amazing uniformity before three identical men aimed three identical handguns and fired three identical bullets at the police officer. Though as the thugs opened fire, they'd notice that there was suddenly no target to shoot anymore. The little bald guy just disappeared!

Half a heartbeat later, and Krillin appeared directly behind the the thug furthest to his left. With a swift chop to the jugular, the martial artist charged the thug in the center aiming to deliver a swift punch to the solar plexus. If successful, Krillin would follow up by grabbing the taller man by the sleeves, and pushing him hard into the final thug who had targeted him. With any luck, the two men would topple over and give the martial artist a chance to properly knock them out.

Once his immediate opponents were dealt with, Krillin looked around to assess the situation: Mr. Roderiguez was handling his opponents well (Krillin appreciated that he was using nonlethal force), but he couldn't spot Enterprise and North Carolina at a quick glance. Or rather, he would've spotted them with a little more looking, but another sight caught his eye sooner:

Blood. Lots of blood, dripping from a limp thug on the ground, and staining the outfit of a woman with silver hair. Under normal circumstances Krillin would've been outraged, but it was the peculiar color of the blood that made the police officer hesitate—it was a bright neon green, almost like paint.

Of course, Krillin's hesitation didn't last longer than a moment; the silver haired woman was gunning for her next victim! Cheating a little bit with subtle levitation, the martial artist took advantage of Lappland's compulsion to banter and did something that might just make him a new enemy: steal her win. The thug she was approaching got neck-chopped from behind by a pint-sized noseless police officer.

"I'm not sure what these guys are, but you're risking civilian casualties fighting with lethal force. Either knock them out, or don't fight at all."

Judging by the tone and glaring frown on his face, it seemed that Officer Buzzkill wasn't fooling around...and Lappland would not be given a second warning.

But picking a fight with the murderhobo was going to have to wait: a laser beam just melted the hood of one of the vans, and four of the thugs were in range of another volley.

"Now what?!"

With little time to waste, Krillin was forced to tap into his ki a little more and make another teleport-like dash twenty feet closer to the van, ten feet above the ground. Unfortunately that distance wasn't enough, so the martial artist had to make a risky and dangerous move: shoot a weak ki blast at the super spider to throw the laser off-course.

If the energy blast landed—and assuming the laser was either stopped completely or harmlessly redirected—Krillin would shout at the (Invincible) REGIS Mk. 5 to let it know exactly who was ruining its fun.

"Hey, we're already busy with one threat to everybody here, would you mind waiting your turn?"

X and Zero, Adventurers' Guild

X was clearly taken off guard and taken aback by that sudden blast, one that... well, only seemed to hit a slushie, and for a moment, his buster readied out of reflex. Fortunately, however, nothing more came of it. He glanced down at the REGIS, looking like he was internally screaming, but remained outwardly calm. "I wasn't just looking out for your safety", he said, clearly at his wit's end. "But... I'm just glad that ended peacefully. I'm sorry, I... don't really know what that is. Now I hope that you can put those guns away and try not to make any more work for the janitorial staff"

Zero, meanwhile, briefly regarded the oddly-dressed brunette walking into the place, seeming to be a bit short-tempered. He didn't blame him. He turned back to Arceuid, and shakes his head. "Still looking for a place to stay and something to do. The first thing were hoping to see was if there might be someone in need of our help... or someone that could use a high-end combat unit. Fight for the people who can't fight themselves, and all that" He paused. "Honestly, my programming doesn't require me to do anything, but combat is all I've ever remembered doing. And I'd like to think I'm good at my job. I don't even know what I'd do in a peaceful world. Might be nice to find out. Who knows, maybe work will out to be slow after all. In which case... might explore the city"

Gotham, City Streets

Meanwhile, in the streets of Gotham, just far away enough from the naval yard to be oblivious to anything more interesting, a short, hairy figure◊ walked the streets, head down as he glanced to and fro as he observed the pedestrians going and shuffling about their day, occasionally shooting a glare at one or two that stared a bit too closely at him.

Figures. Even in a dimensional nexus something close to it, the humans somehow found a way to become the dominant species yet again. For a people that amazingly primitive, they sure seemed to have a way to show up just about everywhere. Not that he expected to meet anyone like him, he supposed. Wasn't much out there like him.

Even then, he didn't remember Earth being quite this primitive. He swore that he passed a steam vent earlier, and had to take care of a guy wielding a goddamn tommy gun. Was this entire place trapped in a weird time warp? He'd have to investigate it further when he could.

...Maybe he should have tried that Adventurer's Guild place first. Probably had all sorts of interesting missions he could've taken. Oh well, too late to walk back now, he thought, as he looked around, trying to see if this place at least had a nice place to get shitfaced.

Gotham, Streets: Raccoon with a Firearm?!

Mr. Scratch was lost in thought. His conversation with Travers had given him a lot to think about, but not a lot to do with those thoughts. He could stow Return back in the safe, continue the thankless uphill slog that was his "business as usual," and try to swallow the occasional impulse to get wrist-deep in the guts of the next son of a bitch who made fun of his formalwear. As a side note, he wondered if part of his psychotic personality came from the old model's anger management issues; after all, the mopey bastard had made some interesting exits at more than one party. Once again: Alice had to have been a goddamn saint not to throw him to the curb.

Just when his thoughts turned to Wake's his wife a car zoomed by like the devil himself was chasing it. Probably another robbery getaway, though those were becoming less frequent every week. The mayor's Chief Adviser turned to watch the car fly out of sight, flipped it the bird, and came less than a foot away from kicking Rocket as he resumed his walk.

"Jesus Christ!" he gasped as he stumbled away from the bipedal rodent. "Nearly gave me a fucking heart attack!"

It was purely a figure of speech, of course; Mr. Scratch didn't have a heart.

After a few moments to get over the fright, Scratch found something else about the rodent to scare him all over again: it was carrying a goddamn gun!

"Y—you have a license for that?" he chuckled weakly.

Something told him the answer was "no."

Chun-Li & Juri, Club Cape

Chun-Li put her hand on Mystique's shoulder as if she was giving her support to the mutant. She breathed in and out for a bit before raising her glass.

"To Rogue and Kurt as well!" Chun-Li toasted as she laughed. It seemed the alcohol was taking effect for her as well. "You look amazing for someone who has children as well, Mystique."

Juri seemed to be holding her liquor better, as was Catwoman. Seth had a scowl given how pointless this seemed. Silent Magician seemed to be as happy from the alcohol as Mystique and Chun-Li were. The food that everyone had was mostly gone at this point.

"I think it's about time we go relax somewhere else," Juri suggested as the punks who had been here since the beginning walked over to their table.

"Hey, babes... How'd you like to have fun with us for a while?" The lead punk, which one could tell because he had the spikiest biker outfit, tried to flirt with them, the alcohol apparent on his breath. A blond biker babe who was with this group of 10 punks seemed to giving the lead punk a glare and a frown. Chun-Li, Juri, Seth, Catwoman, and Silent Magician didn't seem all that concerned about them.

Raccoon With a Gun 3, By TomSka

Rocket hadn't particularly been paying attention to the goings-on of others, though as he saw that car speed off, he did seem mildly interested. He doubted there'd be much reward to it even if it did turn out to be more than just reckless driving at hand, however, so he paid it no mind. What bothered him more was the out of nowhere appearance of a man's leg, coming within a foot of him.

He drew back, and looked annoyed, craning his neck upwards to glance at the strange gentleman, and simply looked annoyed at him. "Well maybe some people need to pay a bit more attention to their surroundings! ...Listen, ain't nobody asked me to put it away, and that's good enough for me", he said. "It was either this or leave it back on that hill. Like I was gonna leave the girls where just anyone could take it. What's it to you, anyway? You a cop?"

REGIS Alpha: Adventurer’s Guild

REGIS turned in place, once again regarding the steadily-spreading slurry of strawberry-infused goodness, before turning back to X and jerking his leg in Dark Samus’s direction in a motion more reminiscent of a petulant child than a robotic arachnid. “Rest assured, the overly-hostile mutagenic lifeform was the first to bring about hostile action." REGIS insisted, though neither his flat delivery or word choice could mask that he was basically telling X the robot alien equivalent of ‘she started it’. He also caught sight of Junko in the process, and shifted his pointing leg to her next. “The REGIS Mk. 5 also calls into question that one’s explosive expertise, and requests that it keep future observations about such topics to itself.” He said, almost matching the girl’s new personality’s aggressive dismissiveness as he physically turned away from the girl and back towards X.

With his robotic hissy fit seemingly over for the moment, REGIS looked up at X as he finally considered the fellow robot’s answer to his query. “This news is unfortunate, yet understandable. With such an antennae, or something similar, the REGIS Mk. 5 would be able to send out a signal capable of bridging interstellar distances. While this would be useful for the REGIS unit’s purposes, consider that it would also possibly allow communication with your own homeworld, should it exist in this version of the universe. Surely this appeals to your sensibilities?"

REGIS Omega: Tricorner Naval Yard

In the heat of REGIS’s knee-jerk rage, his reasoning was simple; since he couldn’t tell any of these organics apart, and they all looked like the one who hit him, all four of them were going to die. But just as REGIS prepared the blast that would hopefully reduce them down to their charred skeletal structures, he felt the uncanny sensation of a sudden hard shove from the side, without apparent cause or culprit, and his central spider-like torso was jerked to the side. The trajectory of his blast jerked along with him, ultimately shooting out from both of his eyes to score a section of concrete off to the side of any of the cloned men, dragging a black, charred line across the ground of the naval yard before tracing explosively up a stack of gathered complimentary water bottles. The pyramid of rejuvenating Hot Spring-brand water was suddenly forced to live aggressively up to its name, the water abruptly turning to steam and exploding out of its packaging to send a cascade of vitamin-rich water and bits of smoldering plastic scattering around the immediate area in a rapidly-cooling, lukewarm downpour.

REGIS’s glowing red eyes dulled back to their normal crimson, before his torso jerked back towards the apparent source of the interference like the leader of a wolf pack turning to face an approaching challenger. With his immediate rage both figuratively and literally cooling down somewhat with the combination of the sudden downpour and the blunt satisfaction of hitting something, he peered across the gentle rainbow effect that filled the space between him and the floating attacker, slowing down to consider its words about being a threat to everyone there. “Rest assured, the REGIS Mk. 5 has no interest in your…” The smaller of REGIS’s two eyes made to detach from the greater whole, extending up and out on a periscope-like stalk to peer over the gathered people and supplies, taking in his new surroundings for the first time, and coming to the only logical conclusion. “…primitive hunter-gatherer trading post. The invincible REGIS Mk. 5 only demands the vengeance that it is due.”

As REGIS’s sensor suite continued to take in the new arrival, his free-wheeling eye craning this way and that as he took in and processed certain inexplicable physiological abnormalities, his pattern-recognition software gradually took precedence as it matched certain commonalities of the being’s uniform with others of a law-enforcement nature. “But in an effort to comply with local municipal authority, the REGIS Mk. 5 will graciously narrow its scope.” Turning back to the assembled thugs, whether they were unhurt, injured, or even gearing up to attack him, the REGIS unit would point an accusing black leg at the nearest of their number, and fix them with his gaze. “Identify the former driver of the vehicle behind me, and submit them for destruction.”

Horizon - ELEUTHIA-9

"Cozy. Looks like you've made this place your own, at least. Though if I'm not so good with computers and all that technologic mumbo jumbo, then I'm definitely all sorts of terrible with kids too, not quite sure what you reckon I can do around here." Ace whistles when she sees how big this place is. "Still... quite a sight. Quite a sight. You've been keeping yourself damn busy, it seems. No wonder you had to make more of you."

She followed along as Maria led them in, Rexanne following close behind, taking careful steps and trying not to hit her head on anything.

"Howdy, miss." She took off her hat and nodded at Annette, holding out a hand. "Ran into Miss Maria here while I was out and about on patrol. Said you had a bit of a setup here, might need a hand, but... well it sure looks like one hell of a lot more fancy a place than I was expecting, I'll tell you what. Still, if there's anything Rexanne and I can do for you lovely ladies, don't be shy to ask, that's what a Ranger does."

"Raaaa!" The Tyrantrum helpfully added.

Horizon - There Was A FIREFIGHT!

"I suppose, but we aren't humans, it would be a waste of a perfectly good fridge... besides whiskey is best in a glass..." Eugen rubbed her chin for a moment. "Though, an ice machine...."

It was at that moment that the Tekka Ascendancy jams in the mornin' show changed songs.

Eugen shook her head and looked out, frowning at the sight. She had wanted to capture this thing. Intact. So she clambered onto the roof of the vehicle, her hands gripping the side like a vice as she hauled herself up and stomped her pointy metal shoes securely into a handle. Then she angrily waved her arms at Robotnik, shouting at him.

"Hey dummkopf, you know we vant it in one piece, no? You afraid the defenseless giraffe is going to shoot back? Try not to break it, ja?!"

Edited by nman on Oct 13th 2020 at 8:35:05 AM

Gotham, Streets: Scratch Pulls A Ron Burgundy

"I work for the Mayor's office." the well-dressed man replied in a tone that suggested he was much worse than a cop. Gotham cops could be convinced to look the other way, or be pulled away from a situation like this to handle a bigger problem. As the Mayor's Adviser stared down at the talking rodent^note least it wasn't another one of Mickey Mouse's pals—something about the firearms suggested this particular vermin wasn't from anything Rated G, he adjusted his grip on his briefcase, loosely tucked his free hand in a pocket, and shot the trash panda a smirk. It was a gesture of complete control of the situation—quite the contrast to what he'd been expressing thirty seconds ago...that, and this little thing called "reality".

"You've probably noticed that we don't have many talking animals walking about, so forgive me for not watching out for infant-sized pedestrians." A sneer flickered on his face with the word "forgive," only for the man to take a studious glance around for the other pedestrians. Sure enough, they were giving Rocket a wide berth.

"As for why no one's stopped you, chances are they think you work for part of the new criminal triumvirate. They assume you're packing heat to look tough and keep kids from mistaking you for a cuddly cartoon character. Not that I blame you, being an Outsider. The citizens of Gotham don't get out much; try to explain the hill to them, and most folks wouldn't know what the hell you're talking about."

Of course, the implication was that he knew what Rocket was talking about—perhaps he was another person who was spat out onto the Hill of Origin. Someone who's been in the city long enough to get a job in its government. Though the immediate question would be why he'd want a job like that in a place like this—did he lose a bet or something?

"So, my furry little friend: you know who I work for. Where's your business card?"

He wasn't sure if the raccoon was part of the Madame's crew, the Decepticons, the Monokumas, or none of the above. Whatever the case, if Rocket was here to cause trouble, it wouldn't be tough to find out. Apart from Killer Croc, there weren't many criminals in Gotham who took the animal motif so literally.

Edited by TheodoreHastings on Oct 23rd 2020 at 6:41:54 AM

Mystique—Club Cape

The mutant would chuckle at Chun li’s comment.

“If only you knew half of it. I’m old enough to be your grandmother,” she would say with a smile. ”You would love my children. Kurt is as straight laced as you’re and...” she would turn at Juri, “Rougue has that fire inside her just like you.”

Raven seemed to be shaking a little due to the alcohol, but she still managed to pay herself, Juri, and Chun Li’s food. Plus a 10% tip for Juri. However, the fact that Seth wasn’t included wasn’t a mistake...

She shrugs, “What can I say? Majima paid me well.”

Mystique would stand up from the table and then turn at the biker’s group with a smile. “Do, we? “ She would look at the others, “I’m afraid my friends are way out of your league... but if you want to give it a shot be my guest”

“If the worse comes to pass, they can serve as... stress reliever,” Mystique would say with a grin to Chun li all while cracking her knuckles to subtly let her know.

She looked back at Catwoman and said “Now where’s your jester friend?”

Edited by FallenLegend on Nov 17th 2020 at 5:10:25 AM

Chun-Li & Juri, Club Cape

About when Mystique asked about Catwoman's jester friend, Harley showed up to take the payments and tips from everyone, before handing the payments to a nearby waitress dressed like Wonder Woman. She then pocketed the tips for herself before pulling out her baseball bat and standing right in front of lead punk.

"If ya gonna pick a fight, I'll hafta ask ya to leave," Harley grinned at the biker gang.

"I'd rather not break anything in this fine establishment," Chun-Li smirked at Mystique, before attempting to move around the lead punk.

"Oh no, you don't!" The Lead punk said as he grabbed Chun-Li's arm.

Chun-Li looked at the grab, looked at the punk, and then punched him in the face with her other arm's fist, knocking him out and breaking his nose and teeth in one hit. Harley would then grab his body and toss him over to the other bikers, "Get out!"

The bikers immediately fled Club Cape, knowing a fight that started like this won't end well for them.

"Let's go," Chun-Li looked at Mystique before she left Club Cape, followed by Juri, Catwoman, Seth, and Silent Magician.

"Hey, boss!" Harley yelled out towards the kitchen. "I quit!"

She then followed the others in leaving Club Cape, carrying the baseball bat on her shoulder.

Chun-Li & Juri, Crime Alley

Once the group had gotten outside, Chun-Li would ask, "So then, what do we do next?"

Eight of the remaining members of the biker gang surrounded the group once they left. The blond biker babe who was looking after the guy who was knocked out seemed to be facepalming at this point. The other biker babe with her, a brunette, was shaking her head.

"If you want to fight, then let's fight," Chun-Li, Juri, Catwoman, Seth, and Silent Magician readied themselves to mop the floor with some punks.

Maria, ELEUTHIA-9

"Well, I had been headed out to Akihabara before I stumbled onto you," Maria shrugged to Ace. "I was going to put a flyer up on the notice board about it."

"It is nice for you to help out, Ace." Annette said politely, "My name is Annette."

Qing Long just roared happily in response to the Tyrantum.

Mystique—Outside club cape

Following Chin Li’s lead, Mysitque would slide herself on the floor to be behind two of the bikers.

And as he turned around, One she would knock down with a single quick to the face as he turned around to watch her, also braking his nose and taking some his teeth while she was at ir The other she would make fall to the ground with a single kick to his legs, and as hi was falling, she would knock him out with a kick to his stomach.

The second thug was squirming in pain and just fainted due to the pain instead of trying to run away,

“That was a nice warm up,” she says with a soft smile. “And you Chun Li, I can see your training really paid off. I wouln’t want to be in a fight with you if I can help it.”

“Now a family superhero dinner with cosplay is so wholesome and adorable. But I think what Chun-Li really needs is a little if our bad influence, to finally let that wild side if herself go, don’t you agree?”

She would look at Harley, and Catwoman

“After all, we’re still a little too sober. What do you say if we visit a night club? Unless you have a better idea?”

To Harley she would say” I didn’t think you would quit all of sudden. You really are and unpredictable, aren’t you?”

Edited by FallenLegend on Nov 1st 2020 at 8:10:25 AM

Adventurer's Guild

"Yeah, I'll be frank with you: this city is really peaceful!" Arcueid imparted the bad news to Zero with a shake of her head, "It doesn't really have much in the way of jobs for people built for combat like you and me, so if you want to work here, you'll have to pick up some more skills. Gotham, on the other hand, as you may have heard me mention, they're supposedly full of dangerous thugs who need to be dealt with. Maybe you could do a good deed by helping to clean their city up and make a name for yourself there! Oh, and if you're going there, then we could go together, seeing as I'm on the hunt for a new place to live anyway!"

Gotham Naval Yard

WHAMMO! "Bluh!" went the thug whose face Rico had kicked in, a trail of blood streaming from his broken nose and his cyber sunglasses shattering into so many pieces. He went down like a sack of potatoes, unconscious in a single blow. "T-Thank you, young man!" the old lady he'd been holding as a hostage exclaimed, hurrying off into the distance.

SNIKT! "ABBA!" went the death rattle of the clone Lappland had finished off as he collapsed to the ground, his neon green blood spraying every which way. The freed citizen, for her part, simply ran away shrieking in fear like a terrified chicken.

"FAKYU!" roared the other thug the white-haired animal woman was facing down, though a bead of sweat dripped down his brow as he re-trained his gun on her. His life flashed before his eyes; he had always been a little smarter than his brethren, but in his intelligence he felt isolated, and brains were not something desirable in a mass-produced clone yakuza. So instead he hid his cerebral nature, though in the time between jobs, he would often compose haiku poetry about the things he saw and the people he encountered. In fact, one was coming to mind right now:

We are but mayflies
Born only to die in vain
Fleeting morning dew

WHACK! "Gah!" The thug was spared a horrible death by claw or sword as Krillin chopped him in the neck and instantly knocked him out. The hyperventilating man he'd been holding in a chokehold quickly gathered his things and hastened away from the scene.

Meanwhile, the thugs clustered around the former engine block stared blankly at The Invincible REGIS Mk. 5. They might have continued staring until they were melted or vaporized, except for the timely intervention of the same pint-sized policeman. As they turned to observe him instead, they had a collective realization upon viewing his attire:

Aw shit, it's the fuzz!

"FUZAKENNAKORRA!" they shouted as a single, perfectly in-synch unit, whipping out their pistols and unloading at both the strange mechanical thing and the martial artist, two attempting to handle each.

Edited by darksidevoid on Nov 6th 2020 at 1:47:27 PM

Dark Samus (Adventurer's Guild)

With all the attention that had been focused on her, even if the Mother was now in front of her, the mutagenic alien lifeform known as Samus froze, trying not to attract any more attention. For all intents and purposes now, she seemed rather docile, if still just a bit on edge. Thus, should anyone actually talk to her, she might have answers...maybe.

Sonia (Club Cape -> Crime Alley)

Having been witness to the gang of thugs that had attempted to harass them, and having subsequently followed the ladies outside to see the actual fight start, Sonia narrowed her eyes.

"Begone." She said simply, and took out the Vampire Killer, whipping one thug right in the gut and knocking him down, and following that up by using the whip to knock another one flat onto his ass with a targeted sweep of the legs.

??? (Hunting Grounds)

Now that the good (citation needed) doctor had departed for the hunting grounds, his tail had followed him at a distance, and now watched from afar, keeping tabs on the man with the master plan thanks to the helmet they were wearing granted enhanced / zoomed-in sight.