Vivian-Squad 3
Catching Cole's telepathic message, Viv shook her head in irritation. I'm never going to get comfortable with that stuff. Thankfully directions had been included in the message, so she gave the behatted civilian a final neutral smile and nod before turning on her heel and jogging off. As she moved, Viv quickly texted an explanation to Nariko and Marcus. She'd waited until she was in an alleyway before pouring on the speed. I need a good brawl. Those morons at the club didn't let me really feed the beast at all. Hopefully this has more fun. Also: vampires. Great. I wonder what their goal is here? And can vampires even drink from demons and such?
As Vivian approached the dilapidated barn, she caught sight of Iona's whirlwind of winged mammals. Poor little fellows. If they're real bats, anyway. Taking a position where she could watch everyone's backs, the young hero drew her sword and shield. Using guns on vampires just doesn't feel appropriate somehow.
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
IW - Devil's Corner To Catch An Agent Provocateur
Mahvash simply stared through the crawlers. They were kidding? Too bad.
"Martin, Holiday." she turned her eyes on them breathing the names evenly. "You're in uniform and on patrol. You may rebuild after stabilizing the situation." She stared for a moment. True, Martin was a diplomat and Holiday talked AntiSaint down but they usually said the 'stop or we will use force' bit. Just crumbling like that was unusual. "You are the only heroes around to handle this town."
For the most part, she simply watched the new girl speak to the demon, if only because she volunteered. Mahvash wouldn't correct the demon's impression of the power balance either. Not like anti-material rifles were harder for Americans to get than nukes.
"Iris," Mahvash looked over her shoulder at the girl. "This sounds like your show. Mystery men stirring up trouble. They mentioned the vampire, but we can't just assume a lone vampire's the only problem. How many eyes can you pop up and for how long? We can watch likely targets and have an old fashioned stakeout. Donuts and everything. And the others went toward the human side of town, so we can catch up and share what we found while we play hide-and-go-seek."
Edited by CenturyEye on May 17th 2020 at 3:00:47 AM
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Where am I? What's going on?
Squad 2 - Devil’s Corner
Iris, who had definitely been there the entire time, grimaced in response to Mahvash’s question.
“It’s a little complicated. If time didn’t matter, I could do maybe a hundred eyes at once, but I’d only be able to keep it up for a minute or two. A stakeout’ll probably take a few hours at least, so... around 10 eyes, maybe? But even then, I couldn’t move too far away from them without significantly lowering that timeframe...”
She suddenly realized that might’ve been a little hard to follow.
“Sorry, I was kind of talking to myself there. I’d say I could hold somewhere between 5 to 10 eyes for 6 or 7 hours as long as I was within a few blocks of them.”
Edited by PossiblyQuiteInsane on May 17th 2020 at 7:12:39 AM
Cole - Squad 3
Cole just stood there for a moment, letting his psionic shields keep him safe as he realized the bat had just called up some assistance. This looked like a huge, undulating tornado of snipping, scratching and biting creatures. He'd heard about there being demons and human dirtbags out here, but could there also be some kinds of vampires pulling a third side? That's what these bats made him think of.
After that moment, Cole lashed out with his psychic powers as he brought a hand up in front of him, conjuring an explosion of force around himself extending outward 8 feet in all directions. Whoever or whatever was out here, this was probably just the first part in some kind of security system they had going on.
Even with all this going on, he kept that first bat nice and secure inside that globe. It was the first hint toward what was going on, and he was not about to just let it flit off and escape him.
Sign on for this After The End Fantasy RP.
An Ordinary Oddball
Cain (2)—Barn
When Cain came blundering through the undergrowth, he did not expect to see several members of Squad 3 confronting one of his lesser kindred. He'd heard the sounds of the altercation and came to investigate, of course, but the fact that the vampire(?) had tried to start a scuffle like this meant something bigger was at play. Cain cursed violently under his breath as he approached.
After letting everyone get their hits in, he would walk towards the vampire, shouting "Hey!" in order to get its attention. Then, if their eyes met, the full brunt of his ancient vampiric gaze would be turned on the interloper.
"Childe. Cease!" would be his imperious command to his lesser kin, fangs bared in an obvious threat display.
Edited by JumpingFruit on May 18th 2020 at 10:00:40 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
IW - Devil's Corner To Catch An Agent Provocateur
"That's your cue," Mahvash said flatly to the demon. "You mentioned homes being broken into and livestock slaughtered. What is something else your mystery friend might target around here? Put another way, what is valuable to you?"
"And while you're at it, is this the main place you meet up socially on this side of town?"
Edited by CenturyEye on May 19th 2020 at 2:22:05 AM
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Deranged X-Mas Figure
Barn
Unfortunately for Cain, the results were a mixed bag. He was able to get the bats to slow, but they were still clawing and biting and doing whatever bats did. They were able to resist, if not completely.
Cole had better luck. With the bats slowed, he was able to hit them with the full brunt of his psychic force. With Kain reducing their will, it was enough to force them back into the barn, like a bunch of pack dogs shoved back in their kennel.
The first bat remained, still trapped in the force field despite how much it clawed and kicked to get free.
Perhaps they could start getting some answers.
Devil's Corner
The demon took out a pitch-black cigar from his pocket. He lit it up with his fingertips, before puffing out smoke circles large enough to poke someone's head through.
"This is the place alright. Everyone comes here whenever they want to drown their sorrows or just have some company. But no, can't think of much else. If they really wanted to piss us off, they'd go for the town's water supply. But that'd just be suicide on their part."
Doctor Who — Long Way Around: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13536044/1/Doctor-Who-Long-Way-Around
Surrounded by weirdoes
Squad 2
"Don't be so sure about that" Ryuu said "There is little more dangerous than an angry fool"
"Well, time to work, guys"
Wake me up at your own risk.
Cole - Squad 3
"Okay...okay, looks like your buddies flew off. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way...let's start with the hard way." Cole looked at the struggling bat still trying to get out of his telekinetic holding field there. Yeah just doing that and siccing its buddies on him really made it clear this little creature was up to something - and probably was quite a bit different from how it appeared right now. Cole figured there were a few ways he could get some answers out of this alleged bat.
He extended his hand and reinforced the telekinetic force bubble around the bat, followed by restricting it. Tighter and tighter around the bat, so as to force the issue - if the creature really was just occupying that form right now...
"Any day now you can cry uncle and lemme know what's going down here."
Sign on for this After The End Fantasy RP.
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
IW - Devil's Corner
"Ryuu," Mahvash started. "On getting to work, we're here. Well, it depends. We start our watch here, and Iris can cover the building while Holiday observes the water tower with drones." That could be flipped just as easily but presuming the demon was not lying—tch—they'd hear more here. His whispering sweet nothings to Marah did not go unnoticed. Twas hard to miss actually but, what she did with that information would also tell about her.
"We would be well, sitting, watching, and talking. And..." She looked Martin head-on. "And our paragon can speak to the people who come through here and ask them what they have seen and train them on how to look out for their neighborhoods at night." She gave him a wink. "With that infectious good boy way of his."
Although besides that, she purposely made it sound as boring as possible. Because, "Holiday!" She chirped, hands folded behind her and turning from Martin onto her second favorite mecha. "So, we have a person going around to apparently random targets to stir up anger. The targets may have something in common and the trouble may have something to do with the vampire that came to town. The water supply is a potential target, that we'll have to deal with if someone gets to it. And this is the main social center of the town. We could move quicker with more information..." What the targets had in common if anything, or from people that were attacked if any and whatever the others might have learned from a phone call but Holiday would get it. "...but stakeout is a police trope. "Got a suggestion, please? How would you proceed?" Technically that was open to anyone, but may as well give Holiday a pick up while they were at this.
Edited by CenturyEye on May 20th 2020 at 6:33:21 AM
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
AKA Nixer
Holiday – Devil's Corner (Squad 2)
“Guard the water tower, first and foremost,” Holiday said immediately, idle whirrs and clicks audible from her skull as she processed this information at a rapid speed. “Drones are a possibility though they lack much ability to intervene. Sending actual personnel out would fair better. Excluding that; spread out to watch the overall area but keep in contact. Blend in but keep others informed if possible. And note suspicious persons and their locations. That much is obvious.”
She paused a moment, mentally checking off her supplies before continuing.
“I'd personally prefer catching them in the act for certainty's sake but if we can discover their identity beforehand then even better. Plus, bear in mind possible hierarchies in play. Could be masterminded extensively or merely locally. Scale affects approach.”
She looked at Mahvash, then at Iris, before tapping her vocal synthesizer pointedly and mock-clearing her throat.
“Impersonation is an option. I have patterns recognized,” she stated in mimicry of Mahvash's voice, before switching to Iris. “If we can perhaps patch into local frequencies we can interfere through conflicting orders. But that's for later. All else fails, I have garlic,” she informed, clasping her hands behind her and rocking idly on her heels somewhat. “Unless that's proverbial mythological bulls***.”
Edited by Enirboreh on May 20th 2020 at 2:50:30 PM
bork
King among Xanas
IW-Devils Corner
"I don't have any complaints about that, but I also do want to work on what I can here, and that is going to require some help from you," Martin nodded to Mahvash and looked around to the more damaged bits of the bar. "Replacing the ruined bits would be easier if I could just break a section of wall without causing further structural damage, and from what I've read you can just remove things from existence without it spreading further then you want right?"
Working together was the best way of getting to know someone, their ethic and how creative they could be in a given situation. Plus he would get antsy just sitting around like a private eye, he wanted to get his hands dirty in some actual good work.
Be better, because what is the harm in trying?
Deranged X-Mas Figure
Barn
The bat became ever more panicked as Cole's sphere grew tighter and tighter, flapping its wings and clawing and biting as the walls drew closer. And yet, it still wasn't ready to give up the ghost.
Either he needed to play hardball, or they had to try a different tact.
Doctor Who — Long Way Around: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13536044/1/Doctor-Who-Long-Way-Around
Up on Melancholy hill.
Saori - Fighting Dreamers
Saori elected to hang around the back for the first time around.
It was one of her first instances of that whole racism thing. She knew that her kind, Supers, at any rate, got a bad rep and had heard a lot of stories from mom and dad in regards to how bad it could get, but having some fat guy with a shot gun and subtly threaten her friends and family was another step entirely.
She stayed in the back near Mikoto just in case they tried anything from behind but the rather uncouth statements about Nariko made he wanna jump to anything, but knew it would be a bad idea to leave her brothers side at the moment.
So with their information and a new goal in mind, she followed after Sam and chuckled a little bit.
"Hey, bright side, we didn't need to kill anyone?" She asked lamely, looking back forward and sighing.
God, this sucks that it hasn't gotten any BETTER.
Mason - Squad 3
"Uh, hey, Cole, buddy, big guy. Quick bit of advice, as much as I agree that subtle torture is a good way to get answers out of people, but this bat maaaaay need a different approach." He put a hand on his shoulder and approached the currently scrambling around in a panic.
Given the fact it was smart enough to send out an entire pack of bats at them, and strong enough to resists Cain's suggestion, this likely wasn't a normal bat, probably something more. He stroked his chin.
"Well one idea I have is maybe giving it some of my blood as a pseudo-peace offering. Another idea...well..." He looked over his shoulder at Cole. "I don't suppose you could, I dunno, psychically calm him down, read his mind?"
He looked back at the bat.
"Something that doesn't scare the fucking thing into thinking it's about to be paste?"
Is it selfish that I'm happy as we pass the setting sun?
AKA Nixer
Mikoto (Squad 1)
“It is a bright side,” Mikoto said firmly, before sighing and shaking his head as he worked the frown off of his face. He had done little else but glare furiously at the bigot the entire time, and felt the pressure release only once they were back out in the open. Despite it being technically just as bad.
“...God I wanted to strangle him. Is it okay for me to say that? 'Cause it don't feel okay,” Mikoto griped, calming his aura somewhat as it started to spike in anger just thinking about it. “Still... I hope we can do sonething to turn this around. It'll probably take a helluva lot of time, though...”
He glanced towards Nariko sympathetically, flicking his eyes momentarily down at his sister before moving alongside the ninja and lightly rubbing her shoulder.
“You um... you okay, Auntie Nari? That was pretty... that was pretty screwed up of them to just...”
Well that's... obvious.
Edited by Enirboreh on May 23rd 2020 at 5:24:06 PM
bork
Cole - Squad 3
Mason did admittedly have a point. And while he had no intention of actually pulping the bat, it was probably too scared now to give them much. "...Yeah you're right. But we're not doing blood peace offerings."
He relaxed his hand and let the sphere go back up to a larger size. Yeah, maybe trying to go into its mind would be a more productive tack to the forceful approach. Breathing and readying his mental powers, Cole started to try and push at the bat's mind, moving to try and calm it even so soon after ending the attempt with the tightening sphere.
Maybe with Cain there they could get something more out of it.
Sign on for this After The End Fantasy RP.
Breath of the Sun
Fighting Dreamers - Nariko
"Very well. Thank you for the information, sir." Nariko bowed to him, before turning to leave. "Come on guys. To Sam's Saloon. Hopefully we can stop this before it starts."
She began to walk way, leaning against Marcus as she did. Both to calm herself, and to calm him. She knew he cared for her. That he'd kill this man without hesitation in defense of her. Her teammates would probably do the same.
It was the knowledge that she had people who cared about her that allowed her to remain polite in the face of the man's hatred. She would never allow his hatred to overpower her love.
Nariko smiled as Mikoto rubbed her shoulder. "I'm fine, Mikoto. Like I said, I'm used to it." She looked down a moment. "My clan... being rats, even some other beastfolk look down on us. We're seen as lowly, and filthy. We've learned not to fight back. Doing so only makes it worse."
She sighed. "Thanks, everyone, for standing by me. It... really means a lot."
Iridium Wonders - Marah
"Never underestimate the stupidity of humans." Marah said, flatly. "Doesn't matter how suicidal it is. It won't dissuade them."
Marah gave the Daeva a sideways look as it began giving orders and asking questions. Notably, Mahvash did not address her at all. Perhaps it knew she was its better, and did not want to offend. Marah smiled slightly at the thought.
"I can watch the water supply." She said. "Even the lowliest demon has superhuman power. This saloon is packed full of creatures that can defend themselves. The water supply cannot defend itself. Stands to reason they'd attack there, not the social center."
Marah looked over at Iris a moment, before turning to Mahvash. "The rest of you can watch the town, or any other likely targets. I know you can teleport, Daeva, so you can get us where we need to be in a flash if things go south."
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Surrounded by weirdoes
Squad 1
"Stupidity has no cure" Sam said "With some people, you just do the work and move on, even if sometimes it's tempting to leave them their own mess to clean up or let them get knocked around before actually saving them"
He sighed "It's hard to see them as actually civilized. They'd fit more on the stone age or some old barbarian place where people just killed each other for spilled booze or something" He joked.
Squad 2
Ryuu nodded at the others.
"Want me to be an eye on the sky?" He asked. The anxiety was feeling stronger right now, and maybe flying could do some good for him.
Wake me up at your own risk.
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
IW - Devil's Corner
Mahvash coyly covered her mouth through her laughter at Holiday's impression. "My girl's still got it!" There wasn't really a wrong choice here so much as assuming a risk. "I suppose we haven't split the party in a while. We can work here and there and in-between."
And Marah did not mention her side thing with her demon then? Hn. "You said don't underestimate humans, dear." Mahvash nodded hand on her cheek and smiling brightly. "Besides, you started following us around after 3 very overmatched humans tried attacking a well-advertised super gathering. You have to think about different strategies when the attackers don't expect to live. Or are just that confident. Plus, modern weapons can kill all of us. Neglecting basic steps can get you sniped."
"All the same," she gently gestured to Holiday ushering her to stand up straight. "Holiday, your plan to watch the water and patrol the area works. And, you are the hero here. Ordering civilians around may be awkward but controlling situations is up to all of you. You're the only authority here. Iris can help you keep watch over fixed areas while you patrol. As subtly as you want, but I remind you that you've been in the news and you can't count on people not recognizing you. Ryuu, an eye in the sky would be great. If you spot something, between Holiday's drones and the world's cutest crawling eyes, you can send them to have a closer look. You don't have to leave your patrol spot. Nian, Holiday is adept at this work and she can keep you safe-ish. Also, between the four of you, you have the means to patch any damage that does happen. Marah sounds like she wants to follow you and don't forget the water supply isn't one thing. You can go as soon as you know where they are."
She folded her arms behind her back and leaned into Holiday's ear albeit giving her many inches of space. "Call me if you need anything. I'll do the same, and part of the benefit of being in this small space is that we can swap people around as we need them. Try to make sure everyone's patrols overlap, and keep track of how quickly they move so they don't patrol out further than a few minutes response time. More if you're comfortable with that." This is the field, but that didn't mean much. Well, there would be enough of them there to do their jobs if Marah proved too big a liability.
"Martin," Mahvash addressed the man last. "I can help with that. That's how we helped your father take down that east wall to make the pantry bigger..." She rolled her eyes at herself and hovered forward to lean just over him. "Here and now, we'd still have to get the patrons' input in any construction. They'll be using the bar after all."
Before any work though, "Demon," she spoke to Marah's friend tersely. "Do you have a water reservoir, a treatment plant locally, or water towers? And then where are they?"
She briefly turned and shrugged at Holiday with an small smile. "I kinda just said 'water tower'."
Edited by CenturyEye on May 24th 2020 at 11:32:48 AM
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Vivian Squad 3-At The Barn
As Cole continued squeezing the bat, Vivian felt a prickle of unease. Backing off from the group of Cole, Iona and the newly-arrived Cain, she decided to circle the structure to see if there were any more surprises. She nodded to her teammates and tried to indicate her plan with hand gestures. They might get ambushed. Or their opponent might be sneaking out the back door now that their alarm had been tripped. Who had it been set up to stop? Obviously there were outside agitators in town unless there was a sizable vampire population here. If that was the case, they might need to issue some apologies. Well, Cain would be handy in that area.
Deranged X-Mas Figure
Water Tower
While there were several sources of water in town, the biggest and most notable was a large water tower right in the center, shooting up like an oversized fire hydrant. It was guarded by a haggard old ghoul on one side and a wrinkled old man on the other, in one of the rare shows of cooperation between the opposing districts.
The ghoul was hunched over, small and scrawny with only a few loose strands of hair covering its clammy grey head. It didn't say a word, instead looking down on the town below as if passing judgment. It occasionally hocked a loogie at random passerby, giggling like a loon before resuming its' stony gaze.
The old man was completely out of it. He was dressed in tattered rags with a worn eyepatch on his left side. His right leg had been amputated, replaced with a protesthic, and he was missing about half his teeth. He rocked back and forth in his chair, mumbling to himself in whispers and half-truths, about how the town was a bunch of liars and scoundrels and out to get him. Half the town wondered why he was even there, and the only answer anyone could think of was pity.
Either way, the water tower was hiding in plain sight. Which meant it was target number one.
God help them.
Edited by kkhohoho on May 25th 2020 at 9:39:30 AM
Doctor Who — Long Way Around: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13536044/1/Doctor-Who-Long-Way-Around
(They/them)
Synesthesia — The Barn (Squad 3)
Gita gave a nod in... probable understanding. They were still working on non-verbal cues. Nonetheless, they followed after Vivian carefully. Gita then decided to slide on their headphones and put on a tune at low volume that would make them float a bit. The last thing they needed was to step on an inconveniently-placed twig and give everyone away.
Edited by Akkun_K on May 25th 2020 at 12:36:34 PM
If I die, tell Hex Haywire I loved him.
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
IW - Devil's Corner
Mahvash gave Holiday a wave as she took her splinter group off. Well, it was most everyone. Funny that it was an actual water tower. For her part, Holiday could rely on Ryuu and Iris. Nianzhen seemed helpful and useful.
"Martin," She started. "Hi." she simply appeared from waving the team off to the man. "Quick question: why do you want to focus on renovating this bar here?" Because he was here and could help obviously but... Well, he was restarting under different circumstances. Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
An Ordinary Oddball
Cain (3)
"Okay, Cole, you need to stop—well, thank you," said the vampire patriarch as Cole relaxed the bubble around the bat-thing. Cain wasn't even sure this thing was one of his, given that his gaze hadn't affected it much, but that was probably the result of it being half-blind in daylight. Probably. The rest of the bats still retreated, though.
"Shh, shh," he soothed as he approached the bat-thing, holding up both hands to show that he wasn't armed, while still trying to stare into the thing's eyes as much as he could. "Didn't mean to startle you. Calm down. If you answer a few questions of ours, we'll let you go, okay? Do you understand? Nod if you understand."
Edited by JumpingFruit on May 25th 2020 at 2:00:41 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.
Squad 3 - Iona - Hell
Well, Adana had been small and rustic, but this place just took the cake. She didn't want to stay any longer than necessary, especially with the looks she was being given. In another time, they would've sparked rage, but now? Iona wore the ire cast her way with pride. She was through with trying to appease the stigmas of others.
"Let's get this over with them."
Cole's message about the barn came through loud and clear, and Iona made her way through the streets, head held high.
Let them stare all they want. I'm not going to bother with them.
The Barn
Of course, as she arrived things were already starting to get batshit insane.
"Cole! Hold on!"
Black wings dived towards her, of course, only for a powerful gust of wind to catch in their membranes and blow them back. Iona raised one arm into the air, index finger extended to the sky and spinning in a circle. The winds changed course, starting to whirl around following her finger. Next, her hand, then her entire arm, the wind devil growing larger and more forceful.
"Try flying in this!"
She stamped one foot on the ground, pillars of earth wrapping around Cole's legs in an ironclad grip, her hand coming down to point at the swarm of bats engulfing the psychic, the whirlwind flying across the ground towards them, looking to catch their tiny wings in the violent winds.
Edited by UndyingPhoenix on May 17th 2020 at 4:53:08 PM