AKA Nixer
Mikoto – Cat's Cradle (Squad 1)
“Guess she's changed a lot more than we thooouuuuuuuaaaaaaaa–”
Both Mikoto's brain and tongue shut down at the exact same time upon him registering Sam's presence and his question. Saori's nigh-immediate hug towards the cryokinetic seemed to snap him out of his trance, and with a bubbling laugh he too wrapped his lanky arms around him—an all-too-familiar foxlike grin on his face before he pulled back and bounced excitedly for a moment on the balls of his feet.
For all intents and purposes, he had retained some behaviours from when he was a pup.
“Great to see you, Uncle Sam,” he said warmly, echoing his sister unintentionally as he gave him that typical shut-eyed smile that Yoko always seemed to flash. “Nothing fazes you, huh...?” he added in a more teasing tone.
The other who had approached them seemed to exude a strange aura, and it was enough for Mikoto to glance at Sam confusedly for a moment before turning his attention to him. Werefolk? He supposed that was kind of right, if you stretched the definition...
“Mhm. She's right. We're hanyō,” he nodded—showing off his sharp teeth a moment along with his slitted vulpine eyes. Cheekily, he also ruffled Saori's ears for a brief moment before rapidly shrinking away and moving to hide behind Sam for protection. “Don't blame you if you don't recognize us! We were only born like... three, four years ago?”
It was a bizarre existence, he thought. He couldn't complain though. It hadn't been like they'd missed anything for it—in fact the opposite. And they'd learnt just as fast as they'd needed to proportionately to their age. Having immortal parents only bolstered this.
Plus, it was fun to screw around with people about it.
bork
An Ordinary Oddball
Cain—Squad 2
Cain nodded. “Should have known you were hanyo. My apologies,” he said. Then he started looking over Sam. “This one’s definitely one of mine, though.”
He picked his teeth. “I’m Cain. Good to meet you two. I assume you’ll be joining us for future endeavors?” he asked, before cracking a smile. “This isn’t a terribly good time for it, to be honest. But I knew your parents. Saw ‘em around, anyhow. Looked like a happy couple. Don’t go making them sad by getting yourselves in too much trouble, that’s all I’ll say about it.”
“Learn to ask for help, y’hear? From each other, Sam here, or someone else. Or you’ll find yourselves rotting in the gutter before you can regret it,” finished Cain, mentally kicking himself for sounding ominous. He just wanted to give good advice to the young folks, that was all.
Wilma—Squad 3
“I’d like to hear you talk about your home,” said Wilma, suddenly solemn. “If that’s alright.”
“The years pass by so quickly,” she noted. “I wonder who we might have befriended, given half a chance in different circumstances. Don’t you ever worry about that too, Cole? Do you ever worry about how your story’s supposed to go, how it’s supposed to end? It troubles me sometimes. Being blithe is getting hard.”
Edited by JumpingFruit on Apr 10th 2020 at 3:12:54 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.
Breath of the Sun
Squad 1 - Nariko
It seemed that Marcus had calmed down, at least for the moment. Though she knew he'd still have doubts, she also knew that she'd be there for him. Nariko hadn't been lying, when she said she wouldn't let him be a monster.
As Marcus settled down to hydrate, Nariko ordered another tequila shot and downed it in one gulp. That's three. She noted. ...or was it four? No, definitely three. That probably wasn't a good sign. But she didn't feel buzzed, so she reassured herself it was an honest mistake.
She felt the faint chill as Sam entered, and smiled at the familiar face. Rising from the bar, she headed towards him. "I'm gonna go say hi, babe." She told Marcus.
An instant later she had crossed the distance between them, raising a hand in greeting.
"Hey Sam. It's good to see you. And you too, Mikoto." Then she looked at the half-fox that was hugging him, held out her arms, smiling mischievously. "Hi, little Saori. Does Aunt Nari get a hug too?"
At the same time, she gave Cain a quick nod. She hadn't actually known him, personally, but he seemed like a decent guy. Which was odd, given he was supposedly the inventor of murder or something (being raised Shinto she'd never actually read the bible, so her knowledge was secondhand), but he chose to be a hero, so he had clearly repented about any evil urges.
Squad 2 - Marah
Marah had felt the Daeva's presence halfway through Iris's stuttered speech. A towering woman with vantablack hair wasn't hard to miss, at any rate, but Marah was now intrigued by the girl's shyness. She had all night to deal with the Daeva.
For now, she let her hair drop and her aura lessen, and smiled bitterly at Iris's complement. "You shouldn't. My hair is just like your eyes. A 'gift' that's really a curse. I'm a human, like you, but with a Daeva bound into my hair. It grants me power, and yet..."
She raised one of her hands and looked at it. The markings on her skin shifted as she did, glowing faintly.
"Every time I see the wards etched on my skin, it reminds me of what I've lost." Marah sighed. "Of course, I can at least pretend to be human, albeit one covered in ink. You must have it much worse. All those eyes mark you clearly as Ahl'kuur's plaything."
Marah downed the last of her wine, raising a finger at the bartender to silently request another glass. "You must be strong, to live with that. I don't know if I'd be able to, if I was in your place."
Edited by kagescorpionakki on Apr 10th 2020 at 6:49:54 AM
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Vivian
She raised an eyebrow at Mahvash's entrance, then did a slow pan of the club.
Of course Nariko and Marcus are getting cuddly. Iris and Holiday blend in a little better and Cole's music is...memorable. Iris is talking to someone new and Sam's with two somehow familiar faces, though I don't think I've met them before now. Cain and Wilma, check. A lot of new people too...hopefully they'd stay around enough to make an impression. An automatic part of her mind started matching faces to possible mug shots, but she shut it down after a moment. No. Let everyone have a fun night before we all have to get back to life. Back to reality. And besides busting heads right now wouldn't be great if we have to work together later.
She shrugged, finished her Zombie, and then turned to see Mason making vaguely rhythmic motions on the dance floor. Now that's a crime. I should just arrest him now before anyone else gets hurt.
Surrounded by weirdoes
Squad 1
“Always nice to see you, kiddos” Sam said, with a smile, hugging the twins “I wouldn’t forget about you as long as I live, and I just decided to roll with whatever life throws at me” He said.
Seeing these kids just made him smile, even if there was a bit of a weight coming to him, as a few promises came back to mind.
Percy As it is, the future has probably changed a fair bit, and in all honesty, he had doubted he’ll live long enough to really fall in love, let alone start a family. But as time marches forward, and him being in love and seeing more of a tomorrow he wanted to reach, he couldn’t help but wonder whether he’d ever have kids, whether Percy would be in there and if he could be a father at all. And his own blood becomes ice at the thought.
But he could only strengthen his resolve. And to protect Saori and Mikoto with all he had to give.
Shaking his head to Cain, he showed a rather ironic smile.
“Feeling dramatic, aren’t you, Gramps?” He asked, jokingly, he didn’t know if to raise spirits or to mess with an old man, but he just needed to say something.
Nariko’s arrival came as a surprise, but he just greeted her effusively.
“Great to have you with us, Nari” He said.
At least things fit in this chaotic, insane world.
Edited by Blueace on Apr 10th 2020 at 10:54:32 AM
Wake me up at your own risk.
AKA Nixer
Holiday – Cat's Cradle (Squad 2)
“Our Fair Druj returns,” Holiday noted with a hum, getting up and giving Locke a lazy salute before strolling towards the gathered group with her hands clasped lightly behind her back. “Hello, Mahvash. Looking lovely. Vivian, same to you. Ryuu, christ you got tall. And Martin, I'm Holiday. A pleasure.”
To meet you, she added mentally, but in a cheeky way she felt it wasn't necessary to clarify her meaning. Plus, she was introducing herself to someone now. Turning her attention fully to Martin, she let her smile turn softer and more gentle, and with a knowing glance to Mahvash she elected to give him at least an ounce of a clue.
“Are you faring well, Martin? Yes, I'm an acquaintance of yours. I was being retrofitted and repaired before, so I couldn't meet you sooner,” she shrugged, her regulated tone perfectly hiding the actual guilt she felt regarding it. “Nonetheless! We're here now. It's nice to meet faces old and new. Not that I could do much else here.”
With a discreet raise of her arm Tom scuttled back to her from the bar, clambering up her leg before settling himself back into his usual housing. She wondered how much of this would outright disturb Martin. He had lost a good chunk, after all.
Edited by Enirboreh on Apr 10th 2020 at 3:30:26 PM
bork
Professionally unprofessional.
Well, that was interesting, to say the least. Don't think I've ever met someone like that while considering getting drunk. Locke thought to himself as Holiday got up and left. "I need to get my drinking in order, I really shouldn't be drinking every single time I come here," Locke said to himself as he got up and stretched a bit. Wonder what all those people are doing over there... Locke thought to himself as he noticed the group gathering.
Locke pulled out his phone to check the time, only to find out it was dead. "Well, that isn't the slightest problem," Locke said as he used his electrokinesis to charge his phone, a few extra small sparks flying out due to his impatience.
Edited by dusk0bish on Apr 10th 2020 at 12:09:40 PM
(They/them)
Gita — Cat's Cradle (Squad 3)
As kept the light show going, Gita looked out over the crowd, taking in the buzzing energy permeating throughout the club. It was then that they noticed that some of the clubgoers looked...familiar. Then they remembered hearing about a superhero gathering was happening that night.
Gita remembered seeing one of the guys on the dancefloor taking down an airship on the news a couple years ago. Another one was a woman at the bar surrounded by floating eyes who they remembered seeing fighting while giant-sized like something out of a kaiju movie. Yet another one was a man who fought an ACTUAL kaiju. And wait: isn't that the guy who finished off the leader of the Saviors? And THE Paragon?!
Gita was so distracted from counting all the heroes they recognized that they tuned out the music they were playing, causing their light globules to go out. They were promptly brought back to reality by various cries of, "What happened to the lights?!" Frantically apologizing, Gita brought back the projections as they transitioned to the next song.
Edited by Akkun_K on Apr 10th 2020 at 1:42:59 PM
If I die, tell Hex Haywire I loved him.
King among Xanas
Squad 2-Martin
Despite his nerves it seemed the people who had known him before were willing to take things slow, it was actually pretty nice. But there was a small moment of oddity that those who had worked alongside him would have noticed. Martin was always the type to wear his heart on his sleeve, and without three years worth of experience learning to be a bit better at it that was the case here. And the moment Mahvash appeared his smile dipped, and his body language became a bit less open. It was the same kind of stance he tended to use when trying to talk with a villain. But despite that he gave a small smile to her. "Hi Mahvash, I've uh, heard a bit about you."
Thankfully Ryuu's question saved him from any explanation, a happy grin coming across his face. "They started me out doing some light patrol work with other heroes with lower priority, but I kept outpacing them and they ended up fully reinstating me. Turns out training sticks with you, something about muscle memory."
Holiday was someone else he had been told quite a bit about, through he couldn't believe just how human she came off with such an easy going attitude. But at least he had enough tact to know saying something like that would come off as rude. Any significantly advanced program should be treated just the same as anyone else. Same rule applied for aliens, outer beings, and the supernatural. "Its okay, and that goes for everyone. I've been training and sleeping for almost an entire year so I could get back to helping people. You guys had much more important work to be doing then hanging out with someone who had to relearn a bunch of stuff."
Be better, because what is the harm in trying?
Where am I? What's going on?
Iris - Squad 2
"Wha?" Iris needed a minute to process the woman's words. There were... a few things there that were just... wrong... or only partially right. She was projecting, definitely.
"I... um, I'm not strong as much as, uh, I was born with my eyes... It sometimes wasn't easy, but it's all I've ever really known... b-besides, I don't know how humans handle only being able to look one direction at a time. It would drive me crazy..."
She took a deep breath. She had to think about how she worded this next part so that it actually made sense.
"And... that's another thing... you said you were a human like me... but I'm not a human. I haven't been for years, if I ever was one in the first place... It's, uh, the me you're looking at, right now... is an illusion... I don't, uh, exist here... honestly, I don't know how this works..."
Okay, bad start.
"I'm a... actually, does my species have a name...? Whatever Ahl'kuur is, I'm one too. Old God? … I'm only 18, and 'God' sounds super pretentious... Oh! Sorry, sorry, back on topic! I'm something that exists in 8, uh, dimensions... so realistically I shouldn't be able to, uh... 'fit' here... I guess..."
She shook her head.
"Ugh, that's beside the point! I'll, uh, admit to being Ahl'kuur's plaything... and that's definitely not ideal, but as long as it gives me the strength to protect the people who accepted me... I'm at peace with it."
Deranged X-Mas Figure
Cat's Cradle
Just as everyone was starting to get into the mood and get to know everyone a little better, there was a commotion from the bar. A small, surly robot had suddenly started banging an empty oilcan on a frying pan, waltzing around the place like an inebriate as it shouted to the heavens in a resoundingly drunken monotone.
"ATTENTION PUNY FLESHINGS! APPARENTLY THERE IS SUPPOSED TO BE A MEETING, AND AT MEETINGS YOU GET FREE BOOZE! OR AT LEAST THAT IS WHAT LADY ARMADA TOLD ME! AND I AM ALL OUT OF BOOZE! SO GET INTO THE MEETING ROOM AND START YOUR INTRICATE CONVERSATIONS OR SEXUAL ORGIES OR WHATEVER IT IS YOU INFERIOR BEINGS DO TO KEEP YOURSELVES FROM SHUTTING DOWN OUT OF BOREDOM! LORD CLANKYBOTTOMS DEMANDS IT!"
Edited by kkhohoho on Apr 11th 2020 at 1:47:30 PM
Doctor Who — Long Way Around: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13536044/1/Doctor-Who-Long-Way-Around
Squad 3 - Cat's Cradle - Iona
As luck would have it, Iona chose that exact moment to step through the door, dressed rather plainly as always in her jacket, shirt, jeans and sneakers, a handbag slung across her shoulder. A smile tugged at the edge of her mouth.
"Well, there goes my rum and coke. Pity, but oh well."
It's been the better half of a year since she'd seen most of her old friends, having taken off on another tour around the world to get back into the swing of things with her magic. But this time, things were different. There was a real, meaningful purpose behind her study. Now, the worse half of a year later, there was a relaxed confidence in her stride, most of the strict haughtyness gone. The air itself felt more alive and fresh even in the crowded nightclub, every sound crisp and clear. She looked through the crowd, spotting Wilma, Mason and Cole. She gave a wave and a "Hello" to the former two, before walking over to Cole.
"Hello Cole. It's been a while, hasn't it?" She gave him a curt nod as would be expected from her, but there was a subtle softness to her face and voice now.
Deranged X-Mas Figure
Cat's Cradle
Suddenly there was a loud explosion like a bang of thunder. A massive laser blew through the doorway, burning it to pieces and reducing the entire front wall to rubble. A gaggle of pixies were caught in the blast, blown away like gnats. Their wings were torn to shreds and their garments were reduced to tatters, but they were still breathing.
But only just.
Hovering in front of the freshly made entrance was a man sitting atop a giant shotgun. It floated in mid-air perfectly still, though it was aimed at the nearest bystander its rider set eyes on.
As for the rider himself, he looked like your garden variety southern hick. He was wearing a pair of patched-up jeans and a plaid shirt, with only some light armor for protection. He tilted up his hunting cap as he scratched his stubble, before cleaning his teeth with a toothpick.
"Well, nice evening, ain't it?" He spoke with a heavy Southern drawl. One could almost swear he was Kentucky fried just listening to him. "Course, it ain't so nice for you." As he spoke, two more hicks atop massive shotguns flew towards the other ends of the entrance, each accompanied by a horde of garden variety rifles and pistols. And all still floating.
"But where are mah manners? Pleased to meetcha'! Name's Buckshot Bill!" He gestured towards his associates. "And these here are my boys! Tuckshot Till and Killshot Krill!" They both tipped up their own hats as they greeted the crowd, though both of them didn't seem much better than their boss.
"Now, ya might be wonderin' what we're all doin' in this fine establishment. Well, just so happens that this place is a helluva gatherin' ground for people of all stripes. Assumin' we can call some of y'all 'people'." He glared at the pixies, his gaze so intense that one could swear he wished they were dead. "Point bein', we've got a problem with that. See, a year ago, this city was driven to the brink by a bunch of supers. Blown the fuck up, matter of fact. And the year before that, bunch of nonhuman bastards went and caused untold chaos and mayhem before finally attackin' a damned school. Course, there's a bunch of other stuff too. Stealin' our jobs. Lordin' it over us. Thinkin' they know better than us. And you all ordinary humans here, hangin' around regardless of what they are? You're no better."
He spat at the pixies. They were small enough that it was like being walloped by a water balloon. If they weren't already unconscious, it would've hurt like hell. "So. Far as we can see, there's only one solution. Kill them before they kill us. Startin' with you."
Suddenly their rifles were blasting away, big and small, shooting up everyone and everything in their sights. Lasers blasted tables and shattered glasses, burnt through the walls and the ceiling, turning the whole place into a warzone. And if no-one acted soon, countless innocent civilians would follow.
Edited by kkhohoho on Apr 12th 2020 at 2:30:33 PM
Doctor Who — Long Way Around: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13536044/1/Doctor-Who-Long-Way-Around
An Ordinary Oddball
Cain—Squad 2
Cain says nothing to the madmen with the guns and dives for the smaller folk in the building, scooping the pixies up with his hands and rushing them to safety. He feels laser wounds bloom all across his body but he isn’t about to give up just yet. He’d let the madmen kill themselves. That was what murder was.
He continues going back and forth from the little people who need help and the back exits, ducking behind tables and chairs and just taking shots as needed and letting his vampiric powers and regeneration take care of the rest.
Wilma—Squad 3
As soon as she sees the guns come out, Wilma yanks Cole and Iona down by their collars and surveys the situation. Guns were terribly deadly weapons. They would be handy to have in this situation, but too bad she wasn’t carrying any because they were uncivilized weapons. This massacre just confirmed her suspicions about guns.
Several paper menus folded themselves into bird shapes and started assaulting the gunmen upside the head and otherwise making a nuisance out of themselves. Numerous posters ripped themselves off of the walls and wrapped themselves around people to act as makeshift armor and scooped them to safety.
Wilma turned to Cole and Iona, sweating hard. If they wanted to help her, now was the time to do it.
Edited by JumpingFruit on Apr 11th 2020 at 5:47:58 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.
King among Xanas
Squad 2-Martin
The moment the wall blew inward Martin's instincts took over, putting himself between the shrapnel and the people around him. If he was his past self he might not have bothered, knowing that there wasn't anyone around him that would be actually worried about a little bit of broken stone and wood. Still he didn't waste much time once the lasers started flying, his legs pushing against the ground and rocketing him toward the leader, his arms crossing over himself and allowing his enhanced body to take the blows that might have pierced a normal human while leaving only bruises on his skin.
It hurt like hell and he wasn't about to deny that, if put under concentrated fire for too long that pain was going to break past any amount of training. "I'm going to have to ask you to put down your weapons and surrender, if you do so quietly I can ensure that the law won't treat you harshly." despite saying that he was ready to fight. Even fifty percent would be enough for this sort of fight.
Be better, because what is the harm in trying?
Cole - Squad 3
Cole was actually surprised as Wilma took the sudden initiative and yanked him down even as he readied his psychic shields at the first signs of mayhem ensuing. He didn't exactly need the assistance, and had started revving up to get to doing something. He had admittedly gotten the inclination that probably with so many of them gathered here tonight they wouldn't get to just peacefully enjoy their drinks. But for a bunch of hicks with huge guns to show up?
"Wilma, please. I appreciate the concern, but I'm not the person to need the defense." Cole then leaped out from where Wilma had pulled him, psychic shields readied.
He nonchalantly began walking out from Wilma's defensive position.
"Now, as for the cast and crew of Duck Dynasty over here..." Cole started and looked at the three of them with a slight smirk, "Guys," Several laser shots whirred and stopped and spun around Cole's person as he advanced, the new laser rings around Cole deflecting other shots, "Maybe you forgot, but I've fought Gods, Demons, a giant ink serpent..."
He stood there for a minute letting his shields take over, aiming to distract while the others got their acts together.
"Do not make me beat the living crap outta you tonight. Lay down and I won't shove those guns where the sun don't shine."
Marcus - Squad 1
Figured it'd end with violence.
Marcus pulled behind some corners of the club and when he heard people moaning, in pain and the pixies and various customers here hurt, barely hanging on to life, it was all Marcus could do to stop himself from just snapping right to beating the life out of these thugs. Looked like Cole was stepping forward. Marcus tried to remember what Nariko told him...
He noted one of the laser shots had grazed his shirt and ruined it.
Biting his lip and taking off the apparel, he looked down at his hands and got ready. He needed, once again, to take it to the main guy. And beat the life out of him. He shook his head, but he knew that right now they needed him to fight. To hurt. To beat these guys.
I remember seeing Messiah shatter in front of me. And the sheer satisfaction I got, watching that loathsome bastard break into a million pieces.
Marcus then broke into a run, fully engaging his powers, a neutral look starting to tug toward a light smile on his face as he went right for the leader of the three hicks. He knew he could take what they could dish out with the Saint's powers and...the other stuff he picked up. He went to try and kick the tremendous shotgun to pieces.
I live for this now, it seems. It's what I'm good at. He didn't even particularly care when Martin tried to make some sort of deal with the crooks.
Edited by NickTheSwing on Apr 11th 2020 at 6:11:35 AM
Sign on for this After The End Fantasy RP.
AKA Nixer
Holiday – Cat's Cradle (Squad 2)
Holiday wasn't sure if her auditory sensors were malfunctioning or her usually calculated internal thoughts had been overtaken by cynical bias. Deciding not to dwell on it, she wordlessly deployed her own arm-mounted launcher and lobbed both a flashbang and a tear gas grenade in the general direction of the threats—idly noting that their entrance had positioned them away from their intended targets.
Which was a hilariously stupid move.
“Everyone out!” she commanded as soon as the lasers began flying, heightening her vocal volume almost to the max to make sure her message rang clear over the din of the shots. With that done she began to zigzag and dart towards the trio, intending herself to be a closer target so as to spare as much attention from the others in the room as possible. Retracting her skin plating and pushing her thicker armour to the surface, she aimed to crush the closest one's weapon once she got to them. Something Marcus also seemed to be doing as well. She sent a nod to him to keep morale up. Not that he would've been able to entertain seeing it given the current situation.
It was a shame, too. She'd have had further words with Martin. Like ‘don't be ridiculous we were all pretty useless’. Except that wouldn't have been encouraging. Or ‘no we were busy too doing cleanup and important stuff’. Which was even less encouraging.
...Maybe a distraction was good. Morbid as it was.
Mikoto – Cat's Cradle (Squad 1)
“Oh, crap!” Mikoto breathed in horror, floundering a moment confusedly before remembering himself and casting a barrier of translucent foxfire in front of him and the others as quickly as possible. With this momentary shield in place to deflect the laser blasts, he glanced back at the others—gaze eventually falling to Saori.
A somewhat grim, watery smile made it onto his face as he looked at her, and he nodded determinedly.
“Sic 'em.”
It was what she did best.
Excluding that, he turned forward again and punched out a section of barrier for use as an improvised projectile—remotely moulding it into a more solid shape as he aimed to stagger one of the potential shooters with it. Because of this intent to shock it was weak enough for him to have faith that it wouldn't hurt anybody else by accident, and that they should be able to shrug it off.
He hoped. He didn't actually know for sure. He didn't much like fighting, so he was a little sloppy out of hesitation. He prayed that Saori and the others could pick up after any mess he made.
Edited by Enirboreh on Apr 11th 2020 at 2:35:04 PM
bork
Vivian-Cat's Cradle
She'd rolled her eyes at the small robot's noisy proclamation and paused for only a moment to wave at Iona and grab her Mudslide before ambling into the next room. Vivian was polite enough to hold the door open for everyone to enter before stepping through herself and leaning against the back wall. The booze isn't so surprising, I suppose. I'm more interested in how he learned to promote himself to "Lord" Clankybottom."
Vivian was just about to pull out her phone and half-listen to whatever plan someone (Armada?) was going to lay out in front of them when the wall burst inwards and three fellows on floating guns came in blazing. She instantly ducked behind a table and did a quick recon.
Most of us have gotten behind cover. Good. Of course, Cole, Marcus, and Martin are playing target practice. If any of them ever lose their powers, that's going to be a dangerous habit. She peeked out and felt a laser zip over her head. Ok. Too close for the bow. Too far for the sword. Good thing I take a page from the Boy Scouts.
Reaching into a pocket, she pulled out a handful of ball bearings and a thin strip with a wider saddle. Without looking, she popped one orb into the middle and began spinning it in a circle. Standing in a near crouch, she whipped it in a flat arc towards the gunmen. At this speed, it shouldn't kill them. Viv bobbed down, slipped another ball into the sling and then stood up to fire another projectile. At the same time, she took in her teammates to see if anyone else was making a move.
(They/them)
Gita — Cat's Cradle (Squad 3)
Gita nearly toppled over from the force of the wall being blasted over, the balls of light dispersing upon the arrival of Buckshot Bill's gang. They could not believe what they were seeing. Gita knew that tensions between non-powered people and superhumans/non-humans were high, but they never thought someone would stoop so low as to attack innocents, nor did they think they'd be there to see it. Gita knew they had to do something.
As the next song
started playing, Gita started summoning balls of magenta light that started morphing into copies of themself, with most of them forming a human (erm, so to speak) chain around the clubgoers while another group of them dropkick one of the giant shotguns on one side in an attempt to knock them all over.
Edited by Akkun_K on Apr 11th 2020 at 11:28:12 AM
If I die, tell Hex Haywire I loved him.
Nianzhen - Cat's Cradle (Squad 2)
"Well, well, well. Someone finally took the opportunity to crash our little party..."
And that they did. Nianzhen hadn't exactly expected them to be grandiose country bumpkins riding in on invisible tanks. He supposed that fed into the idea of being stupid enough to choose a target filled to the brim with superheroes, though.
A lighthearted wink cast aside to the pajama-clad man next to him—"Looks like we'll have to save this for another time,"—he turns to assess the situation. A few other heroes were ganging up on the triad already. That would be more than enough to stop them later, but with the hailstorm of incoming lead flying haphazardly at the civilians, none of them could really put in full effort when it came to taking its sources down.
As much as he'd like to give his psychokinesis a short test run on them, this was obviously not good. The first priority would be the innocents.
Nianzhen waves a hand flippantly behind him; a translucent crimson screen soon appears in the empty space, for bullet shells to promptly implode against it and fall to the ground still crackling. Knowing his energy wouldn't hold up that long, he directs his attention towards a lone cluster of clubgoers nearby clinging to each other in morbid curiosity, in spite of the shrieking and shattering glass.
"All of you, out. Now." His tone is purposefully a strained sort of gentle, but commanding. The woman heading the stragglers seems to shrink as that pair of stern eyes levels with hers and pulls the rest of them along, cocktail dress and all hastily disappearing from view behind the flooding exit. Perhaps to say "you don't need to tell me twice".
He scoffs to himself in irritation.
Léo - Cat's Cradle (Squad 3)
Of course, the very moment Leo begins to get restless is when the great lucid Santa decides shit has to hit the fan blades straight on.
Surely there was some sick god of fate out there enjoying this suffering, he thinks, seeing the searing laser obliterate the entryway. He could've sworn he felt his gut literally sink at that. The feline boy takes a moment to dope slap himself on the cheeks to make sure he hadn't just nodded off...or that it (hopefully) wasn't the result of something in his drink.
This gets followed up with a burst of deafening gunshots aimed at a group of pixies, however, and Leo quickly feels himself bristle. The drawling speech-spouting lunatic was preparing to fire off another round into the room now—he had to think fast, or the damage would only pile up, which was the last thing anyone wanted.
Pull yourself together, dammit, Leonardo. There has to be something you can do.
He dives out of his seat and headfirst into the rising chaos, rushing not towards the enemies, but rather in the direction of the confused mass of clubgoers. While they'd more than likely be too panicked to listen to a word he said in their state (and in scope of the ridiculous clash going on right there, would've sounded meager anyway), what was in his ability at the moment was lessening the casaulties. He makes for a drunken patron knocked flat over the bar corner, hoisting him by the shoulders; the man manages to stagger to his feet with his help and him in tow, Leo bounds as fast as he can for the door.
Following the same process person-after-person—at least with those who couldn't help themselves in the first place, there were plenty of screaming bystanders sprinting away already—he could only hope this situation would get taken care of before the next wave of disaster came crashing down.
Well, that’d be jus’ a waste. Why would ya want to deprive the world of such anomaly as yourself?
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
IW - Look Who's Coming to Dinner
"I know." An answer that suited both Holiday's and Martin's words. That wasn't enough though. Mahvash did pay attention to Martin's behavior. That was a kinda different reaction than stunned.
She didn't even turn around when the wall blew, but observed the usual suspects rushing past. For one thing the gunmen were out of position. Where they hers? Iris's 'friend' had not been overtly threatening their most adorable squadmate. And the girl didn't seem to be doing anything to take advantage of the explosion. Right now.
"We'll have words later then," she said it simply watching Martin pass. They might eventually get to the list of people all claiming to be his archenemy. She had Pictionary for that.
"And watch yourselves," she reminded her wonders as she moved on to investigating the surroundings. "The last time this happened, it was a cover for stealing a dragonball." And our paragon also got himself shot. "Then the time before that, it was a frame-up."
"Ryuu," Mahvash started, to get the man's attention over the crowd. He had to be used to this. "There's more than a half dozen people all charging for the same clump of gunmen. You may have to watch Holiday's and Martin's backs from gunmen and the others." Cain being hit was his tactic.
One of the foxes set up a shield. As had the DJ. Huh. A people chain.... Mahvash herself drifted forward deliberately before disappearing into the dark of the club and set up to do what she mentioned to Ryuu, pull the duo out of the fire if something went fubar. 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
Breath of the Sun
Squad 1 - Nariko
Greetings were suddenly and rudely interrupted by the presence of three men with very large, inexplicably floating guns.
They looked completely ridiculous, but weapons were still weapons. Shedding her dress in an instant, Nariko made for the civilians, grabbing those closest to danger and pulling them out of the line of fire.
Once she was certain she had an opening, Nariko darted towards the three hillbillies. They'd perceive only a blur, as Nariko delivered three fierce, high-speed throat punches, one to each villain, before going back to saving innocents.
She wasn't certain if the men had any kind of enhanced durability, so she'd pulled her punches, striking with just enough force to leave a normal human gasping for air. Hopefully that would buy her boyfriend and the other bricks enough time to make a move.
Squad 2 - Marah
"Hm." Marah seemed amused at Iris's answer. "You may have been born with it, but you were still born, in I assume the traditional manner. Likely you were altered while still in the womb."
As the bartender refilled her glass, she looked down at the red liquid, imagining it to be blood flowing through her veins. "But that doesn't make you any less human. As you said yourself, you desire to protect those precious to you. Only a human, a real person, can desire that. Regardless of form or features, what makes someone human..."
Marah pressed a hand to her chest. "Is what lies within. Even if you can't make your body real again, you will always be human." Her smiled turned bitter. "That is why that thing, Mahvash, confounds me. It is not human; it cannot care for anything but itself. So why, then, does it seek to be a hero?"
At that exact moment, a wall was blasted down. Marah cursed, downing her glass in one pull. "We'll talk philosophy later, I suppose."
Rising from her stool, her hair once more rose, and began to grow, flowing down and across the floor, weaving between bystanders' legs, yet strangely never tripping them. As though it was flat as a shadow. Marah's markings began to glow a dull red, flowing across her skin like water.
By the time Buckshot Bill finished talking, the hair had reached the floating weapons, and it sprung forth like tendrils, latching onto the guns and covering the barrels with void. Those weapons that it caught were rendered useless, as any further shots vanished into nothingness. The tendrils pulled the guns down into the central mass, erasing them entirely.
At the same time, Marah raised a shield in front of herself, to protect her from any counterattacks. She kept an eye on the man who had tried to get the villains to surrender. Paragon, he'd been called. Martin Snow. An idealistic fool... and perhaps the closest man to the Saint left in this world.
Mhm, he's quite the hunk. Marah put a finger to her lips as she eyed Martin up and down. And it's so cute how he thinks idiots like this will surrender. I'll have to get to know him, later.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Deranged X-Mas Figure
Cat's Cradle
Buckshot scoffed at Martin's plea. "I got a better idea. You stand down, and you can walk away scott-free. Course, can't say the same for most everyone else here. But you can't save everyone, can you?"
He pressed another button on his device. Suddenly the room was split into three parts. The heroes were roughly paired into three groups, with each one having a different hick to tackle. Tuckshot Till was raising hell in the first partition, while Killshot Krill was sniping down anyone he could in the second. And Buckshot Bill merely sneered in the third.
"Gotta love Redtech. Does a body good." He kissed his watch before staring down whoever happened to be standing in front of him. "Now. Who wants some?"
Doctor Who — Long Way Around: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13536044/1/Doctor-Who-Long-Way-Around
AKA Nixer
Holiday – Cat's Cradle (Squad 2)
...Alright... Plan B then...
Electing to retreat back to her squad once the barriers raised up, Holiday launched a couple of smoke grenades (and a flashbang for good measure) to obscure Killshot's vision for a moment before backpedaling to the others. Setting up a defensive position, she collected her metal plating into a single curved construct of cover before slamming it down into the ground in front of her—the blockade around waist height and wide enough to give everyone room to duck down behind.
“Mr. Krill—if that is indeed your real name—you are currently facing down The Iridum Wonders themselves, which I'd list the reasons why this is such a stupid plan if we weren't so short on time. Cease and desist now, and you'll get out of this as smoothly as we can make it for you. Continue and you'll face sufficient consequences.”
Or possibly inflated, depending on how racist you'll keep being.
She glanced aside to the others a moment as she began setting up her own rifle behind cover, making sure to outfit it with sticky shockers as she deployed Adam to try and circle round and flank the shooter from the air. Grey eyes flicked back forward to scan ahead in an expressionless fashion, before she looked at them again and nodded her head—ratcheting her rifle into a static position before taking careful aim.
“I've no agenda, so have fun. Just don't render him giblets if you can help it. I'll be expected to clean that up, for one. Though not by you, so don't feel guilty about that.”
bork
Saori - Squad 1
"Wow, no kidding. What the hell is she doing here? She never struck me as the kind to be-" She paused for a moment before stroking her chin and then shrugging out a weak little "Sociable...?"
An all too familiar voice made her jump, eyes wide and her ears twitching in surprise. Subconsciously, she reached up and slapped her hands over them before anyone else saw them, face going bright red in embarrassment before she turned to the voice in question...
And she grinned a bit. "Somehow knew you were gonna notice us right away Uncle Sam." It'd be weird if he didn't, given he saw what they would look like in that wild alternate future they all went to once upon a time. A bit disappointed but she didn't let it ruin it as she pulled him into a hug. "It's good to see you though!"
Her ears twitched again and mid hug, she turned to the newcomer. THIS ONE...she didn't recognize and she turned to Mikoto for a moment, silently wondering if perhaps they'd forgotten someone from the squad before she shook her head and released Sam.
"Um...no?" She asked, pointing to herself and her brother. "We're half Yokai. Zach and Yoko's kids?" She asked, as if trying to churn SOMEONE'S mind on this whole deal.
Mason - Squad 3
Mason was a man of bravery and sometimes stupidity. It was shocking how...common ground those two things were. He knew Mahvash. He...understood Mahvash in some semblance of the word. She was an anomaly, something odd about the world and no matter what he found it never made any sense.
But he knew her for 2 or so years and so had very little reason not to trust her. So when he looked at the drink in his hand he gave a little shrug and downed it immediately.
He'd drank concoctions before and very little usually tended to happen. The worst was the occasional eye spouting out the back of his head or his tongue turning to metal but nothing that was never permanent!...
...He hoped.
So he downed it. It was warm going down and gave his chest a light warmth that...well, began to grow hotter and hotter. His eyes flashed golden and the grin on his face grew ever more. He felt energized, and he felt like he could do ANYTHING.
Mason always felt like that, mind you, but having some literal Liquid Courage in his system brought out a bit more of his...reckless side.
In his mind, he couldn't help but imagine the Dark Half just getting REALLY into it.
Wordlessly, he was gone in a blur, and the next, the dance floor.
He had a rug to cut.
And so, Mason Bridges, lack of shame, began to fuckin' dance like he was trying to set the place on fire. The colors beaming off him from the lights above.
Is it selfish that I'm happy as we pass the setting sun?