Khellendrosiic

"HOOOOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-!!!!!" Solid screamed as he cartwheeled through the air, propelled by the Dark Watcher's nova attack.

The android slammed into the wall with a loud clang and then fell to the ground with a clatter. There was a Solid Shot sized dent in the wall now and the blaster's left arm had been partially crushed in the collision. His gun had also been knocked away, so the poor bot was practically defenseless.

"[censored] god damned pice of [censored] god damnit [censored]," Solid muttered as he rolled to his feet, cursing both the Dark Watcher and his own forgetfullness to bring some nanite 'inspirations' with him on this trip.

Staggering slightly, Solid sidled his way toward the fallen body of Nemesis. There were too many people clustered around the Dark Watcher for him to jump in and punch things so he might as well make sure that Nemesis was down and out. He couldn't think of a better way to do that then to stick his hand into the neck socket and start yanking stuff out.

"Ah hell," Toy said as the Dark Watcher teleported next to Jake and almost punched the poor kid's chest to smithereens. It was a good thing that Ineffable showed up when he did or Toy would have had to use the revitalizing nanites he had on him and he would prefer to save those for a more serious situation.

"Frakking teleporters," Combat Toy muttered as it moved forward, grabbing Jake by the shoulders and pulling him back out of the line of fire. Interposing itself between the kid mastermind and the automaton, Combat Toy snikked out its heavy combat blade and waited for the Dark Watcher to make a move. He couldn't shoot because Ineffable was right there, but he could certainly stab in an oppertunity presented itself.

"Hold still already!" Block Bot shouted at Solid as the protector bot scurried around the melee, trying to get Solid within range of its nanite beam.

"This is so much more fun than shooting big trees," Mini Bot chirped happily as it ducked down and fired a pair of laser bursts between Combat Toy's legs.

Toy Bot started climbing up the wall, its four legs digging into the alien metal as easily as it did anything else. The heavily modified battle drone started moving upward toward the ceiling, ready to fire its twin retrofitted Rikti blasters whenever the Dark Watcher presented itself.

***********************************************

"My: Thanks," Cher'tak said as he sighed with relief, directing his transmission both at Sah'Teece and Penny. "Last stands: Always annoying, troublesome."

Getting to his feet, Cher'tak rolled his head, provoking several cracks from his neck, and re-ignited his spiked gauntlets. Pure energy crackled from the trio of spikes on each hand and hissed as bits of it flaked away and hit the ground.

Focusing once more on the fight, Cher'tak stepped up next to the diplomat and punched his fist into a Jaeger that was rushing the little line of defenders. With the other Rikti and Penny's bots laying down a tremendous volume of fire, Cher'tak would be able to handle the few Nemesis automatons that managed to break through and rush them.

**********************************************

Unwilling to except defeat and fail Toy Dispenser, Small Toy sped up and tried to somersault under the closing trap door. The sound masking device wouldn't be able to cover up all that noise, but hopefully coming out from under the far end of the door rather than the center would give Small Toy's target enough pause to allow the little drone to take stock of the situation and hide itself.

If Small Toy had ever really put some thought into religion, it probably would have been praying as it dove under the closing door.

**********************************************

"Slow down," hissed Archlich as he clenched one fist tightly, a bolt of ice shooting from that hand, through Jake, and into the Dark Watcher. The numbing blast would act as a monkey wrench in the automaton's gears, hopefully giving Grey or Ineffable enough time to tear the thing apart.

"Combined fire for the [censored] win!" Solid Shot shouted after his vision depolarized and he saw Jake's bots open fire on a critically wounded Nemesis. Seeing that the evil mastermind was going for his weapon, Solid quickly pulled back a slide, armed his grenade launcher, and then fired both it and his shotgun at the same time for a double whammy. Hopefully the two attacks plus Jake's force bolt would keep Nemesis off his feet long enough for the others to take him out.

Another rune flared out of existence on Archlich's armor with a pinkish tinged light, clearing his head and allowing him to escape from the dizzying effects of channeling such a huge amount of magic in one instant and the senses dulling effect of the howling twilight spell. Normally he still wouldn't be able to do a thing except pull back and slowly recover his strength, but thanks to the time he had spent preparing himself, Archlich still retained a resevoir of power that he could draw upon for a few spells.

"If such pathetic creatures as you could kill me, I would have been dead long ago," Archlich rasped as he teleported once more, escaping the confines of the Dark Watcher's spell and relocating himself next to Toy Dispenser.

"Good job, Archie," said Toy as he nodded at the lich while ordering his bots to follow Jake's lead and open fire on Nemesis. Judging from the way Randall Grey fought, the tanker could finish off the automaton on his own.

But just in case....

"Sah'Teece, C'Kelkah, Lk'Onik," Toy said over the radio, easily finding their individual systems and locking in on them. "If you're in the position to do so, give Grey some help. We want to be sure that the Dark Watcher automaton goes down for good."

**********************************************

Meanwhile, Cher'tak was fighting for his life against a small regiment of Nemesis Automatons and Jaegers. Rounds clattered off his armor and oversized bayonnets gouged bright lines across it as he drew back one hand and slammed it into the face of one automaton. The fire energies that his gauntlet was now emitting burned hot enough to melt the face of the android, disorienting it long enough for Cher'tak's other fist to come around and punch a hole through its chest.

"Query: Status: Penny Arcade," Cher'tak said as he switched to the channel that he knew Penny's radio was on. "Assistance: Appreciated, Desired. Summoning Androids: Possible: Nemesis Forces: Distracted."

Cher'tak broke off as a Jaeger hit him behind the knee with a wildly swinging mace. The Rikti went down on his uninjured knee, grabbed the Jaeger around the middle, and pitched it at the automatons gathered in front of him. The flailing hunter killer knocked several machines off their feet and absorbed the fire of many others until it exploded, further covering Cher'tak until he could get back to his feet and resume the fight.

*********************************************

After checking with Toy Dispenser and receiving the go ahead, Small Toy continued onward in its quest to find this illusive figure.

It sped up slightly, knowing that the sooner the target was found, the more warning its master and his allies would have and the better prepared they would become.

"Yeah, I think it will," replied Toy just before his head snapped back, the force of the mental attack literally demanding that his body respond to it.

But if Harlequin had expected to end this fight in one blow, she obviously hadn't read up on Toy Dispenser's file. Or most likely she didn't recognize him. After all, he had been operating as the gold armored Vendetta for almost the whole time the Masters had been in control. Regardless, Toy Dispenser was barely phased by the mental attack, aimed as it was at the ridgidly logical minds of mere machines and although Toy was certainly an android, his mind was much more chaotic and unstructured than a machine's. In fact, if Harlequin wasn't looking right at him, the brief touch of her mind to his would have haved her fooled that he was a human.

"Going to have to do better than that, Harle," Toy smirked as he flicked one arm like a whipe, sending a crackling bolt of electricity slamming into Harlequin's side. He knew that her next attack would have corrected for the mistake she had made and was determined to put her down as fast as possible.

"You have no chance to survive," Toy Bot stated as energy coils on its arms glowed green before a ball formed in between its hands.

"Make your time," Toy Bot added as it hurled the ball of radiation at the villain.

"And make it fast," Large Toy added as it flung a bolt of fire at Harlequin's head.

**********************************************

Ignored for the moment, Small Toy took the time to fling a precisely aimed web grenade at the assault bot as it started spinning. The sticky webs caught fast and trapped the machine while it's torso was facing to the rear, hopefully giving the oni just enough time to finish it off before the bot cut through the webbing.

Then he reactivated his cloaking field and faded from sight.

The time was now.

With Nemesis wholly occupied in the kind of testosterone contest that Archlich figured he would have grown out of already and the Dark Watcher focusing on the brutish stone man, Archlich was free to start the sequence of events that would lead to both of their defeats.

With a dull clap of air that could barely be heard over the whine of laser fire and the roar of otherworldly energies being released, Archlich teleported to an equidistant location between Nemesis and the Dark Watcher. Several runes on his armor glowed bright red as he drained them of their stored power and added it to his own might temporarily. The runes circling his form gradually shifted to a blood red color, as did his eyes, as he began the short incantation.

"Onros kadavan jer'ta neranna ka!" shouted the mage as he swept out his arms, his cape flapping madly in an unseen or felt breeze.

But then such theatrics were rendered naught as every single rune discharged its power into the air at once. The effect was not unlike a tactical nuclear bomb (or similarily large explosive) as the bluish, red-tinged shockwave of energy rippled outward from the lich and engulfed the various combatants.

The various heroes, villains, and Vanguard would find themselves completely untouched as the spell washed over them, though their hair would likely be left standing on end and their sinuses stuffed up. So too was the terrain itself uneffected, the blast wave rolling over the floor and passing through the ceiling as though it wasn't there, leaving all untouched except for its targets.

And for Nemesis and his goon, well, their bad day probably just got even worse.

"Yeeeeaaah....." Toy Dispenser said as he stepped into the room. "I think you'll be right about that. Now then, do you want to do this the easy way or the fun way?"

"The correct term is 'hard way'," said Toy Bot as it started moving along the right wall.

Toy Dispenser facepalmed in return as Large Toy encased both androids in protective flames.

************************************************

"Excellent," nodded Block Bot as he shot a look at Sybil before falling in next to the demon.

************************************************

There was a puff of dust from in between the two slowed proc bots and suddenly a pair of explosive mines appeared on their backs. The mines went off within a couple of seconds, destroying or otherwise crippling both robots.

"The boss sends his regards and thanks for occupying the enemy," said a patch of air about ten feet to Hokata's right.

"Hey. You. Demon," came an authoritative, if whiny, voice from the corridor leading into the room where Sybil and Baalial were talking.

A short, rusty black android stepped into the room, one ridged hand pointing a Baalial. The android's armor was done up in a classic steampunk pattern, making it look more primitive than it actually was. The voice was coming from a grill that looked like a partially open mouth and its glowing red eyes were slightly bugged out from its head in an almost comical fashion. Two radio antannae sprouted from either side of its skull, though neither of them seemed to be emitting at the moment.

"If you're going to Croatoa, then I'm coming with you," the android said. "'bout time I got the hell out of this place anyway. You people are a drag."

This last comment was directed at Sybil, who would probably ignore it, having heard such comments at least once a day ever since Block Bot had been stationed at the main rebel base by Toy.

*************************************************

From the top story of a partially destroyed building behind Hokata, a bright blue lance of energy suddenly shot forth. The beam struck one of the battle drones in the head, completely destroying it and sending the ruined shell flying forward to land in a heap next to the martial artist.

*************************************************

"Now this is interesting..."

Toy Dispenser, Toy Bot, and Large Toy were all gathered in front of a large, solid looking metal door set into the wall at the end of a long hallway somewhere underground. Ill-powered lamps on the walls gave forth light only intermitently, providing just enough light for unaided sight to be effective. The three robots were currently examining a keypad set by the door. A standard looking security measure, for some reason this one was cycling through a random series of numbers almost faster than the eye could see.

"This is your thing, Toy Bot," Toy Dispenser said as he stepped back and let the neon green droid step forward, a thin wire already extended from its right palm.

"I shall be done shortly," Toy Bot said as the wire zipped into the keypad and Toy Bot focused on the program inside, trying to find the correct way of cracking the code.

"[censored], woman," said Solid, astonishment in his voice as Lady Grey set him down. "If you let more people know who could do that, I don't think I'd have worried about you in the first place."

Shrugging, pulling his rifle up to the crook of his arm in the same movement, Solid flicked a little switch to it's third setting and performed a diagnostic to make sure he had AP rounds loaded.

"And this is where the fun really starts," Solid said to Lady Grey as thick arcs of lightning shots from his arms into his gun. "Cause when the blaster hits his overload, you know this [censored] is ON!"

Solid pulled the trigger hard and held it as a stream of glowing blue, electrified bullets burst out of his rifle and started shredding the hell out of Nemesis and the fake Dark Watcher.

Your translator is damaged, said Cher'tak to C'Kelkah as he briefly accessed her mental network. See if you can grab Sah'Teece and Lk'Onik and coordinate with them. I am going to engage the Nemesis reinforcements.

Before C'Kelkah could respond, the Warmaster handed her his bladerifle and dashed out of the room, giving Penny's assault bot an approving nod as he went. As soon as he exited the buffer provided by the force field and entered into the airlessness of the compromised zone, his suit automatically engaged magnetic clamps on the soles of his boots to keep him anchored to the floor. They also released their hold according to how quickly he was moving, so Cher'tak was able to jog faster than many others would have been able too. This made him slightly more vulnerable while moving, but Cher'tak appreciated the mobility more.

The Rikti soon came up on the corner and saw with dismay that a huge chunk of the outer wall had been blown away by Nemesis weapons. Since he couldn't see the human girl, he assumed she had been blasted out onto the moon. Hopefully she would be fine, but as the first Nemesis automaton rounded the corner Cher'tak put her from his mind and focused on the fight. Flexing his hands in a certain way, Cher'tak activated the real reason why his armor was so customized. Three thick spikes shot out of the knuckles of each hand as Cher'tak clenched his hands into fists and began crackling with blue energy.

"Statement: Violent Expulsion: Nemesis Future," Cher'tak said, not sure if the automatons would hear him in such a thin atmosphere but not really caring either.

His first punch knocked the lead automation up into the air while his second punch sent it rocketing out onto the moon.

"Human Idiom: Bring it."

*********************************************

"I hate it when an enemy outflanks me," Toy muttered to himself as he slowly backed up toward the exit and Penny's shield generator. His dispersion field merged with the generator's and strengthened it, making sure that the air wouldn't be leaving this room any time soon. Then he saw the fake Dark Watcher hurl Grey at him and it was all he could do to blast the tanker with the most powerful force bolt he could conjure up. Since Grey wasn't rooted to the ground at the moment it was only his mass, significant though it was, that would keep the force bolt from affecting him. But since Toy had knocked over things ranging from Devouring Earth boulders to Malta Zeus Titans, the unsupported tanker didn't stand a chance.

The force bolt hit Grey head on, changing his fall path to land on a destroyed HVAS. The tumble probably would have hurt, but Toy was sure that Grey could take it. He had stood toe-to-toe with that damned Warhorse, after all.

"I think someone needs a little forcible dismantling," Toy said to the Dark Watcher as he ordered his bots to attack while he secretly activated his force bubble in case the automaton tried to teleport next to him.

Meanwhile, Archlich was still standing by the portal with an ever increasing number of runes swirling around him. No two rune was exactly alike, but there was a disturbing similarity about them and looking at them for too long would probably give you a headache. As it was, Archlich was biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

He sensed that time would come momentarily.

***********************************************

After inspecting the oddly destroyed suit of armor, Small Toy deep scanned the edges of the claw marks, attempting to pick up some shred of DNA and then compare it to the extensive list of known species it had in several compressed files. Since Toy often did most of his work out in the field, he had modifed Small Toy to be the most effective hunter and tracker he could so that he could continue to pursue a clue instead of retiring to his base to analyze and lose the trail.

The battle drone warmed up the particle beam rifle that replaced its right arm and extended the ghostslayer dagger in its left hand. As Small Toy moved cautiously after the target, the drone tried to keep an eye, ear, and nose out for anything.

"Ah crap, this is just the kind of thing Nemesis tailor makes to make my job horrible," sighed Solid as his gun shifted from Lady Grey to the Dark Watcher and back again. The nearly opaque barrier around Nemesis announced that he had a personnal force field up, which meant he was functionally invincible, though Nemesis couldn't do anything to them either.

"Damn it damn it damn it," Solid muttered to himself as he moved laterally along the wall while Toy and his functioning bots opened fire on the Dark Watcher.

"Keep your shots just short of lethal!" Toy shouted as he pulled the trigger on his pulse rifle, punching a nearly solid laser beam into the man's gut. "If we're wrong, there'll be hell to pay if we kill one of these people!"

"Damn it!" Solid cursed as he decided to risk a gamble.

Charging through the line of fire, and taking a couple of laser hits for his trouble, Solid tackled Lady Grey and tucked and rolled her behind one of the downed HVAS's.

"Sorry ma'am," Solid said as he held her down. "I figured keeping you out of the way is a good idea if you're the real deal. And if you're the automaton, then you'll probably attack me right now while I'm horribly exposed and unable to protect myself. Let's not abuse that trust, eh?"

While Toy was trying to bracket the Dark Watcher in order to keep him from dodging or teleporting to an area that wasn't under attack and Solid was busy being a good hero, Cher'tak had rushed over to C'Kelkah. The Warmaster knelt down next to the unconscious scientist and hurridly pulled an ampuole from a slot in his belt. Administering the drug to a special dispenser near C'Kelkah's neck would wake the other Rikti up in a matter of moments and apply a rejuvenating mixture of chemicals to bring her back to fighting condition. She would need a lot of sleep after this, but it would function as well as it always had.

*************************************************

"You will be silent and allow me to perform my duties without interference," Small Toy hissed back at Ineffable as it activated its sound muffling system. The device redirected any sound that Small Toy made into its own interior. The revibrating echoes would make detection by sound somewhat more difficult, but the drone's other sensors would make up for that loss. The increased stealth would also be a great boon.

Not wasting a moment wondering how Ineffable was able to teleport to its location when Toy's sensors had shown him near the Warhorse and out of line of sight with Small Toy's location or indeed how the villain would have been able to sneak up on a drone so well equipped with sensors as Small Toy was. The drone quickly dashed forward, trusting in its stealth systems to keep it undectable by its prey.

Toy Dispenser internally blinked as the scene suddenly shifted from a nearly exploded Nemesis automaton to a blank wall. The motley collection of metallic limbs around him let him know that his bots had also been pulled along in whatever teleport had just happened.

"Now that was a DAMN good idea," Solid said as the explosion from the Warhorse rippled around the corner to be held off by the combined dispersion fields of Jake, Toy, and Penny's independant force field generator.

The blaster slapped Thelth on the back as Toy directed his efforts toward getting his damaged minions back up and running. Cher'tak waited for the explosion to clear before stepping gingerly onto the steaming metal of the corridor and peering around the corner.

"Majority Missing: Wall, Floor. Pure Luck: Outer Wall: Intact," reported the Rikti. "Advise: Waiting: Floor: Cooling."

************************************************

Snorting to himself, Archlich turned and stepped through the portal.

The sight that greeted him was one that took even his arcane intellect a moment to comprehend. Vanguard HVASs lying disabled on the ground, Vanguard troops taking cover behind shattered bits of machinery, the Dark Watcher facing off against the Lady Grey, and the cloaked figure that had gone before him throwing a fireball at the towering form of the Prince of Brass.

"This seems to be a one sided fight," Archlich remarked to the metallic mastermind as bright blue runes began appearing in the air around him.

As the wave of radiation had swept over the group, Toy Dispenser had pulled his arms up to cover his face and chest and flared his generators, forming a nearly impenetrable shield between himself and the Warhorse. This saved him from the worst of the attack and freed him up to do something that he thought he should have done a few moments ago.

"We need a little breathing room, if you don't mind," Toy said as he refocused his energies, training them on the Warhorse instead of his allies. Almost immidately, a thick bubble encased the machine, protecting it from outside forces but also trapping it, and its attacks, inside the detention field.

Not even a metahuman of Statesman's strength could break through the detention field that Toy Dispenser had tossed up, though eventually it would run out of power and end on its own. It still gave everyone a few needed movements to pull things back together.

Mostly the masterminds, though, thought Toy as he saw Mini Bot and Toy Bot slumped unmoving on the ground, their main systems shorted out from the radiation wave.

"Sorry about this, everyone," Toy said outloud as the Warhorse raged inside its prison, the force bolts and missiles that had so troubled its opponents now richocheting off the field and impacting aginst its own hide. "But I figured those of us who are more squishy might need a second after that radiation thing. We've got twenty."

"What the hell, man!" shouted Solid from where he had taken cover behind Combat Toy, the assault bot's bulk protecting him from the radiation wave. "We were totally winning! Another half a minute and it would have crumbled!"

"Observation: Accurate," Cher'tak muttered as he leaned aginst the wall near to the trapped Warhorse. "However: Further Observation: Nemesis Target: Damaging Self. Outcome: Destruction: Near crippling."

And indeed as the party watched, one of the missiles rebounded off the interior of the field and blew a hole in the Warhorse's less damaged side.

"Fiiiiine..." Solid said as he rolled his head. "Let the nasty machine kill itself. But anyway, what was that that Grey was shouting about?"

***********************************************

"If the problem does not lie among the realms of the mystical, then there is nothing I can do," remarked Archlich to Kemen as he watched Matt speak to someone on his communicator. "Am I correct in assuming that the magical barrier erected by the original invasion force is still mostly in place?"

"So far as our sensors have told us, yes," replied Kemen, looking at bit irritated at Archlich's insult toward Hero-1's force of volunteers. "It could be providing some of the interference, though no one's mentioned that possibility to me yet."

"Regardless, I shall go through the portal and see what I can do there," said Archlich as he looked toward the portal. "By passing through I shall know whether the barrier is affecting the portal or not. If it isn't, then I shall be able to cross back on my own when I wish."

"Well, I can't stop you if you go-...wait, what was that about you being able to come back? Would it be possible for you to bring others back with you or to carry messages to and from?"

"This magic will work only on those who have mastered the styles that gave birth to it thousands of years ago. In other words, only I. As to acting as a messenger... We shall see."

Shrugging, Archlich brushed past the security chief and walked up to the portal. At the brink, he turned and looked over at Matt and the other metahuman.

"Come on then," he said, raising his voice to be heard over the sound of the portal. "I don't have all day."

As the Warhorse came through the door, Toy had visibly flinched as his delicate sensors came within a hairs-breadth of overloading. Only the fact that he was built for command and control kept his bits in one piece, as they had been designed with much larger thresholds. As Grey entered some sort of berserker rage and rushed the Nemesis creation, Toy knew that their appointed leader wouldn't be able to lead.

"All melee types to the front, everyone else clear a path!" ordered Toy as he followed his own orders, slamming his back against the opposite wall and bringing up both hands. "Ranged types and heavy droids, file along the outer wall and get a shot in when you can! We've got enough force fields here to keep you covered if you can't dodge!"

To emphasize his point, Toy's wrists and hands flared white as his twin force field generators activated, throwing protective bubbles first over Binro and Grey, then over Combat Toy and Cher'tak, then Solid and Penny, then Jake and Penny's assault bot, and so on. Under orders, Small Toy fled further down the corridor to keep out of the way and also keep an eye out for any other surprises. The drone's sophisticated sensor suite, almost as powerful as Toy's, would alert the mastermind to any further threats. Combat Toy thundered past its boss and skidded to a halt on the far side of the door. It then spun around and took aim, trying to get a good shot with its chest mounted plasma cannons. The other drones fell back, clearing the way for other heavy hitters, as well as giving the two proc bots free reign to hit anyone with a burst of nanites. Block Bot actually took the time to do this, firing a green beam at Grey to keep him going. With the refined nanites Toy was using, it was possible for his proc bots to heal organic targets, though they were only about half as effected.

"This ought to be fun," said Solid as he looked over Penny at the scene of carnage she was literally holding in her hand.

Patting the girl on the shoulder, he dashed over to where Combat Toy was, ducking down under Toy's glowing hands just in case he might have blocked a shot. Once in place, he copied the larger assault bot by spinning around and lifting his rifle up to his eye. The targeting eye of his cyclopix vision array glowed bright red as it started setting up his sniper shot.

"Emotional state-change: Rage, Indignation!" Cher'tak shouted as the Warhorse appeared and started attacking. Here in front of him was an instrument of the man who wanted his people enslaved. The rage he had felt toward Hro'Dtohz, the Rikti responsible for exploiting the war on Earth, was nothing compared to how much his hatred for this half-human named Nemesis had grown since learning about the supervillain's plan. Normally his military discipline was more than enough to keep this rage in check, as was his nominal isolation from the Rikti mental network, but this was the first time to encounter a Nemesis automaton since he had learned the full extent of Nemesis's plans and his rage boiled over.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh-!!!" Cher'tak roared, his translator breaking off in a loud crackle, unable to fully translate the Warmaster's cry of rage that would probably give Lk'Onik and Sah'Teece a bad headache and startle the heck out of Ce'Kelkah.

Thundering forward, Cher'tak slammed into the Warhorse's side at about the same time as Grey's punch connected with the machine's snout. Thrown off balance by the accidental one-two combo, the Warhorse wobbled on its thrusters and listed heavily to one side as it attempted to compensate.

OOC: ....I think I did alright. <_< For some reason I am incredibly self-conscious about this post. Wonder why.

"This a private conversation or can anyone hop in?" asked Solid as he moved over to where Penny and Jake were huddled in conversation. "I couldn't help but think to myself that if two known villains were discussing something so earnestly amongst each other that it would be best for everyone to know if something's up? Sound good?"

"What are you?" Toy suspiciously of Ineffable. "And if your answer is anything that could be understood to mean 'better than you' then get in back and let the real professionals handle things."

Silently fuming, Toy directed Small Toy to warm up its active camoflauge and check out if Ineffable was telling the truth. The modified battle drone nodded and swiftly faded from sight, slipping quietly around the corner to investigate.

"I've got one of my drones on the case to see if there's really anything up ahead," Toy said to Grey. "If there's anything, I'll let you know immidiately."

*********************************************

"First of all, my name is Archlich, mortal, and it would be in your best interests to use it properly," shot back the lich. "And yes, I am a 'villain.' I would ask you to stop waving your sword around like a five year old, though. If I were here to fight, you would be dead at this very moment."

Irritably waving one hand, Archlich caused a dense coat of frost to incase Matt's blade, instantly causing several hundred pounds to be added to the sword. Casting his glare about the hustle and bustle of the area, Archlich picked out the person who seemed to be giving the most orders and stalked over to him, brushing past several people who found themselves halted in their tracks as the mage passed.

"Unai Kemen," Archlich said to the security chief (he had gussed correctly). "I am Archlich, associate of Toy Dispenser. Your summons has called me from a fairly important task so this had better be good."

"Disgruntled Statement: Opening Door: Formerly Forthcoming," Cher'tak huffed as he withdrew his hand from the keypad while the door dissolved. "Give Thanks: Further Intervention Unneccessary. Current Codes: Old, Remembered: Used Next Time."

As the door finally faded away, Cher'tak was the first to step through. As if on cue, recessed lights in the ceiling lit up revealing a long corridor that slowly bent until it's curvature could no longer be seen. There were no portholes on the outside wall but there were a couple of doors on the opposite wall.

"Where do you think they go?" Toy asked as he peered around Cher'tak to see what was up.

"Storage, Barracks, Other: Unknown," Cher'tak answered as he drew his bladerifle and stepped into the corridor. "Randall Grey: Designation Tanker: Correct? Suggestion: Take Point. I: Open Indicated: Doors."

"This ought to be fun," Solid said as he racked a slide on his rifle.

*********************************************

"Humans can be quite unobservant when their attentions are otherwise occupied," said a dry, sepulchural voice from Matt's right.

Standing there was a short, skeleton clad in black armor inscribed with arcane runes that probably bore little resemblence to what Matt might have seen his friend Cory use. The skeleton wore a slightly dingy crown and a black cape that was also inscribed with runes. The skeleton turned to face him, glaring at him with its bright blue eyes.

"But why are you, a 'hero', not in that portal trying, undoubtedly, to make the world a better place by killing someone?"

Unai sighed as he clicked off his cellphone. This was turning out to be one of those days where it didn't pay to get out of bed. Sighing again, Unai took out the card the weirdly colored robot villain had given him and looked it over. It read:

"The Legion of Mismatched or Otherwise Unorthodox but Still Very Evil Villains.
LMOUSVEV: Long name, quality villainy.
If you wish to curse our names, please place this card in the nearest carbonated beverage.
If you wish to contact our services, please throw this card into the nearest fire."

Wishing that he didn't have to deal with such nutjobs on an almost daily basis, Unai gestured to a hero who was doubtlessly passing on some mission or another to save the world.

"Hey, you, Flaming Bird," he called out. The named bright red clad hero hustled over to Unai with a raised eyebrow.

"Normally I call you guys for a mission," the hero said. "Not the other way around. What is it?"

"I need you to start a small fire," Unai said. "Urgent business."

Flaming Bird shrugged and snapped his fingers, causing a small fire to burst into being above his hand.

"This good?" he asked.

"Perfect," Unai replied as he dropped the calling card into the flames.

Flaming Bird's eyebrow almost hid itself in his flaming red hair as nearly instantly a disgruntled looking face appeared in the flames.

"LMOUSVEV hotline. Who's calling?" the grey skinned man grunted.

"Unai Kemen, I'm with Portal Corp," Unai answered. "I was told to contact a man named Archlich and inform him that Toy Dispenser needed his aid at Portal Corp."

"Portal Corp?" the man asked in an incredulous tone of voice. "You mean that place I robbed a couple of times up in Paragon? What the hell is the boss doing up the-?"

The man was cut off by an unidentifiable sound from somewhere out of the flames. The man's scowl deepened and he shrugged before his head vanished to be replaced with a bleached white skull wearing some sort of crown.

"I shall arrive shortly," said the skull in a rasping voice that would have been right at home surrounded by the screams of countless innocents being burned alive.

The flame suddenly poofed away and Unai shook his head, just looking at that villain had given him a headache. He had always known there was a reason why he had ignored that job offer from Aeon Corp.

"So, do I get some influence out of this or what?" Flaming Bird asked.

"Exclamation: Hoo ha!" Cher'tak shouted as he pumped his fist, drew his blade-rifle, and advanced into the portal. Solid Shot was quick to follow, but Toy Dispenser lingered behind for a moment as Grey's sticky note had given him an idea.

"Hey there," he said to Unai after Grey had gone into the portal and gave the security chief a LMOUSVEV calling card. "The big guy reminded me of someone who could help in such a situation. Just chuck that thing in a fire and ask for Archlich. If anyone can figure out a way to break through a mystical trans-dimensional barrier, then it's the guy who probably wrote the book on making them. Cheers!"

With a jaunty salute at the blinking security chief, Toy hustled through the portal, his bots in tow.

*******************************************

"Location: Jade Moon?" Cher'tak said in disbelief as he heard what Lk'Onik said and looked out the window for himself. "Knowledge: Lacking: Purpose: This Facility. Query: Jade Moon Base: Primarily Research: Abandoned?"

"Wait," said Toy, a frown in his voice. "We just came through a portal in a base on a moon that isn't supposed to have a portal in it."

"Correct," Cher'tak answered.

"That doesn't sound good," piped in Mini Bot.

Solid, meanwhile, had wandered over to look more closely out of the window.

"Dayum...." he muttered. "The ground actually is kinda greenish. Is it oxidized copper or something, cause I can't think of anything else that might do this."

"Maybe it's actually made of jade," Large Toy suggested as it followed Solid.

Solid slipped in behind Penny and gave her a once over as he followed her to the portal.

"I don't think we're going to a prom, girl," he said to Penny. "I don't think the Rikti will pull their shots just cause you're cute."

Cher'tak disengaged from the group after the Dark Watcher had finished speaking, his good mood seemingly untouched dispite the knowledge that he'd be a wanted criminal when he got home. Toy pulled up alongside the Rikti with his bots in tow and slowly walked next to the alien for several seconds before speaking.

"So if your people link their minds in a giant world spanning mental network, how are you and the others going to keep from getting found out?" the mastermind asked the one big question in his mind.

"Question: Well thought. Answer: Obvious," Cher'tak replied. "Myself, Lk'Onik, C'Kelkah, Sah'Teece: Establish: Seperate network. Small size: Equates low chance: Detectability."

"Well that's reassuring," Toy sighed as he reached up to absently scratch behind one sat. com 'ear' in a nervous gesture. "How do you think the average Rikti citizen will think about this?"

"Unknown," Cher'tak responded simply. "Redirect inquiry: Sah'Teece, Lk'Onik. New arrivals: Both."

"Will do," Toy said as he flashed Cher'tak a brief thumbs up and meandered over to the other group of three Rikti to ask them the same question.

"You mind if we all make introductions before we jump into hostile territory?" Toy said lightly.

"By all means," the Dark Watcher replied as his shoulders twitched upwards in a miniscule shrug.

"Right then," Toy said as he took a few steps away from the group and then rose half a dozen feet in the air as his anti-grav generator kicked in.

Making a short, sharp whistle, Toy tried to draw everyone's attention to him.

"Yo, assorted heroes and villains, listen up for a second," he began. "Before we jump into the breech, I think it would be a good idea for us all to know each other's names at the very least. I, for one, would prefer to know who I'm going to be working alongside for the next while."

"Hear hear," Solid said absently as he sighted at a cloud through his scope, checking to see if it was calibrated correctly.

Rapping the fingers of one hand on his leg, Toy pointed a thumb at himself.

"I'll start off to encourage the rest of you. I'm Toy Dispenser, mercenary of no small renown if I do say so myself. The mismatched combat drones trying to look inconspicuous over there are mine and I'm also pretty handy with some force fields. Alright, next?"

Solid stuck his hand up in the air as the other twirled his rifle and slipped the strap back over his shoulder.

"I'm Solid Shot!" Solid said loudly. "I shoot guns and punch things till they fall over. I'm also known to make bad jokes at bad times. Next."

*applause*

Number Three.

RIKTI [censored] YEAH!

"Eccentric: Assemblage," Cher'tak said as the various heroes and villains started arriving.

"That's what we are," Solid muttered as he bent over his rifle and started tinkering with something on it. "Eccentric."

"This'll be fun," Combat Toy rumbled as it stepped aside for a hero as large as it was.

"As long as we keep ourselves from getting killed," moaned Block Bot as it checked its nanite reserves.

"Pretty lights. You guys hanging a Christmas tree?" rang out a brash voice, made even louder by the silence that had fallen over most of the crowd after the portal had been opened.

All heads turned to stare at a plain grey android that looked back with what might have been confusion in its cyclopix targeting eye.

"What? It just looks like it would make a good ornament, don't you think?"

Muffled groans and head shaking followed this question as the assembled Vanguard and Longbow troopers turned their attentions away from the wisecracking hero and back to the portal. Shrugging to himself, Solid Shot wandered over to the Dark Watcher, rifle slung over his shoulder on a strap.

"You rang?" Solid asked as he got closer to the group. "I got a message straight from Vanguard command and figured it must be important. What gives?"

"You'll be briefed once the other volunteers arrive," the Dark Watcher replied as he crossed as arms and continued staring at the portal. "Until then have a seat and try to stay out of trouble."

"Sheesh, you spill someone's coffee once and all of a sudden it's like I'm a total clutz," said Solid with exasperation as he crossed his own arms and looked out at the portal. "But seriously now, what's going on?"

"I'm sure our inestimable commander will let us know when he's ready, Solid," said a voice remarkably similiar to Solid's but more controlled.

The particular owner of this voice sauntered toward the command group, his red and blue diamond pattern cape fluttering slightly in the light breeze and a sextet of combat drones stomping along behind him. In Solid's vision the other android walking toward him was bracketed in red with the Arachnos and Vanguard symbols floating to either side. Targeting protocals refused to engage, which meant that Toy Dispenser was here in his capacity as a Vanguard operative, much as Solid was.

"Hello again, Toy," Solid sighed as the mastermind reached him. "I guess it was too much to hope that that hole put through your chest was permenant, huh?"

"Pretty much," Toy answered flippantly as he looked over the gathered troops with an appraising eye. "And I take it you also got a message directly from Lady Grey?"

"Yep," said Solid glumly. "Though if I had known you were coming, I would stayed in bed."

"Cease: Pointless bickering. I: Always: Must break up: Bickering. Previous action: Tiresome," came a clearly synthetic voice from between the Vanguard choppers.

"The Rikti are her-!" shouted one frantic Longbow soldier before the man next to him whapped her upside the head.

"Stupid," he whispered. "Read the damn briefing. That one's on our side."

Warmaster Cher'tak of the Traditionalist faction was used to such talk around himself and paid it no heed as he walked toward the pair of androids with might have been a jaunty bounce to his step. Solid and Toy exchanged a look, each wondering if this could be true. Cher'tak looked to be almost skipping with joy.

Then again, the image of the blood red armored, elite commando skipping was one so absurd that it was almost immidiately discarded. Then again, organic life always had a way of surprising even the most flexible of AIs.

"And here's the one who will be giving the actual advice," the Dark Watcher said as he turned slightly to watch Cher'tak approach out of the corner of his eye. "After all, who better to guide our force through the Rikti's homeworld than a Rikti itself?"

"Emotional state: Profound joy: Returning home," said Cher'tak as he arrived and nodded at the Dark Watcher and the two androids. "Guide duties: Possible combat services: Freely given."

"Hey Cher'tak, what's with the broken up speech again?" asked Solid as he quizzically tilted his head. "I thought you had one of those newfangled Mark III translators."

Cher'tak shrugged.

"Mark III translator: Incompatible: Current Armor," he replied.

"Then why not get a new suit?" Toy suggested. Cher'tak shook his head venemously.

"Idea: Inconceivable. Armor: Hereditary, Invaluable," he said. "Masterwork: Craftsmanship. Slight inconveniences: Bearable."

"I believe it also has something to do with his rank of Warmaster," the Dark Watcher added to an approving nod from the Rikti. "Since the title of Warmaster is hereditary it would make sense that the armor is as well."

"And where did you learn so much about Rikti culture?" Toy asked as he moved to flank the taller Rikti soldier and watch the portal.

"I have my ways," replied the Dark Watcher as he followed Toy's gaze, ending the discussion with just that movement.

"Fall in!" Toy shouted, switching temporarily to a rendition of a Sergeant Major's voice. Hopefully that would be enough to startle eveyone into listening to him. "Follow the guy in the weird hat!"

Running alongside Hokata, the weakness of before abandoned and ignored, Toy prepared himself for the inevitable. Already able to see in the most oppressive of conditions, Toy didn't have to do much other than prep his more sensitive visual sensors and start sending telemetry to his followers.

The other robots swiftly fell in alongside, missing only Small Toy, who had cloaked and ventured off on some errand that only he and Toy knew of.

"Well [censored] you too!" Combat Toy shouted angrily as he hurled Apex's lifeless body at one of the androids. The big bruiser followed immidiately after the corpse, both hands radiating a deadly red energy as he prepared to slam the android into the ground.

"Techno Tyrant means bad news!" Toy shouted to those heroes who wouldn't know who the Master was. "We've got maybe two minutes before more than just the rapid response force shows up!"

"I do not believe Techno Tyrant is acting according to his standard methods," Toy Bot said calmly as he jumped to one side and fired a burst of condensed radiation at one of the androids.

Small Toy faded from sight as Large Toy drifted back to inform Toy Dispenser of what had happened to Mini Bot.

>_> Can't believe I just noticed this thread here.

I've got several stories on a couple of my Protector characters, mind if I e-mail them to you for putting up on the site?

I've already made an account on the fiction site.

EDIT: Oh right. And if yes, then do you think I should post my stories on the Protector forum too? Right now they're lost in the depths of the RP forum and my harddrive so no one can see them ;_;

I also like showing off. *shrug*

"That works," Toy said with a nod toward Cortianna as he stepped out behind Baalial.

Raising one arm toward the turrets and seeming to sight down it, Toy grabbed the elbow with his other hand to hold himself steady and the fired. He fired off a crackling, twisting stream of lightning that beat against the first turret for several seconds before causing it to explode. He then shifted toward the second turret, killing it faster because of Cortianna's tactic, and the onto the third.

Just as the third turret exploded in a burst of flame and shrapnel, the stream of lightning winked off as though it never was and Toy collapsed to the ground, barely able to keep himself on one knee.

"I don't like doing that much," Toy said, static still garbling his voice. "But it does get the job done, doesn't it? Now get your man and get us the hell out of here, Stevie Boy."