TeChameleon

((... wait, so the clocks are all jumping the little group of idiots, and have nothing to do with the Council Base? Maybe I shouldn't be posting while tired, or maybe I need to re-enroll in the third grade and work on my reading comprehension >.<

Feh, too tired to worry about it now. I'll fiddle with my posts later, after I've gotten some sleep))

((Well, aside from for E-X... his reaction to colossal explosions is "Pff, you call that an explosion? THIS is an explosion..." *THRAKABOOM!!!* Repeat as necessary, or until the planetary mantle gives under the strain and the whole planet goes up.))

*is Ptooied*

*rezzes*

*finds himself on Aegis' mantle*

*wanders out after turning all the gas vents on (if there aren't any, assume I installed them)*

*tosses a match in through the letterslot as he leaves*

((Uhm... given that as far as I remember, the only position Karl gave to us was the Council Base, that's where I was headed. And how the heck did Schwawhatever get so far away with the Clocks this stir-crazy?))

((Uhm... oh. I'd kind of assumed it would be a sub, since most of the low-profile transports in CoH seem to be that. Maybe it's a fairly high dock? >.> ))

...

*rezzes*

*walks into Entropy's lab carrying Zeetha over one shoulder.*

*puts Zeetha down*

*hands Zeetha a shovel*

*walks out chuckling quietly*

"Targetting... team dispersal noted... should anyone care what I think, I would strongly advise against entering the Northwestern portion of the melee." the Blaster commented. "I can't see the City Rep- I suspect she's underground still. I certainly hope she is." E-X continued. There was a whistling roar, and an explosion the size of a house engulfed the brawling Clockwork and Council in the aforementioned Northwestern portion of the melee.

Energon X nodded in unseen satisfaction and shifted position before the return fire had a chance to shred him, tucking away his frankengun and lighting up.

Twin columns of energy nearly three feet across apiece lanced out, chewing up the pavement in twin furrows. They also chewed up any enemy troops unfortunate enough to be in their path as the airborne blaster started playing "Close Air Support". It was a role he played well.

"Speaking for myself, I'd call the Council 'acceptable collateral'. They're not going to let us take the Rep just because we ask nicely. So I don't feel a lot of guilt about blowing them up along with the tinkertoys." he finished, flying in a wild, evasive pattern as (mostly) careful fire ripped into 'his' portion of the battlefield.

*eventually re-coagulates*

Eesh... Von Pinn is nothing if not thorough. That hurt.

*hides Von Pinn in Entropy_Aegis' room, then tells the Jaeger's that she's there*

*drops Chaotic96 into a self-sustaining recursive temporal anomaly with two waterfowl*

Muwahaha... tremble before my pair o' ducks paradox!

*flees as the pun kills the entire thread*

Energon X was silent in the elevator. Once the doors open, he swung unerringly for the Talos Island exit, letting Khelldragon follow as she would.

After a moment, he shook his head. "No good. My empathic friend is unwilling to come- apparently Portal Corp is retaining his services right now." he finished with a surprisingly well-simulated sigh. "Our transport to the place called "Brother Mauthe's Island" is waiting under the docks not far from the Striga transfer point. I've put out a few other calls to Supergroups, but I don't know if we'll be getting anyone."

He headed out the exit and took to the air, flying rapidly towards the TI docks.

((for explanation- I didn't bother including E-X' end of the phonecalls, since one advantage of having to talk through a voder is being able to translate your voice into phone/comm signals without needing to do anything so crude as vibrate the air. So you could be standing right next to him without hearing a thing.

Also, the 'called others in' is a jumping-in point... should anyone happen to have been hanging about wanting to join, this is your chance to bring your bluesider in))

((Hah... E-X was perfectly well aware of the effect his words were going to have. They're a more effective pep talk than 'Hooray, boys, let's all get our throats cut!', after all... That, and he's a Blaster. He ain't wrapped too tight to start with ))

The Blaster ignored Klaus, for the most part. He wasn't radiating any dangerous energy fields (although his bags were), and they had more immediate problems. "We've got about two minutes before option two becomes option one and makes this whole thing moot. And if the Clocks drop the Goosesteppers, this whole operation is moot, because that means they'll get the city rep as well. And I mean 'get' as in 'rip to distinctly non-interrogatable shreds'."

Energon X gave a cynical shrug. "We don't have the luxury of time for debate, or even much in the way of thinking. I don't like it, but we're about due for some heavy action." He shrugged again and lifted off. "I'm taking point, stealthed." he said, fading from view. "Whatever gets decided, I'm going to need a moment to get into position anyways... I may have a trick or two that can help tilt the odds. It's the Blaster credo, after all... any problem can be solved with a big enough explosion."

The comm went silent for a moment, then E-X added "And creepy and creepier there could probably send for some reinforcements... I'm two blocks away, and already the Clocks are thick enough on the ground that I could walk the rest of the way there without touching ground."

((So, what, how good are Target Lad's odds of actually catching the stupid puppybot thing? He's been trying for a while now, although it occurs to me now that Shift might have been a better choice for capture duty, heh...

In whatever case, if you're gonna be GMing, we kinda need details on that. Besides which, the task is 'catch minimutt', not 'smash titan'.))

((Jager Horowitz is there... you may want to be cautious in your dealings with him, though... even by Paragon/Rogue Isles standards, he's pretty crazy *evilgrin*))

[ QUOTE ]
*turns chameleon inside out*

ewww my shoes....I guess thats why I stopped doing that so often.

[/ QUOTE ]
o.O

Didn't know there was a fellow Girl Genius fan lurking here.

Speaking of which...

*Twin handheld death rays!* MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! Fools! I'll show them! I'll show them ALL!!!

*lays waste*

Oy, oy! No countermanding kills... you just rez! (or become a killing ghost)

Speaking of which... *rezzes*

Hey Entropy... hold this!

*runs away*

*quantum vortice he just handed to Entropy shatters Entropy along sixth-dimensional lines*

((No problem, D))

E-X nodded to the big draconian. "Glad you're in, Fraenir. From the way Power Breaker was talking, this may be bigger than that little weenie Poe. He's calling in every bit of firepower he can find. And welcome back, Khelldragon." he added, turning to her and holding out a fist. It pulsed once or twice, then slowly gathered so much energy that the floorplates started to buckle slightly. "Have a snack." he said offhandedly, sounding a little embarrassed. "My energy output tends to respond to my emotional state, and if I'm agitated in any way, I tend to overproduce."

He glanced down at Inky as she reappeared. "Hey shortstuff. You felt the need to go shopping while I blew Poe into tiny chunks?" he asked her, an audible grin in his voice as he waved his free hand at her 'new' costume. Then he turned a little more serious. "Those of us that are bluesiders should stick with me- Power Breaker's given me an 'in' to the Isles that should let us help in tracking Poe. For redsiders, Power Breaker is gathering everyone in St. Martial. We'd better get moving, I've got a feeling this is gonna get wild." he finished, heading for the hero-side elevators, hoping everyone (who needed to) would follow.

Energon X dropped lightly to the ground next to the group. "I caught most of that via the commlink."

He hesitated, and looked at each team-member in turn.

"This isn't going to be a popular suggestion, but the way I see it, we have pretty much two options; let the Clocks and the goose-steppers-from-space thin one another out, and mop up the remains, or just go balls to the wall and take both sides on. We don't have the coordination for 'subtle' right now, and there's no way we have time to get that coordination."

A shake of the head produced the now-familiar twin streaks of yellow fire.

"We've got the firepower to pull it off... maybe. But the first plan cuts it too close- if the City Rep gets killed, which she probably will in a battle that size, then we've lost the only solid lead we've been able to find. It keeps coming back to her. And the second plan is probably just my deathwish talking." he commented sourly. "But one way or another, we've got to do this thing. They say that when you've got a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail. The Malleus Mundi could make that literal." he finished with a mirthless bark of laughter. He looked at Martin, waiting for a decision.

There was a piercing shriek of feedback from the team's commlink, and then Energon X' artificial voice fought through the static. "... the [censored] was that?" he demanded.

"The entire sky flickered for a second- every wavelength of energy just distorted crazily. The only place I've ever seen anything similar was deep in Orabenga when they were trying to summon an ancient Demon Lord... a concentration of magic so powerful that it literally distorted the physical world while it was active." There was a pause, then the Blaster's voice returned. "I don't like it." he growled.

"I was on the ground when it hit, so all I can say for certain about the pulse is that it came from the West of me. Unfortunately, I'm standing next to the War Wall at the Eastern edge of Boomtown." the Blaster finished, giving an irritable grunt. "I'm headed back to you guys, unless anybody has any better ideas."

*Daimyo_Shi implodes, since the popcorn has been seeded with micro black holes*

What can I say? I like playing with black holes, and have hereby declared that insofar as these boards are concerned, the laws of physics are something that happen to other people.

Welcome to the thread, Shi... now die!

Energon X nodded to Power Breaker, took the card, then raised a quizzical eyebrow. His synthetic voice sounded faintly amused as he commented "You know, if you killing him repeatedly isn't working, have you considered an alternative approach? Personally, I'd lean towards whacking him over the head and hopping him up on power supressors, but eh, I'm just a bluesider, what do I know?"

He shrugged, and winked (which caused the purple energy leaking from the open eye to flare alarmingly). "Eh, whatever- I'll see you redside. I'm in for the long haul, and I might be able to pick up a friend or three to round things out. I might call in an Empath that I know, since you don't really have a lot of them on the Isles." He gave an eloquent shrug. "Call me crazy, but having someone around who can raise me from being clinically dead with a wave of their hand is something I find rather comforting, given that my powers don't really lend themselves to self-protection."

He watched the spikey Brute take his leave. Scratch my comment about things getting crowded... this is going to be interesting, if he thinks we're gonna need this kind of firepower to take down Poe. Either that, or there's something deeper... and far more interesting at work here. Didn't Poe say something about a corporation? Husk..?

Energon X shrugged disappointedly at what Power Breaker told him, then blinked as Khelldragon reappeared with Kipland in tow. He stared for a long moment, then shrugged. "So much for that particular bit of righteous indignation." he declared offhandedly. "I'm not too popular in the isles right now, Breaker, but I'd be more than happy to come with you and make some noise. Poe probably isn't too happy with me, either, just now... given that I just finished blowing him into a greasy smear."

"As to why... eh, he's an [censored]. Not an especially heroic reason, but if I can beat him senseless and dump him in the Zig, I'll feel that much better." The Blaster nodded to Jonas/Marcus. "You... guys..?" he interrupted himself, staring at the weird double-image of writhing dark energy that his senses were telling him was there. "You have some kind of stake in this as well, I take it?" he finished cautiously.

Then he paused, and waved for Fraenir to come over. "We're out to bludgeon waiter-boy unconscious, big guy... figured you'd want in on this, considering how you seemed to be itching to get your claws into him earlier." He raised an eyebrow. Hmm... this may be more crowded than this Power Breaker guy would like. I'll let him make the call, though.

((Oh- I'm going to wait on Lt. Briggs before I move Horowitz again, since he's sitting with his arm around her shoulders ))

((So, is Energon X going to be allowed to find anything in his on-foot search? Unless this spectral whosit that we're chasing is perfect, he's got to have slipped up somewhere, and visual cloaking is the one he's/it's most likely to have done so, considering how focussed they seem to be on blocking all forms of magical and superhuman detection))

"I'm fine with Mr. Sanders leading." the blaster chimed in over the team commlink. "Should anyone happen to be interested, there's plenty of weirdness around here, but nothing so far that seems to have anything directly to do with our target."

A brief, sharp retort was heard from several blocks over, and a Cannon Knight went whistling overhead to impact in a smoking crater in the wall, eventually peeling off and landing on the ground with a rattling, dropped-hubcap noise. It had been pounded so flat that it looked like a 2-D outline of itself. "And, of course, the Clockwork seem to be somewhat agitated, as per the usual." E-X added drily.

Target Lad worked a shrug into the aerobatics he was performing to try and land a solid electrical hit on the iMutt. "Did I imply anything wrong with your hair? It was just a fast identifying marker, mate. Relax a little." He continued to lash the ground with flails of electricity, the iMutt proving surprisingly elusive.

A stray blast from the giant 'bot impacted near him, throwing off an electrical cage that had nearly caught the puppybot, and the young blaster growled with annoyance, drawing his bow while upside down and firing off an impressively accurate shot that caught in one of the giant 'droids joints, freezing its left arm temporarily.

"Keep your stupid blasts to yourself, you overgrown metal sod." he griped.

((oops... sorry Build, got you and Grey mixed up since you've both occasionally controlled Zero- meant Grey >.<

And as far as the goggles go, I was actually more interested in the black goo Diov mentioned being left on them- that's why E-X commented the teleport trace was sloppy. Either it could be used for a clue, or I was thinking about trying to clone Poe from it, just for the heck of it. No real reason ))

((uhm... Build, could you bounce back to the last post on the previous page? You totally missed/ignored my post there, and it'd change a few things for Power Breaker and Zero))

((Vapor, if you intended to snatch Poe away from the explosion, you might want to make that clearer in your post, but I'm pretty sure that Diov intended for Poe to be pretty thoroughly gone))

"Well, that worked a little too well." Energon X muttered as crackling tendrils of energy from his outstretched hand vapourized the last shreds of Poe's webnade. He shouldered the frankengun, holding it lightly and relaxing as he heard the faint whirrings and clickings that announced the nanofactories inside were busily producing another rocket. It was a useful tool, but kind of a tempermental one- having it work right on the first try was always a pleasant surprise.

The Blaster headed over to the flaming wreckage as he holstered the weapon, but paused when DJ Zero reconstituted everything, altering course to fetch up next to the Zero Avatar with Power Breaker, and arriving just in time to catch Power Breaker's declaration that he was going to go after Poe.

"If you have some means of tracking that little loon, I'm coming with you. He's got Kheldragon someplace, and I'm not sending Inky home tonight without her (surrogate?) mother." He said, then nodded to Zero. The DJ always made him... uneasy... thanks to his ability to see energy fields. The smiling disc jockey wasn't what he saw... or at least, not all of what he saw.

"Apologies for the blast." he said shortly, "But there was little time left, and I was running out of options... especially since people kept fouling my shots." E-X raised a cynical eyebrow at Zero. "Poe got out, as you know. But the teleport trace was... sloppy, at best, and probably hurt more than the blast did. And I'm pretty sure it left something behind. Any chance I could have it?" he asked, holding out a blue-gloved hand for the heatbaked goggles Poe had left behind.

Then he turned his head slightly. "And don't worry," he added as an aside to Power Breaker, "I'm rather more careful about collateral damage when there aren't any godlike transdimensional entities around to take care of the backlash/"

-------------------

All this was interrupted by a slight cough and the sound of things cracking. Above their heads, embedded in the wall just below the second-level heroside bar, a mostly humanoid figure was struggling loose. This accomplished, it dropped free and adjusted the magnificent, vaguely military-ish hat that had somehow survived the blast. It (he?) grinned with a mouthful of teeth that would have made Bruce the Shark green with envy and ambled over to the blueside bar not far from where he'd landed.

Lounging onto one of the stools next to Lt. Briggs, he draped a casual arm over her shoulder and commented "Whoo... vun moment, I is comink down in de leedle elevator-car, and de next t'ing I know, de vorld goes *BOOM!*" he finished, throwing his arms wide and expressively for a moment, before returning one arm to Lt. Briggs' shoulder. "Hyu guys really know how to t'row a velcome, dohlink!" he said as the grin broadened.

Horowitz the Jager had arrived.

((some explanation is necessary, I suppose... this is a good example of a couple of Jagermonsters/Jagerkin.

As to what is a Jagerkin is... well... take a fight-loving combat monster- all but indestructable and superhumanly strong. Give them green skin, pointy ears and a mouthful of incredibly pointy teeth.

Add a fun-loving personality that's not too bright (although Gorb in the example given is a bit on the dumb side even for a Jager) and a generally cheerful (if a bit overly fond of mayhem) outlook on life. Top off the whole thing with a Germanic accent so thick you could cut it into blocks and build things with it... then have them speak in what seems to be a New York dialect of some sort for no clearly defined reason.

As to why I cheerfully stole one for this RP? That accent is an incredible amount of fun to write, and the goofy, off-the-wall personality coupled with borderline cartoon indestructability opens up some possibilities ))