[ QUOTE ]
"Fair enough..." Jake muttered as he accepted the folder, fully assuming that Eff was still watching from somewhere. He decided to take advantage of this moment of [semi]seclusion to peek at the contents of the folder as Ineffable had predicted, making sure to absorb the information fully before placing it into his trenchcoat.
[/ QUOTE ]
Penny clanked around on the outside of the building, but all the vents she checked had been closed, which meant someone other than Nemesis had accessed the computer system to do so. She felt faint misgivings about that idea, but wasn't sure why.
Instead she turned to her radio. "Jake! You there?" She called to him. "I've got a great view out here, wanna see?"
She just hoped his goggles would be able to home in on her signal when she sent it.
((OOC sorry for the short post, I have somehow survived moving (How did that happen?) and am back in business!))
((Argh! Everybody goes too fast!))
The noise from the rotating portal was extremely loud, now that she was close to it, and it seemed to echo off the buildings in the courtyard more than the underground chambers. The few heads that had risen at her call returned to their tasks, as if they had merely imagined the sound.
Hey, she said again. No response this time. She put her fingers between her lips and let out a loud whistle.
Ferides shoulders twitched. Clearly, these folks were not going to get her the answers she needed. Surely Tina McIntire was around here someplace. Maybe she had something.
The dark hero headed toward the building at the back of the courtyard when she saw something out of place. A nervous-looking man stood away from the commotion. As she came closer, she noticed he was clad in body armor and a trench coat. Feride glanced at the Vanguard armor covering her torso and her own black trench coat. She snorted.
She was tempted to pass the man byprobably a hero, considering the blue and white get-up. However, if he had been standing there long enough, especially so close to the portal, he likely had some idea of what was going on. She wouldnt bother Tina if the hero knew anything. If she's here, she's doing research. Her and Joseph, wouldn't recognize reality if it... Feride shook her head.
On the other hand, years of interviews had taught her that his nerves would preclude most coherent answers. And the fact that he hadnt yet noticed her approach was a testament to how caught up in them he was.
She came right up next to him and gazed at the portal a moment. So, you think the psionic folks just manipulate our clothin for the [heck] of it? Probly a big laugh for em.
Champion: Feride Edain, Level 50 Vigilante Blaster; Quicksilver Cure, Level 33 Controller; Silent Gemini, Level 44 Tanker; Aisa Moirai, Level 19 Villain Dominator
Virtue: Aurora's Blaze, Level 50 Peacebringer; Atrytone, Level 50 Tanker
Several lenses cracked as Small Toy rudely smacked headfirst into the door. The drone's inherent nanite package, though low strength, was more than sufficient to repair the minor damage. What the nanites couldn't repair, however, was the bruise to Small Toy's ego. Contrary to popular belief, Small Toy actually did have a personality under its cool, compatent exterior and that personality was currently pissed off.
Getting back to its feet, Small Toy looked around at the door and the area around it. A brief analysis showed that the door was built too well to penetrate with Small Toy's particle gun and the action would have drawn unwated attention anyway. There was, however, a keypad situated next to the door and it was blinking red, which Small Toy took to mean that it was locked. Walking over to the keypad, which was at face height to the small drone, Small Toy gave it a good look over and sent a query back to Toy Dispenser.
**********************************************
"All my bots are alive and counted for," Toy Dispenser said as Grey shouted out for a roll call. "As am I, if you hadn't noticed."
"Still here!" Solid called out to Grey as he stood still to let Large Toy work him over with its nanite beam. "I'll be good to go once I grab my gun and work out some dents."
"I am Archlich," said the armored skeleton to Grey, making himself known by walking toward the tanker. "I shall be returning through the portal shortly in order to let the others know what has come about. If you have any messages to be passed on, let me know now before I begin my spell."
The lich also glanced over at Lady Grey as he said this, knowing that she would most likely have something to say to the real Dark Watcher back on Earth.
Toy was about to tell Archlich to relay information about the Nemesis Warhorse when he stopped. It would be best to see what Grey would say. It wasn't as if Toy was actively looking for Grey to screw up, it's just that his chances of survival were best if their leader was competant. Or so he kept telling himself. Thankfully, any further introspection was forestalled by the arrival of Cher'tak and Sah'Teece.
************************************************
"Many thanks: Sah'Teece, Penny Arcade drones," said Cher'tak as he kicked a chunk of automaton through the gaping hole in the wall that the Warhorse had blown earlier. "Current objective: Inform Randall Grey: Situation."
"That would be best," said Sah'Teece as he re-slung his bladerifle over his shoulder. After he brought his hand back down, he saw that it was shaking strongly. Cher'tak saw this as well and put a comforting hand, knuckle spikes retracted, on the diplomat-turned-solider's shoulder.
"Sah'Teece: Under pressure: Admirable bravery. Finer soldiers: Could accomplish: Little better."
Sah'Teece suddenly sighed heavily and slumped forward a bit, the tension he hadn't noticed before running out of him all at once. He had the strongest urge to sit down and fall alseep right now, despite the urgency of the situation.
"I never did sign up for this kind of thing, you know?" said one Rikti to the other. "I knew fighting wouldn't be easy when I volunteered for this mission... But this...?"
"Come: Report in. Introspection: After mission. No time: Until then," replied the Warmaster as he gently pulled Sah'Teece with him back toward the portal room.
Sah'Teece nodded silently and both Rikti started to head back. They ignored Penny's robots, figuring that the machines would either follow or not depending on their master's orders. Which reminded Cher'tak of something...
"Rhetorical query: Penny Arcade status," Cher'tak said to himself as the two Rikti passed Jake just after Ineffable had disappeared, giving the human a respectful nod as they went. "Remember: Alert superiors."
"I'll do that," Sah'Teece said as the Rikti entered the portal room and Toy Dispenser started moving toward Cher'tak.
********************************************
"Thanks," Solid grunted to Large Toy as the proc bot finished fixing up his arm. "Not the job a full body shop could do, but it'll work in a fight at least."
"Best I can do, sir," Large Toy stated. "I'm sure your own repair systems will keep anything from breaking down until we're out of this mess. The Rikti tech you have installed has done a good job of integrating into your systems. It should make things easier."
Solid Shot stared silently at Large Toy for a second before he spoke and when he did the light in his targeting eye had shrunk to a pinprick.
"You know about the Rikti tech in my arms?" Solid asked quietly.
"I only noticed it while I was repairing the damage, sir," Large Toy answered as it busied itself cleaning up bits of garbage that had collected in its joints during the fight. "I didn't know about the other arm, but generally human designers lean toward symmetry."
"I'd prefer if you didn't tell anyone else about this."
"Very well, sir. But I should warn you that Toy Dispenser already knows. He sees everything I do, even if he may not access the data actively unless he has a reason."
"Oh great," Solid muttered as he abruptly walked off, heading toward his OmniTech rifle leaning against the wall where it had been thrown during the Dark Watcher's attack.
************************************************
"Just the Rikti I was looking for," Toy said as he stood in front of Cher'tak, blocking the Rikti from advancing further. Sah'Teece looked at the two for a second before Cher'tak nodded at him and he left to report to Grey, letting the tank know about the former Nemesis assault and the possibility that Penny Arcade was still stranded out on the moon.
"Query: Your needs: Information, speculation?" asked Cher'tak as he looked around, searching for C'Kelkah. The scientist still had his bladerifle and he would prefer to recover it from her soon.
"Information, actually," replied Toy as he lifted up one hand and flipped open a panel on his forearm, revealing a small LCD screen and matching keypad. The screen was currently showing a photo of the keypad that Small Toy had come across.
"I was wondering if you might know how to open one of these."
"This information: Known. Query: Purpose, use: Keycode?"
"If you've noticed, I've been short one drone for the last couple of fights. He's been scouting ahead of us and came across a mysterious figure, some sort of reptile, I think, that he and I believe killed some of the guards of this station. He's been tracking the creature up until it slipped through a blast door and locked it behind him."
"Very: Well," Cher'tak said as he nodded and tapped the small screen in sequence. "Indicated sequence: Will obtain: Desired results. Warmaster: Override code: For emergencies."
"And this should certainly qualify as one," replied Toy with a chuckle.
************************************************
Satisfied, Small Toy tapped in the code that Toy Dispenser and transmitted to it and then faded back, prepared to avoid any incoming fire. If there was none, the drone would scan for any traps before continuing the chase.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
"I am about." Ineffable's voice drifted about the room in response to Grey's order. "Keeping an eye on things. Relatively speaking."
Turning back to face the Malta Operatives, Matt's nod caught him a nose full of plasma, the Titan he'd attacked trying to reduce the scrapper to monoatomic vapor in return. The second mechanoid took on the blaster on the street below, its pod covers clacking open to release another octet of roaring missiles. This time, however, the things' detonations resulted not in a large patch if flames, but caustic gas instead, the cumulative effects of which could hold most heroes fast, leaving them helpless in the area of effect.
The TacOps and their Commander didnt remain idle, of course. Though none of them were on the so-called 'red list' (which contained measures of things heroes really shouldn't engage one-on-one) like the duo of Titans, they were nowhere near useless.
Focusing on support, the TacOps tossing a set of web grenades at the speedy scrapper to slow him while the Commander pitched a wide-area stun grenade at Matt and Cory, hoping to catch them both within the blast radius...
--------------------
Wandering on the tubular, mechanical-looking connections between the odd structures may not have been the smartest thing the Fool could have done. Not only were they round and wet (thankfully the grated exterior surface present on most of them offset this a bit), but there was no telling when one of those lightning bolts wouldn't strike its intended satellite dish.
Sure, it hadn't happened yet - of if it had, he at least hadn't seen it - but with thunder overhead that never seemed to cease rolling, one could probably not be too careful around here.
If he still kept going (instead of maybe considering the elevator that had brought him here in the first place as a means of escape), he would find the thing that seemed to be the biggest structure around lay a bit further away than he'd thought. Not only because it was bigger than it had at first appeared, but also because there wasn't any direct route there - only the tubular conduits that led from one assembly to another.
Whatever this realm represented (or whoever, as perhaps it had been modeled after its creator's world) apparently had never heard of a walkway...
--------------------
"But unless she is injured, everything should resolve once we establish contact." Sah'Teece added to his debriefing of Randall as a final note, "The security fields allow solid matter to penetrate, so she will be able to simply step back in through any nearby hole in the facility's exterior."
On the other end of the chamber, where the Lady Grey had intended to speak to Cher'tak about the somewhat disoriented Lk'Onik, the woman now let out a huff, fingers massaging her forehead.
"Personally, I've had enough just about of mysterious anythings today." she joined the conversation, pulling Randall into it with a short call of attention to the tanker. Once he'd made his way over, she went on to delegate, "Take a scout team and scope this out. Details you get from Toy Dispenser, backup from me. I'll be along in a minute, once we get things sorted out here again, just in case 'Lord' Nemesis tries the same trick twice. Hasn't happened yet, but I'm not willing to bet on anything right now."
If the Warmaster still intended on looking for C'Kelkah right now, he'd find her out like a light on one of the medical stretchers, his bladerifle in her arms like a dear teddy bear. Apparently, she'd passed out weapon in hand - but whether due to the short effects of the chemical rejuvenator or something else wasn't certain. This all depended on the duration of Cher'tak's injection, and if their time of effect had not yet expired...
--------------------
A short gust of wind nearly shoved Small Toy a few millimeters forward, the section behind the door having lost pressure earlier and not fully regained it yet. The pumps could only do so much. Still, the door had given passage, which meant the section once more contained atmosphere enough to sustain a Rikti, and with that a human.
The corpses on the floor, however, certainly no longer needed sustenance. The Gunmen had been picked apart by Nemesis fire, their blood staining the floor and walls just as the oil and filings of shredded Nemesis robots. They'd put up a valiant fight, but in the end had apparently been overrun.
Oddly enough, there seemed to be some missing - trails of blood that could've only come from multiple bullet wounds clearly occupied two areas where no bodies lay. It was as if the fallen Rikti had simply vanished into thin air, like someone had come along and dissolved them right out of existence.
Worse yet, the bloody marks on the floor had obviously trailed about a bit - the Gunmen had still been alive and moving when whatever fate had befallen them had come to make its claim.
The corridor split in two here, neither the left nor right side giving much clue as to anyone having performed any physical motion down the passage in recent times. Then again, maybe the cause of the Gunmen's dissolution into brash oblivion didn't have need for physical means of movement at all...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
--Portal Corp. Courtyard--
"I think the world's psychics have more on their plates than just altering how everybody dresses," Sheldon replied darkly, "For instance, if the psychic I knew was designing my outfits, I'd probably be dressed to go to Pocket D all the time."
He lifted the android, it's rotors whining and buzzing as it stood.
"I believe you're looking for Unai Kemen," Sheldon's voice seemed to have softened, but only slightly, he was a professional to the last, "He's a little flabbergasted right now, dealing with a malfunction in the portal control. Now, I need to get this shell back over to the terminal and see if I can..."
He noticed the literally burned out USB cable.
"Sonova... That just does not happen!"
----------
--The Jade Moon--
Randall glared at Toy Dispenser.
"I wonder if I did something to offend that Tin Clown," he muttered, then, loudly to the rest of the group, "Alright, folks. Let's get some patrols going. We need forward progress here, and the sooner we can get moving, the better."
He turned to Lady Grey as he stood.
"I hope you don't mind if we take some able-bodied soldiers of yours to assist us."
----------
--Peregrine Island: Bay Area--
((Uh... Cory was never actually flying... He 'sploded, draining himself completely and only just recharged himself.))
When the beam passed, Mad Matt was on the ground, but rolling forward. The scrapper sprang up to his feet and the blade of his katana sang as it slashed through the air and the torsos of the remaining TacOps operatives. The two soldiers grunted as they gripped their bleeding chests and disappeared.
The explosion behind him signaled the stun grenade's detonation, not that Matt was too bothered by concussive effects (being the practiced brawler that he was). Instead, Matt just grinned at the TacOps Commander.
"Call 'em off," Matt indicated the machines, "Or I cut you some new bleed holes. My associate says none of this is necessary. Frankly... I'm hopin' you say 'no.'"
He stepped closer, placing the blade next to the Commander's neck.
"Then I get to have me some fun!"
----
Below, Cory was busy running away from the barrage of missiles that headed his way. Muttering a few incantations and feeling a few twitches in the aether, he was wreathed in his Wind and Ice armors almost at the same time. Taking flight, he thanked whatever gods watched over him that the noxious gases emitted by the missiles were filtered by the chemicals in the bright pill he'd consumed.
Spinning in the air, he worked to drain the heat energy from around him. He hated doing it, but right now, he needed all of that energy to use against the monstrous abomination of cold steel modernity. A ball of fire appeared in the sorcerer's hand, brighter than anything he'd made that night, and he hurled the explosive bundle of condensed heated oxygen at the Hercules Titan standing at the edge of the roof.
----------
--The Cyberbia--
"Yeesh," the Fool muttered as he crouched near the tubular constructs, "Well, I could probably finagle some way to get across using the rope and the spade... Maybe even the knife... But I'd probably risk damaging or losing them... I'd better not chance it."
Turning, he looked at the elevator.
"Oh, I hate these games!" he moaned, thinking of some of the odd puzzle games his younger brother, Ryat99 (Judgment, in this realm) always played.
Ryat99 also always seemed to get a chuckle out of them, too.
"I still don't see what's so funny," the Fool muttered to himself as he hit the "down" button next to the elevator door, "This stuff's pretty fricking scary in-person."
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
"Danica, still kicking." She smirked at her own joke, but no one else seemed to appreciate it.
"We are present as well," said Thelth, meaning himself and Straum.
Arc ID: 475246, "Bringing a Lord to Power"
"I'm only a simple man trying to cling to my tomorrow. Every day. By any means necessary."
-Caldwell B. Cladwell
"Penny? Yeah, I'm fine, and I'd love to join you if it weren't for the fact that we're needed at HQ." He stated, just before shouting.
"Present."Jake gave a wave as he and his bots casually strolled into the room as Grey asked for a roll call. "And all minions accounted for."
[ QUOTE ]
"Alright, folks. Let's get some patrols going. We need forward progress here, and the sooner we can get moving, the better."
[/ QUOTE ]
"I could send a few Drones forward to scope things out. I'm sure Penny and Toy would also be happy to oblige, if one of them hasn't already done so." He said this half expecting his suggestion to have already been done, not wanting to do much work himself.
"I'd be worried if you didn't." the Lady Grey gave the tanker a wry smirk. Randall knew very much what she'd implied just now: a good many heroes thought themselves invincible and often rushed headlong into things any sensible person knew to be too much to handle alone.
Maybe Freedom Corps wasn't such an air headed organization after all, their recommendation of Grey as a leader clearly holding water...
--------------------
((My bad. Misread him lobbing the fireball up to the building as him flying up, then throwing the thing. 
))
"Yeah, like I'd trust a meta." the TacOps Commander snarled in response, "Can't even listen in on a shady deal without you 'heroes' messing everything up. Like we were doing anything to you. But I guess that's why there are people like me around; without us, you'd just take the world for your own and do whatever the hell you like. Might makes Right, doesn't it? Well, damn you and your whole lot. Might for Right, and we're not going bye-bye until you animals are back on your leashes."
Matt quickly realized he was dealing with a fanatic - this man had been truly and completely convinced that all metahumans and assorted super-powered entities were trying to trample humanity under their feet, accountable to no one and with no repercussions to fear. Enraptured by the collective paranoia of Malta, the mad had no intention of giving up, thinking he knew well what would happen if he did - the meta would just slash at him anyway.
But not with a high-voltage current running through every fiber of every muscle. The TacCom had taken the opportunity of the scrapper's hesitation (the web grenades slowing Matt's reaction time a good bit) to ram his taser toward McGinty's gut. Even with his supreme defenses, there was almost no chance the scrapper could dodge something he never saw coming at this close a range - and together with the long-persisting effects of the stun grenade, the shock to his system would more than likely be enough to stun McGinty, at least temporarily.
Not one to wait to see if his logic had been correct (with these damn metas, one just never knew), the TacCom let himself fall back and roll, freeing the way for the Titan's attempt to savagely pummel Matt with all the force its cannon arm could muster.
At roughly the same time, the Hercules at the edge of the roof took a few steps back, stoically taking the impact of Cory's fireball. Armor began to buckle under the intense heat, but it wouldn't be enough to take down something on the red list alone.
Not that the Titan intended to give Simmons the chance. Its missile bays clacked open once again, loosing a swarm of projectiles tipped with high explosives powerful enough to knock an armored helicopter out of the sky...
--------------------
The wall sealed the alcove once again, just as it had done before, and the elevator didn't seem to do a thing. But the Fool already knew it to be taking him elsewhere. He hadn't felt any motion in its earlier trip either.
Moments later, the wall rocketed away again. Outside now sat a landscape that to a human must have been even more horrid than the realm of lightning.
The sky came across as nothing but a wall of dark clouds drenched in blood, the fiery light of what appeared to be a sun only enough to give it a dull sheen of somewhat brighter crimson, though the star itself even achieved even a spot of full yellow. Judging from its current appearance, either the clouds were thin there by some coincidence, or the thing was very large and very white.
And very hot.
In fact, everything was hot. Burning, even. The landscape was a frightening assembly; a downright hellish plain of dark rock and bright-red rivers of lava, interrupted every now and then by a jutting formation, be it a mountain in the distance or just a sheer cliff nearby.
Still, the place had something the Fool hadn't seen for a while now: ground. It may have been full of lava flows, jagged as could be, and generally very nasty looking, but it was ground. He'd arrived on the bottom level of the system.
Not that he needed to actually touch said ground, of course. The designer (or whatever this all represented) had taken the time to place a set of walkways about the skyscraper-like elevator, the transport program the Fool had just emerged from. Indeed, the constructs closely resembled the massive, conical main structure he'd seen in the distance in the lightning realm, and he'd emerged on a large, circular platform that jutted from its edge, looking outward over the landscape in the direction of the elevator entryway. Whatever heat may have raged near the flows, up here the temperature still sat at tolerable levels.
Of more interest, however, was that right in said direction, not ten meters or so ahead, stood the vague silhouette of some manner of creature. No, it didn't stand - it leaned forward against the rail that encircled the platform. Aside from this observation, the fact that it seemed to compare in height to a human, and that a long, whiplike, and almost devil-tipped tail trailed behind it, however, general lack of any good light combined with the creature's smooth, night-black skin to obscure whatever other elements of morphology it might have possessed...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
((Damnation... Now Khell beat me to it.
*sigh*
I'll see if any of what I had wills till fit... I think it will...))
--Cyber-Hell(?)--
The Fool sucked in his breath sharply and felt a strong unease about the whole situation. This was a first for him, as he'd never actually been afraid before.
"Never had to worry about dying before," he muttered to himself, "Still..."
Pinging his knife against the walkway to make sure it was safe, he made his way for the demon, the only other figure around. With any luck, it was a smoke-and-mirrors act, but the Fool hadn't been very lucky lately.
"Excuse me sire," he called out over the sounds of conflagration, "I was hoping you could have a word with me, perhaps be something along the lines of forthcoming with answers to the many questions I have... Well, maybe not many, but certainly pressing."
The "devil-man" didn't make a motion, so the Fool edged closer.
"Certainly there is a personality behind such a complex facade. Most daemons tend not to look like... um... demons."
----------
--Jade Moon--
Randall nodded to Lady Grey and set to work gathering up able-bodied Vanguard troopers. There weren't many that were fit for duty just yet, only around twenty riflemen and one wizard. However, they were just the unscathed ones who weren't quite needed for the rehabilitation effort necessary in the aftermath of the Nemesis attack.
"Alright, Delta Team, form up!" he shouted over the din of pained moans, "Let's get everybody some troopers assigned to them, and divide up into teams to get a decent inspection underway."
----------
--Peregrine Island: Bay Area--
Mad Matt screamed and cursed through clenched teeth as he fell face-first to the ground when the tazer hit him. It felt like his skin had turned into a roiling cloud, and it was due to the luck of a muscle spasm that he even retained a grip on his sword-hilt.
Suffice it to say, he was both angry and elated that the Malta Group Officer had decided to end it this way. Elated, because now he got to cut the nimrod a few new bleed holes, like he promised. Angry because that tazer didn't exactly tickle.
As he regained his faculties, Matt became aware of the heavy sound of one of the Hercules Titans bearing down on him. With the dull whine of its arm raising, he knew what was coming next. As the "fist" came crashing down, he acted.
Letting loose a loud, wordless bark, he slammed the hilt of his sword into the concrete surface of the roof. The metal arm of the machine connected with the tip.
Most katanas would bend or break under such pressure, as they were hardly made by expert swordsmiths and the companies that made such prefabricated weaponry rarely used the finer steels. More often than not, the weapons were little better than ornaments, and were definitely not fit for super-hero combat.
Matt's blade was not a prefab. However, it was also not made by a grand master swordsmith, nor was it made with fine steel. The advantage it had over its lesser brothers (and even some of its betters) was that it was an enchanted blade.
His mentor (not sensei, his father forbade such a relationship, fearing it would have hindered Matt's development in other areas in his life, like school and friendship) had granted the weapon to the young high school graduate as a gift, for completing both school and his martial arts training. The young man had been told that the sword would never dull, bend or break.
Now, it was receiving nearly the penultimate in stress tests. Perhaps getting hit by a Zeus Titan or Statesman itself would prove whether or not the magic was truly so strong. However, here, the enchantment was more than enough. The blade held, and the Hercules assault was deflected.
Matt scrabbled back to his feet, got into a stable stance, and assaulted the cybernetic monstrosity. Sheldon had worked on the wreckages of such machines before, and had instructed Grey's Army on the correct points to assault the machines to do the most damage.
Matt aimed a stab for the Hercules Titan's sensor array, located on the top of what would normally be shoulders in most living things...
----
Cory had been speeding around the building, away from the missiles, but he stopped and suddenly darted back toward them. Flying through the center of the swarm, he cursed a little as he got clipped by two, one after the other. He had a new plan, one that was a little risky, but he had to chance it. His ability to draw energy from the Aether hadn't yet returned, and the gems he used to replenish himself hadn't given nearly enough to keep all his enchantments running at once.
He barely avoided a blast beam from the Titan as he tore across the sky and closed with it (it actually caught him a little in his left wing, but he was too focused to notice). Getting closer, he coalesced the condensation in the air into a blade of ice.
Closer...
Closer...
The Titan aimed it's cannon at him again, but Cory was too close. However, instead of attacking, he just somersaulted in the air, avoiding another beam of energy, and landed behind the Hercules.
"Just a little energy left..."
When the machine lifted its arm to smash the wizard, Simmons rammed the mystically charged weapon of ice into it's elbow joint and propped himself against it. With any luck, this would hold just long enough...
In the background, the sound of a missile cluster was getting closer...
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
"What? Teaming up with Vanguard? Prepostorous!" said Solid Shot, affecting a snobby British accent. "Why in my day, we heroes walked right into dragons' lairs with nary a teenaged sidekick by our side!"
Solid spun around in a circle as he walked past Lady Grey and Randall and flashed them a peace sign as he switched his voice back to normal.
"But seriously now, the more Impervium I can put in between Rikti plasma blasts and my all-too-fragile titanium plating, the better," Solid said as he stopped walking just a hair short of bumping into Danica. "And on that note, I'd like to volunteer for the patrol."
"Didn't you just say you wanted more people in front of you?" rumbled Combat Toy as it half turned to look down at Solid.
The blaster shrugged in response.
"What can I say? Getting to shoot things trumps not getting shot."
As soon as Solid stopped talking, Archlich loudly cleared his throat and glared at the assembled people.
"Since apparently no one has any messages to send, I am going to begin my ritual," the mage said, clearly irritated that no one had seemed to pay any attention to him.
Solid watched Archlich stalk over to sit cross legged a few feet in the air next to the locked hatch that lead to the depressurized area.
"Quite a crowd you hang out with, Candy Machine," he offhandidly remarked to Toy Dispenser.
The mastermind ignored the not-at-all-subtle dig and looked over at the two Greys.
"I already have one of my drones scouting out the area. Right now it's at a fork after losing the trail of something it has been tracking," he said. "If one of those computers still works, I can upload what images Small Toy was able to capture of the creature and what I suspect it tampered with, namely several Rikti corpses."
"Eater of: Dead?" Cher'tak said to himself. "Known information: Suggests: Absence: Life: Jade Moon."
"That doesn't sound good, then," muttered Solid.
**************************************************
Following standard procedure, Small Toy started heading down the left corridor.
*******************************************
Taking a moment from what was sure to be an interesting conversation, Cher'tak moved over to check on C'Kelkah. Tapping a panel on his helmet synched his HUD with hers, allowing him to determine how she was doing. The synching technology was designed specifically for allowing medics quick identification of a soldier's wounds and was made possible by the semi-organic nature of all Rikti technology.
Judging from the level of chemicals in her bloodstream, C'Kelkah would wake up any minute now, probably feeling like someone had hit her with a hover tank. He figured he could leave her his weapon for now until she could find a replacement. If anything, this would just give him an excuse to use his battle gauntlets more.
Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something? Cher'tak thought to himself.
The answer came to him almost immidiately.
"Location: Lkk'Onik?" Cher'tak said as he looked around for the Psi-Scout.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
Jake face took on that of annoyance as everyone seemed to ignore his offer, instead choosing to go about their own business amongst themselves.
Ooookay... He thought, believing his eye to be on the verge of twitching.
Just as he was about to speak up again, however, another mastermind had beaten him to it.
[ QUOTE ]
"I already have one of my drones scouting out the area. Right now it's at a fork after losing the trail of something it has been tracking," he said. "If one of those computers still works, I can upload what images Small Toy was able to capture of the creature and what I suspect it tampered with, namely several Rikti corpses."
[/ QUOTE ]
"Ah, OK then." He said more to himself than anyone. "Guess I better go do what the tanker says, then..." Stretching his arms behind his head and, in the process, causing a pain to form in his recently healed arm, he walked over to Randall Grey and gave a half-hearted salute. "You called, sir?" He said with clear sarcasm, chuckling.
--Jade Moon--
Randall nodded, ignoring the obvious contempt in the rogues.
"One of these days, these guys are gonna realize that we're all just people tryin' to get by, hero or not."
"Good job, Toy Dispenser," he grunted at the robot, "I guess that means we know where to get started."
He turned to Jake.
"You got yourself some robots, right? Take yourself, that girl I see you hangin' out with, a few soldiers and try to hook up with a heavy type... That other tank... What's-his-name... Binro! When we get out of this chamber, take the left corridor that Dispenser's drone is at."
He looked about to anybody else who had availed themselves to him.
"Danica! Solid Shot... Toy Dispenser... and... [To Hell with] it. I'll go. We'll take the right. A third group should stay with the Vanguard proper, the ones who won't be able to keep up with us... For obvious reasons."
He sighed.
"I'm willing to accept volunteers for forward positions... We could probably use medically skilled types, but anybody is welcome to a point. Like I said, we still need a back-up force to remain with the injured troops."
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
"Right-o." Jake replied, turning around and giving a wave as he tried to contact Penny again. "Penny, you're needed back here at HQ. We're gonna scout ahead along with this guy. Binro, I think."
[ QUOTE ]
"Right-o." Jake replied, turning around and giving a wave as he tried to contact Penny again. "Penny, you're needed back here at HQ. We're gonna scout ahead along with this guy. Binro, I think."
[/ QUOTE ]
It took Penny some time to find a way back into the building. At length she located another hole in the wall, this one not venting atmosphere, thanks to the energy shield which protected it.
"I'm here," she said as she worked her way through it. "Scouting, huh? Let's go."
In short order she had caught up with Jake. By now she was wearing the silvery dress again, and beamed at him as if nothing had happened.
Jake chuckled and looked at her. "Not just yet. The lead wants us to bring along a meat shield. Don't really see why, our minions already provide enough cover..." He turned around and smiled at his creations, and, had they been able to feel emotion, they might've smiled back.
Jake's outward pride was shortlived, however. "Anyway, I don't feel like waiting. That guy better hurry up." He commented with irritation in his voice.
I've gotta hurry up and make preperations...
[ QUOTE ]
"Anyway, I don't feel like waiting. That guy better hurry up." He commented with irritation in his voice.
[/ QUOTE ]
" 'This guy' will keep up just fine," Binro said calmly as he joined up with Penny and Jake. His axe and the Nemesis staff were once again strapped to his back, while his mace was strung on his belt.
"And impressive as your machines are, I dare say I might prove a bit sturdier in the long run." Binro kept himself toward the front of the group in order to take the initial brunt of any sudden attack. The Vanguard soldiers that broke off to follow them kept toward the back, watching the rear.
Apparently, the creature had been listening to something else until this point in time, as the sudden twitch in its muscles fully gave away that the Fool's presence now surprised it. With motion rapid as a bolt of lightning, clawed hands released the railing and the head twitched about, allowing the Fool to get a good look at the thing - although the clearly defensive posture may not have been what he wanted to see.
For a moment, the being didn't move, its pupilless left eye considering the Fool with great scrutiny. Then, however, it dropped to all fours, casually wandering about Ryat66 at a constant distance in a fashion extremely similar to a large, predatory feline, head locked to the Fool's as it paced the perimeter.
"Hmmm..." it finally remarked, ceasing its trot, "You're not supposed to be here. How did you get away from my sentries...?"
--------------------
"Go on ahead." the Lady Grey gave the all clear to Delta team, her Dark Servant rearranging some equipment, after which it vanished into thin air, "I'll be along shortly..."
--------------------
Arcs of luminescent static crackled from the Titan's sensor strip as Matt's blade cleaved a deep gash, the machine stumbling back in surprise for a moment. Roughly a second passed before it fired a plasma bolt at nearly point-blank range, though the chances of actually striking the scrapper had fallen to nearly nil at this point.
The TacCom, however, didn't need a second. Coming out of his roll in a crouch, the man attacked immediately, seeking to turn McGinty into Swiss cheese while he still busied himself stabbing the Hercules.
Cory's plan, however, didn't quite work out. The ice sword crouched into the Hercules' works, striking a weakened spot from the earlier fireball to slow the mechanoid, but there was after all a good reason why Malta Titans didn't blast each other with their own munitions when in close combat with heroes.
Extremely sophisticated IFF systems.
A bash of the Titan's heavy arm crashed into Simmon's frozen armor, the ice cracking woefully under the impact, but leaving the blaster mostly unharmed. Still, an action demanded an equal and opposite reaction in this universe, and the sudden impulse sent him flying, Cory's back hitting the roof a good few meters from the Hercules.
Then came the missiles.
The Titan may still have been in their path, but the intelligent munitions didn't much care. Swerving around what identified as 'friendly' on their sensors, the sudden bend in their trails of smoke might have looked almost comical - that was, if the concussion warheads hadn't been about to slam into Simmons...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
"Ah, you may be sturdier, but with twelve seperate minions here and a nearly endless supply ready to replace them, you can see why I don't see much need for you." He said, smirking and following behind Binro with his minions in tow.
--CyberHell(?)--
The Fool shrugged.
"Your sentries let me go to do something, I fought them to little avail, and the moment I told them I wasn't going anywhere, they disappeared. Am I to assume you're the same figure that requested the use of my shell? You look like a demon-spawned dragon, now. So odd, when before your countenance implied near-to-full-blown deific capabilities."
He leaned against the rail, trying to maintain a non-threatening posture.
"I'm not here to fight. I'm here to talk. You don't need to pace around me like that. I don't see yet why we can't be friendly."
----------
--Peregrine Island: Bay Area--
Cory closed his eyes in dismay as the missiles found their way to him. There was a blinding pain as his ice armor was shattered and his body sent tumbling aside from the Hercules Titan.
His gamble had failed.
Accursed technology. It made it so difficult to have heart in anything one did.
Lying on the concrete surface of the building's roof, he idly wondered if this was where his life had taken him. Sure, if he was soundly broken here, he'd be transported straight to the Aquarius Medical Center, but when he returned, Matt would probably have been defeated and the very people they were trying to find out about would be gone...
He didn't get a chance to think about it. The Titan was already bearing down on him. Probably wanted to get one last hit in to make sure he was dead.
Matt, however, had different plans. He saw the danger his friend was in, and immediately disengaged from the Titan he was fighting, barely missing the energy blast that scorched past the back of his head. The bullets fired by the TacOps Commander sailed through the air into the distance as well, but the soldier was able to more easily correct his aim and get another shot off.
What he wasn't expecting was Matt to wheel back around and kick him in the groin. The katana snaked out as well, slicing neatly through the weapon's housing before Matt wheeled back around and bolted for the other Hercules Titan bearing on his friend.
As the machine levelled it's energy cannon at Simmons, Matt struck. Somersaulting into the air, the scrapper stabbed the point of his weapon into the machine's sensor array. Landing in front of it, he raked the weapon through the machine's midsection.
Lubricant seemed to start leaking out. Matt hardly cared, he ran back to the TacOps commander.
It was time to stop focusing on one guy at a time.
----------
--Jade Moon--
Randall nodded to Lady Grey and walked over to Toy Dispenser.
"What do you say? You, me, and whoever we can safely gather, head on down that right corridor your friend's considering and see what we can find. There's gotta be something in this base that needs our attention, regardless."
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
[ QUOTE ]
"Ah, you may be sturdier, but with twelve seperate minions here and a nearly endless supply ready to replace them, you can see why I don't see much need for you."
[/ QUOTE ]
"Then I will endeavor to prove to you just how useful I can be," Binro replied with a smirk of his own, though the expression looked a little off on his alien features.
"Couldn't agree more." a Vanguard operative gave Grey and agreeing nod, a few personnel having assembled behind the man, "That's why we don't have any time to waste. Don't wanna get jumped again."
The armored soldiers seemed quite eager to get going. They would follow Grey's orders to the letter.
On the other end of the large chamber, an Adept answered the Warmaster's inquiry, directing him toward the entryway to the small portal room, where Lk'Onik could be found. The Psi-Scout had assumed a meditative pose, clearing his mind from the confusion that had befallen it earlier - the reason he'd been quiet and nearly impossible to spot on the small mental network between the four Rikti.
If addressed, he'd of course reply, though Cher'tak may not have wished to disturb him. In a state of deep thought like this, Lk'Onik could more easily scope out the main network in great detail without fear of discovery; something the Warmaster knew he'd planned to do before Nemesis had attacked. After all, knowledge of what had happened so far was a rather high priority to which directions Vanguard's plans would take after the facility had been fully secured...
--------------------
"It figures." the creature shook its head with a sigh as it stopped. The bone plate that extended from the back of its skull underscored the motion even further than its gaze passing over the floor, "I really need to find a way around this whole undeniable logic thing without increasing their intelligence."
With that, the being turned to look up at the Fool again, seeming to muster him closely with its pupilless eyes, "And no, the one you met was XANV. He's my do-this guy. Actually, you did meet me before, but you doubt you knew it at the time - I'll give you one guess who all those quantum blocks up there are a part of."
"That's right," the creature gave the Fool a toothy smile, "I'm the representation of the computer's controlling entity. You would probably call me an AI. It's a little more complicated than that because I'm really just a tiny piece of a large puzzle, but I don't want to bore you with the workings of duplicit mechanics of quantum uncertainty."
"Oh, and yes, there is a reason for this form." the being went on to explain, "Dr. Webb stinks at programming, so he asked the entity I'm a part of to make me very familiar to him for ease of interaction. After all, what better shape than your own family, right?"
"In any case, you're still not supposed to be here." came a very matter-of-fact statement, "Thusly, I'm afraid I'm going to have to get rid of you. Nothing personal. You seem a likeable fellow. But I have to do my job first. It's the only reason I exist in the first place. You understand, don't you?"
With that, the creature rose up onto two legs, stepping over to the elevator the Fool had come from. Apparently, the intelligence the AI had been modeled after felt just as comfortable as a biped as it did walking on all fours - something that could get dangerous in a fight.
However, the clawed hand reaching for a symbol group inside the alcove gave a more likely impression of the creature simply intending to use the environment to be rid of the Fool.
Then its hand stopped for a moment, the being turning back to the Fool, "Well? Come along now, I'm not going to carry you..."
--------------------
The TacCom's face became a mask of disgust. A low-down move like that was just what he'd expect from a meta.
And he had - or more precisely, Malta had. The organization wasn't stupid, and like the US military, their vests of course came with groin protectors. Sure, it didn't tend to help much against super strength, but was certainly more than enough to prevent Matt's kick from doing any real harm.
Still, the force sent the Commander dipping back a bit, allowing the katana to slice his weapon easily. Worse yet, before he even knew it, the scrapper had cleared the distance to the second Hercules and practically sliced it in half!
"Command override!" the TacCom bellowed as he whipped out his sidearm, "Engage merger sequence!"
The Hercules units let everything stay and be, their heavy steps shaking the roof as they ran toward one another, internal locator beacons giving them absolute certainty of their relative locations. To anyone who'd tangled with Malta before, the threat stood in clear view, even as the TacCom made a break for the sniper rifle that still lay on the roof...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
"Fine with me," replied Toy to Grey's query. "I'd suggest we also bring Thelth and his buddy as well. Some of the Vanguard, the Rikti, and Archlich when he gets back can hold the fort here."
"It would be a good idea for the Warmaster to go with Jake's group, sir," input Large Toy. "Small Toy can serve as a relay between our two groups, allowing the Warmaster the potential to lend his knowledge to either force."
Toy Dispenser nodded, pleased at the robot's initiative.
"If what Large Toy said sounds good to you, I'll go and get Cher'tak now," he said to Grey.
***********************************************
"Condition: Lk'Onik: Well?" asked Cher'tak quietly once he sensed what the Psi-Scout was doing. To initiate a mind link at this time would be a very bad idea. At the least it would force Lk'Onik to start over again and at the worst it would alert the other Rikti to their presence here on the moon.
The Psi-Scout nodded to reply.
"Apologies: Earlier outburst," Cher'tak continued with a dip of his head. "Self discipline: Formerly lacking. Current state: Relieved: Little damage: Caused."
Lk'Onik nodded again and the Warmaster nodded back.
"Good: Luck," Cher'tak said as he turned to exit the portal room.
*****************************************
"Well, this is going to be fun, eh guys?" said Solid to Thelth and his friend. "Nothing like carrying the fight to the enemy, huh? Guns a blazing, spells a flinging, damsels a screaming, and all that good stuff, right?"
Meanwhile, Archlich was surrounded by several of his trademark runes as he continued to mutter arcane phrasings under his breath. Curiously enough, any one who heard those words would forget them almost as soon as they registered the sound. It was almost as though the words were spoken and then flashed into unexistence as soon as they came into being.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
--Jade Moon--
"It sounds good, get to it," Randall nodded to Toy Dispenser, "I'll start ahead, seeing as how it takes me a while to move..."
He chuckled and started heading down the corridor.
----------
--CyberHell--
The Fool pushed himself from the railing. Cheerfully, he marched up to the AI facsimile.
"Wow," he gasped, "So... You're bound to your programming first? My designer preferred to allow my brethren and I to have pretty much free will... It's sometimes problematic, but one out of a hundred can't be too bad, right?"
As they entered the elevator, he seemed to revise his thinking.
"Actually, it's one-in-one hundred one... We sometimes forget to count Prime, the prototype. He's classified a rogue, but he's actually pretty cool. He's been sending us e-mails, telling us about what he's found on our black sheep brother and his plots to... Well... it's best if I don't get into it right now, or I'll jsut talk forever."
His head bobbed from side to side. He seemed to be dancing in place. When the dragon-like AI glared at him, he smiled.
"How about you tell me more about yourself. I promise, I'll be fascinated! You guys are draconic in origin? Something reptilian? Perhaps an alien race that bears a striking resemblance to terrestrial reptiles? Why are you preventing people from escaping from the other side of the portal? Why the vested interest? Is it something simple, like profit, or is it something more complex, like a plot to take control by holding premiere heroes hostage?"
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--Peregrine Island: Bay Area--
Most heroes are filled with dread when two damaged Hercules Titans merge together and become a not-nearly-so-damaged Zeus Class Titan. Nobody was quite certain how it happened, Sheldon theorized they had a bladder of repair nanites used to help fuse the machines together and alter their internal workings. It was somewhat viable (it would explain why all that damage got patched up in the blink of an eye), but, again, nobody was certain since the machines were loaded with small explosives that decimated much of their internal workings when captured or defeated.
Once the Hercules Titans became the hulking Zeus Class Titan, it was as if they built a machine that had exponentially increased its firepower. Able to fire a nearly never-ending barrage of rockets and blasters, not to mention the heavy fists mounted on each of its cannons for melee walloping (and that was a lot of momentum behind those "fists"), the Zeus Class Titan was a terror for the high-end heroes of the city.
Matt had never fought one. His friends, Cory, Cedric, and Kip had. This was his first one.
He grinned wickedly and pointed his sword at the cyborg as he relished the opportunity.
"I'm gonna ram that arm up your [butt] and turn you into a popsicle!"
He opened the attack with a slice aimed for the nearest arm. This was merely a distraction, however, as his real intent was to cut its legs out from underneath it. The next attack went for the machine's left knee, then a neat slash up wards through the crotch and torso of the machine.
He met much resistance from the machine's armor plating, and gasped when he saw how little damage he actually did.
This was going to be difficult.
Behind him, Cory Simmons blinked as he returned to the waking world. Seeing his friend's distress, he considered his options. So far, they were few, but since the enemy seemed distracted, perhaps he could do something somewhat effective...
----------
--Portal Corp Courtyard--
Sheldon cursed as he pulled open Ryat66's head and set to work on rewiring a USB cable into the head. It was tough work, especially since he had to convince the Portal Corp techs to give him a new one.
"I think this is a bad idea," Unai Kemen mentioned off-handedly as he dealt with other pressing concerns, "Something powerful bent the visor there into a grin. I don't think we're dealing with normal technology anymore, Sheldon. I'm trying to get my techs to set up a different control system."
"There's absolutely no guarantee that won't wind up hacked, too," Sheldon replied curtly.
"We don't even know it was hacked..."
"It was," Sheldon glowered at his work, then set about undoing it to redo it another way, "This would be so much easier if i could..."
He looked up at one of the techs.
"You look like you're getting possessed."
"What?" the tech asked as Sheldon aimed his gauntlet at him.
A green beam issued from the glove and sapped some of the energy out of the tech. He started yelling angrily at the inventor, but already Sheldon was paying him no mind.
"It's not like his moving slower is going to hinder you," Wallace muttered to Unai, surprisingly coherent, "I have to repeat myself a lot for you to understand me, so please don't ask me to answer you too often. Now... How I know it's a hack. The portal still works. Whatever you need it for, somebody else needs it for. They are, however, making it difficult, if not impossible, for you to operate it properly because that gives them power. Whether or not they're doing it for their own safety precaution, the prospect of money in the future, or intend to make things royally hurt later down the line is up to you, but those are the three most likely vague scenarios."
He walked over to Unai so he could be certain of the security chief's understanding. He was holding Ryat66's head, and the grin was bending back into place to its normal basic shape.
"There are other, more complicated possibilities, which make the whole dealing with the portal control a waste of time. Suffice it to say, you have a problem here and you are by no means searching for the proper cause. Yes, there's something in the machine, the network even. But you need to call some heroes down here to deal with the source of what's inside there, or it's never going to get fixed."
"Isn't that why we have your android friend inside there?" Kemen glared into Wallace's glasses, somehow piercing through to the eyes behind the shades and actually chilling Sheldon, "Don't suppose you know how to do my job, 'Victor.' I am doing what I can, in case you haven't noticed, we have been frighteningly short on volunteers. Most just want to hop through the portal like Skull-boy did a second ago. Others, take off willy-nilly, and still others don't have a [fricking] clue what they're doing, but still take reckless risks. I'm not the one deciding they do this. On top of the fact that I have to rely on technicians and troubleshooters whose jobs are not to deal with supernatural problems, but with standard problems. We have done what we can here. Now, the situation has grown out of control and we needed to do something drastic, something which is still being done. Do not propose to tell me how to do my job, Wallace. I've been doing it too long to be criticized by a mad scientist like you."
Wallace's hands had been a blur up to this point, but as Kemen's final sentence ended, so did the motion of his hands. Sheldon's face was still stoically calm.
"I apologize," he suddenly said, "You are right... It makes much of my point less valid, and I withdraw my criticisms. However, my analysis of the situation, the problem we're having with the control, stands the same. I am sorry for my tangent."
My Stories
Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.
"I am here," Binro said, retrieving his axe and the Nemesis staff. He slung his mace onto his belt as he walked over. "And am uninjured as well, thankfully."