"Caleb will know. The guy always knows. And yeah I know that crystal, it's effects are greater on me than on a human. So keep it a good distance away from me," The crystal cat thought at 'Wing, his origin cluster glowed faintly.
-----------------------------------
Forgotten Zone/Kings Row
The man named Clown's head snapped around at such a speed and angle that any normal persons neck would have been broken.
He let out a coarse laugh, his mask had began to glow a faint silver in color, "Well chaps, looks like I may bee gettinn a little boosty boost!"
I do not know my reasons for posting, but post I must. ~~Build
"We can't stop here, this is bat country."
--Johnny Depp
"I ain't bi-curious, I'm a man. Why do you think I'm wearing this tight spandex and got all these muscles?" Meatwad
((Project_M, Energon X didn't see your fight and wouldn't have stuck around if he did; Lord Recluse is hunting Kheldians, and he wants to get whoever it was he sensed off the street as soon as possible, unless they're on a mission. So he was already in Boomtown long before your fight was over. Plus, he always flies cloaked with a minimum of three layers of stealth))
BASTION
Target blinked at the Specialist's assertion. Ay-yi-yi... projecting much? Then he shook his head. "If you're talking about Uncle E, he went to do what he said he went to do. Find the wandering Kheldian. He doesn't prevaricate about things like that... and he couldn't sense psychic energy unless you used it to drop something heavy on his head, so I doubt he even noticed whatever it was that made you two so jumpy."
The Archer exchanged glances with Wolffe at the pair's next statement. "Planes?" he echoed. "I'm headed topside, Wolffe. Any other fliers want to join me, s'all good, but I can usually handle Sky Raiders or Arachnos Fliers. Amazing what a handful of steel rods in their intakes can do."
---------------------------------------------
BOOMTOWN
Energon X returned to the vicinity of the Dark Rover, hovering invisibly over it and shaking his head slightly at the turrets festooning it. I think this lot have been at war a little too long... he thought briefly, before returning to scanning the area. The energy traces went up to a breach in the hull, clouded for a moment as though whoever made them had paused, then moved over to the another, larger breach, and disappeared inside.
The Blaster would have frowned, had he still been able. Scavenger party? he wondered. He glided invisibly up to the breach and peered inside, noting with irritation that the visible spectrum was pretty much nil. Even infrared wasn't much help, and the exotic energies pulsing through the ship were already giving him a disembodied headache. He let out an inaudible grunt and slid in through the gap. If the heroes' Kheldian ally was in here, they needed to be out; if they weren't an ally, they needed to be out and warned.
---------------------------------------------
FORGOTTEN ZONE/KINGS ROW
Scarlet Eye stepped out of the shadows behind the old Garment Works. He was still seething over his failure to suborn Dax; to turn a creature whose very being was Order to the purpose of chaos would have been a fitting irony.
His lanky, dark-clad figure rippled for a moment, growing shorter and paler as he assumed the form of a high-ranking Pariah Prelate. This done, he slid through a convenient manhole, passing intangibly through the heavy, cheap metal and landing in the sewer below without a splash. Already, the psionic nexus that swirled invisibly about Kings Row was invigorating him.
Ishmael had planned to use the powers of The Lost, boosted by this location, to wreck Paragon City through brute force. The Scarlet Eye had... grander plans. He had been carefully suborning this cadre of The Lost for more than a decade now, coordinating them to far greater effectiveness than they had ever had before; isolating, and then killing or turning the defenders of Kings Row, one by one, leaving those who remained easy prey for kidnapping and mutation.
He nodded at the Headmen who guarded the doorway to his sanctum sanctorium, who in turn greeted him with a respectful "Prelate Occulum." and nods of their own, although their hands never left their heavy Rikti blasters. Once safely inside his heavily shielded chamber, the Scarlet Eye allowed himself a small smile. It will be... a shame... to lose so... handy... a base... of operations. he thought, amusedly.
Of course, should that loss occur as planned, his power would have increased a thousandfold, so it would, in all likelihood, matter little. The time... draws... nea... eh?
The Scarlet Eye's train of thought was interrupted by Cry's imperious call, barely more than a squeak from this distance, through the shielding about this chamber. The Eye briefly replayed what the little monster had said, before echoing incredulously YOUR... other Eye..?, followed by a roar of psychic laughter and the telepathic equivalent of a solid cuff upside the head, then gave Cry no more thought for the moment. The infant would kneel (or dance, or explode... it mattered little, so long as it was to his whim) before him, in the end. If Cry did not, it would be because the Scarlet Eye had been discorporated, and he would be past caring.
Then his head snapped around. Chaos... Energy? he thought, as close to wonder as it was possible for him to be. I had... thought... all such... lost... to the ages... long since... Re-attuning his senses from one rarified plane to another, he 'switched channels' from psychics to magic, carefully following the faint trace he had 'smelled'.
He frowned. There was little or nothing in Kings Row, yet he had sensed enormous power, a tendril reaching down from the sky to brush across... someone. Resuming his more usual trench-coated form, the chaos elemental stepped into the shadows to emerge not far from Bang's hiding place, wandering aimlessly, carefully projecting a low-level psychic aura of helplessness. These... lesser lost... guard... one another carefully. Should I appear... as one of their own... they will... undoubtedly bring me in... and allow me to scan them for what... I sensed... briefly.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
"Hm?" Danger raised a tiny eyebrow at the miscommunication, "Oh! Negative. I meant the guy who looks like the Chief...Wing. Was that it?"
"Bladewing." Groul corrected, but left it at that, allowing the Specialist to go on.
"Ah." said man remarked, turning back to Target, "And psychic energy...er, that was your name for mental stuff, right?"
"Correct." the red-scaled creature confirmed with a chuckle, "See? We're starting to figure these things out."
"Right." Danger gave a nod, "Now then...what are Sky Raiders and Arachnos Flyers? I know this is probably silly, but I'm getting this vibe of air pirates and flying spiders..."
--------------------
Energon X would have been better off observing things more closely before proceeding. While the Dark Rover still cast no light from its interior, that didn't mean nothing had changed - and therefore, assuming one could just stroll in was quite erroneous.
A field of force collided quite rudely with Energon's senses (or head, whichever came first), laying stretched across the gap in the Dark Rover's armor a few centimeters below the outermost layer of terconium. As with most all standard constructions throughout the galaxy, the Dark Dragon's crew employed assemblies - in principle a counterpart to alloys, but on a paramaterial basis - on many occasions, as they could resist most sorts of stresses extremely well.
Best of all, assemblies still retained partial functionality even when depowered, or conversely, if its material component were destroyed. As the latter applied to the gouge, the energetic component had taken over here, performing the function of a solid wall even without its second partition...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
Bladewing walked back through the portal, the crystal cat on his shoulder, and the purple crystal tucked in a bag attached to his sword hilt.
"For all of you who are even remotely violently inclined, the small crystalling animal on my shoulder is an intensely valuable artifact, from my private collection, I brought it online to assist with some research I am doing, and to act as a power conduit for myself, please refrain from destroying it if it is seen wandering the base, such actions would result in....gratuitous bodily harm in recompence for the damages incurred."
Having said that, Bladewing made a quick series of hand motions and waved at the portal to his base, causing it to spin itself to fragments and vanish.
Turning again, Bladewing headed for the upper levels of the Bastion, intent on finding the roof, and access to open sky.
"If you want to explore, I'm going to see about finding Bang, I can track his signature thanks to the crystal, and last I heard he was in Bloody Bay, but who knows."
Once on the roof, Bladewing concentrated for a moment and became wrapped in gravitic fields, both rendering him nigh-undetectable, and also capable of flight.
Tuning his mind to the purple crystal, Bladewing began flying for the area of the city that had once held Kings Row, and Skyway, turning by feet or yards, depending on what the crystal told him.
"You, dear sir, are a legend. "- nelly. "PIE DOESN'T HAVE TENTACLES!"
Bladewing Draconian lvl 30 KAT/SR scrapper
DarkNinjutsu lvl 50 DM/REG scrapper
Dajoji Hino lvl 50 elm/ela scrapper
Bloody Byakko lvl 20 claws/sr scrapper
"Excuse me, sir, am I interrupting? I was told to report here for information on the US Army chain of command. Was I given accurate information? The one who brought me in was called Point Blank, he led me here." M-113 stood still as a stone.
His headpiece still had antennae, his one eye glowing slightly red, and his chassis was an amalgamation of composites painted with synth camo, which could adapt to his environment, but like most vehicles, he still stood out. He carried no visible weaponry, and was obviously not a battle suit, as his feet and hands were skeletal metal frames.
THE BASTION
Target snorted, pausing in the doorway. "What's even sillier is that you are essentially correct. The Sky Raiders, decades ago, were originally a splinter military faction; but they degenerated into common thieves with rather startling swiftness. Now, 'air pirates' is a pretty good definition." He shrugged. "As to the Arachnos flier... Arachnos is the name of the organization that rules the country that invaded. Their leader, Lord Recluse, has some kind of weird spider fetish, so the vast majority of his soldiers and equipment are 'themed' thusly. A lot of it looks completely ludicrous, but, unfortunately, remains quite effective and highly dangerous."
He turned and vanished through the doorway. A few minutes later, halfway across Steel Canyon, he emerged from one of the Bastion's dozens of hidden entrances and clawed for altitude, rising vertically with impressive speed. He oriented himself quickly, then homed in on the distinctive chatter of the Sky Raider's microplane engines and jetpacks. Glad that these mooks have always been too arrogant to try masking that sound... 'military discipline, triumphant!', indeed...
-----------------------------------------------
BOOMTOWN
Energon X jerked back slightly when he encountered the faint shimmer of the secondary hull. He tapped it once or twice, then shook his head. The energy trail of the Kheldian clearly passed through; presumably his quarry had entered before the Rover gained even the partial functionality it had now.
He paused, thinking for a moment. Considering how skittish the Bastion's two Rover-alien houseguests were, the Blaster doubted that simply hammering down the fields was a good idea. And there was no real way of knowing what simply knocking would do; it wasn't universal even to Earth cultures. E-X shrugged, once again displaying the exaggerated body language that had become habitual to one who could no longer display facial expressions.
He rose off the ground and hovered near what was probably the fore end of the Dark Rover, decloaking to hang like some huge, improbable Christmas ornament, gleaming in the partial darkness of Boomtown's perpetually smoke-laden air. He waited several beats, and, lacking any noticeable reaction from the transport... not even the turrets beginning to track him... he shrugged again and began blasting the rubble trapping the giant tank, smashing it clear.
Bah... only reasonably benign way I could think of to let them know that I'm here, desire their attention, and... bloody paranoia, but it's kept me alive-more or less- so far... posessed of some reasonable degree of power.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
The crystal cat gave an all too human shrug, "It looks as if the base is well taken care of. I believe I shall travel with you, should bring back some old memories."
The cat had looked around the cafeteria as they passed through, the look on Caleb's face was priceless when he had seen the green crystal. Yes he recognized it, and he knew the power the cat contained--it scared the hell out of him.
--------------------------
Kings Row/Forgotten Zone
Clowns head rotated even more. He could feel it. The power that was his lifes blood. . .but it was weaker by a thousand times than his mask. He could feel the man. For it was a man through all intents and purposes no matter how greatly he had been warped by the power of the Chaos energies.
A wry smile cracked his lips and his mask glowed even brighter. You see, the mask had a thirst for the energy that could disrupt anything and everythin. And as the man got closer he would feel his chaotic power being siphoned, eaten by the mask.
Before long Clown would have enough power to transform, even partway would be enough to take out one of the large monsters that roamed freely in Paragon. If his mask ever recieved enough power to put him at fifty percent of his strength he would become what he once was.
And if his mask became fully energized everyone would know, no matter what their ability of sensing ethereal things. A skip and a Bang would be all it would take.
I do not know my reasons for posting, but post I must. ~~Build
"We can't stop here, this is bat country."
--Johnny Depp
"I ain't bi-curious, I'm a man. Why do you think I'm wearing this tight spandex and got all these muscles?" Meatwad
"Does he include a threat with everything he says?" Danger rolled his eyes at Bladewing's monologue, although his oculae were likely too tiny in relation to the others about to make this apparent. Indeed, it wasn't very probable anyone had even heard the mumble over the other verbiage that had so quickly filled the room, and now left with even greater speed.
Groul didn't know what to make of M-113's requests, looking helplessly to his comrade, who in turn gave a shrug, and then pointed a finger at the end of an outstretched arm at Wolffe.
"I think your best chance is asking him." Danger told the mechanoid, then mused to no one in particular, "So that's a Dax, huh...I'd already wondered what he'd meant with that."
"Certainly a curious device." Groul remarked, "Looked like a mental extension node. But why this form? We haven't seen any...oh...never mind. We haven't. I'm just being dense again."
The Specialist allowed himself a snicker as the red-scaled being placed the clawed fingers of his right hand over his eyes. He'd stepped right into that one...
--------------------
"Ah, you must be Uncle E." Energon heard a voice from behind, the tone somewhat raspy and dark, but otherwise quite easy to understand, "Or at least I do hope so."
If he chose to come about, the turn would bring into view a hovering skiff of some sort, the aerial vehicle that resembled a cross of large-bore surfboard and miniature starship presenting more than enough room for its trio of passengers. An orange haze hung about its presently idle four ventral and two aft thrusters, and the silver-gray plating of the skiff's hull worked to place the three beings standing upon it into apparent belonging.
It was the central figure who'd spoken to him, a creature a little taller than two meters and clad in heavy vestments of dull gray. Like some manner of extraterrestrial monk, the being stood quite straight upon the slightly moving platform, and though the intermingled robes worked to conceal its body well, the hood that covered the creature's head at least suggested its skull to be saurian.
The figure to the left could be said to be humanoid, though a slate-gray stealth suit didn't leave any clues to its detailed morphology. However, it could be easily observed to have two arms, two legs, a head, and a torso that followed the approximate proportions of a slim human body.
Still, the pronouncedly digitigrade legs and four-fingered hands threw all notions of this being any sort of human out the window. In addition, the tricloptic goggles that sat integrated into its suit suggested a highly nocturnal creature, their hue of very dark red clearly serving the purpose of filtering sunlight.
The being to the saurian's right looked even stranger, apparently a gelatinous mass of semi-transparent protoplasm that had currently taken the rough form of a wobbly rope with a circular base and an oblong head. The headlike blob was of course faceless, allowing clear view right through the being - as well as the thin cylinder of black the creature carried within itself, the object roughly the length of two human hands.
And although eyeless, Energon couldn't shake the feeling of this thing staring right through him, in almost the same manner as he could through it, despite that the central figure's gaze from within the dark hood stood much more obvious and direct...
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
((is anyone going to join Target at the Sky Raiders... whatever? And Devious, are you going to control them, or did you just introduce them for some reason?))
KINGS ROW/FORGOTTEN ZONE
The Scarlet Eye slipped into the small refuge, ignored by almost all within, and ignoring them in turn. He had his one red-blazing eye fixed on the mask that hung loosely off of "Clown's" face. He felt the pull at his own energies, but ignored it- at this level, it was far too weak to separate this particular predator from his 'food'.
If any of the shelter's inhabitants save Clown could make out the Scarlet Eye's face, they probably would have fled, screaming, into the fatal night. Beneath the all-shrouding shadow was an unholy amalgamation of something that bordered on reverence and raw, naked hunger. The first gift of Chaos... Even the thought was hushed.
The homeless refugees hiding with Clown shifted uneasily as a spectacular vortex of invisible power began to amass, an ethereal tornado spiralling downwards as the Scarlet Eye opened himself fully to the psychic energies of the zone, amplifying his already-immense power a hundredfold. Marshalling his strength, he made a sharp, peremptory gesture as the full force of his mind roared into the shelter, a magnificent attempt at separating the mask from its host.
The weaker of the refugees simply collapsed; vermin rained from the ceiling as small animals died for a hundred yards around at the shockwave as the Scarlet Eye reached gingerly for the mask, his fingers brushing it lightly.
There was a flare of red as Chaos erupted within the shelter.
BOOMTOWN
Energon X whirled at the voice, too startled by the odd nomenclature used by the visitors to even prepare for the attack he was sure... expected out of purest reflex... was coming. Uncle... E..? For a long moment... uncomfortably long... he just hung in the air, staring at the hovering aliens, the brilliant spots of light that were his eyes flickering on and off once in a while as he blinked (or, at least, whatever part of his incorporeal brain that remembered having eyelids mimicked that function by dimming the lights momentarily).
Then his brain kicked into gear. Right... these aliens are with the same lot as the two back at the base that were arguing with Danny. Guess they never did hear my proper... nom de guerre... Huh. Wonder if even Danny remembers my real name? he wondered briefly and irrelevantly.
He folded his arms, rearranging himself more comfortably in the air, and shook his head. "Er... yes, I am who you are referring to; however, "Uncle E" is a title indicating familial relations. Apparently some of your people have been speaking with my nephew, who usually refers to me thusly. I am most commonly known as Energon X." The blaster replied without any particular rancour, hoping that whatever the aliens were using for translation would interpret tone as well- this was merely a minor correction, with no reproof intended.
He inclined his head politely. "To whom am I speaking?" he asked. *sigh*... First Contact is always so awkward... sorting the protocols, figuring out if there's someone specific I need to speak to to avoid offense or declaring war or some such silly thing, figuring out who not to speak to... even just sorting out who's sapient and what isn't.
He hesitated for a second, then decided to simply go ahead. "I am here seeking a Kheldian Peacebringer who, according to the energy traces, appears to have entered your ship... or whatever you wish to call this thing." he said with an inclination of his head towards the Dark Rover.
E-X carefully avoided staring too hard at the jelly-being; it reminded him uncomfortably of a Shivan, but as it didn't seem inclined to go charging about eating people, he wasn't going to simply attack it.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
Bladewing blinked as his senses went wild. To his eyes the sky over what had once been King's Row was now a swirling vortex of psychic energy.
"Dax, I think we found out where Bang is....you might want to get ready for combat."
Grinning at the prospect of hooking up with the delightfully insane jester again, Bladewing closed his eyes for a brief moment, intensifying his flight field far past what most would consider safe.
"Here we go!"
Bladewing shot towards the center of the nexus, moving so fast that the air around him began to glow with the heat, and some of the surrounding buildings were pulverized by the shockwaves of his passage.
As he flew, Bladewing intensifyed his gravitic powers, and also began to recite one of his most powerful spells, one that he had developed just in case Bang ever went a bit too loco.
"You, dear sir, are a legend. "- nelly. "PIE DOESN'T HAVE TENTACLES!"
Bladewing Draconian lvl 30 KAT/SR scrapper
DarkNinjutsu lvl 50 DM/REG scrapper
Dajoji Hino lvl 50 elm/ela scrapper
Bloody Byakko lvl 20 claws/sr scrapper
((Ehwhat? Not sure where you're getting that from, I didn't say squat about Sky Raiders. You're the one who wrote them in. 
Sovs probably wouldn't mind picking 'em up, though.))
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
((Whoops... sorry 'bout that, you just said 'planes', Devious. I guess I got mixed >.o
So... anyone want to take 'em? The NPC Sky Raiders, that is?))
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((How dare thee put words in mine mouth? I most clearly wrote 'aircraft', my good man. And yes, Lord Nemesis is most certainly down with the street. 
But yeah, I'll ask Sovs when I see him next. He knows his Raiders. 
))
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
((I believe he was mistaking plane (as in plane of existance) for plane (as in aircraft)...back when your characters were discussing the Eye's psychic fake message.))
"You, dear sir, are a legend. "- nelly. "PIE DOESN'T HAVE TENTACLES!"
Bladewing Draconian lvl 30 KAT/SR scrapper
DarkNinjutsu lvl 50 DM/REG scrapper
Dajoji Hino lvl 50 elm/ela scrapper
Bloody Byakko lvl 20 claws/sr scrapper
The villain known as Dead Aim was part of the intelligence sector, he was in charge of finding Cry and delivering a message to him. "Lt. Cry! What happened?"
"In attempt to play I let down my guard and suppressed myself to far. My playground has gone amok, I need to reorganize my toys." Dead Aim was surprised at the condition of the child, he noticed a bump on his face.
"You are hurt..." Cry tried to touch his nose but is flexibility as a child was limited.
"Give me the teleporter, I took a straight blow from a enhanced Archon, some kind of physic blackout turned the favors agaisnt me and I was unable to sense the change." His hands were over the red pad as he entered a code. Dead Aim touched Cry as the teleporter activated as they both were transported to a infirmary within the base.
"My original intention in seeking you was to deliver a message that Scirocco is coming to the Fortress. But I am lucky that I..."
"Do not speak of this, now pick me up." Dead Aim hesitated knowing what would happen next.
Cry raised a eyebrow, "well?" Dead Aim shuttered and went to pick him up.
"Yes, as you wish." He touched Cry and instantly he was dominated by the hold of Cry. A blanket materialized and Dead Aim wrapped it around Cry as he started to slumber.
I am but a tool for you Scarlet Eye. Use me, use us, together nothing can stop us, nothing. Cry desperately needed someone who could look out for him. Scriocco has Ice Mistral, Mako has Barracuda , Black Scorpion has Silver Mantis, and even Ghost Widow had Wretch. He needed not just a bodyguard but someone to learn from, a relationship that was both beneficial for both of them.
((Eh, fine. Also, got a 'mmmmmaybe <_<' outta Sovs, so I'm thinking Target will have some Sky Raiders soon. ))
--------------------
"Me." the robed figure answered good-naturedly. though the smile in his tone couldn't hide very well, "No, I do know what you mean. Allow me."
"To my left," the veiled being went on, turning his head to the stealth-suited figure that hunched there, "U!n'kd|m. Hm...that doesn't come out well with your language. Go figure. Anyway, U!n'kd|m. Lancer. To my right, Forty-Four of Six. Also lancer. And I am Ken. Jedi Knight. No, not really. Just kidding."
"That," the veiled being tilted his head toward the monstrous vehicle, "is the Dark Rover. Should've been a safe base of operations, but I suppose now I know what all that Dark Airship stuff was about. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. At least now we know we all hate Shades."
Forty-Four interrupted with a soft melody, the pleasant tune that stood as a mixture of flute and organ seeming to emanate from nowhere at all. At the same time, the rim of its 'head' played about a rainbow of color.
"Ah, you're quite right." the robed saurian gave a nod to his compatriot, then turned to Energon X, "How rude of us. Would you like to come inside...?"
--------------------
Scirocco had indeed come to the Fortress. Not a few seconds after Cry's return, the stone-cold eyes of Imad Malak peered from the infirmarys entryway, the man the iridescent oculae belonged to stepping into the hospital with a gait that held the inevitable personified.
Malak's feet stopped a few steps from Cry, Scirocco's emotionless visage mustering the undead 'child' closely. His lips gave not a twitch for several seconds, and his mind felt cold as the north wind itself; just as it had for so many years now.
Finally, Malak spoke. He spoke but a single word, his tone dispassion incarnate, yet gentle enough to crush notions of true insouciance; his own standing contradiction, just as always.
"Explain..."
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
[ QUOTE ]
"Excuse me, sir, am I interrupting? I was told to report here for information on the US Army chain of command. Was I given accurate information? The one who brought me in was called Point Blank, he led me here." M-113 stood still as a stone.
[/ QUOTE ]
He turned to the robot, "M-113? I remember you. I'm Blood Wolffe. I used to fight along side Metaforces. With Riley in fact. Glad to see that you are okay."
Wolffe had aged noticably. War scarred him and put lines of stress on his face. But his eyes were still a vibrant blue. One sensitive to the spirit world could sense that the wolf spirit in him had a stronger presence than ever.
Some said it was because it was a spirit of justice and needed more than ever, but in his darker moments, Wolffe thought it may be because society was being torn down, and the wolf in him secretly liked it. Thrived on it. Something primal was stirring in his mind. Coming out of hibernation. It scared him.
"I'm afraid he was right. Almost all the militaries of the world have crumbled. Whatever remains is spread thin into pockets. Then there is Firebase Zulu. Portal Corp. was destroyed years ago. They were cut off and have never been heard from since."
It was true. The Council and Malta had banded together long ago and, in a violent and bright display of explosions tinted with the otherworldy colors of advanced and strange science.
"We are the biggest pocket of resistance. Maybe you can tell us?"
The crystalline cat began to glow with a radiance that was bright enough to hurt the eyes. It stood on all fours in the middle of Bladewing's back. The crystal cloud that always hovered around him seemed to become thicker the nearer they got to the psychic vortex.
"Don't worry about Bang. He may be pure Chaos, but he has never forcibly went out of his way to harm those who seek to help him. . .unless you count the Venesuela incident. No one ever counts that though," the cat joked lightly, some of his old humor had returned at the aspect of battle.
-------------------------------
King's Row/Forgotten Zone
Clown took no notice of those who fell around him. The chaos energies that were being absorbed into the mask were already causing him to change, it became evident as a very large dead rat fell into his mouth and was promptly swallowed whole.
The mask began to glow with a malevolent sheen from his belt. All at once Clown's entire demeanor changed, "OY! Poppet, youu pickedd the wrong placee to decide to release thatt!"
Yeah that's right the one that Dax and Bladewing are searching so hard for is a senile homeless man. Yep surprises never cease.
((Currently the mask is clipped to his belt, not hanging from his face. He has yet to reach that point.))
I do not know my reasons for posting, but post I must. ~~Build
"We can't stop here, this is bat country."
--Johnny Depp
"I ain't bi-curious, I'm a man. Why do you think I'm wearing this tight spandex and got all these muscles?" Meatwad
((Sorry 'bout the Mask thing, Build... although, since I don't think it changes anything important, I'm not gonna worry about going back and changing it, although I'll get it right from now on in.
And Project_M... I sent you a PM re. the whole Cry/Scarlet Eye thing. Could be interesting, and I like the idea, but there's some stuff that we'd need to get sorted first))
BOOMTOWN-
Energon X didnt' have any eyebrows left... or, indeed, any head to keep them on if he did, but at this point he was really wishing he had at least one to raise. Great... just what I needed. Sarcastic aliens with a sense of humour. And... Shades? Airships? Bleh... this guy couldn't be any more cryptic if he was trying. He inclined his head to stealth-suit wearer. "U!n'kd|m." he intoned gravely, briefly thankful for the artificial voice that made him a masterful mimic, and quietly amused by the startlement the others tried to mask. "Forty-four of Six." he continued, inclining his head to the jelly-being.
Then he turned to the central speaker, blinking momentarily, and asked the question that was bothering him the most at this point. "And... Ken?" He paused for a second as his mind raced, thankful for the blank mask that hid his emotions as effectively as a solid wall between him and them. Okay... clearly, they've been to some version of Earth previously that not only spawned the English language, but also one that had George Lucas as a movie director. He almost snorted out loud. Maybe they got lucky and he was hit by a bus before he made Episode 1... Then he had to fight the urge to double over in screaming pain as U!n'kd|m... spoke, what appeared to be gentle lights in the visible spectrum and soft music spiking through the back of his skull like... well...
Take the Van Halen tour laser show. Replace the light emitters with weapons-grade laser cannons. Project directly onto some unsuspecting victim's eyeballs.
Congratulations. You've just subjected your unfortunate test subject to something of the same level of pain that Energon X experienced when U!n'kd|m's 'speaking lights' went off.
Through a red haze, he was barely aware of Ken(?) inviting him aboard the 'Dark Rover'. He nodded gingerly, afraid his incorporeal head was about to drop off his ethereal body. After a long moment, he spoke up again. "I mean no offense..." he started, his vocoder conspiring to make him sound like he had just woken up from a three-day absinthe binge, "But would U!n'kd|m be willing to signal briefly before speaking? Something about their mode of speech interacts... badly... with my visual senses, causing me intense pain." He shook his head, trying to clear it, and began floating down towards the hulking machine, keeping pace with his hosts' flying platform.
KINGS ROW/FORGOTTEN ZONE-
"Geeettt... stuffed... yoooouuu little... giiiittt..." the Scarlet Eye managed, absorbing some of Bang's mannerisms along with the raw Chaos energy that he was greedily lapping up. Chaos was being pulled out of the very ether by the mask, and he was determined to absorb all he could without exploding.
His psionic tempest had faded; it had failed to sever the link between mask and host, and now he was doing his considerable best to prevent the mask from attaining its full power by blocking and consuming the chaos energy it was summoning to 'recharge'.
The First Gift of Chaos was enormously powerful- far greater than anything the Eye could compete with normally... but it wasn't much stronger now than an ordinary mask. If the Scarlet Eye could continue blocking its intake, he would grow in power faster than the mask's wearer would, and eventually simply separate mask from host, and most likely, host from life.
He settled in grimly, his entire body taking on a faint red glow and his single eye rapidly becoming a supernova of hatred, as mask and elemental entered into a race of consumption, like some bizarre, survival-fuelled eating contest.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((Um...I'm confused now. Why would they be startled? 
Also, U!n'kd|m is the hunched dude. Forty-Four of Six is the amorph. And I meant to Energon, as in the point of view of a human. Or are you telling me he can't look at a rainbow/listen to music anymore? ))
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
((Ken seemed to imply that he didn't expect Energon X (or, for that matter, any English speaker) to be able to pronounce U!n'kd|m. *shrug*
And I think I've got which is which... you said that U!n'kd|m was wearing a 'stealth suit', and E-X has been calling 44 of 6 (in his own mind only) a 'jelly being'... amorph? He's the same species as Sergeant Schlock?
The majority of Energon X' vision is full-spectrum- if it's energy, he can see it. Visible light only makes up a tiny fraction of what he 'sees'. You said the music 'came from everywhere', which implied some rather funky energies at work, which would have an... odd... effect on someone with E-X' senses.
I'll admit to taking a few liberties, but... well, you started it ))
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
"I am afraid I have no new information. It would appear that the infrastructure has crumbled and I am cut off from our satellite network, which will make my transportation based on topographical maps which may be inaccurate. I really should seek a way to re-open the portal and rejoin my unit, but as that is something beyond the scope of my knowledge and resources at this time, I am willing to aid you in your cause of resistance."
The droid, not needing to breath, was prone to long sentences.
"I am the M-113 transportation and medical droid. I am designed to get troops on and off the battlefield, and keep them alive while they're fighting. I am also capable of stealth missions, sneaking behind enemy lines and infiltrating squads. I have other capabilities but they are top secret. Would you like my help?" The droid stood at ease, mechanical claws clasped behind its back.
((*Pokes Acanous*))
Dead Aim looked up his mindless look changing to a smile unnatural to his face. A hand came up from the blanket and Dead Aim held it rubbing his thumb through the palms of the baby. "Which part?" Cry then resorted to his psychic to retell what had happened while he was gone, then from various others around the entire base he stole insight, Imad might of felt alittle pinch from the cross fire of information taken.
"O... it is unfortunate that I was unable to... control myself." He giggled silently to himself, "I know that we do not tolerate failure and that someone must take the blame. Daddy wouldn't mind this tussle." Cry then came from the blanket his head looking Malak.
"How is poor Ghost Widow, has she passed yet from reality to me?" He smiled, the thought of having the ghost of such immense power return to the realm he over saw made him shiver with excitement. He tried to change the subject to something less touchy, he remembered Malak's affection for Ghost Widow, and it must of been hard to know that every day Ghost Widow slowly faded away.
"Sure thing, and if you want it that way then lets keep the communication to the telepathic level."
Closing his eyes, Bladewing established a mental link.
"There we go!"
Strolling back towards the Bastion, Bladewing stopped by his trophy room, to pick up a certain Shard related Artifact.
"Do you remember this Dax?"
Held in Bladewing's hands, sat a pulsing purple crystal, simply looking at it gave one the feeling of being a little bit insane, and if you stared at it for a while, odd thoughts would begin to course through your head, like "I wonder what would happen if I slapped everyone around me with a fish", or "Can I drive someone so insane their heads will explode?"
"Also, I can't garuntee that Caleb wont catch on as to your true nature, unless you want him in on the loop?"
"You, dear sir, are a legend. "- nelly. "PIE DOESN'T HAVE TENTACLES!"
Bladewing Draconian lvl 30 KAT/SR scrapper
DarkNinjutsu lvl 50 DM/REG scrapper
Dajoji Hino lvl 50 elm/ela scrapper
Bloody Byakko lvl 20 claws/sr scrapper