Kokuin glanced at Tress and replied. "Oh, I could never be 'cold' I just...spasmed is all. all this...excitement" Kokuin said in obvious sarcasm as he looked towards the chess match, which was just beginning to get out of hand.
Techblaze returned the hyperactive hero's bow with one of his own.
"And a fine day to you," he intoned before the young boy seemed to lose interest, summoned some form of mist, and began wandering again. Techblaze's attention was similarly diverted as he took note of the other hero who moved to greet him. The armour was marvellous to behold and the physicist turned hero, having some experience as an armoured tank, began to nod approvingly at the various design features that no doubt offered the wearer wonderful protection.
"Now that is some armour," he offered as a greeting when the much larger figure nodded politely. "And I'm always glad to have another bloke willing to get in the thick of it, as I presume you are. Put her there." He held out his thin hand, encased in its heavy gauntlet and faintly glowing with the nearly invisible energy field.
((OOC: Hmm, something's come up and I'll have to go for a couple hours. And yes, Nid, Brit is just short for British."
Blood nodded to the incoming fire weilder, smirking, "Proffessions of the opposite element." He chuckled and shook his head, his eyes catching the unease of some of the gathered members. He glanced around, again smiling toward the green-girl, "Yes, if you are here, it means you picked up the transmission, or heard word of meeting here, that or stubbled in Hell's Kitchen by sheer dumb luck." He chuckled again, the feeling of something about the happen coming over his mind...
---------------------------------
Asuki smirked, hearing the sound of machinery moving about like little robot droids from a movie... only... these were real. Down within the tunnel, came the slowly growing sound of a squad of Tarantulas, summoned by her and her "contact". She quickly dropped down, catching the wall, then dropping again, until she hit solid rock, looking down the tunnel... The thought popped into her mind, "This was planned out... am I a dummy here in all this?" She thought, seeing the familiar red light of Tarantula optics pierce the darkness, soon followed by another 8 set, and soon enough, a gleaming red glow conquered the darkness below.
And even sooner... they began rushing up and past her, toward the surface. Someone knew they wouldn't kill off these heroes with mere Tarantulas, Asuki told her very contact this fact... What was going on here?
Kokuin was beginning to feel the new found energy in the room generated by all the new arrivals, it was comforting. He decided his body had cooled down enough and dropped the mist, only to realize he had almost frozen himself to his own chair.
He turned his attention to the two tanks who began to speak about their profession. "By the size of my body people never seem to think of me as a tanker, heh." He grinned to himself as he continued to unfreeze himself from the chair.
((I beg people to use other character's names, so that we know who is talking to who. Also, I request the the two tech named people use the full name (or the portion of the name w/o 'Tech'). Sorry for the inconvenience, but it would make things less confusing. ))
Tress grinned, "Hell's Kitchen? I was under the impression that beating and bruising some baddies was on the menu, but it seems ya'll are more inclined to play games and wait."
She glanced at Kokuin, "Though, with Junior here we may want to get a kid's plate." She winked at him, to emphasis the joke and not malice.
Kokuin snickered at Tress, being in a city of mostly older heroes, he was used to shots at his age. " It better include a toy." He said as he cracked another smile.
Tress blinked and the guffawed, "You and I are going to get along."
The Singularity behind her, jostled in an imitation of laughter.
Kokuin joined the laughter. "I think so too, and that's good. If we didn't, this meeting would be very awkward."
Kokuin looked at the now moderately active group of heroes gathered around. "So, what exactly are we doing? I could be hurling wind up toys at clockwork and laughing as they desperately tear them apart to scavenge them." Kokuin jested as he looked about the heroes.
Agent Techtro snarled aloud and leapt to his feet. With a sound like a lightsaber being drawn in a sci-fi, twin beams of light and energy slid out of his forearms. They were shaped like a schimitar's cruel blade, and as they twisted through the air they hummed like a tuning fork.
"It's a trap! They used me!" he yelled as he spun wildly, trying to locate the source of the strange vibrations his robotic sensors were picking up on. "Stay away from the wall, I have no idea what- Urgh..." The teenage agent slumped to the ground and was still once more.
Kokuin ripped himself from his seat, his eyes reverted to their narrow purple glare. "I feel it again, a malevolence. We're surrounded!" Kokuin screamed. The temperature within the room dropped so cold that everyone's breath was visible, as Kokuin manipulated all the evaporation in the air to form a sheet of ice that covered his whole body. He lashed his hand out and in his grip manifested a long sword created from ice alone. "Get ready, what ever is here is coming, and it's not cockroaches."
Tress immediately goes from smiles to a worried frown. She glances around to at the walls and quickly makes her way to Agent Techtro's side.
"Singu," she mutters, "Check outside"
The energy being floats up out through the opening. Tress prodded the teenager, hoping for a reaction.
"I can't heal ya, if you're not awake to tell me whats wrong." she murmered.
Blood slowly turned toward the opening from where he had arrived, and to which the singularity had gone, though, he could now hear the sound of moving parts, machiens coming. And as if from some horror movie, the hole on the far end of the base bursted with artificial life, the Tarantulas swarming the room. His eyes narrowed, and his own ice armor came over him as he lunged forward, opening his palm, summoning his mace to it. The large white orb holding weapon appeared, and just as it did, he landed, swinging his weapon forward in an arc, the arc followed by a swift cold wind, sending the machines back a good few feet to give his comrades time to adjust themselves. As the ones before him fell, other crawled over their own bretheren, not hesitating in their sacrifice.
"They might as well be cockroaches." Blood snarled, raising his hand and slamming his weapon down on one, causing it to crumble, enlarge, and explode. From where his mace lie ont he ground, he drug it into a full upper-cut, catching another and slamming it into the ceiling, crushing it entirely. Another lunged at him from behind, wrapping its legs around his body. He merely grinned and leaned forward a little, and within the next moment, an icicle rammed its way through the Tarantula, then melted away, leaving the lifeless mechanical carcass to rot on the floor.
Pathetic...
Agent Techtoro jerked nervously at the alien sound in his own head. At least he would have. But he couldn't move, couldn't see, couldn't feel, nothing. He was trapped within himself. A sort of sixth sense told him someone was standing over him, a friend. But he was helpless.
Of course you are. You always are, just now more than usual. Don't expect to wake up soon, or maybe at all. A mind filled with doubt, so much easier to control. That's why I chose you. Don't you feel special?
He could feel the presence ebbing away, but he was still trapped. He was almost glad his body was inert, though. He was pretty sure that sobbing would be a very unheroic thing to do indeed.
Tress' worried expressed turned into shock and then rapidly into a wide grin.
"Come get some you ugly bugs!" she shouts, arms lifting into the air.. she hesitates only a moment glancing at the mines covering the floor.
She lowers one arm and grins, a ratty threadbare couch goes flying from across the room sending one Tarantulas flying onto it's back, eight legs scratching at the air briefly before flipping back, raring for another go.
Tress laughs, "too bad, Charlotte!" arms lifted in a quick upward motion as if she was lifting a barbell and the Tarantula goes flying into the air.
As the Arachnos tarantulas swarmed the room, Kokuin leaped upon the damaged table, his weight collapsed the table as he landed. As the table collapsed he leaped into the air, His sword of ice still froze in the grasp of his hand. As he hit the ground his sword cut through the metal composition of the mechanical spiders as though his sword were made from solid steel. He quickly gathered frost upon his left arm and slammed his fist into another tarantula, freezing the gears of all the tarantulas within a section of the room as he transferred the cold manifesting upon his arm into the opposing swarm.
Ceus hovered over the metal deck of the Arachnos base, her legs crossed as she rested the backs of her palms on her knees, keeping her magical senses spread out.
Normally she didn't work with strangers, especially ones foolish enough to claim lordship with no real claim to the title, but Ghost Widow insisted that she 'get out' more. When a ghost is concerned about your social health, it was probably wise to consider it.
Still, it was irritating that he hired assistance and then stalked off to an abandoned spider base without so much as a cursory 'This is your part in my evil plan.' He was either obsessivly paranoid or a moron and neither boded well for her medical debt balance.
Oh well, if he continued to annoy her, she'd wait for the most opportune moment to abandon him. She'd killed for Morgan Lefay, Cleopatra, and Rasputin; she didn't need to abandon her standards just because her patron thought she should get out more.
Infinity
Sam Varden 50 MA/Reg Scrap
Doomtastic 50 SS/Inv Brute
Ceus 50 Eng/Kin Corr
Cinderstorm 50 Fire/Fire Blaster
Professor IQ leaped to his feet again; seeing the immediate danger around and his new found companions he acted quickly. His quick intellect took over as he made himself shimmer into the shadows of the place. Like a Jedi Knight he began to catch the spiders and throw them against walls, ceilings and each other with his powerful TK.
Quickly sizing up the battle his mind calculated tactics and strategy. He focused some of his power on taking the power from the Arachnos spiders and transfusing it into a healing wave. He focused the wave on any of his fellow allies needing help, he then looked to find any fallen or down comrades to which he immediately "recalled" them near his spot at the back of the room. Lastly, he returned his focus to the big guys up front; he focused him mind once more and gave all the "tankers" a boost. He increased their bodies' densitites as well and gave them a boost of speed so they could react and attack quicker.
The Professor continued to think quickly and act as quickly; so much so, that he was hit by two attacking spiders because he so focused on his teammates. The Spiders quickly felt his wrath as he levitated them and threw them hard against the hard corners of several walls nearby.
He may not be a "tanker" but Professor IQ did not fear combat nor wading into the heat of the battle, and tonight was no different. He would keep his teammates standing and healthy until the bitter end if need be.
He levitiated another attacking spider and smashed it hard to the ground saying under his breath his signature battle cry: "So Mote It Be!"....
'...Light gives way to darkness as greatness dies, mammoth powers dying in untold numbers to sink into a cesspit of unknown, even the unbound did not know exactly what it was. They had never died before. So they never saw the madness rising like a bloody demon to watch worlds burn and laugh while doing so. A terrible force that parraded through the endless, dancing in the revels of insanity and laughing in the darkest of humors. All the while hiding beneath a Masquerade of benevolence, wearing the flesh of the innocent and slipping like shadow through light to trick and deceive, all in order to further...'
'.....'
'...Hmmm?'
'Time. The wretched curse of which I have no use. You have snuck up on me yet again, how many more times must you disrupt such a tale? Fate, what of you and your horrible black eyes? Twitching finger, string, and path? Why can you not...'
'...Leave me alone?'
'Well, perhaps it is time to proceed once again. Once more, let us pick up the dance. Let there be rhythm...Yes...YES...I can see the story clearly, and how TYPICAL it is. Neglect, fear, terror and pain. Tragedy, once again you run around rampant and unchecked. How many times must I tell you? The only Tragedy I can allow is my own. But Tragedy does not beget Tragedy, so first, let us have some COMEDY. Oh yes, let there be the subtle empathetic wit of light and merciful Comedy. Let there be...VICTORY! Tragedy will be swept away by Comedy, and then MY Tragedy shall overcome and overtake everything! Come come, Comedy! Let us perform the first dance!'
'Let truth temper fanaticism!'
'Let reason expose deception!'
'Let grace repel darkness!'
'Let law smother anarchy!'
'Let duty subdue instinct!'
'Let purity reject artifice!'
'Let the Masquerade begin!'
***
Overhead in the sky above the raging fight, a star arched in the sky, slamming down to the Earth far, far away.
***
Well outside the limits of Paragon City, a smoldering form slithered from the wreckage of a fiery craft that had impacted the Earth, gazing upon the clearly visible War-walls in the meantime. The trip had taken a lot out of the arrival, but he was not worried. It wasn't like he intended to do any actual fighting himself until the final act. There were a great many actors he could use until then, but for the first act, he needed to start off light.
Waving his hand, the air wavered and a decoy appeared. Sculpting the decoy expertly, it shifted in size, form, and color until it shone with brilliant radiance.
White Masque adjusted his new suit.
"Go. Entertain the audiance." The visitor spoke. White Masque nodded cheerily and vanished in a burst of light.
***
"This city has more than enough pests without these running around." Giggled a lofty voice. White Masque suddenly fell in from the ceiling in a flare of white light, landed next to Professor IQ, and sliced a spiderling in twain that had been creeping up on him using a blade made of ice.
"Dynamic entry." He laughed lightly, nodding at the professor before charging at the next available opponent.
The mechanical chittering was the first indication, but still the spiders caught Techblaze by surprise. Mumbling a few choices curses under his breath he quickly adjusted his sensors to their maximum setting, giving him an immediate readout of the battle as it exploded around him. He noted Blood Owman moving to seal the hole from which many of the archnoids still scurried and the others gathering near the centre of the room around the unconscious teen that Techblaze had not yet been introduced to. He also noted the very carefully placed mines and traps. He didn't have the technical readouts available, but he was willing to bet if one went off so too would some of the others, a chain reaction that few in the room would be able to survive, let alone the building itself.
Full power was not an option. The intense heat caused by the unstable reactions that powered his suit would either harm a teammate or trigger an explosion. He'd have to make do at a lower setting. Still, it should prove sufficient for this lot.
A dangerous hum rose from his gauntlets as the machinery became active. Fields of bright energy shrouded his fist and soon the vent systems began to snarl as they attempted to channel the heat out but were held in check. Tech leapt easily into the fray, his sensors still providing read outs of his circumstantial companions. The centre looked like they could hold, and the larger tank looked, for the moment, as if he would be fine. Razor sharp limbs attempted to pierce his torso, but they skittered off the armoured plating and were left blackened and damaged for the effort. Techblaze's fists slammed into the automaton's "face" mere moments later and crushed its CPU.
His scanners blared suddenly as a new figured slammed onto the scene. The targeting system hesitated before tentatively identifying it as a hero. The good guys were actually getting stronger as the fight raged on. This was either a complete failure in the enemy's tactics or this was not the entire plan.
"The skylight!" he called as he left a spider beaten and battered from a swift combination. "Up and out, if you can manage it! Grab those who can't. We'll trip the mines and bring the place down on their heads and end this nonsense."
((EDIT: It just occurred to me that Kokuin is also a tanker. I chenged the line where I called him squishy as well as the one where I accidentally insinuated we should blow up the people who can't escape vertically. Also I'll try to remember to post names, as I know that comment was at least partially directed at me, but it's a little tricky to do IC since Techblaze doesn't know them and in my narratives I'm out of practice when it comes to these kinds of RP. But it is shaping up nicely. Let's keep it up, folks!))
((I'd hate to slow down, this is getting good, but I think we have 1-2 people who need to post, let's give a pause for them, shall we?))
The cold temperature Kokuin was generating was causing ice to gather among the walls as he relentlessly pounded his fists ,which were now encased in a thick layer of ice, into the mechanical drones. He heard the entrance of who he hoped was a new ally, but he couldn't bring himself to take his enraged eyes of the enemy swarms still pilling into the room.
It was in the heat (or, in Kokuin's case, frost) of battle that Kokuin heard Techblaze shout about the skylight. Kokuin looked up and saw the skylight and formulated a plan. Kokuin crouched down and blacked his face with his fists and closed his eyes. He could feel the tarantulas scraping and pounding upon the ice he was encased in. The frost spread all across the walls and onto the floor of the room. It was then that Kokuin revealed what he had been planning as he let out a charged burst of pure ice. The burst was cold enough to momentarily freeze the gears of just about every mechanical unit in the room.
Kokuin then leaped onto one of the frozen tarantulas and hoisted himself up to the skylight. "Who needs help getting up?" Kokuin shouted as he hung from the escape route.
((Okay all, it's coming along great! In case you didn't see my other post, we don't need more entries, so sorry in advance if anyone else wanted to join. The weavers of our story on heroside are:
Agent Techtro - Claws + Super Reflexes
Blood Owmen - Ice Armor + Mace
Professor IQ - Mind Control + Kinetics
Kokuin - Ice Armor + Ice Melee
Tress - Gravity Control + ? (I asume Empathy)
Techblaze - Fire Aura + Energy Melee
White Masque - ?
And on villainside, we have:
Asuki - Dark Melee + Dark Armor
Lord Voltarr - Electric Melee + Electric Armor
Ceus - Energy Blast + Kinetics
These are the final entries, people! Thanks all for joining and let the story commence!
(Hey all! I'll be writing for a dark/dark Mastermind named Mortanis [pronounced More-TAN-is] He used to live and work in Paragon until events unfolded to lead to his incarceration. He was rescued and fled to the Isles where he has been ever since. More about his past can be found at the Blakmoore RP. He has become cold, calculating, and has utter contempt for those who call themselves "Heroes". He can summon help from the Netherworld if it is needed, or simply drain the life from those he touches. He does however have his own code of villain ethics. A pic can be found at the bottom of my post.)
Mortanis received a call from high up telling him to move himself over to Faultline. Personally, he could care less where he went as long as he was paid his dues. Of course there were always exceptions...
The local Marshall from Arachnos escorted him to the 'war room' once he was off the Flyer. A large digital map of the district, complete with markings on several buildings, covered the main table. Mortanis glanced down at what seemed to be a scuffle outside the Hero facility.
The Marshal was growing exponentially displeased as each Tarantula fell, to the point when his face was beet red. He turned and growled to Mortanis "Lord Recluse wants this place cleared of super activity ASAP. Something about his grand scheme. I have been throwing everything in my budget against this whelps and nothing cuts it. That's why I've contacted you." He had calmed a little during his speech. Mortanis on the other hand looked amused.
"So Marshall, despite my detailed record containing countless times when I have been hired by a third party to deal with some of your men, you are willing to trust me with this?" Mortanis smiled a toothy grin, the marble white points contrasting with the dark feline face.
"I don't trust you one inch, and that makes you reliable. You want money, I want something done. This record says alot of things you know. Like an incident almost 4 years before.."
Mortanis immediately turned and left the room. He still could not be faced with the details of his transformation, his transcendence from humanity. Four years...
Mortanis made his way towards the base, on foot and in the air, as subtly as he could. There was no need to attract unwanted attention before his test. He set himself up in a condemned structure close by, and pulled out a fancy set of binoculars he snatched while at the HQ. Thermal, x-ray, zoom. Very handy. Oh, and they come with a listening device! How thoughtful.
Mortanis listened, and saw, and waited.
((yeah she's grav/emp 
oh, Agent Techtro is unconscious, right? If not.... well she ignores him in favor of smacking another spider before hitting the air. ))
Tress whistled to her Singularity. Who came forth out of thin air next to her.
"Keep the entrance blocked after we leave." she commanded as she flew returned to Agent Techtro's side.
She looked around and spotted Professor IQ's recent scrimmage, she smiled and raised her arm. He glowed briefly as she healed the minor damage and quickly followed with a bright pink glow (fortitude).
"That's should help!" she shouted and returned her focus to Agent Techtro.
"C'mon, Sugah. You and are gotta date outside this ruin." she muttered picked him up with an effort.
She flew up, towards the exit.
Tress watched Koukin circle the room and Tech finish up mining the room. A smile spread across her face, like someone watching children play.
"Well, everyone looks like the just ate my momma's egg salad...pasty and ready to go to bed.." Tress said bluntly.
She looked around the room, hovering her tiny feathered wings flapping gently.
She glanced at Kokuin seeing him shiver, "If you're cold, maybe you should lay off the misting, honey."
The Singularity bobbed in placed and Tress glanced back at it, she shrugged, "I don't know why their acting like death warmed over" she paused and frowned, "be nice, I'm sure there is a reason"
Tress looked to the room at large expectantly, "There is a reason we're here right?"