Marvel, Rebirth:

[Blair the Cat]

IC:

 

Sierra was mad. Wait, scratch that. She was downright furious.

 

"Those big, robotic ********!" she snarled. Unfortunately, this outburst probably gave her position behind a pile of mutilated building away. Either that or the spray of blood that erupted from her back when a pair of wings unfolded.

 

OOC: That's Erin's group.

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Saphine)

They’d been about a minute from opening fire on that thing. Only a minute. Now they were being thrown about like a ragdoll caught in a windstorm as shockwaves pulverized the aircraft. Sapahine tried to look out window, insofar as she could when her face kept hitting it. Two of the Osprey’s had gone down, having been too close to the explosions. They were still technically intact, for all the good that did them. Looked like everyone else was fighting the same battle their bird was. Hopefully they could stay in air, and maybe, just maybe, they wouldn’t have to be scrapped off the sidewalk.

Then the pilot’s voice came over the intercom. “We are going down, I repeat we are going down. Hang onto something-“ There was a sharp, mechanical sound and the left side of the aircraft buckled. Then Saphine’s stomach hit the roof of her mouth (felt like it at least) as they started to spin their way down into the devastated city block. The pilot, unaware or uncaring that the intercom was still on, continued speaking. “Mayday, mayday. This is Wasp-34, we are going down. I repeat we are going down, gird coordinates five-o-seven, major systems damage. I repeat this is-“

Then there was a very loud crash and everything went black. She could hear a few unpleasant cracks, strangled screams and a few other sounds she sincerely did not want to think about. The smell of gasoline filled the compartment, the pilot had fallen silent and she was fairly certain she knew why. Shame. She’d kinda liked him. Saphine took a deep breath, trying not to think about how much it hurt to breath. She was still alive…erm, technically. Trapped, yes, but alive.

She started to struggled against her bonds, they’d saved her life, but she rather suspected sticking around would be very bad for health.

Edited December 17, 2013 by Basilisk

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

OOC: I am assuming, for the sake of not looking like a complete doofus, that Romulus' suggestion to cut the meeting short came around the time the Sleeper went ka-boom.

 

IC(Cynegild Picker):

 

When the would-be-Emperor's suggestion came, Cynegild Picker was, by appearances, playing with his phone - the man, dressed to the nines and still sitting next to that ridiculous bobblehead, was lounging casually in his chair, nearly resting on the the arm as he stared at the screen, face mostly expressionless but eyes far indeed from the glassy gaze typically found in those feeding their brains to their smartphones. When the shockwave - reduced by clever engineering implemented on the hotel's fifth rebuild, to the point that the drinks on the table barely rippled - hit, he swiped the screen, turned the phone face-down on the table, and returned his gaze to Romulus.

 

"Yes, I think that time has come - anti-HYDRA propaganda is redundant at this point, so I think our broader goals may be better served by lending our checkbooks to the rescue and rebuilding effort - any objections?"

[Zulu Yankee Kilo Echo]

IC: Julia

 

Julia was jarred out of the euphoria of being alive and with Alex by two things: first, the sound of someone shouting in anger; second, the sight of an aircraft crashing in not far from them. She gave Alex one last look, as if to say gotta go, then ran off.

 

It didn't take long for her to reach the wreckage. Aside from the fires flickering here and there, all was frighteningly still. She pressed her ear up against the vessel's remains and heard someone moving inside.

 

"Hold on," she shouted. "I'm gonna try to get you out of there."

 

Her claws slid out from between her knuckles. She buried each claw about three inches into the metal--hopefully not deep enough to maim anybody--and tore away at the hull until she had cut a sizeable hole in it.

 

"Anybody alive in there?"

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Romulus)

 

"I do believe you are right Mr. Picket. HYDRA has gone much too far this time." Romulus clasp his hands together, clearly wishing he had more wine. "I will be tapping into my not inconsiderable funds. New York has proven it is incapable of defending itself. The world has proven much the same. I, for one, am not going to stand by while a handfull of fools allow HYDRA to run roughshod over the world." The would-be Emperor paused. "The Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign, the Brotherhood and HYDRA. All of these factors need to be removed or....rendered toothless. Otherwise, all the money in the world will not save us. I have seen many things in my time. I know the signs of decay quite well." He had better, after the amount of nightmares he had had after Constantinople had fallen. "I see the same factors at work that destroyed Rome. A massive social revolution, a horde at the gates and cults sweeping through the shadows. An empire can withstand one of these, but all of them at the same time...."

 

IC (Saphine)

 

Saphine breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes! Over here!" She looked like the only who was capable of speaking at least. Hopefully some of the others were just knocked out but....she didn't like how still they all were. Not at all. She'd seen that before and the men in question had not gotten back up again.

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

IC(Cynegild Picker):

 

By this point, Cynegild was up and pacing, snapping his fingers as he rattled off lists, ideas, and a few things dangerously close to being orders.

 

"My bet would be to publicly smash the horde first - we'll be needing technology - weapons, shields, armour, transportation, anything that will make the public removal of HYDRA from the face of the Earth significantly easier. Our partners in the Hellfire Club should be decent resources, but we may have to go abroad for that - short-term, get anyone who's still alive out of the wreckage, and then turn the wreckage back into buildings. Put enough money in and we can control how the rebuilding is done, make sure everything is tough enough to withstand a repeat attack - again, funds from the Club may be instrumental. I am wealthy, but there's somewhere north of forty attack sites... rather more than the two of us could cover alone, I am afraid. The most visible targets will have to be taken care of first, get the public thinking of how quickly we bounced back. Can't ignore the others, of course - wouldn't want to breed resentment in the Third World - but New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and... goodness, Paris is landlocked! Did the bloody thing walk up the Seine?"

[Advent Child]

IC: Waves rose high in the wake of Siegfried's flight path, crashing back into the ocean as Siegfried began to follow the US coastline. The way things were going, New York seemed to be a logical first stop.

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Romulus)

 

Romulus noted this and shook his head. If the mortal thought he could order about an Emperor he would be in for a nasty shock at some point down the line. Regardless, the general strategy was sensible. "I cannot imagine this will do wonders for the polling numbers of the ruling parties. We should at the very least, ensure some of the new governments answer to us. We are both wealthy men Mr. Picker but as you say, even our wealth cannot cover the full extent of the conflict. Governments, on the other hand, are suited to such international tasks. Democracy, in my experience, is pitifully easy to manipulate." Romulus rose from his seat and looked out the window, at the pillars of black smoke rising from the city.

 

"I would not object to seeking aid from others within the Club, but I do not feel we should rely on them. You know as well as I how....unstable...certain members can be. Regardless, my Legion has access to some fairly advanced technology, after Weapon-X went black I was forced to expand their operations in that department. However, I do know MACE had some fairly interesting projects going before they ran afoul of the current president. It would be a simple matter to gain access to their designs and perhaps, whatever stockpiles are left over...."

Edited December 17, 2013 by Basilisk

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

IC(Cynegild Picker):

 

Having recovered from the stumbling block of the French having allowed a Sleeper to walk up the Seine, and having enthusiastically paced through Romulus' response, Cynegild continued.

 

"You're right, of course. Politics is rather more your interest and area of expertise, so the puppeteering I shall leave to you. With your support, I will focus my efforts on... ah, I see Blackpool made their list. Well, it would hardly do for me to focus my efforts far from home, would it? The Yanks will understand regardless, but they might get a bit upset back in Blighty if I start my work elsewhere, yes?"

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Romulus)

 

"Quite. A warrior who cannot aid his homeland is no warrior at all, as it was said." Romulus tore his gaze away from the window and gestured at one of his bodyguards. "Contact our forces in the city. Launch a search and rescue operation in the effected areas. Deployment of power armor is authorized. We'll be needing it I imagine." The trench-coated legionnaire nodded and picked up his cellphone. "Hopefully this will serve as something of a catalyst. I doubt even the fools that currently run this world can stick their heads into the sand and ignore something like this."

Edited December 17, 2013 by Basilisk

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

IC(Cynegild Picker):

 

Cynegild took Romulus' turn to giving orders to his aides as a dismissal, and proceeded to completely forget about Li'l Genghis as he strolled through the door, already arranging the money transfers necessary to get a search-and-rescue effort rolling in ahead of the inevitable government-directed one. His private jet would be taking off in under an hour, but thirty-five minutes was still plenty of time to give shell-shocked locals a few thirty-five thousand pound carrots to spur them into action.

[Eyru]

OOC Let's get caught up, shall we...?

 

 

IC (Rene LeBeau)

 

Rene watched the television, so still he could have been a statue. He hardly blinked, even when the shockwave hit and the camera was sent spinning to the ground before flickering out. The screen was dark for a moment before returning to a shocked-looking news anchor who struggled to speak through her tears.

 

"It... it appears that... I'm just being told that a... a square quarter mile of New York City has... has been levelled."

 

She was about to say something else, but that was when the remote control flew through the air and embedded itself in the screen, shattering the glass. The television burped out one last staticky noise, then fell silent.

 

The kinetopathic teen hadn't moved. His eyes were wet.

 

 

 

IC (Rachel Thomas)

 

"Had you not been here, the Institute would likely have been destroyed, from either the inside or the outside. I've worked here for several months, Alexander. I've noticed how many of the students here behave. Without an authority, they will hurt themselves. Each other."

 

The counsellor was quiet for a moment, organizing her thoughts.

 

"Yes, I think you did the right thing. But it's more than that: I think, had you gone to New York, that, too, would have been an acceptable decision. Life is not straightforward: we often encounter decisions without right or wrong outcomes. Sometimes, both choices are the right one, and that makes them all the harder to make. But when you do make them, you must accept that it was the right thing to do at the time. Whether or not it turns out to be the best choice is irrelevant. It's unfair to judge yourself because of what might have been."

 

 

 

IC (Cody Jackson)

 

The city was way too quiet.

 

That was Cody's first thought. His second was that his head hurt. No, scratch that- his whole body hurt. And his ears were ringing.

 

Opening his eyes, the young superhero blinked back the light and looked around. He was lying in a pile of rubble, and there was plenty to spare. The entire street looked like an earthquake had hit- buildings were either completely destroyed, or only mostly destroyed. That robot had done something big. Way bigger than its laser beam or missiles. And way worse.

 

Painfully, he struggled to his feet. His body ached, like someone had used him as a punching bag. His costumed was scuffed and ripped in a few places, but at least his mask was undamaged. His identity was still safe. That is - if there was anyone around to keep it safe from.

 

His heart sank. The city was too quiet.

 

"Hello?" he ventured. Nothing.

 

Louder. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

 

He couldn't be the only survivor. That was impossible. There had to be others. There had to.

[Constructelf]

IC Damian

"Oh. My. God."

 

Having come across the actual site of the explosion, Damian stared in disbelief. Breaking into a run, he entered the blast zone, frantically looking around. "Wh-why?!" Damian thought to himself.

 

"A whole quarter of a square mile, leveled," Damian thought to himself. "Just... Gone." Sprinting through the leveled area, he looked around in panic. "Hello? Anybody need help?" ", I don't know what that thing was, where it came from, or who sent it, but, b-but, ARGH! They are so going to pay." Then, Damian noticed a person who looked like he had just crawled out of the rubble (Zephyr). "Are you okay?" Damian asked. "Are there any other survivors?"

[Let's Henshin!]

IC: Katherine(Wreckage of NYC, Not Noticing Zephyr and Damian)

 

Snap!

 

The first cable.

 

Snaaaaap!

 

The second.

 

Snaaaaap!

 

Katherine.

 

As the cables snapped so too did Katherine, her fears going into the battle had only been amplified. Here she was, a failed ex-enforcer, once more realizing that she was absolutely powerless. Once more she found herself asking what was the point, what good could she, a child with a bow, do in a world of powerful, towering behemoths.

 

These thoughts raced through Katherine's head even as she struggled to recompose. To pick herself up and give chase after the mighty machine, but it soon proved to be a worthless endeavor. No sooner did Katherine find a boat to cross the channel on, did things go from bad to worse.

 

Boom!

 

Much, much worse.

 

Leaping off the boat, Katherine stumbled as she walked through the ravaged country. No. A singular word that she kept repeating over and over again. No, no, no. Why did I have to fail? Why couldn't I be stronger? Katherine once again found herself devastated, completely unable to do anything useful. Anything good.

 

As she stumbled through the wreckage Katherine was completely devastated inside. Unable to notice that which lay around her, unable to notice the two other survivors crawling in the wreckage. All Katherine could think of was her failure, her own inability to be of use. Once again she had failed and that destroyed her.

 

OOC: Prior to the attacks.

 

IC: Horace(Jackson's Show, Wrapping Up)

 

Horace smiled, the interview had gone exactly the way he had hoped. He had countered everyone of Jackson's points, but nearly every question or point he had made towards Jackson had been dropped. The entire interview had been like an elegant duel, one in which Horace had danced circles. There was a reason he was the spokesperson for Hammer Industries after all, and this interview had showcased that point.

 

"Well," Horace smiled, "It seems our time is about at its end. I thank you for your time and inviting me to speak, this discussion was most informative." With that Horace bid adieu and walked off stage, his mind already racing over his next task. A task that involved contacting a certain General. Fun times were about to begin.

[Eyru]

IC (Cody)

 

"Yeah, I'm fine," Cody replied. As happy as he was to see someone else was okay, it did little for the knots in his stomach. One survivor wasn't enough. Where was everyone else? The robot couldn't have killed...

 

"Are there any other survivors?" the newcomer asked.

 

"I- I don't know."

 

It just wasn't possible.

 

Then he saw her. A dazed-looking young woman stumbled through the wreckage, giving no sign that she'd noticed either of them.

 

"Hey- hey!" he called, jogging up to her. "Are you okay?"

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

IC: Persephone set Harken down on a New York rooftop just as the flash from the detonation faded away.

 

"Think we're too late to help," she said, in what had to be a contender for understatement of the year, "We should see if there's a clean-up effort. Pitch in with that."

 

 

 

IC: "So your only power is to be purple?" Magnitude asked, "Wow, sucks to be you I guess."

[Let's Henshin!]

IC: Katherine(NYC Wreckage, Answering)

 

"Hey- hey!"

Katherine glanced up, her mind still lost in thought. It would appear someone was calling to her, but truth be told it was difficult for her to make any sense of what was being said. She was still trapped in the events that had occurred mere minutes ago, still trapped in the devastation around and the guilt within. However it seemed the luxury of wallowing within her shell just wasn't an option. The voice was ever persistent.

"Are you okay?" It asked.

Every fiber of Katherine's being wanted to scream no. NO, I'm not okay, I'm broken, I'm a failure, I'm responsible. Yet for some reason that rational part of her just couldn't speak up. Something in Katherine didn't want to admit her distress to others. She was a failure yes, but she was still okay, wasn't she? She may be ineffective but she was still operational, even if using her would be a terrible decision. Hence all Katherine could say was.

"Yes."

Edited December 17, 2013 by Commander Viral

[AuRon the champion]

IC:

 

"I mean... I don't even know how relationships work and all that..." Kristen said, her face a beat-red, "I- Haven't really... Gotten the best of educations."

[Eevee]

IC: Lynae

 

"How about we make an arrangement, child?" She grinned a bit deviously. "I'll teach you about 'relationships' and you provide me with certain things."

 

She raised one finger. "First, I want you to supply me with fresh blood. Either yours or a friend but it has to be done willingly. I'm not for all that 'oh no! You're trying to kill me so I want to stab you with a stake!' None sense.

 

"Second," She raised another finger. "If I'm not mistaken... This school you go to is associated with the x-men, yes?"

[AuRon the champion]

IC:

 

"Fair enough. I mean, like you said. It's just ne- Fangs. Not like a little prick is going to kill me..." Kristen said, chuckling as she tried to make light of the thought.

"And the Institute? Yea, it used to be."

[Eevee]

IC: Lynae

 

The vampire nodded. "So... I would like access... Meaning I can drop in when I'd like."

[AuRon the champion]

IC:

 

"Sure. I guess. I mean, as long as you weren't trying to feed off anyone or anything... Illegal," Kristen said, rubbing the back of her neck as she thought about it.

 

The thought didn't exactly appeal to her. After all, she'd only met Lynae earlier in the night... She couldn't accurately predict what she was going to do.

[Eevee]

IC: Lynae

 

"Perish the thought, my dear. I am simply asking for you to supply blood once in a while... Not everyday and not even more than once a week. And access to the school. I heard it has an interesting library." She grinned.

[AuRon the champion]

IC:

 

Kristen paused, mentally weighing the options in her head.

 

"Deal," She said, holding her prosthetic out to shake hands, "I'll get you in when you need to."

[Eevee]

IC: Lynae

 

"Perrrfect." She cooed before turning toward the wheel. "Now that this has been sorted out, shall we be on our way?"

[AuRon the champion]

IC:

 

"Yeah," Kristen said, nodding as she got the more-than-slightly uneasy feeling that she might regret this at a future point. Probably from when Dal found out.

 

"I mean, it's only like what, an hour or three drive from here to there?"

[Eevee]

IC: Lynae

 

"Should be... Sorry for scaring you. I don't think it can be helped sometimes, you know for the whole blood thing. It's.. A necessary thing for me."

[AuRon the champion]

IC:

 

"It's fine... I'm more scared of your fangs than losing any blood," Kristen joked, "I lost an arm Lynae, I'm not scared of a little red liquid."

[25K Now!]

IC: NYC

 

Count the bricks along the wall

 

There was nothing for him to count any more. The darkness that surrounded him was proof of that.

 

Feel the silence start to fall

 

He had never felt such loneliness in his life. Only the sounds of his ragged breaths and his defective radio hinted at his survival, yet he wondered why he was even alive anyway. It would have been better to die than be trapped in his failing machine with the events of the last hour constantly on his mind.

 

Or had it been an hour? He didn't even know any more.

 

Isn't much that can be said

 

All he wanted to do was be a hero. He had put his life on the line for the people.

 

And then they all died.

 

A weak laugh escaped his lips. Did he even deserve to be a hero in the first place? He had betrayed everything he had stood for, and then some.

 

Cause our fairytale is dead

 

gabrieljaynesayfrookieenforcersdeltamutantsamericakATHERINEgabrielbrotherdeltajaynedeltasayfdeltarookiedeltakAtherinegabriel

 

Gabriel.

 

Katherine.

 

He choked back a sob. The radio paused.

 

A beat passed.

 

But that's the price you pay

When you're a monster with no name at all

The floodgates opened.

[Zulu Yankee Kilo Echo]

IC: Julia

 

After some more prying and cutting, Julia had widened the opening enough that she could climb inside the aircraft. Her claws glinted in the few slivers of sunlight that pierced the otherwise pitch dark cabin. Vapid odors clogged the air within the twisted metal trap, but she managed to locate Saphine quickly enough.

 

"Are you okay?" She asked. "Any injuries?"

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"I guess you're right," Brooklyn sighed forlornly. "Alaric told me this story once about how, when he was a freshman in college, his Western Civ teacher was being a total jagoff, and so one day he tried to improve the guy's car by taking a wrench to the hood, windshield, and all four wheels and tires."

 

...

 

"Can't remember how he ended the story. Might've wound up failing Western Civ."

 

-Tyler

[Snelly]

OOC: Initiating timeskip thingy for the safe house group!

 

IC: Aella

 

It had only taken five minutes of pestering to get the Mikhail guy to cave in and let everyone this the hidden plane in their safe house. Now, I'd seen flying HYDRA machines before, even hijacked one or two during the 'training' they forced me through, but it paled in comparison to how comfy the inside of this plane was!

 

The moment the plane launched into the sky my eyes had been glued to the window, I had never seen anything like this. I mean, I'd seen photographs and simulations of the sky, the sun, and clouds, but the real thing was beyond compare. Up until this point I hadn't been sure if any of these things were real! But now I was looking at it up close, even if it was just a tiny window. I couldn't help but wonder if I could fly this high up using my powers. Looking down everything looked so tiny, like little bugs. Those despicable trees looked like...well grass I supposed.

 

How did I know what grass was again? I couldn't seem to remember.

 

"This is the coolest. Thing. Ever."

[AuRon the champion]

IC:

 

"How did something so big get up in the blue-and-black-place?" Trinity asked, rushing around the plane, inspecting everything, "It's like one of those dream-thingies!"

[Krayzikk]

OOC: I'll post for Alex a bit later; that one's going to take more effort, and I'm exhausted right now.

 

IC:

 

"Sounds like something Alaric would do." The ex-Weapon replied in amusement, chuckling quietly. "How ironic that he ended up becoming a history teacher himself."

 

IC:

 

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Came the nearly animalistic growl from one of the passenger seats. Tera was a bundle of visibly stressed nerves, eyes fixed solidly on the horizon, searching for New York.

 

It couldn't come soon enough,

 

"I could walk faster than this!"

[25K Now!]

IC: Mikhail

 

"Perception of time is relative," offered Mikhail.

[Snelly]

IC: Aella

 

"Well Trin...I'm pretty sure this plane runs on pure awesome...that's probably how." I said almost dreamily as I watched the clouds go by, it was rather soothing.

 

Tera's seat was right next to mine, she did not seem to be enjoying the ride. In fact she was incredibly agitated. I wasn't quite sure why she was like this, but it worried me just a little bit. Obviously something important to her was in New York.

 

I wanted to ask her about it, but I didn't want to annoy her either, it didn't seem like the right time.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"Relative my-" The plane, at that moment, experienced a bout of turbulence, causing Tera to be cut off mid-sentence, preventing Aella or Trinity from hearing an undoubtedly questionable word... Or it would have, had she not erupted into a torrent of curses at the bump. "Each second we delay is another second that the mechanized monstrosity from Del Toro's daydreams is running rampant in my city!"

 

"So hurry up!"

[Snelly]

IC: Aella

 

I'm couldn't help but giggle a bit when Tera started saying some very profound things we went through the turbulence. I was fairly sure I knew most of the words she said though, but I was always happy to learn more.

 

The only thing I didn't like about the bumping is it reminded me how much my head still freakin hurt, I rubbed my temples in a fruitless effort to sooth it.

 

"What's this...robot doing to your...city?" Those two words weren't that familiar to me but I felt like I almost knew what they meant, but something was missing. My eyes widened slightly as I remembered something.

 

"Hey...I think I remember back in my room...I mean the HYDRA base...I heard people mention robots lots of times, I never really understood what they were talking about though."

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Saphine)

 

"Dunno." The hired gun coughed and then cringed. "Might be a few broken ribs. Can't tell. Hurts like a son of a-" She coughed again. "Ugh. When the shock wears off, we'll see."

[Zulu Yankee Kilo Echo]

IC: Julia

 

"Okay. Okay, just hold still."

 

Julia cut away the harness holding Saphine to her seat.