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IC:

 

(Lone, on they way back to the jet)

 

"That went slightly better than expected. That man, he might just be a genius. Individually holding each villain with powers, that would save the League a lot of time." Lone said out loud to no in particular. The bit when Victor had asked about the Dreadnought had caught John's attention, but not much more than seeing someone wanting to go for an upgrade. Maybe I could get a bit of that as well. Maybe a visor upgrade or something. gah! I can't remember practically anything about the Dreadnought, at all.

War...war never changes.

We crawl, on our knees for you,
under, a sky no longer blue,
we sweat, all day long for you.

But we sow, seeds to see us though,
cause sometimes dreams just don't come true,
we wait, to reap what we are due.

-Rise Against, Re-Education (through Labor)

 

 

 

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IC - Gadgeteer @ League Jet

 

It would also save the League a lot of time if they were prepared to kill their more troublesome enemies, Gadgeteer thought. He said out loud: "Personalised prisons must cost a lot of money though. I expect the politicians opposed the General's idea because they weren't keen on the expenses involved. And it's not like the League has infinite funds."

 

The pair reached the spot where the invisible League Jet was parked - Gadgeteer's thermal imaging located it for them easily. With a mental command he shifted back to his default Urban Mode. He raised a fist and knocked on what looked like thin air, though it was of course the side door of the jet...

 

OOC: Are Saosin or Madness' owners still active here?

Edited by Kumata
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OOC: I didn't have much to do with Saosin stuck on the jet, but I've been around. As for Madness' owner, rather sure he left a while ago...

 

IC:

 

Three seconds later, the side door of the jet whooshed open and the team's resident League member was standing there with a balled up piece of empty tinfoil in his left hand from lunch; with a raise of both eyebrows by way of greeting he lowered the stairs and allowed the two battle suited heroes to clamber onto the jet.

 

"You gents have a nice visit? How'd it go?"

 

-Tyler

Edited by Dallas Winston

SAY IT ONE MORE TIME 

TELL ME WHAT IS ON YOUR MIND

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OOC: The Writer retired on April 25th, Kumata. Won't be getting any help from there.

 

IC: (Loadstone)

Loadstone had considered the same plan X-Calibur had, and the words were barely out of the Hero's mouth before Loadstone flung his arms down and inward. The electric field snapped like broken elastic, converging into a ball around the incoming missile. About halfway between Dragonfly and the group of Heroes, the missile exploded.

 

The Heroes cringed, even though the explosion billowed around a dome of whirling air that prevented it from touching them. As the smoke cleared, the winds died down and they had their first glimpse of the aftermath...

 

 

~ Rumpelstiltskin

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OOC: There goes our psychic, then. Better think of a way to excise his character from the plot...

 

IC - Gadgeteer @ League Jet

 

Gadgeteer climbed on-board, waiting for Lone to get on and shut the jet's door behind him before answering Saosin. In the quiet of the craft he noticed his ears were still ringing slightly from earlier.

 

"We discovered the files to Operation: Lockdown just as General Warner discovered us. Baron Carchas is a mutant shark with enhanced sentience and psychic powers. It was ruled that Carchas could not be imprisoned in Confinement because the removal of his powers would kill him, so General Warner built a secret holding facility for him in the Sahara desert. Over time he has continued to build personalised prisons for other captured supervillains and even imprisoned innocents who found out about what he was up to." The 'even' made it sound like he cared. "The general doesn't seem to think of himself as corrupt. just doing what needs to be done. I suggested we work together to double-cross Lady Hexas. Our team will take Lady Hexas to the Sahara prison in two days' time and make to break Baron Carchas free, as she has asked of us. But General Warner will have prepared a black ops team who will meet us there, and together we will trap Lady Hexas."

 

Gadgeteer's words hung in the air. Though he said nothing more, he was awaiting Saosin's verdict. It wasn't that he doubted the plan itself - it was tactically sound - but since he was part of the League Saosin would be able to voice any moral objections, and Gadgeteer could pretend to have thought of them too and adjust the plan around them.

 

He had also purposely left out the part about the Dreadnought armour. No point in giving the hero additional time to formulate suspicions.

 

IC(NPC) - X-Calibur @ Coalition Mine Hideout

 

Dragonfly had been waiting for the smoke to clear to see if any heroes had been taken out by the explosion, so when their view became unobscured the villain was revealed to be simply standing there. As soon as he registered that the missile had failed he raised his wrist-blasters and opened fire.

 

X-Calibur had already started sprinting to the side. He pulled what looked like a cobalt blue marble from a pouch on his supersuit and tossed it along the floor toward the villain. He waved for the attention of the others and pressed his hands against the sides of his helmet. A LED lit up within the marble and a piercing, high-pitched whine began to emit from it. Dragonfly's laser fire angled up the walls as he dropped to his knees, snarling in pain and frustration as his ears burned with the noise...

 

OOC: Feel free to finish him off in your next IC and we can get the finale of this plot underway.

Edited by Kumata
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OOC: Feel free to finish him off in your next IC and we can get the finale of this plot underway.

 

OOC: ~Hallelujah~

 

IC: (Loadstone)

Loadstone crumpled like a rag doll, writhing on the ground with his hands on his ears. With his sensitive hearing, the sound echoing off the walls felt like someone was driving metal stakes through his brain. Skyra nearly attempted his vacuum-around-the-head maneuver, but decided against it as it would block the sound from reaching Dragonfly and they would lose their only advantage. Seeing Loadstone's agony, he opted to block his hearing instead, allowing the electromagnetic Hero to relax slightly, though he still looked pained and now couldn't breathe.

 

In the end it was Ultionis, who had adjusted his mask's audio receptors to block out the trill, who made the move. Calmly reloading one of his pistols, he stepped forward, took aim at the Villain's neck, and fired. Dragonfly toppled over, eyes fluttering closed.

 

Oblivious to the others, the supersoldier walked over and tugged the tranquilizer dart from the Villain's carotid artery. He was down for the count - by the time he woke up, he'd be facing justice in a League Penitentiary miles away...assuming that the Heroes managed to escape this mine shaft, anyway. And if they did, that they'd be able to cart the comatose Coalition members with them...those weren't things to be taken for granted, after all.

 

 

~ Rumpelstiltskin

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IC:

 

(Lone, on the jet)

 

Lone climbed up and on the jet, ready to head on out.

War...war never changes.

We crawl, on our knees for you,
under, a sky no longer blue,
we sweat, all day long for you.

But we sow, seeds to see us though,
cause sometimes dreams just don't come true,
we wait, to reap what we are due.

-Rise Against, Re-Education (through Labor)

 

 

 

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IC(NPC) X-Calibur @ Coalition Mine Hideout

 

Ultionis glared at X-Calibur. Beneath the headgear his expression wasn't actually readable, but the mere motioning of his head was enough to convey the gesture. "If he'd had a defense against that, you'd have just disabled half the team for him."

 

"If he'd had a defense against that, I could have deactivated the thing," X-Calibur retorted, a little defensively. He scooped up the marble and pointed at the unconscious Dragonfly. "How long will that last?"

 

"I gave him a twenty-four hour dose."

 

X-Calibur nodded. "Makes it easier if we can just leave him here. Now er, before we go on, anyone mind filling me in on what I've missed?"

 

Over the course of the next several minutes the group relayed to X-Calibur their additional findings - the confirmation that whatever the facility existed for was being kept on the lowest level accompanied by a villainness called 'Triple Helix', though they hadn't been able to access it through the lift shaft due to the lift blocking their way. X-Calibur shared his own experiences, which were chiefly fighting his way through squads of Sharkmen until Dragonfly joined the fray. As they spoke Loadstone used his powers to carefully disassemble Dragonfly's armour, just enough so that on the off-chance he awakened prematurely it wouldn't operate any more.

 

When that was done with the group resumed following the now battle-scarred corridor. No more enemies or obstacles confronted them, which in a way was more concerning than if they had done. Contained within a limited pool of light, and with no sound but that of their own footsteps, it was unnervingly clear to them how deep and isolated underground they were.

 

Soon they came to what might be described as an r-junction. The main corridor curved toward the right, though a small alcove extended left where a thick iron door stood. It was labelled EMERGENCY ACCESS SHAFT and was bordered by yellow and black hazard stripes.

 

"If we can't get down through the elevator shaft..." suggested Epsilon, jerking a thumb toward the door.

 

X-Calibur stepped forward and studied it. He tentatively placed a hand on it and felt around its edges. Then he looked at the others. "Seems like an ordinary door to me. No alarms, no booby-traps."

 

Ultionis and Loadstone examined the door too, with their equipment and powers respectively, and agreed with the assertion. Ultionis opened the door as Loadstone and Skyra prepared to deflect any triggered projectiles, but nothing was revealed save for a dark vertical shaft. It resembled a narrower version of the lift shaft; unlit, undecorated, with pipes and cables snaking in and out at various levels. Up above, strips of light illuminated the edges of doors on higher levels. A metal ladder was fastened to the wall, adjacent to the doorway.

 

The heroes descended. Ultionis went first, his night-vision goggles allowing him to view their environment in full clarity. Skyra, in the rear, closed the door behind him so as not to alert any patrols as to where they had gone. They tried their best to reduce the clanking sounds of their feet against the rungs.

 

When they had reached the bottom another door provided access to a similar r-shaped junction. On high alert, the heroes moved forwards. The corridor was surprisingly short, and in less than a minute an overhead light was flickering into life to reveal another door, this one labelled SECURITY ANTECHAMBER. Opening this (it was electronically locked, but it was nothing a mini-EMP from Loadstone couldn't bypass) revealed another elevator. Its only button was labelled SUBJECT TESTING FACILITY.

 

"Jackpot," murmured Epsilon.

 

"Alright, this is the final chance to prepare," Ultionis advised them. "Whatever's down there must be worth building this whole facility to contain and filling it with guards. So expect defenses."

 

"If it is Danielle Thomas," said X-Calibur, "or anyone, really - a captive of some sort - we need to make sure that whatever fighting goes on doesn't put them in harm's way."

 

"We'd need to secure them ASAP. If we back the Coalition into a corner then they might try to use them as a hostage," nodded Ultionis.

 

"And if it's not? Not a person I mean?" Asked Skyra.

 

"If it's not a person then it's a machine," said X-Calibur. "If it's still being built then we just stop them from building it. If it's finished we stop them from activating it. In either case, we destroy it..."

 

OOC: Getting the finale started is turning out to be a bigger IC than I expected, so I'm splitting it across two posts. Feel free to interject something Rumpelstiltskin.

Edited by Kumata
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IC: (Loadstone)

Loadstone rolled his shoulders, limbering up for the fight to come. His ears were still ringing slightly from earlier, so it took him a moment to follow the conversation - his initial understanding was something about Jack being prepared, Danielle Thomas holding someone captive, fighting ASAP, the Coalition in the corner as a hostage, and a person who was a machine that needed to be destroyed. He processed that for a minute, added in a few missing words, and it made much more sense.

 

"I've got dibs if it's a machine," he added casually. "Also, if anybody plans on throwing something that might catch one of us in the crossfire, now would be a good time to make it known." The hint was certainly meant for X-Calibur, though he it encompassed Ultionis as well.

 

 

~ Rumpelstiltskin

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IC(NPC) - X-Calibur @ Coalition Mine Hideout

 

"My noisemaker's out of charge, so I won't be using that again," X-Calibur said, obviously referring to the sonic device. "I've a small store of knockout gas in here," he tapped his wrist device, "but I'll let Skyra know if I'm about to use it; he can use his powers to stop it from reaching any of us."

 

"Sure," nodded the aerokinetic.

 

"I won't use any grenades unless absolutely necessary. Chances are there'll be a lot of machinery or laboratory equipment down there, and I'm not enough of a scientist to know what will constitute a combustion hazard and what won't," Ultionis explained. Cocking a pistol, he added: "Right. We all set?"

 

The group marched onto the elevator platform and pressed the button. Loadstone and Skyra braced to use their powers in case of a trap, while the others readied themselves for whatever lurked below. With a slight metallic whirr the elevator descended; the journey lasted just twenty seconds. The group stepped out onto a balcony, with stairways extending from either side toward a large circular chamber below. They crouched before the balcony rail and studied the view.

 

As Ultinois had guessed, there was a collective of machinery and laboratory equipment that filled the room. Much of it appeared to be half-assembled (or perhaps half-disassembled) and inactive. Only a fraction of the equipment hummed with life, most of it gathered at the centre of the chamber and making enough noise to mask that of the elevator's arrival.

 

There was a wiry woman attending a bank of computers, dressed in a white lab coat and with her blonde hair tied in a bun. She tapped at keys and referred to a stack of notes every now and then, engrossed in her work. In a rough circle around her stood four Sharkman-like creatures, gazing about with animal curiosity.

 

But the most interesting sight was the cylindrical tank to which the computers were connected. It was filled with bubbling blue liquid in which floated a teenage girl, chestnut-coloured hair streaming in all directions, only underwear for modesty. Electrodes trailed from various parts of her body. She might have looked dead if it weren't for the oxygen mask affixed to her mouth.

 

Ultionis breathed a curse word. "It is Danielle Thomas."

 

X-Calibur's helmet tilted back and forth, his inbuilt scanners assessing the scene. "Those are Quads," he hissed to the others. "They're an elite kind of Sharkman - a mix of several species; human, shark, snake, panther. Stronger, but not much more intelligent. I'm assuming that scientist is Triple-Helix, since my scans aren't picking up any other lifeforms within the chamber."

 

"She's bound to have powers, then," said Epsilon.

 

X-Calibur nodded. "We have to hit them fast and hard while we still have the element of surprise. Here's how I think we ought to play this. Me, Ultionis, Skyra and Epsilon, we all take a Quad each. Loadstone, you engage Triple-Helix until the rest of us are free to join you. You've got the broadest range of abilities out of us all; you're best suited to react to whatever powerset she might have." He paused, giving the group a chance to object or offer a better strategy. Usually he trusted his own judgment, but there was a tension weighing on his mind. While it was a relief to have discovered the location of the US president's missing daughter, he would have much preferred a machine to smash than a hostage to rescue...

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OOC: I love the rationale of why the only PC left has to tackle her, Kumata. :P

 

IC: (Loadstone)

Loadstone puzzled the scenario for a moment, then nodded. "I can take her," he agreed, stepping silently onto his magnaboard and crouching. The surfboard-shaped panel rose into the air. "Keep those things off me, if you can." He propelled himself forward slowly and quietly along the ceiling, until he was in the perfect spot for a dramatic reveal.

 

Folding his arms and striking a nonchalant pose - weight firmly on one foot, arms folded, eyebrow raised - he began his descent, calling out in an authoritative voice. "Is this what the Coalition has been reduced to? Kidnapping little girls? What happened to the days of knocking the moon out of alignment, or attempts of mass-brainwashing? What I have seen within the past two days has been absolutely pathetic."

 

 

~ Rumpelstiltskin

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OOC: No problem. :P

 

Yo Dallas, waiting on you for a response to Gadgeteer.

 

IC(NPC) - Triple-Helix @ Subject Testing Facility

 

The woman paused in her work, head tilting to the side slightly as if she'd just noticed the buzzing of a fly. Then, whirling around and sending papers scattering, she thrusted an arm forwards. Blue-white electricity blasted from the tip of her finger toward the silver-clad hero...

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OOC: *rofl*

 

IC: (Loadstone)

The sane reaction when a blast of electricity is hurtling toward you is to try to dodge it. Loadstone never budged.

 

The electricity hit him square in the chest, crackling across his shoulders and arms as his body naturally dissipated it. He sighed rather ostentatiously, then shook his head. "Like I said," Loadstone said in a disappointed voice, "pathetic." He threw his hand out toward Triple-Helix, much as she had just done to him, purple electricity crackling from his fingertips Emperor Palpatine-style. He was careful to aim toward the Villainess' feet; he didn't dare short out any of the equipment yet, not while Danielle was still attached to it. Hopefully he could drive Triple-Helix away from the machine and buy the others enough time to rescue the kid. He'd probably fare better against Triple-Helix than the others would with the Quads.

 

 

~ Rumpelstiltskin

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IC(NPC) - Triple-Helix @ Subject Testing Facility

 

The villainess hadn't been expecting the hero to be able to withstand and return the attack. But his choosing to pause and make a snarky comment had cost him a potential hit; she had time to brace herself and lunge to the side as the electricity came back. She scrabbled behind a boxy machine for cover - or so it seemed. Seconds later the machine rose into the air; her fingers grasping its underside, the sleeves of her lab coat bulging with tensed muscle. She ripped the machine free of the wiring that anchored it and tossed the car-sized hunk of metal at the hero...

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IC: (Loadstone)

"Whoah," Loadstone muttered, eyes widening as Triple-Helix showed off her superstrength. He threw his arms out again, catching the machine with magnetic fields until it hovered motionless in midair. "Do you not see the floating metal surfboard?" he called through gritted teeth, yanking one hand back while pushing the other forward. The machine hurtled back toward the Villainess, spinning wildly as it did. "A for effort, though."

 

 

~ Rumpelstiltskin

Edited by Rumpelstiltskin
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IC(NPC) - Triple-Helix @ Subject Testing Facility

 

"I knew you vould come. I knew you vould come!" The villainness screamed in irritation. She drew back her fist and swung, denting one side of the machine as she sent it crashing to the side. "Zhey put me in charge of zhis facility. Zhey tell me it is most important to complete my task and I knew, I knew zat heroes vould show up and spoil my chance to impress zhe new leaders!"

 

She darted toward a rack of sealed chemical beakers, grabbed one and flung it, her superstrength propelling it like a javelin. From her free hand leapt another bolt of electricity, striking the beaker and igniting the fluid within. A brief flash and then dark smoke poured in all directions, spreading like a wall between the hero and villain.

 

From beyond the smokescreen came more bolts. Triple-Helix was guessing that Loadstone could only withstand an electric attack he could see coming...

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IC: (Loadstone)

As far as Loadstone understood his powers, the mutation he had suffered at the Solanum Corporation had rendered him completely immune to electricity. He'd done some experimenting in the aftermath of the invasion, and had come to the conclusion that he was now a walking generator; he could generate large quantities of bioelectricity and manipulate it via his magnetic fields, creating the illusion of electrokinesis. His body was capable now of withstanding extremely high voltages, and when he came in contact with exterior sources of electricity he either absorbed them or dissipated them, no conscious effort required. In other words, aimless bolts of electricity held no fear for him.

 

He was intrigued by what Triple-Helix had said about the new leaders, emphasis on the plural. As far as he knew, no one in the League had any intelligence on who had managed to revive the Coalition; with Midnight gone, the power vacuum could have sucked in any number of veteran Coalition members. If the Coalition had more than one leader, it would be even harder to bring down. Did the founders (sans Dr. Danger) join forces again to reunite the Coalition? They hadn't openly led the Coalition in a decade; Danger had become both the face and brain of the Coalition after the League had been founded. Or did a number of Villains decide to form some sort of council, brainstorming new schemes in a think tank and leading the Coalition by popular vote?

 

One of the blasts hit him in his pondering, and he was brought back to the present. His enhanced eyesight was useless with this smoke, and his hearing was still slightly impaired from earlier, so there was no chance of locating Triple-Helix the conventional way. Forming a ball of electricity in his hand, he lobbed it toward where he thought the source of the bolts was, given their random angles and various trajectories. Before it had gone a yard he began forming another one, this one aimed farther to the left, and then another to the right.

 

 

~ Rumpelstiltskin

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IC(NPC) - Triple-Helix @ Subject Testing Facility

 

The second ball of electricity caught Triple-Helix in the leg; with a yelp and a crackle she tripped backwards over the table that held the chemical beakers. The liquids pooled and mixed, though save for a pungent smell there were no apparent effects.

 

The smoke had already started to dissipate. Loadstone was able to see the villainess brush the glass aside and get shakily to her feet, strands of hair shocked loose from her blonde bun, her face a contortion of anger.

 

"Hnh... intense heat can weaken zhe effects of magnetism... whezher she realizes zhis is irrelevant," the villainess muttered. She straightened up, though her shaking did not stop - it had become a sort of convulsion. In a motion so fast and fluid it was like the flexing of a muscle, her limbs lengthened, her lab coat burst apart to reveal a multicoloured leotard and her skin darkened. Where the wiry, blonde-haired woman had stood there was now a stocky, ginger-haired black woman.

 

"Finally. I been itchin' for a fight," rumbled Triple-Helix's new appearance. She thrust a palm outwards and a meteoric fireball rocketed straight at Loadstone...

Edited by Kumata
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IC: (Loadstone)

"Oh sh..." was all Loadstone managed to say before yanking the magnaboard downwards, narrowly avoiding the fireball as it flew inches past his spiked hair. The moniker "Triple-Helix" suddenly took on a whole new meaning; did she have a third appearance/personality/ability? He sure didn't have any resistance to fire, at any rate.

 

He lashed out towards the dented machine she had attempted to throw at him earlier and magnetically heaved it sideways, the metal screeching along the floor as it moved.

 

 

~ Rumpelstiltskin

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IC(NPC) - Triple-Helix @ Subject Testing Facility

 

Triple-Helix stood with her hands on her hips and a grin on her face; the magnetically attracted machine scraped towards her, building speed, until - CLANG - it burst and wrapped around her. There was a moment or two of inactivity then the edges of the wrecked device glowed orange, folding apart to reveal the villainness standing in exactly the same spot, flames streaming from her hands. She grabbed one of the heated panels and tossed it into the air. It became obvious that this form was not possessed of superhuman strength, for the panel didn't go far. It didn't need to however; Triple-Helix quickly lashed out with another fireball that exploded against the panel, sending a shower of superheated metal droplets in all directions...

Edited by Kumata
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IC: Silver didn't look entirely convinced it'd all just work out just peachy in the end, but nodded at Sarah as they walked back to where Esp's ship form was parked.

 

"That would be nice, I guess...." he admitted, but he wasn't even sure he'd be welcome there in this form. From what Sarah was saying though at least the flat had been demolished to rubble during the invasion... or maybe it had been and just got fixed... he didn't really have much of an idea what had been happening in England since then for that matter. "Uh... I'm not sure I asked but what have you been doing? I mean.... once you got back when the Invasion ended" while it was an attempt to make small talk, it was also an uncomfortable one given the sequence of events that had occurred in his absence: his mental block on her Abyss persona being "a bad thing" high on the list.

breakdown_signature.jpg

 

The light becomes the dark...

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[iC: New York City, NY] "Gee Bee, I need a diagnostic report, now!" Miles said as he wrestled with the controls. "Unless the laws of physics changed in the last thirty seconds, I'm pretty sure the sky isn't supposed to be upside down like that!"The Cricket spun wildly as it rocketed further into its downward spiral towards the city below; the g-forces slamming Miles back against his seat. The view through the domed cockpit window was filling with skyscrapers, rising up like a pit of deadly spikes to meet the Cricket as it fell."<Thruster 1 refusing to disengage, Thruster 2 is completely dead. Most likely you pushed it beyond its limits and burnt it out, but we won't be able to diagnose it until we're on the ground,>" Goldbug replied. "<Sir, speaking of the ground...>""I know, I know!" Miles yelled back. "Any chance we could maneuver away from the city, maybe make an emergency landing down in the bay?""<I could tell you the odds on that... but I don't think you'd like to hear them. Even if you had enough time to steer the Cricket over water, it's not likely it could survive impacting against the surface at this speed. And you almost certainly wouldn't.>""Alright, let's just save that for Plan B, huh?" muttered Miles as he flipped a few switches and grabbed hold of a lever. "I'm putting the fuel injectors through an emergency restart cycle. That should force the thrusters to shutdown..."He yanked the lever, and true to his word, the thruster sputtered and died. The Cricket stopped its wild spin, plunging downwards into a dive."<Well done, sir. But there is still the slight issue of us falling to our deaths to deal with...>""Gotta let the restart cycle run through..." said Miles. "Then I can guide is in for a landing with the maneuvering thrusters."He glanced away from the controls towards the ground below. In the center of the grey spires, a square of green was rushing towards them. Perfect, Miles thought to himself. Out of everywhere on the city he could impact, and he was going down into Central Park. He supposed it was perferable to coliding with a building, but it was still placing countless civilian lives in danger."Alright, I think we've given the restart sequence enough time," said Miles. "If we're gonna slow down enough to survive before we hit the ground, thrusters gotta fire... NOW!"Miles yanked at the controls, only to get now response from the maneuvering thrusters."...erm... NOW! ...NOW! ...Now?"No matter how many times he tried, the thrusters refused to engage. The ground was fast approaching; Miles could count the number of people on the ground and, unfortunately, estimate just how many of them wouldn't be able to get clear of the impact sight in time. As the altimeter dropped down into the double digets, Miles shut his eyes tight and waited for the impact.The Cricket lurched suddenly, but it didn't take long for Miles to realize it wasnt from hitting the ground. Opening one eye, he saw the ground maybe about fifty feet away, people either running in terror or staring up in confusion. Looking up, Miles soon saw what had saved him. Hovering above him, glowing wings extended wide, was Paladin projecting a massive claw from his suits holographic emitters which had scooped up the Cricket.Slowly Paladin lowered the mech to the ground, its heavy feet touching down on the grass. Miles flicked the switch to open the Cricket's cockpit... only to find himself staring down the point of Paladin's glowing blade."[Alright, just who are you, and what do you think you were doing up there?]" he asked, his voice dripping with irritation at having to make this rescue."I... I'm... I'm the Technician..." Mile stammered."[Last I checked, the Technician was in prison,]" said Paladin. "[And he didn't look like some little punk barely out of high school either. What are you, kid; some kinda copycat?]""No... I'm not... you're thinking of... he was my father..." Miles said, fumbling in his labcoat for his League ID. "I... I'm with the League... uh, sir..."Paladin leaned in to read the ID, grumbled a few choice words under his breath, and disengaged his holographic projectors. The glowing blade fizzled away and vanished into nothingness."[...Fix your little toy, kid, or at least have the common sense not to fly it over populated areas,] he said, glowing wings spreading as he lifted his armored frame into the sky. "[Don't count on me being around to save you next time.]"Without waiting for a response from Miles, Paladin shot off into the sky, becoming a rapidly vanishing dot in the distance.

 

[For Science!]

Edited by Chronicler of Ko-Koro

No one in the world ever gets what they want,

and that is beautiful.

Everybody dies frustrated and sad,

and that is beautiful.

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IC: (Loadstone)

With few options of dodging, Loadstone crouched against the magnaboard and flipped backwards, using the metal as a shield against the molten rain. The board absorbed the brunt of the attack, but seemed to "slip" slightly in midair, dropping downwards a foot or two as the heat lessened the effects of the magnetism holding it aloft.

 

As his counterattack, Loadstone tipped the magnaboard forward again - partially using his weight to move it - and let loose with a barrage of electric bolts hurled both at Triple-Helix and the area surrounding her.

 

 

~ Rumpelstiltskin

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OOC: Sorry for not posting here in a while. Is there any league business I need to know, or any one need in assistance?

 

IC:

The limo then came to a stop as a figure came on down on them. He cut open the roof, and tossed the metal a good yards. He grabbed the Prime Minister from his seat and jumped off to the street. (A rhyme) He was just a couple of yards away from them.

 

OOC: I'll make a new profile soon.

gallery_110528_107_5250.jpg

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IC - Sluice @ Epsilon

 

"Where to?" Asked Esp's holographic avatar the moment Sluice and Silver had stepped on-board.

 

"Um, home," Sluice said. She looked over at Fellwyd, who was sitting with lizardlike patience, his eyes fixed on the circuitry running up the walls with what was presumably slight interest. "Fellwyd, we'll drop you off at the house the League provided you with, then we'll go back to our home, okay?

 

She dropped down onto the metal bench that served as seating within Epsilon, pulling back the goggles and hood of her supersuit. She waited for Silver to sit down beside her before returning to their conversation.

 

"After the invasion the world was in a pretty bad way, as you can imagine," she said. "I spent a lot of time helping rebuild. The League basically coordinated its heroes to places their powers would be most useful. I did a lot of redirecting of flooded rivers and broken canals. I didn't do any proper hero stuff though - you know, fighting villains and so on. To be honest I'd been planning on taking an indefinite break once the rebuilding was done, but then there was an attack by The Reaper I had to help out with... then I bumped into Fellwyd and had to help him, which led to me joining that tournament to try and find you... I don't know if this lifestyle keeps pulling me back in, or if I keep getting tempted back to it."

 

She didn't mention how she'd been undergoing therapy for her split-personality, nor how her parents had been registered missing with no clues as to where they'd gone. She didn't want to make Silver worry about her as well as himself; she thought he could do without the added stress.

 

IC(NPC) - Triple-Helix @ Subject Testing Facility

 

The electric bolts sparked and flashed against the metal floor and machinery around Triple-Helix. As for the bolts that hit her, they barely made her flinch as they sizzled across her body. She stomped forwards, still grinning, and flames started to pour from her hand again. This time though, she whirled it above her head like she was spinning an invisible lasso. The flames rose up in a circle, becoming a tornado of fire that would - if the hero didn't move soon - trap Loadstone in its centre...

Edited by Kumata
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IC: (Loadstone)

"Where's Jason when you need him?" Loadstone muttered angrily, zipping across the room toward where the others were fighting. "Yo, Skyra!" he called out. "I don't fancy being turned into barbecue! Trade-off!" A surge of electricity coupled with the floor buckling underneath the Quad that Skyra was fighting blasted the creature off its feet. "Fire needs oxygen, right? Make some vacuums or something!"

 

Nodding, Skyra turned his attention to Triple-Helix. His brow furrowed, and the Villainess' tornado of fire was suddenly sheared off as it encountered a void in the air with nothing for it to burn. That void pushed toward her, extinguishing the flames at it went...

 

 

~ Rumpelstiltskin

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IC(NPC) - Triple Helix @ Subject Testing Facility

 

As her flames went out Triple-Helix frowned, pouring on the effort in order to make them reappear. Fire streamed from her hands with greater intensity but with no air to feed on they fizzled out just the same. The vacuum spread to reach her head and, wide eyed, she ceased her attack and gasped fruitlessly, staggering backwards in alarm and grabbing the side of a machine. Holding what little breath she'd managed to retain before the vacuum got to her, she tried to move out of the vacuum's range, hands clenched and ready to summon more flames as soon as she was able.

 

IC(NPC) - X-Calibur @ Subject Testing Facility

 

The battle with the Quads wasn't going entirely as easily as expected. Not for X-Calibur at least.

 

He'd never fought one of these hybrids before, but he'd researched them and battled enough regular Sharkmen to be confident that he could take on one without encountering much difficulty. And when he'd launched into his attack against one it had reacted with the same animalistic intelligence he'd been expecting. In his first swipe with the Energy Machete he'd severed the clawed fingers on one of its hands. It lashed out with a kick and he hopped around it. He'd aimed another slash and it had reacted with surprising speed, catching him in the chest and thrusting him away, his back striking the hard edge of some machinery.

 

That instant of fresh pain seemed to suddenly highlight, like sonar, all of the other areas of ache and hurt across his body. He hadn't done particularly badly in any battle thus far, but he'd sustained several injuries in each one, and something - adrenaline, or determination to reach the facility's core - had allowed him to comfortably ignore them. Now all of a sudden they seemed to be cashing in on his delayed awareness with interest. The shock of hitting the machine caused him to drop his Energy Machete, and in another surprisingly fast motion the Quad kicked it, sending it spinning somewhere into the cluster of inactive equipment that filled the room. A flicker of panic told X-Calibur to chase after it; it was his most effective tool, he needed it; a blockade of reason prevented him from acting on this; the Quad was faster than he, turning his attention away from it would only leave him open to another attack. He had to stay focused on it, and figure out a way of edging towards the weapon. The Quad was lunging at him, fangs bared, ready to sink its teeth into his padded supersuit. X-Calibur ducked and rolled out of the way, springing to his feet and apprehensively hurling a kick of his own at the creature's back. It was like kicking a pile of sandbags. The creature whirled around, snakelike eyes narrowing at him, whilst his own eyes flickered to and fro, scanning the environment...

Edited by Kumata
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  • 2 weeks later...

OOC: *tumbleweed rolls by*

 

IC: (Loadstone)

The effort of siphoning air out of such a large space and keeping it out was exhausting, and Skyra wasn't sure how long he could hold onto the barrier. He tentatively shrank the vacuum, keeping it around Triple-Helix's general area but easing the stress on his mind.

 

With a muffled thwack, a man-sized hunk of metal hurtled into X-Calibur's Quad, causing it to stumble backwards away from the Hero. The magnaboard hovered back from the Quad, then slammed into it again. Loadstone, now at ground-level with the other combatants, caught X-Calibur's glance and nodded toward where his Energy Machete had fallen. Then he returned his attention to the Quads, assaulting X-Calibur's with the magnaboard and the one Skyra had been fighting with blasts of electricity that had it writhing on the floor with uncontrollable muscle spasms.

 

OOC: Hurray for defeating writer's block!

 

 

~ Rumpelstiltskin

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IC(NPC) - Triple-Helix @ Subject Testing Facility

 

Triple-Helix's scowl was becoming more and more strained as the lack of air became a problem. Her movements slowed; her gaze cast about in search of something she could use, some way to defeat the vacuum.

 

Then she stopped, her expression becoming one of resignation, perhaps disappointment. She hadn't wanted to leave so soon, but it was the only way out (that she could think of...)

 

In a familiar motion, like the flexing of a muscle her body compressed and shifted. Her new form didn't stick around to be observed, however. It vanished from the vacuum in a blur. Momentarily there was a scant few seconds wherein the blur paused for the heroes to get a good look at it - a lean Asian girl with short cyan hair - the bad news though was that the 'pause' came in the form of Triple-Helix's foot connecting quite forcefully with Skyra's chest. He tumbled backwards, and as soon as her feet hit the ground Triple-Helix was off again at superspeed.

 

IC(NPC) - X-Calibur @ Subject Testing Facility

 

With Loadstone's Magnaboard battering his enemy Quad, X-Calibur saw the safety in making a sprint for his Energy Machete. He vaulted over a waist-high jumble of wiring and there it was, some metres away. His gloved hand extended to clasp the weapon's handle and, from nowhere, a foot arrived to kick his hand away. An electric surge of pain shot up X-Calibur's arm - reactively he yelled. An oriental-looking woman with blue hair was suddenly standing nearby and before X-Calibur's mind could properly assess the situation her palm thrust lazily outwards for a glittering projectile to leap towards his helmet. She was gone again before it struck, although when it did it shattered harmlessly. Driving back the stinging pain from the focus of his mind, X-Calibur glanced down at the projectile's shards.

 

Ice. Did she really think that would pierce my helmet? Or was she just playing?

 

He gritted his teeth; his hand was really hurting. The speed that girl had been travelling lent some forceful momentum to her kick - something might be fractured or even broken. X-Calibur had a number of medical items stored in his supersuit's pouches but he needed to find somewhere safe to use them; some form of cover. He surveyed his surroundings.

 

IC - Loadstone @ Subject Testing Facility

 

As Loadstone continued his fairly one-sided battle against the Quads his enhanced sight and hearing alerted him to what might otherwise have gone unnoticed. A spray of ice needles being launched at him, emanating in a wide arc, suggesting they were being thrown while on the move...

Edited by Kumata
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OOC:

OOC: Hurray for defeating writer's block!

 

 

Every time it hits me, it seems to hit like a planetary collision. X_X

 

 

IC: "I see. So you did a lot of good then, that's great to hear. I was worried for a while about what had become of you after we.... last saw each other" the psychic admitted, glancing away and frowning slightly. "Kind of wish I was able to say the same but... I wouldn't call fighting supervillians for their own stolen money particularly heroic of me. Still, better I waste it on my own attempt at a cure rather than let them build some.... Death Ray 9000 with it" he continued, thought knew something was up with Sluice. She wasn't herself, at least the Sluice he'd known previously.... some wasn't as vibrant as she used to be. Or as happy.... there was something she wasn't telling.

 

Probably not taking me turning into a monster well he thought dejectedly. She was just putting on a brave face for his sake...

breakdown_signature.jpg

 

The light becomes the dark...

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OOC: I'm gonna speed us over this little plot lull.

 

IC - Sluice @ Epsilon

 

Conversation was very thin on the ground for the remainder of the trip. Fellwyd seemed to enjoy silence, or at the very least didn't experience the uncomfortable awareness of it that humans did. Another time Sluice might have made more of an effort to keep talking, but exhaustion had drained her conversational creativity.

By the time they dropped Fellwyd off at his Earthen home and arrived at their shared flat it was dark; a cloudless night. Epsilon allowed the heroes to disembark upon the roof of their block of flats, whereupon they descended to their front door. Sluice was glad to feel the keys hadn't left her supersuit's concealed back pocket.

 

Save for a few disturbed pairs of shoes and magazines, the flat looked exactly as it had when Silver had last seen it. Sluice trod lightly as she entered; of the bedroom doors Photon's was closed, which meant he was probably inside, asleep. Once Silver had entered the flat after her she locked the door.

 

"Your room's um, still as it was," she whispered, avoiding his gaze. "I didn't want to - we didn't get around to removing anything from it... so um, have a good night's sleep?" Tiredness loomed over her like a shadow. With each step towards her own room she was that much closer to slumber...

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  • 2 weeks later...

IC: Silver had not made an effort to start new conversation during the whole trip... trying to talk casually in such a situation was about as awkward as the silence had been. Following Sluice's lead he was surprised that the flat was actually intact (though it may have avoided damage during the invasion altogether) and looked almost exactly like how he'd last seen it. The more things change, the more things stay the same huh? he thought, though would've far preferred his body staying the same and the flat being the one to be redesigned.

 

"Y-Yes, um, goodnight Sarah. A-And... thank you. For everything." the psychic stared at his feet awkwardly, glancing upwards after a few moments. He was eternally grateful for being rescued... any longer alone and his mind wouldn't be salvageable he was sure. And it was good to know even if everyone else had lost faith he was even alive she had held onto hope... that someone so important to him had still cared enough to do so.

 

I will repay my debt to you someday...

 

 

breakdown_signature.jpg

 

The light becomes the dark...

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IC: (Loadstone)

X-Calibur's yell alerted Loadstone to the fact that something was going on; subjecting one of the Quads to a voltage lethal to a human but probably only debilitating to the mutant, he scanned his surroundings. Triple-Helix was missing; he had a feeling she'd shifted form again. A slight tinkling in the air, a flash of light reflecting off of a crystalline substance, alerted him to the ice needles. A sense of normalcy descended upon him; his first months training with his powers had been against his brother. Cryokinesis was a power he felt comfortable facing.

 

Though he was far from a contortionist, Loadstone was far more limber and capable of bending himself than the average person - with the way he enjoyed all manner of convoluted flight patterns on his magnaboard, he often had to hold his body at strange angles to remain upright on the shifting piece of metal. The spray of needles was at chest level on him, approaching too fast to duck underneath them. Magnetically calling for his magnaboard, Loadstone bent himself backwards, keeping his feet planted and bending at the knees, arms back to catch himself on the floor should he lose his balance. The spray of needles flew over his chest, passing harmlessly through the space he had just occupied. Deciding to show off, he planted his hands on the floor, flipping himself backwards into a handstand as the magnaboard flew towards him. The metallic soles of his boots clicked onto the board as it passed, flipping over and righting the hero in mid-flight.

 

Loadstone crouched as he regained his balance, studying the room as he retreated to a safer height for a better vantage point. The blur that was Triple-Helix would have been indistinguishable to anyone without his enhanced sight; you were likely to miss her in a blink or imagine her some trick of the light, something seen only in the corner of your eye. He traced her around the room several times before determining her next path and magnetically tipped one of the nearby machines onto its side, obstructing her apparent path in what he hoped was too little time for her to see what he had done and change direction. With super speed, you could never be sure...

 

~ Rumpelstiltskin

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IC(NPC) - Triple-Helix @ Subject Testing Facility

 

Triple-Helix swerved to avoid the toppled machine, pulling off a hairpin turn at the last second... and proceeded to run straight onto the pool of chemicals that had been spilt earlier. She slipped, skidded and crashed into a desk, spilling computer components and paperwork. There was a flash of sparks. A moment or two passed, then Triple-Helix tossed a keyboard aside and got to her feet, giggling. A large bruise was already starting to develop on her forehead.

 

"Good... eheh heh hee..." Her head jerked and her eyes twitched as she laughed; it was some sort of verbal tic. "I should (heh) watch where I'm going... but you're, heh hee, you're not here to teach me to wear proper safety shoes, hehehe. You're here for the girl, aren't you?"

 

Another spray of ice needles leapt from one of her hands toward Loadstone while snowflakes poured from the other; she was unleashing her power recklessly, without restraint, and the swirling white globe expanded around her to rapidly engulf half the room. Then, as quickly as the blizzard had formed it disappeared, the snow forced into clusters by a sudden series of wind currents. Skyra had joined the fray of battle, frowning as he concentrated on clearing the air for the other heroes. Epsilon appeared then, lunging at Triple-Helix with an arm shapeshifted into a blade of bone. Triple-Helix willed into being a blade of ice, parried at superspeed and sunk the weapon deep into Epsilon's shoulder. He staggered back with a cry; her attention turned to Skyra and in the blink of an eye she was back to her previous form, aiming a meteroic fireball...

 

OOC: Triple-Helix's forms (these are all of them):

Blonde-haired white woman - intelligent, pyrokinetic, superhuman strength

Red-haired black woman - brutish, pyrokinetic, superhuman endurance

Blue-haired asian woman - insane, cryokinetic, superhuman speed

Edited by Kumata
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OOC: If there is anything for the League that I can do, just let me know.

 

IC:

 

Crime has gone down since Rick helped assist the government in apprehending the crime lords. He needed a place to get some action. So he packed his bags and prepared to head on over to the states to meet with any members of the League over there.

gallery_110528_107_5250.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

IC: (Loadstone)

Loadstone shifted his weight backwards, shielding himself from the ice needles with his magnaboard. He blasted electricity back toward Triple-Helix's crazy form, but she was gone by the time Skyra's wind currents parted the blizzard.

 

Where do they find these people? he thought to himself as his gaze swept the chamber, looking for the telltale blur. There! Epsilon was tackling her, but she made short work of him before shifting and launching an attack at Skyra. With a wave of his arm, Loadstone brought one of the inactive machines between Skrya and the fireball, absorbing the attack and giving the aerokinetic a chance to retaliate.

 

He scanned the room again, looking for anything that they could use to gain an advantage over the shapeshifting scientist. His eyes were drawn to the giant cylinder that Danielle was floating in, and more importantly the bubbling blue liquid within. Liquid that could be useful for quenching a pyromaniac, or tripping up someone with superhuman speed...

 

Loadstone began to formulate a plan, wishing that they hadn't been separated from Mystic so that he could coordinate it without alerting Triple-Helix. He sped around the room, hunting for Ultionis while magnetically hefting a machine and hurling it toward Triple-Helix. At least, in her direction; it was intended to fly over her shoulder and strike the cylinder, hopefully cracking it and causing the liquid to spill out onto her. If he could get Ultionis to Danielle, he'd have the supersoldier try to smuggle her out of harms way while the other Heroes held off eccentric Coalition member.

 

 

~ Rumpelstiltskin

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IC - Sluice @ Her flat

 

Sleep embraced her almost the minute her head hit the pillow. It was the deep kind you only experience after a long, exhausting day, too deep even for dreams to find you.

 

Sarah woke naturally with the sunlight - she'd been so tired last night she'd forgotten to close her curtains. She wasn't sure of the time but she knew it must still be morning, for the sun moved to the other side of the building in the afternoon.

 

She lay for a while, not thinking, just enjoying the comfort and stillness.

 

Eventually she sat up, rubbed her eyes and yawned. She was thirsty. She a pulled a tangle of hair out of her face and padded slowly out of her room.

 

IC(NPC) - Triple-Helix @ Subject Testing Facility

 

When Loadstone magnetically sent the machine to intercept the fireball streaking from Triple-Helix to himself, Skyra focused the wind currents completely on it, sending it careening toward the villainness. She didn't move as it crumpled against her - her superhuman endurance saw that it did little damage - but it still kept her busy for a few moments as she melted her way free of the metal. By that time Skyra had moved forwards, and was able to unleash a miniature cyclone that sucked Triple-Helix up and spat her across the room. Now that he saw what sort of damage she could take he was being less careful with his powers. She bounced and crashed across a row of desks, knocking computer terminals everywhere. She got up immediately, unharmed, her palms already filling with new fireballs to be thrown. She paused as a shadow passed over her; the machine that Loadstone had flung to deliberately miss her and strike the tank where Danielle Thomas was being held. Triple-Helix watched it thunk against the reinforced grass, the impact generating a star-shaped crack - not one deep enough to shatter the glass, unfortunately.

 

Another cyclone whirled toward Triple-Helix and she flung a fireball at it. The flames were pulled outwards, becoming a circle of orange that momentarily hid her from view. What Skyra didn't expect was for her to come marching right through the spreading fire, and so it was with only a second's notice that he unleashed a burst of wind against the floor, propelling himself into the air and out of the path of the next fireball.

 

"This the best the League could send?" She grunted mockingly. "The only thing I'm having trouble with here is deciding which of you to kill first!"

 

She blasted a torrent of fire towards Skyra, who again used his wind powers to deftly dodge the stream. Triple-Helix didn't let up, however, sliding the river of fire left and right to follow the hero's movements. Skyra's full focus was on dodging; he had no space to strike back, and the rippling heat was already getting to him, as sweat started to dribble down his forehead...

Edited by Kumata
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