Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by BCTheEntity
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Alessa Heather: PRT Headquarters

The sensation of becoming... detached, was the word, from her power was unsettling, to say the least. Suddenly, she was a normal person, without abilities and without respite against the other supers of the world... or so she felt, anyway. If Ira could rework the effect, perhaps make a smaller version of the device to use on any given individual, it would give the local PRT a huge advantage - just stick it on the target, and they're immediately at your mercy. Though sticking it on the target may be easier said than done. Even so, she was much relieved at the return of her abilities, albeit still sniffling after her earlier outburst.

And then Tulpa spoke.

No. No, that wouldn't- surely that was-

But nothing in her mind suggested that nullifying his ability wouldn't be possible, if it was only Tinkers who weren't affected. And if that was the case, then he could be saved after all. They could save him. They, they could...

Not entirely sure what she was doing, Alessa stood from her place, slowly walked over to Ira, then grabbed her face and kissed her right on the lips, just briefly. When she pulled back, she had what felt like the biggest grin in the world on her face.

'Ira, you beautiful, beautiful woman,' she uttered quietly. 'And you, Tulpa...-' she started, stumbling slightly in her haste to reach the other woman and peck her on the cheek as well, because she'd had the idea in the first place, and she deserved... they...

'This is huge, this is so huge,' she continued, rambling somewhat in her excitement. 'We can save him... we can save Collin, Ira, we, we can... De- Decoy, do you hear that?!' she yelled at the ceiling. 'We can save him! We can sa- WE CAN SAVE... oh shit oh shit oh shit...'

She barely realised how quickly she was breathing until she'd made herself dizzy, and forced herself to slow down a bit. He wasn't doomed after all! He could be saved! This was great! This was the best possible thing! This... this called for a celebration, actually.

'Okay, okay, listen? Dinner and a date, everybody, on me, let's say tomorrow after training and stuff,' she kept going, because what better way to celebrate? Maybe a film? No, that'd take too long, but if they had to take time off then maybe... okay, yes, that worked. 'Ira, you work on that nullification field, make a version we can stick on a person, or like a long-lasting version of the briefcase, just something portable for Collin to have on him... this is... we can... we need to tell the director, we, oh my God...'

She decided she wasn't going to be able to focus enough to get anything else done that night. 'Okay, uh, meeting adjourned, somebody should, I should uh, I need to... uh, see you guys tomorrow.' And that said, she promptly ran from the meeting room, still calling to Decoy to see if he was listening, that Collin could be saved, they could save Collin, and for the love of God he needed to tell Director Kens about this, and where was the director when you needed him? She was crying again, but her spirit was jubilant, her good mood shining out for everybody to see. He could be saved.

He can be saved.
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by ProPro
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As the Wards began to celebrate, each in their own little way, a familiar voice emanated from the meeting room's loudspeaker to answer Messiah's cries of joy. "I read you, Wards. It's wonderful news indeed. I'll even give you one better. Ira, I was able to get authorization from Inkscape to provide you with Collin's training files under Hero. We have limited access, but it's something else we can work off of." Decoy's voice, normally very matter of fact in tone and lacking emotion through his thick Japanese accent, clearly couldn't hold back how exuberant this situation made him feel. "We'll work together on this during all of your scheduled free time. That's an order Ira, though not one I think you'll argue with."

The rest of the evening passed by with a great deal of emotional turbulence, though not much was actually accomplished. Upon hearing the news, Director Kens immediately ordered that Ira and Decoy begin research together in designing a personal, long-lasting version of the nullification field that could be used on Collin. He wouldn't be Sonar anymore, couldn't ever be in the field with his power nullified, but he'd be functional and sane. As far as the director was concerned, that was a win unto itself. The rest of the Wards were free to spend the rest of the night however they desired, with the understanding that due to such a magnificently botched mission they had to attend training first thing in the morning. Normally it was Captain Morales that oversaw their training, but he was currently en route to a mission as a prison transport escort. As such, the next morning's training would fall upon the Protectorate's resident layabout lazy man: Protean.





7:00 a.m. sharp the Wards were each expected to be in the PRT gymnasium for training. Most of the exercise equipment had been moved to the side, or taken out entirely, in favor of a large sparring mat across the floor. Well, a large sparring mat plus one hammock setup between two punching bags. Lying upon the hammock, gently swinging side to side was Protean, wearing a completely different face than what he had the last time the Wards had seen him. It was strange, he claimed that his shapeshifting was limited to morphing various body parts to resemble different animals, yet even he couldn't explain how he always appeared different as a normal human.

One by one the Wards arrived for their morning training session. Messiah, Margrave, Epsilon, and Tulpa. Each one assembled and was ready to go, but something was wrong. Someone was missing. Where was Martyr, the newly appointed second in command? Once each of the four had arrived, Protean sat up on his hammock, displaying an excellent sense of balance as the sway shifted in unpredictable ways thanks to the objects it had been secured to. "Good to have you all here. Unfortunately I've got to start us off with some bad news, dudes. It's hard to say, but..." The senior hero scratched at the back of his head, a bit unsure of how to approach what was clearly a touchy subject. "Well, Dean is... Not gonna be here anymore. What I mean to say is... He... Resigned last night."

After he gave a second of pause to let that sink in, Protean continued to explain the situation. "He left a note in his bedroom, and baby-cakes, er, sorry, Decoy found it while scanning his quarters when we noticed he wasn't there anymore. Now I'm under direct orders from Ink and the director not to tell you what it says, but I say 'fuck that.' You're his team and friends, so you deserve to know, right? That's how I see it." Their senior hero slid off of his hammock, slipped a hand into his back pocket, then pulled out a piece of lined paper that had been torn out of a notebook and folded far too many times. After clearing his throat, he began to read. "I'm sorry, but I can't take it anymore. Nobody is supposed to get hurt, but me. If I can't do the one job I deserve, then why am I here? I was never supposed to be here. I am a liar, and a fraud, and when it comes down to it I can't even die for my friends. I'm sorry, but I have to try to find a way home. Signed, not the Dean you knew."

Protean folded the paper back up, then tossed it over to the Wards like a frisbee for their own reading pleasure. He'd give them a few minutes to realize the situation, to decompress over it, before speaking up again. "Shit sucks, I know. But please, we need to focus on what's important. The Protectorate and its Wards need to be at our very best to take on such horrible criminals as the Community. We protect the people. It's our duty, and if you ask me it's a hell of a lotta fun. So let's reinvigorate our determination for the cause and get down to brass tacks, shall we? I want us to start with five laps around the gym, no power assistance. Got it? Let's go!"







With everything off to such a big bang, it looked as though the Jacks couldn't be stopped. Though the PRT soldiers were aware of and on the lookout for a sniper, none of them realized Headhunter's position before he got his shots off. First the man covered behind the interstate median. The assault rifle's round penetrated exactly where Headhunter's power said it would and completed disabled his ability to shoot. The bullet wove perfectly between fibers of armor, through the bone, and without damaging any major blood vessels. He let out a cry of pain, but he wouldn't be dying today, not even from prolonged blood loss. Next was the man in cover, firing heavily at Sofia and Love Craft. A significantly easier target even discounting his perfect aim ability, the bullet blasted forth from the barrel of the gun and had the exact same results. The soldier man dropped to his knees, releasing his own weapon.

While Arsenal unleashed a hail of bullets upon the remaining soldiers, and a conversation of strategy was held between Sofia and Chatterbox, the injured soldiers seemed to get a second wind. Pulling out their side arms and using their left hands, they once again began to press the attack, one even diving behind cover to go directly after Arsenal from behind. They had been down and out, where was this confidence coming from? Next a grenade of tear gas tossed out from the remains of one of the vans, landing right between Chatterbox and Sofia. In the same instance, smoke billowed out from the crashed escort vehicle granting concealment as a figure rose up into the air. She wore an all white costume with artistic bubbles embroidered all over it, with a white face mask to match. On her belt were two pistols holstered, as well as numerous canisters of... Something.

While attention had been drawn to the beautiful woman floating high up in the air, someone else took advantage of the distraction. A man dressed in full commando gear with the Mexican national flag proudly emblazoned across his chest rushed through the smokescreen holding what appeared to be, for all intents and purposes, a god damn grenade launcher in his hands. He rushed straight behind cover, then took aim for Headhunter's position. There was no question about who they were facing now. It was Noble, second in command of the local Protectorate, and Captain Morales, their field commander and spec ops. Such opponents would normally be enough to make any villain flee to fight another day, but the Jacks felt different. They felt... Confident. Overwhelmingly confident. This was such a sure thing, how could they possibly lose? Hell, maybe fancy tricks or tactics wouldn't even be necessary, clearly they were the most superior force here! Wait, why were they thinking like this?

Overcome by what could only be described as suicidal overconfidence, Love Craft charged straight for Captain Morales as the hero readied a grenade strike on their sniper, completely forgetting about the hero with the high ground advantage. In response, Noble fired one of the canisters from her right pistol, which struck Love Craft dead on in the back, and exploded into an instantly expanding containment foam. The white substance enveloped the shapeshifter completely, restricting their movement and preventing any use of powers, while still allowing them to breathe. There wouldn't be any time to get their ally out, even if they took out all the soldiers and both heroes surely there would be reinforcements on the way before Love Craft could be dug out, and Headhunter's power informed him there was no way to shoot the foam off without causing massive bodily harm.
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by ProPro
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The Minutemen and Others - Denver Skyline



"Holy shi-!" Furnace jumped reflexively as Jaunt appeared in front of him out of thin air. Acting entirely on impulse, he swung up an unfolded metal baton and beaned the teleporter across the left shoulder before skidding back. He took a second to catch his breath, recompose himself, and fold up his baton. "Apologies, you just startled me. Considering the day I've had so far, what with Sonika, people being thrown from rooftops, and whatever... That giant snake thing is, I'm on edge. You're... Jaunt, right? I've read the parahuman wikis about you." Furnace's apology seemed genuine, but he also kept Jaunt at arm's length, something in his tone not entirely trusting of the man.

Once that had been done, Artificer had his own reaction, while Celia simply asked him his business there as though it were as simple as inquiring about the weather. She was definitely a bizarre one, Furnace mentally noted. She'd just nearly been killed, yet had no real reaction to the situation, neither did the giant beast have any strong impact on her. Her trigger might have deadened her emotions. It wasn't entirely unheard of.

"I'd be interested in knowing that as well," he posited. "From what I can tell, you're a mercenary. A soldier of fortune. If there's someone on this rooftop that you've been hired to take out, then I am afraid you'd need to go through me fir-" Furnace stopped suddenly, his eyes focusing on something else entirely, not that anybody could see them behind his helmet. The large creature, the big snake-like thing had returned, lowering itself to the top of a nearby building. It was... Staring at them. Oh dear oh dear, this did not bode well, did it?

"Attention creature!" Furnace called out in a loud, authoritative voice. "If you are capable of speech, communicate your intentions now, but know that if you intent is to cause harm, this entire city is under my protection. If you can, please, identify yourself!" To emphasize his point the hero took a few steps forward, pulling out both of his telescopic batons and stepping one leg up on the ledge of the rooftop in a position that could only be compared to the Captain Morgan pose.

"Pleeease don't be a new Endbringer, for the love of god don't be an Endbringer," he muttered weakly to himself and any near enough to hear.
Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Gardevoiran
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The PRT Building


Overlook sifted around through the various things he had on his bed until he found his first creation of the Eye, and he held it up towards Jackson. "This is the Eye. It was the first thing I had made since I was in the bunker that housed me for as long as I can remember. I couldn't leave the bunker when I was in it, mainly due to the loss of my leg, and I yearned to look at the outside world through my eyes, and this was the closest thing that I could get to doing it. Through some unorthodox methods, I had turned my metal prosthetic into scrap that went into the construction of this little bugger, leading into some kind of obsession with robotics. I had a lot of time on my hands, and with the rig that I had back in the bunker, learning how to code and such was rather easy, especially with the whole hacker knowledge. The worst part was finding any materials to continue making robots, so I was stuck with the Eye as my only real way of working as Overlook." The teen pointed over to the robot that was under construction before he continued his thought. "That guy was going to be my second work, but so far he has been... well... not so cooperative with it. For a guy who doesn't really know what he is though, I don't think I'm that bad at robotics." Ruben waited for Jackson's response now, gently tossing the Eye back and forth in his hands.


Near a Highway Robbery...
@ProPro


Farce was sitting in the top of a parking garage and watching the highway as cars drove by at the time, eating a bag of chex-mix all the while. She didn't know what to do about the whole "Sonika" thing just yet, but she didn't seem to be bothered by it at the moment. She came to this spot often in order to pass the time, not to mention she was ready to watch the show that was unfolding with a PRT transport vehicle and a group of villainous parahumans attacking it. "Ooh! A fight! This should be good, right Sparce." "Gonna say it is because if Cassidy is somehow in that vehicle, we may be able to save her." "Oh shit you're right! Nice job!" "One of us has to be right. Now keep it on the down low that we're going to be watching, or else we'll get screwed over!" With that, Farce stared off at the battle unfolding as a... man, was trapped in the containment foam used by the PRT.




Kyoshi had noticed the giant behemoth of a space-snake curling up on a nearby building, watching the group of heroes as they talked amongst themselves. She was startled by it, and instinctively a few watermelon-sized rocks had shot up from the rooftop and hung in the air beside Kyoshi as she stared at the giant leviathan, feeling threatened by it's hulking body. The rocks slowly descended though as the snake didn't actually seem aggressive... rather more passive than anything else. The cosplayer heard Furnace mutter something about it being an Endbringer under his breath, and that pretty much triggered the rocks to just fall back down completely, as Kyoshi began to speak up about it.

"I'm... I'm sure it's not hostile. It scares the life out of me, sure, but if it was an Endbringer, it'd probably be destroying us right now. Instead it just looks like it needs a hug." Kyoshi had begun walking slowly to the giant snake, and she stopped at the edge of the rooftop, still watching it for any aggressive movements. She knew she couldn't hurt it, let alone really do anything to it, but she still felt a sense of neutrality from the beast. She didn't really care about how Jaunt got there, how Artificer was doing, or how G4M3R was being himself at the moment. It was almost like she just solely wanted to ease everyone's tensions off at the moment. After a good couple of seconds, Kyoshi attempted to speak to the beast. "Hello. I'm Kyoshi. Who are you?"
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by solokolos
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Jaunt:
Denver Streets

Furnace panicked, instantly reacting to Jaunt's presence with hostility, before backing off. The baton struck his shoulder hard, but the armor there protected him from any damage. It wouldn't even bruise. Instinctively Jaunt shifted his hand closer to the gun in his holster, but he thought better of it, and moved both of his hands in front of his chest. A peaceful gesture, surely. Furnace apologized immediately, explaining how prior events led to him being 'on edge.' Jaunt nodded. an exaggerated motion due to the weight of the equipment affixed to his head. The young hero mentioned the wiki, and Jaunt smiled under his gas mask. There was a lot of information on the wiki that was untrue, especially concerning Jaunt. According to the wiki, Jaunt's teleports were torturous, making you feel as if you were being torn apart from the inside out. A young woman in a domino mask asked his business, seemingly not surprised by his sudden (literal) appearance. Furnace added on his two cents, claiming Jaunt was a soldier of fortune, and if he had a target on that roof that they were under his protection.

A small distorted laugh bubbled out of Jaunt, as he looked at the heroes present. None of them had a price on their head, yet. He very seriously doubted that anyone beside Furnace was on the local cape's radars. Furnace's attention had shifted past Jaunt, and the cape looked behind his back to see the creature had returned. Now that it was closer, he could tell his earlier thought about it being Lovecraftian was anything but off base. At least he hadn't gone insane upon seeing it. The green clad cape Jaunt didn't know the name of suggested it was friendly, and Jaunt sighed loudly. No wonder independent capes suffered such extreme casualties, if this idiot was the average, 50% of them were even more idiotic than her. Jaunt turned around and took a couple steps in the opposite direction of the creature.

A loud text message sound emanated from his pocket, and the intimidating figure of Jaunt quickly checked the message. A bounty for. . . Holy shit. The Russian Mafia was offering a bounty of two-hundred-million dollars for the capture of a young girl. The message had been sent en masse to other mercenaries similar to Jaunt. He had a few moral objections, but Jesus two-hundred-million was a fuck ton. That was 100 years of high class living. Jaunt slipped the phone back into his pocket, and looked back at the current threat. He considered leaving, but decided finding out what this creature was was more important.
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by The Wild West
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Macavity - Macavity's Bunker

Wow, Macavity was sure... not tired! Please, this hasn't been the first time he had spent night without sleeping stealing stuff across the entire city. However, as Macavity wandered around city with his little red wagon filled with a variety of sketching, fabrics, and other junk that even closely related to something about clothing and costumes. It was still amazing that he was trying to do this for one little girl, true interacting was a bit of a chore but going this far was something quite different, and maybe he would have to work on not revealing too many things to a literal random stranger that he had only met a couple of hours ago. Still, these were things to think about later as he toted his large bag and little red wagon, hidden beneath his parahuman power as he crossed the cool night street under the moonlight unnoticed by any passerby who would have normally have detected the energetic fellow.

As morning brought upon a new day with Macavity struggling to pull the wagon up the steps of the apartment building, Cassidy had already woken up by that time eating his food, and as he entered the lobby to do the intricate steps to enter the secret bunker she was still lying in his expensive bed probably mooching off of his items stashed around the area. Macavity regretted at times the two sets of puzzles set around the area when he was either tired or drunk, but in his mind he knew that these things were still cool as hell and anyone should be proud of what he managed to make in the real world. He managed to think happy thoughts to himself as he managed to shove the wagon down into the second puzzle and after a short time in the second puzzle room opened the door to his cool ass secret bunker. "Hey Cassidy! Guess who has all this stuff that I have no idea what to do with!" Macavity said, completely forgetting the fact that he was still under the influence of his parahuman power, and embarrassingly enough turned it off to find Cassidy slightly amazed at the goodies that he had behind his own lonesome self.

"Dang! You would not believe the night I had! I think I almost triggered seven alarms that night but I think I got out pretty safe with all this random stuff," Macavity boasted, kicking off his shoes as he sat down on a nearby coach with Cassidy moving out of his bed towards the array of objects to visualize for her little pet vigilante project. As she started to barrage him with details about her suit and other various details, Macavity slowly got out a sketch pad with a brand new pencil from his large tote bag and started to design something akin to what Cassidy seemed to be describing to him. Now, Macavity wouldn't boast that he is the top artist in the region, but he has stared long and hard at other artist working their magic unaware of his presence. So, this thief has basically got this down to help out his little vigilante hide her identity to kick and harm the bad people. "Ok, so I heard red somewhere in that sentence, wait a second, red and white costume with something something light weight as well. Some relativity modest jogger shorts for running for your life, maybe I can add in some long boots or leggings to help cover up those gams since you don't want to be a "slut"," Macavity muttered this all to himself, quickly sketching out a basic frame for the costume hoping that it would look good enough for his contact to somehow make in such a relatively short period. He would only look up to her after she raised her hand, barely hearing that she was about to use her power, and was suddenly under her parahuman ability.

Macavity was frozen in time, his body unmoving with a sort of ugly look that his face had frozen upon, and suddenly time resumed for the thief as the person he was glancing over teleported over to the other side of the room. "Wait... What? That's your power? Uh... looked a lot more menacing when you did it on those goons, but still a pretty cool power if you manage to get the jump on anyone!" Macavity paused as Cassidy continued to talk within her excited manner, remembering the message of kicking people in the balls while time was frozen and suddenly went through his tote bag. After a few moments, Macavity pulled out two objects for Cassidy to hold, one was a taser and in the other hand a can of mace. "Here, if you use these things on a person that would be pretty funny. I can't imagine getting kicked in the balls, maced, and tasered all at the same time," The thief laughed at the prospect, he then picked up the sketchbook and nodded at his perfect creation of a costume. "Cassidy, look at this brilliant design for Chrona. I didn't think I had it in me to create such a masterpiece, but it looks beyond my expectations," Macavity said, smiling at his exaggerated words as he showed off the basic sketch of her costume.

The masterful artist would allow Cassidy to view the sketch for as long as she wanted, Macavity knew that she would admire the sketch but still waited for her approval over her costume. Afterwards, Macavity pulled out one of his many untraceable phones before dialing in a couple of random numbers. He stood around, a silent Cassidy hovering near him, with the phone ringing a few times before someone had finally picked up his call. "Ah! Yes, hello, I assume you people are still doing your custom costume production line? Hm... Yes, that is great to hear from you. I would like to order one light and strong costume, discretion and time would be appreciated, and price is no question just get this product out the best quality and fastest time. I'll send you a fax of the measurements and design right now... Ok, thank you, have a nice day." Macavity shut his phone, grabbed the sketching and trugged along over towards the fax machine placed in the corner of the room. "So, now we wait for you costume to arrive. What do you want to do to pass the time?"

Arsenal - Highway Robbery

Ah, this felt pretty great. Firing his impressive load in the face of unsuspecting victims... Wait, that sounded wrong. Anywho, it was all going to plan afterwards as the resulting pileup caused by the unassuming Sophia with the help of their sharpshooting friend managed to completely wreak the entire day of these basic soldiers. Outgunned and confused, they didn't realize the situation that these people were in until it was too late as Arsenal let down a rain of fire while Headhunter dealt precise shots to pick off the panicking grunts. The other two parahuman escorts were still MIA which was slightly unsettling, but with the way things have been going this plan should go off without a single hitch! With this covering fire, Headhunter's precise aiming, Sophia's unbeatable defense, and Chatterbox's... Car? Wow, where is all of this confidence coming from? He feels as if he can just run up to those stupid soldiers and punch them in the face with these awesome robotic limbs!

Wait... Hold up, that is a fucking stupid plan. Where did that come from? Arsenal thought to himself, trying to not get hit by the other two functioning soldiers and the two determined injured soldiers. It was only until Arsenal could spot something near the wreaked van, a person flew high into the air! Ah! One of the parahuman escorts... But where is the other? Arsenal's question was asked as in the corner of his eye spotted an object fly through the air and in between Sophia and Chatterbox. "Shit! Gas grenade! Get that away from us!" Arsenal yelled, screaming at the obvious course of action at the two, as his extra arms started to whir into place according to the new threats. The commando was quickly encroaching on the position of Headhunter with most likely hostile intent, the flying lady above had an advantage of height over the group, and suddenly the soldiers started to move from cover to cover closer to the Jacks! Arsenal smirked to himself, it was a combination of Morales's power and a bit of arrogance from Arsenal, but he felt that these enemies will be riddled with rubber bullets.

Staying in cover, hoping that either of the two would do something before that gas grenade could ruin their only cover, several extra arms come into play in the gunfight. Torrents of rubber bullets escaped from his poncho, ripping it into shreds revealing his masterful creation of the six shooter. The top two arms were already tracking the movements of Noble, acting as anti-air guns to knock her out of the sky with some extra strength rubber bullets. The other two facing his backside already had the poor grunt moving from cover to flank him was most likely on the pinned or writhing in the ground from the sudden counter measure of being flanked from behind with even more firepower. Also, as Arsenal continued to fire bullets from his right hand trying to pin down as many people, Arsenal's left arm started to make funny noises as it started to shift into a flamethrower released by the palm of his hand! The gorgeous flames spewing towards Morales in an attempt to make him back off from surprise enough for Headhunter to take another debilitating shot on the two parahumans. Though, things could have been better as the suicidal confidence had seemed to affect everyone including Lovecraft as they got enveloped in some white foam that encased the androgynous child.

Artificer - Denver Skyline

Well, it seems that Artificer wasn't the only one who had reacted appropriately to a sudden appearing man among the group. Kyoshi and the hostage seemed unfazed, but as Artificer lost his footing getting off his fly, Furnace had another idea as he attacked the man by reflex with his unfurling batons. It looked like the attack did little due to it just being mostly out of reflex and that tough looking armor deflecting most of the blow, but in the end everyone was just left standing awkwardly with everyone ignoring his earlier question thankfully saving him from the embarrassment. Still, it was strange that the hostage had literally no reaction but every parahuman that he has met has been pretty weird.

Afterwards, Artificer found himself just a bystander as this Jaunt character was determined by Furnace as some type of mercenary figure, and hoped that no one on this roof had some type of hit on their heads. The parahuman boy started to slowly backaway from the figure, still on edge, but noticed that Furnace started to walk over to some random direction but soon noticed why everyone was starting to stare off into the distance. A decent way away, there was some large serpent-like beast almost squirming its way over to the group ahead. A cold bead of sweat ran down his forehead, Furnace took a pose as he said something to try to deter the beast, but Artificer was frozen in fear. "Oh geez," he mumbled to himself, the mention of it being an Endbringer scaring him even further as being brutally obliterated by giant monsters was something that was not on his to-do list today. "Uh... We should... We should probably get out of here. I don't want to die by a giant monster today," Artificer said, already climbing aboard his Ebony Fly ready to bolt the moment something bad would happen to the group exposed on the roof.
Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Nattook
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Celia Clarke: Denver Streets

Furnace reacted quickly, snapping out his baton and swinging it at Jaunt in one smooth motion. Her hand twitched as she decided to stop the weapon midair, but changed her mind an instant later. The hero shifted back, apologizing to Jaunt for the sudden reaction. He continued, claiming he knew a few things about Jaunt via the wikia, and that he was on edge. At Celia's question Furnace stated his curiousity before continuing the general thought. Furnace's eyes shifted past Jaunt, and focused on something behind the tall man. Celia turned her head quickly as Furnace interrupted himself to stare at the serpent. Again Celia reacted too quickly to things around her. Jaunt laughed to himself, seeming amused by the thought that anyone here was a high enough priority that they'd have a bounty. Furnace gave out a quick warning to the creature, seeming scared. He whispered to himself a small prayer that the creature wasn't another Endbringer. The Simurgh had put most on edge.

Kyoshi didn't seem too on edge, and even called out to it in a friendly manner. Artificer reacted differently, seeming concerned for their safety. His terrified response to Jaunt's appearance, and his reaction now would lead Celia to label him a bit of a coward. She was being a bit unfair, as she didn't know him that well, but he had been the only one to suggest fleeing. Even Jaunt hadn't, which was a bit surprising. Maybe curiosity was getting the best of self preservation?

All her analyses of the known Endbringer's appearances and mannerisms seemed to indicate that it wasn't to be labeled as such. If she had to give it a number, which she did, it was about 16% chance of the trend breaking. Might as well be 100% for all the damage this serpent could do if it was an Endbringer. Though it was a bit illogical, she rested her hand on the combat knife in its holster. It was strangely comforting, if not useless against the Endbringer-esque abomination before her. She felt an encrypted cell signal buzz through the air, as Jaunt's phone went off. Celia decrypted it almost instantly, and was surprised by the contents. A very heft bounty was being offered for the capture of a young girl in the area. Celia's head snapped around to stare at Jaunt as he began reading the message. Once the situation with the Endbringer deescalated she would inform everyone of the message's contents. His lack of reaction to the message put Celia even further on edge, as that seemed it indicate he wasn't surprised to by the job. Celia began studying human trafficking as her eyes were fixed on his (as best she could with his face shield on).
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Lugubrious
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Even the most cunning of geniuses could be struck by misfortune and compelled to miss the obvious. As it happened, such an occurrence would have looked completely ordinary compared to Elliot's oversight. So busy had he been thinking about the brashness -and potential collateral damage- of turning off his power without so much of a warning, the toymaker failed to realize exactly what such nullification meant for one whose abilities had become a terrible curse. When the thought, galvanized into action by Alesa's own realization, came to him, Elliot's eyebrows shot up. Of course! Sitting right before the Wards this whole time lay a piece of technology capable of freeing Collin from his fresh new hell.

Of course, Elliot did not receive the urge to rush over and foist a couple kisses on Ira. One of his eyebrows remained raised as he considered Alessa's rather impulsive act. No way in hell he could have gotten away with something like that, whether or not it originated from pure joy. Perhaps he'd been missing out on certain developments between his teammates? Such a discovery wouldn't have surprised him. Who, after all, would just go and converse with the eccentric, eloquent outsider, as if he were a human being? Being a chosen one -fate's champion in the earthly realm- came with the steep price of getting the memo last if at all. No matter; Elliot found himself wondering instead if this new invention might even be capable of returning Collin to duty as the Wards' leader. The kid couldn't offer much in the way of combat, but Elliot liked him more than the new leader by a long shot. He'd always been too innocent to intuit, as the others did, that chosen ones were best pushed to the fringes. Plus, a return to the old system would mean knocking Dean back down a peg—his tenure as co-captain already felt too long.

Soon after the Wards dispersed. Needles of relief and comfort pierced Elliot's mind, but the potential resurrection of Collin did not mean the kind of danger that put him down for the count in the first place no longer existed. From this day forward, Elliot knew, it would be a different world out there.

-=-=-


The next day's training session landed the antihero back in the facility's gymnasium. Instead of the usual fare, Elliot found an unfamiliar face ready to begin the day's physical education, which in a secure location like the PRT meant only one individual: Protean. This change hardly fazed him; after all, a true sixth ranger needed to adapt to stay with the times. In a shifting world, where governments and cultures rose and fell, right and wrong dueled like rock'em, sock'em robots, and nothing was as it seemed, any hero bent on standing his ground would be swallowed up by history in the blink of an eye. Elliot crouched, adopting a quizzical expression and placement of hands, to await further revelation.

It wasn't good—superficially. So, big Dean, the brave one, the right-hand man, the dependable ally, had flown the coop. Elliot never would have expected it, but he welcomed it. It would only make him look better in comparison. Of course, it also meant that he was the only gentleman in a battalion of ladies. How would that play out, he wondered? No difference at all, he felt sure. Standing, he gave a dismissive shrug and turned to stare into the distance, hands spread wide with palms up. ”I knew it from the start. He wore a mask of audacity and ego, but when the going got tough, he let fly his true colors. Even if we are gripped by tragedy or plagued by fear, heroes never give up the fight.” And with that, he gave up on Dean completely.

Only a few moments later, Elliot and the bunch were off running. For a brief moment he wondered who might replace Dean as second in command, but brushed it off to focus on the task at hand.
Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by yoshua171
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Chatterbox


Suddenly, the situation they'd had firmly under control with them possessing the advantage got quite suddenly turned around. While his compatriots dealt with their own issues his attention turned to the blur of movement that swiftly became a sound of something hitting the ground. His mind moved fast in the moment and reached a swift conclusion: He didn't want to know what anything the enemy threw at them was or could do, he just wanted it to not do it. So it was that almost as soon as the tear gas grenade landed he put a hand on Sofia's shoulder and yelled, "Ignore it!"

His other hand was aimed at the object in question. He really hoped that she did it fast, because while the likelihood of it being some kind of frag grenade was almost non-existent, he couldn't help but worry. More likely it was some kind of chemical agent or containment foam meant to immobilize. Either way it was bad fucking news and his state of near panic, adrenaline pumping, caused him to inject a small dose of his power when he had yelled at her. If it would have normally made her freeze up to be yelled at in a highly dangerous new situation, then now it would instead let her act more easily.

Later he would answer for it if necessary—but more likely no one would even know he had done it and if they did...he could honestly say that it was an unintentional use of his power.

Of course, maybe he'd used it because he knew he could handle the situation. Knew that, with his power, everyone would move accordingly...do what he wanted, what they needed to do for all of them to get through this in one piece, together, with their cargo in tow. He could probably get Broker to recognize the necessity of his power if they pulled this off because of his ability taking hold of the reins. Perhaps he could make it strong enough to effect Broker, no, not perhaps FOR SURE.

Then it hit him...he may have been confident, but he was no fool, and Broker was immune to all powers that attempted to effect him overtly--his train of thought didn't make any sense. What the hell was going on? It didn't matter! He could handle i-- NO, not true. His power had virtually no use in a combat situation. He was human, he told himself, trying to ground himself against the waves of confidence. His eyes narrowed, but his focus remained on Sofia and the canister. Maybe he could kick it away? No...he may have been in a good shape, but that might break the canister. It was strange to question himself in this way, it reminded him of old...disgusting habits he'd had when he was younger...before his power. Gritting his teeth, he began reciting as many of his own flaws and failings in his head as he possibly could, letting the old beast that had been his anxiety surface just a little bit. He'd conquered it...so now he'd use it to keep himself under control...hopefully.
Evelyn Chambers - Tulpa

As she began wiping away the tears, just a little embarrassed—though Messia—Alessa's own grief and excitement warmed her heart and helped somewhat. When their new leader kissed Ira's cheeks she couldn't help but chuckle, until of course Alessa did the same to her, causing her cheeks to flush—though it was hard to tell since they had already been a bit red from emotion. So she swallowed her awkwardness as best she could and simply smiled at the others—Alessa included.

She watched with a small kernal of amusement as their leader tried to organize her thoughts and emotions, resulting in her being something of a happy mess. Still, it was better than the crushing grief that had plagued Alessa before. Even though they hadn't known one another long, she decided that she much preferred a happy Alessa to an upset one. When Alessa left she smiled at the other wards, including even the broody Margrave, before waving and excusing herself.

She headed for her room, finally feeling somewhat free of emotional baggage, and promptly changed into something more comfortable after which she laid down and promptly let the world go, slipping into what would be a surprisingly restful sleep. However, before that, she managed to remember to call her parents and tell them she was sleeping at PRT HQ...just so they wouldn't worry. After that...well, the world drifted away with her consciousness and that was that.
BA-RING BA-RING BA-RING

She woke with a start, confused, unsure of where she was or what time it was, before her world settled back into place, she felt the comforting presence of her projection, and then managed to find her phone and turn off the garrish alarm. In about an hour it would be time for her first training session with the team, but for now she could lay back down an—no! She sat up straight and then leaned back against the wall and laughed a bit. She'd almost let herself go right back to sleep.

Almost.

After a minute or two of acclimating herself to being awake, she hopped out of bed, took a shower, brushed her teeth, washed her face, and finally stood in her room with a slight pout as she tried to decide what to wear. Should she put on her full costume for training...get used to moving in it, or should she wear something more casual.

After a few moments of contemplation she decided she'd just slip into her costume, that way if they got put on patrol or called to duty for some reason she'd be ready. Besides, she really needed to get used to the outfit, adjust to it, let it adjust to her. She'd worn it before, of course, but still.

Once she was dressed she headed for the Gymnasium and upon arrival greeted the other wards with a smile—since she had decided against donning her mask. She had brought it with her, but not put it on.

Looking around she noticed Protean and felt her heart leap in her chest, a feeling of elation swelling. They were actually about to receive training from a member of the Protectorate. Soooo cool she thought with glee, the joy shining through her eyes and lighting up her fave somewhat. In the area around her, if one was looking closely, a silvery glimmer could be seen, shifting almost like hot gas clashing with cold air. Its shape was entirely indistinct.

Then Protean began talking and she noticed the absence of their second in command. As Protean explained a frown came over her features, though it was slight. Dean's departure from the team had been silent...he hadn't even said goodbye. They'd effectively lost two wards in one—she cut the thought off, swallowing hard and reminding herself that they'd found a way to help Collin and even though the Director was almost sure not to allow him to rejoin the team—not to mention the fact that he'd be incapable of using his power to begin with—at least he'd be alive and well.

After reading the letter, which caused her slightly more distress, Evelyn was glad to have Protean order physical activity. She was in good shape and while five laps wouldn't be much for her, it would certainly be a welcome distraction. So she took to it swiftly, probably even the first of her teammates to do so. She wondered how the others would fare.
Outsider


As the attention of the various capes on the rooftop shifted to him, Jake found it interesting to watch their varied reactions. Most were wary, some didn't seem to respond at all, one was downright terrified, and one was...amicable? Huh, he hadn't expected that and it made him a bit happy honestly, happy that someone other than his sister could tell that he wasn't threatening to them.

When Furnace spoke up, Outsider moved his head slightly, as if to regard the cape while he spoke, though he couldn't help but glean a measure of amusement regarding the figure's pose. He even had a few passing—if somewhat disturbing—thoughts regarding any of them threatening him. Of course, it was bad to assume and was also a moot point since he was a hero. When Furnace was done, for he knew it could only be said cape—and the strange green-clad woman had spoke, he responded.

“Call me Outsider, and I'm no threat” as he spoke, his voice would sound strange, somewhat hollow and sonorous, almost as if it were coming from somewhere removed, its tone infused with the slightest amusement, though it was more neutral than anything else. It was additionally strange due to the fact that it had no true origin point. While they would be able to tell it was his voice after a moment, they would have trouble pinpointing where it had come from exactly as it was only directional meaning that one could really only tell that it was coming from his general direction.

Chuckling slightly, the sound initially a bit difficult to identify as such, he spoke again, “...ah and I'm not an Endbringer either, just a relatively new independent hero. A cape, just like the rest of you.... Though my power is a bit strange.” As he said it he focused on his human form and suddenly—faster than they could blink—the creature was gone, replaced instead by a human figure, in costume. His costume was relatively simple, its colors about as neutral as its tone had been consisting of a sleeveless shirt, and pants—with gray and black, white boots and a white mask that covered only the space around his eyes and the bridge of his nose. Beyond that there were only a pair of gloves, half white and half black in coloration.

“Sorry to startle,” he said, holding his hands up to show they were empty before dropping them to his sides where they slipped into pockets. His posture, while straight, had something about it that oozed a relaxed nature. His voice, now not at all hollow, was human, but just as neutral as before, though there was a note of an apology there. All in all, he hoped he'd seem as harmless as he felt.
Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by BCTheEntity
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Alessa Heather: PRT Headquarters

...God damn it.

She'd woken up so refreshed, after the downs and ups of last night. She was so glad to have a clear head, so ready to get to training for their next bout of heroics. And then Dean just left. God damn it. God DAMN IT, Dean. At least Collin's power loss was an unforeseen tragedy; Dean's upping stakes like that was just... almost selfish, she wanted to say. For once, she was partway inclined to agree with Margrave's assessment, that when things got tough, you couldn't just abandon your responsibilities, else what state would the world fall into?

But, she reminded herself, not everybody was as obsessed with heroics as she was. She'd never describe Dean as wearing "a mask of audacity and ego", and indeed he hadn't given off that impression at any point... they were all human, and alas, not every human had what it took to do what the Protectorate did.

Having said that, she now needed to pick a new second-in-command. An inconvenience, but ultimately not a crippling blow: her previous assessments stood, and with Dean gone, that left Ira as the next most viable candidate for second. As Elliot and Lyn both began their run, Alessa first walked over to Ira, running alongside her if she took off on that physical task as she talked.

'So, Ira,' she began, as congenially as possible, 'Dean's gone. That's a shame, and I hope he changes his mind at some point and returns to us, but like Protean says, we need to move on from it relatively quickly. That said, I need a new second in command by the end of the day, and I think you'd do a good job of it. You're calm, you're a good thinker, you can create tech that everybody benefits from, not least that amazing power nullification device... I can't tell you how much I appreciate your development of that, by the way,' she said hurriedly, gushing a little with admiration. 'I know you'll do a great job of helping Collin out with something similar, and just... it's great, it's amazing, thank you so so much. Aaanyway, I'd do a more formal interview sort of thing like I did with Dean, but now's obviously a bad time for that. What do you think, are you up to the task?'



Raymond Haywood: Highway Robbery

And like that, Love Craft was out of commission permanently. Or, probably permanently. What a pity. At least everyone else had more than a fighting chance. And why, what a surprise, both the heroes - Crop Duster and Morales, if he recalled - were just begging to get themselves shot through the head and killed... really, all the remaining mooks were, if he though about it, simply pick them off and... no, hang on, that was not a good plan. He wasn't doing regular work anymore, he needed to leave targets alive. But given the nature of the ex-commando causing his overconfidence, he felt it was a good idea to... ah, Arsenal had him in check for the moment. Best to take out Noble, then; the Captain would hold for a couple of seconds.

No target on Noble.

...wait, what? She was right there, in the open, he was sure she was! He could- no, no, that was the overconfidence doing its thing again. And if she wasn't there, then there was a... he could see him... no, the chances that Morales wasn't where he appeared to be were similar. Headhunter quickly moved to a kneeling position, leaving the M16 in place on the ground and drawing his FN P90 instead, scoping in once again to try and target Morales.

Target Captain Morales-

As it happened, Morales was approaching from Headhunter's eight o'clock. And it was a damn good thing the angle wasn't any greater, because the jerk round to that distance was extremely jarring in itself. And how'd he get there, anyway? It was like he'd teleported, or been elsewhere all along, or... but no matter; he was in view now, armour and all, and almost certainly able to be dealt with quite readily. A quick movement of his right shin, and now Raymond was facing the Captain almost directly.

Target Captain Morales. Aim for the skull. Graze and/or deflect off without breaking bone, induce concussion and unconsciousness. Permanent brain damage is undesirable. Shoot. Change point of skull to target, similar result, manage targeting to prevent permanent brain damage. Shoot. Change point of skull to target, similar result, manage targeting to prevent permanent brain damage. Shoot.

Unscoping to admire his handiwork more effectively, Headhunter decided now would be a good time to contact the other Jacks. Activating his earpiece to talk to them, he uttered 'The Captain and Crop Duster you're fighting aren't real. Morales is down, and I can't get a bead on Noble. Somebody grab the target soon, we need to leave ASAP.'
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Eklispe
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Mantis
and Zach
Versus Necro
Fear the Family


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Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by solokolos
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Ira Riese:
PRT HQ

Ira's eyes locked onto the gorgeous Evelyn's, but at first she didn't understand. An explanation of its usage in combat died in her throat as she connected the dots. Tears forced their ways into her eyes as she covered her mouth. She had been so busy distracting herself that she hadn't even realized what this machine could do for Sonar. The stunning Alessa walked over to her, and as Ira placed her hand on the table her teammate kissed her. It was a peck, friendly, but it was still unexpected. Ira stumbled back a bit, sitting down carefully in the wheeled chair she had been sat in before. Alessa moved on to kiss Evelyn, as Ira tried to steady herself. She was just grateful, she didn't mean to violate your boundaries and you know it. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. It didn't help that Ira was already about to cry from the news that she could help Sonar.

As Ira tried her best to stay composed as a voice came on over the intercom overhead. Decoy announced that they would have access to the confidential information regarding Sonar's training with Hero. The mixture of emotions flooding Ira probably couldn't be more convoluted right now. She was excited, anxious, scared, hopeful, and so many other things. As her teammates began to trickle out, Ira walked to her room in a haze. She stared up at the ceiling from her bed for what seemed like hours before falling asleep.



At around 5:40 am Ira woke up to the sound of her alarm blaring. She instantly smacked the snooze button, falling back asleep within seconds. At around 5:48 am Ira woke once again to the sound of her alarm blaring. She slowly opened her eyes to glare at the infernal machine. She reached over to turn it off, and slowly sat up. Unsteady she stood up, and walked to her shower.

About twenty minutes later she exited the bathroom, and quickly put on her costume. She clipped the mask to her belt, deciding she'd set it down somewhere in the gymnasium so it would be accessible but wouldn't swing everywhere while running. Once 6:20 had rolled around, Ira had a small breakfast bar while watching TV. The young Asian girl walked to the gymnasium, and smiled at her teammates. She was a bit more cheerful today now that things were looking up for the group, though she did note Dean's absence. Her mood was more than a little disturbed by Protean's announcement that Dean had resigned from the Wards. He read out the note, and now with a full nights rest behind her, Ira managed to stay composed throughout, despite the emotional shock.

As the senior hero finished he gave them some time before suggesting they double down on their work ethic to keep the streets safe. That was always the intention, at least for Ira. She set down her mask down near Protean and began jogging with her teammates. Five laps felt like miles upon miles, and the fact that she had trouble pacing herself didn't help. She would probably be in the back of the group for most of the run. Surprisingly enough Alessa dropped back to talk to her, though Ira stayed silent throughout. At the offer of second in command, at first Ira hesitated. If she had been offered the job before Dean had left, she would have instantly said no and suggested their now former teammate. As it stood however, the options were limited. Sonar was not an option, and Elliot was-So it was between her and Evelyn, the newest member of the team. Ira didn't know how to accept the compliments she was given, though she she rid flush a bit, and it wasn't just from the exercise. "Yeah I'd be fine with taking over that position, but I don't know if I'd want it permanently. If someone else seems to be a better match afterwards, could I step down?" Ira asked cautiously. Her breath was unsteady as they finished the first lap together at the young Asian girl's pace, which was surely different from Alessa's normal pace.
Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Eklispe
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Sofia Stien: Highway Robbery


"Uh yeah I can-" Sofia was interrupted by a grenade of some sort landing frighteningly close to them as well as the ever escalating sounds of gunfire. Then Arsenal and Chatterhead both yelled at her and she let out a shriek of distress, grabbing Chatterhead's hand and running towards the grenade, kicking it, quite luckily too as her eyes were still closed, back towards the enemy; though it likely wouldn't go too far given she was kicking blindly and wasn't that strong.

The situation had gotten very chaotic very quickly, far more quickly than Sofia had been prepared for. She'd heard gunfire before, been in a dangerous situation or two, but this was on an unprecedented scale for her. If not for the bit of Chatterhead's power she might have simply shutdown, but instead she'd been propelled into action momentarily. Now she simply stood there holding Chatterhead's hand, causing the two of them to ignore just about everything while waiting for somebody else to tell her what to do next. They'd defiantly know what to do and then they'd complete the mission just as planned and they'd get more money and everything would be good!
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Eklispe
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The PRT Building


Jackson nodded. "Interesting. I'd say you're more of a thinker than a tinker. The Eye was simply a way to fulfill yourself, not a need to build things like a tinker. In the same way you have no need for the robot you're working on, so its not clicking for you. My money's on thinker, don't know what else is mixed in yet. We're gonna have to try some things all right. Nothing wrong with working on your robot. I'll work up a thing or two to see if we can find out what your deal is. I'll be back in not too much longer, good luck with your robot kid, the computer might be able to help you out if you need it." Jackson said jovially and headed for the door, already looking lost in thought. Given uninterrupted he'd leave muttering to himself about something, he seemed quite determined to help him, it was likely he'd pull out something quite helpful.
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Eklispe
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Rocker Warehouse



An average room that looked as though someone had tried to make it into an office, it had a desk with a laptop at it, unmistakably manned by Shatterpoint, easily recognizable by his stone armor, the goggles that covered his eyes staring at three familiar faces across from him. The desk had few papers scattered across it and they were a few file cabinets behind it, likely containing more of the same. If Wisp was to examine them she'd see that were for the most part architectural drawings of various structures. "And?" A voice that was somewhat angry but sounded more resigned was clearly audible from Wisp's location. "Well she said that she'd consider it and contact boss if she wanted to make a deal." A short sigh from the first voice. "Fine. Leave." The crew of people that bothered her earlier hastily made their way out of the room and down the stairs, obviously enough that Wisp could likely simply put her back to the wall and avoid them.

Shatterpoint mumbled something to himself too quiet to hear and leaned back in his chair for a moment before returning to his computer. If Wisp peeked at what he was doing she'd see him composing a message to Ceramix, informing him of the updated situation regarding her. He was alone now so if she wanted to do anything now would likely be her best chance, though there was the off-chance that he might leave the room and give her free access to the laptop, of course that might not even help her as she had no idea what was on it. Ceramix might have a lot of cred due to his management skills, but Shatterpoint was in no small way the reason the Rockers were remotely a threat to anyone, it stood to reason he might be prepared for something like this.
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"Sorry, forgot to mention!" the Wards heard from somewhere behind them, Protean's voice overlapping with the sound of padded feet and claws on the floor. "You've got to avoid the big bad wolf!"

To those that looked back, they would see their senior Protectorate hero chasing them down, having shapeshifted to the form of a wild canine, fangs bared as his jowls stretched back. Really? They had to outrun a man that could gain the features of any animal he wanted? How blatantly unfair was that! As Ira had been the slowest, and Alessa hung back to chat while they ran, the two ladies were the first obstacles Protean was very quickly gaining on.

"Who's grandma? I'm hungry for some slow old lady!" he half-shouted half-howled, human vocal chords working in a strange mix that shouldn't be physically possible.





The Jacks: Highway Robbery - Things Get Bad

@The Wild West@yoshua171@BCTheEntity@Eklispe@Banana


Shit had hit the fan something fierce, and the Jacks did what they could to fight back against it. Arsenal did what he liked to do best: throw as many bullets at the problem as parahumanly possible. Well bullets and fire as one of his six arms shifted to reveal the internal flamethrower. As he bathed Captain Morales in flame and unleashed a hailstorm of bullets upon Noble however he began to notice something peculiar. It took longer than it really should have, likely thanks to Morales' influence, but after a few moments Arsenal had no choice but to wonder just why the hell these two heroes didn't appear to give a damn about his attacked. Morales flat out ignored his fire while Noble seemed completely intangible, bullets passing right through her body. Sure it was well known that she manipulated gases, but no sources of information ever mentioned that she was capable of turning into gas. What the hell gives? The four PRT soldiers continued to move in whenever they saw an opening in Arsenal's onslaught, moments that were few and far between. Then one of the uninjured soldiers popped up from his cover holding his assault rifle and shot a quick burst at Arsenal. The ammunition did not strike his body, thankfully, but one of his six arms had been struck in the rotating joints where armor was weakest. Sparks trickled out like the machine's own life blood and a second later it lost functionality. The six shooter was now a five shooter.

Meanwhile, Chatterbox and Sofia reacted to the teargas grenade as quickly as they could under the circumstances. Spurred on by CB's reflexive use of his ability, Sofia blindly kicked at the grenade and knocking it aside, but it did not make it very far thanks to a combination of her blind aim and general lack of strength. A small amount of gas escaped the canister before it had been set aside, but breathing it in wasn't a problem as the stranger-class girl was simply "ignoring" the effects, to her and her team member's benefit. Unfortunately since it hadn't made it very far, the increasing volume of teargas was threatening to envelop Arsenal if he didn't notice and move soon.

Headhunter's shot rang true as expected, each bullet grazing the helmet of Captain Morales just enough to cause a concussion via blunt trauma. The Captain was down and out of the game, everyone immediately feeling the effects of his swelling influence completely dissipate all at once. The injured soldiers suddenly, slumped over, pain overtaking their nerves once again. The uninjured soldiers became less bold in their movements, more reserved. The Jacks no longer had their heads clouded by overconfidence. Everything they felt from this point on was all theirs.

That wasn't to say that Morales went down without a fight, though. As Headhunter swung around to release his perfectly aimed bullets, the hero was already in the middle of his own assault. As Headhunter pulled the trigger the first time, Morales released a bolas net from a compacted launcher. Headhunter's bullets flew through the air right passed this restraining device as he kept himself scoped in, unable to dodge properly. Soon as Morales hit the ground, so did Headhunter, the rudimentary device wrapping around his torso and arms, knocking him off balance enough to fall over on his shoulder in a way that would leave a mighty fine bruise. He could get out of the restraint with some time and effort, and could even shoot from the hip, but wouldn't be able to scope until he freed himself.

"Stand down now, assholes!" a strong, female voice called out from behind the duo of Sofia and Chatterbox. Standing behind them, a hand outstretched pointing a very unique pistol directly at them. It was different from her containment foam canister pistols, slightly smaller, and yet it had no noticeable cartridge for ammunition or fuel. A very perceptive individual could make out a pilot light fixed into the barrel, however. "You've gone and pissed me off you villain scum. Everyone stands down and nobody else gets hurt. That goes for your sniper on the hill too!"





The Minutemen and Others - Denver Skyline



G4M3R began to tremble at the sight of the large alienesque creature perched on the nearby building. Artificer suggested that they go so as not to suffer any sudden case of living-impairment, while Kyoshi took a more friendly and cordial approach. Furnace took a stand declaring the whole city under his protection and asking the thing to identify itself, which... It did. Furnace smiled a wide grin as Outsider introduced himself, first out of relief, then out of genuine interest. A more traditional hero would have been cautious and wary of potential trust issues. Furnace preferred a "given until broken" approach. Once Outsider shifted back to his normal human form, Furnace gave a slow clap showing how impressed he was. G4M3R had something different to say about it.

"This is so righteous! I'm shaking with excitement! Hey Outsider, how'd you like to join my team? The Minutemen could really use someone like you, and we're not so restrictive as the Protectorate! No doubt you've seen our advertisements, right?"
Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Gardevoiran
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Gardevoiran The Forbidden One

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The PRT Building

A thinker... was Overlook a thinker...? Honestly it kind of made sense. He didn't really feel a surge of technological power when he had been building the limp mass of metal and wires that was on the table, and after a bit it made sense. Maybe he really was a thinker, and he just needed the rig that he had constructed to fulfill his goals. He did name himself "Overlook" after all, so maybe that really was his purpose. To watch out for others when they needed it.

A loud clank of robot parts was pushed onto the floor after the legless teen arrived at the table, now sitting in his wheelchair. The only thing that the teen did not push off the table was a leg for the robot, made rather cleanly for an afternoon, and it looked like a proper leg for someone. Overlook grabbed it and placed it onto the nub that was once his leg, and it attached like it was perfect. It didn't move, swivel, or anything. It just stayed stationary and acted as a proper leg. The teen stood up, leaning against the nearby wall, and ticked at his laptop, which was once open onto a file that had the plans for the Eye on it. A request box was open, and Overlook was awaiting to ask for something to be delivered to him. It took a few seconds, but then the teen hit enter on what he wanted to be delivered.

>Ruben Manhattan : Requesting the computer that was in my bunker.


Near a Highway Robbery...

Going into...
CRIME?!
@ProPro@Spiffy@solokolos

Gaia was happily watching the discord that was unfolding below the parking garage, but had been interrupted by a beep on her phone. Naturally, she took a look at what had been there on her phone, and her eyes widened beyond belief with what she saw.

A bounty. Put on Cassidy by the Bratva.

"Jackpot, bitches! I'm outta here!" "What's going on?" "The Bratva put a bounty on Cassidy. Pretty big one at that." "JACKPOT!" "Gonna head there and wait it out, sound good?" "It'll be quite a bit, but sure it'll work out."

Gaia quickly absconded from the garage, and was actually walking down the street towards the location where the bounty was to be received when all of a sudden she saw two dudes in a car speed past her like there was no tomorrow, all the while sirens wailed. Those fucks did some crime! Time to intervene with the crime that had been committed! Gaia was rushing towards the garage that the car had sped into when Dunn spoke up.

"What're you doing?" "Solving a crime. We do have time to spare before we really need to go get to Cassidy." "... I guess you're right. Get in there and see what's up." "Already on it!"



Kyoshi chuckled at the fact that people were pretty much doubting her for assuming that this snake-man was a bad guy. Well... they didn't say that they were doubting her, but she felt that they were. She chuckled even more when G4M3R got all giddy about Outsider's powers, and he even mentioned advertisements. Now that was interesting to Kyoshi, as what came to mind for her when G4M3R brought those up was something like a demonstration of powers or the team doing something good, but in reality it had consisted of two gearheads and herself at the time, and since she was new... well... it didn't make sense at the time to Kyoshi.

That was besides the point right now though, as a phone ringtone buzzed from Kyoshi's bag. Someone was giving a call to the Minutemen, and Kyoshi was the one who had to take it. She became the involuntary secretary of the group when she joined, and she had to take some of the calls that she had received. She walked over to the side of the building and answered the call, trying to sound proper as she did. "This is the Minutemen. Kyoshi speaking."
Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by PlatinumSkink
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Wisp
Sheila Hopkins

Rocker Warehouse



… They knew her gender. It wasn’t a major thing, but it was a detail to note. From where? Shatterpoint seeing her and distinguishing from her form? From information that had been left behind from the time of her trigger? If the latter, it meant they also knew her identity. However, if they knew her place of residence, it wasn’t impossible someone had been spying inside where she didn’t hide. That would mean they knew Viola as well. … They might have followed Speedrunner, and just happened to come across Wisp while doing so. Wisp put this information on her mind as she listened. Unfortunately, it seemed she only caught the latter part of the conversation.

From the door, even if she could turn light to look inside, there wasn’t really a way for Wisp to peek at what Shatterpoint was doing. … Or was there? Focusing on her powers in a way she hadn’t thought of before, she attempted gathering the photons she was receiving from the desk, from more than one second, and attempted recreating a magnified image in her eyes to watch. Of papers and potentially the light from the computer if she could grab enough indirect light to create an image for herself.

… She hadn’t thought of doing that before. Could this be used to watch things from all around… in a much more detailed fashion? Light bounces on walls. All the walls in the whole world could be her mirrors… … … … No, she was getting ahead of herself. Even if she theoretically could do it, she didn’t know where to possibly start gathering such an image from all the light she was collecting. Also, compounding theoretical images was a good way of getting false positives. Back to the matter at hand.

Shatterpoint. The person who could theoretically see her. Wisp inspected him while leaning to the wall allowing the grunts to pass by her. The question remained. Can he see her? … This would do for a test. It wasn’t a guarantee that the future would allow for a better time, and at such a time perhaps she’d rather not be seen. This time, she was somewhat okay with potentially being seen. She took a silent breath, and then stepped into the doorway.

Wisp kept very careful watch on Shatterpoint for any sign that he saw her. She had only stepped into the doorway and stopped, intending to not be hostile but surely in control. She crossed her arms, standing and waiting in full view, waiting to see if Shatterpoint could see her. Even if he pretended not to see her, she was looking out for any movement that looked like he saw her. He could react quite a few different ways, not all of them positive.




IF… he gave an indication that he could see her, she’d give him a bit of a message, in the shape of white letters of light floating in the air.

that wasn’t the message i gave them
not that i expected their accuracy
should i be talking to you or ceramix?


She’d be standing still with her arms crossed as she told, hoping to give an atmosphere of confidence. In truth, she wasn’t really, she felt exposed. But, he couldn’t see her expression, she hoped.




IF… he didn’t. If he couldn’t see her. Then Wisp would lightly tread into the room, careful to not make any sound, and more directly spy on the contents of the desk and computer. It’d occur to her, this is a registered villain with no way to see her. If she could see any holes in that armor, she could… she could stab him. The world would be a better place. Eh. In any case. He was typing at his computer, wasn’t he? … Eh. Let’s do this.

She’d move within a meter of his eyes, hopefully diagonally behind his desk, and do her thing. She’d take the colors from the computer screen, and suddenly, it’d appear to Shatterpoint that instead of the words he intended to write, the letters he wrote on the computer became

i don’t really appreciate house calls from thugs

She’d adjust the number of letters to the number he wrote, and come up with more to say if he kept writing. She was honestly just playing with his eyes, if he went away from her range the computer would revert to what he had actually written for him. Not that she’d let him. She’d take steps to make sure he was within her range, unless he somehow swung for her. Then she’d dodge.

Edit: Though, if he used the computer to reply to her for whatever reason, she'd allow that message to show on the screen.

@Eklispe
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by BCTheEntity
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BCTheEntity m⊕r✞IS

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Alessa Heather: PRT Headquarters

'Yeah, that's completely fine, don't worry,' Alessa agreed jovially. She'd have said more, about not wanting to push boundaries, and about not forcing anything on anybody, but Protean interrupted the moment by turning into a wolf-man. Because of course that made perfect sense, as a way of encouraging people to run faster. Obviously.

...in fairness, it was helping her run way faster than before, even whilst screaming to herself and gripping Ira's hand to drag her along as quickly as possible. Logically, she knew he wouldn't grievously injure anybody, because that would be counterproductive. But, well, most people are not particularly fond of being attacked by normal wolves, and Protean was definitely putting on a... terrifying act. Ideally, they'd be quick enough to avoid getting caught either way; she didn't fancy whatever punishment would be laid on the two of them if they were, assuming there would be one.



Raymond Haywood: Highway Robbery

Well, that hurt. At least he was able to maneuver his arm through a hole in the thing to communicate with the team whilst bound up. As soon as he'd gotten his message to the group, he dropped the M16 (let go, rather, since it was pretty much tied to him at the moment, and could be grabbed again at any time) and pulled both KA-BAR knives from their sheathes, beginning to slice at the net and try to cut through it. The net was quite obviously made of metal cord rather than some form of rope, so that'd at very least extend the time taken to cut through the damn thing. And whilst he'd done what he could to put the man out of action for a few minutes, Morales might wake up at any moment, albeit very disoriented; if he wasn't quick, the man would wake up, reactivate his aura of overconfidence, and promptly put Raymond in the ground, or at least in a cell alongside Love Craft.

As for the other three, he could only hope they had things under control with Crop Duster. If not, that'd be a real shame for them, because he certainly couldn't help them in his current condition, and he certainly wasn't going to try and help them if they fucked themselves over beyond retrievability.
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Eklispe
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Eklispe SSP

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Rocker Warehouse



Shatterpoint gave no indication of being aware of her Wisp's presence, therefore it would be safe to assume he couldn't. Upon his letters changing Shatterpoint squinted at the screen and his fingers skirted across the keyboard for a few moments with no success. Given that he finished reading the message. He made a quiet noise of thought and shrugged, typing onto the screen as well as saying in a low voice, "Wisp I presume. Your intent?" His voice was rather calm and he seemed rather relaxed. It was hard to say how he felt about the situation but clearly he didn't feel in danger. It didn't sound like anyone was coming up from downstairs yet so it seemed she was all good for now.

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