@Sickle-cell Maryland is like a good jungler. They show up, and then make you think they're leaving and then GANK YOU AGAIN. It's Season 5 Hecarim all over again!
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Okay, I know I said Maryland would be leaving, but heck, you can't give them a target like that and not expect them to take it xD
@knifeman I think that realistically, your characters are Vegas' only hope here, if they would be able to see Mary coming through the fire that's trying to engulf them through Vegas' shield.
@knifeman I think that realistically, your characters are Vegas' only hope here, if they would be able to see Mary coming through the fire that's trying to engulf them through Vegas' shield.
Definitely precognition, or at least super reflexes. Mary watched Sidestep’s return to her earth-bending buddy, frowning slightly. Sidestep had attacked someone who looked rather innocent, after all. It was hard to tell if the proper response was to kill her, or just scare her off. Gladius was in a strange grey space: they weren’t chaotic like Wonderland, but they seemed to have the same disregard for normal lifeforms as all the rest of the big groups. And if Sidestep was willing to take a Gladius contract even though she didn’t like it, just because it paid, didn’t that mean she didn’t have that strong a moral backbone? What would stop her from taking a contract that endangered or directly harmed innocents?
Nothing. She should have killed the cape when she had the chance, not warned her away in a panic. That softness in her was a weakness. Someone would die because of it.
Dragon was obviously thinking along the same lines. Her eyes had narrowed to slits as she watched Sidestep escape, and now she slowly turned her attention to Mary. “I thought that was the one that you were shooting?”
“Yes. A mercenary, apparently.”
“Ah. An especially wholesome one, I assume. I took out my target.” They looked out over the battlefield, Mary miffed at Dragon’s attitude, but less so when they saw that Pipeline’s corpse had disappeared.
“Uh huh.”
“Hmmmm. Should I find and kill him again? Perhaps he was 2/9ths cat.”
“Do we know who he was? If he took down that VTOL, he could take you down, too.” Mary put a hand on Dragon’s still-hot armor, and Dragon shrugged. “We should find a new target, or leave. Nobody in the center of the fray.”
Said center of the fray had obviously become the newcomer in red, who methodically and brutally took down a half-dozen targets, regardless of alignment. Another crazy, killing for the sake of it. And, it looked like he was using blood powers, which meant his strength grew with each drop of blood spilt on the battlefield. This was his ground, now. There would be no facing him directly.
But neither of Maryland liked it. They had targeted Pipeline for the same reasons: strength, a crazy laugh, joy in the face of destruction. This was a dangerous individual, one that they should have been taking down. Dragon should have stayed and fought before he could create such an advantage.
But, he had arrived with allies. Perhaps they were more vulnerable, and taking out one of them would temper the damage that Blood Red could do. Shield Lady, Jester, and Hobo… none of them seemed especially strong, but looks could be deceiving. Was it wise to attack any of them? Likely not, together as they were. “Let us leave,” Dragon suggested, and Mary nodded, moving to strap in again.
But then the situation changed. A portal appeared, and two of the three disappeared. Now Shield Lady was alone. Mary paused, and shared a look with Dragon. “Yes, I will distract her,” Dragon accepted, stepping away again, dropping down from the roof to land in front of the shield. She paused, drew in a quiet breath, and then opened her jaws to release a torrent of fire, her most fearsome weapon, at the shield and the three people that it protected.
Mary quickly prepared herself, swapping a knife for the gun she had held all this time. It was a real blade, unlike her fake firearms, and deadly-sharp. She dashed across the rooftop, quickly, quietly hopping to the one across the way so that she could stand just over the shielder. As Dragon drew breath, becoming the obvious target, Mary stepped off of the roof, knife brandished and falling directly for the target while she was distracted. If she weren’t interrupted, her small weight would crash right into the woman, and her knife would end her life right afterward.
@knifeman @Sickle-cell
Nothing. She should have killed the cape when she had the chance, not warned her away in a panic. That softness in her was a weakness. Someone would die because of it.
Dragon was obviously thinking along the same lines. Her eyes had narrowed to slits as she watched Sidestep escape, and now she slowly turned her attention to Mary. “I thought that was the one that you were shooting?”
“Yes. A mercenary, apparently.”
“Ah. An especially wholesome one, I assume. I took out my target.” They looked out over the battlefield, Mary miffed at Dragon’s attitude, but less so when they saw that Pipeline’s corpse had disappeared.
“Uh huh.”
“Hmmmm. Should I find and kill him again? Perhaps he was 2/9ths cat.”
“Do we know who he was? If he took down that VTOL, he could take you down, too.” Mary put a hand on Dragon’s still-hot armor, and Dragon shrugged. “We should find a new target, or leave. Nobody in the center of the fray.”
Said center of the fray had obviously become the newcomer in red, who methodically and brutally took down a half-dozen targets, regardless of alignment. Another crazy, killing for the sake of it. And, it looked like he was using blood powers, which meant his strength grew with each drop of blood spilt on the battlefield. This was his ground, now. There would be no facing him directly.
But neither of Maryland liked it. They had targeted Pipeline for the same reasons: strength, a crazy laugh, joy in the face of destruction. This was a dangerous individual, one that they should have been taking down. Dragon should have stayed and fought before he could create such an advantage.
But, he had arrived with allies. Perhaps they were more vulnerable, and taking out one of them would temper the damage that Blood Red could do. Shield Lady, Jester, and Hobo… none of them seemed especially strong, but looks could be deceiving. Was it wise to attack any of them? Likely not, together as they were. “Let us leave,” Dragon suggested, and Mary nodded, moving to strap in again.
But then the situation changed. A portal appeared, and two of the three disappeared. Now Shield Lady was alone. Mary paused, and shared a look with Dragon. “Yes, I will distract her,” Dragon accepted, stepping away again, dropping down from the roof to land in front of the shield. She paused, drew in a quiet breath, and then opened her jaws to release a torrent of fire, her most fearsome weapon, at the shield and the three people that it protected.
Mary quickly prepared herself, swapping a knife for the gun she had held all this time. It was a real blade, unlike her fake firearms, and deadly-sharp. She dashed across the rooftop, quickly, quietly hopping to the one across the way so that she could stand just over the shielder. As Dragon drew breath, becoming the obvious target, Mary stepped off of the roof, knife brandished and falling directly for the target while she was distracted. If she weren’t interrupted, her small weight would crash right into the woman, and her knife would end her life right afterward.
@knifeman @Sickle-cell
@Sickle-cell I haven't had Maryland leave the scene yet because I expect Sickle to chase them, but they're attempting to bogey out. It'll take them some time to clip in for their escape, so there's time for them to be interrupted before they can get out.
“What about you? Sound far too young to be doing this line of work.” Mary paused and gave it thought, considering her opponent. It wouldn’t be the first or last time she’d lie about this.
“Haha, I’m not really ‘in the line of work.’ I don’t even have powers! I’m just here with my babysitter.” She gestured toward Dragon, though of course they couldn’t see the gesture. “She’s got this whole ‘protect bystanders’ thing, but I guess I don’t count. So I’m up here doing what I can. With a bb gun. Against adult capes.”
Mary was in a difficult spot. They’d come here to, as she said, protect bystanders. But it didn’t seem like there really were any, and the situation was quickly getting completely out of hand. A VTOL had showed up and been shot down, which meant PRT was on the case now. And this was a Gladius-aligned independent, and they were definitely fighting Wonderlanders down there… They’d gotten into the fight too quickly, made too many assumptions as they did so, and drawn too much attention.
She had quietly made her way to the edge of the roof once more, using the location of Sidestep’s voice to make sure they didn’t accidentally run into each other in the darkness. From her new position, she could see out into the fray, could see the absolute mayhem below that didn’t look like it would deescalate any time soon. Most of the sounds of gunfire had died down as cape powers took center stage and as the out-of-hand nature of the skirmish became obvious to the non-powered combatants. She could see some limping away, apparently cutting their losses. And she could see Dragon, apparently severely damaged, being approached by someone.
--
Dragon had never had this much trouble in battle. It seemed every way she turned, projectiles peppered her. Car doors, giant arrows, bullets, and now sticky bomb-laden spears. Each took their effect on her armor and squishy interiors, though the last seemed best-capable of taking her down. The spikes of ice worked like shaped charges, lodging in and punching slightly through her armor, doing real damage the likes of which she had not experienced since dying… or was it being born? Her trigger, whatever one wanted to call it.
The first line of action was obvious: providing herself with medical assistance. She emitted her gas from every exposed surface, lighting it at once in a move that made her the center of a raging bonfire in the middle of the street. Thankfully, she’d been attacked with ice, and she was more than capable of melting it away. The fire had the secondary effect of cauterizing her flesh wounds, and as she focused on increasing the temperature and the fire went from red to blue hot, it welded the cracks in her armor back together. Fighting condition once more, though wary and pained, unlike before.
Dragon let the fire die away, her red-hot plating cooling from a glowing red as she did so, and noticed the red-clothed man approaching her. She caught the last thing he said, something about hunting a dragon, and reared up to her full height in response. He was armed with two sickles, made of the same red material as those spears had been, though not whining as the bomb had. She could… likely take him. But behind, the ones who had thrown the car door were being protected by three others, and perhaps she could not take all of them at the same time. It was likely time to bug out. She looked to the skies briefly, catching site of Mary, and made her decision.
“You will have a long hunt before you, then,” she addressed the red man, and launched toward the roof.
--
“Wait, no!” Mary yelled, eyes widening behind her mask as she turned toward Sidestep’s position. “Jump!” Herself, she dropped, reducing her profile as Dragon reached the roof, and the gas that the grenade had been emitting suddenly lit in Dragon’s exhaust. A fireball engulfed the area where Sidestep had been standing, following her and the air she had disturbed or breathed. It lasted just a few seconds, but Mary had not been kidding when she said had warned that it would kill Sidestep.
@Sickle-Cell
“Haha, I’m not really ‘in the line of work.’ I don’t even have powers! I’m just here with my babysitter.” She gestured toward Dragon, though of course they couldn’t see the gesture. “She’s got this whole ‘protect bystanders’ thing, but I guess I don’t count. So I’m up here doing what I can. With a bb gun. Against adult capes.”
Mary was in a difficult spot. They’d come here to, as she said, protect bystanders. But it didn’t seem like there really were any, and the situation was quickly getting completely out of hand. A VTOL had showed up and been shot down, which meant PRT was on the case now. And this was a Gladius-aligned independent, and they were definitely fighting Wonderlanders down there… They’d gotten into the fight too quickly, made too many assumptions as they did so, and drawn too much attention.
She had quietly made her way to the edge of the roof once more, using the location of Sidestep’s voice to make sure they didn’t accidentally run into each other in the darkness. From her new position, she could see out into the fray, could see the absolute mayhem below that didn’t look like it would deescalate any time soon. Most of the sounds of gunfire had died down as cape powers took center stage and as the out-of-hand nature of the skirmish became obvious to the non-powered combatants. She could see some limping away, apparently cutting their losses. And she could see Dragon, apparently severely damaged, being approached by someone.
--
Dragon had never had this much trouble in battle. It seemed every way she turned, projectiles peppered her. Car doors, giant arrows, bullets, and now sticky bomb-laden spears. Each took their effect on her armor and squishy interiors, though the last seemed best-capable of taking her down. The spikes of ice worked like shaped charges, lodging in and punching slightly through her armor, doing real damage the likes of which she had not experienced since dying… or was it being born? Her trigger, whatever one wanted to call it.
The first line of action was obvious: providing herself with medical assistance. She emitted her gas from every exposed surface, lighting it at once in a move that made her the center of a raging bonfire in the middle of the street. Thankfully, she’d been attacked with ice, and she was more than capable of melting it away. The fire had the secondary effect of cauterizing her flesh wounds, and as she focused on increasing the temperature and the fire went from red to blue hot, it welded the cracks in her armor back together. Fighting condition once more, though wary and pained, unlike before.
Dragon let the fire die away, her red-hot plating cooling from a glowing red as she did so, and noticed the red-clothed man approaching her. She caught the last thing he said, something about hunting a dragon, and reared up to her full height in response. He was armed with two sickles, made of the same red material as those spears had been, though not whining as the bomb had. She could… likely take him. But behind, the ones who had thrown the car door were being protected by three others, and perhaps she could not take all of them at the same time. It was likely time to bug out. She looked to the skies briefly, catching site of Mary, and made her decision.
“You will have a long hunt before you, then,” she addressed the red man, and launched toward the roof.
--
“Wait, no!” Mary yelled, eyes widening behind her mask as she turned toward Sidestep’s position. “Jump!” Herself, she dropped, reducing her profile as Dragon reached the roof, and the gas that the grenade had been emitting suddenly lit in Dragon’s exhaust. A fireball engulfed the area where Sidestep had been standing, following her and the air she had disturbed or breathed. It lasted just a few seconds, but Mary had not been kidding when she said had warned that it would kill Sidestep.
@Sickle-Cell
Wow Dragon keeps messing with the wrong people xD
Spears, she probably wouldn't care much about. Given her metal composition, she'd think they would bounce off or get blown away by the exhaust from her flight.
Acid spears, on the other hand, she'd attempt to dodge. She did notice that one of Pipeline's shots dealt a significant amount of damage to that VTOL.
Acid spears, on the other hand, she'd attempt to dodge. She did notice that one of Pipeline's shots dealt a significant amount of damage to that VTOL.
Mary had not expected her target to have such good reflexes. Or was it precognition? Hard to tell: airsoft guns were quiet, but the cape had reacted so quickly it was obvious that she’d known what was coming. Mary stopped firing when it became obvious that she was the new target here, repositioning away from the edge of the roof and reloading as the biker was acrobatically scaling the battlefield to get to her.
Sidestep couldn’t see Mary when she made it to the top, and was holding her breath. It meant she could only tell that a canister of gas was exhaling its contents by the hissing sound it made. In reality, the dry-tasting contents were enveloping her in a cloud of Dragon’s specialty, and one misstep, one tiny release of energy would set her up in conflagration. Her weapons were injured, and she was vulnerable to Mary’s own, so the girl took the chance to lower her guard a little bit.
“Don’t attack. You’ll kill yourself.” Her voice was muffled by her gasmask, but not so much that Sidestep surely wouldn’t be able to tell where she was. “Which group are you fighting for?” Sidestep still couldn’t see Mary, but she’d be able to tell that she was young, and it sounded like she just wanted to talk.
Dragon was more actively busy. “Fire guy,” turned out to be a bit more than she had bargained for. She recognized that the chemical reaction she witnessed was just that: a chemical reaction, not an exploding fireball. So he had more than just fire powers.
Then again, that still didn’t mean he could defeat her. The explosion wasn’t anything she wasn’t built for: her whole body was designed to handle concussive and heat damage like that. She rode the shockwave, letting it slow her and knock her closer to the ground. She’d been hoping to catch him unaware with her silent death-from-above maneuver, but obviously that had not worked.
Instead, she waited a moment, so that it would look like his explosion worked. And it worked: he crowed and changed targets, lobbing yet another different attack at one of the helicopters above. Perhaps they should have scared those away, but there was little time to think of that: now was the time to strike.
Strike she did. A fiery pillar erupted in a cone behind her, propelling the construct forward at a terrifying speed. The move didn’t even give Pipeline time to register, much less react, in his distracted state, and she slammed all of that force into his spinal cord at the neck. Her metal claws, held out pointy-ends-first, impacted him with enough force to pop and elephant’s head clear off, and she didn’t stop there, trying to drive him forward to slam through the building on the other side. She would have managed it, too, had a car door not suddenly slammed into the two of them, knocking out some of her speed and causing them to slam into the building less gracefully and powerfully than she’d hoped. Still, overkill wasn’t strictly necessary. She figured she had surely killed her target, and used her other claw to pry him off of her occupied one. Next.
Whoever had thrown that door. No one threw doors at her, it was just one of the rules. One she’d only just now made up, because that was the first door flung her way, but still. Rules were rules, or at least her own rules were. Screw everyone else’s rules. She turned her attention that way, flying through the bulletstorm between them, mechanical eyes locked on Holly.
Sidestep couldn’t see Mary when she made it to the top, and was holding her breath. It meant she could only tell that a canister of gas was exhaling its contents by the hissing sound it made. In reality, the dry-tasting contents were enveloping her in a cloud of Dragon’s specialty, and one misstep, one tiny release of energy would set her up in conflagration. Her weapons were injured, and she was vulnerable to Mary’s own, so the girl took the chance to lower her guard a little bit.
“Don’t attack. You’ll kill yourself.” Her voice was muffled by her gasmask, but not so much that Sidestep surely wouldn’t be able to tell where she was. “Which group are you fighting for?” Sidestep still couldn’t see Mary, but she’d be able to tell that she was young, and it sounded like she just wanted to talk.
Dragon was more actively busy. “Fire guy,” turned out to be a bit more than she had bargained for. She recognized that the chemical reaction she witnessed was just that: a chemical reaction, not an exploding fireball. So he had more than just fire powers.
Then again, that still didn’t mean he could defeat her. The explosion wasn’t anything she wasn’t built for: her whole body was designed to handle concussive and heat damage like that. She rode the shockwave, letting it slow her and knock her closer to the ground. She’d been hoping to catch him unaware with her silent death-from-above maneuver, but obviously that had not worked.
Instead, she waited a moment, so that it would look like his explosion worked. And it worked: he crowed and changed targets, lobbing yet another different attack at one of the helicopters above. Perhaps they should have scared those away, but there was little time to think of that: now was the time to strike.
Strike she did. A fiery pillar erupted in a cone behind her, propelling the construct forward at a terrifying speed. The move didn’t even give Pipeline time to register, much less react, in his distracted state, and she slammed all of that force into his spinal cord at the neck. Her metal claws, held out pointy-ends-first, impacted him with enough force to pop and elephant’s head clear off, and she didn’t stop there, trying to drive him forward to slam through the building on the other side. She would have managed it, too, had a car door not suddenly slammed into the two of them, knocking out some of her speed and causing them to slam into the building less gracefully and powerfully than she’d hoped. Still, overkill wasn’t strictly necessary. She figured she had surely killed her target, and used her other claw to pry him off of her occupied one. Next.
Whoever had thrown that door. No one threw doors at her, it was just one of the rules. One she’d only just now made up, because that was the first door flung her way, but still. Rules were rules, or at least her own rules were. Screw everyone else’s rules. She turned her attention that way, flying through the bulletstorm between them, mechanical eyes locked on Holly.
Dragon's going for gasoline guy.
“Well, suppose it’s time to move,” Mary muttered, almost disappointedly. Dragon turned off the TV, the images of the wreckage shot from civilian phones and nearby TV helicopters that could do nothing but film and hope not to get caught up in things. What had started as a small, contained fight seemed to have become large and dangerous, which meant innocents were in danger. They couldn’t let that happen.
Mary went into the shop’s back, and returned after a few minutes, clad now in some basic child-sized paramilitary-wannabe airsoft gear. The city-colored camo blended into the grays of the shop, though the orange tips on her various airsoft weapons, revealing their fake, plastic nature, gave her position away easily. She wore a sensible setup of active hearing protection, a mask with air filters, goggles, and a military-grade helmet to protect her various exposed vitals. Magazines for her AR-15-style rifle and her little pistol were jammed into her plate holder, and she did a quick test fire of a few shots into the ground. Each BB, filled with Dragon’s gas and coated in a mixture of ground matchheads and glue, exploded on contact. She surveyed the smoking holes each shot had left in the concrete, and nodded. She didn’t look it, but she was lethally armed.
Dragon held out a hand, and they wrapped their fingers around each other’s wrists. Mary walked up front and clipped straps through some of the odd gaps in Dragon’s metal physiology, and gave the thumb up when all seemed secure. “Let’s go kill some creeps,” Dragon said, and in a burst of fire, the two rocketed away from their lonely base of operations.
It did not take long for them to get anywhere in Boston, given Dragon’s flight speed, and it was easy enough to pick out their target due to the smoke and hovering reporters. They aimed for a low roof nearby, within 100 yards of the main fighting, and landed. Mary surveyed the helicopters as they worked on disconnecting. “Should we do something about those?”
“I thought we wanted to be seen.”
Mary swished her mouth back and forth before nodding. It was okay, she hadn’t seen any other fliers who might put those civilians in danger. She crouched down, pulling out her longer-range weapon as she inched toward the roof’s edge. The situation was chaos down below, gunfire less common now than the explosions and displays of power being pulled off by the parahumans. “Cover,” she commanded, and Dragon got to work mixing and burning her gasses carefully to create an inky smoke that covered the roof. They would probably die of cancer earlier than normal, but at least anyone who decided to turn weapons on the roof wouldn’t know exactly where Mary was.
“Thanks. I’ll take this chain guy, I think that’s a civilian behind the car shield.” Mary pointed out the aforementioned Mandy, and Dragon nodded.
“I’ll take that guy. I think he’s fire based, I should be safe.” For a moment they stared at each other, and then bumped fists. “Stay safe.”
“Yeah, cya soon.” Mary looked down her scope, and Dragon used a burst of propulsion to fling herself into the sky. The one-ton metallic monstrosity angled herself to fall in a body slam on her target, and Mary opened fire with 800 RPM of firework-equivalent explosives that streamed toward the one with the chain.
Mary went into the shop’s back, and returned after a few minutes, clad now in some basic child-sized paramilitary-wannabe airsoft gear. The city-colored camo blended into the grays of the shop, though the orange tips on her various airsoft weapons, revealing their fake, plastic nature, gave her position away easily. She wore a sensible setup of active hearing protection, a mask with air filters, goggles, and a military-grade helmet to protect her various exposed vitals. Magazines for her AR-15-style rifle and her little pistol were jammed into her plate holder, and she did a quick test fire of a few shots into the ground. Each BB, filled with Dragon’s gas and coated in a mixture of ground matchheads and glue, exploded on contact. She surveyed the smoking holes each shot had left in the concrete, and nodded. She didn’t look it, but she was lethally armed.
Dragon held out a hand, and they wrapped their fingers around each other’s wrists. Mary walked up front and clipped straps through some of the odd gaps in Dragon’s metal physiology, and gave the thumb up when all seemed secure. “Let’s go kill some creeps,” Dragon said, and in a burst of fire, the two rocketed away from their lonely base of operations.
It did not take long for them to get anywhere in Boston, given Dragon’s flight speed, and it was easy enough to pick out their target due to the smoke and hovering reporters. They aimed for a low roof nearby, within 100 yards of the main fighting, and landed. Mary surveyed the helicopters as they worked on disconnecting. “Should we do something about those?”
“I thought we wanted to be seen.”
Mary swished her mouth back and forth before nodding. It was okay, she hadn’t seen any other fliers who might put those civilians in danger. She crouched down, pulling out her longer-range weapon as she inched toward the roof’s edge. The situation was chaos down below, gunfire less common now than the explosions and displays of power being pulled off by the parahumans. “Cover,” she commanded, and Dragon got to work mixing and burning her gasses carefully to create an inky smoke that covered the roof. They would probably die of cancer earlier than normal, but at least anyone who decided to turn weapons on the roof wouldn’t know exactly where Mary was.
“Thanks. I’ll take this chain guy, I think that’s a civilian behind the car shield.” Mary pointed out the aforementioned Mandy, and Dragon nodded.
“I’ll take that guy. I think he’s fire based, I should be safe.” For a moment they stared at each other, and then bumped fists. “Stay safe.”
“Yeah, cya soon.” Mary looked down her scope, and Dragon used a burst of propulsion to fling herself into the sky. The one-ton metallic monstrosity angled herself to fall in a body slam on her target, and Mary opened fire with 800 RPM of firework-equivalent explosives that streamed toward the one with the chain.
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