[right][h2][sup][i][color=f07560]Knight[/color][/i][/sup][/h2][i]Rosaline  Buckner[/i]
[i]The Circus[/i]

[b][h3][color=ec100c]Ifrit (Bryson  Green)[/color][/h3][/b][/right]

[right][h3] Gamble [/h3][/right]

[center]The Circus[/center][center]21st January, 2011[/center][hr]


Ifrit and Knight had watched, seemingly quietly for some time. Of course Ifrit only seemed quiet, when in reality he was frantically using his suits built in HUD to manage his drones, and searching the area for anomalies, he was not at all comfortable with the situation. He watched the fight between Automaton and Sickle-cell, although if anything that actually reassured him that things were normal. He saw Gamble interrupt, and the capes go their separate ways.

After some time he and Knight finished fleshing out their plans, being very careful to keep their discussion over their personal communicators. He had an idea for how to handle Black Kaze, or as much as anybody ever [i]could[/i] handle her. 

Pipeline then announced the, [i]alterations[/i] to the plans for the night, and however much Ifrit had managed to relax, was gone in an instant. He was back to full paranoia mode. Fortunately, after hearing Gamble introduce himself in the fight outside, Ifrit knew where to find him.

After alerting Knight that he knew where to go, they made their way [i]carefully[/i] to Gamble. 

[color=f07560]‘You're Gamble?’[/color] Knight asked, looking him up and down. He looked like he could have been a bystander attending the circus, or some guy at the Bar. He was short, especially in comparison to the other two fully armored capes. His stance was casual, but certainly confident. In the face of the mysterious Ifrit, still glowing and secreting smoke from his power-armor, and the fully armored Knight, obviously a protectorate cape, it certainly did seem like inhuman confidence.

Gamble nodded slightly with a crooked grin.

Knight suppressed a couple stray thoughts of disdain about Gamble not looking “proper” for a Protectorate hero and that she had put in a lot more effort.

[color=f07560]‘I'm Knight. Pleased to meet you,’[/color] she continued, holding forth a hand to shake. Of course, she was all in armor, so it wouldn't be apparent that she was smiling. Anyway. [color=f07560]‘So, have you read up on our powers or so?’[/color]

Gamble smiled wider, and nodded, taking the offered handshake.

[color=f07560]‘Now, we had a strategy…’[/color]

Upon learning that they had a new teammate, who Ifrit was far from sure he trusted, he sent his small drone “pixie” to the large drone “Griffin” to grab a couple of things. It carried them through the a window, barely stirring anybodies notice as it was designed to be stealthy, and brought him the items in its claws. Upon arrival Ifrit grabbed the drone and the items it carried, securely mounting the drone to his back to avoid arousing suspicion. 

[color=green]”Here, are you willing to wear this?”[/color] Ifrit offered not only a communicator, but a gas mask in his right hand. It was simple, and minimalist, made of flexible materials that secured around ones mouth and jaw, with a single band which would extend around the back of the head. It didn’t cover the eyes at all, which wouldn’t be necessary since Ifrit didn’t use any chemicals that targeted the eyes. [color=green]“This will allow you to communicate with us without anybody else being listening in, and it will open up a lot of options to me during the fight.”[/color] He also had, in his other hand but not visible to Gamble, a communicator which would work just fine but wouldn’t act as a gas mask. He would prefer not to use it, but it was better than nothing if Gamble refused the mask. 

Still remaining uncharacteristically quiet, Gamble took the gear, quickly fastening it to his face. “Fits like a right lass.”

Ifrit smirked. He was only 18 after all.

Knight didn’t understand the sentence, but alright, it fit.

“I figure I should go ahead and lay down the basics of my abilities, eh?” Gamble said nonchalantly. “Not sure if my files came before me. Slow ass system, ahhaha.”

With a slight grunt, he continued. “Basically, I'm lucky. Things are improbable? I can do them. Hack the Pentagon? I won't confirm or deny that. Hit a guy on a speeding motorcycle? Easy peasy. The more the odds are against me, the more likely I can do it.”

[color=f07560]‘… Huh.’[/color] Rosaline was slightly stunned. She wasn't sure how that worked in practice, but from here that sounded exceptional. In fact, she might be a bit jealous. [color=f07560]‘… Um. Well, then. I suppose that isn't incompatible with the plan. We'll just… let you fumble in the smoke, then?’[/color] she asked, reasoning that would make being effective unlikely, usually.

Ifrit had looked Gamble up in the PRT database earlier that day, as soon as he had heard his name after the confrontation outside. He nodded along, [color=green] “Actually, I think Gamble will be an excellent addition to the strategy, we should compliment each other nicely.”[/color] Ifrit meant it too. Ifrit’s entire kit was based around controlling engagements, and creating opportunities for his teammates. Gamble on the other hand, was just the guy to take advantage of said opportunities, where Knight had the heavy hitting to help keep the initiative on their side.

Ifrit discreetly shared the plan the same way he had told Knight before, via their communicators, being sure to look natural so it wasn’t too obvious they were all communicating secrets.

“Sounds like a perfectly viable plan to me. Just tell me who you want me to focus on,” Gamble said with a slight drawl.

Ifrit nodded, he really appreciated this guy.[color=green] “Communication will be critical, essentially I hope you can take advantage of whatever opportunities me and Knight can open up, but our biggest problem is the wildcard. That Talion guy, we have no info on him or his abilities. In the absence of anything else, do what you can to keep him in check. Otherwise, I guess we'll just have to figure it out on the fly.”[/color]

They talked a little longer, mostly small talk, as the fights continued. It didn’t seem to take long before it was time. 

Knight listened along, speaking up when she could, otherwise watching the battles. She nodded at Vegas beating Arms Race, grunted in discomfort at Vector’s loss, shivered a bit at Switchboard’s display as well as Achlys and Pipeline’s domination. And, soon enough, it was their turn. As much to herself as to rouse her companions, she spoke. 

[color=f07560]‘Alright. Let's do this.’[/color]

[hr]

They entered the cage, and Ifrit really hated the idea of being in a cage when something here was clearly wrong, and he didn’t know what. He walked with his hands behind his back, like an imperial officer might in the movies of his youth, striding confidently yet nonchalantly. Of course he actually walked this way so he would be better prepared to put their plan into motion, as precious instants could be invaluable against the likes of Black Kaze. 

Across the cage, a distance just a little too brief for Ifrit’s liking, stood their opposition. Black Kaze, Zabinaya, and the still mysterious Talion. [i]Was he a Lord of the Rings fan or something?[/i] Ifrit was nervous about not knowing what he could do. A nervousness which was then redoubled, as [i]somebody[/i] took the mic from the announcer. 

Ifrit realized, based on the nature of the takeover that the stranger was likely a master of some sort, which didn’t make any sense given that she should be inhibited by the power nullification field…. Aaaaaand his uneasiness redoubled again. Something was very wrong. 

He was fairly sure that since he didn’t actually directly listen to sound from outside (it was a relayed through microphones and speakers) he would be protected from the master’s abilities, but in truth he had no idea. 

[i]“Now, be a good boy, and kill them all.”[/i]

In truth Ifrit’s uneasiness had peaked two or three doublings ago, but at this point there was no room for any of that. His head cleared as adrenaline finally took over and he focused on the task at hand. He still didn’t know what was happening, but there wasn’t any time to risk learning the hard way. Talion’s strange hesitation gave Ifrit just enough time to start moving before Talion exploded. In one seamless motion he brought both hands forward, in his left was a canister, in his right, his arm raised to use the dart launcher. The dart launcher fired in quick succession, not stopping on either of its targets. The first, aimed at the charging Talion, the second at Black Kaze.

He didn’t expect either of them to hit, actually, not because he was inaccurate but because both probably possessed the ability to dodge. That wasn’t the purpose however, it was more to slow down both targets, force a moments diversion and give his side the initiative. Still, if they [i]did[/i] hit, they both contained a tranquilizer which would take about 40 seconds to take full effect. He might have used the pain seerum, but he had decided against it since although it would take effect on the targets far more quickly, it would also be likely to make them erratic and unpredictable, something he didn’t want in this situation. He could hope the dart would at least buy Gamble the time to deal with Talion.  

As soon as the darts were off, which Ifrit had deliberately made visible to his targets, the canister which had been flung from his left hand exploded in mid air. It didn’t [i]actually[/i] explode, but the dark smoke which billowed out had enough velocity to it that it seemed to. The dark smoke absorbed light and spread rapidly across the entire arena. It didn’t contain any chemical agents, but his opponents wouldn’t know that. It was neutrally buoyant in the air, but the diffusion still created an effect where it seemed to spill out of the cage onto the floor. It wouldn’t do anything for sound, but all light in the visible spectrum would be thoroughly obscured. 

Ifrit smiled to himself, out of pity for the spectators. This apparently had been made out to be the fight of the night, which unfortunately, not many people would be able to see. He imagined it would look like one of the old cartoon fight animations, a cloud with various arms and legs sticking out, loud noises and curses within. The image earned him a chuckle. 

Even so, as soon as his payload was off, he didn’t waste even a moment. Using his power suit to spring with inhuman agility back toward the bars of the cage, he swung himself [i]up[/i] and quickly climbed until he was in a corner of the cage, holding himself there with superhuman strength. The smoke now obscured the entire arena, and his suits previously bright lights were now off. His suit now emanated dark smoke of the same chemical that obscured the arena, helping to cool his suits internals and further hide him. 

Now, nobody could see, except him. Although the arena was dark, his HUD now displayed an infrared image of the arena, combining multiple sensors from wavelengths of light the smoke was designed to not block, to form an image of the arena. He turned, to watch his teammates and communicate to them any upcoming hazzards via their communicators. He simultaneously prepared the drone on his back, stirring it to life silently. It would be essential for the next step in the plan, but so far he thought they had a chance. They had hopefully severely limited Black Kaze’s effectiveness, since after all, being the most mobile person in the world meant nothing if you couldn’t see where you were going. 

Gamble meanwhile sprung into action as the arena darkened. The odds were increasing against his ability to hit anything, to do anything of merit, and that meant he was thriving.

[I] Tackle Talion. Punch him in his face. Keep him down. Odds? Near impossible. But still possible. Barely possible. [/I]

[Hr]
Immediately concerned: [@sickle-cell]
Locally concerned: Everybody, except Lasrever,