[img]https://i.imgur.com/4uuThLm.jpg[/img]

Shieldtown. The great anti-Thresher walls cast a shadow upon square-cut concrete, strong and rigid beneath the sea of tarps and wires that made up its rooftops. Another day for the most powerful settlement in Titan’s Fall’s undercity. With the walls, their battle-hardened hunters, and Aegis’s presence, the common folk stayed safe, warm, and prosperous as they bustled amidst the midday trade. The city was more than prepared for any giant monster, but not all threats challenged Shieldtown head-on, with smoke on their trails and fire in their throats. One stayed hidden in the shadows. He was shrouded in a ragged cloak as he skulked behind back alleys, glided between an ever-moving crowd, and melted against the walls, barely beyond the searchlights of the drones that flew right over his head. Three glowing red eyes dilated in the pitch black of his hood, his sight fixated on the entrance of the Black Iron Workshop. Bodies filed out from within, dressed in their jumpsuits and hazard gear, until all that was left was the garage door that rolled back down to shut. 

Inside the workshop, Ako worked on Temujin under the supervision of Koba. The monkey-man gestured to guide his apprentice. Temujin had been stripped to his bare body, the raw and sinewy muscles bruised with patches of white and tears that revealed the circuitry conjoined with off-white artificial viscera. The only thing that the ninja did not allow them to remove was his mask, or rather, as he insisted, his 'face'.

[color=#ffb561][b]"Oh, like this?"[/b][/color] Ako asked as she cranked her wrench counter-clockwise, a motion that demanded the entire might of her tiny body. Temujin looked down with concern. Koba nodded, his smile brightened by his blue-red markings. Jemma was still and floating behind them, a ball of roiling ink that reflected no light. 

Up on the ceiling, behind the grates of a vent, three red eyes blinked within the shadows. The eyes darted from Temujin, to the mechanics, and the black orb. Cybernetics whirred and clicked beneath his cloak as he pushed the vent open, and leapt. 

[color=DC091C][b]"LOOK OUT!"[/b][/color] Temujin shouted. His words barely finished when a gaunt limb collided against Ako's cheek. The mechanic fell back onto the ground with a gurgle, spitting out blood and teeth. The shadow's cloak scattered behind him, revealing a tall man, with muscles that clung to bone. A pair of slacks were the only thing that provided him modesty, held up by suspenders that stretched tight over his skin. His arms were sinewy and uncannily long, with segments and seams and silver-tipped knuckles. His face was triangular and metallic, hissing and clicking through insectoid mandibles. The cables, tubes, and circuitry embedded into his neck made one thing clear: that was not a mask. 

[b]"Out of my way,"[/b] His voice was a shrill, high-pitched hiss. He hunched to face a snarling Koba, his fingers waggling as he drew one of many knives from his belt. [b]"A little bird told me that Dove is back."[/b] Three eyes were embedded in the centre of his face, red and bulging with a compound pattern. [b]”Where is she?”[/b] 

[color=DC091C][b]"Who the fuck are you?!"[/b][/color] Temujin shouted back. The invader glanced at him, yet maintained his focus on Koba, watching as the monkey-man placed himself in front of the orb, his arms spread to shield it, and Ako behind him. [i]Could it be?[/i] He drew a pair of knives from his hip. [b]"The name's Mantablack. Slasher. Tearer. [i]Ripper![/i]"[/b] He tossed the blades to the air and snatched them in a reversed grip. [b]"Stand aside, mutant. I have a job to do!"[/b]

Mantablack launched forward. Koba turned towards Jemma and pushed her on instinct, only - his eyes shot wide open. His heart missed a beat. The orb was unmoving… as Koba's arm sank into the blackness. Deeper, further, from his wrist, up his forearm, and beyond the elbow. He gasped, grunted, and panted. Mantablack screeched to a halt. His three eyes squinted, watching with intrigue as Koba struggled, his heavy breaths bleeding panic whilst he pulled and pulled in a desperate attempt to free himself. 

[color=DC091C][b]"Koba!"[/b][/color] Temujin shouted, squirming within his bonds. Mantablack hunched and stepped back, stowing one of his knives back in their sheath. [b]"How interesting,"[/b] he mused, with a voice that dripped with glee through machine synthesis. Koba reeled back with bared and gritted teeth. The Jemma-orb was swallowing more and more of his arm, until it hovered close to his shoulder, and threatened to take the rest of him. 

[color=#ffb561][b]"Ko… Koba…!"[/b][/color] Ako stumbled to her feet, held onto the monkey despite his frantic gestures of [b]("Don't!")[/b], and pulled, and pulled, and pulled. The orb was less than an inch from his shoulder when the two pulled through. The force tossed Ako against the wall with a visceral 'THUNK', whilst Koba collapsed on the floor, wisps of black vapour welding his arm stump shut.

The bug-eyed man held up his hand in front of the orb. A net blasted forth from the crevice of his palm, wrapping and twisting around the orb with an electric sizzle. [b]"Thanks for that, little monkey. I would've been mulch if not for your 'sacrifice', kyekekekeke."[/b] His mandibles with a twisted cackle as he secured the net to his belt. Mantablack turned towards Koba and the now-unconscious Ako, musing, [b]"Don't take it personally… but I can't leave any witnesses alive."[/b] The seams on his knife-bearing arm parted with a hiss and pop, revealing hinges that extended his reach, until the tip of the blade touched the floor. Koba met the ripper's gaze head-on, defiant despite the quiver of fear in his eyes. 

A pebble bounced off the back of Mantablack's head. [b]"Hmmmm…?!"[/b] He looked over his shoulder, catching the flicker of green in Temujin's eyes. [color=DC091C][b]"Hey, diesel-dick. Pick on someone your own size!"[/b][/color] The ripper tilted his head. Temujin's lack of limbs did not escape his notice. [i]So how did he…?[/i]

[color=DC091C][b]"What's the matter? Too chickenshit to fight an opponent on your level? Or do you get off on tormenting a defenseless girl and her monkey?!"[/b][/color] The ninja continued to bark, drawing a high, rattling chuckle from Mantablack. 

[b]"Kyekeke… look at you. A robot with guts."[/b] The ripper prodded Temujin's stomach with his knife… from half the room away. [b]"Let's see what they’re like!"[/b]

[color=DC091C][b]"Who are you calling a robot, chrome-dog?!"[/b][/color] Temujin shouted, glaring with all the rage in his mask. Mantablack zoomed in on Temujin's body. [b]"Wait…"[/b] He pressed the knife tip against Temujin's navel, and felt it flex against his blade. [b]"That's not rubber… that's Fontaine synth fiber!"[/b] The ripper drew his entire arm back and approached, scanning the ninja from head to crotch. [b]"Your entire body's brimming with treasures, pal."[/b]   

Mantablack grabbed onto the clasp of his stand and snapped it apart with a pull. [color=DC091C][b]"What the… hey-"[/b][/color] The ninja squirmed and wriggled as the ripper hoisted him over his shoulder. [color=DC091C][b]"Put me down, rust-breath! Put me down or I swear to God, I'll-"[/b][/color]

[b]"You'll what, throw another pebble at me?"[/b] Mantablack sneered. A ripple in his radar alerted Mantablack of the Black Iron workers' return. He glanced at Koba and chuckled. Killing him now would be too much of a hassle. [b]"Looks like this is your lucky day, mutant."[/b] He leapt back up towards the vent, and Temujin let out one final defiant scream that melted with the ripper into the darkness. Koba watched them go with vacant eyes, the adrenaline ebbing off to remind him of his wounds. 

Beep. 

The monkey-man's gaze flicked down, towards where Mantablack was standing.

Beep.

A black box, tangled with root-like wires. A red dot blinked into a countdown.

Beep.

Koba's consciousness returned for one vital second. With the last of his strength, he leapt to shield Ako from the imminent blast. 

[I]Beep.[/i]

The box shattered. A blue and purple wave of light exploded from within. The ripple passed through the entire workshop, out into the streets, and past three city blocks… snuffing out all light and electricity as it travelled. The city's drones fell from the sky, many of them shattering into pieces as they kissed the earth. 


[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/909715047918497815/1037211200871731300/Umbri_banner6.png[/img]

Umbri stopped on their way back. The three men who had been fixing a sign to a roof cheered as they got it lit up, only to let out a synchronised groan as it suddenly cut out. The hum of live wires overhead went dead. A whistle pierced the air. Umbri looked up just in time to shout and jump away.

A mangle of machinery crashed into the place she'd been standing, its lights dead. Umbri squatted to get a better look at the drone that almost wiped her out, then turned her head up to Alex.

[color=#A4303F][b]"What's going on?"[/b][/color]