[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/h131DW9.jpg[/img][/center] [hider=Dilemmas of the lazy and Powerful] Dean and Golem watched Raudd and Silver Fang leave. There was little need for further explanations when it came to the Templar's top first responder anyway. there was an emergency, she was gonna help. Raudd had been around for at least one thunderdome if memory served. There was not much to do but sit back and ride things out like always. . . Accept something felt off. Even with poor senses, Dean felt the roiling emotions that had passed over him with Alex's dome. Being able to feel it even for a second was concerning. One feeling stuck out more then anything else. [b]Rage[/b]. An irrational, anticlimactic anger that was hair raising to put it mildly. Sure the big guy could get upset and irritated. But this . . . it concerned Dean. Not enough to really get him up out of his chair though. That was the moment he caught Golem staring at him intently. [color=8dc73f][b]"What now?"[/b][/color] [b][SOMETHING IS WRONG. YOU KNOW IT. I KNOW IT.][/b] [color=8dc73f][b]" . . . And? There's enough supers here to take care of it. Alex will be fi-"[/b][/color] The earth spirit cut him off. [b][SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH ALEXANDER. WOULD YOU CONTINUE TO HAVE ME SIT BY WHILE A COMMUNITY IS IN DANGER?][/b] Dean winced at that. Knowing the legend of the golem inside and out. He had banked on the inherent slowness of earth spirits to act and the general safety Alex had provided to this domicile and the territory surrounding it to keep Golem complicit. Sure he helped on occasion, but that was due to outside prodding. He leaned forward to look the spirit in the eyes. [color=8dc73f][b]"And what about when Alex finds out? 'Hey buddy, I've been a ridiculously powerful geokinetic the whole time and been helping out behind your back. please don't get mad!' Because that's going to go [i]SO[/i] well with all the other shit going on. Or did you forget the fact that even I can feel how pissed the fuck off he is right now?"[/b][/color] Golem remained motionless. His words ringing clear as ever. [b][WE CAN'T SIT ON THE SIDELINES FOREVER [i]CLAY[/i]. THE CALL TO ACTION IS NOT EASILY IGNORED FOREVER.][/b] [color=8dc73f][b]"You're sounding a little too much like my parents for my liking little dude."[/b][/color] He glared at unblinking eyes before looking down at his hands. When had he pulled out his baseball? Rolling the ball from hand to hand, he took in the imperfections of the restitching he had done and the numerous doodles and sigils in sharpie that nearly covered up every centimeter of the white surface. Yeah, His parents. The Locklear family wasn't terrible by any means. But boy were they a piece of work. An extensive family of Earth mages that had been the wardens of the Earth primal spirit for generations. Families like that unable to get big through marriages and birth would opt to find awoken children with traits and qualities that lined up enough with the families to bring into the fold. Dean had been one of those adopted kids. Taken from a reservation that nobody apparently had the mind to remember the name of. He always figured it was the Locklear way of keeping him from having any familial bonds outside of them. The fact he had never had such a drive to go and seek out his birth parents in the first place apparently wasn't assurance enough. Magic aptitude testing and lessons since before one could even walk didn't make for the most perfect of childhoods. But it had been comfortable at least. But Dean had found ways to cut all of that short. "Sabotage" years of preparation and effort all because he really couldn't be bothered to give a damn. Yet despite his "efforts", He had still become the warden and partner of Golem. Ironic. He would still get calls and letters every month or so. The universe really liked to poke him around when all Dean wanted to do was not be bothered. A thought that felt foreign came to the forefront all too suddenly. Part of Dean would almost expect it to have something to do with Golem. At what point did laziness turn into cowardice? Just how far could one claim something was too much of a bother to be involved with? How many times could he sidestep everything around him before something he could have prevented blew up in his face and shattered the life he had put together over the years. That was when Golem chose to give out a nugget of wisdom that really did make it seem like the living pile of rocks was reading the mage's mind. [b][EVIL PREVAILS WHEN GOOD MEN AND WOMEN DO NOTHING.][/b] And of course that was around the time the universe had to feel like it had slowed to a crawl. And for the first time in years, Dean Locklear had to make a hard decision that had no easy or comfortable outcome. [color=8dc73f][b]" . . . Fuck."[/b][/color] [/hider] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/fCa90aX.jpg[/img][/center] [hider=Glimpses of the Gorgon] [center][url=https://youtu.be/IdmhFhxJIXQ]Alex was beyond Angry at this point.[/url][/center] After having been knocked down to the ground. Alex remained faced down for some time. Probably no more then two minutes in actuality. This. This was it. He had had enough. Everything was going wrong. He felt like absolute shit. Everything and everyone was just ticking him off more at this point. [b][color=#DB0000]A[/color][color=#D70203]l[/color][color=#D40507]e[/color][color=#D1080A]x[/color] [color=#CB0D12]c[/color][color=#C81015]l[/color][color=#C51319]a[/color][color=#C1151D]w[/color][color=#BE1820]e[/color][color=#BB1B24]d[/color] [color=#B5202B]a[/color][color=#B2232F]t[/color] [color=#AC2836]t[/color][color=#A82B3A]h[/color][color=#A52E3D]e[/color] [color=#9F3345]g[/color][color=#9C3648]r[/color][color=#99394C]o[/color][color=#963C50]u[/color][color=#933E53]n[/color][color=#8F4157]d[/color] [color=#89465E]l[/color][color=#864962]i[/color][color=#834C65]k[/color][color=#804F69]e[/color] [color=#7A5470]a[/color] [color=#735A78]c[/color][color=#705C7B]a[/color][color=#6D5F7F]g[/color][color=#6A6283]e[/color][color=#676486]d[/color] [color=#606A8E]t[/color][color=#5D6D91]i[/color][color=#5A6F95]g[/color][color=#577298]e[/color][color=#54759C]r[/color][color=#5178A0].[/color] [color=#4B7DA7]h[/color][color=#4780AB]i[/color][color=#4482AE]s[/color] [color=#3E88B6]"[/color][color=#3B8BB9]a[/color][color=#388DBD]r[/color][color=#3590C1]m[/color][color=#3293C4]o[/color][color=#2E96C8]r[/color][color=#2B98CB]"[/color] [color=#259ED3]o[/color][color=#22A0D6]f[/color] [color=#1CA6DE]g[/color][color=#19A9E1]l[/color][color=#15ABE5]i[/color][color=#12AEE9]t[/color][color=#0FB1EC]c[/color][color=#0CB4F0]h[/color][color=#09B6F4]i[/color][color=#06B9F7]n[/color][color=#03BCFB]g[/color] [color=#00BFFB]g[/color][color=#00C0F7]l[/color][color=#00C0F4]a[/color][color=#00C1F0]s[/color][color=#00C1EC]s[/color] [color=#00C2E5]s[/color][color=#00C3E1]c[/color][color=#00C4DE]r[/color][color=#00C4DA]a[/color][color=#00C5D6]p[/color][color=#00C5D3]p[/color][color=#00C6CF]e[/color][color=#00C6CB]d[/color] [color=#00C7C4]a[/color][color=#00C8C1]n[/color][color=#00C9BD]d[/color] [color=#00CAB6]s[/color][color=#00CAB2]h[/color][color=#00CBAE]a[/color][color=#00CBAB]t[/color][color=#00CCA7]t[/color][color=#00CCA3]e[/color][color=#00CDA0]r[/color][color=#00CE9C]e[/color][color=#00CE98]d[/color] [color=#00CF91]a[/color][color=#00D08E]c[/color][color=#00D08A]r[/color][color=#00D186]o[/color][color=#00D183]s[/color][color=#00D27F]s[/color] [color=#00D378]h[/color][color=#00D474]i[/color][color=#00D470]s[/color] [color=#00D569]s[/color][color=#00D666]k[/color][color=#00D662]i[/color][color=#00D75E]n[/color][color=#00D85B].[/color] [color=#00D953]T[/color][color=#00D950]h[/color][color=#00DA4C]e[/color] [color=#00DB45]s[/color][color=#00DB41]o[/color][color=#00DC3D]u[/color][color=#00DD3A]n[/color][color=#00DD36]d[/color] [color=#00DE2F]w[/color][color=#00DF2B]a[/color][color=#00DF28]s[/color] [color=#00E020]t[/color][color=#00E11D]o[/color][color=#00E219]r[/color][color=#00E215]t[/color][color=#00E312]u[/color][color=#00E30E]r[/color][color=#00E40A]e[/color][color=#00E407]d[/color][color=#00E503].[/color][/b] With a shove, the man was back on his feet. His body stabilizing enough to its usual blue. That was when the noise got his attention. His head snapped up to take in the sight. Rippers. Augmented to hell and back. Flesh overtaken by chrome, alloy, and plastics. And they were trying to grab civilians. Everything came into focus suddenly. His limbs no longer shook. His breathing steadied. Fingers curled into fists. He took a step forward. The ground rippled beneath him and glowed blue. [center][b][h2][color=Deepskyblue]"N̺̻̔̆ͅO̖̼ͩ͌͐."[/color][/h2][/b][/center] [b]"The Fuck is tha-?!"[/b] One of the Ripper's that had the look somewhat resembling a demented, emaciated rabbit standing on its hind legs barely had the time to finish their sentence before Alex's boulder-like fist crushed into his face. The suddenness of the attack was jarring. whats more was the speed at which a man Alex's size seemed capable of. Just as quickly, panes of jagged glass tore into their cyber legs. The Ripper hadn't the chance to even drop to the ground and scream before their arms were grabbed in each of Alex's hands. It had all been so fast. There was little the Ripper could do but squeak out one word through their broken face. [b]"What?"[/b] [center][b][h2][color=Deepskyblue]"N̺̻̔̆ͅO̖̼ͩ͌͐ M͉̅ͮ͒ͤO̖̼ͩ͌͐R͉̜̎͡͠Ḛͭ̉̇͟."[/color][/h2][/b][/center] The Ripper's arms were ripped from their ports mercilessly. The broken stump that had once been a man writhed and screamed on the ground. The other rippers and civilians alike stood on shock of the brutality. The Shiledtown residents however were quicker to escape their captors. leaving them to the Rogue's fury. One took a single step back. only to find a new wall of sharp hardlight digging into their back. Alex lunged forward. Cyber limbs continued to be severed, crushed, ripped and torn free. Any that would try to run before Alex was done with one of their "friends" quickly had their legs taken out from under them. Bullets were shot at him. blades swung in desperation. Some used explosives. The horror grew more apparent by the second when the rogue didn't so much as flinch at any attempts to maim of impede his progress. One tried to stab him in the eye. the knife shattered on contact. The Ripper's wrist then splintered in Alex's grip. Worst still. He didn't yell. Not a scream or curse escaped his lips. The only thing that could be heard from Aegis were growls and snarls. The lack of banter to anybody who knew the Rogue of Shieldtown was never a good sign. All were left alive. Whether that could be a mercy for a cyber psycho was debatable, having their limbs taken from them and left alive at the mercy of others. Alex didn't care right now. They were just more monsters. these ones just walked and talked like people. The Dragon would deal with them when he was done anyway. The blue hardlight bathed the street in an eerie glow as he stepped over the gibbering and whimpering stumps. For the next few minutes, Alex hunted. Leaving nothing but damaged bodies in his wake. No attempt to negotiate was made. No demands. Nothing. Rippers that tried to take hostages soon found their prisoners safely contained in skin tight fields of barriers. Others that tried to make threats their jaws as broken as the first Ripper's had been. Sometimes, Alex let them attack him. Brushing through their weapons and augmented strikes, Just to give some measure of hope. Before breaking. Every. Single. Last. One. It wasn't out of cruelty. It was a message. A warning. Being made as loud and clear as Alex could make it outside of crossing that final line and putting heads on spikes. Aegis wasn't fucking around anymore. He was loosing himself in all the violence. Everything else didn't matter right now. Alex just barely held on to his restraint. Enough not to go any further. Not that anyone in Shieldtown would judge his treatment of the Ripper's. But he still would . . . He had enough sense to hold on to that much. The rest of him however, The rest wanted to rip them apart. No Ripper was safe. And they were unwittingly trapping themselves in here with him. Despite how monstrous he appeared, everyone he saved still thanked Aegis under their breath. He was still a symbol of protection and hope to them. Some stayed to detain what remained of their would be assailants. As for the Ripper's. every one that saw him coming felt only one thing. Fear. [/hider]