DJAtomika

Omega Serenade

"Well you can't blame 'em for running an airtight operation. And yes, there must be something big going on here for that kind of security. There's nothing going on out front but I can hear what's going on behind the warehouse."

Hazan was seated in a small eatery just in front of the warehouse, idly slurping down some dextro-levo noodles while he watched the guards shift at their posts and be very, very bored. Everything suggested by the courier's logs, but the activity at the rear was new. Something off their "public" books, a courier probably wouldn't have any information on this operation unless he was in on it too. Most citizens in this part of the station weren't too curious about why an unmarked warehouse in the middle of nowhere had guards that rotated their shifts every eight hours. They knew not to poke their nose into that sort of business. But for the turian? Well he had other plans. He stole a glance at the guard post and checked his omnitool. If his observations were right, and they usually were, there was going to be a change of guards in about ten minutes. While the delivery was underway, no less. An opportunity for him to sneak in.

The turian pulled his hoodie tight around himself and zipped it up fully, finishing up the last of his noodles and tossing the vendor a tiny credit chit as payment. He pulled up the hood over his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets, before standing and walking away. He didn't make a direct bee-line for the warehouse, rather he ambled around it in a slow circle, giving it a wide berth as he cut into the apartments nearby. On his omnitool was a map that displayed the general area around the warehouse and marked on it was a side door that the guards used whenever they were switching duties around. He made his way towards that door, cutting back out of the slums as he approached an alley facing it. With a timer displayed on his omnitool, Hazan made himself scarce, pressing himself into a doorway in the alley that was close to the warehouse and dimming the brightness of his device. Right on time, he saw the door open and two guards filed out. Hazan tapped his omnitool and engaged his tactical cloak as he zipped out of the alley and caught the door before it closed. He slipped inside quietly, not minding the confused looks of the two guards he'd passed by (no doubt hearing phantom footsteps) and closed the door behind him before disengaging his cloak to let it charge for a few moments.

"Daro? I'm in. Risky decision but I got myself inside. Gonna poke around, see what I can find."

He keyed off his comms and reengaged his cloak, following the rough map he had of the area to make his way to the back of the warehouse. The interior seemed a whole lot bigger than what it looked like outside, yet it also was a lot more claustrophobic and cramped. The turian found a ladder leading up to a set of catwalks above the warehouse floor and advanced along them slowly, taking in everything he could see while staying quiet. From up above, the operation he was witnessing was massive and, more importantly, incriminating. He keyed his comms and spoke in a harsh whisper, while recording a video on his visor that was saved to his omnitool, streaming it to Daro's omnitool at the same time.

"Daro? They're manufacturing red sand here! Spirits, if word gets out to Aria about this, Perix has got to pack it in. She isn't going to appreciate someone else muscling in on her turf."

Justice League: Shadow of the Gods (Always Open)

G R E E N L A N T E R N

"My word..."

Aken held his breath as the squad entered the main laboratory complex, Nova just in front of him. He kept his distance and watched as Perseus and Green Arrow tore through the enemy ranks in perfect sync, keeping an alarm from sounding as they headed down into the depths of the building. What he saw ahead of him, he hadn't seen before, and frankly he didn't want to see such things ever again. Rows upon rows of cells, people being tortured and killed indiscriminately, all in the name of some misbegotten "science", if it could even be called that. But, as it turned out, fate and stealth were not going to be on their side any longer. As Bloodsport broke free of Perseus' grip and yelled for help, Aken instinctively brought up a big green shield that encircled those immediately around him, saving some of the Peacekeepers from the hail of gunfire that followed. In front of him, Perseus took the lead as he shielded a few of their allies from bullets and fought off a giant, musclebound soldier that had leaped up to their balcony in one hop, taking off his head with his knife as he battled furiously.

Without pause, Aken let his ring reach full glow and very briefly let down his shield, only to project a bigger one that encompassed the main group of Peacekeepers behind him. He glanced behind him, wincing slightly as one of the bigger, empowered brutes thumped his fists uselessly against his shield, and gestured with his free hand at the soldiers.

"Move downstairs! Follow Perseus and get those civilians free! I have you covered!"

Saying that, he poured his strength into maintaining the shield, free hand gripping the wrist of his ring hand as he slowly pushed his way forwards. The brute pounding on the shield made him stumble, testing his will with every step, but Aken gritted his teeth and persevered, pouring every ounce of energy he had into maintaining the barrier. Then, as the big grunt reared back for another strike, Aken let his shield fall and instead conjured a fabric construct that caught the brute as he charged forward, Using his forward momentum, Aken used all his strength to spin the cloth sack around in a circle and weaponised it like a sling, throwing the brute off the balcony with a grunt and a yell. One of the Peacekeepers behind him tapped him on the shoulder.

"Lantern! Our guys downstairs need your help too! Go! We got things under control up here."

The Lantern nodded his thanks, shielded himself and charged forward. One of the enemies wearing an exo-suit was near the front of the balcony, shrugging off small arms fire from the Peacekeepers as it strode forward and tossed one of them off the ledge. As the exo-suit soldier lifted another Peacekeeper up by the head and crushed his skull in his hand, Aken flew forward and barreled into his side, clad in armour made of light, using his strength to push this soldier off the balcony and into the fray below. Aken let out a bellow as he flew straight downwards, the exo-suit struggling against his light until they slammed into the concrete down below. The metal twisted and deformed as the Lantern pummeled the soldier into the ground, fists wrapped in green light pounding into his chest until the metal of his exo-suit was deformed and non-functioning and the soldier was buried in a crater, unmoving. He threw up his personal shield again and ducked behind a pillar, trying to get a sense of the situation on the ground before he moved on.

Perseus was in the thick of it, battling through soldiers and keeping the front line away from the trapped civilians. The main group of Peacekeepers was also present, maintaining a steady line of fire that stalled the enemy's advance. He leaned out of cover and fired a burst of light at a soldier trying to blindside Perseus and ducked back into cover, avoiding a burst of assault rifle fire. Then he charged forward, right into where the bulk of the civilian's cages were, and raised his arm.

"You will not harm another! By Green Lantern's light!"

A bright green shield burst from his ring and covered all the cages he could, simultaneously protecting them and keeping them contained safely. With his focus firmly on maintaining his shield, he watched the other Leaguers battle to keep them safe.

Streetlight Dragonflies

I also couldn't resist slipping that joke in. I always thought Jeffrey Dean Morgan would do a great Frank West.

Streetlight Dragonflies

@DeadDrop I couldn't not use Jeffrey Dean Morgan for David's face reference. It's too perfect.

Streetlight Dragonflies

"What in the hell...?"

David watched, frozen next to the bathroom door, as all the events played out. With the lady behind him having a panic attack and getting evacuated by the other journalist who'd also sprayed the tiger with copious amounts of fire-fighting foam, the idiot young lady with a real gun who'd fired it into the bathroom, everything was chaotic and noisy and frenetic. But only he noticed the young boy standing behind the bathroom wall that had crumbled for reasons unknown, disappearing into the brush as he apparently commanded the tiger to follow him. Without pause, he raised his camera and attempted to snap a picture of the boy's retreating form, pushing the shutter as soon as he had his camera up.

The diner, now mostly abandoned, was silent save for the noise of the people outside. David stood up and dusted himself off, giving the diner and its bathroom a once-over with his eyes. Mostly abandoned was right, but what puzzled him was the mysterious hole in the wall of the bathroom. The young lady with the weird armour and functioning gun had disappeared into it as well, but he'd chalked that up to all the strange occurrences that were bombarding the diner. After all, who in the world had access to that kind of technology if they weren't strange to begin with?

He turned to see the journalist and the other lady being confronted by some guy in a skirt with a knife. The confrontation wasn't too heated though, as the skirt guy gave over what appeared to be the lady's belongings in a duffel bag. David walked over to the journalist whose name he'd failed to get and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, I'm going in after her. If I don't return, well, tell the story of what happened here. Make sure the name David Sawyer doesn't go down the drain. I've covered wars, y'know."

That said, he turned and headed into the bathroom. The hole in the wall mystified him; from the front, it looked like it headed into some sort of forested area, overgrown by vines and weeds. But he knew on the opposite side of the wall was the parking lot and street, not this...weird misty place. He raised his camera and took a picture of the hole, framing it against the rest of the untouched wall. Then, with a deep breath and a roll of his shoulders, David stepped through the hole and into the unknown.

"Now, where's that lady with all the armour gone..."

Streetlight Dragonflies

AAAAAAA everything's going so fast I haven't even had the time to write a decent David post.

Streetlight Dragonflies

@lady horatio Sure, we could do a quick collab. I'll post it too.

Streetlight Dragonflies

@lady horatio I think David will. Once he sees Jill run out the bathroom, he's not going to be holding the door open much longer. Is anyone else in the bathroom though?

Justice League: Shadow of the Gods (Always Open)

A K E N S U R

_{Featuring @MrDidact as Perseus and @Freeshooter92 as Nova}

What a way to spend the new year. Well, new Earth year in any case. Aken was familiar with the tradition, but still found it rather strange that one Earth year wasn't the same as one year on Ungara. Still, he wasn't one to pass up a good celebration. While mulling over some old historical records of Lanterns past on Oa, his mentor, Kyle Rayner, had come to him with another proposition: celebrate New Year's Day back on Earth with some of the other Green Lanterns, including his partner, Kai-Ro. Aken hadn't thought the young monk would've been one to celebrate, but he was keen to meet the other Lanterns from Earth, some of whom had worked with his grandfather before. The whole affair was lighthearted; many of the senior Lanterns in attendance talked to him at length about the deeds of his grandfather, while understandably skimming over his father's actions against the Corps. Humbled by the many compliments about his will to restore his family name, Aken spent a lot of the night enjoying himself.

He didn't expect Kai-Ro to approach him in the middle of the proceedings, pulling him away to some form of privacy outside of the convention hall.

"Kai-Ro? What's the matter?"

The young monk held him by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes.

"Aken, I need a favour. There is a mission going on right now in New Mexico. Justice League business. But I can't leave, not when the others are around. Do you want to take this solo?"

The Ungaran looked around rather sheepishly before replying.

"Me?"

"Yes, Aken. It will be your first solo mission. Do not worry. As soon as I am able, I will fly up to the Watchtower to keep track of you. And you will not be alone. There are other Justice League members there too. Think of this as your first real test of what I've taught you."

"I... Do you think I am ready, Kai-Ro? I don't want to disappoint, especially since this is the Justice League we're talking about."

Kai-Ro gave him a bright smile, a rarity for the monk, and patted him on the shoulder.

"If I didn't think so, I wouldn't have asked you to cover for me. You can do this, Aken. Don't worry. Now go join the others at the Watchtower. Say that I sent you."

So he left. A few hours later and he was seated aboard a ship alongside several other Leaguers and a platoon of soldiers.

After arriving at the mission site and hearing Perseus' plan, Aken and the rest of the team waited as Toxin completed her sweep of the shack. A few minutes later, two guards were down and the security system was compromised. Toxin gave the signal and Perseus nodded to Robert Queen, the Green Arrow, who was waiting nearby. He nocked two tranquilizer arrows and let loose, hitting the two guards square in the chest and dosing them with a heavy sedative. They were knocked out before they even hit the ground.

That done, Perseus was about to give the signal to move when they suddenly heard a beep from a Peacekeeper's smartphone. Commercially, holographic communication devices, or holo-phones, were the norm. But special operators sometimes relied on ruggedized smartphones for greater reliability in the field. Now for some reason, this trooper's phone was displaying the face of a somewhat manic-looking woman. Perseus looked questioningly at the Peacekeeper, who bashfully handed Perseus the phone. Perseus took the phone with the trademark Luthor glare, his gaze cold, "Threatening my men and hacking into Justice League communications is no laughing manner. If I weren't on a tight time table, I'd take you in for questioning right now. As it is, I'm going to have Green Lantern transport you here. Do not attempt to flee or I will consider you a Legion spy and proceed accordingly." Perseus hung up.

May clicked her tongue. It seemed like... negotiations were beginning to break down. She could be stunningly dumb sometimes, despite her apparent intellect. "O-okay, I understand that you're very serious and all, but I've kinda been hanging out in this desert casing the place for two weeks and then the Justice League apparently swoops in and is about to take the credit at the last second. Wh-whoah hold on, don't touch my va-!" She practically shouted, before the line was cut. Oh... fuck.

Perseus uploaded a scan of the woman's face and uploaded it to Albuquerque Hall of Justice, who would then route it to the Watchtower to look in the database for known metahumans. It would take some time as the woman's eyes were concealed. He turned to several Peacekeepers, "Have your EOD expert begin dismantling the mines while your engineer takes care of the inactive mechs. I don't want the cordon team to have any problems. Everyone start stacking up at the lab entrance. I'll deal with our guest. Aken, bring the van here."

May was in a bit of a panic... She didn't even get an opportunity to tell them why she cared so much about busting the place or even what was waiting for them in there. Spoilers: nothing good. Her last parts were affixed, and she immediately set upon the tasks that were most important. As they were likely about to drag her van over and throw the doors open, she should probably make sure her civilian parts were all hidden away. Last thing people needed to see was a disembodied pair of tits on the floor. That would be... difficult to explain.

Aken nodded to Perseus and wordlessly took off. The message wasn't hard to understand; this mystery woman was hiding out in an unmarked and old van a ways back from their position and Perseus required her here. Aken slipped his power ring, which had been off and in his pocket since they'd required stealth, back onto his finger and waited a moment as the light within covered him in its signature green shield. He dimmed its glow as much as he could and took off silently, gliding low across the ground so as not to attract attention, until he spotted the van on a road near the lab. He extended his arm and a beam of green shot from his ring, encasing the van in a solid globe of light. With some effort, he lifted the van as quietly as he could into the air and glided back across to where Perseus was, setting it back down onto the dirt and letting the light globe dissipate. The van thumped gently back onto solid ground, a small cloud of dust lifting up from its wheels. "Done, Perseus. Shall I open the van doors?"

She gritted her teeth as she felt the van begin to float, but it was a remarkably smooth ride, all told! Lanterns sure were amazing. At least, she assumed that's what was going on, judging by the green light pouring in through the windows. She rode out the short trip, and took a deep breath, time to make her big... second impression! Yes. She tried to open the doors and gracefully step outside... but the doors were, well. Already opened. So she ended up losing her balance and flopping face-first into the dirt outside the van.

Perseus nodded. Aken grabbed the door handles using two beams of emerald energy and opened the doors. Two Peacekeepers advanced with stun pistols raised. They both were taken aback by heap of cyborg that fell out of the van. Perseus raised an eyebrow, "Well if you're a Legion spy, you're either incredibly incompetent or a brilliantly clever one. And there is an outside chance, you're genuine. Until I know which you are, I'm not keeping my eye off of you."

The hero looked at Aken, "Aken, you're on guard duty for this woman. If she makes a wrong move, rip her limbs off. We'll take the torso and head in for questioning."

May grumbled a bit from her spot on the floor, slowly climbing up to stand, gingerly raising her hands in a hopefully non-threatening manner. Not how she envisioned today would go, if she was being entirely honest. She decided that maybe just talking might help. "M-my name is Dr. Maybelline Anne Albrecht. I am a Scientist specializing in Cybernetic Augmentation and the founder and former CEO of Lotus Security Solutions, a military research company. You can check your records but I'm sure I've been... un-personed. I wasn't great at managing a corporation and my board of directors managed to steal the company out from under me and throw their lot in with the legion, I've been running ever since." She said, swallowing.

She nodded toward the building. "I was hiding out near here when I heard there was some kind of... drug ring operating here. I wanted to help, but I saw a couple of goons wearing my augments wander into the place a few weeks ago, and the last thing anyone needs is more of them running around unchecked... Is that enough for just a little bit of trust?" She asked with a heavy sigh, looking between him and the lantern. "_{A-and don't rip my arms off, I just put them on...}"

Aken kept his ring trained on the lady as she stood, attempted to open the doors, but since they were already open, she fell flat on her face instead. He raised an eyebrow in disbelief as she then introduced herself as a scientist that specialised in cybernetics, what he understood as the robotics that made up most of her body. He kept his ring trained on her as he spoke.

"As much as I'd like to believe your story, madam, you are staying here until my mission is finished."

Aken turned to glance at Perseus.

Perseus listened to Aken and the so-called scientist speak, carefully watching her expressions and mannerisms, "I'll convey the information through our databases, but it'll take time to verify that. For now, I'll let you come with us, but with the Lantern watching you at all times."

The hero stepped forward, "I'm putting some trust in you. Betray it and I'll throw you into Bell Reve before you can blink." Perseus nodded to Aken and motioned for the team to form up at the entrance to the lab. The Green Lantern returned the nod and waited for the lady to step out of her van to follow them, taking up the rear as they made their way to the lab.

Essence of the World: Flesh Reborn [Adv. Roleplay]

Mistakes Were Made

Loom General Hospital
7:15 AM

JP woke to the sound of a lady's voice and her warm hand placed against his forehead. Still woozy from passing out just a few hours before, he attempted to sit up but was calmly forced back down by the tray being placed on his lap.

"I... Mon dieu... What happened?"

The woman’s eyes softened at his question as she double checked everything was in place. Finally, she removed her hands and placed them in front of her. She stepped back toward the window as she replied to him.

“You were brought in last night, with a young woman,” she then added, as if reading his mind, “She’s stable and in the room next door. What little bits I could gather, you both were victims of a house invasion.”

She paused at the curtains, “Would you like me to open this?”

JP looked at the curtains, winced a little from what light barely streamed in, and shook his head slowly.

“Non... My eyes hurt.”

Then his memory jogged. Holly. Her attacker. The injuries she’d sustained.

“A-and the woman? How is she?”

The woman withdrew her hands from the curtain, and turned back to him, “Resting currently, and recovering nicely. She hasn’t woken up yet.”

JP leaned back into his pillow, sighing with relief.

“Thank god… I’m glad Holly is okay. Do you know if the Loom police have said anything about the case yet?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t have that information,” the woman said regretfully, “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Yes… Holly’s injuries, are they serious?”

“She didn’t come in with any injuries,” the woman answered with confusion in her tone, her eyes narrowed on JP for several moments. She appeared to question his memory over the event.

“Wait- she didn’t? But I was-”

Confusion clouded his eyes as he struggled to recall the events of the previous night. His gaze fell to the bed as he replayed everything in his mind. The commotion from Holly’s apartment. Finding her covered in blood, an animal hovering over her with its jaws in her shoulder. A younger man battling the beast as he pulled her from the apartment and into his. Then...a blank space

“I… I can’t recall what happened, but I know she was injured. There- there was an animal, a wild animal inside her apartment that attacked her.”

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Her figure approached to once more lean toward him. Her hand touched his head then looked toward the monitor attached to his arm, leaning back in a debating manner.

“You didn’t hit your head, did you?”

JP shook his head.

“No, I didn’t. I was… I was applying pressure to the injury she’d sustained on her shoulder… Everything after that is a blank… Did I pass out…?”

“According to the reports the EMR had, you were both out cold. There was blood on her clothes, but the police have yet to identify it or comfirm where it came from,” the woman retreated back, through wary and hovered a bit at his bedside.

“She isn’t injured. We fully checked all over for wounds and there was nothing. If she was attacked, the animal or whatever didn’t manage to touch her. Perhaps it was the creature’s blood? Did she manage to wound it?”

He thought back to the night before and shook his head.

“No, definitely not. She was ambushed by it, didn’t have time to react before the thing pounced on her. Maybe I was just...imagining things?... But how?”

“God works in odd ways,” the nurse admitted, the only explanation she found would suit the situation, “I’ve seen and heard of stranger things. You both are very lucky you weren’t hurt. Despite that thought, you both are under observation for the time being.”

She walked over and nudged the tray with her hand.

“You need to eat, you need it to help you heal. Is there anything else you need?”

“Oh, ah- r-right, pardon. I, uh, would like just a jug of water please. And, can I please know my friend’s room number? I think I am unharmed so I would like to visit her at my earliest convenience.”

The nurse nodded then moved to the side table, picking up a pitcher then pouring it into a glass. She then passed it over to him.

“Your friend is in room A203, right next door. Try not push yourself too far because while you’re feeling well, you’re still under observations. Now I have other patients that need my attention, if you need anything then press the buzzer right next to hers or your bed depending on where you’re at.”

JP nodded back and took a sip from the glass of water, leaning back into his pillow as he watched the nurse leave. He sighed and set the glass down on the nightstand next to his bed and stared up at the ceiling, deep in thought.

How come Holly wasn’t injured? He remembered, clear as day, that she was bleeding all over his apartment floor and he had his shirt bundled against her shoulder to stop the flow of blood.

“Hmmh… Est-ce que je deviens vieux...?”