HHShetland

Search For The Multiverse -- Sandbox Mega Crossover

@Sodium

It seemed that crashing through a cell wall had disoriented one of the Mgalekgolo somewhat, which was only made worse by its uncanny sense that... something... ( @Moonman ) had crossed its line of sight just before it went down after its actual target. Upon sighting the girl, it raised its shield and began charging up its Fuel Rod Cannon, but the concussive shot fired from the girl's gun proved strong enough to actually make the hulking alien reel back in recoil. Nothing of this calibre had happened outside of getting caught in one of its old master's Wraith cannons, and as such, it didn't think to stop charging up its Fuel Rod Gun. This had the unfortunate effect of it firing off the gun while pointing it directly at a crumbling, derelict prison wall, causing the entire bloody hallway to collapse on top of the creature, with the explosions managing to disintegrate its fragile midsection in the process.

@Rick Sanchez

Meanwhile, in slightly more peaceful pastures, Rugal had chosen to stand still and lean up against a wall while he waited for his dramatic execution-based show-stopper for those cameras person that needed 'rescuing'. He was smirking the whole time, of course, confident that this plan would take care of the two rogues and hopefully get this show's odd schedule back on track. When he heard loud padding coming down the hall, he started confidently walking towards the other side to hopefully make them jump, leaving them exposed, but before he could even get that far, the sounds abruptly stopped.

"Hmm?" He couldn't help but vocalise as his smirk disappeared and he started rubbing his jaw again. This was unexpected. This could mean any number of things. Perhaps they recognised his voice from his home universe? Unlikely. Maybe they knew the whole thing was a set-up? Unlikely also, but not as unlikely. Maybe they were just paranoid? Most likely of the three.

Sidling up against the wall, he peeked around the corner, with one hand held to his side, ready to toss a Reppu Ken in case they tried anything funny. But then something weirder happened; there was no-one there at all. At least, not in front of him. Or they could have just been invisible, or...

In the midst of considering every possibility, Rugal idly looked up, and his definitely rather irritated gaze fixed on the person-slash-creature that had been hiding up there, surprisingly managing to escape his notice until now. Clever, he thought, but not clever enough to escape him. Nobody could escape him, really, it was just a matter of how long. Rugal actually felt even more confident with that in mind; considering that meddlesome Kusanagi child, this greasy-looking thing overall ranked quite low on the threat list.

"You. I was not expecting you." Rugal spoke to the creature with added confidence, albeit possibly in vain; from the looks of it, there was good odds it couldn't speak. "...I was expecting the girl with the oversized pizza cutter. But I suppose you'll do, ha ha! I joke."

With that 'joke' out the way, he almost comically quickly returned to normal, adjusting his scarf and making sure to avoid accidentally smirking mid-speech. He stood still and calmly explained the greasy thing's predicament, making sure to talk up a friendly game just like the book recommended. Once again, the old him would probably have Genocide Cutter'd his legs off just for being the wrong person. But this thing could prove useful as leverage for that girl, if nothing else.

"I'll make this quick." He began. "This facility we're in right now is something of a death trap for the lot of us. Judging from that look, I'd wager you know as much about this as I do. What's important is that we leave. Fortunately for your unfortunate self, I know the way out of here."

Streets Of Rage: The Final Stand

This seems intriguing. I'll stick around to see if it takes off.

Search For The Multiverse -- Sandbox Mega Crossover

@Sodium@Rick Sanchez

Because he had been making a point of trying to sneak up on the mysterious intruder, Rugal decided to tread somewhat lighter on the hard, dusty floor of the prison, so as to avoid making loud clacking noises with his shoes. Unfortunately, however, the same could not be said of the two worm creatures, who chose to lumber about quite loudly; which was strange, since they had obviously had the same 'encirclement' idea that he had.

One of them went off down the hall to the right, while the other went off to the left and quite loudly made its own path through a wall into an old cell block. On the one hand, this enabled the creature to cut off another hallway that the intruder could otherwise escape through, but on the other hand, not stealthy in the slightest.

"Yes, that is indeed very stealthy of you." Rugal said to the creature in a deadpan fashion, prompting zero reaction whatsoever. The creature merely lumbered its way down the next hallway with nary a sound... that is to say, a social sound.

Rugal stopped to dust all the particles of wall that the creature had just propelled into the air off of his tux, reminding himself to demand immediate compensation from the morons who sent him here in the first place. But then he realised something else; clearly the creatures were leaving the third and final passage to the intruder's position to him. The middle position, no less. The path that the prey would be most likely to slip through squeezed out from two sides like a bottle of ketchup. Plus, it was more dramatic that way. The arms dealer smirked to himself again; for every time these creatures angered him somehow, they never failed to impress on the tactical front.

Thus, Rugal stepped into the middle path, between the hallway to the right and the newly-created hallway to the left, and reminded himself; who would they be more likely to trust? Him, or a pair of spike-covered worms? Prejudice judo, this was.

"Little girl... or boy, I do not know!" He yelled down the hallway at the intruder, caring little for the child's gender; fighting leagues of androgynous characters will do that to you. "...But I DO know you can hear me down there! Impending death approaches you from two sides, but fear not! Escape lies in my direction! To not go this way would be the act of a fearless fool!" He assured them, making sure to stop and quiet himself before he inevitably chuckled again.

Search For The Multiverse -- Sandbox Mega Crossover

Ah, so I wasn't the only one waiting for something.

@Sodium, just so you know, I was expecting Aoi to effortlessly annihilate the two aliens in a single post (or something like that), so as to avoid accusations of overcomplicating things. That's not to say she has to do that, of course.

The Hidden People

So is the whole 'yes, and' exercise optional, or does it only apply to new characters?

The Hidden People

Think I might be taking a bit of a risk here; only character who has no way of blending in with humans (at least Joseph the Golem could probably pass as one from a distance). It'd be a challenge, if nothing else. O_o

The Hidden People

Stockstat

Name: Stockstat, or 'Stock' for short. This happens to be the name of the street where Bedingfield House used to be; it's customary for Gargoyles to be named after the place where they were 'born'.
Age: 135
Gender: Biologically Sexless. Identifies as Male.
Breed/Species/Type/Lineage: Gargoyle.

Physical Description:

The above is actually his statue appearance; his normal appearance looks more 'organic', with greenish-tinted skin and bright orange eyes with black slits for pupils.

Talents:

Stockstat has access to abilities common to the rest of his kind; he possesses exceptional flight skills and supernatural levels of speed and strength, enabling him to fly at speeds fast enough to get from side of the city to the other in less than an hour, and the strength to lift fully-grown men and carry them through the air. He also regenerates from injuries much faster than a human does; and that's if you can injure him in the first place, thanks to his rather tough hide. There's also his enhanced, beastlike senses of night vision and hearing, and the extra dexterity required to move at such great speeds.

The ability that defines him and all other Gargoyles, however, is his ability to turn his hide to a rocky substance, rendering him nigh-invulnerable to damage. However, doing this also stops him from moving at all, and it takes a while to activate (though it can be broken out of quickly for surprise attacks). Thus, it's mostly used to disguise himself as a mere statue. While he can't move, however, he is fully conscious and can magically 'see' what is happening around him, enabling him to react to potential dangers. Due to his magical nature, he also does not need to eat, drink or sleep, enabling him to stay disguised as a statue for days, weeks or even months at a time. This is not to say that he's incapable of consuming food or drink, but it serves no purpose other than to provide flavour.

Finally, his time amongst the hidden monsters in Camden's sewers have given him a number of literal underground contacts which keep him up-to-date on the supernatural rumour mill; it was how he found out about Nemsemet, after all.

This is all offset by one major weakness, however; he has no way of hiding himself from the mortals without immobilising himself completely. Thus, if he has to move around on the surface, he tends to only do so at night, timing his movements across the city. During the day he is likely to use underground passages instead.

History:

Gargoyles are magical creatures, created only by the most skilled of alchemists and conjurers. Having first emerged amongst magical architects during the Renaissance, a Gargoyle's purpose in life is to act as the guardian of their master's building, or any other building to which they have been assigned.

In this sense, Stockstat was no different from the rest of his kind. He was 'born' in the year 1880, to act as guardian of a newly-constructed mage's clubhouse called the Bedingfield House, after its owner, and Stockstat's master at the time, Henry Bedingfield. Of course, since there wasn't much of value there, Stockstat spent the first fifty-odd years of his existence just sitting and idling on the ledge of the building during the day; at night, he felt confident enough to move about a bit more, and he picked up a reputation amongst the mages at Bedingfield House as something of a joker. Mages and their students would sometimes come up to the roof to chat with him, and occasionally drop things onto passerby for their amusement. For a Gargoyle, it was a happy existence.

As is usually the case, however, it didn't last. By 1920, Henry Bedingfield had joined the Court of New Camden, and with much less spare time on his hands, he handed the building over to his son, Hunter. Unlike his father, Hunter was a very reckless and irresponsible young man, and started bringing Opium and mortal Prostitutes (who would have to have their memories erased) into the clubhouse. Hunter soon found himself knee-deep in debt to various drug cartels, and the Great Depression striking in 1929 certainly didn't help. Unable to pay his debts, Hunter knew that eventually the cartels would send goons over to break every bone in his body and take everything except the clothes on his back. Rather than face such an indignity, he chose to fake his own death and flee the city. He asked Stock to come with him, but unlike most of his kind, Stock had formed something of an emotional bond with the building and refused to leave it.

Thus, after Hunter had abandoned the property, it soon became infested by mortal squatters. Despite Stock hiding up on the roof for years at a time, convinced that Hunter or Henry would eventually come back to reclaim the building, they never did. Shortly after the Second World War had passed, the building had become a derelict shell of its former self, and the local government made plans to tear down the entire district as part of an urban renewal project. Realising that he couldn't reasonably oppose their plans without violating the Concealment Edict, Stock finally decided to let go and abandoned the building, leaving it to be demolished.

This incident lead him to fall into a depression and he spent the next few decades living among the banished Supernatural community in New Camden's sewers; partially because he felt that he should be banished for failing to fulfil his whole purpose in life. Eventually, sometime during the 1980s, taxmen from the court of De Lacy found him down there and brought him back up to the surface to be punished for long-standing tax evasion (having previously been exempt from taxation, being considered a dependent on the Bedingfield family). It was here that he was reunited with Henry, still alive and kept young and healthy through magic. Henry managed to pull some strings to get Stock off the hook, as a means of apologising for his lengthy absence. However, as a creature with no way of hiding, Stock's only choices at this point were to either go back to the sewers or start working for Henry again. Having somewhat moved past what had happened by this point, he accepted Henry as his master again. He never found out what happened to Hunter.

Up until recently, Stock had been the guardian of Henry Bedingfield's office in a downtown skyscraper, which he considered a much easier position as there was a much lesser chance of forming any emotional bonds with the building itself. However, a few months ago, Henry disappeared again, and after hearing about Nemsemet's rising from his underground contacts, Stock assumed the worst. Acting under Henry's emergency orders, he broke into his office one night, destroyed all of his files, and hid out in the sewers again; with orders to assume that Henry is dead if he doesn't return within two weeks. As of now, it's only two days before the deadline is up.

Psychological Profile:

In spite of their monstrous, perhaps even demonic, appearance, Gargoyles usually tend to be very noble creatures, and Stockstat is no exception. However, thanks to the bout of depression he went through, combined with years upon years of watching random humans on the street act like massive jerks to each other, he has become something of a cynic. Don't get him wrong, he still has a very clear idea of right and wrong, and if permitted, will glady swoop in to deal with any evildoers, but he is convinced that everyone, mortal and supernatural, are inherently warlike and power-hungry and nothing he does will change that. If anything, Nemsemet is the logical conclusion of all that, but of course that doesn't excuse him or anything else from committing heinous crimes.

He's also known for being very inquisitive and friendly with people, even the rudest of the rude, and a somewhat dry and satirical sense of humour, honed and trained by more than a century's worth of news and gossip on the streets below his building. And of course, being a Gargoyle who must sometimes stay in one place for ridiculously long periods of time, he is a very patient and calm person; it takes a lot to get him mad, and he'll act level-headed and indulge in his gallows humour even if the world is about to end.

Possessions:

Perhaps ironically, Stockstat is not one to form a bond with inanimate objects; if he did before, he doesn't anymore. Not since the loss of his favourite building, anyway. Besides, even if he did, he couldn't carry them, since he doesn't wear any clothes. He doesn't need to, since has no visible, if you'll pardon the pun, 'possessions' on him, either.

Miscellaneous Notes:

It should be noted that, while Stockstat has a firm grasp on the English language, his voice is rather deep and raspy, and he has the unfortunate involuntary habit of snorting every other word.

Yes, and:

Thanks to his contacts in the literal supernatural underground, Stockstat heard about the arrival of an authentic Jewish Golem in town almost immediately. This intrigued him, because while he'd seen all manner of shapeshifters, undead revenants, crazed half-demons, C.H.U.D.s and mutant Turtles down there, he'd never met a Golem. When Joseph Lowe happened to be hanging around near Henry Bedingfield's office one night, Stockstat flew over into a nearby alley and called him over to get acquainted. Joseph didn't seem particularly interested in talking, though, but soon he came back for information on a hypothetical 'cure for golem-ness'. Stock assured him that, the moment he found out about one, he'd let him know. He was also the one who told Joseph about the job opening with Alfric Waldheim when he decided he needed work. Stock has come to like Joseph quite a bit, actually, partially because he sees a bit of himself in him; he reminds him of how he was after the 'death' of Bedingfield House.

EDIT: Made some major changes to backstory; it seemed a bit too overblown for my tastes.

Search For The Multiverse -- Sandbox Mega Crossover

@Sodium@Rick Sanchez

Rugal and his two pet alien worm things found themselves surprised yet again minutes later, when some little girl with an enormous... something-or-other started dashing past the door into the cafeteria. She didn't even look inside. No appreciation for proper suspense-building, obviously. But then something else occurred to him.

Rugal sat forward, to the point of being hunched over, and started brushing his moustache in thought. Had there been some kind of mistake? He was supposed to be a high-level final opponent for the contestants in this show... whoever they were. He'd barely been there for an hour and already someone was outside his room. Someone stupid, that much was certain, but still. They might have been one of the other so-called 'undesirables' from the prison... after all, with the kind of power displayed by that Yuri Sakazaki girl, he'd learned that appearances can be deceiving.

It seemed as though the two alien beasts had made up their mind much sooner; after the second time the girl zoomed past, the monsters almost immediately set about lumbering over to the door in pursuit. Rugal was observant enough to stand to his feet the moment he saw them get close.

"What do you think you are doing? You get back here right now!" He blurted at them in his vaguely germanic-but-not-quite accent. The creatures could only respond by gurgling some more and shaking their... 'heads'. Rugal clenched his fists in outrage. The old him would probably already be over there, squeezing the worms out of their armour like a tin of spinach for blatantly disregarding his orders.

"Is it really necessary to have your bathroom buddy go with you? Wouldn't one investigator suffice? ...No?" He asked them, getting no response. This was really quite infuriating.

"Well, then... hmm, wait a minute..." He was about to point at them and insult them, something along the lines of having no central nervous system, but he stopped mid-point to think of something else.

From what he'd seen of this prison, the corridors were extremely narrow. If these beasts could fit inside, one of them could approach while the other cuts off their escape. They'd have nowhere to run. Of course, Rugal would see to it that this girl, whoever she was, would get dragged back into the cafeteria throne room to be duly punished on live TV for ruining the show's dramatic arrangement. He could probably throw in some kind of metafictional joke while he was at it.

"You're smarter than you look." He said to the monsters, finally getting up off his seat to clack his shoes down to the door, allowing the creatures to take point. "...Which is by no means a hard feat to accomplish, ha ha!" He added, always the person accidentally laugh in a less-than-appealing manner. The creatures just gave him a weird look and started to lumber into the halls.

The Mgalekgolo; strengths and weaknesses

Vessel-grade Armour: Impervious to conventional firearms and most explosives, but the back panel can be knocked off. The gaps in their armour expose their 'skin', which is very weak against all weapons.
Fuel Rod Cannon: An anti-vehicle weapon which fires globs of powerful green energy in sequences of three, but must be charged up before firing and require a lengthy cooldown period.

The Hidden People

Oh. Well, now I feel like an idiot. Ah, well.

The Hidden People

Oh, hang on a second; were we supposed to post CSes in the character section? I thought we were going by the 'paste it in the character section after it's been accepted' rules.