KaiserElectric

The Marauders (2018)

Piping in to say new chars are awesome and fun ^^

The Marauders (2018)

Aamra Tulez

Name: Aamra Tulez
AKA: Commander Aamra Tulez
Age: 25
Race: Tazygos
(pic, not of my character specifically but a reference for the race)

Colloquially called "water dragons" by humans, the Tazygos are taller and more solidly built then other races, being well suited to the turbulent waters of their aquatic homeland, often comparable in size to the Tu'Veeri. They have scaled skin normally shaded in blues with vibrantly colored, bio-luminescent markings, and some choose to accentuate their natural markings with tribal tattoos along their arms and raptor-like legs. Females are usually differentiated from the males through more feminine builds as well as the absence of the spikes on the backs of their forearms. Despite their size, the Tazygos have the agility to match any predator, able to move around as quickly and elegantly in the air as they do through water, which is handy since they can breath both air and water with ease. They do struggle a bit in dry environments however, and occasionally need to take hydration supplements to stay healthy even in more temperate climates.

Racial History

One of the more notable of the minor races, the Tazygos evolved as subjugated population under a more advanced race on their planet known as the Caltraf. While Caltraf writings rarely talk about their large population of slaves, Tazygos oral tradition is not shy about discussing the extended cruelty inflicted on their people, including both indiscriminate violence, inhumane experimentation, drafting of entire regiments of cannon fodder, and, if rumors are to be believed, ritualized cannibalism. As the Caltraf began space exploration, however, they made a fatal mistake that would forever change the destinies of the Tazygos people; they allied themselves with the Yhei in the midst of their war against the Tu'Veeri.

While Caltraf's participation in the war was not exactly a game changer for the Yhei (even the most generous accounts describe the Caltraf's military acumen in the war as "disappointing"), their presence was enough for the Tu'Veeri to extend some support to the rebellious underlings of their new opponent in this war, their tentative assistance quickly expanding once they became aware of the extended cruelty inflicted by the Caltraf. With the full support of the Tu'Veeri, the "Pact of Heaven" as their alliance was referred to, the Tazygos people rose in a massive planet-wide revolt, on a date now known as the Dawn of the Crashing Wave. Already struggling from the war effort, the Caltraf collapsed utterly and completely, and the Tazygos finally threw off the shackles of their enslavement.

When the dust settled and the war was ended with the establishment of the Galactic Committee, the Tazygos became junior partners of the Tu'Veeri, rebuilding their home and blending their own culture and mannerisms with that of their saviors and allies. In time, the Tazygos went from an enslaved and abused people to a strong and vibrant state and a welcome member of the Galactic Committee. While they are no longer clients of the Tu'Veeri as per their agreement, the Tazygos still share strong cultural and political ties with them and are staunch allies even to this day.

As for the Caltraf, well...they're gone, and no one is entirely sure to where. Many were killed out of vengeance during the slave uprising, but it's an unspoken belief that the few Caltrafs left were quietly wiped out by the Yhei. No one has really pursued the matter further; the Tazygos certainly aren't unhappy to see them gone and the rest of the galaxy agrees that they are probably better off without them anyway.

Appearance: Tall for her species and sleekly built, Aamra Tulez's typically blue skin is highlighted with yellow webbing and luminescent yellow markings along her arms, legs, tail, and from her lower jaw to her upper chest. She also has tattooed markings along the edges of her hood, and the yellow iris' of her dark blue eyes match the bright color of her markings. Aamra also possesses sharper teeth and more prominent fangs, as well as the ability to reflexively change the color of her luminescent markings. Being the military stickler that she is, Tulez is rarely seen outside of her standard military uniform, or at least outside of her fatigues, and she wears a medallion around her neck made of electrum depicting a crashing wave.

Faction: Committee Officer, Marauder

Role in Team?: Security Officer

Bio: Born on the reclaimed Tazygos homeworld, Aamra Tulez had a rather auspicious start to her life when she was abandoned as a baby on the doorstep of the Taryne Monastary. Thankfully the monks, devotees to the teachings of an ancient master named Jursih, were kinder parents then her actual ones, and she was taken in by them and educated alongside other orphans and disadvantaged youths. Jursihism struck a cord with her and when she turned ten she elected to continue her studies of the ancient teachings and was ordained as a Jursihist monk by her late teens.

Already shown to have strong spirit and a gifted intellect, Aamra was expected to remain at the monastery and perhaps become a master and teacher, but while she was happy with her devotion to Jursih's teachings, the stories of her ancestors exploring the seas and leading rebellions against their ancient overlords inspired her to greater aspirations, and she dreamed of one day leading a fleet of star-ships across the cosmos just as her ancestors had led fleets across the oceans. Despite her unorthodox education in this day and age, she got enrolled in the Committee military academy and not only graduated but excelled, entering her naval career with a running start that got her all the way to Commander by the time she was twenty-five.

Emulating the diatribes and writings traditionally made by Jursihist monks, Aamra also wrote a number of papers and treatises herself, normally about philosophical musings or interpretations of recent events, but she occasionally wrote about things she liked or disliked about the state of the Galactic Committee. She was especially hard on the Interstellar Exploration Fleet and their ludicrous idea to put criminals and brigands on Expedition Forces and has written entire essays on why this idea to put lunatics like that human called Atlas in charge of a ship is a monumentally terrible idea. Aamra's superior officer and mentor figure in the academy, worried that her potential as a great officer would be snuffed out by her inflexibility to new ideas, decided that a crash course was the best way to educate her protege and 'volunteered' Aamra to be the security officer on one of the Expedition Force fleets.

Suffice it to say, while she didn't quit out of indignation thanks to some wise words by her respected mentor and some soul searching on her own, she will of course perform to the best of her abilities. Even if she's not exactly looking forward to this new assignment.

Personality: A warrior monk and an officer to the core, Aamra is rigorous, disciplined, and completely unflappable. It's easy to dismiss her as an uptight ponce with a stick up her butt if you've only known her for a few seconds, but in truth she's just as ironclad with herself as she is with others and won't tell anyone to do something that she wouldn't do herself. Indeed, she much prefers to lead by example and is a great believer in determined action, even if she doesn't have the time or patience to deal with troublemakers with no respect for the military hierarchy.

Weapon(s): Aamra's preferred sidearm is the DB-7 Longstrider, a favorite revolver for Tu'Veeri and Tazygos officers. In addition to training with other firearms, she is also skilled in close quarters combat with both conventional and more elaborate bladed weapons, though her fallback is always a traditional combat style with her tried and true long dagger.

Family/Relationship?: Admiral Ceerte Dalize, a Satasi instructor at the military academy and Aamra's longtime mentor who was responsible for signing her up with the Marauders.

Other: Aamra possesses a rare recessive genetic trait called the Hunter genome, which is responsible for her sharper teeth and fangs and her ability to reflexively change the color of her markings. Superstition dictates that Hunter genome Tazygos are more susceptible to rage and violent outbursts, and while there is nothing to back that up scientifically the stereotype persists in some circles.

The Marauders (2018)

And now my CS is edited to completion and awaiting approval.

The Marauders (2018)

Bit of a WIP post to get the thread going again. Just have some stuff at the end to finish and she's done tho ^^

Aamra Tulez

Name: Aamra Tulez
AKA: Commander Aamra Tulez
Age: 25
Race: Tazygos
(pic, not of my character specifically but a reference for the race)

Colloquially called "water dragons" by humans, the Tazygos are taller and more solidly built then other races, being well suited to the turbulent waters of their aquatic homeland, often comparable in size to the Tu'Veeri. They have scaled skin normally shaded in blues with vibrantly colored, bio-luminescent markings, and some choose to accentuate their natural markings with tribal tattoos along their arms and raptor-like legs. Females are usually differentiated from the males through more feminine builds as well as the absence of the spikes on the backs of their forearms. Despite their size, the Tazygos have the agility to match any predator, able to move around as quickly and elegantly in the air as they do through water, which is handy since they can breath both air and water with ease. They do struggle a bit in dry environments however, and occasionally need to take hydration supplements to stay healthy even in more temperate climates.

Racial History

One of the more notable of the minor races, the Tazygos evolved as subjugated population under a more advanced race on their planet known as the Caltraf. While Caltraf writings rarely talk about their large population of slaves, Tazygos oral tradition is not shy about discussing the extended cruelty inflicted on their people, including both indiscriminate violence, inhumane experimentation, drafting of entire regiments of cannon fodder, and, if rumors are to be believed, ritualized cannibalism. As the Caltraf began space exploration, however, they made a fatal mistake that would forever change the destinies of the Tazygos people; they allied themselves with the Yhei in the midst of their war against the Tu'Veeri.

While Caltraf's participation in the war was not exactly a game changer for the Yhei (even the most generous accounts describe the Caltraf's military acumen in the war as "disappointing"), their presence was enough for the Tu'Veeri to extend some support to the rebellious underlings of their new opponent in this war, their tentative assistance quickly expanding once they became aware of the extended cruelty inflicted by the Caltraf. With the full support of the Tu'Veeri, the "Pact of Heaven" as their alliance was referred to, the Tazygos people rose in a massive planet-wide revolt, on a date now known as the Dawn of the Crashing Wave. Already struggling from the war effort, the Caltraf collapsed utterly and completely, and the Tazygos finally threw off the shackles of their enslavement.

When the dust settled and the war was ended with the establishment of the Galactic Committee, the Tazygos became junior partners of the Tu'Veeri, rebuilding their home and blending their own culture and mannerisms with that of their saviors and allies. In time, the Tazygos went from an enslaved and abused people to a strong and vibrant state and a welcome member of the Galactic Committee. While they are no longer clients of the Tu'Veeri as per their agreement, the Tazygos still share strong cultural and political ties with them and are staunch allies even to this day.

As for the Caltraf, well...they're gone, and no one is entirely sure to where. Many were killed out of vengeance during the slave uprising, but it's an unspoken belief that the few Caltrafs left were quietly wiped out by the Yhei. No one has really pursued the matter further; the Tazygos certainly aren't unhappy to see them gone and the rest of the galaxy agrees that they are probably better off without them anyway.

Appearance: Tall for her species and sleekly built, Aamra Tulez's typically blue skin is highlighted with yellow webbing and luminescent yellow markings along her arms, legs, tail, and from her lower jaw to her upper chest. She also has tattooed markings along the edges of her hood, and the yellow iris' of her dark blue eyes match the bright color of her markings. Aamra also possesses sharper teeth and more prominent fangs, as well as the ability to reflexively change the color of her luminescent markings. Being the military stickler that she is, Tulez is rarely seen outside of her standard military uniform, or at least outside of her fatigues, and she wears a medallion around her neck made of electrum depicting a crashing wave.

Faction: Committee Officer, Marauder

Role in Team?: Security Officer

Bio: Born on the reclaimed Tazygos homeworld, Aamra Tulez had a rather auspicious start to her life when she was abandoned as a baby on the doorstep of the Taryne Monastary. Thankfully the monks, devotees to the teachings of an ancient master named Jursih, were kinder parents then her actual ones, and she was taken in by them and educated alongside other orphans and disadvantaged youths. Jursihism struck a cord with her and when she turned ten she elected to continue her studies of the ancient teachings and was ordained as a Jursihist monk by her late teens.

Already shown to have strong spirit and a gifted intellect, Aamra was expected to remain at the monastery and perhaps become a master and teacher, but while she was happy with her devotion to Jursih's teachings, the stories of her ancestors exploring the seas and leading rebellions against their ancient overlords inspired her to greater aspirations, and she dreamed of one day leading a fleet of star-ships across the cosmos just as her ancestors had led fleets across the oceans. Despite her unorthodox education in this day and age, she got enrolled in the Committee military academy and not only graduated but excelled, entering her naval career with a running start that got her all the way to Commander by the time she was twenty-five.

Emulating the diatribes and writings traditionally made by Jursihist monks, Aamra also wrote a number of papers and treatises herself, normally about philosophical musings or interpretations of recent events, but she occasionally wrote about things she liked or disliked about the state of the Galactic Committee. She was especially hard on the Interstellar Exploration Fleet and their ludicrous idea to put criminals and brigands on Expedition Forces and has written entire essays on why this idea to put lunatics like that human called Atlas in charge of a ship is a monumentally terrible idea. Aamra's superior officer and mentor figure in the academy, worried that her potential as a great officer would be snuffed out by her inflexibility to new ideas, decided that a crash course was the best way to educate her protege and 'volunteered' Aamra to be the security officer on one of the Expedition Force fleets.

Suffice it to say, while she didn't quit out of indignation thanks to some wise words by her respected mentor and some soul searching on her own, she will of course perform to the best of her abilities. Even if she's not exactly looking forward to this new assignment.

Personality: A warrior monk and an officer to the core, Aamra is rigorous, disciplined, and completely unflappable. It's easy to dismiss her as an uptight ponce with a stick up her butt if you've only known her for a few seconds, but in truth she's just as ironclad with herself as she is with others and won't tell anyone to do something that she wouldn't do herself. Indeed, she much prefers to lead by example and is a great believer in determined action, even if she doesn't have the time or patience to deal with troublemakers with no respect for the military hierarchy.

Weapon(s): Aamra's preferred sidearm is the DB-7 Longstrider, a favorite revolver for Tu'Veeri and Tazygos officers. In addition to training with other firearms, she is also skilled in close quarters combat with both conventional and more elaborate bladed weapons, though her fallback is always a traditional combat style with her tried and true long dagger.

Family/Relationship?: Admiral Ceerte Dalize, a Satasi instructor at the military academy and Aamra's longtime mentor who was responsible for signing her up with the Marauders.

Other: Aamra possesses a rare recessive genetic trait called the Hunter genome, which is responsible for her sharper teeth and fangs and her ability to reflexively change the color of her markings. Superstition dictates that Hunter genome Tazygos are more susceptible to rage and violent outbursts, and while there is nothing to back that up scientifically the stereotype persists in some circles.

The Marauders (2018)

That's good because I have a concept who's not a criminal, probably will be the gunner. ^_^

The Marauders (2018)

I'm bouncing between linguist or gunner atm, will brainstorm an idea soon

The Marauders (2018)

I think I remember this, it was one of the first RP's I joined in the forum! D:

I'd love to join this new game. c:

World Warriors: The Nomadic Fist [A Quirky Fighting Game Inspired Roleplay Reboot]

Yes we are, our college stuff is starting to wrap up and we're getting back into the swing of it, stay tuned. ^_^

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

And

In

They Who Bring The Storm

With the minor rocking of turbulence the crates strapped to the inside of the Globemaster as Riley and a few Scientist and Doctors held to their straps as tightly as their cheeks were clenched. One of the Docs chattered nervously to himself as even after Hound Dog had reassured him all would be fine he had yet to ease up.

“Yeah Doc, the chances of those doors falling open and you getting sucked out into the cold abyss are negligible at best,” Jordan said, somehow managing to hold her balance as she dug through one of the crates to check on her equipment.

”Not helping the guy Doc. Think happy thoughts, Cars and Burgers, Kittens and Puppies or even your favorite TV show? You see Infinity War yet Doc?” Hound Dog said trying to calm the poor man down as cargo nets thrashed along the walls and wind kicked the bottom of the plane.

”I am beginning to wonder if this was the best way to travel, though, Riley mused, still looking chipper despite not entirely enjoying the ride. ”I suppose it DID get us this far, though…”

”Planes are rough gotta loosen up and let that chassis into neutral.”

Hearing chatter from the flight control tower the Co Pilot picked up the radio as he heard them on the line trying to contact them. “Your flight has been adjusted, we have multiple bogies down in Sherman Square. For your own safety alter your route.”

“Understood,” Removing his headset he carefully stepped into the cargo hold. “WE GOT A CHANGE OF PLANS. SEEMS HOUNDS ARE IN SHERMAN SQUARE. GONNA TAKE LONGER TO LAND.”

“The Hounds are....WHAT?” Jordan didn’t wait for a response as she dived into the crate again, pulling out her laptop and setting up a rudimentary workspace in the span of a few seconds. The first thing she pulled up was a news report detailing a sudden attack by the Hounds of Humanity on Sherman Square. “Damn it, they’re already shooting! I’m picking up foot soldiers and vehicles, tanks, walkers...shit they even have choppers down there.”

”Is there any way we can get down there to assist?” Riley piped up urgently.

”Depends. How are you at flying?”

”Much better, actually. Why?”

“I think I know what you’re planning,” Jordan remarked, picking up her equipment and moving towards the netting on the side. “You might want to grab onto something soon, buddy. That cold abyss is just about to come up.”

”Here we go Voyager! It’s gonna be a new experience for you!” Unbuckling himself and Riley Hound Dog lead her over to the door just behind the Co Pilot side of the airplane and said, ”You hold on until you’re ready to fly, when we drop we’re gonna have to aim for Sherman Square. Only seen it on TV but with all the Hounds there I shouldn’t miss.” Grabbing the handle he paused speaking. ”Time to channel my inner Icarus” Swinging the door open the pressure fell in the plane trying to suck everything away even the skin off Sinclair’s face.

”What’s inner IcaruaaaaaAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

Voyager’s yell was cut short into a gasp as the sudden change in pressure took hold of the pair of them, the shock forcing the air from her lungs for just a moment. Stunned by the sudden sensation of the wind roaring past her, Voyager held tightly onto Hound Dog’s waist, using her psionics to stabilize the pair as they flew alongside the plane. ”Where do we land!?!” Voyager shouted over the wind, squinting towards the specks on the ground that may have been buildings.

Taking a moment Hound Dog zapped the open door before it flew beyond his range, giving it a slight magnetic charge allowing anyone behind them to close the door more easily.”Relax, not often you feel this kinda thing. Just enjoy this let me worry about where we go yeah. Once we get close enough you’ll know.” As the two ceased flying straight and began to plummet, Hound Dog could see the entire city scape all the powerlines, the people and of course even where the hounds had begun to converge changing his profile steering his arms they moved closer and closer to the fighting as teal sparks began to form around Hound Dog until he had created a ball of pure lighting almost stopping their descent letting them float through the sky like a feather. ”Now this is a sight you don’t see. For Heroes who can’t fly this is a magic all unto itself. Icarus is a Greek Myth, the man who made wings of wax and flew too close to the sun. Thankfully our story has a better ending. And speaking of endings. You see those helicopters, there’s 11 of them. I can tell. In a few minutes let’s thin their numbers you toss me towards those four once we get close.” As Hound Dog and Voyager began to pick up speed again as the field Hound Dog produced dissipated.

”Magic...Icarus...wax wings...helicopters...ooh yeah, few minutes, got it!” Voyagers heart banged against her ribs as she watched the specks grow and become buildings and streets, small flecks of colored sparks showing where the Hounds were firing into the center. Spotting a group of dark shapes hovering together, she helped to steered them closer, the screaming wind nearly deafening her as she sped up even more, the shapes growing into the unmistakable shape of the helicopters.

”Hang on...almost there...” Voyager shouted over the din. They were moving so fast that the ground seemed to blur before them. If they knew what was coming, they weren’t moving out of the way fast enough.

”Almost...there...”

And they weren’t going to avoid it-

”DaH!!!”

Putting on a burst of psionic strength, Voyager launched Hound Dog like a bullet out of a gun right at the helicopters. Hound Dog’s hands pulsed with energy crackling and exploding as he spun sending the bolts right into the wave of helicopters steering himself and arcing each bolt back into themselves as chain lighting rocked their electrical systems and clinging to one by grabbing the door pushing a bolt right against the frame the rotors began to sputter out and Hound Dog jumped off towards the next one with teal electricity trailing behind him. Two down, let’s see how far I can take this. Thinking as he launched a pouch of coins like buckshot from a punch each coin propelled with enough force to smash glass peppered the helicopter's windows.

”Qapla'!” Voyager shouted in triumph as she watched Hound Dog adeptly take out the choppers, beginning to cheer him on for going after the others before realizing she was still flying towards the ground at a very high speed. Pulling herself out of the dive, she arced gracefully across the skyline and curved upwards again, turning away from Hound Dog to see herself heading straight towards another helicopter. Voyager barely had time to unleash another klingon swear before she threw up her Psibarriers, cleaving through the tail of the chopper with a metallic crunch. Losing enough speed to regain control, she turned back around to watch the now tailless chopper spin out and crash on a rooftop, the pilots parachuting out at the last second. ”I suppose that is one way to do it. I will have to remember that one!” Charging up her Psiblasts, Voyager flew back towards the fray with Hound Dog, blasting the weapons on one of the attacking helicopters to bits as she returned.

Hound Dog with a smile turned and waved as he quickly grabbed the two helicopter debris with a chain of electricity, charging them one with a negative and the other a positive charge ramping up the magnetism until they were drawn towards each other, smashing the third one as Hound Dog let them loose. And three Turning his attention to the fourth one he simply tried to blast the rotor but missed and swiped the tail rotors causing it to spin. Hound Dog looked at their jumbled mess the trio of copters had made and slinging it with a chain of lighting whipped it into the ground instead of letting it fall uncontrollably likely crushing any hounds below.

”Nice, that is five of them!” Voyager announced as she swung over. ”So what will be the plan of attack? There are plenty of these evil jerks to go around!”

”The plan, meet up with the other heroes. Then clean up the rest of their forces. That cool with you? Keep a look out for other heroes, chances are either in the middle of all this or on a vantage point. I checked for civies while in the air, but keep an eye out for them too. They may be hidden from all the fighting. ”

”Sounds like a good plan to me!” Voyager said, her eyes drawn to one of the Hound’s mechas stomping around a few blocks away. ”I bet those do not have any gemstones to protect them from me.” Before Voyager could rush off to deal with them, the last chopper that Hound Dog crippled swung by, spinning out of control and nearly slamming into her. Avoiding the rampaging aircraft with ease, Voyager looked after it and her eyes widened in shock as she spotted someone on the rooftops dodging gunfire from below, taking cover in the dead center of where the helicopter was going to crash. ”Problem! We got a problem!” Before Hound Dog could question this she was off, flying after the out of control vehicle as fast as she could go. Realizing she had no way to move it, she tried a different approach, measuring up where she thought the craft would land and, at the last second, focusing a PsiBeam to slice the tail off right where it might have crushed the rooftop warrior. Voyager felt a burst of pride as the vehicle separated, crashing on either side of the building as she herself landed, sliding to a sudden stop as she regained her bearings.

”Hu'tegh, that was close,” Voyager sighed in relief to the stranger, a woman dressed in black and orange wielding a compound bow. ”Sorry about that, I have never really fought helicopters before!”

Giving Voyager a wave, Hound Dog surrounded himself with the similar ball of electricity that he had used before slowing his descent towards the ground and lighting crackled from him.

@Mercinus3

Create-A-Hero: A Superhero RPG Season 2- New Horizons (Closed)

"Wow, this is really cool stuff," Terra remarked, running her hand over the wintergreen fabric.

"Careful!" Maddy yelped as her friend tried to lift the material from the knapsack. "It's a prototype, and a secret one at that!" Terra raised an eyebrow, skeptical that the small crowd at Pop's Malt Shop would care much about seeing something like this, but decided to acquiesce.

"So, the stuff changes size with you?" Terra said quietly, picking at a few of the french fries left on her plate as Maddy finished off the rest of her shake.

"Yeah, it was meant to respond to energy input. Complete accident that it turned out the way it did, really," Maddy explained. "I tried it on bits of it, not the whole suit yet. I wanted to tweak the coloring so I didn't look like an Overwatch cosplayer."

"Watch as the next hero has the same color outfit," Terra said with a smirk. Maddy laughed and was about to snark back when a motorcycle turned the corner and ripped past the malt shop with a roar. Her heart leaping into her throat at the noise, Maddy instinctively jumped under the table, causing the silverware to rattle loudly as she slammed into the edge on the way down.

"Maddy?" Terra called out. "Maddy, what's wrong?"

Her head clearing a second later, Maddy timidly climbed back into her seat, the color previously drained from her face coming back in full force. Cheeks burning with humiliation, Maddy mumbled an apology as she halfheartedly poked at a few spare fries.

"Uh...what was that about?"

"Nothing, forget about it," Maddy deflected, trying not to look Terra in the eyes.

"Maddy, come on..."

"I'm fine really, just drop it."

"Mad-"

"I SAID DROP IT!"

The malt shop went dead silent as every eye turned on the pair of them, Maddy fuming silently while Terra sat there staring at her. Undeterred, Maddy roughly tore herself out of the booth, swiping up her jacket with enough force to knock over her malt glass as she got to her feet. "Thanks for lunch," Maddy said in a clipped tone of voice. "I'll see you later." Spinning on her heel, Maddy strode out of the malt shop intent on running home and burying herself in a blanket for the next year or so.

"Maddy, wait!" Terra shouted as she ran up behind her, clutching the stitch in her side.

"Leave me alone," Maddy sniped, deliberately staring at the sidewalk to avoid eye contact.

"Not until you tell me what's going on!" Terra sniped back, sounding angry for the first time.

"Nothing is going on."

"Bullcrap, Maddy. You dived under the table in a panic!"

"So what?" Maddy barked, spinning around to glare at her, Terra looking equally upset.

"So why are you acting like someone's going to start shooting?!?"

Maddy didn't know it happened until it was over. She felt her clenched fist fly out in anger, heard a yelp of shock and pain, and the next thing she knew Terra was on the ground clutching at her nose, her glasses lying a few feet away on the pavement.

"Oh God...I didn't..."

Before Terra could react at all, Maddy was gone, bolting down the street at breakneck speed. Running purely on adrenaline, she turned street corners at random until she was sure no one could follow her and made her way to the nearest doorway. Slamming it behind her with the last bit of effort she could muster, Maddy collapsed into a pile at the corner of the room, crying her eyes out. Maddy felt like a walking disaster, reliving every humiliating failing she had over the last few days, even going so far as to imagine the betrayal Terra must have felt for what she did. Sobbing hard into her hands, Maddy felt like a failure. A useless, pathetic failure, who couldn't do anything without getting reduced to a quivering, crying mess.

Crying so loud, in fact, that she didn't hear the approaching footsteps and the door opening. Maddy heard the creak when the door stopped and looked up sharply. The man, gaudily dressed in leather, spikes, and long, shaggy neon hair, looked as surprised to see her as she did, and started reaching for something on his waist.

"Now don't move sugar, just come quietly and we-"

*WHAM*

The man didn't have time to react as Maddy suddenly tripled in size and kicked at the man from her position, slamming him into the wall with her foot and letting off a resonating boom like a bass drum. Returning to normal size just as quickly, she watched with baited breath as the man fell to his knees and finally pitched forward and fell to the ground, unconscious. Quickly getting to her feet, trying to hold the remains of her clothes to her chest, a chill ran up her neck as she heard more voices coming. She glanced towards her bag, the green suit visible within.

Seconds later, two other men looking like they belonged in a Warrant tribute band burst into the room brandishing weapons, quickly finding their third unconscious on the floor.

"Dude, what happened to Rick?"

"Dunno, man. Think someone got in here?" One of the guards glanced across the backroom barely noticing the shreds of what were once clothes piled with the trash in a corner as the other tended to their friend.

"I don't see no one man," the guard concluded. "Idiot probably tripped on something."

"But what about that huge bang, bro?"

"Slammed his face into the wall, obviously!" the guard concluded. "You know what Rick gets into on his off hours."

"Oh yeah, right," the other guard said, a nostalgic look crossing his face. "Yeah, I remember now, we were at that concert with Rick and he jumped on stage and dropped his-"

"Man quit fucking around, Sarge wants us up front for when that pansy ass greaser shows up," the guard interrupted. "Bring Rick with you and lets go."

The second guard obediently picked up his friend and started dragging his unconscious friend out of the room. His companion followed slowly, pausing one more time to scan the room and letting a minuscule, humanoid figure slip through the doorway below him before he slammed it shut.