mdk

TTL: The Final Hazard OOC

It appears transcribing Donny's dialogue has eliminated the accent -- that was unintentional. Stylistically I just never actually type out an alternative pronunciation, even though to do so is perfectly valid. ......but at the same time, I mean, lol, it's great character and all, but I'm not exactly gonna miss awwwl thah extrah wurrk reedin thaht.

Poking fun. My sincere apologies for cosmically altering your character!

TTL: The Final Hazard OOC

Upon reflection I prioritized Luca's reaction to the more interesting (to him) spectacle. But hey -- if he survives (that's a maybe) we might learn something? RISKS!

edit: also I didn't mention it in the post, because it's not something Luca would ever consciously think about, but he's got all kinds of robo-coordination in his bio, which makes such an improbable diving-save more feasible.

The Final Hazard

"Donny, huh...." And just like that, Donny was off. Hey, wait a second! Luca wanted to say, but as he followed the gunman with his eyes he saw three more bodies, or.... wait, three of the same b.... what the hell is going on here? The replicating corpses were entirely more interesting than the electrochemical goings-on at the limousine, so rather than inspecting that whole situation, Luca wound up following Donny like a puppy. But he certainly noticed the spreading reaction, and part of his subconscious was striving -- and failing -- to understand the mechanics. It manifested as a surreal sense of danger, as something unnatural -- impossible -- and malevolent. His attention nonetheless was drawn to Donny's interrogation of a corpse which, apparently, was not dead, and had been shot not with a firearm but with some even more primitive stick-like weapon. When did that happen and what was I looking at? Luca wondered.

"I'll spare you the convincing talk about how much longer and more pleasant your life will be if you cooperate. You got ten seconds to tell me information good enough to make me think twice about seeing what happens when a fella takes a few rounds from this puppy in the balls."

He doesn't waste time in conversation either, was the gist of Luca's reaction. He kept it to himself.

The knight -- one of the knights? A knight -- none of this made sense -- appeared to rise from the dead. One of the sticks was protruding from its face, dripping blood. In his hand was a cylindrical tool.... an assaying furnace? A strange one, if it were one, or some kind of high tech...

Luca's musings were short-lived. "Something like this," said the knight.

"DON'T!" Donny's captive cried in horror.

Luca reacted on instinct. He dove at the knight and grabbed his arm, slowing -- but not stopping -- its movement. His thoughts were racing too quickly to keep track of them all. Tesla chemical weapon death death STOP him STOP STOP danger plating death "No! NO! NO! NO!" PAIN!!!

Luca only managed to keep the implement from striking the ground by grabbing the business end with his left hand. But something inside commanded him to stop the weapon. He held on with all his might, with no plan-B and, for that matter, no plan-A either.

TTL: The Final Hazard OOC

Incidentally @Terminal, since Luca is (canon) knowledgeable about what's going on, is there anything in particular you'd like to be going on? My intention is to improvise some science for the current predicament and run with it full-force, so if there's any conclusion he SHOULD be reaching -- i.e. there's some very specific thing happening that should be clear to this character (and that I wouldn't figure out with a quick refresher on Faraday cages), it might......

.....well what I'm asking here is this: is there any information readily available to Luca that will facilitate an accurate assessment by mdk?

TTL: The Final Hazard OOC

Gavlan wheel. Gavlan deal.

The Final Hazard

"There's an open window, get to it," he said.

You don't have to tell me twice, thought Luca.

"Get out, now," he said again.

Oh. Right.

Luca tumbled face-first through the window, landing sloppily on his shoulders and back. He scrambled up and started moving away from the vehicle, but paused when he saw the corpses lying in the road. He stared at them. What a terrible waste. In Luca's timeline, life was the only scarcity in the universe. To shed blood was unthinkable, and those who shed it were detestable. He looked at the driver, or what was left of him -- or it? It was difficult to tell whether the driver had been alive or merely a simulacrum, so total was the annihilation. Luca's knees felt weak. And I am meant.... I am meant to.... follow that man? He stared at the shooter. Calm. Unaffected. Without remorse. How can he just stand there? What is wrong with him?

Then all at once Luca had a realization. [i]Oh, shit. How can I just stand here in the middle of the road? What's wrong with [b]me?[/i] He sprinted towards the nearest wall and pressed himself against it. As luck would have it, this random vector put him nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with the red-haired shooter. Sssssshhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiii........

"Who are you?" he asked. In his mind he had phrased it more elegantly, but when he spoke he simply blurted.

TTL: The Final Hazard OOC

Sweet. Preserved the old version in a hider, in case that's a thing you'd like to have available.

TTL: The Final Hazard OOC

......aaaaaaaand shit, I messed up. I read that part where Donny barked orders "while he was moving," and in my head, that said he got out already. Now I'm... uh, well, do I want to edit my post with watchful Terminal right there looking?

The Final Hazard

this part never happened edit

Luca covered his ears until the shooting was over, then twisted about until he could see the damage done. This man is insane! he thought. Before he could make sense of the death, their shooter was out a window of the vehicle and barking orders. Luca couldn't have understood the sound of his own name in that instant, and he certainly couldn't comprehend the shouted accent -- but he knew he had to stay with the man, so he scrambled out through the broken window, landing awkwardly on one shoulder and flopping onto his back.

He unceremoniously found his footing and scrambled after his mark, more-or-less on all fours. His coordination was still shot from the paralytic, so his movements were primitive -- but unintentionally tactical, low to the ground, irregular.

"Hey!" he called after the redheaded gunman. "Hey, wait!"

Luca covered his ears until the shooting was over, then twisted about until he could see the damage done. This man is insane! he thought. Before he could make sense of all the death, the shooter -- his mark -- was clearing glass and barking orders. Luca couldn't have understood the sound of his own name in that instant, and he certainly couldn't comprehend the shouted accent -- but the gist, he thought, was clear. I have to get out of here. Or maybe that was his instinct speaking?

Luca threw his shoulder into the nearest door, but it didn't budge. He pressed a button which might have been the latch in his mind, but it was in fact a power-window switch. He pressed and pulled everything, and eventually found the proper handle and pulled. Nothing happened -- then again perhaps he had inadvertently locked the door with all his fumbling over the various controls.

"We have to get out of here!" His voice was frantic, and his hands moved over all the same buttons and switches a second time.

TTL: The Final Hazard OOC

Luca's gonna be in "Follow Donny" mode, so I may need to see some (@Terminal) outcomes of the latest action before I make a meaningful move; assume for now that the weird ticking kid is quietly panicking over the gunshots, for anyone formulating their posts.