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One Piece: New Horizons!

The Library - Bonesword and Lilliana

The clerk stared down at the bag of cash that Bonesword had dropped for her, and carefully drug it across the counter, placing it in her pocket. "Oh yes, that should cover things quite nicely," she said, her eyes shifting around. "Thank you for your purchase. And would you look at that, we've run out of receipt paper so I can't provide you a receipt of this completely legal and legitimate transaction. Oh darn it, well I hope that's perfectly ok with you now thank you bye bye please leave now goodbye."

---

And so the afternoon of shopping, relaxation, and sightseeing came to an end. The Red Rums completed their basic chores, but for the most part didn't feel like expanding their exploration. Thus it came time to rest for the night, for they would set sail the next morning... To Reverse Mountain! To the Grand Line!

Surprisingly, or perhaps not at all, the night was uneventful, allowing the pirates to get all the sleep and rest they needed. As the sun rose up over the horizon it was time to set sail, and so Captain Cedric D. Boone gathered up any crew that had decided to spend the night in town and they were off! The sailing was none too difficult, they'd faced stronger weather before. The wind was at their backs and so the Rum Runner made excellent time. What normally would have been half a day's journey turned out to merely take three hours. So at 9:58 they saw it. They saw Reverse Mountain!

The Red Line, the only continent in the world, crosses the planet and dividing it into two hemispheres. The Grand Line and the Calm Belts cross the world perpendicular to the Red Line. Here where the Red Line and the Grand Line meet is the mighty Reverse Mountain! Each of the four seas connects to the mountain by way of canal, where the water appears to do the impossible, running up the mountain instead of falling down as gravity dictates! The point at the top is where all four of the Blue Sea canals converge, and the four currents meeting together head on creates a fifth canal, straight down into the Grand Line!

But most ships attempting to enter the Grand Line by way of Reverse Mountain end up smashed to pieces as the current hurls them against the rocky walls. The Red Rums would have the hardest bit of sailing they've ever had in their lives up to this point! How would they deal with the challenge?

A.I. am Human (Cyborg 009 remake)

@Omega Man Soooo.... What's going on?

Capes of Denver: A Worm RP

The Wards and The Jacks - Time to Get Gone!

@yoshua171@BCTheEntity@Eklispe@floodtalon@Old Amsterdam@Gardevoiran@Lugubrious@solokolos

There was no beating around the bush: shit was falling apart and fast. No matter the number of clones that were killed off, more kept coming to replace them in a neverending wave. Old ones that weren't shot, stabbed, baked, crunched, or otherwise killed off ended up melting into flesh goop, as new ones came in to replace them. By now the Wards and the Jacks had gone through at least four different waves of the things, and it was starting to show with the sheer amount of offal that had now been flooding the warehouse. The situation was taking its toll on the young parahumans too. Epsilon had discovered Dean's horrifying secret. Lillian's fragile self-esteem had been utterly crushed. Messiah couldn't even stop to think about what was going on or she wouldn't be able to finish the mission. Even the normally unflappable Margrave had been completely taken aback by the situation, and the Wards weren't the only ones affected by what was going on. Sofia dared not to even open her eyes in pure fear, her imagination undoubtedly inflating the very real and horrible danger around her. Chatterbox was face to face with a copy of himself, complete with the exact same power. It was troubling, to put it mildly. Heartless had to act contrary to his moniker and had almost been overwhelmed by clones for doing do, saved only by their short lifespan. And of course Overlook had made himself into a liability by abandoning his post to come to the field in person, and paid the price for such reckless behavior. At the very least, he had saved the life of Private Skeetz.

<"I understand the situation is... Pretty fucked up"> Decoy continued speaking exclusively to Epsilon. <"Just get through this and we can talk about it. In person. Face to face, no holograms. Now get yourself and the others out of there alive!">

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a large explosion occurred in the middle of the warehouse. The fire from Messiah's wrath had spread and ignited something the Community had kept locked up in the crates and boxes. Nobody was close enough to get injured save for a few of the Dean duplicates, but it certainly did not bode well. Thankfully all of the Wards were already in the process of vacating the building. All of the Deans that were capable of stopping them had already been killed, or their time limit expired, leaving Heartless, Thunderbolt, Chatterbox, and Sofia alone in the raging inferno.

The duplicate Chatterbox stared lazily as the original killed off the Dean that had summoned him. Strangely enough, neither he nor the second Sofia were removed. Killing the source did not stop their persisting existence. "Well that was certainly a waste, but at least now I only have one person to compete with." Chatter could still feel this copycat's words digging deep into his skull. "Or perhaps not? My creator is kind of, you know, dead, and my greatest loyalty is to myself after all. Why don't we paint the town red together? Make this a two-person act? Regardless, come along Sofia. We needn't stay here in danger any longer. Perchance we can negotiate a partnership with these other Jacks?"

Eyes still closed, the duplicate Sofia nodded and the two began heading toward the exit, out of danger. If Chatterbox were perceptive enough, he might notice that they were heading directly for the nearest escape car he had setup by his "fans." Still, there wasn't enough time to mull the details over. Another explosion shook the very walls of the building, and an errant rocket shot upward into the ceiling, causing a collapse. The remaining Deans chased after who they could, but most were caught up in the flames, or struck by falling debris. In a matter of only a small handful of seconds the entire building came crashing down on itself, burying any who didn't make it out on time. Not a single Dean survived.

---

The Minutemen, Reflections, and Swarm

@Spiffy@yoshua171@Gardevoiran@TheRedWatcher@AngelofOctober

The child parahuman could barely react to the sudden onslaught, showing how despite his stupendous amount of raw power, he was incredibly out of his depth. Still, his natural defensive power worked wonders. As Swarm tossed a car his way, an opposing explosion canceled out the vehicle's momentum. Even so that prevented him from seeing what came next in the way of Kyoshi's assault. The earth itself attacked him, getting in at least one good hit before he came aware of the situation, and all further attacks were nullified by his automated explosion defense. Of course he was still thrown up in the air, and before he could propel himself elsewhere with an explosion he had been caught by surprise by none other than Outsider. Caught in a tendril, the two put up quite a back and forth until Blastmaster found himself lying down on the pavement.

"You're not playing right!" the kid shouted, getting up from a small crater in the ground. Those automatic defensive explosions were utterly ridiculous in protecting him. He prepared himself for a counterattack, but found himself cut off.

"We've got to stop meeting like this, Minutemen," bellowed a proud voice from off the side. It belonged to none other than Furnace, swooping in on his glider and rolling along the pavement right up to Masterblaster.

"Another one?" the kid complained. He didn't hesitate this time, unleashing an explosion centered on Furnace's body... Which was near instantly dissipated by the change in air pressures as the hero flicked on his body temperature change. His left hand glowed with a white hot intensity that everyone present could feel, while his right hand was near pitch black with an absolute cold. These two extremes in such close proximity was wreaking havoc with the air. Masterblaster looked between each fist, shocked beneath his mask.

"Sorry kid." The hero promptly clocked the boy in the face, the natural explosion defense neutralized just as his previous explosion had been. With that one strike the boy fell unconscious like a rag doll. Furnace promptly returned to normal, turned back round to everyone, and addressed them. "Good work. Sorry I jumped in, but I figured that wince my powers could cancel out his, it'd be better to cut things short and prevent any collateral damage. But he's your collar, Minutemen. You can call it in to the PRT. I'm just happy to help."

Capes of Denver: A Worm RP

I'm still new to this, so I'll just post my character here...

Floris "Dianthus" Van Veldhoven

Dianthus

Chibi Artwork by Seoxys6

Name: Floris Van Veldhoven
Occupation: Author/Mercenary
Alias: Dianthus
Age: 22
Alignment: (Good-ish) Anti-hero
Loyalty: Independant
Appearance: Floris is a young man, approximately 1.9 meters (6 feet 2 inches) tall. His face is rather smooth, with a single scar on his medium sized nose, in the form of a small white line. His skin is paler than most, bordering the shade of your stereotypical Irishman, which greatly contrasts his dark hair, which sits loosely on top of his head, reaching no further than the nape of his neck. His green eyes usually stare coldly at the world around him, though their intent is covered up by the coy smile he usually wears on his thin lips. He doesn't bother too much with clothing, making little to no effort to make sure his clothes match perfectly (though they usually do to some extent). His preferences lean towards a collared vest and khakis, with either sneakers or boots to finish the job. He can also usually be seen with large headphones over his head.

His costume is exceedingly simple, consisting out of nothing more than a brown shirt, jeans, and boots. According to a passersby, this is because those are easy to replace whenever they get torn. The rest of his disguise comes from his abilities. His eyes change colour to purple. His hair begins to flake, before turning into large, red leaves that sit around his head like a crown and go down to his hips.

History: Born and raised in a bustling city The Netherlands, Floris Van Veldhoven was never the talkative type. His father worked in the military as a fighter pilot, and was often away on training missions. Meanwhile, his mother worked as a botany professor and scientist at the local university, and was often busy discussing findings with colleagues or helping students with assignments. This left Floris with an excess of time to himself, which he spent in various ways. Sometimes he would spend his time listening to music, whilst on other occasions he would read through his mother's reports for the heck of it. Sometimes he would go to one of his friends to play video games, whilst on other occasions he would go to the university his mother taught at to run laps.

One day, when he was 16, his father was offered a position at an airbase located in Colorado, Floris had to say goodbye to the life he knew. His friends, family, academic dreams, all were left behind as they moved to their new life in Denver, Colorado. There, he attended a local high. Instantly thrown off by the different educational system, Floris found it difficult to adjust. Due to his long history with the Dutch educational systems, Floris was already miles ahead of his peers, easily surpassing his classmates in terms of grades, and even his teachers in terms of general knowledge. This humongous gap in level had two effects on Floris. It firstly served to make him an excellent subject to approach for tutorage. Secondly, it marked him as an outsider to his classmates. Together, they caused a situation in which the only reason for someone to approach Floris was to ask for help with classwork. While this did lead to some friends, their relationship was far from what you'd call natural.

To take his mind off of his weird situation, Floris decided it was time to pursue a genuine hobby. After hours of searching for a fitting pastime, he finally settled on writing. He could use his pen to escape to worlds of his own creation, and even earn a good buck if he did it right. Using his father's expertise in military operations, his mother's extensive knowledge of plants, and his own experiences with video games, Floris quickly began work on his first book. Titled "Serenity's Wake", it was a survival thriller set in a steampunk era. In it, the main character Flynt Eyre crashes his airship in the woods of Dianthus. He then has to use the onboard technology, and his own expertise in mechanics to make his way out of the woods.

When Floris finally finished his book just after graduating high school, he submitted the piece to a publisher. After a few weeks, he received a letter from the publisher, telling him that his book had pleasantly surprised them, and that they had sent it to an editor to fix any grammatical mistakes there may have been. Delighted by their son's success, both in school and in writing, his parents planned a trip to visit Yosemite park, a setting that closely resembled the one from his book.

Once they arrived at Yosemite, Floris couldn't believe his eyes; the national park looked almost exactly like how he had imagined the woods of Dianthus. Large mountain ranges enclosed a lush forest. Waterfalls and rivers decorated what wasn't wood or stone. The sight almost brought tears to his eyes. Once they arrived in their hotel room, he and his parents instantly began planning their activities. First on the list was, of course, a hiking trip through the park. They hired a jeep the very next day, which would take them to the other side of the park. There, they would follow one of the most scenic hiking trails.

The next day, Floris and his family signed out of the hotel and began their journey towards the other end of Yosemite. Even this journey was already mesmerizing. The high altitude of the road provided an excellent view of the park and all its beauty. Towards the end of the day, they arrived at their destination: a small cabin at the edge of the park.

The next day the family took off on their hiking adventure, geared up and ready to rumble. Their trail was a difficult one, but a rewarding one. Steep and narrow paths and constant declines and inclines would lead them to some of the most beautiful views the park had to offer. However, as stories go, this did not end well. Without announcement, the skies above began to change. Sunny weather made way for clouds. Wind started to pick up heftily. Rain came down in liters on end. Floris tried his best to fight against it, but in the end it became too much. He, and his family, were flung off the side of the trail. The downhill slope was merciless and didn't show any sign of stopping. Finally, after what had seemed like an eternity of pain, the rolling ended as Floris tumbled into the river below. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die! Were the last things that crossed his mind before everything faded to black.

After god knows how much time had passed, Floris finally came to. He was lying on the edge of a riverbank, his feet still dangling in the water. With great effort, he pulled himself up out of the semi-warm water. Realizing the situation he was in, he began to wildly study his surroundings. "Mom?!" He yelled with all his might, the forests giving no answer. "Dad?!" No answer. The storm had faded, and the sun was shining through the trees, illuminating everything in a dim green light. It wasn't long before the complete silence got to him; he wasn't where he was supposed to be. He was vulnerable, he was alone. He was scared. His parents were probably dead, and he was in a position that was arguably no better. Hesitantly, Floris looked down at himself, and was surprised to find that he still had his backpack, and everything in it, though it was completely soaked. Nature isn't as cruel as it seems. He thought to himself.

For the next few days, Floris survived on his own, stranded within the depths of Yosemite National Park, with no means to contact the outside world. Combining his mother's knowledge of botany with what his father had taught him of survival, Floris managed to hold his own, finding ample food and water, all whilst searching for a way back to civilization. However, his lack of socialization, and the constant fear of death quickly began to wear at him. He would hear sounds in complete silence, he would see things that weren't there. Quickly, the days began to be filled with constant paranoia. Floris started to loose sleep, only worsening his condition.

Things reached their climax nine days after the storm. Floris had not slept for over 48 hours. His body was aching, eyes were dry, but his mind was racing. Constant noises made it clear to him that something was following him. Something he could not see. Something that could see him. It's as if the entire forest was alive, trying to hunt him. But it was closer now. It was there, ready to pounce him. He began to run. But how could he? The forest was around him. He was a part of it, and he couldn't escape. Suddenly, his foot got stuck! With an audible screech and a thud, Floris collided with the ground. There it was! The forest was trying to get him killed! Wasting no time, Floris stood up again and began to run. It was getting closer, and no matter how hard Floris ran, no matter how many turns he took, he couldn't escape. "I'm not built for this! I'm not built for this! I'm just a human, how can I do this?!" He yelled in frustration as he kept running. Then, it jumped! Floris was done for, he was a dead man! The beast had made his move and there was no way he could escape! In a final ditch attempt, Floris turned himself around and extended his arm, hoping to throw the beast off. But it was all for naught. He felt the cold fangs of the beast bite down upon his arm. I'm done for... was the last thing Floris thought before he hit the ground. Wait... Hit the...ground? The cold feeling still surrounded his arm, and it certainly didn't feel natural. But he still felt it, which means he either wasn't dead, or he was and he was still feeling it. He slowly opened his eyes; nothing. Just trees, leaves. He then turned his gaze to his arm.

His face turned pale.

"AAAAAAARGH!"

His arm was gone. In its place, a wooden replica. But it didn't feel that way. Slowly, he tried to flex his fingers. Sure enough, with little resistance, the wood bent with it.

"What the fuck?" Floris said breathily, staring bewildered at his wooden arm. Nothing about it made sense. Why was it wood?! Why did it still move?! "What...the fuck?"

But it wasn't just the arm. Everything seemed different. The forest itself felt more alive than it had ever felt before...but it was friendly... It felt like it was a part of him. Whenever he breathed, the forest breathed. Whenever his heart beat, he could feel the forest beat with it. "What the hell is going on?" Floris said breathily. Standing up, he suddenly felt a strange tingling in his arm. Looking to the source, he saw that it had turned back into his old arm. As he extended his arm to take a better look at it however, he saw something even more perplexing: the plants in front of him moved along with him. Wait, am I doing that?

Suddenly, a set of voices caught his attention! They didn't sound far. Ignoring everything else, Floris immediately took off. For a good twenty minutes, he kept running uninterrupted. Then, finally! A road! A car! There were people! But...why were they so far? Their voices sounded so close earlier. Did...did the forest show me the way?

Floris returned to his residence in Denver, and went into hiding. He needed time to think. Time to reflect on everything that had happened. His parents had been confirmed dead; blunt trauma to multiple areas in the body. His mother was dead instantly, while his father had bled to death.
Floris would use his garden to practice his abilities in secret; no-one could know how he alone survived. Over time, he became incredibly efficient at using them, but he always kept them hidden. He could turn his hair into leaves for photosynthesis, his eyes could change colour.
For four years he remained like this. Cooped up in his house, writing, practicing. Over time, he grew to hate people; their continuous talking disturbed his thinking, their joy reminded him of how his parents were completely forgotten, their constant littering showed how they didn't care for the beast that was nature. The plants weren't like that, they were nice.

That all ended one day, when he sensed something new. Whilst in his garden, he began to meditate on his survival when something dawned upon him. The forest had chosen him. He had become its champion. He could have died, but the forest didn't let him. And now he was here. From that moment on he knew what he had to do: he had been chosen to enforce the rules of nature. The forest wanted balanced, and he was the one to bring it.

The time had come to take to the streets, and enact the rules of nature.

Personality

Motivation: "The forest is a place where life and death balance each other out in a fair and equal manner. I will see to it that that happens here as well."
Sexuality: Straight (though he doesn't mind transgendered women)
Likes:

• Nature
• Botany
• Music
• Literature
• Running
• Silence

Dislikes:

• Littering
• Feeling like he could be doing something productive
• Complainers
• Entitled people
• People in general

Derangement: His new abilities have given him a distinct disliking of humanity, almost to the point where he prefers the company of plants over that of other humans. Because of this, he isn't one to show sympathy easily, leading some to call him a sociopath (a claim he rarely denies).

Parahumanism

Skills: Floris has no superhuman strength, that's a given. However, he is exceedingly clever and quick-thinking. On top of that, his frequent running exercises have given him a stamina on par to those of near-professional athletes.

Thanks to his parents, Floris is quite knowledgable in the fields of self-defense and botany. He knows his way around a fist-fight, as well as a diverse range of plants.

Classification: Shaker/Thinker + Shifter

Details: Floris is able to turn his arms into a hardened version of Giant Sequoia wood, which has a denser composition than bone. He can then shift this wood into any shape that he wants, whether it's a key, a blade, it doesn't matter. As for his photosynthesis, the extra energy allows him to partially negate human exhaustion, thus giving him a slightly improved stamina, though it's not much.

Due to the nature of his powers (pun totally intended), he is able to mentally connect with all plant life, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. He can then use those roots to jump his mind from plant to plant, giving him incredible awareness and tracking abilities. Further, any plants that come into contact with this become subject to his ability to bend plants.

The big one of his abilities is his ability to bend and grow plants to his will. In the years since the incident he has mastered his abilities, allowing him to spur rapid, unnatural growth in any plant life. Furthermore, any plant that he can reach through his "root network" is subject to this ability.

Limitations: Constantly bending and growing plants will quickly wear Floris down as it requires an incredible amount of energy. Further, though Floris can make plants as big as he wants, the bigger they get, the harder the mental strain they enact upon him. Therefore, he prefers to stick to smaller scale use of his powers. Furthermore, Floris' ability to mentally connect with plant matter is grows more and more straining the further away the plant his mind travels to is. Floris himself estimates that the furthest he can go is roughly two kilometers.

Unlike the rest of the plants, Floris is unable to grow his arms when they've been turned into wood. This means that that ability is limited by equivalent exchange.

His photosynthesis only works if he has his flower hair out. Even then, it's a fairly weak source of energy and it won't supplement for long.

Equipment: Floris uses no special equipment.

@Miakoda

Sorry it took so long to get around to this, things have been hectic. That said, great thanks to my appointed co-GMs @Old Amsterdam and especially @Eklispe for staying on things and working with you over Discord. So here's the critiquing of the alpha and omega of this game, the final word.

Firstly, I'd highly suggest adding some sort of mask or facial covering to his costume. Changing eye color and replacing hair with leaves is only going to go so far for identity concealment. Clark Kenting is definitely not gonna cut it in this world, especially when there's an entire classification of powers for pulling secret information out of your ass.

Secondly, I need a more detailed explanation of how the mental connection to plants works. You describe it as giving him heightened awareness and tracking by moving his mind through plants, but how does this sensory awareness actually manifest? Obviously plants can't see and share little to no senses with animals, so how does it actually function? Does it create a new sense of sight/hearing etc. in the plant he's observing through? Or does he experience the surroundings in a completely different way? This portion of the powers definitely needs more detail.

But apart from these observations things are looking good. History is well written, concept is solid, just a little more refining and he's good. Let me know when you're all set and I'll look at those bits again.

A.I. am Human (Cyborg 009 remake)

@Omega Man It feels kind of silly to hold off on at least making the OOC in the RP section when you've already got 8 dedicated players. I totally get not wanting to immediately approve the first 8 that pop in, but if you start getting things moving then you'll get more potential interest from people who don't scan the ichecks, and we'll be ready to kick things into gear as soon as you say "go."

A.I. am Human (Cyborg 009 remake)

I've got a friend working on a 003 right now, so we'll see how things go.

A.I. am Human (Cyborg 009 remake)

We're also missing a 003, so there's the potential for more racial diversity there. Maybe also a third woman? Who knows.

A.I. am Human (Cyborg 009 remake)

@Menhir Just because I haven't read it in over 20 years doesn't mean I haven't read it at all, but I'll thank you for your assumptions and insulting my intelligence regardless. As far as God's War goes, no I am not referring to that whatsoever. I have no experience with God's War. I am relying 100% on my memory from reading the original stories, and watching the various anime productions. I attempted to research to back my claim, but found nothing. Ergo my memory was faulty and for being wrong I apologize. It has been a long time since I've fully thrown myself into this franchise.

I love it very much for helping Ishinomori to guide and create the Sentai genre, as well as the pioneering it did for manga/anime and sci-fi in general. I don't remember where I got the MI6 bit, perhaps it bled over from somewhere else, I don't know, but I was 100% sure and tried to rely on my memory of something I hadn't experienced in decades. Usually my nerd-brain is an infallible steel trap.

A.I. am Human (Cyborg 009 remake)

That's a surprising interpretation, friend. Is that how they play him in the new CG ones? I didn't like the redesigns, so I haven't watched them.

In the versions I watched- or read, in the comic's case- the character had some key differences. Great Britain was a washed-up old drunk who threw away the only woman who ever cared about him, was hated by basically everyone who knew him pre-modification, and to my knowledge was never involved with any branch of intelligence. In most stories he was basically just the comic relief and tended to get steamrolled anytime he entered a straight fight. In some versions, he also retained the same face/mass when he shapeshifted, but that's relatively inconsistent even within singular series so I can understand if you hadn't picked up on it.

Your comment about wasted potential was helpful, though. I had thought 007's ability to create relevant equipment was actually a little too strong, but you've put my mind at ease. Thanks, friend!

@Menhir

He was always a former agent of MI6 from the original manga. Granted he was also a washed up drunk but that's always been a part of his character. "Great Britain" was his codename in the agency. He's a great big shout out to James Bond (as in the Bond that was in the original Ian Flemming novels). British, MI6, 007 codename, loves women and alcohol, yeah.

A.I. am Human (Cyborg 009 remake)

005 In Progress

Name: Nigel Keane
Cyborg # : 005
Nationality: English
Age When Created: 24
Additional Power: Super enhanced sensory/accuracy capabilities. Able to see and hear up to 4 kilometers away with 99.99% clarity. Nigel also can use all of this along with a targeting system implanted in his brain and left eye to be able to hit any target with any weapon with pinpoint accuracy. The only drawback is Nigel’s targeting system requires a second or two to line up the shot. Also, bright lights and/or incredibly loud noises can disordinate Nigel for a moment.
Likes: Performing, cooking, being around his family, Volunteering, Peace and quiet
Dislikes: War, Violence, Someone being loud,
Former Occupation: Professional Figure Skater
Experience:
Providing security guard work for England’s Royal Family (“It's easy work, and her royal highness and her family are quite wonderful people to work with.”)
Creating the ‘Competive Dreams’ foundation, giving underprivileged children access to equipment and optimal training time for their chosen sport (“I had planned on starting this charity before all the… unpleasantness happened. So it ended up taking a little longer than I had hoped.”)
Stopping giant mecha robots in Japan (“Still not entirely sure how I got talked into that one to be frank.”)
Saving his younger brother and his British Armed Forces squad from being held hostage by a terrorist group in Afghanistan (“The circumstances made it an exception to my anti-violence stance. I won’t lie… I took pleasure in it.”)
Appearance:

BRIEF Bio: At one point in his life, Nigel Keane was considered one of the top men’s figure skaters in the world, and a favorite to gold the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.
Notes:

Still working on it, curious what people think of the concept...

@DrewVonAwesome

Concept is fine. Hex is right, 003 but without being the "designated woman." Excellent combat application as well. I get the feeling that he and 006 will have some humorous banter with his pacifistic ways and her punch first questions later approach.