Scarifar

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman@canaryrose@Shard@Rabidporcupine@Infinite Cosmos

They were entering enemy territory now, and Rumi was currently keeping an eye on their surroundings, attempting to prevent anyone from ambushing them. His right hand was currently covered by a energy blaster designed to stun would-be assailants, raised and ready to fire at the first opportunity. There didn't seem to be too much of a need, though, as the first room they attempted to enter was immediately blown up by Blake, effectively destroying any last hope they had of stealth. "Well, that's one way of eliminating them," Rumi remarked, staring at the charred bodies. As Blake continued on his flaming rampage, Rumi took cover and wondered why he even bothered coming.

Chaos continued to ensue as Zee made his dramatic entrance, dark energies swirling around him, and Rumi wasted no time rushing ahead with the others. He gave a silent nod as a greeting to Joseph, and the group continued on, with Rumi following along as they dispatched the next goons they came across. Eventually, they came across a room that held Will and Brie prisoners. Rumi stepped back to prevent any water from getting onto him, and soon came forward once the stream stopped. "I'm here, too. We're here to rescue you guys from trouble. Y'know, again," Rumi said, giving a wave and a smile. "Glad to see you're all... still alive. Firebird's run off, I'm assuming to rescue the other Heroes who were captured by the Guglianos, and we ran into Azhar and Rune on the way here. You guys are gonna be just fine."

Turning to Jamie, Rumi was about to say something when he took note of her nosebleed. "Quake, you're taxing yourself too much again, aren't you?" Rumi asked. "We can't have you damaging yourself any more than necessary." Looking back at Will, Rumi said, "You're not looking too good yourself either. We should evacuate. I'll lead the way." Rumi went out first, taking a different path than the one they came from. Normally he would've gone back they way they came, but considering the state he saw Zee in, he was reasonably confident he did not want to face whatever was happening back there.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman@canaryrose

"...Science really has come far if that is indeed his real body," Rumi murmured to himself. "But to augment himself so much... the sheer volume of weapons and design features on his body, and the capability to prevent inertia from destroying his body..." Rumi then shook his head. "Paradox claims to be 'the pinnacle of humankind', but with that level of augmentation, can he really be considered 'human' anymore?" Rumi thought of augmenting his own body on more than one occasion, but every time he chose not to, instead only relying on other sources of aid such as his nanobots and his various gadgets. At first, it was only because he didn't want the hassle of maintaining those parts. Sure, he could automate the maintenance, but it wouldn't last forever. The more he thought about it, though, the more he wondered just how much could be changed before the line between "humanity" and whatever else was out there was crossed.

A beep sounded on his visor, interrupting his thoughts, and a window popped up that revealed the location of the trapdoor. "There it is," Rumi announced, heading over to the site. Once there, Rumi recalled the drones, having them disassemble themselves and revert back to nanobots. After Christina smashed in the trapdoor, Rumi peered down the tunnel. Supposedly, there were Heroes down there in need of a rescue, and the people around him were here for just such an attempt. "We'll do our best, Ms. Lavender," Rumi said, nodding his head. With that, Rumi began following Jamie down the ladder.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman@canaryrose

Rumi figured the EMP blasters would not be very effective. He would need some form of restraint before he could do any meaningful damage. Before he could formulate a concrete plan of attack, however, Paradox was suddenly attacked by a new force, and was forced to retreat. He turned to face the direction the explosive shots came from, and saw C- Class Hero Christina Lavender walking towards them. "You have our thanks, Ms. Lavender," Rumi said. Rumi deconstructed his EMP blaster cannons, returning the devices back into his belt. Rumi didn't really want to think about what would've happened had Paradox decided to stick around, even if he brain was already creating simulations of the various outcomes, few of which were good.

"On it, Ms. Lavender," Rumi said, lifting his right hand, palm upward. He then ordered his nanobots to form a pair of tiny drones with 4 propellers. He then attached a pair of miniature cameras on them and sent them off the scout the area. "We also interrogated that mobster over there," Rumi reported, pointing at the still-dead Ranucci. "We didn't kill him, if you're wondering. We suspect Paradox managed to silence him before he could spill too much. He said something about a trapdoor in what I assume to be that building over there, and how heroes are trapped in there."

"Finally, I don't think this Paradox fellow was taking us seriously at all this entire fight. He was only toying with us... testing us. He said something about 'field-testing and data collection authorized by Command-1'. I suspect we weren't even facing him directly, but merely one of his automatons, and one that could apparently stand against an S-class hero's power with ease. Whatever we're facing... we haven't even scraped the tip of the iceberg."

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman@canaryrose

"You fool..." Rumi chastised him further, but said no more, knowing there were bigger fish to fry at the moment. Even with the vibroblade, it was taking longer than he had expected to cut apart the net. As to be expected of such a high tech suit, everything was high quality. "Che..." Rumi clicked his tongue in annoyance, but he agreed that assisting Jamie would be a better course of action at this point. Furthermore, Rumi didn't feel comfortable letting one hero, even an S-tier, handle that thing alone. "Fine, but you better hurry," Rumi said, putting away the blade and running over to Jamie. Paradox had already moved on to aiming rotary cannon barrels at Jamie, and was about to fire when Rumi moved in front of Jamie, using his nanobots to form a tower shield in front of them. "Stay behind me," Rumi ordered Jamie, his barrier flashing blue as it helped to block Phantom's shots. While his shield and barrier began taking the plasma fire, Rumi reached into his tool belt and pulled out a pair of palm-sized needle-like devices.

The barrier was quick to wear down, but as the blasts were not that harmful, it and the nanobot shield were able to defend him and Jamie from serious harm. Rumi's shield lost a bit of volume from the plasma fire, but not nearly enough to hinder his operations. Rumi then disassembled his nanobot tower shield. The majority of them returned to form around Rumi's body as general-purpose armor while the rest transferred over to his left and right arms, forming small cylindrical blasters around his hands and forearms, with the needle devices at the center. These were EMP blasters, capable of auto-fire shots and charged single shots for a small explosive ball of EMP energy with a short radius. They were prepared in the event he came across Phantom, but they would also work against any mechanical or tech-based opponents. They would do little against organic targets, but Rumi did not consider this to be a problem in the current situation.

Raising his left arm, he began to fire away at Phantom, prioritizing volume over aim. At the same time, Rumi's right arm began to charge up a shot for a more powerful blast, while also readying nanobots near his feet for enhanced movement. In the event that Phantom didn't move, Rumi would simply to fire the charged ball at him, but if he actually began to move around, he would have to depend on his quick wit as well as Blake and Jamie to hold him off until he could get a clear shot.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman@canaryrose

"Never hurts to be careful, you know," Rumi responded to Blake. "An idiot this guy may be, but I say leave no room for a mistake you could've avoided." Once they got their information, Rumi was about to turn Ranucci over so he could restrain his arms behind his back, but then Ranucci began to shudder. Rumi tried to hold him down at first, thinking he was making an attempt to escape, but soon realized that his shaking was not an intentional effort. Rumi then backed away from Ranucci as he continued to shake, as if he were having a seizure, before expiring soon after. Rumi knelt down and felt his wrist, further confirming the loss of life.

Rumi shook his head as he got back up. "This wasn't me. I'm guessing someone wanted to silence him before he said too much. Question is... who?" That was also quickly answered by the immediate threat of an armored figure crashing down from the sky, which introduced itself as Paradox. Alarm bells were ringing in Rumi's mind, recognizing the name from the interrupted hack. "Guys, this 'Paradox' is bad news," Rumi warned, but Blake was already springing into action, engulfing the armored figure in a pillar of flame. Rumi hoped it would be enough, but didn't expect it to. The fact that Paradox called out their names first meant that he knew what he was dealing with and had most likely already taken measures to deal with them. Lo and behold, Paradox was unscathed, protected by a green-tinted force field.

When the missiles were fired, Rumi was quick to dodge, leaping to the side in an attempt to avoid the missile, using his nanobots to boost him along. He wasn't sure his own barrier could withstand a missile completely, and he wasn't keen to find out. Fortunately, it seemed he didn't have to, as the missile turned out to contain a weighted net instead of an explosive. The net landed nearby, Rumi having successfully dodged it. Looking over at Blake and Jamie, he was exasperated to see Blake having been caught by the net. As Jamie moved to engage, Rumi got to work attempting to free Blake. He pulled out a small vibroblade knife from his toolbelt and began to cut away at the net holding Blake down.

"Why didn't you dodge, you imbecile?" Rumi said as he worked at the net. "He could've killed you!"

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman@canaryrose

"...Why did I agree to get in this car again?" Rumi asked to himself, clenching his seat belt like his life depended on it. Rumi didn't drive himself very often, but he was very certain people were not supposed to drive like an irresponsible lunatic. Rumi started to doubt the authenticity of Jamie's driver's license, but soon came to the conclusion that she both couldn't and wouldn't make a forgery, which only made the topic even more concerning. Fortunately, the ride had ended, so Rumi could relax a bit now. Taking a moment to calm himself, Rumi then looked out the window, looking at the cleaners' business site. It was unimpressive, and just as dreary as the other drab establishments around it. In other words, it was a perfect camouflage, as no one would look twice at this place. "Let's see if their 'cleaning services' are up to par," Rumi said, stepping out of the car.

Hardly any time had passed, however, before they were ambushed by some punk with a gun. Rumi was stunned. Not by the fact that they were ambushed, but by the fact that only one person armed with only a small caliber pistol thought he could take on three heroes. His point was further proven when the poor mobster was quickly dispatched by Jamie. Looking down at the man, Rumi shook his head, disappointed at their first encounter. "If he's still conscious, I do have a few," Rumi said, pressing a button on his utility belt. A small blue field emerged from it, enveloping him before turning transparent. This was a barrier designed to deflect fast-moving projectiles, capable of stopping short bursts of bullet or laser fire, but would not last any longer than that without recharging. He also ordered his nanobots to form pieces of makeshift armor, mainly protecting his chest and limbs. Crouching down, Rumi reached out and grabbed Ranucci's neck, keeping him down on the ground while using just enough pressure to keep him down while not choking him. Rumi began to order, "Hey, stay awake now. We need you to answer a couple questions. Who's the boss here, and how many of you guys are here?"

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman@canaryrose

"Yeah, sure, give it here," Rumi said, taking the pamphlet. Early on, Rumi had thought it good for business if he was multi-lingual, so he had taken it upon himself to learn every spoken language he could think of, from Spanish to French to Cherokee. He had given up after learning 12, though, considering it to be too much of a waste of time at that point. Opening the phamphet, Rumi began reading its contents out loud, translating it into a language Blake and Jamir could understand. Much of it was nonsense, as it was quite clearly a poorly-disguised front. The phone number and address, though, was of notable interest to Rumi. "15 Running River Lane... I believe we have just found our next destination," Rumi said to Blake and Jamie. Gesturing at the Leftovers, Rumi added, "I'll call the proper authorities to take care of this. We'll continue investigating the Gugliano family's plans after they arrive." Taking out his phone, he speed-dialed the number and began to report what they had found in the warehouse.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman@canaryrose

Blake and Jamie handled the guards with ease, allowing Rumi to hang back and watch as the action unfolded before him. The mention of kidnapping heroes made him raise an eyebrow, realizing he had obtained another piece of the puzzle that was the Gugliano family's plans. Following the two into the Control Room, Rumi examined the damages Blake caused within it. He whistled, and said, "Goodness me, you're either getting better at controlling those flames, or you're really lucky that nothing vital got damaged." He looked down at the goons on the ground, wondering if he should check for vitals, but decided that he need not bother.

Placing a hand on one of the control panels, he wondered just how many secrets this one room held. Looking over at the computer Blake pointed out, he walked over to it while saying, "Leave it to me. I'll crack it open." He pulled out a black box with a wire attached to it, connecting it to the computer. The programs within it began to work their magic, bypassing the computer's security and unlocking it. Opening the folder named "Hero Plan", he opened a "missionletter.doc" where it talked about the change in plans. Rumi began to search for more details involving the hero abductions and come across a document labeled, "ZERO". He began running his decryption program, only to be greeted with a popup window. Rumi was surprised to see it pop up, as it had seemingly been prepared for him, and then the computer began to force a shutdown. Knowing he had hardly any time to act, Rumi forced his brain into Overclocking, having his nanobots form a pair of hands. He entertained the possibility of halting the shutdown, but decided there wasn't enough time for that and instead began to make a copy of the "ZERO" document and save it into his black box's storage.

After the computer shut down, Rumi sighed and disconnected his black box, placing it back into his utility belt. "I've done what I could," Rumi reported. "And whoever these people are, they're going to regret insulting my intelligence."

《 H. E. R. O. 》

Rumi Bers Polamor

@Hitman@canaryrose

"Well, I could always give some of my gadgets a little extra field testing," Rumi responded, then proceeded to raise a finger in the air and add, "Just give me a minute." Rumi clapped his hands twice, then a panel slid out from the wall and turned itself around, revealing Rumi's bodysuit armor that served as his costume, as well as utility belt and four canisters that held his nanomachines. Rumi then walked over to his suit and held his arms up in a T, issuing another command, "Armor up." Instantly, robotic arms extended from the wall, ceiling, and floor, programmed to get the suit onto Rumi. One arm began to glow red and hum gently at its tip as it dragged its head along the middle of the suit from neck to groin, effectively cutting it in half. The rest of the arms grabbed both pieces of the suit and slipped them onto Rumi, fitting them and holding them properly while the arm that originally cut it began to glow green instead and ran its head at the cut line, repairing the suit as if it had never been cut in the first place.

After the arms retracted themselves back into their original places, Rumi began to stretch a little, fully breaking in the suit and making sure it was comfortable. He grabbed his belt and canisters and equipped them as well. Finally, Rumi looked through his tables and shelves, methodically searching through them for tools and gadgets that would aim him in this mission. It took a few minutes, but Rumi was finally ready.

"Alrighty then, let's get going," Rumi said.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

Rumi Bers Polamor

@Hitman@canaryrose

"Please don't," Rumi said, though clearly his words fell on deaf ears. Sighing, Rumi added, "You can't move them, Jamie." Jamie tried to move the holograms, to no effect. Her hand simply passed through it, blurring the images. "You don't have the biometric authentication to access my equipment. Now please, let me do my work here." After shooing away Jamie's hand, Rumi continued to search through the collar, sorting his way through the various functions and safety measures within it until he came across a tracking beacon within in.

"Oooo, now what do we have here?" Rumi muttered his thoughts out loud, expanding the hologram of the beacon. If the collar was truly attached to an Iguanosaur, it made sense that people would want to keep track of its location. The only question was: who were those people? "Track the beacon's signal," Rumi commanded, the hologram now displaying a pulsing signal icon next to the beacon, directed toward a map of the world. It didn't take long to get a lock on a location, and the map magnified further and further until it pinpointed a location: Watervale. "Bring up 3D imaging of the location," Rumi commanded again, the table displaying a blue-tinted 3d map of Watervale. A red light indicated the building the beacon was sending the signal to. Rumi spread his hands to magnify and pinpoint the exact location, revealing a warehouse next to a place called "Sam's Fish Market."

It didn't make sense. A fish market capturing Leftovers for whatever insidious practices? Rumi was sure it was merely a cover for some other group. "It's not Google, that much is for sure," Rumi answered Blake. Rumi gave it a second of thought, and it clicked: "GUGL", or in other words, the Guglianos. "The Gugliano family, though, makes more sense. It would also explain the 'GUGL' found on this collar," Rumi said. Sighing, he continued, "So we have a crime family now trying to handle Leftovers. They're either not doing it very well, considering you dispatched the Iguanosaur so easily, or it was only a test for more vile purposes. My main concern is where they're getting this tech from. I don't recall the Gugliano family being able to produce this level of tech."