Sickle-cell

Worm - The Malfesant Throne

The Zenith - Xoxi's Super Cool Fortress of Awesome

Above Boston

_{21st January, 2011}

Vector stared humorously as the ghostly hand tapped her back like an old friend. Glancing at Xoxi, she raised an eyebrow. “Are… are you trying to use your power on me?”

The rage which swelled within the young girl as a result of this action was almost certainly far less than she anticipated. It was a mix of more exasperation than true anger, mostly from her undesired babysitting role in keeping the Wards out of trouble with the rest of the Protectorate. With Praetor in charge, that wasn’t always easy.

Her face lit up with a smile of thinly-veiled annoyance. “Oh, and don’t call me ‘Vec’.”

Pressing a button on her helmet, a piece of her visor clicked into place by her eye while she did a quick check on time via her HUD. “I have a few minutes,” she said with an almost wicked grin.

“Time enough to kick all your asses.”

@Gardevoiran

---

The Circus Maximus

Victory Road

_{21st January, 2011}

The faint feeling of blood spraying from a wound - a sort of vibrating tug at his senses - satisfied him greatly. Not nearly as much as hearing the girl howl, however. It made the pain burning through his arm worthwhile, as he made a conscious effort to restrict the blood flowing from the wound.

Blood and metal shone faintly in the moonlight. The entire picture was one of almost sublime beauty. Still, he wasn’t nearly done. Surprisingly enough, neither was his opponent. She was a strange one. No matter how much effort he put into the fear tactics that worked so well on almost every cape in Boston just at the mention of his name, she continued unabated even in the face of certain death.

He could respect that.

Trying to get the drop on him, she activated some kind of cloaking device and disappeared from view. For the briefest of moments, Sickle actually believed she was running away - finally showing an ounce of self-preservation. Focusing on the blood pouring from her ear, it moved lower to the ground.

Before rocketing in his direction.

The cloak was almost useless. From her injury, he could track her every movement. Well, almost every movement. Without knowing the finer details of the positioning of her arms and legs, he relied on best-guessing to establish her next move. And this time, he’d guessed wrong. From the hesitation brought about by expecting her to run, his reactions were slowed.

With a flick of his wrist, he moved the blood pouring from her ear across her face, turning the liquid into a congealed and sticky lattice. Now that it had a larger surface area, he pushed back against her momentum - trying to stop her in mid-air and leave her completely open to a counterattack. He’d started a little too late, however, and although her speed had dropped by quite a margin, it was nowhere near enough to stop her.

A knee cracked into his upper chest, and something inside audibly snapped. Probably the injury from earlier being pushed over the edge. The impact knocked him back a few feet, and down to his knees. Moving his mask, a coughing fit brought up a mouthful of blood which dripped through his teeth and onto the ground.

This is why, a voice said, I don’t like picking fights when already injured.

Shut up, the other hissed. We didn’t pick this fight, but I’ll sure as hell fucking end it.

A lid of a trashcan clattered onto the ground nearby, arcing back to what was presumably the person who threw it. Given the angle of the ricochet, that person was also presumably a parahuman. Sickle took the chance, taking a deep breath, and calmed slightly. No. Not unless I have to, he thought.

The man put forward a proposition - which given the state of affairs, Sickle was more than happy to hear out. “Gladly,” he called out from his kneeling position. “Although since the Iron Maiden over there seems to have a sodden death wish, she might object to that.”

@Migyudon@Duoya@Lasrever@Old Amsterdam@SkinnyTy@PlatinumSkink

Worm - The Malfesant Throne

@Old AmsterdamYup, that works. Some capes can play round her field, a few can outright ignore it and others are utterly crippled by it.

Basically a much more sinister game of rock paper scissors. =P

Worm - The Malfesant Throne

@DuoyaOuch. Sounds rough. I won't get another post out till tomorrow, so no rush. ^_^

@Old AmsterdamYea, she stops people's power working at the source. So Sickle-Cell is in the same boat as you. He could have brought his blood armour, but he wouldn't be able to move it as soon as the power hit him. It wouldn't dissolve, but it would be functional useless.

Worm - The Malfesant Throne

@Old Amsterdam That sounds like it would be for the best. How the field would affect her depends on how her power works. Do the microbes need micromanaging? If so, they would stop working. If she only gives instructions, they would keep doing the last thing she told them.

@Gardevoiran's not my fault! He keeps editing my stuff. Something to do with spectral hands.

@Lasrever This is getting good :-P

Will get a post up either today or tomorrow ^_^

Worm - The Malfesant Throne

Right, bit of a disclaimer for future posts involving Conflux and Kingmaker.

They have Master powers based on people control. They can order and orders must be obeyed, within power limits. If they use their power on a PC and the result would not leave you with any permanent injuries, I will narrate you reaction and the effect in the same post as the power is used. If it would, then I'll narrate the order being given, and you can arrange for NPC or PC intervention to stop you, etc.

Also, Conflux's power is stronger than Kingmaker's in terms of direct following. If she gives you an order, you will obey to the best of your abilities. Kingmaker's is far weaker and based a lot more on whether you would normally do what he is telling you to, but I'll save any more spoilers for later =P

Worm - The Malfesant Throne

Richmond Building

Downtown Boston

_{21st January, 2011}

“Perfect,” he said with a chuckle. “I always find a good brandy to be the best way to celebrate.” As he poured the drink and sat it in front of his guest, his thoughts were interrupted by the hum of the elevator heading up to his floor. Which was strange.

Because he wasn’t expecting more guests.

“You haven’t brought anyone with you, by any chance?” he asked, while walking over to his desk. Inside the top drawer was a large caliber handgun, and a pair of throwing knives. With an almost practised routine, he picked up and loaded the gun, hiding it and the knives underneath his shirt. One could never be too careful.

With a chime, the elevator arrived and the doors parted open. Out walked a number of people. A man, wearing a highly-elaborate red and black formal jacket which trailed down to his ankles - like something out of a period drama. His mask was one of white porcelain, eerily similar to Sickle-Cell’s, but the only decoration besides the two eye-holes was a large, black cracked mass over the left eye. It was hard to tell if the mask had been damaged or designed like that.

Beside him was what looked like a girl in a form-fitting black outfit. It was hooded, and she too sported a white mask. This one had only large, bug-like glass eyes as distinguishing features, though.

And between the two stood the only person he recognised. She was covered with a tight, black leather biker suit with a modified helmet to match. It left her mouth - and only her mouth - visible, with the flash of her purple lipstick the only colour she had.

He blinked several times. He wasn’t expecting a visit. “Conflux. How lovely of you to drop by, but I’m afraid I’m already engaged.” Keeping his hand in reach of the gun at all times, he circled her warily. “If you’d like to make an appointment, i may be free sometime next week.”

“I did make one, my darling,” she purred. “Just ask your receptionist.”

“What did you do to her?” he asked, eyes narrowing.

She smirked. “Nothing yet.” Her eyes fell on Holly and lit up under the helmet. “Awww! Is this your new guard dog? She’s adorable!” Leaning closer, she spoke. “Bark for me.” Each word crashed over the girl like a tidal wave of pressure. Every syllable a mix of discordant and harmonious tones. A sudden and overwhelming urge to obey her rose up and-

“Kill yourself,” Kingmaker ordered Holly.

These words were different. There was no obvious sound to them, but they seemed so compelling. It was the obvious thing to do. Except it wasn’t. No human in their right mind would ever-

Crack.

Something inside the young girl’s head gave way, causing a burst of crippling pain to wash over her. A concentrated migrane of unholy proportions. Conflux placed her hands on her hips, dramatically. “You are no fun!” she shouted. “And you hurt her. I wasn’t going to do anything.”

“Of course not,” Kingmaker replied. “This time, maybe. What do you want?”

“I’m here to deliver a message,” she said with a smile. “As of right now, this city belongs to me. Every faction in this city is going to quite happily roll over and give me the power I want, and if they don’t, things are going to get rather messy.”

Within a second, his gun was in-hand. Two shots rang out.

The man at her side wasted no time. He was in front of her the second Kingmaker made a move. The bullets hit, blew holes in his skin, and instantly began to reform. Conflux gave a nod to her other henchman, who moved forward and touched Holly’s bare skin with her own. Looking towards the window, she used her telekinesis to tear open the blinds, causing a shaft of setting sunlight to illuminate the room.

And Kingmaker began to scream.

His exposed flesh glistened in the light, before starting to burn and melt. The pain brought him to his knees in a desperate attempt to find cover. All the while, Conflux merely smiled. “It’s almost pathetic how much power you think you wield, but without your tools, you are worthless.”

“Be careful when you play with fire, my boy,” she called over her shoulder as she left. “You might just get burned.”

@knifeman

---

The Zenith - Xoxi’s Repurposed Meeting Room

Above Boston

_{21st January, 2011}

A few rounds of smash bros later - none of which anyone bar Xoxi had managed to win - a sound at the door startled the collective group. It opened with a hiss to reveal Vector. She quite clearly hadn’t left to attend the Circus, but given her speed at covering the city, that wasn’t a surprise.

More interesting, though, was that she’d brought pizza.

“Which one of you damned idiots decided to order pizza to the Zenith?” she asked, incredulously. “Do you have any idea what Praetor would do if he found out?”

Aedan’s eyes lit up. “We have pizza?”

The Ward leader looked more curious than worried. “How on Earth did the pizza company deliver this high up?”

With a wicked glint in her eye, Kairi spoke. “They didn’t. They called Vector, and she delivered it. She’s basically the Protectorate’s pizza girl,” she said with a whisper.

Vector very nearly threw the pizza at her. “I am not, you little shit!”

“So this is the first time you’ve done this?” Kairi asked, knowing full well the answer.

Without her helmet, the faint tinge of pink on her cheeks was clearly visible. Seeing the hero with the most confirmed kill-order takedowns in the Boston Protectorate blush was quite possibly one of the most terrifying things the Wards would ever see. “Fine. No. But since I only did this to save word of your stupidity getting back to Praetor, I’d be nicer if I were you.”

“Or I’ll just eat all these myself.”

[@Banana]

---

The Circus Maximus

Victory Road

_{21st January, 2011}

He knew most of what she could do. The famous quote from Sun Tzu sprang to mind. Problem was, while he almost always knew his enemy…

He was an enigma, even to himself.

It takes either an enormous idiot or an impulsive fool to begin a fight at a disadvantage. However, he’d managed to do so with two. Some sort of internal injury, and arguably even worse, not a drop of blood outside his body.

The blood armour he always wore underneath his costume had to be abandoned before entering the Circus. He needed his power to keep it moving and with the restriction field in place it would've made him a glorified statue. The more blood he had, the better. He needed a way to get quite a bit out as quickly as possible.

His opponent charged him. A risky gambit, but from her attitude, he’d expected little else. However, clearly knowing she was a cyborg wasn’t all there was to it. Her dossier file had detailed a number of augments, but missed that one earlier. Had it been a new one? Was the information wrong?

One thing it had mentioned was hidden blades inside the arms. If that was what she planned to do here - if - it might just work to his advantage. Of course, that meant actually taking yet another hit, but he had resigned himself to getting the shit kicked out him in basically every early fight almost a year ago. There wasn’t really any way around it.

As her fist closed in on his head, instead of dodging the attack, he raised his arm to block. A blade appeared. The air immediately around them was filled with the wet, squishy sound of ripping flesh. Impaling his arm practically clean through, Sickle roared in pain.

Which turned to an almost deranged laugh.

His power kicked in. He could feel the blood in the air. On his arm. On the blade. And with a little bit of focus, he changed it. Made the droplets in the air turn to little spines, no bigger than a cocktail stick. A little more alterations made them razor-sharp, and hard as steel. He did the same to the blood at the edges of his wound, before angling the whole lot away from himself.

And, turning the cut into his arm into a makeshift bomb, sent them screeching out in almost every direction.

@Migyudon@Duoya@Lasrever@Old Amsterdam@SkinnyTy@PlatinumSkink

Worm - The Malfesant Throne

@GardevoiranI expect them all to go to Xoxi, if I'm honest :-P

@PlatinumSkinkThat would be hilarious. "What's he up to-

Oh."

Will try make time to get a post up Tonight ^_^

Worm - The Malfesant Throne

@Migyudon Don't stress, you aren't holding anyone up. I'm in a similar boat. Mum assumed she had food poisoning, but since I'm starting to feel really miserable days later, it might be safe to assume it was actually a bug :-P

Worm - The Malfesant Throne

@GardevoiranAnd he let the worst killer in the city get away. Pffft, what a chump.

Also, _{I have never played Super Smash Bros before} so I am going to leave the other Ward's characters and what is actually happening in game to you. I'll be deliberately vague in my posts ^_^

Worm - The Malfesant Throne

First off, all, sorry for the lack of OOC and IC posting from me. I'll keep poking away at both over the festive period but I still haven't started xmas shopping yet, and because I work in retail my shifts have ramped up dramatically. I'm not working 6 days out of 7 over the next three weeks, from 3am-12pm, rather than 5-12. If I'm not quite as vocal, it's because I'm being really, really loud.

Snoring.

In bed.

At like 6 in the afternoon.

But I will still keep posting every 3-5 days so that you can all keep going. And just let me know if anyone wants something more specific to interact with and i'll try to accommodate that as best I can. ^.^

@GardevoiranI have fixed the tag and apologise you calling you a Banana. Between you and me? I hate that guy.