[Nexus] Inside 49

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Deadwood Street]

The sound of a bullet hitting the roof right near her hand makes Demon Queen curse again and press herself closer to the wall of the car. She didn't think that the pirates' ships would have such high quality material. Which just upsets her more.

She sees the skiff with the crate starting to fly away, and she considers launching herself at it, going into demon form, and letting the problem sort itself out. She quickly grits her teeth and shakes her head, getting rid of those thoughts. She couldn't have that going on at the moment.

She notices Copi on the skiff and decides that she can handle it now. Demon Queen just had to take care of whoever was left on the train.

Just as she pulled herself back onto the roof, she heard the cries from the passengers. She growls slightly, her eyes getting a deeper red, then takes off, running towards the opening in the roof. If there are any pirates around it, she will swing her arms towards them, aiming to shove them right off the train.

Depending on how detailed her scan is, Copi will find out the following about Demon Queen:

Her mind's a mess at the moment.
Her current goal is to help stop the robbery.
Her thoughts aren't completely her own, though she seems to be fighting that.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

[Red Zone - Alley]

Seeming to be ignoring the other woman at the moment, Ivaz will go to grab the knife anyways. If successful, she will stay in that pose as she looks over the blade for a moment.

Good thing I've been places "strangers" don't get to go, huh? She'll turn her head to look at Amist with a smirk on her face.

[Rebonack]

[Deadwood Street]

Lightning gun is mounted on the skiff. So we'll assume the bomb was tossed up there. It lands with a plink right as the electrical weapon is about to be fired and KABOOM! The force of the blast hurls the pilot and gunner through the air, screaming as they go! With no one to steer the tiny airship it begins to wobble in the air. Thankfully it was already clamped onto the train and its gyroscope is keeping it more or less upright. Because otherwise there would be a skiff crashing into the train and that would be terrible!

The gunsligher nails one of the pirates in the shoulder, causing him to drop his gun with a few choice words that aren't terribly forum friendly. He scrambles to catch the weapon and ends up nose-diving over the edge of the train after losing his footing. Whoops!

The other five pirates are down inside the passenger car, busily taking everything of value from the people inside.

Ace, meanwhile, is locked in combat with the last pirate standing on the top of the train! Sword fights really aren't all that interesting to watch. It's mostly people being cautious and probing for a chance to cut the other guy as opposed to all the crazy acrobatic whirling around you see in movies.

But Ace doesn't have a sword.

"One!"

Side-step the thrust-

"Two!"

Leap over the slash, landing behind the pirate-

"Three!"

Plant her hands on the roof of the train and buck the pirate in the ribs right as he turns. He gives a wild flail as he's launched off his feet, scoring a gouge in Ace's leg. Thankfully nothing too serous. The brigand lands on his back with a thud and rolls over the edge of the train.

At the last moment he begins to desperately scrabble at the lip of the roof, probably because he doesn't feel inclined to die horribly. Suffice to say he's rather surprised when Ace grabs him by the forearm and tosses him (rather roughly) to safety.

"Tch. Only three seconds. You're not even worth my time!" the pegasatyr huffs as she adjusts her gauntlet. And generally ignores the blood trickling down her leg.

"You... you saved me...?" the pirate stammers. And then recoils when Ace is suddenly up in his face, wings flared. She grabs him by his collar and yanks him even closer.

"I sure as hell did! And that's the only time I will! You gunna cross me again, buddy?" she bellows. The pirate shakes his head quickly. And then gets tossed back to the roof. "Good."

Queeny dives into the crowded traincar! Yippy skippy hostage situation! The pirates grab several terrified passengers and hold knives to throats. One of the pirates is on the ground, probably shot by someone in the train. That means four filthy cut-throats remaining. "Not a step closer there, missy!"

Pirate Count: 6

[Lost_Deep]

Deadwood Street

Copi's scan is no deeper than "This is a mind and it is sapient!" She's giving each mind "Ally" or "Enemy" designations manually.

Copi watches as the skiff begin to leave, with her on it. Well, that's not good. She tries to crawl up to the deck of the skiff, hopefully taking anyone up there by surprise and wrecking them with large spiky things.

Hopefully there isn't more than three people up there, seeing as she's using two claws to hang on the boat and one for a shield...

Wait, wasn't she shot? I don't see any blood or a bullet hole... it shouldn't have missed... maybe it was simply deflected by her elder hellhound leather lined lab coat dress thing.

((I was ninja'd by Rebo! Seeing if I have to edit now... nope, looks good.))

[The Bushranger]

(Sorry for the slow posting - reading an XCOM/SG-1 fusion fic)

[Red Zone - Alley]

Amist smirked right back, then did a nimble backflip, standing in front of Ivaz with a cocky grin. "Alas for my poor blade, all too true. Fortunatley for me, though," she added with a wink, stretching in her black leather 'armor'.

[ThirdEmperor]

Deadwood Street

Actually, the gunslinger was going for the other way 'round- Distract the pirates keeping him pinned down with the bomb, then shoot at the gunskiff. But hey, I'm not one to argue with a favorable result.

With one boat out of commission and Copi dealing with the second, there's just 'bout only one batch of pirates left to deal with. Leapfrogging over the wall the gunslinger leaps down into the passenger car, pulling another bomb from his hat as he lands.

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Deadwood Street]

Demon Queen's red eyes scan the scene in front of her, finding all of her options. Her Abyssal mark has appeared by now. A black, bleeding sunburst on her forehead. Combine that with her red eyes and the red and black gem lodged in her chest, and she's kind of scary looking at the moment.

If I were you, I'd drop the knives and let the people go. I'll be sure to not hurt you as much if you do. Her voice is the quiet angry voice at the moment.

As she talks, she attempts to subtly move her hands a little, attempting to grab onto the knives with her powers. But, then the gunslinger leaps in, bomb in hand. That catches her attention for a moment, making her lose her grip on the knives. She'll quickly try to grab them again, though, and then yank them away from the hostages.

---------------------------------------------------------------

[Red Zone - Alley]

Ivaz watches the backflip, then turns to face her companion, knife still in hand.

So what brings you out in the cold?

[The Bushranger]

[Red Zone - Alley]

"Honestly? Boredom. I was hoping I might run into you so we could spread our particular brand of Fun to the town."

Amist smirked, and rested her hand on the whip coiled on her belt.

[Rebonack]

[Deadwood Street]

Now we've got two heroes in the passenger car! When the weapons are gripped one of the passengers takes his chance and clobbers his attacker in the nose with the back of his head and then tackles the pirate next to him!

There's quite the scuffle now. And the passengers are none too happy about this interruption. So long as those weapons are held in place with TK the pirates won't be able to do all that much.

Copi climbs up the side of the skiff and is greeted by some kind of crazy hextech sledgehammer being wielded by the pirate lieutenant! The weapon crackles with a disruptive, dissonant energy field that can wreak havoc on most complex tools. Whether those tools are advanced energy shield, psionic barriers, or magical wards. Basically if it's pounding anything more advanced than a sheet of steel with some padding behind it then it's going to cause some problems.

Meanwhile, down on the roof, Ace grits her teeth at the fleeing skiff. "Oh no you DON'T!" she yells as she pumps her wings, rising off her hooves. "Not while Ace Cloudkicker is on the job!"

And then with a snap she goes rocketing toward the skiff like a missile.

Pirate Count: 2

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Deadwood Street]

Once the knives are out of the pirates' hands, Demon Queen will swing her hand and toss them out a window. She had no use for them now.

She turns to the gunslinger. Stay here and make sure none of the passengers die. I'm gonna get some answers.

She'll turn back to the scuffle and reach to grab a pirate by the back of his shirt. If successful, she'll pull him back onto the roof with her. She'll use her powers to hover him right to the edge of the roof.

Alright, start singing. What's in the box back there? You guys independent, or contract workers? How many more in your group? And finally, why should I let you live? Hm...she's not very nice, is she?

-------------------------------------------------------------------

[Red Zone - Alley]

Ivaz is now idly tossing the knife up and down.

Yeah, pretty much the same here. So, what say you to us going and stabbing things, huh? She'll give a smirk and a wink.

((Nevermind. Got some more free time.))

[Lost_Deep]

Deadwood Street

The hexhammer is going to hit Copi's psychic shield... which means that the chaos kick is going to go straight to her brain. Now, for anyone this would be bad... but for Copi it's even worse.

As her mind reels in chaos, it lashes out in self-defense. Everything in a diameter slightly larger than the skiff is going to be a target in the mental equivalent of being stuck in a fireworks tent and all of the fireworks go off at the exact same moment.

Yes, inside your brain.

Copi's psychic limbs disappear, but Copi somehow manages to grab the side of the skiff with her real hands. Good thing she has those for emergencies.

[ThirdEmperor]

Grey Zone- House of Wares

"Thanks." Setting the bedroll aside for the moment, Wrath unzips his raincoat and shrugs it from his shoulders, folding the waterlogged raiment over the back of his chair. "So, these competitors, do we need to worry about them? They looking for you as well?" One paramilitary organization out for her is already more than enough, but Fate seems bound and determined to follow bad news with worse.

Deadwood Street

Y'know what's neat 'bout old videogames? No friendly fire.

Which means the gunslinger doesn't worry for a second 'bout silly things like 'civilians casualties' or 'collateral damage' as he flicks the bomb into the air, then spikes it towards the noggin of the nearest pirate. By the magic of videogame logic, any civilians caught in the blast will emerge unharmed, if slightly annoyed.

'course, any particularly tough enemies might also be left standing. It's only a cartoon bomb, after all.

[Rebonack]

[Deadwood Street]

The grabbed pirate starts singing! "I don't know what's in the box!" he wails. "The boss didn't tell us what we're stealing! Just told us to grab that metal crate and whatever else we could, honest! We operate outta The Maelstrom. It's always movin' around outside the City so we don't get pinned down! Only the officers know where it is! Please don't kill me!" he sobs pathetically.

Meanwhile!

Ace is zooming toward the skiff right as Copi's mind-bomb goes off! The pegasatyr gives a shrill scream of pain, gripping her head as her wings begin beating at the air erratically. Without the coordination to fly she begins fluttering toward the ground like a leaf on the wind. At least she isn't in a nose dive...

Unlike the skiff. The mind-whammy causes the pilot to slump heavily against the controls, resulting in the airship heading for the ground at a pretty dangerous clip. The lieutenant is staggered by the attack, stumbling back several steps before pulling a cog-shaped device off his vest and slapping it onto the metal box.

Back in the train car people scream as the bomb explodes!

...and only lays low the pirates. Well. That's handy. Seems these guys were just your basic grunts that can be taken down with one attack.

"Thank you sir!"
"You saved us!"
"Our hero!"

The NPCs seem pretty happy once they realize that they aren't exploded.

[Murkus]

[Grey Zone - House of Wares]

Kailee looks at the bedrolls inquisitively. Perhaps they'd dry her clothes. She's still dressed in that huge, ratty shirt and some bum's hoody, both soaked through.

Kai watches Ashley as she moves about, and replies without shifting her gaze. "They could be. But most don't know about the Nexus. And Audrey would be the bigger prize, if they're looking for an Escort." She smiles, a little melancholy. "I'd certainly be easier."

[KerfuffleMach2]

Deadwood Street

The dark, demon-infested part of Demon Queen's mind is currently several brutal ways to kill this man. And her face reflects that. The man might feel himself tilting a little bit more over the edge.

Suddenly, Demon Queen grits her teeth and her face changes, looking as if she is giving a lot of effort to something. The man will stop tilting, then slowly start floating back towards her.

Once he's close enough, she'll go to punch him in the head to knock him out. Then she'll float him back to the opening and drop him on the other pirates down there.

She lowers her arm when he's in, then suddenly hisses in a breath and brings her hand to her head, as if she just got hit in the head. Shut up, you. I'm still in control here.

Yep. Definitely has issues.

She turns to look for the skiff in time to see it falling. As well as Ace. Demon Queen will take a running leap off the train, using her powers to help her land safe. Then she'll try to gwt close enough to Ace to use her powers to keep the winged woman from falling any more.

[Devixer]

Grey Zone - House of Wares

"This source of power you want, does it have to be technological? I imagine I could make something similar using magic," Ashley says. She starts walking to each corner of the main part of the warehouse, placing a crystal down at each one. Once she's done, she heads to the large desk and grabs a piece of charcoal, drawing several runes on its surface.

[Lord Magtok]

Ice Rink

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Ice Rink

"Sure. Go ahead," Tracey says, giving in to the inevitability of spending even more time with Eileen.

Needs is, as always, completely oblivious to the nuances of human interaction. After all, if he was capable of knowing when people weren't welcome, do you think he'd be anywhere near as cheery and upbeat all the time, with that pungent aura of awfulness always hovering about him like that?

MagMart

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[MagMart]

Harnel nods, "A necklace sounds like a good idea, yeah. As for the fey... they're expecting another pair of twins of their own, oddly enough. I could probably get away with getting baby stuff for them."

The cyborg nods. "And your own kids? They still little, or aged up magically, or what?"

[The Bushranger]

[Ice Rink]

Smiling (too) brightly, Eileen quickly set about the process of securing her bags and preparing her skates.

It likely takes far too little time for Tracey's liking...

===

[Red Zone - Alley]

"Stab, slice, dice, bend, fold, spindle and mutilate - these sound like cunning plans to me." Amist laughed, reaching out for her kukri with a grin.

[Gullara]

Generic Street

Imesah feels that she's done all she can here. She isn't able to put a fire out, even with her Miracles. And people with more expertise in these matters than her. For now, she remains where she is, remaining at the beck and call of those who need help the most.

[Generic Street]

Wincing at the intensifying light, Hikari clenches her hand into a fist in frustration. She keeps the cup o' Ignai at the same altitude, but floats up and back, to get her a direct view of the flaming figure. With a gesture, and a few seemingly random notes sung, she begins crafting an array of magical sigils in the air, concentric circles of crystal blue.

The process grows ever more intricate, until the entire structure locks into a place, forming something rather similar to Sayuri's radiant cannon. It sends a deep azure glow into the middle of the pyre, a wave of anti-heat that will steadily increase in power until something significant happens to Ignai, be it positive or negative.

[Generic Street]

Imesah can no doubt find people that could use her help, though I won't RP every encounter. Some members of the fire brigade will probably recommend she and overs evacuate, but she won't be forced to leave.

In the sky again, Ignai has some magic tossed at her. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to have any effect. The fire still grows in intensity at the same rate and there's no real effect on Ignai herself.

A short time after this latest attempt, however, the flames suddenly vanish. It's not as if she'd been cooled off, but instead like a switch has been flipped. One second the fires were raging full strength, and the next they were gone. This only applies to the flames immediately around her, however. All the other flames that were lit earlier still behave like normal fire.

As for Ignai herself, the elf is lying unconscious at the bottom of Hikari's bowl of magic. Although the flames were fierce, and any clothing and possessions she had were completely burned away, she seems unharmed.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Red Zone - Alley

Ivaz grins and holds the knife out, then quickly pulls it back, sticking her tongue out at Amist.

Nope. It's mine now. Gonna have to take it.

((And now I'm off to bed.))

[Devixer]

Generic Street

Imesah refuses to leave when members of the fire brigade recommend it, but those encounters can probably be skipped. Eventually, she decides to fully leave this in the hands of the experts, especially when the actual source of the fire is suddenly switched off. She sits on the ground to rest, out of anyone else's way, hoping that there weren't a great many people who were hurt.

[The Bushranger]

Red Zone - Alley

"Oh, I know a few ways you could be...persuaded," the half-drowess purrs, sliding her tongue across her lips before grinning. "So who do we stab first?"

[ThirdEmperor]

Deadwood Street

Pausing to tip his hat to the grateful crowd, the gunslinger leaps nimbly out of the carriage and back to the top of the train, listening to neither gravity nor physics as they both complain that doing so should be quite impossible.

Now, let's see what's going on. One skiff coming crashing down. That's no good. But hey, there's another one right here, with a grappling hook and everything! With another leap the gunslinger hops up onto the tether skiff, looking around for a control panel or something of that ilk.

Grey Zone- House of Wares

"Okay. That's good." Or at least not as bad as it might've been. Sitting back down Wrath wraps the bedroll around himself like a blanket, the enchantment on it warming him. "So, uhm, you alright?" Heavens knows he'd be a lot less calm if it was him being hunted. But then, Kailee's not human. Still a person, but clearly not a human person.

[Zefir]

[DMC]

It's likely it has been. Sakura's been busy away from Watch with the baby after all, and no doubt Mia has been busy too.

The dryad giggles. "Pregnant again. Laela was born ten months ago. We've got two boys on the way soon." She explains with a big smile. She couldn't be happier.

[DMC]

"Awww." Mia says smiling. She didn't knw that a year has past since they saw each other the last time. After a moment she looks worried.

"I'm not sure if it is a good idea to do this now. I don't really want you to spend your strengt for this"

Sitar's Strings

Zefir stops in the mid of his mea as he hears the noise from outside.

"What the hell is going on?"

He heads for the door and opens it carefuly. At least he don't want to get painted and assumes they returned.

[Murkus]

[DMC]

Adir would argue, but she's got a point. Adir's not really sure how much energy growing things can take out've Sakura. She's never seemed tired after gardening, but this could be different. "Well, honey, what do you think? Can you manage?" He'll be there to help, of course.

[Grey Zone - House of Wares]

"Physically, I'm alright. All right. But... I feel fear. I have never felt fear before. Elexxion removes fear by removing death," Kailee frowns deeply. Her dependance on them was both sickening and terrifying. All her work meant nothing to them. And when those bounties flashed around her - that was where fear took hold. "Now... I may die." She shakes, and obviously not from the cold.

When Ashley's question is posed, Kailee finally looks up, her eyes flashing inquisitively. "Does this effect produce electricity?"

[happyturtle]

Sitar Strings

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When Amil leaves the message goes out.

"The reptile has left the nest. Attack Pattern Alpha! Repeat Alpha!"

Alpha team springs into action and begins casually strolling down the street. It consists of Emmi, an elf girl with curly hair, headphones and a tie-dye shirt, Eve, a shorter girl who looks mostly human if not for her cotton candy blue hair and eyebrows, and Joker, a perfectly normal human boy.

Bravo also begins their approach, although at a much more rapid pace. Four guys, each of them wearing their own mask. The only one not obviously human is the one who has a solid foot on even the next tallest and is built like a brick wall. Unlike team Alpha they rush at them on rollerskates. They'll reach the restaurant before them. When close enough, one of them presses a button on a boombox he had been carrying and as loud as it goes plays

"DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK, I'VE BEEN HERE FOR YEARS!
ROCKIN' MY PEERS, PUTTIN' SUCKERS IN FEAR!
MAKIN' THE TEARS RAIN DOWN LIKE A MON-SOON!
LISTEN TO THE BASS GO BOOM!"

They begin their assault on the restaurant, or more specifically the tarps. They attempt to dash by and snatch the tarps before they can react.
They should arrive before team Alpha gets there.

Sitar's Strings

Zefir stops in the mid of his mea as he hears the noise from outside.

"What the hell is going on?"

He heads for the door and opens it carefuly. At least he don't want to get painted and assumes they returned.

Since Zefir is being careful, he isn't in time to stop one of the tarps from being snatched down, though the pimply faced waiter manages to grab one and keep it from being stolen.

The Sitar's Strings

Ekkehard Ohtheresson is indeed here. Sorry; I could have chosen a more common name; I just didn't want to. He's a young man in his twenties, with a relatively plain face, brown eyes and hair, and he's wearing a leather coat and jeans.

I don't know why Ekkehard is so hard for me to remember. I remember your other character names without much difficulty. But for some reason, Ekkehard slides off my brain. Ekkehard. Ekkehard.

Sitar's Strings
Treb gets up and walks over to Emily's mother. He was going to ask to get something to eat but then he started to hear a bit of the conversation.
"Is something up?"

Jan covers the microphone. "Trying to get graffiti removers scheduled. Didn't you see the mess outside?" Of course, Treb might've come in the back entrance.

---

1

Ice Rink

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Ice Rink



Needs is, as always, completely oblivious to the nuances of human interaction. After all, if he was capable of knowing when people weren't welcome, do you think he'd be anywhere near as cheery and upbeat all the time, with that pungent aura of awfulness always hovering about him like that?

[Ice Rink]

Smiling (too) brightly, Eileen quickly set about the process of securing her bags and preparing her skates.

It likely takes far too little time for Tracey's liking...

Indeed. Tracey skates sulkily and waits for someone else to come up with a topic of conversation. Mostly because her player has a headache.

[Mindfreak]

Sitar's Strings
Treb shook his head. He hadn't noticed when he came in today.
Then again, he had some things on his mind this morning.
"If you want, I could just go out and remove it. Save you some trouble."

[happyturtle]

Sitar's Strings

"Remove it how?" Jan asks.

[Gullara]

[DMC]

"You don't think I'm some weak, delicate little flower just because I'm carrying around a couple babies now do you?" Sakura puts her hands on her hips. "I've done this whole baby thing before. I don't need to be coddled." She waves their concerns away with an amused little smile on her face.

[Mindfreak]

Sitar's Strings
Treb rubs the back of his head.
"Erm, with some hard work? I've had to clean spray paint up before, so I know how to."
You don't want to know what a young Treb thought he could achieve with spray paint

[McBish]

[Darkstone Manor]

"I'm not too worried about that. I'm more clever than you might think." Young Star says as he lands Calvin in his back yard. "Here," he says offering a device. "This communicator has my phone number on it. It's the one marked Phone1. Call if something happens." The Justice Gang might have disbanded, but the free swag hasn't.

Calvin takes the comunicator and pockets it, then pulls out a piece of paper with an adress written on it.

"Alright. Here is where the guy is. Find out about the group buying Kepita. The guy isn't suppose to be dangerous or anything so you should have no problem getting anwsers from him."