[IC] Welcome to Terminus [IC]

[DukeGod]

Having finally managed to remove her full mask, Mayara spends some time simply shaking her head and rubbing her hands over her hair to get it all in place

Then she finally takes her turn

"My name is Mayara and...my power. It lets me see these...ghosts around people. The ghosts are hurting. I think I can foresee how someone will be injured"

She specifically chooses to ignore the wispy trails that might link one ghost to another in the group, or really see their suffering in any real detail right now.

[Thematthew]

Spoiler: Flashback

Show

"Disloyalty can never be excused. If [garbled name] has really turned to the Consortium, then he might as well be dead to me... assuming you don't want me to make him dead?" Alice asked, with a bit too much excitement. "Anyway, I'm glad [garbled name] will be there, I'm definitely going to want some backup. What about [garbled name], is she back from Bali? Also, if [garbled name] is going to be there you're going to need to make sure the others are ready, because I don't want a repeat of last time."

"I think they classify me as a breaker and brute" Alice adds

Remember, make them comfortable around you. Don't give too much away.

She shifts somewhat nervously

God I hate this subtle crap, why can't I just solve this problem with my fists?

[Feralgeist]

Spoiler: Flashback response

Show

"Zero deaths, Jay. That's what i swore when we started this game, It's why my gamertag says hardcore and yours says loser. If you need a level 3, maybe you should've specced better last week like i told you to, rather than have me hold your hand. I'm in their treasury, This is the big leagues. If you can't hack it, stay outta my way for Commander. Going level 3.


"Dammit i told you my name is Nighthawk! No! Not in the treasury!! Our guild needs the money!!"

Tony chuckles. "I don't play for gold, Jay. I play to win." Onscreen Aurelius summons a spiked ball and launches it to the wall, It explodes sending fire and bits of gold everywhere, blowing open a way to the throne room. He stalks forward, growing in size as his buff procs stack, swinging his Atlatl, waiting for the cooldown timer to expire. He flicks the Atlatl and several Javelins fan out, embedding themselves in the walls. Aurelius strides to the throne and sits down. "Unguarded. Excellent. Patrol the room. Aggressive stance.

Smaller ghostly knights crawl out from the walls and grasp the javelins, guarding the room.

Tony cracks his knuckles and chugs down a bottle of Mana (tm) "I win. And now we wait."

Jay starts screeching about his predicament outside the castle but Tony clicks the mute button. He chuckles again as he watches the capture countdown timer.

Tony stares off into the distance for a second, then comes back to himself.
"I think there's more...way more. Like a Level Up. But i can't remember. Just have to wait and see I guess. Sorry." He shrugs.

[DukeGod]

Spoiler: Flashback Response

Show

Mayara covers her mouth with one hand while half-hugging herself with the other and starts shaking her head

"No. No, no, no, sorry but no. We don't NEED to send this kind of message, that kind of message never works. Please don't. Don't ask me to do that please."

She really wanted to put up more resistance besides "please don't" but it was hard finding the words. And worse, she knew she might cave in and accept if she didn't find a better resistance

And then, she'd have to make one hard choice

[cameronpants]

Spoiler: Tony Flashback

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"Dammit, Tony! What the hell! Sheila just got toasted on her way to Level 3! We may win this round, but the team's Medals are going to be ****! This matters in the Finals!" The words appear as a Whisper on the top left corner of the screen as the timer ticks to 0. The words QUEST VICTORIOUS pop up on the screen as the game views fade to black. The instant replays that come on next show three of the enemy team's toons charging towards the throne room, trying to stop you from winning. Two get killed by traps and teammates, while the third steps foot into the room only to be pin-cushioned by a half dozen glowing blue javelins. You click his gamertag and see he was Hardcore too- that's double points for you. You see your rank on the next screen jump eighty ticks as the scores are doled out.
"We're in this together, Tony." Jay says as the scores are displayed and the mute command expires. The score is weighted heavily towards you and an enemy player named GateKeeper901. Jay sounds a lot more calm, almost sad. "Winning may be everything to you, but we all put the time in. We deserve your respect, seeing as how we're teammates."

Spoiler: Alice Flashback

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"Understood. If the chance arises, and it doesn't impact the mission, then do it. He knows a lot of our inner workings, and that kind of leak could prove disastrous. However, I know him. I don't think his choice to join the Consortium was malicious, and I don't think he'd ever do anything to harm us or Guardian as a whole- but there are Thinkers out there who could do a lot without our oversight and protection.

"[Garbled Name] is not back from Bali. She'll be there for three more weeks; we expect her debrief to coincide with your mission resolution, so you may end up with some R&R at the same time.

"Unfortunately, yes. [Garbled Name] may be the linchpin in the Consortium's current thrust. We're not sure why, but [Garbled Name] may, in fact, be their target. We're not sure if he's the target for acquisition or termination, but either way **** will hit the fan. Our thinkers are leaning towards termination but we can't be too careful. You may not know this, but [Garbled Name] was recently added to the roster of the [Garbled name]. Which means that [Garbled Name] may make an appearance along with the rest of his horrific band of freaks. Keep your eyes peeled, Alice. Don't do anything to get yourself killed. These missions are important, but good soldiers are more important."

Spoiler: Clarissa Flashback

Show

The empty auditorium shook slightly with the impact of Goliath hitting the ground. The boards of the stage erupted in a wave of splinters and dust as he slammed into them. The debris rained over you where you stood. You couldn't tell the difference between the sound of the boards cracking and the sound of his bones snapping. You didn't spend long thinking on it.
You span and turned your attention on the girl. She looked like she was fourteen. Her hands were raised, and her fingers twisted and arched. Her eyes bugged out of her head. She breathed in fits and starts through her nose, snarling slightly with each gasp. She was down on one knee, the other leg extended behind her. She was graceful, managing to keep upright like that- all too often people fell over when they were in your Zone.
She slowly brought her outstretched leg underneath her, and straightened her other leg until she was standing again. She was smart, learning to feel out the movements before attempting anything big.
You knew she had no chance to escape. The panic in her eyes betrayed that she knew it as well, though she was going to fight dearly for it. Her power was one that was controlled by moving in certain ways in relation to her target; growing and shrinking energy effects, modifying and altering matter states. She called herself Ballerina. You were an absolute counter to her, in every way that mattered.
"Alright, he's down for the count." Ken said as he dusted himself off and strode towards you. He froze for a second as he reached your zone, shook his head a few times, then continued. "What we gonna do with the girl?" He said with a chesire grin, eyeing the young thing.

Spoiler: Mayara Flashback

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"I wan' make somethin' clear. See, remember Tom King? He died two weeks ago. He's got a momma, papa, and three youngsters to take care of. Well, he did. They ain't never gon' know he died trying to free them. And Martin? Yeah, kid from a block over. Poor dickens got his hand cut free when ol' Chupa found out he don' stole apples for his kids. You, right here, refusin' do get yer hands dirty for the Cause? Then yer just as guilty as the ****s in El Capitolio. Do you get that? Yer killin' yer neighbors, cutting off hands of fathers wanting to do right by their kin."
"Spur, El Capitolio is a school now. Government officials convene in the Plaza Civica now." George corrects the parahuman.
"Right, well, point bein' yer part of the problem, Bridge. Get me? We ain't gon' make anyone free by *****-footin' around. You gotta be hard if you wan' make the hard changes, see?"

[Ramsus]

Spoiler: Flashback Response

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Clarissa took control of the girl and moments later replied to Ken in the girl's voice, "Not what you're thinking, that's for sure." and then took a few moments testing out the power. "We were all young and new to this once. This is her first offense against us. I'll explore her for her strengths and weaknesses and we'll send her back to her people with the typical letter of our expectations of recompense for one of theirs trying to cross us. If she's smart, she'll learn our authority isn't to be challenged for a reason. If she's not... I doubt it will even be us who needs to deal with her. Do you hear me girl? I've decided to do you a kindness. You wouldn't want it his way."

Then she gets to work learning everything she needs to know about the girl's power and how it could be useful to them if the opportunity arose and how to most easily crush her if she challenged them again.

[herodofcows]

[Caleb]
Using your power, you manage to scout out a five kilometer area around your body in a few short minutes. You are about three kilometers from the water; the wharves are empty of viable vessels, and the near bay devoid of life. Further out in the water you see a few Guardian response vessels and the coast Guard taking wide, lazy circles around a series of bright orange buoys floating in the water.

The main thoroughfare you're on runs North to South. About two kilometers south, a massive black wall has been erected from the concrete wall by the bay all the way to a sixteen story apartment building two blocks east of your position. The wall picks up again on the far side of the building; you believe they've sealed off thus part of the city. On the far side of the barricade are groups of roving soldiers, carrying tinker-made weapons and wearing advanced, full-coverage armor.

Checking every room in every building in your range would take a long time, and you're not so comfortable leaving your body exposed to the strangers of the crater. You decide to do broad sweeps of the streets instead, checking routes and approach vectors instinctually.

You find something else as you're getting a lay of the land. Northeast of you, near the limit of your range, is a man standing in the courtyard of a gated community. Tendrils of black ichor spill forth from his mouth, hands, and stomach. They have sprawled across the courtyard, coating the cobblestone walkway and spackled walls with ropes and chords of vein-like tar. His mouth is distended, his arms twitching and reaching at various lengths of the squirming black strands.

Caleb zips his senses throughout the area, noting the direction of the Guardian walls and vessels with a sinking feeling in . . . well, probably his stomach, but with his senses thrown he can't quite tell.

Quarantine. There's no other word for it. They're being cut off from the rest of the world as best as Guardian can manage. He racks his brains, imagining rather than feeling his pulse quicken.

Is this an Endbringer attack? The Simurgh, maybe? I don't hear any singing but what else could it be?

The poster of Meteor that he passes . . . well, that sends him for a loop. Something about Meteor brings up a host of conflicting emotions: awe, fury, powerlessness, resentment. It reminds him of . . . someone else, maybe. It's hard to say.

The guy with the tendrils gives him pause. Caleb doesn't know much about the cape scene, but he's pretty damned sure that THAT isn't supposed to be happening. He briefly entertains the idea of teleporting over there before common sense kicks back in and he returns to his body . . . just as everyone appears to be introducing their powers.

"Uh, I can, uh, throw my senses," he says sheepishly, stumbling over the words. Somehow, he knows he doesn't talk about his power much by inclination . . .

"I mean, I can, uh, send them out, you know? Sense things from far away. I can also teleport anywhere I can sense. Just me though. I think. Um. So, it's quiet out there. The docks look abandoned and there aren't really any people out near us. I saw . . ."

He describes what he's seen to the best of his ability; the Guardian quarantine wall two kilometers south, the marine blockade out in the bay, the man with black ichor coming out of him. He finds that he is gravitating his focus more to the people in costume, under the apprehension that they know what to do.

"So . . . it's the Simurgh, right?" he asks hesitantly, upon finishing his narrative, "That's why they quarantine, right? Like, they don't do that for any other reason, do they?"

This last bit is asked with hopeful tones. He's read about cities and people in the aftermath of the Simurgh. The very idea is terrifying, and the possibility of ANY other explanation is one that is eagerly sought.

[Feralgeist]

Spoiler: Flashback response

Show

Tony sighs, making a Chit-Chat gesture with his hand. Jay could be a pain but he'd always stuck by Tony. Jay was left with poor handeye coordination from being a bystander in a cape-related incident, but he was always high in the rankings for his team coordination, a brilliant strategist. When he told Tony he was being out of line, more often than not he was right. Tony presses the voice chat hotkey.

"You're right man, I'm sorry. You're my best friend and you deserve better. I just get so caught up in the quest sometimes when the blood is running hot, you know me. Tell you what, my parents are outta town next weekend, how about I ring up Smitty and we do a Hellrun on Kragoths' Astral Lair? The expansion has just come out, they finished the beta. I got a free couple of keys from a guy i know, lets install it and get you that VoidBow you've been yakking about since last patch. You could even bring your mate Higgins over, we could always use a Fourth. "


"But you HATED that dungeon in the beta."

"Yep. Sure did."

"Okay man...but i should warn you, Higgins is a casual gamer, he doesn't take this stuff seriously like you do."

Upon hearing the word "casual" Tony's right eye twitches.
"It'll be fine man, I have a sense of humour."

"Didn't have much of a sense of humour when you were going for your Spearchucker upgrade."


"It's an Atlatl, and that was different. I'm not upgrading my stuff this time, so there's no problem. If your mate is cool we'll have no problem."

Jay's voice takes on a suspicious tone.
"What's your angle Tony? You'd never tank me on a Hellrun you didn't like just to suck up"

"Alright man I'll come clean. I heard from some guy that there's a hidden easter egg this patch, they forgot to remove it. If i can get an archer like you through the Kragoth's Astral Lair without you taking any damage, The eye of Kragoth becomes available to pick up. Insta-soulbound."

"I've heard of that, a few guys had it in the Beta. Let's you No-Clip Dev style, right?"

"Almost right. They changed it so it interacts with different classes in different ways. My guy will get a temporary ethereal walk skill if i can pull this off. Short bursts of No-Clip. No more treasure room debacles, this is for the Guild. I wanna make things right."


"Okay man. You're not gonna flip out on me if i get hurt?"

"No way man. There's like a one-in-a-million chance of doing this, no pressure, I'm just gonna bring my A-game. This is mostly about your VoidBow. Just don't tell Higgins about the Amulet, he won't understand the importance."

"Okay. You still talking to Trish? Is she tagging along? I've been brushing up on my "Ye olde Bloodstormian"

"I dunno man. Things are getting weird with her, I'm thinking of breaking it off. I know some people like to get into the roleplay pretty deep on these servers, but she gets REALLY into it. You know that Home&Hearth optional subscription?"


"Yeah I saw the ads. Not my thing, too gimmicky."

"Yeah you didn't miss much. Anyways turns out it comes with a pregenned family and everything. I tried to show her my cool digs but she FREAKED when she saw the new NPCS, kept demanding how Aurelius could betray her like this."


"That's weird."

"I know. I'm kinda bored with it and they're hardcore NPCs, to match my toon i guess. Ill ditch them before we do the dungeon run, that should get her off my case. Wanna help me clean house?"

"Nah man, the realism some of the townies have in this game creeps me out. Makes me feel weird."

"Your loss. So I'll see you this weekend? We good?"

"We're good, tone. Just pull your head outta your ass."

"Will do. Seeya on Friday"

Tony watches the victory screen, a slow 360 pan around Aurelius on his new throne. Tony sighs. "Wish i could be you buddy, an unrepentant warlord with no rules but his own."

The figure on the screen should be showing the victory animation dance, but Aurelius just sits there, pensive. He looks sad.

"Gah, looks like they listened to Smitty's Guild leader about the new emotive stances. Why'd i get lumped with emo? Aurelius is supposed to be a badass. F**** it, I can't be bothered changing it on my account, maybe it's randomized each login."

Tony comes back to reality again, struggling to find the words.

"I never really got into the whole "cape" thing but i think I'm a Changer maybe? In gaming terms I'm a hybrid tank/DPS. The Simurgh? I doubt it man. Aren't you supposed to hear her? Lets go ask tar-boy some pointed questions, maybe he knows what's up."

[Ramsus]

Empress shakes her head and sighs. "Our nameless friend here could well be correct." Making a point that the senses thrower didn't offer a name to call him by. "I don't know why else would we be quarantined like this without any clear reasons around us. But... perhaps there's some hope. Perhaps our current condition isn't her fault but rather an attempt at a fix? Either way we won't know if we don't find a way out or to at least contact people on the outside. I don't think confronting something else trapped in here would do us any good. Hmmm." she says and pauses to think.

((I have an idea but Anthony hasn't explained his power yet, so she can't really have the idea yet. Or at least it would be rude to go too far into the planning stage before everyone did their introductions.))

[Dromuthra]

When Caleb mentions Quarantine, a big mental alarm goes off in Matt's head and he stares forward in shock for a good bit, dimly listening and categorizing the rest of the information for later. ****... if it's Simurgh, she could probably do the memory stuff. We haven't seen it before, but - his thoughts arresting at the "we." ...who 'we' are is a question for later. There are... others? [Hazy images flash across his mind; a large molten figure and a smaller almost reptilian one, then they're gone.] Matt shakes his head, not understanding the fragments of memory for what they are. Gotta focus on the task at hand.

Looking up at the rest of them, he stands with a bit of difficulty, rearranging pulling his spindles from Caleb and throwing the last three into himself. Don't need a Thinker power now; gotta get everyone on their feet ASAP - gotta strengthen the rejuvenation. Absently, he heals his other arm, the black smoke still taking time to come out but not appearing to drain him as much - Matt remains standing, a small grunt at the effort the only indication of the difficulty.

Okay, if it's Quarantine, we need to figure out the problem - and fast. If it's Simurgh, there should be.... he pauses, letting the words come on autopilot, ...wing fragments, or feathers, in the major blast areas - does that sound right? For resources, we've got a Shaker, Changer/Brute, Brute/Breaker, Thinker/Mover, Thinker, Changer of some kind, Trump, and two unknowns, he comments, pointing at Empress, Incarnate, Alice, Caleb, Mayara, Anthony, himself, and then Ruth and Devin in that order. Since we have to move fast, I'll elaborate a bit more on my abilities - I can actively empower and dampen parahumans. If you felt weaker or stronger recently, odds are it was my doing. Which ones I'm affecting affects what I get. It's kinda like that ancient hero, ah, what was his name... Here he pauses, and then speaks a little slower, Prometheus - that was the guy that stole from the gods. I took his name for myself when I... don't remember when. I'd prefer you call me that while we're in the city. Anyhow, he continues, moving along quickly and turning to Alice, I'm currently dampening you to hold onto this healing power - as long as you stay away from me, you won't feel any effects, but it means you can approach and not accidentally kill us with that smoke. If you're injured, I can probably fix the problem in under a minute, with maybe a minute or two recharge, so long as the damage is fresh. If people would start stepping up, I can get this done quickly and stop dampening Alice.

After all that talking, Matthias pauses to take a deep breath and let his words sink in. Hope they adapt to shock well, and any trained in crisis management will become natural leaders. The two Thinkers seem a little shellshocked, they might need some help, but Empress, Incarnate, the dangerous one, and the two who haven't mentioned their powers seem okay-enough.

Clearing his throat, Matt starts addresses them again, Again, time is our biggest issue - if it wasn't the Simurgh, we may be able to make our way out without a problem if we aren't infected with something else, but it'll need to be quick. If you - he says, turning to Caleb - could scout the most damaged areas for feathers, and then for potential threats, that'd be great. Do you still feel what happens to your body while you're away? For example, could we pinch your arm to let you know to come back? Without waiting for Caleb to reply, Matt walks over to the broken radio and takes the cell phone from Tony. As he continues talking, he starts repairing both items, and when finished he hands the phone back, and then stares for a moment at the radio before just trying random channels, hoping for muscle memory.

We'll also need something to call each other - "Hey you" isn't terribly effective for grabbing attention. Doesn't have to be your real name, or anything close. After we figure out if we can leave, if we can, great - we'll have to bolt. If we can't... supplies and shelter are probably first priority. And I agree with Empress - it probably isn't wise to approach random people until we know a little more. So - who's first to get fixed?

Spoiler: Actions and Spindle Movements

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Remove three spindles from Caleb, shove three into self. Effect: Treat Alice as having 10 spindles, power negated within 30 ft. of me. I'm choosing to try to shape my power increase to make the 'fixing' process not take a toll on my body; not on increasing it's strength or the time it takes to do it.

Matthias will heal anyone who comes up to him; unless cameronpants says otherwise the process takes about a minute for each injured limb.

Spindle Locations - I'm just gonna start including spindle locations in each one of my posts.
Alice: 7
Me: 3

[Feralgeist]

Tony starts to raise his scraped hand.
Accept the warlocks' deal and you forfeit my strength.
He quickly jams it in his pocket.
"No thanks man. I'm good. Just point me at the action."

Spoiler: Inner dialogue

Show

Why?

A warrior puts others first. There are others who need his magics. You have barely a scratch. It will build character. Lose the pain, lose the lesson.

Who taught you all this crap?

You did. You and your thirst for entertainment. Live by the code and we will survive and grow stronger. Fail.....and you shall return to the wretch i know you are.

Tony sidles up to Empress. "Hey. Don't stress so much. I doubt there's anything bigger than us within any sort of distance that matters. I can't hear any air sirens going off, no massively loud announcements. Just chill, keep whatever mojo you work out of my caboose and I've got your back." He smiles in what he hopes is a reassuring way, slightly spoiled by his eyes which are now smoldering with an eerie blue flame inside the iris.

Swear it! Pledge allegiance, NOW!!!

He can feel the power growing, the coldness in the back of his mind.

"I..."

His voice deepens further, wisps of blue light begin dancing across his jacket.

"I swear...."

almost of its own volition his body starts to kneel and his right hand extends out.

TAKE THE OATH!!!!

He snaps out of it. "I swear i don't know what the f**** just came over me. I'm so sorry, I don't think i should use my power too much until I've sussed it out a bit guys. I think it has something to do with making promises. I need to think about this" He stands up and backs away quickly, his eyes a normal blue. The baritone second voice is at an almost imperceptible volume. Tony tries to avoid meeting any body's eyes.

You sneaky S#@$! What was that?!

A cold rasp. The clink of chains. I hate you Tony.

[Thematthew]

Power dampening, got it. If he's a foe I've got to take him out fast once he releases me...

Alice steps away from Matt a little, "I don't really appreciate you dampening my power without mentioning it first, makes it seem like you don't trust me... Anyway, at least something good is coming from it."

She continues to pace as she considers what to do.

Can't really trust anyone yet, definitely not this pompous ***. Who takes such a pretentious name like that, 'ooh I'm fancy. I steal powers from the gods.' I'm looking forward to showing him that Icarus would have been a more appropriate name for him...

"If we really were affected by Simurgh I think they'd have taken the 'bomb us into oblivion' option, considering how dangerous our powers are. I do agree on getting supplies being of vital importance, I'm getting hungry and I feel cold. Though something tells me that nothings going to change that last part..."

[Ramsus]

Empress gets distracted from her thoughts by Incarnate's strangeness. She gives a good long eyebrow raise and a little chuckle. "It's ok. I'm sure I have that affect on a lot of people. I'll be more than happy to accept your oath of allegiance when you're ready." she replies and chuckles again and gives Incarnate a mirthful smile.

[Priest_Of_Banjo]

This... is bad. Really bad. Capes in this quantity, with this variety of powers and no memories of how the heck we got here mean bad times.

Anthony quickly flickers through a half dozen Echoes, seeing if there is any change in his body.

Nope. No sudden flash of memory from that. Which means that it's not drugs... probably.

He stands there, simply listening to each of his fellow amnesiacs speak in turn before passively absorbing the speech from "Matt."

Might not be real name. Doesn't matter either way. Speech a clear manipulation, but a positive one for now. Need to step in, establish clear usefulness towards group strategy. Resources a need, so fill the need.

Anthony simply smiles as he steps into his Echo. "Name's Anthony. As our talkative friend here mentioned, I'm a Changer for all intents and purposes. My Echoes are very useful. Like so!"

Instantly, he rips off a piece of bandage from the newly revealed prosthetic leg and begins flickering through Echoes.

Full roll of bandages. Hankerchiefs. Magicians hankerchiefs in a line. Line of cloth. Blanket.

He relaxes for a second before flickering back in.

Blanket. Blankets.

"If you're feeling a little cold, try one of these." He holds out the newly acquired blankets with a smile. "Long as you can get me a suitable object, I should be able to help with our resources problem. If we can, we need to get moving sooner rather than later. Still targets make far more obvious prey than moving ones."

He stands there, looking around the group of Parahumans assembled.

I can work with this. We'll be fine. Just gotta keep going.

[ElFi]

"My name is Ruth. I can... break the rules." Ruth said. "I'm sorry, really I am, but there isn't much of a better way to explain it. My powers allow me to circumvent various laws of physics and reality- inertia, wave motion, and the like. There are some others... but I'm having trouble remembering them at the moment. I'm sorry." Something flickering. A memory that wasn't there, or was there but was suppressed by.... something, or someone. Maybe the Thought-break mode might help with the amnesia? She filed away the idea for later. Right now, it was probably a better idea to conserve energy until she really needed it- who knows what would happen before nightfall, or after that.

"And... thank you. Here, let me help you pass these out." She gratefully took some of the blankets off of Anthony's hands and started passing them around to the others. It was going to be a long, cold night.

[ThreadNecro5]

"I am Devin, I can do a 'health-slash-genetic scan' of sorts, and I'm getting ideas for medication and such, so... Tinker?" he says as everyone makes themselves known.

"I thought this looked Smiurgh related" he mutters to nobody in particular.

Did it finally happen? What did I do?

"Also Matt" he points out looking between him and Alice, "I wouldn't recommend supressing the... fog? Alice's power looks to compromise her immune system to an extent, replaces it really. If it kills things I guess it destroys micro-organisms, and thus leaves her lacking in an inherent supply of antibodies, not as badly as she will be in a decade but you may open her up to a flu or something. Not to say I couldn't cure it given supplies, but..." he waves an arm to the streets.

"As to what we do, I say we find some place to hold up, find food, water, and while we're at it scavenge for stuff I can use. Spend the night there and recover from this."

"So just to go over what's at our disposal: Me, Medical Tinker. Ruth, physical states that break physics. Anthony, Changer with a little teleportation and what is that swapping one object for a like one? Empress, body controller. Alice, killing fog. An unknown talking to himself. Matt, power boosting and suppression. Mayara, Some kind of multi-person injury sense? And the teleporter. Am I right with this."

[Dromuthra]

Yeah, that's about right, Devin, and between you and Anthony we can probably keep ourselves pretty well supplied.

Turning to Alice, he replied, When we were waking up from a daze I got the impression of danger from you - probably an echo of a memory of what your power does, maybe a warning not to get physically close? Anyhow, my power reacted. I'd have stopped dampening you sooner, but then I got the healing power. Devin's point is good though - you might not want to get close to me for a bit, and I'll try to finish up as quickly as possible. he says with a shrug.

Walking over to Caleb, Well, your eye looks the worst, so if everyone is just waiting to go I'll start with you. The black fog condenses around Caleb's head for a moment, cutting off vision. It's a little startling, but it has an oddly comforting feeling. And just like that, it's gone - and his eye is completely healed. Heck, even the dirt and dust is out of his hair.

A few things come to mind immediately, Matt says, as he walks over to Ruth and mends the likely bruises around her ribs. First, Devin and Anthony are a fantastic pair to have. If Devin needs a chemical or supply we don't have, he could just hand a bottle of something to Anthony and see if he can change it. Heck, he could maybe hand an empty bottle of something to him and get a full one back. Dunno, could use testing. But I think once we have shelter, we ought to be fine.

Finished with that, he moves on to fixing Anthony's costume, all the while still idly flicking through radio channels. Caleb, when you check for feathers, do you think you could do a sweep for a potential shelter? Electricity would be ideal, moderately large, and with thick walls if you can. Something we could hold. And maybe take another pass at the tar-man.

Walking over to Tony, Looked like he wanted to ask for help before, but something made him not... Matt commented to Devin, Incarnate here is a Changer/Brute, he said, though maybe with a few conditions? Matt looks him over and, barring unusual action, heals the scrapes and bruises on the kid.

Spoiler: Spindles - No Change

Show

Spindle Locations:
Alice - 7
Me - 3

[Feralgeist]

Tony backs away from Matt like he is wielding a hot iron."I'm serious dude. It's fine. I don't mean to be rude and you seem like an alright guy but I have to do things a certain way or my powers won't work. I don't think I'm allowed to show weakness right now. "
The deeper undertone rises in volume slightly.

So, even a monster can be taught. Perhaps all is not lost.

Shutup.

"I don't know if I'm just crazy or possessed or what, but it's like there's this knight in my head. Keeps rambling on about a code. He seems to control my abilities....Wants me to take an oath or something. I think my mojo comes from chivalry....no that doesn't sound right..."

" I just get so caught up in the quest sometimes when the blood is running hot, you know me"

"Questing. I need to undertake a Quest to unlock more."

You are skipping a couple of steps, but you're so close.

"I think i should tread lightly with this."


He turns to Alice. "Would a jacket help? I know it aint much..." he gestures to his windbreaker.

His eyes flare for a second and the pain in his hand fades, the scrape fading in a small flash of blue light.

Honour the code and we will survive...

"Huh. Well how about that. Something to be said for manners i guess."

[Ramsus]

"Those are definitely good ideas Matt. I have another. Anthony could you acquire something to boost the signal strength of the radio or the phone? We might be able to learn what has happened here. An internet connection would be preferable. Given time we could figure out who we all are and if we're correct in guessing this was Smiurgh related. The more information we can get before taking action the better." Empress says and looks for somewhere to sit as she's been standing for a while and they're not going anywhere until Caleb returns.

[Dromuthra]

At Tony's reaction, Matt stops, hands up in a placating gesture. Gotcha, message received. And good to know about that partner of yours, a knight - interesting.

Moving on, Matt will fix Clarissa's costume and makeup + hair, since she doesn't have any obvious wounds, clean and repair Devin's clothing, and then moving onto Mayara's costume and any injuries she has before finally fixing the rest of himself. Under his breath, he's muttering softly along to a tune, Mover, Shaker, Brute and Breaker, Master, Thinker, Blaster, Tinker, Striker, Changer, Trump and Stranger...

When he finishes with everyone, still flipping through the radio channels, he'll comment, Guess that's everyone. We're only missing a Stranger and a Blaster, which gives us a lot of versatility. We should probably start looking for shelter and or proof that we can safely leave. Turning to Mayara, he continues, Mayara, are you up to helping be a lookout for us? If we know when danger is coming, we can do our best to avoid it. To make our search faster, I'm gonna switch to empowering our clairvoyant and you, if you're up for it. Don't need the healing power anymore.

At Empress' suggestion, Matt nods. That's a good idea, Empress. I've been flicking through the channels for a while, but it could be that range isn't far enough.

Spoiler: Actions and Spindles

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@cameronpants - Am I getting anything on the radio?

Spindle Locations
Caleb: 5 Spindles
Mayara: 5 Spindles. Otherwise, a few into myself to refine the power I get from him. (Permission Granted)

[DukeGod]

Mayara nods quietly. She knew she couldn't avoid it for long.

She takes a deep breath, preparing for what comes and once her eyes open again, she stops blocking her power, and takes a good look at everyone's ghosts.

Spoiler: Flashback Response

Show

"No...that's some kind of fallacy, I know it, I learned in school."

Mayara's eyes dart around, looking at the members. Damnit, no, no, Spur was getting to her...something else

"It's...it's too much of a risk I think. I can help a lot more in some other way, I'll...I'll...I'll look at everyone's ghosts okay? That way I know who is gonna be targeted and how...and maybe if I can see the...enemy guys I can see which one of them will do it too"

Spoiler: Actions

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Mayara is using her power on the entire group, down to the "who hurts who" part
Edit: Oops, fixing spoiler tags

[Thematthew]

Spoiler: Flashback response

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"I will make sure everything is done right sir." She sighs, "Well, I'm all out of questions. Unless there's anything else you think I need to know, I'm going to get ready."

Alice smiles at Tony, "thanks, but I think my power is what's making me cold."

[ElFi]

Ruth held her breath and her body still as that dark, healing mist passed over her. It felt strange in all the wrong ways, but after that her bruises felt a bit better, and she nodded a silent apology at Matt.

"I have," she began slowly, not really sure where to begin, "I have a state that allows me to break the rules of my thoughts and mental processing. Lateral thinking and all of that. It isn't much, but I might be able to come up with something of a reason as to why we're here, something that our normal ways of thinking can't pin their fingers on. Should I try it?"

[herodofcows]

Caleb nods along with the conversation, only half aware of the goings-on. The suggestions being thrown around were NOT comforting: either they'd been influenced by the Simurgh, or there was something at work that was just as bad. Either way, he can hear tiny panicked voices in the back of his head beginning to clamor for his attention, suggesting that NOW might be an excellent time for him to go stark raving mad.

Luckily, the capes all seemed to have things well in order. They were throwing out plans, suggestions, tasks to accomplish. All of them act as little anchors to keep Caleb from going off the deep end as he focuses in on one thing at a time.

"Uh, yeah. I can feel pain. Also, pushing me works since my sense of balance is still around as well. Uh, my name's Caleb, by the way," he adds, feeling slightly foolish as he realizes that everyone else had apparently introduced themselves. That foolish feeling drifts very quickly into a kind of annoyance. Why should HE feel stupid?

"All right, looking for shelter and for Simurgh feathers . . . nooooo problem . . ."

He sends his senses off, scouting the immediate area in a rough spiral as quick and fleetingly as he can. He feels beyond spooked right now, and the idea of someone or someTHING ambushing the group while his mind is away terrifies him. He also takes some time off searching to check in on the status of the quarantine and the guy with the ichor. Maybe things are improving . . . somewhere?

[ThreadNecro5]

Devin stand around thinking for a few seconds, inspecting his fingernails and hands.

"We should get on the move, find shelter on the way" he say says to all who will listen. "Perhaps Anthony and Matt can at least help me look for things that could become tools and materials? Matt can Power us up, Anthony can use boosted powers to better make things, and I can think of more and better ideas as we travel. Things like metal, glass, rocks can all be used, organic material would be nice too."

He stops to pinch his arm, watching the skin snap back.

"In any case travel means supplies and supplies mean water, any more waiting and we may start approaching early dehydration, and that's good for nobody."

[Ramsus]

"We've been safe here for a while. Caleb is at no risk while he moves around and is Anthony can gather more information for us here, I don't see any point in moving before Caleb has finished looking around. If Anthony finishes first, maybe you can have him assist you with materials? Maybe he can even conjure up some bottled water." Empress says from a reclined position on the hood of a car, her hair blowing in the breeze and catching the light in a way that makes it shine, as she looks up into the sky looking quite relaxed. She makes a point of looking around at the ruins around them and continues, "I don't think drinking any water we find here would be a better idea than getting a bit thirsty."

[Dromuthra]

Speaking up after Empress, Matt adds, Ruth, I think that sounds like a great idea. After Caleb or Mayara finishes analyzing what's going on, I can boost what you can normally do further. Devin, I think you're right about moving on soon, but as Empress mentioned we appear to at least be somewhat safe where we are now and like her I'd rather wait for a better description of what our status is. Maybe you and Anthony can check for supplies around here? There's certainly some vehicles that might have scavenge-able parts, that could be improved through Anthony's power. And drinking water would be a good idea, if we can find any.

Spoiler: Actions and Spindle Locations

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Actions
1. Continued attempts at the radio.
2. If anyone attacks anyone, all spindles immediately go to that person to Dampen them. If they're within 30 ft. of me, their power winks out.

Spindles
Anthony: 5 Spindles
Mayara: 5 Spindles

[cameronpants]

Spoiler: 5 Spindles in Anthony and Mayara

Show

Death Stutter
Your power develops into a thinker-striker power. Before attacking something, whether with your fists, a baseball, or even driving a car into them, you get a glimpse of the possible futures of you doing it. You have the option of continuing on your current timestream, using the visions as simulations only, or changing to the most damaging, most deadly version of the attack. Nothing else changes in the world; you just get the most painful and debilitating outcome possible. Sometimes, other bits of information can be garnered from seeing so many futures in such a short timeframe.

Spoiler: Anthony Empowered

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Your echoes reach further into your past and future; you now have eleven to fifteen telegraphing and echoing your motions. You can get to any particular action roughly twice as fast, and props can be two degrees of separation closer to what you want to get to in a reasonable time.

Spoiler: Mayara Empowered

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The visions of violence in the future flesh out, expand, and solidify when you focus on them. You see more details that will lead to them. ((Let me know if you focus on any of the visions I have detailed, and I will explain more about them)).

Spoiler: Anthony Flashback

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Your memory stutters like your possibilities.
Shattered moments of time, some out of order, others mirrored. A fracture appears across your mind and you sink to your knees in the rubble strewn streets.
And then you're back there. Back then.
Living the memory, pulled from your body entirely.
((Respond to this flashback like the others do, only yours comes with a twist- you feel as though you were pulled there from the present in the crater, and don't have the knowledge you should have at the time.))

...
"Closer."
...
"Anthony, I said closer."
...
"...are you going to make me beg?"
...
...
"Better. Open your eyes."
A blindfold is pulled free of your eyes. You are staring at a huge painting, taking up almost the entire wall of the room you find yourself in. The painting is of ten people, all standing in a row, all in heroic stances and poses. Their faces are all contorted, twisted; their costumes are hard to make out, indistinct. The blurry effect doesn't seem to be a part of the painting, but rather something clinging to the inside of your eyes.
"What do you think?" comes a young woman's voice from behind you.

Spoiler: Matthias Flashback

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There was a sound. A horrible, rending sound. Tearing, twisting, bleating, screeching, surging, wrenching, enfeebling sound, pulsing and surging in your ears.
Your eyes snap open as the bass drops.
The headphones are pulled back and the horrific, sleep-flaying noise is replaced with laughter. You glance up and see Tower and Surge standing over you. Tower's holding big black headphones connected to an MP3 player at his waist, and Serge is smiling that creepy, tooth-absent smile of his. His sunken eyes trace your face like it's the first face he's ever seen.
"Shoulda seen the look on your face, haw haw!" Tower bellows in his unnaturally deep voice. His massive frame looks almost comical next to Serge's comparatively miniature, slender size. You knew they were both from Station Black, a high-security school for parahuman teenagers with powers they either couldn't fully be trusted with or couldn't fully control. You knew Tower had a weight and mass warping ability, and Serge had a kind of darkness manipulation. Serge was sent to Station Black for another aspect of his power, one he couldn't control: the ability to infect others with negative emotions, usually with disastrous or lethal results.
However, lately, Guardian had been allowing "field trips" for these gifted youngsters- as long as they participated in Endbringer conflicts, they would get some shore leave.
This was the former. Leviathan was predicted to strike Melbourne in the next forty minutes; you were just inland from the city, part of a helicopter crew that would be sent in after the first barrage was finished.

Spoiler: Mayara Flashback

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Spur sighs heavily and leans back against the wall.
"I'm... disappointed, Bridge. Ain't nothin' can change you're mind, and I know that, 'cause I can't see it. Well, if you ain't gon' do it, then I sure as hell have to, again. See, only I can die, and die mighty easy if they see me comin' and know my power. Still... with you along, you can tell me when some young grunt wants to do me harm." Spur says, stretching. "Well, we're wasting daylight. Anything else you wan' know 'bout 'fore we head 'er?"

Spoiler: Devin Flashback

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January 22nd, 2012
LOGIN: Hunh_Latu
PASSWORD: * * * * * * * * * * * * * _

LOGIN SUCCESSFUL

Connecting to server.... connected.
Connecting to channel #heterogenesis... connected.
* *%ENCRYPTING%* *
Displays activating....

The scientist at the computer slides back, stands, and offers you the chair.
"Here's the work I have so far. I included notes on the tech our four TInker visitors developed from the same formula. You'll find it under 'Outsourcing' on the main hub. Take your time."
He takes a few steps away, opens a cabinet, and starts fixing a needle with a cocktail of a half dozen chemicals.

Spoiler: Ruth Flashback

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Falling. You woke up as the vertigo made your half-conscious mind to somersaults of panic.
Falling fast. You open your eyes and see the edge of the roof slip away out of your grasp. A smiling man past the lip of the building, gone before your memory could put a name to the face.
Forty one stories. You instantly knew the building was forty one stories tall. You nearly instinctively enter your Thoughtstate to calculate exactly how long you have, but you realize as the rest of your screaming, panic-brain wakes up that it would take longer to figure out the questions to the answers than it would be to hit the pavement.
((React!))

Spoiler: Alice Flashback

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((New Flashback))

You stared at her down the alley. Her mouth was set in a grim line, her forehead was creased with a slow-boil anger. Her hand was reaching to her left, where shadows from the crevices of the alley doorways were liquefying and floating into her, pooling in arcs and orbs around her body. Ammunition waiting to be loosed.
You knew your power didn't eat through her darkness constructs too well. Even when you concentrated your aura into blades it did little to destroy it. However, the darkness did little to stop your blades. It was like rocket tag, only in close combat. And you had more dangerous rockets.
"Last chance to walk away," she said, snarling the words. "I won't let you interfere with them."
((You can name the NPC if you want. You've faced off against her twice before; you consider to have won both times, but she still managed to get her licks in and escape, so you're a bit... agitated about the whole ordeal.))

Spoiler: Caleb Flashback

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It was her. You expected them to send someone to track you down, to make contact with you- but you never expected her.
You'd faced off with her before; you knew a way around her power, a way to force a stalemate; not necessarily beat her, but make her falter, slow down, force her to stay on her guard.
But why send her to make contact with you? Why send her as a diplomat?
In your heart, you knew you were going to join up someday. You'd seen too much, knew too much. You'd been forced to join Guardian- well, not forced exactly, but the expectations made of you were pretty damn high at the time- but you never truly wanted it. The entire thing seemed contrived, from the power structure to the capes in command of the military wings. You'd found evidence, proved you were right all along...
And in the end they send Her Majesty to come and seal the deal with you? A villain-come-savior, pretentious girl too involved in her own self to see the bigger picture? Your polar opposite in so many ways.
They chose Empress to convince you to join.
There she was, standing in the middle of the snowy stadium. A single flood lamp a few dozen meters away threw a splash of blinding light against the fluffy white built up around the sidelines. She was wearing earmuffs instead of a crown, a light gold scarf and a perfectly fitted costume with extra layers and thermal patches built right in to the design.
Your body was outside the stadium, sitting in the back of a locked SUV, two blocks away. But your mind was right next to her, watching her breath seep away into the air, curdle and twist as the heat of it was sapped by the night air.

Spoiler: Tony Flashback

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((New Flashback))

Sixteen floors. Sixteen floors of nothing but emptiness. Even the infinite stamina of Aurelius Boneblade, Keeper of the Source of Life, Bringer of Eternal Death and Wielder of Ekbet'Scar, was tiring of the monotony of sixteen floors of panel walls and one point three square meters of personal space. Inspirational posters, gaming posters, cat posters... Aurelius was sick of how fragile the warriors of this world were. He knew he saw the world skewed by his own coding; he knew what he was, but he was proud of it. He wore the code and the Code like badges of honor, testing his mettle against demons, sorcerers, and stress alike.
He ascended another floor. Seventeen.
On the seventeenth floor, as he emerged from the stairwell, he came face to face with...
((Choose Aurelius' current Quest, and the cape name of his opponent. I will choose the rest. Feel free to respond with some banter between them before any hostilities begin in earnest.))

Spoiler: Clarissa Flashback

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The girl's power begins to unfold in your mind. There's nothing automatic about how you learn its nuances; you have to fire millions of synaptic combinations every minute to map it out. But you take your time. It shouldn't take more then ten minutes to completely figure it out. She's learning to adapt her movements nicely, but she'd never be a threat as long as you controlled her.

The first power was a kind of sensory overlay: objects gained a gradient of color based on their composition and mass. The map varied between reds and greens, whites and ochres. The understanding of the colors didn't come, so you imagined her using trial and error over and over to figure it out.

The next came as a kind of link she developed. She could tether to a single object at a time. In so doing, a temporal and spatial distortion was created between her and it- no matter where she was, she could see it and Sense it perfectly. In addition, she could move her arms, legs, eyes, fingers, even ears to affect it. She could change its elemental composition, alter the way it was affected by energies, rotate its state of matter through a dozen options; far more than the solid, liquid, gas, plasma one was taught in school.
She was currently tethered to your crown, the nasty child.

You shifted her focus to a broken stage chair nearby. The auditorium was owned by a theatre company that went into receivership a month ago, so no staff had been here for some time. You noted the chair glowed a vibrant, shifting gradient from a dark green to a rose-red. Lifting Ballerinas arms caused the chair to vibrate, twisting to the side lifted it into the air. Lifting one arm higher, into an arc over her head, and sweeping the other into a horizontal arc from your front simultaneously split the chair into four equal parts and sent them swirling into an orbit around you. Stretching her leg backwards resulted in it becoming highly magnetic, sucking scraps of steel and loose coins from the ruined front seats into its wake.

You sever the connection with a smile.

Ken approaches, scratching under his kubiko mask, swagger dripping from his body.

"So, we done here? I'd kill for a gyro right now."

[Caleb]
You scout the area again; you start with the tar-man, and find him where he was before. More strands have spilled out of him, and he is now more tar than exposed flesh. It seems like the tar is acting like a parahuman cocoon.

You find a small strip mall two blocks east and one block north- not quite a quarter of the way to the tar-man, but in that direction- that is abandoned, has power, and only has a few unblocked entrances. You predict it would be easy to hold if a cape fight erupted, and there seem to be a lot of resources there, from food to fresh water to tools and clothing.

[herodofcows]

Caleb winces slightly (in his head, anyway) at the guy in the tar.

This . . . does NOT look right. Is he changing into something? Is he going to become some kind of monster or something?

Peering back, he catches sight of the shopping mall. There's a lot to recommend it: abandoned restaurants, clothes stores, working lights . . . maybe even running water. Just enough to get by on while they worked to come up with a new plan or some-

FLASHBACK

. . .

After a moment, Caleb returns to his body. He looks around, carefully making equal amounts of eye contact with everyone as he speaks.

"Found a place. A mall, two blocks east, one block north. The guy in the goo is in a bad way. Like, maybe he's turning into something. I dunno. No feathers, though, and I don't see any signs of old Tinker devices. Maybe it's not the Simurgh after all?"

Up until two seconds ago, that would have been a relief. He would have teleported himself over the quarantine line without a second thought and made tracks home ASAP. As long as he's not some kind of ticking time bomb, he has no reason to stay.

But now he remembers something, and an important something at that. He knows that he knows, that he knew something important. And that something is connected to someone here.

No, Caleb isn't leaving this city. Not while they're still here.

"Meet me at the mall," he continues, getting ready to teleport back into one of the clothing stores and hide himself in a changing room, "I'll stash my body and keep an eye on you guys. Anything comes up, I'll blink over and tell you."

And with that, he throws his senses and teleports into the mall. As soon as he situates himself in an empty changing room and locks the door, he throws his senses out and begins doing quick passes over the general area, looking and listening in as the group talks or moves forward.

[Feralgeist]

Spoiler: Flashback response

Show

"Hephaestus."
"Boneblade."

Aurelius steps forward, ghostly armaments passing through the stairwell walls. As they do a very faint shrieking can be heard, like an echo of the sound of steel cutting through stone.
"I have fought real demons greater than you a thousand times over. You are even less than an impostor."

"I like to think of it as a tasteful tribute."

"I've sworn to stop you from doing this in my town. I can't walk away this time."

"Oh dear. But that sounds like your problem."

"It was. But now I'm here and you have nowhere else to run."

"Always so certain. Must be nice."

Tony nods to himself, growing in determination. "Yeah. It's definitely questing. I know what i have to do."
So, you gonna tell me how this power works?

Not unless you prove yourself.

Fine whatever. I'll do this myself.

Spoiler: Gearing up montage!!

Show

He walks over to a section of exposed concrete with rebar sticking out and begins kicking sections, cracking the concrete and sending chunks tumbling down into surrounding crevices. As more of the concrete breaks away bars of rebar are exposed. When enough metal is sticking out he starts karate chopping bars at the joints, snapping them, ending up with roughly 15 straight lengths of metal. He takes off his jacket and does up the zipper, tying a knot at the bottom and the arms around his chest. He slides 6 of the jagged bars into his makeshift quiver and checks that it will sit okay, then pulls it off and sets it to the side. Walking to the car door he opened earlier he kicks it off, then stomps on the upper half, shattering the windowframe off. He drags the remaining section of metal to the lengths of rebar. Picking up two of the remaining lengths from the ground he drives them into the door with a metallic squeal. He drags the door to a nearby fallen streetlight and braces the metal rebar against the round post. Picking up a chunk of concrete Tony begins methodically tapping the metal until it begins to bend , once the jagged ends are facing the car door he slaps the curve of each bar, driving it in. He picks up the makeshift shield and hefts it experimentally before setting it beside the makeshift quiver.

What are you doing?

They said we have to move out. Some of them are scared and a couple look as vulnerable as any normie. If we're going somewhere they need a tank. I meant what i said about having their back,
Inspiring. There is hope for you yet.

I can't make you help but you don't have to make fun of me.

It is no jest. This is an alarming situation but you haven't broken yet. You may be a monster but you're doing what I would do. What the code demands. Please, let me help.

Answers?

No. Not yet. Even were i willing, you aren't ready. The code tells me i must aid you, so long as you don't falter.

No tricks?

No tricks. I swear by the code.

Okay, Let's do this.

Tony moves to the remaining lengths of metal and picks them up, laying them over a large gap between broken bits of road. His face is grim with focus and his eyes exude blue smoky flames. Kneeling in front of the pieces his fingers began dancing over them, tapping them like the keys of a concert pianist. Blue flecks of light leak from his fingers every time they make contact with the metal, denting and warping it in miniscule ways. Once finished he sits back and breathes out a deep exhalation, inspecting his work. The 7 pieces of metal are bent in a strange spiral shape. Tony picks them up and slots them together one by one, each piece interlocking as if worked by a blacksmith.

How are we doing this??
The tools of a warrior are my trade. Does profession blacksmith ring familar to you?
Yeah but.....holy S#@$.


When the arrangement is finished it looks like a gnarled shortstaff of steel, the jagged ends twisted so they all poke out on one side. Tony lays it down on the ground and begins striking it with the flat of his palm. Blue sparks fly with every hit and after several hits the top half of his strange tool is flattened into a large jagged cleaver.

Tony tears off the sleeves of his dress shirt and wraps one of them around the bottom half of the cleaver for a handle. The other sleeve he tears into two strips and uses to wrap his knuckles.

Incarnate picks up his Jagged cleaver, slings his makeshift quiver over his back and hefts his makeshift shield.
"Okay. I haven't sussed it out yet but I'm getting there. I'm good to go."

The two voices are at a perfectly equal volume.