Inside 68: Dawn of a New Season (or two)

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Industrial Strength Investigation]

Misty nods silently. The SWAT officers nod as well.

"Let's withdraw for now. We can't reach anyone for anything with our radios not working, and I'm not sure we can handle this on our own anymore, either."

[5a Violista]

[leaving Nevalston Home Ruin]

Because this investigation is entirely self-directed, she considers her options.

First, there's the fire; she could return there. However, there will still be a large crowd watching the blaze, and she did say out loud that she'd return after the fire's died down.

The other burned houses are probably the same as this one. Sure, it'd be nice to confirm that it's the same, but she feels she doesn't need to.

Searching on her phone, she noticed the other family and the son. Either he's a eyewitness to what happened, or he might actually be one of the skinwalkers. Either way, it would be good to interrogate him, she figures. She'll head there first.

Holly heads down to a bus stop again, this time to head towards the Golden Flock Orphanage.

The bus ride is pretty normal; that is, until it goes in to a tunnel.
It doesn't come out the other side. The bus just vanished.

[Morty]

[Industrial Strength Investigation]

"I'm pretty damn sure we can't," Michalson agrees. "Let's move back and see when or if our radios start workin' again."

[WarKitty]

Lady Arachne's Back Terrace

"Yes, I can definitely do something to compliment these. It'll be a challenge, matching golems to furniture. Normally I match to architecture, which is a different challenge." The wrong kind of stone can make defensive gargoyles really stand out from their surroundings, as can simply being newer and cleaner.

Well, I can have any metals and gems shipped to your shop as necessary. She hands him a sealed envelope. If you'll just write what you need on there and press the black swirl when you're in your shop, it'll be delivered. She walks over to a large blue runed circle, this time enclosed in a perfectly normal structure of grapevines. She pulls off 2 large clusters and says If that's everything, you can step into the circle and be taken back to your shop. And do take some grapes back, they're quite good. He might notice that her gloved hands don't seem entirely human, but what's that matter in the Nexus?

[Earl of Purple]

Lady Arachne's Back Terrace

"I can provide many of the materials myself. Indeed, I'd prefer it, for the copper alloys. They tend to be bulky, and if they arrive in the traditional manner I can then put them somewhere out of the way, and none of my apprentices will be squashed by several tonnes of teleporting metal. It would be appreciated for the gemstones, however. Those are harder to source and tend to be smaller." He keeps himself well topped up on materials, so that way he can keep working for as long as possible. He does take the grapes, and will try one before he leaves. "Oh, these are very nice, thank you."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Industrial Strength Investigation]

The SWAT officers move to cover the retreat, and in short order, the group is quickly moving back towards the makeshift camp where those who were kidnapped had taken refuge. The voices don't say anything more, apparently content to let the group leave. It takes almost 20 minutes of quick retreat on foot before they can start to regain radio contact with the other SWAT officers and the helicopters, and another 10 before the link is fairly clear and reliable. Once they reach that distance, Misty sighs with relief.

"That's some powerful jamming they've got set up. We're definitely going to need some heavier firepower. I'm not sure Intersection has anything that can counter that; we should probably make contact with VIGIL about it."

[Sunny Side of the Moon?]

Corvus takes a stroll down one of Inside's streets, a large bag over his shoulder. He's been doing a lot of reading about the Nexus, trying to learn as much as he can about his new home. Thankfully, there seems to be no shortage of libraries here. He ducks into his favorite, and stands in line at the return counter, patiently waiting his turn. While he does so, he watches the other patrons, mostly out of curiosity.

[Morty]

[Industrial Strength Investigation]

Michalson breathes out with relief. He really felt close to finally being scribed into the dead-book back there.

"Oh, aye. Whatever was there would've scragged us for sure. We need to call the HQ anyhow, then Vigil and HALO. I think HALO's more about research nowadays, but it won't hurt."

[Sunny Side of the Moon?]

Also entering the library is an unassuming, short dark-skinned woman in a denim jacket and trousers, carrying a heavy-looking handbag. She's looking tired and annoyed... and she's got a blazing Eclipse caste mark on her forehead. This turns a few heads towards her, but this being the Nexus, someone with a glowing forehead isn't that unusual.

[Devixer]

Industrial Strength Investigation

It's only a short time after the call is put out that the first of VIGIL's reinforcements appears. Despite her technologically inferior equipment, consisting of a leather hauberk and the shamshir at her side, she looks calm and ready.

"Shalhoub, of VIGIL. I shall assist you as far as I am capable." Iamar rests her hand at the hilt of her sword, and levels her gaze at each of the officers.

[UncleWolf]

Golden Flock Orphanage

Whatever Mo was going to say is interrupted by an erupting mass of flesh and she finds herself staring at it for a bit. "...Angel, take the boy. Take him and everyone else get behind me. NOW." She commands as she passes the orphan to Ithuriel. "My home is at the Clarkburn Apartments just a few blocks back. Apartment 3A. My gal Hilda is there. Go get her." She explains. With the boy out of her arms, she reaches up to rip off the sleeves of her coverall. "You've got about twenty seconds. Anyone in front of me then will be hit by overpressure and jellied."

That's all the warning she'll give before slamming her fists down into the road. She punches straight in, grabbing understructure to help brace herself, and she digs her knees in as well. It doesn't matter that the asphalt is typically rock hard since it seems like she just digs in as if it were sand. Mo takes one long breath, closes her eyes, and seems to shut down as her back rips open from within. There is no spray of blood or gore or oil. Instead of horror, a gentle blue light illuminates her from within, but what might surprise those watching is a truly massive sixteen-inch diameter artillery gun that begins to unfold. Spare supports unfold themselves from her back impossibly, digging into the road as well, and when it is all finished the android has seemingly turned into a gun platform. There seemed to be pieces missing, as if there was far more inside of her than just the one gun, but all of the damage and power drain from before has limited all that the woman can bring to bear.

For a long moment there is silence after Mo's Transformation(*), but slowly, heavily, clanging and ringing is heard deep within Mo as a round is racked and prepped. The gunbarrel lowers, taking aim...

When the sixteen inch cannon fires, it is so loud that it is less "heard" and more felt. Windows shatter from the shockwave, doors blow wide open, and even the road buckles in front of Mo from the sheer pressure put out. The fleshy thing at the other end of her sights is going to be hammered hard by steel and hellfire.

A Dark Alleyway

After the shell lands, a few blocks away from the giant mound of flesh the sidewalk buckles and a deep burning red light spews forth with the sound of metal scraping metal.

Intersection HQ

Brokenfang just grins and claps at the display of showmanship before holding up her empty paws, still grinning. "Nope, that was it. Though I do want to point out that I'm forcing your officer's hand here. Good underlings need plausible deniability after all." She states before lowering her hands and buffing her claws on her chest. "But now the question is what now? I asked about a Letter of Marque, yet it is obvious that I'm not getting one. I suppose I'm supposed to go along quietly, all peaceful like with my hands cuffed and ankles shackled?"

Palace

"Actually Zebes, I feel incredibly lucid. If Manic." Veronica says before pointing at Kothar when he says what he wants to do. "No, you're not. Not with your kid in tow. The other group is fighting something right now and I will not send a kid to an active battleground. If you want to explore, I shall call a guide, but that is all. If you decide to just venture off, I will use the mutability of this place to keep you from finding combat. There are plenty of monsters in this palace that could be cleared out, but not with a child. As for healing? I appreciate the offer, but no. I do not know or trust you to do as you ask." She points out before sitting up and holding her palm up. "However, for all the misgivings, a peace offering." A wisp of air flows up, shaking the limb above her, and drops a blue peach-like fruit into her hand which she'll offer to the pair. "Fruit of the Palace. Revitalizing, refreshing, and regenerating. The fruit that is, not you. It won't go bad and will renew itself when let alone for a day provided the pit remains. One of just three left."

Palace Fight

WHACK! THUNK! SCREEEEEEEE

Jack's slam is a perfect blow, ramming the sword in the rest of the way. It digs in, causing the entire being to jolt when the last half of it stops working, This causes the front half to jerk short, pulling away from Metalhead and Emily when it turns to face Jack. The armor being ripped away has revealed yet another protective layer, but one made of softer materials. Metalhead is lucky he's used his rocketboots to move, as the swords from the upper arms swing through the space he'd been when the creature turns. His shots hit the red strip, shattering part of it, and likely marring its vision to a fair degree. Unfortunately, it was already on the move. The swords swing again, severing away the back half of its length that was now failing to work and spilling all sorts of fluids across the slope of bodies to turn it slick. It could have been an accident, but the sword swings flick towards Emily, attempting to blind her by spraying some of the oil and magitek fluids at her eyes.

Then...it settles in, coiling upon its own body to take full stock of the situation now that its active camouflage was blown and the ambush had failed.

But then it lays eyes on what the catgirl was doing. It gives a piercing screech of fury, and it stands to reason that it has chosen its next target.

As for what Marin is up to, if the monster's actions were enough to go by, her efforts were likely going to be successful. As the last little rough patch is made, the blue sphere inside the android's chest dims slightly before pulsing. It flickers dangerously for a moment as shoddy connections are found, tested, and their age proven not to be too relevant. The gaps in the android's flesh begin to glow dimly blue as well, but it was likely going to take a bit for the android's synthetic brain to finish its boot up sequence after so long.

(*I figured that the Sailor Moon transformation video was just too overdone.)

[Deathkeeper]

[The Palace]

”Wow, can you feel that you have invincibility phases? Sounds like a weird feeling.”

Jace does not appreciate the random insults being thrown at him or Veronica and scowls.
”I came here for peace, and you came with an axe. The only one with a thirst for battle is you. Now take your undeserved, unearned reward And-“ he spreads his hands out from over his head, causing shimmering bold words to appear above his head- GET THE HELL OUT

[bc56]

Palace

Kothar takes the offered fruit and nods. "You are wiser than you believe. My gift to you, nothing so impressive as yours to me.". He speaks a blessing, "May you walk in the light of wisdom for the rest of your days. May food be ever plentiful upon your table. May you be surrounded by willing friends, in calm and in trouble." He begins to leave, turning to Jace. "I am no fool, mage. The fury of a thousand storms burns within you. There is no place you enter unarmed. Know this before you judge another by what they carry." He pushes open the door to leave. "Farewell. May we meet again on kinder terms."

As they leave, Achuak speaks up. "Why didn't you fight them?"
"There is a time for everything, and the time for battle is not now. It is best to walk through life with only what blood is necessary on oneself. That is why we do not hunt more food than we need. Why did you follow me?"
"I wanted to see you fight.'
To this, Kothar just chuckles. "Let's go home. I'll cook venison for dinner."

[Shadowcaller]

[Industrial Complex]

Jaahlyn takes the call. "Yeah?" Sounds like she knows the caller. "Mhm and terrathorn berries are best eaten with milk." An odd phrase. "But we're alright, miss. No injuries or infections and the mission successful, if only thanks to our allies." A beat as she turns to look at the flesh mountain. "We can see it, yes, miss. Would venture that we're a couple of city blocks away right now."

There is a longer pause as Jaahlyn nods and "mm's" in response until she is suddenly interrupted by Mo suddenly firing her Gun.

The satyr instinctively looks away and covers her eyes as the beam flashes by.

[Halae]

Palace Fight

WHACK! THUNK! SCREEEEEEEE

Jack's slam is a perfect blow, ramming the sword in the rest of the way. It digs in, causing the entire being to jolt when the last half of it stops working, This causes the front half to jerk short, pulling away from Metalhead and Emily when it turns to face Jack. The armor being ripped away has revealed yet another protective layer, but one made of softer materials. Metalhead is lucky he's used his rocketboots to move, as the swords from the upper arms swing through the space he'd been when the creature turns. His shots hit the red strip, shattering part of it, and likely marring its vision to a fair degree. Unfortunately, it was already on the move. The swords swing again, severing away the back half of its length that was now failing to work and spilling all sorts of fluids across the slope of bodies to turn it slick. It could have been an accident, but the sword swings flick towards Emily, attempting to blind her by spraying some of the oil and magitek fluids at her eyes.

Then...it settles in, coiling upon its own body to take full stock of the situation now that its active camouflage was blown and the ambush had failed.

But then it lays eyes on what the catgirl was doing. It gives a piercing screech of fury, and it stands to reason that it has chosen its next target.

As for what Marin is up to, if the monster's actions were enough to go by, her efforts were likely going to be successful. As the last little rough patch is made, the blue sphere inside the android's chest dims slightly before pulsing. It flickers dangerously for a moment as shoddy connections are found, tested, and their age proven not to be too relevant. The gaps in the android's flesh begin to glow dimly blue as well, but it was likely going to take a bit for the android's synthetic brain to finish its boot up sequence after so long.

[Palace Fight]

The goo will hit Emily, but not her eyes - she's moving, and that's left the fluids with a much more difficult target to hit, though in this case she's a large enough target that the oil and fluid will still hit her head, neck, and part of her left shoulder, as well as blocking her left ear. If it's got other properties than just being opaque and gross, she'll find out in just a moment.

"No ya don't!" she says as it orients on Marin, placing herself in front of it. She fully expects it to charge, so she settles into a martial arts stance - left hand held forward, right hand over her head, both of which have the hand open with claws at the ready. Anybody who's familiar with martial arts may recognize a Tiger Style stance, and Emily is specifically using it to potentially counterattack. The forward hand is intended to push the attacking limb (or, one has to suppose in this case, the entire body) off the path it's taking, redirecting it off to the side. Then the claw held high is meant to come down on the target's back, arm, neck, or whatever else it can reach, using the vulnerability provided by the parry to strike back.

Regardless of what happens, however, Emily is going to remain between the centipede robot and Marin's work. She can play tank for a little while, and the thing clearly doesn't want the doll to be reactivated.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Golden Flock Orphanage]

"Oh. ****."

That's about all Ithuriel has to say to the goings on elsewhere, then she finds her self with the kid in her arms.

She steps behind Mo. Heck, what's she gonna do with this ki-

Okay, yeah, she pops the portal open and tosses him through as well. Shouting a brief "HEY! We got your friend! Get him inside and keep him warm!" through before closing it again. Hopefully the babysitter's doing alright in there. There's going to be a lot of questions that need answering after this.

"Ugh. Red. Alright. Prisoner's in your care. You know to be careful. I guess I gotta-"

And that's about how long it takes for Mo to fire. Ithuriel stumbles backwards slightly. Well, hopefully that will do a number on the gross fleshy thing.

"I think the artillery-lady has earned a favour. I gotta go." She spreads her wings and launches herself, making off at speed for Clarkburn Apartments.

[Earl of Purple]

Palace- Group 2

Jack's being ignored! She's actually OK with this. She's got a plan, though not much of one and it requires getting in front of the massive robot before it reaches its target. And that's not going to happen; she's not a fast bird; her current wings are better at flying through water than air, and she's lacking a lot of the streamlining a purely avian form grants her, combined with the mass of a humanoid form- although she's always got hollow bones, so she's not as heavy as she should be.

So she's going to end up chasing the robot so she can try and put her shovel in front of it, press the immobility button and get away before it can hit her with its sword-limbs. That's a very tall order, especially as she started at the back.

[Arkhosia]

The Docks

"Jesus [Caressing] Christ, I am not getting paid enough for this." Blanche grumbles, grimacing at the sight off in the distance. "Yeah, that's probably the best solution. Bombard it from air, it's the only way to be sure."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Sunny Side of the Moon?]

Corvus raises an eyebrow at the Eclipse caste, recognizing the mark of a Chosen of the Sun, and watches her closely as he waits. Solars can be a handful, and this one seems upset about something. He resists the urge to approach her for now, choosing to observe for the time being.

[The Docks]

Quin just shakes his head.

"There's a limit to what even I can do. We're going to need a lot more than just me to take that on, though."

[Rebonack]

[Golden Flock Orphanage]

"Of course, dear, we'll have it well in hoof, as it were," Red replies with a prim smile as a trio of unicorns wearing Intersection barding appear in rapid-fire succession with a sizzling pop and a flash of cyan light.

They immediately move to surround the fellow in the suit, horn's glowing.

"To the hyperbaric containment cell, correct?" one of them asks of Red.

"Where else, darling? We can't have our guest sneaking out now can we?" Red purrs before casting a glance toward what she assumes is another horrible skin-walker. "You'll have to excuse the accommodations. They're a bit spartan. And don't try slipping off, darling, or the pressure crash will explode every cell in your body."

Red gives a little hoof-wave as the trio of unicorns begin weaving their spell.

"Ta for now!"

Assuming the skinwalker doesn't do anything terrible? It should vanish in a technicolor swirl of light to be secured in a VERY high security Intersection holding cell.

"Now then, what's-"

A meat mountain appears.

"-next... Goodness. That's a problem, isn't it?"

Then Mo shoots the thing with a really REALLY big gun. Red's ears are now plastered flat against her head. She looks a bit stunned by the whole affair.


[Docks]

Even as far away as they are from the place where the giant gross meat mountain had fallen, Geneva still winces when someone fires a giant cannon at it. Will that do lots of damage?

Yes.

But unless that's an incendiary shell, it'll be 'spread the horror around' sort of damage.

Which... does make it easier to burn it. Little chunks burn better. So that's something?

Geneva puts in a quick call to have a couple airships swing by to pick them up.

~Alright, the airships should be here in a minute or two. Anika, do you think you can convince the goblins to give us anymore explosive while we're waiting?~

More explosives and fire never hurt in situations like this.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Arson Site]

Right, now that we've confirmed there's not going to be anyone else coming over here.
Back to the action.

Which appears to be Jason smashing some more janitor skeletons into pieces. Well, as far as he knows they were just janitor skeletons.
They probably aren't, if we're being honest, but still.

This ultimately leaves our fire-braving hero with a scuffed up, slightly sigil-y room with a chair and numerous slightly twitching bones scattered around the room.
It depends a bit on how familiar he it with magical symbology, but what symbols are still in one piece don't really look...wholesome, somehow. There's something unpleasant here, like some difficult to pin down visual odor.

Upstairs, there is the sound of a shattering window.
Outside, there is the sound of screams.

[The Docks]

There is no particular interference with the group's planning, but boy howdy whoever fired that cannon off in the distance sure knows how to pick their ordinance. The window rattling carries all the way over here!

The Orphanage]

Suit man isn't trying to be incredibly obvious about it, but not particularly subtle either.
He's definitely noting down all those directions that Mo just shouted out at everyone.
And that smug grin as Red's cohorts whisk him away is probably not great.

And then little Zane is (gently?) tossed into a portal before Mo fires her giant cannon at a faraway beast!

Oh boy does that have an effect.

[Industrial Complex]

Morning's attempt at levity is...not particularly desired here. Her heart is in the right place and with a more typical member of the equestrian tribes, this probably would have worked great.
But it really just makes Down Feather look more exasperated with her. She seems a bit tightly wound.

At the very least, Morning quickly makes up for this with genuine ideas of some sort!
"....yeah. Yeah, I guess we can at least do that. Mosquito biting the thing with small arms fire is just going to get us killed first. Maybe if we don't antagonize it at all, we can work on the small fry its surely going to be picking up, while someone else-"

There is a colossal boom from elsewhere Inside as someone fires a huge honking cannon at the meat tower.
The results of this leave Down a bit gawky behind her helmet, but seem to spur her into action fastion.
"Okay, yeah, okay! City's already whipping up the big heroes. Time to go do our thing!"

As it turns out, nothing quite inspires a clear soldier like someone bringing out the big guns, however literally.
The pegasus does a quick limbering exercise with her legs and wings, before making to fly off in the direction of the excitement.

Jaahlyn can come along if she wants, but she'll have to say something quick. There's a chance Down is totally going to forget about her in the heat of the moment.

The Understreets]

The tower of flesh, while still screaming in absolutely incoherent rage, was actually monitoring its surroundings somewhat carefully.
This city was obviously full of quite powerful individuals, if one was able to rip it from the ground and teleport it all the way out here.
It wouldn't do to be caught so unawares again.

Which is really the only reason it sort of notices Mo's shot as it happens and can even begin to do anything about it.
Of its many growths and protuberances, a not-inconsiderable number of them are eyes with some degree of clarity. Less, but still an amount, of the growths appear to be cracked and bent horns.

The moment that colossal boom rings out in the distance, most of the horns light up in a gloomy gray aura. Said aura reaches out to ensnare the incoming artillery shell.

The issue with artillery shells, particularly ones of a potent 16" size, is that they pick up quite a bit of inertia over the course of being fired. This usually works pretty well, when directed off towards distance targets and needing to get some degree of penetration against stiff hulls.
Typically, when angled at something "softer", said inertia would just...carry it on through until it hit something hard enough to actually slow it down.
Meat is a comparatively soft target.
This would have been a problem, but in its misguided attempt to save itself, the meat tower changed the equation out of its own favor.

The telekinesis is not strong enough to completely arrest the shell, but it is enough to reduce that inertia to make the shell more likely to notice hitting a less than idea target.
Such as a twisted around of broken ribs about two-thirds of the way up inside the tower.

Everyone within a square mile can feel the faint brush of something sandpapery against the edges of their thoughts.
Certain psychically gifted or connected individuals (like a certain Alice), will instead "hear" an absolutely wretched mental shriek as a large quantity of the tower's upper region simply explodes.

Explodes into a big shower of red, bones, and rainbows. Some of the pieces are writhing in the air, the largest surviving chunk from the very top of the tower is actively wailing something audible as it falls to the ground below.
Across the Understreets and a nearby neighborhood or two, a deeply unpleasant gore rain settles in for a couple seconds.

The tower is now significantly shorter.
And more upset.

From the gaping chasm of its new wound, a fountain of that iridescent oil pours forth, even as a menagerie of tentacles and jagged limbs begin to push themselves out of the new orifice.
Which is all it visibly does.
But this is not all it actually does.

[Here, There, and Yonder]

Just because they hadn't been overrunning the city as some feared they would, or gathering in large groups for certain others to ruthlessly exterminate, doesn't mean there weren't other skinwalkers scattered around the city in their various points of infiltration.
Biding their time, living the lives of those they ambushed.
Biding their time until this precise moment.

It's not quite everywhere, but in more than a few places, bystanders, families, and coworkers are suddenly and violently pulled into this disaster.

A fruit vendor is yanked through his own stall, as a potential customer's arms unfold into jointless claws.
An apprentice drags his master screaming through a garden with teeth that have replaced feet.
In the middle of a concert crowd, a family unfolds into an unholy bouquet of tentacles and jaws, grasping at everyone nearby.


It would seem that the cat is out of the bag.

[Shadowcaller]

[The Docks]

"Uh, maybe." She glances in the direction of the goblin's ship. Looked like it at least had stopped smoking.
"Maaaybe someone should come with me this time? Just in case?" She glances at the other VIGIL members on the ship.

[Industrial Complex]

"Good luck! I'll contact you if I have more information!" Jaahlyn exclaims as she waves Down and Morning glory off. She would likely not be of much use there, she could apply her particular skills much better elsewhere.
Now that the veil of secrecy was gone for their visitors, they were going to use theirs to its fullest extent...

[Here, There, and Yonder]

Just as a lot of citizens are caught in surprise by the skinstealers, a lot of skinstealers might be caught in surprise by just how well-prepared some citizens are for this.

A counter clerk pulls a flame-wand on a misshaped tauren attacking her customers.
A mother of five has a flame-thrower prepared when her former friend bursts into her home.
A gang of hoodlums drives blasting everything that even looks suspicious.

Information was a battlefield and it was won by placing it in the right hands at the right time...

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Round and round and round they go. Where they yak, nobody hippos!]

"Ah, well, y'knaw, jes' doin' whit I can tae help oot, aye?" Dibbles mumbles, scratching the back of his head and looking to the side awkwardly. Seems he gets embarrassed pretty easily too.

And then he just kind of stands there quietly for a moment, the awkwardness slowly building...

"We should, ah, get back ta patrawlin'." He nods and starts walking in, well, some direction. Probably part of their patrol. Probably.

*****

[Intersection HQ]

Ithuriel sighs, "For what it's worth, Commander, I-" Ithuriel blinks and pauses for a moment to appreciate just how awesome Nick is. "I've unintentionally led her here under false pretenses. I'm not as much of an expert on Inside law yet as I'd like to be, but I figure that's got to cause a few complications."

*****

[Industrial Strength Investigation]

Intersection may not have the biggest guns, but it does have an angel with two pretty big guns. When the call from Michalson comes in, it's only a short while later that Ithuriel swoops in to land, adjusting her cap and striding over to greet her partner. "Hey Michalson! Been a while. Been dying for us to get a nice quiet traffic duty again. No luck yet though, I guess. What's the situation?"

[Morty]

[Industrial Strength Investigation]

"Good to see ya both." Iamar will see a lanky half-elf in a long coat with the Intersection logo on it, holding a sabre (not unlike her own, but with a more elaborate handle and cross-guard) and a heavy revolver. His short hair is brown and he's got a short beard as well. There's not much elf in him, really - just pointed ears and bright eyes. "What we got 'ere is... well, someone went and nicked a whole warehouse and planted it 'ere. When we approached, our radios stopped workin' except to deliver a warning about how we'd all die an' all. A call for backup was in order."

[Sunny Side of the Moon?]

The woman seems to relax a bit as she talks to the librarian. It seems she's extending the lease of several books for a... daycare? Once that's done, she goes among the shelves to pick out some more books. After a moment, she notices the man looking at her... or only now chooses to address him. Solars are frequently uncannily perceptive.

"Can I help you? Sorry about the glowing... I can't help it sometimes."

[Devixer]

Industrial Strength Investigation

Iamar closes her eyes a moment. "They always do seem to threaten other's lives. It is good that you called for reinforcements, better to have help now than be unable to call for it later." She turns towards the scene. "Is there a plan?"

[Lord Magtok]

Metro Square

The Skyside incident was a mess. That nuke business Krystal got caught up in, it was absolutely misery. Malice did what he could to help, but seeing as all he had was a stolen skytaxi and a prop gun, well...you can imagine everyone’s disappointment, surely. After that disaster, Malice promised himself he wouldn’t be so woefully unprepared, so utterly humiliated the next time a crisis struck. He would be armed and ready, determined to prove he isn’t some washed-up bootleg Magtok, but something infinitely greater, smarter, and cooler.

"Aw ****."

That's why it's more disappointing than horrifying for Malice when, on a routine walk in the park with his pet disembodied human head, skinwalkers go on the attack. Innocent people are getting torn to shreds, that harmless old couple over there just transformed into a mass of tendrils and teeth, and the children on the playground are desperately holing up in the jungle gym, relying on the few kids with superpowers among them to keep the monsters at bay.

"Raptor Christ. That just figures, doesn't it, Ras? The one day of the year I'm taking you for a walk in the park and I forget to bring my gun, this happens. I knew it, I knew I should've brought it with me no matter what those nosy busybody NPCs think of me, and now it's too late. Welp, I guess I'll die, then," Malice sighs, dropping Grigori Rasputin's leash so that the undead head-in-a-jar can skitter back home on his spindly robot legs. No point in making Griggs stick around, after all. He's just the head of a dead man encased in a jar of embalming fluid; the flesh-eating monsters probably won't even bother going after him. Besides, someone ought to escape to tell Krystal what happened to her flatmate and business partner. Maybe call the cops too, unless this is going on everywhere else in Inside and they already know all about it.

"Hey look, that one with the knives for fingers is working his way through the crowd towards me. Won't be long now. You know, maybe I'll get lucky and wind up in a more mild circle of hell this time-OWW OWW F***!" Malice exclaims, getting pulled out of his fatalist mood by a spindly spider leg slashing at his shin. Grigori, how could you?!

"[Foolish child, did I not tell you before? Sin burns within our hearts. We bear the same corruption, the same hate. We are not men, we are souls, tainted spirits dragged out from hell and garbed in new flesh. Know this, and you will never be unarmed,]" the disembodied head of Rasputin chides Malice in Russian, only to be met with an irritated scowl and a heavy sigh. That stupid talking head just can't let him die with some dignity, can it?

"Gods, this again? Listen Grigori, you can believe whatever evil cultist voodoo mumbo jumbo bs you want, but leave me out of it. None of that hocus pocus is going to change the fact that this nightmarish conglomeration of John Carpenter's The Thing is going to kill me. Just because I've been to hell before doesn't mean I can just snap my fingers and-" Malice snaps his fingers, to demonstrate how stupid Grigg's argument is. Knifefinger's eyes promptly burst into flame, and he twists in agony, running and screaming into a nearby tree.

"...okay that was just a weird coincidence. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for that which doesn't-"

["Your hand, Malice."]

Malice acquiesces and looks down at his brass fingertips, blinking in surprise to find scarlet flames darting between them. Has he always been able to do this? It's been so long since he broke out of hell, how did he never notice?! Was he so focused on being a better Magtok than Magtok that he never even stopped to consider that Malice could be something different? Something infinitely greater, smarter, and cooler than Magtok ever was?

"...Okay. Okay yeah, I think we can make this work. Ras, call up all your friends. We're having a barbecue," the brass-faced cyborg grins, a sadistic twinkle in his eye as hellfire gathers around him. Oh man, this is going to be fun.

[Rebonack]

[Here, There, and Yonder]

Ah, chaos. Panic. Disorder. Fear. Confusion. Strife, paranoia, and suspicion running rampant. All thanks to a few wonderful little shape-shifters from the Wasteland.

In a word?

Discord.

BUT! But. It can't be allowed to progress unchecked, now can it? Oh no, surely not. What would the Nexus be if there was no one left here but buggy knockoffs of Who Goes There?

Boring, that's what.

Dull.

Uninteresting.

Homogenized.

And that just won't do!

That's the problem with too much entropy. You end up with a sad slurry of sameness and sameness never manages to do anything fun no matter how much you poke at it.

Which means, of course, that someone should probably do something about this skinwalker problem. Someone who's as clever and resourceful and powerful as she is beautiful. But nothing obvious of course. That wouldn't be fun, either. No, just a little change in fortune here and there.

A victim here and there reacting a few fractions of a second faster. Cleaning chemicals hurled on horrors that sear flesh a little more vigorously than they probably ought to. Now who could have put that flame thrower in that drawer! How convenient! A grease fire flashing in a pan at a restaurant just as a skinwalker aggressively unfurls itself. A thousand thousand auspicious moments, some big, some little. Always just what someone who otherwise would have died needed to get an edge on survival.

And the skinwalkers? That home with a wholly infested family? Whoopsie doodles! What a time to have a gas leak. Now that was a shame when it blew up, wasn't it? The pyrotechnics at a concert having a rather targeted malfunction. Some power lines toppling over on a group of horrors. At least one skinwalker finding all of its bodily fluids replaced with cheese fondue-

What?

You wouldn't deny a girl SOME zaniness, would you?


[Industrial Complex ==> Meat Tower]

Morning Glory can't help but... itch. Something is sowing unreality around the City, but she can't really pinpoint it. She gives her head a shake and focuses on the problem at hand.

"Thank you for the help, Jaahlyn," Morning says. "Stay safe, okay? This is probably going to get much worse before it gets better."

And then?

She takes off after Down, flying with all the grace of a wounded duck. And while on this wobbly flight she'll keep an eye out for little horrors making trouble.

[Deathkeeper]

Intersection HQ

”Ok, look. I will be happy to try to trace back this paperwork Officer Ithuriel allegedly filed if she can give me some names of who she spoke to. I can tell you though that letters of Marque are not really things that we do, or have ever done. Especially not to people who have led coordinated assaults on our city. So. Im willing to sit down for a while and try to figure out what’s going on. But that’s going to take time. Possibly a lot of time, if someone actually lied to Ithuriel about what was going on. You’re going to have to wait until that’s finished, and you can’t do that standing in my lobby scaring my receptionist.” Nick speaks slowly and professionally. Though the receptionist does give him a nervous glance when she’s brought up, clearly wishing to be left out of this discussion.

Dibs and Dobs

Dobbers picks up on Dibbles’ awkward tone and finds himself responding in kind, mumbling something as he rubs the back of his bare neck and walking down the street after him.

It is not, however, long before they pass a very large and extravagant-looking one-story house. It’s beautifully maintained, and shockingly clean, but the odd happenstance of the day is that as they’re passing by a great flashing of lights erupts from the windows, along with some rather loud, deep bellowing.
Do our heroes dare, well, do their jobs?

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Sunny Side of the Moon?]

Corvus chuckles, a bit embarassed.

"Sorry, didn't mean to stare. It's been quite some time since I've come across a Chosen of the Sun. I wasn't aware there were many Chosen here in the Nexus to begin with."

[bc56]

Arson Site

Jason turns and races out the door and up the stairs. Whatever's going on, someone needs help. Saving them is certainly better than hanging around in that creepy room. As he moves, he fires his rocket boots in time with his steps, lengthening his stride and speeding his pace.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Arson Site]

Rushing upstairs, it's not terribly difficult to figure out which room is the one the commotion was coming from: it's the one the outside screams can be heard from best, and flames seem to be rushing under the door to.
As a bonus, it isn't even locked!

Bursting into the room reveals a space similar to the one downstairs: mostly empty, symbols carved on the walls and floor, a chair tossed to one end of the room.
The primary difference here is that there is already fire in here, the broken window, and the blue bathrobe-wearing figure holding a rope that's hanging out the window.
Said rope seems to be jerking back and forth a bit and the figure's posture is not one showing concern for the broader everything's on fire situation going on here. They seem pretty relaxed, really.

Difficult to see their head though, through that thick mop of black hair, so there's not a lot of identification that can happen from the door. Those thick worker's gloves aren't helping much there either.

[Morty]

[Sunny Side of the Moon?]

"Chosen of- oh. You know who I am." Sophie brightens up. "I thought I might be the only one. I used to know two... but they're gone." She pauses. "What kind of... Exalted, I think it was? Anyway, what kind are you?"