Midnight hovers up over the seats to get a clear view of the room.
Stand fast! Listen to the lady addressing you, come with us peacefully so that further bloodshed may be avoided...
The little gremlin-creature growls at the much larger orcs either side of it.
No guns in the Lair! it hisses. Too close to street, you don't know who close.
The orcs looks at eachother, down at the shotguns they cradle in their hands with some sort of weird pride, and then back again. With a grumble they put the firearms down and instead reach down and draw long, wicked knives from sheathes along their meaty thighs. They drop down off the stage and into the aisle, blocking the way to their boss.
The Dragon leaps out of his oversized seat and in a flash scuttles forward to the edge of the orchestra pit.
They may have taken this creature lightly, but as electricity crackles along his hands and up his arms, flashing in his eyes, the group can see this little crature as the monster it is.
You do not come into the Lair of the Dragon and threaten the Dragon! it screams again.
He thrusts his fists forward and unleashes a crackling bolt of electricity that slams into Akio's chest, making his limbs sieze with contracting muscles, the flesh of his chest scorched and blackened.
Napalm rushes forward with one of his grenade devices, hurling it at the two orcs. "Hit 'em now!"
-Posted with Wayfinder
Melania swoops forward, air already churning around her fists, before throwing one hand forward and sending the turbulence to barrage the closets orc.
Midnight's expression was rapt despite the severity of the situation, as Connie began to sing another amazing human tune, their culture was so diverse!
Ebons body tenses up as the Dragon attack hits him sending electricity coursing through his body.
With the feeling returning to his muscles he composes himself. Then begins to tense his body bring his fists up as they start to infuse with a glowing red light.
Dashing forward he slides along the old carpet and attempts to strike the Orc in the stomach.
8/15 hp
Napalm's bomb erupts at the feet of the nearest orc, hungry flames licking up his legs even as the blast sends chairs flying in splinters an strips of cheap velour.
Concussion continues to sing, the tones of her voice resonating around the theatre, filing her companions with celerity as the music vibrates at a faster pace than their molecules!
Midnight swoops in and blasts the same orc with a gust of air. It sends him reeling, smashing into a row of chairs and sending them flying like skittles in the bowling alley.
Threat
Confirmed
The dragon, despite his mall stature, takes in a huge gulp of air. Electricity crackles at the sides of his eyes, sparking like miniature fireworks.
If you're friends of his, boss will pay us well for you!
He then opens his mouth and belches out a bolt of lightning that smashes into Midnight's chest. It sends her flying backwards and pins her against the ceiling of the theatre as thousands of volts of electricity course through her body!
Threat
Confirmed
The remaining burly orc looks at his friend who was just so roundly beaten, his own arm and shoulder dotted with shrapnel from Napalm's bomb, and then turns his attention back to the asian man in front of him. With a growl he slashes out with his blade. Ebon is fast but the strike is just too powerful and cuts deeply across his chest.
Blood flows freely from the wound and Ebon staggers backward, the strength in his legs failing him.
With the missed attack Ebon is thrown off balance, quickly attempting to regain balance he leans away from an incoming attack only to miss judge the strike and take a massive cut to his chest.
The pain is beyond anything he had ever experienced, it shudders through his body as he feels the blade slice into bone.
His normal grace and fluid movement is all gone, his arms flail as he falls back with a large thump.
Darkness descends upon him as spirit is thrown away from new york and the old dust covered theater he falls into a trench of fire a familiar place....
-3/15
Napalm gives a little shout as he sees Ebon fall. The monk was nearly supernatural, and for him to be taken down by a thug with a knife was unnerving. Worse, Napalm couldn't risk throwing another grenade with Ebon laying at the thug's feet. "Midnight, take care of the orc!" He draws the grenade, waiting to see how the alien fares.
Napalm grins and moves up, hurling the grenade at The Dragon.
Napalm shakes his head and waits until the orc begins advancing towards him. Then he tosses the grenade at him casually.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Midnight's body writhes as she is wracked with the bolts of electricity. She drops from the air like a stone, crashing heavily in to the floor and landing unmoving in an unkempt heap in the middle of one row of chairs.
Seeing Midnight blasted so violently Concussion wonders, not for the first time, just what she has got herself into.
Nevertheless she breaks cover, diving as a blast of energy singes some of her hair and causes the seats just where she was taking cover to burst into flames.
Healing cuts and scrapes was one thing but she didn't know if she had it in her power to do anything about these electrical burns. But still, he places her hands on Midnight's shoulders and wills the wounds to heal.
Incredibly, they begin to and Midnight's breathing starts to stabilise.
The Dragon may have taken care of the flying one, but he is still aware that numbers are not on his side now that his thugs have been defeated.
He begins to back away along the stage, blasting electricity out at the scarred man tossing bombs.
Lucas dives to one side and rolls onto his shoulder, letting the bolt of electricity pass over his head though his hair stands on end and he can smell the ozone on the air.
Miss
"Help Ebon!" Napalm calls out to Concussion. He rushes towards the little creature and hurls another grenade at it.
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Heeding Napalm's advice, Concussion rushes from one of her stricken friends to the next.
ohcrapohcrapohcrap she hisses breathlessly as more chairs explode around her.
She makes it to Ebon and slides to his side.
You better not be dead, that restaurant you took us to wasn't good enough to pay full price, sorry bud.
Ebon's chest is badly cut and as she pulls aside his torn shirt, she sees the huge tattoo on his chest, of a coiled dragon that almost seems to move as she reaches out.
Thankfully, the blade cut begins to knit together beneath her touch, though not enough that he regain consciousness.
The Dragon shrieks in pain as Napalm's bomb explodes next to him. It sends the small creature sprawling but he rolls on his shoulder and unleashes another blast of electricity though it flies harmlessly wide of the mark, scorching the wooden panelling of the wall at the back of the theatre.
The Dragon looks around desperately for a way out of this situation.
The dark chasm continues to bellow away in flames, Ebon desperately for something in the smoke an unseen presence but a thing he knows all too well. Looking around he knows this place he knows the dark thing that prowls these halls. The evil in all men, Ebon sits with his legs crossed and shuts his eye's chanting ignoring the thing just outside of his vision. Now is not my time, I am not ready. He repeats in his mind.
Ebon body tenses up as Concussion heals him and attempts to wake him up only succeeding at stopping him from bleeding out.
The tattoo on his chest then begins to glow slightly as he is thrown back to his body away from the pits of fire he feels an overwhelming calm flow through him as he begins to mutter thing in mandarin.
hp -1/15
Naplam tosses another grenade at the Dragon, then steps in close, drawing his baton and prearing to strike him with it.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Napalm hurls another of his devices. Dragon covers his face and tries to shield himself from the blast but it is not enough. The bomb detonates on his chest and the concussive force launches him fully twenty feet in the air where he comes tumbling back down to land back in his over-stuffed chair.
2x Shotgun
Adrenal stimulants (Potion of bull’s strength)
Small med kit x2 (potions of cure light wounds),
Small personal rebreather (potion of water breathing)
Masterwork shortsword x2
Shotgun x2
Shells x14
DC15-s Disruptor Pistol (Wand of Acid Arrow with 8 charges)
Napalm collects the other items, noting the rebreather and the disrupter pistol. Interesting, I bet Maggie could reproduce something similar if given the time.
As Connie heals the others, he ventures forward to look at the wings of the stage behind the curtains
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As Concussion applies the medipack to him, Ebon lurches up unsure of his surrounding but feeling the pain in his chest he winches. "What.. what happened? Did you deal with the dragon?" He looks up at at Napalm and then to Concussion. "I'm guessing you saved me. he looks down at his chest now his large tattoo standing out, he covers up slightly. "Thank you." He takes her hands in his and bows his head. "I will return the favour."
3/15
Napalm begins to look around the rest of the theatre.
The building is massive and it appears that at least some of the gang of been using the place to dwell in as well as to meet. A series of office rooms on the floor above have been converted into bedrooms for possibly around 8 individuals but even so there is very little in the way of personal effects.
At one point he looks out of a boarded window upstairs and finds he is somewhere in Chinatown, on a street he doesn't recognise. Cars idle by and no one seems to pay any attention to the derelict theatre in this part of town.
Having explored the rest of the building, there is only one door that seems to be locked. It is at the rear of the stage, probably at one point storage for larger set decoration.
Once again the group wacthes on as Concussion somehow wills the locking to disassemble before their very eyes. Firstly the barrel of the round knob disengages and slides out to hover in the air, before the knob itself dislodges and tumbles to the ground with a clatter.
The room beyond is a mess - as to be expected by now.
Boxes and other general trash, including pieces of broken set decoration, has been pushed to the side in favour of a massive oak table sat in the centre. It is completely out of keeping, almost perfectly circular with a number of indentations at equidistant segments and you wonder if it was meant to be the famed Round Table, used in some King Arthur production or other.
Now it is covered in papers, pens, a cell phone, several cameras and a broken laptop.
However, it is the far wall that catches your attention.
Dozens of newspaper clippings, photographs, hand-written notes as well as a massive map of the city and other articles are all pasted up on the wall, joined haphazardly by lengths of string running from one to the other to the next in seemingly completely random order.
Ebon nods as he pull himself up from the floor, holding his chest in pain. "I'm not in the best of conditions but I can keep going." The moves with Concussion watching as she works on the door.
He moves into the room and looks it over.
"They were planning something.. but it all seems random."
hp-3/15
Finally returning to consciousness, Melania sits up and holds her head, grimacing.
As sparks and lightning suddenly erupt across her arms and torso she shouts
She pulls off her hoodie, hands clawing frantically at the release catches and panels of her suit before finally pulling a small cylinder free. She stares at it for several moments, then lets it tumble from nerveless fingers. She doesn't move as it strikes the floor with a dull echo, a tiny red light blinking on the newly unsealed end.
Numbly getting to her feet, she glances at the discarded medkit and Connie.
Thank you, for saving my life.
She scoops up the dropped container, absent-mindedly stuffing it in her pocket as she re-secures the concealed armor plates of her bodysuit. Then she calls out
I need to share something with you and quickly...if I start convulsing, frothing at the mouth or bleeding from the eyes, do not under any circumstances touch me or allow another to do so...
She brandishes the empty container.
This contained organic nanocytes, I was working on tailoring them to enhance my abilities in your biosphere...
She stares at the container once more
...the only thing being, I am no technician, I had not yet deployed them as I was unsure whether I had the variables correctly configured...
she glances up with trepidation
I have no idea what they are going to do to me, I can only hope I got the main programming correct
She stares at the micro-arcs of energy still sporadically bursting across her skin.
I needed to tell you, but let's keep it at that for now please...
*
Glancing in to the newly opened room, she nods
An operations room of sorts. Dragon mentioned if we were 'with him then there would be trouble. Was he fighting a war? If so, with who?
She sighs
We ought to report this and the body downstairs to the peace officers...
She points at the cellphone, cameras and laptop.
Can we do anything with these?
She picks up a camera and is momentarily confused by the controls, before carefully pressing a single button at a time to try and get it to display some pictures.
Akio and the others start to study the wall whilst Midnight picks up one of the cameras.
On the map are markers indicating locations all across the Manhattan island.
Linked to these via pieces of string are photographs of various locations. Primarily these are shops that sell technology, hunting or outdoor goods, weapon stores and the occasional deli, fast food truck or back-street restaurant.
As you look closer it begins to become clear that these locations represent sightings or probable sightings of someone but strangely there are no pictures of who that person might be
Meanwhile, Midnight struggles for a few moments with the camera controls before eventually figuring them out and through the digital display flicking through the photographs.
Many are replicated on the on the wall board. These are pictures of locations. However, there are a couple that don't appear to have been printed yet and, looking at the time stamp, seem to have been taken in the early hours of this morning.
The most prominent of these is an incredibly blurred picture of a man, taken from some distance.
None of the man's features are distinguishable. However, he is holding a large rifle and lit by the enormous muzzle-flash of it as he blasts his weapon through the windshield and into a dark-coloured saloon car.
The man is dressed all in black save for a blurry white emblem on his chest. Using the camera controls to zoom in, the emblem looks like a skull.
"These are all across Manhattan. Lots of different shops: hunting and outdoors, tech shops, gun stores. It looks like they're tracking someone as they travel around." Lucas looks closely at one picture. "Here. It looks like they finally got one of him. Can't make out much, but this is a skull on his shirt."
Midnight shrugs at Connie
You now know as much as I do about what is going to happen, I appreciate your support
Turning back to the board she scrutinises the grainy figure...
A skull on his chest?
Midnight taps one blue finger against dark lips.
I think I might know that man, or rather know 'of' him...
Midnight advises all present everything she knows about the man the underworld is so scared of.
So the 'Dragon' I think, thought we might have been sent by this Punisher, judging by what he said about 'being sent by him'.
Turning on one booted heel, Melania points to Lucas
Can you, or the SHIELD lab techs, maybe get that laptop working? It's the only other thing I think that could help here. Also, we should go to the police and advise them of the body we found...