Scorch swoops in towards the security booth, trailing twin streams of smokeless flame from her arms, and lands next to her brother. Whilst he talks to the guard she stands back and scans the area for signs of trouble that she doesn’t really expect to find. As she does so she switches her communicator to private and contacts...
”How’s everything over there? You’ll let me know as soon as you anything out of the ordinary won’t you? Anything at all.”
Focusing back on their task, Horizon heads to the medical labs and goes inside to meet up with whomever was in charge to let them know what they were doing. This put him and Psyche in a room with a balding man in a lab coat, seated behind a desk that seemed too big and fancy to have fit through such a small door.
"So we're checking out potential targets for the Mongrels right now, making sure that you're on alert for anything suspicious. We would like your permission to set some cameras out as well to monitor the place." He's shifted gears, compartmented his sorrow and hones in on the job.
"The Mongrels are mostly interested in genetic research, so are there any projects happening or personnel who you'd be concerned with their safety?" He asks, trying to gauge the head doctor's willingness to help. He hoped that Psyche could help determine if he was being helpful or obstructive.
1. What do you intend to do?
2. What could I do to get you to give us full access to the labs?
3. What do you want me to do?
Psyche gave the doctor a small nudge towards helpfulness. Nothing huge, just the equivalent mood boost of having just finished a great cup of coffee. Probably he'd have given them the same amount of help anyways...
With the cameras set up, the two begin thinking about moving on. While they discuss the means of going incognito in order to stake out some potential lairs, Inquiry's wide-angle camera alerts movement coming in from the air.
It zooms in to see a feathered, winged creature looking very much like the mythological half-bird creature called a harpy, carrying a well-muscled bald man in her talons.
The pair make a beeline to the genetics research lab. Harpy drops the muscular man when she's reaches about twenty feet from the roof of the facility, and he lands solidly in a three-point stance.
Just as Mosaic and Isaiah are about to react, another camera alerts a different figure approaching the lab from a much lower angle. That camera shows a half-woman, half wasp flying in low towards the side of the building.
What do you do??
With the headset, Gallowglass can listen in to the facility's security force as they stay on high alert. Roughly an hour passes, where they patrol the shores and the grounds of the island. All appears quiet, and Bear sniffs around but doesn't seem to be detecting anything either.
Then just as the two heroes and the brave canine circle back around to the main complex, a strange white disk appears suddenly roughly ten feet above the manicured lawn. Three figures drop from the disk as if it were some sort of horizontal portal, hitting the ground lightly and immediately moving toward the main building. One looks like a female werewolf -- covered in shaggy brown fur and with an elongated muzzle full of sharp teeth. One looks like a man made out of stone, big and bulky with chiseled angles. The last strides with casual purpose, a large billowing cape adorning his shoulders and a sinister-looking cowl over his face. That cowl is infamous -- Gallowglass and Praetoria recognize it instantly. Shard, the leader of the Chosen, is again assaulting the Dawkins Research Facility.
With a gesture of Shard, a massive hole opens up in the wall of the facility, and the pieces of what remained of the reinforced structure turn jagged and deadly. He then points, and the shards of concrete and metal fly through the air and riddle the security forces that are reacting.
The other two figures that arrived with him race toward the breach.
What do you do??
The security guard scowls at Frostbite, while another pair of guards come out when Scorch drops out of the sky. "Umm, you sure you got the right place?" he asks Rory. "Hang on, I need to call this in."
He hits a button on the mic on his lapel. "Ma'am? I've got a pair of supers here looking to get in. Yes? Ah, fire girl and a kid driving a freaking Rhino. Okay," he listens to some instructions coming through his earbud.
The guard listens to your names and explanation, then reports it to the person on the other end of his radio. Several minutes tick by as the Infini-corp facility takes its time deciding whether to allow Frostbite and Scorch access.
The decision still hasn't been made when the super siblings look in the sky and see three figures streaking toward the angular building. One man in a bomber jacket with a pair of large machine guns on his back is carrying a orangish-red humanoid amphibian in his arms. Also flying next to that pair is a gray-furred man with membranous wings flapping hard to allow him to keep up.
The machine guns roar and several windows on the side of the building shatter. The trio angle their flight toward the opening.
The security guard gapes for a moment, then smacks the button that opens the gate in the fence.
What do you do??
Doctor Horace Weller smiles despite looking extremely nervous. "Yes, well, we have many projects and research being, ah, conducted. That's what we do, you know. So, ah, I don't exactly know what would be the target, but certainly I'm concerned for everyone's safety." His eyes dart nervously between Horizon and Psyche.
Dr. Weller walks you across the small green between the administrative building and the research lab. Just as you are about to enter, a pair of fliers carrying a massive, humanoid warthog appear over the lab. Both of the fliers are female, one covered in polished silvery metal, while the other is sheathed in violet energy.
They let go of Warthog and he lands in an earth-shaking thud. The chrome lady gestures and the metal frames of the windows buckle, then burst free opening up a large hole in the lab.
What do you do??
Praetoria sees Shard and immediately gets anxious. So much so that she fails to recognize either of his associates.
Crap! The Chosen are here!
”Gallowglass! Radio the others and report contact!”
Praetoria connects to her own communicator and tries to contact The Alliance. ”Praetoria reaching out to The Alliance! Shard and some of the Chosen are attacking the Dawkins Facility! Please acknowledge!”
__________
Isaiah spoke through the communicators. "This is Isaiah. I can confirm that Vespid, Harpy, and an unidentified heavy are launching a raid on the Medical Institute. No sign of the other Mongrels; I suspect a multi-pronged attack. Preparing to cautiously engage, any free Sentinels please report."
To Holly, Inquiry said something different. "Well that answers that question. Would you rather tackle this from inside this ship, or on foot? I've got a hunch they aren't going to let us wait for backup."
Suspecting that the coming engagement would be trying, Inquiry/Isaiah opened up a line and requested some additional power.
”We’ve got contacts too. Scorch shouts over the communicator. ”We’ve got Chiros, Salamander and some guy with Maxine guns... “
"They're here too. Warthog and two others. I think one is Attraction but I'm not sure who this is.
How did I miss them? Is the purple one shielding them somehow? Horizon's sweet, but this just got bad, fast.
There's no time for sweet.
Her mind lanced out at the glowing woman, the strange sigils on Psyche's skin flaring unevenly with energy as she hammered away violently at the edifice of the villain's mind.
I'll go it on foot. Because of your... situation, Do you think you'd be more resistant to mind-effecting stuff? She asks him Or should I go after Vespid, and you take on muscles and harpy, because you're a heavier-hitter?
We should think this through, not charge in. Charging in might get one or both before support arrives
Oh, and does Inquiry have some cameras you could point at this battle... Some nice HD footage of this one would be nice.
"It's fine to be scared of the Mongrels, sir. We just need your cooperation to help deal with this situation. I mean, we're checking a bunch of different places, so they might not even show up here-"
He was cut off suddenly by the sound of something heavy slamming into the ground in front of them. In seconds the scene became dangerous, his eyes widening under his visor. Warthog was obvious, the other pair were not, but he could tell they were after something. This has the making of a snatch and grab.
Take the flyers! He thought to Psyche as he charged up, the black void enveloping his arms again as he concentrated. How was he going to defend the lab and keep them from it? He considered his options in the two seconds he had before the beast man charged him on the ground.
"Not good!" He yelped, before holding up his arms and trying to blind him with a powerful flash of light, ducking out of the way as he did. Figuring that was his best option, he focused his efforts on keeping the bad guys away with blinding beams.
The heat he held back though, filtered to not cause permanent harm. He was too worried about possibly killing someone with his powers, becoming like his future self, that he wasn't seeing the bigger picture.
Rory grips the wheel tightly, a icy mask forms over his mouth and nose, his arms turn blue up to his biceps, and he slams the gas pedal to the floor. The Rhino lurches towards the building rapidly gaining speed. I always wanted to try this. Frostbite flips up a cover exposing a button labeled "TURBO" using his cryomancy he forms a glacial ramp. The Rhino roars up the ramp as Frostbite is sucked into the seat, launched through the air and into the shot out window, the miniature tank come screeching to a halt.
Hearing the chatter, Praetoria clenched her teeth.
They split up AND joined forces! Now we are outnumbered at all locations!
She quickly opens her team coms, ”We have no choice guys! Everyone engage, and try to even the odds quickly! I’ve already tried notifying the Alliance! Let’s buy them time to get here!”
She then switches to the other channel and adds ”Praetoria to the Alliance! The Chosen and Mongrels have joined forces and are attacking all four genetics facilities at once! Sentinels are going to hold them off at each site as best we can!”
She then looks to Gallowglass. ”I’m going to try and hold their attention. Try and help me bring one down to even the fight up!”
She then flies forward quickly, slowing just enough to drop Gallowglass off on a nearby rooftop, before jetting off for the breach. She lands with a thunderous crash before turning to the villains and saying ”That’s far enough!” before launching straight for Shard!
The pair of heroes watch as Harpy unleashes a sonic scream that shatters the windows of the research lab. She and Vespid then fly into the breach. The big guy seems to be standing guard on the roof.
Worried that the basic tactic of rushing at them isn't the best one out there, Mosaic can't come up with anything else resembling the plan while the situation continues to unfold.
Isaiah/Inquiry sends an emergency requisition request and is answered promptly. A single unit of highly malleable proto-matter appears in his cargo bay, but he also receives a new directive. Reports of genetic potential within native species -- Human -- intriguing. Further study required. Transmission of sample of 'meta'-human genetic material required. Acknowledge
What do you do??
When Praetoria makes her entrance, Shard gives her a formal bow. "Greetings, my dear. I was wondering when I'd get to meet the newest hero in your storied line. I look forward to convincing you of the errors of your ways, and showing you that rulership is our destiny."
Scorch tries to puzzle out why her mentor could have been wrong, seeing with her own eyes that the Mongrels are teaming up.
In the meantime, Frostbite forms an ice-ramp and blasts the Rhino into the gaping hole that the machine-gun flier had opened up. The heavy truck, aided by the boost, manages to just clear the second floor and crash hard into the building. It didn't get all the way in, however, and is now teetering precariously half in, half out of the research lab.
Chiros continues to fly toward the hole in the wall that is now plugged up by the Rhino. Frostbite feels more than hears a slight vibration running through the vehicle. The half-bat person angles his flight perfectly and slips in through a gap between a jagged piece of glass and the hood of the Rhino.
Meanwhile, the other flier has pulled up and let the salmon-hued figure in his arms go. Salamander's momentum flings him at the side of the building, and he splays his arms and legs out wide. When he hits the building, he sticks fast. Then he starts generating heat, and the glass begins to glow red hot.
The flier beings circling around, keeping an eye on Scorch.
What do you do??
Psyche unleashes a powerful blast at the one covered in violet energy and makes sure that she can't retaliate in turn. She encounters a well-trained mind, one that has dealt with psychic attacks before. However, she cannot resist the force of Kylie's power, and soon she plucks her name from her mind. She calls herself Ballista, and her real name is...
Oh.
Oh no.
The energy sheath fades for a few seconds as Ballista reels under the psychic assault. She falls to the ground, and both heroes can see the girl underneath the violet energy. She's Japanese, long, straight black hair with violet tips and wearing a skintight containment suit. She looks at Horizon pleadingly. "Ojiisan! Help me!"
Hoshiko Akebono
Horizon sends a blast of energy to work as a barrier to prevent the chrome-plated woman from entering the research lab. She pauses, turns to him and laughs. "Radiation against magnetism? You lose," she sneers, then starts to charge up an electromagnetic field around Shin's radiation blast, and she redirects it toward a patient wing.
Meanwhile, Warthog moves to stand over Ballista, watching to see how Horizon reacts.
What do you do??
Praetoria puts her hands on her hips, standing defiantly between the three villains and the breach. ”Shard. I know anything I say hasn’t likely been said to you before. Why is it that you think these powers entitle us to rule? Might does not always make right! These people have done nothing to deserve you attacking them here! Or at the other facilities! Call it off and turn yourselves in. Prove to the people that you aren’t just some tyrant looking to make slaves of them!”
Shard scoffs at Praetoria's demand. "Submit myself to mundane laws, and the mundanes' concept of justice? Ha! We are legitimately better, and can create a better life for all if we simply embrace the natural superiority of our kind! Your uncle could have been a better arbiter of justice, if the mundanes weren't so afraid of his power! You limit yourself by serving when you could rule."
Praetoria shakes her head. ”Just because someone CAN do something does not give them the right to actually DO it. Be reasonable, Shard. Call off your attack!”
Kayla couldn’t deny that a part of her sympathized with his view. She had lived her last four years being bossed around about her life. She could have easily flown off and done whatever she wanted, but she knew it was wrong.
”If you don’t, I’ll be forced to stop it for you,” she says as she takes up a combat ready stance.
Shin was confused as he heard someone calling out for their grandfather. Stranger still was the fact that it was directed at himself, as he glanced at the girl staring at him. It felt especially strange since she seemed possibly the same age or even older than himself. But looking at her he couldn't help but see the possible connection here.
That revelation was shoved to the side when he saw the metal clad woman somehow containing the concentration of photons he had been using to ward her away and toss it towards a patient wing. Even it was mostly visible light, there was probably still enough force in it to cause damage. So he ignored the call of the girl and ran.
He didn't know how he was running so fast, the air rippling around him as the heat he had stored. Hardly faster than light, but the electromagnetic field around his blast slowed it down. The purple clad Horizon caught up to the blast and pulled it all in, the envelopes of black void around him getting bigger as he did.
He exerts himself to the limit, but prevents the photonic energy from reaching the wing. He can see faces peeking out of windows, yelling them. "Get away from here, evacuate!" He shouts, turning to enter the battle, only to find the magnetic villainess coming straight at him.
His granddaughter?!
Doesn't matter, she's still here - she's working for The Chosen for God's sake. Can't let him get distracted, I just have to shut her down before she convinces him to do something stupid.
Ballista's training was good, but basic, mental walls to keep unwanted thoughts out, the kind of control over stray thoughts you had to develop when stray thoughts could mean stray bolts of energy. But Psyche had already put a crack in Hoshiko's armor. She was hurt, she would want to fight back. Readying a shield to protect herself, Psyche glided over to put Attraction in the line of fire, and yanked at the cracks in Hoshiko's mind, hard.
S$!#, we officially have no choice. if this thing can record, set ti to go, we've got villains to fight
With that, Holly surges forward, toward the window Vespid and Harpy went through. Her shards precede her, trying to separate herself from the muscle, and get past
the brute, like many (including Holly herself) is surprised by the strength of the shards, which she generates more and more of as she races of catch up with the two Mongrels... here's hoping Isaiah has her back.
Frostbite pitches and rolls out of his teetering vehicle, ah damn it. HEY! Looks like you guys need to chill out. With a wink he unleashes a torrent of frigid energy at the window Salamander is attached to.
Scorch leaps upward, enhancing her forward momentum by releasing flames from her arms and jetting towards Salamander’s exposed back her leg extended to impact the reptile with a sickening crunch.
Isaiah had suspected this request might come sooner or later. It might not endear him to the locals if they found out, but it wasn't that hard to do. Just likely to be found kind of creepy.
<Acknowledged... I'll look into getting some blood samples. Shouldn't be too hard with all the fighting.>
He wasn't going to let it distract him from the current mess, though.
"Don't worry; I'm always recording. I'll chase Vespid; Psionics and stingers don't scare me any."
Inquiry raced alongside Mosaic, taking advantage of her blocking of the heavy. It began flowing through the shattered windows in a manner reminiscent of an octopus, and launched a snaking metal tentacle after Vespid. Isaiah stopped just outside the window, keeping an eye on the heavy; he wanted to know when that guy broke free.
The metallic limb quickly caught up, then wrapped around the wasp-woman, taking a firm hold, even as Inquiry continued to chase, smoothly flowing through the building with a surprisingly tiny amount of collateral damage for such a large craft entering a small space.
Gallowglass gulps as she realizes that not only are they outnumbers...they're outnumbered by a band led by Shard of the chosen!
Hearing Praetoria's speech, Gallowglass whispers to herself, "Praetoria's right. We're Heroes. We can do this!".
As her partner launches straight for Shard, Gallowglass notices that the villain is reacting too quickly. To help keep Shard on her toes, Gallowglass shoots well over Shard's head...knocking loose a hunk of cement that had been dangling since Shard had decimated the wall, and sending it careening toward Shard's head just as Praetoria charged her.
Then she pauses for a moment to think, and to ask Bear, "Who here is most vulnerable to me?"
Mosaic uses her hard light shards to propel her straight into the action where the bird woman and wasp woman are, and producing a dazzling light show to boot. Harpy spins and unleashes a sonic scream that shatters the hard light like so much pieces of glass! As her powers fizzle and fade under the sonic assault, Mosaic feels a thud reverberate through the building as Haymaker makes his entrance. He starts approaching with his hands balled into fists. "I liked your show," he says gruffly. "But we've got a job to do."
Inquiry follows Mosaic inside looking like a mechanical octopus with writhing metallic tentacles. They target Vespid quickly and immobilize her. Through her struggles, her wickedly sharp stinger manages to jab into one of the tentacles and release a toxic venom. Much to Isaiah's dismay, it has some sort of acidic property, and Inquiry has to disengage that tentacle or else risk damage to his internal workings.
Harpy then turns back around and begins grabbing pieces of equipment from the lab. Haymaker stands in her defense while Inquiry wrestles with Vespid.
What do you do??
Shard laughs at Praetoria's demands. "You think this is my attack? Ha!"
As the Legacy launches herself at Shard, Gallowglass fires her arrow and dislodges a chunk of concrete over his head. Praetoria flies in swinging a mighty blow, but encounters a deadly array of rubble sheared off and honed to deadly shrapnel telekinetically flung in her direction. The block, however, manages to stop Shard from erecting enough of a barrier to stop Praetoria's incoming blow.
The resultant impact is severe. Shard goes reeling from the punch, but Praetoria just rushed into a deadly array of shrapnel to get to him.
Shard staggers back a few steps, grabbing his chin and shaking his head. "Not bad. You really are wasting your potential."
Gallowglass, you've heard of Shard, and seeing the way his telekinetic attack has shredded the security vehicles tells you that this guy is no joke. The other stony guy that is thundering in Praetoria's direction also looks scarily strong. Terrier, however, seems to be flesh and blood. You think you can take her.
As Terrier drops to all fours and races into the complex, Fossil thunders up to Praetoria and grabs her arm. As soon as he touches her, she can feel her arm stiffen and notices the skin begin to turn gray.
What do you do??
Salamander's planned method of gaining entry is suddenly interrupted by a blast of cold air that counters his own heat generation. The humanoid amphibian's eyes bulge and he glares back at you, sending a directed pulse of heat straight at Frostbite.
His attention fully on the cold sibling, Scorch flies up and smashes hard into him. She also manages to use her own fire control to keep the waves of heat radiating from Salamander from cooking her. The Chosen smashes partway into through the window into a gigantic pile of snow and ice that was bracing the other side, and a blast of steam issues forth. "Chiros! You're supposed to be helping us!" he shouts in a throaty voice.
"I'm doing my part, you're doing yours wonderfully," comes a voice from deeper inside the lab. The steam being generated is making it hard to see inside.
Outside, the other flier has spun around and is chuckling. "Nice ride. Shame I have to do this," he shouts just before the machine guns roar. Bullets begin perforating the Rhino. The vehicle shakes under the assault, and then it begins to tip backwards, threatening to fall back down to the street!
What do you do??
With the patient wing of the medical university (it's a teaching hospital, obviously) under dire threat, Horizon employs his powers to absorb the deadly radiation. He is able to see the faces of the people inside the windows wide-eyed and grateful.
Realizing that he's left himself wide open for counter-attack, he spins expecting to see Attraction or someone else about to deliver a serious blow. However, he turns and sees the chrome-plated woman moving into the lab and Psyche unleashing a furious assault on the girl who called him grandfather.
Ballista looks at him again, eyes wide with fear. "It's true! I heard about you! I'm your -- AAAUUGHH!!" Her plea is cut off -- deliberately -- by Psyche. Did she intend for Shin to not hear what she had to say?
The brutal psychic assault continues, and a portion of Ballista's protective energy sheath peels back, giving Horizon a beautiful place to strike and deliver the final blow.
Then the huge warthog picks up a large concrete water fountain and hurls it at Psyche.
Praetoria glares at Shard as he talks down to her. She draws back to hit him again, and feels the grip of Fossil clutch her arm, and the dull ache of it turning to stone! Fear courses through her at the thought of being turned into a statue by this monstrosity!
She attempts to pry her arm free, but fails as the arm slowly becomes more and more useless under Fossil’s grasp! Panic begins to set in, something her training had taught her to avoid, but the situation she found herself in made it somewhat unavoidable!
He's got no reason to believe this girl is telling the truth. There's no one else around who can help Psyche, and he's left Attraction to the now undefended lab. Did Psyche mean to cut her off like that? Leave open a hole in her defenses he could exploit?
Could he hurt more of his family, though? He can't take that blow, become more like his future self. Not until he gets some answers.
Since Warthog seems to be playing defense, he can't get close. But with Psyche suddenly distracted and engaged he finds himself with an opportunity to speak to this woman. Was she a victim of mind control like Praetoria and Scorch? Could he save her? He wanted to believe that, wanted to get answers as he stepped forward, radiation held in their vantablack pockets just in case.
"How do you know who I am? How can I be sure you're not yanking my chain? Why are you helping these mooks?" He asks, trying to make sense of her intentions.
Still crouched over the reptilian form of Salamander, and ignoring the searing heat emanating from his body, Scorch punches repeatedly forward. As she does so, flames stream from her fists, Scorch using the fire not as a weapon in its own right but, rather, to increase the power of her strikes. Finally, she slaps her hand against her opponent and pulls the heat away from his body as she kicks herself clear in a reverse somersault that leaves her crouching on the ground a few meters away. "Hit him now!" She yells at Frostbite. "He's vulnerable."
Isaiah/Inquiry was surprised that Vespid's venom was having an actual effect; the tentacle that had been stung quickly retracted and reformed to purge the corrosive liquid, and while other limbs tried to keep a grip, avoiding that stinger was making it a lot more shaky. They'd have to be more careful... or perhaps it was time to start pulling out the stops.
Unfortunately, the attack Inquiry was preparing to launch is thrown off too heavily by continuing trying to deal with the struggling Vespid to be anything more than some ineffectual flailing. At least it hadn't even gotten close enough to provoke a counterattack, the needle-tipped appendage lashing too far for anyone to even notice the strange reconfiguration of its tip.
"Try to hold off that big guy, and slow down Harpy if you've got extra power to spare. I may be able to turn things around, but it'll take a moment to cook."
More quietly, whispered through her communicator. "And be ready to duck onboard when I tell you to. This thing isn't going to be very discriminative."
Inquiry's fabricator sprung into motion. It had been hoping to save the proto-matter for a teledrive to support the others, but it was looking like they'd need something to finish off here first; a big canister full of paralysis gas should do the trick.
Holly takes the opportunity to send her shards around Haymaker, toward Harpy, the shards trying to cover her wings and wrists, limit her mobility, and others used to smash as much of the stuff she's grabbing as possible.
You were a little out of the normal demographic... unless Holly turns her head, and she lowers her guard slightly Do you have kids?
She could see Warthog picking up the fountain, his already hulking form looming even larger as she looked up at him from where she lay on the ground, but that was fine, she could catch that. Or She could just blast it with an energy bolt, or maybe Ojiisan would put up a shield for her and- Wait, no...
She was just standing there as it came towards her! Her glasses were cracked, and her eyes ached from staring at the flaring energies that surrounded that girl, but it didn't look like she was reacting at all- ...Wrong mind...
Her hands balled into fists, wood creaking beneath them. ...I can still deflect the fountain, I'll just use my... mop...
No! That shell isn't my body. I am. I don't need to find my way back to stop this!
Noses began to bleed as she forced her power out through bodies unused to the strain. It was hard, very hard; there was no way to tell by feel how much power she was using, because nothing felt the same, nothing felt right.
So she made sure it would be at least enough.
Isaiah, who had been hanging back while Inquiry saved most of its processing power for its main body, was in a position to see the danger Mosaic was in. Clear sight lines, nothing blocking any opponent from attacking her. When the retaliation came, he darted in at a precisely timed moment, caught hold, and carried her clear of the attack.
"Not so fast, pup!" Gallowglass hollers, as she sends an arrow into Terrier's leg, attempting to hamper her ability to run.
Praetoria fires off a second arrow in rapid succession, this one a flash bomb, right into Rocky's face, hoping to disorient him long enough for Praetoria to get out of harm's way.
"I've got your back, Praetoria!"
Well, looks like he'd be too slow anyway.
"Spliting the team was so damn stupid!! AUGH!"
Frostbite yells as he forms a block of ice and hurls it at Salamander.
Mosaic tries to spread her solid light around, engaging both Haymaker and Harpy. The light shards interfere with Harpy's task for a few moments, just as it's holding Haymaker at bay.
Holly suddenly gets a brilliant idea to structure her light in a hexagonal patter -- it's so orderly and strong. A buzzing in her mind grows as she structures her light to interlocking pieces resembling an insect's hive, that surround her and the source of that fantastic idea.
Isaiah's attempt at gaining full control over Vespid falters as a spread of honeycomb light interposes itself between Inquiry and the wasp-woman.
Haymaker smirks, nonplussed about being left outside the light hive, and turns toward the ship. He steps forward and throws a massive punch against the hull of Inquiry.
Mosaic, you hear a glorious buzzing sound in your head as the hexagonal light pieces assemble into a globe around you and Vespid, who is still struggling in a pair of metallic tentacles. Free me, and then you can build the hive with your wonderful power. You and your fans can be of one mind. Happy.
What do you do??
Praetoria struggles in Fossil's grip, but is ineffective. Gallowglass fires an arrow that pierces Terrier's thigh, causing her to go sprawling. There's a spray of blood that suddenly brings home the very deadly capabilities of Ness and her bow.
A staccato of gunfire from an assault rifle sounds, and the floating pieces of shrapnel around Shard spark and flash. He snarls, then sends a spread of jagged metal at the incoming guards. There's a variety of screams as they are impaled on the spikes.
"Finish her, I'm getting the objective," Shard says in a somewhat bored tone, then he jumps on a floating piece of concrete and speeds toward the breach.
Fossil nods, then pulls back a rocky fist and punches Praetoria. "Don't resist, you'll only make it more painful."
Scorch, you set Salamander up for a perfect attack by your brother. You pull away the shimmering field of heat from the Chosen, letting Frostbite's cold get through. Rory definitely takes advantage of it, sending a block of ice that catches Salamander in the gut and shatters over him.
Unfortunately, instead of thanking you for your great teamwork or anything, he gripes about the team splitting up.
Salamander doubles over, shivering from the coating of ice. "No more cold, please. Heat me up!"
The Rhino falls backward out of the hole and crashes at the base of the building. "Hey! Leave the slug alone!" Airfoil shouts as he opens up with his guns at Frostbite.
A psychic vortex with Psyche at the center suddenly appears as a response to Warthog's attack. The concrete fountain disintegrates, but windows shatter and people everywhere experience migraines, vertigo, nosebleeds and temporary bouts of synesthesia.
Despite the storm raging, Horizon and Ballista look at each other. She smiles weakly, the mental assault temporarily paused, and holds up a hand. She generates a pulse of radiation that could have come from Shin. "We're family. What we're doing will help all of us, you'll see!"
Warthog, meanwhile, has moved to a streetlight and yanked it from its base. He is now moving toward Psyche wielding it like a baseball bat.
What do you do??
❑ Never give up, never surrender: When you
take a powerful blow from someone with far
greater power than you, use this move instead
of the basic move. Roll + Savior. On a hit, you
stand strong and choose one. On a 7-9, mark a
condition.
- you get an opportunity or opening against
your attacker
- you rally from the hit, and it inspires the
team; add 1 Team to the pool
- you keep your attacker’s attention
On a miss, you go down hard but leave your
opponent off balance and vulnerable.
There's a high pitched whine inside of his ear as Psyche's disruptive power surge hits him, but he's focused on Ballista and how she's trying to get him to help her with this mission. There were a few ways that he could possibly deal with this. If only he had the time to properly think about what was the right thing to do. Funny how life doesn't give you much time to think about these things.
"We're definitely related, I can clearly see that," He tells her. "But you're wrong. You want to know what's the difference between the Chosen and every group of white boys that ever wanted to slug me because my eyes were just a little more narrow than theirs?" He asks Ballista. "Not a damn thing. Because both groups think they're so much better than anyone else because they happen to have power. You're no better than a racist thug if you stay with these people." He turns his back on her, and rushes to aid Psyche. Hopefully she'll listen to what he said.
Psyche, leave Ballista alone, I think she's done as long as you stay away from her. I'll take this jerk, you stop the metal broad! He thinks to her, hoping she can hear him as he engages with Warthog, buffering a shockwave of heat and light in front of him to try and unbalance him...
...and looks perturbed as all it does is ruffle his fur a little, stumbling behind him. "Hoo boy. Uh. You wouldn't hit a guy who wears glasses, would you?"
Get out of my head, Bug! Holly shouts as her own triangular shard formation reasserts itself. she forms A giant flyswatter from the shards, as she tries to maintain the shield between her and Haymaker.
Fossil draws back and slams his fist into the defenseless teen, rocking her backwards with a thunderous crash! Had he not had a hold of her she’d have been sent flying backwards, but instead she just flailed in his hand like a rag doll.
”Uuuunnnngghhhh!” she grunts out. As he draws back for a second blow, she flails around and plants her feet, and pulls her arm free of his grip with such force that he is left staggering off balance. But Praetoria is still clearly rattled from the blow.
Praetoria clutched her stomach where Fossil had slammed his fist. Trying to recover. I won’t go down like this. I can’t!
Praetoria then feels a strange feeling in her core. The thought of internal bleeding crosses her mind briefly, until she begins to glow in a bright white light similar to the energy her mother used to conjure up and blast! But it was different. It wasn’t controlled. It was emanating from every part of her. And it burned! Not a bad burn, like being on fire, but like she had just run five consecutive marathons and her muscles were revved up burned.
The light grew and grew in intensity, causing everyone within view to stop and shield their eyes. As it reaches its maximum, Praetoria cried out as the energy let itself go! Her yell could be heard for miles!
As the light slowly dimmed, Praetoria looked totally different! She was now clad in heavenly armor, and a golden sword was in her hands! She was breathing heavily, but other than that she looked like a heavenly knight here to save the day!
__________
Haymaker's hand impacts Inquiry's hull... and meets very little resistance. The hullmetal simply flows out of the way, letting the mighty blow pass through unhindered, as there had been no improtant components behind it at that point.
"All right, enough of this. I'm pretty grouchy that you folks are making me have to drop one of these."
"Dive for Inquiry, NOW. Or at least hold your breath. And don't let Vespid get to you. Hexes are great, but circles are stronger."
Inquiry spat out a large canister, which bounced once on the ground with a hollow sound... and then, with a Whooosh started rapidly venting clouds of a thin, purlplish mist into the room; a potent, but nonlethal, paralytic gas.
Vespid's mind attack halts for a moment as she darts forward, stinger out and pointed at Mosaic. As she races for the safety of Inquiry, the Star is scratched by the venomous appendage!
The gas from the canister sprays out, and the three metahumans become woozy. Vespid drops to the ground, clearly affected the most, followed by Harpy, then Haymaker. The big bruiser just shakes his head a bit, while the bird woman desperately hits a button that sets sirens blaring and water coursing down out of nozzles from the ceiling.
You have a moment to regroup. What do you do??
Shard races toward the facility, leaving Praetoria in Fossil's clutches. Gallowglass can only watch in terror as the rocky being pulls back his fist and lays her down flat with a tremendous punch. She falls to the ground and is still -- frighteningly still -- as the stony gray on her arm begins to spread to cover her entire body.
Gallowglass, what do you do??
Isaiah slides into the chamber inside Inquiry containing Holly. "You okay? I know that stinger is pretty nasty. At least it looks like Vespid should be down for at least a little while now."
Inquiry meanwhile, prepared to push the advantage. Haymaker was going to be a tough nut to crack, but Harpy might succumb to the paralysis vapors she'd already inhaled if it weakened her a bit. And there was the matter of collecting a blood sample...
A sharp, syringe-like appendage shoots out and jabs into Harpy, drawing out a sample of blood. Not enough to kill, or even seriously injure, but certainly enough to leave her a bit light-headed. The tendril then quickly retracted, and Inquiry's hull suddenly erupted in a forest of wickedly sharp barbs and coils of razor-wire.
"Come on, try and hit me again, big guy. See how it works out for you."