Aberrant: Quantum Zero - Quantum Zero - Elites

[ProfPotts]

Confronting the Count:

"I have to say, you're the last person I expected to see here. "

Even as the various versions of the Nova Elite known as 'One Man Army' leap into defensive positions with an efficiency bourne of long, hard, military drilling (with long, hard, military hardware in their hands...), the infamous Count Orzaiz simply glances towards the recently arrived DVNTS strike team & smiles ::sly ,

'Ah, Nullifier,' he begins, then mockingly corrects himself, 'or do you prefer "Verse" these days? What brings you & your... "companions" all the way out here? Well, no matter...' he casually gestures towards a metal crate being loaded into his waiting chopper, '... my business with the Sergeant here is almost complete. If you'd just be polite enough to wait a moment or two longer I'll leave you all in peace...'

Assaulting Abéché:

Shockwave couldn't help but smile as the sting of rapid-fire small arms rounds danced across her skin & she felt their kinetic energy fuelling her own strength. So, okay, the 'plan' - such as it was - had fallen flat: she & Thunderbolt had been forced to take the truck a little more agressively than they'd wanted, & had resorted to beating up a few local soldiers in order to find Hannibal's extensive private villa. But, as a great man once said, she 'prefered a straight fight to all this sneaking around'... and that's what they'd found themselves in: there must have been a couple of platoons guarding the wanna'-be god Nova's compound, but neither she nor Thunderbolt had been in the mood for subtlety... Jolt didn't have time to waste on subtlety...

Flipping a somersault at the apex of her leap the Aussie Elite landed in a crouch in the midst of the score of soldiers trying to block the huge double doors to the main building. Ploughing her fist into the ground she triggered her signature attack - a shockwave rippled through the earth, radiating out from the point of impact, scattering the baseline troops like so many ninepins & sending a torus of dirt into the air. A moment later that cloud of dirt was ripped apart as Thunderbolt blazed through the air, crackling lightning, & slammed through the main doors, blasting them off their hinges & sending the twisted slabs of metal crashing down the entrance corridor smashing through both priceless works of art & FSS soldiers as they went. Pausing just long enough to rip a huge chunk of marble out of the ornate entranceway & hurl it towards the military truck which was pulling into the compound Shockwave turned & followed Thunderbolt inside the building - not even taking the time to glance back as the sound of an explosion from behind her confirmed that her impromptu missile had found its mark.

Their destructive entrance having created a pause in the fighting Shockwave cast her eyes gaze around the interior of the villa - ornate & luxurious beyond belief... or at least it had been until moments ago... Sure that more soldiers were on their way, if not Hannibal himself, the Aussie Elite called over to Thunderbolt,

'Okay mate, we're in... What now?'

Night Over Nubalb:

'Go, go, go!' the officer yelled - voice muffled by his protective oxygen mask - as the door to the suborbital transport was slid open & the DVNTS Elites started to leap out.

Waiting his turn Alex Green tried to make sense of the turmoil of the last hour - the briefing by Doctor Alinsky & the General had been short but to the point: Maelfius, once one of their own, had created a Quantum-powered Weapon of Mass Destruction & was nearing the point where he could, & by all reports would, use it. Project: Utopia weren't about to interfer with the politically unstable FSS, not so soon after the War - so it was left up to DVNTS to clean up the mess.

Now Alex had be 'drafted' into the small assault force made up of whatever random Elites happen to have been at the base at the time. Weapons & equipment had been issued - some of the less durable Elites were wearing protective suits due to the high altitute - &, since no Warpers had been on hand, they were in the process of performing an airbourne assault on the location of the WMD - the so-called 'communications hub' in the FSS trade city of Nubalb. DVNTS personel had nicknamed the insertion method the 'HANO' - High Altitude No Opening - jump... after all, only baselines needed parachutes...

[Prince of Boredom]

Assaulting Abéché:

Their destructive entrance having created a pause in the fighting Shockwave cast her eyes gaze around the interior of the villa - ornate & luxurious beyond belief... or at least it had been until moments ago... Sure that more soldiers were on their way, if not Hannibal himself, the Aussie Elite called over to Thunderbolt,

'Okay mate, we're in... What now?'

Thunderbolt takes in a deep breath, though strictly speaking he didn't really breath in his current state, and scans the destruction they had caused,

"Right, well, I hadn't actually planned to live this long..."

Looking around the interior of the massive estate, he shrugs his shoulders,

"Since I think subtlety is out the window, let's start on this floor, and work our way up?"

[Alex Green]

Alex was probably the first non-flying nova out the door, but he didn't bother to check. He couldn’t kid himself about the why of it. He wouldn't have liked the idea of a super heavy, totally dark, non-flying nova falling in the darkness above him. Also he really should be the first person to hit the building. His part of the plan was simple and brutal. The one thing that absolutely must NOT happen was for this quantum thingy to be turned on. So the DMD at maximum density was going to “land” on the roof and hopefully cause so much damage to the building that it couldn’t be turned on. If they were really lucky, the entire building would go down with Maelfius with it.

Alex attuned the more delicate of his equipment, and felt himself become one with the fall {Physical Prodigy On}. Alex tried to locate the target and adjust his fall and if need be, his body so he lined up with it (Weave roll to make adjustments if need be).

…And then he waited. This was going to be a long fall. Mentally he reviewed the weapons he’d brought, some mox, some grenades, some throwing knives, some guns. Then he admired the scenery, if you didn’t mind how cold and thin the air was, this was pretty nice. Somehow reviewing the scenery brought back memories of the other scenery he’d enjoyed recently, but he put off worrying about her cousin until later. Similarly he also put off worrying about Rori… odd that her name kept coming up.

On some level Alex knew he was trying to avoid thinking about Maelfius. Back in North Korea, Maelfius had saved his life. In return Alex was going to do his best to kill him. What bothered him was that this didn’t bother him. Letting the warped one play god with the planet, including his future kids, didn’t leave ANY choice. But when had Alex become hard enough to do that without thinking twice about it?

The fifth time he checked his altimeter it told him it was time. He attempted to transform and then increase his mass to it’s highest.

[archer]

Confronting the Count:

Even as the various versions of the Nova Elite known as 'One Man Army' leap into defensive positions with an efficiency bourne of long, hard, military drilling (with long, hard, military hardware in their hands...), the infamous Count Orzaiz simply glances towards the recently arrived DVNTS strike team & smiles ::sly ,

'Ah, Nullifier,' he begins, then mockingly corrects himself, 'or do you prefer "Verse" these days? What brings you & your... "companions" all the way out here? Well, no matter...' he casually gestures towards a metal crate being loaded into his waiting chopper, '... my business with the Sergeant here is almost complete. If you'd just be polite enough to wait a moment or two longer I'll leave you all in peace...'

*Great.* Joe glances at Verse(or was it Nullifier?), waiting for further instructions. For the moment, he relaxes to his normal(though still impressive) mass and waits, arms crossed patiently.

[Bahamut810]

Lodestoen stands upright, then makes a slight wave at the count. He looks over at their 'intrepid leader' waiting for the go ahead to attack.

[ProfPotts]

Systematic Searching:

"Since I think subtlety is out the window, let's start on this floor, and work our way up?"

A grim smile touches Shockwave's lips as she stretches, arching her back, lacing her fingers together, & cracking her knuckles in front of her,

'Good call, Bruce - "subtlety" was never my strong suit anyway...'

With that the red-head Elite charges across the smashed hallway & kicks the nearest door off its hinges, shattering the gilded, imported wood, panels into splinters as she does so...

... The two super-strong Elites make fast work of their destructive search of the villa's ground floor. Although they encounter (& smash their way through) various works of art, rooms adorned as strange ancient looking shrines, a full-size marble-clad swimming pool, & an extensive library - as well as the slightly more usual sitting rooms, dining rooms, & kitchens - they find no trace of Jolt. However, as they rip through the kitchens a yell draws their attention to a trapdoor which appears to lead down into a cellar...

... Stepping cautiously down the stairs to the cellar the Elites can just about make out in the dim light of a single naked low-wattage bulb that the area appears to be a cool store piled up with baskets & crates of various foodstuffs. Across the room from the stairs are several well-stocked racks of wine. It is, however, a small metal cage, maybe two meters cubed, erected in the corner of the room from which the yells are emanating.

Standing in the cage is a tired & filthy looking young European man, maybe in his mid-twenties, his shoulder length blond hair matted with blood & dirt, & a growth of beard suggesting he's not shaved for at least a few days. His clothes are nothing more than foul rags, & his body beneath appears to have suffered repeated beatings. Heavy iron manacles & chains are welded into place around his neck, wrists & ankles, further restraining him - the way he's tightly gripping the bars of the cage, knuckles white, indicates that he's barely managed to pull himself upright. The man's left leg looks stiff, & rests at a strange angle, but this appears to be an older condition than that brought on by his more recent injuries. As Thunderbolt & Shockwave approach it seems as though the captive finally manages to focus on them, his yells trailiing off into chocked sobs. Pulling himself even closer to the bars with renewed vigour the young man speaks quickly, his accent placing him as a native of one of the Northern European countries,

'You... you're Novas? American Novas? You... you must be the ones fighting that madman Hannibal! He's insane, you've got to get me out of here, please! I... I don't even know how I got here, or what he wants from me... He just lets the guards beat me, but doesn't even ask questions...' ::ohmy

Shockwave frowns,

'Actually I'm from Oz...' her objections fade as it obviously dawns on her just how unimportant such things are at the moment. Glancing at Thunderbolt she shrugs, 'He seems genuine, but it's your call...'

That Falling Feeling:

Plummeting at speed it's not long before the lights of Nubalb fill Alex's vision. With grace that defies his awesome mass the Dark Matter Destroyer tweaks his descent vector just enough so that he'll strike the rapidly approaching site of the 'communications hub / WMD' with maximum force. As always, however, things turn out to never be quite that easy...

... Alex's keen senses spot the woman standing on the roof of the main structure just moments before she lights up the night sky. Even before she strikes, the perfection of her slender & athletic physique suggests 'Nova' - her dark Arabic features, & her hair worn in five long braids looped at the sides & hung with old-looking coins in the Fulani style cause the DMD to recall a briefing on enemy Novas from what seems like a lifetime ago: she can only be Magdala al-Najib, AKA 'Magda', AKA 'The Tower' - the Egyptian-born Elite-turned-under secretary for civil defense of the Fulani Sovereign State. Magda turns her eyes skywards & her trademark translucent golden aura snaps into place around her, shaped over the contours of her body & illuminating the rather plain tight blue jeans & white vest she's wearing. Alex also spots a hi-tech looking earpiece radio clipped into place - just before a thousand golden tendrils of force erupt from Magda into the night sky, arcing & twisting around as they seek out & swat aside the descending DVNTS assault force! One of the tendrils finds Alex, spliting into a huge five-fingered claw as it reaches him - a claw which grabs & squeezes hard...

... The DMD isn't sure if it's his own Quantum-fuelled strength, the speed of his fall, the sheer mass of his Elite form, or a combination of all three which enable him to plough through the golden field of force & smash into... & through... the roof of the communications hub. Despite the small victory, any thoughts of celebration soon flee Alex's mind: although Madga's claw didn't stop him, it slowed him a lot - standing & peering around he finds that he's only managed to penetrate the upper dome of the main hub, landing (amidst pieces of sparking & twisting wreckage) on some upper floor. Quickly assessing the situation the DVNTS Elite sees that the open-plan area he's in now is directly under the top of the dome: bundles of cables run here & there, & there are a few structural supports for the top section of the dome, but nothing which looks like it would be a vital componant to a mad genius' doomsday device - the rather dusty area seems more like a simple utility space. The (freshly dented) floor beneath his feet seems to be bolted together from thick steel mesh sheets & lengths of angle. Although not quite a Nova-level intellect, Alex's native intuition & technical background (not to mention his common sense) suggest that he'll need to get much deeper into the structure below him before he finds something which he can use as a proverbial 'red button' to stop whatever it is the place is designed for. Such thoughts are, however, quickly moved to 'the back burner' as the utility space is flooded with a familiar golden light...

... Glancing back up at his own newly created 'entrance' Alex sees a rather impressive creature, constructed entirely from translucent golden energy, & resembling a sphinx from Egyptian mythology: the beast has the body of a lioness, with the head, shoulders, & chest of a woman - in this case a woman strongly resembling Magda! Easily matching DMD's own large size the feline creature leaps down &, hissing like a cat, begins to stalking a circle around its prey...

To The Max:

'MAX!'

Verse yells, dark sparks showering off his jet black form as he reaches a hand towards the crate being loaded into the Count's helicopter. Following his gesture Count Orzaiz smiles,

'Now, now,' the Teragen spokesman begins, 'I've paid for that item fair & square; I'm sure we can come to some...'

Verse, it seems, isn't in the mood to listen. Without even a glance at his companions he says through, it sounds like, gritted teeth,

'Get them!'

... before himself vanishing in the shower of black sparks which usually accompanies his teleportation effects... :warp:

The various OMAs react to the turn of events in satisfyingly predictable manner: the DVNTS Elites suddenly find themselves subjected to the focused application of a great deal of military hardware as a, frankly, ridiculous amount of bullets rip through the air towards them, spiced up with the odd rocket & a grenade or two for good measure...

::getsome ::nuclear

[archer]

To The Max:

'MAX!'

Verse yells, dark sparks showering off his jet black form as he reaches a hand towards the crate being loaded into the Count's helicopter. Following his gesture Count Orzaiz smiles,

'Now, now,' the Teragen spokesman begins, 'I've paid for that item fair & square; I'm sure we can come to some...'

Verse, it seems, isn't in the mood to listen. Without even a glance at his companions he says through, it sounds like, gritted teeth,

'Get them!'

... before himself vanishing in the shower of black sparks which usually accompanies his teleportation effects... :warp:

The various OMAs react to the turn of events in satisfyingly predictable manner: the DVNTS Elites suddenly find themselves subjected to the focused application of a great deal of military hardware as a, frankly, ridiculous amount of bullets rip through the air towards them, spiced up with the odd rocket & a grenade or two for good measure...

::getsome ::nuclear

Bulking up again, Joe moves fast. Stepping in front of Lodestone to protect him, the metal giant braces against the withering hail of firepower. Turning his head, he barks at the magnetic controller behind him. "Take out their weapons, now!"

[Alex Green]

Nubalb “Communication” Tower:

(Before Impact)

*Who is that? Magda? Blast. She’s expecting us. Now what can she do again? Forcefields? Well, good. I don’t see how she could possibly…*

…a thousand golden tendrils of force erupt from Magda into the night sky, arcing & twisting around as they seek out & swat aside the descending DVNTS assault force!

*Oh.*

(After Impact)

*That could have gone better. Store room? If Magda was expecting me the other novas might be getting ready to flip the switch on this thing. Pity the important power-ish wires are lower. At least things can’t get any worse.*

... Glancing back up at his own newly created 'entrance' Alex sees a rather impressive creature, constructed entirely from translucent golden energy, & resembling a sphinx from Egyptian mythology: the beast has the body of a lioness, with the head, shoulders, & chest of a woman - in this case a woman strongly resembling Magda! Easily matching DMD's own large size the feline creature leaps down &, hissing like a cat, begins to stalking a circle around its prey...

*Oh.*

*Use Mox now? No, it’s not handy and I should let her to close in. First punch is hers. If we’re going to have an ugly fight then let’s drag it downstairs. Maybe the rest of the team can recover. I wonder how much she knows?*

Alex mentally reconfigures his body so his “wings” retract and his weapons become more handy as he also attempts to rip away the floor with the idea of dropping down to the next level.

(In French) ”This isn’t about pay checks Magda. Turn on this building and the world burns. He was insane to build it.“

[Prince of Boredom]

Systematic Searching:

'You... you're Novas? American Novas? You... you must be the ones fighting that madman Hannibal! He's insane, you've got to get me out of here, please! I... I don't even know how I got here, or what he wants from me... He just lets the guards beat me, but doesn't even ask questions...' ::ohmy

Shockwave frowns,

'Actually I'm from Oz...' her objections fade as it obviously dawns on her just how unimportant such things are at the moment. Glancing at Thunderbolt she shrugs, 'He seems genuine, but it's your call...'

Thunderbolt looked first at Shockwave, and then the man in the cage, "We don't have time to not believe him..." Electricity arcs through his eyes quickly as he looks into the mans eyes, "Time is of the essence, so if you wish to be freed you will help us now. We are looking for a friend, a nova, like us, an Asian woman. We believe Hannibal has taken her to his harem. Do you know where it is?"

Thunderbolt stares a moment longer, ensuring the man could feel the intensity and urgency in his voice, then attempts to rip the cage door open.

[knave]

<assuming this is ok>

Guy falls while black dragons twist sinuous curves along the matt finish of his new Eufibre...

The Samurai was one of the last to leave the plane, but he used the time. Study the intelligence. At least know what the technology looks like. Have a vague idea about what will turn it off, and what kind of violence will turn it on. Check equiment. Shuriken. Explosives. Grapnels. Optics. Grenades. Pistol. And the honour of the swords. All Present and accounted for.

Now, as the Samurai falls, deadly Kata play through his mind. His body moves with the wind - angling effortlessly toward the building below.

The Samurai is serene as the world rises to meet him.

But Guy falls with black dragons twisting out a deadly play in his gut.

"I got me a bad feeling about 'is one..." he mutters to himself... raising his mask just enough to take a bite out of the yorkie bar he brought along just in case he needed to bribe someone important... like, for example, a bellyful of 'time to grow up now - let's all go super nuclear' fear.

He cocks his head slightly - optics homing in on something below.

*Well... whaddayaknow... looks like someone shiny's 'ome...*

[ProfPotts]

Fighting Figments:

”This isn’t about pay checks Magda. Turn on this building and the world burns. He was insane to build it.“

As he speaks Alex easily manages to punch his super-strong fingers through the steel-mesh floor, take a firm grip, & rip a large section of it up - sending bolts popping & underfloor wiring sparking as he does so.

The translucent golden sphinx, however, doesn't appear to take any heed of his words - instead it pounces at him, slamming all four claws & all its considerable weight into his chest... the claws fail to penetrate Alex's 'dark matter' hide, but the sheer power of the cat-like creature's attack actually manages to topple the massive Elite (an impressive feat considering his own vast mass & considerable athletic prowess). Crashing to the floor, mangling some more steel mesh as he does so, Alex finds himself prone with the glowing mythological beast's claws pinning him down as the face which resembles Magda's keeps hissing at him in an angry feline manner...

Freeing Captives:

"We don't have time to not believe him..."

Shockwave nods her agreement as Thunderbolt continues...

"Time is of the essence, so if you wish to be freed you will help us now. We are looking for a friend, a nova, like us, an Asian woman. We believe Hannibal has taken her to his harem. Do you know where it is?"

The electric Elite's Quantum-fuelled muscles make short work of the cage door - which he easily pulls right off its hinges! For a moment the captive stands there - looking both overjoyed & terrified - then he falls forwards, his strength gone. Shockwave moves quickly to catch the tortured man before he hits the concrete floor of the cellar. Glancing at Thunderbolt she frowns,

'I don't think this fella's in any shape t' help us, mate,' she comments quietly, 'best we...'

Seemingly running on willpower alone the captive manages to shake his head, moan, then - with ultimate effort - push himself up to stand (shakily) on his own two feet. Panting for breath he manages to croak out a few words,

'I... I've seen his "harem"... a "throne room" - all silk cusions & beautiful women & ancient artefacts - Phoenician I'd say, related to the worship of Ba'al &...' the captive's words trails off as his eyes take on a far away look. Finally he shakes his head, 'Sorry I... I am... I was... a post-grad student of archeology... then the cave-in... then... then here... madness... torture... Hannibal...' Once more his words start to fail him, & his body looks close to following - Shockwave moves to hold him up, but the captive's focus returns once more & he waves her off. Standing straight he manages to match Thunderbolts stare, 'Hannibal. That monster. I don't know if I've seen your friend or not, but I can lead you to his throne room - anything I can do to help stop that devil.' ::angry

With renewed vigour the captive walks past the two Elites & starts to head up out of the cellar.

That Falling Feeling Revisted:

Following the other Elites of the strike force out of the plane, eufibre & natural talents both helping to conceal his form against the night sky, & instincts warning him to get out of the way, The Samurai manages to avoid the writhing golden tendrils of Magda's initial assault. From his vantage point Guy is witness to Magda's force projections swatting his fellow Elites out of the sky, this way & that, scattering the assault across the city & even knocking a few of the more lightweight Elites completely out of the fight! As his own descent continues The Samurai notes Tank being slammed through a tall glass-windowed skyscrapper to his left - it's doubtful the attack is enough to drop the tough Mongolian, but its plenty enough to slow him down (& piss him off...).

Twisting to one side at the last moment Guy narrowly manages to avoid another of the translucent golden tendrils - this one, he swears, resembling a giant Chinese-style dragon as it ploughs past him to engulf one of the flying Elites hovering just behind The Samurai. His own powers soaking up the energy of the incredible skydive from near orbit Guy finally lands, rolling to his feet, on the top of the 'communication hub's' main dome. A dozen meters away he sees Magdala al-Najib, sheathed in glowing golden force & directing her myriad tendrils against the DVNTS strike force. Close by the FSS Nova is a gaping hole in the roof of the dome - Guy recalls seeing Alex plummeting at great speed in the forefront of the assault... & no-one makes gaping holes like the good ol' DMD ::biggrin ... a glowing golden light from within the hole seems to match Magda's distinct powers, but she herself seems to be ignoring it, focusing instead on the main battle...

Ever-tactical mind quickly assessing the situation Guy confirms that the descent didn't damage the couple of EMP grenades he'd grabbed from DVNTS supplies before they left - one or two in the right place within Maelfius' Quantum-powered WMD should be just what the Doctor (the Doctor in question being a certain Ms Alinsky) ordered. On the other hand, plans often need to be altered on the spur of the moment... ::unsure

... Madga suddenly looks around at The Samurai & gestures towards him - as she does so a glowing 'blob' of translucent golden force-energy seperates from the aura surrounding her. Landing next to Magda on the roof the 'blob' expands, twists, & morphs until it has taken on the form of skeletal warrior clad in ancient Egyptian garb & carrying a wicked looking curved Khopesh sword... a moment later the warrior divides into four identical beings - all of which charge at The Samurai, screaming ::blink ! Magda turns her attention back to the main battle...

[knave]

That Falling Feeling Revisted:

Following the other Elites of the strike force out of the plane, eufibre & natural talents both helping to conceal his form against the night sky, & instincts warning him to get out of the way, The Samurai manages to avoid the writhing golden tendrils of Magda's initial assault.

Body rolling through evasive freefall Guy finds his mind putting it all to music... tragically it's a tenaciously ubiquitous BeeGees hit.

From his vantage point Guy is witness to Magda's force projections swatting his fellow Elites out of the sky, this way & that, scattering the assault across the city & even knocking a few of the more lightweight Elites completely out of the fight!

*Ah! Ah! Ah!*

As his own descent continues The Samurai notes Tank being slammed through a tall glass-windowed skyscrapper to his left - it's doubtful the attack is enough to drop the tough Mongolian, but its plenty enough to slow him down (& piss him off...).

Guy winces *Someone's gonna be sorry... 'ope I don't draw 'im next trip.... yeah... 'at'sa spririt boyo - next trip. Ah! Ah! Ah!*

Twisting to one side at the last moment Guy narrowly manages to avoid another of the translucent golden tendrils - this one, he swears, resembling a giant Chinese-style dragon

*Alllliiiiive.... Bloody 'ell...*

as it ploughs past him to engulf one of the flying Elites hovering just behind The Samurai.

Guy has a mere moment to flick his head back to take in the casualty. *Stayin' Ah! Ah!...*

His own powers soaking up the energy of the incredible skydive from near orbit Guy finally lands, rolling to his feet, on the top of the 'communication hub's' main dome. A dozen meters away he sees Magdala al-Najib, sheathed in glowing golden force & directing her myriad tendrils against the DVNTS strike force.

*sunshine, I fink maybe hit's time to bite the bullet an' just buy han ipod...*

Close by the FSS Nova is a gaping hole in the roof of the dome - Guy recalls seeing Alex plummeting at great speed in the forefront of the assault... & no-one makes gaping holes like the good ol' DMD ::biggrin ... a glowing golden light from within the hole seems to match Magda's distinct powers, but she herself seems to be ignoring it, focusing instead on the main battle...

*Hexcessive pro'erty damage, check.*

Ever-tactical mind quickly assessing the situation Guy confirms that the descent didn't damage the couple of EMP grenades he'd grabbed from DVNTS supplies before they left - one or two in the right place within Maelfius' Quantum-powered WMD should be just what the Doctor (the Doctor in question being a certain Ms Alinsky) ordered. On the other hand, plans often need to be altered on the spur of the moment... ::unsure

Guy allows himself a moment's worth of smile... *an the number of the counting shall be free...*

... Madga suddenly looks around at The Samurai & gestures towards him

"Aw sod."

- as she does so a glowing 'blob' of translucent golden force-energy seperates from the aura surrounding her. Landing next to Magda on the roof the 'blob' expands, twists, & morphs until it has taken on the form of skeletal warrior clad in ancient Egyptian garb & carrying a wicked looking curved Khopesh sword...

Guy cocks his head to one side slightly, *Well blow me down wiff a teaspoon.... hit's like Miss shinypants 'as watched too many 'orror movies... she's a bit of wot we'd call a traditionalist. Face the swordsman with a swordsman... right... fine... nuffing wrong wiff a bit of a mano-e-mano eh.*

[knave]

a moment later the warrior divides into four identical beings - all of which charge at The Samurai, screaming ::blink ! Magda turns her attention back to the main battle...

Behind the Samurai's mask, Guy's left eyebrow of incredulity makes a desperate leap for freedom. ::ohmy "C&^%!"

Knuckles crackling with tension the Samurai drops into a combat crouch - hands to the hilts of his Daisho.

*Right - fink. Force constructs - mebbe 'ey'll go away hif she goes to sleep.... maybe... maybe not. Well... what do you gain by fightin' 'em. Anyone? Hexercise maybe. Right - Blow 'at for a game of soldiers... you've go' a job ta do... *

"Call me..." he says, as his body begins to blur.

<Activating multiple actions - incorporating dropping flash powder and a smoke grenade down at his immediate location and flipping backward and away over the edge of the building - arms flipping outward, looking tres cool ::ultracool. Should he clear the building, Guy will fling one of his flash-bang shuriken at Magda - and once the edge of the dome is providing cover - he'll fire his grapnel back toward the building and swing towards the best point of entry he can make out. >

[Alex Green]

Fighting Figments:

,,

As he speaks Alex easily manages to punch his super-strong fingers through the steel-mesh floor, take a firm grip, & rip a large section of it up - sending bolts popping & underfloor wiring sparking as he does so.

The translucent golden sphinx, however, doesn't appear to take any heed of his words - instead it pounces at him, slamming all four claws & all its considerable weight into his chest... the claws fail to penetrate Alex's 'dark matter' hide, but the sheer power of the cat-like creature's attack actually manages to topple the massive Elite (an impressive feat considering his own vast mass & considerable athletic prowess). Crashing to the floor, mangling some more steel mesh as he does so, Alex finds himself prone with the glowing mythological beast's claws pinning him down as the face which resembles Magda's keeps hissing at him in an angry feline manner...

A variety of thoughts go through Alex’s head, he’s impressed that he’s been taken down, he’s annoyed that his speech was ignored, he wonders if he’s dealing with Magda anymore, and he realizes close combat is probably a good thing for him.

Alex attempts to grab whatever he can of the creature with whatever part of him he can and then bear down with his full strength.

[Bahamut810]

((Alright...asked and recieved my sheet))

Lodestone brought his hands together in front of him when his large cohort gets between him and the hail of metal. Taking the moment of rest he magnetcially 'springs' into action, grabbing the largest gun OMA is holding and trying to make a wide arcing swing with it into the other OMA's.

(Megnetokenesis and dropping a WP into it, grabbing a gun and beating people up. I cant remember how well this worked before...)

[ProfPotts]

Kicking Butt & Taking Names:

"Take out their weapons, now!"

Before Joe shouts, even before the OMAs have taken the split second required to fire their ready weapons, the Elite known as Jaguar is already acting: with one smooth motion he holsters his trusty revolvers & pulls out a small smooth disc, about fifteen centimetres in diameter & a few centimetres think, from under his overcoat - after a couple of quick taps on the thing's touch-sensitive control surface he flings it, discus-style, into the air. The 'disc' proves to be a hi-tech remote flying wing - it zooms into the sky & starts to circle the 'battle field' - the DVNTS Elites recognise it as one of Doc Alinsky's surveillance remotes, loaded with sensory gear ideal for taking a full (& hopefully lucrative) record of the battle.

But Jaguar doesn't rest on his laurels: spinning out of his throw he ends up facing the OMAs once more, now down on one knee & sighting along the length of his brand new railgun. While the brains of the slower-witted Elites present (with Jaguar pretty much everyone is slower-witted ::wink ) are still in the process of telling them to do something, Jaguar's gun begins to spit death as the African-American New Yorker sprays automatic fire across the OMAs...

Blasts from the railgun's hypersonic shot shells nail five of the eight OMAs... but to little effect: their clothes are shredded, & one (the one throwing grenades) catches a slight wound to the neck, but on the whole they appear tough enough to shrug off the lightning fast assault which would have easily obliterated a normal squad of soldiers...

Jaguar's eyes widen slightly ::blink as he, like Andy, ducks back behind the cover provided by Joe,

'So this is Nova-level combat then?' comments Jaguar, slapping a fresh clip (this time of solid iron rounds) into the gun as he does so, 'Cool.' ::cool

Maximizing his mass & armour Joe's mighty form swells to a full eleven feet tall, even as his oversized feet sink a couple of centimetres into Texas: & just in time too, as the OMA assault hits him full on. The withering barrage of bullets produces a thunderous noise as the metallic pings bouncing off Joe's huge form blur into the overall cacophany of heavy weapons fire. The fully-automatic fire from the two heavy machineguns & the two ultra-machineguns does little more than bruise the Native American behemoth (although the BFG hits sting a lot more...), one Light Anti-tank Weapon bursts harmlessly across Joe's mighty chest, while the pistol shots from the Sarge's .45 Colt are, to be honest, a little insulting... The slightly wounded OMA hurls a grenade which rolls to a halt between Joe's feet before exploding - Joe's unhurt by the shower of metal fragments... although what they hit is enough to make any man think twice... ::scared ::sly

Fragments from the grenade blast also shower Jaguar & Lodestone - the former grunts slightly, but his tough eufiber costume blocks any real damage; the latter's magnetic force field just stops the pathetic fragments dead, dropping them to the dirt by his feet. ::neo

Last, & by all means least, one of the OMAs (the one called 'Kid' by the others) steps forward, LAW ready on his shoulder, only to slip on a large patch of engine oil. As he topples his finger tightens on the rocket launcher's trigger - the anti-tank shell fires almost straight up... dances a mad path in the air... then plummets down to Earth, right between the OMA's two jeeps, blowing both of them sky-high! The OMA called 'Sarge' screams, & clips Kid round the ear with his .45...

Staying behing the cover provided by Big Joe, Andy reaches out with his sensitivity to magnetic fields, 'feeling' for the largest of the OMA guns. Luckily BFGs are of metallic-ceramic construct, & not pure ceramic, so Andy magnetically 'grabs' at one... only to discover that, although he's exerting enough power to lift a full five tons, it's far short of the sort of energy needed to wrench the weapon out of the hands of the super-strong OMA holding it...

At that point Jetstream (or 'Tod' since being unmasked... ::ninja ) makes an appearance, diving out of the sky & sweeping in an arc across the OMAs, outstretched hands blasting twin tornadoes which churn the ground into dust as they strafe across the enemy Elites to impressive effect: the powerful blasts of focused wind scatter the OMA's camp, & the OMAs themselves, tossing them around like rag dolls, & scattering them each fiftteen to twenty meters! Completing his 'attack run' Tod flies once more high into the air above the battle (just taking a moment to salute towards Jaguar's circling remote camera as he does so - after all, pay-per-view customers soak up that cheesy stuff!). Bashed & Bruised, in a couple of cases actually Hurt or Injured, the OMAs slowly start to gather their wits & regain their feet...

... Of course, just because Jetstream attacked, Andy didn't let go of the gun he was magnetically wrestling with... Pulling the one ton weapon free of its owner as he's blasted around the battlefield by Jetstream, Lodestone swings the huge gun with all his magnentic might, sending it spinning in a wide arc through the scattered OMAs: slamming into one OMA after another chips away at the BFG, causing it to disintegrate by the time its finished its run - but at least all the OMAs are smacked right back down just as they try to stand up (which has to be irritating ::wink )...

Almost unnoticed by the warring Elites Count Orzaiz & his be-suited goon are both quietly getting into the helicopter, along with the metal crate, as they attempt to politely take their leave of the situation.

[archer]

At that point Jetstream (or 'Tod' since being unmasked... ::ninja ) makes an appearance, diving out of the sky & sweeping in an arc across the OMAs, outstretched hands blasting twin tornadoes which churn the ground into dust as they strafe across the enemy Elites to impressive effect: the powerful blasts of focused wind scatter the OMA's camp, & the OMAs themselves, tossing them around like rag dolls, & scattering them each fiftteen to twenty meters! Completing his 'attack run' Tod flies once more high into the air above the battle (just taking a moment to salute towards Jaguar's circling remote camera as he does so - after all, pay-per-view customers soak up that cheesy stuff!). Bashed & Bruised, in a couple of cases actually Hurt or Injured, the OMAs slowly start to gather their wits & regain their feet...

... Of course, just because Jetstream attacked, Andy didn't let go of the gun he was magnetically wrestling with... Pulling the one ton weapon free of its owner as he's blasted around the battlefield by Jetstream, Lodestone swings the huge gun with all his magnentic might, sending it spinning in a wide arc through the scattered OMAs: slamming into one OMA after another chips away at the BFG, causing it to disintegrate by the time its finished its run - but at least all the OMAs are smacked right back down just as they try to stand up (which has to be irritating ::wink )...

Immediately taking advantage of the situation, Joe charges toward the nearest OMA at top speed, dropping one shoulder and angling his body for an irresistible slamming attack.

[ProfPotts]

Advancing to the Rear:

"Call me..."

With his flash powder & smoke adding a certain level of showmanship to his exit The Samurai leaps back, up & away, sailing high & turning gracefully over at the apex of the jump. As he does so he sees the four 'warriors' continue their charge towards the expanding cloud of smoke where he was just moments before... continue until they rush through the smoke, swinging their swords blindly, & all tumble forward, skidding & bumping down the curved side of the dome!

The flash, & the fate of her 'troops', causes Magda to once more glance over towards where The Samurai once was... It doesn't seem like she's noticed where he is now... As gravity starts to pull him down Guy takes the opportunity to fling a flash-bang shuriken at her ::samurai : the small star spins out in straight line, unerringly catching the glowing golden Nova full in the face! Although her force field (predictably) take's the throwing star's impact & explosion in stride, the blast of light & sound causes Magda to yell out & grasp her hands to her face as she falls to one knee. As Guy continues his descent past the edge of the dome he notes that Magda's myriad golden tendrils are flailing about blindly in the night sky...

Shooting out his grapnel The Samurai turns his fall into a smooth sideways arc in a move which would have yanked a mortal man's arm from its socket. There appear to be few windows on the side of the main building... but 'few' is plenty when you're the world-famous Samurai: completing his swing Guy smashes through one such window, boots-first, rolling to his feet as soon as he's once more on solid ground. Glancing quickly around he finds himself in a long hospital-white room illuminated by harsh strip lighting & filled with rows & rows of black server-style computers - like the shelves in a library but without the books. Apart from the blinking red & green indicators on the powerful info-processing machines there seems to be no decoration to the room at all. A brief search reveals a single door leading to a beige-carpeted corridor lined with similar doors (& one lone rubber plant)...

Kitty Smackdown:

Grasping the forepaws of the golden sphinx the Dark Matter Destroyer yanks hard with all his might - literally ripping the creature to pieces! There's an unearthly, cat-like, scream, then the translucent force energy fizzles to nothing in the air before him... Yup... he's pretty sure that wasn't Magda... ::unsure

[Bahamut810]

Andy smiles as the gun finds its mark. His next turn depends on if he notices the Count getting away (and that Verse is not doing anything about it...).

1. If Andy notices whats happening, he will Magnetically grab the box and bring it back behind Joe (hopefully to Verses waiting arms).

2. If he dosent notice it, he will grab the nearest vehical and start smacking some more OMA's around.

[Alex Green]

Kitty Smackdown:

Grasping the forepaws of the golden sphinx the Dark Matter Destroyer yanks hard with all his might - literally ripping the creature to pieces! There's an unearthly, cat-like, scream, then the translucent force energy fizzles to nothing in the air before him... Yup... he's pretty sure that wasn't Magda... ::unsure

::confused *Huh? I think that was good. Good thing I didn't try to mox her. Is she back up top? Does it matter? Go for the goal. That’s below us. Me. Whatever.*::confused

The DMD Alex mentally relaxes his grip on the extra mass he'd picked up and continues ripping holes in floors and falling through them.

(OOC: Don’t bother paying for extra DI on next maintenance).

[knave]

Advancing to the Rear:

,,

With his flash powder & smoke adding a certain level of showmanship to his exit The Samurai leaps back, up & away, sailing high & turning gracefully over at the apex of the jump. As he does so he sees the four 'warriors' continue their charge towards the expanding cloud of smoke where he was just moments before... continue until they rush through the smoke, swinging their swords blindly, & all tumble forward, skidding & bumping down the curved side of the dome!

::happy *Somedays it just rocks being you - don't it sunshine...*

The flash, & the fate of her 'troops', causes Magda to once more glance over towards where The Samurai once was... It doesn't seem like she's noticed where he is now... As gravity starts to pull him down Guy takes the opportunity to fling a flash-bang shuriken at her ::samurai : the small star spins out in straight line, unerringly catching the glowing golden Nova full in the face! Although her force field (predictably) take's the throwing star's impact & explosion in stride, the blast of light & sound causes Magda to yell out & grasp her hands to her face as she falls to one knee. As Guy continues his descent past the edge of the dome he notes that Magda's myriad golden tendrils are flailing about blindly in the night sky...

*Pwned!* ::ultracool

Shooting out his grapnel The Samurai turns his fall into a smooth sideways arc in a move which would have yanked a mortal man's arm from its socket. There appear to be few windows on the side of the main building... but 'few' is plenty when you're the world-famous Samurai: completing his swing Guy smashes through one such window, boots-first, rolling to his feet as soon as he's once more on solid ground.

*Yes, yes - very flash... just don't get ahead o' yourself, Guy, me old chum....*

Glancing quickly around he finds himself in a long hospital-white room illuminated by harsh strip lighting & filled with rows & rows of black server-style computers - like the shelves in a library but without the books. Apart from the blinking red & green indicators on the powerful info-processing machines there seems to be no decoration to the room at all. A brief search reveals a single door leading to a beige-carpeted corridor lined with similar doors (& one lone rubber plant)...

Guy looks suspiciously at the plant. *You lookin' at me?... You lookin' at me?... I don't see hanyone else 'ere....*

::rolleyes

*Yes, yes - very bleedin' mature...*

*Okay - you've penetrated the defences... but 'ey know you're 'ere... Best move sharpish while 'ey go chasing the real 'eavies.*

He gives the server racks a quick once over... - assuming they appear innocuous enough: *Not in your brief mate...* Guy pats the emp grenades... Soon my pretties*

The Samurai jogs down the corridor as quickly and quietly as possible whilst still being able to read any plaques on the doors - looking for anything marked 'Super Armageddon Bomb' or possibly just 'Restricted' (or anything with a skull or sufficient exclamation marks - if not in English), second prize being anyone he can shout and make expansive gestures at until they show him the device, third being a stairway he can run down in search of options 1 or 2. He's quite prepared to hide rather than get into any fights he doesn't know the scale of.

[Prince of Boredom]

Freeing Captives:

'I... I've seen his "harem"... a "throne room" - all silk cusions & beautiful women & ancient artefacts - Phoenician I'd say, related to the worship of Ba'al &...' the captive's words trails off as his eyes take on a far away look. Finally he shakes his head, 'Sorry I... I am... I was... a post-grad student of archeology... then the cave-in... then... then here... madness... torture... Hannibal...' Once more his words start to fail him, & his body looks close to following - Shockwave moves to hold him up, but the captive's focus returns once more & he waves her off. Standing straight he manages to match Thunderbolts stare, 'Hannibal. That monster. I don't know if I've seen your friend or not, but I can lead you to his throne room - anything I can do to help stop that devil.' ::angry

With renewed vigour the captive walks past the two Elites & starts to head up out of the cellar.

Aaron jogs quickly to catch up to the man, "Wait, let me go first; I don't want you getting hurt. Just tell me which way to go. Shockwave, follow behind to make sure nothing happens to him."

[ProfPotts]

Doing it Texan Style:

CHOOM!

...

CHOOM!

Two clear & steady shots ring out from Jaguar's railgun as the OMAs (once more) try to regain their feet: both eyes of the OMA who was throwing grenades explode in streams of blood & gore as the Harlem Elite's precise shots find their marks - the OMA goes down hard to lie unmoving in the dirt.

'Okay,' comments Jaguar, 'I see - same game, different pace. No problem!' ::cool

A moment later Jaguar & Lodestone's cover vanishes (although it looks like a moot point...) as Alloy speeds towards the scattered OMAs, churning a swath of Texas into the air as he does so: in a repeat performance which is bound to delight the more blood-thirsty pay-per-view regulars the OMA he charges manages to spin round in time to do the 'wide eyed stare at impending doom' so favoured of Star Trek Klingons just before they get blown to bits ::ohmy , then Alloy impacts him... The OMA is replaced with a fine red mist... ::blink

Noting the good Count's gentlemanly exit Lodestone reaches out to magnetically snag the crate, pulling it through the air to his side, just as the helicopter takes off, banking away from the Elites & off into the sky. Verse, of course, Lodestone hasn't seen since he teleported away...

Swooping down out of the sky Jetstream hovers just above the ground, throws his arms out, & blasts forth with twin tornadoes of focused power: the paired blasts strike the OMA known as 'Sarge' square in the chest, lifting him off his feet & slamming him up into the air... even after Jetstream's blasts fade Sarge continues his unscheduled 'flight' - arcing high across the Texan landscape & disappearing over the horizon...

... leaving five OMAs to scramble to their feet, shaking their heads, looking around, & trying to regain their bearings... ::confused ::wacko

Taking the Quick Way:

His opponent disposed of, Alex returns to his oh-so-subtle entry into Maelfius's lair: pounding & ripping his way through one floor after another he rapidly descends through the building, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake... They don't call him the Destroyer for nothing...

Taking the Sneaky Way:

Jogging through the building Guy soon comes to realise it's mostly deserted - he has to hide from a couple of large groups of FSS soldiers running double-time through the corridors - but there's no sign of the sort of personnel he'd expect to find in something billed as a 'communications hub': plenty of computers & other such communications-hubbish equipment, just no people. It doesn't look to be a fully automated building either, since he locates plenty of bathroom facilities, break rooms, & the like during his rapid search...

In the end his nearly runs right past it: an innocent looking door marked 'Games & Puzzles'... Something causes a shiver up Guys back as he passes the door - just enough for him to stop & think: Maelfius was a weird guy, with a weird sense of humour, no doubt... plus, why should such an innocent looking door have its own retina scanner? ::sly

Scanner or not a swift boot to the lock causes the door to give way; jogging down the suspiciously metallic corridor behind the door The Samurai soon finds himself in a vast hemispherical chamber, deep within the heart of the communications hub. Floating in the centre of the chamber is a huge sphere of distorted space, maybe ten metres across - multiple laser-like projectors lining the walls are focused on the distortion, seemingly either holding it in place, or generating it...

The room's only occupant is Maelfius himself... or, at least, Guy thinks it's Maelfius as the figure is stretched out all around the room like a crazy rubber-man, & ribbon-thin to boot. Still the constant spatial distortions running across the surface of the figure & the small globe-like spheres of distortion hovering & dancing along its length both tend to confirm that this is, indeed, the mad scientist himself. Whatever his present form, Maelfius is darting here & there, stretching & contorting himself even more as he does so, flipping switches, changing burnt-out componants, & generally being very technical. Suddenly the figure's neck twists round, & the head snaps across the room to face The Samurai,

'Guy!' exclaims Maelfius, quite happily, 'You came! Glad you could make it! It'll only be a few moments now - then you'll see something really cool!' ::biggrin

At that point there's the sound of metal being ripped apart, part of the ceiling is pulled up, & the Dark Matter Destroyer drops in - narrowly missing the central globe of distorted space - to land with shuddering impact on the room's Death Star smooth metallic floor! Maelfius's head snaps round once more, this time over to the massive dark Elite,

'Alex too?' the mad scientist exclaims, 'I... I don't know what to say... All my friends have come to witness by moment of triumph... I must be the luckiest guy alive...' ::biggrin

Hunting for a Harem:

"Wait, let me go first; I don't want you getting hurt. Just tell me which way to go. Shockwave, follow behind to make sure nothing happens to him."

'Right, boss!' Shockwave snaps a neat, rather mocking, salute, but assumes her position at the rear none-the-less.

The captive nods & moves aside for Thunderbolt, rubbing his damaged leg as he does so.

Once the group are out of the cellar the captive blinks, obviously unused to the light of day, then gestures & says,

'That way, it's on the top floor - the sides are open to the sky so that the monster can survey his kingdom...' ::angry

Following the captive's directions the group head up three flights of stairs, finally emerging in a single open-plan room which forms a smaller sub-floor on the very top of the villa complex. As the captive described, the room's walls are nothing but layers of silk drapes which can be pulled aside at a moment to gaze out across the city. Ornate finely woven carpets cover the stone floor, & more silk drapes hang in loops from the ceiling. Heady incense from multiple tripod braziers fills the air in coils of bluish smoke, & silk cusions are piled up everywhere. Dotted here & there are trays & bowls of the finest food, as well as jugs & goblets of fine wines. In one corner of the room is a glass display case containing the ancient Norse armour & warhammer once carried by the Elite known as Thor...

Occupying the room are dozens of stunningly beautiful women of all creeds & colours, each dressed in little more than a few wisps of silk - most are huddled together nervously in small groups (the sounds of a couple of irate Elites tearing through the house may have something to do with that... ::sly ) although none appear restrained.

Quickly scanning his gaze across the faces of those present Thunderbolt is relieved to find the pretty Asian features & distinctive lightning bolt tattoo of Jolt... Although his relief is rather short lived as he sees that she's curled up alone, in the foetal position, staring blindly into space with tear-streaked eyes & shaking just a little... ::blink

[Bahamut810]

Lodestone lets the crate hover at his side...and considers the situation.

He starts to walk towards the rest of the OMA's with his arms opened, looking at each of them. He smiles and lets his personal magnetic field fall over their opponents, letting his own calm demeanor come over them as well. "It seems we have the upper hand, and achieved our goal. So I'll tell you what...take the loss and we wont kill the rest of you. This will, of course, be considered your loss. Otherwise...well...you saw what happened to the rest of you."

(Mirroring)

[Prince of Boredom]

Quickly scanning his gaze across the faces of those present Thunderbolt is relieved to find the pretty Asian features & distinctive lightning bolt tattoo of Jolt... Although his relief is rather short lived as he sees that she's curled up alone, in the foetal position, staring blindly into space with tear-streaked eyes & shaking just a little... ::blink

Not wasting a second, Aaron rushes over to Jolt and gently picks her up in his arms, and quickly pushes the silk drapes nearest to him aside and glances in Shockwave's direction, "Ok, we're getting out of here now. You two have 10 seconds to hitch a ride, and then I'm taking off."

He then glances down at Jolt, "We're going to get you out of here, you're going to be safe again," and softly wipes the tears from her eyes.

[Alex Green]

The Dome of Doom:

Taking the Quick Way:

His opponent disposed of, Alex returns to his oh-so-subtle entry into Maelfius's lair: pounding & ripping his way through one floor after another he rapidly descends through the building, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake... They don't call him the Destroyer for nothing...

Alex hoped desperately that the Dome which Guy had described was big enough that it couldn’t be missed on the way down. Failing that he hoped he was doing enough damage to the building that he’d break something important.

'Alex too?' the mad scientist exclaims, 'I... I don't know what to say... All my friends have come to witness by moment of triumph... I must be the luckiest guy alive...' ::biggrin

Alex took stock of the room, Guy’s presence, Maelfius, and then lastly Maelfius’ being glad to see both of them. Alex considered,

*The mox grenade? No, Guy is here. I could throw one of my ‘unbreakable’ balls at him but with his control over space he’d just send it back at me or Guy. Maybe he’d do the same if I threw it next to him… of course those projectors are more vulnerable. Hmm… Guy still has his mask, and he could jump over there and be right next to him a lot quicker than me, and I’d really rather not have ‘Alex Green’ take the credit for this.*

Alex spoke up,

“Maelfius, I am seriously impressed… but are you sure my coming through the ceiling like that won’t disrupt the alignment of your projectors?”

Alex pulls out a pair of DMD sized totally black ‘unbreakable’ juggling balls. If Samurai begins combat right now Alex will throw them at different projectors and sprint towards Maelfius. If Samurai doesn’t begin combat right now Alex will briskly walk towards Maelfius.

[knave]

Floating in the centre of the chamber is a huge sphere of distorted space, maybe ten metres across - multiple laser-like projectors lining the walls are focused on the distortion, seemingly either holding it in place, or generating it...

*Ah - wondrous bleedin' hambiguity... I love it.*

The room's only occupant is Maelfius himself... or, at least, Guy thinks it's Maelfius as the figure is stretched out all around the room like a crazy rubber-man, & ribbon-thin to boot. Still the constant spatial distortions running across the surface of the figure & the small globe-like spheres of distortion hovering & dancing along its length both tend to confirm that this is, indeed, the mad scientist himself. Whatever his present form, Maelfius is darting here & there, stretching & contorting himself even more as he does so, flipping switches, changing burnt-out componants, & generally being very technical. Suddenly the figure's neck twists round, & the head snaps across the room to face The Samurai,

'Guy!' exclaims Maelfius, quite happily, 'You came! Glad you could make it! It'll only be a few moments now - then you'll see something really cool!' ::biggrin

*Righhhht.... and Wayne bleedin' Rooney makes a big comeback...*

"er... yeah. Good to see ya mate... Listen...", Guy manages before...

At that point there's the sound of metal being ripped apart, part of the ceiling is pulled up, & the Dark Matter Destroyer drops in - narrowly missing the central globe of distorted space - to land with shuddering impact on the room's Death Star smooth metallic floor! Maelfius's head snaps round once more, this time over to the massive dark Elite,

'Alex too?' the mad scientist exclaims, 'I... I don't know what to say... All my friends have come to witness by moment of triumph... I must be the luckiest guy alive...' ::biggrin

Infinitely aware that the whole setup is way beyond him, Guy searches for any clue that might indicate that dropping EMPs on the machinery might AVOID rather than cause the device to go off... the DMD's impressive entrance gives him a tiny chance of doing that.

*Just maybe*

From his defensive stance - Guy does his best to appear to train his attention on Alex's entrance.

"Mate - I came to warn ya - The DMD 'as been 'ired to stop your weapon project!"

While in reality the Samurai is using the time to gauge the insane elite's reaction... What is he protecting - will he turn his back for a moment - guard something?

*'e can't 'ave anyfing 'at'll 'urt Alex... I 'ope...*

[Alex Green]

From his defensive stance - Guy does his best to appear to train his attention on Alex's entrance.

"Mate - I came to warn ya - The DMD 'as been 'ired to stop your weapon project!"

Alex thinks,

* ::ohmy ::wacko Darn! Type cast as the villain yet again. Proceed with plan 'C'*

Alex abandons the idea of throwing anything at the moment and charges the insane scientist.

If he can get close enough he’ll try to hit him. Regardless of that he’ll have a dodge prepared against a warp gate appearing.

[ProfPotts]

Lightning Strikes:

"Ok, we're getting out of here now. You two have 10 seconds to hitch a ride, and then I'm taking off."

Shockwave blinks back tears as she looks at her best friend cradled in Aaron's arms, then frowns & shakes her head,

'You go, mate,' she says with a serious tone, 'Get our gal to safety. Someone has to stay & help these poor buggers...' she thumbs a gesture towards the rest of the women in the room, as well as the captive... who has hobbled across the room & is now standing with his hands pressed up against the glass of the display case, staring at the contents...

'I... I remember these...' he murmurs, 'they were in the cave, before the rock fall...' ::blink

"We're going to get you out of here, you're going to be safe again,"

As if on cue...

KRACK-A-THOOM!!!

... a near-deafening clap of thunder accompanies the bright jagged line of lightning which lances down out of the suddenly storm-dark skies & strikes Tunderbolt clean in the chest, blowing him off his feet (& Jolt out of his arms), blasting him more than thirty feet across the room & out the other side! The 'harem girls' scatter screaming out of the path of the blasted Elite. Thanks to his own electrical form & powers the blast does little more than bruise Aaron, & he quickly manages to right himself - hovering in the air as he finds himself peering across the roof of the 'throne room' at Hannibal himself!

Suspended in the air by storm-whipped winds Hannibal is an imposing sight: jet black skin, flowing white hair, & all-white eyes add to an impressively developed Nova physique - but more than that, the man seems to radiate an aura of command & power... ::ohmy Of course, the fact that he's just summoned a thunderstorm which stretches as far as the horizon in every direction as his own personal backdrop probably helps too...

::jaw

'How dare you defile the house of Ba'al with your unworthy presence, toad!'

Hannibal's voice is a booming echo ringing out clear, even over the noise of the storm. He doesn't sound happy... ::unsure

All Friends Together:

“Maelfius, I am seriously impressed… but are you sure my coming through the ceiling like that won’t disrupt the alignment of your projectors?”

The warped Nova glances up at Alex's 'entrance' hole... a gesture which could well be a highly distorted shrug ripples down his ribbon-like form,

'Hmmm... No, I doubt that'll make much difference at this point...'

"Mate - I came to warn ya - The DMD 'as been 'ired to stop your weapon project!"

Maelfius' head once more moves to face The Samurai, a confused look on its shifting features ::huh ,

'"Weapon project?" what "weapon project?"... why on Earth would I want to build a...'

The twisted scientist's words are cut short as Alex charges towards him - Maelfius's ribbon-thin stretched-out form shifts, undulates & coils out of the way, snapping rubber-band-like around the room... narrowly managing to miss the Dark Elite's swing. Coming to rest coiled around one of the 'projectors' - momentarily out of reach - Maelfius stares at Alex with genuine dismay ::blink ,

'You... you tried to hit me?! I thought we were friends, Alex - I... I saved your life!' ::ohmy

As the boistrous fun ensues the sphere of distorted space which is the centre-piece of the room almost goes unnoticed as its surface roils for a moment, then the whole thing's volume increases, swelling out by maybe twenty percent or more...

[knave]

All Friends Together:

The warped Nova glances up at Alex's 'entrance' hole... a gesture which could well be a highly distorted shrug ripples down his ribbon-like form,

'Hmmm... No, I doubt that'll make much difference at this point...'

Maelfius' head once more moves to face The Samurai, a confused look on its shifting features ::huh ,

'"Weapon project?" what "weapon project?"... why on Earth would I want to build a...'

::huh *Can't hafford to take the chance, mate... 'e saved your life, but 'e's just too unstable...*

The twisted scientist's words are cut short as Alex charges towards him - Maelfius's ribbon-thin stretched-out form shifts, undulates & coils out of the way, snapping rubber-band-like around the room... narrowly managing to miss the Dark Elite's swing. Coming to rest coiled around one of the 'projectors' - momentarily out of reach - Maelfius stares at Alex with genuine dismay ::blink ,

Guy surreptitiously pulls the pins from his EMP grenades behind his back as soon as Maelfius turns.

*You're a complete little shit aren't you... mate*

'You... you tried to hit me?! I thought we were friends, Alex - I... I saved your life!' ::ohmy

As the boistrous fun ensues the sphere of distorted space which is the centre-piece of the room almost goes unnoticed as its surface roils for a moment, then the whole thing's volume increases, swelling out by maybe twenty percent or more...

One person certainly notices the shift of the event horizon:

*'e's losing control of the reaction? But is it linked to Muppet features... or to all 'is gear?... No bleedin' time to discuss in committee, mate... Inaction is just has bad a choice as any ovver... Aw bleedin' 'ell..*

The Samurai dashes forward toward the two combatants (making it deliberately ambiguous who he's trying to help) - and tosses the two EMP grenades behind him as he runs - his body masking their trajectories from Maelfius and Alex - with one aimed for one of the 'generating arm thingies', and one aimed for the largest console bank.

Guy approaches the two combatants...

*Four. free. two.* and should nothing else have affected his actions by this stage - He clicks off and pulls aside his optics and launches himself through the hole Alex dug in the roof.

[archer]

Lodestone lets the crate hover at his side...and considers the situation.

He starts to walk towards the rest of the OMA's with his arms opened, looking at each of them. He smiles and lets his personal magnetic field fall over their opponents, letting his own calm demeanor come over them as well. "It seems we have the upper hand, and achieved our goal. So I'll tell you what...take the loss and we wont kill the rest of you. This will, of course, be considered your loss. Otherwise...well...you saw what happened to the rest of you."

(Mirroring)

Having smashed his way through one of the OMAs, Joe is already turning to plow through the next one when he notices the gunfire has stopped long enough for Lodestone to start talking. Stopping where he is, the big Elite can almost feel his heart pounding from the excitement of the situation. He can't really tell, though. In this form, he's not even sure he has a heart.

Standing still, his massive body poised for the next attack, he barely registers the thin film of his enemy's blood falling to land on his shoulders and head, lightly coating his coppery shifting skin. He waits for their response.

[Alex Green]

All Friends Together:

,,

Alex says back to Maelfius in a tone of voice and stance that indicates determination and unhappiness,

“We are and you did and it really sucks I have to be the one here. But when Doctor Alinsky starts throwing around the words like “Extinction level event” my wishes become secondary. I like the Earth, it’s where all my stuff is. One mistake re-writing natural laws and we don’t get to have a second. Please, turn it off while there’s still life on the planet.”

*And if you want to talk while Guy makes his move, that’s fine with me.*

Alex nods to the ‘sphere’ and notes it’s bigger. “Is it supposed to be doing that?”

Alex reserves his action

[ProfPotts]

Texan Peace Talks:

"It seems we have the upper hand, and achieved our goal. So I'll tell you what...take the loss and we wont kill the rest of you. This will, of course, be considered your loss. Otherwise...well...you saw what happened to the rest of you."

Scrambling to their feet the fighting-mad OMAs' response to Lodestone's subtle overtones of peace & calm are pretty unambiguous: the nearest OMA punches him in the jaw! Although Andy's magnetic field takes the brunt of the super-strong punch, he still finds himself sailing through the air to crash, skidding a rut into the dirt, over eighty feet away! [Mirroring really isn't much of a combat power... not unless your opponents are happy to leave you alone for a full six turns... ::sly ]

In reply Jaguar's railgun barks out two more shots - one misses the OMA known as the 'Kid' by a whisker, the other nails him in the eye - he goes down screaming & thrashing, hands pressed to his now-bloody face...

Punching his fists out towards two of the remaining OMAs, Jetstream lets loose twins blasts of tightly swirling air: one OMA is caught in the stomach & flung across the battlefield to smash - unconscious - through the remains of their trailer home. The other is blasted high into the air... before smashing down to Earth with a shuddering crash (also out of it).

A quick burst of speed sends Alloy ploughing into - & through - one of the last two OMAs in what is fast becoming the Native American Elite's signature move...

The last remaining OMA leaps over to his discarded BFG, rolling as he grabs it, & coming up on one knee, gun aimed at the DVNTS Elites, barrels spinning into motion...

[Bahamut810]

Lodestone skids to a halt, and quickly rights himself with a 'hopup' in time to see the last OMA go for the BFG. He starts walking towards the gunman as he brings his hand up and snaps, bombarding the BFG with an intense magnetic field (EMP).

[ProfPotts]

Oops:

“We are and you did and it really sucks I have to be the one here. But when Doctor Alinsky starts throwing around the words like “Extinction level event” my wishes become secondary. I like the Earth, it’s where all my stuff is. One mistake re-writing natural laws and we don’t get to have a second. Please, turn it off while there’s still life on the planet.”

Maelfius rolls his eyes,

'Oh, Rachel's such a drama-queen: "extinction level event" indeed... why that would only happen if...'

Samurai drops his grenades & starts his dash...

“Is it supposed to be doing that?”

The twisted scientist uncoils a little from his perch to stretch towards & peer at the 'sphere',

'Hmmm...' he says (which is less than reassuring), frowning for a second - then he smiles, '... No... I think it'll be alright, as longs as the safeguards are still...'

The Samurai leaps through the hole in the ceiling, just as a dull 'whump' indicates that the EMP grenades have detonated - a 'whump' followed by all the lights going out in the room, delicate equipment starting to spark, & the sphere of distortion begining to thrash around & expand rapidly...

'Oh my...' mutters Maelfius, opening up one of his small 'buubles' into a warp & stepping through, '... that doesn't look good at all...' ::ohmy

Left alone in the (now broken) hi-tech chamber as Maelfius's warp fades, Alex sees the huge sphere of roiling spacial distortion suddenly expand once more - slamming him into the wall as it does so - then shrink back into the middle of the room. Now the size of a pea the sphere appears to be glowing brightly... & trembling... Maybe even more worrying, everything else in the room seems strangely stretched towards the tiny sphere - as if the whole place was made of elastic being pulled into the centre of the room... perhaps even pulled to breaking point... ::unsure

Leaping through Alex's series of floor / ceiling holes in one mightly bound The Samurai begins to feel almost as if he's slowing down - like something... some force... is pulling, stretching, him back... Even so, despite feeling like he is leaping up through treacle, Guy manages to clear (just) the uppermost hole & land on the outside of the main dome: where he sees Magda, down on one knee & bleeding from a cut to her temple, holding her hands forth as she tries desperately to maintain the wall of translucent golden force which is shielding her from the onslaught (both firearms & Quantum) of the half-dozen other DVNTS Elites who have made it up to the roof. Tank - Hawaiian-style shirt ripped to charred & shredded tatters - is one of those braced & laying down Ultra-machinegun fire - huge grin of his big ol' dumb face... ::biggrin

[Alex Green]

Alex shifts on his Dark Matter... Vision for lack of a better word and glances at the pea sized object.

If he thinks it's mass is within his attunement limits, and if he sees a way to reach the sphere (say by shifting human and then leaping up there), then he will attempt to attune the object and shift it into reactionless dark matter.

In the likely event that he thinks it's too heavy, too far away, or otherwise a bad idea, he will start digging again in an effort to put as much mass between him and whatever is going to happen.

[Prince of Boredom]

Lightning Strikes:

KRACK-A-THOOM!!!

... a near-deafening clap of thunder accompanies the bright jagged line of lightning which lances down out of the suddenly storm-dark skies & strikes Tunderbolt clean in the chest, blowing him off his feet (& Jolt out of his arms), blasting him more than thirty feet across the room & out the other side! The 'harem girls' scatter screaming out of the path of the blasted Elite. Thanks to his own electrical form & powers the blast does little more than bruise Aaron, & he quickly manages to right himself - hovering in the air as he finds himself peering across the roof of the 'throne room' at Hannibal himself!

...

'How dare you defile the house of Ba'al with your unworthy presence, toad!'

Hannibal's voice is a booming echo ringing out clear, even over the noise of the storm. He doesn't sound happy... ::unsure

*F*%@!!!* sums up Thunderbolt's thoughts on this most recent turn of events....

Electricity starts arcing off of his body in every direction as his anger causes his form to intesify beyond what he has learned to control. His form now only nominally human, he flies headfirst at the stormmaker; a figure of pure electric fury...

(activating physical prodigy, irrestible force, executing the Thunderslam™, powermaxing for damage, and throwing in the kitchen sink)

[knave]

Leaping through Alex's series of floor / ceiling holes in one mightly bound The Samurai begins to feel almost as if he's slowing down - like something... some force... is pulling, stretching, him back...

::huh *Got 'at funny feeling when you dun a bad fing yet, mate?* ::ohmy ::indifferent

Even so, despite feeling like he is leaping up through treacle, Guy manages to clear (just) the uppermost hole & land on the outside of the main dome: where he sees Magda, down on one knee & bleeding from a cut to her temple, holding her hands forth as she tries desperately to maintain the wall of translucent golden force which is shielding her from the onslaught (both firearms & Quantum) of the half-dozen other DVNTS Elites who have made it up to the roof. Tank - Hawaiian-style shirt ripped to charred & shredded tatters - is one of those braced & laying down Ultra-machinegun fire - huge grin of his big ol' dumb face... ::biggrin

*Right....maybe... just maybe*

Guy waves his arms desperately tryign to get the Elites to stop the barrage - yelling "STOP! CEASE FIRE!" at the top of his lungs.

If the Elites do manage to stop - he's go right on shouting, "Magda - I fink your friend's hexperiment 'as gone critical. Use your forcefield to stop it or everyfing's 'ad it!"

[ProfPotts]

Dark Matters...:

Even seeing... sensing... whatever... the room on a different level Alex honestly can't begin to guess what the tiny sphere's mass would be... if in even has mass at all... Reaching it, on the other hand, proves to be a lot easier than getting away from it - since space seems to be scrunching up towards the thing anyway. As for whether trying to Attune it or not is a good idea... well, it's gotta' beat running away... doesn't it..? ::unsure

In the end the analyst in Alex wins out - if he doesn't try, then he'll never know: after all, impending doom aside, the scientific implications could be quite amazing. ::idea

Reaching towards the pea-sized area of compressed spacial distortion Alex notes his arm, then body, stretching out in gentle mimicry of Maelfius's earlier display of contortion: he doesn't feel any different - just a strange pull towards the thing - but the space he has to pass through to get to the sphere itself seems distorted. Finally getting his fist around the sphere Alex can feel it like a hard marble in his hand - but whether that's actual mass, or just an application of force, he can't tell. In some ways he's reminded of sticking his hand over the end of the vacuum cleaner tube as a child - but it's probably not the best time to wallow in such memories. Instead he calls up the long hours of practice he's spent turning objects & rats into 'dark matter' - at least he understands dark matter... right? ::devil ::sly

Gripping the sphere tightly Alex can feel the transformation working... then something weird occurs: as the sphere is subsumed by Alex's dark matter it suddenly feels as though the thing is sinking into his hand! Then, like a bubble, he can feel it moving rapidly (& pretty painfully) through the inside of his arm & into the centre of his chest. For a moment Alex feels as though someone's kicked him hard in the heart, & it takes a moment for himto catch his breath - only then does he notice that he's fallen to his knees with the strain. Never-the-less he still feels the transformation working on the tiny energetic sphere inside him - if he can only change it to match his own substance, then everything must be alright...

The sphere 'detonates' - Alex feels as though he's being blow apart from within - for all he knows, that may well be the literal truth! The last thing he sees / senses is an explosion of dark matter blasting out of him in all directions & smashing through the walls of the lab...

Topside...

"STOP! CEASE FIRE!"

The DVNTS Elites finish emptying whatever clips they were firing, but - after a few last shots for good measure - pause in their assault. They look expectantly towards Guy, as if he's going to have some sort of success to report...

"Magda - I fink your friend's hexperiment 'as gone critical. Use your forcefield to stop it or everyfing's 'ad it!"

Glistening with perspiration from her efforts fighting all the DVNTS assault team Magda barely manages to scowl at The Samurai - maybe she doesn't understand, doesn't believe, or just plain fails to hear him - either way, before anyone else can react the 'communications hub' erupts as it is blown apart from within! Sensing the danger a fraction of a second before it hits Guy attempts, on instinct, to leap away - but the blast overtakes him mid-leap, flinging him (& just about everything else) along its expanding pressure wave until, with crushing impact, it rolls over him & sends him into the comfortable embrace of unconsciousness... Before he passed out, Guy did notice that the incredible explosion of force seemed to be awfully black... ::ninja

... and the Kitchen Sink:

[Thunder-Thunder-Thunder-Thunderslam™ - Tunderslams are go!]

Building his power Thunderbolt's own lightning display soon matches, even exceeds, that of the storm around him: blasting forth like a cast from Zeus himself the enraged Elite slams full-tilt into the still-posing Hannibal! (Somewhere in the back of his mind Aaron recalls that Hannibal is meant to be a tactical genius - it seems as though a suicidal frontal assault was just blatant & idiotic enough to catch the guy off-guard! Why use a scalpel when you can use a chainsaw? ::sly )

Hitting Hannibal feels like running slap-bang into a mountain... even so, Aaron feels ribs crack as he slams into Hannibal's chest, & the all-powerful stormmaker chokes up blood! The impact releases an incredible burst of lightning - blindingly white it flashes out from the contact between the two Novas, turning the storm-darkened skies momentarily back into day; several crackling bolts flying off from the slam ground themselves around Hannibal's villa - each explosively blasting what they hit into fragments! A fraction of a second later & the lightning is followed by a deafening boom of thunder which rolls away from the two Novas in an expanding sphere of pressure intense enough to be faintly seen by those with quick eyes! Hannibal is rocketed ballistically away - trailing lightning he is hurled like a missile back & up - blowing a hole in his own cloud cover & vanishing with little signs of his speed decreasing...

It's a few seconds before Aaron can halt his own headlong charge & regain control - his fists hurt like Hell, but it's a good hurt, a proud hurt... a 'you should see the other guy' hurt... ::cool

[Thunderbolt is Bruised with Bashing damage; he also gains one bonus XP for using a signature Power Max!]

... the storm slowly begins to disipate...

Aftermath:

Slowly... so slowly... with his entire body hurting, The Samurai fights his way back to the waking world. Blinking open his eyes all he can see is a bright blur... when his vision eventually starts to clear he can make out that it's daylight...

Sitting up hurts even more, & involves pushing out from under a layer of rubble which is partially covering his body. Finally glancing around Guy sees...

... nothing! Or, more accurately, nothing standing. Where once stood a city, now there's nothing but a giant crater filled with debris & even that debris is flatened. Guy himself is about a kilometer from what seems to be the centre of the crater. How far the blast travelled is impossible to tell - the devestation appears to stretch all the way to the horizon... or at least as far as Guy can see from his vantage point. The Samurai recalls seeing pictures of the cities flattened by atomic bombs at the end of World War Two - the destruction laid before him seems far more complete than that, but also, somehow, 'cleaner' - as if the hand of some god reached down & swept clear that which offended him. There are no partially standing structures, no marks of fires or burning, no cloud of dust hanging in the air like a haze - just plain, simple, destruction on a scale, perhaps, never before seen in the time of man.

Regaining his feet The Samurai, for just a moment, feels the tell-tale scratchings of danger in the back of his mind, & can swear that he spots fleeting movement - just a shadow - from the corner of his eye... but then its gone, & he's left alone to survey the bitter aftermath...

[The Samurai is Injured with Lethal damage, & Crippled with Bashing damage]

Floating in sheer, utter, darkness Alex feels serene & comfortable... it would be so easy to forget everything... to allow his cares to drift quietly away...

... then something crawls across his skin! A feeling of dread shudders though him, fear tingles down his spine... soon turning to panic: he has to get away, to retreat - he can feel them, coming for him, calling him, consuming him from within... consuming his flesh & identity both... his mind starts to slip away as something... else... claws its way into his skull. He screams - but there is no sound, only darkness... only eternal, unending, darkness...

... Alex jolts awake, sitting bolt upright. Senses alert he sees that he's sitting, naked, at the very center of a huge blast crater - stretching as far as the eye can see in all directions: utter devestation... although, for some reason, the area immediately around him is devoid of even debris - Alex is sitting in the dirt which was once beneath the city. He's also in his 'human' form, hurting, & extremely tired [he's out of QP]. The feelings of paranoia which woke him soon fade... but don't vanish - instead lingering in the back of his mind to catch him unawares whenever he relaxes his guard... ::unsure

[Alex is Crippled with Bashing damage]

[knave]

Aftermath:

Slowly... so slowly... with his entire body hurting, The Samurai fights his way back to the waking world. Blinking open his eyes all he can see is a bright blur... when his vision eventually starts to clear he can make out that it's daylight...

Sitting up hurts even more, & involves pushing out from under a layer of rubble which is partially covering his body. Finally glancing around Guy sees...

... nothing! Or, more accurately, nothing standing. Where once stood a city, now there's nothing but a giant crater filled with debris & even that debris is flatened. Guy himself is about a kilometer from what seems to be the centre of the crater. How far the blast travelled is impossible to tell - the devestation appears to stretch all the way to the horizon... or at least as far as Guy can see from his vantage point. The Samurai recalls seeing pictures of the cities flattened by atomic bombs at the end of World War Two - the destruction laid before him seems far more complete than that, but also, somehow, 'cleaner' - as if the hand of some god reached down & swept clear that which offended him. There are no partially standing structures, no marks of fires or burning, no cloud of dust hanging in the air like a haze - just plain, simple, destruction on a scale, perhaps, never before seen in the time of man.

Regaining his feet The Samurai, for just a moment, feels the tell-tale scratchings of danger in the back of his mind, & can swear that he spots fleeting movement - just a shadow - from the corner of his eye... but then its gone, & he's left alone to survey the bitter aftermath...

[The Samurai is Injured with Lethal damage, & Crippled with Bashing damage]

Swaying in the wake of the enormity of what he's done, Guy gives no indication of noticing anything untoward. Mechanically his hands check the sanctity of the daisho. The state of his gear.

"Aw. F*ck"

[regenerating]

"F*ck" he says... somewhat more half heartedly.

"F*ck" - because nothing else seems appropriate.

"F*ck" - because he is just in the neighbourhood and nothing else is coming to mind.

He sits down again. Standing hadn't seemed to make the situation better.

*You bleedin' killed a city mate.*

*A CITY*

*Wif PEOPLE*

*You STUPID F*CK!*

*This can't be 'appening... *

*You left Alex in 'at, mate. You left 'im in 'ere. Hit was black. Bleedin' black.*

*an 'ole bleedin city...*

*'ang on. Maybe... Maybe Malfius can bring hit back? 'e brought you back dun' 'e?*

*That's it mate... the shred of 'ope. 'ere must be a shred ov 'ope....*

He grips the hilts of his daisho tightly - knuckles whitening....

More loudly he calls out "You can come out y'know. I won't 'urt you if ya do" - as he prepares himself for an assault. Hitting something right now doesn't seem like a terribly awful option...