I'm now on my second draft, and people are clamoring.
So here you guys go, a new thread just for your war stories.
Go, Fight, Win!
Life During Wartime - Issue 10 Interludes
Moderator: Student Council
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Centuarian
- Posts: 80
- Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:51 pm
To make a difference
Atlas Park really seemed better then when he first arrived on Earth. Maybe he was just getting used to them but it seemed like there where less gang members around then he remembered. Kai smiled at the thought, maybe we are making a difference, maybe the good guys are gonna win after all. Kai lay on his back looking up at the clouds, he could hear the water of the small lake he was next too as it rippled into the rocky shore, the light breeze picking up a pleasant scent as it blew across the water. The shout of a small child caused him to open his eyes and look around. There was a family across the street by the City Hall. Tourist most likely thought Kai when he spotted the “Hero’s of Paragon City” autograph book in the hands of a small boy perhaps eight years old. “Look Mommy” the boy tugged on the sleeve of the woman next to him, “that’s Centaurian, he’s a real live ALIEN!!! Can I get his autograph?”
Kai smiled, it wouldn’t be his first autograph but he still wasn’t quiet used to it. It made a kind of sense that people where starting to recognize him, even in Paragon City he was unusual looking and unlike most his classmates he didn’t bother even trying to hide his identity. He got up and waved to the young boy and his parents. “It’s ok he said no need for you to bother crossing I’ll come to you.” At the last minute Kai remembered to stop and look both ways before crossing to set a good example for the youngster. He was rewarded when his alien ears picked up the mother whispering the example he set to the child.
Kai patiently waited for a car to pass then walked over and knelt down by the boy. “Hi”, he said “I am Centaurian what’s your name?”
“Keith,” replied the child. “I got see Miss Liberty and she is way more famous then you and I wanted to get Statesman’s autograph too, but you’re a real alien so your autograph would be cool too!”
“Keith”, the boy’s father’s voice held a tone of reproach, “it’s not nice to tell someone that they are less famous especially when you’re asking for their autograph.”
The boy looked down at his feet, “Sorry Mr. Centaurian. I didn’t mean to be rude.”
Kai smiled at the boy and took the book and pen from his hand, “It’s ok” he said, “I got Miss Liberty’s and Statesman’s autographs myself, they are WAY more famous then
me.”
“Really?” said the boy with wonder, “you met Statesman?”
“Yep, I sure did” said Kai standing up. “Let’s see here, I think they actually do have a small picture of me in here, how about if I sign there?
Kai never heard the first shot. The book and pen feel from his hand as his entire right side went dead. The world went into slow motion as Kai began to spin to his left from the force of the shot. It had hit him in the back of his right shoulder blade and gone clean through. He knew this because the same shoot had removed Keith’s mother’s face. As Kai continued his spin he saw the look of terror on the face of boy’s father. He was a good man, even as he watched his wife die he reflexively moved to boy to protect him. Kai could only hope that he managed to prevent the boy from seeing what had just happen to his mother. When he turned a full 180 degrees Kai saw them. Rikti, not just one, not just a few, but an entire invasion force rained down from the sky. Drop ships where in the sky and more continuing to wrap into existence. Kai felt a tremendous blast of heat to his right, it picked him up threw him through the air it was the last thing Kai Veek would know.
It had happened to fast; he hadn’t had time to react. He could feel Kai fading. He could feel himself dying as well. The second explosion had burn through Kai’s body destroying most of his right side his medi-badge and good portion of the Guardian as well. If he had learned one thing it in his short time with this alien it had been this… never give up. He had enough energy left to heal. Enough to heal himself… and perhaps Kai as well and even though his mind knew it was a folly the heart of Centaurian the “hero” he and Kai had combined to make desperately threw that bit of healing energy in the direction of Keith and his father. Centaurian… Kai… the Guardian didn’t live long enough to know if it made a difference.
(edit: added in the medi-badge destruction. I had planned it but forgot to include it)
Kai smiled, it wouldn’t be his first autograph but he still wasn’t quiet used to it. It made a kind of sense that people where starting to recognize him, even in Paragon City he was unusual looking and unlike most his classmates he didn’t bother even trying to hide his identity. He got up and waved to the young boy and his parents. “It’s ok he said no need for you to bother crossing I’ll come to you.” At the last minute Kai remembered to stop and look both ways before crossing to set a good example for the youngster. He was rewarded when his alien ears picked up the mother whispering the example he set to the child.
Kai patiently waited for a car to pass then walked over and knelt down by the boy. “Hi”, he said “I am Centaurian what’s your name?”
“Keith,” replied the child. “I got see Miss Liberty and she is way more famous then you and I wanted to get Statesman’s autograph too, but you’re a real alien so your autograph would be cool too!”
“Keith”, the boy’s father’s voice held a tone of reproach, “it’s not nice to tell someone that they are less famous especially when you’re asking for their autograph.”
The boy looked down at his feet, “Sorry Mr. Centaurian. I didn’t mean to be rude.”
Kai smiled at the boy and took the book and pen from his hand, “It’s ok” he said, “I got Miss Liberty’s and Statesman’s autographs myself, they are WAY more famous then
me.”
“Really?” said the boy with wonder, “you met Statesman?”
“Yep, I sure did” said Kai standing up. “Let’s see here, I think they actually do have a small picture of me in here, how about if I sign there?
Kai never heard the first shot. The book and pen feel from his hand as his entire right side went dead. The world went into slow motion as Kai began to spin to his left from the force of the shot. It had hit him in the back of his right shoulder blade and gone clean through. He knew this because the same shoot had removed Keith’s mother’s face. As Kai continued his spin he saw the look of terror on the face of boy’s father. He was a good man, even as he watched his wife die he reflexively moved to boy to protect him. Kai could only hope that he managed to prevent the boy from seeing what had just happen to his mother. When he turned a full 180 degrees Kai saw them. Rikti, not just one, not just a few, but an entire invasion force rained down from the sky. Drop ships where in the sky and more continuing to wrap into existence. Kai felt a tremendous blast of heat to his right, it picked him up threw him through the air it was the last thing Kai Veek would know.
It had happened to fast; he hadn’t had time to react. He could feel Kai fading. He could feel himself dying as well. The second explosion had burn through Kai’s body destroying most of his right side his medi-badge and good portion of the Guardian as well. If he had learned one thing it in his short time with this alien it had been this… never give up. He had enough energy left to heal. Enough to heal himself… and perhaps Kai as well and even though his mind knew it was a folly the heart of Centaurian the “hero” he and Kai had combined to make desperately threw that bit of healing energy in the direction of Keith and his father. Centaurian… Kai… the Guardian didn’t live long enough to know if it made a difference.
(edit: added in the medi-badge destruction. I had planned it but forgot to include it)
Last edited by Centuarian on Tue Jul 24, 2007 2:57 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Bryan sat beside Nennya as they ate lunch together. It was a bright warm day, there was a cool breeze blowing through the quad. The branches and leaves of the oak tree that shaded the couple from the mid day sun, sighed as the gently passed through them. They were setting as closely as they dare while under the potential sight of a nun, who were know to have their eyes everywhere.
Nennya laughed as Bryan whispered something secret into her ear and stole a quick kiss on her cheek. The young girl saw something strange…
Ms. Madrigal, the art teacher, was running across the quad at full speed. She nearly ran over a small freshman girl reading a book in the manicured grass of the quad. The woman did not even apologize nor did she give the young girl even a second glance. She merely kept running at full speed towards the administrations building.
Nennya motioned to her boyfriend and the pair watched her move as if the devil was on her heels. “Something is very wrong Bryan.” She spoke with certainty. Bryan nodded in return then glanced at his watch. The silver time piece, which he was never without read a time of twenty minutes to one.
“You’re right… something has happened.” Bryan stood quickly. “Nya, I’m going to get my comm. unit. I’ll be right back.” The boy forced the earth to repel him into the air, he flew quickly to his dorm. Throwing wide the doors of his amore, Bryan could here the chatter over his comm. The voices all spoke on top of one another. He couldn’t make sense of what they were saying.
And that’s when it happened…
The school’s intercom came to life, demanded all faculty and students make their way to the gymnasium. Immediately Bryan felt horrible for leaving Nennya. He grabbed his bag and joined the line of students exiting the dorms and making their way to the gym. Everyone wanted to know what was happening, why they were being moved, the word Invasion was the only one that registered to Bryan.
All he could think of was the girl he loved.
Nennya laughed as Bryan whispered something secret into her ear and stole a quick kiss on her cheek. The young girl saw something strange…
Ms. Madrigal, the art teacher, was running across the quad at full speed. She nearly ran over a small freshman girl reading a book in the manicured grass of the quad. The woman did not even apologize nor did she give the young girl even a second glance. She merely kept running at full speed towards the administrations building.
Nennya motioned to her boyfriend and the pair watched her move as if the devil was on her heels. “Something is very wrong Bryan.” She spoke with certainty. Bryan nodded in return then glanced at his watch. The silver time piece, which he was never without read a time of twenty minutes to one.
“You’re right… something has happened.” Bryan stood quickly. “Nya, I’m going to get my comm. unit. I’ll be right back.” The boy forced the earth to repel him into the air, he flew quickly to his dorm. Throwing wide the doors of his amore, Bryan could here the chatter over his comm. The voices all spoke on top of one another. He couldn’t make sense of what they were saying.
And that’s when it happened…
The school’s intercom came to life, demanded all faculty and students make their way to the gymnasium. Immediately Bryan felt horrible for leaving Nennya. He grabbed his bag and joined the line of students exiting the dorms and making their way to the gym. Everyone wanted to know what was happening, why they were being moved, the word Invasion was the only one that registered to Bryan.
All he could think of was the girl he loved.
Bryan Baxter (Codename: Gravwarp)
Gravity Control / Force Field / Fire Mastery
Global: @The Troll
Fight My Brute!
Gravity Control / Force Field / Fire Mastery
Global: @The Troll
Fight My Brute!
Mimi VanBuren stood and looked at the tree. Sunlight dappled through the leaves, reflecting from the sleek bronze silhouette of the memorial. The breeze made the slim branches sway. You might have thought it was any other day. But it wasn’t. Tears spilled down Mimi’s cheeks.
This can't happen again. Not again.
Near her, some seventh grade girls were crying. They clustered together, lost in a familiar place by the disorientation of shock. One of them, a girl with bright red skin, collapsed sobbing. The others were speaking softly, trying to say encouraging words that rang hollow.
Far away, explosions echoed.
”Get up, kid!”
The girl with dark brown hair looked up, her face wet. Her eyes were a little distorted behind glasses too big for her face. She was balled up in a corner, arms tight around her knees. The older boy above her looked down, his face a mixture of panic and concern. His uniform was already covered in plaster dust and torn in places.
The girl didn't move, just stared. So the young man reached down and grabbed her by the arm. “You’ve got to get up!”
The young girl started to cry again, piercing hiccupping wails. The boy looked flustered, and glanced around for a teacher. He saw some, far away, herding other students. But on this side of the quad he was alone. He ran a dirty hand through close-cropped hair.
“Ah, holy Moses, kid, come on!” he cried, then took a deep breath. He wasn’t any good at this but he had to do something. “Hey, listen—I’ve seen you around, right? You’re new here.”
The girl nodded.
The boy continued, trying to sound reassuring, trying to ignore the reverberations that shook the ground and the flutter of his own heart. “Yeah, I thought so. I’m Jeremy, but they call me Wingman." He knelt, tugging gently on her captured arm. "Come on, come with me. I’ll get you someplace safe.”
The girl finally nodded and let Jeremy lift her to her feet. She was shaking.
Jeremy Wingra mustered all his charm and smiled at the girl. He slipped an arm around her and lifted off, supporting her slim frame. “What’s your name, kid?”
The girl blushed a little, suddenly embarrassed, even through everything else. “Mimi,” she mumbled into his shoulder. “Mimi VanBuren.”
“Well, Mimi VanBuren,” Wingman said, pulling her to him as he soared towards the main school building, “this is your lucky day.”
Mimi opened her eyes again and found herself walking swiftly through the halls. Students rushed past her towards the cafeteria. The PA system had been pretty clear about it. But Mimi fought against the tide, shoving her way against the flow. Some of them stared at her. Some even spoke to her, making the ridiculous suggestion that she was walking the wrong way.
“Mimi!” shouted Angelle as they passed. The green-haired girl ignored her friend, who frowned even as the stream pushed them apart. “Mimi!”
But she was gone in the pressing throng.
Wingman set down lightly near a larger group of students. Mimi slipped from his arms, reluctant to leave her newly found safety but moved a few steps towards them. She expected Jeremy to follow.
He didn’t. The boy spun on his heel back towards the quad before he was stopped.
“Jeremy!” a voice shouted. Wingman turned and smiled as best he could as two other upperclassmen boys came running up. "Luke! Kevin!" The relief was undeniable. "You made it!”
The three older boys laughed nervously, feeding each others’ bravado. “Yeah,” Luke said. “Does anyone know what the hell is going on?”
Kevin shook his head. “Not really,” he said. “Something to do with all the weird portals, though. The last thing I heard was that, like, an army poured out or something.”
“Yeah,” Wingman said, “and get this—whatever they are, they’re not humans.”
Unnoticed, the little girl had crept towards the trio of older boys. Mimi managed to speak. “Aliens?” she asked.
The three boys turned to look down at her. In their uniforms, they all looked so brave. “Yeah,” said Jeremy with a soft snarl. “Goddamned aliens.”
Mimi was on the landing now, as she plunged through the heavy fire door and into the girls’ dormitory building. Girls still ran past her, but the crowds had faded away. Mimi walked quickly, filtering the PA system from what she heard, searching, seeking. Ahead of her, a dog barked, and Mimi set her jaw.
Yulia ran past her, panic on her face. She took a few steps before recognition set in, and she stopped and turned. “Mimi?”
“Not now, Yulia,” Mimi said flatly. Something in her voice made Yulia shiver. The young Czech ran to catch up with her friend, who hadn’t even stopped walking.
“Mimi,” Yulia began. “Mimi, we have to go,” she pleaded.
“We’re under attack, Yulia,” Mimi growled. “Get somewhere safe.”
Moth bit her lip, but fell into step. “No,” she said quietly, “no, I’ll stay with you.”
Mimi nodded, but didn't seem to notice. The two girls followed the stairs up to the second floor and down the hall. Along the way, other girls joined them: Rudi MacKenzie, Liz Ferrar, Aleyne Kensington. None of them knew where Mimi was going, but it felt good to be going somewhere.
Abruptly, Mimi stopped walking. The other girls looked at each other nervously, unsure.
Rudi finally spoke, staring at the wooden door. Her voice was shaky and frightened. “Quad Seven?”
Doctor Thomas was trying to gather the young students, desperately herding them away from the battle spilling over on the quad. Cadres of aliens, pink-skinned and inhuman, had appeared out of nowhere following the explosion that collapsed the girls’ dorm. Mimi held hands with another girl she didn't know. The girl was crying hard, but Mimi was trying to look brave.
Doctor Thomas looked at Mimi, then at the crying girl. "Mimi," he said, "keep Mikaela close to you, okay?"
Mimi nodded, squeezing the other girl's hand, who shivered.
Velocity, a heroine who Mimi had seen on TV, had appeared from literally nowhere to fight them off. The boys - Wingman, Sparks and Portals - had run interference for her. Several students had already been hurt, but many more of the invaders were motionless on the ground.
Jeremy flew by, laughing, and blasted several of the aliens off their feet. "Doc, get them to safety! We'll cover you!"
There was an explosion behind the door. A single body, a girl, was blown onto the grass. She stumbled to her feet, battered and bleeding, but was too stunned to run. Wingman shouted, then dove straight at her, arms extended. The aliens leveled their weapons and fired, but he seemed unfazed by the impact.
Mimi caught her breath.
His fly-by grab was fast and flawless, perfected on the field. Wingman swooped up and out, evading a second round of fire from the invaders. In mere moments, he was back, flying in low to land near Mimi and the others, setting the girl down on her unsteady feet. Doctor Thomas cradled the girl as Jeremy handed her over.
"Come now son,” Doctor Thomas said, gripping Jeremy’s arm even as the boy turned to go again. “Call the others and get them back here—leave the fighting to the heroes."
Jeremy pulled his arm free from the man’s grasp as an impact on the quad peppered them all with dirt. "No can do, Doc,” he said simply, and he caught Mimi’s eyes for a moment. His face was older, behind the dust. “We all have to be heroes today. You’re saving the other kids. I'm helping Velocity. It's my time, Doc. Time to do what's right. No more tricks. Time for me to be a man,” he said, pride on his face, “a hero."
There was nothing else to be said. In a heartbeat he was gone, circling around to help Velocity, Sparks and Portals as the inhumans rallied their scattered ranks. Doctor Thomas was trying to protect the younger students as he tried to get them across the grounds and into shelter.
Dragged along with the others, Mimi watched the three older boys as they fought, but mostly she watched Jeremy. He soared in a high arc over the quad, dodging fire from below. As he scattered another group of aliens with a torrent of energy from his outstretched hands, Luke and Kevin cheered. They shouted his name. They were smiling.
They were heroes.
The blast caught Wingman square between the shoulders.
His eyes wide with disbelief, Jeremy Wingra had just enough time to pivot in the air in an oddly graceful arc before he plunged to the ground. His body hit hard and Mimi screamed, shattering the few unbroken windows near her. The other students recoiled, screaming too and Doctor Thomas put his hands to his ears.
Wingman struggled to rise. An ugly red stain blossomed across his chest. Strangely, he still smiled, his teeth red with blood. Extending his arms, he fired, the explosion blowing the nearest line of aliens to the ground.
And then he fell.
Mimi squeezed shut her eyes, screaming and screaming.
The door flew apart, wooden shards flying inward. Rudi and the other girls scrambled back, startled and in pain. Liz shrieked and covered her ears, falling to the floor. Before the debris had even settled, Mimi was through the ruined doorway.
The dog had been stunned by the blast, but he recovered his senses and barked viciously as Mimi approached. On the floor of the small common room, Amy Davis struggled to stand.
“Bailey?” she cried. "Bailey? What’s happening?”
The guide dog leapt at Mimi, teeth bared, but the green-haired girl twisted sideways as she stepped into the air. Mimi sang out, her voice reaching up into the highest harmonics. What quickly became inaudible to everyone else became a symphony of pain for the frightened dog’s ears. Bailey yelped and scrambled away.
Somehow, in all the confusion, Mimi heard Yulia shout her name in panicked desperation. Amy must have, too, because the strange blind girl’s face contorted.
“Mimi? Oh, Mimi, no—“ Amy began.
“Be quiet!” Mimi shouted, weaving the words into a violent harmonic pulse, scattering small objects from the floor.
“What the hell are you doing?” Rudi shouted frantically from the doorway.
Amy was on her feet now. “Mimi, please, you have to understand—“
“I understand fine!” Mimi cried, and the force of the sound lifted Amy from her feet and slammed her back against the far wall. On either side of her, the windows cracked and spiderwebbed. “I was there, freak,” Mimi continued, each word pressing Amy a little deeper into the plasterboard. “I heard you in the cafeteria that day. I didn’t want to believe it—I couldn’t believe it. But now they’re back. You fucking spy!”
Behind Mimi, Yulia panicked. She had seen Mimi this way only once before: on the rooftop, with pad. So when Rudi tried to step into the room, Yulia caught her and their frightened eyes met. Yulia shook her head violently and pulled Rudi back onto the landing.
Amy’s mouth twisted into a grimace of shame. She hadn’t noticed Mimi in the cafeteria that day, but the blind girl knew. That day with Joni. The day she found out SERAPH was taking her away for tests. I'm pretty sure they don't let Rikti study on campus. she had said to Joni. I'm probably going to get labeled a danger to global security. Some sort of sleeper agent. I don't know, maybe I am a sleeper agent and don't know it.
Amy felt the bruises under her skin already starting to heal and she somehow pushed herself away from the wall. “No, Mimi—you’re wrong,” she pleaded. “I didn’t know! They never said what they were planning! I didn’t know they were—“
“Liar!” The word rolled out like a blastwave, impossibly loud. The windows blasted outward, and the girls huddled by the ruined doorway were thrown back against the banister.
The shockwave hit Amy like a truck. Somehow she kept her feet, but her ears rang with disorientation. She stumbled, dazed, unable to react. Deafened, she was truly blind.
Mimi saw the girl falter and moved in. She seized Amy by the hand and lifted her arm. Amy made a noise of protest. “Liar,” Mimi said again, but this time the sound was focused, like a knife. The word tore the fabric from Amy’s arm as Mimi stripped the glove from her hand. She turned, dragging Amy with her as the blind girl fell to one knee. Mimi thrust her naked arm at the door.
Yulia sucked in her breath. Rudi screamed. The other girls fell silent.
Amy’s hand was long and grayish-pink. Her thumb was thick, her four fingers starting to blend together with fibrous flesh, becoming only two. The strangely altered skin continued all the way to her elbow. It was not a human hand. The flesh was Rikti.
Mimi’s face was twisted in rage and triumph as she looked down at Amy. “You won’t kill anyone today, you piece of alien trash,” she snarled. And with a flick of her free hand, Mimi slipped a zip-tie around Amy’s twisted wrist.
Vesper had recovered enough from the shock to cry out, “Mimi, no, you can’t!”
And then Amy Davis was gone in a flash of light, the zip-tie speeding her to the receiving room at the Ziggurat.
Mimi stood quietly for a moment, her breath coming heavy. It wouldn’t last, she knew. It would only be a matter of minutes before Amy’s medivac would send a out a pulse to the school’s network, and the two systems would come to agree that someone with a SL clearance did not belong in the Ziggurat. Computers were stupid that way.
Mimi turned and walked back through the doorway, shouldering her way through her friends as they watched her. They were still afraid, but now it wasn’t just the distant, tremulous explosions that had frightened them.
“Mimi?” Yulia said quietly. “What did you..?” she began, then shook her head. Mimi turned and the two girls looked at one another. Yulia blinked, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “Why?”
Mimi’s voice was distant as she turned to walk away. “We all have to be heroes today.”
This can't happen again. Not again.
Near her, some seventh grade girls were crying. They clustered together, lost in a familiar place by the disorientation of shock. One of them, a girl with bright red skin, collapsed sobbing. The others were speaking softly, trying to say encouraging words that rang hollow.
Far away, explosions echoed.
”Get up, kid!”
The girl with dark brown hair looked up, her face wet. Her eyes were a little distorted behind glasses too big for her face. She was balled up in a corner, arms tight around her knees. The older boy above her looked down, his face a mixture of panic and concern. His uniform was already covered in plaster dust and torn in places.
The girl didn't move, just stared. So the young man reached down and grabbed her by the arm. “You’ve got to get up!”
The young girl started to cry again, piercing hiccupping wails. The boy looked flustered, and glanced around for a teacher. He saw some, far away, herding other students. But on this side of the quad he was alone. He ran a dirty hand through close-cropped hair.
“Ah, holy Moses, kid, come on!” he cried, then took a deep breath. He wasn’t any good at this but he had to do something. “Hey, listen—I’ve seen you around, right? You’re new here.”
The girl nodded.
The boy continued, trying to sound reassuring, trying to ignore the reverberations that shook the ground and the flutter of his own heart. “Yeah, I thought so. I’m Jeremy, but they call me Wingman." He knelt, tugging gently on her captured arm. "Come on, come with me. I’ll get you someplace safe.”
The girl finally nodded and let Jeremy lift her to her feet. She was shaking.
Jeremy Wingra mustered all his charm and smiled at the girl. He slipped an arm around her and lifted off, supporting her slim frame. “What’s your name, kid?”
The girl blushed a little, suddenly embarrassed, even through everything else. “Mimi,” she mumbled into his shoulder. “Mimi VanBuren.”
“Well, Mimi VanBuren,” Wingman said, pulling her to him as he soared towards the main school building, “this is your lucky day.”
Mimi opened her eyes again and found herself walking swiftly through the halls. Students rushed past her towards the cafeteria. The PA system had been pretty clear about it. But Mimi fought against the tide, shoving her way against the flow. Some of them stared at her. Some even spoke to her, making the ridiculous suggestion that she was walking the wrong way.
“Mimi!” shouted Angelle as they passed. The green-haired girl ignored her friend, who frowned even as the stream pushed them apart. “Mimi!”
But she was gone in the pressing throng.
Wingman set down lightly near a larger group of students. Mimi slipped from his arms, reluctant to leave her newly found safety but moved a few steps towards them. She expected Jeremy to follow.
He didn’t. The boy spun on his heel back towards the quad before he was stopped.
“Jeremy!” a voice shouted. Wingman turned and smiled as best he could as two other upperclassmen boys came running up. "Luke! Kevin!" The relief was undeniable. "You made it!”
The three older boys laughed nervously, feeding each others’ bravado. “Yeah,” Luke said. “Does anyone know what the hell is going on?”
Kevin shook his head. “Not really,” he said. “Something to do with all the weird portals, though. The last thing I heard was that, like, an army poured out or something.”
“Yeah,” Wingman said, “and get this—whatever they are, they’re not humans.”
Unnoticed, the little girl had crept towards the trio of older boys. Mimi managed to speak. “Aliens?” she asked.
The three boys turned to look down at her. In their uniforms, they all looked so brave. “Yeah,” said Jeremy with a soft snarl. “Goddamned aliens.”
Mimi was on the landing now, as she plunged through the heavy fire door and into the girls’ dormitory building. Girls still ran past her, but the crowds had faded away. Mimi walked quickly, filtering the PA system from what she heard, searching, seeking. Ahead of her, a dog barked, and Mimi set her jaw.
Yulia ran past her, panic on her face. She took a few steps before recognition set in, and she stopped and turned. “Mimi?”
“Not now, Yulia,” Mimi said flatly. Something in her voice made Yulia shiver. The young Czech ran to catch up with her friend, who hadn’t even stopped walking.
“Mimi,” Yulia began. “Mimi, we have to go,” she pleaded.
“We’re under attack, Yulia,” Mimi growled. “Get somewhere safe.”
Moth bit her lip, but fell into step. “No,” she said quietly, “no, I’ll stay with you.”
Mimi nodded, but didn't seem to notice. The two girls followed the stairs up to the second floor and down the hall. Along the way, other girls joined them: Rudi MacKenzie, Liz Ferrar, Aleyne Kensington. None of them knew where Mimi was going, but it felt good to be going somewhere.
Abruptly, Mimi stopped walking. The other girls looked at each other nervously, unsure.
Rudi finally spoke, staring at the wooden door. Her voice was shaky and frightened. “Quad Seven?”
Doctor Thomas was trying to gather the young students, desperately herding them away from the battle spilling over on the quad. Cadres of aliens, pink-skinned and inhuman, had appeared out of nowhere following the explosion that collapsed the girls’ dorm. Mimi held hands with another girl she didn't know. The girl was crying hard, but Mimi was trying to look brave.
Doctor Thomas looked at Mimi, then at the crying girl. "Mimi," he said, "keep Mikaela close to you, okay?"
Mimi nodded, squeezing the other girl's hand, who shivered.
Velocity, a heroine who Mimi had seen on TV, had appeared from literally nowhere to fight them off. The boys - Wingman, Sparks and Portals - had run interference for her. Several students had already been hurt, but many more of the invaders were motionless on the ground.
Jeremy flew by, laughing, and blasted several of the aliens off their feet. "Doc, get them to safety! We'll cover you!"
There was an explosion behind the door. A single body, a girl, was blown onto the grass. She stumbled to her feet, battered and bleeding, but was too stunned to run. Wingman shouted, then dove straight at her, arms extended. The aliens leveled their weapons and fired, but he seemed unfazed by the impact.
Mimi caught her breath.
His fly-by grab was fast and flawless, perfected on the field. Wingman swooped up and out, evading a second round of fire from the invaders. In mere moments, he was back, flying in low to land near Mimi and the others, setting the girl down on her unsteady feet. Doctor Thomas cradled the girl as Jeremy handed her over.
"Come now son,” Doctor Thomas said, gripping Jeremy’s arm even as the boy turned to go again. “Call the others and get them back here—leave the fighting to the heroes."
Jeremy pulled his arm free from the man’s grasp as an impact on the quad peppered them all with dirt. "No can do, Doc,” he said simply, and he caught Mimi’s eyes for a moment. His face was older, behind the dust. “We all have to be heroes today. You’re saving the other kids. I'm helping Velocity. It's my time, Doc. Time to do what's right. No more tricks. Time for me to be a man,” he said, pride on his face, “a hero."
There was nothing else to be said. In a heartbeat he was gone, circling around to help Velocity, Sparks and Portals as the inhumans rallied their scattered ranks. Doctor Thomas was trying to protect the younger students as he tried to get them across the grounds and into shelter.
Dragged along with the others, Mimi watched the three older boys as they fought, but mostly she watched Jeremy. He soared in a high arc over the quad, dodging fire from below. As he scattered another group of aliens with a torrent of energy from his outstretched hands, Luke and Kevin cheered. They shouted his name. They were smiling.
They were heroes.
The blast caught Wingman square between the shoulders.
His eyes wide with disbelief, Jeremy Wingra had just enough time to pivot in the air in an oddly graceful arc before he plunged to the ground. His body hit hard and Mimi screamed, shattering the few unbroken windows near her. The other students recoiled, screaming too and Doctor Thomas put his hands to his ears.
Wingman struggled to rise. An ugly red stain blossomed across his chest. Strangely, he still smiled, his teeth red with blood. Extending his arms, he fired, the explosion blowing the nearest line of aliens to the ground.
And then he fell.
Mimi squeezed shut her eyes, screaming and screaming.
The door flew apart, wooden shards flying inward. Rudi and the other girls scrambled back, startled and in pain. Liz shrieked and covered her ears, falling to the floor. Before the debris had even settled, Mimi was through the ruined doorway.
The dog had been stunned by the blast, but he recovered his senses and barked viciously as Mimi approached. On the floor of the small common room, Amy Davis struggled to stand.
“Bailey?” she cried. "Bailey? What’s happening?”
The guide dog leapt at Mimi, teeth bared, but the green-haired girl twisted sideways as she stepped into the air. Mimi sang out, her voice reaching up into the highest harmonics. What quickly became inaudible to everyone else became a symphony of pain for the frightened dog’s ears. Bailey yelped and scrambled away.
Somehow, in all the confusion, Mimi heard Yulia shout her name in panicked desperation. Amy must have, too, because the strange blind girl’s face contorted.
“Mimi? Oh, Mimi, no—“ Amy began.
“Be quiet!” Mimi shouted, weaving the words into a violent harmonic pulse, scattering small objects from the floor.
“What the hell are you doing?” Rudi shouted frantically from the doorway.
Amy was on her feet now. “Mimi, please, you have to understand—“
“I understand fine!” Mimi cried, and the force of the sound lifted Amy from her feet and slammed her back against the far wall. On either side of her, the windows cracked and spiderwebbed. “I was there, freak,” Mimi continued, each word pressing Amy a little deeper into the plasterboard. “I heard you in the cafeteria that day. I didn’t want to believe it—I couldn’t believe it. But now they’re back. You fucking spy!”
Behind Mimi, Yulia panicked. She had seen Mimi this way only once before: on the rooftop, with pad. So when Rudi tried to step into the room, Yulia caught her and their frightened eyes met. Yulia shook her head violently and pulled Rudi back onto the landing.
Amy’s mouth twisted into a grimace of shame. She hadn’t noticed Mimi in the cafeteria that day, but the blind girl knew. That day with Joni. The day she found out SERAPH was taking her away for tests. I'm pretty sure they don't let Rikti study on campus. she had said to Joni. I'm probably going to get labeled a danger to global security. Some sort of sleeper agent. I don't know, maybe I am a sleeper agent and don't know it.
Amy felt the bruises under her skin already starting to heal and she somehow pushed herself away from the wall. “No, Mimi—you’re wrong,” she pleaded. “I didn’t know! They never said what they were planning! I didn’t know they were—“
“Liar!” The word rolled out like a blastwave, impossibly loud. The windows blasted outward, and the girls huddled by the ruined doorway were thrown back against the banister.
The shockwave hit Amy like a truck. Somehow she kept her feet, but her ears rang with disorientation. She stumbled, dazed, unable to react. Deafened, she was truly blind.
Mimi saw the girl falter and moved in. She seized Amy by the hand and lifted her arm. Amy made a noise of protest. “Liar,” Mimi said again, but this time the sound was focused, like a knife. The word tore the fabric from Amy’s arm as Mimi stripped the glove from her hand. She turned, dragging Amy with her as the blind girl fell to one knee. Mimi thrust her naked arm at the door.
Yulia sucked in her breath. Rudi screamed. The other girls fell silent.
Amy’s hand was long and grayish-pink. Her thumb was thick, her four fingers starting to blend together with fibrous flesh, becoming only two. The strangely altered skin continued all the way to her elbow. It was not a human hand. The flesh was Rikti.
Mimi’s face was twisted in rage and triumph as she looked down at Amy. “You won’t kill anyone today, you piece of alien trash,” she snarled. And with a flick of her free hand, Mimi slipped a zip-tie around Amy’s twisted wrist.
Vesper had recovered enough from the shock to cry out, “Mimi, no, you can’t!”
And then Amy Davis was gone in a flash of light, the zip-tie speeding her to the receiving room at the Ziggurat.
Mimi stood quietly for a moment, her breath coming heavy. It wouldn’t last, she knew. It would only be a matter of minutes before Amy’s medivac would send a out a pulse to the school’s network, and the two systems would come to agree that someone with a SL clearance did not belong in the Ziggurat. Computers were stupid that way.
Mimi turned and walked back through the doorway, shouldering her way through her friends as they watched her. They were still afraid, but now it wasn’t just the distant, tremulous explosions that had frightened them.
“Mimi?” Yulia said quietly. “What did you..?” she began, then shook her head. Mimi turned and the two girls looked at one another. Yulia blinked, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “Why?”
Mimi’s voice was distant as she turned to walk away. “We all have to be heroes today.”
Last edited by Mimi on Tue Jul 24, 2007 4:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Antoine DuBois, also known as the hero Obsidian Seraph, lay on his bed, listening to his iPod, reading the latest novel from Stephen King. Oby enjoyed the music until a high pitched whine sounded in one of the speakers.
"Dammit! Not again..." He bought these just recently to replace the pair he'd blown out. He pulled the bud out of his ear to see what he could do to fix it. The whine didn't stop. "What the hell...?"
He stared out the window, trying to identify where the sound was coming from, and saw an unusual site. Students moved towards the cafeteria, some running, some walking, others flying or leaping, but all moving briskly towards the cafeteria. Oby wondered what was going on, there was no general assembly called.
"Oby, let's go! Something big is going on, did you miss it? It's been all over the TV and Radio. Everyone's going to the cafeteria. They're even sounding the air raid sirens!" At least that explained the noise. Oby's friend, and football teammate Alex Waters, Glacial Mass, stood, filling the doorway, beckoning for his friend to follow, "Come on!"
"Gimme a sec, wouldya? Better yet, I'll meet you guys in the cafeteria. Find a spot for you, me and Lena."
"Don'tforgetmetoo, Oby! Isn't this awesometastic??" Eric Copper's voice rang out from somewhere behind Alex.
Oby grinned, "I kinda figured Alex had that covered already, Coppertop." The giggle that rang out was answer enough.
Alex and Eric left, and Oby snatched up his music and his book, and headed towards the girl's quad, to find Lena. It wasn't hard. He crossed the campus green, keeping an alert eye out. There! He spotted her moving along with the throng of students. There was no mistaking the flaming red hair, and Oby cut through the crowd, making moves that showed off why he was a league leading rusher last season.
"Lena...Lena!" Oby yelled, dodging around the student that suddenly appeared a step in front of him, and summarily disappeared with a slight pop as air filled the vacuum as the person teleported away. He slid up next to her and ducked under her arm, slipping an arm around her waist, tugging her through the crowd. "Come on. Alex and Eric are saving us a seat." She smiled, nodded at him and followed his lead towards the cafeteria.
They moved with the rest of the assembly till the spotted Alex, waving them over. He'd grabbed a table, and the pair spotted at least a few of their friends sitting with Alex and Eric. Looking through the crowd, they saw Eric, Alex, Stasi, Erika and possibly a few others sitting at the table, but the throng cut off their view. Oby clenched his jaw and started cutting through, offering a few insincere apologies to the people he moved through. Oby looked around. It looked like the whole school was here. The faculty looked serious, and a sense of nervous unease permeated the cafeteria, evidenced by the constant buzz of voices, and that nervous sort of tension that felt like it could be cut from the air.
"Heyas, all of you. What gives? This looks serious." A slightly out of breath Oby led Lena to a seat and then perched on the edge of the table.
"Hey, Oby, Lena. No idea." Erika sat, stretched out, looking at ease, but a tapping of her foot gave away her anxiousness.
"Maybe they all tasted something nasty, heyla?" They all turned to Stasi and gave her a look. The platinum blonde tossed her hands up, "I'm just saying!"
After a few more minutes of students filing into the cafeteria, and just as the din of conversation threatened to overwhelm patience, the speakers crackled to life. The voice of Headmaster Sir Arthur Winston III rang out over the crowd, "Students, I'm sure you're all curious about why you've been brought here today."
"Heh, no shit, genius." The low voice of Tolliver shot out, bringing a nervous laughter from the crowd.
Undaunted, Sir Arthur continued. "The reason you've been asked to assemble is, earlier today, Rikti Portals opened en masse, in many areas of Paragon City." The reaction to the revelation was mixed. From looks of abject fear, to those, like Erika's, of outright rage. "All students have been contacted either while on campus or asked, via commset to return to the campus. For the time being, I need to ask that you all remain here, and refrain from any off campus activities. Once Longbow, and other law enforcement agencies determine the exact nature of this incident, I'm sure we'll all resume normal classes and activities. Please, remain calm. I'm sure we'll have more answers soon.
"Fucking Rikti!"
"Why can't we get out there and fight them?
"Are you crazy? Look what they did to the heroes in the last conflict."
"Come on." Oby almost scoffed, "We take those things on all the time, and kick the crap out of them." He saw Erika's look of approval at the statement, which gave him confidence to continue. "If we all pool together? They don't stand a chance!" Erika clapped Oby on the shoulder, agreeing. The crowd didn't seem so sure. Murmurs shot through the crowd, but no rousing response followed.
"Heyla, Seraph, what makes you think you've seen their best?"
"Bring em on. They can't be any worse than Lusca, Paladin, Adamaster, or Jurrasik. We kicked all their asses." The voice from the crowd still only found a few others that agreed. Most only mustered a quiet murmur. One unsure of what direction it wanted to take.
Another voice piped up. "You don't know for sure though. There could be thousands of them."
"Great Bobby, so what're we supposed to do, roll over and hope they don't take over and kill everyone?" Oby's outburst sent the crowd to another round of nervous murmurs, many of which became fearful. "Kick em in the teeth, right now, and make em think twice. I should have known you'd turn tail." Oby growled the last at Bobby Jenkins, a lean kid, who tended to avoid contact with others. The tension in the cafeteria frayed at both boys nerves.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" A now enraged Bobby Jenkins came around the edge of the table.
"Exactly what I said, twerp." Oby stood up to face him. "You always fold in the face of a challenge!" Oby's jaw clenched, and the air in the room became charged.
The crowd started to pay more rapt attention to the scene, and chairs could be heard scraping so people could get a better look, the group around them gave way when Bobby surprised Oby with a punch that saw Bobby's arm stretch impossibly across the dividing space between the two of them. His fist connected with a solid crack, and Oby's head snapped back. Oby steadied himself, shook his head and smiled. "Oh, you just bit off way more than you can handle."
Seraph's features turned darker, a cloud starting to form around him, filled with strange, ghost like figures. He started gathering energy and everyone could see the dark force form around his fists, and arms as he moved forward. Then to everyone's surprise, both students powers ceased.
"Enough!" The voice carried across the hall. There was no mistaking Coach Waters' gravelly basso. "Jenkins, find your seat. DuBois, park it! And come see me after this assembly is over!"
"What?? But he start..."
"I don't care, you get your ass in a seat, NOW, and then find me immediately after this is done. Understand me!?"
Bobby scurried back to his seat, and Oby looked up into the angry face of his Coach, with a slight wince. "Yes Coach."
"Dammit! Not again..." He bought these just recently to replace the pair he'd blown out. He pulled the bud out of his ear to see what he could do to fix it. The whine didn't stop. "What the hell...?"
He stared out the window, trying to identify where the sound was coming from, and saw an unusual site. Students moved towards the cafeteria, some running, some walking, others flying or leaping, but all moving briskly towards the cafeteria. Oby wondered what was going on, there was no general assembly called.
"Oby, let's go! Something big is going on, did you miss it? It's been all over the TV and Radio. Everyone's going to the cafeteria. They're even sounding the air raid sirens!" At least that explained the noise. Oby's friend, and football teammate Alex Waters, Glacial Mass, stood, filling the doorway, beckoning for his friend to follow, "Come on!"
"Gimme a sec, wouldya? Better yet, I'll meet you guys in the cafeteria. Find a spot for you, me and Lena."
"Don'tforgetmetoo, Oby! Isn't this awesometastic??" Eric Copper's voice rang out from somewhere behind Alex.
Oby grinned, "I kinda figured Alex had that covered already, Coppertop." The giggle that rang out was answer enough.
Alex and Eric left, and Oby snatched up his music and his book, and headed towards the girl's quad, to find Lena. It wasn't hard. He crossed the campus green, keeping an alert eye out. There! He spotted her moving along with the throng of students. There was no mistaking the flaming red hair, and Oby cut through the crowd, making moves that showed off why he was a league leading rusher last season.
"Lena...Lena!" Oby yelled, dodging around the student that suddenly appeared a step in front of him, and summarily disappeared with a slight pop as air filled the vacuum as the person teleported away. He slid up next to her and ducked under her arm, slipping an arm around her waist, tugging her through the crowd. "Come on. Alex and Eric are saving us a seat." She smiled, nodded at him and followed his lead towards the cafeteria.
They moved with the rest of the assembly till the spotted Alex, waving them over. He'd grabbed a table, and the pair spotted at least a few of their friends sitting with Alex and Eric. Looking through the crowd, they saw Eric, Alex, Stasi, Erika and possibly a few others sitting at the table, but the throng cut off their view. Oby clenched his jaw and started cutting through, offering a few insincere apologies to the people he moved through. Oby looked around. It looked like the whole school was here. The faculty looked serious, and a sense of nervous unease permeated the cafeteria, evidenced by the constant buzz of voices, and that nervous sort of tension that felt like it could be cut from the air.
"Heyas, all of you. What gives? This looks serious." A slightly out of breath Oby led Lena to a seat and then perched on the edge of the table.
"Hey, Oby, Lena. No idea." Erika sat, stretched out, looking at ease, but a tapping of her foot gave away her anxiousness.
"Maybe they all tasted something nasty, heyla?" They all turned to Stasi and gave her a look. The platinum blonde tossed her hands up, "I'm just saying!"
After a few more minutes of students filing into the cafeteria, and just as the din of conversation threatened to overwhelm patience, the speakers crackled to life. The voice of Headmaster Sir Arthur Winston III rang out over the crowd, "Students, I'm sure you're all curious about why you've been brought here today."
"Heh, no shit, genius." The low voice of Tolliver shot out, bringing a nervous laughter from the crowd.
Undaunted, Sir Arthur continued. "The reason you've been asked to assemble is, earlier today, Rikti Portals opened en masse, in many areas of Paragon City." The reaction to the revelation was mixed. From looks of abject fear, to those, like Erika's, of outright rage. "All students have been contacted either while on campus or asked, via commset to return to the campus. For the time being, I need to ask that you all remain here, and refrain from any off campus activities. Once Longbow, and other law enforcement agencies determine the exact nature of this incident, I'm sure we'll all resume normal classes and activities. Please, remain calm. I'm sure we'll have more answers soon.
"Fucking Rikti!"
"Why can't we get out there and fight them?
"Are you crazy? Look what they did to the heroes in the last conflict."
"Come on." Oby almost scoffed, "We take those things on all the time, and kick the crap out of them." He saw Erika's look of approval at the statement, which gave him confidence to continue. "If we all pool together? They don't stand a chance!" Erika clapped Oby on the shoulder, agreeing. The crowd didn't seem so sure. Murmurs shot through the crowd, but no rousing response followed.
"Heyla, Seraph, what makes you think you've seen their best?"
"Bring em on. They can't be any worse than Lusca, Paladin, Adamaster, or Jurrasik. We kicked all their asses." The voice from the crowd still only found a few others that agreed. Most only mustered a quiet murmur. One unsure of what direction it wanted to take.
Another voice piped up. "You don't know for sure though. There could be thousands of them."
"Great Bobby, so what're we supposed to do, roll over and hope they don't take over and kill everyone?" Oby's outburst sent the crowd to another round of nervous murmurs, many of which became fearful. "Kick em in the teeth, right now, and make em think twice. I should have known you'd turn tail." Oby growled the last at Bobby Jenkins, a lean kid, who tended to avoid contact with others. The tension in the cafeteria frayed at both boys nerves.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" A now enraged Bobby Jenkins came around the edge of the table.
"Exactly what I said, twerp." Oby stood up to face him. "You always fold in the face of a challenge!" Oby's jaw clenched, and the air in the room became charged.
The crowd started to pay more rapt attention to the scene, and chairs could be heard scraping so people could get a better look, the group around them gave way when Bobby surprised Oby with a punch that saw Bobby's arm stretch impossibly across the dividing space between the two of them. His fist connected with a solid crack, and Oby's head snapped back. Oby steadied himself, shook his head and smiled. "Oh, you just bit off way more than you can handle."
Seraph's features turned darker, a cloud starting to form around him, filled with strange, ghost like figures. He started gathering energy and everyone could see the dark force form around his fists, and arms as he moved forward. Then to everyone's surprise, both students powers ceased.
"Enough!" The voice carried across the hall. There was no mistaking Coach Waters' gravelly basso. "Jenkins, find your seat. DuBois, park it! And come see me after this assembly is over!"
"What?? But he start..."
"I don't care, you get your ass in a seat, NOW, and then find me immediately after this is done. Understand me!?"
Bobby scurried back to his seat, and Oby looked up into the angry face of his Coach, with a slight wince. "Yes Coach."
Sometimes the only way to see the light, is a journey through darkness
-
Lillian St. Croix
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 1:30 am
- Contact:
She had been in Skyway when the skies first turned black, fighting off a group of Lost on one of the elevated highways. The last scrounger had shimmered away; destined for a holding cell in the Zig somewhere most likely.
But the air kept shimmering, warping until a glowing portal seemingly congealed out of the smoggy air. Strange alien beings poured out of them, whole scores of them.
Lillian recognized them. Like monsters out of her worst childhood dreams, the Rikti had returned. So she did what the girl she once was would do. She panicked.
Gottagetbackgottagetbackgottagetback... She frantically ripped a hole in space in front of her, planning to teleport back to the safety of St. Joe's. Surely they had a contingency plan for things like this. She closed her eyes and stepped through.
The sun was blindingly bright in comparison to the doom laden clouds in Skyway, and Lillian squinted as she looked around.
She wasn't on the school grounds.
In fact, she was pretty sure she wasn't even in Rhode Island anymore. At least, not anywhere near Paragon City. She looked down at her jacket, and cringed as she saw the empty inside pocket that normally held her medbadge and comm link transmitter.
The Rikti were attacking Earth again, she was lost, and she had no way to contact anyone.
Lillian took a deep breath and started walking purposefully towards the highway she could see just ahead of the horizon. Once she got there, maybe she could figure out where she was.
And once she figured that out, maybe she could find a way to get back.
((Yes, this does herald Lillian's removal from the school. This was previously discussed and approved by Mimi. Thank you *smiles*))
But the air kept shimmering, warping until a glowing portal seemingly congealed out of the smoggy air. Strange alien beings poured out of them, whole scores of them.
Lillian recognized them. Like monsters out of her worst childhood dreams, the Rikti had returned. So she did what the girl she once was would do. She panicked.
Gottagetbackgottagetbackgottagetback... She frantically ripped a hole in space in front of her, planning to teleport back to the safety of St. Joe's. Surely they had a contingency plan for things like this. She closed her eyes and stepped through.
The sun was blindingly bright in comparison to the doom laden clouds in Skyway, and Lillian squinted as she looked around.
She wasn't on the school grounds.
In fact, she was pretty sure she wasn't even in Rhode Island anymore. At least, not anywhere near Paragon City. She looked down at her jacket, and cringed as she saw the empty inside pocket that normally held her medbadge and comm link transmitter.
The Rikti were attacking Earth again, she was lost, and she had no way to contact anyone.
Lillian took a deep breath and started walking purposefully towards the highway she could see just ahead of the horizon. Once she got there, maybe she could figure out where she was.
And once she figured that out, maybe she could find a way to get back.
((Yes, this does herald Lillian's removal from the school. This was previously discussed and approved by Mimi. Thank you *smiles*))
The comm had been crazy for the past 30 minutes. She'd heard scattered conversations from Bryan, Sam, Vesper, Stasi, Lei, and Alex already.
And not one word from Amy.
The rumors at first had assigned the distant explosions to everything from Arachnos to the Nemesis to the Praetorians (whatever those were), but over the past half-hour, they'd coalesced into one opponent: Rikti. Lots of Rikti.
There is no way she knew. She couldn't have known. ...Could she? "Amy? Pick up your comm, please!"
Sandy nearly crashed into her as they both reached the stairs at the same time, then they both wasted several seconds trying to interrupt each other with "Are you okay?" and "Have you seen anyone else?" before Sandy managed to win control of the conversation. "I'm just glad you're okay... you haven't been upstairs yet? I was going to check on our quad."
Joni shook her head. "But I heard both Sam and Lei on the comm earlier..." She stopped short of Quad 8; she could already see it, and the neighboring Quad 7, from where she was. And the latter...
The latter had its door smashed in.
Sandy muttered something, then missed her chance to stop Joni from rushing panicked through the doorway.
"Amy? Amy!" No response. The interior looked trashed, but it wasn't shot up... someone had... Had the Rikti come for her? ...had SERAPH? Why couldn't she room with anyone?
She heard a whimper under the bed, then spotted Bailey's nose poking out. Bailey without Amy? Whether human, Rikti, or anything in between, Amy would never leave Bailey behind willingly.
Sandy had grabbed her by the shoulder. "There's no one left in any of the quads, injured or otherwise. Grab Bailey's leash and let's go; we need to get to the Athletic Center before they send out the search parties." Off Joni's expression, she added, "She'll be fine, Joni. She's probably already there. We need to go."
She was patronizing her -- just trying to get her to safety. Amy was most definitely not fine, Rikti or no.
But there was also no way either of them could change that right now. Joni let Sandy lead her and Bailey from the dorms. Please, Lord, let her be okay...
And not one word from Amy.
The rumors at first had assigned the distant explosions to everything from Arachnos to the Nemesis to the Praetorians (whatever those were), but over the past half-hour, they'd coalesced into one opponent: Rikti. Lots of Rikti.
There is no way she knew. She couldn't have known. ...Could she? "Amy? Pick up your comm, please!"
Sandy nearly crashed into her as they both reached the stairs at the same time, then they both wasted several seconds trying to interrupt each other with "Are you okay?" and "Have you seen anyone else?" before Sandy managed to win control of the conversation. "I'm just glad you're okay... you haven't been upstairs yet? I was going to check on our quad."
Joni shook her head. "But I heard both Sam and Lei on the comm earlier..." She stopped short of Quad 8; she could already see it, and the neighboring Quad 7, from where she was. And the latter...
The latter had its door smashed in.
Sandy muttered something, then missed her chance to stop Joni from rushing panicked through the doorway.
"Amy? Amy!" No response. The interior looked trashed, but it wasn't shot up... someone had... Had the Rikti come for her? ...had SERAPH? Why couldn't she room with anyone?
She heard a whimper under the bed, then spotted Bailey's nose poking out. Bailey without Amy? Whether human, Rikti, or anything in between, Amy would never leave Bailey behind willingly.
Sandy had grabbed her by the shoulder. "There's no one left in any of the quads, injured or otherwise. Grab Bailey's leash and let's go; we need to get to the Athletic Center before they send out the search parties." Off Joni's expression, she added, "She'll be fine, Joni. She's probably already there. We need to go."
She was patronizing her -- just trying to get her to safety. Amy was most definitely not fine, Rikti or no.
But there was also no way either of them could change that right now. Joni let Sandy lead her and Bailey from the dorms. Please, Lord, let her be okay...
"When you can hear 'em talk, cling to them with all force, because those are the ones with staying power." - Ursula Vernon
"Yes sir, over and out!"
April turns to her rag-tag team of heroes and villains, smiling while knowing that full scale war is occuring just beyond the horizon.
"Well gang, the Rikti pylons have been re-established. However, we landed a crippling blow to their assaults with those well placed bombs! Good work team! Now, lets get back out there and take down the pylons, we have orders to bomb the ship to stop their invasions, and I refuse to rest until I can move no more! For the Vanguard!"
April... working for the Vanguard. Not even just work, but promoted to a Field Officer, commanding strikes on the mothership with other seniors. How and why she took this position is still unsure of, but when the bombs started falling in Atlas Park, April was driven with rage and fear to repel the Rikti in order to keep her mother, who lived in Hyperion Way of Atlas Park, safe.
Not even the school could hold April back from rushing to Atlas Park to defend her mother from the Rikti. Powerful and elusive with the nether, it was easy to sneak off and protect Atlas Park. If any problems occured because of this, April knew she could argue her way to safety, due to protecting the city, protecting her mother, and being cleared for this type of danger by the city itself.
Driving the Rikti away began to fuel a hatred inside of April... one where loyalty was beginning to become a hazy, shaky boundry. She began to only call those who fight the Rikti her friends, and while this pushed many people who were afraid into being suspicious, this sparked something interesting; she began to make friends with Villains. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, she always thought.
It was this mentality and attitude that the Vanguard were looking for, and when she was recruited into assisting the Vanguard, Lady Grey took notice in her leadership abilities, as well as her driven mindset of removing the Rikti menace. She distinguished her among the other for her bravery and tactics, and recruited her into the Vanguard as a Field Officer, with the responsibility of leading and coordinating attacks on the mothership in the Rikti War Zone. April proved herself to Lady Grey many times, and the Lady was pleased with her choice.
Now April has become an active promoter of the Vanguard, speaking out about how it is wasteful to agrue instead of fighting back at the Rikti. She's taking many leadership roles in times of Rikti trouble, and is stopping at nothing to remove the Rikti menace from our planet.
Some loyalties and friendships are to be lost with her. Nobody attacks her planet, especially her only family, without incurring the wrath of April Hymnoxlynpoxy. And to those who don't fight, steer clear of April if you dare be open about it. The way to prove yourself friend or foe is to fight the Rikti alongside her, and that is the stance she takes.
She has recently begun to wear the Vanguard uniform on campus, knowing that she might be called to her duty at any time when she is needed.
((Essentially, April's natural leadership abilities, along with her mindset, has gotten her hired personally by Lady Grey to work for the Vanguard. She's now a Vanguard supporter, and defends their actions, while denouncing and destroying Rikti from invading her planet. Either fight the Rikti, or be a traitor in her eyes.))
April turns to her rag-tag team of heroes and villains, smiling while knowing that full scale war is occuring just beyond the horizon.
"Well gang, the Rikti pylons have been re-established. However, we landed a crippling blow to their assaults with those well placed bombs! Good work team! Now, lets get back out there and take down the pylons, we have orders to bomb the ship to stop their invasions, and I refuse to rest until I can move no more! For the Vanguard!"
April... working for the Vanguard. Not even just work, but promoted to a Field Officer, commanding strikes on the mothership with other seniors. How and why she took this position is still unsure of, but when the bombs started falling in Atlas Park, April was driven with rage and fear to repel the Rikti in order to keep her mother, who lived in Hyperion Way of Atlas Park, safe.
Not even the school could hold April back from rushing to Atlas Park to defend her mother from the Rikti. Powerful and elusive with the nether, it was easy to sneak off and protect Atlas Park. If any problems occured because of this, April knew she could argue her way to safety, due to protecting the city, protecting her mother, and being cleared for this type of danger by the city itself.
Driving the Rikti away began to fuel a hatred inside of April... one where loyalty was beginning to become a hazy, shaky boundry. She began to only call those who fight the Rikti her friends, and while this pushed many people who were afraid into being suspicious, this sparked something interesting; she began to make friends with Villains. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, she always thought.
It was this mentality and attitude that the Vanguard were looking for, and when she was recruited into assisting the Vanguard, Lady Grey took notice in her leadership abilities, as well as her driven mindset of removing the Rikti menace. She distinguished her among the other for her bravery and tactics, and recruited her into the Vanguard as a Field Officer, with the responsibility of leading and coordinating attacks on the mothership in the Rikti War Zone. April proved herself to Lady Grey many times, and the Lady was pleased with her choice.
Now April has become an active promoter of the Vanguard, speaking out about how it is wasteful to agrue instead of fighting back at the Rikti. She's taking many leadership roles in times of Rikti trouble, and is stopping at nothing to remove the Rikti menace from our planet.
Some loyalties and friendships are to be lost with her. Nobody attacks her planet, especially her only family, without incurring the wrath of April Hymnoxlynpoxy. And to those who don't fight, steer clear of April if you dare be open about it. The way to prove yourself friend or foe is to fight the Rikti alongside her, and that is the stance she takes.
She has recently begun to wear the Vanguard uniform on campus, knowing that she might be called to her duty at any time when she is needed.
((Essentially, April's natural leadership abilities, along with her mindset, has gotten her hired personally by Lady Grey to work for the Vanguard. She's now a Vanguard supporter, and defends their actions, while denouncing and destroying Rikti from invading her planet. Either fight the Rikti, or be a traitor in her eyes.))
Yeah! No fear! Into the fray with no regrets!
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Kalie Kitten
- Posts: 248
- Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2007 1:12 pm
- Location: Never Never Land
Loss too Deep to Bare
“Gabe!” Kalie shouted into her phone as it rang she hoped that he would pick up soon or she was going without him. Two rings later she hung up and headed to the portal to the war zone. Just as she was going to step into the portal her phone rang it was Gabe.
“Oh thank God” Kalie answered
“What is up hun I have fifteen missed calls?” Gabe sounded concerned
“They found my dad he is trapped in a Rikti bunker underground I am going after him and I can’t ask but I need your help” Kalie was crying as she spoke to Gabe
“Of course I am on my way” Gabe said as he hung the phone up.
Gabe knew that this was going to be very hard but left right away for the Vanguard building in Atlas Park. When he got there Kalie was already in her battle gear and ready to go. Kalie looked at Gabe and hugged him very tight whispering into his ear thank you. She waited for him to get dressed into his battle gear and then they went out into the war zone.
It took them a good hour to get to the bunker and a few battles but they made it in one piece and before they went in Kalie looked at Gabe and said “This mean so much to me that your willing to come with me to help him. I love you Gabe and no matter what happens in here you are always going my fist true love” She wiped the tears from her eyes and bounded her fist into her chest letting out a fierce battle cry and then without another word slipped into the bunker to retrieve her father with Gabe right behind her.
There where Rikti everywhere Kalie hit the ground swinging and it took them over and hour to defeat the first round aliens. Then about an hour and half into the bunker She saw her father being tortured by a Rikti and she went in her claws blazing and took out everything around them the room was empty save her, Gabe and her Father.
“Dad!” Kalie Shouted
“Kalie you shouldn’t be here this war!” her dad said to her as he hugged her tight
“Someone had to come save you it was me or anther hero” Kalie replied
There reunion was full of tears and hugs. Kalie said several things that she had been avoiding telling her father and Gabe waited patiently for there heartfelt family reunion to finish
“Come on dad we got to get out of here now” Kalie seemed to be so relived as she spoke
“Kalie my squad there still in here we have to help them” Kalie’s Father pleaded with his eyes.
“Right I almost forgot I am just so happy to have you here” Kalie was almost giggling when she said it.
“Alright if we are going to get out of here alive we have to get going for the rest of them” Gabe spoke with authority knowing that someone had to take charge
The three of them started working there way down the next hall looking in every room and trying to locate the rest of the group with no luck. Kalie was unstoppable taking out every alien they came to with ease. Almost to easy it was becoming obvious that this was a trap they where being brought into the fold of the bunker and Kalie’s Dad knew it. However it was too late to do anything about it.
Kalie, Gabe and her Dad found them self’s in a circle with four halls going off in ever direction and at the end of each hall was a mass of Rikti coming after them. These looked to be way more menacing then the ones they had fought to get here. Kalie realized it was a trap now and she new they where in over there heads. She turned to Gabe to speak but her father beat her to it.
“Kalie my sweet little girl you are my everything and you and Gabriel will be far more beneficial to the world then me, If they get here they will deactivate the medical badges that can’t happen” her father spoke so lovingly to her.
With that her father took his gun out and fired two shots one hitting Kalie in the upper right arm and the other hitting Gabe in the lower left leg.
Kalie not understanding right away looked up at her dad and said “but why?”
“because I love you” her father replied
The last thing Kalie saw before the hospital badge activating porting her and Gabe back to the medical bay was the Rikti firing the plasma cannon’s at her father and him instantly vaporizing before her then every thing went black
“Oh thank God” Kalie answered
“What is up hun I have fifteen missed calls?” Gabe sounded concerned
“They found my dad he is trapped in a Rikti bunker underground I am going after him and I can’t ask but I need your help” Kalie was crying as she spoke to Gabe
“Of course I am on my way” Gabe said as he hung the phone up.
Gabe knew that this was going to be very hard but left right away for the Vanguard building in Atlas Park. When he got there Kalie was already in her battle gear and ready to go. Kalie looked at Gabe and hugged him very tight whispering into his ear thank you. She waited for him to get dressed into his battle gear and then they went out into the war zone.
It took them a good hour to get to the bunker and a few battles but they made it in one piece and before they went in Kalie looked at Gabe and said “This mean so much to me that your willing to come with me to help him. I love you Gabe and no matter what happens in here you are always going my fist true love” She wiped the tears from her eyes and bounded her fist into her chest letting out a fierce battle cry and then without another word slipped into the bunker to retrieve her father with Gabe right behind her.
There where Rikti everywhere Kalie hit the ground swinging and it took them over and hour to defeat the first round aliens. Then about an hour and half into the bunker She saw her father being tortured by a Rikti and she went in her claws blazing and took out everything around them the room was empty save her, Gabe and her Father.
“Dad!” Kalie Shouted
“Kalie you shouldn’t be here this war!” her dad said to her as he hugged her tight
“Someone had to come save you it was me or anther hero” Kalie replied
There reunion was full of tears and hugs. Kalie said several things that she had been avoiding telling her father and Gabe waited patiently for there heartfelt family reunion to finish
“Come on dad we got to get out of here now” Kalie seemed to be so relived as she spoke
“Kalie my squad there still in here we have to help them” Kalie’s Father pleaded with his eyes.
“Right I almost forgot I am just so happy to have you here” Kalie was almost giggling when she said it.
“Alright if we are going to get out of here alive we have to get going for the rest of them” Gabe spoke with authority knowing that someone had to take charge
The three of them started working there way down the next hall looking in every room and trying to locate the rest of the group with no luck. Kalie was unstoppable taking out every alien they came to with ease. Almost to easy it was becoming obvious that this was a trap they where being brought into the fold of the bunker and Kalie’s Dad knew it. However it was too late to do anything about it.
Kalie, Gabe and her Dad found them self’s in a circle with four halls going off in ever direction and at the end of each hall was a mass of Rikti coming after them. These looked to be way more menacing then the ones they had fought to get here. Kalie realized it was a trap now and she new they where in over there heads. She turned to Gabe to speak but her father beat her to it.
“Kalie my sweet little girl you are my everything and you and Gabriel will be far more beneficial to the world then me, If they get here they will deactivate the medical badges that can’t happen” her father spoke so lovingly to her.
With that her father took his gun out and fired two shots one hitting Kalie in the upper right arm and the other hitting Gabe in the lower left leg.
Kalie not understanding right away looked up at her dad and said “but why?”
“because I love you” her father replied
The last thing Kalie saw before the hospital badge activating porting her and Gabe back to the medical bay was the Rikti firing the plasma cannon’s at her father and him instantly vaporizing before her then every thing went black
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Kelly Green
- Posts: 43
- Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 6:01 am
Kelly had yet to see a living Rikti since the start of the war. She was too terrified to face them. The closest she had come was investigating a warehouse that turned out to be a haven for some of those horrifying lost. Kelly used to think of the lost as kind of sad and pathetic, but after Mimi’s accusations about Amy, Kelly found them terrifying. Earth for Humans? But what about humans who sided with the enemy? If mankind could turn on itself and side with evil like the Rikti… sell out our own race, did we even deserve to have a planet to call our own?
Kelly trembled as she walked past a dead Rikti; she took a wide path around it in case it was only playing possum, who could really tell with these things. Finally she was close enough to the device; yes it was indeed an UXB. She could clearly see the strange alien writing on the device’s screen. She couldn’t read the language of course but the way the figures changed in a rhythmic pattern made it clear the device was counting down. Kelly called in the location of the device in on the handheld com she had been given, and got confirmation a team was on the way to deal with the problem.
She wished she had the courage to fight the aliens the way some of the other students did. Once again Kelly began to wonder if she had what it took to be a true hero. She had volunteered to help with the clean up after the Rikti raids, and just doing this work left her haunted and unable to sleep at nights. The students who went to the front seemed to come back shaken, but also somehow… empowered she guessed. They wouldn’t talk about the death they must have seen but they would talk about how they had defeated this or that enemy. Who could blame them? The Hero’s of Paragon City looked to once again be up to the task of fighting off the Rikti. Despite repeated attacks on the city each battled ended the same way, with the hero’s driving off the invaders. Kelly guessed they deserved their cheers and celebrations and pats on the back they gave each other. Kelly’s work came after.
Once again she started the climb over yet another pile of rubble that used to be a building of some kind. So far the large sky scrappers of Steel Canyon had remained standing, but each attack left more and more damage. Many of the smaller shops and been leveled. Kelly wondered how long it would take the Rikti, despite the battles being won by the humans to win the war. How long before Steel Canyon became another Boomtown? How long before there where more dead humans then living ones? Kelly spotted what she had been looking for, casualties. This was a bad batch. Kelly patiently let herself vomit and then started to put medi tags on the pieces of humans. Mercifully the smell got better as she got rid of the most mangled remains first. She tagged the last of the bodies with it’s bowels ripped out, someone’s grandmother from the looks of her strangely content and untouched face, and then noticed the movement. Kelly scrambled back up to the top of the pile of rubble and uncovered the struggling arm further. She couldn’t be sure from just an arm of course but it looked to be that of a black, women of middle age. “Can you hear me,” Kelly, shouted into the rubble.
The arm froze for a minute and Kelly heard an answering sob and unintelligible mumble.
“Don’t try to talk, save your strength.” Kelly told her. “Here I’m going to take your hand… feel that I am human… I’m with search and rescue your going to be safe now ok? Your trapped and I can’t dig you out, but don’t worry I am putting something around your wrist, don’t panic it’s a medi badge like they give the hero’s. Just like Statesman or Back Alley Brawler Ok? Squeeze my hand twice if you understand.” Kelly felt to squeezes. “Good, good, ok I’m going to let go and then activate the badge. You might feel a little tingling and slightly light headed, but the badge will teleport you right out from under this rubble and straight to the hospital ok?” Again Kelly felt two squeezes…
Kelly was not a hero; she didn’t have the heart to call herself that anymore. She had run from that office building… run from those lost, those alien sympathizers. She had let them carry out whatever nefarious activity they had been about, because she had been too afraid to face them. But she could still help, still do something, she was a human being and these where her people and her planet. She pushed the button and the woman who’s face she would most likely never see teleported safely to the hospital. She was no hero was Kelly Green, but she dam sure could help.
Kelly trembled as she walked past a dead Rikti; she took a wide path around it in case it was only playing possum, who could really tell with these things. Finally she was close enough to the device; yes it was indeed an UXB. She could clearly see the strange alien writing on the device’s screen. She couldn’t read the language of course but the way the figures changed in a rhythmic pattern made it clear the device was counting down. Kelly called in the location of the device in on the handheld com she had been given, and got confirmation a team was on the way to deal with the problem.
She wished she had the courage to fight the aliens the way some of the other students did. Once again Kelly began to wonder if she had what it took to be a true hero. She had volunteered to help with the clean up after the Rikti raids, and just doing this work left her haunted and unable to sleep at nights. The students who went to the front seemed to come back shaken, but also somehow… empowered she guessed. They wouldn’t talk about the death they must have seen but they would talk about how they had defeated this or that enemy. Who could blame them? The Hero’s of Paragon City looked to once again be up to the task of fighting off the Rikti. Despite repeated attacks on the city each battled ended the same way, with the hero’s driving off the invaders. Kelly guessed they deserved their cheers and celebrations and pats on the back they gave each other. Kelly’s work came after.
Once again she started the climb over yet another pile of rubble that used to be a building of some kind. So far the large sky scrappers of Steel Canyon had remained standing, but each attack left more and more damage. Many of the smaller shops and been leveled. Kelly wondered how long it would take the Rikti, despite the battles being won by the humans to win the war. How long before Steel Canyon became another Boomtown? How long before there where more dead humans then living ones? Kelly spotted what she had been looking for, casualties. This was a bad batch. Kelly patiently let herself vomit and then started to put medi tags on the pieces of humans. Mercifully the smell got better as she got rid of the most mangled remains first. She tagged the last of the bodies with it’s bowels ripped out, someone’s grandmother from the looks of her strangely content and untouched face, and then noticed the movement. Kelly scrambled back up to the top of the pile of rubble and uncovered the struggling arm further. She couldn’t be sure from just an arm of course but it looked to be that of a black, women of middle age. “Can you hear me,” Kelly, shouted into the rubble.
The arm froze for a minute and Kelly heard an answering sob and unintelligible mumble.
“Don’t try to talk, save your strength.” Kelly told her. “Here I’m going to take your hand… feel that I am human… I’m with search and rescue your going to be safe now ok? Your trapped and I can’t dig you out, but don’t worry I am putting something around your wrist, don’t panic it’s a medi badge like they give the hero’s. Just like Statesman or Back Alley Brawler Ok? Squeeze my hand twice if you understand.” Kelly felt to squeezes. “Good, good, ok I’m going to let go and then activate the badge. You might feel a little tingling and slightly light headed, but the badge will teleport you right out from under this rubble and straight to the hospital ok?” Again Kelly felt two squeezes…
Kelly was not a hero; she didn’t have the heart to call herself that anymore. She had run from that office building… run from those lost, those alien sympathizers. She had let them carry out whatever nefarious activity they had been about, because she had been too afraid to face them. But she could still help, still do something, she was a human being and these where her people and her planet. She pushed the button and the woman who’s face she would most likely never see teleported safely to the hospital. She was no hero was Kelly Green, but she dam sure could help.
Last edited by Kelly Green on Wed Jul 25, 2007 9:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
‘What’s going on?! Why is this happening?! I thought we were helping them!?’ Alice was 50-feet in the air flying over the east side of Founders Falls. ‘Where’s daddy?!’ she panicked.
“Jessy? Are you there? Hello? Hello????” Alice clicked her comm unit on trying to reach her friend.
“Ow, Yes Alice I’m here, are you alright?” Jessy had picked up
‘Yay!’ she thought, “I can’t find my dad!! He wasn’t at the hospital!!”
“Okay did they say where he went?”
“They said he checked himself out took his suit and left!!” Alice almost screamed into the mic.
“Ow, ow, ow Alice…Calm down, he was there for the first war he should be okay now.” Jessy winced at her volume controls. Practically muted and Alice was too loud.
“But, but, but!!!”
“NO BUTS. He will be FINE. Trust me.” Her was broken thinking of her own father but kept it level to calm her friend down. “Please be careful, don’t let them see you Alice, they will kill you…”
Sniffling “I…I’m okay, I will I promise. Thanks Jessy…” Alice clicked her comm off and looked around her. It was only hours after she had been informed about what was going on. Vesper, Kalie, Gabe so many others had warned her to be careful. She knew why: This…the war had begun again. Rikti ships were in the skies and their shock troops were on the ground.
The hero known as Question Mark? Had fought the Rikti in the first war. He never spoke of it and Alice never asked. He was all she had and now he was missing and she was scared she lost her family again.
Suddenly the sky darkened, ‘oh god no…’ and then they came. Wave after wave of ships pouring soldiers, drones, and portals onto the streets. People ran screaming for their homes and shelters, some not making as the fire from a Rikti plasma rifle would burn them in their tracks. Alice screamed inside as she watched a Rikti fire squad close in on a mother and her two children.
Suddenly there was a blinding flash and arrows rained from nowhere entangling the aliens in nets, glue, acid and freezing nitrogen. “Over here Ya’ll!!” came a cry from a brightly colored figure. “Daddy!” Alice flew to him as he teleported the mother and children into a building.
“Alice?! What are you DOING here!?” He pulled his face plate off revealing his bright green hair matted with sweat.
“Daddy, daddy, daddy!! I was so scared!! I-I-I couldn’t find you at the hospital!!” Alice clung to him holding him tightly, crying into his armor.
“There, there, now. I’m okay” he patted her shoulder “Why aren’t you in school? I put you there to make sure you would be safe!!”
She looked up at him and bit her lower lip “I…I snuck out…I cloaked and flew out looking for you…why are the Rykty attacking? They seemed so nice…Daddy I don’t know what to do!!”
QM? Gave her a cold look “You are to go back to the school and stay there, protect yourself and your friends but don’t be stupid Alice, these aliens are killers. They won’t hold back because you are a girl or a child, understand?”
“Yes, daddy…I’m sorry…” she hugged her father again, “I will go back and check on Jessy and Joni and Yuky and Meme and everyone else”
“Good girl” suddenly a clear blue specter appeared and Alice thought it was brother Guzol but in was just Babbo. He spoke in a broken voice Alice couldn’t understand but the color from QM?’s face drained and he turned to Alice “Go to the school NOW!!”
Alice cringed and suddenly pushed off from the ground taking flight “Daddy?”
“I am fine but I have to go, they are coming this way and you need to get to safety now GIT!!” He slammed his helmet on and pulled his bow from his back and took flight pulling an arrow from his quiver aimed it at her and fired.
‘DADDY!!’ Alice thought just before the arrow struck behind her and blasted a Rikti Drone to pieces, QM? pushed her into a wormhole teleported her back to safety the last thing she saw was Babbo and her father being attacked by a Rikti patrol team.
“Jessy? Are you there? Hello? Hello????” Alice clicked her comm unit on trying to reach her friend.
“Ow, Yes Alice I’m here, are you alright?” Jessy had picked up
‘Yay!’ she thought, “I can’t find my dad!! He wasn’t at the hospital!!”
“Okay did they say where he went?”
“They said he checked himself out took his suit and left!!” Alice almost screamed into the mic.
“Ow, ow, ow Alice…Calm down, he was there for the first war he should be okay now.” Jessy winced at her volume controls. Practically muted and Alice was too loud.
“But, but, but!!!”
“NO BUTS. He will be FINE. Trust me.” Her was broken thinking of her own father but kept it level to calm her friend down. “Please be careful, don’t let them see you Alice, they will kill you…”
Sniffling “I…I’m okay, I will I promise. Thanks Jessy…” Alice clicked her comm off and looked around her. It was only hours after she had been informed about what was going on. Vesper, Kalie, Gabe so many others had warned her to be careful. She knew why: This…the war had begun again. Rikti ships were in the skies and their shock troops were on the ground.
The hero known as Question Mark? Had fought the Rikti in the first war. He never spoke of it and Alice never asked. He was all she had and now he was missing and she was scared she lost her family again.
Suddenly the sky darkened, ‘oh god no…’ and then they came. Wave after wave of ships pouring soldiers, drones, and portals onto the streets. People ran screaming for their homes and shelters, some not making as the fire from a Rikti plasma rifle would burn them in their tracks. Alice screamed inside as she watched a Rikti fire squad close in on a mother and her two children.
Suddenly there was a blinding flash and arrows rained from nowhere entangling the aliens in nets, glue, acid and freezing nitrogen. “Over here Ya’ll!!” came a cry from a brightly colored figure. “Daddy!” Alice flew to him as he teleported the mother and children into a building.
“Alice?! What are you DOING here!?” He pulled his face plate off revealing his bright green hair matted with sweat.
“Daddy, daddy, daddy!! I was so scared!! I-I-I couldn’t find you at the hospital!!” Alice clung to him holding him tightly, crying into his armor.
“There, there, now. I’m okay” he patted her shoulder “Why aren’t you in school? I put you there to make sure you would be safe!!”
She looked up at him and bit her lower lip “I…I snuck out…I cloaked and flew out looking for you…why are the Rykty attacking? They seemed so nice…Daddy I don’t know what to do!!”
QM? Gave her a cold look “You are to go back to the school and stay there, protect yourself and your friends but don’t be stupid Alice, these aliens are killers. They won’t hold back because you are a girl or a child, understand?”
“Yes, daddy…I’m sorry…” she hugged her father again, “I will go back and check on Jessy and Joni and Yuky and Meme and everyone else”
“Good girl” suddenly a clear blue specter appeared and Alice thought it was brother Guzol but in was just Babbo. He spoke in a broken voice Alice couldn’t understand but the color from QM?’s face drained and he turned to Alice “Go to the school NOW!!”
Alice cringed and suddenly pushed off from the ground taking flight “Daddy?”
“I am fine but I have to go, they are coming this way and you need to get to safety now GIT!!” He slammed his helmet on and pulled his bow from his back and took flight pulling an arrow from his quiver aimed it at her and fired.
‘DADDY!!’ Alice thought just before the arrow struck behind her and blasted a Rikti Drone to pieces, QM? pushed her into a wormhole teleported her back to safety the last thing she saw was Babbo and her father being attacked by a Rikti patrol team.
Last edited by Alice on Wed Jul 25, 2007 10:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
When you fight for those you love you will truly become as strong as you must be in order to protect them.
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Glowing Vigilance
- Posts: 162
- Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 10:38 pm
- Contact:
Summer knelt there, her arms lying flatly at her side. The mother was screaming bloody murder. Summer's face was red from the hand slap, her cheeks were smeared with blood. Her hair was a mess, her body was exhausted and drawing breath wasn't as simple as it seemed right then. Smoke, fire and rubble were strewn around the streets. The mother shook the limp body of her dead daughter in front of her.
"You're the worst hero!" She shouted, "You saved me and you left her to die! WHY! Are you stupid!"
Summer didn't reply, she slapped her across the face again, the pain was nothing but a drop in the bucket. She just kept quiet, her eyes were glazed over in horrible thought. The mother shook her daughter again. It might've been only minutes before this little ordeal but in Summer's head it played out in slow motion.
---
A fire blaster was throwing everything he had at the Rikti. Their new and improved armor was simply just getting tarnished. Summer jetted onto the situation seconds before. Everyone was trying tor un but the Rikti were piling onto the scene. Summer screamed and fire a blast of radiation that shot two of them back from the blast. She launched herself at them, the Nemesis staff expanding outwards to form the 6 foot stick with the gear ever present on the tip. Summer smashed it into the side of the Rikti gunman and brought it down on it's stomach. The thing went limp, Summer had moved the second taking no notice. The blast from the staff flew out tearing up asphalt and blowing another one threw the crowd into a light pole.
The scream threw Summer off. The humanity of of, the outward cry of pain from the Blaster as the plasma seered his right side. He hunched down, the fire retreating back into him.
"NOOO!" screamed Summer.
The ensuing blast rocked the block. The unstable buildings, the burned out cars, Summer, the unlucky pedestrians and the Rikti, all caught in an unwavering, uncaring unloving wall of fire that annihilated everything its path. Summer was blown backwards into a bench knocking it over. A car sailed over her and went through the store front. The Rikti were no where to be seen, cinders from the looks of it. The air was full of ash, the smoke from the fires were choking Summer, her eyes tearing up.
"YOU DON'T FUCK WITH FLASHFIRE!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.
Summer looked up from the bench to see him fly off to another spot of strife. She pushed herself up and combed the area for survivors. A mother and her 10 year old daughter lay in a blown out parking lot. Summer coughed, rubbing her eyes on her armlets. She looked at the Mother, she was going into arrest, the blood coming out of her mouth. Summer shot to her side instantly. She put her hands on the mother's chest and abdomen. When her eyes closed, her glow erupted from her palms, spreading across the mother. Her seizures began to subside, the gaging from blood went down. She shot up from her position on the ground, coughing up the blood still in her mouth.
"You!" She shouted in shock, "You!"
Summer looked at the daughter and realized her terrible mistake. The girl had stopped breathing. She put her hands on the Girl's forehead and braced herself for another revival from the brick of death. Nothing. No energy expended. Nothing. Her mother batted Summer out of the way landing a blow to her face.
"Lisa!" She cried, shaking her daughter, "LISA!"
Summer looked at them, "I'm sorry..." She said weakly.
Her mother turned around and slugged Summer in the face, she tasted blood coming from the cut inside of her cheek.
"You bitch! She's dead! You killed her! YOU KILLED HER! You saved me and killed her!"
---
Summer shot back to reality. Her eyes unglazed themselves and she looked up from the ground. The mother was still mourning. Summer bit her lip and locked the terror, the pain, the sorrow all away. She divorced herself from it. Pushed through it to understand that right now, other Lisa's were happening and she could change that life right now. The pop as Summer stood up and shot off into the distance was softened due to another explosion in the distance.
"You're the worst hero!" She shouted, "You saved me and you left her to die! WHY! Are you stupid!"
Summer didn't reply, she slapped her across the face again, the pain was nothing but a drop in the bucket. She just kept quiet, her eyes were glazed over in horrible thought. The mother shook her daughter again. It might've been only minutes before this little ordeal but in Summer's head it played out in slow motion.
---
A fire blaster was throwing everything he had at the Rikti. Their new and improved armor was simply just getting tarnished. Summer jetted onto the situation seconds before. Everyone was trying tor un but the Rikti were piling onto the scene. Summer screamed and fire a blast of radiation that shot two of them back from the blast. She launched herself at them, the Nemesis staff expanding outwards to form the 6 foot stick with the gear ever present on the tip. Summer smashed it into the side of the Rikti gunman and brought it down on it's stomach. The thing went limp, Summer had moved the second taking no notice. The blast from the staff flew out tearing up asphalt and blowing another one threw the crowd into a light pole.
The scream threw Summer off. The humanity of of, the outward cry of pain from the Blaster as the plasma seered his right side. He hunched down, the fire retreating back into him.
"NOOO!" screamed Summer.
The ensuing blast rocked the block. The unstable buildings, the burned out cars, Summer, the unlucky pedestrians and the Rikti, all caught in an unwavering, uncaring unloving wall of fire that annihilated everything its path. Summer was blown backwards into a bench knocking it over. A car sailed over her and went through the store front. The Rikti were no where to be seen, cinders from the looks of it. The air was full of ash, the smoke from the fires were choking Summer, her eyes tearing up.
"YOU DON'T FUCK WITH FLASHFIRE!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.
Summer looked up from the bench to see him fly off to another spot of strife. She pushed herself up and combed the area for survivors. A mother and her 10 year old daughter lay in a blown out parking lot. Summer coughed, rubbing her eyes on her armlets. She looked at the Mother, she was going into arrest, the blood coming out of her mouth. Summer shot to her side instantly. She put her hands on the mother's chest and abdomen. When her eyes closed, her glow erupted from her palms, spreading across the mother. Her seizures began to subside, the gaging from blood went down. She shot up from her position on the ground, coughing up the blood still in her mouth.
"You!" She shouted in shock, "You!"
Summer looked at the daughter and realized her terrible mistake. The girl had stopped breathing. She put her hands on the Girl's forehead and braced herself for another revival from the brick of death. Nothing. No energy expended. Nothing. Her mother batted Summer out of the way landing a blow to her face.
"Lisa!" She cried, shaking her daughter, "LISA!"
Summer looked at them, "I'm sorry..." She said weakly.
Her mother turned around and slugged Summer in the face, she tasted blood coming from the cut inside of her cheek.
"You bitch! She's dead! You killed her! YOU KILLED HER! You saved me and killed her!"
---
Summer shot back to reality. Her eyes unglazed themselves and she looked up from the ground. The mother was still mourning. Summer bit her lip and locked the terror, the pain, the sorrow all away. She divorced herself from it. Pushed through it to understand that right now, other Lisa's were happening and she could change that life right now. The pop as Summer stood up and shot off into the distance was softened due to another explosion in the distance.
Glowing Vigilance
Tolliver: "Stripes makes me a Cat?"
Vig: "Would you prefer Zebra?"
Tolliver: "Stripes makes me a Cat?"
Vig: "Would you prefer Zebra?"
-
Gabriel Templar
- Posts: 1142
- Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 9:40 pm
- Location: Midwest US
Gabriel templar, AKA "Cherub"; admitted 7/25/07 at 8:20am, Vanguard medbay.
Physician's report:
The patient was admitted while unconscious, via the Medbay system, a physical examination revealed four gunshot wounds, consistent with an assault rifle in three-round-burst mode. Surgical exploration discovered a 7.62mm NATO metal-jacketed round lodged in the femur. Fragments were turned over to forensics for possible examination of a fratricidal incident.
Nurses report: On secondary examination the patient was conscious, and rapidly healing, examination of his chart indicated a security level of 36 and powers of empathy and electrical control, with some control issues. As a result the patient was moved to a single room and all of the equipment was switched to EM-shielded. As soon as he regained conciousness, the patient rapidly healed himself, sealing in one IV needle which was surgically removed without incident. He then became agitated, insisting he see the woman he was brought in with.
Vanduard Psychologist's report:
The debriefing with the subject began at 11:00, after he had been fully concious for an hour and had been fed.
Mr. Templar exhibited a high degree of agitation, confirming that he had been wounded by a Longbow agent during a rescue mission in the warzone, but denying that it was a friendly fire incident. In his opinion, he was fired on in order to wound him seriously enough to activate his medalert badge, removing him from the combat zone. This would be consistant with the injuries suffered by him and patient #2, whom he referred to as "Kalie" He claims he saw said longbow agent, apparently a reletive of his partner's, killed by rikti gunfire. Upon learning that an investigation was underway, the patient became irritable, and 15mg of Thorazine was administered via intramuscular injection to the posterior and the patient was returned to his quarters with cloth restraints.
Physician's report:
The patient was admitted while unconscious, via the Medbay system, a physical examination revealed four gunshot wounds, consistent with an assault rifle in three-round-burst mode. Surgical exploration discovered a 7.62mm NATO metal-jacketed round lodged in the femur. Fragments were turned over to forensics for possible examination of a fratricidal incident.
Nurses report: On secondary examination the patient was conscious, and rapidly healing, examination of his chart indicated a security level of 36 and powers of empathy and electrical control, with some control issues. As a result the patient was moved to a single room and all of the equipment was switched to EM-shielded. As soon as he regained conciousness, the patient rapidly healed himself, sealing in one IV needle which was surgically removed without incident. He then became agitated, insisting he see the woman he was brought in with.
Vanduard Psychologist's report:
The debriefing with the subject began at 11:00, after he had been fully concious for an hour and had been fed.
Mr. Templar exhibited a high degree of agitation, confirming that he had been wounded by a Longbow agent during a rescue mission in the warzone, but denying that it was a friendly fire incident. In his opinion, he was fired on in order to wound him seriously enough to activate his medalert badge, removing him from the combat zone. This would be consistant with the injuries suffered by him and patient #2, whom he referred to as "Kalie" He claims he saw said longbow agent, apparently a reletive of his partner's, killed by rikti gunfire. Upon learning that an investigation was underway, the patient became irritable, and 15mg of Thorazine was administered via intramuscular injection to the posterior and the patient was returned to his quarters with cloth restraints.
When the World Fades Away
The invasion had been going on for days now. Would it ever stop? How could there be so many?
The chaos surrounding Kali was mind boggling for her. She wanted so much to help everyone she could and yet she felt as if she was pulled in 100 different directions at once.
The injured were pouring in. Some minor , some major, and some.. nothing would help now. It was too late and they were gone on to the journey to the next life.
She worked quickly but carefully. Lifting bandages to see what she could do and healing what she could. The pain she felt was overwhelming.
She couldnt let it stop her. Not now, there would be time later to take care of herself , for now it was these people she needed to worry about.
The room was a blur of faces. She could barely make out the voices anymore. It didn't matter who was who. They all needed something .
" Hey you! Yeah You!" a man yelled from across the courtyard. " Help me get this one out the way before hes worse would ya? "
He was dressed in a uniform. Kali should know the uniform , she knew she should. but her mind couldnt focus to place it.
" Y.. yeah.. yeah sure" she stammered as she grabbed the injured mans feet and followed the uniformed officer.
" You ok girl? You need help or something too? I wouldn't have yelled at you if I'd known , you were just the closest person to me" he asked with a concerned voice.
" yeah.. yeah i'm fine. I just need to get back to.. to what I was doing." she answered as she turned from him.
She reached slowly , pushing the hair from her face and rubbing her temples.
The pain was everywhere. her head , face , arms , chest legs, her hands. She had to concentrate. She couldn't let it get in the way.
Where was Stasis.. was she ok? Erika? Mimi? her friends.... Cricket... Sam , Ves.. oh god where were they all? She knew the sirens had gone off. She knew people were rushing to shelters at the school.
There was no time for this. They were all ok. They were in the shelter she told herself. In the shelter where she should be now.
She searched faces as she healed the wounds . None she knew. Not yet. that was a good sign. It meant students were staying in the shelter, staying safe.
As she turned to the next patient she saw the face of a child. he was frightened and she could feel his fear along with his pain. He was crying and Kali knelt beside him attempting to soothe him .
In little more than a whisper she talked softly in his ear and her hands layed softly on the gash in his leg.
" shhh shhhh it's ok. My names Kali, I'm going to help you ok? "
As the wound closed under her palm she gently caressed his cheek with her other hand , still softly talking in his ear.
"shhhhh its ok baby... close your eyes , everything will be ok"
She stayed with him , singing words her mother had taught her during her last visit. The words were traditional , sung for generation after generation by her mothers people. Healing words. . Sung softly and methodically.
His breathing calmed. And this in turn helped Kali calm as well.
She let herself drift away with the words she sang. Focusing on the child she managed to forget everything else around her. This was her mistake.
The blast blew her several yards. She lay shocked for a moment, unsure of what had just happened.
As she rolled over to try and raise herself up she saw the boy she had been singing to.
His face was content. His eyes open , but she knew he was gone now.
" Don't move miss it's ok we got you." someone said behind her.
Hands were pulling at her, she could feel them tugging her , dragging her across the ground.
" Its gonna be ok. Hang on miss. "
She could hear them. but all she could see was the boys eyes.
"Shes hurt bad , someone get a medic! Theres shrapnel , shes not responding, , do you feel a pulse? Is she breathing?"
the words faded , the world faded.
Kali closed her eyes.
The invasion had been going on for days now. Would it ever stop? How could there be so many?
The chaos surrounding Kali was mind boggling for her. She wanted so much to help everyone she could and yet she felt as if she was pulled in 100 different directions at once.
The injured were pouring in. Some minor , some major, and some.. nothing would help now. It was too late and they were gone on to the journey to the next life.
She worked quickly but carefully. Lifting bandages to see what she could do and healing what she could. The pain she felt was overwhelming.
She couldnt let it stop her. Not now, there would be time later to take care of herself , for now it was these people she needed to worry about.
The room was a blur of faces. She could barely make out the voices anymore. It didn't matter who was who. They all needed something .
" Hey you! Yeah You!" a man yelled from across the courtyard. " Help me get this one out the way before hes worse would ya? "
He was dressed in a uniform. Kali should know the uniform , she knew she should. but her mind couldnt focus to place it.
" Y.. yeah.. yeah sure" she stammered as she grabbed the injured mans feet and followed the uniformed officer.
" You ok girl? You need help or something too? I wouldn't have yelled at you if I'd known , you were just the closest person to me" he asked with a concerned voice.
" yeah.. yeah i'm fine. I just need to get back to.. to what I was doing." she answered as she turned from him.
She reached slowly , pushing the hair from her face and rubbing her temples.
The pain was everywhere. her head , face , arms , chest legs, her hands. She had to concentrate. She couldn't let it get in the way.
Where was Stasis.. was she ok? Erika? Mimi? her friends.... Cricket... Sam , Ves.. oh god where were they all? She knew the sirens had gone off. She knew people were rushing to shelters at the school.
There was no time for this. They were all ok. They were in the shelter she told herself. In the shelter where she should be now.
She searched faces as she healed the wounds . None she knew. Not yet. that was a good sign. It meant students were staying in the shelter, staying safe.
As she turned to the next patient she saw the face of a child. he was frightened and she could feel his fear along with his pain. He was crying and Kali knelt beside him attempting to soothe him .
In little more than a whisper she talked softly in his ear and her hands layed softly on the gash in his leg.
" shhh shhhh it's ok. My names Kali, I'm going to help you ok? "
As the wound closed under her palm she gently caressed his cheek with her other hand , still softly talking in his ear.
"shhhhh its ok baby... close your eyes , everything will be ok"
She stayed with him , singing words her mother had taught her during her last visit. The words were traditional , sung for generation after generation by her mothers people. Healing words. . Sung softly and methodically.
His breathing calmed. And this in turn helped Kali calm as well.
She let herself drift away with the words she sang. Focusing on the child she managed to forget everything else around her. This was her mistake.
The blast blew her several yards. She lay shocked for a moment, unsure of what had just happened.
As she rolled over to try and raise herself up she saw the boy she had been singing to.
His face was content. His eyes open , but she knew he was gone now.
" Don't move miss it's ok we got you." someone said behind her.
Hands were pulling at her, she could feel them tugging her , dragging her across the ground.
" Its gonna be ok. Hang on miss. "
She could hear them. but all she could see was the boys eyes.
"Shes hurt bad , someone get a medic! Theres shrapnel , shes not responding, , do you feel a pulse? Is she breathing?"
the words faded , the world faded.
Kali closed her eyes.
“Stasis Kiss: Sometimes you just have to do something drastic and shake things around a little. ”
The sound of gunfire faded momentarily as the Vanguard squad finished mowing down the tiny alien creatures mercilessly. The surviving “monkeys” scurried away into blasted landscape of scorched concrete and twisted metal. The soldiers cheered, happy to celebrate even this small victory against the invaders.
Bryan lowered his gravity field, and breathed heavily. He hated admitting to himself, but he was scared and tired. He sat down on the hard concrete, his flexible metal bodysuit kept him from feeling the chill of the floor radiate into his body. He took this brief respite from the onslaught to try and clear his head.
He was unsure what day it was. The boy was going on his twelfth straight hour out in the field. Bryan had not seen or heard from any of his friends in the past six hours. Ironically enough, the last person he had run into that he knew was Shawn Falls, the kid who used to pick on him when he first came to Saint Joe’s. Everyone called him “Croc”, and now his lifeless body lay only fifty yards or so away from where Bryan sat right now.
Bryan had accidentally happened upon the stranded combatants nearly four hours ago, when he landed the Rikti were already breeching the fort’s walls. Shawn was a member of the Junior Vanguard, eager to get his hands dirty. Bryan didn’t know how the boy had ended up with this group of soldiers surrounded by Rikti.
Bryan had dropped down into the center of the surrounding low stone barricades. Many of the soldiers were injured but Shawn was laughing and howling as his claws cut through the armor and flesh of his foes. Bryan knew he needed to allow these men and women time to treat their comrades; he had concentrated and created a dense gravity field around all of the marooned soldiers and their defenses. The field forcibly repelled the hostile beings back away from the small group, preventing them from bringing their huge close combat blades to bear against the group. Croc wailed in utter rage as his prey was pushed away from him, he looked back over his shoulder at the newcomer to the fight. If looks could kill, the grimace of malice and hate he tossed towards Gravwarp would have struck him down instantly.
Shawn leapt over the wall and followed the aliens to the limits of the force bubble’s reach. Bryan tried to shield the crazed boy as best as he could while screaming and pleading for him to come back. Bryan locked as many of them down as he could but quickly Shawn became overwhelmed. Claws flashing until the last moment when the glowing blade of a Rikti Chief cut him down from behind.
Bryan could still see the horror of that moment. His eyes were closed and Shawn’s body was all that he could see. Part of him wanted to leap over that wall and help the boy; the other part knew it would have been suicide. If the aliens didn’t take his life, Shawn, whose blood lust had taken full control of his mind, would have cut him down. Gravwarp knew the Vanguard troops needed his protection, he knew that, but deep down he felt responsible for Shawn’s death.
A sudden clap on the shoulder made the young man jump. He stared up into the facemask of the Vanguard soldier that headed the squad. “Hey kid, what’s your name?” the Vanguard operative asked.
“Gravwarp.” The single word answer was uncharacteristic for the normally loquacious and cheerful young man.
The armored soldier sat down next to him. “Nah… I meant, what’s your real name?” The soldier took off his faceguard. Bryan was shocked to see the young face hat was revealed behind the intimidating headgear. The young woman that stared back at him was strikingly beautiful; most shockingly, she looked hardly much older than Bryan. She was likely nineteen, a most twenty, years old. Yet here she was in the middle of this nightmare with a rifle in hand, fighting for everyone and everything that was earth.
“My name’s Bryan.” He was too exhausted to attempt to put on a smile as would normally.
“I’m Sergeant Piper. Vanessa.” She stood up beside the young man. “Bryan, I’m sorry about your friend.” She said to him with genuine feeling. He looked up at her and chuckled, “He was once my bully.” The laugh was weak and trailed off quickly.
“You saved the lives of my team, Bryan. Thank you.” She laid her hand firmly on his shoulder and he smiled truly. He could feel his chest burn hot as the hero part of him began to take over. He stood from the cold concrete, standing beside the Sergeant and they looked around their position. Bryan’s visor began picking up the first hints of the scuttling creatures beginning to regain their courage.
“Ready team!” The woman shouted to those under her command. She replaced her face shield, her voice once again taking on the slightly robotic sound through the rebreather she wore.
“Are you ready, Gravwarp?” The sound of the Vanguard team reloading their weapons filled the masonry fortification. In response, Bryan threw a slightly glimmering shield around himself, as well as Vanessa and her team. He felt like he could fight throughout the night if he had to.
As the first swarm of the vicious little creatures began hopping and scurrying towards the bunker, Bryan finally replied…
“I was born ready.”
Bryan lowered his gravity field, and breathed heavily. He hated admitting to himself, but he was scared and tired. He sat down on the hard concrete, his flexible metal bodysuit kept him from feeling the chill of the floor radiate into his body. He took this brief respite from the onslaught to try and clear his head.
He was unsure what day it was. The boy was going on his twelfth straight hour out in the field. Bryan had not seen or heard from any of his friends in the past six hours. Ironically enough, the last person he had run into that he knew was Shawn Falls, the kid who used to pick on him when he first came to Saint Joe’s. Everyone called him “Croc”, and now his lifeless body lay only fifty yards or so away from where Bryan sat right now.
Bryan had accidentally happened upon the stranded combatants nearly four hours ago, when he landed the Rikti were already breeching the fort’s walls. Shawn was a member of the Junior Vanguard, eager to get his hands dirty. Bryan didn’t know how the boy had ended up with this group of soldiers surrounded by Rikti.
Bryan had dropped down into the center of the surrounding low stone barricades. Many of the soldiers were injured but Shawn was laughing and howling as his claws cut through the armor and flesh of his foes. Bryan knew he needed to allow these men and women time to treat their comrades; he had concentrated and created a dense gravity field around all of the marooned soldiers and their defenses. The field forcibly repelled the hostile beings back away from the small group, preventing them from bringing their huge close combat blades to bear against the group. Croc wailed in utter rage as his prey was pushed away from him, he looked back over his shoulder at the newcomer to the fight. If looks could kill, the grimace of malice and hate he tossed towards Gravwarp would have struck him down instantly.
Shawn leapt over the wall and followed the aliens to the limits of the force bubble’s reach. Bryan tried to shield the crazed boy as best as he could while screaming and pleading for him to come back. Bryan locked as many of them down as he could but quickly Shawn became overwhelmed. Claws flashing until the last moment when the glowing blade of a Rikti Chief cut him down from behind.
Bryan could still see the horror of that moment. His eyes were closed and Shawn’s body was all that he could see. Part of him wanted to leap over that wall and help the boy; the other part knew it would have been suicide. If the aliens didn’t take his life, Shawn, whose blood lust had taken full control of his mind, would have cut him down. Gravwarp knew the Vanguard troops needed his protection, he knew that, but deep down he felt responsible for Shawn’s death.
A sudden clap on the shoulder made the young man jump. He stared up into the facemask of the Vanguard soldier that headed the squad. “Hey kid, what’s your name?” the Vanguard operative asked.
“Gravwarp.” The single word answer was uncharacteristic for the normally loquacious and cheerful young man.
The armored soldier sat down next to him. “Nah… I meant, what’s your real name?” The soldier took off his faceguard. Bryan was shocked to see the young face hat was revealed behind the intimidating headgear. The young woman that stared back at him was strikingly beautiful; most shockingly, she looked hardly much older than Bryan. She was likely nineteen, a most twenty, years old. Yet here she was in the middle of this nightmare with a rifle in hand, fighting for everyone and everything that was earth.
“My name’s Bryan.” He was too exhausted to attempt to put on a smile as would normally.
“I’m Sergeant Piper. Vanessa.” She stood up beside the young man. “Bryan, I’m sorry about your friend.” She said to him with genuine feeling. He looked up at her and chuckled, “He was once my bully.” The laugh was weak and trailed off quickly.
“You saved the lives of my team, Bryan. Thank you.” She laid her hand firmly on his shoulder and he smiled truly. He could feel his chest burn hot as the hero part of him began to take over. He stood from the cold concrete, standing beside the Sergeant and they looked around their position. Bryan’s visor began picking up the first hints of the scuttling creatures beginning to regain their courage.
“Ready team!” The woman shouted to those under her command. She replaced her face shield, her voice once again taking on the slightly robotic sound through the rebreather she wore.
“Are you ready, Gravwarp?” The sound of the Vanguard team reloading their weapons filled the masonry fortification. In response, Bryan threw a slightly glimmering shield around himself, as well as Vanessa and her team. He felt like he could fight throughout the night if he had to.
As the first swarm of the vicious little creatures began hopping and scurrying towards the bunker, Bryan finally replied…
“I was born ready.”
Bryan Baxter (Codename: Gravwarp)
Gravity Control / Force Field / Fire Mastery
Global: @The Troll
Fight My Brute!
Gravity Control / Force Field / Fire Mastery
Global: @The Troll
Fight My Brute!