The Glitch V: Taste of Fear (Episode 1)

[General Havoc]

Ramza had been right all along. He should have brought a weapon, whether or not he knew how to use one.

This was happening, whether Gregory cared for it or not. He could tell that much. Accordingly he didn't object, nor did he resist. In fact, he did the exact opposite. When Matt grabbed him by his shirt and dragged him towards an alley, Gregory simply went catatonic again.

Instantly he was floating above the scene, watching the Berserker carrying him towards a set of alley ways. Sixteen different possibilities for what might happen when they got there entered his head, each more lurid and horrible than the last, but he dismissed them all with an act of will. Taken back from the scene, his mind cleared. He could not feel the hands at his throat or the rush of the air moving past. It was all happening to someone else.

His consciousness followed the Berserker, tethered to his body like a helium balloon, and as it did, he invoked Protection on himself. It was a calculated risk, Protection might well have suddenly encased him in plate armor again, or turned his skin into steel, further aggravating the situation, but he would be damned if he let himself get kidnapped by a man with a history of violent mental disturbances with no defense whatsoever.

Fortunately, the Gods of Gaming were kind this time, and the protection took the form of a skin-tight forcefield that hindered things not in the slightest. With the forcefield in-place, Gregory mentally prepared Confusion. The target was obvious, but he did not let it loose yet. Confusion was a useful little tool, but not exactly foolproof. If it became necessary to use it, he would need to wait for exactly the right moment.

Thus prepared, he followed in silence as the Berserker took him to wherever the hell they were going.

[Charon]

Matt felt Greg go slump and figured that he'd passed out again. "Greg. If you can hear me. I need a way to get us out of here. You can see the battlefield right? Well I'm gonna need to know where the police are so we can avoid them. And the best way back to Old Town. Think you can handle that?"

[B4UTRUST]

Poe glanced around at everyone else, not quite comprehending why they decided it was best to have this argument here and now instead of getting to the later and away stage of this.

When the Berserker grabbed the kid and took off running it made things a bit easier to deal with.
"Yes, alright. Now that that's dealt with I'm getting in my car and driving away before the cops get here. I suggest strongly that we all do the same. Malk, lets get the hell out of here. Anyone else who needs a ride move."

James turned, keys pulled out of his pocket and headed straight for his car, hitting the keyfob to unlock the doors before he even got there. Now if only he could get someone to install the remote start and control systems that Bond fellow always had on his rigs...

He made it to the driver's door and jerked it open, pausing for a second to glance back to make sure the others were coming before climbing in and jamming the key in the ignition and turning it over. The engine kicked over and started up.

[SirNitram]

Malkamar slid into the back seat where he had already done the damage. "Definitely need to have my steed moved up here... I don't think this is sustainable."

[B4UTRUST]

"Yeah, I don't think the suspension was designed for this situation. But we can deal with that once we're not having to worry about a rioting crowd or police. Besides, I need a new car anyway.."

[Dark Silver]

Even as the group were sorting themselves, the first police units had begun to arrive. Considering the sounds of a potential riots, "living" personnel had been kept back, and considering the source, the appropriate response was calculated, alerted and deployed.

In a spot which suddenly cleared in the crowd, not far from the location of the cars, and Matt's quickly fleeing form, a group of three forms appeared, forming out of a stream of multi-colored energy and light.

The three things were slightly larger than man-sized, their bodies where very much human shaped, their left arm holding what looked like a metal riot-shield, their lower right arm bulged outward, though it tapered off to a human-like hand. Their bodies were painted primarily in green, though they wore the decorations of the Crystal City Police Department Fast Response and Tactics (F.R.A.T.) Team - and the police symbol was apparent on their shields. The helmets though, where the dead give away. Rounded and human shaped, the singular, glowing red eye in the "eye slit" gave away their identities immediately.

Sniper Joe Reploids - government created Police robots capable of making their own decisions.

"Halt, in the name of the Law," came the slightly metallic voice of the lead Sniper Joe, even as it saw Matt run away with the still beclothed Gregory. It's right arm raised, the hand sliding away into the bulge, revealing it to be the muzzle of a energy weapon. The other two Sniper's moved to start calming the crowd, even as it started to move after the fleeing duo, a single blast of it's arm cannon blowing a chunk of permacrete from the walk-way just behind Matthew.

[General Havoc]

Matt sounded reasonable enough, but frankly, Gregory wasn't in any mood to take this on faith. He was prepared to hold off engaging what defenses he had until the situation clarified somewhat, but he wasn't certain that extended to directing Matt away from the police, when the police might be the only ones who prevented an untimely result.

"I'll see what I can - "

BLAM!

An energy blast from behind them took out a section of concrete, as the police reploids that had materialized moments earlier opened fire. Instantly, everything he had been building towards was thrown out the window, and he was in a whole different ballgame.

"Three behind," he called out to Matt telepathically, his voice more frightened than he would have preferred it. "They're shooting at us!" He stopped himself, forcing his mind back into the mode of a commander, detached from the reality of the situation. Just a game... just a game...

"Right at the end of the Alley, straight down and second left," he called out, sounding, if not calm, at least calmer. "It's still clear. I'll slow them down."

His vision zoomed back out and over to the Reploid that had just fired at them, now chasing them down with robotically-derived speed. He lined up his perspective on the police reploid.

CONFUSION

The intervention manifested as a massive sensor jam, as though the reploid had just run smack into a wall of EM interference. Instantly, every single one of the delicate sensory apparatuses that the reploid relied on to track its prey went absolutely haywire, feeding bogus data all across every spectrum. No specific thing had caused this, no jamming signal or magical spell or telemechanic interference source. It simply happened.

Hopefully it would give them enough time to get away.

[LadyTevar]

LizBet was still inside Uncle Jack's vehicle when the police showed up. For the moment she was out of sight, unrecognized. She decided sitting still and keeping quiet was the best way to keep unrecognized.

Then the shooting started. "UNCLE JACK!!"

[Charon]

Matt actually laughed at the panic in Greg's voice as he spoke in his mind, ducking low again. "Yeah, they do that when you run from 'em."

Matt didn't say anything else yet though, he just followed the directions that Greg gave him, taking it for granted that Greg's own survival instincts would steer them the right way and he wouldn't get them caught.

[frigidmagi]

Jeremy had no idea what he was looking at as they drove away. Then he saw the laser.

"Shit!" He swore.

[Dark Silver]

The two Sniper Joe's went into crowd control, instantly bringing the crowd in order....or as instantly as could be done with 2 hyper-intelligent Reploids fighting a crowd of milling, panicking Biologicals.

The third, meanwhile, took to pursuing Matt and Greggory in it's own way - reploid legs of synthetic sinew and gears picking up speed, as it's the gun-cannon sought to train a wounding shot on Matt's lower anatomy. It seemed to realize at the last moment, that a lethal blast of photonic energy would not be a viable way to take the prisoner alive, and instead, switched containment options.

"Weapon Cycle - photon blaster, stun mode...active."

The weapon fired again, several times, each time missing, Matt and striking permacrete pavement, instead of instantly blasting a fist sized hole in the material, the energy was absorbed, and radiated outward, the impact spot left cherry red from the transferred energy blast.

[Charon]

Matt didn't look back, that would have just left him running with no idea where he was heading. He just had to hope his luck would last long enough to get him out of sight of the robot on his tail. At least it seemed to have switched to something less lethal, as the lack of bits of blazing hot permacrete implied. The question was how many he could take. He was willing to bet it wouldn't be good to even take one so he just kept ducking, weaving, and running as fast as he could.

[Dark Silver]

And as such, with his legs picking up speed, and guided by Greggory, that Matt the Berserker rushed back into Old Town.

The Sniper Joe on their tails slowed as it approached the border that seperated the gleaming and bright Megatropolis from the grungy dimness of Old Town, even this close to the edge. It stopped immediately once it hit the "border" of the two districts, more commonly known as Imperious Avenue. A large cat crossed the road as the Sniper Joe waited, sending back it's report to M.O.M. - "Subject departed Megatropolis. Requesting New Orders."

The orders were relayed moments, later, electrons buzzing in the Sniper's Cortical Nodes, before it's form seemed to stretch upwards, and disappear in the Police Trans-Mat system.

------------

Ravenmore Detective Agency
One Hour Later

it had been a hour since the disturbance in Megatropolis, and after a few phonecalls, it was decided. All three groups would meet back at Poe's office - where there would be less chance of anyone's powers able to backfire on the group as a whole and bring the officials down on them in a way that was worse than Police Reploids.

[Charon]

Matt had been quiet since they got back into Old Town. Letting Greg simmer in the silence of his disapproval for quite awhile to loosen him up before he finally spoke. "This is where you tell me everything about your powers, and your weaknesses. Don't think I haven't noticed that limp."

[General Havoc]

Well it wasn't like he was expecting some other kind of conversation.

"Is this where you tell me the same thing?" asked Gregory. He hadn't realized the limp was still that obvious, but then this was the Berserker. He doubted much escaped him.

Or maybe it was obvious...

"I've got Vrollik's Syndrome," he said, as calmly as though discussing the weather. "Or at least I had it back before I came here. I guess I still do. It's the same thing Joker from the Normandy has, if you know him."

He declined, at this point, to explain what Vrollik's Syndrome was.

"I can go into a clairvoyant trance, and... see everything going on in a group that I'm supposed to be commanding. Doesn't matter how big or how spread out. I can see what they're doing, and what's around them, and talk to them to give them directions. And I can... step in, sort of. I call it 'intervening'. I can disable their enemies and help protect them. But while I'm doing all that... I'm in a trance. It looks like I'm asleep, I guess. I can't move or anything. And when I wake up... it... puts me in another uniform. I don't get to choose, something... else... chooses for me. I guess it depends on who I'm fighting, but I can't control it, not reliably at least."

He stopped and looked back up at the Berserker.

"Look, I get that this is as weird to you as it is to me, and that none of us were planning on getting into this. But whatever's going on, they wanted me to be involved. I can't fight, not with guns or swords or whatever, I don't know how to use them and I'd probably break my arm if I tried to learn. But I've learned from the best commanders in the Metaverse. I've commanded starfleets, legions, armies of space marines. I've had troops under my command beat armies four times their own size. I know I probably don't look like it to you, but I'm very good at what I do."

"I don't win fights. I decide who does. And if you want me to decide that you should win instead of whoever's behind all this, then I need to know everything about you that I just told you about me, and I need you to stop dragging me off at gunpoint and then acting like I'm grounded."

[SirNitram]

"Not too wierd. I mean, I'm dead. That's pretty weird, probably worse than this syndrome, which I expect some warnings about. Especially if your immune system is compromised."

[frigidmagi]

"Okay, how about we back up and explain this powers thing to me? Or more importantly, what were those things? Where did they come from and what the fuck just happened?" Jeremy asked.

[B4UTRUST]

"They were Sniper Joes. Reploids. Basically from what I know they're mass produced robots that are used in Crystal City for dealing with things that your normal average people can't. Things like us. Ascended, people with powers, however you want to look at it. People saw the kid over there as The Master and went crazy. They were sent in as a force response to the situation. There's some sort of central system that controls them and is able to more or less teleport them where they're needed. But they stay out of Old Town most of the time.

"As for the powers? Most people referred to as Ascended have something going for them, even if it's nothing more than being a bit more of a badass than they were in the real world. Prime example is our berserker friend over there. Not a clue what his power set is but if you read the history books in this place he was quite the badass during the last war. The Death Knight can do stuff with the dead, Jack over there, from what I know is The Alchemist. Transmutation of one substance to another, changing things if my understanding of it from research is right?" Poe said this last bit as a question, directed in Jack's general direction.

"Since we're all sharing, I even up the odds in a fight."

[frigidmagi]

"Okay, I'm assuming this master guy was heap bad medicine. Is he around? Should we put him on the list? Or is he ancient history?" Jeremy asked.

[B4UTRUST]

"Ask those two," Poe said, indicating his head towards Matt and Jack. "They fought him."

[Charon]

"The Master and the Glitch are one and the same... mostly. Glitch is supposed to be dead, we were there when it all went down." Matt nodded to Jack at that point. "But he's been assumed to be dead before and I'm not conceited enough to think I'm among the ones that finally really brought him down. Either way this all seems really small time for something like him to get involved in even if he is still alive. Glitch deals in destroying worlds, not murdering kids in interesting ways."

Matt frowned a bit. "As for what I can do. I'm an archtype. Took my powers directly from a rather obscure figure, name of Gutts. If it shoots, swings, bludgeons, stabs, or inflicts harm in one way or another I'm good with it. Other than that, most of the really scary stuff I can do comes from my weapons or armor. Before you ask, the Berserker armor and the Dragon Slayer are gone and I don't know where they are." The statement was directed more at those who knew his history.

[SirNitram]

"As far as I know.. I'm not an Ascended. I only know this universe, and the last thing I knew before things got stable was fighting the Lich King and his Null-Undead." Malkamar explained. "But yea. The dead and disease, along with various nasty types of unholy energy. My axe helps alot though, when I have to fight."

[LadyTevar]

"I was born here, to two Ascended," LizBet added quietly. "Albert and Liandra, who helped Uncle Jack and Matt defeat the Glitch. I'm a mimic, like my dad."

[Agent Fisher]

Jack over there, from what I know is The Alchemist. Transmutation of one substance to another, changing things if my understanding of it from research is right?" Poe said this last bit as a question, directed in Jack's general direction"

Jack looked over at Poe at the question. "Partly. I could change your desk into, say, a chair, or a slap of metal. I can do other things with it, change the state of objects, melt wood, boil water while it's still inside someone." He said.

"And Matt's right, Glitch is too big-time for these murders." Jack looked to Lizbet. "You've also got their abilities to cause trouble." He said with a half smile.

[B4UTRUST]

"Alright, well we've ruled out the Glitch at this point. That's a start, I suppose. I guess at this point we should sit down and share what we all know about whats going on. I think you'll understand why I was a bit ...hesitant about dealing with you, Jack. Especially when you showed up with The Beserker."