Heroes: The Road of Good Intentions

[LadyTevar]

Argent didn't hear the monk. All she could hear was the voice whispering inside her head, the voice that her strongest attempts at shielding was not blocking out. Nice of Blackheart to rush out like that, just leave you here on the floor. You could really be hurt, touching the Angel like that.

Argent's hands clutched her hair as she shook her head, silently screaming for the voice to get out of her head. Inside her mind, she was in a small circle of light, the voice emerging from the darkened fringes of her mind.
Why? Don't you want me here? You do need....

The voice broke off mid-sentence as the light around Argent seemed to expand, Tachyon's unique presence enfolding her mere seconds before his arms wrapped around her. She didn't hear his whispered question, but turned to hid her face against his chest, needing the silence and comfort he could give her.

.... can't (can't... can't... cant) ... hide for ... (hide .. hide.. for)...ever It was a far-off cry, echoing faintly from the darkness that still stood at the edges of her mind. She clutched Tachy tightly, shivering, knowing what she had to do.

"Shield yourself from me," she whispered against his chest, barely loud enough for him to hear. "Please, Elias, block me out ... I can't keep him out.... Protect Yourself..." The last was nearly wailed, as she faded into shadows, leaving him empty-armed as she fled away blindly to the darkest shadows she could find on the same floor.

The light in her mind faded with the distance she put between them. The darkness grew.

... my my... could the little half-demon actually love him, hmm?

[SirNitram]

"....Son of a...." Gravitas snapped, bringing his switchblade up. "It's getting into her head. Tachyon, Blackheart, Legacies, stand by for attackers." And thus the godling without powers rushed after the fleeing woman, gripping the simple blade, armed with only it and his intellect, protected only by the energized eufiber-mesh of his suit. Granted, it was tougher than anything shorter than an anti-Nova powersuit, but this world was too different, and this mission full of entirely non-Nova threats, to rely on that.

[Cynical Cat]

Psionic attack. Well, that explained Argent going to pieces. "I'm really looking forward to hitting someone very hard," said Blackheart.

[B4UTRUST]

In what amounted to one of those ask and thou shalt recieve moments of life, doors opened and booted footsteps echoed in the hallway. From the rooms emerged more and more armed and armored men, wielding high-calbre assault rifles and other gear that spoke of either government or black market connections.

With a cold, emptiness they raised their weapons as one once they were in view of the team and opened fire, armor piercing rounds penetrating into the rock walls and structure around them where they missed. The reason why they hadn't been detected by Argent's empathy was quickly apparenty by the dead blank look in their eyes. The lights were on, but there was absolutely nobody home there. No flicker of higher conciousness, twitches of emotion or feeling, just empty husks following some programming. A highly efficent programming that made them seemingly operate as one.

[frigidmagi]

Bullets impacted on Blast's shield and fell to the floor with no effect. He should open fire, but... the attackers were human weren't they?

"Blackheart, if I hit them, they're dead. Can I?" He asked.

[Charon]

Legacies laughed, it was... creepy, creepier than he usually was. "Boy, they are already dead, come they have offered us a sacrifice."

Tendrils reached around to pick up a few of the fire extinguishers. Legacies had recognized those as armor piercers, they would punch right through him if he went out there, but that's what the shields were for. Pulling back hard, Legacies was still grinning as he released, throwing a few of the fire extinguishers into the ranks of soldiers with all of his might.

[SirNitram]

Moving to cover Argent, Gravitas closed his eyes and braced. A few hours ago, this would have been a sad, pathetic attempt, but now, there was danger. Bullets designed to tear through armour slammed into his three peice, the quantum energies strengthening it causing them to fail to penetrate. Unfortunately, momentum was conserved, pummelling the Nova's insides as he gritted his teeth. Thankfully, even fully powered down, his flesh was ridiculously resilient. The few bullets that pierced skin didn't do much damage, but did cause quite alot of pain.

The gravitational control he could still access was numbingly little. That said, it was there. The switchblade was thrown, guided, and implanted itself into the forehead of one of the dead-minded men. "Do not hesitate." He murmured, despite his own hesitation.

[Cynical Cat]

The bullets ripped through Blackheart's clothes, but failed to penetrate his flesh. Blue-white beams flashed from Blackheart's eyes. The beams swept across the room at chest level, their touch turning metal and plastic into vapor and flesh into charred ruin. The bodies slid to the floor.

Blackheart stepped forward. "Next," he said in a voice that contained not a hint of mercy.

[B4UTRUST]

Blackheart's statements seemed to be like tiny omens, spoken bearers of bad news and ill fortune.

More of the mindless cold drones filed out of the room, more bullets flew through the air.

Interspersed amongst them this time were faint shimmers, moving rapidly, avoiding the scything gaze of Blackheart. As the clones fell the shimmers moved forward, bringing them closer to melee range.

The blurs were visable for a split second, revealing female forms carrying metal staffs with brilliant green blades made of some apparently sort of shaped energy. The heat given off by the blades was scorching, even at a distance.

The blurs danced closer, ducking and dodging as they got into range and attacked.

[SirNitram]

Gravitas smiled as he saw the blurs.. And shut his eyes.

The eyes were lying.
Don't trust them.
Trust the perfect moment...
And break their goddamn wrist.

He knew where the female figures were. As one rushed to the attack, he stepped, slid, and grabbed the hilt. His hand didn't look it, but even powered down, his strength was like a vise. "Thanks. I'll need a weapon." Bone snapped and he brought up the weapon. "Jeez..." He grinned as he swung the energy blade through the disarmed female. "I'm glad I got one of these before they sent anything bigger. It looks pretty good." The heat didn't seem to bother him, and he advanced into the fray.

[Charon]

Legacies laughed again, his body tracking the movements and sounds of these so called invisible threats. Tendrils lashed out at speeds approaching mach, blades sharp enough to cut into concrete reaching out in massive hands. Some of his targets managed to attack back, severing one or two of the blades but Legacies was too fast, the giant blades often being used in a clapping motion, splattering the blood and organs of the creatures everywhere.

"Bah! Maybe they hope to drown us in blood! If so they will be dissappointed!"

Another figure hopped over the shield that Blast had erected and Legacies speared her in the air, the spine of silver throwing the woman back into the ranks of the dead before it spread out, splitting her in two along the waist.

[Cynical Cat]

Blackheart couldn't scythe through the field of blurs without hitting his friends and even then he might still miss his targets. Instead he limited himself to tracking one while Legacies killed.

The blur was coming toward him. He fired just in front of it and then scythed the beam into the woman-blur. She leapt it, but that commited her. Blackheart killed the beam and fired again, striking her before she landed and reducing her torso to char.

He had, however, left himself open to another's strike. He barely got his arm up and in position to block at the polearm sliced at his throat. The energy field blackened and burned a strip of flesh on his left forearm.

The woman was faster than Blackheart, but not fast enough. He caught the shaft of the weapon before she could strike again. His free hand struck at her throat and strenum, sending her gasping to the floor and leaving her weapon in Blackheart's hand. He stomped on her chest. Ribs cracked like glass. He spun the polearm and looked for another target.

[frigidmagi]

Blast couldn't really track the enemy, moving his fist from side to side trying for a good shot. Of course all good things come to those who wait. A blade slammed into his shield, phased through it and... did nothing to Blast as he absorbed it without trying. The women paused at that, visibly confused. Blast fired.

He poured to much energy into his attack, a sun bright torrent of plasma tearing through his attacker, the mind dead thugs behind her and through the wall behind them. A ruler straight path of annihilation ripped through everything in front him. Blast winced as he saw the effects.

"Oh Boy..." So much for control.

[LadyTevar]

How nice, they're so worried about you they'll take bullets for you. Whatever did you do to deserve that kind of treatment, hmm? After all, you've not slept with Gravitas.

Shutup shutup shutup...

Sorry, not going to happen. After all, I rather like it here.

GetOutOfMyHead! GetOutGetOUTGETOUT!

Screaming about it won't help, my dear. You'll just have to get used to me.

[Hotfoot]

Hotfoot watched the scene unfold and cursed under his breath. Things were happening at roughly his speed now, and heating up nicely. His shield burned brightly as the attackers neared.

Speed was not the only weapon in Hotfoot's arsenal, but it was by far the most potent. He danced between the blurs, his fists and feet meeting resistance he had only ever felt once before, and even then only for a moment. Were it easily visible through the distortion of his plasma shield, some of his sharper allies might see the cones of compressed air around his kicks and punches, not quite fast enough to break the sound barrier, but just on the edge. When facing other speedsters, ones with weapons especially, any extra speed he could eke out would be necessary, and the last few days, while not spent researching, had been spent testing the limits of his powers.

Before long, the young gymnast began bouncing around the limited fighting space, always being careful to watch the energy throwers between breathes. If he had learned anything, it was to stay the hell out of Blast's way when he got going, and if it looked like he was about to fire, it was time to move. More than once he assisted some of the blasters by knocking an enemy into the line of fire and using the momentum to get himself out of the danger zone.

And something inside him felt right with the world, even as he moved from safer blows that would merely knock out a normal human to blows that would almost certainly kill the people he would normally protect.

[Bloody Good]

When the bullets started flying, Hector had just enough time to duck. He dropped like a marionette with its strings cut. Finally getting a good idea of what he was partnered with, he watched as the energy passing over him carved, burned, and generally annihilated everything. Staying low, he hammered his fingertips into the floor. Chips of stone flew as he made handholds for himself, and by the time they hit the ground again, he had moved. One pull sent him flying across the floor, arms spread wide. Either the half-visible attackers weren't looking down, or they just didn't expect such an odd attack, but he clipped one.

"There you are." His hands moved fast. Hector grabbed a translucent ankle and swung it's owner in an overhead arc, smashing the scythe-wielder into the ground hard enough to shatter the smooth rock. Here's hoping they aren't too durable. Hector could feel his skin starting to tighten under the heat the way your skin will when you start getting a bad sunburn. He did not want to get cut up, even if the likely possibility of cauterized flesh did mean he wouldn't bleed. One more swing, just to be sure.

His selected target was still invisible, but the condition of the floor at the second impact site threw serious doubt on her/its odds of survival. Done, he threw the body through a space he though might contain another one, and tried to listen for a collision.

[Marcao]

Something was different.

His senses were keen enough that the sense of something being amiss was almost instant when Argent swallowed them into the shadows. It was the disturbing and familiar gibbering at the edge of his perception, the absence of those sounds that first caught his attention. For a moment, a fraction of a second he had been relieved by the absence but his curiousity was quickly piqued. Why was the sound missing? It had been present before. His head turned, his eyes seeking and coming to rest on the second light about them. He wasn’t sure if that meant anything at all but his body responded, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

Further thoughts on the matter were dispelled when the darkness receded and they were deposited in their destination. His power flared within him as he prepared to contend with any threats and yet his attention was elsewhere. His eyes catching sight of Argent as she huddled on the floor concern immediately flooding from him through their link. The rational part of him demanded that he concern himself with their immediate situation and their overall objectives. The man within disregarded those thoughts and focused on the need of his lover, a woman that in a small amount of time had managed to earn a place within his heart deeper than most had ever reached.

He moved towards her and kneeled, his arms seeking and finding her before they gently wrapped around her. He had made her a promise. She did not look at him and in that simple gesture told him all that he needed to know. Even when she had revealed to him the true potential of her powers in the parking lot of that mall she had the courage to look at him. That something was wrong was no longer a question, he could feel it tenuously through their link like a host of invisible spiders gliding through silken webs. He did not know how to help her however and that was perhaps the most frustrating thing of all.

She either did not hear him or chose to ignore his words. He hesitated for a moment before he simply held her, aware that perhaps this was the best way to help her. She shivered against him, his left hand brushing gently against the back of her head. There was a struggle occurring, something that he could not truly understand but was nonetheless occurring. His lips parted, words about to form when her muffled whispered made its way to his ears. Her words shocked him, but before he could offer a meaningful response she wailed and fled from him. He watched her go, standing and preparing to move after her when she disappeared from his sight as if swallowed up by the very shadows about them.

His feet left the ground as he found himself hovering, his mind already reaching out he knew where he wanted to go. He could take himself there in a heartbeat. He would find her. Gravitas spoke and his words anchored him in place.

“It’s getting into her head. Tachyon, Blackheart, Legacies, stand by for attackers.â€

[LadyTevar]

Li Na had fled as far as she could, the ambient lighting in this maze of cubical hell left few shadows to flee within. A great shudder racked her body, and she fell out of darkness, a conveniently placed chair barely catching her as she fell from the ceiling. The pain in her ribs was nothing -- her focus was within.

Running will not stop me, my dear. You could run to the darkest depths, and I will still be with you. I'm part of you now.

One by one, all over the city that embodied Li Na's mindscape the streetlights were relighting themselves, a garish fitful glare unlike the soft glow around where she 'stood', protecting the links to her teammates.
No. You are not me. You are Nothing like me!

Now now, don't be hateful. It's bad for you ... as well as your friends. You are only hurting them like that.

Shut UP! GET OUT!
The glow spread out, trying to regain some of the ground lost. Darkened streetlights flickered, a mute testiment to the battle for control, the soft lights vying against the garish neon glow for the sections in between.

Poor girl... you have no chance, you know....

Slumped in the chair, Argent's eyes opened, and her right hand twitched. Slowly, her head tilted to the side as the right hand rose, fingers stretching and curling, fisting then opening, wiggling and bending. The clear brown eyes watched in amusement, lips smiling gleefully like a child discovering just how the hand can be manipulated and twisted.

[quote="Tachyon"]“I am coming Li Na.â€

[B4UTRUST]

The broken and dismembered bodies of the defense force was not done with the heroes yet. The bodies began to tug themselves back together, the different parts seemingly reattaching themselves to make whole people once more. Blood and gore still poured from them. With the same lack of emotion or expression as before they turned their weapons once more on the team, firing every gun they had available. They advanced on the team once more in that same precision lockstep that would make a military honorguard unit proud.

The cameras placed at intervals turned as someone kept track of the battle.

[SirNitram]

"Re-animation." Gravitas sighed quietly. "We'll need to waste power vaporizing them just to keep them down." He grunted, driving the stolen weapon through one of the reassembling, shambling things. "Oh, for the days of stupid opponents.."

[frigidmagi]

Blast stepped forward.

"I got it." He said as he raised a fist at the advancing corpses. He took a deep breath and pushed.

A river of burning light leapt from his fist and smashed into the enemy, burning them into cinders where they stood. He moved his fist back and forth grimly, making sure to get them all.

[Charon]

Legacies stepped back at the immense heat from Blast's attack, wincing visibly. The silver figure then noticed the moving cameras, and tendrils lashed out, smashing those that he could see.

[B4UTRUST]

Blast's arm was jerked strongly against his will as the beam of destruction scoured the walls and brushed against Legacies.
"Tsk, tsk," came an admonishing voice as a caucasian male stepped out of one of the offices. He was dressed in what would be business dress for a corporate mid-level manager. His hair was slicked back and his tie was carefully knotted. With a glance towards the body parts that still stood smoldering and burning, they dropped, some with a rather wet splat.
"Reanimation? How droll."

With that several of the pushpins holding memos and notices to the bulletin boards in the hallway pulled away from the cork and flew at high speeds towards Gravitas.
"Now, then. I suggest you all leave before this gets too rough for you. We don't want a bigger mess then you've already made to clean up."

The teams' bodies felt like they were being grabbed by unseen hands as those who had displayed projectile powers were turned towards their own teammates, removing the man from their line of fire.

-----------

Up above:

Trickles of water began to run down the figure's body, puddling below in an evergrowing pool. The drip drip drip of water was slowly increasing in speed.

[SirNitram]

"Inanimate objects, who had once been animate, are animate again. Re-animation. It's called English." Gravitas said calmly as he looked at the manager. "Your boss is expecting us. I would suggest we skip the hordes of cannon fodder; it really isn't worth anyone's time."

The pushpins were bouncing off the eufiber, failing to penetrate. The areas not protected so were... Well, it'd be painful.

[B4UTRUST]

"Oh, I don't know. It surely amuses me, to some degree. My boss, yes, I suppose that's a good enough description. Though I don't believe he's exactly extending a red carpet for your welcome, take that as you will. I think that he would probably prefer you all left."