Heroes: The Road of Good Intentions

[Charon]

Legacies' light arrows struck the mammoth beast and faded, leaving obvious signs of the body being pierced as tiny drops of blood began to flow. It seemingly ignored this damage, viewing it as minor or even negligible. Another of the creatures surrounding it was crushed beneath its feet as it advanced ceaselessly. It grabbed one of the beastmen that attempted to claw its way up the giant's leg and slammed it into the rough wall next to it. The body was embeded into the stone in a nice, neat hole.

With a kick of its leg it send a couple of the less attentive horde members flying towards Legacies.

Legacies' tendrils lashed out, either tearing the horde members apart before they got even close or shoving them out of the way if he could not do that. Legacies quickly went through what information he had about the creature... not a lot. Then with barely a second thought the silver figure leapt into action. Closing the distance between itself and the hulking behemoth in moments. Tendrils lashed out, razor sharp edges hoping to dig into the beasts flesh and bone. Then hold tight as Legacies would attempt to throw the creature around, into the walls and the ceiling, to either slow it down in a cave in or weaken in from the blows.

[SirNitram]

"And they call me arrogant..." Gravitas spoke after a moment, pulling splinters of stone from his skin. Weakened as he was, he had had to focus on remaining alive despite injuries that should have been instantly fatal to a human.

"He sweeps in with no explanation, no answers. He demands aid. And when we reach here.. He insists we leave. Holy power alone backs his words; no guarantees beyond faith that he might serve a Divinity as good as claimed. Not even I demand that kind of blind trust, and I have oft been criticized for my arrogance and presumption."

A shrug. "Matters little. This has gotten a little too hot for me to handle. Other timelines require intervention, ones with less meddling Powers. Ones where I can show my face. Do we depart this place or stay until the last battle, is all the question that remains. And the answer is as simple as whether you trust one claiming to be an archangel."

[Bloody Good]

"He says go, we go. As much as I'd love to keep fighting the Good Fight, I have someone waiting for me." Coated in gore from the knees down from his Beowulf impersonation and splattered all over with the evidence of the long, bloody day, Hector shrugged. "Theological rules are very strange. I suggest not dwelling on it too much. It'll give you migranes. Hold still."

Hector lent his shoulder for Gravitas to lean on. Lightly placing his hand on the battered Nova, a brief light flashed from between Hector's meaty hand and Gravitas, as though the monk had palmed a flashbulb. The tactile feel was oddly similar, a sensation so brief that one might question if it had even been real, if not for the obvious effects. The wounds visible on Gravitas simply went away. If anyone in the group had possessed X-ray vision, they could confirm that the wounds hidden from view followed suit, but no one did, so only two people knew. "Fraid I can't make you any less tired, but at least you won't bleed out now. Let's get out of here while we still can, huh?"

[LadyTevar]

Li Na. Come back to us.
The thought was pushed through their link, against the current of emotion that was flooding the link. He hoped a part of it reached her.
Come back to me.

It was a whisper, almost drowned out by the howling pain she was pulling from Blackheart, yet Argent felt it like a calmness amongst the storm.
Yet she couldn't reply. Unlike her shadow powers, her Empathy could not be split into separate touches. Touch Elias now, she'd lose the control over the hordes; control that had them nearly helpless as multiple shadow tendrils lashed and sliced and killed them by twos and threes in the blood-slicked hallway.

But twos and threes do little when there are dozens behind them, and Legacies in front, out of sight. Ironically, she could see shadows on the far wall now, and knew she was seeing a reflection of the fight, and yet was unable to jump to it. Jumping into the fight would leave the horde free to continue to the elevator shaft and down to the team below. She couldn't jump to Legacies side, she couldn't jump backwards. There was just the line she'd drawn here, in the bodies of the monstrous horde -- This Far, and No Further -- and it trapped her even as it did them.

[B4UTRUST]

Legacies barbs penetrated the behemoth and plunged far into it. It howled in rage and pain, ripping free time and time again only to be skewered by the symbiotic tendrils. Blood poured freely from each hole. Its movements seemed to slow as the blood continued to flow.

It bellowed as its fists carved runnels in the walls, scooping out chunks of stone and flinging them towards Legacies.

The attempts to pick it up met with much resistance, its massive size and weight keeping it in place.

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

The legion that sought to move against Argent began to diminish, their number falling from uncountable to a trickle. Soon the horde would fall and cease to rise. The floor around the bodies was past ankle deep in blood and rising.

[Cynical Cat]

Blackheart slowly regained his feet, blood streaming from his ruined sockets. He cocked his head, searching the air around him with other senses. Blood trickled between his lips. He took and step and almost fell over as he tripped on an armoured corpse. Blackheart steadied himself with his flight powers.

"I cannot see," he said slowly, "but that will pass. Guide me." Hard determination mixed with ancient predatory malice. There was no fear. Pain could be endured. Weakness would pass.

[frigidmagi]

"Okay Boss, just try not to flip out when I touch your shoulder." Blast says reaching out and grabbing Blackheart's shoulder to steer him with. Blast was at the dregs of his power, no telling when his sheild would fall, and so planned to stay behind the tank tough meta.

Blast's hand landed on Blackheart's shoulder and Blast sensed power, alot of it and it flooded into him.

[Cynical Cat]

Power began to bleed away from Blackheart. Ancient memories and hard wired instincts told him he was under attack, that he needed to cut off the power bleed and strike back. He suppressed them. It was Blast, his friend, charging up so he could defend them all. Tension drained away and power flowed freely.

[Charon]

Legacies and the monster roared at each other in tandem as the creature used it's superior bulk to pull hard on the tendrils that Legacies had lashed it with. The silver figure was thrown forward, hurtling towards the impossible behemoth.

It could have stopped itself easily enough by lashing out tendrils into the walls to support itself but in a quick decision the silver figure that was both man and something far beyond that decided on something else. A razor thin blade formed in one hand, swinging with wild abandon and cutting deeply into the ligaments of the creature's jaw. Then a split second later the silver figure flew halfway into the creatures mouth, shoving hard against the roof and lower jaw to make room for itself.

There was a split second where everything seemed to pause as the monster realized what had happened and Legacies prepared himself for his next action. Then they both moved in tandem. The massive creatures arms lifted up and grabbed at Legacies' legs, crushing them in their powerful grasp as he closed his jaws as powerfully as he could. Normally this would have been enough pressure to snap the symbiote in half, but with some torn ligaments the bite was much weaker. Allowing Legacies to live long enough to strike past the pain. The flowing silver symbiote launched out, one drill-like tendril drilling up through the soft roof of the creatures mouth and tearing it's brain apart while more of itself shoved itself down the creature's throat, tearing the asophagus to ribbons as it forced it's way down into the creatures belly. The tendril was filled with spikes already, which caused massive internal damage. but then it began to spin at an insane rate, pureeing the insides of the creature as though they had been put through a blender.

With it's dying gasp the creature brought it's jaws down as second time, crushing Legacies' own internal organs to a pulp as it tore the symbiote out of his mouth, ripping one of the silver figure's legs off. The giant staggered for a few moments, as though this would not be enough to bring it down, and then as it flung Legacies against the wall, causing a further shuddering cracking sound to come from Legacies, it fell to the ground and lay still. Legacies lay on the ground next to it, unmoving. The silver symbiote was already beginning to leak off of the figure of the old man, showing the absolute state of mangle that his body had both seen in years past and had seen just in the last few minutes. Legacies lay, unbreathing, his eyes closed.

[LadyTevar]

Jet-black spikes stabbed deeply into the chest of the next monster, hooking deeply into the ribcage before yanking the hapless creature explosively apart. The shattered body fell on top of the heaped dead, its blood splattering the ebon scales of the dragon in the center of the pile. Silver eyes darted about, searching the hallway frantically for the next target, as a circle of inky tentacles waved in expectation of the new kill.


three seconds.... four seconds... five...


A groan from the pile of dead and dying, and three of the tentacles instantly turned and silenced the voice for good.


seven seconds ... eight seconds... nine....

Nothing moved. No monsters charged. The hallway was empty but for herself and the pile of the dead at her feet. Slowly, the tentacles slumped, vanishing back into mere shadows as the dragon started to tremble in a mix of exhaustion and relief. It was over. The horde was dead. None had made it past her; The team was safe.

A dual-voiced roar brought the shadow tendrils to deadly life once more, the dragon's head jerking towards the sound.
Legacies. It was all the thought the dragon needed to move forward, away from the pile of sliced and shattered corpses, down the blood-slicked hallway and around the corner that she had not been able to reach before.

"LEGACIES!!!!!!!!!"

With it's dying gasp the creature brought it's jaws down as second time, crushing Legacies' own internal organs to a pulp as it tore the symbiote out of his mouth, ripping one of the silver figure's legs off. The giant staggered for a few moments, as though this would not be enough to bring it down, and then as it flung Legacies against the wall, causing a further shuddering cracking sound to come from Legacies, it fell to the ground and lay still. Legacies lay on the ground next to it, unmoving. The silver symbiote was already beginning to leak off of the figure of the old man, showing the absolute state of mangle that his body had both seen in years past and had seen just in the last few minutes. Legacies lay, unbreathing, his eyes closed.

Argent slid to the old man's side, the dragon-shape fading away as her arms reached out to touch him, before hesitating at the wounds. "... Legacies?" A shadow wrapped around the stump of his leg, trying vainly to stop the bloodflow. Shakily, Argent reached out to touch the gray-haired head, now crimson with drying blood. "Mark?..."
No... oh no... no nono... please no...

The monk. The Angel. They were healers, right?
It was all the thought she needed before again taking her dragon form. Gently, the she lifted Legacies and what remained of the silver symbiote before she teleported them away... Downstairs, to the rest of the team.


The shadow-dragon was ashen under blood as she emerged from the shadows, the scaled hide rent and slashed from the blows she'd taken, her own blood mixed with the ichor of those she'd slain into a crimson patina. Legacies body was born gently upon a bier of darkness, a band of shadow binding his amputated leg in a vain attempt to hold in his life'sblood.

Silver eyes locked onto the Angel's form, begging silently for aid, for a miracle, yet unable to speak the words through the lump in her throat.

[Marcao]

He watched enviously as Blast touched Blackheart. Shit, that was a handy trick right about now. His breathing was steady and even but inwardly he knew that his internal reservoir had been significantly depleted. He was not looking forward to any more surprises and the offer from their guests to leave was only becoming more tempting by the minute. At that particular moment, the idea of laying down somewhere and sleeping for a couple of days was actually quite pleasing.

He had been able to feel Argent faintly through their link. She was there at the very edge of his perception a bundle of emotions that he lacked the skill to unravel. A moment later, that bundle of emotions vanished and reappeared this time much closer to him. He had known that she was alive but little else, a smile beginning to blossom on his lips as the shadows seemed to twist and bend nearby. When she appeared, the smile was almost finished although his eyes widened and the smile died when he caught sight of Legacies body mixed with her own appearance.

His mouth opened but his lips were dry and no words came out at first. Through their link simple shock flooded his mind before it was replaced by concern. “Argent…Legacies.â€

[Agent Fisher]

The Angel moved towards her, looking down at the form in she bore. Michael sighed, shaking his head softly. "I'm sorry, child. There is nothing I can do for him." He said. Michael looked up at him. "It is time for you to take your family and go home." He said.

[SirNitram]

"They died.. Because you didn't bother to say anything." Gravitas said quietly, angrily. "If they knew you had some kind of holy fire or whatever to scorch this place, they'd not have done that! Now he's dead!" The Nova was angry. The angel was acting arrogant; usually an odd objection for the egotistical Nova to have, but he had never told these folks 'Run along home, this is out of your hands.'

The three peice suit healed itself, covering the holes and slashes from the explosion. "Flee if you want, holy man. If the angel scorches my soul, it will merely be proof I actually had one." A glance to the real team, not the two interlopers who had turned out beyond useless. "Go or stay. Free will is yours."

And Gravitas began to walk beyond the piles of bodies, deeper. Perhaps he would die soon. Perhaps he would die in distant times. It didn't matter. Legacies had been a good person. He lived for those who truly needed a hero; he was a better God than Gravitas had been.

The switchblade came out, and Gravitas walked off towards destiny.

[Agent Fisher]

"I'll admit it. I used your team to get me this far. I can destroy this facility from here. I couldn't from where I came in." The Angel said. "I am sorry for your losses, but you will lose far more if you continue. I'm offering you a way out. I suggest you take it."

[Cynical Cat]

The blood flow from Blackheart's ravaged sockets abated leaving long trails of dark congealing blood on his cheeks. "Blast," the blind man said calmly, "you need to save Legacies. Blow through the ceiling if you have to reach him. Take as much power as you need. Hurry, before the monsters above overwhelm him."

[frigidmagi]

There's was a moment of silence from Blast.

"It's to late for that Blackheart, he's... Legacies is dead." Blast said bitterly.

[Cynical Cat]

It was not a surprise. Things had gotten fucked up and that always had costs. Argent had played cowgirl again, deciding to overrule those who were actually good at violence based on impulses that were emotional rather than tactical. She was as predictable as the Liar's minion, although less prone to self righteous justifications. "Then take care of the rest of our people," said Blackheart. "And what is the Liar's minion doing? His energy signature is spiking like crazy. Even blind I can sense it."

[frigidmagi]

"Who? ... Oh. The angel is telling us we should leave. What do you want to do Boss? Should I try to get Legacies' body maybe? I don't know if it is a good idea to leave it here." Blast said quietly

[Cynical Cat]

"If you can," said Blackheart. "If the Liar's minion is going to burn the place, better get Argent or Gravitas to teleport us out. If that can't be done, bring me to the messenger."

[LadyTevar]

Tachyon's presence wrapped Argent in a soothing shroud, silencing the wild emotions around her. She curled against him despite her wounds, the draconic head nuzzling his chest as if wishing she could hide in his arms and keep the world at bay...

... or at least avoid the truth for another moment. Michael's soft apology did not help the pain she felt -- or the guilt. The empathic bond to Legacies was empty, faded away as the man/symbiote's joint lifeforce left the body behind. If not for Tachyon's shroud, she'd have empathically deafened the entire team as she felt it go.

She did not hear Gravitas and Michael sparring, but she did feel the coldness as Blackheart was told of Legacies' death. The braided cord that marked her connection to Blackheart, once dual strands of blue and black, was now a smooth cable of deep indigo -- a change in him, not her doing. The pain of his wounds that she'd stolen and used as a weapon against the Horde was no longer there for her to touch. Somehow, he no longer felt the pain of broken ribs and missing eyes.

Her head raised, looking over at Blackheart, just in time to overhear his last exchange with Blast.

"Who? ... Oh. The angel is telling us we should leave. What do you want to do Boss? Should I try to get Legacies' body maybe? I don't know if it is a good idea to leave it here." Blast said quietly.
"If you can," said Blackheart. "If the Liar's minion is going to burn the place, better get Argent or Gravitas to teleport us out. If that can't be done, bring me to the messenger."

"I have Legacies," Argent announced, her silver eyes flashing. Blackheart couldn't see the shadow-built bier where Legacies lay, but Blast surely could. "I will not leave him -- Or Any Of You." The last was both threat and vow. "Tell me where to take us, Blackheart, and I -will- get us there."

[Cynical Cat]

Argent was wrong. Blackheart felt the pain of his wounds. It was muted, manageable, but still there. "Take us out of here, if you can get all of. If not, bring me to the Liar's minion and I will deal with him before he births a new sun here."

[LadyTevar]

"Take us out of here, if you can get all of. If not, bring me to the Liar's minion and I will deal with him before he births a new sun here."

The dragon's eyes shown, and the shadow-bier with their honored dead moved to a more central position as Argent readied herself. "Then we go," she said, the only warning that the team was given before the shadow-dragon leapt, encircling those she meant to take: Gravitas and Hotfoot. Blackheart and Blast. Hydro and Tachyon. Legacies.

Argent wrapped her shadow-body around them like an Ourobouros, pausing just long enough to turn her silver gaze upon the Angel and the Monk. "Your God brought you here ... I am sure you have your own way back...."

With that, she took her team (her family?) away into the shadows, swimming through the darkness between. At first, there seemed to be a resistance, a silent eddy holding her back, preventing her from moving forward. "I am Not of YOURS! You cannot keep me here!" the dragon roared to the darkness, breaking free as the great heart finally began to beat in the background, counting down the time spent between....

... Then there was Light, a room that the team recognized as the family room of Argent's house. Legacies' body was gently laid to rest upon the couch, a blanket over him and under him to hide the worst of the wounds that killed him before Argent took human form and sank exhaustedly into the floor at Tachyon's feet.

The black armored bodysuit she'd worn under the leather skirt and jacket was ripped, the skirt a tattered scrap. The deep wounds seen upon the dragonscales were lesser, but still bruised and bloody testaments to the fact Argent had fought just as hard as the rest of them while she was alone with Legacies. Quietly she leaned back against Tachyon's legs, closed her eyes, and let the silence of his shroud wrap around her.

[Agent Fisher]

The Angel sighed, looking to Hector. "I'm sorry, Brother Hector, I thought they would take you with them. I cannot take you from here, I have a task to do. The only comfort I can offer is that you will be welcomed above."

With that, Michael bowed his head and jumped down into the hatch, plunging to the factory level floor, hundreds of feet below. As he fell, his body seemed to break away, replaced by a bright white light. Just as he reached the halfway point in his fall, his body exploded. The shock wave sped out from his body, destroying the facility.

[LadyTevar]

For long moments, no one did or said anything, so Argent felt the need to get things started. "Hotfoot? In the Utility room closet is a white first aid box. Could you get it, some washcloths, and a few pans of hot water?"

A shower would be nice, it would be heavenly, but the wounded needed to be bandaged first. Especially Blackheart's eyes and Tachyon's arm.

Then ... then they'd have to take care of Legacies....

[SirNitram]

"Blackheart's blind. A hospital would be useful." Gravitas murmured. "Unless he's against the idea. We need a better plan and ops centre."