Strong Man Rising (EW, Nornir)

Subject: Re: Strong Man Rising (EW, Nornir) Sun Jun 22, 2014 6:30 am

The robotic saw blade struck the barrier Energy Warrior threw up and immediately the optic bead tracked to her, and focused, but it did not strike right away. It gave the impression of intelligence, like it was sizing her up, looking at that brief barrier thoughtfully and how she projected it. But it kept spinning, and fell to the ground - should have kept its eye on the birdie! Or at least, on Maverique.

From the ground though, its blades struck stone and reversed, and its feet re-oriented, moving to face downward against stone. At this point, it jerked backward and out from between them, and as it sped away, it righted itself, buzzsaws spinning as it skid... then they reversed direction, and it started at them again.

---

"Starkenmann, beginnt Phase drei, auf mein zeichen." the melodious voice said into a speaker piece he held. There was a moment of silence, but the colder voice responded in good time.

"Ja, ich bin bereit." he said, calmly, the sound of an engine roaring in the background. And... click.

---

The robot's chest plate opened, exposing something with black and yellow stripes as it charged the girls, a panel with blue lights showing a bar... and it was steadily growing. It got closer and closer, moving with all intentions to give them mayhem and death with its blades, its cannons beginning to warm up visibly as it surged over shattered boxes....

---

"Marke"

Click.

---

The robot's bar surged to full... and then it began to glow, very briefly. And then... it exploded with the force of one ton of dynamite - it was enough to level the warehouse entirely... if they did nothing to stop it. But that was not all the trouble that was coming for the people in the warehouse, for the ones who had come to save their kin from the hungry sea.

The rescue chopper's pilot was the sole witness as two... three... four more forms descended to the ground as two had before, rose... and a great gunship appeared once more, hovering some distance from the ground, from which they berthed. And from it, one more form fell - smaller, but massive in stature by comparison to a normal man - broad, tall, but definitely a man, garbed in black. That was all the look the pilot got before he veered away, the survivors aboard, he thought, the only ones to escape.

Something fast, flowing, and fluid as a rushing tidal wave surged across the ground from the opened warehouse door, its color a vibrant orange as it coalesced suddenly, a tidal wave frozen mid-movement, or perhaps a cupped hand, but it as formed in a semisphere as it interposed itself between the bot, and Energy Warrior, Reese, and the rest of the warehouse.

Then... the robot exploded.

The resultant firestorm was blindingly bright and the sheer heat of it lit the crystalline cupped shape to incandescence, but it was thick and midway through a wave of more orange goo slapped up into it, partially steaming at once, but further hardening the barrier as it directed the blast out of the warehouse in a tide of fire, leveling one whole wall in the process. Concrete cracked, metal roared, and the sound of it wasn't audible - it was simply too loud to register to a human ear, but the concussive force of it easily knocked every last person in the warehouse from their feet.

All except one. In the wake of the terrible explosion, Flux reformed, literally steaming as she stood, panting, on the blackened concrete, her orange slime body about 3/4 of its original size. She'd had to take on mass in a hurry to get big enough to take on that explosion... and losing it so suddenly did her no favors. Shaking, she looked over her shoulder at Reese and Jenny.

"You guys alright...?" she said, her voice a croak of strain and exhaustion, like she'd' just run a marathon. She'd never done anything so stupid in all her life.

Subject: Re: Strong Man Rising (EW, Nornir) Wed Jun 25, 2014 2:53 pm

Jenny went wide eyed as it charged and started to explode but was surprised to see something stop the explosion before she was set falling to her her butt. Jenny looked up when she heard a girl spoke and smiled under her mask sly getting up offering help to Reese to help her to her feet. "Yeah thanks to you." She then looked around making sure the civilians were okay and for anymore threats hoping there were no more of them she was just about out of energy now.

Subject: Re: Strong Man Rising (EW, Nornir) Mon Jul 14, 2014 3:44 am

Self-preservation instincts kicked in upon the sudden realization that the machine was going to explode. Reese ducked for cover but just as she did, something miraculous happened. A fluid of some sort surged in through the door, engulfing the robot just as it exploded. The result was that much of the damage was minimized and apparently no one got hurt.

Their unknown hero "reformed" from the aftermath, asking if they were okay. In Reese's mind, it was quite a handy power to have. They were lucky that more help arrived just in time.

"Appreciate the assist." She responded, getting up on her feet and surveying the area. She didn't feel the threat was over just yet

Subject: Re: Strong Man Rising (EW, Nornir) Mon Jul 14, 2014 7:41 pm

Flux faltered, coughing and sagging a moment. God she felt like a train wreck. She'd never ached like this in her life - it was like a full body headache. But there was still work to do - and badguys to thwart. She looked ragged as she reformed into a humanlike shape like he hadn't slept in a week and hadn't eaten a thing in days.

"Y-yeah... No problem... Ugh..." she croaked, and coughed a little puff of steam. From somewhere around her midsection, she produced a similarly steaming thermos, peered at it critically, an sloshed its contents once or twice. Despite the heat of the explosion, she'd managed somehow to keep it safe and sound. Well, that was a thing! Flux smiled.

"I'm Flux, one of the Teen Titans. There's a whole lot of badness outside waiting to level this place. Can you two still fight?" the dark-haired girl asked the pair as she unscrewed the cap of her metal thermos, then took a hearty pull of its contents. It tasted and smelled awful, like sugar and rotting fruit, but she took down two huge pulls before recapping it, and immediately looked a lot less whipped. She winced a bit at the taste of her nutrient slurry... she'd need to work on that.

Subject: Re: Strong Man Rising (EW, Nornir) Mon Jul 14, 2014 8:54 pm

"I'm Energy Warrior currently recruiting for members of a new team I'm trying to make, Ex member of the Teen Titans... I can still fight but I'm running very low on energy which means I can't afford to use my powers any of them now unless i have to but I can fight" She looked to reese "Whats your status?"

Subject: Re: Strong Man Rising (EW, Nornir) Wed Jul 16, 2014 10:44 pm

"Ready to roll anytime." She replied, winding her arm to loosen her shoulders.

Reese wasn't looking forward to the trouble being far from over, but she wasn't just going to ignore it either. It seemed she was in a much better shape than the other two. She didn't mind pulling additional weight if needed. But having robots as opponents didn't make this any easier.

Subject: Re: Strong Man Rising (EW, Nornir) Thu Jul 17, 2014 6:25 am

Flux grinned at the pair of them, and clapped them both on the shoulder, Jenny with her open hand and Reese with the one holding the now empty thermos, a statement of good will and trust as her eyes sparkled with mirth and determination.

"Good. I have a plan, and we probably don't have time to discuss this, so please listen up."she said, and nodded once. "They didn't see me come in here, but there's more of those freaky deathbots outside - four of em." she began, and turned her head to Jenny, expression serious.

"Since you're almost spent, Energy Warrior, You need to get the people in the warehouse out of here and to safety, quick as you can. There's a trapdoor that leads into the water - take that and scamper. You've got the most important job - we gotta save these people, that's our top priority." she said, and squeezed Jen's shoulder gently for emphasis.

"I know you can fight, but these guys ain't playing around. I'll turn into you so they don't get suspicious, so Blondie and I can buy you time." she said, and nodded then to Reese.

"All we gotta do is give her a couple minutes. If we can beat them, shiny! But if they're as badass as I suspect, we should rabbit after that, wait for some backup." she said, then transformed into... Well, into Energy Warrior! Her face changed shape, and after a few false starts so did Flux's voice!

"Got it? We can do this!" she said, and put her hand out between them - Teamwork was what they needed now to survive.

Subject: Re: Strong Man Rising (EW, Nornir) Fri Jul 18, 2014 2:04 am

Jenny nodded and sent a small pulse though her large double sided scythe turning it into the two smaller ones. "If you really want to trick them you'll need this, I always fight with it. Tug the two scythes to make it into it's larger form. Be careful though all the weight is in the large blades so spin it around your body to build momentum so you actually can swing it." Jenny nodded to them then started to evacuated the civilians.

Subject: Re: Strong Man Rising (EW, Nornir) Fri Jul 18, 2014 4:28 am

Blondie? It's been a while since she was last called that, but now wasn't the time to be picky about nicknames. At least the plan was sound. It was time to put it in action.

"After you."

Unlike her companions, Reese didn't have many ranged options. Fighting up close would be tricky against such opponents so she would wait for an opening created by their new ally before charging in.

Subject: Re: Strong Man Rising (EW, Nornir) Tue Jul 22, 2014 5:43 am

Flux nodded an accepted Jenny's weapon. She gave it an awkward flick or two, and shook her head, handing it back "I'd just hurt myself, probably. Besides, you'll need it if this goes badly." she said in her voice and smiled encouragingly.

And with that, Flux turned. It was the work of a moment to peek through one of the windows and see the advancing menace. They moved calmly, with four mechanical figures trundling along in a crescent that would enfold the warehouse at the finish, with the single human figure in dark clothing behind, walking exactly between the middle pair.

Flux opened the warehouse door, nodded back at Reese, and strode out into the sunlight, arms crossed in front of her as they took on a radiant blue glow from within. The men stopped, and to the heroine's surprise didn't try to vaporize her on the spot. The man, wearing a gas mask, a trench coat, and a pit helmet, held up his fist. The robots could not have seen him, but they stopped just the same.

Gulp.

Flux raised Jenny's voice and called, cautiously "Who are you? What do you want with the people of Jump City?" she said, keeping the glow up. Beneath her clothes... She was solidifying herself again, hardening steadily.

The masked man tilted his head at her a little, then replied, in a thick german accent "I belief it iss rude to ask mine name before giving me your own, mm? Besides. Ve are goingk to kills you both, and ze people vithin." he said without rancor.

Flux's temper flared. "Nah." and dashed forward. The man did not even flinch - he simply raised his hand and spread his fingers. With that elegant gesture, the robots charged the emerging pair of heroines, buzzsaw arms screaming to life as they charged... Reese! They didn't bother even turning aside for Flux's advance - they rushed right for the heroine behind her!

Flux faltered in surprise and half-turned, crying out "Blondie, look out!" but she should have been watching the human threat. Before she could even fully turn back to face him, he was there, large as life, and struck her like a locomotive. His full body's strength had been thrown in the sucker punch and it struck her in the face with enough force that it literally sent her flipping tail over teakettle thirty feet sideways through the air to crash into - and through - a stack of palettes, and into a cargo container, indenting it and knocking it over.

Flux couldn't speak. She could barely see for a moment, let alone string together coherent thoughts. Good... Lord. What had she gotten into?! And yet... She could hear calm footfalls approaching, stepping through crunching wooden debris, unhurried and unconcerned.

She looked up and sure as daylight, the dark clad man was coming towards her, his emotionless visage something she would remember for years to come. Just then, she knew this man was not a gloater. He wouldn't talk before he killed her. He wouldn't set her up with an elaborate grusome death trap - she would just get killed. It would be swift. It would be impersonal. This man was a professional.

"Ze weather. It is lovely, no?" the empty voice said dispassionately as he picked up... A forklift. In one hand, then carried it on his shoulder. Like it was a plastic baseball bat. His stance and posture didn't even shift. Hoooooly crap.

"Yeah" she croaked. "Peachy-keen." she said, voice dry and shaking just slightly. The man nodded calmly, and paused.

"Zere now. Vos zat not easier? Ze manners are important. I am ze Starkenmann. Vot is your name, fraulein?" he said, his voice void of inflection or tone, though she got the impression he did not get much of a chance to be pleasant with others.

"Energy Warrior." she said, trying to sound brave and resolute as she stood up. He got a lucky shot. That was all. She had to believe that, or she would scream and run away.

The Starkenmann nodded, and gave a gentlemanly bow. "Zis is not personal, Mine Blümchen, it is ze business. I vill give you ze quick death, and ze peoples." he said calmly, almost reverently. Mad. Utterly mad. With no further warning than that, he propelled the forklift at her like a big rock, hurling it at a fantastic speed. She barely had time to leap up and backward as the heavy object sent the cargo container flying backward into others with a horrible noise. Then, it exploded outright, rocking the air with a pressure wave!

As if he'd expected the motion, he jerked in towards her and bounded upward after her with ease, bringing his hands up in a double hammer strike that would very likely make her one with the pavement! Gods she was really missing those weapons right about now! Those two fists came down at her, and she only just had the time to kick him in the chest, giving her a bit of midair distance from him, enough that the blow only glanced one side of her, sending her spinning madly off to skip once or twice on the sun-warmed pavement.

Fast AND strong. How long could she hold one solid form against this guy? She was getting creamed! Flux glanced over at Reese though - how was she doing against the four Murderbots?

Subject: Re: Strong Man Rising (EW, Nornir) Tue Jul 22, 2014 6:07 pm

Jenny rushed the civillians along trying her best to get the to safety as she looked back the way she came. she hoped that the other two were okay. Jenny ran with the people helping those who were getting tiered, run so she could get them to safety faster and so she could go and help the other two.

Subject: Re: Strong Man Rising (EW, Nornir) Sun Jul 27, 2014 11:12 pm

Buzzsaws... were a lot easier to handle than energy beams. If anything, the robots saved her the trouble of trying to get close, which she figured was the toughest part of this fight. As soon as the blades came down, Reese's aura kicked in and the previously razor sharp saws were reduced to bent, chipped or otherwise disfigured sheets of metal as soon as they made contact with the glowing hero.

Reese smirked. That was the thing about sharp objects. Normally, they weren't nearly as tough as the cutting force they exert. And so reversing that force upon them was pretty much equivalent to self-destruction. That was the real explanation of what happened. But to her uninformed attackers, she must have appeared to be someone really, really durable.

She waited for the machines to inevitably withdraw their useless buzzsaws after that initial encounter. Without super strength, she wouldn't have been able to shake all of them off herself anyway. As soon as they did, she slipped under their mechanical arms and got on top of one of them. Hanging on to its shoulder, she shot her line launcher at the closest one while attaching the other end to the robot she was on. The robot's attempts to shake her off would only entangle it with the second robot.

Subject: Re: Strong Man Rising (EW, Nornir) Mon Aug 11, 2014 3:01 am

The four murderbots brought their blades to bear on Reese and Flux cried out to her, but it was too late. Rather than a brief damp scream though, there was a horrible GRAUNCH and shrapnel flew into the robots like claymore mines from their own blades. One got the worst of the action and simply fell backward, its own alloys used against it, tearing one of its arms loose and shitkicking its face and body with a giant's buckshot.

The three remaining sustained some damage from that as well, and in shock took in the damage of their saws and bodies - just enough of a delay in fact to let Reese get on one's back! It flailed at her and spun, its servos screaming as it strained and... Pulled its buddy closer! The robot tried to bring its buzzsaws to bear on the cables, but the shards that were left were not enough to cut through, and the two bots rammed into one another with a crash.

The last bot leveled its Ion cannons at her, and began to charge the beam weapon as it backed off, treads spinning!

---

Flux nay Energy Warrior panted, her whole body aching. It was like dying of thirst, fighting the Starkenmann in this restricted shape while having a glass of cold water in your hand that you were absolutely forbidden to drink. She could just about manage to avoid getting killed, but her chances of beating him were looking pretty abysmal. She could barely stand up!

Starkenmann strode over a heap of wreckage calmly, clapping dust off his hands, his emotionless visage trained on his prey. She's been lucky every time so far. He only had to be lucky once.

"Vot are you doingk, voman. Vhere are ze powers I zaw you usse before, vhen fighting ze robots?" he said, and snatched her up off the ground, quick as a bird. She gasped and struggled against his grip, but everything hurt terribly - she wasn't used to having a solid body.

"Up yours, helmet-lord...!" she spat, and kicked at him. Very calmly, with a motion that seemed almost jolly, he put her head through a crate and kicked her and said crate so she was sent skipping, the wood shattering and splintering as she somersaulted top over teakettle. The world flashed white, and horrible noises filled her ears, and all the heroine knew was pain for a few moments until the world slid into focus once more.

"ow... Ow. Ow, ow ow. Okay. Ow." she muttered, lying stunned a moment on the hill of debris she'd found herself unexpectedly queen of. And still footfalls approached. A human would have been killed by that, but... Would a metahuman?

No. Flux rose, and Starkenmann shook his head.

Vot foolishness, girl." he said, and charged her. Flux grinned a little, and... Cheated. Well what else could she do? A bit of her substance seeped into the pile, and she formed a nucleon that slipped into the mass behind her, where Starkenmann might not easily see. It would take some timing, but...!

The moment he stepped up onto the pile, she dove off and away. Of course he tried to turn to follow such a paltry motion, but the pile was suddenly not nearly so stable. It slipped like a flat boot on wet ice, taking his feet from under him all in one go. He made a grab at her, but she hadn't totally let go of the pile with her body - she merely brought it back at him with an elastic snap. He might be stronger than her, but physics were physics, and the elasticated lump slapped him across the wharf into a storage container after skipping across the ground once or twice. Flux drew the mass back into herself, and scowled.

"What was that, helmet-lord?"

Subject: Re: Strong Man Rising (EW, Nornir) Tue Aug 12, 2014 4:46 am

Jenny got the civilians to the safe point and sat on the ground for a moment closing her eyes trying to regain some energy before she slowly got up and crouched leaning forward her feet digging into the ground before she lept forward as she started to fly as fast as she cloud taking a moment or two to get at top speeds racing back to get to the group. By the time she got there she saw reese take out some bots as the last one aimed it's cannon at her. Jenny ran over as quick as she could as she swung her mini chained scythe at it as she crouched and yanked the other one pulling its cannon as it would fire making sure it got over her head and didn't hit reese while leaving an opening for reese to finish it off.

Subject: Re: Strong Man Rising (EW, Nornir) Sat Aug 16, 2014 2:18 am

The robot Reese was clinging to had already lost its balance after the other one crashed into it. With EW holding the third robot at bay, Reese jumped to the ground and tugged hard at the line so that the off-balance bot would fall on the third. If she was lucky, its damaged buzzsaw would hit it somewhere too and take it out of the picture permanently.

» Worst Shortcut Ever. (Nornir)
» Let's Try Again (Paige & Nornir later)
» Two's a company. (Nornir)
» The Fox & The Hound (Nornir)
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