El!
El has been with the site for nearly two years now and has continued to prove her value. Currently, she is heading up our site event, Battle for Liberterram, on top of keeping up with her own personal plots.
CHARACTER
SPOTLIGHT
Peggy Carter!
Lux's posts are all wonderful to read. She has done a wonderful job of grasping the new universe and incorporating Peggy into it.
CHARACTER
SPOTLIGHT
Peter Parker!
It's good to see Spidey back on the site. Watching him deal with the universe shift in his own snarky way has been nothing short of entertaining.
THREAD
SPOTLIGHT
Eight O'Clock on the Dot!
El and Lux are making magic in this thread. Straight up fireworks, and the way they've played with drawing out the reveal is top class.
She made it up in one piece that had to count for something. However, given the building was already broken she had a feeling that she was making herself an open target. She'd avoid it if she could, honestly, but only time would tell.
Giving Darcy the thumbs up, she took aim at an oncoming chariot. “Please explode, please explode, oh god please explode.“ She mumbled to herself letting the arrow fly. It connected with its target and she tapped the trigger, the exploding tip sending it spiralling into the pavement below. Good, they hadn't done any on the fly improvements. Cause that would have been bad.
From where she was, she also had a good view of the on coming Chitauri from down the street and she fired off a couple more arrows to meet them and hopefully take a group of them down. Kate waited keeping an eye on this before setting off the tips, over turning a vehicle and knocking a few Chitauri down. The Chitlians with them seemed to be down for a moment before rebooting. “Oh yeah, you assholes….“ She added, taking the electric pulse arrows Clint had given her and opted to try them, especially after seeing Darcy's taser work pretty good on them.
Once they connected she hit the trigger and the Chitlians tried pulling the arrows out, to no avail. She grinned watching them shut down, crumpling to the cement beneath them. “Success!” She added, taking note of Carol's position. She had no idea who the guy floating around with her was, but he looked like he could be useful.
The building she was standing in was slowly crumbling beneath her feet, and she felt part of it give way, before she cussed, and jumping backwards to avoid falling back down the two storeys she just climbed. That would suck so much.
About damn time! Thank fuck! Praise Odin, from whom all blessings flow and him err… something about animals below. Or whatever the crap Asgardians said when talking about Thor’s dad.
With the archer safe and sound up in the building, Darcy turned her full attention on the incoming Chitauri forces. God, there were so many of them. And why were they multiplying?! Darcy’s whole face scrunched up as she tried to fight past the pain in her head trying to bludgeon her to death from the inside out. When she opened her eyes again, her vision cleared, and the number of Chitauri had slipped back to a not-good-but-at-least-somewhat-more-manageable level.
Thank Odin for that, too.
Still fighting the urge to puke her guts out, Darcy ducked behind her chunk of cement and returned to taking pot shots at the aliens making their way towards the barricade. There seemed to be less and less of them each time she poked her head around; if she were a betting woman, she’d guess it had something to do with the Dark Elves changing sides rather abruptly. Well, that sucked - for the Chitauri.
Darcy watched as a squadron of the magical aliens teamed up, sending everything they had at a nearby Leviathan. God, it would suck to be that particular space whale right about now. Flames licked at its face, intermingling with tendrils of inky blackness. Shards of ice the size of bicycles were impaling themselves in the cracks of the beast’s armor, then slammed further in by boulders (where the fuck were they getting boulders from?!). The Leviathan screeched as finally one of the attacks seemed to be the needle that broke the space whale’s back, and Darcy ducked involuntarily as it sailed at least a dozen yards over her current position until it crashed into what she hoped was an abandoned building down the block.
Movement from the corner of her eye caught Darcy’s attention as she turned back towards the Chitauri (who seemed even angrier than before… maybe that one was their mama… greeeeeat...), and she stopped. Oh crap! Someone was out there! “Cover me!” she shouted, hoping someone - anyone - heard her as she clambered down from the top of the barricade.
A rescue mission really wasn’t something she should be doing right about now, especially with the blood still trickling down from that nasty split in her forehead. But she hadn’t really been thinking when she bolted. Bullets flew from automatic weapons behind her, whizzing through the air to land in the aliens before they could reach her. Well, at least someone(s) had heard her.
By the time she reached the girl - damn, she looked bad - Darcy was out of breath. Pausing to pant for a moment, she pointed to the barricade, where a pair of SHIELD agents and some dude she didn’t know were keeping the Chitauri busy. “Get there! I’ve got your back!” she shouted over the sound of battle and the ringing in her ears.
Once certain the girl was moving (albeit not as quickly as Darcy would like), she resumed moving her own self. The gun in her hand barked with each tug of the trigger, the nanite rounds sealing each Chitauri’s fate as she hit them. She was no amazing marksman, but thankfully, with this ammunition, she didn’t need to land a perfect headshot on every one. Even the shot she landed to one’s kneecap took him down and out for good.
Praise be to science!
Darcy was even more winded than before as she finally scrambled up the side of the barricade after the injured girl. She’d lost her gun somewhere behind her in a tussle with a Chitauri. The three aliens backing their buddy up had been good enough incentive to leave it where it landed. There were other weapons on the other side of the barricade. She just needed to get there.
And get there she did.
Pain lanced through her side as she began to make the descent. She wanted to cry - maybe she already was. Her face was sticky and wet and she wasn’t sure if it was due to tears, sweat, blood, or some kind of mixture of the three. Probably the latter. Time seemed to slow as she turned to face the alien whose glaive had sunk partially into her left flank before being jerked back roughly. She watched as her attacker fell, a sword through its throat and vaguely realized they were dropping at the same rate of speed.
The Chitauri crashed to the rubble, its body a bloody mess, but Darcy never hit the rocks. Her savior - a Dark Elf, it seemed - caught her before she hit the ground. The SHIELD agents standing nearby seemed at a loss for what to do, but didn’t attack as the Svartalf soldier carried the unconscious SHIELD Academy student towards an area dedicated to those injured in the battle. It didn’t take long for the medics to realize what his gift was, and while they seemed less than comfortable with his presence behind the semi-safety of the barricade, they weren’t going to stop him from healing their downed fighters…
Stephen was grateful for the Captain's return of the defense gesture - at one point in time, Stephen might have been far better at multitasking. A surgeon had to be aware of their environment, after all - where the tools were, where their assistance was. Especially for Stephen, this was key; many of the operations he performed were so intensive that they required a very large team of surgeons besides himself. They had to take care not to trample over each other's work, to be aware of what had been done, and simply not to bump into each other. Had he gotten so used to working alone that he no longer had such awareness? The thought frightened him slightly, but the roar of the Leviathan reminded him that there was much more in the universe to fear than one's own failings.
The Major brought up a good point - Stephen didn't have any single spell powerful enough to kill the beast, not on his own. Of course, he was not on his own - he thought for a moment, back to the fireball he had just thrown, and a plan formed in his head. Before he could share it, though, a Chitauri seized upon Stephen's focus on the Captain, swinging its spear to cut across his back, the Cloak avoiding the swipe on its own accord but not being able to hold the strike back. Stephen pivoted with his blade, thrusting the metal through the Chitauri's neck and floating a bit off the ground to kick it back once the blade was freed from its hold. His back was already burning as he began to bleed, but Wong was not here to heal him - he would just have to power through it.
He turned now to the Captain, after dispatching two more Chitauri with his energy bolts. The sooner they were both off the ground and dealing with Thanos' largest troops, the better. "I alone cannot stop the beasts, but you and I in tandem just may. I will heat the Leviathan's armor with the Flames of the Faltine. It should be a simple matter for you to remove the plate, which I can then use to dispatch the Leviathan. Whenever you are ready; I will see you in the skies, Major."
He took off, using his upward motion to slash one more Chitauri before flying towards the Leviathan that Carol had pointed out. His eyes narrowed at the beast, and his lips moved as he whispered a small incantation - or more, a request for aid from beings beyond man's comprehension. "Blessed Vishanti, hear my plea; Grant your humble servant the strength to conquer his enemy. If the Titan succeeds, this planet will die; none of us want this, not you, and not I."
Sometimes Stephen resented sounding like a children's book - but it seemed that the beings he invoked responded more favorably towards rhymed incantations. It was unfortunate, but if it granted him more power... Well, he could learn to deal with it. He hovered over the back of the Leviathan, sheathing his blade before thrusting both hands towards its armor, summoning a constant stream of intense flames to shoot towards the beast. It roared from the heat but seemed dead-set on pressing on. Several shots from Chitauri flew at Stephen, but part of his focus went to keeping up a barrier - this was too important for him to try and dispatch all the Chitauri before completing the task. He would cease his attack once the metal on the Leviathan was glowing with heat, ready to be stripped off of the monstrosity.
To support the Captain, Stephen descended - landing just outside of the area that contained the most heat. He pulled his sword once more, and took to fighting off Chitauri as they moved to reinforce the now-vulnerable area of their living airship. The fight was beginning to feel as though it would stretch on for much longer, and Stephen decided that more than just himself and Captain Marvel might be required to put an end to the fighting, and to support the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Mutants, and civilians below. Only one possibility came to mind, and Stephen almost scowled at it. He would never hear the end of this. He reached out, searching the city for a familiar telepathic connection, and when he finally found it he spoke through his friend's mind, as if he were just another thought. Namor... We could use some help.
The coast was clear enough, she'd realized as she stumbled out of the alley. Now that her wound was covered, she had her hands free for the few weak plasma blasts she was able to muster. Jubilee picked off a few alien stragglers the best she could, though they didn't look like they'd stay down for long.
Gingerly, she turned a corner, and she was overwhelmed with relief and an emotion that she couldn't exactly described when her sapphire eyes set on a fort of sorts, not terribly far in the distance. A few tears of joy and pain streamed down her cheeks as she slowly made her way towards it. She was thrown forward a few feet by the impact of a dying Leviathan colliding with a building a few hundred yards behind her, and as she struggled to her hands and knees, a shout from the barricade drew her attention.
There was a brunette girl scrambling down the front of the fort with a strange and admittedly badass looking gun in her hands. Gunshots rang out, bullets flying overhead as the girl reached her. She must have hit her head when she'd fallen again, for the stranger's words seemed far away, as if she was underwater though she was apparently shouting. Her gaze followed her rescuer's finger, pointing towards the very place she was trying to reach. Jubilee nodded, standing as quickly as she could. Adrenaline kicked in and she wiped a trickle of blood out of her eyes before she began to run.
Her pace wasn't what it normally was, and she could feel the hole in her side bleeding through her jacket, but the pain was a whisper of what is had been while she focused her attention on reaching safety. She ran for what seemed like an hour but really had to have only been a matter of minutes before she reached the fort and began climbing up. The pain returned tenfold when she was halfway up, distracting her so that her grip loosened. Before she could fall back to the pavement though, a hand reached down to her, grasping her wrist and pulling her the final few feet up.
Her mind was a haze of pain. She saw one of her savior's lips moving but couldn't hear his words. Her heart pounded in her ears and she could hear her blood rushing through her body. Jubilee tried to speak, but could only manage a whispered thanks before the darkness closed in.
Post by Z inactive aidenfelidae on Apr 30, 2016 10:37:06 GMT
I'm Fine in the Fire
I Feed on the Friction
I'm Right Where I Should Be
Don't Try and Fix Me
Quickly picking up on the fact that exploding vehicles were somewhat more effective than ordinary bullets, Aiden didn't hesitate to put a few rounds into the front end of any car that had a few unlucky Chitauri nearby. Most went up in flames, but without being able to see what he was shooting under the hoods, some didn't do anything more helpful than leak oil. Which would've been great, if he were pyrokinetic.
That wasn't the case though, as some of the combatants were thoroughly reminding him. His guns were effective against the Chitauri, sure, but they seemed to pale in comparison to throwing fireballs, punching through aliens, and the various, flashy abilities a number of the Dark Elves were displaying. He wouldn't have expected anything less from a fight of this caliber, but still.. damn. Maybe he needed to find a way to up his arsenal if he was gonna be fighting with superhumans and aliens.
Something to keep in mind for later, since just now he was a bit preoccupied with the extra-terrestrial threat. As far as Aiden could tell, they were taking losses on both sides, though their two big hitters still seemed to be holding their own against the aliens well enough. If the situation were different, he probably would've tried to screw with them.. but he supposed that could wait until the battle was over.
Ducking behind the nearest cover to avoid the glass and sharapnel from another exploding vehicle, Aiden supposed that was still a ways off. There were still a couple Leviathans, and more than enough of the smaller variety of aliens to shoot and stab at them. Still wishing he knew their precise numbers--Aiden wanted to be able to brag about exactly how many of the Chitauri he'd killed later--he poked his head out from behind the overturned pick-up truck, trying to find some higher vantage point where he could try and estimate a better headcount.
And a Chitlian promptly decided to teach him a lesson for getting distracted.
Stars exploded in his vision as the blunt end of its spear whacked him upside the head, knocking him to the ground. Dazed and barely able to see, it was only by instinct that he rolled to one side, narrowly avoiding the sharper end of the weapon that pinged off the pavement right where his head would've been. One hand free where he must've dropped his gun, he reached over to grab the glaive before the alien could pull it back for another blow. The blade bit into his palm, but a couple shots from his remaining pistol in the Chitlian's ankle drew enough of its attention away for him to yank the weapon from its grasp.
Disarmed, it went for his throat with its bare hands. Sure it could crush his windpipe with minimal effort, Aiden had a short blade in his own bloodied hand before it'd even reached his neck, and managed to drive it up through the Chitlian's jaw and into its skull before it could tighten its grip.
It fell on top of him, but Aiden was more concerned with the sharp throbbing in his head as he shoved the alien's twitching form off. Belatedly, as his vision cleared up, he realized the blow had opened up a wound somewhere, as blood was now trickling down his forehead. "Great. A concussion was all I needed," he groaned, sure his other gun had already vanished, and the resulting migraine meant there was no way he would be able to summon up a new one. He'd have to stick to his remaining pistol and less complicated weapons for the rest of the fight, then.
Never before had Namor had so many in his mind. He had a constant connection to the mages of his Kingdom through the magic that used him as a reservoir, pooling from the Trident and to him, ready to be tapped by any within Atlantis. And in a way, the sensation was similar to when he'd first subsumed the role of monarch. There was a constant static of energy, though in this case it came with a background noise. Flashes of emotion, fragments of words that were not relevant to the network at large, but still persisted. Having Stephen join the fray of his crowded conscious first startled him and then left his brain feeling bogged down, as though tar had been poured into the gears of a factory.
When Stephen left, the sensation cleared. Not because his mind was no longer flanked, but because of the sudden flush of adrenaline working into his system. Whatever the reason that his friend had called him in the midst of battle, it had to be pressing indeed that the Sorcerer Supreme could not manage it on his own.
Within a fraction of a minute, the Atlantean was there. Wind funneled behind him forming a sort of jetstream that dragged some chariots in his wake before he slowed just enough to only leave a car-sized impact crater in the pavement. Pulling himself from the crumbled asphalt, Namor ignored the sudden bout of discomfort from the raw, burned flesh on his side and levitated a short distance away to Stephen's location. "Are you all right?" His eyes searched over the former surgeon's form, looking him over for injuries with careful, but quick scrutiny.
"You're intact," Namor scoffed, dropping his hands to his side before he twisted to monitor the scene. Major Danvers was nearby and the area was swarmed with Chitauri, Chitlian and the two Leviathans that yet remained. "You could not manage these trifles on your own?" The edge of his mouth kicked into an insufferable expression, humor easy to find in the wake of such relief. "I suppose I can aid you in your endeavor, Stephen. In exchange for travel to a dimension of my choosing." And there were many dimensions that he could think to visit. Which one he would make Stephen endure was another matter entirely.
Lifting from the ground, the Atlantean soared through the air, briefly nearing Major Danvers in the process. Between the rain, the hideous burn and her presence he was rather struck by a sense of deja vu. Except he was more clothed now than he was then. "Your form could use some work, Miss Danvers," his warm baritone chided from a ways behind her before he was beyond her and levitating over the streets to get a better sense of wear to prioritize his forces and where to strike himself.
<"Atlanteans! See that none of our human allies expire prematurely! We wouldn't want Director Fury to think he isn't getting his money's worth!"> A strange alien tongue was bellowed through the night to those nearest. More complex instructions were delivered telepathically to those seasoned captains and generals that were still functional. As it was, this was more than just an opportunity for positive press for his controversial nation. This was a chance to save innocent lives and see the Mad Titan's schemes crumble before him.
Touching down in the thick of the fray, Namor took to attempting to draw the attention of most of the lesser soldiers by engaging in indiscriminate and brutal violence. In the process he was working his way toward a human that had recently been pinned by a Chitauri, hopefully providing him protection by virtue of proximity.
There was a difference between them - Carol could handle a Leviathan on her own, Seattle was proof of that. Unfortunately the bandages she'd been wearing around her left arm were also proof of the fact that she couldn't necessarily take one down alone without hurting herself, which was what he'd just gotten finished telling her NOT to do. Granted she might have been able to handle it, too, if there had been another substantial source of power around - but she didn't know for sure what kind of strain that put her under, either. Hard, when you didn't quite know what your own body was capable of.
His plan sounded alright though - though, what exactly did he want the plate for? Was it just to expose the soft (ish) flesh of the thing? However... strange she found the sorceror, he seemed to be the Man With a Cosmic Plan - if he thought this would handle the monsters, she figured she could play along with his idea for long enough to see how it went. If nothing else, maybe he could call her down a lightning strike or two. THAT she could use. While the wizard went up to put on the heat, Carol busied herself covering him, blasting away the aliens that fired on his shield - not, it seemed, that they had much luck getting through the thing. Hopefully that kept up - he struck her as a bit like a magical version of Tony, and she hated to think what would happen if the magic armor failed him.
When he dispensed with the fire though, Carol launched herself up past him on the descent, making a high-G turn and breaking straight for the superheated armor plate. Well, she was pretty sure she could handle the heat, but here went nothing. Thinking better of it, she brought herself in at a shallow angle, aiming her blasts for the joints between the plates, and the beams of light sloughed off three of the massive sections. As they fell to the ground, Carol spun, opening up with a larger blast straight into the exposed soft spot, and the monster roared with pain as it veered away, spewing black blood into the air.
Carol dropped back to the pavement a moment later, dropping one of the huge plates behind Steven with a thunderous crash. "Did you actually want this, or...?" The wording had been a bit ambiguous. Carol glanced back, checking on Darcy - Kate seemed to have left, which was fantastic... And who was the guy pushing the chitilan off himself? Clearly things could have been going better for him. The former pilot shot down a chariot that had been headed his way with an almost casual blast, then took back off into the sky. She took the opportunity to punch straight through another chariot, then glanced to her side in mild surprise as Namor came out of the sky, too. She was strafing a roof when he passed by her, though his comment didn't go unnoticed.
"I'd hate to lose points with whoever judges style in kicking alien ass, I've heard that's a competetive field" was her dry riposte, before landing atop the water tower and kicking another Chitilan hard enough to send it flying more or less into the next block.
Stephen had to admit, he hadn't planned for Carol to take the matter of dispatching the Leviathan from which the plates were received into her own hands. It certainly made the job of the group that much easier - there only seemed to be one Leviathan left in the area that would not be eliminated within the next few minutes. He returned to the pavement to support some of the forces there when one of the plates Captain Marvel had removed crashed down behind him, prompting a grin from Stephen at the woman's confusion. Oh, how he'd become like his master, speaking so cryptically. "Yes, Major - this will do quite nicely."
He was just about ready to begin his assault with the piece of metal when Namor arrived. For all the years Stephen had known the monarch, and for all the years he had put up with what the sorcerer could only assume was typical Atlantean bravado, the monarch's entrance was... Unexpected. Partially because in a somewhat atypical fashion, Namor seemed to bypass the clear enemies he could be punching to make his way over to Stephen. Suddenly, a man Stephen had seen time and time again act as a strong, fearless leader... Became very much like a doting parent who'd heard a child cry out in pain. Stephen blinked at the strange behavior, wondering if Namor had taken a hit to the head wherever he'd been previously. "Quite intact, yes... I only meant to call for support in keeping the civilians in this area safe."
As soon as the Atlantean was sure Stephen was fine, the smugness seemed to return - which, for once, was a relief on Stephen's part. There was something somewhat off-putting about seeing Namor show such... Genuine concern for Stephen's physical well-being. Best they both stick to dry-humored ribbing of each other. That was much easier to digest. "Oh, I could have quite easily, but where would the fun have been in that? Besides, we want to grace as many of your people as possible with the honor of seeing their King in combat - do try not to disappoint. We'll vacation in the very nicest dimension once we keep this one from losing the planet Earth."
With Namor satisfied with his well-being, Stephen set to work with the piece of armor from the Leviathan. With a great amount of concentration, Stephen lifted the plate into the air, and flew alongside it towards the final Leviathan that needed to be taken care of. Once Stephen was close enough, the only matter to deal with was just how to approach the situation - he doubted he had enough force to break through the armor on the Leviathan's back, but the armor on its underside was made for mobility - which would mean that sacrifices were made in how protective it was. Stephen flew under the beast, armor scrap in tow as he searched for any particular weak point, possibly made from the fighting beforehand. He settled on the beast's neck - exposed somewhat when the Leviathan turned. Stephen moved his hands as if to control the piece of armor he had with him, aiming the sharpest corner towards his target, before thrusting his right hand forward to send the shard for its mark.
The Leviathan let out a guttural roar, not helped by the fact that its airways were likely blocked by the same metal it wore as protection. Stephen pulled his hand back more forcefully than usual, ripping the armor scrap out in a sideways slash that was just the move needed to end the Leviathan entirely. The Sorcerer's left hand shot out now, firing his mystical energies in such a capacity to break up the Leviathan into... More manageable bits to rain down below. As for the armor scrap, Stephen decided to dispose of it while still making use of it being in his possession - he outstretched his hands, then brought them slowly together, crushing the armor scrap into a jagged ball. He observed the situation below with narrowed eyes, before settling on a squad of Chitauri that were a good distance away from any civilians or allied forces. Stephen lifted his right hand in the air, pulling it and the metal ball back in one motion, before shooting the hand towards the group he'd settled on, letting his makeshift weapon fly towards them and crash into the street. He made sure the scrap didn't bounce, or roll away, lest it harm some other innocent, before turning to make his way back towards the others.
Just as he was approaching the are he'd left, his flight was disrupted by an energy blast hitting him in the shoulder, knocking him off-course. He became unfocused, and fell towards the roof of an as-of-yet uncollapsed building. A Chariot zoomed overhead, likely the source of the shot that had put him in this state. For a moment, Stephen lay there - his shoulder burned from the wound, and Wong wasn't here this time to offer his healing. Namor might be able to do something, but from what Stephen had seen, the man was better off taking care of himself. Stephen pushed himself onto his feet, and - regaining his focus - lifted himself off the ground, covering his injured shoulder and returning to the fight.
ADMIN NOTE: Carol tagged the wrong person in her post, so Kate got skipped. Here is the CORRECT posting order. Please be conscious of who you're tagging from here on out.
Honestly, Kate was surprised that she’d survived this long with freaking ALIENS attacking them. However, she was not really all that surprised that she had. There were some good people on the ground who’d helped her get to the vantage point that she had needed to see a little better. Had she been able to get even higher, she would have taken that too, but that was not a worry she had really. She supposed she also had to thank all the damn training she’d been tossed into. It helped, some what. What she didn’t like, was getting shot at.
Stupid futzing aliens again, she scrunched her face up briefly, and took some shots back at them with the gun she had. It was louder, but they already knew she was there, So she had ducked down, trying to make herself smaller, and harder to hit. It helped, too, and she smirked, taking the advantage to fire an exploding arrow at the chariot that was coming at her. What she didn’t expect was the Chitlian to jump ship onto the building she was crouched in. The thing practically flew over her and skidded into a post a few feet behind her. The Chitauri that had been on the chariot went down with it.
Kate scrambled up to her feet, firing several poison rounds at it, to no effect. “Oh shit.” She mumbled under her breath. She shot one of her EMP arrows at it and set it off, before it finally crumpled to the ground. She breathed for a second, just pulling back her focus. Before she could turn around to see what the field looked like, Kate felt her feet slipping, being on the very edge of what was left of the floor. Losing her footing, the archer fell backwards, towards the ground, losing her bow and some other pieces of her gear in the process.
Hitting the ground, she was instantly winded, and full of pain. She couldn’t quite tell, honestly, what all was injured at this point, but she knew damn well it wasn’t going to be pretty. The inhale she tried to take made the pain worse and while Kate tried to breathe a bit deeper, she knew that she was so screwed. She felt where shse thought hurt but found she’d been skewered instead. Her head reeled for a moment, trying to come to terms with that happened. Must have been part of the building; the rebar that was concealed in the floor, she had to be hit with that. Kate coughed, and pretty quickly was overwhelmed with the rush of pain and was out seconds later from it.
Post by Z inactive aidenfelidae on May 9, 2016 4:06:52 GMT
I'm Fine in the Fire
I Feed on the Friction
I'm Right Where I Should Be
Don't Try and Fix Me
Well, had things not been chaotic enough before, Aiden was sure they would be now, with the arrival of a certain Atlantean king. He'd never actually seen the guy in person, but he bore the look of his pictures well enough, and he did have a strong resemblance to Alexander. Namor definitely had a more refined, if.. somewhat less clothed look, though. Not that Aiden was complaining.
His entrance had been none too subtle either, leaving a vehicle-sized crater in his wake. It might've been slightly irritating to find Namor could levitate, too. Dammit, could everyone around here fly but him? Aiden had never really found any fault with his abilities, but next to some of the "heroes" that'd shown up to fight, he was feeling a lot more human than he was used to. Maybe he should've tried to steal one of Stark's suits on the way over to the fight.
Next time. For now, it seemed the remaining Leviathans were being taken care of, which just left the small-fry. Having lost one of his pistols, Aiden paused briefly, pondering what sort of weapon he should use to replace it. The throbbing in his skull didn't make the decision any simpler, but then, he supposed lighter arms wouldn't last him long in a battle of this scale anyways. So he shrugged, conjuring up a simple machete in his left hand. Good enough, and quickly replaced whenever it inevitably ended up lodged in an alien.
Not wanting to lose it too quickly, however, he used the short blade to focus on vital points and deflecting the spears of any Chitauri that got through before he could shoot them full of holes. His wound distracted him enough that he avoided his usual snark that he probably would've inserted somewhere between the stabbing, slashing and shooting, otherwise. But not so much that he didn't notice when the shirtless Atlantean came his way.
The man seemed pretty lethal, even without an arsenal of weapons available to him at a moment's notice. Aiden would've bet good money the wound on his side hadn't come easily, and that whatever had done it was lying broken somewhere. He wouldn't have minded watching the Atlantean fight for awhile--but, unfortunately, the Chitauri allowed him no such luxury.
Namor's being nearby definitely attracted most of the aliens around him, but not quite all of them, and Aiden sighed as he sidestepped a spear aimed for his gut. Or, thought he did. The sudden warmth in his side and torn, darkening shirt told him it'd caught his side. He cursed, sure he'd dodged it, but guessed he must still have been a bit dazed from getting his head hit earlier, and that his depth perception probably wasn't at its best right now.
Luckily, it wasn't so bad that it kept him from jamming his machete through the Chitauri's neck. "If you could send the message to your little hive buddies to stop giving me new scars before you die, that'd be great," Aiden grunted, clutching the fresh wound on his flank with his free hand while he put a few bullets in the head of another alien coming to help its writhing comrade on the ground. "Or, you know, at least stab someone here that doesn't bleed so easily."
"Close your mouth, Stephen, you'll draw flies." The monarch remarked at his friend's unhinged jaw moments before he replied. Was it truly so shocking that he arrived on time? He was a man that abided by his duties and obligations. And as his Kingdom was yet maintained and the battle at his previous location seemed managed, his obligation was to his friend, who had seemed to be in distress. But instead his friend seemed flummoxed as though his wit had been chilled and left to crawl at a glacial pace! Still, the wellbeing of the civilians was a concern. The area surround the zoo did not have much in way of innocent bystanders.
Namor snorted softly and fired off a deadpan reply. "It will be oh so hard to live up to their expectations, Stephen." It was not as though many had seen him in combat. It wasn't as though Atlanteans lead from the front rather than the rear. Oh, wait. He was momentarily confused, it seemed. That was exactly how it was. "Mmm, perhaps a dimension of nothing but blonde women as far as the eye can see?" He offered, knowing full well that the Sorcerer would despise the idea.
But that was what made it so entertaining.
"The gains in popularity lately have been staggering." Twirling the trident around, he let a white-blue blast climb down the shaft to jump from the center prong in a sort of heat-shimmer before it collided with a nearby chariot. "I daresay it's become a national sport; best be on your game." The Atlantean rejoined with equally dry delivery as he continued on his arc through the air to play with ground support and absorbing the shock troops that seemed to be running rampant in the area.
And absorb them he did. The trident at this point was used simply as a painfully sharp weapon, lashing out in sweeps, arcs and quick jabs to fell as many Chitauri as possible. When he'd cleared enough distance to do so, he'd use an energy blast from the trident to hit something at range. Occasionally energy blasts would hit his side, varying in effectiveness between a warm breeze or a pebble being lobbed at him by the world's most irritable insect. Things were going smoothly until a sharp scent of iron cut the air. Lashing out immediately with the trident, he swatted away any aliens that could flank him and turned to his human ally.
Inside of the moment, there were two distinctly different things he made note of. The first was the blonde man had taken an injury in his side, enough of one to warrant note. The second was the sight of a familiar, pretty young woman falling from a nearby building. "Katherine!" Grabbing the man as to not abandon him to the throngs of fast approaching Chitauri, Namor flew with haste to where Katherine had fallen. Inside of a handful of moments, he was there and Aiden was placed on his feet as Namor moved to the young archer's side.
She was unconscious and a piece of rebar was sticking through her, stained crimson by its penetration. Gods be good! Her face was twisted in pain, even through the haze of sleep, and the monarch found himself kneeling immediately by her side, palm sliding to cradle her cheek. He knew he could not, should not move her, else risk worsening the bleeding. But seeing her run through like some preserved butterfly was distressing. Licking his suddenly dry lips, he placed the trident across her body, flat of the prongs near her injury as he willed it to work. The healing effects would not be miraculous, nor where they intended to. He did not want flesh to knit around the wound, simply for bleeding to be slowed further, and the pain to lessen.
Once he was satisfied that the task was complete, he came to a stand, ignoring the pain in his side as he did so. There was work to be done, and the blonde alongside him could not be ignored, even if his condition was not so dire. Grabbing the human again, he cradled him in his arms as he communicated with the psychic relay. [ Where is a healer? ] Within a few moments one of his sergeants mentioned a dark elf behind a barricade which Namor made his way toward. Getting inside, he at last set the human down so that he could be seen to. "Once you've finished with him, there is a girl not far from here, in critical condition. See to her." With that, he left, making his way again toward the undulating mass of aliens.
Expression darkening, he touched down in the thick of the battle on the streets. All of them would die. He made as much clear when he began to use the trident as a brush and the blood of the Chitauri as his paint.
@capmarvel tag
Regrets? I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention. I did what I had to do, and saw it through without exemption.
...it hit him harder than any attack had in centuries. Thanos grit his teeth as pain shot through him; pain he had not felt in so long. It was terrible and it gripped his core and ripped a scream from his throat.
Panting in the aftermath of the attack, Thanos gripped his chair tightly. He was injured. Midgard was not the easy target he had thought. He needed to regroup...
Sending out a call for his troops to withdraw home, Thanos' own throne also began an ascent to the skies and beyond. He would return to crush these creatures into submission, but first he needed to figure out how such a useless creature had been able to fight off his hold and injure him.
((Chitauri forces are now retreating, though the dark elves are not going with them, and are instead converging on Concourse. Players still in Ragnarok threads may choose to finish off the Chitauri before they retreat, or simply let them go. Whatever the choice, players should at least have one more round to wrap things up and react to this turn of events. When you're done, notify a member of staff. Thank you.))
A low boom washes over the sky as the remaining Leviathan bears down on Major Danvers, taking her between its teeth. Powerful jaws dig into the blonde before she is tossed aside, flying from its mouth with a shake.
ADMIN INTERRUPT Character: @capmarvel Reason: Late (Second offense) Up Next: @drstrange
The Sorcerer could feel his strength waning as he hovered through the air back towards the battle. Perhaps it would be best if he withdrew - went back to the Sanctum to regain his strength, and then returned to assist in repelling Thanos. The Universe seemed to have different plans, however, as a Leviathan's roar caught Stephen's attention. Resummoning what strength he had left, he changed course, moving over to the Leviathan. He didn't have much left in him, and would need to prepare a moment - but he wouldn't abandon the fight, not now.
Stephen flew a good distance in front of the Leviahtan into its path, crossing his legs mid-air and turning his palms skyward, touching his little finger to his thumb. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling through his nose, and repeating this motion several times. Meditating always helped him in such trying times - but he had very little time for it now - though it did help him to focus. His eyes snapped open and locked with the face of the beast ahead of him, before he began chanting. "Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, bind this beast so it may no longer rule the skies. Blessed Vishanti, grant your servant the strength he needs, to bring about this mostrosity's demise."
The Crimson Bands did just as he described, binding around the Leviathan and locking its fins to its body, causing it to begin a nosedive towards the street below. Stephen un-crossed his legs, turning to follow the Leviathan in its descent as he thrust his mangled hands towards the monster's back, firing off a continuous stream of energy to strip the Leviathan's armor away before piercing into its back directly. He continued this process until they began to near the ground, at which point Stephen sped up to reach the street before the descending form of the Leviathan.
The carcass of the beast was the focus of Stephen's attention, as much as he was able to focus. If he could focus more, he might send a telepathic message to Namor for assistance - but he doubted he could manage as much, and he honestly didn't have time to wait on the monarch, fast as he was. Stephen lifted his hands, using all the energy he had left to keep the beast suspended in the air with his telekinetic abilities - such a weight was not easy for Stephen to bear on his own, but the street was still filled with allies and civilians: the Sorcerer Supreme's place was right here.
A trickle of blood from his nose signaled that soon enough he would begin to feel the backlash of expending as much magical energy as he had in this battle. The street cleared quickly, as he expected it would, given the looming danger overhead. Furrowing his brows, Stephen released his hold on the Leviathan, letting it continue its fall towards the street. He reached up to grip the Eye of Agamotto, whispering in a raspy voice, only able to manage the one word he needed. "Home."
In a flash he was back in the Sanctum, dropping to his hands and knees and retching onto the polished hardwood floors of the main room. Wong attended the Sorcerer quickly enough, but the man knew as well as Stephen that there was nothing to do now but wait.
After about a half hour, the episode finally ended, and Stephen began to regain his strength. Wong informed the Sorcerer that the Chitauri were retreating, which was very good news for the Sorcerer. Had Thanos come to Earth while Stephen was in this condition, there was nothing the Sorcerer Supreme could have done to assist those fighting - and while Stephen understood that, he also would have felt the pain of whatever losses might have been suffered in his absence. He would sit for a while - wait until he had regained his strength before joining in any relief efforts.
He would also have to see to it that Namor understood he was in... Well, not good health, but that Stephen was alive. The Monarch, no doubt, was worried over the Sorcerer's sudden disappearance - an idea which, admittedly, brought a smirk to Stephen's face. He'd never have expected to see Namor in such a doting state, least of all over him. The thought did little to ease the pain in Stephen's gut, but it helped, certainly.
Stephen looked towards the window in the ceiling of the Sanctum - the only part of it which was the same inside and outside of the Sanctum Sanctorum, especially in New York. The day was won, but there were sure to be losses - that was reality, and as much as Stephen was able to bend reality... That was one thing he would never be able to change.