Life is way too short to take it slow
ALIAS
Menagerie
CLASSIFICATION
Puppeteer
POWER
Skeletal Reanimation
AGE
20
Hero
|
Jun 28, 2020 20:08:31 GMT
Post by Megan Daniels on Jun 28, 2020 20:08:31 GMT
The newly christened Frank moved as if he was making noises at the growing crowd, though of course no sound came out owing to his lack of vocal chords. The skeletons had odd habits like that, adopting general mannerisms of the animal they had once been even when it made little sense. "I like that. Frank it is".
Ah yes, here was the bit Menagerie had been nervous about. It wasn't that she was especially shy, as she wasn't, but that it was rather an odd feeling to walk out and have literally everyone look at you. She couldn't really blame them, even in a city with a very active Hero Program, actually seeing Heroes never failed to be rather impressive, though she still failed to understand the celebrity hero craze. Not that she had ever understood the concept of celebrities in the first place.
Menagerie took a quick look around giving a little wave before returning her attention to Paladin. Frank clenched more tightly to her costume as she slipped her own gloved hand into Paladin's "I suppose I will". Menagerie hadn't a clue what the other Hero was going to do, but she most certainly planned on finding out.
|
|
"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Jun 29, 2020 18:52:59 GMT
Post by Alice Morrow on Jun 29, 2020 18:52:59 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | Paladin's grin widens as Menagerie's hand slips into hers. That won't be quite enough. She pulls a little harder, just enough to catch the other Hero off-balance, despite, or perhaps because of her heavy armour. At the same time she steps in with a gesture that is reminiscent of a body check. Her other arm goes around Menagerie's waist.
"Ready?"
She doesn't bother waiting for Menagerie to respond. Throwing a cocky salute to the crowd, Paladin bends her knees, then jumps. She doubles her normal release of energy to pull Menagerie with her. She knows from experience that doing so without a secure grip around someone's torso is liable to dislocate their arm.
She leaves a wind whipping up the hair and clothes of the passers by and journalists as she and the bone armoured Hero soar away through the air.
This is what Paladin loves, she might have dreamed once of flying. Her power hasn't seen fit to grant her that, but it's the next best thing. She laughs in delight as she scans about the skyline, then looks down to see where they shall land. This ability does require a hell of a lot more precision than flight.
Speaking of precision… Paladin swings her legs round just in time to catch them as they hit the ground. The speed they hit should have reduced both of them to so much jelly and fragments of bone. There is no brutal impact, no sudden crunch of bone and no pain. Instead they land as if they'd dropped off a kerb.
She releases Menagerie from her grip, stepping away to give her space. "So probably not quite what you were expecting. And sorry for the rush, otherwise we'd never have gotten out of that crowd."
They're in a street several blocks away from the Program offices, having covered hundreds of feet in a matter of seconds. One of the benefits of being able to break the laws of physics on a whim.
"Want to walk from here?"
| © seadra of gs |
|
|
Life is way too short to take it slow
ALIAS
Menagerie
CLASSIFICATION
Puppeteer
POWER
Skeletal Reanimation
AGE
20
Hero
|
Post by Megan Daniels on Jun 30, 2020 0:49:41 GMT
Menagerie widened her eyes (not that anyone could tell behind her mask) as Paladin pulled her with a great deal strength considering she and her armor together must have weighed almost 200 pounds. Hadn't Paladin said she couldn't fly? Then she remembered the response; 'I can get pretty close'. Frank seemed to somehow sense that he needed to hold on tight, and dug his bony fingers into the slight gap between a bone plate and the fabric portion of her outfit to allow her to move her shoulder.
Once at an amusement park Menagerie had been on a ride that she couldn't for the life of her recall the name of that used pneumatic pressure to shoot seats you strapped yourself into up an extremely tall tower. This was a lot like that except even higher and instead of being strapped into a seat firmly attached to a tower she was attached only to another person. It was certainly rather exciting, but while Menagerie wasn't afraid of heights per se, there was certainly a part of her brain that very much did not like being unsupported in the air Very soon it was done, and Menagerie wasn't sure if she should be disappointed or relieved. They had hit the ground with nothing more than the slight thud of boots hitting the ground, Frank still perched on her shoulder like nothing had happened. Taking a few steps to rebalance herself she gave paladin a slightly daze smile "That was most definitely unexpected. It was kind of extremely scary and extremely awesome at the same time. I think I'm alright though, so thanks for getting us past the traffic". As a relative newcomer to San Francisco Menagerie was entirely unsure where Paladin had landed them but it definitely wasn't all that close to where they had started. "I think walking would probably be a somewhat better option from here on, not that that wasn't absolutely epic but I think I tend to do better on the ground. I'm not that familiar with the area so lead the way".
|
|
"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Jun 30, 2020 14:40:39 GMT
Post by Alice Morrow on Jun 30, 2020 14:40:39 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | "Yeah, that's how it felt the first time for me too. It gets less scary every time, but I still get a rush. It's probably one of my favourite parts of my power."
Beginning to walk, Paladin takes the lead. She grew up in this city, and it doesn't take long before she falls into a path born of habit. She doesn't even have to pay attention to where she's going. Sometimes the patrols are pre-planned, at other times they're free to take whatever route they choose. It keeps things random and hard to predict, it's not unheard of for wannabe Villains to try and make a name for themselves by going after Heroes. Mixing up the routes reduces the chance of such attacks.
It is a nice enough neighbourhood, relatively clean, with a mixture of people on the streets. A few people pause to take photos of Paladin and the new Hero. Most don't bother stopping though, there might be crowds around the Hero Program building, but most of them are tourists. When you live in San Francisco you see Heroes like Paladin pretty frequently.
"So how come San Francisco? Did you choose it? Or did the Program send you here?"
| © seadra of gs |
|
|
Life is way too short to take it slow
ALIAS
Menagerie
CLASSIFICATION
Puppeteer
POWER
Skeletal Reanimation
AGE
20
Hero
|
Jun 30, 2020 16:13:37 GMT
Post by Megan Daniels on Jun 30, 2020 16:13:37 GMT
Menagerie followed close behind Paladin, soaking in the city. She never had had much of a problem with a sense of direction, but a lot of her life had been in areas without many extremely tall buildings, which had a bad tendency to make all the streets look very similar. She gave the rare people who payed them much attention waves but there weren't that many surprisingly. She had never previously lived in a city with a large Hero presence, so it seemed odd how normal it was for San Francisco residents to see them on patrol.
"Well it was a lucky coincidence really. I had moved to the city for unrelated reasons right before the Program first contacted me, but apparently they had noticed me slightly beforehand and planned to station me here anyway, so I suppose I'd be here anyway. I've been here a few times, but mostly only for the airport, my family used to spend Spring Breaks in Sonoma or Mendocino county. Really beautiful up there." Frank started looking around too. While he obviously didn't have eyes or any way of sensing anything, Menagerie's skeletons had a habit of mimicking her actions even when it was completely pointless to do so.
|
|
"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Post by Alice Morrow on Jul 3, 2020 15:16:59 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | "Wow. That's lucky. I've pretty much lived here my entire life. I hadn't even left the state before I became a Hero."
That had been a rollercoaster.
"So wh-" The explosion interrupts her, and Paladin's head snaps around. There is a cloud of smoke rising over the buildings several blocks away. Though the source of the smoke and the explosion aren't visible, it's clear that it isn't just a simple demolition.
The liaison starts speaking into her ear not even a second later. "Paladin, metahuman incident in downtown."
"I know, I just heard it, Menagerie and I are about three blocks away. We can see smoke. What do we know?"
The person on the other end of the line is female, efficient and very calm, it probably helps that she is sat in one of the most secure buildings in San Francisco while she speaks. "At least three metahumans reported, one striker with explosive capabilities, a brick and what seems to be a traveller."
Paladin swears quietly as she looks over to Menagerie. "We need to get there quick. I can go ahead and stall them while you get as many of your guys," she nods at the squirrel on Menagerie's shoulder, "together as you can. But do it quick."
This time Paladin soars off without Menagerie, leaving rushing air in her wake.
| © seadra of gs |
|
|
Life is way too short to take it slow
ALIAS
Menagerie
CLASSIFICATION
Puppeteer
POWER
Skeletal Reanimation
AGE
20
Hero
|
Post by Megan Daniels on Jul 4, 2020 2:10:03 GMT
The explosion rippled through the air, causing Menagerie to instantly snap to attention. How any meta criminal could be stupid enough to do something so brazen in San Francisco, a city with a large, powerful, and well structured set of Heroes was quite beyond her but even if they weren't especially bright, three or more metahumans presented quite a crisis, the explosion-maker had already proven himself quite dangerous and the other two were somewhat unknown variables still.
Menagerie turned, nodding vigorously to Paladin "I can probably get maybe ten to twenty over within the next five or so minutes". Bringing up more than one skeleton at a time was rather difficult but if there was ever a time the extra minute or two was needed, this was it. As the blue-haired hero pushed off into the air she focused, tuning out the sounds of disturbed traffic and distant but approaching sirens. The slightly uneven texture of the sidewalk dropped to completely level, bones seeming to float up from it, gathering into a trio of rat skeletons. Follow me and defend me if I'm in danger.
She ran, paused to raise a handful more skeletons, then ran again. A few people noticed her but even for those who weren't acclimated to seeing Heroes running about, being surrounded by a small crowd of squirrel, rat, and a couple dog skeletons was good enough protection from anybody bothering her. By the time she was close enough that the air left her mouth tasting like smoke she had gathered twelve skeletons, but they were all relatively small, lacking strength and durability, so Menagerie focused on a trio of larger signals. As the bones emerged and knit together over the next 30 seconds the first two were the sleek long-legged skeletons of horses while the third was a hulking clawed form Menagerie recognized as a bear. In addition to that were six rats, three dogs, and three squirrels. She hoped it would be sufficient because enough time had been used up already.
Menagerie emerged into plumes of dense smoke, fifteen skeletons surrounding her protectively as she started looking quickly over the site. Continue previous instruction, additionally, block off any exit routes I notice.
|
|
"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Post by Alice Morrow on Jul 4, 2020 14:52:38 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | Paladin doesn't quite go storming in face first, instead landing on a roof adjacent to the pillar of smoke. She moves forward to the edge of the roof, her footsteps making no sound as she absorbs the impact of each step. She speaks, the earpiece picking up her voice with ease. "Can you connect me to Menagerie, we should be on the same channel for this."
The collected, professional voice of Paladin's liaison responds immediately. "Linking you two in."
Visibility was poor, dust and haze obscuring details and making it difficult to make out exactly what was going on. What was evident is that this wasn't a completely planned event. There was no bank here, no smashed and crumpled armoured truck. This wasn't some attempted robbery like she'd expected.
A smattering of gunfire breaks out amongst the rubble, though Paladin doesn't react other than to turn her attention in that direction. There are a handful of men there wielding pistols and other compact weaponry, clearly this is some sort of gang conflict, kicked off by metahuman muscle. This might make things harder.
There's another explosion, and a burly figure goes flying across the impromptu battlefield, his flight only halted when they impact a wall. Digging themselves out of the crater they have created, they drop down and out of sight, but not before she can make out that their skin is gleaming metal, where it's not scorched that is. That must be the brick, clearly they're on the opposite side from the striker.
The striker has to be the greater threat, bricks can be dangerous, but only because they're hard to stop for most. If this one just has metallic skin then they probably won't be able to do much damage. Paladin orients herself in the direction the explosion came from, then with a running start, jumps off the roof.
She doesn't bother with a dramatic Hero landing. Effortlessly absorbing the impact of her fall and springing forward into a run. The striker comes into view, a short woman in a torn tank top. She has a mohawk, a nose ring and three lip piercings but contrary to her fierce appearance, she throws up her hands in terror as Paladin approaches.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I surrender, it's not my fault I swear."
She sounds like she's in complete panic, either she's telling the truth or she's a really good actor. Paladin has always seen the best in people, but she can't take many risks here. She skids to a halt, "Hands behind your head, face down on the ground, do it now!"
The woman does so almost immediately. "He wanted to recruit me, I didn't want to join, he wouldn't leave me alone and then he said he was going to hurt me."
She's face down, so Paladin can't see, but it sounds like the woman is crying. "It's alright, we'll be able to sort this out, but I'm going to have to make sure you're not a threat. I'm sorry, but don't fight back or it'll just be worse for you."
Explosions meant that it was unlikely the woman could be easily restrained. Paladin puts her in a chokehold. There are a few brief moment's where the woman struggles, but it is more through instinct than anything else. No explosion is forthcoming and a few seconds later the woman ceases struggling as she loses consciousness. Paladin lays her down carefully and with regret, before zip tying her to the rebar protruding from a hefty chunk of rubble.
"Now connected to Menagerie."
Paladin stood, "Hey, Menagerie, a load of guns here, I can handle them easily, but I think the brick might be our main problem. I haven't seen the traveller though!" | © seadra of gs |
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|
Life is way too short to take it slow
ALIAS
Menagerie
CLASSIFICATION
Puppeteer
POWER
Skeletal Reanimation
AGE
20
Hero
|
Post by Megan Daniels on Jul 5, 2020 2:28:22 GMT
Menagerie's earpiece was built into her mask, though a few of the standard ones were also hidden in a tiny storage space behind one of her suit's panels in case of emergency, she had in fact been so focused on the sounds of gunfire that the voice directly in her ear almost made her jump. "Got it, I'll keep a lookout. I've got twelve fairly small critters and three larger ones, but I can barely see through all the dust". As it turned out Menagerie had arrived on the opposite side of the rubble, which was much more intact, the fragments of walls still containing a standing doorframe with a wide open door.
Beyond the single remaining wall was a mangled mess of concrete, twisted metal, and broken glass all covered in a liberal sprinkling of plaster dust. Running around the edges of the ruin trying to make sure she wasn't going to be getting shot at. One of the horses had stayed at each corner of the remaining wall and two rats and a dog the door. She could see the armed men now, they couldn't see her yet but she was careful to keep the bear between herself and them at all times. While her suit was about as bullet-resistant as the bear was, unlike her it wouldn't feel pain and could continue to function if a bullet did manage to break a few ribs or something.
A sharp crack directly behind her suddenly drew Menagerie's attention, she turned to see a gun being carried by a wiry man with short sandy hair, wearing a camouflage pattern jacket. Immediately she sent the remaining dog to jump at him since the bear was in the opposite direction, she started turning it around too though, the man seemed surprisingly unbothered by the skeletal dog running at him fangs bared, checking the rack of his pistol like nothing was happening. The reason for this quickly became clear when there was another crack right before the dog reached him and the gun's barrel was now pressing itself into the back of her neck, but by that time the bear skeleton had turned around and swiped at the man's legs, knocking him off his feet.
By the time Menagerie had turned, another crack came and he was gone. The bears left-side claws had a slight bit of red staining their tips. Catching her breath she noticed he had only moved about eight feet away, to the edge of a nearly story-high bit of rubble, then another crack and she could hear him behind the rubble shouting at someone. Quickly Menagerie called "Found the traveler. Teleporter, but I think they have a fairly short range" he had after all gone back behind cover in two trips when it was only about 15 feet "Thin blond man, Camo Jacket, makes a loud snapping sound when teleporting. Leg is injured but he managed to get back to one of the other shooters". Now they all probably knew she was there. She scurried around the buildings edge with the remaining skeletons, save the bear which she left behind with a command to try and distract or disable anyone who came back to look for her.
Taking back the horses to run ahead of her, after all blocking off an exit was rather futile with teleportation in the mix, she continued around to the building's front. The idea was that while the bear distracted them she would bring more skeletons in from behind them, but before she could put this plan into action she felt a connection sever as a man looking like he had taken a swim in a vat of silvery paint slammed into one of the horses with enough force to send it flying apart. "Damn it, Brick's found me".
|
|
"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Post by Alice Morrow on Jul 7, 2020 11:35:31 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | Teleporter. Damn. That would be a problem. There aren't many metahumans that Paladin can't deal with once she gets her hands on them, but that would be more than half of the challenge now that there is a teleporter in the mix.
The haze of dust is still making vision almost impossible and Paladin casts about for some sign of the off-white of Menagerie's costume. There's nothing, no sign of her at all amongst the rubble. "Menagerie, where are you?" In her distraction she doesn't notice the approach of three men bearing guns. Unfortunately for them the thick dust obscures too much of their vision for them to realise which Hero they've just opened fire on until she comes hurtling out of the dust.
She breaks the nose of the first with her boot heel, before flinging an elbow into the second's throat. They both go down like a sack of rocks, with only one left. She grabs him by the front of his shirt and with surprising strength yanks him forward towards her. He's taller than she is, despite her natural height and her heavy boots. "Where the fuck is your boss?"
He raises a trembling finger and points off in the direction from which there suddenly comes the sound of what sounds very much like bones breaking. "Much obliged."
She sinks her knee into his flabby gut, then drops an elbow on the back of his head as he bends forward. Those three should be out for the count. Right now she had to prioritise her fellow Hero. "Do your best to slow him down Menagerie, I'm coming."
With so little visibility jumping seems pointless, so she sets off at a run, each stride covering far more ground than any normal human would be able to.
| © seadra of gs |
|
|
Life is way too short to take it slow
ALIAS
Menagerie
CLASSIFICATION
Puppeteer
POWER
Skeletal Reanimation
AGE
20
Hero
|
Post by Megan Daniels on Jul 7, 2020 16:14:01 GMT
"At the more damaged edge of the building" Menagerie had to admit for people who seemed to just be your basic thugs who had the luck of getting powers the two metahumans were experienced and hard to deal with, considering one was near-impossible to damage and the other teleported, even if only a few feet at a time. Fortunately for her the metal guy seemed to be rather heavy and didn't move all that fast, unfortunately for her she wasn't exactly dexterous in armor, and fortunately again it didn't matter if she was. Keep him from getting close enough to hit me, and avoid getting hit yourself if possible.
Swarming together in a flash of bone white came tiny skeletons nimbly dashing around the brick's ankles and biting and scratching at them. Not a single mark was left on the metal, but with her running about over the area and the rats and squirrels he had dodging around his heels, ducking out of the way or kicks and punches, he wasn't exactly getting that much closer to her any time soon, neither of them were exactly agile here, the brick because he both had recently been catapulted into a wall by an explosion and because he must have weight at the very least 300 pound, and Menagerie because she had run three blocks straight into a firefight and was wearing somewhat constrictive armoring. He threw a punch that went absolutely nowhere near her or any skeletons "Hey Tin Man, you missed!" she said loudly enough to ensure Paladin could locate her.
Still despite the talk she knew she wouldn't keep this up for long if she simply couldn't do any damage to him. Her skeletons could cover a lot of ground at once and weren't bothered by weaker attacks, temperature, or poison. When she had chosen to come into the hero program she'd read up on what sorts of power existed and she had three major weak points; wildcards or power-cancelling ghosts who were a problem for any metahuman, flyers who she had no method of hitting while in the air, and the one currently vexing her- anyone tough enough to shrug off the skeleton's individually weak attacks. She thought it was wise to recognize that every hero had their weak points, that's why there were a lot of Heroes after all. Pairs of them often had totally different weaknesses and strengths, making countering them much harder.
|
|
"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Jul 10, 2020 17:27:50 GMT
Post by Alice Morrow on Jul 10, 2020 17:27:50 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | The more damaged edge of the building?
That tells Paladin precisely nothing. Probably because of her proximity to the explosive meta, the tall Hero seems to be in area of the battle ground that is filled with clouds of dust so thick she can barely see ten feet. Not for the first time, Paladin wonders whether she should get a compass built into her suit somehow, although Stephen would probably have a fit. "Fuck."
It's at that moment that she hears Menagerie shout out. She grins, the new Hero has some good repartee, but she's also leading her right to her and the brick. Paladin turns, aiming herself where she heard the shout coming from. Dropping down, she takes what can only be described as a runner's pose, except when she pushes off the shockwave throws her forward at a far greater speed than any normal human.
Finally the dust seems to clear and she comes out of it, dropping one foot down to catch her and let her absorb her momentum before she crashes into the combat. She arrives just in time to see the metal man swing another clumsy blow towards the Hero.
"Awww… I guess the Tin Man really doesn't have a heart…" Reaching out she snags the wrist of the hand that has just aimed a blow at Menagerie. The man tugs at it and she feels a sudden surge of energy rush into her. He's obviously packing a little more than just toughness, she's definitely fought stronger, but paired with basically indestructible skin it must be a potent combination. Normally when taking someone down she'd use her strength and momentum, but this guy had to weigh at least three hundred pounds. She pushed forward, throwing out kinetic energy into her arm and heel simultaneously. If he'd been the weight of a normal man he'd of somersaulted. As it was he went down hard. The concrete cracked and Paladin found herself kneeling beside him with on hand on his chest.
She ignores his blows, each metal fist simply stopping when it touches her as if they were just intended to be love taps. Turning to Menagerie, she bears her teeth in a feral grin "Damn girl, you could have picked an easier guy to fight for your first time out. You coming after my fans or what?"
That just leaves the teleporter unaccounted for, and there is another snap as he appears before them with an evil black gun raised. Paladin has nothing to fear from a handgun, but she doesn't know how touch Menagerie's suit is. If she lets go of the tin man he might be able to get back up though. | © seadra of gs |
|
|
Life is way too short to take it slow
ALIAS
Menagerie
CLASSIFICATION
Puppeteer
POWER
Skeletal Reanimation
AGE
20
Hero
|
Post by Megan Daniels on Jul 11, 2020 0:07:17 GMT
Banter was one of those things that were simply a Hero trope, most of the time there wasn't much of a practical point to it but it just seemed like it was what you were supposed to do, but here was a time it turned out to actually be useful.
Paladin blurring into the scene made her think there should be some way of giving a meta more than one power category considering that girl deserved a Traveler classification for how quickly and efficiently she got around. Despite the situation she couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the other Hero's response to her commentary as she emerged in a flash of white, purple, and blue. While she hadn't been able to do more than lightly hinder and outmaneuver him, but she could see now just why Paladin was so incredibly powerful; physical force was simply futile against her, and unless you were just as resistant her attacks were devastating. Unfortunately his metal skin seemed to make him knock-out immune as well.
Menagerie gathered her remaining skeletons together as Paladin held the man down one handed, made all the more impressive by the fact he was at least twice Paladin's size in volume and likely even more so in weight with the skin plated in metal. No wonder he was stronger than normal, he simply had to have been to support the weight of being coated in metal. "Bad timing I guess, or maybe he knew he wouldn't stand much chance against you? I'm certainly not going to be going after bricks alone on purpose any time soon, that's for sure". She had most of her rats and squirrels, one of the horses, and the bear left- she had them stand around the Heroes in every direction, a skeleton every few feet for about ten feet around them.
The teleporter reappeared with a crack, and she had to give him a bit of credit for doing his homework considering he didn't even bother pointing the gun at Paladin. If she had been less new he wouldn't have done that though considering the drastic mistake it was to allow her time to set up properly. The moment he appeared Frank, being the nearest skeleton to him, climbed up the side of a more intact wall, leaping down onto the traveler's hand sinking his teeth into it. Like all rodents, squirrel teeth never stop growing while they're alive, they have to sharpen them down on hard substances, so despite his small size Frank's mouth was built like a staple remover. The man reflexively stretched his hand out, gun clattering to the ground, he attempted to teleport away but apparently whatever caused his gun and clothing to be moved with him brought the skeletal squirrel along for the ride. He could only teleport a few feet at a time and Menagerie's preparation allowed her to ensure that she had his entire range covered. He had teleported within a few feet of the horse which reared up and gave a sharp kick in the back of his head.
As he collapsed to the ground unconscious, Frank deftly leapt off, returning to Menagerie's side looking surprisingly smug for a creature without any facial expressions. She could hear sirens coming close as she walked back to Paladin, wiping dust out of her hair. "That was certainly quite a dramatic first day if I do say so myself."
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|
"I don't want to be ordinary, got too much to give..."
ALIAS
Paladin
CLASSIFICATION
Brick
POWER
Kinetic Energey Absorption
AGE
19
Hero
|
Jul 15, 2020 10:23:14 GMT
Post by Alice Morrow on Jul 15, 2020 10:23:14 GMT
Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? | There is a nasty crack as the horse skeleton's hooves impact the teleporter's head. Paladin winces. Physical injury is mostly a thing of the past for her now, but she'd had eighteen years without abilities, plenty long enough to learn what pain felt like. Besides, she'd experienced more than enough pain to last her a lifetime in the accident, the one that had led to her death, resurrection, and abilities. It seems a lifetime ago now.
She glances up at Megan. "That, was pretty nicely done, I guess once you have enough skeletons you can just control an area. It must be pretty nifty."
A fist glances off her shoulder and she frowns, turning her gaze on the heavy man she's currently holding down with one hand. "Is your brain made of metal too? You lost idiot."
This time he attempts to punch her in the stomach. Either he's just that angry at being beaten by a girl, or really that stupid. That Paladin's true power is to absorb kinetic energy is actually a fairly well-kept secret. Most people think she's just extraordinarily tough. Unfortunately that means there's always a brick or two that thinks he can punch her until he gets through her fabled resilience, not realising that doing so only gives her yet more power.
Sighing, she continues. "Look, either you stop hitting me now and I don't make you regret everything else so far, or I have to subdue you by the time they show up here with a truck big enough to take your steel ass away."
By way of response the man beats at her wrist. Paladin rolls her eyes, then, waiting for a gap in his blows so she can switch the direction the energy is flowing, she flexes her palm. Even that tiny movement is enough for her to magnify the kinetic energy involved, and the 'blow' in the centre of the man's solar plexus forces all of the air out of his lungs. The concrete beneath him cracks.
This time the man stops. "Thank you."
Finally able to turn her attention properly back to her companion. "Sorry, some of these guys really don't know when to stop. I should stay here with him just in case he gets ideas before they show up with a truck for him."
She stands, no longer worried about keeping a hand on the metal man, who is now lying with his head on the concrete as he struggles to recover his breath. Gesturing back the way she had come, her voice becomes tinged with concern. "I left the striker over that way. She surrendered to me straight away, said these guys were trying to convince her to join them. Whatever her power is it clearly has a hell of a kick. I had to knock her out just in case but she'll probably be coming to soon. Could you go make sure that she's OK?"
| © seadra of gs |
|
|
Life is way too short to take it slow
ALIAS
Menagerie
CLASSIFICATION
Puppeteer
POWER
Skeletal Reanimation
AGE
20
Hero
|
Jul 15, 2020 13:44:58 GMT
Post by Megan Daniels on Jul 15, 2020 13:44:58 GMT
Menagerie nodded with a slight smile at Paladin's words "Yeah, the way I see it any Metahuman with a combat-usable ability has some sort of specialty based on how they can project force, and for me it's area control. My skeletons aren't nearly as strong or durable as a living thing but they mean I effectively can be in a great many places at once despite the individually weak attacks" she rolled her eyes at the metal-bodied brick behind her mask "Look, your last few dozen punches didn't do anything, just doing even more isn't going to change that"
The pair of metas certainly were a tough fight, but only because they had effectively opposite strengths and weaknesses, meaning one of them likely was a good match against whoever they were fighting. Menagerie might not have been in peak condition but she was fit enough to pass the Hero Program physicals and had been practicing her power as long as every other metahuman had been (at least to her own knowledge), and as for Paladin well, what condition you would have been in without powers hardly mattered with her abilities. Seeing her lightly flex a giant metal object (albeit a living one) into concrete certainly helped her realize that, brick strength was simply on a level well beyond anybody else's. Giving Paladin a friendly nod Menagerie said "Alright, keep watch over the teleporter too but I doubt he'll be up any time soon."
The explosion striker wasn't too hard to find being right near the center of the destruction. Her punk aesthetic was rather marred by the burn marks and smoke curling from her hair and clothing as she spotted Menagerie, backing away as much as she could while tied to a bar of metal "Who are you? I will get myself out if I need to you know!" she said in a panicked tone. "I'm Menagerie of the Hero Program" the woman let out a relived sigh "The men who were trying to recruit you have been neutralized and containment vehicles are on the way to take them in for the crimes they've committed today and probably more that will be found that they've done previously. You... did cause a large amount of property damage but I think given the situation you were more than justified. So is there anything else you can tell us about those men or the situation? Gangs with metahuman enforcers can be a serious issue, and I want to make sure the Program is aware of the threat so we can ensure this chaos doesn't happen to more people" Megan had two normal skills unrelated to her metahuman abilities she was taking use of now; she was good at reading peoples emotions and even their basic personality and adjusting herself to deal with it better, and she was a voice actor and knew how to sound ways she wasn't actually feeling, in this case calm and collected.
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