Action, Adventure, Excitement, Part 9: Anime Chapter 3 Subject: Re: AAE9A: Collision Course On Mon, 18 Apr 2005 06:23:07 -0700 (PDT) Skyefire Said As CAoL Message # 00012513 >Roland X wrote: >> Six cells of three missiles apiece add up to a broadside of >>eighteen short-range missiles with heavy self-forging antiarmor >>warheads. All headed Ramtron's way, Roboteching picturesquely. > > OOC-Rachel & Liam: "Ooo, look, Rog'r made a new word!" OOC: Not me -- I stole it from the Eyrie crew, fair and square. (:) >> OOC: Man, that brings back memories. I was *awed* by the FP, back >>when I watched it when I was ~5yo or so. > > OOC: Yeah. I wanted to be Mark when I grew up (unlike 90% of the >_rest_ of the male BotP-watching population, who apparently wanted >to be Jason). Come to think of it, I still do. It occurred to me >recently that Roland's spiritual ancestry shows a lot of BotP >influence... OOC: Huh! *I* always wanted to be Mark, although I had a few Jason moments. But then, it was *Tiny* who got to fly the big kewl plane.... This probably explains something about Roger's multi-threaded nature. > The motorcycle beneath the deadliest-looking of the women unfolds >and takes form around her. It draws what looks like a machine pistol >scaled to its size and starts firing, tearing Boomers apart. {Don't >tell me you were _expecting_ that, Sylia!} the woman in the >motorcycle snaps at the one in the flight-pack armor. > {As you wish, Priscilla,} Sylia replies enigmatically. {We must >deal with these Boomers quickly and advance to GENOM-Paradigm before >Quincy or Rosewater recover.} OOC: Sooo, was Sylia *really* expecting that, or is she just taking advantage of an opportunity to reinforce her reputation for knowing everything? (:) > {Roger!} the other two women reply, the one with glowing OOC-R: Whozzat whatnow? Oh... never mind. (man, that keeps *happening* to me....) >'ribbons' trailing from her helmet wading in to fight hand-to-hand >while the other hangs back, seeming to do nothing. Yet her 'nothing' >may be having the most effect as enemy Boomers go haywire, attacking >their own... > "Hey, McNichols?" Dan asks. > "Yeah?" > "Do those suits of armor have high heels?" > Leon chuckles. "Gotta love 'em." OOC: Oooooh, Dastun and Leon -- the possibilities are so bright, and shiny... >> #Well, this is it. Bye, Yuri.# >> #Bye, Kei. Love you.# >> #Love you too, Y--# > > "Sorry, Angels, no time to explain," Roland rattles off with >lightning speed, scooping up both women in his forcefield and >vanishing as quickly as he arrived. Without Kei's steadying 'hands' on the control, the Lovely Angel shudder once, then tumbles violently, coming apart as the long-denied aerodynamic stresses are finally allowed to assert themselves. But with less than half a second before impact, it's not enough to reduce the biblical impact of the burning Angel against the mech-worm. >> For just a moment, as Ramtron fires, Big O brings the entire >>mecha-worm to a dead stop, huge feet digging calf-deep into the >>bay's bottom muck. The link gripped in the MegaDeus's great iron >>hands is lifted out of the water, directly between Big O and >>Ramtron as Zarkon's mech fires-- >> --and a screaming, burning angel strikes the worm's remaining >>head like something straight out of the Old Testament. The exposed section of the worm appropriated by Big O as a makeshift shield absorbs the MegaDeus's share of Ramtron's enourmous barrage, effectively destroying that segment. But worm's remaining head, striking at Big O's exposed neck, is less than ten meters distant when the Angel annihilates it. The ensuing fireball blots out Big O and the worm. As the flames clear, a partially divided, doubly-headless worm is visible writhing in the bay's murky water... But no MegaDeus. Dorothy's voice rings across the bay: "ROOOOGGEEEERRRRRRRRR!!!" > When the conflagration subsides, Zarkon laughs. Briefly. "Three >heroes with a single blow. I must commend ZoltARGH!" > The Blazing Sword has just carved a massive L-shaped rent in >Ramtron's chest. Dark Voltron lands several dozen yards away in a >crouched coil, ready to spring again. He turns just as Ramtron >catches the axe. "I am going to cut out what remains of your heart, >boy, and eat it raw." > Amazingly, Lotor _laughs._ "What is it that Earth prince said to >_his_ king in this situation? Ah, yes... 'Come, Father. Let us >embrace at last.'" Supine on the bottom of the bay, the great MegaDeus is dark and outwardly lifeless as the mecha-worm's death throes batter it with blind mercilessness. "ROOOOGGEEEERRRRRRRRR!!!" For a moment, the eyes in that glowering copper-helmed face spark, and glow, as something deep within the iron giant respond to the desperation of that summons. But the glow dies, and the great mech subsides back into the muck, pounded by the worm's berserk writhing. Inside, the silent darkness of the cockpit is broken only by the intermittent static on the main screen. Dotorthy stands up, heedless of the boat's violent tossing as Norman guides it expertly over the huge waves raised by the various major combats going on around them. "Norman!" The butler does not need to be told what to do -- at her word, the boat pivots smartly and takes off across the bay toward's Big O's last position. Norman opens a concealed panel below the dash and considers a number of buttons emblazoned with stylized bat motifs. Skipping over "BATPUMP, BATSHARKREP, BATSCOOP, BATNET, ROBINPULT, BATEJECT, BATSUBMODE, and BATGRENADE," he presses the one labelled "BATFOIL." The big speedboat leaps ahead and climbs out of the water on stilts to reveal a set of hydrofoils and pumpjet propulsion orifices. Cutting across the waves at a good seventy knots, the butler and the maid carve a curving course around the writhing mecha-worm. As they approach Big O's last visible location at deadly speed, Dorothy pulls back the cuff of her borrowed coat to reveal Roger Smith's watch, dangling loosely on her wrist and almost falling off over her small hand. "Big O," R Dorothy Wayneright declares, as flatly implacable as the MegaDeus itself. "It's Showtime!" And as the speedboat crosses through the spot where Big O stood mere minutes before, she strips off the coat, steps onto the gunwhale, and makes a perfect dive into the water. She breaks the surface as cleanly as a dart, and sinks like one -- but a guided dart, heading for a specific point on the bottom of the bay. On her wrist, the watch flickers, and displays a single shrinking circle... And then an enormous black iron hand emerges from the swirling muddy darkness, closes around her-- and clenches into a fist. When the hand reopens and drops back into the murk, there is no sign of the albino redheaded android. > "What am I, chopped liver?" a mischievous voice calls from above. >Roland looks up...and his jaw drops. A stunning, lithe blonde is >gazing down at him with a self-satisfied grin. She also has >impressive wings sprouting from her back. Roland tries to say >something, but no words come out. "So, these are Roger's other two >angels, eh?" > Roland, reminded of an unintended quip of his own much earlier, >groans in disbelief. [He even has the full set -- blonde, brunette >and redhead.] The Angels pop to their feet, flanking Roland like a pair of bookends and looking a bit confused. "Are we back?" "I don't think we ever left." "But then how--" The two lovely young ladies finally notice Roland, add two and two together with surprising speed, and react appropriately for the milleu: "PAPA ROLAND!" Roland suddenly finds himself the filling in a Roland-on-Angel sandwich as the Affectionate Angelic Glomp Attack claims yet another victim. With his armor and various powers rendered useless, Earth's greatest Defender reacts the only way he can: blushes fit to turn Tokyo into Dresden redux and begins running around in circles, flailing his arms and babbling helplessly as the Angels express their appreciation. "You like us!" "You really like us!" "You REALLY REALLY like us!" "You *don't* hate having us around!" "You *don't* think we're destructive menaces!" "You called us FAMILY! WAAAAAAH!" (Of course, they're not doing anyting *serious* to him, because they don't want to make Morgan mad. Not so much because they're scared of her, as because they really do love Mama Morgan.) Angel, for her part (and someone's going to have to start handing out scorecards for all these various Angels) begins laughing so hard that she falls out of the air and very nearly hurts herself. > The black armor reappears. "Are you finished running, Defender?" >Cain laughs. The Angels (just the Lovely ones, not Angel herself) detach from Roland like twin missile pods, responding to the threat like guard dogs as Cain does a double take. "Or, perhaps I should give you some more time with your harem, before I kill you?" Cain sounds suspiciously like he's trying to keep from *giggling* -- incongruous for a villain of his stripe. > "That does it," the Eternal snarls. While he knows this is >probably not the wisest choice he has ever made, Defender has had >enough -- Angel's jaw drops this time as he plows headlong into >Teknoman Saber, fist connecting with bone-rattling satisfaction >against Saber's face plate. As all three Angels watch this truly spectacular display of Clobberin' Time, they reach a unanimous mutual decision that this fight is just a little too big for them, and start moving away. Kei hefts her Liefield 3000 sidearm experimentally. "Okay, Yuri, I've got my pistol and my regular belt pack of minigrenades. What 've you got left?" Yuri displays her KirbyArms 327A1 (less bang, but more finesse) in one hand and the Bloody Card in the other. "Okay." Kei looks at Angel. "And what's your story?" Angel ruffles her wings and looks coy. "Oh, I'm a friend of Roger's." Kei and Yuri exchange a look that says, plainly, "ANOTHER one?" but let it pass. "So, do you actually have any weapons in that getup?" Angel cocks a superior eyebrow. "*You're* one to talk--" "Hey, these outfits happen to include a full-body layer of transparent nanolayer armor!" "--but I think I can get by." She flicks her wrists, and is suddenly holding a big slabsided semiauto in each hand (like M1911A1s on steroids). Kei blinks, momentarily diverted. "Whoah. Nice trick." "Thank you. I picked up some pointers from this half-blind kid over in Nerima. Nice boy, but kind of dim -- he kept thinking I was a personal hyegiene product of some kind. And talking to ferns..." "So," Yuri breaks in. "We can't really help Papa Roland with his fight very much--" the suddenl total annihilation of most of a city block, three streets over, punctuate her words. "--and we can't get to Roger, sooo... what do we do now?" Angel points with her chin in the direction of the arcology dominating the central Tokyo skyline. "I happen to know there's a fight brewing over there with some *other* friends of Roger's--" "Lemme guess -- female friends, right?" Kei sounds resigned. "Some of them. But anyway, they could *really* use some help right about now. And you two look like you know how to handle yourselves." The Lovely Angels gape at the lovely Angel for a moment before quickly concluding that being among people who *don't* know about That Other Name might not be a bad thing. "Lead on," Kei responds, holstering her Liefield. Angel smirks. "Hope you girls can keep up." She crouches, flexes her wings to full extension, and leaps into the air. Yuri watches, looking just a bit jealous. "Kei... Roger has a *thing* for girls with wings, right?" "And guns, yeah." "Do you still have the contact data for that biosculpt/genesplicer on Jackson's Whole...?" ================================= Subject: Re: AAE9A: Collision Course On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 20:01:52 -0700 Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00012517 >skyefire Said As CAoL Message # 00012513 > >>Roland X wrote: >> >> "What am I, chopped liver?" a mischievous voice calls from above. >>Roland looks up...and his jaw drops. A stunning, lithe blonde is >>gazing down at him with a self-satisfied grin. She also has >>impressive wings sprouting from her back. Roland tries to say >>something, but no words come out. "So, these are Roger's other two >>angels, eh?" >> Roland, reminded of an unintended quip of his own much earlier, >>groans in disbelief. [He even has the full set -- blonde, brunette >>and redhead.] ^Oracle, two of Roger's wives are in trouble. I will deal with it.^ Aurora reports to Oracle, as she streams healing energies to the two fallen angels. The results would be considered miraculous if the one doing the cosidering did not know the source. >>> "That does it," the Eternal snarls. While he knows this is >>>probably not the wisest choice he has ever made, Defender has had >>>enough -- Angel's jaw drops this time as he plows headlong into >>>Teknoman Saber, fist connecting with bone-rattling satisfaction >>>against Saber's face plate. /*"Defender, I believe you may be needing some... assistance. Therefore be healed, and replenished."*/ Aurora's voice echos out over the Tokyo skyline, as a tremendous wave of healing energy engulfs Defender, Dark Voltron, and Big O, Healing wounds, repairing armor and mechanisms, and restoring depleted energies, weapons, and munitions. /*"Go, and be victorious. Should you need more Hydra stands ready to assist in his way."*/ ================================= Subject: AAE9A: Rescues 'R' Us On Mon, 25 Apr 2005 23:47:43 -0700 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012533 >On Mon, 18 Apr 2005 06:23:07 -0700 (PDT) >Skyefire Said As CAoL Message # 00012513 > >>>headed Ramtron's way, Roboteching picturesquely. >> >> OOC-Rachel & Liam: "Ooo, look, Rog'r made a new word!" > > OOC: Not me -- I stole it from the Eyrie crew, fair and square. >(:) OOC: Oh, so _that's_ what that curvy missile thing is called. (In Americanime-ese, that is. ;^) >>{Don't tell me you were _expecting_ that, Sylia!} the woman in the >>motorcycle snaps at the one in the flight-pack armor. >> {As you wish, Priscilla,} Sylia replies enigmatically. {We must >>deal with these Boomers quickly and advance to GENOM-Paradigm before >>Quincy or Rosewater recover.} > > OOC: Sooo, was Sylia *really* expecting that, or is she just >taking advantage of an opportunity to reinforce her reputation for >knowing everything? (:) OOC: Yes. >> "Hey, McNichols?" Dan asks. >> "Yeah?" >> "Do those suits of armor have high heels?" >> Leon chuckles. "Gotta love 'em." > > OOC: Oooooh, Dastun and Leon -- the possibilities are so bright, >and shiny... OOC: Why do you think I put 'em together? Mismatched cop movie, anyone? "I'm getting too old for this." >The ensuing fireball blots out Big O and the worm. As the flames >clear, a partially divided, doubly-headless worm is visible writhing >in the bay's murky water... > But no MegaDeus. > Dorothy's voice rings across the bay: "ROOOOGGEEEERRRRRRRRR!!!" Roland sighs long-sufferingly (tm Seosaidh). ["Can we keep it clean for...for _ten_minutes?_"] he thinks, trying (unsuccessfully) to drown out his worry with pique. Alas, Our Hero is already busy with _one_ rescue. > The Angels pop to their feet, flanking Roland like a pair of (deadly) >bookends and looking a bit confused. > "Are we back?" > "I don't think we ever left." > "But then how--" > The two lovely young ladies finally notice Roland, add two and two >together with surprising speed, and react appropriately for the >milleu: "PAPA ROLAND!" [Uh-oh.] Still, in spite of his wiseacre brain, he's glad to see them okay. > Roland suddenly finds himself the filling in a Roland-on-Angel >sandwich as the Affectionate Angelic Glomp Attack claims yet another >victim. "You know -- wheeze -- Angels, if you did this to the bad guys it'd probably -- gasp -- work better than shooting them," he quips as dryly as one can while being sandwich-hugged by the DP. > "You like us!" > "You really like us!" > "You REALLY REALLY like us!" > "You *don't* hate having us around!" > "You *don't* think we're destructive menaces!" > "You called us FAMILY! WAAAAAAH!" > (Of course, they're not doing anyting *serious* to him, because >they don't want to make Morgan mad. Not so much because they're >scared of her, as because they really do love Mama Morgan.) "Okay, okay, that's enough, you two," he sighs, slowly prying...well, okay, _trying_ to pry...the Affectionate Angels off him. "We still have -- nnf -- work to do." > Angel, for her part (and someone's going to have to start handing >out scorecards for all these various Angels) begins laughing so hard >that she falls out of the air and very nearly hurts herself. He gives the winged newcomer a long-suffering look. "Easy for _you_ to say," Roland replies, successfully managing 'dry' this time. >> The black armor reappears. "Are you finished running, Defender?" >>Cain laughs. > > The Angels (just the Lovely ones, not Angel herself) detach from >Roland like twin missile pods, responding to the threat like guard >dogs as Cain does a double take. > "Or, perhaps I should give you some more time with your harem, >before I kill you?" Cain sounds suspiciously like he's trying to keep >from *giggling* -- incongruous for a villain of his stripe. "HEY! We're not Papa Ro--er, Defender's harem!" Yuri objects vehemently. "YEAH! We're ROGER'S harem!" Kei adds furiously. Then she gets a puzzled expression on her face. "Um, I don't think that came out right." "Yes it did," Roland says in a very droll tone. Angel stops laughing. "Oh, you've got some _real_ winners there," Cain replies. _He_ is still laughing. >> "That does it," the Eternal snarls. While he knows this is >>probably not the wisest choice he has ever made, Defender has had >>enough -- Angel's jaw drops this time as he plows headlong into >>Teknoman Saber, fist connecting with bone-rattling satisfaction >>against Saber's face plate. OOC: Somewhere in here, something humiliating happens to Cain. In all likelihood, it's Dhyrclhanc opening a Dragon-sized can of whoop@$$ on his armored tuchus, but I'll wait until it gets posted for that. ;^) >On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 20:01:52 -0700 >Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00012517 > >/*"Defender, I believe you may be needing some... assistance. >Therefore be healed, and replenished."*/ Aurora's voice echos out >over the Tokyo skyline, as a tremendous wave of healing energy >engulfs Defender, Dark Voltron, and Big O, Healing wounds, repairing >armor and mechanisms, and restoring depleted energies, weapons, and >munitions. /*"Go, and be victorious. Should you need more Hydra >stands ready to assist in his way."*/ (OOC: I'll get to Lotor elsewhen. Meanwhile...) While Roland watches in astonishment as Cain goes flying, he is bathed in the might of the power cosmic. The last time he was healed this way, he was given the Captain America treatment. It would appear that that was not a fluke. "Whoa," Defender gasps. He is healed. His armor is in one piece. And it is...improved. OOC: Mark III armor is up finally! (I designed it months ago, and I was going to have someone throw him a G-Force communicator/transmutation bracelet, but this isn't as contrived.) Go to: http://silver-gateway.com/rc/chars/chars-d6.html to see it; click on the graphic to get the larger version, as usual. 8^) An instant later, he realizes that his son is still at the bottom of Tokyo Bay. He does his Superman thing again (albeit in a different realm). OOC: So, Roger, ball's in your court. Can Dorothy use the assistance, or is Roland going to need to be occupied again? =========================== Subject: AAE9A: Tinkering Around in Tokyo On Tue, 26 Apr 2005 23:38:48 +0100 Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00012535 Tink whistled to herself as she looked over the damage already sustained to Tokyo. "Whoa," she remarked, "Thank goodness this is an anime realm or this would take years to clean up. Still, this uniform might not have been as appropriate as I first thought." Tink had shown up on Champion's Island in a blue, knee-length skirt and a white blouse, somewhat like a sailor's shirt with a blue kerchief. White, knee-high socks with little pom-poms on strings and blue flats completed the look. She'd grabbed her Pokemon belt and strapped that around her waist at the last minute. She thought she might be able to skew events toward a low powered villain mistaking her for an easy mark. It seemed a sensible precaution her first time out without anyone immediately within range for back up. Backlit by an abandoned, burning building, her platinum blonde hair, long in back with bangs in front, shone a bright red. And that was just enough to skew events toward a much different villain choosing her as a target. "Ohhh A-ko!" a young girl's voice called, a slight taunting to her tone. Tink turned to look, her hair whipping around behind her, "Oh, drat, surely not." The smug face that looked her over suddenly grew wide-eyed in surprise. Then she put a palm against her transparent lavender face-shied. "Sorry. For a moment there. And force of habit, I guess," B-ko said. "B-ko Daitokuji, you were the last person I was expecting to see here." "Really. Well, I'm here to stop you. Can you guess why?" Tink rolled her eyes and boredly ticked the reasons off. "You're here to stop me because you've been promised technology that will let you finally defeat A-ko once and for all and claim C-ko as your ahem - 'friend,' as if beating up her best friend is actually going to get her to like you, you obsessive, evil b--" B-ko, who'd been gaping at Tink's revelation -- [Am I really that transparent?!] -- snapped, "ALRIGHT!!! You've made your point!" Tink shrugged and tapped a small MP3 player on her belt. The small speakers around her neck started playing Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now." "Tonight, I'm gonna have myself a real good time." Tink sang as she gestured with index finger to 'Come here,' grinning furiously. "Bring it, you brat." TBC =========================== Subject: AAE9a: All for the Want of a Bowl of Ramen On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 18:53:28 -0700 (PDT) Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012542 [This should be the place I've heard about; they're supposed to have the best Ramen in this world.] The petite, quite young girl runs around a street corner, a black cap with heavily-armored and jeweled shoulders flowing back from the speed of her motion to show a fiercely red lining - almost a match for the thick hair flowing well down over her shoulders. A white-gloved hand, a large ruby cabochon on the wrist, flips a vaguely pointing gesture behind her. "FIREBALL!" This is quickly followed by a doppler shriek and a massive explosion of smoke, dust, and flames ascending vertically. "Ah, sweets for the sweet!" She crows victoriously, having somehow gathered all the plunder from her foolish pursuers a heartbeat later. She smiles sinisterly beneath the black headband, another large ruby cabochon gleaming at the base of her throat, then she again departs at a run, making for a restaurant up the street. Finding it closed and partially demolished, she immediately becomes quite incensed and demands of several bystanders the story of just how come there is no food to be had. "RAY WING." She casts, rising above the general urban clutter of buildings, regarding the embattled robots and other such as she delicately lands, one toe then the other, on a handy, tall roof. Her expression doesn't show the least trepidation - instead, as she regards the battle, she begins to smile even more broadly than before. "I'll save the city, then make them pay me a big reward." She decides, seemingly not a bit concerned at being out-sized, out-numbered, and out-weaponed (as she wears only a short sword). The girl places her palms together, almost as if praying, as she intones a powerful spell. Given her skill, she does not even need to activate the Demon's Blood amulets. Black magic gathers, forming a red, glowing ball between her hands as they're slowly forced apart by the sheer power she is controlling. "Darkness from twilight, crimson from blood that flows; buried in the flow of time; in Thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness! Those who oppose us shall be destroyed by the power you and I possess! DRAGU SLAVE!!" The spell leaps from her hand, streaming out over the ocean into the midst of the combat where it detonates like a nuclear bomb. A huge, writhing red bubble of magical destruction blooms amongst the combatants, perhaps even swallowing some within its power and fire. Dra-Mata (or Dragon Spooker, or curiously like Ziactrice's current name, if you like puns.) =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9A: Rescues 'R' Us On Wed, 4 May 2005 22:03:06 -0500 Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00012545 " 'Cain and Able to Any Ghetto...' " Roland heard a familiar voice say behind him. Quickly looking backwards, Roland sees Dhyrclhanc, albeit a version of his adopted brother who is overly... Well... ... "Cartoonish" looking than he normally tends to be. In fact the appearance of this Dhyrclhanc is not that unlike the appearance he took on when the entire CAoL entered the " 'Tooniverse" while on a wild goose chase, giving chase to Liam and Rachael; Roland and Morgan's twin, and non-timelost, offspring. " 'Tienneman Square to Sowetto, Apartheid to Jim Crow', it just seems to go on and on, what exactly is this guy's deal, here, Roland?" Then the Lensdragon's focus seemed to narrow down even more on the armored newcomer. With one hand held lightly against the ground, the Lensdragon's voice becomes otherworldly as he says... "I invoke the Three Dragons of Earth, Water and Fire, as I ask of them to give unto me that rarest of gifts, the capability more commonly referred to as... " And Dhyrclhanc's eyes seem to go completely unfocused, as he says, in an entirely too calm voice. "Worldmind." The instant that he says this, the ground beneath "Cain" opens up, exploding into the air with the force of nearly four tons of combined dirt, rock, scalding hot water and fresh lava. Presumably sending skywards the armored figure with the large battle-axe. Dhyrclhanc then turns his head so that he's now looking directly at Roland, albeit with those same unfocused eyes, smiles, and in that same, entirely too calm, voice says, "Time to make the donuts, eh Sib?" =========================== Subject: AAE9a: Mere Anarchy is Loosed On Tue, 10 May 2005 23:53:03 -0700 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012551 Back a ways to Defender dueling (appropriately enough) with Teknoman Saber... "Gotta get _back_ in time..." >On Wed, 4 May 2005 22:03:06 -0500 >Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00012545 > >" 'Cain and Able to Any Ghetto...' " Roland heard a familiar voice >say behind him. > >Quickly looking backwards, Roland sees Dhyrclhanc, >" 'Tienneman Square to Sowetto, Apartheid to Jim Crow', it just seems >to go on and on, what exactly is this guy's deal, here, Roland?" OOC correction: I'm assuming DC isn't blurting Defender's secret identity out verbally. "Generic bad guy thug, I think, sib," Roland quips. "'Generic?!'" Cain blurts. "'THUG!?'" he roars. "I am the right hand of Darkon HIMSELF!" "I stand corrected: standard scheming bad guy lieutenant, albeit one in really cool armor," Defender concedes. >"I invoke the Three Dragons of Earth, Water and Fire, as I ask of >them to give unto me that rarest of gifts, the capability more >commonly referred to as... " The eyeslits on Cain's armor go wide. "Oh, that doesn't sound good." Defender grins broadly. "It does to me." He lounges back in mid-air to watch the show. >"Worldmind." > >The instant that he says this, the ground beneath "Cain" opens up, >exploding into the air with the force of nearly four tons of combined >dirt, rock, scalding hot water and fresh lava. > >Presumably sending skywards the armored figure with the large >battle-axe. Indeed. "WAAAAAA!" Cain screams as he flies across the Tokyo skyline, just barely avoiding an embarrassing encounter with Tokyo Tower (which has to appear in virtually all things anime). Roland manages not to snort soda out his nose, but only because he isn't drinking any. ;^) >Dhyrclhanc then turns his head so that he's now looking directly at >Roland, albeit with those same unfocused eyes, smiles, and in that >same, entirely too calm, voice says, "Time to make the donuts, eh >Sib?" "Ain't it the truth." Defender grins. He jerks a thumb at the dirty steaming villain (literally, after the combination of elements) as he regains his bearings and races back at the pair. "Can you deal with him, Big Guy? I need to check on my son's local self." He shakes his head, albeit smiling fondly. "And Reed thinks _he_ has it bad..." >On Tue, 26 Apr 2005 23:38:48 +0100 >Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00012535 > >Tink had shown up on Champion's Island in a blue, knee-length skirt >and a white blouse, somewhat like a sailor's shirt with a blue >kerchief. White, knee-high socks with little pom-poms on strings and >blue flats completed the look. She'd grabbed her Pokemon belt and >strapped that around her waist at the last minute. >The smug face that looked her over suddenly grew wide-eyed in >surprise. Then she put a palm against her transparent lavender >face-shield. As Defender flies to Roger's aid (or so he thought), he scans the area around and beneath him as a matter of course. Distracted as he is, however, it's all too easy for Tink's confusion effect to kick in. The ladies (and the few remaining bystanders sticking around for the show) hear tires squealing above them like a Formula One racer suddenly standing on the brakes. (Yes, literally. ;^) "Is that Sailor Moon using Pokemon against Lena Luthor?" Roland asks, even the Lord of the Amalgam himself too stunned by this confrontation to do anything but gape. Fortunately for both Our Hero and local reality, he recovers quickly. /Oh. Sorry, Tink. My heart skipped a beat for a second there. Let me know if you have any trouble with her, not that I'm expecting you to./ With a familial wink, he flies on. Finally... >On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 18:53:28 -0700 (PDT) >Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012542 >"I'll save the city, then make them pay me a big reward." She >decides, seemingly not a bit concerned at being out-sized, >out-numbered, and out-weaponed (as she wears only a short sword). > >The girl places her palms together, almost as if praying, as she >intones a powerful spell. Given her skill, she does not even need to >activate the Demon's Blood amulets. Black magic gathers, forming a >red, glowing ball between her hands as they're slowly forced apart by >the sheer power she is controlling. > >"Darkness from twilight, crimson from blood that flows; buried in the >flow of time; in Thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness! Those >who oppose us shall be destroyed by the power you and I possess! >DRAGU SLAVE!!" By this time, Defender is finally out over Tokyo Bay (poor guy *g*). Far to his left, Dark Voltron dances agilely around the badly damaged Ramtron, maneuvering for the kill. Somewhere ahead and below, Big O lies (mostly) silent beneath the waves, a somehow simultaneously calm-yet-panicked Dorothy diving to the rescue. Seeing the fire exploding towards them all, he calmly throws a small, intense shield up behind him. >The spell leaps from her hand, streaming out over the ocean into the >midst of the combat where it detonates like a nuclear bomb. A huge, >writhing red bubble of magical destruction blooms amongst the >combatants, perhaps even swallowing some within its power and fire. Lotor's eyes go wide, and he just has time to shout "SHIELD OF DARKNESS!" A hemisphere of impenetrable shadow springs up between him and the explosion. This being Dragon Slave, the Shield buckles; the mecha being a reasonable fascimile of Voltron, it is only minimally damaged by the ensuing wash of flame. Ramtron does not fare as well. While far more resilient than Dark Voltron, it lacks any sort of force shielding and has several tears in its armor. Said tears are somewhat wider and completely aflame when the blast subsides, leaving it with a dramatic flaming "L" in its chest. As for Roland... [Hm.] Defender feels his shield strain at the force. He uses his phenomenal control to shunt the fire aside -- one of his specialties. Still the blast comes. Now concerned, he throws more concentration into the effort, turning the flame on itself, literally searing the oxygen out from under the mind-staggering force of the explosion. Still the blast comes. [Um.] Genuinely worried now, he digs more deeply into his bag of tricks, tying flame into knots, redirecting it in mighty gouts at Hover Stars and worm-fighter sections, transforming the energy into harmless light or counter-force, absorbing it into his shield to make it stronger against the very assault. Still the blast comes. [Yikes.] Though not panicking, Defender is now turning his full attention to remaining a Phoenix rather than a Tokyo-Fried Champion. He lets some of the fire through the shield and absorbs it personally, his eyes bursting with light and power. A mighty phoenix-like shape explodes from the explosion itself, clearly inspired by the G-Force vessel and panicking hundreds of Spectran goons (the ones who don't know where the real thing is) as it flies from the hero's hand, shrieking overhead. Finally, he absorbs some more of the force, albeit to redirect it into his boots for a little-used function of the armor... ...rocket-boost. An azure missile blazes out of the expanding super-fireball, the blue-and-gold cape billowing out like an avenging angel's wings. /"Okay, who the nass is _she?!_"/ Roland blurts. "You will not live long enough to learn," a silky, confident voice echoes from above the city. Defender looks over and down...then up...at a man in an ivory robe, a long mane of white hair that nearly glows, with a glowing blue-green medallion hanging from his neck that seems at once familiar and utterly alien. (He is too far away to tell, but anyone looking more closely can tell that one eye is green and the other is gold.) OOC: More pics: http://www.janime.net/images/duelists/dartz/character.html Specifically http://www.janime.net/images/duelists/dartz/01/25.jpg ...for shots of the villain. "...and you are?" Defender asks, one eyebrow arched coolly. "I am Dartz," the sorcerer begins. Defender snickers. "Ooo, 'Dartz.' I can even hear the 'Z.' Truly the nom de guerre of epic villainy if I ever heard one." Dartz scowls, a strange machine unfolding around his left wrist. "I am the champion of ancient Atlantis." Defender's good humor vanishes. "I've got news for you, bub. That title's _taken_ on _this_ world." It is Dartz's turn to smile, a cool, arrogant grin that mocks with its very existence. "I do not think it will be difficult to claim. Go, my Orichalcos Warrior!" He throws out his hand, and a nine-foot-tall zombie monster glowing with ancient runes flies forth. Defender takes one look at the zombie, snorts derisively, and glares at it. A single glance tells him the creature is mindless; a lone burst of power from his eyes reduces it to dust and shards of metal. "Mmm," Dartz says, nodding to himself. "Impressive." He takes something out of the brace on the arm and places it on what looks like a blade. Then he raises his arms to the sky. "O Great Leviathan, show this unbeliever the might of your mere presence," he intones. Defender immediately feels sick, his entire body shaking in revulsion. "source and light," he whispers. "it's not possible..." A single, terrible eye begins to fade in throughout the sky above, staring balefully down from within a carapace of shadow and dark flame; the eye seems many times larger than the sun it blots out, while the darkness fills half the sky. Defender shakes, his entire body trembling in the air. At this sight, Dartz laughs. "So, you know the Great Leviathan. This is good. If you surrender now, perhaps you will be permitted to live again in Atlantis rebor--" Even the ever-calm Dartz stops at the sight of Defender's face, despite the great distance between them. There is not the slightest fear in his expression -- only outrage. "Malice," he snarls. "You serve Malice." "HOW DARE YOU CALL THE GREAT LEVIATHAN BY THAT BLASPHEMOUS NAME!" Dartz replies, his voice shaking only slightly. "Go, my Tyrant Dragon!" The card he placed earlier on the 'blade' lights up, and a magnificent and terrible beast appears above him. OOC: Still more pics: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/nicholas.povey/images/Yu-Gi-Oh/lod034.jpg The terrible dragon, twice the size of Dhyrclhanc himself, explodes outward, flying toward Defender with fantastic speed. Eyes narrow, the Champion throws out his hand, and the dragon shudders briefly. Then, with a flex of its mighty wings, it breaks free of the Eternal's hold and shoots forward again, striking Defender with both a gout of flame and a swipe of its terrible claws. Fortunately, Roland is made of sterner stuff than the magic of a summoned monster, and the attacks bounce off his forcefield. Barely. "Well...that wasn't fun..." Defender glares at the dragon as it roars dark glee to the shadowed sky. In an apparently pointless display of power -- colloquially known as 'showing off' -- it shoots down two robot planes (courtesy of the Battle of the Planets props dept.) simultaneously with an expertly-fired twin jet of flame. Reluctantly, the Champion prepares a mental assault. Fortunately for him, he doesn't need it. A burst of silver-white light emanates from the city, a few blocks from the Atlantean sorcerer, seemingly giving birth to an even more fantastic dragon than the one Roland faces. OOC: Last pic of the post, I promise: http://empireyugioh.free.fr/anime/galerie/blue_eyes_white_dragon.gif ...for anyone who hasn't seen Kaiba's infamous pet juggernaut. Speaking of whom... "Blue Eyes White Dragon!" A confident voice echoes from the base of the creature's long, platinum-scaled neck. "White Lightning attack!" The two dragons square off fearlessly, the nearly blinding power of the White Dragon and the searing flames of the Tyrant meeting head-on. After a few seconds, however, the lightning overcomes the fire, and the Tyrant Dragon literally shatters like glass. The shards vanish an instant later. "Whoa. Thanks...Seto Kaiba?" Defender asks, throwing the CEO-slash-master duelist a puzzled look. "I didn't think you'd want to get involved." "I don't," Kaiba replies as the great dragon wheels around, roaring in fury at Dartz, "but these lunatics are threatening my city. Besides," he adds in a near-mutter, "you saved my brother earlier today." "Mokuba? Really?" Defender asks, surprised. "Huh. Of course, I've shielded so many people in the last hour I've lost track..." [Never thought I'd be so glad the twins are such fans of a card game anime.] "Your resistance is pointless," Dartz says coolly. "Cue the Vogons," Defender mutters, and even Kaiba almost grins. "You are no match for the Great Leviathan." Dartz gestures over the medallion, and the symbols on his Dark Duel Disk glow a sickly green. "Good thing he can't do anything but watch from the bleachers, then, isn't it?" Defender asks dryly. "You ready, Mr. Kaiba?" "Would I be here if I were not?" Kaiba replies even more dryly. Defender smiles cunningly, and a thin trail of energy arcs from his hand to create a ring in front of ol' Blue Eyes' maw. Those with energy senses can see that he's created an awe-inspiring transformer, as if the Blue Eyes needed to be any more powerful.... -- Roland and Kaiba The trenchcoat brigade to the rescue (well, yeah, Roland's in Defender mode, but still... ;^) =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9a: Mere Anarchy is Loosed On Thu, 12 May 2005 02:46:37 +0100 Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00012552 >On Tue, 10 May 2005 23:53:03 -0700 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012551 > >>On Tue, 26 Apr 2005 23:38:48 +0100 >>Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00012535 >> >>Tink had shown up on Champion's Island in a blue, knee-length skirt >>and a white blouse, somewhat like a sailor's shirt with a blue >>kerchief. White, knee-high socks with little pom-poms on strings and >>blue flats completed the look. She'd grabbed her Pokemon belt and >>strapped that around her waist at the last minute. > > As Defender flies to Roger's aid (or so he thought), he scans the >area around and beneath him as a matter of course. Distracted as he >is, however, it's all too easy for Tink's confusion effect to kick >in. > The ladies (and the few remaining bystanders sticking around for >the show) hear tires squealing above them like a Formula One racer >suddenly standing on the brakes. (Yes, literally. ;^) > "Is that Sailor Moon using Pokemon against Lena Luthor?" Roland >asks, even the Lord of the Amalgam himself too stunned by this >confrontation to do anything but gape. Tink, in grand anime style, fell over in shock, legs in the air. Biko (AKA B-ko) sweatdropped. Tink got to her feet and put a couple fingers to her temple, eyes closed. "Biko Daitokuji of Graviton City, Defender of Earth-9. Defender, Biko Daitokuji," Tink said. Biko, in her purple power armor, bobbed her head slightly toward the Champion. >Fortunately for both Our Hero and local reality, he recovers quickly. >/Oh. Sorry, Tink. My heart skipped a beat for a second there. Let me >know if you have any trouble with her, not that I'm expecting you >to./ With a familial wink, he flies on. Tink sent a peck on the cheek. /You're as bad as Uncle Dhyrclhanc. No wonder you two get on so well./ "So, are you ready?" Tink asked, retaking a defensive position. Biko replied, "I was going to ask you the same thing." Tink leapt forward as Biko did, grappling with each other. A knee to the stomach, a fist to the diaphragm, several broken holds, the pair seemed fairly well matched for strength. Tink shouted, "DARKSEID TOSS!" as she threw Biko through a ruined building. "ATAKIAMA MISSILES!" Biko shouted, as the small swarm of explosives flew toward Tink in a cloud of dust. The few remaining people gasped as the explosion erupted around the blonde teen. As the fire and smoke dissipated, Tink stood, a hand held out dramaticly before her, feet and other arm akimbo. In the anime realm, Tink's silver-grey eyes were notibly small, unlike many anime heroines. They narrow as the forcefield swirling around her dissipated. "I thought you might be able to stand up against those," Biko noted smoothly from behind Tink, "BLACK JACKABINI LASH!" Tink's eyes widened as she turned, holding up an arm which the long whip tangled around. Her hand wrapped around the business end of the whip and pulled. Biko looked surprised and tugged on the opposite end to keep from losing the handle. Tink smiled, then ran straight for Biko, then past her. As Biko was just realizing this had been a feint, she'd been yanked off her feet. Tink wasn't just running with Biko in tow, she was moving with enough speed and force to tear a track of ruined pavement behind her. With a roar like a jet engine, she was dragging Biko as if she were a flag flapping in the breeze behind her. At the end of her whip, Biko was being struck by flying pavement, assaulted by sonic booms and being flung out of the damage path on each corner Tink took only to collide with a wall, street pole, or overturned car. "Whoa, girl!" Biko screamed, grabbing a lightpole with her legs as both arms yanked hard at the whip. Tink suddenly was in a tug of war, both pulling hard, Biko anchored by the pole, Tink's heels digging into the pavement and leaving deep gouges behind her. "Ha!" Biko shouted in triumph, "Gotcha now! MORE MISSILES!" Tink reached behind her and threw something at Biko's head. Biko stared in surprize, missiles ready to fire, as it bounced off her head lightly, flying behind her. "You call that an attack?" Biko said, after looking behind her at the small red and white sphere. Tink smiled, having untangled her arm from the lash, but still holding it taut. "No, I call this an attack," Tink said, letting go of the lash suddenly. "PIKA-CHUUUUUUUUUUU!!!" a high-pitched voice shouted as Biko suddenly found herself in the middle of a lightning storm. "AIEEEEEEE!" she shrieked. Tink could swear she saw Biko's skeleton through the lightning bolt. =========================== Subject: Fw: AAE9a: Re: Mere Anarchy is Loosed [Longish][Sorry!] On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 12:53:59 -0500 Martin and/or Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00012568 >On Tues, May 10th 2K5 Roland X writes... > > Back a ways to Defender dueling (appropriately enough) with >Teknoman Saber... > "Gotta get _back_ in time..." LOL!!! More proof, of course, that Roland and I are "brothers of different mothers", as we both are either big fans of "Huey Lois and the News" or found a certain level of entertainment in the "Back To The Future" movies. However, if Doc Brown and/or Marty McFly end up showing up here in Mega-Toko, in either the Train or the DeLorian, *I'm* not going to be the one to have to explain to them how they _really_ took a wrong turn at Albuquerque! C8=;{ >>Way back on Weds, May 4th, 2K5, Dhyrclhanc wrote... >> >>" 'Cain and Able to Any Ghetto...' " Roland heard a familiar voice >>say behind him. >> >>Quickly looking backwards, Roland sees Dhyrclhanc, > > > >>" 'Tienneman Square to Sowetto, Apartheid to Jim Crow', it just >>seems to go on and on, what exactly is this guy's deal, here, >>Roland?" > >OOC correction: I'm assuming DC isn't blurting Defender's secret >identity out verbally. We can just do a minor Retcon here, and say that all of Dhyrclhanc's comments to Roland were made via TP rather than vocally. But you gotta remember here, sib, the Big Guy doesn't exactly keep or maintain a "secret identity" himself, donchknow? > "Generic bad guy thug, I think, sib," Roland quips. > "'Generic?!'" Cain blurts. "'THUG!?'" he roars. "I am the right >hand of Darkon HIMSELF!" > "I stand corrected: standard scheming bad guy lieutenant, albeit >one in really cool armor," Defender concedes. "Ah, IOW Armorsuit Goon who fancies himself the Lieutenant of the Local Evil Overlord of Darkness. I recognize the type, Sib." chimes in the draconian Lensman, and then... > "WAAAAAA!" Cain screams as he flies across the Tokyo skyline, just >barely avoiding an embarrassing encounter with Tokyo Tower (which has >to appear in virtually all things anime). Oh, so _that's_ why there was a reproduction of the "Eiffel Tower" on Mars in the "Cowboy Beebop" Movie! >>Dhyrclhanc then turns his head so that he's now looking directly at >>Roland, albeit with those same unfocused eyes, smiles, and in that >>same, entirely too calm, voice says, "Time to make the donuts, eh >>Sib?" > > "Ain't it the truth." Defender grins. He jerks a thumb at the >dirty steaming villain (literally, after the combination of elements) >as he regains his bearings and races back at the pair. "Can you deal >with him, Big Guy? I need to check on my son's local self." "Bro," answers quietly, while he turns his head -- seemingly refocusing his attention being on his new armored opponent, "With the exception of that silly St. George myth, when was the last time that you know of that I guy in armor, albeit in this case this it is powered armor, had any kind of chance against a dragon? Nevermind that in this case the dragon is me, either." The Big Guy finishes, winking at Roland. > He (Roland) shakes his head, albeit smiling fondly. "And Reed >thinks _he_ has it bad..." "Only when Psi-Lord was in town, Sib, when he got messed up in that whole 'Fantastic Force" mess ... " adds Dhyrclhanc, as he watches his sib-by-troth take to the air. A short while later, after the Tekkaman Cain finally closes the distance between where he had initially landed and where the Superanuated Addolecent Young Adult Ruby Firedragon was waiting for him.... Give me a hand here, sib. Is "True Flight" included in the portfolio of options available to somebody in a Tekkaman/Teknoman Suit? Or is he just doing Hulk-style leaps? "Well," quips Dhyrclhanc, "If I remember correctly, Roland said you were a Teknoman, or maybe that was something I picked-up via our TP-link. Well, you certainly aren't Slave, and you definetly aren't his sister, Shara. So who are you?" Meinwhile (more or less )... >Roland and Kaiba >The trenchcoat brigade to the rescue (well, yeah, Roland's in >Defender mode, but still... ;^) P.S.: Pete!? Dhyrclhanc told me to tell you to remind Roland to remind Dhyrclhanc to _not_ introduce the original Freelance Immortal to Doctor Occult, John Constantine, The Phantom Stranger and Mister E the next time the both of them (namely the Big Guy and Roland) are in the DCU! ;^) P.P.S.: If it wasn't already evident, Dhyrclhanc, like myself, knows nothing about the whole mess that is the more recent Tekkaman Blade II sequel series. However, he did spend some time in a reality that was a parallel to the Teknoman storyline that was a re-tread of the original Japanese Tekkaman OAV. But "Slade's" name there was "Slave", which was actually a name that the Venomoids gave him, plus there were a number of other differences as well, obviously.... C8=;{ =========================== Subject: AAE9: A Detour Along the Road On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 21:42:34 -0700 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012571 [Snip the parts that are in the Swashbuckling thread, ch. 2, with the same header.] "Smashing," Kanto comments with a dry tone of his own. "Perhaps we would learn more by taking _action,_ however?" "And what would _you_ suggest?" Eric snaps. Kanto grins. "This." He pulls a lever. "NO!" Eric, Jeanne and Rio all shout at once. Space and time collapse in on themselves. ... "ohhh..." Jeanne moans. "...gonna _kill_ that wannabe god..." Eric snarls. "...where..." Rio breathes. Kanto merely grunts. Eric slowly sits up. The others are still prone, on a badly damaged chunk of asphalt. "This street's seen better days." "Recently," Rio adds, her hand resting on the road. "New York?" Eric asks, looking for a street sign. Most of the signs have been destroyed, but enough of them remain to rule out his thought. "Japanese..." The roar of jets above breaks his reverie, and they look up. Squadrons of alien fighters, strange mixes of Silver Age anime with a pulp sensibility, patrol the sky with impunity. In the distance, explosions rock a massive dome as armored figures battle huge tech-eating robots, while the presence of others too small to be seen by the unenhanced human eye is hinted at by explosions that seem to appear out of nowhere. Out in the bay, giant robots and a phenomenal azure aircraft do battle with godlike weaponry. "Tokyo. We're in the anime invasion," Rio reports, deadpan. Then two Lancer heads swivel as one to stare coolly at Kanto. "How is this a problem?" Kanto asks lightly. "We are still in a position to oppose your enemies. Perhaps in a better one." "And if we ended up on Apokolips, or Mars, or in the emptiness between galaxies? You just _had_ to touch it. What are you, five?" Eric sighs. "On the other hand, we _are_ here, and..." he trails off as the sound of large numbers of marching goons echoes down the street towards them. Once again, Eric and Kanto look at each other. This time, however, twin dark smiles form. "Oh dear," Jeanne says, swallowing. Dozens of Spectran soldiers round the corner to find the two living combat machines in fighting stances, ready to unleash their skills. "Uh...ah...you're to come with us," the platoon leader says in a quavering voice. "Oh, they're _so_ outmatched," Rio comments. "I know we are in a different reality, and there are so many of them, but we handled those Thean brutes..." Jeanne replies. "That what I mean. Those _goons_ are so outmatched," Rio chuckles. The goons in question cock their blaster rifles. "D-drop your weapons!" Eric sighs and shakes his head. "You know better than that." The Spectrans fire. "Golden Dragon Aura!" Eric roars, surging forward and plowing into the Green Goons. He takes the blaster fire to block for the two ladies, though no soldier within several feet of him is in any condition to fire for long. At the same time, Kanto lazily blocks blasts with his saber, as if with a lightsaber, and walks casually towards the slowly panicking Spectran soldiers. A karate chop sends a blaster rifle flying, to land almost at Jeanne's feet. Needing no prodding, the UNTIL agent runs to flank the goons, setting the energy force to a less lethal setting (these are Spectrans, not Galactor, after all) and cutting loose on them. Meanwhile, a G-Force-like figure in black slowly sneaks towards Kanto. [Yes, my arrogant friend...keep ignoring your flank...the first hint you will have of my presence will be my blade in your--] "UHNN!" Kanto glances behind him, his blast-parrying not suffering in the least. "Hm?" Time seems to stand still behind him as a figure in black with a wing-style cape hangs in mid-air, ready to collapse, with a professional-class yo-yo halfway into his cheek. Then the Black Hawk falls and the yo-yo retracts into Rio's hand. She smiles sweetly and yo-yo'd the toy normally, looking remarkably like a figure familiar to the Spectrans. "I hang with a lot of VAs," Rio explains. "They have a higher-than-average otaku population." Seeing the yo-yo wielding female throws more fear into the goons than Kanto and Eric combined. They break and run, screaming in terror. Eric gapes for a moment, then laughs uproariously. "And I thought _I_ could do fear! Maybe you should show me a few tricks, Kiri." "I don't think the go-go boots would look good on you, bro," the Ecstatic replies jauntily. Eric continues laughing. "Indeed. You have fought well," a handsome man in an extremely well-cut suit (albeit one that would look appropriate on Two-Face) says, his voice silky and confident. He strides forward, completely unafraid of the force that devastated the Spectran platoon without effort. "However, here your visit ends." "Bah," Kanto barks dismissively, lunging. Largo throws out one hand. A blast of power wide enough to encompass the New God's entire body hammers him, throwing Kanto back into a lamppost. "great...darkseid..." Kanto gasps. Largo steps forward. Eric interposes himself between the two. "Kanto, can you move?" Kanto coughs. "Aye, though he may be a bit more of a challenge--" "Then take Rio and Jeanne and get out of here. I'll handle this." Eric takes a fighting stance. Kanto spits a small glob of blood. "You? _I_ beat you." Eric smiles grimly. "Rock paper scissors." Largo raises an eyebrow. "Eh?" "You'll find out." Eric gestures savagely with his head. "Go!" "If Eric says he can handle it, let him handle it," Rio adds, taking Kanto's arm. "Come on. The Boy Scout's down by the Bay anyway. We can coordinate with him." Largo laughs as the others retreat. "So. What are you going to do now?" He places an index finger on one cheek. "Oh, I know. DIE." He unleashes a second massive burst of power. It stops three feet from Eric, simply vanishing into the ether. "What?!" Largo blurts. Eric's smile broadens and sharpens. "You stupid piece of metal. You sacrificed life for power. Now, I'm going to teach you about the power _in_ life." "You? You're half a corpse yourself!" Eric's smile vanishes into a snarl as Largo laughs mirthlessly. "You are nothing more than a speedbump between me and Sylia." "Golden Dragon Strike," Eric replies. Before even Largo realizes what's happened, the Hunter is roaring like a dragon himself, his fist plunging through the Boomer's chest... Elsewhere. "We can't _run_ all the way," Rio comments, "Transportation..." Around the next corner, they find a sweet looking motorcycle with a sidecar. Rio smiles. "It's amazing what people leave sitting around in a crisis. And the keys are even in the ignition. Lucky for us no one else strolled off with it." She pulls a pair of wrap-around mirror shades out of her pocket and dons them. Kanto looks at the bike, and at Rio. "And who would be driving?" Rio looks at him over the sunglasses. "When was the last time you were on one of these?" At the New God's hesitation, she grins, throwing a leg over the seat. "That's what I thought. Jeanne, you take the sidecar, Kanto, you're on the back." When Kanto starts to object, she adds, "Unless _you'd_ rather take the sidecar?" Kanto grimaces, though the hint of a grin plays along one corner of his mouth. "You aren't familiar with a woman named 'Barda,' are you, Rio?" "Only by reputation," Rio replies, revving the cycle to life as her partners boarded. With a roar, the group raced down the streets of an eerily abandoned Tokyo. In less than a minute, they are facing Tokyo Bay...and an awe-inspiring sight. In the bay, only an arm and its wake indicate the location of Big O, pieces of the worm-mech sinking around it while a few of the sections still circle it, trying to determine its fate. Meanwhile, Dark Voltron circles Ramtron, a fiery 'L' blazing in its chest as Lotor moves in for the kill. The remnants on the insanely powerful burst of flame trace a path back to an attractive redhead with a mercenary look about her. An exquisite blue flying machine with 'G-5' on the wings slowly arcs around to make another pass over the area, while another arc of energy marks the flight of an ebon mecha away from the mighty Dhyrclhanc. A gleaming dragon with skin like platinum and eyes of intense azure roars, lightning building in its maw, while a man in a dark blue trenchcoat stands at the base of its neck and Defender creates an enhancement ring in front of it. "*Big O...Voltron...Lina Inverse...G-Force...Teknoman...is that a Blue Eyes White Dragon? Yep, that's Kaiba, so add Yu-Gi-Oh.*" Rio gives her passengers a running commentary with telepathic context, then looks up...and up...and up. Still, in spite of all this power and wonder, the force that dominates the sky dwarfs them all. "Definitely fourth season Yu-Gi-Oh. Oboy." Rio hits the brakes. A single enormous eye that puts Sauron to shame fills half the horizon, a baleful yellow orb within a gigantic dark cloud. An impressive bishonen man stands atop a floating spiral tower before the Great Beast, dressed in white with different colored eyes, one green and one gold. /Defender,/ Rio sends, /what can we do? Eric's fighting Largo, but I've got Kanto and an UNTIL agent with me./ Defender grimaces with effort as the great Blue-Eyes fires its blast at the Great Beast, its beam expanding to the size of a freight train thanks to his power. /Hm. Spectrans are everywhere, and Destroyer-lite up there has sent things he calls 'Orichalcos soldiers' through the city. They're hard to miss, they look like ten foot tall zombies with Duel Disks on their arms. Evacuations are underway, bless Zark's worry-wart heart, but even with G-Force planning and shelters we've still got innocents out there. Oh my God./ Dartz laughs as a blast that could knock Saiyans into the next galaxy vanishes into the eye. It blinks. "Fool," he intones. "You have no chance against the Great Leviathan, echo of Critias." "Yeah, that's what Malice said," Defender fires back. "I'm here. He's not." Glancing back, he adds, "Still, Kaiba, he's got a point. I'm running low on ideas here." Kaiba smiles his 'oh I'm so clever' smile. "Don't worry, Defender. Dartz just gave me one." Pulling a card from his deck, he plays it without looking. "You want Critias, Dartz?" Dartz finally looks worried. "Oh, no!" "Oh, YES! I play the Fang of Critias! [Ed. Note: The following includes a later retcon.] "I merge it with my Ring of Destruction to create Destruction Fang Dragon!" Kaiba's smile broadens as his eyes narrow. "But that's just the beginning!" He places a magic card in his Duel Disk. "Its special effect _also_ allows me to merge it with a _Magic_ Card -- Ring of Defense!" Dartz snarls wordlessly. "That's right, you sideshow freak -- now I have Ultimate Yin-Yang Dragon! But I'm not done yet!" Dartz laughs now. "So. You are going to merge your new dragon with the old? I'm not impressed." "You should be," Kaiba fires back. "Because I'm _not_ merging my Yin-Yang Dragon with my Blue Eyes!" [Nass, he's cocky -- but it's _great_ when he's on _our_ side,] Roland considers. "I take my Ultimate Yin-Yang Dragon...And I merge it -- with DEFENDER!" "What?" Defender asks, looking back in earnest this time. "Now, just a minute -- whoa." Dramatic music swells as his armor changes and flows, a sword appearing in his hand. /Okay...I think I/we have this. Check on Roger in Big O, then see about the civilians,/ Critias the Defender sends, then races towards the Leviathan Eye, sword exploding with power as he turns into a living comet. The bike roars to life again as Rio threads her way through the streets towards the harbor. Interestingly, they manage to avoid any Spectran or Orichalcos patrols. As they near the water, Rio sends on the team link, /Roger? Ping?/ OOC: Well, Roger, I imagine you're at least conscious after Aurora's "blast." What does she pick up? :-) -- Lancers, Inc. ;-) =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9a: Mere Anarchy is Loosed On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 22:07:36 -0700 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012572 >On Thu, 12 May 2005 02:46:37 +0100 >Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00012552 > >>On Tue, 10 May 2005 23:53:03 -0700 >>Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012551 >> >> "Is that Sailor Moon using Pokemon against Lena Luthor?" Roland >>asks, even the Lord of the Amalgam himself too stunned by this >>confrontation to do anything but gape. > > Tink, in grand anime style, fell over in shock, legs in the air. >Biko (AKA B-ko) sweatdropped. Tink got to her feet and put a couple >fingers to her temple, eyes closed. > "Biko Daitokuji of Graviton City, Defender of Earth-9. Defender, >Biko Daitokuji," Tink said. Biko, in her purple power armor, bobbed >her head slightly toward the Champion. "Charmed," Roland replies dryly. > Tink reached behind her and threw something at Biko's head. Biko >stared in surprize, missiles ready to fire, as it bounced off her >head lightly, flying behind her. > "You call that an attack?" Biko said, after looking behind her at >the small red and white sphere. Tink smiled, having untangled her arm >from the lash, but still holding it taut. > "No, I call this an attack," Tink said, letting go of the lash >suddenly. > "PIKA-CHUUUUUUUUUUU!!!" a high-pitched voice shouted as Biko >suddenly found herself in the middle of a lightning storm. > "AIEEEEEEE!" she shrieked. Tink could swear she saw Biko's >skeleton through the lightning bolt. OOC: ROFL! 8^) "Oh my," Jesse gasped. "Oh dear," James agreed. "Eh, I t'ink dis Pokemon's gonna have to wait, guys," Meowth agrees. He turns, then begins to make unintelligible sounds of pure terror. "What's that? Speak up, Meowth!" Jesse insists. "B-b-b-big m-m-m-MONSTER!!!" Meowth cries. "Ooo! A Venusaur? A Blastoise? A Charizard?" James asks, rubbing his hands in delight. "A TEN-FOOT-TALL ARMORED ZOMBIE!!!" Meowth screams. Jesse and James both grow sweat drops and turn. There is, indeed, a ten foot tall zombie in strange armor looming over them. They scream in unison, embracing tightly, each throwing a foot up behind them. The Orichalcos Soldier throws a soul-stealing circle around the trio, intending to send their spirits to feed the Great Leviathan. Alas for the Beast (and fortunately for our he...um...for Team Rocket), sheer obliviousness seems to overcome the magic of the circle. As they are unable to even realize that something is trying to steal their souls, the magic is incapable of making the necessary sympathetic connection. So the zombie knocks them into the sky with a single annoyed swipe of its Duel-Disk-sheathed arm. "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off AGAAAAAAAIN!" they scream just before becoming a distant twinkle in the sky. (OOC: That's my way of saying I didn't have much to add to the battle in question, though I could have a batch of luckless Spectrans try to capture them both. *eg* Either way, have fun.) -- Evil GM-San Yes, I _am_ that evil. I just brought in Team Rocket, didn't I? ;^) =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9a: Mere Anarchy is Loosed On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 23:05:31 -0700 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012573 >On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 12:53:59 -0500 >Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00012568 > >>On Tues, May 10th 2K5 Roland X writes... >> >> "Generic bad guy thug, I think, sib," Roland quips. >> "'Generic?!'" Cain blurts. "'THUG!?'" he roars. "I am the right >>hand of Darkon HIMSELF!" >> "I stand corrected: standard scheming bad guy lieutenant, albeit >>one in really cool armor," Defender concedes. > >"Ah, IOW Armorsuit Goon who fancies himself the Lieutenant of the >Local Evil Overlord of Darkness. I recognize the type, Sib." chimes >in the draconian Lensman, and then... "Yeah, we've got the same deal in India. I wonder if they've got a union," Roland adds with a grin. >> "Ain't it the truth." Defender grins. He jerks a thumb at the >>dirty steaming villain (literally, after the combination of >>elements) as he regains his bearings and races back at the pair. >>"Can you deal with him, Big Guy? I need to check on my son's local >>self." > >"Bro," answers quietly, while he turns his head -- seemingly >refocusing his attention being on his new armored opponent, "With the >exception of that silly St. George myth, when was the last time that >you know of that I guy in armor, albeit in this case this it is >powered armor, had any kind of chance against a dragon? Nevermind >that in this case the dragon is me, either." The Big Guy finishes, >winking at Roland. Roland grins back briefly. "Well, watch yourself anyway, Big Guy. My money's on you, but I _am_ a guy in armor, and I've had some luck against that 'Malais' character." >A short while later, after the Tekkaman Cain finally closes the >distance between where he had initially landed and where the >Superanuated Addolecent Young Adult Ruby Firedragon was waiting for >him.... > > Give me a hand here, sib. Is "True Flight" included in the >portfolio of options available to somebody in a Tekkaman/Teknoman >Suit? Or is he just doing Hulk-style leaps? OOC: Flight. He's got the blade, "virtually indestructible armor," and "quantum energy weapons," whatever that means. Basically, think an anime Iron Man from the late 21st Century with one hell of a sword. ;^) >"Well," quips Dhyrclhanc, "If I remember correctly, Roland said you >were a Teknoman, or maybe that was something I picked-up via our >TP-link. Well, you certainly aren't Slave, and you definetly aren't >his sister, Shara. So who are you?" "As I told the boy," he replies as dryly as Eric, "my name is Cain, but I am definitely not here to help you." http://www.absoluteanime.com/teknoman/index-blade.htm http://www.absoluteanime.com/teknoman/cain.htm "...as for my brother and sister, they will join Darkon, or they will be destroyed." Teknoman Saber's eyes burn briefly. "And you are nothing more than an obstacle. Move, or be _re_moved." At roughly the same time... >> Even the ever-calm Dartz stops at the sight of Defender's face, >>despite the great distance between them. There is not the slightest >>fear in his expression -- only outrage. "Malice," he snarls. "You >>serve Malice." >> "HOW DARE YOU CALL THE GREAT LEVIATHAN BY THAT BLASPHEMOUS NAME!" >>Dartz replies, his voice shaking only slightly. "Go, my Tyrant >>Dragon!" The card he placed earlier on the 'blade' lights up, and a >>magnificent and terrible beast appears above him. >> >> OOC: Still more pics: >> http://homepage.ntlworld.com/nicholas.povey/images/Yu-Gi-Oh/lod034.jpg >> The terrible dragon, twice the size of Dhyrclhanc himself, >>explodes outward, flying toward Defender with fantastic speed. Eyes >>narrow, the Champion throws out his hand, and the dragon shudders >>briefly. Then, with a flex of its mighty wings, it breaks free of >>the Eternal's hold and shoots forward again, striking Defender with >>both a gout of flame and a swipe of its terrible claws. Fortunately, >>Roland is made of sterner stuff than the magic of a summoned >>monster, and the attacks bounce off his forcefield. Barely. Dartz glances over at Dhyrclhanc and Teknoman Saber. While Saber is powerful and cunning, given his encounter with Defender his odds against the new arrival look poor. He decides to change the odds. Two more cards go onto his blade, one on the top, one into a slot. Another monster explodes from the device on Dartz' arm, this one another dragon, but headed for...Saber? "In Darkon's name..." Saber whispers. The pair explode, dark energy flowing around them. Dartz intones calmly, "Polymerization." When the energy field clears, Cain is sitting atop an ebon version of the Tyrant Dragon depicted above. Flickers of flame-like shadow flow around them both. "Well." His face is obscured by the helmet, but the smile can almost be heard in his voice. "This...changes matters. Quantum Shadow Flame!" Bursts of dark power explode from Saber's shoulders as a mystic shadow blast roars from the dragon's mouth. They combine into a spiraling black-and-purple fire beam... -- Evil GM-San "Hey, don't knock Evil. We get paid better and our costumes come at below wholesale." -- Rapier, "Superman-Batman #20" =========================== Subject: AAE9A: Encounters in a Road On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 23:03:48 -0700 (PDT) Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012582 >On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 21:42:34 -0700 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012571 > > "Golden Dragon Strike," Eric replies. Before even Largo realizes >what's happened, the Hunter is roaring like a dragon himself, his >fist plunging through the Boomer's chest... > > Elsewhere. >The remnants on the insanely powerful burst of flame trace a path >back to an attractive redhead with a mercenary look about her. [...] Off in the distance, this being a clear day, Kanto's gaze just happens to catch upon a somehow-familiar sight: Mt. Fuji, capped in snow, can be seen now that the cityscape no longer blocks the view. It just happens to be the same face of the volcano as shown in Ziactrice's Trump reading, just before their duel. OOC: I did check; Fuji-san is visible from Tokyo on a clear day. Thank you, Evil GM-San, for allowing me to show my cards and live up to same. :) Gotta keep up my psi-chick rep. Meanwhile, the jets have followed the fire trail back to Lina, firing several missiles at her. A Blast Wall she hastily erects allows her to gather and then return the force of the explosions, but the building roof she was standing on is not so lucky. As it slides for ground level, she dives free. Another Ray Wing spell prevents her winding up as street-Lina-pizza, but she is flying very low as she winds through the buildings to confuse her jet-borne pursuers. A rather high-speed version of a scene strangely - from Eric's viewpoint - reminiscent of Bugs Bunny in a hallway with too many doors and a large, red, furry monster in sneakers plays out - with the urban clutter serving as hall and doors, Lina being chased/chasing several jets (which, it almost goes without saying, can't seem to catch her despite a definite speed advantage) ensues. Eric has more than enough chances despite his preoccupation with Largo to catch glimpses of the angry wasp-capades occuring at a very low ceiling height overhead. Of course, given his abilities from various and sundry sources, it doesn't take him long to put together a very odd picture. When seen in periphereal vision, without the intervention of his somewhat specialized sunglasses, Lina is a redhaired young woman, built somewhat on the conservative side - occasionally slinging a Black Magic bleak enough to make an impression on him. Through the jade lenses, however, she is much more and somewhat less familiar. Ziactrice's face, and brunette hair adorn a noticeable younger girl - even younger than Orchid, by appearance alone. And, ah, in another manner quite resembling the older version he knows quite a bit better, stacked in a matter to make the phrase brick outhouse come to mind - if one correlated the current Ziactrice to a brick castle, perhaps. Even her tactics seem vaguely familar, if much more rudimentary, rough, and far more reckless in terms of damage and possible collateral damage than the sorts of surgical or subtle cuts - or even cooperative actions - he has seen her use in the time he has known her. Although against the Spectran air forces attempting to target her, her rather shockingly brutal approach seems to be working - if without much regard toward the Spectran pilot survival rate. Lina Inverse, the Dra-Mata's secrets revealed on the next E! Entertainment interview! =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9A: Encounters in a Road On Wed, 22 Jun 2005 20:42:00 -0700 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012586 >On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 23:03:48 -0700 (PDT) >Ziactrice Said As CAoL Message # 00012582 > > OOC: I did check; Fuji-san is visible from Tokyo on a clear day. >Thank you, Evil GM-San, for allowing me to show my cards and live up >to same. :) Gotta keep up my psi-chick rep. OOC: Grin. *Very* nice. > Meanwhile, the jets have followed the fire trail back to Lina, >firing several missiles at her. A Blast Wall she hastily erects >allows her to gather and then return the force of the explosions, but >the building roof she was standing on is not so lucky. As it slides >for ground level, she dives free. Another Ray Wing spell prevents her >winding up as street-Lina-pizza, but she is flying very low as she >winds through the buildings to confuse her jet-borne pursuers. "Great Spirit, did you see that?!" "Cut the chatter, Green Two." Spectran razor-fighters scream over the shattered and nearly-abandoned streets of Tokyo, but even if Lina were a normal woman (which she decidedly is not), they would be hard pressed to target that particular needle in the massive haystack below. > A rather high-speed version of a scene strangely - from Eric's >viewpoint - reminiscent of Bugs Bunny in a hallway with too many >doors and a large, red, furry monster in sneakers plays out - with >the urban clutter serving as hall and doors, Lina being >chased/chasing several jets (which, it almost goes without saying, >can't seem to catch her despite a definite speed advantage) ensues. >Eric has more than enough chances despite his preoccupation with >Largo to catch glimpses of the angry wasp-capades occuring at a very >low ceiling height overhead. "You will not -- ignore me --" Largo snarls, shapeshifting like mad in an attempt to absorb a building, a car, a lamp -- anything that will give him an advantage over his attacker. "I'm _not_ ignoring you," Eric replies calmly, twisting his arm inside Largo's techno-organic chest. Sparks fly from the exit wound. "I'm just looking at something else. Now be a good supervillain and fall over, will you? I'm on a tight schedule here." >Through the jade lenses, however, she is much more and somewhat less >familiar. Ziactrice's face, and brunette hair adorn a noticeable >younger girl - even younger than Orchid, by appearance alone. And, >ah, in another manner quite resembling the older version he knows >quite a bit better, stacked in a matter to make the phrase brick >outhouse come to mind - if one correlated the current Ziactrice to a >brick castle, perhaps. "Heh. Oh, Gaia." Eric sighs and shakes his head. "Not so fast, you." He pours more of his Primal energy into Largo. Largo, having none of it (and being drawn to his arch-nemeses as villains are wont to do in cinematic realities throughout the ficton-verse), manages to barely contact the metal framework of a broken skyscraper -- and vanishes into it. "Farewell, Street Fighter. We will not meet again." "Wouldn't surprise me," Eric sighs. [His 'archenemy' will probably get him. Feh. I hate comic book realities.] > Even her tactics seem vaguely familar, if much more rudimentary, >rough, and far more reckless in terms of damage and possible >collateral damage than the sorts of surgical or subtle cuts - or even >cooperative actions - he has seen her use in the time he has known >her. Eric immediately begins following 'Lina,' using anime leaps to (more or less) keep up. [I don't know if Wrinkle would allow a paradox of that magnitude, but I'd better watch her back...just in case.] > Although against the Spectran air forces attempting to target her, >her rather shockingly brutal approach seems to be working - if >without much regard toward the Spectran pilot survival rate. "That's my girl," Eric whispers with an approving (if shark-like) grin. After a moment, however, he looks up again. There are a LOT of Spectran fighters up there. Only a few of them are chasing Lina, and other fighters are doing a lot of damage to them (the Lions, G-Force, and the Red Rangers of Riga are all tearing into them), but even those epic heroes are outnumbered. [Hm. I wonder --] "Hold," a deep, rumbling voice intones. Eric turns. An enormous tanned figure with shocking red hair (bright even compared to Lina's) and muscles that ripple where they stick out of his torn, ragged gi towers over Eric from the jagged peak of an otherwise ruined ten story building. "You fought well against the machine. Now, face me." Eric raises an eyebrow coolly. "And you are...?" "Akuma." Eric manages not to laugh, but only because of the imposing nature of the figure above him. "Well, demon, I am this world's Hunter of demons." Akuma smiles. Even to Eric, it is a terrible smile. "I know." He leaps down, crimson and violet fire exploding around him as he blazes towards Eric with eye-popping speed... >Lina Inverse, the Dra-Mata's secrets revealed on the next E! >Entertainment interview! Naga...Dara...nah. Well...maybe? -- Eric Lancer: The Hunter "You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance!" -- Ryu, "Street Fighter II" =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9: A Detour Along the Road (retcon +) On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 22:06:41 -0700 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012593 >On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 21:42:34 -0700 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012571 [Ed snip of retcon, included in post #00012571 above.] > /Okay...I think I/we have this. Check on Roger in Big O, then see >about the civilians,/ Critias the Defender sends, then races towards >the Leviathan Eye, sword exploding with power as he turns into a >living comet. The Great Leviathan bellows...in rage? Pain? Fear? Regardless of the cause, the Eye recoils, shrinking in the sky and spewing Shadow Realm power in staggering amounts at the incoming Atlantean champion. At roughly the same time, Aras benHaav starts taking Roland apart like a grade school project in the Star Wars realm. Critias the Defender howls in rage, a dragon's roar merging with a phoenix cry. The twin energies merge into a blast of devastating power, focused at the tip of his blade, that slices through the Shadow energies as if they were mere wind. [Morgan...I must go, Critias.] [I understand, Roland. I, too, was once the protector of a princess. May the blessings of Atlantis always be with you.] [And you, brother.] The explosion fills the sky and stops the battle for a moment, as even the fiercest of combatants pause to watch the ancient, dichotomous forces clash. Then both are gone. "No! The LEVIATHAN!" Dartz screams. Destruction Fang Dragon reappears by Kaiba's side. The multi-billionaire's smile becomes even _more_ shark-like. "_Now_ I merge Destruction Fang Dragon with my Blue Eyes." Dartz vanishes. "Coward." Kaiba folds his arms and looks around. "Hey, Defender..." his smug expression vanishes. "Defender?" The Phoenix. Mark stares at the cockpit. "He's...he's gone." "Brrp -- what -- fweet -- now, Mark?" Keyop asks, gulping. "We do what we came to do," Jason barks. "We take these bozos down." Mark nods wearily. All five members of G-Force look exhausted after the recent use of the Fiery Phoenix, but they all know they have a job to do. "Right, Jason. Defender paid dearly to give us this chance. We owe it to him to use it." "G-FORCE!" the others reply with their traditional salute. =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9a: Mere Anarchy is Loosed On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 17:38:41 -0400 David McMillan Said As CAoL Message # 00012606 "Sometimes I feel just like I'm running on ice/ Paying the price, I know...." (bleah. Network trouble, busy RL, various work crises, sick nephew, and my muse is burning up sick days like they're going out of style. Maybe she knows something I don't...?) Megatokyo, near the GENOM-Paradigm Arcology: Leon, Daley, and Dastun ducked for cover behind the wreckage of an ADP van as the fireball washed towards them. Leon popped back up before the final trails of flame had completely passsed, waving his Earthshaker overhead and bellowing at the top of his lungs: "HEY, WTCH IT, WILLYA!??" A decidely female figure in blue powered armor landed lightly atop the wrecked vehicle, and 'eyed' him from her featureless helmet, hand on hip. "Why, what's the matter? Big tough ADP Inspector can't take a little heat?" The words, while oozing disdainful sarcasm, still seemed to have an overtone of something else, to Dastun's ears. Leon, for his part, purpled. "Oh yeah? Come down here, and I'll *show* you how much heat I can take!" Dastun cleared his throat, annoyed. "Can you people *please* remember that we have a city to protect?" Beside him, Daley just shook his head. "Give it up, Colonel. This is their version of foreplay. God only knows what their sex life is like." Leon and the blue Knight Saber rounded on him, spluttering in synchronized incoherence. >Roland X wrote: >Indeed. "WAAAAAA!" Cain screams as he flies across the Tokyo skyline, >just barely avoiding an embarrassing encounter with Tokyo Tower >(which has to appear in virtually all things anime). Roland manages >not to snort soda out his nose, but only because he isn't drinking >any. ;^) Dastun turns at the sound and eyes the hurtling armored figure. "Well, *there's* something you don't see everyday." "Speak for yourself," Leon remarks, momentarily diverted. "I have to go," Blue says quickly. "White's calling me." Meanwhile: >>"Darkness from twilight, crimson from blood that flows; buried in >>the flow of time; in Thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness! >>Those who oppose us shall be destroyed by the power you and I >>possess! DRAGU SLAVE!!" > >By this time, Defender is finally out over Tokyo Bay (poor guy *g*). >Far to his left, Dark Voltron dances agilely around the badly damaged >Ramtron, maneuvering for the kill. Somewhere ahead and below, Big O >lies (mostly) silent beneath the waves, a somehow simultaneously >calm-yet-panicked Dorothy diving to the rescue. Seeing the fire >exploding towards them all, he calmly throws a small, intense shield >up behind him. > >>The spell leaps from her hand, streaming out over the ocean into the >>midst of the combat where it detonates like a nuclear bomb. A huge, >>writhing red bubble of magical destruction blooms amongst the >>combatants, perhaps even swallowing some within its power and fire. Leon's eyes bug out a bit. "Now *that's* something you don't see every day." Dastun snorts. "Sez you." The two hardcase cops eye each other. "You know, once this is over, we really ought to find a bar and swap stories." "As long as there's a bar *left* standing in this burgh." "HIT THE DECK!" Daley screamed, tackling them both. A burst of HMG fire raked the air where the three men had just been standing. "&*^$@_&!!!" Leon bellows succinctly, bringing his Earthshaker to bear. Guided by his crack marksmanship, the .66 rounds are enough to score "mission kills" even on the squad of Bu-12 heavy combat Boomers that had just come within an ace of blindsiding them... but the big pistol only carries three rounds. Daley and Dastun are hammering the remaining Bu-12s with their heavy rifles as Leon curses and scrambles for reloads, when the Boomers suddenly... start blowing up. Blowing up REALLY good. "Hiii, boys!" calls a female voice that Dopplers past them very quickly. Dastun looks up cautiously. "Is it just me, or did we...?" "Just get our asses saved by two girls in bikinis with Big Freaking Guns, and a chick with wings who think's she's some kind of John Woo leather goddess? Yeah," Leon confirms. "Just checking. This happen to you often?" "Variation on a theme. Let's go!" "What, after *them*?" "Safest place to be, based on previous experience." "Leon-chan," Daley interjects diffidently, "you *do* realize this is going to make your heavily-armed no-he's-not-my-boyfriend girlfriend so jealous that she'll have to change her armor color?" Leon smirks, in full Badass Ladykiller mode. "It'll do her good. Besides, she hasn't shot *you* yet, and we're practially joined at the hip." Daley sighs theatrically as Dastun gives both ADP officers a classic hairy eyeball. "Oh, I wish it were true. Instead, my passions go unrequited, whilst my prince in mirrorshades chases after that armored hussy--" "AHEM!" Dastun snaps. "Can we GET A MOVE ON?" Out in the Dragu Slave Target Zone: >Lotor's eyes go wide, and he just has time to shout "SHIELD OF >DARKNESS!" A hemisphere of impenetrable shadow springs up between him >and the explosion. This being Dragon Slave, the Shield buckles; the >mecha being a reasonable fascimile of Voltron, it is only minimally >damaged by the ensuing wash of flame. Ramtron does not fare as well. >While far more resilient than Dark Voltron, it lacks any sort of >force shielding and has several tears in its armor. Said tears are >somewhat wider and completely aflame when the blast subsides, leaving >it with a dramatic flaming "L" in its chest. Meanwhile, Lotor is getting some good news: "Alert: Anomalous status change detected," Allura's voice intones. "What? What's happened?" Lotor snaps. "No damage detected to any systems. All systems operational at 100%. All consumable stores available at 100% of capacity." The Prince is sufficiently stunned to momentarily forget his usual hifalutin' vocabulary: "Say WHAT?" It doesn't seem possible -- his first thought is some kind of hostile intrusion into Dark Voltron's computer systems, but he can *feel* the change in the big mecha's responses. A quick glance at his monitors confirms that Ramtron has not been the beneficiary of any similar largess, whatever its origin. It's at about this moment that Big O erupts from the bottom of the bay, directly behind Ramtron and within arm's reach. Without seeming to pause, the great black iron hands reach out and grab the head of Zoltar's mech, by way of the oh-so-convenient 'handles' provided by the horns. Lotor is still alert enough to notice that the damage inflicted on the MegaDeus by his own Blazing Sword earlier on appears to no longer be present as *both* of Big O's huge ram cylinders slam back into firing position. "This might look good on my mantlepiece, but I don't think I have the room," Roger Smith's voice comes across the open radio channel. "How about yours?" >/"Okay, who the nass is _she?!_"/ Roland blurts. "You will not live >long enough to learn," a silky, confident voice echoes from above the >city. Defender looks over and down...then up...at a man in an ivory >robe, a long mane of white hair that nearly glows, with a glowing >blue-green medallion hanging from his neck that seems at once >familiar and utterly alien. (He is too far away to tell, but anyone >looking more closely can tell that one eye is green and the other is >gold.) OOC: More pics: > http://www.janime.net/images/duelists/dartz/character.html >Specifically http://www.janime.net/images/duelists/dartz/01/25.jpg >...for shots of the villain. OOC: Oh, more players. Joy... (like I have any room to talk) > -- Roland and Kaiba The trenchcoat brigade to the rescue (well, >yeah, Roland's in Defender mode, but still... ;^) OOC: insert obligatory John Constantine joke here. =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9a: Mere Anarchy is Loosed On Sun, 24 Jul 2005 01:20:33 -0700 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00012611 >On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 17:38:41 -0400 >David McMillan Said As CAoL Message # 00012606 > > "Hiii, boys!" calls a female voice that Dopplers past them very >quickly. > Dastun looks up cautiously. "Is it just me, or did we...?" > "Just get our asses saved by two girls in bikinis with Big >Freaking Guns, and a chick with wings who think's she's some kind of >John Woo leather goddess? Yeah," Leon confirms. > "Just checking. This happen to you often?" > "Variation on a theme. Let's go!" > "What, after *them*?" > "Safest place to be, based on previous experience." > "Leon-chan," Daley interjects diffidently, "you *do* realize this >is going to make your heavily-armed no-he's-not-my-boyfriend >girlfriend so jealous that she'll have to change her armor color?" > Leon smirks, in full Badass Ladykiller mode. "It'll do her good. >Besides, she hasn't shot *you* yet, and we're practically joined at >the hip." > Daley sighs theatrically as Dastun gives both ADP officers a >classic hairy eyeball. "Oh, I wish it were true. Instead, my passions >go unrequited, whilst my prince in mirrorshades chases after that >armored hussy--" > "AHEM!" Dastun snaps. "Can we GET A MOVE ON?" Angel jinks and twists in the air, her new-formed wings [did _I_ make them, or were they always there, waiting for me to call them?] straining to keep her aloft as she glides skillfully between Boomers. Her guns do impressive damage, but by far her most effective technique is her uncanny ability to get the androids to shoot each _other_ a fraction of a second after she passes between them. She spares a wink for beleaguered Dan, then dives straight into the GENOM-Paradigm onslaught. > It doesn't seem possible -- his first thought is some kind of >hostile intrusion into Dark Voltron's computer systems, but he can >*feel* the change in the big mecha's responses. A quick glance at his >monitors confirms that Ramtron has not been the beneficiary of any >similar largess, whatever its origin. > It's at about this moment that Big O erupts from the bottom of the >bay, directly behind Ramtron and within arm's reach. Without seeming >to pause, the great black iron hands reach out and grab the head of >Zoltar's mech, by way of the oh-so-convenient 'handles' provided by >the horns. Lotor is still alert enough to notice that the damage >inflicted on the MegaDeus by his own Blazing Sword earlier on appears >to no longer be present as *both* of Big O's huge ram cylinders slam >back into firing position. > "This might look good on my mantlepiece, but I don't think I have >the room," Roger Smith's voice comes across the open radio channel. >"How about yours?" Lotor's smile appears, disturbingly, on Dark Voltron's face. "Oh yes. Ohhh yes, I believe I can find a place for it." "Lotor, don't be foolish," Zarkon quavers. One can almost hear him sweat through his voice. "You'll never rule Doom this way!" All of Lotor's humor vanishes. "I have lost all other things this day, father," he snarls, the barest hint of a sob noticeable to the extremely perceptive. "I will never wear your crown no matter what I do now." He raises his arm, the widdershins Blazing Sword shining in the fading sunlight as the smoke of the battle threatens to do what the Leviathan's Eye did mere moments before. "Yet now...at the end..." the smile returns, cold and cruel and bearing all the pain in a world, "...I find I do not care. Goodbye, father. Your reign was not nearly short enough." The sword bisects Ramtron from skull to groin. "You may want to retreat, now," Lotor notes casually, withdrawing his Voltron clone as he spoke. "Haggar's robeasts have a nasty tendency to explode when--" Ramtron explodes. Lotor sighs. Dark Voltron takes cosmetic damage. "I will be glad when I am rid of this hero nonsense." "Warning: Galran Witchraft detected. Effect unknown," DV's Alluran voice reports. Lotor sighs again. "I can_not_ believe I am beginning to feel sympathy for the Voltron Force." Meanwhile, Rio's borrowed motorcycle has wound it's way through the collateral damage to where she can get a good look at the bay. She picks up Roger on the lenslink as the Megadeus rises into view. "*Humph,*" she says with a playful mock pout that fights to turn into a grin, "*You went and had a Big O without me? You're a louse, Roger Smith.*" =========================== Subject: Re: AAE9A: Encounters in a Road On Mon, 25 Jul 2005 22:20:37 -0700 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012613 >On Wed, 22 Jun 2005 20:42:00 -0700 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00012586 > > An enormous tanned figure with shocking red hair (bright even >compared to Lina's) and muscles that ripple where they stick out of >his torn, ragged gi towers over Eric from the jagged peak of an >otherwise ruined ten story building. "You fought well against the >machine. Now, face me." > Eric raises an eyebrow coolly. "And you are...?" > "Akuma." > Eric manages not to laugh, but only because of the imposing nature >of the figure above him. "Well, demon, I am this world's Hunter of >demons." > Akuma smiles. Even to Eric, it is a terrible smile. "I know." > He leaps down, crimson and violet fire exploding around him as he >blazes towards Eric with eye-popping speed... [PHOENIX! I'll get you for this!] Eric rages internally as he evades a punch that even _he_ would have felt in the morning. [Great. Just _great._ I've lost Zia -- 'Lina' -- the robot got away, Rio's out there alone with Kanto, and I'm playing tag with a ch'i master who takes lessons from the Yozi. Could this _get_ any better?] "Tatsumakizankuukyaku!" Akuma roars as he turns into a whirlwind of death, one leg suspended beneath him as the other spins him around at helicopter-like speeds. "I had to ask." Eric leaps away with alacrity, 'only' taking a severe bruising from half-a-dozen heel strikes rather than experiencing the unique sensation of several bones breaking simultaneously from a devastating hyper-speed assault. (Not that he's unfamiliar with the experience...) "Okay, you asked for it." Eric's hand slides to his sunglasses, and he stares balefully at Akuma. "Oh, so you mean to glare at me until I fall?" Akuma chuckles. "HADOKEN!" A ball of pure, blazing ch'i flies out at Eric. "You have power, but not vision," Eric replies distantly, raising his hand smoothly. The blast is instantly going in the opposite direction with the same phenomenal speed, not even so much as turning. "Bff!" Akuma shakes his head violently, then glares at his opponent, face still aflame in parts. "Power? You know nothing of power!" Astonishing even himself, Eric smiles coldly. "Show me." "Gou Shoryuken!" Akuma roars, barrelling into the air, his entire body spiraling with flame. Eric leaps up to meet him. Seeming to make a perfect target of himself, the Hunter _twists_ at the last second as if made of living water, he moves so fluidly. Catching Akuma's rising fist, Eric twists again, and bones creak when the Hunter points them both at the ground. "WHAT?!" Akuma blurts, disbelief filling him. "Your skill is great, but your style is rigid," Eric explains with stunning calm. "I, too, had this flaw." "FLAW! YOU DARE! MINE IS THE PUREST ART!" Akuma rages. Eric merely raises one quietly defiant eyebrow. Then they plunge to earth, crashing into the ground with an explosion that can be heard for blocks around them, even in the current din. Akuma's arms are broken in several places. Eric lands lightly on his feet, unharmed. "No! This cannot BE!" the great, terrible ch'i warrior cries out to the heavens. "I AM POWER MADE FLEEESH!" "There is no Art to dealing in death, and power is meant to be controlled." Eric cups his hands together. "Sun Shard Strike!" A single spike of raw energy thrusts into Akuma's forehead, and the demon-warrior shudders and falls. Eric staggers back and leans against an I-beam, breathing heavily. "Whoo. I'm getting too old for this." With that, he anime-leaps after Zina Inverze. (OOC: Tag Zia. So, does Eric catch her up, and if so, what does he find, besides a gigantic smoking crater? Or three? ;^) ===========================