Pandaemonium
Posts 29
Power Level 23
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Post by Tricky on Jan 9, 2017 19:43:29 GMT -7
As of late, the place Tricky had grown to call his home had become quieter, more boring. He hadn’t even been out to blow anything up or maim any civilians. It was disastrous, preposterous, and downright lame. Instead of just sitting around moodily, as he did feel some inclination to do, the choice was made to take action in the process of making Emerald City better. Not for the masses, nor for the upper class, not even for the population of supers. Just for himself. The Jester had already formulated a decent plan to get a response out of a particular super that he knew was still around, as well as some law enforcement, without ever fully incurring the wrath of, well, every other possible threat that could attend. It would be easy enough, and it happened to be a trap for one of the first supers he’d battled in this city. Someone that would, or should, fall into this trap like a mosquito into a zapper. Under the cover of night, Tricky went out, snatching all manner of people from houses in town. It took time, but every last one was left in the mine, trapped by mysterious vines. After a grand total of 21 were gathered, the headcount decided on a whim, it was appropriate to start on the plan. Each hostage, save for one little boy, was positioned approximately a mile from the mine, in hidden places from abandoned buildings to trees, a couple left in the sewer system. They were all killed, as well, but that wouldn’t be discernible at a glance. This was because each was covered in the same plant growths, or what appeared to be such, as the dragon Bokor had produced. They were identical, though these apparent “thralls” didn’t move in the least. The plant coatings that had covered the poor lost souls had also sprouted small blooms, the most important piece of the entire plan. From each came an invisible chemical, aerosolized so as to best spread, that could be seen by insects. It was also a very, very strong pesticide, specifically targeting whatever neural center they had. Each insect brain was different, but they would first lose their senses; there was no determining what species would lose what senses, but the pesticide drove them crazy while simultaneously shutting off their ability to function. It would send them into a panic for about five minutes before they died, painfully, when the neurotoxin reached their bloodstream and spread through the remainder of their nervous systems. Hopefully, the bug man would be connected to some of them. Obviously, there was no guarantee he was in range to figure out what had occurred and that was a large margin for error. The maestro of the plot had orchestrated it more than well enough, however, and had positioned himself in the old mine. Seemingly overnight, it had been overgrown by plants and vines of the same kind as used on the hostages. Whether the growth was merely an imitation of the latest dragon attack or if the Jester had managed to perfectly replicate it was unclear, but it didn’t seem to spread quite as much. From the inside of the mine came a gout of another substance, high into the sky. It had no adverse effects, nor was it even visible to the naked eye. Or at least, the naked human eye. It was ultraviolet, leaving it visible to very few entities; unless one of the other supers had aphakia, it was unlikely they’d notice. But there were insects, and even other animals, that would see it almost instantly. And even if Hive didn’t think to triangulate the position of his adversary by the points of original attack, he would know exactly where to go. Inside the cavern of greenery was Tricky, along with a younger boy of about eight years. He was an innocent looking kid, or so it seemed to the crazed robot, with curly golden hair and bright blue eyes. The child had yet to see his captor, having been taken while he was sleeping, and stayed in a central room with varied vines and creative constructs. All of them were of a plant nature, and they seemed to function in spirals more than anything. Decorating the walls were fruits of green, red, blue, and yellow, plainly colored with a texture reminiscent of a peach. His azure hues flicked about, landing on every bloom and leaf in the room. Awestruck in the way that only a child could be, such a thing easy to forget in the community populated by supers. One can only imagine the shock, sudden terror, and immense curiosity as three suits like Tricky’s were pushed out of the wall, previously encapsulated by the flora. None moved, all of them seemed completely useless or powered off. And the as the little boy crept slowly towards them, a dark, menacing laugh could be heard echoing through the entrance to the mine.
Hivemind |
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Emerald City Bulwark
That's Un-bee-lievable!
Posts 24
Power Level 20
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Post by Hivemind on Jan 10, 2017 10:39:06 GMT -7
For some time now, Emerald City seemed to fade away, in a sense. There were no major events going down, no fights between supers, and nothing that seemed to catch the attention of this “infested” super. Every other night, Hivemind would send out “scouts”, a small fleet of flies to search around the city to see if anything is going on. The scouts would usually report back with little things, but nothing that made him jump out of his seat, don his armor, and head out. On rare occasion, Hive would go out in his civilian clothes and head out to the city. He would make sure that his scouts didn’t miss anything and that he wanted to be somewhat social. He didn’t know what it was, but the city seemed to change, and not for the better. So, Hive went out and started scouring the streets for crimes to stop, people to save, the usual, but nothing was happening. He let out a huge sigh, and decided to go grab a coffee before he heads back. There was this one coffee shop that he knew of, and made his way there. Hive could never remember the name of this cafe, but he could always distinguish their coffee. The shop was on the edge of the city that was closest to Malachite Isle, and every time he went to the shop, he was tempted to head over to Malachite Isle and see what’s up, but he never did.
Something was going on and Hivemind could feel it. You see, every time an insect dies that is under his control, he feels a little pain, like a flick to the arm. While nearing the cafe, it felt like he was being flicked vigorously and constantly. So, instead of just ignoring this feeling, he decided to interface with his insects and see what’s actually going on. He entered the mind of a moth that was flying around an old abandoned building. He found out where it was, and made his way there. He made it to the building and commanded the moth to head into the building. It was trashed. Papers and vines scattered the floor, and it reminded Hive of something. Weeks ago, Bokor, a dragon that used “thralls” as it’s main weapon, and when it finally died, it scattered vines and thralls throughout the city. Hive entered the building, made his way to the biggest room, and noticed something on the wall. There seemed to be a person hanging from the wall, tied up in the vines that littered the floor, and something was off about him. He made his way to the body and noticed that the person was dead, but there was a lingering smell of a certain chemical that attracted insects and killed them. It was a strong pesticide that seemed to mess with the bugs’ heads and cause them to frenzy before they die. “Who would have it out for insects”, Hive said aloud. He stood there thinking until the answer came to him.
During the fights he had with supers, he noticed one that seemed obsessed with him. His appearance was one of a mechanical jester with a craving for murder. Tricky was his name, and apparently our rivalry is his game. I figured he would still be skulking around town and wasn’t exactly done terrorizing people. So, the reason Hive still wondered was, “Why kill those people? Couldn’t you just find me somewhere?”. He ignored it for the time being, but it didn’t leave his mind. Hivemind thought, “Why would he just stop at one?” Realizing what he had to do, Hive sent out a few fleets of scouts and sent them to the most abandoned looking buildings to see if more people were murdered. His scouts found more bodies and shared the location with him. Hivemind proceeded to call the police and inform them on the location in which the bodies were found. The phone call went as so, “Police: 911 what’s your emergency? Hive: Hi, I’ve found several dead bodies scattered among different locations. Police: Okay, how do you want us to proceed? Hive: Can you collect the bodies and get them to the coroner or something like that? Police: Already on it, what are the locations?” Hivemind told them where the bodies were and the police were on their way. Now it’s time to get to the source of this problem. Tricky.
He sensed the odor of the pesticide coming from Malachite Isle, so that’s where he headed. Not wanting to wait on the ferry to make it to Malachite Isle, he decided to try an idea he’s had for a while, but he has not tested yet. “Well, here goes nothing.”, thought Hive. Using his manipulation of insects, he called upon thousands of flying insects to gather under his feet and lift him off the ground, making it look like he is flying. His plan was ultimately working, but he noticed the strength of the insects depleting. Hive yelled out, “Come on! Just a little bit longer.”. Hive finally made it to the island and dispersed his insects. “I don’t know where I would be without you guys. Thanks a lot”, Hive thought. Focusing on the threat of a psychopathic jester hell-bent on the murder of innocent people, he shared his senses with his insects friends and found that the lingering odor was originating from the old mine, where not to long ago he fought alongside and against supers. He was about 50 feet from the mine entrance and started hearing strange noises. The noises sounded like maniacal laughs and the sound of someone heading into the mine. “Well, time to get to the bottom of this”, concluded Hive.
While entering the mine, he noticed the same kind of vines that were in the abandoned buildings and concluded that Tricky must be here. Making his way down into the mine, the laughs began to increase in volume and was in shorter time intervals, like he was messing with Hive. A few minutes passed and he finally made into the main chamber of the mine. Vines were scattered around the room and he noticed three familiar looking suits emerging from the walls of the mine. The thing that Hivemind should’ve noticed first was the young boy that looked scared out of this mind. He hatched an idea. Hive summoned a little house fly and commanded it to go near the boy’s ear and he would try to inform him about the situation. A few weeks ago, Hivemind realized he could translate his words into the fly’s language, and able to talk to others by the means of the fly. Back to the situation, the fly he sent neared the boy’s ear and the boy started to swat the fly away. Trying to help the boy, the fly said, “Hey, calm down. I’m trying to help you. My name is Hivemind, but you can call me Hive. I’m from the Bulwark, and I’m here to save you”. In hindsight, that probably wasn’t the greatest idea. The boy thought he was going crazy because he was being helped by a fly. The boy, out of utter shock, passed out. Hive, realizing what he did, face palmed and decided to grab the boy and get him to safety. Hive sprinted as fast as he could, grabbed the boy, and made his way out of the mine.
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Pandaemonium
Posts 29
Power Level 23
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Post by Tricky on Jan 12, 2017 10:05:02 GMT -7
The cave, overgrown as it was, would not be allowing for easy passage back. The middle suit of the three sank back into the wall, and the other two began to curl and decay; they were, in fact, short lived plants that could mimic himself. As the Bulwark and the hostage child approached the exit to the cave, vines lashed out at the two. The tips were plain, but still quite effective at the high speeds they traveled. It wouldn't prevent passage by any means, but the growths on the walls had already sent the Jester to the surface. He would be waiting as Hive left, bursting out of the ground on a platform of sprawling, spiral vines. While the insect covered super made his way out, Tricky started to manipulate the trees. The trunks thickened and expanded into new space, and the branches all started to make their way up and together. It was a surprisingly quick process, and the cage was formed in a matter of seconds. The top portion was weaker, such as trees are, but the general construction was very sturdy.
The Jester kept his omnipresent smile pointed to his targets as they came into site, and he spread his arms like he was showing off a carnival. "I'm ever so pleased you could make it, even if it took a lot of incentive. Of course, maybe a normal invitation could've done the trick!" He laughed, just as common as normal words in his vernacular, and his voice shifted from enthusiastic joking to a dark humored tone. "But I didn't bring you hear just for a little visit, of course. You see, everything has been very, very, very boring around here lately, and I need a little bit of spice. This ought to do the trick fairly well!" As much power as it had taken to do everything he had so far, it was mostly to be attributed to the efficient style of the plants, the spirals, that Tricky was still able to fight. He was more than able, but ready and beginning. An echoing pop would come from the inside of the cave, like the sound of many balloons being simultaneously popped. Every color on his suit, save black, was also a color in the rolling mist coming out of the mine. Although the "fruits" that were growing in the cavern hadn't been used as originally intended, it could do the trick well enough if they were all detonated at once. Each different color would have a different effect on whoever inhaled it, producing and intensifying different emotions; blue for sadness, yellow for happiness, red for anger, and the most prominent color of green to denote fear. The rolling wave came billowing out behind the heroic man, floating out over the ground and swirling up to the top of the dome.
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Emerald City Bulwark
That's Un-bee-lievable!
Posts 24
Power Level 20
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Post by Hivemind on Mar 7, 2017 10:05:00 GMT -7
As he approached the exit of the mine, with the young boy hanging from his shoulders, he noticed that it wasn't as light outside as it was earlier. "I wasn't in there for that long...was I?". Hive questioned his perception of time, but also thought about ulterior reasons why it had gotten darker. He found the answer to his question whenever he stepped out of the cave. Trees. Whoever it was, whatever it was, had erected a mass of trees to surround the mine and make a dome over it. Then he noticed the who. Tricky, of course it was him. He couldn't of just let me save the boy and get on with my day. "What are you trying to do here?", Hivemind yelled towards Tricky. There was no immediate response, but it seemed like the maniacal metallic jester had a lot on his mind. Before Tricky's speech, Hive scoped out the dome and tried to find an immediate exit. "Nothing in sight", he thought.
During his extended period of training and trying out new moves. He found a couple of combos that could get him out of some sticky situations. There was the "Butterfly", where he would command his insects to gather on his back and temporarily give him the ability to fly, the "Cocoon", he would surround himself with various insects to safeguard him from any danger, and then there was his reckless plan. He called it the "Rhino", after the Rhino Beetle. His insects would gather around his chest, head, and upper body, forming a horn-like structure, which looked like the Rhino Beetle horn, and then he would run headstrong into battle. Remembering his combinations, Hivemind hatched an idea.
With the boy under his arm and his bugs at his disposal, he commenced "Plan Rhino", he couldn't think of anything better on the spot. He used his manipulation powers to call his bugs to surround his upper body, and to cover the small boy. It took a minute for them all to gather, but it was complete. "Operation Rhino Charge" was a go. Before he charged into action, he noticed that the dome was made of trees, so he figured, "What's the best way to get rid of trees?" See, most people would say axes, chainsaws, or even natural disasters, but the true tree killer was Termites.
Calling forth a swarm of Termites in each hand, he threw them towards the spot on the dome, which he designated, and they went to work. Relaying info from the insects, he noticed that the durability of the trees were weakening. If Tricky found out about this plan, he may try to build the dome back up and trap them again, but Hivemind knew what he had to do. Donning his Rhino horn and holding onto the young boy, who was surrounded by armored beetles, he ran back into the cave to gain some momentum. "It's now or never..", Hive thought, and he sprung into action. Leaping out of the cave and gaining as much momentum as he could, he hardened his Rhino horn and smashed directly into the weakened spot on the tree dome.
"Crack!!", the sound of tree bark breaking, trees snapping in half, as Hive's plan seemed to work. He had made a whole big enough to fit them both through and head back into the city, but Tricky seemed to know what they were trying to do. He began to cover back the hole. Instinctively, Hivemind tossed the boy outside of the dome, uncovered the bugs from his, and told him, "Run! I'll cover you!". The boy understood and ran towards the city.
Hive let out a huge sigh of relief, but remembered that he still had a maniac to stop. "Seriously, what do you want from me?", yelling towards Tricky.
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