Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
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Post by Blue Jay on Apr 19, 2016 20:10:58 GMT -7
Ever since the fight in the woods, Blue Jay couldn’t get thoughts of the mysterious man he’d faced out of his mind. He hadn’t even learned the man’s name, nor had his research yielded any results, but his words had stuck with him; "What crime have you stopped? Who have you saved?" Blue Jay didn’t know, and it was bothering him.
It would be simple to say he needn’t always fight for the sake of others - indeed, that’s what he had said - but, was that morally right? Blue Jay was hardly ever accountable for the results of his fights; the police didn’t know who he was, and had a very low chance of doing anything to stop him. The greatest cost to him was occasionally replacing a jacket or pair of jeans, or spending a few days recovering from a fight. He didn’t even have hospital bills to pay; he’d always healed up fine without the need of a doctor. His fights were costly not to him but to unlucky individuals with no control over the situation. This was exactly what he was trying to stop by fighting crime, so if he was going to fight, he should make sure the good outweighed the bad, right?
Ultimately, his reasoning had fallen to defending one he considered an ally and for the thrill of battle with little chance of harm to innocents or damage to property. He didn’t regret joining the fight (well, maybe a little), but he didn’t want to dive too deep into the currently morally ambiguous grounds of fighting just for a fight’s sake. So, when he’d set out with his mask and sword that evening, he was determined to do something to counteract his previous fight and cement himself again firmly as a hero of the people. He would stop some real crime.
Which, as it so happened, didn’t take long to find. Happenstance had him on a rooftop, overhearing a hushed conversation in the dark alley below. In all actuality, it was probably more of inevitability than dumb luck that the hero had found this guy; he was not, in any sense of the word, being subtle. He was loudly proclaiming to the others who’d met him in that alley about the greatness of his business and his boss’s plan and splendor. This was probably not the first group the guy’d given his opus to, and it probably wouldn't be the last.
His information was as such; a smuggling ship was coming into port tonight; a wealthy party from another part of the country was attempting to establish connections in a new market. Their cargo? Top of the line, rare bred, purebred and pure gold, according to the price, show and fighting dogs. They apparently also had an expensive painting, stolen a couple months ago from a different country. It'd traveled secretly halfway around the world and was at last to be traded off to its black market buyer, and that was interesting and all, but dogs.
The ship was coming into port just as he was arriving on the pier. A number of people had gathered on the wooden dock, a couple helping guide the ship in, the rest milling around, attempting to not look as suspicious as they clearly were. The occasional poor job of hiding their gun in their pocket told that the group was not unarmed.
The somewhat large but not overly so ship came to a halt in port, and ropes were thrown over the edge to be tied to the pier. Blue Jay came to crouch on the roof of a nearby one-story fishing shack, waiting for the right moment to make his move.
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Scheme: Fight a battle with some reasoning behind it so as to feel better
Get a dog
Stop dog smugglers from dealing their illegal business that includes the innocent lives of animals and would disrupt the local pet market via apprehending their goods and turning them over to the police. There we go.
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Pandaemonium
I need a gingerbread man, the one I'll eat
Posts 154
Power Level 28
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Post by Bloodbath on Apr 20, 2016 17:24:07 GMT -7
"O-ok, just set them s-some-somewhere over there." Bloodbath mumbled, pointing a trembling hand towards a relatively hidden area. He couldn't figure out why he'd been chosen to watch over this shipment, every bark was horribly loud, every growl terrifying. What was the point of this anyway!? Sure, Pandemonium would get money out of this, but dogs!? Who would want to smuggle dogs when you could just buy one?
However, he wasn't the one with a choice here. They said he'd be useful here and, dang it, he was going to be useful!
The men even looked at him like he didn't belong here, which he felt was dreadfully true. His nails were already cutting gouges into his wrists, sending droplets of blood down that threatened to send nearby dogs into a baying fit. Luckily, it looked like this was going smooth enough, he couldn't wait to get home.
Although it looked like fate had it in for him tonight, a hero perched nearby, ready to turn this already stressful night into one he would hope to forget.
Opposing: Looks like you got a nervous wreck to fight, good luck!
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Inactive
Posts 15
Power Level 15
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Post by rogue on Apr 20, 2016 20:19:53 GMT -7
'Could this get any worse,' Rogue thought, their expression halfway between annoyance and amusement, as the amateur job being done on the docks was causing quite the scene. From the less than quiet news about the delivery to the poorly organized, excuse their pun, pandemonium that was occurring, Rogue was surprised the cops hadn't shown up yet. Then again dock dwellers weren't known to be snitches and Rogue was fairly certain a good percentage of them had never dialed 911 in their life.
The humor of the situation was dulled by the tragic mishandling of the innocent animals. Watching the poor dogs getting treated like goods sent a pang through the super's heart, but they didn't get this far if they listened to their feelings all the time. If a couple dog leashes were cut as a certain shadow travelled across the docks then so be it, but only so long as it didn't ruin Rogue's true goal: stealing the painting. Hired by a, funny enough, P.I., Rogue had been assigned to recover the stolen goods under the noses of the dog focused smugglers. It was supposed to be an easy in and out job, if the docks weren't such a mess. Getting into the boat would be simple enough in all the chaos, but getting out would be more difficult as the painting would have to remain a lot more substantial than the super normally was as it was too large to simply conceal.
'Great,' Rogue thought noticing a figure appear on the top of a nearby building, only throwing another wrench into their plan. The darkness not obscuring their vision, Rogue could see that it was the rather high profile Bulwark hero, Blue Jay. Though public favor had recently fallen due to the catastrophic fight over a downtown jewelry shop, the swordsman was known for having strict morals and a good heart. Rogue admired his dedication to using his powers for good, a luxury the unaligned super could not afford, quite literally. In fact, their little job tonight could help them rack a couple thousand if the art remained undamaged. All Rogue had to do was get through both the Bulwark and Pandemonium forces... or did they?
After all, the bleeding heart of Blue Jay was probably solely focused on the canines and Rogue wasn't opposed to helping the chained dogs obtain freedom, so long as they finished their job and received their reward. Currently hidden in the shadow of a building, Rogue planned to support the potential Bulwark ally, while trying to prevent any of the smugglers from identifying the unaligned super.
SUPPORT: Willing to help, so long as the painting is theirs.
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Inactive
Posts 11
Power Level 15
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Post by ionica on Apr 20, 2016 20:53:07 GMT -7
Some, may have called it stalking, but Ionica....well, she still called it stalking, but not with that negetive thing to it. Blue Jay was cool, swave and debonair. Wrong gender, but still pretty cool to have as a friend, and he seemed very down after his recent fight so Ionica was there to make sure that nothing bad happened. Tracking him was easy, everyone had their own distinct electrical impulse that Ionica could tell apart from others, and it made following and tracking a pinch. That and super speed made getting to the docks not a problem in the slightest. However, once there, she couldn't just stick around in the shadows, and had to just dive on out there. In a flash, she was smack-bang in the middle of the entire opperations.
"Cute girl suddenly appears in your smuggling ring. Quite a Shock, no?" she asked Thug #13. And then Ionica'd. "But, seriously. Dog smuggling? Come on, man. I feel my cool points falling like an American in Ireland just by being here. Could you not have thought of anything, at all, in the entire world, that would be better, than smuggling dogs? They are cute bundles of fluff! Smuggle something better so I can stove everyone's head in and feel good about it, rather than being like a level 150 Wu-tang Warrior hitting mobs in Zhangzhou because reasons. Do you understand how pittiful it is to even stop you doing this?" She finished, facepalming softly. "But yea, Hands up and drop the doggies. Also, might get one because they are hella cute. What's your rate?" Ionica asked, sending mixed messages to probably confuse the crap out of the smugglers.
Support: Kinda....sorta.....maybe?
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Pandaemonium
Posts 381
Power Level 31
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Post by Aurora Disicio on Apr 20, 2016 20:59:47 GMT -7
It was difficult to find some black market deal on the docks that Pandaemonium didn't have their fingers in somehow. The docks were their part of the city after all. Even if they didn't have a more permanent base like the other groups, their territory was still obvious. No sane person dared to walk into this area of town unless they absolutely had to. That fact alone showed the group's dominance. Their control over the area meant that most deals went through them, unless that dealer wanted a fight. This one was no exception.
Aurora figured she'd tag along to help protect the cargo and move it, given there was no person in this world that could move cargo better than she could. Sadly, that was before she found out it was living cargo. Loud living cargo at that. Not only was she as ineffectual at moving living cargo as any unpowered person was, not that she would admit it, but the crates were full of dogs. Dogs that wouldn't shut up. Aurora was able to excuse herself for a moment to get a little bit more muscle to help with moving things, and to get away from the sound for a moment, but she ultimately came back in the end. If this dealer was any less important she would have told him to go fuck himself already, but there were opportunities to be had here. That made sticking around...mostly worth it.
Between her trips around the warehouse, and her trip back to the horde to get some box pushers, Aurora managed to collect more than enough materials to deal with any wannabe hero that would interfere with their business. This area of town tended to be deserted, so rather than fan out her aurora, she let it cling to the ceiling, making it look like the ceiling was melting into cotton candy. She spotted some suspicious movements on the rooftops outside. Her lips curled into an amused smirk. She'd be sure to take out all her irritation from the dogs out on these losers.
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Opposing because Blue Jay is a weenie business or something
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Pandaemonium
Posts 78
Power Level 25
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Post by Dullahan on Apr 21, 2016 6:20:47 GMT -7
Behind the smuggling ship, a much smaller craft made its way toward the dock, almost hidden beneath the waves. Its sleek, minimalistic design barely even churned the water as it slid through. Inside, Dullahan watched and waited.
The supervillain was no stranger to this sort of job, and he'd normally ask for his cut of the cargo as payment. However, this time around, the cargo was utterly useless to him, and the money that was being offered instead be of limited use in acquiring the materials he needed with any sort of subtlety.
Normally, he would have sat this one out, but his arrangement with Aurora Disicio meant that that wasn't an option. Dullahan relied on the villainess's uniquely useful power to acquire rare elements like gold, platinum, and rhodium for his own work. Getting on her bad side would require him to turn to much less efficient methods.
And so here he was, watching through his boat's cameras for any possible signs of interference while Aurora helped things along dockside.
Once the unloading began, he didn't have to wait long. One superheroic form slammed into the midst of the dockworkers with a boldness that suggested backup on the way. Regardless of how many heroes there were, the most efficient course of action remained the same. Dullahan cranked his turbines to full power and sped for the dock!
OPPOSING: A job's a job, after all.
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Post by PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 on Apr 21, 2016 6:26:37 GMT -7
PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 online Running aberrant conflict search heuristic. Scanning satellite imagery... clear. Scanning public security footage... anomaly detected. Beginning detailed analysis. Multiple aberrants detected aiding an unpowered criminal activity in Emerald City, sector AK-43. Multiple aberrants detected interfering with an unpowered criminal activity in Emerald City, sector AK-43. Motivation for aberrant-aberrant conflict confirmed. Cataloguing contents of sector... Detected: 25,826 unpowered humans Detected: Five standard aberrants. See case files 1-5547, 1-5606, 1-5633, 1-5652, 1-6125. Detected: One auxiliary aberrant. See case file 4-0682. Detected: One catastrophic aberrant. See case file 2-0006. Conflict probability within following 60 seconds: 99.85% Beginning combat data collection... (Since we've hit the max of three versus three, the fight starts early! In public, post your reactions and responses to everything that has happened since your last post. Then, click here to PM the admins with the description of your action this turn. In that PM, also include which power type you're using and your choice of target. The next round will begin in 48 hours, or less if everyone's actions are submitted before then.) |
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Pandaemonium
Posts 381
Power Level 31
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Post by Aurora Disicio on Apr 21, 2016 9:37:01 GMT -7
There were certain downsides to fighting on your own turf. For once, Aurora couldn't get away with just breaking everything in sight, nor did she want the heroes doing the same. As she knew, it was very difficult to prevent people from just breaking everything in sight if they were determined to do so. Thus, she had to pick her battlefield carefully. It had to have small enough items for her to break apart to use so she could put them back together perfectly, and there had to be a reason for the heroes to not want to break everything too badly. If not for the last fight, she would have assumed that the heroes avoiding doing too much damage would be a given, but this was clearly a bad assumption. Sure, they didn't do nearly as much damage as she did at the jewelry store, but it was still enough to be noticed.
Fortunately, one such spot existed. The smug smirk not leaving her face, Aurora made her way closer to the entrance of the warehouse with most of the dogs, the metal parts of her boots clanging against the concrete. She didn't put herself quite in the center if the big garage door entrance, but off to the side so that the heroes would have to move in certain ways to attack her, but they could still easily see her from outside. Then, she had her aurora quickly flow out of the warehouse and into the sky, causing the sky to shimmer various shades of red, pink, and blue. It was practically her calling card at this point, if any of them knew anything about her, they would know she was here.
This was exactly where she wanted them to be. If they fooled around too much, they'd be practically guaranteed to kill some dogs in the process. It was a bit of a gamble, it's not like she wanted the cargo to get destroyed any more than anything else, but due to the nature of the cargo and the likely reason for the heroes being here, well she figured they'd be a bit more careful if life, even insignificant life, was at stake.
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Pandaemonium
I need a gingerbread man, the one I'll eat
Posts 154
Power Level 28
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Post by Bloodbath on Apr 21, 2016 9:56:57 GMT -7
Bloodbath could hear the heroes arriving, including one that was irritatingly loud. "O-Oh no, oh nooo." He whimpered, covering his mouth nervously as his eyes flitted around.
"W-we're in t-trouble!" He trembled in such a pitiful way, it was hard to believe that he was a Pandemonium worker, and yet...
His eyes flashed excitingly and the other men backed away from him, fear plain on the face as a predatory smirk crossed his face, "You're in trouble~" He whispered in a single song voice.
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Inactive
Posts 15
Power Level 15
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Post by rogue on Apr 21, 2016 15:33:58 GMT -7
Staying close to the shadows, Rogue snuck along the edge of the scene to remain undetected for the moment. Their plan was to stay out of the limelight for as long as possible. However, that is when they saw a rare sight: dock workers moving in unity. Namely, they were all backing away from something and appeared to be scared of it, never a good sign. Watching with bated breath, Rogue craned their neck to try and see what caused such a reaction. A red yet somewhat gangly figure was at the epicenter of the forming circle.
'Red, red, I know this one,' Rogue thought to themselves, 'Roses? No, that's not it. Blood? Bloodbath!' The super realized as their stomach turned. Bloodbath reputation was built on his violent unpredictability and Rogue had no doubt in their mind that he would not hesitate to destroy the smuggled cargo: dog and painting alike.
Readying their shadows, Rogue prepared to try and stop the destructive super before he even got a chance to start.
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Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
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Post by Blue Jay on Apr 21, 2016 16:38:31 GMT -7
Blue Jay had enjoyed several perks since joining the Bulwarks; a nice HQ to hang out at, a cool-sounding organization name to shout if anyone asks, a supply of ice cream in the freezer that wasn’t his but he ate anyway, but the greatest of all came in battle. Another Bulwark showing up on the battlefield basically meant he’d just gained an ally in the fight, no exchange of “hey are you going to help me and not stab me in the back later” needed. It made things simple when other heros decided to make their dramatic entrances, as Ionica most certainly just had. It made him want to join in on the fun; displace himself up there beside her, take out three guys, and say “whatever your rate is, now you’re going to have to slash it” or something. He wouldn’t, he was trying to be at least sort of quiet, but he wanted to.
With how flashy Ionica was, Blue Jay bet she had the guards’ full attention and otherwise had that job covered. He’d focus his efforts elsewhere. This elsewhere took shape in a warehouse, big and intimidating, which sat not too far away. It seemed the most likely spot that the cargo could be found, a fact hinted at by its location relative to the ship, relative to the workers, and in no small part by the cloud of color hovering above it. Blue Jay grinned. Her presence complicated things, but it wouldn’t be fun if it was simple.
Blue Jay trotted across the roof until he stood a little better in Ionica’s line of sight. He didn’t want to shout, but he did want to alert her to his presence and plan. He waved to hopefully get a moment her attention, pointed to himself, pointed to the warehouse with the aurora over it, and then gave her a thumbs up. And then he displaced, vanishing from the rooftop and appearing a moment later on one closer to the warehouse.
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Inactive
Posts 11
Power Level 15
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Post by ionica on Apr 21, 2016 17:02:20 GMT -7
As predicted, men cried out in alarm, and scurried away from Ionica as she appeared, and then seemed confused at her monologuing. However, even though she looked like she wasn't doing much of anything really, she was doing a lot more than it looked. While being flash and distracting, she casually looked over the forces arrayed, her powers making it very difficult to hide from her. Blue Jay did some hand flashing to him, but she didn't quite catch what he was trying to throw. So decided to go her own way and pointed at Bloodbath in a grandiose way.
"You! Banshee man!" She exclaimed, as the henchmen henched around, being very much like the Hollow Men fron Skulduggery in the fact that they where so stupid. "Did you set up this array of Dog-snatching?!" She demanded, the finger pointing at him looking theatrical, but having a practical reason behind it.
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Pandaemonium
Posts 78
Power Level 25
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Post by Dullahan on Apr 21, 2016 20:09:01 GMT -7
Dullahan's turbines threw up a high roostertail of water behind him as he pulled up alongside the dock. It seemed that the heroes hadn't yet noticed him, or perhaps they had merely mistaken his boat for an unpowered patrol craft. Not a mistake they could afford to make for long.
He reached out through his boat, taking mental inventory of his options. His primary concern had been dealing with other watercraft, leaving the landside approaches to his teammates. But that wasn't to say he was helpless against his landborne enemies. He always made sure to have a backup plan.
Deep within the confines of his craft, Dullahan reached a decision, and then he smiled.
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Post by PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 on Apr 21, 2016 20:57:28 GMT -7
  Bloodbath   rogue PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 analyzing combat data... --- Accumulation (Enhancement) by Dullahan against Maneuver (Speed) results in SUCCESS, +10% combat advantage Maneuver (Alteration) by Aurora Disicio against Blue Jay results in SUCCESS, +25% combat advantage Maneuver (Alteration) by Bloodbath against ionica results in SUCCESS, +25% combat advantage Maneuver (Speed) by Blue Jay against Aurora Disicio results in PARTIAL success due to lesser suppression by the Accumulation (Enhancement) Dullahan had previously used, +5% combat advantage Aggression (Destruction) by ionica against Bloodbath results in FAILURE due to equal-or-greater suppression by the Maneuver (Alteration) Bloodbath used, +10% combat advantage Aggression (Confinement) by rogue against Bloodbath results in FAILURE due to equal-or-greater suppression by the Maneuver (Alteration) Bloodbath used, +10% combat advantage --- Current conditions: Aurora Disicio Bloodbath and Dullahan have immunity to Maneuver (Speed) granted by the Accumulation (Enhancement) used by Dullahan Current advantage: Aurora Disicio Bloodbath and Dullahan have 60% Blue Jay ionica and rogue have 25% Current openings: Aurora Disicio may DISARM Blue Jay at a cost of 5% combat advantage, removing one of his powers or immunities for the duration of the battle. (Admin note: Your public posts this round should explain how your actions last round turned out. Explain how things you used and things used on you succeeded or failed as appropriate, and then start thinking about which power you should use next! Click here to PM your commands to the staff. The next round begins in 48 hours.) |
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Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
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Post by Blue Jay on Apr 21, 2016 22:18:13 GMT -7
When Blue Jay looked over his shoulder to see Aurora coming after him with all the fury of a swarm of angry bees, he made a noise that was half laughing, half screaming in fear. That about summed up how he was feeling.
He’d been doing his best to dodge the various falling objects, to a fairly good degree of success. It was hard to say if it was poor luck, poor footwork, or that since the sticky stuff had been spewed all over the place he’d been watching his feet and not above him. A particularly large piece of Aurora’s rubble appeared above, and Blue Jay came to be below. Blue Jay, in general, was pretty good at taking hits. There’s only so much that can be done, however, when a chunk of asphalt hits you in the head.
He’d been just about to run to the next crate when it happened, and so Blue Jay’s runnings about came to a swift end as he flopped face-first, unconscious, on the ground. His sword and sheath flew from his hand, clattering to the ground and skidding away from its wielder. His fingers would be saved.
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