Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
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Post by Blue Jay on May 30, 2016 15:04:48 GMT -7
The sensible thing to do when one’s power weren’t working was to not attempt to fight crime. Blue Jay knew this, and had managed a whole day of wandering around town (because he couldn’t stand just sitting at his place) without once trying to find or intervene with nefarious deeds that doubtless were happening around the city. He’d told himself if he could do it for one, he could do it for another. Besides, he was still healing from his sudden meeting with the front of a car (injuries which were not healing as quickly as he was used to, much to his discontentment), and so that night resolved not to get into any fights the following day. And then he woke up to a little slip of paper on his desk. Written on it was a location and time - 11:38PM beside a small bakery on one of the larger streets in the tourists’ hunting grounds, as Google Maps revealed. Blue Jay’s commitment to a quiet day dissolved like a sugar cube in water. He couldn’t not go, even if the sword still wasn’t doing crap for him. If he could just get a little help… As it so happened, Titan was the first Bulwark Blue Jay had run into. He knew more of the super through heysay than personal experience, most of that coming in the form of the inevitable comparisons between their two run ins with dragons. Having wanted to chat with the super himself for a while now, he was quite content with happenstance’s first pick of partners for the day and had happily trotted up to the super, explaining he’d gotten a tip that something - probably exciting and possibly violent - was going to go down at the place and time listed and, if he was game, was looking for a comrade to help him put a stop to it. It was 11:39PM and they were at the listed coordinates, in the alleyway beside Gloves and Kittens Bakery. They’d been there for a good ten minutes (better early than late), and had yet to see anything more than the odd teen out late or commuters returning from late shifts. Blue Jay glanced again at the time on the paper, comparing it to his phone clock. He looked out at the street. Still nothing. Blue Jay rubbed the back of his head. “Something should’ve-” He was cut off by the sound of screeching tires as a large truck attempted to turn the corner at an inadvisable speed. After missing a collision with the stoplight and several other cars by inches, the truck revved up and came hurtling down the road, passing the alleyway they resided with enough speed to blow around bits of trash littering the ground. Blue Jay looked up at Titan. “I think that’s our ride.” Titan
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Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
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Post by Titan on May 30, 2016 17:13:48 GMT -7
While today would have just been another ordinary day in hero-ing about Emerald City, the intervention of a certain someone made sure that it would be a little different. While Titan was just mulling around the area, he was approached by another Bulwark; Blue Jay. He recognized the relatively diminutive hero when he saw him, most notably his role in taking down a dragon. This was no doubt the first time Titan had ever encountered another Bulwark. He was technically a member, but he hadn't really interacted with any of the others, so Blue Jay's invitation was certainly refreshing. Much like always, the Titan simply nodded in agreement without saying a word, and the two were off. Sure, Blue Jay was just a little vague, but details weren't too important when it came to being a superhero...right?
The crime-fighters (one of them standing a good 10 feet) waited for a long ten minutes in a relatively empty alleyway, looking frankly ridiculous. Blue Jay said that they were fairly early, but the glances from whoever passed through the alley started to get on Titan's nerves. Just when he was about to say something, a loud noise startled the two Bulwarks as a truck came recklessly speeding past the alleyway. That was at least a crime in of itself. At Blue Jay's signal, Titan rushed out of the alleyway towards the truck to make a grab for it, but missed and uselessly grabbed at the air.
Ignoring the screams of abject terror from the pedestrians, Titan ran towards the escaping truck. While his increased size and strength did allow him to keep up with the truck to a certain extent, he would probably lose them in a few moments. Increasing his size was not an option, there were just too many risks in collateral damage. What if a car crashed into him? What if he crushed some unfortunate pedestrian? Such concerns were something that Titan needed to consider everyday. But he just wasn't fast enough to catch up. The pair needed to think of something, and fast.
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Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
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Post by Blue Jay on May 31, 2016 15:07:55 GMT -7
Blue Jay sprinted in an attempt to keep up with the much larger and faster super, but was quickly losing ground. By the time Titan came to a stop he was still a whole hundred meter dash behind him, and when he did finally catch up, he was gasping for breath. This would’ve been so simple if his powers were working; he could just teleport to catch up and pop one of the truck’s tires with his sword, but as things were, there was no hope of him catching up with the quickly vanishing vehicle.
Then, an idea occurred to him. “Titan, think you could throw me?” He said through heavy breaths, in a tone like he couldn’t believe what he was saying. Throw him? Blue Jay was good at coming up with bad ideas, but that plan screamed of all kinds of terrible things going horribly wrong.
Still, though, it might work.
And it wasn’t like they had the time to weigh the pros and cons of it. Blue Jay drew his sword (flinching as he’d momentarily forgotten its new odd weight) and waited, ready, for Titan’s response. They hadn’t any time to lose.
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Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
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Post by Titan on May 31, 2016 17:22:20 GMT -7
Despite the two's best efforts, chasing the truck was only really delaying the inevitable. Blue Jay in particular was a little bit...off today. Reports of the hero's activities gave the impression he had the type of ability that would allow him to easily catch up, so why wasn't he using them? Titan didn't ponder about that too hard, as there were pressing matters that took priority over his curiosity. Though Titan couldn't help but notice the smaller hero was having quite some trouble catching up. Maybe he was just out of shape. Of course, that train of thought, and their hot pursuit on the truck, was interrupted by the strangest suggestion;
“Titan, think you could throw me?”
The giant only stared incredulously at Blue Jay. Was he insane!? While Titan could understand where the guy was coming from, such an idea was just too out-there. But after glancing at the rapidly disappearing truck, Titan reconsidered it. It was now or never, and the two eventually decided on now. With a simple nod, Titan picked up the smaller hero in one hand and readied himself for the toss. With front leg in the air, throwing arm far behind his back and his other pointing at the a shrinking truck in the distance, Titan looked almost like a baseball pitcher in the game of the century. All the while, two words echoed through his head; don't miss. With all of his strength, Titan swung his arm and off Blue Jay went, hurtling towards the speeding truck.
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Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
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Post by Blue Jay on Jun 1, 2016 19:44:48 GMT -7
It was a really good thing Titan’s aim was true. If he’d missed, with the speed he’d thrown the hero, Blue Jay would’ve gone splat against the first building to be unfortunately in his way. Thankfully instead, Blue Jay just hit the back of the truck really really fast. The thin plastic back of the white commercial truck was no match for his blade, pointed forward, and seemly already weakened hinges gave way as, after piercing the outside, the larger mass of his body slammed into it. The door crumpled inward, and Blue Jay was sent tumbling into the back of the truck.
He landed, blinking, on his back, and the other fellow in the back of the truck jumped back like he’d just seen a very large spider. His eyes flicked bewilderedly between the hero on the floor and the multitude of boxes, securely and meticulously attached to the sides of the van, before he connected the dots and cast his gaze outside. Needless to say, his jaw dropped.
Blue Jay pulled himself up, taking hold of the blade that’d clattered off against one side’s wall of boxes. It was then that the person driving made his move. The can veered to the left, throwing the two in the back (and almost the last person in the other seat up front) stumbling to the right. Another car missed a head-on collision by moments.
Blue Jay was thinking fast. At this point he was taking any ideas - even the really bad ones. So, hitting the guy in the back with the hilt of his sword, he pulled himself to the front of the car. The person not driving raised a gun, and only by a quick and light (more startling than harmful) slice to the arm, fired at the floor. Blue Jay wrestled a hold on the steering wheel, pulling it to the side while trying to get his foot on the brake.
A gunshot shattered the windshield. And then they ran through the window of a storefront.
It was also a very good thing the van had lots of airbags.
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Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
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Post by Titan on Jun 1, 2016 20:35:11 GMT -7
As Titan watched Blue Jay fly towards the truck, he let out an unconscious sigh of relief when he saw that the hero had hit his mark. Most of the work at this point would be done by Blue Jay, all Titan could do was continue running towards the truck as fast as he could. During his pursuit, the giant's eyes widened when the truck swerved and veered out of control, which was expected, but still put Blue Jay in serious danger. Titan simply hoped that Blue Jay was as durable as others gave him credit for; a crash at that speed would no doubt seriously injure an ordinary person.
There were two sudden shots that rang out from the truck, before it crashed violently into a storefront. Titan almost involuntarily quickened his pace, rushing towards the store which the truck had crashed through. Once he reached the storefront, the 10 foot giant reached through the broken window and pulled out the wreck onto the streets. Ripping off the door, Titan hoped that Blue Jay would be mostly intact...
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Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
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Post by Blue Jay on Jun 5, 2016 19:29:29 GMT -7
Blue Jay was indeed mostly intact, but he was quite dizzy. The crash had thrown him backwards into the back of the truck, where he now lay, sprawled out on his back. The three in the truck were the ones worse off - the one driving was alive, thanks to an airbag, but was slumped unconscious in their chair. The one in the passenger’s seat was reeling, hand on his head. When Titan grabbed hold of the van, a startled yell escaped him.
“No no no no! Don’t kill us, please!” The man pleaded. He made to try to get out of the seat, but slumped back into his chair in pain as soon as he put weight on one of his legs. “It- it wasn’t- we’re only acting under orders!” He looked like he thought Titan was going to pick him up and eat him like a small hotdog on a toothpick.
The other fellow had been thrown out the back of the van and was pulling himself to his feet. Much like the guy in the passenger's seat, he saw and heard Titan coming and had began to panic, an effect lessened only because he’d been priorly aware of the super’s presence. Casting two crazed looks over his shoulder, he began booking it away from the scene as quickly as he could with a limp and a not fully recovered sense of balance.
Blue Jay himself let out a groan and began getting up as well. He wasn’t so much hurt as lightheaded - indeed, he wasn’t any more hurt than he had been prior to the collision. He leaned against the side of the car as he got to his feet, blinking as his vision swam before him, and shot Titan a thumbs-up to signal he was alright.
Ooc: feel free to control the NPCs :3
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Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
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Post by Titan on Jun 5, 2016 23:53:15 GMT -7
When Titan ripped off the van's door, he didn't find Blue Jay, but instead an unconscious driver and the panicking passenger. While the passenger attempted to escape from the van, he was incapacitated by a wound. What he said did intrigue Titan. Something about 'acting under orders'. From whom? The two Bulwarks had to investigate this further. Well, if Blue Jay was alright at least. Making a move to check on the other Bulwark, Titan was slightly startled when one of the goons rushed out of the van in a futile escape attempt.
With an almost lazy demeanor, Titan simply plucked the fleeing criminal and tossed him straight at the van. Not hard enough to cause any long-lasting damage, but it would certainly bruise. That would probably discourage him from trying to flee again. Peering into the van's back, Titan was relieved to see a dazed, but still conscious Blue Jay giving a thumbs up. Titan returned with a nod and a thumbs up of his own.
"Good job, Blue"
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Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
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Post by Blue Jay on Jun 6, 2016 23:05:25 GMT -7
Blue Jay blinked, a little startled to hear the super’s voice. “Same to you, Titan.” He said, his surprise carrying into his voice. After a moment, his expression and posture relaxed, the chase over. This had been a job well done - neither of them hurt, no uninvolved civilians injured, and only a storefront’s worth of damage to account for. That had to be some kind of record.
Stretching his arms over his head, Blue Jay turned to the two terrified goons. The one Titan had thrown had taken the hint and scrambled up to the front of the van with his buddies. The other one looked like he was considering gnawing off his own leg to attempt to make his escape. Blue Jay cast one glance up at Titan. He wasn’t feeling the steadiest on his feet, but thus far he’d only gotten three words out of the guy. Blue Jay figured he’d probably have to take care of the questioning. “You want to tell us what’s in the boxes?” He asked, putting on his “I’m a scary super” voice.
One of the passengers shook his head, but the other spoke up. “D-Drill parts! They’re drill parts.” He looked between the various boxes, to his co workers, and back at the supers. His gaze lingered especially long on the two of them. “Look, this wasn’t our plan! We got roped into this!”
“Steal the van, drive the parts there, she said.” The other muttered.
“Drive them where?” Blue Jay asked as the next obvious question.
“The highway tunnel, on north I95. The one that goes under the hill next to the ocean.” The man sputtered quickly. Blue Jay was about to say something, but the man spoke up again. “She’s going to collapse the tunnel, that’s what these are for. She needs them for the drill.”
Blue Jay raised his eyebrow at Titan with this development. “We going?” He asked.
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Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
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Post by Titan on Jun 7, 2016 18:38:02 GMT -7
Titan could tell that Blue Jay was caught off-guard by the fact that he suddenly spoke. It was the first time he ever actually spoke tonight, after all. Of course, there more pressing matters than Titan apparently being able to speak, and it was at this point some detective work needed. Given how terrified the goons were of the two supers, it pretty much guaranteed that they would have no real problem getting some important information out of them. They could probably be able to get that information without laying a single finger on them.
Blue Jay took the initiative and started the questioning the goons, who predictably spilled their guts and laid out all of their plans; apparently someone (a "she") was intending to collapse the tunnel at north I95 using some sort of industrial drill that these idiots were delivering. Well with the delivery postponed indefinitely, there was a bit of a dent in that plan, but they still needed to catch the mastermind behind this mysterious plot. For what goal would someone try to collapse a highway tunnel?
That question would find an answer if they managed to catch the culprit. Nodding in response to Blue Jay's inquiry, the two set off for the tunnel. But not before Titan used two broken car doors to pin the remaining two goons to the side of the van. The cops would arrive soon, giving the two more of an incentive to rush off.
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Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
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Post by Blue Jay on Jun 8, 2016 17:52:08 GMT -7
The tunnel the goons had been talking about was easy enough to find. It was one of the long, tubular tunnels that brought the highway through the seaside mountains, which by car took perhaps five minutes to drive from one end to the other. Blue Jay was actually familiar with this tunnel - one of the buses he took to go shopping drove through its yellow-lit passage, and it was a common means of getting down town for a good number of commuters.
When the two of them arrived, nothing seemed to be immediately wrong. Late night traffic was bustling through the circular opening as per normal. No police were on the scene. As far as he could tell, nor were there any unusual or suspicious vehicles. From where Blue Jay resided, back in the trees along the highway and out of sight in the darkness, It was hard to tell what was going on inside the tunnel. If they wanted to check it out, they’d probably have to go inside. Yet, ehile there was a pedestrian and bike path alongside the road in the tunnel, Blue Jay was hesitant to go wandering into the closed space in full costume, less people on the road this time of night or not. Blue Jay looked to Titan. “Any ideas how we find them?” He asked, feeling kind of clueless on the matter.
This was assuming, of course, the goons had given them correct information to begin with. They’d looked pretty terrified, especially after Titan’d tossed that one guy, but maybe they’d had enough loyalty to not sell out their comrades.
Ooc: I’m winging this, so if you’ve got any ideas for what's up, by all means. :3
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Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
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Post by Titan on Jun 8, 2016 18:49:30 GMT -7
The two Bulwarks watched the highway tunnel from the gathering of trees away from the main road, sheltered by both the foliage and the natural darkness of the night. Titan had shrank down to his normal size to avoid being spotted by either ordinary civilians or the people that they were apparently planning to collapse the tunnel. If they were caught by either party, the culprits would have been able to get away, leaving the heroes empty-handed. The wait was both tense and mind-numbingly boring, as the people behind the whole plot could arrive any minute.
The painful silence was broken when Blue Jay asked if Titan had any ideas to offer. Just wandering into the tunnel was honestly a stupid plan, but there was not really another way to investigate the plan to collapse it. He pondered the whole situation. Given that those goons were delivering drill parts, there must have been some sort of meeting place for them to deliver those parts to. Perhaps somewhere outside the tunnel itself, but in the surrounding area. Tapping Blue Jay on the shoulder, he motioned for him to make a sweep of the perimeter. Perhaps they would find their mystery culprit that way.
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Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
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Post by Blue Jay on Jun 10, 2016 22:56:22 GMT -7
Blue Jay nodded to Titan’s suggestion. Taking a perimeter sweep was likely the most efficient way to check the area for any suspicious activity, hopefully without being labeled as such themselves. “I’ll take the right.” He said, motioning to the more mountainous side of the tunnel. The thing was long enough and time was possibly short enough that splitting up was probably a good plan. Normally he’d happily offer to take the left along the coast, but he wasn’t quite sure how well he was going to do with the rocky cliffs. He saw himself attempted to scuttle down their face, slipping on a hand hold, and falling in a lump to the ground below. He felt a little bad pushing that off onto Titan, but he figured taking the hills to the right would just simplify things for everyone.
Blue Jay departed for his uphill walk at a brisk afternoon’s jog of a pace. At least as so far until he got to the top of the hill, completely winded. Blue Jay was pretty fit for someone his age and weight, but reliance on his teleportation abilities meant he didn’t have to actually run all that much. He felt a little funny (and a lot out of shape) to think he traveled across town by foot on a daily basis, but this was the first time in a while that he’d run to the top of a hill.
This was all for a whole lot of nothing. Blue Jay scanned the area carefully as he made the east perimeter of the tunnel, but nothing stood out to him. He didn’t find any odd doors, cars, or people. Just a lot of trees. Nearing the far end of the tunnel, Blue Jay settled down in some of the roadside foliage. He’d keep an eye and an ear out for Titan; hopefully he’d come up with something.
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Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
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Post by Titan on Jun 11, 2016 8:24:52 GMT -7
With Blue Jay's signal for him to investigate the right, Titan nodded and went off to investigate his own side. He was fairly concerned with Blue Jay taking on the cliffs, given how he seemed to have a few...issues when they were chasing the truck earlier, but Titan eventually decided that it was best to leave him to his own devices, especially after his performance on the truck itself. Sure, property damage could have been a little bit lower, but it was still a genuinely good job. Of course, Blue Jay did leave Titan to the mercy of the rocky cliffs on the shore. He almost felt like cursing out Blue Jay for his sneakiness, but just grinned underneath his mask and got to work.
Traversing the coast wasn't as difficult as he initially thought it was, but Titan still needed to exert a good deal of effort, especially when at his normal size. He contemplated increasing his size to make things easier, but decided against it when remembering that if he was the one that encountered those they were looking for, he would greatly benefit from the element of surprise. After a few moments of traversing uneven terrain in low visibility, Titan caught sight of something below the cliff he was standing on that gave him a feeling of both relief and anxiety. There, hidden away near the tunnel, was a gathering of vehicles, along with a group of people, though details were hard to make out. Despite this, Titan could certainly make out that they were armed, and with some heavy ordinance that included military grade rifles. That in itself confirmed that these were the people he and Blue Jay were looking for.
It was then that Titan was faced with a dilemma; either go back and alert Blue Jay, or attack them right now. While a head-on attack was a very pants on head idiotic idea, going back all the way to meet up with Blue Jay would take time. Perhaps even enough time for the goons to get spooked and leave. He couldn't risk it, he was going in. Jumping of the cliff, he grew a good 15 feet, before crashing down onto the scene. Predictably, the thugs opened fire, which the giant ignored. But out of the corner of his eye, he spotted someone pulling out what looked like an...rocket launcher. Oh shit. A rocket went flying towards Titan, who grabbed it with one hand before it exploded, knocking him back. The others continued to fire while the rocket launcher was being reloaded. Titan hoped that at Blue Jay heard that, he would be needing that back-up.
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Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
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Post by Blue Jay on Jun 13, 2016 14:36:53 GMT -7
It was kinda hard not to hear the explosion. Blue Jay jumped when he heard it - as did several of the nearby drivers, who swerved slightly or momentarily slowed down. Ultimately, the divers thought it nothing or at least none of their business, but Blue Jay knew it was very much his. He took off at a sprint for the nearest pedestrian bridge. This took him almost a block down the highway, over the highway - a man just waiting for the bus let out a yell of surprise as not long after the explosion, the masked super pushed his way passed - and a block back up its side before he was finally left with the conundrum of how he was going to get to wherever Titan was. The beach along the shore, he assumed, as he’d had a pretty good view of the top of the tunnel on his path and had seen nothing. He stared at the small foot path winding down the side of the steep hill that quickly became cliff, wondering if trying to traverse its precarious slope was going to be a good way down.
Well, he told himself as he heedlessly took off down the path, it was a way down, and that’s what he needed. He’d make it work.
He of course made it work by tripping halfway down the slope and sliding down at a frantic attempt to regain his balance for the rest of it. Luckily, when he did come stumbling onto the beach, he was close enough to see what had been the cause of the explosion. Two- no, three vans were parked under the cliff, with at least four people on the ground to each. One of them was holding a rocket launcher, and was getting ready to reload it. Distance, he needed a distance attack. He couldn’t teleport up, and he couldn’t make shock waves, but what he did have was the sword. Blue Jay drew his sword, raised it over his shoulder, and threw.
The sword flipped through the air and flopped in the sand about ten feet ahead of him.
Blue Jay gasped in exasperation. This was so much easier when his powers were actually working. Taking off again at a sprint, he scooped up his sword and just sucked up and made the 60 or so feet separating him from the battle, thinking a silent apology to Titan for not being more useful.
As he neared, he attempted to sneak behind the group without eliciting any attention. Thankfully, the people were distracted enough with Titan that he didn’t have to try very hard. Indeed, the guy in the back of the first truck grabbing another piece of large weaponry didn’t realize Blue Jay was there until he got a hilt to the face. As he had hoped, the fellow he knocked out had the key to the van.
Sliding the key into the ignition and turning the van on, Blue Jay began his next plan - crash this van into as many enemies as possible. He stepped on the gas. A gunman yelled and several had to dive out of the way as the van shot out onto the beach like an animal set loose outside.
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