Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
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Post by Titan on Jun 14, 2016 1:07:45 GMT -7
Titan blocked the shots from hitting more vulnerable parts of his body with his arms, covering his face from the shower of bullets sent his way. He was a little dazed from the explosion, but didn't have any serious injuries aside from maybe singing his hand a little bit. It was more the sheer force of the rockets that worried Titan. They could keep their range and simply pelt him with their weapons. Titan had half a mind to get even bigger, give them something to really be scared of, but he would only do that if things really did go pear shaped. Another rocket came speeding towards Titan, who was fully prepared this time, and smacked it hard into the ground where it exploded. The scattering dirt obscured the thugs' view of Titan, which was why they suddenly yelped in fear when the giant came rushing out of the dust cloud.
As they frantically fired, they were eventually confronted with the dreaded sound of their empty guns clicking uselessly. The giant's charge, however, did not stop, and he smashed into them, scattering the closely gathered group of thugs into the air like a bunch of bowling pins. It was at around this time Blue Jay had appeared, sneakily creeping up behind the gathered criminals, who were more concerned with the very angry 10 foot tall man than the possibility of being taken by surprise.
One of the vans suddenly came to life and went on a crazed rampage, as if it was possessed. The van almost hit the now confused gunmen, who franticly jumped out of the way, as it hurtled onto the shore. Of course this distracted them from Titan, who loomed over the now-prone gunmen furiously. A few moments of muffled screams preceded complete silence as they were taken out. Titan walked over to the van to once again check on Blue Jay. The guy seriously didn't have good luck with vehicles, did he?
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Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
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Post by Blue Jay on Jun 16, 2016 23:00:46 GMT -7
Blue Jay had driven the van into the sea. Water lapped at the sides of the vehicle, and when he forced the door open, sea water began to pool under the seats. He hefted the unconscious gunman in the van over his shoulder and jumped out of the van, landing with a splash in the water and soaking his pants up to the waist.
It seemed Titan had already cleared the beach of gunmen. Slogging his way back to shore, he gave his fellow Bulwark a thumbs up. “Nice one, Titan.” There’d been a fight with more than ten guys, two supers, and a highway dangerously close, and the collateral damage totaled to a van swept away with the coming tide. Blue Jay was amazed with the success. Titan’s success. He was contemplating finding a pair of binoculars and spying on Titan when he trained to find out the guy’s secret. Or, he guessed, maybe he should just ask to train with the guy sometime.
Blue Jay set the unconscious gunman in the sand above the tidal line and made sure none of the others were in danger of being caught by the sea. That done, he surveyed the area they’d set up in. The reason to the location was clear; a large cave wound into the mountainside from here. Cars could be heard in the distance, echoing off the rock walls. Blue Jay peered into the cave. He couldn't make out much. Then, from within, came a voice.
“I was wondering when you Bulwarks were going to show up.”
Footsteps clacked on the stone ground, slowly becoming softer as the source approached the sand. Soon, a figure emerged from the darkness. She was young, perhaps in college or late high school. She wore a long dress and sandals, and her chin-length black hair hung in waves around her face. Most tellingly, she wore a mask; clay, and shaped to look like the face of a fennec fox.
The woman raised her arm. The sand under one of the vans surged upwards in a pillar, wrapping around the van and pushing up until what looked like a hand, twenty feet tall, had arisen from the sand. She turned just her head to look at Titan. With a flick of her wrist, the hand threw the van at the 10 foot Bulwark.
Ooc: A new NPC to control! : D
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Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
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Post by Titan on Jun 17, 2016 3:59:59 GMT -7
Titan stopped just short of the water as he saw Blue Jay burst out of the van with one of the gunmen in tow. While he didn't seem to be in very good shape today, he could definitely handle himself. Titan had to admit that his swift appearance and impromptu distraction certainly helped with clearing out the area. There was a chance of there being collateral damage if the gunfight dragged out a bit longer. Titan returned Blue Jay's thumbs up and later followed him when he wandered towards that strange cave opening. Their plan was probably to use that drill to bore through the supports of the tunnel that were inside the cave, which would no doubt have catastrophic consequences.
Of course, the heroic duo were not out of the woods yet, as a voice echoed from inside the cave, followed by the appearance of the source of that voice. Titan didn't have much time to register how she looked, as his attention was drawn to the sound of sand shifting behind him. As he turned around, the van was already lifted into the air and was tossed towards Bulwarks by a gigantic sand hand. Titan pushed Blue Jay out of the van's path, before he slammed his fist hard into the airborne van, punching a hole right through it and ripping it in half.
This was but a distraction, as the sand at Titan's feet surrounded his legs and tightly gripped them. Now stuck, Titan could only watch as the sand around him gathered upwards above the giant's head. When enough mass was gathered, a giant fist of sand dropped down onto Titan, who managed to brace himself for impact and bore the weight of the construct on his shoulder. While the fist became heavier as the mysterious woman added more sand onto it, Titan almost buckled under its sheer weight. It seemed as if he would be crushed when he collapsed to his knee.
Instead, there was a grunt of effort, followed by a series of crunches. Almost immediately after, the sand fist exploded, scattering sand all around the coast. When the dust settled (so to speak), the adversarial woman had to contend with an irritated 20 foot giant now.
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Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
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Post by Blue Jay on Jun 21, 2016 16:59:26 GMT -7
Blue Jay didn’t see the van until he was on the ground and the vehicle had been made into halves. He could only scramble to his feet as the sand began to shift below Titan’s, and watch as the super’s attack slammed down on him. He was feeling really useful right now.
So it was a good thing Titan had this covered, taking and countering the hit fully. The woman drew her hand back in quiet surprise as her creation was blown into bits. She was silent as the last of her sand settled back on the beach, but after Titan not only deflected her attack but got bigger, she began to laugh - first a quiet chuckle, before growing into a loud cackle.
“The news would make you think Bulwarks are just a group of wannabe heroes and the place where all the supers too weak to fight on their own gather. I’m glad you’re putting up at least some kind of challenge.” She sounded almost amused. This time, she expended both of her hands, and began to raise them up. Blue Jay had to hurry out of the way as a circle of sand, at least ten feet in diameter, began to rise and shift like the ocean. The mound grew slowly at first, to match the movements of her hands. Then, all at once, the sand shot up like a geyser. It hung there as a large mass, churning and shifting, until a shape began to form. Arms and legs stretched out of what became a body, topped with a chunky head that began a trail of scale-like spikes down to a long tail. The form solidified, still rolling with sand, but with a wave of her hands akin to a conductor ending a song, its form became stable. The woman let her arms drop. “I hope I’m not overestimating you.” She finished.
Blue Jay knew immediately that he was not going to stand a chance against the 20-foot sand monster. That was how he got buried under a mound of sand. There was one other target, but again, he was leaving the larger fight to Titan. He felt again bad for it. As Blue Jay drew his sword and ran for the super herself, sword raised and ready to strike at her shoulder, the giant sand monster let out a soundless roar. It brought its arms down hard on the ground with enough force that Blue Jay could feel the shake - and then it charged. With two bounds and a leap, it threw all of its weight at the towering super.
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Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
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Post by Titan on Jun 21, 2016 21:51:30 GMT -7
The mysterious adversary's laugh was fairly unnerving. Most others would either respond with anger or fear (which was unlikely in this case), but only a very special type of person would respond with laughter. Something tipped off Titan that her previous attack was not the full extent of her abilities. These suspicions were immediately confirmed when she summoned a torrent of sand that began concentrate and gather. While Titan tried to push through and incapacitate the super, the whirlwind of sand blocked his path towards her, and he had to cover his eyes to make sure he wasn't blinded. When the sand storm subsided, she created a monstrous construct that rivaled Titan in size. She was certainly creative, but time would tell if it rivaled him in strength.
As Blue Jay went after the super herself, Titan would be occupied with the 20 foot monster. It pounced at him, smashing hard into the giant, and it certainly had a lot of mass behind it. Titan was able to successfully take the full force of the charge without being knocked over, though he was pushed backwards and had to regain his balance. It swung a large fist at Titan's head, who intercepted it with a block from his arm. Titan returned a downward strike of his own that smashed hard into the monster's head. A large chunk was blown off, but in no time it all, it had managed to reform it in time to counter with a headbutt. The impact was hard enough to daze Titan for a while, but he quickly learned his lesson. A slugfest was clearly not going to work out.
Instead, Titan grappled it as it reached back to chamber a powerful blow, holding the monster close in an underhook that prevented it from attempting to strike it. Placing his hands on the monster's right arm and back, Titan shifted his position and turned his hips, tossing the monster towards the ocean. It landed violently, and was about to get up when Titan suddenly ran behind and tightly gripped it from the back. Leaning backwards, Titan lifted the monster up into the air and slammed it down into the water in a suplex. As it slammed into the water, it began to come apart as its components were soaked. In this much more vulnerable form, the monster was easily taken down with a single hard punch from Titan to its mid section. The monster literally came apart, each individual grain of sand dropping off it, until there was nothing left of it. Titan took a moment to catch his breath and went back to shore. He wondered how Blue Jay was doing.
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Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
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Post by Blue Jay on Jun 21, 2016 23:03:30 GMT -7
Blue Jay had tackled the super. It seemed as though a lot of her power was busy controlling the large sand monster, but the girl herself was not defenseless. As Blue Jay swung her sword at her shoulder, gloves of sand formed around her hands and down her arms. The edge of the blade sunk into the sand and stuck. Sand began to wrap around it, locking it firmly in place.
It was clear that approach was not going to work. So, Blue Jay let go of the hilt, took a step back as she swung a punch at him, and kicked her in the gut. The woman gasped, clenching her stomach. Keeping one arm around her stomach, she raised the other fist at him. The mound of sand - his sword included - shot off her arm as though launched from a cannon. It slammed into his chest, knocking him to the ground and the wind from his lungs. He got to his feet about the time she straightened back up. As sand pooled back onto her arm, Blue Jay snatched his blade, bent his knees, and ran at her. Once he was close enough he lept, shoulder forward, and tackled her to the ground. She struggled, throwing several punches and kicks at him, several taking Blue Jay in the side and one in the jaw. When he wrestled the edge of the blade against her neck, however, she froze.
“Stand down.” He gasped.
She looked like she wasn’t going to - until, from behind Blue Jay, she caught sight of Titan, coming back the proven victor over her creation.
“Fine.” She spat. “The drill is back in the cave. I assume that’s what you’re here for. I hadn’t started it yet because of you noisy vigilantes showed up before I could. Let me go, and I’ll give you the password to the control panel." Grumbling, she said, "It's not like this stupid mission was going to help me any, stupid favor cash-in.”
Blue Jay raised his eyebrow at Titan, wondering at his opinion.
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Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
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Post by Titan on Jun 22, 2016 2:39:50 GMT -7
Titan was glad to see that Blue Jay had taken care of the super. The other Bulwark certainly knew how to properly use that sword, and it was the perfect tool for intimidation, as the altercation with those carjackers showed, though the presence of a 10 foot giant may have also helped. As Titan stepped back onto shore, he shrank back down to his normal size so that he was able to fit into the cave without having to crouch. He managed to reach Blue Jay in time to hear the other super mention that the drill was all the way back in the cave, which basically confirmed that their plan was to collapse the tunnel for some reason or another.
She offered to give some sort of password, but Titan was suspicious of her. All they had was her word, she could have simply lied about everything just to get away. She could even be intending to lead the two into a trap. Titan wasn't willing to risk it. Instead, he suddenly hoisted the now kicking and screaming super onto his large shoulder and looked at Blue Jay. Pointing into the cave, Titan indicated that they were going to investigate this plot further. Maybe they could interrogate her for details once they made sure everything was clear.
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Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
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Post by Blue Jay on Jun 26, 2016 23:35:54 GMT -7
It’d been a little odd at first, but Blue Jay was starting to get a feel for Titan’s lack of verbal communication. Pulling himself to his feet and sheathing his sword, he nodded to Titan’s plan. Before entering the cave, however, he took a small detour. He trotted over to the unconscious people and dug through their pockets until he found a cellphone that didn’t require a password. Usually there was at least one person who despite doing illegal activities was too lazy to set a pin number, and to his luck, among the dozen or so people there was such a phone. For now he pocketed it - he’d give the police a call on their way out.
The tunnel was just under ten feet tall and circular, much in the way the highway had been. For the first while it seemed to be of professional build, curving evenly back into the mountain with a drivable floor. About a hundred feet in were the remains of what once must have been a wall. A large circular hole had been cut through it, with a diameter of about eight feet and a clean cut. Given the context, Blue Jay assumed it’d been drilled through. Just beyond that was the drill itself, a large, yellow hunk of machinery with a threaded cone stuck on its front, positioned so its tip was inches from the stone wall of the tunnel. It was parked and didn’t appear to be powered on.
When Blue Jay attempted to get into the cockpit of the drill, he found it locked with a keypad. The super was pretty quick to give the code in the face of two other supers, even if she was quite obviously irked by their lack of agreeance to her offer. He typed it in and the door slid open.
The cockpit itself was a mess of controls that Blue Jay doubted he’d made heads or tails of even given a couple hours of study. What he was interested in and hoping to find he located fairly quickly in the form of what seemed to be a planner stuffed with sheets of loose paper. He gathered the couple of sheets that had fallen and scattered on the floor and paged briefly through it before stepping out and returning to Titan.
“I found this in the drill.” He said, holding it up.
“Hey! That’s-” The other super began.
“Yours? I kinda guessed.” Blue Jay interrupted, smiling.
In his quick scan, it seemed to have a couple of official-looking letters of back and forth communication pertaining to the drill and the planner was filled with hand-written notes. He held it out to Titan if he wanted to give it a look over.
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Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
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Post by Titan on Jun 27, 2016 20:12:29 GMT -7
Titan and Blue Jay proceeded into the dark and disturbingly man-made looking tunnel, with the still struggling super in tow. While Titan proceeded straight into the cave, Blue Jay had the good sense to find a phone to call the cops from. Either that, or he was just looking for a new phone. Whichever it was, Titan was more concerned with what was ahead of them. The drill that they were intending to use was a gargantuan machine, one that looked like it could easily rip through the tunnel's supports and cause a catastrophic collapse. Titan was pretty relieved that they managed to intercept the delivery of the rest of the parts, otherwise they wouldn't be able to do much to stop it.
Despite Titan reneging on the super's 'deal', she still gave the duo the password to the drilling machine, which Blue Jay crawled into. He hoped that it wasn't a trap, though Titan doubted that the super was willing to incur the wrath of the previously 20 foot tall man while she was hoisted over his shoulder. While the inside was generally uninteresting, Blue Jay attentively noticed something that was presumably very important. Titan took the papers from Blue Jay and looked over them.
The contents were enlightening. They spoke of a group that Titan had only heard whispers about. Some said that they were related to the Illuminati, others claimed that they were some sort of secretive terrorist group, but Titan doubted their very existence. He had never encountered them or heard news from them, so for Titan it was safe to say that they were just some rumor spread around by paranoid anti-supers. But here they were, their plans outlined in these very papers and a single word confirming those previously doubtful rumors. Titan turned to Blue Jay and growled out a single word.
"Keepers..."
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Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
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Post by Blue Jay on Jul 17, 2016 21:13:28 GMT -7
So it was the Keepers behind this whole mess. Blue Jay had interacted with the group prior to this - it was a fight with two of their members that had resulted in today’s lack of powers, but Pandaemonium and their obvious and large-scale destruction had struck him as a higher threat and thus had taken precedence. In truth, he knew very little of the group besides that Unhallow was a member, they had a robot on their side, and he in general didn’t like them.
Blue Jay grimaced at the word. “Figures.”
The shadowy group that knew no loyalty, even to their own members, who pulled the strings behind operations behind this and probably more. With Pandaemonium, the destruction was clear. They let you know exactly what they were doing, often times very loudly, but this, had they not gotten lucky and found that truck, they might have been able to collapse this tunnel before anyone had any idea what was happening. In a way, the silence of the Keepers was even more terrifying than the scale of Pandaemonium.
But today their work was done. Blue Jay needed only to take one of the large tools laying around to the control panel of the drill to resolve that problem. He nodded to Titan that this tunnel was not going to get drilled today, and, as he paced back out towards sunlight, dialed 9-1-1.
The emergency responder picked up the call and asked him what his emergency was. “This is Blue Jay. Titan and I,” he could hear the frantic rustling of papers on the other end, “have just stopped twelve guys with a drill and what seems to have been a Keeper operation to collapse a highway tunnel. We’ve actually got some pretty damning evidence this time!” He said cheerfully.
He gave the man their location and with the unspoken promise that police would be there soon, he hung up. It would be best if the two of them were gone by the time they did.
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