|
|
Post by Cetus on Jul 1, 2016 17:00:05 GMT -7
It is a little-known piece of trivia that the human population of the world reached its peak in the year 2012. That was the year in which the number of deaths caused by dragon attacks began to outweigh the worldwide birth rate. 70 million people died to dragon attacks in that year alone, and the number has only increased over time. The media is pressured to avoid reporting this fact, to avoid reporting on dragon attacks in general, so as not to cause a worldwide panic. But the effects are still felt, even if they aren't recognized for what they are. A town without a super population is likely to get completely exterminated by even a single dragon, and any survivors will end up fleeing to a major city. Supers are more likely than most to survive an attack by a dragon, and so the larger cities end up with a much higher super concentration than the rest of the world. This creates a compounding effect, where supers tend to congregate in cities with other supers, and most places are left with far fewer defenses against dragon attacks. So the cycle continues. --- The extermination of the city of Seaside was complete. The city itself was gone, nothing more than an open wound on the face of the Earth, and the surrounding suburbs had been turned into a depopulated wasteland. Over a million were dead already. The dragon responsible was on its way to killing many more. It moved along the coast, briefly going out of its way to wipe out the occasional small town along its path. It took its time, moving slowly, so as to arrive at Emerald City in the middle of the night, when most people would be asleep in their beds. Then it began to attack with merciless efficiency. It slid along just beneath ground level, feeling no resistance at all from the dirt and rock it burrowed through. After all, an unstoppable force was merely an immovable object traveling diagonally through spacetime. And in its wake, it left swirling eddies of temporal disturbance, a region as large as a city block where matter was unpredictably shifted a few inches in one direction or another, or a few seconds into the future or past. This is the dragon's preferred method of killing. Simply by moving through an area, it tears apart everything there regardless of durability or reinforcement. Walls are scattered into chunks of rubble, machines are broken and sheared apart, the earth itself is honeycombed in holes, all of it flickering and duplicating as it gets shunted into the future or past. People, too, were just as vulnerable, losing chunks of their vital organs and collapsing under tons of displaced rock. The dragon entered Emerald City from the north, zigzagging back and forth through the suburbs to hit high-density targets like apartment complexes and trailer parks. Within a few minutes of the dragon's arrival, the death count for Emerald City alone had climbed into the thousands. Destroyed electrical wiring soon sparked fires behind the dragon, and those fires spread out further, adding a hazard to the already deadly night. Most were killed in their sleep, and even among those who were awake, everything happened too fast to escape. There was no air raid siren to warn people of what was coming, no emergency response to tend to the wounded. Even the dragon itself was hard to see, only its back and tail poking up through the earth. But as it burst through a hillside, its full appearance was visible for just a moment, revealing an enormous sharklike body at least ten stories tall if placed upright, covered in spines and other protrusions.  Click image for full size.It sunk immediately back underground, continuing its destructive rampage. The growing plume of dust and smoke rising above the suburbs was the only sign that the city's worst nightmare had arrived. (The event battle begins in 48 hours! See here for event battle rules. Remember that if you join a scheme now, you can't participate in the event battle until that scheme is over. However, if you've already joined a scheme as of this post, then you can still join this battle immediately as well without affecting the scheme. You may post here to announce your arrival to the battle if you want, but you can still participate later on regardless.) |
|
Pandaemonium
Posts 78
Power Level 25
|
Post by Dullahan on Jul 1, 2016 17:14:30 GMT -7
The cameras Dullahan had set up notified him of the plumes of smoke rising above the city, too rapid and too large-scale to have been caused by a mere super. He wasn't sleeping. Ever since he had reduced his need for rest to less than 10 minutes per 24 hours, Dullahan had begun sneaking out of his parents' house every night to spend the time more productively in his workshop. This meant that he was exactly where he needed to be.
He didn't feel fear. Maybe he should have, but that was one of the first emotions for which he had removed his capacity. Instead, he promptly entered a command on his console, then leaned back and let the machinery do its work.
Scalpels and hooks descended from the ceiling toward Dullahan's weak, fleshy human body. As they extracted the metallic case containing his brain, a cargo elevator rose up with his new body for the night.
It was the bulldozer, battle-tested at the news station and at Pandaemonium's Capture the Flag match. It was purpose-built for this sort of situation in the first place. Bulky enough to withstand heavy damage, capable of shoving debris out of the way in order to avoid getting bogged down, quick enough to keep up with a mobile foe, with a large walled platform on top to help transport less mobile supers and allow them to take cover from counterattacks.
The ceiling hooks lowered Dullahan's brain into the bulldozer chassis, where dozens of cables clamped on to where his spinal cord would normally have attached. The hatch closed up, sealing his brain inside, and then with a roar of the engine, he was off.
As Dullahan sped from the docks through the city center and to the suburbs, he tapped into the city's camera network, looking for supers making their way to the fight on foot. He would pull up to each of these less-mobile combatants, lower a ladder from the platform up top, and hail them with his synthesized voice.
"Offering transport to location of dragon. Accept or decline?"
|
|
Dead
Posts 41
Power Level 18
|
Post by Stunt Double on Jul 1, 2016 17:16:54 GMT -7
Stunt Double rode his skateboard at top speed toward the rising plumes of smoke. He kicked himself along with no regard for conserving his stamina, too amped up on adrenaline to feel the beginnings of fatigue. His mode of transportation combined with the cigarette clenched between his teeth might have been enough to give away his civilian identity, but at this point he was far beyond carying about any of that.
This was it. A chance for redemption, in his own eyes at least. He'd face the dragon head-on, lending whatever assistance to his fellow supers that he could. Stunt Double pulled up to a stop on a small hill overlooking the dragon's rampage. Behind his mask, his eyes tracked the enormous dorsal fin plowing through the occupied homes.
"Alright, big guy. One of us is going down tonight, and I know who my money's on."
With that, Stunt Double kicked off again, heading down toward the monster.
|
|
Inactive
It's a brand new me, I got no remorse
Posts 272
Power Level 23
|
Post by Gilgamesh on Jul 1, 2016 17:33:48 GMT -7
Perhaps it was lucky that Gilgamesh mostly operated in the docks and the slums. If he had operated in the suburbs he very well may have been taken off guard by what was happening. But the sight of the massive beast breaking through the hillside was enough to cause even Gilgamesh to pause where he was, atop the tallest rooftop in the slums. An old decrepit and abandoned apartment building. There was no question in his mind what that thing was.
"Dragon..."
The word was spoken softly, almost a whisper. Anything more surely would have drawn the beasts ire. There was a distinct mix of fear and awe in the whispered word. It was his first time actually seeing one of these in person. His Master had prepared him for this day as best he could. But now that the moment was upon him Gilgamesh felt uncertain without his Master's guiding hand overseeing him. It was a challenge unlike anything he'd ever faced before. Were the skills that he had learned really enough for him to call himself a Dragon Slayer?
Yes
He mentally reaffirmed that in himself. He had trained for this. Everything was for this. And like his namesake he would not allow any being to stop him. Be they man or monster. He would not even allow the God's that walked this Earth to quell his journey. No, he would slay this Dragon and he would prove that he had the might to walk the path he'd chosen. Clenching his fist he'd quell the trembling in his knees and clench his jaw. He needed to focus now, focus on his goal. Victory. The feeling of triumph as he rips and tears through it's flesh. He'd find out first hand just how to make a Dragon bleed. Because this Dragon didn't know it yet, but it made a mistake tonight.
It came to the home of a Dragon Slayer. It was destroying the proving grounds of the Warrior King. It dared to try and stop Gilgamesh from fulfilling his vow. And it would be destroyed, like everything else that stood in his way. With renewed conviction and fire burning in his veins he'd run for the edge of the roof as the roar of a motorcycle ripped through the air down below. His body never stopping it's motion he'd leap from the roof to the streets below just a brief moment after taking a deep breath. Like it could very well be his last.
Tonight he went to face his death, and he'd never felt so alive.
|
|
Inactive
Posts 60
Power Level 18
|
Post by Misty on Jul 1, 2016 17:46:45 GMT -7
It was the shaking that woke Misty. Her window was open and the smell of smoke hit her. The smoke was sickening because it carried the smell of burning flesh. She could hear the panic in the streets. She had never put her costume on so fast in her life. She considered leaving it. But she put it on anyway. She double checked the feeling of her necklace against her skin, then grabbed her jewelry box and dumped its contents into a small bag. She strapped it to her belt. She vaulted out the window onto the lower lying building roof.
God, the smoke, the terrible smoke. She rested her hand on her face just long enough to remove her sense of smell, then jumped over the side of the roof, hitting ground level in a roll. She popped up, perfectly fine. The people were fleeing the fire and the smoke. Even in the night, Misty could see the plumes that rose above the city. The people were terrified of supers. The chances that they would trust her help where minimal. But she had to try dammit. This scene was all too familiar, it was a dragon. There was nothing that it could be. She had to stay calm. This time, this time if she lived through this attack, it would be because she stood her ground and did all she could. The smoke was rising in zigzag plumes, coming from the north, where now, even the fires could be seen.
The people needed to get out of this area. As many as possible. She squared her shoulders, and announced over the area, amplifying her voice as loud as she could make it.
“Everyone head to the south! Its coming from the north into the city!”
She felt the shudder of distrust go through the fleeing people in the hushed voices whispering “It’s a super!”
She didn’t have time for this. She turned and ran the direction that they had been coming from. As she passed, she reached out and healed. Not much, just enough to give the injured a fighting chance. As she ran she yelled at intervals,
“Head south! Get out of the city!”
Then she found what she was looking for. An officer and his partner stood in the center of a small mob.
“You idiots!” She yelled at the top of her voice. “It’s a fucking dragon! Getting out of this city is the most important thing you could be doing right now!”
She strode through the mob, which was easy cause they didn’t want to be anywhere near her. She snatched the radio off of the nearest officers jacket and in a frighteningly calm voice,
“Attention all units, this is a member of the Emerald City Bulwark speaking. This is a dragon attack. There is nothing the police force can do to combat it. I repeat the police force is useless in aiding the attack on a dragon. Focus all your forces on evacuation. Get as many people as you can out of this city.”
|
|
Inactive
Posts 78
Power Level 20
|
Post by Timezone on Jul 1, 2016 18:15:00 GMT -7
Timezone have actually been asleep in the lobby of the Bulwark HQ before a rush of panicked feet woke him up. "Come on...! I've only been asleep like an hour... What's going on?" Timezone was suddenly wide awake and followed the disappearing footsteps outside, something always happens at night, right? Honestly, he didn't really get what was going on even after seeing plumes of smoke near the residential area until one person near him said one word.
"Did you just say d-dragon?" He couldn't help the shake in his voice considering the rest of him was shaking from head to toe. Seriously a dragon!? How was he suppose to fight it, he had no deadly powers at all! Ok, calm down, stop shaking and think! It's literally impossible he's gonna be alone, other supers are gonna be there after all, and... and what if the dragon could feel sick, he could make it feel sick!
"You're a superhero Timezone, now be a superhero!" Before his self given hype for the battle could go away, Timezone sped into a fast forward into the residential area seeing some weird... thing moving through the ground. Oh wait, that's the dragon isn't it? "Ugh, I'm feeling sick and I didn't even time lag yet!"
|
|
Pandaemonium
Posts 343
Power Level 30
|
Post by Blue Jay on Jul 1, 2016 18:26:45 GMT -7
It’d been two months since Blue Jay had originally heard of the dragon’s coming. He’d had two months to prepare, get stronger; but now that the day was here, he felt like he could’ve found out yesterday and it would’ve made no difference. This was not his first dragon, and even though he had some degree of certainty that it wasn’t going to be his last, he couldn’t keep the feeling of dread out of his stomach. It was a miracle he could keep any food down. and the only reason he got any sleep last night was because he hadn’t been able to the previous three.
He’d been on lookout all day, constantly moving around the edges of the city, his phone set to every news and information outlet he knew of. He’d only paused in his patrol when dinner rolled around and he needed more sleep.
It was the buzz of his phone that woke him up, and the smell of smoke that got him to his feet and out of his window before he’d even finished reading the news report. He’d slept in his clothes, and slipped on his mask and strapped his sword to his back while he moved.
Blue Jay teleported from rooftop to rooftop, hardly pausing upon a landing to plot his course before displacing once again. He could see the fire from a distance. The fin came into view after the stench of fire had already become normalized to his nose.
Already other supers were arriving. As he was nearing the site, the sound of skateboard wheels from the street below caught his attention. It was a mix of joy and worry that Blue Jay felt upon seeing his ally - he felt more confident knowing he had allies fighting alongside him, but Stunt Double’s presence here also meant he was putting his life on the line to fight as well.
But that was the point, wasn’t it? Blue Jay decided that he was happy to see his friend.
He teleported down from the rooftops, picking up at a sprint as soon as he landed so as to keep pace with the skateboarder. “Let’s do this, Stunt Double!” He said jovially, offering his fellow Bulwark a high-five.
He gazed ahead at the fin, tearing its way through the suburbs. Adrenaline was making his stomach churn and his hands shake - neither things he could afford. Forcing his focus the battle at hand, not the deaths of the civilians in the homes or the ones looming over his friends and fellow supers, he tried to quell his fear. He could do this. They could do this. Failure was not an option and was not going to be an outcome.
Blue Jay drew his sword and displaced. That dragon wouldn’t know what hit it.
|
|
Pandaemonium
I need a gingerbread man, the one I'll eat
Posts 154
Power Level 28
|
Post by Bloodbath on Jul 1, 2016 18:28:46 GMT -7
Wake up...get up...Now! Your going to DIE!
Bloodbath snapped awake with a start, wondering why everything ached and looked upside down. He was forced farther into awareness as his apartment (Which was practically upside down) shuddered once more, jamming his head against the wall.
He clasped his hands in his head, giving a soft groan as his hand came away sticky. Was he already bleeding? Regardless, he swung to his feet, pushing off the almost vertical floor.
The building was cracked enough to peer outside and there he saw the dragon, or rather his eyes saw the dragon. What he saw was a horrific thing that just disturbed his sleep. One part of his brain told him to run far away, but it was silenced as he slipped into his costume, as if he had all the time in the world.
The moment he finished, he found the ground beneath him crumbling. That was it for preparation huh? His bloody head suddenly became clean as he drew the blood from it, forming a protective walls he darted for the unmistakable dragon.
|
|
Emerald City Bulwark
Posts 153
Power Level 22
|
Post by Titan on Jul 1, 2016 18:34:13 GMT -7
It was just supposed to be a slow day. Titan had spent the past month being incredibly busy, doing 'business' in the docks to figure out the arms dealing debacle, so today was most certainly going to be just a quiet day of patrolling. But something awful happened. If felt like an earthquake, but it lasted for too long for it to be an earthquake. It was more like the end of days, as if it was the finally the apocalypse that was promised so many times. No, it wasn't the end times. In fact, it was something Titan felt was far worse. A dragon. He had faced one before, and he knew exactly how a dragon attack felt like. They were always one for grand entrances. While this one was fairly different, it still had the markings of one.
Titan knew where it was coming from, and ran as fast as he could towards the site, still at his regular size. No doubt many other heroes were scrambling to make it there, and perhaps people that weren't heroes as well. Factions and affiliations didn't matter in the face of this monstrous threat, everyone needed to band together and destroy this monster before people were hurt. The police, the military and the entire damn government couldn't stop this thing. It was up to the supers. Who knew how many it would kill today? Titan pushed the thought back, focusing on the task he was about to perform.
It was hard pushing past the panicking crowds that were rushing southwards in a futile attempt to survive. But if this thing wasn't stopped, there would be no survivors. Finally, Titan reached a point where there was a police blockade, and there he saw another super, using the police radio to relay orders to the rest of the police. Titan recognized her as part of Bulwark, but the pleasantries needed to wait, they had a dragon to fight.
From behind, Titan could see two other Bulwarks rushing their way; Blue Jay and Stunt Double. While he hadn't met the latter, he knew that Blue Jay was reliable. Titan was glad to see he was going to join them in their fight. Turning to see the gigantic cloud of debris that was slowly enveloping the entire city, Titan sighed and readied himself for the fight of his life.
"God, not again..."
|
|
Inactive
Posts 46
Power Level 19
|
Post by doubledealer on Jul 1, 2016 18:47:28 GMT -7
Double Dealer have been on a night into town, they'll send their research to the big shots later, until what felt like a earthquake shook the ground so hard they both actually feel onto the ground.
'Whoa! I never been in a earthquake before!'
'And you know I never been in an earthquake either! By the way, do earthquakes start fires, cuz I smell fire.'
'Uh... sometimes? I don't know, I'm not an egghead! Let's just go check it out, 'k?'
The duo was already near the apparent fire area so the walk seemed almost boring before a huge shape in the distance rumbled past with a second earthquake.
'Oh. My. God. Was that what I thought that was!?
'It so was! It's a dragon, what else makes earthquakes by moving!?'
'Eeek! That's so cool! Get your phone, we're going to get some pictures of this crazy bastard!'
The woman took out her phone first, taking pictures of the destroyed buildings before her partner pulled her along, holding his own phone in a constant video.
"Hey, Hey, we're Double Dealer and we're going to kill a dragon! How awesome is that!?
"I'll tell you, nothing! This thing is soooo dead!"
|
|
Unaligned
And I'm hungry like the wolf
Posts 180
Power Level 26
|
Post by Lobisomem on Jul 1, 2016 18:54:44 GMT -7
They had seen the newspaper article, this really shouldn't have scared them so much. But Lobisomem still felt their heart stop as a vibration shook them in their room. They hadn't gone to feed tonight, the idea of their folks possibly dying while they were gone was too much.
They let out a clipped screaming as it felt like multiple earthquakes ripped through the ground, mirrored by various other screaming through the the neighborhood.
Lobisomem shifted instantly, digging their claws into the floor to keep from being thrown around. Their ears swiveled desperately, prompting a sigh of relief as they picked up their desired sound, their parents, who just sounded a little shaken up.
There were more sounds too, supers entering the houses, to rescue trapped civilians. Their parents would be fine.
They rushed out the window, ignoring the screaming for them to stop and the fact the walls were collapsing around them.
The roofs were nearly impossible to navigate, so they never even looked up till they were high in the air, clinging to a leaning tower. They finally glanced upward, expecting it to be hard to find. It wasn't.
Mother. Of. God.
How could anyone mistake them for that!? Just looking at it made them want to curl up and cry! No. No way, how did you fight such a thing, death by a thousand cuts!?
They already saw the aftermath of it just appearing. The screams of people easily found its way to their highly tuned ears, and the scent of blood and rot...it permeated the air, blocking every single scent.
Yet supers raced toward this abomination, and after a moment of dilemma, Lobisomem let out a ghastly roar and joined the charge, hopping over rubble while never taking their eyes off the dragon.
|
|
Dead
"I shall protect you from the consequences of your naivety."
Posts 24
Power Level 15
|
Post by Balance on Jul 1, 2016 19:14:15 GMT -7
The violent shaking awoke the mousy haired woman up. Seeing the cracks in the walls, she ran out side as the building crumbled. Turning to the north she realized what was happening. An ice ball formed in her chest. Dragon. Taking a few deep breaths, the young woman calmed her nerves. Closing her eyes she focused on her breathing, taking in the serenity. The calm. A tower of light surrounded her as she transformed. Black and gold skin tight cloth encompassed her and her mousy hair turned dark black.
Balance's eyes snapped open as she finished her transformation. The chaos and pain this dragon brought upon the world was unnecessary. It needed to be stopped. Her hands clenched tightly into fists as she began running towards the beast. This needed to be dealt with swiftly. Hopefully some of this city's supers had decided this was worth their time. She could hear the cries of the wounded and orphaned but refused to let it take her mind off the beast before her. The citizens would be dealt with later. The universe had been knocked out of alignment and it was time to put it back. |
|
Unaligned
Posts 126
Power Level 21
|
Post by Hooded Siren on Jul 1, 2016 21:04:59 GMT -7
It was still early when the shaking had begun. Siren had been up all night looking for an easy job. Even with housing situation settled, money was still tight. However a giant monstrosity tearing the city apart from the underground up put a dent in her plans. She was trying not to be crushed by falling debris when she noticed other supers running TOWARD that thing. One girl, Bulwark by the looks of it, had even snatched a police radio and was barking orders. Bulwarks... Siren's head snapped toward where the others were heading. Titan would be there.
For a split second, she thought of leaving for safety. However the pink haired super sped off after the others. The thought of Titan possibly becoming dragon kibble had quashed any thought of leaving. She would find him and help him kick every arse that thing had. Hell had been raised and she would be damned if she would miss out. She found where the Bulwarks were and looked around. Finding Titan she joined him by his side.
"So," she paused, eyes taking in the entire creature, "Do we have any idea or plan at all?" |
|
Inactive
Posts 16
Power Level 15
|
Post by destructo on Jul 1, 2016 23:55:50 GMT -7
Destructo was running towards Dullahan in full villain regalia. Normally, he'd take an entire armory to most fights, especially one this big. But his van had been tipped over when the Cetus had burrowed beneath the car park he had left it in. He'd taken as many weapons as he could carry from it, though. Strapped to his back were several guns, some sort of chainsaw sword, and what looked like a missile launcher.
"Accept!" Destructo said, climbing the ladder. His dad always told him never to take rides from strangers, but Destructo knew this person, if only by reputation. But now wasn't the time for fanboying.
"I never thought I'd see a Dragon, y'know." Destructo said, his voice distorted by the mask. "It's always something you expect to happen to someone else, isn't it?" He thought about it for a moment, but gave a short laugh.
"I think I saw you on the news. Or I guess driving through the news, right?" He said. It was hard to tell, face concealed, but he was nervous as all hell. This sort of thing was just how he coped.
|
|
The Keepers
Posts 76
Power Level 24
|
Post by Arcanum on Jul 2, 2016 0:16:23 GMT -7
For once, not being entirely human had its advantages. Since Arcanum barely had any reason to sleep at night, she was up and awake when the dragon began to invade the suburbs. It's a good thing she didn't live on Malachite Island, or might take forever to reach the war zone.
She took a deep breath to calm her mind from any distractions. This wasn't her first time taking on a dragon. The years since that night seemed like an eternity, although Arcanum felt as though it all happened yesterday. There was no forgetting that experience. If if weren't for that time, she had no reason to even become a villain. She'd be a perfectly ordinary ball of slime still pretending to be normal. The scared little girl who went running towards the Keepers might have found something better to do with her life.
This wasn't the time to dream about what could have been. In reality she spent the past several years preparing for this moment. She learned a lot since back then. The Keepers made her better. Now she could destroy this thing before everyone else died.
Not like she really cared about a bunch of strangers. Arcanum merely wanted the satisfaction of knowing she was better than something that once terrified her. Plus, this was a good opportunity to see if spending the past few months raising a weapon of mass destruction would actually be worth the effort.
Waiting around on one of the remaining building, she observed the situation from three separate bodies. The details of exactly she was going to take this thing down still needed to be worked out. At least this time the damn thing didn't fly.
|
|
