Futuristic &nbsp; Imperium (Futuristic Superpower rp) (O/A)

SnowStorm42 · Apr 20, 2023

Rachel Marewski

Rachel was starting to get very tired as she shifted in and out of shadows. Bullet were flying left and right, and while trying to keep from getting hit with a stray bullet, she ended up getting surprised by the rock-controlling super who had been attacking her simultaneously. She glanced for a shadow to run into, finding nothing close enough. This wasn't good, she thought, until out of nowhere a super landed in between herself and the geo super, slamming the ground with what seemed to be a spear. The newcomer sent what seemed to be the same type of rock attack back at the SKORPION super, with a kick of electricity at the end. Rachel was shocked that this newcomer seemed to use not only the rock supers powers against him, but also the electric Tiburon's powers. This circus kept getting bigger, and while grateful, Rachel wanted no part of it. The newcomer was back in action before she could properly thank him. Rachel moved toward a car, and took cover to analyze the chaos. It seemed the gangs were starting to thin out with the arrival of the Lunar Princess, and the Imperium mercs. Rachel couldn't help but notice that the mercs numbers dwindled a bit too since the three way battle started. Rachel, albeit peeved that she got caught in the crossfire, was thankful that it seemed to not stray out of the main square and Junction. The bar was probably going to be safe.

Seeing her savior form a wall to protect himself from gunfire, Rachel figured now was a good time to thank him and get going. This wasn't her fight. Catching her breath she was about to shift over to give her thanks, when she noticed a SKORPION trying to sneak up on the guy. She shifted quickly into the shadow of a barricade, then an abandoned car, followed by a street ad, before popping out, and shooting the SKORPION in the chest. Out of breath, Rachel fell not too far from the copycat super, before crawling to yet another abandoned car. She struggled to catch her breath before calling out to him. "I was gonna thank you but. I think we're even now" Rachel said, breathing heavily. She was overexerting herself with all of this. It wasn't like back then, when she lived in the slums. She really had to quit smoking, she thought.

"Wanna help me get out of here stranger? I got this bar I gotta get ba-"

Before Rachel could ask the stranger for more help, the sounds of a helicopter drowned her out. She peeked over the car she was hiding behind, to see the helicopter approaching, no doubt Imperium. Following the helicopter, Rachel's gaze saw two figures, seemingly watching the warzone. She couldn't make out what they were doing, but the fact that they were watching from afar made Rachel uncomfortable. Maybe it was high time she got out of here. Between onlookers, all the supers, who were way stronger than Rachel, and the cameras on the Lunar Princess, Rachel really didn't want her face getting caught up anywhere. She valued keeping a low profile, given her checkered past.

"Gotta bounce guy" Rachel called to her savior. "Thanks again" she said, before taking another deep breath and shifting to the shadow the earth wall made and shifting to try to get to the side street that would take her back to her bar. As she shifted though, she had no idea that the helicopter was going down. As she shifted out of a shadow, she noticed the helicopter coming down, of course, with her luck, down the street she was trying to get down. "Give me a fucking break" Rachel said.

The street was blocked, and low on stamina, she jogged to the closest bit of cover. Huffing heavily, Rachel was on hands and knees trying to catch her breath. She noticed a blue haired girl and bald man nearby, staying in cover. More civilians? No something was off with the bald one.

Rachel couldn't focus, being too out of breath, beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. All of a sudden she felt an arm wrap around her neck, and steel touch her temple. Moldova, the Tiburon lieutenant, had grabbed Rachel. "You're my ticket out of there. Those supes won't let a civ die" Moldova said under her gas mask, backing up toward an alleyway. Too tired to shift, Rachel struggled to catch what air she could to recover enough energy to shift. "Knowing supes, they probably won't notice. How about you let me go and we can grab a drink instead?" Rachel asked. The half joking plea fell on def ears as the lieutenant seemed keen on escaping with a hostage. Something they seemed to be good at.

Xen6n

Nellancholy · Apr 20, 2023

Molly frowned, leaning against the car as she considered her next move. Bring the old man back into the store until the fighting stopped for real? Give him back to the Ryuzo like he asked? Or just hand him back to the Tiberon and let them conclude their business deal? That'd be the most practical way of doing things, yes...

That decision was practically made for her as a woman in a gas mask grabbed what appeared to be a civilian woman and pressed a gun to her head while backing them both into an alleyway.

So messy, so artless. They really hadn't thought this whole operation through and allowed it to go to hell. It'd be unbecoming to let the Tiberon get away with a new hostage and leave this sad sack on her hands.

And so Molly sized up the situation. Gas mask meant protection from chemical agents, but probably reduced peripheral vision. Good. Gun was a semi-automatic, something easier to deal with using her power rather than a revolver. She could play this right.

Flexing the fingers of her left hand, she extruded a pair of threads, finer than fishing line in their dormant state. One snaked up the Tiberon's arm, worming its way into the mechanisms of the firearm. The other extended up the wall of the alleyway, searching for something it could use...

The Tiberon continued to back into the alleyway with her hostage. If Molly didn't move now, she wouldn't have the visual confirmation needed to launch an accurate attack.

Grasping the old man's collar with her right hand, she pulled him and herself to her feet.

"Hey, Tiberon! I've got your meal ticket right here!"

With any luck, she would be momentarily distracted, looking over to Molly and giving her an opening.

And with a moment's thought, the threads lit up, glowing a light blue as Molly curled both fingers in.

The first triggered the gun's magazine release, sending it falling to the ground.

But there was still a bullet in the chamber.

The second thread wrenched out a loose fragment of brick from the crumbling wall of the alleyway, no larger than a person's palm, and sent it hurtling back at the Tiberon's hand.

Either it would knock the gun clean out of her hand or at least throw her aim off, wasting the one bullet she had left. Hopefully, the hostage could move fast enough to escape with a graze at most...

Sepokku · Apr 20, 2023

"Oh for the love of-" Lilian down the window that separated her and her driver. "Why haven't we moved in the past ten minutes? The traffic is never this bad and I'm going to be late."

"Well Ma'am," An explosion interrupted her driver before he could finish the sentiment.

Lilian just stared at him expectantly, "Well what?!"

Her driver cleared his throat, "Some kind of incident? It looks like Remeptia already has it under control, we sh-"

"If it is under control, why am I still sitting in traffic?" There was no response, as they never had a response to that. Rolling up the window that separated the passengers from the help, Lilian turned to the two drones that were seated across from each other. "Well, I suppose you two should go address the matter at hand." Neither of the drones moved. "Now."

In unison, the two biomechanical monstrosities tilted their heads then opened the door nearest them and stepped out of the armored transport vehicle. The Mould-01 unit took off in the direction of the nearest combatants, per usual, but the Ech0 unit seemed to hear something. Opening the truck, the drone grabbed several of its specially-made spears, securing them on its back and headed northwest. Bounding into the side of a building, its fingers tore into the structure as she ascended to the top. It surveyed the area, optics zooming way in, to just outside a storefront somewhere.

A coy smile turned up at the corners of Lilian's lips as she realized what the Ech0 Drone had found, "A tasty little morsel to parade before corporate." Lilian began to hum to herself as she relayed new orders to the Mould-01 unit.

Ech0 grabbed a spear off its back and arched its left arm back with a practiced motion. The software calculated a flight plan, taking thousands of tiny details into account, and then she let the spear fly, nearly straight up into the air, a parabola with deadly intent. Mould suddenly changed trajectory, kicking off a nearby van and hurtling towards Ech0's target with inhuman speed.

Fifteen seconds until the spear fell, Mould picked up the pace, biomechanical tendons pumping with around three thousand horsepower. A foolish grunt tried to stand in Mould's way, the drone put its arm out to clothesline the SKORPION grunt, their neck breaking on impact.

Five seconds until impact, Mould sighted the target, launching forward. Four seconds, and it was within arm's reach of the target. Three seconds; Mould's hand grabbed Moldova's arm, the one holding a gun, and yanked it away from her body. Two seconds, Moldova's hand pulled the trigger, firing a round wildly into the air. One second; Mould pushed the hostage Moldova had forward, only a fraction of a foot, but it is enough.

An eight-foot-long tungsten carbide spear slammed into Moldova's shoulder, cleaving her arm off as the spearpoint embedded itself in the ground, in almost exactly the same moment, Mould let go of the now severed arm and put its previous owner into a sleeper hold. Placing its hand onto Moldova's shoulder, the ceramics of its palm began to glow white with a flash of heat as the drone cauterized the wound.

Tilting its head, the drone surveyed the situation before it. Two females and a balding man, who appeared to be in the custody of the teal-haired girl. Lilian's voice rang out from the drone, "No need for alarm, just cleaning up som-" The drone suddenly got stiff, releasing its hold on Moldova who slumped unceremoniously to the ground. Ech0's fingers tore into a building as she slid down to street level, on the opposite side of the two females. The tattoo on the teal-haired girl seemed to be of particular interest to the drone.

"Oh? What have we here? A white lotus initiate and would this happen to be your friend?" Mould gestured to the black-haired woman who had, only moments ago, been held at gunpoint.

SnowStorm42 · Apr 21, 2023

Rachel Marewski

The lieutenant had a solid grip. For someone who needed a hostage, she was about to be dragging an unconscious one. In any other situation, especially back in the day, Rachel wouldn't be in this predicament, but the warzone and avoiding conflict tired her out so much. She was used to a few shifts here and there, but constantly shifting was the equivalent to running a race. Rachel was going to have to go with this and shift at the first chance that she regained her strength...or so she thought.
The blue haired girl stepped up and called out to the Tiburon lieutenant. 'Must not be the civ I thought she was if she's standing up to a gang member' Rachel thought to herself. Almost without warning after getting Moldova's attention, Rachel heard the magazine of the gun drop, and then felt Moldova's grip loosen. Rachel immediately took the opportunity to duck down. In almost the same instance a gunshot rang out. Rachel turned to see a drone, having turned the gun away and the Tiburon lieutenant missing an arm. The drone then proceeded to cauterize the wound instilled by the spear. Were these drones from Imperium? They seemed top of the line but Rachel had never seen these models before.

Sitting on the ground now, her arms leaning back for support, she turned her head to the blue haired girl. "I appreciate the assist" Rachel said, before turning back to the drone which had suddenly turned stiff. "I'm gonna have to open a tab for all the people who saved my ass today" Rachel said with a sigh. Another drone that showed up suddenly started speaking to the blue haired girl, and then to Rachel. So they were operated by someone else, Rachel thought.

"I'm just trying to stay out of the action. Just a local bartender" Rachel said. What caught Rachel's attention was the drone's mention of White Lotus. Rachel felt like she remembered hearing about something along the lines from a client at the bar. She couldn't recall what it was though, but she hoped it would keep her out of trouble and away from the warzone faster and back to her precious bar.

PlusUltra · Apr 21, 2023

Turning to smile towards her saved target the girl's expression faltered for a moment, after all, she was certainly not expecting the explosion that shattered her staff. Holding a hand to Revenant's face to hold any response she instead ignores him in favour of inspecting the prop. She had assumed the sniper would have fired just some high-calibre bullet, so the gold-plated tungsten alloy she used should have just had a dent at worst. Instead, the head of the staff had shattered sending its shrapnel around the area, Repemtia's expression was an annoyed pout as her tongue clicks in frustration right before she launched the remains of the staff like a missile right where the sniper had been previously, the object breaking through the concrete and heading onwards to embed in a building a short distance away.

She didn't even want to get involved in this entire squabble, she had just wanted one afternoon to herself but they had to start this farce right outside the window where her handlers would notice and compel her to perform. They could have just put the guns down but nope, it seemed like even after the small display that scattered the ants they just couldn't get the memo.

Putting a finger to her ear she decided she had enough "You have enough footage right? Yeah Yeah, Ok...fine, Oh common, they're really going to be missed!...what do you mean the disposal budget got cut? you have a few dozen of those gunned-up security dolts here wasting time but can't afford ...." she pauses for a short moment listening "Seriously? you don't even need the bags, truck, acid and a woodchipper would...Well just NDA them and send a gift basket...Ugh fine" She crosses her arms to take a deep breath before looking out across those still around.

The girl was muttering to herself in frustration "Never should have called this in and just taken the consequences" before going to one of the transport vans and pushing a palm into its side, sweeping the vehicle across the area to swipe down those taking cover as it slammed into vehicles and kept moving to effectively clear the area into a more open field, dashing around the area to repeat the process. Walking out into the middle of the newly created area with a hand raised, putting her smile and game face back on "Heed my words forces of evil, If you're not going to kneel and give up, you're going to have to do this without cowardly tools".

At her words, the air around her hand began to distort and spin as small objects began to be drawn in, bullets curving and being drawn upwards to the mass before even the guns started to be pulled from the holsters and slings towards the increasing mass. The longer the process went on the strength of the pull was slowly building up, if it continued it might even start pulling the people in who could not secure their footing.

Gears · Apr 21, 2023

Imperium Clone Asset W-12
W-12 was assisting the other thirteen units still at the battlefield when he heard Repemtia's words, he turned to his men "Code White, Protocal Epsilon 23" the men nodded and activated the combat boots, which began glowing with red light. Repemtia's abilities were well known throughout the men, seeing as Imperium sponsored programs were the only ones they ever were allowed to watch, The troops knew what was likely gonna happen, slinging their rifles over their shoulders, securing them for the time being. Because of this, the Grav-boots kept them stable as the weapons flew around them, injuiring one man as a rifle was blown into his head.
Eddie Gears aka "Abyss"

Eddie pounded on the reinforced windows, he pulled back when his knuckles began to bleed. Think, no one is there; likely fled after the battle or was evacuated by imperium security Eddie sighed and leaned back; searching the cockpit for anything useful, that was when he saw it. A medal with the label 33rd killer. He turned to the dead body with disgust, this man; no this thing had been in the battle that had ended in everyone he knew dead. He still remembered that day.

They had gotten two new recruits, a telepath and a regenerator. They had gotten intel from the telepath that a base containing enhanced test subjects was in the desert. They had decided to take everyone, a decision he still regretted. The base had been an airfield, he was looking at the jets when suddenly the ground caved in below them. They had had protocol for this, Eddie would teleport out and find them a way out. Some cruel twist of fate had landed them into the middle of a vein of gold, neutralizing his abilities and stopping their escape. When the Imperium soldiers surrounded the sinkhole, shouldering automatic rifles. minutes later he had lain among dozens of bodies, barely alive. He had crawled out of the hole and escaped right before the men ignited the pit, leaving little evidence of the massacre.

Eddie had been saved purely by Rachel, a friend who with her dying breath had used her abilities to heal him instead of herself. SHe had sacrificed her life for him to escape. After dropping the medal he found a newfound rage. He had worked for so long to avenge his friends, sacrificed so much. Only for a hero who likely didn't give a damn unless the camera's were on, and a bunch of Imperium pawns to ruin it and leave him for dead. Hundreds of innocents had been killed by The Revenant, and he was the only one to get close to killing his nemesis. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction of dying without a fight. So he began pounding on the windows, not caring as the flames drew nearer to him and the engine. seconds later he had smashed through the window, using the butt of a rifle he had found. He crawled out just as the chopper exploded, he began walking back to the battle field. Holding his revolver in hand
The Revenant

The Revenant was returning to the battlefield when a deafening crack sounded, and the elite guard next to him dropped to the ground lifeless. He turned and saw Abyss, wounded but still alive, his mask partially destroyed, showing a green eye as it glared at him with hate. The revenant drew his sword and charged forward as Abyss opened fire, aiming for the blade. The Revenants Sword flew out of his hand, but he didn't stop until he tackled the assasin, pummeling him until they were pulled by an unseen force further into the battlefield.

PlusUltra

Loomis · Apr 22, 2023

Well this is a shit show…

The young Yakuza member was perched on the edge of one of the buildings watching over the chaos breaking out in the Slums below her. This was not the situation she was hoping to jump into on a solo mission, heavy hitters, Imperium, Tiburon, SKORPIONS, Supers…this was going to get way worse before it got better. This was supposed to be a simple interception as a member of the Yakuza was traded off, but I guess they had other plans.

Ayako watched as the fellow Yakuza member, Kenzo, broke away during the fight and into what appeared to be a shop of some sorts. Hopefully no one saw where he went and she could sneak in and snatch him up and get the hell out of there. Planning her next move in her head she continued to watch the show continue on down below. She needed to act now before the risk of losing her target increased anymore than it already had.

The sound and vibration from the explosion broke Ayako out of her concentration. Her eyes immediately darted over to watch the flames surround the helicopter and crash out before returning her focus to her target, her family.

It was now or never. Ayako dropped her body over the edge of the building and began climbing down as quickly as she could. She needed to get in and out of there before anyone else decided to show up.

"Hey, Tiberon! I've got your meal ticket right here!" The blue haired girl’s voice caught her attention right away. Fuck. Meal ticket? Her heart rate began to increase not only from nerves but anger, he wasn’t a fucking meal ticket. Sticking to the shadows she slowly approached the group surrounding Kenzo.

Their attention didn’t seem to be solely on Kenzo as one of the women in the group was currently being held at gunpoint. This could be her opportunity, use her power to drain the area of oxygen as heavily as she could and snatch him up. Just as she was about to make her presence known a drone unexpectedly attacked the person holding the dark haired woman. Raising an eyebrow she extended her gaze beyond the drone to see who was in command. Ayako instantly recognized the woman, Omnitech CEO, Lilian Anderbilt.She had actually just finished a report on the company for the Yakuza, she wasn’t curious about the reason behind their interest but now she was.

Fuck it.

Stepping out from the shadows Ayako joined the group, “Evening. I heard someone mention a meal ticket…is the bidding open?” Her eyes casually shifted to Kenzo and then locked onto the blue haired girl.

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SnowStorm42 &

Nellancholy · Apr 22, 2023

"Fuck!" The exclamation all but slipped out. Molly's little ruse had gone off without a hitch, first distracting, then disarming Moldova and allowing her hostage to escape with little more than a scratch and a bump.

And then another super came in, commanding some kind of construct that dismembered Moldova, leaving her barely-living form in a heap.

Okay. Molly wasn't unused to seeing blood and guts as part of...business, but the suddeness of the attack shook even her.

And then the attacker greeted her quite casually...of course she would oblige.

"Initiate?" She flexed her slender arm, highlighting her tattoo. "I've served the White Lotus long enough not to be called that. As for her..." Her glance over at Rachel betrayed the slightest bit of concern. "...no one in particular. I just figured the Tiberon didn't deserve to get away with a second prisoner."

SnowStorm42

Before further conversation could be had, yet another arrival came on the scene, speaking casually.

Molly sized her up. No identifying markings. Not colors of any gangs in this area, no insignia, no pin. But quite unlikely to be operating entirely on her own...

"I'm not taking bids or playing courier for any other family." She nonchalantly helped the man to his feet. "Either I turn him loose and let him make his way back, or I hand him straight back to the-"

"You with the Ryuzo-gumi, girl? Come on, if you take me back home I'll have my boy put in a good word for you!" The old man chuckled as he addressed Ayako, regaining some of his confidence.

"Ryuzo-gumi, right." Molly narrowed her eyes at Ayako. "So what'll it be? Unless you're one of the Ryuzo, you can forget it. And you know the consequences of impersonating them..."

Sepokku · Apr 22, 2023

Lilian let out a soft chime-like laugh, people could be so interesting when backed into a corner. Two ports opened up on the left scapula of Ech0, a third on its right deltoid. A bright light emitted from each, scanning the alleyway and everyone present. The drones analyzed the data, Lilian paying special attention to what it implied, facial recognition software competing with scans of their fingerprints to determine who she was dealing with.

"Initiate? I've served the White Lotus long enough not to be called that."

Lilian's voice dryly echoed out of the Mould-01 unit, "I wouldn't admit to that if I were you. Surefire way to get a target painted on your back. Besides," She paused to look at the information on her HUD, "According to my records, you haven't done anything to warrant my ire or attention."

Mould bent down to examine Moldova. The arm that she had used to grab the black-haired woman had traces of DNA on it. Taking a sample, the drone ran the sweat and oil through a DNA sequencer; a match immediately appeared on Lilian's HUD. "Rachel Marewski? The bar owner?" Mould took a tentative step forward, "Omnitech Industrials has been trying to get ahold of you." Dropping to one knee, the drone extended its hand in Rachel's direction, a business card appearing out of a slot in its wrist. The card was matte black, with embossed gold lettering that simply read, "Anderbilt, Omnitech CEO."

Another person joined the scene, and Kenzo suddenly spoke up, no doubt feeling emboldened by the new arrival, "You with the Ryuzo-gumi, girl? Come on, if you take me back home, I'll have my boy put in a good word for you!"

"Wrong." Ech0 put a hand on its hips, drawing one of the tungsten spears off its back with the other, "Kenzo Nakamura, wanted for three counts of aggravated assault, one of kidnapping, four counts of murder in the first degree, and one of murder in the third degree." The drone turned its head toward the new arrival, taking her appearance in. "Your pinky is missing; presumably one of his associates?"

With only the Yakuza files to sort through, the newcomer was quickly identified, "Ayako Yayasua." Lilian bit the inside of her lip. Ayako's presence reminded her that most people in Neo City had someone they were fighting for, someone they wanted to protect; just like her. Unfortunately not everyone had the strength to protect anything; some people had to live with that blood on their hands. "Walk away, these two are being taken in for processing." As if to punctuate their point, Mould grabbed Moldova by the collar and Ech0 took a step toward Kenzo.

SidTheSkid · Apr 22, 2023

[Location: Neo-City Middle, The Crowned Ace.]
[Currently: Departing from the casino.]
[Mood: Determined.]

Our scene unfolds in the dazzling 'world' of "The Crowned Ace," a grandiose casino whose very name exudes a sense of regality and sophistication. The casino is considered to be a beacon of extravagance to many, one that stands out among the gambling hotspots in Neo-City Middle, a destination where high-rollers and low-rollers alike come to test their luck and fortunes no doubt drawn in by the outside of the establishment; it would've been difficult to ignore as it was multi-story colossus, the sheer formidable size of the structure practically casted a silhouette of itself over surrounding buildings. Its monolithic presence was that of a testament to the power and wealth it commanded, a bona fide behemoth of architecture that dominated the cerulean blue skyline.

Stepping inside would reveal a vibrant amalgamation of colors, sounds, and smells. The atmosphere was dense with the 'stench' of money, mingling with some of the elegant perfumed musk radiating from affluent clientele. The rackety noise of chips clinking together and slot machines whirring fills the cavernous space, creating a marvelous orchestra of excitement and anticipation. Above was a near boundless galaxy of lights that spanneds across the expansive ceiling of the casino, casting a shimmering glow over the countless games below. The illumination of each one was a dizzying array of hues, each one vying for attention from their alternating colors, and in unison they created a mesmerizing display. Further into the beating heart of the casino, the ambiance shifted from its casual playful excitement, now becoming more intense and electrifying. The air around was heavy with the profuse scent of premium cigars and the sound of dealers expertly shuffling the cards they had in their possession.

At the very epicenter of it all was wide oasis of table games, each one more alluring than the last. The roulette and blackjack tables drawing in a steady stream of eager players and onlookers alike. But it was a certain section of the area that truly captured the attention of a regularly amassing crowd. Here, the stakes were much higher and the thrill of victory all the more palpable. A collective hush fell over the onlookers as they remained vigilant over the high-stakes area, their eyes fixed on the central space that held a poker table. The game had been going on for some time, with only two players left standing after the others had depleted their chips and departed in a shameful defeat. It was a true battle of wits and luck, with the overflowing pot of chips in the center serving as a tantalizing prize for the victor, however, it was here that one figure stood out from the rest; William Faust, the infamous international arms dealer and founder of "Faust Defenses International", was seated at the other end of the table, the piercing gaze from his lone eye anchored on his opponent as he calculated his next move with a steady hand.

Despite the intensity of the situation, Faust appeared at ease, his rugged features and sharp mind marking him as a true master of the game. On the other hand Faust's opponent who sat across from him was struggling to maintain their composure; they were a skilled poker player in their own right, yet they couldn't help but feel a sense of mounting pressure as the game wore on. Sweat dripped down their forehead, the telltale sign of nerves beginning to take hold while trying to 'read' Faust, yet try as they might, the sweat-soaked man couldn't seem to get a read on Faust's next move, the arms dealer's expression betraying nothing of his thoughts or intentions. It was like playing against a statue, unfeeling and immovable, and the frustration of it all was beginning to take its toll.

"Oh dear me, it seems like you're struggling quite a bit, aren't you? Don't worry, i'm almost certain you'll figure it out eventually. Unless, perhaps you wish for me to step in and show you how it's done? After all, I am known for my impeccable skills in this game."

William's satirical comment to his opponent's hesitation elicited a chorus of chuckles from the onlookers, clearly entertained by the joke unlike his adversary who found the jest nothing short of exasperating, as evidenced by their clenched jaw and tense expression. Suddenly, with a burst of impetuousness, the player shoved all their chips forward and growled "All in!" A smirk crept across Faust's lips, relishing the knowledge that he had successfully rattled his opponent, however, his satisfaction was short-lived, as he was abruptly interrupted by a casino staff member bearing an envelope with urgent news. The employee reported that a rough-looking "gentleman" had entered the establishment and demanded that he delivered this letter that was specifically meant for Faust, apparently not taking 'no' for an answer.

Faust took the envelope from the staff member with a huff of annoyance, breaking away from the tension-filled atmosphere at the poker table. As he opened up the envelope and unfolded the letter inside, his face contorted as he read the words scrawled across the page. The furrow of his brow deepened with each passing moment, his previously radiant grin now replaced by a displeased frown. Abruptly, Faust had stood up, his eyes meeting those of his opponent with a cold, empty stare. He then unexpectedly gave a small, slow clap, almost as if he were mocking the man but in all actuality he was congratulating him.

"Bravo it appears that you have succeeded in outwitting me... I shall graciously surrender and fold."

The expression on Faust's opponent's face was that of absolute confusion and disbelief as the CEO suddenly folded his cards. The crowd was stunned and murmurs started spreading throughout the area like wildfire. The opponent couldn't believe his luck as he gleefully scooped up the chips that Faust had left on the table, bellowing in triumph as Faust made his way out of the game. Yet as the excitement of his victory waned, the opponent's curiosity piqued and decided to check Faust's cards, that's when his face grew numb as he realized that Faust had been holding a Royal Flush this whole time. The opponent, still in shock, sat frozen at the table as he revisited the scene over and over again in his head, realizing that he had just won by pure luck, leading him to wonder...

What could've been so important that it made Faust willingly forfeit such a fortune?

Meatball30 · Apr 22, 2023

[JUNCTION STREET - NEO-CITY MIDDLE]

Just keep your head down, mind your own business, this is gang violence, right? They don't want to dig themselves a bigger hole by killing civilians, surely?

Tristan had somehow managed to stay unscathed by the gunfire, the earth-shattering powers, the electrical combat, and even the otherworldly power of Tyrell Pharmaceuticals' Lunar Princess for what felt like hours. And why should they pay him any mind? The unassuming bystander half-cowering behind an overturned vehicle was hardly a threat, using the immense string bass he'd been carrying for further protection as if it would stop a bullet, a flying rock or gravity itself.

Nor did he want to be seen as one. With every super that turned up to the scene, every enforcer or gang member of government operative, Junction Street transformed from one of The Heart's main thoroughfares to an impromptu battlefield. Already he'd seen children and mothers scarcely escaping thanks to a brave few strangers, but there were those who weren't so lucky. Before he found his current sanctuary, scrambling over hard pavement and shattered glass, he swore he remembered a small hand reaching for a savior from the twisted mess of a self-driving car, pools of blood streaming from unarmed corpses, what dead and wounded there were reflecting the average citizen more than those who started the fray, or those here to end it. Was he certain that's what that was? Maybe he'd panicked in the heat of the moment?

It never made sense, but especially here. What is this city coming to?

This never happened at home. Maybe it was time to get out of The Heart, go back to his family before things got out of hand, or worse, The Acres were locked down? Would the city allow anyone to return if the threat of violence was so great anyone walking down Junction Street could become a victim?

PlusUltra said:
going to one of the transport vans and pushing a palm into its side, sweeping the vehicle across the area to swipe down those taking cover as it slammed into vehicles and kept moving to effectively clear the area into a more open field,

"Fuck--" was all Tristan could manage to say as the vehicle he was sheltered behind suddenly jolted back into his chest after another busted car slammed into it, sending him sprawling and violently knocking the wind from his lungs. He felt sparks fly from the cybernetic casing across the right side of his face, felt the instrument in its case fly from his grasp and end up god knows where as he tumbled perhaps a dozen feet, maybe more across the hard pavement.

He ended up on his back near the wall of one of Junction's streetside shops, struggling to regain his breath. He was vaguely aware of a throbbing pain on his right hand, though he dared not look. Please, just some kind of scrape.

When he reached over his head, hoping it might help him breath more easily, he felt the instrument case and instinctively fumbled with its buckles, again without looking. He opened it and blindly groped around the inside, waiting to feel splinters of wood and severed strings.

Everything seemed to be intact, at least to his sightless inspection.

For some reason, that small stroke of luck made him chuckle. Painfully, of course.

SnowStorm42 · Apr 22, 2023

Rachel Marewski

Rachel listened to the White Lotus member and the drone exchanged words. From what Rachel was gathering, the drone was being operated by someone knowledgable, and White Lotus seemed to be something to take note of based on the drone operator's words. While unfamiliar with it, Rachel could deduce based on the sound of it they probably got up to some trouble maybe. Rachel then watched as one of the two machines walked over to the Tiburon lieutenant and seemed to scan something. It suddenly approached her after its operator announced Rachel's full name. 'Shit' Rachel thought. She still wasn't entirely sure who these drones worked for but her low profile went out the window. What happened next surprised her though as the voice said that Omnitech Industries had been looking for her? The raven haired women took the black card from the drone, and examined it. What did they need with her? Before Rachel could ask what they needed of her, another newcomer arrived.

Based on the exchange the newcomer seemed to want the balding man, and furthermore it seems Rachel got caught up in Yakuza business. She had a few odd jobs she had ran for them back in the day, with a former friend from the Slums being a Yakuza who often helped her out. The blue haired woman seemed to not necessarily care for the man's fate but was stern about the newcomers involvement with Ryuzo-gumi. Rachel was aware of the Yakuza's stern ways.

It was then the drone operator's voice announced the alleged crimes of the balding man. Rachel was conflicted. Usually it was not her pig, not her farm, but she owed both the drone operator and the blue haired girl for saving her ass. There was also the fact that this was all unfolding very fast with a dying warzone nearby. Having caught her breath Rachel stepped over to a shadow quickly and submerged, disappearing from everyone present, and emerging from the balding man's shadow, essentially standing in the way of the drone.

"Hey hey. Let's take a step back and slow down. There's a literal battlefield right there, and I have questions, and owe my thanks. Maybe we should talk about this elsewhere" Rachel said to the drone. She wasn't sure how this would unfold, and if getting in the drone's way would get her killed, so she made sure to glance at her escape route of shadows. With how tired she was she could probably make it to the alleyway before she would have to run without her shifting. She was hopeful that this situation could de-escalate, and with any luck, Rachel knew a good spot for negotiations, which selfishly could earn her some clients too. If things went south though Rachel was not in the state to fight any of the people present.

"Your drones here seem equipped enough to hold down these two while the rest of us resolve this" Rachel continued, her attention at the bullets and debris that were gathering back where the gang members had been fighting.

Loomis · Apr 22, 2023

Ayako bit the inside of her cheek out of annoyance, she didn't have intentions of revealing who she was or who she worked for. She held her gaze with Molly for a few seconds before lowering them to the tattoo on her shoulder. White lotus, she raised an eyebrow and locked eyes with Molly once again.

"I work for the family, trust me when I say I know the consequences."

There was a lot riding on the success of this mission and not just for Ayako. If Molly didn't believe that she was telling the truth things were going to get dicey for the young Yakuza member. She shifted her attention to Kenzo and gave him a reassuring nod, "I have every intention of getting him back where he belongs." She took a few steps forward to close the gap between her and Kenzo just in case things got out of hand and she had to make a quick escape.

Out of the side of her eye she watched as one of the drones began to speak with the bar owner, Rachel, and was thankful their attention was elsewhere. It was in her best interest to keep the Omnitech drones out of this situation. She wasn't sure if they were aware of the wrap sheet Kenzo had racked up and she sure as hell did not want to find out. Drones would be way more difficult to take down, especially since they wouldn't be affected by her power.

Kenzo's loud mouth seemed to get the attention of one of the drones and it quickly inserted itself in the conversation. I really need to invest in some sort of jamming hardware, goddamn drones, she glared at the machinery as it prattled off hers and Kenzo's information.

"Not happening," Ayako snapped and went to move in front of Kenzo, but suddenly Rachel appeared in front of him, Impressive, she eyed the bar owner as she joined her side standing in front of the man. If she could keep the drones busy in fight long enough Kenzo should have a chance to run, there was a safe house not too far from here and if Kenzo was as smart as she was told that's exactly where he would run to. She wasn't going to negotiate anything. She appreciated Rachel for standing in the way of the drones and attempting to cool off the tension, but she was still unsure of her intentions. At least Molly seemed somewhat willing to hand him over as long as she was sure Kenzo was going back to the Ryuzo-gumi.

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Nellancholy · Apr 22, 2023

And then the other shoe dropped. The woman controlling the drones spoke from an apparent position of authority. Corpo, trying to talk down to her. And of course, with an outsider's idea of how the underworld worked. It was one thing to avoid calling attention to yourself when operating. But neither did you hide your affiliation and the rank that you worked hard for when challenged. Just like in the corporate world, anyone who wanted to survive among the gangs had to be open about who they were with, show respect to those who earned a higher place in the hierarchy while leading those below by example or by force.

And as always, Molly followed protocol. Never disrespect an outsider who was willing to do business on equal terms, and don't get into unnecessary fights as an individual. It was how an organized family survived and grew strong, unlike street gangs who barked and bit like dogs at the slightest chance of short term profit or violence. In so many words: "pick your battles".

"Take him." She handed Kenzo over to Ayako, but kept her eyes on the Mould drone. "Good luck keeping him."

She took a step back, but didn't completely remove herself from the situation. Her fingers flexed slightly, prepared to engage her ability again if need be.

If the drone even looked like it was going to use some of that excessive force, she'd concede. No use fighting unnecessarily with a corpo if it would get them to crack down on the White Lotus. Better to provoke them into focusing their ire on the Yakuza.

But if Ayako had even the slightest chance of escaping and completing her goal of rescuing Kenzo, she'd help her out.

Sepokku · Apr 23, 2023

"I have questions, and owe my thanks. Maybe we should talk about this elsewhere."

Mould-01 made no moves to apprehend Kenzo, instead the entirety of its attention seemed to be trained on Rachel. It offered only a passing glance when Ayako joined her in standing between the drone and its quarry. A stray bullet whizzed through the air, embedding itself in the entrance to the alleyway.

"Your drones here seem equipped enough to hold down these two while the rest of us resolve this."

"Flattery will get you everywhere." Was the woman before her extremely cunning, or just foolish? In the end it didn't really matter. Mould placed a hand on the back of Moldova's neck, a tranquilizer being injected through the telescoping needle hidden in its hand. Ideally the drone would have done the same to Kenzo but making a move to do so risked escalating the situation even further.

"Not happening." Ayako stepped forward to join Rachel, though the two seemed to have decidedly different opinions about how this was going to pan out.

From the comfort of her armored transport, Lilian let out a soft snort, the drones relaying her words as she spoke, "Is that what you told the Yakuza when they asked for you to remove your pinky? Or did you bark for your master and mutilate yourself without question?"

Ech0 stalked clockwise around Ayako and Kenzo, mirroring their movements so that the Mould-01 unit was always on the other side of them, it unfortunately also kept Rachel in any would-be lines of fire.

"Of course, Omnitech is always open to negotiating. Feel free to attend to the battlefield, we can talk hostage exchange aft-" The two drones suddenly stopped moving, the voice that had been echoing out of them fell quiet. A few seconds passed in silence, then Mould-01 started to jitter. At first it was just its fingers, then the jittering started to affect its shoulders, seemingly rising and falling in some sort of silent laugh.

Then all hell broke loose. Mould raised both of its hands to the sky and let out a scream; or at least as much of a scream as an entirely metallic voice box would allow. It came out like metal grating on metal, a sound not dissimilar to several mid-sized vehicles colliding. In the same instant, Ech0 vaulted into the air, spinning full circle three times before landing on its feet next to Mould and Moldova. Scooping up the unconscious lieutenant, the drone bolted away.

Mould-01, however, simply kept screaming, it's clawed fingers spasming as its body shook. Then it stopped, its lone red eye locked firmly onto Ayako. It spoke in a deep masculine voice, like its owner had just finished gargling nails, "YaYaS-S-Sua-S-san." It almost sounded familiar to Ayako. Then it launched forward, one hand outstretched to grab at her head, a vice-like grip gearing up to crush her the moment its cold metallic palm had her.
A half mile away, Lilian observed the battlefield from the safety of her armored transport. The gravitational anomaly was growing bigger by the second; it got to the point where it threatened to lift the personnel carrier.

"If it isn't one thing it's another." As she undid her seatbelt, the vehicle lifted off the ground, gravity pulling it into the battlefield. Ensuring she had her PDA and phone on her, Lilian prepared to exit the vehicle and make her way out of the gravity field's influence. As she opened the door, something hit the vehicle then exploded.

The transport rocked and swayed, then was hit with another explosion, then another. Hesitating for a moment, Lilian tapped into nearby cameras and feeds to assess what was attacking her. Her HUD displayed a traffic camera that had a perfect view of her transport; explosive ordinance was colliding with it. She would have to time her escape, or at least that would have been the plan. Instead, an honest to god helicopter touched down nearby and began to explode, just in time for the gravity to fling it into her transport.

Everything went dark.

SidTheSkid · Apr 24, 2023

[Location: Neo-City Middle, In-transit.]
[Currently: Watching the event unfold in his limousine.]
[Mood: Intrigued.]

William emerged from the resplendent front entrance of the illustrious "Crowned Ace" casino, the bottom of his dress shoes beginning to 'clack' against the concrete sidewalk as he ventured out into the cool evening air. The collection of noises coming from the bustling casino behind him were partially muffled by the gentle hum of a sleek, black limousine gliding its way out of the parking lot section of the establishment. Faust's stony gaze fixed ahead, his sight now latching onto the approaching vehicle as it crept up along the smooth asphalt leading to the entrance; its gleaming exterior reflecting the cascade of lights that spilled from the porte-cochère (Apparently that's what it's called) it had driven under. The limousine eventually came to a gradual halt, the powerful engine purring softly as its wheels and body settled firmly into place, one of its rear passenger doors aligning perfectly with the spot where Faust had been standing.

The back door of the limousine would open with a soft 'click', allowing for a whirl of balmy air tinged with the scent of leather and strong cologne to tickle his nostrils as it drifted towards him. With a sense of caution, he cautiously lowered his head as he entered the luxurious vehicle, keen not to clumsily bonk it against the low ceiling. His senses were immediately enraptured by the plush interior, the soft leather seats graced him with an embrace as if it were an old friend. He settled down comfortably, sinking into the seat with a content sigh. Glittering champagne glasses and a single ash-tray holding an unsmoked cigar awaited him on a small table just in front of him, It seems as if his butler had been anticipating his arrival, and had gone to great lengths to ensure that everything was perfect.

"Ah, welcome back Master William. I presume that your latest Poker match was a prosperous one?"

[Nigel Henderson]

The inquisitive voice that ushered through the stillness of the limousine's cabin belonged to none other than the very same butler who was positioned in the driver's seat. The butler's mature, wrinkled visage was visibly shown in the rear-view mirror, their gloved hand also now delicately adjusting the mirror to catch a glimpse of his employer, Mr. Faust. In the backseat, William Faust was in the midst of a ritualistic act, lighting his cigar and bringing it to his pursed lips in a methodical manner; The ember at the end of the tobacco roll glowing with a soft amber whilst he took a few puffs prior to releasing a smoky exhale from his mouth. Faust's eyes lingered with a dark and brooding feel as he met with the butler's gaze in the mirror, soon presenting the envelope from earlier with a flourish, producing it from the inner pocket of his blazer as him and the butler conversed.

> "Thank you Nigel. As for the game, it was quite exhilarating and I, of course, was performing exceptionally well."

> "I am pleased to hear that, sir. Might I inquire as to the amount of your winnings?"

> "Nothing, I lost."

> "Oh, I see... My deepest apologies to hear of your misfortune, sir."

> "No apologies necessary, in fact, I made a conscious decision to forfeit the match the moment I received a most important letter, mid-play."

> "Letter?"

Mr. Faust leaned forward, the butt of the cigar still clamped firmly between his teeth as he extended the letter to his butler, believing that the old man would be interested in to perusing through its contents. After graciously accepting, Nigel's eyes swept over the page, his relaxed expression changed from one of mild curiosity to one of intense concentration. Reading further, his eyes widened with shock and disbelief. The letter was a ransom note, written by a nefarious gang that had abducted three of Mr. Faust's factory workers and were now holding them hostage at an address scribbled at the bottom along with the demanded amount that was somewhere in the ballpark of fifteen million.

> "S-sir, this is a letter of ransom, the louts that wrote this appear to be insistent on payment to secure the safe release of your staff."

> "I am quite aware of this Nigel."

> "Mayhaps we should seek the aid of a security contractor? Their expertise could be of great assistance in dealing with such a grave circumstances."

> "No need for that. It's imperative that this situation is confronted promptly and directly. Besides, It's been some time since I last visited the slums, i'm sure it'll be a humbling experience. I trust that you're able to locate us to the address, Nigel? Finding our way there shouldn't pose much of a challenge for someone of your abilities."

> "I...Of course, sir."

Nigel's face was etched with worry for safety of his master; he had served Mr. Faust for years, since the man was a mere teenager, and the thought of anything happening to him made his heart tighten with emotion. Nevertheless, he trusted Mr. Faust implicitly, and he would follow him to the ends of the Earth if that's what it took to keep him happy. As the limousine wound its way into the bustling city streets of Middle Neo-City, a few sporadic pops sounded off in the distance, definitely gunfire. At first, the two dismissed the shots as nothing more than a minor incident - a spat between rival gangs, surely, yet their attention was seized once the gunfire intensified and the sound of a loud explosion filled the air, vibrating the windows on the vehicle.

"What in the hell is going on?!"

No longer being able to ignore what was happening, Mr.faust, with a sense of urgency, reached out and pressed a small button located on the table beside him, mechanical whirring spurred out from a television monitor as it descended from the ceiling of the limousine. Once the screen flickered to life an already tuned in news channel begun blaring loudly, and a reporter's frantic voice filled the airwaves, relaying the details of a brutal battle that was raging in the heart of the city. Seperate footage on the screen was displaying a mash-up of live CCTV fotage that was capturing the ongoing violence. There were rivaling gang members, imperium forces, mercenaries, and random third-party individuals all engaging in some bloody conflict out in the streets.

Oh the horror! The humanity, it was dreadful, absolutely dreadful to see! It broke the arms dealer's heart knowing that he was only able to spot a marginal amount of his brand's weaponry being used by these parties to shoot at one another!

SnowStorm42 · Apr 24, 2023

Rachel Marewski

Rachel's hope for de-escalation seemed slightly fruitful, as the drone stopped moving, followed by a comment on Rachel's flattery. Moments after, the drone tranquilized the Tiburon lieutenant. The blue haired girl, had uninvolved herself but seemed to be aware that the Yakuza hostage was not gonna be taken without a fight. Almost as if on cue the Yakuza girl, Ayako, joined up next to Rachel. "Not happening" were the words that left her mouth, causing Rachel to internally groan. She was hoping to not have to fight. The drone seemed to keep moving and Rachel noticed the movements of the second drone circling them. Rachel moved slightly to the side, her hand somewhat ready to draw. However the drone stopped again. "Of course, Omnitech is always open to negotiating. Feel free to attend to the battlefield, we can talk hostage exchange aft-"

Rachel let out a sigh of relief, and started to ease her hand, when suddenly it seemed the comms on the drones had gone out, and the second drone had stopped moving too. 'What the..' Rachel thought. Almost at the same second the first drone, Mould, raised it's hands, Rachel's pistol was out and pointed at the drone's face, her finger just on the trigger, however she stopped. Instinct kicked in there, her old days showering a bit with the reflexes displayed. The drone, however, did not attack, rather it began making some horrible noises. Rachel lowered her weapon ever so slightly. "Malfunction huh?" Rachel thought out loud. An explosion suddenly sounded over it's comms, seemingly simultaneously with some explosions and loud crashes nearby.

'Maybe the operator got caught in that?' Rachel wondered, her attention briefly toward the battlefield again. At the same time Rachel felt like she was being tugged on slightly. She wondered if this feeling was from a Super nearby? Maybe the Lunar Princess? She wouldn't put it past an Imperium super. The current group seemed just enough away to not be completely pulled in though. Rachel's thoughts were cut off by the second drone, which moved with quick speed, and grabbed the Tiburon lieutenant, while Mould continued to scream and seemingly malfunction. Rachel aimed her gun at the second drone, Ech0, but it seemed to scurry away with the lieutenant.

"Seems your Yakuza friend here is spared for the time being. It'd be best to take him and leave" Rachel said scrathcing the side of her head with her free hand. "I could get in a bit of trouble, but if you need a place to stop before moving on, my bar is down a few blocks South. Czarna Dama. You can tell them 'Bitch Boss' sent you" Rachel said to Ayako, the Yakuza girl. She figured this would make good on some of the favors she owed from back in the day, whether they knew it or not. Rachel turned her attention to the blue haired girl, while also reaching with her free hand for her cigarettes. "Offer stands for you too Blue. If you need to hunker down while the fighting ends. I might go look for these drones' oper-" Before Rachel could finish explaining that she would go search for the drones' operator, so she could question what Omnitech wanted with her, the first drone stopped freaking out, it's sudden silence catching Rachel's attention, as well as the fact that the voice seemed to change in it.

'What did it just-?' The next second it was reaching for Ayoka. 'Shit!' Rachel thought while pointing her pistol once again at the drone. She fired rounds not knowing if they'd bounce off the drone or actually slow it, but Rachel fired nonetheless.

Crocodile · Apr 25, 2023

Alexander Zachariah Orwell

Rake froze in place as he looks towards the woman that was armed, but then he casually adjusts the camera and snaps her image. The twins would want that and he knew his role in things. He was concerned about being scrutinized but then again he had little choice. The was way he dressed how he did, dyed his hair and even put in contacts to conceal certain features about himself. There was a lot of tradecraft he practiced as a spy and observer to do his investigating.

"Information is always worth something to someone. Why else bother to take a risk? This city always has value somewhere. I could even get something for the images for the right sort."

Rake cracks a bit a calm smile as he shifts his stance a little, ready to defend himself or try to flee. He could feel the others touching his mind as he took in his current target of attention. He felt annoyed at his recon being disrupted but this happened. Sometimes it could lead to something more useful. He was happy to play the bait and proxy if Legion required someone to be a pawn in greater games. There was always the potential this was threat to operations as well. Still more reason to get all information possible while seeking a means to survive. It hurt to die. He hated experiencing it.

"Though the real question stand then if you're interested in them. Or distracting me from my job. Lots of juicy data here. So you going to keep stopping me or we talking biz?"

Rake tilts his head a bit more with a thoughtful expression as he slowly reaches up to adjust his sunglasses some. He was going to play the rogue element until challenged otherwise. His job was to be that man and he liked his role as part of Legion. It was better than the Twins and their bickering. This gave him background noise to ignore those two, being autonomous in his work until Legion decided to focus and become him more fully. This sort of moment though might trigger that. Or worse, Legion might delete him before someone kills him and leaves a body to ask questions. There wasn't any response clones nearby, so he was on his own here. There was an odd thrill to that, another reason he loved to do the shady side of things.

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Loomis · Apr 25, 2023

A fleeting moment of relief hit Ayako as Molly took herself out of the equation and handed Kenzo over, but the drones were still in play. They could make a run for it but she knew Omnitech would be hot on their heels and she wasn't sure how Kenzo's physical condition was. The safe house wasn't far and they could access it through the cities sewer if they had to break line of site quickly. Either way she needed to make a move.

"Thank you," Ayako nodded at Molly as she stepped behind Rachel and took hold of Kenzo. Her attention was back on the drones as one was still chattering about to Rachel. Her grip tightened on Kenzo as she watched the drone take hold of their new hostage, placing something in the back of their neck.

"Is that what you told the Yakuza when they asked for you to remove your pinky? Or did you bark for your master and mutilate yourself without question?"

Her face flushed with irritation at the drones words. They had no idea what they were talking about and she wasn't going to satisfy the machine with a response. Her eyes now zeroed in on the drone stalking around them like a shark in bloody water.

"I have zero intentions of negotiating anything," Ayako spoke over the drone mid sentence. The silence that followed Ayako's statement was unexpected, her eyes darting between the two drones curious as to why they just seemed to freeze.

"I could get in a bit of trouble, but if you need a place to stop before moving on, my bar is down a few blocks South. Czarna Dama." Resetting would probably be the best idea, it would give Ayako a chance to check in with the boss and give an update, he's probably watching the news broadcasts like a hawk right now.

"I could go for a drink right about now, what say you girl?" Kenzo eagerly smiled at Ayako and Rachel. Ayako shook her head and let out an amused scoff at Kenzo's request, although a drink did sound amazing right about now. Her main focus was to finish the mission and get him back to safety, then a drink...or ten.

"Thank you, a temporary sanctuary would be much appreciated," She bowed her head at Rachel and linked arms with Kenzo, "Come on lets go get you out of these cuffs. You can have one drink while I touch base with your family." The last thing she needed was to show up on the Ryuzo-gumi's door step with a loaded Kenzo.

Suddenly a mechanical high pitch scream pierced the air. Ayako whipped her head back around to see the drones glitching out violently and screeching. She had never heard robots make that kind of noise before it was eerie. It was possible the bodies of the drones were just shorting out and whatever control the person behind them had was now lost. The rumbles of another explosion in the distance peaked her ears and she tossed a quick glance to the distance to see the glow of fire and smoke billowing up.

"Stay close," she instructed to Kenzo and let go of him and took her place in front of the man once again. One of the drones stopped screaming and was suddenly lifting itself into the air before rapidly descending on the unconscious hostage, then taking off once again.

"YaYaS-S-Sua-S-san." Ayako couldn't help but gasp at the voice coming from the drone, what the fuck, she had to admit that definitely threw her off. That voice...it was hard to make out who it belonged to through the mechanical gargling. The second that drone launched itself forward it snapped Ayako back into fight mode and she also began to run forward. "Take cover, now!" she shouted back at Kenzo as she continued to rush the advancing drone. The bald man wasted no time following instruction and swiftly hid himself without a word, watching the young girl from afar.

At the last second Ayako threw herself to the ground, sliding underneath the drone taking out a blade in the same monition and slammed it into the machines knee joint. Tucking her body and rolling forward she bounced up to stand and face the direction of the machine.

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Nellancholy · Apr 25, 2023

The drone's operator seemed to be intent on pressing the issue, more's the pity. Molly would get away just fine, but Ayako would have her hands full trying to get her target away. Thankfully, an explosion rang out, and the two drones seemed to spasm for a moment. Of course. For drones of this scale to operate with such speed and precision, a direct neural interface was necessary. Or so she had heard, anyway.

Just when Ayako seemed to have gotten her lucky break thanks to the drone's operator being taken out, the damn thing began to freak out, sputtering back to life and attacking Ayako.

"Seriously?"

Ayako, for her part, didn't miss a beat, springing into action to avoid its initial attack and damaging one of its legs.

Oh, just great. Well, Molly was still here, and she didn't quite want to imagine Ayako being splattered or filetted like Moldova was.

So it was a drone, right? Machine, non-living...

Close enough.

Molly broke into a sprint to circle around the drone, spreading her fingers.

Three threads shot out, attaching to the drone's arm on the opposite side of its damaged knee joint.

"Ghk!"

In the next second, a burst of feedback surged through the threads manifested by her power, sending a shock through Molly.

Her head spun, like her brain was being hollowed out.

That...thing wasn't mechanical. Not entirely. If it was alive, it would definitely be able to break the threads, but its integrity was so compromised that all the organic parts of it could do was pain her as she tried to influence it.

This was a new sensation. A deeply unpleasant one.

Fighting the pain, Molly planted her feet and swept her arms in a wide circle, before beginning to walk around the drone with the motions of a tai chi form. Her threads transmitted the kinetic energy she was generating, forcing the drone's arm down and away from its body to counteract the likely upward and inward motion it would use to reach for a weapon.

"Rrrgh...hurry!" She grunted at Ayako. "Take its head or something!"