Natealie
A Mask of Nyarlathotep
Interesting. I love it. Might I ask why you gave this to my girl?Ahahaha. Ahahahahahaha. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAAA. I'm going for a slightly different choice of where I break off each section here, due to how the power plays out.
--
The damp, muggy smell of the marijuana felt like it was making Re-Curse light-headed, but he barely realised that it was more than that before he was knocked out cold by some unseen effect.
--
"So, if we take the cross product of the two angular momenta, we get the resultant fo- w-woah... what was that?" The teacher was interrupted by a loud crash that felt as if it reverberated throughout the entire school. An uneasy murmur spread throughout the class, unsure of what to do until the teacher quieted them down.
"Alright, everyone stay here. It's probably just a car crash, but I'm going to go make sure. Go ahead and try the questions on page 22 while I'm gone" he said, putting on his jacket as he left the room. Alone in the classroom, most of the kids turned to each other, talking casually without even looking at their work.
Without warning, one of the classroom walls was smashed in without warning. An enormous beast of whirring metal and blinking lights moved through the rubble as the class collectively screamed and shouted, several of their classmates having been crushed by the monster's intrusion. All of them rushed the door, pushing and shoving as they squashed their way through.
Only a few made it out before the thing leapt, slicing claws and smashing parts into the vulnerable bodies, leaving not one it touched uninjured.
--
"This is Empyrean, I see the machine. It's tearing through the east side of the main building and moving fast."
"Copy Empyrean, this is Duellist. Helicopter's just arriving. I need a visual on the target, can you get it in the open?"
"Copy Duelist, I'm moving in."
"Do not engage until Topple and Proxy arrive ah the school."
"This is Proxy. Topple's faster than you think, boss, we have visual."
"Copy Proxy, all clear to engage."
"Copy"
"Copy"
"Copy"
Empyrean dove down, her wings a brilliant gold that streamed behind her. She pulled up at the last second, spinning in the air to smash one golden wing into the monster, throwing it off balance as it tumbled towards the sports fields beside the school.
A metal spear slammed through its midsection, piercing straight through and into the dirt beneath it. The monster was pinned to the ground, struggling to pull free as Proxy's orb moved overhead, its mirror sheen reflecting the sun. Another spear went through its abdomen, and its struggling became much more desperate.
Topple, left arm on Proxy's shoulder, pointed the other towards the heap of slashing metal, producing a wave about half the man's height. It picked the beast up, tumbling it ahead of the crest, before collapsing over it, half-burying it in a mound of turf.
"It's about to get up! Keep peppering it!" Duelist radioed from the chopper high above the football pitch they'd moved to. Proxy obliged, and more steel javelins flung from Proxy's orb rent its body as it rose to its feet. It staggered, but was more prepared now, if damaged.
The final straw was when Topple brought in two more waves around the monster, crushing it between their masses.
"This is Duelist, don't let up yet. It's about to do something... wait, what?"
The wrecked machinery clicked, screeched, banged and whirred, and the pile began to self-assemble. Two piles formed, and Proxy wasted no time in blasting at one of them. It fell apart, and two further piles formed in its wake. Meanwhile, the pile that hadn't been touched was almost fully formed. A smaller, leaner version of the original beast leapt forwards as its final parts clicked into place. Its form was that of a cheetah, except its front feet had large, curved claws, made for maximum traction and deadly potential.
"Oh, fuck."
--
Re-Curse is a powerful tinker with an affinity for autonomous machines that split into pairs. Or more accurately, he makes machines that combine together, then split apart and reform once they sustain enough damage. He tends to go for an animalistic theme but is able to branch out into more conventional-style vehicles such as mechs and drones. Essentially, the longer he's tinkering, the bigger the final combined creation, though the amount of time it takes is approximately exponential for each stage up.