Fantasy Visionary Panic

TreasureSniper · Mar 17, 2022

"Guess I held back too much." Tony muttered, with his outstretched index and middle finger held together, still holding his fingergun-like pose from the previous attack. He was slightly disappointed by the outcome of said attack, and might have underestimated the durability of this particular amalgam. Seeing the creature almost turn itself inside out while also struggling to piece itself together was an all too familiar sight. In a way, he pitied these creatures, which was why he wanted to make their death quick and....mostly painless. "Dirty fireworks.." Tony made comment on his handiwork, taking into the detail how the explosion from within the creature resembled fireworks, only a lot bloodier.

Tony raised his hand once more to finish off whatever was left creature, but seeing as a muscular was all so eager to add to her kill count, he merely shrugged. He could even see some covering gun fire coming from his other teammates, something although not necessary, was appreciated. "All yours.." He said to her, while reloading his pistols. He gets this distinct feeling that things weren't over just yet, and in a few seconds, he would be proven right. Feeling the quake beneath his feet, he instinctively latched on to the sword on his back, preparing to unsheath it at a moment's notice.

Tony could hear another announcement going off, about Humanoid Muduo, a rare treat, even for a Muduo hunter like him. He found it amusing that the announcer was asking them not fight the monster, knowing full well, he was gonna do the complete opposite. He turned his head towards a large beast emerging from the rubble of a collapsed building. "Must be my lucky day, normally I'd have to hunt these bastards down...oh and its big one too" He snickered a bit, before hearing the disturbing noise being made by the creature. He's only ever read reports about humanoids, but based on what he has read, they were in for one hell of a fight. Seeing the other members of this "squad" nearby, he didn't see a reason why they shouldn't engage this enemy, especially since it was an active threat to this district.

*Battle music starts*

He didn't like taking orders from other people, but in this case, he'll make an exception. "Leave it to me.." He responded, while taking something out from his coat. It was a grenade. Tony gave Deva a playful wink before charging headfirst towards the beast while releasing the safety pin and pulling off the safety lever. But instead of throwing it towards the creature, he merely held it between the palm of his hands as it detonated. The sound of a muffled explosion echoed throughout the area, with Tony being at the centre of it, however instead of being blown into smithereens, the young man continued his trajectory without any issue, now shrouded with an aura of red power. Finally unsheathing his blade, Tony took one powerful step forward, violently shattering the ground beneath him and pushing him forward much faster than before, like a speeding bullet. Shifting some kinetic power into the sword, he would start his onslaught a powerful bisecting slash aimed at severing it's left arm.

After making a pass at the creature, Tony would skid across the floor's surface, to slow his movement before accelerating once more by concentrating kinetic energy onto his feet, pushing him towards the creature, this time from behind. Tony leaped upwards and went for a downward impaling strike, aiming to shove the metal blade deep into the shoulder of the beast. If such a maneuver were to succeed, he would release the kinetic energy stored within his blade to cause severe internal damage with hopes of blowing the entire arm off if necessary.

BFabulous · Mar 22, 2022

Jaclyn surveyed the streets as the muduo horde began to dwindle in size. Most of the noncombatants had escaped deeper into the mist or inside. By the looks of it, Tony had mostly finished it off but there was a piece that could have potentially regenerated, although Jaclyn's trigger finger was hot & ready the amalgam was snatched up from something crashing through the walls. As the person responsible figure became clear Jaclyn looked a little puzzled.

Scanning his body, the Sentinel agent couldn't help but make a few notable features that were vaguely familiar. The blond hair and the tentacles made her think back to someone important, but she couldn't place a name to the face at the moment. She wasn't really worried about what he was saying at the moment since she was far enough to move from danger. Before she could slowly digest the situation the muduo siren came blaring back to life, The word muduo was commonplace, but the Humanoid classification shocked Jaclyn to her core. As a sniper she was always calm and collected, as an assassin she was adaptive and persistent, however at this moment her only instinct was to RUN.

"Hu-H=Hum...Humanoid....." Dread ran down her spine throughout her body, leaving her paralyzed for a second. For a second she stopped breathing. Panic was taking over Jaclyn's body. For a second the only thing she could recall was the all too familiar feeling of her mind & person detaching from her physical being, but the sight of someone getting engulfed by the muduo & the subsequent screech of the beast brought her back to the disastrous reality. Her father always told her when she was scared or nervous she was to inhale and release everything. With a deep exhale, Jaclyn eye's locked on Rai's hand signals and it brought a smile to her face,"I Guess Rage Machine does have some brain after all..."

Jaclyn's eye danced back to the bright lavender hue. Scanning the war ground as she had done before, she watched as Tony used a grenade to load up his ability giving him a pink aura around him. What is his vision...Teamwork is annoying when you don't know what anyone is remotely capable of... Jaclyn readied her rifle, although she knew it would make much of an impact compared to the creature. Putting her finger in her, Jaclyn quickly checked the winds before deciding to make the most impact she can. Shoulder...Basket case...

Sending Epilogue back, Jaclyn jumped from the roof, head first, to pick up momentum. Just before she hit the ground she repositioned herself to where she was now flying towards the giant muduo at an angle. Instead of gravity being her enemy, she made it her friend by teleporting constantly to pick up speed and height. At the apex of her speed, she resummoned Epilogue as she neared the wicker basket she lined up a shot between muscle fibers, using her momentum Jaclyn curved the bullet slightly enough to where it wouldn't get cut through the muscle fibers but would hit a few eyeballs instead. Jaclyn allowed the recoil from her shot to send her into a spin as she landed near Rai,"I don't know what you got up your sleeve, but I hope it's big!"

BuggaBoo · Mar 23, 2022

'Deva' - Agent Rai'Shauni

TreasureSniper said:
Red Devil: He didn't like taking orders from other people, but in this case, he'll make an exception. "Leave it to me.." He responded, while taking something out from his coat. It was a grenade.

The sharp, questioning whine of a needle suddenly scratching off of a record sounded out loudly inside her head. Well, she really did not plan for him to actually listen to her. In fact, she had planned on him ignoring her, doing the opposite and playing the part of bait; charging head first at the thing to open up her assault on the upper area of the Muduo. Instead she replied with a solid nod at his response.

But that wink. That bloody wink threw her off as he moved on, charging up his power with the grenade explosion maneuver. Colour nearly the equivalent of the silvery headed man's aura heated up her cheeks; she never meant for the bossiness tone in her voice to match that of bossy-boy Hungry-Mumbles' orders earlier on--

A loud gunshot above her head broke her petulant moment of embarassment. Blue eyes flashed twice from behind tinted goggles as they slid upwards, watching Tip-toes twist and turn in the air just above the rooftop.

BFabulous said:
Tip-Toes: Jaclyn allowed the recoil from her shot to send her into a spin as she landed near Rai,"I don't know what you got up your sleeve, but I hope it's big!"

A sublte nod she gave the burgundy headed woman. "We gunna' unpeel that thing. In STF FIE016, me n' Gunmother had this maneuver; required excellent shot with excellent timing," said Rai as she hefted the loudspeaker in her hand a couple times more. Blue eyes then slid from Tip-Toes downward towards the speeding Red Devil executing wild maneuvers, moving in to engage the Humanoid Muduo.

"I'mma check its reflexes, then; 'Lights Up, Eyes Down,'" Rai patted at several grenades at her hips, "flashbangs. I'mma shove 'em in Basket-case. 4 targets, then all you, copy that? On clear shot call out: "LIGHTS!!" before target hits. Blind the unfriendly, not us. Concussive force also give me n' Red Devil advantage to 'peel and deseed.'"

If Tip-Toes was worth her fancy rifle she would undoubtedly know about peeling maneuvers. 'Deseeding' was the purpose; taking out as many eyes of the unfriendly as possible. Rai could see the cocksure look on the sniper's face. But something else within those hawk eyes... ...gateway to the soul.

"GunMother was an excellent shot with excellent timing; I only did this maneuver with her cuz I believed in her--"

The crimson kinetic chop-blast went off against Basket-case shoulder. On cue, Rai's eyes lit up electric blue as she launched herself headlong towards the towering Muduo. She decelerated her flight path a touch to stabilize then her Wicked Hold ability whipped the loudspeaker at the thing.

"EYY!! 'Baskie!!' Catch!!"

Accelerating once more, it was on now.

.

With razor-edged combat knife in one hand, Deva went straight for the arm opposite of Red Devil, attempting to goad it into taking a swing at her. She would then move towards Basket-case's chest as she flew about, dodging and parrying the arm, trying to land quick 'X' pattern slashes, hopefully into 2 softer places in its chest area. As she scampered on all fours across its chest to its shoulder, any stray eyes should be dealt with in kind. While still scampering, a pair of flashbangs would be telekinetically be pulled from her hips and lodged in the gashes without missing a beat. The matte white finish of the grenades should visually pop out against the Muduo's sinewy flesh for Tip-Toes to spot.

"Red Devil! We gunna brighten up this sucker's day. Eyes Down on Agent Barrera's mark!" she yelled out as her sharp blade cut away at the basket of eyes on her way over its shoulder.

Slicing into softer spots she found on its back, Deva would make the same pair of 'X' slashes, non-deterred if Tony could hopefully take care of the other arm while she worked. Once the deed was done she would rocket away towards a second floor window or balcony to get a bit of a breather. Deva was a powerhouse of a mortal-weapon, expertly utilizing her set of Visionary abilities. But using Wicked Hold to 'fly' was the most taxing by far on her stamina. This was the reason she launched from rooftop to rooftop; it was a more economical use of her ability rather than flying at a constant speed to get to where she needed to go.

But of course, once she took that breather, die-hard habits of a Shadow engaged with an unfriendly would come to the forefront. Especially with being effectively deaf and mute to her other squad mates since all were without comms. Deva would just have to take a survey to pinpoint the location of all 'Ammo' members before taking her next set of actions.

Cresion Breezes · Mar 28, 2022

The towering creature lumbered ahead, the eyes that were exposed on its body all whirled around rapidly in different directions, it seemed to have sensed that there are still humans around, Visionaries nonetheless.

"Helllll— Hellllllllllll—"

It screeched again at the sky as various attacks from the humans around it began to sprinkle its body, first was the strong piecing and then explosive force on its arm. The dusty blonde man who have rolled out of the collapsed building before the humanoid watched, his gold amber eyes were clearly following Tony's trail even hidden behind sunglasses. They widened, it was the type of expression that is in-between shock and terror. Shock was that someone would dare attack a humanoid muduo just like that, although that wasn't the main factor. Owenios of the Blue Markets was far from a pushover, he had attacked this muduo himself after all. His terror came from the fact that he knows what would happen if you simply attack this foe.

"No don't- Don't cut off it's—" The blonde man tried to shout to the attacker, but it was too late as the sound of ripping sinew and crackling bones soon filled the street instead.

Tony's attack was quite effective, it appeared that this humanoid was quite "human" indeed. It even had some disjointed, ichor stained bones with too many joints connecting them in its long flimsy arms. That had absorbed some of the impact, but the top half of flesh and sinew was blown away, scattered into bits and pieces that were flung across all directions. The bone itself cracked, splinters of the hard substance also flew about.

But soon something was abode, the shattered pieces of flesh that flew into the air slowed their gravity induced movements, and began to transform in midair into sharp, broken glass like shards. They appear to be similar to the bone that the creature had, hard enough to be a weapon at least, although the hardening itself was a little callous. The flesh-turned shards began to change direction, the slashing piecing end of the bits and pieces pointed directly at its aggressor, and any sign of life around it.

"—Limbs..." Of course they wouldn't listen to him, no one would, not when he told them true information anyways. The gelatinous blob behind the blonde man who tried to warn the others present expanded, it expanded to envelope his entire body as well as the few survivors that he was previous carrying. A few shards struck the gelatinous substance, the pitch black shards seem to be melting or becoming one with the light blue jelly. Strands of black ink in a clear blue canvas. Although the black shards seem to be trying to dig through this defense, like it was with the defense of any other human it targeted.

However, the shards seemed to have stopped their advance and plummeted to the ground as a sniper shot hit the towering creature. A few eyes that were edged between the sinew and tissue exploded into fluid and blood, it trailed down the fibers, like bloodied tears upon the creature's body. The blue canvas dissolved soon after and what remained of the shard plummeted to the ground, however they did not stay there, instead they seem to be melting away, crawling at the humanoid slowly.

"Cutting parts off just gives it more weapons against you! I frick'in tried!"

The humanoid seemed to have paid no regard to the words of humans, however the actions of them had greatly intrigued it. The loudspeaker that Rai threw bounced off the monster's twisted "face", springing off like a tennis ball on a net. The eyeballs turned towards the mangled left arm, even the broken ones punctured by Jaclyn's shot turned in their mushy sockets. As Rai sprang up the creature lifted its right arm, however it did not strike at the moving human, instead it picked up the remains of the speak unit along with a handful of rubble.

"Pffffffff— Wihllllllll—"

It screeched again as it brought up its arm, wanting to strike with the handful of rubble as a tool. But it was not on the blue haired human that is now slashing away at its body, instead, it bashed its own mangled left arm. It bashed the limb again and again.

The sound of sinew tearing.

The sound of what remained of the bone cracking.

The creature bashed its own arm.

Again.

And again.

"Hellllllllll—"

The arm cracked off, and its shape began to merge into an elongated form. Half spear-tip, half drill-bit. Although it is more like a drill bit now as the tip began to whirl and spin. The right arm of the creature moved forth and grabbed ahold of the flesh made weapon, its entire body shook as it sensed something traversing its body, the eyes that were attacked whirled wildly in their broken and bloodied, ichor-ed sockets in pain and confusion. It dragged the spear around its own body, not hitting any eyes however, but the flying bits of flesh formed into sharp shards again to attack anyone nearby.

When it finally traced the scampering human, it shoved the flesh drill onto the vicinity of the building, decimating the corner.

TreasureSniper · Mar 30, 2022

"Oh..." Tony muttered to himself, while hearing someone scream at him at a distance while also seeing the results of his efforts backfiring on him. With shards of what appeared to be glass pummeling him from every direction imaginable. Pretty soon, his body, from head to toe was completely covered with these pieces, yet strangely enough, he did not fall, and merely stood there, looking like a statue covered in bird poop. However, it didnt take long for Tony to start moving again, scraping off shards on his body as the red aura around him intensified even further, having just absorbed all the kinetic energy thrown at him. "Heh...nice, I actually felt that one.." There it is again, his cocky smile that welcomed the challenge, despite the possibility of death.

From that brief scuffle and exchange of information, he learned some critical information about the enemy. Dismembering wouldn't do them any good due to its strange countermeasures. This means his usual tactic of turning his enemies inside-out might not be the best solution. "Hey team! Let's give this another shot...I'll keep it busy while you guys find more openings.." With a kinetically charged leap, Tony closes the distance towards the creature, leaping right over it to land in front of the creature and its makeshift drill-like weapon. Enveloping both his hands with collected kinetic energy, he would push against the drill, trying to force it to stop with a kinetically augmented grip while also siphoning the energy from the grinding of the two opposing forces. The glow in his eyes further intensified, indicating that he was indeed putting genuine effort to hold the beast back, so much so he seemed to "leak" a bit of energy, causing cracks to violently form on the ground behind him.

BuggaBoo · Apr 2, 2022

'Deva' - Agent Rai'Shauni

Well, at least she was certain now about Basket-case's reflex and intents versus things being tossed at it. Owenios on the other hand, his intents she still questioned. Blue eyes slid over and fell upon the yelling blonde and his... blobby sack of bodies? So he was a human corpse collector after all... Rai sneered, turned her cheek aside and spit off the balcony, yet darkened gaze never left his direction. A small growl rumbled from her throat as she shot eye daggers at the 'Man of the Blue Markets.'

But then yet again, Basket-case's screeching brought her full attention away from Owenios and upon the humongous Muduo itself. As it bashed, mashed and thrashed its own arm right out of its socket, Rai's lips pursed together and she swallowed noisily. She had never seen such a thing. And a terrible, mind-scarring thing it was. Her auntie's voice whispered in the dark recesses of her mind and Rai let out a slow exhale. The breather was over. Life-altering, lil' Rainy...

Rai's eyes lit up electric blue. The damned thing turned its attention towards her and she leapt up high from the balcony a mere heartbeat before its repurposed drill-spear arm obliterated the side of the building she was on.

In mid-air, the silvery-head man and the blue-headed woman made eye contact just before they shot past each other above Basket-case.

TreasureSniper said:
"Hey team! Let's give this another shot...I'll keep it busy while you guys find more openings.."

Deva nodded then landed behind the Muduo as Tony landed in front of it. Inexplicably, she sprinted back towards the dust and debis rising up from the concrete, glass and steel avalanche. The big woman leapt, launching herself at Tony as he 'caught' the business end of drill-spear arm. "Ey! Red! Time for a pick me up! Get ready!!"

Once more she arched back, pulling her knees up, aiming to give another hellacious stomp. But this time the telekinetically amplified double-combat booted kick was not aimed at a Muduo; it was aimed at her Ammo squad mate. The moment she hit Tony's aura with the savage blow, she riccocheted high up into the air. But not before taking with her some playthings... and a hope and a prayer. Like some kind of wild alien swarm, trailing behind Deva was a mass of rubble from the fallen building side. As she reached the vertex of her lift-off, two sets of debris sorted themselves from each other. Brick and concrete formed a spinning disc in front of her, and, big shards of glass began to circle and spiral around one arm and one leg. From, high above the Muduo, Deva let out a gutteral growl as she descended downward, posed like a superhero with one arm punching out parallel with one leg straight out, trailing behind her. The other arm that was cocked back, and the other leg that had a knee pulled up to her stomach had the pieces of glass encircling them.

The disc of spinning brick and concrete was her shield against the Muduo's assault from the array of flesh-quills set to fire at its enemies. She would drop the shield the moment the flash-bangs lit up due to being forced to close her eyes. But here's where hope and prayer played into her plan. As she had scampered along the body of the Muduo, Deva had noticed the Muduo take the utmost care to not damage the eyes that lined its body. Well, Deva had bad the intention to take out all those eyes. If her hopes and prayers were answered, Basket-case should be momentarily stunned when Tip-Toes blasted the flash-bangs, then all those shards of glass she brought with her, she would violently launch to take out those eyes. And she would land on the damned thing yet again... then rip open its basket-cased-head and rip out every single last one of those eyes that hid within there. But first...

""Agent! Take the shot!! Ey, Tip-Toes!! TAKE THE BLOODY SHOT!!"

BFabulous · Apr 3, 2022

Jaclynn watched in awe at the limits of Tony's power, but her face turned to pure terror at the words of Owenios. She almost didn't hear him but his words became clear as the muduo's dismembered flesh turned to weapons aimed at everything and everyone, especially the squad. If it wasn't for Jaclyn's refined shot she, and the others, would have more than likely been filleted like sushi. As soon as she could grasp the whole situation she turned her sights to Owenios, and started making her way to him. He knows a lot more than us, and any info could help. Humanoid muduo are never seen, and to be able to even see one in my lifetime is not an achievement I ever wanted to gain and now that I have I almost wanna piss myself and run.

As Jaclyn skated & tricked her way through the debris while she kept a slight eye on the action. Tony & Rai readied for another attack. Hopefully, this would completely take out the muduo, but she wasn't sure,"A light show party of one!? Gotch War Machine, just make sure you give your all!!" While moving, Jaclyn observed the creature taking the rubble It had created to its own crippled limb. Over and over. The young woman could hear the cracking of bone and tear of sinew, giving her a true sense of dread. The sounds alone were sapping away her hope of winning. This creature had intelligence but also the survival instinct to use any and everything at its disposal. It was truly terrifying.

Before she could be completely demoralized, Rai's words pierced her ears, waking her from her living nightmare. Not today...I won't give today... Her body moved on its own, dodging the flesh shards with grace, her skates added mobility allowed her more freedom in movement until the muduo knocked the building corner out, throwing Jaclyyn into a free fall. Summoning her sniper back to her hands, Jaclyn began to teleport around and jump off the falling debris. In that small amount of time Jaclyn had lined up a shot, she just need to get in the perfect spot. Landing on a falling piece of debris, Jaclyn hit a cartwheel, lining up her aim, "EYES DOWN!!"

BANG

Zombehs · Apr 6, 2022

"Well shit, guess that's my call. Mind if I borrow the scope?" It had been one of the rare assignments that took him out of the city, so Remus had anticipated a bit of down time once he returned. The chance to sleep in a soft mattress and heat some fresh food instead of something reheated in a retort pouch. There had been some trouble with Muduo on the way back, so one of the other Agents was being carried, but no one had lost their lives out beyond the Mist, so that was a mission well done. The last thing any of them had expected when they reached safety was for it to be under attack by something straight out of a horror story. A Humanoid practically within the city? Just what were the Sentinels doing... or had the monster simply devoured any that had noticed it.

That wasn't something for Remus to try and figure out though. Combatants might have already been dispatched, but another Visionary couldn't hurt their chances, and out of the STF he had temporarily been assigned to, he was the freshest. With a nod as he caught the spotter's scope, he separated from the group and headed towards the tallest building within his immediate vicinity. The Outer District was too far away for him to simply hoof it towards, and that was assuming he didn't run into any Muduo on the way there. Smaller monsters could have definitely used the chaos caused by the Humanoid's emergence to spread even deeper into the city. While taking care of them was important to protecting the citizens, the Humanoid was the biggest threat at the moment.

Taking the stairs up several at a time, Remus didn't hesitate to shoot out the door's lock before he threw it open and stepped out onto the rooftop. He controlled his breathing as he reached up and flicked his goggles down before he brought the scope up to his eyes and turned towards the east. His eyes were quickly drawn towards the rising smoke that no doubt signalled damage and his free hand plucked one of his remaining spikes from the carrier strapped diagonally across his chest. The heavy metal piece was twirled around in his hand before it rose up, seemingly of its own accord. The arcs of electricity that started to dance across its surface revealed the truth though. Putting enough oomph into it would take him a few moments, so he needed to get started before he had even located his target.

The sudden collapse of a building was quite enough to catch Remus's attention. At the distance, it only took a slight turn of his head to bring the site of battle into view. Thankfully the towering creature's height left it exposed despite its surroundings, and its size meant he had a chance to hit it from this distance. The massive growth on its shoulder made for a good target as any, and Remus took another breath to steady himself. Not yet. He could still push a bit of power in, and with how long each shot would take to make? He couldn't afford to waste his chance. So as the air crackled and buzzed around him, Remus kept his eyes open and peeled for an opportunity.

That certainly seemed like it. He was impressed there was someone willing and, more importantly, capable of even matching the Humanoid in a show of strength. Halting the Muduo's mangled and brutal weapon, Remus took in the actions of the other Visionaries engaging the monster. The scope twitched every so slightly upwards to follow a blue-haired woman, and he took that as his cue. If they were trying for a decisive blow, he'd see if he couldn't send some help their way. Drawing a line from himself to the monster, there was a rush of air from next to him before the projectile was launched. Even with his feet planted, the deafening boom as it punched through the air rocked him back a bit.

Like a streak of light across the sky, the supercharged and heated spike flew and flew.

The Dapper Mog · Apr 9, 2022

Quiet. It was something that was strangely difficult to find from day to day in the tower. Thankfully, with this new assignment, there were opportunities for such things. At least, on occasion. At first, the overall trip had been a welcome diversion from the training and research, with the cool air bringing temporary relief to the usual burning in his skin that his abilities usually brought. He stopped as the sound of distant combat caught his ear. Curse his tardiness! It sounded like some fighting had already broken out. So much for a quiet walk. With concern, the fresh fighter darted off towards the noise.

The first thing he noted was the incredibly loud gunshot, indicating a powerful weapon firing. That was a concern. It only took a couple of minutes to arrive where the combat was taking place. As he slid to a stop, his hand gripping the sidearm at his hip, Dominic's eyes grew wide. It really is a lot different than the reading. The material never prepares you for the realities of these creatures. This one in particular was...well, terrifying. But also fascinating. Its form seemed almost incomplete. It definitely was malleable and shifting. The sidearm slowly drew from his hip, aiming towards the creature. It seemed is comrades were locked in battle. Was it even worthwhile to try and fire at this thing? Would his minor firearm even affect it? Curse his lack of a powerful offensive ability.

Still, through that unusual sensation of fear gripping him, the curiosity grew ever stronger. He needed to find a way to more adequately study them, especially these humanoid one. There was so much to learn, but how would he find a chance to...best not to dwell on it. Just stick to the plan. The formerly aging man rose his arm to point the sidearm at the creature, hoping to at least contribute aside from medical aid. He pulled the trigger with gritted teeth.

Cresion Breezes · Apr 10, 2022

The spear and drill like weapon dug at its resistor hard, its rotation speeding up as the creature does not seem to understand just what is standing in its way anymore. The ground beneath Tony would crack more, the already aging pavement splintering and breaking under the immense pressure, dark, long wounds carved into the city's bloodstream. The cracks deepen as the road itself begins to give out completely, underground water pipes began to burst, running water gushed out of the ground mixing with the liquified muduo parts and remains into a dark grey sludge. The area sunk a little, perhaps the crackling concert and building foundations can no longer hold up the weight and energy that this showdown was causing.

This was when something else stepped on the creature, it was another human that had came along with the one that was stopping it. The kick that she did made the ground give out further, the cracks slowly bursting into shape as they inched closer and closer to the muduo itself. It tried to balance itself as it wrestled with what was in front it, its various eyes blinking again and again trying to understand the dimensions that had just unfolded in front of it. Soon, a portion of the ground gave in from all the fighting and a small sinkhole appear on the right side of the muduo. The creature felt itself sink on its rights, it can feel something other than itself coming apart, it had felt itself move, it had realized that things can move in this way.

It has understood the concept of "up" and "down".

"Hellllllllllll—"

With another screech, the humanoid decided to stop thrusting the drill ahead, instead it flung the half flesh half bone appendage upwards, along with the human that have decided to hold so firmly to it. It hurled the weapon itself up high, almost like it have decided to abandon this stale course of action. The limb weapon flew along with Tony above the muduo, right towards a pile of suspiciously swirling rubble that was in the airspace nearby.

Dust floated in the air from all the moving rubble, a flurry of soil and metal and rust pelted the air. This was when two long ranged projectiles struck the muduo. One struck a certain part of the body, and a brilliant surge of light bursted out from the monster. Almost at the same time a deafening boom rang out, light was faster than sound, but its not like anyone could tell at this point. The super heated projectile that seemingly came out of no where did declare the newcomer combatant's presence, it trailed along the battlefield in the bright light in a surging series of sparks.

And explosions.

Owenios of the Blue Markets always wore sunglasses for a reason. That reason is not to protect himself from arbitrary flash bangs, but in this moment it might as well be. It was truly a wonder to behold, it felt like the sun had given this perpetually brumous city a hug this day. The soil and rust particles, in dust that had been stirred up, grounded up, tossed around with visionary powers again and again seems to have held a grudge for this abuse of inanimate objects. They combusted in the areas where the dust was the most dense. It was a chain of dust explosions in the proximity of the area, dealing indiscriminate damage to everything near the humanoid.

All of this was covered up by the roaring light from the flash bang, that engulfed the area in its own right, blinding anyone what wasn't aware of its presence, and perhaps those who were couldn't sufficiently react either. The blinding light combined with a series of chained explosions was a truly brilliant sight, it took the already crumbling structures in the vicinity into a new stage of being destroyed, and the sounds of screaming or exclamation in the distance can be heard even through the ringing of one's ears.

When the light and the resounding explosive echoes began to subside, there would be much more collapsed structures around, some of them now covered in smothering soot. The humanoid muduo was still standing...perhaps that is how it could be described. Its neck area was punctured by a jagged edge of its own bone weapon, the rest of its body hung low while its neck was forcefully propped up by the jagged bone pole buried deep in its flesh, almost like a crucifixion by the windpipe. The muduo however, did not seem to mind, some of the eyes in its body and basket like head had been reduced to smother pastes, yet it tried to walk after the commotion had subsided. All it managed to do was tear off strands of flesh from its own neck as it twitched.

It twitched, it twitched, it twitched, it twitched. It collapsed to the ground.

But it kept on twitching and twitching and twitching. It was hard to tell if it was an effort to struggle or simply something it always was meant to do. Although it was only twitching for seconds, it felt like that grotesque motion was what it was created to do. It twitched and twitched, some of its flesh dripped off; it twitched and twitched, some of its flesh was flowing into the cracks on the ground; it twitched and twitched; then spikes erupted out of the ground.

Spikes made out of harden flesh, much like the flying shards from earlier, erupted out of the ground after the liquid flesh gathered in the newly formed cracks from the battle. The began erupting everywhere, but especially near where the humans were. The main body of the humanoid muduo laid twitching where it was, but its movement clearly indicates control rather than struggle now. More spikes erupted from the ground, perhaps the creature wanted the humans to experience the crucifixion by neck that it was currently going through. A bullet from another newly arrived combatant managed to strike one of the erupting spikes, its fleshy sharpness bursted into goo after being shot. Perhaps it saved someone, perhaps it didn't, perhaps no one paid attention.

"Helllll..."

It was more of a harrowing whimper now, the screech came along with a whistling sound as the sound was squeezed out of a punctured neck, like wind whistling. But the spikes kept on erupting, retreating, and erupting again anyways, keeping up this strange reversed game of wack a mole on the surface.

The wind whistled as it blew through curled long locks, it was always this windy on one of Misthart Tower's observation platforms. Long hair was inconvenient in these types of environments, it was always blown around senselessly, and it would be a pain to fix later. That didn't really matter though, as the locks were beginning to become stained with dark red blood, the weight of the liquid held it down from the wind.

The blood dripped down from the hair, to the body, to the arms and legs and basically everywhere else. Upon one of Misthart Tower's many observation platforms stood a man that looked drenched in blood, but his tidy and completely undamaged clothing indicated that he was never a part of any combat. Not directly anyways. He raised up a pair of binoculars and gazed towards the east, before flinching away somewhat from the flash that originated from the area.

"What did they do..." The half-hearted sentence devolved into a cough that splattered some more blood onto the speaker's hand, and even a few bits of what seemed like organs came out with it. The man seemed unfazed by this, and continued to observe the area in the east, although he would not see much after the dust has settled.

The heavy steel doors that served as the entrances and exits of the platform slammed open, an operator in rather formal attire rushed in.

"It has been confirmed, humanoid threat was halted at the outer boundaries of the Eastern Commercial District! Casualty count is currently being-"

"I have a good enough idea of the current casualty report." Wiping the blood on his hand on one of the few clean corners of his clothing, the man replied. "It won't be growing higher anymore, the Eastern District is where it will end." He put down the binoculars and continued.

The agent blinked a few times before straightening up. "Team N was already dispatched for combat, they have yet arrived on scene."

"I see. I believe in them to handle retrieval properly as always. That is the important thing now." The man began to walk back to the platform's exit, he left a small trail of blood on the ground as he walked. As he approached the door frame the bloodied figure seem to have finally noticed it was bleeding, and lost its balance for a moment, ending up leaning against the doorframe.

"...Prepare a transfusion." The bleeding man said quietly as he made his way back indoors with the help of the agent.

"Survey and report on any settlements in the expansive eastern quarter, count up evacuated personnel...independents included...tell Team N to bring retrieved remains to..." The voice trailed off as the speaker disappeared into the depth of the Tower, leaving only the wind blowing on the deserted platform.

BuggaBoo · Apr 14, 2022

'Deva' - Agent Rai'Shauni

A red glow. A mass of sharp, spinning Muduo flesh. Whatever the hell was coming at her could just not be good.

With a last ditch effort and a last second grunt, Deva abandoned her downward trajectory and rocketed away from the oncoming barrage of flailing things as said barrage exploded her debris shield. At the same time she redirected herself, she 'let go' of the spiralling glass around her arm and leg. Well, it was just her lonesome against Basket-case as of now it seemed.

A quick readjustment of her goggles. A snug of the boxcap on top of her blue head. A curt nod. A smirk.

She would not have it any other way.

BFabulous said:
Tip-Toes: Landing on a falling piece of debris, Jaclyn hit a cartwheel, lining up her aim, "EYES DOWN!!"

BANG

With electric blue eyes snapping shut, she was in freefall and despite it all, Deva grinned a demonic grin as she plummeted.

~KA-EFFIN'-BOOOOOOM!!~

"Rock-a-bye, bay-beeee...!" she cheered Tip-Toe's dead eye shot neath her breath.

As soon as her eyes snapped open once again, they glowed a deadly blue, streaks of white lightning cutting up the surface of her irises. The huge woman leaned back, both arms pulled so very far behind her. But those arms did not have their hands balled into fists. No, her forefingers and thumbs were at the ready. Deva was readying to slice open even bigger the gaping hole in the thing where the flash-bang exploded.

"Fine... just fiiiiiine... I'll kill him all by myself then..."

Miss Devastation was going to dive right into that thing and she was going eviscerate the bastard thing from the inside out. First, she just had to snap her fing--

Electric blue eyes widened from behind tinted goggles. Another shot rang out. But this one was not from Tip-Toe's hard calibre rifle. No, this was different. From someone she had never seen yet. Sabotage...?

It mattered not who it was to be honest. The result was still devastating to Miss Devastation herself. What happened in the next several heartbeats was all she would remember anyways.

The world exploding before her eyes.

Her breath being absolutely vapourized in her lungs

Standing there in tatters, half-naked, bleeding and bruised.

Putting out the flames on the brim of her favourite black box cap.

Swearing as loud as she could at the saboteur.

Falling over still trying, yet badly failing, to curse out the saboteur... and Owenios just as much.

---

Many, many, many, many more heartbeats later and Rai woke up to beeping, bandages and the absolute BS of lying in a hospital bed. Man, what she would not do just to have a single, tiny drag of a smoke right now.

Rai looked to the side and groaned, pulling the pillow over her face. But not before first letting out a sputtering, sardonic laugh. Someone at least had the decency to hang her goggles and dog tags beside her.

That and the charred remains of her favourite black box cap too.

Zombehs · Apr 16, 2022

Shaking off the tingle that raced down his arm after one of the longest shots he had made, Remus had only a few seconds to recover before he refocused the scope to catch the effects of his shot. The actual projectile was far too fast for him to notice as it streaked through his limited field of view in an instant, but the explosions left in its wake? Definitely unexpected and he dropped the scope away as he raised a hand to his lips and chewed on the nail nervously. That had... never happened before. Hell, there were barely any explosions when he was throwing around actual arcs of lightning!

"Shiiiiit." Hissing out the curse in an uneasy tone, Remus quickly turned away and hoofed it back down to the ground. He couldn't see the Humanoid any more after it had fallen down, so there wasn't a point in staying up there twiddling his thumbs. Even if things were wrapped up by the time he arrived, Remus supposed it would make things easier for whoever was going to chew him off for firing off such a shot within a district. His hair seemed to frazzle up at the thought, and he winced a bit even as he pulled out his handgun just in case and started to run.

By the time Remus did arrive at the scene, it seemed like most of the excitement was already over. He was down a few magazines from the Primordials he had run across, but that was pretty much irrelevant. The Scavengers were already on the scene for clean up, and he wisely stayed out of their way. Some of them were downright creepy. There were a few people from Armament on sight too though, and Remus bit down on his nerves before he approached them. It was hard to say just how much of the collateral damage was because of him, but the scorch marks on the surrounding buildings that were still standing didn't speak too much in his favor...

Turning over the pack of smokes in his hands, Remus was pretty unfamiliar with the different sorts, so he had just gone with the shopkeeper's recommendation. It made for a pretty shitty apology gift for essentially hospitalizing her, but he knew very little about his squad mates to begin with. Hadn't even met most of them yet, and this was certainly one of the worse first impressions he could have made.

With a sigh as he knew he was just waffling, Remus took a deep breath before he knocked on the door to Agent Rai'Shanni's room.

BuggaBoo

TreasureSniper · Apr 17, 2022

Tony thought he was finally doing something to this creature, but that all changed when he was thrown into a pile of large rubble.. Opening his eyes, Tony would find himself under layers and layers of rubble. In between the gaps, he could see bright shine through the holes. Seconds later, the rubble would be slowly pushed away, by a humanoid completely enveloped in a red aura "Just about time to settle this!" He cracked his knuckles, getting ready to deal with the coup de grace. Though he wasn't sure what happened after he was thrown away, he could see there was still something underground, attempting to attack them with what appeared to be organic spears. He could also see the injured body of the muscle girl. "Tch. Guess that will have to wait." As much as he wants to kill the bastard, he wasn't willing to let someone like her die just like that.

Zooming across the area, Tony closes the distance between himself and his downed ally, to grab her off the ground while also punching through any spikes that got in his way. Setting her to one side, his attention returned to the monster. He took a deep breath, and concentrated a significant amount of the stored kinetic energy into his right arm, so much so, that his the glow on the rest of his body starts to dim while the one in his arms brightens. "Everyone! Clear the area!" He shouted at the top of his lungs as he leap upwards into the air. He would descend onto the corrupted ground with concentrated power. The kinetic force going through the ground was akin to that of a drill and a blender, penetrating the surface, and violently eviscerating everything under it while remaining completely in the small patch of land where the flesh was hiding, making sure whatever harmful form they take stays underground.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"Look who's finally awake. That was quite a hit you took there!" Tony greeted the recently awakened girl with a smile while sitting on the visitor's chair. "I hope you didn't lose anything, I am pretty sure I grabbed everything before the scavengers showed up." He spoke, commenting on her gaze onto her stuff. He still wasn't really sure what happened back there, but according to secondhand accounts, someone threw a flashbang into the scene, something he had fortunately missed out on. "I would offer you some pizza, but they kinda got cold already. I didn't expect you to sleep so long." He motions towards the box of pizza he had reserved for her on the table.

BuggaBoo · Apr 19, 2022

'Deva' - Agent Rai'Shauni

Rai pulled the pillow from her face and scoffed as she stared down at the pukey-green gown she wore. Even in this hellhole, she needed some semblance of style lest she lose some of her badass street cred. Careful not to yank out the wires and tubes leading in and out of her, she reached for the charred remains of her boxed cap.

TreasureSniper said:
Red Devil: "Look who's finally awake. That was quite a hit you took there!" Tony greeted the recently awakened girl with a smile while sitting on the visitor's chair. "I hope you didn't lose anything, I am pretty sure I grabbed everything before the scavengers showed up." He spoke, commenting on her gaze onto her stuff.

Blue eyebrows instantly angled downward upon hearing his voice. Rai turned and aimed her scowl at the silvery-headed male, "I was doing fine. Juuuuust fine out there... and don't you ever touch my stuff--"

The moment she snugged her favourite cap upon her head, her eyes went blank and the eyes in her mind snapped open wide. A new heartbeat began.

Rai'Shauni caught a glimpse of her little sister's smiling face and a scent of the teen's flowery shampoo'd head. An embrace. Ki'Asia's sadness and worry overshadowed by the elation of finally seeing Rai after all this time. Wrapped up and healed up as best she could, Rai saw the symbol of Clan Wicked; sisters' love no matter what. Time sliding back like thread through a needle's eye as the vision shifts in reverse. Sirens, flashing lights. Anxiousness on the verge of tears as the sight of a glowing red-jacketed man heaving Rai herself over his shoulder and transporting her to safety. Time sliding back even further. Rai witnessing the chain of explosions from a distance; concrete and glass shards hitting the ambulance's windshield. People screaming, panicking, scattering and diving for cover. The tower sirens wailing in reverse until there was just silence and the fog; blue skies in the east retreated. The thread stitching back further in time. A big, busty, bronze, built and braided blonde... my gosh, she is still so pretty... those eyes... that smile... that concern. Rai could hear her name off her tongue and the chills and heat through her body swelled but if only for a moment. She told them; Kishy and Mama know that Rai is on a new STF. And something else about another another squad. Something about the Fiendbreakers...? The thread suddenly stitched forward and Rainy sees through Kishy's eyes as the ambulance doors open. A final warm embrace. A kiss on the cheek. A cool whisper in the ear. The tapestry was complete.

And just like that new heartbeat ended.

Rai swallowed roughly, blue eyes lowered. The scowl retreated and lifted into a high soft arching of eyebrows, "Don't touch my stuff... unless you know the significance of them..."

It was an awkward statement, but it was the closest to an apology she would voice right now.

TreasureSniper said:
Pizza-Pops: "I would offer you some pizza, but they kinda got cold already. I didn't expect you to sleep so long." He motions towards the box of pizza he had reserved for her on the table.

A small barking laugh could not help but escape her, sending sharp pain through her mid section yet she deemed it worth it. Of course, he would have brought her pizza. The blue-headed woman grunted as she reached over for the box. After taking a bite, she chewed a for a while, nodding as she did so. Damn, where did he get this stuff; it was good even whilst cold.

"Soooo... you the Red Devil then, eh...?" eyes still lowered, she massaged the arm that he grabbed to pull her to safety. A momentary pause to reflect, a sigh, a smirk then finally she looked up and caught his gaze, "Auntie Miri talks highly of you... now I know why..."

Rai's Auntie Miri was the shadowy and shrewd relations maintainer for Clan Wicked. The lady had a knack for getting info even out of the toughest nut. But as for Owenios, that was one nut that she just could not crack.

"So you know what happened to the rest of the squad--"

Zombehs said:
The Saboteur!!: With a sigh as he knew he was just waffling, Remus took a deep breath before he knocked on the door to Agent Rai'Shanni's room.

Electric blue shone from her eyes and the door swung open. Bandaged head cocked to the side, curiosity shaped the expression upon her face as she caught the sheepish look on the stranger man's face.

"Alright. Just who the hell you supposed to be then...?"

Cresion Breezes · Apr 20, 2022

An amoured vehicle drove up to the scene where the explosions have happened, although there were multiple people on it, more seemed to have traveled by foot. Mistol's roads were barely made for motor vehicles, they were only employed for events with mass casualties and remains that needed to be removed. A young woman, or perhaps it is more apt to call her a small girl, hopped off the roof of the vehicle and sprinted towards the scene at a steadfast pace. Her stature was short, making her seem quite young, yet the way she carried herself gave off an air of dignity and maturity. She was wearing the long white-coated uniform of the Scavengers division, complete with a pure white mask in the shape of a wild beast's skull that covered up most of her face berry pink hair. A few more members that were dressed in the same uniforms followed.

Looking down at the dust and soot that clinged to her uniform, which soon fell off due to the clothing's plastic coating, the girl's expression was covered by the mask, but anyone could tell she was in a poor mood.

"Spread out, search for survivors and casualties. Bring in any functional combatants as well!"

"Understood Captain!"

After giving the order to her team, the girl who was referred to as the captain began scouring the area herself. She came up upon someone, someone who was clearly still functional with only minor injuries. A blonde man with sunglasses, although he seems to be covered in burns and scrapes, it didn't seem serious. Perhaps thanks to whatever Visionary power he had that protected both him and the few civilian-looking people beside him.

"Were you involved in this incident?" She asked him calmly.

The man, however, seemed to have tensed up immediately upon seeing the white uniforms and Scavenger emblem upon the garment. His previously relaxed demeanor and posture took a total shift as he sprung up and pressed himself against the wall, a few tentacle-like tendrils perked up cautiously. "...Get away from me." The other did not move, she simply stood there, seemingly confused.

"I said get the fuck away from me! I don't want to see you! Leave! Me! Alone!" He shouted at the Scavenger captain, almost in a desperate fashion, as if just the sight awakened some deep-seated trauma in the man.

The white-clad girl tilted her head a bit, she was still young and hadn't dealt with much hysteria regarding her profession before, but it wasn't something unheard of. Her first mission in the outer bounds is to give her valuable experience in dealing with those folks.

"...Leave then." She replied calmly while gesturing at the few unconscious civilians that lay around the man. "Even here, as long as you are still a protector of this city and its people, I will not force my will upon you." Looking back at the other Scavenger members that were scurrying around, loading up the vehicle with the other injured combatants, and cleaning the remains of the humanoid, she sighed and turned to leave.

The blonde man stared at the girl until she was far away enough, and quickly scurried away afterward. A few people came to collect the civilians left behind and loaded them onto stretches and vehicles. The convey began to wrap up the operation and leave for the city's center, the pink-haired girl took her place back on top of the roof of the vehicle.

"Send all injured to St.Nautilus."

"Even the independents, Captain? We don't know if-"

"I have my connections there. And if they do cause trouble, I will make sure to grind the sensation of regret into their bone marrow."

The array began to drive away as only bits and pieces of the conversation were left in the dust of the city.

A white-clad young girl walked down the hallways of St.Nautilus Hospital, normally, this wouldn't be strange for a hospital that was full of staff dressed in white coats and shirts. However, any Mistol citizen can tell the difference between a doctor and a member of the Scavengers.

The girl turned a corner into a hall that had a sign hung up: Civilian Wing. A smaller line of text and an icon were written below: No Weapons Allowed. However, the girl had a hatchet, also coloured in pure white and seemingly fashioned out of some sort of polished porcelain, it was difficult to tell. A few patients looked at her nervously, and some even whispered. It was difficult to tell which way the girl was looking, as her mask covered up her eye contact, making the surrounding patients even more nervous seeming. But soon the atmosphere was changed as a boy who looked to be twelve or thirteen years old peeked out of a room with the sign "Dialysis" on it, he was wearing a long white coat as well, but it was one that the medical staff wore. The garment was clearly too large and almost drooped to the floor. He had a strange hairstyle, his bangs covered one of his eyes and a few stitch scars can be seen twisting and turning below the locks.

"Lili-I mean, Reef! You're back!" The boy exclaimed as he hopped out of the room and then down the hall, even shouting into some other rooms. "Hey hey everyone! Miss Reef is back!"

Soon a group of children, all looking only a few years younger than the girl they called "Reef" gathered around. All of them had a strange hairstyle or a bandage over one of their eyes, with similar scars to the first boy. There was a swarm of questions bursting with enthusiasm towards the girl.

"Reef! Is your work done?"

"I heard you saw the humanoid!"

"Ah...there were injured people from that...you sent them here, right?"

"I'm recovering well, do you think I can work for the Scavengers too?"

The girl sighed, her expression was unobservable, but she spoke with a gentle and friendly tone. "I'm here for that, yes, the humanoid incident, it's only a small errand, but it is pretty important." She put her finger up to where her lips are and made a "shhh-" gesture. "The heroes of that incident are here, I'm going to speak with them. It'll be quick, I'll be back with you guys and Talas soon."

A pink-haired girl wearing a long white coat and a pure white mask fashioned in the shape of an animal skull emerged out of a small crowd in the hospital's Civillian Wing that was now quickly speaking within itself excitedly, with no shortage of wondrous "ohh-"s and "ahh-"s left behind. She traveled down the hall and made a turn at a place with a hanging sign: Combatants' Wing. A smaller line of text was written below: Warning - Beware of Stray Weaponry. The sign didn't seem to faze her at all, although the girl's stature is short, she seems quite calm and professional. Her own weapon was fashioned on her waist, a strange polished hatchet made out of some pure white material, it was unusual indeed.

She turned to a door that was already opened, it seemed like there were visitors, or at least enough of the people she needed to meet were present. The assumption of independent Visionaries that her team made initially seems to have been a mistake, as it appears that the combatants on the forefront of the incident were members of a newly formed Special Task Force. The Task Forces usually had their specific missions to do, the pink-haired girl didn't know whether their mission was even related to the humanoid, what Task Force is made to deal with those once-in-multiple-decades threats anyways? It was commendable either way, simply jumping into the fray like that.

After stepping into the room she saw the members of the Task Force that she was thinking about, although she had some very basic information, these types of things were very different in person than on paper. It wasn't unheard of for Special Task Forces to recruit independents, but even by that standard, this seemed like a little much. But her experience from her first mission in the outer bounds served her well as she maintained her composure.

"Greetings." She said calmly with a knock on the door. "My name is Reef, Reef of the Scavengers Division. I was responsible for cleaning up the mess your team left." It was difficult to tell whether this was a simple statement or meant as a condemnation, everything from the girl's voice to her appearance was expressionless and sterile, even more so than the hospital's clean white walls.

But she soon continued and made her intentions clear, although the words she said didn't match her emotionless tone. "I am here to congratulate you, heroes of the hour, for dealing with the greatest crisis Mistol has faced in thirty years. I arranged for all combatants involved to be admitted to this hospital as a token of my respect." After she spoke Reef pulled out a front page of a newspaper from her coat's pouch.

HEROES OF THE
EASTERN DISTRICT

Humanoid Attack Held Back by Rising Star Task Force
After the humanoid muduo breached the Eastern District, many citizens from both the outer bounds and city center all quivered in fear of what devastating consequence this attack would bring, many questioned: will the tragedy from 30 years ago repeat again? How many will we lose this time? But out of nowhere, a group of Visionaries engaged in combat with the humanoid without any chain of command or orders, an act that is equal parts heroic and foolish. This group has been identified as a Special Task Force enlisted with Misthart Tower, however at the time of this report, the specific task force and individual identities of the members were not disclosed by any relevant parties. Currently, casualties are still being tallied. Chief Emmerson Ludon of Misthart Tower has yet to make public statement in regards to this attack.

NEWS - Page 2

THIRTY YEARS IN MUDUO BREACHES

The Evolution of Visionary Talent In Mistol
In the wake of the recent humanoid attack, many eyewitness reports claimed that there were chains of large explosions that greatly weakened the humanoid as reinforcements arrived to a mostly finished battle. Even for Special Task Forces, this impeccable level of teamwork and ability to generate large-scale firepower was virtually unheard of. It appears that the past thirty years of cultivating Visionary talent have not gone to waste in Mistol, as increasingly specialized Special Tasks Force and management of human resources have created a sprawling network of defensive, offensive, and supportive Visionary abilities. However, many residents of the outer bounds have increasingly criticized the assimilation of independent Visionaries into Misthart's system, fearing the loss of their nomadic origins.

OPINION - Page 14

Reef left the newspaper on a small desk in the hospital room, her attitude was as hard to read as ever. She straightened herself up in a rather formal pose. "I have been informed that your Task Force will be compensated as soon as the lingering logistics issues get resolved. " She turned to leave before pausing at the door, tilting her head as if thinking about something, then adding a final statement. "I do not know what purpose your Task Force was formed, but please take a break from your assigned missions if possible. I wish you luck in your future endeavors."

TreasureSniper · Apr 20, 2022

"Well, it was either that or letting scavengers take your stuff. And based on your reaction, I'd like to think I made the right choice." He gave a smile and a thumbs up. Seems like she was a lot friendlier than she lets on, just as he expected. "Yup, that's the name they gave me at the Blue market. I like it, makes me sound all mysterious and enigmatic." He was well aware of his reputation inside the blue market and often enjoys playing up the character to keep up the mystique. But the truth is he was just a simple man. He kills Muduo, and if he is lucky, he'll get paid for it.

"That's good to know..." In truth, he wasn't too familiar with the inner workings of the clans, but all the same, he was thankful someone would think highly of him for just Muduo slaying. "Most of them are just doing some errands, they'll be back soon." Afterall, why should everyone be coup up in a small room together? "Oh its you....erm..lightning guy right?" He never did get his name, but he did make note of his visionary power.

All of this was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of another person. A masked girl with pink hair. Now, Tony's no mind reader, so she was either congratulating them or condescending to them. Maybe a bit of both. The little interaction was, interesting to say the least. But hey at least they were getting paid right? "See you!" He spoke with his usual friendly tone to the girl as she left. "At least I don't have to worry about my bike repairs..." He muttered out loud while sighing. "Seems like we got sometime off now, you got anything planned out?" Seems like he had an activity in mind.

Zombehs · Apr 21, 2022

Before he could properly respond to her question, Remus turned to look at the door as it was knocked on again. He had kept out of her way back at the scene, and he similarly didn't interrupt her as she explained exactly why she was paying them a visit. He was curious as to exactly what the newspaper said, but he still hadn't introduced himself, so picking up the newspaper as a distraction seemed a bit impolite. While it was a bit vexing to not know why he now had a permanent assignment, it was also hardly something he could have expected Reed to know or disclose. As she finally left the three of them in the room, Remus murmured a soft, "Thank you."

With a huff that blew around some of the hairs in front of his forehead, Remus turned to face his two squad mates again. "Agent Remus, or just Remus," he finally answered Rai's question before elaborating a bit further, "I'm part of the newly formed STF, but was out deployed at the time. And yes, I can generate and manipulate electricity." He took a deep breath after that before he stepped forward to offer up the pack of smokes. "It's not much, but it's a start on how much I owe you for the trouble," Remus admitted. "I didn't know launching that shot could have caused such a chain reaction."

BuggaBoo · Apr 21, 2022

'Deva' - Agent Rai'Shauni

TreasureSniper said:
Red Devil:"Well, it was either that or letting scavengers take your stuff. And based on your reaction, I'd like to think I made the right choice." He gave a smile and a thumbs up. Seems like she was a lot friendlier than she lets on, just as he expected. "Yup, that's the name they gave me at the Blue market. I like it, makes me sound all mysterious and enigmatic."

"Yeah... yeah, okay, I see you..." and upon noting that he had seen the change in her gruff demeanour, she ran with it, "and, ey, be sure to remind me to introduce you to Auntie Miri. She all about the mysterious and enigmatic young men...I'm sure that will make an old lady reeeeeeeally happy..."

The big woman snickered, eyes looking away fondly, a smile tracing her lips, comforting thoughts of her family swirling around her head. That and it was nice to know that there was someone else on the squad that felt confident enough to not rely on Luden as a crutch so heavily as others may.

---

And then in strut another. A lap dog of Luden? Or just an over-glorified babysitter? She felt the latter was more appropriate especially with the way she talked down to them. Granted she was a Scavenger and they had their mystique and all that, but come on, that antlered skull? Try hard much? Rai let out a scoffing sigh as the young Scavenger kept spouting away, complimenting them then instantly cutting them down once more.

Cresion Breezes said:
Sweetheart: "My name is Reef, Reef of the Scavengers Division. I was responsible for cleaning up the mess your team left." It was difficult to tell whether this was a simple statement or meant as a condemnation, everything from the girl's voice to her appearance was expressionless and sterile, even more so than the hospital's clean white walls.

"Right... thanks for letting me stay in your glorious hospital," Rai regarded the other young woman like a hawk as she tossed the newspaper down on the table. Blue eyes glinted, smirk lilted up humourlessly, "and don't worry, sweetheart, I'll be sure to take appropriate measures here so that you won't be 'responsible for cleaning up the mess my team left again...'"

A slight upward chin bob she graced the pink-headed girl. She would leave it up to Tony to drop off the pleasantries as Scavenger Reef took her leave. They were getting paid either way.

---

Zombehs said:
The Saboteur!!: "Agent Remus, or just Remus," he finally answered Rai's question before elaborating a bit further, "I'm part of the newly formed STF, but was out deployed at the time. And yes, I can generate and manipulate electricity."

"Agent Rai'Shauni. You might also know me as: 'Deva.'" she looked him up and down with a cool gaze. It looked like he was not an active participant in the major action and most likely missed getting caught in the explosions. Lucky him, "I was former Shadow for STF-FIE016."

Rai was actually in a good mood despite her current situation; thoughts of her aunt and feeling more comfy with Tony put her at ease (not because he pulled her to safety or anything like that, come on, she had it all under control! Honest!) and so she ran with the vibe, "Welcome to STF 'Ammo.' I'm sure Luden loves to have you on as a plaything too, heheheh..."

Zombehs said:
The Saboteur!!: He took a deep breath after that before he stepped forward to offer up the pack of smokes. "It's not much, but it's a start on how much I owe you for the trouble," Remus admitted. "I didn't know launching that shot could have caused such a chain reaction."

A sound not unlike a red-hot piece of metal hitting cold water she let out and the good vibes ended right there, "We were doing fine. Just fine until that shot. You sabotaged us, Agent. You nearly killed me..."

It was going to get messy up in here. Too bad for Scavenger Reef, but Rai was Clan Wicked afterall. And such a mistake could not go unpunished. Rai's chin lowered, gaze darkening as she locked eyes with Agent Remus, the Saboteur. Swiftly she reached up to snug her cap tighter onto her head

And just then her kid sister's smiling face flashed in her mind's eye. A black sheep that Rai was told by Mama to shun for always... but then again.... A hug. A kiss. A whisper.

Rai's eyes widened as the telepathically imprinted words of Kishy ran through her mind yet again. "There will always be time between us. You gotsta be my sister, no matter what. I know who you are. I see you." Then Auntie Pasha's voice in the recesses of her mind, "Life-Altering Trauma..."

TreasureSniper said:
Pizza-Pops: "Seems like we got sometime off now, you got anything planned out?"

The big woman broke gaze from Remus and lowered her eyes, staring at what he held in his hands. She then took a breath and let out a ragged exhale as she turned to face Tony, "I'mma find out why we part of a 000 STF designation. That's a red flag to me. Probably gonna meet with some people and find out what Owenios was up to out there. Visit, our pinky-headed Sweetheart, and find out just what they did with the remains of Basket-case. Humanoid Muduos are rare and we were part of taking it out. We deserve to know the aftermath of the autopsy."

A pause to reflect then her eyes lit up glowing electric blue; the cigarette pack ripped away from Remus' hand, "That and I'mma go back to the warehouse and check up on that ooooooh-soooooo-precious bonsai..." her gaze then shifted over to Remus. Another pause. Another breath. "...if that bloody thing still alive... then we go forward from there, Agent."

And then of course, her former squad leader's face flashing into her mind's eyes, reminding her that if you have the STF designation that you are all on the same side. Girl, make sure you always know who has your back...Measure twice, cut once. Damn you, Laila...

A scoffing sigh she let out as she unwrapped the cigarette pack. How the hell did Saboteur know this was her brand? A smirk could not help but form from the corner of her mouth. Brownie points worked. She tossed the pizza box at Remus, "Pizza's cold but it still good... now. You gots a light for me?"

Zombehs · Apr 22, 2022

They probably had been. Would it been enough to take down the Humanoid before it picked up on their tricks? Who knew. He didn't argue the point, and accepted what she said with a nod. If not for Agent Paleglade and the prompt trip to this hospital, she might have very well died. He acknowledged the truth of it and stared right back into her eyes. Red meeting blue without bowing despite knowing just what she was capable of.

She was right in mentioning that he might have been familiar with her nickname. He knew of almost every major STF in operations around Mistrol; at least the ones that were on the books anyways. There were always plenty of stories and rumors floating about, and he was someone who enjoyed picking them off the grapevine. Given the severity of her injuries, Remus owed Deva at least a few pounds of meat, but he wouldn't let her cripple him either. Couldn't really. The appearance of a Humanoid was foreboding at best, and he could only imagine the busy times ahead.

A soft sigh escaped from Remus when the offering was finally accepted, and he nodded towards Deva once again. "Sure thing." He ran the hand through his hair a few times, catching a few knots with it, before he had to step backwards to catch the tossed pizza box. He shifted it onto just one of his hands as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the lighter he'd bought with the smokes before sending it over with a light underhanded toss.

"Thanks for the 'za. I'll check in with Reef as well, but if we get a debrief it'll probably be as the whole STF." His eyes flicked towards the medical equipment Deva was hooked up to as he took one of the slices and set the box down. Like she had said, it was pretty tasty even if it was a few hours old by now; plus it was free! He finished a few bites before he glanced at the equipment that was hooked up to Deva. He supposed it was better not to push his luck.

"I'll see the two of you around then." He excused himself from the room with that and slipped out quietly. He still needed to check in with his previous squad and see if there was any outstanding business to take care of. Grab some supplies from the armouries... and just generally take care of busywork that came with being outside the city for a few weeks.

BuggaBoo · Apr 22, 2022

'Deva' - Agent Rai'Shauni

The tossed lighter ceased spinning and froze in place mid-air. Suddenly, the shiny thing lowered down to the tip of Rai's cigarette, clinked open, then scratched a flame into life. Rai puffed on the cigarette a couple times until it was nicely lit. Electric blue eyes stopped glowing and she caught it as it freefell into her unbandaged palm. Normally she would hate to use her Visionary ability for such mundane uses but in this particular moment, she did not care; she would have killed for just a single drag from a cigarette as of now. A long inhale and a satisfactory sound of pleasure she let out as she exhaled a giant plume of smoke at the ceiling.

"Goddaaaayaam...!! Soooooo good, man..." a genuine nod of thanks she cast the Saboteur and quickly pointed her smoke in his direction as he looked like he wanted to leave, "and, ey, Agent! You gots a number we can call you at? Like I mean, I don't have one cuz... it's just a preference, let's just say..."

Another drag she took and when she exhaled this time she puffed out a singular large smoke ring and shot several small ones through it in succession. A couple of ragged coughs she barked out; her lungs were still sore from the explosion and ensuing flames.

Zombehs said:
The Saboteur!!: I'll check in with Reef as well, but if we get a debrief it'll probably be as the whole STF." His eyes flicked towards the medical equipment Deva was hooked up to as he took one of the slices and set the box down.

"Right. So I'mma get in touch with.... someone else I know and get her to drag my carcass around once they see me fit enough to leave this glorious un-messed-up-by-our-STF-again hospital bed granted to me by grace of Princess Lil' Pinkie-pie Sweetieheart Squeaki-Reeki herself. ♫♪Oooohhh... lookie-lookie at meeee...! Look who has a coooool mask...?♫♪ Pffft... whatever..." another drag she took then paused momentarily. The big woman lowered her gaze as her damned former squad leader's voice snuck back in and whispered into her head about being a proper member of a STF, measure twice, cut-- "yeah-yeah-yeah, okay, okay...! Right. Then... Maybe...? We could all meet up at the ol' warehouse hideout and compare notes...? Maybe...?"

Rai swallowed roughly and glanced briefly in Tony's direction then looked down once more blue bangs shrouding her bandaged face. She sucked at playing nice guy especially to the one guy that nearly blew her up.

Meh. It's a start...

Rai shrugged and took another drag.

TreasureSniper · Apr 25, 2022

BuggaBoo said:
"Yeah... yeah, okay, I see you..." and upon noting that he had seen the change in her gruff demeanour, she ran with it, "and, ey, be sure to remind me to introduce you to Auntie Miri. She all about the mysterious and enigmatic young men...I'm sure that will make an old lady reeeeeeeally happy..."

"Sure thing! I look forward to it!" Tony chuckled, wondering what an old lady wants from a mysterious and enigmatic young men. But nonetheless, he was willing to entertain the idea. Deva's whole interaction with reef was to be expected, given her rebellious nature and disdain for Luden for no discernable reason that he can think of.

Zombehs said:
"I'll see the two of you around then." He excused himself from the room with that and slipped out quietly. He still needed to check in with his previous squad and see if there was any outstanding business to take care of. Grab some supplies from the armouries... and just generally take care of busywork that came with being outside the city for a few weeks.

"See ya.... I think that went rather well." Considering people almost got each other killed, they seemed to be in relatively good terms with each other.

BuggaBoo said:
"Right. So I'mma get in touch with.... someone else I know and get her to drag my carcass around once they see me fit enough to leave this glorious un-messed-up-by-our-STF-again hospital bed granted to me by grace of Princess Lil' Pinkie-pie Sweetieheart Squeaki-Reeki herself. ♫♪Oooohhh... lookie-lookie at meeee...! Look who has a coooool mask...?♫♪ Pffft... whatever..." another drag she took then paused momentarily. The big woman lowered her gaze as her damned former squad leader's voice snuck back in and whispered into her head about being a proper member of a STF, measure twice, cut-- "yeah-yeah-yeah, okay, okay...! Right. Then... Maybe...? We could all meet up at the ol' warehouse hideout and compare notes...? Maybe...?"

Rai swallowed roughly and glanced briefly in Tony's direction then looked down once more blue bangs shrouding her bandaged face. She sucked at playing nice guy especially to the one guy that nearly blew her up.

Meh. It's a start...

"Ooook......I am gonna go check on the old man to see if he needs any help with shop repairs...feel free to join, if not, I'll see you in the warehouse. I am not much of a report guy, but I guess I could come with some notes.." He honestly wasn't sure Rai was just being sarcastic, but in his experience, its best to take it serious and laugh it off later when its revealed to be a joke. Helping the community may not be the most exciting activity, but it can sometimes lead to more opportunities down the road.

BuggaBoo · Apr 26, 2022

'Deva' - Agent Rai'Shauni

Another drag. Another smoke ring. Another cigarette crushed into the fake soil in the big, bright, fake-flower pot. It fizzled out and she flicked the faces of said fake-flowers before turning to face Tony.

TreasureSniper said:
Pizza-Pops: "Ooook......I am gonna go check on the old man to see if he needs any help with shop repairs...feel free to join, if not, I'll see you in the warehouse. I am not much of a report guy, but I guess I could come with some notes.."

"Right. I'll leave that 'good samaritan' crap for you then," Rai said gruffly and with a bit of a scoff, but her eyes betrayed such demeanour; she actually was concerned for Ol' 'Uncle' Yorrick out there. He was a staple figure out in the Eastern Com District, "Meh. I'mma be here for a bit but thinkin' that... I mean... that is, if you guys want... maybe it's best if all of us go together to check up on Owenios himself. Blondie seemed to be warning us against going up against the Humanoid. Thinkin' he knows something a weeeee bit more than we do."

The big woman nodded and leaned back in the bed. She was going to talk a bit more regarding Reef and the group's payment but her head hit the pillow. And she made the mistake of closing her eyes but for a moment--

Meh. Maybe Mama was right...

--and fell fast asleep.

Not long after they had their initial gathering post-Humanoid attack, Rai was released from St. Nautilus and found herself at odds as to where she should go next. Her head tilted to the right and stared off towards the Blue Markets; in the direction of home. Mama, her aunties, cousins and of course big sis Poli. They had been waiting for her to return to home territory for a while now. Blue eyes lowered and regarded the fancy new clothes and shoes that had been gifted to her, complete with red and black signature lotus bouquet. The Clan Wicked daughter sighed, it would be a lie to say that she did not dearly miss them. Maybe it was time to pay a visit back home...

Slowly blue eyes slid towards the direction of post-battle wreckage in the east, hidden behind building after building. Another sigh. Then Rai lit up a cigarette and stared at the lighter Agent Remus had tossed her. Hues of blue reflected back at her from its shiny metallic surface. The eyes... don't you know...? With the cigarette hanging out the corner of her mouth, she reached up for her charred black cap and took it off. Inside the band, she pulled out something just as charred and stared at it too. A scoffing laugh, a shrug and another drag. The snippet of bonsai still sprouted some green. Or maybe...

The whine of a vehicle's old brakes. The rasp of a window being unrolled. The over-exagerrated clearing of a throat.

"I didn't actually think you'd come to see me," her voice was more smokey sounding than usual. A pause. Rai took a final drag from her cigarette before flicking the butt away. Not once did trembling eyes look up at the driver.

"I'm not here to see you," said the driver in a tight voice. A pause. The sound of a door opening, "I'm here to pick you up. Now get in..."

An awkward moment of silence. An uncomfortable shift in the driver's seat. A forced stretch of a bandaged neck.

"I said get in... you dumbass monster..."

The big woman lowered her gaze then side-eyed over to make eye contact with the driver. As she turned her cheek she saw beyond the ice-hardened look of the girl in the driver's seat; she could see her baby sister. The eyes are the gateway to the soul.

Rai nodded and got in.

An awkward moment of silence. A clearing of a throat seemingly asking for grattitude. A sigh.

"Whatever. Get your brakes checked... you dumbass little shit..." said Rainy as she slammed the door shut.

Only a soft smile was Kishy's response as she drove onward.

---

Rai's Baby sis, Ki

Auntie Pasha said saying 'sorry' was like admitting you were wrong; just admit it then. Mama said saying 'sorry' was for the weak and pitiful; just move on. Laila, the FiendBreaker's former squad leader said saying 'sorry' was unprofessional; just say 'Apologies if you feel that way...'

But she really did feel bad for shunning her little sister for all those years. Growing up, they had been really good together. In fact, all her siblings really got on together especially by being kept in line by biggest sis Poli. And they had all gotten used to never saying 'sorry' let alone apologizing. But Ki'Asia was different. This foolish girl was too empathic for her own good; no wonder her Visionary ability was called Emotive Imprint. And she had imprinted upon all her siblings save for Rai and Poli. The pair's abilities were 'psychic' in nature and so for whatever reason, they repelled Ki's powers.

There was no way for their baby sister to feel that her older sisters felt badly or even felt the need to make it up to her. And that's probably why Kii'Asia accepted being basically disowned by Clan Wicked; Kishy felt nothing when Rainy and Pows literally turned their backs on her.

But after a month together and of Rai and Ki finally opening up communication with one another...

---

The sound of hammering echoed throughout the warehouse. It paused momentarily, leaving only dead air. The banging began anew, the effect akin to a balloon violently popping. The scent of cigarette smoke wafted throughout the emptiness flavouring the air with Rai's favourite brand. The last time she had last breathed this air here was but nearly a month ago.

A smouldering cigarette hung from the corner of her mouth as she hammered the last board into the wall. Generous amounts of brown skin and white bra were on display behind her denim overalls but the young woman would not feel embarrassed should another walk in. Far from it. In fact, Rai was low key showing off the new scars on her big bod; not to mention the new and improved bulges of musculature she had been proudly working on while recouping.

A relaxed, almost serene expression she held upon her face; that familiar knitted scowl of blue brows and intense glare from blue eyes seemingly forgotten. Jutting out the other corner of her mouth were several nails, reflecting the glow from her electric blue eyes. She pulled two out and began to hammer them into the final board. Should there be any viewer here, they would see the genuine calming effect such an action gave the big woman. When the last nail was finally hammered home, Rai floated backwards, away from the boarded up window on the second floor and admired her handiwork. She had made sure each board fit to perfection.

"Measure twice... cut once..." she murmurred through a smile.

Her Wicked Hold ability carried her down to the table below and away from the window she had blown through nearly a month ago.

She had repaired that which she had broken.

---

So many prominent women leaders in her life told her that saying 'sorry' was just not the best thing to do. But in this moment she thought of the words of her former squadmate and friend, GunMother. Not how to do it best, but how to do it right.

"It's not about saying 'sorry,' Deevs... it's about making it up to someone. Give them something. Something of yours. And not just anything. Girl, it has gots to have meaning behind it. And not just for you. But something that has meaning for them. It is about admitting whacha' done. It is about moving on. And yes, it is about 'feeling that way' too. Soooo... girl what is good? Whacha gotsta give...?"

Well, for her baby sis it was that snipped piece of bonsai. It was charred and mangled but it still sprouted green. And yes, it took to the new soil and container and began to flourish. Kishy loved gifts that were handmade and so Rainy had handmade the container for the sproutling thing. Yes, handmade. The former Shadow Agent pieced together nearly 1001 shards of Luden's fancy pot she had shattered and turned it into a work of art! ...at least Rai thought so. And Kishy loved it so that was good enough for Rainy.

And as for the remaining STF 'Ammo' members? Well, it wasn't so much about 'sorry' as it was... 'we good.' If Luden could do it his way, then Rai'Shauni would do it her way too.

The gimped bonsai was living in a new pot. Well, not so much new since it was the one she had beside her hospital bed in St. Nautilus. The one and same garish and gaudy flower pot she had been crushing her cigarette butts into. It was complete with the fake flowers and fake soil since she had decided that the bonsai needed company too. This was all symbolic afterall; the 'borrowed' items from the hospital were an acknowlegement, a reminder and a nod of thanks to Tony for pulling her ass out of the fire. Literally.

Speaking of fire, the lighter she received from Remus, she had engraved into it a lightning bolt with an explosion behind it. A reminder of how she got it and who gave it to her. That and it was an acknowledgement of what she said to him in regards to moving forward from the explosion. It was behind them now. Smoke and ashes of the past. Apology accepted.

---

With the relaxed, almost serene expression still draped across her brown visage, she leafed through the notes she left on the table regarding all the research she had done whilst being chauffered around by her little sister. GunMother was right about giving something of hers, admitting what she'd done, moving on and 'feeling that way.' In that month she spent with her sister, she had given something and earned something that was lost between them for years.

After all this time, Rai was still immune to Ki's abilities. But there was a work around. Ki was able to 'stitch' empathic thoughts into a 'tapestry' for Rai to view. That was what was imprinted in her old charred black boxed cap and made it her favouritea one; it was the one where Ki had stored memories of them together as kids before leaving Clan Wicked.

Rai took one final drag from her cigarette and crushed it into the fake soil right beside the bonsai. From the table she pulled her fancy new leather jacket with the Clan Wicked emblem displayed proudly across its back. The muscular woman slid into said leather jacket then slung her toolbag over her shoulder. Brown fingers traced the etchings she had made of the tallied numbers of destroyed Muduo and lost Ammo members fondly. The faces of the fake flowers she flicked then big black, shined up boots strut away from the bonsai housed in its garish and gaudy pot. Up the stairs she marched and a smile could not help but breach her pursed lips.

In such a short time, she had given her trust to her baby sister and in return, she had earned her baby sister's trust. In such a short time, she now had the ripples of possiblities stirring in her mind. There was faith in her now. Minute yes, but still faith in that as much as she trusted her former squadmates in the Fiendbreakers-- Rai could not help but stare back down at that oh-so-precious little bonsai --she just might be able to start trusting her squadmates in Ammo. For now...

Her attention then swiftly turned to her watch; a small clicking sound she let out as she checked the time. Ki'Asia was probably already waiting out front to pick her up. She had paid a pretty penny to meet with someone who had dossiers on the current and soon-to-be members of STF AHM000. Yeah, a pretty penny but worth it to sneak a peek at what were the new, shiny Luden 'playthings' that he had dropped their way.

At the top of the stairs she paused.

The lightness of being gave way to the familiar tightly knit scowl and darkened intense glare as she stared out the window. The Misthart tower captured the entiretly of her piercing stare. Its shadow loomed large and stretched out far to reach and affect many.

"Yeah. Affect this."

Rai tossed up a full on double middle finger salute towards the tower.

The muscular Visionary then snugged her crisp and new favourite black boxed cap tighter upon her blue-haired head and marched on out the main doors. And just like when they were kids, Kishy was right there, outside eagerly waiting for her big sis Rainy.

Cresion Breezes · May 6, 2022

A girl looked out from the window of her hospital room while sitting up on her bed. The soft morning light shone on her face she had a strange complexion, as she had a combination of both tanned and pale skin. It was strange outside. A pale blue dotted the sky while the usual musky pink hue swirled below. That was supposed to be the norm, the sky being pink, that’s what everyone says, the sky is always pink. But somehow she felt different, somewhere deep in her mind she felt that the blue colour was the ‘right’ colour, how everything is supposed to be.

She fumbled with an object in her hand a bit as she turned her head away from the window, it was a book that looked somewhat loosely stapled together, more like a bunch of leaflets gathered into a deck rather than a proper book. The pages were yellowed on the edges. Tilting her head at it like she was trying to read it, the girl eventually gave up as she tossed it onto her bedside table.

“You should be more gentle with that, it's an important thing to someone.” A placid male’s voice came from the doorway of the quite spacy hospital room. It was a man in a white coat, with curled hair the shade of the pale blue sky outside.

“Good morning East, how are you feeling today?” The man walked near the girl named East’s hospital bed and smiled at her softly.

“Talas!” She seemed a bit startled but smiled as she saw the man, clearly familiar with him. “...I tried to…sleeeep yesterday. But I couldn’t.” East replied while tilting her head to the other side, looking out the window again. “It really does still hurt, and it's confusing.” She added.

The man sighed and reached out, putting his hand over the confused-looking East. “That is fine, it will be like that for a while.”

“Mhmmm. What happens after ‘a while’ then? Does it stop hurting after the while?” East looked down at her hand that was being held, asking the question like she didn’t exactly understand the man’s statement.

For a moment the man’s smile froze up a bit, like he was suddenly reminded of some harsh reality. He stuttered over his words as he tried to think of a response, averting the girl’s gaze as he looked down at his own hand. “...After that…I think…you just get used to it.” He responded with a somber look in his bright blue eyes.

["Bzzt- Bzzt- M-mm-morning radio broadcast from Station Soulbound Fog here. The weather today is clear skies beyond upper mist levels, but it seems like a lot of residents would be able to see it for themselves today!"]

[“The rebuilding of the outbound area that has been attacked is still underway, please make way for any logistics personnel if residents happen to observe them while on duty!”]

[“This is today’s ‘Lost and Found Requests’ section. Western commercial district, one lost bicycle, red-painted frame, two bells, potentially stolen…

…One camera film reel, with a sticker that says ‘Caiver’ on its side, please return to ‘The Painted Town’ headquarters for a reward…

…One calico cat, eight years old, missing since a month ago…]

Another day the sun’s light slowly basked the city of Mistol. The mist was slightly thinner today and the pale blue sky faded in and out of the view of people on the outskirts of the city, including the area where the base of AHM000 is. The radio from nearby residences blurted out the mundane yet peaceful news and going ons in the city, it was a quiet day. In fact, the past month was a quiet month. Since the humanoid breach happened, the city has been relatively safe, with few other attacks happening outside of the most thinly veiled areas of the outskirts. The Blue Market’s people took care of that like they usually do, even for them, the days have been mildly drifting by.

The sound of construction came from the general area where the attack took place, some workers said it took them a week to just scrub the soot off of the ground, but most sung praises of what happened in that place despite the cinder based disaster it left behind. Newspaper clippings and entire issues piled up on the warehouse’s doorstep, all were about the attack and how it was eventually stopped. The newly formed Special Task Force got its first acknowledgments by the public, this was rare for Tasks Forces in general, nevertheless one that was just created.

It was another day, another meeting of the members of AHM000, including the ones that have missed the big commotion from a month ago. However, their mission was still present, impossible as it may be: finding a way to eliminate all muduo. It seemed like a tall task for any breathing soul that walked upon this world, and many members of AHM000 didn’t seem to take it too seriously either…or perhaps they just didn’t know where to start. Yet they would meet back in this warehouse surrounded by mist anyways, day after day until the wheels of fate begins to turn once more.

BuggaBoo · May 14, 2022

'Deva' - Agent Rai'Shauni

The seating area was somewhat cramped but still quaint with both the checkerboard clothed tables and red-seated chairs having fancy black curly-q's for feet. The wooden surface of the floors and that of the bar had seen better days, yes, but the displays of vintage soda pops and alcohol bottles had their own charm more than making up for any such short-comings as they sat just below the chalk board. Rai was not a drinker and so she had reserved a table right beside the large opened bay windows directly overlooking the sidewalk, allowing the breeze and pink glow of the skies to drop in.

Bulging shoulders gave a bit of a shrug, clenched jaw gave a little bit of a nod.

The familiar clink, scrape, whoosh and crackling sounds of the big Agent lighting up a cigarette. Another shrug. She decided to get a bit more comfortable.

Rai grunted and stood. Off slid her fancy leather jacket with the Clan Wicked emblem emblazoned across the back. She carefully hung it on the hook beside her table before promptly stretching out her arms and back a bit. With cig sticking out at the corner of her mouth, she expertly closed a single eye and took another drag. Scarred brown hands untangled one of her new fancy lavender gem'd earrings then reached up to pull tight her ponytail through the shiny pink hair tie at the top of her head. Biceps flexed, perhaps accidentally on purpose, as she reached back and flipped up said pony tail. A wave of blue hair launched before landing softly on the back of her white tanktop. A sigh. A pause. The cigarette she pulled from her lips and tapped its tip several times into the ashtray, each tap a consideration to stay or go.

A casual glance she gave the street; yet Agent trained eyes could not help but scan the area for possible threats, advantages and escape routes. Another sigh. The big Agent conceded a firm nod before she finally sat back down onto the red leather bench seat. Black boots lifted up and landed on the seat across from her and she leaned back. Another drag. Blue eyes narrowed as they followed the plume of smoke up to the ceiling. Still staring skyward, Rai reached over and finally rested the cigarette into the ashtray. Both hands shoved into pockets of her dark combat fatigue pants. And yet another sigh. Blue eyes snapped shut. What in the hell am I doing here...?

"Ey! This ain't no spa for no pedicure! Either buy something or get the hell out!!" said a gruff voice from behind her. Then a giggle, "Read the sign: NO dumbass monsters allowed inside."

She could not be bothered to look at the giggler. Rai's smokey sounding voice gruffed up a bit but a smile could not help but breach her tough demeanour. "You dumbass little shit... what the hell you doing here...?"

"Welllllll, you did mention you'd be here and I was just getting offa work soooooo... here I am!"

Boots slid off the bench across from her and she turned to finally face her sister. Slowly she stood, eyebrows up, smile now bemused, "Daaaaayaaammm... Kishy...! Wow! You look great! That a new dress?"

"And new shoes too. You like?" Ki pulled at the hem of her yellow sundress to display fully the floral print and kicked up a leg to show off her shiny black, heeled open-toes.

Rai reached up and swatted the face of the flower behind Ki's ear, "Yeah. Yeah, and this is a nice touch too."

Ki primped up her hair and fluttered her eyelashes.

"Wow... sparkles in your lashes too? That's fancy-- wait. You said 'you just getting offa work...?' Dressed like that... Kisheeeeee...?" A lone blue eyebrow rose suspiciously. Then both brows popped up as Ki looked away, red faced and turned towards the door.

"Okay... soooo.. I just... I just thought it'd be nice to visit you and... and... and..."

"Relax... just curious okay? You look good..." Rai snorted out a small laugh as she reached for her cigarette, "but next time you need to work on that smelly stank ass..."

"Yeah right! This coming from Chimney Charlie here! Cough-cough! What's that Rai? Can't hear you through your ashtray mouth--"

Rai leaned over and blew a plume of smoke into Ki's face making the teen cough for real. The taller sister then tossed an arm around the shorter one and half-guided, half-shoved her down into a seat. "Shut up and order yourself something to drink then."

"Ey! Not so rough, people be staring. They recognize. You a celebrity, Rainy. What they gonna think about you trying to snap a poor citizen in half? Huh? AGENT RAI'SHAUNI!!"

Heads turned. Necks craned up. Murmurs and rumblings.

"Kish! Girl! Stop!"

"Yeah. That's right... sitting right here herself... MS. DEVASTATION!!!"

Smiles and knowing looks. Several hands waving. Even more cheers and claps.

"Gawwww! I'mma kill you..." Rai facepalmed.

A few heartbeats later two drinks slid onto their table. The server straightened out his bow tie and nodded graciously as he backed away. A cold, frothy beer. And a cola with fresh cherries in it, half a scoop of ice cream, whipped cream and a strawberry on top. Someone knew it was Rai'Shauni's favourite.

"Guess I don't have to order something to drink after all..." Ki giggled as she popped up and held up her beer, "d'aaaawwww c'mon sis, you owe it too them. Someone in this joint bought us drinks... AND! They knew whacha looooooves...!"

"Fine. Juuuuuust fine. Now keep it down." Rai stood slowly and then raised her drink. A nod of thanks she tossed the onlookers, blue eyes not making any eye contact and cheeks heated and pink. The big woman cleared her throat then clinked her drink off of her sister's drink.

"To Mistol..."

"TO MISTOL!!"

Every person who joined in the toast took a swill from their held drinks. The pizza parlour suddenly erupted into cheers and applause echoing out into the sidewalk.

Kishy whooped loudly then laughed heartily as she reached around her sister's waist and squeezed tight. Rainy pressed her temple warmly against her sister's indigo hair.

"Not bad," Rai sighed, "not bad at all."

---

"Soooooo... what are the new guys like? How you getting on with them? They realized you a dumbass yet?"

"No, you the dumbass, dumbass. But actually new guy and girl. Agent Cloud and Operator Vyson."

"You never worked with this Agent before? Wait. Ooohhh... shit. I think I heard of a Vyson before... Rai! The guy was a Mud-Meat trader--"

"Shhhh. Not here. But yeah, that's what I got on her too. She's a good bean though. Like reaaaaally curious and research heavy but our STF can use someone like that. Reminds me of Auntie Mercy: loves the details, figures things out quick and suuuuuper insightful. She a Viz too; super complex brain function right there. Strategems, gambits, alternatives. Works well for me in the field."

"So whacha sayin is that there is someone on Ammo that does realize you a dumbass then-- Kidding! Kidding! Rainy, girl relaaaaaax...! Hahahahah. And what does this other Agent do as a Viz then?"

"He's not, Kish. He blunted. He a slate--"

"Slate...?! On a Triple-Oh designa--"

"Shhhh. Ki'Asia, please. Not. Here." Ki's sullen look and small smile was apology enough, "but he gots skills. Blades, bombs and balistics. The guy is a paid vet 'point and shoot.' But problematic. He don't like to socialize or contribute. He likes things done his way. He gots snark and a bag full of sarcastic remarks. He likes to do things on his own--"

"'Problematic.' Yeah, guess who all that sounds like too hahahah--"

"Regardless of that. Kishy. If you let me finish, you dumbass little shit... He is like Vyson. They got their own way, but we all on the same team. We good."

"'Got their own way...' So does this blue-headed, brainless bitch I know-- Kidding! 'Kay and what about Red Tony and... the other one?"

"You mean Red Devil. And Remus? Don't know what they think of the others, but I'm sure they'd be good with the new Ammo members as well. Haven't gotten any message from 'that bastard' yet so thinkin' it was best we do a bit of a get together first, right?"

"Wait. Wuuuut?! Who the hell are you? The Rai'Shauni I know don't do that! Ey, my sis? Hosting a party? A pizza party no less? Is she... oh no! The 'S' word!! 'SOCIALIZING!!'"

"Shut up...! Just... Y'know what? So what. It's just something I thought of last second. I was near here. I was hungry..."

"Rai. I never known you to eat pizza. You always told us it makes you fat--"

"Yeah? Welllll... well, I do now! Call it a cheat day, sis! Ey, you want pizza, kid, then you best watch your mouth and manners!"

"Soooooo... I can stay...?"

"Um. Yeah...? I mean... like... they got the calls late sooooo... what difference does it make... they gunna end up ghosting me anyways... I mean... Ey! It's all good. I'm just gunna head over to the Warehouse then and--"

Ki reached out, grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her back down gently. Rai slowly sat back down, blue eyes looking away.

"It's okay. Girl, I'm here. I'll chill with you. It's not just the squad right? We good too. Okay? I'm here for you. We good, Rainy," Ki held up her beer to Rai and with her other hand she squeezed her sister's hand. Blue eyes made contact with blue-grey ones.

"We good, Kishy..." Rai clinked her cherry-cola against Ki's beer and squeezed her sister's hand right back, "We always good..."

TreasureSniper · May 15, 2022

Reading the newspaper report as well as listening to radio talk about their most recent escapade was nice. It's not often that his work gets talked about in a positive manner given how....destructive his methods were. Despite being an official team, they weren't called in for anything too serious during the next few weeks. While he was looking forward to facing a few more humanoids, perhaps it's for the best they don't face more threats of level anytime soon.

A lot has happened since the day of the attack. Despite him being apprehensive at first, Tony had taken a liking to Clan wicked, though that doesn't mean he'll take any job they give him. Rai's aunt was a particularly interesting character, to say the least, but it doesn't seem she's that bad of a person, given the clan's infamous reputation. And for his efforts, he has rewarded a reasonable sum of money, as well as some other tools of the trade.

Tony did all sorts of things in his free time. If it wasn't fooling around with his new teammates, he was busy servicing and tinkering with his weapons and bike, but today, he was a bit more...adventurous. He decided to go to a bar, he heard that people it was common for people to make bets against each other in the game of darts, but more importantly, it was a good place to find some leads. The games started out small, with Tony holding back with him on a 10-match losing streak. "Last one, quadruple or nothing!" he announced prompting the laughter of a large crowd. However, much to the crowd's surprise, it was a one-sided match. "Lucky me." He spoke with a cheeky grin. While many members of the crowd seemed upset, none were as furious as the one who bet a large sum of money against Tony. "Hey don't be a sore loser!" He said while with an awkward smile before turning to the bartender. "One round of drinks for these fine gentlemen! On me!" The bartender nodded in recognition as he poured the drinks. Though the biggest loser didn't seem satisfied with a drink and immediately tried to sucker punch him, armed with the brass knuckle.

The cracking of bones could be heard, as well as a scream...but not from Tony. "YOU FREAK!" He screamed while clutching onto his broken hand and weapon. "uhh... Hey bartender, get him some ice for that..." The others laughed upon seeing this, despite Tony being 100% serious about it. However, the laughter soon died down as the man pulled out a revolver with his remaining good hand, pointing it straight at Tony's face. His friend tried their best to deescalate the situation, but it seemed like a futile attempt. "Go ahead, get it out of your system." He gave him his usual playful wink prompting him to immediately get blasted point-blank. Much to the bewilderment of everyone around, Tony shrugged it off like nothing a simply spit out the bullet. "Tada!" and before the drunk one could continue with another shot, the funny man quickly snatch the pistol out of his hand and into his coat while simultaneously pushing across the room and towards the bouncer, knocking him out in the process. "Tell your friend, he can have his gun back after his hangover." He quipped, handing the revolver back to his friend who nodded with gratitude for not using lethal force, despite the situation. "And here, that should cover his hospital bills." He threw him a pouch of coins which should be more than sufficient.

Ordering a strawberry sundae, he decided to sit in a much more secluded area of the bar. "Well well well....I didn't take you for the drinking type, Rai." Tony said upon spotting a familiar-looking blue-headed female. Apart from Rai, he also could see a less familiar-looking female next to her, though he could have sworn he had seen her before in a meeting or two with the other clan wicked members. "A family member of yours I presume? Mind if I tag along?" He gave the two an earnest goofy smile.

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