[Text RPG] An Adventure You'd KILL For...

[castlemanic]

(wait, i thought you removed all my powers, thats why i had to get telekinesis from Brian Davis again)
(i can probably make some explanation as to how Brian Davis restored his powers if you want to make a story shift)

[Killervirus]

(Gah! Fast thread is fast!)

[Varthonai]

(wait, i thought you removed all my powers, thats why i had to get telekinesis from Brian Davis again)

(I did, but that was AFTER Sylar had gained cryokinesis. And you said you've "never" had that ability before.)

(Should we just assume Sylar was lying? Because that would still be in-character.)

[castlemanic]

(ah yes, true, lets assume hes lying then)

[Silverpaperplate]

Hector returned from talking with Nny upstairs to relay new information to Shriek.

"Of the three of us, you can travel the fastest unaided," said Hector. "I need you at the rendez-vous point to meet with the Joker's emissary and pick up our Hypnocil. Questions?"

Shriek didn't exactly enjoy this whole after-mission-return-to-base run she found herself in. Not that it was tiring, but she did feel like she was taking orders way too easily. Maybe the Ravencolt institution won after all. -- Or could this really be a test? Either way she found herself in need to play along to somehow survive.
She was gathering the puzzle parts together with her questions and assumptions about Jason's relation to the cooperation when he returned and asked her to meet up with the Joker's messenger.
"Needing some sleep, huh? Is the location on my map?"
She gave him a short glance. "That would be all."

[Varthonai]

Stop.

The Corinthian hesitated. What trickery was this?

If you persist, you will FREE me, rumbled the Wallbeast. I will ravage this prison, then the rest of the world, and I will consume you last.

The Corinthian bared the teeth his mouth in a snarl, and all of his eye-teeth did the same.

Back. Off.

***

"You know quite a bit about this 'virus' plague, don't you?" said Saruman. "I'd wager this isn't the first time it has been inside your body. You've gained some measure of immunity to it, like the second-born brother of a plague-ridden babe."

Sylar touched the floor and watched in fascination as frost crackled into existence on the surface of the metal.

"But your power is manifesting in an unusual way," continued Saruman, "due to the effects of this plague coursing through your blood. It is still damaging your ability, though it cannot suppress it completely. It may fluctuate and come and go; it is difficult to tell. You say you've never been able to freeze anything before? Never in your life?"

Sylar shook his head.

"Interesting. I wonder where that ability came from, then."

***

The cannons went off and the Fear was propelled across the gap, watching the metal walkways and the bottomless abyss whiz by in a blur below. He landed in the second ship with a dull thud, and two of the Joker's men landed behind him, still bearing their masks. There was a loud crack as one of them snapped his arm.

"GAH!" the man shouted, gripping the break and holding it. His partner walked over and handed him a weapon for his healthy arm. They both stood up.

Enemy guards began pouring into the deck from various doors. "FREEZE!" one of them shouted.

The Fear grinned, pulled out his crossbow and vanished from sight. His two allies pulled their weapons and prepared to give covering fire.

***

"Yes, and yes," answered Hector. "Let's hurry. I have a feeling that it won't be long before the CEO makes his next move."

[castlemanic]

"maybe my immunity has been able to change my genetics, and this ability manifested from it." Sylar suggested, knowing all to well that if he was caught out, they would surely attack him. Sylar touched the floor again, more ice formed. He would have grinned if the others werent staring at him.
"Its safe to say that i will be able to protect you all again." Sylar confirmed. now all he had to do was regain his other powers as well, while fighting off the virus.

[Varthonai]

I finally understand what it is that I don't trust about Sylar.

He's nice.

None of us are nice, and I mean none of us. Even the barber's got a stick up his ass about something... not that I have any idea what it is. Sylar's the only one who acts friendly and sweet. It's sick.

I half-listen to his conversation while I clean out my guns. Found the little .22 too, it was in a darker corner of the same drawer as my Colts. I feel sort of complete again... though I do miss Shelley. And Gail, much as I hate to admit it.

I'm going to make it out of here. Whether it's a dream or not. I'm going to get back to the raging sh*tstain of my unliving life if it's the last thing I do, and there's nothing this 'Corporation' can do, even with Manute on their side. Heh, he's sort of a corpse too, now, isn't he? Like me.

Can't kill a man who's already dead.

[Wadling]

The Fear dived to the floor and bullets whistled overhead between the Jokers men and the Corporation personnel. He rolled on impact and slashed with his knife at the first groups legs, blood spurted from the wounds and they fell to the floor, howling with pain. He cut their throats, moving as quickly as possible.

The jokers men saw the opening and took cover where the enemies had fallen, Fear kept low and he saw several enemies dropping as bullets tore them to pieces. He had to admit, Joker had trained them well. By the time he reached the other end of the room, there were only two men left, crouching behind some wreckage from the hull breach.

"Move when they move" He heard a woman whispering

"We should make a run for it" Came a mans voice "We'll make it to the door in time, we can bring reinforcements, and take these clowns out.

As the Fear contemplated what to do, he realized that the Jokers men were already on the move, making no sound at all. He stared in disbelief as they launched themselves silently over the cover, turned in mid air and fired a volley of bullets, leaving the soldiers heads nothing but bloody mess.

The Fear reappeared and the men looked at him. He couldn't tell what expression they had on behind those masks... Glee? Melancholy? Terror? Or were they expressionless, a shell of their former selves?

"Where are we going now?" Asked the Fear "I want to take care of this as quickly as possible."

[Varthonai]

One of the Joker's masked men held a hand to his ear, listening to a comlink. "Vents," he said. "We get to the vents. This way."

Then he and his partner headed down one of the dark hallways. A muffled noise that sounded vaguely like chuckling leaked through their masks.

[Wadling]

(Damn it, am I being lead to the slaughter again? Ah well)

The fear hastily followed the two men. He had always honored a debt, unless the deed to repay it was unquestionable. but none the less, when it diverted him from the task at hand, it did get tedious.

I suppose it's either here or back there waiting though thought the fear, he sighed and waited for the men to reach the vents.

[castlemanic]

Sylar looked around at the people in the same area with him. everyone seemed to look tired, Belkar seemed to be asleep. it was only McCarthy that was up, staring Sylar down. does he know? Sylar thought. looking away again, he could feel McCarthy continuously stare at him. Sylar concentrated on the block of ice on the table. concentrating again, he focus his powers on it. after waiting a while, nothing happened, but Sylar hadn't put as much effort in as before. i guess its going to have to wait till tomorrow. Sylar then laid his head back, closing his eyes.

[kalil969]

Todd was watching in silent fascination as the Radagast somehow managed to get Sylar to freeze the floor. It seems that this place makes the impossible happen. I'll have to be much more cautious with these people than usual. He thought, leaning back so he was facing the others. He knew he probably wouldn't sleep much, he never did. But it never hurt to have a bit of assurance, especially with this group.

[Varthonai]

(Ok... I think everybody in the Arena's either asleep or an insomniac. So, wake-up call! New day in the Arena, except not really since the sun is fake.)

Saruman heard a noise and woke up with a start. Dwight was standing in front of him with a bit of a smirk.

"Finished your nap, Grandpa?"

"I'm up, I'm up," said Saruman fussily.

"Good. Then let's get ourselves some breakfast. You know this place better than we do, so... what should we hunt?"

"I'm not entirely certain," answered Saruman. "There is wild game in the forest, but going in there would be... unwise. If this illusion has much in common with the true Isengard, then the forest will be infested with Huorns. And without my staff, I am in no shape to confront a foe that powerful."

"Ok. So what are our alternatives?"

"..."

"I'm glad you can see things my way," said Dwight. "Help me wake the others. We're going hunting."

***

"Vents are here," said one of the two masked men. "Get the fog machine."

His partner took out a small black metal box and handed it to the Fear.

"It'll be too narrow for us at the end. There should be a fan about 50 feet in," said the first man. "You'll need to take a few turns to get to it but there are no intersections. Just keep going 'til you hit a dead end. Then press the red button on the box."

"You'll want this," said the second man, handing the Fear a gas mask. "Good luck."

[castlemanic]

Sylar felt someone pushing him. Opening his eyes, Sylar found the robed man pushing him weakly. "Is it morning?" Sylar asked.
"Yes it is, were going to get some food now."
"Its about time." Sylar said, getting up slowly. He felt like he hadn't rested in weeks, slowly yawning and stretching.

[Wadling]

"Vents are here," said one of the two masked men. "Get the fog machine."

His partner took out a small black metal box and handed it to the Fear.

"It'll be too narrow for us at the end. There should be a fan about 50 feet in," said the first man. "You'll need to take a few turns to get to it but there are no intersections. Just keep going 'til you hit a dead end. Then press the red button on the box."

"You'll want this," said the second man, handing the Fear a gas mask. "Good luck."

The Fear took the box and the gas mask, he looked at the two masked men, he opened his mouth to talk, but they had turned to each other and were now whispering delightedly. He sighed and squeezed himself into the vent, just as he had done before back on level 5. He inched himself, little by little around several corners before the space narrowed significantly. Fear clicked a few extra joints to make sure he had room, before pulling his gas mask on with significant difficulty.

He crawled further until he reached the fan, he took out the box and made sure his mask was secure before pressing the button...

[sgt_Angua]

Bellatrix had always been a light sleeper, and fourteen years in prison had not done anything to change that. This place was slightly better then Azkaban; at least here you could wake up from the nightmares.

It was the voices of the muggles that woke her… mostly muggles… But if the man that Radagast was talking to wasn’t a muggle, maybe their clothes aren’t such good indicators, Bellatrix thought as she stood up. Whoever or whatever they are, I hope one of them knows how to get breakfast.

[Varthonai]

I see movement out of the corner of my eye and I turn without thinking. Instinct kicking in.

Ah, I realize. Psycho-girl's up. Lovely.

"'Morning," I call. I turn back to face Sylar and Radagast almost before I've finished the second syllable, focusing on the task at hand.

"So tell me," I say to the old man, "what's a Huorn, then?"

"No one's certain. They're normally believed to be a wilder breed of Ent, but--"

"Slow down, man. Try to answer me without talking about magic or monsters."

Radagast draws in a breath. "They're trees. Moving trees, trees that can shroud themselves in darkness and crush most living things with ease."

Sylar looked intrigued by this. "How exactly does that... work?"

"Our friend here has already asked me not to mention magic, Sylar, and so I'm afraid I'll have to tell you later."

***

As soon as the Fear pressed the button, the box began to emit a fine mist. The gas drifted freely for a few meters before it touched the current of the fan blades and was sucked in like a fleet of ships into a whirlpool. Satisfied, the Fear turned around and began to crawl back out.

"I did it," the Fear said, lifting his mask just enough to speak. "I activated the--"

A bloody corpse slid down over the entrance of the vent, a corpse with a horrified expression plastered on its pale face. One of the Joker's clown masks hung askew, covering just a tiny portion of the dead man's face--it was one of the Fear's two teammates.

Leaping out of the vent, the Fear saw a lone black-haired man in a long black trench coat standing on the far side of the room with his face to the wall. His right hand was outstretched and holding a struggling victim by the neck--it was the Fear's other teammate, this one with his mask still in place. The man twisted his hand just slightly to the side, and the tendons in the neck of the Joker's minion began to pop and snap like so many little toothpicks.

"Don't bother cloaking yourself. I already heard you come in," said the strange man, without turning around. His voice was a light but menacing tenor, the sort of voice you'd expect to hear from the devil. "That was a good idea of the Joker's, to fill the ship with nerve gas. Quite an effective one, too, since this is the only room without a constant venting protocol. That's why I came here before you set off the device, you see--I knew how this would play out. I had to paint the CEO the whole picture before he'd believe me and let me come, of course, but that's incidental. The point is that I'm here now."

The man in the black trench coat finally turned to face the Fear, still choking the Joker's second minion with his right hand. "I would do what the Corporation asks of me regardless," said the man, "but this is a very personal assignment for me. I know you're on a mission, Mr. 'Fear.' A mission given to you by my former associate, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. A mission to recruit the man known as Sylar into Lecter's little side organization. But you see, it's very important for Sylar to remain in the custody of the Corporation, because one day Sylar is going to see the error of his ways. And then he will become a very valuable asset to us."

The man in the black trench coat thrust his left hand outward, and the Fear felt an invisible force tighten around his throat, crushing his windpipe and making it impossible to breathe.

"One day, Sylar will be known as Corporation Agent Gray," said the man in the black trench coat, "and he will be sent on a special assignment to kill the Fear and the Joker. I've already painted--"

A tiny blade popped out of the clown-masked henchman's sleeve and slashed Agent Gray across the cheek. Gray's concentration suddenly broke and the Fear felt the grip on his throat loosen.

"Gah, you stupid--" Agent Gray sputtered incoherently as he grabbed the Joker henchman's head in both hands. There was a brilliant flash of orange-yellow light underneath Gray's palms, and then the henchman's masked head disappeared in a burst of crumbling charred soot.

The Fear had wasted no time, cloaking himself as soon as the opportunity came. Gray whirled back and glanced around.

"Ohhh, you really are pushing your luck," Gray chuckled to himself. "Didn't work out so well for the last guy who tried that on me."

A moment later, the slash on Gray's cheek healed without a trace.

[Wadling]

The Fear peeked around a corner to see Agent Gray standing perfectly still, aside from his head moving slowly from side to side as if scanning the area. Fear fired several bolts in his direction, but as soon as the loud click echoed from the crossbow, Gray held up a hand and the bolts stopped in mid air. The Fear barely suppressed a gasp as Gray flicked his wrist slightly and the bolts came flying back at him.

Fear ducked back around the corner as the bolts thudded into the wall. Gray was now staring directly at him and had begun walking towards him. Fear crept away from the corner and moved silently behind Gray. As he lifted his fist to deal a blow to his neck, Gray's ears twitched and he whipped around, grasping Fear's arm before it hit him. Gray brought his other fist up and it collided painfully with Fear's gut, knocking the wind out of him.

He fell to the floor and Gray descended upon him, he brought a finger out and pointed it at Fear's forehead. As he struggled, Fear managed to free a leg, twist it around and knee Gray in the kidney.

"Ugh" Gray groaned and Fear rolled with him and took his opportunity to get in as many strikes as possible. He pounded Gray's face with his closed fist, and blood spurted from his nose, he felt the satisfying crunch of bones breaking against his hand. He lifted his fist for another blow when he was knocked away from Gray by some unseen force. He flew backwards and crashed into a wall opposite. Gray stood up and rubbed his nose, Fear saw it was no longer crooked.

"What... are you?!" Fear spat and writhed, trying to free himself from whatever held him to the wall. Gray was so close now that he could feel his breath against his face.

"Special" Gray grinned, and Fear saw that the word brought him comfort.

"Special? Try freak!" The Fear hissed through clenched teeth. Gray's face turned from a grin to a glare full of fury, he pushed his face right up against Fear's so their eyes were almost touching.

"So what does that make you!?" Gray yelled, his voice cracking "Normal!? No, don't kid yourself. You're from the past Fear! You don't know anything about what's going on. You're just following orders, it's all you know. Whereas I... I am the future!"

With this, he opened his palm and Fear's hunting knife soared out of it's sheath straight into his open hand, he grasped the handle and held it in front of Fear's face.

"This weapon, for example" he continued "Primitive!" He threw it to the ground and the floor cracked slightly, the blade was stuck in the ground.

Fear was still struggling and found that he could now move his fingers, Just keep him talking, you can do that, it shouldn't be difficult. Fear thought desperately.

"Enough Talk" Gray decided

Shit...

Fear put all of his strength into pushing against the invisible barrier, he could see that Gray was looking strained. Veins were visible on his forehead, and he was breathing heavily. Fear knew he had a chance. His arm came free and with all the force he had been pushing with, his open palm smashed against Gray's cheek. His concentration failed and Fear collapsed on the floor. Both men were now gasping for air.

Gray regained his breath first and dived for the knife, he pulled desperately at the handle but it wouldn't come free. Fear picked himself up, ran forwards and launched a low kick at Gray's head, he fell back moaning. He put a hand out and the knife began shifting slightly, it broke free and span into the air, it stopped for a moment and the handle pointed towards Gray. Fear leaped into the air and grabbed it.

He was triumphant, but only for a moment. An evil look appeared in Gray's eyes and he stared at the knife. Fear felt it jerk in his hands, as it ripped it's self from his grip and began thrusting wildly at his chest. Fear jumped backwards, but lost his footing and crashed backwards onto the ground, his head cracked on the floor and his vision became blurry.

He blinked and saw Gray standing over him, the knife looming over him dangerously.

"I feel i should say something meaningful or poetic" Gray chuckled to himself "Oh well"

The knife zoomed downwards and plunged into Fear's chest, the pain was unbearable and Fear almost passed out, had it not been for the fact that he knew the wound was not fatal, but passing out would be. He gripped the knife and stopped it moving any deeper, before kicking out and breaking Gray's knee, he screamed in pain and clutched at it. Fear knew it was only a matter of time before he healed again. He knew it was risky, but it was his only hope now. He pulled the knife out from his chest and bent down. He sliced Gray's neck and a horrible gargling sound was all that could be heard as blood gushed from his wound.

That should take a while to heal Fear thought, he looked down at his own injury. It wasn't fatal, but it would only get worse. He took out several bandages, tied two around his chest, and two more around each arm so he had easy access if the bleeding worsened. But he needed to get back to Lector, he was the one with the proper medical supplies, and the training to deal with it. He also made a note to ask Joker, just in case.

Then a final thought occurred to him, how the hell do i get off this ship?


(Lol, that was one long ass post... wow... I just want to say, yes, when i said that their eyes were almost touching, it meant that Gray was invading Fear's personal space... not cool.)

[Varthonai]

(The Joker's got no way of communicating with you, Wad. You've got a gas mask and you can run into a gassed room where Gray can't follow, or you can try to grab a comlink from one of the dead Joker henchmen and then await his instruction. Or if you're feeling suicidal you could keep trying to fight Gray.)

(It probably takes longer to flush poison out of your system than it takes to heal a slash wound to the neck if you can regenerate like that, you know. Just an idea.)

[Wadling]

The Fear cursed himself for not thinking ahead and doubled back, he turned on his active camo for good measure and crept back to where agent Gray was lying . Fear could see the wound healing fast, he threw caution to the winds and sprinted towards the henchman who was by the vent. He ripped the mask off and examined it, there was an ear piece hanging out of the side. He took the mask and turned back to Gray, who was stirring.

He couldn't run back the way he'd come, if Gray regained control he'd use that invisible wall on him again. He looked round and saw a corridor that Gray must have come down, he made a run for it. As he turned the corner he could hear the sound of Gray's boots against the floor. He carried on running , he made a right, then a left, another left until he noticed that the nerve gas had already started spreading into the rest of the ship. He donned his gas mask and ran down the corridor, he turned to see Gray stop and hold out a hand, but Fear was already round the other corner.

Fear held the mask up to his ear and fitted the ear piece. He didn't see any way of communicating, so he flipped a switch that said 'call'.

"Come on Joker, pick up..." The Fear urged.

[castlemanic]

Sylar was confused. Magic? Sylar couldn't believe what the white robed man had told him. He turned around to look at McCarthy, who was still staring him down. Sylar looked away and at the vast fields infront of him. "So where are we going to get food from?"

[Varthonai]

Saruman thought about a plan of attack for a while.

"Your weapons," the wizard said to Dwight. "What makes them fire? Magic or artifice?"

"Uh. Artifice?"

"Give me one of the projectiles."

Dwight pulled a bullet from a spare magazine and handed it to Saruman. "Primer's in the back," Dwight continued. "Primer burns, ignites the gunpowder in the bullet, bang."

"It is flammable, then?"

"Well, yeah, but good luck getting much use out of one pinch of gunpowder. Why do you care?"

Saruman shrugged. "Huorns fear flame. We should be prepared for them."

"Well this isn't going to help. There isn't enough--"

"HEY GUYS! CHECK THIS OUT!"

Heads swiveled towards the source of the voice. There stood Belkar, with a tank strapped to his back and a gun in his hand that sprayed flame from a nozzle. "It shoots FIRE! And I don't even have to tell it to shoot to make it work!"

"Well, that's one problem solved," nodded Saruman.

"Not solved," corrected Dwight. "Just replaced."

***

"Don't worry, Fear," crackled the Joker's voice over the com. "You'll make it away from Gray if you can just stick to the plan--it's all accounted for. Get to the ship controls. I'll keep guiding you."

[castlemanic]

Sylar stared at Belkar with the flamethrower. "Atleast it will keep those beasts away from us when we hunt." Sylar said, still staring at Belkar who was playing with the flamethrower.

[Wadling]

As Fear ran through a long corridor he felt his anger at Joker building. He'd known that Gray was going to be there? He could at least have told him, at least he got out alive, and he wasn't too badly hurt. Right now he had to get out, and he didn't know if Joker had really known anyway.

He continued to follow the Joker's directions until he came to a room filled with control panels, chairs, and a lot of people. Luckily they were all unconscious, sprawled on the floor. He headed over to the screen and control panel that looked the most important, being the biggest and in the center of the room.

"Ermmm" He spoke, unsure of whether Joker could hear him "I'm here... what next?"

[Varthonai]

"You should know that Gray won't be held back by the nerve gas forever," said the Joker. "It's strong enough to kill a herd of elephants in a matter of hours, but he's got that whole 'I can heal poisoned tissue' shtick goin' on. It'll still make him drool and crap himself and urinate involuntarily but it won't kill him, so he'll get through it after a good deal of slow, humiliating progress. And then he'll recover from the damage pretty fast, and he'll be pretty pissed... pun intended. So going by Star Wars conventions here, your first option would be to get into an escape pod. That's not gonna work because these ships don't HAVE escape pods. BUT! They have air locks. So we're going to toss Gray out of one. Turn the dial labeled 'Lock Pressure' as high as it goes, ok?"

[Wadling]

Fear nodded to himself and searched around for the dial and found it soon enough. He turned around, but didn't see anyone. He shook his head and looked at the dial again. He rotated it all the way up until it was pointing at the very end of the red zone.

"Done" Fear reported "What next?"

[Varthonai]

"Count to 10," answered the Joker, "then hit the Air Lock Cycle button. It's the green-lit one on the far right with the semicircle-slash symbol on it."

[castlemanic]

(where is kalil and angua?)

[kalil969]

(sorry I haven't been active lately. I could type up excuses but how about I just try to post more.)

Sweeney Todd had been awake for some time before the others started stirring. Searching the room for more weapons he could use, all he saw was handguns and strange contraptions he would probably never understand, much less use in a confrontation. The bits and pieces of conversations he did catch weren't all that interesting, other than the fact that these "monsters" they would run into were afraid of fire. Taking a few steps out of the room, he saw the tower along with the surrounding forest. It all looked so real, he could hardly imagine it was anything but genuine.

[Wadling]

Fear began slowly counting to ten, he sped up subconsciously as he heard movement behind him. He turned to check if anyone was there but saw nobody. He carried on counting. He finished and slammed a fist down on the button a little too hard as he heard something. He was certain that agent Gray was going to round the corner any second now.

[sgt_Angua]

(Sorry, I haven't been able to figure out a post that wasn't more 'Bellatrix angst' before now.)

Bellatrix barely noticed the man step out of the room, most of her attention on the house elf, his weapon, and how to separate the two as quickly as possible.

“Wait,” she said. Everyone looked at her and most seemed surprised to see her speak. “I think we should at least know each others names if we’re going to be fighting together. If for no other reason then to be able to shout warnings.”

[Varthonai]

A powerful vacuum effect sucked Agent Gray out of the hangar and into the tunnel outside.

Gray was stunned for a moment, but recovered quickly and positioned himself to face the two flying craft... and then began to fly on his own.

Can't just detonate here, Gray thought. The EMP'd take out too much Corporation surveillance... I'll just have to get close and personal.

Gray soared to the window of the control chamber and looked in. A gas-masked Fear looked up at him. Gray prepared to smash the window in, rearing back with his power, and--

--a powerful directed-energy weapon struck Gray through the chest, blowing a charred hole clean through him. The Joker's captured ship was opening fire again.

***

"He's awfully hard to hit," commented the man in the gun turret. "Boss, can't we just use the heat-seeking missiles?"

"That'd be an awfully bad joke," responded the Joker. "He'd throw them right back at us. He's got a mind over matter, that one, so matter's outta the question. We gotta hit him with the massless weapons. If you fine gentlemen don't think you can make the cut and keep hitting him, though, we can always hold another set of tryouts. Just make him keep his distance from our target--it's not every day you come this close to getting away with two cases of grand theft starfighter at the same time, and it's not an opportunity I'd like to waste, if y'know what I mean."

"Right you are, Boss."

[castlemanic]

"My name is Sylar, Gabriel Sylar." He said to the group. He looked around at the 'team'. He wasnt sure if Belkar was listening, "And the one with the flamethrower is Belkar."

[Wadling]

Fear had looked up just in time to see Gray's stomach disappear, blood splattered the glass in front of him, and he backed off and raised the mask to his ear again.

"Joker, if that was you, nice shot, saved me again" He continued, looking around the ship "I think the crew are all subdued, only problem is Gray. What do you want me to do with this thing?"

[Varthonai]

"Just hang onto your camo suit, Fear," chuckled the Joker, pressing a couple of buttons on his own ship's console. "And here... we... go!"

A green flash appeared in front of the Joker's ship and enveloped it completely. The Fear's ship, still on autopilot, moved through the flash at the very last moment. A freshly-healed Agent Gray missed the flash by less than a second.

"Gray to Command," the Corporation agent grunted. "Coordinates for the last teleporter jump?"

"Coordinates from the last teleporter jump are classified without additional clearance, Agent Gray."

"No, that's impossible. Only the CEO's personal Sentry ships have clearance that high!"

"Affirmative. The affairs of the Sentry are none of your concern, Agent Gray, because you are not in the Sentry. You are a Class 5 Infantry Elite of the Special Operations Division."

Gray shut off the com system. Damn it, Joker, he seethed inwardly, did you just steal a Sentry ship?!

***

"Dwight. Dwight McCarthy," I say to the rest of the pack. So many people I'm trusting with my name, all of them strangers and half of them crazier than me. What I wouldn't give to see a friendly face for once... to see Marv, or Miho, anyone who I can trust.

(I'm going to try to get KV to come back. Mayhaps the prospect of Belkar with a flamethrower will be sufficient motivation.)

[Wadling]

Fear felt the whole ship shudder and he was momentarily blinded by the green light that had surrounded him. He blinked away the after images and shook his head. He sighed and contemplated what he was doing. Why was he even here, this whole situation was absurd. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, savoring the peace and quiet for a few moments.

He felt a stabbing pain in his chest and he looked down to see that his wound was bleeding through the bandages. He grimaced and gently removed the dressings and winced as some skin, stuck to the bandage with blood, stretched and whipped back. He replaced it with fresh bandages from his arms and brought himself back into current events.

"Joker" He spoke wearily into the microphone "How do i get off this ship?"

[Varthonai]

The Fear's ship suddenly struck solid floor with a jolt, skidded briefly to a halt, and came to rest neatly beside the Joker's ship. The Fear was knocked off his feet, but gracefully avoided a flat fall on his back and returned to a standing position quickly.

The center of the floor of the console room blossomed open and a metal sheet extended to the ground like a gangplank. The pale-faced, eerily-grinning killer clown waved up from the floor.

"Should we have told you that the Fasten Seatbelt sign turned on?"

[castlemanic]

(I'm going to try to get KV to come back. Mayhaps the prospect of Belkar with a flamethrower will be sufficient motivation.)

(im guessing we should wait then?)

[Varthonai]

(Ugh, I hate to say this, guys, but I am absolutely swamped with work atm and I don't know if I'll be able to keep functioning as an effective GM at this rate. I'll be back eventually but for now I'm going to have to go.)

(Wadling, I hereby appoint you as the Temporary GM. You may do whatever you like with this thread until I get back, including delegating the role of Temporary GM to other people. If you have any questions about plot development that you need answered in order to manage, just PM me.)

[Wadling]

(alrighty then, i think i'll focus on the group with Saruman in it for now. Seeing as the others seem more connected with the storyline. I don't want to muck anything up. For now however, i shall be packing. For on Friday i am going to Washington to see my dad. Expect the next post from me either late on friday or saturday.)

(Now for the post)

__________________

Saruman straightened up and looked around at the group

"Lets cut the little introduction short shall we? We need to start moving, i suggest that me and the halfling lead. The others can follow us and keep an eye out for danger, not is all as it seems in the woods."

He got various expressions from the others, ranging from knowing nods, to looks of excitement and glee. McCarthey however was looking skeptical.

"I'm not exactly comfortable of you talking about magic as if it's a fact. A nutcase shouldn't be leading the group."

"You may stay behind if you feel that is best" Saruman raised an eyebrow "However, i know this land best and it would be foolish to have an inexperienced member of the group leading us into these woods."

He got no answer, but McCarthey was looking at him with narrowed eyes. Saruman turned and marched towards to woods, the halfling following closely, and the others trailing behind. McCarthey followed reluctantly, his eyes darting all around him, as if expecting a confrontation at any moment.

Good, Saruman thought, the more aware the better.

[sgt_Angua]

Bellatrix drew her dagger and tested the balance as the group neared the forest. Hmm… Not perfect, but it should make a passable throwing knife, she thought. But a knife won’t be much help against a ‘moving tree,’ or whatever it was Radagast called them… Horns?

Bellatrix couldn’t remember studying anything like that in Care of Magical Creatures class… not that she had ever been paying attention. They had only covered a few moving plants in Herbology, and the only tree that came to mind was the Whomping Willow that had been on the grounds.

“Why do we have to go through the forest at all?” Bellatrix asked. Radagast gave her an unreadable look.

Oh, right… he called them Hurons…

[Wadling]

As they entered the woods, Belkar became more and more restless, he was looking around at the many trees with a look in his eyes that clearly said he wanted to burn it all.

"I wish Durkon was here" He muttered sulkily "He'd let me kill all the trees..."

Saruman turned to him with a scowl "You must respect the trees" he whispered angrily "i made a mistake in doing just what you're thinking of once, it cost me everything."

Belkar sighed and carried on walking, it looked like he was struggling slightly.

"How much further is it going to be until we find some food?" He asked loudly "I need the exp, i think i'll put it into strength."

A loud groaning emitted from the surrounding forest, Saruman whipped around and motioned for silence. The group looked around anxiously, there was a rustling of leaves, and a timber wolf prowled from the bushes, growling. The blood-lust was clear in it's eyes.

McCarthey reached for his gun and elegantly fired a bullet, it hit the wolf in between it's eyes and a high pitched whine was all that could be heard before it fell silent.

"Perfect" Saruman smiled "Maybe we can get out food without having t-"

Just then, a Huorn crashed out of the trees to defend it's forest home from these invaders.

It lashed out and caught Belkar in the back, who had turned to look into the other trees. He was knocked through the air, and collided noisily with a tree. Saruman let out a yell and held up his hands, trying to keep the creature at bay for a few moments.

"Someone wake him up!" He shouted "Or take his place, we need fire to defeat this foe!"

[castlemanic]

(where did the staff come from wadling?)

Sylar ran quickly to the beast and put his hand on it, thinking to atleast freeze the beast till it crumbled. Ice started to form on it but then it suddenly stopped. The beast looked at him. "No..." Sylar was thrown by the beast far away from the group. The fall knocked the wind out of him and he layed there, trying to regain his breath.

[Wadling]

(I simply imagined that Saruman picked up his staff from the weapons locker like everyone else, but you're right, i'll change it.)

Saruman ducked instinctively as Sylar was thrown over him, he heard a sickening thud, but was not distracted. He jumped backwards, as fast as his old limbs could let him and ran to Belkar.

"Halfling!" He said urgently, shaking him "You have to get up, fire is our only chance."

"Noooo" Groaned Belkar "Five more minutes, please"

He's delusional thought Saruman.

"I know not how to operate this machinery" Saruman shouted to the others "Do any of you know how to work this?"

McCarthey stepped up to his side and picked up the flamethrower.

"I'm sure i'll be able to get this thing to work, gimme a sec" He said confidently.

He walked calmly up to the Huorn and nimbly jumped over a low swipe, he pointed one end of the device at the creature. It seemed to sense some danger, because it backed away and tried to make it's escape. McCarthey pulled on a trigger and flames erupted from the end, catching the Huorn in the blast. He gave another shot for good measure before turning back to the group.

"Easy" He chuckled "Now, lets get some food on the way."

(Ok Varth, i was hoping for a more spectacular fight, but i guess this crude end will have to work. Anyway, go ahead and lock it.)

[Varthonai]

(Well I didn't mean you had to cut it short, lol. But it works either way.)

(Guys, this RP is closed for a period of 1 week, possibly 2, while I work to revitalize player activity. We've really only got 4 active players right now and that's mostly just because new people are intimidated by story's current length and level of complexity. I'm going to try and fix that.)

(Everyone please post your current characters here. (http://forums.deletionquality.net/showthread.php?p=104618#post104618))

(If a Mod feels compelled to lock this thread until I reopen the RP, I am ambivalent.)

[Silence]

"Ma'ma, please come with me." Said a voice from behind her. She was sitting in a theatre seat, watching yet another remake of Hamlet.

She turned around.

"And, who would you be?" She asked, almost voilently.

"The Government." He replied simply, before grabbing her arm.

"Get your hands off of me you evil person! Rape, Rape!" She screamed. In a few moments, she had attracted the attention of the entire audience. A few more of the men, dressed like him, came up behind him.

From his jacket, he drew a gun. A Baretta. Specifically, an M9. A semiautomatic 19mm handgun, standard issue by the army.

Her senses hightened. The world went into slow motion. Her mind flew.

In a quick, fluid motion, she took the large knife she used erlier that night, and stabbed it through the man.

That's all she remembers.

[Silitor]

Geralt woke up to a room he had never seen, nor been in before, he looked around him. His arms were bound up by reinforced chains, as was his legs. He tried tugging at the chain, but to no avail. However, the chain was long enough for him to move his hand around a bit.

He looked around the room again, wondering where his possesion had been taken. In front of him, at least ten steps away, was his potion belt, his leather jacket, and his steel sword.

'Where have they taken my other sword? And where the hell am i?" the room around resembled a mechanical dungeon, large and empty, except for him and the table.

Just then, a section of the wall slid open to reveal a man in white standing in the hallway that just appeared. The grin on his face was manic, and he had two guards armed with rifles behind him.

The man in white, with giant glasses stepped foward to examine Geralt. "Ah yes. Witcher are you not?" He said, as if he was just about to dissect a frog.

"Yes. Where am i?" Geralt replied, in a low, husky voice.

"N-No worries about that Witcher... All you need t-to know is that, I am interested in your body ana-anatomy. Pale skin, white hair, side effects of the mutation... am i correct?"

Geralt remained silent.

"Ah. Silent means consent.. very good, very good. Also, you are sterile, no?" The man continued

Geralt grimaced, but remained silent. He wanted to see if his magic could still work, but not in front of them, they would just shoot him or something.

"V-Very well. I Will examine you more thoroughly on your enchanced senses next time. When we meet again, Geralt of Rivia."

Then the man turned to exit, and the guards followed him. As they were about to leave, Geralt saw the man in white whisper something to the guard and the guard then sat down on the chair next to the table.

Geralt sighed. Now it would be harder to try his magic. Unless he used the Axii sign, to hex the guard to help him. He tried once. He made a gesture with his right hand, and drew a triangle in the air, the chains rattling.

A transparent, silky green line which seemed to be seen only by geralt himself erupted from his fingertips, and headed for the guard's head.

Halfway along the journey, the line disappeared completely. It seemed that they had also dampened the use of his magic. But at least they hadnt completely disallowed the use of it. He would need time to get it right.

And time was something he had.

[T.L.I.]

The Jack of Blades awoke... to nothing. It could see nothing feel nothing. It felt as if it was within a void. It was dimly aware of walls, a ceiling, and a floor, but these all seemed out of reach.
The thing frowned beneath its mask. Where was its blade, its precious Sword of Aeons? It couldn't feel its sword around it, but... it felt in its pocket and- yes! It found a young chick in its pocket, barely 4 weeks old. The monster brought the chick out of its pocket and used one of its clawed gloves to slit the chicks' throat.
As the blood flowed down the Jack of Blades' hand, it quickly flashed primitive runes that were the rough eqivalent of the much more elaborate seals in the Chamber of Fate. As the runes silently flashed and the blood flowed, the Jack of Blades lost heart.
Suddenly, a flash of light came from the things hands and, with a deafening crack, the Sword of Aeons appeared in the Jack of Blades' left hand. With its mighty weapon of infallible strength, the Jack of Blades found that it could see again. It could see the walls, the ceiling, and the floor.
The monster peeled off its mask, and let a titanic blast of pure fire shake the room, blasting through the far wall as well as making a tremendous racket. The Jack of Blades slung its sword on its back, then climbed out of its room to see what it could find.

(I'm assuming that my cell was abandoned when the rest of the captives started to break loose, although correct me if I'm wrong.)

[Kenneth]

(Can it be in first person? Seems better that way.)

I woke up to the sound of a gasp and sat up, eyes open and sat up on the soft object I was sleeping on. As my eyes adjusted, I realised that gasp was from me and the object was a bed. Out in front of me was a chair, a sink and a reinforced steel door. Looking down, I saw that I was wearing a cloth shirt and pants. My Mandalorian armour and weapons have vanished.
It occured to me that I was in prison.
How? I racked my brains and thought. I remembered now:
I was called for a job by the Empire by an Imperial officer called Facker. Apparently it was to do with the New Republic who they are currently fighting against. It was to track down a Bothan Spy called Taf Golar and bring him to the Empire (I wish it was a hitjob involving Han Solo. I'll never forgive him for having me nearly devoured by a Sarlaac. Thank god for grenades!)

Anyway, after I accomplished the mission, a stormtrooper shot me with his gun before I had even time to react. Thankfully, it only paralysed my body, but not my mouth. I demanded for the meaning of this. Facker merely said: "You won't be dead when you wake up, Fett." At this, a stormtrooper came forward and knocked the lights out of me.

But why would the Empire have me arrested? After all, I've been loyal to them during the Rebellion Era.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps (my hearing still works and I can tell that there's two guards). The sound stopped when it reached the door, a rattling of something metallic came next. Payback time.