ic Party Crashing (IC)

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer

 

"I very much doubt that," the Atlantean replied to the Man-Shark, "but you will regret your actions this evening!"  With that, he pulled his gauntlet'd hand back and then pitched forward, flinging the grappled foe into one of his partners-in-crime, the buggy bandit.

 

Yes!  Excitement!  Let's do more of that!

 

The young Atlantean took a few steps back, then ran up Nightscale's back, leaping off his fellow Claremonter's head and soared through the broken window after Shooting Star.

 

[Avenger Assembled]

There was no sign Neko was reacting to Leon; and anyone watching could see her eyes staring wide, light reflected in them like a cat's, as she studied the scene before her. Outside, the giant skeleton leaned closer, closer until its face seemed to fill the window it had smashed open. In a multi-tonal voice that was clearly audible as the sounds of multiple humans screaming wordlessly, it said 

 

Throw down your weapons and flee, Yankee fools. 

 

Meanwhile, a large wolf burst past the bear-handed man and right through the door, turning to take up a defensive position there that guarded those that hid within. Owain had sense enough not to betray their presence by speaking, but he gave a deep, menacing growl all the same to any that approached. 

 

[Spacefurry]

Paper

 

Paper’s gaze swept over the crowd as the hostages began to swarm towards the doors in terror. He cursed as he caught sight of more then one person falling under the lurching crowd. Picking out a middle-aged couple that fell together Paper acted quickly.

Twin ribbons of paper snaked out from his jacket, weaving through the crowd. The jacket unraveling as they did. Within moments the paper found the two fallen hostages and formed a quarter-dome, forcing other fleeing hostages to skirt the two.

Edited March 10, 2022 by Spacefurry

[Spacefurry]

GM

 

Under the large desk in the office Owain’s wolf ears could hear the two teens shuffle slightly, while behind him the older man cowered back into the chair as far as he could from the sudden appearance of the giant canine. The large, bear-handed man turning to face him with an angry sneer.

 

Out in the main office space the hostages were also attempting to flee before the terrifying visage of Neko’s illusion. The stampeding crowd heedless to those that fell. Paper had moved to protect two of the fallen, but two other individuals were under the thread of being trampled by their fellow party goers.

 

For there part, all of the gunmen had abandoned their weapons and were racing the crowd of hostages for the door, even as the man with the glowing eyes yelled for them to stop. Four of the men made it out into the halls of the office building, while three others found themselves caught up with the swarm of the crowd.

[Nerdzul]

Nightscale kept surveying the scene, it was a mess, chaos, terrified hostages running around and there was little he could do from outside. Now, of course, if there were only villains within the building he could have unleashed a weave of fire on them or something of the like, but unfortunately this was not the case. He needed to get in. So, instead, he gently dropped Neko from his shoulder and on a safe ledge where she could easily run in if she wanted to and then shifted back into his human form, jumping inside and raising his fists, ready for the fight ahead. 

[Spacefurry]

GM

 

The shark-man and bug-man suddenly froze in place. By the door, the man with the glowing eyes held a hand out towards them, his eyes flaring up.

“Stop being cowards.”

TKO snarled.

“We’re stronger then a bunch of kids. Unless you want to face Bear-Knuckle, act like it.”

The man with glowing eyes glared at the two and they swallowed. When released from their invisible bonds the two turned to face the young heroes. The fear of their leader was obvious on their faces.

 

Fly-Boy hesitated, even with the threat of discipline didn’t seem to be enough to get him to move against the heroes.

 

Unfortunately, Snap-Maw seemed more then motivated as he roared furiously and rushed Artificer. The memory of his humiliation at the Atlantean’s hands still a fresh wound. With a roar of rage the disturbingly wide shark mouth snapped down on his victim, catching Artificer’s arm. When the villain opens his mouth again, obviously readying to take another bite out of him, the Atlantean can feel the warmth of his own blood as it begins to spread from the bite. 

 

In the office, Bear-Knuckle sneers at the giant wolf in front of him.

“You’re outta luck mutt, I’m not above a little animal cruelty.”

He said as he lashed out with one massive bear-shaped hand, the back-handed strike connecting squarely. The blow knocked Owain into the heavy desk with enough force to move it several inches. An sound of surprise barely escapes from under the desk and the big man obviously notices as he spares a quick glance at the desk.

[Kaede Kimura]

Shooting Star

 

Alice's eyes locked into the fleeing crowd. She knew how deadly stampedes could be, and quickly dived to save one of the fallen, leaving the red haired villain unattended. Her hypertough body easily bore their attacks as she heard the villain start giving orders, annoyance bubbling slightly at her inability to prevent him from doing so.

 

"Don't move, I've got you. You're safe."

 

She could feel people's feet hitting her back as she used her flight to remain stationary over the old man. Once she was clear she lifted herself and him up with ease, settling the man on the ground.

 

"Get safety, we'll stop them, just focus on keeping yourself safe."

 

Seeing him off, she turned around towards her quarry who'd gone back into the office. In a brief moment to quiet she heard his comment about animal cruelty.

 

The door splintered into a million pieces as she ploughed through at high speed, her fist colliding with the back of his head before she stopped directly in front of him, picking some splinters from her shirt.

 

"Unfortunately for you, I'm not okay with animal cruelty."

 

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer

 

The Atlantean's shields reflexively doubled up around his arm as Snap-Maw's maw snapped.  While it wasn't enough to avoid all injury, it did save his arm from being bitten off!

 

"That will leave a nice mark to remember this by," he said as he leaped back, trying to sound braver than he was really feeling, "but I think one is enough.  Let us see," he placed his gauntlet'd hand on the office floor, "about coral-ing you!"

 

The floor buckled and heaved in a line racing towards the man-shark, and erupted into a multicolored riot of stony growths, weaving a cage around the villain.

 

"Corralling with coral," he muttered to himself, "yes, I think that is an appropriately 'snappy' retort."

[Avenger Assembled]

Neko heard Owain's faint yelp and ran, head down and arms extended, her bare feet all but silent on the carpeted floor of the office building. It didn't take her long to find herself behind Bear-Knuckle in the midst of his brawl with Owain-in-okami-form. Without hesitating, she leaned close enough to Bear-Knuckle's ear to whisper "you-will-pay-yankee-dog!"before stepping backwards as she filled his mind with horrors. Legion of screaming, fiery cats filled his vision and drowned out the world with their maddened and maddening shrieks, even as Owain leapt forward and bit him savagely on the leg, biting hard and twisting as a great wolf would when it fought a man. 

[Spacefurry]

GM
 

Teens

 

From under the desk two teens scramble out. A boy with long brown hair and blue eyes. A long coat covers a ‘Bring Me the Horizon’ band tee and and a large belt with several pouches is looped through a jeans. The other, girl with short red hair and green eyes. A short fishnet covers the upper half of a white long sleeve tee and jean shorts torn at the mid thigh. Both sport high top sneakers.

“Grab it!”

The girl yells as she slaps a hand on the wall behind the desk. The boy lunges at the desk and yanks an unnoticed USB from one of the computer’s ports and ducks back beside the girl. An intricate circle, filled with strange symbols appears on the wall under the girls hand and spreads out some. Then a surge of power turns the wall to sand.

Everything on both sides of the wall crash’s to the floor as the sand collapses, leaving an open way to the adjoining office.

 

Goons

 

The remaining goons flee the room amongst the fleeing guests.

Edited April 28, 2022 by Spacefurry

[Spacefurry]

Paper

 

Shield by his paper barrier the couple managed to their feet and joined the other fleeing guests, too scared to properly thank the young hero. Paper didn’t hold it against them, it wasn’t the best circumstances for heroic introductions and thanks. 

With them safe and escaping he looked around again to see how things were unfolding. He saw Artificer dealing with the shark-man. The bug-guy seems unsure what to do and he could see Owain, Neko, and Star holding down the dude with bear-hands. That just left the creep by the doors bark orders. 

Paper targeted TKO and the paper barrier collapsed in a swirl of paper the in turn rocketed towards the glowing-eyed villain. The paper impacting hard and driving the man back a step in surprise.

“Hey jackass! How about picking on someone smaller then you?”

He taunted with a signature smirk of his.

[Spacefurry]

GM

 

Snap-Maw

 

The shark-man sneers at Artificer, before suddenly loosing a cry of rage. Lunging forward his massive jaws part, revealing too many sharp teeth to count. The powerful jaws meet the coral cage the Atlantean created. The makeshift cage crumbles under the force, leaving a massive hole that Snap-Maw manages to slip out through.

The sneer turns into a smirk as he levels his gaze on his already injured target. He makes a show of sniffing in Artificer’s direction then licks his lips. 

“Smells like fresh blood.”

He says mockingly as he flash’s a toothy grin.

 

Fly-Guy

 

The bug-man seems to shake himself out of his hesitation. Looking around he seems their leader being attacked be two of these meddling kids, and their dog too.

“I got your back boss.”

He called out, even though there was no way the other man could hear him. Spines along his arm stiffen and fan out. He brings his arm back and makes a sudden swiping motion. Several needle sharp projectiles soar through the air, aimed at Neko’s back. The spines miss their mark though and bury their tips into the door frame, mere inches from the catgirl. 

 

TKO

 

Glowing eyes turn on Paper as the man recovers from the teen’s attack. It hadn’t been enough to daze the villain and he was quick to retaliate.

“Why you little shit. You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

Thrusting his hand out at Paper, unseen force slams into the teen, but the youth’s power protected him from the brunt of the attack leaving the hero unfazed. TKO sneers at him.

 

Bear-Knuckle

 

The large, red-headed leader of the group shook his head. He bared his teeth in a sneer, even as Owain’s last bite already began closing. With a howl of rage he whirled on the two girls, ignoring the wolf.

“I am going to crush you.”

He snarled, flexing his fingers eagerly with murder in his eyes.

[Kaede Kimura]

Shooting Star

 

Alice frowned as the man seemed to be shrugging off their efforts, approaching her and the catgirl while ignoring the wolf.

 

She stepped forwards to meet his advance, placing herself in front of Neko as much as she could, before slugging Bear-Knuckles in the jaw. "You know, that would be intimidating, if you were... You know... Intimidating." She grinned up at the man, although it came out as more of a sneer. She was getting less sure that she could take him, but she could at least keep him from everyone else.

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer

 

That went down quicker than I'd hoped, Heroditus thought as he danced back from the Man-Shark, but it did slow him some.  And that might just be enough....

 

He slapped his gauntleted hand upon the ground again, and another pulse of transformative arcane energies spread out.  The shattered bits of coral on the ground melted and slithered towards Snap-Maw, reaching out like rocky tentacles for his wrists and ankles.  "Which of the Seven Seas did you swim out from?  And how did you come to be working with these Surfacers?"  He wasn't really expecting an answer from the near-frenzied foe, but pondering such things helped keep his fear at bay.

 

 

[Avenger Assembled]

Neko and Owain kept battering Bear-Knuckle. But Neko's blinding of the thug had left her unable to impose her will on his perceptions despite flashes of terror that must have been lighting into his eyes and ear, and she backed away as Owain bit down, canine teeth failing to find purchase on the man's super-tough flesh. Bear-Knuckle was distracted by the visions of fiery kasha but they wouldn't hold him for long... 

[Spacefurry]

GM
 

Teens

 

With the heroes and Bear-Knuckle focused on each other the two teens clear the sandy remains of the wall and head for the door of the adjoining office. The girl yanks it open and passes into the main room. She’s quickly followed by the boy in the long coat, leaving the door open.

Once in the main room, they quickly notice the main exit being guarded by TKO.

 

The girl quickly looks around, spotting the broken window.

“This way.”

She barks, grabbing the boy’s elbow and pulling. But a sudden jerk stops her and she looks back in annoyance.

“Da fu-“

She starts to yell, stopping mid word as the boy points. Snapping her attention in the indicated direction her anger changes to surprise to match the boy’s.

The pair stare in the direction of Leon with looks of mixed shock and concern as the see the young hero trading blows with the telekinetic villain.

 

“Paper!”

They echo each other without thinking.

Edited June 27, 2022 by Spacefurry

[Spacefurry]

Paper

 

Paper smirked at TKO’s last attack. His confidence appreciating the ego boost.

“Nice try.”

He snarled.

“Next time, bring your ‘A’ game.”

He raised his hand the more paper swarmed around him. Just as he started to strike again something caught his attention. Someone calling his name, no more then one.

“Huh?”

Paper chances a side glance to see if one of his classmates needed help. He suddenly froze in surprise at the sight of the two teens.

“What th-“

Around him, the floating paper faltered, several sheets even floating towards the floor as his hold on them wavered.

[Nerdzul]

Finally Luke had found a decent place where he could change back and enter the fray. He scanned the scene for a few moment and a sigh of relief escaped his lips when he noticed that most of the hostages had left and the rushed toward what felt like the most dangerous of the bad guys. Unfortunately, that fellow as tough and even his dragon claws couldn't do more than a few scractches...

[Spacefurry]

GM

 

Snap-Maw

 

“What are you babbling about?”

Snap-Maw snarled then tilted his head to peer at Artificer.

“Do, do you think I really crawled out of the ocean? Ha, ha-ha…”

The shark man’s laugh was strange and guttural thanks to the oversized mouth and twisted anatomy.

“I was born in the Bronx, a scrawny little nothing. Wasting my life trying scrape by in life, til the Doc said he could change that. Promised me the power to take what I wanted. What I deserved.”

He focused on Artificer again and sneered.

“So I’m here to take everything I can.”

The shark-man made an exaggerated lunge, snapping his massive teeth filled mouth at Artificer.

 

Fly-boy

 

Fly-boy seems More then happy to stay out of actual melee as more spines on his arms fan out. He makes another swiping motion, sending more of the needle sharp projectiles across the room. His intended target is the young man that joined the fray against the gang’s leader.

“Yes!”

He grins as this time the nasty spines find their victim this time. Several of them pierce Nightscale’s thick skin. The spines themselves do no real harm, but the toxins they carry quick attack the boy’s body as it attempts to sap his health.

 

TKO

 

“You couldn’t handle my ‘A’ game runt.”

TKO sneered. His hand snapped out at a nearby chair.

“And you should pay attention when you’re in the ring.”

He smirked as he thrust his hand at Paper. The wooden chair obeyed the will of the telekinetic, lunching across the room and smashing into Paper. The force of the blow shattering the chair and knocking the wind out of he boy and sending him tumbling backwards several feet.

 

With a laugh TKO grabs a walkie-talkie from his belt.

“Heavy, where are you?”

He asked almost casually as he watches Paper groans amongst the splintered remains of the chair.

 

Bear-Knuckle

 

The bear of a man shakes his head as if trying to shake off Neko’s illusions with a growl. In his blind flailing his hand finds the large wooden desk the computer sat upon. Duller splintering echoes a crash from the main room as massive claws dig into the desk.

With a deep, throaty snarl Bear-Knuckle effortlessly hefts the desk with hand. A cry of rage accompanies the creek of wood as the desk becomes a makeshift weapon.

As close as he is, Owain can’t avoid the desk as Bear-Knuckle swings it. With some luck, the older man the wolf had placed himself in front of is missed.

Nightscale can feel the rush of air in the wake of the desk as it swings past his face only to smash solidly into Shooting Star and shatter harmlessly against her. The force sending splintered fragments of the desk out into the main room barely missing Neko.

[Kaede Kimura]

Shooting Star

 

Alice's eyes widened as the desk flew towards her, smashing into the wolf, missing Nightscale barely and heading straight for her head. She knew she was tough, but had a feeling like this might be a bit beyond her, Bear-Knuckle had some real power behind him. In a moment of desperation, she flew upwards and to the side, reducing the relative speed of the desk as it impacted her. Swinging her arm out, she shattered the desk and used the flying splinters to cover her next swing, performing an uppercut to his chin.

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer

 

The Atlantean teen unconsciously took a step back, momentarily overcome by the man-shark's braggadocio.  Okay, coral's not holding him, need another tactic....

 

He took a quick look around to see how his classmates were faring, and saw TKO -- their field commander? -- land a solid blow on Paper!

 

Ah, I may be able to solve multiple issues in one go... if I can time it right.

 

Artificer brought up his gauntleted hand again, the small tuning forks on it spinning rapidly.  "What one wants and what one deserves are often two very different things," he said, hoping he sounded suitably confident.  The shattered bits of office debris-turned-coral melted and flowed back together, forming another cage around his legs, but as the crook began to surge forward to smash through them, they suddenly shot up behind him, forming a many-fingered hand that snatched him up and flung him towards TKO!

 

[Avenger Assembled]

Bear-Claw was confronted by his own form emerging from the fiery visions all around him, twisted and screaming in agony as flames burned his flesh and scorched his eyes, as a deep feminine contralto screamed in his ear. 

 

YOU SEE!? YOUR HELL AWAITS YOU FOOL! 

 

Owain went for the bite, down hard, and hobbled away, out of immediate melee range of Bear-Claw where the big man wouldn't be able to spot him - and hit him, unless he shook off Neko's illusions. Which didn't seem likely. 

 

Those watching could see Neko behind Bear-Claw, teeth set in a snarl, her movements mimicking the illusory Bear-Claw as said Bear-Claw began screaming in mortal agony about how the cats tormented and violated his flesh at every turn in increasingly unwholesome ways with their terrible fiery whips.

[Spacefurry]

GM

 

The teens watched as the chair smashed into Paper, knocking the young hero back several feet.

instantly the two were running across the room, stopping at his side.

“Are you okay?”

The boy was asking as he helped swipe aside the splintered remains even as the girl moved in front of the two. She gave TKO an angry sneer as the villain disentangle himself from the shake-man and slammed her hand down on the floor.

With a flash of light and glowing circles the floor buckled and undulated before a wall of wood erupted out of it. It snapped up to the ceiling and spread out across the room, effectively dividing it in half.

”We need to go.”

She shot back at Paper and the boy.

”Now!”

A pistol handled device seemed to grow out of the boy’s hand and he nodded to the girl.

[Spacefurry]

Paper

 

Paper ached as he began to pick himself up. Suddenly another pair of hands was clearing wooden debris from him and someone was asking if he was okay.

”Ya, I’m… I’m okay.”

Then he recognized the voice and remembered who he’d seen. His head snapped up as the girl yelled at the for them to leave.

“No.”

Shakily he got his feet under him and stood.

”I can’t leave my friends.”

He shook his head to clear it.

”What are you two doing here?”

[Nerdzul]

Luke kept pummeling at the villain with his claws, unfortunately, as before they did very little. He tossed his roommate a puzzled look as he noticed the conversation between him and the other teens. "Wha-?" He asked before his attention got back to the fight at hand.