ic The Sword, The Gold, The Arrow

[Poncho]

Curses.

 

Magic.

 

Some good old fashioned skills.

 

On a night where the moon is full, a confluence of effects pull together three unrelated heroes.

 

It started with breaking and entering.

 

Trevor 'Knuckles' Granger, a college drop-out that was a minor member of the Black Snake Motorcycle Club, lead his buddies Peter and Vicki to break into the house of an old historian in Bayview and make off with whatever fancy things they could find. Their logic was simple; Historians handle old stuff, old stuff is worth a lot of money, ergo there must be a lot of old stuff (worth a lot of money) at a historian's house. While they were unimpressed with his Precious Moments figurines, his Yorkshire terrier, and his wicker furniture, Knuckles was quite captivated by The Sword.

 

It was Spanish in nature, a saber from the expeditions into native lands, believed to have been used by one of the men following Ponce de León in his expeditions to find the Fountain of Youth. But the weapon was perfectly preserved, in a way utterly unlike most of those weapons, which were inevitably pitted and broken from used and the decay of hundreds of years lost in the woods. This was what led to the decision to examine it more closely for possible meta-human or meta-metal traits, which is why it had been at the historian's house. It was those same Meta-Human traits that led to what was eventually written into papers as 'The Attack of the Zombie Conquistadors'. But that's getting ahead of the story. It really was just a series of eternally unfortunate incidents.

 

The setting of the players was the first unfortunate incident. As part of her education into Criminal Forensics, Jennifer Gale- the heroine known as Chimera, who had recently absorbed a massive quantity of cursed Aztec Gold-, was doing light intern work for the FCPD as a continuing growth of her education. At the same time, Connor King, the Second Archer, was doing his nightly patrols, and had just gotten a juicy tip that a couple of Black Snakes had made off with a historical relic, and had headed over to an underground club named Skulljack to celebrate. And at that exact same time, at the underground music venue Skullcrack, Ryan Jacobs- also known as Sever- had just settled in for a night of listening to the sort of under the radar hard rock and metal that he so enjoyed. It was a chance for him to get away from his new school for just a little bit.

 

--------------------------------

 

Sever & Archer II

 

Skullcrack was a mess of Mohawks, a pile of piercings, a cacophony of chaos. The music was loud, the lights were dark, and the clientele did not want to be visited by the hard nosed Iron-Age throwback that was Archer II. The bodyguards also did not see much desire in letting him in, a pair of barrel chested gorilla-looking guys in dark suits who held up a hand to stop him from going in. But Archer II was significantly more accomplished than any random goons trying to make a quick payday in an underground club, and they held him up only a few seconds before he was into Skullcrack proper. He was traversing a walkway hanging above the mosh pit and seats as he made his way to the back rooms. How sneaky he was being was up to him.

 

However, for the teen named Ryan Jacobs, he was just enjoying the music when, out of the corner of his eye, despite the dark surroundings and thumping speakers, he saw a handful of guards- the ones who mostly hung out at the periphery of the entertainment and looked intimidating- gather up in a posse while talking to their boss before setting off towards the back rooms at a quick pace.

 

------------------------------------

 

Chimera

 

Meanwhile, Jennifer Gale was on the nightshift, interning on minor crimes in the Southside; fingerprinting break-ins mostly. She was getting a coffee with her cop escort when her techno-organize symbiote shuddered inside her. Magic. Magic was close. She felt the pull on it, as if something inside the symbiote was squirming and twitching. But there was also a less mystical, and more annoying, pull.

 

"Hey Chuck." the radio of the officer she was traveling with lit up.

 

"Copy dispatch."

"You and Jennifer head down to the corner of Grape and Pine. Just got a note that one of our less agreeable masked heroes has headed into a known underground establishment. We're expecting it's going to be a crime scene fairly soon." The voice clipped out. "...Probably no hurry though, we don't want to get in the middle of whatever he's about to do."

 

"Got it." Chuck responded before switching off the radio. "Well, Jennifer, I guess we got our next stop."

 

 

None of the individuals involved knew a second, very unfortunate event was going to happen soon.

[Spacefurry]

Chimera

 

Jennifer couldn’t believe her luck when she drew the night shift. Other interns just gave her confused looks at her excitement, but night shift meant she would have plenty of time for uninterrupted research. And, if anything did happened she had a chance of being one of the first ones on the scene…

Not that she wanted things to happen. Things happening usually meant people getting hurt, and she didn’t want anyone getting hurt.

Sometimes it was difficult enjoying her work…

Jennifer gave a small sigh as she stirred her coffee.

 

Suddenly she felt a strange tugging. It was a new sensation. It felt like the symbiote, but at the same time it felt separate from it. It sent a tingle through her and she could feel the symbiote squirm.

 

Dispatch came over the radio of the poor man assigned to babysit her. Something was about to happen. Something involving a cape from the sound of it. Jennifer wondered briefly if there was a connection.

 

 

 

She gave the officer a nod and collected a lid for her coffee. Something told her she was going to need the caffeine.

“Let’s get going then.”

Edited February 6 by Spacefurry

[RocketLord]

ARCHER II

 

Archer is not happy, as he walks along the walkway, bow in hand. Those goons outside weren't much trouble, but they made noise, and despite how loud the Skullcrack is, somebody probably heard something. Not how he had wanted this to go down, but fine. He can deal with it. 

 

To be honest, Connor doesn't much care about a historical relic being stolen, at least not for the historical value, but if Black Snakes make too much money off selling it, then they'll just end up making a play for something bigger, and somebody will get hurt. Better to stop them preemptively. 

 

Get to the back rooms before they get away, then. That's the best course of action here.

[Thunder King]

Ran slipped through the crowd trying to follow after the guards. It looked like trouble, and Ryan, despite being here to enjoy music, wouldn't turn down a chance to look in to some trouble. He felt in his pocket for his mask.

 

He decided to slip into the bathroom and find a stall. Once inside, he put his mask on and slipped back out of the bathroom, looking to follow the guards where they were headed. His size made it relatively easy to find his way through the crowd without too much effort.

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

Archer II & Sever

 

Archer stalked his way to the backrooms with ease; the guards were going to be ready, but none barred his passage across the upper areas of the floor. The Black Snakes had their own special room in the back; it had their ensigna- a black mamba snake- stapled to the door. They didn't have just the random goons for guards; two thick, heavy looking members of the Black Snakes were hanging out at the door as well.

 

The hallway they were in was quite small, which meant that the guards were pretty tighly packed in down the narrow hallway, which might be an advantage to Archer II if he made his move; for now, he hasn't been visible. 

 

"If any mask wearing Supe shows up we want him thrown out." said the apparent head of the Black Mamba members outside the door.

 

Meanwhile, Sever follows the grup of guards, all the way to the entrance of the VIP areas, where a guard- a beefy guy festooned with metal and spikes- is standing guard; if Sever wants back there, he'll need to figure out a way around that guy whose standing guard.

 

------------------

 

Chimera

 

Back to the patrol car, back down the streets. Lights off because it's not an emergency, the FCPD car pulls down the road. As they drive, Jennifer feels the strange tug of magic pulling harder; they're going closer to whatever is causing the creature inside of her discomfort. Chuck wouldn't be aware of any of that, but he was smart enough that he pulled the car into an alley to wait; across the road, a plain red brick building- a little dilapitated- wouldn't have been suspicious if not for the amount of metalheads hanging around the general area, smoking and drinking. Chuck had been smart enough to pull in from the back, so it wasn't clear to the club-goers that it was a cop car.

 

"Alright...let's see what happens, I suppose." The cop said, leaning back in his seat to wait. "...Hopefully nothing too outrageous, I always hate working the crime scenes with the bigger powers; laser eyes and stuff...it's so much extra paperwork."

[RocketLord]

ARCHER II

 

The snake marks the spot? Right.

 

Archer peeks around the corner, counting the Black Snakes that stand guard. They know that he's coming, but that's fine. It's better like that. A few normal looking goons, and two big guys that look like they're either on steroids or something bigger. Taking out the small fry first is best. Less bullets to dodge. If he catch the big guys, then it'll only be better.

 

He reaches for an arrow in his quiver, twists it once and then lowers it to his string. Back turned, he breathes out once, then steps around the corner.

 

"You know who I am. So come on, show me what you can do."

 

His bow raised, he lets the arrow fly into the middle of the group, where it explodes into rapidly exploding riot foam that quickly starts to harden. 

Edited February 9 by RocketLord

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

ARCHER II & SEVER

 

The Goons slowly turn to the noise. Two of them notice immediately who it is.

 

"IT'S DA ARCHA!" one of them yells. Then the foam arrows explodes. And three of the goons are immediately trapped in the rapidly hardening foam, but one manages to escape, falling backwards into the Black Snake's personal room. There was the sound of scrabbling and running around, and broken glass.

 

"PETER, VICKI, KEEP HIM AWAY!" Someone yelled before there was a loud crash.

 

A blast of fire washed out of the room, scorching the area around the area in front of the room, over the heads of the goons. Some sort of metahuman was in there!

 

"Did I get 'em?" a woman's voice asked. She was clearly not the brain trust of this group.

 

"He's further down the hall!" one of the goons on the ground- covered in foam- yelled. There was a curse, and two people slowly forced their way out of the room into the hall.

 

A woman in biker's leathers with a bright red mohawk that seemed to glow, holding a fireball in her hands was first, looking around for Archer. Second was a large, muscled man, wearing just the leather vest, with a bald head and a bunch of tattoos. He was surrounded by an aura of gold as he looked around.

 

"Where are you, Archer!?" yelled the large man.

 

They hadn't yet noticed Sever, at the other end of the hallway, as what had previously been a guard decided to get out of the way and totally ignore the kid at the other end of the hall. So there was a bit of a pincer maneuver if Sever was going to get involved.

 

-----------------------

 

CHIMERA

 

Jennifer and Chuck were sitting very quietly in the car and waiting, when they saw, quite clearly, a member of the Black Snakes motorcycle gang jump out of a window from the hidden club, land on the lid of a dumpster, then jump down. He was holding a shiny, sheathed sword in his hands, looking around suspiciously as he took off at a brisk walk down the sidewalk; the walk of someone who definitely had done something that made him guilty, which was only increased in feeling when the window he had jumped through exploded in a burst of flame.

 

"...Crap. You stay here Jennifer, I'll handle this. It's not part of your job" Chuck said, exiting the car quickly and setting off after the man. He caught up to the biker, and they quickly exchanged words, but even from the car, Jennifer had a great view as the Biker got more and more frantic, before swinging the sword around and hitting Chuck in the head with the handle, sending the cop to the ground with a bloody forehead. The biker swore, but Jennifer couldn't hear what he said from across the road; she was a decent distance away, after all. He looked around in concern, but no one standing around seemed that interested in acknowledging that he had just hit a police officer with a stolen relic, so they quickly shuffled away up and down the street as the man continued to try and walk away from whatever catastrophe he had caused inside the building.

[Spacefurry]

Chimera

 

Jennifer sat in the car with officer Chuck watching the building. She was nervous and anxious, feeling the occasional ‘tug’. She fidgeted as she tried to stay seated. Something was telling her she needed to get out and go, but she wasn’t sure if it was her own desire to check out what was happening or something else trying to urge her on.

 

As they sat and waited, someone clearly smashed through a window and dropped to a dumpster. The man hopped down to the pavement and Chuck told Jenn to stay put.

 

Even as he crossed the street Jennifer climbed out of the car to better see. She watched nervously as the officer attempted to talk the biker down, only for the man to swing the sheathed weapon at him.

“Crap!”

 In a flash, Chimera is across the street.

[Thunder King]

Sever considered his options, and decided on a course of action. He spotted a good spot at the end of the hallway, then slashed the air with his sword.

 

A hole appeared in space itself, revealing the other side of the hallway. He stepped into it, and completely circumnavigated the guards in the middle of the hallway. Why make it easy for them, when he could avoid the small fry if needed?

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

As Sever easily stepped past the two guards, they didn't even notice him, because they were completely focused on looking for Archer. Which was to his benefit, because Sever got to the window that 'Knuckles' had jumped out of in time to see him confronted by Chimera!

 

"Oh crap!" Knuckles said, raising the sheathed, stolen sword up in front of him like a stick to try and ward off the approaching heroine. "Back away! Back away! I don't want no hero business!" He said, swinging the sword around a bit as if to ward of Chimera.

 

This was the second unfortunate event.

 

The sword slipped out of the decorated, leather sheath and Knuckles held it there, pointing it at Chimera for a moment.

 

Then he caught fire. Because the sword caught fire. It burned bright and hot for only an instant, and Knuckles seemed utterly unaffected as it wiped away as fast as it came, but he was holding the sword differently; like it was part of his body. His face was different; he wasn't concerned. It was an expression of cold calculation.

 

Chimera's entire body rattled, like the coins and metal she had devoured at the docks were trying to explode out of her in a single instant. The Symbiote didn't break, but it was a very uncomfortable feeling, like Jennifer wanted to throw up but there was a wad of paper in her mouth to stop her from do it.

 

The voice that echoed from Kunckles' mouth was nothing like what it had been before; for one part it was in Spanish, for the other, it reeked of contempt for Chimera.

 

"Mi nombre es Fernando El Aguirre. Tienes mi oro. Preparate para morir." He intoned. He swung the sword wide. And the ground shifted. The sidewalk around him cracked and splintered as skeletal hands, then arms, then bodies rose out of it, a squad of 10 Conquistadors; dressed in rusted, dented armor, two with drooping, damaged feathers in their helmets, each armed with pike and shot.

 

So now there were two pitched battles about to start, and Sever was in the middle of it. Which was probably a better place to be than anywhere else, because people were screaming and running now; a fight upstairs and a bunch of zombie/skeleton conquistadors outside? It was a great time to be literally anywhere else.

 

Meanwhile, Archer II was not really face to face with two goons; mostly because they didn't exactly know where he was.

Edited February 12 by Poncho

[RocketLord]

ARCHER II

 

A woman on fire. A big guy with a golden aura.

 

Of course the snakes have metas around. What kind of gang doesn't have metas on their payroll by now? Fire's a problem, and who knows what the big guy can do? A golden aura can be anything.

 

Fine. He grabs a bunch of arrows, clicks them into place, and then steps out from his corner, bow raised and just lets loose. The arrows that he shoots all split into others, resulting in a true hail of arrows shooting towards the two metas before he moves back around the opposite corner, out of sight.

[Poncho]

The Archer let loose a flurry of bolts! The flame woman held up her hands and melted the ones approaching her, keeping her safe, but the man who shone gold seems a bit dimmer on the uptake; he flexed as if to let them bounce off him, which meant that he gets struck by a hail of arrows, piercing his flesh. He let out a scream and was clearly distracted by the sensation of being pincushioned.

 

Meanwhile, out on the street, the former gangster who appeared to have been replaced in his head lashed out with the gleaming cavalry saber at Chimera, but he clearly wasn't used to a body with different proportions than his old one, and it went wide. But even as it did, Chimera felt her insides twisting and pulling; like the symbiote wanted to get hit by that blade. The revived conquistador returned to a neutral stance; he was clearly an exceptional swordsman, Knuckles' face a sneer of superiority and supremacy.

[Spacefurry]

Chimera

 

Chimera squared off with the sword wielding  crook with confidence, dispute the uneasy feeling nagging at her.

“If you don’t want trouble, then I suggest you put the sword down and back away.”

She demanded as she assumed and fighting stance, fists up and ready.

 

The crook was waving the weapon around wildly.

‘Thankfully it’s still sheathed… damn it.’

She thought, jinxing herself.

 

Even as the as the sheath clatter to the pavement something within the symbiote lurched. Somewhere she registered the flames engulfing the thug, but it hardly mattered right then and there. She held back the bile that threatened to come up and bring the coffee and donuts she had snaked on at the station with it.

She hadn’t felt anything like this since…

Shit.

 

She managed to pull her focus together. The tug was talking again, but it was different, it wasn’t him anymore.

Spanish, that’s what it sounded like he was speaking, but not the urban Spanish of the streets. It sounded old and more formal. Damn it, she needed to learn Spanish if she was gonna keep working with police.

Wait was that racist?

Wait are those undead?

Why is it always undead lately?

Chimera made an effort and pulled her attention back to together as the dead pulled themselves out of the ground. She already knew her electricity was probably useless, so she opted for a frontal assault.

The symbiote still itched and squirmed but her will focused it again and silver-gray (with a hint of gold) layered over her fists as he struck out at one of the armored undead.

“Did I piss off a necromancer in a previous life?”

[Thunder King]

Sever decided that the fire woman was his first target. He sliced a hole in reality and appeared next to her. He hoped to get the drop on her, but she clearly spotted him.

 

He swung his sword, and immediately cursed. He was getting better, but he was way off. He was so focused on making sure that the edge was aligned that he messed up aiming at his target, causing it to go completely wide.

 

Now he was right next to a person who used fire, and was open for retaliation.

 

Just perfect.

[Poncho]

(GM POST)

 

The man who used to be a random gangster who was now apparently possessed by the spirit of a dead conquistador yelled something to his men as one of the skeletons collapsed into a pile and disappeared like dust. Immediately they formed up around him; Four raised a curtain of steel in defense, while the remaining three stepped forward with pike and shot, hemming and pinning in Chimera as the Conquistador prepared to make another strike. Chimera could almost see his real face behind hte mask of the gangster; the pale skin, the sharp, oiled goatee, the pencil thin mustache, heavy eyebrows and dark eyes full of greed and disgust.

 

Meanwhile, As the sword sliced through the air, Vicki ducked to the side, letting out a curse at what was almost a terrible injury to her.

 

"You brat!" She screamed, clenching her fist and throwing a punch directly at Sever's face, empowering it with the force of flames.

[RocketLord]

ARCHER II

 

A boy comes out of nowhere, swinging his sword wildly at the fire woman, and doesn't get her. Can't be more than 17 at most. An amateur, already getting himself hurt.

 

Connor curses to himself as he readies more arrows. Now he has to keep the the kid safe, too.

 

Divide and conquer, then. The guy with the sword looks like he can take a few hits. Might teach him something, and Connor still doesn't know what the man with the golden aura can do. That's too dangerous. 

 

Stepping out from the corner again, the Archer takes aim and let's loose with a volley of arrows with razor sharp arrowheads, hitting all over the man before he steps back behind cover again.

[Poncho]

(GM POST)

 

Another hail of arrows on the dazed Peter! He barely gets his attention around as he glances at Sever, then at Vicki, then turns and becomes a veritable pincushion of arrows, enough to send him clattering to the floor and quite confused as he continues to be baffled by this archer!

 

"Where are you!? Bow guy!?" He yells out as he goes down, but Vicki is busy with the new kid.

 

And meanwhile, as if it's a completely different world, Chimera is facing off against a resurrected legion of Conquistadors, and their skeletal hands grasp at her, sinking into her flesh as the leader- inhabiting the body of a regular human- pulls back his sword and thrusts it forward, his eyes frenzied with greed and hunger for the prize that he has been hunting for hundreds of years!

[Spacefurry]

Chimera

 

She was getting real tired of dealing with zombies…

 

Anger was bubbling up inside of her, then she felt the pull. It was easy to tell where it was coming from. The sword wielding possessed man was calling to her. No, not her, the gold.

She tried to resist it, but felt it starting to slip from her grasp. The anger swelled again. Was it her anger or was it the gold’s. It was concerning that she couldn’t tell, but the thought was drowned under the anger.

How dare this man think it belonged to him, it was her’s. The anger reinforced her will and she pushed back against the pull.

For a moment it seemed like she had refuted the call, but a slender thread of gold hung in the air, drawn free from her symbiote…

Chimera roared in fury.

Rage erupted inside her and the symbiote writhed, echoing her anger. Techno-organic blades snapped out of her forearms. A blur of silver-gray with hints of gold flashed across the space between where she had been standing and the fiery swordsman, leaving piles of collapsed undead in its wake.

 

She was getting real tired of dealing with zombies…

[Thunder King]

Sever hopped back away from the woman with the red mohawk. She was dangerous, and he was glad that his newfound toughness gave him the durability to endure that.

 

He hopped to the right briefly and watched as her head whipped around to follow him.

 

As soon as she looked to the right, Sever bounced fast back to the left, hopping to her left and performing a vicious draw cut against her abdomen.

 

Draw cut, he thought. A shallow cut not meant to do serious harm, drawn across the target's body.

 

He knew he drew blood, he knew it would sting, a lot. A papercut right above the bellybutton would sting.

He hopped back away from her again. 

 

Man he was fast, now.

 

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

The two goons inside had no idea what was happening outside, but they were all caught up in the two Superheroes that were already attacking them, so they had no ability to help their boss anyway! Both were quickly being wrangled, too distracted by injuries to attempt to mount a counterattack, one- Peter- quite badly hurt while the other was simply distracted by the stinging pain of a new injury that left a small trail of blood across her abdomen. They were being pushed back, cornered by the two heroes who found themselves working together despite having never met before!

 

Meanwhile!

 

After successfully suctioning...something. Away from Chimera, the spirit of the Conquistador once more spoke something in Spanish. He was coming through stronger now; a ghostly imprint of an imperious, pinched face with a sharp, hawk-like nose, a goatee and a pencil thin mustache on his face. Armor and clothing were forming around his body; a breastplate and bright, red and blue clothes appropriate for a conquistador, including the signature helmet. It was like the ghost of the past was trying to replace the individual in the present; to swap them through time! He seemed uncaring of the legion of soldiers that Chimera had just crushed underfoot, as if they had carried out their job and he no longer needed them.

[RocketLord]

ARCHER II

 

Freaking super people... the guy with the golden aura is a pin cushion by now, and somehow, he's still standing. 

What's it take to bring him down? 

The sword guy seems to be doing fine with the woman, Connor can alway find out why he's here later, but right now...

 

Stepping out from behind the cover, he sends more arrows flying against the man with the golden aura, while he shouts "He, sword guy! Out of the way!" before moving back around the corner again.

[Poncho]

(GM Post)

 

The gang members in the hallway were not giving their best, and Archer was handling the two quite well! Not that Sever wasn't helping, of course, they were both doing their best to keep the biker gang members locked down and unable to effectively engage with the greater situation. In fact it seemed like this was a foregone conclusion that they'd be wrapping this up and it would be a nice, easy night.

 

Then a rain of cannonballs shot through the brick facade of the underground club, sending plaster and brick dust swirling in the air as iron balls rained down. One struck the fire manipulating woman in the shoulder and sent her falling to the floor, while the golden man; continuing to be a pincushion for Archer, took one straight to the face but walked it off.

 

Where had they even come from!? Well, Chimera knew, of course!

 

The conquistador had raised his saber into the air, and with a word of command like a general, summoned a circle of skeletal Spaniards, along with several cannons; at his command, the men from the past loaded the cannons, then fired them all through the air in a circle, almost completely randomly as cannonballs went towards Chimera, back into the building, and down the street. Thankfully, the population was already screaming and running, but it was still a terrifying sight!

[Spacefurry]

Chimera

 

Chimera was filled with a rage she couldn’t pin down, but it was strong and fierce. The phantom of a man that seemed to be slowly trying to replace the gang member summoned more dead, with cannons this time.

Perhaps if she was thinking straight she would have found that weird, but right now she only had one thing on her mind. She rushed Fernando, her hand snapping out to grab him. The man weighed nothing to her as she lifted him from his feet with one hand.

 

“Give it back!”

She heard herself yell before she slammed him down onto the pavement with a resounding thud.

[Thunder King]

Sever felt a cannon blast whistle past his head as he shifted to a crouch.

 

He shifted to the left, then the right, then the left, but the woman didn't fall for it. Unfortunately, she didn't fall for it. However, he did manage to do another draw cut along her arm this time. He grinned.

"Stings like a B%*%#, don't it?" He said. She was tough, but he was quick, and he hoped he could put her down before she hurt him.

[Poncho]

(GM post)

 

The burning woman yowled as the sword cut into her arm, but with a surprising burst of anger, she reached out through the crimson haze of her own blood and grabbed Sever by the arm. Suddenly the heat was upon him, sweltering and boiling, like she was trying to destroy the young hero's body temprature regulation, which is exactly what she was doing!

 

"How about this, you little hot shot, let me really burn you up!" she grinned sharply, while her associate was still trying to get back to his feet for basically the first time.

 

All the while the cannonballs were falling around them, or at least they were until the Conquistador had been grabbed up.

 

"I don't know how you're summoning these cannonballs, if it's you or the bow guy, but once you two are gone, they'll be stopping, right?" she hissed, her eyes two sparks of rage and fire.