ic Darkest Day (IC)

[Thevshi]

GM

 

Carmen's attack finished off the black armored Omegadrone she had focused on, knocking it to the ground and unconscious.

 

Meanwhile, while Martinet dodged the attacks from a pair of Bernadette's duplicates, Bruiser rushed forward toward the Annihilist. Letting out a yell of anger, the hulking figure launched a wild right hook at Martinet, somehow catching her by surprise.

*WHAM*

The force of the punch could be felt by those nearby, and the few remaining windows on nearby buildings shook slightly. Martinet was knocked off her feet and sent flying across to the block to smash through a wall and into a damaged building.

The Annihilist landed hard in the middle of the wreckage strewn about the room and lay there unconscious, finally removed as a threat.

[Avenger Assembled]

Neko pointed at one of the attacking cyborgs and felt its mind burn in a fiery flash of claws and teeth while Owain stayed back, using his invisibility spell (and, frankly, prayers to Christ Jesus) to try and shield the civilians who hadn't yet gone below from the eyes of the Omegadrones. Neither of the pair looked particularly optimistic about where things were going.

[Thevshi]

GM

 

Neko's mental attack caused the remaining black armored Omegadrone to stagger slightly, clearly hurting it, but not putting it down.

Up in the sky, Network sent another bolt of lightning arching through the sky as it tore through the four remaining red armored Omegadrones. The electrical attack blasted a black hole in each of their armored chest plates before all four feel out of the sky to crash to the ground below.

 

Archer stepped forward, drawing another arrow back as he aimed at the black clad Omegadrone Neko had attacked. Letting loose the arrow, it struck right through the eye socket of the helmet, snapping the Omegadrone’s head back before it crumpled to the pavement.

And then, everything around the teens was silent. The damaged giant robot, dozens of downed Omegadrones, and the unconscious form of an Annihilist. There was still the faint sound of distant explosions, but for the moment, there were no enemies within sight….

[Dracostern]

Cerebellum 

Daniel shook his head and rubbed his bruise for the moment before getting up. He felt terrible. Not just because he had been hit, but because he felt extremely useless. But...they had peace for now. He would move out towards the other students and speak up, after taking a few deep breaths to try and calm himself down. This was all a little too much for the poor young man. Still they have beaten the enemy back...good good.

"We need to get out of here! There has to be a secret base somewhere for us to hide or...?" Maybe they could rush out to help some people also.

[Thevshi]

GM

 

"Sit back and do nothing if you intend to, but we are not about to just watch our city get torn to pieces." Archer stated bluntly as he strode over towards his teammates, gesturing out towards the downtown skyline that was now partially obscured by columns of smoke from countless fires.

 

But even as the moment of calm settled on the area, it was relatively short lived, as a tall figure appeared in the air near the group of heroes. The figure was completely concealed beneath tattered black robes, its face completely hidden within shadowy darkness of the hood of the robe. "Bravely fought, but ultimately futile." The figure stated in a cold, hollow voice.

Neko heard its words in Japanese, not just any Japanese, but the very dialect of her village. Owain heard it speak in Welsh, Carmen heard Spanish, while Rosalinda, the twins and Bernadette heard English.

 

Whatever the members of Force Ops heard, Archer quickly drew an arrow and fired at the hovering figure. There was a distorted ripple in time and space as the arrow seemed to strike some invisible barrier some distance from the robed figure before exploding. The smoke quickly cleared, and the figure was still hovering there, completely unfazed.

 

"You many run if you wish, but there is no escape from the endless hordes of the Terminus." The figured continued, continuing to speak in each listener’s native language. "Soon, the Lord of Terminus will arrive, and this time there is no Centurion to stop him. When he does, this world will die, as it is drawn into the Cosmic Coil."

[Tiffany Korta]

Starshine

 

Glowing, literally and figuratively, thanks to her last attack Rosaling flew down and floated above the ragtag team of heroes. Things weren't going great but maybe, just maybe they'd be able to pull off something like a victory. She wasn't the most confident most of the time, but it was either bluffing or she'd arrive at Terminus decades before she'd even been born!

 

"Well if things are that cut and dry I'm sure you won't mind telling us just who you are, and just how you've arranged for Centurion to be a no-show?"

 

 

[MoonSimply]

La Puma Negra

 

It finally seemed like there was at the least a little reprieve from this fight as they managed to knock out this Martinet person. Sure, she was probably in one of the history books as Carmen could remember enough of that, but it still isn't easy piecing these sorts of things together for her to realize the depths of. History itself was just out of her ability to recall at this important juncture. That was before they showed up, a presence that made her as she stood on all fours like a predatory cat like being. Whatever this being was, Puma was growling towards it, gritting her teeth as felt all her nerves go haywire upon hearing it speak Spanish.

 

"This guys got us figured. Not a good thing," Puma responds back towards her fellow compatriots. Things felt like they were just about the get worse.

[Avenger Assembled]

"Can you not save these people?" asked Owain, a knight's plea at a failed battle in his voice as he adopted his usual mortal visage again. The speaker looked a villain but who could tell in these times? "Even a fraction of their number? All men should know, in truth, that with great power, comes great responsibility!" he declared boldly. 

 

Neko was silent, her eyes moving to the others as she put two and two together. "Send us back," she said suddenly, not bothering with English, dusting the ash and blood off her kimono. "You have won." She could guess at the being's power, so vast it might not have been there at all to her enhanced senses, not to mention with all these wonders - and horrors - it had wrought. What was the point in toying with a god? "Please - my lord," she added.

 

[Dracostern]

Cerebral and Cerebellum

 

The twins turned and looked up at the hooded figure...oh no, this wasn't good at all! This was surely some kind of reinforcement from Terminus....and they had been fighting non-stop since they left the underground. Both Daniel and Iris were beginning to get tired from this non-stop fighting. 

Then again....this being seemed a bit different. It spoke as if it was not from this time, just like them! This thing could either help or harm them. Iris, for one, could not take this.

 

"I agree with Neko here. Send us back to our time. We have no place here...w-we shouldn't even be around as is!" Iris exclaimed. They weren't even born yet.

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

It was not the robed figure that responded to Rosalind's question, but Archer. He looked over at the teenager as he spoke, "Centurion died decades ago, around the end of World War II."

 

"Bugger us." Bernadette muttered as she looked over at the vigilante leader before focusing back on the robed figure.

 

The mysterious figure hovered in the air, seemingly unmoved by the pleas of some of the group. "Once Lawrence Harrow surrenders and agrees to join me, I shall return you to your timeline." The figure stated simply.

 

"He an' the others aren' even here." Bernadette spoke up. "Are they somewhere else in the city?"

 

"Harrow and his companions are in another timeline, facing the Communion." The figure simply stated.

[Tiffany Korta]

Starshine

 

It hadn't taken a genius, even with her slightly janky history knowledge, but it was nice to know why Centurion was a no-show here. Not that it made anything better in the here and now. Rosalind had romantic notions of finding this world's Bracelet and doubling her power, but that would take the one thing that they didn't have right now... time!

 

"If you want someone to stay behind and play you sick little games, I'll stay! But not before you send everyone back to our own Earth, I'm not that green!"

 

It was probably a fruitless gesture, but she had to at least try and see if she could save her friends, new and old.

 

[MoonSimply]

La Puma Negra

 

Pointing at this strange being, Puma was not fazed by such threats by appearances, though in truth she was rather terrified. Standing in a partial crouch, she'd speak somewhat brazenly, "You send us back now you hear me! None of us are playing your stupid game bastard so bring us back!

 

Puma quickly moved over towards Starshine with a leap, still keeping her eyes on such a being. This truly was a bad spot for them all and she little understood what this had to do with one of their fellow classmates at all, "What the heck do we do Rosalind," she'd whisper. This whole deal seemed to be getting worse by the minute and Carmen had already had enough of this strange and bizarre timeline of the past.

[Dracostern]

Cerebral and Cerebellum

 

The twins used their own powers and floated over beside Bernadette. Both were trembling, but were trying to hide it. Iris had better success with this then her poor brother. Still both were staring up at this clearly powerful figure in fear. What could they do?! Iris was wracking her brain to try and figure out how to get them all out of this. Her brother, however, had no such reservations. 

 

"What do you even want?! Lawrence isn't even here!" He would yell up at the figure through a shakey voice. They can get out of this, they had to! It will all work out...right?

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

At the appearance of this mysterious entity and the stand-off that unfolded, things otherwise seemed to calm down in the immediate area. While explosions could be seen in downtown Freedom City and new columns of smoke began to rise up, for the moment there were no enemies in the immediate area. Not that that made Bernadette feel any better as she regarded the dark robed figure.

 

Now that her adrenaline was starting to lessen, she began to feel a cold emptiness inside her, but the redhead forced herself not to think about that at the moment, knowing she needed to remain focused on the situation around them and be ready to act if needed. Sensing Iris and Daniel moving over near her only served to help the Irish teen in keeping her composure and staying focused on the robed figure.

 

For its part, the mysterious figure seemed unmoved by either the pleading or demands of the teens, continuing to simply hover above them. "This is no game, and what you choose to do matters little. Either way, death will find you." It replied in its cold, hollow voice, which continued to be heard by each present in their native language.

 

Suddenly, the relative calm that had settled around the group was shattered, as a massive object crashed into a building down the block. Out of ruined building, another of the massive Terminus robots emerged, the furnace in its chest flaring to life as it stared down at the Claremont teens and Force Ops members. In the skies behind it, swarms of Omegadrones flying into view as they began to converge on the gathered heroes.

 

Bernadette tensed at the appearance of new threats, taking a deep breath as a dozen of her duplicates popped into existence around her. Archer drew an arrow as the rest of Force Ops also prepared for a new onslaught of enemies.

 

Suddenly, there was a slight ripple in the air between the heroes and the new threats, which quickly formed into a large temporal distortion. A figure streaked out of the temporal portal in a blur of white and black, heading directly at the Terminus robot. The figure slammed into the robot’s torso, smashing through it and sending the power core within flying out the back to crash to the ground a short distance behind it. The robot stood motionless for a moment, a massive hole through its chest, then it fell to its knees before crumpling to the ground with a loud crash.

 

Hovering in the are was an orange skinned female in a while bodysuit with black diamond shapes on it, as well as black boots and a long flowing black cape. Carmen immediately recognized Paradigm, having just a few days earlier having fought alongside her. 

 

A number of other figures emerged from the temporal portal, various alien humanoids, quicky spreading out and cutting into the gathering Omegadrones, quickly clearing the immediate area of them.

 

One of the figures that exited the portal was a female figure in a suit of high-tech power armor, wielding a power staff she used to blast some Omegadrones out of the sky. Again, Carmen recognized her as Traveller, one of the Praetorians she had met on the Lighthouse. Traveller flew down towards the Claremont teens. "You all must be the missing Claremont students." She stated. "Lawrence, Michael and your other friends are through that portal, ready to take you back to where you belong. We’re here to help sort all this and try to stop this Omega when he shows up."
 

[MoonSimply]

La Puma Negra

 

"Sigue soñando!" growled out as she looked back out to such a strange being, standing there menacing and imposing. Claws out, ready to pounce, but it would likely be futile. Whatever this entity was there was no way any of them would be likely take on such a thing and live. They'd be stuck here, dead and forgotten, a cruel end for some young heroes caught in the whirlpool of machinations of beings far beyond their own imaginations. However, Puma wasn't going to end things without a fight, not if she couldn't help it. Her life hadn't come this far just to be lost in time after all, gearing up to continue the fight, no matter now how truly now come to.

 

That was however until a portal of some kind appeared, a temporal distortion of sorts. Then, out came Paradigm, the hero she had met weeks ago with Michael while all that crazy alien stuff had occurred. It seemed like everything to do with extraterrestrial life was beyond her, but what did she know. Carmen herself was a genetic abnormality that no doctor could rather figure out and few magically inclined folks that did simply label it as some sort of curse too hard to sparse out. Aliens brought it just one step crazier in another whole direction as the cavalry arrived along with Paradigm.

 

Of course, Paradigm wasn't alone and alongside the host of alien troops came Praetorian, "Don't have to tell me twice!" she says before bounding towards their new exit, looking back only once.

 

[Tiffany Korta]

Starshine

 

A chirp from the bracelet showed some recognition of this Traveler, something that Rosalind would have to inquire about later! Along with the fact that she was more than ready to sacrifice herself for the sake of others, something for the Claremont counsellors that one.

 

"I guess that means we're leaving now, everyone that's on the list through the portal now!"

 

Floating there she was thinking of guarding the rear, though not to the point of making it that she was most definitely the last Claremonter standing. Such bravado was a mugs game and it was more important that they all went home.

[Avenger Assembled]

Neko 

 

I hate time travel. 

 

Exhausted and sick from what had turned out to be a very long, very miserable day, Neko leaped through the portal, followed closely by Owain. She was never going on vacation again. 

[Dracostern]

Cerebral and Cerebellum

 

There was a lot going on here and the twins would remember this...in fact it's not like they will forget this adventure any time soon. Both Iris and Daniel would nod towards the new hero, they were thankful to get the save...and then Iris gripped Daniel's hand and together they would rush through the portal.

[Thevshi]

Multi-Girl

 

Bernadette gave a sigh of relief as she watched what appeared to be reinforcements arrive and quickly begin to deal with the massing Terminus forces. As one of the new arrivals reveled they had been sent by Lawrence, the others were quick to enter the portal that was promised to be a way home. The redhead watched to ensure Iris and Daniel were through, and waiting for the others. If moments she and Rosalind were the last two left.

 

The Irish teen glanced over at Archer and some of the other members of FORCE Ops. Archer met her gaze. "You all should be going. Thanks for the help, it looks like we have a shot a dealing with this now."

 

Giving a small smile, Bernadette looked over to Rosalind. "Well, we're the last two. Let's get ta bloody hell out o' here." She then stepped into the portal at the same time as her friend.

 

The Claremont students felt as if they were being propelled forward at tremendous speed for a brief moment. Then the sensation stopped, and they found themselves standing in the Quad at Claremont, their bags and other luggage lying on the ground. Nearby where the others that had apparently been sent some place else, all apparently safe and sound as well…..
 

[Tiffany Korta]

Starshine

 

Rosalind took a few seconds to check that all her parts had come back to the same place as they should be. Then she checked if there was anyone she needed to thank because she'd been raised to be polite at the very least. 

 

"Well I don't know about you, but I think I'll have a bath, some sleep and a little cry. And maybe not in that order!"

 

There was a lot to process about today, and now was as good a time as any to start on that path.