Under Cape and Banner(IC, Closed)

[Dariusprime]

"Okay, no more Ms. Nice Gal," grumbled Fulcrum as she shrugged off the powerful bolt of energy.

Without fanfare she dove under the boat, leaving a plume of water to splash over the boat's occupants. Slipping under the boat, she waved at El Heraldo before judging the bottom of the boat. She roughly wanted to locate the center of mass. One, to make the craft easier to lift, and two, to prevent it from being damaged or even splitting in half! Then she put two mighty hands right along the keel and hefted. Slowly but surely, the ship lifted from the water, followed by Fulcrum.

She hovered there, waist deep in the ocean, and held the boat high and dry. Slowly, ever so slowly, she started flying, kicking up wake as she hydrofoiled back toward the mainland.

[Ari]

El Heraldo stared in utter amazement as Fulcrum lifted the entire boat out. Of the water and began to tow it to shore, his earlier tension at hearing the horrible roar of the cannons melting away. Hurriedly pushing aside the awe, he sped towards the boat, calling to Fulcrum "I'll try to restrain the guys on the boat", adding shamefacedly "A little redundant, I know, but I don't want them pushing any of those crates into the sea"

That said, he quickly made his way to the boat where he appeared in a blaze of gold, thundering to the strange agents "Surrender! The mighty FULCRUM has you all in hand, and if you make any moves that are NOT in the direction of the aft of this little boat, I will administer her displeasure unto the entirety of your party!" he scowled as ferociously as he could at them, adding as much 'boom' to his voice as he could manage.

[Dariusprime]

"Yes, keep them from taking hostages," she said, somewhat redundantly herself. After all the victims were already boxed, but not in active danger at the moment. "They're still loose and thus dangerous. We each have an important role to fill," she added with a smile.

She'd been trying to let El Heraldo do the dramatic work. After all those robots were tough, but the kidnappers didn't appear much more skilled than normal people. Which would have made for exciting 'live-fire' training for the young paragon. Hopefully, now that the boat was under control, El Heraldo could step up and cow the kidnappers. That would make both of their jobs much simpler!

For herself she continued her slow journey back to land. In order to keep the ship stable, she'd thrown all of her power into her lifting ability. That left relatively little 'juice' left to fly. Not to mention going much faster would have jeopardized everyone on board. As the light lit up the night sky, Fulcrum felt confident that this new hero could handle his own. If he did get in over his head, that boat could be the world's largest pinball machine!

[Ari]

GM

There was a stunned silence as the agents stared in bafflement(and no little surprise and fear)at the glowing creature before them. Six of them began to move towards the aft of the vessel, cowed by the threat, but four put hand to metal and drew out their rifles, firing from the shoulder at the seemingly impossible to miss target of El Heraldo.

As it was, half the metal bursts flew harmlessly past him, while the other half ripped large holes in his coat but did nothing at all to hurt Sunito. There was another silence as the six moving aft gave reproachful looks at the very sheepish rebels.

Regardless of these events, the boat slid smoothly through the air, a light(if clumsily top-heavy)weight to Fulcrum. The red haze from the cannon shots dimming, replaced by the close darkness of familiar night.

[Ari]

Shuddering slightly enough that it was hidden from the view of the boatload of agents, Subito glowered at the four who had shot at him(and especially at the two who had hit), with a tone of ice he declared "You will regret that shortly. As will the rest of you for the greater evil and invasion you've done to these souls!" he pointed dramatically at the coffins about the boat "You four, open them AT ONCE, and release the prisoners from their bonds. I shall keep a close watch on all of you and make sure that none of you does anything beyond my commands. You six!" he turned and pointed at the ones moving generally aft "Drop your weapons onto a pile amidships, and sit in a circle next to the engine until we reach land" from the look on his face, it was pretty clear he wasn't going to take 'No' as a valid response.

[Ari]

GM

Cowed by the display of impenetrability, the four moved quickly to their work, opening the coffins and releasing the captured supers from their shackles, bindings and 'cuffs. Soon the once-imprisoned metas were stretching their aching necks, chatting quietly amongst themselves about who the agents might be working for, and how they had been discovered when they themselves didn't know they had powers. They were quite amazed to learn that two heroes had so quickly learned of their plight, and raised a cheer when El Heraldo mentioned that Fulcrum was carrying them to land. At Subito's request, they happily took custody of the weapons stockpile, and helped him keep watch over the agents.

They got about two thirds of the way to the dock when the blazing lance of energy slammed into the water a few feet from the fore of the boat. Its firer, who by the dents reflecting the light appeared to be one of the robots that had fled a short time ago, sailed coolly down out of the sky, the lighted eyes of two others following it. Otherwise, they were almost invisible against the starry sky. With a soft roar of engines, two smaller robots came towards the aft, which in contrast to their EVE-like compatriots were..somewhat more human-looking.

The reaction of the agents upon seeing the matte-black machines was quite unexpected: sheer terror. Almost as one they yelled desperately "Shoot! Shoot them! Get to the cannons and kill them before they kill us!" the supers didn't have to be told twice, and with a few shouted words of instruction the cannons were beginning their charge sequences.

The robots didn't appear to be very concerned with that, focusing on El Heraldo and Fulcrum with cold intensity in their orange eyes.

[Dariusprime]

"Oh, great...," mumbled Fulcrum as water washed over her. She had a pretty good idea of what was happening, and judging from the sounds from above, things were getting serious.

She kicked everything into high gear. They needed to return to shore fast. Initially her acceleration was slow, nothing worse than the boat itself taking off from the docks. Soon though that increased until she leveled off at a velocity not unlike the boat's own after it escaped into the open ocean. Sure, they could go faster, but from the sounds of it, Subito and (newly freed?) metas were in for a fight. No need to topple them over!

As for herself she was largely unconcerned. She had to get them back to the shore before those robots destroyed the boat! Her eyes focused on the prize: the pier!

[Ari]

GM

With a soft whisper of displaced air, one of the vaguely more human robots slid casually towards El Heraldo, pulled back its left arm, and punched with a great deal of force, slamming its fist against the teen's right shoulder hard enough to send the boy staggering backwards through the air, a deep purple bruise beginning to form from the impact of the fist.

One of the three robots nigh-identical to the two Fulcrum had sent packing let loose a hollow roar, and as before a panel dilated open in its chest, and a column of blazing energy shot forth, thankfully missing her and evaporating a vast gulf of water behind her left hip, the steam being left behind rapidly enough to not impede anyones' vision. For better or worse.

A white twenty-something man wearing a thickset body, a buzz cut and overalls was manning the cannon closest to the metal monster that had shot at Fulcrum let loose a barrage from his cannon, only for every shot to fly harmlessly past the eerie thing and plow into the bay.

The agents at the aft wailed in terror at what seemed to them to be their impending demise.

[Dariusprime]

"Hold on!" yelled Fulcrum as the shot crossed her hip. These things were becoming dangerous!

A few seconds later she took off. Tilting the boat's deck toward the shore, the boat and carrier accelerated forward. She still wasn't going that fast: maybe 80 mph at best. Still it was more than the boat would probably do on a good day, and hopefully enough to stall the assault of the robots. As the wake washed up around her, she squinted and aimed for the dock. If she could just put the boat down on dry land, everyone, including herself, could focus on running off the robots and help evacuate the victims. Even if some kidnappers escaped, at least the metas would be free!

[Ari]

GM

The boat sped through the water, kicking up a V-shaped trail as it raced towards land. While the Terminus-powered heroine carried the vessel, a furious skirmish erupted around it.

One of the eerie pillars of black steel opened its cannon, sending a jolt of power that made a roar audible from the shore, which thankfully turned a patch of water to a boiling mass far to the wayside that was left behind as they raced through towards land. One of the nerve-rattled metas fired barrage at one of the smaller robots, sending a ray of black light bubbling and searing through its hardened metal carapace, and sending its carcass hissing into the ocean. A lean, academic type with bronzed skin sent a series of blasts racing at another of the sleek black heralds of death, only for his shots to swing wide of his target and sail harmlessly through the air, thudding into the water where their bleak reddish light remained in a hellish glow.

One of the stronger robots chanced to be near one of the cannons dotting the boat, and opening its own blaster vomited a pillar of fire at the offending turret. Unfortunately for it, the blast proved insufficient to do more than warm the metal, as the cry of pain from a nearly singed Meta revealed. The owner of the cannon fired at their tormentor, as did their compatriot, both of their shots missing by their own separate degrees.

[Ari]

El Heraldo shook himself out of the brief funk he had found himself in when the robots had shown up. He had a mission to guard the Metas and the boat-full of agents to bring to questioning. With that in mind, he flung himself at one of the more human-looking robots, sending a carefully-aimed fist into its chest, impacting with sufficient power to smash its chest to pieces, sending a cascade of metal bits into the water before the main hulk of the machine as it sunk into the depths. The thundering jolt of the killing blow send a reverberation through most of his nervous system, tempered quickly by a glance at the silent monsters that could so easily render him unconscious.

With all speed, he flew into the air to deal with the marauders on a slightly more equal footing.

[Ari]

GM

As the Fulcrum-powered boat raced for land at speeds it never obtained under its own engine's efforts, the three metal beings followed.

One of them, marked by a blistered paint-job from a near-miss, fired a concussive blast of burning energy(which was later found to be a suicidally-overclocked version of a standard battle robot's blaster) at the blue, gold and white supporter of the craft, which blazed over her shoulder and took out most of the roof of the warehouse ahead of them. This attempted affront was retaliated by a barrage from the cannon directly at the prow of the small, disreputable vessel.

The pulse of the Blacklight cannon slammed into the robot with enough force to cause a small sonic boom, assisted by the fact that the robot had effectively flown right into it.

Sadly, as the reddish haze lessened, the thing was no less mobile or deadly, and in fact a dying shimmer about its chest blaster suggested it had lessened the shock disrupting its force. The other two came quickly on, silent as the grave...

[Dariusprime]

Fulcrum's tolerance for these shenanigans had reached its limit. Seeing the warehouse approach, the heroine reduced her speed and changed her hold on the ship. Even as it creaked from the shifting forces, the ship came to rest on the dock, propped against the very warehouse the robots damaged. That way the keel didn't factor into the boat's positioning. Instead of listing left or right, it sat fully upright, thus allowing the fighters on board to do their jobs with a minimum of difficult terrain.

Not wasting any time, Fulcrum circled up and joined the fray. None too subtly at that. She positioned herself next to El Heraldo and waved the robots forward. Her intent? Simple. Draw the attention and attacks of the assembled mechanics. Or in another, more computer-savvy sense, she intended to tank and draw their aggro!

"Come get me!"

[Ari]

GM

In answer to her defiant call, one of the floating pillars slid over towards her and opened its chest cannon. In contrast to the gaping maws that they had previously employed, however, this one narrowed his to a fine, laser-like point, which had the definite effect of hitting Fulcrum in the sternum.

Two of the metas around the cramped middle of the boat swiveled their turrets at the offending metal creature and fired, one shot going wild and the other discharging in the barrel, which turned the entire machine red-hot and nearly scalded the meta operating it, but they managed to throw themselves clear at the last moment.

The agents in the back gibbered in fright as the other two sleek monsters slid through the night towards them...

[Ari]

At Fulcrum's cry, Subito stood stock still, glancing with renewed admiration at the gigantic heroine. Fired by her example, he decided to try his hand at fighting the bigger fish that had just shown up!

Soaring into the air, he raced up to the first of the pillar-like robots he saw and punched it with as much precision as he could muster, wanting to make the punch count for all it was worth!-

[Ari]

GM

The resulting *clunggg* that echoed off of the robot's carapace as the young paragon's fist struck it rolled a dolorous note over the boat and the rest of the scene. Turning a spare eye towards its presumptuous foe, the pillar of metal released an arm from within itself, which it gave a short punch with into El Heraldo's left flank, a punch the boy only narrowly managed to keep from injuring himself.

A desultory attempt at shooting the Dark Metal down led to another overheating of a Blacklight cannon, the possibility being entirely there that they weren't meant for such prolonged use, but rather as discouragements for pursuer.

By now, the clamor and flashes of red and orange fire had gotten the attention of at least a few citizens in the reaches of the Waterfront district, who alerted the authorities of the bizarre disturbance at the docks. It wouldn't be more than about twenty minutes until they arrived...

[Dariusprime]

"Not going to happen!" yelled Fulcrum as the shadowy machine dove into her.

With surprising agility, the giantess swept upward, rotating at shoulder level perpendicular to the horizon. The movement swiftly dodged her from the incoming assault. Now upside down, her placement put her in an advantageous counter attack position, and she used the opportunity.

Winding up a hay maker, out of habit she feinted somewhat from her boxer predisposition and hooked in a left to the machine's midsection. Well, what counted as a midsection on such a contraption, vaguely humanoid or not. The blow landed solidly, and another mournful boom echoed into the night air.

From her angle, she could drive the machine into the ground with a solid enough blow. Mentally, she hoped that would happen. Although a flier herself, fighting against nimble, airborne foes was always a challenge!

[Ari]

GM

As the robot went flying towards Fulcrum, it clearly hadn't been expecting a counter-blow. This was evident by the way its limbs exploded from its body just as its head was snapped clean off from the inertia of the punch, their black steel lashing and clawing at the air and concrete as it dug an impromptu burrow for itself in the ground that was slowly filled with the green cooling fluid inside its chassis, stilling after an agonizing period. It powered down, the dark glow in its eyes fading, before the explosion tossed its remains into the air in a cloud of disintegrating metal.

Its cousin seemed to take affront to this dispatching, and opening its cannon to an extent greater than looked to be actually possible, it concentrated the resulting inferno of semi-coherent energy into a bolt at least a third of a meter across at Fulcrum, which carved a charred gouge into the concrete of the docks as it dissipated into the matter around itself. From the way it jolted several feet away, its eyes combining to peer at Fulcrum in an unmistakably baffled manner at her, this was obviously not the intended effect.

The supers, now beached and with two of the cannons overheated, decided to cut their losses and make a run for it, the accountants, college and university students, grocery clerks and taxi drivers nearly falling out of the leaning boat to get the agents(still in a state of terror), from the exposed and motionless target they otherwise would be on. One of them, a lean Korean woman who Subito recognized as a friend of his sister's from his old school, took the time to turn back and yell to the two fliers "Good luck to you guys! And thank you Fulcrum! They'd have got us if it wasn't for you!"

[Ari]

Fired by the fact that the supers were getting to safety(And I helped! he thought excitedly), not to mention the fact that one of their metal harassers had just been smashed outright, El Heraldo figured he could do a lot worse than try his luck at attacking one of the monstrosities himself. Pulling back an arm, he shot like an arrow from a bow at the one he had noticed as bearing a minute marker of '1' in dark green. His zeal put force behind his blow, and the wind rushed through the feather in his cap as he rocketed towards his adversary with arm crooked to deliver what he hoped would prove to be a mortal strike.

[Ari]

GM

Unfortunately for the young paragon-in-training, his punch whiffed several inches in front of the robot, and swung him directly into its counterattack. The silent pillar of steel lashed out with a punishing blow into the boy's right flank, causing a spurt of blood to fly from between his suddenly clenched teeth. With a gasp of pain the boy was sent headlong into the water, where he sank quickly out of sight. The robot remained hovering above where he had sunk, watching with great care lest the youth attempt to resurface.

[Dariusprime]

Silently Fulcrum encouraged the young paragon's powerful attack. That sort of strike was exactly what they needed to finish the fight. Not to mention, knocking out one of the metal monsters would greatly boost his self confidence. One thing a paragon needed was confidence. After all they were on the front lines of villainous wars.

Her enthusiasm turned instantly to horror at the devastating counter attack. In that split second, several thoughts raced through her mind. For the sake of the hostages she had to assume he was alive. She couldn't leave the machine alone for any length of time lest it focus on the now-fleeing prisoners and agents. But El Heraldo was still badly injured at least! Those sort of decisions were always the most difficult. If left to her one devices, she picked up her young friend, move him to safety and access his condition.

With heavy heart she zoomed forward in the blink of an eye, or in the robot's case, one refresh of its cameras, and planted a knee into it's emblem-embossed chest. If she could destroy or disable it quickly, she could see to El Heraldo and assist the escapees. Which, by the way, she didn't take her eyes off the machine, but she did give a big thumbs up to the woman who wished them luck!

[Ari]

GM

The machine bent and crumpled under the heroine's attack, spewing coolant as its fractured body splashed noisily into the harbor, its limbs jerking and flailing as it sank out of sight with a distant *boom!* and gout of water signaling its self-inflicted termination. Clearly whoever used these machines had no wish to allow any whole sections, and only cared enough about their secrets to destroy any who carried them...

The final metal terror took stock of the situation, looked at Fulcrum, the debris from its fallen comrades, the gouge in the dock, and the melted hole in the warehouse nearby. Without ceremony it turned and rocketed off towards the northeast. It seemed even it could tell the position it was in was..sub optimal.

The approaching sirens of the rapidly approaching emergency vehicles were now much louder, and they could clearly be seen weaving in the direction of the strange battle site.

[Dariusprime]

Mona didn't waste any time and dove headlong into the dark bay. Using her cosmic senses, she searched in the darkness for El Heraldo. Gently wrapping her arms around him, the two soon returned to the docks. Then the first aid began.

Which really consisted of making sure he was breathing and had not aspirated seawater. She sat him upright and patted his back. "You still with me, hero?" she asked with obvious pride. "You'll be okay. That kind of wallop would put anyone out for a while."

As the vehicles approached, she waved to them.

[Ari]

Subito's assurance that he really was alright, and could even stand without help, was lost in the dull gurgle of seawater mixed with blood that poured out his mouth. The world was tilting and changing color at an alarming rate as well, so he clung as best he could just to be on the safe side.

He wasn't in any danger of drowning, the power granted to him took care of that, and the cold water couldn't hurt him any, but he was still an absolute wreck. His costume was torn and gashed open, deep bruises and the cuts and wounds from the robots(not to mention an ugly lump on the left side of his head) would have been worrying enough without the stream of liquid leaking from between his lips.

After several minutes he managed weakly "Thagg yu Fullrum" wincing at the bright lights still harshly illuminating the dock and the golden glow that came from his granted power, adding with much less slurring "For getting me out of the water" placidly observing the approaching emergency vehicles he concluded "Glad you were here, that was way out of my league" staggering to his feet for a moment before simply floating in the air, he saluted her unsteadily "Unless you want me to stick around for something Fulcrum, I'm going to head home. I'll catch it anyhow, don't want everyone knowing what happened because of the 9 o'clock news" he looked at the flagpole still clutched in his hand and suddenly grinned at her "I think I'm gonna like doing this"

[Dariusprime]

Fulcrum stood and offered a handshake to the young hero, "That's the spirit! And you're very welcome. You conducted yourself very well, El Heraldo. You'll be a fine hero and make your banner proud!"

"Besides," she added as the first police cruiser arrived, "our job is to neutralize the bad guys and take the big punches."

Looking him over, she asked, "Are you sure you'll be alright? I know several discreet doctors that treat superheroes regularly. Your identity would be protected."

"But yes, if you want to leave, feel free. I'll take care of the paperwork and media."