Thunder King Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 GM "Quick, get inside!" Doctor Green shouted. "Once you're inside, the chamber will seal. I heard gunshots, we might be interrupted." The young man, Andrew, nodded and settled into the machine. Within seconds, the machine closed. "Combat Droid..." The scientist said. "Alert mode, I think we may be joined by someone soon..." The robot nodded and straightened up, readying itself for battle.
Thunder King Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 GM The Combat Droid charged King of Suits, bolting at a speed that was bewildering for it's size and apparent weight. It came down with a fierce right cross, but miscalculated the trajectory, causing it's strike to go wild.
Ari Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 The sight of the combat machine barreling towards him caused more than a little terror in Marceau's heart. He knew fully well that if the machine managed to hit him, it would beat him into the ground without any of the twinges of pity that might stay the hand of a more sapient foe. It was with great relief that as he jerked backwards from its attack that the arm swung past him. He could hear its inner workings however, and that was more than close enough for him. Tensing himself, he lashed out with a sharp, singularly-focused strike aimed at the robot's midsection. Long experience told him that most modern roboticists put the more fragile and higher function-enabling chips and boards in the place most well-defended, and from the feel of the metal plating it was well protected indeed. The jar of the impact with the metal on his flesh and bone was far worse than that he had just felt punching the guard, though he barely felt it through the gauntlet. Whupping out his trusty grapple gun, he latched onto a support rafter high above both of them, and shot off for the roof, swinging nimbly onto the board and peering down at the battlefield, planning his next move...
Thunder King Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 Voltage spotted the scientist next to the machine and instantly knew it had already been activated. He had to stop the machine. He knew from hacking the computer with his mind that the process had quite a bit of warming up before it actually began. He estimated he had less than five minutes before the process truly began. Because of that, Voltage was in no mood to hold back. A bolt of lightning screamed from his hands and cut a silver streak through the air. It struck the scientist dead in the chest. It was clear that he felt it, but the doctor did not seem as injured as he should. Voltage just stared at the man, it was clear he wasn't quite normal.
Thunder King Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 GM Dr. Green gazed angrily at the young superhero floating overhead. He drew his laser pistol and fired a shot. He chuckled in glee when he saw that the strike landed. Voltage roared in pain. His suit was designed to protect him from harm, but the laser bypassed his protections. He panted a little. It hurt, but he was okay.
Ari Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 The piercing light of a ray gun drew the King's attention immediately, and with only a couple second's worth of fumbling he took a small silvery grenade from his belt and threw it at the feet of the mad(?) scientist, where it exploded in a blazing light intended to temporarily blind. He couldn't get a powerful enough explosion to make a useful bang, but at least he could get a flare from his chemistry dabbling. He glanced in surprise down at the robot, which seemed to be having trouble moving. He guessed he'd hit something important, and made a mental note to try for that section again. Although, he reminded himself, the modern roboticist might just be able to make allowances for repeated attacks at certain points, and provide an appropriate repair system. At any rate, he wasn't going to hang around the rafters forever, just until he was ready.
Thunder King Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 GM The Combat Droid shook it's head of the cobwebs and glared, seemingly angrily, at King of Suits above. It's knees bent for a second, and suddenly it was in the air. It landed gracefully and delivered a firm snap kick to King of Suits' midsection.
Thunder King Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 "We don't have time for this!" Voltage roared, preparing an electric blast. He chose to pour more energy into the attack, knowing full well that it would make it less accurate. From what he'd seen, the doctor looked like he could take it. Dr. Green stumbled back slightly, having felt that one more.
Thunder King Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 GM Dr. Green gasped in pain, raising his pistol to fire at Voltage. The blast struck Voltage right in the chest, but luckily, his suit was not compromised. Voltage grimaced in pain. It hurt, but he was lucky it didn't hurt worse.
Ari Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 Stars exploded in Marceau's eyes as the metal knee slammed into his trunk, and the world wheeled around him as he fell on his back out of a desperate desire to not fall to the ground and break his skull. In the vagueness that followed, he suddenly realized that the robot was bringing itself into a posture that signaled another attack! Bringing up a leg he deflected the blow onto the armor plate protecting his chest, noting with a wince the dent it made on the white heart over his sternum. Getting unsteadily to his feet, he lashed out with a gauntleted fist, only for it to swing past the robot and almost cause him to fall off the rafter. With a hiss of irritation, he let his momentum carry him off his compromised perch, firing a grapple line over it to slow his fall to non-lethal speeds. The robot was proving a surprising opponent. It was far faster than the ones he was used to, but also more fragile. He put it down to a need for lighter materials as he landed neatly on the concrete floor, looking up warily at the mad scientist and his ray gun before focusing once more on the robot above. An idea began to quickly form in his mind...
Thunder King Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 Voltage growled. This was seriously becoming irritating. He was running out of time and needed to end the fight, immediately. He began drawing energy from around him, pulling electricity into his body. Little jolts of electricity crackled off of his skin. He knew he was putting more power into this hit than he ever had before. "Yeaaaargghh!" he roared as he forced the energy out of his body with everything he had. A massive silver lightning bolt filled the air. Doctor Green's entire body shook for a moment before he dropped to one knee. Voltage lurched forward and nearly fell on his face, but caught himself. His breath was ragged, his body aching from the effort. Still, the Doctor was in worse shape, even possibly out of the fight completely.
Thunder King Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 GM The Combat Droid leaped down to strike at King of Suits, ready to end the fight. It's polymer-encased fist balled. As it landed, he brought it's fist down on King of Suits. Unfortunately, for it, King of Suits was ready for the attack and deflected it. The Combat Droid looked up, and even in it's inexpressive face, it was obvious that it was afraid of the retaliation.
Ari Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 Smiling thinly at the robot in front of him, the King of Suits leaped forward, bringing his armored fist into the tell-tale dent he had left with his last strike with colossal force, putting every inch of pressure on the robot's chassis that he could, straining against the hard metal with all his might to break the thing and crush its circuit boards. He made sure to follow the golden rule of punching: the impact is not the last part of the attack, you step forward, punch, and keep on going, aiming for a space several inches behind your target for maximum force. It had served him well in the past, and did so now. He was not a fan of robots, and that moment, with the hazy red glare of the sun streaming in, the smell of ozone from the recent electrical attack Voltage had unleashed on the scientist who appeared to be behind this, and the ache of his gut, he didn't feel much more inclined to appreciate their contributions to the world. His fist crashed deeply into its inner workings, and he felt the metal within give and twist under the punch. He pulled his hand free and regarded the robot warily, ready for any retaliation it made.
Thunder King Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 GM The Combat Droid took two steps, it's glowing yellow eyes flashing on and off. It brought it's right fist up and swung with a half-effort before the follow through took it off it's feet. it collapsed, crashing to the floor. It was done. "Ha..." Doctor Green said. "I...ugh, I'm done..." He dropped his pistol to the ground and dropped to a sitting position against the wall. "I won't fight anymore..." He said. "The Combat Droid's repair routines will kick in soon, I'll tell it to stand down. You won."
Thunder King Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 "Good, now you can shut it off...". Voltage said, his breathing still ragged. "Your machine is flawed. I have the power to access computers with my mind, and I saw your plans. You have a couple of minor flaws, flaws that most people wouldn't even notice. Your calculations were off, it won't give him powers, it will kill him."
Thunder King Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 GM "No, it won't..." Doctor Green said. "What flaw? There can't be a flaw. Besides, you can't shut it off, not now. Shut it off now and it will do even worse damage. The circuits take time to work into the process slowly, shut that off and there will be a short, and a short would be bad at this stage."
Ari Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 "If we don't he'll be killed" Marceau called over to him, bounding over to the power cables and quickly tugging them out of the sockets. Frantic, he hurried to the machine assembly and started to tug out circuits, pulling plugs and slicing through the iron-lung-like thing that was encasing the boy. His blows weren't aimed at a light, nimble robot, but a heavy and unmovable piece of equipment that could withstand small-arms fire. His desperate slices couldn't keep it from continuing its dreadful work on the man inside, and even as it lost outside power it simply switched to batteries hidden within. The masked man realized with horror that the situation was nearly hopeless! "Voltage, quick!" he screamed "Stop it! I can't!"
Thunder King Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 "Okay, I'll try it." Voltage said, walking to the back of the machine. He looked down at the cable as his brows furrowed. "If I can cause a minor short in the wiring, it should stop it from starting up." "What are you doing?" A voice said, coming from inside the machine. "I want this, stop it!" He cried out. "This machine is built wrong!" Voltage roared to the boy inside. "If I don't stop it, you'll die!" He began firing bolts of electricity at the wiring. "No! Stop!" The boy roared. "All my life, all I've ever wanted was super powers. Now I'm about to get them. You're not going to stop me, you hear? Don't stop it!" Voltage growled. "Don't you get it? I'm trying to save your LIFE". Suddenly, one of the wires sparked and shorted out. Voltage sighed, the machine's power was sufficiently disrupted.
Thunder King Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 GM The sparks, however, did not stop. They grew in intensity. The power to the entire warehouse began browning out. "The short..." The doctor said, standing up. "There is a flaw in the wiring, right there!" He yelled, pointing to one of the now-exposed wires. "The formula is too volatile. We have to get out of here!" He turned to the two heroes. "You don't understand, if the chemicals in that machine catch fire, the entire warehouse is going to explode! Do either of you think you can survive that? I know I can't!" He said. "Combat Droid, activate, flee!" The mechanized warrior stood up instantly and grabbed the Doctor up in his arms, running as fast as it could.
Ari Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 A feeling of nightmare descended on the King of Suits. He was used to crime-fighting that ended with the defeat of the bad guy, maybe a few cuts and bruises, but everyone ended up alright. He wasn't used to being taken back to the old days when he had to choose between getting stabbed and letting someone else get terribly injured. Almost without thinking, he raced for the flickering tank, and after a few frenzied seconds located where the chemicals were stored for infusion with the patient. Unzipping a pouch he took a bag of crystallized particles from it, and dumped them all into the tank, chasing it down with a black sludge that he all but threw in with its vial. He prayed fervently as he retreated from the sudden flare of their reaction with the compounds already present, hoping desperately that they would limit the damage as much as he needed. As he ran he shouted to Voltage "I'm sorry! That's all I can do!" Tears running down his cheeks, he ran out of the warehouse, firing his grapple gun at a far roof to swing furiously away from the site of what he feared would be a terrible tragedy.
Thunder King Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 Voltage sighed and teleported away from the machine and outside. He dropped behind a nearby container and covered his ears. A second passed, two seconds, three... A few moments later, he heard a massive explosion fill the air. He poked his head out and gazed at the building. It was still standing. He immediately accessed the internet and posted a request for help. Police, fire, ambulance, everyone. He raced inside. Voltage cautiously stepped into the room, afraid of what he would see. He insisted on seeing it, on seeing what happened. Regardless of the situation, he was at least partially responsible. All in all, the machine was mostly intact. There were a few spotty, small fires here and there, but that's all. Inside, however, lay Andrew, badly burned. "No..." he mumbled, running towards the machine. He looked down at the grisly scene below. "I tried, man, I tried to save you, to stop it...". He dropped to his knees, consumed by grief and rage. Then, he heard the sound of breathing. It was faint, but still strong. Andrew was still alive, barely, but still alive. He heard the sound of sirens, and immediately began to scream. "IN HERE!!!", he roared, at the top of his lungs. There's a badly wounded and burned young man in here, but he's still alive! We're in here!!". He fell back and sat beside the machine, he closed his eyes to stifle the tears. Despite everything that happened. The attack, the argument, the explosion. Despite everything, Andrew was alive. "Hey!" Someone shouted, running into the room. "We have people here!"
Ari Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 The King of Suits had followed Voltage, but had decoded to look down through the skylight and look over the wreckage from a distance. He didn't want to have to be right next to someone if he had to look at a charred corpse blasted to pieces. To his shock, he heard Voltage's cry that the man who had been right at the epicenter of the explosion was still alive. Paralyzed with joy, it took the reminder that he still was badly injured to sober him up. Hearing the sirens of the emergency vehicles, he gave a sigh of relief and swung down to the front door, where he made sure that the guards weren't hurt. After making sure of that and answering any questions he could answer that were put to him he walked inside to join Voltage. Looking over his shoulder at the burned body of Andrew he cringed and asked nervously "He's going to be alright I hope?"
Thunder King Posted January 31, 2012 Author Posted January 31, 2012 "The paramedics said that, despite everything, he should live. He'll need surgery, and they may not be able to save his arm, but yeah...". He sighed. "Well, we won, didn't we?" He leaned against the wall. "I didn't expect this. I mean, if we won, why do I feel so bad?"
Ari Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 "I'd say it was because someone helpless got terribly hurt" Marceau said dourly. looking at the wreckage from the explosion. The damage it had done to the warehouse was amazingly small, the only real signs being the shattered pieces of the tank, the burn marks on the floor, and the acrid smell of the burnt chemicals. "Still," he added more cheerfully "at least nobody lost their lives here today, it could have been far worse. Hopefully your friend will be wiser about the dangers of trying to get powers on the black market" he swept a hand over his head, wondering if that really would be the lesson he took from here. "I don't know him though, you seem to. How do you think he'll feel about this?"
Thunder King Posted February 1, 2012 Author Posted February 1, 2012 "Angry, hurt, at himself, at us. I don't know. I hope he'll be okay, though. He's got a long recovery ahead of him." Voltage sighed and pulled himself to his feet. "We stopped a small disaster from turning into a big one." He sighed and shook his head. "I've been running calculations in my head, over and over. I've ran it through my mind a thousand times. Even if the power had gone through it correctly, it would have killed him. We didn't stop him from getting hurt, but we did save his life. I just wish I could have done better."
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