ic My Brother's Keeper [IC]

[GranspearZX]

Crusader generally wasn't one for wasting time. He assessed the situation as best he could, but he still felt heated. Any attempt at composure only brought him back to the moment of rage he'd felt when he learned that his brother had been seriously hurt. Was he out for revenge or justice? Were they mutually exclusive? A calmer Clark might have considered this before leaping off the railing, arm drawn back....

 

The red shield soared through the air with practiced precision, but it didn't actually strike any of the four men standing around the garage. Instead, it was aimed at the jack propping the car up over the man everyone knew as the Riveter. As soon as it struck, the four men panicked, confused for a second by the sudden sound of the vehicle dropping, Riveter's rather angry yell, and the sudden arrival of not one but two costumed heroes.

[Supercape]

"Damn that's a neat trick! Wish I had thought of that!" said the Mess with a grin on his face as he piled into the fray. His legs were pumped up like a sack of melons, the super powered blood fizzing like a soda can. 

 

He gave his head a friendly tap on the side to try and knock a few more brain cells into shape. Predictably, it had little effect. He had taken a few too many knocks already. 

 

"Right ya bozo's, its time to get messy!" he said, gritting his teeth and swinging left and right. For a man of his squat shape and huge musculature, he was pretty agile, bouncing around with speed and grace. His fists were like hammers, and knocked the Riverters four goons with brutal swings - pounding them with power and skill, sending them sailing through the air and into a sprawled out K.O. 

 

"That's just for starters..." he said, remembering the murderous events that had lead him to the main course, and the promises he had made...

[GranspearZX]

GM

 

Crusader was a little stunned with how quickly Mess dispatched the four men. Even as they managed to get their wits about them after the car jack was hit, Mess knocked them all unconscious in moments. He didn't quite have enough time to be impressed, however; the car suddenly flipped over onto its side and Frank "the Riveter" Mazziari stood up, rubbing at a knot forming on his forehead. 

 

"I dunno who you two are," he muttered as he stood up, "but you're both DEAD."

 

It was impossible to tell how much of him was man and how much of him was metal. There certainly was a lot of him, though; he was easily over seven feet tall. There was no way someone like him could really hide for very long. As he stood, his left arm spouted a blowtorch like flame. If the alley back in Ashton was any indication, he wasn't shy about using his heavier artillery.

 

Crusader didn't waste a second, charging past Mess and ramming right into the mammoth cyborg's chest, shield-first. 

 

He didn't so much as budge.

[Supercape]

"I dunno about you, but I'm very much alive!" said the Mess, his veins throbbing with turbo-powered Mess-blood. 

 

He picked up a car that the Riveter had been working on, like it was no more than a baseball bat and held it over his head. 

 

"Get outta the way, my friend, I gotta an express delivery!" he said to the Crusader, who he judged was faster on his feet that the metal and steel cyborg. 

 

"That mean's duck! I gotta express delivery for yer Iron Jaw, ya bozo!"

 

His hands crunched into the steel of the car, and he casually swung the car straight into the face of the Riveter. 

[GranspearZX]

GM

 

Riveter actually looked surprised for a second as the car nailed him, sending him sprawling backward. It wasn't quite enough to knock him over though, and he snagged a lead pipe off the ground, attempting to hit a home run with Mess's body.

 

"You little..." He snarled at Mess, muttering words that might give sailors pause, hitting the ground with his swing hard enough to send sparks flying.

[GranspearZX]

Crusader wasn't at all discouraged by having done little to nothing to the Riveter.  He wisely moved well out of the way before Mess had swung the car at the metallic giant, which gave him pause--it wasn't exactly something he'd expected. Not to be outdone, he rushed forward, dropping low and swinging his shield while it was still in hand. It slammed right into the back of Riveter's left knee, making him stagger as his legs threatened to give out underneath him.

 

The bigger they are...

[Supercape]

The Mess tossed the battered car aside casually. He noted with pleasure the Riverter-shaped dent in its roof. 

 

"That's just warmin' up" he said, cracking his knuckles. 

 

"Thug like you ain't gonna listen to no words. Thug like you ain't only gonna listen to something a lot harder. Say hello to my  friends lefty and righty.." he smiled through gritted teeth. 

 

And he introduced the Riveter to his two friends. After the Crusaders more expert dance, the Riveter was wide open, and the Mess did not squander the opportunity. He cruised in with heavy swings, his muscles bulging with super powered blood, and he delivered a cracking series of three blows to the Riveter, body..body...head. 

 

The lust one stung even his toughened knuckles, on the metal body of the Riveter. But he was pretty sure he had stung the Riveter even harder...

[GranspearZX]

GM

 

Frank was still wildly off balance from the blow to the back of the knees, giving Mess quite an opening. The heavy blows to the body doubled the already unbalanced Riveter over, and the shot to the head that followed didn't make his situation any better. The combo sent Mazziari crashing to the ground, the lead pipe he'd been holding skidding across the ground and underneath another vehicle.

 

Crusader was a little stunned himself, though not nearly enough to have forgotten why he was there to begin with. "I'm only gonna ask this once. Ben Noble... you know him, right?"

 

"...heh..." The Riveter managed a laugh, spitting red at Crusader's boots. "If that loser owes you money, you're probably too late to collect..."

 

Crusader's expression changed instantly, barely perceptible underneath his mask but obvious in his body language. He grabbed Riveter by the collar and hauled the big man up to his knees. "You're not in a position to make jokes, Francis."

[Supercape]

The Mess was pretty pleased with himself, but he had been in enough brawls to not let his guard down. He never underestimated a fighter. 

 

But he never showed it either. 

 

"Games up, buddy" he laughed at the Riveter. "You gots a whole heapa questions to answer, and that jaw of yours is gonna get some good oiling" he said with a wink. 

 

Looking around, he hefted up a steel girder, and flexing his arms until it looked like they might pop, the super powered blood in them fizzing with energy, he bent it straight into a u shape. The impressive display of strength may have looked good, but the weapon, intended to grip the Riveter, was unwieldy to say the least, and the Mess clumsily handled it, almost tripping over himself in the effort.