ic Casus Belli 1: Fowl Play

[Vahnyu]

GM Post

 

"Tsk, this isn't a very nice way to treat your guests, highness!" Bandita Aves quiped, as she easily sidestepped the tremors Glamazon sent her way. Three of the Fowlerings were also caught in the shockwave's perimeter, but only one fell down. However, the group was an acrobatic lot, as a whole, and the fallen Fowlering got back up to his feet with a swift jump.

 

Unstabbing her rapier from the floor, she ordered her Fowlerings "Keep this one occupied, boys, while I go deal with our honoured princess here." As the ice volley Temperance created flew by harmlessly, the remaining of the Fowlerings had gained up on her, surrounding her on all fronts. Once more, the group unleashed a barrage of stabs and slices at their foe, while Bandita Aves took flight, using her wings to gain some height. At about 30 feet high, and getting close to the ceiling, she plunged down towards the Atlantean hero, letting her blade sing through the air with precise moves that bore the full force of her charge, until she flew past Glamazon, and back up to the ceiling, all in blinding speed. "Hope you can keep up with meeeee~"

[Brown Dynamite]

The look of worry that had formed on Glamazon's face upon seeing their enemies converge on Temperance was replaced by a smile as the leader dared to challenge her directly.  She couldn't fly, but the room was not large enough for someone to escape her reach either.  Pushing off the ground Glamazon intercepted the airborne Bandita.  Having shifted her weight before propelling towards the villain, the Atlantean princess was in a picture perfect position to send out a right cross.

 

The fact that she was working against gravity proved in no way limiting for the Glamazon as her superman punch actually caught the Fowl Bandita right on the button.  Although her attempts to hinder an entire group had not gone smoothly, Thaelia feared no one in singular combat.  "You overestimate your agility.  The Glamazon will crush you."

[Vahnyu]

Concealed from sight, and ethereal of touch, Meatheral had little problem navigating through the crowd, taking his time to examine who was who. It was all in time to see what was taking place around him; a fight had broken. Meatheral was unsure who to side with. Well, that is, until he recalled reading something about Glamazon, King Theseus niece who had some renown for her superheroic endeavors. Between Glamazon getting to blows with a winged bird(?)-woman, and Temperance being surrounded by five swordsmen, all dressed in similar grab to the winged bird-woman, it was not hard for him to make an educated guess.

 

Five against one hardly seems fair. Let's see if I can do anything to even the score. With that in mind, Meatheral proceeded to fly above Temperance, unleashing a barrage of high-pressured wind blasts, he took out three of the assailants of Temperance. "Not quite sure what's going on, here, but one, there's five of them and there's one of you, and two, my gut tells me to be wary of people who shop clothes from the same store. Care to fill me in on the details?" His words, coming through his dispersed body, sounded like some ventriloquist had displaced his voice.

[trollthumper]

"I wish I could tell you," said Temperance. "Right now, the best estimates are jewel theft or terrorism... with performance art as an outside guess." She called the water back up, now that she had fully regained her footing. "Of course, you know what one says about wet hens..." The water lashed out towards the man in the flagrant bird costume standing front of her, flash freezing upon contact. She aimed to wrap the man up in icy crystals and pin him to the floor... but knew that she was still trying to center her aim after the recent disruption. 

[Vahnyu]

GM Post

 

Blood trickled down Bandida Aves' now visibly disformed and mangled beak. The Fowl criminal had her head plastered against the wall, and she tried her hardest to regain her composure. "AHHHRGHH!! Ma nowz! Yew blk ma bldee nowz! Thull pfttt fr thaaa!" she mouthed unintelligibly, as one of the two Fowlerings remaining barely managed to avoid Temperance's icy lasso by moving his feet on the last possible second. "Thrw sam smwk grneydtz ent ged tha adderz heer!" She frothingly screamed at her underlings, who were visibly perplexed by what she was trying to say.

 

"What?" One of them asked.

 

"I think she said something about grenades and here?"

 

"No way, I think she told us to smoke with the others or something..."

 

"Are you listening to yourself? Smoke? Right now?"

 

"Well..."

 

"And besides... you and the boss both know I've quit 6 months now!"

 

"Grrrrhhhh! SMWK! GRNEYDTZ! GED ADDERZ HEER!" she impatiently screemed,

 

"OH RIGHT!" they both chorus'd, as Bandida Aves' mangled words came through. Immediately, they dropped smoke grenades around them, covering the nearby area with blackening smoke. They sported mischievous grins, as they shouted on their radios. "Alright, everyone, we need some back up here!" "Get to the main room! Now!" As they finished that, a form could be made inside the concealing smoke, as Meatheral's dispersed molecules mingled with the smoke.

 

At that time, Bandida floated menacingly towards Glamazon, just as she fixed her beak. "Much better. Now as for you, princess... You hurt me." she spat, as a sadistic smile appeared on her face, while her eyes wondered towards some of the civilians around. "So it's only fair that I return the favor. Right. Where. It. Hurts!" She wasn't being very subtle about her threat.

[Brown Dynamite]

Glamazon's eyes followed the trail Bandita's eyes were moving.  "I am your opponent.  If you dare stray from your path, I will no longer be so kind."  Although she spoke with confidence, the Atlantean princess couldn't help but worry for the safety of the bystanders. 

 

Smoke would do nothing from keeping track of Temperance, but Thaelia knew she couldn't ask Eliza for assistance in keeping people safe.  Not when it would distract her from the five assailants surrounding her.  This hesitation made the Atlantean's movements stiff.  Double thinking every action. 

[Vahnyu]

"Jewel thief? And they decided to crash this place, huh? How unlucky for them!" Meatheral boasted, mere moments before the Fowlerings dropped the smoke bombs. "Hey, what are you guys up to n-" Before he could finish, Meatheral found himself engulfed in the smokescreen, and his vision going with that. "Wha-kfff, kfff, kfff! -at is th- kfff, kffu, -is stuff! Kfff, kfff!" Meatheral hated being in the dark, as much as the next guy. But inhaling the smoke was much worse for his currently hypothetical lungs. While it was true that he required very little in the way of breathing, during his dispersed state, he needed to filter clear air trhough his body's molecules.

 

But now smoke molecules were fusing with his own, and that meant that his dispersed state were no longer dispersed enough to be invisible. "This is bad! Kfff, kfff, lemme see if - kfff -  I can do something to - kfff, kfff - deal with this smoke..." He told Temperance, and at once started generating a powerful windstorm, aimed towards the ceiling. He hoped that the currents would attract the smoke and flush it upwards before dispersing it completely, but he was still subconciously affraid of letting the wind go out of control and harm the bystenders, and thus, was holding back. "Tsk... kff, harder than... I thought..." He said, as he kept his concentration on maintaining the tornado.

Edited April 24, 2016 by Vahnyu

[trollthumper]

Well. Smoke. That was obnoxious. Temperance tried to pierce the darkness, but that really was not a valid proposition. So, she had to improvise. Fortunately, due to the nature of the event, there was plenty of water all around. The smoke seemed to be high density, so maybe this would work... or it could just make things worse. Only one way to find out. 

 

She called the water to the air. As it hung suspended in ropes and globules, she wicked it with her mind, trying to stir it until it sublimed. That was easier said than done, but somehow, she managed to pull it off. The mist hung thick in the air... and more importantly, it was thicker than the smoke. It started to trap the particles, dragging them down low to the ground. And when they did, Temperance collapsed the mist, turning it into dark, sooty water. 

 

"Well. Glad that we can see eye to eye once more."

[Vahnyu]

GM Post

 

"Dammit, these superheroes are persistent!" One of Bandida Aves' underlings shouted, as he and his partner proceeded to unleash a whirl of stabs at Temperance. "THERE THEY ARE!" "FALL BACK AND REGROUP!" The reinforcements shouted at their comrades as they entered the main room of the museum, and the two happily obliged them.

 

"My, did I touch a nerve, there?" Meanwhile, as Glamazon's attention turned towards the civilians, Bandida saw her opening, and lunged in for a surprise attack, slashing at the Atlantean superheroine as she flew by her, barreling around, and turning towards the incapacitated King Theseus, landing next to him. She then taunted Glamazon. "I'd be careful with those wild-swing punches of yours! Wouldn't wanna accidentally hurt the King here, would we?"

[Brown Dynamite]

Glamazon snarled at the Bandida.  The so called Daughter of the Seas temper was as temperamental as either side of her family.  But, threatening her family had an outcome that went beyond anger.  In that very moment, the Atlantean princess was a container of pure rage.  There were no words as Glamazon charged towards the Bandida with blinding speed.

 

There was a loud crack in the air as Glamazon's shoulder slammed directly into the Fowl Bandida's chest at speeds just on the cusp of Mach 1.  Bandida recoiled through the air, tearing away walls, museum displays, and pretty much any object that made the mistake of existing in her path along the way.  Finally coming to a complete stop in the middle of the road, barely avoiding oncoming traffic.

 

"You lack the kartereia for your mouth to run as long as it has.  Foul fiend, you dare to insult the crown of Atlantis with such threats, and as such I will afford you no further quarter.  On this day the Daughter of the Seas will impart you a most grueling gift of battle."

[Vahnyu]

"Kff, kff, tha-kff, thanks for that." Meatheral said to Temperance, as she transformed the smoke into disippating water, while trying to clear his lungs - or whatever he currently possessed that passed for lungs. "I wasn't expecting them to throw smoke grenades. They really did a number on - hold on a sec." He interrupted himself, as he noticed the two remaining Fowlerings make a run for it.

 

He flew gracefully, letting a gentle breeze behind him, as he overtook the two underlings and assaulted one of them with a forceful barrage of wind blasts, striking his head, chest, left shoulder, and right leg, and taking the fight right out of him. "No running for you two." He threatened, while he floated in front of them. His initially sooty body had now been half-cleared, thanks to the flight, letting half of his aetherial body look transparrent.

 

"Say, you're real good with water, aren't you?" He once more addressed Temperance, this time off-handedly. "How are you doing that? Are you a hydrokinetic?"

[trollthumper]

"Something like that," Temperance said. While she fancied painting herself as a master of mystic arts and elemental manipulation, she didn't much feel like making explicit her demi-spiritual nature unless she needed to. "You're not half-bad at the elemental arts yourself, it seems." Flattery always seemed to help divert the more probing questions. 

 

Still, if she was going to be given accolades in turn, she decided she might as well live up to them. She turned her attention on the remaining bird-costumed bandit, gathering the remaining water to her hands. It formed another round of icy slugs, which flew from her hands almost immediately. The storm of frozen rounds hit the lone robber at several angles, sending him to the ground in a manner of seconds.

 

She turned to Meathereal. "Shall we follow the party outside?" 

[Vahnyu]

GM Post

 

To say that Bandida Aves felt that, would be an understatement. Thanks to Glamazon's rush, she was knocked down, having droped her sword nearby, and was trying to regain her footing, to no avail, as her equilibrium center had been shaken. Cars seemed to come to an abrupt stop, and a traffic jam was created, some drivers honking in frustration, while onlookers slowly distancing themselves as a safety precaution. "... dear god, but you can't take a friendly joke, can you?" She commented, as she tried to get her bearings, while also examining the wreckage Glamazon caused on her path. "I'd advise you work on that, or at least, learning to reign in your anger a bit... you could have crushed in a car and send it flipping..."

 

Meanwhile, as Temperance finished off the lone robber, the backup he had requested finally entered the room. "DAMMIT! WE'VE GOT MEN DOWN, MEN DOWN!" "SPREAD OUT AND ATTACK!" They were similarly dressed with the other Fowlerings, but these ones seemed to sport advanced heavy duty armaments. These armaments seemed like nothing the surface world possessed, but truthfully, you'd be hardpressed to say they seemed at home with any of the underwater civilizations. "WATCH YOUR AIM!" "I'VE GOT THEM!" "FIRE!" As soon as they were in position, the took aim and opened fire at Temperance and Meatheral, while the civilians remained closely on the ground. The two heroes safely avoided most of the incoming fire, but even so, two laser blasts caught them squarely. "KEEP IT UP!"

 

 

[Brown Dynamite]

Glamazon pressed her boots into the asphalt,digging herself in place.  "I concede that I lack foresight in my actions.  I know my failings.  Perhaps it is a burden.  But, I choose to have faith that my comrades can cover for my failings.  Now allow me to educate you on your failings.  You chose to anger the Glamazon."  Almost immediately as Glamazon finished her speech, she pivoted her body and threw an uppercut that hit the Fowl Bandida with as much force as the demigoddess could muster square on the villain's chin.

 

A regular person couldn't take such a heavy blow.  But, judging by how capable her foe proved thus far.  Glamazon felt confident that she had room to breathe.  Of course, Thaelia couldn't afford to keep knocking the villain all over the place.  Things like upturned vehicles and further property damage were a fair point.

[Vahnyu]

"Nah, I'm a rank amateur, in fact, when it comes to the elements." Meatheral quipped at Temperance's compliment. "It's just that I have an aiding tool that gives me a hand for-" But before he could complete his sentence, the rest of the Fowlerings came rushing.

 

The laser blasts seemed to affect Meatheral's currently aetherial body, a fact he realised just in time to shift his body away from the bolt at the last possible second and let it pass him through harmlessly. "Woah there, watch out!" he cautioned as he readjusted himself mid flight. "Seems like they brought their big guns. I don't think the subtle approach is gonna cut it anymore..." he mused, as he had been assessing the situation from the moment the reinforcements arrived. This place is too crowded for the Earthform to maneouver properly, while the Fire Form isn't particularly suited for taking a blast of that caliber. Which leaves us with...

 

As if on cue, in a pocket plane tangential to our own, yet not far removed from the museum where the fight was taking place, the Tetramegedon coiled and turned, amidst the raging winds. The book's pages shifted under its own arcane powers, as it scurried to land to the specific page it intended to. An incantation was mystically chanted, though no voice or sound could be heard. Runes and glyphs transcribed onto the book glowed a deep navy blue, until finally, its magical energies errupted, causing the winds to calm down, until they completely dissipated. Soon thereafter, water errupted from within the book, rapidly filling the plane, until there was nothing left but the Tetramegedon, completely submerged into the water it conjured.

AQUAE CIRCUM ME TUMULTUATUR! ... came the words in Meatheral's mind, that he then vocalised almost unconsciously. Water appeared out of nowhere, surrounding Meatheral inside a whirling current, until they completely covered his cloudy form. Once the transformation was complete, Meatheral fell to the ground, or perhaps more accurately, flowed towards it, losing his cohesive shape as he hit the ground, until he re-emerged from it, as if the water was being sculpted into a human-like shape by some unknown and unseen force. "There. Much better now!" His voice came, but whereas before it sounded aetherial and insubstantial, now it seemed more... fluid, more reverberating. Tangible, yet still otherwordly.

 

Amidst the heat of battle, Temperance hadn't been aware of Meatheral's first transformation taking place, and as such, the magical energies he called on didn't quite register with her, but this time, she could feel them emanating from within Meatheral, or more accurately, from a plane beyond that was tethered to him. She could outright tell that the elemental magic she witnessed in front of her was closely linked to a lost book of magic, the Tetramegedon...

Edited October 13, 2016 by Vahnyu

[trollthumper]

[Hmmmm. Seems like there's always some new way of working the elements. Good to keep abreast of the other methods. She drew some of her personal store of water close to her, freezing it into bullets. She then turned to Meatheral. "I suppose you would be all right with me borrowing some of this?" With Meatheral's consent, she wicked some of the moisture off of the greater mass of water, adding it to her ammunition. By the time she stepped outside to meet the flagrantly-dressed bandit, the air was thick with suspended hail. 

 

"Glamazon. You may wish to step back." A second after saying it, Temperance unleashed a storm of hail, bombarding Fowl Bandid with a near solid sheet of ice. The bullets arced through the air, redoubling and veering back towards their target. By the time it was all done, the hail was pulverized, falling to the ground in shards as thin as ball bearings. With a little more effect, the ice melted, ready to resumed into Meatheral's mass. "Thank you for the assist."