Tethers [IC]

[RacingeR]

Yamashita Kazu
Country Side - Grassy Plains
Early Morning

“Not bad!” Kazu replied, recovering his equilibrium after having received the impact. It was simply too fast for his brain to process, a thunderous punch that hit him with all the speed and strength of lighting. Enough to send him flying back a few feet with a single exchange.

Thankfully, Kazu had been in more than a few scrapes before his death, and his reaction speed, combined with the heightened abilities obtained from his power, were enough for him to survive the first exchange almost unscratched. Part of his body still felt numb, but he shook it off.

“Yes! This is what I’m talking about!” He said, a cocky grin in his face. This was just exactly like his martial arts-based mangas, exactly what he’d been looking for during all of his life. This was how these things were supposed to go, damnit!

The expression in his eyes changed, becoming serious, fully focused on his single enemy, disregarding the rest of the chaotic field, taking a moment to note the man who had summoned missiles out of nowhere. His pose changed too, as he drew on his power over the domain of martial arts, and made it circulate through his whole body, taking a classical karate stance.

“My turn now!” He yelled, and he charged forward. It was an extremely fast movement as far as any human being was concerned, probably easy to miss with a blink of the eyes, but it was still not as quick as the movements of the muscular slime. That was fine. He was not relying on pure strength or speed to deal with this enemy.

His right fist flared out, moving into a classic forward straight punch straight towards the chest of his enemy. However, before the attack reached the slime man, it changed, the fist being suddenly retracted, the strength and momentum being retransmitted, corded muscles coiling as Kazu’s attack transformed from a feinted punch into a rotating kick towards the creature’s midsection.

He was trying to catch this enemy by surprise. It was not a pushover, and not something he could defeat with physique alone. Kazu had to rely on his supernaturally obtained skill to get ahead of it.

[Sei]

Johny Miller (and everyone else)
Country Side- Grassy Plains
Early Morning

It's time for action. No more putzing around or trying to communicate with some dog-faced clowns that only know how to pose and flaunt their abs. You tried to play nice. You even tried to play not-so-nice. And still communications have broken down. So now it's time to put the guns on. Literally.

You aren't really sure how this whole super-powers thing is supposed to work; however, so far, it seems to be pretty intuitive. Point and shoot. The size of the gun is basically an after thought. All you have to do is think it and it happens. This allows you to dish out some serious firepower in a ridiculously short amount of time. More than enough to make a few statements. Perhaps too much...

The idea was simple. Let loose enough firepower to shake off these cartoonishly strong goons. But you had made one small miscalculation. And that... Is that you do not know the specs of your weapon. Your body has already begun to move, but it would seem that it may not be necessary. Because... As the dumbstruck goo-men stare down your missiles... As first contact is made and the first warhead detonates... You can feel the force of the explosion already sweeping you off your feet and into the air.

Power and speed are all that matter. Strike first. And strike fast.

Scorched earth.

Perhaps things might have been overdone a bit. Perhaps the opener was a bit 'loud'.

You can barely hear a see a damn thing and your ears are ringing like crazy. And the ground beneath your feet might actually be cooking. But aside from a few bumps, scrapes, and mild disorientation, everything seems to be perfectly... fine? No limbs missing. No open wounds. All this and you only feel slightly winded.

A quick look around shows that everyone else seems to more or less be fine as well. Whether it from quick thinking, being sturdy as all hell, or just plain dumb luck... It doesn't look like anyone important got hurt in all that just now. But it doesn't look like the same can be said for the goo-men.

"Goooooooooooo-! Gooooooooooooooooooooo!!!"

It's pretty much like a scene from some old war flick. An actual burning landscape with burning bodies and injured individuals trying to pick of the pieces. While others are clearly -very definitively- out of the picture, others screams in agony as they try to "piece" themselves back together. Some of the more fortunate ones simply wander across the battlefield, picking up their fallen brethren and cradling them in their arms.

Honestly... There look like there are a few that can still put up a fight. Maybe... But it doesn't appear like you're an immediate concern anymore.

[Rafflesiac]

Sylvie Williams
Country Side- Grassy Plains
Early Morning

Alive, Am I, Am I alive, I think I'm alive, this is thinking right, this should be thinking, I'm pretty positive that this is thinking so that means that somehow out of all of that I'm still alive, that's a relief, and ow ow owwww fuck my head it's like someone threw a bell in a hadron collider, but the bell is to sexy for my own good, okay, vision's swimming like crazy, did someone hand a crack addict the tv remote, oh lord, it's like Picasso hurled on Bosch while balls deep in Dali and now I'm staggering okay let's not fall onto the flaming hellscape and ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww what the fuck did I just step in oh it's blue. Oh that was Admirer #1. Thanks, Miller. I guess that acrid puddle is Admirer #2 over there. Oh God in Heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven my brain's going to drip out of my ears and take my eardrums with them right after someone gets these wind chimes out and is he still flying around up there? I think so, I think that blob that's slowly becoming a little less of a blob is him and is he going to finish the job because I do not want to be around here when that happens so come on Sylvie, one leg in front of the other, it's like that shitty boot camp you went to once to score with that hot general but with more dead things, huh looks like everyone else ended up alright too. Damn Miller, that's good aim. Alright, let's run away from these blue dudes while I still have the chance. Now who else is up and moving?

[Draconic]

Anthony Mathers
Country Side – Plains that may or may not have had some grass left
Early Morning

HOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIT!

Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Just don't think about how you were just smack in the middle of an explosion so big it rose so high into the air that the gods themselves might envy it.

Anthony's ears were ringing so badly that he spent several seconds trying to get the phone away from his head to get rid of that awful high-pitched dial tone, but then he remembered he wasn't holding his phone. He wondered if he still had it. If nothing else, it was a nice distraction from having lost his face. He could at least be relieved that he wasn't at the epicenter of the blast. That dubious honor belonged to Sylvie. He felt kind of bad for her, except she didn't look too worse for wear. That said, he was seeing so many stars in front of his eyes that his vision was more flashing distortion than light hitting his retinas. To say that 'she looked fine' was a statement that was probably as accurate as saying 'she looked like a walrus.' Actually, that was another thing he couldn't help but wonder about. With his power being what it was, would she turn into a walrus if he sincerely believed she looked like a walrus just so that the universe could ensure he wasn't wrong?

That was a scary thought. Out of all the people here that he could inadvertently turn into a walrus, he'd probably choose that weird girl whose first impulse upon being confronted with weird, buff, slime monsters, was to grope the nearest well-endowed woman she could get her hands on. Cool. He closed his eyes and fiercely projected the thought, 'turn into a walrus.' Or, he did what he expected might be projecting a thought while in reality he was just making a strange, squinting face.

He suddenly realized that in addition to his ears ringing and his vision being totally spotty, his balance was way off, and he suddenly fell sideways. Before he could land, he banged his head against the side of his spear as it caught him just before he started descending toward the ground. Did that count as good luck? It kinda hurt. He didn't like it.

"O-k-kay… wh… who th-the hell d-d-did that?" he stammered. "Th-the giant b-boom thing. Explosion."

He hadn't realized that the explosion had also scrambled his capacity to speak like a coherent human being.

I guess I'll just keep quiet until the world stops spinning…

Okay. This starting over in a new world has gotten off to a fantastic start. This was so counterintuitive. Hadn't he chosen his power specifically to avoid circumstances exactly like this? Maybe he had chosen poorly. It wouldn't be the first time. He was having a hard time imagining how this could get any worse. Then he did:

It could be raining, and he could have been turned into an anemic weasel.

Unsurprisingly, this thought didn't make him feel any better.

[Mormarth]

Johnny Miller
Country Side - Formerly Grassy Plains
Red Morning

Hm.

Well then.

Yes, quite.

I took a moment to look at my arms-cum-missile launchers with a deeply skeptical look, shaking them gently. Then I looked up, pursing my lips as I looked at the looming mushroom cloud I had caused, surveying the scattered and possibly irradiated goo-men.

Well, no one (that I care about) is dead, we're all alive, and it seems like the imminent threat of radiation sickness is (for now) a non-issue.

So!

I dusted my hands, given that they've become hands once more, and not some bio-mechanical nightmare.

"Well, that's done with."

Also possibly a war crime, but haha let's not think about that one!

The explosion was very nice, and definitely not radioactive, so it's fine.

Yep, fine.

I turned my attention to the ground and thought non-burny-engine thoughts, causing my legs to promptly reappear and my ass to almost immediately become acquainted with the ground before catching myself.

Yeah, and he aces the dismount, tenattaten, hundredouttahundred.

Absolutely, one-hundred percent intentional.

...

"We should probably get out of here."

[Bylackbre]

Wallace Ladon
Country Side- Plains that were formerly grassy
Early Morning

I stand in surprise at the explosion I was just a part of. I wonder if the plane crash would have had been that big of a fireball had it exploded when it crashed, I wondered as I started to smell something smokey to my left.

Part of the left sleeve of my jacket (what it was freezing outside when I died) had apparently caught on fire from the explosion and I quickly took it off and started smacking it on the ground until the fire was out. It actually doesn't feel that bad out here now since I took my coat off. Not too hot nor too cold despite standing in the middle of what could look like a warzone.

Deciding against putting the partially burnt jacket back on, I stretched a little and suspected that while I may be a little sore right now, it will definitely be worse later.

"Nothing feels broken but I will definitely be feeling miserable later. Anyone bring any pain relievers so we can share them among everyone who might need them? I dont know if anyone has broken bones from that explosion but it might help them until we can get to a doctor or somebody who can heal others."

I wanted to go lend a hand to those of us that might have been knocked to the ground or looked like they were about to fall over but I wasn't able to. I nearly fell over myself but eventually started to recover and go about with my plan. I started to make my rounds through the group seeing if everyone was okay and smaking others with my burnt jacket if parts of their clothing was on fire like my coat was.

"Hey whoever caused that big explosion!" I paused and shouted out to whoever it was that was responsible since I couldn't remember who caused the fireball. "I appreciate you taking care of the situation and saving most of our skins but in the future can we get a heads up before catching some of the group in the middle of ground zero of your alpha strike?" I asked as I rubbed the back of my neck which was feeling a bit sore already.

Oh I hope someone isn't too injured to be able to keep moving away from this place. Sylvie looks like she was in ground zero and she looks somewhat okay so others should be as well.

I was making a mental list in my head of everyone I need to check on that came to mind first: Rinna, Kazu, Micah, Hikari, Kou, grumpy guy whose name reminded me of a certain soccer player, Justin, and killer grip girl I guess though in her case just check up on her and move on quickly. I went around looking for these guys and offering to help them out if they think they might need it before moving on once they're good or if they don't need help.

"Once everyone is alright and ready to go we probably need to get out of here asap." I say to whoever I am nearby and was listening when I finally got around to noticing the small blue blobs that look like they were trying to reform from the looks of it.

[Twelveseal]

Micah Grey
Country Side – Grassy Plains (Ground Zero Crater)
Early Morning – Atomic Dawn

One moment I’m flowing through the beginnings of a strike sequence, mind looking ahead to possible counters, follow-ups, reversals…

The next I’m lying somewhere hot, wet, and dark. My head is ringing and I can’t see anything, and it feels like there’s something on top of me. Everything is deathly quiet. What just… happened? Did it counter me so fast that I missed it?

I cough, mostly out of reflex. When nothing seems to react, I start to try moving. Whatever’s on top of me, it’s a full-body covering, but it’s not very heavy. I push myself up off the ground. When did I end up facedown?

The stuff on top of me slides off.

Dirt. Mud. Grass. Blue… ew.

Dust, smoke, and ashes fill my vision. A charred ruin of what had once been natural grassland, a smoldering crater, is all that remains. The topsoil’s been blown back even as I look up into a descending pillar of dust and ash. Oh God…

Am I… was I… inside a mushroom cloud?!?!

My armor wasn’t specc’d for this! This isn’t a radiation suit! It’s not a blast suit, it’s… it’s not a… blast… suit?

How the fuck am I alive right now?

What… is this?

None of my equipment should be functioning in something like this, but it is. No, rather, none of my equipment should have survived a direct impact from a tactical nuclear weapon. Let alone me.

Are this world’s parameters that insane, or… no, where did that blast even come from? That soldier?
…
This is completely outside of my expectations. If he has that much power, then what about… No, isn’t the fact that we survived, that just the force from this blast, the heat, everything, that it didn’t kill us…

Just how monstrous are we?

I survey the scene, this apocalyptic vision of war. Something too familiar. Something far from comforting.

I have no idea how to feel about this, what to think about this. Already the ringing in my ears is fading, even as the rumble of the blast rolls out into the distance like thunder. I shouldn’t have recovered from this so quickly. Or at all.
My organs should have been pulverized, my bones powdered, my body torn to pieces. And yet here I am.

I look at what remains of our enemies… such as they were.

Were these things ever even a threat to us? They seemed so strong. But we had no understanding of what strength was here, or how much we had.

They’re grieving.

I see them holding onto their fallen and crying out. I see others shuddering, their bodies splattered, perhaps reforming, perhaps not…

Did they deserve something like this? Somehow, I can’t shake the feeling we were in the wrong here. This feels like a massive overreaction.

I look down at the creature that was plastered all over me. It was probably the one I’d attacked. We’d been fairly close to the impact. Just how the hell had Sylvie walked away from that? I push the thought to the back of my mind as the girl in question stumbles to her feet.

_{”Sorry. Mistake.”}

I shake my head and try to push the blue mess together a bit more. I can’t stay here. I can’t put them back together and try to talk this out. I couldn’t have done that to begin with.

_”Sorry.”

This is all I can do.
I try to dust myself off as best I can and join the others.

[Sei]

Everyone
Burning Countryside - A Sign of Overwhelming Victory
Red Dawn

"Ooooooiiiii! Can anyone hear me!? People-that-are-supposed-to-be-dead-but-got-reincarnated-with-superpowers!?"

Amid the sound of flames and anguish, a somewhat familiar voice cries out from the distance. It takes a bit of looking, but in time you're able to see a single girl slowly stepping across the burning field. You recognize her clothes as being Japanese in nature; however, a quick look at her face says that she's anything but. Nevertheless, her long golden hair and bright blue eyes make it easy to distinguish her from the darker backdrop.

"Anyone still alive...? I saw the cloud and came to get you... Take you to the others and all that..."

The further she advances, the more reluctant her mannerisms become. Her voice shrinks and her arms withdraw closer and closer to her sides. At the same time, her eyes continue to jump back and forth- taking in the scene.

A hand reaches out and feebly clutches her ankle. A single goo-man responds to her voice and drags what's left of his body across the ground to reach her. Its pain is all too apparent. Though it cannot adequately articulate its misery through words, its labored gasps for air and grueling moans are more than enough. Yet still it reaches out for help. Reaching out to the one person that seems capable of helping, despite not even seeming aware of what is happening.

Or at least that's what you gather on the outside looking in. The girl who has just been grabbed... It doesn't seem like she's thinking as openly. In fact, it doesn't even look like she wants to think about it at all.

The moment the goo-man touched her, she looked down to see what was up... And immediately looked away. She didn't react beyond that. In fact, she hasn't moved a muscle since. The only change that you are able to observe is a tinge of blue in her face, a "blissful" smile, and a thousand yard stare that simply says "screaming internally". It's only after a couple of seconds that she slowly raises her leg and attempts to shake the strange creature off. All the while, not once returning her gaze to what has a hold of her.

"Moshi moshi… Anyone there...? Please answer... This place is scaring me..."

The shaking of the leg intensifies; however, (despite the creature being more than halfway melted) it doesn't seem like the goo-man intends to let go. This continues for some time... Eventually the girl starts to reach for the sword fashioned to her waist. But...

"Why are there so many weird zombies everywhere...?"

Before she can even draw her blade, her eyes roll back and she passes out on the spot.

[Vritra]

Monday
Ground Zero
Early Morning

It was reflexes perhaps, old, bone deep reflexes reacting to the danger before his brain had even registered the blast wave. If his mind had time to process the situation, ...he probably wouldn’t have tried to save her.

Yet he had, sweeping her into his arms and clutching her in a protective embrace the world dissolved into a blinding, deafening flair.

Vertigo.

Flaring pain.

Blinding Light.

Disorientation.

Distorted Silence.

And a tiny thought ringing in the back of his head, could he do something similar? Would that inane wish written down on cheap paper using an even cheaper looking pen let him do something similar?

Not even bothering to finish the train of thoughts he simply threw himself into activating whatever nonsense they now seemed capable of, he had sought a flashy end, but fireball thrown out over a disagreement with some gelatinous dogfaced things was rather to much, like a poorly written comedy without a trace of humor.


...


...


...


He didn’t know when they had stopped, just that he was lying face up, with his new companion pressed firmly against his chest (in a rather eyebrow raising manner), on what was currently trying (and failing) to pass for earth.

“My, my, what an …interesting day this is shaping up to be isn’t it Madame?”

An absent-minded quip and a steadying breath as he released the death grip to allow her to escape their questionable positions.

The cliched reactions, embarrassment and trying to figure out if he was alive, dead, or some unwanted combination of the two could wait, for now he’d just admire his newfound admiration of the simple yet sublime concept of breathing.

Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out, breath in and admire the sky, breath out and wondering if he should offer his shirt before she took issue with her appearance, breath in, breath out, breath in and wonder if perhaps he could find salvation after all or would this simply be another step down his long road to hell, breath in and remind himself that regardless of anything he should remember his unfinished business with those, self titled, gods.

...

Oh look a cloud that looks like a rabbit, how amazing.

[Mormarth]

Johnny Miller
Country Side - Well Done Plains
Crimson Dawn

I grudgingly turned my gaze back towards the bombed-out landscape that I had definitely not caused on purpose, peering out at the girl crossing it.

Hey miss, that stuff you're wearing, are you culturally appropriating? Or is this some sort of ham-fisted advertisment of your skillset of being that kind of silly person who thinks blades from an iron-poor country are something worth talking about.

Granted, the smithing and refinement required to turn out anything serviceable from their resource-starved island is remarkable in itself.

Oh no, I've started exposing myself as a classical weaponry otaku, like those super-nerds who hang out at Ren Faires all the time and have too many frills, sir it is Texas and in the Summer, please take that off, you are very hot. Heat stroke is a serious risk you know? You might die.

Anyway.

Oh she's passed out.

I took another moment to survey the damage.

Hm.

Yes, it did look like one of those impactful, sorrowful scenes about the horrors of war in certain types of fiction, I am certain that if they were able to speak in something besides those ridiculous sounds, it'd be a bit more powerful. But instead, it's kind of deadened and turned into a manner of terrible black comedy.

Also they super deserved it.

Still, that's a person who has some manner of empathy for these incredibly stupid-looking guys, so I suppose its praiseworthy, and I should feel bad for her.

Yes, Miss Weeaboo, your sensitivity towards the suffering of these lesser beings warms my heart, I tip my hat to you, and in thanks, I'll come hoist you out of that field, because it's probably filled with gross things.

Well, less than what it was, I suppose.

Hm, that's a dark thought, maybe it's foreshadowing?

Can a person foreshadow without really even knowing what they're foreshadowing?

Thoughts for another day.

I moved nonchalantly into the field, stepping over the dead and dying with a handful of 'excuse mes' and 'pardon mes'. There wasn't any need to be rude, after all, and I came to a stop before the collapsed mixture of east and west.

I looked down at the bisected goo-man with a flat expression, and gently poked at it with my boot.

Poke, poke.

"You should probably let go."

...

No answer (besides pained gasps and groans of agony) these things are pretty troublesome.

"Hey Miss, I'm gonna pick you up, if you call me a pervert, I'll be really sad, I'll probably cry, too."

Without waiting for a response, I hoisted her up around the midsection, the half-goo-man still holding on tightly.

...

"Hey, leggo."

I tugged.

"C'mon."

Tug, tug.

Well, I didn't want to blow him up again, that's just mean.

So I just started walking back through the field, gamely dragging the guy along as he refused to let go.

[Twelveseal]

Micah Grey
Country Side – Ground Zero
Atomic Dawn


I make my way across the crater, trying to avoid the remains of these creatures as I do. The footing is treacherous, but it could be worse.

Seems like Anthony’s alright, at least. If the complaints are any indication. I nod and motion in his direction for him to follow, hoping he notices as I make my way through the crater’s dust and ash.

I think I need to check on Sylvie, though. And as for the cause of this… Miller can wait. I can see him trying to deal with what seems like a local. As if he didn’t just do something utterly ridiculous…

Did he… did he seriously fire some kind of nuclear missile… to end a hostage situation?

I was trying to be intimidating with a big scary gun and my armor, but I mean… he fired a missile at a group of attackers with a hostage in the center of a mixed group of civilians, allies, and enemies. All I can do is shake my head. I don’t even know how to feel about someone who makes that sort of decision.

I mean, I put my gun away just so I wouldn’t accidentally hit Sylvie. Or anyone else, for that matter. What kind of…

And this is assuming the damn thing wasn’t a nuke! With this cloud…
Fuck!

I try to calm myself. There’s nothing I can do about what’s already happened. Finally, I manage to get to where Sylvie is. She was really at ground zero. The blast was right on top of her. The targets were right on top of her.

_{”You… alright?”} I offer my shoulder to lean on. Hopefully the armor isn’t too much of a hindrance to at least offer her some support.

We'll need to have a talk with Miller about this. Later though.
If I can open my mouth...

[Rafflesiac]

Sylvie Williams
Burning Countryside - A Sign of Overwhelming Victory
Red Dawn

Oh, the Blue Man Group wasn't our welcoming party? That's... actually kind of surprising. I thought for sure this was horrifying yet utterly standard negligence. Damn, I wish my eyes weren't still swimming, I can't get a good look at this new girl; should I go closer? There's one of those freaks nearby though. It's half-dead, but more relevantly, it's half-alive, and - oh good, Miller's got it covered. Nice one, Top Gun. Wait, what if she's hot? Shit, I knew I should've gone closer but on the other hand these pins are still a little wobbly.

”You… alright?”

Lampshading (Armor ver.) out of nowhere. "Micah, right? I think I'm fine, but thanks for the shoulder. I'm glad that someone reliable like you is here to help!" Body armor's really not the same as flesh, but contact is contact; it's the first step to the stadium. "That girl Top Gun is holding sounded like she knew what's going on. Let's go check her out!"

[Twelveseal]

Micah Grey
Country Side – Ground Zero
Atomic Dawn

”Micah, right?”

I nod.

_{”…Yes.”}

”I think I'm fine, but thanks for the shoulder. I'm glad that someone reliable like you is here to help!"

Am I really reliable, though? In the end, it’s not like I did anything for her to say that. At least, nothing she’d know about.

_{”No… problem.”}

"That girl Top Gun is holding sounded like she knew what's going on. Let's go check her out!"

Top Gun, huh? I’m a bit worried as to what she’s going to be calling me.

She’s probably right about that girl though. I nod again, and help steady Sylvie as we head towards Miller and his new… acquaintance. Maybe Anthony will follow us. Maybe not. Chances are though, this is our best shot at some kind of explanation. This whole situation has just been one massive disaster.
Not that it couldn’t be worse… At least we seem to have started out powerful.

[RacingeR]

Yamashita Kazu
Burning Countryside - A Sign of Overwhelming Victory
Red Dawn

“UOOOOH!”

There’s a hot-blooded shout, and a portion of the blasted earth explodes as a disheveled and sorry-looking Kazu emerges out of it like a particularly ruffled Kool-Aid Man.

He shook off the dirt and dust still clinging to his body, and stared at his surroundings, confused, dumbfounded, and more importantly, incredibly disappointed. Especially when he looked at the melted pool of goo that was all that was left of his rival.

“Damnit, and here I was getting all riled-up!” He cursed.

Well, if it had died to the nuke and he had taken it with no damage other than being buried in the ground, he guessed it couldn’t have been that big of a deal. He frowned, and looked around for his shirt, only to realize there was no way it could’ve survived the blast.

“…”

Oh, right. Kazu had the realization that he was standing at the ground zero of a nuclear explosion. And he started panicking when he realized he had probably gotten a massive dose of radiation straight to the chin. His body flexed and relaxed as he look around, afraid, thinking of just starting to run and hoping for the be-.

“What”

A glow surrounded his body momentarily, dispersing away before his surprised eyes.

Did he just flex the radiation out.

This was just too dumb. He refused to waste the few brain cells he had on this.

So instead, he just walked up towards Miller, trying to pretend that nothing had happened, bare chested and still looking way too muscular for a lanky guy at the end of his teenager years. Because the scene couldn’t get weirder.

“Huh, this girl is new, fairly sure she wasn’t with our group.” He said, confused, having missed this girl’s entrance due to a mild case of being buried five feet underground. “What’s her deal?”

[Draconic]

Anthony Mathers
Burning Countryside - A Sign of Overwhelming Victory
Red Dawn

This sucked. Everything about this was terrible and he wanted to go home. And have his real face back. And maybe a tuna sandwich. Wait, no, that was how he died, hard no on the sandwich.

As the smoke cleared, he really had to wonder how it was even possible how any of them survived Johnny's tactical missile strike. Well, in his case, he could guess. He was lucky now, after all. Beating statistically long odds was kind of what he did now. At least, if Lilith wasn't lying. Sure, the others might have had strange powers, but it wasn't like his abilities would be particularly obvious. Also, he lost his fucking face. Price for power or not, he wanted it back. Noooooowwwww…

He looked through the haze to see Micah helping Sylvie get to her feet. Bless that girl's soul, she was helping out the most aggravating person here.

"Micah, right? I think I'm fine, but thanks for the shoulder. I'm glad that someone reliable like you is here to help! That girl Top Gun is holding sounded like she knew what's going on. Let's go check her out!"

Oh, great. A reasonable proposition. Finally. She was probably up to something, but for the time being, Anthony was too busy straining himself with the effort of not thinking about having lost his face, and that he—and several other people—just survived standing right in the middle of an explosion that could probably be seen for miles in every direction, so he'd take what he could get. He sighed.

"I hate it when people who seem determined to annoy me are so obviously right. I think…?" he said, walking over to the two girls, "But you've got a good point. If there's anything that girl knows about how to get my ffffff………sonofabitch…" Good god, did he really have such a one-track mind? Sure he might have been an office worker doing the same things over and over again all day every day, but it was a living. Anyway, he could still salvage this. There was failure, and there was failure. He could still lessen the impact. "Okay, yes, fine, I want to know how to get my face back. But at the moment, that girl that Miller's carrying off into the proverbial sunset is definitely our best shot at getting any info about what the hell is going on. Honestly, if she can explain literally any of the nonsense in this never-ending sea of nonsense, insanity and bullshit that's happened in the past half-hour, she deserves a medal."

Of course if they didn't catch up to Johnny really quick, they weren't learning anything. He appreciated that Miller saved the girl from that shady Monday character, but didn't this also count as abduction?

Yes.

Yes it did.

If Anthony was being honest with himself, he kind of wanted to like Johnny. His apparent intolerance for any sort of nonsense spoke to a part of him that he hadn't known he had until his face was surreptitiously swapped. Still, Johnny didn't seem to be the 'making friends' type, and he clearly didn't have any interest in hanging around. Actually, did he even know where the hell he was going?

The man clearly had more than a few screws loose, but on the other hand, he did seem to get things done… Micah's helmet was occasionally turning to stare at Johnny's retreating form. She probably wanted to catch up to him as well.

Miller probably wasn't going to stop if he asked. So how to stop him from stealing their informant. It wasn't that hard to think of one. It was basically hanging off of his back.

"Hey, Miller," he shouted, "slow down a sec. I'll see if I can pry that…" he tried to define the slime creature, but nouns failed him, "…thing… off of our new …acquaintance! I guess…"

He looked back at Sylvie.

"Please don't make our first… wait, no, second? third? uhh… our first formal impression of her be you flirting with her. That sword she's carrying aside, she doesn't seem like the type to respond well to that kind of assertiveness. Oh who am I kidding, you're going to do it anyway, I've known you for less than an hour and I already know that…"

…

…

…

Waitasec, had Sylvie actually called Micah by her actual name?! HOLY MOTHER OF—

[Twelveseal]

Micah Grey
Country Side – Ground Zero
Atomic Dawn


I spot Anthony heading our way as we’re trying to find a path through the devastated landscape. It won’t be long before he gets to us.

"I hate it when people who seem determined to annoy me are so obviously right. I think…?”

And this is what he greets us with? Not an ‘are you alright after that massive explosion?’ It’s not so unreasonable in my case. It’s not like he knows what my armor can, or can’t, do. But Sylvie was unprotected here…

I sigh.

”But you've got a good point. If there's anything that girl knows about how to get my ffffff………sonofabitch…"

_{”…seriously?”}

Is it really that big of a deal to have your appearance change? It’s not like you suddenly became drastically more or less attractive. You just look different.

I mean, this is a whole new world here. No one knows us here. No one knows you here. Your appearance is irrelevant, so long as the change doesn’t interfere with your ability to act or deal with others.

And right now, it’s doing that last thing pretty bad.
Like, this is getting kind of annoying.

We just survived what looked like a nuke, and we’re walking through a massive blast crater. Also, weren’t you bitching about your face at that puppy-slime?

"Okay, yes, fine, I want to know how to get my face back. But at the moment, that girl that Miller's carrying off into the proverbial sunset is definitely our best shot at getting any info about what the hell is going on. Honestly, if she can explain literally any of the nonsense in this never-ending sea of nonsense, insanity and bullshit that's happened in the past half-hour, she deserves a medal."

All I can do is shake my head.

We were already heading in that direction to begin with. Besides, I don’t think Miller’s going to just run off and leave everyone.

We should really be taking a closer look at everyone else to make sure they’re all right, but I think it’d be best to verify with Miller that he didn’t just drop a nuke on us and we’re going to have to worry about radiation poisoning or having to find some cure for it with magic.

"Hey, Miller, slow down a sec. I'll see if I can pry that… thing… off of our new …acquaintance! I guess…"

Ugh… It bothers me a lot. Like, really, bothers me how this ended up. I mean, these things seemed dumb, but they clearly have some sort of intellect. Some kind of identity. They’re not just mindless killing machines. We might have been able to reason with them, if we could have only figured out how. I mean, they hadn’t actually hurt anyone, just… some unwanted touching and acting a bit threatening. But maybe that was just how they communicated?

Thinking about prying one off the girl just reminds me of how badly this whole situation went. How badly it’s still going.

"Please don't make our first… wait, no, second? Third? uhh… our first formal impression of her be you flirting with her.”

_{”… rude.”}

Just… don’t start in with that sort of thing. I mean, really. We’ve all been through something insane here. There’s no reason to start criticizing her right now. Just… don’t.

Also, don’t make complaining about your face a priority to this new girl please. That’s just going to be weird. She has no idea you looked any different before in the first place.

”That sword she's carrying aside, she doesn't seem like the type to respond well to that kind of assertiveness. Oh who am I kidding, you're going to do it anyway, I've known you for less than an hour and I already know that…"

_{”Really… rude. Stop… please.”}

We need to get along here, not bother with this kind of shit.

_{”Priorities.”}

By now, we’re finally getting close to the prime suspect in this bombing. Maybe he can hear us at this point?

_{”Explosion… you? Nuke?”}

Basically, did you just doom us all to die slow, horrible deaths as our cells fail to properly divide and simply die off, our organs and muscles simply falling apart over the course of days?

Also, who’s this shirtless guy with him? He seems familiar. I nod in his direction.

_{”… hi."}