Scene #1565: Showdown

Owner	Pose
Taylor Hebert	Taylor Hebert finds herself in Brockton less frequently than she used to (but to be fair, before, she was only /ever/ in Brockton), but she still comes home almost daily if she can help it. Today, she's at a shopping complex to pick up some furniture and other stuff for her Afterus apartment. Taylor sits on a bench outdoors, looking through a checklist of what she absolutely needs before hitting up stores. She's dressed casually; a jacket and a pair of jeans, long brown curly hair and brown eyes covered with glasses. Taylor gets up, looking over towards the furniture store nearby. That's where she'll go first, she decides. If she can even make it there.
Defiant	The sky is suddenly filled with the roar of engines and what can only be described as a pair of mechanical dragons sweep down through the sky. Outside, they can be clearly seen and even inside the shopping mall one might feel the tremor of their landing. They are big things, heavily armed and armored, and they're known to be the personal craft of Dragon and her new partner, the one called Defiant. It's easy enough for Dragon to find a map of the mall and similarly simple to plot Skitter's approximate location. She closes from one side, boosted on the wings of a jetpack, while Defiant runs in through the opposite side. They're hemming Skitter in before she's aware of them really being there. By the time she's inside the furniture store, they've found her. The first one, the new hero Defiant, is tall and clad in power armor of forest green and gold, etched with scales and wings. He carries a huge spear, etched with the design of a dragon's skull. That can't be... Armsmaster, can it? Behind him, lands a woman in a matching set of armor. Her voice is calm, gentle, and tinged by a Newfoundland accent, even through her helmet. The main door is blocked. Softly, Dragon says: "Skitter. Taylor. I'm sorry it worked out this way. My hand was forced."
Taylor Hebert	Taylor didn't see it coming. How could she? But as soon as the engines roar and through the window, the dragons begin to drop, she immediately knows something is up. Immediately, as if a reflex, she is tuning into insects around her. Those outside in the grass and dirt, those inside in the walls or termites hidden in the older wooden furniture. She's not having them make a move yet, just grasping control. And as Dragon and Armsmaster(?) show up, she mutters. "Shit." Taylor's been caught up in an ambush. She remains calm, having the bugs move slowly towards her location. "Dragon...and...Armsmaster?" She's preparing to bolt at any second, slowly inching her way away from the two, as the bugs move closer and closer. It's a furniture store. There's quite a bit of terrain she can exploit.
Defiant	"My name is Defiant," replies Armsmaster, turning his spear until he has in pointed at Skitter. But he doesn't advance, not yet. It's Dragon who steps forwards, in that slow, tentative way, like she's talking to someone on the ledge of a building. "I'm sorry," she says, "But I'm only following instructions." There's civilians all through the store and outside in the promenade. A low murmur runs through the crowd. This could get ugly - why would they force a confrontation in a place like this?
Taylor Hebert	Yep. This is going to go badly. "I guess private lives were never sacred." Taylor sighs...and then moves, leaping on and over a nearby table. As she does so, the bugs are moving faster. She doesn't have enough for an assault...which is why the bugs aren't moving towards Dragon and Defiant, but instead towards the civilians. The bugs are attempting to corral them, scare them to a specific position: in the path of Dragon and Defiant. She needs to get out of here. Emergency exits may help. Alternatively, her backup may be able to clear her a way. But right now, she knows she can't fight through them. She needs to /escape/.
Defiant	"She's taking hostages," Dragon announces to her partner, and a set of angelic wings - that jetpack of hers - flare to life. But she doesn't move, not yet. Defiant advances slowly, trying to push his way through the crowd - gently. It's slow going.
Souji Murasame	All kinds of weird things are happening in Brockton Bay today. Unusual changes in the PRT, the fall and renaming of a respected superhero, and now a confrontation in the middle of a mall with no respect for sevret identities. There is yet to be more unexpected action in the near future. There is a pulse from the Brockton Bay Warpgate, and a blur of motion as a high speed movement comes from it under heavy temporal acceleration. The information is likely duly noted and passed on to PRT central analysis, but it will likely be too late. The air rumbles with the sound of thunder, and from atop a nearby building a hand out outstretched. A distorted voice intones, "Thunder-3." The sky splits open with a cascade of electrical force, surging downwards into the roof of the mall. There is am explosion as the feedback knocks out interior lights and fries fuseboxes... And leaves a sizable hole in the roof. As the dragon machines look over towards the source of the disturbance, several cages fall in through the hole, snapping open as they hit the floor. Within are not spiders. One contains a mass of huge, buzzing, mutated hornets, while the other holds several massive mantis-like creatures. They're insects, at least. A moment later, a slim figure in a black suit and wearing what looks to be a ceramic mask of white with a mirrored visor drops in, balancing on top of a nearby dresser. A distorted voice speaks. "Enough of this farce."
Taylor Hebert	Backup is here. In the form of thunderous explosions and mutant off-world bugs. She takes a minute while moving to adjust to them mentally...before sending her first order. Attack Dragon and Defiant. Giant insects are the best cover, and if she needs, one of the hornets /may/ be able to carry her out through the roof hole. She orders a few to stick to her as both bodyguards and cover, as she begins to move towards one of the emergency exits. Though, she /will/ need to find a way to deal with the robots if she gets outside. She just shouts to Dragon and Defiant, "My circumstances have changed. Time to adjust your percentages, Dragon."
Defiant	The roof implodes, sending plaster and other building materials down over the heads of everyone involved. In the case of the two armored superheroes, it just bounces off their armor. Defiant seems to be figuring out what's happening, "Pendragon, Melusine, interdict primary target if they get past us." So he's set the robots as guard dogs. Fantastic. His spear out and crackling with electricity, Defiant moves to engage the insects, putting himself between them and Dragon. He strikes at the massive mantis-like creatures with his spear, impaling them where he can, forcing them back with another. As the hornets descend upon him, he slams his spear against the ground and blasts out an electrical charge in all directions. Dragon's jetpack extends and folds out further. It's clearly Armsmaster's tech and, on a gout of blue flame, she takes to the air, racing after Skitter! Still, the pair has been seperated. Defiant is left to face the newcomer and the bugs, while Dragon appears to be quite set on apprehending Skitter. And she's fast!
Souji Murasame	The battle has been engaged, in a way. Defiant and Dragon are ignoring Souji, which might be against their best interests. They are, however, splitting up. Souji takes advantage of this moment to hold out his hand again, uttering in that distorted voice, "Haste-2." Orange glows surge over the insects and Skitter, resolving into clocks of light that swiftly accelerate. All of them will find themselves temporally accelerated, giving them an advantage if they are capable of leveraging it. The blade at his side remains in its sheath. "You will cease your attempts. Your hope at a clean acquisition is ruined." He walks towards Defiant, the electrical blast causing him to pause for a moment, tilting his head. "If you continue I will have no choice but to take direct action."
Defiant	"This doesn't concern you, interloper," Defiant growls, voice tinged by some sort of masking effect. "If /you/ continue, I'll have no choice but to bring you in along with Skitter." He spins his spear in a wide arc, just happening to catch one of the giant mantis-things with the blade, and dispatches it. He levels the weapon at Souji, square and steady, ready to thrust. He advances. Pursuing Skitter, Dragon continues to streak through the skies. A set of laser blasts erupt from the jetpack, which has apparently deployed a set of laser turrets at some point, as Dragon attempts to slow and hinder the sudden burst of speed that Souji has given to Skitter and her insect bodyguards!
Taylor Hebert	The Haste is helpful, and Taylor is glad she has it. As the manti begin to get killed, she's repositioning the ones that live to stop direct attacking, and is instead having them move and flank. Tactics (as much as insects can do tactics)! Taylor's using the environment to her advantage. She has one of the manti with her quickly reposition a table to slow the lasers, as she moves the insects around to be her shields. She's dashing for the exit, while thinking of how she'll get rid of the dragons outside. But, she'll find a way. She'll /try/ things.
Souji Murasame	"If it did not concern me, I would not be here." The unknown man responds. "And do not make threats you cannot follow through upon." He stands at the ready, apparently looking upon the polearm with studied inscrutability behind the mask. "Your multi-adaptive polearm weapon will not avail you against me as it does against the beasts." There is a sudden motion, and the man spins, sweeping the sheathed blade to one side in both hands as he tries to force it upwards. He goes low, suddenly sweeping out a leg, and there is a dull crash of thunder behind him as he suddenly accelerates, sliding forward with a powerful thrust along the floor in an attempt to topple Defiant. "If you wish, I will provide you with a suitable excuse to give to your master in regards to your failure."
Defiant	"He is not our master," Defiant retorts as his spear goes high. Souji's kick slams Defiant over and the power-armored cape rolls with the blow, crashing through a couch and shattering it into fluff and splinters. He rises quickly, and kicks one half of the couch towards Souji. As he does that, he begins doing /something/ to his spear while he tries to keep his eyes on Souji and the remaining mantis creatures. Elsewhere, Dragon continues her pursuit. She plants one armored foot on the table and leaps, shattering it with the force of her jump, and using it to build speed - but it did slow her for a minute. The lasers on her shoulders continue to fire, picking off the various insects, but not managing to wing Skitter. Not yet. And then, suddenly, Dragon veers towards the ground of the mall. She staggers forward, as if she's not quite in control of her legs or prepared for the sheer momentum her jetpack had imparted her with, and then falls, collapsing into a green-armored ball, arms around her knees. What?
Souji Murasame	"You obey his commands to your own detriment. This makes him your master." The man responds with all of the compassion of a computer. There is an explosion of movement as the couch is sent flying towards the unknown man, and he levels a hand. "Thunder-1." He pronounces, and there is a quick crack of lightning that shatters the couch in a spray of burning debris around him. Still moving with blurred speed, the man flicks a hand, showering Defiant with... coins? Coins they may be, but they are propelled at the speed of bullets. His hands blur as a thousand of these coins are flung at Defiant in a torrent of pain. "Or do you wish to clarify? Provide data."
Defiant	The coins ping and bounce off Defiant's armor, leaving dents all across the green and gold armor plating. Defiant advances, spear held in both hands. He says nothing, but thrusts the spear in Souji's direction. Electricity arcs around the spearhead and it leaps towards Souji, like one hell of a taser!
Taylor Hebert	While Souji the Samurai Businessman and Defiant fight, Taylor's making her exit. Dragon's closing in and killing her bodyguards...but then suddenly falls to the ground. Taylor is internally /slightly/ worried because that came out of nowhere, but can inquire later. Instead, she's dashing through the emergency exit... And mounting the back of one of the hornets. It's kind of lopsided and not very graceful, but it's the best escape, if a bit bumpy. She flies it onwards, and if not shot down, out of the mall. Though, a few people /do/ get video of it...including of the teenaged girl riding it.
Souji Murasame	There is a pause from the unknown man as he notices the reinforced armor taking the blows easily. He slides in, attempting to parry the blow again, but there is a miscalculation. The thrust pushes past his guard, opening a long gash across the man's flesh. It is flesh, at least he is confirmed to not be a robot. Okay, not /obviously/ a robot. Maybe he's a Replicant. There is a hiss of statis and noise from the mask as the lightning jolts him, adding additional damage to the impact as he falls backwards. "... You have some skill." He says as the voice modulator comes back online. "Very well. I will have to take you more seriously." He blurs backwards, leaping over furniture and rebounding off of a couple ottomans to perch on a table that is still intact. He holds up a hand, and pronounces, "Gravity-1." There is a pulse of blackness that surges forward, striking out at Defiant's feet and forming into a dome of crushing gravitic force. The man then surges forward, striking with shattering force as he attacks with the sheathed blade. The weapon looks like it shouldn't weigh that much, but upon the swing, it seems to suddenly weight several hundred pounds. This doesn't stop him from whipping it around, oddly enough, like a sword-shaped club. Why is he not drawing the sword?
Defiant	As Taylor takes to the sky, the two dragoncraft remain exactly where they are, still as statues, like great green and grey sentinels. That, too, might be worrying. But they don't pursue. Defiant follows Souji, slicing through a chair as he closes with Souji. When the Gravity-1 wraps around his feet and binds him there, he growls - a dark, mechanical sound from behind his helmet. The blows from the sheathed blade ring out, again and again, as they crash against Defiant's armor, leaving huge dents. Dropping his spear, Defiant draws a gladius from behind his back and attempts to parry the blows where he can and riposte out towards Souji. "This fight is over," Defiant states.
Souji Murasame	Defiant's gladius cleaves out, the metal biting deep into the aged leather of the sheath as the man works to parry the counterattack. The weapons lock, and the unknown man struggles against Defiant's augmented armor for several seconds... Before Souji is hurled backwards, the blade leaving him with another slash for his trouble while his guard is down. The man is silent for several seconds. "I concur." He finally states. "This battle is over. My objective has been completed. Recover your ally." He turns away, and gestures. "Float-1." There is a hum of space bending and a puff of feathers around him for a moment as he hovers off of the ground... And he launches himself upwards at high speed, aiming for the hole in the roof. He does not pause to bid Defiant goodbye or taunt him. Now, his only goal is escaping Brockton Bay before the PRT can mobilize to cut him off.
Defiant	Defiant nods and watches his strange opponent vanish up through the hole in the roof, leaving the broken and shattered remnants of the furniture store behind them. When he's sure they're gone, Defiant leaves. He finds Dragon where he knows she fell and she stands, abruptly, quickly. She extends a hand towards Defiant but the movement is slow, palsied and stuttering. Defiant takes it and pulls her in close, setting his chin on top of her head. What a disaster.