EVENT ONE: JUNE 21ST-28TH

[luminals]

TAKE BACK KNOWHERE
When: June 21-28
Who: Everyone.
Where: All over Knowhere, ending in the Continuum Cortex and Observation Deck.

Event details are here, IC announcement is here.

Prose & Action brackets are both acceptable ways of posting to these comments, please be mindful of what threads you are posting under!

Comments

CONTINUUM CORTEX

[luminals]

Megatron | Open

[sorrynotguilty]

[ finally there's enough room to transform from tank mode to his preferred form. dealing with the aliens to get to the Cortex hadn't been overly difficult - not really. it's fairly hard to smack a tank around and his cannon had been functioning perfectly fine. this forcefield... now this might pose a bit of a problem. finding a power source would be preferable, but when do things ever really go their way?

instead the massive Cybertronian inspects it. Trailcutter would be pretty useful right about now, wouldn't he? shame Megatron doesn't have his people and resources. bah. he's Megatron. he can figure this out just fine.

and by 'figure out,' Megatron does the risky thing by touching the forcefield. if he's blown back, he can take the hit. hopefully there is no one behind him. good way to test the drain on the power though, hmm? ]

[aerospacecommander]

[Well, if Megatron is blown backwards, he'll land right smack into Starscream. And most likely topple him to the ground since Megatron is built like an annoying brick wall.

Making his way to the Cortex proved to be more annoying and frustrating than difficult. Those things did hurt when they smacked him but he'll live because stupid aliens weren't enough to bring him down.

Truth be told, he doesn't even notice the former Decepticon leader at the force field. He's too busy keeping his opitics and scanners on the aliens to make sure they weren't following him. Which meant he was walking backwards and even if the force field doesn't blast Megatron back, Starscream will end up knocking into him anyway.]

[sorrynotguilty]

[ all right. maybe not blown backwards, but it does have a bit of a kickback to it. either way, he's going to be slamming into Starscream with enough force to knock the jet down.

it's enough contact to have Megatron stumble a bit before turning around. unfortunately, there's no mistaking who it is that is sprawled on the ground. some sick, twisted satisfaction sinks into his spark. ]

Starscream.

[aerospacecommander]

[Oh. Oh. Starscream knows that voice. There is no mistaking it.]

Megatron?! But you -- you're ...

[Dead. He would know. He left Megatron's corpse floating in space. Dread suddenly washed over him as he realizes his situation is probably going to go from bad to really bad.

Well, that is until he turns himself around enough to look at him. And notices one detail in particular.]

... An Autobot?!

[sorrynotguilty]

[ ah. the sweet sound of terror. oh how Megatron does so enjoy soaking it in from Starscream in particular. granted, it's the wrong frame. it resembles Starscream's Earth model rather that the one at the trial.

speaking of... Starscream seems surprised by one little detail he should not be. now that is interesting. he crosses his arms, rubbing at his chin. ]

How curious. You act as if you have seen a ghost when you should not be surprised in the least.

[aerospacecommander]

Well, technically speaking ...

[Starscream eyes Megatron some more wondering if this is some sort of weird hallucination. He slowly gets back to his feet in case any aliens come barging it, but he can't really shake the shock of Megatron = Autobot.]

Did your, uh, time in space result in a bit of soul searching for, you know --

[He gestures at the Autobot symbol.]

This?

[sorrynotguilty]

[ Starscream can be amazed or disturbed enough to be distracted. Megatron is not. whatever the jet misses as far as enemies go, Megatron will catch. he is prepared for an attack at all times. ]

The forces that brought us here can rip us from different parts of the universe into this one...

[ kind of ignoring the question, isn't here. ]

Would they have enough power to rip the very fabric of time, I wonder.

[aerospacecommander]

[That is what Megatron is there for -- to beat things up.]

So what you're saying is ... you're either from an alternate universe where you went all good guy, or you're from the future where you went all good guy.

[Either way this is weird which is why Starscream is still giving him the oddest look.]

... Or you're one of Shocky's escapee clone-projects.

[The last one thought he was an oracle of Primus, why not a Megatron who thinks he's an Autobot?]

Sailor Pluto | Open

[timeywimeyorb]

[With the force field* down it is time to act. She hadn't come this far only to be deterred now. Sailor Pluto wanted to get a closer look at the aliens involved and the only way to do that was to get inside the Continuum Cortex.

Pluto moved forward, trying to stay out of sight, but the aliens were mere alert. A large, rock-like biped stepped forward to block her path, setting the heavy hammer in his hands down with an audible boom. He towered over her by several feet.]

They send such a puny thing.

[Pluto focused and raised her staff high.]

Dead Scream.

[Nothing. Pluto's eyes went wide. That hadn't happened before! The alien smirked, pulled back his hammer, and swung it down at her. Pluto moved back with barely a moment to spare. The blow still managing to catch her in the side and knocking her back across the hallway, slamming into a wall.

Pluto grunted, pushing herself back up.]

This is going to take some effort.

[The alien tilted his head, eyeing her.]

You want to try again little one?


*[OOC: Handwaving that this takes place after the force field is taken down. Enjoy fighting aliens with no powers.]

[necrokinetic]

[ trying to break into the forcefield when he had powers had been frustratingly awful, but trying to fight the aliens once it'd come down was infinitely worse. for reasons he can't explain, his powers have left him and he can't even easily shadow travel out of the cortex to safety.

it looks like he's not the only one in trouble as he can spot others around him, fighting back against the monstrous rock creatures. one of the others goes flying past him — a woman with a staff of some kind — and it's clear that whatever attack she'd meant to do hadn't worked.

the demigod's still got his sword, however, and while his powers may not work, he can still stick 'em with the pointy end and all. he dashes between setsuna and the alien, blade pointed towards the alien drawing closer. ]

You should really find someone your own size. [ not that he's hardly comparable to the alien with his own scrawny body. ]

[timeywimeyorb]

[The rock-like alien turns and glowers down at the boy. He starts laughing, a booming laugh that seems to echo despite the sound of battle around them.]

You are even smaller than she. Little one is going to stick me?

[The alien moved forward and swung a blow down at Nico's head.

Meanwhile, Pluto is recovering and she is very concerned about this boy coming to her aid. This can't end well...but maybe they can work together somehow. So, now that the rock alien is distracted she adjusts her grip on the staff and takes a run at the alien. She jumps into the air and swings it down in a motion similar to the one the alien had used earlier.

She can still give him a good crack on the head and allow Nico to either dodge or attack as well.]

[necrokinetic]

Just try me.

[ he looks ready to spit out how he's not that small, but is distracted with having to dodge the incoming blow. luckily, pluto manages to distract it and the alien misses nico by a pretty wide margin. the distraction also gives him time to launch into an attack, which he aims for the creature's legs. better to incapacitate it while it was still down, right? he just hopes that the thing doesn't move, or worse, retaliates against the woman nico had been trying to save. ]

[timeywimeyorb]

[Well he does try, but it doesn't exactly go according to plan. Despite being made of what looks like rock, he's still vulnerable to a good hit. The alien staggers at Pluto's blow and winds up missing the boy entirely. To make matters worse, the boy manages to hit him in the leg. It's not a serious blow, but it IS enough to throw him off balance and send him sprawling to the floor of the Cortex.

He goes down hard and for that Pluto is glad. He howls in frustration and possibly a bit of pain.]

I'LL GRIND YOU BOTH TO DUST.

[The alien is pushing himself back up, grabbing for the hammer to help support his weight. Pluto wastes no time and spins the staff down for another strike in hopes of keeping him down. She frowns down at him.]

You are not as good as you think. I will not allow you to get the better of me again.

[necrokinetic]

You heard her.

[ nico's face twists into something of a smirk; he's lost in the rush of battle and it's about the only time that his guard even slips a little. unfortunately for their big, rocky friend, the change in mood is a result of nico getting ready to take another shot with his sword. this time, he's aiming for a much more painful spot — the strike wedges his sword right in between the alien's side, piercing what would be a lung if it was vaguely humanoid.

it's still strange to not see anything he's battling not crumble into dust, but he manages to keep his hold steady and twists. ]

What do you want here, anyways?

[ he has to ask, even if the alien may never give him a response. ]

[timeywimeyorb]

[The alien howls and parts of him begin to turn brittle and crumble away. He glares at them both and then roars a battle cry. Apparently he isn't going to go down peacefully and has finally learned he can't just mock them into submission. He waves the hammer frantically and swings wildly, trying to catch them off guard.

Sorry Nico, he's not talking any more, he's just going to beat you both into a bloody pulp or crumble to pieces...which ever comes first.

Pluto jumps back, avoiding the first blow. She's slower than she should be thanks to whatever power dampening ability or device they have, but she's still a trained warrior. She swings hard, aiming for a weak spot that has already been hit. More pieces of rocky flesh splinter and fly off.]

[necrokinetic]

[ nico has to move quickly in order to avoid the incoming hammer, but with his sword still lodged in the thing’s side, the best he can do is dive to the right. the good thing is that his movement jerks his sword free by taking a chunk out of the alien; the bad is that nico also manages to intercept part of the hammer with his arm.

despite the blood that starts to flow, he doesn’t seem ready to stop and jumps in to attack again — this time following pluto’s example and aiming for the same weak spot. ]

Gamora | OTA

[gamora]

( Gamora knows a futile situation when she sees one. The forcefield? She's not going to bother throwing herself at it only to get thrown backwards for her trouble. Her strengths lie in killing rather than pointless displays of dominance or attempts to assert oneself over a situation that can't be solved by hitting it. Don't get her wrong - there are plenty of things where that's a viable solution. This just isn't one of them.

Which is why she's concerning herself with some of the food she'd found on the marketplace level, back away from the forcefield - biting into one of the purple fruits with the orange flesh she'd liberated earlier. Observing rather than getting involved - watch it long enough and flaws might appear.

But she's happy to let other people hammer away at it until she can find said flaws. )

[getoffmyearth]

[Of all the people in all the whole das't universe he might be happy to see right now, Gamora ranks top three. Rich is #1, obviously, and it's a toss-up between Adam and Mantis and who's most likely to have the answers he needs right now.

She's always good for an idea or two, when push comes to shove.]

Those things wouldn't happen to be caffeinated, would they?

[gamora]

Quill.

( If the short cropped hair isn't a sign of when Gamora's from then the glare she's leveling at him might be his next best clue.

But he's at least a familiar face and she'd been surrounded by giant robots and Terrans for the last few days who seemed to be having a hard time adjusting to the fact that space was a whole lot bigger than they thought it was. So she turns her gaze from him back to the fruit in her hand. )

Not even close.

[getoffmyearth]

[Oh, well, he can't do anything about that right now. Maybe if Mantis would show up...

No, that is a terrible joke, he will not be doing that ever again. More important things than whether or not she's happy to see him right now or wants to have anything to do with him. They have a job, and by god will that job get done.]

Famous last words that could sum up everything we're dealing with right now. I'm sure you noticed.

[Are you gonna offer him some fruit or what?}

[gamora]

I had, actually. ( Fine, she'll toss one at him and if he doesn't catch it then that's not her fault. ) I tried finding where you headquartered your band - it doesn't exist.

( Even though Gamora doesn't really want to deal with him, she knows that there's the potential to get shit done in him. And that's the Peter Quill she wants to deal with right now, not the one who brainwashes his team just to be sure they'll stick together. )

[getoffmyearth]

Oh, d'ast all, really? It took me forever to find a coffee pot I liked up here.

[This is obviously the most important problem they have facing them right now, and not that she's using strange pronouns to describe their mutual endeavor or the fact that, and this is a very strange first, he's really not sure what's going on.]

Gamora, you've been around more places than me. Maybe. You ever seen anything like these guys before?

[gamora]

You didn't check.

( She's not even surprised at this point, considering she's talking to Peter Quill. Pushing off of the wall, she turns her back on him to consider the force field and the situation as a whole. )

No. Nothing about them seems familiar, and I don't think they're a cross between species either - artificially created or otherwise.

[getoffmyearth]

Not for lack of trying.

[All these wrong details are more unsettling to him than the idea of a species that he's never seen before, tbh. Knowhere is Knowhere. It's home, and now it's not. It feels like it should be a universal constant.]

That's what I thought. [ He pushes up his mask, thinking.] So either you and I don't know something, which is less impossible than I would like it to be, or someone's created something totally new, or the whole landscape of the universe is that different. Or a dead head still has antibodies which lay dormant all through its development into a space station until something triggered it just now, which sounds more farfetched than usual and is thus probably a serious possibility.