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

STAGE TWO

[luminals]

Siege time! Buckle down, set up a good camp, and try to figure out a way to bring down those groups.

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.

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.]

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.

OBSERVATION DECK

[luminals]

Rodimus | OTA

[rodders]

( The blasts from the organics attempting to take over hurt more than Rodimus had expected them to - and his growing frustration with the ability of whatever he was fighting to meet him blow for blow was clearly evident. He'd been fighting for four million years, flighting against some weird fleshling shouldn't be proving this much of a challenge.

Rodimus doesn't dodge one of the shots in time and he grunts in pain as he can feel the burn in his side. He ignores it - his systems will take care of it once the fighting's done, he's sure of it. Instead he falls back to try a different form of attack - changing into his alt-mode and driving straight towards the things, hoping to at least knock one of them off the sticks they were walking on or whatever they were doing.

But his target simply steps aside even though Rodimus knows it was looking the other way. There's a frustrated growl from him as he slams on his breaks into a sharp turn, transforming out of his alt-mode so that he can slide backwards while staring that spawn of a glitch down.

He's got this though, he's totally got this. )

[alwaysadrift]

[Megatron had issued him orders, and given that the former warlord was now the Lost Light's captain, Drift had a whole lot more reason to follow them. Not an obligation mind, but the tactics still made sense, sending him to the Observation Deck.

He's still not sure what to think about the news regarding Rodimus though. It's altogether unsettling beyond the grief issue, which he's fully in denial of by the way. Rodimus had survived plenty of things in his long life, how could he just... No, there must be some weird explanation for it all.

It's a whole lot easier to just dive into combat and not have to think about it yet, which is why Drift's swords are dancing with a speed like he's never pushed himself too, thinking that if only he can catch them off guard the next one will land a hit. Except off guard never really happens.

He vaults backwards to avoid a barrage of fire, engine giving a heavy growl of frustration, until he slams into something hard--something distinctly his size--that wasn't there a few moments ago.]

Hey, watch yourself--!!

[rodders]

( What the-- )

You watch it, you-- ( He turns and whatever he's about to say dies in his throat when he sees who's just run into him. The frustration vanishes in a happy grin because it's Drift. It's Drift and suddenly being stuck wherever this is doesn't seem so bad. ) Drift? Drift!

( Rodimus promptly forgets the fact that they are in a fight to just beam at his best friend who is not dead and right there. It's probably not the wisest decision but he's in the habit of not making those, so why start now? Except then the guilt slams into him despite his best efforts and his face falls ever so slightly.

How's he supposed to tell Drift about everything that's happened since he left? Where would he even start? We found the Circle of Light but Dai Atlas is dead and oh yeah, Star Saber, Tyrest, and Pharma are the circle of crazy bots?

Eh. He'll think of it later. )

Robbie Baldwin | Open

[walkingballpit]

It's 'night', according to the station time. It's not any different from 'day' as far as he can tell. Long corridors. Artificial lighting. What windows there were would never open. NASA gave its astronauts a full battery of psych tests for a reason. The Navy did the same for submarine operators. People weren't meant to be in boxed up with no fresh air. It drove them crazy.

In a little alcove in one of the endless hallways that snake through the space station like pixels on an old Nokia, Robbie was sitting up against the wall, keeping a weary eye on anyone that came along. The Observation Deck isn't far. It's close enough that he heard the occasional skirmish, but he ignored the stops and starts as best he could. He didn't want to think about what caused each ceasefire.

A gun rested against his calf; one hand loosely wrapped around the grip. He scavenged it off one of the invaders when it became clear that they were going to need to sleep. The weapon wasn't for him to use, though. It was meant to be a warning. Nothing said armed and dangerous like a gun, no matter what language was spoken.

Honestly, he wasn't even sure if it worked. Robbie aimed at a random spot on the wall and pulled the trigger. It fired, but his aim was about two feet off, judging by the scorch mark. It didn't matter. The gun was the suggestion of the weapon.

[littlecousin]

Robbie?!

[When she hears the shot, Nita's a few hundred feet down the hall and around a couple corners, checking to make sure they haven't backed themselves into a dead end before either of them takes a nap. She does zero to sixty fast enough to make race drivers weep with envy, and almost before the echoes have had time to die, she's hovering next to Robbie, spoiling for a fight against...nothing, apparently.]

Everything okay?

[gamora]

( Gamora's been spending the down time mapping out Knowhere - she knows the station like the back of her hand and much of it is the same as the one she knows. But there are differences: her quarters simply do not exist and neither does the room Quill's band of losers happened to be headquartered in.

Alternate universe? Probably.

She doesn't tire - thank Thanos for that - not at the rate people should, at any rate. But she's also not an idiot, snatching moments of rest when she can. Her temper is shot to hell and back, however, and when she sees Robbie her only comment is anything but encouraging or reassuring. Not that she ever is to begin with, however. )

You'd better not expect anyone save you if you're planning on wasting all of your ammo.

Newt Geiszler • Open

[herpetology]

[ Most of this fight has been less of a fight and more of a dodge for Newt. He has no weapon, no fighting skill beyond his sheer inability to give up anything. He's in it for the long run now, no matter how much of a pain in the ass these things are going to be.

Some part of his brain has been watching and making calculations about everything that's going and about the aliens themselves. He can't help it! His mind's always about collecting data, especially when that data is presented in the form of wicked awesome xenobiology. THEY'RE PRACTICALLY MADE OF SMOKE HOW COOL IS THAT. Other than the whole trying to set everyone ablaze with energy blasts thing. That sucks. A lot.

Newt's pretty sure some hairs have been singed a little with a leftover attack. Any hope of really sitting down to figure out these guys has been taken over with trying to avoid them. Jump, dodge, yell OUT OF THE WAY both as a warning and for his own safety. One thing is really clear: running at these guys is not working. It's getting late. He's already exhausted from the adventures with Kaiju. What the hell are they going to do?

He takes refuge behind a -- something to catch is breath. ]

We need a better plan than this. And lunch. Or none of us are gonna make it.

[ He's thinking out loud, not even realizing that he's talking. It's a habit from dictating notes and thinking no one is going to be around to listen to him anyway. ]

[alwaysadrift]

[Drift is taking a breather too, less for reasons of weariness and more to try and tame the rising frustration. He's crouched off to the side, trying to make himself less of a target as he susses out the tactics here. And it'd be a lie if he said the fight was wearing on him, his systems running hot and his ventilation system working at full capacity.

It's then that he hears the comment from behind him. It's not too startling--he's seen plenty of humanoids around--but he does still turn to look.]

Tell me about it. I feel like I'm chasing ghosts here.

[kirking]

[That observation makes Kirk laugh. He's a couple feet away from Newt, hiding behind the same stretch of wall, trying to catch his breath. And then someone has to go and bring up lunch.]

Yeah. I'd kill for a sandwich right now.

Loki & Jason in space | Open

[badnewsboy]

[a handful of Star Wars references later:]

Ah--they've started without us.

[Loki's poking his head around a corner to get a good look at their alien opponents. they've found away, amazingly, to sneak from the corridors to the Observation Deck without much fuss. having two heads to look out was definitely better than having one.]

And no one looks all that friendly. If only we could negotiate over a round Italian pastry and a large jug of fizzy soda. I hear it does wonders for the temperament, though I have a feeling their ambitions lie elsewhere.

[uneulogized]

If you think Vader's gonna give up on the dark side of the Force for a slice of pizza—feel free. Me? I'm here to fight, and it looks like we're in agreement there.

[The "we" is referring to the fight they're having. While Jason's keen on banter, he's now pretty certain that this kid is going to get himself killed with the way he's going. That doesn't sit right with him. He's about as bad as these guys are with probably similar motivations when it comes to the grand scheme of things, but this isn't the turf he gives a damn about.

So when it comes to that, he can narrow his interests to his typical ones.]

Drift | OPEN - ANY LOCATION

[alwaysadrift]

((Prose or brackets welcome. Feel free to interrupt/run into Drift at any point, in EITHER location or in-between; he likely repeats this process over the course of the few days that siege mode lasts. Chat with him about battle tactics, go scouting with him for food, trying sleeping in his back seat if you want (if you're nice, he might even let you) or park yourself next to him for a nap instead.))

Even a Cybertronian tires from constant fighting. And though Drift wouldn't hesitate to keep going if he'd been making progress, the fruitless efforts in the Observation Deck were just a waste of precious energy. They needed a new tactic, and they likely needed to pool their resources, discuss what information they had, to find it.

Weariness brings up the fuel issue though. Drift's got a few rations, but those will go fast when shared among the other Cybertonians here. So during those periods where he knows he needs to take a break from the fighting but is too restless to recharge, he goes out scouting the station, moving between the Observation Deck and the Cortex and back again. It's a vain hope, that he might find something they could eat here, but no one should know what it feels like to starve (he rather wishes he could forget). And at the very least Drift's performing perimeter patrol duty, keeping people safe, and perhaps he might find some fuel for the organics in the process. Presuming he can properly identify it that is.

There are times when he must rest though. He's too wary to leave the areas where large groups of people have gathered, strength in numbers after all, so he's taken to recharging in altmode nearby. It's not the same as having a recharge station, but it's something at least, letting his systems idle as he sleeps. The red and white alien looking sportscar probably stands out like a sore thumb regardless of how discreetly he's parked in a side corridor, but given the variety of things around this place? Maybe not as much as he thinks.

Dick Grayson | Open

[pixieboots]

[ A few hits too many and he’ll be down for the count, in a situation without backup, without a back door, without Batman ready to swoop in from within (probably) a few lightyears at least. He doesn’t have time to think it through, he needs to get out of the way until he can settle on a plan B and C.

He tried for another sideways kick and yelps when the energy blast grazes his arm anyway. He can’t fight these things with fists.

He spots a narrower alcove and once he’d heading in that direction he really can’t not see it all around- the wide open expanse of space outside while he’s making a run for it. It’s something alright. Just being here is something, whether it’s an accident or the dumbest kidnapping plot anyone's ever come up with.

But they’ll be time to think it out later. His presses his back against the wall and waits for them to follow him. ]