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 ONE

[luminals]

Fight your way to the Cortex and the Observation Deck! Swing by the Marketplace Level for some weapons, run into one of your fellow transports, or get lost.

Namorita | OPEN

[littlecousin]

[Fighting is a refreshing break from wondering what the hell is going on, and though the various aliens pressing around her seem to just keep coming, none of them have yet been strong enough or well-armed enough to slow Nita down--not that she has any real idea where she's going, but patience has never been her strong suit and she's done with waiting.

She tosses a mostly human-looking (if humans had tiger-striped skin) assailant into another, breaking the second one's charge and knocking both of them down amid what she assumes is a stream of curses...just in time to get sent flying herself as a third alien who resembles nothing so much as a pink gorilla punches her clear across the room, where a wall thoughtfully stops her and in return she leaves a Sub-Mariner-sized dent, then falls to the floor with a thump.]

Jerk! I hate this place!

[Nothing injured but her dignity.]

[timeywimeyorb]

[There was a lot to take in and Sailor Pluto was terribly lost. She wanted to get back to the Continuum Cortex, but the other aliens aboard did not seem to be in a helpful mood.

Pluto rushed around a corner and pulled up short when a young woman was thrown into a nearby wall. She couldn't help but wince, because honestly it looked pretty painful.

Her gaze didn't rest on the woman for very long since the aliens that had sent her flying were still on their feet and glaring them down. Pluto raised her Garnet Rod.]

Dead Scream.

[The tip of the rod glowed with energy that was quickly unleashed on the assailants. Pluto lowered the staff and looked back to the woman.]

Are you all right?

[walkingballpit]

[For those who can manage to do two things at once, fighting is still an exercise in what the hell is going on. The only difference is that it's less about where Robbie is right now and more about the people he can see fighting at the other end of the corridor.

That would be where someone who looked a lot like Nita (... his life was suddenly full of women who looked like Nita) was throwing someone who looked a lot like Tigra into another cat-person. Did the Atlanteans and the cat-people have a thing that he didn't know about? It made a weird sort of sense. Fish. Cats.

Running to help one of them (he's not sure which one, but he's got another 50 feet to figure it out), Robbie skids to a halt after Namorita goes hurtling past him in the other direction, where she slams into a wall and slides to the floor.]

N- Faira!

[He catches the name at the last second, not wanting to get yelled at again for calling her Nita. The decision's made for him. If that's Tigra, she can handle herself for now. He's over at the Atlantean's side quickly, relieved that she's aware enough to be angry. The wall is pretty banged up. He leans over and offers her a hand up.]

Don't tell me. You've got a chunk of a magic gem inside you, and you've been teleported to a space station on the edge of the galaxy.

Drift | OPEN - Cortex

[alwaysadrift]

((Free free to swap to brackets if you prefer that. I'm going to be on vacation for the next week with limited net access, so my tagging will be slow, but I'm excited and absolutely welcome anyone willing to backtag as much as needed. <3))

Conflict, combat? Now this, Drift knows how to do. All the rest of that when he arrived here? It's still churning in a stunned little place in his processor, waiting to get sorted out. He gladly sets it aside though--contemplation can come later when he's found a safe place for it--the moment the distressing message ends.

The Cortex is clearly under attack this very moment, so he's speeding that way. Hopefully the other occupants of the corridors and walkways are deft enough to avoid him; at least the squealing tires likely announce his presence? And if they stand in his way instead? Well. That just means Drift knows where to get started.

His first challenge is a large alien--large for humans at least--with more limbs than should really possible for a biped if you ask Drift. He turns the wheel hard to swing around towards the thing's back, but the tentacle that whips out has other ideas. It curls under his front bumper and tries to flip him off the bridge, but Drift is a little more agile than that. He unfolds from his altmode mid-air and lands on his feet, blades ringing from their sheaths.

"Well that's awfully rude, can't we all just share the road?" Nevermind that he's technically indoors. Details, eh. Drift isn't exactly waiting for a reply though, he's already poised to leap in and press for a new advantage.

OPEN you say?

[knightoflight]

Wing has a pile of questions as tall as he is about this place, but that pile is about to get a little bit larger as he follows the sound of battle, plasma blades already drawn, feet pounding down the decking, skidding as he rounded a corner to find...another Cybertronian.

Under attack, it seems.

Well, Wing can take care of that, the twin blades slinging in parallel blue arcs, slicing through the limbs reaching for the other mech's ankles. "Some people are simply rude."

as promised

[sorrynotguilty]

[ getting through the hallways is a challenge within itself for Megatron. he isn't sure what exactly is going on here, but there are clear signs that the place is under attack. he'd be half tempted to crush them underfoot ( literally ), but there are other smaller creatures meandering about. it might not look so nice if he squishes one of them.

thus he's moving about in his altmode. it's slow, but tanks usually are and they make up for in in fire power.

granted, he can see Drift just fine - the aliens aren't so big and bulky that he can't notice. but Megatron has this certain flare about things, doesn't he? the former warlord doesn't think anything about raising his canon and right before Drift takes a swing? well he'll be blasting the thing to rocky bits. ]

Shouldn't you pick on someone your own size?

[ like he's one to talk. ]

Veronica Mars | Observation Deck | OPEN

[isitapony]

[First she gets plucked from her galaxy and transported to this one through means she's not even sure she can begin to fathom unless the words 'this is all a dream' actually come into play, then she gets that message broadcast on her nifty new bracelet while she's wandering around trying to figure out which way is up and where everyone went. Because for a place this size, it sure as hell is empty and she's passing storefronts and displays that don't have anyone at home behind them. Sure, right, that's not vaguely ominous. Not like she's suddenly flashing back on every horror movie she's ever seen that has people in abandoned places. Not at all.

If anyone jumped out at her with an axe, she was going to kick them in the family jewels and taser them until they peed themselves. It was a specialty of hers. The old nutzapper.

The message certainly has those movies floating to mind again and she taps at the buttons on it, trying to get it to respond so she can ask this weird guy more questions, but of course, it's not working. All the tapping in the world wasn't going to make a difference and she wasn't equipped to tinker with it, not that she had a clue what she was doing. It had a hologram on it. An actual one and not some cheesy special effects thing in a movie. Great. So, it looked like this weird and abandoned place she'd been brought to was what, under attack? But... what exactly? She had no idea, but she was picturing giant bugs with lasers. She was willing to bet good money she wouldn't run into a benevolent race of magical unicorns, so she was going to have to figure this out on her own.

And since she had no idea where that place the guy mentioned was, she just headed in the direction she'd been heading -- which led to the Observation Deck.

Okay, maybe she got a little distracted by the sudden expanse of space she could see outside. She felt a twist in her stomach, like this was finally sinking in that this was real and she wouldn't wake up to the smell of bacon to tell her dad all about this really weird dream. Maybe she went over and just stared for a bit because really, how the hell could she not? It was space. Actual space. It was so benign looking, yet so terrifying at the same time.]

Cheese sticks.

[walkingballpit]

[Having temporarily split up from Namorita to explore more of the space station more quickly, he found himself in the Observation Deck. Robbie had wandered in at its lowest point, and it was huge. He whistled low, shaking his head as he took it all in. They could fit an entire hotel in here. If this was the Celestial's eye, he's getting a sense of the scale of a Celestial, and it ain't tiny.

He was getting concerned about where the rest of the body was and, more importantly, if the people that were currently attacking the head were the same ones who had decapitated it in the first place. That wouldn't bode well.

"Cheese sticks." The sound of another voice caught him by surprise. She certainly looked like she was from Earth, but there's a lot of bipedal humanoids out there. For all he knew, cheese sticks could be Kree for "Where's the bathroom?" or "I'm going to kill you now." He started over towards her, keeping a safe distance in case the girl turned out to be yet another homicidal alien. His path to the deck wasn't as clear as hers had been. Still, his voice was cheery and friendly.]

Are we talking mozzarella sticks, Andy Capp's, or Cheetos? Personally, I'd go for any of them, but I haven't found a vending machine yet.

[He held both hands up in front of him, palms toward her, and then pointed to the bracelet on his wrist.]

I've got the Bracelet of Arriving, or whatever they're calling it. I come in peace.

[Laughing, he pushed back the hood of his jacket to get a better look.] I've always wanted to say that. Are you actually from Knowhere?

[knightoflight]

[She would have a hard time trying that nut-kicking thing with Wing. Not that he intends any harm, of course. Quite the opposite. He's exploring the station, himself, but the sight of stars isn't quite as foreign to him: he remembers the titan, and their flight from Cybertron. He pauses behind her to try to see if he remembers any of the star positions when she speaks.

[Cheese sticks? What?]

Are those food? Or building materials?

[Either way, he doesn't see anything stick like out there.]

[gamora]

( Gamora knows her way around the station like the back of her hand, and while some things are different - her quarters are gone and there's no area set up for the Guardians - it's still Knowhere. What she doesn't expect to find on Knowhere is a Terran staring into space, however, as empty as the head seemed to be at the moment.

And then she hears what the woman says, and snorts. )

You're not going to find those just by looking out a window.

( Look at how helpful she's being! )

Tiny Green Menace, er LOKI! | OPEN

[badnewsboy]

[always questions unanswered—but those aren't the first thoughts that come to mind. the first thoughts that come to mind are "did I do this?" followed by a healthy, "wait, did anything I did do this?" that are quickly dismissed by the sudden realization that he was in a space station far from the reaches of Asgardia ... which wasn't exactly where he was before. (But where he was before was the cause to all the questions.)

there were more pressing matters at hand. like those aliens. something along the lines of a space invasion! some things were easy for him to adapt to, and intergalactic battles were one of them. (well, nix part of that, he was more familiar with battles between realms, but the eclectic collection of various combatants was something that wasn't foreign to him.)

his curiosity peaked and sudden rush of "I need to do something to help"-slash-"I'll find out what's going on" leads him to sneaking about on his way to the Observation Deck and right into the fray. he was very good at sneaking, but despite all his sneaking, he's caught by some unfriendly looking alien-fellows holding some unfriendly looking alien-weapons.

it was eerily like a Midgardian moving film.]

There's a mortal saying about frying pans and fire pits that's somewhat fitting for the circumstances. Have you heard it, I—[something like a space-ray-bullet sort of whizzes past his head, nicking the fabric of his hood. he makes a face.]—ah, I guess that's a "no," isn't it? Not in space! All questions answered! Now, er, there's something about a quick getaway that I'm missing!

Toodles!

[then he does what he does second best, he runs with the unfriendlies right on his heels.]

Oh, Hel.

[timeywimeyorb]

[It was back to trying to find her way to this "Continuum Cortex." It was strange. She had arrived there, had been told where she could stay, and led away, but now she could not for the life of her seem to find the exact hallways and corridors that had led her away from that room in the first place. This place was worse than a maze!

However, Sailor Pluto remained calm. She'd opted to stay in her senshi garb for the time being, seeing as the station was under attack it only made sense. She just hoped that her decision to find the Continuum Cortex was a good one. It probably wouldn't matter either way if she couldn't find her way there. And the fights she kept getting involved in were certainly not helping matters.

Case in point, it seemed she was approaching one now. At least, she wasn't sure why else there would be shouts, screams, and roars in a variety of strange voices coming her way and around the corner. First a boy ran past her hallway and then the hoard appeared, shooting and causing all kinds of ruckus.

She swept her Garnet Rod down.]

Chronos Typhoon!

[A massive wind slammed into the party of aliens pursuing the boy and even those not caught in it managed to trip and fall over one another in the ensuing disruption of their chase. Pluto rushed out to join the boy.]

Come! That won't keep them down for long.

[Sure, she had no idea where she was going, but she wasn't about to let some poor kid be bullied and trampled by a bunch of aliens either. Besides, the aliens were already picking themselves back up.]

[uneulogized]

I don't think you're half as fast as you think you are. [The observation comes from someone who's just turned the corner and lowered his gun—but only slightly. He's not going to shoot when this kid is making his get-away, and he sure as hell isn't going to interfere.] Or clever. You only announce you're running in the movies. It doesn't work out loud.

[The criticisms are only lazily delivered, and he jumps up quickly, flipping over the tiny green kid's head to deliver a pair of warning shots at the ceiling, making it clear that he's competent enough to handle this.

Why's he helping? Well, this kid seems to be sporting the same confusion as him. The way he ran was with purpose, but about the same level of purpose as what Jason is managing right now.

So, honestly, not very much at all. What it tells him (if he's piecing together his surroundings correctly) is that they aren't two of a kind. There are a lot of people in the thick of this fight, and most of them don't have a damn idea about what they're doing.

With the goons held off, he glances back toward the kid.]

Did you actually have a plan underneath all that? [Hey, it's worth asking. He's developing one of his own.]

[necrokinetic]

[ nico's only just shadow travelled away from one hallways filled with aliens when he finds himself stepping out into another just the same. the only difference is some other kid also happens to be present — not with the attackers, he guesses, if the way he's running is anything to go by.

it wouldn't be right to leave anyone else alone to save himself, so rather than make another quick exit, the demigod pulls out his sword and plants himself in the way. ]

Go around the corner! [ and trust the pale looking teen who just materialized out of the shadows. he hopes the other boy will: a) listen; and b) be fast enough to speed past him before the aliens catch up. ]

in the grand tradition of things

[getoffmyearth]

[It's a good thing he thinks fast on his feet, or this might be a lot uglier than it already is. What this actually is continues to be a subject of ongoing debate, but this particular piece of the this puzzle appears to be a kid in a very strange get-up (strange even for space, in that he can't place where it might come from) running towards him with a pack of villains on his heels, and that's totally a thing he can solve.

In what has to be one of the only cool action hero moments of Peter Quill's current life, he 1) fires a round of explosive penetrators over the kid's head, into the wall, which at least 2) causes a huge cloud of shorted out wires and debris and smoke (apologies to Cosmo or whoever, if they're somewhere around here) which keeps those bad guys at bay and 3) reaches out to snag the kid's hood and tug him down a conveniently located side maintenance corridor of machinery and now he really wishes he knew what they did.]

I don't think they got your joke, kid.

Newt Geiszler • Observation Deck

[herpetology]

[ Okay, quick refresher on Newt's situation. They just cancelled the apocalypse. He's had a grand total of ... like, a handful of hours to come to terms with that. Not to mention he still looks like he was just involved in the apocalypse itself. Glasses broken, shirt bloody, jacket ripped, all that. Then, he's ripped from Earth and put on a space station. Oh, he also now has SUPER POWERS.

It's awesome overload. He's almost numb to the whole thing. Logic and reason tells him to go lock himself up in his bare little bunk and sleep it off to let other crazy people handle the fighting and the winning.

But there's a good chance that if he totally leaves this alone, doesn't help at least figure out what the situation is, he'll be the one in a test tube and dissected in the name of alien science. That numbness probably helped with this decision.

Well, when the going gets tough, Newt Geiszler mans the FUCK up. He's hiding behind something that looks solid enough. He's got no weapon and no idea how to fight these things. Really, how do you fight something that looks like it could get knocked down by a good breeze? How are they really a threat? A Hoover could probably take them out. ]

Hey!!

[ He yell-whispers to the nearest living thing that doesn't look like it's made of smoke. Whispering may not work. ]

HEY.

[littlecousin]

[She heard you the first time, Newt. She was just busy making sure the thing that's moving over there isn't moving towards them.]

Hey, yourself--

[Nita turns to look at him and blinks. Dude, you look like something the kraken dragged in.]

--You okay?

[The person asking is a beautiful blond woman in a bathing suit. She has Mr. Spock ears, which is clearly only fitting for being in space. She also has little white Mercury wings on her ankles, which is less thematically appropriate.]

[isitapony]

Is for horses. Didn't anyone tell you that?

[Sorry, Newt. Sass was ingrained in her genes, like some sort of programmed defect that made her impossible to deal with in a life or death situation. Maybe if she came with a muzzle?

But she'd taken refuge under the nearest something that looked like it could hide her pretty well, looking over at the hushed whisper and seeing a guy that looked like someone had beat the crap out of him, then washed their car with him, then beat the crap out of him again.]

Whoa, dude. You okay?

Jason Todd | OPEN

[uneulogized]

[Lacking any amount of information, Jason finds himself uncertain as to how he'd like to keep this fight. He could keep it clean, and he could even fight the way that Bruce trained him: knock a few people down, make sure that they aren't out for the count, and keep going. Logic tells him that this is the best idea, and barring any sudden release of other information, he thinks this might be his best shot.

Still, it's hard to play nice when the opposition isn't so keen to play along. Every time he's about to knock one guy out, another one takes a shot on him, and it tells him something very important: these guys came prepared. Jason didn't. He doesn't like that, especially since he doesn't know a thing about this situation. There's thinking fast and being good on your feet, and then there's being half-burnt in a frying pan.

So there's always another approach, and he takes it, lowering his gun and sticking up his hands.]

Come on, boys. You think I wanted to fight you? I don't even look like I belong here, do I? Let's be real.

[Jason doesn't think this will stall them for long, but it's enough for him to think up a back up plan ... or maybe acquire backup. There's gotta be surprising amounts of backup for once somewhere, right? He doesn't like the idea of a team up, but this might be asking for it.]

leonard mccoy ✩ open

[sufferably]

( all things considered, it’s not the worst day he’s ever had. if he had the time to stop and think about that, he might realize the scale on which that places his life—but he doesn’t, so he won’t. instead, he hugs the walls of the long and winding hallways as he tries to make his way back to any area that’s populated.

he could almost buy all of this as a transporter accident, as some kind of grand social experiment he’s been swept up in without his consent. but he’s also got a monstrous headache, one that starts at the base of his skull and fans out to his temples, and that crushes his resolve to find a logical explanation for any of this.

there is also the fact that his mood is shifting rapidly—anxiety wars with anger and gives way to despair too quickly, and his mind realizes in some distant way that this isn’t normal. he’s no stranger to any of these emotions, but the way they’re racing through his mind without him being able to process them is downright freakish.

so here stands mccoy, arms crossed over his chest and expression the epitome of exasperation. he might catch sight of someone else in the halls, lift a hand and begin to call out— ) Hey, hey you! Do you have any idea—

( he’s cut off fairly quickly, because as soon as he asks the question a third party enters—an alien who’s species he can’t identify, who doesn’t look anything so much as mean and hostile.

good goddamn, he thinks mildly. then he’s lunging to one side, to get out of the way as the third party starts to attack. )

damian wayne ✘ open

[xuffasch]

( he isn’t primarily interested in explanations. it’s disconcerting, yes, to be ripped away from gotham and end up in space—but it’s something he can deal with later. for now, he’s heard a distress call. as much as he may wish to grab the latest passerby and demand an explanation, his training takes precedence. it’s trite, but it’s something he’s had to learn—when someone asks for help, you give it to them.

so robin—because he is robin, he doesn’t dare take off the mask, and there’s nowhere to get clothing to establish two identities—is the one on patrol. the cortex seems like the best bet, but he finds the path there almost unnavigable despite having come from there only hours before. this is starting to feel too much like a trap, and all of his sense are acutely aware of the danger that could be lurking around each and every corner.

he goes upwards on instinct, climbing into the high beams arching across the upper decks. he feels safe where he can have a vantage point, hood pulled forward to shield his face as he gazes below him.

from there, he can see hostiles come and go—and he can also see others who must be like him, brought here with little explanation and no plan at all.

he won’t come down for just anything, however. it’s only when he senses danger that he might leap down to block an attack from an alien aggressor, to give someone else a chance to escape.

or he might catch a face that looks familiar, or at least useful. those people will find themselves stuck from behind—though not with enough force to do more than attract attention. robin will wait above, another piece of scrap poised in one hand, intent on seeing whether his target will notice his presence. )

Clara Oswald | OPEN

[parallels]

[You'd think she'd be used to this sort of thing by now.

But at least she usually has some sort of preparation. Some sort of introduction to where she is and what the conspiracy of the day is. Instead of "oh welcome to unspecified space place, oh, here's something to fix". Or fight really. And she's alright with fighting if she's able to form a plan. Her strength is in strategy and not brute force.

So currently she's being backed into a corner. In her hands is a mace that used to belong to one of the now downed aliens (thanks whoever that was!) and she's brandishing it menacingly. Or as menacingly as a girl that barely tops five feet can be. ]

Back off. I'm armed and very cross. You'd best stay back if you know what's good for you.

[One of the aliens advances on her suddenly and she gasps in surprise and swings the mace which connects rather nastily with the aliens shoulder causing him to shatter. Swallowing, she looks over at the others now advancing on her. The first swing was more luck than skill and she's outnumbered badly.]

Or don't.

annabeth chase | open

[sophos]

[Space stations? She'll go with new. Not nearly as nerve-wracking as it might have been had she not just gone through hell, and maybe that helps when she comes across the aliens. Because aliens are definitely new too, but fighting them isn't, and she's still got some of that desperate fight from Tartarus in her.]

[Oh, she has questions, and plenty of them - she wouldn't be Annabeth Chase without them, but her curiosity and quest for them always fall to the wayside when combating a threat. In the literal sense.]

Get out of my way! [If she sounds angry, it's because she is. For too many reasons to list right now. Though she's got a sword in her hand, she lands a hard kick in the alien's chest, sending him stumbling backwards.]

[The best way to get answers here is to go where told, and she'd love to, if not for being slowed along the way. Another alien comes up, completely different from the first, and two against one aren't the worst odds she's ever faced, but there's a third approaching too.]

[Time to find out if drakon bone works. She flexes and adjust her grip on her sword, then charges at one of the aliens, swinging it down at its leg. It cuts through and she shoves it over, turning her attention towards the second, hoping to take it out before the third gets close enough.]

Jim Kirk | OPEN

[kirking]

[Aliens aren't new to Kirk, not even a little bit, but trying to fight them without the comforting weight of his phaser in his hand is. Even if the damn thing was on stun-- he's gotten used to it. He's never really had an occasion where he didn't at least start out with one strapped to his hip or leveled in front of him.

Sure, he loses more than a fair share of them but today? Not even lucky enough for that. So he's kind of winging it.

And not doing a very good job at it, if the bruises on his face are any indication. But at least he's still walking, even if there is a slight limp and so sorry if you run into him around a corner and he either shoves you against the wall or tries to punch you in the face. It's nothing personal. And he'll stop once he realizes there's no threat. If there isn't at least.]