Heroes: Shadows over Millenium

[Pcm979]

A.J. just sat there for a moment as the world swum around him. "Showoff." He bleated weakly as the dragon did an entirely unnecessary pirouette before diving into the shadow. After he was fairly certain that his body knew which way was up, he got to his feet and made his way towards Blackheart.

"Sorry, Sir." He said sheepishly.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Avatar reached out with his mind again. There they were. A nest of a couple thousand bats inside an old church. They would do nicely.

He ordered them to scour the area with their ecolocation and alert him to anything they saw which they did not also see with their eyes.

[Rukia]

Em had caught the thought about the bats from Alex. -Sneaky sneaky Avatar... Good choice not entirely fool proof.- She figure they'd use echolocation to see her when others couldn't. Not much she could do, hide in a rock pile, teleport continuously...Maybe she could play with the bats mind? No, too risky, but maybe she could become a shadow. -Lei, Avatar's bringing reinforcements you're fine but I can't hide in shadow... I'll need your help.- She made sure to steer clear of the fog... dead give away.

[LadyTevar]

Argent had gotten a thrill out of the little trick she'd pulled on Aj.. as well as catching a hint of Blackheart's admiration before she vanished. He should admire her, since it was too damn easy to catch AJ in the first place. She'd turned this from a 'hide and seek' to a game of tag, where you found them first or you were out.

Reinforcements? What kind of reinforcements? Argent asked as Em touched her mind, wondering what kind of animal the Croc might find in the middle of old Manhattan in broad daylight. Pidgeons? Most of the falcons had moved, hadn't they? Just let me know, ok? I'll try to keep an eye on him.

Once again, like a shark swimming thru deep water, Lei swam from shadow to shadow, the only way to spot her was the faint ripple of her passage, or a lucky glimpse of her silver eyes as she paused to orientate herself before moving on. Saibot was out there somewhere... she wondered if he'd come up with any bright ideas how to stop her.

[Comrade Tortoise]

The bats swarmed in the thousands. Even the daylight did not hinder them Their tiny squeaks not audible to human ears, using both amplitude and frequency modulation to keep from running afoul of eachothers signals.

It was notlong before they found what they sought, and informed Avatar of her location.

[Rukia]

-Bats! And they've found me... He's gonna come for me...I'm 'porting back to the garage... they haven't gone there yet.. they'll find me no matter what...damn.- She thought out to Lei. She ported from her place out in the open where A.J had been back to the garage. She ducked into a crevace in a wall and hid for a second, she didn't have long. Sighing she tried to think.... then something hit her.... it just might work....

[Dark Silver]

Saibot remained in the air, being lazy about his searching. He could have found them by now, flying fast and scanning with his ring, but this was better.

Blackheart's voice came over the comm, and he smirked.

The girls where being tricky.

It was time he did the same.

Firs things first, he needed a place to plot. He turned towards the big parking structure the first set of footprints lead to. The ones that belonged to the little telepath girl.

Ding dong..tick tock.....I'm coming for you little girl..... he thought, making sure the thoughts were loud enough for her to pick up...

Whose afraid of the big bad wolf..... and he accompanied the thought with the mental image of a dangerous ravenous massive and evil looking greywolf.

[LadyTevar]

((Hold up... I'm calling Bullshit on CT for that trick. Wher'es the DM?))

[B4UTRUST]

As the bats awoke from their slumber they did so in a paniced state that their simplistic minds could not fully comprehend. It was day, it was the time of sleeping and rest, not of flying and hunting. Their natural instincts fought and rebeled against the command to fly into the sunlit day and the intense baking heat that would accompany it.

Many did so, however. Their minds were not strong enough to break the compulsion. Several hundred in the roost fell dead to the ground from their tiny brains hemoraging.

Avatar's commands were followed, but not by the thousands. Those that did leave the roost were immediately pained by the unforgiving heat of the day. The night offered them a respite from it, letting their thin bodies be cooled. Instead the muscles of their tiny fragile beings were quickly overheated and in some cases failed completely. Those that survived would probably be horribly dehyrdrated at the last and many would die before the day was over. Avatar had consigned a thousand creatures to death for training, destroyed hundreds of families and helped to wipe out an endangered species.

As the bats fell in the roost to their death Avatar felt each tiny pain of their bodies being broken. He felt their minds burn with pain as they died from hemoraging. He felt the heat burning their bodies. Each death was a tiny sliver of suffering shoved down the same mental link back into Avatar. Each pain was his own pain.

By the end only a few dozen managed to remain to heed his call. Every moment they did, however, brought them pain from heat and rebellion against their nature. He may be able to control the bats, but they wouldn't make it easy, and he'd have to concentrate on maintaining that control or they would fly away and return to their roost, maybe living to see another night.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Avatar winced in pain. His compulsion should NOT have done that. It had never caused pain and death like that before. In fact, the bats should not have overheated that quickly if at all, especially inside a fog bank. Something waqs wrong, very wrong, and he would have to run further tests.

And it seemed that by sheer luck he got a freak roost of Indiana bats, bats that should not even roost in this part of fucking new york. Oh well, there were over half a million more where they came from, they were only on the endangered species list becaue eighty five percent of the species hibernated in seven caves.

He released control of the bats, AND lowered the local temperature to allow them to get back to their roost safely.

Time to return to plan A. He started sniffing again.

[SirNitram]

As bats fell to the ground, Gravitas did what little he could, softening their landings by cranking down gravity beneath them slightly. "And there, class, is why we have exercises like this." The Nova said clearly. He wasn't speaking as 'just a member of the team'. He had assumed the posture and voice of a teacher to students. "You know your power, you know it's limits and dangers, or things get hurt. Here, it was some bats. On a mission, it could be the person next to you." He glanced at Blast. "Come on. Let's get your limits sorted out... Thankfully, the most you'll be able to hurt here is the odd building.."

[frigidmagi]

Blast nodded and followed. What was with that Gator and trying to show off anyways?

[Rukia]

Saibot remained in the air, being lazy about his searching. He could have found them by now, flying fast and scanning with his ring, but this was better.

Blackheart's voice came over the comm, and he smirked.

The girls where being tricky.

It was time he did the same.

Firs things first, he needed a place to plot. He turned towards the big parking structure the first set of footprints lead to. The ones that belonged to the little telepath girl.

Ding dong..tick tock.....I'm coming for you little girl..... he thought, making sure the thoughts were loud enough for her to pick up...

Whose afraid of the big bad wolf..... and he accompanied the thought with the mental image of a dangerous ravenous massive and evil looking greywolf.

-I grew out of fairy tales a long time ago. Nice imagery though. And I'm older than you think, but you might be able to pass as my dad... Now come find me... I've been all over this place.- She thought as she teleported into the building where the fog had dissipated. She expelled a great amount of air and started gnawing on her lip. SHe clenched and un clenched her fifts as she paced. -Ok, so the big guy is after me... I'll need to play rough...time to see the control I have over my defensive power.- she thought to herself. The focused on creating a psychic pluse. I was easier than she thought, she sent out a mild wave making a bit of rock fall from the already cracked wall. -This is good. I can work with this.- She ported to another part of the building this time building up her energy before releasing it, this time making a dent in the wall. She tried again, this time visulizing a energy ball. She put a lot of power into it and 'threw' it. She was pleased with the results. She continued to change position waitng, using different techniques to hurl her psychic energy.

[Dark Silver]

Beneath his helmet, Saibot smirked.

her reply was cute, and then he heard her "practice" her powers.
He could have saved time and used the techno-tricks built into his helmet to try to locate her, but she made the job so much easier.

He floated off the ground, the entire him, he was talking to her, in his mind.

You know...keep talking smart like that kiddo. Sure, I may be old...but that just means this old dog has a few tricks you don't know....

He continued on, all the while moving through the air, towards the sound of the energy impacts. A quick scan with his ring, and he picked up what he wanted, her approximate location, a level above him.

Gotcha... he said, as abeam of energy from his ring lanced up the floor, and blew cement upwards.

[Rukia]

"Shit!" She cried out. No need to keep quiet he knew where she was, she stumbled backward and almost fell but 'ported to the next level down before impacting. He was right in front of her she sent out a mild wave and 'ported down two levels. -Right... one on one... Try not to bruise me too bad...- She 'said' maybe a bit too sarcastically.

[LadyTevar]

Argent also noticed the bats falling from the sky, dying around her. Normally she was able to block out animals, since their emotions were on such a primative level. Yet, such a mass of numbers got through to her. --confusion/pain/death-- filled her mind, forcing her up and out of the shadows where she'd been stalking Avatar.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" she shouted, the silver draconic eyes blazing down at him. "Do you cause death whenever you use your powers?! Or is that just because you Don't Think!!"

[Comrade Tortoise]

"That, should not have happened. Bats, no matter what species, do not die in seconds when they hit daylight, especially not inside a relatively cool and humid fog bank. (and it was seconds, otherwise Avatar would not have persisted with compulsion effect), nor have the use of my abilities ever caused an animal to die just from being compelled.

I have forced animals to act against their instincts before, and they have never died from it. So how about you think, instead of allowing your emotions to run rampant all over the place. When this is over, I will be taking some of the bodies for necropsy, and I will see why this happened."

THough this he remained calm, or tried to. He didnt think that this would calm her down at all. ANd he was not about to bring about what happens to sapient creatures when she doesnt think. Although, the thought did cross his mind.

[Charon]

Legacies had been in the room when Argent had moved them all, when the others had moved out he'd simply sat on the ground and watched, eventually the silver figure had climbed to a taller vantage point where he watched the shadows flutter as Argent passed by, he listened to the breathing of the invisibles as they moved around. Legacies simply sat and waited, this wasn't really worth his time. The silver figure looked over at A.J. as he lumbered over to Blackheart.

"Care to test the limits of your powers? And perhaps see if we can force you to use them in inventive ways?" The suit formed a feral grin. "We shall be nice, we promise."

[Pcm979]

A.J. smiled back, not entirely innocently himself.

"Why not. Let's find a clear space, shall we?" They walked a short distance away from Blackheart, Ryan, and the group playing their little hide-and-seek game.

"Okay." A.J. took a breath. "I want you to hit me as hard as you can."

[LadyTevar]

"Perhaps if you had not summoned NOCTURAL animals at MidDay, but used pidgeons or something else instead?" Argent snapped, her head still ringing from the bat's emotional upset. "*I* could even feel them ... DOCTOR" Never had that word been so full of venom as anger roiled off her in waves. "That should not have happened -either- ... animal emotions are too basic and simple normally. These bats were scared, confused, panicky. Do your autopsy if you want... you'll find they died of FRIGHT."

It was so tempting to shove all her emotions into Avatar right now... to once again let him know how those affected by his actions felt. Right now, she was just venting, not actively forcing it on people. It was still clear that the emotions were from outside, and could be ignored or controlled. Those that normally fly off the handle or let their emotions control them would find themselves getting just as pissy at Avatar as Argent herself.

[Charon]

Legacies followed silently after A.J., looking around his surroundings, picking proper places to start with. As A.J. spoke Legacies nodded, a ram of symbiote shooting out of Legacies chest and impacting on A.J. hard enough that it would send a normal person flying back and through the building behind them, likely leaving them as nothing but a very fine paste. Legacies was curious as to see what would happen to A.J.

[Pcm979]

A.J. seemed to tense himself before the blow hit, but it was hard to tell.

The ram struck his chest full on with no visible effect- for a split second. Then the ground cracked beneath A.J.'s feet, spiderwebbing for several metres around him. The dust barely had time to rise out of the earth before an omnidirectional shockwave rippled the air around the man with a boom as the sound barrier gave way.

A single bead of sweat trickled down A.J.'s forehead.

[Charon]

Legacies swayed somewhat in the sonic boom, his lithe figure flowing with the world around it.

"Interesting, and multiple attacks?"

Half a dozen tendrils lashed out from Legacies body and struck at A.J. The attacks weren't quite as strong but it wouldn't take long under the assault for the amount of force to exheed the one big hit.

[Pcm979]

More cracks appeared on the ground, tiny pieces of concrete flying a few centimetres into the air before hitting the ground again. After a few seconds, A.J. raised an arm, blocking one tentacle with his elbow. As before, the appendage stopped abruptly, but no more cracks appeared on the ground; This time the force of the blow bounced off A.J. and back along the tendril, effectively meaning that Legacies had just hit himself.

[Charon]

Legacies detached the tendril as it rebounded the assault. The rest of Legacies tendrils pulled back as the one he had just released flew back and smashed into a building, tearing a long cut through the already delapitated cement structure. Legacies calmly walked over to the building and collected the piece of himself before looking back at A.J.

"Very interesting. How often are you able to do that, and are you as capable against bladed weaponry?"