+- Omni Archive (https://omni.zulenka.com)
+-- Forum: The Omniverse (https://omni.zulenka.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=4)
+--- Forum: Coruscant (https://omni.zulenka.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=13)
+--- Thread: Reminscing and Reading (/showthread.php?tid=6860)
Reminscing and Reading - Jack Darby - 09-29-2017
It had been a week since he had last gone out as Composite Man. After facing the criminal that the EPD had described as the Butcher who was a merciless Orc who was sadistic and took great pleasure in cutting his opponents up while alive, Matthew had been a little shaken. Of course he had recovered tonight which was why he was taking inventory of his equipment inside of the lair that he had made. Of course as the original location had been compromised he had packed up and relocated to another abandoned one in Tier Five, so that he'd have a home for himself that hopefully wasn't going to be bothered. Sitting in a chair currently and drinking some sweet green tea, Matthew considered his options. Option One, join with the Empire. It was not a likely option, given that the Empire pushed the people that worked for them too hard, in most cases. Option 2, Join with Camelot. Not likely, as Matthew didn't want to involve himself with something like that. The rebels and the gangs were also ruled out for similar reasons, namely that he couldn't bring himself to care.
Instead he was going to focus his efforts on what he was good at. Sipping the sweetened green tea which had a hint of lemon, and a strawberry slice into it as opposed to heavy amounts of sugar, Matthew relaxed. Truly there was no greater drink than the tea he had learned how to fix for himself here. After he had finished his entire cup of tea, Matthew decided he needed more information on the Omniverse. Going back up to Tier One, he eventually made his way to the library and sat down. Clad in a gray and black colored track suit, Matthew sighed. Why could life never be easy like he wanted it to be?
Summoning a cup of tea, he'd set it down so it could cool. Steam blew off the tea as he made his way to the sections he wanted to gather information from. One of the books he was getting was called "Techniques on Omnilium crafting" while several others were about armed and unarmed CQC Techniques, and some even had instructions on how to create a bow and arrow, how to perform maintenance on it, and how to use such correctly. Truthfully he needed more help out there on the streets. Tier Five was so bad that he didn't even want to consider the other tiers. Likely they were even more lawless and had been completely abandoned. Dealing with them was not going to be an easy task, to say the least. Yet he was going to do his best to be prepared so that he could survive.
This was not Gotham, but it was "home" at least for now anyway.
RE: Reminscing and Reading - Jack Darby - 10-02-2017
Opening one of the books that he had near him, a book that he recognized from Gotham as he had read it before, Matthew began to read it once more. Hopefully a comfort from home was going to snap him out of his funk. On the streets of Tier Five he could ill afford any wasted time or clumsy moves. When he went out and patrolled down there he needed to be at the top of his game. Truly though a lot was missing that he didn't have at his disposal. Sure he had the equipment of Dead Shot for the most part, and a knife that was on par with that of Jason's, plus the Batarang. Yet on their own they were not going to be enough if something really happened. Against that Orc for example, he'd barely been able to hold his own. Turning his attention from his thoughts to the passage of the book he was reading Matthew began to focus on it once more.
Quote:This formula will allow you to win when you fight an opponent. Deceit, Disruption, Devastation, Defeat.
The book had said that Deceit was one of the tactics that were needed. In order to win against an opponent, you had to confuse them. You had to make them think you were going to do something else, and then blindside them. Disruption meant that you would, at least in Matthew's opinion attack in a way that was more than likely going to disrupt their daily routine. Devastation meant that you would hit with a maximum amount of force at the weak points of your opponent. A strategy that ultimately should lead to the defeat of whoever you were facing. Such a strategy was one he was going to have to employ down there in Tier Five.
After all he was only one man. His two loyalists had been brutally bisected by that Orc, the "Butcher" who had been locked up. Hopefully the EPD was capable of preventing the Orc from escaping. If he had escaped other options needed considered. Perhaps even... options that would render the Orc paraplegic for life, or worse. Either way, Matthew knew he needed a plan for the next time he faced that abomination.
"I'm going to need a plan," said Matthew mentally reviewing what he knew of the style of that green skinned giant. The giant seemed to rely on of all things, an oversized butcher knife when he did his dirty work. So his swings were slower, and a bit clumsier. Perhaps he overstretched his arm, and that was one of his weak points? No... such a simple weakness couldn't be it, could it? Matthew knew he needed a solution, but right now was grasping at straws, trying to figure out how he was going to win if the individual showed up again. What should his plan be though? Matthew had no clue as to what he could possibly do against someone that size without more gadgets. A grapnel gun was likely to come in handy, and several forms of explosives were also likely to literally save his life. Yet he had none of those. For all the toys he had now, Matthew possessed no explosives, or restraints that could be of use.
RE: Reminscing and Reading - Jack Darby - 10-06-2017
Groaning as he flipped through yet another page of the book he had been reading which had proven useless to him, up until this point, Matthew groaned. Upon reexamining the title, “Myths and Rumors of Coruscant” the book was promptly picked up, and he walked over to where it had been shelved initially. Putting it back on the shelf gently, he’d walk back over to where he had been seated. The book had been a waste of time. What he needed was not rumors, but useful information that he could actually make sense of. There was a lot wrong with Tier Five, Matthew knew that much. One of the problems of the Tier was the overabundance of criminals, some of which lived to see gratuitous violence on their victims.
Case in point, the one who had crashed the former location of his home in that Tier the other day, and had brutally and gleefully bisected a couple of the ones he had managed to talk out of the gang life. If that individual ever got out of the prison Matthew had put him in, containing him was going to be hard. Firepower was not something Matthew had in abundance. Sure he had a few tactics he could pull in close quarters, but against an opponent that size they were not likely to do much good. Simply shooting the individual was not an option either, his gadgets were not equipped to even restrain, much less subdue someone like that. There was also the matter that Matthew was not by any definition of the word, “Batman” or qualified to be like him at all. Sure he had similar training to the training that was likely held by the Bat, but that was only because others had involved themselves in his life. It wasn’t skills he had learned on his own, but ones that had been drilled into him, time, and time again. Sadly he didn’t remember half of the skills he was supposed to, which was a shame, at least in Matthew’s eyes. Still he was relearning them, which meant he might stand more than a 0.5% chance of survival, should the individual who had done that grisly murder at his old home show up again.
Checking the wrist guns that he had found, in a crate inside his new place, Matthew checked the devices over. While they were identical to ones back home, that had been wielded by a mercenary Matthew knew there was something...weird about them. Examining them further, he’d look them over, and notice that the bullet - shooting option could be removed, and replaced with one that could fire energy blasts out of it, although it would have less ammo. Ammunition was only part of the problem faced by the youngest of the Mcginnis family. Down in the lower Tiers, Tier Five and Six, the Imperial presence was low. It was like they didn't care about the abundance of the crime down there. Getting back to his seat finally after he had put away the book, Matthew flipped through the next of the books.
"How to make explosives for dummies" was the title of the book he was now reading. While normally he was against the use of explosives, in this case as the criminal he hoped wasn't likely to escape could cleave him in half more than likely, it was best to be prepared with some non-conventional battle tactics.
RE: Reminscing and Reading - Celestia - 10-06-2017
The journey to Coruscant library was trying, in its own way. It's not that it was an especially difficult journey: traveling through the forest is potentially dangerous but simple enough if one knows the route, Nexus is reasonably safe as long as one avoids any vendettas that inevitably end up there, and the first tier where the library resides is the safest as long as one hasn't made an enemy of the empire.
No, the problem that Twilight Sparkle faced was that a pony was apparently very uncommon thing. The Omniverse, and Coruscant in particular, seemed to be mostly populated by humans, or human-adjacent creatures. She got a lot of funny looks, and overheard a number of less-than-encouraging comments. There were even a few who mistook her for an animal that had somehow wandered in, though they were receptive enough to her explaining herself. Or maybe they were just so flabbergasted by what was to them a talking pack animal that they simply walked away.
All of that discomfort proved worth it when she got to the library itself, however. This was a magnificent place! It was a colossal building, and filled to the brim with knowledge and perspectives, form who knew how many different places! Granted, it seemed like Twilight wouldn't be allowed to see all of it even if she had the capacity, several sections were restricted. A shame, but presumably not without reason. She knew better than most how some books could be dangerous in unknowing hooves, or worse those with malicious intent. She strolled through the halls for a few minutes, looking around bright-eyed and smiling at the shelves, getting lost in a sense of nostalgia. While visually very different, the experience was similar to her discovery of the Canterlot library at the young age.
Eventually Twilight reminded herself that she did have a purpose here. It would certainly be important to get familiar with such a valuable resource such as the library, and that thought was in no way influenced by her desire to spend time in it, but she had another purpose here. She needed a sense of where she was, where several of her friends now were. This 'Omniverse' was a potentially very violent place, and it would pay to be prepared, to say nothing of how much could be learning from gathering of diverse cultures as could be found here.
There was a large number of books that caught Twilight's eyes, but she restrained herself. She only had so many writing materials with her, which meant she would have to prioritize. And besides, barring some great calamity the library would remain for her to come back to. Eventually, she settled on a few historical accounts, and after wrapping them in a gentle pink glow she carried them over to a table. There were a few other people seated at other seated at tables looking through the shelves, including one who seemed to be examining some kind of device rather than a book. She found the last one odd, and gave him a sidelong glance, but the person didn't seem to be doing anything wrong and Twilight saw no reason to bother him. For the most part though, it was as she remembered libraries to be: quiet.
A free table was easy enough to find, and once Twilight arrived at one she set the books down and her saddlebags to the side, before pulling out a wad of blank paper. Eager, and holding a pen at the ready in her magic, she began to read.
RE: Reminscing and Reading - Jack Darby - 10-06-2017
There were many things that Matthew had never expected to see a day in his life. One of these was any number of creatures from mythology. So when an actual Unicorn walked or trotted into the library and moved the books with some sort of pink glow, that at first Matthew assumed was a tractor beam? Suffice it to say his brain went down for a moment. There was no way that this was possible. After slapping himself, in order to make sure that he was awake, Matthew took a deep breath before he pinched himself for good measure. Just how was this possible? Omni had said he had brought others, but this... it defied all rational explanation, Knowing there was but one way to resolve the question of just WHO or WHAT the creature actually was, Matthew abandoned what he had been doing up until that point. Part of him was curious about the creature. Yet he was also wary, because should she prove to be hostile this was a library and he didn't want to do any sort of battle whatsoever inside of a place like this. Matthew also knew that later he was going to need more equipment for his bag of tricks. Sure the gear he had right now was somewhat effective, but he had not tested any of the more powerful pieces of equipment yet.
"Who are you?" asked Matthew, as he approached the strange Unicorn. She seemed to be entirely... purple. So apparently purple Unicorns were a thing here. He'd then pose another question for her. "Did Omni, a smiling white biped bring you to this place?" asked Matthew, trying to determine if she was a Prime or a Secondary. If she was a Prime this could potentially prove to be dangerous. Information was power, and Matthew intended to possess the power needed to protect himself should things go south here. Honestly he was a bit worried as he had never interacted with mythical creatures. Was he doing the right thing in not attacking from the getgo? Only time was going to tell the answer to that question.
RE: Reminscing and Reading - Celestia - 10-13-2017
Twilight looked up, and blinked in surprise when the person asked his first question. She hadn't expected anyone to approach at this point, and had been fully engrossed in her reading. When she finally processed the question, she let out an exasperated sigh, before with some effort smiling at the newcomer. So much for a quiet day of reading, she supposed. Still, she couldn't entirely blame him, she was the odd one out in this place. She had to admit, if she'd run into a tall, skinny, nearly-hairless biped like this person in Equestria where ponies were the norm? She'd probably be incredibly curious herself.
Besides, thus far it was just a simple question, even if Twilight didn't like the way this creature was eyeing her. It reminded her the look a few monsters back home gave, just before lunging at hapless prey. She wondered for a moment whether she'd prefer being seen like prey, or as a pack animal. “My name is Twilight Sparkle!” She tapped her chest with a hoof. “Formerly the personal student of Princess Celestia, and now I'm the princess of friendship! Or at least I was, before...” She waved a hoof around the room as she trailed off, not so much pointing to anything in particular as indicating the broader realm as a whole. She wasn't sure whether or not she should be calling herself a princess if the place where she held the title was so out of reach.
Fortunately Twilight didn't have to ponder long, as the person asked another question. She rubbed her chin in thought, and looked up at the ceiling. “Hmm, a 'smiling white biped'?” She shook her head. “No, sorry. A grey unicorn brought me here. And a real mean one, too.” When no more questions were immediately forthcoming, she asked one of her own. “What's your name?” The human hadn't introduced himself yet, which was an important part of having positive interactions. “And if you don't mind me asking, what were you doing over there?” She was a bit curious. Though the human did have some books, reading was clearly not all he was doing over there, in this the library.
RE: Reminscing and Reading - Jack Darby - 10-13-2017
A mental note was made by Matthew about the gray unicorn that she had mentioned. Should he ever encounter said individual there were quite a number of unpleasant things that he could and was going to do to the individual. The Omniverse had enough problems without bringing in someone who seemed to be a creature out of mythology. At least he could detect no danger, meaning she was not likely to attack him for any reason. It was a relief to Matthew, compared to his situation he had been living in on Tier Five. Really that part of the city needed a larger Imperial Presence, or some Superheroes down there. Both was actually ideal but it was unlikely to happen in the slightest, for multiple reasons. One, the Empire likely no longer cared about what happened to the lower Tiers below 4 andm so such was the norm in that place. "My name is Matthew Mcginnis," said Matthew, pausing for a moment.
"As to what I was doing, preparing my equipment. The crime rate on the lower Tiers is such that it needs to be dealt with. Yet, as I was armed previously before now I couldn't hope to survive down there."
It was the truth of the matter. With the presence of that green skinned and very unfriendly giant down there, his chances of survival were slim to none. What he really needed was a Game Changer. Yet he had learned his lesson about asking, or persuading secondaries for help. It was not a wise idea, and only resulted in most of them getting destroyed. It was a sad fact, and one that Matthew didn't care to think about for too long.
"Just a bit of friendly advice, to the Princess of Friendship. Avoid Tier Five, and DEFINITELY avoid Tier Six."
There was no way Matthew was going down to Tier Six in any case, and he didn't believe she could survive down there. Best he dissuade her from the path of heroism, because the tactics he used weren't very nice. Of course he wasn't Batman and was never going to be worthy of that cape and cowl. However, he was fine with not wearing the costume. It was a simple matter to come up with his own costume. "Anyway, Twilight. I must be going, but first..." He'd make a copy of his communicator appear and put it on the table next to her.
"This is for you, if you need my help. Don't hesitate to call." He'd say. "Now, I must be off. I've got a lot of field testing to do with my equipment, and preparations to make, before I can go down to Tier Five and work to clean it up. It's a thankless job, but someone has to do it. Since no one volunteered, I nominate myself." Matthew sighed, as he prepared to make his exit.
RE: Reminscing and Reading - Celestia - 10-17-2017
The person introduced himself as Matthew Mcginnis after a little prompting, and was even willing to explain what he was doing in a library that wasn't reading or looking something up. That meant that he wasn't overly concerned about being discovered, and his lack of explanation until now was... just him getting caught up in his work? Twilight could understand that. It was also possible that he simply didn't realize what he was doing could come across as odd. Much as she wouldn't want to admit it, Twilight had some familiar with that sort of thing as well.
Matt also explained what he was doing, which was apparently gearing up to fight criminals on lower tier of this plane, tiers which he then immediately recommended Twilight stay far away from. It gave her pause, knowing that he had been building weapons or something related in a public space. She wondered why he would do this in a public space like the library, rather than a safe house of some sort, or better yet in an imperial barracks. Given the number of armed guards around, she could only guess it was a course of action local law enforcement would be interested in.
Twilight found it a little disquieting how open his new acquaintance was about what amounted to plans to hurt people, but ultimately he seemed to be at worst misguided rather than truly sadistic, warning her about danger and trying to right something he saw as wrong. She had to wonder if Matt was employing the wrong method to solving such a problem, or if he really knew enough to condemn the people he would be chasing or if he was just making assumptions. She was in no place to judge she supposed, knowing relatively little herself, and what she had heard about the lower tiers did make them seem like nasty, lawless places. She decided to leave well enough alone for now. She had her own mission, and one that didn't involve fighting with potentially dangerous locals.
Matt turned to leave, prompting Twilight to turn back to her studies. Before he was fully gone though he proved to have one more surprise, as he dropped a device in front of her. She jumped slightly, not expecting his return, as he said that she could 'call anytime she wanted' which also handily explained what the device was for. “Oh! Uh...thanks,” she called after his retreating form, “...and good luck!”
Then Matt was out of the room, off to wherever he was headed next. Twilight considered the communicator for a moment, deciding that even though trusting him might not be the safest idea, one should never turn away potential friends, although she wasn't sure how much they'd speak or about what.
Then Twilight moved on. She had a lot of reading to get through, after all.