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+--- Thread: A Little Peace and Quiet (/showthread.php?tid=7610)
A Little Peace and Quiet - X-23 - 06-26-2018
A ripple, at first, then a wave.
The sea was like a rippling blanket of azure. Squabbling seagulls flew overhead, harassing the beachgoers in their endless hunger. Gannets dive bombed the stretched surface of the sea, far out from shore. The horizon was edged with a silver tint, a cormorant flew into that place where the sun and water meet, its wings a blur of motion as he soon faded from sight.
The slurpy slapping of the sea was muted, a metronomic murmur. The waves were merely snoozing, sluggish and slumbering in the midday sun. They dribbled up to the sands of the beaches, then shuddered and drizzled their sea spray onto its surface, whisking the stones before releasing. A current of cold electricity passed through the air and the wind whipped up.
Sloshing, swollen to its confined depths, it’s cavernous bowels stirred, a growling from the fathoms. Suddenly, stone dashed sand teemed as the sea hissed, polished and lashed the pebbled before sloshing back. It hissed, slipped, dashed the sand and released.
The echo of a raspy rumbling from the sea reached them, a tremulousness to fear. The waves licked at a cliff of a sheltered cove, then paused and pounced with malice at it’s ankle, slamming the rock before releasing, a rumour of its malevolence. The wind died down. The sea bubbled. Trembling, throbbing to its own rotten beat, its malicious soul stirred, a warning from the ages. Suddenly, rip-tide rolls heaved as the sea foamed, crashed and pounded the cliff-foot before sloshing back. It foamed and frothed, plunged down hard and pummelled the hated cliffs; it lathered and lacerated, bucked waves and buckled itself; it smacked and smashed, surging waves expunging its awful rage.
Its hissy fit over, it swelled once more, juddered and was still.
The clone inhaled deeply; humid, briny air flooded her nostrils. Her young companion giggled, atop her shoulder, finally home.
“Alright, kid, it’s time to show me the way back, huh?” Laura spoke, addressing her partner.
“Well, uh,” Cubone hesitated, “the quickest way back is through the city there,” he gestured widely down at Costa Del Sol before them, “but that’s where the men in white come from, Stormtroopers, I think they’re called.”
Kinney sighed, her head hung dejectedly for a moment, “There’s nothing stopping us from wandering through, though, right?”
“No, I guess not.” the Pokemon muttered, almost apprehensively.
“No sense in hanging around then.” 23 spoke, rolling her shoulder. Cubone chortled, jostled around by the clone’s movements as she set off into the hubbub of the city that sprawled out in front of them.
A deep, bassy thrum of music reverberated through the bustling streets of the city, drowned out by the chorus of happy tourists, static lined radio chatter and the quiet rumbling of a procession in a nearby district, the so-called Party District. Dotted in between the vibrant, colorful city wanderers, men dressed in white suits of armor, carrying black rifles, trudged the pavements, ever vigilant in their patrol.
Kinney glanced around the busy street, muttering quietly to herself as she pushed her way into the crowd. She reached up and curled a hand around the Pokemon’s tiny calf, holding him in place as best she could. Cubone, quite happy in his perch, grinned to himself beneath his morbid mask and craned around the back of Laura’s head, peering into shop fronts and restaurants, wonder and intrigue ever present in the creature’s eyes.
“What’s the plan, then?” Kinney inquired, “Which way do I need to head?”
“Uh, to the coast,” Cubone began, “we’ll need to get a boat.. Cinnabar is a boat ride away. There might be a dock where we can borrow one.” The Pokemon raised it’s tiny hand, gesturing directly in front of them, to which the Clone nodded and continued to push her way through the crowd, pulling the attention of a couple of Stormtroopers as a tourist called out in anger at being pushed aside. Kinney groaned and decided to adopt a more tactful approach, slipping between tourists, rather than brute forcing her way through.
The Clone weaved through the crowd, sidling her way through tourist and trooper alike. She sighed to herself, crowds always had a way of setting her on edge, far from claustrophobic, but a very real sense of tension and uneasiness. She wrung her hands idly at her stomach, a vague grimace creeping across her features. Kinney huffed and pushed her way to the edge of the crowd, finding a little solace as she stood in a small crevice between shops.
“Miss! Miss! You look like you could use a break!” A little old woman approached the duo, a toothy grin plastered upon her wrinkled face. She reached up, a bundle of lei’s clutched in her clammy hands, one placed over Kinney’s head, the other twisted a couple of times and laid to rest upon Cubone’s shoulders.
“There’s a spa, not far down the road, you could put your feet up, get a massage.. I’ll even get you a nice discount, huh? How’s that sound?” The woman rambled, despite the Clone’s silent protest in the form of wafting her hands around in whatever small space the woman had left between them.
“We don’t have time!” Cuboned squeaked, “We’ve got to get back to Cinnabar as soon as we can, everyone’ll be out looking for me! But we can come back when we’re done, right?” The Pokemon’s tone grew helpful as he stared over at 23, gently swaying her to his train of thought.
“We’ll see.. We’ve gotta get going though,” Kinney relented, shifted by the Pokemon’s demeanour, “We’ll be back in a couple days, I guess.” She nodded to the little old woman and set off, quickly, back into the crowd. Laura snorted a laugh, Cubone’s pluck was infectious, she couldn’t help but melt a little as the Pokemon decided their plans way ahead of time. She shook her head, smirking wryly as they joined the crowd again, quietly determined.
Quote:1000 words done so far!
RE: A Little Peace and Quiet - Enzo Matrix - 07-02-2018
Cannon shots rang out in the distance. Matrix and AndrAIa approached Cinnabar at a leisurely pace in their small boat, but the last thing they expected was the sounds of war. They were completely confused by the sounds, but didn’t dare dawdle. Matrix slammed the throttle forward, and they both ignored the harsh treatment the sea gave their vessel at higher speeds.
Upon getting closer they realized that the Imperial barricade of Cinnabar was shooting at themselves. Dark, cybernetic appearing forces could be seen crawling across the hulls of the various vessels, but neither sprite paid them any mind. They knew if something dared to attack the Imperials that surrounded Cinnabar, then the island itself was in dire jeopardy.
“Cinnabar!” AndrAIa spoke their fears aloud, pointing at the nearest beach.
The boat tore through the waves, occasionally catching complete air as they rapidly approached the nearest beach. They didn’t bother to park their boat at the docks, instead harshly beaching it within the sandy dunes. The shoreline of their home island was filled with chaos as various creatures used their natural powers to repel the Darklings with varying levels of success. Matrix admired their tenacity, but knew that an island of pacifists would desperately need his help.
As soon as the craft was beached, Matrix stood up and materialized the Sea Shield on his left arm. Before him a group of Charmeleons and Sandslashes were using all their unique powers to quell and overwhelming number of cybernetic forces, but they were beginning to be overwhelmed. Matrix’s feet hit the sand without a second to spare, and he bashed the shield into the nearest of the corrupted secondaries, and threw it at the next. The weapon bounced off the decayed monster, slamming it to the ground. Matrix caught the shield from the air and held it up in time to block a fireball from another of the horde, which AndrAIa promptly impaled with her trident.
“What are these things!?” Matrix demanded aloud.
“They came from the sea!” a Sandslash screamed back. “They’re everywhere!”
An explosion in the distance rocked the beach, enough to pause the battle for a second. Matrix was quick to move, though, and jabbed another darkling’s throat with the edge of his shield, while AndrAIa and the others got back to fighting as well. Matrix looked up in the sky and could see Mewtwo above the town in the distance, battling several massive unworldly cyborgs. Even he was on deck for this catastrophe.
“DE-LETE,” the creatures moaned as they battled. “DE-LETE.”
Matrix snatched his gun from his side as the Sea Shield dematerialized. Finally, someone around here was speaking his language. He raised the weapon and unleashed a volley of shots, pelting the remaining darklings on the beach. With help from the others, they were able to finish this portion of the fight. The battle was far from over, though. Matrix could still smell the blood and smoke in the air, and hear the carnage and screaming. There wasn’t any time to waste.
“Sweep the beaches!” Matrix ordered the hodgepodge of Cinnabar residents. “Make sure there’s a landing zone for any help that comes out way!”
“And if its Imperial?” a Charmeleon questioned cautiously, still remembering the always lurking blockade even in this chaos.
“Any help,” Matrix firmly clarified.
The Pokemon rushed off, and Matrix looked to his girlfriend. AndrAIa nodded in silent agreement. Survival was the most important part.
“We need to get to town,” Matrix said. “Mewtwo needs our help.”
“Let’s find Syril and Vulcan,” AndrAIa suggested knowing their two friends, and part of Cinnabar’s thin warrior corps, would need help too.
“Alright,” Matrix said, casting one fleeting look at the sea. They were a long way from any help, short of a miracle rolling up on them. One could hope. “Let’s go.”
Matrix and AndrAIa rushed up the beach towards the flimsy town.
RE: A Little Peace and Quiet - X-23 - 07-10-2018
Laura sat herself down on the jetty with a sigh. The sea lapped at the wooden supports, babbling quietly as the tide retreated backward, only to return with a certain vigour. Her partner plonked down next to her, glancing from left to right with a satisfied exhale.
“Happy to be home?” The Clone asked, “It’s not bad so far, I guess.”
“Well, we’re not quite home yet, it gets better.” The Pokemon replied, smiling up at Kinney, “We need a boat though. You can make one, right? You just gotta think about it or something, I dunno how it works. I haven’t met any Primes like this before.”
The Mutant canted her head for a moment, perplexed by the notion that she could simply will a boat into existence. She shrugged and closed her eyes. ‘Boats.. Boats..’ she mouthed, all manner of nautical thoughts rolling through her mind. First a gigantic cargo ship, topped with innumerable shipping containers. Then a slightly smaller, but still vast, ferry, like the ones she’d seen back in the Bronx crossing the sea. Her trail of thought continued, each ship growing progressively smaller in size and stature, until she finally settled on a small Dinghy equipped with a tiny Onboard motor. The image of the boat sailed around her mind, every inch of wood, every nail, every wire in the motor. Each and every detail taking form in her mind, down to the wear and tear of the crimson red paint giving way to pallid, water damaged wood.
The gentle rolling of the tide churned, it’s momentum broken apart by the coalescing form of the dinghy, gently bobbing atop the waves. The briny water lapped against the wooden hull rhythmically, peacefully.
Cubone was the first to eagerly dive into the Mutant’s creation, chortling loudly; “This is awesome! I’m driving! I’m driving!”
Laura cocked a grin as she stepped into the dinghy and took a seat, nudging the coy Pokemon away from the controls of the motor. She snorted a laugh at the kid’s frantic begging, his desperation to drive the little boat getting the better of him as he clawed at the controls. The clone batted his hand away, tutting and wagging a finger, “Not this time, kiddo, I wanna get there in one piece.”
23 gripped the controls of the little dinghy and revved the engine. The boat took off, slowly at first, into the vasty deep. It cut through the calm waves with little trouble, rocking slightly as the bow caught some air over the crest of a rolling wave and slammed back down onto the strained surface. Cubone clutched the edge of the starboard, beaming a bright smile down at his own reflection in the water, he chuckled loudly as the ripples distorted his appearance, his face waving and rippling with the disturbed tide. Laura reached over, wrapping a calloused hand around the Pokemon’s heel for good measure.
Forty miles passed as if it were nothing, the tide remained calm, uneventful — it’s pale blue countenance unphased by the presence of the boat. The pair approached an island, greeted with a derelict jetty, though not naturally. Bullet holes and singed edges lingered, now battered by the undeterred tide, uncompromising in it’s ineffable nature. Rather than attempt to dock against the damaged jetty, Kinney opted for a rather more abrupt, sandy solution and drove the boat directly up onto the white sand shore of the island.
The unlikely duo disembarked, planting their feet into the sand. Cubone wandered, closely followed by Kinney, before dragging his feet to a halt, gaze drawn upwards in awe, a long drawled “Woah” emanating from within the Pokemon’s skull mask. Laura followed suit, her brow furrowed as she took stock; met with the sight of a huge, sky breaking tower, emblazoned with a gigantic, stylised A — something Kinney was more than familiar with. It was the Avengers Tower, now reduced to a smouldering husk, flames licking at the metallic support beams of the devastated tower.
“Roger that, area is clear. Heading out for extraction.”
Without missing a beat, the Clone dragged her young partner out of the open beach and into some low lying shrubbery atop a green tipped dune. She pressed down on the Pokemon’s skull, keeping it low as a pair of green clad men wandered the pathway leading up to the derelict tower.
A dull shink rang from the Mutants knuckles as her skin gave way to a pair of adamantium claws, each dripping with a small amount of the woman’s blood. She pressed a claw to her lips, “Shh, shh”, her companion nodded as Laura skulked away, stalking the HYDRA thugs, claws glinting in the high noon sun.
The thugs spoke between themselves, an occasional static laced message rang through their radios, blissfully unaware of the clone that closed in, delicate footsteps placed carefully upon the cobblestones of the path.
“I dunno why they bother sending us out here,” one of the thugs mused aloud, “they’re not gonna bother coming back to this - -“ his speech came to an abrupt halt as a sickening crunch resounded from his partners skull, a pair of claws erupting from the space between his eyes, blood and gore spraying out and desecrating the ground before him. 23 ripped her claws free of the thugs shattered skull, his corpse crumpling to the ground in a heap, claret pooling around him. The first thug panicked, foolishly scrambling for his radio rather than a weapon. The clone spun on heel, a leg extended, striking down on the side of the thugs head as another claw sprung free of her thick leather boot, practically slicing the thugs head free of his neck. The HYDRA agent gargled as blood gushed from the wound. He collapsed to his knees, hands clawing desperately at his neck in an attempt to cease the bleeding.
Laura took a step back, her claws settling back in their resting place with a far from satisfying thunk. She sighed and took a knee beside the thug as the light left his eyes and he slumped down to the ground, face first. The clone quickly rummaged through the agents person, checking for anything of interest, finding little more than a coin bearing the HYDRA insignia and a small, handheld tablet. She pocketed both and turned to face her partners hiding spot.
She paced the path warily until she was confident they were alone. She stopped beside the shrubs, stooped and scooped the Pokemon up and held him close to her chest, ensuring that he wouldn’t see the remnants of her attack. Laura skirted around the pair of fallen agents and prowled the outskirts of the Avengers Tower, sniffing the air every now and then, occasionally stopping to check the ground, her tracking abilities taking over instinctually.
“Who were they?” Cubone muttered, voice muffled as his head was still buried in the clone’s chest.
“HYDRA,” 23 spoke quickly and quietly, glancing around warily for any more of the agents, “they would’ve tried to kill us both if I hadn’t done something. Sorry to put you through that, kid.”
“It’s.. okay,” Cubone spoke again, “can.. can we go now?”
“Sure, kid, sure. Let’s get you home, huh?” She sighed, pacing back towards their boat on the beach, “You can drive for a bit, how about that?” Cubone snorted in reply and giggled, he nodded amiably. Laura placed the Pokemon down in the boat and set about pushing the vessel back into the water, grunting all the way. She quickly hopped into the boat as it bobbed back into the sea. Cubone wrestled with the controls for a moment before coming to grips with how to control the boat and revved the engine, the vessel slowly chugged out into the open water once again.
The Clone laid back against her seat in the boat, sighing quietly to herself, relatively satisfied that Cubone wasn’t going to destroy the boat and them with it any time soon. She pulled the previously pocketed HYDRA insignia and rolled it around between her fingers. The mutant contemplated the presence of HYDRA for a good while; if they were here, chances are some of the Avengers had made it here as well and were, or should be, attempting to shut down any of their operations. And if the Avengers were here, she could be among friends, however fragile her relationship with certain members was.
Thick, black clouds roiled overhead, a low rumble of thunder echoed around the ocean. Kinney shook her head, another sigh escaping her as she pocketed the insignia. This time, she produced the handheld tablet and set about swiping left and right, searching for nothing in particular until she came across an app, titled Dataverse Messageboards. Laura hesitated for a moment before mashing a finger against the little DM icon, greeted with a new screen, filled from top to bottom with a huge variety of threads and posts from all around the Omniverse.
Omniverse News Network Official
Hawt Kings Hugging-R
Dante Abyss Power Rankings
Calling Any Heroes - Moon Knight
“Moon Knight?” Kinney muttered, quickly clicking the post. She skimmed it and read along quickly, skipping large chunks in the interest of speed, “Avengers Initiative - vigilantes - Communicator ID..” another click brought up another screen, an email client, both Vision and Moon Knight’s details entered as the recipients. Laura exhaled slowly, drawing on the memory of a method of encryption that the Vision would have knowledge of. She wrote a message at pace, heart pounding in her chest. Why was she nervous? 23 exhaled again, finishing up the message for Moon Knight and the Vision, sending it after a moment’s hesitation.
The tide picked up, treacherous white tipped waves threw the boat around. The Clone took a hold of the controls and scootched the Pokemon over, only to be met with incessant whining and pleading. She merely shook her head in reply, concentrating fully on not sinking or capsizing the dinghy.
“There!” Cubone stood up hastily, tiny finger pointed at an island in the distance, obscured by the presence of a multitude of Imperial ships, “There it is! That’s Cinnabar! But why- are the ships shooting at each other?” The Pokemon questioned, what sounded like thunder beforehand quickly revealed itself to be the booming echoes of guns. The Clone’s brow furrowed as she let off the controls, the dinghy slowly floating to a halt, bobbing brashly atop the determined waves. Laura’s chest heaved as she inhaled deeply, shaking her head in disbelief at what she saw. Cubone was no better off, a confused mumbling echoing from beneath his skull mask. The mutant drummed her fingers across the controls of the dinghy until she finally decided to move on. She revved the engine a few times and the little dinghy took off once again, catching a little air over the white crested waves.
The screaming of gunfire grew deafening as the dinghy drew closer and closer to the vast Imperial ships, glinting vibrantly in the sun. Laura took the boat as close to the end ship as possible, using the enormous hull as cover from the innumerable gunshots that roared overhead. They grew closer to the dock of Cinnabar Island, Laura tugged on the controls, pushing the engine to the limit of its capacity, it whined under the pressure. Though, the sound was lost on the Clone and her partner, their eardrums reverberated and rung; the immense thundering of gunfire assaulted their senses and threw the boat about. 23 pulled the dinghy up alongside the dock and practically threw her Pokemon partner up onto it, followed quickly by a rope to tie the dinghy down. The little Pokemon scrambled about, tiny fingers struggling to tighten the rope around the cleat until Laura took over, making quick work of the job.
Laura sighed as she glanced about the island, until she caught sight of another Pokemon approaching her, a Charmeleon.
“Get to the town, quickly!” It roared.
Quote:That's another 2000! 3000 so far.
RE: A Little Peace and Quiet - Enzo Matrix - 07-18-2018
Matrix charged into the burning city, with his girlfriend close behind. He paid no mind to the destruction erupting around him, and instead leaped off the ground in a sideways somersault, hurling his shield as he did. The weapon bounced off the skull of a darkling, and Matrix caught it and let it disintegrate in his hands just as quickly. He snatched his gun to his hands and opened fire on several darklings, eliminating them with a decisive prejudice.
Around them, the war raged on. Even council members were in the streets battling the previously unseen threat. All of the men, women, and even children of Cinnabar had been called to arms against the singular threat that had threatened to overtake the Vasty Deep.
A blue skinned Yoshi approached Matrix, with pistols in each hand and his shoulder holsters appropriately rigged for a quick draw. It was Syril, an old friend since his first day on Cinnabar, and a welcome sight.
“Matrix!” the Yoshi shouted over the chaos.
“Syril!” Matrix replied as he joined his old friend.
“What’s happening!?” AndrAIa asked as she looked around at the chaos.
“We don’t know,” Syril responded. “They’ve attacked in waves, but we haven’t been able to contain them!”
Matrix and the others ducked as an explosion ripped across the skies above them. Mewtwo had taken the upper hand in his own battle. It was an impressive feat, but they couldn’t concern themselves with the display.
“Where did they come from!?” Matrix demanded of his ally.
“I don’t know!” Syril admitted. “We haven’t had time to figure it out!”
“They’re digital!” AndrAIa shouted to Matrix over the commotion and chaos. “It could be the Dataverse!”
Another explosion ripped across the skies above them, and the massive, robotic creatures that battled in the skies above collapsed to the sea with a defeated shriek. Matrix, Syril, and AndrAIa watched the display in awe, silently thankful to have such a force on their side. With perfect timing, Mewtwo dropped to the ground beside them, violently swinging his hands downwards and using his telekinesis to snap the necks of the remainder of the foes around them. Matrix paid no mind to that maneuver, either, as devastating as it was. He looked back to AndrAIa.
“The Dataverse access back home,” he said aloud. “Disconnect it!”
“They’ve come from the sea,” Mewtwo’s voice boomed into their heads. “I fear that they have set up somewhere in the jungle of our small island.”
“We don’t have the forces to spare,” Syril said to his leader. “We’re maxed out as it is.”
“I’m here, now,” Matrix said. “Let me try and fine them in the woods.”
Another shriek, and more forces began to pour into town.
“As fast as you can,” Mewtwo replied, then looked to Syril and AndrAIa. “We’ll buy all the time we can.”
Matrix grabbed AndrAIa’s hands, looking her in the eyes for a moment. She nodded, and then ran off with Mewtwo and Syril. Matrix watched his friends leave for a moment, and then ran off into the jungle, as well. He would find their forward camp. He had to. His friends were counting on him.