Day One: Part 1

[Karl Jak]

Face to Face
#22 Neal vs #40 Tartaros

Neal had missed his opportunity to get revenge against the Pokémon with the nail gun, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be prepared for the next situation. With his amalgam of gridiron, carboard, and Uno cards gripped in his right hand, he made his way from the diner as the sun started to reach its apex in the sky overhead. In his left hand, the man they call Neal had a chunk of wood with more Uno cards glued over its business end.

He didn’t care that he was probably supposed to use the cards for games or something entertaining. No… they were going to serve a damn purpose even if he had to force them to do so.

After walking until he came to the edge of a city, Neal came to a stop. As he did, he heard a gruff voice somewhere up ahead amidst the structures.

“Silence!”

The voice was garbled, but Neal was able to creep forward until he spotted the…

Space marine? A space marine?

With a scowl, Neal crept a little closer, but when he finally got a better view than the marine’s backside, he realized that the Adeptus Astartes was addressing a doll made of what seemed to be socks. A closer look showed that said sock puppet was Mr. T.

This is getting stupid.

Hoping to atone for his first encounter with an enemy prime, Neal rushed forward and swung the Uno cudgel at the marine’s head. The improvised weapon found its mark and summarily blew apart upon hitting the metal material that encased Tartaros’ skull.

“Who dares!” Tartaros snapped as he spun around and swung at Neal with a handless stump. The man threw up the Uno shield and grimaced as the limb crashed through the shield and smacked him in the side of the head. Discarding the sock puppet, the space marine’s collar flashed as he willed his bolter rifle and opened fire on Neal from point-blank range, catching him in the leg. As the man yelped, Tartaros stepped forward and delivered a vicious kick to his opponent, knocking him to the ground.

“Any last words?” Tartaros muttered.

“Yea…” Neal replied as he sat up and pointed his index finger at the space marine as if it were a gun. The collar around the man’s neck flashed in response. “Bang.”

Neal’s thumb fell down, and with a whoosh, the mind bullet shot forward and connected with the space marine’s chest, lifting the Adeptus Astartes up off the ground and throwing him through the front window of what seemed to be a small toy store. A beat later, the little building collapsed in on itself, burying Tartaros and a few hundred dollars’ worth of cheap plastic toys and stuffed animals beneath a tomb of concrete, glass, and wood.

[spoiler]Tartaros has used Tier 0 Super Move Tigrus Pattern Bolter (-1 SP)
Neal has used Tier 0 Super Move Mind Bullet (-1 SP)
Neal has a bolter wound in his right shin – Minor Injury (+3 Damage)
Tartaros will emerge with a broken leg and a slight concussion – Major Injury (+7 Damage)[/spoiler]