[1-3] The Nose

[The Vision]

The Vision spent a few milliseconds processing the situation as quickly as he could. Violence raged around them as those inexperienced in combat fled.

> engage?
#False

“May I request a parley before any more damage is-”

A screaming flight attendant was speared, no more than 3 feet in front of the android. As the hostile warrior prepared to do something similar to the Avenger, the Vision looked down, half in disgust, half in disappointment.

> engage?
#True

The warrior hollered something in a language that the android could not match with any known tongue in his database. Clearly, the words were some sort of battle cry, as evidenced by his ferocious lunge.

The warrior then displayed a facial expression best described as shock. He clearly did not expect the spear to pass through the Vision, doing no harm to the android.

“Please, for your sake,” the android warned, “Stand down.”

The warrior again tried stabbing Vision. He sighed, not for respiration, but to display his disappointment and impatience.

“Very well,” Vision calmly said, “Engaging hostile targets.”

A whirring sound buzzed around the Avenger as his eyes gradually glowed red. The warrior tried to flee, but the Vision quickly blasted a quick beam at the back of the warrior’s knee. The man yelped as he collapsed, his left leg unable to sustain his weight.

Another warrior seemed to notice. He flung his spear at the Vision. It was only a small amount of effort for Vision to hyperdensify his fist and slapping the projectile out of the air. In response, he shot another beam at the second attacker’s kneecap. As another spear threatened to skewer a passenger, the Vision managed to shoot it out of the air with another heat beam.

A faint whir told him he was running low on solar energy. His ocular heat beams shut down, gears spinning to close the heat generators behind his eyes. As another tribesman tried to stab him, the Vision stepped to the side, then threw a punch at the man’s cheek. He continued to batter the man with his hyperdense fists until the man fell over unconscious.

Unfortunately, the Vision couldn’t help noticing that he was not as powerful as he used to be. He was having difficulty phasing with the speed necessary to rephase inside a hostile. But Okor seemed to have no such issue with his combat abilities. He was neutralizing a staggering number of the ambushers, using his arsenal to destroy many of them.

The Vision’s momentary distraction allowed a club to crash into the back of his head. The Vision gasped, then fell over. His visual receptors struggled to recalibrate as another blow landed on his back. Finally, the Vision managed to punch a man, stopping him from shredding the android’s exoskeleton. He then blasted his eye beams at the surrounding hostiles, stunning them with extreme heat.

Quickly, the Vision phased himself and ran towards Okor, passing through the other combatants. As he ran, he saw Okor being speared by one of the hostiles. The Vision blasted the attacker away and punched another, his body once again solid.

“Mr. Paleblood,” the Vision shouted over the noise, igniting an oncoming attacker, “You are in need of medical attention.”

Okor looked down and seemed to chuckle, goring another attacker with his sword. “Ah. That’s not an issue. But these warriors are getting too close. I can’t use my entire arsenal without collateral damage.”

“Ah.” The Vision smiled. “That is not an issue, either.”

Okor looked at the android, who nodded with a knowing smile. The plague marine shrugged and threw a grenade into the approaching mob. Okor snarled, “It’s not enough to hold them back!”

The Vision shot another heat beam at the grenade. The warriors were learning to avoid the android’s gaze, allowing the beam to land on its target.

The resulting detonation was devastating. The impact of the explosion flung those who were nearby into the air. The toxic gas spilled into the air, its molecules excited by the intense heat. Some of the contagion was clearly flammable, as the cloud flickered with traces of flame. The nearby attackers screamed as their cardiovascular system became contaminated.

“I disagree,” the android reported.

That same cloud was becoming dangerously close to the defending Primes.

“Vision...?” Okor roared, blasting several enemies with his guns.

The Vision glanced at the cloud and nodded.

> alter_density min
Processing…
Molecules adjusted
> engage(internal_propulsion_engines)
Internal_propulsion_engines engaged

The Vision seemed to almost vanish. Okor noticed, and was about to curse the android when a tidal wave of blue energy exploded where he was standing. Oddly enough, the Vision’s allies were unaffected, but the hostile tribesmen were blasted backwards, helplessly flailing in the air. The toxic cloud started crawling over the force field, harmlessly dissipating as the contagion destroyed itself.

The angry tribesmen began throwing spears again in an effort to disrupt the propulsion field. They seemed to shimmer, then the spears warped as they bounced harmlessly off of the blue shimmering sphere. Okor laughed as he started shooting at the various tribesmen again. Fiora scrambled into the force field as the surrounding tribesmen struggled to invade the bubble. Marcus rushed in shortly after, carrying one of the Syntech employees. The employee rushed into the smoldering wreckage, only half fortified with scrap metal.

After just a few seconds, the bubble began to fade away, the Vision’s body rematerializing slowly.

“I’ve given us some space,” the android groaned, “But I cannot sustain the field, but most of the crew have been moved inside the wreckage.”

The bubble seemed to course with electricity as it burned out of existence. The Vision reengaged the his ocular heat generators.

“I recommend that we conclude this little engagement.”

1 SP used. None remaining. Assistance, I'd say, has been rendered. 969/2400 words.