Zone C -- Megacity One

[Harlan Higgs]

Pain. Anger. Fear.

Hunger. Bloodlust. Rage.

The red mist fell over Harlan's sight as he transformed, his Beast roaring to the challenge of the artifact. He lost his mind, running on instinct as he tried to murder the cop in front of him. Then, luckily for him and unluckily for Sergeant John Estes, the heavy, metallic bouncing of the pineapple grenade bouncing off the pavement towards brought his vision back into focus. The Frenzy passed from his mind, his human side wrestling the Beast back into it's cage. He needed intelligence, the furious and bestial strength of his vampiric urges needed to be leashed for pure survival means.

Still, the grenade rolled closer. Harlan felt the extra weight and posture of his altered frame, the sheer power coursing through his animalistic muscles. Jamming his claws into the bullet wounds on his torso, he wet his hand in blood and thrust it out towards Mad Bull, the sigils needed to weave the illusion harder to execute without human fingers. Still, he could spot the miniature purple stormcloud hovering around his wrist, growing and swelling and darkening, the blood from his wound feeding the chimerical vortex. Then, as the grenade bounced towards him, less than two meters away, he let the vortex go. 

A horrendous shrieking, flashes of light, and terrible sounds of torment echoed from the swollen cloud as it swept the grenade up in it's wake. Screaming towards it's launcher, the frag exploded in the middle of the two fighters and dissipated the cloud. Shards of metal glowed and fell to the pavement with a clatter, nullified.

A beat of silence, and then Harlan reached up to his shaggy head, feeling the gray derby that was still miraculously seated on his crown, his pointed lupine ears keeping it wedged in place. A grin split his spittle flecked muzzle, and he spoke in a guttural, growling voice that still held a trace of his accent. "Gotta thank you, Officer. Shocked me out of the blood rage. Good thing you did too, might have died an animal."

He adjusted his stance, flexing those razor sharp claws and baring his fangs. The beast regained some semblance of civility, no longer a slavering monster. Now, he was the same cunning foe from the interior of the boutique...plus about 4 feet in height and a few hundred pounds. "Now...catch!"

He opened his muzzle, and a bright ball of flaming energy swelled to the size of a softball in front of his teeth. Mad Bull watched with shocked fascination, until he realized that this was probably not the best place to stand around gormlessly. 

His suspicions were proven true as Harlan let the spell fly, the fireball streaking towards the policeman with murderous intent. He dove for cover and found precious little, his gut hitting the cement behind a wooden popsicle cart. Mad Bull barely had time to let out an "Oof!" of pain before the fireball hit and exploded with enough force to blast his shoddy cover away and send him tumbling ass over teakettle.

The lawman's bare skin scraped over the concrete as he bounced, catching sight of the red manbeast bounding towards him on all fours. He tried to roll over into a crouching position, but his own bulky frame wasn't nearly agile enough. Harlan's muscular shoulder hit him again and sent him tumbling further still.

The flea bitten lug was playing with him, like a cat with it's prey.

Finally, Mad Bull caught enough of himself to execute a buffonish backwards somersault. But it was enough to ger him back to some semblance of stability. He snarled, his face bleeding and sweaty and full of anger. Reaching behind him, he pulled out the nasty gunmetal barrel of his Remington. 

"Hey Fido! Choke on this, you rotten mutt!"

Harlan's yellow eyes widened as he saw the cop aiming at him, the gun muzzle looking a mile wide. The crimson vampire beast scrabbled on the cement as he tried to jink away, but his furious momentum carried him forward...right into the solid wave of buckshot.

BLAM BLAM

The vampire yiped and shut his eyes, sliding fifteen feet past the Sergeant. His furry bulk hit the stage, and he threw out a claw to grip the splintering wood. Climbing up back to his original place of entrance, the monster stood up, panting and bleeding heavily. 

Mad Bull broke open the shotgun and loaded two more shells, closing it back with a raspy click. "Ready for more, Higgs? I SURE AS SHIT AM!" Spittle flew from his mouth as he roared at his opponent.

 "Good! I'd hate for this one to kill you!"

Another softball size ball of energy appeared before the werebeast's open mouth, glowing and pulsing. But this one was different...and growing.

798 words, according to wordcounter.net
Harlan regained his senses in time to defend against MB's super with Chimerstry: Waking Nightmare : T1 Super Attack (1 SP, 5/6 SP remaining)
Harlan launched a Fira spell at Mad Bull, who dove for cover but got blasted by the area effect.
Harlan followed up by shoulder checking Mad Bull and chasing him like a soccer ball.
MB managed to drive Harlan off with two shotgun blasts to the face.
Harlan used Limit Break: Cosmo Memory T2 Super Attack (2 SP, 3/6 SP remaining.)

Move descriptions for Fira and Cosmo Memory can be found on Red XIII's Roster

[Todd Ingram]

The group of four was reunited, whether it was for better or worse, time could only tell. It was Obvious that Enel loved the attention he received from the blue skinned wonder. The more compliments she threw the god's way the higher his chin appeared to go. Batman was walking behind the two loudmouths that were up ahead, not too far on his right, the young girl referred to as Dawn was keeping up as well. She didn't say much, just that she mumbled every now and then, seemingly upset or annoyed about something. Bruce's thoughts started to wander off to what his god-companion suggested earlier. Implying there was a connection possible with this mysterious woman and himself. It was preposterous . And honestly, it made Bruce feel a bit uncomfortable.


It wasn't that he was unfamiliar with the pleasures of the flesh, but it was inappropriate  even mentioning it at a time like this. Batman glanced towards Dawn. The female wasn't a fool, her sharp senses noticed the subtle movements and moved her eyes towards him. ' Crap, I truly hope she didn't hear that idiot's strange ideas.'


After a while, to his great surprise,  Dawn actually spoke up, "So, you and the God hm?"


Batman turned his head towards her, "Yes, he has his issues, but it's a reliable partner. What about her?" He nudged his head towards the majin.


"She's not too bad." She replied with her calm tone of voice.


Returning his vision towards the duo up front Batman noticed Enel looking over his shoulder, a facial impression that resembled shock. "They actually talked!" He announced loud enough for anyone to hear in the vicinity. It was followed with an uncomfortable silence between the two followers.  Enel and his walking partner started to whisper and snicker as the journey continued.


"Just let them have this." Batman grunted. Knowing it might be a while before peaceful times would return.
 

Moving God and friends C2 to C16

[The Future Warrior]

Their happily (in some cases) reunited group tromped and traveled through the city with a renewed sense of enthusiasm (in half of their cases) and resignation (in the other half). All of them were willing to admit that they were definitely stronger as a group, and if anything tried to get the jump on them they'd be sure to regret it. How much of that was boisterous arrogance or blind faith, and how much was actual logic and sound confidence differed depending on which of the unlikely foursome you asked.

Trudging along, Graowr had been busy constantly talking with God Enel. Or, rather, asking the occasional question or voicing her wonder or approval and listening to him talk. He certainly didn't have any shortage of things to go on about, that was for sure! Chief among her questions, though, were the nature of Enel's powers. Lightning was obviously among them, and she was able to get out of him (and figure out, to some extent) that it was in fact most of his powers. Aside from generally being really fast and strong. What she wasn't prepared for was the fusillade of questions he fired at her in return, asking all manner of things. About what she was up to, what she was going to get up to, why she was here in Dante's Abyss, how she had recognized him on sight, and on and on. She was all too happy to answer, of course. Her resolution to eventually find a way to meet Omni himself, and challenge him to a fight, caused a spark of interest to flash in the lightning-man's eyes, and he revealed his own desire to dethrone and kill Omni. Break the Omniverse so that everyone could go home.

So. Cool.

But soon enough, a halt was called. This time it was the batty guy. "We need a plan. A more definite plan."

Enel cast a lazy look over at him, raising an eyebrow. "I thought we had one? You didn't raise any objections back at the beach."

An icy glare met the lightning-god's statement, eliciting a shrug from him. "There's been a change in my objections," the bat growled. "Wandering around aimlessly looking for a place to hide and catch other people wandering around aimlessly won't do us any good."

"Maybe we should head for the safehouse." This time, it was Dawn who spoke up, the dark haired woman looking off to the east. "It's a new day. We should check in there early, and get it out of the way while we're already close by."

"Not a bad idea. It's something definite to do, for now," the bat reluctantly agreed.

"Then it's settled!" Enel proclaimed. "Let us—"

"Not so fast." Batman held up a hand to stall the lightning-man, carrying on with his own words. "We should split up again. Head for the safehouse in different ways. One big group is something they'll see coming." Everyone stared at him like he'd gone crazy. "Trust me. Strength in numbers is an advantage, but it's easy to plan against. This way, we can set up a pincer attack if one of us does get caught offguard, or if we find someone else."

For a long minute there was only silence. Then Graowr piped up. "That makes sense!" And she turned and hopped away, dashing into the gloom and around a corner to the north. "C'mon, Dawn! Let's go!"

"Ugh..." Dawn shot Batman a glare as she rushed away after her blue ally.

God and Pals splitting up!
Graowr and Dawn: moving from C16 to C17

[Dane Regan]

True to my earlier decision. I was not going to hope. For anything. No. I decided to plan for everything from here on out. No more wishing. No more hoping. This refreshing outlook made me consider the likelihood of different events as I headed back to the city I started in, returning under the guise of my stealth. How likely was it that Clownpiece would win? Maybe thirty percent? It was hard to judge, as a lot could change. But I'd decided that her death was very unlikely. 

As for the city, I decided that considering it was the most central, it was most likely that either it or the area furthest south, would be the last zone remaining. I also concluded that waiting in the deathzone for longer than needed, especially when people fighting were now exempt from being killed off there, was not worth it. It'd be simpler just to get out and travel from there onwards. Hence, I made the choice to head south sooner rather than later.

All the tree jumping I'd done earlier made me want to jump across the buildings - from rooftop to rooftop. I'd done that on my first day on the island. It was safer than walking around on the streets. It gave me a good vantage point. And, while travel was slower, it meant I didn't need to keep looking at my map as much, which was useful. So, once I reached the edge of the city, after looking down the large road and not immediately seeing anyone, I walked towards one of the taller buildings. The one had a rusty staircase on the outside. It didn't look like it would break though, so I ascended. One step after another. It creaked and wobbled slightly due to a combination of the wind and myself. But I eventually made it to the top safely. I was alone for now.

Team Dane™©® (Just Dane now) moving from B15 to C6.

Dane is invisible (Stealth + Suppression + 5 TEC) and travelling on the tops of buildings.

[Dane Regan]

I pushed on on the city. Running atop the buildings, one after another. I jumped. I ran. I may have passed some people on the way, but I didn't care. I wanted to rest. I was tired. So I pushed on aiming for the safehouse. I could sleep there, I thought. It was hard to think when you've spent all night and most of the past day running around in circles. I might have a "plan" or something of the sort, but that didn't matter if I was too tired to execute it. I really needed to just push myself for this short distance, and I'd be free to sleep.

Free to eat. Free to think. And generally safe. Cirno's sacrifice would not be in vain. I'd make use of it and survive this Dante's Abyss, at least for another day. Maybe I was getting reckless in my desire to rest, but I was wounded and alone. I had no one to watch my back so I had to make those risks. 

My feet had almost slipped on the buildings after some of the landings. The tops were still sometimes slippery and wet from the rain. But I was skilled. I had the mana, will, and ability to right myself after any potential slip. I just kept running forwards without missing a beat. It wasn't ideal, but life never was. If it was then I'd never have had to kill in my past. My old homeland wouldn't have been so flawed. The demons would never have so much as threatened the peace and balance of my world. Luck was never on my side, as much as I wished it was. Wishing never worked. I'd put my blood and sweat towards success - that was the only way to achieve it.

Team Dane™©® (Just Dane now) moving from C6 to C17.

Dane is invisible (Stealth + Suppression + 5 TEC) and travelling on the tops of buildings.

[The Future Warrior]

After breaking off from God Enel and Batman, Graowr and Dawn carried on north at a rapid pace, through the city streets. The blue girl was in a hurry, for some reason, and Dawn was left to truck along after her. Thankfully, it wasn't difficult to match pace, just irritating because of all the rain and fog. Losing sight of her was the bigger risk here; falling behind was a non-issue.

"Where are we going?" Dawn finally questioned after several minutes at their frantic pace. "The safehouse is back to the southeast by now."

"I know!" the majin said. "We're not going there right away! We're gonna head further north and circle around! Come at it from the east!"

"Why go all that way?!" Dawn snapped, her eyes narrowing. "That's so out of the way!"

"I know, it's great!" the blue abomination said, her voice just as cheerful as ever. "No one will expect it! We'll catch anyone fighting God and that bat guy completely by surprise!"

"Or just waste a lot of time going all that way for no reason!"

"Okay, better idea!" Graowr said.

"And what's that?!" Dawn's increasing frustration was evident.

The only answer the small, blue not-alien gave was to make a short hop, skip, and then slide through the rain for several feet before making a springing, flying leap. She sailed up into the darkness and gloom, disappearing above the edge of a nearby building, with a sharp "Whooo!" as she went.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me..." Dawn groaned. Without missing a beat, she crouched down, a burst of flame erupting from her back. It settled into the form of shimmering, smokeless black fire in the form of wings. A single beat, and she surged upward. Not true flight, but enough power to let her leap up and scale the building to match her blue accomplice, already moving onward and leaping to the next, somewhat taller building.

"Way easier to make time, up here!" she shouted back, over the noise of wind and rain. "And way harder to get lost, too!"

For all that she wanted to disagree, Dawn really couldn't. It was stupid, and cliche like something out of a comic book, but...hell. It was a lot faster than walking around the damn buildings.

No movement. Just banter.

[The Future Warrior]

Leaping across the rooftops was definitely fast. But it was also treacherous, in this weather. All slick and slippery from the rain, and in the gloom from being so late and dark on top of the fog and darkened sky from the rain...it was a disaster waiting to happen, if they made one wrong step. Thankfully, they were both surefooted. A long life of fighting and...and whatever it was Dawn did before this left them reasonably capable and able to keep going, avoiding the slip that would have spelled certain doom.

Or...certain headache, maybe.

"So how much further north do you think we should go before we loop around on this inane plan of yours?" Dawn questioned after just a few minutes of their rapidly sped up mode of travel.

"Oh, I dunno!" Graowr answered her. "Maybe another couple minutes. This city's pretty big, so there's plenty of room still to go!"

"Yeah, yeah, we've got plenty of room alright," Dawn agreed. "But the further we go, the further we'll have to go back, and the longer that will take, remember?"

"Oh. Oooooh!" That apparently hadn't occurred to the gummy girl, if her reaction was anything to go by. "Yeah, maybe we should start turning off soon. I think we're getting pretty far out—GHWOOF!" She ran into something. Hard. At full speed, no less. Rebounding off of it, she hit the ground on her back, and a second later something else did in front of her.

Dawn had come to a quick, stutter-stepping halt beside her, splashing in the rain and lifting her rifle to the ready. "Don't make any sudden moves," she said warningly.

Whatever Graowr had run into slowly got up again. It was...a man. Kind of scraggly looking, with leather armor and stuff. Like one of those old-timey warriors. He didn't look happy at all about the situation.

The blue girl hopped up to her feet, eyes glaring through the rain at the offender. "HEY! Watch where you're going!" she huffed.

"I could say the same to you!" he snapped back.

"You." Dawn stepped forward, lifting her rifle threateningly. "One question. The items that have been dropping on this island. Do you have any? I suggest you hand the mover if you do." As if to make a point, she clicked the safety (or something) on her rifle. "Or else."

Graowr looked back at Dawn, then back at Scruffy. "Ooooh! Yeah, he's not on our side or one of our friends!" And her hands clenched into fists. "So, hey! Do you?! Got any items?!"

Graowr and Dawn: Challenging Dane to a fight for his loots.

[Todd Ingram]

The last glare Dawn shot Batman with resembled the same feeling he has had with Enel. Every time they ventured on one of Enel's bright ideas they ended up walking in circles. Luckily this time there was a plan. For once they listened to the logic of the caped detective. Enel hadn't spoken a word ever since the ladies left, perhaps he wasn't happy with the fact Batman called the shots for once, then again, leave him to his own thoughts. Eventually he would see the logic behind it all, he was after all a tactician himself, spending a lot of time on the tablet, acquiring the Intel they need to move on.

Finally the God spoke to him, "So, you and Dawn hmm?" He spoke with an ear to ear grin.

"What? You're still on that?"

"Oh don't hide it, I noticed the two of you growing closer back there. You can't deny checking her out. I've seen her too you know, those feminine shapes of hers. But, I'm nothing if not a gracious god. You've earned your 'fun'." Enel was almost completely caught up in his own little fantasy world. Daydreaming about god knows what.

The Dark knight did nothing to either acknowledge, confirm nor deny the statement.

"Don't be like that, use your words. You can share it with me." Enel urged his comrade.

Before the annoying inquiry continued, both Enel and Batman's tablets started to give out notifications. "Oh would you look at that! Karl is sending us more presents."
"What about the plan?" The Dark knight asked, thinking about the teammates that just left.

"New plan! Grab the items, I'm sure the girls will understand. Perhaps I even leave them a message."

Batman grunted, finally he had the god onboard with one of his plans only to have it discarded by yet another unexpected element of the game. And even though he hated to admit it, they needed as many items as they could get their hands on.

Batman let out a sigh, indicating he caved once more to the God's plan. "Where do you want to go? they are all within our reach."

"This one,  got a good feeling about this one."

[quote]
Moving Batnel C16 to C17
[quote]

[Enel]

“This one first,” I continue. “Then all of them.”

“All of them!?” Batman shows some emotion.

“All of them. Come on, we’re rested, we’re young, we’ve slept. We’re men! What’s the matter, you afraid of a little hike?”

Batman’s eyes practically say it all: easy for you to say.

Tch, well, it’s hardly my fault everyone else is so slow. I didn’t choose to be perfect. Some entities are just born superior to others.

I send a private message to Graowr on twitter. Hey, heading to B7 drop. Where are you?

Doesn’t particularly matter either way. If she responds, we get some muscle to take the punches on my behalf. If she doesn’t, we get all those precious Dante-points. Honestly, I’d rather the former, but that’s if anyone even turns up to contest the item drop. At the rate we’re going, we’re going to have all the items. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jak is deliberately trying to tire me out, give some of the other contestants a chance.

I mean, I’d almost welcome the opposition at this point. A man starts to get bored with killing fish and mountain cats.

As we wander through the city, I wonder again what’s happened to Hendy. Did he go and get killed by that fat cop who was stuffing his face with donuts? Nah, no fucking way. So where is he? Probably still walking his slow ass between drops while I run around and pick them up. Aren’t vampires supposed to have superpowers? Super speed, turning into bats and shit? Only power I saw was not dying due to sleep deprivation and starvation. And that’s one of the shittiest powers I can think of. Food and sleep are the best things ever. Other than sex. But I don’t really feel like getting jiggy in front of the cameras – as much as I’m sure Graowr would love to service her God and as much as the fans would want to see it – so that particular pleasure will have to wait until I get home.  

It has been a while, though. At least a few months by my count. Would I fuck some putty?

… Yeah, probably.

Batnel moving from C17 to C6.

[Dane Regan]

Fuck my life. I don't even care anymore.

I rubbed my head, keeping my hands away from my weapons. "Yeah, just gimme a second, I've got a lot of crap in this bag." I carefully and slowly reached my hand inside it - I didn't want to get shot by the angry one. I saw Red use something similar to the black object she was holding in our fight a while back. 

"Then why don't you just drop it? We'll take care of it." 

"Hey! My food's in there!" I hugged it tightly to my body with my good arm.

"Yeah. You can't take his eats."

I internally thanked Blue for her (she sounded like a her) support in this pressing matter. The angry one sighed, still pointing her rifle at me.

"Then how about you hand the bag to me. I'll look through it. Take everything I like, and then give it back to you along with all your food."

So much for stalling, that was a reasonable suggestion.

She stepped forwards, gun tamed on my head, prompting my to shuffle back towards the edge of the building. Blue followed beside her.

"So what's it going to be? You handing over the bag, or me putting a bullet in you?" She readjusted her aim to prove her point. 

"Umm... yeah. Just one question. What's a bullet?" I could guess, but I did actually want to know. The angry one looked at me in confusion for a split second while Blue started to open her mouth - like she knew the answer and wanted to feel smart. 

In that moment two things happened: I leant backwards and fell; the angry one, seeing this, pulled her finger back on the trigger. If she'd done so an instant sooner, that would have hurt me. But that was the least of my concerns: the floor was getting closer.

As quickly as I could, I bent my legs and kicked the wall of the building I'd just fallen off - propelling myself away from it. I curled my head forwards and hugged my bag, hoping the shield on my back would be sufficient to break the glass window. It was, but not in the way I expected. The glass popped out of the window frame and was shunted inside, along with my propelled body. Even after all that, there were only a few cracks along its surface. Luckily the abandoned building was worn down and weathered enough for me to push though.

I shuffled backwards and stood up quickly, running further inside the apartment. Some 'bullets' flew in through the window behind me, but they were too late to catch me. I needed to find the stairs, get down, and either hide until they gave up, or find an opening to escape. My invisibility wouldn't mean much with how trigger happy they were and how easily sound travelled in here.

483 words according wordcounter.net

Dane is going to run away from you guys (Graowr and Dawn) like the chicken he is.

[Deadpool]

As Deadpool and Jak headed back to the safehouse, both of their tablets rang notifications.

With his already in hand, Jak opened the notifications and alerted the mercenary: "Karl's dropping three items."

"Any of them close?"

The eco warrior wobbled his head, unsure. "They're all about the same distance from us, in different directions."

Deadpool swatted his hand. "Just pick one," he replied. "Maybe, by the time we get there, Dante will be done with his playdate."

Jak nodded, and returned the tablet to his book-bag.

They found theirselves turning onto Karl Parkway, and retracing their steps to the safehouse. Parked cars still lined either side of the street, but Jak's determination to check their windows had dissipated. His eyes were instead bouncing from building to building, as if searching for snipers.

Deadpool walked behind him. His head was tilted down at his pistol as he worked it over. He completely detached the slide from the gun, and inspected the exterior of the naked barrel for any warps that could have jammed the slide; it was smoother than a baby's bottom.

Can't be a trigger issue, the mercenary thought. That wouldn't interrupt the slide.

He ejected the clip from the butt of his pistol, and ran his eyes down the assembly of bullets. It appeared to be aligned properly. Just as he slammed his clip back into the gun, a clicking sound echoed in the gun. Deadpool furrowed a brow, then reattached the slide and pulled it back; an empty shell sprang from the ejection port, crying as it rattled against the asphalt.

Are you fucking serious? That's all it was?

He aimed the pistol at Jak and pulled the trigger. A bullet screamed out of the chamber, punching a quarter-sized cavity into the space between the eco warrior's feet.

Jak jumped into the air like a startled cat, landing sprawled across a car hood. He rolled down to the front fender before coming to his feet. "What the fuck?!"

Deadpool cackled at him. "You shoulda seen your reaction!" He could barely get the words out as he hunched over and applauded his thigh.

Steam practically erupted from from Jak's nostrils as they widened with anger. "You could have hit me!"

"Chill out, bro," the mercenary replied, finally halfway composed. "I was just testing my gun."

Jakpool: C21 to C20

[Jak Mar]

Jak growled, slightly angry that deadpool decided to use him for emptying his blank shell at his feet.

“What the hell?! I try to save your ass and you try to RISK mine!”

Jak squeezed his fist and stood his ground. If Dante was here, he’d be ripping them apart telling them things would be fine. But he was in the Colosseum.

And the eco warrior had to stand his own ground against the mouthy mercenary who liked to push every one of his buttons and work every nerve he had.

“Jak, let me take care of him, you know he’s bothering you.”

Jak almost had it with the mercenary but he looked like he was talking to himself in a way. “Can it, dark.”

Deadpool scoffed and said “You really think you can take me on like the last two times you tried and failed?!”

Jak’s anger was growing and he threw his hand out extremely frustrated, lifting his gun nearby.

“Enough, Deadpool. You want to fuckin’ go!”

[Deadpool]

Jak didn't find any humor in the mercenary's carelessness. He whipped his blaster around into his hands, and took aim at him. It generated a humming noise as orange energy slowly gathered in the chamber, emitting a dull glow out of the muzzle.

Deadpool raised an open palm towards the eco warrior. "Chill out, or I'll have to subdue you," he warned.

"I think you did it on purpose, but missed!" Jak retorted.

His finger was wrapped tightly around the blaster's trigger; even while partially concealed behind the gun's sights, Deadpool could see his eyes emblazoned with fury. He was unwilling to stand down.

"So, its a modern version of western duels that you want, the mercenary joked. He drew the gun from his left holster, and aimed at Jak. "Even though we're doing this all wrong, do you really think you're a faster gunman than me?" Seriously. I'm not sure what type of cartoony looking creatures you dealt with on your home universe, but I dealt with fucking super metahumans--vigilante hitmen that wore Affliction skull t-shirts, and people that have embroidered shooting targets on their masks."

The comment confused Jak, and that's what the mercenary wanted. When his concentration lapsed, Deadpool drew the pistol from his right holster, and chucked it like a boomerang. It cartwheeled in the air before striking the eco warrior's temple. A wild surge of energy exploded from his blaster and into the air as he tumbled over like an intoxicated fool, crashing head-first into the asphalt.

"Down goes Frazier," Deadpool quipped.

He returned his gun to its left holster as he sauntered towards Jak, all while whistling the theme song to The Andy Griffith Show. He grabbed the eco warrior and slung him over his shoulders like a fireman saving an incapacitated homeowner.

Jakpool - C20 to C15

[The Future Warrior]

"DAMN IT!" Dawn swore, as her bullets met only air. The scruffy fool had jumped off the building, and from the sound of breaking glass, he'd made it into the adjacent one. Dawn rushed to the edge, looking down as she fired off a quick burst of gunfire, cursing silently as she missed her mark again. "In the next building! He went through the window!" She placed a hand on the edge, ready to vault over. "Come on, we can—"

From behind her, there was a sudden up-rush of wind and movement, the fog glowing away as a noise like fire roared to life. "KAIO-KEN!" came the voice of the blue alien, and the rain was thrown back by an explosion of noise and light, painting everything red and for a split-second making everything clear, the fog and rain and gloom pushed back.

"Kaio-what?!" Dawn demanded, whipping around to stare just as a blur of red and blue streaked past her like a cannonball, leaping over the edge of the building and rocketing toward the adjacent one. In a crash of shattering brick and tearing stone, the wall above the window Scruffy had fled through was blown to smithereens. "What the FUCK?!"

Graowr didn't pay her comrade any mind. "Get back here, you! Not letting you get away!" In a blur she charged across the room, her aura blazing bright red and lighting up the dim, murky innards of the building. It was hard to hear much of anything, over the pounding of rain, her own swirling and flaring aura and her own footfalls echoing chaotically around the empty apartment as she crashed down to a landing in a heavy crouch. She cratered the floor with the sheer momentum of her crazed, single-minded charged, and sprang up from it toward the only door.

It was hard to hear much of anything, but she could just make it out. Only a few paces ahead of her, running down the hall. "Where are you going, dangit?! Get back here!" She erupted in a flash of movement, little more than a blur. Her small stature lent itself well to charging down the narrow confines of the building, her aura lighting the way quite well. She could hear it clearer now, echoing in the abandoned building. Footsteps. Larger, heavier than her own. Moving on ahead of her. She was getting closer, but...

"Not fast enough!" Her hands came out to either side, a bolt of ki forming in each of them. One after the other she hurled them down the hall, impacting just at the corner by the stairs. "NO! YOU! DON'T!"

Lightning flashed in the window outside, revealing a shadow cast across the floor. A man, caught in mid-stumble, having staggered back to avoid getting a face full of ki. Standing right in front of a window. With another burst of speed, she leaped forward, rocketing into a tackle. Right out the window! With Scruffy, or without him.

Pursuing Dane!
498 words according to wordcounter.net

Used 1 SP to use T1 Powered-Up Form: Kaio-Ken to chase him down. 2/3 SP remaining
Kaio-Ken stats:
ATK: 6
DEF: 3
SPD: 5
TEC: 1

[Todd Ingram]

From a distance Bruce notices Enel reaching the drop zone, acquiring yet another item for the team. That is, if there was still a team after this. Both men were at their limits. Even though they haven't encountered a hostile prime in a while, the pressure was still there. They both were getting agitated. He had to be better than this, he shouldn't give in to these urges that are created purely by the pressure of this insane game. Enel was returning from the drop zone, Batman waiting on top of the hill, ready for anything. Enel came close and met with the dark knight's eyes. A moment of doubt lingered in his stomach, would this be finally the moment of betrayal that Bruce was anticipating?


An unknown object was tossed towards Batman, who caught it midair with his left hand. Curiously the masked man looked at it.


"Hold on to that for me will ya Bats? And keep the fuck up." The god spewed. It was obvious he was still not amused, but realized they were better of having each other's back. Every now and then the paranoia that lingers within Bruce gets the better of him. It seemed this was one of those times he didn't need it. Even Batman's gut feeling is wrong sometimes, not often, just sometimes.


Bruce quickly followed the bare chested man through the forest, sweating inside of his armor. While walking he was examining the newly found item, hoping this would give them a competitive edge.


"Where to now?" The bat man asked.


"Back to the beach it seems, that fucker Karl actually likes seeing us running around in circles, the next drop is in the water, -again-." The less than subtle annoying tone was clear.


"Not this shit again." Batman complained. Immediately he received several flashbacks of the horror he had to endure to proclaim that item. He wasn't going for another round of that.


"Tell you what, once we're at the beach, you let me swim for that item, you just wait at the shore and stand guard. I'm not going through that again."


Enel grinned, "That was exactly my plan, you go out to fetch it for me and I'll wait on the beach. There is still some, ….research to be done on the Dataverse."

The duo left the forest, back into the city.

Batnel Received the B7 item uncontested
Moving Batnel B7 - C7

[Todd Ingram]

With yet another prize won and a fresh item within their sights, Enel's mood became almost unbearable good. At times Batman was wondering when this was all going to stop. He had been trapped on this island for days now, fought off a bunch of fairies and some medieval warrior in a strange costume and walked. Walked so much he was starting to get sick of it. Even Batman had his limits and they were starting to show. This contest of endurance weight heavy upon the caped crusader. Even though he was in excellent physical shape, with the exception of his shoulder wound, he was struggling both mentally as physically. It had been three days of this, at some point a man just simply wants something to punch and get it over with. But if Batman was feeling fatigue, so would the other contesters, it was just a matter of smart planning. Except for Enel, how he did it was a mystery for Bruce, the god kept in good spirits and hasn't shown any signs of getting tired. The man was a machine, or perhaps even a god.


Batman realized all too well, even god's have limitations. His encounters with Ares, Zeus and Poseidon were anything but enjoyable, but they did show him even a god can be brought down. Bruce just hoped it wouldn't be needed with his ally. But if something were to happen, he would be ready.


The scenery of the city was getting old, their travel towards the south was a long and dreadful one.


"Did you receive words of the others?" Batman finally asked.


Enel grabbed his tablet, started tapping the screen. "No word on that front. But look how many of my followers have been tweeting about me. The people truly love me."


Whilst shaking his head Batman passed Enel, taking point. He needed a well deserved rest after this.

Moving Batnel C7 - C8

[Todd Ingram]

The streets were no longer silent as before. The further they travelled back in to the city, the louder the noises of battle were heard all around them. Batman's senses sharpened, keeping a close eye on every shadow, every rooftop and every corner. Enel didn't seem to mind nor worry, once again his eyes were glued to the screen of the tablet. For the first time Bruce started to have doubts about the man's intelligence. Was this God truly a tactician or just another idiot? It wouldn't be the first time great power found its way to a lesser mind. When Enel used his power, to catch a fish of all things, it surprised Bruce that his partner possessed a power equivalent to Zeus from his own world. Which made for a potential dangerous combination. With his paranoia feeding into his new suspicion, the detective had to keep a closer eye on what the devil-fruit user was actually up to.


Batman started to slow down his pase, waiting until the pre-occupied Enel walked past him. When he did, Bruce glanced towards the screen. But before he could see anything useful the perverted man pressed it against his chest, "Can I help you?" Enel asked in a mocking tone.


"No, was just checking up on something."


"Do it on your own tablet, haven't you heard of privacy bat-brains?"


It was obvious he was hiding something. Was it a plot against him? or was it something trivial, perhaps something personal to him, that he wasn't willing to share. For the Dark knight it remained a mystery, this man wasn't an easy read. While Bruce continued his deductions in his mind, the god behind him started snickering in silent once more. A god had to keep his mind occupied whilst the peasants around him were killing each other.
 
 

Moving Batnel C8 - C17

[Todd Ingram]

It was time for a break, even Enel thought it was time to rest. Batman went in, what appeared an empty building, scouting it to make sure it's safe. After checking out the first and second floor of the building it was safe to rest. Enel strolled in as if he owned the place, picked a large sofa with velvet red pillows on it, and sat down triumphantly. "A seat worthy of a god, at least for a few minutes." Batman sat down on the stairs nearby, from his knapsack his water skin appeared. Their endless walking took his toll. They were both exhausted and need to rest properly.
"Enel?" The dark knight spoke after drinking.


The God casually looked over to where Batman was sitting. "What?"


"Perhaps this would be a good time to head towards a safe house. We need the rest and if we don't reset these collars things might end up messy."


"Well, if -you- need to rest. I will allow it, perhaps that cook from the last time will be there again. A decent meal wouldn't be such a bad plan." Enel attempted to appear casual, but even a god in the Omniverse can't control a stomach that is rumbling. "Very well Batman, we shall head for the safe-house.


After a quick rest the dark knight checked outside the entrance of the facility, once again making sure the streets were clear. The area was still filled with the sound of battle, whoever it was, things were getting serious out there. All he could hope for was that the women were alright, even though they could probably hold their own, there is always a bigger fish out there. Once they reached the safe house he'd let Enel send word out on the Dataverse. With all these dead zones appearing, there are very few places left to hide.
 
 

Moving Batnel C17 - C21

[Todd Ingram]

Batman started examining the device Karl was so kind to place upon every prime competing. It was a high-tech piece of equipment. Something he'd never encountered before. There were no visible wires, no edges, no locks. It almost appeared as if it was created around their necks. Even for a man as ingenious as Bruce it seemed impossible to find a way to remove it.


'If I can find the spot where the pieces connect, I might be able to force it open, extract whatever explosive there might be.'


"Don't bother." The god spoke. "This isn't the first time he used these, and won't be the last. It's the only thing keeping an island filled with super-powered primes under control."


"You've had one of these before, and you still entered again?"


"Why wouldn't I? After all, this whole contest is just a way to show my followers there is only one true god, and he is powerful."


The ego on this guy grew larger with every word he spoke. Bruce's tolerance was of a godlike level to be able to put up with this. But with a little luck this whole thing will be over soon. Once it was, he'd have a good long hard talk with Sarah for suggesting this. So far he hasn't made contact with a single person from his universe, his life has been in danger every second he spend on this hellish place and he was stuck with this delusional character who was so in love with himself it was sickening.


The thoughts wandered in Batman's mind, completely unaware that ahead their destination was already visible.


"There it is." Enel spoke with a hint of relief in his voice.


The duo walked in, to their surprise it wasn't their favorite cook sitting on the floor. But two wounded primes, looking like they just fought a hell of a battle.


Enel was the first to notice them, "Well what do we have here?" He spoke with an ominous grin upon his face.
 
 

Moving Batnel C21 - SHC

[Karl Jak]

End, Day 4 Morning

Being Day 4 Afternoon