American Paragons

[Kazama]

Samuel Craig
Mission 1C

Sam didn't remember the explosion itself. He didn't remember how he ended up under a bus. What he did remember was pain. He remembers crawling out from under a bus. He was covered in cuts and bruises, it hurt. The world around him was just... gone. Everywhere he saw piles of rubble and... oh god, are those people? Rubble and brown charred people. Just thrown around like dolls or smashed against some of the bigger rubble. He pulled himself out of the bus. He crawled over a burned up leg on the way out, but he couldn't stop. He was in full survival mode, he needed to get out of this bus. He was out and he began to let it sink in. It hit him like a train. He looked up, around, everywhere but the world looked the same no matter where he looked. He happened to glance at his legs. They weren't there. In their place was a pulpy mass of pink flesh clinging to pale white broken bone. He passed out again.

After this, he thinks he must have crawled under something. He remembers lying there, curled up in fetal position for what must have been hours. At least, it felt like hours. He felt his legs again. They were fine. Had seeing them gone just been a dream? He didn't really care. What definitely wasn't a dream was around him. The world had just been destroyed. The buildings and roads had been replaced by rubble. Just destruction everywhere. An empty world filled with nothing but the splinters of buildings that once were. It felt hellish. Cars and trucks were thrown about like toys. Some of them still had their drivers in them. Charred bodies still slinging to steering wheels. Then there was the smell. From where he sat, he could smell everything. If he hadn't known where it was coming from, he would have thought it was the smell that fills the house when you cook meat. But the context is where the horror came from. Knowing that it was the smell of people who been alive. He must have thrown up; the only other smell he noticed in that hole was the smell of bile.

He wanted to go home. No, he wanted to wake up. This must be a dream after all! Yes! This was just a nightmare and if he woke up, it would be all over. He just needed to wake up. Wake up and it'll all go away. It's just a dream. It's just a dream. It's just a dream...

Hands started tugging on him. Was it working? Was he being woken up? He heard voices and more hands began to move him. He kept his eyes closed and his arms wrapped around him and repeated his mantra.

"It's just a dream. It's just a dream. It's just a dream..."

------------------------------------------------------------------------



He looked at the doctor. He watched his mouth move and he heard the sound of his voice, but he didn't listen. He couldn't get himself in gear, he just sat there and stared straight ahead. The doctor snapped his fingers on either side of Sam's head. He flashed a light into his eyes. Sam was in complete and total shell shock. The aftermath had been too much, and he sat there, unresponsive after realizing it wasn't a dream. It was real. And he was here. And he couldn't function because of it. Despite his general unresponsiveness, tears would crawl down his cheeks every so often. He barely even noticed the light blue blanket around his shoulders.

The doctor spoke with one of his colleagues while he examined Sam. The first doctor tilted Sam's head to check his neck while he talked. Only a few words and snippets of sentences managed to bounce into Sam's mind.

"...experiencing the maj..."
"Doesn't look like there's any..."
"...is blood tests are actua..."
"...an't send him out like this..."

Sam doesn't remember what came between this and waking up again. He barely remembers being brought here. He woke up while he was lying down on something that wasn't quite soft, but not really hard either. At first he thought that it had actually been a dream and he sat up. Then he saw he was in a helicopter.

"Where am I?"

A man in a suit would be the one to respond. He looked official. The all-business, no-nonsense kind of official. He stood next to Sam's stretcher in the helicopter and cleared his throat.

"Samuel Craig, you've survived a Blast Event which occurred within The White Fence earlier today. You may be aware of the history behind the first event like this one, but protocol requires me to brief you on possible effects anyway."

The man would go on to explain some stuff about the events. He was incredibly technical and spoke quickly, like he was in some kind of hurry. A little too much of a hurry, Sam kept trying to ask questions, but the man would hold his hand up in a gesture for him to stop, and then he would continue to explain the events and what was to come.

"Because of the rather short time we have to react to this event, you'll be sent in to assist with," he looked at a set of documents he had brought out of a suitcase on the ground which had been out of Sam's view, "Assignment 1C. You'll be working with other blast-powered survivors. We would have sent you out with them, but your condition would have made that unwise."

Wait, wait, blast-powered? Assignment? What was he talking about? He was going too fast for Sam to hold on to anything, he had so may questions, but as he spoke, the helicopter began to land. What happened? Where was he? What had happened to him? Why had he seen the city destroyed? Who was this guy? Armed men began to escort him to a van. But he had so many questions.

"Wait! There must be some mistake, I'm just a regular guy! What am I gonna be doing? Wait!"

The suited man called out one last thing, but the thump of the helicopter made it difficult to hear.

"By the way, you powers involve cellul..."

He said something about powers, but what did that mean? What powers? Where was he going? The man and the crew around him were in such a rush to get him out of there, they were speeding everything over him so that he was just lost. He was stuffed into a van and sat there. They told him he'd be patrolling a wall or something. What wall? Where? Then he saw Utopia.

Oh... that wall. Oh god, THAT wall?!

---------------------------------------------------------------


A van drove up to where the last one had dropped off the other survivors. The rear doors opened and Sam was given a pat on the back, a "good luck, kid", and practically thrown out of the van. The driver saluted the two officers and said,

"Got one more for ya, guys." The he drove away.

Sam almost chased the van as it drove away, he was so desperate to know what was happening. He instead settled for shouting and waving his arms at its shrinking image.

"Wait! Come back! I don't have powers! There must have been some kind of mistake!!!"

He saw the officers and the other survivors. An intimidating redhead with a leather jacket, a blonde lady, some dude with glasses, and a girl who seemed a little familiar. Sam sort of recognized her, he might have seen her on a poster or magazine somewhere. He doesn't remember where, but for some reason seeing something even remotely familiar felt comforting on a day where everything was being thrown at him so fast, he didn't have time to even realize what it was.

The two officers quickly explained to him he would be patrolling the wall. This wall. Utopia. He'd heard of it. He didn't know much about it except that whatever that wall was supposed to keep in was supposed to be really mean and ugly. He was offered a gun, but he didn't know how to handle one, so he didn't take one. He thought of his brother when he saw the guns. Tyler was in the marines. Tyler would have known what to do here. God, he wished his older brother was here.

He didn't say much. He just kind of went with whatever was happening with a shocked, confused expression. If he could furrow his eyebrows any harder, they'd probably get stuck that way. When it was mentioned that they'd be patrolling the walls, he didn't wanna do it alone. He went with the only person he had the faintest glimmer of recognition for. He moved himself over to Katsumi (Sam doesn't know her name yet though) and it wasn't until he was brought into contact with another human being that he realized how shitty he looked. He'd been wearing a plain yellow t-shirt which was now covered in dirt and even a little bit of blood. His jeans were torn off bellow the knee for some reason and above that, they had roughly the same pattern of grime as is shirt. Someone had replaced his shoes, probably the doctors. He wasn't sure how he lost his old shoes (or part of his pants) but his shoes were clean, white slip-on's, a clear contrast to his grimy clothes. His hair was matted and messy, but someone had cleaned his face, again, probably the doctors. Another odd little thing was that he didn't have a single scratch on him. Not even a telltale bruise here or there. Weird.

He didn't know what to do when he got to her, so he just went with the first thing that came to mind. He introduced himself only to realize how shaky his voice sounded.

"Uhh, H-Hey, I'm Sam. Uhh, I-I don't wanna walk around this wall alone, do you mind if I tag along?"

Today had been the worst day of his life. Why did he have the feeling it was about to get worse? Fuck man, he had just wanted to hang out with his pal Tony today, not do... this! It was gonna be a long day, if he even managed to see the day end, that is.

 

[Dusk]

Sarah Yamamoto - Mission 1B
​

Sarah placed her fingers to her temples momentarily. The terrorists were calling out for Oto, and while he seemed to be one of the few there that seemed to have a grasp on what his powers were, sending him alone out there was still out of the question, as Ariett pointed out. The tensions were running very high, and if they didn't come up with something quick, they very well could lose four, or more, lives, as Lieutenant Wethers stressed.

"That might work..." Sarah pondered Ariett's plan, "...but if they decide to open fire either way, we're done for." She mumbled, not quietly enough to conceal it from the group. They had no other options, however. "If they open fire, the golem could provide a split second of cover and distraction. They may not be so keen on holding onto heavy hostages if they want to get away from a rock monster."

Knowing there wasn't any other course of action, Sarah tried to ignore the pain of her ribs. It was a shame that the self-defense course at the lab wasn't going to held for another week. "I hope to God you're a decent sculptor, Oto. Oh, and, uh...I'm Sarah, by the way. Figured I should say that in case we all die horribly." She hastily and nervously introduced herself, not exactly boosting the morale of the group, but this pressure was a bit different than that of lab work. Chemical formulas rarely ever held hostages.

​

 

[Asuras]

Mission 1C - Trouble in Paradise
Katsumi Kaminaribi​

Several of the kids, followers undoubtedly, had shown some interest in leaving for a safer and more effective campaign, but in the end their elder friend won them out. The miscreants picked up their things and simply left for another region of the wall. Katsumi was inclined to follow and try to deter them once more, but adherence to duty had kept her where she was; it was made quite clear in the car ride over that their presence here was much more pressing.

Sighing, she crossed her arms in disappointment and walked over to the officers and eyed the guns from a 'safe distance'. She leaned over to get a look at them, and with little hesitation professed her distaste for them.

"I think I'd rather not use a firearm, if that's not too much trouble," she said, waving a hand aside. As much as the legends of Utopia's occupants worried her, she didn't think her being bare-fisted would make much of a difference. In any case, she'd been itching to figure out what it was specifically about her new powers that was electric. In the car, she'd been briefed briefly as to the nature of her new-found 'abilities', vague as they were. Something having to do with electricity, as it turned out. Being half-submerged in a water-filled rubber bed didn't seem so strange then.

"Uhh, H-Hey, I'm Sam. Uhh, I-I don't wanna walk around this wall alone, do you mind if I tag along?" a new face talked worriedly to her, earning an initially confused but soon understanding glance from Katsumi. She smiled at Sam as if to comfort him. There was no denying she was a bit scared all the same, hidden as it might have been. She extended a hand to him and introduced herself.

"Certainly, Sam. We've got to work with each other anyways, willing or not. Name's Katsumi, nice to meet you."

 

[Jorick]

Byron - Mission 1A: The Iron Gate​

Byron started muttering curses at the moron who bumped into him just a moment after it happened. He was trying to decide on a proper scathing remark to throw at the oaf when some woman came rushing by and past the barricade. She was over and sprinting away before Byron managed to steady himself and take a step away from the guy whose appearance and method of speech made him seem like a caricature of Mexican stereotypes.

He was already willing the leaves on his hands to grow by the time the cop yelled for someone to stop her, which was really quite unnecessary. Really, they were there to prevent Ironmen from getting past the barricade. What were they going to do, just let her go? Byron decided that the cop had to be one of those insufferable people who just love the sound of their own voice and take sadistic glee from ordering others around. Why else would he have bothered to yell as he had?

Someone, one of the other people who had survived the Blast Event, had already started running after the woman by the time Byron had his projectile leaves ready to fire. He looked toward the fleeing Ironman, or Ironwoman to be accurate, and realized he couldn't shoot: the risk of hitting the chaser was too high. Byron sighed, putting as much disdain and disgust into it as he could manage, then spoke his thoughts aloud. "He's chasing after her and block the line of sight of the men with ranged abilities who could actually stop her. Looks like we've got a damned genius on our team."

Since he couldn't shoot and he wouldn't run after her like an idiot, Byron looked around for something else to do. He spotted some orange light near where the woman had ran into the guy now chasing her, so he went over to take a look. As he got close he saw that they were vials of orange liquid. Odds were good that they were related to whatever the Ironmen were trying to do here, so Byron knelt down to grab one and examine it, hoping there might be a label of some kind or that he could figure out what the stuff was with a closer look.

 

[Iben]

Oto Novák
1B: A Bridge Too Far

---

"Now we're talking, any plan is better than no plan," Oto said smiling fiercely. Despite the predicament of the small group, the two women were willing to risk their lives to fight with him and Oto couldn't help but smile at the thought that he'd lucked into the exactly the right group of survivors.

Scratching the side of his head, Oto tried his best to remember what he had heard the officers muttering about his protective creation. "Proportions shouldn't be a problem, however the golem may not look very human. Still, that might convince our new friends on the bridge that it really is someone like us. It should hold up to some damage though, metal and cement don't care very much about the bite of a bullet or the cut of a knife."

Struck with the name they had given his creation, Oto paused for a moment as long forgotten memories of one of the oldest mythological stories of Prague returned to his mind and when he spoke again, it was with a new look of amusement on his face."As a side note and completely unrelated to our present circumstance, golem is brilliant, it's perfect even, and I think I will name my creation just that."

Wiping the grin off his face Oto then turned towards Lt Wethers and addressed her in far more neutral tone,"Yo, Officer, if shit hits the fan, make sure your boys in blue are ready to join the party. We'll need all the help we can get if things take a turn for the worse and I'm sure all of you can remember our faces, right? Also, if you don't mind, do you have happen to have a gun in my size, nothing to flashy and something I can tuck beneath my shirt? I'm all for respecting life, but I don't fancy playing house with these fucks, at least not unarmed."

Reflecting on Sarah's last words, Oto looked again at her and then Ariett, before channeling the last bit of both true and false courage he could muster, his face laced with equal parts rebellion and resolution,"Even if we have no future as Johnny Rotten sang, we can be heroes, at least for one day."

 

[Hellis]

The policemans actions made Pistelero cringe visibly. That wasn't justice, that was abuse of the state given power of a badge. Dad had told him about the bad times in Mexico City, with corrupted policemen who worked for the Cartels. His father hadn't been back since Hugos birth, didn't want to see what had become of home. So seeing such blatant abuse of power made pistelero straighten up and speak. "Mr Officer, please refrain from acting like that in my presence ever again. Or I will go to your superiors. That is not justice, its abuse of the badge." The young mans voice unwavering. It was around this time the other junkie collided with Druid.

Pisteleros reaction was instant as Druid toppled over. The young man spun on his heel and drew his guns in a fluid motioned.. He leveled one gun at the ironhead, letting one of the red bullets click in place. It glowed trough the crack that allowe the cylinder to spin. He breathed, letting the hammer pull back. He could feel the guns as if they were a part of him, he squeezed upon the trigger softly.

"Sorry Chica, I don't play nice with druggies." He aimed shot her, the bullet would not kill her, simply freeze her in terror for long enough that the cops could get her. He hoped atleast, he was still finding out the extent of their powers. The gun cracked and recoiled, but there was no smoke, no scent of gunpowder in the air. Instead, there was wisps of red energy rising from the end of the barrel. The red bullet flew straight for her.

 

[Tempest]

Trouble in Paradise
North West Quarter of the Exterior Utopian Wall
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________​

Her blow to the child had sent him sprawling, leaving Kyla flushed and feeling embarrassed as she withdraws. She rubs over the back of her head, looking apologetically at the kid until Katsumi begins in her tirade and continues to push the kid, looming over him like some menacing bitch. Kyla gnashes her teeth, about to snap at her before the kids begin to scatter. Her gaze follows the poor scrappy rascal that had been talked down to in the garbage, a sinking feeling in her gut.

The officers draw her attention and begin to pass out instructions, and she uncertainly moves back across the street, drawing out one of the rifles and slinging it awkwardly around her shoulder. She was hardly familiar with the weapon, but it might prove in handy for later. She rubs along her jaw, looking between the two officers, the two really did not seem to get on so well at all. Officer Shin would probably be the more prepared of the duo, but Garfield definitely seemed to be better suited to protecting the exterior, less likely to cause an accident.

The blonde, however, speaks up and garners her attention, speaking up about following the child. She blinks and nods quickly, "Yeah, I'm worried about the tyke too. I'll go with you." She shifts the gun slightly on her shoulder, uncomfortable with its weight, "And the name is Kyla, Blondie." She waves over to the officers, "Hey, Garfield! We're going after the kiddo. Why don't you come on with us? We'll swing back along to the wall and check it along the way."

 

[BrattyCommissar]

"I hope to God you're a decent sculptor, Oto. Oh, and, uh...I'm Sarah, by the way. Figured I should say that in case we all die horribly."

---

The Iron Gate
Western Edge of Ground Zero​

---

Andrew took off after the Hispanic Ironwoman like a bat out of hell, charging forth after her, while Pistelero shouted down at Prescott for what he did. Prescott glared at Pistelero, "Those rules apply to people, not to mon…" he stopped, taking a deep breath before rubbing his temple, "You don't understand, you've never had experience with these…" he struggled for the word as Druid picked up the vial, and Pistelero turned his attention to the fleeing girl. The girl that Andrew was nearly upon. Prescott moved to speak again, but there was shouting elsewhere in the area for him.

The orange vial in Druid's hands didn't have any label on it; it was likely that the people who were intended to have the vial would recognize what it was. Recognize it as some of the cops around him were quick to do, as one quickly managed to deftly snatch it from Druid's hands, and hand it over to another officer who took it over to the evidence table. "Irongate; the druggies have it on them while they're charging in here? Even one of these vials taken at once would likely cause one to turn immediately," the officer said as he bent down to pick up more of them, "Better hope you knocked all of hers out when you crashed."

Pistelero let loose his shot after the girl, but his aim was not perfect, and his timing off. The round flew forth and hit where the girl was, but was no longer. Andrew had tackled her to the ground beneath him, and raised his fists to lay into her, only to have the round hit and stun him instead. His body shook as the ghostly pain shot through him, scaring the girl beneath him. Frightening her to act in a very dangerous one.

Not all of her vials were lost, and in the tackle some had landed near her. Pushing herself up a bit beneath the emerald-fisted man, she drank the vials. All of them.

Elsewhere, near the interrogations, officers were restraining Anna. Holding her back and down as she blabbered on wanting Prescott. The Lieutenant stood before her, wondering what was going on, when he grabbed her by her mouth to try to steady her. He spoke, but not to her; to the other officers, "What's going on with her?"

"We think she's been possessed by the Ironmen! She did a thing, and then started freaking out, and," one of the junior officers stammered, and got quieter and quieter as the glaring eyes of Prescott melted their gaze into him.

"That's not how Irongate works, and I doubt her power is 'being possessed'," he said, before turning his eyes to Ana, and relaxing his grip on her, his voice softening, "It's okay, what do you need to tell--"

And then the screams began.​

The Hispanic Ironwoman's flesh seemed to be boiling off her, as bands of metal ripped out of her body, and in her thrashing she knocked aside the no longer stunned by Pistelero, Andrew. Her form grew, as the metal thickened around her, her Spanish speech, pleading for the pain to stop became garbled in her screams. The police officers near Druid moved to their guns, but were stunned in part. It was unlikely any of them had seen the transformation process of overdosing on Irongate in their years on the force.

In the end, she stood up, her body a writhing mass of metal, bands of it wrapping her form as she loomed taller, and taller, standing at near ten feet by the time she was finished growing. The metal was warped, curved, buckling under its own weight to a degree. Her head was deformed, her hair all gone, and no sign of her eyes or mouth. It was like a mummy bound in steel bandages, with hot, sour smelling steam venting between cracks in the metal and between the bands as if a breath.

Irongate is a hell of a drug.

---

A Bridge Too Far
Last Bridge Connecting Ground Zero to Rook Island​

---

"I'm not giving you a gun, they'll probably see me give you it, or see you have it. We'll cover you from here if things go south… when things go south," she corrected. Officer Wethers did not seem to have much faith in this working out. None of the officers there seemed to have any faith in it either, but there was little else they could do at this time. They had to go through with the plan. An exchange, so to speak.

"We don't have all day," came the same voice who made the original demands.

The plan pushed into action, Oto did his best to discretely bend the environment into a golem to walk with the three of them. It looked roughly humanoid, but drew even more disbelief from the police there, "Looks more Geas of Gaia than a survivor, but hopefully that's enough." The name would be lost upon the survivors, and there wasn't much time for them to get better acquainted with the mentioned group before they had to go. Their golem needed to be put to work before it could be perfected.

Walking forward, the trio plus one were met with jeers from the terrorists. Boos, and hisses, as the leader of them called out, "Oh, coming all at once? Perfect. I'm sure we can make some arrangements. I didn't know you had another one like that with you, seems an awful lot like… a lie." Not a good sign to be sure, "But, I could be wrong. Can he talk? Yo, blockhead, say a few syllables, prove you're a person before we do this exchange."

The guy's smile was knowing. The trio could tell that he already knew that the golem was just that, a golem, not a person. He was trying to get them to stew in their worry, or something, instead of acting on the information just yet. Or, perhaps, that was just paranoia. This was a very high intensity situation. If they were wrong about the gut feelings, and tried something daring, then they could risk the lives of not only themselves, but other people.

People who may or may not actually be hostages.

Over something that may or may not actually be a trick, within their trick to them.

The numerous guns pointed back and forth from both sides, surrounding the trio on the bridge was perhaps the most uncomfortable thing they could have gone through in their lives, and now they had to make another choice; would it be the right one?

---

Trouble in Paradise
North West Quarter of the Exterior Utopian Wall​

---

So it came to pass that the group split into two. Kyla and Charlotte going with Officer Garfield, and Katsumi, Matthew, and the new one amongst them, Samuel, going with Officer Shin. Garfield had his trepidations about going after the miscreant child, however, as he followed behind the two empowered women, "Now, I don't rightly think we should be a-goin after the kid. He's not going to be much of a trouble to anyone out here in these parts any more. Least not on the scale as if there were something wrong with Utopia over here."

As he spoke those words, Kyla and Charlotte would have spotted the young boy as he marched off and away. He was talking to himself about something or other, they couldn't quite overhear him at first. "Well, I reckon iffin he's right there, it wouldn't be too much of an issue to make sure he doesn't do something stupid," Garfield relented with a shake of his head, "Just don't be hittin the kid no more. He don't be deserving any of that."

Back along the wall, Officer Shin and the three that stayed with him were at work, investigating the wall for any sign of problems. Nothing in particular seemed to stick out for them, which was good. Because the alternative would be horrible. However, as their gaze upon the wall continued, their investigation prolonging itself, a feeling of uncertainty would creep into each of them with every passing moment.

Samuel would sometimes feel the various curving lines of the graffiti upon the wall would move, like snakes writhing upon themselves, but a simple blink would reveal that they were still stationary.

Matthew would hear a small voice, a whispering in his ear. No matter which way he faced, it was always coming from behind him. The words were nonsense, and at first felt almost comforting. A mother's lullaby perhaps, but any attention paid to them would send shivers down his spine until he looked away from the wall for a longer period of time.

Katsumi's skin goose pimpled a feeling of moisture coming from behind her ears, as if something was licking her, but any attempt to check would prove to her that it was all in her head and she was dry.

Officer Shin seemed to not be immune to the strange sensations that came from working near the wall for too long, his eyes darting back and forth rapidly as he scanned the wall. He didn't take breaks from looking, and his breath came in shorter and shallower.

And then he stopped, and pulled out his radio, "Cracks. I see cracks. No, no no no no no no no no no no no," he repeated it over and over, before bringing the radio to his mouth and shouting into it, "There are cracks, they're growing, North West Quarter! May God help us, Utopia awaits."

However, there did not seem to be any cracks, least as far as his three companions could tell. Strange sensations, eldritch feelings, yes, but cracks? Not a one.

Garfield's radio crackled to life, the rapid words of Officer Shin coming from it. He stared at the radio, before speaking into it. Short, clear, concise… for him at least, "Can y'all get confirmation on that? Don't be wanting no false alarms." He clicked it back off his voice and looked at the two with him, and then to the kid as he wanders further off, "If Shin's right, we can't be goin after him, now."[/hr][/hr][/hr][/hr][/hr][/hr]

 

[Zombehs]

Mission 1C - Trouble in Paradise
Matthew Yung​

Walking alongside the others, Matthew didn't try to make too much conversation. The crunch of gravel and the distant sounds from the city proved enough to keep his mind occupied. Combined with everything that had happened, piled on top a full day of work, and he almost didn't notice the innocuous voice that slipped in amongst the noise. He had simply nodded along with the soothing words of nonsense unwittingly, until he spared a glance at the others and realized that none of them were speaking. And with that, the sense of comfort was shattered as the voice turned almost sinister. Glancing around quickly caused the voice to slowly recede, until it was little more than whispers at the edge of his hearing. A moment's glance at the wall had it surge again in strength, uncontrolled shivers running down his back at the inhuman whispers from behind. Gritting his teeth as he turned away with a scowl, he felt something surge within him almost in response before fading away. "Okay then…" he muttered quietly under his breath as he raised his eyes to look back at the wall once more.

Of course that was when their accompanying officer seemed to snap from whatever the wall was doing to them, muttering uncontrollably as he brought the radio up to bear. Glancing at the wall confirmed that there wasn't anything on the verge of breaking out, and Matthew quickly chalked it up to something similar to the odd voice that had appeared for himself. The radio crackled back to life as the other officer's voice came on through, and Matthew bit his lower lip in slight relief. The only problem now was how the three of them would actually get a reply back, seeing as Shin didn't seem willing to let go and, in fact, his condition seemed to be getting worse the more he stared at the wall.

"Hey!" Raising his voice for the first time as he put his back to the wall to face the officer, he tried to get the other twos' attention, hoping they weren't suffering from similar effects. Letting the rifle hang by its sling, he shuffled sideways so that the wall was no longer behind him and he was to Shin's left. Hopefully the officer would follow his movement and break eye contact with the wall, and in doing so alleviate some of the symptoms. If not, it looked like the three might actually have to rush the man to prevent him from doing anything dangerous, either to them or for himself.

 

[Iben]

Oto Novák
1B: A Bridge Too Far

---

Can he talk? Yo, blockhead, say a few syllables, prove you're a person before we do this exchange."

"Viktor hasn't said much since the Blast Event," Oto said eyeing the chap with the big mouth coolly and patting the shoulder of his rubble based creation in a friendly manner.

"Of course, speaking tends to be a problem when your tongue turns to stone. Isn't that right Viktor?" He added, hoping to convince the hostage takers. Nod, nod now for God's sake, he silently willed the golem, which complied much to his relief, offering what seemed to be a distinctly human nod in reply. It wasn't as neat of a magic trick as speaking but Oto hoped that it would be enough to convince their new found friends that they were at least worth a closer look.

Closer, just a little bit closer, Oto thought, offering his most offensive smile in the direction of the tools they were supposed to stop.

 

[Dusk]

Sarah Yamamoto - Mission 1B
---​

Sarah mentally sighed in relief when Oto was able to make his Golem at least nod. It had to at least buy them another few inches. Precious inches that could win them this ultimate staring contest. She figured she had to at least contribute to the facade.

"He got the worst of it. Was closer to the center of the Event. Really messed with his head." Sarah calmly bluffed. She wasn't the world's greatest liar, but as long she kept it short and simple, she wouldn't have any trouble. "So...a rock tongue and a rock brain. You'll have to forgive him if he's rather...concise." She concluded, hoping her words were enough to occupy them and keep them from pulling their triggers.

If Ariett could seal the deal, with a few more seconds of chatter, they might be able to make it. Keep it cool, Sarah. Keep it cool. Not a bit more stressful than Science Fair of Senior year. God, the fires...yeah. We can do this. The young woman thought, confidence increasing the closer they got.

 

[Asuras]

Mission 1C - Trouble in Paradise
Katsumi Kaminaribi​

Much of Katsumi's time was spent kicking the various loose rocks along the road, her eyes searching for larger pebbles as she veered side to side to meet them with her foot. Though the job entailed paying attention to the wall, she knew little of its nature beyond the weird rumors she never really dwelled on. Three other eyes were sufficient, right? Either way, she found herself occasionally glancing at the wall of Utopia, moreso to try her best to decipher the senseless words scrawled as graffiti along its surface.

Passively, she fond herself rubbing behind her right ear rather often, though it took a particularly long bout of rubbing to finally realize she was feeling something moist there. Looking over her fingers and rubbing them together, she tried to make sense of the sensation. There was no blood, and no trace of sweat, as much as it felt like she was perspiring. A quick sniff of her finger too showed that there was nothing to be made from it. Perhaps it was some sort of breeze? Rubbing her arms, she tried to alleviate the shivers that had cause her skin to tingle and for a moment was convinced it was indeed a subtle wind.

Officer Shin's worrying ramble however served to dismiss such a mundane explanation, and her body felt even more cold. Whatever it was he saw, it didn't sound particularly normal. Her eyes surveyed past the graffiti, analyzing the walls for some sort of cracks. Besides the occasional divot or rough patch, she could make out little else than a dirtied wall. Still, Officer Shin seemed quite convinced of what he was seeing, and Katsumi didn't take it lightly. Though she backed a step away from the wall, she maintained eye contact on the officer and called out to him.

"Officer Shin, you okay? Where are the cracks?" she said. Perhaps she was merely missing something. Turning to the other two, she asked the same of them. "I'm not seeing anything. You guys... see it?"

 

[Holmishire]

Ariett Deveca
1B: A Bridge Too Far

---

As they approached the gunmen, ever aware of the clear line of fire, Ariett edged herself a little ahead of Sarah, nudging her towards Oto's creation for protection. They couldn't all hide behind the golem without looking like frightened children, but she hoped to shield those she could from harm. Cynical as she might be, she was still a stickler for heroics.

After all, if there truly were no hostages, she'd be effectively leading two innocents to their deaths.

Heroes for a day? We'll be lucky to last five minutes.

Sweat trickling down her forehead—but keeping a stern, fixed gaze on the terrorists—she raised her voice. "Why the hell do you even care? I was under the impression your plan was to kill th'four of us as is." With a lazy gesture of her hand, denoting whatever was behind the trucks, she continued. "So bring out your hostages and let's just get this over with."

 

[Drifter]

-Mission 1C-
​

Nothing that Officer Shin had said over the radio had made any sense to her and the grave expression on Officer Garfield's face confirmed her suspicion that she was better off not knowing. This sounded too much like a horror film for her liking and she detested scary movies, and not simply because the blondes were usually among the first to die. She took a moment to look at the facts. On one hand, the other half of their group could be in real danger and it would be heartless to let them handle it on their own. On the other hand, she had zero experience with guns or high-pressure dangerous situations, so what would she do besides get in the way? She hadn't even armed herself when she had the chance for good reason. Glancing after the little kid, she made up her mind.

"If Shin is right, then I for one have no intention of sticking my neck out just to have it chopped. Officer Garfield, we may have powers, but really, we're useless," she raised her hands, palms out, not even sure if her gesture meant to symbolize peace or self defense before adding, "We might be able to rescue the kid in case something bad is really happening, but that's as altruistic as I get."

Loosing a soft sigh, she turned her back on the officer and looked at Kyla. It'd be best if they both dramatically turned and walked away, but she couldn't account for the other woman. To her, it was just common sense, but maybe Kyla was the more heroic type.

"I'm getting out of here before I lose sight of the brat."

 

[Kazama]

Mission 1C​

Sam didn't know much about Utopia. He'd heard the stuff everyone had heard as well as the usual rumors and stories you get; most of which may or may not be true. Stories of laser shooting metahumans being held prisoner, giant monsters the size of skyscrapers being kept underground, and even aliens living within the walls. The best way Sam could describe it was as a second Area 51 with a healthy dose of superpowers thrown in. The wall itself was monstrous on its own. Despite being covered in graffiti, the wall was an imposing, towering concrete titan. Looking up at the wall sent a small shiver into Sam, and he shrugged his shoulders to get rid of it. to be honest, he felt better now that he knew someone by name. Katsumi... she still seemed kinda familiar, but he still didn't remember who she was. He sort of remembered she was famous or something. He made sure to stick close to the person he had the most knowledge of, which wasn't much to begin with. He thought about making conversation with them, but he didn't know what to talk about.

Instead, he looked at the graffiti down at ground level. Red, green, blue, every color was here and scribbled. It was difficult to read, but he tried to make words out of it anyway. He saw an 'S' and then a 'T' and then a slithering green s- wait, what? He blinked and shook his head. He could've sworn he saw that 'O' crawl away from its neighbors. He focused on it and it was back to being a regular letter 'O'. His brow furrowed a little more (if that was even possible) and his eyes darted around without looking at anything as he tried to think. He looked back at the graffiti and it looked about the same as it probably did when it was painted, so he just shook it off as a trick of the light. He studied another scribble since there wasn't much else to do.

F-R-I- It moved again?!

This time Sam slowed down a little. He definitely saw something this time. However, as soon as he focused on it, it was gone. What was happening? Sam threw in 'frightened' to his climbing mountain of bad feelings. He tried to make sense of it... He was tired. That must be it.

Yeah, that's it. I'm tired. I'm tired and confused and kinda hungry, so I'm seeing things. It's been a long day and I've been through a lot so I can't even think right. This is normal. You hear about it all the time in those survival story TV shows, right? People get tired and hungry and they start to imagine stuff. That's what's happening.

Having an explanation made Sam feel a bit calmer. He thought about telling the group he was tired, maybe they'd stop for a break. Maybe they'll realize he isn't supposed to be here since he doesn't have super powers and they'll send him home or something. It was a bit too hopeful, but one can always hope. He had just made the conscious decision to say something when Officer Shin spoke up about the wall. He was saying something about cracks on the wall, and Sam panicked a bit a looked at the wall... but it was fine. The graffiti still seemed kind of wavy for some reason, but the looked intact. Officer Shine continued to insist though, so something was definitely wrong. Well, so much for having calmed down a bit.

The guy with the glasses whose name he still didn't know called out to him and sort of moved around and when Katsumi asked, he looked at the wall again.

"Uhh, I don't know, it looks okay to me. I just see tagging on it, but the wall's fine."

The police officer didn't seem to feel better so he just sort of said it again. Hey, maybe it'll help.

"Officer, the wall's fine. It's not cracking or anything."​

 

[Hellis]

Hugo knew when he messed up. It usually involved people screaming at him. His mother screamed at him when he broke his bike when he was 5. His father yelled at him when he played with a gun at 12. His father yelled at him when he played with a gun when he was 18 for that matter to. People liked yelling at him, becouse he kept messing up. Part of him was sure he just saved a teen girl from police violence. 10 points to team Hugo and his awesome guns. But on the other hand, said girl was now a hulkin monster made of steel. That had to count for atleast a thusand negative points. If this had been a game, his highscore would have sucked right about now. Yep, it would have sucked big time.

As this was real life however, it wasn't his hightscore that suffered right now, it was his life. He was the worlds worst superhero, and it was only his first day at work, give it some time and he'd die faster then a Teen Titan, he was sure. And Hugo being Hugo, did a Hugo thing. He covered up his complete failure by mimicking his heroes.

Or tried to atleast as he went: "Aw..." He stared up at the massive, hulking giant. "And I thought you were so pretty before. Now look at you, all roided up. " He spun the guns in a show fashion, spun the the cylinder untill it clicked on the white, far more lethal bullets and aimed at the thing. "Let's dance."

"Bang." He fired as he moved sideways, looking for anything that could help them, anything at all.

 

[LVL1337N00B]

Andrew Tolliver - Mission 1A: The Iron Gate, #8AFB17

Andrew now looked up at the rapidly changing woman, eyes wide with surprise and a reasonable measure of fear. The brunet shuddered as her flesh boiled, unsure if the sensation he felt was an after-effect of whatever she'd done to paralyze him or if it was just the disturbing transformation taking place in front of him. It took him a few minutes of staring before he scrambled to his feet and put a small amount of distance between himself and the newly formed abomination.

Andy glanced backward when he heard someone speak, raising his brows and hurrying to move out of the way when the darker skinned guy aimed his weapon. The odd projectile fired from the pistol held his attention until it whizzed past him, at which point he'd give the area a quick look over. Maybe he wasn't looking hard enough, but it didn't appear as though too many people were concerning themselves with the hulking monstrosity standing a few feet away from him. Maybe he wasn't looking hard enough or they were busy with equally pressing matters, he thought, or hoped rather. These guys wouldn't abandon one or two unfortunates to get themselves killed by some out of control junkie, would they?

In any case, standing around and wondering wasn't going to help, this situation called for action. He looked back to the metal woman, took a slow breath and shook his head. Without any real sort of attack plan, he charged forward, reclosing the gap he'd put between himself and the Ironwoman. As he swung his crystalline fist at her midsection, a thought passed through Andrew's mind: "This is a stupid idea. I am probably going to die." He wouldn't have to live with grief for long at least, if that were true. It was a small comfort, enough though to allow himself to go through with his assault unrestrained and without any level of caution.

 

[Valhalla]

[BCOLOR=#999999]Annalicia Rodriguez - Mission 1A: The Iron Gate[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=#999999]Western Edge of Ground Zero[/BCOLOR]​

Growing impatient, Anna glared hard at the Officers that surrounded her, a scowl slowly stretching across her face as they continued to stare at her in silence, "D-didn't you hear me?" Despite her stuttering, Anna knew she couldn't have been any clearer. If she wasn't so shaky she'd get Prescott herself, but with little knowledge of his whereabouts Anna had to rely on the Officers. Besides, she was positive she couldn't just get up and wonder around in such a place, anyway.

Tense silence followed her words leading her to grow more agitated. With every intention to tell them off, her brows furrowed in confusion as she watched their hands raise defensively. "Ma'am.. just--just try to stay calm." The medic said, her tone wavering just above a whisper as she began to back away.

Glancing back and forth between the Officers, and the medic she came to notice the wild, terrified looks in their eyes as they slowly surrounded her. Growing uneasy as they inched closer, the hairs on the back of her neck stood as her anger quickly turned to fear. "Hey, w-wai--!!"

The stool beneath her screeched and fell as she was suddenly shoved to the ground and restrained. Giving a small cry once her back hit the ground Anna struggled in their grip, pulling her wrists and kicking her legs desperately. Unsure of what she did wrong, and fearful of what they were intending to do, she began to fight back. "Get off!" Ripping her leg out of the hands of a single officer, Anna reared her leg back before thrusting the heel of her shoe into the mans gut. Sending him back with a grunt her actions were met with a hand painfully shoving her cheek into the dirt. "Ah!"

Head throbbing, and heart racing, she began to panic as they forced her onto her chest and attempted to cuff her. Seeing no other option or means of escape, she tried to activate her powers, wanting to phase through their hands or into the ground. However, still shaken and unable to hold her breath, Anna lacked the concentration and power to phase through the officers and instead was assaulted by brief flashes of their memories. The first experience with her powers had been incredible, but ultimately overwhelming. With little time to recover from the interrogation earlier her body jerked and convulsed painfully in response to each surge of unwanted information.

Struggling under their grip for a little longer, Anna panted in exhaustion as she eventually grew still and laid her head against the dirt. Body exhausted, and mind fried, she laid limply as she felt the cold steel of handcuffs wrap around her wrist and lock into place. Grinding her teeth, she struggled to differentiate her anger and anxiety, she glared at the Officers holding her down. This wasn't right, she wasn't the enemy. She hadn't done anything to deserve this, and yet, now she was being treated like a prisoner?

Through all the commotion she barely noticed the Lieutenant until he kneeled before her. "What's going on with her?"As he held her jaw, Anna attempted to pull away, desperately trying to spit out her words as he talked to the other Officers. "We think she's been possessed by the Ironmen! She did a thing, and then started freaking out, and," Watching the other man crumble under the Lieutenants gaze, the red head threw her own glare at the group.

Did they seriously think she was possessed? Not only was this the first time she had ever used her powers purposely, this was the first time her body had ever gone through an experience like that. It wasn't her fault she couldn't control herself. "That's not how Irongate works, and I doubt her power is 'being possessed'," As the older mans attention refocused on her, Anna felt his grip loosen on her jaw. "It's okay, what do you need to tell--"

Before she could speak horrible screams filled the air bringing Anna to a halt, and freezing the others around her. She didn't have to guess what was going on, but with her anxiety riding high and the giants silhouette and name still drilled into her brain, only one thing mattered to her right now. She needed to tell the Lieutenant what she saw.

"Prescott! I saw something a-aand I got a n-name! Baltor!"​

 

[Tempest]

Trouble in Paradise
North West Quarter of the Exterior Utopian Wall
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________​

Kyla's eyes widen at the chatter over the radio and shudders. Having grown up in Kualakilla her whole life, she knew full well the stories of Utopia. Her hands clench nervously, a reflex by now with her years fighting, as she glances back at the walls of Utopia and attempts to swallow down the raw fear that was welling up inside her. The thought of running back to that place willingly just sets her entire body quivering. Thankfully, though, Blondie was fast to speak up.

Kyla visibly relaxes, not having to be the first to voice their disdain for charging back the way they came from like valiant heroes. All she could do, as far as she was aware, was jump about really fast! Like that was going to stop the wall from falling, "Yeah, sorry, Officer, but I'm with Blondie on this one. I'm not good with a gun, I'd probably shoot myself, or worse, whoever we're helping, on accident. And you've seen what I can do. And really, I don't think I can stop the wall from falling by just punching it." She gives an apologetic smile and shrugs as she goes in pursuit of Blondie and the kid, jogging quickly to catch up.

 

[Jorick]

Byron - Mission 1A: The Iron Gate​

Byron grumbled at the cop that had the temerity to pull the vial out of his hand. The oaf should have asked for it, even if it was a dangerous substance. Actually, especially because it was a dangerous substance. What if the idiot had fumbled it open in his haste and got it on Byron's skin? Some people need to be shown their place, and the cop seemed to be in dire need of it. Byron drew in a sharp breath to speak his mind...

And then the screams began.

He watched along with most of the others in the area, horrified at the woman's transformation. The woman turned into a metallic monster in the space of a few seconds, all because of whatever the hell was in those vials. While others started fighting the thing, Byron surreptitiously wiped his suddenly sweaty hands on his pants, glad he hadn't come afoul of the liquid himself. He supposed the police officer could do without having his head ripped off verbally now, considering the imminent risk of it happening physically in the near future.

Without needing to give it too much thought, Byron lifted his fists up in front of him, arms fully extended. The leaves on his hands were still nice and green from moments before when he'd made them with the intent to shoot down the fleeing woman, and he cursed himself now for not going through with it, plus some more vitriolic curses for the lumbering idiot now trying to punch the beast for getting in the way of his shot. Luckily it seemed that wouldn't be a problem now, since the metal monster towered over everyone in the area. Byron aimed his fists as carefully as possible, toward the head and upper torso of the creature, and fired off the first leaf. Then another a moment later. And another. And another. He would have fired more projectiles, but four was all he could make at one time. Only after they were all off did he remember the stern warning about not using lethal force without authorization, but he quickly discarded it. There was no way in hell Byron would go for anything less than a killing blow on something that could tear him in half without any apparent effort, so he'd just hope he got the job done and deal with any consequences later.