| The Brave and the Teamed Up 2 | |||||
| |||||
| What: Chaos in the electronics store! There's a monster on the loose and it is really ruining everyone's shopping experience! Someone should stop it before it wrecks the place. Or worse, escapes into the city! | |||||
{{{logtext}}}
There were alarms going off at a certain Best Buy in Lower Metropolis. Mysteriously, they cut out. A few calls to 9-1-1 were placed but phones mysteriously cut out too. Thankfully screaming and running people are always a good sign of trouble. Anyone arriving at the store will find lights flickering and what appears to be a seven foot tall robot made of TVs and Computers trudging through the store and leaving darkness and shut down devices in it's wake. That's probably not a good thing.
Well, Rain was going to pick up something for a friend at Best Buy. She was going to land, figuring her broomstick would enable her to bypass most of the traffic. Traffic seems to be a forgotten concern, as she lifts her goggles. People are running? She lands and heads into the store, scooting past the screaming people. Only to find the worst thing since bluescreen errors and hard drive wipes. TECHNOBEAST. Except it's zotzot not oontz oontz. "Oh geez." She's going to get out of the way of the people who are fleeing, but -
"I know, I know," Balor is saying to his "bodyguard", as he walks down the street nearby. As it happens, he was headed to that very electronics store for one of his many pre-orders. "The last stop, an' then we head home, sure. I remember from the las' eighteen times y'said..." He pauses, then, noting the screams...and then, as he gets a little closer, all the running people. Any ordinary situation, he'd be inclined to just keep walking. But this? That store has his pre-order, dangit. That store has a /lot/ of his pre-orders. "Stay...here," he says, glaring over at the suited man who has followed him thus far. "I'm takin' care o'this right the **** now." He takes off running, making his way easily through the crowds (largely due to a complete willingness to body-check screaming people out of the way) and into the store. Where he sees...a TVborg? That actually gives even /him/ pause, as his one eye stares rather openly at the monster.
That only lasts so long, though. "Hey!" he shouts, pointing a finger at the bot. "You're standin' between me an' my game. Now fall apart before I ****in' /break/ you apart!"
People don't seem to be too concerned with people squirming or body checking past them. They're doing the same. Giant technobeasts tend to inspire that in people. Thankfully there aren't a lot of people left in the store though. Just some people cowering behind shelves and counters.
The massive mechanical construct seems content to ignore all the people. It just keeps reaching out and touching hands made of laptops and keyboards to devices and leaving them drained. Balor's demand makes it turn though. All the screens on the beast light up bright blue save for one in the center staying black. Red joins in forming an 8-bit face and a staticy laugh isses forth. Apparently the creature isn't impressed. It sends a TV flying at Balor before getting right back to what it was doing.
Okay. And here's this - Balor chap. He seems slightly familiar to Rain. She blinks, and seems amused. He's got guts. That's for sure. But then, Rain's spine left her behind for mai thais ages ago. Or something. This draining power thing? Really can't be allowed to continue. Even if it's a wayward spirit or poltergeist. "Um. Have at you?" She's not allowed to do battle cries anymore. She has to be mindful that she's indoors, and that there's someone likely to wade into the fight, which makes this a little difficult to combat elementally. Let alone pulling out a freaking gun. Think Rain, think. But then it hits her. Maybe she'll just push it over. Wind! For now then, Rain hunkers down to cast a bit of a breeze at the beast's 'legs'. Who uses xboxes for legs, anyway?
"Oh, come on!" Balor says, as he catches the TV one-handed, spins around, and hurls it right back at the creature at high velocity. "8-bit? ****, I was 'xpectin' somebody with the brains t'make some crazy TV robot t'have a bigger budget for graphics. Y'tryin' to be all indie an ****?" He runs towards the electronics golem, either not having noticed Rain yet or just not much caring about anyone else's presence.
Xboxes are big and bulky enough to make good legs. Legs that don't really show much effect from the breeze beyond hanging wires starting to flap in it. It's the TV that catches the beast's attention, making it stumble forward a step. Rumbling in annoyance, it turns to face Balor as he runs at it and swipes at him with one big arm.
... Okay, so pushing it over isn't going to work. She was trying something gentler, but it is apparent this beast is - well, y'know. "Well, to be fair, indie does seem to be in. I - oh, hi!" Wait, this guy seems familiar. Rain remembers - does she? Either way, she's going to have to be careful with Balor charging it. For now then, she draws her relic pistols (oh boy), and quietly apologizes. She really wishes she were a bit beefier now or had her sister's 'turn into a giant god-bear' spell. But if wishes were fishes, she could beat the thing down with tuna power. For now, instead, then, she tries a brief magic blast at one of it's legs, mindful not to hit Balor. And she's even polite enough to use a magic blast over regular bullets.
Balor blinks, looking over at Rain for a moment as he slides under the arm blow. "Oh--thought I caught a glimpse o'someone," he says. He springs up onto one of the nearby shelves, kicks off of it, and aims a double-handed downward blow for the "shoulder" of the "arm" that just swung at him. "Y'were at that brawl where that Ghost guy got his head caved in, sure. Whatcha doin' here?"
The blast takes the leg clean off the beast. TIMBER! As it falls, it's that much easier for Balor to slide under the blow. The shelf that gets kicked off of falls over even as the blow sends electronics clattering to the floor along with sparks and shards of plastic and metal. The beast lets out a roar as it hits the ground. The golem's screens go blank and whatever force is holding the creature together gives out. Electronics fall to the floor and for a moment there's peace.
And that moment doesn't last long.
Electricity crackles and rises out of the pile and takes on a headless humanoid shape. In the center is an oversized black computer card with blocky red lines forming a face on it. The creature lets out a roar and starts stomping towards Rain.
It's OVERLOAD
Rain blinks back. "Yeah, sorry," She offers. "I was going to buy a gift for a friend and maybe see what games there were but ..." So much for that. "You?" She winces, as the best roars and falls. She holds her breath, violet eyes narrowed. Okay. There's peace. That's good. She phews softly. But then, oh geez. This looks like something a bit meaner and bigger than she's used to. Okay, well. She has his attention. That's - Balor doesn't have shockproof pants, does he? She is going to have to be brave. Right. "Er. Man. Where's a surge protector when I need one." She frowns. How to fight electricity... All Rain can think of is wood and water, and the second might make this whole thing worse. She pulls a broom out of nowhere and will take a swing at it. Batter up. Hopefully.
"Really? Didn' figure you for the type t'come around here. Y'got that whole 'ancient ways' feel, so. Me, I came down t' pick up..." And then the electrical creature rises up, and Balor stops, blinking...and then just looks insulted. "/Her/? You're goin' after /her/?" He grabs one of the fallen computers, takes aim, and /flings/ it at the electric creature, aiming for the computer card. "Y'don't turn your back on a warrior, y'****in' dumb****!"
Overload catches the broom mid swing, laughing at Rain. He's being careful not to spark around it though. Thankfully for Rain, the TV slams into Overload before he can counter attack. While the card is protected, the creature knocks over another shelf as it falls. Growling, the beast sends a bolt of lightning flying Balor's way.
Well, she's not going to quit her day job then. Because apparently broom smacking really only works on more humanoid villains. At least the broom kept her from getting jolted. "Yeah, that's mom's training. I have an engineering degree. I used to play video games more before - all of this- And um, maybe you're more intimidating? Pick off the easy ones first...? That's what I always did in those games," She notes. Then again, turning one's back on Balor seems like a spectacularly bad idea. Rain moves back, offering a "Thank you." to Balor. Credit where's due, after all. The only other thing Rain can really think of is hitting it with water and hoping he overloads. Fire seems like a marvelously inappropriate and terrible idea. She stays still, taking a moment to cast her spell. It takes her a little longer than most casters, but she'll try a little blast of water, experimental really. Somehow using the fire sprinklers strikes her as a bad idea, but just - hmmm.
"Don't go defendin' him, lass," Balor grumbles, taking a couple steps towards the fallen creature...before a bolt of lightning lances out at him. Balor moves fast, clearly well-trained...but it isn't /quite/ fast enough, and he gets tagged along the side by the bolt, grunting in pain as he falls sideways into a shelf. A bit shaky, and twitching a little, he pushes himself to his feet again. He glances down at the portable game system sticking out of his pocket, growls, and looks at Overload. He picks up the shelf and whatever electronics are on it that don't just tumble off, and flings that whole thing with a mighty heave at his electrical foe. "Y'better hope that didn't wipe my ****in' saves!"
The saves are probably safe but the battery will be empty. Overload does that kind of thing. Overload gets back to it's feet in time to catch the shelf thrown his way. The floor is scorched as the force of the catch pushes Overload back a step but he hurls the shelf right back at Balor. The experiment pays off for Rain though. That blast of water cuts a chunk right out of Overload's electical form, bringing a pained yell from the monster. Attention turns to Rain now and Overload flings a bolt of lightning her way while backing away from her.
"Sorry," Rain replies to Balor. She seems relieved as the water seems to hurt Overload instead of sending sparks every which way and turning the place into a giant taser playland. The relief vanishes as quickly as a horde of six year olds descends on cake. Uh oh. Unfortunately, Rain is trained - but she's trained in magic and general street dodgy fighting (IE: Duck! Run away!) more than straight up fighting. Too bad the Street Dodgy Fighting never made it to any major console. She dodges- sort of. Ish. She manages to avoid being totally nailed, but there's still a glancing blow against her shoulder and enough force to make her remember why one never sticks a fork into the wall sockets. Her world is white for a moment. She's too stunned to even yelp, really.
Dead battery? Yeah, Balor's going to be grumpy all night while he's supposed to be 'on patrol'. "Graaaah!" he yells, and swings a fist at the shelf headed his way, shattering it into several nice little pieces. "**** it, lass, y'hafta pay attention!" he shouts, as though he hadn't just gotten blasted by a lightning bolt himself. "You mortals die pretty easily, y'know." He scoops up two of the pieces of wood from the shelf, and lunges in, swinging them like big clubs to try to knock the thing away from Rain. "Pull yerself together an' make with the waterworks!"
Overload is knocked back by the blows but only a few steps. He makes a frustrated noise and reaches out to grab and throw Balor across the store. Thankfully contact with Overload doesn't result in a shock. Once Balor is out of the way, Overload starts lumbering towards the exit. Apparently 'waterworks' has him scared.
Phew. Rain reels a moment, reminded of how completely /squishy/ she is. "Yeah, I know. Trust me," She remarks. She really should invest in a giant witch robot or something. "Thanks," She replies, standing up. She gathers herself, to take another potshot at Overload with the water. But - it might be tougher now that he's running away. "I'm not sure-" She'll try the potshot, as it's likely better to have him safely contained somewhere in lieu of zorching electronics (Heaven forbid if he hit a hospital or power grid). Water to the knees! Hopefully...
Balor grunts as he's grabbed, and swings his chunks of wood in a couple final blows aimed towards the card, just before he's thrown away. Somewhere in the distance, there's the sound of a kid crashing through multiple shelves of expensive electronics. "I'm gettin' /real/ tired of you!" an angry shout comes from across the store--followed, more quietly, by, "Oh, hey, I didn't know /this/ was out..." A moment later, Balor jumps into view again, a new game held in one hand. Waterworks...waterworks... "Ah!" He spots what he's looking for--the sodas being sold near the front of the store. Running quickly over, he snags a couple cans, and charges towards Overload, shaking them rapidly, before he jumps in as close as he can get, points the cans, and flips open the tabs to get the soda spraying.
The water finds it's mark even if it's debatable that Overload has knees at all. It's hard to tell with his whole electric blue blobbiness. Either way, knees and legs are washed away entirely by Rain's watery attack and Overload crashes to the floor. It's right in time for a sticky soda spray. Overload lets out another staticy electric cry, this one distorting and dying down. By the time the soda's empty, all that's left of Overload is that black card. The once glowing red lines are now a duller red. It seems like the monster's out cold.
What's out? Rain's pretty nerdy and - she seems amused as Balor returns with a game in hand. Okay, a soda barrage -is- pretty creative, even if Rain's late night habits protest over the loss of precious, precious sugar and caffeine. She pauses. "Well done," She nods. "Ehm. I feel a bit bad shooting someone in the back, but I suspect this is for the better," Rain considers. "I suspect the police will be here soon to collect him and put him in the prison where they keep folks like this." She looks over the unconscious monster, leery of him popping back up. "Guess I should scoot before the police get here, though." Fidget.
"Don't feel bad about your tactics, lass," Balor says, giving a hmph at the fallen villain. He drops the empty soda cans. "Win the battle first. Then you can claim it happened however y'want." He grins at her. "Honor an' all that'll get you killed. If you're the only one around t'tell the story, y'can claim you were as saintly as y'will." He chuckles, and hops up on one of the counters, taking a seat. "Still runnin' from the cops, are ya? Not that I like talkin' with 'em either. Don' worry, though. I'll stick around an' make sure this loser goes where he belongs. Won't even crush him while I can." That probably has more to do with the suited man who's standing just outside looking in through the front doors than any actual moral code, though. "You're pretty handy in a fight, healer."
Someone away from the draining that killed phones earlier must have called the cops since sirens can already be heard. Overload isn't getting back up but there's an occasional pop or spark from the card as it lays in the puddle of soda and water. The day has been won for our video-game seeking heroes.
Outside there's a small crowd of people gathered across the street that have been trying to watch the action. Among them in the back is a young man with red hair wearing a trechcoat. He frowns at the store and kicks at the ground. "Well dang. There goes my night..." he trails off, stuff hands in his pockets and starting to walk away...
Rain looks over the fallen villain. She looks amused and smiles at his grin. "Fair enough. I think I'd feel bad if I did something like kicking someone while they were down," Rain admits. She looks over as he takes a seat. "It's a work in progress. I should have a legal address soon, so then I'll be fine," She shrugs. "I just don't know that I want to become registered once I do have an address." She seems more shy and retiring than villainous. "Thanks. I appreciate it. And uh, I'm sure he'd appreciate it, too," She considers. At his last sentence, she smiles. "Thanks. You can call me Rain if you'd like. You were really good at - fighting." Flinging electronics, defenestration, combat carbonation...
Balor laughs. "'course I'm good at fightin'...Rain. I'm Balor of the Evil Eye, after all, slayer of countless hordes. One outdated, glitchy ****in' meddler in Thor's domain ain't gonna make me break a sweat, so." He smirks. "Gonna hafta try the soda trick on him sometime. Somethin' tells me it won' work so well, but it'll be funny sprayin' it in his face anyway." A pause, as he thinks. "Hm...you're a healer, sure. Y'got any way o'gettin' in touch with you yet? My line o'work it's probably good t'know a few like you."
Rain smiles faintly. "I see. That makes sense," She considers. "I suspect that would mostly end with a sticky Thor," She considers. "I am. Mostly. It's my best magic, let's put it that way. Though, frankly, going too fast on a broom seems suicidal, so I think I'm okay with this," Rain admits. "And yeah, I have a disposable phone. Or if you have magic. But I can give you my number." She remarks. She doesn't seem to mind. "I don't mind mending people, really," She waves a hand. "Balor of the Evil Eye. I'll make sure to remember that."
Balor scowls briefly at the mention of him having magic, but that passes fast enough. "I don't have magic...but I've got a phone." He pulls out the phone, and presses the button to bring it out of sleep. "'kay, give me y...huh?" Unfortunately, that earlier blast sucked the life out of his phone. He grumbles, glares at the fallen villain as though seriously reconsidering that whole 'won't crush him' promise, and snags a paper and pen from the nearby register. "Fine, fine...I'll do it the **** ****in' old way." He hops off the counter, and walks over. "Rattle 'em off, lass. Oh, an' here." He produces a business card from his pocket, offering it to her. It actually looks professionally designed, though it's rather obvious the kid probably had some input (read: wouldn't take no for an answer) on the design, judging from the creepy, unnatural-looking eye it uses for a logo, and the "blood-spatter" pattern across the card. Still, it /does/ have contact information for 'Breandan Lalor' (someone else's 'wouldn't take no for an answer', one would guess) and 'Aiden Lalor'.
Rain is quiet. She doesn't assume, it seems. "... did he get your phone?" Rain looks apologetic. She carefully accepts the business card and looks over it. "Thanks." She rattles off her phone number, slowly and digit by digit so he can write it. Mercifully, she has one of those vague, beloved by radio host midwestern accents that's generic and understandable. Funny how that works. Breandan Lalor and Aiden Lalor. Okay. She looks to him. "So - if I get in touch, this is for your phone? I'd feel like a right ass if I asked for the wrong person."
"Got the **** thing good, looks like. Well, if I hafta I'll buy another while I'm here." Balor shrugs, though he still looks rather irritable about the whole thing. He scribbles down her number, tucking it in a pocket, and tosses the pen back on the counter. For his part, he's got a strong accent that seems Irish. "It's for my phone. Aiden might pick up too--if he does, he's fine t'talk to. Anybody else, you'll wanna ask for me or Aiden. Ask for Balor, not Breandan, though." He gives an evil smirk. "It'll **** 'em off a bit for me."
"Sounds good," Pause. Rain just rubs the back of her head. "Er, well- okay." She seems less keen on riling up people, but one might argue that Rain's spine left for mai thais ages ago. She doesn't seem to mind the accent in the slightest. "I am glad I ran into you again. I'll probably be on my way now so I don't have to explain myself. But I'll have an address soon, I think. I started working for someone," She offers. "Be well and stay safe, alright?
Balor grins. "I'll be well, but the stayin' safe part I'll leave t'somebody else. Life's more fun when there's danger in it, sure." He walks back over to the counter, hopping up on it again, and beckons to the suited man outside, who steps in and walks silently over to stand by his side. "Y'take care o'yourself too, Rain. Get movin' on before the cops get their ***es out here. Don't worry--my man here will answer /all/ their questions." The suited man looks surprised at that, and starts to protest, but Balor just grins at him. "I'm sure you'll do fine." He hops down off the counter, and starts to walk back into the store. "Hold down the fort, lad. I'm goin' browsin'."
An amused look. "Fair enough. I suspect that's more true when fewer things are capable of making you into red paste," Rain considers. Life as a squishy is definitely dicier. She waves to Balor. "I will do my best. And sure thing. Thanks, both of you. Good luck with your browsing." Hey, they did kinda mostly get smashed and summer's a slower season for games in North America. It's polite, really. Rain just lets her smile linger and will meander along.