Topic: Disturbing Developments

Issy

Date: 2012-03-14 20:34 EST
(Many huge thanks to the players of Renna/Manticore, Hex, Elle and Sylus!)

A bloodied and winded Scathachian arrived on the doorstep of Batten Industries, Security Division. She had quite a story to tell, as her appearance would attest. It was curious that she did not stop by the Scathachian Temple first, but it seemed as if whatever she had to say dictated not a pause of action.

Certainly the sensors that Ed had set up around the city would have possibly already alerted them to a disruption that was lured from the Red Dragon Inn to just past the Marketplace. Still, Isuelt was not used to technology and was ready to impart the story herself. She did not know that Ed, Kyle or Leo or whoever else would admit her into the confines of Batten Industries, had already been advised of the following.

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SECURITY FOOTAGE Camera 34-C, 34-D, 38-P Sensor Units 89-93

Location: Marketplace, Southeast corner Time: 2012-03-14/15:51:30-17:37:11

Black leather-clad legs were running at full speed as Isuelt dashed through alleyways and in between buildings, only once looking over her shoulder to see if she was being followed

The beast, Manticore, wasn't going on foot. It had launched itself into the air, and wings of sickening black fluttered as it smashed from roof top to roof top. Then, it smashed down into a less than secure roof, and it fell through floor upon floor of concrete and wood. A plume of smoke rushed out of the door that it smashed through moments later upon the ground floor, right in front of Issy, as she looked over her shoulder. It's stomach opened, revealing the growling mincer, as both arms of the Manticore sought out to grip Issy's neck.

As she turned from looking behind her, espresso eyes looked to the sky. She was looking in vain for Ranger, Spartan, the Rocketeer or any of the other flyers. She needed them now like she needed a set of brakes as she nearly rammed right into Manticore's grip.

In pursuit was Hex, running much faster than any organic could match. Thankfully Manticore is slowed as it moves for Isuelt. Hex raises it's forearms and starts peppering plasma bolts towards the armored form's head.

Keeping her wits about her, as well as her weapons, the Scathachian slashed with her left sword and stabbed with her right. Her strikes were aimed at Manticore's midsection of teeth, while blasts nearly singed her hair as they left Hex's forearms.

The yawning maw opened wider as Isuelt approached. It still barely made a sound; it barely made a noise of enjoyment, as Issy nearly rammed into the Manticore's grip. The bladed fingers closed, but missed Issy as blasts pummeled the Manticore's helm. The opened maw snaped just as the swords were about to make their way into her being. And it traped them there. Meanwhile, her hands lifted past Issy, and the down-cycle of a whine, lowered to a pitch beyond human hearing. And they released two powerful shock waves right towards Hex. The dB was beyond that of a value of three-hundred. It could had rendered a human, let alone a machine, dead, instantly.

The strong warrior grunted as she tried with all of her might to pull her weapons free of the now closed maw. The muscles of Isuelt's shoulders and back rippled as she yanked on the swords; she would rather die than lose her blessed blades.

The machine, Hex, twists to one side to avoid the first attack, but the second catches it in the left shoulder, smashing into the light armour there and ripping the arm free of it's socket. Still Hex keeps coming, opening fire with it's remaining arm.

Isuelt wouldn't be surprised if her ears were bleeding. The core-shaking sound from the firefight between Manticore and Hex had her head ringing as she fell to her knees. Her gloved hands still unwilling to relinquish her weapons to the black armored juggernaut.

While Isuelt was more than happy to retrieve her swords, the Manticore's aim remained on Hex, as each and every bolt struck the Manticore's helm. A crack appeared, from upper left, to botton right. As each and every bolt struck the armor, so did the armor respond. Many cirucit-like lines spread across its surface, and, as another bolt moved to strike, a gauntleted palm lifted, and then, it released a bargage of bolts the exact same, Hex shot back. While the other palm continued its down-cycled blasts. But....Issy had other things to worry about. The helm, split like a smile. And it's slouched neck, enlongated. It had Issy perfectly where it wanted it. The mouth opened, and, a sudden growl came from its gaping, shark-tooth mechanical maw. The head snapped down towards Issy, who tried desperate to pull back her swords.

The next two steps Hex makes are crouched, coiled and then released as the machine leaps into the air before the next sonic pulse could impact. The machine twists in the air and snaps it's wrist as if throwing something. There's a shimmer in the air as the nearly-invisible monomolecular whip streams down toward Manticore's neck to try and sever it.

One blade freed. Thank Scathach. Now the other, which was deeper, was pulled on. Isuelt was oblivious, at least for the moment, of the razor-toothed end that was aimed for her head. As she heard the snapping of metal, she glanced upward. Her eyes widened as she saw her death coming on the edge of a row of teeth. She was already on her knees, there was really nowhere to go. Still hanging on to the sword in Manticore's closed gut, the Scathachian flung herself down to the ground with every ounce of might she possessed. However, the warrior did not forgive her grip on her stuck blade. She heard Hex's attack above her head, and knew that her only shot was to try and alley-oop Manticore over her head. Whether or not she would escape the teeth, well, that was another matter. Still, it was worth any sort of a shot when death was baring down on you.

The monomolecular whip would have to wait, for as she lifted her gauntlet, so did the finger blades catch the curling snake. And clenched. As Issy performed her maneuver, The Manticore was thrown over the woman, but at the same time, pulling Hex down towards Issy, so that he may crash into her, or so he hoped. As the whip of Hex finally snapped the nails of her gauntlet; the many blades clattering to the ground, it released Issy's sword, finally, and rolled a distant away. And then up it stood.

Panting, Elle arrived onto the scene with her brow beaded and her curls sticking. Perhaps the knitted cardigan over her long sleeve, on top of the run, wasn't the most cool combination. Mindful of the liability she could be, the blonde shooshed a very startled candied nut vendor as they stood stock still and mumbling at the sight of battle before them. The sudden sound of her voice spooked the vendor however, which resulted in the poor bystander yelping, turning, knocking over their cart as well. Elle was left in the debris with sugar in her eye, her feet up in the air, and her glasses on the ground buried somewhere in the chaos of the overturned nut cart.

That was unexpected. Still, it showed that the beast could be hurt. Now of course Hex had to deal with being turned into a makeshift missile headed Isuelt's way. The mono-whip was reeled in in less that a second, allowing a mechanical hand to reach out to the oncoming ground just past Issy. Fingers dug into stone and the arm's artificial muscles bunched tightly, absorbing most of the momentum. Still, Issy ends up with roughly three hundred pounds of robot collapsing on her.

Isuelt could have sworn she heard a *crunch* as Hex landed on top of her. The back of the Scathachian's head hit the ground with a thud and her nose was bleeding almost immediately. The upside was that Hex's form shielded the warrior as she tried to reach the blade that was loosed from Manticore's toothy gut. Her gloved hand shook as her fingers splayed wide...almost able to reach it. Her vision was a blurred mess and she couldn't breathe.

Groaning softly, Elle fished around through cobbled grit and nutty grit, only to come up empty handed as far as her glasses went. Frustrated, but not quite down for the count without them, she fished around in her skirt pocket for the spare pair she kept. Brushing nuts and what felt like pebbles from her hair, the librarian stood up and stared out across to what looked like a mangled pile of bodies and rocks- a flash of memory shook her to the bone as she cried aloud without thought. "Isuelt!?"

Sylus Kurgen lands silently on the roof of the Taste of Home bakery having received the distress signal. Slowly he altered his physiology, calling upon the beast within to lower his body heat and vitals.

Hex is moving to stand as soon as it can, pushing itself to it's feet with it's now mangled arm, here and there muscle bundles have burst and the hand is barely holding together. After the machine is on it's feet it looks down to Issy, #Are you injured"#

Her face was red, veins bulging from her temples as the weight of Hex's 300 pounds pressed into her flesh. Had it not slowed it's impact, the Scathachian surely would have been crushed. Head turned, she was still trying to reach her sword. Just when her vision seemed to fade to black, a great gasp of air was had as Hex got up. Still, it ached to breathe, her chest simply couldn't suck in the air she needed. Blinking, she looked to the sky.

#Target has been lost, establish perimeter and await further orders.# On nearby streets Iron Dragon armored vehicles roll into place and let out their occupants. Guns and machines and men hurry to comply with Hex's orders, for the moment ignoring the 'friendlies' in the area.

Her shoulder was cut in several gashes, the victim of Manticore's midsection maw. Her vision was still blurred as she rolled to her side, now able to grasp her blade. The danger, however, seemed to have passed as Manticore, that black beast which had worn Renna's hide (or perhaps the other way around"), had vanished in the confusion. She had heard her name called out and she turned her head toward Hex as she struggled to her knees. Goddess how she hated technology.

Said machine simply stands there looking down on her for a while, making sure she is not in immediate need of a medic. Finally though Hex steps away to retrieve what is left of it's left arm, assessing the damage.

A few coughs and a hefty spit of blood onto the cobblestones, and Isuelt was good as new. Well, sort of. Using the tip of one blade dug into the street, she pushed up to her feet, be it uneasily. Immediately, she assumed a defensive posture toward Hex...and wherever Manticore had gotten to.

Sylus hunkered down on the shadow of Taste of Home's rooftop sign he watches the goings on in the marketplace from behind the giant plywood cupcake. Eyes note the formation of the men and where they position themselves defensively to cordon off the area, but his ears are on what words pass between Issy and the machine that recovered its arm.

One eye squinted shut as dust was watered from it, the Judge looked around, now spying the blonde librarian, Elle, far over by the vendor carts. Panic hit her as she looked around once more, making sure the threat was gone. Elle looked to be unharmed for the most part, the Scathachian relaxed and looked to Hex. Her voice would have yelled if her lungs had the strength to do so. "What the f*ck is going on' What was that?"

As her heart wound itself back down from the minor panic attack all the rubble and discord had induced, Elle was panting again, and sweating twice as profusely. Threading a hand up through the mass of her curls that'd fallen down from the haphazard updo she'd swept them into before leaving the Inn, she swallowed thickly and began a light jog toward Issy and the known that was with her. "Do either of you need me to contact anyone for you?" She said as she neared them. A keen eye would notice how uneasy she was by the flickering tone of eyes and the flush to her skin.

Hex hands the arm to a soldier to be carted off, then turns back to Isuelt, head canting to the side slightly at her question, #That is what is left of the Betrayer. She has changed dramatically.#

With a trembling hand, and blood running down her left arm, Isuelt sheathed one blade, then the other. She held a glove up to Elle with a light shake of her head as she tried to catch her breath. The Judge licked her lips and arched a brow at Hex, her voice was pushed past her tongue with a pitiful volume. "Understatement..."

#Her mind appears to be fragmented, her behaviors erratic. Her body has also changed. She is composed almost entirely out of nanomachines, and they seem to be able to adapt very quickly to attacks.#

Again, Isuelt's eyes looked to the skies as she muttered an obscenity and Batten's name. Though, she then caught the light glint from the direction of the Taste of Home Bakery roof. Espresso eyes squinted, still suffering from a bit of blurred vision. Her leather encased fingers came up to her nose and mouth, wiping away blood.

Up above, Sylus, with a few blinks he takes mental pictures of the scene, filing them away to be extracted later. He knew Batten's scans would all ready have the same if not more in depth information than what he was picking up in the aftermath.

Hex's words were nearly memorized. Isuelt would need to file a report. There was a nod from her chocolate head as she found it far easier to exhale than inhale. She figured she was operating on one lung right about now.

Elle hadn't even really heart what they were speaking of, she was just watching Issy the whole while. The blood, the fatigue- they were all clear signs, warrior or no. "Isuelt, you should retreat and retire" She said softly as her brows melted with concern.

Hex's head turns to stare intently at the Scathachian, #Do you require medical aid Isuelt"#

Isuelt's nod was quick to action at Elle's words. The woman was exactly correct. However, instead of heading for the Temple or the Sanctuary, as was the norm, she would head for Batten's place. She had a whopper of a tale for him. Including the status of Hex, who as far as Isuelt had known, was one of Renna's soldiers. Clearly the playing field had changed. "I'll be fine." Far be it from this one to accept help. Stubborn.

#Very well.# With that the machine turns and approaches the nearest APC, #Maintain perimeter for thirty minutes, then return to base.#

The Scathachian priestess glanced at her shoulder. At least the lacerations were to her skin, rather than her leathers. Small favors. Skin and muscle heals. Finding black leather corsets around here that didn't showcase an obscene amount of cleavage" Another matter. "You okay?" She noticed Elle's general disheveled appearance, not that the Scathachian was any better. She glanced quickly toward Hex; nice to be able to have your arm torn off and go collect it later. Technology simply boggled her mind

"I am fine," Elle responded. "Just a bit clumsy. But please....rest. And contact me when you can. All has been quiet as of late." Cryptic" Yes, a tad. But seeing as her warrior companion was heeding advice, and the machine beside her was still lingering, Elle would retire as well. Not only to collect the whirlwind of papers she'd left on the Inn's floor, but to tidy herself up. She was a mess of sugary bits, sweat, and goodness knew what else. Turning toward the way she'd come, she saw the vendor had returned.

Isuelt watched Elle turn and retreat. Her gloved fingers were holding her shoulder and as the blood ran over her hand, she knew that she had to get going to Batten's before something catastrophic happened: like passing out. Her chest still felt like Hex was sitting on it and the tingling down her arm prompted her on her way. Still, as she passed him, those dark eyes lingered suspiciously on the machine

Hex pays Issy only a glance and a nod, then returns to supervising the troops.

And from his belt, Sylus removed a sighted pistol and an injection round filled with a glowing blue liquid. Casually he put a suppressor on the end and steadies his aim, focusing on his breathing to place as little interference on the delivery of the healing liquids. Exhaling, he squeezed the trigger while aiming at the back of Issy's neck.

A sting at the base of her neck, just above her shoulder blade. Temporarily forgetting her shoulder, a gloved hand reached to grab at whatever had hit her. With her fingers encased in leather, she couldn't feel the heat from the impact spot, though she could feel something in her neck. The Scathachian turned around, her dark eyes darting behind her and up above, searching for the source.

The machine's head snaped up to look at Issy, amber eyes narrowing, #What happened"# Hex knows *something* just happened, but didn't see what.

After firing the shot, Sylus moved back behind the sign and started making his way to the back of the building and glided off the far edge away from the marketplace, circling around towards Batten's. He knew that's where Issy would go next, guessing on the direction she started walking in.

She looked from the rooftops to the black leather of her glove as it slipped from the back of her neck. "Nothing. I think. I hope." She had to get out of the open, Batten Industries would be getting a visit from an irate Scathachian Priestess. She had no way of knowing that what hit her was meant to help heal, rather than poison. A glance toward Hex as she made her way from the Marketplace in a hurry. She was hurt, but not dead. And that with no backup (that she was aware of) besides the machine who nearly crushed her, was a miracle in and of itself. Hex watched her for a few seconds before nodding.

Edward Batten

Date: 2012-03-19 15:17 EST
This time, the Scathachian would find who she was looking for.

He actually hadn't been in Rhy'din when the thing had began attacking, but he already knew what was going on - as soon as he had re-entered the town through the portal concealed in his industrial complex, Diana had filled him in.

So...it wasn't as stable as he had thought, then.

The Playboy had been aware of Renna's condition, what she had done and had become, since the night Kain had tried to free her. Had watched in fascination as she did what he didn't think she was capable of...something that had, to date, only been done by him.

The unique properties of the OmniPower material she had been contained in was what had enabled him to interlace the material with his own genetic structure, which in turn allowed him to enhance his body in other ways that a conventional human wouldn't be able to withstand, and there were unique advantages to the process.

But in order to do that, he'd had to carefully construct and program the treatment he had applied to himself, writing the code into millions, if not billions, of nanomachines, which had carefully rewritten his entire genetic code from the ground up, interlacing human DNA with elements of the triple-helical crystalline OmniPower material.

What Renna had done was something else entirely, and while he understood what had happened, he doubted he would ever be able to understand just how she accomplished it.

From the portal he'd walked through the middle of the complex, slipping through the back door to make his way towards the front entrance of the main office building, arriving and stepping through the front door just in time to see Issy approaching, as Diana had indicated she would be.

He didn't need the sensory augmentations, or Diana's advisory, to know the Scathachian warrior was pissed, though they also told him of her injuries. And despite her bravado from earlier, they were pretty severe.

As she walked up, he pushed the door behind him open, standing out of her way to let her pass into the lobby. "Come on in, chere." As soon as she passed inside he followed, then took the lead to guide her past the reception desk. "Judgin' by de look on yer face, dis ain't a social call. So go 'head an' let it out, but ya can do it on de way to d'med wing, which is dis way."

Issy

Date: 2012-03-20 09:30 EST
She bit her tongue through a grimace as the door was opened. And something in her features visibly relaxed upon seeing Ed. As she walked through the door and past him into the lobby, she nodded at his sentiment of this being more than a casual visit. The Scathachian indulged in a few quick, shallow breaths before she turned to look at the Playboy. "We've a problem," her voice seemed squished somehow; its usual vivid power was missing and blood still was trying to drown her tongue. She walked with Batten, as he led her down the hallway.

"I don't need the med wing, I ne— need to tell you wh— what happened." The rest of her words were swallowed as her gloved hand covered a gurgling cough. As if she were trying to will her body to hold off as she imparted her already-known news, the Judge released her mouth to try and speak again. "Renna...is...something...more..." Her lips and chin were newly stained with the revered crimson color of her war goddess, as blood tripped from her tongue. Her injuries refused to be ignored any longer, and the statuesque warrior sagged against the wall. She could not catch her breath as her remaining lung stubbornly denied its new job of working solo. Its partner had filled with blood as it lamely hung within her breast, ripped by the broken ribs around it. Her head was spinning and the dull ache in the back began to sharpen; it well remembered being bounced off of the Marketplace cobblestone.

Isuelt tried to mute her cough as her body rebelled against her control, screaming for oxygen and striving for relief. She was, after all, only human. It felt as if something hit her side, renewing the pain from her fractured torso. The Judge thought it was Batten for a moment, but as she looked up, she saw him on her right instead, a step ahead. Her deep espresso locks, matted with a bit of blood, tumbled past her shoulder as she looked to her left; the wall had come to meet her body with an unforgiving force. Thick dark lashes squinted at her enemy, the bland white wall, as the rest of her world went black. The mighty Scathachian lost the battle of wills with her body; her injuries, at long last, won out. Isuelt slid down the wall, trying to stay conscious, and trying not to drown in her own blood.

Edward Batten

Date: 2012-03-28 18:49 EST
It's hard not to sigh in exasperation as Issy remained stubborn, trying to relay her information to him. He didn't know the full extent of what had happened - he'd only had an overview - but he knew enough to know that things had gotten much more serious with his former guest. He'd hoped that the OmniPower material she'd absorbed into herself would be enough to make her more stable, but something had happened when Kain had freed her that had somehow scrambled her mind, making her more dangerous.

And she'd been dangerous enough already...now she was damn near indestructible. All in all, it was a bad situation, one he hadn't seen coming when he locked her in her cell.

More fool him. But as always, he didn't see it as a hindrance, just another puzzle to solve, another obstacle to overcome.

Something he had to fix.

But for the moment, there were more pressing concerns. Such as the Scathachian's life.

As she fell into her slump against the wall, he went to her, catching her before she made it to the floor. "Tell ya what, chere, why'n't ya let me be de judge of what ya do an' don't need at de moment. 'Sides...Ah already know what she is." He wasn't sure if she heard any of that - according to the sensor readouts scrolling over his vision, the woman was severely injured, hanging onto consciousness - and life - by a thread.

He carried her over to an operating table, laying her out on it as he spoke to the AI. "Di, Ah need a full physical readout."

The cool female voice came back to him in an instant. "Yes, sir. You should be seeing them now."

The feed instantly came over his vision as the AI spoke, and he looked it over. Broken ribs, a punctured lung, internal bleeding, a medium concussion, the shoulder wound which he'd already seen dripping blood on the clean floor.

Despite the gravity of the situation, he found himself impressed. With all that, the Scathachian had walked to his offices, keeping consciousness the whole way. Just about everyone he'd ever known would've had to be carted to a hospital in an ambulance with those injuries.

Or else they'd have been hauled off in a meat wagon to the morgue by now.

The readouts scrolled swiftly by, showing him more. High levels of iron, B-12, ginseng...and traces of THC, the main active ingredient of the cannabis plant. How in the hell had that gotten there?

However, that would have to wait. He did the math in his head, wanting to produce a similar solution to the one he had given Katt a couple days ago, but there wasn't time - by the time it was produced the woman would be beyond that sort of help.

"Di, Ah need Dr. Ibaraki down here yesterday."

Raye

Date: 2012-03-28 23:58 EST
She was still puzzling over the data on those Hell Crowns. It was roadblock after another and the alien technology made the puzzle resemble the Gordian knot. That and she could not find a *sword* that cleave this knot in two.

She set aside the chart rubbing at her eyes when the image of that golden woman appeared before her.

Dr. Ibaraki, Mr Batten has called a medical emergency.

She stood up from her desk grabbing her kit, "What are we looking at and who's the patient?" She was praying it was not the Boss man, the COO or the Security Chief. She was fond of those three.

She listened in horror as the AI recounted the injuries and the name of her patient. She was out of the office in a sprint, wasting no time in reaching Ed's location.

She owed Issy that much.

She breezed into the room, setting that bag on a nearby table and drawing on a pair of gloves.

"How is she, Ed?" She moved over to the table as she asked.

Edward Batten

Date: 2012-04-10 19:41 EST
As soon as Diana passed back to him that the Doc was on her way, he continued his exam, looking for the source of the odd chemical cocktail he'd found in her system. It didn't take long to find - deft fingers found an injection dart just at the base of her neck, and he pulled it free of her skin, lifting it to eye level. The faintest trace of glowing blue revealed itself to his sharp eyes as he examined the capsule, then set it aside. He'd look that over later.

He'd no sooner put it down then the Doc came into the med wing, carrying her bag of supplies, concern on her features.

"How is she, Ed?"

He looked back at Issy, consulting the medical diagnostic still being relayed to him by Diana's sensor feeds. The boost she'd gotten from the injection was wearing off. "Di, put de feed on display for Dr. Ibaraki, please."

"Yes, sir."

Immediately above the table Issy laid upon there appeared a holographic construct displaying everything the Doc would need to know - vitals, injuries, blood chemistry, the whole workup from Diana's sensor feeds. Ed stepped back to give her room to work.

"Take good care of her, Doc. We bot' owe her quite a bit."

Raye

Date: 2012-05-28 17:02 EST
"Take good care of her, Doc. We bot' owe her quite a bit."

She nodded, "That we do, Ed. Us and more."

Steeling herself to the job at hand she went to work on patching up one of the women she dared to call friend. With D.I.A.N.A. providing telemetry, she worked to keep the warrior on the table alive...

....and unconscious, especially given the warrior's dislike of doctors. The wounds were grievous, yet the combination of chemicals helped tremendously. She took a chance and pulled out a hypo-injector from her bag and took the cover off the tip that was keeping it sterile.

"Looks like whomever she was with knew enough to hit her with a mix to help with healing. Shouldn't interfere with what I'm about to do." She murmured as she pressed the tip of the gun to the side of her neck over the carotid artery. "The nanosymbionts will speed up the healing process and this strain will be flushed from her system once she's back on her feet." This was said more to put Edward at ease with the tech she was using.

She focused on the readings as she administered the injection. The little devices surged to the most critical location, her lungs. "D.I.A.N.A. give me a Blood O2 level." She frowned as she looked over the numbers and prepared another injection, a little riskier than the first, but she needed this. She looked in the bag for another injector, locating it. She pressed the tip to the artery adding another set of nanites to the mix to deliver oxygen to Issy's system in an rapid fashion.

Using the wireless controls in her headware and the scans from D.I.A.N.A., she started directing the nanites to the most critical areas. The lung would need quite a bit of repair. She swore softly under her breath, "What hit her, an APC?" A rhetorical question given the nature of Rhy'din. Not the worst she has seen, but definitely a test of her skills. She also has had considerably less to work with.

She focused on repairing the damage on a microscopic level as the AI monitored vitals and periodically gave her input.