Chronicles of The Omniverse Archived Westeria City: Police Department HQ

[Tiko]

as written by Script

"I already told you, Officer Kalter. It was an accident! So I rendered an entire road completely unusable and destroyed a few-"

"Several dozen."

"-several dozen cars in the process. But the main point is, by doing so, I stopped the guy that was about to straight up murder everything within a ten block radius."

Aeryn was sat with his arms folded poutily in the front lobby of the WCPD HQ, staring down a terse looking woman in the uniform of a police lieutenant. "Why on earth was there so much collateral? You can't expect me to believe that all that destruction was one hundred percent necessary."

"Not exactly..." Aeryn waved a hand around in a vague gesture of dismissal, "But it's uh, Newton's fourth law, yeah?"

"...fourth law?" Lieutenant Kalter raised her eyebrows.

"For every over the top flashy attack action, there is an even more over the top and opposite attack reaction. Newton's law of Escalating Fight Dynamics. This is basic stuff, officer." Aeryn grinned.

"This is the fifth time this has happened, Aeryn. I'm appreciative of you stepping in to protect the people of this city, but-"

At that point, there was a loud crash, and a rumble shook the entire building. A mug fell off of a nearby table and smashed on the floor. Aeryn blinked. "Uh, what was..."

Before Aeryn could finish his sentence, an alarm started to flare around the station. "Ah." Kalter rose to her feet, "That's a red alert. We'll have to postpone this conversation to another time."

The silvis grinned again. "That works for me," he said, hopping to his feet. "I'll uh, try not to break too much this time."

Kalter sighed. "I'm sure the effort is appreciated," she muttered.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Cream

"You are disgusting! He trusted you! You were his friend, his best friend. But you were just a liar. You played us all and I hope you rot in Hell!" The slap to his cheek had stung, but he hadn't reacted to it. He let her take her anger out on him for now. One day he'd get her to understand that he was saving Corey. That shooting his friend and killing him instantly was the best thing he could have done.

"I tried my best to save him, it was the only way, Caroline."

"Bullshit, you son of a bitch! You murdered him! You're a cold blooded killer!"

Bray turned on the tears, shaking his head. "I swear the cops are lying to you, Caroline. It was the only way out. I wanted to get us out of there but they would have tortured him for hours. They would have made him die a slow and painful death. He didn't want that..."

"Fuck you, Bray. I've seen the report. He was reporting you back here. Said you were getting in too deep. That was his last comms back here. You killed him to save your own ass!"

"IT WASN'T LIKE THAT!"

"I hope you rot in Hell, James. I hope you suffer. And I hope that your son never gets to see you or know you. I hope he grows up knowing what a monster you are. And if I have anything to do with it, I hope to be that person to take him from you and give him a good life without you!"

Bray sat against the floor replaying Caroline's last words to him. He had tried to explain that he was saving Corey from hours of torture. He'd tried explaining everything that happened with O'Leary to both Thad nad Caroline but no one had understood his reasoning. He had loved Corey like a brother. If there hard been another way out he would have taken it, but there wasn't. Corey had been beaten and was suffering. There had been no other way to protect the man. And they would have both gone down and nothing would have happened to O'Leary. Now he was dead, and the whole ring was down. He had something to do with that.

It was because of his work, and because of what he had done to Corey that O'Leary had eventually gone down. And he still had a whole lot of knowledge on the ring and crimes that were committed. The slave trade, he still had records that could be used to track down people that had been traded. It could be a start to finding them. Maybe later he could use that to get himself out of this mess and get his family back.

He hadn't seen Lena since he was arrested, but he'd been told that she was going down and that Devon had been placed into foster care. On more than one occasion, when someone tried to enter his cell, he'd tried to attack them to escape. He'd spent most of his time in here threatening people in every form he could think of. But none of it had been any good yet and just got him in more trouble.

"Corey trusted you! He trusted you and now I've had to sit my children down and explain why the man they saw as an uncle killed their father! Do you know how much they cried in my arms? How they broke down mourning the loss of the father they really believed would be coming home to them?!"

"I HAD NO CHOICE!!" He shouted into the empty room.

Some people had said he was slowly going crazy, locked up. He wasn't. Bray was still just as mentally capable as he was when he joined the WCPD. He was still good. He could still do this. He could still save himself from this mess. He had served for his country and sacrificed a lot. He would not be found guilty because he had been doing all of this for the people. They would understand him once he was allowed to property explain his side of the story. Of that he was sure.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Lobos and Tiko

Descent from the lower altitudes towards the city was easy, as the city lit with his elder brethren’s fires. Such was the design, to draw the eyes towards one threat, allowing the more elaborate ploys time to engage. Touching down with Zahira, Raven beckoned her to follow as his humanoid construct entered an alleyway near the police headquarters.

“Soon, our time. You know what do?”

“I do,” Zahira answered as she looked across the street at the police station.

She likely wouldn’t make it more than a few steps into the building before she would be apprehended. But that’s all she needed.

She left Raven then as she stepped out into the street and headed towards the station calmly. She was largely moving on auto-pilot, complacent to Raven's requests and suggestions while she was still trying to work out the state of her being.

A quiet cackle behind her, as Raven’s construct fractured into its more typical forms, fluttering from the alley to the rooftops.

As predicted, Zahira's peculiar form drew the attention of the officers in the lobby as she took the steps one at a time.

One moved to intercept her with an outstretched hand, his other resting near his side-arm. Westeria City Police were no stranger to the peculiar and the supernatural though, and she had offered no action to suggest she was a threat.

Her fingers loosened on the metal ball in hand that fell to the floor with a clatter before rolling loosely into the lobby.

Perhaps it was luck, or perhaps it was instinct that spared the officer who mistook the object for an explosive.

"Get down!" he yelled. "Bomb!"

What the small object contained was no bomb though.

The strange metallic sphere pulsed with a coalescing red energy and it emitted a series of chinking noises as it began to disassemble in an almost armadillo fashion. The infernal flames it unleashed from between the jointed plates were hot enough to scorch flesh from bone and it left the floor beneath it blackened.

It was only the officer's timely warning that had spared those within the lobby a violent death by incineration as the flames licked across the floor to seer the furniture and the reception desk that sheltered the officers.

The armored plates shifted rapidly and locked into place to form the skeletal framework of the infernal hound.

Demon or machine... only one thing was certain. The fires of Krycis himself burned within the beast’s core.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Script

"Shit!" Aeryn cursed loudly as he glanced towards the yelling officer, spying the pulsing orb that had been dropped into the lobby. He jumped to his feet and extended one palm, forming a wide shield of brilliant silvery light in the air between him and the orb. Seated as they were, with only a small coffee table for cover, it was only that barrier that protected him, Officer Kalter and the few others in that small area from the wave of flame.

As the initial blanket of fire subsided, Aeryn lowered his hand and glanced across at Kalter. The dark-haired woman had reacted herself to the warning, rapidly morphing her entire body from flesh to pristine metal. She nodded to Aeryn in thanks for the cover all the same.

The silvis stepped forwards, the golden bracers on his arm beginning to emit a brilliant light and the silvery glow of his own powers filling his eyes. "I hope you realise that this is literally the worst place to start a 'look at how murderous and random-"

 

[Tiko]

as written by Tiko

The police were less apt to waiting around for Aeryn to monologue and those with cover drew their side-arms and opened fire on the infernal hound. The silvis' words were drowned out under the explosion of gun fire, but the bullets proved largely inefficient. Those that struck against the armor plates left only dings in the metal, while those that found their way into the joints and crevices of its body simply incinerated within the heat of the flames that made up the core of the beast.

Along its back and shoulders several plates rose up to reveal an array of wicked looking spikes. A faint click preceded the release of the spikes that were sprayed through the air in all directions. Most struck the furniture and walls harmlessly, while others embedded themselves into the armored vests that the officers wore, but a few found their mark.

One officer lost his side-arm as a spike skewered his hand clean through and he was left grasping at his wrist while blood ran in thick rivulets down his fingers. Another fell to the floor with a scream of pain as a spike buried itself in his eye.

His fellow officers pulled him behind the reception desk as he clamped a hand over his eye. The spike protruded between his fingers, and he dared not pull it out as warm blood seeped free.

Shouts echoed and orders were barked as the entire station was put into emergency response mode.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Script and Tiko

"Aw, come on!" Aeryn yelled, bringing up a second barrier to deflect a spike that flew straight towards him. "Can't a guy get a good cocky speech in? It was gonna be fu-"

Drawn by Aeryn's hollering the beast turned smoldering eyes upon the silvis, and a fiery inferno grew within it. Flickers of flame that were unable to be contained by its armored body began to leak through the gaps in the metal plating as the heat welled within it. It was the only warning Aeryn got that something was about to happen before it opened its gaping maw to unleash a half molten ball of slag and liquid fire.

Aeryn was barely able to dive aside in time to avoid taking the sphere directly to the face, instead bringing his arms up encased in glowing energy to halfway catch, halfway deflect it away as he moved. His heightened awareness of the rest of the room allowed him to carefully direct it (well, as carefully as one could direct a blazing ball of metallic death) past him so that it buried itself in the wall without striking anyone else behind him, creating a sizable crater in the reinforced structure. The molten exterior splattered upon impact and began to burn its way through more of the wall around where the mishappen hunk of metal was now embedded.

"-nny..." he finished with a scowl. "Fine," he muttered under his breath as he balled up a fist. "You wanna skip the foreplay? I can do that."

In the air above the hound, a giant fist of bright light formed to match Aeryn's own, and as he swung his arm down with a grunt, it too fell, set to pound the creature into the floor with the force of a small truck behind it.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Lobos

Within the control room, a pair of operators watched the ensuing carnage with disbelief.

"Fuck, this again?"
"Enough jawing, secure the door. I'll handle the technical stuff, you know the drill."
"Got it."

His partner rising, arming, and working on a defensible position facing the door, the operator's hands danced over the controls, sealing the entrance to his booth. Hesitating, he furrowed his brows as he looked at the console, then at the cameras. The next step of the procedure seemed...counter-productive, wh-

"Come on, man! They need some help out there!"
"Right."

Shrugging off the sensation, he entered the commands to open the holding area cells, a warning dialogue opening and blaring a warning briefly as his hands moved, silencing it. The noise drew the gaze of his partner, noting the action and lunging towards the officer, his mouth opening to protest the action.

A screeching note pierced the room like a gunshot, the sidearm at the operator's hip twisting like a thing alive, drawing a shocked stumble from the other officer as the man seated screamed in alarm. Bursting the holster apart as its size rapidly swelled, an overlarge, liquid metallic shape launched from its hiding place, wings stretching as it yawned open its beak. A sound like a muted gunshot, and the partner's stagger became a jerking fall, missing a gaping hole where an eye should have been, a spine embedded on the far wall with spatters of brain and blood surrounding it. Fluttering to the floor, the creature faced the operator.

Fumbling for his gun, the panicked man slashed his fingers on his ruined holster, lifting them defensively as he babbled protest before another muted report sounded, and he slumped in his chair. The Raven form that stood within glanced for a moment between the two corpses, before looking to the gore-flecked camera screens, cawing harshly as the cell block doors opened.

Through the front entrance boiled nearly three dozen more bodies of the Raven, flying crazed paths through the room, some dive-bombing officers with beaks that stretched and edged into horrific, barbed spears, or flew by with outstretched wings whose leading edges hardened into sharp blades. A few others paused to hover, opening their maws to release that muted hiss that accompanied spitting a slug of metal with the force of a handgun.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Lobos

Stumbling over the ruins of a desk, Thaddeus scoured the scene with his good eye, his face screwing into a snarl as he viewed the carnage, officers wounded being shielded, yet others actively fighting the threat. "At 'em, ladies and gents! Push these fucks back out!"

Curling his hands into fists, the gems of his magi-tech gauntlets began to flare more brightly as the WCPD Chief waded towards the melee. A bear of a man, he glanced to the side, reaching down and hauling an officer who'd tripped over debris to their feet, gaze settling on the fiery hound in the center of the attack.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Tiko

The infernal hound was sprier than it looked, and Aeryn's attack missed its mark by scant centimeters as the gunfire drew its attention. The pinging of the bullets off its armored plates seemed to irritate it into action. It sprang towards the front desk that most of the officers were taking cover behind, but rather than jump over it the creature's body began to shift once more. Its limbs retracted and the metal plates shifted into a layer of scaled armor as it folded up into a flaming wrecking ball of spikes headed straight for the desk.

The desk splintered as it crashed through, and it unfolded rapidly as it came to stop among the officers. Infernal eyes lit up as it exploded into flames to char the flesh of anyone who hadn't managed to scramble out of its way fast enough.

One officer rolled across the floor wildly trying to put out the flames that licked at his sleeve.

The officers were well trained though, and most had evaded the beast. They swiftly fanned out, still emptying their guns into it as it turned to face off against them once more.

Zahira had been all but forgotten in the chaos and she hadn't moved from the front entrance where still stood, eyes watchful. It wasn't until the chief of police entered the fray that she made her move with striding steps.

A stray bullet struck her, but it dinged off from the metal implants that adorned her flesh and she didn't let her focus waver. She had only one task here, and he was standing across the room from her.

The peculiarity of the woman striding intently towards him would likely have drawn his gaze even if not for the hypnotic weight of her violet eyes. The moment eye contact was made, Thaddeus would find himself in a state of momentary confusion and disorientation. It was as if he couldn't remember what he had been about to do, and would find himself unable to look away from her eyes.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Script

Aeryn spun on a heel as the hound sprung towards the officers. The glowing fist vanished as quickly as it had formed, and this time the glow of the golden bracers on his wrists intensified as he sprinted across the room after it.

The creature impacted with the desk, and just as the creature burst into an explosion of fire, Aeryn thrust a hand forwards towards it. From his palm, a jet of powerful magical frost energy poured forth like a high-pressure avalanche, glowing eerily blue.

"I'm over here, fido!" he yelled angrily as he attacked, trying to draw the thing's attention away from the officers. "Don't you wanna build a snowman? So you got shot a bit, just let it go!"

As the glow of his icy barrage faded, he caught sight of the strange woman who had unleashed the dog striding towards Thaddeus. He scowled, turning his attention towards her. Maybe he could force her to call the metal monster off?

He stretched out his hand at her, another glowing fist forming to pluck her from the ground in a forceful grip. "Hey, metal face!" he yelled, moving towards her, "Call off your dog right now, or I swear to fuck, you are not gonna be popular with your spine!"

 

[Tiko]

as written by Sokka

The explosions notified Chen something was wrong long before the alarms. He had been a few floors down training in the rec room. "What the hell is it this time?" He considered running toward the Armor but there wasn't enough time. He passed a few other officers. And turned to two of them who were walking in speed with him, 'Go get some bigger guns... that didn't sound very good. He said has gunfire crackled over the radio's. Get the case with my armor while you're there will ya?" He asked.

The two officers nodded and bolted off. Meanwhile Chen and three other officers jogged up down the hall toward the lobby. "Stay behind me going to set us up some------" Chen stopped immediately noticing something wasn't right. Protocol should have had that door sealed while they set up a second line of defense instead it was wide open.

He considered sealing it he looked back to see others moving toward the lobby as well. He couldn't see much past the final holding cell. He reached out with his arm ripping metal panels off the wall. forming a loose armoring around him. It wasn't much but it would do for now two of them formed into rough gloves around his hands.

Nodding while still moving Chen picked up speed and burst through the door into the main lobby he dove for the first piece of cover he could find.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Kazura

His string of casualties he'd mocked up probably wasn't the brightest angle to run from for one trying to remain low, but in a citywide catastrophe as this, it was just too difficult not to cheat. Taking lives was far too easy to let ripe opportunity just slide by. Everyone always takes a finger-full of frosting from the cake when no cares to pay attention. This was hardly any different. As he neared the WCPD, police presence had been thick but swiftly thinned as they proceeded to do their best around the city. Such was rather fortunate for Kazura as he closed in on the block. But it was at the corner of two streets that he came to a halt. The building itself felt as if it were a nexus of dark energy. A very sinister feeling loomed over it. Intoxicating, nearly. Lured by its taint, he took a solid step forward, and another, drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

"This presence. I haven't felt something of this sort in a very, very, long time. Not since the days of Zagan..." He coo'd to himself, crossing the road swiftly. Clenching and unfurling his clawed fists, he stalked the walk way before catching sight of a police cruiser speeding into the vicinity. Screeching to a halt, they both slipped out and as one proceeded up to the building itself, the other glanced at Kazura for a moment. Non-flinching, Kazura simply cast his gaze on the female for a moment before she drew her gun on him. A brow raised in curiosity, he held up his hands once more as he had done previously before inquiring. "Is there a reason you're training your sidearm on me?" He called out, actually perplexed for once.

"I've seen you before. A year or so ago. You took the lives of a couple of innocents with those eye beams of yours..." She called out. "You fit the description. To the T. Hood. Facial mask. Cloak. Red sash. And those red eyes." She continued. It was a good example of what the hell was wrong with planar shifts. Most didn't recognize him. Those who did had recognized him as Kazurama. This woman. She knew exactly who, and what, he was. That was a problem. As she continued to train her weapon on him, her partner called out. "Yo. Elisa. What's the hold-oh shit, what's going on?" He called out, reaching for his sidearm. As he turned his attention back to them, he slowly made his way back to the vicinity of his partner. "This scumbag here was the one I mentioned that got away before I even had a chance to get a hold of him. Killed two innocents a year and a half, or so, ago without hesitation. Just burned holes right through them with his eye beams." She continued. "Not sure why he's here, but he's here. I'd like to say shoot to kill, but we can't work that way, so we're gonna move in real slow, alright pal? No fancy moves or you're gonna get one straight between the eyes..." She finished, moving in along with her partner.

As he stood there listening to the woman, it crossed his mind that there were ties to Wing City, obviously. So he wasn't as mad as he thought he'd gone, and there were some who actually recognized him. It was a shame, too. This was his disguise. He was supposed to be unrecognizable. So much for low key. But as long as she was the only one to recognize him, he could nip this in the bud rather swiftly. As soon as they both were in prime proximity, a sudden blinding flash erupted from his figure. Solar Flare. A cheap technique used to blind individuals. Lasting a good fifteen to thirty seconds, Kazura was well in the clear. There was no way he'd allow her to live with such knowledge. It was one thing to be wanted back in Wing City as Kazura. It'd be another to be wanted as both Kazura, and his disguised self. "I'm sorry, were you saying something? I'm somewhat caught up in all the pretty light..." He coo'd, only to hear an audible bang from in front of him. The idle itch of the bullet striking his skull made for a momentary irritation. Akin to a mosquito sucking one's blood. A second shot rang out and as it did, he swiftly swung his right arm forward, fingers splayed, and savagely plowed through her abdominal region. Hefting her figure up, his fingers curled and uncurled around her entrails, savoring the feel of her heated sanguine. As she spewed up blood, he made sure to avoid as much as he could, a few odd splatters showering his face in the process. Her partner by this time had just begun recovering his vision, though black dots continued to dance in his eyes. Catching Kazura in his hazed vision, though, he wheeled and pulled the trigger twice, unaware of the superhuman terror he faced. "Put her down, you rotten bastard!" He called out.

Poor choice of words.

"Say what?" Kazura inquired, swiftly spinning and using her as a meat shield, despite the fact he had no need to. She took the two rounds in her back, her heart already long stopped and her figure nothing more than a lifeless carcass. With a dastardly cackle, a swing of his arm sent her sailing into him, his body unable to properly catch her due to the force. He stumbled some while Kazura had already waltzed over to the police cruiser. Leaning down, Elisa's partner, David, moved to act, setting her body down. Turning to cross around the back of the cruiser, he stopped at the lurching, groaning, sound of steel being toyed with. Before he could even move another step, the car had been forcefully vaulted into the air, a spinning tempest of solid steel. Struck by it, David's arm found itself caught, hung up by the front axel, as it went wildly careening, and toppling, into the WCPD building. The force and which he had flung it was enough to slam it into the building a few floors up. David didn't stand a chance. Who knew if the building could withstand the force at which it had collided with the exterior. It could very well topple right through and down into the lobby.

Strangely enough, it didn't. The reinforcement put into the building must have been astronomical to withstand the force at which the car had been hurled. It's frame came to twist, and mangle, as it slammed into the side of the building, possibly sending a minuscule quake throughout its structure, yet doing little more than crumbling brick and mortar that had composed its exterior. Falling into a twisted heap, Kazura's gaze fell on the marred surface of the exterior with a risen brow before a sneer curled onto his lips. He wasn't surprised. As this came to pass, Kazura idly made his way up toward the building, intent on discovering the source of this strange malevolence he sensed. His jaunt brought him to pick up the carcass of poor Elisa as he rounded the green and made his way up toward the entrance. As he'd done before, a swift swing of his arm sent her carcass reeling through the air and into the building, a flying corpse projectile that'd knock the snot out of anything it struck, likely plowing them into the next solid object nearest them, be it a desk a couple of lengths away, or that wall a good twelve feet in that far off direction. "I always did hate the law. Can't say I've ever visited before. This should be a welcomed learning experience." He murmured to himself.

At the entrance, Kazura drew his hood tighter, his mask more snug to his face, and straightened his cloak around himself. His first goal would be to locate the source of that nefarious energy. He could feel a variety of different hosts, but two stood out among the rest...and those would be his number one interests.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Tiko

There was something about Zahira that just seemed off. She didn't move, nor look to Aeryn as he restrained her. In fact, she didn't even look at him when he spoke to her. There was an intensity to her gaze, and an unwavering focus, but also a pointed lack of emotional traces that might hint to him as to her intention.

Had she been looking at him, he might have taken note as her pupils dilated so fully that the purple of her irises could no longer be seen. But perhaps the most alarming was that Thaddeus' own pupils had dilated to match her own. One officer even grabbed his arm to shake him out of his stupor.

"Chief!"

The word found its way into Thaddeus' mind snapping him out of his trance, but it held no meaning to him.

With her task completed she turned her hypnotic gaze upon Aeryn. As with Thaddeus he would find himself overcome with a fog of confusion as if he couldn't remember what it was he had been doing. Gunfire rang all around, but it failed to penetrate through the sluggishness of his thoughts as she stripped them way.

Once more her pupils dilated, this time in unison to Aeryn's own until her voice reached him to draw him back to himself.

"Brother, do not let them get into your head," she told him.

Aeryn blinked, the haziness retreating from his mind as he shook off whatever it had been that had taken him out of himself. His expression became one of briefly stunned surprised as he noticed the glowing hand that held Zahira, and he quickly dismissed it, letting her drop to the ground. His brow then deepened into a scowl.

"Fuck with my head, will you?" he growled, before turning to scan the rest of the room. "I don't know which one of you curs dared try that," the bracers on his arms lit up with intense golden light as he spoke, "so we'll do this by trial and error. I kill one of you, and then if I don't feel better, we try again. And again. You starting to see where this is going?" The corners of his mouth twitched upwards in a malicious grin. "Let's dance."

With her and Raven's purpose fulfilled, and the threat of Aeryn neutralized, Zahira turned her attention back to the chaos that was unfolding right in front of her. The officers had made progress in corralling the infernal hound, only to have it evade them once more by launching itself into the air to bound off a wall and land behind them. A number of fallen officers lay upon the floor, but once the initial surprise of the attack had faded they were proving resourceful enough to coordinate their efforts in containing the damage and casualties.

It was the man who strode through the entrance near at hand that drew her eye though.

'We have company' she sent silently to Raven.

She didn't quite know what to make of this man. Aeryn had been an easy one to read, and it was perhaps for that reason that she had managed to subvert him so swiftly and with little preparation. The new arrival proved more enigmatic. He certainly wasn't police, nor did he carry himself with Aeryn's enthusiasm for protecting the officers. No, this stranger walked as she did... seemingly uncaring to the carnage it had just waded into.

Only one question lingered upon her mind.

Friend or foe?

 

[Tiko]

as written by Script

As Zahira turned her attention on Kazura, Aeryn held no such awareness of the man's presence. He was just another figure in the chaos, as far as the silvis was concerned. He took a moment of focus to wrap himself in a protective layer of glowing silver energy, before he launched himself forwards like a bullet, smashing straight through a psionic barrier one of the WCPD officer had erected. The psion staggered backwards as the backlash of energies stunned her, before Aeryn brought an energy-shrouded fist into her face.

It struck with the force of a small truck, ploughing straight through her skull and killing her on the spot in a spray of gore. The other officers that had been taking cover behind her barrier were taken off guard by the suddenness at which Aeryn had turned on them, slow to react as he moved his attention to them.

A gout of flame from his bracers swallowed two officers as they turned their weapons on him, incinerating them on the spot. A spray of bullets peppered his back, then, deflected by his glowing aura but drawing his ire across the room. His eyes lit up white as he rounded on the officer who was shooting at him whilst retreating hastily away to try and gain some breathing room and backup.

Aeryn drew back one arm, a spear of glowing light forming in his grip. With a grunt of anger, he launched it at the man, spearing him straight through the chest with it and pinning him to the far wall, where he slumped to the floor as the energy construct faded.

"Yawn. Boring," Aeryn remarked, lazily wheeling around to seek out another target.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Lobos

A fugue settled over his mind, conflicting memories warring, those implanted surging with fresh, vivid awareness, the experiences of his lifetime struggling to overcome. A ricocheted round panged off his right arm's gauntlet, and in that instant...

Zarhira's ploy worked.

A bellow of rage, and Thaddeus's fist writhed with arcane energies scant instants before it crashed down on the shoulders of his secretarial officer, a blast of power thundering them into the floor in a broken heap. "Stand down and drop 'em, boys and girls!"

Wading forward, his fist charged up again, the crystals of his armor flaring red before he hammered another of his officer's. The discharge hurtled them over the commons, slamming into the far wall, spewing blood from ruptured organs. Several cops of the force turned at his call, initially moving to comply, and then they witnessed the brutal assault with shock and fear. Confusion reigned in that instant, before the first brought their sidearm to bear as the Chief moved towards them, raising a fist that began to blaze again. A report among the rest.

Kraggen staggered a moment as the round tore into his side, agony bursting and then fading as his eyes blazed with a crazed anger, surging forward and crushing the shooter under a lambent mace of a fist.

"Chief's gone rogue!"
"Stop him!"

 

[Tiko]

as written by Lobos

Raven's many bodies sailed around the room, deftly outmaneuvering the aim of the defending cops with contemptuous ease with their sharply curving flight paths and erratic attack patterns. All the while, however, the creature monitored Zarhira's progress and the situation as a whole, his many eyes painting a far more complete picture. And what he witnessed was well according to plan.

'We have company.' Hearing and noticing nearly simultaneously, the Raven acknowledged that time was up.

'Withdraw. We. Done here.' Speaking through their shared bond, the entity drew his collective free, leaving the harassing hound and the rogue officers to maintain the attention of the officers as shifted his bodies in a whirling wall around Zarhira, yet more racing to form a dense, whirlwind of daemonic ravens around Kazura, screaming piercing squalls and buffeting the air as they spun like a cyclone of birds around him, not quite committing to an attack, but rather acting as a stalling distraction to ward the unknown away from the newest member of his brethren.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Cream

These four walls were driving him insane slowly. It was worse than being with O'Leary. He just wanted to get out of there and get Lena and his son. He was not in the wrong, and he wasn't going to spend time in jail for something that he hadn't done. He was not a murderer. He was a good cop. He fought for what was right. Even if it had crossed lines. He had done everything for the right reason. And now O'Leary was off the streets and the slave ring was dissolved.

Bray had no idea what time it was when the cell doors opened up. He frowned, expecting someone to walk in, but no one did. Getting up, suspicious, Bray poked his head out and saw a few other criminals do the same. At one point in time, Bray would have been the one to put them back where they belonged. But not this time. This time he was leaving with them. But first he needed to get himself a weapon. If someone caught him, he would be locked up once more and that wasn't going to be happening.

It took a few moments for some people to get the courage to leave their cells, once they realised the cops weren't coming. Only a couple of prisoners had left immediately. It was obvious to Bray that something was seriously wrong if the cell doors had opened and no cops were around to detain them all. He needed a weapon and fast. He was probably one of the only ones that would easily know his way around here, and first off he wanted to see what people were up to that were supposed to be detaining the criminals and keeping them in their cells.

Everyone had soon gone, and Bray carefully walked down one of the corridors. He could hear footsteps and grabbed the fire extinguisher on the wall. Back against the wall, he stayed silent and waited for the person to come around, and as soon as they did, the metal connected with their head flooring them. The man was out cold. Bray immediately went for the man's gun, taking that and any spare ammo he had. Then he couldn't help but move the unconscious cop back towards the cells. Taking the cuffs he had, he locked it around something that would keep him where he was. The man was just coming around as Bray made sure he took the keys.

He looked confused and dazed, and in pain. "Hey! You can't do this! What the hell are you doing, Bray? Where the fuck are the rest of them?"

"I just did. And we're gone. I don't know what happened, but we're free. And you can give Thaddeus a message from me."

"Fuck you! You're a fucking traitor. You murdered Corey!" He growled.

Bray smirked at the cop. "Tell Thaddeus that I'm a free man. Tell him that he's not going to get me. And tell him that I'm not going down for what I didn't do. Oh, and tell him I say hello, and goodbye."

He took one last look at the struggling cop before turning and running. He had a gun. He had ammo. Next it was to find out where his son was. Five minutes later the fire exit door was opening and closing and he was finally seeing sunlight again. Grinning, he tucked the gun away and the ammo, and walked down the street like he hadn't just been locked up for murder.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Sokka

Chen watched the chaos but he was about ready to begin attacking the Raven's when suddenly Aeryn and Thaddus turned on the officers. "What the hell...." Chen muttered. Chen at the moment was oblivious to the arrival of Kazura in the chaos.

Pausing for a moment chen thought, he knew both men were going to be tough targets. Gotta buy us some time... Chen thought, surely there would be others arriving to reinforce them soon. His Armor should be coming up from the armory in a couple minutes too. But for now he was on his own. There was a small desk harboring a dead or unconscious officer close by he wasn't sure if the man was dead but he didn't have time to question.

Running forward Chen thrust outwards propelling the metal desk across the room directly toward the Chief. The desk was bent forming a crude half moon shape with spikes protruding threatening to envelop and spear the Chief. Chen didn't want to kill him but with lives being taken around him he wasn't left with much of a choice. Sure he was the Chief but he couldn't let the Chief, or Aeryn take them all out.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Tiko

More officers were spilling into the lobby, and heavier fire-arms were passing from hand to hand as they upped the ante against the infernal hound.

Armed with aether rifles, they emptied bolts of arcane and plasma into the hound. Though its armor plated frame protected it from the brunt of the shots, those that made it into gaps in the plating had far more effect than the earlier bullets.

Arcs of blue arcane energy crackled and reacted with the internal fires that breathed life into it, seeming to enrage it further. Before it could retaliate though, it felt the tug of some unseen leash, and much to the officers dismay the construct began to collapse in upon itself. The small sphere that sat on the floor was snatched up by a raven to be deposited within Zahira's palm as it joined the wall forming around her.

"It's time to go," she informed Aeryn before she was lost from view.

Turning her gaze from Kazura, Zahira offered passive compliance to Raven's instructions as she departed the building at a leisurely. Thaddeus would provide them the cover they needed to leave the vicinity.

His task was a simple one, to die in the name of Krycis.

 

[Tiko]

as written by Verse

The lobby had obviously become a gore ridden mess in the past some minutes, blood pooling in various spots on the tiled floor. Bodies lay in mangled heaps as he gracefully flit his way in. The crazed shouts of the many that had been inside had been but music to his ears as his eyes searchingly sought the one who he'd felt. What truly caught his early attention, though, had been Aeryn. Not Zahira. Not the hulking chief that had begun to go mad, his ire and rage directed at his own men. It had been the bracer clad individual with a mouth only a mother could love, and even that was pushing it. Eyes narrowed, he recognized those very bracers. A sinister emanation began to whirl about him, his own malevolent vigor rivaling that of what he'd been feeling. Simply the sight of him was enough to induce a mind numbing disdain, nearly a painful twinge of spite, that thrummed from the depths of his sockets. Eyes hued vermilion grew illuminated, bathed in the crimson energy that pooled out of them and licked at the corners of his lids. "Patronus vermin..." He snarled behind his mask before releasing a pent up exhale of vehement malice.

It weren't often he found himself in such a conflicted predicament. Of of vengeful reasons alone, he wished nothing more than to snap the curs neck and leave him for dead...but as he watched the individual ravage the other officers, he came to the immediate conclusion that he'd already been suffering and would when he realized the damage he'd committed. "Either you've turned...or you've fallen to weakness; all control stripped of you." He commented to himself, enjoying the concept of the latter. In such a case, he wouldn't bother with the young man. Not for now, at least. Not until he'd taken care of the business at hand. The vile signature he'd felt. Casting eyes upon Zahira, he took note of the hellish hound construct as well. He could feel it spilling from within the creature. He could sense it swaddling Zahira.

As he turned his focus on her, his very steps swiftly carrying him across the tiled floor at that moment, he could see the devastation both Thaddeus and Aeryn were inflicting, and he took great pleasure in witnessing it. It certainly was the sign of a true, disturbed, individual. Why dirty your own hands when you can puppet the innocent into doing it for you? As he noticed her catch his gaze, his eyes narrowed in an almost befitting manner, one that could very well betray the sudden sneer that rose to his lips from behind the mask. Eyes that continued to excrete the nefarious energy remain fixated on her up to the point he was struck by a stray round. Caught in the face, it tore through a portion of his mask, leaving a straggling strip that began from the bridge of his nose off to his cheek bone. Light lightning striking, his gaze snapped to the individual that had shot him and came to realize it was a younger officer, perhaps in his mid twenties.

"You're all such pitiful fools to think that mere slugs and the like can harm me, let alone anything else in this forsaken cesspool!" He spat out as his hand swiftly rose. From the nexus of his palm came forth a cataclysmic burst of Kiai, a variant that held no actual Ki energy, but instead the pure force of it instead. Roughly the the size of a baseball, the clear burst of energy rocketed through the air before striking the poor man in his face. Head ricocheting back until his neck audibly snapped, it wouldn't have mattered otherwise on account of the power of it literally caving in a vast portion of the front of his skull, blood and sinew splaying out from the point of impact. Thrown to the floor, Kazura's attention fell to the a few others that, in their vicinity, had yet to worry about the other two carrying on with their rampage. Bullets were swiftly unloaded onto him, round after round, and he found his disguise slowly taking the brunt of the damage as holes began to litter his attire.

It wasn't often he felt his temper ebb away, but it was as he caught sight of the collection of winged creatures take up point around Zahira, and what appeared to be preparations for their departure, that he found little amusement in attempts to bring him pain, or death. How feeble the swine must have been to think they'd harm a Titan such as he. It was sheer folly. Eyes that had been producing such a vicious illumination grew brighter and more intense before he focused his gaze upon one corner of the room. He didn't care who was caught in the crossfire, he simply wanted the storm of bullets that were distracting him to stop. Searing beams of vermilion spewed from his pupils, carefully concentrated Ki blasts that could cut clean through most obstacles, and arced across the room. The initial officers that had been firing at him were swiftly handled, one halved with ease, whilst another happened to lose her head. The last had done what he could as quickly as possible, but as he'd lifted his gun above his head to take cover behind an overturned desk, he lost his hands. The rest in the room could be struck as well should they not have been paying attention, but again...he held no qualms in who lived or died at this moment. Sealing his eyes shut as he finally covered the entire belly of the building, he turned his focus swiftly back upon Zahira.

"I haven't gotten what I came for yet, you're not getting far..." He exclaimed, turning to head for the woman who'd just left. As he made his moves, though, he was suddenly brought to a halt as a swirling vortex of the winged creatures surrounded him. A vile snarl rose upon his lips from behind his mask as he found himself cut off from his path of departure. Ears, keen as ever, then heard the sound of grating metal across the tile as a crescent shaped desk clattered, and slid, along its surface. It certainly was madness in here, but it was about to get a lot more hellish. A sickening blanket of miasma like energy began to pool around, and encompass, Kazura's frame. Sinister tendrils rose and snapped out in various directions, perhaps picking the winged creatures right out of the air, but that was merely by chance. What he intended on was just as he did; merely stroll forward. The corrosive aura around him would chew through the creatures as if they were merely flesh to acid, to molten steel, to that which could incinerate and leave not a trace behind. Even the haughty, malefic, deity Maleficus found himself the victim to such a hellish device; his body plunging into it in the assumption he'd devour Kazura's very body; to assimilate him in a manner of speaking. But it was as the hellish God entered it that he found his body eroding away, even as the Deity he was. Merely charred bone of a former index finger managed to touch him before it crumbled, and became nothing.

He'd count on much the same happening here as he made his attempt to wade through the thick vortex of them in his bid to reach Zahira. It was rather frustrating that he'd had to enter and then turn around and leave. Running in circles wasn't a pleasant thing for him. His resolve all the more intense, he'd make his way out of the building, arm outstretched in an effort to pierce through the veil that had been Raven and secure her by her arm, the corrosive aura attempting to protect his arm but folding back along his hand to his wrist to avoid searing the woman's arm; what amount of it was flesh, that is.