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Post by Zukkah on Jul 3, 2020 10:43:27 GMT -8
Out of the pan into the fire | 7 Star Mission (14000 words Requirement)- With the activity of their brother (kyuudai), Heater, proving to light things up, the Devil's Cooks gang, (Toaster, Burner, Roaster, Oven, Stove, Broiler, Grill, Barbecue, and the boss Cookfire) have all begun to attack the big operations of Oolong City and their criminal operations. They want these punks dealt with but none of them wants the rival organizations to gain from it. So you, an outsider, must do it for the organizations. You keep what you take! A mission chain with attitude! Rewards: 1 Rank of Investments, and Your honor guard: A special sidekick which begins as a follower, then becomes a ‘lieutenant’ (with the same stats as a saibamen but obviously not a saibamen) when you hit 25 MP spent, and a companion when you hit 50 MP spent. In addition, when in thread with you, they provide a 2% bonus to your health whenever they themselves hit half health or below. This item has a zeni value of 0.
With Zukkah being assigned to take care of some things within Little Vegeta, he found himself in one of the nearest bars, treating himself to a few drinks and a good conversation. Inside the bar there were only a handful of saiyans, enjoying their down time to relax and drink away their problems. As for Zukkah, he was actually looking for someone and was having trouble getting any leads to where this person may be hiding.
The scarred saiyan grabbed the ice cold mug from the table and took a long sip, before placing the mug back down, and looking at the Bartender. "I’m sure you see a lot of faces in and out of here, but does this one look familiar to you?" He asked the female saiyan, while pulling out a picture of the man known as Toaster. The woman squinted at the small picture, while cleaning out a dirty mug with a rag. “He was in here right before you got here.” She responded to the saiyan. Zukkah was shocked with what he had heard from the woman, because he was literally about to give up on the whole thing. "That means I have some work to do. Did you hear of where he would be heading?" He asked politely, before grabbing the mug and chugging down the rest of the ale. She looked at him and just shook her head back and forth, unsure of where he had gone off to.
Zukkah may have had a lead, but he had to act fast if he wanted to catch this man and get on with his mission. With the little information given to him by the bartender, Zukk handed over the zeni for the drink and made his way toward the exit. Once he was outside, the saiyan shifted the sheath from his back so it was more comfortable to him, just in case he were to start chasing down the suspect or even fly off.
With no information on where Toaster was heading, Zukkah had to rely on his senses. If this man and his gang were strong, he would be able to sense where they could possibly be. He closed his eyes and began to do just that. Zukk quickly cleared his thoughts and began to feel a few ki signatures to the west of his current location. "Well, here goes nothing." He muttered to himself, as he began to levitate from his current position, then he quickly flew up into the sky and toward the ki signatures he was sensing out. Zukkah had no idea if it was the Cook’s Gang or not, but he knew that it wouldn’t hurt to keep searching.
Word Count: 461
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Post by Tolvur-Q12 on Jul 3, 2020 11:13:25 GMT -8
''..Toaster, Burner, Roaster, Ove-''
Those things Bryce remembered fom his life as a human. They all did something with heat, so maybe this whole club they were supposedly in was something to hunt down.
''-Ove, Broiler, Grill, Barbecue-''
Still, the themed names, handy as they were, didn't exactly ooze creativity.
''-and Cookfire! He's the worst of them all.''
Bryce scoffed as everything was being named, his targets laid out for him. It seemed to him that it would be worth it to hunt them down, and since this was basically looking like a mission the mandroid figured there would be a reward. He also remembered those. They kind of fueled him. He remembered needing zeni for something, and the sale from his fruits didn't exactly net enough. Then no one was exactly jumping in line to buy fruit from someone who would rather jump rope with your spine than calmly sell anything to gain money. It didn't help that he didn't have an inviting physique.
Thinking about that though, how come people had sought him out more? Being an android left him with no need for clothing, so the giant tattoo on his chest was always bare. In towns with fully clothed people that would stand out, and even around those animal-like monsters. Saiyans, he assumed. With a smile on his face he labeled saiyans as monsters, but there were not many people around who liked fighting as much as them. So maybe they were fun monsters?
''If I go hunt them down.'' Bryce began quietly as he played with the empty glass in front of him as he sat at the bar in one of the many towns of the Western lands. ''Then what's in it for me?'' He asked, his head rising and his eyes scanning the person who mentioned all those names, but who had failed to mention much else. There was no doubt in his mind he would enjoy the hunt alone, but it seemed to be kind of a big thing to ask for some kind of compensation. For him though, the idea of a fight was enough. No matter how strong or weak, nine against one seemed like amazing odds.
When it all took a bit too long for the liking of the mandroid he would get up from his chair, turning his back to the one who just spoke but failed to tell Bryce what was in it for him. ''What's in it for me,'' He began filling in out loud. ''-is that when I'm done with them, I'll come back for you.'' He turned, faced the person who had said that and smiled widely before stepping outside of the bar.
Thing was, he didn't know who to look for yet, he had been a bit too fast to jump to threatening the hand feeding him to get any leads. And he didn't dare to assume people would be quick to tell him who those people were. That man back in the bar seemed quite on edge when mentioning their names.
But at lest that meant it would be fun.
===================== TWC: 978
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Post by Maxine on Jul 4, 2020 1:03:30 GMT -8
The same office as always. It wasn’t unpleasant – in fact, Maxine would say it is almost exactly to her tastes. Clean, modern, streamlined; professional. Aside from the massive aquarium that took up one of the walls, but at least that was fairly entertaining to watch. Even for an Android. What wasn’t entertaining, was her usual company –
“…I apologise for catching you on short notice. But, the situation has worsened, as predicted. The Devil’s Cooks are mobilising, and we’d rather not get our hands dirty lest we leave our own backs open.”
”I see. Didn’t the Tea Family handle them lately, though? It seems foolish for them to spring up again so soon. Or is this a last-ditch effort, perhaps? It could be considerably more dangerous, if that’s the case.”
“I believe it’s a copycat group; possibly even a very lazy false flag. With that in mind, though, I’d still rather not take any chances. A few of the other organisations in the area have gotten in touch with my family, and we’ve agreed that it would be best to still take it seriously.”
”Understood. It shall by my honour to serve your family, as I always have. I will get back to you when I have results, my lady.”
“You’re pretty well-spoken when you’ve got a job like this on your hands, aren’t you? Well, be aware that you won’t be working alone. I heard from the other heads that they’ve already invested in some problem solvers of their own. None from within the families, so expect other freelancers like yourself. Don’t expect any familiar faces.”
”I appreciate the intel. Are there any other details you’re aware of?”
“Unlike the original group, they seem to be a smaller and less organised gang. Think more of a heisting group rather than a full organisation. Don’t expect too much in the way of quality armaments, but instead expect high morale and team cohesion. A direct solution would be best, rather than anything too fancy.”
This was a change of pace; hearing this spoiled brat actually give her some good information. Nothing she hadn’t already considered, but she appreciated the effort quite a lot. Maybe there was a yakuza queen budding inside her all along?
”I shall handle it in your name, my lady. Please stay safe in the meantime; I shall return soon with results.”
“Oh, and… while I know you are averse to killing, I shall say that I personally don’t care how things are cleaned up. I’ll put my faith in your intuition. For once.”
Now that was more familiar to her. ”I appreciate it. I’ll take my leave, then.”
-------------------------------------------
Well, it’d been a good plan; or so Maxine reflected, as she tore the knife from her eye socket. The pain was sharp, intense, and familiar. Why was it that she always had her eye torn out or staked or the like? Was that just an easy target? Maybe she had to start wearing her eyepatch again. Hrm, but she really wanted to invest in that Scouter HUD prototype that Two had dug up. Oh well, not use worrying about it now. Not dying was a slightly higher priority.
Her intelligence had been on point – she’d caught the group while they were preparing their next heist. It was a good hit, she had to admit. Blowing open the back of a second-story café to rob the place blind was a sharp and unexpected approach, even if they’d made their preparations a bit too obvious. If Maxine hadn’t been tipped off, she never would have figured it out in time to catch them like this. Even their target was a good one, a place with deep connections with one of the area’s minor families, an obvious money-laundering joint. Not a big enough place to earn them proper heat, but big enough to give them a much better score than hitting any actual café.
Unfortunately, her own approach had gone haywire. She’d planned to catch Grill, the getaway driver, on his own; and from there take down each weak link after he spilled his guts for her. While a fine shot with a gun, he’d made bargains with the Tea Family to leave his crew scot-free and fall under their protection… obviously, they’d refused, but it’d sent a clear message – he didn’t want to be in this line of business. An excellent mark for Maxine.
However, she hadn’t been expecting him to be in a bitter argument over the phone with one of the crew when she’d dropped in. Why would you call someone who’s only a few meters away? She just didn’t understand it. But it meant they had a tip off, and that’d led to this mess. From such an excellent entrance, to hiding behind a dumpster with a knife skewered through her eye and a few laser grazes. It looked like she’d lost them, but they were on alert now. She’d have to really conduct some tactical magic if she wanted to turn things around.
Though she was bleeding heavily, Maxine was more frustrated by the damage it’d do to her stealth capabilities rather than the sense of dull pain. Oh well, a shootout wasn’t the worst thing in the world, so long as she got a better vantage position. She hauled her beloved rifle from around her sling, and checked the battery – 73%, and she had two more spare. Her revolver had only gone through one shot, too; and she had only wasted one of her two flashbangs. Her resources were still high, even if she was wounded.
Wheezing, she just tried to regain her composure and let her body stem the bleeding; altering her circulation paths and calibrating her redundant systems to take over where necessary. She needed a new approach. She could use her jump drive to move a few floors up, but it might overwhelm her with the pain and incapacitate her briefly. Maybe she’d be better of going up manually, but she might lose far more circulatory fluid if she kept it up. The Cooks didn’t seem to be on the run, either, so she couldn’t stay here for too long or they’d definitely try and finish her off.
Damn. This was embarrassing.
Peering upwards for a route up and out of the alleyway, she noticed something more fascinating – a shooting star, for just a brief moment. Probably a local Saiyan zipping about, but it looked like they were heading this way ever so slightly… more Cooks? Too many Cooks in the kitchen? Fufu. Hopefully not. A tiny part of her hoped for backup… but, even a bystander would probably be good for her. She knelt up a bit, peeking up a little higher – and letting a hint of her vivid hair poke around the edge of her cover.
”She’s still here! She’s still here! Down the – left, my left – down the alleyway! Geez, where's that layabout Toaster when you need him?”
Ducking back again, Maxine cursed inwardly. Time to get desperate. <Two, any chance of a jump to a roof from here? I don’t want to appear in someone’s bathroom while on a job like this. She’d never let me live it down.> <Not too good. I’m seeing a balcony in 13.34 metres; 38˚, 153˚, 41˚.> <I’ll give it 6 seconds. Start the calibration, but don’t start the drive yet.>
At the very least, she couldn’t imagine her backup missing all this mess.
[1256/2234/14000]
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Post by Zukkah on Jul 4, 2020 18:35:00 GMT -8
With the saiyan cruising through the sky above and one thing on his mind, he spotted the city where the ki signatures were coming from. It caused the saiyan to smile lightly, before giving himself another boost through the sky to get to the destination quicker. A trail of purple ki followed the warrior as he closed in on the ki, but an explosion caught his eye. "What the hell is going on?" He muttered to himself, as he slowed down a bit to get a better look at what the current situation was like.
When Zukkah arrived at the scene, he landed on a nearby rooftop so that he wouldn’t be spotted by anyone. As he peered over the edge of the building, the saiyan looked down in the alleyway to see a familiar looking face. Except he seen the look of fear and desperation, so he knew that something must have been wrong. The saiyan quickly hopped down and quietly landed next to the woman with the look of concern on his face. "Maxine? Is that you? What the hell is going on?" He wanted answers, but it seemed that would have to wait for another time.
Zukkah got to a knee and scanned over the wounds of the android. They did seem rather severe, and had the saiyan worried if she could continue like this. "I really have no clue what is going on here, but I have a feeling those Cook’s bastards are behind this, am I right?" He asked in a curious tone of voice. Zukk usually wouldn't care about the whole situation, but he had a mission to do and now that Maxine was involved, he would have to protect her in the process. It wasn’t something he had intended on doing, but the saiyan warrior was trying to redeem himself of his past, so it felt right that he would stick by her side, even if that meant dying in the process.
It was then, when the sounds of gunshots were heard and bullets ricocheting off the walls of the buildings beside them. "Damnit! I’ll hold them off for now, but we need to come up with a plan." He called out to the female, while raising his arms and firing off a purple blast of ki in the direction of the gunshots. Zukkah was no longer playing around, he genuinely wanted these bastards dead and his friend safe.
As the streets lit up with explosions caused by Zukkah himself, he was not going to let up until they were all dead or unable to shoot at them anymore. "GAAHH!!" He yelled out, as a bullet pierced his lower right thigh, causing the saiyan to buckle and stop firing his own blast of ki at the crooks. "Fuck! I am hit." He said, as he winced in pain and grabbed the wound to help stop the bleeding.
Gunshots continued to fire off in their direction, so the saiyan closed his eyes and raised his left hands to conjure up a purple barrier to protect them from the gun fire. "I can’t hold this up forever. Is there a way to escape? Anything at all?" He asked, as he turned to the Android with the look of concern on his face. Zukkah had no idea if they would make it out of this, but he knew that he would give them all hell before dying, that’s for sure.
Word Count: 602 Total Word Count: 1,063 (2,836 Total Words from Everyone so far)
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Post by Tolvur-Q12 on Jul 5, 2020 7:24:22 GMT -8
The sound of gunfire was starting to be heard by Bryce as he got closer to one of the other towns while following energy signatures. A reasonable one had just gone there, along with a few static ones, so even if they weren't the people who he was supposed to be looking for he would definitely find some fun. However.. they seemed to be using guns, there were the one-off energy blasts, but there seemed to be way more bullets than anything else.
The mandroid smiled though, because this was an excuse to see how his new body would hold up against bullets if at all. He assumed that with how strong and resilient his body had become he could easily take a few and keep standing, but the big test was yet to happen.
When he got closer to the gunfire, so did the energy signatures he felt. One opposite the others, who he assumed were the ones shooting. Then who was the other one? Intending to find out he drew closer still as he found that lone signature in an alley, with someone else next to it. It confused him to see two people though, since he only felt one. Maybe.. this other one was like him, an android? The other one.. human? Maybe saiyan or whatever. In any case, to see one of those; be it human or saiyan with adequate energy sitting in an alley was frustrating to say the least.
It was then that he walked closer and took note of the collective wounds they had.
''Why.. can't I sense your energy?'' Bryce asked, ignoring the wounds for now because they would just get on his nerves. Bullets were whizzing by his ear as he waited for an answer that never came; not in time at least because there was a loud sound of metal hitting metal; a bullet hit home and found its way to the head of the mandroid. Luckily, his body had been prepared for this and expelled a tiny sliver of energy to negate the kinetic energy behind the bullet fired at him. But ther weird part wasn't him surviving a shot to the head, the weird part was him understanding bullets completely now and knowing how to stop them. Was this that new system installed in him at work?
He turned around and straightened his head, reaching down to grab the bullet that had just dropped at his feet and began to examine it. ''Guns.. How weak..'' He murmured, not realizing that the girl behind him had one out in clear view. But he didn't care either way and stepped out into the open, not really taking note of the re-opened hail of bullets as soon as he did so. Like a blanket they came at him and it seemed like this was the end for him. But what no one had anticipated was his newfound kinship with bullets. Somewhere, some time he really did need to find the one who gave him this new system and thank them.
A few simple and quick steps around were enough to dodge the bullets, and in a haze of speed he quickly found himself nearby one of the men shooting a gun. It was almost in slow motion as they looked over, firing a bullet straight forward with their target right next to them. A hand landed on the gun and crushed the barrel only after the bullet had been fired, so it didn't do much after that.
But Bryce, instead of doing anything to hurt or incapacitate the man, whizzed back with the gun still in his hand. He looked at the two people just sitting there and he grinned at them. ''They seem weak.'' He uttered not to give them info, but to deduce something for himself while simultaneously having a laugh. ''And they hurt you.'' Then he dropped the crushed gun to the ground and began to lower himself, looking into the eyes of anyone willing to look at him.
''How weak are you?''
========================== WC: 3571
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Post by Maxine on Jul 6, 2020 21:36:01 GMT -8
While Maxine was unsurprised that the skirmish had attracted unwanted attention, she was surprised that her miserable situation’s first addition was not something trying to shoot her in the head – thus far, anyway. She was even more surprised when a Saiyan popped their head into her cover. ”Eh?” came the squeak of surprise, a rare reaction from the professional; but she soon regained her composure. In spite of the white circulation fluid dripping down from her skull, she gave a slight nod of respect and a steady gaze. ”I apologise for the poor display. It would appear my initiation didn’t have enough planning behind it, despite the opportunity that arose.”Thankfully, Maxine was entirely mechanical unlike many androids, so severe wounds were not quite as complicating as they would be for anyone even partially living. Though she lacked the ability to deflect damage and recover quickly, she could rely on her redundant systems can keep moving in spite of injuries. It really wasn’t a pretty sight, though. Her gouged out eye left a mechanical socket exposed on her right side, which dripped white fluid from obscured tubing deeper within. A line of bullets stood out from her suit along the right side of her waist, and a laser blast had taken off a chunk of her shoulder. Yet, she was nonplussed – it was all replaceable, after all. Even losing a limb wasn’t unmanageable, or unfamiliar. That didn’t mean it wasn’t painful, but she kept that strictly to herself. As her unexpected ally offered some cover, she’d nod along obediently – she’d blown her attempt to regain stealth already, so no use fussing over it. ”Indeed. You’ve been briefed on them, too? Or just a passing ally? Well, it doesn’t matter – they need to be cleaned up. I misjudged my opportunity.” Shuffling aside to give Zukkah room to take cover if necessary, she continued in a level tone. She stopped explaining as he fired back to let him focus – though his howl of pain in the midst of the explosions would definitely have interrupted her anyway. Her usually cool eyes widened with concern, while she took his hand to drag him back to relative cover as he compressed his injury. ”It’s a bullet wound rather than a ki blast wound – it won’t be cauterised. Put as much pressure on it as you can; use a knee and you full weight if you need to.” ordered the machine, hastily whipping off her jacket to use it as an improvised dressing – Zukkah might be a Saiyan, but first aid never hurt anyone! ”No tourniquet, I’m afraid. But, I have faith in your endurance.” A rather comical thing to hear from someone who was speaking normally while drenched in her own blood, but more reassuring than screaming. ”I shall utilise a flashbang – it’ll take four seconds to detonate after I remove the fuse. When it’s gone off, I suggest flying up and out of the alley to obscured cover above. I’ll be using my jump-drive to teleport to similar cover.” explained Maxine swiftly, picking her grenade off of her waist as she concocted her plan in such a hurry – still, losing her second grenade was a tiny loss compared to gaining an ally! ”Before that – they are relying on projectile weapons so far, so shielding should be more effective than attempting to dodge their fire. I’ve confirmed six enemy combatants on the scene. High morale so far - expect them to stay together. If they retreat, they are likely trying to reunite with reinforcements rather than flee.”Giving a sharp nod after that, she raised her grenade – only to be interrupted by another new appearance. She wasn’t so foolish as to not check her angles; raising her revolver with a practiced movement, but… he didn’t even flinch, instead seeming merely bemused by their dire situation. This… definitely wasn’t Toaster. Staring blankly back as the cyborg idly commented on them, Maxine was at least thankful he wasn’t giving them a coup de grâce, but this was certainly… a change of situation. Shirtless and unarmed, he just strode into the line of fire… but, Maxine was just left staring at that kanji on his chest. The yakuza had ideals of humility and meaning, while that sort of claim was just… The shower of small-arms fire didn’t slow him down at all; which just drew more fire from the trio who’d been pinning Maxine – at least until their target turned into little more than a haze in their sight. Roaster loaded a new mag, and was suddenly faced with the easiest target imaginable; point blank… but, only a single bullet go out of the barrel before it was turned to scrap. ”Y-You… another Saiyan freak, right?! You can’t just…!” began to bark the man, but the sheer disinterest of Bryce shut him up. Wisely, he took the chance to retreat instead of chucking a tantrum, a few steps to slip back to cover – A trio of laser shots in the leg slowed that plan down considerably. Maxine did not feel particularly compelled to give a monologue about her age or backstory right now, so she decided to keep things practical; though she hoped sneaking in the burst of fire right around the newcomer’s leg wouldn’t earn too much of his ire. ”I’m relocating. I recommend using this opening to either push up and get in close-quarters, or also relocate. I shall provide further cover as soon as possible.” remarked Maxine quietly to her comrade, with the slightest hint of a smile – before sitting up on one knee, in a sprinter’s crouch. ”Stay safe, young master. Please excuse the absence of my maid outfit on this occasion.”And with a pop of electricity and a scattering of harmless sparks, she was gone. While the injured member of the Cooks, Roaster, crawled to some form of cover, his two fellow gunmen trained their weapons on Bryce – but, they weren’t so foolish as to open up again just yet. The trio had been in a thin street behind their store they had planned to hit, while Maxine had been caught in an adjacent alleyway. There wasn’t a civilian in sight right now, but there was a murmur of trouble on the other side of the buildings – the store was probably even used to this sort of trouble, given the nature of Little Vegeta. Roaster was helped to his feet by his comrade, and the pair began to slip away – towards what looked like an armoured van; albeit jury-rigged into a hovercraft similar to the ones Capsule Corp. No doubt they had their getaway driver in there too, but that only accounted for half the crew. ”You’re one of the vigilante types, are you? Or… a yakuza wannabe? That life’s not worth the trouble, seriously!” asked one of two gang members; a rather dashing young man with bright blonde hair. He stood a good five or so meters from Bryce, while his comrades were opposite him; leaving the android in the middle… a crossfire would be obnoxious to defend against, but it’d also make friendly fire far too hard to avoid for the Cooks. ”Hey, listen… instead of throwing your lot in with some other goons, how about you put those powers to use for yourself? We’re bucking that whole organised crime system – we take what we get, rather than passing it on to any bosses! And it’d be so easy for you, especially if you had other badasses like us handling the rest of the work. Sounds good, right?”Was he buying time? Or was it an honest proposal? Either way, their trouble was only just starting…
[1285/4856/14000]
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Post by Zukkah on Jul 7, 2020 18:40:38 GMT -8
The pain was only a reminder that he was indeed still alive and that was all that mattered, along with helping Maxine and himself to get to safety. He may have been injured, but the saiyan was far from being done. He quickly dissipated the barrier and looked to Maxine as she spoke to him about the wound, so his hand remained on the gunshot wound until the Android ripped her jacket off and wrapped it up as fast as she could. "Thank you, I really appreciate the favor. You’re so calm for being in this situation. Not your first time? You know what, we don’t have time, we need to get our shit together and find a way to hold our own. As for your questions, when we get through this together we can have a nice chat." He responded to Maxine the best he could, because they were currently under attack.
As Maxine explained that she was going to throw a flashbang, giving them four seconds until detonation. She suggested for him to jump to the roof once more, which he gave her a nod of approval. "Sounds like a hell of a plan and let’s hope that it works." He said in a reassuring tone. It was then that the female android explained that there were only six enemies to deal with, and if they were to flee from the current location, they would likely run back to reinforcements. This was vital information and Zukkah was rather surprised with how easily the android was able to get it in such a short time. "Wow, that is pretty impressive." He added, as Maxine finished speaking.
When the Android raised her hand to reveal the flashbang grenade, Zukkah smiled and readied himself for their little plan. Not even a few seconds later a man emerged from the shadows of the alleyway and was undetectable from Zukkah’s ability to sense. This must mean that he was an artificial being of some sort, but the saiyan turned and stood in front of Maxine as protection. Bullets began to fire upon them once more as the smoke cleared, so now was not the best time to be asking this many questions. "Listen, we don’t have time. I’ve got a bounty with Toaster and the rest of his crew, so I need to get these bastards before they get us!" He said in a stern voice, while still standing in front of Maxine for the moment.
It was then that Roaster loaded another magazine into the weapon and opened fire upon the newcomer. The bullets hit the android but crunched and dropped to his feet. "Damn.." He said in a rather stunned tone of voice. Zukkah may have been a saiyan, but he grew up in a secluded location with a small clan of saiyans, so all of this was very new to him, including all the fighting and guns shooting bullets at him.
With Bryce Vandross confronting Roaster, Maxine quietly spoke to Zukkah about her new plan. She suggested that he retreat to sneak up on Roaster, or retreat to take cover once more. Either way, he knew that she was much smarter than him, so he nodded with a smile to the android and watched as she popped off in a new direction, away from the three of them. Zukkah looked to the roof, then realized that he would likely have been seen by the others, so he slowly backed out from the alley and quickly turned the corner. Just as he was clear of the alleyway, he would push off the ground and begin to fly around the building.
When the saiyan rounded the corner, he saw the other men peeking around the van doors with their guns loaded and aimed towards Bryce. Whatever was going on, Zukkah remained still until he could come up with a good plan to wipe these fools out and get his reward. With Maxine and Bruce both androids, the saiyan would not be able to sense them, so he would have to rely on his instincts in order to succeed with the mission.
Word Count: 709 Total Word Count: 1,772 Total Mission Word Count: 5,565
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Post by Tolvur-Q12 on Jul 7, 2020 20:00:43 GMT -8
''Ya..kuza?'' Bryce asked as he was asked if he was one of those. ''Is that what you call yourself when you play with those weak guns?'' He returned as he stood in the middle of what could be a gigantic hail of bullets. Looking over his shoulder briefly he looked at what he assumed was the android behind him together with that other thing he could sense. Maybe if those two stayed together Bryce could track them, and seeing as they had the same contract, or so it seemed, Bryce would gladly welcome the help they could give. Or at the very least, the shields they could provide.
The bullets from before didn't hurt so much he needed a shield, but it would definitely help as they did distract him a bit and drew more of a response from him than he had anticipated. And in the middle of this massacre to-be it would be a welcome thing indeed because the mandroid had no intention of stepping down or even really listening to the men speaking. But at the same time he did not want to kill them outright, even if he knew for certain he could. Those other kids could do the work for him, and they would make this job easy for him. All he had to do was stay out of their way.
..but that was kind of hard with him standing in the middle of this entire cluster now, men joining on either side and training their guns on him.
He knew they weren't going to fire though, because seeing as the bullets were able to hurt fragile human beings so it would mean total decimation for the men firing if they were to unload their guns right now. And so Bryce waited, figuring he could just keep standing, reacting just enough to grab the attention to allow for the android and the whatever the fuck it was back in the alley to find a new position, assuming that if they did there would be some kind of sign from that energy-riddled one in the sense of it maybe spiking the energy enough for the mandroid to feel.
Already feeling them move a bit he decided to start pacing a bit, the barrels of the guns following him. This was highly unusual for Bryce, to be entertaining people who threatened him with nothing of real consequence to him this much.
''What can you possibly get out of all of this?'' He asked as he toyed with a remnant bullet he had caught before, rolling it around in his hand to keep it busy. Because the urge to just end this now was beginning to become overwhelming, but he also knew that other people deserved more chance than he ever got. He just hoped his time wasn't wasted waiting on that pile of junk and the waste of flesh with it..
============= TWC: 6,050
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Post by Maxine on Jul 8, 2020 1:55:54 GMT -8
Zukkah’s enthusiasm and compliments certainly made Maxine feel chuffed, but she tried to keep it to herself – a machine remaining calm ought to be easy! And, it would be cheating to say that she’d figured out all that intel on the spot. She’d surveyed the scene long before and done a fair amount of casing before making her move… really, it ought to say something about her that even with such information she’d still bungled her ambush. B-But, she could keep that to herself for now! She’d like to revel in the attention for just a little while.
She did not have long to think, though; as using her jump-drive was not pretty business – it was a jury-rigged mess of code and hardware, and so she wasn’t going to come out of this looking good. On the balcony she’d picked out earlier, sparks rained once more before space buckled and churned. Scraping to a stop, Maxine reappeared on all fours again. She soon collapsed, though, as the searing pain shot through her mind; like a razor blade swept up her throat and into her skull. She gasped in strain in spite of her usual composure, and tensed up all over – but then, it was gone. A horrendous sensation. But, that was the price for giving an old machine such modern power.
As Zukkah briefly took to the air, he’d probably spot her hauling her way up onto the lowest roof around the street. Her new angle was certainly a big improvement, but she put her gun back on its sling for now. Instead, she’d just watch the scene from above, trying to keep up with everyone involved – it seemed like keeping an eye on anyone reinforcing or retreating would be the most useful thing she could do while this new appearance was putting on such a show. She really wished she’d brought radios or something, though… she didn’t want to blow her cover and intentions every time she picked up a new target, so she’d have to just have faith in the other two handling the main mess. She couldn’t complain too much… this was kind of her fault!
Pressing up against a sign along the top of the building for at least some concealment, if not good cover, Maxine scanned the opposite rooftops for any other members. There was one, but she was unarmed, and was merely surveying the scene like Maxine for now; clearly far too focussed on the trouble below to notice her counterpart. <Two, check the frequencies for any communication activity. Don’t dedicate yourself to any decryption, just see if there’s any chatter at all.> instructed Maxine internally, not expecting a response. Two wouldn’t take long, and she didn’t have her hopes up, but it was worth a scan just in case anyone was making a call.
Things could only get messier though, as even with the extra personnel on the roof they had still only accounted for five of the eight members of the gang. As Zukkah glanced around the corner, it seemed his new position hadn’t been noticed… until he was clapped on the back, unbelievably. A familiar face – the man from the photo he’d shown at the bar just moments before – was behind him… and beaming at him. Toaster was a quite young man, and his black hair had been styled into wavy curls rather than the usual Saiyan spikes. And, well, it was really hard to miss that gaudy orange Southern Islands shirt. ”Thank goodness!” the shorter Saiyan whispered urgently, ”I hoped you’d be done quickly, Barbeque. Seems like things went bad… I’m thinking maybe we cut and run here? We did pretty well, and you know – that Cookfire can’t keep his mouth shut, he was always reaching for more. Let’s not die doing this nonsense.”
Well, that at least identified five members of the group, as well as the name of their leader; no doubt the soul currently chatting up Bryce. ”We’re – well, we were – just in the middle of a score. Hell, you join in now, and we’ll give you a cut. We just have to clean up this mess and then get out. It’s dirty money, so it’s already laundered, and the Duchies aren’t going to go putting its neck on the line for some other gangs’ ill-gotten gains. We’re practically the good guys!” chirped the blonde eagerly, with an oddly gleeful demeanour in spite of the situation. His comrades looked far less thrilled by the suggestion of another person to divide the rewards with, but they were slightly too preoccupied with Roaster’s wound to object. ”Alright, back to work, team! Grill, get our ride started.” Briefly raising a broken headset’s speaker to his ear, he added, ”Oven says the street is clear for now. Burner should just be a few seconds.”
While Roaster was left to awkwardly haul himself into some sort of safety in the back of the van-styled hovercar, the other gunner headed to the driver’s seat. Judging by their helmet and padded armour, they were a little more professional than the rest; though the braided purple ponytail sticking out the back from under it might make that a little less believable. With a stutter and the roar of an overworked engine, the machine came to life. It was likely the Saiyan could keep up with it with their flight if it wasn’t overclocked, but a battle in flight with multiple gunners was not going to be a pretty one.
It was hard to concentrate on that matter, though, as a muffled but mighty thud shook the ground. An explosive, from the shop they were robbing? It hadn’t penetrated the wall, though… however, that problem was soon fixed as a thin laser drew a circle across the wall, cutting through it and popping out the shape as if it was cookie dough. The next member of the group was revealed – an older man, easily in his late fifties, with a dignified look to him. Though he wore a simple balaclava, his clothes were otherwise fairly civil: suit trousers and a vest. What was perhaps just as noticeable was the thin beam coming from his fingers… he was no doubt quite skilled with ki energy to turn a blast into something so controlled and fine. ”Apologies for the wait; I thought it wise to wait until the shooting stopped.”
The situation was getting more and more complicated – Maxine hastily ran through her notes and the prior intelligence she had, matching up names and roles. She had to make priorities, and fast. The vehicle would be huge trouble for her, but Zukkah could fly; and it was likely to be the smallest threat on its own. Taking it out would force them to scatter, too, which meant the gang might be able to just rendezvous again later. Opening fire on the group below would put them on the run again, but also put all eyes on her, and she couldn’t guarantee she could incapacitate any of them at this angle either. So… best to pick off the weakest link and go from there.
Reequipping her assault rifle, Maxine flicked the safety before propping the barrel on the sign she’d been using as cover. The scout on the other roof was her target. She probably had five or six seconds to set up the shot before she was noticed – that was more than enough time. Just twelve metres, poor angle, but very doable. Sinking the stock into her shoulder, she lined up with her target’s shoulder through the red-dot scope. Thankfully, unlike a living gunman, she had no need to hold her breath or focus so much on stabilising – especially not at this distance. The distinctive crack and hiss of her beloved rifle was a reward in-of itself, but more rewarding was seeing her target go down with a barely audible thump. Not exactly non-lethal, but the cauterisation of the laser weapon meant it was relatively unlikely to be fatal… and that wasn’t Maxine’s style.
Unsurprisingly, the re-emergence caused all kinds of trouble below – a muffled snarl of frustration from Grill in the driver’s seat was echoed by Roaster: ”Quit wasting time! Dump the negotiations, Cookfire, let’s move! I don’t wanna be buried here!” Cookfire seemed wary and started to scan the rooftops, but the new appearance seemed non-plussed and simply began to carry the bags to the car. ”One less cut to worry about~! Oven was a bit of a loose cannon, anyway. Let’s continue.” chirped the older gentleman – but, the others didn’t seem to remotely appreciate the silver-lining.
[1432/7482/14000]
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Post by Zukkah on Jul 9, 2020 15:20:15 GMT -8
Zukkah knew that if he went out to the streets, it would likely lead to his death so he intended to stay right where he was, peeking out from the corner of the building. He scanned the area, looking to find the remaining gang members, but it seemed that most of them were focused on Bryce, or so the scarred warrior thought. He felt a sudden pat on his back, causing him to twist around almost instantly. As he saw the familiar face and the voice to back it up, Zukkah had to think quickly, so he nodded to Toaster with a slight grin on his lips. "Hm, maybe you are right. Let’s get the hell out of here with what we have." He replied, while looking to the black four door car to the right of them all.
The saiyan took a step toward the car and opened the driver’s side door, before looking to Toaster. "I’ll drive, i know a shortcut." He added, then slid inside the vehicle, waiting for the man to get in. Toaster was rather surprised with how Barbeque was willing to walk away with what they had to prove a point to the others, but he didn’t say anything to the saiyan, he walked around the vehicle and got in. The curly haired saiyan slid the seat back with the dufflebag of zeni on his lap. Zukkah had no interest in the loot the saiyan grabbed up, he was more worried about if this man would survive what was to come.
Zukk pulled the visor down and the keys slid down into his hand, then he quickly put the key in the ignition, and started the vehicle. ”Let’s go to my apartment, we will split the rewards and go our separate ways for now.” Toaster had no suspicion of Zukk as of yet, so the saiyan gave the man a nod, before pulling out and making their way down the road. Both saiyans kept their eyes on the road ahead, while staying silent for a while longer. Zukkah had remained quiet, because he was paying attention to his surroundings.
Toaster patted the black bag and smiled wide, then he looked to the back seat to see that there was nothing in the car at all, so he looked ahead, then to Zukk, back to the road nervously. ”So, where did you hide the stash, Barbeque?” He asked, as he slowly began to reach for his gun. This was not going as planned for the saiyan, so he quickly turned the wheel to the left, causing Toaster to slam against the side of the door and window, but the car lost control and flipped over several times. He made sure to be far enough away from the others so they couldn’t hear the chaos.
Zukkah was not prepared or even buckled in. The car continued to flip and bounce on the road, pieces of the mirror and bumpers flying about each time the car hit the cement. It finally stopped flipping, but slid about one hundred feet on its roof. There were a few moments of silence, until Zukk began to cough himself awake. "What the hell did I just do?" He muttered to himself, as he was now on his back, laying on the roof with an unconscious Toaster right next to him. Zukk reached to feel for his pulse to see if the man was still alive. "Damn it, he is still breathing." He said, before rolling to the window and crawling out to the glass scattered streets.
With minimal bleeding, Zukkah looked to the knocked out saiyan and grinned. A plan sparked into his mind, so he crawled back in a bit, grabbing the seat belt and wrapped up Toaster tightly, so that he would have to struggle before getting free, that is if the man didn’t have any broken bones. Zukk pushed himself off the ground and dusted his pants off and sensed out the main group of the Cook’s gang, but he remained at his location for the time being.
Word Count: 700 Total Word Count: 2,472 Total Mission Word Count: 8,182
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Post by Tolvur-Q12 on Jul 10, 2020 0:11:33 GMT -8
''Duchies?'' Bryce replied after a moment of reflection.
He knew that name from somewhere, there was a memory tied to it but he just couldn't connect the dots on it.. All he knew was that for some reason he did not want to go against them. But he was strong, strong enough to handle himself in any gang, for better or worse, so why was he so adamant about not crossing the Duchies?
And then he realized exactly why he remembered that name, what it meant to him and why he would never cross them. The android owed them, owed Melody. She helped him get settled, helped him find a place and get a life going of his own. A new life, not the one he had previous but a more sustainable one. Bryce never did consider himself part of anything and certainly not the Duchies, but he knew who he owed, and as part of his upbringing he knew better than to bite the hand that feeds.
So these people were looking to go under the radar of them? This produced a new problem for him, one he was about to take seriously.. He was offered a piece of the cut, as he was just told, and he could then take it to the Duchies as some form of payment. But at the same time he wanted wondered if what he would get for ending them was more worth his time. Besides, it wasn't as if those other two people- the other android and that saiyan, who incidentally drove off for some reason- couldn't be of further use.
The android seemed to know that saiyan and vice versa, and the android had been engaged in this before Bryce even showed up, so maybe she knew more than she let on, and could help the mandroid get some kind of thread to follow. Besides, being in the middle of a group of men with guns trained at him was exhillerating.
''I'm not going to join anything.'' Bryce shook his head, trying to remember if any of them had ever mentioned their names. But that saiyan said he had a bounty with someone called Toaster before, and he remembered that name from back at the bar where he was given all the names he was supposed to hunt down. Sadly, as seemed to be the norm lately, Bryce didn't pay attention and only knew that one of all the men surrounding the area was Toaster. Or maybe even the signature going with the saiyan belonged to Toaster, in which case he would be taken care of also.
With this in mind, Bryce grinned. ''I'm going to kill you.'' He told the unnamed man in front of him. ''I'm going to let the other two have their way, and then I'm going to end all of you.'' Some would say it wasn't smart to threaten gangs like that, but these didn't seem to care that much. Mainly because Bryce didn't do anything to stop them if they would try to run away. Letting them bunch up was a good way to end the whole group in one fell swoop, and they seemed kind of spread out for now, between the man chatting him up, the men on the other side of him, the one with the saiyan, and the injured one with his friends.
Slowly, he raised his hand, pointing his index finger at the blond man in front of him. ''I'm going to give you until the count of three to make a decision. Run or die.'' Bryce said, his finger beginning to glow red with energy as he heard the clicking of guns behind him.
''..One..'' ==================== TWC: 8,798
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Post by Maxine on Jul 11, 2020 23:54:25 GMT -8
While it was a considerable distance away, the immense crash wasn’t exactly silent – but as most of the gang were preoccupied with not being shot before they got their prize somewhere safe, only their injured scout could really take note. And unfortunately for Oven, at this point she’d been thrown under the bus. Whether or not their haste would come to bite them would remain to be seen, but Maxine was already considering her next takedown. She was both concerned and confused that she hadn’t been pinned again yet… they must have all settled for getting out of there as soon as possible, or that stranger was really keeping them on ice.
And that wasn’t far from the truth. Despite their internal friction, the gang had mostly had faith in Cookfire’s ability to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes, but Bryce’s blunt rejection and totally unveiled threat sunk that idea. There was a moment of joint hesitation, right before the android started to count down – by then, they’d definitely come to a joint decision without a word between them. ”That’s a shame… but, the warning was very generous.” mused Cookfire, tossing back his hair before zipping over to the car’s panel door. The older member wasn’t far behind him, though he went so far as to give Bryce a gentle bow before following his leader into the vehicle.
Though the tinted windows hid what they were up to, there was a brief scuffle from within, before the back window was lowered slightly and something was tossed through, bouncing near Bryce’s feet… and it wasn’t a grenade, surprisingly. Instead, it was a small stack of Zeni bills. ”Your graciousness was most appreciated, young man!” called out the older man’s voice; ”Keep those other kids busy a little longer, won’t you?”
As Grill had already gotten the vehicle started before, the crew were ready to move at a moment’s notice. With an immense rev, the machine strained as it began to lift off the ground – but judging by the roar of fire from its exhausts, it probably wouldn’t have much trouble once it gained some altitude. However, they were interrupted once again… by a new face. Bursting down the other end of the street in a reckless, panicked run, the final two members of the gang appeared. One looked remarkably like that Saiyan they’d been firing upon before, with the shoulder-length spikey hair – albeit with a pair of plaited ponytails sticking out of the mess of hair. The other, though… stuck out even more, somehow. ”You – what is this, the bumbling brothers burn-out and bailing business?!”
While the Saiyan was insistent on the traditional garb of his race – shirtless – the other… person, was covered from head to toe. A bulky, armoured ballistic suit covered every inch of him, with a metallic helmet that looked like something between a hockey mask and a football helmet on top. If that wasn’t noticeable enough, the pair of katanas strapped across his back would be enough… no, maybe the extra two at his hips were even more noticeable. Panting and wheezing from rushing over, they finally got near to the vehicle, before having to stop for breath. ”You… you can’t… have – you can’t have… the Cooks… without Broiler…!”
The Saiyan was considerably less concerned, just hovering up and into the air before gently landing on the vehicle’s roof and sitting down, not even offering a word. Lazily looking around, he cast only a bemused glance down at Bryce… before noticing a more serious target. Maxine only got a burst of fire in before he went flying at her. With a crash, the sign she’d been using as cover was shattered apart and Maxine was left tumbling – but a much more fierce-sounding gunshot forced the man off of her. Though she was already injured, she wasn’t a fool; her revolver was always just a heartbeat away from her hand. The two were left at a stand-off upon the roof, but it was clear a fight had to happen. The Saiyan was wounded now, and already a little worn down, but Maxine was still heavily injured and bleeding… though, she was as nonplussed as ever.
Still – none of that probably even mattered to the rest of the Cooks, though they seemed to at least be lingering for Broiler’s sake. ”Y-Yeah, yeah, you keep ‘em busy, Barbeque!” wheezed the heavily-armed and armoured ganger, before awkwardly gesturing for the car to lower down for them – ”I can’t just jump up with all this gear on… hurry it up and give me a ride! Then, we’re out of here; Barbie will catch up, probably!”
As Broiler struggled to get aboard, ‘Barbie’ was well and truly embroiled in his own troubles. Maxine and the Saiyan were at each other’s throats at last – despite her damage, the android’s close-quarters technique was still unfaltering; just keeping up with the unrefined Saiyan’s own. It should have been one-sided; it would have been one-sided; but that revolver slipped in a shot whenever Barbeque gave her even a few inches of space. But, even if Maxine could handle all that, she certainly couldn’t train her gun on that hovercraft right now… at least that kept one more thug off of Zukkah and Bryce, but the rest would be on their shoulders.
[884/9682/14000]
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Post by Zukkah on Jul 15, 2020 15:08:10 GMT -8
Zukkah was away from the main group of gang members, as he was now finished messing around with Toaster. He may have been wrapped up within the seat belt of the flipped car, but that only meant Zukk would have a short amount of time until the man woke up from his slumber. His senses were telling him that the rest of the gang were just down the street a bit from his current location, so he looked back to the wreckage, before turning and making his way back down the road.
With the sounds of gunshots filling the air, Zukkah knew exactly where he had to go. There was no use for him to even sense out the thugs, when they were clearly trying their best to take down Bryce and Maxine. The saiyan lurked in the shadows, watching the saiyan gang try their best to take down Maxine. Bryce on the other hand, was threatening one of the main thugs from near the alleyway where it all began for the saiyan warrior.
As the scarred warrior arrived on the same street as the remaining gang members, Zukkah eyed up the saiyan with the armor on from head to toe. It was rather intimidating at first, but Zukk had something to prove and did not want to be considered useless to his fellow comrades. "Only a true coward hides behind all that armor." The saiyan muttered to himself, as he glanced at the stop sign with a new idea popping into his head.
The saiyan smiled wide, before grabbing the base of the sign and ripping it out of the ground, exposing the bent and twisted end piece of the sign. As he looked to the vehicle hovering down to pick up Broiler, Zukkah quickly pulled the sign back with his right arm, then tossed it with as much strength as he could. The stop sign spiralled through the air, aiming to pierce the car and engine all in one shot.
The sign did exactly as Zukkah expected, causing the vehicle to drop down from its current height off the ground. Whether or not whoever was inside the vehicle got hurt, meant very little to Zukk for the time being. His main focus was now on Broiler and he grinned at what he had just done to prevent them from escaping the inevitable. "Look here, you hunk of shit! Your fight is with me now.." He called out to the tincan of a saiyan, before sinking down into a battle stance.
Zukkah drowned out all the other noises around him, putting his full attention on the fight that was about to break loose. Instead of jumping the gun and attacking first, he would wait for Broiler to make the first move, so he could test out the brute and see just how he would handle the entire fight. “You made a big mistake, punk! Now, you will pay dearly for that.” He called out to the scarred saiyan, while slowly making his way closer to him. Zukk just eyed up the saiyan and waited for the right moment to let this begin.
Word Count: 533 Total Word Count: 10,215
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Post by Tolvur-Q12 on Jul 17, 2020 3:22:45 GMT -8
Bryce's eyes went down at the object thrown at his feet. The man who had thrown it thanked him for something as the mandroid kneeled down to pick up the wad of cash. A smile grew on his lips as a simple thought entered his mind; if they had this to spare they would surely have more. That car would get grounded by Bryce and he already knew how he would get that to happen; by simply grabbing it from underneath and yanking it down to the ground. Simple, fast, and it wouldn't really hurt the people inside, allowing him to search for more cash.
His mind was set on this, but just as he pocketed the Zeni and began moving, the saiyan who he thought was on his side went ahead and threw a darn pole through the car. It went through fully and the car fell to the ground in a spectatular fashion, leaving the people in it roughed up and out of it for the time being. But there was also a small fire, it seemed, and that would burn all the cash. So there went that idea, and Bryce had been so proud of his thought out and non violent plan! Now the reasoning behind it was being burned to a crisp, and to throw salt into the wound, the saiyan didn't even focus on the vehicle!
Bryce looked at the saiyan and the large hunk of metal he was trying to provoke, but all he had done with his actions was provoke the mandroid, who was pretty much done with the passive approach by now. He turned to the saiyan called Zukkah and smirked.
''You take my target?'' He asked, moving closer to the friendly saiyan, his arms raised into a shrug. ''But can't finish? Then.. how about I take your target?'' He followed. And at that he began moving faster. Faster, and faster still until he got close enough to this armoured saiyan to jump forward, grab his waist and knock him to the ground with a huge mechanical tackle.
But he wasn't doing this to hurt Broiler. No no no. His finger beamed to the side and shone red, pointing his energy at Zukkah while keeping his eyes trained on the big armour beneath him. ''Finish your target or die right here, right now.'' Bryce told Zukkah, telling him to finish the vehicle he just threw a pole through as he then turned his face to look at the saiyan. Reddened mechanical eyes and a sadistic smile looked at him as Broiler wiggled underneath. ''Please, fail to do so, I implore you. I need to kill something today.''
And then, as he got tired of Broiler moving beneath him he would get up, and use most of the torque in his arm to fling the huge armour into a nearby building, before jumping after it and denting the entire place.
A few grunts and screams could be heard, but they were mostly from Broiler, with some angry sounding grunts belonging to Bryce following the huge explosion.
Stepping out of the building he would show that there were some scratches on his body, but nothing too bad. ''He was eas-'' He tried to say, but before he could finish he got tackled from behind by this enormous force.
''I am gonna show you why I wear this armor!''
..why couldn't Bryce sense him? Was there something preventing him from doing so?
He wondered even as his face was mashed into the concrete over and over again, cracking the very earth with each impact. But instead of hurting him, it made him feel alive and there was even a grin forming. As his head was then raised and Broiler was going to slam it down into the earth again, Bryce got up, the suit still oon his back and managed to jump quite a bit with it, straight up. Then he threw the suit of mechanics straight to the ground where his face just was, and pointed two feet at him as he plummeted back down himself, aiming to plant both his feet through the suit of armour.
==================== TWC: 10,908
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Post by Maxine on Jul 17, 2020 18:11:14 GMT -8
In the midst of their showdown, Barbeque and Maxine both had to break temporarily as Zukkah put a stop to the hovercar like a spear through a dragon – that immense revving came to a grunting stop before dropping out of the air with a tremendous smash. No explosion like in the movies, but anyone inside without armour on had no doubt felt quite the drop… particularly poor Roaster, who was already nursing a wound. Maxine wasn’t sure if it was the ideal answer, but she’d definitely have to give Zukkah credit for improvisation. The sight of a wrecked car with a stop sign poking out of it was a visual pun even she had to appreciate.
However, she couldn’t stop for a photo, as her rival and her exchanged a glance before returning to their scuffle; Barbeque was wise enough not to give her more than half a second to react so he could deflect the arm that was lining up another shot on him. The Saiyan was considerably stronger than the android, but she was using her size to force him into tighter quarters than his frame could afford; and pulling her revolver every time he tried to make space between them instead. Still, while her wounds wouldn’t slow her down, she was no in a good state at all… a Saiyan’s energy could eventually peak through their Zenkai, while Maxine could only plateau until her Drain-Type battery conked out entirely.
Barbeque soon made headway, as Maxine used his effort to move back and parry one of her knee strikes to make room herself… she’d realised she’d used all six shots from her revolver, so she had to swap to her rifle instead. But, he was just too fast, even with her sling – while she attempted to retaliate as he closed in, he caught Maxine’s elbow as she tried to hit him with the gun’s stock and deflected it before forcing the small woman down with a Western lariat. Her revolver slipped out of her grasp from the impact and clattered across the tiled roof, while the Saiyan was wily enough to toss her rifle aside as well while she was down. No flashbangs, no guns, no jump-drive… she was in a very poor situation. ”I’ll get lead poisoning before you do any actual damage to me, android…” grunted the Saiyan as he held her down, clearly not in a good state himself. He took the moment of control to relax and focus… he had to figure out his next move, now that most of the gang had been wiped out. He must have been messed up a bit himself, he was hearing some sort of clicking… ah, wait, it wasn’t from his head –?
Wincing with pain, Maxine felt the current move through her body – this wasn’t what her energy was really made for, but it’d do. By overcharging the outputs for her electricity placed on her hands, intended to cause neuromuscular incapacitation to foes she could grip, she could send it through her whole body… it hurt, and it was more wasted energy, but it worked. While her injured eye and open wounds sparked as well with the clicking of unstable electricity, Barbeque too was given a shock that his muscles were in no state to handle. He’d relaxed too soon, and let his Zenkai settle, giving the android to chance to neutralise him. So, being on a plateau wasn’t so bad… though, now they were both too exhausted to continue; left awkwardly wheezing while lying atop the building. A stalemate was better than a loss, though…
As Zukkah rejoined the central scuffle and Bryce ended up particularly preoccupied with Broiler; one more of the Cooks returned to the action – while the rest of the group in the car seemed to be down and out, Grill’s helmet and driving leathers seemed to have given them enough protection to stay conscious and capable. Or, maybe they’d just gotten lucky. Dragging themselves out of the wreck, the pony-tailed punk was on their feet with surprisingly speed; and pulling out their submachine gun again with surprisingly speed as well. Unfortunately, it was clear that while they’d gotten out in one piece, their weapon hadn’t… no matter how they mashed the trigger, or tugged on the magazine, there wasn’t a sound from the bullet hose.
Tossing the weapon aside, they took in the situation: Zukkah, Broiler, Maxine, Barbeque, and Bryce; but their helmeted gaze settled on Zukkah… maybe they were a Saiyan too, if they were willing to give up teaming up with one of their crew for another one-on-one. They weren’t unarmed for long, either, as a flex of their arms formed a pair of blades made of green ki. Long and curved, they looked rather poor for use like a sword. But, that explained why they followed by throwing them like boomerangs at the scarred Saiyan instead; perhaps inspired by the legendary Destructo Disk technique.
All caught up in their own fights, Bryce’s dramatic battle with Broiler was unfortunately only appreciated by the two combatants – and a number of bystanders, particularly the office clerks in that particular building. As Bryce went to bury him, the fatigued thug did not give up; though he did swiftly find out that curved blades like katanas were extremely poor choice to throw like knifes; much less against a thin target. Thus, his education then changed course into a hands-on study in geology… to say that Bryce left a dent would be an understatement. Asphalt crumpled and exploded up around them, forming the lips a considerable crater; while a screech of crumpling and scraping steel announced the absolute end of Broiler’s armour.
And yet.
A pair of hands reached out past Bryce’s ankle before the dust had settled – ”I’m no ordinary punk! I’m more than a Saiyan, and more than a machine!” Free of the armour, Broiler was finally fully revealed: a Saiyan cyborg, and one who had clearly had more of a rush job in his reconstruction than Bryce, nor the fine sculpting of Maxine. And, it looked like his Zenkai had kicked in, in spite of all this abuse… or, more to the point, because of all the abuse. Perhaps that was the real plan behind the armour; or perhaps his malformed mechanical looks were the real reason – but either way, Bryce would have to think fast as Broiler formed a familiar hand gesture. A point-blank Exploding Wave… it was probably only possible thanks to the damage to the terrain around them, but at this range it’d surely wreck both of them…!
[1100/12008/14000]
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