JTTM: Beyond Beyond The Impossible (RPG)

[Falkon]

A peculiar thing happened to the anvil. As it came in contact with Pleasure's head, it appeared to sink into it, before falling off and to the ground. Pleasure herself was apparently unharmed.

"Ow~" Pleasure smirked, "That wasn't very nice!"

Meanwhile, responding to the fact that a spike had been cut off, several of the weaponized bones began to stab at the area where it had been done, although Pleasure was apparently attacking at random, as the spikes didn't appear to be specifically aiming at any of them.

---

Falkon, thanks to his armor, had taken the blast unharmed, although the noise had surprised him, and he said so. "Yeah!" He said, "You?!"

Meanwhile, Griga had taken this chance to run, and he did so, blindly running forward in hopes of clearing the smoke- and escaping his captors- before the Brotherhood had regained it's balance.

---

Now that the fight was over, Mary turned the earth dome back into whatever it was before, and got up. "That sounded exciting!" Mary said cheerily, "Wonder if that guy had any loot!"

Walking over, she looked at Falkon's old body. Slipping the Hylian Shield off it's arm, she inspected the shield with interest. "I think Majora mentioned this once. It's unbreakable, I think!"

Tossing the shield to the side, she went over the body bit-by-bit, in a manner that suggested that she had done it before. In the end, she had taken his shield, a black armband made of some sort of metal formed to fit Falkon's body, and a pouch that had been tied to Rage's belt.

"Check this out!" Mary said, "The inside of this bag is bigger than the outside!" Experimentally, she stuck her hand in, getting elbow deep before pulling out a strangely...depressing...white cube."

[Laserface]

Oh look, Joe's physical attack had been completely futile. Big surprise.

"Says the lady impaling people not even going after her. You seem rather tough despite what people have throw at you." Said anvil vanishing before crashing through the already abused street below.

"Waiting for somebody meant to kill you? Or just enjoying yourself while your boss is busy? Do you have a preference of how I'll try to stop you?" Joe patted a Spaceballs The Flamethrower TM on the half ruined desk. "Maybe laugh off some fire, and point out even crematoriums can't destroy all HUMAN bones, let alone yours?"

Joe's outline pulsed with light for a moment, a ripple of transparency coming and going. "Maybe I'll just keep punching until one of us gets bored while the real me hides like a big baby. You know what? Let's try both."

The Joe Construct (Good likeness, as usual) flew across the desk, intending to kick whatever presented itself and shoot fire at whatever presented itself. you know, equal opportunity violence.

[Rain]

Police Station
The dim part of Rain still capable of conscious thought and semi-aware enough to regulate Mad Enhancement took note of her friend's injuries. And it was about as mad as the rest of her.

The metal spikes speeding towards Rain were mostly deflected by the sword, the skills of the greatest sword-wielding Servant more than enough to deflect such meagre attacks. Those from behind were, for the most part, dodged. Save for one.

That was caught. Despite being in her grasp for less than a second, when it was launched, faster than a bullet, it was no longer a mere metal spike but rather a magical weapon capable of tearing through a tank like tissue paper. Composite Superman would rapidly learn not to throw things at Rain.

And to make it worse, the knight was on the move again, trying to bisect both clones. If they dodged or blocked, so what? She'd just attack again and again, each blow a masterpiece of swordsmanship strung together in a berserk flurry.

---

Harbour
"Oh, so our enemy is a coward with no abilities of his own save what he can steal?" April asked, rather unimpressed by Amazo's ability set. Power-copying... things were infuriating. Endlessly. There was probably some hypocrisy in hating that yet being quite content to keep a Babylonian demigod inside one's own body, but she was too busy deciding what to do to work it out exactly.

She settled on Enkidu: once the chains latched onto you, the only way out was to break them. Sure, they were merely a tough chain, but it was a feat of raw strength beyond mortal ability, so this guy--who looked like he was using one bunch of things at a time--would have to drop all his annoying defences to get out, and that would give time to attack him.

First, though, that meant getting him in the chains. Not one to be subdued about it, April opened dozens of exits from the Gate in a dome around Amazo... and from all of them came the same speeding length of chain. A few went straight from hole to hole, whilst most took a detour and attempted to entangle Amazo's body. There was certainly enough chains that you'd have to be literally made of rubber to get through the gaps, though.

Leave nothing to chance.

[dblade26]

"That was just monster-man. He looks like Falkon 'cause it's some kind of zombie or evil Falkon clone or something." August muttered dismissively, still disappointed at most likely missing a chance to see really amazing swords.

He shivered and ducked behind Alicia's leg once Mary pulled out what was obviously a Grief Cube of the sort used to power up the Grief Blade. He could already feel the waves of despair emanating from the metal device and the spirit of the cursed blade responding and reaching out to it, but without Achilles to act as a buffer his only reaction to it was fear.

[troydenite]

Crack.

On contact with the expanding shield, the ki construct around Knight's arm shattered into a million scattering pieces with the sound of breaking glass - then the impact sent him hurtling into the concrete next to Toph like a very floppy meteor, several more bones snapping audibly at the point of contact.

He hardly felt it. What... what was that?

He had felt different during that fight, as futile as he had known it would be from the beginning. Purposeful. Alive. With no hint of despair, or of death, or of any of the other thoughts that had ran rampant through his head ever since that day.

Why?

For several minutes, he lay mangled, the green practically flowing through his clothing from every point imaginable. His eyes, glazed with pain, were nonetheless filled with disbelieving contemplation, as if he had suddenly touched upon a hope that he had deemed impossible a long time ago.

Was it... was it because he had been fighting for something beyond himself?

Slowly, painfully, the RinRinShi raised himself to his feet, both arms scraping uselessly against his sides as he moved into the direct path of the laser. He did not acknowledge the sword-girl that Toph had brought here, but even she would be able to feel that it was not through any intentional act of dismissal. It was simply because he was still trying to keep himself together.

The Earthbender herself, on the other hand, would hear the very distinct change in his voice a second later very clearly.

He was smiling. Not particularly widely, or happily - but he was smiling, nonetheless, and the change it wrought in him was dramatic.

"...Odd, isn't it?" he breathed, raising the Gokai Sabre in his dead hand. In an unprecedented burst of strength and speed, he swung his arm, taking the energy blast straight in the centre of the blade and sending it careening wildly - then he stumbled with a hacking cough, dropped the weapon and fell to his knees, clearly exhausted by the effort.

His expression remained unchanged. Still smiling. "...I actually felt something back there. The pain. Emptiness. Gone."

"Never thought that would... ever... happ -"

His voice trailed off, and his smile disappeared. With an alarming cracking sound, he froze - then the top of his left thigh practically split into a cascading shower of white sand, as if he himself were dissolving from the damage he had sustained and the last-resort, deadly technique he had used on himself. Which, basically, he was. The particles running from the rest of his body were not the best of signs, either.

Toppling forwards, the youth fell, landing in a rapidly-growing pool of white. Time was running out.

[Krautman]

John saw August's fear and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, breaking his transformation.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to help, Alicia. But... well, I got kind of distracted here."

[serendipital]

"Yeah," Ed replied. "Just spaced out a bit." Really, he was thinking about the situation, but it was about time he pay attention to his surroundings, especially with a battle coming up.

[fusionman]

Fusion tagged along with Joe only to freeze when he sees Pleasure and Composite Superman.

SUPERMAN?! What the hell we can't deal with...I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to die

Fusion has been shuddering and shivering the entire fight repeating this mantra to himself. Your friends are being ravaged out there. Once they die he'll move on to you.

nonononononononono. Dooku please...there's got to be a transporter option or...some way out of here.

There isn't. So you fight and hope to overwhelm him or you die. Make your choice before I am forced to make it for you.

Fusion breathes and talks quietly to himself. "If we're going down we're going together."

Fusion charges in. "Pleasure! Take a hot dose of PLLLLLLAAAAASSSSMMMMAAAAAA!" He tries to slash Pleasure hoping to hit something important.

[stratofarius]

Central HQ

"Stay sharp, sir." Hawkeye said, nodding towards the portal and she ran towards it and jumped inside. Alphonse followed her, also jumping inside but not before making sure Edward was right behind them.

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

Amestris Underground

As Griga and Doktor Z escaped from the Brotherhood, Maki walked out of the portal and into the main area of Dai-Shocker's makeshift HQ. Daishuryou, who was standing with his back turned to him, nodded. "I trust you have done well, Maki." he said, holding a piece of chalk in his hands.

"I'm afraid the answer to that question is no." Roy said as he stepped out of the portal, pointing his hand at Maki. "It's over, Daishuryou. We've destroyed you once, and we can do it again. Make this easy for both of us, and give up."

"I won't give up so easily, Colonel." Daishuryou said, turning around and raising his hand. "I have spent my time copying a technique from one of your former enemies. I can only do it thanks to advanced Dai-Shocker equipment, but the results... oh, I'm sure you'll love them.

Roy got ready to defend himself from an attack when Hawkeye and Alphonse stepped out of the portal. Hawkeye pointed her gun at Daishuryou, who clenched his hand into a fist. The shadows suddenly obtained eyes, similar to how they acted under the control of the homunculus Pride: except these eyes seemed unreal and artificial. The shadows covered Hawkeye, throwing her against the ground. There was a clap from Alphonse, a "no" from Roy and a "do not move" from Daishuryou.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Elric." Daishuryou said, pointing at the ground. They were standing in the middle of a human transmutation circle. Alphonse gasped, stepping out of it, but Roy remained in the middle. The reason? Hawkeye was now trapped against some debris, the shadows at her throat, ready to rip her to pieces. At this point, Griga and Doktor Z would arrive. "I'm sure you know what you have to do in order to get your beloved Lieutenant back, don't you?" He said, nodding at Maki to get ready to... force him to do what had to be done, in case the Colonel resisted. Upon seeing his other two generals arriving, Daishuryou ordered them to surround Roy and the others, to make sure he didn't try to escape.

Roy, however, was exchanging nervous glances with Hawkeye. He knew what to do. He just needed a chance.

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

Amestris Sewers

"I-I'm fine!" Ty Lee replied, coughing and eventually finding Falkon. She quickly hugged him, before turning back to Flanker and the others. "Everyone else is fine?"

"We're fine, thank you very much." Ling said, the usual smile on his face as Lan Fan returned to oversee Sam's healing process. "Although our fishy friend and his hammy companion escaped in the process. It'll be easy to track them." He said, pointing with his thumb at the floor. "One of them was bleeding, giving us a convenient trail right to your enemy's doorstep."

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

Gotham's Rooftops

"Mary, please, put that away." Alicia said once she spotted the Grief Cube and August's reaction. Once she saw her husband, however, her reaction was completely different: she kissed him, giving him a tight hug. "I-I'm sorry. It's just... for a moment, I thought I was going to get smashed by a giant mineral creature. John, we need to find a safe place. For August and for the baby."

She looked behind her, grimacing. "Besides, we have to find out where Masjora is heading. It's obvious that all of this is a way for him to keep everyone busy while he strolls in Greed's hideout and absorbs him. I'm sure... I'm sure you and Mary can handle him, can't you two?"

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

Composite Superman at the Police Station

"Crap!" Nightwing yelled once more after Pleasure's random attacks began. He anxiously waited until Jenny finished cutting off the bones, and quickly picked up Moerin, taking her to a safer location. "Keep looking at me, girl, keep looking at me!" He said as he ran as far away from the bones.

Meanwhile, in the fight with the Composite Supermans, the first clone thought he could easily handle Grey. He dodged the right hook, but the left uppercut caught him by surprise. His immediate reaction was to turn into a giant bouncing ball, but that only gave Grey more area to hit him with. Her attack sent the bouncing ball flying away, but most importantly, sent it flying away with pain. He landed not far enough from her, groaning and roaring in pain. What was going on with him? He felt pain, but nothing in his body changed. The pain was constant, never-ending, like a spike impaling him from the inside. In a foolish attempt to attack Grey, the clone actually shapeshifted, turning into an exact copy of the mage, and attempted to copy her attack, lacking the magic to actually do so.

The other clone, busy fighting Rain, wasn't stupid. So when he saw the metal spike heading towards him, he easily dodged it by turning part of his body into plastic. However, while he was smart enough to keep dodging some of her attacks (so his other clone could focus on Grey), he wasn't fast enough to actually dodge Rain, to the point where one of her attacks cut off his arm. Once she did that, the same arm on the other clone disappeared. The other clone stopped dodging, and it was then that his body phased through Rain's sword, as his arm slowly and very carefully regenerated. At least, that's what it looked like, except the arm didn't really grow back: the clone appeared to be distraught by the fact his arm had cut off, and all it did was grow just a tiny bit and go back to it's cut-off state.

To distract Rain, the invisible clone picked up a bunch of debris and threw it at the girl, making them extremely heavy. As the minutes passed, the debris got heavier and heavier, and would continue to do so until the invisible clone was stopped. The second clone, still in a state where he's able to phase through solid matter, ran into the debris of the police station so he could regenerate his arm without any interruptions. Or at least, that's what he wanted everyone else to believe.

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

Amazo at the Harbour

Toph raised an eyebrow. "That's odd. I mean, aren't you one of those people Blabberbrother told me about? Your heartbeat is out of--" Her question was never actually finished, as Troy went and took Amazo's attack to the chest. Once he started dissolving into sand, the girl started to panic, trying to bend the sand back into Knight's body. She knelt besides Knight, foolishly slapping him in the face, like she was waking him up from some nightmare. "Come on, Shining! Don't do this to me! Not right now!"

Amazo noticed April's attack, and at the moment the chains started to come out of the gates, he said "Plastic Man." His entire body turned into plastic, and with the help of cartoony sounds, he effortlessly dodged the chains, making loops and turns around them, even going as far as to stretch parts of his body and create holes in the middle of others. As he dodged the chains, April could see his head making its way out of the chains range- and one could guess that if any parts of his body were outside of the chains' range, then he could just, to put it in plastic terms, squash and stretch his way out of April attack.

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

Doomsday at the Bank

The creature seemed to be adapting, not to Anno's weapon, but to her way of fighting. Once she attempted to hit the creature, it stopped hitting the ground and attempted to punch her once more, in an exact copy of the last attack. It didn't end there, however. Even if Anno was smart enough to dodge, Doomsday's other fist attempted to slam her from the other side. And even if she manage to dodge that, the creature dove it's head forward, attempting to headbutt her into the pavement. And to close this surprisingly well-crafted string of events, all of them tailored to do some damage to the girl even if she blocked or dodged any of the attacks, Doomsday ripped two square pieces of concrete and attempted to squash Anno between them right after the headbutt with a speed the girl hadn't seen before.

[serendipital]

Ed cursed, as he was standing on the circle as well. his hands were poised in a clap. He gestured slightly at Hawkeye, asking silently if he should give it a go. Cooperation was key in this kind of situation, even if the Bastard was the last person he'd like to work with.

[Deleted]

Outside Gotham Bank

A fast punch. Anno lept back. Saber was not the most agile of Servants, but she was far faster then a human being, and having this speed allowed her to swiftly evade the first punch. The second was more difficult to evade. However, Anno took advantage of having gained a small amount of distance on the huge grey hulking creature, and backpedaled enough to avoid it before quickly moving in again. If she could manage to drive the sword upwards and into the creature's body...

She didn't see the headbutt coming. Anno saw stars, and toppled forward, managing to catch herself before she fell completely to the ground by landing on one knee. This thing was more intelligent then it looked, at least when it came to fighting. The attacks had been timed so that avoiding one left her open to another... only the endurance of a Servant had saved her.

Anno needed to try harder.

Concrete blocks, brought up to use as weapons with the intent of crushing. Anno swiftly raised Excalibur and got off of her knee. She was still slightly disoriented, but she needed to act. Swinging Excalibur horizontally, she sliced through the blocks of concrete and then pushed off the ground. The tip of Excalibur was pointing right for the creature's chest. Anno's eyes narrowed.

She would drive Excalibur in and end this here.

[Psyga315]

Dr. Maki then had his Keyblade pointed to the back of Roy's neck as he had the dark shadows he summoned before make chains appear on his legs. Doktor G then went to Daishuryou.

"Soon, the BRAZAAAHOODO will fall before us!" He said, reverting to his human form.

[fusionman]

Fusion charges to the one who looks like Grey. "Well that didn't work out did it dipshit? Seems whatever master plan you had bit you in the ass."

Fusion tries to swing right at Composite Superman's arm. "Guys! He can't heal right?!"

[Falkon]

Although the fire was burning the bones, it's progress was rather slow, and the closer the construct came, the harder it would be to avoid the sharp- and now burning- bones.

Then Fusion slashed at the bones holding Pleasure up, causing her to fall a few feet, before regaining balance. "You have fun now," she told Joe, "I'm afraid there are more courageous enemies to deal with."

The illusion faded, revealing the main skeleton, as well as it's very crushed skull, as Pleasure returned to a position a few feet off the ground, held up by bones taking on a formation similar to spider legs.

Then, the demon began it's attack on Fusion.

---

Griga took up position opposite of Maki, his body sparking with electricity, and his fins readied for throwing.

---

Mary, a little confused by August's reaction, dropped the cube back in the pouch. "What was the armband for?" She asked, setting the pouch to the side, "I sorta remember Sword-Shield using it before the whole Halloween thing."

---

"Assuming they knew where the enemies doorstep is." Falkon said, still as weary as ever, "But I guess it's our only option..."

[Flanker]

Flanker, Amestris Sewers

Although the sound was muted by the pipes under which Kame Bazooka was buried (and the bomb wasn't particularly powerful in the first place), the noise was still loud and took Flanker by complete surprise. Releasing his grip on Griga and twisting awkwardly as he tried to figure out where the explosion was, he was hit by the remnants of the blast wave. Although it didn't do any damage, it still felt like someone had dug their fist hard into his stomach, knocking him on to his back.

The Mega Man lay still for a few moments, trying to ascertain if he had been seriously injured or not (at the very least he was winded). Staggering off of the ground and looking a little paler and worse for wear than before, Flanker tried to shake his head to clear it. Although he knew where he was, he was finding it difficult to orient himself (something not helped by the choking smoke).

It soon cleared, however, and Ty Lee's question was met with a somewhat hoarse "I'm good."

Noticing that Griga and Doktor Z had escaped, Flanker plunged a beamsabre into one of the sewer walls in frustration. It had looked as though they might've been able to get a step ahead of Dai-Shocker for once, but Kame Bazooka's explosion had put paid to that. "...Let's get moving."

---

Elpizo, Gotham Bank

The blonde haired reploid disengaged from Joseph and skirted out of the way of Ciaran's pickaxe, though it grazed his arm. Feeling the sting of the wound, Elpizo's eyes narrowed and he whipped his free hand around to strike the teen across the face, dark energy trailing his hand all the while. Once more, his eyes flashed red.

"You idiot!" he hissed, venom corroding his previously calm tone. If Elpizo had any further choice words to add, they died in his throat as Doomsday's mini-quakes caused him to lose his balance, falling flat on his backside. Luckily for him, he managed to avoid skewering himself on his beam rapier as he fell.

Getting up, Elpizo finally noticed the tussle between Anno and Doomsday. A lack of comprehension crossed his face fleetingly, before it was replaced with a smile. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise...

[22myguy]

Joseph gazed in horror as the dark purple and black flames came towards him, he didn't have time doge. Joseph started running in a pointless attempted to escape the flames. Joseph closed his eyes, dreading the shock and pain that would overcome his body but all he got was loud whooshing noise.

Joseph slowly opened his eyes; the first thing he noticed was that he was very much alive; the second thing was that, he was at least ten mintes away from the battle at the bank.

“How the hell, did I get here?" Joseph was really confused right now, how was it even possible for him to get from where he was to where he was currently standing. Joseph started looking for any clues that might help him figure out, what happened. That was when looked he at his hands and noticed he was still wearing Flash ring from earlier, Joseph had been so focused on what was going on, he had completely forgotten about it.

Then was Joseph hit by a revelation, if what this ring and that whooshing noise from early were implying was true then he might just stand chance against that robot, Dai- whatever hell he was. But Joseph needed to test his theory out.

Joseph picked out a lamp post further down the street; he estimated that it would take him about five minutes to get there. Joseph got into running position and started to running towers the lamp post. Before he even had time to blink Joseph was right there standing next to the lamp post, ok so Joseph had solved the mystery of what power the shard had given him; super speed. Now Joseph had to figure out what to do with it, first things first; his cloths. Joseph knew if he ran at super speed for prolonged periods of time, his cloths would be ripped apart by the frication. Fortunately Joseph had solution on his middle finger. “I hope this works” Joseph thought to himself, he pressed a small button on the ring and costume popped out of it.

The costume in question resembled that of The Flash’s, but with a few differences. Firstly the bright scarlet had been replaced by a dark moron, the parts that were gold were now a striking sliver and the circle in the centre with lightning bolt piercing through it, was now pitch black as opposed to the white one on the more iconic version of the suite. Finally the wings on the cowl and boots were gone.
“A little dark age, my tastes, but I think it will do,” Joseph commented. Before he could put the costume on however, Joseph felt that odd feeling he had back in the cave. He looked around but there was no one there, Joseph shock his head pushing all thought about this odd feeling to the back of his mind, they would be time to worry about it later.

Joseph slipped the costume on in the time it would take a man to blink, what he did with his normal cloths is mystery that will never be solved. He then picked up his bat and ran. Suddenly the world slowed, for a brief time frame, the only thing seemed to existed were Joseph, the whooshing sounds he made and rush of moving at super human speed, the eloquent description that comic writes gave did not even begin to give the experience justice.

As he closed the gap between him and Elpizo, Joseph raised his spiked bat and brought it crash in down into the back of Elpizo's head.

[fusionman]

Fusion screams. "What the fuck did I piss off this time?! My god it's Cortez from Thousand Year Door! It's going to kill me!"

Fusion starts flailing at the front legs. "Kill its balance! Kill its balance!"

Fusion continues flailing as he giggles. "OK you need to teach me not to say my plan to the bad guys."

[Laserface]

"Well, that's kind of the opposite of what we were hoping for really." The Joe construct commented before getting it's skull pinned to a wall.

Pleasure was gunning for others again... And Fusion was losing it fast. Rambling crazy was more courageous?... Well, it was a crazed skeleton making that judgment.

Meanwhile, Real Joe TM was hoping Pleasure couldn't see through her spider kneecaps as he waited behind the crumbling doorframe of the first floor Police station entrance. The Homunculous would have to lower themselves if they wanted to get up close and personal with Fusion, so the Newb Lantern waited with the word 'Overwatch' floating by his shoulder, hoping Pleasure's main body would have the courtesy of passing through the scope of his Plasma Sniper Rifle construct.

Okay, so we have progressed from complete proxy fighting to... Hiding with a gun. That's not much of an improvement really in the courageous department Joe.

[Psyga315]

Although there was blood on the trail, it was getting quickly washed off by water and the trail would be forever lost if they don't hurry. "Alright. Follow the blood trail. If they do lead to Daishuryou's lair, then we can roast the fucker and come back in time for Christmas!" Nicholas said. A glow was seen behind him as he noticed that Rider had mentally summoned something to his aid: his black horse: Bucephalus.

Nicholas hopped on Bucephalus and rode him through the sewers.

---

Knight would soon awake in a mental realm. It seemed to be like Stonehenge, but more modernized. If he were to look around, he would notice a familiar figure sitting on the top of one of the stone formations, arms folded. A familiar, all red figure.

"Hello, Knight." Akared said. If Knight were to look around, he would notice an unfamiliar figure. A golden-eyed woman with long pink hair and wearing a fancy white dress.

[troydenite]

He was frozen. His body was melting away, blowing away with the wind layer by layer. He felt nothing. He heard nothing. Yet even as his smile crumbled away and he floated towards death once more, he realized that he only felt one thing, one odd, quaint thing...

Contentment.

The youth tumbled forwards into a yielding softness. Blinking twice, he raised himself to his feet - then he looked around at the rolling field and the circle of carved stones around him, placed in a haphazard and yet innately ordered fashion.

No air. So, he was...

Knight's gaze traveled up, to one of the stones on his left. A figure in red spandex... and a woman.

"...AkaRed." His greeting was soft, and surprisingly gentle, as if he were calmly prepared for whatever lay ahead. It was almost jarring, not having that black pit of despair weighing in his heart - but it was a good, sharp contrast, one that seemed to awaken and refresh him at every thought and leave each one brighter than before. This was what peace felt like? He had forgotten.

He wanted to hold on to it forever.

Knight smiled. "Have you come to take me, then?"

[Psyga315]

"No. If that was the case, I wouldn't be the one to whisk you away to the afterlife. No. You are special. You, like others before you, have become an extraordinary person. Someone whose spirit will never die, even if they are killed. I can see you one day becoming a legendary ranger... However... You rely on others legends, riding on their coattails. You borrow their powers, their legacy. I wish to see your own legends unfold. If you rely less on the power of others, and the powers of yourself, then you can achieve more than you can imagine." Akared said. He then hopped down and revealed from his hands a strange brace.

"Now... go forth and make your own legend!" Akared said to Troy.

[Mahou Moerin]

Moerin - Gotham City, Police Bank

What am I doing wrong? I... I tried, but...

You really are an idiot, aren't you? After all we went through in Chara World, you still haven't learned anything!

Was it just a delusion brought on by her wounds? No, it couldn't be... She'd met the other her in Chara World, after all, the humanity that still remained within her. She'd told her about her power, the great fire that burned within her, but... But why wasn't it working? She tried to remain calm, tried to control it, but-

That's the problem! You're trying to control it! The voice of the other Moerin in her head sounded rather irritated, as though Moerin was overlooking something blindingly obvious. Do you honestly think that the great flame of life that empowers you could be controlled? This isn't some dumb shonen anime where you learn to control the vast, overwhelming powers within you! You have to let yourself lose control!

Lose... Control? Moerin didn't want to do that... Her friends were here... Her little sister was here... Nightwing and that Green Lantern and the other boy she didn't recognise were here... She didn't want to hurt them inadvertantly...

...You can't see it, so I'll just say I'm rolling my eyes right now. It's the flame of life, moron! Even if you can't control it fully, it's still not going to hurt anyone you care about! Just... Just embrace the power, and let the Orgone flow through y-

...Seriously, um... That's the name we're going for? Orgone? I'm not stupid. We both know what that means.

...What, would you prefer it if we called it Anima Spiritia? Oh wait, taken... Getter Rays? Nope, wait, taken too. Spiral Energy? ZA POWA?

...Fine, fine... Here goes nothing...

...But even after all this, nothing seemed to be happening. Moerin's body was still limp, the big gaping wound in her chest hindering any attempt she made to move. Her body had heated up quite a bit, but... Other than that, nothing.

...Why... Why won't it work? Was all of that... Was it all for nothing?

---

OOC: Will do something for Jolokia and Anise later. Just needed to hurry this bit up. >.<

[Rain]

For a second it seemed as if the debris had driven Rain off, despite being deflected or simply glancing off the armour to no effect. After all, the mad knight dashed backwards, further from the enemies. It was but the calm before the storm, as Caladbolg was promptly launched at the invisible clone and exchanged for a battered police bike.

Though far from automotive perfection in its base state, it was now a powerful weapon of war, black smoke and crimson lines creeping all over it as the engine revved and the whole thing burst into motion towards the invisible clone and the police station. Ramming was from far Rain's main intent, though: an icy spear was grabbed from the ground and subject to the same corruption.

If she missed the invisible clone despite ploughing headfirst at ludicrous speeds through the debris, intending to lance him. It didn't matter much if she missed; she'd just keep going on, through the wall, and try and get the fleeing version.

---

"Jolokia, get him whilst he's occupied!" April shouted, continuing to watch Amazo stretch and twist to try and escape... and blocking him off at every turn just be continuing to extend the forest of chains. Enkidu's length was infinite, unlike its hardness.

[fusionman]

Fusion continues to flail incompetently showing his lack of skill and looking eerily like the Star Wars Kid. During his failed attempt to look badass he happens to notice Moerin off the corner of his eye. "Hey Joe! Somebody?! There's a woman with a big honking hole in her chest! We got healers right? Can somebody pick her up please? I'd do it but...KIND OF BUSY! They're distracted though...right?"

[Falkon]

This time, unluckily enough, Pleasure had no interest in lowering her main skeleton, and simply continued to chase Fusion, keeping the spider leg-like bones away from him until she struck, with rapid and dangerous efficiency. If Fusion wanted to damage her, he'd have to do something a little less flail-y.

[EldritchMermaid]

Jenny popped open the big yellow box.

"R-right... No idea what I'm doing now."

At once the HUD inside her helmet sprang to life, identifying specific injuries beyond the obvious "there's a big hole here" and suggesting items to use to heal them.

"Guess it's time to get started."

[fusionman]

Fusion starts thrusting his left arm like a wave hoping for something to happen. "Force Push. Force Push! Aaaaaa Force Push. Foooorrrrcceee Lift. Fooorrrrrccceee Puuusssh!"

Fusion stops moving his arm and starts running even faster. "I got nothing. Well crap. HELP. HELP! HELP!"

You need to concentrate. Think. Be silent and listen to the song of the Living Force.

Well Dooku look outside for a second. We're about to die and I'm not exactly hearing any musical numbers. I could use some help here.

I will help you only if you are near death. I will not lose my vessel for a new galaxy. However you must learn to rely on the Force. A Sith can call on the Force even in moments of stress and chaos. Now calm down. This is a trial by fire.

Fusion sighs. OK fine. Concentrate. Be silent. Let the song of the Living Force flow through me. Let myself become a living instrument for its tune. Be like Obi-Wan.

Fusion throws his arm out in a trial run. A pulse of the Force makes it to his elbow and then halts. "OK let's get that all out." Better out than in after all.

Fusion throws his arm out again. As he does he feels a wave of the Force pulsate from outside his arm. OK. OK please let that be a push. Come on you skeletony, Final Fantasy summony thing. Fall down please.

[troydenite]

Reaching out, Knight took the proffered item gently in hand, feeling a passing wave of heat ripple out through his skin like the gentle, embracing warmth of the sun. This... this was no ordinary artifact, he realized, prompted more by his feelings than any real deduction of the mind.

A black fingerless glove, seamless leather backed with a ash-grey plate of metal, etched all about with faint, colorless symbols and dull jewels. It was made for him.

Sliding it onto his right hand, Knight closed his fingers, feeling the cold artifact mold onto his arm like a second skin - then its surface burst into life with a single, reverberating note that filled his senses, and an inferno of white fire shot in to catch his entire person unawares. Shielding his eyes and crying out from the sudden burst of blinding radiance, the youth stumbled back, as if to defend himself from whatever mechanism he had triggered - then he stopped and raised his head in wonderment. There was no pain, any more than immersing yourself in a warm bath brought pain - but the sensation escaped his notice, becoming one of those things in the background that simply added to the experience instead of overwhelming it.

His hand was afire.The etched lines on the surface of the Brace ran with white light, a radiance that illuminated each sigil and caused the gray to flake away like peeling paint. Each jewel lit up into a scintillating point of brilliance, shining in their circle like seven stars. Unfurling its wings, the image of a hawk flared into existence in its centre, crying once before fading into matte black, frozen at its point of greatest glory. The light whispered to him, whispered soft, unfathomable things that he found incomprehensible and yet strangely comforting all at once, and he felt it as it flowed through his veins, changing him from the inside out.

Yes, he felt it. Traces of powers he had wielded once, now revealed in a greater, all-encompassing intimacy. The power of words, six-colored Mojikara, passed down through the generations and manifested through the elegance of calligraphy. Magic of the Heavenly Saints, tied to spells and runes conjured from nothing but thin air and endless courage. The body-enhancing power of the Birdonic Waves, created anew in his flesh. KiRyoku. Earth Force. DekaMetal. Aura Power. Whispers of the Earth herself, flowing down from the endless eons...

All entrusted to him. All as one...

The voice spoke, and it began to instruct him in the path he had to take.

---

He didn't notice when he shut his eyes. He opened them again to find himself standing in the middle of a completely different grassy knoll. Before him, black hair rustling in the slight breeze, stood a little Asian girl, grinning like anything.

Knight blinked, half in disbelief, the other half in shock. The girl quirked her head sideways, observing him for several seconds, before giggling out loud, in that bubbly voice he remembered so well. “What, silly, are you going to stand there and gawk as usual? Or is it 'act like an awkward person day' again?"

The youth broke out into a relieved, genuine smile. "Hello, Joyce," he said simply. "It's been a while."

Without further ado, Joyce Lin walked straight up to him and poked him in the chest. Even then, she had to tiptoe somewhat - though not all that much. "You know, I thought you might be taller," she mock-observed, furrowing her brow. "You look so much older, but it seems like you're still a bit deprived in the height department..."

Knight flinched, looking down. "You know, I would appreciate some more respect..." Strange, conflicting emotions were welling up in him at the sight of his childhood friend, separated simultaneously by a gap of two months and a gap of ten years. Had he really been that short?

The girl made no reply, continuing to stare at the middle of his T-shirt. "Oh, by the way, I'm not actually here," she went on, as if it were as casual a matter as discussing the weather. "I'm just a really realistic figment of your memories, conjured by whatever that fire-light-thing did to your brain. The Earth's imagination, or whatever. Just letting you know that... but I guess you've already figured that out, huh?"

A soft nod, and a small, gentle smile. "Yeah."

Joyce stepped back with a sigh, turning her back on him to scan the limitless horizon. "You know, Troy, you told me you wanted to be a knight once. Helping people, saving innocent civilians, all that jazz. Then you disappeared, and I had absolutely no idea what to do. Took me this long to get back to you, what with you shutting me off... and then you run off and get yourself exploded twice for no real reason after spending god-knows how many years in a dead funk. It's almost funny, really."

She turned back. "Still, I guess you're going to do something about that, aren't you? Inside, you still really haven't changed all that much. You're still the slightly awkward, insecure, weird geeky guy I knew... only all grown up, and kinda cool, and without any glasses..." A pause.

"So not really that guy at all," she concluded, with a sage nod. "And look at you! You have superpowers now! You're ready to become a Hero! Like Link, or Zelda, or whatever his name was! Stop the angsting, and all that stuff!"

A grin, laced with sudden tears. "Don't forget, Troy. If you don't live up to what you told me, I swear I'm going to come back over the time-space barrier and kick your ass. Into next week." The girl stepped away, before giving a soft wave.

"...So...see ya around, I guess," she whispered, closing her eyes. With a sigh of the wind, the girl faded away into thin air.

Knight remained, looking at the spot where she had been in silence for several minutes. His eyes were glistening... and yet he was smiling like nothing had ever happened. Like he was a boy of twelve again.

"Yeah," he finally replied, in a voice equally soft as hers. "See ya."

Thank you.

Spreading his arms out and looking into the sky, he prepared to return to life.

---

Gotham City, Harbor

The trickling stopped as soon as it had begun. Head jerking up, Knight's eyes shot open, and he gave a gasp - then he paused, and looked around, before gazing down at his right hand.

The Legend Brace was still there. As he stood up without a word, his eyes flashed, and his clothes ignited in a flash of white fire - then, after mere seconds, the ashes fell away, leaving him in a completely new set of attire. White shirt. Black jeans. Black shoes. Covering it all, a gleaming white overcoat, the tapered edges sweeping past his sides and billowing majestically across the ground. The seams stood highlighted in gold, with two-pointed, triangular clasps of a similar hue running down the middle of the coat, and a crucifix brooch pinning it at his neck.

His hair, his jeans, his shoes, raven black. His skin, his coat, his shirt, gleaming white. Two contrasts, completely balanced, with a line of gold running through them...

Knight turned to Toph. She might not have been able to see the change in his attire, but the change in his bearing and voice were unmistakable. He was gentler, somehow. More fulfilled. Happier. All of a sudden.

"...This may not be the best time... but there's something I have to tell you."

[Krautman]

"Yeah." John said, returning Alicia's kiss and hug. He turned to August and got on one knee. "August, I need you to do me a favor."

[Laserface]

Joe sighed. Oh woe is him, not getting an easy low effort shot opportunity while Fusion was out in the open fighting/flailing like a man.

"Oh fine, be like that reality." He muttered, as he switched to a less impressive Light Plasma rifle for himself, then created an Alloy SHIV construct. "Can't even enter combat without a tiny little tank to hide behind, that's me."

The Newb Lantern anchored himself onto the back of the construct, as he charged off towards the fray firing it's plasma cannon up in the general direction of Pleasure's body while Joe himself fired for spider knees... He wondered if the +10 Aim of light plasma rifles translated over to constructs.

OOC: Is it me, or do Alloy SHIVs look like they have a robot frowny face?

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