Scene #631: You're Not Phasing Me

Owner	Pose
Optimus Prime	It was a bit of a long drive to the Phase Rock location, but Optimus Prime didn't drive it alone. Within his cab is Bitter Medicine who he figured what the heck-- may as well take along some company who ever seem eager to get out as well. Bitter would find the interior pretty nice and comfortable. There was allot of odd things on the dash though, things that were indeed not normal for an earth vehicle to have. All types of sensors, monitors, it was hard to tell what all of it may be. As the big rig (minus the trailer), rolled into the air, he started to slow down, but continued to pace himself around the area. One of those panels on the dash started to flicker a bit as Optimus Prime started to scan the area. "So," He addresses Bitter, "You spoke of those who could become like us Cybertronians.. or something close to us. Is this one of your goals?"
Bitter Medicine	Bitter Medicine, of course, uses his seatbelt. Safety should be everyone's first concern. He watches the wheel turn itself, observes the pedals. One seems to decelerate, the other seems to serve the opposite purpose. He can only guess the purpose of the strange instruments on the dashboard--even the ones common for earth vehicles. "Mmh." An uncomfortable topic is brought up by the Cybertronian. "Not /my/ goal," he says. It's seen as a kind of enlightenment by his people, or rather, a step on the way. "I'd be more powerful, but less human. ...can't afford that." He who hunts monsters, take care, lest, etcetera. Eventually, that 'enlightenment' would come with the realization that humanity was a 'flawed but necessary' step on the path to 'perfection.' Bitter Medicine scoffs... bitterly, at the notion. "But... it is possible for us to become your size. After that, transform into metropoli and patropoli. Female and male cities." He taps one of the displays on the dash, eager to change the subject. "What's this mean?"
Soundwave	Optimus Prime and Bitter Medicine's afternoon drive on the abandoned island is rudely interrupted by a sudden THUD on the roof of Prime's cab as something lands on it. Prime would feel whatever made the impact is gone almost immediately, leaving little if any damage in its wake, and a quick glance in the rearview mirrors might catch a glimpse of... a metal panther? Not that either would get the time to ponder the mystery, as a 30-foot high robot suddenly steps out into their path only a few dozen yards ahead of them. This robot is primarily navy blue and white with red detailing, face obscured with a red visor and white faceplate. On the upper-righthand side of its chest is a purple, almost arrowhead-like emblem. Though the robot makes no move to attack, Prime had better have solid driving reflexes if everyone involved wishes to avoid a crash.
Optimus Prime	"Hm? That is--" The explanation was interrupted as a loud THUD impacts the top of Optimus Prime alternate mode. Then the catch of a glimpse of-- "Ravage?!" Yet before he can even react to that, there was then the large metal form of Soundwave before him. Those tires hit the ground in a hard brake, his tires slid across the dirt, "Evac now! Transforming!" is the only warning Bitter Medicine may get, before he may find himself losing his seat belt and then being rolled out-- unless he jumps out when the door is opened for him to do so. Optimus Prime not shortly after transforms, those blue optics glowing brightly, as the face plate activates and his fists are curled up in a ready strike, but he doesn't swing right away-- though the desire too was.. right there. "Soundwave." he says the decepticons name with a low rumble in his voice. "Came here on behalf of the Confederacy, I take it?" "Because you should already be aware that this territory is not for them nor shall it fall into their claim so long has we stand here."
Bitter Medicine	Bitter Medicine finds himself unceremoniously dumped from the cab. He lands on his feet with a hard thud, making a point to look at the other robot while brushing his shoulders off. He doesn't know who this Soundwave guy is, only that he's a threat to the flow of resources--thus, a threat to Autochthonia. The alchemical lowers his right hand to his hip, where a dark steel weapon of some sort hangs at the ready. It's almost like a buzzsaw, circular and adorned with toothed blades. The center appears to house something, judging by its bulkier construction compared to the edges. Bitter Medicine doesn't say anything, not with words, anyway. Optimus has that covered. What he does do is place his fingers into several divots on his weapon. The blade spins once, a puff of steam jutting out of it before the contraption falls silent and still once more.
Soundwave	Soundwave ignores Prime's grandstanding for the immediate moment as his attention is pulled to Bitter Medicine instead. Human, but not the kind of 'human' he's familiar with. Not an immediate threat. The Multiverse is still a strange place, indeed. "-No.-" The dark robot's voice is a distinctive melodic monotone, masking vocal cues as to his state of mind or emotions. "-That,-" he motions towards the center of the island, towards the crystal all who come here battle over, "-is a bonus.-" The shadows move as Soundwave's other agents gather behind their keeper, red lenses glittering, but they do not make a move to attack either. "-I heard rumor an Optimus Prime had joined the Union.-" His voice drops an octave ominously. "-Fitting that a fallen enforcer would find others to hide behind.-"
Optimus Prime	Optimus Prime stands his ground and his optics narrow dangerously. "..Bonus..." He scuffs out as Soundwave motions to the crystal, but it was the last part, that causes those optics to burn. Then with no warning his fist is drawn back. He moves with far more speed then something of his size should be granted with. A fluidity not found in any human based machines. That fist comes it to slam in for Soundwave as he roars out with slight controlled emotion, "I hide behind no one Soundwave!" If the fist does impact, he comes right back around with an upper cut, while continuing from that. "Nor will I ever!"
Bitter Medicine	Well, then. It looks like there /is/ going to be a fight. Good thing he's got his combat charms loaded up. The Alchemical might appear to be a human with cybernetic modifications, albeit an unusually pale one. A strange specimen, but ultimately not alien to the Cybertronians. Thus, when he lets fly his weapon, are Soundwave's troops in for a surprise. The gyroscopic chakram owned by Bitter Medicine is called Voidbane, for all truly powerful weapons deserve names, so as not to dishonor the gods of those weapons. Voidbane flies through the air with a terrible shriek, a sound akin to the victim of some bloody murder. Its bladed teeth spin rapidly under the power of whatever machinery resides within, and its movement seems almost intelligent as it seeks out prey among the ranks of Soundwave's henchmen. The Alchemical remains still, assuming a position of industrial menace as his weapon does its work.
Soundwave	Even a telepath like Soundwave can get caught off-guard at times, and he severely underestimated just how riled the Prime would get over such a simple sentence. The downward punch to the side of his helm staggers him, torquing him off to the side from the force of the impact, setting him up perfectly to take the uppercut square under the chin. This snaps him backwards, almost completely off his feet, but a quick planting of a foot behind him keeps him upright. He still has to take a few hops and twists backwards to bleed off the momentum, though, but this does open up some distance between them. The Decepticon rubs a hand along his jaw, head tilting from side to side as if cracking his neck. "-So you ARE the Prime from my world.-" Wait, that means there was some doubt?! "-Excellent.-" His rifle appears in his right hand as the turret on his left shoulder whirrs. "-Deal with the interference. The Prime,-" the turret suddenly opens fire with a volley of gatling-like laser fire, "-is mine.-" Any confirmation is cut off before it could even be vocalized as Bitter Medicine's chakram screams in. The birds take to the skies high above with startled squawks, Ravage crouches down low as he covers his head with his front paws, and the two robots twist away with differing levels of sucess. Rumble, the red-and-black one, evades damage, but his blue-and-purple brother Frenzy gets nicked by the passing whirring teeth. "Really, fleshie?" Frenzy asks while looking at the new minor gash in his bicep. "...Do you even count as a 'fleshie'?" Ravage snarls, "Who cares? He's dead now." He lunges forwards, ignoring Voidbane in favor of pouncing Bitter Medicine directly.
Optimus Prime	Optimus finds himself under fire from the Gauntlet weapon and then quickly moves to slide down to get behind some cover. Though a few of the laser blasts cut into his armor. He does take a moment to figure out where Bitter Medicine is, but only enough to see he can probably handle himself. Or so he hopes. He then pulls out his rifle and then pushes off from the spot he has crouched down at. He goes running across the surface. His foot carrying him easily across the terrain as he levels his rifle right at Soundwave and opens fire. Blasting several shots across the battlefield at the Decepticon. "Wonderful to be reunited with you as well, Soundwave. Just tell Megatron I am sorry that his favorite will return in pieces."
Bitter Medicine	Bitter Medicine hits the ground. Whump. He grunts as the panther pounces him, scowling at Ravage. The panther's claws strike true, digging beneath his synthleather and puncturing his flesh. Well, whatever he is, he's not human--the stuff that flows from the wound is black and catches the light in an unusual way. The dark metal vent in his throat works with others hidden elsewhere on his body, spewing out a cloud of black smoke. The acrid stench doesn't bother him, and probably won't affect the Decepticons. But that's not the point. The point is to distract them from the now-returning Voidbane, the moaning wail of which can be heard, /just/ over the hissing of the smoke.
Soundwave	Soundwave takes cover as Optimus Prime returns fire, though he still gets caught in the shoulder by one of the blasts. More specifically, the gold-and-black emblem on his shoulder is now a deeply charred black. "-No need.-" He aims his rifle downrange, tracking the moving Prime... "-This is personal.-" before firing a single shot, aiming for the upper-back/shoulder area. Meanwhile, Ravage is just about ready to clamp his jaws around Bitter Medicine's throat, but the abrupt emission of acrid black smoke actually does affect Ravage heavily. The panther yowls and leaps away, rolling around on the ground while clawing at his own muzzle, the smell of the smoke overwhelming his very sensitive nose. "Why you--!" Rumble's insult is cut off mid-sentence in a surprised yelp as Voidbane bounces off of his armor, leaving a deep gash in his back. Voidbane itself ping-pongs amongst the Decepticon tape agents, leaving gashes each time. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw both divebomb towards the Voidbane, opening fire with their own laser weaponry to knock the mobile weapon out of the sky if at all possible. Catching Bitter Medicine himself in the crossfire is a bonus.
Optimus Prime	Optimus Prime's weight shifts as he goes to run right in toward Soundwave. He steps a bit to the side to avoid the shot from Soundwave as it scrapes across his bicep armor, but that doesn't slow down his movement heading inward. If any more shots come, he avoids them with quick adjustments to his steps. His blue Cybertronian alloyed fist rears back as he runs in and with a battlecry of a roar, he goes to slam his fist right into Soundwave with all his body weight behind the strike. This could be troubling if he however misses, because it leaves him open for a returning strike.
Bitter Medicine	The lasers rip through Bitter Medicine's chest, exiting through his back and leaving small holes throughout his body. He grits his teeth as his wounds bleed, forcing himself not to make the slightest pained noise despite his artificial nerves screaming fire through his body. Voidbane is knocked from the air, where it sticks into a rock. Hmph. He'll have to spend Essence to get it to return to him. No matter. The kid gloves are off, now. He tosses his tattered trench coat aside as the Casseticons prepare for another attack. Now, it's /really/ visible that he's not just a 'fleshie.' His arms bulge with synthetic musculature, and his black-stained jumpsuit conceals the form of other, equally extensive augmentations in his legs. Speaking of... Why not kill two birds with one stone? Deep, dark purple jets of plasma erupt from the soles of his feet, leaving cinder and ashes in their wake. The Alchemical attempts to bowl over any Casseticons in the way as he flies toward Voidbane. Now that he knows at least one of them can be affected by smell, well, that's interesting. He activates his Chemical Fog Generator once more, but this time, uses a submodule--tear gas. Billowy clouds of the white, stinging gas follow in his flight path.
Soundwave	Soundwave is thus reminded why Optimus Prime has survived for so long. The mech is sometimes so brazenly SUICIDAL, he defies any sense of logic and somehow pulls the impossible out of his exhaust. And this is indeed one of those times. The Autobot's fist strikes the small glass window on the left side of Soundwave's chestplate, shattering it inwards with little effort with the remaining energy driving even further inwards still. But Soundwave ignores the fist deep in his chest, instead reaching forwards to grab Prime by the shoulders and thus keep him from getting away. With barely a moment's pause, an audio-rending feedback screech rips through the air in their immediate vicinity. The Cassetticons are, admittedly, brought to a momentary standstill as Bitter Medicine throws aside his trenchcoat and exposes his cyborg-like enhancements. "Great Primus, what'd you do to deserve THAT?" Laserbeak squawks from high above as he and Buzzsaw circle around for another pass. "Had to've been ba-AAAACK!" Frenzy's snide comment is interrupted rather rudely as Bitter Medicine blasts past, knocking him and Rumble down to the ground--quite an accomplishment, given the two robots' height of 10-feet. Ravage, already compromised due to the earlier smoke, is completely overwhelmed by the tear gas in Bitter's wake and goes offline. "Slaggit! Laserbeak, get Ravage outta th' warzone!" Rumble's arms transform into piledrivers as the red-and-black robot settles himself. "Buzzsaw, take 'im!" The yellow-and-black condor divebombs towards Bitter Medicine, looking to knock the augmented human out of the sky. Rumble shatters the ground in front of him with his piledrivers, opening up a hole, and Frenzy releases an inhuman scream designed to instill the fear of the dead in whomever hears it -- not terribly unlike Voidbane, in truth.
Optimus Prime	The sonics emit and Optimus Prime has to step back a bit. He kneels down slight, before he glares right at Soundwave with one optic open. With his hand reaching down for the ground as the Sonics continue to bring him down low, he reaches across the ground. His hand grabs a stone in his finger tips. And then with a frustrated throw, goes to toss the very rock right at Soundwave's face in order to get him to knock it off. During that though, he goes to stagger back up to his feet, shaking his head a bit from the sonics attack.
Bitter Medicine	Bitter Medicine doesn't cut himself a break when he learns the effectiveness of his attack. He's not out of the Reaches yet, as they say back on Autochthonia. He's proven right when the condor slams into his back and fouls-up his flight path beyond the capability of his Sixth Dexterity Augmentation to reasonably compensate. He cuts off his Plasma Thruster Assembly to slow himself down, the sonic screech buffeting his body as it falls. For a moment, it looks as if he'll fall into the pit dug by Rumble, and indeed, he's briefly obscured by shadow. In those shadows, Bitter Medicine activates his favorite charm--the Personal Gravity Manipulation Apparatus. The direction of gravity, relative to the Exalt, changes from down to sideways, and he 'lands' on his feet, running back up the wall and sporting a new gash on his face from an evidently rough descent. The scowl still remains plastered on his face, and still, he has nothing to say. On his way up, he rips Voidbane from the nearby rock outcropping, returns to normal gravity, and then activates another charm--the Parabolic Leap Overcharger Device. All of this essence expenditure causes what the Exalted refer to as an Anima Flare. At first, it's just subtle things--sparks of energy across his body, then outright arcing. Now, however, there's a black thundercloud behind him, flashes of purple lighting just visible within. The sound of a factory press is heard in the distance. Clank, whoosh. Clank, whoosh. Clank, whoosh. Most disturbing of all are the faces now visible in Bitter Medicine's implants, moaning and whispering in a dead language. The Exalt leaps into the air and assaults the condor with a one-two bicycle kick, spinning around at the apex of his leap to use Voidbane as a melee weapon.
Soundwave	The rock Prime chose to throw at Soundwave was dense and sharp, and it holds its shape startlingly well against Cybertronian metal without shattering... unfortunately for the Decepticon. The rock drives deep into the seam between faceplate and helm, snapping Soundwave's helm around and staggering him once again. Alarms shoot up in Soundwave's vision -- broken jaw, jammed jaw hinge, and that's just the obvious. A snap of feedback emits from the Prime's radio as Soundwave opens a direct line. <"I WonDER."> No longer a melotone, this has the shaky audible of syllables spliced together from prior recordings. <"What WILL yoUR new ALLIEs thinK whEn thEY knOw ThE trUTH?"> Punctuating the radio taunt, Soundwave unleases a few waves of missiles as he backs away from the Autobot. Buzzsaw was in mid-bank when Bitter Medicine suddenly leaps up to his level in all his thundercloud-trailing, energy-arcing, faces-of-the-damned glory. The first kick glances off of the condor's shoulder, but the second kick slams squarely on Buzzsaw's helm and the chakram drives deep into the bird's chest. Buzzsaw screeches in pain as his wings flail and talons try to scratch at the Exalt, falling back towards the ground like a rock -- Suddenly, Rumble jumps in -- literally. He swings a piledriver at Bitter like a haymaker, trying to send the Exalted flying towards Frenzy, whose hands have been replaced by spinning drills ready to receive the Exalt...
Optimus Prime	Optimus Prime finds himself avoiding at least one of the missiles, but the others start to explode around him catching him in the explosion and knocks him back. He slides across the ground and slams his fist into the ground as he picks himself up. Those blue optics staring dangerously at Soundwave, "..Shut up.." He rumbles lowly as he goes to walk toward Soundwave, not run. /Walk/. "I wont fall for your games, Soundwave and neither will they!" With those final words, he shoves off once more and comes racing in. This time he comes in with almost a lack of holding back. He swings his fist heavily one way, then another. He goes to pound his metal fists against the other Cybertronian, before then attempting to slam him back against a rockside and pin him there for a moment. "Get you partners and yourself out of here and out of my sight." He sneers out from behind the face plate. He then goes to toss Soundwave to the side.
Bitter Medicine	It's a testament to the peculiarity of the Alchemical Exalted, or to the universe they call home, that a machine people could not only have a god of their own, but a history of martial arts. The lessons of Thousand Wounds Gear Style are many. They race through the Alchemical's mind as he flies through the air, the wind knocked from his lungs by the vicious attack from Rumble. He mutters... something, squirming in pain as his midsection is opened up by a pair of drills. The black, inky stuff that is his life's blood stains his formerly grey jumpsuit. He pants as the drills spin and spin, his head lowering--a glint of something. The energy crystal. The scowl finally leaves Bitter Medicine's face, only to be replaced by something which is perhaps more troubling. Despite the whispers of the dead, despite the crackling thundercloud behind him, he emerges with a calm expression. His palms meet eachother, and Bitter Medicine closes his eyes. The weakness of the Alchemical Exalted compared to their brothers and sisters of Creation is that they are very essence-inefficient. This is to be expected of a prototype. His solution then, is to throw every single thing he has at the Casseticons, because he certainly isn't going to outlast them. He opens his eyes. Channeling raw essence into the strength of his attack, he slams his elbow into Frenzy, then, with a controlled breath and a finger prana, sends a shower of blinding sparks down towards Rumble. Once again, he lets Voidbane fly, but this time, he throws it downwards, shrieking towards Buzzsaw to attack not once, but twice.
Soundwave	Soundwave manages to snap a hand to deflect one of the punches, but gets clocked with a second. The third punch he stops cold as the Prime's fist is caught in the center of his hand, only for Optimus to grab him by the throat and pin him against a stone outcropping big enough to suspend him off the ground. <"ArE yOU sO SurE?"> Soundwave's 'voice' emits over Prime's radio, but Prime tosses him away like a sack of rusted bolts before he could 'say' anything more. Burnt chrome... the Prime reeks of it right now. How interesting. <"VerY weLL."> Soundwave picks himself up, one hand readjusting his jaw as broken stone trickles out from under his faceplate like drops of water. It doesn't take too much longer for the large stone to dislodge itself and fall into his palm. Meanwhile -- Well, usually, anything organic doesn't survive a direct shot of Rumble's piledriver, much less getting speared by both of Frenzy's drills. However, not only does Bitter Medicine survive -- he has enough energy to make a strong counter-offensive of his own. The elbow-strike smashes Frenzy's face, actually breaking the Decepticon's nose-ridge and staggering him back a step or two, and Rumble covers his face a moment too late as his optics short out from the impossibly bright shower of sparks. Buzzsaw, grounded by now and hurting badly from the earlier attacks, screeches when Voidbane slices across his entire wingspan from wingtip to back to wingtip. However, as the mechanized chakram arcs back for another pass, a large thrown stone slams into it from seemingly nowhere, knocking it off-course and away from the Cassetticons. Soundwave walks onto this section of the battlefield, ignoring Bitter outright as he carefully and gently picks up Buzzsaw. A silent cant of his head to the two humanoid Decepticons sends them on their way, Frenzy holding his face with one hand while supporting his blinded brother-in-arms with the other arm. <"JusT REmemBeR."> The stare the Decepticon gives Prime, visor or not, is physically withering. <"YoU STrucK fiRSt."> And he turns on his heel, purposefully turning his back on the Prime as he disappears back the way he'd come.
Optimus Prime	Optimus Prime watches as Soundwave leaves. The scorch marks from the missiles were on his armor, the few nicks and dents seen from the scuffle. His hands flex open and close as he works to calm his nerves to not go chasing after Soundwave. No. There was no reason for it. It was just further hounding. The Cybertronian then looks over to Bitter Medicine and his optics dim slightly, "Are you alright?"
Bitter Medicine	Bitter Medicine says, "I've been better." He coughs and touches a hand to the gash on his face. "Mnh." The Exalt leans on the nearest outcropping for support. For the first time since the start of their patrol, he smiles at Optimus. his wounds still bleeding whatever passes for blood among Alchemical Exalted. "You mind giving me a ride to Autochthonia? Need to hit up the vats." He points to the two sucking wounds in his abdomen, finally allowing himself to show pain by groaning."
Optimus Prime	Optimus gives a gentle nod of his head before he transforms and allows for Bitter Medicine to get in. "Show the way." He says calmly. Putting his mind on the task at hand and not on what Soundwave has said.
Bitter Medicine	Bitter Medicine climbs into the cab, plopping himself down with a huff. He leans against the window and buckles himself in. "Sorry about your upholstery," he manages with a quivering smirk. He utters directions to his home world, through pained breaths and gritted teeth. If Optimus follows Bitter Medicine's instructions, the scenery changes--first to the embattled world of Creation, then through an Alchemical-made warpgate to the sleeping Primordial Autochthon's gigantic, sleeping world-body. It's... not difficult to draw parallels to Cybertron, honestly. Maybe if Primus had decided to house humans, it would've looked something like this. That's not to imply this place is exactly... suited to them, though. It's certainly a civilized place, but this is a world without a sun, without fertile fields, and apparently, a lack of inclement weather. Beings comprised entirely of energy can be seen tending to broken lights and wiring, while other things commonly referred to as 'elementals'--steam and, strangely enough, oil, see to other aspects of this city. "Welcome to the Autochthonian nation of... ungh. Gulak. Vats complex is just around the corner." With that, he opens the door and stumbles out, much to the surprise of several nearby humans. The sight of an injured Champion is cause for concern no matter one's social standing--several humans rush to Bitter Medicine's aid and help him walk to the vats complex. Shortly thereafter, he disappears behind the double doors.