Scene #4473: CoH Issue #1: The Rikti War Pt. 3

Owner	Pose
War Witch	A visit to a laboratory on Peregrine Island to pick transmission interceptors that would allow the defenders of Paragon City to eavesdrop on Rikti communications resulted in encountering not only Rikti attackers, but a strange group of paramilitary types and... What was likely some sort of doppleganger of Shirou Emiya, a Union Elite. But that issue was resolved, even if the strange-slang-speaking military types escaped via a stolen Rikti portal device, and the doppleganger slipped away during the ensuing battle with the Rikti. And the interceptors have been completed. Now, what's needed according to Major Richard Flagg, heroes have to go around the war zone planting the devices at strategic locations. This shouldn't take too long if they avoid enemies as much as possible, but there are aliens of various types, armed and armored, patrolling or amassed in the ruins of White Plains. There's a distant, high-pitched noise that may have a psychic component to it for those sensitive to such. A sort of annoying, slightly-painful whine inside their heads. Not enough to be intrusive and not in danger of compromising their minds or anything. The Rikti are a psychic species, so it makes sense that they have some kind of transmitter or something they're using. But even if the aliens are avoided, there's also Crey operatives in the area. Crey are never good news. 'Private security' equivalent to a mercenary military force, dressed up in tactical gear, along with people in combat-enhancing exoskeletons and power armor seem to be out here looking for Rikti technology they can scavenge or steal for Crey's interests. There are also men in anachronistic Prussian soldier uniforms, though armed with weapons far more sophisticated than anything from that bygone era, and accompanied by... Steam-powered robots? And in distant corners of the zone, the howls of the walking anti-human bio-weapons called the Devouring Earth can be heard echoing through broken streets. It's a very busy locale. But with a group of capable heroes, facing these forces should be fairly simple as long as they don't antagonize multiple groups at once. With healing support and crowd control, even more so. And when they've finished, they get a message over the sound of weapons fire, modern and futuristic, and the terrifying, high-pitched, scream-like sound of space tearing open in the wake of Rikti portals and teleportation. The latter seems to become more dread-inspiring the more people are exposed to it, since it means having to face mid-battle reinforcements. The message from Major Flagg, however, is direct, and they should be able to hear it even as they watch Rikti engage Crey forces in battle in the streets. Rikti use their own support abilities to put force fields around their allies, buff them, even heal them, as swarms of deformed monkey-like creatures leap down on the PMC forces of Crey from rooftops, and energy blasts fly into the unprepared human scavengers. "Intel has spotted a large concentration of Rikti near your current location. Please check it out." the message says, as Crey agents fall before the onslaught, and gradually start to fade away as they are teleported to a medical facility.
Alexis	While Alexis usually had no issue with getting into a fight, she did realize there were times it was better to hit the goal and move on. Which is why instead of bothering with the mishmash of wandering unsavory types on the ground she was riding her Flygon, using Mirage's speed and evasiveness to reach some of the farther points of the location to plant a interceptor and move on. Being able to fly also meant being able to access some of those hard to reach spots to do so and decrease how likely it will be to find them. The occasional airborne enemy, mainly those hovering Rikti drones and a few flying Devouring creatures, that tried to interfer were shot down by Dragonbreath or lost in the sandstorm like clouds left in the Flygon's wake. Today evading a battle had been the plan rather than pick one. "Well that should be the last on--" And of course as soon as Alexis starts to say that after placing the interceptor they get a message from Flagg. Cue eyeroll. "--Oh, of course." "Flygon. < Your fault for even thinking we were done. >" "Yeah, yeah, I know." Alexis rolled her eyes again, this time at Mirage's snickering. Then nudged the insectoid dragon's sides with her feet. "Well, don't just hover there. Let's go check it out before the Major starts sweating bullets and looking for a nuke." With a nod Flygon did a half-looping turn to bank back towards the main part of the war zone where the larger confrontation was taking place. Still keeping a high altitude to avoid being easily spotted. Last thing they need is both the Rikti -and- whoever they were trying to fight turning on them before they can figure out what's going on.
Dorian Pavus	Crowd control? Dorian's got that covered. He really only has a few spells for crowd control, and only one that's not immediately destructive to the environment around him, but sometimes one trick is all the pony needs. The high-pitched drone of the transmitter is rather annoying. But he's not psychic, merely sensitive. One has to be sensitive to energy of all kinds to be a mage in Thedas. So he's not likely to get anything from that whine but a headache. Which is likely to make him a bit irritable, but not much else. For his part, Dorian's not exactly the 'stealth' type. He's a pretty loud man, and his magic tends to be quite flashy. But that's what Fade Step is for -- getting the hell out of dodge when you've been seen and can't be arsed (or don't have the energy) to fight the one who's seen you. Besides that, it's still totally stealth if you murder everybody who saw you, right? Well, maybe not 'murder' in this case, but 'force medi-portation of'. The message coming through has him doubling back over the path he's cleared, to get to where the massing forces are. Though he'll try to stay out of sight. For this mission he's actually chosen a different outfit. It's more or less the same as his normal one, but the leather is stained much darker, and he's wearing a black cloak over it instead of white. And his staff is not the serpent-headed one. Instead it's a long, straight branch with the root end pointed up; nestled in the roots is a skull. Disturbingly it looks almost human...
Cecily	Though freshly unified with the Multiverse, it seems Cecily can't keep out of trouble. In a good way, really. With her shop in ruins and the debris at least cleaned up, she'd come to help the Union forces in Paragon city with a deceptively simple task. Setting up beacons wouldn't be so hard, would it? One could only hope. With the walls up, however, she doesn't have the advantage of flight, and is rather ground-bound with her equipment she's brought along. Not quite as anachronistic and out of place as steam-powered robots and Prussian helmet, the vixen's mode of transit is still nonetheless a relic in its own right. The M16 MGMC trundles onto the warzone, the halftrack having little trouble with the urban warzone's debris and terrain. The quad .50's are trained skyward, the suggestion of alien air support being a real threat, though the vehicle itself rolls along the decimated streets, its driver trying to stay away from the larger concentrations of hostiles and hotspots on her way to the rally point. "...bullets still work on these things, yes?" Cecily queries over the radio, "...those mercenaries seem to having a rough time of it. It'll be slow going down here but I've always believed in suppressing fire..." There's a second fox in the turret, looking uneasy. Fox clones? "...this whole city is a warzone..." the second fox murmurs. "This section looks to be in worse shape than most of the others."
Maya	Maya has been in and out of Paragon it's not that she didn't mean to help here? She'd had issues back home with a dug in Confederate base there. Once again she was clad in the costume she'd become known for, that of the blue witch and she certainly looked the part from the hat, to the style of her swimsuit like outfit and the exposed tattoos. Still she was in good spirits enough as it was as she joined Alexis and everyone else. She wasn't spoiling for a fight but she would. "We should be all ... or we could have to deal with that Alexis." Maya sighed inwardly but hey could she do? "They should work on them Cecily, they have in the past."
X	Blue-white light streams from the heavens near the war zone, depositing X in a ruined, dirty alley near the conflict. It's not the most subtle form of arrival, but he doesn't expect the element of surprise to last for long anyways. Either way, pinpointing down WHICH alley he arrived in, for the observing Rikti... well, that'll take some doing. Because he doesn't stay there. Instead X moves in on the coordinates, using wreckage for cover and trying to stay out of sight. He's not the stealthiest individual ever, but he aims to get a good overview of what's going on...
War Witch	The heroes successfully navigated to the specified location. A partially-collapsed subway station entrance. Great, so they're headed underground, into confined, dark spaces. The exact best place to be when facing aliens with highly lethal energy weapons, or the ones with sharp claws that release radioactive poison gas from their bodies when they expire. And that's assuming nothing ELSE is down there. Anyone who has faced the Devouring Earth so far should know quite well how bad exposure to their spores and poisons is. They're living weapons designed specifically to kill humans with extreme efficiency. And then there's those steam-powered robots, and the Crey agents who probably have stun weapons and machine guns, and... Okay, so there is literally no enemy they would actually WANT to fight down there. But heroes need to do what heroes need to do. Then they may notice the indicator on any navigation devices (including the ones handed out to registered heroes like Dorian) points just slightly to the right. Oh. It's the office building NEXT to the subway station. Thank goodness. Hopefully at least Dorian will correct that, because honestly going down those stairs just seems like a terrible idea. The office building's doors seem to be unlocked and slightly off their tracks. Easy enough to open and pass through into the dusty, abandoned interior...
Dorian Pavus	There's always benefits to doing things the legal way, Dorian's found. It's why he tries not to operate outside the law unless he has no choice. Which explains why he registered as a hero in Paragon City even though he views himself as anything but. Also in that dark outfit, he LOOKS like anything but. However, he is thankful for when it comes in handy. Like now. Anybody who's following him will probably notice him veering to the right of the subway station, to that office building. He notes that's pretty damned confusing, so he takes the opportunity to offer a warning over the radio. "The coordinates are a little confusing, I think," he warns. "There's an entrance to an underground transit station very close to where the entrance to the building we're supposed to be going to is. I'll stay outside for a few moments more to mark the location." A pause and then he adds, "Oh yes. I'm in black this time." Since he usually wears white.
Alexis	A faint whisp of air, like the wash of a helicopter landing but much less intense, stews about some of the dust on the ruined street as the Flygon sets down on the pavement and stops buzzing her wings. Alexis peers over the dragon-bug's shoulder with a scowl. The subway? That's only slightly a step up from the Groudon be damned sewers, and it's a very small step indeed. "Oh you have got to be kidding me. I don't think even most of the -enemies- would be insane enough to go down there!" Then her Porygon-Z blips into existance next to her, nudging her head with it's conical beak. Then turning it to indicate towards the building -next- to the subway entrance. The same building that Dorian is already pointing out at that point. ".... Oh." "Pory gon < Remind me to upgrade the resolution on your PokeNav map display later. >" "I'm still waiting for the generation they put a GPS in the Pokedex finally." The Porygon-Z makes as much of a annoyed expression as it can with its limited facial details. "Porygon < Oh that is just what Ash needs. Dexter to snark at him about directions too. He'll -never- listen to them! >" "He does now?" " < .... Good point. >" Alexis just shakes her head a bit as she recalls the larger Flygon into her pokeball and goes to meet with the others in the proper mission scenerio, thank you so much Dorian.
Cecily	Unfortunately, the halftrack can neither go up or down stairs, and Cecily would rather not risk getting it stuck somewhere she can't recover it from. Managing to avoid patrols and skirmishes, it takes her a little longer to get to the building in question, the diesel engine rumbling and grinding to a halt. "...suppose this'll have to stay outside..." she sighs, opening the armored door and stepping out. Her twin (with one extra tail, it would seem, making four and five tails respectively) climbs out of the gun pod in the back and stares up at the sky. "Does this mean we're headed to the roof, then?" she asks, taking in the sights of her new allies, the pair of foxes looking between the assembled group. "Or is our objective somewhere deep inside? Rather glad we're not going down -there- though..." she looks towards the mangled subway entrance. The pop of the Porygon startles her, and the pair of foxes just stare at it with their ears raised.
X	X never really WANTS to fight anything... but the prospect of heading into narrow, confined spaces that limit the kind of cover and stealth his oponents might use looks welcoming to him. A privilege that only someone who fights with a buster could even slightly try to claim. Not that he's claiming it openly. In fact, he frowns heavily at seeing it's a subway entrance. "Down there?! ... Anything could be taking shelter down there... waiting in ambush..." And he's the only robot on the team, which makes him all the more worried for the others. ... Well, then he double-checks the coordinates after such ponderings... and visibly relaxes a bit. An office building. Harder on him, maybe easier to escape from for the others... he can work with that. He can work with that very well. X actually walks up against the building itself, not the entrance... and just JUMPS straight up after a moment of ponderance. What happens NEXT is pretty weird. Despite the uneven surface he grabs onto even the slightest uneven handholds and - even with just his fingertips - hoists himself up with great speed. Where there aren't handholds he just grabs the exterior, slams as much of his arms and legs against it to maximize friction and kick-leaps up to better hand-holds. He swings about up to some windows and starts looking in...
Maya	Thing are going to heat up a bit she suspes and that has Maya start chanting magic she'll focus on setting up barriers on all of her allies to protect them better. She hopes that will help onc e the warding is done but Maya seems very intent to take on a supporting roll here. She's long lerned many groups in the multiverse seem to lack someone willing to fill the role and since she can? She's going to do so.
War Witch	X's scouting may uncover that while most of the windows are boarded up or simply closed and shuttered, the glass has been broken out, and some of the windows are left suspiciously unbarricaded. Maybe being used as a way for those inside to snipe or observe the outside? Whether adequate usage of his sensors, he may further detect that these 'gaps in security' are actualyl quite thoroughly guarded, as there are laser emitters just barely identifiable on the other side of the walls, all around these windows. Traps! These Rikti really are too smart for their own good. In a city where practically every villain group doesn't have have a guard at the door, taking the time to set up a security system in an abandoned building in a warzone is practically genius even if it may seem like common sense. Beyond the defenses, however, X may also spot enemies within at different points. The whine and hum of Rikti drones as they drift through the halls or zip by quickly, seemingly programmed to alter their patrol speeds to throw off anyone trying to slip past them, and the sound of nearly computer-like Rikti speech that has baffling syntax that shows how unused to verbal communication they are, indicates this is definitely the right place. And on the third floor, it seems as though there might be a well-guarded room with something inside of it. If the Rikti are guarding it, it must be important. They should probably make their way there once they're inside. If people go in through the front doors, they find there are Rikti guards inside the main hall leading from the entrance. They'll spot the Elites quickly unless they have some sort of cloaking ability, and respond by opening fire with that green-black energy of theirs. Of course, if they escape notice, then they have some time to plan around this group that is clearly standing sentry.
Cecily	The fox helps work out the plan of action on the radio. Foxes, really. Three of them now, with three tails apiece. Two work on unloading some supplies from the halftrack. One of the vixens takes up what looks to be a small cannon, while the other gathers a pair of duffels presumably full of ammunition for it. There's a few other small arms taken, as well, but they're smaller calibers, for sure. The third fox, however... "Are you ready to go, dear?" Cecily asks Dorian, making her way towards him. Her 'sisters' behind her sprout wings from their backs, long, sleek shrike feathers forming into fully functional flying appendages. The one approaching the darkly-dressed man grows hers out as well as she moves along. There's little preamble though, as she leans down mid-step and hooks an arm behind his knees, the other wrapping around his back to lift and cradle him. It's a neat princess carry, clearly, and the kind-sounding shrike-winged vixen gives him a gentle smile. "Don't worry, dear. I promise I won't drop you. Just because I have shrike wings doesn't mean I'm going to impale you on a cactus and eat you later..." she winks playfully. Then she looks to the others. "Rooftop or dynamic entry via window?"
Alexis	Okay, everyone else is going up by the sound of it. That's okay with Alexis, considering she's almost a small army in her own right. "Keep tabs with the others for me, Glitch," she remarks to the Porygon-Z still hovering about her, even as she gets her Ageislash ready. Though it remains strapped onto her arm in Defense form for the moment as the ghost weapon is going to be her means of defense in the first few crutial moments of their, ah, distraction. With the other hand she readies a pokeball, expanding it to full size as she watches the others go up into position. "Let's see just how much attention we can get, shall we?" " Porygon Zee! < You sound way too excited about this! > " retorts the digital-mon as it ducks down behind her shoulder more. Alexis ignores it as she grins and lobs the pokeball to release... ... And the 'knock' is more like making a new door with a drill as the front entrance is plowed through by a hulking rhino-dinosaur thing with said drills for its horns. The Rhyperior barrels for the hallway, the solid rock armoring of his body meaning he's going to be tanking through all that Rikti counter-fire instead of trying to dodge, and trample down anything that doesn't get out of his way! Alexis steps in a little more warily a few moments later, holding up the Aegislash shield at the ready just to be on the safe side. Though really the aliens should be more worried about the 800 pounds of angry rock monster charging them like the pain train first.
Dorian Pavus	There are times when Dorian's elegance and refined looks can get the better of him. Like this. Cecily's offered to carry him up to a floor where there's not as much security, and he's accepted. But instead of standing behind or in front of him and carrying him around the waist? Suddenly he finds himself lifted up! Princess-carried, again! He's more than a little embarrassed, and sputters, "W-what...?!" The statement from Cecily gets a quiet laugh. "Well, that's... good. When I say 'dinner first', I don't usually mean '''I''' should be for dinner." He's at least half-teasing, given that once he's sure he's secure enough, he doesn't make a move to get free. In fact he places the arm closest to Cecily aorund her back for more support. "Let's try the roof," he suggests. "Once Alexis 'knocks', it should bring most of their forces downstairs. A group should be able to get in via the roof fairly easily. Even if not, a pincer attack strategy could work."
Maya	Maya is going to do what she can to help here but she's clearly keeping an eye out for more trouble she'll be watching people's backs here. She notices Cecily's and her clones? actions with interest she moves to take her pendant and focused magic into it. A pair of blue energy wings take form from her back and she's ready to fly if need by. She'll follow the others up not wanting to tax Cecily's own abilities as up she goes to join the others with a few flaps of her wings. Quite the skill you have there Cecily. I could only do it one at a time, you could give the Taxi bots a run for their money.
X	After reporting his findings over the radio, X ends up frowning. He could try breaking in, but that would mean... noise. Unless... An idea strikes. His color scheme shifts to a putrid, unhealthy-looking set of greens... and he takes aim, leveling his buster whilst clinging to the window. He takes shots, firing ACID VOMIT GOO at the boarded-up windows where there aren't any laser grids... "This is so simple... they must not have planned for really hardening this place long-term. What ARE they after?"
War Witch	The Rikti sentries attack as expected when the doors burst open and a rock monster comes charging at them, but there isn't enough concentrated fire from the guards to overcome it most likely. They get smashed aside or trampled, their armor keeping them from taking too much damage, but they are knocked down for now, or simply incapacitated. The sound of strange Rikti speech wafts down the halls. However, there was a flash of green light in this first entry hall as the Rhyperior charged through. A few seconds later, as Alexis enters the building, sword-shield ready, the tearing sound of Rikti teleportation comes from directly behind her, accompanied by that eerie green glow, and a Rikti Headman Gunman is there, materializing, and raising the long, rifle-like gun arm of its power armor in prepartion to fire directly into the pokemon trainer at point-blank range! Damn competent enemies and their futuristic technology! X's dissolving of the boards with Cadaver vomit results in them getting eaten through rather neatly, without setting off the security laser grid. He should be able to slip through, and if Cecily and her crew are carrying Dorian up there, and Maya is flying up on magic wings, then they should also be inside shortly. There are drones coming around the corner in this square-shaped hallway any moment now, and another set coming from the opposite direction at a different speed, but the room being guarded is right there in front of them, at the center of this square hallway! The door is open, even if there are Rikti inside! Charging in and ambushing them before they know what's happening may allow them to see what the enemy is up to and put a stop to it! And if they fight their way through the guards... They find crates of devices that look like they are probably explosives. Bombs. Lots of them. The fact they're clearly identifiable as such despite their alien manufacture is mildly unusual, but the ferocity with which the Rikti defend them makes it quite clear these are no decoys. And maybe the Rikti aren't so different from humans in their design aesthetics as they at first seemed. Confiscating the explosives and defeating anyone who tries to stop them is their new priority! Hopefully Alexis and her companions can handle making a big enough ruckus downstairs while that happens!
Cecily	"There you go, dear," Cecily sets Dorian down gently and she grins at him. "You're too adorable for me to chew on, though I don't think the aliens will have any qualms with eating you..." she and her sisters lose the wings, and then there's just one fox now. The duffel bag thrown over a shoulder, the autocannon cradled in her hands and a pair of smaller sidearms at her hips. She smiles warmly at Maya, "I'd rather not go into full-time taxi-ing... this is just to get us all in one place." And inside they go! And into trouble they go! "Floor it?" asks the heavily armed vixen, glancing here and there for the presence of drones and looking towards the room ahead. "Kill them all and take their stuff?" she muses with a soft laugh.
Alexis	Several alien energy blasts burn upon the Rhyperior's heavy hide, but getting shot up does little to deter the monster's foe tossing charge down the hallway. Until he finally skids sideways to stop, turning back towards the aliens scattered about from the assault. His heavy tail slams into the floor behind him. Not as an attack, but as support for Masaider to rear up on two legs with a roar. Even as smoke visually swirls up from where his armored rock hide has been burned by the attacks. Muscular forelimbs bulge as muscles tense beneath the dense hide, building tension in the special pockets within Rhyperior's arms. The pressure is enough that when he opens up his palm the reaction is like a cannon, and several large stones are expelled out of the gaps in his palms at the spaced invaders. Damn competent enemies! And if teleportation is a technological or a psychic power.... We're better off not getting into. However the transposition isn't exactly quiet, and on reflex Alexis wheels around on hearing it. It's a good thing she's got the Aegislash because at that close range there would be no way to dodge. The blast slams into the ghost shield with enough force to push it against Alexis and force her skidding backwards though even if she's not the one being pummeled directly with it's power. Alexis grits her teeth with determination and grabs the handle sticking out from behind the shield. "Alright Balisong. Attack Forme!" The sword portion of the ghostly weapon allows itself to be drawn, opening the single eye imbedded in the crossguard of the hilt as the rather big blade is pulled out. It wraps its banner-arms around Alexis' as she winds back from the unsheathing motion. "And go! SHADOW SNEAK!" To which Alexis swings as if to throw the sword, except it disappears into a ripple of darkness that flickers in front of it. And comes straight up -out of the Gunman's own shadow- to strike! After the logic and physics defying thrust it drops back down, and reels back into Alexis' hand through the shadow distortions thanks to the banners tied to her.
Dorian Pavus	Dorian chuckles at Cecily's words as she sets him down on his feet again. "Thank you." As for chewing on him? He smirks. "That's appreciated. I know I'm bloody irresistable, but staying in one piece for the mission is definitely a priority. Do watch your tails, my dear. Much the same, they're beautiful enough that I would find it difficult to harm them, but I don't think our foes would think the same." Yes, he's teasing, even if his tone is a little flirty. For his part, when he can walk of his own power again he starts looking around. Whoop! He ducks behind a corner. Drones! That's not good. He has electrical attacks, though. Hopefully those can make short work of drones. But charging in? No, that's not what he does. He has another idea. "Draw them out, then lure them into a bottleneck," he suggests. "I'll have a little surprise ready for them. It should cut down on the number once they start coming out, and force them into narrow spaces so they can't get around us." Assuming they don't teleport, since he doesn't know they can all do that yet...
X	IN the team goes, stealthily infiltrating a higher floor... hopefully. X finds the whole matter fishy. They can just waltz in through a hole in the wall? The Rikiti laid an elaborate trap across only a few windows? Well, probably they've all tripped a silent alarm of some kind and any moment now GUNS will unveil from the walls or they'll come under attack in the corridors but... But no. X blinks a few times when the only thing in the corridors turns out to be a few drone patrols, and a clear path to the room... Complete and thorough amazement at the simplicity of these supposedly powerful, technologically advanced aliens is the first thing that strikes him. Following it? Confusion. How are they so capable yet so thoroughly insecure and obvious about everything? It would be COMICAL, literally so, if it wasn't happening in front of him. The android's making the oddest expression of worry and discomfort as he glances around the corner and waits for drones to pass and reveal their backsides. Even as the sounds of battle reach him from below... he'll just have to trust his allies here. His eyes are on what's in that room over there...
Maya	Maya is able to get up wih the other and keeps up with her suppor magic she'll make use of more wards and healing using vatrious cards for the effect and she can't help but grin at Cecily for a moment. "Fair enough it was just a thought Cecily!" It was a though intended in good humor and with everyone else focusing on the other objectives. She seems to be glad to have had a good group of allies and friens her ehopefully they will be able to bring this to an end soon.
War Witch	As the heroes arrive on the third floor, they have a very short window of time to act. As they plan their next move, the room directly ahead of them, right in front of them, the door in the center of the block-shaped storage space at the center of the square-shaped series of hallways open... Maybe they have reason to be concerned, as X thinks. Maybe there's further traps. Who knows? But if they don't move basically RIGHT NOW the traps will be a moot point, because the patrolling drones are coming around the corners in a matter of seconds, and with nowhere to hide as they stand right in the open, they'll have to fight or flee. And fleeing at this point is probably a less-than-ideal option. They might not get a second chance to bypass security measures if they come back later. Alexis, meanwhile, and her crew combat Rikti down below, taking out enemies, even as more come pouring out from deeper on the first floor. And at the back of the group attacking the rocky pokemon, one of those awful Rikti in orange and green appears. Crap. Is it a Guardian or a Communications Officer? Someone who is going to spam defensive barriers on his allies and buff them all to hell, or to open a portal and turn this area into a meat grinder of reinforcements piling on until Alexis and her mighty pokemon are either overwhelmed or driven off? The mental image of both of them in action may flash through Alexis's mind, as she just saw recently. Well-equipped, well-trained, high-tech Crey forces simply overwhelmed by a mix of numbers, firepower, and inability to meaningfully harm their opponents fast enough to stop them. Then the question is answered as the orange-and-green-armored Rikti brings up its arm and starts tapping away at the controls there. Reinforcement portal it is. Bleep.
X	Indeed. Drones coming around the corner will be a problem. Battle is already ongoing, there's no question that if the Rikti are even SLIGHLY competent they know they have intruders... so reducing the number of enemies seems like a solid tactic to go at. Fully aware that those drones will be circling around the hallway again, X takes action from his cover around a door. Color scheme shifting back to blue, he initiates CHARGING UP the buster. The only downside is that this is a somewhat noisy manuever. His weapon's capacitors begin to whine as energy's compressed and readied to fire. His thermal signature spikes, and indeed his entire body shines from within - the Titanium-X alloy his skin's composed of reacting to the unique energy thrumming through his systems by emitting ever-brighter light. At the moment. It might not be the optimal choice. Going straight for the Rikti and securing their goods would be better, some might say. But X... X doesn't wish to turn his weapons on anything living. Destroying drones, on the other hand, is of little moral concern. So when those drones 'round the bend again and start their way down the hallway, X LEAPS out into the hallway and unleashes a corridor-wide OUTPOURING of scorching whitish-blue plasma. The roaring, ionized noise of its passage is sure to grab attention, but it'll probably be quite late for the drones. But following unleashing that shot he hits the far side of the wall and springs off it up towards the ceiling where he'll then dig a hand into the wall and haul his body UP and probably out of immediate sight of any Rikti who come out of the nearby doors to investigate...
Alexis	The more aliens that charge into the hallway, the more the Rhyperior seems to be enjoying it, bracing himself for the next onslaught even with the attacks he's already been tanking through. He looks well and good ready to keep going until his endurance finally gives out on him. Alexis catchs a glimps of that horrible coloration coming at the back of the group though, which makes her scowl. Is that the one can open portals, or the one that can add additional defenses which means she would have to release a pokemon that knows Brick Break. In the end, just seeing the alien reach for his tech controls is enough to make Alexis decide not to sit around waiting and find out, dropping a pokeball at her feat to release a Mawile. Then glancing over her shoulder at the pokemon hiding there. "Glitch! TRICK ROOM!" The Porygon-Z actually blinks in surprise at a moment at being commanded to battle instead of just used as a reference source, but immeadiately catchs on to what is going on when Alexis lets out another tough but slow pokemon. It buzzes around to hover in front of her. "Porygon gon pory! < Command line accepted! Countermeasure iniciated! > A brief flash of bluish glow spreads out from the digital pokemon, and for a fading moment what's almost a grid-like pattern can be seen passing over everyone in the hallway even as the Rikti is opening his portal. PORYGON-Z TWISTED THE DIMENSIONS! The effect of Trick Room is apparent almost immeadiately as it reverses the speed of those within it. Rhyperior, Aegislash and Mawile are all particularly -slow- pokemon. Which means the trio are the fastest things in the room. Rhyperior throws himself into the midst of aliens, swinging massive arms and tail around to pummel anything getting too close. Aegislash unbinds itself from Alexis' arm, though leaves it's shield with her to protect herself. The haunted sword that is the main body of the pokemon flies into fight and starts lashing with it's banners like arms as they extend the ends into ghostly Shadow Claws. Mawile, instead of attacking directly, uses the speed priority shift to summon up several glowing jagged shards of rock around the Rikti and the portal it's opening. The Stealth Rocks will home in on any alien coming out of the portal and trying to enter the battle, ensuring they're already taking damage by the time they do so.
Dorian Pavus	"There could be more traps," Dorian cautions. That's about all he has time to say, though, before the drones arrive. Thanfully -- hopefully -- X has them. "Thank you," he notes to X. He looks to Cecily. "There's probably traps in that room," he warns. "But we need to go past it. Let me set up a barrier around myself and then I'll run through quickly and try to set them off." He looks between Cecily and Maya as he says the next, "Ladies, you can come in after me during the lull and take out whatever comes out in response." Oh but he's not going to JUST Barrier himself, no. He places himself where he can try to get as many of the four of them on this floor -- Cecily, X, Maya, and himself -- in the affect radius. So Cecily, X, and Maya may have a few seconds of Barrier! Once that's done, Dorian's body suddenly begins to glow blue, and he takes off through that 'empty' room. It's not normal human speed. He moves faster than seems possible for a human, trailing blue-white contrails. Hopefully he's moving fast enough to avoid any traps he might have tripped.
Maya	Maya has taken a supporting role yet she's is anything but passive the Blue Witch is casing spells generally ti support her allies most notably she's starting to toss out the haste spells and there's a heck of a lot of blue fire. She'll also be firing the odd bolt of lighting into the mix as she foes there's a good deal of drones and she best thin those damn things out. She knows they could end up to their eyeballs in support units. " We shouldn't dally for too long here we need to get what we came here to do done and get the hell out of here!" Then Dorian ends up casing barrier on her and charging in. She sees he's got a plan and she will do as he asks. "You head him Cecily!" Once enough time has passed she'll pile in on after Dorian hopefully with Cecily.
Cecily	Cecily stands by, having properly 'dismounted' and lugging her cannon and hip-holstered firearms. She smiles at Dorian, and then purses her lips, watching the goings on as heartbeats pass. X's maneuvers are met with an impressed smile, but it's Dorian's announcement that makes her blink. "Just be careful, dear," she says gently. She gives it three or four beats, then follows. Two more of herself peel off, one taking the thigh holsters with her and bringing the pair of MP-7's up to bear to cover her 'sisters'. One fox pulls the duffel bag and drops it on the floor, pulling it open while the third braces her cannon--a 40mm bofors--against the wall. "Cover and suppression ready," the cannon-toting fox announces. The bag-dropping vixen withdraws the magazines for the cannon, loading one and locking it in place silently, communicating with her twins silently. Should any Rikti come to follow Dorian or out the door to see where he'd come from, they'd be lit up. It's not going to be quiet or dark in the hallway for long with the booming thunder of a ground-trained anti-aircraft gun and a pair of armor-piercing sub-machineguns set in overwatch to ambush the alien forces.
War Witch	Alexis's usage of pokemon abilities completely blindsides the Rikti, exposing what may be a critical weakness to keep in mind for the future. It's one that was discovered before, and is what allows heroes to end the initial invasion. Essentially... They don't know how to deal with magic, or powers similar to such. They are utterly overwhelmed by their sudden decrease in speed, and then being steamrolled by pokemon. The portal is disabled as soon as it apepars, the one who summoned it taken out, and all the other forces who have been dropping down from the second floor thanks to having blasted out the ceiling on the first floor rather than bottlenecking themselves with elevators. They aren't easy cakes or anything, but their defensive line crumbles, and the bombardment of energy weapons gradually decreases until all that's left is Alexis, her pokemon, and lots of smoldering and charred floors and walls. Now all that's left is the enemies on the third floor. X's attack takes out the first batch of drones, though they remain infuriatingly evasive thanks to personal deflectors and a frictionless armor coating that makes things practically slide right off of them. Plasma is a bit different though, and the one that survives the blast is still damaged enough that it should be easy to take out with normal shots from anyone. Of course, this alerts the Rikti, and the drone patrol coming from the opposite direction speeds up its approach. But when the visible Rikti turn, they do so right as Dorian comes running into the enclosed space with barriers up. There's a fairly small group. Five enemies total in the room. One of them is a bit different from the others, however. Red and white armor, unlike what has been seen so far. This Rikti turns, focusing on Dorian, and Maya behind him, quite quickly, as its weird alien eyes glow with psychic power. It says aloud, "Statement: Us: Not alone." Then, as weapons fire pelts Dorian and Maya, their barriers offering protection from such, the Chief Mentalist raises a hand and unleash a spiralling wave of light from an armed palm, attempting to painfully tear at their minds with its own. Oh, and there's a huge pile of bombs behind the psychic. Great.
Cecily	The drones aren't all down! Cecily's going to have to make sure they stay down. Or at least, take cover. The singular, heavily damaged one is set upon by a hail of small-caliber high-velocity armor-piercing bullets, the pair of MP-7's in her hands spitting fire and metal down the hallway in short, accurate bursts. It's likely it won't take much to down it with it smoking and sputtering like that, but it's obvious that things have 'gone loud'. No louder than the next incoming group of drones taking concentrated anti-aircraft fire, however. The THUMP THUMP THUMP of the Bofors' firing and drilling its butt into the wall is deafening and rattles the building with its soundwaves. And the explosions of the airburst shells sending shrapnel and clouds of fire around the incoming drones. Ten shots. A pause. The rattle-thunk of the magazine switching, locking, both foxes operating like a well-oiled machine of gunner and gunnery support as the next set of shells is hurtled towards the incoming automatons.
Alexis	Never let it be said that Alexis doesn't know how to use strategy. It's just usually strategy that makes it easier to beat things up, but that still counts as strategy! As the fight winds down due to lack of standing enemies Rhyperior pulls his hand out of the wall where he slammed one of the space invaders. Mawile has one dangling out of the pinchers hanging off her head like a ponytail. The Aegislash drifts back to Alexis, whom returns its shield. Then walks over to the body clad in orange and green armor. "You see this one?" Alexis puts her foot down on it's chest. "You see one in these colors? I don't care what else is on the field, THIS is a major priority. We almost had this place swarming with more lame aliens than there are Zubats pissing off trainers in a cave." Goddamn Zubats. Despite being battered and tired the Pokemon nod at the advice. Except for Aegislash which doesn't have a neck. Or a head technically. But the one eye it does have is studying the indicated form intently so its gotten the lesson. With that lesson dealt with, Alexis flicks her comm back open. <<Alexis here. The lower levels have been cleared. Turns out Rikti don't like other people using teleport shenanigans. Or timewarp shenanigans. >> Meanwhile Mawile drops the body out of her pinchers and turns to examine it. Then looks to Alexis. "Mawile? < Did we bring any tea? >" Alexis blinks, and turns a bit to peer at the steel-bodied fairy. "Whaaa?" "< You know. Teabags? >" Mawile gestures at the Rikti bodies stewn about the floor. "< We are going to need a lot of them. To put on the defeated? >" When it finally clicks what she's talking about, Alexis slaps a hand to her face. "That's not what that mea--Oh, nevermind. I ain't explaining that." Porygon-Z.. just does it's best innocent act, playing a chiptune of a whistle as it bobs in the opposite direction. It playing around online had nothing with that term coming up and possibly being overheard by other pokemon, no sirree not at all.
Dorian Pavus	The Barrier is good enough to deal with the sting of weapons. Though the protection that the magic provides will wane quickly, so it's not advised to lean too heavily on it. For his part, Dorian can also count on the speed of Fade Step, the magic of the Fade carrying him along faster than some of the weapons fire can zero in on him. But... there's a problem with all this, one that's discovered just as the Chief Mentalist attacks with the mental attack. As it goes out, Dorian's speed fades and the blue aura sputters and dies. Not only that, though, he stumbles and staggers back. And the problem is soon realized. Magic might be something the Rikti don't like... but Dorian's Barriers don't do a bloody thing against psionics. If there's no physical component, the Barrier is no barrier to it! Besides that, due to the discipline required to call up power from the Fade and not attract the attention of demons, Dorian is rather always in a half-meditative state when he's casting. Mental attacks really screw with that. As such, Dorian is dazed for a moment. It's not until he hears the loud reports of Cecily's guns that he seems to pull himself together. He shakes his head, frowning darkly at the Rikti. No, he doesn't like it when someone's screwing with his head. Not at all. So in response, calls up something really big. He can't just blow the place up with fire and lightning; he might set off the bombs. So instead, he gathers all the power he can and goes for the other side of the spectrum. He doesn't usually use ice, and when he does it's never something this big. He aims in the midst of the group of Rikti. The skull on the end of his staff appears to frost over, his hands turning pale as cold steam surrounds them and drifts to the ground. Dorian's arms go out to his sides and a paper-thin layer of ice ripples along the floor. Then he turns his hands palm-up and raises them into the air in a sudden movement. And as he does, ice leaps up, in a wall. That should disrupt their organization! And maybe also freeze them INSIDE the wall of ice. It'll eventually thaw. But what will happen to them between now and then...?
Maya	Maya knows she doesn't have much and she sees what the mentalist is trying to do to her, the alien might find Maya's mind is a bit different and her response to it is pretty potent. "Get....out ... of my HEAD!" There's a burst of bight blue flames from her a whole lot of it actually Maya's channeling a whole lot of magic right now and she pulls two cards with a good deal of effort and then comes a massive explosion of energy Maya unleashes destroyer, strange dark energy tendrils attack the Chief Mentalist and any hostiles near them would be hit by it and should be enough to put them down for the moment. Maya's really really /not/ happy right now.
X	As is often the case, X is a bit startled at seeing what some of his allies bring to the table! The Pokemon and drones are blinked at him from his perch near the ceiling... but once the others go rushing into the room X drops down to the ground and follows after then... Which gives him a heck of a view of what's actually GOING ON in there. BOMBS. Ohhhhhh boy. "What were they planning on hitting with those?!" He all but yells, horrified! While the others fight the biologicals he's not keen on fighting, X takes the opportunity of distraction they provide to go after the explosives... fully intent on just hoisting it up with his robotic strength and running it straight out of here! CONFISCATION ON PPD AUTHORITY!
War Witch	Once the enemies are all taken down, drones shot out of the air, soldiers blasted with ice and getting their attacks blocked while being crushed in the tight confines of the room by the encroaching frozen wall, and dark tendrils and other magic taking out the psychic Boss after a brief if fierce struggle, X is able to confiscate the Rikti explosives. And, as if on cue, the Task Force gets a message from Major Richard Flagg. "We've picked up some disturbing intel from those interceptors you placed. It seems the Rikti are interested in the Terra Volta reactor. We've had some close shaves in the past trying to keep that reactor safe, and it looks like the Rikti are going to give us a run for our money again." If it's not one thing it's another! "Those explosives you found are what really worries me. If the Rikti manage to blow up the reactor core, there'll be fallout for miles! All of Paragon City will have to be evacuated!" Welcome to Paragon City, a crisis zone 24/7. Can anyone even imagine how bad it would be if there weren't heroes to stop all this crazy? Well, the people of Dark Astoria probably could. If they were still alive. Better to not let all of Paragon City become a city of the dead like Astoria though. After dropping off the bombs, it's time to head to Terra Volta. TO BE CONCLUDED...