legionclubhouse | The "Lights Out" Test Drive Meme

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The "Lights Out" Test Drive Meme

THE "LIGHTS OUT" TEST DRIVE MEME

The Time Trapper, the being responsible for bringing people into the Legion's universe, is up to some strange tricks! It's now creating illusions of alternate universes and dumping the Legionnaires into them to try to test them as Legionnaires. Each time this happens, the captives -- er, participants have knowledge of the scenario, their role, and what they're supposed to accomplish planted into their heads, but still remember who they once were.

To complicate things, the Legionnaires from the 31st century aren't the only ones pulled into this adventure. Strange people from many worlds are being yanked in and finding themselves thrust right into the heart of these conflicts.

These universes technically are just illusions (probably!) and all the participants have an inherent knowledge of this placed in their heads, but it's up to them if they believe it -- and the danger is real. If you die in one of these scenarios you stay dead. This time everyone is being dumped into a scenario where they're dealing with...

A POWER OUTAGE
THE SETTING
Some kind of unknown attack has caused all the power to go out in the city of Resilia on Drolta IV. Due to the United Planets' over-reliance on technology, chaos has taken over this usually peaceful and technologically-advanced city. As turbolifts freeze, lights go out, hover-ships crash, and surgical droids shut down in the hospitals, the entire city falls apart. To a people who haven't had to survive without advanced technology for centuries upon centuries, it almost seems like the world is ending.

Only very small forms of technology are able to be used in the city, like small flashlights and portable medical equipment. Every bit of electronics larger than something you can carry in your pockets is no longer functioning.

While this is possibly one of the Time Trapper's strange pocket dimensions, this dimension is very similar to the game universe, and whether or not the sentient beings in need of saving are real or not is impossible to tell. It's a bad idea to risk not helping them in case real lives are on the line.

Based on player preference, for the purposes of the meme, characters can either lose powers, retain their canon powers, or find themselves with new powers. It's up to you.

On Drolta IV, as the evening winds to an end, true darkness is falling for the first time in centuries.

SCENARIO A: RIOTS
The city has erupted into dangerous riots as people break into stores to steal things and innocent people are getting caught in the crossfire. With disaster relief stations being set up, it's possible for the rioters to get supplies safely and legally, but only if the riots are broken up and they're told where to go. With communications down, you're the only ones that can stop the violence and redirect people to where they can get help.

SCENARIO B: CRIMEFIGHTING
While some of the chaos is being caused by scared citizens rioting, actual criminals and minor supervillains are taking advantage of the situation to perpetrate their crimes without getting caught. Banks are being robbed of any material forms of money they have on hand, like credit cubes and rare stashes of precious metals, and innocent citizens are getting mugged left and right.

A few psychotic individuals ~~have decided it's Purge night~~ are even taking advantage of the disaster to perpetrate pointless violence on people, dressing up in masks and finding non-technological weapons to use. You're the only ones up for the task of protecting innocents being menaced by the criminals and villains taking advantage of the disaster to commit their crimes.

SCENARIO C: FIRES
Fires have broken out throughout the city and with electronic fire suppressant systems down, firefighting teams are having difficulty putting them out. You may be able to use your powers to help put out the fires, especially if you work together with other heroes. Or perhaps you can help rescue civilians trapped in burning buildings.

SCENARIO D: MEDICAL EMERGENCIES
Medical emergencies are happening everywhere. Hospitals are being overwhelmed by life support systems and surgical droids going down. Makeshift first aid camps are being set up outside hospitals and in crowded areas where people have been injured or have had artificial organs fail.

If you have first aid or medical know-how, you can perhaps provide aid for the sick and injured, or you can help with medical emergencies by bringing injured people to first aid tents or hospitals. You and those you work side by side with may be the only thing that can save the ill or injured from certain death -- and every second counts!

SCENARIO E: WILD CARD!
With automatic doors jammed, and public transport like monorails powerless, many citizens are trapped in places throughout the city. Hovercrafts are losing power and may need help being signaled down to safe landing areas -- or may need to be stopped in mid-air before they crash. Water pumps in tunnels may stop working so that transport tunnels need to be evacuated before rising water levels cause the people escaping their vehicles to drown. The possibilities are limitless, but one thing is sure: these people need your help!

OOC INFO
✦ Current players in game can jump into this and do starters if they like so they can play with new players and each other. This meme will count as part of the game canon for those that opt in, though they'll find their memories somewhat fuzzy afterward. These threads can count toward your AC, however the "new CR" credit cannot be applied since not every character joining in is guaranteed to join the game. This takes place before "In Brightest Day."

✦ Potential players can use this as a standard test drive and may use these threads as their log samples. However, at least one post in their thread must fit the requirements for apps, both in length (200 words) and in quality. If you do plan on using a thread as a sample, please make sure the writing throughout your threads is a good example of your writing skills and has some solid examples of the character's voice.

✦ Important Note: Apps and reserves will be closed from July 20 - August 16 for summer vacation. Apps and reserves will reopen on a normal rolling basis on August 17.

✦ Potential players can also opt to keep these threads as game canon when they app in, so that their character remembers the scenario and then suddenly finds themselves in the game universe. However, this is opt in and players can choose to introduce their characters fresh if they'd prefer that and no other characters will remember they were there. Please just note which you'd like in the additional info field on your app.

✦ If you are considering apping to the game, currently 30 of 50 player slots are available. The character limit is 4 characters per player. You can also scope out some of the game's upcoming plots here.

✦ Non-players who like the meme but aren't really considering apping to the game are free to jump in. The more the merrier! The Time Trapper wants a confusing situation and will enjoy the chaos of lots of strange people trying to figure out what's going on.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

b, but he's a spy not a crimefighter!

"Hey, hey, come on, we don't need to do this!"

Shima isn't the sort to go looking for trouble. If anything, he'd rather sit back and watch someone else find trouble, but not him! Why him? Why is it always him? The shock of getting dumped out of the academy and into whereabouts unknown had been somewhat interesting at first. Obviously, this isn't Japan. He's pretty sure it isn't anywhere he's ever heard about, either, only the widespread panic put a pretty big stopper on any fun exploring he could be doing.

Speaking of widespread panic, there's also widespread danger, which brings us to where Shima is stuck currently. Wrong place, wrong time, and a gang of vandals taking a break from smashing stuff to converge on the out-of-place stranger, looking to be dressed like your typical 21st century teenager who's decided pink is a good color of hair dye to go with. Armed, of course, which is probably what caught their attention. He's not a completely clueless tourist here. Suddenly in a strange place, of course he was going to pull K'rik out and put it together.

But then, why does a kid need a fancy metal staff like that, huh? That's what the head of the vandals seems to think, as that's what he's demanding Shima hand over.

"I mean, I really can't hand this over, right? It's an heirloom. I'd be grounded for the rest of my life if I handed it over to a bunch of lowlifes, yeah? So how about we all just go our own ways and-- whoa! Okay, nevermind!"

Here comes one of them with a... baseball bat? Does this place have baseball? He's not entirely sure and it doesn't look like he'll have the time to ask, instead focusing on leaping back and not getting his head bashed in.

The bad thing about the Nova Force is that it's really the kind of power that's made for blasting things up without worrying about the collateral damage.

Typically Sam's up against the kinds of opponents that can eat a few blasts, but he's not about to count on a bunch of rioting civilians being used to handling cosmic level superpowers, and he'd rather not hurt them any more than necessary to keep things from exploding. (Even if they are being total jerks about this.)

So he doesn't open up with an energy blast - not towards the guy with the bat, anyway. Instead, Sam aims it behind himself, to propel himself forward at high speed, foot first, and kick the thug in the gut, knocking him back.

"I'm pretty sure that's against MLB rules, dude. Why don't you go find a ball to hit?"

It's a good thing Shima's paying attention to where the other guy is looking as he's avoiding the bat several more times. Something behind him, sure enough, which is why he gets the inclination to sidestep out of Sam's way before getting kicked into the ringleader the same way said ringleader is getting kicked over right now.

"Uh," is his totally clever and well thought out quip to follow a rocket kid jetting in out of nowhere. That's new. Not so much weird costumes, though, but after a second or two of boggling at Sam, he's up to adding, "Oookay. Something tells me none of us are playing by Major League rulings right now. Ah, hang on--"

Shima turns, this time bringing his staff up in a jab straight into another vandal's face before he can finish coming up from behind. That's two down, this one with a severely bloody nose. Now that supposed back-up is here, someone's a little less shy to pick a fight.

"I don't suppose you can do that to all of them at once? 'cause it looks like the rest of their friends are showing up!"

"That? Probably not, but it's not the only trick up my sleeve."

The problem being that he'd really rather not resort to the rest of them unless he had to. There's enough senseless destruction going on already.

Sam edges back, positioning himself back to back with Shima, and glares at the group closing in around them. "Guys, I think everyone's gonna be a lot happier if I don't have to break out the big guns. You sure you don't wanna just back off now?"

Shima tosses a glance back over one shoulder at Sam when he goes back to back with him, but only for a second or two. He's back to keeping an eye on his side of the goon squad closing in on them, the first group gradually growing in rank as a second group that's finished trashing another street joins them.

"I don't know, I think I'd be cool with the big guns. The big guns would probably be really great right now! Unless there's something wrong with the big guns?"

He doesn't sound nervous, exactly. Exasperated might be a better word for it, at having only a metal staff between him and an angry mob. There's a better defense he could fall to, but that isn't a fact he's willing to share just yet.

"Not really anything wrong with them, so much as I'm usually using this trick on...you know. Starships. Incoming asteroids. The Hulk."

Big stuff, in short.

But there's a blue glow collecting around him, steadily getting brighter and brighter, and Sam gives the closest thug an exaggerated shrug. "So, I doubt your skin's as thick as a war cruiser's hull, right?"

"Incoming asteroids... Wait! Wait. Wait, wait, maybe that's a little too big!"

Mostly because Shima's worried he might get caught up in that the same as the gang of vandals!

He jabs another who gets too close, this time sharply in the gut and right back into another two, then he's giving the staff a spin to tap the ringed end on the street. It gives off the same chiming it's been giving off this entire time, with every swing, but this time a spark of black flame comes up off the end.

"I guess I can't avoid it. How troublesome..." The last of which he grumbles to himself for the most part. "Hey, guy, if you can get up off the ground really fast, now would be a good time!"

Because after that warning, he brings the staff up again and shouts something that, being a spell verse, doesn't quite come through as translatable. On finishing, the staff itself bursts into flame, just as black as the previous spark had been.

"Fast is -"

He's already taking off.

"- my specialty!"

They don't call Nova the human rocket for nothing.

That was fast. Well what do you know, is something Shima might be saying if he had the time to stop and stare up after, but for now he's got to focus. The staff comes back down, striking the street, at which point the growing flame around it scatters in every direction, lurching across the ground almost violently in motion.

Lines of hellfire head for various individuals in the crowd that had been ganging up on them. There isn't enough for everyone, but it does startle enough to get most to back off. The ones less quick to jump or find cover get hit, the flame lighting them up like flares, though only briefly.

There is a lot of startled screams, then a lot of people collapsing where they stood when the black fire disperses back into the air.

"...huh. Only eight?" Yeah, he was counting how many he got. "I guess I do need to work on that!"

Well, that sure doesn't look good. Given that Kon's powers aren't quite what they used to be, he should probably go about this in a different way than he usually would

...except that he doesn't. He hasn't quite learned yet. So he kind of just flies down, landing behind the group, and giving them only a quick warning—

"Oh, hey. I wanna play."

—before the ground crumbles beneath the vandals, oops.

(Isn't this cheating, this is definitely not how baseball works—)

Ground crumbling beneath the vandals, vandals who were gathering around Shima, which means Shima is leaning way back to avoid another swing when everything under his feet goes sideways.

"Oh sh--"

It's only getting the butt of his staff slammed down against something slightly more solid behind him that keeps him from falling over all the way. Part of him wants to yell about the entire flying thing, but the rest of him settles for yelling something else entirely.

"What was that s'posed to be? A cool entrance?!"

If so, man, Kon, that needs work!

Oops. That was not supposed to happen. He was totally sure he had that! But maybe if he pretended it was on purpose, no one would think too hard about how he totally screwed up just now.

"Duh. You jealous? It's cool, dude. It happens."

There was nothing to be jealous of?! But whatever, it doesn't stop Kon from kneeling down and putting a hand on the ground.

"You might wanna watch your feet for this next part."

Because some of the now non-functioning wires previously hidden underneath the road were now acting like... ropes? They seem to have a mind of their own now as they wrap around the vandals (and hopefully not Shima this time, but considering Kon's minimal TK practice...) to keep them in place.

Shima does manage to avoid getting caught up in the wires, at least, since he's found some better footing and hops up out of the hole Kon made. Back on solid ground, he'll blow out a huff of air. Admittedly, the wires grabbing the vandals and wrapping them up is impressive, but he isn't about to say as much.

Instead he lodges further complaint!

"Jealous? Of you missing? Come on, man, we both know that's not something to be jealous of."

"I didn't miss. It was a, uh... tactical maneuver."

More like a tactical mistake. But whatever, he's not gonna dwell on that!

"But hey, you ain't hurt, so it's all good." Even if that was probably just a stroke of luck. Either way, he glances around. The vandals wiggle about, but as long as he's 'holding' them, they shouldn't be able to get loose. "We probably shouldn't stick around here, though. Unless you're lookin' to get acquainted with their friends."

There's a sound not unlike the fluttering of the wings of a swarm of birds behind the hooligans, followed by a small, but significant whoosh as a piece of paper whips into view and circles around the one with the bat.

The next sound is a clunking as the majority of the bat strikes the ground, cut off just above its handle cleanly by the offending parchment. The sheet of paper swoops around that vandal once more and returns to its source - a young woman who looks like she'd be more at home in a library than on the street. She has a determined expression, but by the subtle shakiness of her movements, she's definitely having second thoughts about this.

The question at this point is, just how much of their attention did she get?

c. in a fire

Sneaking into the kitchen at the Tauros Base to raid the fridge was risky but that typically didn't involve being in a literal fire. So Bit is understandably surprised when he tries to bite into a cookie and only gets a mouthful of smoke. He's in the middle of coughing and trying to cover his face when he realizes he isn't in the kitchen or the base at all for that matter.

"Oh jeez. Who turned up the heat?" Bit complains, backing away from some flames. It's a store but the amount of smoke and flames make it impossible to tell what the place sells. It doesn't really matter when his more immediate concern is getting out of the burning building. Shielding his mouth and nose with his arm, Bit scans the area in search of an exit. Just when he spots a door, Bit notices something else.

A person slumped against the counter. He doesn't recognize them and the thought of just leaving crosses his mind, but it doesn't take Bit long to dismiss that thought. He can't just leave someone to burn to death. Bit carefully pulls the man up to his feet and pulls one arm over his shoulders to support him.

"I got ya, buddy. Now let's get outta here," he says, dragging the man to the door. But without power, the automatic door isn't opening. "Dammit! Somebody open the door!"

"Hold on!" someone shouts from the other side, before a banging noise starts. A small, grey furred fist punches its way through the edge of the door, and starts pulling with inhuman strength, peeling the door outward.

On the other side stands a small female rabbit. "That takes care of that. Anyone else in there besides the two of you?"

A voice from the other side of the door is a good sign as far as Bit's concerned. He shuffles back carefully when the banging starts, looking over his shoulder to make sure he's not about to drag the poor guy he's rescuing right into any flames. And when he looks back its just in time to see that little fist punch through the door.

"Huh?" his expression goes from a scowl to one of confusion. As the door peels away, Bit's jaw drops and his shoulders slump a little. Still holding up the injured man, he just stares at the rabbit.

"Tiny...talking...bunny..."

Ina couldn't fathom what on earth was wrong with these people.

The streets were dark - strange to a people used to streetlights that never went out, but it seemed perfectly normal to her, even if she wasn't entirely sure why so many people were venturing out without so much as a candle to aid them. Vehicles no longer moving - well, of course not, there weren't horses there to pull anything (and why did none of these supposed carts have wheels?). She didn't see a city devoid of everything that allowed it to function; Ina saw only people in the grip of some sort of madness, smashing windows, overrunning storefronts, and attacking each other without cause.

"Stop, all of you!" Nobody was listening. Nobody seemed to even hear her, over the yells and -

Screams. Some of that didn't sound like the panic of people who were frightened but not yet hurt, though; she was sure she heard something bloodcurdling, something that spoke of worse violence happening.

And so up she went, vaulting herself up onto a ledge and away from the press of the human (except maybe not, some of them didn't look human at all, but there was no time to worry about that) tide, where she could start heading in the opposite direction without being swept along towards...something. Nowhere, more than likely. There didn't seem to be any aim or goal in the crowd's consciousness at all, although the farther back she went, the more people seemed worried about getting away from there.

Because the screams were getting louder, too.

She ducked into an alley off the main street, skidding to a halt, her bow whipping up to aim at several men (probably? the right build, although something, again, seemed not quite human about them) in masks, standing over a figure on the ground and holding knives and table legs and anything they'd found that would serve as a weapon in a pinch. Makeshift weapons probably meant things they weren't terribly practiced with, didn't have much finesse when using.

They'd regret that.

"You're all being ridiculous," she snapped, drawing the bowstring just a bit farther back. "Cease this foolishness and leave, now."

In retrospect, she probably should have known better.

The chaos on the main street was what had driven Yasuho to try and take an alternate path. It was almost impossible to get through the crowd, and while she wasn't entirely sure she understood what was happening here, it only made sense to see what everyone was trying to get away from. However, with the small group of thugs standing over her right now, she was starting to think that maybe she should have followed them. Yeah, she definitely should have followed the crowd.

Ina's words managed to get the thugs' attention, and Yasuho couldn't have felt more relieved. She took the opportunity to quickly look around and try to find a weapon of her own. But while she was distracted, one of the thugs suddenly faltered, letting out a cry and reaching for his foot. The seemingly inexplicable injury caused panic among the thugs as he tried to explain that his ankle suddenly... twisted by itself?

...weird. But now, they were double distracted, so that was another point in the girls' favor, at least.

She wasn't sure where the thug's sudden injury came from, but Ina wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Anything that turned the tide in their favor was welcome, and these people didn't move like soldiers, or warriors - unworthy opponents, nothing like she was used to fighting. She ought to be able to win without a kill, if she proved they didn't have a chance.

Her father had taught her that there was no honor in bloodshed against an enemy one easily outclassed. Better to scare them off and get that girl out of there.

She moved her bow up just a hair, and loosed an arrow. It came within millimeters of one man's ear and buried itself in the alley wall. Before any of them reacted, she already had another arrow nocked and aiming.

"Next time, I may not choose to miss."

Yasuho hadn't quite been able to see past the thugs, so she had no idea what Ina had used against them, but whatever it was, she was grateful for it. It was enough to keep them busy so that Yasuho could grab a blunt object (she wasn't sure what it was—some kind of metal piece, it must have broken off of something), move to her feet, and sprint past them.

But as she ran, another one of the thugs' legs buckled, as if he'd been struck really hard behind the knee. While Ina sought to warn, the force responsible for this wasn't quite so kind.

She slowed to a stop when she got near Ina, though. Yasuho was a bit wary of her, too—just because she'd given her an opportunity to escape, it didn't necessarily mean she was a friend. She was sure she needed to get away from them even more, but she waited to see what Ina would do before she made another move.

Ina's eyes didn't leave the thugs, even as Yasuho approached. "Are you injured?" she asked, still keeping that arrow trained on them and dead steady. Looking over to confirm it herself might've left them open, after all; she didn't think that these men were skilled enough to take advantage of a split-second's distraction the way a better warrior might, but nor was she willing to stake an innocent girl's life on her assessment.

And the idea of keeping an eye on Yasuho because she didn't know whether she could trust her, honestly, didn't even occur to Ina. She expected nothing but honor from others, until they gave her a reason to suspect otherwise.

"N-no, I'm alright." The only notable injury she had was a scratch on her leg, but that had happened before she got here. It might not have worked out so well for her if Ina had shown up just a minute or two later. "Let's get out of here."

It didn't seem like Ina was interested in hurting them, and that was probably a good sign. (Not that those thug jerks didn't deserve it, but she really didn't want to be a witness to a murder.) On her own, it would be tough to outrun them—there were still a couple in decent running shape, at least—but with Ina's bow (...a bow?!), they just might be able to make it.

"There are more people back in the other direction, but they're all in a state of panic." Going back in that direction might mean there were people who were more willing to help, instead of the unsavory sorts who were looking to pick off anyone alone and away from the safety of the crowd - but it was relative safety. It was still incredibly chaotic in the other direction, and Ina wasn't sure that running straight back into a riot would be much of an improvement over dealing with the likes of these men. She was at her best when she had some distance and space to work with, after all.

One of the thugs, who was a bit closer to her than the rest, had perhaps realized that an archer would be a more formidable opponent with some distance, and he suddenly lunged forward.

But "more formidable" didn't mean "a slouch in close range," either.

She swung her bow in a sweep that knocked him off his feet, re-aiming as soon as he hit the ground. Ina's father had taught her more than only archery, and the limbs of her bow were reinforced enough to work as a blunt weapon in a pinch.

This was crazy. The girl moved like someone out of an action movie or something! Yasuho felt totally out of place. She was thinking along similar lines, however—getting caught like this was awful, but was potentially getting swept up in a mob really much better? Not to mention they were technically supposed to be trying to 'help'... But that was a tall order, she felt, when she could hardly even help herself.

Yasuho knew she wasn't a match for... well, just about anyone here, so she started making her way back toward the street to check and see if the coast was clear. If nothing else, she could at least warn Ina and give her a heads-up if it turned out they had more company.

{Scenario A: Rioters}
"Hey, wait, what? No, you can't do that!" Hunk said as he watched two kids throw rocks into a window. It was a bit pointless to throw them into that window as the two beside it were already broken, but that really wasn't the point. A riot of people had already ran down this street, and he can hear more coming. The entire place was a disaster.

How did he find himself here again? No, he got HOW. The question really should be WHY? Why him? He tugged his vest down and scowled as the kids charged into the already ransacked building. "Wait just a minute! You really can't be doing that!" He called, coming to a stop at the window and... oh crow, peeking in. It was dark inside, and no alarms were going. There was glass everywhere. And there were two kids, seriously, kids! They had to be younger then he was! There they were, grabbing loads of electronics and stuffing them into bags. "Hey! I said stop! Just... put it down and go back this way. There is a place you can--" Rest? Hide?

Who knows. One of the brats threw a boxy device at him with very little care, making Hunk draw back just before it nearly hit him. He watched it whiz by and bounce across the street. "That does it..."

{Scenario C: Fires}
Okay. All right. He's figured this out. He knows how to do this. There are fire fighters clearing out a building, and there is a fire blazing through the lobby itself. The first thing Hunk wanted to do? Run.

Which is what he did from the last street he was on and a horde of people in weird outfits started to come his way. He turned and ran and found himself over here, by the burning building.

"Trucks almost empty!" One fire fighter called out, spraying from a truck, other hoses on fire lines. He saw someone using their powers to try and help, getting people out, but if the lower floors were completely on fire it would be hard getting anyone out at all!

"Oh Crow..." He said to himself, and suddenly setting himself, feet spread and stable, he drew his hands out before him, drawn back, then pushed. There was a soft rumble of the pavement near by, down an alley way. It was clear of people. He took in another breath and pushed. The ground cracked and pulled up, opening dirt under it. With another shove and a turn of his hands he pushed dirt up and into a broken window, trying to manipulate the dirt into the lobby and crashing down on the base of fires. An attempt to smother the fire and embers. It brought a bad smokey earthy smell, but it was doing the trick.

Now to try and keep it up... the problem was he needed more earth to push around with out ripping out the streets around or taking too much away to throw the building off!

Josuke didn't mind helping out where he could, so as he made his way through the city, he took it upon himself to take care of whatever damage he came across. It was easy enough as long as he had Crazy Diamond, but it didn't matter how fast his Stand worked when he was just one guy and there were still a ton of people looting and rioting out here. His Stand was fast, but not that fast.

This spot was just another in his path that needed to be fixed, but when the projectile struck the ground a few feet in front of him, Josuke came over to where Hunk was.

"Did that come from inside?"

It didn't look like this guy did it. He didn't seem to want anything to do with this at all.

[a]

"Yeah, that's telling 'em," Pidge couldn't help but mutter as she came around the corner, powers of invisibility in full swing. Part of her felt bad, like she was ignoring people's need as she slipped past the bulk of the riots, but she also knew she'd be no help if she was caught up in them, considering -let's face it- how easily picked up she is.

Having Hunk around will probably help that, sure, but seeing him just sort of...ineffectually yelling at those kids wasn't doing a lot for her spirits. And the thing that they just threw down the street, at her, inadvertently? Well, that didn't do much for her concentration, and she de-cloaked to hop out of the way. On one foot. With a yelp.

When she regains her balance, against a wall with one hand, she's ready to give him some backup.

"By order of the Legion, put down the bags, now!" She shouts, a lot more forcefully than Hunk.

Most fires don't tend to get a soundtrack, and acoustic guitar has rarely been described as sounding desperate. Greg staggers as the ground shifts beneath him, his music twanging awkwardly off-key for a second before he falls back in tempo. He balks at Hunk for a second, before rushing over, still strumming.

"Uhh--hey, can--I need to ask you for help with--"

The balding musician takes a deep breath, before trying again. He's a little wound up literally everything going on, and every time he thinks about what he's about to do makes it worse.

"Could, could you help me out here? I need someone to--Hi, I'm Greg, I'm about to run into that burning building, I thought you should know that before I ask you to help because there's a lot of rubble blocking the way but I figured you should know that before I ask you to also run into a burning building with me."

He'd probably be having a heart attack right now if there weren't more important things to do.

B

Looked like this girl was in trouble, or was she? A couple thugs seemed to swirl around her and a couple of bystanders. Daria remained very quiet, but the people behind her were reasonably freaked out. She stared right at the thugs, with the most deadpan stoic expression she could muster. Common crooks fed on fear they could see, because they ran on their own selfish desires. They weren't out there to take over the city through actual threats, they wanted to use it to get what they want like it were a deal.

It took a couple threats before she got fed up with hearing their nonsense anymore. One of the crooks waved a knife at her face, maybe hoping she had anything valuable. Though they doubted it, considering she looked frumpy and dull. Maybe they wanted her to be scared. But she wasn't, and the hand that held that knife was bent backward by an unseen force.

"You know, for someone who wants to take advantage of people in a time of crisis, you sure didn't think things through."

She had this. But maybe you thought she didn't. Step on in and get a taste of thug.

A dramatic guitar chord echoed through the street. One could debate whether it diffused the tension or heightened it, but the sight of the portly, balding man holding the guitar definitely took away from some of the gravity of the confrontation.

That was before he started singing.

"The lights have lost their power
We're in the darkest hour
And the only light to guide us is the stars

There's no cause in your fear
If we all play by ear
It's better to enjoy a guitar

Yeah, it's better not to get put 'hind bars

Allllllright that oughta do it."

He gave one last chord for emphasis, before taking a second to glance between the thugs and the girl. Honestly, he was glad the guys with knives were too surprised by something (telekinetic force, random musical numbers, who can say which) to attack him before he could finish. Now that his music put a blanket of invulnerability over the area, no one posed a real threat to anyone right now. Hopefully.

Clearing his throat, he shrugged his guitar over his shoulder to let it hang from its strap. "C'mon, let's put all those knives and stuff away, folks, yeah?"

The music was nice for Daria to hear, whether it was the actual guitar playing or the lyrics...it felt nostalgic enough to look but just keep it in her peripheral for a moment.

Funny enough, as she was just about to actually use her powers. There was a pile of rubble ready for use. She knew this would be one of the only good reasons to do so.

But everything was quiet for a moment, and after a few seconds, nothing happened. She then totally looked at Greg, okay. So it was some guy, with a guitar, sweetening up the deal with sweet talk. Daria was still in somewhat of a "these jerks put a knife in my face mood" though, but decided that this was a good angle to use before she would have to use her forceful abilities. She was just cornered, and refused to be placed in that position.

Use your brain. Not what your brain can do. You know exactly what you mean by that statement. Take advantage of the break. Make one final statement, because like hell do you want to fight if you don't have to.

"You heard the guy and his convincing soft rock, might be a good idea while you still have usable wrists," she said.

The soft whirrrr of a grappling hook was a good announcement that Pidge was coming down to the street behind the thugs if you knew what you were listening for. But her footfalls made no sound at all.

This girl had some chutzpa, it was hard not to be impressed. She couldn't see the knife bending, but the thugs seemed to take a collective half-step back.

Pidge signaled Daria from the shadows, and held up her Bayard before pointing at her own legs. Need me to give them a hit to the knees?

Ah, someone was bound to catch on to what was happening. As much as Daria didn't want attention drawn to her, the terrified locals behind her freaked at the thugs as well as their own safety was a bit more important than seclusion.

So, what was better, she thought. This newcomer to get the locals to safety? Or to make these jerkbags flee even faster? She was already sick of waiting. Soon enough, the shock of the telepathy would wear off and the thugs COULD attack again.

So Daria, finally making her decision, making a nod in Pidge's way before turning to the civilians. "You guys may want to step back a bit," she said as a garbage can, plus a few pieces of stoned rubble, were lifted in the air.

B.

You know, Casey used to like to emerge from the shadows when he went crime-fighting, but that seems totally lame when he has explosion powers to announce his butt-kicking. A couple loud bangs and some flashes and suddenly he's got the full attention of the muggers and their would-be victim gets a chance to run for all he's worth.

Casey hates guys who try to take advantage of other people's rotten luck. He locks eyes with the muggers, narrowing his eyes beneath his mask.

"Jeepers creepers, your butt is now The Reaper's!"

He didn't even have time to consider that that line might have sounded better in his head before the alarm goes off in the bank across the street. Casey doesn't have this dilemma for long, opting to toss off an explosive energy charge behind him to create a distraction for the hero who takes care of the bank-robbers.

...Or, judging by the shattering glass a moment later, accidentally blow the place up. Whoops.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The "Lights Out" Test Drive Meme

Renzo Shima | Blue Exorcist

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Bit Cloud | Zoids: New Century/0

Re: Bit Cloud | Zoids: New Century/0

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inahime | samurai warriors

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Hunk | Voltron: Legendary Defender

a!

/HEARTEYES

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Casey Jones | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles