NPF Avatars IV, Chapter VI: Imprisoned with the Maniacs

[Arhra]

Walking away from the manor, Tarrin and Hawk had unwisely decided to try and justify their actions to an angry Arhra. With a sharp, vicious series of motions, she spun around and used the feared 'Goblin Punch' technique she had accquired with her (at times Blue Magic-esque) ability to steal enemy powers. No-one was quite clear why it was called 'Goblin Punch', but it was feared all the same.

With a slightly distant tone, she repliedy to Lumaes' statement about various incompetencies, "Yes, I have wondered if I'd be better off lending my aid to ushering in the apocalypse than trying to save the world with this lot."

Pyros, Flare and Newb seemed like they were about to get in a fight, but then Pyros and Newb wandered off. Arhra didn't really care where they were going.

Back at the manor, The Capitalist's fierce expression softened slightly and he looked thoughtful at Skyshot's offer. Tone still gruff he said, "I suppose that might be accep-"

Steel made his somewhat blatant and unjustified demand for a reward. The Capitalist's expression darkened.

Then Pyros and Newb burst in.

The Capitalist looked well back on the way to blind fury, "This is intolerable." It was not a tone that boded well. "Bruticus!" he called.

It was hard to say where exactly the black-suited man appeared from, but he was suddenly standing slightly in front of The Capitalist and pointing a handgun at Pyros and Newb. He had the rugged, hardened look of some kind of ex-mercenary now dabbling in the bodyguard trade. By the look of him, it was obvious the name Bruticus was perfectly appropriate.

"I want you riffraff off my property immediately. Bruticus, if they make one wrong move, shoot them." He gestured at Pyros and Newb. Bruticus nodded silently and tilted his head from one side to the other, neck making loud, ominious cracking noises.

[Flarecobra]

Originally Posted by Mauve Mage

Mauve quietly edged away from Flare and Newb, because she really didn't want to get killed in an epic NPFer teamkill battle like the one that was sure to happen in the very near future.

"I think I'll just go... um.. walk. Over there. Where I am less likely to die. I mean, um, less likely to get in the way of your important business. Because I don't want to die."

"Don't worry Mauve, I'm calmed down now." I said with a nod. "I just needed to vent some. It's a drawback to my species." Taking a quick look back, I saw what was going on and said "What are those guys doing?"

[POS Industries]

Meanwhile, elsewhere... IN OUTER SPACE!!!!!!

Pedro O'Sullivan stood on the bridge of the POS Industries privateer frigate Riyal, leaning over the back of NexGen's fancy captain's chair as the ship navigated about the deadly chaotic energy waves that trailed behind the massive black comet of doom, when he suddenly stiffened up around the time that The Capitalist made his first appearance back down on the planet's surface.

Captain NexGen, noticing his employer's sudden change of mood, swiveled his head a bit in curiosity, "Something the matter, Mr. O'Sullivan?"

"I feel a great disturbance in the Force," POS growled apprehensively, "As if countless instances of infringement against the copyright of my character suddenly cried out in flagrant mockery of me before most assuredly being silenced..."

NexGen raised an eyebrow at Pedro's odd statement and prepared to respond before suddenly being interrupted by the one true Hazel-Eyes White Capitalist.

"...by Rei."

*************************

Back down in the cave, a bunch of wacky, wild stuff was happening within The Capitalist's manor. And it was all this wacky, wild, incoherant, nonsensical ridiculousness that provided Rei with the perfect distraction to deal with the threat of someone else monopolizing any market, even if that market happened to be disgusting porkfruits.

Slipping away from the group as Flare began lobbing fireballs at anything that moved (the android made a note to give her a gift certificate in gratitude for her assistance later), Rei opened a large hyperlink portal outside the manor, from which a team of POS Industries "security" personnel emerged. Dressed in grey and black body armor emblazoned with the POS Industries logo, the troops marched into formation and stood at attention before her.

"Heya guys! Glad to see you could make it!" Rei greeted the team happily, "Now, this is a standard 'Take and Torch' operation. Collect samples of the products, capture any of the trolls that appear to have been used as test subjects, and make sure to get any and all documents, files, and any other records pertaining to the development of the fruit. Then, burn everything in sight! Happy hunting!"

As the troops scurried off to begin their task, Rei made her way back to rejoin the NPFers within the manor, only to see them facing off against a very large man in a very poor rip-off of a designer suit. Looking the thug over, he did not appear to be anything that the group couldn't handle themselves, so she resigned herself to observation at the moment.

"This looks like it should be fun!" she chirped to no one in particular, "Anyone got any popcorn?"

[PyrosNine]

Pyros smiled like a schoolboy. "Bruticus, eh? Such roman names are so rare and few in this world. And if you get in my way, it shall become much fewer. I have a righteous score to settle and no law or goverment can deny me. And you are much less than both law and goverment, so please wander off into the corner whilst I deal with your employer."

Bruticus cocked his gun. Was talking a wrong move?

Pyros sighed and continued talking. "A gun, is it? How very poor sport of you. Humans nowadays. They are lazy, slow, and weak as a result, yet at the same time think themselves a hardened warrior when they use weapons as their crutch. It's like an ant thinking itself tough when it could get crushed by the very thing it wields. True power comes not from a powerful weapon. True power comes from a powerful self."

Pyros's eyes glowed a brilliant red, hiding his eyes under a glow of heat that seemed to those who looked into it scorching. A haze of fire swirled about Pyros, and the nice schoolboy in a janitor suit facade went away, revealing Pyros's more dangerous self. It showed that he had killed millions of men, defeated thousands of beasts that you hear late at night and pray they aren't coming for you in your sleep.

Bruticus knew what a threat was, and fire spinning about one's body and glowy red eyes were threatening. He pulled the trigger.

Click.

Pyros, in full out fire mode, smiled. "Y'know, guns are an interesting invention. They rely on combustion to send a metal object down a tube at high speeds. Combustion, made from heat. Heat.....heat is something I control. If I do not want you to use heat, then you may not use it. Some call it 'Null Flame' but for me, it is 'Oath to order'."

Pyros waited for his words to sink in with Bruticus. While he waited, he set every flammable thing in the room on fire with a thought, one by one.

[Tarrin]

Arhra's punch caught Tarrin offguard, As he hit the ground he heared something like a click eminate from below him.

A worried yet accepting expression came over Tarrins face, Looking Arhra in the face he let out a sigh and promtly disapeared down the hole that once again closed after him.
Having fell numerous times during this quest he was ready for the sudden stop, "Note to self keep some wings hady to stop this happening again"

"Wow you really are a walking disaster area arn't you?" Spoke the spirit into Tarrins ear.
"Make youself useful for once and find me a way out of this and back to the others" Having the patience of a sait was good but even a saint had his limits....
Altho Tarrin somehow knew falling down the hole had probly saved him from Arhra's anger and whatever Pyrosnine was upto, He still felt cheated by fate.

[mauve]

Originally Posted by Flarecobra

"What are those guys doing?"

Mauve shrugged.

"I think we're being kicked out," she said glumly. "This is all very confusing, you know; We've never had to deal with realistic consequences to our random and overly-violent actions before."

She looked up, watching Bruticus and Pyros, and Rei.

"Although, I'm getting the distinct feeling that this won't end well," she commented.

[Toastburner B]

"Meh, I can't say I'm very impressed with dude anyways," TB added. "I mean, he calls himself 'The Capitalist', but he can't even find a decent location. I mean, of course no one comes here. You'll looking a group of the most stupidly powerful beings ever assembled, and even we barely maded it. If this guy can't even figure out that, he's hardly worth our time."

TB began to meander in the direction the figured their objective was. "Lets get going...we don't want to make Chuckles over there shoot us, now do we?"

[Bailey]

With Pyros handling things, and in the absence of anything better to do, Syttulg began humming the mario themesong.

[Arhra]

Of course events didn't actually pan out in that manner. While Pyros may have planned out a long monologue, what actually happened was this:

"Bruticus, eh? Such roman names are so rare and few in this world. And if you get in my way, it shall become mu-"

Bruticus shot him in the knee.

Evidentally talking was a wrong move. Or threats at least. Quite frankly, they were lucky to get away with breathing.

"That was a warning shot." The Capitalist said pleasantly. "Kindly remove yourselves."

Meanwhile, Arhra stopped some distance away from the manor, at the edges where the jungle encroached upon the plantation and looked at the others who had followed her. She seemed to have released most of her anger for now as she addressed them. "Anyway, we should move on." Cutting off the obvious question she said, "The others who are lagging behind can just catch up once they're done arguing or dying or whatever it is they're doing. Let's get a head count of who's here. Also, who actually had some food at the buffet? We might need to stop for lunch a little later otherwise."

[Bailey]

Syttulg hooked his ankles together, flipped backwards, and, hanging from Pyros' neck like a particluarly odd necklace, slapped his hand to Pyros' knee. He directed his nannites to begin healing what they could, keeping his hand close to where they were working to save energy. | Once Pyros had been healed, he would direct his nannites to take up position in point defense mode. This would take up a bit of energy, but hopefully they wouldn't get shot at anymore and no energy would have to be expended on actually bringing up the shields.