[IC] The Gifted: A Fast Paced Superpower RP

[NarcissisticPotato]

She allowed her to talk, for a little bit anyways - Cypress didn't know that she was just giving Ruby more time to set up her grand finale. Oh, they were going to love this. "We both know the outcomes of such a fight. I thought you were meant to be smart; here it says that you know a number of martial arts so my educated guess would be that I would have my pretty little ass handed to me." She yawned softly, typing a quick message to Elijah. Kill Caro and run. I'll see you on the outside.

"Cypress, could you just take a few steps back, plastic isn't the greatest conductor and there is a few live wires beneath you..." She yawned quickly, taunting her almost despite how deep her words cut. Maybe Ruby had been a lab rat? Cypress had a sheltered life - she didn't know what it felt like to have a use to these corporations until she was a woman grown. Ruby wasn't so fortunate; ever since her gifts were discovered, they were trying to use her. Of course, you can only corner a dog for so long before it bites. Her bite ended in three casualties and her trail going cold.

Yawning softly, she shifted everything she needed to onto the computer right beside her without even needing to touch it. Once that was done, she tapped it with a smile before lifting her phone and darting towards the stairway, firing a few random shots towards Cypress, whom she knew could block them.

"But you're making a few assumptions here. The government doesn't pay your wages; Aperture does and if you had seen what I seen, you would be sick." She made sure that whatever was said, was relayed back to Aperture command. "Defence contracts. Human testing. Weapons that break so many rules of warfare, it hurts. I saw them all and I have them right here." She taunted through the speaker, making her way up towards the roof - Cypress could run fast but she had to walk up just as fast as Ruby did when she was fighting gravity.

"So, what's it going to be, Cypress?" She murmured quickly as she broke through one of the doors before backing out towards a ledge. "Where does your loyalty lie? Aperture will never face a court in their time, but I'll make sure that everyone knows. Leave me be and word will never reach the public." She knew Cypress too well but this was everything she wanted it to be and more. The wheels were slowly shifting.

[AcerRo]

"In all the time I've been doing this, the theatrics always seem to work on those who it shouldn't work on." He dropped the sinister tone and went back to his relaxed normal self. His target was right in front of him. A single slip on on this Nightawhatsits part and it was game over. The fun part about it was Caro was cowering in a pool of his urine. He was right to be so fearful, he had only minutes to live.

He heard every word the river rat but chose not to respond to anything she had said. This is when Ruby had to earn her own respect. The River Rat was dangerous in her own right but he still controlled fire, and unless he was in outer space he could not be counted out or disregarded. If the situation called for it he'd help Ruby and do so without a second thought.

"You heard the River Rat, the blonde with her own personal flotation devices. I don't have a real name but I prefer EllanMae to Elle Mae. This is your last chance to walk away. Before the flames burn you or takeaway the air we breath." It was his last word before he sent both his fire dragons after his targets. The left dragon was after Caro, the right after the hero in front of him.

[MiddleEarthRoze]

Rozalia didn't even flinch as the fire burst and swelled around her shield, hitting it like ocean water would hit a sea wall, not penetrating it in the least.
"What are you, dense? This is a shield. Your fire won't get through it, and I've got enough oxygen in here to go swimming for a few hours." She said scathingly, rolling her eyes. She wasn't even feeling the heat, but Caro had still yelped and leapt under the table. God, was it really worth it saving this guy? Not only was a sick bastard responsible for probably hundreds of deaths in the city, he was a complete and utter coward. If this fire guy hadn't been so cocky, she might have been tempted to just hand the guy over and go on her merry way.
Instead, she stepped forwards - the shield still stretching behind her to protect Caro against the cruel lick of the fire - and began her attack; lunging forward with her twin blades, which reached through her shields, crackling with blue energy.

[RumikoOhara]

Choices

Cypress watched as the rounds from Ruby's pistol slid off of her shield as the frightened young Meta ran for the stairs.
She was smiling as she enjoyed the kitty of their exchange, this wasn't her first encounter with someone who hated her because of her looks.

Cypress as a Meta had been gifted with the figure of an Olympic athlete and good looks simply because her mom an dad had both been good looking people that came from good stock. This meant that since the beginning of her awakened talent she'd drawn attention and in the first couple of years she'd hated an even tried to hide it. That is till she finally woke up an embraced her ability, she looked good an it got her what she wanted though it also garnered unwanted attention as well but in the end that was unavoidable.

Cypress viewed her appearance for what it was, just an extension of her Meta ability. She wished that she could have met Ruby before she'd become so embittered against the world but that was just dwelling on the past
"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude" was what the judge had taught her and how she'd learned to live her life.
This was why Ruby's threats against the man who'd been her mentor were only annoying, if the damaged girl was going to harm his reputation using the internet Cy knew she was powerless.

Peeking into the room where Elli was Cy saw he and a Meta that she didn't know were engaged in combat. Not wishing to hinder the other woman's ability to fight she decided to go an capture Ruby.

Cypress heard the girl ascend the stairs and exit onto the roof.

Cypress being no one's fool knew the girl had likely laid a trap at the door so she changed the parameters. Heading up to the top floor Cypress ducked into an office and right out of it's window.

Being a Mistress of Friction and in better physical condition than the most elite soldier she climbed up the outside of the police station like she was using a ladder.


Well now Ruby sweety now that we're up here what ever shall we do to entertain ourselves?
Now I know that you feel threatened by my recognition of my own sexuality and my blatant exposure of it but considering how sexy you are it makes me wonder why you hate yourself.
Is it because you never learned how to be sexy and in control?
I know, I know, I'm slutty, whoreish, stuck up an obviously artificially enhanced in your opinion but that says more about you than me.
Tha company I work for is ah criminal organization in your estimates or knowledge, prove it if your an activist. I've never committed a crime ta advance myself nor the people I work for, seems to me that yall are as tha Kettle an tha Pot.


Cypress grins as she looks into Ruby's eyes

[AcerRo]

Elijah slipped to the right and kicked the shielded bubble but not before he slapping the kicking leg. Erupting it to the power of a recently developed military weapon. One Strong enough to blast through the haul of an Arliegh Burk class destroyer. It was never a question of how powerful he could get but how well he could control it. Going full on supernova was awesome but not it wiped out half of California. The value of a bloody scene wasn't lost on him but there was no value in wholesale slaughter or genocide.

As soon as his leg bounced off of its target he switch his attacks to his hands as he placed an open hand and sending any and all remaing heat and flames to the central point. While it was doubtful that this attack was any stronger than the last it did leave a very impressive display.

He didnt care if the shield broke. He wanted to heat the inside of it, this hero had to know the .moment that shield came down they were both going to die. With The remaining hand he reached for his pistol and fired every shot he could at Caro. He had to keep pressure on both of them at the same time. If this hero could hold out much longer it would at least show promise if not power.

But there was a question that he couldn't get out of his head. Who the fuck has a cape? And the name? Nightingale? No matter how stupid he found these things he had the up most respect for her speed.

[NarcissisticPotato]

Ruby cast her gaze down onto the streets that were stories beneath her. A jump wouldn't suffice at all; right then she was really annoyed that she didn't look into creating shock-absorbing boots - they would have been dreadfully nice about then. Turning back round, she eyed Cypress as she came into vision and sighed deeply. What she was going to do could turn every other way and she didn't like her chances but she had to do it. She had to.

Ruby allowed her to speak and realised she was quite right - she wasn't jealous of the fact that Cypress was stunning, she was just jealous that everyone seemed to pay so much attention to her. Granted, after today, her face would be displayed over nearly every screen in America due to what she helped Elijah do but that wasn't the type of attention she wanted. A friend would have been nice, but she just wanted someone to be able to hold her close and tell her it would all be ok.

She never had that chance - her powers developed early on and she was whisked away from the foster homes almost immediately, taken away to a facility where she could rot and never be a harm to anyone. If they had just explained things to her then she would have been at the forefront of scientific boundaries, possibly even working for Aperture like Cypress. Strangely enough, she could imagine that. Ruby Greenfoot, head of Aperture Research and Development. Hell, she could have even been at those shoots with Cypress.

Those thoughts were all pointless now though - she could still work for Aperture but are needed a bigger stunt than her thievery earlier. Ruby needed to go deeper and take something that mattered to them. Something that would show her abilities beyond all recognition. "You want proof, Cypress?" She questioned as she raised her shockingly blue eyes to Cypress'. "You'll have your proof." She murmured quickly as she lifted the gun and chucked it towards the blonde.

After that, she did something a little stupid - she surrendered. "Your communication channel is off so this is all between you and me. I'm no Angel, but what they've done and what they're doing is downright wrong. You're not the only meta they're using. I can't give you the proof here but if you take me back, back to them, I can show you." She whispered softly, still audible over the wind at the top of the building.

Placing her hands behind her head, she knelt down and closed her eyes at the sound of helicopters. She couldn't rely on Cypress - she might have taken her to the authorities. No, while she was hiding from Cypress she faked a message from the Meta to inform Aperture that she needed a pickup. She also informed them, from the point of view of Cypress, that Ruby had information that could be very damaging to them. It was just a waiting game now.

[McFazzer]

Time seemed to slow down for Adrian, the teleporter appeared in front of him jabbing up at him with their knife. Adrian reached out to push the metal knife away, the blade was intercepted by a sword before he could. Turning to thank the sword wielder, Adrian spotted a volley of bullets lancing towards him. Eyes widening, Adrian said "Sorry about this" and sent out a wide wave of his metal repelling force pushing his ally back around the corner and the bullets back down the hall.

Sighing in relief Adrian looked up and saw a grenade bouncing down the hall. With a surprised yell, he lightened himself while throwing a coin behind him to push himself down the hall. As he rocketed towards the grenade, Adrian reached down and scooped it up while making him heavier than he ever had before, smashing through the drywall that made the opposite wall. Running past the conference table Adrian leaped out through the window and threw the grenade as high and away as he could. As it exploded and Adrian was about to slow his fall when bits of shrapnel hit him in the shins, absolutely shredding his lower pants and distracting him enough to fall onto a firetruck, instead of floating down.

Standing up Adrian made him self as light as he could without blowing away in the breeze. Adrian gingerly climbed down and hobbled his way over to his dropped gun and made his way to a near by store, off to buy some new pants. Spotting a nice pair of chino's with a matching jacket Adrian put the money on the counter and left in his new red pants and jacket. Walking back across the road Adrian decided to try and find a more direct way to Caro. Adrian justified going up to go down by thinking "The elevators go all the way down and I should be able to make my way through the shafts to get there, and the least destroyed entry should be... near the roof."

So with that in mind Adrian set about floating up to the roof and making his way down from there. Once he got to the roof and saw it was already occupied he almost cried out in anger. Restraining himself he set himself down on the roof and walked over to the door saying "Don't mind me, I'm just heading down stairs. Sort out your differences and please don't kill each other, pretty faces shouldn't ever be dead and I don't want to have to add any more names to my list of regrets. Also I'm tired, very, very tired." looking closer, Adrian saw that the situation was well in hand "Oh. Good. Well I'm leaving so have a nice night" and with a smile he made his way to the door.

[RumikoOhara]

Cypress listened to Ruby speak about the crimes of Aperture and how she could prove it if she took her back to the Labs.

".I'm no Angel, but what they've done and what they're doing is downright wrong. You're not the only meta they're using. I can't give you the proof here but if you take me back, back to them, I can show you." Said the little hacker girl.

Cypress looks at Ruby with a smile an says
Now sweety I can't be a party to yall escaping, down stairs are a lot of dead officers an I'm sure that the powers that be wouldn't treat me kindly for just leaving with you.
No sorry Ruby but yall gonna have ta go before the Judge.

Cy stops talking as the noise of choppers is heard approaching an looks up.

Three Military style helicopters flying in formation rush towards the building two remaining high overhead as one drops to hover just a bit above and off to the side.
The sliding door opens and Cypress is surprised to see two officers from Aperture security dressed all in black with two odd looking weapons.

The men fire at Ruby but the rounds they use skid off her as they discover she is protected by Cypress's Zero Friction field.

Anger creases Cypress's features as she begins to attack the chopper's blades with friction inducing heat in the rotor transmission.

One of the other helicopters slides it's door open and a black clad trooper fires a heavy weapon at Cy that strikes her in the back with a high pressure stream of water.
The water slides off her like everything else not even getting her or Ruby wet. But this mega soaker carries a surprise, the liquid vaporized creating a gas that drops Cy like a stone.

The third machine suddenly begins spraying the area around the building dropping the cops an news crews where they stand. The first transport lands disgorging about ten men armed with odd weapons.

The two men who fired on Ruby earlier rush the girl firing odd paintballs at her which are filled with contact sedative.

[MiddleEarthRoze]

Rozalia was beginning to feel the heat.
That wasn't good.

Caro was out of her mind now - although the shield still surrounding him, her main focus was on the guy in front of her. He had dodged her with ease, and it was no secret that this bubble around her meant she was moving slower than she normally would. However, it was either this, or being roasted alive. The latter didn't interest her in the least. She did, however, wince at the double attack - the bullets were easy to deflect. They were nothing compared to some of the things she had to deal with. The flames concentrated on her own bubble, however, soon took it's toll. Slowly, she moved away from the Merc. There was no way she could be on the offense now - it would be defence. Could she hold out long enough for someone else to show up? Who knew. But there was no point in wasting energy on trying to attack this guy with her shields slowing her down.
"C'mon, is that all you got? I'm feeling pretty cool in here." She taunted him, hoping this tactic would work - perhaps he had a limit on his powers too. A play for time was all she could handle rightabout now.

[Letter Bee]

The situation was this: A gang leader, Caro, had promised to reveal the names of LA's Mercenary Metas in exchange for...protection? Money? Amnesty? What reward Caro was after was irreleveant; the Mercs wanted to kill him, meaning that the heroes had to counter that by protecting the guy. And they were not doing a bang-up job of it, it seems. Which, of course, was where Cedric, and a professional soldier, William Plantagenet, came in. Why did Cedric had to have a professional soldier with him when he was above average in various weapons without even trying? Because 1.) his powers needed to be tempered with experience, and 2.) because there was such a thing as strength in numbers. So, basically, the two were heading down to the basement.

Anyway, nevermind, fact is, Caro was in danger right now, and Cedric and William needed to rescue him, as well as the few heroes that were left protecting the gang leader. This, of course, was made more difficult by the fact that the chief assailant was a pyrokinetic, and one who can surround his body in flames, meaning that he can melt ordianry bullets. Thankfully, Government employment gave one access to ammunition that was not, in fact, ordinary.

Including bullets made up of Titanium, which was a refractory metal, aka a metal with a high melting point. Cedric always carried a clip for extraordinarily tough enemies, and so did William. Speaking of William, the man activated his own invisibility suit, although not after signalling Cedric to do the same, which he did. Once both has crawled to the basement, the man radioed:

"Are you ready, Ced?" Cedric replied with a nod, then shot a titanium bullet at Elijah (not that he knew his name). The titanium bullet that he shot was sent towards the man's knees; Cedric, though a child soldier now, still had some hang-ups towards killing, which were tolerated by his handler. Of course, William had no such hangups, and fired a straight headshot at Elijah.

Should both bullets not work - Titanium can melt, after all, and Elijah head off towards them, that would also count as a victory, as they would have drawn off the man's attention. They then would leave and find another place in the basement to take potshots from, that, or Cedric can throw a grenade of fire-suppressing foam at him - they weren't picky; they were sent to salvage the job, and salvage the job they would.

[NarcissisticPotato]

Ruby was intending to tell Cypress that she had planned things a little differently and like it or not, Ruby was not going before a public judge but unfortunately, she didn't have the time to do so. Although the helicopters had noise-reduction on them, they were still pretty damn loud gene they're closing in fast on you.

What she did think, though, was that Aperture would at least be a little civil. She didn't expect for them to do a flying drive-by on her with rounds that looked pretty ty terrifying in shape. As the doors to the helicopter slid open and the two highly-trained operatives took positions, her brows furrowed softly in confusion before it hit her that they were carrying weapons, odd looking weapons at that, but still very much weapons. Those few moments seemed to be filled with surprises as the two operatives released the fast-moving rounds on her. She only had a second to duck down and hide her face but it wasn't exactly needed as when Ruby looked up, the rounds had bounced away harmlessly and Cypress was looking unamused.

She was surprised to see Cypress lose because in her head, a few things quickly clicked into place. They had tested and developed weapons to deal with her, the girl who actually worked for them, so she imagined that Aperture was counting down the days they had left with Cypress. Blinking at the image of the buxom blonde falling to the ground, unconscious, confused her for a second before the screaming in her head reminded her - the protection is gone now.

Jumping up into a running position, she reached out and took a hold of one of the nearby helicopters, the other one with the two men coming into the corner of her vision. As her eyes flared brightly and the helicopter began to spin out of control, the sedative rounds made contact with her soft skin and she was a goner after that.

Her grasp on the helicopter and reality began to slip as she stumbled around a little, watching the helicopter right itself. "Sleepy... So sleepy..." She murmured finally before, she too, collapsed down onto the roof of the building. All she could remember after that was rough hands and then everything went black.

[RumikoOhara]

....

[RumikoOhara]

.

[AcerRo]

This girl winced, it was game over without a doubt. Bold words that were proven to be true. Hands that could cut through an armored personnel carrier twice as hot. In a single motion Elijah put his hand through the bubble shield and watched as the air in her shield was burnt off, a few seconds later she was on the the floor. She wasn't dead he didnt hold the flame long enough for that to be an issue.

The moment the shield went down he killed the flames on his hands for fear the same woukd happen to him. Time was on his side as slowly made his overover to Caro. Who was now crying in the the dimly lit corner. It had to look like something out of a horror movie to him. A pyrotechnic slowly walking towards after he just down his last and best line of defense. Elijah figured he be scared shitless if the roles were reversed.

"Well Caro, you dun fucked up now. Ratting out on me? Homie you knew that was a bad idea." Eli squated down in front of him. "You know that csnt be over looked... You know I have to send a message and murdering you horrifically would fit thst bill perfectly." As he stood up he heard the roar of automatic gun fire coming from somewhere above him. It was time to go and get gone. As he walked out he turned and set Caro on fire with a wave of his hand. Thats when saw something move... he didn't what it was or if his eyes were playing tricks on him. Something was off so to satisfie his own mind he shut his eyes and opemed them but this time he could see on a infrared scale.

Thats when he saw two figures hidden from the normsl eye. It was an instant where he knew exactly what was going on. This was a salvage team, sent in to save Caro. He snapped his fingers just as he saw the muzzle flash. His body had enough time to protect itself and get a decent amount of heat before impact. It didnt stop the bullets but it did deadened the blow. His head took the majority of the blow, he almost didn't feel his knee.

The air was getting thin and his target was already om fire. Worst case scenario Caro lives and ends up in a hospital for the next year scared shitless and in massive pain. Elijah won either way it was just a matter of degree.

Elijah hit the ground and just stayed there, with any luck they'd go after the target and leave him alone. Now his only worry was how Ruby was making out. She had to be doing better than his damn head.

[Letter Bee]

"No!" Cedric couldn't help screaming - he was a kid, after all - while William, having a cooler head, tossed a grenade of fire-suppressing foam at Caro; it won't save the man from disfigurement, but it will save his life long enough for a healing Meta to be found. In the meantime, Cedric, a rush of determination overcoming his panic, turned around to assess Elijah - not that he knew his name - apparently, the Mercenary Meta did get hit in the knee, something that showed that the duo's efforts weren't in vain. Now to buy time for William to stabilize Caro; the boy may know that one day, he'll have to deal with death, but it is not this day - this day, everyone lives! Furiously, the boy took out his own flame-suppression grenade, and tossed it at Elijah, before opening fire on the man's other knee with his Titanium bullets.

If that didn't work, then at least the Mercenary would have his attention focused on the boy, who would roll away from the man's next counterattack; he was growing tall now, but he was still short enough to evade most attacks that would hit a full adult. After rolling away, the boy would throw another grenade, this time a flash grenade.

[MiddleEarthRoze]

Nightingale had blacked out for a few good minutes, leaving her motionless on the ground as the carnage exploded inside the room. She came around to a distinctly cooler room, filled with smoke, the flames dying out after being smothered by some sort of foam. Her vision still blurry, she attempted to sit up, peering groggily around the room. An unpleasant smell of burnt flesh hit her nostrils, and she caught sight of the char-grilled - yet somehow still breathing - body of Caro on the floor. God. Those were some nasty third degree burns. He'd be both lucky and unlucky to survive it.
"Jesus, fireguy," She muttered, coughing slightly. "What in the hell is wrong with you?" Speaking of which, where was he? She couldn't see or hear anything in the room, but for the hiss of the flames as they died down. And more bullet shots. Keeping low to the floor, she wondered which idiot had began shooting blindly into the room despite the fact Caro and herself were still in there - didn't they know bullets could ricochet?

[AcerRo]

Elijah bite down hard when the bullet hit his other knee. His eyes widen in pain he was lucky that he had kept up his eruption. The moment he was covered in the foam he cooled off for a little bit. He hated that shit with the a passion. It was then he that he heard two different sounds that was both fearsome and awesome. First was the welcomed sound of the footsteps. The sound of a retreating two man force, the second was the unwelcomed sound of a helicopter coming from above.

He knew right then and there that Ruby had been taken. It was either Apature or the government, he didn't know which was worse. Still the same he had to worry about getting out of here before he could help anyone else. He rose his head and heard the question on his opponets mind. He picked himself up and tried to shake the cobwebs out. "I hate rude behavior in man, I won't tolerate it. He reached for the back of his head pulling out the titanium slug the stopping his blood.

Looking over at his opposition he couldn't help but give her a look of wild confusion. He wary pointed at the door for a moment and dropped his hand. "That was a small twelve year old child that shot me in the head and knee. What the fuck has the world come to when the government has child solders? That's just unconscionable." As he laid back down he was in full realization that he just set a man on fire and killed another two more in a pretty horrific manner. He rolled over and pulled the second much more painful slug out of his knee. Elijah let out a string of obscenities. This was going to be one long ass day.

[Letter Bee]

Cedric had no plans to leave; just to buy time for William Plantagenet to carry Caro away - he was going to capture this pyrokinetic, who, it seemed, had infared vision, which was not surprising. The boy then shouted:

"You flipping hypocrite - you just tried to burn a person alive! And I'm 15!" Cedric knew that since Elijah - not that he knew his name - can see him in infrared already, then he didn't have to worry about giving away his position anymore.

"I hit you with a fire-suppression grenade; as well as titanium bullets on the back of the head and both knees. I know you still have fight in you, but my compatriot is carrying Caro away now; making your mission useless. So, please," Cedric implored, "surrender."

"If not," spoke the boy with a note of finality, "I have more Titanium bullets, my natural agility, and more tools to use against you. That, and you are facing an energy manipulator that has regained conciousness. So, please, surrender."

[MiddleEarthRoze]

Nightingale almost zoned out of the conversation due to the headache ripping through her skull at the moment, but her face snapped to the direction of the window where this mystery kid with a gun was indicating that she follow his orders.
"Hey!" She yelled angrily, struggling to her feet and glaring through the smoke and window to see the kid - he looked younger than 15, and not old enough to be carrying around such a high caliber weapon. "Watch your mouth, shortround. We may have had the idiotic job of protecting that idiot, but he deserved what he got. Also, " She paused, almost subconsciously stepping into the line of fire between the kid and Elijah. "Are you a retard? Not only did you knock me off my game, you were shooting through the window like that with titanium bullets? You missed your target of killing this guy, and your bullets could have easily ricocheted and hit me or the gang scumbag!" She finished with a patronizing roll of her eyes, then turned, looking at Elijah, who was still on the ground. While she had been regaining some energy on the floor, she had seen a most curious and bone-chilling helicopter out of the window, flying in the opposite direction, with a rather familiar logo on the side.
"That helicopter..." She began, watching as he dug out another bullet embedded in his skin. "Do you know who it belongs to?"

[AcerRo]

The moment he girl started speaking, Elijah started to crawl his way to anywhere with a hidden line of sight. He didn't need to see the boy but it was important that the boy didn't see him. "Get em GURL. GET EM. That mother fuck damn shotchu in da face. You're a strong independent woman!" He shouted in a faux hood accent that was oddly accurate, while being completely wrong at the same time. He also had a grin that said he knew he was going to win big.

As he sat ready to address the boy he couldn't help but smile. "Now boy..." He laughed a little before continuing on. "You have a high level meta that can, at the very least, set people on fire with a look and shake off titanium slugs. You can't hide from me, you have two allies ones pissed as shit and the other is taking Caro up the stairs. Home girl already lost and tired. So this is your chance to surrender and walk away... Or pull that trigger, throw that flashbang and let's rock this bitch. Be fun to see who gets your first me or Nightingale."