Crazytazer

The Gauntlet

Meant to do that sooner, work flip flopped my schedule on me.

The Gauntlet

Ariamis the Mechanist

Ariamis grunted as he was tossed back not quite sure how may spines had cut or stabbed him but enough that he would need to patch himself up, his clothes too most likely. He was getting a bit tired of hitting the floor after that one and it didn't feel great this time even if his metal contraption took some of the impact. The Dwarf was pretty certain he would have to hammer a dent out of it later once the battle was over because that spider hit harder than he was expecting. He'd be feeling it later almost certainly but for now, he just had to get back up to help, or at least he thought so until the Drider made a horrible screech then went quiet. That should have been a relief as he looked over to the skewered head of the beast with one of the ice spears but the rumbling and cracking below him was the other shoe dropping on a nice conclusion to the fight.

[color=saddlebrown][i]Ya got to be kiddin me.[i][/color]

The Mechanist hit the water and was quite displeased by the sudden cold flash as well as the fact he was kind of sinking quicker than he figured. He scrambled a bit but once he got his claws flexed out and rotating it helped him swim a bit better onto the shore. He looked around for the spider but nothing was left of it apparently after hitting the water. He could thank the gods for the once he got situated but he noticed at least a couple other adventurers had made it ashore quickly. It appeared to be the elf and lady Artificer so that was good and they were accounted for.

"Glad to see we made it out of there in one piece. I was getting worried there for a moment." Ariamis said doing his best to smile though wincing as he walked over closer. "Anything I can help with?"

Pariah

Calvin Langley/Minitaur

Warehouse District

It took Calvin a minute of walking around to realize he had gone into the wrong warehouse. He shook his head in annoyance because of this being a more common experience than he would like to admit. The buildings all looked the same dammit and as good as he was at getting the route right he could get confused still if he wasn't paying attention to which one he walked into. Oh well, guess he could take just a little bit of time to himself enjoying the fresh air before he headed over and as he walked out into the evening it was pretty nice. He didn't come up too often unless it was a get-together or job just because he was a little too obvious, though he did occasionally pop up for food or personal reasons.

Things were more simple before this but I don't have much of a choice now. He thought reminiscing about how his life was before the change.

Minitaur stalked around as quietly as he could do feasibly just in case there were any regular people hanging around or cops patrolling. The last thing he wanted to do was blow the cover of one of his favorite places in the city. It was pretty quiet though besides one or two people walking or just moving about mostly on the streets so the alleys between the buildings were refreshingly clear. He milled around for a little bit just getting some nice sights in before heading to the actual meeting place, not the imaginary one nearby. Then he went by his usual route to gently pry off the boards on one of the side entrances so he could squeeze in and then use his hand to hammer it back in so it looked like it hadn't been tampered with by any passerby. As he came into the main room he could hear a little bit of talking so he must've been late since he dawdled.

"Hi guys! Sorry, I'm late!" Calvin said moving over to have a seat and putting down his backpack so there were snacks available for everyone. "You wouldn't believe the traffic tonight."

Pariah

Calvin Langley/Minitaur

Locations- Minotaur's lair and Warehouse in the Warehouse District.

October 23, 2130 - 7:36 PM

The sound of loud snoring echoed throughout a particular area of the underground tunnels sounding out from an alcove worn into the wall from years of neglect and some deliberate digging on the part of its resident. From the entrance, you could just see the form of the beast resting against the wall inside which while it seemed out of place here had made the place his own despite any challengers. There was enough room for a small table and shelf inside both full with various boxes, books, and papers which if any overflew ended up in some cardboard boxes further back out of the way. A humble living space for someone in the form of a legendary beast for sure but cozy given its size though it was obvious there were markings on the walls for further expansion later on. Then as if a switch flipped the great beast stirred at the sound of an alarm.

"Mmm...Huh wha?" Calvin half groaned and half questioned at the sound of his phone's alarm going off cutting through the haze of drowsiness.

He reached over to his side, eyes barely open as he fumbled around so he could shut off the alarm and figure who or what called in this time. However, unlike normal it wasn't in its usual spot next to him which forced the unwilling Minotaur to get up to look for it. It took him about ten minutes of searching through every place he would have put it normally before a beep from the device came in from near his ear which made him reach up to the crook between his horns and his head where it was lodged probably from turning around in his sleep. He sighed turning the screen on to see what all the fuss was about that interrupted a really nice nap.

"More Variants gone missing...construction in Bywater. Oh, a meeting! I better get moving or I'll be late!" Minitaur exclaimed quickly reaching into the hole behind where he slept pulling out his rebar club and a backpack with snacks in it for the trip.

Wonder how the others have been doing, guess I'll have time to ask later. Maybe schedule a game or something too.

Calvin tilted his head as he exited his "apartment" so he didn't catch his horns on the lip then started heading the direction of the warehouse. The benefit of being a Minotaur was he pretty much knew where to go as long as he had been there before so walking on autopilot while he munched on corn chips was a great way to wake up. It occurred to him after a little bit he'd be passing by an old acquaintance's domain of sorts or one of them at least so he took a slight detour to another smaller hole in the old sewer system's wall where a tiny green and black worm was looking at him from. He took out a bag of white cheddar popcorn and placed it down for not two seconds before the worm snagged it before crawling back into the crevice obviously as a worm could be pleased. With a chuckle, the cowman continued on his jaunt picking up the pace after his little delivery rushing quickly along the platforms thudding loudly as he did.

Minitaur finished gobbling up some mini pretzels just as he found the ladder he was looking for putting the bag into his pack again, no reason to litter, then climbed up pushing the cover out of the way. He had to maneuver his head and horns through first then getting up onto street level was easy as pie. Just like always he popped up right next to the warehouse where he headed into the back door eager to see everyone and what they were gonna be doing, at least he hoped this was the one they were going to. It was usually fun either way even if it was just a check-in but could be more this time so he came prepared.

The Gauntlet

There we go. Time for a bit of shock and awe to liven up the party.

The Gauntlet

Ariamis the Mechanist

Ariamis watched as a majority of the coolant missed its target but some did hit and as expected the webbing could not hold up under both the cold and weight sending the Drider crashing back down in front of them. It had taken great offense to being forced back into the fight especially with the golem so it charged once again spraying webbing ahead of it which appeared to stop the golem's weaponized arms in place. That was not good because it was able to go head to head with the beast in strength but they had injured it quite badly by the look of it so the rest of them might be able to finish it off while it attacked. The Lady Artificer would likely be quite happy to have the construct still intact after all and there was no reason for anyone else to sustain more injuries if they could help it.

The Mechanist saw spears of ice rapid flying in from across the room into the spider which would likely hurt it quite a bit as well as the screaming to possibly get its attention if it could even be diverted. Giving a moment of thought the Dwarf rushed forward towards the sides where the carapace had been sundered by the golem's ranged might, he wanted one of that kind of weapon badly, clawed arms poised to stab and slash. He had another trick up his sleeve figuring it might take something serious to put the Drider down in such an enraged state so he started discharging power from his core into the blades of the attacking arms giving them a nice shocking effect as he tried to use his range to stay away from the spines though he would likely still get cut up regardless by the points. If he could put some shock into the innards of the beast it might slow it down a bit or very badly hurt it, hard to tell since this was an impressive specimen, but they could not let up for they would die otherwise.

The Gauntlet

Still very much interested just a bit busy.

Pariah

OOC Party!

Pariah

Calvin Langley

Minitaur

Name | Calvin Langley
Alias | Minitaur
Age | 20
Gender | Male

Appearance | Calvin now stands around 6'9" and weighs close to 400lbs. Despite his power, he is not as muscular as the mythical beast and probably falls a bit short of an athletic build even in his current state.

Notoriety | Wanted.

Danger Level/Variant Type | Agile Metamorphic Brute, Class 3.

Abilities | https://powerlisting.fandom.com/wiki/Minotaur_Physiology

[Gear]
Attire | A patched together cloth kilt for modesty.
Armament/Equipment | A club made of rebar with a chunk of concrete at the head.

[Temperament & Lifestyle]
Affiliation | Pariah Underground.

Personality/Habits | Calvin has always been an awkward/anxious person tripping over his own words but usually friendly despite it. Very much a bookie and gamer to fill in the void where needed but he did have a couple of good friends who helped him open up. He tends towards being kind and affable with people he likes though when he ends up around strangers he can get awful quiet not know what to say. Since his powers transformed him it put a lot of strain on an already kind of fragile ego and caused a breakdown leaving him more anti-social as well as aggressive towards anyone who came near him. He has since calmed down quite a bit settling into a routine patrolling the underground or wherever/whatever he is told to do because he likes his new friends and they treat him well despite himself. Even better he has recently shown up at several Variant rights rallies trying to help spread the word regardless of how long he can stay before being runoff.

Occupation/Trade | Security and 'thug' for the Pariah Underground and affiliates.

Skills/Talents | Calvin makes an excellent guide being a city native alongside his ability to never get lost. He has also unintentionally become very good at intimidating people especially when he gets upset or angry. Great at boardgames or RPGs whenever the others want to play during downtime.

Family | Stepfather, Laurence Langley, and Stepmother, Mia Langley.

Background | Calvin grew up in an orphanage in The Shanty not knowing who his birth parents were. He isn't very fond of his time there to this day because of how poorly funded it was and how little anyone seemed to care. Most of the other kids were always guarded or rowdy but he did get friendly with a couple of them who stuck together for some years before the big day eventually came. Laurence and Mia Langley were an older couple who came by the orphanage wanting to make a kid's day an get them somewhere nicer. They met with the owner trying to figure out who might be best which they ended up disregarding when they found Calvin who was not very well-liked by the staff just because of how quiet and reserved he was. The Langley's had a feeling if anyone needed to get out of here more it would be hard to see it, they couldn't believe the staff's reaction when they suggested it either.

Calvin was adopted on the spot which both made him happy but also worried for the rest of his friends that were still in the creaky old building. He calmed down about it later on as he was moving out because all the other kids were happy to see someone getting out and if the awkward dork could get out so could they eventually. He left everything he knew behind and ended up in Brigitte where his new home was to him kind of a dream, not something he had thought of getting at all. It took him time to open up but his Step parents we're gentle about it not wanting to force him into anything too quickly. He started up school and excelled once he got a taste of the different courses being quite bright once he was given the chance to shine whereas before when he had nothing to really challenge his mind. Things we really well for some years with Laurence and Mia helping him all the way with whatever they could to make him that much happier.

While Calvin wouldn't change a whole lot himself overtime being around more and more people helped him to be able to function much easier whether it was getting his first job or graduation, or finding some gaming buddies to hang out with. Even college was going well right up until his power manifested turning him from a short, lanky nerd to a much bigger and stronger Minotaur which at first was pretty awesome but the novelty wore off kind quick when he realized he couldn't change back. Not to mention he freaked out a lot of other students as he tried to get outside which ended up in the police getting called despite him trying to explain things. Turns out people don't really want to listen to a Bullman trying to keep everything calm and well it was Calvin so the likelihood of it working was pretty low in and of itself. He would end up retreating underground in the virtual maze of tunnels and passages while having a mental breakdown scaring the absolute shit out of the residents. The Bullman unintentionally carved himself out a territory while running people off who got too close or injuring those who tried to fight him only upsetting him more where a new set of instincts began to take over.

In the end, it didn't last for more than a month or two where people we're completely unwilling to go near his area because of the Pariah Underground hearing about him. It definitely took some coaxing but they got him out and talking figuring out that he was basically harmless if no one tried anything as well as pretty lonely now that his episode had subsided. He had to be convinced not to try to go home because they would try to capture him or worse above ground which saddened him with his big cow eyes leaving only one option. He became a member of the Underground not long after and for about two years it's been nice not having to worry about his next meal as much or having friends and company because of all of them down in the tunnels being supportive of one another. Minitaur has shown up more and more recently usually trying to help since he hates people being treated badly or being stuck alone. He was just kind of a phenomenon roaming around at first but now with urging he has tried to be the best he can with the gifts he has.

Pariah (superhero RP reboot)

Sweet. Took me awhile to parse it out but I like it too.