Society of Justice 3: Crisis on the Earth

[Pm0n3y]

Takashi attempted to release himself from Victor's firm, icy grip, wriggling ferociously as he laid there on the ground. As much as would've liked, he realized that Victor would catch on to his frequent teleporting. Victor's last remark did anger him slightly though.

"I'm getting on your nerves?! Fuck you! You're the one who came out of nowhere to double-cross your teammates while I was torturing them!" He argued with strain. Eventually, and without a clever remark, Takashi sprung high, red spikes from under Victor's feet, impaling and ripping through his boots, certain parts of his pants and skin as they continued towards the ceiling. Teleporting away from Victor's grasp, Takashi reappeared in front of him, slightly fed up at the predicament.

"I could kill you right now if I wanted to, but fuck it. We're too evenly matched. Us fighting would lead nowhere. So you know what? I'll leave these guys to you. You'd just be doing my job for me anyway. I'm outta here. If you see my sister, tell her to be back at the headquarters by nightfall, with, or without, Jason's body. Tell those Union dudes that I'll see them around." He growled, mumbling angrily before disappearing into his red smoke.

[hr]

Marrissa grinned as Jason-Ethan talked, running up behind him before tossing him over her shoulder.

"Now that you mention it, I can see the...Promenade? Wait, that's what it's called? Isn't that like a dance or something? Strange name for a very important building." She talked, a bit intrigued by the location as she began to take a running start, sprinting faster and faster before leaping towards their destination.

 

[tsatoma]

"Ack!" Ethan yelled as he was suddenly tossed over Marrissa's shoulder as she ran back the way they had come, "Uh thanks for the lift I guess. And to answer your question a promenade is considered to be a walk in a public place for pleasure, a place for walking, a formal dance, or a marching step in a dance usually. There are various other meanings too but those are the most common."

 

[elementsoul]

"...could very easily be the death of us all." Was all Tyson needed to hear. Tyson lifted his hands removing the spikes from them and then pulled his feet from the spikes. Although this made a bit of sound with the battle going on neither the Man in Red Armor or whoever was in Levi's body noticed him. Tyson leaned against the wall between the rooms each side were in and watched Levi's body get impaled but several thin spikes. Listening to the Man in Red Armor's goodbye speech Tyson walked out awkwardly, due to the holes in the feet, but still quietly.

Tyson was to Levi's body's back and swung a left hook with more than enough force to knock out an unsuspecting opponent. Tyson lifted the unconscious body free from the spikes. Tyson rested the body over his right shoulder and headed back to Levi. The morphine levels were almost at the maximum level and Tyson was starting to feel the pain from his foot and the several spikes still in his chest, which he was avoiding removing to avoid additional bleeding. Tyson reached Levi and laid the body on the ground before sitting. "

What now?

" Appeared on the visor. Shit was getting so fucked up he'd likely believe Levi if he said solve cold fusion.

 

[socialtangent]

Victor frowned disapprovingly as Takashi vanished into thin air, a puff of red smoke the only indication that someone had been there. "Coward," he hissed as he tried struggling against the spikes that Takashi had left as a parting gift. He was rewarded by driving one deeper into his leg. A minor inconvenience at best, but Victor's patience was wearing thin and his temper flaring. He prepared another magnetic blast in his hands in order to free himself when he felt a powerful impact on the back of his head. Everything suddenly went black.

Levi stood up, mouth agape as Tyson was able to simply knock out Victor. That blow shouldn't have even phased him, let alone render him unconscious. Victor had fought Major Crime, the strongest man in the world, to a standstill. The incident on the alien moon must have weakened him much more than Levi had guessed. It was the only thing that rang true in his head. Reading the message on Tyson's visor, Levi returned to the task at hand. "We need to tell the others that we've been compromised. The door's still intact, so we can get the feeds up, but the Union probably knows we're here now. There's no way they couldn't hear what just happened," he said to Tyson.

 

[elementsoul]

Tyson sat there taking it all in. "

I could set myself up somewhere and guard you from there but I can't get in an actual fight right now. Your body's going to need some medical attention and Ethan's body is in need some medical attention too. It could also use a good mechanic.

" Scrolled across the visor. "

Well lets get to work.

" Replaced the previous message on the visor.

 

[Pm0n3y]

Meanwhile, across the Buildings of Nova City...

Marrissa thought it over temporarily before nodding.

"Well, I guess that makes sense. I mean, the museum must be there for a reason." She said, slightly enlightened by the explanation. Continuing to leap across rooftops and streets in single bounds and leaps, eventually the two made it back to the Promenade. Leaping into the front yard from the adjacent building, Marrissa let Ethan down, making sure to dust him off.

"So, here we are. Sorry about tossing you around the city earlier, my emotions were everywhere at that time. Now, where's Jason? Or at least, the person that he's in? Where's your body for that matter? Wait...is my brother in your body??" She asked, more and more intrigued at their current predicament as she let the thought sink in.

 

[tsatoma]

"Thanks for the ride, and no your brother is not in my body. He's in my older brother's body and my own body you saw already: the cyborg that was with the 'sneaky' group. As for where your brother is let's go find out," he said as he jogged out of the yard and over to where the Merriweather was not hidden.

"Let's see...he should be somewhere around here," Ethan muttered as he rejoined the group at the Merriweather, finding a certain redhead and leading Marrissa over to him, "Okie-day here is your brother stuck in my brother's body!"

 

[Captainguy42]

Tommy was taking his time examining the various armaments that Lillian had on her when they switched bodies. He had some experience with guns and other weapons, but not the models Lillian was had.

He went to Lillian and tapped her shoulder, "Lillian mind giving me a 101 on these guns?" he asked.

 

[RBMidknight]

[Inside Levi's head...]

'Woah.' Taryn's efforts to break out of Victor's prison paid off suddenly. Instead of shoving against an unmovable wall, the wall vanished. Taryn stumbled forward and then stopped to concentrate on becoming a spectator again. She focused on trying to 'see' what Victor was seeing. Except...there was nothing. 'Hmm.' No Wall. No vision.'That was fast." Taryn thought.

She stepped out of the cell. Slowly Taryn traveled away from the cold, desolate space she'd been trapped in. At first, it was just darkness. Endless darkness.

'I need a way out of here. I need a way to get back in control' Taryn thought. It seemed silly to need a map of one's own mind. But she almost needed one. A map...or a road. 'Or...what are those things...an atlas' Taryn sighed quietly.

And then there was a road. Not one that she could see...but Taryn got the sense of being on a path. And if she moved a certain way...the numbing coldness began to vanish. Using the change in temperature as 'north' Taryn continued forward. The further away from the cell Taryn got, the less cold she felt.

Confident in her direction Taryn began to travel faster. The 'road' split several times but Taryn picked a path and stuck with it. She moved faster and faster. So fast that she almost missed the door.

It was almost a normal door. Taryn was expecting a vault door. Something solid and metal and menacing. Something like the cell. But this was a very old, very ornate wooden door. The detail was astounding. In fact, Taryn was quite certain that she'd never seen (or bothered to make a note of) a door with such detail. Curiosity overcame urgency. Taryn lost a bit of her focus. As her concentration faltered the door began to waver and shift. Like a carnival funhouse mirror.

Afraid that she'd lose her opportunity Taryn dove forward. Intending to open the door she instead phased right through it.

A blast of warmth hit her. Along with a sense of...familiarity. This was 'her' area. The place that had been taken over. And now it was time to take it back. Taryn walked up metallic looking steps and strode into the control room. Tinted glass doors (marked

---Control---

) slid open silently as she approached. Taryn moved with determined strides. This close to her goal she was confident in her destination.

"Hello Victor." Taryn said quietly as she reached the inner sanctum. The British man with Levi's features was slumped over in a chair that looked kind of familiar. Taryn blinked away visions of sci-fi television. As she stepped closer to Victor the cold feeling came back. 'That's...weird.' Taryn shivered. Then she clenched her jaw and stepped forward again.

"Would you kindly. Give me my control back!" Taryn muttered as she forcibly hauled Victor out of the chair and let his unresisting body drop to the floor. It made no sound as it hit.

But how to get him back into his cell...Taryn became concerned. If he recovered from....whatever it was...then she'd have to fight him all over again. Taryn looked around at the control room for something that would help. But there was nothing. Then Taryn recognized where the design for the room had come from.

"My world, my rules." she said quietly with a grin. A brief moment of concentration later and Taryn was able to strap Victor securely to a gurney and wheeled him back to the divider. Which was no longer a wooden door but a solid metal gate.

"Much better." Taryn noted.

The trip to Victor's prison was short now that Taryn knew what to do. She left Victor lying on the floor of his prison and traveled back to the control room. She sat down in the control chair and leaned back. She needed Levi's body to wake up. She needed her body to wake up. Taryn closed her eyes and focused. Lights flickered in the room. Red then green and back to red. The temperature rose. The warmth rose to 'hot'. Taryn felt the room shift. Then everything went black.

[Out in the real world...]

Taryn was back in control of Levi's body. And Levi's body...was in pain.

"Nrrrg" Taryn groaned quietly and fought to raise her hand to her head. Her hand rose a few inches then dropped back to the ground.

 

[blaze96]

"Yea Tommy, alright the first is a standard knife in a thigh holster on your left leg. Only really useful in very close quarters. On your hip there are two standard uzi sub-machine guns. I modified their sights to red dot instead of the traditional and they have larger magazines to hod more ammunition per clip. The trick is to fire in bursts rather than hold down the trigger. I also have a couple of glock 22's in the shoulder holsters, these actually have multiple modes of fire and have again been modified with extended clips. Now the real toys I tend to have squirreled away in vehicles and my room. In the ship you'll actually find a SPAS 12 under the seat, just in case. Nothing really special to the way the guns work, point and shoot like every other gun in existence." Lillian replied, proud of the weapons she had listed and remembering all the practice she had with them.

 

[socialtangent]

Levi nodded in agreement. "Right," he replied as he headed over to the terminals that controlled the video feeds. Mounted on the wall above them were several monitors, some showing the feeds that were still active, and others blank. "I think the magnetic energy that Victor threw around disrupted a few things, but I should be able to get the downed feeds online..." he said under his breath, forgetting that Tyson had no idea who Victor was. Now would be a good time for some of that technopathy, Levi thought as he checked the status of the offline feeds. He would try it, if there wasn't the inherent risk of frying the Promenade's entire security system.

In short order, Levi accessed the downed cameras and individually reactivated each of them. Some of the cameras showed varying signs of damage, while others had been completely destroyed. Despite a few missing cameras, the ones that were now active pained a very thorough picture of the Promenade. Now that the downed feeds were back online, the rest of the team at the Merriweather should be seeing them shortly. Levi reached for his comm, but brushed against bare ear. It must have dislodged when Takashi threw him against the wall. Damn.

Levi turned around to face Tyson, gesturing to the screens above the terminals. "Okay, they're online now, and the people watching at the Merriweather should be seeing them shortly," he said. The sight of his body moving on the ground caught Levi's attention. Quickly, he recoiled backwards, expecting a full-on attack by Victor. Instead, however, he heard a faint groan. In his own voice.

He relaxed slightly and cautiously approached the limp body. "Taryn?" he asked tentatively. "Are you okay?" he added quietly. It was obvious that she wasn't "okay", considering a takeover by Victor was almost always mentally draining. Even if it weren't for the mental trauma, his body took quite a few hits during the brief battle with Takashi.

 

[elementsoul]

Tyson shifted around to attack when he saw Levi freak out. Before he did anything he heard Levi say, "Taryn?" Tyson calmed down as he felt an unnoticed chill in the air leave. Tyson turned back to Levi. "

Group meeting regarding any potential major threat everyone can bring to the team. We'll leave after we're sure its save to move Taryn.

" Popped up on Tyson's visor. Tyson then walked over to Taryn and snapped his fingers over her head hoping she'd open her eyes. "

If you can focus I'd like to perform a quick simple test to make sure you're alright.

" Was on the visor in preparation for Taryn if she did in fact open her eyes.

 

[RBMidknight]

Taryn blinked slowly as she attempted to focus on Ethan's visor 'No wait..that's Tyson'. She managed to catch the last few words. Something about a test. 'A test?...what test...ah, my head.' Tyson's visor blurred slightly in Taryn's vision. She blinked and things became clear again. Her head was pounding. It was like a migraine mixed with a hangover with a side of dull agony. Taryn took a slow breath. Despite the pain, she tilted her head to look for Levi. Seeing him alive and relatively unharmed Taryn smiled in relief. She rolled her head back to a neutral position to look up at Tyson. She remained silent and waited for his 'test'.

 

[tsatoma]

Ethan-Jason took a seat inside of the Merriweather, leaving Jason to talk to his sibling alone. He sighed deeply and examined the armor that was on the body he was inhabiting. There were huge electric blue cracks where he had been directly hit by Marrissa, all of those having smaller cracks of blue branching out from them. He was distracted from his examining when Garrus-Tyrell ran by him as the video feeds of the Promenade started back up.

The new feeds mainly showed the damaged rooms all through the Promenade, including the living rooms. Most were badly damaged, with some having whole walls broken down. A number were left relatively intact, which surprised Ethan quite a bit. He turned his attention to what his brother was looking at, noticing that he was watching the feed for the lounge.

Major Crime had walked inside of the lounge (carrying a crying Renton) and grabbed what looked to be a beer bottle as he walked over to the couch. Nuke then threw him a Guitar Hero controller and Major Crime tossed Renton onto the couch as he caught it, an argument between him and The Countess ensuing as she picked up the crying baby before storming off to the living area hallway.

Garrus changed the feed to that of the hallway, watching as she went into the infirmary. "Argh that fucking bastard Major Crime. I'm going to friggin' kill him!" Garrus said with rage, scaring Ethan a little bit.
"You can do that, but uh let's get your son first. The good thing is that he's no longer near Major Crime," Ethan muttered after a moment of silence.
"You're right. Okay we need to come up with a plan now to get him back," Garrus replied, taking a few deep breaths to calm down.

 

[elementsoul]

Once Tyson felt that Taryn had had enough time to read the message he switched it to, "

Follow my finger. If you see double or your vision is blurry blink twice.

" Tyson's plan was to move his finger to the right than to the left. Up and then down. If she didn't indicate a problem Tyson was then going to switch the message to,

Blink the amount of fingers you see me hold up.

Tyson was then going to hold up three fingers. If she gets it right then there's no major head trauma and she should be save to be moved.

 

[Pm0n3y]

As soon as Ethan-Jason made his way onto the ship, Marrissa trotted up to the semi-unsuspected Garrus-Jason, jumping up to hug him.

"Marrissa-!" Jason-Garrus yelped as he turned around to catch her hug, and ultimately ending up on the ground as a result, the wind knocked out of him.

"Sorry about that Jaime." The younger Keyholder replied sheepishly as she helped him up.

"Don't be Mar. This is great! I finally see you in person after all these years, you seem to be in better control of your powers (well, somewhat), and your clearly not as evil as Taki. At this rate, you'll probably be able to join the Society when you get older!" Jason-Garrus said gleefully, giving his sister another hug. Marrissa's expression quickly lowered as said he said the last sentence, pulling away from him slowly.

"But, I don't want to be apart of the Society. I want you to come home. I want things to go back to the way they were." She said lowly, her eyes glued to the ground. Jason-Garrus' expression matched hers.

"I want to come home too little sister. But I can't, and you know why. I'm pretty sure everyone other than my immediate family (excluding Takashi) wants me dead. Things will never be able to go back to normal...at least not without one of us dying." He replied, frowning at how grim his situation was.

"But isn't there some other way to solve this problem? There has to be." Marrissa shot back, wanting there to be hope for their family. Jason-Garrus solemnly shook his head in compliance.

"Mar...you know how our father is. He never lets go of a grudge. Don't you remember the story of how he came to power?" He said to her, pausing hesitantly, giving her time to think about the tale.

"I promise, i'll find a way to make it better for us, one way or the other. Now, d'you wanna hang with us for the time being? I'll make sure you get home before nightfall." Jason-Garrus said to her. She looked up to him momentarily before nodding.

"I guess so. Just so I can spend more time with my older brother. But...why're you vibrating?" She asked, noticing the steady rumbles emitting from Garrus' body.

"Well, the guy i'm in right now has the power to make earthquakes and stuff...I'll introduce you to him." He answered, walking her onto the Merriweather. The two approached the others, most of which had their eyes steady on the reactivated security cameras.

"Everyone, this is my little sister, Marrissa Kerrigan." He announced, the younger Keyholder giving off a shy wave.

 

[RBMidknight]

Taryn's gaze slowly followed Tyson's moving fingers. She frowned when the test switched but obediently blinked the appropriate number of times. Feeling a bit silly for blinking Taryn cleared her throat softly. After a single muted attempt she managed to speak audibly.

"I'll be okay." she said quietly. To prove her statement Taryn carefully rose to a sitting position. She lay her hand flat on the ground, hissing quietly as the room threatened to spin. The ex-technopath shut her eyes and waited for a bit. When she regained her sense of balance Taryn raised her free hand and gave a brief thumbs-up. She attempted to stand using one of the Security Room chairs as a handhold.

 

[elementsoul]

Tyson watched Taryn try to stand and grabbed her when Levi's legs collapsed. Tyson sat Taryn down in the chair she was trying to use to help herself stand up. Tyson pointed down to the legs which were bleeding from the several spikes that impaled them. "

If you don't mind, I'll carry you back.

" Came up on the visor. Tyson was still in a lot of pain but considering Levi was in Taryn's body and the difficulty of carrying someone bigger than you was hard not having control of that body would make it near impossible. Additionally Levi was still a live wire and could potentially electrocute his own body and therefore Taryn.

 

[Captainguy42]

Tommy waved hello to Marrissa, "Hey Marrissa, I'm Tommy, well right now I'm Lillian or rather in her body. Normally I'm in that body," He said pointing at Steven who was in his normal body.

"Ya if you think that's confusing, it get's worse."

 

[blaze96]

"Umm hi, now what are going to do about getting my baby to safety? Also, I'm usually Lillian and I have the body tommy has, usually Katie has this body." Lillian asked.

"Richard Masterson, usually my corporeal self inhabits the man inside the power suit. For now a gay man is inhabiting my body and a new recruit usually has this one. As for getting your kid, well if I can get a set of blueprints I could show you all a route that should be safe and have minimal reliance on the away team to remove security features." Richard replied.

"Well whatever we do, let's get it done before that madman decides he wants to ruin my child anymore."