thearena | Power Chip Liberation

Entry tags:

Power Chip Liberation

WHO| Everyone
WHAT| Power Chip Liberation plot; and you get superpowers, and YOU get superpowers...
WHEN| After D7 breakout
WHERE| District Six, Distrixt Thirteen, the Capitol
WARNINGS| Death, cannibalism.

The manufacturing plant in District Six takes nearly a day to get to for the District Thirteen soldiers; there's word that the Capitol has invested in better radar and anti-aircraft technology, so the hovercraft has to stay low, barely above the line of trees and then, once in the flat desert of the District, only feet above the ground and moving slowly enough not to kick up a visible trail of dust.

When they spy the line of anti-aircraft guns ringing the plant, the soldiers know that they made the right choice in not rushing. The plant is guarded well beyond what a normal factory here in District Six would be, which is a dead giveaway that they've come to the right one. Thankfully, the hacking team back home has carved out a small blind space that the combat team can sneak in through, and from that point the first wave of Peacekeepers defending the command system aren't effective in keeping the soldiers from the controls.

It's only after that that things begin to go wrong. The remaining Peacekeepers in the cramped, busy plant full of machinery and materials start attacking with powers that certainly didn't come from Panem. The factory workers, innocents, run for cover behind assemblylines and hide under tables, and on the second floor of the three-story building they take leaps out the window for safety. Chaos reigns. Holes are blown in the walls; shrapnel flits through the air and takes blood and flesh with it; Gowan Stevens, an unimpressive-looking man with rolled-up sleeves, grabs something from the control panel and a gun from one of his security guards and runs, protected by the mania around him.

Every offworld Tribute will be able to feel it - either the return of their familiar powers, or a rush of intuition and power that they never before had but that seems as easy to come to as riding a bike. From District Thirteen to the Capitol, the rush of power comes heady and wild - and just in time, because disaster strikes both in District Six and in the city.

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Throughout the mission, Albert's been eerily silent. He hasn't been granted a leadership position on this mission and so he remains taciturn, eyes always forward. Even when the powers had overtaken them and he'd felt the tell-tale feeling of his mechanics warping into what he's more used to, the metal crawling under his skin, the fingers of his right hand turning hollow, all he'd done in reaction was unshoulder his gun and load its ammunition into a popped-open slot on his right forearm.

Even the titan's appearance, monstrous and terrifying as it is, doesn't prompt a flinch. Instead, he opens up on it as it lifts its enormous hand to go for another person, bullets flying in a hail. He doesn't really bother to find cover either, simply pumping round after round into the beast and only vaguely aware of his comrades and civilians enough to keep them out of his line of fire.

He's already lost so many, he's not sure he cares what happens to him here.

Haruto had kept as close to Albert as he could on this mission, because it seemed like a good idea. He trusted the man and his judgement. He knew that he could be counted on in a fight. And... honestly, given how things have been going? He thinks that Albert could use the moral support. So he's not far away when the powers flicker on, and far more visibly reactive when one of the Peacekeepers erupts into... whatever the hell that thing is.

"I guess it's showtime!" He's actually excited about it, and can't keep a grin off his face. He has his rings, he has his magic, he just needs to activate his belt and transform... and so he does, passing the ring on his right hand over the palm-shaped device at his waist, triggering it to come alive with a noisy chime and a call of "Driver On, please!" He's already starting the flicking motion to shift the hand to the other side, setting it up for a proper cast of magic when everything becomes one enormous singing note of pain. He gives a strangled shout and doubles over, curling into himself, trying and failing to somehow fight the feeling off. It shouldn't be like this. Someone must've gotten something wrong somewhere. But he can't give in to the urge to panic, nor the fear that he might never truly get his powers back, after all. There is too much at stake. Too many people that he needs to save. If he can just get control back of his left hand and swipe it over the driver....

Alas, because he'd gone through with that flicking motion, his driver is now in standby-for-magic mode. Which means that it's singing, waiting for him to do something. "Shabadoobie, touch to henshin... Shabadoobie, touch to henshin..." Here's hoping the titan's not a big fan of music.

If Albert were his normal self then maybe he would have admonished Haruto on the bombastic and showy nature of his powers, or on how eager he is to use them. He'd call to him that he needs to keep his mind on what they're doing and not take glee in battle like that; that defending the civilians is their role. But he's not his normal self, and judging by Haruto's shout of pain and sudden lack of movement, neither is his charge.

It's instinct and repetition that puts Albert in front of Haruto physically, a full metal barrier between the Rider and the Titan, but even as he moves he finds it difficult to keep firing. Sweat prickles his brow as he keeps up his assault, but he can't keep his posture and there are visible lines of strain around his eyes. Finally, he's forced to lower his arm and stop shooting, barely able to inhale enough breath to keep himself upright, let alone keep up his assault.

There certainly is something wrong here.

"Haruto," he calls back in a more gravely voice than usual, keeping an eye on the Titan as it turns its attention to others that are attacking, giving them a moment of reprieve. "Haruto, are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" It's a strangled, sharp assertion, and probably not very convincing. But he doesn't want Albert to lose focus worrying about him. He's in pain, but the magic worked, didn't it? And when he looks up to try and see what the Titan is doing, he also sees what Albert's doing and it's... it's not good, is it? They're both suffering from some sort of problem, aren't they?

"I've... I've got it, just..." Flame form isn't the right choice now. He's going to need mobility. The pain's still present, but it's starting to subside, so there's only a slight shake in his hands as he trades the red-gemmed ring for a green one. Snap, his hand passes over the palm-shaped front of the driver, and off goes another burst of noisy magic. "Hurricane, please! Fu-Fu, Fu-Fu-Fu-Fu!" Which might be hard to hear over the absolutely agonized shout that Haruto lets out when the mana leaves him and the spell is cast. The pain was even greater than the first time, to the point that his legs momentarily give way, and he drops to his knees. The circle of magic that he normally flicks outwards to manifest instead forms upon the ground, for that's where his hand has come to rest, and it rises up to cover him, manifesting black and silver armor with shining green embellishments.

Even after the magic fades, he's doesn't have it sufficiently together to push to his feet, though.

"There's something wrong," Albert growls, more to himself than Haruto as he's stating the obvious. The Titan seems to sense it too, turning its massive form towards the cyborg and the wizard. Or perhaps it's less it knowing its targets are in a spot and more just the bright lights generated by Haruto's change in element.

What Albert wants to do is get them to a more defensible position, with cover and a better chance to reserve their powers for when they're ready for a final blow, but it doesn't look as if they'll have the option. Instead, with Haruto forced to his knees in pain and Albert's creeping fatigue with every bullet that leaves his fingers, they have no chance of escaping. It's a full on assault to end it quickly, pushing their limits, or else the Titan will simply pick them up and chew on them if they give it a moment with their backs turned.

It looks as if that's the Titan's intention regardless, the monstrosity tossing the crunched remains of its victim to the side and turning laboriously to bring a hand down at them, one that's so large it casts a wide shadow and Albert's next round of gunfire does little more than fleas in its palm, unable to slow its descent. He's forced to leave off and tackle Haruto into a roll instead, tumbling haphazardly end over end until they hit a wall, but graciously out of the radius of the Titan's palm hitting the pavement, cracking the surface under its weight.

Albert pants hard, getting to his knees as the Titan turns its head in an eerily smooth motion to zero in on them again.

Getting tackle-rolled until hitting a wall is not an experience that leaves Haruto feeling good, but it's probably better than getting squished by a Titan, and a lot better than what had happened the last time he used his magic. He plants a hand on that wall, pushes himself to his feet, and groans out a "Thanks."

It's only at this proximity, without pain shooting through him, that he can see how exhausted Albert is already. Are his powers imperfect now, too? He'd ask, but there's no time for asking questions. "..I've got this. Catch your breath." You can back him up once you've pulled yourself back together, old man. He has a sword-gun and the power of wind behind him, and he's going to go and keep that big thing busy.

He bursts forward with speed that already feels comfortably greater-than-normal, gritting his teeth behind his mask while waiting for more pain to come. Which, blessedly, it doesn't. Maybe it's just when he casts a spell? He rushes past the Titan's next grab, rushes for its legs, and then leaps and aims to try and hamstring the thing with a powerful sword slash.

"N- Haruto!" Albert barks after the younger man as he goes racing off, sword in hand. They may be their worlds' equivalents to super heroes, but here it hasn't helped them much and with the pain that cripples Haruto whenever he uses his powers, it's more likely to be a hindrance than a help. What they need now is a plan, not to charge in blindly and get taken out not by the enemy, but the side effects of their own abilities. Not that the hero types ever think of that.

Even so, Haruto's given Albert the chance to use his assault as a distraction and allow the cyborg to come up with a plan, something that will enable them to end this before they burn out. It's always been more Francoise's specialty, but Albert has some scanning ability in his head sensors as well and while switching to scan mode has him feeling another drop of fatigue, he grits his teeth and forces through it, processing the information that starts scrolling through his vision as he looks the Titan up and down.

Reinforced skeletal structure, regeneration capabilities, muted nerves, this thing seems unstoppable and more than the fatigue starts to weigh on Albert's estimation of their chances against the monster. That is, until a blinking display of concentric circles lights up Albert's vision, centering on a point at the back of the Titan's neck. There, it seems, all of the nerve endings that have been deadened throughout the monstrosity's body have coalesced into a supercluster, and one very tempting target.

"Haruto! Back of the neck!" He just hopes the Rider can hear him.

If they both live through this, perhaps Albert ought to discuss the merits of teamwork and planning with Haruto. It's something that he has never been terribly good at. Rushing right on ahead at the big dangerous thing was just how stuff like this needed to be handled, in his experience.

That said, taking a swipe at the thing's leg was a lot less effective than Haruto had expected it would be. It slices through flesh, but it's as though the monster hasn't even noticed. Other than noticing that hey, this small annoying thing just tried something, which it reacts to with a surprisingly fast turn about with another attempt to simply slam a fist down upon him and crush him flat. "Damn it!" Haruto's moving fast enough to dodge it, but it's way narrower a dodge than he'd have liked. He's ready to try maybe attacking the hand instead, but oh wait, there are two hands on a Titan... which he only avoids by springing straight upwards, boosted and bolstered by a rush of green-tinged wind magic.

"Back of the neck?!" Of all the places, honestly, what the hell... but alright. Sure. Back of the neck. He can get up there. He thinks. The moment his feet are back on solid ground he is springing away from the Titan, and towards some of the damaged machinery. Switching rings outright flying up to the right level is completely out of the question. He's going to have to take shorter hops to get himself to the right level, and pray that the thing doesn't manage to grab him or squish him as he tries it.

Haruto will have to be the weapon between the two of them because with the constant monitoring of the Titan's vitals and movements that Albert has decided is necessary, he's starting to wonder if he can do more than just stand there with how heavy his limbs feel. Thankfully, it's still a lesser drain on his energy than firing, so he can still relay directions to Haruto.

The Titan doesn't seems to have caught on to their new hierarchy, despite once having been a man. He's either mad with power or addled by the transformation, but the thing seems to be moving entirely on instinct. It reaches out for the little green bug that zips around it, annoying him with small stings that do little other than keep his attention. Albert relaxes just a little; Haruto should have this.

Until, in an unprecedented show of intelligence, it raises both hands at once instead of simply flailing around with one, and instead of swatting at the Rider tries to clap him between enormous palms.

Haruto is just about at the level where he can make the strike for the back of the Titan's neck when it pulls off that clever two-hand catch. The clap of the two hands coming together smothers Haruto's yelp of surprise as he's caught, albeit only the bottom half of him. Which is still not good, but his armor has kept him from getting crushed and his hands and arms are still free.

"Damn it...!" He can't cut free of this. He can't wriggle free. Maybe if he flips his sword to the gun form and fires like crazy... even if bullets cost mana, and mana seems to just plain cost, he'll just have to push through it.

Snap, the sword-gun converts, and he opens fire on the thumb joint of the Titan's right hand. Maybe it won't hurt it, but it might be enough to blow the thing off and weaken its grip. And he's not going to let himself scream this time. No one can see him gritting his teeth behind the mask. It'll be alright...

No missiles, but Albert does still have ammunition. He wishes he still had the gun to go with it, what with the waves of exhaustion that wash over him every time he uses his built in artillery to fire, but if Haruto can't get free, then he'll have to--

He cocks his thumb just as Haruto's sword morphs from a blade to a firearm, the change enough to give Albert pause but the resulting hail of bullets - or magic? - does more to the Titan. It doesn't hurt, per se, but at such close range it does cut through tendons in a large enough burst to break the monster's grip on the Rider for half a minute before it regenerates, giving Haruto the time he needs to take advantage.

If he can take advantage.

The young wizard's scream from earlier is still fresh in Albert's mind and he moves forward to catch Haruto, just in case.

Between his relief that the Titan's grip has loosened and the screaming agony running down his arms, Haruto's next move is risky and graceless. He can't keep a grip on his sword-gun any longer, and simply lets it tumble free to the ground as his feet move, finding purchase in the Titan's fingers before kicking free and sailing up to its shoulder with another burst of reflexive green magic. It's not a scream he lets out, he'll insist later. It was a gasp. A really, really loud gasp. Another spring away to a high bit of scaffolding, and he clumsily plucks a new ring from the ones at his hip, jamming it onto a finger and passing it over his buckle without an ounce of care or finesse.

"Chōīne! Kick Strike! Saiko!" The belt persists in being noisy as ever, but it's not good enough to cover up the bloodcurdling shout that Haruto lets out as the magic he has triggered manifests. Green light flares beneath his feet, brighter than the flashes he'd been giving off before, and he launches himself in a flying kick towards the back of the Titan's neck with impossible speed. That bundle of nerves is going to get crushed.

Haruto rebounds off of the kick with a backwards flip... and that's it. That's all he has. He blacks out somewhere during the turn-over, and begins to plummet to the ground. Once he hits it, his armor will dissolve, transformation breaking.

Between the shouting mechanical announcer voice and Haruto's screaming, Albert's not certain what exactly is going on until the Titan is crumpling with an unearthly howl and Haruto's careening towards the ground with the disconcerting speed of dead weight, shedding his transformation in motes as he goes.

Albert's never been the fastest cyborg on their team - that role was relegated to Jet, Joe, or Pyunma depending on if it was air, land, or sea - but he is still powered by pistons instead of muscles and it grants him the boost he needs to catch Haruto instead of letting him hit the ground. The force is still enough to hurt, likely more the young man than the cyborg still, considering, but it saves him from broken bones or worse.

The ground shakes with the force of the Titan's fall and Albert has to plant his feet apart to prevent from toppling over between that and Haruto's weight, not to mention the weight of his own exhaustion, but once the dust has settled, there he remains, still standing with Haruto in his arms and laboring to catch his breath.

They did it.

"Haruto?" He tries hoarsely, trying to make sure the boy isn't in need of immediate medical attention. He's not sure he can get him to it in a timely manner, if he is.

A little more hurt is not making a great amount of difference, given the hurt that set Haruto to plummeting in the first place. The titan falls, the cyborg makes the catch, the wizard is caught... and not quite as knocked senseless as one might think. Albert calling his name nudges Haruto back closer to consciousness, but the pain that's not done rippling its way through him brings him the rest of the way there, hands balling and back arching, briefly threatening to jolt himself out of the man's grasp.

"...hhhhk." Talking isn't working as well as he'd like. He screamed himself hoarse in that final attack. Which... was final, wasn't it? Haruto's eyes dart about, trying to find some kind of proof, but they get nothing. It's easier just to look up and focus on Albert, so that's what he does. And then he grins, and mouths, "Told you I was a wizard", because.... because Haruto Soma, everyone. He is probably going to be alright.

"Yes, you did." He's so relieved he doesn't even argue, instead just shifts the Rider so he can carry him more easily and starts the trek back towards the rebellion's medical setup. Wizard or whatever, Haruto needs looking at.

With that concession from Albert, Haruto feels he can finally give in. That grin still on his face, he closes his eyes and lets himself be hauled off. He feels terrible, everything still hurts, but he doesn't care. For at least a few moments, he was himself again.

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Power Chip Liberation

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And done?