Mortal Coil (CONQUEST)

A chill cut down Morrigan’s spine, her hand clapping on the back of her neck defensively. Further towards the city edge did she stop abruptly in the middle of the sidewalk, careless of anyone passing by her, and turn in the direction of the city centre. She had been on her way to see her brother, though that plan swiftly fell to the back of her mind as she tried to determine what horrible thing she was sensing. She didn’t know that energy could be called horrible, but she couldn’t seem to find another word for it at present. Brushing her hand through her hair and catching a sweatdrop on her temple, Morrigan pushed down this strange feeling that stopped her from moving once it became clear that more power was gathering, less twisted and even familiar in some cases. Didn’t seem like something that should be left alone. Hopefully Nelle wouldn’t mind her absence.

All in all, it couldn’t have taken the young woman as much as a minute to close in with increasing urgency. In that time a picture began to come together as she saw Earthlings like herself violently throwing themselves at bystanders, a ghastly aqua mist carried within them. She swiftly struck at any within a stride’s length of the path she followed. Given brief pause by the death in their eyes, the reality of the situation set in and prompted Morrigan to find the source of this all the sooner.

It didn’t take long. Of the like-minded individuals seeking an end to this chaos as well as those perpetuating it, all were beacons of strength. Some more than others, such that Morrigan knew instinctively how little she was in comparison. The band of misfit mercenaries, that conniving Shinjin, a horned creature that seemed bizarrely familiar, the almost-president Steel, she even recognized Jackie outside her state of fury. Though none commanded her attention like the sword-wielding man in the middle of the mess he had made.

Morrigan registered the voice of the guardian reaching her mind directly, but allowed everything else to be drowned out by the rising thump of her own heart. Eyes on the masked man, whose strength she knew eclipsed hers, she thought of what he would do to her brother and his family. And she struck.

A shockwave bloomed from the flick of her finger and towards the lich, amplified by Morrigan’s now-roaring heartbeats. Her first use of this state, and it had to be in a situation where she was so badly outclassed. Not that Morrigan seemed in the headspace to mind, as she moved to close in on the sword-wielder immediately after her attack, the ground shaking rhythmically beneath her. Her voice as ever failed to evoke much volume or passion, but even she couldn’t fail to level her disgust toward him. “Just what do you think you’re doing?!”

---

Kyten did not know why he had to sleep, why his body had to rest. Roughly one year after his awakening, his body had abruptly grown sluggish for reasons he could not know. Even the fact he had grown tired was new. Whether this was intentional or a mistake in his construction did not matter. He found an appropriately secluded spot in one of Earth's forests, close to a city, yet far enough to not be disturbed. He crouched down as a shell formed around him, before falling into a deep slumber.

That was roughly one month ago. Now, the brittle shell he was encased in gave way, and the bug-like creature emerged, covered in. His body felt... stronger. More armoured. Stronger. While he was still smaller than most humans, he felt a little larger now.

He didn't have time to focus on that, however, as he saw a demonic visage flying toward the city. Moreover, his antennae felt something coming from that city, though what it was, he couldn't explain. An odd pulse, that felt inherently wrong, in some way. That he had only awoken did not matter. He had to act, had to do something. Even if it was only the demon, he should do something. His wings flared before he took off, racing towards the city.

---

The scene was unlike anything the creation could have expected.

Kyten flew high above everything, firing a series of thin blasts at the undead as he went, aiming precisely for their necks and heads. He did not linger on this, however, only slightly thinning the horde as he passed by. These armies of corpses were not his focus, they couldn't be. The smile remained permanently stuck to his face as he flew, as it always did, but it had faded to a smirk at the moment. His limited expressions weren't something to focus on, not now. He did not know what was happening, only that various earthlings in assorted states of decay were forced to rise.

He focused on those feelings that were different, that could be differentiated from the flow of dead and the regular people fighting back. Focusing carefully, his antennae twitched as he sought the heavier impacts. Kyten could not determine the exact strength of others, but stronger vibrations were those of a stronger individual. Following that, that was likely where the important individuals were, whether to defend this city or attack.

Coming onto the gathering of stronger individuals, he found his hunch correct. There were a select few he recognized. There was the man who wished to be President, the girl he met in the field, and two of those from the Cauldron. More important than them, however, were a few particular individuals. The first was that suspicious Shinjin from the Cauldron, and multiple seemed to jump him. Again, it was impossible to say whether he was truly to blame for anything, but Kyten did not trust him. He didn't distrust him enough to attack on sight, but that was only from a lack of proof. Kyten would kill him immediately if he ever got that proof.

The next of particular note were Jackie and Chomei, exiting a portal. He didn't know much of the President past their initial meeting, and a part of him felt uncertain whether such a figure should be getting involved on the front lines. Kyten knew that the President could fight, but he was unsure if the risks to his wellbeing were worth him coming here. It was important, but something felt wrong about this to him.

Jackie, however, was showing a completely different side to when they last met. A side of her far more ready to fight, compared to the peaceful version of her he initially witnessed. The creation did not get her telepathic message, his signature hidden as it almost always was. What he did hear was her warning.

Kyten flew down, slipping into a ruined building as he prepared to strike. He did not know who was behind this, arriving late to affairs. The golden Saiyan and the swordsman were the obvious candidates, but he could not be sure of their guilt. He would wait until one of them proved their malice, or until Jackie or Chomei chose a target. Only then would he strike.

Kyten did not introduce himself, nor did he announce his presence from within the nearby building. This was not the time to be friendly or converse. That would give the enemy an advantage, a chance to realize he was here. Jackie had provided a warning to both civilians and foes alike. There was no need for him to speak. His mind was oddly detached from the exact events here; it did not focus on the loss of life, the tragedy of so much destruction, of the impacts this would have. It only focused on stopping these invaders, of ensuring they paid for coming here. For attacking Earth.

Gira looked around as more and more villains kept showing up. First was Vale, who the young warrior recognized from his failed attempt to summon a demonic army to attack West City. It appeared that he was nowhere close to learning the error of his ways. He had failed once before, but he had allies now. This wasn't going to be as easy as before. Next to arrive on the scene was Lottus. The new Super Saiyan figured that she should be surprised, given how their last encounter went. However, she wasn't. The young teen might have known that such carnage would draw him in, even if he had nothing to do with the actual planning of the attack.

"Lottus. I guess I should be impressed that you survived Marimba's attack from our last encounter. I'm glad I get the chance to finish you off myself. Your days of terrorizing innocent people are over." Whether she would kill Lottus or not if given the chance, she didn't know. Gira hoped that someone else would do it, so she wouldn't have to make that decision.

Then, to her surprise and great sadness, Ryugan and his crew were next to show up. Gira had considered them friends, having bonded with them over several missions, and so their appearance here shocked and dismayed her. However, if they were working with Lottus and the one responsible for this devastation, she wouldn't hold back against them. Locking eyes with Ryugan, Gira sent him a telepathic message.

'I'm disappointed in all of you. I knew you guys weren't heroes, but I thought you all actually had some honor. I can't believe you'd throw in with this scum. I thought you were better than that. For the sake of our friendship, i'm going to give you one chance to leave here unscathed. If you don't, then I can't promise you'll all make it out alive.' Once that message was sent, she looked to the next villain to arrive. He was unknown to her, but that didn't matter. He was clearly here to cause trouble, just like the rest. Gira hated to admit it, but even as a Super Saiyan, she was woefully outmatched here. Nine on one would have been difficult enough even without Lottus being here. The young Super Saiyan chuckled breathlessly. It appeared she was going to die defending her home planet. At least it would be an end worthy of a hero.

Just as she was trying to figure out how to take as many of these villains down with her as possible, she sensed an extremely familiar energy. Just as she recognized it, a blue-haired Saiyan arrived on the scene.

"Russ! Goddamn it, it's good to see you dude!" Gira waved to him. Even though the odds were still stacked against them, the realization that she wouldn't be fighting alone was enough to raise her spirits. Together, they just might have a chance to turn the tables against the invaders. At the very least, they could make sure that any potential victory these villains had was a pyrrhic one. Next, a Majin showed up, indicating that she was here for Vale and only Vale. Although Gira hesitated to call her an ally, she could, at the very least, hopefully be counted on to take out one of the threats. A small smattering of weaker heroes joined the fray as well. One fighting back against the encroaching horde of undead while the other fired an attack at Lottus.

Gira looked at him in absolute surprise, but a smile soon crossed her face. She respected his bravery. It reminded her of herself in a time that seemed so long ago. Next, who else showed up but Mr. Steel. She had actually voted for him in the Presidential election. He was her first choice. It was good to see that he was still dedicating himself to protecting the planet, despite losing the election in the end. His nonchalant attitude provided the Super Saiyan some kind of strange comfort. With all of them together, this battle seemed far from impossible. More people began to show up, some of whom Gira had no clue about. One made her intentions known; some kind of blue pirate. Gira paid her little mind. She was mostly focused on Sitri and Lottus.

She had to get the former out of the way so that she could focus her full attention on the latter. Still, things weren't looking too good for them. While their numbers had been bolstered by the arrival of these weaker heroes, she knew how Lottus loved to toy with those weaker than him. As far as she knew, their appearance in this battle would be short and painful... and she wasn't sure if she could even protect them. Then, a woman showed up, communicating with Gira directly in her mind. The young woman was quite familiar with telepathy, having picked up the technique herself during her adventures on Namek. Apparently, her name was Jackie and she was friends with Russ. To Gira, that meant she was there to help! This was confirmed when she told the young Super Saiyan that her goal should be to take out the source of the trouble. Gira nodded, returning the telepathic message with one of her own, making it fast as she prepared to get started.

"I'm Gira. Glad to see Earth's Guardian is here to help us. Any friend of Russ's is a friend of mine, so I welcome your help, Jackie! Don't worry about the Necromancer dude. I'll make him regret picking a fight with Earth." Then, a blast from the past arrived. It was Morrigan, a martial artist that Gira had met during Vale's attempted invasion of West City. She had gotten a bit stronger since their last meeting. This was good. They were going to need all the power they could get during this battle. The teen was about to greet Morrigan, but the woman wasted no time in throwing an attack Sitri's way... and what the Lich said next boiled Gira's blood enough to ensure that she would hit him with everything she had.

The Lich's ally fired out some form of splitting attack, aiming the brunt of it at Jackie along with an attack from the Lich himself, but Gira herself was also one of the targets. She made no attempt to dodge, however. She took his attack head-on, the blast failing to do little more than singe her gi. The Super Saiyan seemed to be entirely unconcerned, almost as though the attack was meaningless to her. Instead, she responded to what he said before showing what happened when you took your eyes off the threat in front of you.

"No reason? You're serious?" She clenched her fists, enraged that there wasn't even a clear goal behind all of this destruction and death.

"These people had lives. Families. Stories. And you ripped that away from them... for what? Your own sick satisfaction?" Gira's rage caused her golden aura to swell with power.

"I've heard enough! YOU'RE FINISHED!!!" Taking her Sacred Water out of her pouch, she gazed at the bottle for a moment.

'Sorry, sensei. I know you gave this to me for a reason, but this is important too. I have to show this bastard what happens when you mess with innocent people!' She guzzled the water in seconds, feeling power coursing through her veins. Her emerald eyes flashed with brutal intent as they locked onto Sitri.

"I'm normally not this direct and brutal, but i've never been so disgusted in my life. I'm gonna try not to kill you, but in this form, I find it difficult to hold back!" Gira took up a runner's pose in preparation, her energy swirling around her body as it formed a brilliant golden armor that covered her from the neck down.

"SAY GOODBYE!!!" She vanished from her spot, reappearing in front of Sitri and dropping to the ground, aiming to balance herself on both hands and kick him into the air with both feet. If successful, she would reappear at his right flank, roaring in pure rage as she aimed a heavy punch at his cheek that threatened to send him flying across the city. If this punch landed, however, he would not be sent flying for too long. Gira would vanish just as quickly as she appeared, placing herself directly in his flight path and aiming a kick at his gut that would send him upwards. The Super Saiyan would rinse and repeat this strategy, aiming a devastating blow at the Lich to send him flying before reappearing and striking him again, sending him higher and higher into the air.

Finally, if her attack had been uninterrupted at this point, she would appear above him as he was rocketing upwards, using her flight to send herself on a collision course with the Necromancer. Gira reared her fist back, the air friction causing her to glow orange as the red flames that ignited around her mixed with her golden aura. She would aim one final, decisive blow at his jaw with the intent to send him crashing into the streets below with the force of a meteor, fully intending to make him one with the asphalt. Gira would then stop her downward motion near instantly, hanging in midair as she looked down at her handiwork, dispassionately waiting to see the results.

---

TWC: 1909
Ryugan and Jackie each receive a telepathic message from Gira! Telepathic messages are bolded AND italicized. 

    What fun! So many began to arrive, and Lottus' blood begins to boil from the anticipation! One familiar face after another in a steady stream of arrivals - acquaintances all, generally enemies. There were a lot of people arriving that he also doesn't recognize, but he ignores them for now. It seems that quite a few of these folk had something to say to him, which was amusing. Lottus smirks as some random guys fly down from an arriving ship, and attack Vale! Sitri moves to stop the attack, which Lottus had intentionally allowed, just to see what Vale would do.

    All Hell began to break loose, as some of the more violent ones cause buildings to collapse - one that Lottus thought he might recognize, but was not quite sure. Lottus tosses his head back in a barking laugh at it all, and someone to his side steps forward.

    "Well now - Salvo; that's a good amount of power you have now! I'll have to see what you can do with it sometime soon!" Lottus remarks, grinning at the Heran.  As more arrive, the other Super Saiyan, Russ, and even the red-haired woman he had fought for fun not too long ago arrives. Lottus smirks as Salvo asked who they should strike at first - but still more were arriving. "Looks to me like we will have our chance to pick and choose! HA! Let's have some fun, Salvo!"

    Before Lottus can begin, the other Super Saiyans speak up. Gira, if he remembered it right, seemed rather confident, as did Russ with his sass. That human, Steel, was still at it with grade-level insults, so Lottus just snickers and rolls his eyes.

    "I don't know about all that - this is just another chance for fun." Lottus replies to Steel casually. He looks at Russ and Jackie. "A little birdy by the name of Nasu told me that this planet had places producing synthetic Destron, while I was imprisoned and recovering - so I came to this planet a few times to check that out. I played with you for a bit while I looked around - lo and behold, I find proof. One of your citizens, an officer upholding your laws, infected with Destron poisoning. That's why I am here."

    Sitri speaks, though in Lottus' mind, and holds out a hand to Lottus, which swirls with a strange energy. Grinning, Lottus reaches out, and accepts the odd power into himself. It was a chilling sensation, but the power within it could not be ignored. Nodding silently at Sitri, Lottus turns back to the group of heroes.
    
    Lottus rolls his shoulders and neck, audibly popping joints.

    "I'm going to pick this planet apart, piece by piece, until I've either found and eradicated your Destron production facilities, or this planet's core detonates. Whichever comes first." Lottus grins, but his eyes burn with a deep hate. "And know that once I start - I will never stop. Not until I know for a fact that the job is done. And I'll slaughter each and every one of you to do it - though you're welcome to kill me; not that it did any good last time."

    Lottus starts towards Russ and Jackie, still working out which one he wanted to drive into the dirt first, when a truly pitiful blast struck him! Lottus brushes off his chest, and notices the odd alien he'd played with before. The would-be hero, Garon. Lottus offers the offender a mock salute. Chomei, the Earth's new President, also arrives, but his power was pitiful, so Lottus ignores the Human's proclamation.

    "Wait your turn, insects." Lottus calls to Garon and Chomei, chuckling. In that instant, Sitri flew past Lottus, striking at the flaming woman! "Look at that Salvo - it's time for the games to begin! Let's bathe these streets in blood!!"

    Lottus starts forward, when Sitri's voice sounded a warning in his mind! A moment later, a green light washes over Lottus, and chills him. It actually stung a bit too, though in an odd way. Lottus grunts, and eyes the light as it spreads across the city, and returns his attention just as Gira moves in to attack Sitri as the pale swordsman struck to stab Jackie!

    "It's on! KAHAHAHAHAAA!!" Lottus bellows in laughter, and his golden aura flares to life as the Super Saiyan rushes into battle! Crimson and black Ki bubbles up from his right shoulder, and snakes down the length of his arm, taking shape over his flattened hand, and forms a long blade of energy! Lottus vanishes from the frontal assault, and reappears behind Jackie!! Smiling toothily, Lottus plunges the tip of the Ki Blade at Jackie's back!

---

...Okay.

There were way too many people arriving here all of a sudden. Definitely over what Bloodhound cared for given the situation. The undead or whatever down below barely registered on her mind, but it was like the more time passed the more people stronger than her showed up. Not that Bloodhound minded a challenge mind you, but she wasn't here for a good and proper fight; the woman just wanted to get some good money on the side, yet the probability of that happening was getting slimmer and slimmer. At least, it was getting slimmer if she wanted to get away unscathed at least...

Some...demon monster thing knocked down a skyscraper (thankfully she didn't have to move out of the way and possibly reveal her position), another damn Super Saiyan showed up (weren't they supposed to be rare?), a lightning shooting Majin, a shorty, some moron going out of his way to attack that Lottus guy-

Holy hell, Bloodhound groaned to herself and lowered the sniper rifle. She sighed a hard sigh as she began to pack up her rifle. Yeah, no. This was starting to get headache inducing, best she just cut her losses and get off the planet. Even still more were showing up! Some dude with...interesting vernacular, a red Namekian, a pirate-

-Pirate?

Bloodhound blinks at the abnormally strong Heran that shows up and scowled deeply. Though no one had seemed to acknowledge her here it would be incredibly annoying if word got out that she gave up the moment competition showed up. She was probably here to make some money same as Bloodhound. Ugh, whatever... Bloodhound contemplated her next move as more people arrived, doing her best to make sense of who was trying to accomplish what. 

There seemed to be more 'defenders' than 'attackers', so maybe she should pretend to be some virtuous hero to make the most out of the situation. She had a stupid amount of false identification on her, might be easy to claim herself as an off-duty Galactic Patrol member... "Alright...time to be a hero, I guess."

Bloodhound grabbed her now closed suitcase and jumped off the building. She landed on top of one of the undead that strayed from the crowd and pulled out two pistols; she began unloading on the lot of them, hoping to catch the attention of some of the smaller fries just to endear herself to them in advance. Though, that was cut short as the undead began to flow up as energy into the sword of...whoever those people were.

The attack threw an absurd amount of hate, anger and raw venom into Bloodhound's being; aside from being thrown by an incredibly powerful warrior, the feeling of the attack alone was likely to throw most in the galaxy into manic despair or worse.

But Bloodhound was fine. Something like that, painful as it was, wasn't going to take her out of things. Bloodhound shakes it off with an uncomfortable chill, noting that it affected her but not so much she'd be rendered inactive.

"Tch, well now I kinda want these heroes to win." She muttered to herself, unsure of what to do now. A lot of the undead, though not all, had been cleared out thanks to that and people were beginning to branch off into their fights. That coupled with the fact that she was outclassed... Best to stick to the plan and wait to pick some people off. Bloodhound would retreat for the time being, still trying to shake off the uneasy feeling that attack gave her...

The world isn't done drawing in new faces toward a zombie infested Central City, both good and bad people. A Majin with some kind of beef against that Shinjin with the glasses. A stronger than average civilian battling a horde of zombies, a Doragon in an armored suit shows up to foolishly attack Lottus. Hang on, didn't Russ meet that guy at a mountain before?

A cackling red Namekian, and a powerful sword slinging Pirate appeared in the city to give the heroes trouble if treated lightly. The latter is associated with Lottus, which spells double trouble for the blue headed hero. There are people present in the area like that sniper demon and Konastain who can't be felt by Russ' senses, hard to tell of any of them are friend or foe. They wouldn't be registered in Russ' line of sight; the bigger threats grabbed his attention. He grins at Gira "Good to see you too, you're a Super Saiyan now, that's awesome!" She went from a go-getter crime fighter, to one of the strongest Saiyans in the universe.

Between Lottus, the pirate chick called Salvo, and the twin edgelords. Even with a powered up Gira at his side, this will be one of the hardest battles they'll ever face. Russ could really use more backup right now, his prayer answered by the timely arrival of Steel, Chomei, and Jackie. "Hey guys! You're just in time for the bad guy smackdown." smiling at them. Steel asked the Super Saiyans for guidance on his next move, Russ looks at Yogu and the squad of aliens, expression turned serious. "Bring Yogu back to normal as soon as you can. Take down anyone at your strength level. Jackie, Gira, and I will handle the big ones. Stay safe Steel."

The sun god spoke in Russ' head, giving him a mission to keep Lottus busy in the inevitable showdown. 'Leave him to me. And Red? Be careful...we don't want you to lose your cool.' Replying back with telepathy. He cannot afford to fight a pissed off Jackie again in a time like this. Gira's conversation with Lottus reveals they fought before, Russ wonders if Gira's ascension has anything to do with it.

Lottus tells the strongest heroes why he came to Earth. He was tipped off by Nasu about Earth producing synthetic Destron. The big man discovered a police officer poisoned by the gas. He plans to demolish all of the planet's Destron facilities or destroy the world, slaughtering everyone who gets in his way. Russ frowns angrily "You want to kill all of us over some toxic gas!? Major overkill dude, that stuff's illegal for years. Well screw you! I won't let you kill people in the middle of your wild goose chase." Who the heck was making Destron on his planet? Why was Lottus hellbent on eradicating Destron? After this is over, Russ will investigate and tear the facilities down himself before Lottus lays a finger on them.

A white-haired Earthling woman shows up and attacks one of the zombie creators, don't know who they are but Russ is glad she's on his side.

Jackie takes charge and declares a city wide emergency, giving the unruly hooligans their one and only warning to walk away. Of Course, violence erupts from both sides. Gira powers up and lays a beatdown on a swordsman. "Way to go Gira! Kick his butt!" She wasted no time bringing the pain to their enemies.

Russ sensed a lot of energy building up from the enemy team, his eyes widened as they launch their attacks at Jackie, trying to wipe her out from the start. Soul energy from the swordsman's attack is coming for him as well, and others who wouldn't stand a chance to withstand the blast. Despite that, his friend's safety is his main priority. Russ turned his head at Jackie's direction. "JACKIE! Oh no you don't!" He grits teeth and powers up an energy barrier and stops two techniques in her stead, "HA!" a deflecting punch and flip kick will do the job. He glares at Lottus and yells out a plan to defenders of Central City.

"THIS IS EARTH GUARDIAN RUSS, Attack while enemy defenses are down. NOW!"

Russ charges at Lottus with zig-zag rapid movements. The young Saiyan infused a flying kick with blue energy, attempting to dislodge the bigger Saiyan off the ground. Afterwards, a volley of ki blasts guided toward Lottus.





 

Reigun hears jackie's call to evacuate civilians and that completed thje puzzle.  The warmth continued to spread... to her head... to her shoulders... to her arms... even to her feet, and then it started moving beyond her body.  The aura around her started to burn a white flame around her, then it turned yellow.  It turned furious, tossing the zombies around her back like ragdolls.  Well some of them.  The raging aura then calmed into a warm candle-lit glow about her.  If anyone was near her, they might feel a little more relaxed.

Reigun had no time to r4elax.  She could tell some citizens weren't turned for some reason or another.  She saw a civilian in the distance and teleported to them, grabbed them, and teleported again.  Unfortunately she could only teleport to places she could see.  After repeating that process a few more times, she saw a plane.  It was a speck, but she could see it and if she could see it... and she was on the wing using her ki control to steady herself and she teleported from the wing to the nose.  She pointed frantically.  She didn't think she was going to get through to it, but thankfully she was because she could feel it changing course.  She couldn't teleport a whole plane, not even in this form.  Teleporting felt easier, though.  She teleported to the ground. 

She was about to teleport again when she felt sometghing amiss.  She turned and saw a bluish green wave coming toward her.  She managed to surroujnd herself with a barrier just in time!  Her barrier burst and she was thrown into some buildings.  No, no!  not yet! still...needed. Her thoughts were foggy and she appeared to be back in her base form when she tried to stand and collapsed again, this time she didn't rise again.  She had succumbed to the inevitable.

---

PL: um.... 0?
KP: 0/6 kp
MP: technically 2/6?
WC: 316
TWC: 581
damage received: 185,760
techs used: teleport (ut), forcefield (69600)