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Post by Atticus Batman on Aug 24, 2016 11:14:30 GMT
Right after I commanded Volodja to wakeup I witnessed the remaining bats fly off towards the compound again. This time in a direct path as if they were following some unknown directive. So I put my helm back on as I hated not wearing it in a combat situation. Just after I had secured it in place, Volo's eyes started to flutter open. Volodja opened his brown eyes and whispered: "Where is Sandy? How is she? I thought that she is gone...And are my men all right? I sent them away from the hopeless battle, thinking that if there has to be the heroic moment without a chance of surviving then it should be only for me. But now I opened my eyes and instead of seeing angels, I am looking at your helmet, Atticus. That should mean that I am still alive. Probably thanks to that mud bath I took earlier which made me "invisible" for bats. Just let me get up to my feet..."
Volodja tried to rise, but he was still experiencing giddiness, so he sat to the ground again, saying: "Just give me a second to replace this hypno wheel like whirling in front of my eyes with a different picture..."
"Now it's much better," he finally stated when disturbing vision, caused by his effort to rise and shine, disappeared. "Thanks, Sophie. I think that we should move now."
I responded with, "Your men are all fine. I encountered them as I came to find them and you. As for Sandy I am not completely sure. She sent one of her men, a Private Perkins to find and warn me of the bat attack. I did find a way to alter my energies to cause electromagnetic interference with the Bats' sonars and then as my team and Perkins got to the compound I had him fill me in.
I am afraid it isn't good news. It seems the bat attack was fierce and From what I can tell there was an explosion from the Garilu's location. I don't know if there were any other survivors besides Perkins. However after I met up with your men, I ordered them to go to the Garilu and check for survivors as well as see if they could use it's comms to get a message to the Riot. Then they were to see if one of the portals is still working. If one is then they are to get their team and any survivors through it and to the Vigilant for medical aid. If they can not get a portal working then they are to find a defensive position near whatever remains of the Garilu until we can get back to them.
I did pick up a few sporadic flickers from Sandy's EGO closer to the compound as I re-entered the jungle, however it was intermittent so I am afraid I can not give you any positive news. Even worse is that as I got further from the compound I also lost contact with my team's EGOs...probably an EGO jammer.
Either way our best bet is to head back towards the compound. If Sandy is alive and conscious she will know as an experienced soldier that the compound is her best chance of regrouping with us or sending an emergency signal to Taffer's team. If we detect her EGO before we get back to the compound then we will go investigate it's location before we return to the compound. Can you walk? I have a small field first-aid kit with me if you need it and can easily use my sword to make you a crutch from one of the fallen tree branches if needed. However if you can stand and walk without aid it would be best, as this wild and bizzare jungle has proven that it is not a good place to linger longer than necessary. Besides as I said I am sure all of the others will need us as soon as possible."
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Post by Lena Marr on Aug 24, 2016 13:27:38 GMT
"Shatko" Exclaimed Lena Marr as the mop handle broke when she tried to pry open the secret door that Boris and Hubert escaped through but to no avail, "Just as I avoid one possible fatality, I face another! Give me a break, PUUUHHHLEEEZE!"
"No need to explain, I've heard enough," Vo Kshaa entered the room and said right off the bat. "You have much more than two guests, but we need to get our team together. First, we need to turn off that cage in the hallway which holds one of our team members. And we have to do it right now before our Commander Atticus Batman comes here and turns this building literally upside down to get her out of it. Second, we need an access to a powerful transmitter to contact our backup team on the shore. Third, we need exact coordinates of those field generators so that our backup team could find a safe way between them to our compound. Fourth, if that virus is a variation of what I'm thinking of, then you'll have the cure. Only one test will be needed. But that cage comes first, so please tell us what we have to do to disable it given the control room is inaccessible. Wires to cut? Mirrors? Wormholes?"
Lena jumped at Vo's sudden entrance, a bit perturbed at her EGO psyche, Hope, for not warning her of his near presence, so Lena chastised her through the telepathic link they shared, "I hope you can do a better job than that for hope is not getting me very far today so hope to it or I'll replace you in the old Hope chamber with a more useful voice in my head, I hope!"
"NOT MY FAULT! REALLY" Whined Hope, "I'm trying the best I can, but something here has got my radar all screwed up! I hope to have it cleared up soon!"
A wicked smile crossed Lena's pretty chalk white face as she muttered as she glanced over to her lover, Marcel Lestrange with lascivious sky blue eyes, "Screwed up... hmmmmmm. I wonder if we have time to..." Lena frowned, mentally slapping herself as she thought to herself, "Not the time to to give in to Lust, although she would be SOOOO much more fun than Hope at the moment!"
Lena listened to the men plan their escape, but her wicked smile returned to her face as she shamelessly thought to Hope, "Once we get out of here, Pooh Bear and I are going to be SOOOOO rich! I have the cure for the Votan plague right in my voluptuous self, so once bad old Boris spreads it, we can cure it - for a hefty price, of course! Not only will Pooh Bear and I be wealthy beyond our wildest dreams, but I'll be a bigger hero than Belle Starr or Atty-batty could ever be, because I will have saved countless Votans across the whole world! True, I may have to let a few million die first so that the world will know the magnitude of what I'm doing bringing them the cure, but hey - you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, right?"
"I hope you are kidding Lena," Replied Hope, but knew in her virtual heart that Lena wasn't, and if events occurred as Lena described, Lena would not have a single regret, for Lena was truly a sociopath - and proud of it!
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Post by Marcel Lestrange on Aug 24, 2016 18:27:53 GMT
All Doctor Euthanasius did after sudden guest appearance of Vo'Kshaa was rolling his bulgy eyes and stating: "Doris...I mean Boris, would be really irritated if he could see you here, Irathient. But since he left us here to fight for our lives, we need every capable hand to defend this place. As a sign of my good will I will help you to release your team member right away. Removing couple of cage bars should be sufficient for that task and I have a welding machine somewhere...You see - I was planning to rebuild my modest bathroom, but hadn't time to begin with construction works. Decent marble is hard to get these days, you know. But tools are here and ready, including that welding machine, I was talking about. No mirrors, no wire cutting, no wormholes. Only old fashioned welding. If anyone volunteers to weld, then make one step forward. Rest of you can help me with barricading all entrances." Euthanasius looked for volunteer and while he was doing it, he kept talking: "I do have motion sensors, emitters and cameras all over this island because I like to know what is going on in my little tropical paradise. I established a decent network which proved to be very efficient...And it still is. That is how I got warning about the revolt of oppressed nature or whoever is marching towards my humble home with with torches and pitchforks. How classic situation it is indeed... Anyway! You can use that network to connect your friends if you are capable of sending signals to them through it. That's the second sign of my good will. Am I cooperative or what? One more thing before we begin out united efforts to restore order in this island - would you be so kind and tell me who is Atticus Batman you all are talking about? I don't remember having business with him."  |
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Post by Vo Kshaa on Aug 24, 2016 22:09:51 GMT
"I'll do the welding," Vo said as he looked at the direction Doctor Euthanasius pointed to, although he had some doubts about if a simple welding machine would be effective where a Charge Blade wasn't. "Private Perkins, you stay with these people and help them with barricades. Ah, and I think you're a better speaker than me to tell this gentleman who is Atticus Batman." With that said, he blurred towards the machine and then back to Lady's location. He was glad to find her at the same place and alive, although still trapped in that strange cage. Vo quickly deployed the machine as with his line of work at Bug'n'Chug he became more that familiar with such devices. But after he tried it on a couple of bars, he merely shook his head. "Good news, The machine is the only thing we found which can interact with those bars. Bad news, they interact in a worst possible way — the cage just drains energy from the welding machine! Okay, as there's nothing else left, let's try to use it in a different way," Vo said as he moved the electrodes apart as wide as possible. When it was done, he put his charge blade on the floor where it short-circuited a pair of bars. "I'm going to retry the Ampere's experiment. If those bars tend to consume energy from the machine, we'll supply them with enough current for them to push away from each other. Lady, please take a half-step back and ready your Blur. I'm not sure what will happen next, those bars can bend away from each other or melt or just disappear. Anyway, when you see the gap wide enough, turn on your Blur and rush through. I'm afraid we'll have only one chance as I don't think the machine won't last long on this level of power."  Having said that, he set the welding machine to maximum power and connected the sparkling electrodes to the upper part of those bars which he short-circuited at the bottom a moment before. |
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Post by Marcel Lestrange on Aug 25, 2016 8:03:16 GMT
"Excellent problem solving skills," stated Doctor Euthanasius. "I could have just opened the cage manually with this key, but I could not resist temptation to see how you handle the situation. You are indeed a good survivalist material, young man. Just like my other guests. The key for solving that problem was patience and creative use of simple tools. You can't cut bars at once, but you can get rid of them slowly. It gives me hope that we can withstand an attack on my property, not to mention the fact that Boris underestimates Votans. And he called ME arrogant! Since this young resourceful man is busy with working and this dramatic pause keeps lasting, then you, Perkins was your name, are going to tell me who is Atticus Batman because we still have entrances to block to prevent angry mob from entering to this sacred ground."
_________
Volodja Uljanov was busy following Sarge's signals which were not only muffled already as he was under some kind of thick screen, but they also became weaker and weaker with every minute. He wasn't sure about the reasons, but knew that they had to hurry because if they fail to follow the beacon, then they have to find a way with the help of other signs, like broken twigs and such. That meant loss of valuable time. And losing time was something that Voldoja wanted to avoid. And he wasn't alone because his EGO psyche Sophie hurried him, because she didn't wanted to lose Mike either, although her reasons were more...personal.
_________
Private Perkins hesitated and chose carefully which words to use, because he became the centre of attention unexpectedly and he wasn't ready for that. Especially when Doctor Euthanasius looked him with his bulgy eyes and that penetrating glance didn't made the situation easier for poor Perkins. When he was finally ready, Perkins opened his mouth and begun: "Atticus Batman is..."
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Post by Atticus Batman on Aug 25, 2016 12:00:07 GMT
Volodja Uljanov was busy following Sarge's signals which were not only muffled already as he was under some kind of thick screen, but they also became weaker and weaker with every minute. He wasn't sure about the reasons, but knew that they had to hurry because if they fail to follow the beacon, then they have to find a way with the help of other signs, like broken twigs and such. That meant loss of valuable time. And losing time was something that Volodja wanted to avoid. And he wasn't alone because his EGO psyche Sophie hurried him, because she didn't wanted to lose Mike either, although her reasons were more...personal. I made sure I kept up with Volodja and kept any wild beasts at bay while we searched for the woman that he loved. However we continued towards the main complex as we searched for her, knowing that if she was still able to that she would also be heading there. However as we started to pass a waterfall near the complex, Volodja and I both stopped at it as our EGOs thought they could detect the faint signature of Sarge, Sandy's EGO psyche. Then as we were about to write it off as just an electronic ghost; thanks to my sensitivity to electrical frequencies, I sensed an electrical energy that could only be an EGO coming from within the pool under the fall. So I looked further into the pool as I said, "Volodja you aren't going to like this but thanks to my unique senses I am detecting a faint EGO signal in the pool below but can not detect any human signature. So we may be too late.......However the others need us as well and we know they are alive and where to find them. Besides we can NOT linger out here longer than needed as it looks like the various island beasts are starting to congregate around the complex." Volodja looked deep into the pool then glanced back at me, before returning his gaze to the pool as he said solemnly, "Go save the others.....but I am not leaving her." Right before Volo returned his gaze to the pool I nodded in understanding, as I would have made a similar request were the situations reversed. So all I said in response was, "Very well but you know where to find me if you need help and you may need this more than I do." Then I handed him my small field first-aid kit as he locked his gaze back onto the deep pool. Watching Volodja from behind a couple seconds longer, I knew there wasn't anything else I could say to help him or talk him out of staying behind to find Sandy while I went ahead to try to save the rest of our team. So with a heavy heart I left my sorrowful friend behind to do whatever he was planning. As I started to run towards the compound I activated blur. This time when I got to the complex I was in the front instead of the back where I had left Lady, Vo and Perkins. So I forced the front door open, like I had done with the back. Then I did a quick scan not detecting any threats. As soon as my EGO located where most of the people that I was looking for were congregated, I quickly but carefully worked my way that direction, making sure not to trigger any sensors or be seen by any cameras. When I got to the door that my friends' signals were coming from behind, I had my EGO intensify any conversation that she could detect behind it and, I heard Private Perkins hesitatingly open his mouth and begin: "Atticus Batman is..." So hearing that hesitating pause after he said my name, I saw the perfect dramatic moment and kicked the door open. As soon as it flew open, all eyes were on it and me as I nonchalantly entered the room in my usual extremely confident and domineering way. Then as I approached Doctor Todt, I said authoritatively but still angrily, "I AM ATTICUS BATMAN! Although I do know that when you went by Doctor E. Thanius Tod, that you helped my "brother", Kabule the Assassin, create an extremely nasty virus during the Pale Wars and shortly before his "death". HOWEVER I DO NOT like to resort to such cowardly and hands-off methods to get things done! It lacks a certain personal satisfaction! Besides you have already caused the deaths of several of my men including a great officer...and friend, named Sandy Bell! So instead, you WILL release all of my team right this instance.....AND ESPECIALLY MY WIFE OR I WILL METHODICALLY RIP YOU LIMB FROM LIMB MAKING SURE THAT YOU ARE CONSCIOUS THE WHOLE TIME, AND I WILL CONTINUE UNTIL YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A BARELY CONCSIOUS AND SENTIENT HEAD AND TORSO! NEXT I'LL SLICE OPEN YOUR CHEST, REMOVE YOUR HEART AND FORCE FEEED IT TO YOU! THEN AND ONLY THEN WILL I SHOW YOU MERCY BY HACKING OFF YOUR HEAD AS I WATCH THE REMAINS OF YOUR LIFE FADE FROM YOU!!!" |
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Post by Lady Christianna on Aug 25, 2016 12:02:59 GMT
As Vo Kshaa bent the bars of her cage, Lady Christianna blurred through them into his arms knocking him down, with her on top of him. She quickly rolled off him, actully knocking her head on the wall of the hall in her haste, muttering apologies as she did. She thought the pain a small price to pay for Atticus not seeing her straddling Vo and being mistaken as to the situation again, but it still hurt.
"OW!" Said Lady rubbing the top of her white haired head with one small chalk white hand while Vo helped her up with the other, still feeling a slight thrill at his touch, remembering that they were fighting over her, albeit involuntarily on Vo's part.
Lady could still not get over that they had been fighting over her, for she saw herself the plainest of Janes, especially in a group of such beautiful women such as Belle Starr, Sandy Bell, and even Erika Widowmaker, lovely in a strict disciplinarian way. Lady almost giggled when she had a momentary glimpse by her mind's eye of Erika in black leathers with a whip. She was still repressing her mirth and rubbing the top of her head when she and Vo entered the control room of the doctor's complex.
"I AM ATTICUS BATMAN! Although I do know that when you went by Doctor E. Thanius Tod, that you helped my "brother", Kabule the Assassin, create an extremely nasty virus during the Pale Wars and shortly before his "death". HOWEVER I DO NOT like to resort to such cowardly and hands-off methods to get things done! It lacks a certain personal satisfaction! Besides you have already caused the deaths of several of my men including a great officer...and friend, named Sandy Bell! So instead, you WILL release all of my team right this instance.....AND ESPECIALLY MY WIFE OR I WILL METHODICALLY RIP YOU LIMB FROM LIMB MAKING SURE THAT YOU ARE CONSCIOUS THE WHOLE TIME, AND I WILL CONTINUE UNTIL YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A BARELY CONCSIOUS AND SENTIENT HEAD AND TORSO! NEXT I'LL SLICE OPEN YOUR CHEST, REMOVE YOUR HEART AND FORCE FEEED IT TO YOU! THEN AND ONLY THEN WILL I SHOW YOU MERCY BY HACKING OFF YOUR HEAD AS I WATCH THE REMAINS OF YOUR LIFE FADE FROM YOU!!!"
Lady could not mistake the loud gruff voice of her husband, Atticus Batman and her enigmatic smile turned into a big grin as she ran as fast as her short legs would take her to where he stood dramatically in the control room, all thoughts other than her love for him gone when she hugged him tightly around the midriff, exclaiming enthusiastically, "Atticus! Missed you much!"
From her perch sitting on a table with only a lab coat on, kicking her feet in tune to a drummer only she could hear, Lena Marr rolled her unblinking sky blue eyes at the reunion scene, smiling wickedly as she quipped, "And THAT Doctor E, is the great, late Atticus Batman - late in that you just missed the bad guys Atty-Baby who are now gone in a submarine with a Kill-All-Votans virus while we are trapped under an energy dome with nature gone wild! I got to ask now that you are here to save the day, at what point do we get our happily ever after ending, where birds sing, small animals frolic, and we all dance merrily?"
*****
Meanwhile Viral wearing Sandy's body moved to the roof of that same complex as the man-bats were making headway in making egress there much better than the sharkadiles and plants hitting the doors and windows, although Atticus Batman had better luck after they quit trying. James revealed that he had insect like wings hidden under his carapace, and placing her on one shoulder and securing her in place with both claw-like hands, he flew her safely to the roof.
Stroking James' mandible with one hand in a sensual manner, Viral whispered in a soothing seductive voice, "Soon, soon, my babies, we will have our revenge!"
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Aug 26, 2016 11:51:54 GMT
"Hmpfh," said Doctor Euthanasius and swallowed audibly. He hid his slightly trembling hands behind his back and continued in more understandable manner, although he had to force speech out of his mouth a bit: "I remember this voice indeed And that straightforward manner of speech. Unfortunately, Mister Batman, your data is a bit out of the date and I am not the big bad wolf here. Real wolf hid himself in a sheep skin and already escaped, leaving all us to fight for our survival. So your wife, you and the rest of the people, including me and old Eugen, are on the same side. But I must admit that I like this angry attitude, because that is the sort of energy we desperately need. And this brutal force you represent is most welcomed too. By the way, is there anyone else here who hasn't introduced him- or herself to me?"  "Oui," said Marcel Lestrange. "You spoke of sheep and that reminds me that there has to be a sheep in a sheep skin somewhere. Volodja Uljanov is his name. Usually he sticks his nose into the business of others without asking but today he seems to be really modest. Pourquoi?" "I remember seeing a man attacking bunch of bats, armed only with some sort of shovel," said Euthanasius. " Weird, I must say. He doesn't seem to fit into the conception of survival of fittest if he acts that way. Is he dead now?" "I wish," grinned Marcel devilishly. "That madman manages to survive against all odds." "He is alive," marked Atticus Batman. "He remained outside to handle some personal business." The personal business, Atticus was speaking about, consisted diving into the pond. Several times because Sarge's last signals came from underwater and Volodja felt that even if Sandy was gone, he owned a lot to Sophie who was worried about him. That's why Volodja decided to find Sarge even it was last thing he ever does. He threw himself into the pond and kept searching. He had to get to the surface several times and take another deep breath of air before diving again. Each time he dived, his ears started to hum more and more. It was just a hum first but after awhile Volodja begun to differentiate solitary syllables, then longer syllables and then articulated whispers. "Stay here and join us. Forever, forever, forever." Volodja heard about nitrogen narcosis - invisible threat to divers which is a reversible alteration in consciousness that occurs while diving at depth. It is caused by the anaesthetic effect of certain gases at high pressure, but that pond wasn't that deep to cause even minor symptoms. And yet he heard those calling voice when he dove. "Stay here!" said voices. "Stay, stay, stay!" "No way," thought Volodja. "I have a task to complete." "Join us. Us, us, us!" commanded voices." "No!" was Volodja's mental reply when he finally felt an EGO implant under his hand in the bottom of pond. Suddenly he heard music again. It was a bit eerie nursery song about Teddy bears in their picnic (and made him imagine situation in which he was lonely hiker who accidental discovered bunch of Teddy bears barbecuing another unfortunate hiker and invite him to join the party because as they said: "There is always a room for one more). Hearing the beginning of the song made Volodja to think about listening it to the end before deciding anything... |
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Post by Lena Marr on Aug 26, 2016 13:00:29 GMT
Lena Marr rolled her sky blue eyes, before smiling demurely as she put her chalk white palms together and placing her closed hands against one cheek, blinking her long eyelashes twice before saying sweetly, "I'm Lena Marr! I like romantic candle lit dinners and long walks on the beach - and really, REALLY sharp knives!" Then she growled angrily, "Enough with the introductions already! We are in deep shatko here and we need to figure a way out! Holy stockings Batman, tell me you brought a another ride other than the dear departed Garilu!"
Then Lena turned to Marcel with a frown, asking as she pointed at him with one alabaster forefinger, "And since when do we care WHERE arch enemies are? Knowing Volodja, he's looking for Sandy or Sandy is looking for him or they're looking for each other... or they're both dead. Point is, who cares? He and she will either catch the bus out of town with us or they won't! Survival of the fittest as Dr. E said!"
Lena jumped down from her perch on the table, sensually smoothing the lab coat which was her sole clothing, tracing her curvaceous body from breasts to hips, saying with her wicked grin firmly in place on her pretty face, "And no one is as fit as Little Lena!"
Seeing that most of those in the room were giving her dirty looks, Lena threw up her hands exclaiming, "Whaaaaaat?!?! I'm just saying what everybody is thinking! We in this room this very second have got to think about saving our own skins right now, or we are going to be D-E-A-D dead like Volodja and Sandy probably are! I for one am too young and too pretty and have too great a to-do list to die right now!" Lena folded her arms tightly across her ample breasts, then muttered with a pout, "Don't look at me that way! I'm hungry! I haven't eaten since before we crashed, and Pooh Bear knows I get grumpy when I'm hungry!"
*****
From the roof of Doctor Euthanasius' home, Viral who wore Sandy Bell's body saw splashing at the base of the waterfall from the corner of her turquoise eye. Viral frowned, gestured to James, the giant insectoid, to fly her down to see what the activity was there as her manbats continued to tear an entrance into the complex. When she arrived there, she saw a man drowning in the deep end of the pool, so gesturing at a large plant growing by the pond, a large tuber sprung out of the ground, dipping into the water and twirling around the man just as his hand grabbed tight the EGO device discarded by her not long ago. The root held the man tight, pulling him from the water holding him several feet off the ground and in front of her as she looked curiously at him.
With one pale green hand, she beckoned him closer, and as the plant drew him within arm's length, she stroked his cheek with the back of her hand as she asked, "Who are you? You are merely a man, not an aberration of nature like the rest of my babies, so rightfully we should have you torn limb from limb for setting foot unbidden on our island, yet we do not! That is... disturbing. Furthermore, this body... wants you. I wonder why? Who are you human, other than just another rapist of Mother Earth?"
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Aug 27, 2016 6:58:51 GMT
Volodja Uljanov adjusted himself in the grip of huge plant and looked into Sandy's pretty face which had turned pale green. Was it a dream? A nightmare? Or both? But everything seemed and felt so real. Too real to be a hallucination, so he caught remains of his reason and suppressing the urge to let out mournful howl because of Sandy's fate, he said: "My name is Volodja Uljanov, although it doesn't seem to ring a Bell to you. I could say that this is a dream, but my green saviour puts enough pressure on me to make me realize that it's not a dream. I guess it's the water in this pond...But it doesn't seem to be most important thing to ponder about right now. So... My friends and I came here to find our missing...Not sure how to call these two, but I will give it a try and call them friends as well, although with a big question mark behind that word. This and nothing else is our purpose to be here. Those creatures we killed....We didn't do it for fun or to satisfy our hunting passion. It was matter of self defence. It was either about them or us and they attacked first. These were our motives of being here and doing what we had to do. I could try to speak myself out of this tight situation I am in, but I don't feel like it, since Sandy is gone. I could also tell you my opinion about your actions if you are interested, but first I would like to know the reasons behind your deeds. Maybe you should have done the talking in first place if you have a grudge against someone. And avoid harming ones who have nothing to do with your issues, like Sandy, whose body you have snatched without asking. I'll pass the ball to you, Ms...? Unless you decide to go on with the limb tearing part. I am not mind of that solution either, because there is no decent life without beloved one. Only mere existence. In that case, I have a last request and that would be...that would be at least negotiating with your opponents before taking drastic measures." __________ "You have a point as always, my precious Honey Pot," said Marcel. "From the other side, we should keep eyes out for our arch enemies too. As a successful mafia boss Michael Corleone once said: "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." He also had a point. That is why I prefer to know where our arch enemies are." Saying that, Marcel stepped to the balcony window and looked outside. What he saw, made him devilishly grin again.  "You know, mon Docteur," said still grinning Marcel Lestrange after returning to Lena. "If you want to do at least on thing right then arrange us something to eat." "I don't think that it''s the right time or place..." begun Euthanasius, but Marcel cut him off by saying: "If you are hinting the fact that it is not a suitable time of a day to eat then let me explain, you self acclaimed dietologist. I am a simple man and at moment I divide people into two categories - rich people who eat whenever they want and whatever they want, and poor people who eat whenever they have something to eat. Lena belongs to the better half and if she wants eat, you arrange a meal for your guests. And if you are trying to say that we can not eat before possible attack then I would suggest to look out of your window where one Uljanov is busy with talking to some girl who looks like Mademoiselle Sandy Bell, except she has green skin. I am quite sure that she is the one who leads an attack to us. Knowing Uljanov's tendency to blabber infinitely and without much sense, I am quite sure that we have enough time to allow ourselves a small snack. Or even large one. Comprenez" |
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Post by Atticus Batman on Aug 27, 2016 11:07:06 GMT
Lena Marr rolled her sky blue eyes, before smiling demurely as she put her chalk white palms together and placing her closed hands against one cheek, blinking her long eyelashes twice before saying sweetly, "I'm Lena Marr! I like romantic candle lit dinners and long walks on the beach - and really, REALLY sharp knives!" Then she growled angrily, "Enough with the introductions already! We are in deep shatko here and we need to figure a way out! Holy stockings Batman, tell me you brought a another ride other than the dear departed Garilu!"
"I remember seeing a man attacking bunch of bats, armed only with some sort of shovel," said Euthanasius. " Weird, I must say. He doesn't seem to fit into the conception of survival of fittest if he acts that way. Is he dead now?"
"I wish," grinned Marcel devilishly. "That madman manages to survive against all odds."
"He is alive," I remarked. "He remained outside to handle some personal business."
Then Lena turned to Marcel with a frown, asking as she pointed at him with one alabaster forefinger, "And since when do we care WHERE arch enemies are? Knowing Volodja, he's looking for Sandy or Sandy is looking for him or they're looking for each other... or they're both dead. Point is, who cares? He and she will either catch the bus out of town with us or they won't! Survival of the fittest as Dr. E said!"
Lena jumped down from her perch on the table, sensually smoothing the lab coat which was her sole clothing, tracing her curvaceous body from breasts to hips, saying with her wicked grin firmly in place on her pretty face, "And no one is as fit as Little Lena!"
Seeing that most of those in the room were giving her dirty looks, Lena threw up her hands exclaiming, "Whaaaaaat?!?! I'm just saying what everybody is thinking! We in this room this very second have got to think about saving our own skins right now, or we are going to be D-E-A-D dead like Volodja and Sandy probably are! I for one am too young and too pretty and have too great a to-do list to die right now!" Lena folded her arms tightly across her ample breasts, then muttered with a pout, "Don't look at me that way! I'm hungry! I haven't eaten since before we crashed, and Pooh Bear knows I get grumpy when I'm hungry!"
"You have a point as always, my precious Honey Pot," said Marcel. "From the other side, we should keep eyes out for our arch enemies too. As a successful mafia boss Michael Corleone once said: "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." He also had a point. That is why I prefer to know where our arch enemies are." Saying that, Marcel stepped to the balcony window and looked outside. Vhat he saw, made him devilishly grin again.
"You know, mon Docteur," said Marcel Lestrange. "If you want to do at least on thing right then arrange us something to eat."
"I don't think that it''s the right time or place..." begun Euthanasius, but Marcel cut him off by saying:
"If you are hinting the fact that it is not a suitable time of a day to eat then let me explain, you self acclaimed dietologist. I am a simple man and at moment I divide people into two categories - rich people who eat whenever they want and whatever they want, and poor people who eat whenever they have something to eat. Lena belongs to the better half and if she wants eat, you arrange a meal for your guests. And if you are trying to say that we can not eat before possible attack then I would suggest to look out of your window where one Uljanov is busy with talking to some girl who looks like Mademoiselle Sandy Bell, except she has green skin. I am quite sure that she is the one who leads an attack to us. Knowing Uljanov's tendency to blabber infinitely and without much sense, I am quite sure that we have enough time to allow ourselves a small snack. Or even large one. Comprenez?"
With my arm comfortably around Lady, continuing to hold her to my midriff, I said sternly, "Yes Lena always has an appetite for one thing or another and Lestrange is as protective of her as I am of Lady so he means what he says. Anyway as I said when I entered, I thought Sandy was most likely dead. However looking at the scene that Lestrange has pointed out to us, I suppose it would be more apt to say that she appears to be alive but somehow mutated......if that is indeed her out there. Looking at your camera monitors on the wall it appears the bats will be through the main roof any minute. However as I can't clearly sense their electrical energies yet, I would presume that means the walls, floor and ceiling of this room are extremely thick so it will take them quite awhile longer to get through to us. So get those that are hungry some food and activate any decent security measures you have....and I do hope the ones I snuck past without any trouble are NOT your only security measures in this complex because given Volodja's mood when I last saw him he is more likely to let that creature kill him if that is what she wishes, rather than fight her for his own survival."
My eyes flashed white as I continued with, "By the way Doctor, I may sound......and even look a lot like Kabule but DO NOT EVER MISTAKE ME FOR MY BROTHER! WE ARE DIFFERENT PEOPLE! If he were still alive and in the mindset he had when you met him, he would probably just kill all the men here and make himself...as you humans would put it; Adam among all the Eves on this island! After he destroyed any other opposing force that is. Then he would retire here with all the women that he didn't kill for defying him! He may have even kept you alive as his slave to make him any chemically created item he may desire, and to torture for his own personal amusement!
I on the other hand am a happily married man with children that Lady and I WILL see again! So I WILL get everybody off this daking island even if I have to personally kill every single daking creature that stands in my way and destroy or overload any daking system that also prevents our leaving! I will also find and kill those daking "Bad guys" that Lena mentioned and destroy that daking "Kill-all-Votans" virus you stupidly created!"
Then I turned towards Lena as I finally answered her with, "Yes Lena, I pulled out all the stops for this one. The Riot commanded by Taffer is also on the island and the Vigilant commanded by Kaj is near Il' Vate. Both are equipped with Dark Matter portals for emergency purposes. However even if our remaining commando team got back to what's left of the Garilu and managed to get the comms working enough to get a distress signal to the Riot, we are not able to contact any of them from our current location, unless the "Doctor" here has working comms that are capable of reaching the Riot. On a side note you may like to know that some base personnel even discovered your twin blades when they cleaned up the Monarchs back in the Fortress compound. So I cleaned and sharpened them. Then we brought them and an outfit Lady picked out for you with us. Unfortunately or I suppose fortunately for you, given the Garilu's tragic demise, we left your weapons and clothes in a compartment on the Riot. So we can not give them to you until we can meet up with Taffer's team."
When the still shaky Doctor confirmed that he did indeed have working comms that we could use, I turned to Vo and said, "Vo get on those comms and contact the Riot immediately! Fill Taffer in on everything and including that we may require their assistance here. Also see if he has a way for either the Riot or Vigilant to locate and destroy or capture that submarine the Doctor mentioned BEFORE it's occupants can do anything with that virus!"
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Post by Lena Marr on Aug 27, 2016 17:53:37 GMT
After Atticus Batman turned to Lena Marr to answer her question that, frankly, she had already forgotten she had asked, so she heard, "Yes Lena, I pulled out all the stops for this one. The Riot... blah blah blah... discovered your twin blades... blah blah blah... cleaned and sharpened them... blah blah... brought them... blah blah blah... can not give them to you until we can meet up with Taffer's team."
Lena's wicked grin broadened as she exclaimed, "You saved my Slice and Dice? My twin Bowie knives? Your're the best enemy ever! No wonder you're my FAV-OR-ITE adversary!" Then she ran to his side opposite to where his wife, Lady Christianna was hugging him tightly and hugged him too, but then saw Lady's narrowed pink eyes staring into her unblinking sky blue eyes so asked, "Too much gratitude, huh?"
"Opposite of awesome," Growled Lady.
Lena threw her chalk white hands heavenward like she had touched something hot, then backed slowly away from Atticus and Lady, still grinning as she replied, "SOR-REE! I'm just SOOOO glad to get my blades back! I've felt positively naked without them!"
*****
Meanwhile outside Dr. Euthanasius' home, Viral undulated Sandy Bell's naked pale green body in front of Volodja Uljanov, still tightly bound by the giant root twisted around him. She then stared at him with beautiful turquoise eyes, quickly tilting her head first to one side then another, like a bird watching a worm.
Viral shook her golden green streaked tresses vigorously like a cat shakes its head when it has caught a mouse, waiting several minutes to pass before saying, "There is no self-defense to the rape of Mother Earth which has been perpetrated since your species' birth, but that is neither here nor there, much like the one you call Sandy. We are Viral, the judge, jury, and executioner for said rape, and you and all your kind are found guilty! For that, you will die, but before that happens... ," Viral hesitantly stepped forward until her face was within inches of his, whispering, "We must know why this body wants you so much - why this heart longs for you and these loins become wet when you are near. You have no special powers we can discern, other than those granted to you by that man-made device in your head. You are merely human, and yet... to this body, you are not - you are special. Why is that so, manling?"
Before Volodja could answer, Viral gently but firmly placed her pale green hands on his cheeks, then kissed him first hesitantly then with greater and greater passion, as other roots sprung from the ground, stripping his clothes from his helpless body like a young child peels her first banana, with great wonder and high expectation. When Volodja was as naked as Viral herself, Viral stepped back from the kiss, gesturing the plant to release him which it did.
"From looking at you, I can tell you want this body too, for nature has not been completely exorcised from you human brutes," Stated Viral as a matter-of-fact, then asked a question with curiosity that ended with a statement of determination, "We wonder what you would do with this body if we gave it to you? So be it! Do with it as you will human."
Viral than fell back onto the soft grass, vines springing up in back of her to cushion her fall as a soft moss sprung up under to make a soft bed, as she spread her legs revealing the moist treasure within and beckoned him with one crooked pale green forefinger, saying with certainty, "We know you want to!"
*****
Sophie, Volodja's EGO psyche, took the moment of respite to quickly check on Sarge, who she lovingly called "Mike" and who was Sandy's EGO psyche trapped in her discarded EGO device that Volodja still held tightly in his fist. She found the well lit virtual space he lived in blinking with red emergency lights as gushes of hot vapor sprayed into the air, with a shirtless Mike sweating and running from gusher to gusher, hitting them with a wrench until they disappeared like some mad version the whack-a-mole game.
"Mike," Sophie asked with her her exotic foreign accent, "Are you well?"
Sarge stopped briefly to put one arm around her, holding her tight and kissing her hard and passionately before replying, "As well as can be expected, although I'm getting tireder by the minute. At the very least, I'm doing better than her!"
Sarge gestured with the wrench at a dark corner of the virtual space, and Sophie narrowed her beautiful green eyes to look through the mist and darkness shrouding a pale feminine figure sitting hunched and naked in the corner, holding her knees and rocking on her haunches. After a moment of looking hard into the dark, Sophie could see that the figure was Sandy Bell, with every wound she had ever received open and bleeding, from the small nick on her chin caused by a skateboard accident as a child to the numerous claw marks on her arms and legs caused most recently by the island's mutated man-bats. Even the gunshot wound above her left breast caused by the assassin Kabule during the Battle of Mount Tam was oozing as she rocked back and forth, her eyes closed tight, saying the same thing over and over like a mantra.
"Always my fault they are dead! Always my fault they are dead! Always my fault they are dead! Always... "
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Post by Vo Kshaa on Aug 28, 2016 7:02:08 GMT
"Got it Atticus, I'll do it," Vo said as he turned to the scientist, "One more thing Doctor. If those creatures above our heads are at least partially of your creation, do you have any protection against the ultrasound they produce?"
Upon receiving a pair of earbuds, he added, "I think you all should wear those too because I think I'll try something to scare them off, but it will be connected with some good amount of ultrasound as well."
With that said, Vo left to the direction pointed out by Doctor, dragging the welding machine with him. As the access to the main control room was blocked by the explosion, the backup communication equipment Doctor told about was located at the top floor where screeching and scratching sounds were even more apparent. The windows of the attic were already broken, but steel still held steady. A couple of man-bats looked at Vo through them when he came into the room, but quickly disappeared once he raised his weapon.
"Clever beasts," Vo thought as he came closer to the bars and tested them, "Good thing they are welded to the reinforcement metal of the walls. It's also good in the sense that it will grant me an easy access to the reinforcement carcass of the building too."
But the first thing to do was to contact Taffer as Atticus ordered. The transmitter was in fact an old HAM radio, but it had a powerful amplifier and that was all that mattered. Vo tuned in to the appropriate frequency channel and called.
"Good to hear you old friend," was Taffer's reply, "In fact, we're busy right now setting up a hospital of sort for our wounded men. You see, we lost contact with the Vigilant approximately at the same time you've heard the explosion, so it seems like if those villains you're talking about were trying to isolate the island from the mainland completely, they have succeeded in it. We've got a call from the Garilu team as well and as they failed to teleport their people to the Vigilant, I've invited them onto our ship. We're not much of a medical help except the first medical aid though, so we still have to transport them to the Vigilant as soon as we re-establish the connection. On that part, we have a plan too. Those explosions in fact helped us to locate the emitters which sustain the energy dome around the island. We've registered two of them close to us, one on the shore and one slightly deeper into the jungle. Once we finish accommodating the wounded, we're going to move the riot closer to one of them, and then we'll look for a way to modify it to work as a transmitter so we could send a signal to the Vigilant. I thought we'd go for the one on the shore, but Lu insisted we visit the one in the jungle so we could be closer to your location. Either way, once we get the connection to the Vigilant, we'll send them all the data on that virus and those bad guys. Thanks again for the update, Taffer out."
Next part of Vo's plan was to use the radio to scare off those man-bats, at least temporary. The idea was to use its frequency mixer to convert the sound frequency from the microphone to the ultrasound close to what those bats use and then use that signal to modulate the current on the welding machine. With the machine connected to the window bars and to the reinforcement metal, it will make those bars and walls vibrate at ultrasound frequencies, similarly to what happened to the cage pars he previously tried the welding machine on. The hardest part for Vo was to tune in the mixer to the right frequencies but finally he managed to hear those bat sounds converted to the hearing range.
Once he tuned in, he reversed the circuit to convert sounds back to the ultrasound and connected it to the window bars through the welding machine. After he checked his device was ready, he brought the microphone to the loudspeaker, creating a screeching feedback sound.
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Aug 28, 2016 7:13:48 GMT
"Yes. I want to," admitted Voldoja Uljanov. "But wouldn't taking advantage of this body without Sandy's permission confirm that I am a rapist indeed? Even in nature mating tends to be an act which is based on mutual agreement and I consider myself to be a part of nature, no matter how thick my crust of civilization is. Using Sandy's body without her soul would be both uncivilized and unnatural from my point of view. I love her too much to do that.
Speaking of love - there are people left who actually love nature. I believe that if you are representing judge, jury and prosecutor and maybe also an executioner, you somehow missed one procedure rule - accused ones are usually granted a right to have a defender. You can't measure whole human- or Votankind with the same yardstick. There are polluters and there are people who fight against them.
Some of the nature lovers tend to generalize things as you do at moment and see everything being either black or white, leaving out grey areas. "We - good, they - bad" attitude shouldn't prevail. It makes easier to cope with different things and fight enemies, I am willing to admit that as well, but by my opinion it doesn't justify that kind of approach, because it arouses questions like "Who told that?", "Who could confirm it?", "How we can confirm or overrule it?" and so on. Those kind of people can cause as much as problems as polluters, because extremism, radicalism and lack of knowledge and understanding in any form is destructive towards something or somebody.
But there have always been more reasonable approaches to support nature, like wildlife conservation The goal is to ensure that nature will be around for future generations to enjoy and also to recognize the importance of wildlife and wilderness for humans and other species alike. Even governments were dealing with that matter before the end of the world we know. There were attempts to recycle human produced garbage to reduce pollution and reuse as resources possible without a need to "excavate" and produce more of the "raw material." There were even attempts to affect younger generations and rise their awareness of environment and threats to it. Edutainment, that is educational entertainment, used mass media for that purpose. I do wish that you haven't torn Sandy's EGO implant out, because I could represent you at least one piece of evidence then..."
__________
Sophie stepped closer to Sandy and said: "I thought that we have one member of this "Fantastic Four" who has overdeveloped sense of responsibility and blames himself for everything bad in the world. Now I see that we have two of them. One is right here blaming herself for the death of her men despite her attempts to keep them alive. She also ignores the fact that her men knew what they were doing and they could be dead much earlier if she wasn't in charge. Besides - I believe that there was quite nice amount of surviving soldiers under her command who went home after the war. Including Private Perkins who's life she saved today." Sophie swept her pale forehead with her pale hand. Then she put her pale hand on Sandy's tanned one.
"By the way," continued Sophie after that. "Another guilt ridden is being seduced by someone who snatched Sandy's body right now. I am speaking about Volodja, who tries to resist his natural urges to make love with Sandy's body and at the same time tries to reason with the force of nature who captured it. He is not only trying maintain his dignity but also tries to avoid extinction of your friends. he is still dizzy from concussion and intoxicated because he went to search Sandy's EGO implant into the pond. I am afraid that without your support he will lose the battle for people in this island. And also his fight for his dignity."
Last words were meant to not only to Sandy but also to Mike, Sandy's EGO psyche, because Sophie whispered into his ear: "We need to help those two because I have selfish reasons too. I can't lose you, Mike. I just can't. Love you too much."
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Post by Sandy Bell on Aug 28, 2016 23:53:50 GMT
Viral stood up folding her arms tightly as the root once again entwined Volodja Ulajanov while she looked in disdain at him with beautiful turquoise eyes, saying with a hint of bitterness, "As you wish Manling. We offered you a pleasant death and you would rather the contrary," Viral frowned as the long tuber brought his face within inches of her own lovely pale green face, as she began with a whisper that sounded like a cool breeze which by the end was a hurricane's howl, "But if you wish a trial for the lives of yourself and your friends, I am willing to grant you your last wish. As prosecutor, we offer first this island into evidence where one man's mindless pursuit of science has made this island and it's natural inhabitants perversions of nature. For my second piece of evidence, we offer the Planet Earth since the Pale Wars and the ill fated attempt by the Votans to terra-form her. What sane person could ever think that was a good idea? All it has done was made the planet even less habitable! The wounds done to Mother Nature by that act alone can never be healed! Finally, we offer to you the history of all humankind since their inception on this planet as a parasitic species that slowly inevitable killed it's host with humanity's pollution and waste! So there is our case! Whatever can you say in your and the Votans species' defense, manling?"
In Sandy Bell's EGO deveice, still clutched tightly by Volodja's right hand, Sandy sat naked rocking back and forth in a dark corner until at Sophie's touch, opened her big blue eyes, tears welling up in them as she exclaimed, "That was then and this is now! That was before EGO devices, and hell bugs and living islands and megalomaniacs with delusions of grandeur - before the terra-forming! One could be merely a hero and save the lives of the people you were responsible for, even in times of war, but now... the world needs superheros like Belle, and Atticus and Taffer and even my beloved Volodja - and just equipping somebody with an EGO doesn't make them a superhero! You either have the right stuff... or you don't!"
Sandy closed her eyes again and rocked on her haunches even faster, as she said sadly, "I don't... and good men are dead because of it."
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