| abstract
| - Great Mall - Washington DC This is the most famous part of Washington, D.C., the area most captured in photographs and postcards. The rectangular area is bordered by the towering Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial rotunda and past the row of trees, the Vietnam War Memorial. The center of the Great Mall is a giant rectangular pool of water which reflects the various monuments off its surface. Contents: Rumble Razorclaw US Interior's Department of Geological Study Obvious exits: Fly leads to Sky over Washington, D.C.. East leads to Georgetown. West leads to Smithsonian Institute. Bludgeon has arrived. Blast Off has arrived. Fathom has arrived. Zipline has arrived. Firestar has arrived. Dogfight has arrived. Jazz has arrived. Shiftlock has arrived. Rumble has arrived. July 4th, 1776. In Philadelphia, history is being re-written with the stroke of a pen. July 4th, 2035. Galvatron is choking the life out of Blast Off and throwing him through things. At the conclusion of this 'meeting', the Decepticon Emperor orders a strike team dispatched to Earth to serve as a diversion for Autobot forces, the intention to root the goody two-shoes to the planet that the last decent Prime died on to clear the way for an all out assault on Nebulos. To that end, the mighty Predacon Commander has rallied the troops, and they now descend upon Americon's favorite city. Rumble lands at the site of the Lincoln Memorial, and breaks out a can of spray paint, giving Abe a makeover -- much to the horror of terrified onlookers. "Ain't you morons tired a'lookin' at this dingbat yet?" He gives Abe a spray-on visor. "There, that's an upgrade!" There was no warning of a coming attack. No ultimatums demanded, no super weapons claimed to be ready if there was no compliance. No overly complicated plot that replied on too many knots and loops to never be effective. This may be a theme from the Eighties but tonight we're not having any of that hokey smeg going on. Just malevolent, savage fury. A reminder of what WAR really was. Airspace survellience barely picks up the Decepticon dropship on its descent to the American capital. By the time the local defense net has started the alarms the ship has already come to a stop over the city, opening to divulge Seekers scattering to detain whatever local air defense may be coming, and whatever troopers were going to the ground below. One such form plumets from the ship, landing in middle of the long reflection pool with a tremendous splash. The upset water doesn't even settle entirely before it's sloshed about by his metallic mane as Razorclaw rises out of it and throws his head back in a thunderous roar. "Decepticons ... ATTACK!" Razorclaw lunges forward to land as a massive, mightly lion. Let the hunt begin! With a disdainful shrug, Blast Off transforms into a space shuttle. Space Shuttle remembers that incident with Galvatron all too well, too. For now the Combaticon is determined to just do his job, follow orders, and not stand out in ANY WAY WHATSOEVER... unless it's by blasting something to bits really well. He's also half pondering a "Hello, My Name is Blast Off- NOT Onslaught" name tag... but maybe that's taking it too far. Then again... Right now, however, he is in shuttle mode, which isn't particularly conductive to name tags anyway. He rockets through the air, roaring past monuments and museums and parks.... and they look so small and insignificant. He aims a laser blast here and there, shooting random buildings. There's no real target here... just destruction. From within the shuttle, a distinctly non-seeker form leaps out, immediately plummeting into a freefall. Descending from the heavens like a fallen angel, the Decepticon tucks his arms and legs together, increasing velocity. Friction builds up around him frame, creating a burning corona like a blazing meteor. As he falls, lights begin to shimmer into existence around him, creating a gridwork lattice of energy. The form hits the street with a deafening crash, splitting the earth asunder and rending the ground, forming a huge crater that instantly spreads out in all directions. The street begins to crumble and collapse, a cloud of debris and destruction immediately engulfing the area. And as it begins to fade, as the dust settles, the large looming visage of Bludgeon, his skullmask peering out from within the dying cloud, steps forward. The Decepticons have landed. Let the annihilation begin. Bludgeon transforms into his Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior mode. Falling forward, Jazz's arms and legs pull in and his head recedes as he shifts into the form of the high performance Porsche 935 Turbo. Swiftly, Dogfight shifts into his jet mode Shiftlock crouches and tumbles forward, twisting in the middle as her body compacts rapidly into the form of a Cybertronian Speeder. Among shifting parts and sliding places, Firestar transforms into her transport truck form. In a city like Washington D.C. it's no surprise at all that someone is driving around in a sweet classic sportscar like a vintage mid 80's Porsche 935 Turbo. The car is a legend, and as it moves along the Washington streets it puts shame to the more 'modern' cars around it, the thing glistening as though it's fresh off the show room floor. More than one head has to turn and admire those sleek curves, those smooth lines and that shimmering, glossy paint job. Not to mention the bass thumping out of the car gets more than one scowl, the stereo turned up to what most humans would consider 11. As the Decepticon's begin to arrive though, things begin to move into place. The Autobots had had enough advance warning to pass a message off to the EDC, meaning that evacuation and shelter orders had been issued, drastically diminishing the number of 'civilian' targets in the area. Cars and people are still fleeing from the arriving Decepticon's, but not that Porsche, no, it turns and heads directly towards the commotion! Tearing up the streets and weaving in and out of traffic with uncanny agility, Jazz makes for the Decepticon front lines at top speed. Combat: Porsche Turbo sets his defense level to Guarded. The Global Pose Tracker marks that Porsche Turbo has 'skipped' his action for this round. Fathom transforms into a mecha-dolphin! PING! Fathom transforms into a blue-and-yellow Campagna T-Rex tricar! A sexy sleek teal green car from the future slings wide around a street corner with a *skeeeee!*, the stinging aroma of burning rubber filling the air. Enter, Moonracer! Over a hastily encrypted communications channel, Moonracer is in stream-of-consciousness mode as she assists in everything from the direction of evacuation efforts with local police forces to providing intelligence to the Pentagon to get U.S. Airforce birds in the air as quickly as possible. Just in front of her, a bulky body crashes into the street, thundering the length of pavement before her with a tremor on par with a 4 on the Richter Scale. Seeing opportunity before misfortune, the Autobot Interdiction Specialist plunges into the dust cloud! A Hi-Tech Cybertronian Sportscar shifts to reveal , Autobot Interdiction Specialist! Combat: Moonracer slips into the shadows and out of sight... Combat: Automatically setting your defense level to 'Hidden' Buzzsaw has arrived. Shiftlock isn't far behind Jazz. The girl can move when she wants to, and right now, she wants to. To say that her form doesn't really fit in on earth is an understatement; she doesn't look like anything a Terran company would have come up with, even in this future date. She adjusts her spoilers to increase downforce, weaving in and out of traffic. She hasn't been on Earth many times but it looks like she's going to have to get used to it. Adjusting to all the non-metal scenery is probably the biggest hangup. Getting thrown by Galvatron? Well, Blast Off's day is about to get a lot worse! Because up in the sky is the distinctive trails of fire that can only come from one Autobot, Dogfight! The Grumman blasts forward, leaving the ground forces to worry about things like 'collateral damage' and 'rescusing civilians', while he just looks for any aerial targets... Combat: Cybertronian Speeder sets her defense level to Guarded. The Global Pose Tracker marks that Cybertronian Speeder has 'skipped' her action for this round. The Global Pose Tracker marks that Grumman X-29 has 'skipped' his action for this round. Campagna T-Rex zooms after Shiftlock, barely keeping up. "Whoa!" he can't stop himself from exclaiming when Bludgeon nearly sets the sky on fire with his dramatic entrance. He tries to get a visual on the 'cons gathered, HUD pulling up profiles on each scan. The Global Pose Tracker marks that Campagna T-Rex has 'skipped' his action for this round. Cybertronian Transport s trailing along behind Shiftlock and Fathom.. WAY behind as she isnt exactly built to be a rocket car.. but she scans the situation quick enough and slows down a bit more to assess the situation more closely. Combat: Cybertronian Transport sets her defense level to Guarded. It's not easy for a robotic cat to go around undetected. That sort of thing sort of stands out. Which is why there isn't a robotic cat sitting and surveying things. Instead, there's a yellow and black cassette tape, just sitting out of the way somewhere. A rather large yellow and black cassette tape, but who pays attention to silly things like size? That is, until things begin to go down. Just like intel said they might. In an instant, Zipline unfolds from her cassette mode, scaring off some guy in an afro who was wandering past her spot. Zipline stretches, getting the kinks out of her hydrolics and systems. "Ugh, I hate sitting like that," She complains. Then she takes off in a blur, all four paws hitting the sidewalk in rapid succession as she speeds towards the scene. Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Guarded. The Global Pose Tracker marks that Zipline has 'skipped' her action for this round. "Check it, me versus the stone guy," Rumble tells the horrified people at the Lincoln Memorial. He then turns back to the statue of Lincoln. "You first. Hurry up! I ain't got all day." He waits for two seconds, then punches Abe's head clean off. The head breaks off at the collar, then rolls down the steps as onlookers scream. "Awwwwwww yeah!! That's whatcha call TOTAL OWNAGE, right there!!" You know what was NOT seen when everyone did a para-jump-o-doom from a Decepticon dropship? That little speck that was trailing it and recording everything taking place on the ground below. Yep...that would be one little Buzzsaw, the mechanized Condor of Doom and Destruction. Keeping a low profile for numerous reasons, he ventured forth courtesy a different avenue of approach simply to keep from getting blasted by anti-aircraft as soon as everyone got triggerhappy and became a total pain in the aft for small-framed fliers like him. Keeping his own 'I'm the sneakiest bird in the world' systems on full, he peruses the Autobot response to the alarms and alerts from his vantage point above, carefully setting up tracking and telemetry feeds for the others on the field to draw situational awareness from. << Note, large response anticipated, and they did not disappoint. Please specify requests for targeting assistance and I shall comply. If you do not, then I shall simply rip into them as I see fit and you are left to your own devices. >> He watches Rumble's defacing of Honest Abe... << Perhaps we should impale someone on the Washington Monument for the sake of demoralizing our adversaries. >> The Global Pose Tracker marks that Buzzsaw has 'skipped' his action for this round. There's always a few people too stubborn to leave no matter how many times you warn them, until they see danger for themselves. These are the people now fleeing from the area. As he wades down the pool Razorclaw fires off a few rounds from his cannons, the plumes of acidic smoke the shells erupt in sure to help ensure the fleeing of pathetic organic lifeforms. He's making almost casual progress towards the obelisk of white that rises up at the opposite end. Until the sound of engines roaring at high speed -towards- the park instead of away reachs his enhanced ears. The large lion turns his head that direction, eyes narrowing a bit. Here come the Autobots roaring to the rescue like the heroes they pretend to be. Perfect. Ears swivel forward, trying to home in on the sounds and seperate just how many there are. Then relay that information back to the other Decepticons. Moonracer slips away in her robot mode beforehand though, and that little wannabe cat? Not worth his time. He focuses on the main group of inbound defenders, the largest threats to be coming. "The Autobot arrival is at hand... LEAVE NONE OF THEM STANDING!" Combat: Battle Lion sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Battle Lion strikes Porsche Turbo with his Here come the Autobots... DECEPTICONS DESTROY! Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Porsche Turbo 's Agility! (Crippled) Combat: Battle Lion strikes Cybertronian Transport with his Here come the Autobots... DECEPTICONS DESTROY! Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Cybertronian Transport 's Agility! (Crippled) Combat: Battle Lion strikes Cybertronian Speeder with his Here come the Autobots... DECEPTICONS DESTROY! Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Cybertronian Speeder 's Agility! (Crippled) Combat: Battle Lion strikes Campagna T-Rex with his Here come the Autobots... DECEPTICONS DESTROY! Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Campagna T-Rex 's Agility! (Crippled) Combat: Battle Lion strikes Grumman X-29 with his Here come the Autobots... DECEPTICONS DESTROY! Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Grumman X-29 's Agility! (Crippled) Bludgeon stalks forward, his every footfall thundering and shaking the ground, his heavy form distinctly lacking any sort of stealth whatsoever. On the contrary, he wants to be seen. He wants to be witnessed. Let all the terrans see him and shake in terror. Let them look upon the destroyer in their city as their works of creation are shattered into ruination. Without turning to look, Bludgeon extends his right hand out to his side, letting his open hand hover in front of a building's facade. For a moment, he merely stands like that, seemingly doing nothing. Yet in truth, he's centering himself. Harnessing the art of Circuit-Su within him, preparing to channel the very power contained within his spark. Without warning, he widens his stance, sliding his legs apart, and *SLAMS* his palm against the building's face. Then nothing but the deafening echo. Echo.. echo.. The cracks appear on the building's surface, spreading outward from Bludgeon's hand. Fractures. Splinters. The cracks race outward and upward, cascading like a kind of domino, gaining speed and spreading throughout the entire structure. The entire face of the building, several stories tall, begins to collapse, crumbling and sliding away, spilling debris and rubble into the street. Windows shatter, bricks topple, and and several floors begin to break beneath their own weight. Stepping out of the pile of debris, leaving an almost skeletal building in his wake, Bludgeon begins to move onward to the next. "Let the mightiest of them come to me.." The samurai whispers to himself, his voice reverberating from deep within the shell, within the mask of death. "Let them hear the sounds of my coming apocalypse, the harbinger of this world's end. Let my chaos summon the strongest among them, so I may carve their very sparks from their broken, shattered shells, feast, and grow stronger." His voice travels throughout the streets, a whisper on the wind. Space Shuttle continues along, destroying random targets. Buildings, trees, he doesn't care. He's feeling a bit bored, since this isn't exactly his idea of a good time... but orders are orders. Nor does he have any concern for the revolting organics below. But he's hoping something more worthy of his time will show up soon. And- ahhh, here we go. There's a blip... an Autobot signal. NOW we are talking! NOW he has a target worthy of his time. He locks in those targeting systems and.... Oh. Pffft, it's just /Dogfight/. The Combaticon would roll his optics if he was in root mode. Of course, this IS the Autobot who has sliced off his wing and sent him packing on more than one occasion... but he just can't bring himself to admit the Grumman is really a threat. Razorclaw makes his announcement, and the shuttle replies, <> As he moves in to fire some lasers at the Autobot flier as his scanners start sweeping the area below to see who else is arriving. Combat: Space Shuttle sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Space Shuttle strikes Grumman X-29 with his Hello my name is YOUR DOOM (Laser) attack! [Pulled -1] Bludgeon has already received the maximum number of +noms for this week. Go nominate someone else whose roleplaying you have enjoyed! So much for the element of surprise! The convoy of Autobot cars is sort of hard to miss after all. Jazz's bass thumping starts to grow louder and louder, <> he warns out as he swerves and comes to a stop, facing in the direction of the Decepticon's. As he does, his front grill starts to flash and pulse, the full spectrum beacon sending out a blinding wave of every wavelength of light at the Decepticon line, trying to cut down on the danger they pose to his response team and the city both. Even in broad daylight, that beacon is shockingly bright, enough to leave confusing afterimages on the optics of those who don't avoid it hopefully. Combat: Porsche Turbo misses Space Shuttle with his ain't no surprise there's a flasher in Washington D.C. Area attack! Combat: Porsche Turbo strikes Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior with his ain't no surprise there's a flasher in Washington D.C. Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior 's Accuracy! (Blinded) Combat: Porsche Turbo strikes Battle Lion with his ain't no surprise there's a flasher in Washington D.C. Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Battle Lion 's Accuracy! (Blinded) Combat: Porsche Turbo strikes Rumble with his ain't no surprise there's a flasher in Washington D.C. Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Rumble's Accuracy! (Blinded) "A7," Fathom murmurs to himself. Or was it A8. Slag. Eventually he comes to a sharp stop along the length pool, transforms and draws his pistol. Shuttle's too quick, the lion has probably drawn /all/ aggro, and surely the little cheetah will take care of the other tapes. He levels a shot on Bludgeon from a comfortable distance away. That fragger is scary. When Jazz unleashes his blinding spectrum, Fathom shields his optics and tries to duck away behind a building. Combat: Campagna T-Rex sets his defense level to Aggressive. Fathom shifts back into his root mode. Combat: Fathom strikes Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior with his Laser attack! Cybertronian Transport screeches to a halt to one side, the missile racks hidden in the compartments towrds the back of her truckbed springing up and the launchers deploying with a hiss of steam. Her.. tone shifts from a guarded one to a more aggressive one as she scans the hights.. and finds a big fat target.. and tracks in on the ugly shuttle, and when she gets a confirmed lock.. or as good a lock as she can manage against a annoying bugger like Blast Off, flames leap from the back of them and a flight of missiles scream off the rack towards him. Combat: Cybertronian Transport misses Space Shuttle with her Missile Launcher attack! Combat: Grumman X-29 sets his defense level to Fearless. Grumman X-29 is hit by Blast Off's shot, and there's a vented growl from the Triggerbot. He attempts to corkscrew, getting above Blast Off, before his wings flip over, attempting to shoot the Combaticon, or at least force him closer to the ground. Combat: Grumman X-29 strikes Space Shuttle with his Right back at you! (Laser) attack! [Pulled -1] Moonracer disappears into the destruction wrought by Bludgeon, using her propensity for stealth tactics to remain out of sight. Moonracer flexes skills that have been honed through eons of guerrilla warfare on Cybertron against Shockwave himself. In the cover of the debris blanket the billows over her and through the city streets, Moonracer unshoulders her pulse rifle and assembles it quietly, drawing a series of attachments from subspace thereafter and working her dextrous fingertips about the weapon to fasten them as well. "Alright, buddy. Time for you to sleep..." The green femme watches in horror then as the Pretender fells a building with one hand - a wicked energy dispensed into the structure to cause it to fall underneath it's own weight. Startled at this display of raw power, Moonracer continues on after Bludgeon, quickly realizing that she is going to need every bit of an edge to take him down. Moonracer surveys her charge with narrowed optics, studying the Pretender through advanced sensors to break him down in her HUD, keeping her lithe form tucked away between ruined colonades and curtains of smoke to retain the element of surprise for as long as she can. Combat: Moonracer takes extra time to aim her next attack. Shiftlock decides to be completely focused on what's going on around her. No flashy comments, no big scenes, no nothing - she's just another car among all the other cars, except she's still on her wheels. She shoots forward an energy grapple, grabbing hold of a lamp post; oversteering she swings wide until she's pulled of her wheels and partially into the air. A rack of missile launchers pops up from behind her her spoiler, taking aim at the Decepticons she's presently in sight of. The missiles shoot off in trails of smoke, targetting whatever is closest. Which, hopefully, will be the Decepticons.... Combat: Cybertronian Speeder sets her defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Cybertronian Speeder misses Space Shuttle with her Scatterpack Micro Missiles Area attack! Combat: Cybertronian Speeder 's Scatterpack Micro Missiles attack on Battle Lion goes wild! Combat: Cybertronian Speeder strikes Grumman X-29 with her Scatterpack Micro Missiles Area attack! Combat: Cybertronian Speeder 's Scatterpack Micro Missiles attack on Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior goes wild! Combat: Cybertronian Speeder strikes Zipline with her Scatterpack Micro Missiles Area attack! Combat: Cybertronian Speeder 's Scatterpack Micro Missiles attack on Rumble goes wild! Combat: Cybertronian Speeder strikes herself with her Scatterpack Micro Missiles Area attack! At least by being small, Zipline doesn't have to worry about keeping to the roads. She catches up to the main pack of wheeled autobots for about two paces, before breaking off again, cannon materializing upon her back at the ready. She splits away from the road and down one of the many walkways instead, swerving AWAY from that giant orange cat threatening the convoy. Not because that's pretty well frightening, nope. She just wants a better look around the perimeter. That's totally it. Zip's ears flick up at the sound of a familiar voice up ahead and large rolling down the walkway. It's a giant... head? It rolls to a stop in front of her and Zipline jumps up right on top of it. "Oh, hey, it's you," Zipline says, a fangy grin forming on her muzzle at the sight of Rumble further up the path. Her cannon levels down at Rumble up ahead, the cannon already charging. It looks similar to the one that he stole, but not. It's sleeker, more streamlined. And when Zip stops at the top of the head, the barrel slides out into an extended position. "Never thanked you for, you know, ripping off my gun," She says, sarcastically, "Sooo... Thanks!" She leaps off of the head, and *WHUD* The cannon discharges, sending a spinning, armor shreading slug right at Rumble. Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Neutral. Combat: Zipline misses Rumble with her Breaker Railcannon attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Rumble sets his defense level to Aggressive. As Zipline scouts him out, Rumble quickly evades that crazy cannon of hers by ducking behind the decapitated Lincoln Memorial. He then picks up Abe Lincoln's head and flings it toward Zipline. "Looks like I did you a favor! Maybe I oughta take this one, too, the way you shoot! Ya crazy cat!" Combat: Rumble misses Zipline with his Abe Lincoln Medicine Ball (Punch) attack! Buzzsaw gets no requests. None at all. Well, looks like he's on his own... That's fine by him. He folds his wings, watching as Zipline takes potshots at Rumble and frowns. Well, Rumble can certainly take care of himself...but he'll be more than certain to keep an eye on that one... But it's not the cat that catches the bird's eye. No...it's the one by the pools that looks out of place. One he's not yet had a chance to really instil the fear of Buzzsaw into... He folds his wings, making careful alterations to his course as speed is picked up. It's like an arrow streaking towards prey, and sometimes the prey has a chance to reflexively dodge. Sometimes... But this is Buzzsaw, and he's not one to miss very often, and also perfectly content to let the attack itself announce his presence. Combat: Buzzsaw appears from the shadows... Combat: Sneak Attack!! Combat: Buzzsaw strikes Fathom with his Not Dolphin Safe. attack! So many Autobots, rushing to the aid of the miserable fleshlings. Yes, choosing to just go for such a high priority target from the start was already paying off.... that their response was so quick does nag a bit at the back of his mind, but that is not a matter to be concerned with considering they -wanted- the Autobots to come. Those same heightened senses that give his side an edge on the incoming defenders turns out to be a double-edged blade when Jazz brings his fancy laser lights to bear. The Predacon leers back from the blinding brightness a bit as he growls through clenched teeth, optics narrowing in a futile attempt to shield out some of the dazzling array. "Fools, I don't need to -see- you to -destroy- you." The other Autobots are scattering to engage other Decepticons, leaving only a few near that source of aggrivating opitcal disturbance. He can't see them, but he can HEAR that stupid bass, not to mention the sounds of multiple rockets going off... even as several manage to somehow not hit him and fly off at random. It's still not enough to pick out specific forms while his vision is blurry, so he just uses his cannons to mortar fire in their general direction and let the explosive gaseous nature of the concussion shells to the rest of the work. Combat: Battle Lion misses Porsche Turbo with his Area dispersal attacks help too Area attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Battle Lion misses Cybertronian Transport with his Area dispersal attacks help too Area attack! [Pulled -2] The dark samurai takes note as the Autobots begin to arrive. The battle is quickly begun as fire is released from both sides, the sounds of war filling the air around him, along with the flood of blinding lights. A stray shot connects against his heavy armor, but he pays it no mind. They're all just background noise to the symphony of destruction, and none are worthy of his time. Bludgeon spots Shiftlock's missile and promptly lifts up his foot and *SLAMS* his foot down, splitting the street beneath his heavily armored boot. Debris from the ruined building bounce off the ground from the force of the blow, and Bludgeon immediately moves his hands into a blur. Time almost seems to slow down, the debris seemingly hovering in the air. He weaves and winds his hands, moving in graceful motions as though he were molding a piece of clay in front of him, shaping it into a sphere. His movements mimic water one moment, air the next, and the rubble around him begins to whirl and spin, caught up in the circular weaving of his hands. Shiftlock's missile streaks towards the samurai but is instantly caught up in his maelstrom of movements and redirected, spiralling off towards some hapless Autobot. As though drawn into a vortex, the debris cyclones around him, gathering and focusing into a condensed ball in front of him as he reaches out and closes his right hand around it, like palming a giant basketball. He pauses, scanning the battlefield. Looking for the strongest opponent he can find. There's no point in wasting in power on the weak, he has Bludgeon seeks only the strongest. Unfortunately, he fails to see anyone that truly whets his appetite. He tosses the giant sphere of debris into the air then leaps, spinning in a vicious circle and lashing out with a thunderous roundhouse kick. His armored boot connects with the sphere and sends it roaring through the citystreets towards Jazz. Combat: Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior strikes Porsche Turbo with his Debris Sphere (Disruptor) attack! Space Shuttle catches sight of those blinding pulses of light from Jazz- but his quick reflexes come to his aid as they so often do and the shuttle quickly rolls to the side. The other Decepticons may get blinded, but the agile Combaticon is confident in his ability to dodge most foes. And look, here comes another contender! He adjusts wing elvons and dips down in the air slightly to avoid Firestar's shot. <> Which would be all fine and good, except for one thing... the one Autobot that Blast Off has been busy belittling in his own mind is the one who pulls off an unexpected manuever now. The shuttle doesn't have time to react as the Grumman strikes a blow, knocking him downward. <> He's just circling around, trying to catch some air again and piece together an attack when another missile comes rocketing his way. Wing elevons shift again and the spacecraft rolls, evading it in time. His scanners finish sweeping that area and... there's an inward bristle. Shiftlock. He'd spend more time deliberating just what he wants to do about that, but... right now there's an Autobot who might be more of a threat than he wants to admit. The small hatch under his nosecone opens and he banks to the right, sending a short burst of X-ray laserfire up in the air and Dogfight's way- and right after the Autobot is hit with friendly fire. <> Combat: Space Shuttle strikes Grumman X-29 with his I O U attack! [Pulled -6] Fathom has been firing potshots here and there, and is the middle of replacing a charge on his gun when suddenly HORRIBLE PAIN OUT OF NOWHERE. The force with which Buzzsaw dives into him using the beak of death knocks him onto his front, sending the charge cartridge skittering into the water. "Ow! OW!" he winces, rubbing the back of his damaged neck. "You little piece a' scrap!" With a brief shimmer of subspace, out come his blades to try and slice into a wing. Combat: Fathom sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Fathom strikes Buzzsaw with his Twin Katar Slash attack! Combat: Critical Hit! Combat: Secondary Damage! The Porsche swerves as the mortar fire comes in his direction, "Awww..who's a confused kittyyyy!" he calls out mockingly as he gets out of the way of the blast only to end up directly in the line of fire for Bludgeon's ball of hurt, the debris slamming into the Porsche and sending Jazz bouncing across the pavement with a huge dent in one side that is throwing sparks like something important may have been hit. He doesn't slow down though, transforming into Robot form and pulling his rifle out as he runs across the turf, diving behind an overturned hauler truck for some cover. "Who invited Skeletor ta the party!?" he calls out as he raises up above the top of the truck and snaps off a shot at Bludgeon. The rear of the Porsche 935 Turbo splits apart as it lifts up from the ground, standing up into the form of Jazz! Combat: Jazz sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Jazz strikes Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior with his definitely not going to get closer to that one attack! [Pulled -3] Cybertronian Transport 's tires screech as she tries to be the Little Truck That Could.. haul aft.. as Razorclaw's attack rains around her, chewing up the terrain and buildings. She manages to get behind some cover to avoid most of the damage by transforming and darting behind a build... after she gets her thoughts lined up properly again, she charges around the building and in the general direction of the shuttle-punk, her pistol springing to her hand from a hip compartmenet and tracking in on Blast Off as she sets herself in the open in the middle fo the street. Combat: Cybertronian Transport sets her defense level to Fearless. Among shifting parts and sliding places, Firestar transforms into her robotic form. Combat: Firestar strikes Space Shuttle with her Pinpoint Plasma attack! Combat: Secondary Damage! "Yeah right," Zipline chimes, "Like you'd risk it without your pal Swindle to tranq me." She grits her fangs briefly as the shot goes wild, but no matter. At least this time. Zipline's optics follow the path of the giant head being thrown at her again, and just as it comes down for her, she dives to the side, hitting the lawn at a roll. A roll that takes her right in the path of some of some wayward micromissiles. Zipline is caught up in the explosion, and sent tumbling further down the grass. Her explosive resistant armor takes the brunt of it, singing instead of cracking. She hits the ground again, but does a quick roll to get up back on all fours. "Come on, come and get it if you dare!" Zipline taunts him, then runs straight at him. And then straight past him, aiming to graze him. With her claws. She then just keeps running straight off, and towards the open space where the main melee is taking place. <> Zipline radios to Fathom, catching sight of him going up against Buzzsaw, <> Moonracer slows to a dumbfounded stop as she witnesses Bludgeon manipulate the very ground they walk upon and turn it into a weapon of war. She's seen a lot of things in her time - Shockwave is known for both his tactical brilliance and his unnerving scientific experiments - but she's not seen anything quite like that before. It is both ugly and beautiful, all at once. Moonracer can't help but admire the efficiency of it, at least for the most briefest of moments. Shaking her head to clear away that last processed databit, Moonracer grimaces as she resolves herself for the undertaking at hand. The green femme shoulders her rifle, flicking the safety clear and drawing her scope sights squarely on the Pretender. She dials in her telemetry, wordlessly squeezing the trigger. Combat: Moonracer appears from the shadows... Combat: Zipline strikes Rumble with her Catch the kitty if you can! (Punch) attack! Combat: Sneak Attack!! Combat: Moonracer strikes Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior with her Pulse Laser attack! Combat: Removing targeting data for Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior . Combat: Your defense level has been reset to Neutral. Grumman X-29 blasts past Blast Off as his shots hit home, but then a wild missile comes and hits the Triggerbot, causing a vented grunt from him. Dogfight makes a mental note to deal with that accuracy training, before turning, getting away from Blast Off as Firestar's attack heads towards the Combaticon. Quickly looking for a new target, Dogfight spots the Predacon commander... Well, he'll do. He blasts by, attempting to engulph Razorclaw in fire. Combat: Grumman X-29 sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Grumman X-29 strikes Battle Lion with his Heating things up! attack! [Pulled -1] Buzzsaw makes the cut! How spectacular... But Fathom's quick to reciprocate in kind, sending the condor flying as a healthy chunk of armor is severed courtesy those blades... He makes a few precise motions with his wings to get out of range and correct his flight path to simply avoid dropping from the sky and crashing. Back on his wings, he kicks his engine throttles wide open to start building some speed, curving around to resettle his gaze on his foe. "That was a mistake, Autobot. Had you any sense, you would be fleeing the battle. But, as you've not, allow me to play with a delicate new canvas." He snaps into a sharp turn, coming in to level with Fathom's head and bringing those blades in his wing to bear once more...though, at the last moment, alters his trajectory for the legs, going to hamstring the fish. "Let the games begin..." Combat: Buzzsaw sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Buzzsaw strikes Fathom with his Fishes out of water can't swim! attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Fathom's Agility! (Crippled) Bludgeon is struck in the shoulder from Jazz's blast, smoke rising slowly from the wound. Unfortunately for Jazz, it failed to penetrate the o-yoroi's plating. Bludgeon stares directly at the Autobot when his skullmask cracks! and splits halfway down, a horizontal break where the mouth should be. The skullmask opens, the jagged crack forming a maw of broken, razor-like teeth from one side of the mask to the other, and the samurai emits a ROAR of challenge! Bludgeon slams his foot down again, sliding his legs further apart and shifting his weight, leaning forward as his hand hovers over the handle of his sheathed blade, gathering strength to attack. Instead, he gets struck from behind by the treacherous femme. Bludgeon is shoved forward as the plasma blast collides into him, forcing him to rethink his tactics now that he's caught in a pincer formation. In one smooth lightning fast movement, the samurai spins and draws his blade, slashing the air in front of him, then snapping the blade back into its scabbard in the next motion. Directly in front of him, the air warps and contorts, a wave of force exploding forward from the slash, collapsing the air and creating a shockwave. The blast roars down the street, ripping up the road in its wake as it hurtles towards Moonracer. Combat: Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior strikes Moonracer with his Air Splitting Blade (Disruptor) attack! Combat: You took 4 damage. Rumble rocks a bit as Zipline grazes him. "You wanna deal with THIS??" he boasts, pulling a laser-rifle off his back and jabbing it in Zipline's direction as he flies off the monument with his foot-jets, "Lucky for you, I AIM to please!" Combat: Rumble misses Zipline with his attack comes with horrible pun (Laser) attack! At least Bludgeom manages to take advantage of the Autobots evading the acidic rounds he's firing, and drawing a good deal of their attention in return. As ... bizarre as Thunderwing's work on the Pretenders is, one cannot deny their effectiveness on the battlefield when utilized by such a warrior's skills. Blast Off is drawing the other femme's ire. Buzzsaw and Rumble are reminding the small feline and the dagger wielding scientist why Soundwave's charges are not to be taken lightly. Even in his still sensory addled state it would be difficult to miss the sound of jet engines roaring towards him. Dogfight swoops in low, leaving gouts of flame spewing from said engines to bath the Predacon in fire and cause some of the water of the pool to flashpoint evaporate into steam around him. But coming in close and low may of not been the best tactical decision on the Triggerbot's part, as even as he's set on fire Razorclaw was ready for the jet, and leaps through the fire to take a swipe of the aircraft while it's still close by. Combat: Battle Lion sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Battle Lion strikes Grumman X-29 with his Getting too close may be hazardous to your health (Kick) attack! Space Shuttle strikes at Dogfight, but while his attention lies elsewhere Firestar is able to get in another shot- and this time she doesn't miss. <> The shot rattles the shuttle in more ways than one, as it nearly strikes a vital fuel line in his underside near his thrusters. Slag it all... the damage isn't critical, but with this many attackers coming at him all at once he needs to be on the careful side. He tries to pull away some, and fortunately Dogfight rockets by to take on Razorclaw instead. This leaves Blast Off a little time to regain composure and swing around for another go... this time at that annoying femme who seems so determined to be a pest. <> Lasers lock onto the femme and shots descend down towards the femme. <> Combat: Space Shuttle strikes Firestar with his You have my attention now (Laser) attack! [Pulled -1] <> Fathom tries to keep a bead on the bird but he's a fast little tape, and only finds him again when he's slashing the back of his legs. Fathom drops to one knee, cursing loudly as energon pools in the grass. "I guess I don't have any sense then," he growls, waiting for another pass at the condor. Zipline offers to switch dance partners, and he's all too glad to go after Rumble, tiny war god. Though his movement is particularly hampered thanks to robo-hamstrings being severed. Jerk bird. "You're done with cheetah gal, dig!" Fathom brings one of his katars down on Rumble in an attempt to pierce through armor and hopefully cut a core line. Or at least pin him to the ground. Combat: Fathom strikes Rumble with his Core Line Puncture attack! Firestar charges forwrd again, Blast Off's attack slagging some of the armor from her upper chestplate and shoulderher strides leaving little impact craters on the road.. cause.. come on, I don't see the US Govermant paying for roads that Tranformers can run on. As she gets closer to where Blast Off hangs in the air, she slide to a stop.. or tries to, as she still feels the after effcts of Razorclaw's belch attack. She stumbles a few more feet forward and falls down, though she rolls over so she's facing upwards, her pistol tracking the shuttle as best as she can... though this time it retains only a basic charge as it fires another shot at him. Combat: Firestar misses Space Shuttle with her Laser Prayer (Laser) attack! [Pulled -1] "Whoa, sparky!" Zipline's ears flick back, hearing the discharge of energy. She swerves to the side, and the laser fire goes flying past her to leave a hole in the grass instead. "You won't be pleasing anyone with an aim like that!" She grins as she swerves around the other way, and begins running down the length of the reflection pool. Zipline beams to Fathom, never slowing in her pace. She barely even waits for the response, before she begins to bead in on Buzzsaw. Claws flick out of the tips of her digits, ripping up more cement under her. The energy-lines coming from the center of her frame down to her legs begin to glow as energy is redistributed from her kinetic generator down to those claws, filling them with disrupting energy. "Tag in!" She says, leaping right past Fathom. The trajectory of her leap aims to take her up to try and sink those claws right into Buzzsaw. "Hi, long time no see!" Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Fearless. Combat: Zipline strikes Buzzsaw with her Hyperstatic Claws attack! "Oh man..Skeletor needs ta see a dentist!" Jazz quips as Bludgeon grins at him, those fangs of his more than a little unnerving. Jazz had been preparing to act to get out of the way of whatever the Decepticon had planned, before Moonracer manages to score a shot in, dividing Bludgeon's attention. "Attagirl!" he approves as he charges out of his cover and towards Bludgeon. His rifle snaps off two quick shots, trying to keep the Decepticon distracted and off balance, but the real attack comes when Jazz closes to about two hundred feet, his flamethrower folding up on his shoulder and sending a gout of fire at Bludgeon's back while he's (hopefully) distracted, "Let's see how you'd look as Ghostrider fer Halloween!" Combat: Jazz sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Jazz strikes Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior with his Ghostrider..because of the flaming skull..get it? Flamethrower attack! [Pulled -1] Moonracer rocks with recoil as the rifle shouldered in her grasp erupts and sends a wicked volley downrange, a moment later exploding with a crack as it successfully bores into the Pretender. The impact echoes out across the ruined National Mall, and Moonracer stands afterward, lifting her chin to regard Bludgeon with a cool, defiant air. Speaking of air, Moonracer notices a growing pressure change taking place just in front of Bludgeon, and racing toward her! Moonracer reflexively lifts both arms to shield herself from the blow, but the force of the shockwave is enough to throw her back into the facade of a ruined building. The femme crashes onto the ground, and while that last adventure certainly hurt, she doesn't have the luxury of taking the time to lick her wounds. Moonracer rolls to one side and shifts forms, using the squat weight of her vehicular mode to plow through the effects of the air storm leading to Bludgeon. The hi-tech sportscar's panels rattle and shake under the stress of the pressure differential, but in a matters of seconds Moonracer is baring down on the Pretender! Beep beep mother&#$@#*! Combat: Hi-Tech Cybertronian Sportscar sets her defense level to Guarded. Combat: Hi-Tech Cybertronian Sportscar strikes Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior with her From one grill to another! (Ram) attack! Combat: You took 3 damage from that attack. Dogfight flips and stands up into his robot mode Dogfight is hit home by Razorclaw's attack, sending the Triggerbot into a spin. He transforms, slamming into the ground, before rushing right back at the lion, attempting to slam one of his bladed shoulders right into the Predacon's face! Combat: Dogfight sets his defense level to Neutral. Combat: Dogfight strikes Battle Lion with his This'll improve your image! (Smash) attack! Buzzsaw watches his fish flop away and is beset upon by a feline... This is almost turning into a vicious triangle of predator-prey relationships... and Buzzsaw is not amused. But, Zipline did strike out at his brother, so he's absolutely going to make her pay. "Is that the best you can do, cat?" He banks to avoid getting any follow-on slashes and whips around to deliver proper payback for her interruption on his carving up of Fathom. "Let me show you what it means to carve someone up." He whips around to streak towards Zipline, a momentary glance given to keep Fathom on the radar. But...the cat successfully drew some agro and will be reminded of such. Combat: Buzzsaw sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Buzzsaw strikes Zipline with his Buzzsaw has 100 ways to skin a cat... attack! Combat: Buzzsaw uses up a charge on his Depleted Uranium Wing-Blades booster pack! Bludgeon's blade flashes as he deflects two of the shots fired from Jazz, splitting the blasts in mid-air and showering the area with sparks. As the flames wash over him, he raises his arms in an X-formation, trying to shield himself as best he can from the inferno. No sooner do the flames end then Moonracer collides full-force into him, sending him barrelling forward. The samurai skids to a stop, regarding both his enemies carefully. Things are quickly getting more heated. He's going to have to start getting creative. Still holding his sword out, he grabs the blade with his free hand and jerks it, slicing through his armor, then drags his hand down the length of the weapon, coating it with his mechfluid. He turns towards a nearby fire, still burning from Jazz's flamethrower and the blade instantly alits, as though stealing the very power of the Autobot's attack. Shifting straight into a battle stance, Bludgeon holds the flaming sword in both hands as he focuses himself for the coming attack. He slashes upwards, jumping as he does so, like a kind of uppercut, then spins at the top of his jump and slashes back downwards, cutting towards the earth. Each slash of his monomolecular blade creates an implosion from the sheer force and speed of the swing, creating a vacuum that cascades in both directions, dragging the fire from his blade in each. The flames roll outwards from his slashes, gathering in intensity and magnifying, each one a deafening roar, screaming towards the hapless Autobots. Combat: Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior strikes Jazz with his Dual Flaming Slash Area attack! Combat: Secondary Damage! Combat: Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior strikes Hi-Tech Cybertronian Sportscar with his Dual Flaming Slash Area attack! Combat: You took 15 damage. Combat: Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior 's attack has damaged your Agility! Battle Lion lands on the ground next to the pool after his strike, flames still licking about his form despite having been in the water up until now. Though it looks like the Predacon doesn't really seem concerned with the fact that he's still on fire as he watchs the Triggerbot hit the ground. Maneuver to get him out of the air: success. Dogfight may be short in stature, but he certainly isn't lacking in the department of bravado, getting up from the crash and charging back at Razorclaw like a linebacker. The compact frame smashes into him and the mecha lion skids backwards a bit from the blow, tearing ruts in the ground with his claws. He gives his head a shake, then narrows his optics at the Triggerbot once more. "I wonder if you truly are worth all the ranting Blast Off does about you..." Then the beast bursts into motion -- the stories of Razorclaw's infamous surge from passive combat to furious unleash are not exaggerated in the least. As he moves towards the smaller Autobot in one swift motion he transforms, drawing his sword as he does so. An audible ring can be heard from the vibrating blade as it's swung towards the Triggerbot. Though not at his full capacity. He's not certain Dogfight is -worth- that much effort yet.... Razorclaw rises up into his formidable robot mode. Rumble gets pinned to the ground. He has a 'sweet spot' where it's easier to stab him straight through, and Fathom's managed to find it. Which...makes him cry and go home, right? Well, no. Now he's got a hole clean through him, with some of his energon stolen, and he's thoroughly pissed off. "THAT'S IT. GLOVES COMIN' OFF...whatever that is! Prepare to get up!!" He glares angrily at Fathom, then pulls his laser rifles off his back and begins shooting until both the barrels glow white-hot. Combat: Rumble strikes Fathom with his Dual Laser Rifles attack! Combat: Razorclaw strikes Dogfight with his Sonic Broadsword attack! [Pulled -1] Space Shuttle is paying attention to Firestar now, so he sees her aim and dips down suddenly so that he avoids the shot she sends his way. But she remains silent. <> The shuttle comes in for a strafing run at the femme as he notes Razorclaw and Dogfight's skirmish. He smirks inwardly as Dogfight gets sent groundward. <> He radios to the Predacon- who then gets smashed by the Triggerbot. Well... he did say IF. Ah- but the cat strikes back. <<....Or whatever is left.>> Pause. <<....As long as it's not too... grotesque.>> Combat: Space Shuttle strikes Firestar with his You're the silent type eh? attack! [Pulled -6] Attempting to dive out of the way, Jazz isn't fast enough, and the return of his flames washes over his armor, sizzling his paintjob and melting armor plates. "Man oh man, someone needs ta write this mech a ticket, he keeps breakin' th' laws o' physics!" he calls out as he's rolling away, putting the flames out. He simply continues rolling, transforming in the process and shifting into his Porsche form as he peels out to get some distance. His grill lights up again, only this time his audio systems kick in, a warning to go sensors-off crackling over the Autobot frequency as the Porsche slams itself into a spin, spinning out as the air seems to vibrate with the force of the music he's pouring out, and the full spectrum of visible light seems to be bouncing off of every surface in the battlezone, like a bad ener-acid trip made manifest. Falling forward, Jazz's arms and legs pull in and his head recedes as he shifts into the form of the high performance Porsche 935 Turbo. Combat: Porsche Turbo sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Porsche Turbo strikes Buzzsaw with his Sound and Light Show Area attack! Combat: Secondary Damage! Combat: Porsche Turbo strikes Rumble with his Sound and Light Show Area attack! Combat: Porsche Turbo strikes Razorclaw with his Sound and Light Show Area attack! Combat: Secondary Damage! Combat: Porsche Turbo strikes Space Shuttle with his Sound and Light Show Area attack! Combat: Porsche Turbo strikes Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior with his Sound and Light Show Area attack! And what's playing? because Jazz is a jerk. Hi-Tech Cybertronian Sportscar 's wheels squeal under the torque driven through them, and with an impact of finality, she crashes hoodlong into the Pretender. She doesn't waste a moment to gloat, though, instantly slinging her heavy aft end around and peeling off back down the road as a compartment on her roof slides open to reveal an adorably campy RADAR dish straight of out your 80's childhood. The device begins to rotate, stealing targeting data from local Doppler stations and even going so far as to pull down satellite telemetry with ephemeris-corrected positioning, courtesy of the U.S. gubment. Moonracer speeds through bowled over blocks as she winds through the heart of DC, refining her solution as she goes and shunting the final, perfected product to Dogfight. "Knock him dead, Dogfight!" Combat: Moonracer takes extra time to assist Dogfight's next attack. Zipline's claws hit the mark. But they don't stay on the mark. She scrables to try and sink them deeper into Buzzsaw, but the bird is slippery, and her claws rake off of his armor. Zipline hits the ground on all fours, tail lashing to keep her balance upright. "That was just an appitizer. You haven't seen nothing yet, bird!" Zipline retorts, eyes narrowing as she follows Buzzsaw's trajectory. She's prepared to lunge at Buzzsaw when he comes back around. She's not, however, prepared for the force behind his dive. Zipline's optics go wide as she's caught in the midsection by Buzzsaw's wing, mid-lunge. The cat gets hurled backwards from the force. *SPLLOOOSH* Right into the reflection pool. Can Zipline swim? Judging from the fact that she doesn't come back up, perhaps not... But after a few seconds, Fathom would get a bit of intel beamed on a weak spot in Rumble's armor from someone somewhere under the waves. <> Zipline mumumbles, disgruntledly. Combat: Zipline analyzes Rumble for weaknesses Fathom can exploit. Fathom twists his blade into the ground through Rumble's armor. "I hope this is more painful than the pain you've inflicted on all the innocents!" Rumble's a little punk though, and shoots him good with his guard down. He's pried free with a yelp, one arm trying to shield his face from the shots that completely singe his armor. Jazz warns them of his crazy sound and light show, but no amount of dampening can save his highly sensitive audials from rattling in his head. "Nngh!" For a moment he just sinks to the ground, covering his helmet until the sound stops, and Zipline tosses him handy data. <> He reaches to pull a large circular blade from his back, and aims to slash it across that weak spot. Combat: Fathom strikes Rumble with his Throwing Ringblade attack! Firestar flips in place... the attack from Blast Off ringing her bell rather solidly.. but before she can attack she hears orders, and with a growl fo frustration transforms back into vehcile and races off and around the building in Razorclaw's direction... however.. she was not quite expecting him to be out of the pool.. and rather close to her when she gets him into view... so she chooses her usual tactice when surprised.. and accelerates at top speed as she tries to pass under him. Among shifting parts and sliding places, Firestar transforms into her transport truck form. Combat: Cybertronian Transport strikes Razorclaw with her Ram attack! Razorclaw's strike hits home, cutting into Dogfight. There's a grunt of pain, but Dogfight does take note of something Razorclaw says. "... Y'wanna see -why- he does?" Dogfight says, grinning darkly. While Jazz's lights go off, Dogfight transforms, blasting back into the sky. The Grumman blasts towards Blast Off, despite dripping energon and smoke, attempting to slice into the Combaticon and send him hurtling back down to the ground! Combat: Dogfight sets his defense level to Fearless. Swiftly, Dogfight shifts into his jet mode Combat: Grumman X-29 misses Space Shuttle with his Blast Offs Bad Day attack! Buzzsaw gets flashed and really sent for a loop. He tries to figure out how best to manage that nice little bit of systematic error sent his way... he /knows/ the alarms from his systems can't be right... Can they? He leaves the system diagnostics to run in the background while taking to the air just to be on the safe side, letting his optics dance below... Ah...there's the fish. << Rumble, stand by. >> He transmits...something. Good? Bad? Hard to tell right now. But time will certainly tell! Combat: Buzzsaw analyzes Fathom for weaknesses Rumble can exploit. Razorclaw turns to follow Dogfight's trajectory as he takes back off into the air ... Unfortunately that's the exact moment Jazz decides to use the HORROR OF DUBSTEP again. The Predacon snarls in aggrivation, and unfortunately doesn't see the femme-truck coming wheeling around at the same time. Firestar plows into him, sending the Predacon tumbling over across the ground. And his head was just clearing, too. Hfff. With a growl he pushes himself back onto his feet, but knows better than to just go off firing at wily-nily like some Decepticons would. As he gets up he swings his sword, sending off a weak pulse wave as he raises it in front of himself and steels a defensive stance, showing more concern for what is likely going to be several follow up attacks on him than whatever the pulse fires into. Combat: Razorclaw sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Buzzsaw sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Razorclaw's Little pulse wave attack on Cybertronian Transport goes wild! Combat: Razorclaw strikes Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior with his Little pulse wave (Disruptor) attack! Following getting blasted in the audials by Jazz's crazy sound and light show, he's fairly easy for Fathom to crack open like an old can of beans. Now, he's really messed up...confused, angry, kind of like a heavily armored mental patient packing heat. "YOU...YOU YOU CRAZY FISHCAKE, I'mma break you dead!!!" Gathering Buzzsaw's telemetry data, he flies straight over to Fathom and begins trying to crack his chestplate open. "SEE HOW YOU LIKE IT...I'm talkin' in caps I'm so mad!! You see that?!!" The pylons come out. Combat: Rumble's Piledriver Assault attack on Fathom goes wild! Combat: Rumble misses Buzzsaw with his Piledriver Assault attack! The soundwave from Jazz washes over Bludgeon, completely blanketing him from sound and light and breaking him away from the battlefield around him. He staggers, one hand clutching his helmet as the ground shakes, rising and falling like water around him. "Cursed Autobot.." He mutters, voice reverberating from within the shell. He can't lock onto his enemies, can't focus the power of his assault against them, but it's not in Bludgeon's nature not to try. He closes his eyes, trying to block out the light and noise pounding away in his head, trying to ignore the fires still burning around him. Tries to focus on the sounds of his enemies, ignoring all the background chaos and seeking out his true targets. Alas, for all his training, Bludgeon remains blinded within the storm of confusion. Blade still burning bright, Bludgeon casts the dice of fate. A stray shot slams into his armor, smoldering his shell. He channels his power into his arms, turning and slashing towards the last attack that came his way, and sends another wave of burning destruction in its wake. Fire washes through the air, cast off the blade in a crescent wave, seeking out some random, unlucky target. Combat: Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior 's Burning Kinetic Arc attack on Razorclaw goes wild! Combat: Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior strikes Space Shuttle with his Burning Kinetic Arc attack! [Pulled -2] Space Shuttle pays a little TOO much attention to Razorclaw beating the scrap out of Dogfight over there and fails to notice Jazz's light and music show in time. The lights and sound come in rapid fire succession, blasting the shuttle's delicate sensors and startling him to the point of disorientation. He wobbles dangerously, flying erratically as he tries to get his bearings again. But Razorclaw's radio warning comes through, and the Combaticon makes as sharp a turn to the left as he can manage to avoid those vicious wings. There's a smug near-chuckle from the shuttle as his targeting systems attempt to lock onto the Grumman as he sails by. Wait, what? The Combaticon is completely confused now... but..but..but he was watching Dogfight the WHOLE TIME. How did he?.... GAH. No matter, he doesn't even know how that happened- he's just going to shoot. Because that's the thing that never fails. Right? Laserfire shoots out from the shuttle, heading towards anything that even LOOKS red on his scanners. Combat: Space Shuttle 's Flying and Shooting Under the Influence- what could go wrong??? attack on Hi-Tech Cybertronian Sportscar goes wild! Combat: Space Shuttle strikes Rumble with his Flying and Shooting Under the Influence- what could go wrong??? (Ruckus) Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Space Shuttle 's Flying and Shooting Under the Influence- what could go wrong??? attack on Cybertronian Transport goes wild! Combat: Space Shuttle strikes Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior with his Flying and Shooting Under the Influence- what could go wrong??? (Ruckus) Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Space Shuttle 's Flying and Shooting Under the Influence- what could go wrong??? attack on Grumman X-29 goes wild! Combat: Space Shuttle strikes Rumble with his Flying and Shooting Under the Influence- what could go wrong??? (Ruckus) Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Space Shuttle 's Flying and Shooting Under the Influence- what could go wrong??? attack on Fathom goes wild! Combat: Space Shuttle misses himself with his Flying and Shooting Under the Influence- what could go wrong??? (Ruckus) Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Space Shuttle 's Flying and Shooting Under the Influence- what could go wrong??? attack on Zipline goes wild! Combat: Space Shuttle strikes Razorclaw with his Flying and Shooting Under the Influence- what could go wrong??? (Ruckus) Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Space Shuttle 's Flying and Shooting Under the Influence- what could go wrong??? attack on Porsche Turbo goes wild! Combat: Space Shuttle strikes Rumble with his Flying and Shooting Under the Influence- what could go wrong??? (Ruckus) Area attack! [Pulled -1] Fathom steps back when Rumble goes full-on wargod rage mode, only to watch him fling his crazy piledrivers in Buzzsaw's direction. Unfortunately the bird dodges. Fathom shuffles backwards even more when Blast Off unleashes death upon the ground, and nails the tape thrice! "Holy frag!" he exclaims in genuine surprise. Just in case there's more bombardment, Fathom moves to find some cover. Combat: Fathom sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Fathom takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Welp..that's more or less it for Jazz..his energon tanks are sitting on empty. The car uses the cover of the confusion to tear off into some rubble and transform, trying to stay more or less hidden as he waits for his energy reserves to replenish, presenting as little target as possible to the Decepticons. Combat: Porsche Turbo sets his defense level to Guarded. The rear of the Porsche 935 Turbo splits apart as it lifts up from the ground, standing up into the form of Jazz! Combat: Jazz takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Blub, blub. Zipline likes water about as much as she likes snow. Which is to say, she doesn't like it at all. It sucks. It's all wet and keeps her from moving as fast as she should be able to. It gets in all of her systems and makes her feel all weighted down. And to top it off, she sinks like a rock! At the bottom of the reflection pool, Zipline has a decent view of things going wild above. She can't get a good idea of what's going on, but at least she can see that things are going nuts, and here she is stuck at the bottom of the pool. On the plus side, she does get a fairly decent view of Buzzsaw through the clear water above. She raises up her cannon, and hazards a quick charge of the systems and fires. THWOOM! Water splashes upwards as the slug leaves the surface of the water, intended for Buzzsaw. Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Zipline strikes Buzzsaw with her Water gun? (Pistol) attack! Grumman X-29 manages to avoid Blast Off's counter-attack, which goes everywhere. There's a vent from Dogfight as his wings flip over again. Combat: Grumman X-29 strikes Space Shuttle with his A little help with shooting? (Laser) attack! Cybertronian Transport slides away from Razorclaw after her unintentional ramming.. and when she recovers her focus enough she bursts forward with what speed she can muster as this time she darts by Razorclaw's legs.. and transforms as she passes by, her energy axe slashing at his knee... before she loses her balance and tumbles forwrd when she tries to stop.. ending up in the pool with a fairly decent splash. Among shifting parts and sliding places, Firestar transforms into her robotic form. Combat: Firestar strikes Razorclaw with her Energy Axe attack! Hi-Tech Cybertronian Sportscar speeds along in something out of a Michael Bay movie, as laser rounds pepper the ground all around. She cuts and weaves, dodges and shifts, slides and drifts all over the place to avoid the maelstrom. As the laser rainstorm dies down, Moonracer whips around the back of a ruined building, only now beginning to notice a heavy weight difference from her front axle to her rear. The femme shifts forms, standing up into robot mode while unslinging her rifle, pausing only to reload it and check herself over. Energon escapes from a huge hole along her mechanical spine, though for the rush of the battle, Moonracer can't rightly feel it. She palms the wound, applying pressure for a moment while she steps back out into the fray. Surveying the scene laid out before her, Moonracer takes a ammo belt of grenade rounds from subspace, tossing them over her shoulder while her energon-covered hand moves to cycle one into the empty launcher barrel of her rifle. "It's time these psychos got sent packing." And pull aggro. The green femme levels the heavy rifle before her, chambering the grenade and pulling the trigger. The explosive orb sails off with a whistle, while Moonracer reloads and does it again. And again. And again. And again. A Hi-Tech Cybertronian Sportscar shifts to reveal , Autobot Interdiction Specialist! Combat: Moonracer sets her defense level to Protected. Combat: Moonracer strikes Space Shuttle with her Grenade Launcher Area attack! Combat: Moonracer strikes Razorclaw with her Grenade Launcher Area attack! Combat: Critical Hit! Combat: Moonracer strikes Buzzsaw with her Grenade Launcher Area attack! Combat: Buzzsaw falls to the ground, unconscious. Combat: Moonracer strikes Rumble with her Grenade Launcher Area attack! Combat: Critical Hit! Combat: Moonracer strikes Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior with her Grenade Launcher Area attack! Buzzsaw is still running his diagnostics when Rumble makes a critical error with the targeting data sent his way. The condor's quick to dodge, but that sends him right into Zipline's line of fire. The blast throws him off and really causes him to assess the systems a second time... Well, there's nothing that can't be said about the faultproof systems. This time, the messages scrolling through his HUD are indeed validated by failsafes. But...then again, there's a lot of targets down there... And that's when Moonracer's explosive things find him in the sky, leaving Buzzsaw falling like a crumpled piece of metal. Many, many things happen in a short period of time for poor Rumble. It's just not his day. None of the things that happen are particularly good. In fact, *all* of them are bad, and all of them involve severe, critical damage. On top of that, he's hallucinating, and he thinks he's just won a cage match with Abe Lincoln. When Rumble comes out of the hallucination, he's nearly dead, blown apart by Blast Off's powerful shots, and Buzzsaw is, indeed, ded just a few short steps away. "Oh, , Honest Abe's got a posse!!!" He screams like a little girl, then scoops up what's left of his tape brother, and begins to fly away. Combat: Rumble begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Jazz, Moonracer, Space Shuttle , Firestar, Razorclaw, Zipline, Grumman X-29 , and Fathom Fortunately his head clears again in time to see Firestar rushing at him again with her own weapon drawn, with his defensive stance Razorclaw crouches down and lowers his own sword to deflect the axe. It slides across the blade audibly and digs into his shoulder instead, thanks to the crouch, and the base of one of his shoulder weapons. Then as she tumbles away Moonracer pelts the area with explosives, the Predacon disappearing in the resulting clouds of smoke and flames. But they wouldn't be so lucky as that taking him out of the fight, now would they? Even with being battered from every side Razorclaw strides out of the explosions battering him without flinching. He walks up to where the femme tumbled to the edge of the pool, and looks down at her. But there is no scathing, scolding remarks chewing her out from him. Just one simple remark. "Goodbye." Then drops down into his animal mode, and the flash is visible from his namesake claws as he raises both forepaws over his head briefly and then brings them down on Firestar without restraint or remorse. Juse brutal efficency. Razorclaw lunges forward to land as a massive, mightly lion. Let the hunt begin! Combat: Battle Lion sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Battle Lion strikes Firestar with his Killer Instinct attack! Explosions rips across Bludgeon's frame, showering him with debris, threatening to knock him off his feet but the samurai holds his ground, digging his armored boots in. His armor is scorched and burnt, cracked in multiples places, but he refuses to yield. He quickly examines the surrounding area, trying to find some way of capitalizing on his increasingly dangerous situation. The Decepticons have been receiving heavy fire, and the tide is turning against them. Bludgeon leaps towards the nearest building, repelling off the side and gaining greater height. At his zenith, he slashes through a series of power lines, sending cables spilling back towards the ground, whipping and flickering about as electricity arcs and sprays from the severed cables, one headed towards Jazz and one towards Moonracer. Bludgeon lands on one knee, blade held in his outstretched hand as he casts his gaze in either direction, observing the results of his stratedgy. Combat: Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior strikes Jazz with his High Voltage Cables Area attack! Combat: Critical Hit! Combat: Secondary Damage! Combat: Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior strikes Moonracer with his High Voltage Cables Area attack! Combat: You took 9 damage. Combat: Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior 's attack has damaged your Velocity! Space Shuttle sends laserfire everywhere, and the proud sniper would be aghast if he realized just HOW poorly he just aimed. But there are certain grumblings on the radio, and an order to pull back from Razorclaw, that indicate he might not have just seen his finest hour- and neither did anyone else. And Dogfight's comment just... stings his pride. Still disoriented, and actually /embarrassed/ now, he struggles to form a verbal comeback when the Triggerbot shoots him right in the wing! It doesn't tear it off this time, but the damage is enough that the shuttle instantly starts heading for the ground. Combat: Space Shuttle sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Space Shuttle begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. Fathom slowly stands, bracing himself against a tree as he watches the tapes retreat. He glances down at his damaged legs, and rubs his brow. <> he radios Jazz, and transforms rather gracelessly to head back to base. Fathom transforms into a blue-and-yellow Campagna T-Rex tricar! Combat: Campagna T-Rex begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Moonracer, Space Shuttle , Battle Lion , and Grumman X-29 As the high voltage cables connect with Jazz, the electrical discharges play across his form, shorting out servoes and more, blowing massive holes in his armor as they explode and crippling several systems all at once from the discharge. It looks like the Meister's more or less fragged in his little hidey hole, his form smoking as he tries to move to a better position, watching the Decepticons begin withdrawing. Combat: Jazz takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] With his strike hitting home, and Blast Off sent fleeing, Dogfight descends to the ground, transforming and landing with a vent as he attempts to focus himself, and seeing what happens with the Decepticons next. Dogfight flips and stands up into his robot mode Combat: Dogfight takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Moonracer can't help but curl her face into a cocky grin as all five of her grenade rounds find their targets, each explosion a blossom of power that bathes her in fiery hues. She doesn't have long to bask in that small victory, though, as Bludgeon again turns the environment against them by sending a huge electrical arc at her. Moonracer cries out in pain as the bolts course through her, and in her ragged condition she makes more a treat. The large wound on her backside, gushing with energon, explodes with a wild rope of bright white heat, burning the energon pool there away while simultaneously cauterizing the gash. The femme sags to her knees, dental plates gritting and optics narrowed as the pain final subsides, the electricity at last taking the path of least resistance and fading out into the ground. Moonracer stammers back to her feet, determined and with her rifle still in hand. One-handed, she lifts the weapon before her and pops off a static burst from the remaining rounds in her clip to coerce Bludgeon into retreating. "And I don't wanna see your ugly face back here ever again!" Combat: Moonracer strikes Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior with her Pulse Laser attack! Combat: You are running low on energon! Finally, Zipline realizes that even though she can't /swim/, she can still climb out. She makes it to the side of the pool, and applies claws to the side of it to slowly crawl up to the top. Claws scrabble at the last foot, before grabbing ahold of the side of the pool. Once her head breaks the top of the water, her coolant systems quickly purge the water from her system, in the form of spitting a fountain straight up. "Uuggh, slagging bird," Shemutters, getting back up on the grass. Zipline shakes off once she's back on the ground, sending water everywhere. "Not doing that again. Nope. Never. That was so many degrees of slagtastic," She complains, ears flicked back in annoyance. Then they flick up at the sound of metal rending metal nearby. Zipline spins around, scattering water droplets everywhere. "HEY!" Zip's eyes narrow up at Razorclaw. A much, much bigger cat than her, to say the least. She holds back the fear that briefly rises up, and yet a momentary shudder still flicks all the way down to her tail. But she steadies herself, and the spurs on her back legs flip down, literally bracing herself. "Get your claws off of her!" Her cannon buzzes and hums as energy courses through it. "Don't make me say it again!" The cannon sizzles as water is instantly ionized from the intense electromagnetic charge coarsing through the rails. Then she repeats herself; In the form of a ultra high-speed, spinning slug going KA-TWHOOM as it leaves the extended barrel of her cannon. Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Fearless. Combat: Zipline strikes Battle Lion with her EMPHASIS! WITH GUNS! attack! Rumble is gone. So is Buzzsaw! Rumble takes flight to the Sky over Washington DC. Rumble has left. Bludgeon raises an arm as another blast connects to his armor, smoking slightly along with the others. He isn't concerned with the pain, or the damage necessarily. He pausing, listening to the orders to fall back, knowing that most of the others will be strategically retreating as well. As much as it pains him to have to leave, he knows that only a fool would stay behind by themselves. The Decepticons came, did their damage, and now it's time to go home and heal so that they can cause more trouble another day. "Well fought, today." He says quietly, voice reverberating. Laser gridwork materializes over his form, disassembling his samurai armor as he flips forward, transforming into his tank mode. His treads squeel as he spins, ripping the ground up beneath him as he motors off. Skull-Faced Samurai Warrior transforms into his Dark Green and Purple Battle Tank mode. Combat: Dark Green and Purple Battle Tank begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Moonracer, Space Shuttle , and Battle Lion Battle Lion 's got two paws full of deadly knives basically, which tear into the femme viciously enough to render her unconcious. A deep rumble emits from him as he pulls her back to the edge of the pool and then extracts his claws and opens his jaws. Lowers towards her neck. Sure, it wouldn't be necessarily lethal to one of their kind, to crush her neck structure, but it would certainly make injuries that more cruel and harder to repair.
* KAFOOM* Instead of snapping shut on tough femme metal jaws clang loudly as a sudden impact knocks him just short of connection that coup de grace. Despite it's small size the railcannon blast hits with enough force to knock Razorclaw sideways from the impact, chunks of armor already weakened from the burns and explosions scattering in various directions. The Predacon turns his head for a moment to glare in the direction the shot came from. "Doesn't matter, our objective has already been met." And then he turns and leaves that comment to stew in the enemies' minds as he departs as well, taking advantage of his phenominal leaping ability instead of wasting time with his slow flying Robot mode. Combat: Battle Lion sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Battle Lion begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Space Shuttle Moonracer keeps her rifle up, Bludgeon still locked dead in her sights, just in case that last volley didn't prove to be enough motivation for him. As the Pretender de-materializes before her and rumbles off in tank mode along with the other Decepticons in retreat, she finally cracks, holstering her rifle and leaning up against a beaten wall for support. Venting a sigh of relief, Moonracer drinks in the destruction caused by the Decepticon's blitzkrieg, and her face skews into a mixed expression of misery, pain, and tiredness. The green femme slumps to the ground with a small thud, bringing her wrist up to her mouth to address the Autobot's in the immediate area via tight beam communications to coordinate search and rescue efforts immediately. Fathom goes home. Fathom has left. Jazz takes the opportunity to withdraw as the other Autobots are watching the Decepticon's retreat, that way he doesn't get roped into clean up, you never know when Hot Spot is lurking nearby wanting everyone to pitch in with the pickup. Jazz goes home. Jazz has left.
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