from the desert plains i bring you love

[khajidont]

WHO: Heroic imPorts, w a focus on Aegis Force, ImPact & the Justice League!
WHERE: The desert of Nevada, just outside of Jeopardy.
WHEN: July 8
WHAT: After the heroes have now met one another, it's time to take on a mission: capture the death worm cryptids spotted just outside of Jeopardy, and do your best to preserve human life in the process!
WARNINGS: Genre-appropriate violence. If you have any questions, please direct them to THIS POST and, most importantly, have fun!

There’s a stirring in Nevada.

The Nevada Desert, to be precise, just outside of Jeopardy, the hub for all that seems surreal and off-kilter in this world that our heroes have found themselves in. There have been sightings of DEATH WORM CRYPTIDS roaming the desert, causing havoc to the local flora and fauna and menacing any civilians who are foolhardy enough to try to get near the blasted things. If this were a simple state of affairs, the mission would be straightforward enough: either secure the Death Worms for inoculation and further study for the government, or kill them so that they’re no longer a danger to the public. But this is Earth, a planet infested by human beings, and human beings have a tendency to complicate matters. Your tasks go as follows:

I. CAPTURE THE DEATH WORMS. While lethal force may be employed to protect civilian life or to stop the worms from getting into the wrong hands, the government wishes to keep them alive to better understand them.
II. PROTECT THE CIVILIANS. There will be plenty of civilians that need to be corralled or otherwise forced out of the vicinity, whether it be reporters, scientists, teens, or cultists, oh my!
III. DEFEAT THE OTO AGENTS. You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you? OTO will be on the scene, trying to secure these worms for their own, presumably nefarious, purposes.



I.

As our intrepid heroes venture further into the desert, they’ll begin to notice signs of the worms before they notice the worms themselves. Strewn across the plains of sand, broken up only by large, craggy cliff-sides, are the corpses of half-eaten animals (and, perhaps, an unlucky tourist or two), yellowed and blackened by acid, bodies torn asunder by the worms’ deceptively powerful jaws. The worms themselves are bright red, about six feet long, with a large, circular maw lined with rows and rows of pointy teeth. Be wary! Their skin is coated with a thin sheen of ACID that will slowly corrode away at anything it touches in addition to being able to spit acid, and they’re capable of shooting out bolts of ELECTRIC DISCHARGE to try to scare away their enemies. They are visibly ailing, much like the rest of the cryptids, decay chipping away at their skin, but the sickness hasn’t progressed enough to limit the danger that they pose to those around them.

If that wasn’t bad enough, they also live predominantly underground. Take care not to trip over the holes that are scattered across the area; if you fall in, you’ll regret it. In order to help secure these creatures are government issued helicopters and scientists, prepared to airlift them up, up, and away. It’s up to you to subdue them - and take care to protect your vulnerable allies in the process. They may not want to get too close, but these burrowing worms have a habit of tunneling through the ground and popping up where they’re least expected, so they may not have a choice in the matter.

II.

Practically before the mission has even started, imPorts will notice the civilians of Jeopardy marching across the desert in an attempt to see the worms for themselves. They’ll have to reckon with independent scientists who wish to study them, reporters who see it as their right to document the events, generic gawkers who are more or less in it for the vine, campers who had the poor fortune of simply trying to vacation in the area, and cultists who are convinced that the worms are a miracle from the Ancient Web Mistress. Oy, vey.

Which means it’s up to you to keep them from getting their fool selves killed, either by the worms or by the OTO agents! Will you convince them to turn tail on the basis of common sense? Will you intimidate them away? Will you make them leave by force? Or w Whatever you may choose, their survival depends on you, and if you don’t pay them any mind, the numbers of the dead will simply grow. It’s not the most fun part of being a hero, but it’s a part that must be dealt with. Do your best!

III.

Ah, the OTO, the constant thorn in the imPorts’ sides. They’ve come to get ahold of these worms themselves and, unfortunately, they seem to be a great deal more prepared than the government themselves. These heavily armed agents have arrived on the scene, and they’re ready to kill imPort and civilian alike in order to get their way. In addition to their freeze rays, stun guns and heavy artillery, they’re accompanied by robotic reinforcers.

One of these foes are the NULL GULLS, small flying drones that look unimpressive to the naked eye, but can fire energy rays that disrupt imPorts’ powers for a full minute before they return to their fully-powered selves. This may not seem like a lot of time, but when you’re being shot at, any amount of time is too long to be largely defenseless.

The second are the CAPTURE CRABS, big, clawed monstrosities of robots protected by thick sheets of reinforced metal that won’t be corroded away by the acid skin of the worms. They’ll be scuttling through in order to grab onto the worms and take them away - and you’ve got to stop them in the process! Or they’ll see you getting in their way and will try to rip you in half. Either-or. Whatever the case, they’re bad news, and it’s best to deal with them sooner rather than later.

Have at it, imPorts! It’s up to you to save the day!

Comments

Alphonse Elric | OTA

[sonofgold]

I.

Al knows he should probably not get too close to these worms, but the unfortunate fact is that his alchemy is strictly close-range. His alkahestry studies were supposed to have helped shore up that one weakness, but coming to this world has put the kibosh on that. So here he is, sizing up the situation from a distance. He's taken a page from Major Armstrong's book and armed himself with gauntlets etched with a transmutation circle that can transmute stones into painful, pointy projectiles, and that and his speed will have to be enough.

"Be careful," he warns the people with him. "... is that rumbling I feel?"


II.

As if the worms weren't bad enough, humans were humans and were sneaking out into the desert in droves, and though he thinks they're fools for doing so, it's still Al's job to protect them- so here he is, trying to herd a group of curious spider priests and priestesses away from the nearest hole.

"Look, do you WANT to get liquified?" he finally asks them impatiently. "Is that what your Mistress wants for you?"

Perhaps he should've studied that pamphlet more...


III.

And as if the civilians weren't bad enough, the OTO is afoot, and Al is already tired of dealing with them. The drones are easy enough to knock out of the sky and make into worm food, but the crabs are much more dangerous, and he finds himself on the retreat more than once.

I.

[namesaquestion]

"Then get ready-" Nikolai's grin is matched by the red-eyed shadow with him, though sorry about that sudden chill, Al. Gengar just be like that, but at least it doesn't last long.

As soon as the worm breaks the surface though, the pokemon moves forward with an eerie cackle, a ball of spinning purple energy already forming in its hands. "Oi! Keep this one alive will you!"

He's not sure if the pokemon heard given how gleefully it tosses the Shadow Ball at the worm

Unfortunately, that's not the only worm they'll have to deal with. There's another two surfacing soon after.

[sonofgold]

Al shudders at the sensation passing through time, glancing uneasily at the red eyes. He thinks Pokemon are pretty great, but he also hasn't met one quite like this before- especially not one that's so eager to both attack and seemingly disobey its master's orders.

"We might not have much of a choice BUT to kill them," Al says grimly. "Before they get much closer to the city."

Al tosses a rather large rock as high as he can throw it, then punches it with his metal-covered fist- in a flash of blue lightning-like light, it converts into a pointed projectile that pierces a sandworm, making it shriek with pain.

COMMANDER JACOB TAYLOR | OTA

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

A - in the field

Catching the worms is important. Protecting the civilians, even from themselves, is extra important. But Jacob's personal focus this mission is burning through some frustrations and ammo against the OTO, as a way of chipping away at their strength and making up for missing Aegis' last mission against them.

Most of the time, when Jacob is found among the action he's lying in ambush near a known worm location, waiting for OTO forces to make a play for them, or swooping to intervene when the enemy has already made contact. Whenever battle is joined, he leads from the front, soaking up enemy attacks and drawing their fire with his heavy armour and protective energy shield, subduing hostile agents with freeze rays and blowing apart crab robots with energy grenades.

Most of the time, Jacob operates as a peacekeeper as a hero. On this mission though, he's a soldier. And his objective is to close with and neutralize the enemy.


B - Jeopardy command post

Jacob isn't just kicking ass in the field, though. He also has the less glamourous but vitally important task of coordinating his team's activities and liaising with the government from a command post set up just on the edge of Jeopardy, at the ragged border where civilization becomes desert. Characters can come here to get new information and instructions, check out maps of recent engagements and distress calls, or resupply on food and water, or seek medical attention.

They can also come here to watch Jacob be exasperated. Whether it's appealing to the government for more supplies and support or trying to convince Jeopardy locals to help enforce quarantine instead of helping the renegades heading into the desert for worm-watching, it's clear to see that he'd rather be shot at than spend another hour on the phone arguing with people.

C - Wildcard

Anything you like!

C/walks in weeks late with starbucks

[lootsnshoots]

Before the day's sortie is set to begin, Cayde approaches Jacob.

"Hey ... so, ah, you haven't seen Ash around, have you? Thought maybe she got in early or somethin'."

Ash wasn't at her place when he woke up, isn't responding to pings—part of him knows what's up, but he's not listening to that part of him if he can help it. Not until he's peeked around every maybe and what-if, first.

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

Jacob sighs, then bows his head sadly. He'd seen Ashley's name vanish off the Network and hoped for her return, but if Cayde hasn't gotten the news... this was going to suck.

"Why don't we talk over here?" He suggests softly, aiming to lead Cayde a little further away from the nearest civilians and government personnel for what will surely be a Difficult and Personal Talk.

B

[fridgeflower]

Laurie's mostly good when it comes to coordination and where her abilities make tactical sense. She's crowd control, human wrangling, which is something that's kept her very busy in this situation. Like... God, people are dumb.

She's just escorted a small group of civilians to the command post when she catches the tail-end of one of Jacob's phone calls. She misses the context of the call, but his frustration with the situation and with whatever he's dealing with is pretty palpable. She approaches with a careful demeanor, reaching out to touch the back of his shoulder to get his attention.

"Hey, uh... You hanging in there?"

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

Jacob sighs as he hangs up the phone, then greets Laurie with a nod as he turns to her. He looks tired in ways that have nothing to do with the draining desert heat.

"Did you know the Web Mistress Church has a position called a Spinner that's all about talking to the media and the government about stuff like this?" He asks, rhetorically. "I just had to explain to her that stopping the faithful from becoming worm food wasn't interfering with their right to worship."

He shakes his head.

"How about you?"

blue beetle iii | ota

[khajidont]

i. worms.

Okay, team! [ Jaime can be heard telling the rest of his team. ] Here's our priority: first, preservation is human life is our most important mission today. If some of the worms get killed while we're trying to do that... well, then that's just the way it's gonna go. Try to keep them alive so we can hand them over, but your safety and the safety of those jokers over there is more important. Don't touch them, try not to get too close, and if you need back-up, there's enough of us here to mob the dang things, so don't hesitate. Let's go!

[ And with that, he starts to wrangle the worms himself. Jaime's a familiar sight to most who have been in this world for long in his customary black and blue armour, his eyes vaguely alien looking behind the lenses, and he plunges into danger without much apparent fear. ]

God, these things are nasty. I'm just gonna... [ He clobbers one. His fist sizzles afterwards, but it doesn't seem to be burning through yet, though those chompers are getting awfully close! Jaime doesn't seem concerned. Honestly, he never seems to be scared of much. Must be a superhero thing. ]

ii. the oto.

[ Jaime's starting to get tired of these guys. No matter what they do or where they go, they're here to foil their plans. Or maybe it's the other way around? It's usually bad guys' plans that are getting foiled. Either way, when Jaime sees some enter via helicopter, he's quick to fly up and simply yank the agents out, zipping back down onto the ground to drop them sans their weapons.

He's usually not one to demonstrate his strength, but his patience is beginning to fray. Once the helicopter's empty, he simply grabs onto it and rips off its propellor before making sure the coast is clear and tossing the propellor onto a very, very upset worm, wriggling as it's trapped beneath its weight... where OTO forces are now trying to retrieve it. ]

You guys just don't give up!

iii. null gulls.

Okay, nobody gave me intel about those things!

[ Remember that bit about Jaime flying to apprehend a helicopter full of OTO agents? Yeah. About that. He's in the midst of trying to disarm one when one of the Null Gulls zaps him, leaving him to plunge through the air until he's able to snag onto the entrance of the helicopter, looking wholly out of place in his jeans and t -shirt as he tries to lift himself up to roll into the elevator. Unfortunately, the OTO agents don't seem so keen on the idea. ]

If you stomp on my fingers, I swear, I am going to punch you so hard.

iv. the general public.

No. Absolutely not.

[ Jaime stands in front of the crowd, glancing behind him every now and then to make sure that no threat gets too close. ]

The area's off-limits. You need to leave, and you need to leave now if you guys value your lives. This isn't up for debate. Now go on and - whoa! [ As a worm suddenly bursts from the sand behind Jaime, he charges forward, arms shifting and changing until they're twice the length they used to be to bowl the rest of the on-lookers over to get them underneath the blue forcefield he throws up to cover them, twisting onto his back so that he can focus on holding it up despite the worm's attempts to break through it. ]

What was I just telling you? Now, go!

[ Some of them do - but others don't seem to be so cooperative. Escort missions were always Jaime's least favourite in video games. In real life, they're even worse. ]

v. wildcard.

[ Anything goes! ]

iii

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

[Because the OTO are dicks, one of them immediately lifts up his foot to stomp on Jaime's fingers. But before the boot can come down, a blue glow envelopes the man and he yells out with surprise as he's yanked away by a biotic field. The other agents scatter and turn to engage a new threat: Jacob Taylor, shrugging off their gunfire from behind his energy barrier while knocking the Null Gull out of the sky with his own freeze ray. He calls out over the sounds of combat:]

Jaime! You still good?

[khajidont]

[ Oh, thank goodness. In the time it takes for the man to get his balance back after being yanked aside by the biotic field - and boy, it's been too long since Jaime's fought beside one of these guys; this brings back old memories - Jaime manages to swing himself up into the helicopter. It's not the most elegant move in the world, as he hoists himself up and wriggles in on his stomach, but it does the job. He grabs onto his foe and slams his face into the console, leaving him bleeding and concussed on the floor. ]

I'm good! Thanks for the save!

[ Only then, the helicopter begins to tilt - and the driver's passed out on the ground. Oops. ]

Oh, god. Hey, Jacob? Make sure your guys clear the area! I'm gonna try my best, but I don't actually know how to fly a helicopter!

ii

[knaval]

Right? [riptide calls over, annoyed. he's in his robot mode, naturally, he can't do shit all as a fleshbag! in response to the little scene jaime has created and almost solved, riptide just ruins it all by lifting a foot up and stomping on all involved.

it's a nasty affair. maybe don't look? he also has a van sized gun in one of his giant hands. oh god, when did riptide get a gun? either way, he's a relatively good shot with it, shooting more than one helicopter out the sky. even if it's a... dinky little pistol by cybertronian standards.] Oh, my god. Do you they have, like clones?! Where else are they coming from! Is that it?!

[one of the worms vomits some acid up on his foot and it starts to hiss. riptide curses in neocybex-- a very strange language that sounds like a dialup noise, even if jaime can understand it-- and stomps on that one with his free foot. like a very morbid game of twister!]

[khajidont]

Oh, sick! [ Jaime shies away, shielding himself from what is, unfortunately, a spatter. Some people are tiny organics who get caught in the spray, Riptide! He's also pretty sure that they're not supposed to be killing the OTO agents, but that's just a Justice League thing; maybe Aegis has taken a different approach. Jacob is military. ]

Dude, chill! We're supposed to be keeping these guys alive! And we're definitely good enough to do it.

[ If they were underpowered, or if the worms were getting the best of them, maybe they could kill them. But it's a point of pride to do the job right. Jaime can't really stomach murder but, admittedly, he doesn't have many moral qualms with killing the worms.

Because they're gross. Nobody said that he has to be consistent. He'd think different if they were giant deadly puppies. ]

I

[drivesadesk]

[Jonathan has incorporated the headdress he wore at the gala into his costume. Fortunately, he hasn't opted to wear the rest of the outfit, and opted for a more simple black bodysuit with black military style boots. When he sees Blue Beetle's armor sizzling, he jumps in to help out.]

Leave the worm handling to me. My blood's acid, I'm sure my skin can handle what they're dishing out.

[He grabs the tail end of the worm Jaimie's fighting, dragging it back. His bodysuit is sizzling away wherever it makes contact with the worm, but his scales seem to be holding up fine. Then he gets hit with the creature's electric shock and he pulls back, releasing the creature.]

Ow! Okay, that hurt.

[khajidont]

Whoa, careful! These guys are - well, they don't seem to obey the same laws as the rest of nature on this version of Earth. We gotta expect the unexpected from them.

[ They shoot lightning out of themselves, for heaven's sake. Not once did Jaime ever look at this Earth and go, yeah, it's fine, but it needs more giant, deadly animals, just like the ones supervillains keep making at home. No, thank you! ]

We've got to fight this guys from a distance! [ With that, he turns one of his hands into a gun and charges up a bolt of blue electricity, hoping it won't supercharge it - or just kill it right off the bat. ]

josh foley | ota

[goldtoxicity]

CROWD CONTROL.

[ Josh has stationed himself near the crowd - it's the easiest place to run damage control, to heal the people who need to be healed, and to try to dissuade the idiots that want to die for fifteen minutes of fame. ]

No. [ He's saying to someone who keeps trying to sneak by, expression utterly incredulous. ] Did you not see that guy? He had no skin! No- what, dude this isn't Mario! I can't give you an extra life if you lose it trying to get a selfie with the Tremors out there!

Wh- yeah, okay, sure! Take a selfie with me and - [ he grabs the nearest person, hoping their powerset is slightly more useful here if the guy won't take no for an answer ] my friend here once we're done. Okay, sound cool? Now scram.

HEALING.

[ Guess who hates humanity. It's Josh. because people are stupid and he's never realized how stupid until today. Honestly, he was on the fence about whether or not this universe's people are better than his or not, and you know what? 616's idiot masses at least had self-preservation most of the time. ]

Are you - okay, yeah, it's you. [ Are you hurt? Because if you're hurt and Josh has any capacity to sense it, you're being manhandled by a slightly frazzled healer. ] Come over here - no just, actually just stand still.

[ He's laying a hand on your wound to heal it, no matter what you say, thanks you're welcome. It feels - not exactly painful, but unpleasant. Josh isn't expending the energy to make it feel good. ]

Were you seriously going back out there like that? Also, you're way dehydrated. [ And the hand is back there, fixing that. ]

HARMING.

[ Just as he finishes setting the broken leg of some idiot who wandered too far out into the field, the ground behind him gives way and the worm bursts up. It's all Josh can do to chuck the civilian aside and reach out, grabbing onto the thing with both hands. A matte black color crawls from the point they touch up his arms, matte and black as the void itself. There's a terrible sizzling sound as the skin on his hands starts to burn, but he doesn't relent, pressing harder and harder even as he's electrocuted until the creature collapses. The areas where his hands touched vaguely deformed and discolored, covered in a thick layer of warts and scar tissue. It's not dead, but it's not exactly thriving anymore either, and oh good those OTO assholes are heading right towards it.

And he can't do a damn thing about the acid burnt hands he's now sporting. Josh himself seems shocked to see they don't heal - but he's got better things to worry about. Namely, the stunned civilian who stares at him open-mouthed and the guys closing in.

Fantastic. ]

What are you waiting for? [ He makes an attempt at healing himself and finds it useless, makes half an attempt to grab the guy and then realizes that'd be bad. So whoever is nearest gets a shout. ] Get him out of here!

NON-COMBATANT.

[ It's also relatively clear that he's, well - for all his training, he doesn't really have useful powers against robots. The poor healer isn't actually healing when the other side of his powers has been kicked on, however briefly it was, and being shot at isn't great for turning it back on either!

He's also just really, really tired. Because this is the first time he's had to use his powers like this since he got here, and the new limits on them are exhausting. ]

Can I get a little help here?!

Non-combatant

[drivesadesk]

[Jonathan sees the predicament Josh is in and rushes in. His bodysuit is eaten away in places from the acid, and generally looks fairly tattered, but his headdress seems to have stayed in tact. Seeing what's after Josh, Jonathan starts grabbing rocks and hurling them at the null gulls.]

Get out of here! You can't heal anyone of these things get you!

[goldtoxicity]

Yeah, I know!

[ But he's having a hell of a time actually running. He's so tired, nearly tripping over his own two feet but managing to catch himself and book it towards something to hide and regroup behind.

Ugh, I hate robots!

harming

[khajidont]

I'm on it!

[ His first foray out, and Josh has - what, practically burned his hands off? Jaime had thought he could take it easy, stand by for whatever civilians and workers got hurt in the mix, but they're never so lucky. It doesn't take long for Jaime to assess the situation before he swoops in, picks up the worm - ow, ow, ow, ow, ow - and simply hurls it in the direction of the government scientists waiting on stand-by. It rolls to a stop just before them and Jaime nods before getting to the guards. He's just got to defend Josh long enough to get him out of here, right? He shakes out his sizzling hands and whallops one good before rounding another, crushing his gun between his palms. Too easy, he thinks, just as he gets shot with a Null Gull. Just like that, the Blue Beetle is turned back to plain old Jaime Reyes, hair mussed and wild in the desert winds, in his plain old jeans and sneakers, looking more suited to bumming around on a college campus than out here facing down armed agents. ]

Aw, nuts. [ He shakes out his hands one more time for good measure - they'll heal, but just a glance down at them confirms that they're good and blistered - before shrugging and balling them back into fists. ]

I can still kick your ass!

[ Kicking their asses without weaponry or armour while they have both is a little more tenuous, but he's going to give it his best shot.

It might be a good thing to have a healer on-hand later, though. ]

[goldtoxicity]

[ that's fine. this is fine. josh kicks the civillian he's been babysitting towards safety, turning back around to face their opponents. ]

This sucks.

[ he shakes his hands out - they're a disgusting mess of acidic burns and he doesn't want to know how deep it runs, because its still sizzling, but at least shaking them out returns them to their proper color. He clenches them to fists, sighing in some small measure of relief as they begin to glow and the damage is rapidly reversed.

And suddenly between the two of them, he's the only one with powers.

Fantastic.

The other civilian isn't their priority - and he's booking it, finally catching on that real danger is afoot - so Josh switches tack and grabs for something to hurl at the stupid depowering birds. Relying on years of sports over years of intensive hero training and fighting for his damn life. It's a near perfect pitch, slamming into one and sending it careening off course. ]

How's that for a fastball special?

[ quipping mid battle is stupid but here he is doing it anyway.

The less of those things around, the better shot they have of not getting depowered and getting killed. ]

HEALING.

[by_candlelight]

[ Ruby had tried to get away, to get back to business, but this guy was good at shutting her down at every opportunity, and honestly? Being a field medic. She just kind of stares at him as he places a hand on her outer leg - the victim of a worm's touch - and heals it. She's about to thank him, already turning back towards the field since the civilians she helped were not trying to go back that way and she wanted to help more - when he comments on her hydration. She looks vaguely insulted at the comment. ] I drink plenty of water!

[ And yet, running around in a desert with several layers of clothes, only taking the occasional sip from the water bottle dangling from her backpack, and not taking a rest absolutely has left her quite dehydrated. ]

[goldtoxicity]

Dude, we're in the desert. Everybody is dehydrated -

[ Once he's done rectifying that, though, he's sitting down heavily on the ground and trying to ge this breath back. ]

- just, like, sit and take it easy for a second. Drink more water. I just reversed the negative effects, I can't like, actively rehydrate you.

PIKACHU | OTA

[fursleuth]

𝐢. 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄

[The acid prevents any physical attack- so Volt Tackle is out- and the electricity it can generate seems to imply most of his attacks would be useless anyway, so that's a lot of fun. Never mind that Pikachu is still struggling to remember how to access his powers at will instead of just relying on outside forces to get them going.

He doesn't have to struggle long. Someone's about to get walloped with that electric discharge and he jumps into the fray to take the full brunt of it. Once the shock (hah) of this tiny, brave little creature being so bold wears off, the person he saved gets treated to a staggering, sparking little fuzzball, who smirks delightedly at the worm.] Oh, buddy, you just did the dumbest thing you'll ever do.

[WELCOME TO THUNDERDOME.]

𝐢𝐢. 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐒

WHAT PART OF DEATH WORMS DO YOU PEOPLE NOT UNDERSTAND? [This is what Pikachu is shouting as he is forced to continue to lure the horrible creatures away from tasty looking civilians and into the waiting arms of imPorts who can actually do something. It's a thankless job, but he's small and fast and Quick Attack has a lot of PP even if he's not really using it for attacking so much as he's using it to get a sudden burst of speed.

One worm is caught in the zone of another imPort, who begins to try and subdue it and Pikachu takes this time to turn to the looky-loos and their phones.] I swear to god, I will fry every single phone here if you don't get the hell out. Don't think I won't. I'm completely loco right now! Do not test me!

𝐢𝐢𝐢. 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐍𝐎 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐃 𝐃𝐀𝐘

[It was all going so well.

Right up until the Null Gun.

In the chaos, it's really hard to see what happened. Pikachu goes down, staggers, and falls into one of the worm holes and just barely manages to catch himself on the edge, but what should be solely his powers failing to work- no big, that happens- something else happens. Something overwhelming and a bit painful... And then he blacks out.

Harry Goodman, dirt-covered, glasses knocked askew and deeply confused begins to climb out of the hole, once again victim of another bizarre black out and a caffeine headache to end all caffeine headaches. Bullets whiz by his head and he stays low.] I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming... This is just a dream. I fell asleep watching Bogart again, and I'm just gonna wake up and-

[Artillery fire splits the ground too close to his face for comfort and he staggers back, barely missing backing right back into the hole. A OTO agent falls, leaving his weapon open and Harry's training kicks in and he grabs it.] Not a dream. Definitely not a dream. Oookay. This is happening.

𝐢𝐯. 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐃

[Due to the nature of Pikachu/Harry's abilities, the "full minute" doesn't quite work since his transformation abilities aren't passive, so unless you have a mug of coffee handy, he'll be Harry after he gets hit by the Null Gun, but any time before he'll be a cuddly ball of electric rage.]

𝐢𝐢𝐢

[namesaquestion]

[Hope you don't mind the sudden gengar that literally appears in front of you Harry as that goon drops like a sack of rocks.

Though that's not all as several Wing Attacks slam into one of the heavy artillery guns, managing to topple it, the crobat responsible not that far away.] -The fuck did you come from?

[Yea. Nikolai is the least impressed trainer in the history of things, never mind how hard it is to cling to his giant purple bat while in the middle of this.

But at least they have a breather so Niko can direct his bat down to the ground.] Get on! Unless you want to be worm food.

𝐢. 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄

[by_candlelight]

[ Ruby, for her part, was in the process of helping a wounded civilian back to base camp. She was doing a damn fine job of it, too. Then she noticed the sparking yellow creature in the middle of the chaos. She looked very overwhelmed for a moment, then her mood improved.

That sparking yellow creature was, thankfully, not an insect as far as she could tell. And thus, she reached out to it with her powers, hoping to be able to have the typical animal-empathy exchange, and having no idea that this being was definitely not like any animal she'd communed with before.

At least the feeling she reaches out with was most easily interpreted as 'hey', so maybe it wouldn't startle him! Assuming the power even worked at all. ]