Event | Turtle Dive | January 20 - 23 | Underwater zombies crave your briiiiiines

[ironwood]

Characters: Any and all PCs
Date: January 20th - 23rd
Location: All Sectors
Situation: Tu Vishan continues swimming along the ocean floor after his monumental dive, but it turns out there are a whole bunch of undead that want in on the party!
Warnings/Rating: Underwater situations, violence, potential gore; to be updated as noted.

>See the comments of this post for various situations and areas available for tagging.
>Each header will be set for a date and/or area.
>Feel free to start your own header for specific situations.
>The Palace subplot will be run in a separate log.
>Refer to the two OOC posts for further details. 01 | 02

Comments

Rikki | All Sectors | OTA

[withoutaworld]

[ Maybe Rikki shouldn't be doing this. Good intentions and plenty of training aside, she's not a superhero, no special powers, no shiny gadgets but her shield - a lot of people would say she's got no place in a fight like this, but that logic didn't keep her inside during the Skrull invasion back home, and it's not going to do it now.

She's patrolling from the rooftops, moving with no real pattern, just running toward the sounds of trouble and seeing what she can do to help. At least the zombies don't seem to have figured out how to climb buildings... so far, anyway. ]

[sophos]

[Zombies. At the bottom of the ocean. Why not? They're not easy to kill - impossible without fire, really. But it doesn't stop Annabeth from running out into the fray, going wherever she perceives danger. She's mostly on the ground, hacking and slashing and grateful for the decent shield she bought months ago to work with here.]

[In the fire sector, she's shoving a small kedan child into the arms of its mother, and the duo disappear into their house, just as one of the jiangshi comes at Annabeth. She blocks with her shield, then swings her knife to stab it in the gut. It backs off for a moment, only to be joined by three more, lured in by the slight commotion.]

Four on one. Well, it's been worse. [The least she can do is distract them away from the family inside the house. She charges at them, shield in front, kicking one over and sliding through the other side. The light from some of the fire reflects off her knife as she waves it at them.] Wow, are you all stupid or what?

[Her voice is probably loud enough to carry upward.]

[withoutaworld]

[ Rikki can't help but laugh hearing Annabeth's commentary, and she drops off the roof directly onto the head of one of the zombies - it may not do much, but vibranium-soled boot backed by a hundred and twenty pounds and the momentum of a long fall will at least put a dent in its skull. The impact knocks it to the ground, and she follows it with a slash to the back of its neck. ]

Zombies aren't well-known for their brains. Not where I'm from, anyway. [ She grins at Annabeth, whirling to smash the edge of her shield into one of the creatures' reaching arms. She hears a bone snap, and it probably shouldn't feel as satisfying as it does. ] Mind if I even the odds a little?

[sophos]

[There's the whirring of someone falling, and the sound makes Annabeth look up, just in time to watch Rikki land on the head of one of the zombies. She can't help but smirk, impressed by the maneuver.]

No, that sounds about right. What with the moaning and groaning for them. [Even if these aren't exactly doing that. But it's with a grin that she blocks an attempted bite with her shield, then uses the defensive weapon offensively, slamming it into the zombie's head and knocking it over. She leaps, coming to stand on its chest and swinging her knife down to slash it across the eyes. It can't be killed, but at least she can make it harder to see.]

And not at all! Who doesn't want company during a zombie apocalypse?

[withoutaworld]

[ Rikki grins, somewhat impressed herself - she actually hadn't though to blind them before now, but then again, she's not exactly adept enough with her sword to count on reliably hitting them in the eyes. ]

Uh... people with a death wish, I guess? Or maybe Batman...

[ She slams the edge of her shield up into a zombie's chin - not quite enough force to snap its neck, which is a shame, but it knocks it back enough that she can kick hard at its knee. That does give a satisfying crunch, and the leg goes out from under it. ] ...I guess that probably wasn't a question that needed an answer.

[sophos]

Batman. [She mutters it, shaking her head. Another jiangshi makes a grab for her shield, undead fingers clutching at the edge. She tries to swing it away, but accidentally dislocates the arm instead.]

[But she's not all that fazed. She takes her knife and shanks it up into its chest, which is enough to get its hands to slide off her shield. She ducks into a roll, coming up behind it to stab it again, in the lower back. It goes down with a kick said wound, but Annabeth pulls her shield up instinctually, with good measure, given the blind zombie has gotten back to its feet.]

We need to get some fire. They're not gonna die without it.

[withoutaworld]

I've got some-

[ Rikki has to break off to counter a sudden lunge. The zombie runs right up her sword, which is kind of a problem - now she can't actually use the sword, and she's basically left holding a hilt attached to a monster trying to eat her face. She decides to drop it rather than fight over it and probably get bitten, and sweeps its legs out from underneath it before backpedaling to a safeish distance, shield held up warily.

The zombie starts to get to its feet fairly quickly, and Rikki grimaces a little. The sword's still stuck in its chest. Just great. ]

Oh, screw it... [ She pulls something her belt and tosses it at the zombie's feet, backpedaling a little more urgently this time and beckoning for Annabeth to do the same. There's a loud crack, and then the zombie - and the zombies closest to it - burst into flames. ] Incendiary grenades. I don't have a lot, but what else am I gonna use them for?

[sophos]

[Annabeth darts when Rikki beckons, then gives a whistle of approval for the grenade.] You can still conserve them - you know, try not to use them unless there are multiple zombies within its reach.

[She scans the area. The grenade took out two, with a third fruitlessly attempting to put out some flames on its arm. But there are two more approaching, lured over by the sounds and souls.]

Can you get your sword back? [She's not sure it's in the ashes or not.] We can corral them, then you should be able to get the rest with just one more grenade.

[Her brain's already making calculations and going a mile a minute as to making just that work, and she probably looks super focused. She's hardwired for this.]

[withoutaworld]

[ Oh right. Big booms draw zombies' attention. Duh.

Rikki darts over to a still-smoking corpse, kicking it cautiously to make sure it's not going to lunge and bite her or anything before she leans down to wrench her sword out of its chest. It's blackened and smoking a little itself, and she can feel the heat of it through her glove, but her glove's protected enough that it doesn't actually hurt. She eyes it dubiously for a moment, and sighs - she's pretty sure you're not supposed to light your sword on fire if you want it to last long, but whatever. It'll work for this.

She turns, orienting on the zombies, though she does keep half an eye on Annabeth. ] How do you want to do this? They're not exactly cooperative with the going where you want them to, after all... [ It would be one thing if they were like people and would actually attempt to not get hit or cut, but they just don't care. They don't back off, don't defend themselves, just attack. ]

[crotcharrow]

[He knows Rikki shouldn't be doing this. But he's not about to tell her. He doesn't even know why he is, having a few narrow misses himself this evening that he didn't really want to think about. Zombies, in the dark, at the bottom of the sea on a giant turtle. He didn't think his life could get any weirder.

He's been flitting around the zombies, trying to help people who need it and set up some sort of barricade to keep them out of certain areas. It helped if he thought he was in a video game--a really realistic one. He's currently trying to lure them away from some kedan, by making a whole bunch of noise, and throwing stones. The jiangshi aren't too pleased by the commotion, and three of them turn, spriting toward him. If Tommy hadn't been a speedster, he'd be done for.]

C'mon guys. How's three against one fair? You're gonna get creamed.

[Just as they get near to him, his hands lift and he vibrates them at high speed, causing the creatures to explode from the inside, sending a shower of flesh and body parts to the ground.]

--Eugh. I'm never gonna get used to how juicy you guys are.

[withoutaworld]

[ All that noise doesn't just draw the attention of the jianghshi - it sends Rikki running toward the commotion to see if anyone needs help, and she gets there just in time to see the zombies explode. That... is not something she ever really wanted to see.

She perches at the edge of a rooftop over the parts-littered street, pulling a face at the mess. ] Gross, Tommy. So, um... I guess you've got things under control here?

[crotcharrow]

[He starts picking off pieces (which are still trembling he might add) when he glances up at Rikki, cracking a smile through all the thick grime on his face. And then the realisation hits him that she's out here, with no powers, taking on these things.]

Hey, it's one way to slow 'em down. [He moves away from the corpses and closer to the building she's ontop, craning his head up, hoping to entice her down.]

What about you? You're not fighting are you?

[withoutaworld]

Um... yeah? [ Come on, what does he think she's going to do, hide inside? Fat chance.

Rikki glances up and down the street, checking for any zombies Tommy might have missed, before she swings off the roof and drops to the ground. ] You powered types can't have all the fun.

[crotcharrow]

[He moves away to give her space to land, rubbing the back of his head--and then immediately regretting it since his hands are still covered in gunk. Really, what had he been expecting? She's just like this hideous mix of Kate and Eli. A few zombies weren't gonna stop her.]

You call this fun? [He indicates to how grimey and disgusting his uniform has gotten. He doesn't dare pull his goggles off, but he knows he'd have a ring of bloody spray around his eyes like a horrific inverted panda.]

[withoutaworld]

[ She wrinkles her nose a little as he gestures to himself, and realizes she's kind of standing in zombie paste. ] Well, this... not really. I'm gonna need to shower for, like, a week when this is over.

But come on, what are we superheroes for if it's not stuff like this?

[crotcharrow]

[Zombie paste makes for the best romantic setting.]

Can I come too? I swear I have zombie sludge in places I didn't know existed. [He pauses, realising what he just said. His brain sort of trips over itself and well. Screw it. He's just going to pretend like he meant it casually.]

Good point. I just wish there were less puréed organs involved.

[withoutaworld]

[ Rikki stares at him for a moment or two while she slowly wraps her head around the fact that yeah, he just said that. He probably didn't mean it the way it sounded, but wow, Tommy, now that's all she's going to be able to think about.

She clears her throat a little awkwardly, shifting her weight and smiling faintly. ] Don't you have your own shower, or do you not get those in treehouses?

And I'm pretty sure you only have yourself to blame for the puréed organs, but as long as we are covered in zombie goo... [ Okay, more him than her, but still. ] You wanna go find some more to blow up? I wouldn't mind a little company.

[sharpes]

[Brandon looks like literal hell.

He wasn't wearing his uniform when this all started and it's not like he had time to change, so his civilian clothing (which doesn't conduct electricity nearly as well) is mostly ripped, frayed or singed. He's got a burn streaked down the side of his face and he's actually missing a shoe because it was better than missing the entire foot and that's what the zombie had been after at the time.

When he sees Rikki, he doesn't even think about the fact she hates him, he just waves his arms like someone trying to flag down a helicopter and then--

Catches himself.

No, he's not freaked out, he's faced way worse than this, and he's so not giving her the satisfaction of seeing him sweat, thanks.

But he's still on edge with nervous energy, and he hopes she'll at least come talk to him. Maybe they can regroup.]

[withoutaworld]

[ Rikki immediately changes course when she spots Brandon, dropping down to street level as she reaches him and giving him a quick visual once-over to make sure he's still in one piece. He looks terrible, but she can't see any bites or gaping wounds, so... that's something.

She pushes her goggles up on her forehead, frowning in concern. ] Uh... hey. [ She doesn't hate you, Brandon. She just thinks you're a tremendous jerk, and she can set that aside when there's a real crisis to worry about. ]

[sharpes]

Hey. You cool? Not hurt or anything?

[... and he actually sounds concerned about that.]

[withoutaworld]

[ She shrugs. ] A few scrapes and bruises, but I'm still okay to run and not turning into a zombie any time soon.

What about you? [ Pause. ] You, um... You need help getting back to your place or something? At least to get some new shoes?

[sharpes]

[He shifts on his feet and glances down with a sense of having forgotten the whole 'shoe' scenario.]

I guess I wouldn't mind the company. I can make these things combust if I pump enough electricity into 'em.

[withoutaworld]

[ She grins, because that kind of cool. ] Good. I can't do much more than distract them by myself, so a little powered backup wouldn't hurt.

...where do you live, anyway?

[sharpes]

Fire Sector. Come on.

[It's a good thing the streets are kept clean, and the turtleshell is relatively smooth. Otherwise she'd have to listen to him bitch about his lost shoe every step of the way.]

[withoutaworld]

[ And then she'd have to smack him in the head with her shield until he stopped. So really, it's good for both of them.

She follows along just behind him, keeping a wary eye over her shoulder the whole time. Down here on street level, she feels way too exposed, but it doesn't exactly seem fair to retreat to the rooftops when she really doubts Brandon can follow. ]

Have you been out here by yourself this whole time? [ She... might be worried about the rest of the teen heroes. A little. ]