[ OPEN ] Avengers, assemble

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Who: Noel Vermillion, Otto Octavius, open to all heroes (that being YOU)
Which: Open Log
Where: The Hat Maker's shop → Forest → Riverside warehouse
What: The resolution of the player plot. The heroes meet up, Noel is returned to normal and Otto is confronted, perhaps even arrested?
Warnings: Super villainy of sorts! Also, possible violence.



[[ OOC: For this log, we'll be doing things slightly differently! Instead of typical prompts, I'll be posting three separate threads below shortly; rather than making separate sub-threads for each character, we ask you to use those threads to mingle and move forward with a plot! Since we're not sure what the final number of participants would be, we figured there's no point in establishing any strict order of tagging to follow, so just use your best judgement or go wild, we don't make the rules. Have fun! ]]

Comments

1. Outside the Hat Maker's shop

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[It's a hectic day in the neighborhood surrounding the Hat Maker's shop. A very violent young woman came in, tried to steal some things and was met with resistance from the Hat Maker himself. As a result, there was a lot of collateral damage, not only inside the shop outside it as well. It would appear the thief blasted their way out into the street, attacked anyone else who attempted to stop them and shattered a few more store fronts in the process. This isn't the first time something like this has happened, either. Rumors are going around that this is the exact same MO of the thief who hit up the forges and blacksmiths over the past few weeks.

Anyone is free to investigate and mingle!]


[[ OOC: This is where the heroes can meet up and maybe swap information on what's going on. The major clues are as follows:
- The Hat Maker and other shopkeeps got a close look at Mu, so they can give an accurate description of her, as well as some of her more destructive powers.
- The Hat Maker placed a tracking spell on some of the tools Mu stole, which can be followed to her location. ]]

[flamekthunder]

[Eustace has joined to investigation, concerned at how things were slowly escalating. He brings with him one of the corgis, who while not the best tracker would be useful in dealing with any obstacles and protection should it be needed. The Hat Maker having used a tracking spell helps reduce complications as well.

Thus as they follow one of the traces, his guard doesn't go down at all.]

Stay alert... It's possible this could be a false lead.

2. Confronting N̶o̶e̶l̶ µ-No.12-

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[ Just like several times before, Mu has successfully completed the first part of the mission, obtaining the items she was ordered to take from the Hat Maker. The man protested her presence rather strongly, but retreated into the back of his shop once she cut his desk in half, and since there was little merit in pursuing him to finish him off, Mu decided to leave. With the items tucked away safely in a small hammerspace she created in tow, the Murakumo Unit starts heading towards Riverside, ignoring the faint sense of magic her newly-acquired goods; she was never told to inspect them, after all, only bring them in.

It's only once she's left the populated part of the town and entered the forest that she stops for a moment, taking in her surroundings. Something feels… off this time. Different from her previous deployments. It's nothing as superficial as intuition (she has no use of that sort of thing), so she chooses to examine her circumstances before continuing. ]

Scanning... Scanning... Scan complete. Multiple targets confirmed approaching from north-east. Calculating optimal route to the warehouse...

[ Given the distance remaining and the fact they seem to be going after her, chances are they might catch up to her before she reaches the base, or at the very least follow her there. Now she has a decision to make: should she return with the goods as requested and leave those targets alone, even if they end up discovering the warehouse? Or should she get rid of them beforehand so they don't cause trouble afterwards? Granted, she was never specifically ordered to kill anyone, but thinking about it logically, they could quickly become an obstacle to her finishing the mission. The obvious solution is simply to remove them before they cause any issues. The fact that, as far as her scan can tell, there are humans among them only reassures her that's the best course of action. ]

Suspending main mission. Creating new objective… New objective created. All system performing within acceptable parameters… Moving to the next phase. Now engaging battle mode... Deploying petals.

[ The wing-like blades floating behind her back spring upwards, positioning themselves in the direction the new arrivals might be coming from. If they decide to confront her, they will not be greeted kindly. ]

... Initiating termination protocols.

[[ OOC: The investigation has paid off, but now it's time to confront the God-slaying Sword herself! As a reminder, she's more or less an emotionless robot at the moment, and will probably need some good, old pep talk before she comes to her senses. Try not to get killed while at it! ]]

[songbird_slayer]

[Well, she wasn't much of the investigative type, but she knew a fight when she saw one. The axe-marked crystal was selected- looked like a hard-hitter, and she wasn't going to help anyone if she let herself get wiped out by Miss Beep-Boop over here- and she tapped into the myriad memories.]

I've got this one. Keep going.

[One on one? Dangerous. But she'd handled nightmarish things back home. This would be another day, another 'plan things out and survive' battle. With a shift of outfit and the weight of her axe against her back, she aimed to be the loudest figure here. With a roar she advanced. Multi-bladed opponent? So she was Ravana. Or "Greg". Check. Let's see about breaking through. She grasped the hilt and swung, building momentum in the battle axe perhaps twice her size in a cross formation. She just needed an opening!]

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[ She may not be a human, but she certainly acts as illogically as they do; going against a Murakumo Unit on her own? That's complete madness. But she's seen this sort of insanity happen again and again, so she regards the newcomer without surprise. As Madhuri approaches, the blades reposition themselves, forming a diamond-shaped barrier around Mu that takes the blow without budging an inch. ]

Pointless.

[ Mu jumps back to make some space between them as the blades return to their wing-like formation. With a flick of her wrist, she conjures two bright objects, one above her and one to the left ─ her Steins, which act as sentry guns that will fire lasers upon her enemies shortly after being placed. ]

Estimating target's threat level as A. Updating data... No problems detected. Continuing operation.

[ If all that somehow wasn't enough to deter these pests from coming closer, Mu's gesture causes her blades to swing horizontally, moving so fast they almost seem to merge into one. ]

Perish.

[songbird_slayer]

[Oh, she hoped she could pick up techniques like that. But maybe it wasn't a thought she should be having when such weapons were pointed at her with every ounce of malicious intent as they looked.]

'Awesome'? 'Adequate'? 'Adorable?' I'll take any of those.

[Oop- A shower of sparks followed that no-nonsense swing, some from the glancing off a re-positioned axe and the rest from the sting of harsh impact. She grit her teeth and tapped into a well of stored anger, retaliating with a whirlwind swing. Perhaps she was going at this as if she faced one opponent, rather than her multi-wielding potential...!

But this was weird, hadn't she seen a face like hers around? Who was this, then?]

[rokubro]

[Although he couldn't really help much with the investigation, getting the chance to fight is always a good motivator. Well and the culprit was also targeting weaponsmiths, so he had a little vested interest. Can't let them hinder swordsmiths!

And he is not disappointed. Seeing the wing-like blades, he can immediately tell this will be a difficult but memorable fight, and his daemon eye glows red in anticipation.]

Heh, this should be a fun fight. Let's see what that fancy armor of yours can do!

[And with that he rushes in, both blades glinting in the light as he moves to strike.]

3. Confronting Otto

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[ Somehow, someway, the group managed to knock some sense into Mu and bring back her less murderous self. While that alone solves the mystery of the recent attacks, there's one more person behind it. Thankfully, Noel is now more willing to cooperate and explain what happened, if only because she feels responsible for what happened. As such, she's more than willing to show them the way to the hideout she was originally heading for. Once they get close enough to Riverside to see the warehouses in the distance, she points to the one occupied by Otto. ]

That's Doctor Octavius' warehouse. He's a very cautious man, so it may be difficult for you to approach it without alarming him…

[ She hesitates for a moment, unsure whether she has any right to make any suggestions, considering she's also a guilty party. She's not even entirely sure if the others believe that she's pointing them in the right direction, and quite frankly, she wouldn't blame them if they didn't. ]

Um… I understand that it's not my place to speak… a-and it's alright if you prefer me to stay behind, but… I could go in first to draw his attention! That way, you could get inside without causing a commotion… a-and maybe we could resolve this matter peacefully.

[ Given how this entire operation has been going so far, that's more of a pipe dream than an actual plan of action, but Noel really wants to make herself useful to at least try and make up for her role in this whole mess. It's up to the rest of the team if they trust her with that enough to let out of their sight, though. ]

[[ OOC: The group is free to either go in with guns blazing, which would give Otto more time to brace himself, or use Noel as a distraction to get the element of surprise; either way, Otto won't come down without a fight. ]]